I originally planned to wait until chapter six was done, but chapter
five turned out to be a perfect jumpoff point for this part of the
story, so...

C&C/MST/pop-up/last call welcome. Flames/rants about global nuclear
war not.


	Chapter Four

	"Okay, so let me get this straight," Shingo said. "My sister's not
only Sailor Moon, she's also the reincarnation of a princess who
lived on the moon thousands of years ago."
	Saturn nodded. "That's right."
	"And some evil army went up to the moon and killed everyone, and her
mother killed herself to send the princess and the Sailor Senshi into
the future?"
	"Basically." 
	"Well, that makes about as much sense as anything else," Shingo
sighed. He rubbed his forehead. "I'm getting a headache from all
this."
	Saturn giggled. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it," She banished
the Glaive and sat down beside Shingo, who blinked.
	"Hotaru-chan?"
	"Hai?"
	"Where the hell does that thing *go* anyway?"
	Saturn blinked. "The Silence Glaive? I'm not really sure. I just
summon it when I need it and send it away when I don't." 
	"It goes into a subspacial pocket," a new voice intruded. The teens
looked up to see Sailor Mercury walking towards them, lights flashing
inside her visor as she furiously punched away on her computer,
scanning the walls of the palace.
	Shingo blinked. "Ami-san? Is that you?" 
	Mercury glanced at him and smiled. "Hai, Shingo-kun. I believe you
know all of the Senshi, except the other Outers..." she gestured at
Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto, who were gathered around a pair of
thrones which had appeared in the center of the room. Seated upon the
thrones were a dazed-looking Serenity and a calm-looking but wary
Endymion. Pluto was telling him something.
	Shingo looked around the room. Sailor Mars...Rei?...was talking to
the elder Hino, and trying to wake up Yuuichirou, who was still out
of it. Venus...Minako, he realized...was helping Naru and Umino to
revive his parents. He felt guilty that he wasn't over there with
them, but he decided there was no help for it. Motoki and the
white-haired man who had been standing with Pluto were seeing to the
one other guests who hadn't fled the temple when the transformation
began. He couldn't get a clear look at them, but one of the women
seemed familiar. Finally, he watched as Jupiter...Makoto, it had to
be Makoto...tapped the walls of the sealed chamber. As she did so, a
crevice suddenly appeared in the smooth surface. The crevice widened,
letting light shine through. Shingo realized this must be a doorway. 
	The multiple surprises of the past weeks had left Shingo feeling as
though he could probably handle just about anything, especially after
what happened during the wedding. Therefore, he shouldn't have even
blinked at what happened next.
	Which is why it was extremely funny to Saturn when he completely
freaked out.

