Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Soldier's Duty ❯ Know yourself ( Chapter 9 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

A Soldier's Duty

Chapter 9 4th Labor,

DISCLAIMER: Naoko Takeuchi created most of these characters and the general setting. Bill Hart created Spells R Us. Ranma crew by Rumiko Takahashi. Jared Saotome by White Pheonix. Lots of mess by metroanime@mindspring.com

"How can you come to know yourself? Never by thinking, always by doing. Try to do your duty, and you'll know right away what you amount to." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

--------

Four statues dreamed. It wasn't like there was a lot else they could do at the time. It wasn't like Sailors Mercury, Venus, Mars, or Jupiter had actually *planned* to look a medusa in the eyes. It was cold and dark and not a lot of fun. There wasn't much awareness of anything going on outside their stony prisons.

Though Sailor Mars was quite aware that there were two ravens sitting on her head.

Well, at least they were keeping the pigeons away.

-------

"Phobos? Deimos? What are you two doing?"

The twins looked up and made shushing motions to Princess Mars. Curious, she got closer to peer around the window and see what the two littler girls had been watching. "oh. Him."

"Shhhh. Princess! It's tragic," said Phobos.

"Tragic it is," agreed Deimos.

Princess Mars looked around the corner again. "It's just that Basalt person. I don't care what Coral says, he's still a country bumpkin. What's tragic about him." Working out with some odd serrated short sword in a flowing kata. Something indicated to the Princess that the weapon wasn't familiar to him.

"You don't know, my Princess?" Phobos asked. "The tragedy is of the Shield."

"The tragedy is of his heart," said Deimos with a nod.

"Heart or shield?" The Princess asked. These two, her personal handmaidens, were being deliberately obtuse. Which, actually, happened quite often. If they weren't doing this they were finishing each others sentences or something equally annoying.

Phobos let out a deep sigh and began to lecture the older girl. "The mission? Everyone was talking about it."

"The Alien Derelict," supplied Deimos.

"He was involved in *that!*" Rei put both hands over her mouth, then snuck a look back in the gym. "And he's not whimpering in a corner, hasn't pulled his eyes out of his sockets, or something similar? Well, that *is* kind of impressive..."

"Twenty five of the best soldiers went in," remarked Phobos. "Three Knights. The Senshi of Vulcan."

"Six came out," added Deimos. "Four were incurably insane and have since died."

"A Senshi of a minor planetoid, and the Knight Of Fear has *always* been crazy." Princess Mars discounted. Though the story had made the rounds that the Knight Of Valor had been singing about purple dinosaurs as teleported into the sun.

"Obsidian was one of the two survivors," remarked Phobos. "Basalt was the other. For one charged with the duty of guarding the Royal Nursery, even small missions were painful. For him to be banned..."

"...tragic." Deimos summed up.

"Silliness," said Princess Mars. ~Besides, it is the Knight Of Duty who guards the Royal Nursery. Not some esper Marine.~ "So what about the Shield?"

"Heart's Shield," said Phobos. "So long as the wielder's heart is true, the shield cannot be broken."

"And so with his heart broken, he has left the Shield behind," finished Deimos. "That the next Knight, whoever he be, may yet wield it in defense of his Kingdom."

"The Queen did bestow upon him the sword in recognition of his service, and to cover the loss of the Shield," put in Phobos.

"How tragic yet romantic," the twins said in unison.

"Oh," said Rei, then suddenly realized she was herself again and not the long dead Princess.

Except that Deimos and Phobos were still there.

"If the Shield survived," said Phobos, "then his heart healing will bring it back."

Deimos nodded, then winked at Rei. "Mind you, if Mercury dismisses the Knight..."

"Then maybe we'll take him!" The twins giggled.

Rei looked out at the darkness surrounding her as the twins changed back to the familiar ravens and left. "Okay, this has been surreal enough."

-------

Princess Venus was being kissed. Minako wasn't sure who, but he was very very good at it. Then as she came up for air, she saw who it was and Minako screamed. Or tried to. Unfortunately she was just along for the ride and felt her lips curve into a smile instead. "What was that for?"

Malachite smirked and shrugged. "Tell me, Venus, what's your Uncle doing here?"

"Uncle Bas?!" Venus perked up and started looking around.

"Hey, you're with me, remember?" Malachite's grip on her arm tightened briefly.

Venus piroutted a little. "Hah! The great general Malachite, wooer of thousands of women, jealous of my uncle?"

"I stopped when I found my Princess," said Malachite with a disarming smile. "And frankly I could have seen the two of you getting together. You're not *that* closely related."

"Not as close as *we* are gonna be," promised Princess Venus, moving closer again. It was a pity that the earlier self couldn't hear her future self, as Minako Aino was making all sorts of noises and comments in an effort not to participate in these events.

--------

Mercury had been curious after meeting with Basalt, and had gone after further information. Mars had broken up with Jadeite. Venus had been left without a word by Malachite. Jupiter had likewise seperated with that astrologer, Nephrite, though they broke up repeatedly. Meanwhile she got stuck with Zoicite, though their duties kept them seperate.

While it was nice to have someone around, she'd have preferred knowing with what gender you were going to wake up with in bed with you in the morning.

Not to mention some of Zoicite's weird habits. Kinkiness of *that* extent, well, Mercury had some trouble relating to the General. Such that she considered just calling the whole thing off, good relations with the Earth kingdom to the side. After all, she hadn't seen the General for over a month now.

Not quite at the level of the Generals were the Knights. It might be intriguing to pursue that Nebula fellow. See what details she could worm out of him. Besides, after Zoicite having someone reliable and stable around was *quite* appealing.

Maybe after this Ball given for the Princess and that Prince Endymion fellow. There was something going on, and all the Senshi were to attend. Mercury didn't know what, but there would be time to consider this matter later. Of course she'd have plenty of time...

-------

Jupiter sighed and looked out over the glittering lights of the Moon Kingdom. Her on-again, off-again, relationship with Nephrite was currently off again. Since then she'd briefly pursued three or four guys. One of which had been a serious relationship.

She'd briefly hung around Sehan (Igneous) but while the boy was amusing, his utter lack of intelligence got to her after awhile. That had been three days. She'd toyed with pursuing Bennu, but admitted that the perfectionist made her feel inadequate in some respects. Two weeks of being among *his* crowd of admirers. A brief liason with a courier whose name she'd already forgotten. Two days, he just hadn't delivered. Then there'd been Basalt, who had been the sort of rock you could lean on in troubled times. Problem with him: utter lack of "studliness" and he'd still been moping about the Queen cutting him loose. Almost two months there, though he'd almost gotten over Serenity at that point. She'd gone after Narcissus then, but it quickly became obvious that he'd barely noticed - he was too into admiring himself to pay much attention to the world around him. Three days before she'd given up on him as a lost cause.

