The Last Days of the Silver Millennium:

 	Princess Serenity sat by the bed on which the doctors had laid out
Endymion to rest, and watched him sleep.  It seemed the rumors were all
true, that war was coming, that the Seven Scourges were breaking free.
Perhaps this was the end of all things which the Red Book, the last
remnant of an age long gone, had hinted at.  

	She loved him, and hoped desperately that he loved her, but they
had been able to spend little time together, especially alone.  There was
much traffic twixt Earth and Moon, but her duties were very full, and
often seemed very meaningless.  That would change when she was Queen, but
for now, she had to watch and listen while others made the important
decisions.  

	He stirred in his sleep and muttered something.  She came over
and knelt to try to listen, hoping he was dreaming of her.
"Cassandra...run, run..."  

	She frowned.  You aren't supposed to be dreaming about Pluto when
you're with me, she thought.  

	A hand touched her shoulder, and she started, but it was only
Eowyn.  "Is Prince Endymion going to recover?"  Eowyn asked.

	She leaned back against Eowyn, feeling the need for a little
comfort.  Eowyn's arms wrapped around her, supporting her.  "The doctors
say he will recover soon.  He has to recover.  Before Beryl arrives.
Before..."

	Eowyn's arms suddenly gripped Princess Serenity tightly, so
tightly it hurt, then loosened to a more comfortable level.  "They're
coming," she said.

	"The spirits told you?"

	"I could feel it.  We have to go, Diana."  Eowyn lifted her to her
feet.  

	Princess Serenity smiled faintly; few there were who knew her true
name--only those she trusted above all others.  The ruling family
concealed their true names behind the mask of 'Serenity', and thus they
became harder to target with magic.  There was no greater act of trust
on the Moon than to give someone your true name.  Even Endymion did not
know her name, though she planned to tell him the night after they wed.
And she did not know his true name either.  But she and Eowyn knew one
another's greatest secret; Diana wondered sometimes if Jadeite knew
Eowyn's true name.  "I can't just leave him."

	"He'll wake soon.  But your mother will be wanting you and..."
Eowyn stared down at Endymion and muttered something, then said, "He'll
wake soon.  Trust me."

	"Of course I trust you."  She bent over and kissed Endymion's
cheek, and to her surprise, he sat right up, rubbing his eyes and
blinking.

	"Serenity?  What are...oh, I made it."  He staggered out of bed.
"Take me to your mother.  I have bad news."

	"Beryl's army is arriving," Eowyn said sharply, then softened,
taking one of his arms.  "Help me drag him," she said to Serenity.

	"I can walk!" he announced, then crumpled.  "I'm sorry, Serenity.
I came as fast as I could, but..."  He looked up at her.  "I have failed
my kingdom and you.  But I will gladly give my life for you...if I can
stand up long enough to do it."

	"Let us help you," Serenity said, lifting him up with Eowyn's
help.  Soon, they were on their way.
	

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

	Children of Fire
	A Sailor Moon/Ranma Elseworld

	Chapter 8:  Race For Your Life, Jadeite!

	http://www.maison-otaku.net/~rhea/SMR/

	By
	John Biles

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

	Jadeite was worried.  Being summoned unexpectedly 
before Beryl was never a good thing.  Being made to stand 
there while she silently stared at you was worse.  Finally, 
Beryl broke the silence.  "Jadeite, I am not pleased with you.  
Your energy harvests have fallen to almost nothing, the 
Sailors are growing in numbers, and you have not had a 
success in months.  What do you have to say for yourself?"

	"I have a plan to trap the Senshi, my Queen.  It is very 
ambitious, but it should enable us to harvest an entire 
stadium worth of energy and defeat them at the same 
time."

	"Tell me more."

	Jadeite explained the entire plan to her.  

	"Interesting.  It is indeed quite ambitious.  I will allow 
you to attempt it, but I warn you, Jadeite, that if you fail, 
you WILL be punished.  I cannot tolerate further failure."

	He nodded.  "Yes, my Queen.  I will set things in motion 
immediately."

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

	Shampoo came up to Usagi, who was hard at work at 
archery practice.  They'd replaced the dummy that Ranma 
had broken with a standard target.  She stood and watched 
for a few minutes as Usagi fired arrow after arrow.  While 
Shampoo was better at hand to hand, Usagi seemed to excel 
with any sort of missile weapon, from her throwing discs to 
the bow.   

	Her shooting was not as accurate as usual today, 
though, and Shampoo suspected it was because something 
was bothering her 'little sister'.  Shampoo said, "What's 
wrong?"

	"Nothing."  The arrow struck the outer ring and Usagi 
frowned slightly.  The next shot was better, but should have 
been a bullseye; Shampoo could see Usagi's hands wobbling.

	"Did Ranma do something stupid again?"

	"No."  This shot struck home, but the next one almost 
missed the target entirely.  "Ranma didn't do anything 
wrong."

	"What did you do wrong then, little sister?"

	Usagi blushed.  "I kissed Rei."

	"You give Rei kiss of death?  Could be risky with so 
many people to defend her."

	Usagi got big eyes.  "No, not the kiss of death!  It was 
just an accident.  I mistook her for Ranma!"

	"Oh, so little sister needs glasses?"  Shampoo frowned.  
"You know there only two kind of kisses an Amazon can give 
a woman outside her family.  Kiss of Death or Kiss of 
Marriage."

	"..."

	"Or Kiss of Divorce, but you have to be married first 
to give Kiss of Divorce."

	"But...Rei would never marry me."  Usagi stared at the 
ground.  "Oh great, now I've really made a mess."

	"You could say that, yes."

	Usagi sighed.  "Any luck with the guy you're after?"

	"He wanted some time to warm up for the fight.  We 
fight in two weeks."

	"Good luck!"

	Shampoo laughed.  "Marriage battles are always weird 
thing.  You have to lose to win."

	Usagi laughed and fired off a bullseye shot.  "You 
should have challenged him to a motorcycle race to ensure 
the results you want, then."

	"Shampoo wants to survive the duel herself, thank 
you."

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

	"So what will you do if you fail?"  Tourmaline asked 
Jadeite.  

	"I can't afford to fail," he said wearily.  "But an ill 
premonition is upon me.  I can see my doom staring me in the 
face.  This battle will mean victory or death for me."

	"If you go into a battle expecting to lose...," she began.

