Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S A New Quest Part Five: The Battle to Put Everything Right written by Mike Koos ----------------------------- Our story so far: Makoto and Naru have both traveled to Ondyre by different means... and, as Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Ondyre, they have put together an unusual party to liberate the Diaran Kingdom and return it to its rightful rulers. While Naru discovered that her benefactor was, in fact, Alliene, the Goddess of Ondyre, Alshlione - a demon - was sent to Earth in order to disrupt the progress of Hirokazu and the remainder of the Senshi, by destroying the programmer's main terminal and switching the minds of the Senshi around. * * * * * "Oh, yeah," Usagi snorted. "This has really been a *great* day." As far as anyone could tell, Aino Minako was walking home late from school with her faithful pet cat Artemis at her side. Only the Sailor Senshi - save for Sailor Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, and any others who were waiting to make their debut - were aware Minako wasn't herself. None of the Earth-bound 'Inner' Sailor Senshi, including Sailor Chibi-Moon, were who they were supposed to be... not after a demon named Alshlione traveled from Ondyre to Earth to hinder their plans to help Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Ondyre, swapping their minds about randomly and sabotaging their primary link to the world of Ondyre... and their friends. They were unaware that the errant Sailor Jupiter, as well as the returning Sailor Ondyre, were aware of what had happened. Whether or not they would be able to do anything about it... was a different matter. "You could have avoided getting Minako-chan another detention, you know," Artemis said, uncharacteristically aloof. "I think she already has more than she needs." Tsukino Usagi was no stranger to dealing with talking cats, and Artemis wasn't an exception - though she preferred to deal more with her own 'advisor,' Luna, than Artemis. But for now she was left with playing the role of Minako... and that meant keeping Artemis with her, listening to what the white-furred cat considered to be interesting conversation. She glared at him. "I wouldn't have gotten this detention, if you'd have pulled me out of bed early enough!" Usagi absently ran a hand through the long, golden strands of hair at her temples. Then, realizing what she was doing, stopped it. "Besides, I had to use the map Mina gave me! It's not like I know exactly how to get to Shiba Kouen! I don't go to her school, remember?" she protested, the frustration highly evident in her voice. Artemis walked ahead. "I keep forgetting. You're the chronically late one." Usagi ran to catch up to him and took him into her arms despite his protests. "You know, people are used to seeing Minako-chan hit you. Maybe I should keep up the act. Not make anyone suspicious." Artemis hesitated. "You wouldn't." "Oh?" grinned Usagi. The cat sighed. "I was better off with Minako-chan." "Yeah..." Usagi appeared pensive for a moment. "I wonder how everyone else is doing?" Minako stared at the open pages of Ami's calculus book, which rested on the desk. She swallowed hard. She pulled a sheet of lined notebook paper out of Ami's binder and placed a pencil on top of it. Five minutes later she had nothing to show for her efforts. Minako had done her best to bluff her way through Ami's classes at Juuban and juku. At least Ami's mother had been around to wake her up before going to work. Ami wouldn't have to worry about her spotless attendance record going to waste. Minako laughed at her little joke. Maybe Ami-chan did have a few absences, she didn't know. It sure wasn't easy trying to convince the bad guys not to attack while they were all in school. She briefly wondered how Usagi was faring with her schedule. Well, there wasn't that much to worry about; Minako's classes weren't really all that different from Usagi's classes. Ami's classes and homework were a different story. It never failed to amaze Minako how... *clean* Ami kept her room. Ami had insisted on a bare minimum of furniture, plus a computer... and a small potted plant Makoto had talked Ami into caring for. A lot of books; Ami liked to read in her free time. No posters, hardly any music tapes, and not much else. "C'mon, Ami-chan!" Minako had told her. "Live a little! I mean, you really should put *something* else up in here. This room is so... dull!" Ami had been patient with Minako at the time. "I'll tell you what. You can decorate your room the way you want, and I'll decorate my room the way I want." "But, Ami-chan..." "I happen to like it this way." Minako frowned. "Fine." She forced her thoughts back to the present. How was she supposed to do Ami's homework? If she did the work her way, Ami would flunk many of her classes within a week. Minako pushed her fingers into the strands of blue-black hair falling down upon her forehead. No use putting it off; she figured she might as well try. She exhaled, glancing at the computer across from her on the desk. Yeah, the computer! If anything would help her finish this paper, it would be the computer, right? Computers were supposed to help solve *any* math problem. So, then, why not use a computer with much more power than Ami's PC? Minako was willing to bet that Ami's Senshi pocketbook computer would solve all these calculus problems in no time at all. She pulled out the computer and activated it. [Please press 1 for Normal Mode (default), or 2 for Direct Command Mode.] [>2] [Enter command:] [>use calculator] [Sorry, I don't know how to 'use calculator'.] [>why?] [Sorry, I don't know how to 'why?'.] Minako rolled her eyes. "Who wrote the software for this thing, huh?" She set the mini-computer on the desk and leaned back in the chair, glancing the way of the portable stereo hiding in the midst of Ami's books on the shelf. "I'm gonna put on some music. Any more of this silence and I'll go nuts!" At which point Artemis would say she was there already... As she walked over to the bookshelf a memory drifted back to her - taking care of a sick Rei. Minako had tried to use the stereo in *Rei's* bookshelf only to have the thing literally blow up in her face. Ami wouldn't be glad to discover that Minako had done the same to *her* radio, either. She could've used something to snack on, too, but Dr. Mizuno never stocked anything non-nutritional in the house. A careful check of the kitchen had already proven that. Her favorite song came over the radio. Now then, back to the work. Minako returned to the desk and cracked her knuckles. [Sorry, I don't know how to 'reset'.] Hmph. The PC in front of her could be reset by holding the Control, Alt and Delete keys together, Minako knew. So maybe she could get something to happen by hitting more than one key at once. [That key combination is not allowed.] [That key combination is not allowed.] [That key combination is not allowed.] [That key combination is not allowed.] Minako growled. She pressed several keys all at once. The tiny screen flickered many different colors - before the mini-computer blew up in her face. She blinked. Yuuichirou watched Rei absently sweep the Shrine's front walkway for a few minutes. "Hey, um... uh, Rei?" he asked tentatively. Ami looked up, almost forgetting where - and *who* - she was. "Yes?" "Is something wrong?" Ami blinked. "No. Why do you ask?" "Well, ah... you've been acting kinda distant all day. You look like you've got something on your mind. Anything you want to talk about?" Ami studied him. There was no sense in letting Yuuichirou know there was anything else wrong with her. How would Rei respond in a situation like this? "No," she said, turning back to her work. "But--" "It's none of your business!" she snapped, forcing a curt tone. "Now get back to work before Grandfather catches you goofing off!" That seemed to have a bit of an impact on the boy, one that Ami could see in his eyes. "Okay, okay!" He ran back to where he had been working. Ami raised an eyebrow. Was Yuuichirou more afraid of being reprimanded by Rei's grandfather than Rei? She had always thought it was the other way around. Rei did have a habit of cutting Yuuichirou off in a manner such as the one Ami had used to stay 'in character,' rather than admit she cared