All C&C is welcome, though there might be a slight
delay. I have vowed to have e-mail access only twice 
a week.
(Must stop... addiction...try to... fight... ^_^)


Disclaimer: 

Sailormoon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi. All licenses 
belong to the proper people. This is used without permission. 

This disclaimer also applies to several intellectual 
properties referred to in the text. Please be guided accordingly. 

This file can be freely distributed so long as it 
appears in its complete form and proper credit given. No 
part may be reproduced for monetary gain without permission 
from the author.

Also original Japanese name order is used. Surname 
first.

*******************************************

"It seems to be a prerequisite for a goddess to have a horde 
of devoted cultists, no matter what they look like." 

  -  Overheard at the Centro Studi sulle Nuove 
     Religioni, Torino, Italy

*******************************************

Pets

by 

Elsa Bibat

A story set in "A Dance Set to the Music of Time" sequence

********************************************

1997:

Tomoe Hotaru looked around her. 

And she bowed her head in defeat.

She just couldn't pick one. All of them seemed to be 
so... so... 

Not her.

The puppies were cute and she'd have picked them a few
years ago if faced with the choice but now they just felt 
wrong. The cats, too. The fishes, the birds, everyone of 
them seemed to be...wrong for her. It was an instinctive 
feeling, as if a part of her disliked all the pets in the 
store.

"Picked one yet, Hotaru-chan?" Haruka asked as she 
also looked around. The other Outer Senshi had decided to 
reward her for her performance in the recent school musical. 
The play was still the talk of the town and Kazeguchi Gakuen 
had received requests for repeat performances. The Outer 
Senshi felt that Hotaru deserved a present for all the hard 
work she put into the play. A pet was what was decided on, 
the thought of both the lessons of responsibility and the 
joys it would bring were good recommendations. Hotaru was 
delighted at the prospect

"Um...Haruka-papa, can I take a rain-check on choosing 
a pet? I think I need to think this over a bit more."

"Okay, Hotaru-chan. We'll come back when you've decided."  
  
*******************************************

"Setsuna-mama, have you ever had a pet?"

The Guardian of Time looked away from the special 
batch of exotic mushroom soup that she was cooking and 
regarded her young charge. 

"Having trouble with picking a suitable pet, Hotaru-
chan?"

The girl nodded, looking downcast as she sat on the 
counter top.

"I mean I used to like the idea of having a pet. I 
wanted a cute little puppy. But, you know, Dad wasn't 
exactly himself those days and asking for a puppy wasn't 
exactly something I could do then. When you told me I could 
pick a pet, I thought about getting a puppy."

"So what's the problem?"

"Well, when I got there I went over to the dogs and 
... well... they didn't feel right."

Setsuna just arched an eyebrow. 

"I mean, dogs are great and all, cute, cuddly, 
obedient. But I had this feeling that they weren't the right 
sort of pet for me."

The Guardian of Time was nodding slightly and returned 
to her cooking. "Well, Hotaru-chan, choosing a pet is 
sometimes a difficult thing. But your problem seems to be a 
bit like mine."

Hotaru blinked and looked at Setsuna. "You mean you 
had a pet when you were young, Setsuna-mama."

"I _still_ have a pet, Hotaru-chan. Pets, actually. 
Several dozens of them. I can understand what you're 
feeling. Sometimes, it's not you who chooses the pet but the 
pet who chooses you."

"So what do I do?"

"Well, for one thing, you finish your homework. We'll 
be going out later tonight. I just might have the pet for 
you."

With that Setsuna ended the discussion and Hotaru went 
off to her homework.

*******************************************

"Er... Setsuna-mama, what are we doing here?" 

Here was the roof of the Ten'ou tower where they 
lived. At thirty stories, it was high enough for it to be 
cold. Setsuna had expected this and they were both bundled 
up in jackets. Stars were tinkling high above, seemingly 
reflected by the bright city lights of Tokyo below.

"Well, first, I'll have to show you one of my pets. 
Then we'll see about getting one of yours."

"Setsuna-mama, you're being enigmatic and mysterious 
again." Setsuna just chuckled at the look on Hotaru's face 
as the younger girl pouted.

"Don't worry. I'll call Keroberos now." With that, 
Setsuna put two well-manicured fingers to her lips and 
whistled. It was a long shrill note, with a surprising 
vibration to it.