	"Don't lecture me about attitude!" he snapped at her.  
"I was fighting battles when your parents were a gleam in 
your grandparents' eyes!  I have seen the passage of 
thousands of years!  I..."  He took a deep breath.  "Ill fortune 
has dogged my heels from the moment the first of the 
Sailors appeared.  And it is only I who suffer this.  Why are 
only my schemes gone astray, while the Sailors seem 
blissfully oblivious to all that the other generals do?  The 
hand of Fate is upon me, and few enjoy being touched by it."

	She fell silent, trying to figure out what to say.  The 
other generals were not to blame; only she was in a position 
to try to manipulate the Senshi, and she knew most of 
Jadeite's defeats had come about by what seemed to be 
random chance.  Tourmaline didn't trust coincidences, but 
that's what they were in most of the cases.  Perhaps his 
defeat was destined...but she believed in making destiny 
instead of being ruled by it. "You don't think I'm to blame, do 
you?"

	"This began long before you were in a position to be 
responsible for it.  And I must trust someone or go mad.  
Perhaps I am a fool to trust you, but I..."  He fell silent 
briefly, staring out the window at the grounds of the estate.  
"I must trust someone.  I tire of the endless politicking, the 
intrigue and the backstabbing, the sneaking about and 
conning people out of their energy.  I want an honest, open 
battle, yet I know it cannot come until we free Metallia so 
that we can all return to Earth and conquer it.  I am a 
warrior, not a thief.  And now I am rambling."

	"I, on the other hand, rather prefer the sneaking about 
and intrigue to battle.  But why do you trust me?  I wouldn't 
trust me."

	Jadeite laughed.  "You have no reason to hate me, and 
only I will work with you.  An open partnership is better for 
both of us than for you to try to work with or manipulate 
any of the others.  And you are now in deep enough that the 
others will never entirely trust you not to be secretly 
working with me ever again."

	"And who said he hates intrigue?"  

	"Often we must learn to master something we hate," 
he said.

	"Agreed," she replied. 

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

	"You're going to what?"  Michiru asked Kunou over the 
phone.

	"I must do battle with the foul sorcerer in his lair.  
Sasuke confirmed my suspicions of foul sorcery at work in 
the race track.  Last night, he found strangely colored man-
like beasts tampering with the announcement system and 
practicing to drive race cars after the track had closed.  
Some had the power to assume a completely human 
appearance.  So, I have decided to use my family's pass-key, 
enter the track, and destroy him."

	"..."

	"I have called you, my lady fair, to ask if I might come 
and get some token of your favor before the battle to take 
with me.  It might be our last chance to see each other, for 
while I am sure I will triumph over his sorcery, Sasuke 
emphasized the great number of his servants.  Indeed, you 
must take yourself somewhere safe, in case he tries to 
strike at you while I am within his lair," Kunou continued.  "I 
will be there in about a half hour."

	"You could be arrested for breaking and entering," she 
said, trying to dissuade him.  "If there was a sorcerer, and I 
doubt there is, he could call the cops on you!"

	"My family has its own box there; I could tell them that 
I was on my way to get something from it I forgot.  Since I 
have a key, I doubt my entry would be illegal.  But I will take 
that risk to destroy this foul sorcerer."

	"But...you could get hurt or shot or something."

	"Your concern for me touches my heart," he said.  "Do 
not worry, no sorcerer has ever defeated me.  I must leave 
now, but I will be there soon."

	He hung up, leaving her to wonder how she got into 
these things.  After a few seconds thought, she called 
Mamoru.  

	"Hello?" he said.

	"This is Michiru," she said.  "I need your help, Chiba-san.  
We have to stop Kunou getting himself beaten up or 
arrested."

	"..."

	"Get over here.  Now."

	"Uh...I'm on my way."

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

	"I say we raid his house," Ranma said.  "He won't be 
expecting us, while I'm sure at the racetrack, he'll be 
expecting us to try something.  Or at least he'll have 
precautions."

	Setsuna's front doorbell rang.  "It's Naoko," she said, 
heading for the door.

	"Ranma is right for once," Shampoo said.  "His house 
probably has guards, but it's best to take him out before he 
can do whatever he wants to do at the racetrack."

	"But what if it turns out that he isn't Jedediah 
Stanton?"  Ami said.

	"Can't you scan his house for dark energy and stuff?"  
Ranma said.  "If it isn't evil, then we come back here and 
continue planning for tomorrow."

	"Yeah, I'd rather not risk anything happening to 
Haruka,"  Ukyou said.  "Hmm.  How about if Rei disguises 
herself as Haruka and goes to his house?  If she gets the 
scent of evil, she hits the panic button and we come stomp 
him."

	"He might stomp Rei first.  I oughta..."  Ranma began.

	"You wouldn't be able to tell," Rei said.  "But what if he 
isn't home?"

	"A very good point," Setsuna said, returning with 
Naoko.

	"What if who isn't home?" Naoko asked.  "Looks like 
everyone is here.  Sorry I'm late.  I had a lot of stuff to do, 
and I almost forgot."  She sat down next to Ami.

	"We're going to bust into the Stanton House and kick 
Jadeite's butt," Ranma said.  

	Naoko's eyes widened.  "But...we don't know for sure 
he's Jadeite."

	"We got enough evidence to be suspicious," Ranma 
said.  "And if we're sneaky, we can just leave if it ain't him."

	"But...if we wait until the racetrack, we can be sure 
he'll be there..."

	"Maybe.  He wasn't at the grocery store."

	"But...um...I mean..."  Naoko fumbled for words.

	Ami said, "It won't hurt to go there and scan the place.  
If we don't pick up anything, we can come back here and plan 
out tomorrow, or go scout out the racetrack.  I just hope he 
doesn't sense us somehow and go hide."

	"What if the house is a trap?"  Naoko said.  "Maybe he 
wants us to raid it."

	"Geez, what is with you tonight, Naoko?" Ranma said.  
"Anything could be a trap!  I know the racetrack will be, 
unless he's too stupid to guess we might come see Haruka 
race, and I doubt that.  Haruka fought youma at the temple, 
and some of them got away, remember?  The Dark Kingdom 
probably thinks Haruka is one of us."

	Naoko stared at the floor.  "I was just..."  She sagged 
and fell silent.

	Usagi said, "You didn't have to yell at her, Ranma."

