Chapter 13

     "Usagi, you've got to eat something!"
     "I'm not hungry Rei." Usagi turned listlessly away.
     "I've got something you'll like." Minako held out her
hands.
     "ICE CREAM!" Makoto was astounded. "Where on
earth did you find ice cream around HERE?" she waved a
hand to indicate the bombed out rubble that had once been a
suburb of Tokyo.
     "The Americans! It's amazing what they've got with
them. Ice cream, hamburgers, books, tooth paste . . . they've
got more stuff than the Ginza.  Hey Usagi" she turned to her
friend. "why don't we go shopping after we dust this big rock?"
Usagi sighed and shaking her head turned her back to her
friends. Minako looked worriedly at Usagi for a moment before
turning to Ami who was busy at her computer.
     "Ami, how's it going?"
Ami glanced up from her work with a slightly dazed look on
her face.
     "Oh, Hi Minako . . .Where'd you get Ice Cream?"
Ami couldn't understand what was so funny. As soon as she
could stop laughing Minako again questioned Ami.
     "So, what's the plan? How are we going to take out this
big rock?"
     "I've been working on a three tiered plan. Most of the 
com-sat's are down but fortunately the trans-pacific cables are
intact." She pointed to a graphic scrolling across the display
of her computer. "This is from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
America. It's a firing plan for using nuclear warheads in series
to push the 'rock' enough so that it misses the earth."
     "NUC . . .!!!" Rei jerked upright from her place beside
Usagi. "Where are we going to get nuclear warheads!" she
hissed at Ami.
     "From over there." Makoto jerked her thumb in the
direction of the barely visible roof of a hastily constructed
Quonset hut nestled in a bomb crater. Armored vehicles
marked USA and JSDF surrounded the site.
     "You were sleeping when they brought them in."
     "THEM!!!"
     "Ummm. Yes, thirty two warheads from an American
ballistic missile submarine. About a megaton yield each." Ami
tapped a few keys and turned the display so Rei could see it. 
     "We're going to use the 'Sailor Teleport' to carry the
warheads into space and position them to change the 'rock's'
trajectory."
     "Yeah, but it's not just a 'rock' is it?" Minako asked.
     "No. It's under power and has the ability to maneuver."
Ami agreed. " That's why, if the warheads don't work, we use
the 'Sailor Planet Attack'.  With our Super Sailor forms and
Usagi's Eternal Moon  I 'think' we have enough power to
divert it."
     "But you're not sure, are you?"
     "That's why there's a third option."
     "Hotaruchan."
Ami and Minako jumped slightly at Usagi's quiet voice.
     "You want Hotaruchan to use the 'Silence Glaive'"
Ami looked at Minako, at the ground, everywhere but at
Usagi.
     "Yes." she answered quietly. "There's no choice. If the
'Sailor Planet' attack fails . . ."
     "How bad will it be? If the 'rock' hits, I mean."
     "It may not hit at all. It's more probable that this is just a
ploy to draw us out. To find out what resources we have left;
what weapons. After all, why bother to invade at all if you're
just going to destroy . . ."
     "Please Ami. We can't possibly know what or how they
think. I need to know how bad it will be if it does hit us."
     "That . . .that's hard to say."Ami equivocated. "There
are a lot of factors . . .unknowns like the exact mass of the
object and . . ."
Usagi smiled sadly at Ami's stumbling attempt to shield her
from the truth.
     "I need to know Ami. If I'm going to ask Hotaruchan
to. . . if I'm going to ask her  . . .then I HAVE to know . . .to
know she has to do this.  So please tell me."
     "We've lost a lot of our space tracking ability worldwide
" Ami began slowly. " either through destruction of facilities
or because  resources  are diverted to fight the enemy.  Our best
guess at this time is that the 'rock' will hit with an impact of
about 30,000 megatons within a degree or two of Tokyo.
That's not exact but . . .it really doesn't matter.  When it hits
atmosphere it will . . .compress . . .the air ahead of it. This
will create a ram of white-hot air that will strike well ahead of the
solid body of the asteroid itself, killing everyone below it..  If
the body of the asteroid itself  hits in the ocean, tidal waves
several kilometers  high will race inland for hundreds of
kilometers. If it hits on land a tidal wave of earth and rock will circle the globe
at better than eight hundred kilometers per hour. Billions of tons
of white hot rock and earth will be thrown into the air. The
secondary impacts by these debris will set fire to every thing
that will burn world wide."Ami paused then went on as a white
faced Usagi nodded for her to continue.
     "Major fault-lines will fail world wide triggering earth-
quakes and volcanic eruption. The sky will be black with
smoke and dust for at least a year; all the plants will die. There will
be a continuous acid rain followed by a tremendous increase in
mean temperature due to the green-house effect from gasses
released from volcanos and earth fissures. . The earth will
be . . . it will. . . " Tears choked off Ami's voice as she tried to
describe the end of the world.
     "Rei" Usagi's voice was low and filled with such despair
that Rei wanted to cry. "Please contact Hotaruchan and tell
her that . . . tell her that I want to talk to Sailorsaturn."

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

Kaiou Michiru was a ghost. She had been peeled like an
onion, layer after layer of duty, sacrifice, justification and judgment
had been stripped away. And just like an onion, after the
layers were removed, there was nothing left. No pain, no anger, no
joy. . .nothing at all. She looked at her left arm and followed
to where her hand disappeared into the grasp of Ten'ou Haruka.
She could see blood ooze from the pressure of Haruka's nails
into her skin. But she couldn't FEEL it, couldn't feel anything
except an awful gnawing emptiness, as if her insides had been
scooped out like a gourd.. Like an amputated limb she couldthe phantom presence of the Inner Senshi, a connection that
had always been there, a presence so familiar so natural that she'd
paid no attention to it. Until suddenly it was gone. A sudden
spasm of nausea twisted her stomach and she clutched her
belly with her free arm. She'd never been alone like this . . .not like
this. Even when she and Haruka had been . . .apart . . .from
the Inner Senshi there had always been that connection. . . that
sense of family . . ."

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

     ". . .family now Sailorneptune. You are senshi. Your life
belongs to the Imperium . Your past, your family, even your
name are forgotten.  You live and die at the pleasure of her
Majesty . . ."
     "Don't forget to mention that I enjoy a light snack of
grilled senshi before bedtime ."
     "Imperitrix!"  The black cat whirled around at the
unexpected voice.
     "Kneel girl." the cat hissed at the newest senshi.
Sailorneptune stood frozen at the apparition before her.
Serenity, Sword Breaker.  Taller and more beautiful than any
mortal
woman. Strong and wise beyond human understanding. She'd
heard the stories all her life and they didn't begin to describe
the reality. She fell to her knees, trembling before the reality of
her sovereign. Over the thundering of her heart she could hear the
swish of royal robes over the stones of the courtyard. A
shadow blocked out the light and she choked back a sob.
     "Please get up." A rich contralto voice washed over her
like a warm east wind. "You don't look at all comfortable and
I find it very difficult to talk to the top of your head." A pale
slender hand caught her gently under her arm and with
surprising strength lifted her to her feet. Against her will
Sailorneptune
raised her head to see a pair of twinkling lotus blue eyes set in a
warmly smiling face.
     "A . . .are you really the Imperatrix?"
     "Well, yes I'm afraid I am. And what is your name little
one?"
She was really very young. She had been thrust from her
home and family, taken far away among strangers who had treated
her with brisk efficiency and benign indifference. The soft touch
and kind voice shattered the thin wall of her control. Sobbing she
threw herself into the arms of the woman before her.
     "I want to go Hooommme!" she wailed. "I don't like it
here. It smells funny and I don't know anyone and Luna is 
m m meaaaan to me and . . ."
There was a shocked gasp from the black cat.
     "SAILORNEPTUNE!"
She cringed away from the gentle hands at the cats
disapproving tone.
     "I. . I'm sssory. . .I dddidn't. . ."
Strong arm tightened pulling her into a warm embrace.
     "Shhhh. It's all right. You haven't done anything wrong.
Luna why don't you go chase a mouse or something?"
     "IMPERITRIX! Why I would never. . ."
     "Just go away and do something Imperial and stuffy
then.  I want to get acquainted with my new senshi."
With a huff the black cat stalked off the picture of offended
dignity.
     "She means well." Serenity said as soon as the cat was
out of sight. "And she is very kind." Serenity chuckled at the
disbelieving snort from the girl curled against her side. "She is
kind, but she has an inflated idea of Imperial dignity. She
thinks that the Imperitirx is the most important person in the
Imperium."
     "B. ..but isn't she. . .aren't you!" Sailorneptune
corrected herself blushing."
     "Oh, no. The Imperium is just a voluntary confederacy
of the twelve kingdoms." She paused frowning. "Thirteen
with Beryl And the Imperitirx is just the elected head of that
confederacy. Although sometimes I feel more like a
kindergarten teacher than anything else. I have much more 'power'
as Queen of the Moon Kingdom."
Sailorneptune was confused. This didn't sound like anything
she'd learned in school or any of the stories her parents had
told her. She said as much.
     'But the Imperitrix RULES the Imperium. And
COMMANDS the senshi and COMPELS the crystal and . . ."
She broke off as Serenity began to chuckle. The chuckles
turned to laughter and Sailorneptune was amazed to see tears of
laughter streaming down Serenity's face.
     "OH. . .oh . . .oh . . .You sound JUST like LUNA!!"
Sailorneptune drew back offended at the comparison and was
just about to let her displeasure be know when she suddenly
realized just whom she was offended by. Serenity seemed to
read her mind and turned a smiling face to Sailorneptune wiping
her own face and then her newest senshi's face with a
handkerchief she'd pulled from the sleeve of her robe. 
     "I'm sorry. I realize that was a TERRIBLE thing to say.
Do please forgive me."
     "O o of course Impe. . . "
     "You are my senshi." Serenity said gently. "You may
call me Serenity. Or other less flattering names if you think I
deserve it." she added with a reminiscent look. 
Sailorneptune could only nod dumbly, unable to comprehend
the thought of addressing this perfect royal creature so familiarly. 
     "Do you like babies?"
The non-sequitur caught Sailorneptune by surprise
and again she could only nod.
     "Come on then. Let me introduce you to the REAL ruler
of the Imperium, commander of senshi et cetera." She pulled
the small girl to her feet and led her briskly down the path. Soon
Sailorneptune  could hear a high pitched wail that reminded
her of the time her obnoxious cousin had tried to push her into
the water and slipped and landed on his . . .he had fallen
straddling a log and crushed his . . . he had sounded JUST like that
'till they'd packed him in ice. And he'd walked funny for a month too,
she thought with satisfaction. But unless he were somehow
HERE and had in addition fallen on his . . . Sailorneptune couldn't
imagine WHAT could be making that horrible, obnoxious,
irritating . . .
     The harassed nursemaid handed a complaining child to
the Queen who folded back the top of her gown. The noise
cut off abruptly as the baby's blind nuzzling found it's  target and
she started to drink greedily.
     " This is my daughter Serenity  Sha'ra ta'a."
Sailorneptune stared dumbfounded at the prosaic sight of a
mother nursing her child. . .then abruptly realized just WHO
she was staring at. . .  and immediately followed that with. . ."
     "PRECIOUS HEART!" she blurted in disbelief as she
mentally  translated the name from the courtly to the
vernacular, then clapped a hand over her mouth. 
     "Yes, it is rather . . .much." The Imperitrix smiled. " I only
hope she doesn't hate me for it when she's older."
     "Oh, no Imp. . .uh. . .Ser . . .OH NO! It's a LOVELY
name. A wonderful name." she babbled in embarrassment.  " I
only wish MY own parents. . ."
     "Would you like to hold her?" Serenity thrust her now
satiated daughter into Sailorneptune's hands. 
     "I . . .I . . .I" Sailorneptune stuttered to a halt as the baby
princess stared solemnly  up at her with the innocent wisdom
of a baby owl. Involuntarily she stroked a gentle finger along the
babies cheek, amazed at it's silky softness. Two tiny hands
grabbed her finger and began gumming it happily. 
     "You don't have to stay. Being a senshi is entirely
voluntary. You may return later or never, just as you wish. If
you decide to stay, I could use some help with Sha'ra ta'a.
How would you like to be the first of her senshi.?"
Sailorneptune looked down at the helpless infant in her arms
blowing happy bubbles up at her and was enslaved for life."
     "I will stay Imp. . .Serenity. I will stay forever."

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

Forever ended six years later.  Pluto came for her and she
joined the Outer Guard. 
     
*************************************************


     "Hotar. . .Sail. . ." Usagi stumbled over her words as she
rose to face Tomoe Hotaru. Usagi drew a deep shuddering
breath and spoke again, slowly and very reluctantly.
"Hotarusan, I need to ask you for a favor."
     "No."
The single softly spoken syllable struck the assembled senshi
with the force of a thunderbolt and their expressions ranged
from disbelief to anger. Except for Usagi who looked at Hotaru
with a mixture of regret and relief. Regret that she had asked in the
first place and relief that she had been turned down.  So she was
completely stunned when Hotaru dropped to one knee and pressed her lips to
Usagi's hand in formal obeisance.  
          
     "You are my Princess, my liege and my friend. You and
Small Lady accepted Tomoe Hotaru when every one else
shunned her. When Mistress Nine took me, you braved the
maelstrom and saved my life and my soul. And now you have
offered me the chance to SAVE the world, not destroy it. As
your senshi it is my duty and privilege to serve you, as your
friend it is my joy." Hotaru looked into Usagi's eyes her face
radiant. "You never have to ask. . . you saved me from
becoming the messiah of silence . . ." Hotaru's voice choked
with tears. "You saved me from. . you saved me. . ."
Usagi wrapped the smaller girl in her arms for a moment, then
stepped back.  A brilliant light erupted from her body and
flashed gold, green, red, blue for each of her senshi. The
colors blended into a pure white light that faded to reveal the
Eternal Moon Angel emerging from a cloud of butterflies.
     "We are Serenity" she golden voice washed through those
assembled like a warm summer shower. "last and first of that
name . . .the end of the Silver Imperium and the beginning of
the Crystal Millennium. Tomoe Hotaru, Sailorsaturn, senshi of
silence, soldier of destruction, by oaths sworn to Us  in Time
Was, Time Is and Time Shall be, hear now our commands,
heed well the geas We lay upon you." Hotaru knelt, frozen in place
by the inhumanly beautiful voice. "Should We fall, and should
Our senshi perish with Us, to you falls Our duty of defending the
Earth. We command you, therefore, to protect this planet and
all that live upon her, to defend the weak, comfort the fearful and
champion the lost causes." 
Hotaru turned her head away, unable to bear the weight of the
awful compassion and terrible justice in those eyes.       
"Sailorsaturn, Tomoe Hotaru this geas we fix upon
you, a geas that you may not lay down in this life, or the next
so long as your soul exists. This geas . . .to live. . .to live and to
be happy." Tender hands, terrible in their power cradled Hotaru's
head gently as snow falling on a shadow. An evil aura the
color of old blood boiled from Hotaru's body and mixed with the
cloud of varicolored butterflied that swarmed about the Eternal
Moon Angel. Slowly at first, then faster and faster the butterflies
seemed to devour the oily black cloud, then descended to
surround the kneeling girl. The swarm lifted to reveal
Sailorsaturn, now clothed in royal purple and burnished gold,
her once jet black hair now of purest silver that matched her new
made eyes.  
     " Arise, Tomoe Hotaru, Sailorsaturn , soldier of life,
shield of the Crystal Imperium, , healer . . . and friend."
This last was said by Tsukino Usagi who gathered the stunned
young girl in a fierce hug. 
     
*************************************************

     "Who did she think she was! Who the HELL did she
think she was!" The silent mantra chanted angrily through
Ten'ou Haruka's head. She glanced sideways at her
companion and her lips thinned in anger as she saw how pale and
sick Michiru looked.
     "Who  did she think she was to treat them like that?"
          *She think's she's the princess*
Haruka ignored the sly little voice of her conscience. 
     "Princess! What did she know about the real world?
What did she . . ."
     *Beryl . . .The Black Moon Clan . . .The Doom Tree . . .*
Haruka snarled and shook her head angrily to rid herself of
the unwelcome images. 
     "Dammit." Haruka muttered angrily under her breath.
She doesn't have any right to do this. I'm Sai. . ." the word
stuck in her throat She tried again. "I AM  S. . .SA . . .S - A - I"
Veins bulged in her forehead as she tried to force the word past
her lips. She couldn't say it, couldn't even think it.
   * "We cast you out from the family of senshi." Remember?*
her inner voice said sarcastically. *She did leave you the
talismans, fuku's and the rest* there was a little sneer in the
voice.  * It's just a name after all. What do you care?*
     "It doesn't make any difference."  She glanced sideways
at Michiru stumbling along beside her. "It's always been just
the two of us" she thought. " We don't need anyone else. We've
always been alone . . ."
     *Only because you wanted it that way. * the voice of
her conscience skittered  through her mind like a centipede . 
     *But you always knew the Inner Senshi were there, even
when they didn't know about you.  And later, you always
thought SHE would forgive you, take you back, no matter
what you did. Thought SHE would love . . .*
     "SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!!!"

