The Bet- Tsuki ga shimizu    by Gregg Sharp
Yet another story in the storyarc of "The Bet"
all char tm their respective creators, etc.
stone supplied by talon@sgi.net
pond by Naoko Takeuchi, Fred Perry & others...
---------------------------------------------
     Toltiir was roaming the streets of
Heaven, noting that this version was very
like Tokyo. He thought THAT was more
than a little amusing in and of itself.

     Over here was Asgard with its
Rainbow Bridge and Yggdrasil mainframe.
Over there was Olympus, and there were
a lot of other sections. This had to be one
of the most odd multiversal sets he'd run
across in millenia.

     Toltiir was brought out of his
reverie by a presence. It took him a few 
moments to place the aura. "Ah, Lord
Talon, is it not? I take it you're here
regarding the Bet?"

     "Yes, but let's at least get out
of Nerima, this time, shall we?"
-------------------------------------------
     "Silver Crystal Power!" The energy 
beam from the Silver Imperium Crystal met the
Ice Queen's blast.

     Sailor Moon gritted her teeth against
the pain. "Please...turn Luna into the Princess
Kaguya...Please..."

     The other Scouts lay scattered about
her, dead or dying. She knew she wouldn't last
long herself, she'd unleashed too much of the
Crystal's energy in a destructive beam. Her
own lifeforce expended, Sailor Moon fell.
---------------------------------------------
     Toltiir blinked. "Well, let's see.
She basically fails a control check and throws
out the equivelant of a super-saiyajin IV 
kame-hame-ha, the heat and shockwave are
too much for most of the Inner Scouts to
handle. Eeeeewww. Man, she really got
messed up."

     Lord Talon put his Stormtrooper
helmet back on. "There'll be no escape for
the princess this time."

     "Which one?" Toltiir shook his head.
--------------------------
     Luna twitched. She had expected
the change to be temporary. It wasn't wearing
off!

     How to cope with this. Having hands
and walking on two legs, and all the attendent
problems of being trapped in human form. 

     "Luna?"

     "Well, it had seemed a good idea at
the time!"

     "Luna," started Artemis again. "I...
you...it's..."

     "I KNOW!" Luna was upset about
this too. "Sorry, sorry...it's not your fault."

     "You know the Negaverse won't
stop trying to break through." Artemis 
decided to change the subject. Some things
were just too painful to deal with right now.

     "Makoto and Ami will recover,
they did fairly well. Setsuna vanished. I
expect her powers were what managed to
shield Jupiter and Mercury."

     "So Pluto is around but we have
to assume she's not going to be of much
use in the near future," Luna agreed. "Ami
and Makoto will recover, but I don't think
they'll be of much use for some time."

     "Venus, Mars, Uranus, Neptune,
and both Sailor Moon and Chibi-Moon."
Artemis felt every year of his multiply
reincarnated ages. "All gone. If the 
Negaverse attacks soon we are S.O.L."

     "Artemis!" Luna had never 
heard such language from the white cat.
"Well..."

     An image came to her, of the
saving of the members of the Silver 
Millenium that they would be reincarnated
in the future. There were a LOT more than
nine bubbles floating up through the image.
Luna paused, "I think...we need to find 
some more of those people from the Silver
Millenium."

     "A Sailor Senshi recruitment 
drive?" Artemis winced. "Even if we could,
how are we supposed to find them?"

     "I'm not sure we can wait for Ami
to heal up." Luna tossed her hair back. Having
long hair was another thing she was trying to
get used to. "Otherwise I'd stick the problem
in her lap and have her come up with solutions.
"There's only a small chance of her Senshi 
ability to channel manna returning, Makoto's
got a really good chance. Rei..."

     "Rei and Usagi are in a coma, and if they
come out, they'll still have burned out their
ability to manipulate energy..."

      "Hmmph." Luna looked down at her
hands. "Well, at least the Ice Queen's toast.
She won't be coming back, EVER. Still, we
can't just wait for more Senshi to appear."

     "Maybe..." Artemis managed to
look thoughtful. He strolled back and forth.
"Do you remember the Senate meeting back
about five years before the whole Dark
Kingdom thing blew up?"

     "Oh. The Knights. Not quite as
powerful as the Senshi, they were intended
to be the guardians of the Senshi and to 
take some of their duties. Actually, what
they were was a political acknowledgement
that discrimination for women over men
was still discrimination."

     "So a male counterpart to the
Senshi was born. Not nearly as powerful,
but then these were seen more as front
line fighters and similar warriors."

