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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: 2.txt

Ahem!

Due to the overwhelming number of requests, the chapter will
continue to be posted until I run out of new material again.

Older parts available at:

http://members.tripod.com/DNyx/NETTG.html

We're still working on updating it. Sorry for the delay!

Originally, the release date for the whole, polished-up chapter
was December 31. However, since the need for good, polishing-up
C&C is required, it will be released in this preview 'draft'
format. (A lot of my better material comes in revision.)

I have enough done for three or perhaps four of these sections
ready for review over the course of the next few days.

I am very thankful for the aid that I've received so far:

 Jason Hanks, for sticking with me on this, despite all his
responsibilities in the Real World(tm).
 Jason Liao, for providing useful commentary with his unfallable
wit.
 Jussi Nikander, for his assistance and wondrous nitpicking. ^_-
 D.B. Sommer, for reviewing each and every section that's been
posted thus far!
 And everyone else, like Steven Avery and the rest of the crew
for speaking up and telling me something!


What has gone before: An awful lot of stuff, including but not
limited to General Jadeite and Guardian Jadeite duking it out
in their shared body, Amy going on a kooky trip to the planet
Venus and dancing the Macarena with Puff the Magic Dragon,
Skuld, Belldandy, and Urd trying to turn 'Tim into a fourth-
class goddess and failing miserably, and much, much more!!!

Departing from all that, here we go again...

(Continued from NETTG!! Ch.10 P.2 9/??)

---

	"Mother, could you please turn off the Reggae music?" Terra
begged, snuggling down into her bed and trying to cover her ears with
her pillow.

	"Oh my," Kasumi Incognito looked worried, putting a hand to
her cheek as she turned off the CD player, "I thought you loved
Reggae music. I hoped it would help you feel better."

	"I like it," the redhead slowly sat up and looked at her mother,
hugging tightly her favored Sailor Stylin' and Sailor V plush toys,
"but it's possible to have too much of a good thing."

	"I think you're right," Kasumi smiled down at her daughter.
"How are you feeling now?"

	Terra turned to the side and put her feet on the floor and
tugged at the sleeve of her pajamas. She thought deeply, taking a
few deep breaths. "I'm feeling better, but I'm still a little
woozy from last night."

	Kasumi nodded. "Well, that's what happens when a level ten
Super Sayajin comes up and puts a brain-scrambler on your head. It
takes some rest for your sinapses to relax and your nerves to
reconnect." She looked relieved. "It's a good thing you're young
and resilliant. It shouldn't last more than a of couple days."

	Terra gave her mother a quizzical look. "How do you know
about all that?"

	Kasumi blushed. "I read about it in this month's Discover
magazine." She turned, reached out the bedroom door, and picked
up the latest copy. "Here, this issue is very interesting." She
handed it to Terra. "Be careful about what you read in this one,
though. It's the April volume. They always manage to slip in _one_
false 'joke' to keep us thinking."

	Terra thought it odd that such a widely published scientific
magazine would have something as strange as what had kidnapped her
last night. She flipped it open and read through some of the article
titles, "Cover story, Fact or Fiction: The Moon Kingdom Origin
Theory, Vital Signs: A Full Body Regeneration in Seconds, several
pages full of Radio Shack ads: Mercury One Thousand-X laptops,
Mars cellular phones, upgrade your telescope with a brand new
Neptune ultra-powered mirror, more bang for your buck: Saturn
assault rifle shells, Light Elements: Asteroid Senshi Circuses,
Dark Queen Magical Amplification Through Sapphire Crystals..."

	The list was on, and the magazine was thick. "My, my, my,"
Terra read through the cover story, her eyes wide, "this explains
everything, Mother! There was a Moon Kingdom in the past! I was
a princess! There was a battle in the past, and it was all taken
away. We're fighting against the ones who did it."

	Kasumi continued smiling. "How do you think I knew about
all of you, and how to call them to help you against the super
sayajin? I read Discover!"

	Terra was feeling three kinds of giddy. First, she and her
friends were okay, then the secrets were being unfolded to her
all in one big rush. "This is wonderful!"

	Kasumi's smile turned into a snarl. "It's too bad you'll
not live long enough to use it!"

	Terra's expression fell. "What?"

	*SMASH!* "GRR!" Kasumi's arm turned into a long, steel
spike, which she drove through the bed's headboard, missing
Terra's cheek by barely a centimeter.

