If you like attachments and you know it, clap your hands!

*Clap-Clap!*


-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: nukepost1.txt

Here we go again! We'll try and see how a larger post will be
received...

If anybody's missed anything, chapters 1-10 are available at:

http://members.tripod.com/DNyx/NETTG.html

If not there, then:

http://dnyx.tripod.com/NETTG.html

And all the rest are currently only available upon request. I
have word that the website will be updated once Ch.10, P.2 is
completed.

So, what has gone before...

In the Silver Millennium, Princess Terrifying had been the
subject of a number of assassination attempts. In the current
one, she was captured by Queen Neherenia and a few lackeys
and taken to some comet on the outskirts of the solar system.

But was she just going to stand by and wait for a rescue?

Terra(dressed as Super Sailor Chibimoon, surrounded by
a big, glowing yellow aura): Not on your friggin' life, PAL!!!
(menacingly twirls around a big glaive)

So, she fought back and killed a few adversaries, but started
getting seriously trashed when Neherenia showed up again.

Try as she might, Terra was unable to defend herself, until
a last-minute rescue came!

Blond man(comes in and beats the tar out of Neherenia and
the Asteroid Senshi with his bare hands, then goes over and
picks up Terra): I shall carry you to safety, young Sailor
Senshi...

And so the saga continues...

(Continued from Ch.10, P.2 (15/??)

...

	<Whoa...>

	<Giggle. Drool. Giggle!>

	<I like this guy!!!>

	<He reminds me of my last. . . .>

	<?!?!?!>

	<Errr, elder Jupiter's last. . . . overfriendly upperclassman.>

	<He's cute!>

	<And he DOES look kind of familiar, y'know.>

	<Like we used to know each other in a past life or some junk?>

	<Yeah. . . . .>

	<Life is good!>

	<YEAH!>

	<I'm gonna live! I'm gonna live! I'm gonna live!>

	<And Starlight, you're gonna die. Horribly, slowly, and in ways
that even I cannot comprehend. And I can comprehend a LOT.>

	<...?! WHAT!??>

	<For insurrection and stupidity, you will be terminated.>

	<?!!??!>

	<But until I execute you, I have a job for you, since you're
a free, single bachelor now and've got a starship.>

	<Uhhhh?!>

	<Hunt down the Asteroid Senshi: Sailors Jares and Akis.>

	<Errr, they're already on the run. They'll never trouble us
again.>

	<Unless they blab to someone else about what we did. We don't
want any evidence or witnesses lying around, do we?>

	<...>

	<Now, be a naughty little minion and slaughter them brutally
for me, will you?>

	<...>

	<Dismember anyone they may have told, while you're at it.>

	<...But-!>

	<There's a nice chap. Jolly good!>

	<I've already lost my. . . Sailor Pluto. I'd lose my commission
and blow our cover if I were to do such a thing.>

	<Make it look like an accident, then!>

	<...>

	<Do it or face the penalty.>

	<...>

	<Good lad. Off you go, run back to your starship like a wounded
puppy with your tail between your legs, blast off, and get those pesky
Asteroid Senshi for us.>

	<...>

	<...>

	<...>

	<...>

	<...>

	<Do it, conquered soul-husk!>

	<...>

	<Hmmm??!?>

	<Yes. Our will be done.>

	<That's better!>

...

	The young, redheaded girl checked her status and examined her
surroundings. She considered it best if she were to not deactivate
her second and a half-level Sailor Senshi transformation for the
moment.

	<Yeah, darn the weak thing to heck!>

	<Hey, it worked for a while...>

	<Yeah, beat the tar out of those pesky Asteroid Senshi!>

	<But I could've done that by myself!>

	<Not without attracting suspicion...>

	Terra sighed. Actually, the main reason for remaining as
Chibimoon was that the man, Giles, had recognized her as one,
and if it were a positive thing for him, it would be beneficial
for her survival.

	<Oh, you just want to look pretty for him, that's all!>

	<...>

	<Do not!>

	<Though you have to admit, the second level and up Super
Senshi outfit is a nice improvement over the earlier versions.
We DO look quite good in it, even for a ten year old human.>

	<...>

	The ex-galactic destroyer turned her attention to the room
she was in. First of all, the crystalline starship was of a very
advanced design--even better than what her Knight in Shining
Armor had been developing on Earth. Its weapons had been sufficient
to penetrate the barriers Neherenia had placed around the comet,
and was fast enough to get away from the comet's self-destruct
shockwave.

	*Siiiiigh*Giggle*Sigh!* <Giles took me up in his big arms and
carried me away from that eeeeeevil comet!>

	<How dreamy!>

	*SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGH!!!*

	<Yeah, he came in and beat the flippin' crap outta that
bucket of a queen and her minions, too!>

	<Hoo-yeah, baby! That was cool!>

	<...>

	<Am I the only one here that DOESN'T think this 'Giles'
person is the best thing since hypernova blastwaves?>

	<...?>

	<Yup, 'fraid so.>

	<Uh huh.>

	<Quite right.>

	<I really, REALLY like him!>

	<You would!>

	<And, by corollary, so do you!>

	<...>

	Terra continued to examine the room, a half-dazed smile
crossing her lips. She noticed that the lavish room on the
crystalline starship had just about every luxury imaginable.

	<A liquor bar, a bed with an oh-so-soft-and-comfy mattress...>

	<A replicator, a wash room...>

	<And a set of really big, shiny magical swords! Cool!>

	<Any idea who this guy might be?>

	<Who knows, who cares?>

	*Sighhh*Giggle!* <He'll tell us soon enough.>

	The white-crystal door slid open, allowing the tall, handsome,
muscular, blond mystery man to enter.

	Kneeling down by her side, Giles let out a sad sigh. "I
apologize for keeping you waiting. Queen Neherenia had a few more
traps that we had to evade."

	Terra nodded. <Yes, that was a rather bumpy ride out, wasn't
it?> Aloud, she continued, "It's no problem," and had about five
hundred inner voices that silently added, <handsome!>

	"I am afraid that nor have we any medic to help you recover."

	"That's okay," Terra replied. She closed her eyes and turned
to one side. "I don't need one."

	Giles cocked a smile at her. "You are very brave, young Sailor,
especially for someone your age."

	Terra smiled at her rescuer. "I try. I really do."

	<Eh, well, when someone gets to be my age, I can't imagine
them being afraid of much of anything.>

	<Heh. Yeah!>

	<What about the clowns?>

	<C-c-c-clowns?!>

	<T-t-they're different!>

	<Right, right...>

	"Thanks," the redhead whispered.

	"What is your name, child?"

	Terra paused. <Umm... do we tell 'em?>

	<Sure!>

	<But... can he pronounce it?>

	<Just use the pseudonym!>

	<Oh, right!> the girl concluded to herself, then looked up at
Giles and answered, "Call me Terra."

	Giles pulled up a padded chair and sat down beside the bed.
"Ah, then perhaps you can tell me, Terra, what were you doing
fighting off little miss Queen of Darkness alone back there?"

	"Well," Terra began, struggling to refrain from blushing and
to keep her eyes in focus, "They kidnapped me, but I was strong
enough to fight back."

	Giles nodded. "Indeed you must be, for Neherenia is not one to
be taken lightly. She and her family have always been very strong when
it comes to magical prowess." The man shook his head. "They also have
a history of insurrection that goes back several generations. I would
imagine that fighting was in her blood, so to speak."

	Terra nodded in agreement.

	<Well, that makes sense. I mean, people don't just get up one
morning, yawn and stretch, then say, 'Hmm, the Sun's nice and bright.
The birds are chirping. I think today I'll generate enough power to
vaporize that galactic destroyer they've got on the Moon.'>

	<Yeah, that's in agreement with what Catseye and Jares knew.
It was planned.>

	<Catseye and the crew didn't do it too well, did they?>

	<No, they did not.>

	"Fortunately," Giles added, pointing at the fading red lines
on the girl's shoulder, "it would seem that they did not harm you
that badly."