for him. But whether that concern was out of friendship or love, Ami couldn't tell. Perhaps, she mused, she could take advantage of being trapped in Rei's body to get both of them to at least talk about it... she told herself. Yuuichirou couldn't; if he tried Rei would merely dismiss him again. Ami shook her head. Oh, well... maybe she could discuss the matter privately with Rei at the meeting the team was planning to have on the Shrine grounds later today. "Oh, there you are, Chibi-Usa-chan. Where's Usagi?" "Chibi-Usa-chan?" Rei set the video game on pause. "Aww, what'd you have to do that for?" Shingo complained. "You don't have to pause. I'll guard your ship. Honest!" Rei glared at him. She could only imagine how her glare appeared coming from Chibi-Usa's eyes. "I'm sorry, Ikuko-mama," she apologized, using the other girl's manner. Mrs. Tsukino gave the facial equivalent of a shrug. "I should know better than to try to talk over anything on TV, I suppose." She smiled. "Where is Usagi?" "In her room reading a manga book," answered Rei. One Usagi had borrowed from Rei, to be more precise. But Chibi-Usa was having fun filling Usagi's role, and it was becoming difficult to remember that Chibi-Usa was in Usagi's body, not Usagi herself. Rei had made up for her discomfort from the swap by calling attention to the similarities between the two when she and Chibi-Usa had walked to and from school. Chibi-Usa acted just as Rei knew Usagi would - she became defensive and childishly denied everything. Like mother, like daughter. In contrast, Rei found it difficult to play Chibi-Usa. She hadn't known exactly what to say around Chibi-Usa's friends, and while she could easily finish all of the work, she had to remember that doing so wouldn't help her act at all. And, as Ami would likely say, helping Chibi-Usa get in a few good grades this way really would not benefit her in the long run. "What? Isn't she doing her homework?" "I don't know," shrugged Rei. "I'll have to check on her," Mrs. Tsukino said in an exasperated tone of voice. Rei didn't blame her; the rest of the Senshi, not to mention Mamoru, Artemis and Luna, were forever trying to get Usagi to concentrate on her homework instead of the distractions. It was an uphill battle. "So, how was your day?" she wanted to say. "Fine," was the only word that came out of Rei's mouth. "Shingo?" "Fine." Mrs. Tsukino shrugged again. The age range in which everything could simply be passed off as 'fine' was increasing day by day. "Well... I'm getting ready to start dinner. Would you like to help, Chibi-Usa?" Rei hesitated. She felt her eyes widen somewhat. The extent of her knowledge of cooking was mostly with canned food. Chibi-Usa knew that; Rei had explained this to her when the latter had asked her for help in cooking a curry dish. Still, maybe helping Mrs. Tsukino in the kitchen wasn't such a bad idea, as long as she was Chibi-Usa. How much had the Small Lady from the future learned about cooking since the curry incident? Enough to make her own pies, realized Rei. Not too long ago, Usagi had taken a pie Chibi-Usa had made out of the oven and served it to Rei, Ami, Makoto and Minako. Chibi-Usa was understandably angry with Usagi - until she let slip the reason why she'd baked the pie in the first place. But Rei didn't know how to bake pies... or any other pastries. After dinner, she and the real Chibi-Usa planned to head to the Hikawa Shrine for an impromptu meeting. Rei desperately wanted to know how well Ami was contending with her life. * * * * * "Where the heck IS she?" Rei grit her teeth in frustration. "Does she ALWAYS have to be late?" Unknown to her, being a child again was chemically and physically influencing her mind. The influence on the remaining four was more subtle, except that Chibi-Usa seemed to be acting more mature and reserved than was normal for her. Minako shrugged. "She said she had a surprise for us." Of course, Minako herself had yet to give Ami the surprise she had in store for her. When was the right moment to tell someone that you'd blown up their irreplaceable Senshi minicomputer? "Did Artemis say anything about it?" Ami asked. She had to make a deliberate effort not to sound impatient; Rei's voice had a natural edge to it unlike her own... though if she had lived a similar life, Ami figured her normal voice might also have that same edge. "Nah. I got the feeling she wouldn't let him say anything." They heard the sounds of someone running up the Shrine's front steps, catching her breath... and Minako's true voice. "Sorry I'm late!" Usagi yelled. "I missed the bus and had to wait for another one!" As Usagi and Artemis joined them they understood what Usagi had had in mind by a 'surprise.' She had drawn Minako's long, blond hair up into what the Senshi and several of their friends had come to call the 'odango atama' hairstyle - Usagi's own. Everyone did a double-take. With her hair worn in the same style Usagi normally wore, Minako was almost an exact physical duplicate of Usagi. Minako's hair was a lighter shade of blond than Usagi's, however. "Ta-da!" There was a goofy grin on Usagi's face. Minako wasn't as pleased. "*What* in the world have you done to my hair?" "I tried to talk her out of it," sniffed Artemis. Usagi refused to let her good mood go to waste. "Well, *I* thought everyone would find it interesting." Somewhere, it had been said that there was a reason Sailor Venus bore a striking resemblance to Princess Serenity, but no explanation had ever been given. "Not in my hair, it isn't," continued Minako. "I don't normally wear it like that. You leave it like that too long, and you'll crease and damage it. Come on, fix it." Usagi didn't respond. "Now." Finally, Usagi did as Minako asked. "Sheesh. I didn't think you'd get all freaked out over this." Minako smirked. "You don't wear your hair long like Rei-chan or I do without worrying about it. Right, Rei-chan?" Rei's head snapped up. "Huh? Uh... right." She glanced in Ami's direction. "What were they talking about?" "You weren't paying attention?" "...Not really." The frown on Chibi-Usa's face widened. "Has anyone figured out how we're going to put ourselves back where we belong?" "No," said Ami at last. "But I have had a chance to talk to Hirokazu-san. He's worked through the night to get his secondary computer online, and get as much done on the game as possible. But that's not all; he told me that Naru-chan's group is at least a day or less from their goal and that they know we're able to see them and what they're saying, thanks to the game." "How do they know that?" Ami shrugged. "Apparently, the Goddess of Ondyre told them." Somehow, considering everything they had seen or experienced, an honest-to-goodness goddess didn't seem all that unusual. Neither did the fact that Naru was a Senshi, at least while in the world of Ondyre. "Well, if they're that close to the Diaran Kingdom thing or whatever, shouldn't we be getting to a computer right about now?" asked Minako, getting right to the point. Being unable to truly do anything to help Naru and Makoto all this time pained her greatly. Plus, it was possible that Naru's group were the only ones in any kind of position to do something about the 'mixed-up' problem the Senshi on Earth had. Were the adventurers aware of that? Ami may have been the genius of the 'Inner' Senshi, but that didn't mean Minako was finding it easy to think while in Ami's body. Quite the contrary, in fact. "That isn't such a bad idea," murmured Ami. "At the very least, it will help take our minds off this problem for a while." Usagi groaned. "Aww, Ami-chan, did you *have* to say 'minds?'" "Sorry." Rei rose to her feet. "What're we waiting for, then? Let's change and get going!" The five girls glanced at Luna and Artemis, as if asking their permission to head out. After a brief pause, Luna nodded - but before she could say anything, Artemis interrupted. "Well?" They nervously raised their hands to the air. None of them had tried to transform since reverting back to normal after being swapped; it stood to reason that no matter who was in whose body, they should use the transformation trigger of the person whose body they were occupying. Minako was the first to shout. "Mercury Star Power..." "Venus Star Power...," Usagi added. "Mars Star Power...," Ami