Subject: [FFML] Re: [Fanfic][Alt SM][1stDraft]Different, But Still The Same-Chapter 3
From: SkyeFire@aol.com
Date: 8/24/2002, 8:55 PM
To: Kyhdin@aol.com, ffml@anifics.com


In a message dated 8/22/02 5:26:24 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Kyhdin@aol.com 
writes:


 Amy Lynn was not the sort to make mistakes. She carefully analyzed each 
 decision she made with the utmost logic and care. Invariably they turned 
out 
 to be correct.

    Except, of course, when dealing with such chaotic, illogical things as 
other human beings.  That's why she preferred computers.
  
 "You're a Pervert!"
 
 "I didn't decide to be gay!"
 
 "You married me, for God's sake! You obviously like women, so how the hell 
 can you stand there and tell me you didn't decide to be gay?!"

    Well, it happens, but I don't think Dr Mizuno is in the mood to listen.
  
 In her room, sitting on the floor, knees pulled up to her chest, door open 
 slightly as she listened to her parents scream at each other, Amy Lynn 
 privately admitted to herself that taking her father up on his offer might 
 have been a mistake.

    Maybe make the door "ajar" instead of "open slightly."
  
 "This isn't about me, Janice! This is about Amy Lynn! She needs both her 
 parents. Whatever else I may do, she's still my daughter and I want to be 
 part of her life!"
 
 "She's my daughter, Michael! You gave up all those rights ten years ago!"
 
 "Not the right to be part of her life! I didn't fight you on custody 
because 
 I didn't care, but because you're a hell of a lot better at being a parent 

    That...didn't sound right.  Sounds like he *didn't* care.  Maybe: "I 
agreed to give you sole custody, not because I didn't care, but because..."  
    And...I dunno.  If he *did* care, he *should* have at least fought for 
visitation rights.  But I suspect that his "discovery" of his orientation was 
also his discovery of his past life.  Under those circumstances, I can 
understand why he would have wanted to have Amy and her mother as far from 
him as possible.

 then I am. I don't know the first thing about raising kids! But I didn't 
give up on the right to be a father! You sent back every, letter, card,  
Birthday 
 and Christmas gift I ever mailed to her. You shut me out of her life, 
Janice.
 You!'

    Ouch.  Maybe he was also hoping that distance would let Janice cool down.
  
 "She's not becoming a degenerate pig like you! I refuse to let her be 
swept 
 into your disgusting little world!"

    Err...huh?  Okay, somebody's been reading too much of Jesse Helms' 
propaganda.
  
  
 **************
 Sighing to himself, Malachite entered the small cabin on the plantation 
 grounds that he shared with, Zoicite, his clothes fading away to be 
replaced 
 with his general's uniform as he dismissed the illusions that allowed him 
to 
 walk amongst humans.

    Hmm.  Does he have other "distinguishing" marks besides his uniform, or 
is it just the clothes that would make him stand out?
  
 He sighed again. It had been too long since he had... he pushed the 
 conclusion of his meeting with Janice out of his mind. She had agreed to 
let 
 him spend time with Amy Lynn, that was the important thing, what they had 
 done before that was irrelevant.

    Break off that last "what they..." line as a seperate sentence.  Suggest 
"Everything else was irrelevant."
  
 Moving into the bedroom, he began to remove his cape, giving only a brief 
 glance to Zoicite, who lay on the bed, naked. "Hello, Love," Malachite 
said 
 absently, hanging his cape up.

    Ah.  So Mike fills Kunzite's role in this alt?
  
 Zoicite said nothing. Turning to look at the bed, Malachite realized his 
 lover was staring at him with a strange look on his face.

    Sug:  "...with a strange expression."
  
 "Jeddite told me about your meeting," the younger man said. "A family?" 
The 
 younger man slid off the bed and came over to Malachite. "You never told 
me 
 about a family."

