The sky was black.

	Not the blackness of the night sky, where twinkling stars 
offer hope and security to those who view them.  No, the 
unchanging stars had been replaced by an impenetrable inkiness 
that defied all sight.  The darkness lightened to the horizon, 
but not with the golden light of dawn, but rather the crimson 
color of blood.  From this stygian darkness came bolts of black 
lightning, striking the ground with terrible force and leaving 
craters and death behind.

	It was the Crystal Kingdom's final hour.

	Queen Serenity looked at the Senshi standing before her, who 
returned the gaze levelly.  Most of the Moon Kingdom's 
inhabitants would kneel and bow their heads before their monarch, 
as a gesture of respect.  With this one, the gaze of an equal was 
as much respect any Queen could hope to receive... and some had 
not even gotten that.

	Pluto, the first and the last of the Senshi.

	"Is there no hope, Pluto?" Queen Serenity asked, walking 
over to her balcony.  The black sky covered the normally 
beautiful view of the earth.  Somewhere, she knew her daughter 
would be crying for Endymion.  The Moon Kingdom could offer the 
Crystal Kingdom no aid because of this foul magic.  The only good 
to come of it was that no one could see the march of the armies.

	Beryl's armies, clad in death and evil.

	"None," was Pluto's level reply.  Her blood-red eyes showed 
no sign of emotion as she spoke of their ally's doom.  "Beryl's 
forces will sweep aside all opposition.  Her 'Generals' will make 
certain of that."

	Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, Jadeite... all lost.

	"You can see this, now?" Serenity asked, peering up at the 
dark sky.  She strained her mystical senses to the utmost, but 
nothing could penetrate the inky veil Beryl and Metallia had 
woven.  Perhaps the Silver Crystal could, but Pluto had advised 
against using it, saying that its strength would be needed later.  
Somehow, Serenity knew that she was correct.  She began to turn 
back to the green-haired senshi when something made her gasp.

	A malevolent blood-red eye opened in the obsidian sky.

	"The Crystal Kingdom is dead," Pluto said quietly.  The eye 
faded, taking the inky blackness with it.  The stars winked into 
being, but somehow they seemed colder, more distant than ever, as 
if repulsed by what they had to bear witness to alone.  "Beryl 
will come for us next.  Mercury and Venus have already sealed 
themselves off from the rest of the system.  Mars's fleets were 
decimated by Dr'achicar twelve years ago and will be no help.  We 
are alone."

	"ENDYMION!" came an anguished scream from the gardens.

	"Is there no hope you can give me, Pluto?  Is Beryl destined 
to win?"  Serenity looked at Pluto, pleading for something to 
help the kingdom get through this catastrophe.  But the immortal 
senshi had turned away from her queen.

	No one saw the tear that escaped Pluto's eye.

						*****

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 8
"Pluto Knows Best."

	Meiou Setsuna opened her dark red eyes and sat up in bed.  
Brushing her long green hair out of her face, she turned and 
smiled gently at the man sleeping next to her.  She stroked his 
prematurely white hair gently, her eyes seeming to lighten toward 
lavender, and then stood and headed for the bath.

	Exactly thirty minutes later, wearing a white silk robe and 
ridiculous pink bunny slippers (a gift from Chibi-Usa) she went 
downstairs to the kitchen.  The house was a rather large, two-
story structure with three bedrooms and two baths.  The sign out 
by the mailbox merely had the characters for "Tomoe" despite the 
added inhabitants.

	Setsuna tightened the sash of her robe and sighed as she 
entered the living room.  Ten'ou Haruka was sprawled on the 
couch, wearing only an extra-large T-shirt and a thin blanket.  
Setsuna pulled the blanket over the short-haired girl's shoulders 
and then made her way to the kitchen.

	The automatic coffee maker had already brewed the morning's 
first pot, right on schedule.  She poured herself a cup and 
walked out to get the morning paper.  As she passed a toaster, 
she loaded it with two slices of bread and pushed the handle 
down.

	Akira, the newspaper boy, skidded his bike to a stop just as 
Setsuna reached the gate.  He shook his head.  Every morning she 
got to the gate JUST as he got there.  It didn't matter if he was 
late, early, or if there was a blizzard.  She just was always on 
time.

	"Morning, Meiou-san," he called, getting out her paper.

	"Good Morning, Akira-kun," she said, sipping her coffee.  
She took the paper with a smile.  Akira wondered for the 
hundredth time what she did and what her relationship was to the 
older gentleman he had occasionally seen when collecting.  
Unfortunately for his teenage hormones, Setsuna had never offered 
him anything more than friendly advice and a monthly check.  She 
had gently corrected him when he had once referred to her as Mrs. 
Tomoe, but otherwise she was a total mystery.

	"Oh, Akira-kun," she said as he turned to go.  For a moment, 
her eyes seemed to gaze someplace far away, and then, "You should 
have studied harder for your history quiz.  They WILL be asking 
you about Perry."

	"Oh... thanks, Meiou-san," Akira said.  He biked away faster 
than usual.  He might have just enough time to review his notes 
before school.  He didn't question how Setsuna knew what she 
knew.  She just did, and her little hints had helped him more 
than he knew.  With that, the future Prime Minister of Japan rode 
off.

	Setsuna smiled after him for a moment, then shuffled back to 
the house.  The toast popped up out of the toaster just as she 
got to it.  Collecting it, she spread some honey-butter over them 
before settling down to her paper and her second cup of coffee.

	Running her finger down the columns of newsprint, she 
scanned them all studiously, stopping after each item to gaze out 
the window, seemingly at nothing.  Sometimes she frowned, but 
most of the time she just returned to her reading.  She smiled 
once at something and almost giggled.

	"Good morning, Setsuna-chan," came a male voice from the 
stairs.  Tomoe stepped into the kitchen, wearing his rumpled 
white shirt and an old faded pair of pants.  He was tall and 
thin, totally unremarkable, but there was something in his eyes 
that spoke of sadness and pain, as if he was the veteran of a 
long and terrible war.  He smiled when he saw her, however, and 
the pain lifted.

	"Shhh!  Haruka's on the couch again," Setsuna replied, 
pointing out the unfortunate Sailor Senshi.

	"Oh."  He looked around for any other surprises.  "The 
'kids' are still asleep, though?"

	Setsuna's eyes went distant again.  "Michiru will wake up in 
five minutes.  Haruka will sleep another 25 unless we make a loud 
noise."

	He smiled at her prognostication.  "Handy little talent 
there," he said, slipping an arm around her waist.

	"It IS useful," she murmured before kissing him gently on 
the lips.

	"Pu!" came a yell.

	The two adults separated hastily as dark-haired bundle of 
energy jumped into their midst.  On the couch, Haruka started 
awake and looked blearily around.  One of the doors to the living 
room opened and Michiru stuck her head out to see what the 
commotion was.  Haruka gave her a crumpled half-smile and a wave.  
Michiru's eyes hardened and her door slammed shut.  Haruka 
sighed.

	Meanwhile, Tomoe Hotaru, looking all of 18 years of age, was 
hugging Setsuna fiercely.  Her black hair cut was cut in a 
shoulder-length, pseudo-pageboy style and she was wearing a 
Marmalade Boy T-shirt that was a little too small for her.  "Pu!  
Tell Poppa I can go shopping with you today!  He just wants to 
run more tests and I need new clothes and--"

	"Slow down, Hotaru-chan," Setsuna admonished, gently.  
"Souichi-chan, were you planning on keeping Hotaru in your lab 
again?" she asked Tomoe.

	"Well..." he said, embarrassed, holding one hand behind his 
head.  "I am worried about her.  Not everyone goes from toddler 
to adult overnight."  He didn't add his concerns about other 
changes.  Hotaru had always been a frail, sickly little girl with 
pale skin.  Her new body was as fit as any he had ever heard 
about and practically glowed with vitality.  Hotaru was too happy 
to be an adult (or at least older than a baby) again to question 
the change, but he wondered what the Saturn Power had done.

	Setsuna nodded, then turned to Hotaru.  "Hotaru-chan, I need 
to go to work, but after work we can go shopping.  You DO need 
some new clothes.  None of your old ones fit properly any more, 
do they?"  Setsuna smiled gently again, but her eyes betrayed her 
concern.  Hotaru's new body was very physically impressive, and 
the boys would notice as soon as she stepped outside.  That was 
enough to make any parent or guardian worry.  "Until then, you do 
as your father tells you, OK?"

	Hotaru pouted.

	Setsuna raised an eyebrow.

	"Okay," Hotaru finally said, quietly, looking down at her 
feet.  She then ran back to her room.

	"I thought you said that no one else was up?" Tomoe said 
with a wry grin.

	"Saturn has always been very good at avoiding my sight.  And 
I guess I WAS distracted."  Setsuna smiled at him and he chuckled 
in reply.

	"So, set the date for a wedding yet?"

	Both Setsuna and Tomoe started and turned to look at Haruka.  
Tomoe looked startled, but that was nothing compared to the shock 
on Setsuna's face.  A second later, however, it was gone.  
"There's not going to be a wedding, Haruka-chan," Setsuna said 
quietly, looking back down at her paper.  Tomoe looked at her, 
surprised and a little hurt.  

	Haruka didn't pay that much attention.  She just stood and 
stretched in a way that did little for her modesty.  Tomoe paid 
her display no mind.  He had become inured to her over the months 
they had all lived together.

	"You're no fun this morning, you two," Haruka complained 
before heading to the bath.

	Tomoe waited until he could hear the water running, then 
turned to Setsuna.  "We've never discussed where our relationship 
would go, Setsuna-chan, but--"

	"And we will continue to not discuss it," she answered, 
sipping her coffee and burying her head in her paper.  "I told 
you how it would be when we began."

	Tomoe had to nod at that.  Their relationship had developed 
slowly.  To his great surprise they actually seemed to reach 
something in the other that had lain dormant for a long time.  
Her mysterious nature had shielded her from everyone around her.  
He had retreated from the world after the shock and violation of 
being a vessel for some great evil whose nature he was glad he 
could not remember.  But his pain seemed to touch something 
similar in her, and the two of them had become close and then 
lovers.  But she had been very clear that her duty would always 
come before any relationship and that she would continue living 
long after he was dust.  But he thought there was something more 
now, so he pressed his attack.

	"Then why can't you look at me when you say that?"

	Setsuna's paper shook as her hands trembled.  "I told you, 
we will NOT discuss it.  I don't WANT to discuss it."

	He shook his head.  "Now you're acting immature."  As soon 
as the words were out of his mouth, he knew that was a mistake.

	Setsuna's paper slapped down onto the table, her eyes 
blazing red.  "_I_ am acting immature?  I've seen the continents 
shift, I watched Nero burn Rome, I've seen more things than you 
can imagine.  You're just the latest--"  Her voice trailed off.  
"I said I don't want to talk about it."

	Tomoe reached into the pocket of his lab coat and placed a 
small box on the table before her.  "I love you, Setsuna-chan."

	Setsuna looked down at the box blankly for a moment, 
bewildered, as if something totally unexpected happened.  Then 
she set her mouth firmly and stood up.  "I need to get ready for 
work," she said coldly, heading upstairs.

	Tomoe sighed and took back the little box.  Opening it, he 
looked at his dead wife's wedding ring, newly polished and re-
sized to fit a slender hand.

	Upstairs, in the master bath, Setsuna paced back and forth, 
hugging herself.  "Not again," she muttered.  "Please, I can't 
live through it again..."  She placed both hands on the small 
sink and looked in the mirror that hung over it.  "Souichi-chan," 
she whispered.

						*****

	Later, at Tsunami, Setsuna tried to bury herself in her 
work, counseling yet another student.  This one was a female and, 
as usual, she had boy troubles.