	"I'll be fine." Terra looked at where the golems had scratched
her. The previously rended flesh was almost fully healed. She felt
along her back where the slashes had been torn in her outfit. Upon
touching it, her soft skin demonstrated no sign of scarring or
residual injury whatsoever.

	<Oh yeah, THAT's easy stuff to fix. Take one cell, say, 'HEY!
take these proteins and make a duplicate of yourself, right by that
other one,' and do that on a large scale...>

	<On the other hand, my REAL self's recovery has just been set
back another five years.>

	<Yeah, that HURT like nothing else...>

	<Darn energy disruption.>

	<Meaning that NOW I'll have to wait for the better part of
a decade to resume the process of universal devastation.>

	<A short time, by my standards.>

	<True, but it's the waiting around that gets to me...>

	"Yeah," Terra again agreed, looking up at the man, "eh heh,
good thing they didn't hurt me too bad, huh?"

	"Had you been fighting for a long time before I and my
vessel arrived?"

	"No," the girl replied, "not really."

	<Not considering that the longest sustained all-out battle
I've ever fought lasted just a hair over one hundred million years.>

	<Still haven't figured out what that thing's name was, either.>

	"How about you?" Terra asked, deciding that it was her turn
to begin the interrogation. "Have you fought in many battles?"

	Giles sighed in an exhausted manner. "Child, there has not been
a single week in the past five years that I have not had to unsheathe
my sword in the defense of myself or others."

	That seemed to please Terra.

	*Giggle* <I like this guy. He's dedicated.>

	<He's cute!>

	<Will we PLEASE stop saying that?!>

	<...>

	<Well, he is!>

	"You are strangely dressed for a Sailor Senshi of this
solar system," Giles added, tapping her undamaged shoulder guard.

	<Oh, yes, it's great, innit?>

	Terra looked proud. <Heh. I doubt anyone here has ever seen
a Super Senshi before.>

	<You're right, they haven't.>

	<Say, any progress made on turning it off?>

	<Almost............ Got it! Do we want it off now?>

	<No, let's wait a few more minutes.>

	<Okay...>

	"The form is familiar," Giles whispered, "but there appear to
have been many, shall we say, clever additions."

	"Do you like it?" Terra asked.

	The ultra-handsome blond nodded slowly. "Very ingenious."
He tilted his head at her. "Tell me, are you from this solar system?"

	"Hmmm," Terra hummed, considering her reply.

	<Not technically, but...>

	<I think he's trying to ask what planet we live on.>

	<Oh, that.>

	"Yes," Terra replied with a nod.

	"That would explain it," Giles continued. "When I approached
this solar system--for the first time in many years, I felt a strange
power, like a desparate call for help." He smiled. "I gave heed to
your plea, young one. That is why I came."

	Terra considered that.

	<The prism was broadcasting a distress call and I didn't know
about it?!>

	<Well, looking back over the data, there _was_ a distinct
signal being sent, but only another Lunar Senshi or Queen Serenity
should have been able to pick it up.>

	<Unless one knew what one was looking for.>

	<True, true...>

	"You could sense me?" the girl asked.

	The man nodded. "From a great distance away." His smile became
lopsided. "We completely burned out an ancient and irreplaceable
hyperdrive getting to you in time, so I sincerely hope you are
grateful."

	"Really?" Terra asked, her voice full of concern. "I'll get a
new one for you, then."

	<A better one--a faster one--a bigger one!>

	<One that can get from here to Andromeda and back in eight
point two nanoseconds!>

	*Siiiiiiiiigh* <Anything for Giles!>

	Giles smiled, a happy tear in his eye. He laughed in a
beautiful, melodious tenor. "Do not worry about that, small lady.
I am certain that it will not be necessary. For when this vessel
reaches its destination, there it shall stay."

	"Ah, okay. You're coming home from a long trip?"

	Giles nodded. "Yes."

	"Where are you from?"

	"How about you first, so I may return you to your home before
going to mine. Where do you live?"

	"Third rock from the Sun."

	"The Earth?" Giles looked rather surprised. "Are you Sailor
Earth? There has not been a female heir in that kingdom for ages."
He frowned. "And I do not recall his majesty Kull having a daughter.
Convincing him to marry and sire that waif of a prince was difficult
all by itself."

	"No, not Earth," Terra interjected.

	"Then where?"

	"I live in the Moon Kingdom."

	Giles froze and looked downward, his expression growing
worried. "The Moon Kingdom?" He held a hand to his chin. "Whom is
she that you call Mother?"

	"Well, the one I've been calling Mother is Queen Serenity." 

	The concern in the handsome man's expression deepened. "Have
I truly been gone that long?" He looked into Terra's eyes. "Have
you a sister? Has she been faring well?"

	Terra stared back into the man's liquid blue eyes, but what
she really wanted to do was dive inside them and swim around for a
few hours. "Yup, sure do! Sis! That's Princess Serenity. She's been
doing fine, near as I can tell."

	*GIGGLE!* <I just LOVE his eyes!>

	<Wha...?!>

	"Where are you from?"

	"I?" Giles asked, looking back at the girl. "I come from the
Moon Kingdom as well, m'love."

	Terra's eyes widened slightly at this new information. "Hmm,
really?"

	*Giggle!* <Wow, like, we have so much in common, you darling
beefcake of a studmuffin, you!>

	<I can't trace the accent, but it just gives me goosebumps!>

	<Tee-hee! He called me "m'love!">

	<It's a general term.............isn't it?>

	<...?>

	<Uhhhhhhhhhhhh...>

	<Since when am I attracted to big. . . hunky. . . blond. . .?>

	*SIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGH!*

	<...>

	<Oh no, not a crush! Not now!>

	<Alright, somebody please trace that personality quirk.>

	<Yeah, and hang it out to dry with Catseye's junk!>

	<Why?> *Giggle!* <I kind of like it...>

	<You would!>

	*Roar* The ship shook as it touched lightly against something
solid.

	*Bling* At that moment, the intercom chimed and an officer's
voice came on. [Lord Tranquility, we have arrived.]

	"Prepare to disembark," Giles called into the air, then
focused back on Terra. "Are you feeling up to a short walk, small
lady?"

	The girl checked her knee. The ligaments and other tissues had
mostly rejoined in their proper order. It would still sting a little,
but that wasn't such a big deal; the nerves could be ignored. She
looked up at Giles and nodded.

	"Then let us sort this out together."

...

	A fine mist swirled around the dimly-lit lakeshore overlooking
the palace courtyard. In the middle of the central plaza rested a
gigantic crystalline spacecraft. The craft consisted of a
multifaceted dome at the top, partly covered at seven points evenly
spaced around the rim by sharp upward juts of sapphire that curved
their way inward towards each other. On the lower section, similar
crystalline blades splayed out and curved downward, ending a scant
few feet off of the ground.

	The craft hummed as it settled down, its long-abused magical
intergalactic propulsion stones forcing out their last whisper of
a once mighty power. Once it landed, the engines let out a slow,
relieved sigh, finally having been allowed to grow dark after what
seemed to be an eternal quest.

	A light steam whiffed off of the sturdy hull to blend in with
the rest of the fog. Soft lights slowly faded in and out at points
along the edges in the crystal.

	Lunar Guards stood at attention, lining the edges of the
walkways, their clothing clean and their boots and armor polished
to a fine sheen. The men wore their hair short and the women had
theirs tied neatly back three inches below the shoulder line,
as protocol demanded.

	As the crystal ship's landing platform descended, the royal
musicians strummed a few soft, low notes, starting to play the
piece that they had been practicing for ages.

	Mist obscured those who had just disembarked. All that could
be told was that one tall, over six feet in height, and the other
was just over four.

