HARUKA:

     The beach is a place of great beauty.  Much has been said of the
joining of sea and shore.  While the sea is prone to its temper, and storms
may ravage the coast, for the most part, it is a peaceful place.

     Not any longer.  I'M here now.

     The wave I was riding crested and headed in for shore and I rode it to
the top, yelling loudly in exhilaration.  I could feel my heart pumping and
the adrenaline rushing through my veins.  This feeling was what I lived
for, whether racing or fighting.  For a while I had been doing more of the
latter than the former, but we all need a break.

     When the Princess suggested this... well, to be honest she ordered
this trip.  I don't know why exactly Pluto is being so subservient, all of
the sudden.  No, Setsuna's never subservient.  She's just being more open
than I can ever remember her being.  Whatever the reason, our two teams are
being forced together... I don't know what to think of that.

     Suddenly, the wave gave a surge.  The board wobbled under me, and I
tried to regain control as the wave inexplicable leaped up further into the
air.  For a moment, I got it, then it all fell out from under me.  I
dropped more than ten feet into the sea.  I hit hard and took in a
mouthful of sea water as the air blew out of my lungs.  The water was
warm, so warm I didn't really need the black and blue wetsuit I was
wearing, but I like the protection and I prefer to leave the skimpier
stuff for when I'm alone with Michiru.  The wave carried me to shore and I
had a sneaking suspicion as to why it had tossed me.

     I flopped down on the sand and exhaled noisily.  Closing my eyes, I
enjoyed the feel of the sun on my body until a shadow fell over me.  I felt
drops of sea water falling on my skin and opened my eyes to see Michiru.
Her hair and body was still damp from the sea's embrace.  I loved to see
her like this, because she was never so alive as when she had been
swimming.  And her blue-green one piece that matched her hair clung very
nicely to her when wet.

     "Did you enjoy yourself?" I asked bitterly.  I knew she had controlled
that rogue wave.

     Michiru smiled impishly and shook her head slightly, causing more cool
drops of water to fall on me.  God, I can't resist that look, and she knows
it.  She kneeled beside me.  "It was just practice, Haruka-chan," she said
softly, leaning close.  I felt my annoyance ebb as I lost herself in
Michiru's vivid blue eyes.

     "Hmph, some practice," I whispered.  Then Michiru kissed me gently,
her lips tasting of saltwater, yet still somewhat sweet.

     "Haruka-san!  Michiru-san!  We're here!!" Hotaru-chan suddenly
screamed from the top of the nearby dune.  "Um, oops," she said sheepishly
as we gave her evil looks.

                                   *****

Naru:  I'm tired of always running
       I've grown tired of the night
       I wish I had some cunning,
       Had some power, had some might.

     We see a collage of Naru running from monsters, grabbed by monsters,
trapped inside big moss balls by monsters, etc.

Sailors:  You don't need to keep on running.
          You don't need to fear the night.
          We can save you with our cunning,
          With our power, with our might.

     We see a collage of images of Usagi and the other Sailors saving Naru
and many other people from monster attacks.

Naru:  I don't want someone to save me;
       I'd just like to save myself
       I don't want to be a helpless doll
       That must sit upon the shelf.

     We see Naru sitting at her window, looking out on the starry night sky
of the city.  One by one, lines trace the constellations.

Pluto:  If you want to have the power
        You must reach into your heart
        Look inside to find your strength
        For that's where power starts

     We see Pluto holding out an eight-pointed star, which hovers just
above her hand.

                                   *****

Sailor Moon Z:

Series Concept by Jeff Hosmer and John Biles
Primary Writer this Episode:  Jeff Hosmer

Based on the Series Sailor Moon, copyrighted by a whole lot of people who
aren't us.

Episode 12

"Life is a Beach.
 Can Usagi Fit Into Her Swimsuit?"

                                   *****

TOMOE-SENSEI:

     I hefted the last suitcase out of the back of my station wagon and
carried it over to the house.  It was a very large house, with three floors
and a wrap-around porch.  One section of the house was a little higher than
the others, resembling a tower with a flat roof where you could go and look
out over the ocean.  I remember fondly looking at the stars with my
telescopes from that roof... before I learned what was in the darkness
between those stars.

     I shook my head, trying to dispel the morbid thoughts.  I felt a hand
on my shoulder as I did so.  Turning, I looked into a pair of sympathetic
lavender eyes.  HER eyes.

     I never know what gods I should thank for sending her into my life.  I
never gave any god more than lip service before the... accident.
Afterwards, I didn't want to call the attention of ANY otherworldly beings.

     Still, I know I should thank something or someone for Setsuna.
Perhaps I should just thank her.  She gave me what I needed when I needed
it the most.

     It was a sobering thought, to wake up one day, realize that all your
students and assistants are dead, your world on the brink of destruction,
and your only daughter, your only family, was going off to fight the
greatest evil you've ever known.

     It's a father's duty to protect his family.  I couldn't protect my
wife, when she died giving birth to Hotaru.  I couldn't protect Hotaru,
when she was hurt in the lab accident.  I would have sold my soul to the
devil to save her.  In a way, I did.

     Suddenly, Setsuna's lips were on mine.  "None of that," she whispered
with a private little smile on her face.  "It was not your fault.  You had
to play that role or else everything would have been lost.  Let it go."

     Simple human contact between two people who despaired of their
humanity.  It... oh, stop analyzing and kiss her, you fool!

     I did.

     "Poppa!  Poppa!  Uh, oops."  It was Hotaru, coming back from the
beach, blushing bright red as she saw Setsuna in my arms.

     My little girl was not so little anymore, with the body of an eighteen
year old... a very mature eighteen year old, at that.  She at least was
wearing a modest black one piece, but I fear that all the attention she
will get at a beach will go to her head.

     Setsuna bopped me on the head.  "Don't worry.  She'll have all the
others watching over her.  I promise, she won't get into trouble."

     I rubbed my head gently.  "How is it that you always know what I'm
thinking, Setsuna-chan?"

     "I read your mind," she said with a smile.

     Hmm, no scientist can let a proposition go untested.  I began to think
along certain lines and my theory was proven when I saw a very slight blush
cross her face.

     "You'll have to teach me that trick," I said, as Hotaru runs toward
us.

     "What, and make you more dangerous than you already are?" she said,
leaning back against me.

     Human contact.  That's all it was at first.  I felt tainted, alone,
isolated from humanity.  Hotaru was the only link to life that I had.  But
no matter how terrible my loneliness was, how could it compare to the
millennia Setsuna spent alone?

     She practically ordered me to let the Outer Senshi live with Hotaru
and me.  How the gossip-mongers would have whispered about the widower
living with three young girls... but no one seemed to notice.  We all
slowly gravitated into our roles...  Haruka and Michiru were the older
siblings, whose watch over Hotaru turned from stern duty to delight.
Michiru especially seemed captivated with the idea of motherhood.  Haruka
took a more brotherly role to Hotaru.  Setsuna and I became the "parents."

     Still, it was not enough.  I was slipping deeper and deeper into my
depression and nothing the Senshi could do could stop it.  I tried to live
for Hotaru, but even she couldn't keep the nightmares at bay.

     I felt Setsuna sigh.  "Souichi-chan, let it go," she said.  "You did
more than any mortal could hope to do against them.  You survived.  Hotaru
survived.  The world was saved."

     Hotaru added her hug to Setsuna's and my spirits lifted.  This feeling
of family was something that has been missing from my life for too long.  I
gave them both a smile.

     "You're right.  I'm being foolish again."  I picked up the suitcases
and tried to extricate myself from the hug.  Setsuna let go easily enough,
but Hotaru playfully let me drag her along, her feet digging furrows in the
sand.  I ignored the weight, pulling her along, much to her delight.  "Hmm,
these suitcases seem heavier than before," I said in mock-surprise.  "Oh,
wait, is it because SOMEONE is using her Poppa as pack mule, hmm?"

     Hotaru giggled and her smile further lightened my heart.  Setsuna was
right.  I should not dwell so on the past.  Hotaru let go of me and ran off
into the house.

     "So, when do the others arrive?" I asked Setsuna.

     "Sometime this afternoon.  Usagi and Mamoru will be bringing Makoto,
and Rei.  Umino's mother will be dropping off him and Naru.  Steven will be
bringing Minako on his motorcycle."

     "Isn't that dangerous?"

     "Yes, but Minako was... insistent."

     "Ah."

     "Ami's mother will be dropping her and Urawa off later.  And I will go
and pick up my pupil tonight and maybe one other."

     I nodded, but an unspoken question remained on my lips.  She must have
read it in my mind, however, because she gave me a smile.  "No, I don't
regret deciding to marry you, Souichi-chan."  She stepped closer and ran
her fingers up my spine, making me shiver.  "It feels better than I thought
to pass on what I know to another generation."

     "Are you going to teach her that?"

     "Teach her what?"

     Now I run MY fingers up her spine.  "THAT."

     "Oooh.  No, let her find that on her own."

                              *****

STEVEN:

     "Yaaaaaahoooooo!"

     That was Mina-chan, my girlfriend, currently doing her best to drive
me deaf.

     "Faster, Steven!"

     And that was her, trying to get us both killed as we rode my motorbike
to the beach.  Killed or arrested, at least.  Still, I opened the bike up a
little more, obediently adding a few more KPH to the speedometer.  The last
time I didn't speed up, she started "encouraging" me with a few whacks to
the back and we almost swerved off the road.

     I sighed as she held me tight, yelling incoherently.  I love Minako a
lot, but when she gets obsessed with something.... well, running sounds
like a good plan.  Right now, she was obsessed with how fast my bike can
go.

     "Just promise to punish the traffic cop who pulls us over in the name
of Venus, OK?" I yelled back at her over the roar of the engine.

     "Don't be a spoilsport!"  Oh, no, the most dreaded insult in Minako's
vocabulary.  "Remember what happened with the Frog and the Hare!"

     "That was the Tortoise and the Hare, and the Tortoise won, Minako."

     "WHATEVER!  Go faster!"

     I looked ahead and suddenly braked as fast as I dared, slowing the
bike to something approaching the speed limit.

     "Hey, what's wrong?  Go faster, I said!"

     "Look."  I pointed out a small copse of trees on our left.  As we
passed, we could see the familiar shape of a police interceptor parked
behind it, out of sight.  The cop had a radar gun pointing back down the
road.

     "Oh," Minako said, very quietly.  "I guess we would have been busted,
huh?"

     Rest stop up ahead, I noticed, so I pulled in.  After that close call,
I needed to stretch my legs a bit.  "Yup," I answered.  "Fortunately, when
you're as all-seeing, all-knowing, as I am, you can avoid... OW!"

     Did I mention that Minako can hit pretty hard when she's annoyed?

     I parked the bike and she ran off to the rest rooms, probably to fix
her hair.  I kept telling her to tuck it in a braid or in the helmet, but
she liked to feel the wind blowing through it, she said.  Well, I'm not
picking the bugs out of it, that's all I've got to say.

     Getting a soda from a vending machine, I knelt to examine the bike.
It hadn't given me any trouble since Haruka and I fixed it up, but better
safe than sorry.

     I glanced over it and was pleased to see nothing out of the ordinary.
Believe me, if there was something, I'd have seen it.  This knack of mine
for "seeing the present," as Minako calls it, is very handy... if not
flashy.  I see things as they really are, despite how they appear on the
outside.  I don't read minds, or see what's to come, but it is useful for
spotting mistakes and seeing through deceptions.

     My dad used to joke I should become a quality inspector for his
company.  I was never certain what I should do with this.  I guess I
thought I should do something more with it, but I was never sure what.  I
couldn't go around and be a hero like Sailor V.

     Sailor V.  That's how it all started, with Minako, though I didn't
know her secret then.  Like a lot of young English boys, I was infatuated
with our mysterious heroine, who had appeared out of nowhere to fight
monsters and criminals.  Polly wasn't too happy, at the time.  I can only
imagine what she would do if she knew Minako's secret.  Probably spaz out
and pay some gang to attack Minako.  Nah, she wouldn't do that.  Polly's
really a nice person, under the air of snobbery she affects.  It's her
brother who's a creep.

     When Sailor V disappeared from England, I had to put away my childish
infatuation.  Indeed, I pretty much forgot about it, until I ran into
Minako on that airplane.  She might as well have been wearing a sign that
said "I'm Sailor V!" for all the good her "civilian identity" did her
against my sight.  I couldn't talk to her.  I mumbled something in English
and tried to look away.  But Minako knew English and I was trapped.  I
didn't want her to think I was a drooling fanboy, or weird, because of my
talent, so I pretended not to know who Sailor V was.

     OK, so I was playing a trick on her, too.  I couldn't help it.  When I
like a girl, I tend to freeze up, so I ham it up and clown around a bit.
This drives some girls away.  I have since learned that it's not that easy
to get rid of Minako.  Not that I mind being caught.

     Minako was suddenly right in front of me.  She must have come out of
the rest room while I was lost in thought.  Her beauty seemed to grab me
and leave me breathless.  Oh, her friends are all beautiful as well, but I
only have eyes for Minako.  (I better, if I know what's good for me.)

     It's scary, though... I never felt this strongly before about anyone.
Oh, Polly and I were close friends, but it wasn't the same.

     Minako wrapped her arms around my neck.  "Miss me?" she said.

     "Yes is the only safe answer, isn't it?"

     "You betcha."

     I settled for kissing her, which, judging by her response, was an
acceptable substitute.  After a time, we finally broke for air.

     "Shall we continue, my lady?" I ask, sketching a mock bow for her.

     "Of course!  Hey, I've got a great idea!  Why not let me drive?"

     Uh-oh.

                                   *****

HOTARU:

     We finally got all the luggage in the house and Poppa left to go and
make some tea.  For the first time since the Senshi returned to the past, I
was alone with Pu.  She was out on the deck, sitting on the railing and
looking out over the ocean.  The wind made her hair stream behind her like
a comet's tail.

     I didn't want to face her, but I had to do it.  Part of me whispered
that if I transformed I could punish her for what she did.  I didn't want
to do that.  I didn't want to hate her, but I was angry with her.  Another
part wanted to run, avoid confronting her.  I couldn't do that.  I was an
adult now.  I needed to face my responsibilities.

