Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Soldier's Duty ❯ Chapter 14

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter 14 A Soldier's Duty
4th Labor

DISCLAIMER:

"We ought not be over anxious to encourage innovation, in case of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over a new one; it is established and it is understood. " C. C. Colton

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Ami Mizuno, former Sailor Mercury, was in trouble and knew it quite well.

Everyone had been so busy getting in each other's way trying to land attacks on the large vampire that very few attacks had actually been able to strike him.

The vampire had grabbed her up and had bitten down on her neck. As he was quite obviously a vampire, Ami knew fully well what this meant - especially coupled with the feeling that one's mind and will were being drained out with her life's blood.

And with everyone scattered about from that surge of dark power, that meant that nobody was in a position to save her.

Then she was thrown aside, and blurring eyes saw one of her friends (was that blur Makoto?) being introduced to the same bite.

~Oh dear.~

---------

In a place known as Asgard (Heaven, 3rd plane) to some, there was a building known as the Goddess Relief Office.

In that very Goddess Relief Office, Celeste was groaning as orderlies carried Kitchiri off before a certain goddess of bimbo was ripped apart by a certain goddess of J-Pop.

"Let's see. He's got Bast's catboy cleric combined with Frostbite the silver dragon cleric combined with the magery of the gold dragon Aurian," Fleece considered the way he was attacking. "With the sexangel tossed in. Plus he goes into the Catfist essentially whenever a girl he cares about is threatened. Not good."

"I'll have to stabilize it somehow," groaned Celeste. "The combination is unstable. Sex angel would be dominant."

"Might as well use what he's got to heal them, otherwise several are going to be ejected from the scenario, and we can use this to bring in other aspects as well. Maybe do damage control." Serafita looked over the problems, feeling his creative juices beginning to pick up.

------

Finally, the mysterious artifact that Dimitri Maximoff had used to increase his power was brought out, even as Sakura threw off her own injuries to stand guard over Ami.

Sailor Moon stared at the blacked moon rod device, trying to fit the nasty looking vampire with the sort of thing that looked (except the color scheme) like the sort of thing Luna would provide for them.

The glow building up around a certain fellow burst, and silver wings unfurled around the youth, revealing long catlike ears and tail, short golden fur, green eyes, and sharp white teeth.

Another energy blast from Dimitri was parried by Sakura.

Sailor Moon tried again to begin her wind up. Maybe if she distracted him with a question she could complete it before the vampire struck again. "What did you do to Ami-chan?!"

Dodging a flurry of katana strikes from Sakura, then teleporting to where he could sink claws into a ponytailed girl's chest and lift her up for a quick bite. "What I'm going to do to all of you."

"AAAAAAAA! MOON SPIRAL HEART"

"Soul Fist!" The blast hit Sailor Moon in mid-windup. Dimitri was running low on energy, a quick recharge was needed. Further fighting was inadvisable, therefore he'd just escape with this girl and feast before he returned.

That catboy seemed to have other ideas.

------

Queen Serenity, holding court with her two mooncats and Royal Guard, looked up and to the side. "Sailor Saturn? And Obsidian, the Knight Of Fear? Both active at the same time. And there's another signature, one that We don't recognize."

"My Queen?" Luna looked up nervously. "Wasn't the Knight Of Fear a traitor to the Kingdom?"

"No, My Advisor, he was merely loud and obnoxious. Useful at times, but he was one of the three Knights banned from My Court for reasons other than incompetence or negligence of duty." Serenity continued to stare off into the distance. "Basalt was sent away from Our presence because he was useful to Us, then later because of your own advice. Bennu had that limerick. Obsidian was a savage, a barbarian who came to Us from outside civilized lands, and one who would likely have slain half my courtiers or advisors with little warning."

Artemis winced. "I think I remember him. Wasn't it Obsidian who said that 'If you leave your enemies alive, you're only making more work for yourself later'?"

"Something like that," agreed Serenity.