	"MOTHER, NO!"

	"DIE, BEAST, DANGER TO THE HUMAN RACE, GRRRRRRR!!!"

	Kasumi thrust her hand at the girl, blue sparks flying.
Terra closed her eyes, feeling the damage done as the bolts
went through her and the spike parted flesh and broke bone.

	*CRASH*ZRRRR*ZRRRR*Swipe*Spurt-spurt*CRUNCH!!*

	"AAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAH!"

	"WAKE UP, YOU LITTLE MONSTER!!!!" Kasumi shrieked, continuing
the onslaught. *SCRUNCH*

	"AAAAH!"

	"Wake up, sleepyhead."

	"Aaaah!"

	"Stop being such a crybaby."

	"Aaaah?" Terra opened one eye.

	Little Princess Serenity smiled down at her. "Terra! You're
awake! It sounded like you were having another very bad dream."

	Princess Terrifying sat up, took in a few breaths, thinking
over everything she had just seen. Having recovered for the moment,
she turned her head and looked at her adoptive sister. "Hmm? Oh, it
was nothing."

	"Nothing?" the ten year old Moon Princess asked, incredulous.
"You were screaming your lungs out for over ten minutes, you big
crybaby."

	"Really? If I was screaming, then where are the guards?"

	"They saw that you were sleeping and asked me to come wake you
up."

	"Oh."

	The redhead shook her head, trying to figure out what went
wrong. First, she would have to double-check a few set values, to
make sure she wasn't doing any more Future Vision-Quest things.
She had copied the energy pattern from a visitor a few days ago,
and was anxiously working to expand and adapt it for her use.

	"Ahh, Sister, what is the date?"

	The dual-ponytailed blonde looked at the other girl, shrugged,
then counted on her fingers. "Day before yesterday was the thirty-
fifth, so today is the thirty-seventh of the tenth month of the
year of Our Peace nine hundred ninety-two."

	"How old am I?"

	"When you got here, you said you were nine, so now, you'd be
ten and a half."

	"Thank you."

	However fascinating, the time-examining tool did not seem to
be of that much practical use. What she saw were only _possible_
futures of herself, and if she dedicated too much time inside them,
they became somewhat akin to childish nightmares. Therefore, their
usefulness of determining what really could happen to her was sharply
limited.

	Though, the music she had heard with the name of 'Reggae'
sounded interesting. Perhaps she would ask one of the royal musicians
to try and duplicate it someday. In any case, the Future VisionQuest
was essentially useless. In her five attempts, she always ended up
seeing herself brutalized in some fashion. While she didn't mind the
concept itself, it was not any fun experiencing pain.

	Pain, like when these pitiful little bipedal hominids somehow
discovered the exact energy frequency required to defeat her. No
creature, no species, no combined galactic cluster in nine billion
years had ever dealt such a blow. It still hurt her to think about
it.

	Princess Terrifying forced her nicest smile at her 'sister.'

	Princess Serenity returned it. "How are you feeling now?"

	"Fine, just fine," the redhead replied with a secretive look
in her eyes. <When I regain my full strength, you will be the first
to know how I feel, and to feel what I felt.>

	<And then, I will take revenge on the one who forced me to
take this form.>

	Terra stood up and flexed the delicate, girlish muscles in her
arms, legs, and fingers. She suddenly recalled something. "Princess
Serenity, did you call me a 'crybaby?'"

	Serenity blinked. "When?"

	"When I was 'sleeping,' what did you call me?"

	The Crown Princess thought back a couple minutes. "Well, yes,
I think I did call you a crybaby, but it was just because you were
making so much noise. If it hurt your feelings, I'm sorry."

	Princess Terrifying began to lift her right index finger at
the blonde.

	<I'll show _you_ who's a crybaby!!!>

	Terra's other hand reached up and caught the raised arm.

	<No, not now. Later.>

	<But I have enough energy!>

	<We must not reveal ourself at the present time.>

	<But. . . she. . . called. . . me. . .>

	<The NERVE of that girl!>

	<It is not a serious infraction. Calm down immediately.>

	<But. . .>

	<Perhaps you are right...>

	<If we did, they would destroy us in a matter of minutes.>

	<You have a point there...>

	The redhead's arms dropped limply to her sides. She sighed,
then smiled back again at her sister.

