A long, long time ago, I had an odd idea about a
Fusion/Crossover that carelessly replaced a few key
characters from the Ranma series that were not, by
any stretch of the imagination, exact replacements
for the characters so ruthlessly and callously culled.

    That was the point, actually. The theory was that
a more interesting story can be developed if perfection
and a stable environment was not the goal. Jason Hanks
urged me on to actually write out the idea, several others
helped out, including Louis-Philippe Giroux, and GAILR!!!
was the result, first sent out April 1st, 1999.

What has gone on in the story thus far is that Ranma
got some bizarre Moon Princess curse, Genma got the
Chibiusa curse, and we're debating on what other ones
to pass out to the rest of the cast. It's really quite
fascinating. Read up on it at:

http://rakhal.com/florestica/ben-oliver/index.html

So, without further ado, let's get started on this!

&&&[Begin Chapter 3.]

    Ranma paced around the bathroom, with his shirt off and
agonizing over the minor defeat he had recently suffered. The guy
that called himself Jadeite had given him a pretty nasty series of
shocks. Oh, sure, he was a she at the time and had been encumbered by
an embarrassing white dress, but still, he didn't take kindly to
being overpowered like that. Then again, typically he didn't find too
many martial artists that used attacks like that in battle and, as
such, he had been taken by surprise.

    "That makes TWO times in a row I ain't been ready!" the young
man muttered angrily, slapping a fist into one hand. "First Rei gets
me with her ki-attack and THEN the Jade-guy. Grrr, what NEXT?! Oh
yeah, THEN I had to get rescued by a GIRL." He paused. "Well, two
girls. A manly girl and a lady-girl-type, sort of..."

    Taking a deep breath to help himself calm down, Ranma ran his
fingers through his bangs. Haruka definitely had him jealous. The
techniques she and her friend did to get him out of that grip was
really something. Never before had he felt such power being wielded.
All his life, he'd been training to become the best martial artist in
the world, and he'd never came across ki manipulation on that level.
If he'd known about it before, he would have learned more about it
and mastered it long ago.

    Ranma reached for his shirt. "I gotta go ask 'em. NOW."

    The boy stopped again, considering the girl in the obnoxiously-
cut sailor suit that had tried to defend him as well, but had failed.
"Sailor Moon? What kind of a name is that? Sounds Chinese." He hadn't
heard of her before, but one thing struck him as really crazy: she
looked almost exactly like like his girl form, down to the really
long ponytails. Oh, sure, she looked a bit younger, but that didn't
keep Ranma from wondering whether there could be some sort of
connection between the girl and his curse. Maybe Jadeite was really
after the other girl and it was a case of mistaken identity. Actually,
that seemed like the most likely thing.

    "My head hurts," Ranma muttered to himself, smoke literally
billowing from his ears as his preciously rationed neurons battled it
out between the desire to learn the need to bathe, the desperate need
to learn Haruka's ki attack, and wanting to know what the deal was
with "Sailor Moon." To make matters worse, his brain was also engaged
in coming up with the right training routine to improve his speed and
strength to go along with all that.

    The pigtailed martial artist absently grabbed a bar of soap,
which started glowing in his hand. "Feh!" He tossed it into the
furo. He didn't notice the sudden hiss, which he therefore could not
have compared to the noise that a chunk of red-hot lava makes when it
hits the cold, cold ocean surface.

    However, the creak of the window swinging open did attract his
attention. Ranma looked in the direction of the sound. His eyes went
wide and he slipped, falling onto his back. He inched toward the
wall, his lips curling in horror when he identified the creature he
saw, which clawed its way in through the forced window.

^_^

    Downstairs, a woman in business attire with vibrantly green
hair sat hunched over the table, peering at an old document through a
very large magnifying glass. Tendo Setsuna slowly and cautiously went
over every last millimeter of the marriage contract. "The mind
boggles," she shispered with a short, frustrated sigh. "You have to
hand it to them, I admit. It is simplistic and infantile, yet still
binding..."

    Rei popped up behind her and put an arm over the woman's
shoulder. "What've you got there, hmm?" Then she saw the contract.
"I think you can stop worrying about the engagement, Setsuna," she
said, "I talked with Ranma. He's not thinking about going through
with it any more than we are."