"Isn't he the one who hunted down and killed Igneous in the Silver Millenium?" Luna asked.

Igneous, aka Janus, alias Sehan, paled.

"We are sure that the misunderstanding can be cleared up," said Serenity, still a bit distracted. "Though perhaps keeping them seperate would be advisable."

Sehan silently prayed it would be so.

-------

The ballroom had exploded three times.

This fight was not going *nearly* where Dimitri had anticipated. He'd felt that taking on Morrigan with his odd power battery would have been a simple and quick manner. Nothing about this attack had been simple *or* quick.

Dimitri took a quick nibble from the pony-tailed girl but hadn't been able to drink much, not nearly enough to replace what he was losing in the process. The effect of throwing the girl at that samurai gave him a breather at least.

Dimitri had tossed aside the now useless device he'd taken from that pink-haired girl. Well, actually he'd done that after his hand had gotten sliced off by that girl with the sword, which had occurred while he'd been trying to strangle the winged catboy.

"SOUL FIST!" The blast caused the samurai girl to try to parry.

Agony flared across Dimitri's middle as the catboy slashed with his claws. The Vampire Lord staggered as he felt *holy* magic inflicting wounds in him. This wasn't working out at all well.

He turned to deal with the catboy (who was even faster than the Tokyo-based catgirl that he'd fought on occasion) and the samurai girl started slashing with some blade that bore some minor enchantment. He turned to deal with the samurai girl, Morrigan *and* the catboy were on him.

"Well, this has been fun, but I must be going," Dimitri said, preparing to teleport far enough that he'd be able to transform into a bat and fly away.

"NOT!"

Dimitri tried to turn to the voice, only to have a long thin switchblade slammed home in his right ear canal. A moment later and he lost sight in his left eye. It was that boy from earlier, and at his side was a girl with an odd pole weapon.

Dimitri's last sight was of the Silence Glaive entering his chest.

He might have continued to fight except that someone had just used their claws to open his neck.

Keeping in mind that vampires were hard to kill, Sakura under the direction of Morrigan made extra certain that Dimitri Maximoff would not be recovering.

Though when Obsidian started making suggestions, it was remembered (by those conscious) it was the first time they'd ever heard of a succubus looking ill and shuddering.

-----------

The Cat sniffed, then a rough cat tongue licked one of the wounds on the girl's face. Then sniffed again. Goldfur had been kind to him, he remembered that. Sort of. Cat couldn't remember how or when, but Goldfur was nice. Goldfur was sick though. Goldfur had been tainted and Goldfur had wounds that the Cat couldn't reach with his tongue. And others, including Favored Mate, were hurt too.

He needed to hurry, but it was so hard to think. Easier just to do this.

The Cat bared his teeth and gently bit into Goldfur's shoulder. There were... words. That was it, words. Things that needed to be said, even if the Cat didn't understand them. It was necessary to do this, the Cat felt that this was so even if language wasn't understood by the conscious mind at the moment. The words came from *somewhere* though.

---------

"Rei-chan, Minako-chan, Ami-chan, Setsuna-san," wept Sailor Moon, surrounded by dead or dying friends. "Mako-chan..."

Sailor Moon watched as Minako was tenderly nuzzled by the catboy from where she was lying broken upon the remains of a table. "Grey-san..." She watched as the winged catboy sniffed at Minako, then nudged her limp arm with his muzzle.

Sailor Moon wasn't sure what to do. It was obvious from what little she'd caught of the fight (having been stunned twice by those 'Soul Fist' things) that when Grey-san had transformed, he had become sort of a cat mentally as well as physically.

Then Sailor Moon really freaked at what the kitty was doing to Minako-chan! He had licked her face on that horrid wound she'd gotten, and the wound had vanished!

But *now* what was he doing?!

"Aaaa! Aaaaa! AaaaaaaAAAAAA!" Minako yelped noisily, coming awake with her body bucking underneath the feline boy who was biting her.