	"Geez, it ain't like I insulted her or something.  She just 
ain't usually so negative.  You have trouble at home or 
something, Naoko?"

	"I just...have a bad feeling."

	Setsuna rose.  "We'd best get moving before it gets 
too late."

	Usagi patted Naoko on the shoulder.  "Don't worry; 
we're as ready for him as we'll ever be."

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

	Jadeite listened to classical music as he sat at the 
rarely used kitchen table in the Stanton house, reviewing his 
plans for tomorrow.  Normally, he would have returned to 
the Dark Kingdom for the night, but he had decided he 
needed to conserve energy.  All his troops were already here 
and in place in the stadium except for the two guards he had 
here who doubled as 'servants' for social occasions.  The 
music was soothing; it had convinced him that the mortals 
had managed to create at least one decent thing while he 
had been gone.

	His enjoyment was interrupted when he felt a powerful 
teleportation, right into the kitchen.  Pluto said, "Give up 
now, Jadeite, or we'll destroy you."

	He looked up, wondering how they'd gotten past the 
wards to detect intruders.  He wished he had enough energy 
for wards strong enough to prevent hostile teleportation 
entirely, but it took too much energy to run such things 
constantly.  Still, the wards should have...  He then realized 
that something had dispelled the wards on the house, and 
quite skillfully too.  

	So be it, he thought.  A fey mood was upon him, and 
the idea of simply fighting it out to the death had a strange 
appeal.  He was tired of sneaking about and setting traps; he 
wanted an open, honest battle so that if he died, he could be 
proud of at least one thing he had done.

	First things first, he thought.  Eliminate the weakest 
but smartest links.  He started to raise his hands as if he 
was surrendering, but when they came to the point where 
they were level to the ground, he unleashed two blasts.  One 
flung Mercury through a wall and out of sight.  The other did 
the same to Prudence.

	Saturn and Uranus shouted something incoherent and 
leaped at him, preventing Pluto and Mars having a clear shot 
at him, just as he had hoped.  They were quick and skillful, 
but he had been fighting horrors they could hardly imagine 
for thousands of years.  He simply teleported out of the way 
and let them crash into each other, then struck at the two 
Amazons with a sword of negative energy in each hand.  
Their blows struck home and hurt him more than he had 
expected, knocking him down and stunning him for a second, 
but the blades stuck in them, draining their life  energy.  Nor 
could they grasp the blades to pull them out, though they 
tried, swiftly growing weaker.

	The unexpected stunning cost him; Pluto and Mars 
combined powers and blew him through a wall, charring his 
uniform in several places.  Now Saturn and Uranus were 
coming at him again; he was glad for that, as he knew he 
could slap them around all day.  He pushed his speed with 
what little time magic he could muster and slid between 
them; blows aimed at him struck each other instead.  

	Now he had a clear shot at Pluto and Mars, so he 
charged them.

	"STOP RUNNING, YOU COWARD!"  Saturn shouted as he 
and Uranus charged after him.  

	Pluto raised her staff, and she and Mars fired away at 
Jadeite again.  He simply teleported behind them, letting 
their attacks buffet Uranus and Saturn, although they 
dodged the worst of it, to his surprise.  He landed behind 
Mars and tried to grab her from behind, but Pluto whirled and 
nailed him in the gut with her staff, knocking him away.

	Damn her precognition, he thought.  He hurled a 
barrage of energy draining spikes to gain time to think, 
sending them all dodging for cover.  The two Amazons had 
collapsed by now, and their energy revived him somewhat.  
Ahh, a contact field, he thought.

	He stood still and let Saturn and Uranus hit him.  
Saturn nailed him with a flying kick, while Uranus smacked 
him in the legs with that ludicrous giant spatula she favored.  
He wondered again how a woman could possibly be using the 
Guardian power.  He filed it for later contemplation as the 
impact field went off, flinging them into Mars and Pluto and 
as he himself got knocked into the living room.

	They can't do magic worth much, he thought, but they 
know how to hit.  He teleported right into the middle of them 
and lashed out with a spinning blade of flame.  Mars 
screamed and collapsed, looking shocked, while Uranus fell 
over clutching her burnt stomach.  Pluto and Saturn, 
however, were several feet away, out of his reach, with 
Pluto's hands still around Saturn's waist.

	I have to take down Pluto or I'm going to lose, he 
thought.  Fortunately, I have more power and more skill, so I 
should be able to wear her down.  He opened fire with a 
powerful blast, but Saturn grabbed Pluto this time and 
dodged out of the way.  Then Uranus recovered enough to 
smack him in the back of the knees and send him sprawling.  

	He turned and grabbed Uranus, shaking off several 
painful spatula blows in the process, and began draining her 
dry, using her as a human shield between himself and Pluto 
and Ruby.

	"That's cheating!"  Saturn shouted.  "LET HER GO!"

	"All's fair in love and war," he said, feeling himself 
revive from her energy.  "Got any more cliches for me?"

	"I won't forgive you for this!"

	"Won't matter when you're dead."  He tossed Uranus 
aside once she went limp; she wouldn't recover fast enough 
to matter, and he wanted captives, not corpses.  As he 
prepared to attack Saturn and Pluto, Mars weakly shouted, 
"FIRE SOUL!" and blasted him in the groin.

	Only the fact that she had to shout her attack saved 
his nether regions; he managed to shield himself in time, but 
it was still agonizing.

	He went to grab her, but Saturn was on him, slamming 
his head into the ground.  A second later, he teleported away 
from Saturn, right behind Pluto as she was dodging to avoid 
his attack.  She wasn't quite fast enough this time, and a 
wide-angled blast from him sent her sprawling.  

	By the time Saturn turned to face him, he'd managed 
to jump onto her and get his hands around her neck; she 
fought desperately, but he was stronger and her staff had 
fallen just out of reach. "One step, and I wring her neck," he 
said.  He began absorbing her energy; her sheer power 
frightened him, and he wondered why she could make such 
little effective use of it.  

	Saturn hesitated, and Mars staggered to her feet.  
"Damn you, Jadeite, you coward!" she shouted.  "You always 
did hide behind other people!  You couldn't even muster the 
courage to propose to me yourself!"  Her voice sounded older 
and a touch deeper than usual.

	Jadeite knew it, and for a moment, his blood ran cold.  
Eowyn, he thought.  It is you, but...If it is you, why are you 
fighting so stupidly?  "Oh, and eight people attacking one is 
fair?  Interesting version of fair you have."