     I walked out to the deck and stood behind Pu, waiting for her to
notice me.  I knew she would.  If she wanted to avoid me, I would never be
alone with her.

     "You have something you want to say, Hotaru-chan?" she asked.

     "Are you reading my mind, like Poppa's?" I replied, a note of
bitterness creeping into my voice.

     "No.  I can't read your thoughts."

     "Pluto," I said carefully, choosing her title and not the nickname
Chibi-Usa gave her, "I know what you did."

     She turned and faced me, her red eyes making me want to look away.
"And you want to know why."

     "Yes."  I raised my voice.  "Rhea, Ishtar, and Marduk all trusted you.
How could you do that?"

     Recently, when I lost control to my darker side, I fought Naru-chan in
her first outing as Sailor Odysseus.  I regained control before I could
kill her, and in the process I discovered some unpleasant memories about
the Saturn Power.  It's not something that is a part of me, like the
others.  It has its own goals, its own intelligence.  In the Silver
Millennium, Senshi of Saturn were kept in enchanted sleep, lest they lose
control of that power.  In short, their lives sucked.  The last Saturn,
Rhea, was also my past life.  Pluto awakened her after Beryl's attack,
summoned the Holy Grail with Ishtar (Senshi Neptune) and Marduk (Senshi
Uranus).  Rhea was going to use the Grail to wipe out an attack by the
Things from Beyond, but Pluto threw the Empyrean Silver Crystal into the
mix, and the reaction shattered the Crystal and killed everyone left on the
Moon.  Including Rhea, Marduk, and Ishtar.

     "I know, Hotaru-chan.  I regretted that action more than any other in
my life, except one.  That, too, was connected with the Saturn Power."

     I hesitated for a moment, not really wanting to know.  Then I asked
The Question.  "What is the Saturn Power, Pluto?"

     She turned around and looked up into the sky.  "Hotaru, there are two
great forces in the galaxy.  To put them in a context you might understand,
they're like the Light Side and the Dark Side of the Force."

     I blinked.  "The what?"

     Pluto stared at me in amazement.  "And I thought I was the last person
on earth to see it," she muttered cryptically.

     "Pluto, you're not making any sense."

     "Never mind."  She shook her head.  "Just ask Usagi about Star Wars
when you get a chance."

     "What about the Saturn Power?"  I felt a bit miffed.  I hate it when I
don't know what people are talking about.

     "There are two great powers in the universe, Hotaru-chan," she finally
said.  "One is dedicated to life and order, the other to death and chaos."

     A shiver ran through me.  I remembered the dark power Mistress Nine
commanded, the power Poppa used to create the daimons when we were both
possessed.

     Pluto's voice grew distant, as if she were speaking across the gulf of
years between the present and the events she described.  "When the Silver
Millennium was founded, all human mages used the Silver Power, or Light
Power.  The Things from Beyond we had spent millennia battling had used the
Dark Power.  Only those humans who served them knew how to work its
magicks.  After the Great Shield was raised, all knowledge of the Dark
Power was forbidden.  What could not be destroyed was given over to the
Kingdom of Atlantis.  That decision would haunt us later."

     She frowned and I understood what she felt.  The Kingdom of Atlantis
had become the Dark Kingdom and the Silver Millennium fell as a result.

     "Where you around then?" I asked.

     "Yes.  I was one of the girls chosen to be the original Serenity's
Senshi.  She chose two girls from each Tribe of Man to be her Senshi.  Mars
and Mercury came from Vulcan's Tribe, Uranus and Neptune came from
Metallia's Tribe, Venus and Jupiter came from Endymion's Tribe, and Saturn
and Pluto came from Astra's Tribe."

     "What about a Senshi for Odysseus?"

     "That is a story for another time, Hotaru-chan, but she also came from
Astra's line," Pluto said.  "I thought you wanted to hear about the Saturn
Power."

     I nodded.

     Her voice softened and she looked away from me.  "I find it is...
difficult to talk about this still," she said.

     "Why?" I said, then winced.  Good going, I thought, show how little
tact you have.

     But Pluto continued.  "The other girl chosen from my tribe was my
sister, Hotaru-chan.  Her name was Honoria.  As the Senshi of Saturn, she
was given control over the Gate of Time and made responsible for its
defenses."

     "B-but that's YOUR power," I said.

     "It was not meant to be mine."  Her voice was distant again, cold.  It
related the events of long ago, but her heart was not in it.  Suddenly, I
wanted to hug her, but I couldn't move.

     "My Power was to be that of Death," she continued.  "Have you ever
wondered why the ancient myths link Saturn with time and Pluto with death?
It is because of the planets' mystical affinities.  As the most gifted of
the girls chosen, as Serenity's apprentice, I was chosen to be part of an
experiment."

     My chill intensified.  I knew I wouldn't like what was to come.

     "In our arrogance, we decided to try and create a Senshi who could tap
both the Silver Power and the Dark Power.  The possibilities in such a
breakthrough seemed enormous.  My sister protested.  She thought it mad.
But it seems no one ever listens to prophets."

     "She knew the future, didn't she?  Why couldn't she convince
everyone?"

     "Because, Hotaru-chan, it wasn't what they wanted to hear."  Her voice
was bitter beyond anything I ever head from her.  Pluto is never like this.
"They wanted to believe they were infallible.  They wanted to believe that
there was no obstacle they could not conquer.  They wanted to be gods."
She shook her head.  "They were wrong."

     I watched in shock as Pluto raised one hand to her eye and rubbed it.
She was crying.  Pu was crying.  I had never seen it before.  Then,
suddenly, my voice began to speak, but it wasn't me speaking.

     "I rushed to stop them," I said, in a voice suddenly not my own, "but
I, the Mistress of Time, was not the mistress of my destiny.  They had
already begun on you, poor sister, and the spirits were wroth at their
effrontery.  Bands of silver and black spun wildly across the room,
striking down the mages who had summoned them.  And those same Powers were
feeding on you, turning you to a frail and withered husk.  Serenity was
raising the Silver Crystal, but there was no time left.  You would never
survive... but I could.  I forced my way through the ebon-silver bands, the
Fluorite Orb on my Staff flaring with its multi-colored light.  I forced
the Time Staff into your feeble hands and sent you through time... leaving
me to bear the burden of destiny."

     I struggled against what my voice was saying.  I didn't like being a
pawn to anyone!  I could feel the powers within me stir, dark destruction
and silver creation.  Already, however, the presence that filled me was
leaving.  But it had one final message.

     "I love you, Amora," it said.  "Do not blame yourself."  Then it...
no, she... was gone.

     "H-Honoria?" Pu asked, grabbing me by the shoulders.  "Sister?"

     "She's gone, Pu," I said quietly.

     Pluto sobbed.

                                   *****

MAKOTO:

     I faced my opponent, poised, reining in my eagerness to strike.  He
has already struck down many brave warriors in his time, men and women in
the prime of their life.  He is evil incarnate, madness embodied, but I
cannot rush madly into this.  I must stay calm.

     Fuck it.  I charge, my fist raised to deal him a terrific blow.  We
fought, locked in combat for many tense seconds, each giving and receiving
horrible wounds.  Finally, I go too far.  He snarled at me, his eyes
glowing red, and he suddenly became a ravening beast. All I could do was
stare as he RIP RIP RIP RIP'ed into me, following with... BAM BAM BAM...
BOOM! as purple flames exploded, and the sky turned red...

     "WINNER, IORI!" the stupid game said again as my opponent stood on the
screen, laughing that incredibly annoying laugh.  I slapped my palms on the
game console and fished for more change.

     "Mako-chan, come on," Rei pleaded, "we have to go or Usagi and Mamoru
will leave without us."

     "Just let me beat this creep!"

     "He's a tough one," Motoki said suddenly, appearing behind us.  "Maybe
you should try Kyo next time, Mako-chan."

     "No way.  Leona can beat him."

     "I don't see why you're so intent on this, Mako-chan," Motoki said
with a small grin.  I felt my heart quiver.  I know he has a girlfriend,
but he reminds me so much of....

     "She claims all the male characters remind her of guys who dumped
her," Rei offered.  I shot her a glare.

     "They do NOT!" I yell, drawing far too many stares.  "I never dated
any drunk old men, little mutants, or gross slobs."

     "Correction, the CUTE ones remind her of guys who dumped her."

     I would have made a reply that would have blistered her ears, but I
had found my change and was ready to tear that Iori character a new one.
His creepy laugh and arrogant mannerisms reminded me of Shinji in fourth
grade, who dumped me to go out with Kamazawa Jun.  Ooh, the thought of him
made me so mad!

     All too soon, though, Iori's devastating arsenal of beautiful, smooth
moves, followed by his Maiden Masher tore me apart. Story of my life,
really.

     "Can we go now, PLEASE?" Rei said in that irritating whine of hers.
(I do NOT whine! - R.) (Hey, who's telling this part?  Get to your own bit.
- M).

     "Where are you two off to, anyway?" Motoki asked.

     "Oh, we're just going to the beach with some friends, Motoki-san," Rei
said.

     "Ah, celebrating your break, is that it?" he asked with a smile.  I
suppressed a sigh.  He was so handsome.  It was a real shame he was taken.
Still, a girl can look, can't she?

     I was broken out of my reverie by a sharp jab to my ribs.  "Earth to
Mako-chan, come in Mako-chan," Rei said sarcastically.  "You're zoning out
again."

     My cheeks burned and I lowered my eyes in embarrassment.  Why do I
always do this to myself?  If I'm not running off and getting into trouble,
I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve.  I don't deserve all those kind words
Nephrite said to me back in the Silver Millennium.  "Uh, I'm sorry, Motoki-
san.  Please forgive me," I said formally.

     He didn't take offense, which only made it worse.  "It's okay, Mako-
chan," he said with a warm smile.  A friendly smile, but no more.

     I looked at my watch.  "Wow-Rei-chan's-right-we-gotta-go-Bye!" I say
all in one breath, then I grab Rei's arm and tear out of the Arcade.  We're
halfway down the block before Rei's complaints make me slow down.

     "Ow!  Pull my arm off, why don't you?" Rei said acerbically.

     "Sorry, Rei-chan," I apologized.  It seemed to be a day for rash
mistakes on my part.  When would I learn, I asked myself, that true love
was not for me?  I always lose out.    A little voice in the back of my
head scolded me for doubting myself, but I wouldn't listen.

     I thought back to our visit to the Silver Millennium.  Nephrite had
told me then that I would know love again, but his own corruption and death
showed that he wasn't infallible.  I mean, what did he expect?  That I
would just run into the love of my life on a street?

     "Mako-chan, look out!" Rei chan said, a half-second too late.

     I was so busy feeling sorry for myself, I smacked right into someone.
"Why don't you look where you're going?" I snapped before looking at who I
ran into.

     He wasn't a very impressive sight, a foreigner with dark brown hair,
glasses, and gray eyes that sparkled with good humor.  He was older than
us, but only in his twenties.  Still, it felt like I ran into a stone wall.
One of my ex-boyfriends had been a wrestler and his muscles had felt like
that.

     My unknown obstacle raised his hands and chuckled.  "Out to prove
Zeno's Paradox, are we?"

     "Real funny," I growled.  I was in no mood for jokes.  "Get out of my
way before I show you an irresistible force."

     His smile died on his lips.  "I apologize, Miss," he said seriously.
"I meant no offense."  He then cocked his head to one side and studied me.
"Have we met before?  You seem familiar."

     "And you seem too old for me," I shot back.  I grabbed Rei's arm
again.  "Come on, Rei-chan.  We've got better things to do than talk to
idiots."  With that lame riposte (it was the best I could come up with at
the moment) I stomped away.

     "Why'd you do that, Mako-chan?" Rei asked.  "Didn't he remind you of
your old boyfriend?" she teased.

     "A creep like that?  Get real!  He's probably some sort of pervert, or
something."

     Rei laughed.  "You really didn't recognize him, did you?"

     "Huh?"

     "He's the new teacher at Tsunami.  I think we have a class with him
next semester.  His name is Clark Maguson.  Don't you remember him being
introduced at the last assembly?"

     Oh, shit.  I looked back over my shoulder.  The guy was still standing
there, looking directly at us, a curious expression on his face.  When he
saw me look back, he gave a little wave.  I turned back and walked stiffly
around a corner.  Once out of his sight, I crouched down and held my face
in my hands.  "I'm screwed," I moaned.

     "Yup," Rei said helpfully.

                                   *****

REI:

     Okay, I shouldn't have teased Mako-chan so much.  I couldn't help it,
though.  The one time she isn't attracted to a good-looking fellow and he
turns out to be her teacher.  It was just too rich to pass over.

     Looking at her bitter face, however, I knew that everything wasn't
going well for her.  I made a mental note to say another prayer for her at
the shrine.  I snorted at the thought.  If prayers for boyfriends worked,
I'd be hip-deep in them.  The only luck I've ever had in that department
was with Mamoru, and look where that ended.

     "REI-CHAN!  MAKO-CHAN!  YOOHOO!"

     I looked up at the familiar voice.  The Tsukino house was just ahead
and I had to repress a smile as our Princess ran to meet us.  True to form,
she tripped and fell flat on her face before she reached us.  I was at her
side in an instance.

     "Geez, Usagi, can't you walk two feet without falling?" I said with a
grin.

     "Waaah!  Rei, why do you have to be so mean?" Usagi said with a grin
of her own.

     We both laughed. slightly at our little joke.  I couldn't explain it,
but we have been getting along a lot better since I lost my powers briefly
and then had to move into the Tsukino House while the Shrine was being
rebuilt.  That didn't stop me from nagging or teasing her, of course.  One
must keep up appearances.  And besides, she DESERVES it a lot of the time.
She's getting better, but don't ever tell her I said that.

     Usagi's smile faded suddenly and she seemed about to tell me something
when we were interrupted.

     "Ready to go, you three?" came Mamoru's voice.