    Is this spelling of "Jeddite" deliberate?  The actual mineral (and canon 
General) is Jadeite, IIRC.  It's actually referred to as "a combination of 
Kunzite and (something)ite," in a geology book i read once.  Gave me a giggle.
  
 "A remnant of my human life," Malachite said, undoing the collar of his 
 jacket. "Nothing to worry about."
 
 "Good, good," Zoicite said, leaning against him. "I'll talk to Jeddite and 
 the next Youma will be sure to pay them a special visit. They'll be dead 
 in--URK!"

    Heh.  OTOH, Mike had better be careful -- Beryl would not be happy if one 
of her Generals shows loyaltly to any "cattle."
  
 With a speed fueled by a cold anger that, in retrospect would terrify him 
    
    Extraneous comma.

 with its intensity, Malachite's hand shot out and grabbed the younger 
man's 
 neck. Real fear filled Zoicite's eyes as he grabbed Malachite's wrist, 
trying to release the pressure on his windpipe. "Not a finger will be laid 
on them,"
 the white-haired general said very softly. "Remnant or not, my blood flows 
 in the child's veins." Dark Energy flowed from Malachite's fingertips, 
energy 
 that could turn Zoicite's head into a pulp and was restrained only by 
 Malachite's will. "Listen to me, Zoicite, until I determine the child's 
    
    Sug:  Period after Zoicite, or maybe a colon.

 powers, if any, she and her mother will remain alive and unharmed." 
Malachite tightened his grip. "Understand me?"
 
 "Y-yes!" Zoicite gasped out.
 
 "Good." Malachite released him and continued undressing. "Now let's get to 
 bed , shall we?"

    Whoa.  Mike has definitely got a cold-blooded streak.  Now, the question 
is:  was he just telling Zoicite a story the other General would accept, or 
does Mike really have feelings for Amy and Janice (beyond ownership)?
  
 **************
 The next night, an hour or so after her mother had gone to bed, Amy Lynn 
sat 
 at her desk constructing a wireless modem out of a an old ham radio, some 
 short wave receivers, and a CB set she had found in the clinic's garage. 
It 
 was more in the nature of something to do then any desire for a faster 
 connection, but the idea had come to her while washing the dinner dishes. 

    Tee hee!  Problem is, 9-meter band radio is going to have a *terrible* 
data rate unless she can do some really fancy compression/encoding tricks.  
And even then, there would have to be an identically-rigged server on the 
other end for her to connect to.
    It's a cute scene, though, and perfectly Amy.  Heh.

DSL worked by sending a signal along fiber optics at a different frequency 
then 
 phone calls, so perhaps there was a way to do it with radio waves as well 
 since they moved at the speed of light. However, determining that 
frequency, 
 if it existed, would require lots of...experimenting...and probing....with 
 meters, and tools, and...a pleasant tingle ran through her.

    .....
    Y'know, if Amy ever stops redirecting (there's a psych word for this, but 
I can't recall it) her sexual energies into science, this fic is gonna go 
Lemon faster than Bubblegum Pink!
    (starts "Rock You Like A Hurricane" on WinAmp with an innocent expression)
  
 After a few more minutes, she took notice a rattling sound against her 
 window. Curious, she set down the improvised soldering iron and went to 
see 
 what was making the noise.

    *Improvised* soldering iron?  You mean the poor girl doesn't even have a 
*Radio Shack* within reach?  Oh, my poor, sweet Amy!  <sob!>
  
 Standing on the ground was Bunny, Luna by her side. "I'm gonna go Possum 
 Huntin," the blonde called. "Wanna come? Molly said her mother needs her 
ta 
 unpack a delivery."

    Huntin'.  Needs the apostrophe.  Also, I don't think possum should be 
capped.  And...I'm not sure, but I think it's *supposed* to be 'possom -- the 
apostrophe represents the missing 'o', as in opossum.
  
 "Okay," Amy Lynn replied and ducked back into her room.

