Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC.

A long, long time ago, I had an odd idea about a Fusion/Crossover that carelessly replaced a few key characters from the Ranma series that were not, by any stretch of the imagination, exact replacements for the characters so ruthlessly and callously culled.

That was the point, actually. The theory was that a more interesting story could be developed if perfection and a stable environment was not the goal. Jason Hanks urged me on to actually write out the idea, several others helped out, including Louis-Philippe Giroux, and GAILR!!! was the result, first sent out April 1st, 1999.

What has gone on in the story thus far is that Ranma got some bizarre Moon Princess curse, Genma got the Chibiusa curse, and we're debating on what other ones to pass out to the rest of the cast. It's really quite fascinating.

So, without further ado, let's get started on this!

Ranma paced around the bathroom with his shirt off, agonizing over the minor defeat he had recently suffered. The guy that called himself Jadeite had given him a pretty nasty series of shocks. Oh, sure, he was a ‘she’ at the time, and had been encumbered by an embarrassing white dress, but still, he didn't take kindly to being overpowered like that. Then again, typically he didn't find too many martial artists that used attacks like that in battle and, as such, he had been taken by surprise.

"That makes TWO times in a row I ain't been ready!" the young man muttered angrily, slapping a fist into one hand. "First Rei gets me with her ki-attack, and THEN the Jade-guy. Grrr, what NEXT?! Oh yeah, THEN I had to get rescued by a GIRL." He paused. "Well, two girls. A manly girl and a lady-girl-type, sort of…"

Taking a deep breath to help himself calm down, Ranma ran his fingers through his bangs. Haruka definitely had him jealous. The techniques she and her friend did to get him out of that grip was really something. Never before had he felt such power being wielded. All his life, he'd been training to become the best martial artist in the world, and he'd never came across ki manipulation on that level. If he'd known about it before, he would have learned more about it and mastered it long ago.

Ranma reached for his shirt. "I gotta go ask 'em. NOW."

The boy stopped again, considering the girl in the obnoxiously-cut sailor suit that had tried to defend him as well, but had failed. "Sailor Moon? What kind of a name is that? Sounds Chinese." He hadn't heard of her before, but one thing struck him as really crazy: she looked almost exactly like his girl form, down to the really long ponytails. Oh, sure, she looked a bit younger, but that didn't keep Ranma from wondering whether there could be some sort of connection between the girl and his curse. Maybe Jadeite was really after the other girl and it was a case of mistaken identity. Actually, that seemed like the most likely thing.

"My head hurts," Ranma muttered to himself, smoke literally billowing from his ears as his preciously rationed neurons battled it out between the desire to learn the need to bathe, the desperate need to learn Haruka's ki attack, and wanting to know what the deal was with "Sailor Moon." To make matters worse, his brain was also engaged in coming up with the right training routine to improve his speed and strength to go along with all that.

The pigtailed martial artist absently grabbed a bar of soap, which started glowing in his hand. "Feh!" He tossed it into the furo. He didn't notice the sudden hiss, which he therefore could not have compared to the noise that a chunk of red-hot lava makes when it hits the cold, cold ocean surface.

However, the creak of the window swinging open did attract his attention. Ranma looked in the direction of the sound. His eyes went wide and he slipped, falling onto his back. He inched toward the wall, his lips curling in horror when he identified the creature he saw, which clawed its way in through the forced window.

Downstairs, a woman in business attire with vibrantly green hair sat hunched over the table, peering at an old document through a very large magnifying glass. Tendo Setsuna slowly and cautiously went over every last millimeter of the marriage contract. "The mind boggles," she whispered with a short, frustrated sigh. "You have to hand it to them, I admit. It is simplistic and infantile, yet still binding…"

Rei popped up behind her and put an arm over the woman's shoulder. "What've you got there, hmm?" Then she saw the contract. "I think you can stop worrying about the engagement, Setsuna," she said, "I talked with Ranma. He's not thinking about going through with it any more than we are."

