Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Hand Maid May Fan Fiction / Gatekeepers Fan Fiction ❯ Retake ❯ Batting Practice ( Chapter 14 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Retake 14
"Batting Practice"

DISCLAIMER: Some of these character originated with someone else. The Grimlok Institute based more or less on a very strange and hentai webpage i ran across.

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Haruka frowned down at his beer. "Okay, it's been a week. How do we handle this?"

"Haruka-kun, if we go, and it looks likely, the rest of us have decided to tie you up and gag you for the duration of our visit," Mikiro Kaioh said without a trace of humor.

"Ha ha, knock it off with the jokes, Kaioh, you're no good at it." Haruka glared at his former lover. With both of them guys the relationship had passed the point where "strained" could be said to be applicable.

"He wasn't joking," said the rest of the guys at the table.

Andy, formerly known as Ami, cleared his throat. "I've done some checking since we last met. Greylle said that our 'base equations' were altered. All records check out from our birth certificates on - that we were born male and Mamoko Chiba was born a girl."

Shinji shrugged and looked uncomfortable. "Fits with what I've learned from talking to friends. I'm still me, and I remember being Usagi Tsukino, but everyone remembers Shinji. I think Naru had a crush on me a few years ago until she and Umino got together from what they were saying. This is *so* weird."

"What about Mamoko?" Andy asked.

"She and Sakura are out shopping," Shinji responded, looking slightly depressed.

"Has anyone noticed that neither Mamoru nor Greylle remember anything about their other lives unless you are actively trying to remind them?" Andy frowned. "They are usually completely into their new roles as Mamoko and Sakura."

"Oh boy, *have* I!" Shinji Tsukino rolled his eyes. "Mamo-chan acts *so* feminine. She's a good cook, she likes to go dancing, it's so weird."

"They're Japanese girls, and therefore they tend to try and fit in more than they would as guys," suggested Rei, idly cracking his knuckles. "Sometimes it's easier for us to just go with the flow too."

Andy shook his head. "It's just so... Sakura-chan asked if I'd been eating well lately and she came by my apartment and fixed me dinner!"

Makoto sighed. "Me too. AND she cleaned my apartment. I didn't even realize I had been making a mess until she started in on it."

Sebastian Meiou shook his head. "So you two are the 'other men' here, I should have guessed."

"You guys too?" Manny, once known as Minako, blinked. "She's playing all of us?"

"Sakura isn't *trying* to flirt, I don't think," said Andy. "She's just the kind of girl that wants to be nice to everyone and take care of them..."

"Don't forget that 'she' is a 'he' and we are the real girls here," said Haruka. "She doesn't try any of that crap with me anymore."

Mikiro frowned but didn't say anything for a moment. He briefly considered bringing up what Haruka *had* tried to do when cornering the relatively small girl. No, the fight would likely break out immediately and Haruka wasn't up to fighting everyone. Maybe later. "Has anyone else had any odd sensations or urges?"

"Judging from the set of blushes, I'd say it was nearly unanimous," said Andy. "It's normal from the literature that guys tend to be a bit more..."

"Hormonally addled," supplied Haruka. "On the other hand, I was apparently never excluded from racing for being a boy. I've got even more trophies and awards than I did before."

"I know it's normal for guys, but the urges and needs are so odd," Andy confessed hesitantly. "Apparently guys feel the need to protect women. Not to mention we now seem a little more emotionally controlled, but when we do get our emotions involved it's all so different. If we care about some girl at all it's like..."

"We want to hold on to her and kiss her all over and crush her to us as we..." Makoto's voice trailed off as he went off into lemon territory.

A group sigh was followed by group embarassment.

"Sex is *so* much different," said Shinji into the silence. Then turned red as he realized the cat had just escaped the bag. Not that Luna or Artemis had been seen much lately since they were now both human and of different genders.

"You... and Mamoko?!" Andy asked, blushing fiercely as this subject suddenly came crashing in on them.

Hesitatingly, Shinji nodded. "At her place. Even her apartment is completely different from what it was last week. She was so into the role and well, one thing led to another, and..."

"Rabbits: lucky and sexfiends," said Haruka with a grin.

Sebastian looked over the group. "Okay, we've decided we'll get to that manor and try to ask *politely* that we get changed back. It's either that or decide which of us is going to end up Sakura's boyfriend."

"Well, she's, I mean," Makoto began to look nervous, "you know I think I could get her pretty easily out of all of us."

"I disagree, she appreciates my maturity and intellect," argued Andy.

"No, no, no, *I* am the one Sakura should end up with," Manny said.

"Pfeh, *girls* - they're just plain trouble," said Rei.

"She's got the combined powers of the Sailor Senshi," said Haruka drily. "I'd say the choice would end up in *her* hands. Oh heck. Now you've got *me* doing it!"

"It's a challenge then," said Manny with male competitiveness showing. "We'll see which of us can win her."

"She's pretty, a good cook, she'd make a great wife, but are any of us really ready for that sort of thing? We're just fourteen years old! She's sixteen. Even in Japan, we're not old enough for marriage," Andy argued.

"She is. You can get married at sixteen, and *I* am twenty," said Sebastian. "If it came to a contest, I'm pretty sure I could sweep her off her feet fairly quickly."

Haruka had always been competitive, and now she had a chronic case of Ranma foot-in-mouth disease and was even more competitive and aggressive. "You? Don't make me laugh. I'm pretty sure I could get into her panties before any of you. Heck, having some cute little girl around to cook and clean for me could be quite amusing."

Glares were directed at Haruka who merely snorted.

"Fine," said Andy, knowing that now he had to win. The sweet little girl he now knew as Sakura was triggering all sorts of protective and possessive instincts. He *had* to protect her from ending up with someone like Haruka! "There's no way you'll win!"

"Bets?" Haruka grinned confidently. When he turned on the charm there wasn't a girl he couldn't have.

"You're on!" Andy declared. Makoto, Sebastian, Rei (surprising himself), Mikiro, Haruka, and Manny all nodded.

Shinji just stared. "You *do* all realize that you just declared you were going to make Sakura your girlfriend."

Everyone stared at each other.

"We have *got* to change back," said Mikiro with considerable feeling.

-------

Hotaru looked sadly at the girl chatting excitedly with the others. She, Fess, and those marionette girls appeared to be the only ones who remembered. It was nice that her sempai was happy and making friends easily. It was not so nice that his name was Sakura now, that he was a girl and remembered always having been one, or that instead of being his fiancee she was now just a buddy. Not that Hotaru wasn't more than pleased with gaining some new friends, but she'd gotten used to the idea of having a fiance.

"He did? No, really?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Cross my heart!" Mamoko declared.

"Get out of here!" Nabiki wasn't buying it.

"Did you pound him?" Akane asked.

No, this was *not* really acceptable to Hotaru Tomoe.

"So, what did you do?" queried Yuka.

Mamoko Chiba decided to deflect some of the attention. Getting a sly look she chose a subject she knew would do the trick. "So, Sakura-chan, which one do *you* like?"

Sakura shook her head. "Hey, they're just friends. It's not like any of 'em could handle being *my* boyfriend."

"I don't know about that," said Nabiki, the opportunity for teasing too much to pass up. "Andy Mizuno's going to be a doctor. I could see myself as the wife of a doctor."

Sakura smiled sweetly back. "Then make your move, girl. Though you better leave him *some* money if you want him to make it to 'Doctor status' someday."

"Or maybe Makoto," suggested Nabiki. "He's so tall and with those broad shoulders of his."

"Go for it," said Sakura. "I don't..."

Everyone looked curiously as Sakura abruptly stood up and looked off to the side. Sakura's puzzled look gave way to such an expression of glee that everyone started looking to see if it was a cute boy.