For a moment, Hotaru wondered if Setsuna had gone 
nuts. This was the roof of a thirty-story building, you 
couldn't exactly call a pet with a whistle from here. Then 
there was a green flash from the corner of her eye. She 
looked at where it came from. A thin green line had 
appeared, running up the corner of the low cement wall of 
the roof. Suddenly, with an audible crack, the line irised 
out into what could only be called a hole in reality. It 
seemed as if the air had suddenly become a convex lens that 
distorted the cement wall. Then with a whistle, that was 
disturbingly like the one Setsuna had used, the hole 
disgorged a dog.

Well, that was Hotaru's initial impression. Hotaru 
blinked and looked at it again. It did faintly look like a 
dog, rather like a greyhound or a German Shepherd, but this 
was no dog. Muscled hide the shade of black hinted at a more 
reptilian nature. The head of the creature was obviously 
saurian, something Hotaru remembered from her father's 
lectures about biology and evolution. It was also the size 
of a lion. Plus, it's eyes glowed an eldritch green. This 
was definitely not a dog.

"It's... it's a... dog dinosaur. With glow-in-the-dark 
eyes." Hotaru declared lamely as the creature padded up to 
them. In the back of her head, something was telling her 
that she should be screaming in terror as something that was 
obviously a predator and had fairly sharp teeth was moving 
towards her. But after years of being a Senshi, another 
monstrosity from beyond space and time was not going to 
hurt. Besides, Setsuna said it was her pet. It would be 
impolite to render it into its component atoms.

"That's correct. In a way. Kero-chan here is from 
somewhere a long time ago. Here, Kero-chan, here you go..." 
Setsuna had produced a rather large piece of what looked 
like fresh meat from out of nowhere and was feeding "Kero-
chan", patting the the thing on the head and scratching 
behind what would have been its ears. All in all, acting 
like a responsible pet owner. Kero-chan just chomped on the 
meat, though it obviously took care not to bite the Guardian 
of Time.

"What is it?"

"Well, their original name is pretty long and 
unpronounceable, but people nowadays just call them Hounds 
of Tindalos. Well, at least, those who know of them."

"Where do they come from? Wait, stupid question. They 
come from Tindalos, right?"

"You, my dear, have been hanging around that Ukiya 
girl for far too long." Setsuna said with a smile, as she 
affectionately played with the Hound's head. "They come from 
a pre-historic era, before any human ever walked the Earth. 
Kero-chan here is usually covered in a bluish goo because of 
that, but she knows that I like her to be clean when I call 
her up. Want to pet her?"

Hotaru hesitated for a moment then nodded. Stepping up 
to the beast, she put  her hand on its flank and felt the 
rough skin. Kero-chan looked away from her mistress and 
regarded the young girl with glowing eyes. The two looked 
each other over and Kero-chan just flicked her head and 
permitted the Senshi of Silence to do what she wanted.

"She's rather intelligent isn't she?" Hotaru said as 
she gave Kero-chan a few rubs. 

"Very. Anything that can travel through time has to be 
intelligent. Kero-chan here is the best of the lot. There 
are dozens of them from where they come from."

"And they're your pets?"

"More like servants. I take care of them, giving out 
food every once in awhile and healing them if they ever got 
hurt. In return, they help me out."

"Help you out?"

"Did you seriously think I could guard the entire 
timeline alone?" Setsuna asked with a wry smile. "The Hounds 
watch over certain parts of history and look out for tell-
tale signs of any time travellers or temporal interference. 
Once they have something's scent they go after it. Nothing 
can stop them." 

Hotaru was silent as she continued on giving Kero-chan 
her attentions. To her, having something like Kero-chan 
would be really cool. She looked to be nice enough.

"So, Setsuna-mama, you giving me one of yours?"

Setsuna chuckled and shook her head. "No, no. This is 
just to show you that there are sorts of pets that you could 
have. Not exactly normal, but they're pets all the same. 
Anyway, I wouldn't be able to give them to you. Want to know 
why?"

"You're actually offering to explain something?" 
Hotaru asked with a smile, which was answered by a light bop 
on her head. 

"Hush, Hotaru-chan. Anyway, watch." Setsuna gestured 
with her hand and uttered a guttural phrase that echoed with 
power. On her forehead, the sigil of Pluto flared to life. 
The Hound's eyes flashed a momentary jade before a 
corresponding sigil formed on its forehead. 

"They are my servants, Hotaru-chan. Attuned to my 
energies, the Hounds are like myself and yet not. The best 
comparison would be a goddess and her worshipper. I can't 
exactly give them away."

"So why did you drag me up here?" Hotaru pouted.

