December 1, 2000
Dear Diary,  

     When I was little, I used to have horrible nightmares 
about monsters attacking me.  Then I got older and the 
nightmares went away.  Then when I was fourteen, they 
came back.  It started with the time I dreamed my 
mother was killing all her customers, then she turned on 
me.  

          For over a year, I had the most hideous dreams.  I 
dreamed I had a boyfriend.  The monsters killed him.  
The weird thing was that he turned out, in the dreams, to 
be one of them.  He was a monster who I turned good 
with my love for him.  Pretty ridiculous, eh?  

          They weren't a constant thing.  They came in 
waves, getting both worse and less frequent over time.  
The final culmination was dreaming that an angry 
goddess destroyed all of humanity.  Including me.  I was 
VERY relieved when I woke up and wasn't dead. 

         I had my last nightmare in 1994.  That was the one 
where everything died.  Finally, it was over, but it left a 
mark on me.  In all my dreams, I was helpless.  The one 
thing I ever accomplished without having to be saved 
was to redeem my dream monster boyfriend, but he died.  
I was determined that I would never be defenseless 
again.  So I decided to become a cop.  The pay isn't great, 
and I've just started at it, but I like it.  I felt safe.  I had 
power.  I wouldn't be defenseless anymore.

        I was wrong.  Either I've gone mad, or 
something...something's out there.  Something horrible.  It 
started out as a normal case.  My partner, officer Noa 
Izumi, and I got stuck with night duty, since we're both 
new.  It should have been simple.  Some kid's cat was up 
a tree.  Normally, we wouldn't have been called in, but 
NOTHING was happening.  Given a choice between our 
usual round of dealing with drunks and domestic fights 
and saving a cat, I'd take a cat any time.

         Then we got to the house.  The kid's parents had 
left her at home by herself.  A cute little red haired eight 
year old with a beautiful white cat that looked like one a 
friend of mine used to own.  The tom was up a tree, 
hissing at some invisible threat down below.  The kid was 
crying and saying a monster chased her kitty up the tree.  

          I comforted the child, not bothering to correct her, 
and Noa climbed the tree.  Noa is shorter than me, and we 
both have bright red hair, although mine is wavy and 
hers is very short like a boy.  Noa shimmeyed up the 
tree, approaching the cat.  It ignored her and kept hissing 
at the air.  

          Noa suddenly grabbed the cat, then her eyes 
widened.  "Holy..."  She didn't finish cursing, whipping out 
her pistol and opening fire at the air below the tree.

         For a moment, I just stared mindlessly.  Why was 
she shooting?  We have to account for every bullet we 
fire, and usually you don't shoot at all unless you either 
ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO, such as to prevent your own 
imminent death, or if you get authorization in advance.  I 
couldn't believe she'd actually wigged out.  There was 
simply no reason for her to suddenly go mad.  But what 
was she shooting at?  "Noa, WHAT are you DOING?"

         "Shit!  Where the hell did this dog learn to climb 
trees?"  She started clambering higher up into the tree, 
although she was too big to go much higher.  

          Dog?  What dog?  I circled around, just to be sure, 
but I didn't see anything.  The cat stared at me and I 
stared back.  Then it blinked, and...well, if a cat could 
sigh, it would have sighed.  Its eyes flashed for a 
moment, and suddenly, I saw the dog.

         It wasn't a dog.  Imagine a wolf the size of a pony, 
with black fur and slavering foam coming out of its 
mouth.  Where the foam or its paws struck the ground, 
little ice crystals formed.  Its eyes were a black void that 
seemed to devour the light around it.  It was trying to 
climb the tree, but it wasn't very good at it; its own 
weight kept pulling it loose.  

         I fired at it, but the bullet slowed down in flight.  I 
could almost see the ice form around it as it flew, and 
then it shattered when it touched the wolf.  While I 
couldn't hurt it, that DID get its attention, which I wanted 
less than anything in the world.

         It stared at me in surprise, then did the best effort 
at a grin that a pony-size rabid wolf can manage.  "You 
see me,"  it said.

         "You...talk?"

        Noa was reloading in the tree as it stared at me 
intently.  "You are not..."  It blinked again.  "Remarkable.  
Now I understand why I was told to waste my time 
molesting this child.  Where you go, she is sure to come.  
If you are in danger, she will know, and will come from 
hiding."

         I kept talking.  I was scared out of mind and yet...if 
it talked, I could deal with it.  It couldn't be a real wolf.  
In fact, it was almost certainly a dream.  I could deal with 
that.  "Who will come from hiding?"

        "Do not play games with me."  He began to stalk 
closer.  "You know who I am talking about.  Call her.  Only 
she can save you now."

        "Call who?"  I would have backed up, but I knew it 
was pointless.  I had an idea, but he'd have to get closer.  
It would be dangerous, but I didn't trust myself to shoot 
accurately when I was riding the edge of panic.

         "Your guardian.  The warriors who we must 
destroy.  You know of who I speak.  Do not pretend you 
have forgotten."  He was only fifteen feet from me now.  
Noa was about to shoot again.  I waved at her to hold her 
fire.  The cat was staring at me intently.  

        I had no idea what he meant at first.  Then I 
remembered them.  The warriors who protected me, all 
of humanity in my dreams.  They had died, more than 
once, but always they returned.  All female but one, an 
enigmatic, handsome man in a tuxedo.  A psychiatrist I 
went to for a while thought he was a projection of my 
father, who died when I was five.  He also tried to 
identify the rest as various aspects of my self.  I wish.  
"What, the Sailor Senshi?"  I laughed.  "They were just 
some dreams I had."

          He laughed back, a dark bitter laugh.  "Then we 
shall see if it is just a dream when I eat you.  If you 
cannot summon them, then you are no more use to me 
than as food."  He opened his mouth wide.  I could tell he 
was trying to scare me.

           I whipped my pistol up and fired right into his 
mouth, through the roof of it, and into his brain, which 
exploded out the back of his head.  Noa cheered.  "Good 
shooting!"  The kid cheered too, and the cat fell out of the 
tree, although it sounded happy before it hit the ground.

         Somehow, it survived that for just a few seconds.  
Just long enough to croak out, "Now I understand.  Why 
do we always learn too late?"  He collapsed, and in the 
time it took for all of his bulk to strike the ground, he 
turned into a pile of snow which began to melt.  

        Noa climbed down and stared at the snow.  "What in 
the...It...snow..."  She stared at her gun.  "If we report this, 
they're gonna think we're nuts."  Her voice was shaking.  
"We're not nuts, right?  I mean...you saw this?"

         The child hugged my leg.  "You saved me!  Thank 
you!"  

         I kneeled down.  "Do you...do you know why the 
wolf was after my cat?"

         "Apollo talks too.  Maybe talking animals have a 
war going on or something."  She looked around.  "Apollo, 
come back!"

          The cat was running off down the street like a bat 
out of hell.  "Noa, GET THAT CAT!"

          Noa ran to our patrol vehicle and went after the 
cat.  I turned back to the child.  "Has this...have you..ever 
seen a wolf like that before?"

          "There's a whole pack of them that eats bad little 
children," she said nervously.  "But...I haven't been bad!  I 
only took one cookie!"  She started to cry.

         I comforted her as best I could.  Noa finally came 
back.  "You wouldn't think a cat could outrun a patrol car.  
Or jump three stories."  She looked at what little was left 
of the melting snow.  "What is going on here?"

          We didn't figure it out by the end of the night.  The 
only evidence we had was our missing bullets.  We didn't 
report making the shots.  Noa's boyfriend's father owns 
an armanments company, so we planned to contact him 
and get him to get us bullets to replace the ones we fired.  
We should have reported it, but all it would have gotten 
us was psychotherapy, right?  Did we do the right thing?  
I mean...people need to know, but no one was gonna 
believe us.  

           I wish I could have talked to Gurio-kun, but he's 
asleep now.  I'm stuck working nights, and he has classes 
in the afternoons when I'm awake, so we don't get to see 
each other much.  I'm going to kiss him when he crawls 
out of bed, then I'm going to sleep.  Maybe I'll tell Usagi 
about this tomorrow.  Maybe all of today was just a 
dream, and I'll wake up tomorrow and it will be today, 
because today wasn't real.  

         I wish I could make myself believe that.

--From the Diary of Officer Naru Umino, Tokyo 
Metropolitan Police, Juuban District
  
**************

Chasing the Moon and the Sun
A Sailor Moon Elseworlds

Chapter One:  Week One

by John Biles

**************

December 2, 2000
Dear Diary:

        Can I hate someone and love them at the same 
time?  No, I didn't have a fight with Mamo-chan.  It's my 
damnable brat from hell.  Why did I give her my name?  
Was I this awful a baby?  I used to love babies, but now I 
hate them.  Sometimes.  Then she'll smile at me, and I'll 
forgive everything.  Until she cries at 3 am and demands 
to be fed.  Then I want to crucify my child.  

         The worst part is that she only cries when I'm 
around.  If Mamoru even looks at her, she stops.  On the 
other hand, if I look at her, she starts crying, it seems 
like.  Mom tells me I did the same thing with her and 
Dad.  It really drives me crazy.  Waking up at three AM 
doesn't help, either.  

          She's just so...needy.  I like to help people.  I like to 
give love.  But...she just takes and takes and takes.  I 
know she can't help it.  Babies don't know how to show 
the love they feel, really.  Or how to do anything but eat, 
sleep, cry, and maybe grab objects and try to put them in 
their mouths.  And of course force us to change their 
diapers.  

         I was frazzled out of my mind today.  Little Usagi 
woke up three times last night, howling as if a pack of 
wolves was after her or something.  Once I had to change 
her diaper.  Once I had to feed her.  And once...I have no 
clue what she wanted.  Diaper was clean.  She wasn't 
hungry.  She didn't even try to grab my hair.  I had to 
give up on doing anything with my hair.  I just don't have 
time.  It just hangs down and gets trimmed periodically.  
I keep thinking about getting a shorter cut that would 
require even less work than that, but something...I 
dunno.  One day I'll have more time to do what I like 
with it.  

          So I was groggy.  So groggy I went to the grocery 
store in my pajamas.  I was decent, but rather 
embarrassed when some kid asked me if I lived in the 
back room or something and could he come live there too.  
At least I got a bit of a laugh out of it.

         Then a spider got into Chibi-Usagi's bed.  Then I 
found a roach in the cabinet.  Two cats started having a 
fight on the fence by our apartment building.  My boss 
called to badger me about when the next chapter of 
'Legend of the Five Kingdoms', my manga, would be 
ready.  My brother called to whine about how his 
girlfriend dumped him for some guy with a guitar.  
Mamoru forgot to come home for lunch after I had 
carefully prepared him a nice meal.

        So when Naru called me and begged to talk, I would 
have killed her if she had been within arm's reach.  
Luckily, she wasn't.  I agreed to come over once Mamoru 
came home.  Two seconds later, he walked in the door.  I 
shoved the baby into his arms and told him to sell her to 
the first band of gypsies he could find.

        Naru was groggy too.  It was reassuring.  Of course, 
she works the ten PM to six AM shift, so that doesn't 
surprise me.   If I tried to work a shift like that, I'd never 
wake up again.  We went down to the Crown Cafe.  We've 
been going there since we were tiny.  Naru is my first 
and best friend.  She's family to me.  We kinda drifted 
apart for a while, but then in college, we roomed together 
and became best friends again.  
         
       The radio was playing a song called 'Sacred Fire'.  I 
really like it, especially because another one of my really 
close friends, Rei Hino, is the person who sings it.  She's 
an idol singer now.  I bet she makes more money in a day 
than I'll make in ten years in the manga business, but 
we're both doing what we love, so it doesn't matter, 
right?

        Naru and I chatted quietly at first.  I could tell she 
was afraid to tell me what was going on.  She kept 
dancing around from subject to subject, veering away 
every time I brought up her job.  Something bad had 
happened.  I could tell.  "What happened at work?  Did 
you have to...shoot someone?"  Naru hadn't had to 
actually shoot anyone yet.  I was dreading the day it 
came.  I don't think Naru has the nerves to kill someone, 
even in self-defense.  I know I don't.  I'd make a lousy 
cop.  I'm not sure why she became one.  She just...seems 
like she was afraid of something.  The way she was afraid 
today.  And that's why she became a cop.  Maybe that 
boyfriend of hers who died.  I can't ever remember his 
name.  Pathetic really, but my memory of anything 
before halfway through high school is so fuzzy it might as 
well not even exist.  

      "I shot a wolf," she said flatly.

       My eyes widened.  "A WHAT?"

       Several people turned and stared, so I blushed.  
Mamo-chan thinks I'm cute when I blush.  Naru usually 
just laughs gently.  She didn't laugh.  "A wolf, Usagi.  It 
was...well, it was after a cat.  And a child."

         "Did it die?"

