For anyone who missed the prologue the first time, I'm reposting it
along with the draft of chapter 1. This one's turning out to be a
little strange to write, so bear with me.


	--nerima, tokyo  **  december 24, 1993--

	Flurries of snow drifted across the twilight sky as pedestrians
trundled along the frosted sidewalks, shrugging deep into parkas and
thick overcoats. 
	One person huddled in the mouth of an alley wished she had a
coat...or at least a blanket. Anything to drive out the freezing
chill. *How do I end up in these situations?* she wondered to
herself, as a great sneeze racked her small frame. 

	"Oi, Ryuu!" a rough male voice called from a landrover parked by the
side of the street. "Are you through peeing yet?"
	The boy emerging from the public restroom turned bright red.
"Dad...you're embarassing me," he muttered under his breath. A nearby
noise caught his attention, and he turned to peer into the alley.
"Who's there?" he asked.
	A horn honked. "Ryuu! Hurry up, we need to get home before our
dinner gets cold!" 
	"Just a minute, Dad!" Ryuu shouted in the direction of the car as he
approached the alleyway. "Hello?" he said cautiously.
	A tiny, black-furred head, coated with a light dusting of snow,
peeked out at him, blinking large, luminous eyes. 
	"Kawaii!" the boy said, crouching and extending a hand to the cat.
"Poor thing...you're freezing to death, aren't you?"
	The cat nodded, mewing pitifully. It sneezed.
	"C'mon, you shouldn't be out in this snow. You'll get sick. I'll
take you home with me, okay?"
	The cat stepped cautiously out of the alley, and Ryuu scooped it up
in his arms. He headed over to the landrover. "Hey, Dad!" 
	A man with a somewhat stubbly face, bangs covering his eyes, and a
cigarette dangling from his mouth opened the door, leaning out.
"What's that?" he asked, indicating the feline.
	"It's a cat," Ryuu said. "Poor thing was freezing to death in the
alley over there. Can we take it home?"
	Ryuu's father shrugged. "I don't see why not. It's Christmas Eve,
and all..."
	Ryuu climbed carefully into the vehicle, cradling the cat in his
arms. The smell of the bucket of fried chicken resting between the
seats made his stomach growl. His father chuckled. "Sounds like
someone's hungry," he grinned. "We'll eat as soon as we get ho--"
	A sudden, deafening roar came from above, and the occupants of the
landrover looked up. The cigarette nearly fell from the man's mouth,
as a hoverjet dropped into view in front of them.
	"KYUSAKU," a woman's voice boomed from a loudspeaker mounted on the
jet. "HAND OVER RYUU AND THE PROTOTYPE."
	Kyusaku leaned out the window of the car, and shook a defiant fist,
with a finger gesture for emphasis, at the hoverjet. "No way in hell!
Get lost! Tell Akiko she can forget about the NK-1124!"
	"Uh, Dad?" Ryuu said.
	"YOU ASKED FOR IT," the voice on the speaker roared. A small missle
locked into firing position on the base of the hoverjet. 
	"SHIT!" Kyusaku yelled, as he started the landrover and gunned it
into reverse. "Hold on tight, Ryuu..."
	The missile tore free of its launcher with a flash of fire, and
streaked towards the car. The hood crumpled like tissue, and plumes
of smoke and steam erupted from the engine. The windshield shattered.
Kyusaku covered himself and his son with the lab coat he wore. 
	When the smoke cleared, the hoverjet was gone. Kyusaku scowled,
making one more gesture in the general position it had last occupied.
"Damn you, Akiko," he spat. 
	Ryuunosuke's soft cries from beside him caught his attention. "Ryuu?
Ryuu, are you alright?" Fearing the worst, he examined his son.
	The boy was fine, with maybe a bruise or two from being shaken up. 
	The cat he'd taken in, on the other hand...

	*This is the end for me,* the black cat thought. *After all I've
been through these last few years...who would have thought it would
end like this? In some affair that's not related to...* A shallow
cough escaped her throat, and a small spray of blood dripped from her
mouth. *Gomen ne...Usagi-chan...*

	Kyusaku grimaced as he looked at the bleeding body of the small cat.
Her sleek black fur was matted crimson, and her breathing was ragged.
	"Dad...you've got to do something. She's dying..."
	The boy's father frowned, taking a long drag on his cigarette. He
stared calmly at the dying feline, gauging the amount of time the
animal had left to live. His eyes then shifted to the assortment of
boxes in the back of the landrover. An array of electronic devices
stuffed the boxes, along with something resembling an unfinished
mannequin torso. 
	"Hmmm..."