"Because we'll be calling an appropriate pet for you.
The power of the Senshi of Saturn is attuned to several 
servitor races and you can have your pick."

Hotaru blinked. She blinked again then gestured with 
her hands as she asked Setsuna, "Soooo, you're going to help 
me get a pet?"

"Pets is more like it. You'll probably have an entire
species serving you. Do you want to?" Setsuna said as 
she scratched Keroberos behind the ear. The Hound growled 
in contentment.

Hotaru looked at the Guardian of Time and then looked
at the hulking monstrosity from beyond space and time at 
her side. Having something like that for a pet would be 
really cool. 

"Hell, yeah!!!"

Setsuna just smirked and shook her head at her young
charge's enthusiasm. "Well, first we'll have to send out a 
call to see what you could get. You have been practicing 
with your powers like I taught you, haven't you Hotaru-
chan?"

"Well, yes." The rudimentary meditation and focus 
exercises that Setsuna had taught all of the Senshi a few 
years back had given her better control over the primal 
energies that seemed to be the root of her powers. "What
do I have to do?"

"Very simple. Remember the spirit candle exercise?"

"Where I pretend to be a candle?"

"Yes. That's the basic form of the beacon. To set up a 
call for the appropriate... creatures, you'll have to do
something like it. But this will be more like building a 
bonfire than lighting a candle."

Hotaru frowned at that. The spirit candle exercise 
was one of those paradox exercises. It required her to 
emanate the energies that she could harness, but for it not 
to manifest physically in the material world. It enabled her
to heal people _without_ glowing like a purple lamplight. 
But if she needed to flare up her energy like that...

"Setsuna-mama, I don't think Tokyo needs to have more
unexplained lights in the sky."

"That is why I'll be helping you out. Don't worry. 
I'll make sure there you won't level the building or 
something." 

"Ha ha. Very funny," deadpanned Hotaru as she stepped 
a few feet away and closed her eyes. Focusing her energy, 
she felt the veins of power in her body start pumping and
she started to focus it into her center. 

Setsuna watched as the young girl before her opened 
the channels within herself to the power of the First One.  
She was doing it like she had been taught, but adding more 
energy to it, as was required. She started to glow faintly 
but the Guardian of Time added her own skill to the mix 
and redirected the leaking energies to the primary purpose.

Five minutes passed before Setsuna heard the wingbeats
that meant success.

"It's alright, Hotaru. Open your eyes. It's here."

The first thing that struck Hotaru about her pet was the 
wings. Large, leathery bat-like wings still spread out 
from its recent landing, the creature before her gave her an 
inquisitive look. Well, Hotaru thought it was inquisitive.

Multifaceted red eyes, vaguely insect-like in their
construction, regarded her over mouthful of steel pencils 
set in a skull-like head. Black chitinous skin gave it a
body like that Alien thing she saw in that gaijin movie.
Its hands and feet were roughly identical. Prehensile
fingers and toes, seven digits per hand and foot. Five 
"fingers", if you called claws that seemed to be over a foot 
long as fingers, and two opposable "thumbs". Hotaru noted 
that they were constructed in such a way that they were all
perfect for clinging to branches and other similar objects.

Two long antennae sweeped back over the head, faintly 
twitching. It had a huge wasp-like thorax that seemed to 
glow faintly in the moonlight. All in all, a rather 
impressive sight.

"Er... my pet is a insect-bat thingy?"

"Actually the proper name is byakhee. A rather 
excellent specimen of one at that."

The thing that Setsuna called a byakhee stepped 
forward, folding its wings behind it. It approached Hotaru
and kneeled before her. Hotaru could see ice on several 
parts of the creature, as if it had come from a vey cold
place. Touching it, she could feel the hard, smooth 
exoskeleton. The byakhee warbled slightly.

"Good. He recognizes you. I suppose you should set
your mark on him."

"Er... how do I do that?"

"Just impart a bit of your energy in him. And give
him a name. That way it will recognize you as his mistress."

Hotaru looked at her pet, whose current kneeling 
position made them almost eye-level. A touch of her power 
manifested in her hands as a glowing ball of light. A name? 
Hmmmm...

"Well, with the power vested in me, I therefore
name you... Bob." With a grin, the young girl touched the
creature right between the antennae and released her power.

There was a flash of light and a sigil flared on the  
byakhee's forehead. The light of her power caressed the 
creature all over and then it purred something in a vaguely 
human-sounding tone.

"B--bb-b-b-boooowwwwb-b-b--bb."

Hotaru blinked, shaking away the feelings she got. 
"Hey, he can talk!"

