Previous chapters of 'Reversal' and all my other non-Ranma fiction 
are located at:  http://cyberwheel.simplenet.com/fanfic

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Sailor Moon: Reversal Chapter 2
"Out of the Blue"

by Chris Jones

Based on the manga of Naoko Takeuchi and ideas
posted to the FFML by various authors.
--------------------------------------------------



	Jadeite stood before her queen.
	This was not something she was enjoying, since Beryl wasn't
very happy. In fact, Beryl had been upset almost constantly lately,
and her blame lay all over Jadeite's shoulders.
	"You have bungled five major energy gathering missions in two
weeks! Is there any excuse for this behavior?!?!" the queen
demanded.
	Jadeite gritted her teeth. "Your Majesty, you have to
understand that my youma simply cannot do their jobs when--"
	"Is this about that 'vigilante', Sailor Moon? What kind of
general are you, Jadeite? You're letting a *little boy* get in your
way!"
	"You Majesty--"
	"SILENCE!!!!" The queen pounded the arm of her throne. "Your
behavior is unacceptable. You and all your minions have been trained
to handle this situation." She let her voice quiet to a dangerous
calm. "You have one more chance, Jadeite. First, Soldier V, and now
Sailor Moon have completely humiliated you. I do not tolerate
failures. Am I clear on this?"
	"Crystal clear, Majesty."
	"Good. Destroy Sailor Moon. I will have nothing less from
you."
	
* * *

	"Mrrmmmph!"
	"Don't try to talk with your mouth full, Usuke." Norio warned.
"It makes you look like an idiot."
	The black haired youth sitting next to Usuke and Norio only
smiled at the exchange, not daring to comment on the situation.
	The three sat under a tree in the Juuban courtyard, picking
over their lunches.
	"You're right," the black haired youth commented as one of the
girls from their class walked by. "This *is* the best view in the
school."
	Usuke spat, trying not to choke on his food.
	Amane Mizuno had only transferred in a few days ago. While all
the rumors said he had an IQ in the two-hundreds, on the surface, he
seemed quiet, shy, and closelipped. 
	Usuke and Norio had befriended the youth out of interest,
rather than pity, and had quickly found a true compadre. While he
was rather short and thin, Amane seemed to have a friendly, more
open side to his reportedly frigid personality. 
	"Ummmmmmm..." Amane bit into a sandwich. "Would you look at
the ass on that one? What's her name again?"
	He was also a complete pervert.
	"Kiko," Norio volunteered. "Kiko Natsuri."
	The girl in question turned around, apparently noticing the
eyes on her back.
	Then Amane did *another* thing Usuke and Norio found
completely amazing. 
	He had allowed his black, almost blue, hair to fall down over
one eye, and flashed a tiny, pouty smile at her. He adjusted his
glasses and waved, looking for all the world like a lost child.
	The girl's eyes seemed to glint. She raised her hand to her
mouth and started to giggle. Her friends, catching on, giggled a
little as well.
	After just a few seconds, Kiko walked up to the group and
handed a folded slip of paper to Amane. She giggled and ran back to
her friends, who quickly returned to the school building.
	Usuke's eyebrow twitched. 
	Norio stared openmouthed as Amane unfolded the note, scanned
it briefly and stuffed into his pocket along with several others.
Amane's innocent grin turned downright evil.
	"That's seven today," he whispered. "Should I go for eight?"
	Norio groaned in jealousy. "You bastard."
	"How do you do it?!?!" Usuke demanded.
	"I'm cute," Amane answered, "quiet, *and* smart. They can't
resist me." His eye caught on the hem of another passing skirt.
"Ooh, who's she?"
	"Sayuri Akona," Norio offered. "Don't bother, Since she's the
prettiest girl in class, she's already going out with the captain of
the baseball team."
	"Prettiest in class, you say?"
	The word 'prettiest' sparked an image in Usuke's mind. "I know
someone who's prettier"
	"Oh...? Do tell," Amane prompted.
	"Tuxedo Kamen.
	Norio moaned in blissful remembrance. "Oh... yesss...."
	"I've only seen pictures in the newspapers. Is she as
beautiful as everyone says?"
	Usuke wiped a bead of sweat off his brow. "Better."
	"Oh, those legs...." Norio's hands went to his chest.
	"Those eyes...." Usuke sighed.
	"That perfect little butt," Norio started trembling.
	"Her... *chest*. I don't think she wears a bra," Usuke
commented.
	"Oh really?" Amane's eyebrows went up in speculation. "You've
seen her?"
	"Once," Usuke lied. "She's kinda hard to miss in that outfit."
	"She came to my store, you know," Norio informed him.
	Usuke snorted. "A monster was trashing your store and she and
Sailor Moon showed up to save your ass."
	"No, man. She wanted me! I swear."
	"Bullshit!"
	Amane cleared his throat. "I understand she follows Sailor
Moon around like a guardian angel."
	Usuke nodded and took a bite out of his near-empty bento.
	"It makes one wonder if they're sleeping together."
	Usuke choked. "Oh, I wish!"
	"What?!?!"
	"Umm... I mean, I wish she we could see it, if she was!"
Smooth move, loser. Why don't you whip out the Moon Locket and show
them the fuku while you're at it.
	"Nah," Norio responded. "She's saving herself for the man she
loves."
	Usuke snickered, "You?!?! Ha!"
	Norio shrugged. "Hey, you never know. If Amane here can get
girls...."
	"Yahright."
	A voice came from behind the trio. "I heard that Tuxedo Kamen
gets beat up every time she tries to help Sailor Moon."
	Usuke groaned in dread. "Hi, Umeka...."
	Umeka Gurio stepped around the tree and adjusted her thick
glasses. "Apparently she's only good as a distraction."
	"Well..." Usuke scrabbled mentally. "At least she tries."
	"Those roses are pretty cool, too!" Norio countered.
	"I think Sailor Moon would be much better served to forget
about a girl that trashy and go out with some one more...
responsible."
	Usuke struggled to keep from running away in terror. Surely
she didn't mean...
	"Men need down-to-earth wives, don't you think?"
	Norio chuckled. "So you think Sailor Moon ought to marry you?"
	"Mmmmhmmmm!" Usuke shuddered at Umeka's dreamy, possessive
smile. He had seen it before, and was suddenly feeling very sorry
for Sailor Moon.
	Once they had returned to class, Usuke had a chance to think
about what the girl said. In the last couple weeks, he and Luna had
been involved in quite a few monster attacks. The enemy always
seemed to be draining energy from someone, and it fell to Sailor
Moon to protect those being drained.
	Tuxedo Kamen *did* show up to help, just when he needed it,
but she usually helped him by walking directly into the monster's
attacks. The distraction was useful, but Usuke was *really* starting
to worry about the girl.
	He put the thoughts out of his head for the rest of the day,
trying to concentrate instead on a much more important matter, what
manga he was going to buy after school.
	
