Sailor Moon V
                                    *
                 The Dark Adventures of the Sailor Scouts


                               Episode Four
                                    *
                           "Shadows Of The Past"

 (Author's Note: This episode occurs sixteen hours after the end of the
   original story entitled "Of Love And Crystal".)


     The cadet looked up at his terminal as a routine diagnostic check tripped
a warning flag.  "Now what?" he muttered to himself as he typed out a query as
to the nature of the flag.  The crystal computer hummed to itself for several
seconds before it displayed an answer.  The cadet's eyebrows rose as he read
the answer.
     He quickly looked around and spotted the duty officer.  "Lieutenant?" he
called out.  "Could you take a look at this please?"
     The Dragoon lieutenant walked over and grabbed a nearby chair.  "What do
you need, Cadet?" he said in a friendly tone as he sat down.
     The cadet gestured to the terminal.  "Just this, sir.  According to the
data logger, an abnormally large routine time-date check stamp package was sent
to this location," he said, tapping at a highlighted set of symbols.  "The only
thing is, this terminal doesn't exist on the network.  It was never detected 
before because all of the previous packages were normally sized and flagged for
bulk transmit."
     The lieutenant ran a hand through his spiky purple hair and took a closer
look at the network address.  He smiled as he recognized the mystery computer.
"Technically it's not supposed to exist but it does.  See this symbol?  What it
means is it's using a dimensional phase link.  This computer is the one General
Nephlyte used while he was doing his work on Earth.  I thought it was shut down
but apparently he left it on."
     The cadet blinked.  "Strange.... I thought a computer wouldn't request
anything more than an occasional network check unless someone told it to."
     "What do you mean?" the lieutenant said.
     "Well, sir, according to the logger, the package transmitted originated
from the central Dragoon archive computer and was 1792 bits large.  A routine
check stamp package is only 256 bits.  The host log shows that the additional
bits were all requested information."
     "The package came from the archives?  Now that's odd.... Scoot over and
let me work at this," the lieutenant said.  The cadet quickly made room for his
superior and sat back to watch.
     The lieutenant tried to access a copy of the package and was surprised by
the number of security flags he had to circumvent.  This is getting stranger by
the minute, he thought to himself.  He worked at it some more and finally was
able to read the data in the package.  The results made him sit back in shock.
     A search worm disguised as a time-date check?  He put all of his computer
skills to use as he carefully dissected the search worm to read the coding.
Wait a second, he thought in surprise, this looks familiar.... Yes, a four-step
trinary conversion to base-256.... Standard anti-detection measures.... Wait.
Programmed with Aerce-level clearance?
     The lieutenant quickly sat up and did some quick thinking.  Only command
level Dragoons are given Aerce clearance to the central archives, he reasoned.
I've got a level 6 access but that's only because Shar-Tei never got around to
fixing the rating Tolaris gave me when he was around.  Shar-Tei has a level 7
because she's the commander.... level 7.....
     He quickly ran through the code, looking for the encrypted data that was
the level access.  He ran it through a simple descrambler, hoping that the data
would unscramble so the access rating would be revealed.  The crystal computer
worked at the task for a few minutes before it finally came back with the
answer.
     The lieutenant knew that only the commanding officer of the Dragoons and
the current Commander-General had an access rating of level seven-Aerce to the
Dragoon central archive computer.  And there are only two people in existence
that also know the proper protocols, he thought, those being General Rune and
Lieutenant Commander Shar-Tei.  However....
     He stood up and smiled at the cadet.  "According to this, the computer had
an error message when it ran a checksum diagnostic on a few key programs.  The
extra data in the package is a list of checksums for the diagnostic program to
use as a template to correct the errors.  Nothing to worry about."
     The cadet breathed a sigh of relief.  "Good.  Sorry to have bothered you,
Lieutenant."
     The lieutenant stood up with a smile on his face.  "It's not a problem,
Cadet.  Dealing with this kind of stuff is why I'm here instead of sitting on
my butt at a desk going through reports.  But noticing the discrepancy was fine
work, Cadet.  Keep it up and we'll have you in the Dragoon ranks in no time."
     "Thank you, sir," the cadet said and went back to his mundane tasks.
     The lieutenant walked back to his desk still smiling.  But beneath the
smiling mask he wore, he was shivering inside as a cold hand gripped his soul.
Is it possible? he thought as he sat down.  Could he still be alive?
     Lieutenant Maze leaned back in his chair, deeply troubled.  He spent the
next several hours at his desk. barely moving or acknowledging the outside
world.  Inside, a name played over and over in his mind, the name of the third
person who could have programmed the search worm with level seven-Aerce access
and who might just possibly still exist.
     Commander Tolaris....

		*		*		*		*

     Tolaris awoke to the smell of something cooking.  He blinked his eyes and
tried to summon enough mental concentration to identify the smell.  It's not
something burning so that's good news, he thought fuzzily as he did his best to
wake up.  Mornings were not his thing and it often took him awhile for his mind
to completely wake up.
     He blinked in surprise as he recognized the smell of fresh tl'azza being
cooked.  Oh, I bet I haven't eaten that in months.... he thought before he
remembered something.  Hold it.  Who's cooking it?
     The thought of a stranger in the cathedral instantly completed the waking
up process.  He had hurriedly dressed and was halfway to the door before he
remembered that he had a guest.  Oh, of course.  Leda.
     Tolaris smiled as he also remembered that Leda loved to cook.  I'm willing
to bet that tl'azza steak that it's her in the kitchen.  His smile fell from
his lips as he realized that she might not know how to properly cook the food.
Granted the tl'azza was harmless, but a few Negaverse dishes were extremely
dangerous if not prepared right.  And knowing Nephlyte's tastes, I'm willing to
bet he's got a few of those things around, he thought as he made haste towards
the kitchen area.
     Leda looked up from her work as Tolaris entered the kitchen.  "Morning,
Commander.  Hope you didn't mind if I borrowed the kitchen for awhile.  I got
hungry and figured you would want some breakfast, too."
     Tolaris sniffed the air.  "That tl'azza steak smells wonderful, but what
else were you cooking?"
     Leda shrugged and passed him a plate.  "Just some bizarre sort of eggs I
found in the 'fridge."
     The Dragoon looked down at the plate and gasped.  The eggs were dark blue
with cherry-red yolks.  "Ertu eggs?  Leda, what did you cook these in?" he said
with a note of concern.
     "Just this," she said, holding up a metal skillet.
     Tolaris alternated glances between the eggs and the skillet.  He mentally
revised his opinion of Leda's cooking skills by several notches as he carefully
set the plate down on the counter.  "Leda, did you use the neutralizer?"
     Leda blinked.  "Neutralizer?" she said in a confused tone.
     Tolaris sighed and looked around the kitchen.  "Do you see a stone skillet
anywhere around here?"
     "Yeah, I saw it as I was digging around for the skillet.... Give me a few
seconds," she said as she bent down and went through a cabinet.  She stood up a
few seconds later holding a giant skillet made out of synthetic concrete.  She
handed it to Tolaris and gave him a curious look.  "What's this used for?"
     "Cooking ertu eggs," he said as he carefully slid the eggs off the plate
and into the skillet.  He breathed a sigh of relief as the yolks made the move
intact.  "Keep in mind that the Negaverse is not a pleasant place and various
creatures have developed defenses against being hunted and eaten.  If you want
to eat an ertu egg, you have to soak the entire egg in a special solution to
neutralize the enzymes in the yolks."
     Leda blinked and took a closer look at the blue eggs.  "What happens if
the egg isn't soaked first?"
     "This," Tolaris said as he picked up a fork and stuck it into the yolk.
The yolk easily popped and a loud hissing noise filled the room.  Tolaris made
a face as he withdrew the fork and watched as the tines started to dissolve.
"The enzymes are extremely acidic," he said simply.  He waited until the fork
had stopped dissolving before he threw the useless metal into a trash can.  "I
think you can consider yourself extremely lucky that you didn't manage to break
the yolks as you were cooking them."
     Leda took a long look at the eggs and paled.  "I almost scrambled them,"
she said softly, "But I thought the colors would clash too much.... Great Zeus,
that's.... that's...."  She swallowed hard and looked up at Tolaris.  "Is there
anything else I should know about?"
     Tolaris shrugged.  "Depends on what you want to cook."  He walked over to
the refrigerator and opened it.  "Oh, good, he did have some already soaked."
He reached inside and pulled out a translucent box with four ertu eggs floating
in a pinkish fluid.
     "Here," he said as he handed the box to Leda.  "These eggs are done so you
can cook them in the metal skillet.  Just leave the other eggs in the stone pan
and pour the neutralizer over them.  I'll dispose of them later."
     "Okay...." Leda said slowly as she got the eggs out of the box.  "While
you're here and I'm recooking these, how do you want your eggs?"
     The Dragoon chuckled.  "Actually, I prefer them scrambled.  I know it can
look quite bizarre at times, but color doesn't mean much as long as it tastes
good.  Make two for me and two for you.  You might like the taste."
     She managed a weak grin.  "I'm not sure I can eat anything that eats metal
like that.  Do you want anything else with your steak and eggs, assuming that
it's steak to begin with?"
     Tolaris smiled.  "I'll get what I need since you wouldn't recognize half
of it."  He stood up and hunted around the kitchen, making sure to stay out of
Leda's way.  "I didn't know Nephlyte cared for the taste of v'etu," he said as
he picked up something that looked like spongecake.
     "Did you just sneeze?" Leda asked.
     "No.  V'etu is our version of wheat bread, except that they use the entire
stalk instead of just the grains."
     "Is it good?" she said, curious.
     Tolaris broke a chunk of the bread off and handed it to her.  "Try some
for yourself and see," he said, breaking off another chunk and eating it.
     Leda sniffed the bread cautiously before taking a bite out of it.  She
chewed for a few seconds before making a sour face and swallowing.  She moved
past Tolaris and opened the refrigerator, looking for something to drink.
     "Not good, eh?" Tolaris said.
     "No offense, Commander, but it tastes like shredded cardboard.  Will this
hurt me if I drink it?" she asked, holding up a slender bottle filled with a
ruby-red liquid.
     Tolaris peered closely at the hand-written label and his eyebrows rose.
"No, it won't harm you...."
     She didn't wait for him to finish before popping the cork and taking a
large gulp.  Her eyes went wide as the odd fire sensation started to register
after she swallowed.  She gasped and gave Tolaris a stunned look.
     "....But I wouldn't drink a lot of it at once," he finished lamely.  "Too
much at once ruins the taste, or so I've been told."  He leaned against the
kitchen counter and waited to see her reactions.
     She blinked and ran her tongue over her lips, not entirely sure about the
aftertaste.  She hesitantly took a smaller sip of the liquid and smiled as it
went down a lot smoother than before.  She finally decided she liked the taste
and reached for a large cup.  "So what is this stuff?  It's pretty good."
     Tolaris shrugged.  "The closest translation is blood-wine."  He saw the
color drain out of Leda's face and he smiled.  "The name comes from it's color,
not it's contents."
     Leda breathed a heavy sigh of relief and looked at the bottle.  "So this
stuff is alcoholic?" she said as she traced her fingers over the characters on
the label.
     "Very much.  Nephlyte used to drink that stuff all the time.  We have our
suspicions that one of his talents was an immunity to alcohol because he could
easily drink anyone under the table and still be stone-cold sober.  Of course,
more than a few officers believed that was a curse and not a talent, but that's
just speculation."
     "Mmmm," she said with a smile.  "Well, seeing how Nephlyte is no longer
around to drink it, I think I can give it a nice home in my refrigerator."  She
poured a generous amount of the blood-wine into the cup and stuck the bottle
back in the 'fridge.  "In the meantime...."
     Tolaris took the cup out of her hands.  "In the meantime, we can start to
work on our strategy for tomorrow.  I don't quite know how alcohol works on
humans, but I'm willing to bet that if you get drunk now you'll be useless to
us in the morning.  You can drink all you want after we get back."
     Leda sighed and turned back to her work.  "Do you have anything else to
drink then?  Some sort of fruit juice?"
     Tolaris nodded.  "We have some oratu milk.  An oratu is sort of like one
of your cows, except it's got armored plates and a bad attitude."
     "Wonderful," she said as she spooned the scrambled ertu eggs onto a pair
of plates.  She made sure the tl'azza steaks were thoroughly cooked before she
set them on the plates and brought them to the small kitchen table.  "Well,
breakfast is ready."
     Tolaris set the pitcher of oratu milk on the table before sitting down.
"Thank you, Leda.  It looks wonderful."
     "Thanks," she said, sitting down.  She picked up her silverware and began
to cut the steak into small chunks.  She glanced over to the scrambled eggs and
burst into a fit of giggles.
     Tolaris looked up at her with a curious expression.  "What is it?"
     "Just the eggs," she said, still giggling.  Instead of mixing together,
the 'whites' and yolk retained their separate colors and were now a mass of red
and blue swirls.  "It just looks like I put a Smurf through a blender," she
said before she took a bite.  "Hey, this is pretty good."
     He gave her a blank look.  "What's a Smurf?" he asked.
     She smiled.  "Nevermind," she said and started to eat her steak.  "Get Ami
to tell you of those nights where you two are in a relaxed cuddle mood."
     "Right...." Tolaris said slowly and turned his attention back to the meal.

