Non Sequitur of the day: We should be glad that among Ranma's turn-ons, 
martial arts isn't one of them.

C&C, both public and Private is welcome. I respond (eventually) to all C&C

Flames shall be used as target practice.

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is the creation of Naoko Takeuchi and all such rights 
belong to her. No money is being made from this and no such intent should be 
infferred.

**************
"It's a shallow life that doesn't give a person a few scars." 
- Garrison Keillor in Salon.com


Amy Lynn was not the sort to make mistakes. She carefully analyzed each 
decision she made with the utmost logic and care. Invariably they turned out 
to be correct.

"You're a pervert!"

"I didn't decide to be gay!"

"You married me, for God's sake! You obviously like women, so how the hell 
can you stand there and tell me you didn't decide to be gay?!"

In her room, sitting on the floor, knees pulled up to her chest, door ajar as 
she listened to her parents scream at each other, Amy Lynn privately admitted 
to herself that taking her father up on his offer might have been a mistake.

"This isn't about me, Janice! This is about Amy Lynn! She needs both her 
parents. Whatever else I may do, she's still my daughter and I want to be 
part of her life!"

"She's my daughter, Michael! You gave up all those rights ten years ago!"

"Not the right to be part of her life! I agreed that you'd get sole custody 
not because I didn't care, but because you're a hell of a lot better at being 
a parent then I am. I don't know the first thing about raising kids! But I 
didn't give up on the right to be a father! You sent back every letter, card, 
birthday and Christmas gift I ever mailed to her. You shut me out of her 
life, Janice. You!'

"She's not becoming a degenerate pig like you! I refuse to let her be swept 
into your disgusting little world!"

"I'm not trying to sweep her into anything! I just want to be part of her 
life! I want to be her father!"

"Her father?!!" Her mother's scream rose to a high pitch and with two 
fingers, Amy Lynn shut her door, unable to listen anymore. Crawling over to 
her bed, she climbed in, curled up in a ball and cried for quite some time, 
before eventually falling into a dreamless sleep. 

**************
Sighing to himself, Malachite entered the small cabin on the plantation 
grounds that he shared with, Zoicite. His clothes fading away to be replaced 
with his general's uniform as he dismissed the illusions that allowed him to 
walk amongst humans. The changes were subtle, but significant. His ears were 
more pointed and the planes of his face more angular. His eyes took on an 
almost inhuman silver sheen. In ancient times, some had called them Fairie, 
and had spoken of them with fear.

He sighed again. It had been too long since he had... he pushed the 
conclusion of his meeting with Janice out of his mind. She had agreed to let 
him spend time with Amy Lynn, that was the important thing, everything else 
was irrelevant.

Moving into the bedroom, he began to remove his cape, giving only a brief 
glance to Zoicite, who lay on the bed, naked. "Hello, Love," Malachite said 
absently, hanging his cape up.

Zoicite said nothing. Turning to look at the bed, Malachite realized his 
lover was staring at him with a strange expression.

"Jeddite told me about your meeting," the younger man said. "A family?" The 
younger man slid off the bed and came over to Malachite. "You never told me 
about a family."

"A remnant of my human life," Malachite said, undoing the collar of his 
jacket. "Nothing to worry about."

"Good, good," Zoicite said, leaning against him. "I'll talk to Jeddite and 
the next youma will be sure to pay them a special visit. They'll be dead 
in--URK!"

With a speed fueled by a cold anger that in retrospect would terrify him with 
its intensity, Malachite's hand shot out and grabbed the younger man's neck. 
Real fear filled Zoicite's eyes as he grabbed Malachite's wrist, trying to 
release the pressure on his windpipe. "Not a finger will be laid on them," 
the white-haired general said very softly. "Remnant or not, my blood flows in 
the child's veins." Dark Energy crackled across Malachite's fingertips, 
energy that could turn Zoicite's head into a pulp and was restrained only by 
Malachite's will. "Listen to me, Zoicite, until I determine the child's 
powers, if any, she and her mother will remain alive and unharmed." Malachite 
tightened his grip. "Understand me?"

"Y-yes!" Zoicite gasped out.

"Good." Malachite released him and continued undressing. "Now let's get to 
bed, shall we?"

**************
The next night, an hour or so after her mother had gone to bed, Amy Lynn sat 
at her desk constructing a subspace transciever out of a an old ham radio, 
some short wave receivers, and a CB set she had found in the clinic's garage. 
The one TV station she could get in Juuban Hollow  had run a Next Generation 
Marathon the other night and the show's repeated use of subspace had piqued 
her interest. For an antenna, a cup of tea.

It was then that she took notice a rattling sound against her window. 
Curious, she set down the improvised soldering iron and went to see what was 
making the noise.

