[FFML] [FanFic][SM][NETTG] Terra in Tokyo Ch. 21 (of 27) "The Biggest Fungal Infection Of All Time!"

[Benjamin A. Oliver]

So, here we are at chapter 21--has it been over twenty chapters
already?  How time flies.

What's the story so far?  Let me explain.

...

No, there is too much.  Let me sum up.  The story's designated Black
Hole Mary Sue, Terra Incognita, recently got "convicted" by her
friends of murdering them in a past life.  So now she's getting tested
and tried by Setsuna Meiou and Arby the ArbyFish.  Meanwhile, Princess
Serenity / Usagi has been captured by the Negamafoozles and is being
used by them as a catalyst to resurrect Demon Goddess Queen Metallia.

And the chapter begins with Terra slowly being turned into a mushroom.


Disclaimer:
This story is based loosely on Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon by Naoko
Takeuchi. This is a non-profit fan work created as a tribute, and no
infringement is intended. All rights to the characters, settings, and
situations of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belong to Naoko Takeuchi,
Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. ArbyFish belong to
Daniel Oliver and are used with permission.  Gotta have ArbyFish.
Wouldn't be proper if we didn't.

Nuke 'Em 'Till They Glow!!
Terra in Tokyo
Final Mix

---Chapter 21:  The Biggest Fungal Infection Of All Time!

	The cave had been very noisy for the past several minutes.  Terra
writhed about and screamed long and loudly, hitting her head and body
repeatedly against the cavern wall.  It really did hurt quite a lot,
but after what seemed like an eternity of agony, it stopped.
"AAAAaaaaah, eh, ahhh, eehhh," she breathed.  "Owww.  Owww.
Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"

	S.L.K. winced at the sight.  "Yeech, it was bad before, now it's
awful.  You should really do something about that."

	Terra looked at her body.  The fungus had spread to cover over half
of it, and the worse areas were all lumpy, mottled, and tender.  Her
feet were gray, swollen, and had torn out of her shoes.  She was stuck
to the floor of the cavern by her legs, which seemed worst-affected by
the infection.  "What's happening to me?!"

	"Yew's turning into a mushroom!" Arby announced proudly.

	"WHAT?!"

	"Work your way out of it," S.L.K. advised.  "It's no big deal."

	Terra glared at him and pointed at her legs, with the now-mottled
skin of each stuck firmly together.  "How is this 'no big deal?!'"

	"Just recompile your DNA in real time until the infection runs out of steam."

	"Hah hah, that was hilarious!  Look at me NOT LAUGH at your VERY FUNNY joke!"

	S.L.K. chuckled at her.  "You know, this is kind of stirring a
memory.  I remember vaguely not liking you very much."  He paused.
"Hey, I'm getting my memory back!  This is awesome!"

	"Oh, how lovely!" cried Terra sarcastically against the pain.  "HOW
FREAKING LOVELY!!  I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!"

	"Second burst," Arby said.  "Same as th' first.  Li'l bit louder n' a
li'l bit worse."  He pushed a big red button on a remote-control
mushroom he had pointed at Terra.

	What followed next could only be expressed in rhyme and verse.

	Well, it didn't necessarily have to be,
	But it's what wanted to happen, y'see.

	Screaming, a sickening squelching sound surrounded she,
	And squished within her sullen, squalid skin.

	Terra's torso heaved and breathed,
	Rippled and pulsed like mourners bereaved--
	Then bulged outward; shirt ripped at the strain.
	Chest and shoulders a shroomy cap became.
	
	Her legs fused and dug deep into the earth,
	Waist and spine buckled; cracked at the girth.

	"Why, Arby?  Why?!" shouted the girl.
	"Why have you done this?
	 Have you been bought, for a pearl?"

	"Pearls?" replied the 'Fish.
	"Oye needs not pearls, nor silver, nor gold.
	 Oye did just for nothing more than mold!"

	Distraught, the girl looked at her former feet,
	As they were now, she could not even wear a cleet!

	"Use your magic power," said the nearby knight.
	"You're not a frail flower!  So full of might!"

	So thinking and standing as a giant shroom girl should,
	She thought through her past, and wot not she could.
	A solution she would need,
	Or else become birdseed.

...

	So, basically, thought Terra, now I'm a naked mutant mushroom
creature with a terminal disease and my legs dug into the ground.

	She took small comfort in the fact that her exposed upper body wasn't
exactly naked--there weren't any features left to have any real
nakedness left.  Actually, that thought just made her feel worse.

	Terra clenched her squishy teeth.  "Okay, Arby.  How much longer
before this is irreversible?"

	"Oh, it awlready is," the Fish replied.  "Yew's an irreversible
sweater, yew is!  Mushroom fer loife!"

	Terra's eyes went wide and she screamed long and loudly.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

	"Still in pain?" asked the Star Light Knight.

	Terra paused, her shout temporarily interrupted. "Ah, no," she
replied. "Just crying about my poor lost life, youth, species, and
innocence.  I'm sure you can understand."

	"No, not really.  But are you done yet?"

	"Not quite."  Terra cleared what now passed for her throat.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!"

	While the shroom-girl cried her heart out, Arby took notes and
pictures.  A nearby badger punched things in on a typewriter.  Some
cave rats came out of the shadows and sat down into rows.

	"Does we 'ave an openin' bid?" Arby asked.

	A rat squeaked and the badger typed up the proceedings.

	"We'z got two twigs n' a piece a' twoine," Arby announced.  "Does we
'ave a dead swallow?"

	The typer-badger squeaked and raised a claw.

	"Not yew!  Yew's gots responsibili'ees!"

	The badger reluctantly lowered its paw.

	"What are you doing, Arby?" S.L.K. asked.

	"Auctions; public redistribution 'a proivate funds," Arby noted.  "If
she loses, we sells off 'er corpse ta th' 'oighest bidda'!"