"That is excellent news," Setsuna replied, glancing sideways at her. "Nevertheless, it is better to be safe and prepared than surprised at the last minute."

A laugh came from the direction of the dojo. Haruka entered a second later, wearing a white gi, her hair messed up and her skin covered in sweat from her morning workout. "Safe and prepared, eh? Riiiiiiiiight. Like when Dad first announced it? You sure were prepared then. Heh!"

"Ah. Haruka. Kicking me while I'm down, I see?" Setsuna's expression became somewhat pained, despite her efforts to display the contrary.

The blonde grinned. "Gotta use whatever advantage I can. People usually have to get up pretty early in the morning to get the best of you."

"Early?" Setsuna asked, going back to her examination of the marriage contract. "No, to get the best of me, one normally must stay up all night. And even then, it's no guarantee."

"Yeah," Haruka continued. She came closer and picked up a strand of Setsuna's slightly tussled hair. "And speaking of staying up all night…"

Setsuna put down her magnifying glass and looked up into her sister's eyes. A moment of unspoken communication went on between them. When it finally became apparent that Haruka wasn't backing down, the eldest Tendo sister narrowed her eyes, then held a finger to her lips, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity about her. "Shhh."

Ignoring the silent power struggle, Rei directed her attention to Haruka. "Say, what happened that one night with Ranma? He didn't want to say anything about it and you still haven't told me."

"He got attacked," the blonde replied, still grinning widely and patting her hand against Setsuna's arm, as if trying to comfort her for the loss of the brief staring contest. "Michiru and I barely showed up in time."

"How tough was he?" Rei continued. "Any stronger than the last one that came by?"

Haruka looked up and made a wobbly-handed 'so/so' gesture. "Eh, I've fought worse."

"Do you think the Musk Empire's attacking again?" Rei sat down. "What did you and Haruka do to upset those guys, anyway?"

"Nothing big," Haruka said. "They'll get over it. And I don't think the Emperor's about to send any more of his lackeys along after what we did to the last ones."

"Okay, then who'd want to just come up and attack Ranma for no reason?" Rei pressed, then stopped when she recalled the first day of school with Ranma. "Well, I take that back. But who could it be?"

"I don't know. He said his name was Jadeite, called Ranma 'Princess Serenity', then Ranma started getting seriously trashed, so we came in."

"Think this 'Jadeite' will come back?"

Haruka cracked her knuckles, nodding confidently. "I sure hope so. It's been a while since I've had a real challenge."

"Feeling a little protective of our fair half-Moon Princess?" Setsuna didn't look up. "Wishing to be engaged, perhaps?"

"Well, she is cute, I have to admit," Haruka looked smug, avoiding the attempted taunt.

"Haruka, two; Setsuna, zero," Rei kept score.

Setsuna smiled in spite of herself. "Very well. You have won. But tomorrow is another day."

"I said it before and I'll say it again," Haruka chuckled lightly, "I love this game."

A high-pitched scream from the bathroom shocked everyone into alertness.

"Ranma!"

The bathroom was a scene out of a nightmare.

"AAAAAAHHH!" Ranma screamed in terror.

The beast had slapped the unlatched window wide open and leapt down inside, landing heavily on the floor. Its sharp, sickle-shaped claws tapped against the tile floor as it advanced.

"RANMA SAOTOME," the demon shrieked at the terrified martial artist, long fangs protruding from its drawn-back mouth, "PREPARE TO DIE!!!"

"No!" the boy choked back the tears, too horrified to do anything but push his way further back against the wall.

"BECAUSE OF YOU," the fanged monster advanced, stalking its way forward, step-by-step, inch-by-inch, closer and closer, "I HAVE SEEN HELLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Ranma raised his head high and screamed. He didn't care that he sounded like a sniveling little girl; he was genuinely frightened. Many times in the past had he faced this foe, and he knew; he knew that it and its kin were invincible. NO MAN could possibly hope to defeat it. This beast was the master now.

