Sailor Moon V * The Dark Adventures of the Sailor Scouts Episode Eleven * "The Calm Before the Storm" She felt the material of her suit become rigid as the hatch beneath her feet opened up, venting the last wisps of the atmosphere into the void of space and leaving her in a complete vacuum. A simple glance down revealed the gentle curvature of her slightly purple world, the glittering expanse of the northern polar ocean taking up most of the view. A very icy puff of air tickled her nose a moment later, the liquid oxygen tanks strapped to her arms inside her experimental suit reacting to the drop in pressure. The amount of breathable air stored in the tiny tanks wouldn't last for a great length of time, but it would be enough for her needs as long as she didn't waste any time. she said, activating the implant in the base of her throat. The faceplate of her suit seemed to flicker slightly with each syllable, the narrow band over her eyes reacting to her voice for some reason that had yet to be figured out. the embedded speaker in her ear replied. Corona reported as she double-checked the readings on the caspule display. the voice replied. she replied, making a face at the thought of the recording implant that had been carefully nestled in her uterus. The so-called 'black box' would record the input from the other implants in her body so that the data wouldn't be lost if she failed to complete the jump successfully. Re-entry into the atmosphere would create an ionized shock-front around her, jamming all forms of electronic communication and thus necessitating a recorder to collect the data as she made her way down from a height of three hundred miles. A simple touch on the control panel turned most of the systems off, no longer needed now that she was in orbit and getting ready to leave. The module would be de-orbited in a couple of days and burnt up in the atmosphere so as not to clutter any orbital paths. she informed the ground team as she hit a rather prominent toggle. The rest of the lights in the module dimmed, save for a bar of flashing red lights positioned inside the confines of the hatch. She did a modified flip in the micro-gravity to turn around and floated towards the open void, the black material of her suit still fairly flexible despite the changes it underwent upon exposure to a vacuum. the voice said. Corona just sighed quietly as she moved into proper position, nestling herself between the coils in the walls. When activated, they would produce a single electromagnetic pulse that would catapult her outside the module like a giant railgun projectile. Even with the speed boost, it would still take her several minutes to reach the edges of the atmosphere. Gravity would have a firm hold on her by then, and the rest was up to the laws of physics. The bar of red lights suddenly turned yellow, indicating that the charging process was completed. She waited for a moment to make absolutely sure she was ready for this before reaching out to press her hand against a glowing square on the wall. The square flashed blue and the yellow lights began to wink out one by one, warning her that the timer was now activated. Her environment abruptly changed as the last light went out, triggering the pulse and ejecting her into the void in literally the blink of an eye. She didn't feel much of the acceleration due to the micro-gravity, but the small slice of her homeworld suddenly seemed to explode outwards into full view, all but blocking out the sight of everything else. There was no sound out here, only the soft rasping of her breathing and the steady mantra of her pulse audible to her as she sailed through space at a speed that would have been all but impossible to achieve unaided by machinery and rocketry in an atmosphere. A virtual display popped up in her field of vision, reporting her status and telemetry. The speed she immediately ignored, as that would change once she encountered enough air molecules to create friction. Then the true test of her experimental suit would begin, trying to see if it could withstand the raw force of re-entry without burning up. She wasn't worried about what re-entry would do to her, as her powers of Chaos let her create a heat-shield of sorts that would absorb the worst of the shock-front. Doing something about her extreme velocity would be another issue entirely, but that was another part of the suit's test. An experimental type of drag-chute had been incorporated into the unique material, appearing to be little more than a series of four vertical ridges running along her back. They wouldn't deploy until she was in the breathable part of the atmosphere and was designed to slow her down so she didn't slam into the ocean like a meteorite. Or at least, it should do that if it remained intact on the trip back down this time, unlike the last experimental suit she had tested.... She cleared the thoughts from her mind as she enjoyed the pristine view of her world from space, knowing she had a few moments to do so. Only one of the Negaverse's three moons was visible, part of the golden moon of Power peeking out around the western horizon. She knew that one of the remaining two was behind her somewhere, and that the third had just slipped over the eastern edge of the planetary horizon. Positioned as such, their tidal influences on the local gravity field were fairly balanced and wouldn't complicate matters. Or at least not for another hour. "Ouch," she whispered to herself as she cast a glance at what for her was the northern edge of the planet. The wide ring of clouds was still clearly discernible just above the visible equator, having been blown into that shape by the nuclear detonation that had taken place recently. It would probably be a full day before the wind currents reorganized themselves and closed that almost perfectly circular formation. Curious, she started to look around for other objects that were visible from orbit. The geographic features were easily discernible, the dark green swath of the Western Forest standing in contrast to the dark blues and browns of the Northern Mountains and the sandy yellows of the Eastern Frontier. The Outreaches were all but hidden in darkness at the moment, sparing her the sight of their sickly grays and dark purple hues. "Well, I'll be damned," she whispered to herself as she studied the small network of mountain valleys spread out before her in a wide circle, surrounding the cold expanse of the polar ocean. Two of the valleys were desert terrain, modest blotches of yellowish-orange standing out in contrast to the surrounding dark landscape. And in the larger of the two valley areas she could make out what could only be a man-made shape, the metallic gray oval seeming to reflect the sunlight just slightly as it turned in what seemed to be very slow motion. [Warning: Encountering Atmospheric Resistance] Corona blinked as the message suddenly flashed in front of her eyes, the spidery red lettering spoiling her view of the Dragoon Legion's SMT. Already? she sighed, casting one final glance of appreciation at the oval shape before turning her full attention to her virtual displays. The readings were starting to twitch slightly, indicating that she was indeed starting to enter the upper edge of the atmosphere. So now the real fun begins, she thought. She wouldn't try to activate her heat-shield unless her suit started to fail, knowing that the entire purpose of the drop was to stress-test it under real-time conditions. Granted there was a lot they could simulate and replicate in a laboratory environment, but there was simply no substitute for the actual conditions. She glanced up at her hand as she spread her fingers out, the quarter-inch thick material appearing to be perfectly fine. She could feel the resistance around her hand as the atmosphere slowly started to thicken up around her. She continued to stare at her fingertips until she began to see just the faintest traces of motion around them, tiny ghost-like disturbances caused by the air being compressed and displaced by her hyper-sonic passage. Half-hour, she thought as she returned her focus ahead of her. The wide expanse of the ocean was very slowly growing larger as more and more of the horizon began to recede. The disc of the planet all but blocked the rest of space now, masking the golden moon's presence behind an ever-increasing veil of atmosphere. [External Temperature Increasing - Internal Temperature Nominal] So far, so good, she thought as the thermal properties of the suit held up to the design specifications. Even though it was only a quarter-inch thick, the new material had the amazing ability to 'repel' heat without absorbing too much of it itself. She had asked how it was done and was promptly given a very long-winded lecture on multi-dimension quantum physics that left her with a truly massive headache. She finally decided that as long as it worked, she really didn't need to understand how the material could be dimensionally folded in on itself without actually breaking any established laws of physics. A faint disturbance could be seen forming in front of her, the beginnings of the shock-front that would accompany her trip through the atmosphere. The front would soon ionize into incandescent plasma as it continued to heat up, turning her into a bright streak of light that would be clearly visible to all who were watching. [Warning: Ion Levels Above Threshold - Communication Link Inoperative] That was to be expected, as only the most energetic of particles from the ground would be able to pierce the energy halo that was continuing to build up around her. The front was clearly visible now, a slightly elongated oval of compressed air. She carefully spread her arms and legs out, seeking to create the maximum amount of drag possible and deliberately testing the limits of her experimental suit. The resistance on her limbs was incredibly strong now, only the tensile strength of the suit's material keeping her arms and legs from being torn out of their sockets. The corona in front of her likewise changed shape, widening out into a roughly circular mass that was less than a foot away. A bright flash of light heralded the ignition of the air in front of her, the halo finally passing the ionization point and becoming plasma. Now the thermal properties of her suit would be fully tested, exposed to temperatures that would start to boil most metals and would instantly crisp organic flesh the microsecond it became exposed. The internal temperature readings had risen three degrees since she last glanced at them, a fully expected development. There was no cooling mechanism in the suit, unless you counted the super-cool air inside her faceplate as the liquid oxygen in her tanks started to evaporate. That prompted an unpleasant memory about how she had to eject them when her first suit had disintegrated, not wanting to be near the tanks when they were heated from a few degrees above body temperature to a four-digit value that started with the number three. Her visor turned black as it compensated for the now-blinding glare of the shock-front blazing away in front of her. She was flying blind now, having to rely on the implants in her body and the tiny sensors woven into her suit to determine where she was. This was the most dangerous part of the descent, as she had to stay on a proper course if she was to land in the ocean. Granted she had a fairly large target ahead of her, but there were a few small islands here and there that could complicate matters, to say nothing of what would happen if she were to drift over firm terrain. The sensors said she was still on the right course, however, so she tried not to worry too much about it. She had a limited ability to adjust her course at this point, but it wouldn't do her much good until she descended enough for the air resistance to be truly useful. The air inside the suit felt warm now, perhaps being just a few degrees below her normal body temperature. She wouldn't start to truly worry until it rose into the triple-digits, at which point she would have free rein to use her heat-shielding ability. She would rather not use it unless she had to, as it would then invalidate any further data collected after that point. [Warning: Altitude 220A - Course Nominal] Almost there, she thought with a quiet sigh. She would attempt to deploy the new drag-chutes at one-hundred thousand feet up, giving them plenty of both time and space in which to attempt to work. She still had a number of doubts about the functionality of the design, but had also witnessed the test results herself in the wind tunnel trials. They would have been fully tested on the last drop if her suit hadn't disintegrated before she could reach a suitable height to have tried deploying them. The crimson glow of re-entry was visible even through her darkened visor now, the bright reddish-white glow of extreme heat. She could feel the wind starting to have a strong influence on her course, not just from the intense halo of super-compressed air in front of her but from the icy current that was the highest level of atmospheric jet-streams. The thickness of the air was starting to slow her down as she encountered a greater amount of resistance. [Warning: Altitude 125A - Course Drift +0.22N -0.01W] Corona arched her back slightly, trying to change the angle of resistance pressing against her chest. It wasn't the first time she had encountered a slight vertical drift on descent, as being a woman meant her chest wasn't as aerodynamic as would otherwise be possible with a male jumper. Of course, she mused with a mental sigh, men didn't have large cavities in their bodies where implants could be nestled without having to undergo radical or otherwise very invasive surgery. It was a trade-off of sorts, but she didn't mind too much given the extreme lengths the R&D team went to make sure that she couldn't feel the slightest hint that she was carrying anything extra. Wait for it, she thought as she kept an eye on the altimeter reading. It slowly counted down until it reached 100A, pausing for just an instant to flash a far-from-subtle reminder on her display to deploy the new drag-chutes. A simple mental command directed at the implant in the base of her skull set the experimental device on her back into motion. She frowned as she felt the back of her suit rip as four rubbery tendrils suddenly ballooned out, quickly elongating into very long loops. The loops immediately stiffened up as they dried out, flattening out at the top ends to increase the amount of surface area. The change in inertia was felt immediately, doubling her over as her waist was jerked backwards. The pain registered an instant later, telling her that she had just torqued the living hell out of her back muscles. It wasn't bad enough to suggest that anything was broken or torn, but it would certainly make moving around a lot more complicated until the damage was regenerated. [Danger: Suit Breach - Danger: Drag-Chute Structural Integrity Failure] Corona knew that she was likely in serious trouble now. The suit breach was already being dealt with, encasing herself in the bubble-like barrier of her heat-shield to prevent the super-heated air from burning her alive. The unknown failure of the drag-chutes, however, was beyond her immediate powers. She blinked in surprise when her visor cleared up, becoming what passed for normal transparency as the halo of plasma around her faded away. A quick check of her display revealed that her forward velocity was still dropping at a steady rate, meaning that the drag-chutes were working for the most part. Huh, she thought as she found herself plummeting through a high bank of thin clouds. Perhaps this might not be so bad after all.... [Danger: Collision Warning - Objects Within Projected Landing Radius] "Oh, k'ves," she muttered softly as her blood turned cold. The problem was made evident as she finally cleared the clouds and could see what was below her. The wide expanse of dark blue ocean was a welcome sight, as that meant she wasn't about to leave a crater on dry land. The feeling of relief lasted for precisely two seconds before she spotted the cluster of naval vessels in the middle of the ocean, appearing to be a heavy carrier and a support group of smaller surface ships. Of course, she thought with a mental sigh. Untold millions of ke'shels of open ocean, and they just *have* to park where I'm going to splash down. I'm almost tempted to aim for one of them just to piss off those p'tais in the Navy. Stupid bunch of.... huh, she added as she drew close enough to make out the details. That doesn't look like one of ours. Deck rotors on a carrier? Who still uses those things? [Danger: Altitude 005A - Course Drift +0.31N -0.03W] [Danger: Altitude 004A] [Danger: Altitude 003A] You know, maybe they'll be nice enough to fish me out of the ocean, Corona thought before even the gray hulls became blurs around her. Assuming I happen to survive this one. Oops, I hope that's just a shadow and not.... * * * * It took Darian a moment to finally realize that the gentle sensation he was feeling wasn't part of the dream anymore. That was enough to draw him out of the depths of slumber, reawakening his senses one by one until he was more awake than asleep. A soft grunt rose up from his throat as the feeling registered again, a soft but persistent nudging of his bare shoulder. It seemed to take forever for his eyelids to part, feeling awfully heavy for being a pair of very thin membranes. The room was still fairly dark, but there was just enough light available to let him focus on the face leaning over him. "Mergph," he muttered softly as he allowed his eyes to promptly close. "Don't be a wuss," Rei said softly as she nudged him again. "Wake up." "Do you even know what time it is?" he sighed as he felt the last vestiges of sleep quietly drift away from him, leaving him fully awake. He paused as a sudden thought occurred to him and he cracked one eye back open. "And why are you in our room, anyway?