		*		*		*		*

     Tolaris looked up from his computer as Ami and Mina entered the room.  Ami
was carrying a small over-night bag while Mina was wearing a backpack and had
Artemis in her arms.  "Morning, Commander," the blonde said as they approached.
     "Morning, everyone," he replied as he stood up.  "You two look like you're
about ready."
     Ami nodded.  "We are, at least for today.  Rei won't be here for another
hour because she's still working at the temple, and Luna is still trying to get
Serena out of bed."
     "That must be fun," the Dragoon commented as he looked at Artemis.  "While
we're loosely on the subject of cats, you must be Artemis."
     The cat nodded.  "Nice to finally meet you, Commander Sterling."
     Tolaris sighed softly and sat back down.  "The Sterling part is a bunch of
cow so you can drop it.  Denizens don't have last names, so it's just Tolaris."
     Mina giggled.  "I think you mean it's a bunch of bull."
     "What's the difference?"
     "A bull is a male cow."
     Tolaris shrugged.  "I thought that was a steer."
     "Only for cattle," Mina said with a smile.
     "One minor technicality," the Dragoon grumbled.  "Oh, well.  Thanks for
the correction, Mina.  We'll make a Dragoon out of you yet."
     The blonde's smile became wider.  "I'll stick with being a Sailor Scout,
thanks."
     "So when do we start the briefing?" Ami asked.
     "Just as soon as everyone is here," he replied.  "I want to have everyone
together first so we can go over it as a group.  In the meantime, you two are
invited to use the training facilities in the sub-levels."
     Something exploded somewhere in the depths of the cathedral-base and the
floor shook gently.  Tolaris sighed and gestured to the floor.  "And it sounds
like Miss Jupiter has figured out how to work the target launcher.  Come on,
we'd better go before she discovers the fun stuff," he said as he stood up and
left the room in a slight haste.
     "Fun stuff?" Mina echoed as she and the others followed the Dragoon down
the hallway.
     "Plasma grenades, live-fire practice targets, simulated environments, that
sort of thing.  Very nasty unless you know what you're dealing with."
     "And that's your idea of fun?" Ami asked, slightly stunned.
     "I can see why the ammunition stuff would be dangerous," said the cat,
still in Mina's arms, "But why would a simulated environment be bad?"
     Tolaris gave him an amused look as he opened the door to a stairwell.
"Tell me, Artemis, would you find it pleasant to fight a battle in the middle
of a jungle where only three of the eighty-five creatures in there aren't
poisonous?"
     "I.... can imagine that wouldn't be fun," was the awed response.
     "Trust me, it isn't," Tolaris said as he went down the stairs.  He grabbed
onto the handrail as another explosion rocked the building.  "At least it feels
like she's not using the multiple-target mode."
     "Commander, what exactly is she doing, anyway?" Mina asked with a frown.
     "It sounds like she's taking potshots at self-propelled target drones.
They tend to explode if hit too hard.  She's probably using a launcher to toss
them into random places and have the drones start wandering around.  Nothing
too complex, but those drones can be rather maneuverable at times."
     The stairs ended at a pair of heavy steel bulkheads.  Tolaris walked up to
the control panel and was about to open them when they heard a series of loud
pops, followed by another large explosion.  The Dragoon leaned against the wall
and sighed heavily.
     "Oh, no...." he moaned quietly.
     Ami blinked.  "What is it?"
     "I think she found the MechBlaster 3000."
     Mina shook her head.  "The what?"
     "It's sort of like a super-heavy assault rifle, only much worse.  Everyone
stand back, please."  He waited until everyone had flattened themselves against
the walls before he opened the bulkheads.
     Something hissed as the plates retracted into the ceiling and floor.  A
large cloud of smoke wafted out into the hall, obscuring vision and making Ami
cough.  Tolaris sent a strong breeze across the room, dispersing the smoke in
seconds.  "Don't shoot, it's only me!" he called out before cautiously peering
around the edge of the archway.
     Sailor Jupiter was standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by the
remains of several target drones.  She had an ear-to-ear grin on her face and
was holding a large weapon that was literally almost as big as she was.
     "Commander, I think I've fallen in love.  This thing is WICKED!" she said
with a smile as she gingerly set the weapon on the ground.  "Heavy, too, but I
think it's worth it.  Mind if I use it while we're in the Negaverse?"
     Tolaris sighed again and stepped into the room.  "No, you can't.  If you
take that thing into the Negaverse, the tracer beacon will alert everyone for a
radius of ten miles to its presence.  It's a prototype and I think that quite a
few people would be interested in acquiring it."
     Jupiter shrugged and walked over to them.  "Hi, everyone," she said to the
two Sailor Scouts and Artemis.  "You two want to come play with the drones?"
she said, making a gesture to the bulky launcher in the far corner of the room.
     "Perhaps, but not with tank ordinance," Mina said with a slight smile.
"Tolaris said it'd be a good idea for us to practice a bit while we're waiting
for everyone else to arrive."
     Jupiter nodded.  "Knowing Serena, it'll be quite some time before we see
her.  Which is okay, I guess, since we get to play with the drones some more."
     Artemis chuckled.  "You seem to have a thing for drones, Jupiter."
     "I wouldn't call it play," Tolaris said as he walked over and picked up
the heavy assault weapon.  "Those drones can be set to fire back at you using
live ammunition.  Not to mention randomly tossing out small plasma grenades or
anti-personnel mines."
     "And this is supposed to be a combat simulator?" Ami asked.
     "Nothing like having your butt on the line as incentive for survival," the
Dragoon commented as he walked over to a control panel.  He looked at the tiny
display and frowned.  "Jupiter, where did you get the MechBlaster from?"
     "It was just leaning against the wall.  Why?"
     "It was supposed to have been in the armory, which is locked tight."
     Sailor Jupiter's eyes lit up like candles.   "You mean you have more stuff
like that?" she said, drooling ever so slightly.
     Tolaris exchanged glances with Ami and Mina.  "Is she usually like this
around weapons?"
     "We don't know.  We've never really been around military-class weapons
before," Ami said with a shrug.  "Best we've got is Mina's dagger and Rei's
ceremonial blade."
     "I've got a bad feeling about this," muttered Artemis as he leapt out of
Mina's arms and down to the ground.
     Tolaris sighed and turned his attention back to the control panel.  He
entered a complex string of characters into the keypad and a light flashed dark
green.  There was the sound of heavy bolts unlocking and the bulkheads started
to retract into the ceiling and floor.  "This might take awhile," he said and
leaned against a wall to wait.
     "Now that is a very big door," Mina said as she saw the thickness of the
bulkheads.  "Tell me, Commander, do you have very many problems with people
getting into these things?"
     "Not that I know of."
     "Can't imagine why," Ami said with a glance at the bulkheads.
     After a full minute, the two-foot-thick steel plates were done retracting
into the reinforced walls and the armory was open.  Tolaris hefted the weapon
and walked inside, the rest of the group following close behind.
     Jupiter looked around at the vast array of weapons and started bouncing on
her toes with extreme excitement.  "This is way cool," she giggled and started
to explore.
     "This is not a good sign," Ami said with a sigh.
     "You're telling me," Artemis said as he looked around.  "What is half this
stuff?"
     Tolaris set the heavy assault weapon down on a specially-built cradle.
"They're mostly the various types of projectile-weapons we have available in
the Negaverse.  There are some hand-held weapons, mostly swords, on that wall,"
he said with a gesture.  He looked up and Jupiter and sighed.  "Put that back, 
you can't use it."
     Jupiter blinked and put the siege crossbow back in it's cradle.  "Is there
anything in here that I can use?"
     "Have you ever used any of this stuff before?" he asked.
     "Well.... not really...."
     Tolaris smiled.  "Tell me, Jupiter, do you really want to go into hostile
territory carrying an untested weapon that you have no idea how to use?"
     Jupiter sighed.  "Since you put it that way, I guess not."
     "Commander, can I take a closer look at this?" Mina called out from across
the armory.  She was pressed against a transparent casing and was gazing rather
wistfully at a collection of daggers.
     "Hey!" Jupiter said, brightening up again.  "Now there's something I know
how to use.  Mind if we check them out for a bit, Commander?"
     Tolaris looked at Artemis and the cat shrugged.  "I've seen the way she
cooks and I know she's lethal with a kitchen knife.  Mina's no slouch either
with her blade, though she doesn't practice often."
     The Dragoon glanced over at the three girls.  Jupiter and Mina were both
pressed against the casing with admiration and desire in their eyes.  Ami was
standing a bit farther back from the case but she seemed to be more than mildly
interested in the daggers.
     "Tell me, Artemis, would you trust them with daggers in their possession?"
     The cat sat back and preened.  "Mina and Jupiter most definitely.  I think
I can also say Rei is a sure bet, given her training with ceremonial blades and
such.  I'm not sure about Serena, though.  She is rather clumsy at times."
     "And what about Ami?" Tolaris asked softly.
     Artemis sighed and looked over at the vampire.  Ami seemed captivated by
one of the blades in the collection.  She reached out and slowly traced it's
outline against the glass, as if she were touching the blade itself instead of
the casing.  The expression in her eyes seemed to be one of respect rather than
the admiration of her friends.
     "I heard how she killed one of the Negaverse's warriors," Artemis said in
low tones.  "Took the Crescent Moon Wand and gutted her like a fish.  I don't
think I'd be too happy having her armed with a lethal weapon, Commander, but
I'm not going with you guys into the Negaverse and getting into trouble.  If
you don't mind the possibility of her going berserk on you, then go ahead.  It
is a command decision, if I understand the term correctly."
     "You seem to understand it well enough," Tolaris said and quietly walked
over to the collection of daggers.  "Can I trust you three enough to use them
properly?" he said as he approached.
     "Define properly," Mina said.
     "These are lethal weapons, not toys.  They should only be unsheathed when
they're to be used and they are only to be used for combat.  Since I will be
leading this little excursion, we will abide by the Rules of Engagement as per
Captain Raijen's original orders three thousand years ago.  The full list is
too complex to explain, but know that you are to use an artificial weapon only
when you intend to kill and kill quickly.  Needless suffering is dishonorable
and I will not stand for it.  Understood?"
     The three girls blanched.  "So in essence, we're not supposed to even
unsheathe the daggers unless we're going to kill someone, right?" Jupiter said.
     "Precisely.  If you cannot abide by the Rules of Engagement, then you have
no business carrying a weapon," Tolaris said firmly.  "And that includes the
blade you're carrying, Miss Venus, regardless of it's original purpose."
     Mina nodded.  "I understand, Commander, and will abide by your rules."
     "Same here, Commander," Jupiter said, looking up at him.
     "I will follow by the rules as well," Ami said softly.
     Jupiter blinked and turned around to look at her.  "I didn't think that
carrying daggers was your style. Ami."
     Ami shrugged.  "Never hurts to be prepared in case of extreme emergency.
I'll just keep it in my boot."
     Jupiter giggled.  "At least you have decent boots," she said, gesturing to
her own boots.  Unlike the boots worn by Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury, her
boots only came up a few inches past her ankle.  "I don't have much space to
put a blade down there."
     Mina laughed.  "At least you two have boots."
     "And what exactly do you have?" Tolaris asked as he started to unlock the
protective casing.
     "Modified sandals.  They're tougher than they look."
     "Except when you're kicking walls," Artemis snickered.
     Mina frowned lightly.  "Hey, I only hit the wall because that punk moved,
alright?  Otherwise I would have nailed him."
     "When was this?" Jupiter asked.  "I don't remember ever having to peel you
off of a wall."
     Mina shrugged.  "It was while I was still operating as Sailor V."
     Tolaris cussed as he slipped and the lid of the casing slammed down on his
fingers.  "Wait a second.  YOU'RE Sailor V?  Mina, do you know how many people
in the Negaverse want your hide?"
     The blonde blinked.  "Uh oh.... I take it I developed a reputation?"
     Tolaris snorted.  "You dispatched twenty-six operatives, two Dragoons, and
a member of the Psi-Corp before the appearance of Sailor Moon put everything
else on hold.  You think that's enough to give you a reputation?"
     Mina looked at Artemis.  "Told you I missed one."
     Artemis shrugged.  "Okay, so my body count was off by one."
     The Dragoon looked at Mina with a higher degree of respect.  "Remind me to
never piss you off, Mina."  He opened the lid of the casing and stepped back.
"Okay, girls, you can choose any dagger you want, but only take one.  This is a
rather valuable collection, and while I'm sure Nephlyte would approve of them
being used, I wouldn't want to destroy their value any more than I have to."
     "Afraid of him coming back?" quipped Jupiter and she picked up a dagger.
     "Tell me, did anyone recover his body?" Tolaris asked solemnly.
     Everyone looked at Ami and she shook her head.  "No, his body broke down
into luminescent particles.  Molly said the monster said that those spines in
his shoulder would drain his energy and reduce him to 'Negadust' or something
like that."
     Tolaris frowned.  "But no body was left behind, right?"
     Ami shook her head again.  "No, just dust."  She reached inside and picked
up the dagger she had been looking at.  The blade was made out of an iridescent
crystal with tiny glitters of gem dust imbedded along the length.  The hilt
was also made of crystal, but it was a deep purple color with silver filigree.
The crossguard was forged from a silvery metal with an inscription acid-etched
into it.
     The blade Mina selected was almost exactly like the one she currently
carried, with the exception that the blade's metal was an interesting shade of
steel blue.  The rest of the blade was plain steel, with the exception of a
tiny, glittering gem embedded in the very center of the blade.  "If you don't
mind, Commander, I'd like to borrow this one.  I already know how to use this
kind so it'd be easier to handle."
     Tolaris nodded.  "Wise decision.  What about you, Jupiter?"
     Sailor Jupiter held up a dagger forged out of black steel.  The blade was
split in half almost down to the hilt, with extremely sharp points and razor
edges.  "I think I'll use this.  If I have to kill something, might as well
make sure the dagger can handle it."
     Tolaris blinked.  "Umm.... right.  That's mostly used to parry with, but I
don't foresee any problems with straight killing.  Not that I plan us to be
killing anything, but just in case.  Keep in mind that the edges are extremely
sharp so be careful when drawing it out of the sheath."
     "Speaking of which," said Artemis, "How are you girls going to carry those
blades?  Ami said she could keep it her uniform boots, but what about the rest
of you?"
     Mina giggled.  "What about our Lunar Space pockets?"
     The white cat blinked and managed to blush red.  "Oops, guess I forgot."
     "Lunar Space?" Tolaris asked.
     Jupiter nodded.  "It's sort of like a dimensional pocket.  It is rather
small, but it should fit," she said and held the dagger behind her.  She made a
flicking motion with her wrist and smiled.  She brought her empty hand back and
showed it to Tolaris.
     "It's small for you because your Space isn't supposed to hold anything
other than your Power Wand," Ami said as she reached behind her and pulled her
Mercury Wand out of her Lunar Space pocket.  "I've got more space because I
need to put my computer there."
     Mina nodded and also put her dagger in her Lunar Space pocket.  Her hand
came back holding her Venus Wand.  "Now that we're suitably armed, why don't we
start practicing with the drones until the others arrive?"
     Tolaris nodded.  "Good idea, but I have to warn you that if you bring out
your blade against the drones, that will activate the Live/Kill mode."
     "What?" Jupiter said, shaking her head.
     "Part of the Rules of Engagement.  If you attack anyone with any sort of
artificial weapon, it is akin to issuing a death challenge, stating your intent
to kill.  If you do that with the drones, they will switch to live-fire mode
and do their best to kill you.  It didn't do that with the prototype because it
was set for test fire only, not active combat."
     "I see...." Mina said slowly.  "If it's all the same with everyone else,
we'll skip that part."  Jupiter and Ami nodded violently and Tolaris chuckled.
     "Well, ladies, I've got other work to attend to so I'll leave you three
alone to practice.  If you don't mind, Artemis, I'll show you how to program
the drone launcher so you can run them through various exercises."
     "I'd like that, Commander," the cat said with a wicked grin.
     Mina giggled.  "Be nice, Artemis.  Remember, you have to live with me."
She held her Power Wand up to the light and said, "VENUS POWER!"  Her body was
wrapped in a field of light that slowly transformed her into Sailor Venus.
     "Good idea," Ami said and held up her own Wand.  "MERCURY POWER!"
     Tolaris leaned against the glass casing and watched as the two girls were
transformed into the Sailor Scouts.  It never ceased to amaze him at how they
could look so different as Sailor Scouts.  Ami told him once that the visual
effect was part of the magic used to make them Sailor Scouts.
     The transformations were finished and Tolaris blinked.  "If I didn't just
watch you two transform, I'd swear you were different people," he said to Venus
and Mercury.
     Mercury set her dagger down on the protective casing and walked over to
Tolaris.  "But you still love me, right?" she said as she embraced him.
     "Always," he whispered in her ear as he kissed her.
     Artemis coughed discreetly.  "Want me to wait or should I start poking
around with the launcher now?"
     The Dragoon chuckled softly and gave Mercury a final kiss.  "Okay, okay,
I'll show you," he said and headed off towards the door.  Mercury reached out
and grabbed her dagger.  She slid it into her boot and took a few experimental
steps.  Satisfied that she wouldn't cut herself, she hurried after the rest of
the Scouts and prepared to take on a few practice drones.