	"Why are you smiling so much at me?" Princess Serenity wished
to know. "You've been looking at me funny ever since I woke you up."

	Terra went through another few introspective moments. One thing
about trying to see the future was that it also made one reevaluate
the past over and over again. Normally, she tried not to harbor such
vindictive feelings towards the ones she had to live with, but all
this was bringing up some painful memories.

	Thinking negatively was bound to show up in behavior eventually.
However, as she had reviewed thousands upon thousands of times before,
she had to act like a cute little princess so as to not arouse
suspicion. She thought she had been doing an excellent job, though
there were still many members of the royal court that gave her half-
concealed suspicious looks.

	In this state of review, Terrifying considered it appropriate
to ask a third party to see how she was doing. She looked down for a
second, then looked back at the white-gowned girl. "Could you please
tell me something?"

	"Of course!"

	"How would you say I've been acting in the past year and a
half?"

	"You, Terra?" the princess thought it over. "Well, at first,
you were really quiet, then when you got more comfortable, you
started getting into things, being waaaay too forward-"

	"Forward?"

	Serenity nodded. "Remember what you said to Duchess Cassiopeia
a month ago?"

	"Remind me."

	"You looked at her big, round stomach and asked her if she was
about to 'spawn.'"

	Terra looked down and held a hand to her chin. "Oh."

	<Well, she was HUGE!>

	<Yeah! Isn't that how humans look before they reproduce?>

	<I'm getting bored here!>

	<Calm, calm. We must review more information.>

	"Anyway," the blonde princess continued, "if you're done asking
questions, Mother wants you to know that breakfast is going to be
ready in a few minutes."

	"Breakfast?" Terrifying pondered.

	"Yes, breakfast," Serenity confirmed.

	"Right, right. Look, I've got a lot to process. Can I meat--
MEET you in the dining hall in a few minutes?"

	"Okay," Serenity agreed. "I need to get ready, too." She
brightened, puffing out her chest proudly. "The Younger Inner Senshi
are coming over!"

	Terra smacked her lips. "Delicious," she said, then paused.
"Err, I mean, thanks."

	The blonde princess nodded and walked out, shutting the
polished grey wooden door as she left.

	Princess Terrifying held her head. She had to take a moment
to sort everything out amidst the confused chorus of voices going
off inside her. The Future VisionQuest attempts always scrambled
everything. She'd probably have forgotten what name she'd chosen
if her sister didn't keep reminding her after each of the five
tries.

	The ex-galactic destroyer drew her hand back a little and
examined it. Flexing her fingers one by one, she probed the intracate
system of tendons, bones, and blood vessels. Looking deeper, she
sensed tiny cells, and even deeper, bits of DNA and other molecules.

	Underneath all that was a force that only she knew existed.
That force was what made her what she was. It was her. The human
body inside which she resided was something she had created. From the
brief contact with humans she had before her defeat, she had ample
opportunity to analyze them and figure out exactly what made them
'tick.' The Senshi of Saturn and the inner planets had proven most
informative in this aspect, and from this and them, a human shell
had been simple--almost reflexive--to create.

	From a mental link with one specific human, the one who had
defeated her, she had learned something that surprised her: The
individuals and civilizations she had been destroying over the past
nine billion years didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as she did.

	As such, reprisals had been anticipated, and from her defeat,
she knew that she could be killed. Therefore, she had to take
immediate action to eliminate aggressions against her. Clothed in
her newly-constructed body, she did all she could to act in a way
that humans would find difficult to harm. Appearing as a young,
helpless girl was the optimal way, she determined.

	Nevertheless, many humans remained suspicious of her. Several
refused to believe that she was human. At first, when what was to be
done with her was discussed, the general consensus had been to seal
her away in a  magical chunk of quartz until they figured out what
to do with her.

	Fortunately, the skills gleaned from the link with that one
human had enabled her to defend herself. In short, she pleaded for
mercy in front of everyone.

	For plausibility's sake, she had to explain who she was and
how the "beast" came to be. It went something like this: She was a
poor girl whose family had been killed by some evil sorcerer who had
turned her into a great, almost unstoppable beast. Her homeworld had
been destroyed and she had been left to roam the heavens without
control or direction. She omitted some details, like what had
happened to the evil sorcerer, the names of her family, and exactly
how long she had been wandering. Careful wording and magical defense
helped evade the lie-detection magic in place.