He could not fight against its awesome power. All he could hope to do was to inch past it and find some route of escape; perhaps the demon would back away; perhaps it would simply leave like it had done so many times before.

"RRRRAAAAANNNMMMAAAA," the THING hissed, clamping a claw on Ranma's pant leg, "NOW IS WHEN I TAKE MY REVENGE FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE TO ME! NOW IS WHEN I MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR EVERYTHING!!!"

No, the horrid creature would not back down this time. It was talking to him; it was after his very soul. "AAAAAAAAH!!!!"

*SLAM!* The door kicked was open and three young women rushed inside, prepared for battle: Rei with a knife, Haruka with a katana, and Setsuna with a bo-staff.

Rei was Ranma's savior. She put away her knife, effortlessly grabbing the source of his trauma with a sweep of her hand. She swiftly lifted it off of him and looked at it with a relieved smile.

"What is it?" Haruka asked urgently, struggling to get by Rei.

The raven-haired girl stepped fully inside, holding up and allowing her sisters to see the creature in question. "It's just a little kitty-cat!"

"C-C-C-C-C-C-C-CAAAAAAAAAATTT!!!" shrieked Ranma, diving past the girls, rushing down the steps, and crashing through the wall.

Haruka and Setsuna gazed after their potential fiancé. "Huh," she commented, "what do you think got into him, Setsuna?"

The eldest sister did not respond. Rather, she was gazing intently at the cat. Its fur was so black that it was blue, and it had an almost anthropomorphic hint to its feline shape, but its single most distinguishing feature was the small, yellow crescent moon mark on its forehead.

"Mrewow!" the cat struggled around in Rei's grasp, pawing ineffectually at her wrists, limply trying to slink away. It wasn't a very large cat; only slightly bigger than a kitten.

A pink cone of hair peeked by the doorway, a little less than halfway up, followed by the little girl's whole head. "What happened to my boy? I heard him shout."

Rei looked down at Genma. "I'm not sure, but I think he freaked out when he saw this." She showed her the cat.

Genma blinked and rubbed her groggy little-big eyes. "Oh, it's a cat. Ranma's afraid of cats."

Haruka frowned. "Why?"

Ranma's father yawned. "I really don't know why. Cats are cute, harmless little things. Not like," she looked a little scared when she said, "horrible, scary, demonic, snaggle-toothed s-s-squirrels."

*Mreow!* "Ow!" The black cat bit Rei's finger, causing more surprise than damage, allowing room for it to land on the floor.

"Catch that cat!" Setsuna ordered, pointing a finger at the fleeing feline.

Rei and Haruka scrambled after the cat, which leapt around the room, somehow avoiding the quick, well-trained hands grasping after it. Finally, the cat darted between Haruka's legs, jumped up to the window, and fled outside.

Still in cat-catcher mode, Haruka scrambled after it, and was halfway out of the window before her hand slipped on a spare bar of soap on the windowsill and she tumbled backward.

Rei stepped out of the way of her falling sister.

*SPLASH!* Haruka plunged into the full furo, becoming instantly drenched. She accidentally tried to draw a gasping breath, but her throat filled with water. She sat up in the bath, coughing violently.

Setsuna shook her head, smiling to herself. "Oh, never mind. Let it go."

Haruka glared at her older sister.

"Haruka, your training has obviously 'slipped'," the woman with very long green hair added, her expression becoming perfectly neutral as she rested the end of her bo-staff on the floor.

Haruka stood, her fist clenched close to her face as water trickled off her hair and down her clothes. After a moment, she relaxed. "Okay, score one for you."

"Three. Even you must realize that by now."

"Hey," Rei cut in, "did you two see anything odd about that cat? Maybe something that'd scare Ranma?