     I looked away from Usagi.  He was standing right behind her, wearing
shorts and a light blue sweatshirt with a hood.  For a moment, a single
fleeting moment, my heart quivered.  It was the merest  shadow of what I
had felt when we were dating, if I could call what we did dating.  Looking
back on it, I realize that we were both going through the motions to some
extent, even though I did have... strong feelings for him.  I don't
understand why it seems that way now, but it does.

     You were keeping an eye on him, a little voice whispered in the back
of my mind, guarding him for her.  Serenity and Endymion belong together
and you belong by their side.

     I shook away those thoughts.  Not because there was no truth to them,
but because now was not the time for introspection.  I nodded to answer
Mamoru's question.

     "Sorry we're late, but Mako-chan was glued to a video game," I said.
Makoto glowered at me, but I paid her little mind.  My attention was on our
prince and princess.  Besides, it was the truth.

     "It's okay," Mamoru said.  "Usako's father has been watching me ever
since I arrived."  He laughed nervously.  Looking past him, I could see
Usagi's father glaring suspiciously at us from around the wall surrounding
the Tsukino residence.  I stifled a grin as Mrs. Tsukino grabbed her
husband and dragged him back inside.  There was no confusion over who was
in charge in Usagi's house.

     She's like Queen Serenity, the thought suddenly came to me.  Sweet
gentleness covering a core of steel.

     I frowned and shook my head.  Our trip to the Silver Millennium must
have jostled a few memories loose.  They seemed to be intruding a lot more
often on my day-to-day life.

     "Yeah, come on!  Let's go to the beach!" Usagi yelled, dragging me and
Makoto to Mamoru's car.  Laughing, we let her, yelling hello and goodbye to
her parents.  Soon, we were all on our way.  Usagi sat up in the front
passenger seat with Luna on her lap while Makoto and I sat in the back.
Makoto was staring out the window, brooding.  I caught Usagi looking at
her, concern etched on her features, but she did nothing.  I nodded to
myself.  Sometimes, the best thing you can do is give someone space.

     "Whatcha thinking about, Rei-chan?" she asked me suddenly.

     I started, not expecting the question.  "Not much," I answer.  "I've
been thinking a lot lately about our trip to the Silver Millennium," I
said.

     "Me too," she replied.  "It's funny, but I seem to remember a lot more
about it now that I've actually been there.  I mean, things we didn't even
see while we were there."

     "Well, it's only natural, Usagi," Luna said.  "Being there first-hand
stimulated the memories of your past life."

     "What about you, Luna?  Do you remember everything now?" Usagi teased.

     I watched Luna's eyes narrow and prayed that she didn't lose control
of her newly-remembered transformation ability.  We didn't need a several
hundred pound panther in the car.

     "So, Luna, are you and Artemis going to go swimming with us for once?"
I interject hurriedly, to keep the two of them from arguing.

     Luna looked startled by the question.  "I don't know, Rei-chan," she
said.  "I suppose we could, since we have human forms now."

     "Come on, Luna, it'll be fun!" Usagi chimed in.

     "We are not going there to have fun, Usagi," Luna scolded.  "This is a
training trip, remember?"

     The scolding rolled off Usagi like water off a duck's back, of course.
While the two of them argued, I amused myself by thinking of how many ways
Minako could mangle that saying.

     I caught myself looking at Mamoru and thinking again of how right he
and Usagi looked together, despite the differences in their ages.  That, of
course, led me to wondering if I would ever find a man of my own.  Someone
I could depend on, someone kind and gentle, someone like...

     Jadeite.

     Now I really frowned.  I had to keep the Jadeite I had met in the
Silver Millennium separate from the one Pluto told us is now leading the
youma.  All they had in common was a history.  They were in no way, shape,
or form the same man.

     But if he was healed of his evil, like Nephrite, that little voice
said again, then he would be the same Jadeite I loved.

     Oh, sure, it'll be that easy, I scoffed at myself.  Besides, it's not
as if I'm truly desperate.  Kumada would go out with me at the drop of a
hat.

     Okay, maybe I was getting desperate.

                                   *****

AMI:

     The trip down to the beach was quiet.  Mother was paying all her
attention to the road while Ryo-kun and I compared notes on a Quantum
Physics correspondence course.  We had enrolled in it because of Sensei's
recent findings on magic being a quantum effect and it was very
interesting.

     I looked over at him and couldn't help but smile.  For all her faults,
Athena was right.  I was lucky to find him... and then to find him again.
Now, if I could just forget some of the things she told me to do with
him... or at least think of them without being embarrassed.

     I felt the blood rush to my cheeks again as a vision of what she had
described appeared before my mind's eye.  How could she do that, I
wondered, and the other things she had written down in her diary?  In a
way, it was a foolproof security system.  Anyone who snuck a peek at her
diary could never look at her without blushing.

     Ryo-kun didn't notice, as he was engrossed in his lesson.  He was
wearing dark blue swimming trunks and a grey hooded sweatshirt.  My blush
deepened as I thought of him taking it off.

     I looked back at my lesson.  Meeting Athena, learning about her, had
definitely been what Mother would call a bad influence.  Before going back
to the Silver Millennium, I had assumed that my shyness was a part of me,
just as my intelligence was.  Athena blew that theory out of the water in
ten seconds.  We were the same person, yet so different.

     The car bumped as it took an exit and I looked now at Mother.  I
barely remembered the screaming matches she and Father had before he left,
but they had gotten pretty bad.  How much worse was it for Athena, whose
parents couldn't get a divorce?

     A person could go mad, trying to figure out the whys and hows of this,
I thought.  It doesn't really matter, anyway.  She is who she is and I am
who I am.

     But wouldn't it be nice to have the freedom to act as she does?

     I blushed at the thought.  Ryo and I have only kissed a few times, but
when we did, my heart pounded, my palms grew sweaty, and I wanted to
just...  Well, do something like what Athena would do.  That wouldn't be
proper, of course.

     Of course, no one would have to know what we do in private.

     I reached over and take his hand in mine, squeezing it gently.  Athena
had definitely been a corrupting influence, but she was right about one
other thing.  I needed to tell Ryo-kun how I felt.

     He looked up, his eyes focusing on me as he tore his thoughts away
from whatever formulae he had been studying.  Smiling, he gave my hand a
gentle squeeze back.  Our eyes met and we stared at each other, my heart
pounding in my ears.  Slowly, I leaned over towards him and I whispered
into his ear, "I love you, Ryo-kun."

     His cheeks and ears turned bright red!  He stammered for a moment,
unable to speak.  I giggled and nibbled gently on his ear....

     WHAT?

     I sprang back, away from him, now blushing as brightly as he was.  I
could not believe I had been so bold.  "G-gomen, Ryo-kun," I stammer.

     "No, no, it's my fault," he stammered back, though how he could think
it was his fault is beyond me.  "Um, Ami-chan?" he said quietly, after
regaining some of his composure and glancing up front to make sure Mother
was still preoccupied with driving.  She was.  Mother could always
concentrate on a task to the exclusion of all else.  When that task
involved me, she was the most attentive mother in the world.  All too
often, however, it was her job or something else.  Still, she had always
been supportive of me and if I needed her, she would be there.  She trusted
my judgment in such things and I never wanted to let her down.

     Ryo-kun leaned close and whispered in my ear, "I love you, too."

     My head spun and I probably had a goofy grin on my face, just like
Usagi gets with Mamoru.  I hugged him, stifling any more Athena-like urges.

     For the rest of the trip, we didn't get much studying done.

                                   *****

URAWA:

     My head was swimming.  Ami had told me that she loved me and I had
told her the same.  I had never seen this in any vision, and I was glad of
that.  It would have cheapened the beauty of the moment.  And then when Ami
nibbled on my ear...!

     She stopped herself and seemed unsettled.  I couldn't blame her, since
I was feeling anything but settled myself.  Before this, I was looking
forward to spending some time alone with her at the beach, but now I
wondered if I should fear it.  I shrugged the thought aside.  This was Ami,
not Athena.

     She stammered something, but I didn't listen.  I got her attention
and, leaning over to whisper in her ear, I told her I loved her too.  I
resisted the temptation to nibble on her ear... barely.

     My vision swam before my eyes suddenly and I felt a sickening sense of
vertigo as a vision suddenly assailed me.  But this was not one of my
ordinary visions.  Ordinarily, I get a snapshot of the future, a glimpse of
things to come.  This was more metaphor than image.  I saw Ami, standing
stock still and reaching out to me, pleading.  On her right shoulder sat
Sailor Mercury, who was tugging on her ear and pulling her to the right.
On her left shoulder was a rather scantily-clad Ami with a mischievous
smile I recognized as Athena.  She was pulling Ami to the left.

     The vision faded as Ami swept me into an enthusiastic hug.  I put
aside the troubling vision for now.  Trying to divine its meaning now would
be pointless, and besides, my girlfriend was in my arms.  Destiny will
settle things in its own time.

     All too soon, however, we arrived at Tomoe-sensei's beach house.  Ami
and I did our best to look innocent as her mother helped us unpack, but she
had a knowing look in her eye.  She didn't say anything about it, however.

     Tomoe-sensei greeted us at the door and showed us to the rooms that
had been claimed for the boys and the girls.  Everyone else was already
down at the beach.  I put my duffel bag in the boys' room and then went to
help Ami with her luggage.

     "OK, Ami-chan, Ryo-kun," Mrs. Mizuno said as we dropped the last
suitcase into the girls' room.  "I've given Tomoe-sensei my beeper number
if there's any problem.  Have fun, and I'll see you Sunday."  She gave Ami
a little peck on the forehead, gave me a little nod and a smile, and then
she left.

     I looked at Ami and she looked back at me.  We both blushed and looked
away.

     "Why don't you go down to the beach while I change into my suit, Ryo-
kun?" she said finally, after the silence stretched long between us.

     "Sounds like a good idea," I said nervously.  I wanted to kiss her,
but I was afraid she'd object.  So I was very surprised when she came up to
me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.  I was still rubbing it dazedly when
she went into her room to change.

     I wandered down to the beach and soon found everyone.  Usagi and Rei
were chasing each other through the waves, screaming about something.
Usagi had a pink one piece, and Rei had a red one.  Steven and Mamoru were
watching them and trying not to laugh.  Minako and Makoto were both getting
some sun.  Minako had an orange one piece while Makoto wore a green bikini.
I tried not to stare at Makoto's unfastened top (to either avoid tan lines
or tease the boys, I don't know which).  Obviously this weekend was going
to be hard on my hormones.  Such is fate, I thought with a smile.  I didn't
see any of the others at the moment.

     "Hey, watch the perverted thoughts, Urawa-kun," came a voice from
behind me, followed by a slap on the head.  I looked back to see Ten'ou-
san, smiling at me.  Kaiou-san was standing next to her, holding on to
Haruka's elbow.

     "And how did you know what I was thinking about?" I asked.

     "It's obvious," Haruka snorted, "when you see Makoto-chan in that
number--Ow!"

     Michiru removed her elbow from Haruka's side and smiled serenely at
me.  "It's not nice to lead Haruka on like that, Urawa-kun," she said
gently, "even if she does let her lecherous nature get the better of her."

     "Yes, ma'am," I said with a sheepish grin.

     "I am NOT lecherous!" Haruka protested.

     "Ryo-kun!" Ami called out

     I turned back to the house, ready to welcome her to the beach, but my
greeting had a coronary and got lodged in my throat.  Ami was running
toward me, wearing a blue bikini.  A blue string bikini.  A very SMALL blue
string bikini.  Heck, I think nudists wear more than that.

     "Oh... my," I heard Michiru say behind me.

     "NOW who's being lecherous?" Haruka said in a shocked voice.

     Everyone stopped and stared at Ami, who ran up to me without any
concern for how the suit... moved.  I focused my attention on her face in a
hurry, ignoring the demands of my body chemistry... heck, I think I had to
ignore 90% of my brain at that moment, which was shouting all sorts of
unwelcome suggestions.

     Ami jogged (don'tlookdon'tlook!) up to me.  "What's the matter, Ryo-
kun?" she asked.

     I opened my mouth to try an answer.  Behind me, I heard Haruka again.
"It's not lady-like to drool, Michiru."

     "Um, Ami-chan..." I stuttered.  I then ran over to Makoto and grabbed
her towel, pulling it out from under her as fast as I could.  Then, not
paying any attention to her squawk of protest, I ran back to Ami and
wrapped it around her.  "A-ami-chan, isn't that suit a bit... much?" Or a
bit little, I thought to myself.

     Ami did a double-take and opened the towel a little to look at
herself.  She then blushed so brightly she matched Rei's suit.

     "I... I..." Ami stuttered.  "I didn't even notice what I was wearing?
I don't understand!" she said in shock, more to herself than anyone else.
Then, wrapping the towel tightly around herself, she ran back to the house.

     I sighed in relief.  The cause still needed to be discovered, but we
had treated the symptoms.  Still, something was bugging me.  I then turned
to face an angry Makoto, one arm covering her breasts, and remembered what
it was.

     "PERVERT!" she yelled, her fist lashing out.

     The last thing I heard before darkness claimed me was Michiru.  "Who's
drooling now, Haruka-chan?"

                                   *****

HIMEKO:

     I laid back on my bed and stared at my pendant.  "Well, this is
another fine mess you've gotten me into," I muttered to it.

     It didn't reply.  Not that it would have surprised me too much if it
had.

     "What's wrong, Hime-chan?" Pokota asked from the shelf over my bed.
We were back home for break.  The room was just as I left it... that is to
say, a mess.  It seemed smaller than it was before I went to Tsunami.

     I put my pendant back on.  "Nothing, everything, I don't know," I
answered my little stuffed friend.

     "Is it because of this Sailor Pluto business?"

     "Pokota, I have no business having any control over time!  I can't
even get to class before the bell rings!"  I buried my face in my hands.
"I never asked for this," I moaned.

     "I did not ask for it either."

     I shot to my feet, my hand going to my pendant in shock.  Not five
feet away stood Sailor Pluto.  She was holding the Time Staff in her hand
and was staring calmly at me.

     "What are you doing here?!" I hissed.  "My parents may come in at any
moment!"