* * *

	Jadeite watched the youma pull the gag tight across the mouth
of the teacher. She smiled evilly. "The students expend such energy
in their concentration, it will be an easy harvest for the glory of
our leader."
	"Yes, Jadeite," the youma replied. "These children are
especially... succulent."
	The general sniffed at the struggling teacher. "Why they
expend so much useless effort, I'll never know. You know what you
have to do."
	"Of course." The youma's features blurred and shifted until
they matched that of the teacher. "The energy draining computer
program you provided is a most excellent weapon."
	"Oh," the blonde general prodded the panicked teacher with the
tip of her boot. "Knock her out, will you? She's annoying."
	With that, Jadeite disappeared in a shower of light.
	The youma drained the teacher until she lost consciousness and
stuffed the woman in a closet. 
	She left the office and stepped into a nearby restroom to
check her appearance. With a few adjustments, the youma strode down
the hallway and into a classroom. 
	"Good afternoon, Students. Please load program number two-
thirteen and run it."
	While the students were busily typing away, she called the
roll, noting the increasingly exhausted expressions on the students'
faces as the program started to run.
	Amane Mizuno wondered why he was feeling so lethargic.
Usually, his afternoon computer class was riveting for him, but
today, he just didn't seem to be able to stay awake. He liked the
complex programming excercises almost as much as being able to gaze
upon all the lovely buttocks in the seats in front of him...
	Satisfied that the program was running its evil course, the
youma excused herself.
	"I must meet with the superintendent briefly." Seeing that he
was the most lucid of her victims, she pointed and spoke. "Mr.
Mizuno, You are in charge while I'm gone."
	Roused from his sleepy daydream about computers and girls,
Amane grimaced. The teachers usually didn't meet with the
superindendant personally. Something wasn't quite right here...