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Would you prefer I let the demon wake the two of you up?" she countered in a faintly edged tone. Another soft grunt rose up from his chest as he thought about it. "Let me get back to you on that one," he muttered as he opened his other eye and tried to focus on the ceiling. He saw Rei's expression change out of the corner of his eye, turning his head to look at her a little more closely before following the line of her gaze. "She really does look like an angel when she's asleep like that," Rei said very softly as she studied the sleeping blonde's peaceful expression. "I wish I could enjoy sleep that much." "And why don't you?" Darian inquired, keeping his voice equally as soft so as not to disturb Serena. The sheets had fallen down to around her waist as she lay cuddled against him, her feminine curves barely concealed by the way her arm was half-thrown across his chest. The realization that he had also fallen asleep in the nude caused him to cast a side-long glance at the raven- haired priestess, both to see what she was wearing and to make sure that none of his own anatomy was accidentally out on display. The front of her white robe was parted slightly but not indecently so, the soft lines of her deep cleavage flexing gently as she absently shrugged her shoulders in helplessness. "I don't know, I really don't," she sighed. "I'm not even sure I actually sleep anymore, just losing myself in deep meditations for what feels like an hour or two only to be startled when the alarm clock goes off in the morning." "Try going to bed without meditating?" he suggested carefully. "That's like going to bed without brushing your teeth," she muttered as she gave him a slightly unpleasant look. "You can do it, but you still get a rather nasty feeling. Or at least it is with me," she amended as she shifted her position on the edge of the bed. Darian just grunted quietly, acutely aware of the fact that he had fallen asleep last night before he had been able to take care of that personal hygiene issue. He had fully intended to do so, but the herbal tea Susan had given them had simply been too strong to resist. A very soft and gentle sigh tickled his chest as Serena stirred slightly. She seemed to stretch her legs for a moment before cuddling back up to him and drifting back off to sleep. The gesture tugged on the sheets wrapped around them, dragging them down another inch or so. "So that's it," he mused with a very soft chuckle, finally realizing how the sheets had wound up all bunched together at the foot of the bed yesterday morning. He caught the uncertain look on Rei's face and added, "We had this problem of migrating sheets yesterday." "Ah," she said simply, glancing down at the white linens. She paused to study just how far down they were, not quite at the curves of Serena's hips yet but at the same time almost down to Darian's navel, before looking back up into his dark eyes again. "So you awake now?" she prodded gently. "Now," he echoed ruefully with a quiet sigh. "Want to talk, or are you going to wake her up now?" Rei asked softly. Darian paused for a moment to regard her carefully. "Talk about what?" he asked in a very cautious tone. The priestess sighed and turned her attention to the wall in front of her, carefully tucking one leg beneath her. "I haven't had much of a chance to think about what happened last night," she said quietly. "I guess I'm still trying to sort everything out." "There shouldn't be a whole lot to sort out anymore," he pointed out in a cautious tone. "We're good friends, Rei, and that shouldn't have changed. Or are you still rethinking the 'I'm giving up on him' mantra?" he prodded. She cast a somewhat unfriendly glare in his direction before sighing and looking back at the wall. "You know my feelings on the matter," she said in a soft tone. "And you know mine," he countered gently. "Feelings can change," she said in an even quieter tone, still looking at the wall with a slightly haunted expression. "That they can," Darian admitted with a half-shrug, making sure not to use the shoulder Serena was using as a pillow. "But your feelings can change just as easily as mine can, and I really doubt that there will be any sudden changes from either of us." Rei sighed quietly and tilted her head back slightly, looking up the wall to where it joined with the ceiling. "Probably not," she muttered. He paused to regard her carefully before sighing softly. "So are you going to tell me what really brought you here, or are we supposed to just go over the same concerns again until Serena wakes up?" he said in a neutral tone. The priestess continued to study the ceiling joint in silence for a few moments before sighing heavily and tilting back, carefully reclining against his lower waist. "I'm scared, Darian," she said very quietly. "The Imperium Silver Crystal won't talk to me. I can't even hear my mother's voice now, and I'm.... I'm afraid it will refuse me when I go to transform into Sailor Mars." "Why would it refuse you?" he inquired, thinking very carefully about the wisdom of letting Rei stay in position. Not that she was crunching anything of importance, but he would rather not have to try to explain anything to Serena if she should wake up and notice that the bed was just a little more crowded than when she went to sleep. "If it would refuse anyone at this point, it would be Serena simply because of how she's changed. Physically, at least," he added, giving in to the impulse to reach out and very lightly run his hand across the blonde's bare back. "I just find the sudden silence to be.... disquieting," Rei murmured as she closed her eyes. Darian glanced down at Serena as she stirred again. He blinked hard as she started to stretch again, his free hand darting down to grab the edge of the sheet just as it was drawn down even further. He managed to snag it just as it slid past his navel, barely keeping his modesty preserved. Rei lifted her head up with a frown as the sheet moved beneath her head, turning slightly to cast an irritated glance at the slumbering blonde. She paused as she noticed Darian discreetly tugging the sheet higher up, a faint blush of embarrassment coloring his cheeks. "Problem?" she asked in a guarded tone as she sat back up. "Yeah, we're not exactly dressed for company," he muttered. Rei just rolled her eyes and leaned back down, allowing more of her weight to rest on his legs and effectively pinning the sheets in place. "Honestly, after what happened last night?" she said in a pointed tone. "Does it really matter at this point?" "It might," he countered in a flat tone, drawing a faintly surprised look from the priestess. They both blinked as Serena yawned quietly, making a very disgruntled sound to herself as she cuddled even tighter against Darian. Darian and Rei exchanged glances before Rei sighed quietly. "Serena," she said in a bored tone, reaching up above her to nudge the nearest part of the blonde's body. "Wake up, meatball head." "Let her sleep, Rei," Darian said quietly. "I want to get this over with," Rei replied tartly as she prodded Serena again. She was answered with a petulant groan of protest as Serena rolled over onto her other side, resulting in the majority of the sheets being dragged along with her in a none-too-gentle tugging motion. Both Rei and Darian sat up in the same instant, the former because of the minor friction burn she was getting along the back of her neck and the latter because of the fact that what was left of the sheets now barely covered his ankles. His arm came down to grab the edge of the sheets when it was gently intercepted, her hand taking hold of his forearm to halt him in mid-motion. There was a slightly uneasy moment as their eyes met, Darian acutely aware of the fact that he was completely naked and exposed to her gaze. "Rei," he said in a warning tone, his eyes narrowing slightly. She continued to stare into his eyes before reaching out with her other hand, gently shaking the blonde's arm. "Serena," she said flatly. "Wake up." "I'm awake," the blonde muttered, still three-quarters asleep. "Good," Rei replied tartly. "So give Darian the sheets back before I have to take them from you myself." "Rei?" Darian sighed quietly as he tugged himself free from her grip. He reached behind him to grab the pillow, quickly setting it in his lap to cover his groin. "Leave her alone. Hey, easy!" he yelped as Serena suddenly sat up and came perilously close to falling off the edge of the bed. "Huh?" Serena mumbled, trying to shake off the mantle of sleep and focus on her surroundings. It took a few moments for the fog to lift from her blue eyes, a pair of hard blinks finally allowing the situation to register on her fuzzy mind. "What...?" "Good morning," Rei said in a faintly edged tone as she scooted back, one hand absently retucking the robe around her. "Rei?" Serena said in confusion, pausing for a moment to yawn. "What's going.... on...?" she said, her voice slowing down as she realized that Darian was sitting next to her with just a pillow in his lap to preserve his modesty. The fact that Rei was sitting next to him and seemed to be quickly adjusting her robe shut was a rather disturbing discovery, making her wonder just what she was waking up to. Or worse, what she had missed while she was asleep. "Serena?" Darian said with surprising calmness. "Can you do me a favor?" "Wait," Serena said slowly. "Why are you...? HEY!" she yelped as Rei leaned over Darian's legs, grabbing the edges of the sheets and giving them a fierce yank. A truly startled yelp filled the air as the force of the tug not only unwound the sheets from Serena's body but sent her tumbling into Darian, winding up in a truly compromising position. Rei paused for a moment before sighing quietly and shaking her head to herself, knowing that the scene was definitely not what she had in mind. The only thing that kept either Serena or Darian from waking up any further was the fact that the pillow was squished between them, providing a cushioned landing for the blonde's groin. "My bad," she muttered as she fluffed the sheet out, draping it as best she could over them and sitting back down on the edge of the bed with a faint blush. "Don't move," Darian said firmly in an iron voice. He waited until the surprise factor wore off and Serena's momentary panic-attack had left before very carefully twisting around, gently setting her back down on the bed. He breathed a sigh of relief as the situation was remedied without injury to his anatomy or further embarrassment to them both. He leaned over to give her a soft kiss before sitting back up to cast a dark glare at Rei. "Sorry," Rei muttered as she looked away, feeling the blush on her cheeks darken by at least three shades. "Darian?" Serena said in an uncertain tone as she sat up, absently keeping the sheets tucked beneath her chin. "What's going on?" "Let's just call it a rough morning and leave it at that," Darian replied with a quiet sigh. "Don't ask me why Rei decided to wake us up like this." "Look," Rei countered with an impatient sigh. "I already told you, I only came in here to wake you up because otherwise Susan would have done so. That, and I wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. That's all." Serena blinked and gave Darian an uneasy look, still not entirely sure what to make of the situation. All three of them blinked and glanced towards the door as there was the sound of a gentle knock, followed by the whispering sounds of the door being eased open a few inches. "Your Highness?" Susan said very quietly, edging just enough of her head into the room to see what was going on. She paused as she realized that both Darian and Serena were not only still in bed but were likely far from dressed as well. "I said I would take care of it," Rei growled, casting an unfriendly look towards the slightly unsettled succubus. "We'll be out when we're ready." Susan blinked at the priestess' tone, glancing over at both Darian and Serena to make note of the startled looks on their faces. "Very well, your Excellency," she said in a neutral tone, casting the briefest of glances over at Rei. "Please do not take too long, as the others are waiting outside." Darian and Serena traded looks before Darian sighed quietly. "You're in a mood this morning," he said as the door was gently closed, giving Rei a flat look. "Or are you still having a few lingering cramps?" he prodded. "Stuff it," Rei growled. "You going to tell me where, or do I get to pick this time?" he shot back in a partially-amused tone, causing Serena to blink hard and Rei to almost slip off the edge of the bed in shock. "Umm...." Serena said slowly. "I think you know where, Darian," Rei muttered, looking away as the blush returned to her cheeks. "Not this one again," he replied with a smirk. "I know you sometimes have a singular focus in your meditations, Rei, but you really need to clear your mind out on occasion. One-track minds tend to get old fairly quickly." "What's going on?" Serena whimpered in confusion as Rei sighed heavily, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees and put her face in her hands. "Like I said, just a really bad morning," Darian assured her, leaning over to kiss her bare shoulder. "We're awake now, Rei, so you can leave us in peace to get dressed and all." Rei lifted her head up to give him a neutral look before leaning down to scoop up his robe from the floor. "Here," she said