	"Don't worry about me...get him," Pluto managed to 
spit out, struggling ever more feebly.

	"Do you want your girlfriend to die?" he asked.  "If you 
are Ruby and Cassandra, you must be lovers, I assume."

	Mars frowned.  "He's my fiancee!"

	Saturn thought a second, then dived past Jadeite, who 
pivoted to keep Pluto between them.  But he wasn't aiming 
for Jadeite; he was after the staff.  Lifting it, he levelled it 
at Jadeite.  "Give up now, or I'll use this to stop time, so I'll 
have my leisure to rip off your head!"

	Jadeite laughed.  "You fool, you can't use it.  It's just a 
stick to you.  Of course, if you actually were competent, I 
can think of a dozen ways you could use your powers to stop 
me, but if it really is you, Ruby, you're only a shadow of your 
former self."

	A strange look came over Saturn's face, and he 
seemed to be talking without words to something invisible.  It 
was one of the most disturbing things Jadeite had ever seen, 
worse in some ways than gazing on Metallia.  He looked like a 
man Jadeite had seen in a hospice for the insane long, long 
ago.  

	His train of thought was derailed when a voice shouted, 
"RETRIBUTIVE STRIKE!!!!!"  The most powerful blast he had 
felt in decades, maybe centuries slammed into him.  His body 
shielded Pluto from the worst of the blast, but she took the 
impact when they slammed into yet another wall.  He felt the 
house shake, and knew the kitchen area would likely simply 
collapse soon; not that much was left of it.  

	His back felt horribly burnt, and he staggered as he 
stood over the unconscious Pluto.  Turning, he saw Prudence 
surrounded by an aura of crackling lightning that made her 
curly hair try to stand on end.  Her face was suffused with 
rage, and she shouted, "You'd better go running back home 
to Beryl, because if you don't, you're going to DIE!!!!"

	And then Mars said, "His true name is Rilifil.  And we all 
know what true names are good for.  I finally understand why 
you sent someone else to kill me."

	Damnation, he thought.  If they know that, I'm far 
more vulnerable.  As he looked at Saturn, he saw the kid's 
face set with a look of utter hatred, and something changed 
in how the boy stood.  And then he spoke.  "Rilifil, I'm going 
to rip out your heart for what you've done to Cassandra."  It 
was deeper and older and stronger and full of cold rage.  It 
was Ruby's voice, and now Jadeite knew he was doomed.

	I should have drained the others to death; at least I 
would have been sure of taking some of them with me, he 
thought.  There was only one option left; if their old selves 
had awakened, they would have stronger skills...but no more 
power than before.  Their new bodies would not be used to 
expending so much energy, nor toughened to resist it.  

	"Better run while you still can!"  Prudence shouted as 
she approached the other two and joined hands with them.  
He would be defenseless, and running would simply get him 
killed by Beryl.  He had only one chance--an attack they could 
not simply dodge.  He would have to throw everything into it 
and pray he would have anything left to fight with.  A Soul 
Tornado.  Just this once, he shouted the words to help him 
focus his ultimate and most dangerous attack, both to 
himself and others.  "SOUL TORNADO!"

	The Stanton House exploded so brightly it got onto the 
morning news.

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

	Ruby heard the first letter, and he knew what was 
coming.  It was too late to stop him; the Soul Tornado would 
absorb Ruby's own power if he tried to stop it.  He would 
have to outrun it.  It would have been easy if he could have 
stopped time, but this body was too weak to survive that; it 
would have been fatal, and thus pointless.  But he could 
move like a blur, burning his reserves to speed time around 
himself, and thus to get everyone out of the house, starting 
with Cassandra.

	Or so he hoped.  He got her out, and the two Amazons, 
and Mercury.  Then, just as he grabbed Prudence and Mars, 
he ran out of power and sagged back into normal time.  
"Teleport NOW!" he shouted, feeling himself detransform.  

	They were just slow enough to get nailed by the Soul 
Tornado as it grew, and then the world went rainbow colors 
around them.  When that stopped, Prudence stood far 
across the rubble strewn yard amongst a pile of unconscious 
people.  She fell to her knees.  I need rest desperately, she 
thought.

	Usagi and Shampoo staggered to their feet.  "Is it 
over?"

	"I don't know," she said weakly, trying to rise and 
failing.  

	The house was gone; only rubble was left of it, and 
much of it was blown across the yard.  They could see 
Jadeite lying half-naked and unconscious amidst the 
wreckage.  Shampoo hefted her mace.  "He likely to pop up 
and blast us?"

	"Not after that, I don't think..."  Prudence said.

	Pluto groaned and sat up.  "Where's my staff?"

	Shampoo pointed over to a nearby location.  "There's 
the handle."  She pointed further away.  "There's part of the 
orb."

  	Pluto's eyes widened.  "But I can't...it...no..."  Her voice 
was weak.  "I can't do anything but dead scream and a little 
precognition without my staff.  I can't open the gate of time 
or..."

	"Come on, Usagi, we have to kill Jadeite now."

	"Can't we just lock him up?"

	"You think prison hold man who can level house?"

	Black winds swirled around Jadeite, and then he was 
gone.

	"Or who can do that.  Dammit."

	Prudence began to cry.  "This was all for nothing.  It 
didn't work, he got away, but now..."

	Sirens began to blare in the distance.  

	"Now we must get away," Pluto said.  She swept up 
what was left of her staff.  "I cannot replace this until we 
find the Silver Crystal."  And maybe not even then, she 
thought.  

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

	Michiru cursed her parents and all her ancestors.  
Then she cursed herself for going along with Kunou.  She 
wasn't quite sure how he had talked her into it.  Mamoru and 
Kodachi were with them as well; Kodachi was quite attractive 
in her battle-leotard, if you ignored her bouts of maniacal 
laughter.  

	They got up into the Kunou family box, then went to 
the windows and looked down on the track.  Semi-human 
beings with oddly colored skin and hair and sometimes 
strange deformities were busy driving pumping gas into 
racecars and getting them into position to drive around the 
track.  Kunou nodded.  "Just as Sasuke said."  

	Kodachi said, "You're half-right, brother.  I see no 
sorcerer, though."

	Michiru just stared in shock; she could see Mamoru was 
equally disturbed.  "Youma," he muttered.

	"What was that?" she asked.