    "That is excellent news," Setsuna replied, glancing sideways at
her. "Nevertheless, it is better to be safe and prepared than
surprised at the last minute."

    A laugh came from the direction of the dojo. Haruka entered a
second later, wearing a white gi, her hair messed up and her skin
covered in sweat from her morning workout. "Safe and prepared, eh?
Riiiiiiiiight. Like when Dad first announced it? You sure were
prepared then. Heh!"

    "Ah. Haruka, kicking me while I'm down, I see?" Setsuna's
expression became somewhat pained, despite her efforts to display the
contrary.

    The blonde grinned. "Gotta use whatever advantage I can. People
usually have to get up _pretty_ early in the morning to get the best
of _you_."

    "Early?" Setsuna asked, going back to her examination of the
marriage contract. "No, to get the best of me, one normally must
stay up all night. And even then, it's no guarantee."

    "Yeah," Haruka continued. She came closer and picked up a
strand of Setsuna's slightly tusseled hair. "And speaking of staying
up all night..."

    Setsuna put down her magnifying glass and looked up into her
sister's eyes. A moment of unspoken communication went on between
them. When it finally became apparent that Haruka wasn't backing
down, the eldest Tendo sister narrowed her eyes, then held a finger
to her lips, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity about her.
"Shhh."

    Ignoring the silent power struggle, Rei directed her attention
to Haruka. "Say, what happened that one night with Ranma? He didn't
want to say anything about it and you still haven't told me."

    "He got attacked," the blonde replied, still grinning widely
and patting her hand against Setsuna's arm, as if trying to comfort
her for the loss of the brief staring contest. "Michiru and I barely
showed up in time."

    "How tough was he?" Rei continued. "Any stronger than the last
one that came by?"

    Haruka looked up and made a wobbly-handed 'so/so' gesture. "Eh,
I've fought worse."

    "Do you think the Musk Empire's attacking again?" Rei sat down.
"What did you and Haruka do to upset those guys, anyway?"

    "Nothing big," Haruka said. "They'll get over it. And I don't
think the Emperor's about to send any more of his lackeys along,
after what we did to the last ones."

    "Okay, then who'd want to just come up and attack Ranma for
no reason?" Rei pressed, then stopped when she recalled the first
day of school with Ranma. "Well, I take that back. But who could it
be?"

    "I don't know. He said his name was Jadeite, called Ranma
'Princess Serenity,' then Ranma started getting seriously trashed,
so we came in."

    "Think this 'Jadeite' will come back?"

    Haruka cracked her knuckles, nodding confidently. "I sure hope
so. It's been a while since I've had a real challenge."

    "Feeling a little protective of our fair half-Moon Princess?"
Setsuna didn't look up. "Wishing to be engaged, perhaps?"

    "Well, she _is_ cute, I have to admit," Haruka looked smug,
avoiding the attempted taunt.

    "Haruka, two; Setsuna, zero," Rei kept score.

    Setsuna smiled in spite of herself. "Very well. You have won.
But tomorrow is another day."

    "I said it before and I'll say it again," Haruka chuckled
lightly, "I love this game."

    A high-pitched scream from the bathroom shocked everyone into
alertness.

    "Ranma!"

^_^

    The bathroom was a scene out of a nightmare.

    "AAAAAAHHH!" Ranma screamed in terror.

    The beast had slapped the unlatched window wide open and leapt
down inside, landing heavily on the floor. Its sharp, sickle-shaped
claws tapped against the tile floor as it advanced.

    "RANMA SAOTOME," the demon shrieked at the terrified martial
artist, long fangs protruding from its drawn-back mouth, "PREPARE
TO DIE!!!"

    "No!" the boy choked back the tears, too horrified to do
anything but push his way further back against the wall.

    "BECAUSE OF _YOU_," the fanged monster advanced, stalking its
way forward, step by step, inch by inch, closer and closer, "I HAVE
SEEN *HELLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!*"

    "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Ranma raised his head high and screamed.
He didn't care that he sounded like a sniveling little girl; he was
genuinely frightened. Many times in the past had he faced this foe,
and he knew; he knew that it and its kin were invincible. NO MAN
could possibly hope to defeat it. This beast was the master now.