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

     "Is everyone ready?"
Sailormercury looked at her friends, then at the bundle of ten
warheads, the maximum number she had calculated they could
safely teleport at one time. The assembled senshi nodded and
joining hands they formed a circle that pressed them tightly
against their deadly cargo.  Using Sailormercury's calculations
they would materialize roughly fifty kilometers from their target,
accelerate toward it and then launch the bombs, one at a time
through their protective bubble.  If this was successful they
would return for another load of bombs. If the bombs failed
they would use the "Sailor Planet Attack".  And if that failed,
Sailorsaturn remained as Earth's last line of defense. 
     "WHAT do you think you're doing?"
The circle of senshi broke apart in surprise at Sailorvenus's
voice. As they watched in amazement she reached into the
bundled warheads and . . .
     "ARTEMIS!!" 
The white cat shrank under the combined glare of the
gathered senshi.
     "Uh. . .Hi there." Artemis feigned a nonchalant air. 
"Nice weather we're having."
     "LUUUNA!!"
Heads snapped around at Sailormoon's surprised cry. They
saw her draw a struggling black cat out of the wrappings
surrounding the warheads. 
     "Would you like to explain what you're doing?"
     "You need us. You don't have the experience, the
training. You can't just go off and . . ."
     "You're not going."
Luna stuttered to a halt, stunned by the flat tone of authority
in Sailormoon's voice. 
     "But . . ."
Sailormoon hardened her heart against the pain she saw in
Luna's face.. 
     "No. It's too dangerous for you to go with us."
Sailormoon carried Luna over to where Sailorsaturn stood
and draped her across the Senshi's shoulder.
     "Luna's annoying, a nag and she snores. . ."
     "I do NOT snore!"
     "Snores!" Sailormoon stated emphatically. "But she's not
a bad teacher. See that she gets lots of fresh tuna. And naps in
the sun. She's getting old. . ."
     "Old! OLD! What do you. . ." Luna broke off as she
realized what Usagi was trying to do.  
     "Usagi" Luna was pleading now. "Don't go.  You're the
Princess! Stay here and let . . ."
     "They're my friends, Luna."
     "And me?" Luna whispered hoarsely. "What am I?"
     "Oh Luna." Sailormoon gathered the small black cat into
her arms and cradled her against her breast. "You're my friend
too. But I have a duty to protect the earth. You taught me
that."
     "And now you're going to die because of what I . . ."
     "Duty is heavier than a mountain, Death lighter than a
feather." Sailormoon quoted. "Come on Luna, you have to set
a good example for Hotaru." She draped the black cat over
Sailorsaturn's shoulder.
     "Why did you have to pick NOW to grow up?" Luna
sniffled.
Minako dangled Artemis in front of Hotaru's face by the
scruff of his neck.
     "You may as well have a matched set. He's not much
use, but he'll balance the weight." She looked Artemis sternly
in the eye. "You're not going to give me any trouble about
staying behind, are you?"
     "Nope." Artemis said cheerfully. "But I expect you back
in time for supper. Otherwise I'm coming after you." 
Minako gave Artemis a quick squeeze before settling him
across Hotaru's shoulder, opposite Luna.  As she turned to go a
small white paw reached out to stop her.
     "Watch your back Mina-chan."
     "Always." Sailor V flashed her trademark sign and blew
a kiss. 

The senshi linked hands again around the deadly bundle.
Eyes closed they began to combine their powers. Subtle
energies began to stream from their bodies and swirl together to
form a shimmering bubble around the senshi.  The air crackled and
popped as fingers of electricity crawled along the ground like
blind snakes. Dust devils danced around the outside of the
bubble with a muttered rush of air, while inside the bubble an
impossible wind tugged at the senshi lifting and twisting their
hair into vari- colored streamers. 
Luna lifted her head from Hotaru's shoulder and called out a
ringing command.
     'SAILOR TELE . . .

************************************************
                       
The ground rippled and twisted beneath her feet like a wildcat
giving birth to a nest of snakes. Haruka grabbed Michiru up
as they fell, twisting to land underneath to cushion Michiru's fall.
Dazed she could only cling to the ground as it heaved and
bucked like a gut shot dog. The sky blazed with light as
invading air- ships of all kinds exploded in a rain of alien metal and
blood.
     "YES!" Haruka shouted in triumph as she staggered to
her feet, pulling Michiru with her. "YES! I knew Setsuna
could do it!" Haruka watched with hungry eyes each trail of fire
and blood that marked the death of another invader.
     "That will show HER!  Now SHE'LL see that we were
right. We were right all . . ."
     "oh dear."
Haruka spun around at the sound of Michiru's small, slight
voice.
     "I don't think Usagi's going to be happy about that at
all."
Haruka followed Michiru's pointing arm to see a wall of fire
stretching from earth to sky screaming across the land with
the voice of ten thousand angry gods. As it passed by, less than
five hundred meters away Haruka could see buildings and people
melt and twist like a photograph tossed into a fire. Then the
wall was gone, roaring off into nothingness, and in its wake . . ."

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


Sailormercury saw it first. Her visor showed space begin to
crumple and tear like a piece of paper.  Trapped like 
butterfly's in amber by the incomplete Sailor Teleport
Sailormercury and the other senshi could only watch helplessly as the battering
ram of gravity and twisted space-time smashed into them.
     ". . .PORT!" The small black cat was scooped into the air
like a puff ball in a hurricane to slam into the side of a JSDF
HMMV.
The teleport bubble blew apart scattering the unconscious
senshi like the brightly colored corpses of tropic birds. 
Sailormars clawed through the clinging black mud of
unconsciousness to find herself curled protectively around her
princess.  She pressed two frantic fingers against Sailormoon's
throat and was rewarded by a warm steady beat. Her
shuddering relief was dashed by a horrified gasp. Sailormars
wrenched herself awkwardly around to see Sailorjupiter staring
transfixed at the sky. A curtain of fire hung from the clouds to the
ground. To Sailormars it looked as if the sky were bleeding the
fires of hell onto the earth.  The air and ground shuddered from the
roaring screaming sound. An impossible, obscene chorus of
voices, all the voices that had ever been, all the voices that
were and every voice that ever would be, speaking, crying,
whispering, shouting at once. She could see Sailorjupiter
mouth locked in a bellow of rage firing thunderbolt after
thunderbolt at the approaching death. Sailormars drew herself up in a crouch
over the unconscious  Sailormoon and gathered her fire in a
hopeless bid to protect her friend. Sailormars could feel the
sky burning as the fire rushed upon them, could feel the sound of
a million, million voices that beat at her life and sanity. Her own
throat was raw from a defiant blind shriek  as Mars
Fire poured from her like arterial blood to disappear
harmlessly into the oncoming firestorm.

     "PASSIONATE SHIELDING!!!"
Sailorsaturn stepped into the path of the conflagration and
thrust her hands, palm out toward the fire. A crystal shield
blazoned with three silver butterfly's and three crimson hearts formed in
the air and grew in size to cover the fallen senshi. The fire
struck the shield and Sailorsaturn went to her knees and the shield
collapsed slightly in on itself. With a mighty effort Saturn
heaved up on one knee and the shield expanded. Somehow
Sailormars knew, without knowing how she knew, that if Saturn
fell again, the shield would also and they would all die. As she
watched Sailorsaturn struggle against the impossible forces Sailormars
could see blood burst from Saturn's  pores to cover her like a
scarlet cloak. Sailormars could hear the hellfire scream like a
burning woman as it tried to eat through the shield and
watched in horror as Saturn went down. . .watched the
 shield splinter. . .watched as a an angel with silver hair and ivory
wings wrapped gentle hands around Sailorsaturn's waist and lifted her
effortlessly to her feet. Sailormars looked down at the still
unconscious Sailormoon in her arms then back at Sailorsaturn
who was now standing alone as the fire passed over them.

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

     "That's Kakizaki." Sailorneptune pointed down the hill
toward the knot of people milling around in confusion.
     "Are you sure?"
     "That's his uma-jirushi, a golden grasshopper. And the
samurai are wearing sashimono charged with a white daikon.
That's Kakizaki Kageie all right.  Leader of the Uesugi
vanguard at the fourth Battle of Kawanakajima. . . in 1561!"
     "Then the wards are down."
     "That's what I've been telling you." Sailorneptune said
impatiently. 
     "Something's gone wrong. We have to get to Pluto."
Neptune grinned, the first real sign of life she'd shown since . . .
since . . . 
     "Then it's lucky I have this." she held up a small key
between her thumb and forefinger.
     "And just where did you get a time key?"
     "Ah. . . I . . .ah . . . found it."
     "Well, If I'd known you had THAT" Uranus stooped to
pull a small object from her boot top. "then I wouldn't have
needed to steal THIS." She held up an identical key. The two
grinned at each other. Uranus held her key to the sky and
shouted. The air rippled and twisted a hole was torn open into
a place with no name and the two  vanished.

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

Haruka hated the Time Gate. She hated the whispering
voices, thousands of murmuring chittering voices like waves
crashing against the shore. And the figures in the mist, flickering
flitting shadows in the corner of your eye that you could never
quite catch no matter how quickly you turned around.  Pluto had
tried to explain it to her once . . .long ago. It was, Pluto said,
because at the GATE, TIME existed out-of-time . . . there was no
separating THEN from NOW . . . "what-is" from what "might-be".
Everything and every time existed at the same moment . . .because
in the Time Gate there was no moment.  Haruka had made the
mistake of asking Pluto how she could stand to live at
the Time Gate . . .without going mad. Pluto had answered not
a word, but the look . . .the look in her eyes. Haruka  always
slept with a light on in her room after asking that question.
Shuddering at the memory Haruka  gripped Michiru's hand
tighter and felt a comforting squeeze in return.
That was never quite right either, like kissing a picture
 it was . . .bland. 
No, it was worse than bland. Haruka shivered in the
nonexistent cold. THAT was the problem, the time stream
wasn't cold, it wasn't hot . . . it simply was.  The key in her hand
gave a slight tug and Haruka willed herself to follow it's direction.
That was another thing she hated. . . the dammed gate was never
in the same place. You always had to chase it down and even
with a key there was always the chance you could . . .
     "There it is."
     "Where!" Haruka tried to keep the relief out of her voice
at Michiru's words.
     "Above and to the left."
Haruka twisted her head to follow Michiru's pointing finger
and saw the dully glowing . . .space . . . that indicated the Time
Gate. Seconds later they arrived at Sailorpluto's tiny empire within
the time stream. 
     "Plutosama!"  Michiru's voice dropped into the mist and
was lost. There was no echo , no sense of distance or closure.
The mist simply swallowed the sound.
     "SETSUUUUUUNAAAAAAAA!!"
     "Haruka!" Michiru's scandalized whisper brought
Haruka around in a fighting stance.
     "What! What is it? What's wrong?"
     "You shouldn't yell like that."
     "Why not?"
     "Because. . ." Michiru hesitated, trying to put her feelings
into words. "Because it's like a shrine or temple. You should
show respect."
Haruka bit back an angry retort. Because she felt the same
way each time she was at the Time Gate. Awe. Respect. Fear. She
hated being afraid too.
     "Well if it's a temple, where's the miko?"
Just as Michiru was about to reply a sound brought them
spinning around to see . . .
     "Sailorpluto!"
     "Plutosama!"
Sailorpluto looked up from the crystal tablet she was looking
at as she walked.
     "Sailoruranus? Sailorneptune? What are you doing
here?" she went on without waiting for a reply.
     "I'm glad you're here. I need to send a message to
Director Ras and I'm having trouble getting through to the
Facility.  Would you mind taking this to him for me?"
Sailorpluto held out the recording-tablet to Sailorneptune
who drew back from it as if it were a serpent.
     "Director Ras. . .Plutosama . . .Director Ras is dead!"
     "Dead?" Sailorpluto looked at Sailorneptune in white
faced shock. "Dead? But how. . .he was such a young man. . .not
even past his third century." She turned bewildered eyes to
Sailoruranus.
     "How . . .how did it happen? An accident? And his poor
wife. Is someone with her? And the children!" Sailorpluto
turned as if to go. "Someone should be with them. And maybe I
can do something. I can talk to Serenity. She might give me a
dispensation to use the Time Gate to . . ."
Uranus snagged Sailorpluto's shoulder and turned her back
around.
     "Plutosama! Plutosama! Listen to me. The wards. . .The
wards are DOWN! Do you understand me?"
     "What . . .what! Down? The wards down? That's
absurd!" Sailorpluto's eyes lost focus as she gazed off in an
impossible direction. 
     "Nooo!" Sailorpluto moaned in agony her eyes still
focused on eternity. " Gone. Gone." Her eyes blinked
suddenly back into focus and settled on Uranus.
     "Quickly. Come with me. We must hurry before . . ." The
Time Staff snapped into her hand and the three vanished . . .to
reappear elsewhere.
Uranus blinked in confusion as she looked around at
 a . . . garden? A frisson of fear danced down her spine like a
spider as she half recognized the place.
     "Wait here." Sailorpluto ordered. "I'm going to see how
far the damage has spread. If we're lucky we can still contain . . ."
 Her words vanished into nothingness with her as
Sailorpluto stepped into the time stream.
     "It's the Royal Gardens." Neptune whispered. 
Uranus jerked in surprise as recognition flooded her mind at
Neptune's words.
     "Before the fall . . . I recognize this. It's the place Her
Majesty had made just for Sailorpluto."
Neptune nodded her agreement.
     "It's . . .it's very. . . lifelike?"
Uranus shivered again. It should have been peaceful, in this
beautiful garden. Instead she felt as if she'd stepped into a
crypt and someone had locked the door behind her. Involuntarily
she moved closer to Neptune and was unbelievably grateful when
her partner clasped her hand and squeezed it tightly.  A
sudden sound jerked them both around in combat stances. Uranus,
with some effort, shoved a "World Shaking" back down where it
lived before she obliterated the odd hectare or two of flowers and
shrubs.  As she was doing this Neptune took off at a run
toward the center of the garden. Uranus wasted a miserable
fraction of a second debating her partners sanity then sprinted after her.
Moments later they pounded to a stop in the center of the
garden. Before them lay a bank of instruments and monitors
that appeared to date from the Silver Imperium. In front of that
was a low table. And on that table was a multicolored explosion of 
crystals growing out of a mass of pink and white . . . Uranus
moved closer to the table, trying to figure out the purpose of
the crystals and the obviously ancient machinery. She could sense
Neptune moving up behind her on her left.  The closer she
moved the less sense she could make of the riotous pile of
crystals growing like a multi-colored spray of stars. . .Uranus
recognized the crystals as being similar to Silver Imperium
technology, even if she didn't understand their purpose. But
the base the crystals rested on or rather grew from. . .that she
didn't recognize.  Slowly she paced around the table, her eyes
slowly and methodically scanning up and down . . . noting colors
and shapes  and . . .her eyes picked out a cap of short, soft black
hair and her mind stuttered for a moment. Suddenly a form, hidden
by the crystals, snapped into focus and she could see a hand
twitching spasmodically, an eye blazing with murderous fury.
Behind her Uranus could hear Neptune vomiting on the
ground.
     "Te . . ." She swallowed and tried again. "Tendousan?"
A harsh rasping gurgle answered her.
From the corner of her eye she could see Neptune drag herself
erect, wiping her mouth on the back of her glove. Neptune
took an unsteady step toward the table and reached a hand to
grasp a feathery cluster of crystals that grew from the center of the
crystal mass to connect with the bank of instruments. 
     "What are you doing!"
     "We can't leave her like this. We've got to . . "
     "Nothing. We've got to do nothing !" Uranus grasped
Neptune's wrist. "We don't know what Pluto's doing. And you
might kill her if . . ."
     "Kill her!" Neptune laughed bitterly and with a note of
hysteria in her voice. "Kill her! Well, we're good at that, aren't
we. Sacrifices must be made." Neptune jerked free of
Uranus's hold. "No more. I don't care anymore. I'm going to. . ."
     "Would you just wait! Wait for Pluto . . ."
     "That's good advice."
Uranus and Neptune whirled at voice to see Pluto standing at
the entrance of the maze.  
     "Sailorplutosama!" Neptune took a step towards Pluto.
"The enemy is in disarray. The dimensional pulse you
generated has disrupted their ability to create portals. They can no
longer reinforce.  Conventional forces can defeat them at this
point. But the pulse has also affected the wards on the gate.  Please
release Tendousama. So we may restore the wards. And for her
sake."
     "I still have need for Weapon 4." 
     "The enemy is of little consequence compared to the
failure of the wards." Uranus moved to stand beside Neptune.
"Neptune is right. We don't need Tendousama any more.
Right now the most important thing is the failure of the wards."
Uranus's eyes met Pluto's and in that instant she realized the
truth. Beside her she felt Neptune stiffen in sudden
understanding.
     "YOU!" Before Uranus could stop her Neptune pointed
an accusing finger at Pluto. "It was YOU! It wasn't an
accident.
You deliberately destroyed the wards . . .Tendousama! You
used her to destroy . . .But . . .why? Why would you . . ."
Neptune's eyes widened in realization. "Serenity? You're trying to
bring her back!"
     "Clever, clever girl." Pluto purred as she glided forward.
"Three things I needed. A way to remove the wards. Power to
bend the Gate to my will. And a method to predict outcomes
over a hundred thousand years." She smiled slyly at Neptune.
"As you say. Weapon 4 has fulfilled it's destiny by removing
the wards. The 'enemy' Pluto chuckled as she used the term. "The
'enemy' has unwittingly provided the power I need."
     "But you can't control the gate. Not over that span of
time." Uranus burst out almost desperately. "No one can. 
Even a small change over that passage of time will destroy us all.
That's why they sealed. . ."
     'Dead Scream."
The swirling blast of energy smashed Uranus in the belly and
threw her to the ground. 
     "SUBMARINE REFL . . ."
     "Dead Scream." 
A second blast took Neptune in the chest and smashed her
against a garden wall. Neptune struggled to regain her feet, a
trickle of blood running from her ear and down her cheek.
     Dead Scream."
Pluto stalked behind the blast, closing on the struggling
figure.
     "Dead Scream . . . Dead Scream . . . Dead Scream!" Each
blast shook Neptune like a terrier shakes a rat and filled the
air with a cloud of splintered rock and burnt sod.
     'WORLD SHAKING!" 
Pluto moved aside just as Uranus's attack was launched.
Leisurely, almost contemptuously she turned to face her
attacker. 
     "What are you doing!" Uranus had pulled herself up
using the low table for leverage. 
     "I'm doing what is necessary. What is right. Serenity
must live."
     "Even if everyone, everything else . . .dies!" Neptune
shook her head groggily. "Are you insane! You can't do this."
     "I am doing it. I have already started the changes
necessary to restore the Imperium."
     "You . . .Can't . . .DO THAT!" Uranus half screamed.
"It can't be done. There are too many possibilities. No one can
control the  changes. You can't . . .NO ONE could tell the
outcome of time changes made a hundred thousand years ago. 
Every thing will be destroyed! No one could ever control . . ."
     "I can."
The simple assurance in Pluto's voice silenced Uranus like an
executioners axe. 
     "I learned to listen, you see. To the voices." Pluto
helpfully clarified at Uranus's blank look. "I didn't like the
voices at first. They were so many and confusing. But then I
learned to listen to them. And they told me things."
     "Things?"
     "Wonderful things . . .terrible things. And I listened. And
I listened . . ." Pluto's voice trailed off.
Uranus took advantage of her seeming distraction and sprang
at her with drawn sword. The Time Staff suddenly whipped
around and intercepted the sword with a ringing clash of steel and
crystal. 
     "That wasn't very nice."  Pluto remonstrated in the voice
of one who has seen the last sweet-jam bun disappear from
the dinner table.  Pluto began to advance with smashing blows
and lightning thrusts that forced Uranus steadily back. Uranus
wondered briefly why Pluto didn't finish her with a "Dead
Scream" then realized that Akanesan and the bank of
instruments were behind her and in the zone of destruction of a
"Dead
Scream". 
     "WORLD SHAKING!!"
Pluto dance aside from the attack, instantly ready for Uranus's
follow through. But Uranus wasn't interested in Pluto. At the
instant her "World Shaking" left her hands she pivoted and
brought her sword scything around to smash the crystal
synapse that linked Akanesan with the complex of Imperium
instruments. The linkage came apart in an explosion that bled her
with thousands of crystal shards even as it threw her against a
stone bench. Dazed and half blinded by blood running in her face
she sensed rather than saw Pluto loom over her. Frantically she
rolled aside as the Time Staff smashed the place where her
head had lain in a shower of sparks and stone chips, leaving an
crater the size of a dinner plate.
     "Treacherous!"
Uranus scrabbled to one side as the staff whipped over and
down, blowing a hole in the ground of a size to bury a small
dog.
     "Traitorous!!."
Uranus watched the staff descend with the fury on
thunderbolt. She could feel the hot wind of its passage as she
wrenched herself aside. Stone and sand exploded from the ground to
scour the skin from her face like a steel rasp. Pluto attacked again
and again, never giving Uranus time and room to regain her feet. 
     "BITCH!!!"
The end of the staff whipped up and around in a butterfly
sweep to hammer Uranus hip like the wrath of god. Fire exploded
up her body and  she heard a screaming wail that she dimly
realized was herself.
     "Slow!"
Dazed, she could see Pluto looming over her, Time Staff
poised for the final thrust that would crush her throat.
     "Always too slow!"
It was beyond surprising and quickly merging on the
miraculous when the tip of another staff caught Pluto just behind
and below her left ear with sufficient force to stagger the guardian of
time. Rising from the seeming dead Neptune suddenly lashed out
with a leg sweep that dropped Pluto to the ground. Neptune
quickly followed up with an elbow smash that would have crushed
Pluto's chest like a paper bag if Pluto hadn't suddenly
vanished into the time stream. 
     "Can you stand!" Neptune didn't wait for an answer but
dragged Uranus to her feet cringing slightly at the moan of
pain that was forced from her lover's lips. Clasping Uranus firmly
about the waist Neptune moved to the table where Akane had
collapsed exhausted after her bid to kill Pluto. As they
approached the staff Akane had summoned vanished with the
last of her strength.
     "Tendousama. We must leave this place. Pluto will return
at any moment and we can not fight her here where her power
is greatest. I know you have no reason to trust me. . .to trust us.
But please allow me to carry you from here. I swear that I
will take you to Tsukinosama." 
Even as Neptune watched she could see the horrible wounds
closing as Weapon 4's implants worked to repair the damage
Pluto had inflicted. Brown eyes blazed with hatred and
ravaged broken hands quivered with impotent longing to close
around Neptune's throat. She expected Tendousama to refuse her
help and with that refusal Neptune expected to die. For she had
already sworn to herself that she would die before she left
Tendousama in Pluto's hands. And she knew that to face
Pluto here, in her own place of power meant death and worse than
death.  Suddenly a shudder ran through the body on the table,
like a storm surge against the shore. Neptune feared for a
moment that Tendousama was dying. Then the blazing hatred
dimmed from the eyes and the ruined throat and smashed
mouth formed a single word. 
     "ranma."
     "Yes. Yes" Neptune agreed eagerly. She thought it best
not to mention how she has last seen Saotome Ranma. It was
always possible that Hotaru had . . ." I'll take you to
Saotomesama if you wish."
The bloody head nodded once and the eyes closed as if
exhausted. 
Scooping Akane up in one arm, she shifted her grip on
Uranus as she reached for her time key. Clutching it tightly she
closed her eyes and cried.
     "TIME KEY!!. . ."
     "GET US THE HELL OUT OF DODGE!!" Uranus
finished for her.  Neptune's eyes flashed open in startlement to
see the time-lost garden to vanish from around her.