	"Hmm?" he asked.  "Did I say something?"

	"Something about youma."

	"I guess those rumors about monsters invading Tokyo 
are true," he said.

	"Now what?"  Kodachi asked Kunou.

	"We will find the sorcerer while Chiba-san guards 
Michiru-san here."  He took the long green ribbon he had 
somehow finagled from Michiru, and tied it round the hilt of 
the bokken he was carrying.  "Much as it pains me to use 
your dishonorable tactics, sister, I believe an ambush is 
called for."

	Kodachi laughed.  "Perhaps there is hope for you yet."

	They departed together.  Once they were gone, Michiru 
said, "Do you think he can fight them all?"

	"I can't decide whether to take you to the car and flee, 
or go help him," Mamoru said.  "You shouldn't be here.  You 
might get hurt."

	"I just...Why did I come here?"

	"Don't ask me.  I'm still trying to figure out why I 
came."

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

	Feldspar sat in her room, half-reading a book and 
wondering when Tourmaline was going to show up like she 
was supposed to.  I would have gone on my date if I'd known 
she was gonna make me sit around the house, she thought.  I 
wonder what the guy is like?  She also wondered why she was 
quite so eager to go on a date; it bothered her a little.  
Warriors weren't supposed to care about such things.

	Her cheeks tingled; someone had just teleported in.  "I 
was starting to think you were gonna stand me up, big 
sister."

	"I am not your sister, though I am trying to find her," 
Lt. Rhoxolite said.  "I can't find Jadeite either, and his house 
is just a crater now."  A tall, dark haired and dark-skinned 
youma, he was in charge of the race track operation when 
Tourmaline and Jadeite were away.  "We've got intruders."

	"The Senshi showed up early?"

	"No, it's a lunatic with a wooden sword and some 
madwoman who took down Chrysolite with a bouquet.  And 
she throws all these really weird weapons at people.  But 
they're tougher than the average mortal."

	"I can take them," she said confidently.  "Let's go."

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

	Few things are more embarrasing than being thrashed 
by people you think are insane.  The youma at the track were 
feeling quite embarrassed.  Most of them were recently 
recruited people who had just learned of their status as 
reincarnated warriors of Beryl's kingdom.  Their powers 
were weak, and their combat training was minimal.

	It didn't help that all the traps had been set up to 
empower themselves from a racing audience that wasn't 
present, or that the two maniacs were smart enough to stay 
where they couldn't be runover.  As a result, a half dozen 
youma were done, and the other half a dozen were 
conducting a...frenzied withdrawal.  

	"Come back here, you cowards!"  Kunou shouted.  "And 
send out your master!  I would have words with him!"

	Kodachi simply beaned a purple skinned, blue haired 
youma with a thrown gymnastics club and sent it tumbling 
down a staircase towards the bottom of the stands.

	And then there was a flash of light, and a short-haired 
woman appeared.  She gestured and suddenly, Kunou and 
Kodachi found themselves pinned down into two seats in a 
nearby aisle by surging, visible winds.  "And that's that," the 
woman said.

	"Foul sorceress!  I will not allow you to infect this 
stadium with your evil!  For I am the Blue Thunder of 
Furinkan High!"  A bolt of lightning stabbed down behind him, 
nailing two youma who were now approaching him with 
improvised clubs.  He seemed oblivious to this, but they 
passed out and reverted to normal humans.  "Your powers 
cannot harm me, for my heart is pure, and true love 
empowers me with the blessing of the gods!"

	Kodachi simply struggled.  "Who are you?"  Her efforts 
were fruitless.

	"You can call me Feldspar.  Blue Thunder, eh?"  Sounds 
familiar, she thought.  Dim memories stirred.  There had 
been Seven Thunders...was he one of them.  "You serve the 
Sky King?"

	"I serve all the gods of Japan!  I am their righteous fist 
of wrath!" he shouted.  "Shina-Tsu-Hiko will punish you for 
abusing his powers!"

	She had to admire his bravery, and deplore his inability 
to face reality.  "Your gods can't save you now.  But perhaps 
Metallia will want you to serve a real goddess.  I think I'll take 
you to her."  He has real power, she thought.  I can feel it.  
And the woman as well.  Maybe that'll put me back in Beryl's 
good graces.

	"Kill them?"  Rhoxolite asked.

	"The living are worth more than the dead.  Go help our 
unconscious people; I'll take them back to the Dark Kingdom."

	"Mamoru, come back here!  What are you doing!  We 
have to get out of here!"  a woman's voice shouted from a 
fair distance away.

	Rhoxolite and Feldspar turned and looked and saw a 
man in a tuxedo and cape wearing a little black Zorro mask.  
He was approaching at high speed with a green haired woman 
running after him.  For a few seconds, Feldspar did nothing 
because she simply couldn't believe he was real.  

	Then he threw four roses at once, striking her winds, 
which evaporated.  Nor could she call them back.  Her jaw 
dropped, then Kunou was on her.  "Head!"  He struck her 
head.  "Shoulder!"  He nearly dislocated her left arm.  
"Chest!"  Her sternum ached from the blow.  

	"GROIN!" she shouted and kicked him in the balls.  His 
eyes went wide, and he staggered back, bending over.  
"FACE!"  She kicked him in the face, knocking him back.

	She turned, and the madwoman was on top of 
Rhoxolite, then leaped up onto a light fixture, trailing a 
ribbon.  He hung from it like a pinata, and the lunatic lady 
smacked him like one with a small club, sending him swinging.

	Spinning on her heel, she launched a flying kick at the 
madwoman, but then the madwoman was gone, springing 
straight up out of the way.  Rhoxolite came round and her 
foot connected with his head, knocking him out.  Landing 
poorly, she tumbled down the stands.

	Her winds finally came back, and she flung the crazed 
gymnast across the stands...somehow right into the arms of 
Mr. Tuxedo Guy.  Then he swept his cane through the winds 
and they shattered.  This was beginning to piss her off.

	All the youma were down, two of three lunatics were 
still up, and her best power didn't work.  I need 
reinforcements, she thought.  But if Jadeite and Tourmaline 
have run off somewhere, I can't get any.  If only I knew 
where Tourmaline keeps all her youma, or if I could move 
youma born in the Dark Kingdom to Tokyo without it costing 
so much energy...but if wishes were horses, we'd already 
rule the Earth, she thought.  

