STATE OF LOVE AND TRUST

by Sean Gaffney

Sailor Moon (C) 2001 Naoko Takeuchi and various assorted anime companies.

Please note that this fanfic is a lemon.  Big time.  We're talking a LOT of
sex here, folks.  Reader discretion is very much advised.


     There was no noise when they first appeared.  Not that that would have 
mattered, as the moans and gasps coming from the bed more than made up for 
any small clicks or scrapes.  But even if it were quiet as the grave, there 
would have been nothing.  Soft as quicksilver, they slowly made their way 
towards the foot of the bed pulsing ever so slightly up and down.  There 
were no eyes as such.  Indeed, to the casual observer it looked like 
nothing so much as a silver button with spindly legs.  Nevertheless, it and 
its companion stood and waited, and somehow knew what was going on.
     Above it, two girls moved as one, each working towards a shared goal, 
that of bringing each other to the ultimate pleasure.  The blond moaned, 
her head rocking up and down, trying to coax more nectar from the sweet 
centre of her partner.  Likewise, her lover's hair tossed from side to side 
as if caught in a gale force wind, taking long, slow licks of sleek, 
muscular thighs, and then finding her way back to the honey whose taste she 
craved.
     This was a scene they had performed many times, on many nights, in 
many locations.  They could be loud enough to break windows, yet they held 
back here.  There was a child present, one who wasn't quite ready to deal 
with the depth and extent of her adopted parents' love.  And their other 
houseguest was a very private, intense individual.  But more to the point, 
they were simply polite.
     They were making some noise, however, and were totally devoted to each 
other.  So much so that they didn't notice the little silver spiders as 
they began to slowly creep their way up the bed, still moving up and down 
ever so slightly.  If the two had been more watchful, or in the forms they 
saved for more serious matters, nothing ever would have happened.  But they 
were at home, and it was a quiet night, and there had been no enemies for 
many weeks.  And they were young and in love.  Who could deny them a little 
bit of pleasure?
     So it was that the spiders slowly moved ever closer, almost looking 
like dimes creeping across the sweat-soaked sheets.  They separated, each 
heading towards one end of the bed, each making its way towards the scalp 
of a different girl.  Then they paused again, watching and waiting.
      The two girls were almost there now, calling each other's name louder 
and with more frequency.  Their nipples were hard as diamonds, pressing 
into the flat, tensed stomachs.  Their buds had long since escaped from the 
protruding sheath that kept them hidden, and now were an entree, being 
feasted upon by mouth and tongue.  Fingers were moving up and down, 
touching a breast or buttock here and there, not caring where they ended up 
as long as it was somewhere on the body of the other.  Slowly, but surely, 
they made their way towards their mutual climax.
     At that very moment, the spiders struck.
     Leaping into the air with a nimbleness that almost belied their 
mechanical, inanimate state, they landed on the scalp of each girl, still 
treading as lightly as a feather.  Then, before either one could react, the 
four legs slowly slid down, beneath the skin, and penetrated into the brain 
itself.
     The two froze, mouths locked open in cries of pleasure, hands still 
clutching at each others long legs.  The spiders began to pulse up and 
down, both strangely in time with each other, as if moving to some hidden, 
unknown beat.  This continued for a moment, and then slowly the two girls 
began to move in the same rhythm.  Back and forth, pelvises pumping up and 
down against interlocking mouths, chest smashing against hip with 
mechanical precision.  The nipples were still hard, the clitorises still 
erect and ready... but there was no moaning, no cries of names or grunts of 
pleasure.  There was only the rustle of bodies on sheets.
     For several minutes this continued, the spiders pulsing a little 
faster now, even as the bodies reached a second climax.  There was finally 
another noise in the room:  a quiet keen from each woman as they each 
raised their bodies high in the air, muscles taut, each feeling a pleasure 
that nothing in the world had ever experienced before, something which they 
had been searching for ever since their first lovemaking.
     And then it was over.  The spiders were almost invisible, hidden by 
the two girls' hair.  They had collapsed to the bed, still holding on to 
each other.  If an observer had been watching from afar, he would not have 
noticed anything other than two girls giving each other the best sex 
they've ever had.
     Their eyes, however, lay open.  Open and unseeing.

***

     In a room further down the hall, a small bed and its sleeping occupant 
were illuminated by moonlight that shone through an open window.  A year or 
two earlier, when she had been living in a different house and with a 
different family, this would never have happened.  But she was stronger 
now, and younger too.  The sickness that had wracked her body for ten years 
of her life had left, and now she could sleep with a window open, 
especially when it was such a warm night.
     In a sense, this turned out to be unfortunate.
     There was nothing so obvious or unsubtle as a cloud of vapour entering 
the room.  No mist slowly made its way through the opening, wrapping its 
tendrils around the young girl in the bed.  But nevertheless something was 
there.  Something had entered through the window and was now hovering 
around the girl in a haze.
     Several billion tiny little somethings.
     The girl lay beneath her sheet, tossing and turning.  She was in the 
throes of another nightmare.  They came less and less frequently these 
days, now that the thing that had driven most of them was gone.  But there 
was still at least one night a week where the darkness fell upon her.  She 
never screamed, or cried out.  She merely tossed and turned, a pained look 
on her face.
     The machines that hovered around her were analysing, testing, and 
probing.  They were created for a specific purpose, and they filled that 
purpose with speed and skill.
     The girl turned violently, and the sheet fell off the bed, revealing 
her naked body.  Evidently she had chosen to be comfortable rather than 
modest when it came to the hot summers.  In any case, the microscopic 
machines chose that moment to get closer to the girl... far closer.  They 
entered her through every possible opening, taking stocks of muscle mass, 
size, age...
     The nanos paused.  She was too young for their purposes.  They would 
never be able to do what they had been created to do with her in this 
circumstance.  They quickly went through their databases, searching for 
something that would help them achieve their goal and not be forced to 
abort and expire prematurely.
     Ironically, they found an answer within the girl itself.  She had been 
older, and younger, and an infant... all within the past year and a half.  
Curious, the nanomachines looked deeper into her mind, scanning her life 
history, her strengths and weaknesses.  They then went to work, knowing 
what to do.
     They manipulated, and nudged, and tripped various hormones.  The young 
girl moaned softly, and stretched out along the bed.  Her face contorted 
for a moment, but then fell peaceful again as thousands of the nanos ran 
through her nerves, making the operation as painless as possible.  Sinews 
stretched, muscles grew.  Her legs grew longer, her body filled out more.  
Millions of the nanos sacrificed themselves to add to her body mass and 
keep her body healthy and vital.
     The nanobots in her brain raced through more memories, trying to find 
a way to have the girl keep some resemblance of sanity.  They found her 
current memories, and her secret identity.  Then, buried deep within her 
psyche, they found another set of memories.  Thousands of years old.  Of 
someone who was very much a woman, and was involved in a passionate love 
affair with another Soldier.
     They broke down the wall that hid the memories, and allowed them to 
come to the fore, mingling with the more modern life that she had led.  The 
two blended together, complementing each other.  Much was learned, and much 
was taught.
     And now the body was ready.  A ripe, full-breasted body of an 18-year-
old woman lay on the bed, still seemingly asleep.  But her chest rose and 
fell regularly, like clockwork, and her nipples were erect.  Further down, 
a silky mass of dark locks covered her nether lips, hiding the stiffening 
nub that was emerging from within.  Her face was flushed, mouth parted to 
allow tiny gasps to escape.  Everything was ready.
     And so the nanoprobes fulfilled their original mission.  The young 
woman moaned, her hands rising from the bed, acquainting themselves with 
her new, mature body.  One strayed across a nipple, testing its arousal.  
The other traced a path downwards, running through her pubes and dragging 
nails lightly across her softness.
     And her mind was changing too.  She now remembered her past, her old 
kingdom... and her old lover.  Alike in so many ways, and yet fundamentally 
so different.
     She remembered their first night together, and her finger fell inside 
her, gently rubbing.  It had been almost a surprise, the two coming 
together with sudden passion, clothes falling to the floor seemingly 
without any effort, and their bodies crashing onto the bed.  They had never 
seen each other's naked form, yet each knew exactly where to go in order to 
give the other pleasure.
     Now the moans were louder, and her body was rising occasionally from 
the bed.  Her fingers twisted her nipples, as she tried to give the 
pretence that they were another hand.  Her lover's hand.
     The nanoprobes finished their final task, and the woman cried out, a 
small sound that nevertheless conveyed the most amazing climax she had ever 
had in this body... and indeed the first.
     Now the nanos left her, dropping to the ground as they did so.  They 
expired, melting away into the molecules of the floor, but they did so 
feeling complete.  Everything was as it should be.
     In the bed, the woman opened her eyes, which glowed a pale white.  She 
couldn't simply stay here like this.  Not with her in the next room.  Not 
when she could do something about it.
     She needed her lover.  Now.
     "Setsuna... I'm coming," she whispered.

***

     The same Setsuna was not lying in her bed peacefully asleep, or even 
indulging in some harmless self-pleasure.  No, she was pacing back and 
forth in her bedroom, eyes roaming all over the room in controlled panic.
     She knew what was to happen.  What was undoubtedly happening even now.  
And what made it worse was there was little she could do about it.  She'd 
tried, searched for days to find an answer to their coming future.  But now 
it was upon them with the inevitability of a freight train, and all she had 
to show for it was an incredible fatigue that made her want to crawl under 
her sheets and sleep for the next week.
     But she couldn't afford to.  She couldn't simply give in to what was 
going to happen to them, even if it was hopeless.  She would fight.  It was 
who she was.  She was a soldier.
     Two hours ago Haruka and Michiru had wished her a good night and went 
off to their own bedroom.  Setsuna's mouth opened to yell out a warning, to 
tell them to get out, to run to Haruka's car and drive away, to freedom.  
But after a moment, she sighed, and simply waved her hand.  There were 
rules.  She could bend them... had done so on numerous occasions to 
preserve her friends' lives and to save their future.  But when something 
was absolutely inevitable, it just was.  The events might be changed... but 
not the outcome.  So she watched her friends go to bed, and wondered if it 
would be the last time she'd see them when she was in her right mind.
     Now she was in her room, watching for the first signs of anything 
strange or dangerous.  She'd looked under her bed so many times she had 
finally taken off the box spring and mattress, propping them up against the 
wall.  The windows were closed and locked.  She wanted to lock the door as 
well, but had a vision of one of the others coming to her for help and 
being unable to get inside.  So she left it, but now she couldn't help but 
pace up and down in front of it, watching and waiting.
     What was perhaps most frustrating is that she couldn't find anyone to
attack.  No enemy, no evil dictator or mad being from another dimension.  
As far as she could tell, absolutely nothing was currently endangering any 
of the others.  There was nothing.
     And yet there they were... mindless puppets.  Mindless to what?  She 
was still unsure.  She'd almost welcome an attack, if only to find the last 
piece to this agonising puzzle.
     Stop.  Was that a sound?
     She turned, her ears out on stalks.  Her room was completely silent.
     But there was water running in the bathroom.
     Somewhere she hadn't thought to check.
     One of the others?  Or someone else?  Or some*thing* else?
     All of a sudden she was scared.  *She* was scared, the high and mighty 
Mistress of Time.  But now she was trapped in something out of a horror 
movie, and was scared because she knew exactly what she was going to do.
     Go find out what it was.
     She opened the door and made her way silently down the hall towards 
the bathroom.  Haruka and Michiru's door at the end of the hall was closed, 
but that didn't mean anything.  Hotaru's door was open, though, and that 
made Setsuna's heart leap up into her throat.
     Hotaru had been raised by the three of them for the past two years, 
and was like a daughter to Haruka and Michiru.  But to Setsuna she was far 
more than that, though she would never admit it.  Never admit that the 
young child who grew so agonisingly slowly in front of her eyes was a 
reincarnation of the one person in all of creation Setsuna could truly call 
her lover.
     No one knew that, of course.  All of their memories were still 