"'By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes,'" quoted Sakura.

"rrrrrRRRRAGGGHHHHH!"

Everyone jumped up at that noise, though some had different reactions.

"Listen, I got to go do something, be right back," said Sakura, popping her knuckles in a thoroughly unfeminine gesture.

"Why is it that whenever there's a youma attack," said Nabiki, remembering things from the rewritten history, "you always remember something... you've got to do." Nabiki's voice trailed off as things abruptly went CLICK and fit together.

Sakura shrugged and prepared to go running off. Akane stopped her by grabbing the flap at the back of Sakura's seifuku. "Spill it, Nabiki."

"Sailor Senshi..." Nabiki stared at her friend of the past two years. It all made sense. Sakura was *always* running off whenever youma or daimon or cardian attacked. That meant...

"Well, I'm sorry Nabiki, but non Senshi can't be allowed to know," Sakura said, freeing herself from Akane's grip and facing the girl. Keeping secrets from her friends hadn't ever sat well with her. "Therefore..."

"Wait, I can help!" Nabiki tried. Well, yes, she *did* want to follow Sakura around with a camera and get pictures of her fighting youma as Sailor System, but this was her best friend - and Nabiki didn't have so many friends that she'd willingly sacrifice one.

"Good," Sakura said, then touched her chest where that odd bandage was that they'd all seen when she was changing clothes. A light began shining from under that bandage. "Solar System Power, Make UP!"

Mamoko shrugged and stood up next to a gaping Kasumi. "Earth Power, Make UP!"

Hotaru sighed at the inevitable. She hoped Greylle/Sakura knew what she was doing. "Saturn Power, Make up..."

Nabiki, Kasumi, Akane, Yuka, Sayuri, and Ranma (who had just been checking to see what was going on) gaped as three nifty keen lightshows erupted and when they were done left three Sailor Senshi standing there.

"Mine is the planet of life and birth. Standing proudly, Sailor Earth," said the forest green wearing Sailor.

"Mine is the planet of silence. Standing ready, Sailor Saturn." Saturn thunked her Silence Glaive into a rest position.

"rrrrrRRRRAGGGHHHHH!" This sounded a lot closer.

"Combining the powers of Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, or at least the bulk of them. Sailor Solar System! Standing ready to kick some behind!"

Nabiki wet her lips. She knew Sakura could be a bit enthusiastic and had a strong sense of personal honor. "Uhm. About no non-Senshi being allowed to know?"

Making a couple of passes in the air, Sailor Solar System then leapt up and flipped in midair over the koi pond. "Solar System Power: Lesser Senshi Recruitment!" As she came back down she kicked something out of the air that slapped lightly into Nabiki's chest.

Nabiki held up the odd brooch, then pulled out a jeweler's loupe to examine it. "Hmmm. Nice manufacture. This a bribe?"

"Try saying 'Charon Moon Power, Make up'," suggested Sailor Solar System before leaping into the air again and kicking something towards Kasumi.

"'Charon Moon Power, Make upppppppppppppppppp!'" Nabiki said, spinning around as she had makeup applied, felt something grow, and finally landed on her feet. "Damn, that felt... GOOD."

Kasumi looked at her own brooch. Akane, Yuka, and Sayuri got pens. "Triton" "Callisto" "Io" "Minerva" "Europa" "Make Up?!" Four light shows commenced.

"Ahhhhh! Why have I got a tail?! And FUR?!" Akane looked down at herself.

"Hmmm. Never saw that before. Must be why these were never used," absently said Sailor System. "Oh well. So Nabiki is a dark elven looking girl, Akane is a tigergirl, Kasumi is an elf, Yuka is a robotgirl, and Sayuri turned green and has gills. Oh well, at least you can run crowd control while I beat on the bad guy. Let's GO!"

"AAAAA! I don't wanna!" Sayuri protested as Sailor System formed a gravity bubble and flew off with them.

"...stupid girls..." Ranma muttered briefly. Going off to a fight and leaving him. Though he knew if he let them know he'd been listening to them, he'd get pounded. Why couldn't HE get a powerup too, though he didn't need any cheats. Not HIM. Nope. "Aw, who am I trying to kid?"

Keeping an eye on the flying group, Ranma sped off in pursuit. He needed to be there in case there really was a good fight, yeah, that'd work.

-------

Doctor Mercury, Tuxedo Moon, Racer Uranus, and the various others arrived to a fight. That isn't what they saw.

"SILKY!" The spider-girl declared. She was big, at least 9' tall, she was strong enough to rip trees out of the ground with the proportionate strength and speed of a spider, she went around and wrapped people in webbing while looting cash registers and stowing them in a pack on her back. All of which was obvious from the number of people tied up in coccoons and the tree being waved at someone.

Something else was apparent. Silky was really really scared. "I'm just a monster trying to make my Master a dishonest living, I haven't hurt anyone! What did I do to deserve Sailor System?!"

The girl sitting in midair smirked down at her. "Why do you think you're still alive?"

"Aaaaaa!" The spider-girl threw the tree and started running.

"You ever feel completely superfluous?" Sailor Callisto asked Sailor Earth.

"All the time, actually," admitted Earth.

"So I'll just beat you up a *little*!" Sailor System declared, flying overhead with an evil grin.

"Nooooooooooo!" The spider-girl started literally climbing walls to get out of the way. "I saw what you did to Chimera!"

Doctor Mercury looked around and noticed a small crater with splatmarks. Okay...

Spider-girl turned and began throwing webbing behind her in an attempt to throw off pursuit.

"Running away? You could hurt a poor defenseless girl's feelings like that." Sailor System conjured a harp of water. "Aqua... Rhapsody!"

"'Helpless'?" Sailor Charon repeated. She wasn't the only one.

"I surrender! I surrender! Just call her off! Aaaaa!" The Spider-girl was concealed in ice.

"You killed her?" Sailor Callisto looked a little queasy. Especially after what had happened to 'Chimera'.

"Nah, she might be a monster but all she did was severely inconvenience people," Sailor System said as she landed. "I just formed an ice sphere around her. It should last until she's taken into custody."

"Makes me long for the good old days," grumbled Gymsuit Jupiter. "Monsters come around and try to steal people's energy, then we dust 'em. Look at that! That one was looting a Kwik-E-Mart! They didn't try to surrender, they were evil and we crushed 'em."

"They just don't make youma like they used to," said Bishonen Venus, patting the bigger Jupiter on the back. "I remember the days well, fighting to defeat menaces to the human race, not some chain store's profits."

"Yeah, yeah," agreed Jupiter.

"Oh look, it's the Tuxteam batting cleanup again!" Sailor System flew up to their rooftop. "Hey, I'm about due for a vacation, I figured Hawaii is pretty cool. So you can watch the new Senshi while they get their combat experience in and practice and all that stuff. I heard there was some tough fights, some sort of Street Fighter tournament, that sort of thing."

"It figures SHE would think of that as relaxing," said Sailor Charon sarcastically. She knew her friend tended to be a bit too competitive.

Sailor Callisto looked up. "You mean that worldwide fighting tournament between the toughest fighters? Can I come?"

Ranma would have probably wanted to come along himself but after getting a good look at Akane's tigergirl form was currently heading towards Hokkaido.

----------

A darkened room with a number of computers working, a book on a central table, though what really would have alarmed certain superheroes was found against one wall.

It was a lifesize poster blowup of a photograph of Sailor System flying. Short skirt and all.

There was very little doubt that the real Sailor System would have objected loudly to the presence of the thing. Though her first protest would have been that it was blurry and definitely didn't capture her best side.