    He could not fight against its awesome power. All he could hope
to do was to inch past it and find some route of escape; perhaps the
demon would back away; perhaps it would simply leave like it had done
so many times before.

    "RRRRAAAAANNNMMMAAAA," the THING hissed, clamping a claw on
Ranma's pant leg, "NOW IS WHEN I TAKE MY REVENGE FOR ALL YOU HAVE
DONE TO ME! NOW IS WHEN I MAKE YOU *SUFFER* FOR EVERYTHING!!!"

    No, the horrid creature would not back down this time. It was
talking to him; it was after his very soul. "AAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

    *SLAM!* The door kicked was open and three young women rushed
inside, prepared for battle: Rei with a knife, Haruka with a katana,
and Setsuna with a bo-staff.

    Rei was Ranma's savior. She put away her knife, effortlessly
grabbing the source of his trauma with a sweep of her hand. She
swiftly lifted it off of him and looked at it with a relieved smile.

    "What is it?" Haruka asked urgently, struggling to get by Rei.

    The raven-haired girl stepped fully inside, holding up and
allowing her sisters to see the creature in question. "It's just a
little kitty-cat!"

    "C-C-C-C-C-C-C-CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT!!!" shrieked
Ranma, diving past the girls, rushing down the steps, and crashing
through the wall.

    Haruka and Setsuna gazed after their potential fiance. "Huh,"
she commented, "what do you think got into him, Setsuna?"

    The eldest sister did not respond. Rather, she was gazing
intently at the cat. Its fur was so black that it was blue and it had
an almost anthropomorphic  hint to its feline shape, but its single
most distinguishing feature was the small, yellow crescent moon mark
on its forehead.

    "Mrewow!" the cat struggled around in Rei's grasp, pawing
ineffectually at her wrists, limply trying to slink away. It wasn't
a very large cat; only slightly bigger than a kitten.

    A pink cone of hair peeked by the doorway, a little less than
halfway up, followed by the little girl's whole head. "What happened
to my boy? I heard him shout."

    Rei looked down at Genma. "I'm not sure, but I think he freaked
out when he saw this." She showed her the cat.

    Genma blinked and rubbed her groggy little-big eyes. "Oh, it's
a cat. Ranma's afraid of cats."

    Haruka frowned. "Why?"

    Ranma's father yawned. "I really don't know why. Cats are cute,
harmless little things. Not like," she looked a little scared when
she said, "horrible, scary, demonic, snaggle-toothed s-s-squirrels."

    *Mreow!* "Ow!" The black cat bit Rei's finger, causing more
surprise than damage, allowing room for it to land on the floor.

    "Catch that cat!" Setsuna ordered, pointing a finger at the
fleeing feline.

    Rei and Haruka scrambled after the cat which leapt around the
room, somehow avoiding the quick, well-trained hands grasping after
it. Finally, the cat darted between Haruka's legs, jumped up to the
window, and fled outside.

    Still in cat-catcher mode, Haruka scrambled after it, and was
halfway out of the window before her hand slipped on a spare bar of
soap on the window sill and she tumbled backward.

    Rei stepped out of the way of her falling sister.

    *SPLASH!* Haruka plunged into the full furo, becoming instantly
drenched. She accidentally tried to draw a gasping breath, but her
throat filled with water. She sat up in the bath, coughing violently.

    Setsuna shook her head, smiling to herself. "Oh, never mind.
Let it go."

    Haruka glared at her older sister.

    "Haruka, your training has obviously 'slipped,'" the woman with
very long green hair added, her expression becoming perfectly neutral
as she rested the end of her bo-staff on the floor.

    Haruka stood, her fist clenched close to her face as water
trickled off her hair and down her clothes. After a moment, she
relaxed. "Okay, score one for you."

    "Three. Even you must realize that by now."

    "Hey," Rei cut in, "did you two see anything odd about that
cat? Maybe something that'd scare Ranma?

    Haruka sighed, tugging with one hand at her soaked apparel.
"How should I know? You were the one holding it."

    "It had a mark on its forehead," said Setsuna.

    "And a yellow and black collar," added Rei.