* * *

	"Would you pay attention, Usuke?" 
	"Hmmm?" Usuke ate a french fry and turned a page from his
manga.
	Luna cleared her throat, clawing the park bench underneath her
in frustration. "I'm worried about you associating too closely with
that Mizuno person. I'm getting some odd vibrations from him."
	"You've been getting odd vibrations for as long as I've known
you, Luna."
	"I'm serious! I'm afraid he may be one of the enemy."
	"Amane? A monster? I really kinda doubt it." Usuke shook his
head and stuffed a few more fries in his mouth.
	"I'm telling you, Usuke! This could be important!"
	"And it could be *somthing else* that you just can't remember,
Luna. I'm still looking around for this tiara you keep talking
about."
	Luna fumed. "Well, then what about the--"
	"Give it up, Luna. Amane's my friend, and I just don't think
he's a monster."
	The cat groaned and viciously dug her claws into the wood. She
huffed for several seconds, trying to decide what to do. 
	"If Amane *is* your friend, then you owe it to him to make
sure he's not in danger. If you used the disguise wand--"
	"Un-uh! Every time I've used the wand, it put me in drag. I
asked to be an executive, and it put me in a dress suit. I asked to
be a movie star and it put me in a miniskirt and high heels. I trust
that thing like a fox in a henhouse."
	Luna sighed in defeat. After the debacle at the jewelry shop,
she had let Usuke down over and over again. The disguise pen was
merely the topping on the cake. Usuke need someone to guide him,
someone he could trust, and Luna simply wasn't doing the job.
	"Usuke, I'm sorry."
	"Hmmm?" The young man looked over the top of his manga at the
cat in surprise.
	"Something has gone wrong. Something horrible, and I just
don't know why."
	"Luna?"
	"I mean... I was expecting a woman. All the weapons and powers
are designed for a woman, and I can't remember why."
	"Why not?"
	Luna exhaled nervously. Should she come clean? Should she tell
the whole truth, what little of it still fit in her head?
	"There's so much that I can't remember. But..." The cat paused
for a second. "A... *very*... long time ago, there was a radiant
kingdom, and a beautiful princess and her protectors. I loved them
all so much, but they were betrayed and they all died so horribly."
	Usuke was surprised to see a human tear roll down and fade
into the cat's furry face.
	"How'd they die, Luna?"
	"I *can't* remember. I can't even remember their faces..." She
paused, angrily clawing wood shavings out of the bench. "You have to
believe me, Usuke. The Moon Princess is alive today, and *you* are
her only hope for survival, regardless of all the mistakes *I've*
made. I know that our enemy *will* kill her if they can."
	Usuke's expression became serious. "And you believe Amane is
one of the enemy."
	"I don't know. I won't lie to you, Usuke. I *feel* that
something is unusual about him. If you..."
	"What?"
	"If you... concentrate on exactly what you want to wear, I
think the disguise wand might work."
	"You want me to go check on Amane."
	"Please, Usuke."
	Usuke exhaled nervously. "I'm trusting you on this, Luna..."
	"I know..."