included her voice. "Moon Prism Power...," Rei spoke the words, forcing herself to ignore the queasy nervousness she felt as she did so. Chibi-Usa's turn came last. "Moon Cosmic Power..." Their voices joined into one. "...make up!" Absolutely nothing happened. They looked at each other. It suddenly occurred to them that Ami, Rei and Minako's henshin pens hadn't appeared in anyone's hands. Usagi and Chibi-Usa's brooches hadn't activated. Each of them had gone through the transformation process enough times that they rarely paid close attention to it any longer. But now that there was a fair chance they might have lost the ability to call on their Senshi powers, they were starting to panic. "Of course!" Ami said with a start. "How could I have missed it?" "Missed what?" inquired Usagi. "Don't you see? We transform not just because we have our transformation pens and the ginzuishou, but because we're the Sailor Senshi. Transformation equipment or not, it's who we are - our spirits, souls, the energies that make us who we are - that allow us to transform. We're doing this the wrong way. If we want to transform, we have to use our proper transformation trigger phrases and equipment." Now why *hadn't* she thought of that sooner? It was so glaringly obvious... her thought-voice pointed out. That made sense. Chibi-Usa handed Usagi's brooch to her, and Rei passed Chibi-Usa her brooch. Seeing 'Minako' pin Usagi's henshin brooch to her chest gave everyone pause for a few seconds. They shook it off, preparing themselves for their second attempt at transforming. "Mercury Star Power..." "Venus Star Power..." "Mars Star Power..." "Moon Prism Power..." "Moon Cosmic Power..." "......*make up*!" Ami welcomed the lambent energy... allowed it to wash over her and settle around her. Currents of energy and light surged and joined to form her bodysuit, gloves, high-heel boots that nearly went up to her knees... then, the rest of her Senshi uniform came into existence in much the same manner as a tidal wave engulfing her. Mizuno Ami once again had the power of Mercury to call on. When the light subsided the Senshi took a good look at themselves. Minako was still trapped in Ami's body, but now she wore the uniform she always wore as Sailor Venus, Ami's short bluish-black hair providing an unusual contrast to the bright orange, dark blue and yellow hues of Venus' uniform. The individual in Chibi-Usa's body wore the colors of Mars. Rei's Senshi uniform had scaled itself down to fit her current body... and the ornaments which decorated Sailor Chibi-Moon's hair after she transformed were currently not there. Interestingly enough, the only major notable difference between Ami and Rei as Sailor Mercury - aside from their facial characteristics and the fact that Rei was taller than Ami - was Rei's raven-black hair and brown-violet eyes. Aside from that, there was a focused intensity present in Rei's features that clashed with Ami's unassuming, gentle behavior. Sailor Chibi-Moon's transformation was also close to her proper transformation, more or less. From her shoulders up, there was almost no way to tell her apart from Usagi as Sailor Moon. Her uniform, however, bore the expected shades of pink rather than the colors of Sailor Moon's uniform. Because Usagi and Minako closely resembled each other, the sight of Minako's knee-length blond hair framing Sailor Moon's head came as a bit of a shock. The wing-like ornaments Sailor Moon normally wore had appeared in Minako's hair in addition to the ever-present bow she kept buried there. It took a few minutes for everyone to get used to the idea of being properly transformed yet in the wrong bodies. Luna blinked to make sure her eyes were clear, while Artemis gaped. "Well, *this* is interesting," Minako exhaled. ** ** ** Personal Journal Day Eight I can't believe it's been eight whole days since Sailor Jupiter and I were brought here. I still have no idea how much time has passed at home. That's why I've been keeping this journal; I don't know where this will wind up if I return home, but I thought someone should keep a full record of everything we're doing. Heck, I've got more questions *now* than I did when we arrived. It's been three days since we left Baracen, and we're still on our way to the Diaran Kingdom, I guess. We've decided not to go look for 'Alshlione' (I hope I spelled that right) until after we're finished with Pientris and the Diaran Kingdom. I know it's important that the Sailor Senshi are restored to normal, but if we break now and go somewhere else, who's to say Pientris won't make it ten times harder for us to fight our way back? We're already so close... Thanks to the elder in Baracen - and Elis, of course - we had enough supplies to skip most of the towns between Baracen and where we're going. Not only did that save us some time, it saved us from having to fight our way through any villagers - and they did try. Pientris keeps - possessing? - people and sending them out to attack us. I wish he'd just leave these poor people alone. Why does he think it's necessary to hide behind innocent people and have *them* do all his work for him? Well, we are here to see what we can do about it. Everyone would be really disappointed if we turned and ran now. That's another thing. I mean, everyone sees me as Sailor Ondyre, big heroine of Ondyre and who knows where else? Like Hana-chan, for example. But I haven't done anything. I wasn't even Sailor Ondyre until I came here. I'll admit I've been able to help Sailor Jupiter help a bunch of people, but I can't think of myself as any kind of hero. They expect me to be the champion of this world, for pete's sake! Okay, I've got the power of a Sailor Senshi to call on and the apparent support of Alliene, the Goddess of Ondyre. Along with the rest of our group, will that be enough to beat Pientris? I sure hope so. Chances are he's going to be a lot more difficult to fight than Chelise... (Chalea, if you're reading this, I'm sorry.) Speaking of Chalea, she's been helping Jupiter and Hana learn more spells to add to what they've learned. Hana's even taken an interest in the Heal spells Jupiter has in her spellbook for some reason. I've got to say, they're doing quite well, but we don't have many chances to really test any new spells in a real fight because the monsters are sitting back and letting the people attack us. Hopefully, with a little luck and the help of a goddess, we'll be able to put a stop to that. I really sound optimistic, don't I? "Alshlione." Alshlione was far too engrossed in the blood-red crystal she turned about within her hands to hear the call. "Alshlione..." the voice repeated, stronger. To think, this crystal had done what so many in the past had failed to do - disrupt and confuse the legendary Sailor Senshi. Swapped their spirits, souls, minds... whatever. It didn't matter; the end result was all she cared about. She gleefully imagined how the Senshi - those poor, poor, *poor* girls! - must be coping with having to live in each others' bodies. Life on Earth had grown so wonderfully complex as opposed to life here on Ondyre... it wouldn't be notably easy to assume someone else's identity. Or maybe it would be. Who knew? At least the Senshi had been dealt with, for the time being, and Alshlione could go back to being bored, here, alone in her chamber. Waiting for Pientris to send her on another mission. For that reason, she couldn't even go anywhere, have any fun... "ALSHLIONE!!" Alshlione snapped to attention. "Yes?" she asked, forgetting to show respect for her self-appointed 'master.' Fortunately, he ignored it. "Are you aware of just how much you've disappointed me, Alshlione?" She assumed a look of smug impatience. "I did what you asked. Their computer's gone, and the Sailor Senshi are confused." "What you did was only temporary!" snapped Pientris. "The Sailor Senshi are dangerous enough to continue to be a threat even in the wrong bodies and..." There was a short pause for a breath. "Did you even *think* to take care of any backup data or computers their programmer friend might have had?" Alshlione paled - a striking accent to her black-leather costume. "...Backups?" "Yes. All he had to do was set up another one of the computers he had nearby and recover a few hours' worth of work! It seems your grandstanding