Naturally, after Narcissus turned out to have a personality that would bore a rock, Jupiter had gone after Basalt again - to pick up where she'd left off. When Sailor Pluto had opened the door to his quarters...

Jupiter had later learned that nothing had happened. Pluto's local dwelling had been getting sprayed and refurbished. She'd stayed over. A week after the two started "being friends" Pluto was assigned her duties as the Guardian Of The Gate Of Time. Off Pluto went, leaving Basalt alone again.

Jupiter had been ready to go after Basalt once again, at least he was more reliable than Nephrite and didn't spend a lot of time talking about heavenly bodies. (If he did, Jupiter felt pretty sure he'd have been talking about her. Unlike Nephrite.) Except that Basalt had left, wandering the System as if to look for something. Then another five years with an on-off relationship with Nephrite. Then off again, apparently permanently. Finally bringing her here.

Alone again, naturally.

There were many times the Princess Jupiter regretted going after Narcissus, letting herself be swayed by Nephrite's confidence and aura, or just her own plain tendency to scare guys off.

She wondered what had happened to Basalt, aka Nebula, alias the Knight Of Duty. Had he found someone, or did he wander the system still on his self-appointed vigil? Was duty now his only concern or did he still long for the sort of completeness that comes from two souls joining - something he'd confessed to her two days before she'd caught sight of Narcissus.

Turning, Princess Jupiter walked up the stairs towards the balcony, still so deep in thought that she didn't notice the soldier she passed along the way.

Makoto Kino's dream self yelling that she had just passed that very Knight was unnoticed.

--------

"-So you see the problem?-" Mamoru said to the boy he was helping support.

"-Yeah,-" croaked Grey. "-Turning 'em back from Senshi mode might free them from the petrification.-"

Kumori Mizuno looked over the statue that she understood to be her daughter and decided she'd broach the subject about having her daughter study in America. All they had to worry about was muggers and the like, hardly anyone got turned to stone over there. At least it hadn't happened on any episode of that imported show "Cops" that she'd seen.

"-Uhm, you look better than you did, how... -" Mamoru wasn't sure how to bring this up.

"-Infusion of chi. Don't know from where. i need more rest to make use of it, but i agree this is a priority.-" Grey let go of where Doctor Mizuno was helping to support her in order to place his fingers up against Mercury's tiara. "-It's the way of the Silver Millenium warriors to discover or remember new things in a moment of need and stress. So i remembered this when they were at that bar.-
Warrior, thy duty's done,
Be now at peace, the course is run,
The battle's fought, thy course was true,
Rest, warrior, till summoned anew."

There was a brief flaring of light at the point of contact, then Ami slumped forward to be caught by Usagi. "AMI-CHAN!"

"-Are you up to this?-" Mamoru looked at the trembling boy. "-You look kind of pale.-"

"-Best to be done quickly, then just let me sleep here please. i am *not* going to be able to make it much further under my own power.-" Grey motioned towards the next one, Sailor Jupiter.

Sailor Jupiter was transformed back, then Venus, and finally Mars. By then, the sometimes Soldier Of Duty looked like he was nearly walking dead.

"Usagi, what?" The three transformed soldiers started asking questions while Mamoru managed to carry the fallen Knight into Rei's room.

Usagi, with commentary from Ami's mother, filled the three in on the events. Another new Senshi, Hotaru was some sort of Senshi herself, Ami's fiance had proven again that he wasn't just another "needs to be constantly rescued from yoma attacks" boy (Something that happened on TV magical girl series way too often), the interview on the way out with that Agent Shi who seemed really really interested in hearing about Crystal Tokyo and longrange plans of the Senshi, and finally Usagi closed with a tearful hug of Rei wailing about how she had been so afraid they'd never see each other again. Though if Rei had remained a statue, Usagi had promised she'd come out and clean the pigeon droppings off her every week at least!

Rei had been getting all Warm And Fuzzy until that last remark, but uncharacteristically decided she'd not say something short and nasty at the moment.

"Damn. We owe him again," Minako said, casting a sideways glance at Ami. "Girl, if you don't want your fiance, let someone else have a chance."

Ami blinked at Minako, not able to think of a suitable reply right on the moment.

"Excuse me, Rei?" Mamoru came out, still carrying Grey in a fireman's carry. "Where's all your things?"

Rei sighed. "I wanted to tell you all about this earlier, but everything I had is missing. It's like the shrine was abandoned months ago."

"The other statues are being held in protective custody," said Dr. Mizuno. "It's nearly four o'clock. Might I suggest everyone that has to be home get there?"

"Rei-chan, I've got a spare futon, ya can bunk with me," Makoto indicated.

"Oh no, I've got to... study," Ami nearly choked on that last word, glancing sadly at her fiance. Not that he noticed as he was unconscious again.

------

Elsewhere in Tokyo:

Haruka and Michiru were into hot and heavy kissing action working up to steamier topics when a child crawled onto their bed and spoiled the mood entirely, with about the same effectiveness and surprise value as a bucket full of icy cold water would've.

"Hi!" He announced, seating himself on Michiru's stomach. "I'll be staying with you. Can you read me a story?" The child asked, presenting a childrens book to Haruka.

The Outers were a little too busy gaping like fish to react much. After swallowing several times Michiru blurted out (trying to sit up but finding that difficult with him seated on her belly). "Who are you??!"

The child shrugged. "I'm the Knight of Reason, and I think you two were being very naughty. I think it comes from being lonely on those outer planets that you're senshi of. Queen Serenity should have invited you to more parties where you could get out and meet guys."

Haruka HAD a response to the original intrusion but it pretty much died a horrid death at that last couple of statements. She wasn't sure if Michiru would appreciate what she *wanted* to say regarding that very last statement, at least in front of a child.

Seeing their reaction was going to hold the child opened his book and began to read. "Once upon a time there was a great Moon Kingdom... Aaaahhh!!"

Michiru had sat up with great force, sending the kid flying. Haruka was out of bed pouncing on the little critter when at once the tables turned. When he had tickled them both into submission the child resumed reading, seated on the pile of exhausted and helpless Sailors. "I'll skip to the good part 'cause it's past my bedtime... To safeguard these three talismans two Senshi volunteered to hide them in their hearts so they would always be there if need arose, but never be easy for an enemy to find or steal. Those senshi were Neptune and Uranus. The third talisman was stored in another soldier's heart." The child yawned. "Queen Serenity taught them how to take the items and store them in their pure hearts, drawing them out with certain words, or if those three hearts were joined in case the words were lost. Those words..." Chibi Jared blinked in tiredness and yawned again, closing the book.