	*****

	One irate black cat and one apprehensive white cat stalked through
the newly-opened doorway. "Alright, what's going on up here?" Luna
growled.
	"LUNA TALKED!?" Shingo shouted from where he and Saturn were
sitting. The other Senshi blinked at him, and Saturn collapsed in a
fit of giggles.
	Luna glanced over at Shingo, who was pale with horror, and realized
that the room was full of civilians, and a few of them were awake.
She smacked herself with a paw. "Would someone mind explaining this?"
she said, already losing patience.
	"Calm down, Luna," Artemis said. Luna swiped at him with her claws,
and he ducked.
	Shingo started shaking badly, his eyes wider than dinner plates, all
the blood drained from his face. "Oh hell, two talking cats...I can't
deal with this," he said. Saturn put a reassuring arm around him. 
	"There, there...it's alright, Shingo-kun...they're very friendly,
they won't hurt you..." Saturn whispered into his ear.
	"So much for the decorum of the throne room," Uranus quipped aside
to Neptune, who snickered. 
	Luna stalked right up to the thrones, and her eyes widened as it
finally registered who was sitting there. "S-serenity," she gasped.
"Endymion..."
	Artemis seated himself near where Pluto stood. "I can't wait to hear
this," he mused.
	Serenity had been silent ever since her parents fainted. Her eyes
had glazed over somewhat after that, and she had remained that way
ever since. Now, she seemed lucid again, if somewhat in shock. She
looked around, then down at herself, and gasped. "I'm...I'm
really...Serenity..." 
	Endymion took her hand, and smiled at her. "Yes, you are, my love." 
	She stared at him. "Ma...mamo-chan..."
	He shook his head. "Endymion," he corrected her. "Chiba Mamoru and
Tsukino Usagi are gone now."
	"But...no! That's not...I mean, I know who I am...I'm still...oh,
I'm so confused..." Serenity seemed on the verge of tears. 
	Pluto stepped forward, and bowed. "Your Majesty, I believe I can
explain," she said. 
	Serenity looked up. "Pluto? What's going on here?"
	"There was a propechy in the Silver Millenium," Pluto began. "when
the Crown Princess is wed on her eighteenth birthday, she ascends the
throne, becoming Queen, and gaining full control over the power of
the Ginzuishou." She paused, letting that sink in, then continued,
"You have wed on your eighteenth birthday, and therefore have now
ascended the throne."
	Serenity blinked. "But...the Silver Millenium ended thousands of
years ago!" she protested.
	Pluto shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The daughter of the last
reigning Queen has fulfilled the prophecy, and holds the crystal. I
know it's hard for you to understand, but your reign has
begun...Neo-Queen Serenity."
	"But, but...I don't even feel like Serenity! I still feel like,
well, like me!" the confused young ruler declared. "I mean, there's
something different, I can feel that, like when I became Sailor Moon
for the first time, but..." She clutched her head. "This is all so
weird...!"
	Endymion embraced her. "Serenity," he said softly. "You remember the
times you turned into your past self, right?" She nodded. "It felt
like you were experiencing things through someone else's soul, didn't
it?"
	"I...I suppose that's a way of putting it," Serenity said.
	"But it doesn't feel that way now, does it?"
	She shook her head. "No...I mean, it just feels like I know new
stuff I didn't know before. But I'm still me, I mean, I'm still
Usagi..."
	Endymion smiled. "And I'm still Mamoru, yet we aren't the same
people now." He paused. "You feel the soul of your past life, don't
you?"
	Serenity nodded. "Yes..." Her brow furrowed. "It's like...it's like
the times I turned into Serenity, but I'm still me and not her..."
Her eyes widened. "Wait...you mean I'm both, right now? At the same
time?"
	Endymion nodded, grinning. "You understand now. The soul of Princess
Serenity has merged completely with your own soul...as has mine with
Endymion. We're them now, and they're us."
	"Oh...I see," Serenity said, nodding thoughtfully. She then looked
around the room, noticing that many of those present were gathered in
small knots, either reviving the people who had fainted, or talking
quietly, or examining the building. "This is..."
	"The Crystal Palace," Pluto said. "Your palace, Serenity-sama." 
	"Don't do that, please," Serenity said. "You're older than I am, it
isn't right."
	Pluto smiled. "I was older than your mother, the Queen, also," she
said. 
	Serenity giggled. "I suppose you would have been, at that." She
looked around slowly, wonderously. "It's so beautiful...how big is
it?" she wondered.
	Pluto shrugged. "We don't know," she admitted. "Nobody's gone
outside the throne room yet." 
	"But there's a lot of people *outside* who'd like to get *in*,"
Artemis said. "You should see the crowd on the street..."
	Serenity's eyes widened. "Oh, kami-sama! The temple! Poor Rei-chan,
poor ojiisan..."
	"It's quite alright, Your Majesty," a gentle voice said from behind
her. Serenity turned to see Sailor Mars smiling at her, with her
grandfather standing beside her. "We're both honored to have this
beautiful palace on our temple grounds."
	"Besides," Hino-san said, "the old place needed fixing up anyway."
He winked. Mars and Serenity giggled, and Endymion chuckled. 
	"But...I don't understand why this happened," Serenity said. 
	"I explained the prophecy--" Pluto began, but Serenity cut her off.
	"Not that, I get that now. I mean this. The palace. Why here, why
now? I thought this wasn't supposed to happen for almost a thousand
years..."
	Pluto shrugged. "To be honest, Your Majesty, I don't understand
either," she said. "Unless the tale our future selves told about the
Ice Age and how Crystal Tokyo came to be was a fabrication..." She
frowned thoughtfully. "Come to think of it...the future version of
myself might have told you that tale about the Ice Age so that you
wouldn't know this was going to happen," she mused. 
	"Is it something you'd do?" Uranus asked. Neptune elbowed her in the
ribs.
	"Yes, it is," Pluto said, grinning. "And it's something I *will* do
a thousand years from now." 
	"In any case," Luna interrupted, "the fact remains that the palace
exists...but I expected it to be a lot bigger," she added.
	"It probably will be, someday," Pluto said. "Even Rome wasn't built
in a day. I know, I was there." 
	Neptune groaned. "Pluto, no offense, but your sense of humor is
beginning to get on my nerves." The others snickered. 
	Saturn walked over to the throne, with Shingo. Both bowed. Serenity
grimaced. "Don't *do* that," she said. "Shingo-kun, are you alright?"
	Shingo nodded. "Yeah...I'm fine. Just a little startled." He glanced
nervously at Luna, who did her best to look like an innocent kitten. 
	"You looked pretty petrified there for a minute," Uranus said. 
	"Uranus, please don't tease him about it," Serenity said.
"Shingo-kun...has Saturn filled you in on things?"
	"Hai, Your Majesty," Shingo grinned. Serenity glared at him, and he
broke into a fit of laughter. The young queen put her hand to her
forehead. "I thought people were supposed to *respect* their queen,"
she moaned, causing everyone in earshot to collapse in hysterical
laughter. After a moment, she joined in as well.

