This is the rough beta version that my prereaders last saw. With some
of my prereaders gone for the holidays, I decided I'd go ahead and
post this as a preview of the second episode of Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon +. The final version of this story will be out sometime in
early January. 



Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon property of Takeuchi Naoko, Kodansha, Toei
Animation.

WARNING! A major character's personality is drastically altered in
this episode. However, most of you will view this as a *good* thing.
	
Note: In the context of this fanfic, "Momo" means "pink". 

	The moon dipped below the horizon, making way for the rising sun to
claim the sky. The Tsukino family slept peacefully, exhausted from
the events of the previous two days.
	However, not all was calm at the Tsukino household. On the roof of
the house, a bright flash split the still twinight. With a light
thump, a figure, cast in shadow by the darkness of the hour, lighted
upon the building. A familiar silhouette of a head glanced around,
and chuckled softly. "Wait till they get a load of me," a soft voice
whispered. The figure then smacked itself upside the head. "Mom's
right. I *do* spend too much time in the old vid vaults..."


Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon + 
Vol. 1, Part 2

"In The Pink"

by The Eternal Lost Lurker


	"Oh no, I'm late *AGAIN*!!!!!" Usagi's piercing scream rent the calm
atmosphere of the Tsukino household. She dashed downstairs in her
school uniform, bookbag grasped tightly in one hand as she did the
Tokyo Shuffle around the kitchen, looking for a piece of toast.
	Ikuko, clad in her housecoat, trudged into the kitchen, and sighed.
She laid her hand on the teenager's shoulder, freezing her in her
tracks. "Usagi-chan," she said quietly, "it's Sunday."
	Usagi blinked. "S--Sunday?" Ikuko nodded. 
	Suddenly, Usagi darted upstairs. Ikuko chuckled, and then fell over
laughing hysterically at the painful screeching of a cat being
strangled. 
	Kenji and Shingo made their way into the kitchen, still wearing
their pajamas. Kenji slipped his glasses on after rubbing his eyes
sleepily. "What's goin' on?" Shingo asked.
	Ikuko giggled. "I think Usagi's upset with Luna."
	"Oh." There was a silent pause. "Breakfast?"
	"I'll get started right away," Ikuko said. The two Tsukino males
shuffled off to clean themselves up a bit.
	
	A small figure nearly fell off the roof as a cat's tortured wails
tore into the morning air. "Sounds like someone's having a good
morning," the figure, a young girl, muttered. "Kuso...what is
*taking* them so long?"
	A tiny flash brightened the roof for a second, and a large, round
shape bounced onto the roof. A smaller, grey shape let out a yelp,
before falling off the round object, and landing rather clumsily on
the roof. 
	"So much for always landing on all fours," the girl giggled. "What
kept you?"
	"I had to go back and fetch something *you* forgot." The tiny grey
figure did a backflip in the air, and a gleaming pink locket
clattered to the roof. The girl smacked her head again. "Oh
wonderful. I guess it's genetic after all..."
	"Well, shall we get going?"
	"Hai." The girl affixed the locket to her clothing, and turned to
the round shape. "Luna-P, henge!"
	The round shape, a black ball with a cat's face painted on it,
disappeared in a puff of smoke, becoming a large pink-and-white
parasol.
	"Time to make like Mary Poppins," the girl said, earning a groan
from the small grey creature as it gained purchase on her shoulder.
Grasping the parasol, she leapt gracefully from the roof, and floated
down to ground level.

	Usagi paused in her maiming of Luna to blink at the window. "Did you
see something just now?"
	Luna panted, struggling to fill her lungs with air, and wheezed, "I
sure hope so. I do enjoy breathing..."
	Usagi sighed, and released the cat, heading for the stairs. After
regaining her normal black shade, and making sure she could still
breathe normally, Luna followed.