    Sneaking out?  They've corrupte Amy so soon?  <grin>  OTOH, what *else* 
is there to do in Juuban Hollow on a Saturday(?) night?
  
 A few minutes later, she left the house and crept down the stairs wearing 
the  work shirt, jeans, and boots Bunny had loaned her for the farming 
assignment.
  
    Um?  I thought the boots had been left at the clinic by a patient.  
Unless you changed it.

 Stealthily, the two made their way to the road where Bunny's truck was 
parked and climbed in. For once, Bunny did not drive in her usual 
fashion... 
 not until they had left town, anyway.

    Ah.  So it's already established among the girls that Janice would 
disapprove of such late-night adventures.

 At least she turned on the headlights.

    ....
    .........
    Bunny:  "What're y'all staring at?  Ain't you evah seen a girl use 
Russkie army-surplus night-vision goggles befaw?"
  
 **************
 At the very edge of the woods, Bunny parked the truck and grinned at Amy 
 Lynn, who seemed a bit pale, but otherwise okay.

    I'd lose that last comma.  
    It's interesting how Amy seems to be adjusting to Bunny's driving style.
  
 "How do you hunt opossums?" Amy Lynn asked trying not to think of what she 
 had just been through.

    Sug: Comma after "asked"
  
 Bunny Lynn grinned and reached behind the seat. "With this." She drew out 
a 
 rifle. Amy Lynn knew a bit about guns, but had never actually held one 

    I'm not sure -- do you hunt 'possum with a rifle, or a shotgun?
    And...I dunno about Amy's ignorance.  You might want to give her an 
encyclopedic knowledge of the *technical* details of firearms, but not have 
any hands-on experience.  I just have this *cute* image of tiny little Amy 
picking up a massive assault rifle and famialiarizing herself with it:  
"Well, according to the book, this is the safety, this is the magazine 
release, this is the bolt advance..."

 before. The rifle was old, but well taken care of. Reaching back behind 
the 
 seat, Bunny removed a roll of duct tape, a backpack, a pair of 
flashlights, 
a box of bullets, and two pistols, which she loaded with bullets she took 
out 

    Strongly suggest:  replace "bullets" with "ammunition."  But then again, 
maybe they just say "bullets" in Juuban Hollow.  Only us fancy-edjumicated 
DamnYankees ever use big words like "ammyoonition," after all.

 of her shirt pocket. She tucked one into the waistband of her shorts and 
the 
 other one she handed to Amy Lynn. Then she turned on one of the 
flashlights 
 and taped it to the rifle. "C'mon."
 
 Copying Bunny, Amy Lynn tucked the pistol into her jeans and grabbed the 
 flashlight. With Luna in the lead, the two girls set off into the woods.

    Er?  I don't object to Amy having a gun, but since she's never held one 
before, her quick acceptance is a little *too* quick, IMO.
  
 **************
 Amy Lynn was no stranger to the wilderness. You couldn't grow up in 
Minnesota 
 and not be familiar with it, but it was different for some reason. Maybe 
it 
 was the lack of a campfire and conversation, or maybe it was the just she 
was in a different place. She had heard stories on the net about strange 
things 
 you'd find if you went far enough into the American South. Old Native 
 American relics, cursed places, witches, and places where slaves had died 
in 
 the most brutal fashion possible and their ghosts still lurked, waiting 
for 
 anyone foolish enough to trespass into their grief.

    "The Blair Youma Project."

 Then of course, there were the modern bogeymen. Space Aliens, Crazy old 
men 
 and secret societies. Of them all, Amy Lynn was worried only about the 
 hermits who might be out in the woods and the pistol in her jeans lessened 
 that worry considerably.

    Mmm...that rings false, to me.  In my experience, having a gun isn't 
going to make you feel safer unless you're experienced and comfortable with 
firearms.  Otherwise, it's going to nag at you like a sore tooth.  I'd 
suggest Amy should be a bit more apprehensive about it, and doing some 
serious advance planning for how/when to use it -- and more importantly, 
how/when *not* to use it.  Planning and forethought are Amy's stock in trade, 
anyhow.
  