patchworked and hazy, even the Outers.  Except hers, of course.  She 
couldn't afford to have anything but absolute recall.  So she remembered 
everything about the old days.  When she first received her powers, and the 
responsibilities that went with them.  Meeting her fellow warriors, and 
pairing naturally with the three older and wiser heads.  They formed two 
groups almost naturally.
     Uranus and Neptune had been lovers even before getting their 
abilities, of course.  But Pluto and Saturn had never met before that day, 
and neither of them seemed particularly inclined towards each other 
romantically.  At least Pluto hadn't thought so.  Had never even realised 
the depth of the other's feelings until they returned to her room after the 
latest ball, purportedly for a night-cap.  Saturn had stared at her face, a 
blush coming to her cheeks.
    And then...
    Setsuna was outside the bathroom door now, had been for quite some 
time.  She could hear the shower running, and now was positive she knew 
what she'd find in there.  She had any number of options.  She could walk 
downstairs, try to get out.  She could go try to get the others, see if 
they were alright, then team up and enter the room.  She could go on the 
offensive, going in and quickly trying to knock Hotaru unconscious, until 
they could find out what to do.
     She did none of that.  She simply opened the door, letting it swing 
wide, and looked inside.
     She was beautiful.  Setsuna's eyes moved up, adjusting for the fact 
that she wasn't looking at the body of a ten-year-old girl.  Hotaru looked 
exactly the way she had when they'd first made love... and Setsuna was 
making sure that it was exact.  She had no idea how the girl she'd tucked 
into bed had turned into the passionate young woman of her memories and 
dreams.  But here she was, water running onto her naked body, slowly 
soaping her breasts.
     Hotaru turned lazily to face Setsuna, still letting her hands roam 
over her body, soap tracing its way down her front towards her perfectly 
shaped cleft.
     "Setsuna," she purred.
     And suddenly the last five days of desperation and sleeplessness came 
crashing down on Setsuna.  She fell to her knees by the bathroom door with 
a sob, still unable to take her eyes off of her old lover.
     "I'm sorry, Hotaru... I'm sorry.  I couldn't save you, I couldn't save 
any of us... I'm so sorry."
     Her vision was blurring now, but she could just make out Hotaru coming 
over to lift her up.  She was led over to the side of the tub and rested 
her head against Hotaru's shoulder, still unable to stop crying.  Hotaru 
wasn't saying anything, was simply gently massaging her shoulders and 
letting Setsuna get rid of a week's worth of growing frustration and 
terror.
     Finally, after Setsuna had managed to calm herself to the occasional 
hiccup, Hotaru said, "Do you regret that this happened to me, Setsuna?"
     "Yes," Setsuna said, her voice hoarse.  "You were being given a chance 
to start over.  To live some semblance of a normal life, the kind you've 
never been allowed to have.  You should be able to be happy."
     Hotaru reached out and stroked her cheek.  The effect was 
intoxicating.  "And why can't you be happy?  How long has it been, Setsuna?  
When were you last completely happy?"
     Setsuna's answer took a long time in coming.  But it was the only one 
she could give.  "With you."
     "And now I have my memories back.  And I have a body that burns for 
you, my love."  She took one of Setsuna's hands and placed it on her 
breast, and Setsuna could feel the rock hard nipple.
     Hotaru's face looked incredibly sexy.  Her eyes were half-lidded, 
smoldering with passions long denied.  She moved closer to Setsuna, 
drinking in every aspect of the other woman's olive-skinned, dusky beauty.  
She decided to press her attack.
     "Would you deny me that happiness now, Setsuna?  Because I'm an adult?  
Deny me what I desire most?"  Hotaru was whispering in her ear now, her 
breath hot and tempting across the other woman's neck.  Setsuna had been 
aroused since she'd first seen Hotaru in the shower, but this was almost 
too much to take.  She could feel dampness in her crotch.  
     Her voice was just as soft.  "No," she murmured.  "God, I can't deny 
you that, Hotaru."
     Now Hotaru was slowly unbuttoning Setsuna's blouse, taking her time 
about it, waiting for some sort of sign of resistance.  Setsuna was losing 
any sense of perspective, however, because every time she tried to think 
she lost herself in Hotaru's loving gaze.  Now the blouse was gone, and she 
was standing, her skirt falling to her feet, having been quietly unzipped 
while she sat.  Hotaru took her shoulders in her hands and stared, one last 
question on her lips.
     "And if my being happy means that you get your dream come true... 
what's wrong with that?"
     Then she was at Setsuna's lips, kissing her softly, then with more 
force.  And Setsuna had no more answers, no more doubts.  All she had was 
the most wonderful woman she had ever known, being reincarnated before her 
eyes.  Wanting her.
     And gods, did Setsuna want Hotaru.
     Her bra and panties made their way to the floor as if they didn't even 
exist, and she felt herself drawn into the shower.  Then their hands were 
touching each other, groping, refamiliarising themselves with territories 
explored a long time ago.  Hotaru was shivering slightly, beginning to 
react to the cold coming in from the hallway outside.  So Setsuna did what 
she had to do to solve that problem.  They pressed up against the walls of 
the shower, breasts pushing against each other, hips grinding together in 
unison.  Foreplay was good, foreplay was beautiful, but this had waited too 
long.  They gasped as the hot water cascaded around them, washing away the 
soap that had collected on their fronts as they pleasured each other.
     Setsuna was starting to cry again, but this time it wasn't tears.  
This was a cry of pleasure, a shout of pure joy.  She didn't care if the 
others woke up, didn't even care at the moment if they were all right.  All 
that mattered was the woman in her arms, and the impending climax that was 
coming for both of them.
     When it finally did come, it was like a supernova, like an inferno, 
like a dam breaking.  It was like their first night together so long ago, 
only more so, the emotional walls breaking having been built so much 
higher.  Setsuna's legs trembled, her arms clutched at Hotaru's breasts and 
ass, her moans became a scream that echoed briefly through the house.
     And then it was done, and she was basking in its glow.  And slipping.  
At first she thought it was the shower, but then she realised that her body 
was finally giving up the ghost and demanding some sort of rest.  She 
leaned in to whisper to her lover, who giggled and lowered her gently to 
the floor of the shower stall.
     She sat there, legs spread akimbo, water still spraying into her face, 
but she wasn't complaining.  It was pleasant just lying here, being cradled 
by the woman she now knew she would never leave again, in the aftermath of 
the best sex she'd ever had.
     Her eyes were glazed now, and she knew she wwould only be awake for a 
few more seconds.  She stared at Hotaru who smiled and gave her a long, 
slow kiss.
     "I'll take care of you," she whispered.
     And Setsuna smiled, and let her eyes close, and her mind drift away.
     She lay there, sleeping the sleep of the dead, with Hotaru kneeling in 
front of her, preventing the shower spray from waking her up.  She turned 
it off and went over to the tub, filling a bucket up with hot water.  She 
turned back to her lover and gave a warm smile, even as she reached over to 
grab some shampoo.
     "Setsuna?"
     The woman shifted, but didn't respond.  Hotaru smiled, moving her head 
so that she could slowly wash her hair using the bucket.
     "Even with all that's happened... and the fact that we aren't able to 
control it... I'd still do it all over again to be with you.  Everything.  
I want you to know that before I do this, so nothing's misunderstood.  You 
mean everything in the world to me."
     And then Hotaru squeezed out a generous dollop of shampoo into her 
hand.  It was bright green, and seemed to pulse with an inner light.  She 
rubbed it together with her hands, the greenish tinge spreading up her 
arms, and began to rub it into Setsuna's scalp.  Her fingers tingled, 
almost buzzed.  She scrubbed, but never stopped looking at Setsuna's 
peacefully sleeping face.

***

     Breakfast the next morning was, on the surface, similar to most 
morning breakfasts in the household.  Michiru was the first to wake, the 
glazed, vacant stare she had worn most of the evening finally evaporating 
from her eyes.  She sat up slowly, fingering the spot on her scalp where 
the metal spider still sat.  It was almost seamless, she could barely tell 
it from her own skin.  She carefully ran her fingers through her lover's 
hair, and discovered the same area.
     Haruka seemed to rouse at her touch, eyes slowly opening.  "Good 
morning," she said blearily.  She blinked, then raised a hand to touch her 
head.
     Michiru shook her head.  "It's there.  And not going anywhere, from 
what I can tell.  How do you feel?"
     Haruka yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.  "Sticky," she 
muttered.
     "Well, we didn't really get to wash after last night."
     "Last night... I feel horny, Michiru.  I mean really, really horny.  
And..."  Her voice dropped.  "Not just for you anymore."
     Michiru nodded.  "Same here.  I think we need to go out there, tell 
everyone what happened.  Well, no, they know.  Discuss what happened."
     Haruka blinked.  "They do know, don't they?  And Hotaru... how do we 
know that?"
     Michiru shrugged, then pointed to her scalp.  "I'm guessing it's more 
than just something to make us aroused."
     Haruka's stomach growled.  "Still hungry.  Guess some things don't 
change."
     "We should get cleaned up and then I'll go make breakfast.  And no, no 
showering together... not yet.  Save it for later."  Her eyes glinted, 
looking at her lover's slight pout.
     Walking into the shower, Michiru noticed that it had been used the 
night before.  In fact, Setsuna's clothes still lay on the floor, slightly 
damp.  She shivered, erotic thoughts running through her mind.  Haruka was 
right, her desires weren't limited anymore.  The thought of Setsuna and 
Hotaru making love in here made her breath speed up, and all she could 
think of as she showered was when she could join them... or whether they'd 
simply need to build a communal shower, if this kept up they way they all 
knew it would.
     As she exited the shower, Haruka walked in, and they quickly kissed 
each other.  It was electric, the feeling running through them now.  They 
couldn't read each others thoughts, as such, but... but the bond they knew 
had always been between them was now almost a tangible link, so strong that 
their lips tingled as they touched, as if a current had run through them.
     Pulling away reluctantly, she left her lover to get all soapy and wet 
(stop that), and went down to the kitchen to get herself some tea.  On 
arriving, she discovered that she wasn't alone.  Setsuna was sitting at the 
table, drinking a cup of tea and reading the newspaper.  Hotaru was by the 
microwave, removing some scrambled eggs from it.
     She stopped in the doorway, taking in the change in Hotaru's 
appearance.  Our little girl is all grown up, she mused, and a sad smile 
briefly appeared on her face.  But Hotaru seemed anything but sad.  She was 
almost glowing with an inner light, a grin across her features as she put 
the eggs next to some toast and set them down next to Setsuna.
     "Good morning, Michiru," she said, walking over.  And then she was in 
Michiru's arms, giving her a deep, long kiss that took the other woman's 
breath away.  Her tongue attacked Michiru's mouth, seeking to explore as 
much as possible, while her hands went to the top of her head.  Hotaru 
found the metal area where the spider lay and stroked it softly, and 
Michiru nearly came there in her arms, a low erotic moan coming from her as 
her body lit up with pleasure.
     Finally Hotaru let her fall onto a chair, a smug and satisfied grin on 
her features.  For her own part, Michiru looked slightly dazed.  "You've 
been practising a lot for someone who only got that body a few hours ago."
     Setsuna spoke up.  "Well, she had the best teacher."  She was 
attempting to keep a straight face, but her eyes were smiling.
     Haruka came into the room, towelling off her hair.  "I couldn't find 
the shampoo, has anyone seen it?"
     Hotaru and Setsuna shared a look.  "I used it all up last night, I'll 
go buy another one."
     Haruka stopped, staring at Hotaru's very nubile and attractive body.  
"Oh boy," she murmured.  She sat down at the last place at the table.  "We 
have to talk now, don't we?"
     Hotaru sighed and sat down as well.  "What do we do?"
     Setsuna put her hands under her chin.  "Well, let's see.  What 
happened last night?"
     Michiru and Haruka looked at each other.  "We were making love, and 
were attacked by something."
     Haruka nodded.  "Something which took over our minds, made us come to 
the most amazing climaxes we've ever had, then slid itself into our scalp 
and put us out for the night."
     Setsuna smiled.  "Well, at least it was polite enough to do it in that 
order.  And normally, if something like this had happened to you or 
Michiru, you would be incredibly angry.  Livid.  Instead you're discussing 
it as if it was the morning stock quote."
     Haruka nodded.  "I'm worried... but that's about it."
     Michiru frowned.  "I feel the same... is it some sort of pacifier, 
maybe?  Something that makes us unable to fight?"
     Setsuna pursed her lips.  "Haruka, there's a large boulder out in back 
that we talked about moving.  I think now might be a good time to try."
     Haruka smiled and got to her feet.  She reached into the air, then 
blinked.  "Wait a minute.." she said quietly.  Then, closing her eyes and 
concentrating, she felt her Sailor Uranus outfit coalesce around her, 
quietly and without fanfare.
     Michiru stared for a moment, then understanding washed over her face.  
"Something else..."
     Hotaru smiled.  "Our memories are back.  All of them, or at least all 
the important ones.  With me it was a necessity... I don't think I would 
have been able to handle this body and these feelings if I was still 
mentally a child.  With the rest of you... I think whatever was done to us, 
maybe it cleaned house.  Our minds weren't exactly whole to begin with, 
with those gaps."
     There was a large explosion from the backyard, and the roof rang with 
the sound of falling debris.  Haruka strolled back in.  "Well, that seems 
to be working out all right.  Better, in fact.  No calling out powers, or 
transformations."
     Setsuna rubbed her temples.  "We never needed that before... I imagine 
it was simply our modern minds trying to help us understand what the Sailor 
Senshi were.  Filtered through a generation that grew up with Magical Girl 
Pretty Haruka."
     "Hey," Haruka said, sticking out her tongue.
     "You show that tongue to me, you'd better be prepared to use it, 
honey," Setsuna said, then frowned slightly.  "Which brings us to another 
slight difference."
     "We all want each other.  Desperately," Michiru said bluntly.  "Not 
just Haruka and me, or you and Hotaru.  All of us.  I'm trying my hardest 
not to leap to my feet and run back to the bedroom now."
     "Sheets are still filthy.  Probably have to use Setsuna's bed." Haruka 
said with a sly grin.
     "My bed is in pieces," Setsuna followed, earning her a few looks.  
"Long story," she said.  "In any case, I think we all are feeling what 
Michiru is feeling.  I do have one question, though, and I'm rather 
relieved to find that it is still quite important to me.  And hasn't been 
'eliminated' from my mind."
     Hotaru reached over, sensing her lover's seriousness.  "What is it?"
     Setsuna looked up, her eyes shining.  "I love you all.  And I don't 
just mean lust, or desire.  I mean love, the love I felt for Saturn so long 
ago, and still do now.  But I also love you, Michiru, and you, Haruka.  
You've been like sisters to me... but now we're soulmates.  And that's 
something that makes me feel very, very, happy, mind controlling spiders 
and shampoos or no."
     "So *that's* where the shampoo went," Haruka cried triumphantly.  
Michiru gave her a look and she turned her grin into a cough.  "Well... I'm 
not gonna be as poetic about it as Setsuna, but yeah, it's the same.  You 
all mean everything to me."
     Michiru and Hotaru hugged their partners, and then they got up and 
enveloped each other in a group hug, squeezing as tightly as possible. 
     "This is sappy," Haruka said, without much bite.
     "Oh, hush," Michiru whispered.  "Question now."
     "Mmm?" Setsuna said.
     "What do we have left to talk about?  Anything else that can't wait?"
     "The others," Hotaru said.
     Setsuna nodded.  "When I saw this future... the one we have before us 
now... the four of us were making love, yes.  But not merely with each 
other.  Minako was there clearly, and I think I saw Ami too."
     They pulled away briefly, though still keeping their arms around each 
other.  "So what do we do about it?"
     Michiru considered.  "I don't think we can do anything.  Do you?"
     They all considered the idea of going to warn the other Senshi, or 
getting help... and found it simply melted away in their minds.  It just 
wasn't an option.
     "Whoever did this wants to keep it happening, and is making very 
sure."
     "Who *is* doing this?" Hotaru asked.  "I mean, I love what I've found 
with you guys, and would never give that up... but if some enemy comes 
along and tells me to bow before him and call him master, I'd rather not."
     Setsuna shivered.  "That was what I was afraid of... it's why I tore 
apart my bed.  I don't want an enemy to destroy us like this, even with the 
love we have for each other.  But I can't find anything.  Crystal Tokyo... 
still exists, and Neo-Queen Serenity is still its ruler.  Beyond that, I 
can't find much of everything... except us making love."
     Michiru mused.  "Well, we'll just have to see what happens then."
     There was a long pause, each woman lost in their own thoughts.  Then 
Haruka spoke up.  "Setsuna, how broken is that bed of yours?"
     "I think, judging by our current states, we could put it back together 
in about fifteen seconds."  She grabbed Michiru's arm and began to move 
towards her room.
     Hotaru almost yanked Haruka's arm out of her socket in following them.  
"Heck, we could simply put the mattress on the floor, that'd cut it to 
three."
     "Works for me," Michiru saidas she opened the door, turned, and lifted 
Setsuna's shirt over her head.  She quickly brought her lips forward in a 
passionate kiss, declaring her own love in the most direct way she could.  
She felt Setsuna's love in return, as well as her desire.  I guess the bond 
isn't just between me and Haruka, she mused, before her thoughts turned 
entirely towards passion and pleasure.
     Setsuna moved into the kiss, and Michiru could feel her breasts 
pressing into her own.  She then spun Michiru around and took a nipple in 
her mouth.  The other woman gasped, her head arching back.
     There was a loud thump to their side, as Hotaru had tossed the 
mattress to the floor almost offhandedly before tackling Haruka, sending 
her falling back onto it with a ferocity that the blonde-haired woman had 
never seen, even when Saturn was an adult.  Haruka wasn't quite sure what 
to make of all this, but decided that at the moment it would be fun to 
simply lie back and see where Hotaru went with all this energy.
     She quickly found out, a muffled cry emerging from her lips as 
Hotaru's hand had snaked into her shorts, quickly moistening a digit in the 
juices that Haruka had been manufacturing all morning.  Michiru had always 
been a slow, careful lover, treating the foreplay as a better thing than 
the actual event itself.  Being taken so roughly like this to immediate 
penetration was exciting.  She decided she'd remained passive long enough, 
and brought Hotaru's lips to hers in a fierce kiss.
     Setsuna and Michiru had watched this interplay for a second before 
being distracted by each other again.  Setsuna had now managed to work her 
way out of the rest of her clothing, and Michiru was now sliding down her 
body, hands running along her flat stomach and back.  Setsuna ran her hands 
through Michiru's hair, and discovered as Hotaru had earlier the erotic 
feelings that the spider in her head brought, as Michiru gasped in 
pleasure, her body trembling.  Setsuna kept up her advantage by flipping 
Michiru's legs out from under her, causing her to fall backwards onto the 
floor awkwardly.  Then Setsuna grabbed hold of Michiru's skirt and ripped 
it off, sending buttons flying through the air.
     "I'll pay for it later," she stuttered, before moving her way up 
Michiru's thighs, leaving tiny kisses as she passed.
     Back on the mattress, Hotaru was now deeply engrossed in licking at 
Haruka's centre.  She used her tongue as a loaded weapon, giving long, slow 
strokes, then flicking it back to slap lightly at Haruka's clit, then 
giving small, quick kisses to the outer lips before starting in again.  
Haruka, for her part, had made her way down towards Hotaru's own vagina, 
trying to keep her wits about her despite the amazing sex she was 
experiencing.  She adored this position with Michiru, and was now equally 
exuberant about it with Hotaru.  With that in mind, she set out to prove to 
the other woman that she could give as well as she get.
     "Oh God, Haruka," Hotaru cried as she felt Haruka's tongue working 
magic on her inner muscles.  Haruka grinned, and then went back to her task.
     She was interrupted by a shove from the side, as Setsuna and Michiru 
landed next to the other couple on the bed, hands caught between each 
other's hips and kissing each other furiously.  "Floor was too hard," 
Michiru said.
    "I think we'll survive," Hotaru murmured, snaking a hand out to stroke 
Setsuna's thigh.  Setsuna rolled closer, moving to take Haruka's aureole 
between her lips and suckle it.  Michiru, meanwhile, was finding her face 
near Haruka's ass, and moistened a finger, surprising Haruka with yet 
another penetration.
     The four lovers found, now that they were together, that the need for 
an immediate climax was not as great.  Instead, they simply took the time 
to explore each other, getting used to new partners and in one case a new 
body.  They rotated and shifted around each other like a well-oiled 
machine... and indeed, they were certainly lubricated enough.
     Finally, they began to reach towards a mutual peak.  They had 
manoeuvred so that each of the four was enjoying someone's cleft, while at 
the same time being enjoyed by another.  Setsuna and Hotaru were each 
making sure that they stroked the metal areas on Haruka and Michiru's 
scalp, driving their lovers wild.  Setsuna discovered that her head too was 
an erogenous zone, possible an after-effect of the shampoo Hotaru had 
rubbed deeply into it.  Haruka had discovered this too, and had reached 
behind her to manipulate Setsuna's scalp as if she was getting a shampoo, 
driving the woman wild.  *The benefits of being limber* she thought with a 
grin.
     Hotaru didn't have the enhanced pleasure zones of the other three 
women, but decided that she was more than happy with the sexual athletics 
she was getting right now.  She could feel an orgasm building up within 
her, and knew that the other three were feeling the same thing.
     They each moved as a unit now, bobbing up and down in absolute 
harmony.  It was like Haruka and Michiru's experience the night before, 
only this time they were fully aware of it, and able to appreciate their 
lover's passion matching their own.
     And then they were crying out, and this was different, each having a 
separate way of expressing their release.  Haruka's began as a dull growl, 
moving up to become a roar as her climax hit.  Michiru was almost singing, 
her voice clear and piercing as her orgasm drove her to new heights.  
Setsuna's was a low snake moan, vibrating deep within her chest and sending 
tremors of aftershock deep through the others with its passion and depth.  
And Hotaru was almost silent, as befitted her role as Senshi, trembling her 
release with only tiny little gasps emerging as she came.
     They slowly calmed down, little ripples of pleasure still shuddering 
through the four of them.  They moved towards the centre of the bed again, 
untangling and coming up so that they were face to face.  Their faces were 
still coated with juices from the other three, and their hair was tangled 
and moist.  But their was love and passion shining in all their eyes.
     "Well... that was..." Setsuna started to say, then fell silent, unable 
to express it.
     "And it's only eight o'clock in the morning," Hotaru mused.
     Then all four of them were giggling, turning into outright laughter, 
as they fell towards each other again, arms gripping tight.
     Never letting go.