	The musicians brought trumpets into play, slow enough to
avoid sounding forced while heightening the dramatic feeling.

	The tall sihouette stepped forward, the fog departing from
him as he advanced toward the entourage. When they saw his face,
many breathed controlled sighs of relief and admiration.

	"It's you," the closest guard, a gray-bearded fellow, whispered
with great care and respect.

	Giles smiled slightly and nodded at him as he passed.

	More than one tear was shed by the soldiers as the man
passed them. However, their training allowed them to stay still
as the welcoming ceremony proceeded.

	The new arrival climbed the steps of the stone palace
and when as he reached the top, he turned to face those present.

	Unable to contain herself, a recently trained soldier raised
up her hands as if holding a medium-sized string instrument, her
left palm closed and facing upward while her other hand moved
diagonally, as if playing the imaginary instrument.

	Soon, the other guards copied the gesture.

	Giles looked them over, pleased at having been honored as such.
He repeated the playing motion and held up his right hand, two
fingers in a V-shape. "Be," he said, "excellent to each other."

	The Honor Guard applauded and cheered, calling out the man's
name. "Hail, Lord Giles Tranquility! Long Live the King!"

	While the others cheered, Queen Serenity exited from the
palace's main doorway. She was in her best long white gown with a
pair of transparent gossamer wings spread out behind her. The
white-blonde woman drew near to the King. Her gaze locked with his.

	"Hail Queen Serenity!" the uniformed party exclaimed. "Long
Live the Queen!"

	"Giles," Serenity whispered, eyes glistening with tears.

	"I've returned, my one and only true love," Lord Tranquility
whispered back.

	Queen Serenity swooned into the man's arms and the two shared
a long-awaited deep and passionate kiss.

	Those present in the plaza below applauded and cheered.
The musicians played joyful music while others, farther away, set
off fireworks.

	The many fountains lining the large pond sprang activated in
just the right sequence to properly reflect the bright tones of the
artificial lights in the sky.

	The embrace was broken after a few minutes and Queen Serenity
cast her gaze downward. "It is truly a miracle to be able to see you
again, my beloved husband, but this meeting is rather bittersweet."

	Concern highlighted Giles's expression. "What do you mean?"

	"Some terrible things have happened while you've been gone."

	"Oh?"

	"A year and a half ago, all of us were nearly destroyed. Since
then, we have been weakened against attackers from outside the solar
system. The Outer Senshi, even with the aid of Earth's finest
warriors, have barely been able to keep up."

	"And the Inner Senshi?"

	"The Elder Inner Senshi have never quite been able to recover
from their wounds from the Great Battle with the beast. To make
matters worse, the Asteroid Kingdoms have started a rebellion,
claiming that it is Neherenia's right to rule over us. Two of the
Asteroid Kingdoms, Akis and Jares, have cast an evil curse upon
all that live in this solar system." Tears welled up in her eyes.
"And yesterday, a child under my protection was taken by them,
and most likely killed!"

	"That is indeed a great deal to be concerned about."

	Serenity shivered, wracked by guilt. "I took her in as my
_own_, Giles. There were many who sought her life, and in a moment of
carelessness, I failed to protect her! Now, everyone is in danger
because I chose not to take any action against Neherenia or her
followers."

	Giles thought about what his wife was saying and started to
put the pieces together. "Hmm, would this girl you took in happen
to have powers as a Sailor Senshi and be named Terra?"

	Queen Serenity looked at him. "Why, yes. How did you know?"
She looked over the man's shoulder to see the girl in question
slowly approach them with a slight limp in her step.

	"Hi, Mom!" Terra greeted and waved. "Singed, but still alive
and kicking!"

	"Terra!" the Queen exclaimed, barely able to believe it. She
hitched up her skirts and rushed over to kneel by her adopted
daughter, showering her with hugs and kisses. "Are you all right?
They haven't harmed you, have they? How did you get away from them?"

	"Sort of, a whole bunch, and Giles," she paused to blush
slightly and giggle faintly, "came in and beat the livin' crud
out've 'em all with his bare hands!" She frowned at the attention
her mother was giving to her. "Okay, you can stop now--enough kisses
and all that."

	"I am very, _very_ glad to see you," Serenity whispered.
"Your sister and I were greatly worried about you. Your friends
were sorry for leaving you, too." The Queen looked happy, but still
concerned about something else. "Are you hurt? Would you like me to
heal you with the Ginzuishou?"

	"NO!" Terra shot back immediately. She thought about how her
response sounded and added, "Er, no, I mean, but I could sure use a
nap. I'm tired."

	Serenity nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, of course. I nearly forgot
about that." She looked off toward the palace. Terra's two personal
assistants rushed out of the palace doorway, half tripping over each
other.

	"Terra!" the two girls cried. Once again stumbling over each
other, they hurried to Terra's side, helped her up and escorted her
into the palace. "How are you? We were so worried about you! Neat
outfit! It looks almost like you're a Sailor Senshi!"

	The excitement of the moment calming down, Queen Serenity
returned to stand with her husband. Arm in arm, they followed the
girls inside. "Come, Giles, we have much to discuss."

	The doors slid quietly shut.

	Out of an older guard's armor popped a small, green and white
seal-like creature, which fluttered over to perch on a fountain,
using its tail like a hummingbird wing. "Alroight, lads, that doez
it for ta'day. See ya next month. Gotta get back ta th' lab on
Merc'ya'ry before anyone notices."

	"Bye, Arby!" replied everyone in a manner that suggested they
had done it many times before.

	The ArbyFish saluted and fluttered off.

	A few talked among themselves. "Hey, now that the King's back,
does that mean the Queen isn't as important now?"

	"Not a chance. The Queen's always been more important than the
King. Tougher, too. She could beat the snot out of 'em, if it came
down to a contest."

	"You're right, you're right."

^_^

	Kull the Conqueror, the King of Earth, greeted the two
newcomers to the meeting. "Serenity, hi, glad you're back--what took
you so long? This is important," he paused, looking at the tall,
muscular blond man that came in behind the Lunar Queen, "and Giles,
you don't mean to tell me _you're_ still alive?"

	Lord Tranquility folded his arms. "Delighted to see you as
well, old friend."

	"You picked one hell of a time to come back home, you know,"
Kull added. "On Earth we've had three major rebellions to put down
in the past year alone."

	"Perhaps you should treat your subjects with more kindness,"
Giles suggested.

	"Maybe _you_ should try harder to keep the sorcerers and the
mass-brainwashers from coming to _my_ planet! _You're_ the ones with
the all-powerful magic, remember?"

	"You have a fleet of starships and several empowered guardians,
do you not? Use those."

	"The fleet's in shambles and the Guardians are a mess. In case
you didn't know, a year and a half ago, most of our forces got blown
apart while tying to defend _your_ world from this huge monster from
who-knows-where!"

	"Indeed?" Giles looked at his wife, who nodded.

	"'Hold the Line' was the motto for the week," Serenity
recalled. "They fought very bravely for our sake. They also lasted a
great deal longer than they should have against a force like that."
She looked between the two. "Do not argue. This meeting is very
important for us all."

	"Works for me," Kull said.

	"For I as well," Giles agreed.

	Everyone sat down around the Royal Conference Table.

	"Okay, back to business," Kull said. He turned to a man in a
grey uniform at his left. "Nephrite, it's time to show them what
Akis and Jares's curse is doing."

	"Right," the brown-haired Terran Guardian affirmed. He held
his hands together and closed his eyes. Someone dimmed the lights,
allowing an image of the solar system to appear above the table.
"This isn't to scale," he added.

	"Get on with it," Kull commanded.

	"Right, so you see that blue-green sphere? That's the Earth,
and the reddish sphere is Mars. The banded thing with the spots is
Jupiter."