		*		*		*		*

     The crystalline computer finished processing the newly acquired data and
displayed the results on the screen.  Tolaris sighed heavily and rested his
head on the edge of the workstation.  So much for stealth, he thought wryly.
     Someone coughed and the Dragoon quickly looked up.  Darian and Luna were
standing in the doorway with curious expressions on their faces.  "Paperwork
got you down?" Darian joked as he walked into the room.
     "I wish it was that simple.  I fear someone's discovered my presence on
Earth and now I have to radically alter my plans," Tolaris said with a weary
gesture to the computer.  "We'll probably wind up taking a less direct route,
and that will probably take two or three days roundtrip."
     Luna frowned.  "How much more danger will the Scouts be in?" she asked.
     "Probably a lot more, but I can't say for sure.  We won't really know how
much until we get in there."  He paused and gave Luna a measured look.  "It's
not too late for the Sailor Scouts to remain behind and let me go alone."
     "Trust me, I'm still trying to get them to see that," she said sourly.
     The Dragoon smiled.  "Speaking of them, where are Serena and Rei?"
     Darian coughed lightly.  "They're here, but they're in the middle of one
of their, uh, discussions...."
     He was about to say more when several small explosions went off and the
floor shook gently.  Rei suddenly burst into the room, her bottomless black
eyes wide with shock.  "I think we're under attack!" she yelled as she looked
for something solid to hold on to.
     Tolaris laughed.  "Not quite.  That's just the other Sailor Scouts playing
with target drones."
     "Who's playing with what?" Serena asked as she scrambled into the room and
grabbed hold of Darian.  "It feels like we're in an earthquake."
     Tolaris stood and smiled.  "Come on, I'll show you."  He led them out into
the hallway and towards the staircase.  "They're in a training room practicing
their skills against several target drones, that's all."  The floor shook again
and everyone leaned against the wall for support.  "However, the drones have a
slightly annoying tendency to explode if hit too hard."
     "And you said this is practice?" Luna asked.
     The Dragoon shrugged.  "At least they're not programmed to fire back yet."
     Serena blinked.  "You mean they can shoot back?  Maybe this isn't a good
idea after all...."
     "It's not like they can kill you, right?" Rei asked hesitantly.
     "Of course they can.  Why else would they be shooting at you?"
     Everyone stopped and exchanged glances.  Tolaris turned around and gave
them an evil grin.  "If you are going to go into the Negaverse, it is highly
probable that you will wind up getting shot at by various denizens.  You might
as well get used to it.  I won't set the drones to kill you, just come close
enough to rattle you.  But that will wait until after the briefing and lunch."
     "When will lunch be?" Serena asked with a hand over her stomach.  "Someone
woke me up and rushed me through breakfast this morning."
     Rei snorted.  "I only did it because Luna was busy getting some before she
got around to getting OUCH!!"  She blinked and looked at the set of claw marks
on her ankle.  "Hey, that had just started to heal!"
     Everyone stared at Luna in silence.  The cat calmly sat back and started
to preen her paws.  "Are you finished, Rei?" she asked mildly.
     "Umm.... yeah...."
     "Then let's go see what the others are up to."  She glanced up and sighed.
"Serena, you can pick your jaw up now."
     The blonde blinked.  "So that WAS you and Hercules."
     "Yes it was.  Now can we stop discussing my love life and get going?"
     Tolaris chuckled quietly.  "We can discuss that later.  Right now, I've
got to get the others so we can start this briefing."  He led the group down
several flights of stairs.  They walked in silence, the only sound being the
occasional explosion from the training room.
     The group halted when the stairs ended at a set of immense bulkheads.
"Okay, everyone stay close to the walls while I open this, just in case their
accuracy isn't the greatest."  Only Darian bothered to snicker at the comment
as they flattened themselves against the wall.  Tolaris nodded and pushed the
control button.
     The bulkheads had only partially retracted into the ceiling and floor when
something popped and the sound of a flying drone could be heard.  "I've got
this one," called out a familiar voice.  "Mercury Bubbles.... BLAST!!"
     Without warning, a sphere of force shot out between the bulkheads, pushing
the target drone ahead of it like a surfer riding a wave.  The rogue sphere
impacted with a wall, smashing the drone into shards of metal and detonating
in a miniature fireball.  Everyone threw themselves onto the floor as the wave
of heat and pressure washed over them.
     "Are you trying to kill us out here, Mercury?!" Serena yelled as she rose
to her feet.  "If so, you seem to be doing a pretty good job!"
     The bulkheads finished retracting and Mercury stepped out of the room with
a blush on her cheeks.  "Sorry about that, didn't know it was opening."
     "Nice to see you too, love," Tolaris said as he gave her a quick kiss.  "I
take it everything is going okay in there?"
     Mercury giggled.  "Sure, despite the facts that Artemis is having entirely
too much fun with the launcher and Jupiter is being rather trigger-happy."
     "That's not good.  We'll need to try to stay as quiet as possible on this
mission.  Anyway, you four can take a quick break while I let these three pick
out their daggers.  After that's all settled, we can start our briefing."
     Mercury nodded.  "Good, I think we could use a bit of a rest."  She turned
around and yelled back into the room.  "Artemis, turn off the launcher for a
few minutes.  Everyone else is here and we're going to start the briefing in a
bit."  She turned back and noticed Rei was giving her a strange look.  "What is
it, Rei?"
     The priestess shrugged.  "Nothing, really.  It just felt as if your aura
wavered for a second."
     There was another loud pop and a second drone could be heard flying about.
"I'll get it!" said another familiar voice.  "Jupiter Thunder.... CRASH!!"  The
room was lit up as a bolt of lightning was sent through the hapless drone.  It
fell to the ground, it's protective casing badly cracked and charred.
     "Hey, you want to quit with the drones, Artemis?" came the voice of Sailor
Venus.  "The door's open and they're all waiting for us."
     "Aww, do we have to?" said Sailor Jupiter.  "This was getting fun...."
     Luna sighed.  "I think I need to have a bit of a talk with her."
     Darian nodded.  "No kidding.  Tolaris, what was that about daggers?"
     "Follow me and I'll explain as we go," the Dragoon said as he stepped into
the training room.  He hadn't taken six steps before he stepped on the remains
of a drone.  He blinked and looked around at the carnage.  "By Raijen, how many
drones did you go through?"
     Sailor Venus stretched and smiled.  "I lost count around three hundred."
     Tolaris just sighed as he carefully walked toward the armory doors.  "And
they wondered why you five did so much damage the last time...."