***

     From high above, several faces watched the scene, a mixture of relief 
and melancholy on their faces.
     "Four down, six to go."
     "For better or for worse.  And you know I disagreed about Saturn.  
She's too young."
     "Was.  And we've been through this.  We can't go any farther forward.  
In a few weeks will be the genesis of Crystal Tokyo.  And then we'd never 
succeed.  She'd see to that."
     "I know we've been through this!  We've debated it hundreds of times!"
     "Then why go on about something we already know?"
     "...I don't know.  Forget it."
     A long silence.
     "At least those were the four hardest."
     "What makes you say that?"
     "...well, I mean, they were the strongest.  And older.  And one of 
them was PLUTO.  I mean, even with the help we got there..."
     "No, you're missing the point.  Why are we here?"
     "...I guess I am missing the point.  You might as well tell me."
     "No need to be like that.  If we forget there's a definite reason this 
needs to happen, what makes us different from any monster?"
     "You said it, not me."
     "Now is not the time, be QUIET."
     "Sorry, Captain."
     "They are the four most powerful, barring Serenity.  We know that.  
But what else do we know?  What makes them different?"
     "They died."
     "More than that.  They didn't *leave*.  They stayed there, stayed with 
her.  That's what we're looking for.  It's why I started with them.  
They're the *easy* ones."
     "Given what we're doing, does it matter what order we do it in?  
Barring making Pluto one of the first?  I mean, there's no room for 
argument, that's kind of the point."
     "If there were no room for argument then we wouldn't be arguing."
     "Don't *you* start."
     "She's right.  There's no way we can avoid playing god with their 
lives.  It's why we're here.  To make them different.  To make them happy."

***

	The only source of illumination in the darkened room was a 
television.  Its images flicked from light to dark with such speed that a 
casual observer would pause to wonder what could possibly be playing.  
Seated on the floor closer than she ought to have been was Minako.  A 
corner of her mouth twitched up with carefully contained anticipation.  The 
demo movie to the video game "Last Escape" played without notice given to 
the effect it was having on the woman who watched it intently.
	Minako waited for months for the game to come out, and then even 
longer.  The initial sticker price exceeded her means.  And so she waited 
impatiently until it went on sale.  The moment that happened she hounded 
the electronics store like a tentacle monster on a nubile young female.  
They wouldn't be rid of her until she had what she came for.
	The wait had been worth it since her enthusiasm continued to grow.  
Sitting here on the floor, she watched the screen dance before her with 
muted awe.  It was almost too much.  She felt like a child at Christmas, 
overjoyed with the excitement and beyond the limits of hyper.
	Gingerly she picked up the controller that had been laying on the 
floor next to her.  She hadn't cut any corners when it came to her game 
system.  What money she had to put into it was invested in quality 
peripherals and games.  This controller was the best on the market and 
guaranteed the most vibration for the buck.  It was a bit heavier than the 
standard issue, and its rubber grips left her hands smelling funny after 
playing, but it was well worth it.
	Pressing the start button stopped the repeating movie and invited the 
player to either start a new game or continue a saved one.  She started a 
new one and let herself be dazzled by the spectacularly rendered opening 
movie.
	The game's premise was simple enough.  An evil magician had stolen 
away many young women for his own nefarious reasons.  A stupid guard had 
mistakeningly left your character's cell door unlocked and now was your 
chance to escape.  Against better judgement (in Minako's opinion) you 
decide to go save the other kidnapped women before making a break for it.  
You have to sneak around the castle (wasn't it odd how all evil magicians 
have castles?) and carry out your plans.  If you were spotted, your only 
option was to either kill the guard or run like Usagi when being chased by 
Rei.
	The movie ended and Minako was free to control her character.  She 
pressed the buttons to test the limits of her character's jumping ability 
and became familiar with the options menu.  Once she was comfortable with 
her grasp of the controls, she set out on her adventure.
	Almost immediately she was thrown into a battle.  The controller 
vibrated briefly to indicate that she'd been 'caught' and the screen did a 
colourful side swipe to bring up the battle mode.  Her character bobbed 
from foot to foot, waiting for her to enter her selection on how to act.  
The guard across from her was also weaving, but took no action until her 
course was set.  Minako entered a few button presses and the first round of 
the fight took place.  Four rounds later and her character did a 
celebratory victory pose.
	Minako smirked with amusement at that.  It was a point of mild 
interest for her to see what sort of posturing the characters would do 
before and after the battle.  Admittedly, as a Senshi, she'd been guilty of 
doing her own share of posturing.  There was an irresistible temptation to 
thumb your nose as the loser when you stood over them crowing of your 
victory.
	The pace that they game moved at surprised Minako.  Usually these 
type of games allowed one to take their good sweet time in accomplishing 
the objectives set before them, but this game allowed very little room for 
wandering.  She had to keep on task or she was swarmed by guards coming for 
her head.
	The more battles she got into, the more experience she gained.  The 
more experience she gained, the cooler the moves she could do became.  For 
example, the one her character just learned involved an incredible amount 
of flexibility and the exposure of more flesh than was strictly necessary.  
A move put in there for the fanboys.  Minako could appreciate giving the 
fanbase what it wanted.
	Indeed, this game seemed to be made with the fanboys in mind.  The 
women were scantily clad, their measurement anything but realistic, and 
begging for a hero to save them.  Minako, the Warrior of Love, was to their 
rescue.  An impish grin came to her face as she stretched out on the floor 
with a pillow propping her upright.  On her belly sat her hands with the 
controller comfortably between them.
	Unexpectantly the controller vibrated as a creature that was 
obviously a boss came onscreen.  Minako was familiar with this type of 
creature and knew exactly how to take it down quickly.  After putting an 
abrupt end to its challenge, the controller vibrated even more violently as 
the boss dissolved.  Minako didn't want to admit what having the controller 
vibrating on her lap did to her.  She'd heard of guys using them as 
impromptu toys for pleasure.  After that last boss, she could definitely 
see why.
	The screen swished and she was onto the next stage.  Hurrying along 
she tried to gather as many items as possible while keeping one step ahead 
of the guards.  They were so annoying.  Not really difficult, but it took a 
while to beat them.  There had to be a quicker way to get them out of her 
hair.  It would cost her magic points, but it might be worth casting a few 
spells to speed things along.
	The battle paused and Minako's onscreen character began chanting.  It 
was mesmerising, the combination of audio and visual stimuli.  Not to 
mention the vibrating controller in her lap.  Minako cast the spell once 
more to finish the guards off.  She didn't even begrudge the magic points 
it cost her to use those two spells.
	After that, guard battles weren't quite the nuisances that they once 
were.  A sly smile came to her face as she pressed the button for magic and 
then let the controller work its own form of wonder.  She hadn't had this 
much stimulation since the last time she daydreamed about Rei.
	Her heart rate had already began to quicken.  Without thinking about 
it she guided her character into another battle while softly stroking her 
crotch to maintain the stimulation.  Her hand was spending more time on her 
privates than it was on the controller itself.  Assisting it in increasing 
her pleasure.
	These battles were going by too quickly.  She needed a boss to wail 
on.  Fortunately, she'd worked her way to the end of the level by now.  The 
boss was only too happy to oblige her.  To pleasure her.
	Minako barked with laughter when she discovered that this boss was an 
elemental one.  Its ice attack was called (ironically enough) Mercury 
Strike.  The fire attack was Mars Strike.  Whenever the boss called out the 
planet's name, Minako imagined herself with its princess.  Her fingers dug 
in deeper, wanting more out of the game play experience.
     This boss wasn't going down as quickly, and Minako concentrated more 
on the images filling her screen, trying to figure out a way to get this 
boss to do exactly what she wanted.  The controller was buzzing again, 
trying to tell her something.  She could feel it pulsing rhythmically, 
vibrating against her body, knowing exactly the right way to give her 
maximum satisfaction.  
     The boss was reaching out to her character now, and she decided to try 
and grab his arms and toss him into a throw.  But when she took hold of 
him, something seemed to happen to her character.  She wasn't able to do 
what he wanted... no, what she wanted.  What did she want?
     To defeat him, that's right.  She wanted to defeat the boss, to see 
him prostrate before her, so that she could use him however she wanted.  
She needed to figure out how to do that.  She needed to concentrate.
     The game was trying to help her.  Little messages were flashing onto 
the screen, giving the strengths and weaknesses of the boss and of her own 
character.  There seemed to be something else, too, some sort of whispering 
in amongst the cheesy background music.  Maybe she'd unlocked it when she 
performed that last vertical flip.  She tried to see if she could make out 
what the voices were saying, thought it was getting harder what with trying 
to read the visual cues, keep the boss from having his way with her, and 
still managing to keep one hand free to assist her body in its gaming 
experience.
     Suddenly the text and whispers vanished, and there was only a flurry 
of moves.  Minako gasped as the controller continued to buzz, seemingly 
doing it non-stop now.  She ducked an arm, moved out of the way of a magic 
spell, and then moved in for the coup de grace.  She did two quick arm 
jabs, which made the boss moan enticingly, and then whacked him with a 
submission spell.  His eyes seemed to glow briefly, and then he went 
silent.
     Her character jumped into the air, doing its most outrageous victory 
pose yet.  Minako leaped up and imitated her, being so caught up in the hot 
gaming action she couldn't help herself.  Then she was moving again, not 
wasting time on the now submissive boss behind her, just eager to move on 
to the next level.
     She gasped as she reached the top of the stairs.  This was it!  The 
final test!  And, much to her surprise, her final boss was a woman!  Minako 
grinned.  This would show all those sexist boys with their nude Mai 
Shiranui patches.  This game had everyone being dominated by a woman 
leader.  Just the way Minako liked it.
     She moved in closer, noting that the room looked more like a throne 
room than a base of operations.  What arrogance.  She could see this woman 
needed a little bit of Minako's special expertise to learn her listen.
     The control vibrated again, and she moaned.  Turning to the right, she 
suddenly could see a closed off cell, inside which were the girls she was 
trying to rescue!  She really was close to the end.  Keeping her eyes on 
the Queen at all times (hell, it was a throne room, she might as well call 
her that), she moved as close to the others as she could get.
     "Don't worry, I'll get you all out of here," her character said.  The 
others girls didn't exactly seem thrilled to see her, though.  In fact, 
they looked a little glassy-eyed and submissive.  The Queen must have used 
some sort of magic on them to keep them in line.
     "You can't escape," the blue-haired one said to her.
     "You don't want to," added the pretty brunette.
     "She's your Queen too, and you love her.  Isn't that right?" said the 
busty brown-haired girl.
     Minako shook her head.  This was getting tricky, not only was the boss 
trying to defeat her, but she was using the others against her.  And it was 
a persuasive argument, after all.  She was the Queen.
     She turned her character away from the others and faced her final 
opponent.  She didn't really have the look of a cruel and tyrannical boss, 
come to think of it.  In fact, she seemed rather kind, and sweet.  She 
smiled at Minako, and her face almost seemed to glow.
     The controller was still vibrating continuously, but Minako didn't 
really care.  It wasn't trying to warn her about anything this time.  It 
just knew what she needed, knew without her even pressing a button, and 
gave it to her.  She let it sit against her thighs, and left her hands 
free, running themselves up and down her body.
     The character on the screen knew instinctively what to do.  She drew 
closer to the Queen, her breath audible on the soundtrack now, coming in 
short pants.  "You are the one who has enslaved my friends," she hear 
herself ask.
     The Queen just smiled, and tilted her head.  When she spoke, her voice 
was like chimes on the wind, rising an falling in speech patterns that 
soothed and excited Minako at the same time.  She had unbuttoned her shorts 
now, leaving it much easier to get access to the controls she really needed 
now.
     What the Queen said seemed unimportant, it was the way she said it.  
She made perfect sense.  Minako could see now that none of her friends had 
been brought here against their will.  They were happy.  Happy to serve the 
Queen, and to please her, and to love her.  Love was a wonderful thing.
     Minako breathed in.  "Let me join you," she said.  "I can help you in 
the ways of love.  I am Love's Warrior."  She didn't even seem aware that 
it was her talking now, and not the character.
     The Queen smiled, and reached out to stroke her face.  Minako gasped, 
her entire body shivering at the thought of contact with such a wonderful 
woman.  Then the Queen carefully stripped her of everything she wore, 
placing her weapons and armour on the ground at the foot of the throne, and 
then the rest of her clothing.
     Minako followed the movements on the screen, placing her clothing down 
in front of the TV in reverent awe.  She sat back down, eyes locked on the 
action, and waited for the final climax.
     The Queen was naked now as well, though Minako hadn't noticed her 
taking off anything.  And now they were heading for the Queen's throne, and 
the queen sat Minako down on it.  Minako purred, imagining being enclosed 
in the throne's red, velvety folds.
     And now the Queen was looking deep into her eyes, and asking 
questions.  Would Minako be her Warrior?  Would she help her to spread the 
ways of love throughout the kingdom, showing everyone what a pure, 
wonderful thing it was?  Would she help the Queen achieve this pleasure?
     Minako almost cried out, her body aching with the need that had built 
up throughout the game.  She needed release, needed to find a way to get 
rid of this energy.
     And besides, when she thought about it, there was really no better 
ending for the game that a life of service devoted to their beautiful 
Queen.
     And so Minako pledged her allegiance to the Queen, and was rewarded 
with the Queen's gentle smile, and her soft tongue making its way between 
Minako's folds.  She climaxed almost immediately, pleasure rolling off her 
in waves.  There was now no difference between her and the character on the 
screen now.  They were the same person, with the same needs and desires.  
The same goals.
     The other Warriors gathered around her now, and she cried as she saw 
how happy they were.  She felt ashamed for having doubted them.
     As the screen flashed image after image of the Warriors servicing 
Minako and her Queen, Minako climaxed again, her body giving in to the 
torture she'd put it through.
     She'd reached the final level.