	*****

	Three more police vehicles arrived on the scene as the Tokyo police
officers already there worked hard to push back the swarms of people
who had flocked to get a closer look at the enormous crystal tower
jutting from the former location of Hikawa Shrine. "Please stand at
the requested distance away from the object," a lieutant shouted
through a megaphone. "There may be unknown danger present. It is
unsafe for the civilian populace to approach the object."
	"Lieutenant," a young officer said, approaching him. "We've finished
examining the object."
	The lieutenant nodded. "What did you find?"
	"Not much," the officer said, shrugging. "The temple that was there
before has been completely transformed. A lot of the structure of the
temple itself is still visible." He pointed to the tall crystalline
arch which stood over the steps. "See what I mean? Wherever this came
from, it...absorbed, I guess, the temple."
	"Hmm...yes, I see," the older officer nodded thoughtfully. "Anything
else?"
	"There's no sign of the ground being damaged around the object," the
officer commented. "We already knew it didn't come from...up there,"
he mused, earning a sharp look from the lieutenant. "Now we know it
didn't come up out of the ground either."
	"Odd. Where could it have come from? Something that big just doesn't
appear out of nowhere."
	"We went over it thoroughly," the officer added. "There is no
doorway or opening of any sort."
	"There must be one," the lieutenant said. "How could our witnesses
have gotten out otherwise?"
	"We don't know," the officer said. "Although Officer Kawamura claims
to have seen two cats disappear into the structure..."
	"Two what!?" the lieutant exclaimed.
	"Cats. One black, one white, both with crescent moon bald patches on
their foreheads," the officer repeated. "According to Kawamura, they
walked up to the front of the structure, there was a bright light,
and they walked right through it." 
	"That's odd," the older policeman commented. "Alright, I want you
and the others to keep probing that thing, looking for a way in." He
paused. "Was there anything up there that appeared to pose a threat?"
	The cop shook his head. "No, nothing. Actually, the whole thing is
really beautiful...peaceful as well."
	The lieutenant raised an eyebrow. "Peaceful?"
	"It's like...you know the sense of peace you get when you visit a
shrine? It feels like that up there, only concentrated."
	The lieutant rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know," he said
slowly, "the calmest witness we had was a priest who came from inside
there. A Catholic priest," he added. "It's funny, he seemed ashamed
of himself for getting out of there." He chuckled.
	"Really? What did he see?" the younger officer asked.
	"Claims to have seen an angel. A real, honest-to-God angel." 
	"Strange. I wonder what a Catholic priest was doing in a Shinto
temple?"
	"Oh, he and the old priest who runs...ran Hikawa Shrine were
performing a wedding ceremony," the lieutenant said. "Said something
about a mixed Shinto and Western wedding." He frowned. "Funny
thing...nobody's seen a bride or a groom around here, or the old
priest...the guy says the bridesmaids and the bride's family are all
missing too."
	"Maybe they're still in there," the younger cop supplied helpfully.
	"Possible." A pause. "Let's just hope they're alright up there, if
they are..."