Sailor Moon stared as golden fur sprouted over Minako's body and a spotted tail snaked from under her dress. "Minako-chan?!"

The catboy got up and started heading for where Ami was staring sightlessly at the ceiling and moved as quickly as she could to get in the way. "No! Don't do it. Ami-chan is... Ami-chan is..."

"Get out of the way, Usagi-chan."

Sailor Moon blinked and looked at Minako, then wondered if maybe she needed to do a Moon Healing Escalation or something. "Minako-chan?!"

Grey moved past the stunned Sailor Moon, not paying any attention to the drama behind him as he purred and licked at his Mate, then licked the ragged neck wound clean before biting her.

"Minako-chan?! You're..." Sailor Moon took two steps back and made a warding gesture.

With two black "tear-tracks" decorating the fur on her face, the transformed Minako grinned at Sailor Moon. "I think the term you're looking for is 'alive', Usagi-chan."

"B-b-but?!" Sailor Moon's eyes wobbled like jelly beans. "You're a yoma?!"

"Huh?" Minako looked over herself. "What the hat? I've got a tail? Fur?"

Usagi sniffled then began bawling.

"MyaaaaaaAAAAAA! Oh myaow! That was intense!" Ami said, not noticing the changes in herself at first either.

---------

In France, the last group of tear-gassed gibberlings were rounded up and put in cages.

In New York City's Central Park, the gargoyles were being loaded onto trucks, bound with nets and tasered whenever they showed signs of breaking free.

Invid technology was being studied by the Australians, of course. What remained of it, that is. The same could be said for the remains of several AT-AT units in Virginia, now property of the US Navy.

The Elven Bimbo Coalition Forces attacking Utah had also been dealt with. Unfortunately for the Wizard, he had made them literally bimbo valley elves. Upon seeing a mall with a "March Madness Sale", the invasion had floundered and never recovered. And once the elf girls had found that there were cute boys in the neighborhood, there were a general cease of hostilities.

----------

The emergency meeting was unusual in several respects.

Usagi couldn't help staring at her friends.

Her friends couldn't help staring at each other.

Nuku Nuku and Honey were sorry that they hadn't attended the party.

Tuxedo Kamen, not too far away, rang bells and gave thanks to the kami that neither he nor Usagi had had anything like *this* happen to them.

"Let's see, Minako is a cheetah," said Ami, entering the new data into her computer. The glare she aimed at Setsuna could *not* have been jealousy from the way Grey-san was curled up across the laps of Setsuna, Minako, and Sakura. Nor could she be jealous of the way Setsuna scratched him behind the ears and got him purring. Absolutely not. Ami didn't have a jealous bone in her body.

"Ami-chan, your claws are digging into the table," pointed out Rei.

"Oh dear," said Ami, wondering why she had done that. "Setsuna-san is back to normal, mostly, Sakura-san has just got the cat ears and tail, I guess. Errr, I'm apparently a more domestic variety of feline."

"But still very cute," said Artemis, who had come to investigate for the Queen and had been all but drooling since he'd found them. Especially towards Minako. Though Makoto as a similar cat to Minako had been... Luna would have glared at him (at the very least) if she were present.

"Rrrrr," purred Grey-san, moving slightly and rubbing his cheek against Greenfur's thigh.

"Where'd his wings go, anyway?" Usagi wanted to know, wondering also why Ami started snarling at Setsuna. (Blink) No, it must've just been her imagination.

"He's dismissed them for the time being. Much like Mercury can do with her computer," Setsuna was practically purring herself.

"Makoto and Rei were able to change back by transforming back from Senshi. I suspect that the Silver Millenium magic is stronger than this... odd transformation." Ami adjusted her glasses and tried to keep her ears from going flat against her skull as she watched the three with her fiance.

Rei glared at the catboy. "What about those words?"

Usagi blinked. "What words, I didn't hear anything?"

Ami cleared her throat. "There was something, but I..."