Four of the typists, currently wearing leather collars and leashes, would have been immediately recognizable to anyone who had watched Sailor Moon S. Currently that would have been limited to a number of the Sailor Marionettes and Fess, but those would have immediately recognized Eudial, Mimette, Terurun, and Viluy. That these were originally members of the Witches 5 from the "Pure Heart" plotline, missing only Cyprine, would have been noted.

What would not have been immediately known was that these four Witches weren't destroyed when Professor Tomoe's lab had been shattered. That some of the Eggs of Daimon had survived, and that their support base had *not* survived would also not have been known by Fess nor the marionettes.

That in searching for a NEW support base that they would have accidently run across a self-styled coven of computer geeks playing at being evil. Naturally, on finding out they had money, the Witches 5 thought they could take over and show these play-villains what really being bad was all about.

It didn't hurt that each of the Coven Of Chaos was really lacking in anything that might be labeled common sense and on seeing the Witches 5 they'd been reduced nearly to the level of hormonally addled babbling idiots. It still might not have amounted to anything except for one little additional factor.

Which was a wizard named Heironomus (Harry) leaving a travelling spellbook where it could be found by a fellow named Hiroki Gosunkugi, who happened to have a few things in common with his cousin Hikaru. Hikaru was invited as well, but wasn't able to make it on a regular basis.

It was with one of the recipes in the book of magic that Hiroki was able to turn the tables on the Witches 5. Which was why they currently thought there was absolutely nothing wrong with wearing leashes and dog collars as they typed out the various homework assignments for the fourteen year old boys in the Coven.

So the evil boys of the Coven of Chaos, having five self-confessed evil witches under their thrall by means of something called "Thraxin's Spell Of Witch Binding" (which worked by getting the victim to confess she was a witch and then make some oath that would suddenly become binding on them, easily done because the five witches had no intention of living by any oath when they had sworn those oaths - it was just something to get their hands on that idiot's bank account) had started out with pretty much what you would expect.

Their reign of evil started by having the witches do their homework, buy ecchi magazines for them, and similar things.

They had recently graduated to trying to steal money, summon scantily clad nature sprites, create monsters (that bore an awful lot of resemblence to the girls in the ecchi magazines due to a lack of focus from various spellcasters) (these were used to attempt stealing money as well as try to get panty shots of Sailor System and Sailor Earth), and cheat on tests.

Morgana, in Japan on the bequest of Harry, had noted the magic and cast a quick divination. On finding that the source came back as "Harry's spellbook" she promptly ignored it. If the lesser mage was still investigating the dragon, let him. She was looking forward to playing Merlin to this new Camelot, just the thought of the expressions on Arthur or Merlin's faces was enough to give the idea *enormous* appeal. If only the dragon would get this bit over with and get back to forming his new society. She even had an idea for an Excalibur substitute.

As for the Witches 5? Well, their Masters *were* fourteen year old boys. They were still trying to get their nerve up to having their slaves do a strip tease. Especially after the last attempt had resulted in a near terminal nosebleed (Hiroki was nearly a hemophiliac) and a case of boys who had darn little idea of what to do with their hormones.

Heck, the information relayed about a new crop of short skirted seifuku wearing defenders of love and justice had them ready to grab the Poloroids and summon up some really ridiculous monsters.

That they would be described as "pathetic" or "lame" never entered the minds of any of the Coven, of course.

---------

The reaction of the formerly female Senshi, now male and reduced to throwing what all of them agreed were relatively lame attacks, to being told that a key part of their plan at restoring the old status quo was going to go on an extended vacation was what you might expect.

Uranus growled and quite obviously wanted to punch something. He'd always thought of guys as something basically inferior and untrustworthy, just look at the ones that had held his racing talents against him when he was a she! Now he was going to be a guy for a longer time?! Uranus would prefer hitting that flitting little girl except for a couple of simple problems: a) she was hovering over a four story drop, and b) she'd kick his butt into next Tuesday. He didn't like the fact that as a guy every so often the most blatantly wrong things were jumping from her lips. He didn't like that guys tended to be coarser in their relationships, more straightforward and less refined. He didn't like the way that Racer Uranus, instead of throwing a "World Shaking", had a main attack that consisted of throwing carnations!

Pluto shook his head. Crystal Tokyo currently consisted of King Serene and his wife Sailor Earth ruling while Sailor System held the ginzuishou and oversaw the Department Of Butt-Kicking (formally known as the Ministry Of Defense but System always referred to it as the former and the practice had spread). A quick retreat and glance showed that if this kept up, there would be practically a squadron of Lesser (Moon) Senshi while there was practically an army of Least (asteroid and other small body) Senshi. Not to mention the proliferation of Knights and giant robot warmachines. This had to be stopped! Even the barely glimpsed future with all the Camelot references was less out of control than their current one!

Neptune was of two minds of this. The old feminine mindset still clinging on just wanted things to be back to normal and for Michiru and Haruka to be a couple again. Haruka's new mouth had caused some disagreements to step forward. The new male mindset was admiring Sailor System's legs and picturing various hentai things that could be explored with it. Starting with cherry syrup, which was why the Knight of Neptune was licking his lips as he stared.

"Hey, that sounds good, can I come?" Doctor Mercury, in his labcoat shirt and tie, smiled at the floating girl. That he found her enormously attractive and wanted to get her alone on the beach for perhaps a romantic dinner, and then... ahem. Stimulating conversation of course. Though if they *could* turn back, would that mean that *everything* had to return to normal? Getting to know the android Ami over the past week had been quite educational. And the relationship with his mother was slightly different too. And the relationship with Sakura? How to get back to that?

Venus sighed. He suffered from foot-in-mouth nearly as bad as Haruka (okay, it was worse) and never had a chance with a cute girl. Though if they could just get everyone changed back, that tall lean studly guy/dragon was going to find himself dragged off by Sailor Venus. One had to assure the duty to the Princess by keeping her safe and not alienating possible allies after all, and if Sailor Venus happened to get a boyfriend out of the deal...

Jupiter tried to restrain impulses that his male libido and social upbringing tried to force him into. When he'd been a girl, she's been somewhat boy crazy. Now as a guy, he could have practically any girl he wanted. It was making Makoto a little nuts trying to hold onto his formerly feminine identity, and the one girl he *most* desired he had competition for. Though if he'd known why Neptune was still licking his lips, most likely a fight would have broken out.

Tuxedo Moon (aka Shinji Tsukino, future Prince Serene) was looking down at where his poor delicate Mamoko was chatting happily with her new Senshi and apparently fairly content. Though he thought Sakura was cute, he knew full well how jealous Mamoko could get. Shinji shook his head, trying to remember that he was really *Usagi*. That he was not going to become Prince Serene, she was going to be Princess Serenity! If only she'd been able to get through to Uranus and Neptune that they needed to loosen up some!

Priest Mars frowned. Instead of T*A School, he was attending the boy's version. One thing that had become immediately apparent was that everyday at lunch time there would be a fight over the food. Sakura was a nice girl, if awfully tomboyish at times, and... Mars slammed his palm into his forehead. BAD thoughts, bad bad thoughts.

"I dunno, Mercury," Sailor System said uncertainly, "what about your school and classes and stuff?"

Mercury sighed in disappointment. Of course he wouldn't be able to charm the popular Sakura. He... Mercury's eyebrows rose as Sailor System flitted in close.

"Gee, you'd think you could straighten your tie a bit better than that." Sailor System said, straightening tie and collar. "There ya go, handsome as ever! See you later."

Mercury blinked rapidly as Sailor System flew off. "Oh my."

"Damn, you can move fast when you want to, can't you?" Jupiter rumbled, shaking his head.

"Never would have seen it coming," remarked Uranus, mainly just to see Mercury twitch and blush.