	Even though her explanation had been effective and the decision
to imprison her had been overturned, many problems remained. She was
still very weakened from the battle and would need time to recover
before doing any serious fighting again.

	Plus, she discovered that she had contracted social problems:
Children needed parents. After a few weeks of observation, most major
fears of danger had abated and a search for suitable foster parents
was made. The search went far and wide. Hundreds of families were
asked if they wanted to take her in.

	Unfortunately, there was a problem: Nobody wanted her in their
home. Not one viable family on any world wanted her. Several Asteroid
kingdoms were checked. No one wanted her, possibly due to poor
publicity, suspicion, or other factors.

	Facing this crisis, Queen Serenity jumped in and took full
responsibility for her. Terrifying couldn't figure out why. It was
obvious that the queen had nothing to gain, and a lot to lose.
Adopting her was a very unpopular decision that did not sit well with
anyone.

	But, with her foster mother being the main political figure in
the solar system, most complaints went unvoiced. As a result, she
acquired the added status and prestige of a Lunar Princess, very
nearly the highest social position in the solar system. A lucky
break, that.

	That would have made waiting around for just a few decades to
recover a snap, but cravings for destruction quickly arose, and even
if nobody else enjoyed it, she certainly did. However, she could not
personally perform such an exercise without arousing suspicion, so in
a crisis situation, she generated a mentally projected 'Knight in
Shining Armor.'

	Known to her as her Atomic Starlight Knight, the construct had
been her primary venting source. Taking on the pseudonym of 'Timothy
Starknight, or 'Tim S. Knight, he was known to the kingdoms simply
as her old, mysterious friend who had pursued her in an attempt to
break the magic possessing her.

	Actually, to her mother, she had said that he was her brother.

	Pausing her inner reflection, Princess Terrifying decided to
check up on her favorite plaything.

	<Starlight, are you there?>

	<You betcha. We're all here; doing just fine.>

	<Status report.>

	<En route to Pluto, to visit my wife and make plans for the
honeymoon. My career is advancing, and we have space pirates on
our six. I'll send the details when I'm done taking care of them.>

	Terra breathed a happy sigh.

	<Excellent. Try to capture and interrogate one, if possible.>

	<Gotcha.>

	Terra thought about her Knight in Shining Armor for a moment.
He often times worked independently with limited communication,
though a baseline link was always present. Other times, when she had
more stored energy available to her, or when they were in close
proximity, he, the Atomic Starlight Knight, was merely an extension
of her own personal will.

	As of late, ASK had taken on an alarming level of independent
action. It was incapable of disobeying her entirely, but in sixteen
occasions in the past month, he had almost overruled some of her
commands. If this got out of hand, she would have to 'tighten the
leash,' so to speak.

	In the meantime, she was living with Queen Serenity and her
true daughter. What she had adapted from the first mental link was
of enormous use to her as she tried to act "normal." The protocol
of the Royal Court was rather complex, though strict adherence was
not currently required for her right now.

	Plus, Princess Serenity could be something of a nuisance on
occasion, but she had to live with her, for a little while. When she
regained sufficient strength, she had plans to reassume her old form
in a brilliant display of power, vaporizing the presently occupied
galaxy to erase the memory of this failure once and for all. Such
small beings could not comprehend her majesty and were unworthy of
being treated as equals.

	Besides, they all kept calling her names. She hated that.

	"Okay," Princess Terrifying rubbed her hands together, cross
referencing the points she had reviewed and using them to regenerate
her memory and reaffirm her state of being. "Now to get ready for
breakfast."

	The girl snapped her fingers, calling in a pair of eager
servants to aid the 'getting ready' process.

	"We're here!" the two cheerful young women announced, entering
through a pair of side doors.

	Terra allowed herself a smile. Well, if her adoptive mother was
the most powerful queen in the solar system, she may as well get the
royal treatment.

...

	"Hmm..."

	"Yum!"

	*Munch-mucnch*

	"Curious," the Princess of Mercury prodded at her sunnyside-up
Terran chicken egg. "This is most unlike what we have back home."

	"That may be because it is new, Hermione," Queen Serenity
replied from the head of the table. "However, his majesty, the King
of Earth, informs me that, as trends go, it will soon become common
fare for early morning meals, along with bovine milk and some special
cuts of pork."