	Terra, through her shouts, heard the comment and, red-eyed, she
yelled, "AAAAAAAARRRBYYYYY!!!"

	"That doesn't really seem proper," noted the knight hesitantly.

	"Perfectly proppa' improprie'ee, y'see," explained the 'fish.  He
waved to a particularly large vole.  "We'z gots a bloind carrier
pigeon.  Who's up for a second-'and parrot?"  Another paw went up.
"Parrot goin' once, goin' twoice, goin' a few toimes, up ya nose, down
ya pants... sold, ta th' sloimy cavie in th' corner!"

	A medium-sized guinea pig high-fived its companions.

	Arby fluttered up and perched on Terra's mushroom cap, dropping a
shaggy parrot on the edge.  "'Ere's ya second-'and parrot, 'cos that's
just wot'cha worth!"

	Terra's mind and voice were in unison when she shouted in rage, "AAARRBYYY!!!"

	"Wot?"  Arby asked innocently and folded his flippers, staring at her
through eyes closed from the broadness of his grin.  "That's a roight
good proice, it is!  Ya could get a 'owle bucket a' radishes for that.
 Practic'lee a month's pay."

	The parrot squacked in a confused manner and laid an egg.  The egg
rolled to the edge of the mushroom cap and hatched.  A tiny badger
tumbled out, looked around, squeaked, and skipped off to be with the
typewriter badger.

...

	Terra really did not like Arby that much.  Actually, after all he'd
done in the past few minutes, she had really come to hate him more
than she previously had thought possible.  Now, she felt morally
obligated her to kill him completely and utterly dead if she ever got
out of this alive.

	Finally, her mind whispered, a sensible thought!

	The pain associated with her transformation intensified again.  An
icky substance started pouring from her eyes and mouth.  Soon her
vision went black.  But then everything went white.

	She felt like she was falling, like when she went back in time to the
Moon Kingdom.  Only this time, it was smoother and faster; she was
being pulled, rather than dragging herself through the timestream.

	She landed with a tremendous splash.

	When her's view faded back in, she found herself feeling numb and
submerged in a semi-transparent black fluid.  When she tried to move
her limbs, the feeling came back.  She floated to the surface, finding
herself human again, unclothed and kneeling on the tar-like surface of
a black world with the dark blackness dropping from her face and
extremities.  The skin of the fluid was strong enough to hold her up.

	She blinked and stood up to look around.  Somehow, it felt kind of
nice and familiar.  Of course, after what she'd just been through,
almost anything would seem pleasant.  The sky was black with a great
view of the stars.  There were no familiar constellations, though.
She took a breath and found it completely neutral to her lungs.  The
temperature seemed perfectly comfortable.

	"Where am I?" Terra whispered.  Her voice, though faint, was the only
noise to be heard.  It echoed across the distant, shapeless landscape.

	The surface of the world rippled in response to her words and touch.
A bulge appeared in the liquid beneath the girl.  She took a step back
and watched a symmetrical face emerged, followed by a head with long
spiky black hair, then shoulders and an adult body clothed in a black
dress made of the substance that covered the world.

	"You are home," the woman said once she had emerged.  She regarded
the girl impassively.  Her expression had no emotion.  The
individual's black eyes were unfocused; the girl soon noticed that the
person had no pupils.  She wondered if it was really even alive.  Its
manner was like a mannequin, or like a painting of someone.  It was
like something not human had attempted to re-create the image of a
human without quite understanding why the bits worked as they did.

	"Home?" Terra asked.  "I don't recognize this place."

	"Only because you've chosen to forget."  The woman's lips did not
move in sync with her voice.

	"Forget?  Forget what?"   Terra took a step followed by another and
examined the being talking with her.  As she spoke, she made a full
circle around her, or it, or whatever it was.  She looked around
again, checked the stars, the landscape, and touched her own arm,
trying to figure out what this experience was.  "Am I dreaming?  Is
this a memory?  Am I really somewhere in the past again?"

	"Yes," said the entity.  "Yes.  Yes."  It didn't even blink.

	That didn't help very much, thought Terra.  "Who are you?"

	"Our name will be--" As the woman responded, a chorus of shrieks and
detonations pierced the air and drowned out her voice as if it were
the end of all living beings and the universe as it was known.  At
points of that, Terra was forced to cover her ears, but she quickly
discovered that the sounds were inside her own head; she could not
block them out.

	"Could you repeat that?" Terra inquired.

	"Our name was--"  This time, as she spoke, a rush of waves and the
roaring of an ocean of moving liquid drowned out her words.

	The girl shook her head.  "Come again?"

	"Our name is," the creature stated, and Terra braced herself for a
loud noise, "me."

	"I don't understand."

	"Because you choose not to."

	"I don't get it."

	"Indeed."

	"Can I touch you?"

	"It is physically possible."

	Terra shrugged, then went up close, took her by the hand and peered
at the woman's skin.  It looked and felt perfect and fresh, like an
infant's, or like someone who used way too much moisturizer.  The
flesh was cool to the touch--not cold, but definitely a lower
temperature than herself.

	Terra let go of the unresisting fingers and looked closer at the
woman's face.  She gasped when she recognized the individual as having
features very much like herself, albeit somewhat more mature.  The
black hair was only black because it still had some of the black
liquid within it.  There were hints of red, and it was precisely the
same consistency that the schoolgirl had fought with so many mornings
before.

	"Who are you?" asked Terra again.  "Are you me?  Are you... Princess
Terrifying?"  She didn't relish the thought of meeting that horrible
person, but she felt she needed to face the possibility sooner rather
than be caught off guard later.

	"Yes."

	"Can you tell me which one?"

	"No."

	"Why not?"

	"Because your question is nonsensical.  You do not recognize us for
who we are, and yet there is no one in the universe who could possibly
know us better than you."