         "The cat was fine."  She paused, then laughed just a 
tiny bit.  "Oh, you mean the wolf."  She smiled a little, and 
the smile scared me.  It wasn't her.  "I killed it.  Finally, I 
nailed one of those damn things.  I was scared out of my 
mind, but I killed it.  I..."  The smile and the look that 
scared me left, followed by clear signs that she was 
scared.  "It..."  She stared down at her burger.  "You'll 
think I'm nuts.  I think I'm nuts.  Gurio-kun thought I 
was nuts.  But we saw it.  Noa and I both saw it."

         "Well, there's a body, right?  The wolf?  Or did it get 
away?"  I blinked.  "I guess if it died, it didn't get away."  
The thought of wolves in Tokyo disturbed me.  I was glad 
my baby was too little to walk yet.  She was safe in our 
apartment.  Wolves can't use elevators, right?

        "It talked, Usagi."

         I stared at her blankly.  "What talked?"

         "The wolf."

          I laughed nervously.  She was right.  I did think 
she was nuts.  What could I do?  "What...did it want to 
talk about?"

          She sighed.  "You do think I'm nuts."

          "No.  No."  I sighed.  "Yes.  I can't lie to you.  How 
could a wolf talk?"

         "I have NO clue.  I thought I dreamed it, but Noa 
called me and she still remembers it."  Naru fell silent for 
a moment, chewing on her food, then swallowed and said, 
"Do you remember how I used to have those nightmares 
about monster attacks in junior high and high school?"

           "You weren't the only one."  I couldn't remember 
much about that, but I dimly remembered several of my 
friends had all had nightmares about that.  So had I, but 
in mine, I fought the monsters.  Somehow.  Hard to 
believe, eh?  Super Klutz Usagi vs. the horrible creatures 
from beyond space and time.  Half sentai show, half shojo 
romance, because I also dreamed my boyfriend fought 
them too.  And my friends of course.  Except Naru.  I 
never dreamed she was a monster fighter.  I guess it was 
because she was more of a born victim.  Or maybe I just 
needed someone I could always save.  I dunno.  

        "I'm not so sure...I just..."  She sighed.  "I don't want 
to have more nightmares about monster attacks."  

         "Neither do I,"  I said.  "Look, whatever happened, 
it's over.  Don't worry about it.  It was probably just 
stress."

         She looked over at me and sighed.  "You're right, 
Usagi.  It was just a dream.  Maybe Noa and I breathed a 
weird chemical or something.  It couldn't have been real."

         I triple-bolted our door and shoved furniture in 
front of it just to be sure, after Mamo-chan went to bed.  
I remembered on the way home that we had stairs too, 
and wolves COULD get up those.  I suppose I was being 
paranoid.  Better safe than sorry.

--From the Diary of Usagi Chiba, Creator of 'Legend of the 
Five Kingdoms'

*************

December 3, 2000
Dear Diary

        Aren't psychiatrists supposed to make you feel 
better, not worse?  You have a nightmare, and you get 
told you're schizophrenic.  No, not multiple personalities.  
As I now know, it's a sort of general disconnection from 
reality.  Voices talk to you, you interpret people's actions 
oddly, etc, etc.  All I have is nightmares.  Well, I also 
thought I heard a cat talking, but I was really tired, so I 
won't count that.  

        I dreamed the nightmare again last night.  The one 
where the world freezes over and we all get turned into 
ice sculptures.  Ever since around mid-September, I've 
been having this dream more and more often.  Rei tried 
to cheer me up with some of her mystic mumbo-jumbo, 
but I think she just scared herself.  She told me to NOT 
see a psychiatrist, but I'm not a total idiot, even if all the 
psychiatrists I've seen are.  I mean...there are some who 
know what they're doing, right?  Sure, my HMO doesn't 
seem to employ any of them...

        Not that I really need to worry about money.  Rei 
and I are making money hand under fist, after all.  Our 
latest single went gold, our first album is going double 
platinum, and you can't listen to the radio more than 
twenty minutes without hearing us sing.  We've got 
concerts lined up all over Japan, and MTV East came by 
the other day and practically grovelled at our feet, 
begging us to do some guest appearances on one of those 
stupid shows of theirs...I think the name is Road Rage or 
something like that.

         Anyway, the first psychiatrist thought I had fear of 
success.  The second one thought my mother was scared 
by snow when she was pregnant.  The third one tried to 
get me to sleep with him.  If he hadn't been my 
psychiatrist, I probably would have gone for it; he was 
cute.  But I don't date people who try to seduce you when 
they're supposed to be curing you.  He looked like a slut, 
anyway.  

         And now this whacko thinks I'm schizophrenic.  He 
kept asking me if I ever had dreams about being magical 
or if I ever saw pixies or other faeries.  I was starting to 
think he was crazier than me by the end of it.  Then at 
the very end, he asked me if I had ever watched a TV 
show and wanted to be one of the characters on it.

          Yes, I have.  There was a show, when I was in 
Junior High.  The Sailor V show, about a masked magical 
girl who fought criminals and monsters.  I used to 
fantasize about being her, and fighting monsters.  With 
my friends, of course.  I even pretended my cat could 
talk to me.  It's the sort of thing you usually do when 
you're six, but I was fourteen and fifteen at the time.  Our 
whole gang did this.  It's part of how we got into RPGs, 
which I just love, even though I don't have much time for 
them, anymore.  I have a really powerful imagination; 
when I look back at those dreams, they seem almost real.  
Maybe he's right.  Maybe I am schizophrenic.  But what 
does that have to do with my nightmares?

          Should I go back to this guy?  I don't like him.  He 
creeps me out.  There's something so...It's like he's made 
out of ice.  I can't believe Ami recommended him to me.  
Of course, she's so busy with medical school, she could 
have easily recommended the wrong guy and not even 
realized it.  But if he can get rid of the nightmares... they 
haunt me.  I keep seeing ice everywhere, and webs and 
things becoming fixed and frozen, and unable to ever 
change, ever again.  Winter is coming, the wind says to 
me.  The Fimbulwinter.  The chains will break, and Great 
Fenris will devour the sun and the moon and the stars.  

          It's creepy.  I've got to do something about this.  
Our big tour starts soon.  It kicks off on December 22, 
with a concert here in Tokyo.  We're calling it the 
'Celebration of the Solstice'.  I think it's a Solstice, 
anyway.  We even scheduled it to coincide with the 
equinox.  I mean the solstice.  I mean the ECLIPSE.  Yeah, 
total eclipse of the sun over Tokyo.  Mid-day on 
December 22.  It's like Mother Nature was trying to help 
us out by scheduling something dramatic.  We're gonna 
sing 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' during it.  Neat, eh?

         Hmm.  Something is scratching at my window.  I'll 
just go take a look.

          I'm back.  I shouldn't let stray cats in, but he's so 
cute, and he looks just like the pet cat I used to have.  His 
name was Artemis.  Sure, that's a girl's name, but I 
couldn't think of any guys connected to the moon, and he 
had this cute little yellow crescent moon like patch on his 
forehead.  This one is so much like him, you'd think he 
was the same cat, but I think Artemis should have died 
of old age by now, wherever he is.  He ran off during High 
School, never to be seen again. 

         Rei's gonna kill me for letting a cat in, but if she can 
have those stupid ravens, then I can have a pet cat.  He's 
so friendly, curled up in my lap and purring.  Maybe I 
should see about getting him some food.

          I'm back again.  I'm starting to think he's a black 
hole disguised as a cat.  I hope Rei wasn't planning to eat 
that fish.  My old Artemis was like that.  Maybe I'll name 
him Artemis Two.  Hmm.  I should find out the greek 
word for 'two' and use that.  Just to be thematic.  I'll ask 
him what he thinks.  Not that he can reply.

           Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.  He spoke to 
me.  In fact, he sounds just like one of the cats I heard 
arguing before.  I am going insane.  Now he's trying to get 
me to stop typing and pay attention to him and I really 
should but cat's can't talk and I can't go mad before the 
concert.  Rei would be really pissed.

--The Diary of Minako Aino, Lead Singer for 'Lights to 
the Nations'

***************

Rei's Deep Thoughts For December 3, 2000

        Minako was in hysterics when I got home.  This 
didn't surprise me.  She'd brought another pet home.  
That didn't surprise me either.  It had eaten my fish.  Yet 
another thing that didn't freak me out.  The cat was 
talking to her, trying to calm her down.  That didn't 
surprise me much, either.  She could hear it.  THAT 
surprised me.

          I talk to animals.  Not all animals, but some of 
them.  Most are too mired in the dead weight of reality to 
talk any more.  If I didn't have my friends, I'd be too 
mired down to hear them.  But I can.  Deimos and Phobos 
let me remember when everyone else either forgot or 
fled the world.  I sometimes wonder if Haruka and 
Michiru and Hotaru and Setsuna were bigger fools for 
withdrawing into the Dreaming to wait out the Winter or 
if we were for staying, thinking we could fight it.  I still 
don't understand why they left; they were not the types 
to run away from a fight.  

         We couldn't fight it.  The rest of us think it was 
dreams, now.    They think we were just playing let's 
pretend.  That all the monsters were just fantasies.  That 
the magic wasn't real.  That Crystal Tokyo was just a 
dream we shared.  Yes, it was a dream; but it was a true 
dream.  We saw what could be; it was our job to make it 
real.

          That's why I let Minako talk me into forming this 
band.  To share the dream.  Okay, I love to sing and write 
music TOO, but that wouldn't have been enough.  We sing 
happy songs of love and hope and joy in a world where 
the lights are going out one by one.

          It was the right decision.  Even I was starting to 
fade.  It's hard to find the dreams that people like us 
need to survive, but now...it's like starving for years, and 
then you move to a land where everything is made out of 
food.  After one of our concerts, I feel so full of power, I 
could explode.  If only there was some way I could bottle 
it.  

         So I do the next best thing.  I weave it into our 
music as fast as I can and send it back to them.  So they 
walk away with stars in their eyes and smiles that last 
for days.  And that makes even me, the Grand High 
Empress of Grouches, smile.  

         I also make things.  I've been arming myself, 
preparing for the days to come.  With most roommates, it 
would be hard to build up an armory without them 
noticing, but Minako is gone on her social rounds most of 
the time, and when she's here, she largely only goes to 
the living room, the kitchen, and her bedroom.  Plus, her 
usual round of boyfriends keeps her busy.  

           Tonight, I was the one who came home late.  I had 
to go kick some butt down at our record company, 
Enigma.  It's run by these total whackoes.  They're great 
to work with, because they don't have the corporate 
mindset.  On the other hand, they usually don't know 
what they're doing, either.  This has vast potential to suck 
at times.  

          Anyway, they'd shipped thousands of CDs to Fiji by 
mistake, and...well, it would take too long to explain.  I 
got home and found Minako shouting about how she 
wasn't crazy and the cat wasn't REALLY talking, was it, 
and she was sorry about the fish, and yes, she DID 
remember to feed Phobos and Demos, and she really likes 
my pets, and she wanted to keep this cat, but it talks, but 
it can't talk and she's not going to go mad before the 
concert.  All in one breath, too.  I think Minako majored 
in talking.

         Once Minako was done being the queen of the 
motor mouths, I said, "The cat is talking, Minako."

          She boggled.  "What?"

          I whistled and Phobos and Deimos flew down the 
hallway and across the living room, landing on my 
shoulders.  "Say hello to Minako."

          "Hello to Minako,"  Phobos said. 

         Deimos said, "Welcome back."

         Minako started building up to an Earth-shattering 
scream.  I know the signs by now.  "Bite her leg, Artemis."

         "I am NOT crazy,"  Artemis said.  "I suggest we run."

          I stuffed a bagel in her mouth instead.  Yeah, I had 
been chewing on it, but I was desperate.  She ate it, 
instinctively.  I perfected this technique with Usagi, but it 
works on Minako too.  

        Minako ate it and calmed down.  "This is 
ventriloquism, right?  You made the birds talk, right?  
So...who's making the cat talk?"

         "I'm really Eddie Murphy," Artemis said 
sarcastically.  "I was kidnapped and they transplanted 
my brain and vocal cords into a cat body."

         "Wow, just like in Face/Off!"  Minako said.  "Well, 
maybe not QUITE the same."

          Artemis face faulted.  I would have too, but I had 
ravens on my shoulders, and they usually get hurt when 
I do that.  "You can believe that, but you can't believe a 
cat just talking on its own?"

         She turned to me, looking desperate.  "Work with 
me!"

         I laughed.  "Those weren't nightmares you've been 
having, Minako.  They were prophetic dreams.  The final 
winter is coming.  The end of the great year.  The Norse 
called it the Fimbulwinter."

          She stared at me in horror.  Then she blinked and 
stared at me again and her eyes widened.  I'd expected 
this.  That bagel wasn't just a bagel.  I'd slipped a bit of 
my own power into it, my glamour.  No, not my 
gorgeousness, though I AM gorgeous.  In my mortal 
seeming.  