	"Have the Terrans all gone mad?" asked the Princess of Venus, a
blonde girl with a red ribbon tying back her hair. Spreading a
sweetened strawberry paste on her soft Venusian Biscuit, she paused
to take a delicate bite and placed the biscuit back onto her plate.
"I mean, bovine milk? Whoever heard of drinking bovine milk?" She
took a sip from her crystal goblet of sugary, lemony sima.

	Princess Serenity, who was sitting next to her mother, wrinkled
her nose. "Hmmm, sounds icky."

	Princess Mars, a dark-haired girl sitting next to Princess
Serenity, smiled secretively. "Oh, don't go criticizing Earth
peoples' eating habits, puffball."

	"I'm not a puffball," the Moon Princess complained with a
large lower lip.

	Princess Venus kept her nose held high in a very princess-like
posture and grasped for the sima jug, but accidentally took hold of
the gravy boat and poured it into her goblet. Not noticing her
mistake, she drank from it. The Venusian blonde frowned, smacking her
lips lightly to better analyze the taste. "This liquid has a very
classic bouquet to it, wouldn't you agree?"

	Hermione covered her mouth with her hand, politely trying to
avoid a laugh.

	Princess Mars grinned widely and reached over to squeeze the
right bun of Princess Serenity's hair a couple of times,
subvocalizing squeaking noises each time. "Puffball."

	"Mind your manners, Pyra," the Queen cautioned. "A proper young
lady should not tease her friends."

	The Princess of Mars quickly hid her hands under the table,
still playfully glancing sideways at her closest friend.

	"I believe 'puffball' to be more of an affectionate term,"
Hermione defended Pyra. "She means no harm by it."

	"I know," Queen Serenity said. "I was young once, as well."

	"You're still young," commented Princess Mercury. "Barely
thirty-five years, if my information is correct. Though you still
look nineteen."

	Queen Serenity smiled at the young girl's compliment. "Those
in my family tend to have that trait."

	"I don't know, that's pretty old," Princess Jupiter said.

	"All adults seem ancient when you are only ten years old,"
the white-blonde woman added.

	"Nonsense," Princess Venus interjected. "You are only as old
as you think your shoes are," she misquoted the old adage. "Three
years in the hand are worth two chickens in a bush." She worked out
some figures on her fingers. "So I guess together, we're all worth
about a hundred chickens."

	"Althea! I'm not a chicken," complained Princess Serenity.

	"She didn't mean that," the girl's mother whispered to her.

	"Err, Queen Serenity-sama," Princess Jupiter picked at her
food, resting her cheek against her hand while leaning against
the table, "when's the circus starting?"

	"In roughly three hours."

	"What kind of circus is it?" asked Princess Mercury.
"Though we were all eager to accept the invitation, I believe
that most of us would like know the whole story."

	"That's right," Princess Mars agreed. "Is it like one of those
flying snake circuses or a three-ring thing?"

	"Do they have horsies, elephants, or butterflies?" asked
Althea. "Do we get to see any clowns?"

	"I will be happy to explain it all once Princess Terra
arrives," Queen Serenity replied.

	Althea blinked. "Princess Terra? Who's that? One of Fireball's
relatives?"

	Princess Jupiter leaned over and whispered to the blonde,
"Have you been living under a rock for the past year and a half,
or what?"

	"Well, sort of. The roof back home's made of granite."

	"No! I mean, haven't you heard about the big monster that
came in, beat up everyone, and turned into a girl?"

	"Wow, _that's_ a new one."

	"Don't you remember when our mothers came back home after
being gone for a couple of weeks, babbling on about how there was
'this horrible beast' and how the solar system was doomed and all
that?"

	Althea thought back to the event. "No, she just walked in,
sat down, and didn't say anything for a month. One day she went off
somewhere quietly by herself and came back with this huge grin on
her face," she leaned her cheek against one hand, an elbow on the
table while she drummed her fingernails on the handle of her fork.
"then she started taking me and my brothers over to see the coolest
spot on Venus, where the air smells like warm root beer and the
towels are oh-so-FLUFFY!" She tossed her head to emphasize that last
point.

	"_That_ was when Terra got to the Moon Kingdom," Iolanthe
added mysteriously.