simply as she tossed it to him. "You can make new clothes once we're outside in the Ether." Darian cast an idle glance down at the robe before looking back up at the priestess. "Rei?" he said gently. "We'll meet you outside." Rei said nothing, looking over at him in stony silence before glancing over at the still-confused Serena. She sighed quietly and stood up, smoothing out the edges of her robe before heading towards the door. She seemed to pause for a brief instant before reaching for the handle, quietly twisting it open and slipping outside without looking behind her. "Darian...." Serena said slowly once the door had closed. "Is she okay?" Darian sighed and shook his head. "I don't know, Serena," he replied as he leaned over to give her a gentle hug. The embrace was returned with quiet warmth, enjoying one another's company but both still quietly worried about Rei's state of mind. "Come on, let's get this one over with," he said in a resigned tone, unconsciously echoing Rei's earlier words. "Get what over with?" Serena asked in confusion as Darian eased himself off the bed. Her gaze reflexively shifted down to his exposed backside, eyeing his firm masculine curves before the robe was slipped on and tied in place. "This morning's stress-test," he explained in a faintly dry tone as he made his way around the bed to her side. "Susan wants to test us, remember?" "Oh, yeah," Serena grumbled as she untangled the sheets from her legs and climbed out of bed. She paused for a moment to stretch, flexing her back as she briefly rose up on her tip-toes. The stretch very quickly blurred into a deep kiss as Darian took advantage of the distraction, sliding his arms around her nude body to draw her into a fairly intimate embrace. "Heh," he murmured softly once the kiss was broken and her soft monotone hum of pleasure had faded away. "Good morning, my love." She giggled quietly and pulled him down to her for another soft and fairly protracted kiss. "Good morning, my prince," she whispered back to him when he finally edged away. "For once, at least," he pointed out as he briefly bent down to scoop up her discarded robe. He had to fight the impulse to study her body as he stood back up straight, knowing that he could easily lose five minutes simply gazing at the nearly-flawless smoothness of her skin. Had they awoken like this back on Earth on a weekend, things would most likely certainly be different. And not just because of a lock on the door, he thought wryly as he held the robe open for her. He kissed her neck softly as she turned around and leaned against him, her arms slowly coming up to slide into the sleeves. "Thank you," she purred in a soft and dulcet tone as he reached around her waist to tie the white fabric closed for her. She turned around once he was finished for a final kiss before they both headed for the door, figuring that they would have plenty of time to make the badly-rumpled bed after breakfast. Rei opened her eyes as the bedroom door opened up, lifting her head up to watch Darian and Serena emerge from the room. She immediately noticed the soft smile on the blonde's lips, a clear indication that Darian had gone out of his way to make the princess forget that she wasn't a morning person. Granted it wouldn't take much in Serena's case, most likely no more than a tender kiss or two given her emotional nature and tendency to wear her heart on her sleeve, but it was still not something that the priestess wanted to think about. "You two ready?" she asked quietly as she pushed herself off the wall and stood up straight, absently fluffing her dark hair behind her. "We should be," Darian replied in a careful tone, absently rubbing his hand across Serena's lower back. "I hope so," Rei replied calmly as she turned to head for the far end of the corridor. "Rei, are you alright?" Serena asked tentatively. Rei sighed and came to a halt, reaching up to rub her sinuses with her fingertips. "I'm scared, Serena," she said in a quiet tone. "I'm scared that the Imperium Silver Crystal is going to reject me when I try to transform for some reason. I haven't sensed anything from it since that outburst yesterday, and the silence is.... disturbing." "So what if it does?" Darian spoke up, causing both girls to abruptly stop in mid-motion. "Honestly, Rei, do really think the Crystal would go to all the trouble of making you Regent only to turn around and ignore you in the morning? I doubt it. I can only see one of three scenarios happening in a few minutes, assuming nobody's tried to transform yet. Either everybody transforms, nobody transforms, or everybody but Serena transforms." "What?" Serena blurted out, giving him a startled look. He sighed quietly and turned to face her, reaching down to hold her hands in his. "I'm only saying that because you haven't tried to become Sailor Moon since your denizen blood woke up," he said in a gentle tone. "I honestly don't think it will refuse you, Serena. After all, you're still the Moon Princess with the exact same blood you were born with. The only problem I see is if there is something wrong with the Imperium Silver Crystal as an entity, which means that everybody should have the same problem calling on its powers." "You're overlooking one thing," Rei pointed out. "I have dominion over the Crystal right now, not Serena. That might be screwing everything up." "So give it back if you're that worried," Darian countered, giving her a slightly irritated look. "I really don't understand you sometimes, Rei. From what I've both seen for myself and heard from the others, you've been wanting a chance to have the cosmic power for yourself since you first put on Mars' red skirt and fired up the power in your soul. Now that you actually have it, you suddenly don't think it's a hot idea anymore?" "So maybe I was wrong all this time," the priestess replied in an empty tone, giving him a level look. "Perhaps I just needed to be taught a lesson about coveting power. Tell me, Prince Darian, haven't you ever had a desire for something, only to realize it really wasn't what you thought it was once you got it? Or worse, realized that you never truly wanted it to begin with?" "I have," Darian admitted with a somber nod. "I will return control of the Crystal to Serena when this is over," Rei said, giving Serena a neutral look. "That's really up to Susan, however, as she's the one harboring the souls of Queen Serenity and Captain Raijen. But one thing at a time," she added as she turned away and resumed walking at a measured pace. "Come on," Darian said to Serena in a gentle tone, briefly squeezing her hand before setting out after the raven-haired priestess. Serena immediately followed him, keeping pace in uncharacteristic silence as the three of them made their way through the ground-level foyer towards the main doors of the keep. The dim lights in the room suddenly winked out without warning as the heavy iron doors began to swing inward, briefly plunging the foyer into total darkness before the soft pink glow of the Ether became visible. "Well, well," Sailor Uranus said as she turned to look for the source of the heavy creaking sound. "Look what the succubus dragged in. Morning, you three!" she called out with an idle wave of greeting. She was holding her Soul Saber in her off-hand, carefully twisting her wrist around to try to loosen it up beneath the weapon's weight. "Leave 'em alone," Sailor Jupiter grumbled quietly as she continued to stretch and roll her shoulders. A simple wooden quarterstaff was laying at her feet, the center portion of the weapon having been solidly bound with a thin cloth ribbon for traction. "Morning," Darian replied calmly as he gently ushered both Serena and Rei onto the slightly damp grass. All three of them made a slight face at the cool sensation beneath their bare feet. They all halted after a few paces and cast startled looks around the immediate area, finding the terrain to be vastly different than they had last remembered. "Hey, what's all this?" he asked with a gesture to the series of booth-shaped tents that had been set up in a large ring like a carnival fairground. "Sue's idea of a training ground," Uranus muttered sourly. "She's playing the warped-physics game again so it just looks small on the outside. Go ahead and stick your head in one, you'll see what I'm talking about." Darian, Rei, and Serena all traded uneasy glances before Darian strode over to the nearest tent. It was roughly the size of a portable toilet and decorated much like a pavilion tent, complete with a colored banner quietly flying from a tiny spire at the very top. He cautiously poked at the material for a moment before prying the flaps apart, seeing only utter darkness inside. He cast a wary look at Uranus before leaning forward to put his head past the flaps, remaining motionless for a number of moments before slipping his head back out. "You've got to be kidding me," he said, his eyebrows arched clear up to his head in a blatant display of surprise. He took a step back and moved to the side to let Rei examine the tent for herself, taking another step back as she stuck her head inside to look around as well. "What the hell?" Rei demanded in amazement once she pulled her head back, giving Uranus a startled look. "It's Sue's way," Uranus replied with a shrug of dismissal. "You have to admit it's a neat trick," Jupiter added as she bent down to scoop up the quarterstaff. She held it horizontally and pumped it up and down a few times like she was working with a barbell before twirling it around in a gentle pattern. "So where's everyone else?" Darian asked as he watched Serena step past Rei to poke her head in the tent. Although it only appeared to be tiny on the outside, the inside of the tent was as roomy as a full pavilion tent, holding a fairly large combat ring. A series of mats had been laid down and decorated with paint in a few odd patterns, while a small row of bleachers lined either side of the ring. The tent was empty for the moment but it appeared to easily be capable of holding everyone together at once. Uranus gestured to a pair of dark red tents at the far end of the circle. "Neptune's setting up the water-works, or so she claims, and Mercury is still talking to Susan about the warm-up exercises we just did." "Okay...." Darian said slowly, glancing around at the tents again. "So call me paranoid, but where's Sailor Venus?" "Right behind you," a coy voice spoke up, causing both Darian and Rei to spin about sharply. "I had to use the bathroom," Venus explained with a smile as she gestured behind her. "Please tell me you're not going to try to fight in that...." Darian cast a reflexive glance down at his robe before glancing over at Rei. "We just got here," he pointed out, looking over his shoulder as Serena finally pulled her head out from the dimensionally-warped tent. "Wow," Serena breathed in awe, looking over at them with wide blue eyes. "That's amazing how Susan got all that space into this tiny little tent. Hi, Venus," she added. Venus chuckled quietly and winked at her fellow blonde. "Good morning, space cadets," she said in a cheerful tone. "You three ready for a physical exam to see how capable you are? I'm sure our dark demoness is ready now...." "Depends on how invasive it is," Darian muttered, giving Venus an uneasy look. He paused as a thought popped into his mind and he glanced over at Rei. "I think this answers the question about transforming," he said to her. Rei looked at him and nodded, seeming to relax just slightly. "Yeah, I was just thinking about that. But still...." "You worry too much," Darian said, cutting her off with a gesture. "And if you're really all that worried, Rei, then go ahead and transform. No use in putting it off, right?" "I suppose you're right," Rei sighed quietly in resignation as she reached behind her to open up her Lunar Space pocket. Her hand came back up a moment later holding the silvery Mars Wand. She seemed to hesitate briefly before holding it up towards what passed for the sky in the demiplane. "Mars Power!" "See?" Darian said calmly as everyone stepped back from the sudden vortex of fire surrounding the priestess. "You girls worry too much sometimes." "Worried about what?" Venus asked as she watched the fiery transformation sequence. The crimson flames soon faded away to reveal the visibly relieved expression on Sailor Mars' face, a faint blush tinting her cheeks as she turned to look over at Darian and Serena. "I'm sorry," Mars apologized very quietly. Darian made an idle gesture of dismissal. "Don't worry about it. Good morning," he added as he saw Susan and Sailor Mercury stepping out of one of the dark red tents. "Good morning, your Highness," Susan replied in a cordial tone before she turned her attention back to a visibly disturbed Mercury. "As I said, I will attempt to reload the relevant portions of the databases from the archives once we return to the present, assuming the archives are still intact, but the loss of information should have no impact whatsoever on the program functions." "But where did it come from to begin with?" Mercury persisted, her face half-masked by her Virtual Visor. The broad expanse of the blue-tinted device was all but blotted out by several screens of images superimposed over her line of vision, making everyone else wonder how she could possibly see straight at the moment. "And why didn't I ever notice it before?" Susan gave the upset vampire a patient look. "I suspect that you simply didn't explore the software environment to its fullest," she said calmly. "I assure you the program was in place long before your grandmother was born, so it is hardly a new development. Keep in mind that you are not the only one who has capabilities you were not previously aware of. Sailor Venus and her own Virtual Visor, for example," she added as she cast a mild glance towards the orange-skirted blonde. "Oh, yeah, that," Venus said as she reached up to tap the orange garnet gemstone nestled in the center of her tiara. A band of orange light promptly formed over her eyes, solidifying into a Virtual Visor that was identical to Mercury's visor in every way except color. The blonde promptly blinked hard as a message flashed in her line of vision. "Wait, what's it doing?" she blurted out. "Synchronizing? With what?" "Hey!" Mercury protested as yet another display window opened up on her already-crowded visor. "Establishing connection.... with Venus?! Susan, what the hell is it doing now?" she demanded as she brought her miniature computer out of her Lunar Space pocket and flipped the cover open. Susan paused and glanced over at Mercury. "I do not mean to be harsh or disrespectful, Sailor Mercury, but perhaps you should observe what it does and try to discern its functionality on your own," she suggested archly. Darian exchanged slightly wary glances with the rest of the group before sighing quietly. "Okay, maybe I spoke too soon about it being a good morning," he muttered dryly. "Venus, you alright?" "Hey, I'm fine," Venus replied casually, still glancing up at the tiny display window in the corner of her field of vision. "I don't know what it's doing, mind you, but it's not in my way or anything. Dunno about looking at the world through an orange filter, but I can handle this," she added as she cast an appraising glance at the rest of the group. "Let's hope so, babe," Uranus said as she casually tossed her saber in the air, watching it flip end-over-end several times before catching the hilt in her right hand. "Hey, watch where you toss that thing," Jupiter growled as she took a step away from the sword-wielding Viking. Uranus paused to give the brunette an odd look. "I was watching it," she pointed out. "What, you think I'd just toss this in