     Sailor Pluto cocked her head to one side and I felt... something.  It
was like seeing movement in the corner of your eye, but there's nothing
there when you look straight on.  Then, suddenly, I felt nauseous.  Two
possibilities appeared before my mind's eye.  There was one where my
parents barged in on me and Pluto, and one where they did not.  The first
possibility faded as I watched, dissipating like smoke.  Then I was back in
my room, kneeling and trying not to throw up.

     "The nausea will pass," Pluto said, not unsympathetically.  "Once you
have your own Staff, it will not be so bad."  She stepped over to me and
offered me a hand up.  I took it.

     "I never said I would take the damn job," I muttered sourly.  The
taste of bile was still in my mouth.

     Pluto sat down on my bed and smoothed out her skirt.  "Do you see a
way out of it?" she asked.

     "I can just refuse it!"

     "Can you?"

     "What do you mean?  Of course I can!"

     "You have the Sight now.  Don't try to deny it.  You wouldn't have
felt sick if you didn't.  Use it.  Find the possibility of you not being
Pluto."

     "Why should I?"

     "Humor me," she said.  "An exercise for the student."

     "I'm not your student!" I protested.  Even as I said it, however, I
could feel my control over this situation slipping.  Minako had said it was
always like this with Pluto, but I had never really felt her full effect
before now.  She merely looked at me.  The seconds dragged on in silence,
then, finally, I said, "Okay, I'll look."

     "Thank you, Nonohara-san."

     "But I'm telling you now, if I DO see a way out, I'm taking it."

     "Of course."

     I closed my eyes and tried to think of the possibilities lying before
me.  Slowly they came into focus.  The images were not as clear as they had
been when I had masqueraded as Sailor Pluto, but they were there.  The
first image I dwelt on had me popping Pluto one on the mouth, but that
possibility was so faint it wasn't worth considering.  I then scanned the
various possible futures, looking for a way to refuse Pluto.

     There were none.

     I looked again, but no matter what path I tried, I ended up becoming
her student.  The only thing that changed was how long it took, and there
were indications that the longer it took, the worse things would get for my
friends.  I didn't look too closely at that, because I had to keep the
number of variables I was examining small, or I'd be overwhelmed.  Finally,
I glared at Pluto.

     "You're blocking the possibility I want, like you did with my
parents."

     "No.  You'd be able to tell if I did that.  Watch."

     In my Sight, the possibility of me hitting Pluto suddenly grew
stronger, almost a reality, but the nausea, the sense of movement while not
moving, grew stronger as well.  I ran for my wastebasket and the
possibility faded.

     "You see?  With our sensitivity to time, any manipulation produces an
effect similar to seasickness."  She wrinkled her nose.  "A bit too much
like seasickness," she muttered, as lunch followed breakfast into my
wastebasket.

     "Well, excuse me," I muttered, wiping my mouth.  "I'm not the one who
decided on the object lesson."

     She waved her Staff and the vomit vanished, right down to the smell.
"My apologies," she said, not sounding very apologetic to me.  "Come, we
must be on our way."

     "Hey, wait a second!  On our way WHERE?"

     "The Sailor Senshi are training this weekend.  You must attend."

     "But my parents...."

     "It is all taken care of."

     "What do you--?"

     I was interrupted by a knock at the door.  It opened and my sister
Aiko stuck her head in.  I froze up in panic at the thought of being found
with a Sailor Senshi in my room.  "Don't come in!" I yelled.

     "Geez, Hime-chan, don't overreact, it's just me," she said, coming all
the way in.  I closed my eyes, waiting for the shocked scream.

     "Why do you have your eyes closed?" she asked.

     I opened them again and looked around.  There was no sign of Pluto.  I
breathed a sigh of relief.  "Nothing.  It's nothing," I said.

     I got a 'you're weird' look, but she dropped the subject.  "Look, Mom
and Dad are getting ready to leave, so you better come down and say good-
bye."

     "Leave?  Leave where?"  I asked stupidly.

     "To the hot springs resort, silly.  Remember, they won that weekend
trip?  Now, come on, say good-bye so they can leave.  And have you packed
for your trip?"

     "Trip?"  I was really sounding stupid now.

     "Your beach trip?  With your friends?"

     "Right.  My trip.  I'll be going shortly."  I started pushing her out
the door.  "I'll be right down.  Thanks for reminding me."

     "Oh!" she said as I shoved her out and closed the door.  I then
breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back against its sturdy wood.

     When I opened my eyes, I found Sailor Pluto right in front of me.
"Eep!" I squealed.

     "You see?  It is all prepared."

     "You... you manipulated my parents!"

     "I gave them a trip to a very nice hot springs and arranged for them
to approve your trip with Minako and the others.  I see no great evil in
that."

     Well, a trip to the beach didn't sound that bad.  But there was the
principle of the thing.  "And if I still don't go?" I said, stubbornly.

     "You have the Sight.  You know the answer to that better than I.  I
will be back in 30 minutes to take you to the beach house."  With that, a
giant door, which somehow managed to seem over ten feet tall AND fit inside
my room, appeared behind her.  She stepped backward into it and then the
both of them vanished.

     I turned and rushed downstairs, said good-bye to my parents (who
wished me a good trip to the beach and nattered on and on about being good
and giving their number to Tomoe-sensei and how nice it was to have a
teacher as a chaperone and on and on.)  I finally broke away and ran back
to my room and began throwing some things into a bag.  Swimsuit, suntan
lotion, towel, several changes of clothes, Pokota, etc. etc.

     Exactly half an hour after she left, Pluto returned... but not alone.
With her was someone I had only seen once before, on a haunted cruise ship.
It was the youma the Sailors had captured for Sensei, Tethys!

     My hand flew to my pendant and I grabbed my hand mirror with the other
and prepared to become Sailor V when Pluto held up a hand.  "It's okay,
Nonohara-san," she said.  "Sensei has granted Tethys a little vacation 
under our supervision."

     I noted that Tethys, who was in her human form, did not seem too
thrilled by this supervision.  Still, she didn't say anything, just stood
there, looking like a supermodel.  I glanced at her chest and compared it
to my own and wonder again why all the monsters were so blessed while us
struggling heroes... never mind, it's a stupid thought.  Besides, Daichi
likes me... right?

     "Let's go already," I growl.  Then a thought hit me.  "You didn't get
permission by any chance for Daichi to be there too, did you?" I asked.

     "This is for training, Nonohara-san, not for spending time with your
boyfriend."

     "No fair," I grumble.  "YOUR boyfriend's going to be there."

     Pluto shot me a dark look while I merely grinned impishly back at her.
With that, we all three step through Pluto's portal.

                                   *****

MICHIRU:

     I sat on the dune, overlooking the sea and waited patiently for
Pluto's return.  As the shadows lengthened, marching to the eternal sea, I
wondered what this night would bring.  Pluto had promised to teach us new
powers, ones that we would need to fight the Zodiac.

     I just wanted to go swimming.  To float on the waves, surrounded by
the mother ocean.  The old fear of drowning reared its head but I smothered
it.  I was strong.  I had long ago faced and conquered my fear.  It barely
bothered me at all.

     After the Inners had returned from the Silver Millennium, I finally
figured out where my love-fear relationship with the sea came from.  My
past life had loved the sea.  In this life, I lost my parents to the sea.
It was simple, but understanding it brought me no closer to finally
banishing the last remnants of that fear.

     Uranus was standing nearby, watching the Inners and Saturn build a
bonfire.  My lovely Haruka.  She seems so strong, so resolute as Sailor
Uranus.  No one else knows the vulnerabilities that lie beneath that mask.
I know, because she has cried herself to sleep on my shoulder many a time.
Perhaps the Princess knows as well.  She is far more perceptive than she
seems, especially in matters of the heart.  If anything ever happened to
me, I know our Princess would comfort Haruka.  Somehow that comfort seems
more frightening than any monster or any deed we have done in the name of
Right.

     I turned my head slightly and looked at them.  The Inners.  We have
become, in the words of that TV show Haruka watches, the "shadow between
the darkness and the light" and they are the light.  Sometimes it doesn't
seem fair to me, that for all the sacrifices and hard decisions we have
made, their way works better.  I can see this.  Haruka does not want to see
it.  I know she doesn't, because to admit it would have made all her
sacrifices in vain, all her decisions wrong.  She forces herself to be
strong.

     And I?  I will not let her walk her path alone.  I will follow in her
footsteps.  I will blacken my soul with deeds that will give me nightmares
for the rest of my life, if it will only make her burden one whit lighter.
If she falls, I will be there to catch her.

     Sounds foolish, doesn't it?  Not if you are in love.

     The Inners are all bickering about Mercury's little show earlier
today.  It worried them when their base desires and human frailities showed
through the armor of their innocence.  Haruka and I could have told them
that it was only human nature, but we did not.  Let them enjoy their youth
as much as they can.  At least Haruka and I can grant them that.

     "What do you think happened, Neptune?" Uranus asked softly.

     "I don't know for certain, but I think the similarities between Ami's
behavior and Athena's can't be lightly dismissed.  Don't you agree?" I
replied.

     "What, you think Athena's taking over?"

     "No... or at least I hope not."  I don't need the competition... or
the temptation, I thought.  "It could just be that their little trip has
brought more of their past lives' memories and personalities to the fore."

     "That is largely what happened," Pluto said from behind us.

     We didn't jump, we were too well trained for that, but my heart did
skip a beat.  Even after all these years, Pluto's entrances still come with
no warning.  I wondered if she was a ninja.

     "Not for many years now," she said to me.

     I masked my irritation at her reading my thoughts and asked, "Are you
going to teach us that trick tonight?"

     "Perhaps," was all she said.  Behind her, Nonohara-san and Tethys
stepped through the Gate of Time, which then vanished whence it came.  I
felt Uranus tense beside me.  She did not remember her last encounter with
the youma very fondly.

     "What is THAT doing here?" she hissed.  I stifled a sigh.  It was
going to be a long night.

     "Tethys is here for a weekend at the beach, like the rest of us,"
Pluto said.  "Sensei and Souichi-chan felt she had earned it.  Isn't it
convenient that we were all coming here as well?"

     I gave Tethys my best glare, but internally I couldn't help but smirk
a little.  A youma would have to be either very brave or very stupid to try
something with all the Sailor Senshi around.

     To her credit, Tethys showed no sign of fear.  She looked more
resigned than anything.  In talking with Pluto and Tomoe-sensei, we had
concluded that an youma's overriding concern is self-preservation.  Under
Queen Beryl, survival meant doing anything she wanted.  On the cruise ship,
Tethys did what she had to do to to survive.  That is something that I can
relate with.  Haruka could as well, if she wasn't still angry over being
held hostage by a youma.

     Right now, the youma's best hope for survival meant not angering the
Sailor Senshi.  Oh, she could try to escape, but I was sure that Pluto had
told her what would happen if she tried and failed... or if she suceeded
and we ever found her again.  Youma might not be able to grasp the ideas of
trust and justice, but retribution was something they were all too familiar
with.

     I laid an hand on Uranus's arm, stilling her protest.  We shared a
glance in which I told her to back off.  She acquiesced, but not altogether
willingly.  That would do for now.  Later I would take her mind off her
embarassment at Tethys's hands.

     Pluto called us all together.  There were the five Inners and the four
Outers, plus Nonohara-san as Pluto's student and Odysseus as a Sailor-in-
training.  Mamoru had transformed to Tuxedo Kamen and stood by Sailor Moon.
Grant-san, Urawa-san, and Umino-san stood out of the way, watching by the
sidelines.  Tethys stood off on her own, though it seemed that Pluto was
almost always watching her.

     "We are here--" Pluto began, but never had any chance to finish.
Sailor Moon raised her hand, cutting Pluto off in mid-speech with a regal
gesture.  She didn't transform into Princess Serenity, but we all knew she
was speaking as her.

     "Forgive me, Pluto," she said, her voice carrying to us all, "but I
would like to speak."  She looked at each of us in turn, meeting our eyes
in a silent appeal.  "I called this meeting because this divisive state of
affairs cannot continue.  The Outer Senshi and the Inner Senshi are split
and we have shown time and again both teams will think of their team first
and our mission second.  This state of affairs cannot be allowed to
continue."

     I felt numb with shock at first, but this was swiftly surmounted by
anger.  Who was she to dictate to us about teamwork?

     "I am Serenity," she said, answering my unspoken question, probably
without even realizing it.  "With the authority vested in me as the
Princess of the Moon, authority that dates back to the first Serenity, I am
making the following changes to the organization of the Senshi."  Now she
did transform to the Princess.  I saw Tethys suddenly turn white with fear
but I was too busy to pay her much mind.

     "The original organization," Serenity continued, "was four Inner
Senshi, whose job was to protect the Princess, and four Outer Senshi, whose
job was to protect the Solar System.  This organization worked, but this is
no longer the Silver Millennium.  We now have Sailor Moon and Sailor
Odysseus on the team.  Humankind is restricted to one planet, obviating,
for now, the need to patrol the outer Solar System.  Until we spread to
other planets again, I am making the following changes."

     She turned to Jupiter and Odysseus.  "Jupiter, you are now counted
amongst the Outer Senshi.  Odysseus, you will be one of the Inner Senshi
once your training is complete."

     "Usagi!" protested Jupiter.  "You--"

     "Please, Mako-chan.  We have to do this," Serenity said, overriding
the tall teen's protest.  "We now have five Inner Senshi and five Outer
Senshi.  We shall form partnerships, with one Inner and one Outer to a
team."

     All hell broke loose.  Most of us, on either team, were not happy with
this situation.  Haruka and I were screaming bloody murder about our
partnership being broken up, and the Inners weren't too happy about teaming
up with us either.  Odysseus, Saturn, and Pluto were quiet, each for their
own reasons, but it didn't matter much because we weren't allowed to argue
long.

     "SILENCE!" thundered Serenity, in the loudest voice I had ever heard
her use outside of crying.  "And you people call ME childish," she said
when we shut up in shock.  "You WILL form partnerships, you WILL work and
train together.  I will not have one of you die because of some silly feud!
Is that clear?"