 Amy Lynn had once met an old woman who sold dream catchers up by Lake 
 Tskykeputchy in Minnesota. The woman had been normal in every respect 
except 

    Just asking:  is that a real lake?  And HOW do you pronounce that?
 
 that she was convinced that the rocks in a small pond several miles into 
the 
 woods had teeth and that their bite changed you into a half-plant, half 
 animal creature not unlike a demented squirrel. She claimed when she was a 
 little girls, she had watched her entire class change and then run off 
into 
 the woods. That encounter had sparked a brief interest in American Myth. 
In 
 the space of a week, Amy Lynn devoured every book on it in both the Saint 
 Paul and Minneapolis public Library system.

    Cap "Public."
  
 "There's not much you c'n do wit Possums, 'course," Bunny said, breaking 
into Amy Lynn's thoughts. "Ma has a recipe for possum stew, but without a 
decent 
 tater ta toss in there, it don't taste vera good. Gotta admit though, aint 
 nuthin better then some warm possum gloves when it gets cold."

    Capped "Possum," and missing apostrphes again.   Ain't needs an 
apostrophe.

 "I've never used a gun before," Amy Lynn said.
 
 "Guns is easy," Bunny said, pulling her own pistol. "See this?" She 
indicated the barrel of the pistol with the barrel of her rifle. "Point 
this at 
whatcha wanna shoot, and then pull this thingy here." She curled her finger 
around 
 the trigger. "Nuthin simpler." She shoved the pistol back into her shorts.

    "Nuthin' simpler."
    At this point, I have to assume they're carrying double-action revolvers 
(which makes sense) -- otherwise, there would have to be some discussion of 
safeties and hammer-cocking here -- I just can't imagine Bunny carrying 
around Glocks.

 At that moment, Luna stiffened and then growled, staring off into the 
woods. 

 "A possum?" Amy Lynn said, reaching for her pistol.
    
    'possum
  
 "Ain't sure," Bunny said, an odd note in her voice as she switched off the 
 flashlight taped to the rifle. "You stay here. C'mon Luna." With that, she 
 and Luna disappeared into the trees.

    Heh heh.  Plot development coming up!
  
 It's skin was green and knobby, and claws sprouted from it's four-fingered 
 hands. It's hair was long and green and rams horns sprouted from the side 
of 
 it's head.

    its, not it's.
  
 The woman was dressed in a one piece white gown that came to her knees 
with 
a belt made out of silver mesh around her waist. A tiara encircled her 
forehead 
 and her hair came down past her shoulders, which were protected by golden 
 plates. Her calves were covered by golden yellow shingaurds and she wore 
 heavy boots. Golden bands encircled her wrists and she carried a sword in 
 each hand, the one in her left longer and heavier then the one in her 
right. 

    Huh.  Sounds Greek, aside from the dual swords.  What kind of swords?  
(Don't mind me, I'm a sword geek).

 Behind the monster, a great black wolf circled, lunging in to try and sink 
 it's teeth into it's hamstring.

    Ah.  So, Luna (and Artemis?) aren't just advisors in this alt -- they've 
got combat roles (and transformations too, it seems)
    "its," not "it's".  the possessive form doesnt' use an apostrphe.
    
 With a backhand swipe, the monster slammed the woman against a tree and 
then 
 moved in for what had to be a kill.
 
 With a boldness that surprised her, Amy Lynn stepped out of the trees and 
 aimed the pistol at the monster. She pulled the trigger several times, 
each 
 one causing the monster to stagger. Then, suddenly, instead of the sound 
of 
 gunfire, she heard only a faint clicking.