     Luna grimaced. "Yeah, I do
remember. Mainly they ended up being
couriers and the like of the royal families.
So we should look for them too. Not that
I think they'll do much good in a fight,
as strong as the Negaverse has gotten."

     "Luna," Artemis sighed. "What
choice do we actually have?"
---------------------------------
     Well, we can see where this is
going, can't we? I didn't want to use any
of the Ranma characters, but there's something
amusing about the idea of Kasumi (as Sailor
Neptune's replacement) throwing a Cleansing 
Wave attack that not only knocks the villains
away but leaves everything sparkling clean
behind it as it passes. "Oh my."

    Ami recovers, but can't channel the manna
necessary for her attacks. She goes into a 
support role, as she can still use her computer
and transformation pen.

    Makoto Kino recovers, and gradually regains
her strength as Sailor Jupiter. However, her butt
got kicked so hard that she's a bit underconfident.
Fortunately, she can get further martial arts
training from several sources.

      Rei and Usagi are just hangers-on and advisors,
wanting to get into the action, but without their
Senshi abilities aren't able to do much.

       Knowing that they've got to "beef up"
their ranks for the inevitable confrontation 
with next season's bad guys, (whatever was
directly after Sailor Moon R), Ami starts
tracking down unusual power signatures
as potential recruits while she's still in 
a wheelchair.

     A few scenes for the road:
--------------------
     "But she doesn't have any real
Sailor powers. She's not even human!"

     "Point taken, Artemis." Luna
smiled. "But tell me we can't use a 10,000
horsepower combat android. That she
thinks like a cat just means we'll be able
to understand her better."

      Atsuko smiled. "Nuku nuku can help!"
-----------------------
     "Luna...."

     "Don't start with me, Artemis."

     The white cat sighed. "Well,
we could really use the help, Miss Ifurita."

     "What do you think, Makoto?"
------------------------
     "So you see why we really need
your help. It's your duty as a member of the
Galaxy Police assigned to this world, anyway."

     "But I'm having to work a lot of
stupid part-time jobs now!" Kiyone moaned.
"Unless...is there anyway I could make money
off this?"

     "Let ME handle that angle," Nabiki
said with a grin. She wasn't and wouldn't be
a Senshi, but she'd overheard the recruitment
of her sister and was all for something that
put more money in her bank account. Being
the Official Agent of the Senshi...

     Luna nodded. "In the meantime, Miss
Washu has graciously decided to upgrade a few
systems. After all, it wouldn't do to have the
Negaverse showing up around here, would it?"

     "Ahem."

     "Excuse me, I meant LITTLE Washu."
------------------------
     "Well, we're really not supposed to
get involved in that sort of thing." Skuld 
looked a little unhappy. She was clearly 
tempted, just the opportunity to play with
the powersuits that Washu had cooked up
for the non-Senshi. And that Nuku-nuku,
she'd love to get a look-see at her systems...

     "Well, if it's against your rules."
Luna was disappointed. Getting a goddess
or two on their side would have helped a
LOT.

    Urd slipped Ami a note. Ami glanced at
it and smiled. Urd was apparently not one
to play by the rules that often anyway.

     "I know!" Skuld snapped her
fingers and went to the phone. She punched
in a number, a very long number.

     "Hey. It's Skuld. No, I'm still on
the mortal plane. You remember how you
wanted to beat that bad rep you got? Yeah,
yeah, I think I got a chance for you. Think
about it, there you are fighting for love and
justice! I mean talk about major turnarounds
from the last lifetime, eh? You'll come! Oh,
goodie! I knew I could count on you."

     Luna and Artemis bigsweated.

     "Uhm. Miss Skuld?" Luna wasn't
sure she wanted to know, but she had to
ask anyway. The old line about curiousity    
and cats seemed to come to mind. "Who
was that you were speaking to?"

     Nabiki flipped open her book
of Mythology, ready to search out the
appropriate references, then she could
make plans for the action figures, toys,
collectibles, stickers, etc. "Didn't you
just say that your gods and goddesses
couldn't get involved?"

     "That's right," Skuld said with
a nod. "That's okay, though, he's not
really a god. He worked for the other
side, in fact, in the last incarnation. Now
he wants to try working for the Good 
Guys..."

     Rank breath stirred the short
hairs along the back of Nabiki's neck.
"Try a few pages further on," suggested
a deep growling voice.
-----------------------------
     It was...interesting...to be 
given a ride home by a wolf the size of
a cement mixer. Riding along the ruff
where neck met shoulders, Sailor Mercury
 thought this _was_ quite an
interesting change of pace.