     We said nothing, still in shock over her outburst.  I looked at
Uranus, suddenly fearful of losing her.

     "I said, is that clear?" Serenity shouted again.

     "Yes!" we shouted, jolted by her command voice.

     Serenity suddenly looked drained.  "Good."  She looked at each of us
in turn.  "Thank you.  I know how difficult that was for you, but Pluto and
I have discussed this and it needs to be done."

     Several people shot looks at Pluto, already blaming her for this state
of affairs.  Uranus and I felt especially betrayed.

     "Do not blame her," Serenity said.  "It was my idea and I take full
responsibility for it.  Now, as to the new partnerships...."

     She looked to Mercury.  "Mercury, you will be teamed up with Uranus.
Her offensive power and aggressive nature will be a good complement for
your defensive and data gathering role."

     Mercury nodded.  Uranus looked ready to show Serenity how aggressive
she could be.  I laid another restraining hand on her arm.

     "Venus," Serenity continued, "you will be partnered with Saturn.  Of
all of the Inners, you have the most experience, while Saturn has the least
experience of the Outers.  Together, your strengths will overcome your
weaknesses."

     Venus nodded.  "I understand, Serenity."

     "Mars," said Serenity, and there was a little catch in her throat.

     "Usagi, no... don't do this," Mars pleaded.  She had a look on her
face I had last seen on Haruka's, back at the Marine Cathedral when Eudial
took my heart crystal.  Not that Mars understood what true loss is.

     "Mars," Serenity said in a firmer voice, "you will be partnered
with... Neptune."  Mars looked like her legs buckled for a moment, then a
bewildered sort of hurt crossed her face, followed by anger.  "You two are
well matched in power, and hopefully her calmness with help control your
temper."

     Not much chance of that, I thought as Mars practically exploded with
anger.

     "MEATBALL HEAD!" she screamed, before turning and stalking away.
Everyone watched her, except me.  I saw Serenity reach out a hand toward
Mars, to call her back, but then it dropped.  She then looked at me, a
pleading look on her face, asking me to help her.  I gave a small nod and
she sighed.

     "Sailor Odysseus," she said, "as a Sailor in training, you will be
partnered with Pluto, along with Nonohara-san as the Younger Pluto.  Pluto
will train you both in the use of your powers and keep you safe until you
are, in her opinion, fully ready for the responsibility of being a Sailor
Senshi."

     "Hai, Usagi-chan."

     "Sailor Moon will be teamed up with Sailor Jupiter.  As the most
physically adept Sailor, she may, I hope, be able to protect me from my own
clumsiness."  It was a lame attempt at a joke, and drew no laughs.  She
sighed, and reverted to Sailor Moon.  "I'm so tired," she said.  Tuxedo
Kamen was there, of course, to hold her up.  Uranus turned to me, shocked,
and I hugged her, trying to give her what little comfort I had to give.

     "If you would all get into your new teams," Pluto finally broke the
silence, "we can begin the training."

                                   *****

NARU:

     The training was a disaster.  Oh, I should have known, after the
bombshell Usagi-chan dropped, but I had expected a little more
professionalism from the Sailors.  It's amazing, though, how human your
heroes become when you get to know them.

     Pluto said, "To face the coming crisis, you all must master certain
aspects of your power.  This includes the ability to solo teleport.  It is
also important for you to increase the scope and flexibility of your
powers."

     She turned to face each of us in turn.  Following Usagi-chan's
command, we had formed up with our new partners.  Usagi and Neptune both
had to go and bring Rei-chan back, but I could hardly blame her.  If Usagi
told me to stop hanging around her and go be with someone else, I'd...
well, that did sorta happen, until she told me her secret, and it DID hurt.

     "Before now," Pluto continued, "the Inner Senshi and the Outer Senshi
have pursued different strategies with their powers.  The Inners keep
developing new, stronger, powers and discard the old ones.  This is not
always a wise decision, as the older powers use less energy and can
sometimes accomplish the same job as the newer powers.  On the other hand,
the Outers tend to stick with one attack and simply work on making it more
powerful and flexible.  For example, Neptune has far more control over how
much water goes into Deep Submerge than Mercury has over Shining Aqua
Illusion.  While this flexibility is good, the lack of multiple attacks
makes you predictable."

     I saw Ami-chan nodding at this analysis.  Himeko, on the other hand,
just looked as confused as I felt.  I looked over to Gurio-kun to ask him
about the powers Pluto named since he was the Sailor fanboy, but he was too
busy typing away at his laptop.  Grant-san and Urawa-san were clustered
around him.  I sighed, but I couldn't fault him for being interested.  He,
Urawa-san, Grant-san, and Ami-chan were all working together on trying to
understand magic.  The three boys were trying to pull their weight, I
guess.

     "We'll work on the individual powers later," Pluto said.  "For now,
let's concentrate on the self-teleport power."

     "Finally!" Mako-chan, I mean Jupiter, exclaimed, slapping her fist
against her palm.  "I'm tired of the bad guys always getting away."

     Pluto raised an eyebrow at that.  "Then why don't we start with you,
Jupiter?"

     Jupiter suddenly didn't look too eager, but she stepped away from
Usagi-chan... Sailor Moon.  I still have trouble thinking of them as the
Sailor Senshi.  I also have trouble thinking of Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto
as their civilian identities.

     While Pluto was giving Jupiter some quiet advice, I thought about MY
Sailor identity.  Some things about it simply didn't make sense.  Why was
Neph--the Guardians, why were the Guardians surprised to see a Sailor
Odysseus?  Why did my attacks leave me too weak to move after only one or
two blasts?  Most importantly, why did the Zodiac feel pain whenever I used
my power?

     "Okay, try it, Jupiter," Pluto said loudly, interrupting my musings.
I looked up.  Jupiter stood there, a look of fierce concentration on her
face.  "Don't force it," Pluto warned.  "If you do, the results--"

     Lightning suddenly flashed down from the clear night sky and struck
Jupiter.  I blinked away the spots dancing in front of my eyes and tried to
focus.  Another bolt flashed down, a few feet away from me, forcing me to
cover my eyes.  When I could finally see again, I looked to where the bolt
hit.

     Sailor Jupiter was there.  Or rather, her bottom half.  No, she wasn't
cut in two.  She was half-buried in the sand, with only her bottom half
showing.  She was alive, if the amount of kicking and flailing the legs
were doing was any indication.

     "Quick, pull her out of there!" Usagi-chan yelled, moving to help her
partner.  She got a random kick to the midsection for her troubles.  As she
fell over, Ami-chan and Rei-chan... Mercury and Mars tried and both got a
boot in the face.  Finally, we managed to pull Jupiter out.  She was
spitting sand and looked either very embarrassed or very angry.  Saturn and
M--Venus looked like they were about to burst out laughing, which didn't
help matters.

     "Well, a good first try," Pluto finally said diplomatically.
"Nonohara-san, Odysseus, go over there and wait for me," she said, pointing
toward the youma Tethys.  "I'll join you in a moment."  She then turned
back to the others and began giving them more pointers on teleporting.

     "So, you as weirded out about this as I am?" Himeko asked.

     I shook my head.  "No, it's more like a dream come true.  When you've
been attacked by monsters as much as I have..."  I trailed off as we
approached Tethys.

     "Hey, don't act like you actually care about my feelings," the youma
said.  "I AM a monster," she continued, "and I'm damn proud of it."

     Despite her protestation, she actually sounded a little hurt.  "I'm
sorry you feel that way," I said.  Actually, I mostly felt nervous over
being so close to one of the monsters that seemed to think Osaka Naru was
the number one delicacy on planet Earth.

     Tethys blinked, however.  Then her human disguise flickered and
vanished, leaving her with white skin, red eyes, and a face with no mouth.
It was harder to read her emotions like this, but she seemed to crouch
almost defensively.  "Humans," she said, putting as much contempt into the
word as we would put into gaijin or burakumin.  "I'll never understand you.
I'm your enemy, remember?  It's your job to kill me and my kind.  So why
don't you do it?  Why not?"

     "No."  I was surprised even as I said it.  I wasn't even sure WHY I
said it.  For a moment, it seemed to me that the stars above flashed me a
message, for I glimpsed a little bit of Tethys's destiny and it was not to
die here.  Or so it seemed.  The moment swiftly passed and I couldn't
remember what it had been exactly.

     "I wish you would," Tethys said, slumping to her knees.

     I actually reached out and laid a hand on her arm.  Her skin was cold
and clammy to the touch, and she flinched like she was burned.  "I'm sorry,
Tethys, but I can't."  I couldn't because she was afraid.  How could anyone
be so afraid of me?

     "Quite right," Pluto suddenly said from behind us.  We all jumped.
"Now, let's get on with the lesson.  Nonohara-san, I have something for
you."  She handed Himeko a transformation pen.  I looked at it, then
fingered the brooch Himeko had given me when she had masqueraded as Pluto.
Why did everyone but Usagi and I have transformation pens?  I took a closer
look at Himeko's and saw that it had the sign of Pluto on it.

     "Nonohara-san--"

     "Please, just call me Himeko, okay?" Himeko interrupted.

     "As you wish, Himeko.  Now, raise the pen and say 'Pluto Planet Power,
Make Up!'"

     Himeko raised the pen and said, "PLUTO PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"
starting the usual light show.  Her clothes vanished and her Sailor uniform
appeared, in the colors of Sailor Pluto.  However, unlike her previous
masquerades, it was her face and body beneath the uniform, and there was no
Time Staff.

     "Whoa, that was... different," Himeko said.  She staggered a little.

     "Don't let your temporal sense overwhelm you now.  We'll work on it
later.  This will give you all the advantages of a Sailor Senshi without
your time limit.  Your pendant should also still come in handy.  You should
try it and see if the two are compatible, but we don't have time for that
now."  She went over and picked up a piece of driftwood and stuck it
upright in the sand.  "Now, try a Dead Scream."

     "Huh?" Himeko said, echoed by me.  Pluto gave a sigh.

     "Please bear with me, I have never had to teach anyone how to be
Sailor Pluto before."  She held her staff in front of her and faced the
driftwood.  "Dead scream," she whispered.  Immediately, a gale-force blast
of wind sliced out at the driftwood and shattered it.  She picked up
another piece and stuck it in the sand.  "Now, you try it."

     "Um, okay..."  Himeko faced the driftwood and concentrated as fiercely
as Jupiter did before.  "DEAD SCREAM!" she shouted.

     "NO!" Pluto yelled.  Then the hurricane was upon us.

                                   *****

UMINO:

     Wow, all the Sailor Senshi together for training and I'm here to see
it! I thought as we all went down to the beach.  It was a huge change from
them keeping everything a secret from me.  And now I was even dating one of
the Sailors.

     I tried to get a grip on myself, but it was hard.  When your life has
been as full of disappointments as mine, especially where friends are
involved, to be a part of this group was something special.  Having Naru-
chan as my girlfriend was even more special.

     That thought raised a specter of doubt, however.  Naru-chan has been
so busy lately with that social club, I thought.  What if she doesn't want
me to be her boyfriend any more?  What if--?  What if--?

     I looked over at Naru-chan, but she was too nervous, I could tell, as
Sailor Odysseus to notice me.  I reminded myself that she's had a lot put
on her all of the sudden.  Give her a chance to acclimate herself to her
new responsibilities.

     "You ready to try out some of our ideas, Umino-kun?" Ryo asked.  He
and Ami have been very busy lately, working on a theoretical basis for the
working of magic.  Steven and I have been busy with trying to put together
computer programs to work with the data gathered by Sailor Mercury's mini-
computer.  Our first attempts to link my laptop to the Mercury Computer had
been utter failures and even caused my computer to crash badly once.  We
thought we had all the bugs worked out now, however.

     "My computer's ready," I said, patting my black laptop, covered with
pop idol stickers, affectionately.

     "This time, there will be no bugs," Steven said confidently.

     "You said that last time," Ryo pointed out.

     "You didn't foresee the crash either, Ryo-kun," Steven said with a
grin.  "That was a hardware, not software problem.  The fact that the
problem occurred shows that our program worked."

     "Worked a little too well, to the tune of 30,000 yen," I muttered.

     "Hey, we all chipped in to get it fixed," Steven said.

     "Yeah, but what of all the data I lost?" I said, hating the whine that
crept into my voice.  "I mean, all my journal entries for a week were wiped
out.  I had written some really good poetry for Naru-chan, too!"

     "Ryo-kun!"  Sailor Mercury's voice interrupted us.  She was running
over to us, her computer in hand.  "Here you go," she said, handing it to
him.  "I hope it works this time."  She gave him a little kiss on the cheek
that made him blush red before running back to the others.

     "Okay, the port was... which was it?" Ryo muttered to himself, as I
got the cable ready.  I couldn't help but stare at the Mercury Computer
again.  It was so small and compact, but its computing power and memory
storage rivaled a Cray's.  Whoever had made it had known a lot more about
computers than anyone on Earth.  Once again, I noticed the cracks on its
side and wondered what could have done that.  It looked like someone had
smacked the corner against something hard, but Ami wouldn't mistreat her
equipment like that.  I resolved to ask her again about it, though she had
seemed uncomfortable when I last brought it up for some reason.

     "Ah, here it is!" Ryo said, holding out a hand for my cable.  Soon we
had the two computers linked and we ran diagnostics on them both.  This
time, no poetry from the Silver Millennium covered my  screen just before
the whole thing died.  No, we got SYSTEM READY and high-fived each other in
triumph.

     One might ask why we went to such trouble when the Mercury Computer
could analyze and compile the data itself.  It could, true, but its data
was in its own unique format which was nearly impossible to convert.
Someone had laid a killer encryption sequence on the Mercury Computer's
data and our best attempts failed to crack it.  Heck, we couldn't even find
a way to download text files from it.  So we worked out a way to hook it up
with a normal computer and use it just as a data gatherer and leaving the
actual collation of data to my laptop.  Fortunately, the Mercury Computer
had a universal adapter.  I mean, REALLY universal.  It was just a part of
the case that was malleable.  Stick anything in there and it would try to
use it to make a connection.  I've seen Ami stick a telephone cord into it
and get instant modem access.