		*		*		*		*

     The crystal bounced twice before it came to rest in the center of the vast
table.  It immediately executed its primary program and projected a holographic
map into the air.  The image was three-dimensional and slowly rotated to give
all of the viewers the best possible angle.
     "This is a simplistic overhead map of our intended route," Tolaris's voice
came from the corner of the darkened room.  The only light came from the image
being projected from the tiny crystal.
     "My original plan was to open the wormhole at this point," he said and a
blue dot lit up on the map.  "However, I fear that we may have been discovered.
Therefore, we will arrive at this point."  A red light lit up, quite a distance
away from the blue dot.
     "Due to the wards surrounding the Dragoon complex, we can only open the
wormholes at specific points.  This point is far enough away from the complex
to avoid routine patrols yet close enough to be able to arrive within a day."
     A series of yellow dots appeared on the map, tracing out a route from the
red dot to the glowing green diagram of the Dragoon Headquarters.  Several
white rings appeared at various points across the map, not seeming to follow
any given pattern.
     "We will follow along this path to the complex.  As you can see, the white
rings are the projected locations of routine patrols.  They may be out of date
or a patrol might be on special assignment, so we can't really trust this.  It
does, however, give us a good starting point to plan for where possible points
of conflict might occur.
     "Once we reach the complex, we will attempt to enter through this storage
bay."  The map switched to a detailed floor plan of the complex.  A large room
lit up a bright shade of green and a series of yellow dots traced a path deeper
inside the complex.  "We are fortunate that most of what we need is located in
that storage bay.  However, there are a few items I need to get from a secured
storage room deeper within the complex."
     The map rotated to a side-view of the complex.  The main storage bay was
shown in green on the first level while another room was shown in flashing red
three levels down below the surface.
     "Here we split up.  Sailors Mars and Jupiter will remain behind in the bay
to cover our rears while the rest of us proceed to the second target.  The
target, however, is considerably protected against intrusion so it will take
several minutes for me to bypass the security network.  This is when we'll be
the most vunerable to attack, so I want Sailors Venus, Moon, and Tuxedo Mask to
spread out in a defensive perimeter while Sailor Mercury scans for any signs of
hostile activity.
     "After the cargo has been acquired, we'll backtrack to pick up the others
and the rest of the cargo.  I'm almost absolutely certain that removing the
cargo from the complex will activate an alarm, so we will really have to watch
our backs.  However, if all goes well, we won't be noticed until that time."
     The map switched back to the overhead view of the entrance point and the
surrounding terrain.  "We have a margin of safety up until a certain point.  If
we encounter any problems before we reach the complex, we can abort and return
back here with little trouble.  However, once we breach the complex and acquire
the cargo, we could very well be up against the entire Dragoon division."
     The crystal shut off and the room fell into darkness before Tolaris hit a
light switch.  The room was illuminated softly and everyone looked around the
table.  "If anyone has questions, now is the time for it," the Dragoon said and
sat down in a chair.
     "What exactly is this cargo we're going to get?" Mina asked.
     "Mostly personal effects, but those I can live without.  The second target
contains all of the information I've gathered over my seven centuries of life
as well as a few unique crystals.  The data might be able to be reconstructed,
given enough time, but those crystals simply cannot be replaced."
     "What exactly are those crystals?" Darian asked with a slight frown.
     Tolaris sighed and slumped in his chair.  "The remains of my parents, as
well as of a few powerful Dragoons.  Rumor has it one of them is Raijen's life
crystal, but it is impossible to prove.  Also, I believe that the Star Crystal
General Nephlyte created is there, and I owe it to him to retrieve it."
     "Who's Raijen?" Ami asked.
     Tolaris smiled.  "Ah, yes.  Captain Raijen.  He founded the Dragoons over
five thousand years ago, back when Queen Beryl's grandmother was the Queen of
the Negaverse.  After his death, the ranking Commander refused the customary
promotion to Captain, saying that such an honor could only be filled by Raijen
alone and since Raijen never named his successor, he would retain his rank.
Since then, no Dragoon has ever accepted the rank of Captain, quoting Commander
Aerce's words as justification."
     "So you're going to retrieve their remains out of respect, then," said Rei
softly.  "I can accept that and will gladly accompany you."
     "Speaking of which," said Luna as she leapt up onto the table.  "I want to
make sure each and every one of you realizes the danger in this mission, and I
want to know your reasons for going with Commander Sterling, despite his pleas
not to."
     "I'm going because I love him and I would go absolutely nuts if I had no
idea what happened to him if he doesn't come back," Ami said, looking down at
the table.  "If I'm with him, I know what's going on and I can help him."
     Leda sat back and smiled.  "And I'm going with her for tactical support.
Can't let you two have all of the fun, and besides, I've got nothing better to
do until this snowstorm lets up."
     "It figures you would say something like that," Luna said with a very loud
sigh.  "What about you, Mina?"
     The blonde smiled.  "I'm coming along because I'm curious as to what the
Negaverse is really like.  That, and someone's got to keep these two out of
trouble."
     Rei snickered.  "I thought that's why I was coming along.  Anyway, we are
a team and we should go together as a team."
     Luna sighed again, feeling rather old for her age.  She muttered something
inaudible about bad dreams and turned to Serena.  She opened her mouth to ask
her a question but stopped when she saw what she was doing.
     Serena was holding the Crescent Moon Wand in her hands and was gazing at
the Imperium Silver Crystal as if she had never seen it before.  Luna thought
it might have been a trick of the light, but she could have sworn she saw the
gleam of the Crystal reflected in Serena's eyes for a brief instant.
     "Luna," she said somewhat distantly, "For some reason, I think that I have
to go on this one.  Don't ask me why because I can't explain it.  I just feel
that I need to go."
     Everyone looked at her.  "Serena, are you alright?" Luna asked with some
concern.
     Serena smiled softly at her mentor and put the Crescent Moon Wand back in
her Lunar Space pocket.  "I'm fine, Luna.  It just feels like I need to go,
that's all."
     The cat sighed and laid down.  "I don't suppose I could convince you to
help keep them here, could I, Darian?"
     Darian laughed quietly.  "Nope, since I'm going with them."
     Luna looked ready to cry.  "I figured as much.  Very well, then, since you
girls seem so determined to go on this, Artemis and I have no choice but to do
our best to help you."
     Tolaris frowned.  "If you intend to come with us, I'm afraid I can't allow
that.  If you can't fight, you'd be a hindrance to us."
     Luna shook her head.  "No, no, I'm staying here.  However, Artemis and I
have collected a surprisingly large reserve of Lunar energy while we've been on
Earth and I think it's time we put that energy to good use."
     Artemis nodded and leapt out of Mina's lap.  He landed in the middle of
the table and walked over next to Luna.  "I'm ready when you are," he said.
     "Good.  Now pay attention, Sailor Scouts.  What we can do is either give
you entirely new, stronger powers, or supercharge your current powers to a new
level of power.  Either way, the change will be irreversible and we won't be
able to do such a thing again for a very long time."
     "What will happen to our old powers if we get the new ones?" Rei asked.
     Luna sighed.  "I'm afraid the new powers would wipe out your old ones.  I
don't know the exact mechanics of it, but I understand that your Scout essences
can only hold so much in the way of power templates."
     "So if we went with the new powers, we would have to relearn how to use
them correctly, right?" said Leda.  "Thanks, but no thanks.  It's like Tolaris
told me, I don't want to be going into hostile territory carrying an untested
power that I don't know how to use.  I'll stick with what I know for now."
     Artemis snickered.  "She has a point, Luna.  They don't have the time to
relearn how to be Sailor Scouts."
     "True.  Very well.  Do the four of you agree that your powers should be
supercharged, then?" asked Luna.
     The four Sailor Scouts nodded their heads while Serena frowned.  "Excuse
me, but what about my powers?"
     "I'm sorry, Serena, but your powers can only be modified by the Imperium
Silver Crystal and you're the only one who can do it."
     "Me?  But I don't know how!"
     "Nor do I, so that means you're stuck with what you've got for now.  Don't
worry, I'm sure one day you will learn how to do it," Luna said with a smile.
"Now, if you four could please give me your Power Wands, we can get the process
started."
     Four hands reached into Lunar Space pockets and came back holding their
Power Wands.  One by one, Artemis went to each Sailor Scout and picked up their
Wands.  He laid them out in a cross pattern in the center of the table.  When
he was finished, he sat down between the Jupiter and Venus Wands and nodded to
Luna.  "Ready on this end."
     "Good.  Serena, you will need to use the power of the Imperium Silver
Crystal to seal the energy inside the Wands once we're finished, so it would be
best if you became the Moon Princess," Luna said as she sat down between the
Mercury and Mars Wands.
     Serena stood up and pulled the Crescent Moon Wand out of her Lunar Space
pocket.  She glanced up at Darian and noticed he was shaking his head slowly.
"What is it?"
     "It just bugs me slightly that you can yank that thing out of nowhere,
that's all.  It's like that American television program, 'Highlander'," he said
with a grin.  Everyone except Tolaris chuckled briefly.
     "I take it this is an Earth joke?" Tolaris asked.
     "Yes.  I'll tell you about it later," Darian said and sat back.
     Serena held up the Wand to eye-level so she could gaze at the Imperium
Silver Crystal imbedded in the center of the crescent moon.  The sign of the
Moon started to glow on her forehead and her clothes changed into the soft
white dress of the Moon Princess.  "I am ready, Luna," she said softly in a
voice that was somehow hers and someone else's.
     Luna looked at Artemis and he nodded.  They both closed their eyes and
began to concentrate.  The crescent moon markings on their foreheads began to
glow a golden color as the four Power Wands started to rise up off of the table
like ghosts.  Wisps of energy began to form around the Wands, slowly enveloping
them in gauzy clouds.
     Everyone except the cats looked up as a ghostly image formed above the
Wands and the streams of energy.  A dragon composed of a harsh white light was
flying with a huge bird covered in fire.  Several odd spheres seemed to float
aimlessly around while a rain of light fell around the room.  The image only
lasted for a few seconds before collapsing into four large tendrils of light
and energy that wrapped themselves around the Power Wands.
     Princess Serena stood up and pointed the Crescent Moon Wand at the four
Power Wands.  She closed her eyes and focused her mind on the Imperium Silver
Crystal that was her birthright as the Princess of the Moon.
     "Cosmic Moon Power...." she intoned, and the Crystal's energies lashed out
to surround the Power Wands.  The threads of power were quickly absorbed by the
four wands and they seemed to glow with power.  "Now summon your Wands, my
friends, and receive their powers...." Princess Serena said with a soft smile.
     The four Scouts nodded and stood up.  They held out their hands, the signs
of their gods glowing on their foreheads as they concentrated.  The Power Wands
darted away from each other and into the hands of their respective Scouts.
     "Whoa, blood rush...." Leda said as the supercharged power flowed through
her and imprinted itself on her essence.
     "No kidding...." Rei said, momentarily stunned.
     Mina giggled.  "This tickles," she said with a smile.
     "I wouldn't call it a tickle," Ami said, frowning slightly.  "This feels
like when I was electrocuted while changing the math co-processor on my home
computer."
     "You're supposed to unplug it first, Ami," Mina said as she stretched.
     "I did.  I just forgot to discharge the capacitors before I started to
work on the chip."
     Mina blinked.  "And you say that's how you felt just a few seconds ago?"
     Ami nodded.  "Not quite, but it was close enough."
     Mina thought about it for a second before dismissing the matter.  "I guess
you must not be too ticklish, then."
     "You'd be surprised," said Tolaris with a smile.  Ami gave him a dark look
and everyone laughed.
     "We'll discuss this later," she said.
     "Is that a promise or a threat?" the Dragoon said.
     Artemis coughed.  "Before Ami and Tolaris get into a minor fight, I just
want to make sure that you realize that it will be sometime before your powers
are fully adjusted," he said to the Sailor Scouts.  "Your old powers will work
just fine but your supercharged powers probably won't be available for a day or
so."
     "So what are the new powers?" Leda asked.
     Artemis glanced at Luna and the black cat shrugged.  "Umm, well, Luna and
I aren't quite sure, to be honest.  The final configuration of the new energy
will be done by your essences.  It will, of course, fall under your domains of
power, but the exact form is unknown."
     "What was that image we saw?" Serena asked.  She was her normal self again
and was casually toying with the Crescent Moon Wand.
     Luna blinked.  "What image?"
     Serena explained to her about the image that they saw while the cats were
busy supercharging the Wands.  After Serena had finished describing it, Luna
remained silent for several seconds as she thought.
     "That might very well be the final forms of your new powers," she finally
said.  "However, I can't say for sure since the new power forms aren't written
in stone."
     Tolaris stood up and stretched.  "Okay, unless anyone has anything they'd
like to say about this mission, we should break for lunch and then start in
with training in the combat simulator for tomorrow."
     "A quick question about that simulator," Mina said.  "You said it could be
programmed to simulate different environments, right?"
     The Dragoon nodded.  "Holographically, of course, but yes."
     "Could you program it to run us through the route we're supposed to take
tomorrow?"
     Tolaris just stared at her.  "Mina," he said after several seconds, "Are
you sure I can't convince you to become a Dragoon?  I never thought of that."
     The blonde blushed.  "No, I'll stay with being a Sailor Scout."
     "So what exactly are you talking about?" Rei asked, slightly confused.
     "I'll show you in a bit, Rei," said Tolaris.  "But first, we need to get
something to eat first.  We've got a long day ahead of us and an even longer
one tomorrow."
     "Mmmm, what's for lunch?" Serena asked.
     Leda laughed.  "Give me a few minutes and I'll see what I can whip up.
Provided, of course, it doesn't try to eat the cooking utensils as I make it."
     Rei blinked.  "Umm.... do I want to ask?"
     "Only if you can tell me what a Smurf is," Tolaris replied.
     "I'm not hungry anymore," Mina said with a small frown.
     Darian just sighed and slumped in his chair.  "Yeah, it's going to be one
of those days, alright...."

		*		*		*		*

     Mina slowly entered the room as if every movement made her sore.  Her hair
was still quite damp from the shower and she was wearing a soft lavender robe.
"And I thought Luna's training exercises were grueling," she muttered to the
room in general.  "Anyone got a spare pillow?"
     Leda reached behind her and grabbed a pillow at random.  She tossed it
across the room, making a face as the movement made her painfully aware of a
tender spot in her shoulder.  "If this is what we're going up against in the
morning, I'm sleeping in," the brunette said.  She was sitting cross-legged on
a very large pillow, wearing a dark gray robe and still dripping slightly from
her own shower.
     "You said you wanted to go," Rei said as she was fussing with her hair.
She had managed to get most of the water out but now her raven-black hair was a
mass of tangles.  Out of the five girls in the room, she alone was wearing a
nightgown rather than a bathrobe.  "It's not like anyone's twisting your arm
into going if you don't want to."
     Leda sighed.  "Yeah, I know.  I just wish that being shot at didn't hurt
so much.  How many times did the simulator kill me, twelve?"
     "Thirteen," said Ami as she ran a brush through her wet hair.  "Be glad
that Tolaris used rubber pellets instead of real ammunition or plasma grenades.
I was injured eighteen times, but only took lethal damage five times."
     Serena just sighed and rubbed the sore spot on her shoulder and upper arm.
"So what was the final score, or should I ask?" she said.  Her hair had gotten
badly tangled during the simulation and rather than mess with it, she simply
undid her hairstyle and let it cascade across her shoulders and back.
     Ami sighed and looked at her computer.  "Final score was Sailor Scouts 15,
Dragoon Legion 13.  A point was awarded to the team with the lowest casualty
ratio during each simulation.  Not very good results, if you ask me."
     "Wonderful," Mina commented.  "So what are the odds that we'll come back
in one piece from this mission?"
     Ami poked at her computer for a bit.  "According to the simulation, we've
got a 64% chance of overall success but only a 2% chance of all of us returning
unscratched.  Ummm, I have the estimated damage breakdown, if you really want
to hear it...."
     Leda snorted.  "Might as well."
     "2% chance no damage, 23% chance of us having a wide collection of large
cuts, scrapes, and bruises, all non-critical.  Umm.... a 24% chance of one of
us coming back in critical condition, 17% chance that it's more of us.... and
there's a 34% chance that at least one of us gets killed."
     Mina sighed.  "So basically you're saying that we've got a good chance of
getting beat up pretty badly, right?"
     Ami nodded slowly.  "According to the simulator."
     Rei coughed.  "I'm inclined to trust the simulator, seeing how badly it
managed to kick our butts at times."
     "Yeah, but we trashed it too, so it pretty much evens out," replied Leda.
"Besides, if we don't have very high chances, then why did we score more than
the simulation?  I mean, when one of us died in the sim, there went 17% of our
total score.  But there were hundreds of them, so each one of them was only a
fraction of a percent.  And we still won the most," she said with a smile.
     "Do we really want to stake our lives on this?" Serena asked quietly.  "I
mean, Tolaris keeps saying it'd be best for him to go alone and to be the only
one at risk.  Do we really want to risk dying for this mission?"
     "For the mission, no," said Ami, just as quietly.  "For Tolaris, yes."
     "You love him that much," Mina stated.
     "Yes, I do."
     Leda stretched out her legs, frowning slightly as Mina glanced away.  "I
can say that I don't think I'd put my life on the line for Tolaris.  However,"
she added as Ami gave her a strange look, "Ami is one of my best friends and
I'd put my life on the line for her.  And I can mean that easier than the rest
of you because if I die, I don't have anyone who'd really miss me.  Except for
the rest of you, that is."
     "I'm not sure I'd risk my life for one person," Rei admitted, staring down
at the pillow she was sitting on, "Even one of you.  But for the whole team,
I'd have to say that I would."
     "My sentiments exactly," Mina said.  "Someone once said that the needs of
the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.  What's one life compared to
the lives of the team?  If the Sailor Scouts are going to risk their lives for
one of their number, I would risk my life for the entire team."
     Serena smiled to herself as she began to put her hair back into its usual
form.  "You do realize that this is a moot point, seeing how you four have done
so once before and died for it.  Fortunately the Imperium Silver Crystal was
able to bring you back, and I think I know why.  Such love and friendship for
your friends deserves a second chance.  However, I fear that not even the power
of the Crystal can bring us back should we fail this time.  I need to go into
the Negaverse, for what purpose I'm not sure, but it makes me feel warm and
secure inside knowing that my friends are there with me, not because they have
to, but because they want to."
     Everyone looked at her and smiled.  "Why do I get the feeling that our
ditzy friend here is starting to emotionally mature?" Rei said.
     "Who are you calling ditzy, Miss Fire-For-Brains?"
     Leda laughed.  "Spoke too soon, Rei."
     Ami smiled.  "Perhaps.  Unless anyone has any more profound statements to
make, I'm going to wander off to bed.  And the first person to ask who's bed
gets bitten," she said, going vampiric long enough to show her tiny fangs.
     Leda's jaw quickly closed with an audible snap.  "Ummm.... sleep well."
     "I'll try.  Good night, everyone," Ami said as she stood up and left.
     Mina craned her head around the door and grinned to herself as she saw Ami
knock softly on Tolaris's bedroom door.  "Guess what, girls?  We're going to
have thundersnow tonight."
     Leda's eyes brightened while Rei's mood seemed to drop by three degrees.
Serena looked outside the window and nodded her head.  "Well, it looks like the
snow part is here.  Getting rather heavy, too."
     "We know you don't like cold and snow, Rei, so you don't need to start in
on your usual winter litany," Mina said quickly as Rei started to grumble to
herself.
     "Fine, then.  I'm going to go mediate in front of a nice, warm, cozy fire,
if that's alright with everyone."  She stood up and paused as a thought popped
into her mind.  "Um, where exactly are Artemis and Luna?"
     Mina made a face.  "Artemis said he found a small colony of field mice and
invited Luna out for 'fine dining'.  Haven't seen either one since."
     "Oh, ick," the priestess replied.  "Sorry I asked.  Well, guess I'll see
everyone in the morning."
     "Good night, Rei," everyone said as she left the room.
     "I guess I'd better get to bed too," Leda said as she stood up.  "Who's
room is this, anyway?  I know mine's down the hall, but I don't remember who
got what room."
     Mina shrugged.  "This is just an empty room, I think.  My room is at the
other end of the hall, and I think Serena's room is two doors down."
     "It is," Serena said with a smile.  "So why did we decide to meet in this
room instead of any of ours?"
     Mina smiled as she bounced in place.  "It had all of the fluffy pillows,"
she said simply.  The three of them laughed for a bit before Serena stood up.
     "I'll see you two in the morning.  Sleep well," she said and headed for
the door.
     "Perhaps," Mina said with a smile.
     Both Leda and Serena gave her strange looks.  "And what's that supposed to
mean?" Leda asked.
     Mina shrugged.  "Call it a feeling.  Anyway," she said as she stood up.
She reached down and grabbed the pillow she had been sitting on.  "I don't
think anyone would mind if I borrowed this for the night, do you?"
     Serena shook her head.  "Nope.  Good night, Mina."
     "Good night, Serena," Mina said, and the three of them went to their rooms
to get ready for bed.