	"--and I just can't seem to get him to realize how totally, 
utterly WRONG she is for him!" the girl yammered on.  Setsuna 
nodded at appropriate moments and looked like she was struggling 
to stay awake.  Finally, the girl paused for breath.

	"Hibino-san, I don't think there is much I can do to help 
you.  If this boy has been dating someone else for two years, 
it's probably pretty serious.  I think it's best that you move 
on.  Find someone else.  Or don't.  You'll save yourself a lot of 
heartbreak."  Setsuna stood looked down at the girl, looking 
quite severe in her burgundy suit-dress and white blouse with 
ruffles at the chest.

	Hibino Hikaru seemed shocked and outraged.  "But I love him, 
so he has to love me!  We'll get married and live happily ever 
after!"

	Setsuna glared at Hikaru, causing the younger girl to quail 
beneath her fierce red eyes.  "What would happen, Hibino-san, is 
that you two will have a loveless life, going through the motions 
while he always thinks of her."  Setsuna's voice dropped in 
volume and became as cold as outer space.  "Eventually he'll 
start drinking and hanging out with a bad crowd and your attempts 
to bring him closer will only drive him away.  You'll get 
pregnant and try to use the baby to keep him.  He will hit you in 
a drunken rage and then run away.  In your despair, you'll 
attempt to perform your own abortion and bleed to death in your 
bathroom.  THAT is what 'happily ever after' means for you if you 
steal him from Himeko.  Am I PERFECTLY clear?"

	"H-hai, sensei!"

	"Is there anything else?" Setsuna asked calmly.

	"N-no... I-I'll just be going now."  With that, Hikaru beat 
a hasty retreat, the door slamming shut behind her.

	Setsuna sighed and stood up, stretching slightly.  She moved 
over to her terrarium.  Inside it was a half-asleep turtle and a 
strange tuft of gray fungus that seemed to move on its own.  She 
fed the turtle some food and then reached down to stroke the 
fungus.

	"I know," she said aloud.  "I shouldn't have used my powers 
to scare her like that."  She cocked her head, as if listening to 
something.  "Yes, something is bothering me."  Another pause.  
"You either know me too well or you have sources of information I 
know nothing about," she said with a frown.  Then she smiled and 
gave a little laugh.  "Of course you can have both.  Would you 
like to meet him?"  She paused a third time.  "I think he could 
accept you.  He is a scientist."  She paused a very long time, 
her face darkening.  "No, I won't bond with him.  It will only 
make a tragic situation worse."  Her voice dropped very low as 
she pulled her hand out of the terrarium.  "I've had my fill of 
it."

	Setsuna sat back down behind her desk and worked on her 
computer, filing some notes on her session with Hibino Hikaru.  
The school bells had just rung, indicating a class change when 
the door to her office slammed open.

	"Hello, Venus," Setsuna said without looking up.  "Shouldn't 
you be in your third period class?"

	Aino Minako stood in the door, glaring at Setsuna.  Her new 
Tsunami uniform was slightly askew, indicating that she had run 
all the way to this office.  "I just want to ask you this, Pluto:  
Did you KNOW about this fake?"

	"Fake?" Setsuna asked.

	"The fake Sailor V, of course!  Daichi-kun just told me 
about her.  Did you know about her?"

	"I knew there was a possibility that she'd show up, yes."

	"Why didn't you do anything?"

	"Like what?  It's not my job to prevent people from fighting 
monsters.  Nor am I an attorney to sue her for copyright 
infringement."  Setsuna turned back to her computer, ignoring the 
younger Senshi.

	"But we can't have someone disguising themselves as me--one 
of us!"

	Setsuna turned to face Minako.  "Listen, I don't have time 
to salve your bruised ego.  If you want this person, you can find 
her.  It doesn't matter to me."

	Minako sputtered for several seconds.  She was interrupted 
by the tolling of the school bell.

	Looking at the clock, Setsuna said, "I can tell you one 
thing."

	"What?"

	"You're late for class."

	"WAAAAAA!"  Minako got a pleading look on her face.  "Can 
you write me a pass?"

	Setsuna just smiled.  Minako's head drooped and she ran out 
the door.

						******

	"--and in conclusion..."

	The teachers didn't exactly cheer as their students would 
have when Vice Principal Yamamoto reached this phrase.  That 
would have been lacking in decorum.  But several of them did 
nudge their sleeping comrades awake.  Setsuna was sitting next to 
Sensei, who was busily typing away at his laptop, engrossed in 
something.  He looked up in annoyance, then sighed in relief that 
the Teacher's Meeting was ending.

	Every week, whether they needed it or not, Vice Principal 
Yamamoto called the Tsunami faculty together for a pep talk and 
discussion of the problems facing them.  It was somewhat more 
successful as a soporific than a pep talk, but he never seemed to 
notice.

	"I would like to introduce the newest member of our 
faculty," Yamamoto continued, pointing out a young man with dark 
brown hair, gray eyes, and glasses who sat in the front row.  
"This is Clark Maguson, who will be teaching in the Biology 
Department.  He will be replacing Amuro-sensei, who has accepted 
a new job working for the Ministry of Education."  For a moment, 
Yamamoto ground his teeth together.  Now, if HE was going to the 
Ministry, they would see some changes made to the way students 
were taught.  There was no discipline in them.

	"Hello, I'm Clark Maguson.  I know that I still have a lot 
to learn about Tsunami and my job, but I hope to do well."  Clark 
was quiet, but not meek.  He possessed a certain strength that 
only showed in his voice or the way he moved.  Someone seeing him 
seated at a desk would have dismissed him as a wimp, but they 
would have been mistaken.

	Setsuna looked carefully at him, then smiled.

	"Something amuses you, Meiou-san?" Sensei asked, chuckling 
slightly.

	"Oh, just a coincidence, Udaigaku-sensei.  He looks like an 
old boyfriend of an acquaintance of mine."

	"Ah, and here I thought Souichi-kun had competition."

	Setsuna stiffened.  "No, I don't think you have to worry 
about that."

	"Ah, so."  Sensei mulled over Setsuna's reaction.  Then he 
shook his head.  "Well, in any event, I need to discuss some 
things with you.  Yamamoto-kun seems to be wrapping up this 
meeting, so..."

	"I have some free time.  Come with me to my office."

	Yamamoto wrapped up the meeting after only five more minutes 
of exhorting the teachers to greater efforts.  Sensei stopped to 
talk to Yamamoto, telling Setsuna that he would meet her at her 
office in a few minutes.  Setsuna walked along to her office, 
deep in thought until she was stopped by a familiar pair.

	Usagi and Rei were walking through the campus, talking and 
laughing.  She paused for a moment, then made her way over to 
them.

	"Come on Rei!  Mom said we're going to have sukiyaki 
tonight!  You'll love her sukiyaki.  It's the best!"

	"Really, Usagi, your family is spoiling me," Rei said with a 
chuckle.  "I don't think I'll be able to fast again after all the 
food your mom makes me eat."

	"Well, you're not as bad as Chibi-Usa was."

	"True, but Small Lady always had her mother's example," 
Pluto interjected, startling both of them.  "You two seem to be 
getting along well."

	Rei and Usagi looked at each other in shock and then their 
normal mode of dealing with each other seemed to come to their 
defense.

	"Me, get along with that meatball head?  You've got to be 
kidding!"

	"I thought I asked you not to call me MEATBALL HEAD!" Usagi 
screeched.

	"How're you going to stop me?  Cry?"

	"WAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

	"Usagi, you're SUCH a crybaby!"

	"Am not!"

	"Are too."

	"Am not!"

	"Are too!"

	"AM NOT!"

	"ARE TOO!"

	They then proceeded to stick their tongues out at each 
other.  Setsuna smiled slightly and left them like that, heading 
for her office.  Once there, she tidied up a little, putting away 
some loose papers and taking care of some filing before Sensei 
arrived.

	"What can I do for you, Udaigaku-sensei?" Setsuna asked 
politely.

	"No need to put your tongue in knots with all that, Meiou-
san.  Just Sensei will do."

	"I've only called one person 'Teacher' and that's the way it 
will remain," Setsuna said, staring evenly at Sensei.

	"As you wish," he said, unruffled.  "As to the reason I'm 
here, it regards your special friends, the Sailor Senshi."

	"I don't know if I would call them friends," Setsuna said 
calmly.  "I can contact them if I must."

	"Can you put me in touch with them?"

	"Why do you want to talk to them?  They have their reasons, 
you know, for wanting to stay in the shadows."

	"I know, but I find myself in a situation that might require 
their help."  Sensei pulled out his laptop and turned it on.  It 
booted up extremely quickly, even though it seemed to be made out 
of spare junk.  He called up a digital image of a dilapidated 
cruise ship.  "This is an old cruise ship that has been docked in 
Tokyo Bay for several years now.  Its parent company went 
bankrupt rather spectacularly and the courts are still hashing 
out the details."  He cleared his throat.  "That's beside the 
point however.  The ship has gained a reputation for being 
haunted."

	"The Sailor Senshi can hardly be called out for every rumor 
or urban legend, Udaigaku-sensei."

	Sensei harumphed.  "Yes, well, I did a preliminary survey of 
the site and this is what I found."  He typed a command and a 
spiky graph appeared over the picture of the ship.

	Setsuna tried not to yawn.  "That's very interesting, 
but..."

	"And this is a sample of some readings I took during the 
Tower Riots, readings of those creatures.  I believe I heard one 
student call them 'Gibberlings.'"  Another typed command and a 
second graph superimposed over the first.  They matched almost 
perfectly.

	The green-haired counselor was very quiet and stared at the 
screen for several seconds.  Then she gave a little shake of her 
head and looked directly at Sensei.  "I think they would be 
interested in this.  I can have them check it out."

	"No, that's not what I want.  You see, I think this is a 
perfect opportunity to capture a specimen!"

	"A specimen?  Of a youma?  That has to be the worst idea I 
have ever heard," Setsuna replied, glaring at Sensei.  For his 
part, Sensei was utterly unrepentant.

	"All my research shows that these monsters disappear without 
a trace when defeated.  That has frustrated my efforts to find a 
way to deal with them effectively, or to understand their 
nature."

	"The Sailor Senshi can deal with them most effectively..."

	"But what happens if they're not available?  Or if, like 
during the riots, there is too much for them to handle?"

	Setsuna was quiet for a moment.  "So what exactly do you 
want?"

	"I want them as back up.  If things go wrong, I want them to 
eliminate the creature.  But I am confident that my equipment can 
contain it safely."  Sensei's laptop chose that moment to sputter 
and die, then come back on with the displays wandering crazily 
all over the screen.  He cursed and tried to reset it.

	The school counselor was silent a moment, looking towards 
her terrarium, then she nodded.  "I'll see if I can convince them 
to be there.  SOME of them, at least.  When will you be making 
the attempt?"

	"Tonight, around 10 PM."

	"Why not earlier...?  Oh, I see.  You don't have permission 
to exorcise this creature, do you?"

	Sensei merely blushed and was silent.

	"Well, it's not like I haven't broken a few rules myself at 
times," Setsuna murmured.  "Very well.  Was there anything else?"

	"Yes.  Could you ask them if they know of Tsukino Usagi or 
Aino Minako?  I have evidence that those girls' cats are of Moon 
Kingdom stock and--"

	"Excuse me?  The Moon Kingdom?"

	Sensei looked nettled.  "Please, don't insult my 
intelligence, Meiou-san.  I am well aware that there is a link 
between the mythical Moon Kingdom and the Sailor Senshi."  He 
closed his laptop.  "In any event, my equipment shows a vast 
amount of psychic potential in Tsukino, and if Aino is similar, I 
am interested in what these cats may be doing with them.  I think 
the Sailors will also be interested."