was all for nothing!" "I do NOTHING of the sort!" Alshlione retorted. Why, the *nerve* of him to suggest she was merely a show-off! She fell silent. Oh, right - that thing about him being able to read her thoughts because they were both 'of the Darkness.' Yet that hadn't helped him keep a tight hold on that girl, Chalea... "Do not concern yourself with Chalea, either. I will either regain control over her... or end her miserable little existence. All in good time. You see, that is why I have come." Alshlione was surprised. And here, she thought he had only made an appearance to antagonize her. "The Sailor Senshi are now in a position where they can easily interfere with my grand plans, thanks to you. Ordinarily, I would destroy the Senshi personally, as I had originally intended - but Sailor Ondyre and her pathetic band are also close to my castle, and I must deal with the more immediate threat. So, I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself." "How?" Alshlione asked, though she already had a good idea what Pientris had in mind. "You will go back to Earth and kill the Sailor Senshi and their friend." "I won't fail you this time, my lord," she said, bowing. "You had better not, for your sake." Pientris' presence left the chamber. She grinned; it looked like she was going to get to have some more fun after all. So the Sailor Senshi could live in the wrong bodies without any problems. The question was, were they prepared to die in the wrong bodies? * * * * * "I don't like this. We haven't had to fight anyone or anything in hours!" Chalea said, restlessly. "This close to Pientris, you'd think he'd be sending every monster in the book to stop us!" Liana hastened her pace slightly, drawing her closer to the young succubus who had become an unexpected ally. Chalea was again wearing her Elf disguise - they were never far from a town or village and everyone wanted to avoid having to explain why they were knowingly allowing a demon to accompany them. "Maybe he wants to get rid of us himself," the newly-discovered princess thought to point out. "That's what happened when we were on our way to meet you." Chalea's face fell. "Oh." She knew Liana didn't completely trust her. None of the party did, which was good - Chalea refused to trust herself as well, for that matter. At any moment the Dark aspects of her being could kick in and make her do something she'd regret. Or rather, something that would add more guilt to what she already felt. But while most of the group tolerated her presence - it was interesting to know that the Sailor Senshi did not automatically destroy every demon they encountered - Liana seemed to tolerate her presence less. Chalea believed she deserved it. She had chosen to exist like this, hadn't she? Sure, she was immortal, but she could have committed suicide by refusing to seduce males for the precious life-energy she needed to consume to survive, thereby starving herself. She had let her older sister talk her into this life; once she had let herself stray it was impossible to turn back... and that was the first step Chelise had taken toward her own destruction. Chalea was aware she walked a thin line between Darkness and Light, in a sense a gray, barren area of near-nonexistence. And the only way out she could see was for her to be destroyed... by either the warriors she traveled with or by Pientris in one final, hopefully redeeming fight. Letting the Darkness overtake her as it had Chelise was *not* an option. But... there was no way to silence the compulsions, right? Makoto frowned. "No." Everyone turned to glance at her. "I've got a feeling he's not gonna make it that easy for us." Feeling...? Naru searched the immediate area with her 'newest' senses. She readied her Vibrance Fork. There was no reason to mistrust her senses. They hadn't failed her to this point... "You're right. Everyone alert - something's coming toward us!" "From which direction?" Naru's brow furrowed. "Everywhere." All of them knew the default strategy to take for a situation when they were being attacked from all angles. They deployed into a pseudo-circle, facing outward - Brin hovering in the middle of the circle - ready for most anything. Except for the possibility of nothing happening. After about an uneventful moment Brin could no longer keep quiet. "I thought you said something was out here!" she said, craning her neck to get a better view of the wilderness around them. "They are. They're still there, waiting." Chalea agreed. "Probably hoping we'll drop our guard. Yeah, they're there, all right. I can sense them now, too." "So NOW what?" she heard Liana ask. "All of us just stand here all day?" Chalea's face was expressionless. "Maybe I can reach out with my powers and incite them to attack." She reverted back to her true form. Liana looked at her in mild surprise. "You can do that?" "Yes," the other nodded. "The less intelligent monsters are the more I can inspire them to attack - or not to. When we started out, I tried to keep everything from attacking us." Corwyn raised an eyebrow. "Why did you stop?" "Because all of us need the experience if we're going to take on Pientris." Naru intervened before anyone could direct any kind of anger at Chalea. "She's got a point. I know we all hate having to go through these endless battles, but it's the only way we've got to build up our strength and skills for the coming fights." She tried hard to keep her voice from wavering. Like it or not, she was officially the leader of this unusual little group of adventurers, and reluctant though she was, she was aware she had to make an effort to help keep the group from falling apart. Were these the same sort of problems Sailor Moon had to worry about? She felt a drop of something moist land on her exposed shoulder. Rain? No, it couldn't be. The skies were clear, what they could see of the sky from underneath the tree cover. And for some reason there was an unexpectedly *disgusting* feel to the would-be drop of 'rain...' But it wasn't rain. In fact, it happened to be a splatter of something sickly green and jelly-like attached to her shoulder as though it were a leech feeding off her blood. She yelped, frantically brushing the... slime? from her shoulder with a gloved hand. By this time it was already raining more drops of pure slime. Chalea rolled to one side on instinct and motioned for the others to do the same. "We're being attacked by slime!" she called out. "Anything can happen, so look out!" The drops of slime converged into several larger, humanoid forms that attacked even before they had finished merging together. Chalea had more advice to offer. "Don't bother trying to attack it physically. Most of the time it'll only split and reform." She took to the air for a second to dodge a tentacle formed from slime. "You have to use magic instead." The tentacle snapped upward like a whip, caught her by the ankle and pinwheeled her around in the air several times. "Like our Sailor Senshi attacks?" wondered Naru. "Give it a try!" Which Sailor Ondyre did. "Sonic... Revolution!" She was grateful that her attack wasn't as concentrated enough to slice one slime creature into two instead of causing it to boil and explode. But there were still too many of these monsters around to breathe easier. Makoto and Hana, as far as she could tell, were welcoming the opportunity to test their more powerful offensive magic out against the creatures. Liana and Chalea were casting a few considerably powerful spells as well. Unfortunately, Corwyn had very few magic spells to fall back on... and Brin's showy 'offensive' magic - mostly meant to confuse - was having absolutely no effect on the creatures. "Brin! Get back!" Naru warned her. Instead of moving, the pixie made the mistake of turning her head to look at Naru. In the next instant the slime creature Brin had been trying to confuse grabbed her and flung the diminutive girl against the trunk of a tree. The distance was too great for Naru to see Brin effectively; the young girl's head lolled as Brin was jolted out of consciousness by the blow, cemented to the tree from the neck down by a thick seal of perpetually-moving slime. Liana and Corwyn had also seen Brin's fate. "Chalea!" Liana spoke into the air. There was no time to stop to direct words to each other, as Brin