	The delicious smells of breakfast cheerfully greeted Usagi's nose as
the teenager emerged from the stairway. "Breakfast is almost ready,
Usagi-chan!" Ikuko called from the kitchen.
	"Be right there, Mom," Usagi said. "I just want to check on
something first." Without warning, the doorbell rang. "I've got it,"
Usagi said. "What else could it be at this hour on Sunday but
trouble?" she muttered as she opened the door, preparing to come
face-to-face with the dark-skinned man again, or some horrid
creature.
	She blinked in surprise at the motley trio before her. The more
familiar members of the group were a hovering black ball with a cat's
face and a grey kitten with a crescent moon marking on its forehead.
The third, while seemingly familiar, was definitely a mystery. 
	Standing only a third of a meter shorter than Usagi, the girl wore a
school uniform similar to her old one from Juuban-gakkou, with a
shiny pink brooch affixed to the red bow. Her bright pink hair was
done up in odangos identical to her own, with pink pigtails hanging
midway down her back. She smiled up at Usagi, her red eyes twinkling.
"Ohayou gozaimasu!" 
	Usagi blinked repeatedly. *What in the--?* "Anou..."
	The girl giggled. "Baka Usagi," she said. 
	Usagi's eyes widened. "Impossible...Chibi-Usa-chan!?"
	"Hai!" the pink-haired girl chirped. 
	"Who was at the door, Usagi-chan?" Ikuko said as she walked up
behind her daughter. She blinked at the girl standing outside the
door. "That--that couldn't be..."
	Chibi-Usa blinked, then smacked herself, and turned to Luna-P. To
her surprise, Usagi grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her inside.
Diana and Luna-P rushed in before the door was closed. "Ack! Usagi!
What was that for?" Chibi-Usa rubbed her sore arm.
	"Gomen, Chibi-Usa," Usagi said. She shook her head. "You won't need
to use Luna-P on them this time."
	Chibi-Usa blinked. "Huh? They couldn't possibly remember...?"
	Ikuko smirked. "So *that's* why..."
	"Chibi-Usa," Usagi began...then blinked, and shook her head. "You're
not so chibi anymore," she remarked. 
	The pink-haired girl giggled. "I suppose not. How old was I when you
last saw me...eight? Nine?"
	Usagi nodded. "Something like that...and that's been less than a
year ago," she added. 
	"Right. Well," she said, frowning, "there's...a reason I was sent to
this time, and not four more years ahead," she said nervously.
	Usagi blinked. "It's the new threat, right?"
	"Uhh...hai! Hai, the new threat!" *Whew...close one.*
	Usagi nodded. "It figures. So you're...how old now?"
	"Twelve!" She frowned. "Usagi? We're talking about stuff we
shouldn't be talking about in front of Ikuko-mama, ne?"
	Ikuko smirked again. Usagi giggled nervously. "Well, you see
Chi--mou, the name just doesn't suit you anymore!"
	The younger of the two Usagis nodded thoughtfully. "Hai, it was cute
when I was a little kid, but I don't think I can take it anymore. Of
course, calling me Usagi is out...and Small Lady just isn't suitable
here..."
	"We'll think about it a bit, Small Lady," Usagi said, then cleared
her throat. "Anyway, see...something's happened recently. Ah, Mom,
Dad, Shingo, Rei's grandpa, Yuuichirou, Ami's mom, Minako's
mom...they all know we're Sailor Senshi now."
	Small Lady blinked. "No kidding?"
	Usagi nodded. "Yeah...when our new enemies showed up, they sorta
forced us all out into the open in front of our families." Blushing,
she added, "Of course, Mom found out about me being Sailor Moon by
accident..."
	Ikuko chuckled. "Welcome back, Small Lady," she said, bowing to the
young girl. "Or should I call you grand-daughter," she said, winking.
	Small Lady paled. "Y--you even know about *that*?" she asked in a
small voice.
	Ikuko smiled. "Hai. Don't worry, though...I won't mention it again."
She frowned. "Besides, I'm not old enough to be a grandmother yet."
	Small Lady made a decidedly uncomfortable sound at that, but only
Diana noticed.
	"Now, about that name..." Usagi said, tapping her chin thoughfully.
"Ah! I know! How about Momo-Usa?"
	Small Lady thought that over. "Hmm...that'll work," she decided.
Giggling, she said, "Actually, all things considered, it sorta fits."

	"Well then," Usagi said, "Let's go have breakfast, Momo-Usa-chan!" 
	The three made their way to the breakfast table, finding two
impatient, starving men there. Shingo looked at Momo-Usa, and
blinked. *Kawaii...familiar, though...*
	Usagi caught the look Shingo was giving Momo-Usa, and whispered in
his ear, "Ne, Shingo-kun...don't even think about it. That's your
future niece."
	Momo-Usa overheard the comment, and blushed. Shingo also blushed.
"Chibi-Usa? Is that really you?"
	Momo-Usa nodded. "Hai. But call me Momo-Usa now, okay?"
	Shingo nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Thankfully, breakfast
chose that moment to be served, and he was able to divert his
attention to the mouthwatering heaps of food.