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

Neptune staggered and went to one knee under the force of
her double burden as she materialized in the ruins of Tokyo. She
set Uranus on her feet so she could cradle the injured Akane in
both arms and moved back a pace.
           "'Get us the hell . . . !! . . .You've been watching those
gaijin westerns again on the late show." Neptune accused her
lover.
            "It seemed appropriate, somehow." Uranus defended
herself. 
     "That is the most ridiculous th . . ."
A golden beam of coherent light split the air between them.
     "Uh oh." Uranus turned to look over her shoulder.
     "Uh . . . Hi Minako." She wiggled her fingers hello. "I bet
you're wondering what we're doing back here. It's really a
very interesting . . .Whooooops!" Uranus tried to dodge the
incoming "Crescent Beam", forgetting about her injured hip and
fell flat on her keester.
     "Ahhhhh!" Uranus's face twisted in pain as she hit the
ground. She looked up through pain teared eyes to see a stone
faced Sailorvenus standing over her.
     "Before you fry Uranus, you might want to get some help
for Tendousama."
Sailorvenus's head snapped around to Neptune and for the
first time saw battered figure in her arms. Her eyes hardened at the
sight then she seemed to come to a decision.
     "Follow me." She raised her wrist to her mouth and spoke
into her communicator.
     "This is Venus. I'm coming in with two . . .with two . . ."
Venus paused, unable to think of words to describe the two
exiled out-laws.  "And  some . . .one they claim is Tendou
Akane." Clearly form her tone Venus thought this was some further
trick of the former-senshi.
     "Claim !" Neptune looked startled and offended at the
same time. She started to reply angrily when she was
interrupted as Sailorjupiter's voice burst excitedly from the
communicator. 
     "Get back here NOW! Usagi has collapsed!"

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

     "It's the link I tell you. The Blood Guard link." Neptune
stood impatiently  behind the knot of worried inner Senshi
who were gathered worriedly around the body of their friend. " It's
been twisted, distorted by the Time Gate. If you would just . . ."
she jerked back as Sailormars rounded suddenly on her with a
snarl.
     "Shut up. Just SHUT UP! You have no right to . . ."
     "She may be correct. Assuming that is indeed Tendou
Akane you brought in with you." Sailormercury looked up
from her place kneeling beside Sailormoon. "I've run a diagnostic
scan. Sailormoon is reacting as if she were in trauma induced
shock. She's even showing signs of penetrating wounds, burns . . ."
 Sailormercury shook her head wearily. "I have no
explanation . . .no rational explanation for what's happening to her.
And no idea of how to help her. I can provide some support" she
pointed to the IV solutions running in both arms "but there's not
much I can do for her here. She needs to be in a hospital. If there
were any left standing. If we could get her there without killing her
I would suggest evacuating her to the aid station that
Hotaruchan is working at. I think our best bet is trying to bring
Hotaruchan back here for . . ."
     "What about Tendousama?" Uranus broke in
impatiently. She hobbled over using the crutch Neptune had
fashioned for her from a broken door frame. "If you'll do
something for her . . ."
     "And how do we know that IS Tendou Akane and not
just someone you . . ."
The two outer senshi had finally realized that the identity of
Tendou Akane that was so clear to them was lost on the inner
senshi. All they could see was the battered naked body that
was only vaguely humanoid. And the one person who could
positively identify Akane ,Usagi, was  unconscious perhaps
dying. . The Inner Senshi were NOT happy.
     "And just why would we bring in a stranger just to
CLAIM she was Tendou Akane." Uranus shot back angrily.
     "Who know's WHY you two  do anything? This is
probably just a trick to keep us from . . ."
     "Why you little . . ." Uranus lunged for Sailormars and it
took the efforts of Sailorjupiter, Sailorvenus and Neptune to
keep the two apart.
     "STOP THIS!" Sailormercury commanded the
combatants. "She glared them down, chest heaving from
anger and fear for her friends safety. "No matter who that is"
she pointed at the warmly wrapped figure, also with a pair of IV
solutions running into her arms. "She needs help. More than I
can give her. We need to get her to a hospital . . ."
     "Or a Radio Shack."
Sailormercury jerked at the intrusive voice. She turned to see
a frail white haired man with sunken cheeks slowly approaching
aided by  the anxious attentions of Hibiki Ryouga. 
     "I'm sorry sir, I didn't hear you coming. It's very
dangerous here. You should be in one of the shelter . . ."
     "The old man ignored her and shrugging off Ryouga's
help,  made his painful slow way to the cocooned figure the
Outer Senshi claimed was Tendou Akane.
     "Sir! Sir!" Sailormercury called in a futile effort to stop
the old man. "Sir. You can't be here." She reached out to
grasp the old man's sleeve , afraid he would fall on the uneven
ground, intending  only to stop him. She had a brief impression of
movement before she found herself sitting on the ground with
no idea of how she had come to be there.
     "Jeeeezz Tomboy. Can't take my eye's off you for a
minute, can I." Sailormercury looked up to see the old man
ease himself to the ground beside the injured girl and run a tender
hand caressingly along her cheek. The body lay limp and
unresponsive.
     "Who . . ." Mercury started to ask, but was preempted
by an upraised hand.
     "Their ki " The old man indicated the newcomer and
Usagi with a sweeping hand. "it's all . . ." He fumbled for
words to describe the indescribable. "Their ki's all . . .twisted . .
.jammed up. 
An' I ain't got the juice ta . . .unscramble it."
     "As I tried to tell you." Neptune interjected. "The Time
Gate has affected their link.  All the things that . . .happened . .
.have been 
magnified . . .amplified . . .and Usagisama is feeling
the full brunt now that the Time Gate no longer shields . . ."
     "Yeah, yeah." The old man put in querulously . "What
we gotta do now is fix it. An I ain't got the stuff . . .not now
anyway."
     "I'll do it." Ryouga stepped forward. "I'll do anything for
Akanesama."
     "Yeahbut . .. can you SEE the ki lines porky?"
     "Ahhh, well no but . . ."
     "Then you can't help. You got to know where to . . ."
     "You say . . .she needs . . .ki?" Mars put in. "What about
Usagi? Would it help if SHE got . . .more ki?"
     "Well, yeah. But how . . ."
     "MERCURY POWER."
     "JUPITER POWER"
     "VENUS POWER"
Mars knelt by her friend as her sister senshi's sigals appeared
and power streamed from their bodies into their princess.  She
placed her hands on Usagi's chest, feeling her labored 
breathing . . .seeing the awful, impossible wounds that had so
suddenly appeared. As she felt power, cool Mercury, green
laughing Jupiter, golden Venus enter Usagi she closed her
eyes and opened herself fully to her fire.
     MARS . . .POWER"
Bright fire . . . hot and passionate fire . . .Phoenix fire of 
rebirth . . the fire of Hino Rei's love rushed into her friends
body.
     "Aaaaaa. Hot, hot , hot, hot. Watch it pyro!!"
Tears of laughter . . .and something else streaming from her
eyes, Hino Rei, Sailormars . . .whopped her princess over the
head. Sagging with exhaustion Mercury tiredly turned to check on
the condition of their other . . .patient. 

To Sailormercury's utter surprise the girl, she had though near
death, opened her eyes and smiled faintly at the old man.
     "Baka." Sailormercury had to strain to hear the faint
whisper. "You . . . look . . . terrible. What . . .have . . .you . . .been
. . .doing?"
 Each word was panted on a painful puff of air.
     "Nuthin'. Got killed." The old man shrugged dismissively.
"But I got better." 
Sailoruranus looked at the old man . . .looked into his eyes
and shivered as she recognized . . .
     "Saotomesama." Uranus approached the couple and
bowed formally. "Please forgive me . . ." she glanced at
Neptune "forgive US. We acted improperly, without
 thought . . ."
     'Ahhh, forget it." Ranma waved a dismissive hand. "That
was a pretty good fight . . .you suckered me real good with
that double team stuff." He grinned smugly "Enjoy the win, it's the
only one you'll ever get."
     "Thank you Saotomesama. Your forgiveness is very . . ."
Ranma stopped her with an upraised hand.
     "If you ever touch Akane again" he said very quietly
"you'll wish your mother had strangled you at birth."
Uranus swallowed hard at the flat cold tone. She raised her
head, probably the bravest act in her life, to meet Ranma's eyes.
     "I do not know what oath's we could swear that you
would believe. We have been cast out of the only family we
have ever had . . .our princess has renounced us and our friend . .
.our sister senshi has betrayed us. Everything we fought for is a
lie." Uranus stared at Ranma with eyes so full of desolation and
despair that he reached out involuntarily to comfort her. 
     "We have nothing left in this world but our honor and our
lives. These we pledge to you and to Tendou Akane in this
life and the next for as long as you will have us."
     "Awww Geeezz." Ranma looked helplessly around, then
down at Akane who lay with her head in his lap. She grinned
faintly  at his discomforture. 
     "Pervert." she whispered . "Womanizer. Another . . .
fiance . . .see . . .if . . .I . . .care."
     "No!! nononono!! It's not like that! Why don't you ever 
belie . . ." Ranma stopped suddenly as he noticed Akane's body
trembling faintly with suppressed laughter. 
     "Aaaah Man! I don't understand women!" He turned to
glare at the suspiciously stone faced Uranus and Neptune.
     "An' you two! Just . . . just stay out of trouble. That's all.
Just stay out of trouble." 
Ranma jerked as gentle hands came to rest on either shoulder.
     "Hold still. I want to try something."
A soft white glow surrounded his head and rolled down his
body like a mountain mist.  A soothing warmth covered him like a
blanket and fatigue dragged his eyes closed. Ranma fought
sleep and turned a head that suddenly seemed to heavy for his neck
to support. Standing behind his left shoulder he could see Usagi,
eyes closed , lips pursed in concentration as energy poured
from her hands into his body. Suddenly Sailormars appeared at
their side.
     "That's enough Usagi!"
Usagi made no sign that she heard the senshi of fire and white
light continued to stream from her body.
     "Usagi!" Sailormars's voice was sharp with worry .
"Usagi! Stop it. NOW!" She reached down and wrenched
Usagi's hands loose. As their hands met there was a sharp
crack and Sailormars was thrown to the ground.
     "Usagi no BAKA!" Mars rose painfully to her feet,
rubbing her wounded dignity. "Just what did you think you
were doing?"
Usagi looked up woozily from where she sat slumped against
Ranma on the ground. 
     "J . . .just . . .try . . .trying to h . . help." she gasped.
 "N . . .n . . .now for Akachan."
     "BAKA!" Sailormars stood glaring down at Usagi, hands
fisted on her hips. "At least wait until you've rested." 
     "B . . .b . . ."
     "B . . .b . . .b" Sailormars mimicked nastily. "You sound
like frying grease popping. If you kill yourself what good . . ."
     "You can not help Tendousama, Highness."
Everyone turned at the quiet voice.
     "What do you mean!" Ranma glared suspiciously at
Neptune. "Your pretty speech didn't mean much did it. 
You're not even a senshi anymore. Who do you think you are
giving
orders . . ."
Neptune flushed at the insult but continued.
     " I wish it were not so, but her Highness's power can not
help Tendousama. Tendousama is shielded against that power
and all like it." Neptune smiled sadly at the trio around Akane.
"As a precaution, since Beryl understood the Imperium so
well, Tendousama was created with blocks against the power of
the crystal. This was done to insure that an attack with our own
power or one similar would not affect Weap . . .would not
affect Tendousama.  If Tendousama were . . .uninjured . . .she
could suppress those blocks to a degree. Depleted as she is, the
attempt would kill her."
     "Well, that's OK. I mean Akane's tough. She doesn't
NEED Usagisan's help. She's built like a gorilla . . . brute
strength." Ranma speared Sailormercury with a pleading
glance. "Right! Akane's just tired. Right! She's going to be OK!"
Ranma was commanding now, not asking.
Sailormercury looked as if she wanted to be somewhere else .
..anywhere else. 
     "I . . .I'm not sure. Uh . . .I mean I've been having some
problems with my computer. At first I thought it was from all
the energy discharges. Then I thought the enemy was trying to
hack into . . ."
     "it's . . .ok . . .ami . . .ch . . .an." The whisper came to
them, faint as a summer breeze. She looked up at Ranma, a
faint smile on her face. "d . . .don' w'rry.'bout . . .me.  'm  
mar . . .sh. .ll artist . . .t . . .too.'  A single tear fell to splash warmly
on Akane's cheek. Then another and another. 
     "STUPID tomboy!" He held her in her arms and rocked
back and forth. "STUPID! SLOW!" Ranma's voice was
savage now, cutting like a whip. "Can't kick. Built like a gorilla.
What in the HELL did you think you were . . ."
 Jupiter started forward, her face twisted in anger only to be
stopped by Venus's out stretched hand.
     "Don't. They need to be alone."
     "What! But he's . . ."
     "He's hurting."
Jupiter turned to stare at Venus then back at Ranma and
Akane. She watched in amazement as a frail hand reached up to
lightly box Ranma's ears.
     "P . . .pervert. W . . .w . . .omanizer." The whispered
accusations were a caress. "B . .bet you'll be chasing senshi
next."
     "NEVER! I'll never even look . . ."
A finger pressed to his lips silenced him.
     "D . . .on't say that. S . . .shan Pu" She was laboring now,
each word an effort. "Or Ukyou. Nice . . .girls." She grinned .
"M . . .maybe better go with Shan Pu . . .Cu Lon . . . Y . .
.you need someone . . .to keep. . .you in . . .line."
     "Is she really that bad off?"
Mercury looked up from her computer. Sailormars was
shocked to see tears in her eyes. 
     "She's been all torn up inside. Her implants . . .they . .
.they've almost all been ripped out. She's only got a few nano-
mecha left working. They're dying and not being replaced. If
we had more time . . .maybe I could . . . I could . . ." She turned
bewildered eyes to her friend. "I . . .I don't know what to do.
I don't . . ."
     "It's OK, Ami, It's OK."
     "NO! It's not!" Sailormercury jerked savagely away. "I
CAN do something . . .I CAN. I just have to think . ." Her
fingers flew over the keyboard. "There's always an answer . . .There's . . ."
     "Ami." Sailormars was worried at Ami's tone. "Ami,
listen to me. Sometimes there's nothing. . ."
     "DAMMIT!" Everyone jerked around to stare at
Sailormercury. "STUPID COMPUTER!!" In a frenzy
Mercury raised the computer above her head to dash it against the
rocks.
Sailormars snatched it from her hands and clasped it
protectively against her chest. 
     "AMI! What on earth is the matter with you?"
     "STUPID, STUPID Computer. It's no good. That system
bug is back. I can't get rid of it . . .I can't help Akanesan . . .I
can't . . . I can't. . . I . . ."
Usagi wrapped her arms around Ami. 
     "Amichan. Take a deep breath. Come on now. Big slow
breath. INNN. And OUUUUT." Usagi held Sailormercury calming
her.
     "Better now?"
     "Uh huh." Sailormercury murmured in a low voice. "I'm
so sorry. I let you all down.  I don't know what happened to
me."
     "It's OK." Usagi smiled at her friend. "You just always
try to be the adult for all us kids. Especially me."
Ami was amazed at Usagi's insight. And slightly ashamed of
how she'd always thought of her friends as irresponsible children.
Usagi seemed to read her mind. 
     "It's all right. You are the smartest one of us and the most
mature. I know we drive you crazy . . .I drive you crazy. I'm
sorry that I've dumped so much on you. Please forgive me."
Ami looked into Usagi's eyes and was shocked at the pain and
contrition she saw there.
     "U . . .usagi. Please, I love . . . helping you, helping the
senshi. It is an honor . . ."

