THE FLASH POINT
(The lights come up to show Zero pleading a case to Flashman.)
Zero: All I'm asking is this one favor.  I'll never ask for anything 
again if you do this for me... I'll even let you go before me when we 
beat up Endymion if you do this.
Flashman: Boy, you must really like her.
Zero: After I lost Iris, I never thought I'd feel this way again... 
ESPECIALY for a human.  But...
Flashman:(Thoughtful) Weeeelll, I think I can work SOMETHING out.
Bison:(Demon Head) YoU mOrOnS!  ThE nExT cHaPtEr Of MaMa'S HaNd'S 
hErE!!! So StOp ThE dAtInG sErViCe AnD lEt'S gEt To WoRk!!!
___________________

Rubeus brooded. As he sat in his private quarters, his eyes were 
smoldering coals of anger. His attempts to vent his frustration 
having failed, Rubeus brooded and plotted. Two weeks ago, Esmeraudo 
had come and was making Rubeus miserable.

<I dare not move against her though,> Rubeus thought darkly, absently 
tracing a pattern on the crystalline tabletop. <She is Endymion's 
tart.

[All: ......
Flashman: I've never heard of someone being called a "tart" before, 
but I think I get the general idea.]

Yes, he liked that plan. But who to carry it out? On the one hand, 
Rubeus was not willing to risk himself; on the other hand, he was not 
willing to allow HIS future to rest in the hands of those bungling 
sisters. A knock at his door drew him from further brooding. "Enter," 
Rubeus growled.

"Rubeus-sama," Cooan said after stepping into the room, "We think 
we've come up with a plan of attack. Could we have you listen to it?" 
Her eyes twinkled slightly as a child's would hoping to please with 
some great idea.

Rubeus scowled slightly then said, "Hai."

[Flashman: I don't know... for some reason, the use of "hai" here 
just doesn't work for me.
Bison: It's okay for some ocasions but not here.]

Late that same evening, Chibi-Usa quietly slipped from the bed. 
Padding over, she gently opened the door and looked about. The 
hallway was darkened and silent. Giving one more cautious glance 
towards the sleeping forms of her mother and Luna, Chibi-Usa 
carefully crept out and gently closed the door. She froze slightly at 
the soft click it made but nothing stirred.

[(All start humming the Mission: Imposible theme.)]

Being careful how she stepped, Chibi-Usa made her way first down the 
hall and then down the stairs. The downstairs was dimly lit with a 
mixture of moonlight and streetlamp light. It caused shadows to 
appear on the walls and ceiling. Quivering slightly, more out of fear 
of being caught then the haunting shadows on the wall, Chibi-Usa went 
quickly but softly to the phone. Lifting the phone, she was about to 
dial the number when a sound from upstairs took her by surprise.

Fighting the urge to give a yelp, she froze. Her heart had sped up 
and it seemed to echo in the silent downstairs. Someone was moving 
about. Pressing close against the wall, Chibi-Usa covered the 
receiver that was buzzing noisily with the dialtone. As one second 
slipped into another, Chibi-Usa could feel the tension mounting but 
after a short pause, there was the sound of a door opening and feet 
walking across the hall. Another door opened then closed. Fearing 
some trick, Chibi-Usa stood waiting but nothing happened and the only 
sound she heard was the rare car passing and the phone buzzing for 
attention. Taking a few deep breaths, Chibi-Usa spent a few moments 
figuring out how to get the dialtone back before dialing the number 
on the piece of paper she had found.

It rang once, then twice, then a third time. She was about to hang up 
when a groggy sounding voice came. "Moshi moshi?" the distorted voice 
of Mamoru said.

[All:(Throwing pop corn at the screen) Boo!  Hiss!
Flashman:(Turns to Him, sarcasticaly) Is that a more aceptible 
reaction for you O' Lord of What Should Go in Fan Fiction Reviews?]

There was a brief pause and then a clearer voice of Mamoru said, 
"Chibi-Usa-chan? What's the matter, honey?" His tone indicated worry 
but there was slight irritation.

Gulping slightly, Chibi-Usa said, "Gomen, I didn't mean to wake you 
up..."

"That's okay, Chibi-Usa-chan," Mamoru interrupted soothingly, "Just 
tell me why you're calling at this time of night? What's wrong?"

"Daddy," Chibi-Usa said softly, "Daddy, Sobo doesn't want me to have 
you as a daddy." She sniffled a little, "I love you, Daddy, and I 
want Mommy to be Mommy. Can I come live with you?" <If I go live with 
Daddy, then I can show him how good I am and he won't get mad at 
Mommy.>

There was a long pause before Mamoru said, "I don't know, Sweetheart. 
Your grandparents don't like me." Silently Mamoru thought, <And what 
did she mean by saying she wants `Mommy as Mommy'?!?>

[(The hail of pop corn increases.)]