	"Ohayou, Mako-chan!"
	Makoto turned and waved at Minako as the blonde caught up with her.
"Ohayou, Minako-chan! You're looking cheerful this morning."
	Minako nodded. "Slept like a log last night," she said, stretching. 
	"I'll attest to that," Artemis said sullenly. "She landed right on
top of me when she passed out." He coughed, and a rather large golden
hairball flew from his mouth. Makoto burst out laughing. 
	Minako scowled. "You *could* have moved, you know."
	"Hey, Ami-chan's up ahead," Makoto said, recovering. The two girls
and the cranky cat caught up with Ami, who was busily concentrating
on her palmtop computer. "Ohayou Ami-chan!"
	Ami started, and turned to her friends. "Ohayou! Gomen, I was a
little distracted..."
	Minako frowned, and nodded at the computer. "Is something up?"
	Ami shook her head, smiling. "No, no trouble I can spot. I'm just
toying with a program the former Mercury was writing. She never
finished it, but it's complete enough that I think I can do it."
	Makoto tried to peer at the screen, furrowing her brow thoughtfully.
"What kind of program is it?"
	Ami smiled mysteriously. "If I get it working, you'll find out."
	The group caught up with Rei, who seemed rather crankier than usual.
"Ohayou Rei-chan!"
	"Ohayou guys." She cast a dark glance in the direction of the
shrine. "Grandpa no BAKA!" she yelled. Everyone glanced at her
nervously, sweatdrops rolling down their heads. "The old idiot's
trying to tail me to the Senshi meeting!" Rei said disgustedly.
	The others looked in the direction Rei would have come from, only to
find no indication of pursuit. Ami tapped a few keys on her computer.
"I'm not detecting him," she said absently before returning to her
programming.
	"He's back there, I tell you! I know he is!" Rei scowled.
	"Calm down, Rei-chan. If he *does* show up, we'll deal with it,
alright?" Minako said soothingly. The group continued on to the
Tsukino household.
	"I hope Usagi is awake this morning," Rei muttered.

	"Oh, Usagi-chan...I almost forgot..."
	"Yes, Luna?"
	Luna paused nervously. "You do remember why I woke you early today,
don't you?"
	Usagi frowned. Momo-Usa watched with interest, wondering if Usagi
would remember on her own.
	"Nope. Sorry."
	Luna and Momo-Usa facefaulted. "The Senshi meeting," Luna said.
	"OH! That's right, we're having another one this morning...HERE!
ACK! I totally forgot!"
	Momo-Usa shook her head and sighed. "Same old odango-atama..."
	Ikuko walked in, with a large bowl of fresh muffins. "It's a good
thing Luna warned me in advance," she said. "Calm down,
Usagi...everything's all set and ready for your meeting."
	Usagi blinked. "Th...thanks, Mom," she said. Smiling at Momo-Usa,
she added, "I think the others are going to be a bit surprised this
morning, ne?"
	Momo-Usa giggled. 

	Darkness, permeated by a red haze. Heat beyond heat. Throngs of the
wretched, existing solely for the perverse torment their master
longed to inflict upon them. 
	In the midst of this vision of terror, five suited figures stood at
attention before a gruesome skull. The skull before them was
enormous, charred black, splintering. It had gigantic tusks, and a
pair of gnarled, twisted black horns. Its eye sockets had an
unnatural shape. Here and there, scraps of twisted, blackened flesh,
and strings of other once-living matter, hung from the gory bone. The
jaw was propped open by a scaffold of other, smaller bones. 
	Inside the jaw, on a throne of dried blood, wreathed in sinister
flames, sat a silhouetted feminine figure. "The five of you disgust
Us," she said in a sensual, yet somewhat...unbalanced voice. 
	"But, your Highness...we succeeded in the mission."
	"We don't *care*! Those sailor whores defeated you far too easily!
We will not tolerate a repeat of this incompetence!"
	"Of course, your Highness. Our next attack on the Sailor Senshi will
be...more satisfying."
	"It had better be." The figure on the throne of blood leaned forward
slightly, though not enough to allow her features to become visible.
"Suisei! Kasei! You two will lead the next assault." A pair of eyes
glowed...black. The effect was extremely disquieting. "We assume the
two of you can control a two-headed wyvern?"
	"Yes, your Highness."
	"We won't fail you."
	"See to it that you don't."
	Steam hissed and fire crackled as warped versions of the sigils for
Mercury and Mars appeared in the hellish air.