***

     Makoto sighed, staring out at the night sky.  She should really be 
with her friends, studying or gossiping or otherwise socialising.  But she 
just wasn't in the mood.  Once every few weeks or so she just got the urge 
to hole up in her apartment and be completely alone for a while.  She'd 
make some popcorn, get into her nightshirt, and watch a scary movie by the 
TV... then go into her room and stare at the ceiling till she fell asleep.
     It wasn't really depression... she didn't feel sad, or tired, or 
useless.  She just was detached.  As if nothing really mattered, that she 
could stay lying here forever and nothing would change, no one would 
notice.
     Sometimes she wondered why she did it.  Why she didn't simply walk 
away, leave, and let the others save the universe from evil.  It took a lot 
out of her... she already wasn't the most popular of girls because of her 
size, and the fact that she constantly had to break off engagements to go 
deal with youma and the like meant any friends she might have made had long 
since given up on her.  Except for the other Senshi.  And she had to face 
it, if it weren't for their mutual powers, they most likely wouldn't even 
give each other the time of day.
     Her melancholy was interrupted by the lights going out, leaving her in 
pitch blackness.  *Wonderful,* she thought.  *A power failure.  Just what I 
needed.*  She slowly rolled over and got to her feet, ready to head to the 
kitchen for the flashlight.
     That was when she noticed that it wasn't the power.  It was her.  
There were no shadows, no light coming through the window, nothing.  She 
couldn't see.
     "OK, keep calm, don't panic..." she said to herself.  There must have 
been something weird in that popcorn, something messing with her body.  
She'd call Ami, her mother was a doctor.
     She sat back on the bed and rolled across, reaching for the phone she 
knew was on the nightstand.  Now came the tricky part, dialing the number.  
She managed to work out which button was which, and waited, trying not to 
let panic grip her.
     There was no ringing.  In fact, there hadn't even been a dial tone.  
Makoto's eyes widened as a dark thought occurred to her.
     "HEY!" she shouted... or at least assumed she did, as any sound she 
made never reached her ears.
     *Deaf too.  Blind and deaf.  I can't believe this.  No popcorn is that 
dangerous.  What's going on?*  She rolled back, planning on somehow feeling 
her way downstairs... except that now she didn't even seem to be on the 
bed.  Or was she?  She couldn't tell, her body didn't seem to be 
registering where it was anymore.  She moved her hands all up and down her 
body... she could feel that, at least.  In fact, her nightshirt was getting 
really irritating.  Every time she moved, it rubbed, and itched.  It was 
also heavy, despite the light cotton fabric.  She tried moving again, and 
felt it rub hotly across her chest, causing a burning feeling.  She 
growled, and quickly stripped it off.
     *What's happening to my senses?* she wondered.
     Suddenly she felt chilled.  An enemy.  It had to be someone trying to 
incapacitate her somehow.  And here she was in the buff.  Way to go, Mako-
chan.
     She began to move as best she could, which wasn't very well at all.  
She tried reaching out for a wall, but only encountered resistance.  She 
didn't feel anything, just a sense of pressure holding her back.  She 
touched her legs, and that was fine.  She reached in the other direction, 
and after a step or two the same thing happened.  She couldn't even be sure 
she was in her room anymore.  Still, she kept at it, trying to figure out a 
way to escape and help the others.
     After a while, she felt herself getting tired.  Her sense of how long 
she'd been doing this had vanished, it could have been days.  She fell back 
down, letting her body rest on what she presumed was the floor.  She lay 
back and considered her options, idly rubbing her breast with her hand.  
The sensation felt good, it reminded her that she wasn't totally disabled.  
If she could still feel her body, then she would be fine.
    She needed to find a way to get to the others.  They needed to know 
about this.  Ami would be flummoxed, she wouldn't know what to think about 
it.  This wasn't something that you could explain; it was something that 
had to be experienced.
    As she imagined Ami's frustration with the situation, her hand moved 
lower, caressing the insides of her thighs before moving to graze her 
centre.  She was starting to get aroused thinking about the whole thing... 
Ami desperately trying to figure things out even after losing her vision 
and hearing.  Rei would refuse to accept it, of course.  She would probably 
continue to try shouting, in hopes that eventually she'd hear herself.  
Prolly smash into the wall a lot too.
     Minako... who knew what that girl would think.  She'd probably end up 
being much like Makoto herself, giving in and accepting the sensory 
deprivation, letting herself flow, and becoming one with her own body.
     Makoto's hands were definitely active now, both hands now moving 
furiously.  She had masturbated before, but it had never felt like this.  
This was incredible.  There was nothing to distract her, no sights or 
sounds to lose her focus.  There was only her body, and its need.  It was 
almost a sense in itself, one to make up for her loss of sight, sound, and 
touch.  A sexual sense, a feeling of growing passion and arousal.
     She wondered more about when she managed to find the others and bring 
this to them as well.  Would they be able to feel each other?  Would she be 
able to slide herself against Minako's slim, athletic body, kissing her 
nipples and leaving traces of moisture down her stomach from her questing 
tongue.  She wouldn't be able to hear her cries of pleasure, or see her 
mouth opening in a gasp of satisfaction.  Minako would never know where the 
next touch was coming from, whether it was Makoto's teasing fingers, or 
warm and probing tongue.
     Now her hips were bucking.  She supposed she was crying out, but she 
wasn't able to hear it.  Wasn't able to see the sweat pouring from her 
body, or the way her fingers plunged in and out of her sex.  She could 
picture everything in her mind's eye now.  See the others slowly sit up, 
lost to the petty world of sight and sound.  See their panic gradually turn 
to lust.  She knew they would finally understand, finally give in to their 
passions.  And she would be there for each of them, helping them to see 
what their new destiny was.  She had been the first to experience it.  She 
didn't need to see or hear anymore.  She needed no touch beyond that of her 
body.
     This was her world now.  Just her touch, and her response.
     Her friends needed this.  She felt so happy now.  So loved.  How could 
she ever have doubted it?  They needed her.  The other Senshi.  Usagi.  
Usagi needed this as well.  Not for the sex, of course... she had Mamoru.  
But they had to show her how it felt.  How they felt.  Showing Usagi this 
would prove to her how much they loved her.  There would be no more fear.  
No more loneliness.  There would only be her friends, bodies coming 
together in an amazing series of sensations.  The most primal way of 
showing affection for their Queen... by touch alone.
     She loved her friends.
     She loved her Queen.
     And as her body quaked with the most amazing climax she had ever 
known, Makoto finally realised that she loved herself as well.