"It's past my bedtime and I'm sleepy. Would one of you tuck me in?"

He pretty much expected their reaction.

Unfortunately neither of them could read the book and Jared was, by then, apparently curled up asleep on Haruka's middle back.

Michiru went for an air horn to wake him up with.

Elsewhere, a certain goddess of J-pop traced one of the intrusion lines and activated a preset sequence.

Michiru and Haruka were wondering how to wake the child up (Haruka at this point being for dangling the tyke outside the window by one leg, and Michiru was debating whether throwing the little boy in the pool would suffice) when they nearly jumped out of their slippers at *another* strange event. This one being a pillar of pink light stabbing down out of the ceiling to surround the little boy.

Said little boy bounced up, then bounced off the insides of the pink wall. "Oh puckernuts."

Michiru paused thoughtfully at the music playing in the background. Watching as the light retreated *with* the little boy. "Handel's Messiah," she identified, "though I've never heard it played with synthesizers and electric guitars before."

Another pink light bloomed, revealing an indistinct angel. "We're very sorry for the inconvenience. Please continue to throw your efforts into hunting the wrong persons if you like. Again, we're sorry for this intrusion. Fare thee well."

Seeing the "angel" about to disappear, along with any clues as to what was going on, Haruka shifted to Sailor Uranus with greater speed than she ever had and commenced with a "WORLD SHAKING!"

The blast was perfect, just as powerful as anything she'd ever thrown. The explosion from this close managed to throw both Michiru and Sailor Uranus herself back against the far wall.

The angel frowned but showed absolutely no sign of hurt. Their bedroom, however...

Their heavenly visitor took a deep breath, visibly counted to ten, then smiled. "All right, in any case..."

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" Michiru had transformed to Sailor Neptune while the angel counted to ten. Another explosion.

The girl hovered there above the gaping pit blown into their penthouse by the two attacks. "All righty then." At that point a large section of roof collapsed over her head.

"Again?" Sailor Neptune asked.

"Again!" Sailor Uranus replied, summoning her attack.

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" "WORLD SHAKING!"

The dust cleared again. There still wasn't any visible damage to the being's clothing. Her temper, however, was clearly on life support. "That, freaking, DOES IT! Turning the other cheek is one thing, but I, Amaterasu Omikami, am not a damn practice dummy!"

"WORLD-O..." Haruka was ready to try again, maybe if she pushed her attack.

"NOVA FLARE!"

There were panicked calls into every radio station and newspaper in Tokyo about a nuclear weapon being used on that tower. Even though the damage was far too concentrated and light, the intensity of the flash could obviously not be anything else. The explosions seen beforehand were troubling. The initial investigation concluded that explosive devices were being stored in the penthouse, and an APB went out for the two registered occupants of that penthouse.

The flare of magical energies was enough to wake up a certain Setsuna Meiou, who realized that she really ought to get out of this closet before someone got entirely the wrong impression about her.

-------

Appearing at the terrace of a large hotel, another copy of a certain Chibi-Mage assessed the situation.

Practically everyone had fled from this close to the invaders. Further back you could see the tide of humanity observing.

The exception was a teenage rock band nearby that were just staring with open mouths.

"How come you haven't evacuated?" Chibi-Jared asked.

"Ow wow. A hobbit? Cool!" The lead guitarist took the appearance of Chibi-Jared in stride. "I figure we must be stoned out of our minds, otherwise I'd be scared sh*tless, little dude."

The diminiutive mage shrugged. It took all kinds he supposed.

Jared considered the forces arrayed against him. Four AT-AT units moving like some huge Pleistocene herd. Two of the smaller Scout AT units. Sixty white clad Stormtroopers with laser rifles. Darth Vader.

Obviously, he wanted to go one-on-one with Vader. The problem was that the various forces surrounding the Sith Lord would not be happy with him just going up and challenging their General.

Throwing up a hand, Jared cast Monster Summoning, hoping for a swarm of distractions that would allow him a few minutes of light saber battle with his chosen opponent.

The Pheonix Mage was aware of his god markings flaring to life as he cast the spell. Something to do with his position as god of crossovers, but what? Oh... Oh dear.

"RrrraaaaaaaaaaaRONK!" *THOOM!* *THOOM!*

Jared blinked. "Uhm. Okay. Maybe this is overkill."

Godzilla (or Gojira if you prefer) roared again and started running forward towards the lead AT-AT.

"Or maybe not," mused Jared. Hmmm.

The drummer yelled. "Let's get ready to rrrruummmbleee!"

"Hey dudes, there's a perfect song for this," the guitarist said and started playing as the havoc commenced.

"With a purposeful grimace and terrible sound,
he pulls the spitting high tension wires down!"

Godzilla bodyslammed one of the AT-AT units, knocking it over onto its side. "RrrrraaaaRONK!"

"Helpless people on subway trains,
scream bug-eyed as he looks in on them."

Chibi-Jared teleported, the Imperial Forces were in sufficient turmoil that his duel was possible now. Which was a pity, as he completely missed seeing Godzilla do a spinning back kick that completely removed the head of one of the other AT-ATs.

"He picks up a bus and he throws it back down,
As he wades through the buildings towards the center of town."

"RrrrraaaaaaRONK!"

*Visshhhhhhhh!* "So, short one, you seek to challenge a Sith Master?"

Chibi-Jared drew a sword that was a bit too large for his current form. "Only a Master of bad dialogue, Vader!"

"Oh no, they say he's got to go,
Go go Godzilla!"

-------

Sailor Uranus realized that she was alive. Dead couldn't possibly hurt this much. "Ne-nephune?!"

"Unnngh?"

Sailor Uranus let out a sigh of relief. Except it sounded more like a moan of pain. Slowly she tried to open her eyes, convinced that someone had parked a moving van on top of them. "Ummmm. Can ooo fee anyfing?" Sailor Uranus became aware that her lips were swollen, her skin felt raw as if she had a massive sunburn, and all she was seeing was pink light.

"Fweeeh." Sailor Neptune tried to speak, then reached out with her tongue and waggled a tooth. Then abruptly lost her Senshi transformation as her mana pool had dropped below the level to keep her transformed. "Owie."

Sailor Uranus felt her lose her own transformation, and realized that she was lying on a concrete floor, wearing her pajamas with the little racecars on them. "Oh cwum..."

Michiru blinked repeatedly, regaining a bit of sight, and slowly peeled herself off the wall she'd imbedded in. "We appear to be in an office building in Kyoto."

"What? Thah cann be wight."

"I may have trouble seeing at the moment, but that *looks* like Nijojo Castle there."