	Usagi opened the door, and greeted her friends cheerfully. Rei
blinked several times. "Odango-atama is actually *awake*?" she
muttered. Usagi stuck her tongue out at Rei, and giggled. "Come on
in, gang. Mom made us some muffins."
	Ami folded her computer, and stashed it in her subspace pocket. As
the girls entered the living room, Shingo appeared, and began
hovering anxiously, occassionally tossing off random comments like
"The Sailor Senshi are so cool!" And more often than not, "Kawaii..."
The girls shifted uneasily, hoping that their own personal fanboy
would find something else to do besides annoy them.
	Salvation from Shingo came in a form that shocked the four
houseguests. A hand shot out, and grabbed him by the collar.
"Moooouuuuu," said an oddly familiar voice, "Shingo-kun, they have
business to talk about. You can bug them later, alright? Sheesh, and
people call *me* annoying..." 
	Ami, Makoto, Minako, and Rei blinked as the pink-haired,
odango-headed preteen cuffed Shingo on the back of the head, and
dragged him from the room. 
	"Anou..." Minako said.
	"That...couldn't be..." Makoto murmured.
	"Not unless she's been spending *too* much time with Hotaru-chan,"
Rei commented quietly.
	Ami retrieved her computer, and did a quick scan. She gasped. "It
*is*," she declared.
	Usagi grinned as the pink-haired girl returned to the room. "Minna,"
she said, "Look who's come back again!"
	"Miss me?" Small Lady said, smiling cutely as she bowed to the four
Senshi...who promptly fell over in shock.
	
	Mamoru stifled a yawn as he opened the morning paper. He was at a
new outdoor cafe he'd recently discovered, that had decent prices and
excellent coffee and breakfast pastries. He chuckled to himself.
*Thinking about breakfast pastries...I'm picking up some of Usagi's
bad habits...*
	As he sipped his coffee, a familiar, older voice said, "Ohayou
gozaimasu, Mamoru-san. Mind if I join you?"
	Mamoru looked up, and blinked. "Tsukino-san," he said. Nodding, he
motioned to the chair across from his. "Please, have a seat."
	Kenji sat down, taking a sip from his own coffee. He nodded
appreciatively. "I can see why you come here," he commented. 
	Mamoru grinned. "It beats instant," he said. Kenji chuckled. He
noticed the plate of croissants sitting in front of Mamoru, and
raised an eyebrow. "Croissants too?"
	Mamoru chuckled. "Try one," he said. Kenji, being a man who had a
bottomless stomach when presented with fine foods, helped himself to
one. "Picking up some of Usagi's bad habits, I see," he commented.
	Mamoru coughed, and blushed slightly. "Ahem...yes, well..."
	Kenji smiled. Sipping his coffee, he said slowly, "Mamoru-san...I've
always wondered. Exactly how *did* you and Usagi meet?"
	Mamoru looked nervous. "Ah, well..."
	Kenji chuckled inwardly. This was going to be *fun*.