Usagi patted Sailormercury on the arm.
     "Tell me, what's wrong with your computer." she
grimaced. "I won't understand of course."She flashed a gamine
grin. "But I can stand here looking all princess like and nod wisely while
you talk." Usagi struck an exaggerated pose that she imagined was
regal but resembled acute indigestion.  Sailormercury stifled a
laugh.  
     "It's silly, really. I've just been so frustrated by an
intermittent fault in the operating system." At Usagi's blank look
she elaborated. "I've been getting something like a burst of static
when using the sensor suite." Sailormercury took her
computer back from Sailormars. "Look." she turned the screen so
that Usagi could see it. "Here it is again."
     "Ohhhh. Kawaiiii! It looks just like a spider spinning a web
out of rainbows."  
     "What!"
Sailormercury turned at the faint cry to see Ranma trying to
support a feebly struggling Akane. 
     "Let me see that."
Sailormercury rushed forward, alarmed by Akane's pallor as
she exhausted her strength with her efforts.
     "Please, Akanesan. Lie still. You must . . ."
Akane waved away Mercury's protest, showing more energy
than she had since returning from the Time Gate. 
     "Let . . .me . . .see . . ." she panted, pointing to Mercury's
computer. Doubtfully she handed the computer to Akane and was
amazed when a broad smile spread over her face.
     "W . . .w . . .hat . . .do . . .you . . .know?" Struggling she
began to input commands and to Sailormercury's amazement
the swirling spiderweb faded to be replaced with what looked like
an alpha-numeric pattern in some unknown language.
     "H . . .ha. I knew it. Imperial . . .encryption . . .." Akane
pressed a function key and a voice began to issue from the
computer.
     @@ . . .tash Rstn'kkl invectr. Nass Rs'pnd. Nass Rs'pnd.
Tishlaq  na sett . . .@@
Akane grimaced and hit another series of keys.
     "Sorry." she wheezed. "Forgot to initiate a transla . . ."
With an electronic squeal the alien tongue twisted into
Japanese. 
     @@. . .nal approach. Please transmit SitRep and
coordinates for insertion. Combat Support Unit ONE on final
approach. Please transmit Situation Report. Please transmit location
coordinates. Combat Support Unit ONE calling Weapon 4.
Please respond. CSU1 calling. CSU1 on final app . . .@@
     "My transmitter's . . .not working." Akane grinned at her
understatement. "I need your computer."
Dumbly, Sailormercury nodded her acquiescence to whatever
Akane needed. She watched astonished as a burst of filaments
erupted from  Akane's wrist and buried themselves in the
computer.  The harsh electronic screech of a burst
transmission assaulted their ears.  @@ Acknowledged.  Targeting
upload accepted. Initiating remote emergency repair.@@
     "AKANE!" Ranma screamed, clutching Akane's body to
him as it suddenly collapsed in on itself like an empty paper bag.
Almost instantly the process reversed itself and Ranma could
feel . . .things . . suddenly growing and moving under her skin.
The shifting and crawling of new implants being "ported" into her
body from deep space stopped and Akane jack knifed out of
Ranma's lap like a spring loaded toy.
     "Ahhhhhhh!" Akane clutched her belly gasping. "That
TICKLES!!" She glared at the sky. "You did that on
purpose." She screamed at the empty sky, shaking her fist. 
     "Ummm. Who are you talking to Akanechan." Usagi asked
timidly.
     "Oneesama!." Akane stood glaring at the empty sky, hands
on hips. "She think's she's soooo funny."
     "O . . .oneesama? Who . . ."
Sailormercury was interrupted by the sound of a train
rumbling in the distance. She did a double take as she realized that;
one: the nearest track was twenty kilometers away and two: there
hadn't been a train running in days. She looked around in
confusion and saw her sister senshi twisting around in
confusion. The rumbling grew louder shaking the ground.
     "Actually it's 'Rnl'ta sa vree na te lassnz'n'k" Akane
suddenly interjected. "It literally translates to 'Elder Sister who
watches over me from the clouds'. But Oneesama is close. She's my
Combat Support Unit. "
Sailormercury suddenly realized Akane was answering her
earlier question.  Then it was too late for conversation as a ball of
fire rumbled across the sky with a thunder that sent the senshi
staggering like one legged drunks on ice. 
     "WHAT'S . . .HAPPENING!" Jupiter screamed over the
roar, trying to keep Usagi on her feet.
     "ONEESAMA!" Akane shouted back, standing erect on
the rolling ground with the ease of a life time of martial arts. 
"SHE'S ABOUT FIFTY KILOMETERS OUT ON HER
FIRST BRAKING PASS."
     "WHAAAAT!"
Suddenly light streaked from the fireball toward the ground.
     "WHOOOOOPS!" Akane screamed gleefully.
     "EVERYBODY DOWN!"
     "WHAAAAT!"
Akane abandoned the futile attempt to scream over the
thunder of the passing fireball and instead grabbed Jupiter/Usagi
under one arm, Mercury under the other and dove into a ditch. Out
of the corner of her eye she could see Ranma, who had been
even less disconcerted by the shaking ground snatch up Mars and
Venus and follow her into cover. Neptune covered Akane
with her own body while Uranus did the same for Ranma. Fire
fountained from the earth as alien structures vanished in balls
of plasma. Shockwaves from kiloton explosions tumbled JSD
armored vehicles across the ruined landscape like autumn 
leaves.  Akane started to dig herself out of the rubble that had
landed on her when a hand appeared in front of her face. She
looked up to see Neptune bending over her in concern. At
Akane's hesitation she started to withdraw her hand. Akane
gave a sigh.
     "We've got to quit meeting like this."
Neptune looked startled then chuckled. Suddenly she
stiffened.
     "The Princess! How is . . ."
     "She's fine." Akane reassured Neptune. "I can feel her
through my link. And through my sensors."
     "I'm fine too, thank's for asking." Jupiter groaned as she
erupted from the rubble like a broaching whale pulling a
coughing  spitting Usagi with her.
Akane patted Jupiter on the back consolingly.
     " Hey, I didn't need sensors to tell you were all right. I
could . . .er . . .feel. . .that you were . . .uh. . .  in good shape." She
grinned wickedly and Jupiter suddenly blushed as she recalled
how tightly she had been sandwiched between Akane and
Usagi. 
     "Makoto, you need to loose some weight. You too Akane.
You guys nearly squished me to death."
     "What!"Jupiter sputtered "Are you calling me fat? I'll have
you know . . ." 
     "Ryouga! Where are you man?"
Akane spun sharply at Ranma's call. Ryouga! She'd forgotten
all about him. She started to do a sensor sweep when the earth
burst open in a spray of dirt and rock as the eternal-lost-boy
blasted his way from under a collapsed building.
     "WHERE IN THE WORLD AM. . ."
     "It's OK Porky." Ranma put a calming hand on Ryouga's
shoulder. "You're still where you started from."
     "HUH? WHAT DID YOU SAY!"  Ryouga's face screwed
up in fear. "AHHHHHHH! I CAN"T HEAR. I'M DEAF! 
RANMA! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAUL . . ."
     "Ahhh man!" Ranma twisted Ryouga's head down
and to the left, rapping him sharply just above the ear with the
heel of his hand. A plug of dirt fell from Ryouga's ear. Ranma
repeated his actions for the other ear.
     "OK Bacon Breath. Can you hear now?"
     "I'm cured! It's a miracle."
Ranma rolled his eyes heaven ward.
     "Yeah, Yeah. Whatever. Yo, Akane. You all right?"
     "Fine Ranma."
     "What was all that?"
     "Kinetic weapon strike.  Super-dense slugs at about sixty
KPS. Took out all of the big alien emplacements. Oneesama's
going to hit as many of them as she can in a single pass before
she orbits back over Japan."
     "Uh . . .yeah." Ranma had no idea what Akane was talking
about but it sounded really neat.
     "Guys! Hey! YOU GUYS!!"
     "WHAT!" Ranma and Akane turned as one to look at
Ryouga.
     "I think we may have a problem." He pointed into the sky
which was black with alien craft.  Ranma gave Akane a sour
look.
     "I think 'Oneesama' may have missed a few."
Sailorvenus looked at the oncoming horde in disgust.
     "Ok, Jupiter, Mars . . .you take the left flank. Neptune . . ."
     "I'll take it."
Venus looked at Akane in surprise. 
     "I appreciate the offer but . . ."
     "Just watch me."
Akane stepped several paces away from the others. Before
she could do more Ranma grabbed her by the shoulder and spun
her around.      "Are you crazy! What do you . . ."
Soft warm lips pressed against his and a tiny feminine tongue
darted playfully in and out. Ranma froze as his mind went into
emergency shutdown under the sensory overload. 
     "He's soooo Kawaiii when he does that." Akane grinned
fondly at her shell shocked iinazuke.  Akane walked  away
from the senshi toward the oncoming war-craft. A hissing tinny
voice erupted from Mercury's computer and she suddenly realized
that it was still, somehow, connected to Akane.( Or was this
Weapon 4?)
     @@Initiating power transfer. @@
     ##Configuring for Power Tap.##
The small group watched in amazement as a golden nimbus
appeared around Akane's body.
     "##Accumulators at 100%. Primary Weapon at 100%,
phase generator spooling up. Full power to all systems.
Containment shield nominal. Initiating transfer to zero-space.##
With a triumphant roar Akane/Weapon 4 burst into
zero-space at full power for the first time in over a hundred
thousand years.  
     ##Threat priorities assigned. Locking Energy weapon on
first target.##
     "Forget that!"
     **What are you talking about? We've got to kill those
things!**
The senshi looked at each other then back at Mercury's
computer.
     "Who IS that!" Jupiter asked Mercury " It sounds like. . ."
     "There's someone else . . .uh . . .IN there with Akanesan."
Venus finished. 
Mercury ignored the babble around her and hastily input
commands into her computer.
     "There's a definite change in  theta rhythms. And the voice
patterns are different. It IS just as if there were two . . ."
     "& i don't like it here. it's scary. &"Three." Mercury added weakly as the little girl voice came
from her computer. "It's as if there were three people . . .three
DIFFERENT people inside of Akanesan." 
     "But WHO are they?" Mars wailed.
     "It's ok sweetie."
     "THAT'S Akane!" Ryouga shouted excitedly.
     "We know who Akane is." Ranma growled, worry
overlaying his exasperation. "It's the OTHER two we need to
know about."
     "Oh." Ryouga blushed and shuffled his feet embarrassedly.
"Uh . . .sorry 'bout that."
     "It's ok sweetie."Akane repeated. "Why don't you and
Auntie Misty play quietly while I make these mean old things be
quiet."
     & 'kay & lisped the small voice.
     ** What are you doing! Let's just kill every . . .**
     "I"M a MARTIAL ARTIST TOO!!"
Ranma groaned 
     "Akane you DUMMY!"
     **Are you INSANE! This is a war. NOT a . . .**
     "I can take these guys. A REAL martial artist doesn't need
a cannon or . ."
     **OK, OK. The two of us will play quietly while you . . .do
whatever it is you do. Come on little one, let's let Grannie
Akane alone.** The voice faded to static.
     "Do you have any idea what that was all about?"
Mercury shrugged helplessly at Neptune's inquiry.
     "That's Misty." Usagi said positively. "I remember the
voice."
     "But . . .isn't Akanesan  . . .I mean . . .I thought Misty was
. . ." Jupiter broke off in confusion. "I don't understand."
     "INNNNNNCOMMMMING!"
The senshi scattered at Venus's cry. Looking up from where
they'd taken cover they saw what looked like thousands of
black armored figures, squat beetle-like flyers bristling with guns
and swarms of sleek needle nosed craft descend like a school of
barracuda who smelled blood in the water.
     "MARS FLAME . . ."
     "LOVE AND BEAUTY . . ."
     "DEEEP SUUBMERG . . ."
     "OAK EVO . . . oh darn."
Jupiter sounded so disgusted that Mercury laughed
involuntarily even as she watched Weapon 4 (or was it Akane?)
render the senshi completely superfluous.  With a burst of light she
appeared directly in front of the on-coming Skroach . .
.demonstrating that  SHE could still travel dimensionally and was
therefore a primary target. The Skroach warriors and vehicles
instantly focused their attention, and weapons on the lone
figure standing nonchalantly in the air before them. A staff snapped
into existence in her left hand quickly forming itself into a
naginata. Supported by her contra-grav system, Akane placed
herself in a classic "chudan-no-kanae" positioned directly in front of the
invaders.
     "Akane you dummy."Ranma hissed "This isn't 'engi'! Don't
show off how good you are at forms, just finish them."
Oblivious to her iinazuke's concern Akane awaited the first
armored strike. Two massive flyers fired blast cannon in one
synchronized barrage.  Akane caught the blasts on her sori,
sweeping the bolts down and away from her. The blade of her
naginata flashed white hot under the strain of diverting
several megaton-seconds of energy then went up and over in a
savage "men-uchi". The over hand strike split the first
attacker down the middle spilling fire, metal and unsavory bits of
chopped alien over the landscape. She immediately followed
with a "ishizuki-tsuki to the second flier. The butt end
of the naginati burst the armored vehicle like a rotting corpse.
Akane's "spirit shout" rocked the heavens as she joyfully charged
into battle.
     "Ah man. No, no. Nuki-waza, NUKI . . .you dummy." 
Mars moved over to Ranma who was muttering under his
breath as he watched the fight far overhead. 
     "NO, NO! You idiot. Distance, distance. "Jodan-no-kamae
not . . ." he groaned like a man in severe pain as he watched
Akane charge a cluster of the needle-nosed flyers with a
wildly offensive "waki-gamae" furious horizontal strikes slicing
through the formation with brutal efficiency. 
     "Ummm, what's the matter? I mean other than your
iinazuke is fighting alien monsters, and is a reincarnated
super-weapon and . . ." Mars mouth snapped shut as she realized what she was
saying. "Never mind. What I meant was, what are you
muttering about?"
     "Dammit." Ranma's eyes never left the battle. "She's
fighting stupid. She's showing off the 'Tendou Ryu' the dummy!
DUMMY! Did you hear me!" Ranma screamed to the sky.
"DUMM. . ."
     'Excuse me, but what . . ."
     "IDIOT! . . . Not you" he hastily apologized to Mars.
"Akane. Tendo Ryu 's one of the most ancient jutsu forms of
naginata. And HER family's branch of the school is known for
being the most AGGRESSIVE. And NOBODY CARES!!" he
screamed again. "Ya hear me. NO ONE CARES, so
CUT IT OUUUUT!"
     "Ummm. Excuse me, what . . ."
     "Ohhhh. When you get back down here I'm gonna . . ." 
Sailormars could hear Ranma's teeth grinding.
     "'I'm a martial artist too'" he mimicked nastily. "That's no
excuse for . . .Ahhhh. Nononono you dummy. Nuki . . .nuki . . .
Distance . . .use your reach . . .avoid the . . ." he groaned again.
 "Well miss 'Martial Artist' after I get through with you you'll have
to eat standing up for a month. Then .I'm gonna' break your arms . .
.no first I'll boil you in . . ."
     "Heh heh heh." Mars chuckled nervously as Ranma
continued his blood thirsty catalogue. "I have to begoingnowseeyou."
     "He really loves her." Venus sighed as Mars zoomed in
behind her. "It's soooo romantic."
Mars stared at her friend as if she were a lunatic.
     "Are you crazy! He talks like . ."
     "Like he's afraid for her." Venus continued. "I hope I can
find someone who cares about me that much."
     "I hope he gets medicated . . .real soon." Mars muttered
sheltering behind Venus.  