Haruka sighed, tugging with one hand at her soaked apparel. "How should I know? You were the one holding it."

"It had a mark on its forehead," said Setsuna.

"And a yellow and black collar," added Rei.

Genma piped up. "Do you know anyone that has a cat like that?"

"No," replied Rei and Haruka together.

"Perhaps," meditated Setsuna. "However, only time will tell."

Soun finally made it, running to the scene. "What happened, Setsuna?" He looked around inside for some clue of the event.

"Nothing of great importance, Father."

"A cat attacked Ranma," replied Genma. "He'll be back in a minute. Don't worry."

"Aaah!" Soun was startled, not having seen his friend. He looked down at her. "Oh! Saotome-chan, er… SAN," he said. "But he's coming back?"

Genma nodded. "Yeah. He'll get over it."

"I don't think it's anything to worry about, Father," Rei added, putting a comforting arm around Soun's shoulders and slowly escorting him out.

"Back to bed, then," the little pink-haired girl muttered, obviously having had a very long night. She turned away.

"Wait a second," Soun stopped and held up a hand.

Genma turned back. "What?"

The black-haired man urgently turned toward the little girl. "Don't you remember what day it is?!"

"Monday."

Soun knelt down, reaching out and pulling Genma in closer with both hands, looking straight into her eyes. "For you, yes, and no."

Genma blinked. "What do you mean?"

Setsuna smiled knowingly, as did Haruka and Rei. They'd been through this before several times in their own unique ways, and knew what their father was getting at.

"You begin school today!" exclaimed Soun, throwing his arms wide open and closing them around his friend, weeping sadly. "It is a truly sad occasion, but you MUST go, old friend!"

Genma's jaw hung open and a huge sweatdrop slowly went down the back of her cute little head. "But, but—"

Soun stood up, spun around, and set the girl down, facing toward the hall. "You only have a few minutes to get ready! Hurry up!" He gently nudged Genma toward the guest room.

Genma paled. "But—"

"No 'buts' about this one, young lady— er!" the Tendo patriarch caught himself. "—Old friend! If you don't go, the Truant officer will be back! He said so!"

Genma shook her head frantically. "No no no no no no no no no no, I don't wanna!"

"He crashed through the front wall last time he came! Who knows what he'll do if you don't go!"

It was difficult to tell which of the Tendo daughters was enjoying this the most. Rei turned away and pounded lightly against the wall, trying to conceal her expression. Setsuna's smile was not any larger than before, but her eyes betrayed the fact that she liked seeing the little spore tormented.

"Heh, I'll give him a ride if Setsuna gets him ready," Haruka volunteered, toweling down her face and hair. "Anything to keep Dad from thinking about the engagement again," she added silently.

"Agreed," assented the eldest sister.

Setsuna turned around and exited, seeming to vanish into the shadows.

"AAaaaaa!!!" Genma tried to run off, but Soun picked her up by the collar. For a second, Genma continued running, as if trying to find purchase in the air.

Setsuna returned after a moment with a little dress on a hanger. The outfit consisted of a small white blouse with a red bow on the front and a blue pleated skirt that would go to just about knee length on Genma. "It used to be Rei's when she was little," she said, demonstrating it to the intended wearer. "It is not a White Dove Academy uniform, but it will be acceptable until we can get you a proper one."

Genma's eyes went wide, looking mortified.

"I'm sorry, old friend, but that's the way things go," Soun added hesitantly. "I'm sure you'll get to like it."

Setsuna looked down at Genma, sizing her up. She shook her head. "Tsk tsk tsk. A good girl should bathe before she goes to school."

"Weeeell, I guess I'll go get Ranma," Rei said, waving goodbye. She walked out, took one step to the side, and stood against the wall. She covered her mouth with a hand, barely able to contain her snickering.

"I'll let you go at it, then," Soun walked out and went back downstairs.