* * *

	Twenty minutes after a young man and his cat walked into a
nearby alley, a stylish looking teacher carrying a briefcase walked
out. While his suit and clothes were masculinely cut, they were all
made of pastel colored silk.
	"Close enough," he said to his briefcase. The case meowed
nervously.
	He boarded a bus, ignoring the stares his too-pretty outfit
was receiving. He struggled to remember the address of Amane's after
school computer class, but managed to get the right stop.
	He walked in the front door, looking in each classroom door as
he passed.
	"There's Amane." He opened the briefcase, letting the cat hop
down to the floor.
	"Open the door, Usuke."
	The young man pushed the door open.
	Amane was just about falling out of his desk. He was
struggling to keep his eyes open.
	"Wwoorr' u?"
	"Amane, wake up! What's wrong here?!?!"
	"Huhhh?" The dark haired young man's grip slipped. He sat down
hard, but the shock seemed to bring him around a little. "What the
hell?"
	Still in disguise, Usuke ran over to help his groggy friend.
"C'mon Amane! We gotta get you out of here." 
	*slam* The teacher burst back into the classroom.
	"Who are you and what are you doing with my students?!?!"
	Over the past few weeks, Usuke had been in this situation a
few times. He was *certain* this woman was the monster.
	"Your students?" he yelled. "They all got their energy
drained!"
	The teacher's expression narrowed angrily. "Well, then. We'll
just have to drain you, too!"
	Usuke jumped out of the way as an energy blast shot past his
head.
	"Transform, now, Usuke!" Luna called out.
	"I'm tryin'! I'm tryin'!"
	Amane's eyes opened wide with the realization of the identity
of the stranger. 
	Usuke kept trying to pull something out of his shirt, but kept
having to dodge the teacher-monster's energy blasts. Finally, he
managed to pull a locket of some sort out. Amane realized that Usuke
wasn't dodging anymore. He was a sitting target!
	"USUKE! LOOK OUT!"
	Luna jerked as the blue sigil of Mercury lit up on Amane's
forehead. Another Sailor? She dodged as Amane leapt over her and
knocked Usuke out of the path of an energy blast.
	He *must* be another sailor.
	She turned a back flip, producing the Mercury wand.
	"Amane, take this!"
	"Huh? A talking cat? Impossible!"
	Usuke pushed his friend toward Luna. "It's okay! Take the
wand." 
He had seen the sigil as well, and was pretty sure of what it meant.
	Hiding under a desk, Amane grabbed the wand and held it. Words
were coursing into his mouth... Words that didn't make any sense.
	Luna braced herself. "Shout Mercury--"
	"No!" Usuke shouted, also hiding under a desk from the random
energy blasts. He could see Amane's lips beginning to move in unison
with Luna's voice. "What ever you do, don't say 'Mercury Power, Make
Up'!"
	Amane froze, the words trying to force their way from his
lips.
	"You'll thank me later. Say something like, "Mercury
Transformation--"
	Amane couldn't hold it any longer. One phrase seemed to be as
good as another. 
	"MERCURY TRANSFORMATION SCREAM!!!!"
	Ice exploded out away from the young man. When the shards had
disappeared, he was wearing blue, loose, flaring pants, a tight,
white top with a blue banded collar, and blue armor on his shoulders
and arms.
	"MOON TRANSFORMATION SCREAM!!!!"
	Usuke exploded in a flash of multicolored light. His familiar
costume appeared.
	"Sailor Moon?"
	"Sailor Mercury?"
	"Oh, this is *too* cool!" Amane chuckled. "Now what do we do?"
	Cool? No... Luna remembered, *Cold*! Yes, Mercury's powers
were all ice based. "Try shouting 'Shabon Spray'. It may not work,
but it's worth a try..."
	Amane stared at the cat quizzically, but cupped his hands for
the attack. He turned and poked his torso up above the desk.
	"SHABON SPRAY!"
	*pif* 
	The dark haired youth ducked again as a hail of energy blasts
roared over his head. 
	"Did it work?" Usuke demanded from his hiding place.
	"No, it didn't work."
	Luna clawed at her ears in desperate thought. "It's no good! I
can't remember any more of the attack names! You'll have to blast
it, Sailor Moon."
	Usuke nodded, and crossed his arms. Again, like it had so many
times, the non-sense speech filled his head, but he ignored it. He
simply turned, rose and...
	"MOON PRINCESS VENGEANCE STRIKE!"
	...Blasted a hole in the whiteboard in front of the class.
	"She's gone..."