***

     Ami sighed, her fingers racing across the keyboard as she attempted to 
keep her mind on the work she should be doing rather than have it flutter 
off into other areas such as what her friends were doing.
     They'd all basically split off tonight to do things on their own.  
Minako was dying to try out a new game she'd picked up, Makoto was going to 
spend a quiet evening watching TV and eating popcorn, and Rei would no 
doubt be busy praying at her shrine.  She had no idea about Usagi.  Her 
friend hadn't really wanted this 'evening to themselves', and with Mamoru 
gone back to America she'd likely just end up sitting in her room reading 
comic books.
     Ami knew that the reason she kept going back over the events is that 
she was feeling guilty about it.  She wanted this evening to herself, and 
fought hard for it even after seeing the looks on Usagi and Makoto's faces.  
They were very outgoing, social people.  And while Ami didn't consciously 
avoid crowds, and loved being with her friends, she was at heart a shy girl 
who needed, at times, to simply get away from everyone for a while and be 
by herself.
     It wasn't as if there was a need to constantly stick together.  There 
hadn't been any enemies for quite some time.  In fact, they hadn't seen 
Haruka or the other Outer Senshi in days.  And tomorrow they could all go 
out for ice cream, and everyone would feel better.
     Ami finished up her report, and decided to download email before going 
to bed.  There were only a few messages, so she quickly ran through them to 
see if there was anything that was for her mother, or if (as usual) they 
were all various online friends or spam.
     To her annoyance, one of the spam messages automatically opened the 
attachment it was carrying.  Ami's brow furrowed.  She presumed this was 
yet another unwelcome feature from Microsoft Outlook, something her mother 
made her install but which she would dearly love to abandon once and for 
all.  Not only was it a haven for viruses, it had an annoying habit of 
assuming things that you didn't really want assumed.
     Such as, apparently, automatically opening all attachments.
     And sure enough, this one did seem to have a virus attached.  Ami 
groaned and put her head in her hands.  She'd been meaning to upgrade to 
the latest version of Norton, but had been too busy to get around to it.  
She hoped that she could take care of this with what she had.
     The virus, luckily, didn't seem to be deleting any files from her hard 
drive.  It looked to be more of the annoying visual kind of virus.  A small 
green dot with a happy face had appeared in the top right hand corner of
her screen, and was pulsating slowly from aqua to deep emerald.  There was 
also some sort of static on the monitor now that made it harder to make out 
what was actually there.
     Narrowing her eyes, Ami fired up the antivirus program and let it run.  
As it searched through the system to see if there was anything it could do, 
Ami found herself staring at the green face.  It was certainly a cute 
virus, if nothing else... knew how to get someone's attention.  Was the 
face winking at her every few seconds?
     A beep from the computer brought her back in focus, and she checked 
the message.  Sure enough, there was a small error screen stating that the 
virus could not be cleaned up with her current version.  A small screen 
asked if she wanted to upgrade to the new version, even with the 
possibility that with the virus already on the computer, it might be 
dangerous.
     Ami said yes.  The virus seemed more harmless than anything else, and 
she didn't think that getting the new update would be affected by it.  Her 
webbrowser came slowly to life, and Ami found herself staring at the green 
happy face again.  It was certainly soothing, whoever had designed it.  
Just looking at it made her forget all of the stressful events she'd been 
experiencing recently, as she simply let her eyes watch it go from light to 
dark green and back again.  Even the static on the screen seemed to be in 
concert with it, waving slightly across the screen and drawing Ami's 
attention back to the face.
     The browser had opened, and she found herself staring at a screen 
asking if she'd like to download Version 2.0.  She stared at it fuzzily, 
then hit the OK button.  Now a new message appeared, stating that after 
this there could be no changes, and was she sure she wanted to download 
this new version.
     She clicked OK again.  That was the whole point of the exercise, 
wasn't it?  The old version wasn't helping her at all.  In fact, it was 
making her unhappy.  She needed the new upgrade; that would solve a lot of 
problems.
     Another window popped up, letting her know that the new files were 
downloading.  It was funny, the file download screen looked almost like the 
virus itself.  There was a stream of bouncing green faces, each pulsing in 
the same pattern as the other.  They slowly leaped their way across Ami's 
screen, and she simply let her eyes travel from one to the other, never 
really seeming to stop.  She smiled, appreciating the fact that the makers 
had gone to so much trouble to make the download time entertaining and move 
quickly.
     After what seemed like hours, the green faces all lined up in a row, 
bowed to Ami, and then vanished.  The static seemed to have cleared as 
well, and she found herself looking at the setup screen.
     WELCOME TO AMI 2.0! it read.  PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS 
CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING.  DON'T BE SCARED OFF BY ANYTHING YOU MIGHT SEE 
OR HEAR.  THIS IS ALL IN YOUR BEST INTEREST IN ORDER TO PROVIDE YOU WITH 
THE BEST AMI PRODUCT, AN AMI *YOU* WANT TO BE!  IN ADDITION, PLEASE NOTE 
THAT CLOTHING INHIBITS CERTAIN SETUP AREAS OF AMI 2.0 FOR WINDOWS.  IF YOU 
ARE USING A WINDOWS COMPUTER, PLEASE REMOVE ALL CLOTHING BEFORE CONTINUING.

     She blinked, and noticed that she did seem to be wearing a lot of 
clothing.  She didn't want anything to interfere now that she'd gotten this 
far, so she quickly stripped off all of her clothes and put them on the 
bed.  Sitting back down, and shivering slightly as the wind from the open 
window blew air across her chest, she clicked OK.
     The next screen appeared.  DO YOU WANT US TO CREATE THE IDEAL AMI FROM 
OUR SPECIFICATIONS (AMI WIZARD), OR DO YOU WANT TO CREATE YOUR OWN AMI FROM 
YOUR PERSONAL PREFERENCES (AMI CUSTOM)?
     She thought about that for a second.  The program had been easy to 
download so far, and she was feeling very tired, for some reason.  She 
decided she'd trust it to know what she wanted, and clicked on the wizard 
option.
     THANK YOU!, the screen said.  PLEASE WAIT WHILE WE CONFIGURE AMI!
     And her small green friend appeared again, calmly pulsing near the top 
of the screen.  She smiled, and focused on him, her grin growing broader as 
time went on.  The screen continued to flash commands across the screen, 
this time not even bothering to ask for her input.
     She was pleased with what she saw.  There was an option on the screen 
asking about changing her physical appearance, but it passed that by.  That 
suited Ami, as she liked the way she looked.  She might not be as 
classically pretty as Rei, or have the statuesque physique of Makoto, but 
she thought she was still quite attractive.  She took one of her breasts in 
her hand, and was pleased at its size filling her palm perfectly.  She 
brought both hands up to stroke her breasts lightly, and began to read the 
screen some more.
     There was an option to change her intellectual level, and she was 
*very* happy that they left that alone as well.  She did notice a change in 
the way she studied, however, and could feel it now within her.  Studying 
was important, but she didn't seem to have that drive to do it in 
restaurants or in the bath anymore.  She was smart, she knew that she'd be 
able to succeed if she applied herself.  She could do that and still have 
time to hang out with her friends and go on dates.
     A small line of sweat broke out on her forehead, and she began to 
blink rapidly.  Dates?  She couldn't date anyone.  The idea made her 
incredibly...
     Then she stared at the screen once more.  It was flashing at her, as 
if trying to tell her something.
     Her level of romantic thoughts were currently set to terrified.  That 
sounded wrong.  It was a character flaw, something she didn't like in 
herself, that's why she was upgrading.
     The screen was adjusting the level... relaxed... playful... curious.  
All these words seemed to burn themselves into her mind, and she suddenly 
found herself relaxing once more.  Why was she worried about romance?  All 
the others seemed to want it... and it was something that she wanted to do.  
Wanted to find out what it would be like to kiss some young man, and have 
his fingers run up and down her body.
     Sexuality was now blinking on the screen.  The current level seemed to 
be book-learning only, but that didn't really fit with her new feelings.  A 
small error box lit up.
     THIS CANNOT BE PHYSICALLY CHANGED BY THE PROGRAM.  PLEASE SEE ABOUT 
FINDING ANOTHER AUTHORISED USER OF AMI TO HELP COMPLETE THIS UPGRADE.
     She nodded.  She'd have to see about doing that as soon as possible.
     Sexuality blinked again, and this time showed the following:  
HETEROSEXUAL/BI-CURIOUS.  CHANGE Y/N?
     There was a pause, then the wording changed to BISEXUAL/HOMOSEXUAL.
     The screen quickly changed before Ami could take this in.  She was 
having trouble concentrating anyway, as her hands had finished pleasuring 
her breasts and had started to move downwards.  Her fingers brushed through 
her light blue pubic hair and her breathing started to quicken.
     Suddenly a picture of Makoto flashed onto the screen.  The words LOVE 
Y/N? were strobing.
     A pop-up window appeared.  Ami was forced to move her hand, which had 
a finger ready to slip inside her, and click on it.
     DECISION MUST BE MADE BY USER:  LOVER Y/N?
     Ami stared at Makoto.  Her breathing was still ragged, and it didn't 
help that the picture was one of the young woman showering in the nude.  
She stared at the box, then realised that since the program had already 
changed her sexuality, this was what she'd wanted.  She had once dreamed 
about making love to Makoto, but had put it aside as too much pizza the 
night before.
     She clicked yes.
     Instantly the picture was replaced by one of Minako.  The same box 
appeared, asking if she was a lover or not.  Minako lay on her bed, nude, 
and appeared to be masturbating.  Her eyes were shut and her mouth open in 
pleasure.  Ami quickly clicked yes.
     Over and over, the pictures popped up.  Rei, the Outer Senshi... even 
Chibi-Usa was there, though she certainly didn't look chibi anymore.  With 
each one Ami's arousal grew, until at least she arrived at the final 
picture, one of Usagi.  This one wasn't nude, or showing a sexual scene.  
It was just Usagi, smiling at the camera, looking as innocent and pure as 
ever.
     The first box was the same.  LOVER?  Y/N.  Ami hesitated, but clicked 
Y.  Then there was another.  ABANDON Y/N?  Ami was startled, and stopped 
the exploration of her body.  She stared at the screen, as if there was a 
mistake.  Why would she ever abandon Usagi?  She clicked NO vehemently.
     A third.  SERVE?  Y/N.  Ami considered this, and realised that she 
really wanted very much to click yes.  She thought that would be what the 
others would want as well.  They were working for Crystal Tokyo, right?  It 
was only natural.  She clicked Y.
     Then her bouncing green friend rolled back into view, carrying what 
seemed to be a small, superdeformed diploma.  CONGRATULATIONS!  the screen 
read.  YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THE UPGRADE!  WE HOPE YOU HAVE MANY 
YEARS OF ENJOYMENT USING AMI 2.0!  PLEASE NOTE THE FINAL INSTRUCTIONS:  IN 
ORDER FOR UPGRADE TO TAKE PERMANENT EFFECT, USER MUST AFFECT A CLIMAX AT 
LEAST THREE TIMES BEFORE RETIRING TO BED.  AFTER SLEEPING, AMI 2.0 WILL BE 
FULLY INSTALLED.
     And now the screen was changing again, changing so fast her eyes could 
barely keep up with it.  Yellow, then orange, then red, all the colours of 
the spectrum.  And she was feeling its effects on her body as well, the 
arousal she had been experiencing returning with a vengeance.  She got up, 
stumbling over towards her bed, and fell upon in with a groan.  Her right 
hand sought out her breast again, while her left went towards her centre, 
this time succeeding in its exploration.  She ran a finger along her 
clitoris, and gasped, as her overstimulated body suddenly rewarded her with 
an orgasm.  It felt wonderful.  She'd always been ashamed of this sort of 
thing, denying any urges she may have felt and only giving in when they 
became too much to bear.  But now she felt alive.  
     There was a strobing going through the room, as the computer screen 
continued to flash its colours faster and faster, and Ami wanted to stroke 
herself in time with it.  She knelt on the bed, staring back at the 
computer screen, and her other hand came down to join its mate.  As her 
fingers moved faster and faster, her eyes continued to follow the strobing 
colours, trying to find a way to keep up with them.  Her back arched as a 
second climax washed over her, and she almost fell off of the bed, but 
managed to maintain her balance.
     Now the colours were replaced, and pictures of her friends were on the 
screen.  Only some of them were together... there were Haruka and Michiru, 
interlocked together in bed as they brought each other pleasure.  Hotaru, 
seemingly an adult now, staring seductively into Setsuna's eyes, her hands 
teasingly running up and down her thighs.  Makoto was there too, lying in 
her room screaming soundlessly at the ceiling, pleasure shuddering through 
her body.
     And now Ami joined them, her eyes rolling backwards, falling back onto 
the bed, as a third climax made her body shake with pure joy... and also 
with fatigue.  As her breathing slowed to normal, Ami realised it was 
almost impossible to keep her eyes open.  She sighed, and curled up near 
the top of the bed, falling into a relaxed, blissfully deep sleep.
     Behind her on the desk, the computer quietly shut itself down.

***

     Rei was kneeling by the sacred fire, trying to meditate as best she 
could.  Her thoughts were still too chaotic to have it do much good, 
however.  But she persevered, knowing that eventually she'd succeed in 
driving away her earthly concerns and become one with her sacred fire.
     Her friends didn't really seem to understand what she did here.  They 
were all going off to have fun of one sort or another (well, Ami was going 
to study, but that *was* fun for her), and she was going back to the shrine 
to work.  Poor Rei, always so serious all the time.  She needed, to get 
away, to relax and loosen up.
     No one understood that this was how she relaxed.  That there was 
nothing more renewing and invigorating than kneeling here, after a long and 
trying day, and losing herself in her devotion to the gods.  This wasn't a 
task, or a chore.  It wasn't something she was forced to do, or did because 
of family obligations.  If that had been the case, she'd have gone back to 
her father, who wanted nothing to do with the shrine.  She was here because 
she believed, and knew this was her calling.  It didn't bother her that she 
was also a Sailor Senshi.  She knew that she could devote her life to both.  
There had been many enemies since they'd been chosen as Senshi, and two of 
them had killed her, if only for a short time.  But none of them had ever 
made her question her faith.  They'd just tried to kill her.
     Some things were stronger than just death.
     Meditating was starting to come easier now, as she began to relax and 
let her mind float freely.  It had been some time since the last Senshi 
crisis, so she hadn't had to worry about crippling visions interrupting 
her.  She thanked the gods for giving her the gift of psychic powers, but 
at the same time wished that they were both a little more reliable and less 
of a shock to the system.  She usually wound up exhausted.
     But lately there were no enemies, and now the others had left to do 
their own thing.  It was just her and the sacred fire.
     She concentrated, striving to find the right balance in her mind.  
Meditating wasn't as easy as simply staring at a flame for hours on end.  
She learned that the hard way as a child, when she'd let herself be 
hypnotised by the flickering of the flame, and usually end up falling right 
onto her nose.  You didn't stare at the flame, you used it to examine 
yourself.
     She could feel the fire growing within her now.  When she had 
discovered her past life and present duties as the Senshi of flame, she'd 
felt more than a little proud.  The fact that she was able to call on such 
an element made her feel that the gods smiled on it, that she was doing 
something right.
     Though strangely enough, she didn't quite get the same feeling when 
she was a Senshi.  When she was Sailor Mars, she controlled the fire.  
Everything that it did was at her bidding.  It was exciting, really, 
holding the heat within herself, waiting for the time to release it out on 
a torrent.  Being able to show her enemies what happened when you messed 
with a woman who really knew how to feel the burn.
     But when she was here, meditating in from of the sacred fire, it was 
different.  This wasn't just any fire to be controlled, this was *the* fire 
of the gods.  And Rei knelt before it, helpless, feeling its heat and force 
wash over her.  This was a reminder that fire could also destroy, that 
cleansing also meant death.  She didn't take fire for granted, especially 
after a session here.
     Even now she could feel its heat over her body, trying to reach 
through her robes and work its way into her skin.  Trying to purify her.  
Rei knew she wasn't perfect.  She sometimes was too proud, almost becoming 
an egotist about her looks and abilities.  And her temper had gotten her 
into trouble more times than she could count.  She came back here every day 
to be humbled, to remind her of how little she was.
     She was sweating now, the flames reaching out, tickling the ends of 
her bangs.  She had moved forward somehow, gotten much closer to the fire 
than normal.  But that was all right.  This was her element, both as a 
priestess and a Senshi.  It could never hurt her, could never cause her 
pain.
     She felt her breathing quicken, as she fell further and further into 
her meditation.  The fire wanted to cleanse her, wanted her to let go of 
her past misdeeds.  The fire wanted her.
     She could feel her robes melting around her, the cloth charring and 
burning.  It didn't seem to matter though, as they were only keeping her 
from feeling what the fire had to give her.  Likewise her bra and panties 
turned into wisps of cloth, carried up into the air by the strong currents 
within.
     And now she knelt naked and willing before the sacred fire, ready to 
receive its teachings, eager to give up whatever it wanted to take from 
her.  She trusted it, she welcomed it, she loved it.  And now she was 
within the fire, it was all around her.  The flames teased her skin, almost 
caressing it.  She felt their heat, and felt it ignite the burning heat 
within her.  It seared through her body, making her lick her lips.  Her 
nipples grew aroused, the flames teasing them into hardness, and further 
down the core of the fire was drawing her clitoris out from beneath its 
sheath.
     She had never felt her sacred fire as a sexual thing before.  But 
now... now it was eating into her soul, making it so much easier, so much 
better to serve.  This was more than meditation, more than relaxation.  
This was rapture.
     Her eyes flew open with a gasp as she felt a shudder pass through her, 
and she raised her hands high into the air in supplication.  She was the 
priestess of the fire, and she would let it do with her as it would.  And 
if she ended up being burned by its eternal flame... wasn't that as close 
to reaching perfection as she could achieve?
     But there was no death.  Instead, she felt the fire tickling under her 
arms, removing any remaining hair she hadn't already shaved off earlier 
this week.  The flame curled into it almost erotically, and she might have 
been fascinated if her attention hadn't been drawn to the same thing 
happening to her pubic hair.  It was entering her now, the sacred flame, 
and she unconsciously spread herself wider, letting it pass through into 
her own temple gates.
     The flames seemed to stop short of the hair on her head, instead 
taking hold of her face in something that could almost be a caress.  By now 
Rei wasn't even thinking about the experience anymore, just letting her 
body react however it needed to what the sacred fire desired.
     And the sacred fire desired her pleasure.  She felt her orgasm wash 
through her, searing her body, marking it forever.  She was more than just 
priestess of the flame, more than just the Senshi of fire.  She was fire's 
lover.  She would do anything for it.
     As another orgasm washed through her, she felt the words in her ear.  
The fire was whispering to her.  She concentrated, even though that was no 
longer necessary.  Their connection was too close now.  She didn't even 
need to listen, she knew what it was telling her.  Knew and accepted.