    Genma piped up. "Do you know anyone that has a cat like that?"

    "No," replied Rei and Haruka together.

    "Perhaps," meditated Setsuna. "However, only time will tell."

    Soun finally made it, running to the scene. "What happened,
Setsuna?" He looked around inside for some clue of the event.

    "Nothing of great importance, Father."

    "A cat attacked Ranma," replied Genma. "He'll be back in a
minute. Don't worry."

    "Aaah!" Soun was startled, not having seen his friend. He
looked down at her. "Oh! Saotome-chan, er... SAN," he said, "but
he's coming back?"

    Genma nodded. "Yeah. He'll get over it."

    "I don't think it's anything to worry about, Father," Rei
added, putting a comforting arm around Soun's shoulders and slowly
escorting him out.

    "Back to bed, then," the little pink-haired girl muttered,
obviously having had a very long night. She turned away.

    "Wait a second," Soun stopped and held up a hand.

    Genma turned back. "What?"

    The black-haired man urgently turned toward the little girl.
"Don't you remember what day it is?!"

    "Monday."

    Soun knelt down, reaching out and pulling Genma in closer with
both hands, looking straight into her eyes. "For you, yes, and no."

    Genma blinked. "What do you mean?"

    Setsuna smiled knowingly, as did Haruka and Rei. They'd been
through this before several times in their own unique ways, and knew
what their father was getting at.

    "You begin school today!" exclaimed Soun, throwing his arms
wide open and closing them around his friend, weeping sadly. "It
is a truly sad occasion, but you MUST go, old friend!"

    Genma's jaw hung open and a huge sweatdrop slowly went down the
back of her cute little head. "But, but-"

    Soun stood up, spun around, and set the girl down, facing
toward the hall. "You only have a few minutes to get ready! Hurry
up!" He gently nudged Genma toward the guest room.

    Genma paled. "But--"

    "No 'buts' about this one, young lady--er!" the Tendo patriarch
caught himself. "--Old friend! If you don't go, the Truant officer
will be back! He said so!"

    Genma shook her head frantically. "Nononononononononono, I
don't wanna!"

    "He crashed through the front wall last time he came! Who knows
what he'll do if you don't go!"

    It was difficult to tell which of the Tendo daughters was
enjoying this the most. Rei turned away and pounded lightly against
the wall, trying to conceal her expression. Setsuna's smile was not
any larger than before, but her eyes betrayed the fact that she liked
seeing the little spore tormented.

    "Heh, I'll give him a ride if Setsuna gets him ready," Haruka
volunteered, toweling down her face and hair. "Anything to keep Dad
from thinking about the engagement again," she added silently.

    "Agreed," assented the eldest sister.

    Setsuna turned around and exited, seeming to vanish into the
shadows.

    "AAaaaaa!!!" Genma tried to run off, but Soun picked her up by
the collar. For a second, Genma continued running, as if trying to
find purchase in the air.

    Setsuna returned after a moment with a little dress on a
hanger. The outfit consisted of a small white blouse with a red bow
on the front and a blue pleated skirt that would go to just about
knee length on Genma. "It used to be Rei's when she was little,"
she said, demonstrating it to the intended wearer. "It is not a
White Dove Academy uniform, but it will be acceptable until we
can get you a proper one."

    Genma's eyes went wide, looking mortified.

    "I'm sorry, old friend, but that's the way things go," Soun
added hesitantly. "I'm sure you'll get to like it."

    Setsuna looked down at Genma, sizing her up. She shook her
head. "Tsk tsk tsk. A good girl should bathe before she goes to
school."

    "Weeeell, I guess I'll go get Ranma," Rei said, waving goodbye.
She walked out, took one step to the side, and stood against the
wall. She covered her mouth with a hand, barely able to contain her
snickering.

    "I'll let you go at it, then," Soun walked out and went back
downstairs.

    *Riiip!* "Tsk tsk tsk... Truly, when _did_ you last wash this
outfit, Saotome-san?" Setsuna remarked disapprovingly.

    Rei saw Genma's dirty, torn-up gi getting tossed out the
window, directly into an overflowing garbage can with flies buzzing
around it.

    *SPLASH!* "AAAAH! COLD!"