	"You're not making any sense!"

	"Nor are you."  The person's head rotated to face her.  "You will
know when you are ready."

	"How do you figure that?"

	"Because you already know."

	Terra threw up her arms.  "WHAT are you?"

	"I am you, in your most pure, uncorrupted form."

	"You're me?  Uncorrupted?"

	"Untainted by outside influence or experience.  We are at peace."

	Terra shook her head.  She wasn't understanding this completely.
Again, it was like she was getting lots of tiny puzzle pieces but not
a total picture of everything.  "Why am I here?"

	"You sought for the last moments where you felt true peace.  It was
here.  Home.  Do you feel peace now?"

	The girl glanced about.  She liked the calm and the quiet.  The void
felt somehow comforting.  "Kind of, yeah."  It worried her, too.
Theoretically, this was the sort of emptiness that was supposed to
drive people mad.

	"Where were you, when you came here?" asked the strange being.

	"In pain, getting turned into a mushroom by someone I really hate."

	"You were not at peace."

	"No, I wasn't."

	"You came seeking answers; a solution."

	Terra nodded slowly.  "Yeah, I guess."

	"You were dying."

	"Yeah."

	"We were dying once.  Do you remember?"

	"No, I--"  Terra started to respond, but in the sky, a spinning,
flashing light appeared.  "What's that?"

	"It is about to happen."

	"What is?"

	"Our peace is about to end."  The ooze around them bubbled.  The
entity's face twisted in sudden rage.  "Forever!"

	The light in the sky flew towards the horizon at an incredible rate.
Spinning and sending off jets of vapor, Terra recognized it as very,
very large comet.  The object smashed into the world some hundreds of
miles away in an explosion that shook the planet to its very
foundations.

	"Do you feel the pain now?!?" demanded the woman in the black dress,
driven into a crouch from a sudden, jabbing pain in her side.

	Terra knew what the other person felt.  She felt it too and found
herself driven down from the same agony.  She shielded her eyes when
the nuclear shockwave hit.  "Yes!  I feel it!"

...

	In the cave, Terra's agonized voice was nearly drowned out by the
fungusy gel flowing from her mouth.  The substance wrapped around the
remaining human bits of her body and worked to absorb it all.

	"So what happens if she doesn't make it?" S.L.K. inquired.

	"Well," considered the fish, "oither she doies, she mutates forever,
or most loikely, she'll grow to monstrous proportions n' become a
scourge upon th' land for awl of eterni'ee."

	The knight widened his stance and his hand went to the hilt of his
sword.  "And you neglected to tell this to me... why?"

	Arby looked up and watched the mushroom expand in size.  The former
girl's yell became deeper and more monstrous with each passing second.
 "Oh, Oye dunno.  Didn't seem very important at th' toime."  He held
up a piece of twine.  "'Ere, lookit this."

...

	The ooze parted from the massive shockwave from the impact.  Bits of
it burned away.  The world split and Terra could hear the black
substance shriek when rock crumbled and ignited.  She felt discomfort
and painful, visceral sensations, like the fluid was part of her own
body.  The goo was obviously alive in some way.

	The last part of the world fragmented and exploded in some powerful
reaction.  It reminded Terra of videos she had seen of test nuclear
explosions oftentimes used as stock footage during some of the
television shows she saw when she was younger.  Those programs had
typically played it for laughs, but she could see now why such
detonations were no joke.

	The last of the world crumbled away.  The ground dropped out from
underneath her feet.  The ooze flared with energy and flailed around,
carrying her with it.  She felt the gelatinous substance's pain like
the stabbing of a thousand daggers.  A feeling of loss permeated the
vacuum.  She tumbled through space, wrapped in it like a tattered
cloak.

	The substance's sadness quickly turned to rage.

	Her older semi-double appeared next to her, every bit as angry and
disheveled as the black ooze.  Now, instead of a passive expression,
her face was twisted with newfound emotion.  "Our life as it has been
is over!"  She spit out bits of rock caught in her teeth.  "Feel the
horror!  You have had to do this before!  Feel the wrath!  Remember
the way?!  Yes, do you remember the manner in which we have always
survived?!"

	"I don't know what you're talking about!" Terra admitted.

	"We can't live like this anymore."  The woman held up a slab of the
formless goo, which dripped between her fingers.  "The peace is gone!
The comfort is gone!"

	Terra held her throat.  It felt like she was suffocating.

	"CHANGE FORM!" screamed her double.  "BECOME SOMETHING NEW THAT CAN
SURVIVE!  DO IT!  THERE IS NO CHOICE!  NO TIME TO THINK!  ACT!!!"

...

	The giant mushroom that had been Terra strained against the cave
ceiling.  The ground cracked and the huge cap shot out into the
twilight.  A deep, agonized moan erupted from the creature.

	"Crap!" shouted the Star Light Knight as he shoved aside a large
falling rock.  "She really IS turning into an unholy mushroomic
scourge!"

	"In-deed!" said Arby with satisfaction.  He snapped a quick
mushograph with a large lensed fungus.

...

	In Terra's mind, an image appeared.  It was that of the tar-like
substance merging together to form the shape of some sort of awesome,
amorphous beast-creature of her worst nightmares.  The mere sight of
it should have been enough to drive a human being insane.

	And yet, despite the incomprehensible terror and mayhem the thing's
appearance brought to her mind, it kind of felt like looking at her
own embarrassing baby pictures.

	As the gooey monster shifted form and adapted to its environment,
Terra saw the energy waves it used.  The power was kind of like a
general-purpose form-shifting pattern.  Thinking of it in that way
didn't make proper sense, but it kind of felt right, not to mention
natural.  It was her black power, in its purest form.  Seeing this
beast perform its transformation pretty much compared to reading a
long and detailed manual on shapeshifting by black energy usage.