had proven. "Can't you charm these things or something?" "No - slime creatures are neither male nor female," the succubus said through clenched teeth. "None of my charms'll work on them." "But--" "And I can't influence them, either. Although they don't look like it, they're intelligent. If I try to make them do anything, I'll just be wasting my time." So far, none of the slime seemed to be corrosive, eating away at their armor - or worse, *them* - a point in their favor. Especially where Brin was concerned... yet the slime didn't need to digest them to kill them. No, it could smother them, or kill them outright in a direct fight. Right about now, both sides were close to being evenly matched. The two Sailor Senshi weren't bringing their full powers into the fight. Hana wasn't, and neither was she. Liana had some considerable magic power to tap into once she got past her apprehension about using it. Without Brin's presence, that left Corwyn as the weakest link in their chain. Chalea blushed for a second as she thought about him. She had come to consider the newly-discovered prince as a friend... but still, she couldn't contain her curiosity over him. Maybe it was due primarily to the fact that her charms had failed to have any effect on him whatsoever. That was certainly odd. And then there was the time in Baracen when the compulsions had simply *fallen silent*. What did both of those events, both revolving around her Dark powers, have in common? She stepped back. she shook her head. Her opponent's tentacles came close to broadsiding her again. Chalea berated herself for not paying attention and renewed her dedication to the fight. "Oh, I almost forgot," she shouted. "These things can mold themselves into any shape and density. If they form a hammer, they can hurt you just as bad as if you were hit with a real hammer. If they form a sword--" "...They can still run us through," finished Liana. "Thanks." Chalea noted the edge of sarcasm in Liana's voice but said nothing. After all, for once it wasn't truly directed at her. Makoto vaporized one slime monster, then another, with twin Sparkling Wide Pressure attacks. Sensing her power, the majority of the monsters began to close in on her. With the help of her teammates she took out two more monsters. One was quick enough to make it past her blasts to confront her directly. As she watched, stunned, the slime changed shape... into a duplicate of her. Hana gasped. "I didn't know they could do *that*!" "Yeah. See, when you fight a mirror image of yourself you tend to get nervous and sloppy. You worry if your mirror has the same abilities and power as you and can counter everything you do," Chalea told her. She had used similar 'mirror-image' tricks a few times in the past in order to escape, although it took far more effort to look exactly like another person than one with features she'd thrown together at random. A succubus was supposed to be able to look like any other woman whenever she wanted; Chelise had perfected the skill and put it to use. Chalea, on the other hand, felt embarrassed that she had yet to perfect her disguise skills. There had to be a better use for them than seducing people or sneaking around for various Dark purposes. Sailor Jupiter didn't look as if she was concerned about fighting a copy of herself. It was merely *slime*, right? There was no way this monster could gain her strength or powers just by duplicating her physical appearance. The nature of it all was vaguely similar to Usagi's use of her henshin pen or Chalea's metamorphosis skills - they could make themselves look like other people, but while such transformations might temporarily give them such things as the strength such altered bodies offered, it was impossible to copy another's knowledge, their memories, their powers, as far as any of the Senshi knew... She dodged each of the slime's attacks. Had this monster ever fought in a Human form before? Makoto wondered. It was clearly at a disadvantage in the fight by maintaining her form... Human arms and legs were far more restrictive than all the form-shifting attacks they'd used earlier. Maybe fighting her duplicate wouldn't be as difficult as Chalea had made it out to be. "Sailor Jupiter! Behind you!" Temporarily distracted, Makoto turned around in time to see that another of the monsters had managed to sneak behind her, in order to shove her into the duplicate Jupiter... which reformed into a shapeless blob as she impacted against it, absorbing her into itself. Naru hastily finished off the monster she had been fighting against. "Jupiter!" she screamed as she ran toward the monster that had enveloped the other Senshi. And the wonderful part about it was that the other fighters in her party were preoccupied with fighting their own monsters. That meant she was the only one who could help Sailor Jupiter. She saw Jupiter struggling to escape and breathe on her approach. How long could she hold her breath? Did Senshi 'magic' allow them to breathe longer and better than a normal person? Naru filed the question away for a better time; it wasn't all that appropriate to be asking here. Would it be better to ask that question of Sailor Mercury, if they ever met? That left physical attacks as an option. Where was a sword when you needed one? With a sword she could slice the monster in half around Sailor Jupiter. All she had was... the Vibrance Fork. What would happen if she struck the staff against the ground to activate it and shoved it into the creature like a true fork? Would the sonic vibrations tear the slime apart? And what about Sailor Jupiter? The trapped Senshi wasn't going to give her the time to make up her mind. A miniature lightning rod extended upward from the top of Makoto's tiara. To Naru's surprise the skies immediately overhead darkened, storm clouds rolling in to hide the sky from them. A column of pure lightning descended out of the clouds and bored into the slime monster until the energy found Makoto, who gathered it and released it all around her as far as it would go... electrocuting the monster in the process - in as much as that term applied. The creature turned to ash and drifted away on the wind. Makoto collapsed to the ground. "Are you all right?" Naru knelt next to her. "Yeah," she said at last. "Give me a few seconds to recover, okay?" "I don't know if we've got that much time, but I'll see what I can do." "Thanks." Naru thought about making the symbolic gesture of rolling up her sleeves - except the Senshi uniforms didn't *really* have sleeves, did they? "Okay, *that* does it! I've had enough of these things!" She leveled her staff at a small group of the monsters. "SONIC... MAELSTROM!!" Chalea winced; the Sonic Maelstrom was the attack Naru had used to destroy her sister. She watched in awe as the three monsters were drawn downward into a spiraling vortex of nonexistence. But there were still quite a few monsters around, and the Sonic Maelstrom apparently took Sailor Ondyre a short pause to recover from. Time in which the monsters could get in another attack... "Hana," she said to the girl standing nearest to her. "Let's get in there and help protect Sailor Ondyre!" "Okay!" But as the pair took up an offensive stance in front of Sailor Ondyre, the remaining slime monsters converged in one spot. They were joining - shifting form again into a giant version of the roughly humanoid form they had been using to fight the group. Hana blinked. "I didn't know they could do THAT, either!" "They're *slime*," Chalea muttered. "They can do anything." As she spoke the words the giant reached down with both hands, grabbing Chalea and Hana. It let the slime almost completely ooze over and coat them before flinging the pair against trees of their own. But unlike Brin, Hana and Chalea were better prepared to withstand the impact. "What do we do?" Corwyn asked Naru. Naru cast a glance back at Sailor Jupiter. The Senshi was at last pulling herself to her feet. "We go on fighting, of course." The words sounded strange to her. "Liana, can you use your Earth magic to open a pit underneath that thing like you did a while back?" There was a knowing grin on the face of the rogue-turned-princess. "I can do better than that, I think." She set her feet apart, opened her arms wide and mouthed the words to a new spell. A