    Yep.  Gotta be a double-action revolver.  A semi-auto wouldn't behave 
that way (or at least, the slide locking open would be really obvious).
    That's what you have to love about Amy (in any alt) -- she may be a shy, 
sheltered academic, but she never *freezes* when crises happen.  Her brain 
keeps working.
  
 Uh-Oh.
 
 Amy Lynn turned and ran back into the trees, only to be sent flying as the 
 ground exploded underneath her. Grunting, she hit the dirt path, bouncing 
and rolling for several more feet before carefully picking herself up as 
behind 
 her, she heard another roar.

    Good thinking on Amy's part.

 "Amy Lynn!" An woman's voice said. Amy Lynn looked around. There was no 
one 
 around. "Amy Lynn!" came the woman's voice again. "Over here." Looking in 
the direction of the voice, she found herself face to face with the great 
black 
 wolf she had seen moments earlier. A crescent moon flared brightly on it's 
 forehead and it was though a veil had been lifted from Amy Lynn's eyes. 
The 
 wolf became Luna and with a horrified start, she realized the woman in 
white 
 back in the clearing had been Bunny.

    Hmm.  But what was Luna doing while Amy was shooting the Youma?  I'd have 
thought she'd take advantage of its distraction to go for a hamstring.  Maybe 
the monster kicked her away?

 "L-Luna? What's-"
 
 "There's no time!" Luna snapped. "You have to help the Moon Priestess."
 
 "Help? How?" Amy Lynn asked, faintly aware that she was having a 
conversation with a dog and therefore, must be losing her mind.

    Sug:  "...and must, therefore, be losing..."

 Using her snout, Luna rolled something across the dirt to her. "With this."
 
 "What is it?" Amy Lynn asked, her fingertips tingling slightly as she 
picked 
 it up. It was colored ice blue, about the size of a writing pen, slightly 
 thicker, and toped with a loop of gold. Inside the loop was a thin slab of 
 crystal.
 
 "Never mind that!" Luna half-shouted. "Hold it up and say, 'Mercury, Grant 
Me Strength'

    Hmm.

 Amy Lynn did as she was told. "Mercury, Grant Me Strength!" Cold, 
wonderful 
 cold rushed into her and she felt her clothes vanishing and more cold 
sliding over her limbs and body like velvet. When it cleared, she was 
wearing a 
 sleeveless, legless bodysuit. Blue boots covered her feet and white gloves 
 covered her forearms. The exposed part of her arms and legs was covered 
with 
 a light blue fabric that she instinctively knew was light as air and 
harder 

    Um...if the bodysuit is legless and sleeveless, where is the blue fabric 
covering the "exposed" parts coming from?

 then any metal. A tiara encircled her forehead and from it hung a tinted 
blue visor. A continuous stream of data ran up the right side and in her 
hand, 
she held a sword.

    Sug:  "...up the right side of the visor..."

 She looked back at the clearing, her feet twitched and then she was back 
at 
 the clearing's edge, the wind of her movement fading. The Monster had 
Bunny 
 pressed up against a tree with one hand and had the other hand raised to 
 administer the killing blow. It regarded her for a moment, and then looked 
 back at Bunny.

    Not sure "monster" should be capped, here.
  
 Raising her hand, Amy Lynn fired forth four ice spikes, one from each 
 fingertip, which flew across the clearing and sank into the creature's 
hide. 

    Raising her *free* hand, maybe?  I can't see her firing spikes from the 
fingers of the hand holding the sword.
 
 Roaring, it tossed Bunny aside like a rag doll and lunged for her, only to 
 smash into a tree as it's target darted aside. Like a whip, her sword 
flicked out, leaving a gouge as large as a man's arm in the beast's side. 
She >  raised 
 the sword high to bring it down on it's neck, when it's arm moved, 
striking 
 her hard and sending her to crash down next to Bunny.

    Sug:  "She raised her sword for a decapitation stroke, but the monster 
moved faster, sending her crashing next to Bunny with a sweeping blow from 
it's good arm."