"It's those shy quiet guys you've got to look out for," opined Neptune.

Jupiter kindly reached out and kept Mercury from wandering off the roof.

-------

They had been forgotten in the chaos.

Built as experiments and prototypes, treated with affection and care, they had been left behind nonetheless. No way to go back and retrieve them, and no time to do it either.

Except that Fess had found a "to do" list buried in a computer file and now knew of them.

On the Sabre Marionette world of Terra Two (or Terratoo if you prefer), the word went out among the prototypes and developments of Ginseng.

Their Master had need of them again.

--------

Morgana smirked as she regarded the mirror. "Can't interfere at all? That's a darn shame."

Amaterasu looked back from her mirror interface. "Well, I certainly hadn't expected quite these repercussions from my little act earlier. Hotaru will do well as a shrine priestess, and if she manages to get a boyfriend out of this... so much the better."

"Things are going to come to a head very soon," remarked Morgana. "This enchantment reversing a few genders will be unraveled soon, either by this 'Warnas' or by myself. Then I suspect we'll see that Uranus girl attempt to lead the others into attacking the dragon. Loyalties will be divided. She reminds me a lot of Lancelot."

"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with all the variants of Camelot. Which version is this?" Amaterasu asked from her mirror.

"Oh standard I suspect. Camelot was actually neither particularly grand or noble, but that's typical of legends and such. Everyone remembers the grand speeches and lofty goals, everyone forgets the filth and squallor and the little dirty deeds." Morgana looked off into the distance as if she could see the events transpiring. "Merlin means 'black hair' you know, and he was actually also known as Saint Patrick. Artur was a chief to a bunch of tribes. Most of the knights were pretty much what you'd expect from the fifth century AD, no gleaming plate armor - that's for certain. Lancelot was a bit of a wencher, it was said that the only lance he wielded better than the one from horseback was the one he wielded in the bedchamber. He was also Artur's chief political rival. He got together with Guinevere - who was a bit of a twit actually, and since Artur hadn't been that active lately due to some health problems, managed to seduce her into the idea of backing him when he took the throne."

"Typical politics of the era," commented Amaterasu.

"True," admitted Morgana. "Anyway, I was young back then. Not even a century old. Had a child of Artur's because of trickery from an old political party, lost track of the child due to some infighting among a group of mages that I'd gotten involved in, then tried to sponsor the child for the throne. Stupid of me, actually. There was something seriously wrong with Modred, rage disorder I think. He wouldn't have made a good ruler, even in those times."

"So you view this as a way of making up for your prior lapse in judgement?"

Morgana nearly laughed at that. "Oh come on, I've made up for it a dozen times over since then. I'm *old*. No matter what these Japanese say about evolving here seperate from all other races, I was born prior to some Chinese fishermen finding this island and going back to tell their families about it. I'm not nearly as old as the Ainu that they slaughtered when those Chinese got here and decided to settle, but I'm old enough. I've done my penance and made my peace on Camelot many years ago."

"So what is this, then?" Amaterasu didn't want to hear this was a passing fancy from the sorceress.

"Simple - a new Camelot more shining than before," said Morgana with a sly look. "One of Artur's problems was that he had few people that were actually on his side. Everyone had their own agendas and were rarely willing to work it out amongst themselves. One problem I foresee with this Crystal Tokyo is the *absence* of dissenting viewpoints."

"Perhaps," said Amaterasu. "However, I hope that Hotaru as a shrine priestess can grow into the 'Merlin' role."

"We'll see, I suppose," said Morgana with a smile and a puff of displaced air as she teleported away.

---------

Large machines trundled around the borehole, ignoring the conditions that would have killed an unprotected human within minutes. Even the typical marionette would have been rendered inoperative in a short period of time. The armored titans that moved about the borehole were rated for much more hazardous environs.

This particular borehole was roughly as big around as a football field, and its depth was such that air heated from the depths of the planet formed a thermal plume overhead.

Many of the machines used wheels of metal mesh or treads as opposed to the insectile legs common on many of those originating from Earth.

At a signal, the borehole was deemed sufficiently complete, and the machines moved away to the next site.

Long after the last of them had cleared the ridge a single non-AI robot went to a predetermined spot and began digging. Its front part chewed up ground and sped the debris backwards, rear "legs" further moving the stuff out of the way so that a small channel was formed.

Upon reaching the depth indicated by its programming, the machine noted the substance ahead of it was of different material and had considerable pressure behind it. The little digger-bot folded its rear extensions as it had been programmed to, sealed its vents, and dug just a little further.

The geyser of water swept the little bot out, and a timer went on. Eventually it would be reclaimed when the flood was over and it was merely buried in ice. For now, it would conserve battery power by entering a minimal existence as it was swept along by powerful currents.

The waters themselves were nearly frozen even as they erupted, and at several points the channel was partially clogged by ice. Eventually it would freeze anyway but the force of the eruption would keep the ice from freezing completely.

Water, no matter what planet it was on, always seeks the lowest point. Released from the pressure it had been under for a few billion years, it swept along and began the plunge when it found the borehole. The water was heated, then superheated, then released as steam at first, then pressure built and started forming short bursts of bubbles. Eventually the borehole filled anyway, with extremely warm water forming a well in the now frozen lake of Arcadia Planitia.

----------

Flying was fun. Sailor System didn't bother with the thought of people trying to peek at her panties under the short skirt. The seifuku was more like a swimsuit with a skirt, and she was confident enough in her looks not to feel too embarassed by people staring at her legs. That left her to enjoy the rush of flying without being too self-conscious about the whole thing.

So she flew way overhead and ignored one of those annoying Grimlok(1) capture teams trying to catch her again. Buncha perverts anyway. Hopefully they wouldn't show up at the tournament. She had told the last batch that if they tried to catch her again, she frankly didn't care if they'd shielded themselves with civilians or if they thought of themselves as good guys, they'd be leaving in body bags or body casts at the very least. Same if they bothered Sailor Saturn or Earth.

Of course that meant the bondage-fetishists would be after *her* as the primary target, but that was just as well. Sailor System was the most adaptable and powerful of the Senshi, though Saturn had more oomph in one of her attacks, it was the forbidden/taboo one. No, it was far better that their target be someone who could defend themselves.

Concealing herself, Sailor System doubled back and looked at their preparations in more detail. Ah, an anti-magic field? They were going to try and cut off her magical powers then use tasers and martial artists to wear her down? Then use one of those weird capture things to make her a living statue? Didn't these guys ever come up with an original idea? Hmmmph. Tempting to just go in and Gravity Bubble them and then drop them from a half mile up.

The trick with these loonytunes was to always have something new to spring on them. Hit them with something that they hadn't anticipated, and they'd fall apart - a result of the very hit teams they were composed of being brainwashed into their roles themselves. Not that these girls were capable of realizing it.

Threat or not, Sailor System was not inclined to strike at innocent dupes. Unfortunately, she didn't have a Dispel Mind Control special attack. She could do *some* healing, but Tuxedo Moon and Sailor Earth were both better at it.

Hiding behind a set of pipes on a nearby rooftop, Sailor System looked through her binoculars (5000yen, Matsuhiro Sporting Goods - just because they weren't Silver Millenium supplied didn't mean she shouldn't use 'em) and studied the setup. Another fake youma/damsel in distress thing? Something wrong with this picture, System decided. They usually had one new gadget at least, and the last time they'd crossed paths she had made that little threat. So how were they...

Sailor System smiled. Bingo. Those weird capture ball thingies were loaded in a hopper. Get close and make a speech or try to reason with them and foom! They'd fill the air with those things and probably try to grapple her before her flight powers failed. By the time she'd been completely covered and looking like some sextoy, they'd be putting her in one of those suspended animation tubes and hustling her off to their dungeon "rehabilitation center" for a brainwash and conditioning.