gaping pit literally exploded to life underneath the monster, propelling jagged debris and gravel up through it as the monster fell into the pit with a splash of viscous slime. Small rivulets of slime surged over the rim of the pit as the cauldron of slime churned. Makoto pitched a Sparkling Wide Pressure into the pit just before the debris resulting from Liana's spell fell back to earth to fill in the pit. They heard an explosion; slime-covered rocks were sent flying seven feet into the air and tumbled into the pit again. Afterward, the forest fell silent. "Is... is it over?" Hana asked. Naru paused. "I sure hope so... anyway, I'm not sensing anything. Chalea?" "Me, neither," confirmed Chalea. "Now how do we get out of this junk?" Hana stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Yeah! I think I'm really gonna be sick." * * * * * The skies grew ominously dark as the Sailor Senshi dashed toward Hirokazu's house. Rei felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Not *again*," she scowled. She had to strain to concentrate and find the vague sense she was hoping not to find on the very edge of her perception. Yes, there was an evil presence out there. But where? Her senses were somewhat dulled and cloudy due to being in the wrong body. Either that, or her refusal to accept any such arrangement was keeping her thoughts from working well with the body she was in. Not only that, but she had to keep reminding herself that Chibi-Usa, with her shorter legs and stature, had a shorter stride and tired sooner than Rei would in her proper form. By all rights Minako and Makoto were the most athletic-oriented of the group, Usagi the last. It often took a major act to get Usagi to consider exercising, much less go to a gym. Well... they couldn't fault Usagi much on the latter; one of the last times Usagi had gone to a gym, she'd found herself in the midst of one of Jadeite's ridiculous energy-gathering schemes. Every time Rei thought about it, she wondered why Jadeite had gotten away with his failed schemes for as long as he did. Surely Queen Beryl would've zapped him after a few failures... oh, well. That was the past, and Jadeite, along with the rest of the Dark Kingdom, was gone. Hopefully, for good this time. she mentally scolded herself. The Senshi were facing a potential threat *now*. No use dwelling on the past when she was needed in the present. "Any idea what's coming and from where?" Venus asked. "Not really," she answered. "But I think I know." Ami nodded. "It's her. Hirokazu-san said she told him she would come back to kill him; apparently, she's keeping her word." Why, indeed. But the answer was all too obvious, especially once she forced herself to think about it. They arrived at the edge of Hirokazu's lawn. A familiar voice sliced through the thickening fog. "Well, don't you all look cute," Alshlione's voice had a chilling echo to it. The demon materialized a few yards behind them. "I have to give you credit - you're quite persistent. Most people would rather curl up and die than be forced to live someone else's life. But, you'll be glad to know I've come to rectify your little problem." Usagi narrowed Minako's eyes. "You're going to change us back?" "No, dummy, she's gonna kill us!" snorted Rei. Alshlione smiled. "Ding! Correct answer for the girl in the shrimp's body." "I am NOT a shrimp!" Chibi-Usa retorted. "That's a matter of opinion. You're small, you dress all in pink..." "Like YOU know anything about how to dress." Alshlione threw her hair back and laughed. "None of the men I've asked mind the way I dress. It's such a shame I'm not a succubus. I could've had *so* much fun... ah, well. I guess I'll just have to settle for the fun I'm going to have destroying the vaunted Sailor Senshi." "I don't think so!" Sailor Moon demurred. "You disrupt others' lives for your own twisted and sick enjoyment, and you expect us to sit here and *let* you kill us? In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!" Her four teammates added their agreement. Alshlione gave them an odd look. "Do you always go through those silly poses and speeches when you're talking to someone?" The five Senshi looked at her nervously. Alshlione shrugged. "I suppose I'd better attack before I have to listen to another one of those speeches." Spheres made of swirling flame sprang to life in each of her hands. She lobbed both spheres into the assembled group of Senshi. The resulting explosion separated them and obscured them from Alshlione's view. Usagi made her way over to Ami as Sailor Mercury called on the Shabon Spray to further obscure the battlefield. "Mercury!" she whispered. "If we beat her, will we be changed back to normal?" "It's possible." "Then, can you scan her, see if she's got any weaknesses?" Ami had been dreading that someone would have asked her any questions of the sort. "I... I'll try." She concentrated, touching her earring to call forth her visor, but nothing happened. Ami tried several more times to summon her visor and then her minicomputer, to no avail. "I can't do it." "What?" "I can't summon my visor or my computer," Mercury told Sailor Moon. "Why?" "I don't know. They're probably with Venus, keyed to work with my specific bio-signs. Right now, she's probably the closest to those signs." "So we just ask her to do the scans?" Ami's lips compressed. "It's not that simple. I can't be sure she knows how to use the visor or computer." "Oh." Alshlione, meanwhile, had found the remaining three Senshi in the fog and was doing her best to keep them from being able to counterattack her. Rei and Chibi-Usa were trying to compensate for their altered sizes. Minako's hesitation between attacks gave Alshlione a small window in which to act. She pitched two more fireballs Minako's way. Usagi yanked her friend out of their path. "Thanks, Sailor Moon," Venus smiled weakly. While Rei and Chibi-Usa maintained their part of the attack Ami joined Minako and Usagi. "We need your help," Sailor Mercury told Venus. "Why?" "I can't call up my minicomputer or visor, and I think I have to do it through you." "Um, I'm not really all that sure if something like that will work," Venus said lamely in an attempt to stall. She couldn't let Ami-chan find out what she had done! Mercury blinked. "I'm relatively sure it will work," she assured Venus. "I'm not sure if you would completely understand how to use the visor, so we'll just stick to the minicomputer for now. You already know the procedure - just concentrate on having it come to your hand." "Well..." "C'mon!" prodded Sailor Moon. "We want to see if she's got any weaknesses or anything!" Reluctantly, Sailor Venus lowered her hand to her side and brought it back up with the pocketbook computer, handing it to Ami. "Um, uh... there's something you should know," she blurted as Mercury opened the computer and tried to activate it. "I was using it to do your homework and I kinda..." "Kinda what?" Ami fixed her with a straightforward stare. Minako lowered her head penitently. "I kinda... blew it up. I'm sorry." "The blackened display and keys imply that," Ami said with a faint smile, turning the computer toward her friend. "You'll have to tell me how you managed to blow it up later. For now..." she handed the minicomputer to Sailor Moon, "we'll just have to improvise. Get that to Luna and Artemis. Maybe they know of some way to fix it. Okay, Venus - we'll try the visor, unless you've blown that up, too." "Hey! I said I was sorry!" protested Venus. Nevertheless, she called for the visor. The effect of it sliding around her eyes like a pair of wraparound sunglasses startled her. It took her a second to adjust to the change in light and the flashing indicators coming to life along the inside of the visor. Ami edged as close as she could to the visor, trying to read as much of it as possible. "Center the crosshairs on her and instruct the visor to analyze her for any type of weaknesses." Minako frowned. She waited several seconds, but the visor hadn't found anything useful. At least, not yet. A fireball came between her and Mercury as Alshlione finally noticed that the two Senshi were merely standing around. Sailor Mars loosed several Burning Mandara shots at her - though she lost control of the attack near the end and a few of her shots went wild. She frantically