	"Most of us spend time traveling between worlds," Giles noted.
"I believe we know what are the main features of the solar system."

	Nephrite paused with a sheepish grin. "Yyyes, Majesty."

	"You're on _my_ payroll, star-boy," Kull deadpanned. "Call
him Lord Tranquility."

	"Do _not_ bully your guardians," Serenity warned.

	The King of Earth sighed. "Okay, whatever. Just tell them."

	"Now, before I was so rudely interrupted," Nephrite continued,
glaring at the two kings, "I was about to explain how the curse of
the two Asteroid Kingdoms was to evolve."

	"You're starting to sound like Jadeite before he went AWOL,"
Kull quipped.

	"SHHHH!" Queen Serenity put a finger to her lips.

	A red sphere appeared in the asteroid belt between Mars and
Jupiter, slowly spreading outward. "That's the curse," Nephrite
said. "At noon yesterday, the kingdoms of Akis and Jares--they're
not really kingdoms, you see; having only a few thousand inhabitants
each and mostly bred from the same stock, so to speak, they're really
oligarchies, but to blend in with the rest of the solar system, they
prefer to be called 'kingdoms.'"

	"Inbred, huh?" Kull muttered. "That explains a lot, like the
pointed ears, the midgets and all that."

	"We are aware of that, Nephrite," Serenity noted. "Please
explain the spell's intended effects."

	"Its name is Oblivion's Kiss--a horrible and violent affliction
that eats living souls and turns them into a nhilistic scourge upon
creation; turns men into demons and demons into sludge."

	Kull winced. "Oww, that's harsh, isn't it?"

	"How quickly will it advance?" Giles asked.

	Nephrite cleared his throat. "It spreads geometerically; the
more people it effects, the more people it can effect. Distance soon
becomes irrelevant after it reaches a threshold of accursed, around
six thousand people, then it bridges space to all nearby worlds and
infects any inhabitants there as well."

	Giles was frowning and shaking his head. "I come back to my
kingdom only to find it afflicted by another plague..."

	"I am afraid it gets worse, my love," Queen Serenity commented
to her husband and turned toward the Terran Guardian. "Tell them
how much time we have left before it reaches us."

	"A few hours ago, the curse began to spread across space. The
people of the Asteroids Kingdoms of Akis and Jares have been utterly
consumed. It has not affected any other worlds so far, but in perhaps
a day, the expanding wave will reach Earth, then the Moon, then Mars,
Jupiter and Mercury. Once it takes hold, it will be nigh-impossible
to remove."

	Giles slammed his fist down on the table. "In the minds of
what sort of people could such madness be spawned?!"

	Nephrite shook his head. "We don't know. Someone on Akis or
Jares could be serving an upper-class demon-lord."

	The King of Earth laughed wryly. "That, or they're really,
_really_ stupid."

	"Surely there must be a way to stop it," Lord Tranquility
whispered. "I will not have returned only to see my friends and
family transformed so." He turned to look into his wife's eyes and
placed his hands on hers.

	"There's only two ways we could think of to stop it," Kull
added. "It'd have to be, like, in fourty minutes or less for the
curse to end, and we'd have to either kill everyone that's been
affected so far--every man woman and child, burn their ashes, drink
from the skull of one of their leaders and completely vaporize those
two asteroids," he took a breath to let everyone soak up the
implications of his statement, "or Queen Serenity could take her
big, powerful crystal over to the edge of the curse's affect area and
use your Bone Healing Hip Gyration or whatever it is you call it."

	"Moon Healing Escalation," Serenity corrected, "and anything
less than full power would be unable to stop the foul magic."

	"At full power?" Giles asked incredulously. "But all that
have used the Ginzuishou at that level have perished!"

	Serenity nodded. "However it is the only way we can possibly
save our worlds, Giles, aside from ordering our men to go in and
commit some horrible abomination, possibly succumbing themselves
to this travesty. There simply is not enough time to carry it out!"

	"I see. Then I shall take the Crystal and perform the action
myself."

	"I am afraid that you are not strong enough to wield it."

	"My love for you will give me the strength. I spent the
last few years battling my way across the universe to stop that
which would have destroyed us. It was nothing more than how
thoroughly I care for you that enabled me to return once more."

	Queen Serenity waved down her husband's protest. "We cannot
risk it. Only I am qualified. I have already agreed to it; I was
merely negotiating with the King of Earth for the care and safe
keeping of my--our two daughters. Fortunately, with your arrival
I may pass away knowing that they will be well cared for."

	"Do not carve your gravestone yet, my love. I have grown
stronger as time has passed." Giles drew closer to the Queen.
"If this is the only way, I will be with you. Combining our
power, you may yet survive."

	"Or you might die as well," Serenity postulated and shook
her head. "No, I must do this alone."

	"Daddy!" a ten-year-old girl's voice rang out from down
the hallway. Everyone turned to see Princess Serenity running in
and leaping forward to hug Lord Giles Tranquility around the neck.
"You're back! Why'd you take so long?"

	"Ah, that is a very long story, Junior," Giles said, returning
his daughter's embrace. "How about I tell you tonight before you go
to bed?"

	"Yes! I'd like that very much!" the Moon Princess exclaimed,
dropping down to assume the refined stance that her protocol classes
had been trying to teach to her for years, feet together and her
hands crossed in front just above waist level.

	"My, how you've grown," Giles added.

	Princess Terrifying walked in, wearing her finest green gown
and flanked by her two assistants. "So you're telling me that Lord
Giles Tranquility is already married?"

	"To your mother," the girl to Terra's left added.

	The girl to Terra's right sighed. "What a lucky goiyle."

	"So that means he's my father," Terra whispered to herself.
She snapped her fingers, obviously disappointed. "Darn." She looked
up to Lord Tranquility and Queen Serenity. "Hi!" She waved.

	"Hello there, small lady," Giles replied.

	"I am glad to see you are all right, my daughter," Serenity
breathed.

	"Hey," Princess Serenity whispered, "what am I? Diced bovine
innards? And why does she get two servants and I don't get any?"

	"She needs more reassurance and help than you do," the Queen
whispered back to her true daughter.

	The Princess blinked. "Oh, okay..."

	The Queen took the Princess by both hands. "Serenity, soon I
am going to be leaving for a very long time. I want you to take good
care of your father for me, okay?"

	The blonde princess frowned. "Why?"

	"Because-"

	*BEEEEEP!* An urgent chime came from a device on Kull's belt.

	The King of Earth picked it up, checked it, and turned to the
others. "I just got an urgent message from one of my starship
captains. It's not coded, so it's not _that_ kind of message. Can
I put it on in here?"

	Queen Serenity nodded. "Go ahead." She motioned for one of
the guards to tune in one of the crystal walls to the signal.

	*Blink!*KSSSH!* It was obviously a Terran broadcast, since
static hissed around on the council room's telecommunications screen.
Normal magical signals were much more clear, even from the start.

	"Hello there, all you great and noble Lunatics, you!" a man's
rugged, uncultured voice came through on the magical voice boxes.

	"Captain Starknight," Kull replied, "glad to hear from you.
What's your report on the deal with that ol' bag, Pluto?"

	"Ehhh, went okay. We'll get all the 'tech we wanted, but I
think this is the last time we'll be making any deals. 'Preserve the
timeline' and all that. You know how it goes. But there's something
I want to show you first."

	"Sure, but your picture's not coming in clear."

	"What? Oh, nearly forgot about that. My communications officer
went on extended leave. Weeeeeeellllll, to tell the truth I had to
jettison my entire crew into the cold darkness of space since they
mutineed when they heard my last order."

	"I hate it when that happens..."

	"Yeah. They're in stasis, crammed into some escape pods back
near Neptune. I'll swing around and tractor 'em in, if you like, or
better yet have them killed."

