THE FLASH POINT

(Zero, with a tool belt attached to his waist, is tinkering with a 
robot of some kind as J. Bison walks in.)

Bison: What are you doing?
Zero: The "boss" asked me to put this together... (sighs) although I 
don't know why.  The world is a place of darkness and sadness, where 
light does not exist.
Bison: ...
Voice: Sorry about that.  I finaly got him to the end of his game in 
MMX4.
Bison: Let me guess... really dark ending.
Voice: Bingo.

(Zero finishes the robot and we see that it is an exact duplicate of 
Flashman.)

Zero: I'm finished.  Although it was pointless as the world is a cold,
 dark and lonely place where a new life, human or robotic, should not 
be subjected to.
Voice: Okay, with this robot, I can concentrate full time on this 
Otaku Leap me and the others are caught in and he can do the MSTs.  
And now... to activate.

(A large bolt of lightning comes out of no where and strikes the 
Flashman robot and Zero.)

Flashman: Whoa.  What a brunch... I mean, rush.

(Zero gets up.)

Zero: Wow!  Suddenly, I feel much better.  Maybe life isn't so bad 
after all.
Bison: Wha...
Flashman: That lightning had a little Reploid prozak in it.
Bison: Reploid prozak?
Zero:(Stoned) The colors...
______________________

                               Mama's Hand
                                    By
                               Douglas Helm

                             Edited/Co-Plotted
                                    By
                         "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl
                                Rated : R

Definitions : 

Sobo - Used when refering to your grandmother
Sohu - Used when refering to your grandfather

[Flashman: FINALY!  Now the slower members of the audience can 
understand what certain words mean.
Bison: Like you?
Flashman: Grumble, grumble.]

Part IX - Imagery

Transforming back, Usagi dashed over to Mamoru, who had also resumed 
his civilian garb, and hugged him. "Oh Mamo-chan!" Usagi said, "I 
missed you so much!"

"Usagi, where were you?" Mamoru said, "You called me earlier and told 
me that you were leaving Minako's and that after you went home, you 
were coming over." He tried to sound frustrated but couldn't once he 
looked deeply into her eyes, the world around them starting to fade 
out. <I've missed you so much.> "Are you okay?"

[Flashman:(Sniffs) It's a kodak moment.
Zero: He's okay NOW...
Bison: But not in the future.]

"Excuse me!" came the loud voice beside them. Both Usagi and Mamoru 
jumped and turned to find Rei looking at them. "I hate to interrupt 
you two love birds but what if the cops come and find you two necking 
while there are people in trouble?!"

Usagi pouted slightly, "I guess Rei's right."

[All: For once.]

"Come on, Usagi. Let's go back to my place and you can tell me what's 
kept you so occupied for the past two weeks." He raised an eyebrow as 
Usagi took on a panicked expression. <What's got her so scared?> 
"Something wrong, Usako?"

"NO! No," Usagi said while placing her one arm behind her head, 
"Nothing's wrong. Sure, I'd love to go to your apartment." <I love to 
spend time with you but we just can't talk about Chibi-Usa.> A very 
protective nature wouldn't allow her to.

[Zero: Good idea.
Flashman: VERY good idea.]

"Well it's almost five. If you run home, you just might make it on 
time for supper. Besides, I don't think you told your mom you were 
going to Mamoru's. She likely thinks you're at the arcade." She waved 
her arm around indicating the various news agencies, <If the 
emergency crews were as quick as the news people, I'd be happier.>

"Ohmygosh!" Usagi screeched and tore off down the decimated sidewalk, 
"See you later, Mamo-chan! Love yo... EEEK!" Mamoru blinked as Usagi 
disappeared down a hole. "Hey! Can somebody get me a ladder or 
something!" came Usagi's voice from the hole.

<Oh Usako,> Mamoru thought as he ran towards his trapped girlfriend.

[(All three crack up laughing.)
Flashman: A fic this dark NEEDS moments like this.]

Late that same evening, Mamoru slept peacefully. His breathing steady 
as he entered a dream state. A slow smile spreading across his face; 
to any observer, they might think that Mamoru was having a pleasant 
dream, and he was.

He found himself sitting beside Usagi on top of a grassy hill, a 
small stand of trees off to the left in the distance. The sounds of 
nature around and no one to bother them. Puffy white clouds stretched 
out in long strings floating lazily along.