	--all purpose magical cat girl luna nuku--

	--a sailormoon * nuku nuku crossover--

	--by the eternal lost lurker--

	--sailormoon * created by takeuchi naoko--

	--nuku nuku * created by takada yuzo--

	--characters and situations used without permission--


	Chapter One

	"Life support systems stable, neural control
interface...functioning, sensory input systems...online. Can you hear
me?"
	A pair of green eyes blinked open, and slowly focused on the
scientist. The head those eyes were attached to nodded hesitantly.
	The scientist frowned. "You should be able to speak..."
	The eyes widened. "How--? I mean..."
	The man grinned broadly, lighting a new cigarette. "Now, that wasn't
so hard, was it?"
	The mind behind the eyes was confused. Wasn't she dead? And yet, she
recognized--vaguely--the man before her. But...how did he know she
could talk?
	And why did she feel so different?
	"What...happened to me?" she asked.
	The man took a drag off his cigarette, and assumed a serious
expression. "Can you remember anything?"
	"Yes," she said hesitantly. "I remember..."
	"Do you remember the last thing to happen before you woke up here?"
	"Yes. A boy...Ryuu, his name was...found me in the alley where I was
freezing...I had hoped to spend the night someplace warm, then try to
go home...then that awful aircraft...and an explosion..."
	The cigarette threatened to fall from the scientist's mouth.
"You...you can remember all that?"
	"I certainly hope so," said she, indignantly. "My memory may not be
what it used to be, but I would certainly remember something as
terrible as that..."
	Just then, a young boy walked into the room. "Hey, Dad, how's
it...wow! It worked?"
	The scientist nodded, distractedly. "Hai..."
	"You...you're the boy...Ryuu..." the owner of the green eyes looked
up, and studied the face of the boy's father. "I remember you...you
were there too."
	The man nodded. "That's right."
	"What...happened to me?"
	The man stood, and paced around the room as he spoke. "When the
POISON-ONE attacked, you were cut to pieces by broken glass from the
windshield of my landrover. Your body," he said, pausing for
emphasis, "died from internal injuries and blood loss over twelve
hours ago." 
	"Died...?"
	The man nodded. "I was able to rescue your brain before your body
died, and placed your brain inside an android body which I designed."
	The green eyes blinked. "Android...no..." Swallowing audibly, she
lifted her hands...hands which shouldn't be there. Human hands, yet
not human. She studied them. "Remarkable," she breathed. 
	"Wow, not bad, Dad," Ryuu said.
	The scientist frowned. "Something isn't right here...the
intelligence circuits are strong, but not this strong. She should be
at a simple intelligence level, at best..."
	The android looked up, and scowled. "I'd appreciate if you wouldn't
underestimate me so," she said.
	The scientist frowned. "Something definitely isn't right here," he
said. He reached over to the computer beside him. "I'm going to
perform a little test. I'm shutting down only the intelligence
enhancement circuits." He tapped a few keys. The android felt
something inside her head *click*. 
	"Now," the scientist said, carefully. "How do you feel?"
	"I'm not sure," the android said. "I've just found out that I died
last night...I don't know what to feel."
	The man nodded, pausing to light another cigarette. "Do you
understand what has happened to you?"
	"You took out my brain and put it inside a machine," the android
said tersely.
	The scientist blinked. "Incredible...do you realize what this
means?"
	The android and the child in the room blinked at him in confusion.
	"It means...it means the intelligence enhancement circuits were a
complete failure," he announced. 
	The other two occupants of the room facefaulted. "What exactly are
you trying to say?" the android asked, somewhat menacingly.
	"It means that..." he frowned. "What it means is, you must have been
a very, very extraordinary cat. Far more intelligent than the average
stray."
	The android sniffed. "I should say so," she said pridefully. 
	"Ummm...what's going on here?" Ryuu asked.
	The inventor took a long drag on his cigarette and leaned forward,
peering into the android's eyes. "My name is Natsume Kyusaku. Do...do
you have a name?"
	The android nodded. "My name is Luna."
	"Well, that solves one problem," Kyusaku mused. "Now we just have to
get you registered in school..."
	Luna's eyes widened. "School...hold on a minute here.
Natsume-san...I'm very grateful for what you've done, truly, but...I
don't have time for anything like that."
	Kyusaku blinked. "Eh? What do you mean? What could a cat possibly
have to do that's that important?"
	"I have to find Usagi, for one thing," Luna stated, as though it
were something obvious.
	"You have to find a rabbit?" Ryuu asked.
	Luna sighed. "No...a girl. Tsukino Usagi. My, erm...owner," she
added.
	Kyusaku frowned. "Luna...think about what you're saying here. You're
no longer a cat. Your owner wouldn't recognize you."
	Luna sighed. She couldn't reveal the truth, but...
"Natsume-san...could I please see a mirror?"
	The scientist blinked, then nodded. "Certainly," he said, digging a
small mirror out of the clutter of the lab and handing it to the
android. Luna took it and studied her reflection. She now appeared to
be a cute teenage girl, with wild magenta hair and bright green eyes.