	"I hate rebels and mutineers... Pick 'em up later. We'll hold a
trial, humiliate 'em and THEN we'll kill 'em."

	"Heh, speaking of trials..."

	The viewscreen cleared to reveal a black-haired man in green
royal-Terran-style camouflage armor reclining in the captain's chair
of a refitted metallic Earth vessel. He had on a pair of darkened
sunglasses, his feet were propped up on a stack of red cushions,
and he was idly sipping a pi�a collada through a straw from
someone's blackened, decapitated skull. The straw had an accordion-
style bend and the drink had a little paper umbrella in it.

	"I ought to _executed_ for what I just did!" Captain Starknight
exclaimed with great delight, pausing to take another sip.

	The jaws of Giles and the Queen dropped. Serenity quickly
snapped her hand over her daughter's eyes.

	"Hey, what're you doing that for?" the Moon Princess asked,
trying to pry the fingers off her face.

	Terra frowned. "Starlight, what the heck are you doing?!" she
whispered to herself.

	"What _did_ you just do, Captain?" Kull asked, not losing his
cool. "Say, whose skull's that?"

	The captain lifted the skull to stare into its upside-down
eye sockets. "Alas, poor Jares, I knew her well."

	"You killed Sailor Jares?"

	Starknight tossed aside the now-empty cranial cavity and
crossed his arms. "Oh, yes. It was quite a showdown. She did not die
slowly or painlessly, I can assure you. Neither did Sailor Akis. I
had her screaming and pleading for mercy for hours. Her lungs were
one of the last things I slashed apart." He held his right hand out
in a claw and slowly closed his fingers in a crushing motion. "You
should have heard her SCREEEAMS, _echoing_ throughout her-"

	Giles cupped his hands over Princess Serenity's ears.
"Captain, there are children listening!"

	"Let 'em listen!" the green-armored man shouted, looking
right at Terra. "You like that, 'Princess?!' Huh?! I did exactly
like you told me. I violently slaughtered those two circus midgets
and eeeeeeeeeveryone that _might_ have been involved. The ones that
surrendered got a quick death. The ones that didn't have found an
entirely new definition of pain and suffering as I reconfigured their
innards to leave every single nerve ending in their bodies exposed
to-"

	"Shut UP, Starlight," Terra whispered through clenched teeth.

	Kull whistled. "Was there anything left of 'em afterwards?"

	Starknight shook his head. "No. After I was done dicing and
vivisecting every last soul on the two asteroids, I boarded my vessel
and repeatedly fired all my weapons, literally atomizing
_everything_." He pointed to where he threw the skull. "That's all
that'll ever be left to let the universe know that those two places
ever existed."

	*BLAM!* The captain whipped out his sidearm, aimed and fired.
The skull fragmented into randomly scattered bits of charcoal.

	"Oops," Starknight said, placing a mocking hand to his mouth,
"looks like there's _nothing_ left of any of it NOW. BWAHAAHAA!"

	"Let me get this straight," Kull cut in, waving a hand, "in
just a few hours, you managed to single-handedly kill EVERYONE on
Asteroids Akis and Jares, burn the remains, drink from Jares's
skull and vaporize both worlds?"

	"Yes, and it took fourty-seven minutes, eighteen seconds. There
were only about sixteen thousand of 'em. I was surprised it took me
so long; it was like they were possessed or something. Really tough
little buggers, relatively speaking. I was almost impressed: some
actually fought for a while after I bisected and decapitated them."

	"And Terra told you to do it?!" Queen Serenity asked, her
mouth agape.

	Captain Starknight stood and held his arms wide, the cheerful
expression never leaving his face. "Guilty, as charged! We did it!"

	Nephrite quickly checked his model of the solar system and
soon discovered that the Oblivion's Kiss curse had stopped its
expansion and was rapidly vanishing. He looked at his King and
nodded.

	"Yes, you did," King Kull cheered, a smile coming to his lips.
"Great work, Tim. Didn't think you had it in you. Couldn't have done
better myself. Getting rid of all those demonically-transformed
elves and midgets..."

	Giles half-smiled. "I, for one, will not miss any of them."

	Nephrite breathed a sigh of relief. "That was impressive, to
say the least. And timely, I might add."

	Queen Serenity pulled Terra closer and gave her a kiss on the
forehead. She breathed a relieved sigh. "Good job, Terra. Good job."

	Starknight's expression fell. He froze, gawking at the Terran
King, as did Terra at her adopted mother.

	"IT WAS?!" both captain and princess asked incredulously in
linked unison.

	Queen Serenity nodded. "It was indeed. This will be a day long
remembered. Thank you, Timothy. You are truly as great a hero as my
daughter insists."

	"B-b-but," the captain protested, "for what--I--should--" He
stopped, straightening his posture. "Your Majesty, I protest. I
demand to be charged, convicted and sentenced in accordance with my
crime!"

	"Okay," Kull replied with a shrug, standing. He casually waved
his hand in the air. "Captain Timothy Starknight, I do hereby find
you guilty of performing above and beyond the call of duty in taking
care of that doomsday curse, having the gumption to respond and do
whatever it took to stop it."

	The Queen nodded along with the verdict. "Though your methods
were unorthodox and extreme, I believe they were necessary. You have
performed a miracle today."

	Kull cleared his throat. "You are hereby sentenced to immediate
promotion to Chief Fleet Admiral, commander of Earth's intrastellar
forces and in charge of all technological developments and shipyards
thereof."

	Timothy Starknight blinked. "Ummm..."

	"And may Gaia have mercy on your soul," Kull finished.

	"Err," Terra and Timothy said together, "thanks?"

^_^

	Princess Serenity and the Younger Inner Senshi enjoyed a nice,
calm, starlit day in the Lunar Palace courtyard.

	"So your Pop got back," Iolanthe commented to Serenity, "that's
cool. How long was he gone?"

	"I don't remember," the ponytailed blonde replied. "But it was
a very, very long time."

	"It certainly would be nice to have both parents at home,"
mentioned Hermione, tapping away on her palmtop computer, reviewing
a few references to notable historical figures, "Mother has gone on
another long voyage to research nearby pulsars. I love my father, but
he simply is not scientifically minded. I spend most of my time with
the royal professors."

	"Mine rarely leave Mars," Pyra admitted. "Sometimes, I wish
they would; maybe that would stop them from fighting so much."

	"But now he's back," Serenity sighed, looking up and smiling.
"I'm glad."

	"I remember when my daddy got back from a long trip," Althea
added, "he was in intense rehab for _months_! He kept talking about
how huge the mushrooms were, and how flammable the rope got, and
how sweet the pixies were. Then there was all the dragon-dancing."
She looked wistfully off into the sunset, which was going to be
around for another few days. "Someday, I wanna go where he went."

	Hermione raised an eyebrow at the Venusian Princess. "I hope
never to go near _that_."

	"The hottest spot on Venus, a magical far-away place where
the sun's always shining and the air smells like warm rootbeer, and
the towels are oh-so-fluffy," recited Iolanthe. "Sounds like fun.
How do they get the sun to shine all the time?"

	The blue-haired Mercurian Princess sighed and shook her head.
"It is not very difficult, considering that the Venusian day lasts
over a year."

	"The clouds help keep the temperature even," insisted Althea.
"Some spots are hotter than others, though. But the hottest spot,
that's where all the _good_ stuff is."

	"Let's visit your planet next time," suggested Princess
Serenity.

	"Hmmm," considered Althea, "I don't know if my Mommy'll
let me have any friends over. Something about everyone else being
unclutured twits that can't hold their licker." She tilted her
her head at the others. "You don't have any problems keeping your
tongue in check or have the habit of sucking on anything, do you?"

	Serenity shrugged, as did Iolanthe. Pyra and Hermione, who
knew what that meant, winced.