"Usako, you are so beautiful," Mamoru said as his stroked her hair, 
"My precocious princess." Cupping the back of Usagi's head in his 
hand, he drew her into a kiss. The couple held that pose for what 
seemed like an eternity until a slight wind made them shiver.

[Flashman:(Sigh)
Bison: Wishing you were in his place?
Flashman: Well.. who WOULDN'T want a girl like Usagi-sama?
Zero: Captain Jack and the majority of the RRML?
Flashman: BESIDES them!]

"Mamo-chan?" Usagi said.

"Hmmm?"

"Mamo-chan, how do you see me?"

"What do you mean, Usagi-chan?" Mamoru asked.

[Flashman: Actually, he would call her Usako here too.]

"Am I your girlfriend or a princess?" Usagi said pulling away 
slightly so she could turn to look at him.

"Both Usako. I love you with all of my heart."

"Then why haven't you ever told me? Shown me?"

Mamoru frowned slightly, "Usako, I have told you. I hope I've shown 
my love to you."

"I suppose..." Usagi said but she seemed doubtful. Not feeling well 
about how this was going, Mamoru started to wrap his arm around her 
reassuringly but the dream shimmered and then faded away as Mamoru 
awoke. He found that it was still night.

[Flashman: Uh oh.
Zero: This doesn't bode well.]

At about the same time that Mamoru was having his dream, the girls 
were having a meeting via communicator. Ami sat on her bed with Luna 
and Artemis curled up at her feet. She was listening as Usagi 
recounted what had happened before Usagi had called the others.

"Figures you'd waste your money in that place," Rei sneered, "If you 
had one more token, we might've needed a crowbar to pull you out of 
the rubble."

Before Usagi could retort, Luna cut them off. "Girl!" she said 
sternly,

[Flashman: Not to nitpick...
Bison: But you will...
Flashman: But shouldn't that be "Girls!"?]

"That doesn't make sense though. What are they some type of 
dimensional hit squad?" Minako asked, "Why would they be after us? We 
don't have anything they want."

"They know we're Senshi though," Usagi emphasized, "They came to 
Tokyo. Doesn't that mean they might know who we are?"

"Unlikely," Artemis said, "If they knew where you lived, they would 
likely strike at you when not in Senshi forms. It could be that they 
want to get rid of the Senshi first before they start a larger 
operation."

[Zero: So close...
Bison: ... and yet so far.]

"Well until we get more to go on, I guess that's it. I'll be home in 
a little bit, Usagi."

"Okay Luna, 'night." The others bid their own goodnights before 
signing off.

Once Ami's communicator was off, Luna turned and asked, "Did you get 
a scan of Mamoru?"

"Hai," Ami said drawing out her minicomputer from her dimensional 
pocket, "However, I don't know if you'll like the results." Settling 
herself more comfortably, Ami continued, "Mamoru is NOT the father... 
at least not the biological father."

"Nani?" Artemis questioned while taking on a puzzled look.

"Given Mamoru's nature, his genetic markers are supercharged. It'd be 
hard to miss them. I did a comparison between Mamoru's DNA and Chibi-
Usa's DNA. Usagi is the mother but Mamoru is not the father."

[Flashman:(Pulling out a bazoka like device) Usagi-sama... unfaithful?

Zero:(Wide eyed) Easy... calm down...
Flashman: NO!  As a member of The Church Of Tsukino Usagi, I can not 
alow this lie to stand!  FLASH CANNON!  FI...
Zero: What if she thinks Mamoru is dead?
Flashman:(Throws the Flash Cannon over his shoulder) Oh, in that case.
..
(Bison and Zero facefault.)]

"Chibi-Usa carries a key that isn't normal," Ami said, "It's possible 
that the key is some type of temporal device, allowing time travel."

"That's all well and good," Luna said, rising again to pace, "But 
this doesn't answer the questions: What happened to Endymion? How 
could Usagi let this happen? And what is the new enemy after?" 
Turning at the foot of the bed, Luna looked at the room's other 
occupants before saying, "Not to mention what the hell am I going to 
do?!?"

Artemis blinked, "Luna, calm down! What's got you so agitated?"