"Daddy," Chibi-Usa said softly again while looking around, "Mommy 
could come with me, too." <Then we can be a family again.> Then she 
heard it again; it was a soft noise. <What's that?!?> Chibi-Usa 
anxiously thought. "Please Daddy? I miss you."

"I'll ask your mommy if it's okay. Now you go back to bed. It's way 
past your bedtime," Mamoru said. <Past mine too!>

"'Kay Daddy, goodnight," Chibi-Usa said.

"Goodnight Chibi-Usa-chan, I love you." The soft giggle of delight 
that came over the phone conveyed her happiness perfectly. <Now all I 
have to do is to convince Usagi to get her parents to leave me alone,

Mamoru thought darkly.

[Zero: It's your turn Flashman.
Flashman: Thank you. *Ahem!*  NOT BLOODY LIKELY!]

Luna was also wondering what she was going to do, and if she should 
mention it to Usagi.

                                  ******

The following morning was slightly overcast. The occasional shaft of 
sunlight struggled through the thin layer of clouds. As Usagi walked 
behind Chibi-Usa and Shingo to school she felt odd. It had been a 
struggle to get Chibi-Usa up and Luna was starting to act strange as 
well. 

The first thing that occurred to Usagi when she heard the screams was 
that the Droid attack was rather inconvenient. Having just dropped 
Chibi-Usa off at school, Usagi had gone about a block when the shouts 
and rumbling started. Ducking into a nearby alleyway, she transformed 
and leapt up to the roof. As she made the roof, Sailor Moon activated 
her communicator and warned the other Senshi of the Droid attack.

<I hope it's not a Droid,> Sailor Moon thought as she made her way 
swiftly towards Chibi-Usa's school, <Maybe the boiler exploded.> 
Although still dangerous, it would be far better than a Droid. She 
was about to jump to street level to continue on when a figure on the 
school roof made her pull to a halt and look curiously in surprise.

"Tuxedo Kamen?!?" she questioned to no one in particular, "What's he 
doing here so soon?!?" Giving a shrug, Sailor Moon hopped off the 
roof of her own building at the same time that Tuxedo Kamen went on 
the attack.

Tuxedo Kamen was feeling a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, he 
was feeling a type of parental rage that something would threaten to 
harm HIS child. He was also feeling elation; he had arrived ahead of 
the Senshi and this would give him an opportunity to prove to Usagi 
how good he was. After landing on the schoolgrounds, he turned to 
face the Droid and Petz.

[Bison/Zero: PETZ?!
Flashman: Errr... we're only familiar with the NA versions of their 
names.  Which one is this?]

"Schools are for the betterment of youth and not for the corruption 
of their innocence!" Flourishing his cane, he jabbed it towards Petz 
and shouted, "On behalf of these victims! I WILL PUNISH YOU!" With 
that, his cane stretched jabbing at Petz who easily dodged it.

[All: ........
Bison: I can't believe he SAID that.]

<Damn, can't hurt this one.> "Gellax! Tie him up!" Petz shouted to 
her Droid. <Where is Rubeus?!? He's watching from the shadows...>

Gellax was a humanoid woman; her skin was wax-like and brilliant red 
in appearance. "Hai Petz-sama," Gellax confirmed before shooting four 
tendrils of bright liquid wax, trying to entangle Tuxedo Kamen.

"Not today, fiend!" he shouted and, while jumping to the side, 
launched a volley of roses which halted the attack. Grinning broadly 
at his success, Tuxedo Kamen started attacking the Droid in earnest. 
<I will show Usagi that I can beat this thing!>

Petz was unsure of what to do. <I can't attack him and Gellax is 
defending herself properly.> Turning, she spotted a slight commotion 
in the cowering children who were encased in Gellax's wax. <What's 
this?!?> Floating over a little, Petz let out a gasp. "The Rabbit!!!" 
she declared.

[Bison:(Singing) Kill da Wabbit!  Kill da Wa....
(Flashman punches his face in.)
Bison: OW!  What'd I say to deserve that?
(Zero whispers in J.Bisons ear.)
Bison:(Blushes) Oops, sorry I didn't know that Putz... err, Petz 
meant her.]

Jerking his head away from the latest attack, his attention was 
suddenly caught by Chibi-Usa's scream. Gellax was about to launch 
another attack but her target sprang away snarling viciously. "Keep 
away from her!!!" Raising his cane, he lengthened it before slamming 
it down. Petz screamed as the cane made contract with her.

"You dare!!!" Petz snarled. The only thing keeping her from attacking 
him was Rubeus' warnings of dire consequences. Making a grab for 
Chibi-Usa, she was tackled sideways as Tuxedo Kamen collided with her.


"NANI?!?" Sailor Moon questioned, "How'd this happen all at once?!?"

[Flashman: They're very, very fast.]

Scrambling to his feet, Tuxedo Kamen leapt away from the fuming Petz 
and placed himself in between Chibi-Usa and her attacker. "Honey," 
Tuxedo Kamen said turning to Chibi-Usa, "There's your mother. Let's 
go over and you can stay with her while I finish these guys off." 
Chibi-Usa nodded but more to comply with her father than anything 
else. She was still nervous about Sailor Moon and the other Senshi.