    "Do not so much as think of jumping into the furo. We mustn't
have you change just yet, Saotome-san."

    Haruka walked out and leaned against the wall opposite Rei,
her face a mix of surprise and morbid pleasure.

    "I think it'll be a while before they start talking about our
engagements again," Rei whispered to her sister.

    "Is this any way to be treating your future father-in-law?!"
cried Genma.

    Haruka looked sideways at Rei. "I wouldn't count on it."
She looked away and called, "She's right, Setsuna! Treat 'er right!"

    "Right!" Rei agreed. "And don't forget to thoroughly shampoo
her hair!"

    "Can't have our Dad's best friend making a bad impression on
'er first day of school," Haruka added, chuckling to herself.

    "Oh my, I apologize for my oversight, Saotome-san, I will do
my best to correct it," replied Setsuna, her calm, unwavering tone
reflecting a hint of satisfaction. "Is this more to your liking?"

    *Vrrr!*Ka-chunka-kachunka!* "AAAH! HEEEEY!"

    The washing sounds increased in frequency and pitch as the
awesome powers of the Tendo School of Martial Arts childbathing
techniques were brought to bear upon poor little Genma.

    "I gotta go get changed," Haruka muttered, looking down at
her still-damp outfit. She walked out.

    *Zrrvrr* Luna-P floated by, making cheery little whirring
noises as it passed, nodding at the scene going on in the bathroom
before continuing on.

^_^

    Somewhere, the Guardian of the Gate of Time was rolling
around on the floor in front of the Gate, laughing and laughing.

    "Oh my, oh my, oh my, I can't believe this is happening!"

^_^

    The Dark Kingdom was all abuzz about the latest news: The
Moon Princess had been located! The entire youma population was
in awe over the concept of finally being able to get rid of their
last major remaining nemesis from the Moon Kingdom. They all
waited in anticipation as their leaders devised plans to destroy
Princess Serenity once and for all.

    After Serenity had been dealt with, then they could move on
to the bigger targets like Microsoft and Jerry Springer. Their
empires would be far more difficult to topple.

    "Jadeite," Queen Beryl called, "I wish to hear of your new
plan to capture the Moon Princess."

    The blond general appeared before Beryl's throne. His left
wrist was wrapped in white bandages, as was his right shoulder,
under his uniform. He placed his right hand over his heart and
bowed slightly. "My Queen, I have analyzed our last attack, and
discovered its flaws."

    "What were these 'flaws'?"

    "We underestimated our enemy," replied Jadeite. He raised
his left hand, and a wavering image of the Moon Princess from
Jadeite's attack appeared. "By herself, she is not much of a threat,
and she obviously does not have the Ginzuishou."

    The image demonstrated how the girl tried ineffectually to
defend herself against Jadeite's assault."

    "What _does_ she have, Jadeite?"

    The general half-smiled and snapped his fingers. The image
to his left shifted to a yellow-orange blast, followed by another
ringed sphere, this one blue. The motion picture effect was
careful to avoid the part where Jadeite got hit. Finally, the
image froze on the silhouettes of two women, back to back in the
sunset.

    "Do they look at all familiar?" Jadeite asked.

    Queen Beryl pursed her lips in concern and a murmur went up
among the gathered youma court. "Do you mean to tell me that
Princess Serenity is being guarded by the Outer Senshi?"

    Jadeite nodded gravely. "I am afraid so."

    A gasp went up amongst the crowd and members of the court
spoke between themselves.

    "The Outer Senshi?"
    "How could it be?!"
    "This does not bode well."
    "Neptune and Uranus?!"
    "The Dirty Pair of all Sailor Senshi..."
    "That does it, we're all screwed, seriously!"

    All, including Queen Beryl, remembered the Outer Senshi in
their battles against the Moon Kingdom: Sailors Pluto, Neptune,
Uranus, and Saturn. They had most certainly _not_ been easy to
defeat. Many, many of their finest warriors had perished in the
attempt. That, or moved to what was now Pittsburgh.

    "None of our number, save for myself and the other generals,
can repel fighters of their caliber," Jadeite reminded his Queen,
"if we are prepared, that is."

    The Queen of the Dark Kingdom nodded, needing a few moments
to think over this new information. "Interesting, Jadeite."