the air at random? Like I'd want a blade this sharp to come raining down without warning." "Whatever," Jupiter grumbled to herself as she put some distance between her and everyone else. She hefted the quarterstaff again and started to slowly whirl it around in a fairly wide arc, apparently trying to further loosen up the muscles in her upper arms. A startled yelp caused everyone to suddenly whirl around as a panicked Sailor Neptune scrambled out from inside the other dark red tent, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. She immediately launched herself into a rolling dive away from the tent flaps, the red material barely closing behind her passage before the entire tent suddenly ballooned outward as if something had exploded inside. The now-spherical tent started to lean to one side, making a very ominous creaking sound as the fabric started to strain. "Mich!" Uranus yelled as she darted over to where Neptune was gingerly rising to her feet, her complexion dangerously pale. "What the hell happened?" "Lady Neptune," Susan said flatly as she cast a distinctly unhappy glare at the tilting balloon-like tent. "I explicitly told you not to disturb the stasis field surrounding the planar portal." "I didn't touch it," Neptune panted as she grabbed onto Uranus' arm for support. She glanced up at the irritated woman and paused to brush a stray lock of aquamarine hair out of her face. "Something came through the gate when I was standing there and tried to talk to me. I couldn't understand her, and when I tried to explain that I couldn't hear her voice too well, she started to poke at the stasis field." Susan's eyebrows promptly arched up in surprise. "Something came through the gate?" she echoed. She got an uneasy nod in response and closed her eyes to think for a moment, oblivious of the slew of very uncertain looks being exchanged among the rest of the group. "Humanoid, pale blue skin, with blue or greenish hair and eyes?" Susan finally asked as she opened her eyes. "I think so...." Neptune replied. "A marid, probably," Susan sighed as she pulled her staff from its niche in Time and rested her weight on it. The movement was so fluid and casual that the rest of the group was caught off-guard to see the silvery staff suddenly appear in literally the blink of an eye without warning. "Odd, they usually don't go poking around tiny dimensional gates like that...." "Wait, a what?" Uranus asked carefully. "A water genie, I think," Venus spoke up in a cautious tone. "Umm, guys? Can we discuss this in a few moments? That tent doesn't look too good...." she said as she made a gesture towards the still-spherical red tent. Susan barely glanced at it before making a gesture with her staff. The tent suddenly seemed to implode inward, twisting and folding in on itself until it simply vanished in a bright spark of light. A very sharp popping sound was heard a moment later, followed by a small deluge of somewhat warm water being sprayed in all directions from the tiny point of light. "Hey!" Jupiter growled as she felt a few droplets splash across her face. "I guess we shall save the swimming test for later," Susan said casually as she stood up straight and sighed. "No matter, we should be ready to begin now that we are all here together." "Umm, excuse me," Venus said, waving her hand around gently. "I don't mean to be rude here, but do you think you could explain to us just what the hell happened?" "Not to mention what you're going to put us through," Jupiter muttered, drawing sour nods of agreement from Uranus and Mars. "A simple series of tests to ascertain your skills and the strength of your domain powers," Susan explained calmly as she drew her Pluto Wand from her Lunar Space pocket. "I had intended to add a few tests to assess your physical attributes, such as strength, agility, resilience, and endurance, but it seems that it may be wise to wait until later. Sailor Mercury, are you finished yet, by chance?" she added in a faintly reproving tone. "Wait a minute," Uranus said slowly as everyone looked over at Mercury, realizing that she was still working on her tiny computer and didn't appear to have been aware of what had just transpired a few minutes ago. "You guys were serious about this attention-span problem of hers, weren't you? Goddamn...." Venus just sighed quietly and crossed her arms. "What, thought we were kidding?" she grumbled. "Focus is nice, but not when it could get you killed because you're not paying attention to a small riot erupting around you. So who's turn is it this time?" Jupiter eyed her quarterstaff for several seconds before grunting. "Nah," she muttered to herself before looking over at Venus. "I took care of her when we ran into the vep'tera earlier, so someone else can handle this one." "You people are such wimps," Uranus sighed as she moved forward, shifting her saber to her other hand. Venus shot her an irked look. "Hey, there are just some things you don't want to do lightly and disturbing a preoccupied vampire ranks up there with mooning a werewolf. Not a wise thing to do regardless, but.... whoa, wait!" Everyone suddenly cringed, first in surprise as Uranus' hand darted down in a grabbing motion, then in pain as Mercury promptly squealed at the top of her lungs. The miniature computer in her hands was sent on a ballistic path that would have bounced off of the stone walls of the keep if Darian hadn't reached out to grab it as it sailed past him. Mercury immediately whirled around, both hands darting back to cover her backside while she gave Uranus a genuinely shocked look. "What are you DOING?" she demanded in a voice that was two full octaves higher than her usual pitch, a bright crimson blush crossing her cheeks. "Getting your attention, babe," Uranus replied calmly. "You awake now?" "That was wrong...." Venus muttered quietly. "Effective, but wrong. Hey, is this a compass?" she added, tapping the topmost edge of her Virtual Visor. The display had changed slightly when she moved her head, only now realizing that it had been there the entire time. Darian just shook his head as he took a few steps forward, holding out the miniature computer to the still-shocked Mercury. "Yeah, I spoke too soon about it being a good morning," he muttered. "Here, you dropped this." "Thank you," Mercury said absently, giving Uranus a truly glacial look. "Settle down, babe," Uranus replied with a roll of her eyes as she went back over to Neptune. "Anyway," Mars said calmly, looking around the circle of tents. "Can we get this thing over with? I'm starting to get hungry." Susan looked at the group for a moment before sighing quietly to herself. "Perhaps that would be best," she said before she held her wand up. "Pluto Power!" "Yo!" Jupiter yelped as Susan was suddenly engulfed in a mass of swirling vapors, the charcoal-gray coloring lending an air of darkness to the process. Her eyes widened slightly as a low, almost mournful sound reached her ears, seeming to be a haunted whisper of pain and agony. "What the hell is making that noise?" "That's just Pluto for you," Uranus said with a shrug, having seen the transformation countless times before. "I told you she's a spooky bitch when she's in a mood." The looped end of a staff suddenly cut through the swirling wall of dark vapor, causing the shroud-like veil to fall away and reveal the black colors of a Sailor Suit. A second whispering-moan could be heard before both it and the last traces of the dark mist faded away, leaving behind the striking figure of Sailor Pluto holding the Key to Time in her hands. "Wow," Venus breathed quietly. "That made my hair stand on end." "Damn...." Jupiter said in a low tone, shaking her head. Pluto paused for a moment before casting a sidelong glance at Uranus. "I suppose it would be entirely too much to ask if you would have the good grace to keep your commentary to yourself, Lady Uranus?" she said archly. "Whatever, Sue," Uranus replied with a shrug. "Anyway," Mars muttered, casting a glance at both Darian and Serena. "You two want to get dressed now? The sooner this is over with, the sooner we can go get something to eat." Darian paused and gave her a leery look. "You're still in a mood?" he ventured in a cautious tone. "I thought you'd have settled down by now." "I'm hungry," Mars replied in a flat tone. "Come on, guys," Jupiter sighed quietly as she rubbed the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "Let's just try to play nice for awhile. Serena, go ahead and transform." "Alright," Serena said quietly as she squeezed Darian's hand before moving a few feet away from him. She took a deep breath and raised her hand up to the demiplane's sky, focusing her mind on the power of the Imperium Silver Crystal. "Moon.... Crystal.... POWER!" The rest of the group unconsciously held their breath, a feeling of horror slowly filling the air as nothing happened. "Uh-oh," Venus whispered softly as Serena's eyes tripled in diameter at the realization that she couldn't feel the cosmic power transforming her. "Wait," Pluto said quickly, moving forward so that she was in everybody's line of vision. "This is not an unexpected development once you consider all that has happened in the past three days. Your Highness, listen carefully.... you are not at fault here." "Hold up," Jupiter interrupted as she tapped the quarterstaff against her shoulder, a dark frown marring her face. "Serena suddenly can't transform and you say this is expected? What the hell is going on here?" Pluto sighed and held up a hand. "Consider this, Lady Jupiter," she said in a measured tone. "The Princess is, strictly speaking, not a true Sailor Scout. Let me finish," she added as she heard at least three deep breaths being drawn to argue. "She is of royal blood and as a courtesy is empowered as the rest of us are. The key to this is the realization that she was not being granted this power because she is a princess, but rather because she had dominion over the Imperium Silver Crystal at the time." The rest of the group blinked hard and turned to look at Sailor Mars. The priestess gave Serena a startled look as she reached behind her, removing the quiescent Imperium Silver Crystal from her Lunar Space pocket. She brought the gemstone forward and looked at it, trying to figure out what Pluto meant. "Chancellor...." she said slowly. "Does that mean.... I can transform into Sailor Moon?" "It may be possible," Pluto allowed in a very guarded tone. "However, as you are already empowered by virtue of belonging to the House of Mars, I would rather forcefully recommend against you attempting to do so. Or at least not by calling on the power directly," she added. "Hey, now wait a minute...." Venus started to say. "Go on," Mars said calmly, staring down at the Crystal. Pluto seemed to choose her words carefully as she spoke. "The situation being what it is, you are the Regent, second only in power and domain control to the Crown Princess. That the power is currently under your full control is a transient situation and thus should not be relied upon to persist for a great length of time. However, your status as Regent is permanent and thus may be sufficient cause for the cosmic power to consider augmenting your powers if you so request it. I should like to point out that this is pure speculation on my part as I have no personal knowledge of such a situation happening before." Mars remained silent as she studied the spherical gemstone in her hand, her face an unreadable mask of emotionless contemplation. "Serena," she said very quietly. "What did you do to transform into Sailor Moon the first time?" "Hey!" Venus protested sharply. "You can't just.... OW!" she yelped as she was suddenly jabbed in the thigh by a quarterstaff. "Cork it, girl," Jupiter growled. "Let them work this out." "W-What do you mean?" Serena said slowly, giving Mars an uncertain look. "The words, Serena," Mars said, still studying the Crystal. "You didn't use Moon Crystal Power at first, did you? That only came after our battle with General Rune and the merging of the two crystals." Five sets of eyes suddenly blinked hard in unison as the realization sank in. "You're right...." Serena breathed, her expression changing. Mars looked up at her and nodded slowly. "So if the Crystal has gone back to being what it was, without any denizen influences...." she started to say. "It should be what it started out as!" Serena finished for her, her blue eyes wide with surprise and hope. She blinked and became perfectly still for a moment before her expression started to crumple. "Umm...." "Noooooooo," Venus muttered softly to herself, turning around to rest her forehead on the nearest solid object. "Don't say you forgot what it was, no, no, no, no, no...." she said, thumping her head repeatedly. Uranus gave Neptune a sidelong glance before carefully shifting her saber to her other hand, holding it well away from Venus' body. "Get off me, babe," she muttered to the now-depressed long-haired blonde. "Prism, Serena," Mercury said in an audibly strained tone. "Oh, yeah," Serena replied with a deep blush. There was a brief moment where everyone seemed to sigh quietly in unison before Serena raised her hand up towards the sky again. "Moon Prism Power!" she intoned. "Yes!" Venus cheered with a pumped fist as Serena was suddenly enveloped in a dazzling nimbus of radiant energy. She suddenly paused as the white aura quickly faded away, leaving Serena standing there with a truly startled look on her face. "What?" she blurted out. "Ow...." Serena whimpered quietly as she lowered her arm and looked at the palms of her hands. "That.... that hurt...." "Sailor Pluto, what am I seeing?" Mercury quickly asked, her eyes nearly double their usual diameter as she read what was being displayed on her Virtual Visor. "Transformation failed, energy sequence failure? What *IS* this?" Jupiter and Uranus exchanged weary looks, both girls seeming to age a few years in the blink of an eye. "Honest question, hon," Uranus said quietly to the brunette. "Do I look as bad to you as you look to me right now?" That resulted in a slightly awkward pause before Jupiter just sighed. "If you want me to say you look good to me, I'll have to ask Sailor Neptune to slap you silly," she grumbled. "Bah," Uranus sighed. "That's not what I meant." "Sailor Mercury, I ask your indulgence in deferring your question until we have this current situation rectified, as I am at a loss to explain why the Princess' transformation request was effectively denied," Pluto said calmly. "Everyone be quiet," Mars said sharply, causing the rest of the group to blink at her tone. She wrapped her fingers around the gemstone and brought it up to her face, holding it only a few inches away from her. "You are really starting to piss me off now," she said to the Crystal. "I know I have both the power and the will control you, and I am not shy in exercising them. As the Regent of the Moon Kingdom, I command and demand an answer from you. *NOW!