	Queen Serenity cleared her throat. "Princess Iolanthe, please
do not believe _everything_ you may have heard about my daughter.
Althea, elbows _off_ the table!"

	The Jovian Princess froze like a Uranian megasquirrel caught
in the blastwave of a pseudostellar explosion. "Ummmmm, I wasn't
saying anything!"

	"And I didn't do anything," Althea lied, snapping to attention
and removing her elbow from the dining set.

	"Which daughter?" Princess Serenity asked. "The real one, me,
or the fake one?"

	"Fake one?" echoed Pyra.

	The Lunar Queen sighed and looked down at the Moon Princess.
"Serenity, as far as I am concerned, Terra is as much my daughter
as you are."

	Hermione piped up. "Actually, since this 'Terra' is not
related by blood to any royal planetary line, she would not be
quite as much a real princess as Serenity."

	The Queen did not respond to that.

	"That's right," Iolanthe agreed. "I mean, even if 'Terra'
were human, just saying that she's a princess wouldn't give her
any special powers. She couldn't be a Senshi, she couldn't use
the Ginzuishou, she couldn't-"

	"You two could not be any more wrong," Queen Serenity cut off
the debate. Her tone suggested a great displeasure with the girls'
attitudes, though her expression remained calm.

	"What's she like?" Althea asked.

	"Is she violent?" Pyra wanted to know. "Or dangerous?"

	"Does she demonstrate intelligence beyond her years?"
Hermione also wished to know.

	"Not really," Princess Serenity replied. "She mostly just
walks around the palace, being mysterious. And she's been having
some bad dreams for about a week."

	Althea leaned forward urgently. "Can she dance the Funky
Chicken?!"

	Hermione glanced sideways at the Venusian Princess, an
eyebrow raised at the question.

	"I suggest you all reserve judgment until you have gotten to
know her," Queen Serenity cautioned.

	Iolanthe nodded. "I guess you're right. After all, we've never
even met her. But," she held up a hand, "my parents half didn't want
to let me come after all they've heard. They really seemed to think
I'd be walking into some sort of big monster's jaws."

	"Your parents, too?" Pyra seemed surprised.

	"This is really odd," Althea added, "mine never have mentioned
anything about the Queen adopting anyone."

	"I believe you are exaggerating the situation," Hermione
interjected. "On Mercury, we accept the fact that-"

	"I'm here," another voice announced from the entranceway. It
wasn't a rough voice, but it was not particularly sweet, either.
However, all present at the breakfast table could tell that it
belonged to a ten-year-old female.

	A redheaded girl in a green casual knee-length dress walked
in under a five-guard armed escort. She smiled and waved at the group
as she took her seat beside Queen Serenity.

	"Thanks," the girl said to the guards, dismissing them with a
shooing motion.

	The guards stiffly saluted and the one on point replied, "For
the Queen." In a practiced style, the quintet spun around ninety
degrees on one foot and marched out.

	"What was that all about?" Princess Serenity whispered to her
mother.

	"I will tell you later," the elder Serenity whispered back.

	The four visitors remained cautiously silent, their hands over
their mouths as they observed the newcomer.

	"Younger Inner Senshi," Queen Serenity addressed the
princesses and motioned toward the redhead, "I present to you
Terra, Princess of the Moon Kingdom and second in line to the Lunar
Throne. Terra," she addressed her adopted daughter, "these are the
Younger Inner Senshi. Say hello."

	"Hi," Terra said informally and waved.

	"Hello," the Younger Senshi replied together in monotone.

	"You are late," Queen Serenity observed.

	"Yeah, well," Terra shrugged, "the servant-hair-styling-people-"

	"Your personal assistants?"

	"Right!" Princess Terra nodded. "Really nice people, them.
They don't give me any dirty looks, they obey my every command, but,
well, they were trying to do my hair up into a pair of balled
ponytails again."

	"It _is_ the Royal Lunar Fashion," Queen Serenity reminded
her adopted daughter, touching her own long tresses. "Perhaps they
thought it would help you make a good impression since we have
visitors."

	"Maybe," Terra agreed, "but my hair isn't long enough for that.
I look _ridiculous_ in it." She shook her head. "So, I had to tell
them to redo it, then they came up with these 'rabbit-ear' things.
I didn't want to end up looking like some sort of overgrown rodent,
so I told them to redo it again." She looked thoughtful. "The braided
ponytail with a bow was kind of nice, but I didn't feel like it."