	"If they don't know already."

	"Yes, as you say," Sensei said, standing.  "Have a good 
evening, Meiou-san."

	"Good evening, Udaigaku-sensei."

	Before he left, Sensei turned back to Setsuna.  "You know, 
at times I think I catch glimpses of the bigger picture around 
us, around our Solar System, and then I am very glad that the 
Sailor Senshi are around.  Please pass that along to them."

	"You may consider your message delivered, Udaigaku-sensei," 
Setsuna said with a small smile.

						*****

	"Hmmm, I think I want this, Pu," Hotaru said, holding up a 
simple black dress.  It was perhaps a little short, but not too 
bad.

	She and Setsuna were at the local mall, taking care of the 
shopping that had been promised earlier in the day.  It was going 
reasonably well, except that so far, everything Hotaru had chosen 
was black.  Black dresses, black shoes, black stockings and they 
hadn't even thought about shopping for lingerie yet.

	"It's a bit... black, isn't it, Hotaru-chan?" Setsuna asked, 
in a tone that revealed how often she had asked that question or 
something similar.

	"I like it," Hotaru said, lowering her head.  For a moment, 
the tall dark-haired woman seemed a little girl.  "Poppa always 
said black looked good on me."

	"I realize that, Hotaru-chan, but a young lady like yourself 
needs a little variety in her wardrobe, especially if she wants 
to attract the eye of a boy she likes."  Setsuna winked a little 
to make her point.

	Hotaru blushed and ducked her head, letting her bangs cover 
her eyes.  Then, she looked back up at Setsuna.  "Pu, can I ask 
you a question?"

	Setsuna looked at the young woman with the heart of a child 
and the most frightening power in the Solar System within her.  
"What is it, Hotaru-chan?" she asked gently.

	"Are you and Poppa going to get married?  I heard Haruka-san 
say--"  Hotaru stopped at the strange expression on Setsuna's 
face.  It seemed to go from exasperation to anger to resignation 
in a very short order.

	"Did Haruka-chan put you up to that question?" Setsuna asked 
quietly.

	"No, I thought of it myself... Did I say something wrong?"

	"No, it's just....  How would you feel if I did marry your 
father?"

	Hotaru brightened.  "I think I'd like that, Pu.  You'd be a 
great Momma... and I never really knew my real mother.  Only the 
nannies Poppa hired."

	Setsuna slowly shook her head.  "I don't think it will 
happen, Hotaru."

	The light and animation went out of Hotaru's face.  "But why 
not, Pu?  Don't you like Poppa?"

	Setsuna spared the ceiling a suffering glance, the sort used 
by parents everywhere when a child asked a difficult question.  
Looking back at the younger girl, she replied, "It's not that, 
Hotaru-chan.  I do like your father.  But I can't marry him.  I 
have other duties to fulfill, you know."

	"Have you ever been married, Pu?"

	Setsuna's breath caught sharply.  "Yes," she said simply, 
looking away.  "Several times."

	Hotaru looked confused, hanging the dress back up on the 
rack.  "Nobody ever said anything--"

	"I don't care to talk about it."

	Hotaru said nothing, but ran over to give Setsuna a long, 
heartfelt hug, wrapping her arms tightly around Setsuna's trim 
waist.  For a moment, Setsuna did nothing, then she wrapped her 
arms around the black-haired girl's shoulders and planted a 
little kiss on her head.

	"It's OK, Hotaru-chan... It was a long, long time ago.  Come 
on, let's keep shopping."

	Hotaru nodded sadly, looking back at Setsuna with eyes 
bright with unshed tears.

						*****

	"He wants to do WHAT?"

	"Calm down, Haruka," Setsuna said quietly.

	The Outer Senshi and Tomoe were in the living room of their 
house, discussing Sensei's request.  Tomoe and Setsuna were on 
the couch together, even if they weren't sitting very close.  
Hotaru was on the floor, her knees drawn up to her chest, looking 
between them pensively.  Michiru was sitting demurely on a chair, 
ignoring Haruka, who was leaning against the wall by the kitchen.

	"All I said was that Udaigaku-sensei wants to capture a 
youma alive, not that we would allow him to do so," Setsuna 
continued, sipping at a glass of tea.

	"It's insane, that's what it is.  We dust monsters, we don't 
study them!"

	"It's exactly that sort of thoughtless behavior that gets 
you into trouble, Haruka," Michiru said coldly.  Haruka seemed to 
wilt under that voice, turning a hurt gaze toward her fellow 
Senshi.  If the look had any effect, Michiru gave no sign.

	"Keep your personal feelings out of this discussion," 
Setsuna said quietly.  "Michiru, are you in favor of Udaigaku-
sensei performing his studies?"

	"Yes," the green-haired senshi said.  "We need to learn more 
about our enemies, especially whether or not these youma are from 
the Dark Kingdom."  She actually smiled for a moment.  "Besides, 
if Sensei's experiments are anything like what he does in class, 
the youma will wish we had destroyed it."

	Setsuna nodded.  "Haruka?"

	The blonde looked over at Michiru and then back at Setsuna.  
"You know I think this is totally bogus.  I say we just go and 
trash the monster if it's there."  She looked over at Michiru, 
who merely turned her nose up disdainfully.

	"Hotaru-chan?"

	Hotaru seemed a bit startled to be asked, but considered the 
question seriously.  "Do you know a lot about youma, Pu?" she 
asked after a moment.

	"Not as much as you may think.  The youma were created by 
Beryl," the Senshi of Time said, her eyes looking back over 
memories, "using the dark magicks of the Metallia Cult.  After 
the final battles began, we were too busy fighting them to do 
much research about them."

	"Well," Hotaru said shyly, "I think we should learn more 
about them.  Poppa," she looked self-consciously over at her 
father, who smiled encouragingly, "Poppa always said that 
knowledge is power."

	"But power corrupts, Hotaru-chan," Setsuna said softly.  "We 
have to consider whether we want the answers Udaigaku-sensei 
might find."

	Everyone was quiet for a moment, then Hotaru spoke back up.  
"I still think we should do it."

	Setsuna nodded.  She opened her mouth to speak, but then 
closed it and looked at Tomoe.  "Souichi-chan?"

	"Me?"  He looked a little startled to be included, but 
thought the matter over as seriously as his daughter did.  
"Sensei has a brilliant mind.  If anyone could capture or contain 
one of these monsters, he could.  But the question remains if 
anyone could.  I'd have to look over his containment plan before 
I could really comment on it."

	Setsuna nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment.  Tomoe 
watched, wishing he knew what she was thinking and wondering if 
he entered into her thoughts at all.  She had taken an 
extraordinary step, including him in this planning session, 
almost making him a non-voting member.  But did she think of him 
as a man like he thought of her as a woman?  While he stared at 
her, their eyes met and he had his answer.  The despair that was 
mixed in with her love hit him like a crushing blow.

	"We will visit Udaigaku-sensei tonight, at his lab," Setsuna 
finally said, her voice betraying no indication of her inner 
feelings.  Haruka and Michiru didn't notice the look that had 
passed between Setsuna and Tomoe, but Hotaru had.  Her face 
clouded over as she looked at them.  "Souichi-chan will examine 
what he proposes, and see if it will work.  After that, we'll 
proceed accordingly."

	No one had to ask what that could mean.

						*****

	Tomoe drove them to Tsunami in his car, a brand new station 
wagon he had purchased after they had all moved in together.  The 
money for it, like the money for the house, had come from the 
numerous patents he owned.  Setsuna had offered once to help out, 
but he had resisted.  He said that he could support them all, and 
that he felt honor-bound to do so.  He owed them not only for his 
own life, but for the life of his daughter.  Money was the least 
he owed them.

	He pulled the car into the faculty parking lot and used 
Setsuna's space.  He had just turned off the lights when he saw 
something move in the bushes by Tokugawa Hall, the main 
administrative building.

	"What is it, Souichi-chan?" Setsuna asked, her voice 
business-like.

	"Something's in the bushes over there," he said, carefully 
nodding his head in its direction.

	"A prowler?" Haruka asked eagerly, smacking a fist into the 
palm of her hand.  "All right!"

	"More likely just some students out to play a practical joke 
of some sort," Michiru said, drawing a hostile stare from the 
blonde.

	"Enough squabbling!" Setsuna barked.  We'll get out and head 
for Tokugawa Hall.  Once I say we're clear, we'll transform, and 
then go and deal with whoever it is."

	Everyone nodded.  Carefully, they all walked over to the 
main building, with everyone trying not to stare at the bushes.  
Hotaru seemed especially jittery and Tomoe put a comforting arm 
around her shoulder.  Then they were around the corner.

	"Clear," Setsuna said, pulling out her transformation pen.  
The others did the same.  "Not you, Hotaru."

	"Why not?" Hotaru asked, hurt.  "Aren't I a member of the 
team?"

	"You are, but I'm not so certain about Saturn."

	"I'm not a baby anymore, Pu."

	Setsuna seemed torn for a moment, her gaze flicking between 
Hotaru and Tomoe.  Tomoe merely looked back, giving Hotaru a 
comforting squeeze.  Part of him, as a father, wanted to forbid 
her from doing anything so dangerous.  But he knew, with a 
scientist's clarity, that she was needed to protect the earth 
from evil such as he had once been part of.  It was an uneasy 
combination, but he dealt with it as best he could.  He supported 
Hotaru in her decisions and offered what comfort and advice he 
could.

	Hotaru took out her transformation pen and looked back 
stubbornly at Setsuna.

	"All right, but if we are too much for a simple prowler, you 
are overkill.  Just stand ready to help us if we need it."

	Hotaru nodded.

	"All right, let's DO it!" Haruka said, holding up her pen.  
"URANUS PLANET POWER!"

	"NEPTUNE PLANET POWER!"

	"SATURN PLANET POWER!"

	"PLUTO PLANET POWER!"

	An indeterminable time later, the four women were replaced 
by Sailors Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Pluto.  Quickly and 
easily, like they had planned it far in advance, Sailors Uranus 
and Neptune ran over and pounced on whomever was lurking in the 
bush.  There was a startled squawk from the prowler, followed by 
a brief struggle.  By the time Pluto, Saturn, and Tomoe got to 
the scene, however, the fight was over and Neptune was trying 
very hard to keep from laughing at the figure Uranus had caught 
in a half-nelson.

	Aino Minako was not a very happy person at the moment.

	"Hey!  Let me go!  I'm not a bad guy!" she screeched.  
Uranus finally let her go, with a scowl at Michiru, who just 
giggled all the harder.

	Hotaru was for her part trying not to smirk as Minako dusted 
off her... 'costume.'  It was a dark man's trench coat, a size or 
two too big for her.  It practically screamed that she had 
borrowed it from her father's closet.  Perched on her head was a 
rather battered old fedora, the tried and true staple of private 
eye films everywhere.  It looked rather silly competing for space 
with her red hair bow.

	"Venus, what are you doing here?" Pluto asked sharply.  "And 
why are you hiding in the bushes in that get up?"

	"Well," Minako began, trying to affect an accent, "you see, 
I was thinking that the perpetrator would return to the scene of 
the crime, see?  So I wuz lying in wait for her."  She fished 
into the pocket of the trench coat and pulled out a pack of 
cigarettes and a matchbook.  "And when that fake showed up, I was 
going to nab her, see?"  She put the cigarette in her mouth and 
lit a match, cupping the flame with her hands as she held it to 
her cigarette.

	"I didn't know she smoked," Neptune said, deadpan.  her arms 
were folded across her chest as she watched Minako.