		*		*		*		*

     Ami smiled softly and closed the door behind her.  "You want some company
tonight, Tolaris?" she asked quietly as she walked over and hugged him.
     The Dragoon gave her an amused look as he finished stripping off his dress
tunic.  "We are going to have a full day tommorrow, my love, so we will both
need to sleep well."
     She smiled and stroked his chest.  "They say that you sleep better when
you're exhausted...."
     "Ami...." he said, both surprised and amused.
     Her mood grew somber as she leaned against him.  "Tolaris, there's a good
chance that we'll be badly injured on this mission, possibly even killed...."
     "All the more reason for you and the Sailor Scouts to remain here," he
interrupted, hugging her tightly.
     "Tolaris...." she started to say but was cut off by a passionate kiss.
     "I know, Ami.  I can't force you to stay nor would I try," he said when
they broke apart.  "And I understand why you and the others want to come with
me.  I don't like the idea of you being in danger, Ami, but I'll do what I can
to keep you and your friends as safe as possible."
     She hugged him as tight as she could, not sure of what else to say.  She
listened to his heart beating in his chest and was soothed by the sound.  "I
love you," she said softly.
     Tolaris brushed his lips across her forehead.  "And I love you, Ami."
     She sighed in contentment as she bent her head up to kiss him.  "Tolaris,
will you make love to me?" she asked softly.
     The Dragoon's response was to gently pick her up in his arms and kiss her
thoroughly.   "This is going against my better judgement," he said with a soft
smile.  "But then again, I never was good with matters of the heart."
     "Fortunately for me," she said as she was carried over to the bed.  He
looked at her before shaking his head in wonder.  He carefully set her down and
gave her a gentle but passionate kiss.
     The kiss lasted well into the night before the Dragoon Commander and the
Sailor Scout turned their attentions to other matters of the heart....

		*		*		*		*

     Mina entered the room and closed the door behind her without making any
sound at all.  Moving silently was a skill she had picked up as Sailor V and
often surprised herself by the number of situations in which it had come in
handy.  Situations like the one she was in now.
     Glancing up to make sure she hadn't been noticed, she turned her attention
to the small control panel on the wall.  She had figured out that they were the
controls to the lighting and outside window shields for the room.  She swiftly
reprogrammed them to a specific pattern and paused with her hand hovering over
the 'commit' switch, studying the room's sole occupant.
     Leda was still dressed in her robe and standing in front of the windows,
looking out into the snowstorm but not seeing.  The reflection in the glass was
that of a young woman who was deeply lost in thought and memory.  Her hand
slowly trailed down her throat and idly toyed with the sash to the robe, as if
she wanted it opened by someone other than her.
     Mina's hand pressed the switch and she quickly moved back into the shadow
in the doorway.  Leda blinked as the lights started to dim and a low rumbling
sound could be heard.  She watched in silent surprise as reinforced bulkheads
slid over the outside windows, cutting off all view of the outside world and
plunging the room into utter darkness.
     The heavy rumbling was replaced with the soft whine of servo motors as the
track lighting system was swiftly redesigned and the various spotlights began
to move.  The process finished several seconds later and all was quiet.
     A single spotlight lit up, casting down a sharply defined cone of light
and illuminating Mina.  The lighting was such that very little could be seen
past the cone of light, and what could be seen were vague shadows of gray.  The
shadows seemed to part as Leda approached the very edge of the light.
     Nothing was said as each looked at the other.  Leda appeared to have lost
most of her color while Mina's features were sharply accented by the light,
concealing her eyes in pools of shadow.  After a few seconds of silence, Mina
slowly untied her robe and let it fall to the floor, leaving her standing naked
in the light.  She held out her hand, as if offering herself to the brunette.
     Leda remained utterly motionless, not even appearing to breathe.  After a
few seconds, Mina let her hand fall to her side and nodded once.  She turned
around and picked up her robe, silently wondering where she miscalculated.  She
froze as she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, gently rubbing and kneading
the muscles.
     The blonde's hair was gently pushed aside and she felt Leda's lips brush
across the back of her neck.  Mina shivered lightly at the sensation and felt
her body start to respond.  She started to twist around but the hands on her
shoulders tightened gently, keeping her in place.
     Leda continued to lightly massage Mina's shoulders and neck for several
minutes before slowly guiding her over to the bed.  Everything became shades
of black as they left the cone of light and the girls found themselves feeling
alone in a void, comforted only by the intimate presence of the other.
     The hands on her shoulders gently pushed Mina down on her stomach and a
pillow was placed near her head.  She grabbed the pillow and tucked it beneath
her chin, placing her arms by her side.  She heard a rustle of fabric and felt
Leda's bare body pressing against hers as the brunette kissed her ear.
     Mina felt Leda's hands on her shoulders again, only this time her touch
was firm and strong as she slowly massaged the tension out of the muscles in
the blonde's back.  Almost immediately Mina started to feel relaxed and she
felt her body surrendering to her friend's skilled touch.
     She lost track of time as the pleasure and relaxation pushed her mind to
the brink of falling asleep.  She was dimly aware of rolling over, but she woke
up almost instantly as Leda gave her a gentle kiss before starting in on the
intimate massage....

		*		*		*		*

     Serena paused in front of the door, trying to decide if she really wanted
to try her plan.  Indecision gnawed on the edge of her mind before she gathered
her courage together and choose a course of action.  Here goes nothing, she
thought as she softly knocked on the door.
     "Come in," said the faint voice from the other side.
     Serena opened the door and went inside, making sure that she closed the
door behind her.  She quietly made her way into the room, not looking up at the
room's occupant until she was a few feet away from him.  When she did look up,
she smiled at the image she saw.
     Darian was standing by the window, wearing a pair of faded gray sweatpants
and holding a rather sizable scimitar in his hand.  Behind him, the falling
snow was starting to pile up against the bottom of the window, creating the
illusion of the two of them trapped together in the room.
     He gave her a funny look as she approached, still smiling rather oddly.
"Hello, Serena," he said softly.  "What's with you?  You look like a cat that
just ate a bunch of goldfish."
     "Just my mind sinking down to Leda's level, that's all."
     He blinked in confusion.  "And what's that supposed to mean?"
     She gestured to the curved blade he was holding.  "Is that your sword,
Darian, or are you just happy to see me?" she giggled.
     Darian sighed as he picked up the sword's scabbard from the bed and deftly
slid the blade inside.  "Sorry I asked," he said, laying the scimitar against
the tiny nightstand.  "So what's on your mind that you wanted to see me at this
hour?" he said, leaning against the wall.
     "I just wanted to be with you for awhile," she said softly.  "That, and I
wanted to sleep in your arms again...."
     He frowned lightly.  "Is that wise?  I mean, I don't want to upset Luna or
anything...."
     Serena smiled again as she moved closer to him.  "Artemis and Luna are out
hunting field mice tonight.  Luna likes doing that and she hasn't had much time
to do so lately, so I'm sure she'll spend most of the night hunting.  Depending
on how much snow there is, she might even spend the night in a tree."
     The thought of the serious and civilized cat sleeping in a tree like a
wild animal brought a smile to Darian's lips.  "Now that would be a sight to
see.... Luna taking a nap up in a snow-covered tree in some yard.  You wouldn't
have thought that cats would go hunting in the snow and...."
     He trailed off as his attention was diverted by the glimpse of motion out
of the corner of his eye.  He turned to look in time to catch a puddle of pink
terry cloth form at Serena's feet.  It's a robe, his mind instantly identified
it as.  His mind locked up as further implications sank in.  It's her robe.
Which means she's not wearing it anymore.
     Darian's brain wasn't sure of its original analysis so it repeated the
logical progression of identification a second time before it sank in.  Almost
immediately, he broke out in a cold sweat as fully half of his brain shut down.
Hesitantly, he began to look up.
     His gaze slowly worked its way up her sleek and slender legs.  They were
smooth and nicely formed with just the right amount of muscle, a pleasant side
effect from her Sailor Scout training.  She was wearing a pair of light pink
panties, cut high enough to allow a great deal of unrestricted mobility while
still remaining decent.
     His eyes wandered further up, across the smooth expanse of her stomach.
Like her legs, it was also well-formed and in excellent condition, despite her
constant snacking on sugar and sweets.  His gaze flicked to her sides to study
her strong and slender arms, again a side effect of her continuous training.
     His gaze wandered up further to her chest and discovered that she wasn't
wearing anything else.  Her breasts were small and firm, being absolutely
perfect for her size.  Her rosy nipples were starting to tighten in response to
his scrutiny and he could feel the heat rising in his face.
     He looked further up, past the tender skin of her chest and throat, and
looked into her blue eyes.  She had a soft smile on her face and the expression
of love in her eyes as she gazed back at him, seeming to be comfortable with
her state of undress in his presence.
     She reached behind her and undid her hairstyle, letting her blonde hair
cascade down her shoulders and almost down to her ankles.  She stepped closer
to Darian and slowly ran her hand across his cheek.  "You seem lost, Darian,"
she said quietly.  "Tell me, do you like what you see?"
     "Very much, my love," he replied and kissed her.
     She kissed back with equal passion, wrapping her arms around him and
hugging him tightly.  They spent several seconds frozen in that position, their
shadows imprinted on the wall by the light of the moon from above.  Time seemed
to stand still, the only indication that it still flowed was the steady and
silent accumulation of snowflakes from the storm.
     Serena gently pulled away from Darian and moved over to the bed.  She laid
down and stretched provocatively, making sure she had his full attention.  She
glanced up at him and smiled at his expression.  She slid beneath the sheets
and moved over, making room for him to lie down as well.
     "Darian?" she said quietly.
     It took him several seconds to find his voice.  "Yes, Serena?"
     "Come to bed.  It's late and we both need to get a good night's sleep."
     He blinked as he slowly sank down on the bed, wondering just how he had
gotten into this situation.  He tried to think about it but the sight of a very
beautiful, half-naked Serena in his bed precluded any serious brain activity.
     He settled himself down and stretched as well, a distant but functional
part of his mind making note of the fact that he had several minor aches in his
shoulders.  Serena moved over next to him and laid her head on his chest.  He
reflexively put his arms around her and found that it felt natural for the both
of them to be in bed together, despite their state of undress.
     "Darian, I love you," Serena said, her mind already well on its way to the
world of sleep and dreams.
     Darian tilted his head down and kissed her ear.  "I love you too, Serena,"
he said.  He closed his eyes and was surprised at how calm and relaxed he had
gotten in the past few minutes.  Maybe there's something to this after all, he
thought to himself.
     It was his last conscious thought before sleep claimed both of them, still
held in each other's arms.  Outside, the snow continued to fall silently, the
only sound coming from the faint rumblings of thunder coming from the leading
edge of a newly summoned storm.

		*		*		*		*

     Rei finished a rather lengthy fire meditation ritual and decided that now
would be an ideal time to get some sleep.  She rose from her kneeling position
and stretched, noting with slight amazement that the aches in her joints seemed
to have significantly lessened.  This is interesting, she thought as she walked
over to her overnight bag.  I should be feeling tired after today's workout but
I'm not.  I wonder how long I've been meditating?
     She reached into her bag and pulled out her alarm clock.  She glanced at
the display and almost dropped it.  She rubbed her eyes with her free hand and
looked at it again, trying to make sure she saw it correctly.  Seven in the
morning?! she thought.  Is this for real?
     She swiftly walked over to the controls to the window shields and hit the
toggle.  The protective bulkheads started to retract from the windows and Rei
blinked as sunlight flooded the small room.  This is too weird, she thought,
when did I fall asleep?  She searched her memory for anything unusual that
occurred while she was meditating, but she could find nothing that indicated
when or even if she fell asleep.
     Oh, well, as long as I'm not tired, she thought as she unbuttoned her
nightgown.  She quickly changed into her usual ceremonial robes and started to
pack everything together.  Her task was interrupted by a soft knocking at her
door.
     "Come in," she called out as she finished stuffing everything into her
overnight bag.  She smiled at her visitor as he stepped into the room.  "Good
morning, Commander."
     Tolaris nodded to her.  "More often than not, that's an opinion and not a
greeting.  I trust you slept well?"
     "Funny you should say that.  I don't recall ever falling asleep.  I'm not
tired or anything," she quickly added as the Dragoon frowned, "It's just that I
have no idea when I fell asleep and when I woke up.  I swear it felt like I
spent the whole night meditating."
     Tolaris blinked and looked at her.  "It's possible that you never actually
fell asleep, Rei.  It's common for those highly skilled in the meditive arts to
spend the night in prayer and be refreshed as if they had slept well, yet they
remain fully awake at all times.  But that's usually a highly advanced skill
and I wouldn't think that you would be able to do such a thing right now."
     Rei shrugged.  "Perhaps.  You did say I had potential, right?"
     "A vast amount of potential.  It doesn't matter right now, just as long as
you're awake when we go in.  Everyone's starting to get up and gather together
for breakfast and last-minute preparation.  Are you all set?"
     She nodded.  "Just finished packing.  Let me take care of the fire first
and I'll be down for breakfast shortly."
     Tolaris laughed quietly.  "All too easily taken care of," he said as a
miniature raincloud formed over the fire.  The cloud rumbled quietly to itself
as it began to rain on the fire, extinguishing it within seconds.  The downpour
continued for a few more seconds to ensure the fire was out before the cloud
dispersed and a tiny tornado formed in its place.  The swirling winds gathered
up all of the ashes in its funnel and drifted towards the direction of the
trash can.
     "It must be convenient to be able to do that," Rei said as she watched the
tornado dump the wet ash into the trash and dispersed itself.
     "It does have its uses," the Dragoon said with a smile.  "Come on, Leda
said she'd be cooking something special for breakfast this morning.  She won't
tell me what, except that it won't do anything like eat the plate as she serves
it."
     Rei blinked as she picked up her bag.  "Do you often have that problem?"
she asked as she followed Tolaris out of the room.
     "It all depends on what you decide to call lunch.  A basic rule of thumb
is if it screams when you poke it with your fork, it's not food yet, but there
are some exceptions."
     The priestess blanched.  "Uh huh.... Tell me, how long are we going to be
in the Negaverse?"
     Tolaris laughed.  "Long enough for dinner, if that's what you meant."
     "That's what I thought.  Maybe we can get Leda to make us some sandwiches
before we go in...."
     The sound of the Dragoon's laughter echoed down the hall for quite some
time as they made there way through the cathedral towards the kitchen.