*" The Crystal remained quiet for a number of seconds before a very faint glow started to seep out from the depths. A collective intake of breath from the rest of the group caused Mars to lift her head up, blinking at the sight of a gauzy white shape starting to form in front of her. The shape continued to strengthen until it was resolved into a very translucent humanoid figure. Mars blinked as the spectral queen turned to look at her, seeming to be somewhere in her late thirties. A soft mane of peach-colored hair flowed down her back to the base of her spine, a lock of hair at each temple woven into a small but tight braid. Her eyes, however, were a featureless black as empty as the void of space itself. "You do not know what you are asking," the ghostly image whispered, her soft voice seeming to freeze the blood in everyone's veins. "Of course we don't know," Mars countered as calmly and as evenly as she could, trying very hard to shake off the effects of a sudden anxiety attack. "Nobody is telling us anything anymore. Will you answer my questions?" The image of the past queen slowly looked around the group, her empty eyes seeming to linger on Serena, Mercury, and Pluto. "Depending on the questions you ask," she finally said, looking back at Mars. "Just be warned, Regent," she added, putting an emphasis on the title, "Your capacity to compel us is not as strong as you think." Mars glanced over at Pluto as she approached, the succubus leaning over to very quietly whisper in her ear. "I've never met this queen before," she said almost too softly for even Mars to hear. "That means she is one of the ancient ones and should be treated with the utmost respect. Please, tread carefully. I suggest three questions, no more." "Thank you, Chancellor," Mars said in a neutral tone before turning her attention back to the spectral image in front of her. She paused for a brief moment to glance at the rest of the group, making note of the uneasy looks on their faces at the sudden development. She sighed softly before drawing in a deep breath, looking back at the projected soul. "Your cooperation is appreciated, your Majesty," Mars said carefully. "I hope you will forgive us for being concerned about the situation. Would you please tell me your name?" The queen seemed to tilt her head slightly at the shift in tone. "I am Queen Nectaris, although I suppose that after this long I have indeed earned the title of Ancient One," she said, giving Pluto a measured look. A faint smirk touched her ghostly lips as Pluto bowed her head with an abashed look on her face. "And I believe we can permit three questions without prejudice." Mars glanced over at Serena before looking at the queen. "Why did you suddenly fall silent yesterday?" she asked carefully. Nectaris closed her eyes briefly before opening them again, focusing on the dew-damp grass before looking back up at Mars. "We felt the summons from the time-stream," she said calmly. "The Chosen One had.... will...." she tried to say before sighing heavily. "Oh, how I hate these time paradoxes," she said in a weary tone. "Your Majesty...." Pluto started to say before being silenced by a raised hand from the monarch. "We will, in the near future, receive a summons from the Chosen One," the queen said in a very deliberate manner. "For whatever reason, there were no moderating influences present at the time and the request was granted. The magnitude of the event was of such significance that it sent an aftershock into the temporal flow, which we were able to feel yesterday. The realization of what it meant resulted in a.... lively debate within the cosmic consciousness that continues at this very moment. The current consensus, which I do not presently agree with, is that the power of Sailor Moon shall be kept sealed until we are satisfied we understand the situation." Mars looked over at Serena, feeling a slight twinge in her abdomen at the look on the blonde's face. "Thank you, your Majesty, I think that clears up a lot for us," she said carefully before looking at the spectral figure again. "If I may ask, can my own powers be augmented because I am the Regent?" "Goddamn it," Venus muttered quietly, leaning over to bounce her forehead off of Uranus' shoulder again, drawing a very unamused look from the Viking. "Hon, you do that one more time and you're going to be eating this thing," Uranus growled as she made a gesture with her Soul Saber. "Now get off me." Queen Nectaris nodded slowly. "They can be, if you truly wish to call on them. It will have to be blended with your elemental domain, however, as your Chancellor is only partially correct about the nature of Sailor Moon's powers. Had one of my advisors tried to tell me that I was not a true Sailor Scout, I would have taken him or her out to the courtyard in the middle of the night and given them a solid taste of my elemental power," she added, giving Pluto a look that was just as reproving as it was amused. "Granted the domain of Life is not as potent as the domain of Death when it comes to dealing out raw pain and justified suffering, but we can certainly make it seem to be solely an issue of semantics." "Duly noted, your Majesty," Pluto replied with a chastised curtsey. "Heh," Uranus chuckled very quietly to both Venus and Neptune. "It's not every day we get to see someone putting Sue in her place. I like this Queen," she added, drawing a frown from Neptune and a rather dark glare from Pluto. "I would be careful if I were you," Nectaris said in a warning tone to Uranus. "Belittling those who have considerably more knowledge and experience than you may lead to a significantly harder life." Mars sighed quietly and looked over at Serena again, noticing that Darian was absently rubbing her lower back. She knew she could probably get away with asking a number of questions but something in the back of her mind was telling her not to push the case. And having already asked two questions, she only had one more to go. The real question now, however, was which one to ask. Why are you here instead of my mother? she thought to herself as she cast a quick glance around the group, trying to gauge their reactions to the current situation. Why are you afraid of the future? What is this Chosen One person that has both you and Queen Andromeda so bothered? Why must Serena's power be isolated all of a sudden? If it happened in the future, why all this now? "I sense a little indecision on your part, Regent Mars," the spectral figure said lightly, causing the priestess to blink. "Why is this all happening now?" Mars blurted out, her mind latching on to the most recent thread of thought. "If what you are worried about takes place in the future, why is this all falling together now?" Nectaris nodded slowly in understanding. "It is simple, really. We...." Everyone blinked as the queen suddenly trailed off, a dark frown forming on her face as the faint glow from the Imperium Silver Crystal suddenly flared up. It didn't become as bright as earlier instances, but the change in the strength of the light was still noticeable. "I will answer because that was what we agreed to," Nectaris said in an edged tone as she glared at the gemstone. "Three questions without prejudice or bias, and this is the third one." She paused once again as the glow began to pulse, causing the golden sign of the Moon to appear on her translucent forehead. "If you wish to step forward to answer in my place, so be it. No?" she added when the glow suddenly dimmed in intensity. "Then hold your tongue and let me speak." The image of Nectaris sighed heavily as she rubbed her face for a moment. "Simply put, Sailor Mars, we sensed the future summons from the Chosen One and panicked. Sailor Pluto can probably explain the mechanics of time travel and the unique nature of temporal paradoxes far better than I could, but we could tell that the source of the summons was close. Exactly how close is beyond our power to discern at the present, but the general consensus is within a year if not sooner. This consensus I do agree with," she added in a solemn tone. "A year?" Pluto blurted out, her eyes going wide. "But the Silence isn't supposed to start for another...." "Enough," the queen said as she raised her hand. "We are all aware of what events the future suggests will happen and when. However, you and I both know that the future is extremely malleable and subject to change. As I have said, we became panicked at the summons and the current consensus is that we cannot permit the call to be answered when we reach the proper point in time. The problem at hand, however, is that we are presently unable to discern the difference between the summons of Princess Serena and the call of the Chosen One. Rather than run the risk of making a fatal mistake from confusion, any such call will be denied until a way is found to tell the two apart." Everyone looked over at Serena for a moment before exchanging glances, not liking the current situation one bit. The sound of someone spitting on the ground in disgust made heads turn, the rest of the group quickly focusing on the dark look on Sailor Jupiter's face. "What a load of crap," the brunette snarled. "Sailor Jupiter...." Pluto started to say in a warning tone. "Look, she's right here, okay?" Jupiter said, gesturing with her free hand at Serena. "Is this Chosen One everyone keeps talking about right here too? I didn't think so," she added as the image of Queen Nectaris remained silent. "So let's use some common sense here, okay? If you hear a call in the next ten seconds, you know it's Serena doing it and not this other girl you're getting all bent out of shape over, so you can safely answer it. Serena, try again," she added, giving the spectral image a look of contempt. "One moment, your Highness," Nectaris spoke up quietly, making an absent gesture to the blonde girl. She stared at Jupiter for a moment before turning her attention to Mars and the Imperium Silver Crystal. "I think what was said, however tactlessly it was phrased, is worth consideration, don't you agree? I will add my consent and encourage the others to do so as well if the consensus is modified from a blanket denial to approval strictly on a case-by-case basis. I accept that it will necessitate a delay, which could prove.... untimely in a crisis, but it is still far more reasonable than a simple blind rejection." The Imperium Silver Crystal promptly lit up like the core of a star, the glow intense enough to force everyone to look away from it. Serena's sigil lit up a moment later, the golden crescent shape glowing strongly and seeming to pulse in time with her heartbeat. Both the Crystal's glare and her sigil faded away after a few seconds, leaving the group wondering what was going on. "Very well," Nectaris said softly as she nodded her head. She turned to face Serena and gave her a gentle look. "Should you wish to transform, your Highness, we can accommodate you at the moment. Once you are finished with the power, however, you will be unable to call it back on a moment's notice. To safeguard ourselves, we will have to stop and verify the identity of the one who summons us first before making a decision. This is a trivial task at the moment, being so isolated in this dimensional pocket, but once we are returned to the present it will not be so easy." Serena blinked hard and nodded slowly. "I.... think I understand." "Take it easy, beloved," Darian murmured softly to her, gently squeezing her shoulder. "We'll get through this mess somehow." "We hope you do, Prince Darian," the ghostly queen said in a pointed tone. "Otherwise, the future will be.... not worth contemplating. I must point out that you both have changed," she said to Darian and Serena. "As such, the key to your powers will have to be changed as well. The power of the Moon is still very much yours to call upon, but using the Crystal as a focus as you once did before will not be sufficient. You must be able to draw upon your own powers and use what the denizen Chaos has embedded inside of you. As your body and blood have compromised with your origins, so too shall our powers work out a compromise with yours. Divided as we are in our opinions about you, Princess Serena, we are unanimous in our belief that you are indeed an angel. Perhaps not an angel of this world, but an angel nonetheless. Use that image to draw upon your inner-self and the path to the power of the Moon shall be opened for you. This time," she added in a warning tone. Her spectral image seemed to flicker slightly before it faded away completely, leaving behind only a very faint glow within the depths of the Imperium Silver Crystal. The silence that followed lasted for almost a full minute before Venus quietly cleared her throat. "See, I told you she was an angel," she said to the group at large. "Go ahead and give it a shot, Serena, I want to see what happens." "Indeed," Pluto said in an unusually quiet tone. "Uh-oh," Uranus muttered softly, reaching up to sheath her saber in the dimensional scabbard on her back. "I really hate it when she gets all quiet like that. Sue, you want to tell us what's on your mind?" "No, I do not," Pluto replied calmly, causing the blonde to blink hard. "Your Highness, I would strongly advise you to attempt to transform as soon as you are ready, given the.... seemingly delicate.... nature of.... the.... situation," she said, absently trailing off as she focused on what Mercury was doing. The group's attention shifted as a single unit to the blue-haired girl, several sets of eyebrows rising up at the realization that she holding her computer with her fingertips and was using her thumbs to type away at the tiny keyboard at a speed almost literally faster than the human eye could follow. The display on the inside edge of her Virtual Visor had cleared up and now was composed of a pair of screens, lines of text slowly scrolling up on the upper display as she continued to type at a furious pace. "Okay...." Venus said slowly, not sure what to make of Mercury's burst of activity. "Should we grab her attention or just let her take care of whatever it is she's doing and have Serena transform? Yeow, that looks like it hurts," she added, looking down at her own thumbs and trying to wiggle them back and forth as fast as she could. "Leave her alone," Jupiter sighed in a bored tone, tapping the bound shaft of her quarterstaff against her shoulder. "Let's just get this over with so we can prepare for the next surprise. Besides, I thought you'd be getting cold by now wearing just a robe out here," she added. Darian and Serena traded glances before they both blushed lightly at the reminder of their state of near-undress. He leaned over to give her a gentle kiss of encouragement before taking a few steps back, giving her plenty of room in which to try to call on her powers. "Go for it, Serena," he said gently. Serena took a deep breath and nodded at him, turning her focus inward for a moment to think. "Okay, let's see.... Umm, anyone have any ideas?" she said in a faintly embarrassed tone as she looked up at the group. "Ideas for what, starlight?" Uranus asked in a guarded tone. "You're the one who knows how to do this sort of thing on your own." "Well...." Serena hedged. "Not really...." "Serena," Mercury said calmly without looking up from her task or slowing the motion of her thumbs. "Consider this for a moment.... your powers of the Moon are intact, only the source of the call has changed. Considering the fact that she said you need to use your denizen powers, and that you are in essence an angel, it would make sense if it were to be along the lines of Angel Moon Power or something similar." Everyone exchanged glances as Jupiter edged closer to Mercury. "Decided to pay closer attention to your surroundings this time?" she ventured. "I'm coding, not thinking," Mercury replied in a level tone, not missing a beat as she continued to rewrite a particular program. Jupiter cast a look of patient suffering at the rest of the group, drawing a shrug of indifference from Darian. "Hey, if one of you girls grabbed my butt like that, I'd be keeping an eye on the rest of you too," he pointed out. "Whatever, Darian," the brunette replied with a roll of her eyes. "Your Highness?" Pluto prompted gently. Serena looked over at her before nodding. "Alright, I'll see if that does anything," she said before taking a deep breath and raising her hand up once again. "Angel.... Moon.... POWER!" "Oops," Venus said quietly as Serena was surrounded by a halo of light. Her white robe seemed to disintegrate in an instant, leaving her standing naked in a spotlight of sorts. The thought of her nudity was quickly pushed aside as her denizen wings suddenly exploded out from her back, flaring out into a classic butterfly-shaped pattern in an instant. A brilliant white glow started up in her diamond-like nails, rapidly spreading across her arms and legs to solidify into elbow-length white gloves and knee-high red boots. The glowing ribbons of light sprouting from her back swept forward, wrapping themselves around her torso to solidify into a very familiar white-and-blue Sailor Suit. A glowing crescent moon sigil flared into view on her forehead, quickly expanding outwards and shaping into her silvery tiara. Tiny sparks of light started to bloom around her, weaving together into a pair of bows on her chest and lower back while the rest gathered together to form a pair of ruby barrettes adorning her unique hairstyle. "Oh, wow...." Sailor Neptune breathed in awe as the white glow faded from around Sailor Moon's body. "I've never seen it do that before...." "Dammit," Mercury grumbled as she paused in mid-type, scowling at what was being displayed on the lower half of her Virtual Visor. She blinked as the text sank in, causing her to look over at Pluto with a truly puzzled look on her face. "Just think of it as a way to keep tabs on action in a combat situation," Pluto said in a gentle tone, not presently in the mood to try to explain the history behind the analysis program that was currently loaded into memory. "It can be tied into Venus and Neptune's visors as well to obtain multiple points of view at once and thus make the information more accurate." "Oh...." Mercury said very quietly, turning to look over at the orange- visored Venus. "So that's what it was doing. Interesting...." Venus blinked and gave her an uneasy look before glancing back at Sailor Moon. "You feeling okay there, girl?" she ventured, not sure what to make of the queasy look on her face. "I'm.... not sure," Sailor Moon said quietly. "Something feels.... odd." "I do not believe you should be overly concerned just yet, your Highness," Pluto spoke up. "As it is essentially a new empowerment for you, it would make sense for things to feel slightly different to you." Sailor Moon carefully tugged on the front of her blouse before making a slight face. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said. She paused for a moment before looking up at Mars, her eyebrows arching up slightly as she realized something. "Oh, wait, no wonder.... you've got the Crystal," she pointed out. "For what it's worth," Mars muttered quietly before sighing. She looked up at Sailor Moon for a moment before casting a curious glance back down at the Crystal. She carefully brought the gem up to her chest, lightly tapping it against the maroon bow attached to her Sailor Suit. Uranus just shook her head as a burst of light erupted from beneath Mars' fingertips, encapsulating the Imperium Silver Crystal in a silver brooch that was shaped like a stylized torch with wings. "You know, I really shouldn't be surprised by what happens anymore," she grumbled to the rest of the group. "I mean, what hasn't happened to us in the past week?" "Tell me about it," Jupiter sighed. "Right now, I'd be willing to give an awful lot to have a normal day from start to finish." "Just one, Jupiter?" Darian asked carefully. Jupiter shrugged in dismissal. "I just figured that asking for a full week was somewhere between asking too much and just being greedy. It's your turn to transform, Darian, although with the way things are going I'm almost afraid to ask what sort of mess you'll wind up making," she pointed out. "Heh," Darian chuckled as he started to head towards the fog-like border that surrounded the tower-like keep. "I shouldn't laugh, you just might be right. Hang on, let me go grab a.... oh, thanks," he said, stopping abruptly as Venus pulled a rose out of her Lunar Space pocket and held it out to him. "Don't read anything into this, okay?" she said impishly as he carefully accepted the thorny stem. "I just figured you needed a prop or something." "It helps," he replied with a shrug. He took a few steps back to make sure he wouldn't bump into anyone before closing his eyes and turning his focus inward. Everyone blinked hard as he was suddenly enveloped in a white curtain of light, a visual effect that they couldn't remember ever seeing before. The veil of light started to wrap around him like fabric, draping across his body and molding against him before the glow faded away. "Okay," Jupiter said in heavy resignation as she stared at the white-robed individual standing before them. "Honest question here.... did I really jinx things with that comment, or is this a new headache?" "Uh...." Darian said as he looked down at what he was wearing. "Definitely a Maalox moment," Venus muttered with a wrinkled nose. Uranus and Neptune exchanged confused glances. "Okay, so he's back to wearing his desert garb again," Uranus said slowly. "What's the problem?" "Darian?" Sailor Moon said tentatively as she studied the loose desert robes surrounding him. His face was hidden behind a white veil, leaving only his hands and a narrow band over his eyes exposed. A gleaming scimitar hung from his belt, half-hidden by the edges of his off-white cape. A pair of dun- colored boots were visible beneath the flowing edges of his pantaloons, making him look like a desert corsair from ancient Arabia. Pluto sighed quietly before clearing her throat, causing everyone to look over at her with varying degrees of trepidation. "I think I am able to make a sufficiently educated guess as to the.... unexpected nature of his Highness' transformation. Bear in mind that Prince Darian is most assuredly not a Sailor Scout or is otherwise enabled to directly call upon the power of the Imperium Silver Crystal...." "That's what you said about the Princess," Uranus muttered, drawing a very light swat on the ankle from Jupiter's quarterstaff. "The Princess can call upon the Crystal," Pluto replied firmly. "Prince Darian cannot. But what he apparently can do is draw upon the power of the one who presently has dominion over the Crystal. The suit that Darian wears as Tuxedo Mask was what he was wearing when he met the Princess for the very first time in the Moon Kingdom. What he wears now, however, is the traditional garb of his homeland, which was what he was wearing when he first met Sailor Mars." "Oh, boy...." Venus said softly as she regarded the white-robed figure in a new light. "And seeing how Mars is holding the keys at the moment...." "Hence his present state of empowerment," Pluto finished for her. Uranus shrugged to herself. "There shouldn't be any difference, right? Okay, so he's just wearing a new set of underwear, big deal. You feel anything different, D?" she called out to him. He looked down at the billowy fabric of his tunic and pantaloons before giving her a pained look. "I feel gay wearing this," he complained quietly. He sighed quietly and looked around the group as both Jupiter and Uranus began to laugh loudly at his statement. "You.... you'll be alright...." Jupiter gasped as she tried to stand up straight, leaning hard on her quarterstaff for balance. "Hey, I like it," Venus protested, edging closer to study him. "So what do we call you now? Obviously Tuxedo Mask doesn't apply at the moment...." "Darian will suffice," he said in a tone as dry as any desert. "If I may, your Highness?" Pluto spoke up. "You once led a small group of askari into a difficult battle, and it was said that on the night before you had gathered them together upon a dune and gave them a rallying speech. From what I've heard, you timed it to coincide with the rising of the full moon on the horizon behind you. So awed were they by the image and so inspired by the passion of your words, they took to calling you the Moonlight Knight. None to my knowledge have ever openly called you that, but when the name was whispered among the desert tribes there was very little confusion about the identity of the one being talked about." "OoooOOOOooo," Venus purred. "I like the sound of that." "Anyway," the desert prince said, casting uneasy looks at both Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars. "So I take it this is going to persist until the power of the Crystal is back in the hands of Sailor Moon?" "It would be a reasonable assumption," Pluto replied. "This afternoon," Mars said quietly to Sailor Moon. "Once we get back to Earth and everything has a chance to settle down. Such as it were," she added as she once again cast an appraising look at Darian's white robes. "What?" Darian inquired, giving her a slightly unhappy look. Mars glanced up at the dark pools of his eyes before shrugging. "I think you look good in that," she said calmly. "Don't know about the sword, but I've never really cared for big weapons to begin with." "Bah," Uranus spoke up with a chuckle. "It's not the size of the blade that counts, but.... back off," she suddenly added in a low tone as she found Sailor Jupiter's face only a few inches away from her own. "Do us all a favor and don't go there, okay?" Jupiter growled, pointedly thumping the end of her quarterstaff on the ground. "Just let it go and nobody gets hurt. Now I don't know about you, but my muscles are starting to get all stiff from just standing around listening to everyone play with themselves." "Umm...." Venus started to say. "Don't start," Mars sighed quietly. "Indeed," Pluto said dryly. "I believe we are all ready to begin now, so if you would all be so kind as to follow me?" she said as she went over to the dark red tent, pulling the flaps aside and making a gesture for them to enter. "You alright?" Sailor Moon said quietly to Darian as the rest of the group started to file into the dimensionally-warped tent. Darian just shook his head to himself, already able to feel the beginnings of what would most likely become a very solid headache start up in his frontal lobes. "Ask me later," he replied sourly. "Let's just see if we can get this over with before any new surprises have a chance to pop up." She nodded in understanding and followed him over to the tent, unable to keep herself from studying his desert-robed figure. "Darian?" she said quietly just before he started to enter. "Yes?" he said, pausing in mid-motion. "I think you look good in that, too," she admitted with a faint blush. "Thanks," he replied dryly as he started to slip inside the darkness of the open tent. "But honestly.... let's see you walk around dressed in what feels like a bunch of bedsheets and not feel just a little fruity...." * * * * "The first test is simple and straight-forward," Pluto said as they all sat down on the row of bleachers. Behind her was a fairly long target range where a series of rectangular drones hovered in mid-air. "Each of you will be asked to use your elemental powers to attack the targets. They are programmed to record the intensity of the blasts for comparison and analysis, so you are expected to hold nothing back. "To augment this exercise, I have asked Sailor Mercury to make use of a rather specialized combat analysis program that makes use of her Virtual Visor. Since Venus and Neptune's visors can be linked to form a network, I'm asking them to leave their visors on for the duration of this exercise." "Umm, 'scuse me," Venus said, waving her hand around while Neptune calmly activated her own Virtual Visor. "Tell me again how these things work? I know Bubbles over there uses hers all the time, and probably Neptune as well, but nobody told me I had this thing until the other.... day.... HEY!" "Wait," Mercury said, sitting up straight as she saw the message flash across her own visor. She quickly consulted her computer and typed in a new command, resulting in a slew of data being displayed on the tiny screen. "I think it's a classic client-server model," she spoke up to the group. "If I'm' reading this right, only my visor has the actual capacity for analysis. The rest of you just have recording sensors and a shared display capability." "Like we understood a word of that," Uranus grumbled as she leaned back, resting her arms on the row of bleacher seats behind her. "Just get on with it," Mars said in an edged tone. "I'm not kidding about being hungry. Who's first?" Pluto smiled slightly and made a snatching motion at the air, pulling her staff out of the temporal flow. "If I may demonstrate while I am up here?" she said lightly as she turned around to face the range. She paused for a moment to single out a drone at random, narrowing her eyes slightly as she focused on it. "Pluto...." she intoned, raising her staff. "Lost Soul.... SCREAM!" Everyone except Uranus and Neptune leapt to their feet in unison as a dark wave of energy gathered around Pluto's staff. The energy promptly exploded outwards towards the drone, a truly haunting moaning-cry filling the air as the wave of energy crossed the distance. The drone was struck in the center and reeled back, a series of lamps lighting up to indicate it was hit. "WHOA!" Venus yelped, her attention torn between the staggering drone and the lines of text scrolling up on her orange-tinted visor. "Settle down," Uranus grumbled, nudging Venus with her boot. "Damn, you'd think that you've never seen her do that before or something." "Hello, we haven't," Venus countered, giving her an irritated look. "We don't remember the Moon Kingdom like you do, you know. Mercury, did you see what I just saw in your visor?" "I did," Mercury replied as she sat back down, balancing her computer on her thighs while typing away at the tiny keyboard at a furious pace. "So that is what this program does. I was wondering what this database was used by...." "Next," Mars said calmly. "Heck with it," Jupiter said as she stood up, casually tossing the wooden quarterstaff over to Mars. She ignored the dark look she got from the raven- haired priestess and moved over to the line where Pluto was standing. "So it's just pick a drone, any drone?" she inquired as she flexed her fingers. "Indeed," Pluto replied demurely as she took several steps back to give the brunette enough room to work with. "Whenever you're ready, Lady Jupiter." "Eenie meenie miney moe...." Jupiter said quietly as she crossed her hands over her chest, extending her second and fifth fingers. A slender rod unfolded from the center of her tiara and began to spark as it became charged. Venus quickly scrambled over the row in front of her to quietly whisper in Mercury's ear. "You keeping track of the charging times, by chance?" she said quickly, keeping one eye on Jupiter's back. "Sparky there packs a mean punch, but I know it takes her a few seconds to fully gas up...." "I got it," Mercury replied. "Jupiter Thunder...." Jupiter intoned as she focused on her chosen target drone. She waited for an extra moment to make sure she was fully ready before letting the tiara discharge itself. "CRASH!" A streak of lightning surged down from the ceiling to strike the extended rod, quickly being redirected into a smaller bolt that shot forward to where she was aiming. The bolt clipped the side of the target drone hard enough to send it spinning end-over-end for a few moments. Several threads of energy could be seen rippling across the surface, quickly fading away as the drone righted itself and returned to its position. "Dammit," the brunette grumbled to herself, clearly disappointed with her electrical performance. "Umm...." Darian started to say in a delicate tone. "Yes, I know," Jupiter sighed. "Stationary target and I damn near missed it. I still hit the bastard, though," she added, tossing a level look over her shoulder at him. "First potshot of the morning, sweetie," Uranus