	"ACK! *cough!* *wheeze!* *sputter!* *combust!*" Minako went 
into a sudden paroxysm of extreme discomfort and clutched at her 
throat, spitting out the offending cigarette.

	"Looks like she doesn't," Uranus said in an equally deadpan 
voice.  The two Sailors looked at each other and smiled... 
almost.

	Pluto clutched her head with her free hand and looked like 
she either had a headache or was trying to keep herself from 
bonking Minako on the head with her staff.  From the way she was 
twitching, it was hard to tell which side was winning.

	"I think you look cool, Minako!  Just like that guy in that 
old movie I saw on TV last night... the Something Falcon, I 
think..." Saturn said.

	"You saw that too?" Minako wheezed.  "Wasn't it just too 
cool?  And the star was so handsome!  'Here's looking through 
you, kid.'""

	"Um, I don't think that's the quote..."

	Pluto interrupted.  "Just go home, Minako.  Just please go 
home and forget about the other Sailor V.  She doesn't mean any 
harm, I promise you."

	"Hmph!" was all Minako would say to that.  Then she looked 
curiously at them.  "What are you all doing out in uniform?  Is 
there a monster attacking?"

	"Not here, but this crazy mad scientist thinks he found a 
youma and wants to catch it.  We're going to teach him how wrong 
that idea is," Haruka said.

	"Haruka, no decision has been made--" began Michiru.

	"Enough!" Pluto said forcefully, but without raising her 
voice.  "Just go home, Minako.  It's none of your concern."  With 
that, she turned away and led the Outer Senshi towards Meiji 
Hall, where Sensei's lab was.

	Behind them, Minako pulled down her eyelid and stuck out her 
tongue at their backs.  "Biiiii!  Who needs you, anyway?!  I'll 
find that Sailor V on my own!"  They said nothing, but just kept 
walking.  "Still," Minako said, "I wonder what they're up to... I 
better check it out."  With that, she scampered stealthily (she 
thought) after them.

						*****

	"Perhaps transforming was a bit of overkill, Setsuna-chan?" 
Tomoe ventured as they approached the lab.

	Pluto spared him an irritated glance.  "And what if it had 
been a prowler with a gun or a knife?  One of us," she didn't say 
'you' but the meaning was clear, "could have gotten hurt."

	"I'm sorry to be a burden," he said quietly.

	She stopped and looked at him, a bit stricken.  "You're not 
a burden, Souichi-chan, it's just--"  She stopped as she realized 
her companions were hanging on every word she said.  With a 
little cough, she turned and head towards Sensei's lab.

	"But why couldn't you see what there with your talent?" 
Tomoe continued after a moment.

	Pluto sighed.  "Because my 'talent' as you put it, is 
limited by my familiarity with the subject and how far into the 
future I look."

	Tomoe analyzed that.  "So the sooner it is, the easier it is 
to see?"

	"No," Pluto admitted, "it's the mid-range that is easiest to 
see.  Events that will happen soon can be thrown off by many 
small variables, and events in the far future are clouded by the 
sheer number of possibilities.  But in the middle range, say 
anywhere from a year to a thousand years, the paths one can take 
narrow to a reasonable few."

	"Fascinating," Tomoe said, thinking over the possibilities.

	Uranus and Neptune found it somewhat less fascinating, it 
seemed, from the way they were acting, however.

	"Ho hum," Uranus yawned.

	"You really should pay more attention, Uranus," Neptune said 
snidely, unable to resist a chance to take a pot shot at Uranus.

	"Like you were paying attention to that Yuu fellow?" Uranus 
rejoined.  "What exactly did he have you do in that video?  
Hmmm?"

	"Um, Uranus, Neptune, please don't fight," the deadliest 
Sailor Senshi tried to interject.

	Neptune turned a color more associated with Mars than with 
her own planet.  "And how many did you pay attention to at that 
dance?  I heard that you were dancing with anything that wore a 
skirt!"

	"This isn't really the time or place..."  Saturn tried 
again.

	"Well at least I remember how to have fun, Miss I-Can't-
Take-A-Joke!"

	"That's ENOUGH!" Pluto snapped.  "You're acting like a bunch 
of spoiled children!"

	Everyone looked at her in surprise, for Pluto rarely raised 
her voice.  It wasn't necessary, most of the time.  But this day 
seemed to be taking a toll on her reserves of patience.

	"Now, listen," she said quietly, "we will go into Udaigaku's 
lab and we will behave properly.  Mars and Moon have shown more 
self-control than you two lately.  Now, I am not going to tell 
you to make up, but while we're in there, we will behave with 
dignity and decorum.  Is that understood?"

	Mute nods answered her.

	"Good."  Satisfied, Pluto turned and opened the door.

	"TAKE THIS, FOUL MONSTER!"

	Before any of the Sailors could react, five small figures in 
garish polychromatic costumes filled the doorway and unleashed 
five perfectly synchronized streams of water from the toy guns 
they held in their hands.  The streams converged on Pluto and 
drenched her from head to foot.  She could only stare in complete 
disbelief, water running down her fuku as the pint-sized quintet 
struck several silly poses and proclaimed:

	"We are the scourge of evil everywhere!  We are--"

	"GASTA ALPHA!" said the one in the green costume.

	"GASTA BETA!" said the one in the blue.

	"Gasta Zeta," deadpanned the one in the orange.

	"GASTA OMEGA!" said the one in the black.

	"--AND I AM GASTAMAN!" proclaimed the leader, in his 
strident red costume.  

	"TOGETHER," they shouted, "WE ARE... THE GASTAMAN BROTHERS!"

	The Sailors blinked, except for Pluto who was still in shock 
and dripping.  Then Sailor Uranus stepped forward, trying not to 
laugh.  "And who do you think WE are, kiddies?"

	"EEP!  IT'S SAILOR MONSTERS!  RUN!"

	"Sailor Monsters?" Neptune asked, trying very hard not to 
laugh as the five would-be world savers ran pell-mell down the 
stairs.

	"We have to work on our PR, it seems," Uranus laughed.

	"Pu?  Are you OK?" Saturn asked, tugging on Pluto's now 
sodden fuku.

	"Someone is going to pay for this," Pluto said quietly, 
casting a glance to the sky, where the stars twinkled innocently.  
"If I learn who kept me from seeing THAT, they are going to pay 
dearly for it."

	Somewhere, Someone chuckled.

						*****

	"I'm terribly sorry, Sailor Pluto.  Here, let me get a towel 
or something," Sensei said, rummaging through one of the many 
junk bins in his cluttered lab.

	The lab, as usual, resembled a joint project between Frank 
Lloyd Wright, Escher, and Rube Goldberg.  Strange, unknown 
devices beeped, blinked, and emitted gouts of steam at odd 
intervals and for no discernible reason.  A turtle was struggling 
slowly on a treadmill, trying to run a small generator to keep a 
flickering light bulb lit.  A monkey in a cage was playing rock-
paper-scissors with a robotic arm, and winning nine times out of 
ten.  The arm responded with a rather rude gesture.

	Besides the mechanical occupants, there were also several 
Tsunami students wandering around, looking at, but not touching, 
the various wonders in the room.  They were all members of the 
Trans-Dimensional Defense Club (TDDC) and included the president, 
Nonohara Himeko, the vice-president, Kobayashi Daichi, and the 
super-otaku treasurer, Koishikawa Yuu.  Other members sat nearby, 
trying to keep a handle on the Gastaman Brothers, who were eyeing 
the Sailors with a mixture of fear and awe.

	Sensei finally produced a towel and Pluto accepted it in 
poor grace, her boots squelching as she walked.  "Thank you, 
Udaigaku-sensei," she said.  She began to try and dry her hair.

	"Here, let me, Pluto," Neptune said.  She held out her hands 
and concentrated.  Slowly the water on Sailor Pluto began to 
bead, and then fly off her to coalesce into a spinning ball of 
water between Neptune's hands.  Pluto checked herself over and 
found she was now perfectly dry.  "Nice work," she said.

	Neptune smiled, juggling the ball one handed.

	"Show-off," Uranus muttered.

	Neptune scowled and made as if to throw the ball of water at 
the other Sailor Senshi when Pluto cleared her throat 
meaningfully.  Neptune blushed slightly and looked for someplace 
else to put the water.  Then she smiled.  "Oh, Gastaman," she 
said sweetly, raising her voice so it would carry.

	The quintet looked up.

	"Catch!" she said, throwing the ball at them.  They screamed 
and ran, with only the red Gastaman standing his ground long 
enough to scream, "Cowards!  Stand and fight!" before he saw the 
ball bearing down on him and ran.  Soon everyone was laughing as 
the ball chased the young children around the lab.

	"Do you often include children in your strike force, 
Udaigaku-sensei?" Pluto asked.

	"No, not at all," Sensei said.  "But some of the TDDC 
members have to baby-sit their younger siblings and had to bring 
them along.  They're good kids, but mischievous.  And please, no 
need to be so formal, you can call me just Sensei.  Many others 
do."

	"I've had only one Teacher in my long life," Pluto replied.

	Sensei glanced at her, but said nothing.  In the background, 
the Gastaman quintet had been caught in a corner and had trained 
their water guns on the slowly approaching ball.  All that did 
was make it larger.  Neptune was having trouble keeping control 
of the ball now, because she was trying to keep from laughing.  
Then Saturn leaped into the game.

	"I'll save you, Gastaman!" she said, smiling.  She swung the 
Silence Glaive at the ball of water... and it promptly vanished, 
as if it had never been.  For a moment, reality seemed to ripple 
around the sudden absence, and then things returned to normal.

	"Yay!" cheered Gastaman, who surrounded their hero.

	"Horus, did you register that?" Sensei asked from across the 
room.

	"Yes, Sensei," came the computer's mellow baritone.  "The 
ball of water was removed completely from the space-time 
continuum.  I am at a loss to explain HOW this was done.  The 
after-effect was a result of the small 'reality vacuum' being 
repaired.  Everything reads normal now."

	Pluto stared over at Saturn who was letting the little kids 
touch the Silence Glaive.  Tomoe also watched her, his face lined 
with worry and fear.

	"An incredible power," Sensei said softly.

	"Saturn is one of the most powerful Senshi," Pluto replied.  
"If there are more Gibberlings present at this ship of yours, she 
will be useful."

	"Ah, yes, the ship.  I hope that there is no more than one 
of these creatures.  My studies have indicated that most monsters 
are solitary in nature--"

	"That is more an organizational matter than a biological 
one," Tomoe argued.  "The monsters to date have always been part 
of a force of invaders, assigned to specific missions."

	"Ah, Souichi-kun, I didn't see you there at first.  Yes, I 
suppose you're right.  It baffles me as to why they use such 
solitary tactics.  The Gibberlings prove the efficacy of mass 
combat."

	"The Great Shield is difficult to cross, especially in great 
numbers," Pluto said, one hand rubbing the handle of her staff 
idly.  "The Gibberlings, by infecting people, could create a vast 
army easily, with only a few initial youma needed.  Still, the 
number I saw has me worried that our Enemy, whomever it is, has 
either found some great source of power or someone is helping 
youma across the barrier."  She glanced over at Tomoe, who also 
looked concerned.

	"I destroyed all my notes on the process that brought the 
daimons and the rest across, Pluto, and my assistants are all 
gone.  I don't think my work could be recreated without me."

	"Ah, so THAT is what you were up to when you were out of 
contact for that year," Sensei said.  "You perfected the 
teleportation process?"

	"It worked a little too well, Sensei, and attracted the 
wrong sort of attention."  Tomoe looked haggard.  Across the 
room, Saturn looked over at him, concerned.  Pluto even reached 
out a hand to steady him, touching him by the elbow, but she 
pulled back when she saw Sensei looking thoughtfully at them.