		*		*		*		*

     Everyone was gathered together in the central hall of the cathedral for
what Tolaris called "an attitude check".  Luna and Artemis were sitting off to
one side, watching carefully but not interfering.
     "Alright, everyone, if I can have your attention?" the Dragoon said in a
gentle but commanding tone.  Everyone looked up at him except Serena, who was
still staring at the star mosaic on the ceiling.  Tolaris sighed quietly and
coughed loudly.  "Serena, can you stop staring at the Astroglobe long enough
for me to get this taken care of?"
     The blonde blushed a vivid shade of crimson and sheepishly turned to look
at him.  "Sorry," she apologized.
     "Okay, everyone, it's almost party time and I'm going to give it to you
straight.  First off, I want it understood that I will command this mission.
Sailor Moon is your team leader and you can follow whatever orders she gives
you, but everyone will do what I say, when I say, and if you have a problem
with this, either speak up now or keep quiet."
     Everyone blinked at the sudden change of Tolaris's demeanor but no one
spoke.  After a few seconds, Tolaris nodded and continued.  "I know this sounds
harsh, but we're going into hostile territory, and if I understand the slang
correctly, this isn't going to be a picnic in the park.  If I give an order,
it will be with good reason and will most likely wind up saving your collective
butts.  But you have to follow it for it to work, so we're placing our lives in
your hands.  Is everyone still with me?"
     They all nodded and the Dragoon commander sighed quietly.  "Good.  Now no
offense, Miss Moon, but if we were in the Negaverse, your inattention could
have very well been a fatal mistake.  I've lived in the Negaverse for all of my
life, and there is still alot about it that can surprise even me.  You have to
suspect everything, trust nothing and no one except your teammates, and always
watch your butt.  And when I say everything, I mean everything.  You wouldn't
think that ant would hurt, but it's bite might contain a toxin strong enough to
kill you in eight seconds flat.  You might not think that rock is alive, but
you'd be surprised when the mimic opens up its mouth and eats your face.  I've
seen all of this stuff happen before and it is not a pretty sight."
     Darian was the only one able to speak after Tolaris fell silent.  "Excuse
me, Commander, but just how common are these little surprises?" he said rather
calmly.
     "Fortunately, a'vechs and mimics are quite rare.  However, there is quite
alot of other harmful surprises out there, so I had to make sure you understood
the extent of the dangers.  You do understand what I mean, right?"
     Everyone nodded with varying degrees of horror and fear etched on their
faces.  "Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all...." Serena said, her
voice quivering with fear.
     The Dragoon rubbed his temples.  "It never was, Serena.  And if you, any
of you, don't like this well enough to come along, then by all means stay here
with Artemis and Luna."
     No one spoke as Tolaris looked each one of them in the eyes, making sure
that he or she knew what they wanted and what they were doing.  He finished his
sweep of the room's occupants and nodded slowly.
     "Very well.  I just want to say that I have a great deal of respect for
your courage and dedication to this.  I just hope that same courage will hold
out for this.  Okay, weapons check, everyone."
     Ami, Rei, Leda, and Mina all pulled their daggers out of their respective
Lunar Space pockets while Darian picked up his scimitar from where he had left
it leaning against the wall.  Serena, who chose not to carry a dagger, pulled
the Crescent Moon Wand out of her own Lunar Pocket and started to look it over.
     "You know, Darian," Rei said conversationally as she slid her ceremonial
dagger out of it's sheath, "You never told us why you picked a scimitar rather
than a dagger.  Isn't it kinda heavy?"
     Darian smiled as the scimitar slid out of the scabbard with a loud hissing
sound.  "Just a little, but I'm used to it.  I've used a sword before, back on
in the Moon Kingdom as Prince Darian, remember?"
     Rei nodded slightly.  "No, but I'll take your word for it."
     Darian shrugged.  "Anyway, I've always wanted to own a scimitar.  I guess
I spent too much time watching movies like 'Lawrence of Arabia' as a kid."
     Leda snickered.  "And I thought you'd want a katana like 'Highlander'."
     "That's what I want after I manage to acquire a scimitar...."
     Mina tested the balance of her dagger and glanced up at Serena.  "Serena,
how come you didn't want a dagger?  I know you don't care for them, but having
a backup weapon never hurts."
     Serena stared into the Imperium Silver Crystal and sighed.  "I don't know,
it.... it just didn't feel right."  She looked up and shrugged.  "I guess it
doesn't make any sense, does it?"
     Mina smiled.  "No, but no one said it had to."
     Ami looked at Tolaris and blinked.  "What is that?" she asked, pointing to
the small cylinder he was holding.  It was made out of a strange type of wood
and was only eight inches long.
     The Dragoon smiled and squeezed the cylinder.  An odd liquid sound filled
the room as the cylinder lengthened out to six feet and a very wicked steel tip
formed at one end.  "Symipa.  The traditional weapon of the Dragoons, if you
will.  Raijen used to use one himself as an emergency weapon and I guess it
formed a tradition.  It's an extra-tough steel-tipped spear that can fold in on
itself into a small, easily-concealed cylinder.  The only problem is that the
mass never changes so the cylinder is not only dense but ultra-heavy."
     "How does it change?" Serena asked, her blue eyes wide with wonder.
     "It's made out of a speical material.  Synthetic mimetic polyatomic alloy,
if I remember the acronym correctly.  The stuff is quite useful since you can
program it to take virtually any shape you want.  The only problem is that the
program itself is unbelievably huge and complex, and our current technology is
such that we can't make really complicated objects."
     Mina frowned.  "You said Raijen used one of those?  But I thought he lived
three thousand years ago."
     "He did.  He was born slightly over five thousand years ago and lived to
be around two thousand six hundred years old.  However, despite the sizable
time gap, the symipa technology hasn't progressed much.  Go figure," he added
with a shrug.  "Anyway, does anyone have any problems with your weapons?"
     They all shook their heads and Tolaris smiled.  "Okay, everyone.  Load up
and prepare to enter the Negaverse.  If you have to use the bathroom, now's the
time since there won't be any 'civilized' facilities available until we get
back here."
     He blinked in surprise as the five girls suddenly made a mad-dash for the
bathrooms.  He leaned against the wall and laughed quietly as he put his symipa
in the holster inside his uniform jacket.  "The one and only definite proof of
male superiority," he said to Darian.
     "The ability to use the bathroom standing up?"
     "Exactly."
     Artemis snickered quietly to himself and got a tail slapped in his face by
a slightly irritated Luna.  He blinked and calmed down, but not without giving
the two guys a knowing smile.
     The girls returned in a surprisingly short amount of time.  Tolaris was
going to ask what kept them but decided that now would not be an ideal time to
irritate his teammates.  "If everyone's finished, then you should transform and
get this party started."
     The Sailor Scouts smiled and nodded to each other.  Four cylinders and a
hand were held up to the sky as they activated their transformation powers.
     "Moon Prism Power!"
     "Mercury Power!"
     "Mars Power!"
     "Jupiter Power!"
     "Venus Power!"
     Darian smiled as he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a rose in
full bloom.  He silently concentrated and his body started to shimmer with
light as he also started to transform.
     Tolaris and the two cats watched as the room was filled with light and the
energy from the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask.  Eventually, the light faded and
they were fully ready for whatever came their way.
     "It is always interesting to watch you transform," the Dragoon said as
they did a series of quick stretches and exercises.  "It might be a good idea
to test your powers before we go in."
     "Right," said Sailor Moon.  She removed her tiara and concentrated.  The
golden tiara melted and reformed into a shimmering disc of energy in her and
and she smiled.  "Moon Tiara checks out."
     Sailor Mercury cross her arms in front of her and focused her mind.  A
mote of energy gathered together and grew into a sizable sphere of power.  She
held it in place for a few seconds before letting it disperse in a harmless
puff of vapor.  "Mercury Bubbles, check."
     Sailor Mars clapped her hands together in front of her and extended her
pointer fingers.  She concentrated and a miniature fireball formed at the tips
of her extended fingers.  The fireball crackled to itself before she let it
vanish with a pop.  "Mars Fire, check."
     Sailor Jupiter closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her, her
second and fifth fingers forming a V on either hand.  A slender rod extended
from her tiara and started to crackle with static electricity.  She let the
charge build up before it discharged in a harmless pop and the rod folded back
down into her tiara.  "Jupiter Thunder, check."
     Sailor Venus held up a finger to the sky and concentrated.  Two balls of
light formed at her fingertip and became a pair of crescent moon beams.  She
let the beams strengthen in intensity before letting them fade into nothing.
"Venus Crescent Beams, check."
     Everyone jumped as a rose imbedded itself in the middle of the floor.  "It
looks like I'm ready," Tuxedo Mask said softly.  "Didn't mean to surprise you
all like that...."
     Sailor Moon smiled as she bent down to pick up the rose.  She yelped as a
thorn pierced her glove and drew blood.  "Ouch, that hurt!" she said as she
picked up the rose a little more carefully.
     "You alright?" Mercury asked, her gaze fixated on the tiny drops of blood
on Sailor Moon's white gloves.
     Sailor Moon didn't miss where her friend's attention was directed.  "Umm,
are you okay, Mercury?  When was the last time you were fed?"
     The vampire blushed when she realized what she was doing.  "Just last week
when I drained you.  I'm not hungry or anything, just...."  She trailed off,
unable to voice what she was feeling.
     "As long as we don't have to worry about you getting hungry, we won't have
any problems," Tolaris said as he drew a strange crystal out of his pocket.
The gem was an eerie purple color that shimmered oddly in the light.  Everyone
blinked and looked at it, captivated by the strange color.
     "Hey, that's pretty.... What is it?" Jupiter asked in fascination.
     The Dragoon smiled.  "A Silkworm crystal, and our ticket into and out of
the Negaverse."  He concentrated briefly and a swirling vortex opened up on the
far side of the room.   Through it they could see a small grove of trees that
marked the start of their journey.
     "Everyone set?" Commander Tolaris asked and everyone nodded.  "Well then,
ladies and gentlemen, it's party time," he said and stepped towards the portal
between Earth and the Negaverse.  One by one, the Sailor Scouts followed him
across the room towards the portal.  Tuxedo Mask picked up his scimitar, hooked
the scabbard onto his belt, and hurried after them.
     "Good luck, everyone." Luna said as they stepped into the wormhole.  Only
Sailor Moon turned around and nodded before they set off, disappearing from
the cat's line of sight almost instantly.  Behind them, the vortex shimmered
and collapsed, leaving Artemis and Luna alone in the cathedral.
     "You think they'll be okay in there?" Artemis asked quietly.
     "I hope so, Artemis.  I really hope so...."