	*****

	An hour later, everyone had been awakened, and filled in on what was
going on. To say it shocked them would be an understatement,
especially when they were told the part about Neo-Queen Serenity.
Except, that is, for four of the guests who hadn't batted an eye...in
fact, Shingo began to suspect there was something strange about these
women, but he couldn't figure out what. Even the white-haired man,
whose name he still didn't know, thought there was something odd
about them, and in fact thought they had never actually been
unconscious.
	Once everyone had been filled in, Pluto wrangled the Senshi all into
a more or less formal arrangement in the room, and grouped all the
civilians, including Serenity's family, together in two rows of seven
at a respectful distance from the thrones, upon which sat Serenity
and Endymion. Luna and Artemis sat beside Serenity and Endymion,
respectively.
	"I know there's supposed to be some kind of formality in here,"
Serenity began, "but right now I'd be too uncomfortable with it, so
we're not going to stand on ceremony." She paused, thinking about
what to say next. "To be honest, I'm not really sure what I'm
supposed to do now." She blushed lightly. "Gomen...this is still very
new to me."
	"Your Majesty," Mercury said, "I have some data on the palace which
my computer has just finished analyzing."
	Serenity nodded. "Let's hear it."
	"It seems that the Ginzuishou did not actually create the Palace. It
simply summoned it."
	"Summoned it?" Endymion asked.
	"According to my data," Mercury elaborated, "during the...ascension
process, there was a great deal of spatial and subspatial
fluctuation." At the blank stares she received, she simplified, "The
Palace itself was already constructed, but pieces of it were hidden
somewhere on Earth, as well as deep within the moon, and some parts
were even hidden in a pocket dimension." She continued to manipulate
her computer. "The temple was transformed by the Palace, not by the
Ginzuishou."
	"By the palace?" Mars asked.
	"Hai. The palace itself is generating power readings which are off
the scale. It's as though the entire palace is a magical power
plant." She was silent for a moment longer. "The power of the Palace
is on a different wavelength than that of the Ginzuishou, and
probably not as great, because I can't even get a reading on the
crystal," she continued, "but this palace is easily generating enough
energy to power itself and any defenses it might have." 
	"So what you're saying," said the man Shingo didn't recognize, "is
that the Crystal Palace is completely self-sufficient?"
	Mercury nodded. "Right. As far as I can tell, it's even creating its
own air. This palace could support itself and anyone inside it even
in space." 
	"Then that's one less thing we have to worry about," Endymion
concluded.
	Luna cleared her throat softly. "The next order of business should
be a decision about who's going to stay here and who's going to
leave," she said.
	Serenity nodded. "Right." She looked out over the small group of
people before her. "I'm not going to impose anything on any of you,"
she said. "I know this is as unusual to you as it is to me." She
paused. "Does everyone understand the situation right now?"
	The group murmured softly for a moment, and finally Umino spoke up.
"You're the queen of this palace, and right now that's the only thing
in your domain." He paused. "But if what I've been told is true," he
continued, "you eventually intend to extend your reign over at least
Japan, probably further." 
	Pluto nodded from where she stood. "An excellent summary," she
commented.
	"Right," Serenity agreed. "If anybody is uncomfortable with that,
feel free to leave at any time. All I ask is that you not reveal
anything you've seen or heard in here to the people outside."
	"Keep in mind," Pluto added, "that if you choose to remain within
the Palace, you must swear your absolute loyalty to Serenity-sama."
	"I tell you what," Serenity said, smiling gently. "I'll give you all
some time to talk it over. This is an important choice you have to
make, I don't expect you to make it suddenly." She glanced around.
"Pluto..."
	"Hai, Serenity-sama?" the eldest Senshi replied, bowing in
acknowledgement. 
	"I think it'd probably be a good idea if we took a look around the
palace," the young queen said. "We don't even know how many rooms
there are, or what kind of rooms, or anything except that it's got a
lot of power." 
	Pluto nodded. "An excellent idea, Your Majesty," she agreed. 
	Serenity smiled. "Alright...minna, please remain in the throne room
and consider your decision while my Senshi explore the Palace." 
	Pluto turned to address the other Sailor Senshi. "Go in pairs.
Report back here when you're finished," she instructed.
	The Senshi all bowed to Their Majesties, and paired off, headed for
numerous hidden exits Mercury had located earlier. 
	"What about you, Usa...I mean, Serenity-sama?" Shingo asked.
	"The Queen must remain in the throne room for now," Luna said before
Serenity could reply. "It's for her own safety."
	Endymion nodded. "After all, we don't know the layout of the palace,
and there are a lot of panicked people loitering on the street," he
agreed. "If Serenity wandered outside by accident and were to be
mobbed..."
	"Which reminds me," Artemis said, "we're going to need to establish
a palace guard besides the Sailor Senshi, in case any rubberneckers
manage to get in by accident. It's not likely to happen, but you
never know..."
	Luna looked over the fourteen possible subjects of the Crystal
Millenium. "Hmmm..."