	What would Tourmaline do, she asked herself.  
Probably seduce the man.  She dismissed that method, then 
an idea struck her.  The green haired woman knew Mr. 
Tuxedo Guy, so if I take her captive, I can track them and 
dispose of them at my leisure, she thought.  And she isn't 
fighting, so she must not have any powers.  I hope.

	As Mr. Tuxedo Guy and Lunatic Gymnast Woman 
charged her, she leaped over them to the green-haired 
woman and seized her by the wrist.  "You're coming with me," 
she said, then teleported to her own room in the Dark 
Kingdom.  "Welcome to your new home."  

	The woman fainted instead of vaporizing her, which a 
tiny part of her brain had feared would come next.  "And now 
to take you to Beryl." 

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

	Kodachi knew this was her lucky day.  She was 
snuggling up to the man of her dreams, her worst enemy had 
been kidnapped by an evil sorceress and likely would never be 
seen again, and her brother couldn't possibly blame her for 
it.  

	The man of her dreams was busily poking about where 
Michiru had vanished and grimacing as her brother woke up.  
"Where is the sorceress?"

	"She stole your whore and ran," Kodachi said absently.

	"I don't have a whore."  Kunou sounded confused.  "Did 
you get hit in the head again?"

	She sighed.  "Your 'aqua tressed goddess'."

	"She took Michiru?  But Michiru was supposed to be...."  
His face darkened.  "COME OUT AND FIGHT ME!!!!"

	Feldspar didn't come.

	"She's gone, and I don't even know where to start 
looking," the tuxedo clad man said.  "I could not respond to 
the Princess' call fast enough, and I could not save Tethys 
either."  He bashed one of the stadium chairs to bits with his 
cane in frustration, then sagged.  "And now I must go."

	"Who are you?"  Kunou asked.  "And have you seen 
Mamoru?"

	"I don't know who I am," he said, and tried to go.  
However, Kodachi was clinging to him like a koala to a tree.  
"I have to go."

	"Take me with you!  I'll make you forget all about... 
whatever her name is."  

	He tried to go, but Kodachi's grip was like a vise.  Then 
he winced, and a detransformation washed over him, leaving 
a confused Mamoru behind.  "Kodachi, why are you crushing 
my arm?" he asked.

	"You...you're...him?" she asked disbelievingly.

	"Of course I'm me."

	Kunou looked at him and nodded knowingly.  Mamoru 
had been a vessel for Hachiman, but now had forgotten it.  
Although it wasn't the way Hachiman was usually portrayed, 
but clearly Amaterasu had smiled upon their battle and sent 
one of her noblest warriors to rescue them.  I must pray and 
prepare myself to recieve guidance from the gods as to how 
to find and rescue my lovely Michiru, he thought.

	"You were...are you playing a joke on me?" she asked 
suspiciously.

	"That would require me to have some idea what you're 
talking about," he replied.

	This dispute went on for quite a long time while Kunou 
began going over legends in his head.

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

	"You have failed again, Jadeite."  Beryl said.  "For long, 
you served me well, but now you give me nothing but failure."

	"Does all my years of service mean nothing to you?"  
he asked despairingly.  

	"It does mean something," she said.  "It means your 
recent failures are inexplicable.  Either you have betrayed 
me and are failing deliberately, or someone has betrayed us, 
and is leaking our secrets to the Senshi.  I find the later far 
more plausible, for I know that if you lost your loyalty to me, 
you would either try to kill me or just go openly over to the 
Senshi.  Therefore, I will give you one last chance to redeem 
yourself.  Publicly, I will announce you have been sentenced 
to Eternal Sleep.  But privately, you will take on a new 
identity.  I will give you to Nephrite as an assistant.  You will 
spy on those who serve him, and if he begins to fail as you 
did, hopefully, you will catch the traitor.  You will report your 
findings to me periodically.  Do you understand?"

	"Thank you, my queen!  I will begin immediately!"  He 
paused.  "I have reason to believe these Sailor Senshi may in 
fact be the ones of the Silver Millennium reborn, not just the 
inheritors of their power."

	"Yes.  And Feldspar told me that Endymion has 
appeared.  In your spare time, I want you to look for him."

	"Yes, my queen.  I very much wish to find him myself."

	She smiled faintly.  "Good.  Now, let's create you a new 
identity."

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

	"You think Grandpa's still awake?" Usagi asked Rei as 
they all crept up the stairs into the temple courtyard.

	"I hope not, or he'll turn me into meatloaf for being out 
so late," Rei replied.

	"Where have you BEEN?" Kenji-neko demanded, popping 
out from under the porch.

	"Smiting evil," Usagi replied.

	"Oh, well, that's okay," he said, then went and laid down 
for a nap.

	"I wonder what Pop would say if I told him that," Ranma 
said.

	"He'd laugh, then slap you around," Ukyou said.

	"You think a bath would wake Grandpa up?"  Rei asked 
as they reached the porch.

	"We could all take one together," Usagi suggested.

	Rei and Ukyou both blushed.  Shampoo nodded.  "Saves 
time for sleeping.  Shampoo is exhausted."

	"But...I mean..."  Ukyou glanced over at Ranma.

	"Shampoo too tired to care."

	"You all go ahead," Ranma said.  "I gotta go blow off 
some steam anyway."

	Usagi frowned slightly, then dragged the others away 
to the bathroom.  

	Ranma went and woke Kenji-neko back up.  "Is she 
always like that?"

	"Like what?"

	"Trying to get guys she likes to take baths with her 
and stuff."

	Kenji-neko's eyes widened.  "She WHAT?"  

	Ranma began to regret mentioning this.  "Uh, nothing, 
go back to sleep."

	"Did you do it?"

	"No!"

	Kenji-neko looked at him dubiously.  "Are you gay?"

	"NO!!!!"

	"Are you sure?  I don't think I've ever met a boy your 
age who would say no to that."

	"With her and three other women at the same time?"

	"I definitely haven't met the boy who..."

	Ranma grumbled and got up.  "I ain't that kinda guy.  
Plus, I'd hack the rest off if I said yes.  'Cept maybe 
Shampoo, but she's weird.  Half the time, she's a guy in a 
girl's body."

	"But Usagi isn't like that?"

	"Well, Usagi is too, but the girly half of her is more 
girly.  If you know what I mean."

	"Not really," Kenji-neko said.