"A parcel of your power does wonders plus the link 
that you have managed to establish with him. Look at him and
notice the difference. Though I have to question the choice
of name."

Hotaru glanced from her guardian to Bob. The black
chitin was now much more... polished, giving him a 
healthier sheen. Red eyes peered at her with more 
intelligence and there was a healthy light dancing behind
those eyes.

"He will be the first. He will spread your power among
others of his kind until all serve you."

Hotaru nodded blankly as she suddenly felt a hollow
emptiness in her stomach. For some strange reason, she could
tell tyhe feeling was comngt from Bob.

"Er... Setsuna, I think he's hungry. Though I don't 
know why I know that."

"The link is recently established and still quite 
strong. It will fade in time. As for his hunger, I expected
that. Here, take this." From out of nowhere, Setsuna 
presented her young charge with a thermos.

Unscrewing the cap, she offered it to her new friend.
Bob grasped the thermos and drew it to his mouth, opening
his gaping, tooth-filled maw and chugged down the contents.
Satisfied, he gave it back to his mistress. Hotaru tasted 
something faint on her tongue.

"I think he thinks its too bland."

"I would be surprised if he didn't. The closest thing 
that Bob here can feed on in this solar system is blood."

Hotaru blanched. "Then how am I supposed to take care 
of him?"

"Don't worry. Your link to him should change his 
biochemistry enough for him to feed on other liquids."

"Liquids? With teeth like that?"

"Try the link and find out why he has teeth like 
that."

Hotaru blinked then nodded. "Okay. But how do I do
that?"

"Just follow the lines of power like in the tracing
exercise."

"Well, if you say so..."

Hotaru closed her eyes and felt for the light tracings
of power that Setsuna mentioned. She found it and she opened
herself up to it.

Trees. Lots of trees. Well, they looked like trees,
but they were obviously not trees anywhere on Earth. She 
looked down and saw twin stars through the pseudo-leaves of 
the pseudo-trees. The smaller star (Hyades, a voice in her 
mind whispered) was joined with the larger one (Aldebaran, 
the voice intoned). Looking at her hands, she saw the seven-
fingered claws of her people, holding a fruit that looked 
like a coconut but tougher. She was hanging upside down and 
was about to feed. She bit down on the k'tol'a fruit and 
even with her teeth she still had difficulty in getting to
the liquid center. She savored the iron taste on her tongue 
and was content.

Hotaru shook her head, feeling a slight ache in her 
jaws. "That was one very tough nut."

"The byakhee live on a primarily liquid diet. Their 
stomachs can't handle solids very well."

"Okay, so how do I take care of Bob here."

"He will take care of himself. He does stay nearby. 
There's a nest of byakhee near Mt. Fuji and he will probably 
stay there."

"A nest here?"

"Where do you think all those stories about Tengu came
from?"  

"Er... alright."

"Don't worry. He will come when you call and you can 
do several other things with the link that would be quite 
useful. Now, though, I think I should leave you two alone
so that you can get acquainted."

"Okay." Hotaru nodded with enthusiasm. Setsuna smiled and 
she dismissed Kero-chan with a pat and a guttural word. 
The Hound nodded and bounded for a nearby angle and 
disappeared. She started to walk away, leaving her charge 
and her newly acquired pet. She stopped before reaching 
the door down off the roof and looked at Hotaru and Bob.

"And by the way,  Hotaru." 

"Yes, Setsuna-mama?"

"You cannot bring Bob to school for show-and-tell."
Setsuna deadpanned with a glance at the two of them.

"Biii-dah!" 

Setsuna just laughed, and moments later, Hotaru joined
her.

*******************************************

Author's Afterword:

More Mythos fun in the Dance sequence!!! Waiwai!!!

By the time Crystal Tokyo comes on the stage, each Senshi 
should have an appropriate servitor race. Hehehe. Bob the
Byakhee will probably be a regular member of the cast, once
I figure on moving beyond the Dance vignettes into the 
Dance chapters.

Anyway, this is a more streamlined version. The original 
was a fun romp all over the Mythos universe as Setsuna 
and Hotaru go around looking for an appropriate pet.
Memorable line from the original:

"Fuuuuuck ooooooff, Tiiiiiiime Bitch!!!"
   - from ~BUZZZ!!! the Mi-Go before Setsuna
     gets medieval on his fungal ass. ^_^!!  

The original would have had too many spoilers for the Mythos 
parts of the Dance sequence so I just cut it down to this. 
Hope you enjoyed it.




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