So what was she supposed to do? What was all this fighting crap? She had classes. She was busy. If she didn't keep her GPA up, she'd lose the scholarship, and then she'd really be in for it at home. Maybe she could just back out of it, whatever it was... maybe--

All of a sudden, her blood seemed to turn to ice, and she felt a twinge of what she had felt the day before when she had seen the other girl, Celly.

Something's wrong, she thought. She shook her head. No, it's my imagination and paranoia. She took another step down the path, then whirled around and ran to the house.

"Olivia!" She called. "George! Where are you?" She ran up the flights of stairs to the third floor and down the hallway to George's study and threw open the door.

She saw George standing by the left wall, his arms outstreched and shielding Olivia behind him. Bob stood by the picture window with his arms crossed. Celly stood in the middle of the room, a trenchcoat covering her tiny fuku, and her BBBoD (TM) now once again an obscenely long sword.

The sword was pointed at George and Olivia.

Susanne heard a yell and saw a flash of chocolate-coloured light. She saw Celly dodge the blast and she saw that Bob failed to do so. It knocked him through the window.

Then Susanne realized that the yell and the light had come from her. She looked at George, her eyes wide, and saw that he had the same bewildered and frightened expression on his face.

"Hotohori no Otaku..." Celly whispered.

Susanne turned to face her, and remembered why she had run here. "Get out!"

Celly now stood by the remains of the shattered window and looked out. "Kuso! You've killed another Bob! Do you think I have an endless supply? Take it easy!" She started searching around in her HammerSpace (TM) for another Bob, but considering the clutter in there, she was having some trouble. Well, maybe it wouldn't be the best idea to bring another Bob out just yet.

"Take it easy? Take it easy, you say? You try to kill me, you hurt my friend, you track me down here, and you threaten people I love! Give me one reason I should take it easy!" The chocolate-coloured aura which Celly had noticed at their first meeting now flared and seemed to burn.

"For one, so that you calm down and don't blow out any walls in here," Celly said. She watched as Susanne's aura retreated until it was just a thin line around her. "You are unaware of your own power, Hotohori no Otaku."

"I'd be happy to test it on you," She returned cooly.

"That's not advisable," a voice behind Susanne said just as Susanne felt the strange cramping sensation. Was this another nut? Some kind of Slayer thing... sensing the bad guys before you saw them... she turned her head to see another girl in a trenchcoat behind her.

"FBI?" Susanne asked sarcastically.

"MSMC," The girl answered.

"Come again?"

"Enough!" Celly roared, grabbing the attention of all the others. "I think we need to get some things straightened out."

"I think you two just need to leave."

"We will. And you'll come with us."

Susanne opened her mouth to shoot back, "Like hell I will!" when she looked at George and Olivia. They still looked a little frightened, but now they were more confused than anything else. Susanne couldn't blame them. "If I go with you, do you promise to leave them alone?" George stepped forward and began to speak, but Susanne put her hand out and looked at him for a few moments. She knew what he was going to say. He nodded and stepped back.

"Sure, I guess. They were never targets. I was just trying to find out where you were."

Susanne looked back at the other girl.

"Hey, don't look at me. I'm as confused as you."

Susanne raised her eyebrows.

"But I won't hurt them."

Susanne nodded, and looked back at Celly. "Will I be back by Monday?"

"What for?"

"I'm still a student! I've got classes to get to!"

"Wow, you're dedicated. Well, I don't see why you wouldn't be back by then, providing everything works out."

"Fine, fine," Susanne answered, anxious to get Celly and the new nut out of the house. "Just let me grab a couple things." She motioned for the two of them to preceed her out the door, and as soon as they did, she went over to George and Olivia. "Don't worry, I'll be alright. Don't tell anyone about this."

"They'd never believe us, anyway!" Olivia said shakily.

George reached into his pocket and pulld something out. "Take this with you." To Susanne's puzzled expression, he said, "It's a little silly, but you know how I don't care for flying and, well, general long-distance travel. I take that with me. It just feels lucky."

Susanne accepted it from him. "Thank you. And don't worry about me." With that, she all but bounded from the room, anxious to keep her family here -- and she considered George and Olivia family -- safe. She wanted to get the backpack she had brought here, and then she would leave.

She went to "her" room and decided to change out of the obviously hippie attire she usually wore around here, and was slightly amused to find that the shirt she had packed to wear with her jeans was her Abbey Road shirt. She quickly changed, putting the other clothing back in the drawer, then changing her mind and putting it in her backpack.

And then... she wasn't sure what was happening. Her mind was filled with sights and sounds... she couldn't possibly keep up, she thought at first. But she concentrated on it, and the blitzkrieg of sensations slowed to a more comprehensible speed. There were other girls... herself, Celly, Rapath, this loony, and some others... one girl with long blonde hair and a red-orange aura, a short, black-haired girl, and another, taller girl whose dark hair was worn in two long braids. For some reason, this image stayed with her more than the others. And then she heard something about "bishounen." The final image was that of Andy... but it wasn't Andy, it was...

Hotohori.

This made Susanne jump a little. It had sounded like someone had spoke.

Hai. Watashi wa Hotohori. Anata wa Hotohori no Otaku.

What? Then it became clear. Though the words were in Japanese, she understood.

"You!"

Susanne snapped out of the trance-like state she was in and turned to see Celly and the other girl in her doorway. It took her another moment to remember that she was supposed to go with them.

"Are you coming, or what?"

"I'm sorry, I got a little sidetracked."

"Yeah, for half an hour!" the other girl said.

That long? Wow. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, picked up her bag, and followed them out.