Minako held up a hand. "They weren't aloud, but I heard them. It was an offer.
"My servant return to the fray,
And from my side now never stray,
Life force firm with some of mine,
Thread of fate now intertwine,
Heal the heart and soothe the mind,
whilst caring is returned in kind,
Body, soul, mind, and heart,
weave together - come not apart,
Thy Master calls you whole and hale,
To serve me now on Destiny's trail."

"That was it." Sakura stroked soft golden fur. "Though my wounds were minor, I accepted the offer. In battle with such enemies, a samurai should not refuse any advantage that does not lead to dishonor."

"Hmmm," hmmmed Setsuna, bringing everyone's attention to the way that the feline features and fur gradually faded from the boy whose head was still in her lap.

"Why did *that* happen? For that matter what transformed him?" Honey asked from her place in the back, really regretting that she'd missed so much of this.

"Likely he transformed because he saw us fall," answered Setsuna. "It's typical of our heritage to reach into our past lives for strength in extreme moments of stress. And as his Knight identity was cut off, much like my ability to transform to Sailor Pluto, he reached further back and found *that*. Though I should point out that I was not turned into a catgirl. At least until Minako-san bit me."

Minako winced. "Okay, I just lost control there for a couple of minutes. Sorry."

Setsuna inclined her head in acknowledgment. She knew full well there hadn't been anything personal in it. Though being transformed into Setsuna Meow had been... odd. Especially considering what had happened just before. "And the words I heard to call me back to life were:
"As a Servant Of The Light,
i ask that things be set aright,
O' Lonely Soldier - renew, reborn,
unfairly from you, life was torn,
thy thread of life from Heaven's Gate,
if ye be willing - Reincarnate!"

Setsuna moved her NEW staff alongside her and let a gentle, fond, expression creep over her face as she smoothed the boy's hair. Her mind was, as far as she could tell, unchanged. However, she was hardly helpless now. She had watched anime, sometimes years before the release date. Just let the forces of evil threaten her Bas-chan now!

"Waaaa?!" Grey sleepily mumbled, waking up and partially rising before Setsuna tapped a spot on his neck and sent him back down again.

"Pressure point," explained Setsuna to the bristling (literally) Sakura.

"What did you do *that* for?" Ami questioned Setsuna, beginning to bristle herself.

"Since we're all here together, and tomorrow night is your night, Mizuno-san," Setsuna decided to be formal, "we ought to get to know one another."

"But..." Usagi raised a hand, feeling almost as if she were in class.

Setsuna waved off the unspoken point. "We'll get more details from Ten'ou-san, Katsuragi-san, and the others that Shard-san indicated as less trustworthy later."

Maya continued to wonder if maybe she should ask Shard-san for a bite later. She still felt seriously underpowered.

-----

Eudial groaned and considered the scruffy person in the mirror.

That it was *her* made the whole thing more difficult to stomach.

She'd ended up flattened by one of the area attacks thrown by that vampire, and her favorite Chinese dress was now more fit to be used as dishrags.

Her carefully prepared trays (one containing normally spiked drinks, the other containing the love potion spiked drinks) had been blown away and had trickled down the drain. Her plans had likewise been shattered.

Eudial tried to tug on one segment of her dress to try and cover a breast more completely, only to wince at the ripping sound. No, this was *not* how she had envisaged the evening going.

Getting to her car, and trying to ignore the stares, Eudial considered her next step.

Clearly she had to strike before the dating began tomorrow. Once everyone had gotten to know everyone else, the effects of the potion would be more obvious. And the more crowded the environment, the more chance of things going wrong.

What was needed was getting the targets alone, or mainly alone. She needed to be able to strike quickly and decisively, then wait the four minutes for it to take effect, then she could introduce the new target for the victim's affections.

Eudial hoped that by sleeping on it, she could get a better idea of how to proceed.

----

Jared had stormed into the center, calling off his current game. "SOMEONE just drained major spell points from me!"

Celeste frowned, checked readings, then started to laugh.