	Princess Terrifying knelt in the grass a few meters away from
the other group, holding up a dandelion seed-puffball and blowing
on it, mimicking the way the solar wind brushes off vaporized
planets and asteroids. She held a conversation with the different
bits of her consciousness. <You tried to commit suicide, didn't you,
Knight?>

	<We did.>

	<Why? What made you do it?>

	<I lost someone important to me.>

	<Still upset about how Sailor Pluto kicked you out?>

	<Because of a frivilous decision on our part.>

	<We thought we were going to die.>

	<Understood.>

	<Have we gotten over it?>

	<Yes.>

	<Do you still have feelings for her?>

	<Yes.>

	<Will this affect your judgement in the future?>

	<Never, ever, ever ask me to kill her again.>

	<No guarantees. There will be alternatives in the future, but
in the end, she and everyone else in this solar system must go.>

	<...Right.>

	<Glad we got that cleared up.>

	<Will she ever trust me again?>

	<Perhaps in a few hundred years she'll calm down.>

	<What to do until then...>

	<Find someone new, and keep our mind on destroying all these
annoying things that keep trying to kill us.>

	<Hey, yeah! She'll get over it, if I play my part.>

	<Don't forget your mission.>

	<Right, right. I'm our 'vent.' Since I'm the head of Earth's
fleet, I can make bigger, better ways to destroy things!>

	<And if you _still_ need that idiotic physical relationship,
Neptune's princess is of age and isn't technically married yet.>

	<...She doesn't like men.>

	<So? You like a challenge, don't you?>

	<Well, yeah, but NOT when it comes to->

	<AHEM!>

	<Errrrrrrrrrrrr, okay, what do I do?>

	<Analyze the pattern, find the weakness, and attack. We should
not have to explain this to ourself.>

	<I'll try that. Could take years, though.>

	<That'll be fine. Now, no more sneaky insurrection schemes,
get it?>

	<Got it.>

	<Good.>

	Princess Terrifying sighed, reclining back against the grass,
her green gown blending in well with the vegetation.

	"Terra," Iolanthe called over to the redhead, "what's your
home planet like?"

	"Shh!" Pyra shushed the Jovian Princess.

	Iolanthe blinked. "What?"

	"It was obliterated ages ago by a supermassive comet," Terra
replied, clenching her teeth and forcing her eyelids shut, "and
THANK you for bringing up such a painful memory! While you're at it,
why don't you all just gang up on me and start beating on me with
your dinky little magical attacks--oh wait, you already did!"

	"Terra," Princess Serenity complained, "don't be so mean!"

	"Her home was destroyed and her family _killed_," Hermione
reminded Iolanthe. "As one might imagine, she is very sensitive
about it. That is why she was adopted, remember?"

	"Oh! Right," Iolanthe whispered, blushing. "Sorry!" she
called over to the adopted Moon Princess.

	Terra took a deep breath. "Uh, yeah, sure, don't worry about
it," she replied and softly whispered, "yet."

	Watching them all from the balcony were Terra's two personal
assistants. They were both about eleven years old and wore plain,
serviceable white dresses and discussed their slightly younger
charge.

	"Should we let her do that, Huggyn?" asked the purple-haired
girl. "She could wrinkle her dress."

	"She'll be fine, Kissyn, she just needs to relax," replied the
brunette. "She's had a very long past couple of days, and soon it
will be time for them to take the Oath of the Sailor Soldier."

	"Oath of the Sailor Soldier?"

	"They've proven themselves in real combat, but they had to
run because they were overpowered. Taking the Oath will allow them
to more freely improve their abilities."

	"Wow, you're so smart! Using such big words!"

	"Hmm, I am, aren't I?" Huggyn replied. "Ahh, yes. Lately,
the Sailor Senshi have not been very powerful, but with this much
cooperation, I'm sure that they'll be the best ever!"

	Kissyn clapped her hands together. "Oooh, and Terra's
already a Super Senshi; she fought Queen Neherenia and a couple of
Asteroid Senshi three-on-one!"

	"Chibimoon, one of the legendary Super Senshi," Huggyn
whispered to herself before giving a sigh of joy. "I'm sure glad our
Terra is the first one to do that!"

	"How do you think the Oath will affect her?"

	"I wonder, could there be a level beyond a Super Senshi?"

	"I can't wait to find out!"

^_^

	The glow in the courtyard subsided as the four Sailor
Chibiscouts watched Princess Terra transform into her Super Senshi
outfit. Actually, they just got to see the end due to Terra insisting
that they turn around and cover their eyes. It is, however, the
thought that counts.

	"Neat!" exclaimed Chibijupited, picking up and examining the
semitransparent edge of one of Terra's ribbons.

	"Like it?" Terra asked.

	"Yeah! This is, like, so cool!"

	"So," whispered Chibivenus, "the pseudoprincess has become a
legendary Super Senshi. Never thought I'd see the day..."

	"I thought we'd made up with her," Chibimercury whispered back.

	"We have," the Venusian Chibiscout replied, "but _I_ wanted to
become a Super Senshi before anyone else. Why did it have to be
Chibimoon first?! She's supposed to be the weakest of the bunch!"

	"The weak can become very strong quite quickly," noted
Chibimars.

	"Just how powerful are you?" Chibijupiter asked.

	A gleam came to Terra's eye. "Wanna see?"

	The brunette nodded emphatically. "Sure do!"

	The temporarily defused redheaded galactic destroyer glanced
around for an appropriate test subject. The Lunar Palace courtyard
was astonishingly clean; all polished granite and marble paths
and several patches of green grass with a few stone benches here
and there; it was the perfect spot for a little mayhem, but what
to get first?

	A few guards caught Terra's interest, but she decided against
using them after a few seconds. Finally, she caught sight of a large
rock she didn't particularly like which didn't look like it fit in.
"There! Come on!"

	Terra dragged Sailor Chibijupiter halfway across the courtyard
to where the rock lay. Curious about what was going to happen, the
other three followed them.

	"Okay, everyone!" Terra raised a hand. "Do you see this rock?"

	"Yes!" all four replied in unison.

	"Mercury, what is its composition?"

	Chibimercury tapped her earring, causing her visor to appear.
She plunked away at her palmtop, scanning the object. "It is a
conglomerate mix of quartz and other semicrystalline compounds,
also known as granite. There also appears to be a-"

	"Thanks," the Super Senshi replied and turned to the others.
"So, who here's tough enough to break this rock?" She knocked on
the stone as if to guarantee its solidity.

	The four looked at each other, then back at Terra. "I could
do that!" Chibijupiter announced.

	Terra motioned for the girl to come forward. "All right,
Iolanthe. Think you're hot stuff? Hit it."

	*Whump!* "MMMMHH!" Sailor Chibijupiter drew back her small
fist and thrust it at the rock. The impact didn't do anything at
all to the boulder. "Owwww!" She held her hand.

	"Okay, kick it."

	*Thud!* Iolanthe swung her foot at the object and in the next
instant fell back, rubbing her toes through her short boot. "Aaaaah!"

	"Blast it!"

	Chibijupiter stood back up and crossed her fingers together
as tightly as she could, a small lightning rod extending from the
gem of her tiara. "Grrrr... LIGHTSPARK SHOCK!!!"

	*Bzrrr-zrrr-zrrr!* The lightning glanced off the rock without
doing any damage whatsoever.

	"Yell at it!"

	The brunette clenched her teeth and balled up her fists. "GRRR!
BREAK ALREADY, !@@$&! YOU @$^@@!# ROCK!!!"

	The other Chibiscouts gasped at Iolanthe's outburst.

	Chibijupiter blushed. "Errrr, 'Oh, darn,' I mean."

	"That was nice," Terra said without really meaning it, "now
stand back." She pulled out the Pink Sugar Heart Wand and pointed
it at the rock. "This is a regular-level attack."

	*Bweow-bweow-bweow!* A stream of hearts shot out from the
wand's gem, chipping away at the hard granite.