"Uhnnnn?"

"Haruka-chan," Michiru put this delicately as she felt exhaustion rolling over her, "might I suggest that next time we attack someone who proclaims herself to be Amaterasu, that we apologize profusely?"

"Unnn?"

"For one thing she burned calligraphy on the floor stating that the next time she won't be as gentle." Michiru settled down on a bare spot, she just needed to rest a moment. That was all.

"Ahhh."

-------

"Amaterasu!"

"Hey, they're the ones who started it!"

-------

"...lo-bu ho-te-ru..."

As one might imagine, this rather effectively caught Kumori Mizuno's attention, even with the wildly differing shifts she'd been working this week. Even at 6am. Well, this would finally put those rumors about her daughter being a violent maniac who hated her fiance to rest. She stopped with her door to the main room ajar and continued to listen.

"I object!" That was Hotaru's voice. "You should not go alone. What if it's a trap? Besides, you're still heavily injured."

"I object as well. You should have a chaperone." Kumori couldn't place *that* voice at all.

"Hmmm? Sure this isn't an excuse for you and 'La Blue Girl' to undergo some horizontal grappling practice?" Another unfamiliar voice?

"Slowly please. Words trouble making out i am."

"You better have trouble 'making out' - what will your parents think?"

"I-I-I-I-I'm not sure about this! I'm sorry!"

"-Ami-chan, like i said, it's got some of those peculiar feelings. i think it's worth checking out in case it's a lead to the people who attacked Hotaru's pop.-"

Dr. Mizuno couldn't avoid smirking at the possible meanings of the phrase "peculiar feelings."

-------

A woman with long dark hair (highlights of green) held up a newspaper article. "-By the way, have you seen the names named herein?-"

"-Puu-chan? i have no clue for kanji.-"

"-If you'll look here,-" said the woman with a sultry expression and pointing to a particular place on the article, "-there is the name Meiou. Why, what an amazing coincidence. That's *my* name.-"

"What's the old lady saying?" Hotaru asked, not sure why someone so much older would be acting interested in *her* sempai.

"'old lady'" repeated Setsuna with a wince. "That's not very nice, *little* girl."

"-Ami, you ought to come with me. We still don't know what'll happen when you transform to Sailor Mercury - but your visor and computer should work. Between my chain and your visor we ought to be able to get better readings from the inside.-"

"Oh," said a few people with tones ranging from disappointment to relief.

Grey glanced up. "-Hey, Puu... i mean Sailor Pluto. Aren't those the red shield earrings that...-"

"-...you gave me that night just before I was summoned to see the Queen?-" Setsuna's smile was somehow reminiscent of a feline. "-Why, as a matter of fact. Yes, they are.-"

Ami looked up at the earrings. Then realized, for some reason that completely escaped her, that she was clenching her jaw.

Switching back to Japanese, Grey continued. "Per doctor's orders, school from stay i must. Will instead school other visit many foreigners where congregate."

There was some working out of that from the native Japanese speakers. "A school for other non-Japanese? Ah," said Ami. Well, that would at least cut down on some of the rumors.

"Agree though. Should not go alone. So who go with me to love hotel?" Grey wondered why every girl present turned immediately red.

"I shall go," interposed Ami, recovering first. "After all, Shard-san, we are engaged."

Grey felt the sudden grip Ami had put on his arm and wondered why Ami had latched on like that. Could this mean? No, surely not. Right?

---------

The girl looked at the newspaper and frowned thoughtfully. Part One had revealed this boy from America, who had ties of honor from two generations previous linking him to some cram school ace. Part One had revealed just enough to spark a storm of differing opinions.

Part Two looked to do the same. Other arrangements had been made within a decade. Sebastian Shard had apparently been a bit heroic, quite intelligent, and by all accounts had never understood how serious some of the pledges and vows had been. He had made an assumption that these reactions would all blow over. Proving that one could live in Japan over a decade, and still not understand the Japanese.

The girl continued to read and frown. Her mother's maiden name had been Katsuragi. Of her branch of the family, there was only one child she knew of. Herself.

Looking out the station window she considered. The comments against the engagement of someone as "valuable" as Ami Mizuno seemed to focus on that aspect of the arrangement.

She had spent years pursuing vengeance. After folding the paper under an arm, Ukyo Kuonji stepped on to the train. She'd just scout out this. Her honor depended on vengeance, but maybe... maybe she had something else to live for besides vengeance?

-----------

Celeste did make a good simulation. In fact, this one was almost her child simply in terms of sheer obsessive work that she'd spent putting it together.

When the word had come down that a simulated reality was needed for the Fourth Labor, due to problems (interference) that had occurred in prior Labors, Celeste had expressed moderate interest in the concept. When she'd started on it she had begun developing more and more enthusiasm as she went into areas that normally she wouldn't have even considered.

When she was done, it was a labor all right. A labor of love. She'd gotten input from Saint Vidicon and a number of others, but the final result had been completely hers. She'd built the programs which had built the programs which followed her parameters to spin the scenario.

Even the completely computer simulated characters had a past. Those who were inserted into the simulation, even more detail had been developed.

Sakura Shinguchi sat before her elders, head bowed. Her great grandfather and great grandmother's photos on the shrine before her and behind her mother and grandmother. Reminding her of that earlier Sakura - her likeness and namesake who had fought demons in turn-of-the-century Tokyo.

"He has come. Ancient honor ties call you to Tokyo, my daughter."

"But... he's Americajin?" Sakura didn't understand this part. How could an ancient honor tie be to a foreigner when the Japanese had been *very* isolationist up until (comparitively) recently.

"Nobody's perfect," declared Sakura's mother, snapping her fan open. "What is the mission of our clan?"

"To slay demons and devils and long leggedy beasties that go bump in the night," said Sakura automatically.

"To that end," rasped her grandmother, "certain ties of bloodlines must be made. Devilhunters are born not made."

"Yes, I know but..." Sakura caught up with the conversation. "What?! I thought only Japanese carried the genes for devilhunting?"

"If that were true, than only the Ainu would be able to do it. As it is, we have ancient prophesy indicating that the bloodline must be strengthened from within and from without. In this generation, it is from without."

Sakura, a fifteen year old girl who had been stuck in her small mountain village most of her life considered this. And, with the priorities of a fifteen year old girl who was typical in most regards, asked the question she considered most important.

"Is he cute?"

-------

There were those who would say that there were no more ninjas, save the ones who worked in movies. Ninjas and their arts had died out during the Disarmament and later years as well as samurai and the time of the feudal era. No, ninjas were just a common fantasy of modern films and the like. No basis in reality.