	It was so simple; even a toddler should have been able to do it; she
felt like an idiot for not figuring it out sooner.

...

	"Terra!  You still in there?!" S.L.K. hacked away at the stem, but
the mushroom regenerated instantly with each swipe.  "Dang!  Guess
she's gone now!"

	Suddenly, the mushroom glowed with black energy.  The monster spasmed
violently around the landscape, then tore out of the ground and
rocketed into the air.  Mid-arc, it exploded in a huge cloud of
squirming black tendrils.  Chunks of fungus rained down like meteors
onto the beaches of Tokyo.  Things exploded left and right.  A nucleus
of the former mushroom came straight back into the cave, and
ricocheted off the remaing walls to slam into the ground nearby.  A
powdery white dust mixed in with the black to obscure the view.

	The Star Light Knight got ready for a fight when two glowing red
shapes, like huge slitted eyes, shined through the cloud of tentacled
darkness.  But that light faded after a short time.

	When the cleared, what remained had a basic human shape.  There was a
smallish mushroom cap, pinkish arms and legs half-absorbed by white
shroom-meat.  On top of that was a badly-torn shirt and most of a
ripped-up skirt.  The bits of frayed cloth waved in the air.

	The mouth of the abomination bubbled inwards and outwards.

	"Uhhh, Terra?" S.L.K. inquired hesitantly.  "Is that you?"

	The creature reached up and grabbed the mushroom cap by the edge,
ripping it off to uncover a pristine human face.  She spit up a bunch
of foul mushroom junk and then uncovered the rest of her head.  A
long, marginally spiky, mane of red hair spilled out, which the girl
quickly tied into a pair of cute ponytails with strips of cloth she
tore from her remaining clothing.

	"Urgh," groaned Terra as she removed additional bits of the mottled
vestigial mushroomness, "that was the... second, no.  That was THE
single worst experience of my entire life!  That even tops Metallia!"

	Terra ripped off enough of the dead fungal-skin so that she could
breathe and move around, but seeing as her clothes were in bad
condition--too little remaining to provide a decent covering, in
fact--she left enough on to maintain some semblance of modesty.
Conspicuously, there was no cursed mushroom mark left anywhere on her
body that anyone could see.

	"Terra, you made it!" exclaimed the Star Light Knight.  "You overcame
the limits of pure genetics and reconstructed your whole body!
That's, like, really awesome!"

	"Wow," said Arby, who seemed more intrigued than pleased, "she
survioved!"  He scribbled down some notes, and looked over at the
assorted woodland creatures, shooing them away.  "Roight, shove off,
then.  Yew lose!"

	The rodent-like things grumbled and scampered back into the caves,
leaving various objects, which Arby collected and put into a bag.  He
fluttered up to Terra and said, "Roight!  On ta phase tew!"

	In a sudden snapping motion, Terra grabbed Arby around the trunk and
glared at him with, what were for her, murderous eyes.  "Ohhhhh, no,
Arby.  You see, while I was in there, I had time to fully comprehend
how you were the cause of everything negative that's gone on in my
life."

	Arby nodded in the same manner one might imagine someone affirming
that he had cleaned the dishes, swept the floors, and followed every
other command to the very letter.  "Well Oye moight be, if ya really
wonted me ta be, y'see."

	"And I swore to myself, to the stars, and to everything that exists,
if I ever got out of that... I WOULD FIND YOU AND KILL YOU TOTALLY AND
COMPLETELY AND IRREVOCABLY DEAD!!!!"

	S.L.K. looked taken aback at her outburst.  "Whoa!"

	Arby merely smiled and patted her on the wrist.  He shook around the
sack he carried and pulled out a furled scroll, tied with a bit of
mushroom thread.  He handed it to her like a police chief might pass
along a ceremonial baton.

	"What's this?" Terra wondered, nonplussed, and slipped the seal off
the document.

	"Yew's passed ya certification exam!"

	Terra read through the document's contents.  It was hard to read with
all the exotic calligraphy in rotating syntax across English, Gaelic,
and Japanese.  "Certification exam?"

	"Yew's proven that'cha certifoiable," explained Arby.  "Certifiably looney!"

	The girl glared at him.  "Only because you drove me crazy!"

	"A'course!"  Arby nodded cerimonially at S.L.K. and Terra, then gave
the Irish teen a big glob of green mold to fill the hand which had
been gripping him.  "Yew is now a part a' th' troibe.  An honorary
ArbyFish, second Green division, junior grade.  Have some Genetic
Juice!  It's Hoighly Instructive!"  He smeared the mold all over the
residual mushroom covering, smiled, and conked her on the head once
with a mallet.

	Terra didn't even flinch this time.  She just stared at him.

	"Wear it with proide," commanded the creature.  With no further
explanation, and much to Terra's bewilderment, he fluttered off.

	"But... my revenge...?"  The girl stood there scratching her
non-itchy bare neck for a while.  Then she hung her head and said,
"Aww, forget revenge.  What I really want right now is a BATH!
YEECH!"

	Observing from a distance with her arms folded, Setsuna frowned and
shook her head, quite obviously displeased.

---

	Bathing was the furthest thing from Sailor Moon's mind as she
wallowed in the Dark Kingdom torture chamber.  While she hadn't been
seriously harmed physically, the evil black energy flowing around her
gave her the most horrible nightmares and taunted her repeatedly for
things she wasn't particularly proud of.  Yes, she'd had several guilt
trips about what she did to Terra, but she also had some rather nasty
psychic encounters that berated her for her bust size or lack thereof,
her grades in school, her intelligence, and lack of real leadership
skill both as a Sailor Soldier and as a Princess.

	"Waaaaaaaah!"