     Enough techno babble, Usagi's starting to speak.

     I listened to Usagi, then Princess Serenity, make her appeal to the
Sailors.  It made sense to ME, but it seemed to not make a lot of sense to
them.  Still, she wasn't going to put up with that any longer and she made
that abundantly clear.  Then the training began.  Sailor Jupiter was the
first to try teleporting and it turned out pretty badly for her.  We got
some good data on it, though.

     Then Pluto took Naru-chan aside and left the others to practice
teleporting.  Sailor Moon tried, but she didn't even flicker.  Our readings
didn't indicate any sort of magical build-up at all.  Mars was after her,
but I looked over at Naru-chan instead of at the data.  She was talking to
the youma and I thought, recklessly, of charging over to protect her.  No,
Naru wouldn't like that.  Still, I hoped I could find some time to talk to
her alone while we were on this trip.

     I was drawn back to the world of data processing then.  Mars was
teleporting all over the beach, but she couldn't seem to go more than 10
yards in any direction.  She also got a bit sick after the third jump.  As
a result, the only warning I got was a shout.

     "DEAD SCREAM!"

     "NO!"

     At that moment, it was like one of those speeded up movies you see of
clouds forming.  In seconds, typhoon-strength winds descended on the beach,
bringing dark clouds, lightning, and then sheets of rain.  The visibility
dropped to zero.  I shut my laptop to protect it, but I didn't know what
good it would do.  Ryo, Steven, and I huddled close, not being able to see
anyone through the pounding rain.

     "I think I can lead us back to the house!" Steven yelled over the howl
of the wind.

     "The others will be okay!" Urawa yelled back.  "I know!"

     "Let's go then!" I shouted.

     We grasped hands and started slowly making our way back to the beach
house.  Then I remembered the Mercury Computer.  I couldn't just leave it
behind!  Breaking free of Steven and Ryo, I ran headlong back into the
storm.

     That was not my brightest idea ever.  After a few feet, I lost sight
of them.  Still, the Computer couldn't be too far away.  The rain poured
down my glasses, making the visibility even worse.  I kept moving, however,
determined not to let Ami down.  Then my shoe hit something.

     Bending down, I was glad to see it was the Mercury Computer!  Now, if
I could only get back...

     Then the clouds parted slightly and I saw him.  He was pale, with
startling silver hair and grey, stormy, eyes.  He wore some sort of
uniform, grey with white striping, and looked down upon me as if I was some
sort of bug.

     "Stubborn, aren't you?" he asked coldly.  "No matter.  We don't really
need that device.  You can have it."  Then he raised his hands and the
lightning seemed to flow around them.  "Not that it will do you much good."
Then the lightning flew at me.  There was an loud crack and I felt myself
go flying backwards....

     Then darkness.  It was a warm and comforting darkness, though, that
made me think of a womb, for some reason.  It tempted me to go to sleep,
rest from my labors, and I wanted to accept.  But I couldn't.  I needed to
protect Naru-chan!

     Suddenly, a point of light appeared in the darkness.  It grew closer
and slowly resolved into a man, a man wearing silver armor with an eight-
pointed star on his breastplate.  It looked like some sort of stylized
samurai armor.  He pointed his sword at me.  "We meet again, young one."

     "We've met before?" I stammered.

     "Yes, though you know it not.  Your dedication to your lady does you
credit.  You would make a worthy knight."

     "Who are you?" I asked.

     "We shall meet again," was all he said.

     Then the light grew to blinding levels and everything went white.
Slowly, I became aware of something hovering over me.  I opened my eyes,
not even aware before that moment that they had been shut, and beheld an
angel over me.  She was crying and her tears fell on my cheeks like a
gentle rain.  Auburn hair surrounded her face and she was so lovely.

     She was Naru-chan.

     "Gurio-kun!  You're okay!" she said, sobbing with relief before taking
me in a big hug.

     I looked around as I returned the hug.  I was in the beach house,
sopping wet and lying in front of the fireplace.  A fire snapped and hissed
in the hearth and everyone was gathered around me.  Sailor Saturn was
asleep in her father's arms, and I knew she had just healed me.  That
brought everything back.  "The Mercury Computer--?" I croaked.

     Ami stepped forward and held something in her hands.  It was a burned
and broken hunk of plastic, melted and charred, but half of the symbol of
Mercury could be seen on its cover.

     "It... it must have taken the brunt of the lightning bolt," Ami said.
"It saved your life."

     The words were poor comfort in light of my failure to save it.

                                   *****

MINAKO:

     Umino's story just shows the truth of the old saying:  When it rains,
it's cats and dogs.  Or something like that.

     We were all stuck in the beach house by the sudden storm.  The radio
seemed to have nothing better to talk about, too.

     "Meteorologists are baffled by the sudden freak storm that is hitting
the eastern shore of Honshu.  The storm came up so quickly, one scientist
said 'It sprang up like magic.'  Relief workers and rescue units are
working overtime to help as the nation reels under Nature's sudden
assault."

     I changed the channel, there must be SOME music somewhere!

     "Mina-chan, stop fiddling with it.  Everyone is talking about Himeko's
storm."

     "It's not MY fault, Steven!" Himeko groused.  "You heard Umino,
someone took advantage of it to attack us!"

     "Ungh!" I grunted in frustration, starting to jab buttons at random on
the radio.  "There's gotta be SOMETHING to listen to!"

     "--where Disco lives forever!--"  "--we come in peace, do not run--"
"--OH MY GOD, THEY KILLED KENNY!  YOU BASTARDS!--"  "--one small step--"
"--not a crook--"  "--This could be the start of a beautiful friendship--"
"--look at us, we were colonized by wankers--"  "--It's--"  "--a--" "--
small--"  "--world--"

     I had to give up as the radio began to smoke.  Steven also grabbed me
by my shoulders and pulled me away from the stinking thing.  I bet it was
laughing at me behind my back.

     We were all sitting in the main room of the beach house with a fire
going in the fireplace to dry us off.  Fortunately, when we Sailors
transformed back, our civilian clothes were still dry, though they quickly
got wet from the water in our hair and on our skin.  A quick change had
been needed and the electricity had gone out, too.

     "I'm sorry, guys," I said.  "I'm just going stir crazy here."

     "We noticed," Haruka said with a grin.  I threw a pillow at her, which
she caught and returned.

     "Don't we need to talk about what happened?" Naru asked.

     "Yeah, Pluto, what do you have to say about that?" Makoto asked.

     "I only know that someone took advantage of Himeko's attack to
distract us.  He, if Umino's tale is correct, boosted Himeko's attack a
hundredfold."  She turned and gave Himeko a sour look.  "Not that it needed
much.  There is a reason we whisper Dead Scream, Himeko," she said.

     "You could have told me first."

     "I overestimated your ability to figure it out for yourself."

     "Please, don't fight," came a quiet voice.  Usagi's voice.
Immediately we all shut up.  "No one is to blame.  Our enemies saw an
opportunity and used it.  We just have to do what we can to prevent it from
happening again."

     "Well said, Usagi," Luna said.

     "So, let's play some games!" Usagi said.

     Luna's face hit the floor with an audible smack.

     The arguments began flying back and forth then.  I was suddenly very
tired of it all.  I tugged on Steven's arm and, during a moment when the
fighting got pretty loud, we slipped away.

     "Where are we going, Mina-chan?" he asked.  I threw him a wink.

     "Oh, we'll find something," I said.  Earlier, while looking around, I
had found that Tomoe-sensei had a gas-powered sauna.  Now, if the gas was
still on, we could use it.  We soon found it.  "Here we are!" I said.

     "What?" he asked.  For someone that's so perceptive, he can be sooooo
dense at times.  I quickly shoved him inside and shut the door, setting the
heat to medium.  Didn't want to roast anyone.  I then propped a chair
against it and giggled as he began pounding against the door, asking for me
to let him out.  While he was busy, I grabbed a large beach towel I had
left here and got prepared.

     Steven was still pleading to be let out when I opened the door and
stepped inside.  He shut up almost instantly, mainly because I was wearing
only a towel.  "M-mina-chan, someone could come down here," he stammered.

     I stepped closer to him.  "Oh, they'll be busy for a long while.
Plenty of time for us to be... together again."

     He blushed bright red, but his gaze was on all the right places.  "You
know, when I was in the Silver Millennium, I may have given you a bad
name," I teased.

     "Huh?"

     "Well, I woke up... naked," I said while stretching my body in a mock-
yawn, "next to someone and I thought it was you.  Kunzite was surprised
when I called him by your name."

     "You didn't..."

     Now I blushed.  "No!  I wouldn't cheat on you, you should know that."
He should, too.  He was my first really serious boyfriend.  I've had lots
of crushes, but this time, it was the real thing.  It had better be, after
what we had done.

     Some would think we moved too fast, but it's the rolling stone that
runs over the turtle, I always say.  It was after that disastrous dance at
Moon Hill.  It was a rough night, what with fighting possessed Bradies and
the school burning down.  So I guess I had a lot of excess energy that
night.  Steven didn't exactly say no when Sailor V showed up to...

     Sorry, a girl has to keep some secrets.

     "I know you wouldn't, Mina-chan." Steven said.  He was starting to
sweat a lot, but he hugged me close.  "So, what exactly did you say about
me?"

     "Don't you think we could find something else to talk about?" I asked
with a silly little grin.

     He sighed.  "You're insatiable, you know that?"

     "No.  I just never, ever give up.  You and I are going to be together
a long time, Mr. Grant."

     "About how long were you thinking?" he replied.

     "At least a thousand years.  You gotta see Crystal Tokyo--"  I stopped
and clapped a hand over my mouth.  I couldn't believe I had been so stupid!
I would be alive in a thousand years, but Steven wouldn't.

     "Mina-chan?" he asked quietly.

     "I'm babbling, pay no attention to me, I'm just a dumb blonde,
remember?"

     "Mina-chan," he said more sternly.  Now, neither of us paid any
attention to the heat.

     "Okay, I'll tell you," I said.  I took a deep breath and looked down
at the floor.  "The Sailor Senshi are going to be alive a thousand years
from now, ruling over the city of Crystal Tokyo.  We know this because
Sailor Chibi-Moon was Usagi and Mamoru's daughter from the future."

     "And what about me?"

     I buried my head on his shoulder.  "I don't know," I whispered.  "I
don't know about you or Urawa or Umino.  Mamoru is still alive then, but I
don't know about anyone else."

     "Thank you, Mina-chan, for telling me.  I knew something was bothering
you so I spoke to Rei about it.  She told me about Crystal Tokyo, but I'm
glad YOU could tell me."

     "She already told you?"  I'm gonna kill her.  "And what do you think
about it?"

     "It's great!  When I'm an old geezer, I'll still have a beautiful
young trophy wife to show around!"

     I elbowed him, hard.  "You better never call me a trophy, buster!"

     "How about just my wife, then?" he asked with a grin.  He got down on
one knee.  "How about it?"

     "You're kidding, aren't you?" I asked in shock.

     He looked a little sheepish.  "When I started this, yeah... but would
you mind marrying me?"

     My mind whirled.  Steven... Steven wanted to marry me!  I had gotten a
proposal before USAGI!  "YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!" I shrieked,
hugging him as tight as I could.

     When he started flailing around from lack of air, I had to let him go.
After he caught his breath, he said, "I'm afraid I don't have a ring, Mina-
chan, and our parents would freak if we did something like that so early,
but we can make a vow now..."

     I nodded and the words came to me.  "By the Seven Virtues and the Ten
Planets, by the Stars that chart our destinies, by the Power of the Lady of
Light, I, Aino Minako, Senshi of Venus, do pledge my love to thee, until
the Day of Doom comes again."

     Still kneeling, he then spoke in a voice deeper than his usual tone.
"Against the Seven Vices and the Things That Dwell Beyond, against the
forces that seek our ruin, even if against the Lord of Darkness himself, I,
Steven Grant, proclaim my love for thee, until Time marks the End of All."
Then his voice dropped back to a normal tease, "May I kiss the bride?"

     "You can do more than that, buster," I said, tugging at his shirt.

                                   *****

LUNA:

     I wandered away from everyone as the discussion broke down from a
serious appraisal of our enemies into a roundtable on what game would be
the most fun to play.  Actually, it was Tomoe-sensei's suggestion of
Twister that sent me running.  The last time Usagi had played that, she had
stepped on my tail three times, my paw twice, and managed to fall on me
four times.

     Of course, I thought, I don't have to be a cat anymore.  I transformed
to my human form, visualizing what I wanted to wear.  On a whim, I chose a
bathing suit, a sedate black one-piece.  For a moment, I stood in front of
a mirror in the girl's room and looked at myself.

     This is me, I tried to tell myself, looking at the young girl with the
ridiculously long hair.  It was the same color as my fur, but silkier and
slightly curly.  By human standards, I was beautiful, I supposed.  I looked
so young, though.  By all accounts, I'm over 25,000 years old.  Most of
that was spent in a sleep capsule, but I felt old.  But in human form I
looked only slightly older than Usagi.

     I stared down at my fingers.  "What am I?" I whispered.  Back in the
Silver Millennium, Artemis told me we were Venusian Cats, but he had been
too uncomfortable to talk to me about my family when I asked.  My Artemis
had seemed uncomfortable when I returned and asked him about my past self.
Of course, he's such a lazy, irresponsible, cat you can't trust him to get
anything right.  He really needs someone to watch over him.

     Well, if Chibi-Usa's accounts were any indication, he and I would
still be around in Crystal Tokyo.  Maybe with another thousand years of
work, I could make him someone respectable.

     I transformed back to a cat and felt much better.  I may be as
intelligent as a human but I am far more comfortable in my natural form.
Not to mention, it is far better for wandering around unnoticed.

     I went down to the ground floor and was going to check out the kitchen
when I heard something from Tomoe-sensei's sauna.  My curiosity was roused,
so I went over to take a look.  I transformed to human form and looked in
the window.

     Oh.  Oh my.  Minako and Steven.