***

     The others came to Rei's temple.  They hadn't contacted each other 
about it, it just seemed as if they all knew.  Likewise, upon arriving at 
the gates, there were no words exchanged between the three of them.  Ami, 
Makoto and Minako could all see the change in each other, could feel it as 
a powerful force.  Out in public, in the open, they behaved completely 
normally.  They were simply coming by to pick up Rei and then head over to 
Usagi's house to see if she wanted to join then for the day.
     It was when they entered the shrine that their attitudes changed.  All 
three of them had worn loose-fitting light cotton dresses, fitting for the 
summer weather.  The dresses hit the floor as soon as they were inside, 
thrown away without a second glance.
     And now Rei stood before them, naked and seeming to glow with an inner 
light.  Her eyes seared into them, and each of them stood captivated by the 
goddess before them.
     And then Rei stepped forward, joining the other three, and they 
remembered.  There was only one goddess that they worshipped, one girl that 
they had devoted their lives, bodies and souls to.
     She needed to be here.  Needed to see what had happened.
     But first they needed to quench their own fires.  Being here with one 
another had brought each Senshi to a boiling point, and now as Rei reached 
out and touched Minako's face, it emerged in a torrent.  Minako turned and 
dragged Rei into her body, violently but without malice, and embroiled her 
lips in a savage kiss.  
     Likewise, Makoto reached out to clutch Ami to her, her hands 
stretching around to clutch the blue-haired Senshi's breasts, fondling and 
kneading them till Ami could take no more and turned awkwardly, falling to 
her knees in front of her gorgeous tall companion.  Her eyes lit up upon 
seeing the wet opening in front of her, and she felt herself drawn into her 
friend's thighs as if pulled their by magnetic force.
      Minako and Rei continued to assault each others bodies.  Minako was 
putting her tongue to good use, licking all around Rei's breasts.  They 
were still sensitive from her baptism by fire, and hence Rei was finding it 
very hard to concentrate on pleasuring Minako in return.  After a moment 
she decided to give up, and let Minako take her wherever she wanted to go.  
Minako smiled, revelling in the fiery Senshi's surrender, and lowered a 
finger to insert itself into Rei's newly hairless opening.
     Makoto was quickly finding herself climaxing under Ami's keen tongue, 
knowing instinctually that she was the girl's first.  That thought made her 
even more aroused, and she took Ami's arm, pulling her onto the floor on 
top of a prayer mat.  She kissed Ami slowly and languorously, running her 
tongue between the other girl's lips, and hearing a slow whimper that made 
her smile like a cat.  She found that she would be perfectly happy to 
simply revel in the taste of Ami's mouth forever, treasuring the young, 
innocent sweetness found within.
     Rei and Minako made an interesting contrast.  They too had made their 
way to the floor on the other mat, but Rei had decided that she was going 
to take back control of their encounter.  She was savagely taking Minako, 
inserting three fingers deep within the blonde Senshi in a steady, 
pistoning movement.  As she did this, her other hand held the back of her 
neck, capturing Minako's mouth in a kiss that made sure she wasn't able to 
get away.  Minako, however, had no intention of backing away from the 
intense encounter, and was doing her best to make sure Rei knew it was 
appreciated, pulling away from Rei's amazing tongue to give little bites 
down her neck.
     Unknown to Rei, she was slowly backing Minako and the mat along the 
floor with the force of her thrusts, until they ran right into Ami and 
Makoto, who were busily licking at each other's centres.  The four teens 
ended up collapsing into a pile of random arms, legs, and other sundry body 
parts, then a small giggle, no one could say who it was from, set them off 
again.  The four of them tried to pleasure each other and also seek 
pleasure, and all of them were rewarded far more than they had ever thought 
possible.
     In the end, the young Senshi's bodies finally gave out in 
exhaustion... or rather, simple satisfaction, as there was no doubt they 
could call on reserves to keep this up for many hours to come.
     But no matter how much pleasure they got from each other, they all 
knew that someone was missing.  Not the Outers, though they sensed that 
they, too, had reached the same understanding about each other.  No, this 
was something more primal, more necessary.  Something all of them 
absolutely needed.
     "Usagi," the four breathed out as one.

***

     Elsewhere, others were also getting ready for meeting with Usagi.  
Setsuna cocked her head as they got ready to get into Haruka's car.
     "What is it?" Hotaru asked.
     Setsuna smiled.  "I think the others have been very busy.  We'll have 
to hurry if we want to make our stand, too."

***

     And additional comments were also coming from high above the Earth.  
These comments were far more argumentative, though.
     "Well, I have to admit I'm impressed.  You took a young girl's faith 
in her deity and turned it into an excuse to make her another one of 
Serenity's lesbian fucktoys.  Bravo."
     "Do you mind?"
     "At least we got some great data out of it.  The force fields worked 
wonderfully..."
     "And you can shut up as well."
     "Hmmph."
     "Now, since when did you become our moral centre?"
     "I never used to be, you always filled that position.  Now I'm not so 
sure.  How can you justify what you did?"
     "How do you think?  I justify it by every man, woman and child that 
suffers because of her!  I justify it by the millions of lives that are 
made useless by her whim!  And if I remember correctly, you were all for us 
coming here!"
     "Yes, because you said we'd be coming back here to change the Senshi's
minds.  I didn't think you'd mean that literally."
     "Well, perhaps next time you'll remain sober through the entire 
briefing.  We went over all of this and why it was necessary."
     "Can *I* speak?"
     The other voices all quieted, subdued by the quiet power of the 
newcomer in the corner.
     "I didn't tell any of you the real reason we did this.  It wasn't so 
that we could permanently alter the Senshi's minds.  If she decides to 
stand against all of us, she can undo it in the blink of an eye if she 
wants.  This is purely an object lesson.  We need to show her what her 
future is, using her friends as examples.  And yes, it is cruel, and yes, 
we are going too far.  I don't care anymore.  All I want is an end."
     There was a long pause, the argument lost in the quiet power of the 
young woman's words.  Finally the silence was broken.
     "So what are we doing?"
     "We're going to wait for her to realise the true horror of what we've 
done... and then I'm going to go there and tell her exactly why we did it.  
And if I can't convince her... then we're going to kill her."
     "But you said we can't do that."
     "We can't."
     "Then why?"
     "Do you want to go back?"
     "...I'd rather die."
     "That's what happens if I can't convince her."
     "Will she listen to you?"
     "I'm not sure.  There's a first time for everything, I suppose.  Come 
on, let's get into position."

***

     Usagi sighed, stepping out onto the porch of her house.  She was 
feeling odd lately.  The gang had agreed to take an afternoon off from each 
other, and spend some time by themselves.  In fact, Usagi's parents and 
brother were also out of the house, so she had the entire place to herself.
     She hated it.  She hated being alone, always had.  She missed her 
friends so much it hurt.  Missed her family.  Missed Mamo-chan, off in 
America.  She even missed her daughter, now back in the future, Crystal 
Tokyo.
     More to the point, she'd been especially restless today.  She kept 
thinking that something was happening without her, that she was needed 
somewhere.  She wondered if it meant that a new villain was coming.  She'd 
never really noticed their coming before, but maybe she was getting 
foresight.  She'd have to ask Setsuna the next time she saw her.
     So she sat on the porch, feeling uneasy, and lonely.  She needed to do 
something, and quickly.  The others were all off having fun.  They didn't 
need to see her so depressed about something so stupid.  They had every 
right to lead their own lives.  She was just being selfish.
     Suddenly she noticed movement up the street.  She squinted, then 
gasped.  The others were here!  Was there something wrong?  Did they get 
news of a new enemy?  Or could they somehow sense her melancholy, and had 
come here to cheer her up?  That second thought pleased her, but she found 
it unlikely.  In any case, the reason was irrelevant.  They were here.
     She leaped to her feet.  "Everyone!  What are you doing here?"
     Then, as they got closer, she noticed their expressions.
     Over the past few years, she had never been closer to anyone else than 
she was to these four girls, her closest friends in the whole world.  She 
could always see the wonderful things that made them what they were.  Ami's 
blush whenever she mentioned relationships or anything sexual.  Rei's anger 
when Usagi would do something stupid, and her pride when Usagi did 
something right.  Makoto's shyness, peering out from behind her false 
bravado to reveal her true self.  Minako's manic cheerfulness, and more 
rarely her deep depressions.  All of them had moods and expressions as 
different as fingerprints, and Usagi was intimately familiar with each of 
them.
     The four girls coming towards her seemed to be wearing identical 
expressions.  And the expression was almost painful to look at.  They were 
looking directly at Usagi, and there was a desperate, painful longing in 
their eyes.  The need in there... well, it was something that she'd only 
ever thought she'd see reflected in the mirror.
     It was absolutely terrifying.
     Usagi found herself doing something she'd never ever thought she'd had 
to do:  backing away from her friends.  "What--what's wrong with you?  Did 
something happen?"
     Rei smiled, showing her teeth.  It was a desperate smile, the sort 
that one did when trying desperately not to startle a frightened animal.
     And one by one, the others showed her the same smile.
     "Why are you looking at me like that?" Usagi screamed.  She was 
panicking now, sure that they'd been possessed by something evil.  She 
turned and started to run.
     She got about three feet before running into someone else.  Looking 
up, she saw it was Hotaru.
     A Hotaru who was about 10 years older than when she'd last seen her 
the week before.
     She screamed, trying to back away, but was stopped by a hand to her 
shoulder.
     "Usagi.  It's alright."  It was Haruka.
     With her eyes looking loving, and warm... but blessedly normal.  And a 
smile that Usagi had seen on her many times before.
     She almost sobbed as she hugged Haruka tightly.  "Haruka-chan, what's 
going on?  Something's happened."
     Setsuna and Michiru were also here, also smiling.  None of them seemed 
inclined to answer her, though.  And when she turned, the others were still 
there, staring at her.  They weren't smiling anymore... in fact, they 
almost seemed in pain.  Her heart ached, as she wanted to help them but 
still couldn't face them when they were like this.  So... so needy.  
Needing her.
     She turned back to Haruka, who raised an eyebrow.  "Setsuna," she 
called back to her friend, "I think they had a bit more happen to them."
     Setsuna nodded.  "I wonder what each of them went through."
     Usagi was starting to panic again.  "What is this?  What's happened?"
     "I happened."
     The Outers and Usagi turned, looking back towards Usagi's house.  The 
porch was now occupied.  Five women stood there, casually leaning against 
the joists with weapons drawn.  They didn't look menacing or evil... but 
also didn't look like they'd regret using them.  But it was the sixth women 
that held their attention.  She was older now, looking the same age as 
Haruka and Michiru.  The hatred in her eyes was something so foreign that 
it almost made her unrecognisable.  But it was the hair that gave her away.
     "Chibi-Usa..." Usagi whispered.
     The Inner Senshi kept their gazes locked on Usagi the entire time.