Of course, the ninjas themselves often spread such opinions. They didn't exist, therefore that could *not* be a ninja hacking into your computer system. That could not possibly be a ninja going over your phone records. That definitely could *not* be a ninja taking photographs of you from an abandoned office or skulking about in the shadows over there behind your car.

Tiger Tanaka, head of Japan's most secret spy network, did *not* employ ninjas. They didn't exist, after all.

Kasumi and Ayane could not be ninjas who practiced the Mugen Tenshin style, called here by their superior after yet *another* fight regarding a boy named Hayabusa. A fight that had ended with that boy (who also obviously could not be a ninja) declaring that he never wanted to see either of these overly violent bimbos again and wouldn't date either of them if ordered to by the Head Of His Clan. Since he had sworn this in FRONT of the amused Clan Chief, and on his personal honor, that pretty much closed the door on either of them ending up with Hayabusa.

Naturally the two blamed each other for this development.

"Violent oversexed bimbo," muttered Kasumi, holding an icepack over one eye.

"Prissy flatchested heroine," returned Ayane, fingering the bandage over her nose.

"Both of you, SHUT UP!" Tiger said. He didn't actually raise his voice, he just managed to make that same sort of impact. "Your rivalry has no place here. This is business."

Kasumi bit back a retort about how she was NOT flatchested. She was 17 years old, in the prime of her life, and had a busty if lithe figure. No, definitely not flatchested. She was Eurasian, with reddish brown hair that didn't look horribly out of place, and soft brown eyes that could glisten with tears on a moment's notice.

Ayane would have liked to mention her own stats in reply. She was 16 years old and had been Kasumi's rival for most of the past ten years. The same height, though slightly lighter, except that her bust was slightly bigger. Something she delighted in pointing out to Kasumi. They'd fought over Hayate (Kasumi's half-brother) previous to the fight over Hayabusa. Hayate had declared (after his release from the hospital) that he would not date Ayane and didn't want to associate with his half sister thereafter either.

Seeing the two of them ready to leap out of their seats and start fighting right there, Tiger decided to remind them of a few things. He spoke to both of the mixed parentage girls. He informed them that he had *thought* that these two girls were modern products of the best eugenics program in the world, trained and disciplined martial artists. Clearly he was wrong with the two squabbling little girls who had somehow appeared in his presence when he had summoned two talented and promising ninja.

Tiger Tanaka went into great detail, never repeating himself, as he reduced the two girls to three years old, twelve inches height, and near tearful states. Even the "tough bad girl" Ayane.

Tiger finished then managed to look brooding and mildly unhappy. "You two are aware of the eugenics program first dreamt of several centuries ago. The best warriors, the best houses, the best espers, the talented and the healthiest. If it worked for cattle, why not men? Simply get these best of the best together, and sooner or later there are children involved. Nature itself helps this concept."

Both girls colored. Kasumi thinking of Hayabusa, Ayane of Hayate.

"Sebastian Shard was a treasure. That 'little voice' he referred to on numerous occasions was a true psychic talent, had he been of a more warlike bent he could have been the most dangerous man I'd ever crossed paths with. Instead he was a gentle man full of humor. His grandson has the same potential." Tiger waited for the realization to penetrate.

They were both quite comely. Kasumi with her mix of classic Japanese features with just the right amount of Caucasian to give her a slightly exotic look. Ayane who looked even more exotic, with her pale hair and flair for what would be unbearably cute costumes were she not so harsh and deadly in personality. Then both realized what he had said and their eyes widened and mouths dropped at the same time.

"YOU CAN'T MEAN?!"

Tiger nodded. "Oh, admittedly the boy is only fifteen. You'd have to wait a year for marriage. Not that having one of our agents in a 'friendly' country like the US doesn't also have some appeal. We *have* been known to loan agents to each other in time of need."

"b-b-but..." Kasumi flushed at the thought of what the boss was suggesting.

"Hmph. I doubt some American could handle someone like me," Ayane said with a superior air, recovering as best she could.

"I doubt he would even *want* to handle you," Kasumi couldn't help but add.

"Misato, Ritsuko, and Maya are already in place. Ayane, what is the policy objective you were given when you inquired about the eugenics plan when you discovered something of your parentage?"

Ayane closed her eyes, then frowned. "To protect the world from devastation?"

"To unite all peoples within our nation?" Kasumi blinked.

"To fight for things like truth and love," continued Ayane.

Tiger rubbed the bridge of his nose briefly. "No. And I can see your training has not been nearly strict enough. Both of you will go to Tokyo. I will review your folders and decide which of you will act as support for the other, and who will approach Shard-san."

Kasumi looked at Ayane. Ayane looked at Kasumi. They both made retching noises.

Tiger pressed a button. The chairs, and their occupants, dropped into a room far below. "Yes, they definitely need more training."

---------

"Oh, here's the part two," said Nabiki. "Hmmm. Say, Daddy, do you recall anything about a Sebastian Shard?"

"Sebastian Shard?" Soun thought momentarily. "Yes, I vaguely recall the name."

"According to this newspaper, both the Tendo and Saotome clans have an honor arrangement stretching back to 1952 for 'uniting the families'. That makes this guy even more a subject of 'family honor' than Ranma-kun here," said Nabiki. ~Hmmm. A crack at the open markets there, if this pans out. Maybe the guy's cute. If he doesn't turn into a girl, big plus. And who the heck would have thought *that* would ever be serious consideration. Fifteen sai. Dang, two years younger. It'd never work. Pity.~

"Pfeh. I bet *he* didn't ask for any of this either. S'pose he's engaged to some uncute tomboy too?"

*WHAM!*

"Shut up, Ranma!" This insufferable boy had been engaged to her for two days. Two days too long as far as Akane Tendo was concerned.

"It's of no consequence," said Soun. "He is a gaijin. We mustn't dilute the noble samurai bloodline of the Tendo family. Saotome is also descended from samurai, so that's quite different."

"Hmmm, a lottery winner" said Nabiki, thinking of the typical Japanese lottery. ~Probably a shopping spree at the local drugstore. Maybe he's a better catch than Ranma.~ "Oh here it is. Biggest multi-state jackpot in their history, yadda yadda, parents investing the money through various holdings, etcetera, a hundred and ten..."

Kasumi looked up from serving rice to the bottomless pit across the breakfast table. Like Nabiki, she was thinking about the sort of lotteries at carnivals or drugstore openings. "A hundred and ten what, Nabiki?"

Nabiki was pale and shaking as she looked up from the paper. "a... one hundred and ten million dollars..."

Ranma finished crawling back in, giving a brief glare towards Akane. "How much is that in yen?"

Seeing that Nabiki was now twitching slightly, Kasumi made a guess. "220 yen to the dollar, so that should be twenty four thousand, two hundred, million yen." She paused. "Oh my, that's rather a lot."