          She could see me as I really am.  I know I freaked 
the first time I looked into a mirror and saw myself in 
my Kithain seeming.  It still freaks me out at times.  
Pointy ears that stick out sideways.  Pale white skin, but 
with patches of red on my nose and cheeks, like a clown.  
Beautiful, translucent white hair.  The hair is the best 
part.  The huge eyebrows that grow back faster than I 
can pluck them are the bad part.  I'm still trying to figure 
out how my hands can be slender and knobby at the 
same time.  It's a look that only a mother could love, I 
suppose, except for the hair.  It's my one regret with 
being Kithain--Most of us are prettier as Kithain than as 
mortals; I'm the other way around.  I'm not half as ugly 
as a Redcap, though, thank the Kamis.  

        I shouldn't have had to enchant her, but she's fallen 
asleep.  Somehow.  With the amount of glamour that's 
been pumped into her over  the last year, she ought to be 
wide awake.  Maybe that's why the dreams started.  IT 
has to be.  It's probably those damn psychiatrists.  If only 
the Sacred Fire hadn't decided to be an asshole and show 
only unhappy visions when I tried to take her to it.  Of 
course, I suppose it didn't have much of a choice unless it 
was going to lie.  Things are going to get worse before 
they get better.  And I'm not saying that because I'm a 
Nocker.  

          She flickered before my eyes.  I could see her 
seeming, just for a second.  Her Kithain seeming.  Her 
faerie form, if you will.  It's not too different from her 
mortal form.  A soft white fur all over her body, cat ears 
instead of human ones, bright green eyes, and two 
touching crescent moons on her forehead.  She looks sort 
of like the cat equivalent of the Wolfman, but much cuter.  
Disgustingly cute at times.  Okay, I suppose it is rather 
different from her mortal form.  

        "I've wigged out," she wimpered.  "Too much stress, 
not enough boyfriends.  I never should have broken up 
with Taiki.  God's punishing me."

        I rolled my eyes.  I got a seven.  No, not really.  
"You're Kithain like me.  Well, not exactly like me.  You're 
a Phooka."

        "I'm a six foot tall invisible rabbit?"  She ran over to 
the big mirror on the wall.  "Where's my ears?"

         Only years of living with Minako let me NOT kill her 
on the spot.  "The Trix bunny stole them."  I shouldn't 
have said that, but I had to do SOMETHING.

         She started to run for the door.  "That bastard!  I'll 
kill him!"

          I grabbed her collar as she went by.  "Slow down, 
Lone Ranger.  You're a Cat Phooka.  Artemis was your 
mentor.  Think about junior high.  Don't you remember 
any of that?"

         She froze, then turned slowly and stared at 
Artemis, who did his best to smile.  "You miss me, baby?"

          "I was...I was...I...I was Sailor V.  It was real.  It 
was really real."  Her voice was slowly shifting from 
terror to wonder.  "I really fought evil and monsters and 
protected the Princess from..."  she turned to me.  "What 
happened?  What happened to us?  Why did I think it 
was all let's pretend?  Did the Unseelie do this to us?"  
She started to shake me.  "The end of the world is 
coming!  Princess Serenity is in danger and we've been 
playing at being singers!"  The change came over her 
again.  First the fur, then the ears and the eyes.  "What's 
going on, Rei?  Tell me!  Tell me!"  She was starting to get 
hysterical again, but for different reasons.

         "Snap out of it.  You're not a child!  Your Princess 
needs her valiant warrior, not the airhead idol singer!"  
Sometimes I wonder if I'm too cruel to people when they 
do dumb things.  Then they usually convince me I wasn't 
mean enough, because they do it again.  

         Flicker.  The panic was gone, and the steel eyed 
determination that made her our leader back in our lives 
in Arcadia, and again here in Tokyo, was back.  "I still 
can't remember everything, but we've got to make a 
plan."  She thought a moment.  "If we even had any idea 
what we're going to be fighting."

         "The same thing we always fight.  The rising tide of 
winter.  The banality that chokes the world.  The death of 
dreams, and the dying of the light.  Still, the hardest part 
is what comes next."

          "What?"

          "We have to reawaken the Princess and the others.  
Without getting committed in the process.  Or scaring 
them off."

          "No problem.  I have a plan already."

          I don't think we're doomed just because I'm a 
nocker.  Any rational being would know we're doomed 
when Minako says that.

From Rei's Deep Thoughts, the Journal of Rei Hino, 
Songwriter and Singer for 'Light for the Nations'.

*************

December 4, 2000
Dear Diary,

        Nothing is quite so frustrating as walking into a trap.  
You'd think with Noa and I both so tense that nothing 
could have surprised us.  It did anyway.  We'd had a 
domestic violence call.  This is one of the most pointless 
parts of our job, because the victim never presses 
charges.  I don't know why they even bother to call.  This 
one was a bit different.  The guy was getting beaten up, 
this time.  

         When we saw the woman, who was skinnier than 
me, while the guy was huge, we should have known it 
was going to be trouble.  She was chasing the guy around 
the room with a frying pan, while he howled and hid and 
dodged.  We went through the usual, freeze, police, blah 
blah blah.  The woman dropped the frying pan and put 
her hands up.  The guy came over and grovelled at our 
feet, even though he didn't look like she'd ever actually 
gotten in a blow at him.  Noa went to talk to the woman, 
although I could see she was more interested in the giant 
robot model up on a shelf.  It was from some anime.  
Gundumb or something.  Noa likes giant robot shows.  A 
lot.  She keeps trying to convince her boyfriend that his 
dad's company should build giant robots.  Given that he 
doesn't get along with his dad and became a  cop just to 
hack the old guy off, I don't see this happening.

        The man got up and stared into my eyes, smiling 
like I was a Boddhisatva or something.  "Thank you, 
thank you!  Ever since she started cheating on me, she's 
gotten so violent, I can hardly believe it."

        I blinked.  If he knew she was cheating on him, why 
was he still here?  And why was she beating HIM up?  
"Do you want to press charges?"  I hoped he would say 
yes, but I doubted it.

        "It's not safe for me to do that.  But thank you 
anyway."  He stared at the floor, nervous now.

       I blinked.  "Are you a man or a mouse?"  I shouldn't 
have said that.  It was entirely rude, and I wouldn't have 
said that if he was female.  It just came out of me.

        "He made me be a mouse once," the man mumbled.  
"You'd better leave before he gets here."

         "Before who gets here?"

          I could hear the woman talking to Noa.  She was 
saying something about how her boyfriend would kick 
both our asses when he got here.  

          "Him.  Seiji."  He glanced over at the door, and 
whispered, "He's a vampire."

          I was going to laugh, then I thought about the wolf.   
I didn't think the guy really was a vampire, but...he had 
this guy convinced.  And just in case...  I turned to Noa.  
"I'm gonna watch the door."  I turned to the woman.  "So 
how long have you been seeing a vampire?"

        Noa blinked.  The woman said, "Three months now!  
He's going ot make me one soon, then I won't need HIM 
anymore."  She pointed at the hapless man.  Her name 
was Miyabi, and his was Hayao, by the way.  "He 
promised we'll feast our way across this city!  And not 
even you pathetic cops will be able to stop us."  She 
began to laugh.  It was a scary laugh, the laugh of a 
woman who was riding the edge or more likely, fallen 
over it.  

         Noa whipped out her handcuffs.  "Thank you for 
announcing your intention to commit murder.  Time for 
you to take a little trip down to the station."  Things went 
to hell when she tried to cuff the woman.

          Miyabi was shorter than Noa, and skinnier, which 
isn't easy, since Noa is just dang small.  She simply 
grabbed Noa's waist, hefted her, and threw her across the 
room at the couch.  Hayao screamed and fled to the 
apartment's bedroom.  I drew my pistol and levelled it at 
her.  "Stop."

         She was strong, but not so fast.  She put her arms in 
the air, apparently not suicidal either.  Instead, she just 
grinned at me.  "You'll regret this."

         "Not as much as you,"  I said.  I kept the gun on her 
while Noa cuffed her.  We got her down to the patrol car, 
and started driving.  That's when things really hit the fan.  

         As we were passing through an intersection after 
the light finally turned green, she snapped the cuffs like 
they were made of tinfoil.  Then she peeled open the 
divider between the front and the back.  Noa pulled her 
gun; I was driving.  She grabbed the gun and bent the 
barrel, then pulled Noa into the back.

         I pulled over; I didn't want to wreck, and I couldn't 
fight and drive at the same time.  By that point, she'd 
knocked out Noa.  Her laughter was starting to drive me 
nuts.  I tried to shoot her, but one punch sent my gun 
flying.  Then she grabbed me.  I'd never been crushed to 
death before.

         Her arms pulled me in close to her, and I could 
barely breathe.  The arm that wrapped around my neck 
stopped that option entirely.  She pinned both of my 
arms with just ONE arm.  She was that strong.  I could 
hardly believe it.  

       I was terrified at first.  I was going to die.  I knew 
this to the depth of my being.  Some stupid woman who 
was almost certainly on drugs was going to kill me.  I'd 
killed a giant talking monster wolf, but some skinny 
bimbo who was cheating on her husband with a madman 
was going to kill me.

        Fear was replaced by a strange sense of calm.  I 
would be saved.  Someone always saved me.  In all my 
dreams where I nearly died, someone saved me.  It was 
like a law of nature.  Naru gets threatened by a monster 
trying to steal her soul.  A magical girl shows up and 
saves her.  Story over.  

          No one came.  Not in time, anyway.  I would have 
died if she could have just been quiet.  It was the 
laughter that pushed me too far.  Despair would have 
beaten me, as long as I didn't have my face rubbed in it.  
But she wouldn't stop laughing.  And I couldn't bear it.  I 
don't like being taunted.  I hate it.  A tiny spark of anger 
ignited inside me.  I was sick and tired of being helpless.  
I was tired of being the victim.  A monster eating me, I 
could accept, but being killed by some damn junkie? She 
had to be a junkie, I thought.  Just a human being.  If she 
could be so strong, so could I.  I just had to want it as 
much as she did.

         I wanted it more than she did.

          It was like a firestorm igniting inside me, a rush of 
warmth across my body.  I howled like a madwoman and 
screamed something incoherent.  I wouldn't be surprised 
if I had shouted 'Hulk Smash!'  It wasn't just my body, it 
was my sight too.  Something changed.  Like a veil had 
fallen away.  

         She had a taint in her, a wrongness.  It was like I 
could smell the..whatever she had in her veins.  It was 
evil.  It was wrong.  All my senses seemed stronger, more 
acute.  I could hear her breathe.  The tacky perfume she 
wore filled my nostrils.  I could feel her heart beating 
through the skin of the arm she had pinned to her chest.  

         That sensation didn't last long because I broke free.  
The horn honked repeatedly as I bashed her head into 
the steering wheel.  Any passers by, not that there was 
anyone around at 3 AM, would have thought I was the 
madwoman.  They would have been right.  She was 
scared now, howling about how she was sorry and she'd 
be a good girl.  

         Noa, who woke up at some point during this had to 
restrain me.  More precisely, she convinced me to 
restrain myself.  I could have taken her and the nutcase 
at the same time if I wanted to.  Then I got a good look at 
Noa, and nearly fainted.  

         It's hard for me to explain why.  I once went to an 
art exhibition where they showed both the art and photos 
the artist used as a model.  One of the artists was an 
American, Boris Vallejo.  He tends to draw typical scantily 
clad heroes and heroines in 'fantasy' situations.  The 
models looked relatively normal in the photos.  Better 
looking than say myself, but not too impressive.  In the 
paintings, they were perfect.  If you took the person and 
made them perfect in every way, that was what he had 
painted.  But it was them.  The faces were recognizable, 
the poses the same, the bodies the same.  But not same.  
Better.  

         Noa was like that, but with more clothing.  Her eyes 
almost glowed with light, and though she had a frown on 
her face, I could read the happiness that usually could be 
found there.  For a moment, I saw her clad in armor, like 
a samurai.  "Are you okay?"

         "I'm fine.  Geez, she was strong."

         "She beat the hell out of me.  I'm surprised you 
managed to break loose once she got ahold of you."

        "I'm sick of getting beaten up."

         A deep male voice replied, "You shouldn't have 
arrested my woman, then."

         We both spun and saw the man, a fat slob with 
three days facial growth and an ugly set of slacks and a 
white shirt stained with what looked like either ketchup 
or blood.  His eyes were slate grey and cold.  He was 
nearly a foot taller than me, the hugest man I'd ever seen 
in Japan who wasn't a sumo.  

        "Damn, you're ugly,"  Noa said.  "Is this an accident, 
or did you plan to look like an idiot?"  Noa normally 
doesn't taunt potentially drug crazed adulterers, but we 
were having a bad night.