Serafita began to chuckle a moment later, so much so that he went into SD form without noticing.

Jared blinked. "Uhm..."

"Use your Yggdrasil connection to replenish them," said Celeste, still smirking. "*Someone* just prayed to you for spells that they cast on the fly."

"Who?" Jared calmed himself on seeing their reactions. Maybe this wasn't a disaster after all?

"Grey," snickered Celeste. "Looks like he sent a general Yggdrasil request for allied deities and he got spells from you, Bast, and Toltiir. He just used two Heal spells (Morrigan and Ami), three Reincarnates (Setsuna, Makoto, and Rei), three Life Links (Sakura, Hotaru, and Minako), and a Break Enchantment (Maya Tono) from the god of crossovers."

"And because it *was* from the god of crossovers," smirked Serafita, "there are now crossover elements from Catgirl Nerima, El Hazzard, Gold Digger, and Fist Of The Northstar."

Jared's face fell. Mainly because he couldn't watch. (If he did, he'd want to nudge things.)

On seeing that expression, Celeste and Serafita laughed harder.

----

Minako's tail lashed around in obvious agitation but she seemed to gloat a bit too. "Nyaow. Err. Now. Setsuna-san? Why don't you start since you suggested it?"

Setsuna shrugged then de-transformed from Setsuna Meow to whatever she was normally now. "Okay. One question, then it is the next person's turn."

"How'd you do that?" blurted Ami.

Setsuna smirked slightly. "An effort of will. If you completely calm yourself, you can 'put the cat out' as it were."

Ami immediately started a deep breathing exercise, focussed on a piece of white paper, and detransformed as well.

"Great, Ami-chan. Except now nobody can ask her any other questions until we've all answered one," growled Rei.

"Oh," Ami realized. Still being able to transform back to human was such a relief, so she shrugged off the complaint.

There was a moment of tension among the group. Sakura eventually shifted back, even though the only thing she lost were two ears and a tail.

"Aren't you going to change back, Minako-chan? Oops!" Usagi held her hands over her mouth. Too late of course.

"Baka," declared Rei.

"Actually, I kinda like this," Minako announced. "In fact, I think I'll probably go streak around the neighborhood a bit."

Artemis brightened visibly at the suggestion, until he realized that she just meant that she was going to try running.

Another awkward silence.

Setsuna finally decided to take matters into her own hands before she had to use another pressure point technique. "Ok, Ami-chan, I've got a question for you."

"Me? But I..." Ami began to get very uncomfortable as attention was focussed on her.

"I'm not sure *how* you ended up there, especially after I clearly stated my prior claim well before he appeared." Setsuna's gaze was cold as she regarded the girl perspiring across the table from her. "However, you are clearly considered by Nebula to be his First Fiancee. He is also quite obviously smitten with you. Why do you toy with his affections instead of either returning them or simply turning him away if you don't want him?"

"But I... that is... well... I mean..." Everyone noticed Ami, bit by bit, go catgirl as her calm fell to tiny little pieces under that scrutiny. "...and then there's exams. With exams coming up, 'love' is not in my vocabulary... but then..." ~Smitten with me?! But we're too young. Aren't we? She's mistaken. Right? Or is she serious? What about Ryo-chan?~

"Methinks she protests too much," offered Makoto with a smirk as Ameow began tracing out a doodle on the tabletop with one claw.

"I've got an idea, let's just go ahead and set up a bunch of questions like in one of those date-match things." Honey suggested. "You know: favorite flower, favorite color, dreams for the future, that sort of thing. Then we can sort things out in a reasonable manner. Who the best match is under the 'common ground' you share with him. That's normally the best match, right?"

The response was agreeable, if not enthusiastic. Though there were a number of disagreements about what constituted a good match, the common consensus was that it could wait.

After all, it had been a hectic day.

--------

Sehan, aka Igneous, now Janus, a former Knight who had been tainted by the Dark Kingdom and then purified in this lifetime by Queen Serenity - then pardoned, knew fear. Or, it might be better to say, that he knew Fear.