	"Yes, well," harumphed Sensei, "perhaps there are some 
fields of endeavor best left unplumbed until the proper 
precautions are taken."

	Nonohara Himeko ran up at that moment.  "Sensei, we're all 
here and ready to go."  She glanced over at the Gastaman quintet.  
"Hibino-san will be staying to watch the kids, by the way.  
She'll make sure that they stay out of trouble."  Himeko glanced 
nervously at Sailor Pluto, who just looked back impassively, like 
she knew every secret Himeko might have.  Himeko gulped.

	"And here I thought nothing would stop Hibino-san from 
filming the club, and your boyfriend, doing something like this," 
Sensei laughed.

	"Well, Daichi pointed out that it would be bad to have a 
video of us break--er, being somewhere we're not supp--on the 
ship," Himeko finished in a rush.

	"Quite right, quite right," Sensei beamed.

	Pluto spoke up.  "Before you go, Tomoe-sensei is here to 
inspect your containment facility.  Whether or not we allow you 
to make a capture attempt is dependent on whether the facility is 
adequate."

	Sensei nodded, leading them over to a far corner of the 
room.  "Yes, I can understand that.  Here is my containment 
apparatus."  He pointed to a large mass of electronic equipment 
that surrounded a small door.  The door had a small Plexiglas 
window.  Looking through it, one could see a small padded cell, 
distorted by the thickness of the Plexiglas.

	Tomoe looked at the equipment while Pluto looked at the 
cell.  "I hardly think this could hold a youma," she said.

	Sensei shook his head rapidly in agreement.  "No, not by 
itself.  I can demonstrate the other part of the containment 
apparatus if one of you would step inside."

	Tomoe stepped forward.  "I'll do it."

	Sensei shook his head rapidly.  "No, no, no!  It must be 
someone who uses magic!  The containment field won't work 
otherwise."

	Pluto considered him for a moment and then called out, 
"Uranus, come here!"

	Sailor Uranus ran over.  "What's up?" she quipped.

	Pluto looked over at Tomoe and Sensei and said, "Sailor 
Uranus has the most doubts about your ability to contain a youma.  
If you can hold her, then I think her doubts will be laid to 
rest."

	"Hey!" complained Uranus.

	Pluto turned to her.  "Uranus, please go inside that room.  
After I say so, try to get out, using any means at your 
disposal."

	Uranus hesitated.  "Uh, right," she said at last.

	Sensei opened the hermetically sealed door.  "The room is 
completely isolated from the outside.  Even the light is battery-
powered.  My own invention.  Air does come in and out, but it can 
cross the containment field with no problem, while magical air 
cannot.  I've done my best to keep all points of contact at a 
minimum, and included many fail-safes.  I have some experiments 
in mind that would require more contact, but those will depend on 
how tractable the creature proves."

	"I've got a bad feeling about this," Uranus muttered, but 
she stepped in through the door.  Sensei then when over to the 
devices around the door and threw several switches.  Lightning 
arced over the surface of the machine as it began to hum, filling 
air with loud snaps and the smell of ozone.

	"Containment field is at maximum," Sensei reported a minute 
later, "and... holding.  Field is now self-sustaining."  A green 
light blinked on over the door.  Sensei then shut down his 
devices and relative silence returned.  Sensei then pointed to a 
small screen on one machine, which showed a diagram of the room 
surrounded by some sort of spherical field that seemed to be made 
up of a billion points of light.  "OK, she can try to break out."

	Pluto leaned over to the door.  Sensei pointed out a small 
microphone/speaker combination built into the door that allowed 
people outside to communicate with people inside.  "Go, Uranus."

	Inside the room, and feeling slightly claustrophobic, Uranus 
smiled at the command.  Time to show them what a Sailor Senshi 
could do, she thought gleefully.  Summoning up her power, she 
prepared to unleash it on the door. "WORLD SHA--"

	She stopped.  The power was fading as fast as she drew it 
in.  Frowning, she tried again.  "World Shaking!" she shouted.

	Nothing happened.

	Concerned now, she tried to summon the Space Sword to her, 
but it failed to appear.  She couldn't even sense it, which 
really worried her.  Finally, she just tried to go over and tear 
the door open.

	Her fingers skittered over its surface, unable to get a good 
hold.

	Outside, Pluto watched Uranus's futile efforts.  
"Impressive.  How is it done?"

	Sensei patted his machines proudly.  "My studies indicated 
that magic is a sort of quantum effect on reality.  I have 
surrounded the cell with totally random sub-atomic particles, 
which the magic can't penetrate.  Furthermore, the particles 
actually trap and hold the emanations of a magical being.  The 
more energy the prisoner calls upon, the stronger the field gets.  
They can't even reach through the field, because it repels their 
magic!  And since it is the prisoner's own magic that is feeding 
the field, it will never shut down unless I make it.  It's 
PERFECT!"  He laughed loudly.

	Pluto ignored him for the moment and turned to Tomoe.  "Does 
it do what he says, Tomoe-sensei?"

	"It does seem to... I think that this could easily hold a 
monster."

	Pluto seemed to consider.  "We'll try an acid test then.  
Let Uranus out."  She then raised her voice.  "Saturn, come 
here!" she called.

	A moment later, Saturn came running up.  "Yes, Pu?" he 
asked.

	Pluto tried to ignore the snickers coming from the students.  
"I want you to take Uranus's place in this cage Udaigaku-sensei 
has made.  Try to get out of it any way you can."

	Saturn looked over at the small door and shuddered slightly.  
"Do I have to, Pu?"

	"No, Saturn, but I would like to test it fully.  Do you 
understand?"

	"Yes," Saturn replied dully.  "I'll do it."

	Soon a swearing and very upset Sailor Uranus was released 
from her temporary prison and Sailor Saturn was put inside.  She 
sat down in the center of the room and waited for the signal to 
begin.  The Silence Glaive rested on her lap, gleaming faintly in 
the light shed by the overhead unit.

	"Go, Saturn," Pluto said over the loudspeaker.

	Saturn nodded and shut her eyes.  Her senses reached out and 
'saw' the whirling chaotic sphere surrounding her.  It was 
composed of millions of points of light.  Her own body, she 
noted, was constantly emitting similar points of light, but they 
were getting caught in the sphere.  Tentatively, she tried to 
call upon her power.  As she did so, the particles of light 
streaming away from her body increased in number and the sphere 
grew brighter, stealing them away.

	Well, there are different sorts of power, she thought, or 
she thought she thought it.  It was always hard to be Sailor 
Saturn, for it seemed that she was not entirely in control of 
what she was doing.  The others had explained what she had almost 
done at the Hikawa Shrine and she shuddered.  At best, she had 
another personality inside her, as bad or worse as Mistress Nine.  
She might just be a puppet again, and she HATED that.

	Her dark emotions fueled her power, and she imagined it like 
a black hole was developing in her stomach.  Greedy, rapacious, 
never-satisfied, the black hole began to claim the particles of 
light.  Slowly, they stopped streaming from her and began to 
spiral back into the gaping maw of the black hole.  As they were 
pulled back, the shield around the room began to weaken.

	It was working! she thought.  It had a fuzziness to it, that 
thought.  She felt so empty now, with that figurative black hole 
in her.  It seemed to be gnawing at her, eating away at her 
insides.  She wanted to find something, anything to fill it.  It 
reminded her even more of Mistress Nine, who had had a soul of 
emptiness, one she filled with the glory of the Silence.

	The sphere was warping around the room now.  Dimly, she was 
aware of alarms going off outside the room, and Pluto screaming 
something at her.  She had to go on, however, didn't Pluto see 
that?  The emptiness was growing.  It needed to be filled.  And 
the only thing that could fill it was... Everything.

	Slowly, she took the Glaive in her hands.

	"Hotaru-chan."

	The voice cut through the roaring silence in her ears.  
"Poppa?"  Suddenly, the light was back, bursting out of her, and 
the black hole was gone.  The sphere surrounding her was gone as 
well.  She opened her eyes.  Her father was there before her, 
lines of concern etched deeply across his face.  Behind him 
hovered Pluto, who looked almost... afraid.

	Sailor Saturn burst into tears and hugged her father tight.  
"Oh, Poppa!" she sobbed.

						*****

	"Amazing, simply amazing," Sensei said as he looked over his 
graphs and displays.  Every few moments he glanced over at 
Saturn, who was sitting on her father's lap, hugging him tightly.  
Uranus and Neptune were standing by them, offering what comfort 
they could.

	He was alone with the Outer Senshi now, the TDDC students 
having been evacuated when the alarms went off.  They were 
milling around outside, wondering what to do, but they would keep 
for now.  That girl Himeko had a real head on her shoulders.  She 
would keep them in line.

	Getting out his pipe and lighting it, Sensei turned to 
Pluto.  She was watching Saturn and Tomoe carefully.  There was 
no sign of the fear that she had shown when Saturn's power had 
demolished the containment sphere.

	"Sailor Saturn is Hotaru-chan, isn't she?" Sensei asked, 
taking a large draw on his pipe.

	"Yes."  The reply was quiet, as if the speaker had said it 
without realizing it.  Sensei looked up and saw her watching him 
carefully, however, gauging his reaction.  She was not one to let 
things slip... at least not too often.

	"And you are Meiou Setsuna."  This time it was not a 
question.

	Pluto actually laughed at that.  "It would be more correct 
to say that Sailor Pluto is Meiou Setsuna, but yes."  Her eyes 
narrowed as he considered that.  "My question, I suppose, is what 
are you going to do with that information?"

	Sensei snorted and puffed on his pipe.  "What could I do 
with it?  I'm almost certain that you could take measures to 
silence me one way or another.  I've seen enough evidence of what 
you can do."  He gestured at the data still streaming across his 
computers.  Then he smiled.  "I am a scientist, a seeker of 
knowledge, but I can be discreet, Setsuna-san.  If I offered you 
my services as well as my silence, would that be of use to you?"

	"Perhaps.  Souichi-chan says you are a genius, but the 
scientific community at large believes you to be a crackpot.  You 
realize that they will likely never take your findings 
seriously?"

	Sensei drew himself up straight.  "I may tilt at windmills 
occasionally, Setsuna-san, but more than once they have proven to 
BE giants.  If my facts are true, they will be proven by 
history."  His voice grew earnest with belief.  "I seek the Truth 
far more than I seek recognition."

	Pluto looked at him for several seconds.  Then she nodded.  
"We could use someone with your skills.  Souichi-chan is the only 
scientist we have trusted, until now.  My studies have been in 
other areas."  She paused and looked over at Tomoe, her face 
softening for a moment.  "We... I would appreciate it if you 
could lift some of the burden off him.  He will have to be more 
of a father and less of a scientist in the future."

	"Yes, I can see that.  Whatever power Hotaru possesses, it 
seems quite dangerous."

	"That was what it was designed for when we created it.  We 
built too well, however."

	Sensei's ears twitched.  "You 'designed' her power, Setsuna-
san?"

	Pluto looked back at him.  "Why do you keep calling me 
that?" she asked, ignoring his other question.

	"Hmmm?  I suppose because it makes you more... human to me, 
to refer to you as that.  Does that bother you?"

	Pluto smiled.  "No, not at all."

						*****

	Things moved quickly after that.  The TDDC members were 
brought back in and outfitted with Sensei's equipment.  The 
devices he gave them were outlandish and seemingly constructed 
out of junk, but he assured them that they would work.

	Most of the students were given a sort of spray gun, souped-
up versions of the Gastaman Brothers water pistols.  The guns 
fired a chemical compound, however, that would congeal within 
seconds of contact with the air.  The tensile strength of the 
compound was immense, once it was fully hardened.  Sensei 
produced a chunk for the Outer Senshi to examine.  It resembled 
amber, being golden in color and translucent.  Uranus summoned 
her Space Sword and hacked at it for a minute.  The magical blade 
did cut through it, but it required some effort.