        Something about him bothered me.  He was pale, 
and would have looked sick if he wasn't so big.  And 
something else was wrong.  Something was missing.  
Everything was silent for a moment, and then I realized 
it.  I could hear Noa breathe.  I could hear myself and the 
druggie woman breathing.  He wasn't breathing.  

        He looked wrong too.  Just like the woman, but 
worse.  Whatever was in her was in him, but ten times as 
much.  "So you're her 'vampire'?  You sickoes go rob 
people for blood or what?"  You're not supposed to 
provoke people when you're a cop, but I was just a 
teensy bit high-strung.  

         He laughed and opened his mouth, his eyes flashing 
red for a moment.  He had two HUGE molars that looked 
disturbingly like fangs.  They were stained red.  He 
casually licked the red stuff off.  "Who wants to die first?"

          Noa raised her gun.  "It looks like you if you try 
anything."

         I blinked.  Didn't her gun get bent?  Then I realized 
she had my gun.  Please don't get it bent, I thought.  I'm 
sure we had paperwork to fill out if that happened.  

         He laughed and began to step forward slowly.  
"Shoot me."

         She did.  Six shots, right through the heart.  She's 
good.  

        So was he.  He didn't even bleed, though he did 
stagger with ever blow.  Laughing, he walked closer, 
casually, as if he didn't have multiple holes in him.  
"You're out of bullets."

        Blam.  Blam.  Blam.  Blam.  Our guns hold ten shots.  
I guess he watched too many Westerns.  This time she 
shot him in the head.  His face was a mess.  That made 
him mad.   Just mad.  Not dead.  

        From a mile an hour, he shifted to high gear and 
charged towards the car, his hands contorted as if he 
expected to claw people.  Given the length of his 
fingernails, which I hadn't noticed before, he may have 
planned that.  

        I hit the accelerator.  Instead of him leaping in the 
window, he went crashing across the street behind us.  
Praying the nutcase in the back, who we hadn't had time 
to tie up yet, wouldn't get up, I then spun the car around 
in a bootlegger reverse.  It actually worked, although if 
there had been even one parked car or any streetlights, I 
would have bashed the car to bits.  Noa reloaded, 
slamming in another clip and firing at him repeatedly as 
I drove right at him.  It wasn't the professional thing to 
do, but I was nearly as kill-crazed as the maniac was.  

        He should have died.  Instead, he was still functional 
enough to leap onto the hood as I tried to run him down.  
However, he simply tumbled up the windshield, across 
the roof, down the other side, and onto the street.  My 
second turn wasn't quite so sharp.  I passed Noa my 
backup clip.  That did the job.  After the fifth bullet, he 
dropped.  He was beyond dead.  I could hardly believe 
his body parts could even hold together.  I threw up 
three times.  Noa only threw up once.  Apparently, the 
smell didn't get to her.  The worst part was that he 
hardly bled at all until after he passed out.  Most of the 
holes had just a tiny bit of blood in and around them.  

          I haven't seen the coroner's report yet, but I 
suspect it's going to be strange.  Was he really a vampire?  
How the hell could he take so many bullets?  First the 
wolf, then this.  The captain wants to talk to us tomorrow.  
I'm scared.  

          But I'm also exhilarated, which scares me more 
than the captain.  It felt good to stop that thing.  It was 
wrong.  I could feel it.  Maybe I'm not getting enough 
sleep.  Maybe I'm cracking up.  Maybe I need a vacation.  
By some miracle, they're letting me take  five days off at 
Christmas time.  I won the office lottery.  I'm looking 
forward to it.  

--From the Diary of Officer Naru Umino, Tokyo 
Metropolitan Police, Juuban District

***********

December 4, 2000
Dear Diary:

         Take Two.  I'm adding this so I won't forget it, even 
though I want to.  Normally, I don't add entries at three 
in the morning, but...

          Screaming woke me up around 2 am.  Usually, it's 
the baby.  Mamoru mumbled something incoherent, and I 
staggered out of bed.  The screaming was worse than 
usual, but I ignored it, heading into the kitchen.  What I 
was looking for, I don't know.  Chibi-Usagi still 
breastfeeds, and so I don't think I was trying to get her 
food.   I grabbed a donut and headed for her crib.  She 
was sound asleep, but I could still hear the shouting.  

          It wasn't Chibi-Usagi.  It was Naru.  This was, of 
course, impossible.  Naru lives two miles from me, and 
she would be out somewhere keeping the streets safe, so 
unless someone in my building had called the police, 
there was no way she could be screaming for help.  

        She needed me.  Desperately.  She was in danger.  I 
ran.  I ran down the stairs, to the apartment garage, 
hopped in our car, and drove.  I didn't know where I was 
going, just following the screams.  They were dying down, 
and I grew more confused as the screaming faded.  Right 
as I pulled up by this little playground in our 
neighborhood, the screams stopped.  She was safe.  

         What the hell am I doing? I asked myself.  I was in 
my pajamas, and all I had with me was my favorite 
brooch and my car keys.  And a pencil on the car seat 
next to me, and a half-drunk coke I'd left in the car 
earlier in the day.  Luckily, I sleep in very opaque 
pajamas that are pretty decent, so at least I wouldn't get 
arrested.  I do have some naughtier nighties, but I save 
them for special occassions.  Which seem to be pretty 
rare lately.  I think Chibi can somehow sense we're trying 
to have sex and screams because she's jealous.

         I didn't really say that.  Ignore it.  

        I sighed and pulled the car into the playground 
parking lot to turn it around.  There was a raven 
watching me.  I smiled at it. When I was little, ravens 
scared me, but my friend Rei has two for pets, and now I 
like them.  It cawed in a friendly way and flew over.

         I rolled down my window.  Crazy, eh?  It came over 
and perched on my arm.  I felt regal for a moment, like 
one of those noblewomen in a medieval movie.  "Do you 
like Coke?"  I asked, and I could imagine the caw it gave 
me was a yes, so I offered it some.

         Beaks and coke cans don't mix, though he tried 
hard.  We finally gave up, and I stroked his head.  
Animals like me, and I like them.  He preened and did his 
best to smile, then fluttered over and sat down on the 
other front seat.  

        "I can't take you home,"  I said.

        He gave me a look that indicated he just wanted a 
lift.  I laughed, and let him ride to our apartment 
building.  He flew off once we got there, and I quietly 
went back upstairs.  Just as I climbed into bed, Chibi 
started howling.  

         By the time I changed her diaper, I was wide 
awake, so I decided to write this entry.  Now, let's see if I 
can actually SLEEP.  Please!

--From the Diary of Usagi Chiba, Creator of 'Legend of the 
Five Kingdoms'

******************

FROM:  "Tendo Dojo"<TDojo@Furinkan.NET>
TO:  "Shojo Sunday"<Fanmail@SSunday.com>
DATE:  120500
TIME: 3:59:32 PM
SUBJECT:  Legund of the Five Kingdums

Deer Mrs. Chiba.  

I am yur biggezt fan.  i really enjoy reading all of yur 
story every sunday.  I think Princess Emerald is the 
Greatest that ever wuz.  She is so kool, I can hardly stand 
to read it when she shows up.  I now have a long ponytail 
just like her.  

Is it really ture that you and Princess Diamond have the 
same hairstyle?  I read it in my cuzin's fan magazine.  I 
dunno the name.  They had a picture of you, but it wuz so 
dark, I coudn't read it.  

I hope my spells aren't too bad.  I'm only eight, and this 
is my first email.  There's a spell chekcer, but i[t keeps 
telling me that your name isn't right, so I think it must be 
sick or something.  Mommy can't spell when she's sick 
either.  

Mommy's in the hospital, but she has a good doctor.  Her 
name is Amy and she looks just like Princess Sapphire.  I 
told her that, and she laughed and told me she knew you.  
Is that ture?  I wixh she had magickal powers like 
Princess Sapphire.  Mommy's really sick, and they're 
trying to not tell me, but I heard they think she's gonna 
die.  

I'll be right back.  I have to go cry.

      Okay, I feel better now.  Sorta.  I stopped crying so I 
won't electrocute myself, so you don't hafta worry.  

My favorite story is the one with the school where the 
principal was a demon and was trying to use the students 
to summon monsters.  I think my principal tries to be 
like that one.  

The bezt part was when Princess Topaz and Princess 
Aquamarine and Princess Garnet summoned up the 
White Cauldron and Princess Diamond used it to save 
Princess Amethyst from the demon that was trying to use 
her to destroy the world.  She wuz so sick and weak 
before, and then she was happy and healthy afterwards.

Do you think maybe that's what's wrong with my 
mommy?  Does she have a demon inher?  I wish Princess 
Diamond was here.

Thank you for reading my letter.  I hope I sent this to the 
right address.  If you're someone else, please send this to 
her.  

Do you know where I can get a new Princess Emerald 
doll?  My stupid brother bit the head off of mine.  I really 
hate him.   He's only two, and I think they left his brain 
at the hospital by mistake.  
I hope I wasn't this stupid at his age.  All he does is eat 
my toys and hide cans in socks.  And smash eggs on his 
head.

Yur friend, Ranko Saotome
Tendo Dojo
Nerima, Tokyo, Japan.
(913)555-8055

*****************

The Exciting Saga of Makoto Kino, Volume 12:
December 5, 2000 AD.  

        Usagi is a complete nutcase.  The only thing I 
understand less than how she got me to do this is where 
she found a 'Princess Emerald' costume.  I never should 
have let her model that character after me.  I get mobbed 
by kids all the time now.  Still, they let me do the voice 
for her for the anime, and the extra money is VERY nice.  
And I'm glad to see Usagi FINALLY has her life on track.  
This manga of hers has been a big hit.  I can see why.  It's 
the kind of happy, loving, inspiring story we need in this 
hell hole of a world.  It seems like everything is going 
down hill, and we can use some light.

        When I saw the letter, I had to do it.  Luckily, my 
job is pretty flexible.  I teach self-defense classes, and 
some advanced classes too.  After I won that martial arts 
tournament, it was easy to get students.  

        So I dressed up in the costume, then asked Usagi 
where her Princess Diamond costume was.  She laughed, 
and said they were all rented out.  However, she had 
taken the time to do up her hair in that twin-knob, twin-
ponytail style she had all the time until she had a kid and 
stopped having any free time.  So we hopped in my piece 
of junk car and headed over to the dojo.  

         It was like travelling through time.  Authentic 
traditional architecture surrounded by late twentieth 
century clone housing.  Lots of twisty, bendy houses, all 
alike.  You've been places like that, I'm sure.  

         I half expected a ninja to answer the door, but 
instead, it was a beautiful woman with long brown hair 
dressed in a nurse's uniform.  She stared at me as if I was 
a ninja.  The costume, of course.  Then she smiled.  
"You're here to see Ranko?"

         I wondered if she was psychic.  Usagi said, "Yes.  
She sent me a letter about how her mother was sick and 
how much she liked my stories, and I thought I'd come 
visit her with my friend, Princess Emerald."

          The woman smiled brightly.  It was the sort of 
smile Usagi gives when she's really happy.  It's been a 
while since I've seen Usagi smile like that.  "I'm Ranko's 
aunt, Kasumi Ono.  Her father has been at the hospital 
continually, and her grandfather is usually there too, so 
Nabiki and I have been taking turns babysitting Ranko 
and Chibi-Soun."  She let us into the front hallway, then 
yelled, "Ranko, you've got visitors."

         A little girl voice yelled from upstairs, "Soun's 
trying to eat my Greenbeany baby!  I'm gonna kill him if 
he ever touches anything ever again!"

         I laughed.  Kasumi shook her head and started 
running.  "I swear, Chibi-Soun will try to eat ANYTHING.  
He nearly choked trying to eat a hairdryer one day."

         We followed, and soon, Kasumi managed to separate 
little Soun, a chubby little boy with short black hair, from 
the unfortunate Greenbeany baby, which looked like 
some kind of Asparagus monster to me.  I can't believe 
how much people pay for those things;  they look like 
sock puppets to me.  

         Ranko was a cute little girl with shiny black hair 
tied back in a long pony-tail like mine.  She was wearing 
a white gi with some crayon stains on it.  Kasumi had to 
hold her back from clobbering Soun.  Ranko was 
screaming at little Soun.  "You're evil!  I bet you'd eat 
Mom if she wasn't in the hospital!"

         Usagi said quietly, "Hello, Ranko.  I got your letter."

        Ranko started, turned around, then just stared.  She 
rubbed her eyes.  "Are you real?"

        She struck a pose, placing a hand over her heart, 
and holding her left hand up, palm forward.  "Crystal 
Truth."  It's an expression from 'Legend of the Five 
Kingdoms.'  Usagi has a very creative mind, and the 
manga's sprinkled with all sorts of neat little bits that 
make you feel like the stories must have been real.  
Different ways of saying hello, weird foods, clothing 
styles, everything.  