     I spun around, blushing furiously.  Then a sense of sadness crept over
me.  "They grow up so fast," I murmured.  It had only been two or three
years since I met a certain Tsukino Usagi and helped her achieve her
destiny, but it felt both longer and shorter.  Longer because we had done
so much together.  She told me everything she did (except when she was
goofing off), everything she dreamed (food and boys, mostly), and
sometimes, she would tell me what she feared.  She couldn't go to her
mother, not without giving away her secrets, so that left me.

     But it felt shorter in that it didn't seem possible that they were all
at THAT age.  Oh, Artemis and I knew that some of them had experience.
Pluto was a definite, and Uranus and Neptune... well, that was pretty
obvious as well, at least with each other.  We also thought that Makoto
might have done something, since her old boyfriend was so indelibly
imprinted on her mind.  She would not have been the first young girl to
make that mistake, if she did.  Still, I knew Usagi was still innocent.
She would have come to me if she planned anything...

     Or would she?  Oh, now I worried.  She could be doing almost anything
with Mamoru on their dates.  Doesn't she know the sort of trouble that
could result, or how men can be with young, innocent girls?  If he did
anything to my daughter, I would--

     I froze.  I actually thought of Usagi as my daughter there.  The idea
was totally at odds with my human appearance, but I knew it was true.  I
loved Usagi as much as Mrs. Tsukino or Queen Serenity did.  I wanted to do
whatever I could to keep her safe, and I knew, in that moment, that it was
a losing battle.

     Would I ever have children of my own? I wondered.  I covered my face
with my hands.  There was only one way for that to happen, of course.  As
far as I knew, Artemis and I were the only members of our species left.  If
we did have children, they'd be the last of their kind, forced to breed
with Earth cats, if that was even possible.  Was that something I really
wanted to do to them?

     I wished my own mother was here, to help me as I had to help Usagi.
But she wasn't.  I didn't even remember her name.  There were brief flashes
of memory, more sensations than anything.  Warmth, security, love.  That
was what I felt when I tried to think of my mother.  Oh, god, I felt so
alone.

     "Hey, good-looking, how about you and I go somewhere and share some
catnip and a ball of yarn?"

     I looked up and Artemis was standing before me.  I towered over him,
since he was still in cat form and I was human, but that didn't seem to
matter at the moment.  "What?" I asked.

     He gave that lazy grin of his.  "It's a 'pickup line,' modified, of
course.  Steven suggested it."

     "I think he was pulling your tail if he told you it would work."

     "Are you saying it didn't?"

     "I didn't say that, did I?" I responded, a twinkle in my eye.  Good
old Artemis.  Even if he was undependable, irresponsible, lazy, shiftless,
and no good, he was always there when I needed him.

     That was all that mattered.

                                   *****

ARTEMIS:

     Luna always thinks a little too much about things.  Live for the
moment, that's my motto.  Plenty of time to worry about tomorrow when it
comes, right?

     Well, there are a FEW things I worry about ahead of time.  Luna is one
of them.  I tease her a lot, but I know she carries a lot of heavy
responsibilities around with her.  It's really not fair, what with her
being so young and fine looking.  I try to get her to relax a little, live
it up, but most of the time she blows me off.

     Still, it's better than how things were in the Silver Millennium
between us... well, the later part.  What I told her past self was true, I
had been a jerk back then.  Luna would tell you I still am, but I don't
want to hurt her any more if I can help it.

     Luna sat there, in human form, next to the sauna door.  She was
smiling at me, which was a considerable improvement over how she looked a
moment ago.  It didn't last, of course.  Still, the memory of that smile
(even if it was on a human face) got locked away in my heart.

     "Artemis," she said at last, "how do you feel about Minako?"

     I stared at her for a moment.  She wasn't jealous over me, was she?
Even I knew better than to ask that question.  Now, do I answer seriously
or do I make a joke of it?  I flipped a mental two-headed coin.

     "Hmm, well, she is a good looking young lady--OW!"  I didn't think
Luna could have transformed so quickly, but as her claws sank into my rump
I learned otherwise.

     "I suggest you abandon all thoughts along those lines," she hissed.

     "Huh?" I asked.

     "OH, STEVEN!" came from inside the sauna.

     Minako always did have lousy timing.

     I transformed and looked inside the sauna, which only confirmed what I
had suspected for a while.  Then I felt a claw slice at my leg and changed
back to a cat.  "Ow!  What was that for?"

     "Pervert!  Don't look!"

     "Why not?  You must have before I showed up."

     I also try to keep a record of Luna's blushes.  They're pretty rare as
well.

     "You're a guy!" she hissed.  Well, there was one irrefutable argument.
I better change subjects.

     "Yup.  Well, come on, if we're not going to watch, let's go raid the
kitchen."

     Despite my flippant tone, I was a little upset.  Minako and I had been
partners for a long time, best and closest friends.  I suspected that Luna
and Usagi were much the same way.  But we really didn't have a lot more to
teach them.  They were moving on with their lives.  They didn't need a pair
of Guardian Cats any more to keep them safe.  Maybe it was time to take a
cue from them and move on with our lives.

     I leaped up onto the counter and looked down at Luna.  "They're
growing up fast, aren't they?"

     "Yes."  She seemed quite subdued about the whole matter.  Probably
thinking the same things I was.  Maybe I could interject a note of levity
into this.

     "Well, good.  Once she's married, maybe I can finally get caught up on
my sleep."

     "You don't need any more sleep," Luna shot back.  Then she got a sly
look on her face.  "Besides, if she gets married, she could have kids...
like Apollo."

     I cringed, and not just theatrically.  Apollo, the son of Elder Venus,
had been the bane of small animals anywhere within 100 kilometers of the
Moon Palace.  Or so it seemed.  I'm still surprised he hadn't succeeded in
yanking my tail out entirely.  Still, he was a fine young man once he grew
out of that phase.  I remembered him racing to join others in defense of
the Palace on that horrible final day.  I don't know how he died, but I'm
sure he did so with honor.  "Did you run into the holy terror while in the
Silver Millennium?" I said, trying to make light of the whole thing.

     "No, he must have been past that stage when we were there."

     "Hmph!" I snorted.  "Even as a teen, he loved yelling 'pretty kitty'
into my ear while I was napping."

     "What about you?  Did you have fun with my past self here?"

     "Now, Luna, a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell."  I transformed into
human form to open a can of tuna and wagged an admonishing finger at her.

     "Whatever gave you the idea you were a gentleman?" she shot back, also
transforming to human.

     "Ah!  Point!  Point!  I yield to your sharp wit," I cried, placing my
hand over my heart.  She actually giggled at that.  "Seriously, I found her
a bit stand-offish at first, but that was my fault.  I had been a real jerk
toward her--you--in the Silver Millennium."  I met her eyes, wanting her to
see the sincerity in what I said next.  "But I found I missed you too much
to enjoy her company."

     Wow, two blushes in one night.  I took her hand in mine and stroked it
lightly.  She actually took a step closer to me.  "I talked with your other
self," she mumbled.  "He didn't seem too bad... though you've apparently
gone downhill in the last 25,000 years."

     I smiled at the retort, which didn't have much sting to it, anyway.
She was looking at me with those luminous eyes of hers.  They didn't seem
to change whether she was human or cat in that quality.  "I swear, Luna," I
said hoarsely, "I'll never hurt you like I did back then.  Never again."

     Now her hand came up to my cheek, seemingly of its own volition.  "I
know," she whispered.  "You've always been there for me, Artemis.  I'll
never forget that."  We were slowly drifting closer.

     There seemed to be some sort of magic in the air.  Not the brilliance
of the Silver Crystal, the coolness of Mercury, the heat of Mars, or the
sharp tang of Venus, but something far older, more primal.  We relaxed into
it, suddenly feeling how right it was, and our lips met in our first kiss
since the Silver Millennium.

     It was strange and different as humans, but I don't think either of
analyzed it too much.  At the moment, in fact, all I was aware of was how
it seemed to go on and on and on--

     "Oops!"

     We both jumped and involuntarily transformed.  Luna became a giant
midnight-blue panther and I became a great white cat.  We both snarled at
Hotaru, who jumped back out the entrance to the kitchen.

     "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to... I didn't see anything!" she babbled.
She backed up against the sauna.  I growled to warn her away, a bit put out
to find that this form couldn't talk.  Of course, its mouth was more for
biting and tearing than talking.  So I just closed my eyes as Hotaru bumped
against the sauna door, caught the handle with her hand, and accidentally
pulled it open.

     "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

     "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

     "STEEEEEEVEEEEEN!"

     God, I wish I had a camera.

                                   *****

TETHYS:

     In my few years of service in the Dark Kingdom, I thought I had seen
it all in terms of physical and mental torture.

     Now I knew better.

     "Right foot, red!" Sailor Mercury called out, and the crowd of humans,
already bent in ways I thought only a shapeshifter could match, shifted
precariously.  Sailor Moon was already straining too far and I could see
that--

     "Aiiiieee!" THUD.

     "Usagi, can't you do anything gracefully?"

     "I think Tomoe-sensei won again."

     "Next time, Usagi handles the spinner."

     Whoever thought up this game called "Twister" must have had youma
blood.  Of course, these humans thought it was fun.  I never will
understand them.

     I was not the only one sitting out the dubious pleasures of this game.
Sailor Pluto, Sailor Uranus, and Sailor Neptune were sitting it out as
well.  They spent most of their time watching me.  Sailor Uranus especially
seemed to be holding a grudge.  Silly little bitch.  If I hadn't given her
some of my energy, she'd be dead.  Not that I did it for her.  I just knew
that killing a Sailor would have had them chasing me to the ends of the
ocean.  I figure I would have lasted about a week, maybe, if I was lucky.

     Sailor Pluto gave me one of her slow smiles and I revised that to
about a day.  I still don't know what exactly her powers are, but the
little bit I heard at the beach today and the demonstration she and Younger
Sailor Pluto put convinced me it would be a bad idea to ever get on their
bad side.  Like I could get any more on their bad side.

     I finally got tired of being gawked at and left.  No, I didn't run.
Sailor Pluto would know if I tried that.  This vacation was not turning out
to be what I expected.  I just wanted to get out of that cage for a while,
and away from Tomoe and Sensei's constant tests.  So now I'm surrounded by
Sailors who either want to kill me or heap pity on me.

     "Hey, Tethys, want to play?"

     Sudden silence fell on the room and I stared at Sailor Moon in shock.
Her face was so open and without guile it hurt to look at.  The little
bimbo actually had no idea why I was leaving.

     "No, I don't," I grated out.

     "Why not?  It's a lot of fun!"

     "Why not?  WHY NOT?" I roared.  She couldn't be this stupid and, even
if it meant my life I was not going to be teased like this.  "Take a guess!
You killed my Generals, smashed my future, destroyed my world, and killed
my god!  And now you want me to 'play' with you?!"

     "Um, yeah," she said, rubbing the back of her head.  I fell over and
hit the floor in surprise.  I wasn't the only one.

     "It's not all that bad," Sailor Moon continued.  "I mean, there are
still youma and a Dark Kingdom out there, and Jadeite's still alive.  I am
sorry about Metallia though."  She actually sounded sad when she said that.

     My mind was awhirl, however.  "There are... others?"

     "Oh, yeah.  We fought some Gibberlings just a few months ago... and
there was Ravator before that... oh, and someone named Amazonite attacked
Mina-chan..."

     I glared at Sailor Pluto, who was clutching her face in her hands as
if she was in pain.  "You told me they were all dead," I accused her.

     "No.  I said Jadeite failed Beryl and that you had nowhere to go.  Not
quite the same thing."

     I turned and stalked out of the room.  Jadeite was alive!  That
thought kept swirling around in my head.  I had to get away from these
humans.  I had to get away now.

     I ran out onto the wooden scaffolding surrounding the house.  I
believe it is called a 'deck.'  The rain pelted me and the wind buffetted
me, but I welcomed it.  Water was my element.

     I ran no further.  Even after this shocking news, I didn't want to
anger the Sailors any more than I had to.  I had no power to open a gateway
to the Dark Kingdom.  Even if I could create one, I had no way of knowing
where it was in the Beyond Realm.  I knew that D-Point was gone.  I could
feel no connection between this world and my own.

     Jadeite, my love, I called out in my mind.

     There was no answer.

     I don't know how long I crouched there by the railing, all semblence
of humanity gone (and good riddance.)  Eventually I became aware of another
presence by me.  It was hot and burning, the antithesis of my own aura.  So
I was not surprised to look up and see Sailor Mars.

     She had transformed and was apparently using her powers to keep dry.
A shield of some sort was evaporating the rain before they hit her.  I
stayed back from its dessicating heat.  "Neat trick," I croaked.  "Why
didn't you use it earlier?"

     She actually looked surprised, and then looked at the shield as if she
had never seen it before in her life.  She had to have made it, though.
Before I could ask any more, she shook her head and scowled at me.  "I'm
not here to answer your questions, youma."

     "Well, you're obviously not here to enjoy the weather," I shot back.
"Shouldn't you be back inside with your girlfriend?"

     Her face turned as red as her skirt in one of those interesting
displays of emotion humans have.  Any youma who had so little control over
their emotions wouldn't last long in Beryl's court.

     "What?!" she finally sputtered.  I would have smiled if I had a mouth.
Point to me.

     "Well, you were on the love cruise with Sailor Mercury.  I guess you
got what you wanted from her and moved on to the Princess.  Take it from
me, though, the ones at the top use you and then lose you.  I mean--"

     "I AM NOT LIKE THAT!" she screamed.

     Oh, touchy, touchy.  Interesting.

     Then flames began to swirl around her.  I don't think I wanted things
THAT interesting.

     "And you better take back what you said about the Princess," she
growled, "or I'll forget you're a prisoner."

     "Go ahead.  Kill me.  It's what you do best, isn't it?"

     I met her gaze steadily.  Part of me would welcome death.  The other
part was pretty sure she wouldn't do it.  They could kill rampaging youmas
who threatened their lives or others, but they wouldn't kill one that just
stood there.  It went against their moral code or something.

     The flames flickered and died.  I had guessed right.  She was
breathing heavily and was obviously struggling to bring her emotions under
control.