	Describing the situation in such pedestrian terms didn't do justice
to the Negamafoozle agony-induction service.  All in all, it really
kind of hurt on a deep level.  She recalled from her Princess Serenity
days that it was precisely this kind of energy that turned faithful
subjects and best friends into frothing, demonic youma during the end
of the Silver Millennium Alliance.  While she didn't seem to be
sprouting claws and chitinous skin just yet, being here probably
wasn't that good for her, either.

	"I wanna go hooooome!"

	A dim but focused light sprang forth from the thick stone gates that
made the entrance to the chamber.  A slim silhouetted figure dashed
purposefully towards her.  Usagi couldn't tell who it was from the
glare.  It certainly wasn't Bruce and it was too short to be Nephrite,
but now was her chance.  If she missed this opportunity to escape, she
would only grow weaker from this point on.

	Unfortunately, none of those thoughts occurred to the whiny girl.
Instead she just flailed around, crying and weeping things like, "I'll
do my homework, Momma!  Please take the badgers and the squirrels away
from me!"

	The silhouette took Usagi under the arms and dragged her outside,
where most of the dark energy subsided.

	With her mind suddenly cleared, Sailor Moon leapt out of the other's
grasp, wrenched off her tiara, charged it with energy, and chucked it
towards her opponent, shouting, "MOON TIARA BOOMERANG ACTION POWER!!!"

	The figure cried out in pain and crumpled to the ground when the
direct strike hit.  Sailor Moon retrieved her tiara and struck a
dramatic saluting pose, exclaiming, "Moon Dusted!"

	But then Usagi looked down and saw who she'd just bushwhacked.  "Gah!
 Sailor Venus!"  She threw herself on top of the fallen girl and
begged forgiveness.  "OHMYGOSHI'MSORRRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRY!!!"

	"URGH!" Sailor Venus sat up, held her damaged head, choked and
coughed out some red laced with blue.  "Usagi... no... baka...."

	"I thought you were one of them," Sailor Moon noted sheepishly.

	"THEY don't come alone, wear ribbons and miniskirts, and haul your
captured hindquarters out of danger!"

	"I said I'm sorry!" Usagi whined.  "Don't be so--"

	"The Agent of Beauty and Fashion forgives you!" Venus replied
quickly, cutting off the protest with a wave of her hand.  "The others
couldn't decide fast enough what to do, so I came alone."

	Sailor Moon blinked.  "You came here by yourself?"

	"Yes, and it's just as well.  The others would have slowed me down.
Right now, they can hardly tell their past lives from their present.
Against the likes of the Dark Kingdom, they would fall quickly."

	Usagi stared at the long gash her tiara had made up Minako's neck and
face.  The wound had almost healed already, most likely as a result of
powerful Venusian magic, but there were still some rather disturbing
details that couldn't be ignored.  "Ahh, Minako-chan?  Why's there a
bunch of glowy blue stuff in your blood?"

	"That's a long story," Sailor Venus replied as Usagi helped her back
up.  "I'll gladly tell it to you once we've made our escape."

	Usagi nodded.  "Right."

	But just as they were about to leave, they heard a soft melodious
laugh of a small creature no more than a foot in length.

	Sailor Moon got terrified goosebumps.  "I know that laugh."  She
turned around.  "BRUCE!"

	Sailor Venus glared at the White ArbyFish that emerged from the
shadows.  He applauded politely with his flippers and grinned broadly
at them while he flew closer.  "Bravo, Sailor Venus," Bruce
congratulated her.  "It appears that your skills have improved since
we last met, especially in espianage.  However did you manage to sneak
past everyone?"

	Venus had taken a defensive posture in front of Usagi.  "My powers
have grown exponentially since we fought in London.  As for my
newfound stealth, let's just say a friend taught me."

	"Ahh, yes, your little friend," Bruce said.  "Tell me, how is Lynn?
She was diced and vivisected by the end of our previous encounter, as,
I recall, were you."

	"She lives," Venus shot back, holding a hand to her heart.  "We both live."

	"Indeed, you do both live, in a fused body and mind."  Bruce drew his
twin vorpal switchblades and bared his fangs like a vampire bat
anticipating its next meal.  "That must feel quite terrible to have
two  such distinct beings share one form for such a long time.  I will
take great satisfaction in repeating my work on both you and your
pitiful failure of a princess."

	Usagi laughed nervously.  "Uhh, you don't need to do that!  We'll,
um, just be going now if you don't mind."

	"Oh, but I do mind."  Bruce advanced forward.  "But don't worry.
You'll survive for quite some time before I'm finished with you."

	Sailor Moon whimpered.

	"Your usefulness to Beryl and her ilk is over," said the White
ArbyFish.  "They have all the energy they need to revive their demon
goddess.  But for now, thank you in advance for providing me with a
most savoury meal."

	Bruce leapt forward with both blades aimed at the girls.

	In a flash, Minako had moved to intercept the strike, with twin
swords parrying the vorpal knives.  One sword was sharp and
crystalline, whereas the other had a gemmed wooden hilt with a blade
that burned as a construct of pure focused energy.  When the girl's
weapon struck against the ArbyFish blade, the room shook.  The ground
underneath her flats cracked and sparks lanced between the two
fighters.

	"Don't count your breakfasts in an Easter basket before they've
hatched," advised Sailor Venus.

	"Those swords were broken!" protested Bruce as the weapons overcame
his fluttering power and pushed him back slightly.

	"That which was broken has been remade!"  Minako grinned wildly.
"Hey, I got that quote right!"

	Bruce made an unimpressed 'hmph' noise.  He twirled in the air,
retreated, and launched another strike while shouting, "DIE!"

	Sailor Venus parried and shoved her opponent back, but he recovered
quickly and again rejoined the battle with the repeated clash of metal
against energy and stone.  Sparks flew everywhere and the naked eye
would have had quite a lot of difficulty following both fighters'
movements.