         Ranko's face lit up like a child on Christmas 
morning.  She rushed forward and hugged Usagi, who 
picked her up and spun her around.  They both screeched 
with delight.  Now Usagi was smiling brightly too.  I just 
stood and tried to look tough and noble.  I checked the 
concealed pocket on the dress.  Yes, I still had the 
Princess Emerald plushie that Usagi wanted me to give 
the kid.  

         Finally, Usagi put the kid down.  "I really liked your 
letter.  Thanks for writing.  It makes me feel good when I 
know people are enjoying it."

        "Thanks.  I was afraid I didn't do it right."  

         They talked quietly while I looked around the 
room.  The kid had Legend of the Five Kingdoms sheets, 
posters, and all the manga volumes.  There were issues of 
Shojo Sunday and Ike Ike Go Go Bang Jump Skip Hop 
Whoops everywhere.  All except for one wall, which was 
full of martial arts posters.  She had a complete set of 
plushies for the series too, but most of them looked 
chewed on.  Princess Sapphire was missing an arm.  
Someone had chewed Princess Ruby's left eye off.  
Princess Emerald was missing her entire head.  
Apparently, little Soun didn't like the taste of Princess 
Topaz, though.  She had a few teeth marks, but nothing 
was gone.  Princess Garnet was okay, but she had 
somehow gotten up onto a high shelf where no two year 
old could reach.  I was surprised Ranko, who was only 
eight, could get up there.  

         Finally, Usagi said, "I brought a friend to meet you."

         Ranko said, "Who?"

          Usagi pointed, and Ranko finally noticed me.  She 
stared in shock, then ran over and hugged me too.  "Oh 
wow, you came!  I thought you were just imaginary, but 
you're real!  I can touch you!"

          I patted her head.  "Yep.  Here I am."

          She squeezed me so tight, I thought I'd been 
attacked by a sumo wrestler for a moment.  One kicked 
my ass in college one time.  They're slow, but if you get 
grabbed...you are toast.  

          Anyway, she let go of me and said, "I think my 
mommy has been possessed like Princess Amethyst was.  
Do you think you can come see if she needs to be put in 
the White Cauldron?"

          I didn't know what to say.  I glanced over at Usagi, 
who as I should have guessed would happen, said, "Sure, 
we can come visit your mother."  

         Kasumi drove us to the hospital.  I wanted to bite 
off Usagi's head, but I couldn't do it without the others 
hearing.  How could she let the kid get her hopes up like 
that?  I chatted with Ranko, making up stories about my 
mighty deeds, and gradually I felt better.

          Most of the stories were the ones we used to make 
up in junior high.  Usagi has used a lot of them in Legend 
of the Five Kingdoms.  We pretended we were princesses 
with magical powers, fighting evil.  We never entirely 
stopped, although most of our story creating comes from 
the RPGs we play on Saturday nights.  Usually Gurio is 
our game master.  So I threw in a few stories from the 
adventures of my orcish street samurai, suitably 
modified, of course.  

         I could feel the gloom as we entered the hospital 
room.  Ranko's mother, Akane, was sleeping when we 
arrived, but her father, a handsome man with a pig-tail, 
was holding her hand anyway.  Ranko's grandfather was 
crashed out on a chair, with tear streaks on his face.  
Akane was thrashing and moaning in her sleep, flailing 
about as if she was fighting something.  I looked over at 
her husband, Ranma.  "Is this part of her illness?"

       He stared at me like I was some sort of alien.  
Kasumi said, "This is Usagi Chiba.  She draws and writes 
'Legend of the Five Kingdoms'.  And this is Princess 
Emerald's model and voice actor, Makoto Kino."

        He relaxed, and laughed just a tiny bit.  "She does 
this all the time when she sleeps.  Although it's usually 
not this bad, but I sometimes sleep on the floor, just 
because it's safer."

         Ranko ran over to her father and climbed into his 
lap.  "Daddy, this is Princess Emerald.  She's going to see if 
mommy's been possessed like Princess Amethyst was."  

         He looked blankly at me, and I tried to pretend I 
was imaginary.  Poor woman, I thought.  "It's not 
epilepsy, is it?"

         "She only thrashes when she's asleep.  She's never 
had any kind of waking attack," Kasumi said.  "It's just 
like..."  She stared at the floor.

         "Like what?"

         "Like what killed our Mother."  Her voice was very 
tiny and faint.  

         "I think it's hereditary, although I'm not sure 
WHAT it is,"  Ami said.

         I nearly jumped out of my flesh.  Ami normally 
isn't the stealth master.  She looked strung out, exhausted 
and running on coffee.  I think these hospitals are just 
insane the way they make people work such crazy shifts.  
How can anyone actually provide medical care if they 
need it themselves?  

         She looked at me and blinked.  "Mako-chan?  
I'm...not imagining this, am I?"

         I laughed.  "You must have mistaken me for 
someone else.  This is Princess Emerald, Guardian of the 
West."  I flexed, and she laughed.  "My, you look 
remarkably like my comrade in arms, Princess Sapphire."

          Ami's eyes twinkled, and she looked a little more 
lively.  "It's like the life is just seeping out of her, inch by 
inch.  For no good reason.  I can't find a hint of any 
viruses or bacteria, or anything.  She's just getting 
weaker and weaker, like something is sucking the life out 
of her."

          Ranko's eyes widened.  "Like a Stygian Vorgol!  Is 
that it?"

          I dimly remembered those.  Some kind of energy 
sucking monsters, which the Princesses tended to blow 
up by the boatload.  Usagi gave me a plushie of one a 
while back.  I thought it was kinda cute, really.  

          Ami shook her head.  "Those aren't real, dear."  She 
patted Ranko's head sadly.  "We'd get rid of it if there 
was one."

          I sighed.  Poor kid.  I wanted to help her, but this 
was WAY out of my area of expertise.  Too bad we can't 
just fight diseases in a good slam-bang fight.  I'd be the 
Earth's greatest doctor.  

           Ranko nodded.  "I guess so.  Princess Emerald 
could kill it, easy."  

          I decided this was as good a cue as any.  I started 
to reach into the pocket.  "I have a present for you."  I 
pulled out Princess Emerald, but another plushie flew out 
as well.  I didn't remember putting a Princess Garnet 
plushie in my pocket, but she flew out as if she was tired 
of being cramped in there and couldn't wait one second 
longer.  I blinked as she bounced off Ranma's head and 
rolled under the bed.  "Here's Princess Emerald.  Lemme 
go find her runaway friend."  I knelt down and felt 
around.  My hands closed on the plushie and I felt a 
strange jolt.  Then something grabbed my hand.  

           It felt rough, like rope, and cold.  My hand started 
to feel like it was freezing.  I looked under the bed, and 
nearly had a heart attack.  There was some sort of mass 
of black smog and tentacles and eyes.  Lots of eyes. And 
teeth.  More teeth than eyes.  It had hold of my hand and 
wasn't letting go.  A Smoke Crawler.  Another monster 
from the Legend of the Five Kingdoms.  Today's word was 
shock, followed by fear.

           I tried to pull my hand loose, but I couldn't.  
"Shit!"  I shouted.  "Help, my hand's stuck!"  I couldn't 
quite bring myself to say that a monster had grabbed it.

         Pretty soon, circumspection was unnecessary.  
Tentacles lashed out from under the bed, grabbing 
everyone.  Everyone except Ranma passed out in about 
six seconds.  The creature got bigger as they collapsed, 
extending out across half the floor.  

        Ranma struggled, lashing out with his legs and 
breaking several teeth before more tentacles grabbed 
him.  "Damn thing!  What the HELL is this?"

        "A Smoke Crawler!  I think they need to call the 
Orkin man!"  I was starting to get mad.  I didn't think 
about how the creature couldn't be real.  I didn't think 
about how monsters don't live under people's beds.  All I 
could think about was that this damn thing was beating 
the hell out of a lot of nice people who deserved better.  
It was feeding on them.  In a flash of intuition, I knew 
what had happened to Akane.  This damn thing was 
feeding on her.  Killing her by inches.  It had fed on me, 
and that had given it enough power to attack everyone.  
Now it was growing out of control.  And it was pissing me 
off.

         I could feel my anger growing, roiling like a storm.  
I don't get mad easily, but when I do, I destroy things 
like a raging hurricane.  The hairs on my arm were 
standing up like when you take off a sweater too fast.  I 
wanted to blast this thing back to Stygia.  The words 
came to my lips without me even bidding them to 
surface.  "JUPITER LIGHTNING STRIKE!"  

          My whole body crackled with electricity, and all of 
it flowed into the creature, which howled and lost its grip 
on me.  It visibly shrank.  I felt great, a mad ecstasy 
gripped me.  I was still holding the Garnet plushie in one 
hand.  I raised the other one like a lightning rod.  "CHAIN 
LIGHTNING!"  A bolt crackled from my hand, leaping 
from tentacle to tentacle, charring them to ash.  The 
creature howled louder.

         "She is foresworn!  I must punish her and all her 
line!  I must!"  The remaining tentacles all reached out for 
Akane.  

         It was too slow.  Her husband had her, and he 
moved across the room faster than I could believe.  He 
glowed a faint blue color and frowned, his eyes dark with 
anger.  "You damnable thing.  You killed her mother too, 
didn't you."

         It cackled a bit, then choked on pain.  "And her 
mother before her.  The sin shall be punished unto the 
seventh generation."

        "Why?  What sin?"

         "She promised to be my friend forever!  She forgot 
me!  She got old and left me to die!  Without her, I would 
have wasted away!  So I swore to punish her!  Just as I 
wasted away and almost died, she would die.  And her 
child, and the child's child, and on for seven generations."  
It was half-crying, half-screaming.  "I didn't mean to kill 
the others.  I had to, in order to live.  To keep my oath!"

         I was so crazed, this seemed perfectly natural to 
me.  "I swore an oath too!  To protect the innocent!  You 
can't kill her for what her grandmother did!"

        "I don't care!"

        Lightning bolt number three finished it off.  There 
was nothing left of it but a torn, fading, stained doll that 
might have once been a squid, or perhaps a spider.  I 
turned to Ranma, and we stared quietly at each oher.  He 
laid Akane back down in the bed, and then we tried to 
wake everyone up.

        They didn't remember any of it.  Ami thought she 
had fainted.  Soun slept through it all.  Usagi thought she 
had fainted too.  Ranma and I didn't press the point.  
Akane slept peacefully on the bed, looking much better.  
Ami said, "Well, maybe I need to faint near my patients 
more often."

          We all laughed.  

           We stayed a little longer, and finally left.  Ranko 
hugged me again and thanked me for helping.  She knew.  
Somehow.  She didn't say much, but I could tell.  

        When I got home, I still had the Princess Garnet 
plushie.  Somehow, I had forgotten to give it to her.  She 
already has one, anyway.  It's sitting up over my desk 
right now as I write this.  

        Have I gone mad? Or was it real?  It has to be.  I can 
feel the lightning in me.  And when I look at myself in 
the mirror...I'm blue.  With little horns.  My hair is the 
same, but I look a foot taller.  I'm also built as if I went 
into a workout room and didn't stop for about two years.  
But my clothing seems to still fit.  

        Maybe I am mad.  But it's a good madness.  I feel 
like...like I'm remembering something I forgot.  
Something important.  Like doors are opening in my 
head.  Opening the way back to somewhere I'm supposed 
to be.  I guess I'll call Rei tomorrow.  She knows all about 
funky stuff like this.

--from The Exciting Saga of Makoto Kino, Volume 12, by 
Kino Makoto, Owner and Chief Instructor at the Kino Self-
Defense Academy

*********************

December 5, 2000
Dear Diary, 

       The coroner is dead.  The body is gone.  Everyone 
thinks some gang broke in, but I know better.  The body 
broke out.  I went and bought some silver from Mom.  
She thinks I'm going to make some jewelry.  It's for 
bullets.  Not that Noa and I know how to make a silver 
bullet, but I bet Asuma-kun can arrange it.  He'd better.  
I'm getting an assault rifle, too.  Somehow.  What the hell 
IS that thing?

         As if that wasn't bad enough, the captain asked a 
lot of questions we had a hard time answering without 
sounding insane, like the fact that we shot the guy thirty 
or so times.  Word of the day is 'Excessive Force'.  It 
helped a bit that the druggie woman identified his 
remains as her 'vampire' boyfriend, and the captain is 
convinced the guy was as whacked out as her.  She hasn't 
done the superstrength thing again.  I think she's waiting.  

         I'm surprised the Captain didn't fire us on the spot.  
Instead, we're on 'administrative leave' until they 
investigate the case, which is gonna be difficult with the 
body missing.  I guess the fact that this guy was wanted 
for multiple robbery counts and several murders helped.  
They think he must be Yakuza now, although the Yaks 
don't normally steal back corpses of their dead members.  
The guy didn't have any tattooes, either.  