     "That is not why I came after you," she said.  "I want to ask you
something."  The anger had faded and was replaced with... embarrassment?
What was going on?  "Tell me about Jadeite," she ordered.

     "Why should I?" I asked, surprised and off balance.  I had not
expected that.  "I won't help you against the Dark Kingdom--"

     "Just tell me about him," she snapped.

     "No."  The flames were starting to appear around her again, so I had
to speak quickly.  "Not unless you tell me why."

     She glared at me.  "Why should I tell you anything?"

     "Why should I tell YOU anything?  Threatening to kill me didn't work
just now, so you really have nothing else to bargain with.  Come now, Mars,
you have to give something to get something."

     That seemed to sink through.  "In the Silver Millennium, my past life
was in love with him."

     I must have let my shock at that revelation show, for she continued,
"Recently, we time traveled by accident to a time before he served Beryl.
I wanted to know how he had changed."

     "He....  When I served under him, he was considered the second most
powerful General and many felt he would soon be able to best Kunzite.  But
I didn't serve him because of that.  He took the best care of the youma
under him of any of the Generals.  That inspired loyalty in us.  Kunzite
and Zoisite were only loyal to each other.  Zoisite loved to play with
those who displeased him and Kunzite supported him.  Nephrite had no armies
as such.  He was a loner, working his astrology with a few servants."  I
was lost now in my own memories of the Dark Kingdom.

     "I knew, as soon as I left my trainers, that I wanted to serve under
Jadeite.  I had been picked at birth to enter the Queen's own personal
training regimen.  You might have met some others that had gone through it,
the DD Girls?"

     Several emotions I could not identify crossed her face, but she simply
said, "We met."

     "Ah."  What else could I say to that?  "My turn to ask a question," I
continued.

     "What?"

     "I've told you more than enough for what little you told me.
Something for something, Mars, or you can take your questions elsewhere."
She looked like she wanted to strangle me, but settled for a slight nod.
"What was the Jadeite you met in the Silver Millenium like?"

     She paused for a long time, either out of unwillingness to answer or
from trying to put her thoughts into words.  "He was," she said finally,
"very passionate.  He believed in many things strongly, but not just from
the heart.  No, the things he was passionate about, his head and his heart
agreed on.  He also had a strong sense of duty.  If his duty required it,
he would do anything.  He was also very kind...."

     She trailed off.  Hmm, this was getting interesting, and not just from
an intelligence-gathering standpoint.  "He was a lot like that when I knew
him," I said.  "Maybe a bit more arrogant.  Before he fought you, he had
never lost at anything... at least in living memory.  He was known for
making cunning and intricate plans of such subtlety that the victims never
knew what was happening until it was too late."

     "Hmph!  He was always too smart for his own good," Mars said.  There
was a slight difference in her inflections, like an accent, but she seemed
unaware of it.  "Vast, grandiose plans that, if one piece failed, fell 
apart like a house of cards."

     "Indeed," I said, not wanting to break the new and talkative mood.
"He might have lost his edge, having only youma and Generals to pit his
wits against for all that time."

     She slammed her hands down on the deck railing, leaving scorch marks
from her shield.  "Why?  Why didst thou leave me, Jade-chan?"

     Things were once again getting TOO interesting.  Was she mentally
unstable?  Her entire bearing seemed to be changing into someone else's.
Time to break this off, I thought.

     "My question," I said.  "What ARE your feelings toward the Princess?"

     Her head snapped around to face me with an anger that was becoming
familiar all too quickly.  Perhaps that was the wrong button to push.

                                   *****

USAGI:

     I hadn't MEANT to follow Rei out onto the deck, but I sort of couldn't
help it.  It seemed to be that sort of day for me.

     Oh, it had started out well enough, a trip to the beach with all my
friends, but after that....

     It's not your fault, whispered a now-familiar voice in my head.

     I know, I said back, but they're my friends.

     I only got the barest hint of a smile from Princess Serenity before
she went back to sleep... or whatever it is she does.

     You see, ever since the Princess first appeared along with the Silver
Crystal, I've sensed her presence within me.  It was not much at first, but
it grew the more I used the Crystal.  It really freaked me out for a time.
Since our little visit to the Silver Millennium, she's been more active
than ever.

     If you think you're scared, she whispered, think how I feel.  You have
your whole life ahead of you, while I am the fading shadow of who we used
to be.

     I watched Rei talk to Tethys about Jadeite and wanted to much to reach
out and comfort her, but this was not the time.  She wouldn't appreciate me
butting in now.  Poor Rei.  She's so lonely she doesn't realize how lonely
she is... if that makes any sense.

     Aurora was the same, Serenity said.  Always hiding from others with
her machines and gadgets.

     More than ever, I felt the weight of my duties on my shoulders.  I was
just supposed to be a teenager, but now I had to make decisions that
angered and upset my friends.

     It is the price of ruling to make hard decisions, to take on the
burden of guilt for our subjects, Serenity countered.

     I watched in horror as Rei began to talk and act like Aurora.  No,
it's too much to ask of them.  Please, let me tell them, I begged.

     Serenity was silent.  I think she didn't like what was happening any
more than I did.  But we could do nothing.  The trip to the Silver
Millennium had fully roused the personalities of our past lives.  Serenity
and I were used to this situation, but Ami, Minako, Rei, and Mako-chan were
not.  I wanted to tell them, to make the transition easier, but Pluto said
that if they knew, if they struggled against the inevitable, they could
seriously damage themselves.

     We're facing the most important challenge of our lives and we're all
becoming mental cases, I groused.

     "What ARE your feelings toward the Princess?"

     Meanwhile, Tethys taunted Rei too far.  I had to step in now.

     "Rei-chan," I said softly, stepping out into the now subsiding rain.

     She turned around and looked at me, her anger fading into
embarrassment and confusion.

     "Tethys, go inside," Serenity ordered.  The youma bolted as if Queen
Beryl herself was on her heels.

     Useful trick, I thought to her.

     You have to know these things when you're a Queen, she said
flippantly.

     I stepped closer to Rei-chan, not caring how wet the rain made me.  My
eyes were on her.  "It's okay, Rei-chan, I'm here," I said, not knowing
what else to say.  I then rushed her and hugged her as hard as I could.
Almost unnoticed, the rain stopped.

     "U-usagi... I can't breathe!"

     Oops, a little too hard.

     "Meatball head." she said, once I loosened my grip.  "How long were
you standing there?"

     "Not long," I replied, shuffling my feet.

     I heard her sigh and I knew I hadn't fooled her.  "I wanted to
apologize to you, Rei-chan," I said, hoping to get her mind off what had
happened between her and Tethys.

     "Apologize?  For what?"  She did look confused.  Good, maybe I can
explain things now.

     "For breaking up our group... for a lot of things.  I didn't mean to
hurt you... any of you."

     "I know," she said, grudgingly.  "Tactically, it makes sense."

     "I also wanted you to know that you're not alone, Rei-chan," I
continued.  "We're all your friends here."

     "Of course you all are, Usagi," she said, not understanding where I
was going.  Well, she has always complained that she would never understand
me.

     "Rei-chan, what do you think of me?"

     "You?  You're a klutz, you over-eat, you cry too much and wouldn't
know duty or responsibility if they bit you... but you're also my
princess," she said, slowly, her throat catching on the last bit.

     "You're my friend, Rei-chan.  No, you're more than that.  You're
beautiful, smart, spiritual and far better than I deserve."

     "Usagi, I'm none of--"

     "YES, you are," I said forcefully.  "Don't put yourself down like
that.  You're more than a friend to me, Rei-chan.  I feel like you're my
sister in spirit.  I love you... as a sister."  I didn't want to anger her
as Tethys did.  "I never told you this, but back at D-point, when it was
just us... I almost gave up when you died.  The others' deaths hurt a lot,
but I could keep going as long as you were with me.  Without you... I AM
just a klutz and a crybaby.  You make it possible for me to go farther and
higher than I could on my own.  And as I lay there, all alone, I thought I
saw all of you, pushing me on, and you were the last to appear.  I COULDN'T
go on without you pushing me.  I need you there."

     She flinched.  "No, you don't need me.  You have everything you need
already."

     "Would I have the strength to reach for it without you to push me on?"

     She looked at me for a long moment, then spoke.  "You... meatball
head!  How do you do this?  I have every reason to be angry with you and
you do something and I can't stay angry!"

     She smiled as she said it, however.

     "Don't ever think you're alone again... oneesama."

     "ONEESAMA?  I'm not that old, Usagi!"

     "You're two months and thirteen days older."

     "That doesn't count!"

     "Yes, it does!"

     "No, it doesn't!"

     And then we stuck our tongues out at each other, but we were laughing
inside as we did it.  This continued until Hotaru wandered outside.  She
had her hands covering her eyes and stumbled a bit.

     "Hotaru?" I asked.  "Why do you have your hands over your eyes?"

     "No one is kissing or hugging or other stuff, right?" she asked, a bit
frantically.  "They're everywhere!  I can't go anywhere without seeing
them!  I don't mean to!  Please, make it stop!"

The Beginning.

                                   *****

Closing Credits:


     "My road leads me far away."

     We see Nephrite telling Juno that he must go soon for a great conflict
is about to begin.

     "Though my heart tells me to stay,"

     We see Princess Serenity clinging to a worried looking Endymion.

     "When my duty calls, I must go"

     We see Pluto appearing in the midst of the ballroom at the Diamond
Gala.

     "'Twixt worlds of fire and worlds of snow."

     We cut to a shot of the solar system, with the nine planets and the
moon lined up from the Sun at the left to Pluto at the right, with the
Senshi and Prince Endymion standing on their planets as shadowy figures.

     "The road I travel will be long"

     We see the White Knight galloping down a Tokyo street on horseback.

     "To set things right, to end the wrongs."

     We see Tuxedo Mask tossing a red rose into the barrel of a gun, which
backfires and explodes.

     "But this message will I send,"

     We see Rei picking up a blue crystal, which starts to play back a
message.

     "Wait for me at Journey's End."

     We see Naru waiting for someone outside a restaurant.

     "Do not forget the love we share"

     We see Princess Serenity and Endymion tearfully bidding each other
farewell.

     "Though I must leave, my heart will stay."

     We see Naru crying as Nephrite dissolves away in her arms.

     "Do not think I ceased to care"

     We see Beryl implanting crystals in the foreheads of the four
Guardians and cackling maniacally.

     "When my duty took me away."

     We see Steven waiting at a restaurant, then sighing as he checks his
watch.

     "The road I travel will be long"

     We see the Sailors using the Sailor Teleport to travel to the ruins of
the Moon Kingdom.

     "To set things right, to end the wrongs."

     We see Umino trying to fight a monster in "Tuxedo Umino Kamen" mode.

     "But this message will I send,"

     We see Luna trying to use a dial only phone.

     "Wait for me at Journey's End."

     We see Umino leap to his feet as Naru comes running up the sidewalk to
him with Usagi and company.

     "I have only my heart to give"

     We see Haruka and Michiru sharing a quiet moment.

     "For my life is not my own."

     We see the baby Saturn in a crib.

     "It is for others that I must live"

     We see Pluto having a frustrating time trying to counsel a young girl.

     "But it is for you that I come home."

     We see Mamoru following a trail of smoke to Usagi in his kitchen.

     "The road I travel will be long"

     We see Capricorn vanishing through a portal.

     "To set things right, to end the wrongs."

     We see a chamber with stars for a ceiling and a horoscope on the
floor.  A man stands in grey robes in the center and stares down at the
horoscope.

     "But this message will I send,"

     We see Usagi listening to a message on the phone, her eyes getting
big.

     "Wait for me at Journey's End."

     We see a closing tableux of the Sailors, Umino, Naru, Steven, Tuxedo
Mask, and twelve shadowy figures standing on a Zodiac wheel.

                                   *****

TUXEDO KAMEN SAYS

[The camera pans up dramatically to show Tuxedo Kamen standing on a sand
dune, silhouetted by a full moon, his cape swirling in the wind.]

Tuxedo Kamen:  Now, Sailor Moon!

[Sailor Moon pops up in front of the camera.]

Sailor Moon:  Hiiiiiiii!  Well, did everyone enjoy this episode?  We all
had a lot of fun making it!

[Clips of Usagi stealing everyone's diaries are played behind her.]

Sailor Moon:  And, of course, no story would be complete without a Sailor
Moon Says!  The moral of the story today was about change.  Change might be
good, it might be bad, but it always pops up, usually when least expected.
It's kinda like Umino.

[Naru pops up behind Sailor Moon.]

Naru:  What wuz that?  And ain't Mamoru supposed to be talkin' heah?

[She claps a hand over her mouth as Usagi giggles.]

Sailor Moon:  Oops, looks like you all have North American dub voices, so
you can't speak today!  Our second moral is: Sailor Moon will punish people
who steal HER segment!

[All the Sailors suddenly appear around Sailor Moon, grimly silent.]

Sailor Moon:  Eep!  Tuxedo Kamen-sama!  Help me!

[Tuxedo Kamen, meanwhile, is sitting back in his room playing Tomb Raider
II (Where The Boys Are :).  He speaks robotically around a mouthful of
potato chips.]

Tuxedo Kamen:  You can do it, Sailor Moon, I believe in you.

[Sailor Moon gets dogpiled.  She sticks her head out to yell in Tuxedo
Kamen's general direction.]

Sailor Moon:  MAMO-CHAN!  That's it!  When I'm Queen, I'm going to make you
dress only in yucky lavender tuxes!  See if I--OOF!

[She goes down for the final time under all her friends.

                                   *****

Author's Note:

     Well, this was a little experiment, to see how many different
characters I could write in first person.  I'll never do it this way again!
:)  This story also marks a turning point in Sailor Moon Z.  From now on, I
think we're going to monkey with our heroines lives a lot more than we have
before,  I hope you enjoy it!  Look for Sailor Moon Z #13 soon, because
John finished it before I wrote this.  Now he has to rewrite it to take
into account the changes I've made to our continuity.  :P  See, John, it
doesn't pay to write too much ahead!

Jeff Hosmer
9 December 1997