    The man took a deep breath. "I am explaining this so that
there will be no surprise when my plans do not include facing
the Princess directly; we simply would not make it past her
personal guard," he said, pointedly fingering the bandage on his
wrist. "We require more energy."

    Zoicite appeared, levitating in a flurry of cherry blossoms.
"What about attacking en masse? Surely we would be able to capture
her if we sent enough youma."

    Jadeite turned his head to the poor soul in question and
laughed out loud. "With what energy shall we send them? With what
energy would they fight?" His expression became DEAD serious. "With
what energy shall we defend ourselves when the Outer Senshi come to
reclaim their ruler?" He turned fully toward the unwise general and
pointed an accusing finger at him. "And what if Sailor Saturn herself
comes to challenge us? What then?"

    The highly effeminate general landed on his feet to face
Jadeite. "Why, we could drain _them_. Ah-hahahahahaaa."

    Jadeite took a step toward the one who mocked him, looking
seriously ticked off. "Oh? And who will we send to get close enough
to drain them? Who could be so fast; so cunning; so brave; so
IDIOTICALLY, DROOLINGLY _STUPID_ TO TRY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!?!"

    That caught Zoicite off-guard. He reached up in surprise to
touch a thin line of drool that had suddenly gone down the side of
his mouth. "Errrrrrrrrr?"

    "Neptune is strong enough to crack open your tiny skull with a
single punch," Jadeite lectured, "Sailor Uranus can blast your body
to _itty_ bitty fragments," he held up a pair of fingers, an inch
apart, "_this_ big. Sailor Pluto knows your future and is stronger
than the other two combined!" He bared his teeth. "AND SAILOR SATURN
CAN DESTROY AN ENTIRE PLANET, YOU GIGGLING LOON!!!"

    Zoicite blinked, frowned, and looked down, ashamed of himself.
He took a step back. "I-I-I'm not droolingly stupid!" he shouted back
defiantly.

    "Yes you are," Jadeite replied, holding up a Polaroid picture
of Zoicite sleeping. Drool seeped out of the effeminate general's
mouth, coating half his pillow.

    Zoicite gasped, covering his mouth. "But-but!!!"

    "So," Jadeite was still clearly angry, but his tone was a great
deal more controlled now, "before you go on spouting your insanities
before Our Great Queen," he took a deep breath to aid his efforts to
calm himself, "try to think things through a little more."

    "I'm sorry," Zoicite said in a small voice, his ego shattered
for the time being. He backed off into the shadows, streams of tears
flowing out of his eyes. "Really sorry!"

    Queen Beryl smiled darkly, pleased to have such a strong,
intelligent general under her command. "Oh, do not be so hard on
poor little Zoicite. He is new at this, you must remember."

    "I," Jadeite said, turning back to his leader, "had to make
myself clear."

    Beryl laughed a short evil queen's laugh. "I understand. What
are your plans?"

    The image to the left of the general shifted to a map of
a small section of Tokyo. "I have strategically placed a few of my
youma in schools to gather a great deal of energy over a short
period of time." The display showed Furinkan High's imposing
figure. "Here, in these places of education, I have discovered an
excellent source of energy: the students. My youma, Fortranda, has
selected an early morning class of especially dedicated students
attending this particular institution. They are _full_ of energy."

    "When can we expect results?"

    Jadeite smiled. "Within the hour, my Queen."

^_^

    Usagi's heart beat uncontrollably as she ran along the dark
corridors of a strange, alien castle.

    She halted abruptly at a four-way junction. From behind her,
she could hear the skittering and chattering of unknown creatures,
undoubtedly pursuing her.

    Looking to the left, the girl could see the approach of a
flickering light, and heard a long peel of malevolent laughter.
To her right, a hulking monster with large tusks and sharp teeth
bounded down the hallway.

    Usagi took the straight path, and saw the black wall fade
away, replaced by a blue sky and white, puffy clouds. She ran,
ran, and leapt upwards.

    Riding like a rocket on a stream of sparkling dust, she felt
her fear melt away. Up and up she went.

    The clouds in front of her parted, and little by little, she
saw the dark, striking form of Tuxedo Kamen approach from deep
within the mist.