If they didn't want her to resist capture, they shouldn't have a website that Tuxedo Mercury could have hacked into.

The Senshi leaned one elbow against a pipe, using that arm as a crossbrace for the other arm and carefully sighted her outstretched finger towards the other roof. "Crescent Beam."

She quickly got her binoculars back up, giving an involuntary squeal of glee as the hopper bin containing the capture orbs burst open and the capture balls flew everywhere but where they were supposed to go. It gave her such a warm feeling of accomplishment to see the various girls getting captured by their own gadgets.

Sailor System dropped off the side of the building and quickly found a pay phone. One call to the police later and she'd be able to get home and get ready for her trip.

One had to have priorities, after all.

She had just picked up the phone when something wrong about it registered.

------

The Legion Of Substitute Senshi realized something was wrong immediately just from the reaction all the guys had. Not to mention the two Senshi.

"Something's wrong!" Sailor Earth said with a frown.

*BOOOM!*

Upon seeing a geyser of flame mixed with lightning streaking skywards from a few blocks away, Sailor Callisto smirked. "I'd say that was a fair call."

"It's Sailor System, she's in trouble," said Doctor Mercury, opening a laptop computer and typing furiously away. "I've got it. Hang on just a minute."

------

Covered with an inorganic polymer that ate away clothing and formed a skintight rigid sheath, Sailor System had been completely immobilized.

That lasted for five seconds at which point two of Sailor System's bad points came into play. One, the big bad Sailor System who had the ginzuishou and the raw mana of most of the solar system singing through her blood, was afraid of the dark. Two, she had a really bad temper. Not like Akane's "pound any available target" (usually Ranma) temper, Sakura was more likely to go find someone in desperate need of a lesson in pain. Combining the two was not a good idea, ie: getting her pissed and scared at the same time, then providing her with a target to vent on was not something you wanted to do if having all your body parts connected was something you wanted to continue with.

She wasn't normally claustrophobic, but being in a skintight dark cage where she couldn't move was something that really began to get to her. She slammed open the connection to the ginzuishou, brought in full power channels from her planets, and to bloody hell in giblets with the consequences.

------

The capture team knew that the latest polymer couldn't be broken by normal means, to rip it required the sort of physical strength needed to lift entire skyscrapers. The polymer could withstand temperatures of 1500 degrees Celsius, though it had no insulation value. It was shockproof, waterproof, and airtight. They'd have to cut away the seal over the mouth and gag the prisoner, but that was the sort of thing they were well practiced in.

As long as she couldn't say anything, she couldn't shape the magic and would be helpless.

Except that along her chest, the polymer was bubbling and hissing and a bright light was showing.

The capture team sprayed additional layers of polymer. Capture the patient first, then she could be brought to the institute and treated. All those nasty antisocial tendencies could be eliminated, possibly via mindwipe if it proved necessary. If she was a little oxygen deprived in the meantime, so what?

Polymer boiled away from the spattered girl, disrupting the streams of solidifying goo. Naked, floating, and wreathed in flames, Sailor System snarled and raised a hand.

The capture teams moved in, intent on capturing this clearly dangerous patient.

Too filled with fear and rage to even realize what she was doing, System focussed her powers. "Big Bang."

--------

*BOOM!* *BLAM!* *BOOM!*

Uranus got to the intersection and stared. As the others caught up, they also stared.

Well, except for Doctor Mercury, who was still in the parking lot and playing with his computer.

Racer Uranus noticed the figure at the center of the devastation and was suddenly glad they'd never fought full out for real.

The asphalt of the road was burning, reduced to melted slag around the naked form walking down the street. Bodies littered the ground as well as little piles of smouldering ash that might have once been bodies.

There was a very large crater that enveloped the street further down.

Several girls with large guns were shooting at the glowing girl. Her hand came to point at them and the remains of the capture team became pillars of flame.

"Waaagghh!" Tuxedo Moon managed to say, seeing something that looked more like a war movie than a sentai battle.

Sailor System turned and stalked towards them. Discharges of various energies not quite concealing her as she moved closer.

Everyone backed up slightly as she approached, raising her hand again as if to smite these insects before her.

There was a visible click of recognition and the girl stopped discharging, just before her eyes rolled up and she started falling forward.

Naturally, Venus and Jupiter both started forward. What was surprising was for Uranus to grab the girl before she could land on Doctor Mercury and start running off with her.

"Huh?! What?" Mercury looked startled.

Neptune knew Uranus better. "No. He *wouldn't*."

The chase was fast but they all reached there in time to see Sailor System being loaded into a sort of coffin and then the van racing off. Leaving Uranus to face the others.

"It's *her* fault," Uranus yelled at them. "Once she's gone it'll all be over. She won't get in our way ever again!"

"You sold her out?" Doctor Mercury scowled at the larger man. "Do you know what they'll do to her?"

"Rape her mind then rape her body then put her on display as a sextoy." Uranus blinked. "Your point, *little* man?"

Uranus was strong. Uranus was tough. Uranus lasted almost five minutes of beating from the rest of the Knights.

Not that any of them were able to convince him that he was wrong, of course.

-------

Sailor Saturn held her Glaive up. Those who assaulted her would not get through the Silence Wall.

Sailor Earth held her Earth Sceptre up, ready to reinforce the Wall.

Still, how long could they hold out if Sailor System had fallen?

Upon seeing an anti-magic field being constructed around them, they knew - not long enough.

The new Senshi had transformed back to human, hopefully they'd escaped.

------

She bade her time well. Those who had captured the Senshi were using Archdemon level anti magic seals. They were using very advanced polymers and had obviously researched each of their targets very well. They used highly developed weaponry, as evidenced by their defeat of several other superhumans.

That they specialized in capturing superheroines and employed several supervillains showed their dedication to "curing" their patients.

Morgana Le Fay was not exactly a young teenager to act rashly. As they could block even goddesses of first class or lower from utilizing magic, simply going in and crushing them with spells was not an option. If martial arts alone were of use, then Sakura would have gotten free on those skills.

However, she didn't need to be alone and she didn't need to be a front line fighter. That the other side had a powerful archimage on their side *did* make this her business, but Merlin never led a charge into battle either.

"They've used EMP and nanotechnology dissolvers to paralyze or disable other cyborgs and androids, then have reprogrammed them as just more security guards," Morgana warned. "Same with near humans and some humans they've deemed useful. So you're going to see people who would normally be your allies who will put you in a kill or be killed situation. Not a preferred circumstance, but if you're defeated know that they'll cheerfully haul you off - your maiden circuits erased and reprogrammed to be just more loyal guardians. Whether your soul is electronic or spiritual, you're just seen as raw material to be processed."

Sabre Marionette Mercury nodded. "Combat parameters loaded. Scan results indicate that they are down to four EMP cannon, seven rifles equipped with dissolver missiles. Recommendation is for a blitzkrieg assault. No mercy asked or given, self destruct charges ready in the eventuality of capture."

"We fight!" Sabre Marionette Jupiter insisted. "Jupiter Armor, Suit UP!"

--------

Kasumi enjoyed being helpful. No, actually it was more accurate to say that she *needed* to be useful. A basic component of her personality was that she needed to be busy, and she enjoyed routine tasks of a nonthreatening/traditional nature. Losing herself in a routine much as if it were a meditation exercise. In Kasumi's case, following the death of her mother, she had thrown herself into taking up all the household maintenence tasks and the role of mother to her two younger sisters. Housework had become her mantra, it centered her and allowed her to contribute.

As housework was not necessary in the base, Fess hadn't been sure exactly *what* she could do to be useful until her father relented and allowed the Tendo girls to return home.