The attackers were completely outclassed. Their seemingly
overwhelming numerical advantaged melted like snow in a
furnace as Akane attacked at will, phasing out of zero-space
to launch an attack then vanishing again. Then she got careless.
As she phased into normal-space to attack one of the largest of
the armored fliers six of the "barracuda" fliers fired their
warp-cannon at a single point in the center of her body. Akane
screamed as her containment shield shredded under the assault. She could feel
her flesh rip and bones crack as space was twisted and warped
inside her body.
     ##Warning!  Shield failure in 5.32 seconds.##
     **Lock energy weapon on nearest target** "Misty"
suddenly thrust herself into Akane's consciousness.
     ##Negative function. Weapon power diverted to maintain
Shield. Shield failure in 4.32 seconds.##
One second Akane was writhing in flames as dimensional
stress stripped the flesh form her bones , the next she floated in a
sea of relative calm. Distantly she could feel "Misty" standing
between her and the soul ripping pain.
     **OK hot shot. ** "Misty" panted with strain. **What do
we do now?**
     & i don' ike it here. bad place. i want to go. &     "I'm sorry honey." Akane said sadly. "We can't . . ."
     & now. go now & the child ish voice insisted.
     ##Shield failure in 0.22 seconds.##  
     &now. go now. gogogo . . .&Suddenly Akane realized . . .
     **CUT POWER. . .** "Misty" shrieked. 
     "TO CONTRA- GRAV" Akane finished the command
Suddenly bereft of lift "Weapon 4" dropped like a stone . . .out of
the field of fire.
     &go now& the child's voice said in satisfaction.
Weapon4/Akane flashed into zero-space and reappeared
behind and above her attackers. Riding the cusp of dimensional
coherence she reached THROUGH armored walls to rip the
guts out of alien craft. Ghostly hands pinched out nuclear fires like
candle flames and suddenly powerless armor spiraled to earth
like dead leaves. The sky was filled with explosions and fire and
an expanding yellowish grey mist of alien blood and bone.

*************************************************
    
     "Look out!" 
Sailormars snatched her friend by one arm and heaved her
from the path of the deadly beam. She was just that least
millisecond slow getting out of the way herself.  Between one
heartbeat and another her right arm vanished at the shoulder as the warp
field ripped flesh and bone into another dimension.
     "REICHAN!"
Sailormoon screamed her friends name and sprinted toward
her. The rest of the small party also  dashed toward Sailormars,
except for Sailorjupiter who lay half stunned where Sailormars had
thrown her.
     "Reichan, Reichan!"
Usagi grabbed at  her friend but was roughly thrust aside as
Sailormercury dropped to her knees beside Sailormars.
Mercury made a thick pad of cloth from the bow she ripped off her
fuku and jammed it against the ghastly wound. Usagi watched in
horror as Rei's life dribbled from the saturated cloth and
puddled on the ground.
     "Ami, do something!"
     "I'm trying, I'm trying!" Her breath came in short choppy
gasps as she struggled to stop the warm sticky flood. 
Strong hands came down over hers and pressed into pressure
points. The awful torrent slowed but didn't stop. Ami jerked
in surprise and looked over her shoulder to see Saotome Ranma.
     "Just relax. Breath naturally."
Ami clamped a firm hand on her emotions as she realized she
was hyperventilating. 
     "I can't stop the bleeding. I can't . . .she needs a 
hospital . . .Minako!"
The golden senshi looked up from her communicator.
     "No good. There's not much traffic on the JSDF or
emergency frequencies. The few stations that I can get say that
there's nothing flying within three hundred kilometers of here." Her
jaw muscles bunched in frustration. "There's no way we can get a
helicopter, not even a light plane." She waved a hand at the
surrounding rubble. "Even if we could clear a place for it to
land. And the roads are even worse. No ground traffic at all is
moving."
     "There's got to be something we can do!"
Usagi pressed both hands to her breast and the Crystal began
to glow.
     "Stop it Usagi!" Minako ordered sharply. "You can't grow
Rei a new arm, and you'll just hurt yourself trying." She looked
around . "Michiru you and Haruka take position on that rise
over there. We screwed up by the numbers, watching Akanechan
and letting our guard down. It's not going to happen again."
Michiru and Haruka  shared a look then Haruka limped off
toward the hill.
          "Akanechan, can you or your Oneesama do anything?"
     @@I'm sorry Minakosan.@@ Oneesama's voice came
from Mercury's computer. @@ I am not configured to carry
passengers. Or for atmospheric flight  And my repair and
medical facilities are specific for dealing with battle damage to
Weapon 4. It will take some time to convert them to heal another
entity.@@
Minako's shoulders slumped in defeat. 
     "Alright. Now try that cold thingy you do."
Minako swung around to stare at Ranma and Ami who were
both hunched over Rei's body. 
     "Cold . . . OH!"
Ami's brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to force her
power in channels she'd never thought of before. Slowly a
rime of frost formed over the gash in Rei's side and thickened into
a bandage of ice.
     "I've lowered her core temperature." Ami whispered
staring in disbelief at what she'd done. "That will extend the time
she has . . .but we HAVE to get her to  a hospital."
     "What hospital?" Minako asked wearily. "There's nothing
standing . . .no electricity . . .no roads . . .I don't even know if
the aid station is still intact."
     "It's still there." Usagi said confidently. "Hotaruchan
wouldn't let anything happen to it."
     "Even if it is still there" Ami interjected. "Rei needs a
hospital . . .surgeons . . .blood . . ."
     "Hotaruchan can help her."
     "I know she would try but . . ."
     "I can get her to the aid station, your Highness."
Usagi spun around at the unexpected voice, hope blossoming
in her face.
     "And how would you do that?" Makoto said sarcastically.
An edge of something fierce and ugly simmered beneath the
surface. Something that had been there ever since Rei had
sacrificed her arm, and perhaps her life to save Makoto. 
     "I'm fast, Highness." Neptune said, ignoring Makoto's
tone. "With Haruka injured, I'm the fastest here. I can carry
Reisan."
     "Carry her? Over a hundred kilometers?" Makoto laughed
harshly. "Rei needs help today not next week."
     "I can do this, Highness." Neptune's voice was low and
urgent. "Please, let me do this thing."
Usagi looked into Neptune's eyes and whatever she saw there
decided her. She gave a choppy nod of agreement and
something very like hope lit the former senshi's face. 

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

     "This should keep you on course."
Sailormercury strapped a small flat case, about twice the size
of a wrist watch on Neptune's  right wrist.
     "It's an inertial navigation unit. Not as accurate as GPS but
most of the satellites are down."
She pressed a small earbug into Neptune's ear. "I've
programmed it with a map and the last known location of the aid
station. It will give you verbal directions as you go. It's also programmed to
pick up signals from Hotaruchan's communicator. If. . .when you
get close enough to break through all this interference the unit
will automatically call for help and guide Hotaruchan  to you."
     "Thank you, this is . . ."
Ami waved off her thanks.
     "Oneesama did most of the fabrication. I just helped with
the design. It's my duty to make sure the Sailorsenshi are properly
equipped."
     "Hey, she can't run on an empty stomach."
Neptune looked up to see Sailorjupiter approaching with what
looked like a small backpack dangling from her hand.
     "This is a water carrier. I salvaged it from all that JSDF
stuff that's laying around." She swept the area with her hand to
indicate the mass of broken and scattered material that had once
been a small military outpost.  Makoto fastened the harness
across Neptune's chest and adjusted it until it hung
comfortably."You drink from this." Makoto indicated a small
black tube. "And here's some trail mix, for energy."
 She fastened a small pouch to the top of the harness.
     "What's in it?" Ami asked curiously.
     "Oh . . .ah . . .just some stuff . . .I found."
     "What sort of stuff." Ami reached for the pouch, her
curiosity fully aroused. 
     "Nothing much . . .really. Just chocolate, raisins, malt,
dextrose . . ."
Ami dug out a pinch of the mixture and brought it to her lips. 
     "Aaaaccc . . .phhhhht." Ami spit reflexively as a small
thunderbolt exploded in her mouth.
     ". . .and a little Dexedrine for flavor." Makoto finished in a
small voice. 
Mercury and Neptune stared at her in amazement.
     "Well, she might need a little edge!" Makoto put in
defensively. 
     "Thank you Makotosan." Neptune said with the suspicion
of laughter in her voice. "That . . .that was very thoughtful of
you." She took the pouch from Ami's hands and refastened it to
her harness. 
     "How does  that feel? Can you move all right?"
Neptune twisted at the waist and shrugged her shoulders.
     "Ahh . . .it's a little tight around here." She indicated a spot
below her left arm. Sailorvenus passed her hands over the
golden web that held the unconscious Sailormars against Neptune's
back. The mass of eldritch energy subtly shifted at her mental
commands and Neptune's face lightened in relief.
     "Thank you. That is much better." Sailorvenus remained
cold and unresponsive. Neptune wondered if Venus was sorry she
had missed with her Crescent Beam when they's met earlier. The
thought hurt . . .it hurt more than she believed possible. As
she turned to go Sailorvenus stepped in her path.
     "You took Usagi's heart crystal."
Neptune's heart withered at cold flat statement.
     "Usagi forgave you."
There was no forgiveness in Venus's eyes that Neptune could
see. 
     "You betrayed us to Galaxia. And Usagi forgave you."
Neptune was frozen in place. There was nowhere to hide.
     "And then . . .you finally pushed Usagi too far. She
banished you. Wiped you from her life like dust from her shoes.
And it hurt you . . .like you'd hurt so many other's . . .I could see it in
your eyes. I could see . . ."
Neptune closed her eyes as the pain threatened to overwhelm
her. Tears leaked from her eyes and she shuddered from the effort
of holding them back. Strong hands grabbed her by the shoulders
and her eyes flew open in surprise. 
     "I could see you were hurting. And I didn't like it. So don't
screw it up again. It's not like we've got senshi dropping out
of the trees like cherry blossoms."
Neptune blinked in amazement as Venus winked at her and
turned away in a swirl of golden hair.
     "Wait."
A soft voice stopped her as she took the first step on her
journey.
     "I have something for you." 
Neptune looked down as Usagi pressed a tiny hand to her
breast. A warm silver light pulsed and began to flow from Usagi
into Neptune. All doubts, fears and pain washed away in the silver
flood and Neptune felt a rush of power almost lift her from
the ground      "Highness, I swear to you, on my life, that I will . . ."
A gentle finger pressed to her lips silenced her.
     "I know that you will do your best." Usagi smiled sadly. "
I hope . . .I . . ."She looked down at the ground then back up at
Neptune who sucked in an involuntary gasp at the pain she
saw there. "If anything happens . . .if Reichan doesn't . . .if Reichan
. . . I won't blame you. I want you to come back to me. No matter
what . . .I . . .Just don't do anything stupid."
Neptune could feel those innocent, infinitely wise eyes strip
away her years of armor to look directly at her soul. To see that
she had planed to pay with her own life if Hino Rei died. She had
seen that as atonement, as noble. But under Usagi's gaze it seemed
foolish and cowardly.
     "I . . I promise, Highness. I promise . ."
     "Usagi. My senshi should call me by name."
Joy burst in her heart . . . a flush of power that dwarfed the
silver energy. Sailorneptune bowed once to her liege then sped off
toward the distant aid station with a speed that a cheetah
would have envied.  The small group watched as Sailorneptune
quickly vanished into the distance.
     "Well, now what do we do about the rest of the enemy."
Venus jerked a thumb at a few black specks that could be
seen in the distant sky. "Should we go after them, or let the SDF
take care of them?"
     "We've got bigger problems than that." Mercury put in
before anyone else could speak. "These . .time storms, for lack of
a better term are getting worse. And more frequent."
     "What do you mean?" Jupiter asked.
     "The Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific cables are still
functioning . . .at least a little bit. And I've still got at least a
partial link with the Americans." She looked down at her
computer display. "The Titanic has docked in New York, the
Persian army is advancing on  Athens, half of Paris has
been replaced with what looks like a city from a thousand
years in the future. And that's the good news. Most of these
storms leave dead areas behind, molten rock, methane and hydrogen gas."
     "It's Pluto. She's broken the wards on the Time Gate."
Sailoruranus limped over, leaning heavily on her crutch.
Sailorvenus started to say something, then noticed Hibikisan
on sentry duty in Haruka's place. "She's making changes in the
past, trying to bring back the Silver  Millennium. But she can't do
it. All she'll get is chaos and death. That's why the gate was
warded. The time stream is so complicated, there are so many
ways the time stream can diverge with even a small change."
Sailoruranus looked at the assembled senshi and shook her head in
disbelief. "Pluto knows this better than anyone. It's simply not
possible that Pluto could restore the Moon Kingdom . . .bring back Queen
Serenity. It would be easier to roll dice and get seven a
million times in a row."
     "Pluto must be using her own dice." Sailoruranus
spun awkwardly at Minako's voice and followed her gaze to the
moon hanging low on the horizon. Enormous cloud formations
could be seen swirling in what looked like a tropical storm over an
amazingly azure ocean. And in the shadows that formed the
interior of the crescent moon, the lights of a enormous city
blazed. 
*************************************************

     "SERENITY!"
 Pluto's eyes flamed with an unholy light as she gazed through
the portal at the Imperial City . . .a city that had died a hundred
thousand years earlier in black fire and blood and pain.
Feverishly she spun the portal through space until she found the
Royal Gardens, the wild areas that Serenity loved so well. 
     "There!" Through the tangle of bushes, vines and wild
flowers Pluto could see the flash of silver and purple, the colors of
the Moon Kingdom, Serenity's colors. She stepped through the
portal and pushed madly through the wild tangle of brush. Vines
snatched at her clothes, branches caught at her hair and
scratched her face as she forced her way through. 
     "Serenity . . .Serenity . . .ah Goddess I've missed you . . ."
Pluto reached out to pull the slender figure to her. Hissing
with alarm, the robed figure drew back in fright. Even in the
gathering twilight Pluto could make out the golden cat slitted eyes
and the bifurcated tongue nervously tasting the air. 