 "Who?" Bunny asked, trying to stand.
 
 "Never mind that!" Amy Lynn said as the monster leapt high into the air. 
 "Roll!"

    Yeah -- survive now, talk later.  <grin>
  
 They rolled in opposite directions, the monster landing where they had 
been, 

    Sug:  "...directions and the monster landed where..."
 
 dirt flying as its impact left behind a crater. Rising from it's crouch, 
it 
 began to move towards her slowly, it's breathing ragged.

    Its, not it's.  And used too many times.  Sug:  "Rising from its crouch, 
the monster began to advance on (Amy?  Bunny?) slowly, breathing raggedly."
  
 Standing, she reached out to the cold of the pond and called it forth, 
 encasing the monster in a block of ice. Her hand tightened into a fist...

    Okay, so it turned away from Bunny towards Amy.  Need to make that clear.
  
 and everything went white as the loud roar of an explosion filled her ears.

    Hmm.  That's different.  "Merucry Ice Vise," maybe?  <grin>  Her powers 
are definitely more offensive in nature than canon-Ami's are.

 When she could see again, she was lying on her back in some bushes, 
staring 
 up at the stars through a gap in the trees. Then Bunny, dressed in her 
usual 
 clothes, loomed over her. "You okay, Amy Lynn?"
 
 "B-bunny? What happened?"
 
 "There's no time for that!" Luna snapped. She indicated the bushes with 
her 
 nose. "Look!"

    "There's no time for that!" seems to be Luna's stock phrase.  <grin>  
    I'd suggest "pointed" instead of "indicated."
  
 Peering through the bushes, Amy Lynn saw that they overlooked a huge 
crater. 

    Sug:  "...that they were near the edge of a huge crater."

 It was a good twenty or thirty feet deep and perhaps a quarter of a mile 

    Crater size issue addressed in another post.

 wide. A group of trucks were nearby, some marked with the insignia of 
Black 
 Mountain Plantation. In the light of one set of headlights, she saw her 
 father and mother standing side by side talking with another man that she 
 vaguely recalled being pointed out as the county sheriff and the tall 
    
    Sug:  comma after "sherrif"

 black-haired young man she recalled Bunny arguing with during that first 
day.
 Both men wore the uniforms of the county sheriff's department.

    Pointing out that the county sherriff is wearing his deparment's uniform 
is probably redundant.  Maybe just point out that Darien(?) is wearing it.
    Interesting to note that Mike and Janice are together and not fighting -- 
are they concerned over Amy?
    And how long will it take Mike to get suspicious of Amy?
  
 "What are we going to do?" Luna whispered. "Bunny's truck will be heard if 
it starts up and there's no way to push it out of here without being seen."

    Not to mention that anyone searching for victims (or perps) will find the 
truck for certain.

 "We face the music then," Amy Lynn said softly. Going back to where she 
had 
 been laying, she picked up her pistol and tucked it into her jeans.

    Sug:  comma after "music".  
    Umm...is keeping the pistol a good idea?  How will Janice react?  
Granted, she's not the Japanese Dr Mizuno, so maybe she won't turn an 
eyelash.  But she'll probably want to know where Amy got it... and why it's 
empty, if she discovers that.
  
 "Amy Lynn, you shore 'bout this?" Bunny asked.
 
 "No. But mom probably knows I'm not in bed by now, I'll get yelled at 
either 
 way. Here or at home. Here she might be a little less loud about it." With 
 that, Amy Lynn stepped boldly through the bushes and crouched at the edge 
of 
 the crater. Here she could see the sides were smooth, like glass and cold 
to 
 the touch.

    Hmm...so was the blast a result of the Youma, or of her "Ice Vice"?  Was 
the ground frozen smooth, or converted-to-glass (hot!) smooth?
  
 "And what do you think you're doing here, young lady?" Standing, Amy Lynn 
 faced her mother. Doctor Anderson had thrown some pants and her white lab 
 coat on over her nightgown and strapped to her hip was the black metal of 
her service pistol.