Since the meeting with Doctor Tofu had apparently not gone well, Kasumi had returned in a state of high anxiety - though you needed medical scanners to be able to determine this. Fess had determined that Kasumi needed a task to do, and to feel useful, but her skill base was definitely not in anything that couldn't be handled elsewhere.

The central computer that was Fess checked a few things and decided to try something relatively simple that could have been accomplished much more efficiently by remotes, but that should be sufficiently interesting to the nineteen year old that she could distance herself from whatever was stressing her. Mnemonic teachers could then give her the option of learning other skills overnight if she still wanted to be of use and the aforementioned father was still being a pain in the butt.

"Bracer Of Osiris?" "Uhm, check."

Due to having robotic devices that could scan for magical wavelengths and travel enormous distances, various "lost" items were being gathered to the base. The lack of information about magic was seen by both Fess and the various marionettes as a major problem. As well as a potentially useful database considering the spells that Greylle had demonstrated previously.

"Philosopher's Stone?" "Yes. It's here. I mean 'check'."

Of course, the information that orichalcum could block magic had meant synthesizing the compound, putting the items collected into cages made of the substance, and then helpfully enscribing the names of the devices upon the cages.

"Statue of Miao Nyan Mew?" "Oh my, it looks a little like Akane. Check."

So having Kasumi help inventory the magical items already collected meant that she could feel useful without actually doing that much.

"Ark of the Covenant?" "Nabiki would like to see this, I think. Check."

As long as Kasumi didn't actually try to handle any of the items in question, she would be safe. It would not do, for example, to have her handle the Statue Of Miao Nyan Mew and turn into a cat as soon as she was scratched by the claws. Or what could potentially happen if she handled the:

"Royal Faerie Circlet?" "Check."

"Necronomicon?" "Check... It appears to have crawled into a corner of its cage and is whimpering?"

"It's all right, Kasumi. It isn't a nice book anyway. Excalibur?" "Check."

"San Greal?" "A wooden cup? Check."

"Durandal?" "Check."

"Jeannie Bottle?" "Check."

"Bastet Medallion?" "Check."

"Talismans of the Rat, Dragon, Ox, Snake, and Horse?" "Uhm, I don't see... oh yes. Check."

Fess did register at several points where it looked like Kasumi wanted to go over and handle a particular object. Just in case there was any evidence that the human was being possessed, a tranquilizer dart was aimed at the girl at all times. So far there had been nothing to indicate such an attempt, though the Necronomicon might have attempted it. Except for the fact that the book was currently surrounded by completely antipathic items. Fess was considering having the item moved into its own storage vault, possibly on Mercury. The odds of setting up anything approaching terraforming on that planet were negligible, and frankly the AI didn't see what the point of colonizing that particular world would be.

"Book of Shin Shi Le?" "Check."

"Fabulous Nightingale?" "How pretty. Check."

"Amulet of Zulo?" "Check."

"Book Of Amun-Ra?" "Check."

"D-Hopper?" "Check."

"Jade Orb Of The Elder Wyrm?" "Ah... Oh, that must be it. Check."

Unfortunately, even with all this, Fess couldn't figure out one thing that Kasumi Tendo could do that really would be useful here. Well, maybe she could work on the gardens being developed on Mars. A human sense of aesthetics might be helpful.

"Aegis Shield?" "Check."

"Wandering Jar?" "Uhm. I don't see it."

"Never mind. We'll check back later. Hell Toupee?" "...check..."

"Lance Of Longinus?" "Oh my. It's very... big. Oh. Check."

Unfortunately, supporting human life on Mars would be rather uncomfortable at this point. Sort of like being in a prison cell. Much of the work was being done under open conditions on Mars, with sealing domes being one of the later stages.

"Spear Of Destiny?" "Doesn't look that impressive. Check."

"Dagger of Kamui?" "Check."

"Mirror Of Rassilon?" "Check."

"Lucky Charms Of Erin?" "Yes."

Fess wondered if it might be advisable to use her in a PR role instead. No, that probably wouldn't do. Initial indications were that Kasumi Tendo preferred a more physical role: keeping her hands busy as it were.

"Rod Of Priapus?" "...that looks rather hentai."

"Cube Of Chaos?" "Check."

"Talking Mirror?" "I'm here." "Oh hello there Mirror-san. Check."

"Monkey Paw Of Really Screwed Up Wishes?" "Check. Is it supposed to have all these spirit wards on it?"

"It's for the best really, Kasumi. Crystal of Feng Long?" "Check."

Several other dozen jobs were considered and discarded. Perhaps she could learn medicine? Humans preferred the human touch in certain venues. Nurse Kasumi?

"Golden Book of Osiris?" "Check."

"Book Of Elven High Sorcery, Unexpurgated Version, Volumn XII?" "Check."

"The enchanted sword 'Foebane'?" "That's what the label says. Check."

"Sceptre Of The Passing Wind?" "Uhm, yes."

That actually might work out fairly well. Personality profiles indicated that 'Nurse' would work out fairly well: it was a traditionally feminine role, full of busy work, had a high amount of usefulness, and was very much in demand outside the base - therefore after practical experience to support the mnemonically enhanced skills Kasumi would be able to find work elsewhere if she so desired. Fess noted to broach the subject later.

"Orb Of Fitful Illumination?" "Check."

"Silver Millenium Big Book Of Secrets?" "Check."

"Amulet Of Hebe." "She says I should wear her? Uhm, check."

"Tell her we'll get back to her on that. Chain Of Command?" "Sorry, Hebe-san. Check."

"The Dead Parrot?" "Are you sure it isn't just stunned? Check. Oh. There's the Wandering Jar!"

"Noted. That should be it. Thank you Kasumi."

Kasumi sighed inwardly. She hoped they could find something interesting for her to do.

---------

The "doctors" at the Grimlok Institute knew well what they had here.

Sailor System was powerful but ultimately human, and therefore she was vulnerable.

The Guardian Of The Ginzuishou was a martial artist and powerful at magic, so several sets of capture teams had been used. Drain off enough of her power in the initial conflict and she could expend her power taking out dummies and drones. Then use poison gas, special magical attacks intended to stun or disorient her, and attack until she collapsed. Then bind her in polymers again, tie her up, and use energy draining equipment to keep her from recovering any.

Then a section of skin would be cleared of the immobilizing polymer. A "Witches Brew" of morphine, sodium pentothal, and curare would be administered. With her psyche under that sort of assault, and helpless in her bonds, repeatedly raping the girl would eventually produce a more pliant mindset.

Of course, her mind afterward would tend to be childlike and her IQ might be lowered a few dozen points, but it was for her own good after all. The poor girl had clearly demonstrated megalomania, an unhealthy fascination for violence, and didn't play well with others. She could not accept her own femininity either, often being terribly tomboyish. She showed signs of being a conservative member of the religious right in many respects. Clearly this was unacceptable and curing her of these tendencies was what was required of any correct thinking health institute such as their own.

The weakly struggling girl was loaded into the capture area and prepped for her treatment. The layers of polymer left her blinded, gasping through her mouth, and unable to move.

Now they just had to close the anti-magic wards around her to keep her from being able to recover her magical reserves.

---------

All of this might have ended badly except for one tiny thing.

Warnas hadn't bothered to overwrite Greylle's file into Sakura as a permanent alteration since he didn't actually have that much trouble with a goody goody dragon as long as he kept to his agreement. So it had been constructed so that it could come apart normally in a number of circumstances because Warnas didn't want to bother with it later.

The wards slamming into place caused Sakura to become Greylle, and as the human form was maintained by an innate magical ability, something occurred.