called out. "Settle down, we all tend to blow that one." Jupiter made a face as she sat down, leaning back against the edge of the bleacher seats behind her and putting a mild strain on the front part of her Sailor Suit. "Yeah, whatever," she grumbled. "You go take a shot, then." "Sure, hang on," Uranus replied as she gingerly sat up straight. She paused to lean over and kiss Neptune's cheek before making her way over to the firing line, slowly rotating her shoulder. "Okay, honey, come to mommy," she said to herself as she singled out a floating drone. "Uranus Shockwave...." she intoned as she made a fist, gathering a ripple of visibly-excited air around her hand. She wound up like a baseball pitcher before throwing the ball of energy forward toward the drone. "IMPACT!" The drone promptly resonated like a heavy bell being rung as the ripple of air slammed squarely into it, knocking it back several feet and causing almost every single light to flash brightly. "So much for blowing the first shot," Jupiter muttered darkly. "Thanks, I feel a whole lot better now." "Sorry, babe," Uranus said with a shrug of indifference as she sat back down, reclining once again and idly scratching Neptune's back. "You want to go next, hon?" she said quietly to her lover. "Sure," Neptune said as she stood up and carefully made her way down the bleachers. She gave Pluto a slightly uneasy glance as she passed her and went up to the firing line, taking a moment to select one of the drones. She took a deep breath and raised her arms up to shoulder-level, reaching just slightly behind her. "Neptune Tidal Wave...." she said as she focused her powers. "HeyheyheyheyHEY!" Venus blurted out as both she and Mercury were nearly soaked by a wall of sea-green water rushing up from the ground just inches in front of them. The geyser quickly lost form as Neptune whirled around, her eyes going wide at the realization of where her powers were focusing. "Sorry!" she apologized, a vivid blush crossing her cheeks. "We just had a bath last night, thank you," Venus protested, giving her a look of only partial-amusement. "And beaches are nice, but I'm not one to go playing in salt water. Careful where you fire that thing up, please?" "I'm sorry," Neptune said again, her blush darkening slightly. She paused for a moment as she noticed the look of open impatience on Mars' face before moving back up to the firing line. She sighed quietly before she refocused her mind again, repeating her earlier motions. "Neptune Tidal Wave...." A wall of sea-green water rose up behind her, reaching up to almost brush the high canopy of the tent ceiling. The roaring sound of rushing water very quickly reached a crescendo before Neptune threw her arms forward. "SUBMERGE!" she yelled as she released her hold on the salt water. The geyser of sea-water lunged forward, neatly splitting into two columns around her body to surge against the drone from two angles at once. The drone immediately began to spark as it was washed halfway down the firing range, the lights flashing wildly along its surface as it was short-circuited by exposure to the salt-laden water. "Wow!" Sailor Moon said in awe, watching as the ruined drone started to emit a thin stream of smoke. "Heh," Venus chuckled as she leaned back to look at Jupiter. "Hey, you remember what I said back in the Negaverse about how Neptune had to flush the toilet on a bunch of guards? That's what I was talking about," she said as she flashed a grin at Neptune. "Damn," Jupiter said, her eyebrows arched up in surprise. "That must've sucked for somebody." "Next," Mars said. "Patience, young Jedi, patience," Venus sighed as she rose to her feet. She winked at Neptune as they passed, causing a light blush of embarrassment to cross her features before she sat down next to Uranus. "Okay, so maybe I'm starting to feel a few early-morning hunger pangs as well, but we can still be civilized here. Hmm, so many handsome young drones to choose from...." Uranus just shook her head in resignation. "Not even going to ask." "Venus Crescent Beam...." the blonde intoned as she leveled a fingertip at a drone. A pair of glowing crescent shapes formed from the air and merged together at her fingertip, creating a bright point of light. She narrowed her eyes for a moment as she made sure she was aiming right before commanding the energy to lash out. "SMASH!" Her chosen target drone made an electronic spluttering noise as the beam of light lanced completely through it, burning a finger-sized hole a few inches away from the center. The lights embedded in it flashed wildly for a moment before the entire drone went dark and dropped like a stone, clattering hard against the floor. "Tag, Bubbles, you're it," Venus cooed to Mercury, blowing a puff of imaginary smoke off of her fingertip before sauntering back over to her seat in the bleachers. Mercury looked up at the blonde, giving her a dark look at the reference to her fog bubbles. "Thank you," she said in a slightly frosty tone as she set her computer aside and stood up, moving forward to stand on the firing line. "Hey, Mercury?" Jupiter called out, causing the blue-haired girl to pause for a moment. "You think you want to blow an ice bubble for this? Call me crazy, but I don't think throwing some fog into the arena is going to do much against those drones." "I suppose," Mercury replied, casting a weary glance at the drones. "Excuse me," Pluto spoke up, causing everyone to look over at her. "If I may ask, what exactly are these 'ice bubbles' Jupiter made mention of?" Venus just sighed and leaned back, lightly thumping the base of her skull against the bleacher behind her. "Oh, god, that's right," she moaned. "Who wants to tell her what Luna and Artemis did a few months ago?" she asked the room in general, clearly not wanting to have to explain things on her own. "We were given a supercharge of energy when we went into the Negaverse with Tolaris awhile ago," Mercury explained. "The idea was to try to augment our powers in case we ran into more trouble than we could ordinarily handle. I was given the ability to blow.... I mean, to cast a new type of bubble," she said, giving Jupiter a sidelong look. "It's filled with supercooled water and will freeze the target on contact." "Interesting," Pluto commented, tilting her head at a fairly steep angle. "What sort of effect did it have on the rest of you?" "We'll show you in a bit," Mars interrupted. "Mercury, go ahead and take your a shot already. You forgot this," she added as she pitched the quarterstaff over to Jupiter. Jupiter scowled as she caught the weapon, casting a dark look at Mars. "You want to simmer down, pyro?" she grumbled. "If it's that bad, I'm sure we can ask Pluto to find you an orange to munch on until we're finished." Mercury cast a concerned glance over at Mars before sighing softly and clearing her mind. Her usual bubbles required little effort to cast, but the ice bubbles were a slightly different story. "Mercury Ice Bubbles...." she said slowly as she concentrated, forming a small bubble in front of her. The iridescent sphere quickly grew in size as she continued to gather her powers together, swelling up until it was the size of a large beach-ball. The color darkened a moment later as the supercooled water condensed inside, turning the sphere a deep blue color. "FREEZE!" she yelled as she released her hold on the overcharged bubble, letting it dart forward to pop against a drone. "Holy crap!" Uranus blurted out in awe as the splash of water flash-froze into a solid coating of ice. The drone began to buzz harshly as it tried to fight against the added weight of the frozen water, slowly tilting over to one side as it sank towards the ground. "Interesting," Pluto commented in a mildly intrigued tone. "I believe you are next, your Excellency," she added with a gesture to Mars. Mars said nothing as she stood up, her expression calmly slipping into a featureless mask of concealed emotions. She completely ignored Mercury as they passed one another, walking up to the firing line and staring at one drone in particular. "Mars Fire...." she said in a neutral tone, clapping her hands together and extending her index fingers. A spark erupted at her fingertips, quickly expanding into a small ball of fire. "IGNITE!" Several sets of eyebrows were raised as the ball of fire shot forward to slam against the drone, tiny tendrils of flame splattering around the curved shape to leave behind several streaks of carbon. The drone rocked slightly from the impact but otherwise remained in place, only half of the sensor lights becoming illuminated by the contact. "That's it?" Uranus whispered very quietly to Neptune. "What the hell?" "Mars...." the red-skirted Sailor Scout said a moment later as she stood perfectly still, narrowing her eyes even further. Another ball of fire formed at her fingertips, slowly starting to grow in size as she continued to pour as much spiritual energy into it as she could. "Firebird...." Jupiter sighed quietly and moved back a row as quickly as she could, one hand still gripping her quarterstaff. "Great, here comes the mood swing...." she muttered to the room in general. "STRIKE!!" Mars roared as the sphere of fire seemed to explode in front of her. The fiery burst seemed to collapse in on itself before expanding once again, unfurling into the shape of a screaming phoenix. A shrill cry filled the air as the flaming bird spread its wings, swooping into the air for a few moments before dive-bombing the carbon-scorched drone she had first tried to destroy. "Holy crap, what the HELL is that thing?" Uranus gasped as she shot to her feet, her blue eyes unusually wide. Beside her, Neptune's eyes were just as wide as she stared in open-mouthed awe at the sight of the firebird. Pluto remained perfectly silent as she watched the phoenix open its beak to devour the drone in a single chomp. A minor explosion occurred a moment later as the intense heat basically cooked the drone, half-melting the outer shell and making a complete ruin of the electronics inside. The flaming bird seemed to pause to belch a stream of smoke before throwing its head back in a shrill victory cry, flapping its wings as it soared up towards the canopy. It vanished in a dazzling burst of fire before it could get close enough to burn the tent fabric with its heat, leaving behind only a very faint cloud of smoke and ash that quickly dispersed into the air. "Unique," the succubus finally said as she glanced over at Mercury. "How did the program register that one as?" she inquired. "What? Oh, umm, one moment," Mercury replied as she picked up her tiny computer and typed a few commands into it. "A second-level attack," Venus spoke up, tapping her orange visor. "It doesn't have a name for it yet. It did the same when Mercury blew that ice bubble of hers, too." Uranus sighed quietly and looked over at Neptune, trying to read the tiny messages imprinted on the inside of her aquamarine visor. "You have any idea what the hell's going on, hon?" she asked in a weary tone. "I think it's just simple data collection," Neptune said hesitantly as a second screen of text started to scroll up in her line of vision. "It looks like Mercury is making a combat record of what we do and how." "Indeed," Pluto said with a nod. "I will review it later when I have the time, as the information will help me design a better training program suited to everyone's individual needs. I take it the rest of you likewise possesses an alternate mode of attack?" "I know Jupiter and I do," Venus spoke up. "I'd use mine, but I think I should wait until everyone's finished taking potshots at the drones since I'm liable to crater them all." "Or so you hope," Darian spoke up calmly. He had removed the veil from his face but was otherwise still fully engulfed in the loose desert robes of his accidental Moonlight Knight transformation. "Hope my backside," Venus snorted in contempt. "I seem to remember it doing a damn good job of turning an avalanche into a cloud of dust and saving us all from a really nasty case of road-rash." "True," Darian conceded with a bow of his head. "But fragmenting rocks might be a little easier than melting holes through metal." "I think I nailed the drone pretty easily," Venus countered archly. "Get a room, you two," Jupiter grumbled as she set her quarterstaff aside and stood up, moving forward to the firing line. She paused and cast a glance at Mars as she brushed past without a word, returning to her seat up in the bleachers. "Yeah, breakfast is going to be fun to cook this morning," she muttered to herself as she crossed her wrists over her chest again, beginning the somewhat lengthy process of charging her tiara. The slender lightning rod promptly unfolded from its housing and began to crackle quietly, tiny arcs of energy rippling along its length as more and more power was gathered together. "Huh," Uranus said very quietly to Neptune. "Is this really something she uses in combat? It sure takes awhile for it to build up...." she said after a good thirty seconds had passed. "Jupiter Thunder.... DRAGON!!" Jupiter roared suddenly, throwing her arms out as a truly massive bolt of lightning ripped down from the ceiling. The bolt was quickly redirected outwards, the field of plasma seeming to expand in an instant and taking on a vaguely reptilian shape. A harsh roar of fury was heard a moment later as the electrical dragon opened its mouth, lunging forward to snap at the nearest target drone. "Woo...." Venus shivered, rubbing her upper arms as the backwash of energy made her hair stand on end. She flinched a moment later as the drone exploded, filling the air with the stench of fried electronics and melted metal. A roar of victory lashed their ears as the dragon cried out before disappearing with a ground-shaking clap of thunder. "Ow," Uranus protested, rubbing her ears. "Damn, that was a big beastie. Okay, so maybe it's worth taking a time-out from battle to bring it into play, but still.... I'm not sure I'd want to be holding myself for that long." "Like I can help it," Jupiter grumbled as she reclaimed her seat, idly picking up her quarterstaff and resting the back of her neck against the bound center portion. "Truth be told, I've only had to whip it out a few times, but that's why you have friends providing cover-fire while you're busy juicing up the big guns." "It's not as kinky as it sounds," Venus added casually. She had to jump to the side to avoid being swatted by Jupiter's quarterstaff a moment later, looking up at the brunette with an amused twinkle in her blue eyes. "Oh, take it easy, I'm just teasing." "Mercury, just bite her or something," Jupiter growled as she sat back down, pointedly twirling the quarterstaff around in one hand. "Next," Mars said in a flat tone of barely-concealed irritation. "Umm...." Venus said slowly as she looked around the group. "I think that should be it for us, unless you want Sailor Moon to start playing frisbee with the drones or just outright blowing them up with her.... umm.... wait, what sort of powers do you still have?" she asked, giving Sailor Moon a suddenly uneasy look. "I know your Moon Tiara should work fine, but...." "Moon Tiara?" Uranus echoed, trading confused looks with Neptune. "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me," Venus sighed as she buried her face in her hands for a moment. "Don't you girls know *anything* about what we've been doing in the past year or so?" "Perhaps a demonstration would be in order," Pluto suggested calmly as she leaned on her silvery staff. "If her Highness has learned a new technique on her own, I would of course be most interested in witnessing it for myself." "Oh, umm.... I haven't used it in awhile," Sailor Moon