Standing on the ground was Bunny, Luna by her side. "I'm gonna go possum 
huntin'," the blonde called. "Wanna come? Molly said her mother needs her ta 
unpack a delivery." 

Amy Lynn gave the transceiver a glance. There would be time enough later and 
she didn't want to turn down a friend. "Okay." 

A few minutes later, she left the house and crept down the stairs wearing the 
work shirt and jeans Bunny had loaned her for the farming assignment, and the 
boots.

Stealthily, the two made their way to the road where Bunny's truck was parked 
and climbed in. For once, Bunny did not drive in her usual fashion...not 
until they had left town, anyway.

At least she turned on the headlights.

**************
At the very edge of the woods, Bunny parked the truck and grinned at Amy 
Lynn, who seemed a bit pale, but otherwise okay.

"How do you hunt 'possums?" Amy Lynn asked ,trying not to think of what she 
had just been through.

Bunny Lynn grinned and reached behind the seat. "With this." She drew out an 
old, but well maintained rifle. Amy Lynn knew about guns, her mother being a 
servicewoman and all, but had never actually used one before.

Reaching back behind the seat, Bunny removed a roll of duct tape, a backpack, 
a pair of flashlights, a box of bullets, and two pistols, which she loaded 
with bullets she took out of her shirt pocket. She tucked one into the 
waistband of her shorts and the other one she handed to Amy Lynn. Then she 
turned on one of the flashlights and taped it to the rifle. "C'mon."

Copying Bunny, albeit nervously, Amy Lynn tucked the pistol into her jeans 
and grabbed the flashlight. With Luna in the lead, the two girls set off into 
the woods.

**************
Amy Lynn was no stranger to the wilderness. You couldn't grow up in Minnesota 
and not be familiar with it, but this was different for some reason. Maybe it 
was the lack of a campfire and conversation, or maybe it was the just she was 
in a different place. She had heard stories on the net about strange things yo
u'd find if you went far enough into the American South. Old Native American 
relics, cursed places, witches, and places where slaves had died in the most 
brutal fashion possible and their ghosts still lurked, waiting for anyone 
foolish enough to trespass into their grief.

Then of course, there were the modern bogeymen. Space aliens, crazy old men 
and secret societies. Of them all, Amy Lynn was worried only about the 
hermits who might be out in the woods and the pistol in her jeans did nothing 
to lessen that worry. As she and Bunny made their way through the woods, Amy 
Lynn found herself coming up with scenarios, battle plans, and escape routes.

While on a Girl Scout campout (the troop had folded because a month later 
thanks to a penguin named Bill) Amy Lynn had met an old woman who sold dream 
catchers up by Lake Tskykeputchy in Minnesota. The woman had been normal in 
every respect except that she was convinced that the rocks in a small pond 
several miles into the woods had teeth and that their bite changed you into a 
half plant, half animal creature not unlike a demented squirrel. She claimed 
when she was a little girl, she had watched her entire class change and then 
run off into the woods. That encounter had sparked a brief interest in 
American myths. In the space of a week, Amy Lynn devoured every book on it in 
both the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Public libraries.

"There's not much you c'n do wit possums, 'course," Bunny said, breaking into 
Amy Lynn's thoughts. "Ma has a recipe for possum stew, but without a decent 
tater ta toss in there, it don't taste vera good. Gotta admit though, ain't 
nuthin better then some warm possum gloves when it gets cold."

"I've never used a gun before," Amy Lynn said, finally giving voice to her 
misgivings.

"Guns is easy," Bunny said, pulling her own pistol. "See this?" She indicated 
the barrel of the pistol with the barrel of her rifle. "Point this at whatcha 
wanna shoot, and then pull this thingy here." She curled her finger around 
the trigger. "Nuthin simpler." She shoved the pistol back into her shorts.

At that moment, Luna stiffened and then growled, staring off into the woods. 
"A possum?" Amy Lynn said, reaching for her pistol.

"Ain't sure," Bunny said, an odd note in her voice as she switched off the 
flashlight taped to the rifle. "You stay here. C'mon Luna." With that, she 
and Luna disappeared into the trees.

Several minutes passed, then from the direction Bunny had gone, Amy Lynn 
heard a blood-chilling roar.

Without a second thought, she gripped her pistol and ran in the direction 
Bunny had gone.

**************
She had only gone perhaps a few hundred feet when she came upon a clearing 
which held a large pond at its center. In it, a woman dressed in clothes that 
seem to made from moonlight battled a monster out of nightmares. It was at 
least eight feet tall, with a birdlike beak and three eyes in a triangle. 
It's skin was green and knobby, and claws sprouted from its four-fingered 
hands. It's hair was long and green and ram's horns sprouted from the side of 
its head.