     The crowd's initial reaction,
panic, faded as two other things became
notable about the odd ride. First was
the presence of the two girls safely 
riding said wolf. That might have been
dismissed, but the banner that the 
rearmost girl was holding further 
deadened the "flee" reaction.

     "Coming soon from Bandai,
Sailor Moon's new companion Fenris.
6/17 In Stores Near You."

     Nabiki smirked as she held up
the sign. Her carefully edited inside 
information was giving her the chance
at being the Sailor Press Secretary and
Agent. Happily counting the yen she
would be making, she thought of all
the knock-off products she could put
together. Why, with Fenris trying to
change his image, maybe the various
eco-groups could use a spokesman!

     Both Fenris and Kasumi tried
to ignore the evil laughter echoing
from behind them.

     "This diguise field will work,"
Kasumi (Sailor Mercury) said. "I'm
still not comfortable with this whole
 fight the demons' concept. It's just
not me."

     "Obvious from your attacks,
Sailor Mercury," rumbled the wolf.
"I mean  Mercury Cleansing Wave',
 Mercury Healing Wave',  Shabon
Spray'? I'd say that you're most 
definitely NOT the front line fighter.
And yes, nobody will recognize you
as other than Sailor Mercury. Nabiki
on the other hand WANTS to be
recognized as an official Senshi press
agent. I wonder if she's realized that
there's potential danger there?"

     "It could be that she's just
gotten carried away with the thought
of having regular income." Kasumi
looked back at her sister. "Uhm, 
according to Urd, they defeated a
Fenris..."

            "That was the Norse Fenris.
I'm the wolf-kami Fenris. Different
pantheon, but I keep getting lumped
in with that other guy." Fenris sighed,
a particularly mournful sound. "It's 
all those damn bards' fault..."
-------------------------------
	Brianna Diggers held up her
henshin stick. "Oooo. This'll be SO cool.
I get to be Sailor Venus, the Senshi of
Love, Beauty, and Rocket Launchers."

	"I thought Urd was going to
be Sailor Venus." 

	"She was, Ami." Brianna 
grinned, showing a fang in the process.
"But, apparently her daddy had an
objection to that except in emergencies."

	Ami held her head in her hands
and made an odd noise. Things were SO
much simpler when it was just the Inner
Senshi. Now they had to fight time travelling
dogs, perverted martial arts masters, and
aliens as well as Negaverse baddies...

	"And what," Ami asked through
her hands, "does He consider an emergency?"
-------------------------------
     "So I have to be Sailor Moon,"
Luna said with a certain exasperation.

     "Who else do we have for the
job? Nabiki? Nuku-nuku? Yohko? I agree
that Honey could have done it, but she
left saying that she preferred to work 
alone."

     "Okay. So we've got Nabiki
and Ami doing research and legwork.
Mokoto Mizuhara, occasionally Washu,
and Skuld for repairs, upgrades, and
needed transportation."

     "Have you been around when
Ami, Washu, Mizuhara, and Skuld start
a jam session on Little Washu's computer
systems? It is major scary."

     "Yeah. So we've got our main
forces as:
  Luna  as Sailor Moon
  Makoto Kino as Sailor Jupiter
  Kiyone as Sailor Mars (reluctantly)
  Kasumi Tendo as Sailor Mercury (can't we talk this out?)
  Brianna Diggers as Sailor Venus (can I shoot it NOW?)
  
 Nuku nuku with the transformation pen added as an
internal mechanism and a powersuit which allows her
to fly. Sailor Kitty?

  Ifurita isn't quite as powerful with her power source
altered to a micro-fusion generator, but she is still 
quite formidable and will do as Sailor Pluto until the
other one shows up.

  Other Sailors (mainly those looking for a good fight):
Benten (Urusei Yatsura), Akira (Devilman), Cutey Honey
(if the cause is just, Cutey Honey), Space Pirate Ryoko
(TM), Tenchi Masaki (well, if the world's in danger, TM),
Urd (I am the goddess of love & beauty,OMG), Devil
Hunter Yohko and/or Ayaka Kisaragi....

also: the Wolf Spirit Fenris (kami)
===============================
NOT a knight of the True Fiancee (Akane)
NOT a knight of the Smart Fiancee (Nabiki)
NOT a knight of the Nice Fiancee (Kasumi)
NOT a knight of the Cute Fiancee (Ukyou)
NOT a knight of the Affectionate Fiancee (Shampoo)
NOT a knight of the Kinky Fiancee (Kodachi)
DEFINITELY NOT a knight of the Weird Fiance (Happosai/Ranko)
          just whichever fits the fic...
and yes, i am still looking for a good tagline.
ja ne,
gregg