	"So, Ch--*Momo*-Usa," Minako said, "what brings you back again?"
	The six girls were seated around the table, munching on muffins.
Shingo had decided to keep his distance for a while, let Momo-Usa
clock him one again. *She's tough,* he though to himself. *Definitely
dangerous. And kawaii...* He mentally smacked himself. *Baka! She's
Usagi's daughter! Get a grip!* Shingo sighed as he watched the girls
chattering.
	Momo-Usa shifted uncomfortably. "Well," she said, "Just...y'know,
more training...a break from the tedium of palace life..."
	The girls picked up on Momo-Usa's discomfort, but decided not to
press the issue. They'd learned, the hard way, that Pluto had a
reason for everything she did, and that they'd find out sooner or
later what that reason was. 
	"So, you're older now," Makoto commented. 
	"I see you've changed your hair," Ami said.
	Momo-Usa nodded. "The rabbit-ears got boring."
	"Well, it's an improvement, I guess," Rei said. "Even if you *are*
still an odango-atama..."
	Momo-Usa and Usagi both gave Rei a firm raspberry. Rei returned it
in kind, but found herself outmatched by the force of two Usagi
tongues. Minako and Makoto snickered, while Ami returned her
attention to her computer.
	Artemis and Luna sighed, and decided to leave the room until the
girls got control of themselves. They made their way over to where
Shingo sat.
	Shingo noticed the two cats, and asked quietly, "Are they *always*
like this?"
	Luna nodded. "Basically...yes."
	"Shouldn't they be...I dunno, doin' Senshi stuff? Figuring out who
they're fighting, training, something like that?"
	Artemis shrugged as best as a cat can. "We don't have a clue as to
who we're dealing with this time. We don't even have a name to go on
yet. The only thing we can do is wait until they attack again."
	Shingo blinked. "Do you think they'll go after Mom again?"
	Luna shook her head. "I doubt it. All five of them were attacked
individually. With the exception of Jupiter, they were all forced to
transform in front of their families. That seemed to be the purpose
of the first attack...to expose them."
	Shingo shook his head. "I don't get it."
	Artemis sighed. "Neither do we. Annoying, isn't it?"
	Their attention was drawn by a shout of "Mercury Crystal Power
Make-Up!" from the living room. All three dashed to investigate.
	
	Minako, Makoto, Rei, Usagi, and Momo-Usa blinked as Ami transformed
into Sailor Mercury. "Ami-chan? What's going on? Did you spot
something?" Usagi asked. Minako, Makoto, and Rei had their henshin
rods out, while Usagi and Momo-Usa were clutching their brooches.
	Mercury shook her head, tapping keys on her computer. "Everyone
relax, no need to transform. There's no trouble." Everyone blinked.
She paused, and looked up, smiling. "I'm sorry, I should have warned
you. It's this program I'm working on," she said. "It's complete, I'm
just testing it...I have to be in Senshi form to do so, that's all."
	The group sighed, and settled back. "You coulda told us ahead of
time," Makoto muttered. 
	"So what's this program supposed to do? You've been working on it
since before we got here," Minako said.
	Shingo lounged in one corner of the room, listening in with
interest. Artemis and Luna sat attentively at the table, watching
Mercury intently. "A new program for what?" Luna asked.
	"It's a program my predecessor was designing," Mercury said. She
giggled. "It seems the previous Mercury was a bit of a fashion
freak."
	Artemis groaned. "Not *that* program," he muttered. Luna raised an
eyebrow and glanced at him. He sighed. "Are you *sure* you really
want to fool with that thing?"
	Mercury shrugged. "I'm just curious. Besides, it could be fun..."
	"Anyone want to tell the rest of us what's going on?" Rei asked.
	Mercury tapped a few more keys, and smiled. "I'll show you," she
said. One final keystroke, and her computer beeped. "Test phase one,"
she commented absently. Her boots, gloves, and tiara shimmered, and
began to change. 
	The others blinked as Mercury's boots were replaced with shoes
identical to Sailor Venus', but in the same blue as her skirt. Her
gloves shrank from elbow-length to wrist-length, and reversed in
color, becoming blue with white trim. Her tiara changed from gold to
blue, the jewel disappearing to be replaced with a small golden
Mercury sigil. The others stared, slack-jawed. 
	"What...how'd you do that?" Usagi asked.
	"Kirei," commented Momo-Usa.
	"Not bad," Rei smirked. 
	Luna blinked, and turned to Artemis, who was shaking his head. 
	"This program alters the design of the Inner Senshi's sailor-fukus,"
Mercury said. "The idea is to allow the Inner Senshi to change their
battle attire in accordance with their own personal tastes. The
former Mercury didn't quite finish the program, but I was able to
pick up where she left off." She put away her computer, and dispelled
her transformation. "Pretty nice, don't you think?"
	The others nodded. Artemis just sighed. "I just hope it doesn't
backfire on you," he said. "There's a *reason* the old Mercury
stopped working on the program."
	Ami nodded. "I noticed she had an extensive bug report, but I think
I've worked all the bugs out of it. It worked well enough on the test
run, anyway."
	By this point, Usagi, Momo-Usa, Rei, and Makoto had zoned out.
Minako decided to ask Artemis later exactly what sort of bugs that
program had, just in case. Luna was thinking the same thing. 

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The Eternal Lost Lurker
EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/9502

Estuans interius ira vehementi...
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