Nabiki twitched some more. Images of gleaming piles of yen filled her mind's eye. Now an image of herself in a wedding dress, swimming around in that pile of yen. The backstroke, to be precise.

Soun put down his own section of the paper, beginning to twitch himself. "Twenty four thousand two hundred million yen."

Genma stopped stealing Ranma's breakfast. "Twenty four thousand two hundred million yen." A gleam began entering his eyes.

Ranma shrugged. "Big deal."

Akane shrugged, for once in agreement with Ranma. Under normal circumstances, if either parent had noticed this tiny little connection there would have been celebration and dancing and calls for the wedding to take place immediately.

Nabiki twitched a couple more times. The little dream image Nabiki was diving about like a happy koi, showers of yen coins everywhere.

"Oh my," said Kasumi, absently wiping a trail of drool from Nabiki's mouth.

---------

A little girl with pink hair done up in two odangos that looked like ears of corn frowned up at her guide. "I do *not* see the Tenth Street High School."

Ryouga looked around. "You're right. Where could they have moved it? Arrrghh. Ranma Saotome, this also is your fault!"

Chibiusa frowned. "Oniisan, Tenth Street High School is in Azabu Juuban. In Tokyo."

"Yeah, I know. It's around here somewhere. Just give me a moment."

"That sign there says we're in Arata-cho in Kobe, oniisan."

"Oh, then that means we've got to go *this* way. Now I know where we are!" Ryoga immediately set out to the North to get to the train station. Which, of course, was actually South.

Wondering if maybe she *shouldn't* have asked the nice boy for directions, Chibiusa wondered if maybe she should just find a phone and *call* for help. No, Usagi would never let her forget that indignity. She'd just have to do this on her own.

---------

Michiru came to an inelegant halt. This was surprising enough that it took Haruka a few moments to realize that her partner had done so.

Televisions were displaying a news conference.

It wasn't until Haruka noticed that the pictures displayed behind the speaker were class photos of herself and Michiru that Haruka understood why Michiru looked even worse than she had last night.

Reporter #1: "So you're denying that these two are responsible for blowing up the home of Professor Tomoe a few days ago?"

Police Representitive: "I'm saying nothing of the sort. These two are merely wanted for questioning. The explosions *were* of a similar type and there is some evidence that the two students were sighted near the Professor's home that day."

Reporter #2: "So you're saying that they may be innocent victims in all this..."

Police Rep: "Exactly."

Reporter #2: "or they may indeed be mad dog terrorist scum that need to be put down before they threaten the lives of more innocent Japanese citizens!"

Police Rep: "That is *not* what I was saying!"

Reporter #1: "But you're not denying the possibility?"

Police Rep: "Well... no, I can't completely rule it out. The investigation is still pending..."

Reporter #2: "There you are! Innocent schoolchums or terrorists with an unknown agenda ready to visit *your* neighborhood! Stay tuned for details on this breaking story!"

Michiru blinked. "Haruka?"

"Michi?"

"Let's get a nice cup of coffee at the kissaten."

"How are we going to pay for it. You're wearing a nighty, I'm wearing pajamas. It's either that or switch to being Sailor Uranus and Neptune."

Michiru considered. "That might actually draw *less* attention, wouldn't it?"

"Excuse me, Miss? Miss?"

Michiru stiffened. Haruka stiffened. Slowly they turned.

The police officer smiled nicely at the two. "Please to come this way."

---------

"Reports," requested the Wizard, suppressing a yawn. It had been a long night.

"Unexpected resistance and allies prevented the completion of the 'rescue' at the School," reported Kaolinite, not masking her disgust at the thought having to rescue someone who'd given her such a humiliating haircut. She could use energies to manifest longer hair, but as soon as she stopped she was back to looking like a Marine recruit.

"An attempt to send daimon to steal pure hearts abroad failed due to a lack of suitable targets," confessed Mimette. She had been so sure too.

"Where did you send them?" Eudial asked.

"Hollywood, Washington DC, the Japanese Diet Building, and Bangkok," said Mimette, not understanding why the daimon had starved.

"Mimette-kun," groaned the Wizard. "I think you should stick to simpler exercises for now."

Mimette fumed as the other Witches giggled or smirked at her expense.

"In keeping with your," Eudial hesitated a moment, "tastes, I modified a few daimon so that they are able to remove the 'Iron Key' of independent thought from victims. They will be ready for testing later today."

"Good," was the Wizard's comment. "What of your other task, Terurun?"

"While the doppelgangers are less intelligent than an average human, no one has noticed or commented on the world leaders I've replaced so far." Terurun was a bit puzzled at this, but let it slide. "We already have things sliding into place giving us complete control of China, Russia, and Greece. Soon our agents in France, Germany, and Swaziland should have things ready. When we have a clear majority, it will be time for the United Nations representitives to be replaced."

"Excellent." Topple the leaders, quash the resistance, stir things up, then provide relief and stability - under his rule. Raise the sheep's standard of living under his command and they would ignore any number of things he or the Witches did. "Now, I'm activating a few generals who will not interfere with you. Nor will you interfere with them. They are entirely seperate from both you and each other."

"Why?" Eudial frowned, more competition was *not* appreciated.

"There is one who could interfere with our progress. He has meddled, though in a minor way. To provide him other, more tempting targets, I have given some minor abilities to others for him to face." The Wizard gestured, and an image of an shriveled old man running down the street appeared. "The demon Happosai has been freed and given a modified Midas Touch ability. Anyone whom he touches flesh to flesh becomes a piece of feminine lingerie. As you can see he is quite happy with this talent and is currently running amuck in a place of no other consequence known as Minneapolis."

The Witches 5, and Kaolinite, shuddered at the look of glee on the old man's face.

Another gesture, another image. "This boy is named Ataru Moroboshi. In another world, another time, he would have met an alien beauty and not be quite the menace to society he is now. Like Happosai, he has a Midas Touch ability, but this one I call the 'Bimbo Touch'." The Wizard shrugged. He, like all Spells R Us wizards, liked overendowed, underintelligent, giggly, and "easy" bimbos. He had (it being *the* specialty of the cursed item shop) lots of experience turning unwilling people into that physical and mental two dimensional cariacture - and they were quite easily led and predictable.

The look of happy idiocy on the boy's face caused the Witches to wonder if the boy was partially affected by his own power.

Another gesture, another image. This one was a massively overmuscled male figure, ripping and tearing his way through an aircraft carrier. "And here we have a man named Balrog. He now has the ability to absorb the fighting essence and skills of those he makes contact with. He plans on betraying me, of course. What he doesn't know is that at a certain point he will run into Ataru Moroboshi or Happosai, and that will end his threat. Also that a certain degree of the energies he absorbs is siphoned off for our own use."