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

     "Dammit tomboy! Why'dya have to be th' one ta go? If
these senshi 're so good . . .let them go . .not you."
Ranma was being unfair and he knew it. But he didn't care.
He only cared about Akane.
     "Because I'm the only one that can get to the Time Gate."
     "What about that 'Key" thing . . .why don't they use that?"
     "Because Saotomesama . . ." Sailoruranus started, then
flinched back as Ranma rounded on her with a snarl.
     "Listen you . . .this is all your fault. If you hadn't helped
that bitch . . ."
Akane placed a calming hand on Ranma's shoulder.
     "Not now. We don't have time. The key's don't work
anymore. We already thought of that. But I can . . .make my own
door.
I go in, smash Pluto's machine, get out. Fast. I'm not going to
fight her. We can deal with her later."
Ranma looked at Akane as if she were an especially stupid
person who would have to work hard just to be an idiot.
     "And you think she's just going to let you walk in and
break her Time Gate . . .after all she's done already? After all she's
done to YOU! She's gonna be all over you . . .and on her own
turf." Ranma grabbed Akane and shook her. "STUPID! At least
take me with you . . .take one of the 'senshi'. . . hell . . .take
Ryouga. Someone to watch your back."
     "I'm not equipped to carry passengers. And while,
theoretically, I could extend the containment shield to carry
someone . . .the stress of crossing dimensions would probably
kill them. Why do you think I didn't carry Reichan to a hospital?
Now let me go." She brushed her lips briefly across Ranma's and
turned to leave. He surprised her by reaching out and pulling her
to him.
     "Not this time!" 
Before Akane could move he covered her lips with his own
and she was drowning in a warm sea that tasted of spice and musk
and . . .Ranma. He released her abruptly and she stared at him
stupidly as her scattered wits flew around like a swarm of
bees. 
     "Don't fool around playing 'Best Warrior'. Just do what ya
gotta do and get the hell out. An' if ya see that Pluto bitch.
Shoot her. In the back if you can. An' if you get your stupid self
killed I'm  gonna'  . . .I'm gonna . . .I just am, that's all."
Ranma stomped off a few paces, then turned to glare at her.
     "WELL! Get goin'. An' come right back."
Akane stared at Ranma for a moment, then with a grin she
vanished in a flare of light and a sound like a distant rumble of
thunder.

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

Akane staggered and almost went down as she breached the
barrier to the Time Stream.
     &don' like it here. go home. go home . . .now&     "You and me both sweetie." Akane whispered peering
nervously through the pervasive mists. "But first we have to
do this one little thing. Then we'll go home. OK?"
     &i'cream?&     "You can have some ice cream when we get home, OK?"
     & kay' &     ##Accumulators at 42%. Communications . . .null
function. Power tap . . null function. Active sensors . . .degraded.
Function at 0.53. Passive sensors . . .degraded. Activating fractal
filter program.##
     "What's going on?"
     **The Time Gate.  It's affecting our sensor capability. And
we're cut off from Oneesama. No more power tap. We're on
our own.##
     "Primary Weapon to standby."
     **WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!&** Misty screamed as
Akane's body twisted down through dimensions to normal space. 
     "You just said that the power tap was gone and  I don't
see anyplace to recharge our batteries.  We ought to save our
power until we need it."
     ** You do remember Pluto? You know . . .Tall, dark,
homicidal?**
     "Ha. I can take care of her." The air shimmered and a staff
appeared in Akane's hands. Akane's eyes narrowed in
concentration and the staff shifted and flowed, forming a
heavy war- hammer topped with a wicked triangular spike.
     "This should take care of things." Akane said, hefting the
heavy hammer with satisfaction.
     **You do realize that the staff isn't a weapon, don't
you?**
     "Then what is it?" Akane asked absently, swinging the
hammer through the air, thoughts of smashing and bashing dancing
in her head.
     **It's a multi-phasic, thought responsive force application
device.**
     "HUH?"
     **It's a tool kit.**
     "Uhhhhh. Well, any way. Where should we go now?"
     **Just a guess, but why not in the direction of that
tremendous glowing shape?**
     "What glowing . . .Oh."
     **Some Martial Artist!** Misty chuckled. ** No wonder
your boyfriend worries about you.**
     " HE'S NOT my BOYFRIEND!"
     **Then can I have him?**
     "!!!!!!!!"
     &i think he's nice. i wish i had a friend like him&     **See, even the squirt likes him.**
     "Well, I guess he's not ALWAYS so bad." Akane
reluctantly admitted. "But he's such a pervert. Always sticking his
big nose where it's not wanted."
     ** Well if you asked nice, maybe he'd stick . . .**
     "Ahhhhhhh. Nonononono" Akane sputtered frantically as
she tried to hush Misty.
     & why's akanechan so red? &Akane fumed as she stomped toward the fiery glow and tried
to ignore Misty's smug laughter. .
Suddenly the mists parted to reveal stone walls, benches and . . .
     ** I recognize this! It's . . .**
     ". . .the garden!" Akane snarled. Knuckles whitened on the
hammers grip as Akane charged howling through the maze.
     "PLUTOOOOOO!"
Akane battered her way through ornamental hedges and stone
walls that had been old before the pyramids had been built.
Gasping from her effort Akane found herself in the center of
the maze. Before her she could see the table where Pluto had
used her to smash the wards. And behind that and to one side she
could see an open portal. Moving closer she looked through
it, and from it's perspective down into a large garden complex
filled with noise and rushing, searching . . . figures
     "Well, Pluto was . . .close."
     **Yeah.** Misty agreed, looking with enhanced vision at
the scene. **It IS the Moon Kingdom. Well . . . A . . . Moon
Kingdom.**
Akane spun suddenly at a noise and Misty was momentarily
disoriented at the sudden movement.When the scene
stabilized she could see, huddled in a corner . . .
     ##Kinetic weapon active. Energy weapon active. Target
selected.##
Misty wasn't even aware she'd summoned her weapons.
     **KILL THE . . .**
     "Check Fire. Abort . . .Abort . . ."
     **NOOO! KILL . . .**
     ##Command conflict. Please . . .**
     **WHAT ARE YOU DOING. LET ME GOOO . . ."
     "NO! You can't kill a helpless person." Akane panted with
the effort to keep control of her body and the weapons systems. 
     **JUST WATCH ME** Misty's  mental scream almost
shook Akane's control . . .almost. But a life time of martial arts
had given her a tremendous mental toughness.
     &hello. my name is lash'ra. do you want to be friends?& 
Akane and Misty stopped their mental struggle to find
themselves kneeling beside the huddled figure of Pluto. A gentle
hand reached out to brush aside tangled matted hair to show a dirty
face, etched with the tracks of tears.
     &don't cry. we're goin, for i'cream. you can come too.&     "I tried so hard." The raspy whisper was old and tired. "I
tried . . .so hard." Pluto looked up and Akane/Misty flinched at the
 shattered emptiness they saw there.
     "Go ahead. . .kill me. I don't care.  I've never been able to
die before. Maybe this time. ..maybe . . .I just wish I could see her
. . . say goodby . . ." Pluto wrapped her arms around her middle
and rocked back and forth. "Serenity! I'm sorry . . .I'm sorry . ..don't leave me. 
Don't leave me. . .alone.  Please . . .please."
     **Now what?** Misty sounded genuinely bewildered. A
powerful, confident, cruel Pluto she could deal with.  This
lonely broken woman made her uncomfortable.
     "Pluto. Pluto." Akane shook Pluto by the shoulder. "Pluto.
How do we fix the wards? Pluto! Listen to me!"
Pluto continued to rock back and forth. Now carrying on
conversations with people long dead, now humming a happy tune 
as she looked inwardly  at long vanished vistas.
     "DAMMIT." Akane's hand cracked across Pluto's face,
rocking her back. Pluto looked at Akane with bewildered
eyes. 
     "Why did you do that?"
     "The wards. We have to fix the wards."
     **Why not just blast the machine, like we planned?**
     "Because the machine's already smashed. Something else is
causing the problem."
Misty shifted her perception and saw what she'd missed the
first time because of her anger. The machine was indeed smashed
and blackened. Misty thought she recognized the signature of a
"Dead Scream" attack. Probably Pluto, after she found out the
Moon Kingdom wasn't exactly as she'd remembered it. 
     "What do the wards matter." Pluto rasped bitterly. "What
does anything matter. Let it go.Let it all go. Maybe I can find 
peace . . ."
     "What about Serenity?"
     "She's dead. That's the problem. She's dead and nothing . . ."
     "She's NOT DEAD." Akane screamed. "Not unless you
kill her. She gave her life to save her people, to send them to a
better life in the future.. Serenity gave her life to build a future.
Are you so selfish you'll let it all be for nothing? And her daughter!  A
piece of Serenity still lives in her. Are you going to let her
die?"
Pluto looked at Akane with dazed eyes. Then, slowly,
painfully she started to her feet.
     "You really are annoying." The time staff appeared at
Pluto's command and she used it to pull herself erect.  " I
understand why Ranma runs off all the time. Nag, Nag, Nag."
     "What! What did you say! I do not . . ."
Akane broke off blushing at Pluto's rough chuckle.
     "Let's try to put things back . . .while I'm still . . .able."looked at Pluto suspiciously.
     "Right now . . .everything you just said . . .makes sense.
So much sense that I don't know why I didn't see it myself. But
soon I'll start listening to the voices again . . .I can't help it.
 Serenity . . .I couldn't hear the voices when I was with
 Serenity . . .Icould hear myself when I was with her . . ."
Pluto shook herself, like a dog shaking off water and straightened 
to her full height. Raising the time staff before her she began to spin it in a
complicated pattern. Lightning flashed in the mist and thunder rolled.
Akane could see sweat beading on Pluto's brow as she exerted her
will on the time stream. 
     "X'han NA'TAR SHAAA." Pluto's voice intoned
commands in a language that had been dead half a million years
before the birth of the Imperium. "X'HAN . . .NA'TAR . . .SHAAA."
Akane could see muscles bunch and cord in Pluto's arms as
she took one step . . .then another and another . . .forcing back
the mist. The Time Staff was glowing now, and evil hellish red. It
screamed, like a dying woman,  as it cut through the mist's of
time . . .forcing "Time Was","Time Is" and"Time Will BE" to
Pluto's will. Akane thought Pluto was going to succeed. Right up
to the point when a wall of fire and thunder smashed into Pluto like
the fist of God. 
     **Primary Weapon Active.**
Akane felt her body warp and twist as the containment shield
firmed up. A life time of training launched Akane into the
inferno that claimed Pluto. Even as the raging chaos storm
stripped away her flesh and sanity like acid she grasped the twisting,
burning figure of Pluto and pulled her into the dubious safety of the
containment shield.
     **This is stupid.**
     "I know."
     **We don't have enough power for a passenger.**
     "Almost."
     **The shock of transition will kill her.** Misty said with a
mixture of hopeful doubt.
     "I can't leave her to burn."
     **Do you think she . . .**
     & i'cream! i'cream! go now!!"
Misty turned her attention from her argument to see another ,
larger chaos storm rushing toward them. 
     **OHHHH FUUUU . . ."
*************************************************
     " . . .KKKKKKK." Akane finished as she stumbled and fell
on the uneven ground. Instinctively she twisted to cushion the
unconscious Pluto with her own body.
     & bad bad  word. wash you mouf out wiff soap.& the
small girl voice said with gleeful anticipation. 
Akane groaned and struggled to drag her bruised and abused
body from under Pluto's dead weight when it suddenly
vanished. Strong hands jerked her into a rough embrace.
     "Are you OK. Is any thing broken?" Ranma ran his hands
frantically over his iinazuke, searching for blood and broken bones.
 "Well, what's wrong?"
     "C . . .can't b . .reath." Akane gasped.
     "Ooops." Ranma released his grip and Akane sucked in
oxygen like a "Richard Simmons" escapee sucking down twinkies.
     "What's she doing here?" Jupiter pointed coldly at the
unconscious Pluto.
     "She tried to put back the wards." Akane panted, sinking
to the ground as reaction set in.
Ranma went to the ground with her, and for once Akane
didn't resent his strong comforting presence. "Couldn't do it.
 A . . .almost kill . . .killed her . . .us too. Brought her . . .
couldn't . . .let her die."
     "We have to do something." Sailormercury looked at the
small group. "The time storms are getting worse. And there's
something funny about the power emissions from what's left of
those alien structures."
     "Funny. How so?" Sailoruranus asked.
     "Just . . funny. They shouldn't be active at all . . . not after
what Oneesama did to them. But . . ."
     "Hilbert-Space."
Sailormercury looked down at where Pluto lay sprawled on
the ground.
     "What did you say?"
     "Hilbert-Space. They're Hilbert-Space shunts."
Sailormercury went white and swayed on her feet.
Sailoruranus shot out a hand to steady, overbalanced on her crutch
and would have gone over with Mercury if Ryouga hadn't been there
to catch them. 
     "What is it! What's wrong Amichan!" Usagi's worried
voice came dimly to Sailormercury as if from a distance. 
     "Oh, God. Why did you do it?" She stared down at Pluto.
"You've killed us. You've killed us all."

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


Leap, turn, leap, leap. Sailorneptune's entire world was
focused on the ground beneath her feet, and the voice whispering
through her ear-bug. In Amisan's voice. She wondered briefly at
that. But only briefly. She didn't have energy for anything but running.
     ^Eighty seven kilometers to aid station. Bear to the right.
Present velocity is seventy three KPH.  Pulse 195. ETA to aid
station 1 hour 54 minutes.^ Not good enough. Faster. She
had to go faster. Without breaking stride Sailorneptune took a sip
of water from her chest pack and dug in. Stretching each leaping
stride to thirty meters, increasing her already impossible speed.
     ^Velocity 108 KPH.  Pulse 223. Continue straight. ETA to
aid station is 47 minutes. ^
*************************************************

     "What is it Amichan." Usagi's pleading voice went
unheaded as Sailormercury entered commands into her computer.
And the answer was the same as it had been moments  before . .
.Gotterdammerung . . .Ragnarok . . .death. 
          "Why . . .why did you do it?" She asked, not expecting
an answer.
     "I needed the power . . .power to change . . .time . . .to
cheat . . .death."
     "Would someone please tell me what's going on?"
Sailormercury turned at Jupiter's pleading voice.
     "Hilbert-space is a theoretical concept . . .the source of
creation. Only it's not theoretical. Pluto figured out how to access
it to get power from it."
     "Uhhh. And that's bad?"
     "Unless  think plugging an extension cord into God is
good." Sailormercury snapped shut the cover on her computer
and shoved it away with an awful finality. "Pluto's torn open a
hole into the very source of creation . . .it's an INFINITE source
of power. The time storms are nothing, just a side effect at this
point. . The tear is just going to get wider and wider . . .until
the surface of the earth boils away. Until it consumes the earth,
the moon, the inner planets . . .the sun."
     "It . . .it can't just go on forever . . .can it?" Usagi asked in
a small voice.
     "No . . .eventually the hole will collapse in on itself . . .in
about a million years or so. I doubt it will destroy more than a
third of our galaxy before then."
     "OK, so how do we stop it."
Sailormercury rounded on Ranma with a fierceness born of
terror and helplessness.
     "Stop it? You can't stop i!" Mercury laugher harshly. 
"You cretin. This isn't some street fight . . . some little . . ."
     "That's enough Ami" Usagi's voice stopped Mercury's
diatribe.
" Ranmachan is right. We need you to tell us what to do . ..
How to stop it."
     "I don't know HOW to stop it."
     "Well, can't we plug the hole?"
Mercury's shoulders slumped in despair at Jupiter's naive
question. How did she explain . . .
     "We have to disrupt the flow . . .before it stabilizes at this
level."
Mercury looked down in surprise at the weak voice to see
Pluto trying to sit up. She dropped to her knees beside the
guardian of time.
     "What do you mean?"
     "You had the answer yourself. Remember? You said that it
would collapse in on itself."
     "Well, yes in about a million years."
     "Why?"
     "It creates mass and energy. Gravity wants to collapse
the whole . . .the flow of energy keeps it open. The creation
of mass is slightly ahead of the energy output . . .eventually gravity
will collapse the opening.
Eventually. But that doesn't help us . . ."
     "Yes it does.  The opening is unstable. It want's to close.
Only the flow of energy is keeping it open. If we input enough
energy . . .too much energy . . .too fast for space to tear . . .the
flow will be dispersed. Just a little, but enough to collapse the hole."
Mercury's face lit momentarily . . .then fell. 
     "Even accepting what you say , we don't have that kind of
energy. Not even H-bombs would be enough to affect the
energy that's pouring out of that thing.'
     "I can . . ."
     "NO!"
     "NO way Usagi!"
     "I can not let your Highness do such . . ."
     "That will not work Princess. The energy must be released
directly in the heart of the confluence of time, space and
energy. You would never survive the journey." Pluto struggled to her
feet. I . . .on the other hand can easily enter the time stream
 and . . ."
     "You don't have enough energy to blow out candles on a
birthday cake, let alone snuff out the fires of creation."
Akane rose from the ground with a joint popping stretch.
Ranma looked on in helpless horror as his iinazuke twisted at the
waist in a limbering exercise, and spoke calmly to her princess and
the senshi. "I, on the other hand, have LOTS of energy."
*************************************************
     "I've checked the calculations, again."
     "And?"
     "You are correct." Ami answered Akane reluctantly. "If
you were to . . .translate up several dimensional levels . . .then
breach the containment shield, without shunting off the
energy difference . . .the sudden . . .release of energy
should be enough to destabilize the Hilbert-space breach."
     "That settles it then."
     "Like hell." Ranma spun Akane to face him. "That's it?
You're just gonna go and . . ."
     "You'd go. If you could. You'd go. Because it's the right
thing to do. The only thing." Akane stopped Ranma as he started
to protest. "You know you would. You're always rushing off to
save the world . . .to save me.  Now it's my turn." She brushed the
hair out of his eyes and tucked her arm in his. 
     "Let's walk a little."
She led him away from the group, talking as they went.
     "I haven't always treated you very well." She started.
     "That's not true. You've been swell. I'm the jerk . .I'm the
pervert . . I'm . .."
     "Yes."Akane laughed a little. "You are. But I'm just as
bad. But you scared me. I mean . . .first I thought you were a girl.
Then you were a boy. And I hated boys." She wrinkled her
nose in memory of those day. "They were always . . .looking . . .and 
whispering and . . .and trying to grope. I hated it.  And
suddenly there you were. A strange boy. And I was supposed to
MARRY you. Give up my life. . .my plans for you."
Ranma looked uncomfortable at these revelations and started
to speak. Again Akane stopped him.
     "You're a jerk, and a pervert. Arrogant, egotistical,
stubborn. Won't listen." Akane stopped her litany suddenly and
punched Ranma lightly on the shoulder. 
     "But you're MY jerk. And I guess I like stubborn,
egotistical perverts. Our marriage would never have been dull,
that's for sure."
     "Please, Akane. Don't do this. I . . .I . . .please don't . . .I
can't . . ."
Akane pulled Ranma into her shoulder. She could feel warm
tears soaking her blouse.
     "Dummy." She whispered into his ear. "Dummy. I'm a
martial artist too." Akane pressed her face into Ranma's hair and
breathed deeply, trying to memorize his feel and scent. " Take care
of Usagi and the rest for me.  I'll wait for  you by  Hachiko."
She whirled away from him and quickly mounted the air on her
contra-grav. Seconds later she vanished in a flash of fire and a
crack of imploding air. 