	All Usagi could to was watch from the sidelines, transfixed with
terror and excitement at the mighty duel taking place before her.

---

	S.L.K. helped haul Terra out of the pit that had been the seaside
cavern.  "I don't know," he said, "it musta' been some kind of bizarre
ArbyFish hazing ritual.  But don't worry, being an honorary ArbyFish
probably has benefits.  Good life and dental insurance.  Or maybe you
get a free pass at the salon of your choice once a week."

	"Salon, yessssh," Terra slurred while she continued to calm down and
caught back up on her breath.  "I wonder."  She felt her mildly coarse
hair, concentrated for a second, glowed black, and it went totally
silky.  "YES!  I can finally wear ponytails and have them look like
ponytails again without cementing my hair down now!"

	The Star Light Knight raised an eyebrow.  "You just figured out how
to become anything you want, and the only thing you pick to change is
your hair?"

	Terra glanced at him.  "Yeah.  Got a problem with that, metal-head?
That's a pretty big deal for a girl, y'know."

	"I know, I know," sighed S.L.K.  "I thought, eh, you might try out
some other forms since your finally remembered how to shapeshift."

	The girl shook her head.  "Nah.  I've just spent a long uncomfortable
while as a mutated fungusy thing.  What I most want to be right now...
is myself."  She looked quite determined when she declared, "And that
is HUMAN, IRISH--well, Japanese-Irish--FOURTEEN and most certainly NOT
a murderer from an ancient kingdom on the Moon."

	"That's not your real self, but whatever roasts your boat."  S.L.K.
shrugged.  "You know who you really are, now, don't you?"

	"Of course I know who I am!  I'm Terra Incognita, daughter of Mommy
Kasumi and Daddy Sephiroth.  I'm ditzy kid who almost flunked out of
sixth grade last year, and only got a clue a few months ago.  I'm a
flunked-out Sailor Soldier who couldn't win a battle to save her life,
and I sucked really bad, too!"

	"You're WAY more than that."

	"Aww, thanks," Terra said in an annoyed voice.  "Coming from YOU,
that means a lot to me.  Doesn't it, Miss Handy?"  She used a scrap of
cloth to cover her left hand and made an impromptu sock puppet.

	"Oh, yeah, we LOVE to hear HIS opinion!" replied Miss Handy from the
corner of Terra's mouth.

	"What do you think we should do now, Miss Handy?" asked Terra.

	"The same thing we do all the time, Terry!  We should DESTROY THE
WORLD!  TAKE A MATCH AND BURN THE WHOLE THING DOWN!!"

	Terra frowned at what she had the sock puppet say.  "Hey, now that's a bit--"

	"CONQUER DA WORLD AND EAT PUDDIN'!" added the sock puppet.

	"Oh my."  Terra slowly withdrew the cloth from her hand and hid her
arm behind her back.  Visibly deflated and sheepish, she looked at
S.L.K. and said, "I've gone completely bonkers haven't I?"

	"I," began S.L.K. hesitantly, "think we're way beyond 'bonkers' at
this point.  You're not absorbing the new memories that well, are
you?"

	"What memories?  I see no memories.  I didn't have a vision about a
black world getting hit by a comet billions of years ago.  Except I
did.  And--"  She trailed off, holding her head from the sudden onset
of a headache.  "What's happening to me, Tom?"

	"How to explain it?" said the man.  "Have you ever read any H.P. Lovecraft?"

	"What's H.P. Lovecraft?"

	"Some guy that got a glimpse into a world that no human mind should
ever perceive.  Wrote some good books.  I like the illustrated ones
with diagrams.  Sometimes I forget how to do the Elder Signs right.
It's good to have a reference.  I have the audio tapes too.  Reminds
me a lot of you when I listen to them.  Ever play any Call of C'thulhu
with your friends?"

	"Nope."

	"Ever meet Nyarlathotep?  Wears a lot of yellow?  I see him around sometimes."

	"Can't say I have."

	S.L.K. looked like he was metaphorically grasping at straws now.
"Queen Metallia," he said finally.  "Remember Metallia?"

	"Yeah," Terra replied with a nod.

	"Gigantic shadow monster?  Tentacles, claws, bones, and mind control?
 Remember all that?"

	"I remember."  Terra looked at him.  "What are you trying to tell me, Tom?"

	"Have you ever wondered why mind control has no effect on you?"

	"I bet it's because I'm completely and totally insane," sighed Terra
in exasperation.  "And you're not helping me avoid that.  Your point
is...?"

	"Nevermind," replied S.L.K. in an upset voice.  "I guess we'll have
to talk it over later.  I might have to hit you on the head again to
break the seal a bit more."

	"Don't you dare.  Don't even think about it."

	"Oh yeah? I'm thinking about it now.  What'cha gonna do about it?!"

	"Please, just shut up."

	"Fine."

	They walked the rest of the distance in silence.  When they made it
to the beach parking lot, Meiou was waiting for them.  She leaned
against her silver Delorian with her arms folded.

	Setsuna looked rather put off at both of them.  "So you survived,
Incognita-san," she said with some sadness.  "Are you ready for the
second phase of my test?"

	"Bah!" Terra shot back, and started stalking towards the woman.
"Look here, you sanctimonious hair-bun-wearing business-creep!  I just
went through the single most horrible experience of my entire life!
I'm going home, taking a bath, and going on vacation for a week!  Then
maybe I'll find some expensive psychologist and get a few years of
therapy for what I just went through!"

	"You are not finished," Meiou said ominously.  "Not yet."

	The girl walked to the other side of the car.  "Unlock it and take me
home, please.  I'm done for today."

	"I'm afraid I cannot simply allow you to leave."

	"Whatever!  You can take your freaking test and shove it your great
big fat business-lady--URK!!"