	The white-blonde, twin-ponytailed Queen nodded. "Then, you
asked for your hair to simply be left straight."

	"After a couple more tries," Terra agreed, "yes."

	"Was that all that kept you?"

	The redhead thought for a moment. "No, actually. We spent a
long time choosing my clothes."

	"Really?"

	"They were nice about it and all, and we started off with the
green gown--you know, the one that's like yours and my sister's?"

	"Yes."

	"Right, so then one of my assistants tell me that we're going
to a circus later, and so it's not right for the occasion. I said,
'Okay,' and we swapped over to a pair of bib overalls hidden way
in the back of the wardrobe."

	"Ah. I am sorry. That was my brother's, when he was young."

	Terra paused for a second. "Brother? You have a--?" She
straightened and continued. "Oh, right. Then, the other girl said it
wasn't appropriate to go and meet the other planets' princesses in,
how did they put it? 'That ever so boyish set of paaaunts.'" She
experimentally stretched the muscles in her mouth. "Hmm, it feels
quite liberating, the way she said it, you know, 'paaaunts.' A good,
chewy word, isn't it, Sister?" she directed at the Moon Princess.

	"Sounds 'tinny,'" disagreed Serenity.

	Terra winced.

	Queen Serenity motioned for the table bussers to bring in
Terra's food.

	All through this, the Younger Inner Senshi stared on, not
daring to say a word.

	"How come you never cook anything?" Princess Serenity asked her
mother.

	"I mustn't take the palace assistants' jobs away from them."

	"Plus," Terra muttered, "you yourself know you couldn't cook
so much as a Lemon Curry to save your life."

	"Terra," Queen Serenity blushed nervously.

	"I-I mean," the redhead corrected herself, "you like the
ambiance of a good served meal."

	Terra's food arrived and was set before her. It was a pair of
sunnyside-up eggs with bacon, matted shredded potatoes, biscuits,
and a tall, frosty glass of nonfat bovine milk.

	"Hmmm," Althea's gaze became a little more narrowed and
intense.

	The adopted princess poked at her food with a fork, then cut
off a section, picked at it, and finally lifted the morsel into her
mouth. Chewing slowly, she shook her head disapprovingly and said,
"This food has absolutely no fight in it." She looked up at Queen
Serenity. "When are we going to have more Gaaagh?"

	"Gaaagh, yucky," Princess Serenity grimaced at the memory.
"Serenity smash wormy food!" She halfheartedly thumped at the table
with a knuckle.

	"We will have it whenever the next delivery comes in from
Praxis," replied Queen Serenity. "It is a very long voyage."

	The Younger Inner Senshi continued to stare at Terra, not
quite knowing what to make of her.

	"So," Terra half-smiled at the four princesses, "you're the
Sailor Chibiscouts, huh?"

	Hermione winced, as did Pyra. Iolanthe and Althea slammed
their fists on the table. "Watch your mouth, commoner!" they snapped,
standing up and pointing at her from across the table.

	"Iolanthe, Althea," Queen Serenity motioned for them to calm
down.

	"Commoner, eh?" Terra snapped, not having taken the epithet
well. "I'll show YOU who's a commoner!!!" She picked up a tasty,
buttery biscuit and prepared to throw it.

	"Terra!" Queen Serenity quickly put up a hand and stopped her.
Terra caught herself and sat back down, smiling nervously. The
Queen looked at everyone, one by one. "Please, no name calling."

	"She started it," justified Princess Jupiter.

	"Did not," replied Terra.

	"Did too."

	"Did not!"

	"Did too!"

	Queen Serenity held up her hands, motioning for everyone to
be quiet. If the action could have caused a noise, it would have
sounded like a blown whistle.

	"By the way, what's a commoner?" Terra needed her memory
refreshed on that term.

	"Someone not of royal blood," the white-blonde explained.

	"Royal being...?"

	"Descended from king or queen of any sizable world in this
solar system."

	Terra paused, mulling something over. "Hey," she glared at
Althea, "my blood's ten times as royal as any of yours!"

	"Hah!" replied Althea, pointing at her. "Hah-hah. Hah!"

	"And what are you complaining about?" pressed Terra. "Your
blood's just about as royal as any old primate, anyway."