* * *

	The youma ran huffing into the office. She slammed the door
behind her and hit the 'special' button on the intercom.
	"Lady Jadeite! Another Sailor has appeared. I think our plan
here is compromised!"
	The long haired woman appeared in a shower of light.
"WHAT?!?!"
	"One of the students turned out to be Sailor Mercury," the
youma explained. "It all happened so quickly. I tried to kill them,
but they outnumbered me."
	Jadeite gritted her teeth in fury. "I will not allow this
complication to stand in the way of my plan! Do you understand
me?!?!" 
	"Of course, Lady Jadeite."
	"Good. Now, what can we do to salvage this situation..."
	Masami Chiba watched in quiet fascination. So *this* was
Tuxedo Kamen's enemy. Her enemy.
	Brushing her raven hair out of her face, Masami shifted her
position over the heating vent and readied herself to transform.
	Oh, she knew she was Tuxedo Kamen. It was kind of hard to miss
when she kept waking up with bruises and wounds that she didn't
remember receiving. Even when she didn't wake up with new lumps,
Masami dreamt continuously of Sailor Moon, and another woman who
needed her to perform some task most urgently.
	She managed the transformation once, by herself, but if that
cute Sailor Moon were involved, she was certain she could do it
again.
	Jadeite and the monster scrambled out of the room. Masami
kicked open the vent and allowed herself to drop to the floor.
	She straightened her tights and carefully reached inside her
jacket to pull out the weapon she had brought.
	There was another thing. She *knew* she was Tuxedo Kamen, but
nothing she did seemed to work right. There were no end of little
instinctual whispers constantly shouting instructions to her. Most
of the battle instructions, however, were assuming that she was six
feet tall and weighed a hundred and seventy five pounds. Her arms
never seemed large enough, and her legs just didn't have the stride
necessary for the kind of gymnastics her body wanted to do.
	Every time she tried to encourage or help Sailor Moon, Masami
ended up being comic relief to distract the monsters long enough for
Sailor Moon to strike. Her old martial arts training just didn't
seem to work right after she became Tuxedo Kamen, and her body just
didn't react the way she expected it to.
	Once she finally realized what was going on, Masami vowed not
to let what ever it was trying to guide her get in the way of what
she was supposed to be doing. She didn't understand why, but she was
supposed to be helping Sailor Moon to become a better warrior, and
at the same time searching for... something. A locket? A crystal,
perhaps?	
	Masami shook her head and pulled the action back on the
pistol. Monster or no, she wasn't getting the hell beat out of her
again!

	* * *

	"Shabon spray?"
	"I don't get it." Usuke led Amane down the corridor and turned
right at the intersection. "This way."
	"Well... It was supposed to work! I could *feel* it working,
but it was almost like something... got in the way."
	Luna ran in between their legs. "I don't really understand it
myself."
	"It may be the boy-girl thing, again," Usuke suggested. "Luna
thinks all the powers were designed for girls, so maybe that's why
we can't use them. She keeps complaining that I don't have some
magical tiara to throw at the monsters."
	"That... what was it? 'Moon Princess Vengeance Strike'? That
worked pretty well. Who is this Moon Princess anyway?"
	As they searched the hallways, Usuke recounted what Luna had
told him. "Apparently, we're her protectors. We gotta keep these
guys from killing her if they find her."
	"How can I do that if my super powers don't work?"
	Luna paused, desperately racking her memory. "Try... I think
this will work. Try 'Mercury Materialize'.
	"But not out here!" Usuke cautioned. "What if someone sees?"
He dragged the other youth and the cat into a side room. It turned
out to be the boiler room for the school.
	"Humoungous!" Usuke shouted, seeing the immense furnace. 
	Amane nodded. "It services the entire building, not just the
computer school. It feeds an office and a shopping center, too."
	"Ready to try?" Luna prompted.
	Amane nodded, raising his hands toward a blank wall for the
attack. 
	"MERCURY MATERIALIZE!"
	Nothing happened.
	"Urrr..." Usuke examined the wall in front of Amane. "You sure
about that attack phrase, Luna?"
	"Not really, no."
	"It needs something else..." Amane ruminated. "Something to
set it off. I could feel the power building, but there was no
release.
	"All of Mercury's attacks were water and ice based," Luna
prompted. "Does that help?"
	"Ice.... Ice.... Hey!" Amane snapped his fingers. "Ice Bolt!"
	To his shock, a bolt of blue lightning shot from his snapping
fingers in the direction they had been pointing.
	"Hey! Watch it!" Usuke dodged the attack, letting it hit the
boiler behind him. 
	Like time lapse photography, blue frost crept up the side of
the machine. Amane, Usuke and Luna's eyes all widened in horror as
the boiler started groaning ominously.
	After a few seconds, Amane stepped forward and put his head
down next to the machine.
	"Water's still flowing inside," he noted. "The sound must have
been the steel contracting from the cold. No harm done."
	"Whew!" Usuke wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "The
important thing is that we have something that works. Now let's go
find that monster and toast it!"