First the polymer tried to hold. It was stronger than steel and resistant to most forms of energy. Then the room tried to hold. Built to hold superpowered heroines who didn't want to be there, it was composed of steel and reinforced stone and reinforced by both magic and forcefields. Then the building tried to hold. It was a relatively normal building from the outside but was built to be a prison.

In berserk mode, even a young dragon is something to be feared. When the polymer abruptly sundered from an all over attack, the wards were broken a moment later. The Ginzuishou, no longer suppressed, registered that its current host/user was in mortal danger and now had a higher reservoir of mana and ability to tap into such things than Usagi Tsukino had. Less than she would eventually have as Queen Neo-Serenity but as both a young adult dragon and a cleric he had more raw magical power potential than your average teenage magical girl. Even if he didn't normally have any nifty attack phrases.

The Binding snapped back into effect and noted an attack on its Host's identity. A counterattack was started.

A blast of frost was breathed at the reinforced walls. The entire room, including attending physicians, was quickly covered. They shattered as an entirely too cramped dragon flexed and clawed his way out of the room, then the building, then spread wings and roared his unhappiness with the current state of affairs and flew off as royally p.o.'ed as a dragon can get.

Which is pretty darn p.o.'ed.

---------

Seeing a set of warehouses erupt and something large claw its way from them and take off with a screech, one *might* start hitting the Godzilla alarms.

Except that at a "mere" 52 feet in length, this dragon seemed a bit lightweight for those measures. The JSDF (Japanese Self Defense Force) therefore felt they could handle it.

However, each and every man and woman in the JSDF had seen most or all of those Godzilla movies and was quite aware of the usual fate of their fictional brethren.

Once the various gunships, jets, tanks, and troops were able to determine that the big flying reptile was heading *out* of Japan at a fairly good clip - the common consensus was: don't attack it unless it doubled back and started tearing up the real estate. That dragons were not necessarily bad guys in either Chinese or Japanese literature, and that they were rare enough to qualify as an endangered species, were among the points argued with various groundbased officials who were nowhere near the line-of-fire themselves.

By the time everything was straightened out, the dragon wasn't in Japanese airspace anymore and it was dismissed as a moot point.

-------

Fess had mobilized and the remains of the prison were sifted through by government officials who had these really neat dogs that accompanied them. The Emperor and a number of the Diet special committee were quite alarmed at what they found below the surface, with the excavation assisted by "sailor suited warriors of love and justice" even if they happened to be androids.

Of course when some surviving people started using EMP guns among other things on those androids, as well as missiles containing viral programs, magnetic shackles and the like, they were designated enemies. Other androids were found and defeated as well. Some by the Sailor Marionettes, some by android dogs, some by the special strike team selected by the Diet and outfitted by Fess, and even a few by Yuka in her hardsuit.

When the word got out that Mighty Tetsuwan (aka Astro Boy) had disappeared years ago because these people had captured him and gutted his circuitry in order to study his manufacture, the public outcry was considerable. Nor was Tetsuwan the only one.

Not only had their childhood heroes been destroyed, some had been mindwiped and their "corpses" brought back to life under different programming. Enough of this was leaked to the press that the Grimlok Institute would likely be publically lynched if they ever set foot in Japan again.

In the meantime Fess studied their technology so as to better foil it in the future, and those androids that could be salvaged - were salvaged. Though their original programming had been erased in order to impress them as loyal servants of Grimlok, some approximation of the original personality could be made based on old records. In the cases that this was not possible, changing their allegiance from their former Masters to something a bit less criminal was deemed necessary by the government. Fess argued this point: if they had been human such tampering would have been criminal as well as immoral. Simply reprogramming these androids was setting a dangerous precedent.

During all this, Fess was tracking a dragon who obviously was submerged in his rage. This was made more difficult by his tendency to use ley lines to teleport along. Once he came to a halt, Fess notified a few people who might be helpful.

--------

Fess had explained to the various currently male Senshi that in their current forms he wouldn't necessarily recognize them. Otherwise either Minako or Ami *might* have been able to reach him. Explaining that they'd been romantically linked in past lives, and demonstrating with holographic representations of scenes scanned by computers that even Greylle hadn't realized were there. He didn't mention that the Basalt scenes no longer applied among others, or that these had been downloaded from an Yggdrasil FTP-equivelant site for still others.

Andy and the rest of the male Senshi handled the scenes with Princess Jupiter going out with Basalt quite well. Makoto got a few teasing comments on her dumping of Basalt only to try and come back later and pick up where she'd left off.

Setsuna had just *stared* at the tousle-haired satisfied and/or satiated vision of an earlier version of *herself* answering the door. She'd never... had she?! Of course, if she *had* she could have sealed those memories in order to be able to function.

Minako and Usagi flirting shamelessly with their "pet" dragon Orion was also easily handled by the various Senshi. Other than some good natured teasing continuing with different targets.

Rei pursuing the dragon in yet another realm allowed Usagi to payback Rei somewhat.

Then Ami's scene played. Hot springs. Consummation of a marriage. In glorious 3D. Clearly showing how Ami took charge of the situation, kept control all the way, and even though she was clearly embarassed had that look of sheer determination through it all. Then the just absolute and utter contentment displayed by Ami as she cuddled afterwards.

"Uhm, cold shower?" Haruka asked, his voice hoarse. Many nods from others who were clearly at odds on how to handle their reactions.

Fess came to the belated understanding that as they had been male less than a week, the Senshi had very little idea on how to handle natural male reactions to seeing scenes like that.

As Fess activated a trail of lights in the floor to take the boys to the bathing room, the computer was able to at least console himself that none of these guys were going to be up to a long flight leaving immediately.

-------

Hotaru fidgeted. According to Fess, only someone that Greylle-sama trusted completely could reach him when he was in this state. Unfortunately, there weren't many that this could be said to be true about. When Fess had revealed that she was one and the computer's first choice, Hotaru had felt...

Well, she wasn't really that comfortable with the emotions she'd gone through at that statement. The time to sort through those feelings on a long trip had been quite welcome.

The scenes of the other Senshi and her boyfriend had been enlightening. An immediate question asked had been necessary. Had any of them *stayed* with Greylle-san? The answer had been hesitant but no. Fess had mentioned that many of the breakups had been no one's fault but outside forces acting to make the relationships unstable.

Hotaru Tomoe had never known a friend. Never been kissed. Never had a boyfriend. Physically she was sixteen. As far as an education was concerned, she was fourteen. When one subtracted the amount of time she had been possessed by the Mistress Nine entity, she was even younger.

To her, a fiance was someone she'd be with for the rest of her life. Someone to be friends with. The rest of it she technically knew the basics of but it was all so strange. Strange, but now that she was physically sixteen it set up all sorts of odd feelings within her. How could she handle that sort of relationship? Did she want to? Why did her stomach ache?

About three hours into the flight, ignoring Snoopy at the pilot's seat, Hotaru addressed a question to the elaborate wristwatch she'd gotten from Fess. "Fess-sama?"

"Yes, Tomoe-san?" The pleasant voice sounded a little tinny from her watch.

"Do you think that I... I mean do you think that Shard-sempai and I...?"

"I think so," said Fess kindly. "Amaterasu clearly thinks so. In those other lives you and he have gotten along quite well. The only obstacle you face is that he will tend to view you as his little sister unless you manage to break him of that habit."

Hotaru nodded. That had been exactly what Amaterasu had said. How to break that image? Well, other than using the methods that Ami had used in that hologram. Hotaru most definitely did *not* feel up to such drastic steps.

The Goth girl was very uncertain about all this. She was going to rescue her fiance, but it wasn't as if she had a lot of experience in such things.

There wasn't much she could do, after all. Her boyfriend was a dragon, or an alien prince, or an American baseball player, and occasionally a girl.