***

    They sat in Usagi's living room, feeling somewhat cramped, even with 
chairs brought in from the kitchen.  Usagi sat on the couch, with Makoto 
and Ami on one side of her and Rei and Minako on the other.  The Outers 
were perched on chairs brought in from the kitchen, clustered together near 
the door.  The five strange women were standing around the living room, 
still not revealing anything in their expressions, though Usagi noted they 
all seemed to glance at her out of the corner of their eyes.  And Chibi-
Usa... though not chibi anymore... sat across from Usagi, and looked at the 
girl as if she were Satan herself.
      Usagi was just about ready to faint from everything that had 
happened.  She kept hoping that all of this was a bad dream.  She couldn't 
begin to fathom everything that had happened.  She would cry, except that 
would likely only get her yelled at.
     Maybe she should anyway.  She'd give anything to hear Rei scream at 
her again.
     Chibi-Usa stared at her a little longer, then seemed to come to a 
decision.  "We won't get anywhere with me simply trying to terrify you.  
Let me give you a little history lesson instead.
     "Once there was a kingdom that was supposed to be a utopia.  It was 
Crystal Tokyo.  And it was ruled by eight Senshi guardians, a wise consort, 
and the kindest, most gentle woman who ever lived.  Neo-Queen Serenity.
     "For almost a thousand years, this paradise continued.  And then, 
shortly after the Black Moon War, four of the Senshi left.  They had 
gradually grown apart from their Queen, and the leaving was full of 
bitterness and recriminations."

     Haruka interrupted.  "We'd never do that."
     Chibi-Usa glared at her.  "It wasn't you."
     Haruka had a retort, but stopped short in surprise.  "What?"
     "Surprised, aren't you?  You four stayed.  The ones who never trusted 
Usagi back in this time were ultimately the ones who never left Serenity's 
side.  No, it was the Inner Senshi who left."
     Usagi's mind was having difficulty getting around all of this.  She 
was quickly brought back to reality, however, by the sobs of her friends on 
the couch next to her.  She looked at them, and saw the tears coursing down 
their cheeks.
     "No..." Makoto murmured.
     "It's a lie!" Rei screamed.
     "You're the lie," Chibi-Usa said coldly.  "That's why we did what you 
did.  You left her, and she was devastated.  And that left the entire city 
ripe for the taking."
     Her voice dropped, and for the first time since her arrival there was 
genuine emotion in her voice.  "The city barely survived.  Crystal Tokyo 
was devastated.  There were barely one hundred people left alive.  I was 
one of them.  But the other Senshi, the guardians... and Endymion," she 
stopped, a catch in her voice, then went on, "they were all killed.  And 
when they died, so did something in Serenity."
     Now back to normal, her voice returned to its cold, factual tone.  
"She put herself into the rebuilding of the city like a woman possessed.  
In only three months, Crystal Tokyo was restored.  But she couldn't restore 
the people who had died.
     "The city was on the verge of dying again.  No one wanted to live 
there anymore.  No one could exist in a city with such tragedy around it.  
So Serenity decided that the people needed something.
     "She gave them love.  Whether they wanted to or not."
     Chibi-Usa stood up, and went to stand in front of Usagi.  "I grew up 
in a state of terror.  The mother I loved was gone.  The girl I'd seen back 
in the past didn't exist anymore.  And as all of my friends turned 
eighteen, they went to meet the Queen, and came out in love.  Randomly.  To 
whoever was also there."
     She yanked Usagi to her feet.  "Can you imagine what you did?  Do you 
even have the slightest idea?"
     Usagi was almost shaking.  "I didn't do it..." she murmured.
     "You did!" the other girl screamed.  "I saw it happen, every year!  
You MADE me watch!  How dare you deny it!"
     Usagi ripped her arm away.  "It wasn't me!  I'd never do that!  I 
would never, EVER hurt anyone that way!"  She sat back on the couch, 
unconsciously trying to take comfort from her friends.
     The Outers were looking uncomfortable.  Chibi-Usa saw this and walked 
over to them.  "You can see it, can't you?  You might not want to accept 
it... but you understand how it can happen.  You've done similar things, 
after all."
     Setsuna was trying to remain cool and aloof.  "So you came back here 
to change the past?"
     Chibi-Usa nodded, her eyes flickering.  "Exactly."
     Haruka looked at the others.  "What's your story?"
     One of them, a tall blonde, spoke up.  "Princess Usagi came to see all 
of us in secret.  We all turn eighteen this year... in fact, in terms of 
passing time it's likely happened already.  She said she had a plan to get 
us a future, and we decided to take it."
     Chibi-Usa nodded.  "I had been planning this for some time.  I went to 
see the wreckage of the Time Gate, where Pluto had died, and found some 
equipment that could help us.  It would be rough... and one-way... but we 
could go back in time, and prevent this future."
     Usagi started.  "One-way?  You can't go back?"
     "No."
     "Then why?  Why do this, if you're throwing away your future?"
     "The others will have a future.  And besides, if we succeed, we'll 
still be there.  Chibi-Usa will still be alive, and with her parents, and 
everything will be alright.  I don't know what will happen to us then, 
maybe we'll disappear."  She looked to Pluto, who shrugged.
     "Time travel isn't an exact science, even to me.  Paradoxes are just 
that.  You can never predict what will happen."
     Michiru spoke up.  "So you used the technology from Pluto's gate to 
come back here... and I imagine you stole whatever it was your Queen used 
to change everyone's minds."
     Chibi-Usa noted her use of the words "your queen", but said nothing.  
"She didn't need to use anything but the Crystal.  You underestimate its 
power."
     "So what are you using here?  What did you use to... do whatever it 
was you did?"
     Chibi-Usa shrugged.  "The human brain is still difficult to decipher, 
but it's much easier in my time than it is now.  We had some devices.  Plus 
we had an engineer with a knack for experimentation."  She nodded towards a 
brown-haired girl, who flushed.
     Usagi had gotten somewhat disconnected through all this.  She was 
staring into space, her mind trying to imagine how this could possibly have 
happened.  How in the world she could ever allow something like this to 
happen.
     She'd failed them.  Failed everyone.
     No.  That was something that she'd never allow.
     She stood up.  "You did something to my friends.  To Ami, Rei, Makoto 
and Minako.  You made them--"
     Chibi-Usa cut her off.  "We made them desire you.  You and each other.  
They love you now, a love so deep it's burned into their minds.  They'll 
never leave each other.  They'll never leave you."
     Usagi shivered.  "What about the others?  What about Hotaru-chan, why 
is she older?"
     Chibi-Usa shifted again, and this time Usagi picked up on it.  "They 
didn't need to have the obsession with you... they stayed with you till the 
end."
     "Then why do it?  Why do that sort of thing to them?"
     "For revenge," Haruka and Michiru said at the same time.
     Chibi-Usa's eyes darkened.  "I wanted to hurt you.  Hurt you the way 
you'd hurt everyone I cared about.  The way you destroyed everyone's lives.  
I wanted you to feel that."
     "I didn't do it," Usagi denied once again.
     "But you will," came the response.
     Usagi shook her head.  "No, I won't."
     "You say that now--" Chibi-Usa began, but Usagi had had enough.  She 
grabbed Chibi-Usa with a strength she didn't know she had and dragged her 
down to stare right into her eyes.
     "I want you to listen to me.  I will not hurt anyone.  I will not 
become that person.  And I will *never* let that happen to you.  I love 
you."
     Chibi-Usa shuddered.  "That word means nothing to me now."
     "But it means everything to me," Usagi replied.
     The room had gone silent now, as if the world consisted entirely of 
Usagi and her daughter.  Usagi tried another tactic.  "You came back here 
to stop this from happening.  To show me what would happen in the future.  
Don't you think you've succeeded?  Did you do all this thinking it would be 
useless?"
     "Well, I'll never know, will I?  I can never go back there now!  We 
knew it was a one-way journey when we started!  How am I supposed to tell 
if anything I did made a difference?"  Chibi-Usa was starting to look a 
little frantic.  Usagi had a feeling that the walls were starting to break 
down.
     "I could find out," said Setsuna, speaking up.  "I mean, I am the 
obvious choice."
     Usagi shook her head.  "No.  I won't put you through that.  Pluto 
shouldn't know about her own future."
     "But--"
     "I said no."  Usagi sighed, and motioned for Chibi-Usa to sit on the 
floor.  The young woman, now thoroughly demoralised, complied.
     "What can I say to make you believe me?"
     Chibi-Usa sat silent for a moment.  "I'm not sure you can."
     Usagi sighed, and looked around her.  Her friends still sat beside her 
on the couch, looks of rapt attention on their faces.  Usagi winced, 
reminded of her other problems.
     "What can we do now?  How can I get the others back to normal?"
     "You can't.  It wasn't designed to be temporary." Chibi-Usa said.  "We 
made them love you.  Forever."
     A cough made them look up.  "Not quite true," said the brown-haired 
girl.  "I kinda designed a safety valve for all this.  Y'know, just in case 
something... well, exactly like what happened happened."
     Chibi-Usa got up.  "What do you mean?"
     "Well, they're always gonna love her.  That's not that much of a 
change, really.  But they don't have to be mindless zombies about it.  I 
mean, we don't want a future where the Senshi are all mindless lesbian 
sluts.  That would probably be even easier to overthrow."  The other woman 
was looking rather uncomfortable now, as were her companions.  It was 
becoming clearer to Usagi that this wasn't as much of a united front as 
she'd thought.
     "What do I have to do?" Usagi said.
     More uncomfortable looks.  "Well... essentially, we used sexual 
fantasies and buried feelings as a power of suggestion.  In essence, we 
sort of hypnotised them through sex, with a climax as a final trigger 
implanting the new thoughts.  So, in order to bring them out of it, I put 
in a little suggestion that some of the more intense passions could be 
reversed by another climax brought on by oral attention from the object of 
their affection."
     Usagi's eyes crossed briefly as she tried to decipher what she'd just 
heard.
     The brunette sighed.  "You have to lick them to climax, then they'll 
get some of their self back."
     This seemed to stop Usagi dead in her tracks for a moment.  Taking 
this opportunity, Haruka coughed pointedly.
     "Ah... heh heh heh..." the other girl stuttered, rubbing the back of 
her neck.  "Well, you four were a different induction method entirely.  We 
didn't need to make sure of your loyalties... but we wanted to make sure 
you didn't attack us.  I mean, there's a reason you aren't trying to kill 
us right now, you know."
     Michiru nodded.  "We'd guessed that.  So we're basically stuck with 
this?"
     "Is that so bad?" the brunette said, looking nervously back and forth 
between them?
     Setsuna smiled.  "It's not horrible.  At least one thing your actions 
were responsible for is something I'm quite happy with," she said, 
squeezing Hotaru's hand.  "But if you do this again, to anybody else, I 
don't care if we are conditioned not to harm you, we'll find a way around 
it, and we will stop you.  Is that clear?"  The smile hardened and there 
was fire in her eyes.  The other women gulped.
     "Well... I mean, we're pretty much done here, right?  I don't think we 
need to even use it again.  I got the data I needed for all of this, so 
it's not really *necessary* to have the equipment anymore..."  The brunette 
was babbling now.
     Setsuna nodded.  "So you'll destroy it, then?"
     "Um... s-s-sure!"
     Usagi seemed to come out of her trance, and was looking at the Inner 
Senshi.  Her friends looked back at her, still with that longing, hungry 
look in their eyes.
     She'd never be able to see them like that every day.  There wasn't 
really much of a choice at all, really.
     Besides, she loved each and every one of them.
     She looked down at her daughter, who was staring listlessly at the 
floor.  "Are you alright?" Usagi asked.
     Chibi-Usa's voice sounded hollow.  "I thought after all this was 
done... I'd feel satisfaction.  Or relief.  Or something.  But I just feel 
empty.  I've become my mother."
     Usagi hugged her, and Chibi-Usa didn't seem to push her away.  "Am I 
your mother anymore?"  She was taking a chance here, but thought that this 
might be for the best, so she continued.  "If what you did worked... and I 
think it did... then there won't be the same Chibi-Usa in the future.  And 
if it didn't... then I don't want you to think of me as someone who would 
become that kind of person."
     Chibi-Usa looked up.  She was crying now.  "What are you saying?"
     "What I'm saying is... that if you think it's become too painful to be 
the daughter of Neo-Queen Serenity... then you don't have to be.  You can 
start over.  You're here, and you have friends.  You have your friends from 
your time... and you have us.  Don't forget that.  I will always be here 
for you, no matter what."
     And then she found herself being hugged tightly, and now she was 
crying too, crying for the loss of her daughter... and the return of one of 
her best friends.