	"And it can be dissolved with the proper chemicals.  I only 
intend this as a temporary measure, to secure the monster for 
transport,"  Sensei told them.  "The reports I've gathered from 
victims of monster attacks suggest that this tactic has been used 
several times by the, um, Inner Senshi with some limited success, 
usually with ice.  I expect our other devices to help make our 
job easier."

	The other devices were portable field generators, that could 
make a weak version of the containment field generated in his 
lab.  Sensei also included motion detectors, walkie-talkies, and 
various sensors.  Yuu got clobbered when he suggested that one 
device let him see through women's clothing.

	Before midnight, the entire group was gathered before the 
rusted hulk of the Tokyo Bay Queen.  Abandoned and almost 
forgotten, the ship had turned an ugly dark brown color, its 
paint obscured by stains, rust, and barnacles.  There was only 
one night watchman, and he was an older brother of one of the 
TDDC members.  He chose to take a Sergeant Schultz approach ("I 
see NOTHINK!") and privately hoped that the group COULD remove 
the ghost or whatever it was that made his job so difficult.

	"Doesn't look like much, does it?" Uranus said, looking the 
dilapidated ship over.  Neptune just shivered, offering no reply.

	"I don't like it," Saturn said.  "It feels... wrong.  What 
do you think, Pu?"

	Pluto studied the ship for several seconds, her brow creased 
with concern.  "There is something amiss here, but I can't quite 
place it."

	"That may be from the tachyon field I detected," Sensei 
said, rigging up his equipment.  "That was what really caught my 
attention earlier."

	"Tachyons?" Pluto said, curiously.  "That might be it... 
it's clouding my sight, whatever it is.  I can't see much of the 
future suddenly."

	"I don't like it," Himeko said from beside Sensei, shivering 
slightly.  Daichi put one of his arms around her shoulders.  "It 
feels like something time forgot, just sitting out here."

	Pluto glanced at Himeko sharply, then considered the ship 
again.  "Like something time forgot..." she muttered to herself, 
then she smiled.  "That's it exactly.  Thank you, Nonohara-san."

	Himeko and Daichi exchanged curious looks, but didn't feel 
up to asking the green-haired senshi what she meant.

	Pluto turned to Sensei.  "You wanted us as back up, but I 
suggest that you let us go in first and scout out the ship.  If 
we find the monster, we will call you in."

	Sensei looked at the ship dubiously.  "It's a large ship, 
Sailor Pluto.  I gathered this group together because of the 
volume we'd have to search."  He considered the dozen or so TDDC 
members.  "I propose a compromise.  If you Sailor Senshi split 
up, and each of you take three of my students with you, we'll 
have the best combination of strength and mobility."

	Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn looked at Pluto questioningly.  
In turn, Pluto looked over at Tomoe, who merely shrugged, placing 
the decision back on her.

	"Very well," Pluto said.  "Split your students into three 
teams, led by Nonohara-san, Kobayashi-san, and Koishikawa-san."  
Himeko, Daichi, and Yuu looked a little startled by this.  "I'll 
go with Nonohara's team, Neptune will go with Kobayashi's, and 
Uranus, you have Koishikawa's."  Uranus looked less than pleased 
at getting the mega-hentai, but said nothing.

	"What about me, Pu?" Saturn asked.  She sounded a little 
petulant at being excluded.

	"Given the... incident earlier, Saturn, I think it best that 
you and Tomoe-sensei stay out here as a reserve."

	Saturn looked at Pluto with an expression of hurt and 
betrayal, but the Senshi of Time never blinked.  Finally, Saturn 
lowered her head, letting her bangs fall in front of her eyes.  
"I understand, Pluto," she said, her voice betraying her true 
feelings.  Tomoe stood behind her and lay his hand on her 
shoulder, to comfort her, but she shrugged him off.

	"Right," Pluto said, looking again the dilapidated hulk.  
"Gather the teams, and then we'll begin."

						*****

	The interior of the ship was dank and lifeless.  A patina of 
orange-brown rust crawled over walls, blending with the shadows 
to confuse the eye.  The ship rocked gently with the waves, 
further discomfiting the intrepid explorers who entered it.

	Himeko walked nervously behind the Sailor Senshi, her 
"squirt gun" held ready.  Her nervousness came from both her 
surroundings and from being in the presence of a Sailor.  
Especially one who seemed to know what you were thinking before 
you did.

	Behind her, her team muttered softly among themselves as 
they kept an eye out for the monster.  She had chosen good 
people, and made sure that all the troublemakers were with 
Daichi.  He could handle them if needed.  Yuu's team was made up 
of several level-headed members of the club.  That would 
hopefully keep him from running amuck.

	She looked up again at the green-haired senshi walking down 
the hall.  Pluto was staring back her, which was disconcerting, 
to say the least.

	"S-something wrong, Sailor Pluto?" she stammered.

	Pluto smiled at her.  "No, I just wanted to tell you to be 
careful, Nonohara-san.  What we do is dangerous and not an easy 
road to follow."  Pluto turned to walk further down the passage, 
leaving Himeko very confused.  Then her face turned bright red 
and she looked down at her feet.

	A hoarse scream came from behind them and the two of them 
whirled around.  The scream was coming from a side passage they 
had just passed.  Himeko saw that one of her teammates was 
missing.

	"Hiroshi!  Yuusaku!  Where is Kou?" she barked, all signs of 
nervousness gone now.

	"He just stopped to take a whiz," Hiroshi stammered.

	"Damn!" Pluto said, running toward the scream.

	"What part of 'stay together' didn't you understand?!" 
Himeko shouted back at the two boys as she chased the Sailor 
Senshi.  One part of her mind was asking the rest what the hell 
it was doing, but she didn't listen.  She was the club president.  
She was responsible for Kou.

	They found Kou lying face down on the deck, soaked from head 
to foot.  "Is he...?" Himeko asked tentatively.

	Pluto placed her fingers alongside the boy's neck, feeling 
for a pulse.  Then she turned him over.  Himeko noted that his 
face was drawn and haggard, but Kou was breathing.  "Thank God," 
she whispered.

	"His energy has been drained.  He'll recover in time.  Our 
job will be harder now that it has fed, however."  Pluto stood, 
gripping her staff tightly as she scanned the hallway.

	"But why is he wet?" Hiroshi asked.

	"Our foe must have some kind of water powers," Himeko said 
slowly.  "I suppose that makes sense, given this location."

	Pluto looked surprised for a moment.  "Very good Nonohara-
san.  That's probably correct.  It is stalking us now.  We must 
try to make sure it claims no other victims."

	Faint screams came from elsewhere in the ship.

	"Well, there goes that idea," Pluto muttered to herself.  
She turned to the TDDC members and gestured toward the fallen 
boy.  "Get him out of here."

	"But what about you?" Himeko asked as Hiroshi and Yuusaku 
picked up Kou.

	Pluto just raised an eyebrow.

	Himeko blushed.  "Right, stupid question."  She turned to 
the boys.  "Come on!" she shouted, taking off at a run toward the 
exit.

	Pluto gripped her staff a little more tightly and ran in the 
direction of the scream.  She raced by a set of stairs and then 
stopped at an intersection, listening.  She heard footsteps, 
quick and light, coming up one of the passages.  Focusing on the 
sound, she turned to face...

	...Sailor Neptune.

	"Neptune, where is your team?" Pluto asked, lowering her 
staff.

	Neptune took a moment to catch her breath, then replied, "I 
sent them off the ship.  The youma attacked one of my team when 
he fell behind."

	"It's picking us off one by one, then.  We have to get the 
students off the ship and find Uranus."  Pluto scanned the dark 
passageways and cursed.  "I still can't see anything of the 
future.  I would give much to know how this youma messed with my 
vision."

	"Well, if it's a water-based creature, maybe I can sense 
it..." Neptune said.  She placed one hand on her tiara and closed 
her eyes, concentrating.  Slowly she spun around, raising her 
free hand as she did so to point up at the ceiling.  "It's 
heading for the deck," she announced.  "At least I think it 
is..."

	"Right, then.  Follow me," Pluto said, taking off in a run 
to the stairs she just passed.  Neptune followed right behind 
her.

	They ran up the stairs and soon burst out onto the deck of 
the old liner.  The stars overhead were now covered by dark 
clouds, which seemed to swirl ominously around the freighter.  
Pluto looked to the left and right and saw nothing amiss.

	"Where is it?" she hissed to her fellow Sailor.

	"I don't know," Neptune said uncertainly.  "There's a lot 
more water in the air now.  I think it's responsible for that, 
though the amount of energy it must take..."

	"Good, it might exhaust its power if it keeps spending it so 
freely."  She pulled her sailor communicator out of its hiding 
place.  "Uranus, come in."

	Uranus's face appeared on the small viewscreen.  "What is 
it, Pluto?"

	"We think we have the youma on the deck.  It's already 
drained two people, so get your team off the ship and then meet 
us here.  Be careful, however.  This one is cunning."

	"Shit!  I've missed some of the action?  I'll be right 
there!"

	Pluto returned the communicator to its hiding place and 
slowly scanned the deck.  Nothing out of the ordinary, just 
rusted metal and rotting wood, an old deck chair, and puddles of 
water filling low depressions.

	"Where IS it?" Neptune whispered, shivering slightly.

	"Somewhere close by.  Stay sharp."  Pluto then noticed her 
companion's discomfort.  "Are you OK?"

	"Yes... it's just this... the ship.  It brings back bad 
memories.  I just want to get this over with."  Inwardly, she 
wished she had been kept in reserve instead of Saturn.  It had 
been about two years ago that her powers as Sailor Neptune had 
manifested.  She had been on a cruise ship like this one when a 
monster had attacked, destroying the ship and killing everyone 
else on board.  When she closed her eyes, she could still see her 
parents as they were flung overboard, the waters closing over 
their heads...

	Stop it!  She told herself, hugging her arms tightly.  Just 
make it go away!  Now is not the time!  What would anyone think 
if they knew that Sailor Neptune was afraid of drowning?

	Uranus came up on deck at that moment, from another flight 
of stairs.  She looked around and saw them.  Waving, she trotted 
over, splashing through a rather large puddle.

	Pluto's eyes widened.  "Uranus!  That's not a puddle!  It's 
the youma!"

	As she shouted, she knew it was too late.  The youma, 
desperate now that it had been discovered, exploded upward in a 
spiraling waterspout surrounding Sailor Uranus.

	"Haruka!" Neptune screamed.  Reaching within herself, she 
yanked at the floodgates in her soul, releasing her power.  
"DEEP--"

	"Uh-uh-uh!" said a strange voice from the waterspout.  The 
spout died down, to reveal a female humanoid with long blue hair 
and a face with no mouth or nose, just two red eyes staring at 
them.  The creature was holding Sailor Uranus in a full nelson, 
but where her hands would be, there was only water.  The water 
surrounded Uranus's head in a perfect globe, cutting off the 
Sailor's air supply.  Uranus kicked and flailed, but the creature 
was also draining her energy even as it drowned her, and she was 
too weak.  Everything started to go dim...

	"If she dies, youma, you'll be next," Pluto said, in a 
manner that would make anyone certain that the youma's death 
would be far, far worse than drowning, and that Pluto would enjoy 
administering it.

	The youma, meanwhile, was looking around desperately for an 
escape.  What in Metallia's name did I do to deserve THIS? she 
thought to herself.  Three Sailors I don't recognize, at least 
one with water powers, and my energy reserves are down to almost 
nothing!