	*****

	The dark entity was frustrated beyond words.
	An incredible source of power had just appeared near the center of
the city. So much raw, pure, beautiful energy...
	But as soon as it got within a half kilometer of the power, the
entity felt the wispy threads holding its consciousness together
weakening. It had to pull away quickly, lest it be destroyed.
	Whatever that source of power was, it was extremely well-guarded. To
be able to defend against an intangible shade...whoever had
constructed the power source was a force to be reckoned with.
	The entity would need more energy. A lot more energy. Possibly more
than it could find. It reasoned that it would also probably need to
obtain a corporeal form.
	The shade drifted away from the incredible power, seeking more
strong life energy...and a body. 

	*****

	Mars and Saturn emerged from their chosen doorway into a hallway
with two doors, and a circular platform at one end with a railing.
One of the doors was yellow-tinted, and had the sigil of Uranus
painted on it. The second door was aqua, and labeled with the Neptune
sigil. Mars approached the Uranus door, and placed her hand against
it. Nothing happened. She frowned. "It won't open." 
	"Maybe only Sailor Uranus can open it," Saturn offered. 
	"Hmmm...probably." Just to be sure, she checked the Neptune door
also. It didn't respond to her touch either.
	Saturn walked to the platform at the end of the hall, and examined
the railing. "Sailor Mars...come see this," she said. 
	Mars walked over. "Find something?" she asked, looking at the
railing. The top surface was flat, and had a series of colored lights
glowing beneath its surface. At the far left of the railing, a
crescent moon glowed. To the right of that, a pair of sigils appeared
together: Venus and Pluto. Beside those glowed the sigils of Saturn
and Mars. The next two sigils were Mercury and Jupiter, followed by
the sigils of Uranus and Neptune, which were dimmed. After the sigils
were a series of Kanji labels: 'Sub-level 1' through 'Sub-level 3'.
"This must be a lift," Mars decided.
	"Well if it is, then we both seem to be going to the same floor,"
Saturn commented.
	Mars nodded. "So it would seem," she agreed, touching their paired
sigils. The sigils began blinking, and the platform lit up. The word
"Ready" glowed on the railing.
	The two Senshi glanced at each other, shrugged, and stepped onto the
platform.
	The next thing either of them knew, they were in a different
hallway, and the sigils Mars had touched were dimmed out. The
previously dim Uranus and Neptune sigils were now glowing steadily.
Saturn stepped off the platform, and looked around. This hallway also
held two doors; a red one with the sigil of Mars, and a violet one
with her own sigil. She walked over to that door, and touched it.
"Welcome home, Sailor Saturn," a soft, melodic voice spoke out of
seemingly thin air. "Your assistant module is not configured. Please
configure your assistant module." 
	Saturn blinked, and glanced over at Mars. Mars shrugged. "Sounds
like a computer," she commented. 
	"You've been watching too much Star Trek," Saturn said, giggling.
Mars flushed. "Well, here goes nothing," Saturn said, stepping
through the door. It closed behind her.
	"Hey, wait up!" Mars said, approaching the door. It refused to open
at her touch, but she heard a muffled voice from inside. The door
opened, and she walked in. "We shouldn't split up, Saturn," she said.
	The younger Senshi blushed. "Gomen, I wasn't expecting it to close
like that," she said. The two Senshi looked around. "Wow...this is
nice," Saturn observed.
	The room they had entered appeared to be a small sitting room, with
a comfortable-looking sofa and two matching chairs, a round crystal
table, and various shelves and assorted other furniture fixtures
emerging from the walls. A bar-style counter sectioned off a part of
the room, which was occupied by a sink, cupboards, a countertop, and
spaces which seemed meant for small appliances. Said appliances were,
however, absent. The opposite end of the room had two doors. Saturn
walked over to one, and opened it. "Found the toilet," she remarked,
stepping inside. "And a small furo..."
	Mars walked over to the other door, half-expecting it not to open.
However, it did, and she walked in. "This one's the bedroom," she
said as Saturn walked over. The bedroom contained a queen-sized bed,
a desk and chair, and two more doors, one of which they discovered
was another entrance to the bathroom. The other was a medium-sized
closet. Aside from the furnishings, the suite was rather spartan.
	As they walked back out into the main room, Mars commented, "I
certainly wasn't expecting to find anything like this in the Palace."