	"She fights like a guy, but she's like a normal girl the 
rest of the time."  He paused for a few seconds.  "Well, 
sometimes normal.  Then she does something like trying to 
get me into the bath with her and everyone else."

	"Which way do you like her better?"

	"I dunno.  She's a great pal when she's Usagi the 
Warrior; I like never met a woman I thought could really 
understand what my life is like.  But she's cuter when she 
acts more normal.  Except that's also when she does weird 
stuff, like trying to kiss me and junk."

	"Kissing is wierd?"

	"When everyone is staring at you and there's people 
who would beat me for doing it, yeah."

	He laughed.  "Would you kiss her in private?"

	"Dunno.  I mean...if it was just a kiss, yeah, but like if I 
kiss anyone, I'm gonna end up having to marry them, which 
kinda cramps my style, ya know.  At least I ain't got that 
idiot Ruby badgering me about her.  I guess he didn't know 
her or nothing, so at least I know it's ME who thinks stuff 
about her."

	"Well, he also gives you your powers."

	"Doesn't make him less of a pain in the ass."  Ranma 
laid back on the porch.  "I just wish I could make him shut up.  
Five year old me doesn't try to take over, he shouldn't 
either."

	Kenji laughed.  "Now that would be a mess of a world..."

	"Did your parents try to make you marry someone?"

	"She got hit by a car.  So I ended up free to marry who 
I pleased, because I found someone to marry before they 
settled on another choice."  Kenji paused to lick one of his 
paws, then continued.  "We keep telling Usagi she can't force 
herself on you, but she won't listen.  I think she's afraid 
she'll get thrown out of the village if she doesn't marry you, 
and then they won't ever find a cure for us."

	Moon cats can take on a human form, a voice in 
Ranma's head prompted him.  Ranma cursed Ruby but passed 
on the message anyway.  "Bastard says Moon cats can take 
on a human form.  But he ain't saying how."

	"Ba...ah.  Does he have any idea how?"

	"One of those flip things."

	"Flip things?"

	"Like Luna does to summon stuff.  The kinda throw 
yourself in the air and spin about thing."

	"I'll ask her if she knows."

	"So what do you think about Setsuna?"

	"I rarely think about Setsuna," Kenji said.

	"Seriously."

	"She's cute, but I'm married and a cat.  Seems like a 
decent person.  Why do you ask?"

	"The Old Bastard is madly in love with her, keeps trying 
to push me to take up where he left off."

	"Can you blame him?  They were cut off from each 
other tragically while they still loved each other.  And she 
waited for him for 25,000 years."

	"He died!  He got his turn, and now it's mine.  But 
because of all his yammering, I can't tell what thoughts are 
mine and which are his."

	Kenji-neko batted at his tail.  "I don't know what to tell 
you.  I get these cat instincts sometimes, so I sort of 
understand how you feel, but my own experience is that if 
you fight it too much, it just builds up to where you snap and 
do something stupid."  

	"If I let him do what he wants, I'll end up married to 
Setsuna."

	"Which you don't want."

	"He's the one that wants it."

	"So you don't like her at all?"

	"I don't hate her, but if any of what I feel is me and 
not him, I can't tell.  That's the worst part.  It's hard to tell 
the difference."

	"And the exorcism didn't work?"

	"He wanted to go home with Setsuna after the fight," 
Ranma said.  "She invited me to come with her when she 
thought no one was listening.  There wasn't a fight, so I 
guess no one was."

	Kenji-neko looked up at him.  "You sure your desire to 
go with her was all his fault?"

	"I can't tell," he said.  "Which is the thing that REALLY 
bugs me."

	Shampoo came out.  "You can bathe now," she said to 
Ranma.

	"Thanks," he said, getting up.  

	Soon, he was in the bathroom, busily getting clean.  
The first half of the process turned him female, which she 
reflected, did have one advantage.  She almost never felt 
Ruby's presence or heard him when she was a woman.  One 
good point to her curse.

	A little while later, she sank into the hot water and 
resumed her usual male form.  Ruby remained quiet, having 
apparently gone to sleep for the night.  Ranma was grateful 
for small blessings.  No one else disturbed him either.

	He got out of the water, then doused himself with cold 
water.  Drying off, she put on her pajamas.  Another night as 
a girl, she thought.  I wonder who the lunatic of the night will 
be...

	She got to Rei's room; Rei was already in bed.  She 
quietly got into her futon, and Rei said, "I locked the window; 
lock the door."

	Ranma-chan laughed.  "Not planning to sleep with Usagi 
again?"

	"That was an ACCIDENT!"

	Ranma-chan locked the door, then laid down.  
"Goodnight."

	"I wonder if Eowyn is going to start talking to me," Rei 
said.  

	"Eh?"
	
	"I think...when I was yelling at Jadeite...that was her."  
Rei sounded worried.  "And then after that, it must have 
been her...I knew things and...She had some stupid ideas I 
don't want her spouting off," Rei said.  "There were some 
people she disliked for no good reason, and..."

	"You don't want to dislike 'em.  Yeah, I know the feeling.  
Maybe we can convince her and Ruby to run away together."

	Rei laughed.  "I wish."  She was silent for a little while, 
then said,  "Do you think Usagi could be the Princess?"

	"You knew the Princess better than Ruby did."

	"If we had the Silver Crystal, it would be easy to tell."

	"The what?"  Ranma-chan asked, sitting up.

	"I don't know what it is...just a dim memory that only 
the Royal Family could use it safely, and that everyone was 
scared of it."

	"Well, Usagi did tell me she was twiceborn.  The 
Amazons have some way to tell.  I doubt the hair style is 
proof, but it does match up.  Anyone could do their hair like 
that.  We could try finding a frog prince for her to kiss."

	Rei laughed loudly.  "Well, if Endymion is running 
around, maybe we could turn him into a frog the next time 
he shows up.  I was hoping he'd show up for the fight we had 
tonight."

	"Dammit, we should have nailed Jadeite," Ranma-chan 
said, slamming a fist into her palm.  

	"I wonder what Jadeite will try next?" Rei asked the air.

	'I'll go check,' a faint voice said, and she felt a breeze 
blow by.

	"Was that you, Ranma?" she asked.

	"What what me?  Where'd that breeze come from?"

	Rei scratched her head.  "I must be tired and imagining 
things."

	'No, that was a wind spirit,' her teddy bear said.