* * *

	Jadeite and her youma crouched at opposite ends of the office
hallway.  Unless she missed her guess, Sailor Moon would not retreat
until he had destroyed her plans. 
	Gathering her power inside her, she chuckled meanly. She would
just have to see about letting that brat get the better of her this
time!
	Before she could hear them, Jadeite felt the rhythmic pounding
of footfalls in the side corridor. She made a motion to the Youma,
preparing her. Jadeite tensed, preparing to strike.
	A black cat dodged into the hallway. 
	The youma released a sphere of life-draining force by reflex.
Terrified, the cat jumped back, yowling. Almost too late, Jadeite
saw that the force bolt would pass well above the animal.
	"IDIOT!" The bolt was headed straight at her. The general
lunged, dropping to her belly. She could have levitated out of the
way, but there was no room in these narrow hallways. "Get them!" she
cried from her prone position.
	The youma jumped up and ran toward the intersection.
	*BLAM*.... *BLAM* *BLAM*
	The youma toppled over forward, green ichor spraying from its
back. It dissolved away into nothingness before it hit the floor.
	Behind where it disintegrated, a woman appeared from the
darkness, one arm crossed just under her breasts.
	5'9",
	High heels,
	Net stockings,
	Tap pants,
	A tuxedo jacket,
	A rose between her teeth,
	And a top hat...
	She was holding a smoking .45 caliber. "Tuxedo la smoking
bomber," she stated casually.
	Tuxedo Kamen snatched the rose from between her teeth and
planted it between Jadeite's feet. "You're next, Jadeite." She
pulled back the action on the pistol, ejecting a spent cartridge.
Leveling the pistol at the general's head, she winked at the two
sailor suited youths standing gape-mouthed in the intersecting
hallway.
	Jadeite tensed for the shot...
	Tuxedo Kamen fired.
	Jadeite released her power, incinerating the bullet in mid-
air. All that reached her was a puff of hot air. She rushed Tuxedo
Kamen, landing a vicious uppercut on the tuxedo clad woman's chin.
	Tuxedo Kamen was thrown back several meters, quite unconscious
before she hit the ground.
	"Run!" a voice shouted. Jadeite turned to see the two Sailors
and the cat fleeing pell mell down the hall way.
	"I should let them go," Jadeite huffed, "but it's my duty to
our leader..."
	
	Usuke and Amane found themselves back in the boiler room. 
	"God, did you see that!" Amane hissed.
	"The way she burned up Tuxedo Kamen's bullet?" Usuke verified.
	"No! Tuxedo Kamen's tits!" Amane marveled. "If she bounced
anymore, they'd bust right through that shirt!"
	"Would you two be serious?!?!" Luna growled. "Jadeite's out
there!"
	Usuke nodded and dove behind a large steel pipe. Amane and the
cat joined him just a second later.
	"What're we gonna do?" Usuke wondered, mopping the sweat off
his brow.
	Amane thought for a second. "I'll freeze her, and then you
blast her." 
	"She's a woman! I can't just *kill* her!"
	Amane shook his head. "Get real. She just knocked out Tuxedo
Kamen *and* she's the one who's responsible for all these monsters.
If we don't, she *will*."
	The door burst open in an explosion of light and splinters.
	"Come out, come out, you little pigs!" an enraged Jadeite
howled from the smoking doorway.
	For the second time, Amane found a ridiculous speech trying to
force its way out of his lips. He rebelled against it and jumped up
from his cover.
	"Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!!!!" he shouted half
in defiance and half to smother the other, even more ridiculous
speech. "MERCURY MATERIALIZE ICE BOLT!!!!"
	"MOON PRINCESS VENGEANCE STRIKE!!!!"
	With an insane grin, Jadeite simply batted the spark of blue
lighting away with one glowing gloved fist. It bounced back into
Usuke's attack, exploding both in a shower of blue sparks. 
	"Not that easy, puny human!"
	"Gyahh!" Amane ducked back behind the pipe as some of the
sparks from the explosion hit the pipe and turned it a frosty blue.
	Usuke, who had been leaning over the pipe, jerked away from
it, lest his skin freeze. "She'll get me before I can blast her
again!" he shouted.
	"We're doomed!" Luna wailed.
	"I got an idea." Amane was going to need something with more
power than an ice attack. 
	"You sure?!?!"
	"Yeah, I think it will work!" It was risky, but logically, it
was possible. Amane jumped to his feet again. "MERCURY MATERIALIZE
TSUNAMI!!!!"