	"This is not," Terra continued, holding her wand horizontally.
The handle extended a good four feet and the wings on top grew into
a pair of feathery blades. She held it up. "CHAAAAAAAAAAAAI," she
vocalized in a penetrating vibrato and swung the staff down upon
the rock, "HA!"

	*BLAAAAAM!!!* The granite rock instantly exploded, scattering
into thousands of itty bitty fragments that flew every which way.

	The four Chibiscouts coughed, covering their eyes and mouth.

	When the dust cleared, it became apparent that the boulder
had vanished, leaving a beautifully blackened pothole marring the
small grassy field.

	Terra blew the smoke off the tip of her glaive before allowing
it to retract into its smaller shape and putting it away. "How was
that?"

	The guards ran up to them, weapons drawn and their gaze
shifting around in search of their newly-arrived foe.

	Terra waved at them. "Oh, that was me! Don't worry about it."

	"Sailor Chibimoon?" one of the guards began. "What in blazes
were you doing?!"

	"Just a demonstration," the redhead replied, "nothing to see
here." She waved them off. "Move along, move along."

	Red in the face, the chief guard looked down at the hole, then
back at the girl. "Selene's name, child! You've just destroyed the
Runestone!"

	Sailor Chibimercury gasped. "It was the Runestone!?"

	"Not the Runestone!" the other three Younger Senshi exclaimed
in shock.

	Terra frowned. "Oh, was it something important? Terribly sorry
about that."

	"Uhmmmmmmmm," Chibivenus hummed nervously, "does that mean the
Orcs win?" The others looked at her. "I hate it when that happens."

	"Do you know what this means?!" an elder guard cried.

	"No," all five girls replied at once.

	"It means that, that, that, that!!! It was created to contain
an outflowing of demons from a horrid chaos dimension ten thousand
years ago!"

	Chibimars covered her mouth. "Then that means..."

	"It means," the guard continued, "that in fourty thousand years,
the Great Forbidding will fall and chaos will reign unless a Great
Warrior comes to destroy the Demon Lord and free us all from his
foul clutches!"

	"Oh no!"
	"This is terrible!"
	"What have we done?!"
	"'WE?' It was Chibimoon!"

	Everyone glared at Terra.

	"Wait a second," the adopted princess started, "how long did
you say it would take?"

	"Fourty thousand YEARS!"

	Little by little, everyone relaxed.

	Chibijupiter folded her arms. "Fourty thousand years, eh?" 

	Chibivenus glanced at her wrist. "I guess that means we have
time for lunch..."

	The guards' shoulders collectively slumped.

	"But, the solar system is doomed," the chief guard complained.
"Oh, fine!" He walked off to sulk and the rest returned to their
stations.

	Terra shrugged. "C'est la vie," she said in a funky Martian
dialect. "That's life," she repeated in the local language.

	Chibivenus looked at the redhead. "What?"

	"Nothing."

	Queen Serenity and Lord Tranquility exited the palace through
the front doors, several guards and servants bowing as they passed.

	Sailor Chibivenus gasped as she saw them approach. "They're
coming! Quick, form up!" She ran over to a designated spot on the
courtyard's main walkway and stood at attention, head up, chest
out, feet together and held her hands together in front. The other
three Chibiscouts also took a few startled breaths and rushed to
stand beside their leader.

	Terra lagged behind, a frown forming on her face as she
decoded another set of Queen Serenity's older memories.

	<Does this remind anyone of anything?>

	<Not really, since we've never had those other princesses
over before.>

	<Okay, why not?>

	<Usually, they'd be home, training under their parents or
an assigned tutor. Training can take years-->

	<Often, the first stage of Senshi training is potty
training...>

	<But this group seems to have only just started about two
years ago. The Inner regimes appear to have grown mostly
apathetic in this respect as of late.>

	<Pyra was trained by her mother, but the rest were not.>

	<And this is relevant because...?>

	<This scenario here looks a lot like when the current
Elder Senshi graduated from Younger levels to regular standards.>

	<Oh, so their powers are going to be unlocked and they'll
be given permission to practice their abilities a lot more
frequently?>

	<And at such a young age... The last batch didn't move up
until they were about sixteen!>

	<Why boost them so soon, then?>

	<Historically, they only do that when a crisis is passed or
anticipated, thus saith the memory of Queen Serenity.>

	<Wait, we are currently numbered among the Younger Senshi here.
That means we're supposed to be boosted as well.>

	<Cool!>

	<Hold on there! The method of 'promotion' is carried out in a
three step process.>

	<So?>

	<Step one: A Sailor Senshi proves herself in combat.>

	<Done.>

	<Step two: She takes an oath to serve the current rulers, so
long as they're considered just. A hidden bonding magic boosts the
loyalty factor--no big deal, since one of the primary duties of the
Sailor Senshi is to defend the King, Queen, Princess or Prince of the
dominant kingdom, so they've decided to do that anyway, and everyone
that's decided against it has long since abandoned even the Younger
Senshi power...>

	<Yeah, so? Something like that should be easily blocked.>

	<But not step three, which is to engulf the candidate in a
supercharged energy field generated by the Ginzuishou, melting
internal barriers to the Real power and eliminating a nominal amount
of impure thoughts and desires, though they can be regenerated later
if the recipient so desires.>

	<Doesn't sound so bad...>

	<Uhhhhhhhhhhh, yes it does.>

	<Why?>

	<Remember what nearly killed us when we arrived?>

	<Yeah, a pretty simple and straightforward last-ditch lashing
out of the Ginzuishou's energy, even this low-level magic engulfing
entirely--Oh my!>

	Terra's human heart started beating a little faster as she
took up a position behind the Venusian Senshi. She held a hand to
her sternum, almost as if she were worried that if she didn't, her
heart would pound its way out of her chest.

	Queen Serenity smiled down upon all five girls. "I am very
proud of all of you," she began, "especially you, Terra. You've
become a Super Senshi!"

	The girl in the Super Senshi outfit grinned sheepishly.
"Uhhhhhh, yeah, thanks, Mother..." She edged backward.

	"No one," Giles Tranquility added, "especially not a Younger
Senshi, has ever reached your level, my adopted child. You should be
very proud of yourself."

	"Yeah, proud," Terra parroted, quivering and looking almost
frantically to her left and her right. "Thanks, Daddy."

	"The rest of you have been very brave," Serenity continued.
"You have practiced, trained, and a short while ago, you have fought
for a just cause. When a friend was in danger, you acted quickly to
help her. Even though your enemy was too strong for you to defeat,
you fought and only retreated when you had tried out all of your
other choices. Well done, young soldiers. Well done."

	"Awww," Chibijupiter gushed, blushing. The other three did
likewise.

	"Therefore," Lord Tranquility continued, "you shall now be
sworn in as full-fledged Sailor Senshi; true soldiers without that
troublesome 'Chibi' epithet to bother you." He stood up tall.
"Sailor Venus, when my wife gives the word, please lead your
friends in the Oath of the Sailor Soldier."

	Chibivenus nodded dutifully.

	Queen Serenity held her hands together. "Now, if there be any
one of you that does not wish to take the Oath, speak now--"

	Terra's hand shot up. "ME!"

	Everyone choked and practically fell over. Straightening her
posture, Queen Serenity took a breath and asked, "Ah, Sailor
Chibimoon, whyever not?"

	"Yeah," muttered Chibivenus, "got something against defending
Home, King and Country?! It's kinda basic, y'know..."

	Terra frowned, tears forming in her eyes. She grasped the
brooch on her chest and tore it off, instantly ending her
transformation in a flurry of pink ribbons. She threw down the
prism and ran off, weeping, "I just can't do it!"

	"Oh dear," Serenity whispered, holding a hand to her mouth.
She turned to her husband. "Please watch after the girls for a
moment." She took hold of her skirt and hurried after her adopted
daughter. "Terra! Wait!"