	Saturn nodded. "I'm surprised as well. Whoever built this place did
a pretty thorough job."
	"Except for appliances," Mars remarked as she looked at the
kitchenette. "Why the hell are there places for appliances anyway? Or
a bathroom for that matter? I mean, we couldn't possibly use normal
appliances or city water here, could we?"
	"Palace utilities are currently available at maximum efficiency,"
the mysterious voice interjected. "Energy conversion systems are
configured to produce alternating current electricty."
	The two Senshi looked around. "What *is* that?" Mars wondered.
	Suddenly, a portion of the ceiling glowed soft orchid, and an object
floated down into the center of the room. It appeared to be a
crystalline representation of Saturn's sigil, with violet rings of
light orbiting it. "Greetings," it said, in the voice they'd heard
earlier. "I am the designated personal assistant module for the
senshi Sailor Saturn." 
	Saturn's eyes widened. "My assistant?"
	"That is correct," the assistant intoned. 
	"What are you called?" she asked.
	"I have not been assigned a name or personality designation at
present," the object said. "All of my configuration options are blank
until you set them to your preferences."
	"What does that mean?" Saturn asked.
	"I think it means you get to name it," Mars said.
	"Correct, Sailor Mars," the unit affirmed.
	"Okay...what were you saying earlier about utilities?"
	"The palace provides all neccessary functions for life support," the
assistant replied. "These functions include synthesis of air and
water, purification of synthesized air and water, convertible energy
generation, and synthesis of non-organic simple materiel."
	Saturn walked over to the sink, and turned the blue knob labeled
"cold". A stream of clear, cool water poured from the faucet.
"There's definitely running water," she said. Cupping her hands under
the faucet, she took a drink of it. "It's a lot cleaner than Tokyo
water, too," she added in a surprised tone.
	"Well, that answers one question. Still, what about the
electricity?"
	"Please specify desired location, type, and voltage of outlet," the
assistant supplied helpfully. The two Senshi blinked. Mars mouthed,
'Is that thing for real?' 
	"Ummm," Saturn said, walking over to the wall of the small kitchen.
"Right here," she said, tapping a spot above the counter. "The normal
kind for Tokyo, I guess," she added.
	"Compliance." The assistant floated over to where Saturn stood, and
projected a thin beam against the spot she had indicated. The wall
glowed brightly for a moment, and a dual AC outlet formed in the
crystal surface. She blinked, and looked over at Mars, who was
gaping. "Well, I think we have power," she said. 
	"Still no appliances though," Mars said after she recovered. "Ummm,
can you make a refrigerator or something?" she asked the floating
crystal.
	"I'm sorry," the assistant module replied. "I can only create simple
non-organic materials, furniture and utility outlets. Complex devices
are not within my capabilities."
	Saturn shrugged. "Looks like we'll have to get that kind of stuff
ourselves," she said. 
	Mars sighed. "This is too weird. Ah well, we might as well check out
my room," she decided. 
	As the two Senshi left, the assistant reminded them, "Sailor Saturn,
you have not configured your assistant module. Do you wish to do so
before you leave?"
	"Ummm...can I do it later?" she asked.
	"Yes."
	"Okay, I'll do it the next time I come up," she said as she walked
out the door.

	*****

	The crowd gathered outside the crystal structure began to panic
slightly as a convoy of JSDF transports and two tanks rumbled down
the street. When the convoy came to a stop, the police lieutant
stalked over to the jeep in the lead. "What are you doing here?" he
asked the uniformed driver.
	"Major Takada, Defense Force," the uniform said by way of
introduction. "The civil police force is excused from investigation
of the situation," he continued. "You've been routed to crowd
control."
	The lieutenant spluttered. "You can't be serious!" 
	"I have orders from the Ministry of Defense," the major said,
producing a document. 
	"So something you don't understand pops up in the middle of town and
you just come in and start trying to blow it up without asking any
questions?"
	The major scowled. "Lieutenant, we haven't opened fire on it yet,
and we're not going to unless it gives us cause. The Diet simply
wants to exercise caution." He leaned closer, and spoke in a softer
tone, "Hell, for all we know, this thing's friendly, or it might just
be a freak occurrence...nobody knows. That's why we're here. We're
going to wait until that thing does something. If it does something
benevolent, we'll put down our guns and have a party. If it does
something hostile, we'll blow the shit out of it."
	"And what if it doesn't do anything at all?" the lieutenant asked.
	"Then neither do we," the major grinned. 