        I told Gurio-kun everything.  It scared him.  A lot.  
I'm not sure if he thinks I'm nuts, or that we're in danger, 
or both.  We've moved to a motel room for the next few 
days, just in case.  I never told him my name, so he 
probably can't find me, but...

         I should have stayed in the Jewelry business, like 
Mom tried to convince me to do.

--From the Diary of Officer Naru Umino, Tokyo 
Metropolitan Police, Juuban District

******************* 

The Exciting Saga of Makoto Kino, Volume 12:
December 6, 2000 AD.  

        Today was a wonderful day.  My students were 
more lively and enthusiastic today.  Or maybe I was.  
Maybe it was infectious.  They worked hard, and so did I, 
but it was fun.  I feel...I feel great!  Like I could run to 
Mount Fuji  and back.  I almost wanted another monster 
to wander by so I could tap dance on its head.  It was 
wonderful.  

        That guy, whose wife I saved, came by.  He's cute.  
Too bad he's taken.  He watched me drill my students for 
an hour, then asked me to spar with him.  He's damn 
good.  Better than me, skillwise.  

       I didn't realize this at first.  I pressed him hard, and 
he gave ground.  I think I'm stronger than he is.  The few 
blows he got in, I hardly felt.  But none of my blows 
connected.  That should have been my clue.  Then he 
started to speed up, faster and faster.  I couldn't keep up.  

         My students were yelling and shouting and making 
bets.  The weird thing was, even though he was beating 
me...it felt great. It was like I was getting stronger from 
being pounded on, or something.  Just watching him fight 
was incredible.  His blows weren't very hard, but they 
were so graceful.  Truly Martial ART.  

        He had an aura around him that I could see, a 
crystal blue that grew stronger as he fought.  Magic, I 
thought.  It must be.  Is he...something like me?  No, there 
was some kind of difference, though I wasn't sure what.  

        He finally beat me with a pressure point move.  He 
got onto my shoulders and pressed two points on my 
neck, and all my limbs stopped moving.  I quietly toppled 
over, and he rolled away.  My students applauded, and he 
rolled to his feet, bowed, and grinned a confident smile 
far different from the confused and worried face he had 
worn the night before.

        I staggered to my feet.  "Tae Kwon Do AND Atemi.  
Not bad."

        "Also, Karate, some Kung Fu, some Judo, some 
Jujitsu, and Tea Ceremony."  He shrugged.  "My family 
emphasizes diversity of skills."

         I blinked.  "How old ARE you?"

         "Thirty."

         I boggled, as did most of my students.  He'd studied 
all that?  "Did you start at age five or something?"

         He nodded.  "You're not bad yourself.  I see you've 
studied how to harden yourself against blows.  I never 
quite managed to master that, so I focused on healing 
quickly, instead.  Anyway, you and Mrs. Chiba are invited 
to dinner at our place tomorrow.  As a sign of our 
thanks."

          I looked at him.  "Does she...know?"

          "She's confused.  I'm not sure how much she 
understands."  He sighed.  "Anyway, come by at seven."  
He turned to go.

        "You seem to be taking this well,"  I said.  I know I 
am, but I've always been  kinda weird.

        "This wasn't my first brush with this sort of 
weirdness, as I'm sure you can tell," he said, then walked 
away.

          I called Usagi, and she's excited about it.  Probably 
just wants to get away from her kid.  Why she had a 
baby if she hates babies, I can't figure out.  I know I sure 
don't want one.  

          Looking in the mirror, I'm trying to figure out if I 
really am blue, or if I'm hallucinating.  No one else seems 
to notice, but...it just..it seems too real.  I mean, he saw 
the critter too, and this happened after that...maybe it put 
a spell on me?  Maybe I...I wish Rei would answer her 
phone.  I SERIOUSLY need to talk to her.

--from The Exciting Saga of Makoto Kino, Volume 12, by 
Kino Makoto, Owner and Chief Instructor at the Kino Self-
Defense Academy


*************

Rei's Deep Thoughts For December 6, 2000

        I'm tempted to rebuild my phone to electrocute 
anyone who calls me, but I won't do it.  Much as I 
desperately want to.  It just kept ringing, but I ignored it.  
I had to finish my preparations and wait for Minako to 
finish making all the mundane arrangements so we could 
have the time to take care of the important stuff between 
now and the Solstice.  

         Around dinner time, I finished the last item.  A new 
sceptre for Serenity.  She couldn't hold onto the damn 
things whenever she still had her memories, and I 
strongly suspected the old one was probably now being 
used as a doorstop, or had broken when used to pry open 
a stuck drawer.  

         Balefire has both strength and weaknesses for 
forging chimerical items.  It's perfect in a mystical sense, 
but it tends to go out if you don't use it straight from the 
main fire, but then that tends to drain the glamour from 
it too much.  Although you get damn strong magic as a 
result.  I couldn't use the Sacred Fire, not with tourists 
and whatnot wandering around.  At least I don't have to 
worry about Minako stumbling in and botching 
everything up anymore.  Well, not worry too much.  Well, 
at least she wouldn't accidentally call Banality down on 
me.

         Unless, of course, she brought a boyfriend home.  
So, naturally, she did.  Phobos and Deimos warned me, so 
I was able to lay the Sceptre aside.  I could put the final 
touches on it later, once I had kicked Minako's ass to  
Arcadia.  I laid it down on the table, next to the other 
weapons and items.  The great Sapphire Orb of Princess 
Sapphire and her Crystal Lens.  Tourmaline's Bow and her 
Enchanted Arrows.  Emerald's Hammer and Gauntlets.  
And of course, the Ruby slippers.  Okay, that last one was 
a joke.  See, I DO have a sense of humor.  And I'm not 
saying that because I'm a nocker.  I laid down the 
Diamond Sceptre next to the Ruby Spear, and my Ruby 
Hammer next to that.  The Ruby Hammer would make a 
crappy weapon, but unlike the others, I managed to hold 
onto MY Saining gift.  In ancient times, I was a maker, a 
crafter, not a warrior.  Not in my heart.  The 
Fimbulwinter is upon us, and I will take up my new 
spear and lay down my hammer.  But they can't make me 
like it.  Whoever they are.

        About five seconds later, the boyfriend poked his 
head in through the door.  He stared at my forge.  No, I 
didn't enchant him to see it.  My forge is both real AND 
chimerical.  You have less trouble with banality if there's 
some real item at the core of a chimerical one.  Even 
dreams need some reality to cling to, you see.  

         I suppose I shouldn't call him just 'the boyfriend'.  
He's not some generic being.  He has a name.  Sure, I can't 
remember what it is, and he's almost a clone of the last 
four boyfriends, having a great body and less brains than 
Minako.  In other words, I don't understand how he could 
speak or function in society.  Alright, that was too cruel.  
To Minako.  He was a LOT less smart than Minako.  Even 
when she has a clever plan.  No doubt this was some part 
of it. Or possibly I was right the time I called her a satyr 
disguised as a phooka.  She's horny enough.

         Whatever his name was, he said, "Whatcha doing in 
here?"  then turned and looked at the prayer strips in the 
room.  My work room is half a shinto shrine, half a 
blacksmith's shop.  It looks pretty funky even if you can't 
see chimera.  

         I simply spun and tossed an exorcism strip onto his 
forehead.  "Banishing evil spirits."  I glared, but he 
laughed.  

          I guess he thought I was joking.  "Well, you didn't 
banish me, so I guess that means I'm a good spirit."  He 
mimed being a ghost, then Minako stuck her head in 
through the door.  "Go drop off your stuff, I need to talk 
to Rei-chan, dear."

          He nodded and ambled off.  I could hear the sound 
of stuff being moved around.  It sounded suspiciously 
like the noises Minako's boyfriends made when she tried 
to move them into her room.  This didn't last long.  
Usually, they fled me within days.  

           Bluntness is best.  "I think we're going to be too 
busy for you to be picking up men off the street, 
TOURMALINE."  I put the emphasis on it.  "Or do you 
want me to enchant him so he sees how nice your...FUR 
is?"

          She blinked.  "Actually, I was going to ask if it was 
okay if I did that.  I finally remembered how to do the..."

           I didn't let her finish.  The end of the world is 
coming, and Minako wants to practice an old Kithain 
sexual technique involving illusions.  Very enjoyable 
ones.  Sometimes called the Dream Dance.  Alright.  I'll 
admit it.  I've done it.  And damn, it's good.  Even if you 
suck at Ledgerdemain like I do.  And yeah, I did it with 
an enchanted mortal.  Not enough Kithain around who 
haven't sunk into the Mists and forgotten everything.  
First Jade, who had been my lover through a dozen 
lifetimes got corrupted by Beryl, then...Undone.  Snuffed 
out.  Until his next lifetime, but even if his fae soul had 
been reborn immediately...well, he'd be fourteen years 
younger than me.  He might even be out there, an eight 
year old.  Not much help.  

         Anyway, the guy I did it with, I hadn't just dredged 
up off the street, even though Makoto DID make fun of 
me for dating a guy with the same name as her.  He 
wasn't just any mortal either, he was Kinain.  A mortal, 
but with a strong strain of fae blood, and he had all the 
benefits, and none of the flaws of being a nocker.  
Disgusting, really.  He couldn't quite make machines 
tapdance, but he sure came close.  We had it bad for each 
other for about two years, and well...I was tight for 
glamour in those days, and lonely because everyone else 
was getting sapped by the mists, and dammit, why am I 
justifying myself to my diary?  I loved him, he loved me, 
and we did the Dream Dance several times.  We'd have 
done it more, but glamour was tight for me then.  Then 
that damn Sidhe bitch stole him from me.  Little Miss 
Angstful with her magic stick.  Damn the Lost Ones, Damn 
Destiny, Damn, Damn, Damn.  I guess I'm lucky I even 
managed to get out of that freehold before sinking all the 
way into Bedlam.  I guess I can understand why our 
teacher didn't want to leave, and why Nanami stayed too.  
But Makoto...I loved you, dammit!  Why wouldn't you 
listen to me?  The Lost Ones are BAD news.  If only I 
hadn't had to flee while I still had some shred of my 
sanity remaining.  He's still in there, as far as I know.  I 
don't think he'll ever leave El Hazard.  And she can't.  The 
Lost Ones don't have our defenses against Banality.  If 
she ever comes out, she'll be snuffed like a light in hours, 
days at best.  Which is no doubt why he won't ever leave, 
since he won't leave her.  Enough of this.  I'll sink into 
Harano and I'm not even a Garou.  

           "How nice that you remember how to do the 
Dream Dance, but I think we have more important uses 
for our Glamour, unless he happens to be a Sidhe knight 
in disguise!  We don't have time for you to be wooing 
another boyfriend you'll dump in a few weeks, anyway!  
The end of the freaking WORLD is coming, you moron!"  I 
shouted, then regretted it.  The shouting, not the words.  I 
meant every one of them, but I didn't want Mr. 
Streetsweeping to hear them.

         Minako blinked.  "Actually, I thought it might help 
him figure out how to unstop the toilet.  He's the 
plumber."

         "..."

         "He is kinda cute, but if I'm gonna do the Dream 
Dance with anyone, it's gonna be Taiki, I think.  I bet if I 
try, we can patch things up.  Breaking up over nachoes is 
kinda stupid, right?"

         I didn't even want to understand what she was 
talking about.

From Rei's Deep Thoughts, the Journal of Rei Hino, 
Songwriter and Singer for 'Light for the Nations'.

***********

Personal Journal
Date:  12/06/00
Time:  11:40 PM

       I know Minako's seeing a psychiatrist, but sometimes 
I think my fiancee needs it more than she does.  I 
shouldn't say that.  I love Ami.  Very much.  But she 
confuses me.  I still can't figure out if she has multiple 
personalities, or if she's just very shy in public and it 
only really comes out with me.  Not that I mind, usually.  
But it always leaves me with that weird feeling when 
she...well, I'm being vague.

         The reason I bring it up is that it had been weeks 
since the last time she did this, and weeks before that 
and...pretty much, this has gotten a lot rarer since she 
started Med School.  Maybe she's just too tired normally, 
but given she had just come off a forty hour shift this 
morning...

        Okay, enough hemming and hawing.  I was getting 
ready to leave for work when she walked in the door.   
We don't live together; usually, she doesn't think it would 
be proper, but she does have a key.  I have a key to her 
place too.  Mostly it's because we spend so much time 
visiting each other when she's off work that we might as 
well live together.  Certainly, she's virtually never home.  

       As I was eating breakfast, she strolled in the door, 
still wearing her 'lab coat', which she tossed onto my 
head and giggled.  "Hello, dear," she purred, then slinked 
over to me.  This was the first clue.  Amy doesn't usually 
act like that, except when she has one of her...I STILL 
don't know what sets her off, even though we've dated 
for years and years.  It isn't horniness.  We've gone long 
periods without sex and she didn't get like this.  About 
the only thing I know triggers it is getting knocked out.  
Weird, eh?  Just like some cheesy sitcom.  