		*		*		*		*

     Captain Whisper turned around as the three Dragoons entered General Rune's
chambers.  She smiled and nodded her head in respect to Shar-Tei.  <So how's
everything going in the Intelligence business?> she telepathed to the Dragoon
commander.
     "It's been a headache, Captain," Shar-Tei replied.  She turned slightly
and bowed before General Rune.  Behind her, Lieutenants Maze and Ra'vel also
bowed to the raven-haired general.
     Rune gave Whisper an amused glance.  "Telepathing behind my back again,
Captain?  Shame on you."
     Whisper smiled and ran her fingers through her pale green hair.  "Have a
bit of faith, General.  You know I wouldn't telepath about people behind their
backs."
     Ra'vel chirped quietly.  <Captain would> she telepathed to the Psi-Corp
officer.
     <Hush> was the swift reply.
     Rune smiled at the two telepaths.  "I don't know what you two say, but I
can feel it when you telepath."
     Whisper blinked.  "You can?"
     "It's only a faint buzzing feeling within my mind, but yes.  If there were
a group of you I couldn't pinpoint it, but since there's only two people in
this room with telepathic capabilities, it's not that hard to figure out who's
doing what."
     Maze snickered quietly to himself as both Ra'vel and Whisper blushed in
embarrassment.  Shar-Tei gave her second-in-command a patient look and he fell
silent, but not without giving Ra'vel a knowing smirk.
     Rune cleared her throat.  "Now then, let's get down to business.  Report
on your current project, Captain?"
     Whisper nodded and her demeanor changed slightly.  "We're ready to begin
the testing phase of the prototype cataport now, General Rune."
     Maze frowned lightly.  "Begging the captain's pardon, but don't you mean
prototype catapult?"
     Whisper gave the Dragoon a patient smile.  Had the suggestion been from
some other officer she would had gotten rather annoyed.  However, she had spent
a great deal of time working with Maze and had become good friends so she had
an extra bit of tolerance for his occassional interjections.
     "I know what I mean, Lieutenant.  The cataport is a catapult attached to
an artificially generated jump gate.  When the projectile is fired, it only
travels a very short distance before hitting the gate.  The gate teleports it
across a surprisingly large distance, rendering the projectile completely
undetectable and unexpected until it appears over the intended target."
     Maze's tan eyes went wide as the implications sank in.  Ra'vel blinked in
confusion and chirped to herself.  <Projectile teleport exist before.  Why
needed prototype?> the avian telepathed to everyone in the room.
     The Psi-Corp captain smiled.  "Tell me, Lieutenant, what's the farthest
you can teleport a six-hundred pound object?"
     <Teleport cannot>
     "Exactly.  The cataport will be able to teleport the projectile well over
seven standard miles in mid-flight," Whisper said with a touch of pride.
     Maze discreetly reached out to prevent his friend from staggering.  Ra'vel
blinked again and did her best to stay on her feet.  Out of the three Dragoons,
she alone knew the extreme level of power needed to teleport that level of mass
across that distance.
     <Where power sufficient get teleport available?> she telepathed.  Her
state of shock rendered her speech syntax even more fragmented, but Whisper had
known Ra'vel for centuries and was used to decrypting her statements.
     "We're using a vast array of psionically supercharged crystals to act as
batteries for the jump gate.  It does take a very large amount of energy but
since everyone from the Psi-Corp recharges the crystals when they can, we have
an even greater amount of energy stored for use."
     General Rune gave Whisper an odd look.  "Tell me, Captain, was this energy
storage plan implemented before or after the Psi-Corp took heavy losses against
the Sailor Scouts?"
     Whisper's pale green eyes grew cold at the mention of the losses.  Ra'vel
chirped quietly and stepped back as she sensed the captain's change in mood.
Everyone knew that Whisper resented her sudden promotion to Captain when Queen
Beryl was destroyed and fully ninety percent of the Psi-Corp was killed in the
battle against the Sailor Scouts.
     "The plans for the cataport were conceived after your ascension to power,
General Rune, so all of the power was drawn from the current ranks of the Corp
as well as from a few psionic volunteers, most notably General Al'vexi."
     Rune smiled at the mention of her old friend.  "I trust she's enjoying her
retirement?"
     "Very, considering there aren't too many denizens who've managed to live
as long as she has," Whisper said, still in a dark mood.
     Rune looked at the Dragoon commander and frowned lightly.  "You look like
you're thinking about something, Shar-Tei.  Tell me what's on your mind."
     Shar-Tei sighed and ran her fingers through her silvery hair.  "I'm not
sure why you requested two Dragoons for assignment to a Psi-Corp project.  Not
that I have any objections yet, General, but I'm just curious."
     "I didn't just want two Dragoons, Commander, I wanted Lieutenants Maze and
Ra'vel on this assignment for a specific reason," Rune said.  "And before you
ask, that reason is none of your concern.  Captain Whisper, do you have a test
site for your prototype?"
     Whisper nodded.  "We plan to use the proving grounds in the northwestern
flatlands."  She didn't dare glance to her side to see Shar-Tei's expression at
being cut off so sharply.
     Rune pulled a tiny crystal out of her pocket and tossed it to Whisper.
"Use these coordinates as the testing site.  As for the test projectile, I have
my own project I wish to test.  On that crystal is the cipher code for the
security lock on the Lex'eri storage facility.  Inside you will find three
crystal fragmentation grenades the size of fully-grown weavers.  Use one for
your test projectile and report back to me everything you can gather about the
results."
     The Psi-Corp Captain blinked and looked at the crystal, a small trickle of
uneasiness making its way down her back.  I don't like this, she thought to
herself.  "Of course, General Rune.  It will take approximately an hour to
align the jump gate to these coordinates before we can test-fire the cataport."
     Rune nodded.  "Just make sure that the field of fire is clear before you
start launching grenades.  We don't want to wind up puncturing anyone with
sharp spines, now, do we?  Dismissed."
     Everyone bowed and turned to walk off to their respective assignments.
"Commander Shar-Tei, a word with you, please," Rune said politely but in a tone
that made it clear that it was an order and not a suggestion.  Shar-Tei nodded
and waited until the others had left before speaking.
     "You wished to speak with me, General?" she said neutrally.
     "I happened to look through the various reports on my desk this morning
and noticed that you applied for the promotion to full Commander.  I'm curious
as to why you did this now and not before.  If I remember right, you said it
was because Commander Tolaris still lived."
     "Correct, General Rune."
     Rune frowned.  "And I am to believe the situation has changed?"
     Shar-Tei nodded slowly.  "Yes, General.  I.... took the liberty of giving
Commander Tolaris the final peace befitting of a Dragoon.  His crystal has been
destroyed and Lieutenant Ra'vel was witness to it."
     The raven-haired general sat back in silence, deeply lost in thought.  "I
see, Commander...." she said slowly.  "Were Queen Beryl still here, I have no
doubt you would suffer the same fate for interfering.  However, I am in charge
now and I'm not Beryl.  I will consider your punishment, if any, for your
actions and will also consider your request for promotion to full commander.
In the meantime, perhaps it would be wise for you to be occupied elsewhere as I
have a lot of thinking to do.  Dismissed, Commander."
     The Dragoon bowed and silently left the room.  General Rune sat back in
her seat and did not move for several minutes.  She eventually focused her
attention long enough to speak to the room.
     "V'Kreeth, come here," she said quietly.
     A shadow detached itself from the other shadows and moved to stand next
to Rune's side.  "I assume you want to review the hunter-scout's data logs from
its mission to Earth?" he said in a dry, hissing voice.
     "For a start," she replied wearily.  "That, and get me something for a
headache.  I have the feeling that this one is going to get worse, and soon.
Very, very soon...."