*Riiip!* "Tsk tsk tsk… Truly, when did you last wash this outfit, Saotome-san?" Setsuna remarked disapprovingly.

Rei saw Genma's dirty, torn-up gi getting tossed out the window, directly into an overflowing garbage can with flies buzzing around it.

*SPLASH!* "AAAAH! COLD!"

"Do not so much as think of jumping into the furo. We mustn't have you change just yet, Saotome-san."

Haruka walked out and leaned against the wall opposite Rei, her face a mix of surprise and morbid pleasure.

"I think it'll be a while before they start talking about our engagements again," Rei whispered to her sister.

"Is this any way to be treating your future father-in-law?!" cried Genma.

Haruka looked sideways at Rei. "I wouldn't count on it." She looked away and called, "She's right, Setsuna! Treat 'er right!"

"Right!" Rei agreed. "And don't forget to thoroughly shampoo her hair!"

"Can't have our Dad's best friend making a bad impression on 'er first day of school," Haruka added, chuckling to herself.

"Oh my, I apologize for my oversight, Saotome-san, I will do my best to correct it," replied Setsuna, her calm, unwavering tone reflecting a hint of satisfaction. "Is this more to your liking?"

*Vrrr!*Ka-chunka-kachunka!* "AAAH! HEEEEY!"

The washing sounds increased in frequency and pitch as the awesome powers of the Tendo School of Martial Arts child-bathing techniques were brought to bear upon poor little Genma.

"I gotta go get changed," Haruka muttered, looking down at her still-damp outfit. She walked out.

*Zrrvrr* Luna-P floated by, making cheery little whirring noises as it passed, nodding at the scene going on in the bathroom before continuing on.

Somewhere, the Guardian of the Gate of Time was rolling around on the floor in front of the Gate, laughing and laughing.

"Oh my, oh my, oh my, I can't believe this is happening!"

The Dark Kingdom was all abuzz about the latest news: The Moon Princess had been located! The entire youma population was in awe over the concept of finally being able to get rid of their last major remaining nemesis from the Moon Kingdom. They all waited in anticipation as their leaders devised plans to destroy Princess Serenity once and for all.

After Serenity had been dealt with, then they could move on to the bigger targets like Microsoft and Jerry Springer. Their empires would be far more difficult to topple.

"Jadeite," Queen Beryl called, "I wish to hear of your new plan to capture the Moon Princess."

The blond general appeared before Beryl's throne. His left wrist was wrapped in white bandages, as was his right shoulder, under his uniform. He placed his right hand over his heart and bowed slightly. "My Queen, I have analyzed our last attack, and discovered its flaws."

"What were these 'flaws'?"

"We underestimated our enemy," replied Jadeite. He raised his left hand, and a wavering image of the Moon Princess from Jadeite's attack appeared. "By herself, she is not much of a threat, and she obviously does not have the Ginzuishou."

The image demonstrated how the girl tried ineffectually to defend herself against Jadeite's assault."

"What does she have, Jadeite?"

The general half-smiled and snapped his fingers. The image to his left shifted to a yellow-orange blast, followed by another ringed sphere, this one blue. The motion picture effect was careful to avoid the part where Jadeite got hit. Finally, the image froze on the silhouettes of two women, back to back in the sunset.

"Do they look at all familiar?" Jadeite asked.

Queen Beryl pursed her lips in concern and a murmur went up among the gathered youma court. "Do you mean to tell me that Princess Serenity is being guarded by the Outer Senshi?"

Jadeite nodded gravely. "I am afraid so."

A gasp went up amongst the crowd and members of the court spoke between themselves.

"The Outer Senshi?"
"How could it be?!"
"This does not bode well."
"Neptune and Uranus?!"
"The Dirty Pair of all Sailor Senshi…"
"That does it, we're all screwed. Seriously!"