The woman was dressed in a one piece white gown that came to her knees with a 
belt made out of silver mesh around her waist. A tiara encircled her forehead 
and her hair came down past her shoulders, which were protected by golden 
plates. Her calves were covered by golden yellow shin guards and she wore 
heavy boots. Golden bands encircled her wrists and she carried a sword in 
each hand, the one in her left longer and heavier then the one in her right. 
Behind the monster, a great black wolf circled, lunging in to try and sink 
its teeth into the monster's hamstring.

With a backhand swipe, the monster slammed the woman against a tree and then 
moved in for what had to be a kill.

With a boldness that surprised her, Amy Lynn stepped out of the trees and 
aimed the pistol at the monster. She pulled the trigger several times, each 
one causing the monster to stagger. Then, suddenly, instead of the sound of 
gunfire, she heard only a faint clicking.

Uh-Oh.

Amy Lynn turned and ran back into the trees, only to be sent flying as the 
ground exploded underneath her. Grunting, she hit the dirt path, bouncing and 
rolling for several more feet before carefully picking herself up as behind 
her, she heard another roar.

"Amy Lynn!" An woman's voice said. Amy Lynn looked around. There was no one 
around. "Amy Lynn!" came the woman's voice again. "Over here." Looking in the 
direction of the voice, she found herself face to face with the great black 
wolf she had seen moments earlier. A crescent moon flared brightly on it's 
forehead and it was though a veil had been lifted from Amy Lynn's eyes. The 
wolf became Luna and with a horrified start, she realized the woman in white 
back in the clearing had been Bunny.

"L-Luna? What's-"

"There's no time!" Luna snapped. "You have to help the Moon Priestess."

"Help? How?" Amy Lynn asked, faintly aware that she was having a conversation 
with a dog and must therefore be losing her mind.

Using her snout, Luna rolled something across the dirt to her. "With this."

"What is it?" Amy Lynn asked, her fingertips tingling slightly as she picked 
it up. It was colored ice blue, about the size of a writing pen, slightly 
thicker, and topped with a loop of gold. Inside the loop was a thin slab of 
crystal.

"Never mind that!" Luna half-shouted. "Hold it up and say, 'Mercury, Grant Me 
Strength'

Amy Lynn did as she was told. "Mercury, Grant Me Strength!" Cold, wonderful 
cold rushed into her and she felt her clothes vanishing and more cold sliding 
over her limbs and body like velvet. When it cleared, she was wearing a 
bodysuit that covered her torso and neck, but not her arms and legs. Blue 
boots covered her feet and white gloves covered her forearms. The exposed 
part of her arms and legs was covered with a light blue fabric that she 
instinctively knew was light as air and harder then any metal. A tiara 
encircled her forehead and from it hung a tinted blue visor. A continuous 
stream of data ran up the right side and in her hand she held a sword.

She looked back at the clearing, her feet twitched and then she was back at 
the clearing's edge, the wind of her movement fading. The monster had Bunny 
pressed up against a tree with one hand and had the other hand raised to 
administer the killing blow. It regarded her for a moment, and then looked 
back at Bunny.

Raising her hand, Amy Lynn fired four ice spikes, one from each fingertip, 
which flew across the clearing and sank into the creature's hide. Roaring, it 
tossed Bunny aside like a rag doll and lunged for her, only to smash into a 
tree as its target darted aside. Like a whip, her sword flicked out, leaving 
a gouge as large as a man's arm in the beast's side. She raised the sword 
high to bring it down on its neck, when it's arm moved, striking her hard and 
sending her to crash down next to Bunny.

"Who?" Bunny asked, trying to stand.

"Never mind that!" Amy Lynn said as the monster leapt high into the air. 
"Roll!"

They rolled in opposite directions, the monster landing where they had been, 
dirt flying as its impact left behind a crater. Rising from its crouch, the m
onster began to move towards Amy Lynn slowly, it's breathing ragged.

Standing, she reached out to the cold of the pond and called it forth, 
encasing the monster in a block of ice. Her hand tightened into a fist...

And everything went white as the loud roar of an explosion filled her ears.

When she could see again, she was lying on her back in some bushes, staring 
up at the stars through a gap in the trees. Then Bunny, dressed in her usual 
clothes, loomed over her. "You okay, Amy Lynn?"

"B-bunny? What happened?"

"There's no time for that!" Luna snapped. She pointed to the bushes with her 
nose. "Look!"

Peering through the bushes, Amy Lynn saw that they overlooked a huge crater. 
It was a good twenty or thirty feet deep and perhaps two or three hundred 
feet wide. The clearing and the pond had been obliterated.

A group of trucks were nearby, some marked with the insignia of Black 
Mountain Plantation. In the light of one set of headlights, she saw her 
father and mother standing side by side talking with another man that she 
vaguely recalled being pointed out as the county sheriff and the tall 
black-haired young deputy she recalled Bunny arguing with during that first 
day.