<Baka cat!> "Artemis, are you as dense as you look?!?" Artemis was 
about to protest but Luna sighed, "Gomen. I'm worried. I've been up 
trying to figure all this out. Then the new enemy comes and things 
have just gone from confusing to chaotic." Looking at Artemis 
directly, Luna said, "Gomen, I do appreciate your help."

Artemis had a hard time trying to control the urge to float off the 
bed.

[Bison: Ami has a water bed?]

"About Usagi being Chibi-Usa's mother?" Ami asked.

"Hai."

"I don't see any practical value in that action at this point." Ami 
mused, "It might even cause more trouble. If Usagi were even inclined 
to believe that she was actually Chibi-Usa's mother, Usagi would want 
to know who the father was."

[(All three nod.)
Flashman: I wonder if Ami has a way of finding out.
Zero: Knowing her?  Probably.
Bison: If she does though, she isn't telling.]

Luna's eyes enlarged as she stared at Artemis for several seconds, 
"You're right, Artemis. If they know about the Senshi, then they 
might know WHO the Senshi are." Then Luna wrinkled her forehead, "But 
didn't you just say that it was unlikely that the enemy knew the 
Senshi's identities?"

"I..." Artemis began and then trailed off, "Before I was working 
under the assumption that these enemy were of this time. Enemies from 
the future could have access to personal information about the Senshi.
"

"I would assume that the new enemy does not have access to that 
information," Ami stated confidently, "It would not be tactically 
sound to draw out the Senshi when they would be expecting an attack. 
Five separate hits conducted within minutes or seconds of each other 
is all that would be required."

"Ami!" Luna said. She seemed shocked by the coolness that Ami had 
stated that rather chilling fact.

[Zero:(Shivers) I know Ami could be anilitical at times but this...]

"Luna, I've run simulations. I wanted to see what our possibilities 
were," Ami said sheepishly, "Given my current power levels, I would 
be killed or captured within five minutes if the enemy did a surprise 
attack."

"Now Ami-chan, you're underestimating yourself," Artemis admonished 
lightly, "You might not have power but you got brains."

"Artemis is right," Luna said then added, "Uh, just out of curiosity, 
what about the others?"

"The best holdouts are likely Jupiter and Mars. I'd give either 
Jupiter or Mars fifteen minutes or an all out escape. Venus would 
likely be average seven and a half minutes. Sailor Moon... hard to 
say, depends on how she would react and Usagi's chaotic enough that 
the results could be rather surprising."

[Zero: I know.  In my time, we tried doing a computer recomposit as 
to how someone as... physicaly incapable of fighting was able to 
survive to become what she became and the computer blew fifteen 
mother boards before we gave up.]

Sunday morning was slightly overcast; a stiff southeasterly wind was 
working hard to push a bank of heavy dark clouds over the city. Chibi-
Usa padded down the stairs in Usagi's pajama top and a pair of bunny 
slippers. It was still early so she was surprised to see someone was 
awake. Thinking it was her grandmother, Chibi-Usa entered the kitchen 
but came to a complete stop as she saw it was her grandfather.

"Good morning, Chibi-Usa-chan," Kenji said, "What are you doing up 
this early?"

"Good morning, Ojii-san. I just woke up," Chibi-Usa said shyly, "It's 
okay that I'm up?" She looked towards her grandfather nervously; she 
had heard him yell at her mother before. <Maybe he doesn't like me,> 
Chibi-Usa thought. Her grandfather was always scowling when she 
called her mother "Mommy". <Maybe he wants me to go away.>

[Flashman:(Through gritted teeth) I am not angry... I will not rip 
Endymion apart... I will not stuff his privates up his nose...  anger 
is bad for an upset stomach.
Zero:(Upgrading Z-Saber) We're up to #165.
Bison:(Psycho Power gathering) I'm ready.]

Chibi-Usa struggled with the container. It seemed to be stuck in the 
door shelf. Talking a firm grip on the bottle, Chibi-Usa pulled but 
nothing happened. <Why is it stuck?!?> Chibi-Usa thought, <This 
should be easy.> Moving some of the other containers out of the way, 
Chibi-Usa forced her hands underneath the bottle.

"Chibi-Usa-chan, do you want some help?" Kenji asked.

"Hai, please," Chibi-Usa said stepping away from the door. Kenji 
reached out and gave a little harder tug on the bottle. With a pop, 
it came out of the door shelf easily enough.

"There you go," Kenji said handing the bottle to Chibi-Usa.