The Witches saw a chance of getting out from under the Wizard's rule if they could warn this fellow in time, but none gave an indication of the idea.

"Finally we have this one, in many ways the worst of the lot." The Wizard smirked. "Though I will unleash Galaxia only at the utmost need."

----------

The train was singularly unremarkable. An old train built back in the early 70s, which still ran its same route in the outlying areas of Japan.

That two ninja who did NOT like each other were sharing a cabin with two other ninja, next to a compartment with a samurai girl, that was a little more rare.

Ayane was wearing a minidress and tank top and was apparently reading a copy of "Soldier Of Fortune" magazine.

Kasumi was wearing a peasant blouse with a long skirt, sunhat held in her lap, while she read a fashion magazine.

The other two, Maria and Oomori, merely looked uncomfortable in the presence of the two battle auras. They were dressed in nondescript school uniforms that could have belonged to a half dozen high schools in the Tokyo area alone.

Ayane switched "Soldier Of Fortune" for "Guns & Ammo" after perusing the want ads and wondering if maybe she should request some personal time to go after some of those jobs listed. Or were they meant to be jokes? With Americans it was sometimes hard to tell, they took the oddest things seriously. "Just stay out of my way."

"You stay out of *my* way," Kasumi said, without looking up from an article on summer fashions.

"If you two go after this guy the way you did Hayate or Hayabusa, you're going to fail this mission," Oomori offered nervously. "After all, he's just a normal guy. What happened to Hayate would probably kill him."

Ayane glared over the top of her magazine at Kasumi. "It was *her* fault!"

Kasumi glared back. "Oh yeah, who was the one who brought those eggshell grenades?"

"If you hadn't made me use them!" Ayane showed every sign of getting up and leaping on the offender.

There was a moment of silence. Then both Kasumi and Ayane leapt at each other. Martial Arts were forgotten for the moment as the fight went straight to hair-pulling, wrestling, and slapping.

Oomori sighed. "You know, I can see why the boss wanted them out of his hair for awhile."

Maria watched Ayane bite Kasumi's arm in order to escape a hold, then slap her rival with a rolled up magazine. "Fifty yen that neither of them gets the guy."

The single male ninja in the compartment looked at his companion askance. "C'mon, I don't look dumb enough to take that bet, do I?"

Next door, Sakura was disturbed from her meditation by the thumping on the walls and occasional shriek. The battle auras flaring nearby were strong, but unfocussed. Dismissing this of little consequence, Sakura instead turned her attention to the magazine that her mother had provided. "Cosmopolitan" - dealing with city life no doubt. It would be good to be prepared.

-----------

Azabu Juuban:

Ami looked up as a new teacher walked in.

"Hi, you're probably wondering what happened to your regular teacher," the woman said. "Well, he's undergoing 'sensitivity training' and will be fulfilling the remainder of his contract teaching at Mijimesa Reform School."

Several students made signs of aversion at mention of the Reform School also known as the "School of the Valley Of Death."

"There'll be a new principal soon too." The new teacher shrugged, her tight top making the gesture something that drew the male members of class' attention. "I'm Misato Katsuragi. Pleased ta meet ya!"

There were a few uncertain looks at this.

"Oh hey, you're that genius girl, Ami Mizuno, ain't ya?"

Ami blinked. "Uhm, yes."

Misato winked. "I heard your fiance is gonna be off healing for awhile. Make sure ya take plenty of notes for him!"

"Ha-hai!" Ami nodded, twitching a little bit.

"Hey, who read that article about Mizuno-san's fiance?" Misato asked the class, unsurprised at the number of hands showing.

A boy with a bandaged nose stood up. "I weeally think that the bwoodwines need to be kept puwe."

"Okamoto-san, right? Bucket duty. That way you don't have to participate." Misato jerked her thumb towards the door. "So tell me, Mizuno-san, is it true what they say about Americans?"

"I-I-I- I wouldn't know about that!" Ami blushed furiously, ducking her head and studying her desk.

"Well, that's a darn pity," Misato advised. "You got a new fiance, you ought to take him for a test drive before the marriage, that's my attitude!"

Ami closed her eyes and twitched some more.

--------

Asgard:

"What the heck?" Celeste puzzled at the readings, then began calling up displays with a facility others present could only envy. "What the heck is this?"

"What is it?" Belle was good, but she wasn't even sure what screens Celeste had pulled up.

"Look at this timeline here. Compare the Kinskey and Worbel patterns."

"The whosie whatsit?" Sailor Pocky on the other hand was completely lost.

"I see," Belle said. "They're 95% synchronized to the simulation timeline pattern."

"Huh?" Sailor Pocky again indicated she didn't get it.

"Someone's trying to get this timeline to fall under a merger template with the simulated timeline." Celeste looked it over. "They've done a pretty good job, and it's so subtle that it took me awhile to realize it was being done. It wasn't until I noticed a vibratory pattern in the simulation that I even knew to look for it."

"Sympathetic vibrations with this other timeline? Strange," agreed Amaterasu.

Belle checked a few readings herself. "The timeline being affected is one of those bacteriological war Earths where everyone is dying from worldwide cancers and a rapid mutation virus."

The various goddesses considered the screens.

"Heck," Sailor Pocky announced when it was obvious that no one was going to speak, "it sounds like rule by a bad guy is better than *that*."

"That's probably why he chose it," realized Celeste aloud.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Belle asked, pointing to an indicator that Celeste had brought up. "In one month, their time, the simulation will provide an override template. Just like restoring a timeline from a backup. If we cancel the simulation, we keep a pretty nasty timeline inviolate but it also invalidates the Labor. If we don't, the CancerPlague timeline is rewritten via a wish that 'none of this ever happened' but it is rewritten with a dimension spanning evil wizard in charge of Earth."

There seemed no ready answer for that.

There was a beep on a panel, Celeste's face lit up. "Gotcha!"

--------

Chibi-Jared stood poised on the streets of Norway, twin glowing katanas in his hands as he posed. Behind him the tarrasque slid suddenly apart into its major pieces.

He grinned.

Being an elemental force of primal destruction, the tarrasque didn't view anything as trivial as being whacked apart into its major components anything to be concerned about, and promptly began to regenerate the damage.

That was when Chibi Jared pulled out a small, white and red sphere and threw it toward the monster. The tarrasque might've facefaulted if it's head wasn't already lying flat in that position, at a considerable distance from the rest of its body one might add.

It was a matter of some minutes before the red light on the device stopped blinking.