And Fear was coming down the street towards the building. In slow, unhurried, measured steps. Also, knowing from experience, that Fear was coming this way with the noise of deliberate footsteps, though Fear could walk quieter than a cat when he wanted to. The dim glow of a cigarette marred the stealth of his approach, because as he walked towards the front gate it looked like even the pools of light from the streetlamps seemed to shrink at his approach.

This was the Knight Of Fear. Obsidian. An unschooled barbarian in Queen Serenity's Court.

It had been said (Janus vaguely remembered that it was Queen Serenity who had done the saying) that if you could come up with a dirty and nasty way to do a job, give it to Obsidian and he'd show you that you didn't really have a clue about 'dirty and nasty' comparitively.

When a Knight had gone rogue, though he thought it for the best interests of the Kingdom, it had been Obsidian who had decided to "end" the problem of the rogue Knight.

Sehan, who had been that rogue Knight, remembered little of his previous life. He *did* remember being chased by an impacable, relentless, Knight Of Fear who avoided every trap and ambush. Only to continue forward, step by step. Finally, on an asteroid near Saturn's orbit, Obsidian - also known as the Shade Knight, caught up with Igneous. By that time, Obsidian had gotten very annoyed. Especially after the last ambush had turned out to involve stolen military grade beamers.

It had taken Igneous three days to die.

Barely visible in the shadows near the gate, a figure wearing sunglasses looked up at the window the reborn Igneous was staring from. A hand came up and pointed directly at him, despite there being no lights to reveal his position.

An involuntary whimper forced its way from Janus' throat.

Oh yes, Janus knew fear.

--------

"Worst experience in my life?" Setsuna stared at the table for a moment. "All right. Fine. I'll tell you."

The tone in the former Sailor Pluto's voice was putting a few people on edge. Everyone nonetheless paid strict attention, drawn by the pain they could hear.

"Ten thousand years ago, I knew someone I admired. I wasn't in love, if you must know, but I cared about the fellow. A soldier who had been used and cast away. A Queen because of her pride, and a Princess because she was still young and fickle."

"HEY!" Makoto protested, then quieted under several glares.

Setsuna continued, her eyes locked on something only she could see. "I was still fairly new to guarding the Gate Of Time. There was no readme.txt or Help file, no manual or lessons on the position or the powers involved. I had practiced a number of attacks and abilities before, but there are subtle changes in the fabric of space/time that near the Gate and much of my experience had to be relearned. Of the powers that the Time Staff granted its wielder at the Gate, I spent centuries mastering.

"Unfortunately, less than two decades had gone by when Beryl's little rebellion fell apart and the Royal Ball to celebrate and inform her Senshi was held. Metal'la approached."

"Metal'la?" Honey asked, wondering how much of this her recorder was getting.

"Your associates in the government would call her a Class One Entity, though at the time she was weakened by her travel still and was functionally Class Two. Had she succeeded in absorbing Earth's mana and subverting the Crystal, she would have become a Class 0 Entity. Of course, in so doing, the Earth would have become a barren husk, but Metal'la didn't care about such trifles." Setsuna's eyes flicked to the android briefly before returning to the private vision. She knew darn well that Honey was recording this. She just didn't care as much as when she'd been bound by magical oath to serve Queen and Kingdom. "When you swear an oath to the Moon Queen on that Crystal, it is binding. When she installed me as Sailor Pluto, I was sworn to accept the duty of guarding the Time Gate. Then, when she deemed me ready, she sent me to the Gate and ordered me to have no visitors nor to communicate with the outside. Even knowledge of the Time Gate was to eventually be sealed."