        "You didn't fall down at work, did you?"  I asked, 
smiling.  

        She began to massage my shoulders.  "Well, I did 
faint at one point, but they wouldn't let me off early.  I 
was afraid you'd already be at work."

         Trying to talk and stuff Cheerios in your mouth at 
the same time gets messy.  "You fainted?  Damnit, I can't 
believe they work you people like that!"

         She sighed, and for a moment, seemed her normal 
self.  "It's part of learning to be a doctor.  We have to be 
tough."  Then she...whatever you want to call it.  The purr 
came back.  "But right now, it's you who is going to have 
to be tough for me.  I hope you got enough sleep."  She 
smiled in a hungry way.

        "I have to go to work, Ami-chan."

         She leaned over, wrapping her arms around my 
body.  "Call in sick, dear.  I can even write you a doctor's 
note."  She laughed.  

         That was one advantage of this relationship I hadn't 
thought of before.  I called in sick.  

          About an hour later, she finally passed out, and so 
did I.  When she gets like this...It's incredible.  And 
incredibly exhausting.  I woke up two hours later, while 
she slept all day.  She got up, ate dinner, read the paper, 
apparently back to normal, then fell asleep again.  She's 
asleep now.  

         I can barely wait for her to get out of medical 
school.  This is a big reason we're not married yet.  She'd 
pass out during the wedding.  I can't see how doctors 
function or why everyone who goes to a hospital doesn't 
die if all the doctors are exhausted all the time.  

          Minako called at nine and wanted to talk to Ami, 
but I couldn't wake her.  Then somehow, I ended up 
telling her in detail what Ami and I had done earlier.  I 
couldn't believe it.  Minako is just amazingly good at 
wheedling things out of people.  I ended up talking about 
some dreams I had too.  We've been having similar 
nightmares.  I've thought about seeing a psychiatrist for 
it, but after Minako's horror stories...forget it.  

        Dinner at their house tomorrow should be good, 
though.  Minako used to be a lousy cook, but she's pretty 
good now, and Rei is better.  I hope Ami has the day off 
so she can come too.  They were pretty hopeful she 
would.  

         Well, time to go to bed.  

END ENTRY

Personal Journal
Date:  12/07/00
Time:  2:35 AM

         Damn nightmares.  Writing them down is the only 
way I can get to sleep afterwards.  I was in a cave, deep 
beneath the surface.  Some sort of huge black furred 
thing, an animal, was wrapped in chains and straining to 
be free.  It was chewing on a huge hand, or something.  
Then the chains snapped, one by one.  

          The ground ripped open and it tore loose, climbing 
the Milky Way into the sky.  It charged across the sky, 
and began to pursue the Moon and ate it, then turned on 
the Sun.  It ate the Sun too, and then the world froze 
over.  

           I was so panicked when I woke up that I ran to 
the window and tried to spot the moon.  It was full, 
which made it easy to spot.  Good thing it wasn't a new 
moon, or I'd probably have snapped.

          Okay, I feel better.  Bedtime for Bonzo.

--From Urawa Ryo's On-line Personal Journal

**************

FROM:  "Usagi Chiba"<UChiba@Bozo.TENDOM.net>
TO:  "Keiichi Taimoto"<KeiichiT@SSunday.com>
DATE:  120700
TIME: 10:22:34 AM
SUBJECT:  Legend of the Five Kingdoms Summary

I have a dinner party tonight with Makoto and some new 
friends, but I WILL get the next chapter  to you 
tomorrow if it kills me.  I've almost got it finished, 
anyway.  Here's the plot summary for the chapter AFTER 
that one.  This will start the next big plotline.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
TITLE:  "THE DOOM THAT CAME TO KARNAK"
THEME:  The cycle of vengeance

SUMMARY:
         Princess Diamond can't deal with her daughter from 
the future, Princess Cubic Zirconium any more, so she 
rides off into the sunset, trying to get some time to her 
self.  She rides onto the Rainbow Path and begs it to take 
her somewhere where she can't hear Princess Cubic 
Zirconium shouting and crying for attention.

         It obeys her command and takes her to Karnak, a 
city in the Kingdom of Marble [The one I modelled after 
ancient Egypt.  I know it hasn't shown up since the first 
major plotline, so I decided to use it again.  I WILL make 
sure the new readers won't have to have read the first 
story to understand this.].  She meets Duke Karnak, whose 
father died when he was little, and he was raised by the 
priests of the Animal-Gods.   I'll put a scene in here to 
show how he hates them because they always pushed 
him around when he was little.

        She arrives just as he has proclaimed he will build a 
new temple, a temple to the Sun God, for he has had a 
vision that all the Animal-Gods are false gods made up by 
the priests to enrich themselves.  The priests don't like 
this, to say the least, and one of them, Ramenhotep, tries 
to warn him it will anger the Animal-Gods, while the 
others threaten him that they will curse him if he does 
this.

         Princess Diamond tries to settle the quarrel, but no 
one will listen to her, except for Ramenhotep, who asks 
her to come help him search through the library of the 
temple of Thoth.  He has a bad feeling about what will 
happen if the temples are destroyed.  

         While Duke Karnak lays his plans, the priests, 
except for Ramenhotep, retreat to the temple of Ra and 
start invoking a great curse on the Duke.  Down in the 
library, Princess Diamond gets really frustrated because 
she's not a good student, but she doesn't want to call her 
friends because they'll bring Princess Cubic Zirconium, 
and she doesn't want to have to deal with her.  

          Finally, they find an ancient scroll, but it's too 
faded to read.  Ramenhotep is sure it is the right one, but 
only the ominous introduction can be read.  They try 
going to the other priests for help, but they're too busy 
cursing Duke Karnak.

          By now, the sun is setting and Duke Karnak has 
roused a mob to burn the Temples.  The peasants all hate 
the temples because of the high taxes and hard work 
they have to do to support them.  The temples start to 
burn.  

          Meanwhile, the river starts to rise as the priests 
continue their curse, and crocodiles spill out of the river 
into the city, but the burnings continue.  The priests 
confront Karnak at the temple of Ra, and Princess 
Diamond tries again to reconcile them and fails.  She 
realizes she can't do it alone, and uses her Diamond Horn 
to call her friends, who soon arrive on the Rainbow 
Bridge.  

         Princess Sapphire uses the Sapphire Lens to read 
the scroll, and it reveals that if all the temples are 
destroyed, the entire city will be destroyed as well by the 
ancient evil they were created to imprison.  The pattern 
they form is a magical glyph which keeps the great beast 
down beneath the ground.  

          Karnak orders the mob to burn the Temple of Ra.  
It burns, but one of the priests takes a torch and ignites 
several houses before the mob gets him.  The entire city 
begins to burn, including the temples the mob hasn't 
attacked yet.  Only the temple of Thoth, built on an island 
in the river, remains unburnt.  

           Karnak drives all the remaining priests into the 
burning temple, then begins shouting out everything they 
ever did to him as they burn in the temple.  When the 
Princesses try to rescue them, he sends the mob after 
them as well, and they are only able to save a few of the 
priests.  Karnak's mob is just too big, and the Princesses 
and the surviving priests have to retreat to the Temple of 
Thoth, but the rising river threatens to swamp that 
temple as well.  Two of the priests hurl themselves into 
the river in despair, knowing it is their own curse that 
threatens to drown them.  

          Karnak realizes now that the city is burning, and 
tries to direct the mob to stop the fires, but the rioters 
have turned into monsters as the ancient evil escapes and 
possesses them.  They tear their own city apart, then 
beseige him in his own castle, which begins to burn.  The 
river keeps rising, and begins to drown many of the 
people.  

         The Princesses try to fight the mob, but it's just too 
big, and they can't fight and swim at the same time.   
They have to use Aquamarine's magic to enable them to 
breathe water and go down underwater into the caves 
along the river to fight the beast in its lair.  

          The thing looks like a huge black heart with 
tentacles and suckers.  After the usual big fight, they 
finally knock it out, and Garnet leads them in the rite of 
Binding to put it back to sleep, because they can't kill it 
without destroying the entire area in the process.

          When they get to the surface, the Duke is dead, all 
but two of the Priests (one of whom is Ramenhotep) have 
died, and the city is mostly underwater, and the rest is 
burning.  Not that it matters, because the rising water is 
going to destroy the rest of the city.  The last of the 
foolish priests realizes that only his death can end the 
curse, and hurls himself into the waters.  The Animal-
Gods accept his repentance, and call back the waters, 
allowing him to live because he understood his mistake in 
calling down such destructive vengeance.  They manifest 
and command him and Ramenhotep to help the surviving 
citizens rebuild what is left of the city, and they make 
Ramenhotep the new Duke.  

          Princess Diamond resolves to treat Princess Cubic 
Zirconium better as she thinks about what happened with 
the way Duke Karnak was raised, and takes her out for 
some ice cream.  Fade out to them eating ice cream and 
smiling.  

&&&&&&&&&&&

So what do you think?  Sounds good?

Usagi Chiba
Creator of 'Legend of the Five Kingdoms'
A Legend in her Own Mind
UChiba@Bozo.TENDOM.net
http://www.TENDOM.net/~UChiba/FiveKingdoms/index.ht
ml

**********************

FROM:  "Keiichi Taimoto"<KeiichiT@SSunday.com>
TO:  "Usagi Chiba"<UChiba@Bozo.TENDOM.net>
DATE:  120700
TIME: 11:02:59 AM
SUBJECT:  Re:  Legend of the Five Kingdoms Summary

I'll give a more thorough run through at our next story 
conference.  I've got to go track down Youta.  He was 
babbling something about some maniac named Mai 
finding him again or something and video tapes.  I think 
he takes drugs, but I can't prove it.  Why are all you 
brilliant artists insane?

Okay, you're not insane.  Sorry.  I just...anyway, just some 
quick comments.

1.  How do you plan to fit all this into 20 pages?  I don't 
mind if you do a mini-epic between major plots, but the 
anime people are going to freak on us again.
2.  Amenhotep is a good Egyptian name.  Ramenhotep 
sounds like he should be Pharoah of Noodles.
3.  Why is Thoth's temple in the middle of the river?  
Shouldn't it be washed out first?
4.  Change the title, or Arkham House will probably try 
and sue us again.  The Doom didn't COME to Karnak, 
anyway, they called it down on themselves.  
5.  Please don't draw any more of your villians to look 
like real politicians you don't like.  Sooner or later, one of 
them is going to notice and sue us.  
6.  A Black Heart with tentacles?

Keiichi Taimoto
Editor of Shojo Sunday
Look for the frazzled guy on the left.  That's me.
KeiichiT@SSunday.com
http://www.SSunday.com/~KeiichiT/index.html
http://www.SSunday.com/


**************

December 7, 2000
Dear Diary: 

      It's strange.  Sometimes my baby can be a monster.  
And sometimes's she an angel.  She was so perfectly 
behaved today, I was afraid she'd been replaced by a 
changeling.  She smiled at me, and gurgled happily when 
I carried her, and I was able to finish the latest chapter 
of 'Legend of the Five Kingdoms' today and get it mailed 
to Keiichi.  I even had time to sketch out some more ideas 
for what the Karnak monster should look like, since he 
didn't like my first idea.  

         Mamo-chan and I went and picked up Makoto, who 
looked happier than I'd seen her in a while.  Not that 
she's been sad, but she just usually isn't this vibrant 
unless she's dating someone, and her last boyfriend 
dumped her three months ago.  "Found a new guy?"  I 
asked.

        She laughed.  "I just feel great!  It's like I'm a whole 
new woman."

         I nodded.  "I've had a great day myself."  I hugged 
my little Chibi-Usagi, who gurgled happily and tried to 
grab my pony-tail.  I'd even had time to do up my hair 
like I liked.  

         Mamoru smiled broadly.  "Me too.  I guess this is 
just a good day for everyone.  I finally got that stupid 
plant crossing experiment to work right.  I was starting to 
think my thumb had turned black."

        We got to the Tendo Dojo without any trouble.  Little 
Ranko was very excited to see us.  Such a cute little girl.  
I gave her a hug and two new plushies:  Ruby and 
Sapphire to replace the ones her brother had chewed on.  
"Are there any others you need?"  I have a million of 
these things.  I can get them dirt cheap, since I hold the 
trademarks and copyrights.  I've got a complete set up on 
a shelf over my writing desk.  I've even got the one 
where they accidentally dressed Tourmaline in Diamond's 
costume.  

         "I don't have a Princess Garnet yet,"  Ranko said.  
"And Soun ate the White Cauldron."

          Akane, Ranko's mom, sighed.  "We're going to get 
you a new one for Christmas.  Ranma, you really need to 
make sure your son doesn't eat everything in sight."