"Arigato Ojii-san," she said while taking the bottle and following 
her grandfather over to the table.

"Would you like to pour the juice?"

"No," Chibi-Usa said after some thought, "It's heavy. I might spill 
some." She then handed the bottle to Kenji who poured the contents 
into two glasses.

[Flashman: That brings back... BAD memories. (As the others look at 
him) A scene in this story before you got here.]

Chibi-Usa was just preparing to place the bottle back on the shelf 
when a sharp crack sounded. Whirling around at the unexpected noise, 
Chibi-Usa lost her traction and both she and the bottle went crashing 
to the floor. The impact knocked the wind out of the little girl as 
the bottle shattered spraying juice and glass everywhere. <No!> Chibi-
Usa thought. Drawing herself up into a ball, she gave a little 
whimper and simply laid there.

Kenji jumped at the unexpected noise and jumping up hurried over to 
the little girl. Bending down, Kenji said, "Chibi-Usa-chan, are you 
okay?!?" All he got was a muffled sob as the little girl lifted her 
hands to her cover her ears. "Honey, are you hurt?" Kenji asked. He 
reached out a hand and gently touched Chibi-Usa on the shoulder. The 
reaction he got was unexpected at best. The little girl shuddered and 
then stiffened again.

"Gomen nasai!" Chibi-Usa sobbed out, "I didn't mean to!!!"

[(All three go into "Super Rage Mode" as "Invincible" plays in the 
background.)
Flashman: Must...
Bison: Kill...
Zero: Endymion...]

Chibi-Usa's response was just to cry. <Where's Mommy?> she thought 
sadly, <Why isn't he yelling at me?> She could feel her grandfather 
gently holding her. <I was bad... He'll tell Daddy.> "Gomen nasai, 
Ojii-san!" she sobbed again.

Hugging the little girl, Kenji said, "I believe you. I'm not mad; it 
was an accident." Gently, he wiped away some of the tears from her 
cheeks before saying, "Chibi-Usa-chan, can you look at me?" Slowly 
Chibi-Usa flitted opened one eye then the other. Tearily, she stared 
at Kenji who softly smiled, "Now what's a kawaii little girl like you 
crying about?"

Sniffling and taking on a confused expression, Chibi-Usa said, 
"Aren't you mad at me, Ojii-san?"

"No, why?"

"'Cause I was naughty."

Kenji put on a confused expression, "I thought you were helping 
really well until you had an accident. I don't think you were naughty 
at all." He smiled at Chibi-Usa again and said, "You can help me 
clean up if you want to." Chibi-Usa nodded rapidly, "Okay, you go get 
dressed and then we can clean up the kitchen and make breakfast for 
everybody."

Tentatively, Chibi-Usa reached out and hugged Kenji, "I love you," 
she said softly. She smiled as her grandfather hugged her back. <I 
like having a sohu. He's nice.> Taking on a pensive expression, Chibi-
Usa leaned back and said, "Do we have to tell Daddy?" <Daddy would be 
really mad.>

[(All three start leaning over blue prints for torture devices 
designed to hurt just one man.)]

"No, it was an accident and you said you'd help me," Kenji said. 
Letting the little girl down, he added, "Now go get dressed and hurry 
back down." <Kami-sama, you are such a precious little girl. How 
anyone could be cruel to you, I don't know.>

[(All three nod sagely.)]

Rather ecstatic that she wasn't going to be punished and she was even 
being allowed to help, Chibi-Usa skipped out of the kitchen. She 
politely acknowledged her mother and grandmother but they were rather 
stunned by what had just occurred.

After recovering Usagi walked over to Kenji and, giving him a hug, 
said, "You're the best, Dad."

[All: Amen!]
________________

(Zero, J.Bison and Flashman continue to work on the blue prints.)

Zero: Are you sure?
Flashman: Cerain.  It'll hurt a LOT more if you put these mallets 
here and move those needles to where his hands will be resting.
Bison: Not bad, but I think we need to add a few more branding irons.

Zero: Yeah and let's move that knife to there.
Flashman: Any way, good work Doug... we'll be back for chapter 10 in 
a jiffy.

(The three continue to make modifications to their plans as the scene 
fades out.)

The Flashman
(Proud member of The Church Of Tsukino Usagi)

3 Months till I-Con

May The Spirit Preserve You!