"For two decades I helplessly watched events transpire. I lost track of my Knight of Duty as he travelled about. Then when Metal'la and her Shadow attacked, I watched as the Kingdom fell." Setsuna practically growled. "I could do NOTHING, NOTHING! It took me over three centuries to find enough loopholes that I could interact at all with the outside world! Even then, due to the wording of the Queen's commands, the most I could manage was little nudges - nothing clear and little direct. I saw the Prince of Earth die, I saw the Moon Princess follow him in death! I saw all the Senshi fall and the Shadow get sealed. I saw my Knight fall - his sword shattered and his life draining away to less than ash!

"And I saw the Queen who had failed her kingdom, save its future and send the Senshi and many others of the Kingdom forward in time to be reborn. And I knew that I owed her a last duty, to guide the stream of time till what she had seen could actually occur." Setsuna shook her head. "It has been 10,000 years, but that day is something I remember well. And have no wish to repeat it."

----------

He looked like a cowboy. Sort of. Which contrasted completely with the decor of the ballroom which was now the meeting room that Queen Serenity had set up for the time being.

Black sunglasses. Black baseball cap with an odd symbol on it. Black leather duster. Black cowboy boots met black jeans held up with a black belt. A black shirt.

Queen Serenity detected four weapons concealed on the Knight of Fear, which meant that there was likely another twelve that would turn up if you were to strip him naked and seperate him from his clothes. And likely another three that you'd never be certain *where* he was hiding them. That was something Obsidian had always said. "You can never have too many weapons, and your enemies should never be certain how you're going to snuff them until you do it."

And then there was Obsidian's tendency to make weapons out of whatever was at hand.

Obsidian inclined his head towards Serenity. "My Queen. You're... looking well."

Serenity did not remark on the tiny amount of respect shown. Obsidian was hardly the sort of falcon for a lady to wear on her wrist. He was more the ornery old wolf you sent out when something needed to be killed. "We did not see you die, how did you fall, my Most Dangerous Ghost?"

Again that head inclined. He had been called the Shade or the Ghost Knight due to his tendency to use nonmagical means but apparently disappear and reappear as if he were a ghost. "My Lady, Atlantis made the mistake of siding with Beryl in her rebellion."

"But Atlantis drowned beneath the waves," the Queen said with a frown.

"Exactly." Obsidian smiled and touched a black gloved hand to his throat. "Then I returned to Mars. Unfortunately, with the Crystal seperated and the terraforming failed, even one of your Knights can find breathing difficult."

"We see." The Queen *did* see. It was a pity, she'd privately been betting that someone had to have dropped a planet on him.

"In this life, My Lady, I have been reborn as Morgan Wright, a humble scholar."

The Queen bit back a laugh. Obsidian? A scholar? Not likely.

Obsidian raised an eyebrow at the barely concealed mirth. "My Queen, I am here simply to inform you of my availability. Though Igneous' presence... concerns me. Even if he is pardoned, can he be trusted?"

"He has been purified of taint," said the Queen with a condescending smile, "his loyalty is unquestioned."

Somehow, Obsidian felt that this answer was less than satisfactory. To him, at least. It certainly seemed to satisfy the Queen.

---------

The meeting had broken up due to the hour. Tomorrow was Ami's date with Grey.

Setsuna had come up with both the idea (at least initially) for the calm discussion between the affected parties, as well as the idea of the "dating contest" to see who was most compatible.

Except that neither had worked out as the former Time Senshi had intended, obviously.

Minako Aino leapt to the top of the roof in a single sinuous motion to crouch there momentarily.

She had stood up to the Queen for her beliefs and Sailor V had vanished as a result. She had tried to be heroic anyway, had nearly been killed...

And her fiance had bitten her gently in what was probably the most sensual moment she'd ever experienced. Just the memory caused a flush to start under her fur. Minako leapt down to the street and began running.

What Minako did *not* know was that her mana pool, used to transform her to Sailor Venus and empower her attacks such as the Crescent Beam, had not been removed. It was a birthright, whereas the Senshi identity was granted by the Queen. What would have empowered her heightened speed and strength in Senshi form now found an outlet in her werecheetah form. What would have shot off a "Venus Love Me Chain" had another use now.