	"Terra," Queen Serenity cautioned, "you do not want to do
that."

	"Primate?!" Iolanthe asked, aghast. "Are you calling us a
bunch of monkeys, or what?"

	Terra nodded. "That's right. That's exactly what you all
are, a bunch of semi-evolved monkeys, mushrooms, and fungus," she
said it like she meant it.

	"I am NOT fungus!" Princess Venus snapped.

	"But you admit to being a mushroom princess?" Terra asked.

	"Well, yes, but-"

	"There you go."

	"Hmph!" Althea glared at Terra. "I demand satisfaction!"

	"Heh. That's what primates like yourselves always want."

	"We are not monkeys," Hermione affirmed. She had also been a
bit offended by Terra's words.

	"Are too. It's a proven fact," the adopted princess affirmed.

	"We don't have to take THIS!" Pyra declared.

	"Yeah!" agreed Iolanthe.

	"It's agreed, then," Althea said. "As leader of the Sailor
Chibiscouts--"

	"Younger Inner Senshi," Pyra corrected.

	The Venusian Princess glanced at the Martian. "Uhh, right!
Younger Inner Senshi." She looked back at Terra. "I challenge you
to a duel."

	Terra folded her arms. "Agreed. Me and you, in the courtyard.
Glaives at sunrise. To the death. Winner takes all."

	"To the _death_?!" Hermione asked. "Are you serious?"

	Terra nodded. "Yeah!" She folded her arms. "Under the Law, I
adjure you to a blood struggle. You, whateveryournameis, shall do
battle with me until the other ceases to breathe."

	Queen Serenity coughed.

	Princess Serenity leaned over to whisper to her sister, "Umm,
Terra? That's not how it works."

	"Yes it is," Terra replied, "according to the Jurai codebooks,
all responsible adults may-"

	"We are not on Jurai, and you are not a responsible adult,"
Queen Serenity reminded her adopted daughter.

	Terra paused, thinking that over. She cringed at her mistake.

	"According to Lunar Kingdom law," Queen Serenity explained,
worried about what Terra had dragged herself into, "disputes between
members of the ruling classes are to be settled between the offended
and the offenders, however many they may be on either side."

	"All of us against you," Althea clarified. "We'll show you
what a bunch of monkeys and fungus can do."

	"Looking forward to it!" Terra half-shouted back. "I'll take
you all down and put you back up into the trees where you belong!"

	"Two hours, in the courtyard," Iolanthe declared. "We'll meet
you there. Be ready."

	The Sailor Chibiscouts all stood up to leave, but Queen
Serenity stopped them. "Wait. You mustn't leave it like this!"

	"Why not?" asked Pyra. "We have to make up with her?" She
pointed at Terra, not looking at all happy about the girl's
insulting behavior. "After all she said?!"

	"You cannot expect us to simply sit back and do nothing,"
Hermione added her complaint.

	The Queen shook her head. "No, it is because you have not
finished what is on your plate yet." She pointed at the table. "If
you do not eat up, there will be no circus for _any_ of you this
afternoon."

	The four visiting princesses froze and slowly looked down,
large sweatdrops forming on the backs of their heads. In a flash,
the sat right back down, scrambling for their forks. "Yes, yes,
right, right, right."

	"Awwww, Mother!" Princess Serenity pouted.

	"Althea, do not slurp. Iolanthe, mind your manners. Pyra, you
have had enough dessert for now. Hermione, do not be afraid to eat
your chicken egg. Yes, Serenity. Good, just like that. And Terra?"

	"Yes, Mother?"

	"Perhaps if you ate a little more aggressively, your food would
fight back harder."

	Terra shook her head, continuing to pick and prod at the exotic
imports. "Nah, needs a lot more help than that." Something occurred
to her. "Mother, could you please lend me your crystal for a moment?"
She held out her hand.

	Queen Serenity drew back and thought about that for a second.
"Perhaps," she hesitated, "later."

	"Spoilsport," Terra sighed.

...

To be continued...

Eh, I thought I'd try a change in pace. Cuteness and whatnot.

Does it work so far?

-------------------------------
Benjamin A. Oliver
boredcollective@aol.com

	"We are the Bored. Lower your shields and surrender your fics.
	 We will add your standup and slapstick comedy to our own.
	 Your humor will adapt to entertain us.
	 Resistance is and always has been: Futile."
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