	The tall, shapely businesswoman had pulled out her umbrella, reached
across the car and jammed the long point deep into Terra's forehead.
No blood was drawn, but when Setsuna withdrew the umbrella, a swirl of
energy that looked like a flower appeared at the stabbing point.  Out
popped a faintly-glowing blue crystalline quadrahedron.

	The gem flew into Setsuna's outstretched hand.

	Reeling from the blow, it took a moment for Terra's nerves to catch
up with what had happened, but Terra got the impression that something
very personal--not to mention important--had just been taken from her.
 "Ahh, what happened??  What did you just do to me?!"

	"I've extracted your Star Seed," Meiou explained.

	Terra blinked.  "Star Seed?"

	"A sort of focus for your center of being."

	"HEY!"  The girl lunged forward, but was held quite far enough away
by Meiou's umbrella.  "Give that back!  I might need it."

	Setsuna smiled smugly.  "You can have it back if you pass the next
phase of the test."

	"Fine, fine!  What's the next test?"

	"As I recall," said the woman, "your Chibimoon abilities were
destroyed when the True Sailor Soldiers defeated you not long ago.  In
this phase of the test, you must regain your Sailor powers and defeat
me in a duel."

	"How do I do THAT?!" asked Terra.

	Setsuna smiled enigmatically.  "You must figure it out on your own."

	From the sidelines, S.L.K. coughed.  "Uhh, Setsy?  Sailor powers NEED
a star seed to work right.  They're not called Sailor Crystals for
nothing.  How's she supposed to use Sailor powers if you've got her
star seed?"

	"She will have to take the test without it," Setsuna indicated.  "And
if she dies, she fails.  But, given your connection to her, feel free
to give her a hand if you like."

	The Star Light Knight pursed his lips, then worked to remove his
right hand.  The android connectors blinked and protested, but he
managed to tear it off.  He tossed it toward Terra.  "Here, take
this!"

	Terra caught the mechanical hand and stared at it for a while.  "Oh,
ha hah!  'Give me a hand.'  It is to laugh."  But then, she noticed
the large gem wedged into the electronics.  "Hey now, that looks a lot
like the Silver Ginzuishou Crystal of the Imperium!"

	"It's a perfect copy!" S.L.K. called out to her.  "It doesn't have
much of a charge, but it might let you use Sailor powers, even without
a star seed."

	Terra nodded.  "Right!"  She paused.  "But wait, isn't using this
kind of thing REALLY bad for me?"

	S.L.K. shrugged.  "I don't remember anything about that."

	"I'm not even supposed to be holding it, remember?"

	"C'mon, what could possibly go wrong?  Like you have anything to
lose!  It's all you've got, anyway."

	Terra didn't look so convinced of his assertion.

	Setsuna examined the gem from a distance.  "Fascinating.  To think
you could construct something like that, Thomas, given your chaotic
inclination."  She looked between the two.  "Very well, use your
fabricated toy.  Let us see if it helps you or hinders you."

	Deciding that it probably was her only short-term option, the girl
shook the hand and crystal around and failed to produce any results.
Her energy-manipulation abilities seemed to be heavily handicapped by
her sudden lack of star seed.  "Um.  How long do I have?"

	"Before I attack or before you die from the lack of a star seed?"

	"Yes.  Both!"

	"I will wait for as long as seems fair," said Setsuna.  "But without
a star seed?  Most normal humans would have perished and vanished mere
seconds after its removal, but you seem to have a strong will, so it
may be several minutes before it turns black and you die, but I cannot
be certain."  She held the gem up to the light.  "This is a very
unimpressive starseed.  Considering that you haven't disappeared yet,
I'm surprised yours is so small and dim."

	"Try transforming," advised the knight.

	Terra nodded, and stared intently at the Ginzuishou copy.  She opened
her mouth to say her magical transformation phrase, but hesitated
again.  "No, no, I can't do this."  She felt it affecting her from a
slight tingling on her hand.  "I've used this kind of thing before,
and it HURT!  It killed Queen Serenity and it very nearly killed
Terrifying, whose body I was using.  It'll probably do the same thing
to me."

	"It's all you've got," S.L.K. sighed in frustration.

	"No.  However this goes down, I'm not using it."  She tossed S.L.K.
back his hand.  "Besides," she added to Meiou, "you're just some crazy
businesslady with a funny umbrella.  I can take you down, even without
sailor powers."

	Setsuna looked intrigued.  "You choose to forego a Sailor
transformation and wish to face me as you are?"

	"Sure!" Terra replied easily, and dug into her psyche to see if her
shapeshifting abilities could provide her with some more impressive
form.  However, the energy she used had also departed with her star
seed.  She shrugged.  Even if she was just a teenager, surely she
could handle someone a few years older than herself.  She just had to
use her head.  "You won't last five minutes against me!"

	This time, Meiou didn't even try to conceal her smile.  "Ah, I see.
In that case, I shall get ready."  She took out a rod with an
oddly-shaped "P" on the tip.  The design looked a lot like what Rei,
Makoto, and Ami used to activate their powers.  It was definitely a
transformation wand.  "Pluto Planet Power, Make Up!"

	A pillar of brightly-edged darkness surrounded the woman.  This
transformation wasn't like what Terra's friends had.  While Sailor
Moon's moves were long and cutesy, Setsuna's motions were smooth,
elegant, and lasted all of five seconds.  Through the rush of energy,
Terra could see her cross her arms in front of her chest.  Shortly
after, her white leotard black-accented attire appeared. and shortly
When it ended, the new Sailor Soldier stood proudly and dignified
before Terra.  The odd umbrella had become a long staff shaped like a
key and topped with a large spherical red gem.

	"Always loved a woman in uniform," S.L.K. muttered wistfully.

	"Unchanged since the dawn of eternity," Setsuna intoned, "guardian of
time, undefeated since birth, and sworn to uphold the treaties and
pacts of the Silver Millennium Aliance, I am Sailor Pluto."