After breaking his daughter free, Tuxedo Kamen leapt towards Sailor 
Moon's position. "Here!" Tuxedo Kamen said to Sailor Moon once he was 
close to her, "Keep Chibi-Usa safe and stay back... I'll handle 
this!"

"You?!?" Sailor Moon questioned, "You've got to be kidding?!?" <He 
knows perfectly well that I have to kill the Droid!>

[Zero: I don't know if Usagi would use the word "kill", since Droids 
aren't really living things.
Flashman: Let's not get THAT debate started again.]

Sailor Moon was stopped from making any type of protest as a snarling 
Petz came after her. Grabbing Chibi-Usa, Sailor Moon started to run. 
<Come on! What's taking you guys so long to get here?!?> Sailor Moon 
questioned as she jogged around the schoolyard dodging Petz's attacks.


"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!!!" Jupiter cried out. It was definitely 
music to Sailor Moon's ears.

[Bison: Alright!  The calvery!]

"NANI?!?" Petz demanded turning to the new voice. However, she turned 
into Jupiter's attack and was flung backwards. "You'll pay for 
that!!!"

[Flashman: Cash, check or credit card?
(Zero and Bison do the LEO punt on Flashman.)]

"BURNING MANDALA!"
"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"

The attacks combined and sped towards Petz but she winked out of 
sight.

[Zero: Where's Venus's attack?
Bison:(Letcherous grin) You've been paying an awful lot of attention 
to her lately.
Zero: To quote Akuma, "bite me".]

"I told you I'd take care of it!" Tuxedo Kamen responded while he 
mercilessly beat the Droid who was on the ground. "Just keep MY 
daughter safe!"

"NANI?!?" Mars and Venus looked questioning towards Sailor Moon.

"What did you tell him?!?" Jupiter demanded angrily.

"Nothing!" Sailor Moon shot back.

"Mommy???" Chibi-Usa said, her voice trembling, "Make Daddy happy." 
The image of Tuxedo Kamen beating on the Droid was too close to the 
truth for her to really handle. She began to softly cry in fear and 
terror while clinging to her mother's leg. That was why she wanted 
her family back. She didn't want her father to be angry like he was 
showing her now.

[(The hail of pop corn starts again, much more intense then before 
and is joined by several candy bars and empty soda containers.)]

"MOON PRINCESS HALATION!" Sailor Moon called once Tuxedo Kamen was 
out of the way. As the giant crescent moon shot out from her scepter 
and collided with the Droid, it gave one final scream before turning 
into dust.

Looking none-too-happy about being pulled away, Tuxedo Kamen whirled 
towards Sailor Moon and snarled, "What do you think you were doing?!?
"

[Flashman:(Sarcasticaly) You're welcome.]

"I think we need to talk, but not now," Sailor Moon said while trying 
to comfort her daughter. Kneeling, she wiped Chibi-Usa's face and 
said, "Honey, you go find Maia, okay? Your daddy and I have to have a 
talk."

Sniffling a little bit, Chibi-Usa looked towards her mother before 
saying, "Mommy, are you gonna be okay?" <Daddy was really mad. I 
don't want him to hurt Mommy.>

"Hai, now you be good," Sailor Moon reiterated before giving her 
daughter a hug.

Chibi-Usa walked over to Tuxedo Kamen and hugged his leg. "You have a 
good day at school," Tuxedo Kamen said, "You be a good girl now." 
Chibi-Usa nodded. "I'll get your mommy to marry me and then we can be 
a family," Tuxedo Kamen whispered to his daughter. Giving one more 
look towards her mother, Chibi-Usa went off to find her friend 
amongst the crying children.

[Flashman: All together now...
All: NOT BLOODY LIKELY!!!]

"Don't you have to go to school?" Mamoru questioned.

"What's going on here?!" Mars demanded.

"This is too important. I'll be late anyways," Sailor Moon said and 
bounded off with the Senshi close behind her. Jupiter and Mars could 
be heard protesting in violent whispers. Swirling his cape around him 
in grand fashion, Tuxedo Kamen followed after giving his daughter one 
more look and a smile.

End of Part XX
_____________________________

Flashman: So, what do you think?
Zero: Despite what some people have said, I don't have too much 
trouble accepting how Mamoru is acting in this.  If this were a 
lighter fic, then I would, but given the subject matter, it's a 
perfect fit.
Bison: Yeah, but I can understand how other people can see it 
differently.  It's just that I can't understand how those same people 
can say the Ranma in "Ill Met By Starlight" who is acting the same 
way, is acting in a possible IC manner.
Flashman: And we'll be back for the next chapter.  Oh and BTW, I 
wrote this MST BEFORE I sent my rant to the FFML, so if this seems a 
little nasty at points, I apologise.

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

2 Months till I-Con

May The Spirit Preserve You!