          That set off a huge fight, which I tried to ignore 
politely by talking with Ranko and her aunts instead.  "I'll 
bring you a Princess Garnet next time."

         Makoto, with a weird tone to her voice, said, "You 
don't have  a Princess Garnet?"

         She nodded.  "I had to choose between that and the 
White Cauldron, so I got the Cauldron playset, but then 
Soun chewed it up."  She glared at him.  "Little beast."

         He responded by grabbing her cup and running off 
with it.  By the time we caught him, he'd taken a bite out 
of the plastic and we had to make him cough it up.  By 
that time, his parents finished fighting.  

         Dinner was excellent, except for Mamoru 
accidentally pouring salad oil into his tea and then 
drinking it.  We chatted and got to know each other.  
After dinner, Makoto and Ranma went off to spar.  I hope 
she doesn't get any crazy ideas about this guy in her 
head; he is married.  Akane and Kasumi and Nabiki and I 
talked.  Akane teaches martial arts with her husband, 
Ranma.  Kasumi is a nurse in her husband's practice.  And 
Nabiki runs my internet provider, which I was surprised 
to find out.  We talked about internet stuff and utterly 
confused the other two, so we finally stopped, especially 
since it confused Mamoru as well.  I've really gotten into 
it since college; it's just so convenient.  He prefers his 
flowers.  

        When I mentioned he's working on plant biology, 
they asked him if he made poisonous flowers, laughing.  
Mamo-chan said, "Well, I don't, but Kodachi Kunou is 
working on something like that.  Examining some 
relatives of deadly nightshade."

        Akane's eyes widened.  "She got out of the asylum?"

         Nabiki frowned.  "We were assured it would be 
years."

         Kasumi said, "Oh my."

         Mamoru blinked.  "Asylum?"

         "The woman is a dangerous nutcase,"  Akane said.  
"She tried to poison me the night before my wedding to 
Ranma.  She also killed my pet pig and served him at her 
birthday party."  Akane shuddered.  "But we couldn't 
prove it."  

         My eyes widened.  "That's awful!"  

         Ranko said, "She's really dangerous.  And 
sometimes she hides on the ceiling and drops down on 
people with anvils."

         We all laughed, although the Tendos laughed a lot 
more nervously than Mamoru and I.  Kasumi had to leave 
a little after that, but Akane and Nabiki and Mamo-chan 
and I talked for a long time.  I had to feed Chibi part way 
through it, but it wasn't as embarrassing as I was afraid 
of.

          Eventually, we all went home, and I put Chibi to 
bed.  Then Mamo-chan and I...well, it had been a long 
time.  And it was wonderful.  Chibi slept through the 
same thing.  I guess some days really are blessed.  Of 
course, it could be the universe trying to apologize for the 
fact that things are about to hit the fan.  I hope not. 
 
       --From the Diary of Usagi Chiba, Creator of 'Legend of 
the Five Kingdoms'

***************

The Exciting Saga of Makoto Kino, Volume 12:
December 7, 2000 AD.  

        ...So Ranma and I went to the Dojo to spar.  I had 
thought he was good before.  He was three times as good 
on his home ground.  It was scary.  Finally, he grabbed 
me in the sort of hold I would have welcomed if he 
wasn't married.  Too bad.  I think he realized this after a 
few seconds and let go, embarrassed.

        "Uhh..."

         I laughed.  "I won't tell."  That made him blush 
more.  "How can you be so good?"

        "Normally, I wouldn't tell you this, but I can tell 
you've got something supernatural about you.  I wish I'd 
learned more of the mystic stuff  and not just ways to 
kick people's butt."  He sat down and towelled the sweat 
from his brow.  "I guess you could call me a sort of 
martial sorceror.  I focus my power through my martial 
arts.  And you?"

        "I'm not sure.  I seem to be...umm...I'm not sure.  
I've gotten stronger, though.  And...well, I look blue in the 
mirror."

         "A faerie then.  Like my wife used to be."  He 
sighed.  "Something made her forget, and I don't know 
what.  Her sisters don't know about it."

         "Something made me forget too.  I don't know what.  
I still can't remember too much."  I sat down by him.  
"What kind of faerie was she?"

        "Something called a 'nocker'.  She could make stuff 
that only faeries could see.  Or me.  She used to clonk me 
in the head with 'chimerical' hammers all the time."

         "Why could you see it?"

         "There's some trick for making non-faeries see 
faerie stuff.  I never quite understood it."  He shook his 
head and sighed.  "The weird thing is, that everything she 
ever did went wrong somehow UNTIL she forgot she was 
a faerie.  I'd rather have still be one, though, with all the 
problems.  I wouldn't have to worry about protecting her.  
She used to be able to protect herself."  

         I blinked.  "Protect her from what?"

         "There's a LOT of dangerous stuff out there, and it 
tends to flock to the supernaturals. For one thing, there's 
this group of super-scientists hunting all mages.  Called 
the Technocracy.   Very dangerous.  Very nasty.  Luckily 
for you, they can't see faeries either."

        "Do you know where I could find more faeries?"

         He shook his head.  "Akane was the only one I 
knew.  Her mom was a nocker too, and her grandma, but 
both of them are dead.   I know there's a faerie 
stronghold around this town somewhere, though.  And 
this talking cat I met once, he was a  faerie."

         Memories stirred.  I had known a talking cat.  
Minako's cat.  Minako was a faerie too.  And Rei.  And...I 
REALLY need to get ahold of them.  We got dragged off 
after that.  I tried calling Minako when I got home, but 
they weren't answering.  Again.  AAARGH!

         Then I went and stared at the Garnet plushie.  
Where had it come from?  If Ranko didn't have one...how 
did it get into her room?  And my pocket?  I had meant 
to check her room when I was there, but I forgot.  

       Unfortunately, it didn't decide to answer any of my 
questions, so I think I'll go to bed, instead.  

--from The Exciting Saga of Makoto Kino, Volume 12, by 
Kino Makoto, Owner and Chief Instructor at the Kino Self-
Defense Academy

*************

Rei's Deep Thoughts For December 7, 2000

        Well, it wasn't nearly the disaster it could have 
been.  Ami and Ryo arrived at six, just like we planned.  
Minako had the food ready, and it was loaded with 
glamour.  I had decided on the blunt approach.  Ideally, 
Ami would remember everything like Minako had when 
she was confronted with the truth.  And Ryo was Kinain, 
so his memories should return as well.  And hopefully his 
gift, the Second Sight.  We could use it.

         Ami told us about the miraculous recovery of one of 
her patients while Minako was bringing out the food, and 
then we sat down to eat.  She and Ryo took about one bite 
before the enchantment kicked in, then both stared at me 
and Minako like they were having a drug flashback.  I 
can't blame them; living in the Dreaming is like being on 
drugs all the time.  

         You see the truth behind things.  They all look more 
like what they are.  Colors are brighter, dirt is dingier, 
souls shine through.  "We didn't put LSD in your food, if 
that's what you're wondering."

         Ami almost choked on her fish.  "Okay, Ryo, you're 
right, I DO need more rest.  This is worse than the 
monster I thought I saw."

        "Say hello, Artemis,"  Minako said.

        "Hello, Artemis," Artemis said, laughing.  "Hello, Ami 
and Ryo.  You miss me?"

        "The cat..."  Ryo began, backing up from the table.

        "Talks."  Ami said, staring.

        "Ventrilloquism, right?"  Ryo said, trying to 
rationalize.

        I picked up the Sapphire Orb and Lens.  "Remember 
these, Ami?  Or should I say...Sapphire?"

        She tried to run at that point.  Phobos and Deimos 
cut her off, and she ran back.  "No!  I can't afford to go 
mad before I get out of medical school!"

       Minako laughed.  "What, you planned to go mad 
AFTERWARDS?"

       Even Ryo laughed a little at that, then his eyes glazed 
over.  A vision, I knew.  He sat down hard, shuddering.  
"Lines of fire.  A star in a star.  He's going to free it.  
They're all going to be free.  And then..."  He screamed.  "I 
hate this!  I hate knowing what's coming!  DAMNATION!"

       Ami was at his side in an instant, hugging him 
gently.  "Don't worry, Ryo-kun."

       Minako got up and came and hugged him as well.  
"We need your sight, Ryo-kun.  We have to see what's 
coming so we can fight it."

       "No one can fight it.  Nothing can stop the turning of 
the seasons.  After summer comes winter."

        "And after winter, summer will come again,"  I said.  
I turned to Ami.  "Playtime is over.  It's time for us to do 
what we were born to do."

        She looked at me, clearly scared of what she saw.  I 
frowned intensely.  It wasn't MY idea to look so funky.  "I 
just...Rei...I...I always wanted to be a doctor."

          All my anger melted.  I knew that.  She just 
wanted to help people.  So did I.  That's why I sing.  "I 
know, Sapphire.  But the world needs healing.  There's 
lots of doctors, but only one you."

          Minako blinked.  "And we'll have to shave you bald 
and spraypaint your head if you don't join us."

         This was not a good time for Minako's phooka 
instincts to finish kicking in.  I ignored her and held up 
the Orb, a huge multifaceted gem the size of a soccerball, 
and the lens, which was basically a sapphire monocle.  It 
had taken me five tries to get that right.  At least, I 
hoped it was right.  "Take these.  They are yours."

         She stared at them, started to reach out, then 
stopped.  "I just.."

         "I can't make you do this, but...dammit, we're 
screwed if you don't."  My temper was starting to get to 
me.  I was NOT the ideal person for this.  We should have 
awakened Diamond first.  I'd expected Diamond would be 
the hard one, though.  "Don't you remember anything?"

        "I thought...it had to be a dream."  She sighed.  "Was 
it all true?"

        "Just the good parts,"  Minako said.  "I assure you, 
the time I accidentally had sex with your boyfriend was 
NOT real."

         Ami's eyes flashed, and only with an extreme effort 
was I able to not kill Minako.  "MINAKO!"

         "Hey, I SAID that was the not-real part.  Or the..."  
She howled when Artemis bit her and chased him out of 
the room.  

         Ryo sighed.  "She's a phooka.  She can't help it."

         Ami turned to Ryo.  "You remember?"

        "Like it was yesterday.  They need you, Ami."

        "Can we..."

         "Don't listen to my fear, Ami.  They need you.  And 
you know I love you, whatever you are whenever."  He 
smiled at her, and I felt a stab of entirely ridiculous 
jealousy.  Not that he was smiling at her, but just of love 
in general.  It's been so long.  

         She turned and nodded.  She took the Orb and the 
Lens, and the change came over her as her faerie self 
reawakened.  In a few seconds, she was clad in her true 
garb, the garb of Princess Sapphire, for that is who she 
truly is.  I envy her.  She's a  Sidhe like Diamond.  Her 
mortal seeming is just a mousy little girl, but her faerie 
seeming is so beautiful I want to go hide under my bed 
when I'm near her or Diamond.  About the only thing our 
seemings have in common is that we both get pointed 
ears.  She has a perfect complexion, and deep blue eyes.  
Her figure's still skinny, but it's a perfect kind of skinny.  
You'd have to see it to understand, I suppose.  

        The one thing that made it bearable was watching 
her start when I showed her herself in a mirror, and 
watching her fiddle with her ears.  Now THAT was worth 
the price of admission.  

From Rei's Deep Thoughts, the Journal of Rei Hino, 
Songwriter and Singer for 'Light for the Nations'.

****************


December 7, 2000
Dear Diary,  

        No weird stuff today.  Just a bunch of meetings and 
discussions about ballistic angles and whether it was 
really necessary for us to shoot that guy so many times.  
Much of which is whistling in the dark with him gone.  I 
think someone on the board suspects Noa and I stole the 
body.  I wonder if this happens often.  I'm now toting 
silver bullets and we have an assault rifle that Asuma-
kun got us, stashed in the closet.  There's another one 
under our bed.  Umino's scared of it, but I finally got him 
to admit guns can't shoot people by themselves.  

          I went and talked to some of the boys in U 
division.  They handle the really funky stuff, and I hoped 
they might have seen cases like this before.  Most of 
them wouldn't admit to anything, but one of them did.  
His girlfriend's a psychic investigator.  Ayaka something 
or another.  I wrote it down.  

         More importantly, he believes in vampires.  He's 
killed three.  He knows a fourth one who's a bartender.  
I've got an appointment to see him too.  Noa about 
freaked when I told her.  She already knew the 
bartender, but didn't know he's a vampire.  The guy may 
be joking with us, but I'm gonna check that out too, 
tomorrow.  Well, later today, really, since I'm writing this 
around 8 AM on the eighth, and I'm gonna go see him 
this evening...anyway, enough explaining my own actions 
to myself.   I need SLEEP!

--From the Diary of Officer Naru Umino, Tokyo 
Metropolitan Police, Juuban District

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