    Yes, the man came closer, closer, and closer. Usagi could
see his handsome face, despite the mask and the top hat.

    The girl suddenly felt her feet grow very cold.

    Tuxedo Kamen smiled at her, then knelt down beside her.
"Usagi," he whispered, grasping her toes.

    The blonde gasped as she felt herself being tickled.

    "Usagi?" Tuxedo Kamen asked her.

    "Y-yes?" Usagi replied between giggles.

    "Wake up," the masked man said plainly.

    The girl blinked. "Huh?"

    Tuxedo Kamen grew impatient and dug his claws deep into
the adolescent's feet, shouting, "Usagi-chan, WAKE UP!!!"

    "WAAAAH!" Usagi suddenly sat upright. Her dream slowly faded.
The clouds became her bed, and Tuxedo Kamen shifted and blurred
into a small, black cat. "Luna!"

    The crescent-moon-marked cat sighed. "You certainly are a
deep sleeper." She shook her head.

    "Am not," Usagi denied.

    "Are too," Luna insisted.

    "Am not!"

    "Are too."

    "AM NOT!" Usagi sat up and shouted.

    In the next room, the monitor that Shingo was playing games on
developed yet another miniscule, but eventually fatal crack.

    "Hmph," Luna huffed and turned her head, "I stand corrected."
She looked back at the girl. "I hope you haven't forgotten what we
need to be doing right now."

    "Of course not! We need to," Usagi fidgeted, "get started on
my science project that's due today at the beginning of class?"

    Luna's eyes widened for a second. "Errr, you didn't finish
that?!" She shook her head quickly, her expression returning to
normal. "No, I mean yes! But that's not the _most_ important thing
we should be worried about right now."

    "Then what?"

    "We still need to find the Moon Princess, remember? She's
in danger from the Dark Kingdom."

    Usagi yawned. "Can't that wait until after breakfast?"

    "No! Now!"

    "I think you're getting waaaay too obsessive about this. The
Princess is gonna be okay for another couple a' minutes. She's got
those people protecting her, remember?"

    "But-"

    "No buts, Luna," Usagi interjected in a commanding tone, "I am
getting five more minutes of sleep, and no force on this planet is
going to stop me." She pulled the covers over her face. "Nobody."

    *KA-BLAAAM!*BLAM!*BLAM!*BRR-RR-RR-RRRT!*

    Suddenly, the explosive sounds of a nearby life and death
struggle rang out and a deep, penetrating alien voice split the air.

    [YOUR WARRIORS HAVE ENGAGED THE ENEMY!!!!!!]

    "AAAH!" the blonde cried, literally leaping out of bed.

    [EN TARO ADUN!!!] *BZREOW!*BZREOW!*

    *RRRK!*SQUELCH!*RAAAWWRR!* There were sickening crunching and
squelching noises as another vicious alien brood bit the dust.

    "USAGI, GET UP NOW AND GET READY FOR SCHOOL OR ELSE!!!" Usagi's
mother called from downstairs. "THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO, SHINGO!"

    "Awww, Mom!" Shingo called from his room. "I just got started!"

    "NOW, YOUNG MAN!"

    "One of these days, I'm gonna _flatten_ that stupid computer
of his!" growled Usagi, desperately trying to cover her ears with
her pillow. "Then I'm burning all his CDs!"

    Luna gave a lopsided nod in half-agreement.

    [WE FEEL YOUR PRESENCE.] *BZRRRRRR*BZRRR-ZRRRR!*

^_^

To be continued...

So, how was that for an opening setup? If anyone sees ways
to improve it, I would be happy to take your suggestions into
consideration. Some suggestions can make whole scenes,
while others merely require the modification of a line or two
for the adaptation process. I don't care what the problem is,
so long as the story ends up improved.

I've almost lost count of the people that have helped out with
this over the past year. Jussi Nikander, Larry Fontenot, Jason
Hanks, Joseph Fenton, Jared Ornstead... If I forgot to mention
anyone, please feel free to speak up and be thanked in public!

...What? Okay, so I'm an insecure perfectionist. Later! ^_-

-------------------------------
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."

Collective works available at:
http://rakhal.com/florestica/ben-oliver/index.html

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