	Aloud, she merely laughed.  "I don't intend to give you that 
chance, Sailor Senshi."  Slowly, she began walking toward the 
side of the boat, keeping Sailor Uranus between her and the 
others.  "Just stay where you are and don't try anything, and 
your friend will be fine."  Please, Metallia, just let me get out 
of this with my hide intact.

	"And why should we believe you?" Pluto said, leveling her 
staff at the youma.

	"I am Tethys, last survivor of the Dark Kingdom!" the youma 
announced almost-proudly, "and I intend to survive a lot longer, 
thank you!"  Tethys shot a look at Neptune, who had been starting 
to move a little to the side.  "Uh-uh, Sailor, that's not 
allowed... not unless you want me to cause your friend's head to 
implode."  Tethys increased the pressure of the water surrounding 
Uranus's head and the trapped Sailor writhed in agony.  Neptune 
stopped.  "Now, I am going to walk with your friend over to the 
side and jump into the ocean.  You're going to let me do it.  
That way, you get your friend, and I get my life.  Sound fair?"

	Uranus slumped at that moment, and only Tethys's strong grip 
kept her from falling.  Everyone looked at her in alarm, 
including the youma.

	"Haruka!" Neptune shouted, moving toward her partner 
involuntarily.  Pluto stopped her with her Staff, however.  
Neptune swung around to face the green-haired senshi.  She had to 
help Haruka.  Haruka couldn't die now, not after all the nasty 
things she had said about her still unresolved.

	"Neptune, we can't risk the youma panicking and killing 
Haruka.  It'll be all right," Pluto whispered.

	Meanwhile, Tethys was also concerned about her hostage.  
Damn, she's passed out on me already! Tethys thought, feeding 
Uranus just a little of the energy she had drained, enough to 
keep her alive for a few more minutes.  The Sailors, she noted, 
were caught up in their own conversation at the moment.  Time for 
me to leave, she thought.  Moving quickly, she sidled over to the 
railing.  She looked over at the bay below and prepared herself 
for the mental task of keeping her molecules together in that 
vast body of water.  It hadn't been easy a year (or was it two?) 
ago when Sailor Moon and foiled her and Jadeite's plan for 
stealing human energy, but at least this time she didn't have 
that damn frisbee to worry about.  She let go of Uranus with one 
hand, still maintaining the globe of water around the unconscious 
Senshi's face with the other, and prepared to leap.

	"MOON TIARA ACTION!"

	A glowing discus of light shot through the air.  It sliced 
cleanly through the youma's forearm, releasing her grip on Sailor 
Uranus.  Sailor Uranus fell to the floor, the globe of water 
losing its cohesion and falling to the deck with her.  Tethys 
screamed in pain and surprise.

	Atop the bridge house, Sailor Moon, the Inner Senshi, and 
Sailor Saturn looked down on the quartet.  Sailor Moon's Tiara 
flew back to her hand, ready to be thrown again.  The four other 
Inner Senshi were each burdened with one of Sensei's 'squirt 
guns' and had them all trained on the youma.

	"It is truly despicable to use another living being as a 
hostage, threatening their life in the process.  I am the pretty 
sailor-suited warrior Sailor Moon and in the name of the moon, I 
will punish you!"  She gestured to the other Inner Senshi.  
"Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter!  Hose her!"

	Four streams of orange goo shot out at the still-stunned 
youma.  Tethys began to melt into her liquid form, trying to 
escape over the side, but it was too late.  The goo caught her in 
mid-transformation, hardening around her almost immediately.  
Soon she was trapped like a fly in amber, unable to exert the 
force needed to escape.

	Neptune quickly ran over to Uranus and turned her over onto 
her back.  "She's not breathing!" she yelled, already starting 
artificial resuscitation.  Hold the nose shut, tilt the head 
back... wait, check for any obstruction of the passageway.  I 
hope she hasn't swallowed too much of that thing!  Breathe.  And 
again.   And again.  And again.  Come ON, Haruka, don't die on 
me.  Don't leave me alone.  Breathe!  BREATHE!

	Uranus coughed.

	Neptune, surprised, almost didn't realize it at first, then 
it hit her.  "Haruka!" she cried joyously, hugging the other girl 
fiercely, who was still trying to catch her breath.

	"Michiru...?" she said weakly.  Then a ghost of a smile 
crossed her face.  "Does that kiss mean I'm forgiven?"

	Neptune just gave her a real kiss instead of an answer.  
Uranus wisely shut up at that point.

	Meanwhile, Pluto was looking at the trapped youma.  She held 
her Staff over the translucent orange block, but seemed uncertain 
what to do next.  Her internal debate was interrupted, however, 
before she could reach a decision.

	"PLUTO!" Sailor Moon snapped, uncharacteristically angry as 
she stomped over to the older Senshi.  The gawky, blonde 16 year-
old looked completely out of place, lecturing the tall, 
mysterious beauty.  "What were you and the Outer Senshi thinking, 
going on a possibly dangerous mission without us?  Without even 
telling us?"

	"It was necessary, Sailor Moon," Pluto replied, turning away 
to resume studying the half-transformed youma.

	"No, it WASN'T!" Sailor Moon said, spinning Pluto around to 
face her.

	The act caught Pluto completely off guard.  None of the 
Sailors had ever deliberately touched her, manhandled her like 
that.  She found herself staring into Sailor Moon's angry face.  
"How dare you!" she said.

	Behind Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars hovered protectively, 
wondering though if even her Super transformation could handle an 
enraged Sailor Pluto.  She didn't think so, but if Pluto 
attacked, she'd get burned for it.

	"You all could have been killed!" Sailor Moon continued, 
tears now gathering in her eyes.  Her anger was cooling already, 
changing into her particular brand of compassionate concern.  
"Damn you, Pluto," she said, "why won't you let us help you?  Why 
do you have to take everything onto your own shoulders?"

	Now Pluto seemed taken aback, uncertain what to do.  The 
other Senshi gathered behind Sailor Moon, uncertain what do.  
Neptune helped Uranus stand and they walked over to the group, 
Neptune supporting the still shaky Uranus.  They stood behind 
Pluto, watching quietly.

	"It is our duty, Sailor Moon," Pluto finally said.  "We 
Outer Senshi are charged to guard and defend humanity from Things 
from Beyond."  At that moment, her eyes shifted to look to one 
side, where Sailor Saturn stood.  Saturn shifted hesitantly, 
looking between the Inner and Outer Senshi, but uncertain which 
side to choose.  She looked over to the stairwell, where her 
father and Sensei stood, not interfering with the Sailor Senshi, 
but he could offer her no guidance in this matter.

	Pluto continued.  "We failed our duty once before, when the 
Silver Millennium fell.  I will not let that happen again."

	"Even if you die?" Sailor Moon asked quietly.

	"I am prepared to die, if I must."

	Sailor Moon, tears still dripping down her face, gave Pluto 
a hard look.  Reaching up to her locket, she clasped it gently 
and projected her will into the Empyrean Silver Crystal.

	A soft silver glow surrounded Sailor Moon, emanating from 
the locket, and then her uniform seemed to explode into tatters.  
The tatters turned pure white and reformed swiftly into an 
elegant formal gown.  Sailor Moon's tiara vanished and the moon 
sigil on her forehead glowed brightly.  All the Sailors except 
Pluto took a step back as the Moon Princess appeared.

	"Magnificent," Sensei breathed from his vantage point.  He 
couldn't hear everything the Sailors were saying, but it was 
obvious that Sailor Moon was not happy with Sailor Pluto.  Now, 
before his very eyes, was the image he had found on that ancient 
urn, the Princess of the Moon.  Tomoe could only nod, trying to 
resist the urge to kneel before the Princess.

	"Pluto," the Moon Princess said gently but chidingly.  All 
traces of Usagi seemed gone now, subsumed into her other, more 
regal self.  The Sailors looked on in awe, though in one case, it 
was tinged with sadness, as she thought of a certain meatball 
head who all but disappeared when the Princess appeared.

	"Princess," Pluto replied, noncommittally.

	"You have overstepped your bounds, Pluto.  It is not your 
place to be responsible for the lives of the Senshi."  The 
Princess indicated herself with one hand.  "That is our 
prerogative.  You are the Guardian of Time, not our baby-sitter."  
The admonishment was delivered with a hint of a smile.

	"With all due respect, Princess, you are wrong.  It is my 
duty to protect you all using any means available."

	"A self-imposed duty, Pluto, created out of grief and guilt.  
It is not your fault that the Silver Millennium fell.  To all 
things there comes an end.  We do not blame you, so forgive 
yourself for what you could not change."  Pluto looked up sharply 
at that and the Princess smiled.  "Do you think the Queen and I 
did not realize the extent of your power and its limitations?  We 
trusted you then, and I know now, having seen Crystal Tokyo, that 
our trust was not in vain."  She reached over and took Pluto's 
hands in her own.  "Now, trust us to take care of ourselves and 
you.  We care for you, and would take some of this burden from 
you.  If we are not strong enough, then join your strength to 
ours.  If we do not know enough, then teach us what we need.  But 
do not isolate yourself from us."

	For a moment, Pluto looked down at the ground, then she 
raised her eyes and returned the Princess's gaze levelly, with 
the respect of an equal.  "I will try, my Princess."

	The Moon Princess smiled gently, enfolding Pluto in a hug.  
Then the Silver Crystal flared and she vanished, leaving Sailor 
Moon behind.  Sailor Moon slumped lightly in Sailor Pluto's arms, 
drained of her strength for the moment.

	"Usagi?" Sailor Mars asked hesitantly, reaching out to touch 
her friend's shoulder.

	A loud snore came from the blonde Sailor.

	Rei stopped, startled, then quickly recovered.  "Of all the 
idiotic, stupid.. to think I was WORRIED about her for a moment!  
WAKE UP MEATBALL BRAIN!"

	Sailor Moon woke with a start.  "I'M UP!" she screamed, then 
looked around.  "Hey, this isn't... oh, right.  Mars, why did you 
have to yell so LOUD?" she whined.

	"I had to make sure your tiny meatball brain HEARD me!"

	"You're so mean to me!"

	"You deserve it!"

	Soon, a tongue war was in full swing.

	The other Sailors wandered over to the trapped youma, 
ignoring their leader.  Pluto glanced at Sailor Moon for a 
moment, disbelief on her face, but then a small smile replaced 
it.  She shook her head gently.  Then she saw Tomoe and Sensei, 
standing over by the stairs.  Slowly, she walked toward them.  
Sensei glanced between the two of them and decided it would be 
best if he found someplace else to be, so he walked over to the 
trapped youma.

	"Souichi-chan," Pluto said quietly.

	"Setsuna-chan," he said.

	"You heard?" she asked, indicating the still bickering 
Sailor Moon.

	"Not all of it, but enough," he said.  He looked down at his 
feet.  "So, what happens now?"

	Pluto looked over at Sailor Moon, who had gotten into a 
hair-pulling contest with Sailor Mars.  The other Sailors were 
studiously ignoring them and Sensei couldn't seem to decide 
whether to laugh or be flabbergasted.  "I will do as the Princess 
asked and begin teaching the Sailors more about their powers and 
their past.  She has reminded me of where my true obligations 
lie."  She looked down at the rusty deck plating.

	Tomoe reached over and took one of her hands in his.  "I 
mean about us, Setsuna-chan.  Are you... going to leave m--us to 
do your duty?"

	"I... don't know."  She turned away from him and looked out 
over the bay.  "I'm not the person you believe me to be, Souichi-
chan.  There is no Meiou Setsuna.  There's only me."

	"I know, Pluto-chan... but it's you I love."

	"I've done horrible things in my long life."