gathered herself... wondering if this incident had anything to do with the reasons why Sailor Chibi-Moon was unable to complete the Pink Sugar Heart Attack all of the time. Mercury managed to break through Alshlione's fireballs with a roughly calculated Shine Aqua Illusion. Angered, the demon stepped up her attacks. Sailor Chibi-Moon was next in line with the Pink Sugar Heart Attack - which, surprisingly, was more powerful than usual and more precise. The Attack pushed Alshlione back into a property wall and temporarily blinded her. She compensated for the blindness by vanishing. "Do you *really* think I can be affected by such pitiful attacks?" Her voice came to them from every direction. A second later a firestorm drove the Senshi to the ground. Alshlione rematerialized a foot off the ground and hovered over to the Senshi. She drew the blood-red crystal from the pouch at her hip - the same crystal they recognized as the one that had swapped their bodies. "Since you found it so easy to put up with the change the first time, what say I switch you all around again and see how you like it this time?" They froze. "No? Aww, c'mon. Don't you want to have as much fun as I'm having?" Venus raised her hands to attack, but Alshlione raised the crystal before her to prevent such a move. "Oh, well. Guess I'd better go ahead and do it anyway. You can never be too careful." Pientris' voice rang out in her mind. Her hesitation, however, had given an unexpected participant in the fight the time he had needed to gather his courage to make a move, no matter how unlikely he thought it would make much of a difference. Hirokazu ran at full speed into Alshlione with his shoulder extended... sending her falling to one side, staggering unevenly. He stared at the stunned demon in amazement. It had worked! His spur-of-the-moment, barely thought-out plan had actually *worked*!? He hadn't done anything of the sort since his high-school days. The adrenaline was truly back... Alshlione locked her gaze on him and growled. She had promised to kill this one earlier, hadn't she? This fool wasn't even a Sailor Senshi, barely worth her consideration! But he was an annoyance nonetheless. A pest that had to be set aside for dealing with at her convenience. She blasted him with a single fireball in retaliation for daring to strike her. Hirokazu's barely conscious form slammed into the gutter... the pavement nearly drawing blood as it wore his skin away. Whatever small amount of water was there did little to soften his impact or put out his smoldering shirt. Luna and Artemis sprinted over to him to check on his condition. "How is he?" Artemis held his breath. "I can't be sure. My guess from looking at him is that he's already dangerously close to being critically injured. If that demon attacks him again..." Both cats shuddered. "Right." The Senshi had stepped up their attacks. They had also taken advantage of Alshlione's brief telepathic conversation to reposition themselves around the demon in order to catch her in a crossfire. "Burning... Mandara!" "Shine Aqua Illusion!" Alshlione launched upward into the air. Mars and Mercury's attacks collided with each other and nearly cancelled each other out. She laughed. "Is *that* the best you're capable of doing?" "Pink... Sugar... Heart...... Attack!" Sailor Chibi-Moon's second try at using her Pink Sugar Heart Attack clipped Alshlione's left shoulder. She wasn't used to the Attack having *this* much power or force, and as such, it was difficult to aim. Chibi-Moon was more than determined to try, however; one day in the future she could very well be a teenaged Sailor Senshi - perhaps even taking the place of Sailor Moon! - so any practice she could get *now* was appreciated. Immediately after that Venus' Love-Me Chain wrapped tightly around the demon's ankles. Venus yanked on the chain, forcing Alshlione back down to ground level. As she hit, the blood-hued crystal tumbled from her hand. She reached out for it. "No...!" The crystal came to a stop at Rei's feet. She stared down at the not-so-innocent gemstone for a second... then brought the point of her heel down on it, shattering it. Alshlione shielded her eyes from the explosion of blinding white light that followed. <*Fool*!> thought-shouted Pientris, though she couldn't hear him. When the light vanished she looked up at the Senshi again. She knew that destroying the crystal would - in *theory* - return the Senshi to their proper forms, even if their uniforms hadn't done the same. "Oh, geez," Minako groaned, noting that she was definitely in her body but Sailor Moon's uniform. "Haven't I had ENOUGH of this weirdness for one week?" Ami, who still had Sailor Venus' uniform, frowned. "We're not done with it *yet*," she replied. "Sailor Moon?" "Here, I think," the girl wearing a larger version of Sailor Chibi-Moon's uniform checked herself. "Oh. Yeah." She fumbled around for her Heart Moon Rod and brought it forth. "MOON... SPIRAL... HEART... ATTACK!!" It took a little over a quarter of a second for the Moon Spiral Heart Attack to activate - more so than usual - as though the Attack was making sure Sailor Moon was who she was supposed to be before executing. Shortly after that Alshlione was no more. Usagi returned the Heart Moon Rod to its place of storage and turned to face the rest of her fellow Senshi. "NOW what?" Rei finally spluttered after the silence had become unbearable. "We should change to our proper uniforms and make sure Hirokazu-san is all right. Oh, and Venus... I really must have a talk with you about blowing up my computer," Ami said pointedly. Sailor Venus swallowed hard. Out of all of them Ami was the best at controlling her temper. If she was upset, it wouldn't be for anything that could be easily dismissed. The best at remaining calm, that was, unless one considered Sailor Pluto... Usagi called on her powers of healing to help Hirokazu recover somewhat before the five Senshi carried him into his house. The effects of the ginzuishou were much more powerful now than they had been before, as she wasn't using it to heal as often. Healing people tended to drain a tremendous amount of power... after which the ginzuishou required 'recharging.' It remained a difficult task, sure, but it no longer left her powerless for a time afterward. What with the enemies they faced these days, powerless was something she could not afford to be. She had so much more to worry about... so many more people... * * * * * There were many innocents still trapped in the region known as the Diaran Kingdom. Too many, as far as the *temporarily* - in their opinion, at least - exiled King Corwyn and Queen Liana were concerned. The kingdom had been a wonderfully breathtaking town built around the extravagant castle, taking full advantage of the countryside for both the scenery and the farming. These were some of the reasons the Diaran Kingdom had been prosperous. The King and Queen were benevolent rulers, and other lands had reportedly used their kingdom as a perfect example. Had been. As in *past tense*. Everything had changed. Pientris, a demon with the ability to influence Darkness in more than just the Human mind, came to the Kingdom with the intent of claiming it. The King and Queen had sent their army to fight Pientris and his Dark forces. But the Diaran army wasn't prepared for the influences of Pientris and the Darkness combined. Before long the tide turned in Pientris' favor. Corwyn and Liana sent their namesake son and daughter with their caretaker away so that Pientris would not have them as well, if it happened to come to that. Instead, when Pientris finally did claim the kingdom, he did not keep them as prisoners or slaves... he exiled them. Over the years that passed, they gathered a new army to retake their kingdom... finding that Pientris kept the land and the unmoving people trapped inside exactly the same in appearance as when they had left every time they came to attack, as if Pientris wanted to spite them. The worst part of it all, naturally, was that they had almost no way of knowing whether or not their children were alive - other than the fact that Pientris hadn't said a word about it. If young Corwyn and Liana had been killed, Pientris would undoubtedly gloat about it to break their spirits. No, they were out there