	She stared at it, but it didn't say anything else.  "I 
need sleep BADLY.  Goodnight, Ranma."

	"Goodnight, Rei."

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

	After what felt like hours of searching and possibly 
might have been, Feldspar finally found Tourmaline deep in 
the archives, reading a crumbling scroll and shaking slightly.  
She was trying to take notes, but kept writing illegibly.  
"Tourmaline, where the hell were you?  Beryl has..."

	"Did...did Beryl kill him?" she asked, her voice shaking, 
startling Feldspar out of her anger.

	"He's been sentenced to Eternal Sleep," she said.  
"Where were you when we needed you?"

	"I was back here doing research, since I didn't expect 
there was going to be a fight tonight!  We were supposed to 
fight them TOMORROW!  Why'd you fight them today?"

	"They found you and Jadeite's house and trashed it.  
So, Jadeite had no choice."

	"He had every choice!  We could have come up 
with...another plan...or something...and now..."  Tourmaline 
suddenly sagged and began to cry.  "He isn't supposed to be 
dead.  He isn't.  I was going to find a way...a way...we would 
have been..."  

	Feldspar stepped forward and embraced her.  "C'mon, 
don't cry.  Generals don't cry."

	"I don't care.  I had it all planned out.  But now he's 
gone and...I'll never see him again and..."  She sobbed in her 
sister's arms.

	Haplessly, Feldspar tried to comfort her.  "He's not 
actually dead.  You might be able to convince Beryl to let him 
out if you do something really well.  I...don't cry."

	"It was all planned...he wasn't supposed to fail and 
come back and get executed...I didn't want it to be like that, 
and then I had to...and he...I hate improvising."

	"C'mon, let me take you to Mom.  She'll make you feel 
better," Feldspar said.  

	"Not part of the plan," Tourmaline mumbled as 
Feldspar dragged her out of the archives and across the 
palace.  "Nothing was supposed to happen tonight.  Nothing!  
Dammit!"

	I guess she must have liked him...I wonder if she...  
Feldspar wondered.  I've never seen her this shook up.  I hope 
Mom knows what to do better than I do.

***********

	Setsuna laid on her bed and stared at the walls.  
Another lonely night, she thought.  Just like the Time Tunnel 
except that I'm not in a trance watching other people's lives.  
What am I doing wrong?  Why is he fighting his own feelings?  
He never used to fight his feelings...sometimes that led to 
us beating each other up, but...it isn't like him to doubt 
himself, she thought.

	That worried her more than the fact that she was 
lonely, or that he wasn't in love with her like he was 
supposed to be.  He was acting strangely, and it didn't match 
his old self, or what she'd seen of his life before she met him 
again face to face.  Maybe it was just the result of mental 
conflict between him and Ruby, but...

	Then again, I didn't know him when he was really young; 
maybe he was like this then too, she thought.  It could just 
be a phase, or the result of having too many women after 
him.  I just have to find a way to get them to back off so he 
can make his choice without feeling like I'm forcing him.  Yes, 
that has to be it.  Ruby always did put his back up if you 
pressured him too hard.  Pull back a little and see if he 
comes to me.  If not...then I come up with another plan.	

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

	Ranma floated in a black void and looked at a huge set 
of scales.  He sat in one, heavily outweighing Ruby, but then 
the scales visibly moved, and Ruby sank, while he rose.  It 
stopped with him still outweighing Ruby, but not by as much.  

	There was another set of scales in the void, and the 
same happened to Rei, who lost weight to Eowyn.  Then the 
two sets of scales shifted, putting Ranma with Rei, and 
Eowyn with Ruby.  The scales began to sway wildly, especially 
when Rei and Ranma started making out, and Eowyn and Ruby 
began beating each other up.  

	I knew letting him take over was a bad idea, but there 
was no other way to stop Jadeite and save everyone, Ranma 
thought.  But dammit, I'm not going to let him run my life 
when I'm NOT about to die anyway!  No way!

	I wonder how much making out with Rei would piss him 
off, he asked himself.  Probably he'd freak.  

	Then Ranma-chan woke up because Rei was crying out 
in her sleep.  "Rilifil!  No, not Diana!  You can't....you can't..." 
Screaming turned into crying, and Ranma-chan shook her 
awake.

	"Wake up.  No one's dead."  I wonder who Diana was, 
she asked herself.  

	She clung to Ranma-chan like a swimmer in deep water 
to a buoy.  "He knows my true name, Ranma.  He told the 
others so they could kill me for him.  And he's still out there.  
I was such a fool," she babbled into his shoulder.

	"Eowyn was the fool, but she's dead," she said, not 
sure how to comfort Rei.  "But I won't let that bastard get 
you.  Not if I have to die first."

	"Does anyone...know your true name?"  Rei asked 
Ranma-chan.

	"Diamond and Cassandra both knew mine.  Diamond and 
I used ours to swear the Oath of Bronze."

	"As two metals join to become one," Rei whispered.  
"May we be joined into something stronger.  That's how it 
began."

	"I take it you swore it with someone?"

	"Princess Serenity," Rei said quietly.

	"You two were that close?"

	"Yes."

	"I think the only other two Guardians who took it were 
Zoicite and Kunzite."

	"Rhea and Tethys for us."

	"They say that..."  Rei trailed off.

	"Eh?"  

	"Nothing."  They say that eventually, whoever takes 
the Oath of Bronze become lovers, though it may take a 
thousand lifetimes, she thought.  I wonder if it's true.  "I 
guess...we ought to go back to bed."

	"Uh huh," Ranma-chan said, but didn't let go of her.

	"But I...I don't want...to dream again.  Like that.  I don't 
want to..."

	"You know, I bet it would really annoy Eowyn and Ruby if 
we slept in the same bed," Ranma-chan said, then looked 
surprised at herself.  "I mean...uh...nevermind.  I don't know 
what I was thinking."

	Rei nervously moved over to make room, breaking 
their embrace.  "There's room.  We're both girls, so it 
doesn't matter."

	"Yeah, it doesn't matter," Ranma-chan said faintly, 
then clambered into the bed.

	What did matter was that it wasn't really designed for 
two, so they had to sleep down on the futon, and even then, 
Ranma-chan rolled over three times and managed to elbow 
Rei, waking her up every time.  She resolved to tie Ranma-
chan up the next time they slept within arm's length of each 
other.  At least Usagi only kissed me, she thought.