		*		*		*		*

     Tolaris leaned against the ancient tree and gave Tuxedo Mask a look of
patient suffering.  "Why do I get the feeling that bringing them along was a
bad idea?" he asked, nodding his head towards the small cluster of chaos in the
forest clearing.
     Tuxedo Mask smiled.  "Probably because they're having an absolute fit over
that rat-thing.  Are you sure it's harmless?"
     "It's a rakketh, and it's quite harmless.  I think it resembles a cross
between a spider and an Earth rat, only smaller and uglier."
     Just then, Sailor Moon ran past them, screaming, "Kill it!  Kill it!  Kill
it!"  Behind her, something with many legs and even more hair had grabbed onto
the end of her hairstyle and was holding on for dear life.  The rest of the
Sailor Scouts were running after her, trying to get her to hold still long
enough so they could remove it.
     "Why is it.... she could never.... run like this before?" puffed Sailor
Mars as she ran after their screaming leader.
     "She never had that hanging on to her hair before," Mercury said.  She had
her computer in her hands and was trying to scan the creature.  "I don't think
it's dangerous or anything, Sailor Moon, so you can stop running!" she yelled.
     "Like she's gonna listen," Jupiter growled as she ran.  Her tiara was
activated and charging with static electricity, but she couldn't get a clear
shot at the creature.  "C'mon, meatball head, hold still!"
     Sailor Venus didn't bother wasting her breath as she ran.  Most of her
attention was concentrated on her Venus Crescent Beam, which was fully charged
and gathered together in an incandescent ball at her fingertips.  Like Jupiter,
she was also trying to get a clear shot, but was unable to due to Sailor Moon's
erratic movements.
     "You guys could help, you know...." Mars said as they ran past Tolaris and
Tuxedo Mask yet again.
     "I'd rather watch the five of you make fools of yourselves," Tuxedo Mask
called out with a smile.
     "Who's side are you on?!" Jupiter shot back.
     Mercury blinked as an idea occurred to her.  "I've got it!" she said as
she braked.  Jupiter stumbled to avoid hitting her and wound up bumping into
Sailor Venus.  The contact discharged her tiara, mildly shocking them both and
breaking Venus's concentration.
     The Crescent Beam lashed out, narrowly missing Mars and cutting a path
through the forest.  Jupiter turned her head to follow the beam and froze for
a few moments before shaking her head and getting to her feet.
     "Mercury, you idiot!" Sailor Mars snapped as she continued to pursue the
panicked Sailor Moon, "You don't stop suddenly when we're in the middle of...."
She trailed off when she realized that Mercury had gone vampiric and that it
was not a wise idea to cuss out a vampire.
     The vampire ignored her and concentrated on the running figure.  "Sailor
Moon, look over here!" she called out.  The blonde glanced in her direction and
an eerie glint appeared in Mercury's steel-blue eyes.  At once Sailor Moon
stopped running and stood still, a slightly vacant look in her eyes.
     As soon as she had stopped, the rakketh let go of her hair and ran as fast
as its many legs would allow it.  Not caring where it went as long as it got
away, it ran towards the still-running figure of Sailor Mars.  Mars saw the
creature charging her and changed directions, not realizing that there was a
small but tough tree in the way.
     Sailor Venus winced as she watched Sailor Mars rebound off the tree and
collapse.  She ran over to her inert friend, keeping a wary eye on both Mercury
and the fleeing rakketh.  "You okay?" she said to Mars as she knelt down.
     "That.... that hurt...." Mars said, not bothering to open her eyes.
     "If you were watching where you were going, you wouldn't have bashed into
that tree like that," Venus said softly as she glanced over at Sailor Moon.
     Sailor Moon was slowly walking towards Sailor Mercury, her gaze still
rather vacant.  Mercury reached out to touch her, but the blonde's tiara began
to glow and the vampire quickly shied away.  Sailor Moon blinked and her mind
returned to the present, wondering what was going on.
     "Mercury, what did you do to me?" she asked, still puzzled.
     "I hypnotized you to get you to hold still.  The creature ran off as soon
as you stopped and everything's okay now," the vampire said, her voice oddly
distant.
     Jupiter snorted as she leaned against a tree, still dazed from the shock.
"Well, I'm not okay.  That static discharge gave me a headache and I think my
ears are still ringing.  You okay, Venus?"
     Venus nodded.  "I am, but Mars slammed into a tree trying to avoid that
hairy thing.  I think she's okay, she just needs a few minutes to walk off the
shock."
     "Don't make me get up and move around. please don't," Mars mumbled from
her prone position.  "Lying here on this grass feels rather nice, thank you."
     Tolaris sighed heavily.  "Wonderful.  We're not here for three hours and
already we've had major problems with a minor pest.  Are you sure you five are
the ones who defeated Queen Beryl?"
     As one, the five Sailor Scouts turned towards the Dragoon and glared at
him.  "Listen, buster," Sailor Moon started to say, but was interrupted when
three columns of light coalesced at the end of the small clearing.  The forms
had barely solidified before a warning cry arose across the clearing.
     "LOOK OUT!! SAILOR SCOUTS!!"
     Instantly everyone dove for cover behind the nearest tree.  Jupiter's head
seemed to feel fine and Mars suddenly no longer felt the desire to lay down on
the grass.  Tuxedo Mask looked around for a brief moment before jumping up into
a low-lying tree branch and climbing higher.
     "Great, just p'tahk'enn great," Tolaris cursed as he flattened himself
against a tree trunk.  He blinked in surprise as a slew of neon-red projectiles
shot across the clearing and started imbedding into objects.
     A projectile smacked into the tree next to the Dragoon and he gasped as he
recognized it.  Only one person I know of could throw that sort of thing, he
thought.  His train of thought was interrupted by the sight of Sailor Venus
taking aim with her Crescent Beam.
     "Venus Crescent Beam...." she intoned as the two beams merged together at
her fingertips.
     "Venus, wait a second!  I know one of them!"  Tolaris yelled out. "Sailor
Scouts, hold your fire!  Let me talk with them first!"  Venus shot him a dark
look and refrained from firing, but she still kept her Crescent Beams charged.
Tolaris waited until another wave of glowing projectiles shot past him before
he stuck his head out around the tree and yelled across the clearing.
     "Maze!  Hold your fire!  It's me, Tolaris!"
     He was greeted with a derisive snort of laughter and another wave of neon
projectiles.  "What kind of fool do you take me for?  Tolaris is frozen forever
in the wastelands!" said a voice that was quite familiar to Tolaris.
     A projectile shot by Tolaris and he could feel the hissing of the air as
it passed.  "By Raijen, Maze, if you don't stop shooting at me, I swear I'll
find Lieutenant Ra'vel and tell her who dumped soap in her oil bath last year!"
he yelled across the clearing.
     To his surprise, the rain of projectiles ceased.  He swore he could hear
a soft chirping sound before he heard, "Boss?  That really you?"  He was about
to reply when a cold female voice called out, "Whoever you are, step out into
the open and do it slowly."
     Tolaris gathered his courage together and slowly moved out from behind the
tree.  "Nice to see you too, Whisper," he said as the three figures came into
view.  "Tell me, do you always greet old friends like this?"
     "Real funny," said the figure with long, pale green hair.  "Now you and
your Sailor Scout friends surrender or be destroyed."
     Tolaris drew himself to his full height.  "I am Dragoon Commander Tolaris,
and a Dragoon never surrenders.  The Sailor Scouts are my allies and are merely
accompanying me to retrieve some personal effects.  We intend no harm and only
wish to go about in peace.  If you don't believe me, Lieutenant Whisper, then
try to read my mind."
     The second figure stepped forward and hissed, her feathers ruffling in
uncertainty and surprise.  She looked closely at Tolaris and started to shake.
Whisper frowned and glanced at her trembling companion.  "Are you sure about
that, Ra'vel?"
     The avian telepathed a response and shrank back from Tolaris.  "Lieutenant
Ra'vel here says you're psi-mute, so I can't read your mind.  It is consistent
with Commander Tolaris's mind, but I'm not convinced you are he, despite your
uniform and attitude," she said with scorn.
     Maze stepped forward and gestured.  "Commander Tolaris was the only person
aside from me who knew about the soap incident, Captain," he said, giving the
avian a weak smile.  "However, there is a more definitive test to his identity.
Tolaris could control the weather, a talent shared by only four denizens.  They
are all accounted for, except for Tolaris who is still frozen in crystal."
     Ra'vel chirped quietly and both Maze and Whisper blinked.  "She did what?"
Maze said, his eyes wide with shock.  A crack of thunder drew their attention
towards the figure in the clearing.
     Lightning bolts arced between his hands and he was surrounded by a wall of
miniature tornadoes.  A great gust of wind swept through the clearing, followed
by a short deluge of rain and an even shorter heatwave.  "Have I made my point
yet or do you want it to snow?" Tolaris asked mildly amidst the apparent chaos
of the weather.
     Whisper frowned as severe doubts plagued her resolve.  Could this really
be him? she thought.  She sent a private telepath towards Tolaris, knowing that
the nature of the thought would severely rattle anyone who heard it.
     Ra'vel gave Whisper a puzzled look as she sensed the telepathic attempt.
<Psi-mute/mind-blind being is, Captain.  Ra'vel definitive test know.> she
broadcasted.  <Maze required translation/vocalization.  What Ra'vel say Tolaris
when tornado-blast feathers lost?>
     Lieutenant Maze nodded in understanding.  "Ra'vel wants to know what she
told you when your tornado accidentally blew off her feathers," he said to
Tolaris.
     The Dragoon nodded slowly.  "To be honest, Maze, I couldn't quite make out
what she chirped at me, but I could tell it was a suggestion to do something
about her feathers and fast."
     Maze blinked as Ra'vel suddenly ran past him and darted towards Tolaris.
The Dragoon commander barely had time to blink in surprise before Ra'vel had
wrapped him in a bear hug and was chirping away quite rapidly in her native
dialect.
     "I'd say Ra'vel is convinced of his identity, as am I," Maze said with a
smile.
     "Perhaps...." the telepath said doubtfully.
     "Nice to see you too, Lieutenant," Tolaris said as he struggled to breathe
properly.  "However, I won't be around much longer if you don't let me try to
breathe."
     Ra'vel chirped an apology and let him go.  She glanced over his shoulder
and hissed when she saw the partially concealed form of Sailor Mercury.  <Still
standoff Sailor Scouts!> she broadcasted as she started to step back.
     Tolaris grabbed her wrist.  "Ra'vel, listen to me.  The Sailor Scouts are
my friends and allies.  They will not hurt you.  All we want is to retrieve my
personal effects and my crystal collection.  As soon as we get those, we'll go
back to Earth and stay there."
     "How are we supposed to trust them after they killed Queen Beryl and four
thousand other denizens?" Whisper said coldly.
     Tolaris frowned.  "Do you doubt my word of honor, Lieutenant?"
     Maze coughed lightly.  "Uh, boss, she's now the captain of the Psi-Corp."
     Tolaris nearly fell over in shock.  "You made captain already?  How?" he
said incrediously.
     Whisper's cold laugh sent chills down everyone's spine.  "It's easy when
over ninety percent of the Psi-Corp gets killed and you're the highest-ranking
officer still left."
     "What?" Tolaris said.  "There were three thousand denizens enlisted in the
Corp.... What happened?"
     "They happened," Whisper snapped, pointing an accusing finger at the still
hidden Sailor Scouts.  "The Psi-Corp was gathering together in headquarters for
a routine meeting when they shot up the complex's fusion reactor.  Those who
weren't killed outright by the resulting radiation were incinerated when the
reactor blew out.  We won't even be able to retrieve the remains for another
three hundred years because of the radiation."
     Tolaris was stunned beyond words.  Whisper looked into his gray eyes and
saw the intensity of the emotion in them.  In that instant, she was convinced
without a doubt that he really was who he claimed to be.  She frowned inside
when she realized that she still trusted his word of honor and that meant that
the Sailor Scouts really didn't intend to do any more damage.
     "It is you, Commander...." she said quietly.
     The Dragoon commander smiled.  "Why would I lie about that?"  The smile
fell from his face as he turned his attention back to the situation at hand.
"Captain, we need to get this resolved and soon.  Do you doubt my word of honor
when I say that the Sailor Scouts will not harm you?"
     Whisper frowned.  "No, I don't."
     Tolaris nodded.  "Then come with us.  I want to get this taken care of as
fast as possible, and with your help we can do this even faster."
     Whisper's pale green eyes betrayed no emotions as she fought a fierce
internal battle.  In the end, her loyalty won over her sense of duty and she
nodded slowly.  "Very well, Commander, but don't think I've forgiven them for
what they've done."
     "Thank you, Whisper."  Tolaris turned towards Maze and Ra'vel.  "Do either
of you want to join us as well?  I understand if you can't or won't...."
     Maze smiled.  "You can still count on me, boss."  Ra'vel chirped quietly
and nodded slowly in agreement.
     Tolaris breathed a quiet sigh of relief and nodded back.  "I've really
missed having you three on my side and I'm glad to have you back."  He turned
around and called out to the Sailor Scouts.  "You can come out now, they're
friends of mine and have agreed to join us."
     One by one, the Sailor Scouts slowly emerged from their hiding places and
stepped into the clearing.  With surprising silence, Tuxedo Mask dropped out of
the tree and landed on the ground, rose in hand and ready for anything.  The
Dragoon commander frowned when he saw that Sailor Jupiter's tiara was still
activated and charged with energy.
     Maze whistled softly and leaned towards Tolaris.  "Hey, boss, who's the
blonde in orange?  She's a real looker...." he said very quietly.
     Tolaris gave his friend a bemused look.  "At ease, Lieutenant.  She's only
fifteen and under my protection.  Touch her in the wrong way and I would feel
compelled to injure you," he said, just as quietly.
     Maze blinked at the mention of her age.  "Uh huh.... What about if she
consents?"
     "I'm surprised at you, Maze.  First you throw your projectiles at her, and
now you want to take her to your bed?"
     "Hey, who said anything about taking her to bed?"
     "I've known you since you were seventy, Maze.  Why else would you be that
interested in a female?"  Tolaris grinned to himself as Maze flushed a dark tan
color.  He cleared his throat and addressed the Sailor Scouts.
     "Sailor Scouts, may I present Dragoon Lieutenant Maze, Dragoon Lieutenant
Ra'vel, and Psi-Corp Captain Whisper," he said, gesturing to each in turn.
     Jupiter heard an odd noise and glanced behind her.  She blinked in
surprise as Venus blushed slightly and smiled softly at the mention of Maze's
name.  "Down, girl," Jupiter said quietly and suppressed a smile as Venus's
blush darkened considerably.
     "Captain, I would like to introduce Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor
Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, and Tuxedo Mask," Tolaris continued, again
gesturing to each in turn.
     "Tuxedo Mask, better known as Prince Darian of Earth," Whisper said coldly
with a formal bow.  "We've met before during his brief stay in the Negaverse.
Though I doubt he remembers me.  I was part of the group that helped erase his
memories."
     Tuxedo Mask grimaced at the mention of his brainwashing by Queen Beryl.
"I am sorry to say that I don't remember you, Captain, and I hope you will
forgive me if I wasn't too impressed with your handiwork."
     Whisper opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by the crackling sound
of energy.  Tolaris glanced over at Sailor Jupiter's tiara and sighed heavily.
"Miss Jupiter, I assure you no one is going to harm you, so would you please
turn that thing off?"
     Jupiter blinked in surprise.  "I thought I did."  She concentrated on her
tiara and frowned.  "Ummm, I think it overcharged somehow and I can't disperse
it so I'll need to discharge it the normal way.  Just make sure no one thinks
I'm firing at anyone."
     Ra'vel chirped and telepathed towards Jupiter.  <Message understood.>
     Sailor Jupiter's eyes went wide as she heard the voice speaking inside her
mind.  "How'd you do that?" she said incrediously.
     Mercury held out her computer and scanned Jupiter's tiara.  "Worry about
that later.  I don't like the readings I'm getting from your tiara."
     Jupiter nodded.  "Gotcha."  She crossed her arms in front of her with her
pointer fingers extended.  "Jupiter Thunder...." she started to say.
     A bolt of lightning formed in the cloudless sky and darted down to her
overcharged tiara.  The tiara's lightning rod overloaded and sent the energy
shooting back along the lightning bolt.  Instead of dispersing, the new energy
merged with the old and condensed into a physical form.
     Jupiter's green eyes became even wider than before as new power surrounded
her body.  She found that she could control the new energy form as if it were
part of her own body.  A name rose up from deep within her mind and escaped
past her lips before she realized what she said.
     "Thunder Dragon...." she whispered.
     Then as quickly as it had come, the energy dispersed completely and the
lightning rod folded back down into her tiara.  No one moved for a few seconds,
stunned by what they had just witnessed.
     "Well...." Jupiter said slowly, "I guess the new improvements Luna and
Artemis made works...."  She was about to say more when pain like she had never
felt before lanced through her head.  She fell to her knees and screamed as an
unseen force tore at her mind.
     "You're the one!" Whisper hissed as her mind lashed out.  "You're the one
who killed my husband!"  She gritted her teeth and renewed her mental attack,
determined to exact vengeance.
     Tolaris ran over to her and grabbed her head with one hand while holding
his other hand inches away from her face.  A powerful bolt of lightning arced
between his fingers and got Whisper's attention.  She halted her mental attack
and Jupiter collapsed, whimpering softly to herself.
     "Listen to me, Whisper," Tolaris said darkly.  "Do you remember what went
on at the Battle of Mintaka?"
     "I still have nightmares about that and Ra'vel still has the mental scars
from that," Whisper said almost inaudibly.  The torrent of emotions inside her
mind paralyzed her enough for Tolaris to keep her attention focused on him and
not on Jupiter.
     "Remember how I ran a lightning bolt though that telepath's brain to save
you and Ra'vel?  I will do the same to you if you so much as consider attacking
the Sailor Scouts again.  They are under my protection and more importantly,
they are my friends, just like you and Ra'vel were at Mintaka," he said in a
tone that Whisper rarely heard from him.
     "Tolaris, she's the one.  She killed my husband...." she said as tears
started to form in her eyes.  "Orestan was killed by a blast of lightning after
his batallion was attacked by the Sailor Scouts.... She must pay...."
     "Captain, you must listen to me.  Nothing you can do will bring him back,
and attacking the Sailor Scouts will accomplish nothing.  Do you have absolute
undeniable proof that it was Jupiter who killed him?  Are you sure he wasn't
electrocuted by something or accidentally blasted by someone else?" Tolaris
said in a softer tone.
     Whisper closed her eyes.  "No.... no, I don't...."
     "Then you must not do anything until you are sure, Captain.  If you feel
that you can't join with us, I understand.  But please, give them the chance to
prove themselves trustworthy.  You gave me that chance six hundred years ago
when I wanted to go with you on the that first trip to the Outreaches.  All I
ask is to give them that chance now."
     She opened her eyes and glanced over towards the cluster of Sailor Scouts.
Ra'vel was kneeling next to Jupiter and carefully probing her mind under the
watchful eyes of the other Sailor Scouts.  They're trusting Ra'vel with her
mind, Whisper thought.  Perhaps Tolaris is right....
     "Very well, Tolaris," she said quietly.  "But if I do find definite proof
that she is responsible, neither you nor anyone else will be able to stop me
from making her pay."
     "Understood, Captain," Tolaris said and released his hold on her.  He 
walked over to the group and looked carefully at Ra'vel.  "Will she be okay?"
he asked, and received a short chirp in response.
     "She said that your friend only suffered a light mental blast and should
regain consciousness very soon without any damage," Maze said.
     Sailor Moon blinked.  "She said all that in one chirp?"
     Maze shook his head.  "No, she just telepathed it to me.  She can't do
that with Tolaris because he's psi-mute."
     Just then, Sailor Jupiter groaned and tried to sit up.  "That's it, White
Russians are definitely off my drink list.... Ooh, my head...." she muttered
to herself.
     Venus blinked and frowned.  "White Russians?  Girl, have you been drinking
alcohol?"
     Jupiter coughed.  "Oops.... umm.... No, why do you ask?" she said in her
best innocent voice.
     "Leda...." Venus said dangerously.  She blinked as someone laid a hand on
her shoulder.  She looked up and found Maze standing next to her.
     "Perhaps you should let your friend recuperate first before you chew her
out," he suggested.
     The blonde blushed at his closeness.  "Perhaps," she said with a smile.
     Tolaris laughed to himself as he noticed the exchange between Sailor Venus
and Maze.  Why do I suddenly get the feeling that Maze will wake up one morning
and not have a clue as to what hit him? he thought to himself.  He cleared his
throat and addressed the group.
     "Ladies and gentlemen, may I remind you that we are on a rather tight
schedule and need to get this mission taken care of as soon as possible?  Just
as soon Ra'vel is sure that Miss Jupiter will be fine, we'll have to keep on
moving.  Understood?"
     Everyone nodded and Sailor Moon made a face.  "Just as long as we don't
run into any more hairy things.  I've had enough for one lifetime as it is."
     Mars laughed.  "Well if you would have just stood still, we could have
gotten rid of it a lot faster, meatball head."
     "At least I wasn't dumb enough to run into a tree," Sailor Moon retorted.
     "Oh, yeah...?"
     Tolaris sighed and let his head bump into a tree.  This is going to be a
very, very long day, he thought to himself as the argument raged on.
     Whisper silently moved up behind him.  "Are they always like this?" she
said softly.
     "Occasionally.  I've learned that it's best to just stay out of it until
you can get a definitive word in edgewise.  A lightning bolt works just fine,
but you need to have the right timing."
     "Wonderful," Whisper replied.  "Tell you what, how about if I take a small
nap and you wake me up when we're ready?"
     At that instant, Tolaris saw his opportunity and he let loose with a sharp
crack of thunder.  As expected, the two Sailor Scouts quickly fell silent in
surprise and looked at him.
     "Shall we go, ladies?" the Dragoon said with a smile.
     "You enjoy doing that, don't you?" Tuxedo Mask said as they quickly got
ready to resume their march.
     Tolaris shrugged.  "Got to keep entertained somehow on this trip," he said
as he started walking down the path.  The rest of the group made sure they had
everything and fell in step behind him.  Together, the Sailor Scouts and their
newly made allies left the clearing and entered t