Hotaru wondered if *anyone* had experience in things like this. It was all so confusing, however she *did* understand part of it. That girl with the short blonde hair and the other one with the green hair were responsible for her sempai turning into a girl, and then losing his mind, and then that blonde girl (currently a guy) was responsible for her sempai getting captured.

Clearly, Hotaru needed to do something about that girl. Possibly something violent considering what she'd overheard about their plans to "deal with" Sailor Saturn.

"Dimensional gate forming at ley line nexus," reported Fess' tinny voice from the watch. "Speculate that suppression of conscious identity by dragonrage is allowing him to escape this universe. Further speculation based on available data indicates he is either heading to a 'home' destination on instinct or to a place which he remembers as being target-rich. In the former case, as he is an Aramarian dragon, likely the Dragonlands west of Nihon in the dimensional nexus of Aramar. In the latter case, I am searching files to determine likely destination."

Hotaru nodded. Unfortunately, if they were going to follow - a lengthy analysis might not be possible.

--------

The Coven of Chaos (or Juuban High Sorcery Club) was stymied.

They had found the "Quick Bucks" spell and cast that on a hat. People passing by felt a minor compulsion to throw their spare change into the hat. One junior member kept an eye on the hat and emptied it occasionally, but it looked like their club would have money to cast some of the more expensive spells soon. *That* wasn't a problem.

Their parents had been influenced by a "Silver Tongued Devil" spell, so those parents now found that they had absolutely no problem with little things like their kids staying overnight elsewhere or having older girlfriends/sexslaves.

They had found the "Image Template" spell and now three of the Witches 5 (Cyprine, Eudial, Terurun) were wearing frilly French Maid outfits. They also had the compulsion to clean and tidy and speak in French accents, but Eudial was *very* bad at faking a French accent so they were thinking of ways to modify it. Mimette was asleep somewhere. She'd been a lousy maid, a worse Playboy bunny, and had recently been punished by Villuy in a scene from the letters column of one of those etchi magazines. Villuy was still a Playboy bunny and none of the club members had had the nerve to tell her to give up the whip yet. Villuy tended to be scary no matter what role they tried to put her in.

None of these really had proven to be a big problem for the Club.

They had recovered some of the magical apparatus from the site of the Grimlok Institute, but hadn't been able to get *too* far because their "Just Part Of The Background" spells had proven ineffective against those dogs and some of the women scientist types. This had been alarming, as it meant there were loopholes and limitations to their powers.

Then there was this whole bit with the daimons. The few daimon eggs that the Witches 5 had brought with them *could* be used, but only for going after worthless "pure hearts" and crap like that. None of the proudly hentai members of the Juuban High Sorcery Club were satisfied with *that*.

When one of the members got the idea of combining the "Image Template" spell with a daimon seed and creating a more appropriate daimon for their purposes, it had seemed an ingenious solution. Having five girls and seven guys didn't strike the guys as being a good situation. More girls was clearly the solution.

Unfortunately, the first daimon created had been "Lingerie Knight!" Asking her to demonstrate her powerful attack had been the first mistake. Haru, now Harumi, had not been at all pleased with the results. After putting up with a lot of high pitched yelling, Shingo had cast an "Image Template" and now Harumi was a lot happier with the situation. Now if they could just get her out of the bathroom.

Worse even than Harumi locking herself in the bathroom was that Lingerie Knight had looked over the pictures of Sailor System and had declared that she understood her mission now. Then she'd teleported away.

What *really* frustrated the Coven was that they hadn't been able to send anyone along to get photos.

-------

Fess determined from the data available *where* Greylle and Hotaru had gone. Finding the file, he realized that his Master had gone to a plane that had been forbidden him - where even powerful elven mages might find the odds daunting.

This could be bad, realized Fess. Of course, worked into a dragonrage, it might well be that he'd needed to find a target - in which case rescuing someone dear to him while facing overwhelming odds *was* perfectly in character.

Having the coordinates, Fess quietly set about getting and sending reinforcements.

-------

Uranus had been sure, as had a few others, that there was nothing to this bit about the dragon having known them in other lives and other worlds. There was no way that dragon-boy could have faced the sort of menaces that they had had to face, much less worse foes than they had.

As the boys stepped out of the dimensional transport tunnel, doubts not only materialized but threatened to overwhelm them.

"Confirmed," said Sailor Marionette Mercury. "This is Imperial Earth. Japan has conquered most of the known world. Imperial Rome at its worst, combined with psychics, demonology, magic, high tech weaponry, and a complete disregard for life that is not Japanese in heritage."

Everyone listened but was mainly staring.

Roaring in continued rage, the silver dragon ripped out the throat of a summoned demon and flew on to the next one.

Sailor Saturn stood on the deck of the yellow submarine and fired off attacks that slammed into summoned demons and flying sorcerers. The brief flickering of some defensive shield brunted fireballs sent towards the Senshi of Silence.

"Confirming that the two other figures are dimensional analogues of Shard-sama. Origin plane unknown," Marionette Mercury informed the group. "As this is the case, we know where he's going."

"Where is that?" Doctor Mercury pulled out her own computer and began working with it.

"There is an analogue of Setsuna Meiou present. The Imperial scientists who determined she had a prescient ability put her through several experiments to isolate the capability. That this shattered her mind and left her a drooling vegetable has weighed on Shard-sama since he ran across the record." The marionette continued scanning variables as the last of their group finally made it across the tunnel. "He is going to attempt a rescue on this version of Setsuna Meiou despite the fact that most of the people in this world are irredemably evil by the standards of your own world. Ami Mizuno, for example, is a member of Imperial Security who uses her knowledge of anatomy and medicine in order to efficiently torture her victims into confessing. Whether they are guilty of the crimes they are accussed of or not."

"...confirmed..." Doctor Mercury was able to find a version of his original self, and a scan of the room she was in. Doctor Mercury then went to a corner of the roof and was violently ill.

Makoto pointed at one of the flying figures. "WHAT is that?!" ~And how can I get *me* one of those?~

The figure darting in midair was using a glowing green ring to materialize green giant hammers to batter down flying sorcerers.

"THAT, as you put it, is one of the dimensional analogues mentioned earlier," the android Mercury stated. "Scan determines that he is wearing a Green Lantern power ring, an Arisian Lens, and has a Darkover Matrix Stone. Alpha Class esper. The other one appears to be Son Goku but an overdimensional scan reveals that he is actually Shard-sama in yet another incarnation."

The ringbearer's other hand flared and a psi-sword appeared in it long enough to slash a few demonic entities to hash.

The other analogue brought cupped hands forward. "Kame hame HA!" A particularly large demon turned to flying fragments.

Then the next wave rose up all around them and the time for observation was past. (2)

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(1) The Grimlok Institute was inspired by the Grimbor Institute, one of those strange webpages i run into occasionally. While it mainly struck me as strange, twisted, and with a complete disregard for anatomical basics (such as circulation or how the heck the victim's skin would breathe, sweat, etc.) or commonly held psychological practices - and i've got *major* problems with the destruction of personalities of androids (hacking their ghosts to use a Ghost In The Shell ref), it also seems at least somewhat original and that the webmeisters/artists had some fun. However, they would make GREAT villains. Particularly considering that most of their staff is of a villainous nature. One also has to wonder what would happen when the next Menace appears and all the actual Menace-Stompers are currently undergoing psychological reduction.

(2) Despite Jurai Knight's comments in the past about the sort of fics found on my fanfiction.net page, his "Quantum Destinies" is a good read, and a slight dimensional variant of his Imperial Japan seemed in order as a target-rich environment. As permission to use his setting wasn't likely regarding those earlier comments, this is a very altered variant.