* * *

	Deep inside the Yakada Joint Building boiler, a thermostat
spring broke in twisted, tortured agony. It had been measuring a
near constant 130C high when it had been suddenly subjected to a
bitter -40C low. It nearly shattered in that instant. It had slowly
warmed back up, almost to 100C again, when it was again quenched by
a near 0C flood.
	Worse, pressure was building up in one of the main vent pipes.
It was full of ice, allowing no water or steam to pass.
	The old steel simply couldn't take the strain. Nanoseconds
after the thermostat cracked, the tired steel plate simply
disintegrated.

* * *

	The sound of running water brought Masami to a quick, pained
consciousness. That bitch, Jadeite! She had knocked her out and...
	"Uh-oh."
	A six foot wave of water was bearing down on her. 
	Oh, well. At least she could swim. Masami kicked off her high
heels and prepared for the cold, wet impact.
	
* * *

	*HACK* *COUGH* *COUGH*
	"Are you okay, Usuke?"
	*ACHOO*.... "Yeah... It's just cold. Wasn't expecting so much
water..."
	Luna was incensed. She had never been so cold or wet. If she
had not managed to claw her way to a perch on one of the valves, she
would have drowned. Worse, she rather looked like a weasel when her
fur was wet. "You could have told me what you had planned, idiot!" 
	Amane stamped his booted feet in the knee deep water. He shook
his head to get the freezing water out of his ears. "I think the
boiler went, too. It's still pumping in water from the city mains."
	Clearing the last of the water from his lungs, Usuke rose to
his feet. "There's... *cough*... no time for that. Look."
	Where he pointed, Jadeite lay against the wall where the tidal
wave slammed her. Her bruised face was only barely out of the cold
water. Usuke walked over and pushed his forefinger against her neck.
	"She's still alive..."
	"What should we do with her?" Amane wondered aloud.
	"Kill her now, before she wakes back up!" Luna suggested with
a disgruntled hiss.
	"She's helpless now, Luna." Usuke scolded. "Woman or not, It's
wrong to hurt someone who can't defend themself."
	Amane's expression shifted, becoming the evil, lecherous thing
Usuke knew from the school yard. "I think I've got another idea..."
	

* * *

	"Mercury Materialize... Strawberry Slush, 32 ounces."
	"In other news today, the Yakada building was seriously
damaged when its aged boiler system backed up and exploded this
afternoon."
	"Why thank you, Sailor Mercury."
	Jadeite shook her head groggily. Where was she? She seemed to
be sitting on something dangerously unstable. She summoned her power
to levitate... only to find it somehow missing.
	"While police were called in to investigate gunshots heard
before the flood, the detective in charge attributed the sounds to
the explosion."
	"My pleasure, Sailor Moon."
	Through the blazing pain in her skull, the general forced her
eyes open. She was sitting above a large pool of water. Every move
she made seemed to make her seat sway. Carefully turning her head,
she realized her hands were tied behind her and that her body and
legs were tied to a chair. The chair was balanced on two legs on the
end of a long diving board. Supporting the rest of the weight was a
single rope rising up to the rafters above the pool.
	"All offices and stores adjoining the Yakada building have
been evacuated due to flooding and water damage. Damage estimates
run at about 200 million yen. Until the building can been repaired,
the offices and computer school will remain closed."
	Jadeite heard the click of a radio being switched off. 
	"And I think I'll have... Mercury Materialize Lemon Ice Tea,
20 ounces."
	"Man, you are getting good at that!"
	"Naturally." 
	Jadeite managed to point her aching head down toward the two
youths. While they appeared slightly different wearing nothing but
swimming trunks, it was obviously Sailors Moon and Mercury. Fearing
the worst, she attempted to summon some of her destructive powers to
attack the boys. It was instantly apparent that she had no more
strength than a human. Panic and rage began to descend upon her.
Beryl had cut her off!
	"And this pool is choice, too!" Sailor Moon exclaimed. 
	"My mom's a doctor. She's gone all the time, so I get the
place pretty much to my self." Sailor Mercury looked up, noticing
Jadeite had come around. "Would you like anything to drink, Jadeite?
Tea? Daiquiri? I haven't tried wine yet, but I suppose I could."
	"MmMMmmMmpphh!!!!" Jadeite screamed from behind her gag.
	"That rope's not very strong. I wouldn't struggle too much, if
I were you," Mercury warned. "Unless, of course, you think you can
swim all tied up like that."
	"So," Sailor Moon interrupted. "Are we just going to keep her
up there?"
	"My mom's in America for another few months. Why not? Besides,
she might be useful if we run across any more monsters."
	"That's true."
	"Besides, I've always wanted a prisoner of war," Mercury
admitted. "Especially one that wears lace panties!"
	Jadeite looked down in a panic. Sure enough, the little
perverts had stripped her down to her underwear before they tied her 
up.
	