"What are we going to do?" Luna whispered. "Bunny's truck will be heard if it 
starts up and there's no way to push it out of here without being seen."

"We face the music then," Amy Lynn said softly. Going back to where she had 
been laying, she picked up her pistol and tucked it into her jeans, pulling 
the work shirt into position to hide it.

"Amy Lynn, you shore 'bout this?" Bunny asked.

"No. But Mom probably knows I'm not in bed by now, I'll get yelled at either 
way. Here or at home. Here, she might be a little less loud about it." With 
that, Amy Lynn stepped boldly through the bushes and crouched at the edge of 
the crater. Here she could see the sides were smooth like glass and cold to 
the touch. It wasn't ice, but not glass either. It seemed almost like crystal.

"And what do you think you're doing here, young lady?" Standing, Amy Lynn f
aced her mother. Doctor Anderson had thrown some pants and her white lab coat 
on over her nightgown, which had been tucked into the pants and strapped to 
her hip was the black metal of her service pistol.

"Mah fault, Doc," Bunny said stepping up beside Amy Lynn. "Ah invited Amy 
Lynn to go possum huntin wit me and we heard the explosion. Wut happened here 
anyways?"

"Catch anything, Buns?" asked the dark-haired deputy

"Shut yor mouth, Shields, 'fore I shuts for ya!" Bunny snapped. "An don't 
call me Buns!"

"But it suits you so well."

Bunny's faced turned red with anger.

"Mom, what did happen here?" Amy Lynn asked, hoping to divert her mother's 
attention from the fact that she was out and about.  "It looks like a 
meteorite impact."

"That's what we thought," said a gravely voice. Turning, Amy Lynn saw a tall 
man with a mane of brown hair. He wore a green T-shirt and black pants. "But 
the sides are too smooth, and too cool. If you ask me, something exploded 
here."

"Like what?" Doctor Anderson asked. "I've spent my entire adult life in this 
nation's military and I've seen every kind of explosion there is. Nothing 
exists that would make a crater this big and not leave some kind of 
radiation." She picked a geiger counter off the hood of a nearby truck. "And 
regardless of whether it was a metor or explosive, neither one explains the 
glasslike surface of the sides and presumably the bottom."

"Mebbe it was spacemen," ventured a man standing nearby. "Or demons or 
somethin."

"There's no such thing as any of those, Mister Furnuckle," Doctor Anderson 
said stiffly. She faced the sheriff. "If you'll excuse me Myron, there 
appears to be no need for my services and I must take my daughter home. I'll 
meet you back here in the morning."

"Shore thing, Janice, the Sheriff said absently, scratching his head as he 
stared into the crater.

"Come along, dear," Doctor Anderson said stiffly. Amy Lynn sighed and handed 
the pistol back to Bunny, which made Doctor Anderson's nostrils pinch with 
barely supressed fury, and then followed her mother to the car.

**************
For the second time in as many days, Malachite was angry and the dark power 
in him was practically begging to be released.

Jeddite grunted as he hit the wall, propelled against it by the raw power 
bolt Malachite threw at him.

"You...idiot," Malachite seethed. "What in the hells possessed you to give a 
youma that much power? Now the humans are going to be getting nosy. On top of 
that, we now have another one of those blasted Priestesses to deal with."

"W-we can handle them," Jeddite gasped out as a collar of dark energy clamped 
around his throat.

Another bolt smacked the blonde general across the face. "The goal was to 
find Empreya's jewel before Serenity's spell could gather all six together, 
Old Boy," Malachite drawled. Jeddite felt the icy hand of fear clamp his gut. 
Unlike the others, Malachite's anger made him calmer, almost relaxed. The 
words "Old Boy" spoken in a drawl, meant that he was on the edge of losing 
his temper...and considering that Malachite was the most powerful of Four, 
that event fit nicely into the bad things catagory. Especially if you were 
the source of his wrath. "That way we don't have to fight them. But perhaps 
you missed that when we first gathered after being awakened from our human 
lives."

"N-no, Malachite. I didn't. I just wanted to be sure we could be rid of the 
Moon Priestess once and for all. She's interfered enough, her and that 
strange man in the tuxedo. I honestly wasn't expecting Mercury's chosen to 
show up."

"One more screw up, Jeddite, just one more...and I'll have your head on a 
pike." The collar vanished and Malachite strode out of the room.

****
Entry #138

Mother and Father are speaking to each other...somewhat. It's a start, I 
guess. Got caught being out when Mom had already gone to bed. She took away 
my laptop for a week. I can deal with it though.

Something else happened tonight. But I'm not sure I can talk about it yet. 

I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to talk about it...

*************
Steve "Komodo" T.

 "Then we would drink a lot of beer, and when Mantook was ready, he would 
tell me the story of the Great Moose, who said to the Little Squirrel, "Hey, 
Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat."
-Jim Carrey on Just For Laughs

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