	"That doesn't matter--"

	"Yes, it does."  She took a deep breath.  "I let an entire 
civilization fall, and millions of people die.  I stood by and 
did nothing while it happened.  The Silver Millennium collapsed 
because I LET IT HAPPEN."

	Tomoe stepped up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder.  
"There was nothing you could have done--" he began.

	She shrugged off his shoulder.  "You think so?  Remember 
what we've told you of the Moon Kingdom.  It fell finally to a 
sneak attack spearheaded by the Seven Shadows and Metallia 
herself.  I KNEW the attack was coming, but I did not warn Queen 
Serenity.  Likewise, I made sure that Uranus and Neptune were so 
far out system that they could not arrive in time to awaken 
Saturn before the kingdom fell.  I chose to awaken Saturn when 
they did finally arrive, knowing she would destroy the moon's 
ecosystem and the few survivors left.  And I left Uranus and 
Neptune to die in the cataclysm, so they could be reborn today."  
She turned and looked at Tomoe, bitterness and self-hatred 
evident in her eyes.

	He met her gaze levelly.  "And why did you do all those 
horrible things?" he asked gently.  "What was your reason?"

	"Reason?  What difference does that make?!" she said 
sharply.  "All those people died because I did nothing!  That is 
the type of person I am.  You..."  She faltered, looking at him 
sadly.  "You deserve someone better."

	He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at her sadly.  
"Pluto, tell me what would have happened if you hadn't let all 
that happen."

	Pluto turned back to the bay.  "It doesn't matter..."

	"Yes, it does.  Tell me... please?"

	Her eyes went distant, scanning the possibilities.  Then she 
spoke, in a low monotone.  "Queen Serenity would have still used 
the Silver Crystal, sealing off the Dark Kingdom for a time at 
the sacrifice of her own life.  The Princess would rule, with 
Endymion, and have many fine children.  The Senshi would live 
long lives and eventually train their successors and retire.  The 
Princess would have a daughter and several sons.  For a time, all 
would be well.  But eventually war would break out between the 
planets, a horrible war that arose from pride and ignorance, from 
fear and envy.  Magic would be used to devastate whole 
populations, and in the end, humanity would be reduced to a few 
sad survivors.  When the Dark Kingdom returned, they would find 
nothing but primitives, easily enslaved.  Metallia would rule 
all."  She fell quiet.

	"Was that your reason, Pluto-chan?" Tomoe asked quietly.

	"Yes," she said.  "I had to kill the Senshi so that they 
would be reincarnated to save us all from Metallia.  I had to let 
billions die to give billions more a chance to live.  I had to 
topple a civilization so that a civilization would flourish.  
That is my curse.  That is the kind of cold-blooded decision I 
have to make."

	"Like you're making now?" he asked.  He stood beside her.  
"Are you denying yourself happiness now to prevent some future 
tragedy?"

	"Yes..."

	"And that tragedy is...?"

	"You'll die.  You all die, eventually.  It hurts so much 
when you die..."  She straightened up, and tried to hold back her 
tears.

	Tomoe took her in his arms and kissed her.  It was not a 
peck of a kiss between family members, but a hungry, passionate 
kiss.  For a moment, she stiffened in his arms, but then she 
relaxed and returned the kiss.

	"Setsuna-chan," he whispered when they finally broke the 
kiss, "we all live the same amount of time: a lifetime.  Mine 
could end tomorrow, in an accident, for all I know.  So could 
yours.  You are human, Setsuna-chan.  Please, don't deny yourself 
what happiness you find just because you might get hurt.  All you 
will gain is regrets and bad memories.  Don't do that to 
yourself."

	Pluto tore herself away from his grip.  "I never should have 
entered the timestream," she said.  "I should have remained 
outside it, away from all of you, even if Saturn is awake."

	"If you had, the world would have fallen to Master Pharaoh 
90," Tomoe replied.  "And you would never have been part of our 
'family.'  Remember how we celebrated Hotaru's first birthday 
after she became a baby?  Remember her throwing that piece of 
cake in Haruka's face?"  Pluto's mouth quirked slightly  "Or what 
about when Michiru tried to use her power to stop a leaky faucet 
and ended up flooding the bathroom?"  Now a smile was really 
threatening to emerge on her face.  "Or what about all those 
times you had to help patch up Haruka after one of her bike 
accidents?  I used to watch you then, when you didn't think I was 
looking.  You looked so happy and at peace with yourself.  Do you 
remember when we first kissed?  Do you want to leave all that 
behind?"

	"Souichi-chan..."

	"Setsuna-chan, please marry me."  He knelt and held out the 
tiny box again.  Opening it, he revealed the ring inside.

	Pluto reached out one hand, hesitantly, and touched the 
ring.  Suddenly, there was a flash of light.  Pluto looked around 
for the source and noticed something odd.  Everything was frozen 
in place, including the waves on the bay.  Time had stopped.

	Even as she realized this fact, three robed beings appeared 
before her.  One wore a purple robe, the second wore a green 
robe, and the third wore a yellow robe.  The cowls of the robes 
covered their faces in shadows, and their shapelessness hid their 
gender.

	"You must now make a choice, Sailor Pluto," the one in green 
said, in a male voice.

	"It is difficult for you, is it not?" said the yellow one 
with a female voice.

	"Still, this choice defines the futures," the purple robed 
one said, in a male voice.  "So choose she must."

	Pluto looked at them in shock.  "Don't you Three have more 
important things to do than peep in on my private life?" she 
asked.

	"This IS important, Sailor Pluto," Yellow Robes replied.

	"Then which choice would you have me make?"

	"We cannot tell you that," Purple Robes said.  "But we must 
tell you this.  If you marry Tomoe Souichi then you must let 
yourself be bound to the wheel of fate once again."

	Now Pluto looked puzzled.  "The cycle of life and death?  
Why?  It was never required before."

	"It is now.  You will lose your immunity to time and will 
die and be reborn like everyone else," Green Robes said.  "Such 
is fate."  Yellow Robes bopped him on the head.

	Suddenly, Pluto's eyes narrowed.  "It was YOU, wasn't it?  
You kept me from seeing the Gastaman Brothers at Udaigaku's lab."

	Green Robes suddenly took several steps back.  "Who, me?" 
the nearly omnipotent being asked.

	"We will restart time," Purple Robes said hurriedly, "and 
then you must choose.  Love and death, or an eternity of 
guardianship."  With that, the robed beings began to fade.

	"If it WAS you," Pluto whispered to herself, "then I'll make 
sure you pay for it somehow."

	"Setsuna-chan?" Tomoe asked, confused.

	Pluto looked down at him, at the ring, and then to her 
staff.  Her eyes went distant for a split second, then she shook 
her head and closed them, placing one hand over her heart.  For 
several seconds she was still, then she opened her eyes and 
reached down to place her hand on the box.  "I will, Souichi-
chan.  I will marry you."

	A cheer went up all around them.  For the first time, Pluto 
noticed that she and Souichi had attracted a rather large, if 
unusually discreet, audience.  The loudest cheers came from 
Sailor Saturn, but Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus were close 
seconds.

	Pluto blushed.

						*****

	Tethys sat on the bed Sensei had provided in her cell.  She 
looked up at the Sailor Senshi peering through the small window 
in the door and groaned.  "This really sucks," the youma 
muttered.

	Unknown to her, a small microphone transmitted her words to 
the crowd outside.  Not that she could have done anything if she 
did know, but at least she could have chosen more dignified 
words.

	"So, you have your specimen, Sensei," Tomoe said to his 
mentor.  Pluto was sitting very close to him, a ring sitting on 
her finger.  every now and then she would look at it, and then at 
him.  He just offered her a smile.

	"Yes.  We'll wait a few days for the youma to become 
acclimated to her new environment, then we'll start some simple 
tests.  Nothing too drastic.  I hope to eventually elicit her aid 
in this endeavor."  Sensei took a large draw on his pipe.  "Still 
it was a good thing that the other Sailors came along when they 
did and were willing to use my devices."

	"We had run into Sailor Venus before we came to your lab, 
Udaigaku-sensei.  Apparently she thought we were up to something 
and followed us to the ship.  Then she called in the others.  I 
knew what she was doing, but I dismissed her too easily, it 
seems."  She looked over at the other Senshi, some of whom were 
still clustered around the cell while others watched Sailor Moon 
lose at a checkers with Sensei's mechanical arm.  The monkey in 
the nearby cage was hooting derisively at the leader of the 
Sailor Senshi.  "I dismissed all of them far too easily."

	"Well, we all make mistakes," Sensei said.  "We're only 
human."

	"Yes, we are all only human."  With that, Pluto wrapped her 
hand, the one with the ring, around Tomoe's and smiled happily.

						*****

TETHYS SAYS:

Tethys:  Hi!  I'm Tethys, a youma from the Dark Kingdom.  For 
those who don't recognize me, I tried to steal energy from you 
foolish humans back when Sailor Moon was still a newbie to the 
superhero thing.  (She hasn't improved too much, from what I can 
tell.)

Usagi:  (popping up from offstage)  Hey!  Now the VILLAINS are 
stealing my segment?

Makoto:  She wasn't much of a villain, Usagi-chan.

(Tethys gets a big sweat drop.  The other sailors wander on 
stage.)

Rei:  Yeah, we beat her easily the first time, and she wasn't 
much better this time.

Usagi:  What's this WE stuff?  I was the one who saved Haruka!

Rei:  Like your frisbee could save anyone.

Usagi:  IT IS NOT A FRISBEE!

Tethys:  (to the others) Are they always like that?

(The Sailor Senshi all nod sadly.)

Tethys:  My condolences.  Anyway, Sailor Pluto didn't want to do 
this segment, so she left it to me!  The moral of this episode 
is... SUBMIT TO THE DARK KINGDOM, FOOLISH MORTALS!  YOUR ENERGY 
WILL BE OURS!

(All the Senshi transform and glare at Tethys.)

Tethys: heh heh... just kidding?  Um, I think I hear my cell 
calling.  Bye!

(She runs off, being chased by everyone.)

						*****

Author's Note:

	Well, another chapter in the continuing sage of Sailor Moon 
Z.  This one was a lot of fun to write, since it focused on one 
of my favorite Sailors, Pluto.  I decided to do a story revolving 
around her, but I was at a loss as to how to do it and still keep 
her mysterious.  Well, if you look carefully, you can see that 
not once do we quote any of Pluto's thoughts.  We never get 
inside her head, so to speak.  None of the Z stories have let you 
in on what she thinks, mainly because she's too mysterious even 
for us authors. :)  I hope you enjoyed this look at her.  Rest 
assured, we'll see more of her engagement to Tomoe-sensei.

	Tethys.  Well, Tethys is from one of my favorite first 
season shows.  It was during the Jadeite arc, when he used the 
cruise ship to steal romantic energy.  She had more personality 
than most youma and for some reason stuck in my mind.  (My name 
from her comes from watching the dub.  They called her 'Titus' it 
sounds like, but for those of you who know your mythology, Tethys 
fits her powers far better.)  Anyway, I thought she'd make a cool 
youma for Sensei to trap.

	Neptune's parents.  My co-writer told me Neptune's back 
story, saying he got it from a friend who read it in the manga.  
Now, it's all third hand, but it sounds cool to me.  And you know 
how we are about the continuity of the manga and anime.  If we 
like it, we use it.  If not, pfft! :)

	The Gastaman Brothers:  Kudos to you if you know where they 
came from, because it means you've seen the Marmalade Boy movie.  
If you haven't, try to see it if you can.  It's a riot.

	Ok, enough blathering.  Now Z swings back to John, who tells 
me that Minako, Sailor V, and Gemini-P will all be featured in 
Z9.  Then it's back to me for Z10, where the Senshi will have an 
uncomfortable meeting with their former selves...

Jeff Hosmer