Whistling, Jared began to leave the scene of carnage with his new pokemon, already planning fun party tricks he could do with his own tarrasque. Added to his Godzilla that would *probably* make him an expert in... whatever field giant reptillian city-stompers belonged to. You know, a few Lernaen pyro-hydras would fit in nicely with this group. Maybe he ought to become a Gym Leader. Hmmm. Big Scale Gym. Hmmm. Big Scale Badge. Hmmm.

A pillar of pink light slammed down, removing another Chibi-Jared from the simulation.

Several major governments began to procure funding for pokeball research.

--------

"You're sure this is a Dark Kingdom plot?" Grey asked of his fiancee. "I'm not sensing anything besides tacky myself."

Ami continued to scan with the Mercury computer. "You're the one who originally detected it. It's hidden pretty well, but I'm getting trace readings." Ami was a little disappointed, though she wouldn't admit it. If a guy was trying to get her like *that* - well, it would have been rather flattering.

Grey shrugged, holding the Chain Of Duty. It was easier to handle this situation if the language barrier was bypassed by speaking Millenial. Not that he wanted to go that far with Ami, at least not yet. They were too young, after all, at least by American standards. There had been this sneaky hope that Ami had actually agreed to this whole love hotel excursion as a way of checking for sexual compatibility. The thought that this shy gentle girl had wanted his bod, well, it would have been extremely comforting. Flattering even. "Just don't go trying to change to Sailor Mercury. We don't know what effect that medusa had, though tools don't seem affected."

Ami continued to scan but the trace remained too vague for anything definitive. "Maybe another room? Maybe one of the others?"

"If it were stronger elsewhere in this building, we'd have been able to detect it. Your computer's scanners and my chain, or my precog, or Rei's fire readings would have pulled up something other than vague shadow flickerings." Nebula frowned and let the arrow-point end dangle. "Maybe its not Dark Kingdom. It could be a haunting or some other supernatural manifestation."

"A haunting? I'm not sure I believe in ghosts." Ami frowned and unscrewed the cap of some jug of unfamiliar fluid in the refrigerator.

"Says a reincarnated ice-blasting sailor suited warrior of love and justice fighting vampiric beings serving some demonic alien presence," pointed out Grey. "Frankly, I wouldn't be *that* surprised if we ended up running into Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy at this rate."

Ami paused, a similar thought occurring to her. No, that was silly. Couldn't happen.

Nebula held the Chain and concentrated. "Still not getting anything."

Ami used the Mercury Computer to analyze the fluid. It smelled like anmitsu to her.
[MaHuang, Bee Pollen, Epimedium Angelica, Rehmannia, Ginger, Schizandra, Polygonatum, Adenophora, Tremella, Tang Kuei, Reishi, Codonopsis, Eucommium, Lycii Berry, Ligusticum, Peony Root, Fo Ti, Atractylodes, Ophiopogon, Royal Jelly, Euryales Seeds, Poria, Licorice, Mountain Peony Bark, Cormi Fruit, Rose Hips, Prince Ginseng, Scrophularia, Alisma, Astragalus, Fennel, Buplerium, Cypera, Aconite, Polygala, Red Sage Root, Jujube Seed, Lotus Seed, Tien Chi Ginseng, Ligus Ticum, Psoralea, Dodder Seed, and Cisthanches in a solution containing 24% pure grain alcohol as a preservative, distilled water and Lecithen as an emulsifier.]

The taste didn't tell her anything either. Ami licked her lips. It seemed to be quite tasty whatever it was. "Shard-san, do you have any idea what this drink is?"

"You ought not to drink that, Ami-chan. They'll charge heavily, I'm sure." Grey continued to watch the dangling chain. "Does it list 'ginseng' on it?"

Ami looked. "Yes. Several times in fact."

"Then it's either an energy or stamina drink," responded Grey. "My mother used to do homeopathic remedies. Ginseng supposedly works by helping the blood carry oxygen. Hot ginseng tea seemed to help whenever i had asthma problems, so that much i know."

"Oh," said Ami. She hadn't noticed before but her fiance had a nice taut waist. His butt was kind of firmly muscular too. He was actually kind of sexy like that. Feeling kind of warm, she naturally tried a little more of the cold drink.

Ami looked at Grey with bright eyes. "Very. nice."

Grey was finally rewarded. "Ah hah. The Chain's moving. There's some danger."

Ami's mind, as previously noted, was dominated by Reason. Hormones, usually a repressed aspect of her being, had just slipped the leash and were in open rebellion. Territory was being lost by the rational forces, as a 16 year old girl who usually denied she even had those interests was confronted with the accumulated force of that libido and darn few of the normal inhibitions.

"Hmmmm," hmmmed Ami, her eyes roaming. ~Well, he's my fiance, we're in a love hotel, and I've got that 'family planning kit', so why not?~

"Dang, it's just making little looping motions," said Grey, focussed entirely on the Chain.

"Really," said Ami in an usually husky voice. "Do tell." ~He's actually kind of cute and exotic, his eyes have that greenish-brown color that seems to change with the lighting. All those bandages give him a vulnerable look. Verrry sexy. Oh dear did I think that?!~

"Yeah, i'm not picking anything much up. Dark energies or danger. What about you?"

Within Ami, Restraint had tried to rally, getting some badly needed reinforcements from Responsibility. Reason had retreated to lick its wounds. With a warcry, Hormones began beating up the remainder of the reserves while General Lust directed the attack. "I think I know just what needs to be picked up..."

"Well, go ahead. i'm certainly not getting anywhere." Grey sighed, dejected.

Ami was ready to pounce.

There was a knock on the door.

=========

i've been hearing a lot about the relationships that develop in the latter part of the series, particularly in the manga. Apparently Minako states she "has no use for boys" while Ami and Makoto confess their deep felt love prior to being killed by Galaxia, etcetera. i've even heard one statement that indicates that Usagi ends up with the Senshi as her harem, Mamoru mainly being there as a father for Chibiusa. Certainly i haven't seen anything to completely contradict it, but i also don't really feel comfortable with that sort of ending.

Oh, and the song Godzilla is by Blue Oyster Cult. Check it out on Napster or some similar site.

and now...

OMAKE OMAKE OMAKE OMAKE

Usagi: (spins her rod around.) "Moon Crystal Heart..." (spin, flip, BONK!) "oopsie."

Rei: (walking onto the scene, the moon rod sticking out of her mouth.) "MMMMMfff!"

Ami: (shaking her head and throwing up her hands): "Oy vey! Not again! How many times-a we gonna do this scene! I'm-a gonna be in my trailer."

Director: (offcamera) "Cut. Save it!"

coming soon to a fanfic near you. The Sailor Moon Blooper Reel. Maybe.