somewhere. Someday, they would have a Kingdom to come back to. Years of nothing but this effort had changed the King and Queen, making them physically stronger, better strategists and thinkers, noticing things ordinary people might ignore. The sadness remained, however. Some of that depression surfaced on the King's face as he asked his latest commander for a report on the battle they were preparing to devote themselves to. He had long since given up on wanting a report on everything when they each knew barely anything had changed... except for *their* ranks. That was yet another sad truth of this whole affair - Pientris' forces were more plentiful and expendable than theirs were. "I take it all is ready?" the King said, wearily, for even in private they carried on with their show... more for their own morale than anyone else's. Although a year passed in between each assault *something* had to be done to keep everyone from allowing the task to slip into hopelessness. And Pientris was playing a part in keeping up morale, too - he would let the Diaran forces win for a while until he decided it was time to defeat them in a spectacular turnabout. These games had been going on now for what, thirteen years? That meant the young Prince and Princess were already coming of age, growing into young adults without knowing of their true heritage - or did they? Their caretaker, whose name escaped the King for the moment, had always had a psychic gift. She'd told the King and Queen before departing that one day, this fight *would* end. Perhaps favorably. One day, he would be reunited with his children. She hadn't had time to clarify or let the vision play out in more detail, though, so all King Corwyn was left to do was speculate on the seer's hopeful tone of voice. Maybe *this*, then, was the year everything would change, the King thought as he and his army surveyed the kingdom from a plateau overlooking the whole of the kingdom. If and when he regained control of his kingdom, he would have to place a watch-post here to keep anyone else from using it for the same purpose. But for now, it was his strategic post. The Queen was reportedly in the area, as well, paying the wounded a visit for purposes of morale and to cast a powerful Heal spell or two. Eventually, she would return to the command tent; there was little chance of her missing the start of the charge. Maybe this would be the year the Goddess of Ondyre would smile on them. An aide rushed up to them, short of breath. "My liege!" "Yes?" "Rear guard reports that an unannounced small group of at least six people is approaching." "What is their intent?" "They are definitely armed, but their swords are not drawn and they are only walking toward us." "Perhaps we should see what they want?" asked the Queen. He hadn't heard her approach. "Yes," he said thoughtfully. "Perhaps we should." Naru had had a good idea whose army waited outside the limits of the Diaran Kingdom. She arranged for Corwyn and Liana to take the point, followed closely by Sailor Jupiter and her, then Hana and Chalea at the rear, in case there was anyone who could detect Chalea's true identity as Corwyn had. Brin was seated on Jupiter's shoulder. Even if the army wasn't the Diaran army, there was a possibility they would appreciate the presence of the Prince and Princess - if in fact they truly were of royal birth - two Sailor Senshi, and other fighters... particularly one who knew their enemy well enough. Certainly none of them, not even Corwyn and Liana, were expecting the King and Queen to step forward to greet the group personally. Corwyn came to stand before the King; Liana came to stand before the Queen. The resemblance between father, mother, son and daughter was remarkable. Indeed, Corwyn and Liana very much resembled younger versions of the King and Queen, respectively. "Liana, Corwyn," the Queen breathed. "I-is it... is it truly you?" "......Yes," both answered evenly. "Guess that answers *that* question," Naru heard Chalea say, before Hana shushed her. "He really is a prince," Brin whispered in awe. "You do not mind if we make absolutely sure you are our son and daughter, do you?" the King, not completely convinced, asked them. "How?" "I would like to see your birthmarks." The younger Liana and Corwyn met each other's gaze for a second, nodding, then removed their armor... allowing the King and Queen to examine the birthmarks in the shape of a five-pointed star on their lower backs. "I *knew* you would come back to us. Arielis told us you would." The seer hadn't, actually, but King Corwyn did not want to darken the Queen's joyous mood by correcting her. After all, their son and daughter had finally returned! "And now, here you are. You've grown so much since we were last able to see you... I can see you both have become strong." Liana felt a blush rising to her cheeks, in an expression that caused Naru to imagine Liana saying the words, "Aww, *Mom*..." "We've brought help to fight Pientris," young Corwyn thought to say. True, this was a moment he'd waited for all his life - to find his parents - but an overly emotional display in public wouldn't do, not when the children of the royal family were supposed to be strong. Not when a great evil still remained to endanger their lives... He introduced his teammates. "This is Sailor Ondyre, and Sailor Jupiter," Corwyn gestured to both of the Sailor Senshi in turn. The King studied Makoto and Naru. "The legendary Sailor Senshi. Sailor Ondyre, the Goddess of Ondyre's chosen warrior and representative. I have heard of what you have done for this world, but I never thought I would have the honor of meeting you, child." He smiled; it was Naru's turn to blush. "Surely the presence of the Sailor Senshi, particularly Sailor Ondyre, is a sign from Alliene that we will win." Corwyn proceeded to introduce Brin, Hana and Chalea - but before he could, the empty space beyond the tip of the plateau they stood on folded in on itself. Cold blue flame ignited in its place, and soon everyone found themselves greeted by a mountain-sized projection of the face of their enemy. Pientris offered a booming laugh. "You!" the contempt in Chalea's voice was quite clear. "What do you want?" "Just to inform you all that, as usual, there is no chance at all for any of you to win this little game. You see, this is indeed the final battle. I assure you, that all of you are as good as dead." "Of boredom, yes. Can't you do anything but *talk*?" Pientris dismissed Chalea's retort. "You poor fools. Don't you realize that I *manipulated* all of you so that you would be here? I don't have to go to the trouble of hunting each of you down and killing you; I can destroy you all at once!" "Even if you thought you stood a chance against us, *demon*," the King steeled himself, drawing his sword. "I do not believe you had anything to do with anyone's presence here." "Ah, but you don't know the truth of my plans," the demon smirked. His eyes concentrated on the very edge of the plateau. "Arielis!" A figure materialized there, her body concealed by a rough, hooded cloak. She removed the hood to reveal the face of Arielis, aide and caretaker to the young Corwyn and Liana. The very same person who had charged Naru and her group with finding all of the Diaran royal family and insuring they returned to their Kingdom... (...to be continued...) ------------ Credits: Written by: Mike Koos Pre-readers: Richard Beaubien, Louis-Philippe Giroux, Tom Williams, David Wills Apologies: Takeuchi Naoko and the others who brought us the manga and animated versions of Sailor Moon. Notes: I've made a slight change to the time the team has left to get to the Diaran Kingdom in part 4 - it's now a few days, rather than just one. Does it make much of a difference? Maybe, maybe not. And no, Naru's journal wasn't started on the eighth day. It just looks that way. ^_^ All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works or from my WWW pages at http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto/ Comments and questions welcome. * Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos: makoto@cal.net * http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto * * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your background music is too strong * for me." - Sam Johnson, Whose Line is it Anyway?