    Nit:  technically, the pants would be *under* her nightdown...unless the 
gown is bunched up in a very uncomfortable fashion.  <grin>  Heh.  This 
almost borders on mild fanservice (assuming Janice looks like canon Dr. 
Mizuno).
    Question:  if Janice keeps her service pistol that handy (it obviously 
was fairly quick-to-hand), why didn't she ever teach Amy to shoot?  Or, more 
importantly, teach her basic firearm safety?  Keeping a gun in the same house 
with a minor who *hasn't* at least been taught the basics is almost 
criminally negligent.

 "Mah fault, Doc," Bunny said stepping up beside Amy Lynn. "Ah invited Amy 
 Lynn to go Possum Huntin wit me and we heard the explosion. Wut happened 
here anyways?"

    Capped 'possum, capped huntin'

 "Catch anything, Buns?" asked the dark-haired deputy?"

    Extra "?" after deputy.
  
 "Shut yor mouth, Shields, 'fore I shuts for you!" Bunny snapped. "An don't 
 call me Buns!"

    An' -- needs apostrophe after to represent the missing letter.
    Wonder why she reacted so hostiley to his question -- it seems like she's 
made at him for more than just the "Buns" nickname.
  
 "But it suits you so well."
 
 Bunny's faced turned red with anger.

    "You sayin' Ah'm FAT?!?"
    "No, just...hippy."
    "HEY!  Ah ain't nevah listened to no Beatles music in mah life!"
  
 "Mom what did happen here?" Amy Lynn asked, hoping to divert her mother's 
at
 tention from the fact that she was out and about.  "It looks like a 
meteorite landing."

    Amy would probably say "impact" rather than "landing."  The latter 
implies a controlled descent.  And Amy's very precise about such things.  
<grin>

 "That's what we thought," said a gravely voice. Turning, Amy Lynn saw a 
tall 
 man with a mane of brown hair. He wore a green T-shirt and black pants. 
"But 
 the sides are too smooth, and to cool. If you ask me, something exploded 
 here."

    Hmm.  Who's this guy?  I thought maybe Nephrite, from the hair...
    Sug:  "That's what we thought at first," said...
  
 "Like what?" Doctor Anderson asked. "I've spent my entire adult life in 
this 
 nation's military and I've seen every kind of explosion there is. Nothing 

    Her *entire* adult life?  I thought she was in a civilian practice (the 
one that got shut down under criminal charges) before the beginning of Ch 1.  
Or is she including Reserve time?  And is she still *in* the Reserve?

 exists that would make a crater this big and not leave some kind of 
 radiation." She picked a Geiger Counter off the hood of a nearby truck. 
"And 

    Actually, quite a few things could make a crater that big w/o radiation.  
But we're talking high-end milspec ordnance -- a 500lb bomb couldn't do it, 
or even a 2000lb.  But that gets back to the crater-size argument.
 
 even if it was a meteor or something, it doesn't explain the glasslike 
 surface of the sides and presumably the bottom."

    And that glassy texture is directly at odds with the crater being cold.  
Someone should point that out, unless the "glass" is actually a coating of 
ice.
  
 "Mebbe it was Spacemen," ventured a man standing nearby. "Or demons or 
 somethin."

    Somethin'
  
 "There's no such thing as any of those, Mister Furnuckle," Doctor Anderson 
 said stiffly. She faced the sheriff. "If you'll excuse me Myron, there 
 appears to be no need for my services and I must take my daughter home. 
I'll 

    "excuse me, Myron, there..."
 
 meet you back here in the morning."
 
 "Shore thing, Janice, the Sheriff said absently, scratching his head as he 
 stared into the crater.

    Bunny said "Shor" earlier, the Sherriff says "Shore."  Deliberate 
inconsistency?
  
 "Come along, dear," Doctor Anderson said stiffly. Amy Lynn sighed and 
 followed her mother.