	...and a faint crescent moon glowing just beneath the surface of her
forehead...
	Luna smiled. "Natsume-san...maybe Usagi wouldn't know me for who I
am. But don't you think I could go to her...maybe as a...new friend?"
	Kyusaku blinked. "Well, err...I don't know..."
	"Oh, come on Dad," Ryuu said. "Everyone needs friends, right?" He
paused. "Besides, you were going to send her to school anyway,
weren't you?"
	The scientist rubbed his stubbly chin and thought for a moment.
"Well, I suppose...where does this Usagi live, Luna?"
	Luna rattled off the address of the Tsukino residence, and Kyusaku
frowned. "Anou...that's somewhere in Minato-ku..."
	Luna nodded. "Right...so?"
	"This is Nerima-ku," Kyusaku noted. Luna's eyes widened. 
	"How did you end up in Nerima if your owner is from Minato?" Ryuu
wondered.
	Luna sighed. "It's a long story..."
	Luna explained, albeit in an edited manner, how she had somehow
managed to fall into the sewer, and washed along the pipelines. She'd
finally managed to scramble out of the water and find a way back up
to street level, and found herself in a place she hadn't recognized. 
	"Ah, so that's it," Kyusaku said. "Well..."
	The windows of the room suddenly rattled. A deafening roar sounded
from outside. "WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! SURRENDER THE BOY AND THE
ANDROID AND WE'LL SPARE YOUR LIFE!"
	"Kuso...not again!" Kyusaku scowled. Scrambling over to the window,
he picked up what looked like a cross between a rocket launcher and a
laser from a sci-fi show. "Ryuu, Luna! Get down!" 
	The window shattered as the POISON-ONE hovered threateningly, its
guns locked onto Kyusaku. "Teme...SHI-NE!" the scientist yelled at
the hoverjet, bringing his bazooka to bear. A laser targeting sight
tracked across its surface, locking onto its missile bay. Kyusaku
grinned, and pulled the trigger. 
	POISON-ONE fired.
	There was a tremendous explosion, shattering all the windows in the
building. Kyusaku was thrown backwards into the apartment. POISON-ONE
was blown backward from the window slightly. 
	"Natsume-san!" Luna shouted. "Are you alright?"
	Kyusaku sat up, groaning. "Dammit," he spat. "Luna, I know this is
sudden to ask, but...could you deal with that hoverjet?"
	Luna blinked. "Me?" 
	Kyusaku nodded, getting up. "You have a great deal of
strength...your body was originally designed for combat."
	Luna stood, staring out at the hoverjet, which was preparing to fire
again. She had to make a choice. 
	She looked at Kyusaku, who had saved her life, and Ryuu, who had
also saved her life when she was still a cat. 
	"Alright," she said. A pair of panels which resembled cat ears
popped from the sides of her head, and clicked into place. She leaped
out the window, intending to land atop the hoverjet.

	Inside POISON-ONE, two women stared incredulously at the teenage
girl jumping out of the apartment to meet them head-on.
	"Who the hell is that?"
	"I don't know...Kyusaku's mistress, perhaps?"
	The girl landed on top of POISON-ONE. Suddenly, alarms blared inside
the vehicle as it rapidly lost altitude.
	"Dammit! Arisa, that's the android!" 
	"Impossible!" 
	"We gotta shake her off. We're gonna--AAAAHHH!!"
	POISON-ONE crashed into the street with an ominous *boom*, pieces of
the aircraft whizzing through the air, striking the surrounding
buildings. Luna jumped off the top of the craft, landing on the
street.
	"Kuso...we're grounded," Arisa said. "Kyouko, we gotta break out the
hardsuits."
	"Anou...we don't have the hardsuits. They're in the maintenance bay
back at MHI," Kyouko said.
	"DAMMIT!" Arisa reached behind her seat, and pulled out a rocket
launcher. "Aha," she said, grinning. Exiting the downed hoverjet, she
took aim at the android. "Eat rocket, you!" 
	Luna's eyes widened as the rocket launcher fired. She scrambled to
dodge the missile. "Watch it!" she yelled, dashing towards the pair
of women who had emerged from the vehicle. Leaping into the air, she
extended her leg for a dropkick, and knocked the rocket launcher out
of the stunned woman's hands. She then grabbed both women by the
throat. "Get out of here before I get really upset," she hissed,
before tossing them back into the wrecked hoverjet.
	The two women scrambled out of the vehicle. "I think a strategic
retreat is in order," Kyouko said.
	"Dammit...I hate to say it, but you're right," Arisa said. "You've
won this round, android! But we'll be back!" she shouted, giving the
red-headed teenager the finger before turning tail and running.
	Kyusaku and Ryuu stepped out of the front door of the apartment
building. The sensor panels atop Luna's head folded back into place,
and she sighed. "What was that all about?"
	"I'll tell you later," Kyusaku said. "Shit, how did they find me so
fast?"
	"What're we gonna do now, Dad?" Ryuu asked.
	Kyusaku looked at Luna, and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Minato
ward, eh? Hmmm..."



BRIEF NOTES: For those of you sitting there wondering where the hell
"Minato-ku" came from: Juuban, where Sailormoon takes place, is a
district within a much larger part of Tokyo, Minato. Minato is a
"ward" of Tokyo, much like Nerima, which is the setting for no fewer
than three popular anime series (NukuNuku, Ranma, UY). 

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