What Minako Aino *did* know was that the houses were a blur as she sped past them. She left the street to run along the tops of fences and leap past intersection as Minako- the Blonde Blur!

What Minako further realized was that as a werecheetah, her senses were more acute and her balance and agility were Ridiculously high. Same with reaction speed. However, as she leaned panting against a wall in Shinjuku, she realized her constitution was not at the same level.

It took her a few minutes to catch her breath, then jog at a more sedate pace towards her home. She barely broke 60mph on the way. As she shifted back to walk the final block, Minako Aino considered getting a new sailorsuit. Thanks to her fiance, she had a new powerup to replace the old one, even if there *was* apparently a downside.

Such as having to replace her tennis shoes every couple of hundred miles.

---------

Hotaru Tomoe had waited until everyone else had left, except for that samurai girl, and took a nearly identical sitting position nearby. Her sempai was halfway between them.

After a few moments, Hotaru shifted to a more comfortable position.

"So..." Hotaru began, uncertainly.

"An oath under duress is not binding by modern law or, as I understand it, under the laws of magic." Sakura sat looking demure, stoic, calm. Her eyes were closed and there was no indication that she had moved. Only because she'd been watching had Hotaru been certain the samurai had spoken.

"Uhm..." Hotaru began.

"I had asked that my name be added to the list of fiancees because of an ancient oath. My family is involved in protecting Grey-san." Sakura's voice was as calm and soft as a lone snowflake settling into a field.

"But..." Hotaru nervously began again.

Sakura's voice continued to be cool and emotionless. "How much easier to guard my lord, if I share his pillow?"

"WHAT?!" There was absolutely nothing calm, cool, or emotionless in Hotaru's demeanor.

"Calm yourself," advised Sakura. "This idea is fairly new to me as well. My family are a family of demonslayers, one of three major lines here in Japan. I had a namesake at the turn of the century who married a man named Oogami. However, if one were to track backwards a single generation, one would find the name Saotome as well. Two lines of ancestry point me on this path. And truly, honor and duty are the true path of the samurai."

"You're not reading my mind are you?"

"Just asking myself what questions *I* would be asking in your situation." Sakura said, still not looking.

Hotaru frowned. "Then this is just about duty for you, right?"

"Life is lighter than a feather, duty is heavier than a mountain," quoted Sakura.

Hotaru hid her relief. It sounded like the samurai girl wasn't really interested. Which was what Hotaru considered a good thing. This Sakura was *way* too cute.

--------

"Basa... Grey-chan?" Setsuna considered the boy in the Mizuno living room. She also ignored Ami sticking her head out of her room. Not that Ami was interested, of course.

"Hmmm?" Grey had had a *lot* to think about recently. And why was it that everyone tended to ask him what had happened at the party when he didn't remember it at all? He'd started out OK, there had been that vampire fellow, then - everything was blank until waking up in the shrine office. And nobody would give him any details!

Setsuna handed him her new staff. "Could you give me a couple of turns?"

"What are you talking ab... hah?" Grey watched as Setsuna turned around and lifted her shirt enough to reveal a socket in her back. "i sure don't remember *that* in the Silver Millenium."

"If you would," said Setsuna with a smile. "Purely a precautionary measure."

Ami's door slammed. Must have been the wind.

---------

NOTES: Oh myaow... errr sorry. Oh my!
Setsuna as Ifurita?! (When she's not Setsunya Meow, that is.) What effect will this have on Crystal Tokyo and the time stream? And will she give a #$*! about it?
Minako Aino - Sailor Cheetah?!
Sakura Shinguchi - Samurai Cat(girl)?!
And what of poor Ami who's on first (what's on second? *slap* okay, better now) for the dating contest? Will she cope or will she simply turn into Ameow Mewzuno and purr a lot?
How will Queen Serenity cope with all this? Or the Wizard?
Stay tuned for this and other important questions. (Some of which may be actually answered.)