    Yow.  So much for distracting her mother....
  
 **************
 For the second time in as many days, Malachite was angry and the dark 
power 
 in him was practically begging to be released.
 
 Jeddite grunted as he hit the wall, propelled against it by the raw power 
 bolt Malachite threw at him.

    Oh, Mike's *pissed.*
  
 "You, idiot," Malachite seethed. "What in the hells possessed you to give 
a 

    Extra comma.  Or maybe "You...*idiot,*" Malachite seethed...

 youma that much power? Now the humans are going to be getting nosy. On top 
of that, we now have another one of those blasted Priestesses to deal with."

    Priestesses?  Interesting.  Sounds even more Greek.  Although wouldn't 
Amy be Geek?  <grin, duck, and RUN>

 "W-we can handle them," Jeddite gasped out as a collar of dark energy 
clamped around his throat.
 
 Another bolt smacked the blonde general across the face. "The goal was to 
 find Empreya's jewel before Serenity's spell could gather all six 
together, 
    
    Epreya, or Emperyia?  Just curious.
    All six what?  Priestesses?  Or pieces (a la the Rainbow Crystals)?

 Old Boy," Malachite drawled. Jeddite felt the icy hand of fear clamp his 
gut.

    "Old Boy" probably shouldn't be capped.  I suspect you were trying for 
italicization, there.  
  
 Unlike most, the white-haired man's anger made him calmer and almost 
relaxed 
 so when he became so calm he seemed to be completely relaxed, it meant 
that 
 he had lost his temper...and Malachite was the most powerful of the Four. 

    A bit awkward.  Suggest:  "Unlike most, Malachite became outwardly more 
and more calm as his anger increased...so for him to be acting this totally 
relaxed could only mean that he was right on the edge of losing his temper.  
And Malachite was the most power of the Four."

 "That way we don't have to fight them. But perhaps you missed that when we 
 first gathered after being awakened from our human lives."
 
 "N-no, Malachite. I didn't. I just wanted to be sure we could be rid of 
the 
 Moon Priestess once and for all. She's interfered enough, her and that 
 strange man in the tuxedo. I honestly wasn't expecting Mercury's chosen to 
 show up."

    "If I had, I'd had given the Youma a flamethrower, too."
  
 "One more screw up, Jeddite, just one more...and I'll have your head on a 
 pike." The collar vanished and Malachite strode out of the room.

    The plot thickens.  Mike definitely seems to be in charge among the Four. 
 Although if he alienates the others enough to unite against him, can he 
handle all three?
  
 ****
 Entry #138
 
 Mother and Father are speaking to each other...somewhat. It's a start, I 
 guess. Got caught being out when mom had already gone to bed. She took 
away 
 my laptop for a week. I can deal with it though.

    Nothing like being terrified for your daughter together to ease tensions 
between a feuding couple.  <grin>
    And wait until Amy discovers that her visor's adaptive ECM suite can be 
programed to hack into sattelite-based internet systems.  Still not as fast 
as a T1, since the bottleneck will be on the *other* end of the system, but 
still better than AO--I mean, USA DirectConnect.  
  
 Something else happened tonight. But I'm not sure I can talk about it yet. 
 
 I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to talk about it...

    "So I'll write about it instead.  Mother, if you're reading this, STOP 
NOW.  I really, really, really mean it."
    "Okay, fine, here it is:  Bunny and I are now lovers."

    Yeah.  *That* oughtta throw Janice off the scent if she suspects 
anything.  <grin>

-- David McMillan, Imagineer at Large. Chief Systems Analyst and Integration Engineer, Exotic Technologies Division, <Censored> GmBh. Mecha and Weapons Design Specialist. "Agent Mulder? My name is Neo. I believe I may be able to show you part of the truth you've been searching for. I should warn you, however -- it's not what you think." -- .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----. | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com | | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com | | Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject | `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'