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

     ^Velocity 106KPH.  Pulse 275.  ETA aid station 12
minutes.^
A giant hand squeezed her chest and her legs felt like wooden
stumps from the knees down.  Neptune no longer remembered
why or where she was running. Blackness narrowed her vision to
pinpoints and blood thundering through her veins made her
deaf to everything except the small voice in her ear.
     ^Velocity 103KPH. Pulse 283.  Bear left. Bear Left. 
ETA aid station . . ." 
^ Blind, deaf and dying Sailorneptune
forced her failing body through the ruined city, desperate to win
a race she no longer knew she was running.

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

     "I think we can manage a 'Sailor Teleport', for one
person."
     "What good will that do?" Venus stood looking over
Mercury's shoulder while she worked. The other senshi and
Ryouga sat in a huddle, talking quietly.  Ranma just stood,
silentlystaring at the spot where Akane had vanished.
     "We need to get Usagi out of here. I think we can send her
asfar as Australia. That should be safe."
     "Safe? From what?"
Mercury looked at her friend then dropped her eyes.
     "When Akanechan disrupts the . . .ah . . .'tear' in space,
there's going to be an . . .event. That is . ." She paused for a moment,
then pointed to the alien ruins, just visible in the distance. 
     "That's what's left of one of the Hilbert-space shunts the
aliens built. They used them to make a 'tear' in space. They thought
they were stopping Pluto from . . .well, it doesn't matter what they
thought. The point is, they tore a hole, or holes. And the weakest
spot is in Japan . . .right over there in fact. And when Akanechan . .
.well there's going to be a . . .leak . . . a BIG leakage of energy."
Mercury laughed softly. It was not a happy sound. "Listen to
me. A leakage. It's going to make the surface of the sun feel
like D-point. There won't be enough left of the Home Islands
to put in a shoe box."
Venus stared at her Mercury, stunned.
     "Don't you think you could have mentioned this earlier? I
mean . . ."
     "There was no point. The longer we waited the worse it
would be in the end. And I wasn't sure . . .really sure how bad it
would be. And at least now, most of the world will survive. Japan,
Taiwan, the Chinese coast . . .they're all gone. But not
Australia, I think. And we can send Usagi. If we combine our
powers I'm almost sure . . ."
     "I'm not going anywhere."
They hadn't heard Usagi approach.
     "Usagi! You have to go. You're the . . ."
     "I'm not going. I love you guys too much . . ."
     "HEY!"
They all spun at Makoto's shout.
     "HEY!" She repeated. "LOOK! Something's happening!"
     "Too late. We're too late." Mercury whispered as she
watched the sky over Tokyo burst open like a rotten corpse and
vomit fire and chaos.  Automatically she keyed her visor into existence
and began feeding data into her computer.  The familiar, futile
activity helped keep the fear at bay. She despised her self for her
fear, never realizing that she had atomically stepped in front of
Usagi at Makoto's shout. The other senshi gathered, placing their
bodies between their princess and death. Off to the side Ryouga
moved to shield the still unresponsive Ranma. Heavy chi
boiled from the infinite well of Ryouga's sorrow and despair like
puss from a rotting limb. 
     "CRISIS . . . MAKE UP!"
     "Usagaiiii . . .NO!"
Hands snatched impotently at her garments as the radiant
winged figure stepped past the gathered senshi. From her breast
she took a blazing crystal and held it in front of her. 
     "IMPERIAL . . . SILVER . . .  EMBRACE!"

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

   ##Warning! Containment shield at 30% overload. 
Warning! Entropic sump at saturation point.
Warning! Catastrophic . . .##
     **This is promising.** Misty chuckled. **All these
warnings . . .I think we should have a big boom.**
     "Master Happosai would approve."
     **Who's . . .oh the little pervert.**
     "He liked explosions. Maybe this would classify as a
masters technique."
     **Let's do it. We're not likely to be able to translate any
higher.**
Akane agreed with her ghostly sister-self. Already she felt a
burning twisting in her gut as dimensional shear threatened to
tear her apart. The containment shield flickered and flared under
the stress of nearly sixty more up gradient dimensional transfers
than ever it's designers had anticipated. After all, Weapon 4  had
been designed to stay BETWEEN dimensions in zero-space, not
travel upward to higher planes. But the higher she went, the
greater the potential energy difference between her new state and her
native n-space. And soon, all that potential energy would be
actualized in a release rivaling the Big-Bang.
     "Disengage safety interlocks." Akane commanded the
computer implant.
     ##Negative. Anti-suicide protocols forbid . . .##
     **IMPERIAL OVERRIDE!!! . . .you stupid fu . . .**
     ##Override accepted.## Came the calm, prim voice of the
computer.
     "Getting a little testy, are we?"
     **It's not fair! Every time I start to be happy . . .I can't 
. . .Usagi . . .and now. . . I'm going to . . .Dammit!! Why aren't
you angry! What about Ranma! What about . . .**
     "I'm a martial art . . ."
     **DON'T GIVE ME THAT . . .**
     "That's what I believe. How I was raised. 'Death is lighter
than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain.'. And you believe it
too, . . . .'Blood Guard!'
Misty was silent a moment. Then sighed.
     **Program crash translation. Set containment field to
rupture with maximum energy release.**
     ##Working##
     **I guess we'd better pick our spot.**
They dropped down through dimensions like a hawk stooping
on it's prey. Faster and faster skipping inand out of realities like a
stone across water.
     ##Energy difference at 5546. Increasing exponentially.##
     "Translate into Time-Stream."
With a no more effort than body surfing in boiling acid
Weapon 4 punched through the barrier into the one dimension that
was common to all the others . . .Time. Down . . .and down. Gathering
speed  and power they raced through time. Through the twisted
geodetic's they could see the earth above them . . .could see continents 
melt like snow on a summer day and grow like shadows in the twilight. 
Volcanoes blossomed and sparkled like fireflies."
     &pretty&Turning lazily they could see the Milky Way galaxy spread
out below them like a carpet of diamonds. As they watched new
born stars spun off into space and nebula danced and played like
frisking colts.
     &pretty&     **Yeah, it is pretty.**
     ##Target in sight.##
Turning, they could see it now. A raw wound in the side of
eternity that bled the fires of creation.
     ##Time until impact is . . .##
     "Stop! Cancel time to impact update."
     **I agree. Let it be a surprise.**
Rotating slightly Weapon 4 turned away from inferno ahead
and instead  watched the stately dance of renewal as galaxy's
birthed new stars, fresh worlds, teeming with life. 
     & i know a song.& The small voice announced.
     "A song?"
     &  i see the moon. the moon sees me . . .& 

*************************************************
The fire hit the silvery shield with a shock that drove
Sailormoon to her knees. She cried out in pain as fire leaked
through her shield scorching her hands and igniting her long blond hair. 
     "NOO!" Makoto bellowed. "JUPITER POWER!"
     "VENUS POWER!"
     "URANUS POWER!"
     "MERCURY POWER!"
Jeweled bands of power streamed from the senshi to support
their princess. All that they were, all that they would ever be. All
of their love, and pride and duty. And it wasn't enough.
*************************************************

     *take care*
He could hear her voice like she was standing right next to
him.
.    *take care of usagi*
That was the last thing she asked of him
     *take care of usagi and the rest for me.* 
Saotome Ranma rose to his feet. Ryouga looked back
startled, as Ranma began a slow spiral dance.
     *dummy . . . dummy*
She'd never call him that again. Never hit him, never cook for
him, never love . . .
He was so cold . . .so cold . . Cold enough to steal fire . . . He
remembered that lesson. Remembered Akane sticking her
arms in the fire to try and help him train. Remembered . . . He was
cold . . .cold as ice . . .as death.

     *i'll wait for you at hachiko*

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

     ^Aid station 100 meters ahead. Aid station . . .^
Where . . .was. . .it? Neptune couldn't see . . .maybe they'd
moved . . .maybe the enemy . . .Neptune couldn't think. Her dazed
mind couldn't comprehend the missing aid station. They must have
moved. She had to keep going. She'd promised the princess . .
.she'd promised
 . . .Even a Sailorsenshi had her limits . . .heart and courage could
only push flesh and blood so far . . .and no further. Between one
soaring stride and the next her body collapsed like a broken doll sliding along the
rubble strewn ground.
     "Michiru-mama! Michiru-mama!"
The golden webbing dissolved and gentle hands removed her
precious burden. Tenderly other hands turned her face to the
sky and began to tend her exhausted and battered body.
     "r. . .reisan."
Hotaru had to lean close to hear the faint whisper.
     "It's OK, Michiru-mama. We have Reichan. She's safe. I'll
take care of her."
     "good." Neptune breathed the word and closed her eyes. 
As darkness claimed her a pillar of fire
ripped the sky apart .

     " . . .haruka . . .."

*************************************************
     "HIRYUU!!" 

Ranma stepped outside the silver shield turning the ancient
spiral dance directly into the hell fire.

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


     **I once had a heart Called mine you see
                 But now it has gone
                   From me to you** Misty's husky contralto joined
the little girl in song.
*************************************************

     "SHOUTEN!" 

Ranma should have died instantly. Burned to ash and less than
ash by the fires that God had used to forge eternity. Impossibly he
caught the fires . . . Caught them in the last promise he'd made
to Akane. 

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

                  "So take good care                   
            As I have done
                  For you have two
                  And I have none" Akane's sweet alto swept into
the chorus as they dove into the fire. 

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

     "HAAAAAA!!!"
Ranma screamed his loss as he stabbed his fist toward the sky,
blasting the  torch of fire harmlessly toward
heaven and away from those he'd sworn to protect.

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

     &  i see the moon and the moon se. . .   & 

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

Ranma fell, even as he succeeded in pushing aside the fire,
overcome by the forces of eternity. He could feel his body
shred, bone and muscle unravel, as the merest fraction of that
unimaginable power seeped past his guard to rip him apart
like wet rice paper. For the first time in his life he gave up. He
didn't fight death . . .he welcomed it. Akane had promised to 
wait . . .by Hachiko. That was a promise for lovers . . .to be faithful
forever . . .He could almost see the bronze statue of the loyal
akita, still waiting for his person at the train station . . .Could almost see
the yellow sun-dress . . .when a silver power rushed through
the darkness and swept him back into the light.

     "Over here. HERE! I found him . . .uh HER!" Sailoruranus
looked dazedly down at the petite red-head. "MERCURY!"
Uranus screamed again. "I FOUND RANMA!" 
Stumbling and lurching over the rubble Sailormercury
scrambled to Sailoruranus side and dropped gasping beside the
unconscious red-headed girl. Hastily she pulled out her computer
and began scanning for injuries.
     "How is he ?" Venus gasped, scrambling up the other side
of the rubble mound. "Uh . . .she . ..whatever. How is . . .?"
     "Extensive bruising. Some burns. Fractured . . ." Mercury
trailed off, mumbling to her self as she use her visor to search
for hidden injuries. 
Gasping for breath Sailorjupiter pulled herself up the rubble,
dragging Sailormoon behind her.
     "Y . . .you . . .n . . need to . . .cut . . .out the bean-jam . .
.buns . . .Usagi . . ."
     "B . . .ut . . .they . . .they're . . .so . . .goooood!"

The stealthed attack unit had been waiting for this moment.
It's targets were exhausted . . .in disarray.
Alone of it's fellows it survived to fulfill it's function.
Powering it's weapons it burst from the rubble like a monstrous
cybernetic scorpion. Enhanced vision could see it's foes turning
slowly . . .slowly. Targeting systems locked on the two nearest . . .the
one that used lightning and the small one next to it. Those two
first. Then the cripple and then . . .
 Sailoruranus cursed as she swung around clumsily on her
crutch.  Out of the corner of her eye she could see Hibikisan leap
desperately forward . . .see Jupiter's face twist with rage and
dawning horror as she realized Usagi's danger . . . Mercury
starting to turn away from her patient . . .

She could see . . .the black segmented torso explode under a
storm of . . .ROSES!!!.

     "Mamo-chan!!"
Sailoruranus followed Usagi's gaze to see a tall young man in
top-hat and tails just flaring out his para- sail for a landing.
Overhead, invisible in the smoke filled gloom ,she could hear
the drone of a plane.
     "Mamo-chan . . .Mamo-chan." Usagi leapt into her
beloved's arms just as he stepped from the parachute harness. He
gathered her to him as she lifted her sweet face to his.
     "Mamo-chan . . .what did you bring me from America ?"

     "Aaaahhhhhh!"
Mamoru, Usagi and the rest turned at Sailormercury's cry.
     "What . . What is it!" Venus dropped to her knees beside
her friend. Mercury looked at her computer . . .looked at
 Venus . . .looked at Ranma . . .then back at her computer.
     "He . . .he . . .     He's PREGNANT!!!"