admitted as she stood up and walked over to the firing line. "Bah," Jupiter grunted, waving her free hand in dismissal. "We've all seen you playing frisbee before, so we know you've still got what it takes. Of course, that's why we still have our first House Rule of Sports," she added, giving the blonde a quiet chuckle. Neptune calmly patted Uranus' back as the short-haired blonde put her face in her hands, sighing quietly. "Will you explain it for us, please?" she asked carefully, trying to ignore the muttered comment from the weary Viking. "So far we have two House Rules of Sports," Jupiter explained as she set her quarterstaff down and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "The first one is Serena isn't allowed to ask anyone to play frisbee with her. The second is that Maze can't ask anyone to play darts with him. You can ask them to play if you want, but it's only a good idea to if you're in a mood to have your butt handed to you. See, they're not allowed to ask so nobody's feelings get hurt when the other guy remembers how badly they got stomped the last time they tried to play along and refuses the offer of public humiliation." "Ahh, I see," Uranus said as she leaned back, absently reaching out to rub Neptune's leg. "Kinda like playing tennis with Mich here, right?" "Quiet," Neptune said primly, giving Uranus an upset look. "It's not MY fault you kept using the edge of the racket instead of the webbing." "Reflexes, babe," Uranus protested, giving Neptune a hurt look. "What am I supposed to do when it's the exact length and weight as my saber?" "You're supposed to hit the ball back instead of slashing at it," Neptune shot back, the edges of her lips turning down in a frown. "What I don't get is how you can serve so perfectly like that, then suddenly panic when the other side returns the ball to you." "NEXT," Mars said acidly, all but gritting her teeth with impatience. "Mars?" Jupiter said with a heavy sigh. "I'm not going to say this again. Settle down, alright? Sailor Pluto, can you do us all a favor and take her back inside to find a banana or something? Anything to shut her up...." "I shall attempt to make this as brief as possible," Pluto replied in a neutral tone. "Your Highness, please proceed," she said to Sailor Moon. "Wanna play pinball?" Venus said to Sailor Moon, giving her a wink. "See if you can ricochet it a few times, might rack up a high score." Sailor Moon giggled quietly before nodding and turning her attention to the floating drones. She paused to give them a measured look before deciding that she could probably indeed cause her tiara to rebound several times if she threw it just right. She reached up to grab her tiara, slipping it off her forehead and concentrating as she held it by the prominent gemstone. The golden tiara started to glow with energy before seeming to melt and reform into a vibrant white disc, hovering just over her fingertips. "Moon.... Tiara...." she said as she lined up the shot. "MAGIC!" she cried as the disc was cast with a flick of her wrist. Several sets of eyebrows rose up as the frisbee-like object sailed through the air, striking a glancing blow off of the side of one of the drones. The drone tilted off at a steep angle, several of the lights along its surface lighting up to indicate a fairly moderate hit. The whirling tiara caromed off in another direction and promptly struck a second drone, resulting in another series of flashing lights. The tiara was sent spinning in a new direction, the plane of the disc still remaining fairly level. That changed as it struck a third drone, sending both objects flipping end-over-end to collide with another pair of drones. The last encounter caused the tiara to spin wildly about on all three planar axes of motion, seeming to shoot up towards the ceiling in an off-kilter spiraling loop before soaring back down to land in Sailor Moon's outstretched hand. "Jackpot," Venus purred with a quiet chuckle. "Hot *DAMN* your Highness!" Uranus blurted out as her jaw sagged open. "Told you," Jupiter replied with a casual shrug. "And now you see why we don't bother trying to beat her at frisbee." "That was.... rather impressive, your Highness," Pluto managed to say in a remarkably calm tone, despite the fact that her eyebrows were arched clear up to her hairline. Mars made a quiet huffing noise to herself. "What I don't get is how she can pull off a shot like that, yet still can't walk and chew bubblegum at the same time without falling flat on her face," she grumbled. "Hmmph," Sailor Moon said as she crossed her arms and looked away with her nose in the air. "You're just jealous because you can barely throw a frisbee in a straight line." "Hey, hey, girls, none of that," Venus interjected quickly as she hopped down from the bleachers. "C'mon, put your tiara back on and have a seat, you can hash out your differences in private later. "Hey, I want to hear this," Uranus spoke up with a wicked chuckle. "Rei, all you gotta do is pull out your bow and do the bull's-eye trick until you run out of space again. Starlight there can hit the target too, but not like you can, so it should even everything out." There was a slightly awkward pause as Mars looked at her in confusion for a few moments. "What bow?" she said in a guarded tone. "Huh?" Uranus said, blinking hard. "What do you mean, what bow? The big red one you've got with you." "What, this?" Mars asked incredulously, tugging on the maroon chest bow attached to the front of her Sailor Suit. "No, you twit," Uranus countered flatly, giving her an irritated look. "The kind you fire arrows with. You know, the one you nicknamed Sniper?" Mars just looked at her for a moment before turning to face Sailor Pluto, pausing as she saw the visibly uneasy expression on the other woman's face. "What am I missing here?" she asked in a very leery tone. "If I may, your Excellency," Pluto said in a delicate tone, "Would it be safe to presume that you are not presently in possession of a large elemental longbow, nor were ever aware of having possessed one at any point in time?" "No...." Mars replied very slowly. "Should I have?" "Uh-oh," Venus muttered, trading uneasy looks with Jupiter. "Why do I get the funny feeling we're about to encounter yet another problem of some kind?" "Sailor Jupiter," Pluto said in an uncertain tone as she glanced over at the brunette. "Do you happen to have a pair of copper wrist-bracers that form spines when you flex your wrists in a certain way?" "Sure don't," Jupiter replied in resignation. "Let me guess," Uranus said sourly. "Venus doesn't have her whip with her and Mercury doesn't have her harp in her back pocket either, am I right?" "No whips or chains here, but having one sounds like fun," Venus replied in an odd tone, giving Jupiter a sidelong look. "Bad idea," Jupiter muttered, shaking her head as she tried valiantly to clear her mind of the mental image of a gleeful Sailor Venus wielding a whip with reckless abandon. "Bad, bad, BAD idea. Christ, I'm getting chills just thinking about her holding a whip...." "Oh, don't be such a meanie," Venus sighed. "I've never even touched a harp before," Mercury spoke up, giving Pluto a slightly startled look. "I take it I'm supposed to both have one and know how to play it?" "That was the general presumption, yes," Pluto said in a weary tone. "Susan, do you think they got left behind in the Moon Kingdom when we.... when we all died?" Neptune spoke up in a hesitant tone. "It's possible," Pluto replied with a soft sigh. "I will go search for them when I have the time to do so. I must confess that this is.... not the most welcome of developments, as it means that the four of you have not been utilizing your full elemental potential." "Sailor Pluto?" Darian spoke up carefully as Sailor Moon quietly leaned against his shoulder. "I think you're being too critical at the moment. Stop and consider this.... the five of them defeated Queen Beryl last year, and they didn't have any supercharged powers to rely on at the time. They certainly didn't have these weapons you're talking about or the value of your centuries of experience to aid them, so it's not like they're just blundering around in a blind alley without a clue or any training." "Yeah!" Venus said as she stood up straight, putting her hands on her hips with a large smirk. "See, we're doing just fine as it is. Tell 'em, girls." "We're still breathing, aren't we?" Jupiter pointed out, idly tapping her quarterstaff against her ankle. "Two trips into the Negaverse before you three showed up and we've only got minor scars to show for it, so that should tell you something." "If I understand the full story correctly," Pluto countered in a faintly edged tone, "Your first excursion into the Negaverse proved to be distinctly fatal for the four of you. Indeed, had Queen Beryl not felt it necessary to summon the Princess to her directly, the situation might have been resolved with a vastly different outcome." "So where were you?" Jupiter shot back as she rose to her feet. "Look, I'm not trying to bust on your skills or anything, but I really don't like it when people who weren't even there try to second-guess what we went through." "Ladies, please," Darian said as he rose to his feet, making a gesture to both Sailor Scouts. "There's no need to get all riled up, what's done is done and thankfully is in the past." "The point, your Highness, is to learn from the past in order to train in the present and thus prepare for future engagements," Pluto said smoothly. "Granted it is obvious that they have managed to either retain or reacquire a significant degree of skill, but it is also obvious that there is still a fair amount of room for improvement. I should also like to point out that, while they have demonstrated an ample skill in defending both themselves and each another against the Negaverse, we as an organization were not created just for the sole and singular purpose of repelling an extra-dimensional invasion." "Don't look at me, babe," Uranus said quietly to Mercury as she noticed the quizzical look she was getting. "I've got nothing to do with this one. Mich here and I have been basically training since we could walk straight, so it's second nature to us. Granted all we've run into are little spats on Earth that needed a little extra muscle, Negaverse issues notwithstanding, but it's still something that makes sense to us. Hell, I've noticed that I've gotten a bit edgy lately because I haven't had a chance to practice in a few days," she added, reaching up to brush her knuckles against the hilt of her saber. The metal seemed to sparkle briefly before becoming invisible again with a slight ripple effect. "Training is good," Mars pointed out in a flat tone. "But there's no need to be pushy about it. If you want to play with your sword, that's fine with me. I would just appreciate being given a few days to make sure everything has settled down and the world starts making sense again before we start tromping off to play in the virtual mud. And if you insist on being pushy, Chancellor, I'm more than willing to push back," she said in a blatant warning tone. Pluto looked at her in silence for a few moments before slowly nodding her head. "Very well, your Excellency," she said in a neutral tone. "Unless there are no objections, I will defer any further attempts at assessing your level of training until I've had the opportunity to consult with Luna. As that means we are essentially finished here this morning, I believe there is little point in remaining here or otherwise prolonging breakfast." "What a bunch of wimps," Uranus muttered as she stood up, making her way down the bleachers and heading towards the tent exit. "You kids go grab a bite to eat, I'll catch up with you later. Sue, you mind if I go borrow one of your empty tents to practice for a few?" "If you wish," Pluto replied in a diplomatic tone. "The green tent with the blue pennant has already been set up as a close-quarters combat arena, so you may find what you are looking for in there." "Hey, hang on a sec," Venus said quickly as she scooted up to the firing line. "Lemme show Pluto here how to take down multiple targets at once. It's a fun trick, trust me," she added with a wink. "Just as long as you don't pass out on us this time," Darian reminded her in a warning tone. "It might be pretty to watch you blitz the horizon, but it won't be pretty if we have to scrape you up off the floor again." "Mmmmm," Venus hummed quietly to herself, casting an appraising glance at the array of drones in front of her. "Bah, you're never really ready for your first time, despite what everyone says. Ain't that right, Sailor Moon?" she added with a saucy wink. "Umm...." Sailor Moon said, promptly blushing like a neon light. "I, er, don't know what you're talking about," she stammered. "Let me know if you need me to explain it to you," Mars muttered darkly. Jupiter just sighed quietly and thumped the base of her quarterstaff on the bleachers in front of her. "Can't you two ever play nice?" "It was pretty nice in the pool last night," Darian spoke up with a quiet chuckle. His moment of humor quickly faded as he had to dodge a casual swat from Sailor Moon. His evasive action proved to be unwise, as his quick motions brought him within range of Sailor Mars. The rest of the room winced in unison as Mars delivered a somewhat solid blow to his shoulder, almost knocking him back across the bleachers to where Sailor Moon was. Venus just sighed theatrically and shook her head. "You asked for it," she said to him before turning around and pointing her finger. "Venus...." she intoned quietly. The twin crescents formed at her fingertip again, sending a faint tingle shooting throughout her entire arm. "Meteor.... SHOWER!!" The Crescent Beam promptly lashed out from her fingertip, crossing the distance to the drones in an instant. It suddenly split apart before it could strike the first target, dividing again and again until there were just as many beams as there were drones. The cluster of beams continued forward and began to slam into the drones, each one blasting a small hole in some portion of the protective armor. "Bah," Venus grumbled as less than half of the drones were completely cored by the beams, producing only a handful of exit holes on the far side of the damaged target drones. The majority of the floating devices wound up on the ground in a matter of seconds, however, and even those that remained seemed to be struggling rather hard to remain both stationary and aloft. "Okay, so I'm trading power for coverage here, but I still nailed them all. Better than what a shotgun can do, right?" she inquired with a glance over her shoulder. "Peachy, babe," Uranus said quietly before turning around and slipping out between the pair of tent flaps. Venus made a face as she gestured to the exit. "What's her problem?" she inquired, giving Pluto a somewhat irritated look. "If the situation permits such a trade, it can be most beneficial," Pluto observed in a calm tone. "I'm actually rather pleased that your powers seem to have been given an improved level of versatility because of this augmentation." "Thanks, I think," the blonde replied, pausing to watch Neptune stand up and quietly leave the confines of the tent after Uranus. "You know, maybe it's just me here, but I'm starting to sense a major disturbance in the Force, if you know what I mean. What exactly is the problem, Sailor Pluto?" Pluto looked down at the ridges on her staff for a moment before looking back up at her. "I believe part of it stems from a.... difficulty in adjusting to how the six of you have changed since.... we became separated in the Moon Kingdom," she said in a delicate tone. "I must confess to experiencing some