	*****

	Shingo was talking with his parents, when the white-haired man
walked over to them and sat down. "Hope I'm not intruding," he said,
smiling benevolently. 
	"Not at all," Ikuko said. She paused. "I'm sorry, I don't believe
we've been introduced..."
	"Tomoe Souichi."
	Shingo's eyes widened. "Tomoe? As in--?"
	Tomoe-sensei nodded. "Hai. I'm Sailor Saturn's father." He smiled at
Shingo. "I've noticed that you spend a lot of time hanging around
her."
	Shingo blushed. "We've, uh, been dating," he said. 
	Tomoe nodded. "Well, I can't think of anyone better for Hotaru to be
involved with than our queen's brother." He smiled. 
	Kenji raised an eyebrow. "You say that so easily...I take it you've
already made up your mind to stay here then?"
	"My mind's been made up ever since Serenity's ascension," he said.
"I...owe it to Her Majesty." He shifted slightly. 
	"What do you mean by that?" Ikuko asked.
	"It's a long story," he replied. "I'll tell you sometime...that is,
if you decide to stay."
	"Well I'm staying," Shingo said. The adults looked at him in
surprise.
	"You realize what you're saying, don't you?" Kenji said. "Life in
this palace isn't going to be easy once the rest of the world finds
out what's going on. And you'll have to swear allegiance to your
older sister and do whatever she tells you to."
	Shingo nodded. "I understand all that," he said. "I also understand
some other things." 
	"Which are?" Ikuko asked.
	Shingo looked in the direction of the door Saturn had gone through
earlier. "I love Hotaru," he said softly. "There's no way I'm going
to leave her." He paused. "She's been real depressed about that war
going on. It's been bothering her for weeks."
	"Nobody likes to think about it," Kenji said. "But--"
	"She has more reason to worry than anyone else," Tomoe cut in. "If
you understood what it means for her to be what she is..."
	"She feels she has an extra responsibility, a destiny that the other
Senshi don't share in," Shingo said. "I worry about her...I care
about her too much to let her face that destiny alone." 
	Tomoe clapped a hand on Shingo's shoulder. The boy looked up, and
noticed a single tear streaking down the man's right cheek. "You're a
wonderful young man, Shingo," he said. "You've done more for her than
I've been able to." He smiled. 
	Ikuko and Kenji were visibly impressed. The solemn moment didn't
last long, however, as Serenity approached their small group. "Am I
interrupting something?" she asked softly.
	"No, Your Majesty," Shingo said, inclining his head respectfully. 
	Serenity blinked. "Am I imagining things, or are you being sincere
when you call me that?"
	Shingo looked up, straight into his sister's eyes. "Ask me again
when the Senshi return, Serenity-sama," he said, smiling. 
	Serenity smiled also, and knelt down to hug her little brother. She
then looked at her parents. "Mother, Father...I have something
important to tell you."
	"What is it, Usa...Serenity?" Ikuko asked. 
	Serenity blushed slightly. "I was going to wait to tell you, but
then all this happened and changed my mind." She paused. "I'm going
to have a baby."
	The three members of her family gasped. "A baby?" Kenji said.
	Serenity nodded. "Hai. My first heir is already on the way." She
smiled. 
	Ikuko leaned forward. "How long--?"
	"According to Mercury, I'm due between mid-January and
mid-February." 
	"I...I'm going to be a grandmother," Ikuko said. 
	"Well, that settles that," Kenji said. "It wouldn't do for us not to
be around when our first grandchild is born." He grinned.
	Ikuko smiled, eyes brimming with tears. "Of course not," she said.
"Someone has to teach Serenity how to be a good mother, after all..."
	"I couldn't think of anyone better to do that," Serenity said
softly, her eyes as watery as her mother's. 
	Tomoe watched wistfully as the family shared a lengthy hugging
session. 

	*****

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"Godzilla is attacking! What should we do?"
"Lure him to Texas."
"Right! The air there would kill anything!"
*Texas Smoke Storm 98--Nothing Will Survive*
---
The Eternal Lost Lurker
...gettin' ficcy wit' it...
EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net
http://www.geocities.com/~etlostlurker

"Heeere leezard, leezard, leezard..."
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