EPILOGUE

     "Do I look fat?"
"Fat?" Chiba Mamoru thought. "Fat. . .my god woman .
..you're HUGE . . .COLOSSAL . . .Imperialist nations are going to
colonize you . . .you should be orbiting a distant star . . .you
could BE a distant star."
Millions of years of evolution . . .survival instinct stored in the
reptilian  brain leapt to the defense.
     "Fat . . .no,no,no. Of course not. YOU'RE not fat. The
BABY is fat. You . . .you're just skin and bone. Here , have
another bean-jam bun."
Haruka's lower lip trembled.
     "I . . .I . . ." she burst into tears. Mamoru cravenly looked
for the door. 
     "I wanted . . .ice creammmm!"
     "Uh . .uh . .uh. . ."
     "Cravings. They'll get you every time."
Mamoru turned at Nabiki's voice. She noted the desperate
look in his eye and made some swift upward calculations.
     "I can help . . .for a small . . .fee."
Mamoaru's hand dove for his wallet just as the front door
opened.
     "WE'RE BAAAACK!"
Nabiki grimaced at Usagi's cheerful voice and consigned
another profit to oblivion. Her fears were confirmed as Usagi,
Michiru
and Setsuna entered laden with bags of groceries. Setsuna
held out an ice-cream cone to Haruka.
     "Here Harukachan. Just what you asked for. Chocolate,
strawberry and vanilla.   I kept it cold for you."
Haruka looked at the proffered treat and burst into tears.
     "What . . .what is it?" Setsuna looked desperately unhappy
at Haruka's tears. 
     "It . . .it's supposed to be strawberry, VANILLA,
chocolate."
     "Don't's worry, Harukachan." Came Makoto's cheery
voice. "I can fix it."
     "You can?"Haruka sniffled.
     "Sure. EVERYONE knows you have to put the chocolate
last. And the Vanilla in the middle to take away the taste of the
strawberry. Come on into the kitchen."
Delighted to find someone who understood the importance of
ice cream Haruka happily followed Makoto into the kitchen.
Michiru rolled her eyes to heaven, shifted her grip on the groceries
and trooped into the kitchen followed by Usagi and Setsuna.
Usagi reappeared moments latter.
     "Where's Reichan?"
     "Where she's been all day." Nabiki replied. "Lying on the
couch."
     Usagi frowned on hearing that and turned to head for her
friend.
     "You didn't tell me about THIS part of it!"
Mamoru frowned at the husky , complaining voice. It
sounded familiar . . .yet not. He followed Usagi and Nabiki into
the next room to see three women standing in a knot. A small, silver
haired girl that he recognized as Hotaru was standing nose . .
.er . . .to nose with a taller girl. The sailor-fuku worn by the
newcomer was gold and scarlet that showed off her
impressive muscles to advantage. Long golden Shirley Temple
ringlets framed a delicate face and brilliant jade green eyes. 
      "You NEVER , NEVER, EVER told me about . . .this!"
The girl jerked the edge of her skirt angrily.
     "But you said you wanted to be a senshi . . ." Hotaru
started to say.
     "Yeah. And that color looks really good on you!"
     "Here it comes." Nabiki thought gleefully at Ranma's
remark. Surreptitiously she slipped the small camera out of her
pocket. Senshi cat-fight pictures should be worth a bundle. 
     "You think?"
     "Yeah, Ryouga. It brings out the color of your  eyes.
You're lucky. With this hair." Ranma fingered her red pig-tail. "I
can't wear stuff like that. Makes me look all orange."
     "Well I think you could. . ."Ryouga suddenly seemed to
remember his previous grievance and rounded on Hotaru. 
     "You never told me that I was going to turn into a GIRL .
..PERMANENTLY!"
     "And just what's WRONG with girls?" Hotaru asked
dangerously. "I told you that becoming a senshi was like a
caterpillar turning into a butterfly."
            "Uh . . .well . . .uh it's just that . . ."
          "It's just that you didn't want to get lost any more . . .and
you don't. It's just that you wanted your problem  with
water solved . . .it's solved. It's just that you wanted to belong
somewhere . . .and you do." Hotaru stuck her finger in 
Ryouga's . . .direction.  "Now come on. It's time for more training." 
She turned and stalked out of the room.
     "Uh . . .training?" Mamoru asked.
     "Yes. Hotaruchan says it's very important to keep in
training for any situation. Right now she's training me to get away
from kidnappers."
     "RYOGAAAA!"
     "Oooops. Coming Sensei." Ryouga turned to them briefly.
"She's VERY strict about training. She says she's going to
keep training me until she's satisfied . . .."
     "RYOOOOOOOGA!!"
Nabiki briefly contemplated Ryouga's vanishing form and
wondered if she should try to place another camera in the
dojo. Before she could come to a decision Shan Pu came into the
room, holding a baby in her arms.
     "Aka-chan fussing. I change diaper. But she still cry."
Nabiki winced at the nickname and started to correct the big
Amazon's Japanese.Then she looked again at the infants
unhappy expression and closed it again. Aka-chan indeed.
     "Of course she's crying."Ukyou smiled down at the infant
and made silly faces. "Who wouldn't cry . . .with your ugly face
staring .. ."
     "UGLY. Spatula girl got some nerve." San Pu fingered the
puckered scar than ran across her face with the steel hook
that replaced her left hand. "This Amazon beauty mark. From
single combat with enemy. Give Akachan GOOD example to live
up too. She grow . . ."
     "She'll grow up with a complex is what." Ukyou countered
as Ranma deftly lifted the suddenly cooing infant from Shan Pu's
arms.
     "She's just hungry. That's all."
Nabiki was distracted from this domestic scene by a low
humming sound. She turned around to see Kasumi appear in the
garden in a ball of sparking light. She was wearing a forest green robe
and carried a potted plant under one arm. 
     "I'm not late am I?" 
     "No, they haven't shown up . . ."
Makoto stuck her head out of the kitchen.
     "Anybody seen Ami. She was supposed to . . ."
     "This won't hurt a bit. Please Saotomesan. You promised."
The elder Saotome rounded the corner of the garden at flank
speed followed closely by Sailormercury who was clutching a
fist-full  of interestingly sharp steel instruments. "Now
Saotomesan . . .we had a deal."
     "Son . . ."Saotome the elder darted behind his
less-than-masculine progeny. "Son, you've got to
help your father. That madwoman wants to vivisect me. "
     "Please don't exaggerate Saotomesan." Mercury appeared
suddenly behind the elder Saotome. "I only want a little brain
tissue." She held up a cranial burr. "Just a teeny . . .tiny . . .piece.
Why you'll hardly miss it." She pressed a button and the saw
whined into life. Saotome turned white and dashed off,
Mercury in hot pursuit.
      "Well, she did give him that fish." Nabiki opined. 
     "With rice and THREE pickles." Ranma added.
Sailorvenus suddenly stepped through a door that didn't exist
from a place with no name with a cat draped over both
shoulders.
     "OH!" Kasumi exclaimed when she saw Venus. "I'm so
sorry I'm late. The queen kept me for such a long time over tea.
And she gave me this." Smiling brightly Kasumi held out the
potted plant, which hissed and drew back in alarm. 
     "It's all right." Kasumi cooed. "These are friends. Let me
get you settled." She hurried into the kitchen and Nabiki could
hear her talking with Makoto.
     "Reichan. You've go to do your exercises if you're going
to get better."
Distracted, Nabiki turned from the kitchen to see Usagi
kneeling by the couch where Hino Rei lay with her face to the
wall.
     "Come on Rei. Laying around all day isn't good for you."
     "You don't understand. None of you do."
     "I know you've got some silly Shinto thing about being
unclean or unholy or un-something if you die without all your
parts or something like that."
     "Silly!" Rei rolled over, clumsy with only one arm, and
faced Usagi. Her eyes were puffy from crying and her unwashed
hair lay lank and greasy across her face.
     "It's not silly. Just because YOU are too stupid to . . .why
didn't you just let me die?"  Rei's voice was filled with
self-loathing and despair as she fingered the empty sleeve
pinned across her chest. Usagi looked at her friend for a moment,
then her lips thinned as her face took on a hard, set look. 
     "OK, HINO-san. I didn't want to do this. But you leave
me no choice."
Rei looked up, shocked by the cold tone and was doubly
shocked when two strong arms grabbed her. With only one arm,
and weakened by weeks of inactivity, she was no match as Usagi
thrust her against the back of the couch, ruthlessly kissing her,
'till she was cross-eyed and breathless.
     "Now then" Usagi continued in the same cold tone. "You
ARE going to do your exercises."
Numbly, Rei nodded her assent.
     "And you ARE going take your medicine."
Rei nodded.
     "AND" Usagi continued  awfully ." You ARE going to let
me read your new manga." Usagi snatched the unread bundle of
magazines that were laying beside the couch.
Rei nodded automatically, then stopped. "HEY! I haven't read
those yet." She glared after her retreating friend. "Usagiiiiii!"
She scrambled clumsily off the couch and lurched after her friend.
     "Well, that's one way to motivate . . ." Nabiki stopped in
mid thought as Kasumi called to her.
     "Yes Oneesama?
     "Nabiki, if the Moon Queen calls . .. "
Nabiki stepped quickly into the kitchen.
     "Oneesama" She said with exaggerated patience. "You are
the ONLY person in the entire world who understand those . . .lizards. . ."
Kasumi interrupted.
     "Oh, no. They're not at all like lizards. They're actually
more like . . ."
     "I don't care if they're related to . . .I don't care if they . . ..
It's just that NO ONE but YOU can understand them. So if the
'MOON QUEEN' does call, just how am I supposed to
UNDERSTAND . . ."
     "She's really very nice. It's just that I promised her some
plum preserves and I forgot. So if she calls about them, I put them
on the third shelf, on the left. Next to the spices."
Nabiki put her head in her hands It was useless. Useless. She
didn't understand the world anymore. Ryouga was a
sailorsenshi. Her sister flitted back and forth visiting the moon like
she was going next door to borrow a cup of sugar.
     ". . .won't hurt much."
Nabiki turned toward the sound to see Sail . . .no it was
Haruka . . .Ten'ou Haruka in this . . .form. Looking like a beached
whale . . .a pregnant beached whale, Haruka reclined, not to say
lounged in a newly bought, over-stuffed chair . . .her face buried in
her ice-cream like a tick on a hound-dog. Curled on
the floor beside her was  Pluto . . . Nabiki shook her head
again trying to keep all the new names and face's straight. Not
Pluto . . .Setsuna, . . .Meiou Setsuna.
     "It's very nice here. Everybody is excited about you
coming. And I don't have to stay at . . ."  Her voice dropped to a
whisper. "I don't have to stay THERE anymore. Usagisama says
that nobody has to stay there forever anymore. I'm just an . . .advisor.
And I have my own room here with the rest of the senshi 
and . . ."
Nakiki shuddered. Sai . . .Setsuna followed Haruka around
like a shadow . . .talking to the extraordinarily pregnant Haruka's
belly and LISTENING as if . . .
     "Of course I'll be there to catch you. . .I'll never leave you
again." 
     "Have you seen the Time Staff." Nabiki heard her sister
rummaging through a closet and thankfully turned away from
the unnerving scene.
     "I think you were using it to prop open . . ."
     "Oh, here it is. Thank you Makoto."
Kasumi popped her head out of the kitchen and waggled her
fingers at Minako. 
     "I'll be with you in a minute. Just let me make some
sandwiches to take with me. And has anyone seen my book?"
     "What's it look like, Kasumisan." Usagi asked breathlessly
as she darted into the room.
     "It's a big paperback . . ."
     "Has it got this big hunk on the front with no shirt and this
woman with a tremendous . . .attitude . . .falling out of her
clothes?"
     "That's it!" Kasumi exclaimed happily.
     "I think Haruka's reading it." Makoto said.
     "Oh! Well, that's alright. There are always plenty of people
to talk to." 
Nabiki shivered at her sisters cheerful tone. Usagi and the
senshi had decided that the guardian of the Time Gate should be
rotated on a regular basis. Right now, eligible guardians were
limited to the senshi Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury, Sailormoon . . . and
her sister Kasumi. Kasumi actually seemed to LIKE the gate.
Nabiki had screaming nightmares for weeks after her one brief
visit. Sailorpluto was exempt from duty on the gate. Privately
Nabiki thought the former guardian belonged in a padded room,
with lots and lots and LOTS of good drugs. But she hadn't been
consulted. And so far the former senshi seemed content to follow
the very pregnant Haruka around and use her time powers for things
like keeping ice-cream cold.  
     "Usagiii!"
Nabiki watched as Usagi dashed behind Mamoru.
     "You'll protect me, won't you Mamo-chan?"
Chiba Mamoru looked down at his beloved princess, then up
at the senshi of fire, bearing down on them like a lava flow.
     "Ummm. Will you look at the time. I'm late for a meeting
with the reconstruction board." He dropped a brief kiss on Usagi's
lips. "I'll see you later."
     "Cowarrrrrrrd" Usagi called after her craven prince. Then
she turned to face Rei.
     "Heh, heh, heh. Uh, HI, Reichan. Eeeeeeep!" Usagi
squealed as Rei lunged for her and Usagi twisted aside only
because Hino Rei lacked two good arms. Usagi dashed for the outside,
with Rei close behind. There was a sudden ,loud splash and Rei
reentered the room in triumph with a soaked Usagi squishing in
behind her.
     "NO fairrrrr Reichan. You cheated!"

Nabiki shook her head, then turned to Shan Pu and Ukyou
who were cooing over the infant contentedly nursing at Ranma's
breast. Nabiki closed her eyes against a sudden stabbing pain.
This was worst of all. A domestic, MATERNAL Ranma.
Nabiki shuddered.
     "Come on Akanechan. Eat it all up. So you'll grow up big
and strong."
Nabiki couldn't stand it anymore.
     "How do you KNOW that's really Akane. OUR Akane."
Even having seen the Silver Crystal . . .and Eternal Sailor Moon
 and . . .everything. Knowing that both Ranma and Haruka had
been made pregnant by the crystal. Seeing the preternatural growth
of the infant 'Akane'. Even when . . .Princess . . .no Usagi. When
Usagi had assured them that the baby was Akane . . .and
Misty and . . .another. But when Nabiki had pressed her for an
answer on HOW she knew . . . Usagi had just grinned while
Makoto muttered something about "old habits" and "showoff". Ranma
seemed absolutely confident that the infant was Akane . . .and
the baby did seem to recognize him . . .her . . .him . . .whatever
sex Ranma chose.
     "How do you KNOW?" Nabiki repeated.
     "Well, she eats like the original. Pretty soon she'll be as fat
as the original." Ranma grinned up at Nabiki then yowled and
yanked the infant loose from her breast. There was a popping
sound as the baby broke suction.
     "She BIT me." Ranma accused, dangling the baby in front
of her. 
     "Well, you deserve it, telling her she's going to get fat."
Ukyou scolded.
     "Spatula girl right. Should never say things like that. Could
give helpless child complex." Shan Pu shoved a velvet
hammer-shaped plush toy into the happily squealing infants
hands. "Here. Bash stupid Ranma for saying bad things."
The baby grabbed the toy delightedly and began flailing away
at Ranma's head.  
     "'anma, 'anam,'anma." The baby burbled happily. "'anma,
'anma,'anma!"
     "Hey, she said my name."
Nabiki's jaw dropped.
     "'anma no BAKA. Baka,baka,baka!"
     "That's my Akane!" Ranma beamed proudly as the infant
girl happily whapped him over the head.
There was a knock at the door and Nabiki thankfully used the
distraction to escape. This was all too much. Her big sister
was best friends with an alien queen living on the moon, and one
of the guardians of the time gate. Her baby sister really was a
baby and the reincarnation of a hundred thousand year old super
weapon.. Nabiki rubbed her temples. She was getting another
of her headaches. She trudged to answer the door before
Setsuna could pull some "magic" elixir from thin air or Usagi
sprouted wings and blasted her with healing light  or . . .  .Kamisama
deliver her from Minako!!
 And the time storms! Nabiki hurried on to the front door.
They'd left behind so much chaos. Viking long boats off the
coast of Europe, dinosaurs roaming middle Asia. It was all
too much for her. A gentle rapping came again just as she slid
open the door. A slender woman with soft brown eyes stood in the
entrance.
     "M . . .mama?"









END

Furies

Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. 

^_^







     


End notes:
1) Japanese terms: 
http://linear.mv.com/cgi-bin/j-e/dict
nanpa: flirt (actually somewhat stronger depending on context.
Indicates a girl of "easy virtue")

2) naginata
http://www.martialinfo.com/WeaponsHistory.htm
http://members.aol.com/naginata/index.html
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~cdea/JCAC/Naginata.html


To answer all the questions:
1) I do not have a web page yet. Soon though. ^_^
2) Where do I get all my ideas? 
I just write what Nabiki tell me to. (Actually this is almost the
truth. 
I get an idea in my head that I just have to work out. I always have
a  general idea of what is going to happen but I am always surprised.
e.g. I had NO idea that Nabiki's (and Akane & Kasumi's) mother
was going to show up until the knock came at the door. ^_^

3) Do I have any more fanfictions in the works?
Funny you should ask. I have MANY in various stages.
1) I have at least 5 where Akane is killed. (This for the
people who want to know when Ranma is going to 
get a bigger part. Two are dark/waffy and three are just
comedies. (This for the people who didn't believe I could
kill Akane in a waffy manner. (I don't do straight DARK).
2) Do you do Lemon/Lime? Not yet but I have four erotic
stories in the planning stages. One is a really FUNNY one
with Ranma/Ryouga. Unfortunately I've run into a minor
plotting problem and put it on the back burner.

Right now I have two fanfic in the works.
1) "Sukeban Senshi":(SM) an alternate time line where Nephrite
alters time to prevent Usagi from becoming Sailor Moon.
Instead we find four senshi (Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter) 
fighting a losing battle against an increasingly more powerful
Dark Kingdom. And who is the mysterious Soban, female
gang-leader who rules their new school with an iron hand? ^_^
Chapters 1-5 done so far out of an estimated 15.

2) "With Friends Like These . . .":(Ranma) A mysterious figure
summons Ukyou, Kodachi & Shan Pu to a deserted warehouse. (Notice it's
never to a good French restaurant) and offers to help them murder
Akane and clear the way for one of them to marry Ranma. This one will
probably be finished first. (Depending on real life and my
computer.) If anyone is interested I do need pre-readers for either or both of
these fanfictions.

Furies
by Allyn Yonge  (allyn01@netscape.net  
                           samr@my-dejanews.com )
     
     
     The  characters  of the Ranma 1/2 universe  are  the
creation   and   possession  of  the  brilliant   Rumiko
Takahashi.  They  belong  to Rumiko  Takahashi  and  her
licensees   (Shogakukan   Inc.,   Kitty-Fuji   TV,   Viz
Communications   Inc.)  No  copyright  infringement   is
intended.   The  characters  of  Sailormoon  are   the
creation  and  possession  of  the  brilliant   Takeuchi
Naoko.  They  belong  to Takeuchi Naoko,   Bandai,  Toei
Animation,  DIC, and all others associated with  rights.
No copyright infringement is intended.
    I would like to thank my pre-readers. Without their
tireless efforts and endless patience this fanfiction would not
exist.  
     Angel de la Hoya, first volunteer pre-reader.  It is
solely due to her early and frequent encouragement that this
story is in it's final form.
     Thiemo Guenther, should be co-creator due to his
detailed and exhaustive analysis. 
     Ken Wolfe, WOW. To have one of my favorite
authors offer C&C.
     Dave Eddy, And another of my favorites. 
     H-Packrat, who offered some telling criticism and
corrected a blunder on the part of the author. 
Terence Young, a late arrival but worth his weight in ramen.^_^
     Pre-readers are worth their weight in any precious metal
you choose. Pre-reading is a voluntary action . . .but
absolutely necessary to producing a readable work of fiction.
And good C&C is harder than writing. Without their efforts
This would be a much poorer story.  I can not thank the
above persons enough . . .so I wrote them into the story. ^_^
As always any errors and omissions are MINE. 


If you have read my "Love is a Battlefield" and "Bloodfist"
you know what I mean by [dark/WAFFy].
The following story contains some scenes of violence. There
are also some erotically suggestive portions. HOWEVER
there is nothing in this story that is not integral to plot
development.

I apologize for the lateness of this post. Unfortunately my hard
drive developed a fatal problem and crashed. (While I was making backups )
My computer is  up but still having problems. Because of this I am making this
revision (6) ready for posting and saving it to 3.5 disk.  This way I hope to have
at least this version available if/when my computer dies
again.(which it has done twice already today (Monday Jan. 18, 1999)) I would like to
thank all of the people who read and enjoyed Furies. Thank you all
for your kind words. If I did not answer your e-mail (or if you received two
posts) it was due to the loss of my e-mail logs.  There were several other 
people I wanted to thank for their help in writing this story.
Especially the person who pointed out the meaning of "Akachan" ^_^ Your name was
one of the names I lost. :(
My end notes will be VERY brief due to the instability of my
system. Because it has been so long since the posting of chap 6-9 I am
adding the last bit of Chap. 9 to this posting to refresh your memories.

     END

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