	Luna sighed mournfully at the situation. She had tried to
convince Usuke and Amane that the dark general was still dangerous,
but Usuke somehow reasoned that as long as her hands were tied, she
was no threat. While he wasn't as quite as confident of the
situation, Amane rationalized that their powers could dispel any
violence from Jadeite that being tied up and suspended over deep
water didn't. Still... the boys seemed to be doing pretty well so
far... Perhaps the situation wasn't quite so dire.	
	"You, know?" The cat called up from her position between the
two boys. "I could really go for a nice bowl of cold milk."
	
	Jadeite glared in impotent rage at her captors.
	"I think I can manage that," Mercury turned in his lounge
chair and pulled a saucer off the serving tray behind him and placed
it on the tile deck of the indoor pool, just in front of her.
"Mercury Materialize Milk, 6 ounces."
	"Maybe this won't be so bad after all," the cat suggested.
	All Jadeite knew was that she was going to *kill* Sailor Moon
and Sailor Mercury....
	Just... as soon as she managed to get untied...	

----------
Author's notes:

1. So.

I wrote another chapter of 'Reversal', the story which many people
told me in brutal, but polite honesty that they hoped never saw the
light of day. Why?

Imagine a masculinized Minako walking around with a 'Fifth Element'
style BFG, a crew cut and a belt of rapid fire 80 caliber mini-gun
ammo draped over her (his) shoulders Rambo-style with a manic grin
on her (his) face.

Right. Regardless of how scary it is, it sticks in your head. It's
pretty in sync with Minako's wayyyy-too-cheerful, take-everything-
to-the-highest-degree-of-ridiculity personality.

Is this the person Mina would be if she were a guy? Maybe not...
But then again...

Within just a few minutes, I had testosterone-ized all the Senshi, 
and started working on making all the male characters effeminate.
I just couldn't let go of it. It really does write itself. I've 
gotten in trouble with that before, but I'm willing to do it again.

2. Why do we always make Ami a sex kitten in anything but the most 
serious fics? 

I think 'Amane' says it best in the lunch scene: "I'm cute," Amane 
answered, "quiet, *and* smart. They can't resist me." 

And we can't, can we? There's an 'Ecchi Ami' site out there (shame 
on you for looking!), but do we see any sites like that for the other 
senshi? As a matter of fact, there are 33 separate entries for 'Ami'
or  'Sailor Mercury' shrines at anipike.com, but only 8 for Usagi, 
the title character.

So, Amane's got those hormones too. 

3. What are the other Senshi going to be like as men? Why have 
everybody's sexes been changed?! Why are Ikuko and Kenji still the 
same?!? Beryl's a woman, but the generals aren't men?!?! What's 
going on here? 

I'm not telllinggg!!!! Not yet, at least.

I will tell you that TK's going to start having some serious 
competition in the drop-dead gorgeous department starting with the 
next gener... er...

Next Chapter. Just forget everything I said about Nephrite there.

4. Here's a quick correspondence chart for those characters whose
sexes have changed and have been introduced so far, in case you've
lost count. All family names will remain the same.

Usuke   <> Usagi Tsukino (Serena)
Norio   <> Naru Osaka (Molly)
Masami  <> Mamoru Chiba (Darien)
Umeka   <> Umino Gurio (Melvin)
Amane   <> Ami Mizuno (Amy)
Jadeite <> No change 


5. Lastly, I'd like to thank my prereaders for doing such an 
excellent job on keeping me in line. I am trying to stay within the 
boundaries of doing nothing but adding testosterone to the mix and 
seeing how it changes the story, and all these guys really helped me 
out. 

Another big hand goes out to all the people who wrote me back
when I posted the first chapter of 'Reversal', with both negative
and positive criticism.

Thanks, guys! 

Next up: Why more 'Ranma's Apartment' of course! I may squeeze out 
another chapter of 'Reversal' or 'Chaos and Destiny' in the meantime, 
but my primary focus is going back to Ranma and Akane.

Until Next time....
* * *
Chris Jones - hamster@arn.net
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