MISCONCEPTION
				by Scott K. Jamison
				(Takeuchi disclaimer)
				Chapter VI


	"Ooh!  He's kicking again!"
	"Let me feel!"
	"No, it's my turn!"
	This had been going on for the last half hour.  This was Usagi's 
first baby shower, and she was beginning to wonder if every guest of 
honor at one of these felt like the prize exhibit at a petting zoo. 
	At eight months plus, Usagi was bulging in places she'd never 
thought about before.  Who knew feet swelled so much during pregnancy?  
	"Is it time for the presents yet?" asked Chibiusa.  Frequent 
visits to her future mother's apartment had taken some of the shine off 
tummy-feeling and maternity advice for her.
	And truth to tell, Usagi was getting pretty tired of pregnancy 
and baby advice herself.  Ever since she'd become obviously with child, 
the neighbor women in the apartment complex had taken it on themselves to 
share all their experience in the field with her.  Mostly it made her 
feel more worried about what was to come.  
	She just wasn't ready for this responsibility!  She doubted she 
would have been ready even fifty years from now.  But she'd made her 
choices, and now it was too late to turn back.  Ichiro was coming, ready 
or not.
	"I guess so, if everyone's ready.  So, which first?"  There was a 
big pile of brightly-wrapped packages on the table.  Usagi picked one up 
and ripped off the paper.
	Inside were several baby outfits.  There was a lable saying they 
were "Se-ru-mo-ku-ro-mi-ku?" 
	"Thermochromic cloth?  I've heard of that," said Ami.  "Oh, see, 
it turns pink in cold water, blue in hot water." 
	The card read, [Because you just never know.  Love, 
Seiya-tachi.]  
	"The `gals' couldn't make it themselves, so they asked me to 
bring that along," deadpanned Haruka. 
	The next gift was a "My First Computer" from Ami. 
	"I dunno, Ami, it looks awfully advanced."
	"Nonsense!  See, `for ages 6 months and up'."
	"But I can't get it to turn on!"
	"It takes batteries, Usagi."
	"Oh."
	Naru's gift was a stuffed bunny, and Makoto's a hand-knit 
blanket.  There was a lot of throat-clearing when the package from Minako 
proved to contain a Sailor V crib mobile.
	"What!?" she asked, all wounded innocence.  
	There was a bottle warmer from Mama, a toy race car from Haruka 
and a cassette of violin lullabies from Michiru.  Rei had made charms for 
easy childbirth and a healthy delivery.
	"And *this* one eases headaches due to constant wailing.  It 
works.  Trust me, I know."  Usagi stuck her tongue out at the shrine 
maiden, who replied in kind.  But they couldn't keep it up for long 
before both cracked up in laughter. 
	Several of Usagi's classmates had gone in together on a car seat 
for the motorcycle, complete with a little crash helmet.  Of course, 
Usagi had no intention of taking her baby anywhere on such a dangerous 
thing, but the thought was nice. 
	Finally, there was only one package left.  "Hotaru-chan 'n' me 
picked it out together," explained Chibiusa.  The quiet girl nodded in 
affirmation. 
	It was an infant-sized cape, white with a midnight blue lining.  
	"...It's very pretty, Chibi-chan, Hotaru-chan.  But...um..." 
	Chibiusa hugged Usagi, and whispered in her ear.  "It's like the 
one my brother wears."
	That was right!  To Chibi, Ichiro was already a real person, one 
she'd known all her life.  Usagi hoped her daughter would realize that 
the baby wasn't going to be the big brother she knew for a long long 
time.  She hugged back fiercely. 
	"Is everyone hungry?" asked Mama, bringing in the snacks and 
cake.  Usagi was certainly looking forward to this part.  She'd been 
eating for two for a while now, though Shingo had kidded her that she'd 
always eaten that way.  
	Usagi's brother had actually adjusted pretty well, all things 
considered.  He had made a number of rude jokes about her condition, of 
course, but overall he seemed thrilled at the notion of being an uncle.  
	Luna mewed, and Usagi stroked her cat's fur.  She knew Luna hated 
it when she had to act like a normal cat for so long.  Certainly she 
herself couldn't have kept from talking!  
	Usagi was just about to dig into a big piece of fudge ripple cake 
when the wall collapsed.  Somehow, very few people in the room were 
surprised to see a youma standing where the wall had been.
	"I think we should be going now, Mrs. Tsukino," said Naru in an 
eerily calm voice.
	"But--but Usagi--"
	"If we all just leave the room or faint, Sailor Moon will show up 
and save us.  Trust me.  I've done this a lot."  Usagi had a moment to 
get suspicious about just how much Naru knew.
	"Kriegspiel!" shouted the youma in a manner more befitting a 
Cardian.  The civilians quickly cleared the room, leaving the Senshi free 
to transform.  All but Usagi did so.  
	"Splendid," said the youma, in a voice rather unlike its previous 
roar.  "I have you all together."  
	"Fulgurite!" spat Sailor Mars. 
	The monster wavered and vanished, revealing the surprisingly 
impressive figure of the Dark Kingdom warrior.  "Guilty as charged, fire 
maiden.  I've come to challenge you.  Observe."  
	Fulgurite pointed a finger at the table.  Almost immediately it 
crumbled to dust.
	"Hyper-accelerated aging!" gasped Sailor Mars, as her visor 
presented its report. 
	"Precisely.  And I now have enough power to do the same to all of 
Tokyo, including the people.  Meet me at midnight at Tokyo Tower.  If you 
can defeat me then, I will let Tokyo live.  If not...well, then you will 
never have the chance to become immortal, and Crystal Tokyo will never 
come into existence."
	"But how--"
	"Did you think I was the only remnant of your past, Princess 
Serenity?  Others have aided me in my quest.  You and your precious 
future are going to die."  He sank into a shadow on the floor.
	"He's managed to jam my tracking signals.  No telling where he is 
now." 
	"Maybe not, but we know where he will be."  Sailor Jupiter 
cracked her knuckles.

TO BE CONTINUED

SKJAM!
"Time is the fire in which we burn"