***

     In the end, there was really no measurement of it starting.  Certainly 
there was no one standing up and saying, "All right, everybody, let's all 
have sex with each other now!"  On the other hand, it was clear that 
something was about to happen.
     Chibi-Usa's friends had left, clearly not wanting to intrude on an 
intimate moment or continue to advertise that they were the cause of it.  
Chibi-Usa herself, however, didn't seem willing to disentangle herself from 
Usagi's embrace, and so with a few backwards glances they left her behind, 
settling outside to awkwardly wait for things to finish.
     Inside, Usagi smiled, pushed herself away from Chibi-Usa temporarily, 
and rose to her feet.  "Everyone... I need you to know that I'm doing this 
because I love all of you.  I want you to be happy.  Not because anyone 
makes you, but because it's what you feel, deep down inside.  You all 
deserve the right to make your own happiness.  And I don't think any less 
of any of you for what's happened."
     There wasn't much of a reaction.  She didn't expect one.  There would 
be time enough for that afterwards.  They just looked at her expectantly, 
lips parted, knowing that the woman they adored was finally going to give 
them what they wanted most.
     Usagi smiled, and then quickly, one right after the other, gave all 
four of them a soft kiss on the lips.
     Then yelped as they all grabbed her and threw her down onto the couch, 
peeling off her skirt and blouse as if they were tissue paper.
     Chibi-Usa stepped back, a little taken aback by the aggressive 
behaviour of the others.  She wasn't sure what she should be doing now.  
Leaving, probably.  She'd gotten what she wanted, and felt horrible about 
it.  She started to spin around, ready to run out of the house.
     A hand reached out to grasp her arm, she turned, and found herself 
looking into the eyes of Hotaru.
     As a child, she remembered coming back to the past, and meeting 
Hotaru.  They'd been good friends then, almost best friends.  After all, 
they were the Senshi closest in age to each other.  When Chibi-Usa went 
back to her own time, she wanted to continue the friendship... but Hotaru 
was an adult now, the same as the others, and it just felt awkward.
     And then shortly afterwards, Hotaru was dead and it didn't really 
matter in any case.
     Now, she saw her here as an adult once more.  Forcibly grown by the 
nanotechnology created in the future, made to mature before her time.  
Chibi-Usa felt almost shamed beyond measure.  She tried to pull away.
     "No," Hotaru said, and yanked her back into the room.
     She felt her chin being lifted.  "Chibi-Usa, listen to me.  It's 
alright.  I forgive you."
     "How can you say that?" Chibi-Usa screamed out.  "I...I..."
     Setsuna was on her other side.  She looked up, her eyes tearing up 
again.  "Puu..." she murmured.
     Setsuna smiled.  "It's always easy to take your vengeance when it's an 
abstract thing.  We know that more than anyone.  After all, I was ready to 
kill Hotaru-chan rather than let Saturn step into the world."  She turned, 
and gazed at her lover.  "But now... I'd never be able to do that."
     "Chibi-Usa, I can't say I agree with what you did.  But I forgive you 
for it... and not just because I recovered my memories and could be with 
Setsuna-chan again.  You went through something I can't even imagine 
surviving.  To come out of that... took a lot from you.  I want to help you 
get some of that back."
     Setsuna nodded.  "We all do.  You need to be able to forgive 
yourself."
     Hotaru nodded.  "Isn't that true, Haruka?"
     Haruka and Michiru started, their gaze briefly drawn away from the 
couch.  "What?" she breathed.
     Setsuna cocked her head.  "We're trying to help Chibi-Usa come to 
terms with what she did.  Can you two help?"
     Haruka turned back towards the couch.  "Sorry, but lately because of 
what she did, it's kinda hard to simply ignore that."
     "Hmm?" Hotaru said, turning.  "Oh my," she murmured, after a short 
pause.
     In the short space of time since Chibi-Usa had left, the Senshi had 
managed to remove both Usagi's clothing and their own.  Minako was 
enveloping Usagi in a passionate kiss, while Ami suckled at her breasts, 
and Makoto and Rei took turns licking at her wet centre.  Usagi herself was 
moaning and panting, and seemed to have totally forgotten that her goal was 
to pleasure the others.
     The five remaining Senshi stood motionless for a moment, taking all 
this in.  Setsuna finally broke the silence.  "You're right.  It is much 
harder to simply sit here and not be... taken in by all this."
     Hotaru felt herself starting to sweat.  "Mmm," was all she could 
manage.  Chibi-Usa was still clutched in her arms, and suddenly that hug 
was taking on an entirely different meaning.
     Chibi-Usa was starting to realise the situation that she had 
inadvertently created.  Her head swivelled between the five very active 
Senshi on the couch and the four others holding her in their arms, eyes 
starting to glaze over slightly.
     She was in trouble.
     Before she could think, Hotaru was suddenly kissing her, a soft, wet, 
delicious kiss that made her knees weak.  She'd never really done anything 
like this with anyone before, her feelings about love and sexuality being 
very confused for most of her life.  But this... this kiss made her heart 
start to beat fast, and started a small fire in her nether regions.
     She might not understand love yet, but sexuality was a far quicker 
study.
     "I can stop if you want.  We don't want to coerce you, believe me." 
Hotaru said after they'd finally pulled away from each other.  Chibi-Usa 
blinked at the 'we', and then noticed Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru smiling 
at her as well.  She continued to hear the moans coming from the couch, and 
realised where this was going.
     After a long pause, she gave her answer.
     "Where?"
     To answer, Haruka grabbed her and shoved her towards the pile of 
bodies in the centre of the room.

***

     Usagi gradually felt her mind reassemble itself.  It wasn't as though 
the others had stopped.  On the contrary, if anything, they were getting 
even better at coaxing every single ounce of pleasure from her body.  In 
fact, as she peered blearily over Ami's nude form, she could see Michiru 
lying on the floor, her mouth busily working away at the crotch of a very 
pleased Chibi-Usa, who was also nibbling on Hotaru's breasts.
     Well, good.  She seemed to be getting over her experience, then.
     Now, wasn't their something she was supposed to do...?
     Rei swam into her focus now, her eyes alight with the love she felt 
for Usagi.  She smiled vacantly.
     Oh, yes.  That was it.
     She smiled back, and forced her weak limbs to regain control, sitting 
up.  Doing so had the unfortunate effect of tossing Minako down to the 
ground, but nobody seemed to mind much, as Setsuna simply reached out, 
grabbed her by one leg, and dragged her closer so that she could taste the 
young blonde.
     Usagi smiled back at Rei, deciding to start things off with the friend 
who understood her perhaps better than anyone else.  She pushed her back 
over the edge of the couch, both of them falling to the floor with a thump.  
Usagi winced but carried on, focusing her attention on giving Rei as much 
pleasure as possible.
     Rei kept trying to push Usagi away, to gain access once more to her 
body.  Usagi, though, had had enough of seeking her own pleasure.  She 
gently but firmly pushed Rei back onto the floor, and kissed her deeply and 
passionately.  Rei was gasping by the time they were done, almost looking 
like she was ready to climax on the spot.  Usagi wasn't finished, however, 
slowly kissing down Rei's neck and shoulder blades before arriving at her 
beautiful breasts.  They weren't as large as Makoto's, but they were 
perfectly proportioned, and Usagi had often envied Rei's figure in 
comparison to her own.  She suckled gently on them, taking her time, 
mindful that the others were being kept busy until she could worship each 
of them in turn.
     And yet, despite her assurances that she'd take her time, she found 
herself drawn down towards Rei's dark passage, glistening slightly with 
desire and waiting for her rapt attention.  Usagi licked her lips, 
whispered a quick assurance of love once more, and then slowly began to 
lick.
     She had only ever made love to Mamoru before, and had no idea what it 
was like to be loved by another woman.  She was discovering that, while the 
two genders shared certain characteristics, there were certain things she 
could feel with Rei that she never could with Mamoru, and vice versa.
     She could feel Rei start to buck under her head, and tightened her 
hold on the young girl, moving one hand back upwards to stroke a breast 
while the other kept her thighs parted.  She could feel Rei's body start to 
tremble with her orgasm, and kept up her diligence until Rei's cry echoed 
across the room.
     And then there was a pause, as Usagi looked up, and found herself 
looking into the eyes of Rei Hino.
     Eyes that were tearing, and filled with shame, but not in any way 
worshipful.
     Now came the hard part, Usagi thought, as she pulled Rei into a hug.
     "Rei, it's OK.  It's all right," she said, as the young woman began to 
sob, huge gasping cries that tore at Usagi's heart.
     "It's not," she finally cried out.  "We failed you."
     Usagi pulled her in tight, kissing the top of her head.  "You did 
*not* fail me.  How dare you believe that?  Without all of you, I wouldn't 
be here, I'd be dead eighty times over.  You are all so important to me..."
     Now she was crying, and Rei slowly reached out to caress her cheek.  
When she spoke, she had a little catch in her voice, but seemed calmer.
     "What Chibi-Usa did... it worked.  I swear it, Usagi, I will never 
ever abandon you."
     Usagi shook her head.  "I won't hold you to that, Rei-chan.  I want 
you to be happy."
     "Usagi, you make me happy.  Believe that."
     Usagi grinned, even though she was still crying.  "Thank you."
     They got up, and went back to the large group that had now completely 
moved onto the floor.  Makoto gasped as she climaxed under the nimble 
fingers of Michiru, but her gaze still seemed focused on Usagi.
     Michiru sighed, shrugging as she looked over at the pair.  "I tried, 
but it looks like it has to be you, Usagi-chan."
     Usagi smiled.  "That's OK.  I don't mind," she said, eliciting a 
giggle from the older Senshi.  She then reached out and gave Michiru a 
long, deep kiss.
     Michiru moaned, and leaned into the kiss for several more seconds.  
After pulling apart, she said, "That was lovely, Usagi-chan, but not 
entirely necessary.  We didn't go through the same thing your friends did."
     "I know," Usagi said, putting a finger to Michiru's lips.  "But I 
don't want you to think that I love any of you less, or that I don't 
appreciate what you went through.  Because I do."  She stroked Michiru's 
hair, and noted the small patch of metal still embedded in the scalp.
     Michiru smiled, and kissed Usagi once more.  "Thank you."  She then 
turned and lifted Minako up off of where Haruka was currently working her 
over, and placed her in Usagi's lap.  "Back to work," she smirked, and then 
moved over to her lover.  "Have you totally forgotten about me?" she asked.
     "Never," Haruka growled, pulling her down into an embrace.
     Usagi smiled, pleased to see that the Outers had recovered more 
readily from their own traumatic experience, and then turned towards 
Minako, who was already stroking her breasts and sucking on her shoulder.
     Chibi-Usa looked up briefly from where Makoto and Setsuna were busily 
working her over, and briefly smiled to see Usagi so happy.  It had been so 
long since she'd seen Usagi that innocent, that confident that everything 
in the world.  She'd forgotten how inspiring it could be.
     A light nip at her nipple brought her back to reality, and she stared 
at Setsuna, who had a wry look on her face.
     "While I appreciate the fact that Usagi told you you didn't have to 
think of her as your daughter, I still think we'd better keep you two 
separated throughout this experience."
     "Puu!" Chibi-Usa squeaked, outraged.
     There was a small cry from Minako, followed by a more vehement series 
of sobs.  Hotaru looked up briefly from where she had been kissing Ami, and 
noted, "She works fast."
     "They really don't need too much coaxing, frankly.  Especially with us 
priming the engines, so to speak," Setsuna added.
     "Less talk, more sex," Chibi-Usa moaned, grabbing Setsuna's head and 
returning it to her breasts.
     "Good Lord, we've created a monster," Setsuna murmured before bending 
to her task.
     Usagi finished reassuring Minako, who was almost beside herself with 
fear and self-hatred.  She then broke off and moved towards Makoto, leaving 
Rei and Minako huddled in each others' arms.
     "God, she talks about how much she needs us, but... every time 
something like this happens, I always feel so inadequate compared with the 
size of her heart," Minako said.
     Rei nodded.  "It's the same with all of us.  Admittedly, nothing quite 
like this has happened before."
     Minako looked around.  "Wow.  I hope Usagi knows a good carpet 
cleaning service."
     Rei coughed.  "Um... listen, about what we were doing earlier back at 
the temple..."
     Minako stared back, hesitation in her eyes.  "Yes?"
     "You were really, really good," Rei finished, her face colouring.
     Minako stared back for a moment, then grinned.  "Look who's talking.  
You really know how to light a fire, don't you?"
     Rei smiled, and kissed Minako soundly.
     Usagi was now cradling Makoto in her arms, her friend not crying like 
the others, but simply staring out into space.  "It's alright, Mako-chan, 
it's OK.  It wasn't your fault."
     Makoto shook her head.  "It would have happened, Usagi-chan."
     "What do you mean?"
     "I was lying at home, thinking about how I didn't really have any 
friends except all of you, and feeling sorry for myself.  I would have 
gotten over it, but... I might have left, eventually.  How do I know I 
won't do that?  I can say I'll never leave you, and mean it, but I can't 
trust myself again."
     Usagi smiled, and leaned over to kiss her friend.  "But I trust you, 
Mako-chan.  All the others do.  And if you do decide you need to leave, all 
I ask is that it's because you've found someone or something that makes you 
happy... not because you feel that you don't belong."
     Makoto's eyes misted over.  "Thank you, Usagi."
     They both glanced over at Ami, who was staring glassily at them, being 
held up partially by Hotaru.
     Makoto smiled wanly.  "You need to go help Ami-chan now, Usagi."
     Usagi glanced over there, then smiled and looked back at her taller 
friend.  "Come with me."
     "What?"
     "Help me with Ami.  I think... I think she'd like it if you were 
there."
     Makoto for a moment looked like a deer caught in headlights, then 
smiled.  "All right."
     The others were gradually beginning to wind down, each leaning back, 
their partner of choice in their arms, to watch Usagi bring the final 
member of their group back to them.  For once they felt like a group... a 
unit.  The Outers didn't have that distance that had always stood like a 
wall between them before, and Chibi-Usa felt as if she was truly starting 
to understand the people who had been such an important part of her life so 
long ago.  There was a bond between them now that felt unbreakable, and had 
little to do with sex or mind-control.
     Usagi and Makoto were gently taking Ami higher and higher, coaxing a 
series of moans and sighs from her that almost sounded like music.  As it 
reached a crescendo, there was a sense of both relief and poignancy, as 
they knew that Ami would likely...
     "Oh gods..."
     ...be incredibly embarrassed and humiliated by the whole thing.
     Ami tried to crawl away from the others, but was held tightly by 
Makoto.  Usagi leaned in and kissed her once more, bringing a huge blush to 
the girl's cheeks.  "Ami, don't blame yourself.  It's all right.  We don't 
feel ashamed for what happened, and you shouldn't either."
     Ami still couldn't meet anyone's eyes.  "Why not?  What we did... I 
just can't..."
     Makoto leaned down, and whispered quietly into her ear.  Nobody could 
hear what was said, but both of them seemed to blush vividly, and Ami 
finally looked up.
     The smiles in the others' faces, free of any trace of shame or 
disgrace, made her feel a little better, and almost made her forget that 
she was lying naked in the middle of a pile of bodies.
     For a moment, no one said anything else.  Then Minako spoke up.  "What 
now?"
     No one quite knew how to respond to that.  Haruka sighed.  "Well, 
while you all are back to normal, we're pretty much the same as we were 
after this first happened.  We have our minds back... but the libido's 
really kicking in."
     Hotaru nodded.  "We really, really wanted to join in once you'd 
started."
     Ami had been whispering into Makoto's ear now.  Makoto blushed and 
looked up at the others.  "I'd venture to say that we might have an 
increased... desire as well."
     "Uh huh," Minako breathed, leaning into Rei's naked back.
     Usagi looked around, feeling a little bit out of place.  "Well... 
um... nothing happened to me.  But I guess I'll help all I can."
     Everyone stared at Usagi for a moment, then a gale of laughter spread 
over the room.  Everyone dissolved in giggles as the ludicrousness of the 
situation hit them.
     Then Chibi-Usa, who had been silent all this time, got to her feet, 
picking up her shirt.  She bowed to everyone.
     "Even though I know you've heard it before, I... apologise for what 
happened.  I'll never be able to do that enough."
     Usagi frowned.  "You're leaving."
     "Yes," her daughter responded.
     "You don't have to," she said.
     Chibi-Usa shook her head.  "Yes I do," she answered.  "I brought the 
others back here, and I'm not going to abandon them now.  They're not 
Senshi, they have to be protected.  And