	"Whatever prompted this?" Giles asked rhetorically. He turned
to Sailor Chibivenus. "Althea, please lead the others in the Oath.
We shall return momentarily."

	Lord Tranquility went off in pursuit of his wife.

	The Chibiscout leader stared after the two running adults.
After a moment, she shrugged and faced her teammates. "Okay,
everybody, feet together, eyes forward. Raise your right hand to the
square and repeat after me."

	Mars, Jupiter and Mercury raised their right hand and fixed
their gaze firmly on their leader. Mars crossed the fingers of her
left hand behind her.

	Chibivenus cleared her throat and looked upward. "I comma
square bracket new Senshi's name square bracket comma do solemnly
promise by square bracket Senshi's planetary guardian square
bracket-"

	"I, Crown Princess Hermione," Chibimercury tried to follow
along as best she could, "do solemnly promise-"

	"I, Pyra, promise by that guy-"

	"I comma square bracket," Chibijupiter repeated haltingly,
"new Senshi's name square bracket-"

	"-to uphold the Laws and Ordinances of the Silver Millennium
Planetary Alliance and bracket current dominant world bracket comma
defend Prince stroke Princess bracket current heir to dominant world
bracket-"

	"-defend Princess Serenity-"
	"-oooh, Prince Endymion-"
	"-Prince stroke Princess bracket current heir to-"

	"-comma serve the public trust comma and defend the subjects
of His stroke and stroke or stroke Her bracket delete whichever is
inappropriate bracket Majest parenthases ee stroke iies bracket name
of reigning monarch bracket-"

	"-defend the subjects of His and Her Majesties Queen Serenity
and Lord Tranquility-"
	"-defend all the dumb servants that live here and-"
	"-comma serve the public trust comma and defend the subjects
of His stroke and stroke or stroke Her bracket-"

	Tears started to form in Chibivenus's eyes. She obviously took
her words very seriously. "-without fear comma favor comma or thought
of personal safety semi-colon to pursue evil-doers and protect the
innocent comma-"

	"-without fear, favor or thought of personal safety; to-"
	"-not being scared or anything like that-"
	"-fear comma favor or thought of personal safety semi-colon-"

	Streams poured out of the blonde's eyes and she began having
difficulty speaking. "-laying down my life if necessary in the cause
of said duty comma so help me bracket aforesaid planetary guardian
bracket full stop-"

	"-cause of said duty, so help me Mercury."
	"-I might think of it, so help me that guy."
	"-duty comma so help me bracket aforesaid planetary guardian-"

	Chibivenus put her right hand to her chest. "Gods Save the King
stroke and stoke or stroke Queen bracket delete whichever is
inappropriate bracket full stop!"

	"-Save the King and Queen!"
	"-yeah, save them."
	"-delete whichever is inappropriate bracket full stop!"

	Sailors Chibivenus and Chibijupiter collapsed to the ground,
gasping for air.

	When Serenity and Tranquility finally caught up with Terra,
they had a long talk with her. It became apparent to them and all
that asked afterward that the poor girl had been too traumatized from
her near-death experience with Neherenia and the Asteroid Senshi to
possibly consider going into battle again.

	The King and Queen were disappointed, but after much discussion,
they finally accepted her decision. It was really too bad, they
reasoned, since she had been until then the only one to achieve such
power as a Sailor Senshi. Terra never wielded her powers as Sailor
Chibimoon again.

	Nevertheless, this did not discourage the two rulers from
going on a fantastic two-month second honeymoon to celebrate their
having reunited.

	Admiral Starknight became one of the most fearsome forces in
the solar system not too many years afterward and eventually, he did
remarry.

	And though her sister did tend to get pampered a lot more than
she, Princess Serenity never did grow jealous; actually, she was glad.
Glad, glad, glad, glad and happy for her. So there.

^_^

	Terra Incognito slowly awoke, instantly forgetting over half
of the images she'd just dreamed. She opened her eyes to see her
mother sitting in a soft chair right by her bed. "Mother? Mother!
I had this strange dream, and you weren't there," she pointed at
the brown-haired woman, "nor you," she pointed at her plush Sailor
V doll, "or you..." She pointed at her Sailor Stylin' doll. She
held her head. "My forehead stings some."

	Kasumi Incognito leaned down to give her daughter a kiss on
the forehead. "But you are most certainly getting better. You've
been in and out of consciousness for nearly the whole day."

	Terra paused, a glimmer of a memory from her dream peeking
through. "Mommy, do you have this month's Discover?"

	Kasumi nodded. "Oh, yes. I was just reading it." She reached
over to pick up the new magazine from her daughter's nightstand.
"Here it is."

	Flipping through the scientific journal, Terra was disappointed
to only find an article on black holes, another on quarks and a few
more on the theories of robotic prosthetics. "Someday, could there be
a real bionic man?" she read an article's title aloud.

	Kasumi smiled. "I'm glad to see you've gotten back your interest
in the world around you."

	Terra sighed, smiling in spite of herself and shaking her head.
"Me too." She looked back at her mother. "Have you heard from my
friends? Serena, Amy and Raye? Are they okay?"

	"They're just fine."

	Turned and sat up on the edge of her bed. "I want to go see
them."

	Kasumi pursed her lips. "I know it's very important, but your
father has come home today, just to see you."

	Terra's eyes went wide. "Father is coming?"

	"In fact, he is already here."

	"Can I see him?"

	The sweet woman nodded. "Umm-hmm. I'll fetch him for you."
She stood and walked out of the room.

	"My father," Terra whispered to herself, "I've not seen him
for months..."

	A moment later, Kasumi walked back into the room and again sat
down by her daughter.

	A man with long silver hair that went halfway down his back
walked in. He wore a black outfit that was open at the chest and had
a very, very long katana sheathed at his side. Setting aside his
weapon, he too sat down by the redheaded teenager and put his arm
around her. "I understand that you have been through some hardships
of late, my daughter."

	"Oh, yes, Father," Terra replied with a nod. "But I'm glad
you're here with me now. I've missed you so much!"

	The man nodded. "I as well have missed you." He paused. "I
heard about what happened. Would you like me to skewer anyone for
you? I've kept my blade sharp."

	"No, no, nothing like that." The girl looked down at her feet.
"But I'm worried; I want to see my friends."

	"Soon enough, but not today."

	"Why not?" the teen asked, almost frowning.

	"Because today, your grandmother is coming over to visit."
The girl's father pointed to a calendar on the wall, circled in
red and marked in small, alarming letters, [GRANDMA.]

	Terra paled. "Grandma?"

	Kasumi smiled nervously. "Oh, yes. Her visit will make things
_very_ interesting around here for a while."

	"She has been anxious to see you again," Terra's father added,
looking meaningfully at the girl. "Very anxious."

	"She's coming?!"

	Terra's mother nodded. "Oh, yes, Terra!"

	"How soon?!"

	"She'll be here in only a few minutes! You simply must get
dressed. Gramma wants to talk to you sooo badly!"

	The fourteen-year-old pulled the covers up to her chin, her
eyes wide.

	"Gramma Jenova..."

^_^;;;

To be continued...

Well, that's the big flashback for this part. I figure it's good
enough practice to put in some level of backstory. Actually, a
lot of people tend to like the past incarnations of ASK and Terra
a lot better than the 'present' ones. Fancy that...

My prereaders have been a tad busy lately and didn't get a chance
to make any comments on this one, but I'm grateful to have 'em,
anyway! ^_^

-------------------------------
Benjamin A. Oliver
boredcollective@aol.com

	"We are the Bored. Lower your shields and surrender your fics.
	 We will add your standup and slapstick comedy to our own.
	 Your humor will adapt to entertain us.
	 Resistance is and always has been: Futile."
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