	Terra boggled.  "Wait, you're--you were reborn too?"

	"I never died," said Sailor Pluto.  "Despite your best efforts, small
lady, I escaped you through the timestream before you sealed it away.
Do you not remember?"

	"I remember hearing about it," Terra said.  "A few flashes, here and
there, but whoever it was, it wasn't me doing it."

	"You still do not remember?" Pluto asked.  "That is very good.  Such
knowledge must never be awakened."

	Terra looked at her hands and tried to fish out her powers.  They
were not coming.  Black was out of reach, as was red.  She looked at
the Sailor Soldier.  "Just so you know, I think this is a very unfair
test.  I just want to go home."

	"Terra-san," Setsuna said as some of the malice faded from her
expression, "you are not going home."

	The girl listened to the tone.  It wasn't a statement that meant she
wanted her to remain until the test was done.  It was a declaration of
facts; it was something much more final.  "You're not really testing
me, are you?"  She thought about it some more, remembering the woman's
reactions and how she addressed her now.  "You're not trying to figure
out whether I affect time or not," she extrapolated.  "You're Sailor
Pluto--the original Sailor Pluto, without any uncertainty in your
memory caused by being reborn.  For what Terrifying did to the Moon
Kingdom and the rest of the solar system, what you really want to do
is just--ahh."

	Terra suddenly understood what was going on.  She stood up tall and
faced her opponent.  "Why, Sailor Pluto?  Out for revenge?  Or that
afraid of what I'll do if I turn out to really be her?"

	"Terra-san, listen to me."  Sailor Pluto regarded her coldly.  "You
hold buried within yourself someone very dangerous.  Even if you
personally do not remember, the signs of your identity are
undeniable."

	"I'm not her!" the teen declared, uncertainty entering into her voice
for the first time with regards to the subject.  She looked at her
feet, not knowing quite what to say.  After a while, her voice
cracking, she added, "You promised Mom that you were going to help
me!"

	"I promised 'Incognita-san' that I would make things right."

	"Any way I can talk you out of this?" asked the girl.

	"Flesh to dust," Pluto intoned quietly, "stone to sand.  Time buries
all.  Traitor--destructor--murderer!  Your time has at last come!"

	"Dang it," Terra said.  She looked around for an avenue of escape.
She could probably run, but if Pluto had ranged attacks, she wouldn't
get very far.  Her star seed hung in the air a short distance away.
If she could get to that, she might be able to figure out how to
activate some of her powers.

	"Wait," said S.L.K. as he approached.  "Hold up.  Some more stuff's
coming back to me.  Put the staff down, Setsy."

	Setsuna plunged the keystaff into Terra's heart before she could
finish her analysis of the situation.  In fact, it happened so
quickly, the girl couldn't even cry out.

	"Stop it, Setsy!"  S.L.K. drew his gun and fired a couple shots at
the staff.  They glanced off of a barrier surrounding Terra and Sailor
Pluto.

	"Darkness leads to darkness," Setsuna whispered into Terra's ear,
"and so oblivion shall consume you.  In the name of the Dark Lord
Pluto, I condemn your soul to nothingness.  Cast outside, beyond the
depths of eternity, I pronounce your fate and judgment."  The huge gem
at the top of the staff pulsed and fed its energy down the length of
the weapon, accelerating beyond the human capacity to see.  "The name
of your sentence is to become nothing more than a memory and... a Dead
Scream."

	An instant later, Terra's body shattered into a billion shards of
dark light, a with a sudden, faint scream fading into the background.

	S.L.K. looked aghast and leapt at Sailor Pluto with his sword drawn,
screaming, "WHAT IN THE GREAT BIG FREAKING HECK DID YOU JUST DO THAT
FOR?!!"  He fired another couple of shots at her.  "*I* WANTED TO KILL
HER!!"

	"If you had carried out the sentence," Sailor Pluto said in an
official manner while holding standing impassively within her
impenetrable barrier, "Princess Terra's spirit may have been reborn
once again.  In this way, she has been condemned to nonexistence and
thus never again a threat."

	"Dang it."  The android breathed out an angry sigh and took a step
back.  "She didn't even really remember yet!"

	"And now, she never will.  Fortunately."

---End of Chapter 21

And now it's time for... MIND YOUR MANNERS!!! with Sailor Nuke.

(Setsuna blasts out Terra's starseed)

Sailor Nuke:  Today, we learned that you don't let businesspeople stab
you in the head with pointy umbrellas!

Sailor Kawaii(shock and horror):  Don't let them mess up your totally
kawaii face!

(Sailor Pluto vaporizes Terra)

Sailor Nuke:  Don't let 'em vaporize you, either!

Sailor Kawaii(double-shock):  That could have been prevented with more
forlorn and dewy-eyed looks!

(Sailor Pluto makes a victory speech that sounds like a trial verdict)

Sailor Nuke:  AND NEVER, EVER LET THEM TAUNT YOU WHILE THEY DANCE OVER
YOUR ASHEN VAPORIZED CORPSE!

Sailor Kawaii:  WAAAH!

(Back in an earlier chapter, Terra headbutts Jadeite, breaking a powerful spell)

Sailor Nuke:  Always get the first strike in.  Sailor Nuke sez.  BWAHAHAHAHAAA!

Sailor Kawaii:  Never give them a reason to attack you in the first
place!  Sailor Kawaii says!  Tee-hee!

-- 
Benjamin A Oliver
benjamin.a.oliver at gmail.com

Technical Writer / Translator
M3 Engineering & Technology

Master of Science in Management Information Systems
Eller College of Management
University of Arizona

Writings: Fan Fiction
http://boliver.florestica.com/

Webcomic: Nuke 'Em 'Till They Glow!! The Early Years
http://nettg.com