All, including Queen Beryl, remembered the Outer Senshi in their battles against the Moon Kingdom: Sailors Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn. They had most certainly not been easy to defeat. Many, many of their finest warriors had perished in the attempt. That, or moved to what was now Pittsburgh.

"None of our number, save for myself and the other generals, can repel fighters of their caliber," Jadeite reminded his Queen. "If we are prepared, that is."

The Queen of the Dark Kingdom nodded, needing a few moments to think over this new information. "Interesting, Jadeite."

The man took a deep breath. "I am explaining this so that there will be no surprise when my plans do not include facing the Princess directly; we simply would not make it past her personal guard," he said, pointedly fingering the bandage on his wrist. "We require more energy."

Zoicite appeared, levitating in a flurry of cherry blossoms. "What about attacking en masse? Surely we would be able to capture her if we sent enough youma."

Jadeite turned his head to the poor soul in question and laughed out loud. "With what energy shall we send them? With what energy would they fight?" His expression became DEAD serious. "With what energy shall we defend ourselves when the Outer Senshi come to reclaim their ruler?" He turned fully toward the unwise general and pointed an accusing finger at him. "And what if Sailor Saturn herself comes to challenge us? What then?"

The highly effeminate general landed on his feet to face Jadeite. "Why, we could drain them. Ah-ha ha ha ha haaa."

Jadeite took a step toward the one who mocked him, looking seriously ticked off. "Oh? And who will we send to get close enough to drain them? Who could be so fast; so cunning; so brave; so IDIOTICALLY, DROOLINGLY STUPID TO TRY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!?!"

That caught Zoicite off-guard. He reached up in surprise to touch a thin line of drool that had suddenly gone down the side of his mouth. "Errrrrrrrrr?"

"Neptune is strong enough to crack open your tiny skull with a single punch," Jadeite lectured. "Sailor Uranus can blast your body to itty bitty fragments…" He held up a pair of fingers, an inch apart. "…this big. Sailor Pluto knows your future and is stronger than the other two combined!" He bared his teeth. "AND SAILOR SATURN CAN DESTROY AN ENTIRE PLANET, YOU GIGGLING LOON!!!"

Zoicite blinked, frowned, and looked down, ashamed of himself. He took a step back. "I-I-I'm not droolingly stupid!" he shouted back defiantly.

"Yes you are," Jadeite replied, holding up a Polaroid picture of Zoicite sleeping. Drool seeped out of the effeminate general's mouth, coating half his pillow.

Zoicite gasped, covering his mouth. "But… but…!!!"

"So," Jadeite was still clearly angry, but his tone was a great deal more controlled now, "before you go on spouting your insanities before Our Great Queen…" He took a deep breath to aid his efforts to calm himself. "…try to think things through a little more."

"I'm sorry," Zoicite said in a small voice, his ego shattered for the time being. He backed off into the shadows, streams of tears flowing out of his eyes. "Really sorry!"

Queen Beryl smiled darkly, pleased to have such a strong, intelligent general under her command. "Oh, do not be so hard on poor little Zoicite. He is new at this, you must remember."

"I," Jadeite said, turning back to his leader, "had to make myself clear."

Beryl laughed a short evil queen's laugh. "I understand. What are your plans?"

The image to the left of the general shifted to a map of a small section of Tokyo. "I have strategically placed a few of my youma in schools to gather a great deal of energy over a short period of time." The display showed Furinkan High's imposing figure. "Here, in these places of education, I have discovered an excellent source of energy: the students. My youma, Fortranda, has selected an early morning class of especially dedicated students attending this particular institution. They are full of energy."

"When can we expect results?"

Jadeite smiled. "Within the hour, my Queen."

Usagi's heart beat uncontrollably as she ran along the dark corridors of a strange, alien castle.

She halted abruptly at a four-way junction. From behind her, she could hear the skittering and chattering of unknown creatures, undoubtedly pursuing her.

Looking to the left, the girl could see the approach of a flickering light, and heard a long peel of malevolent laughter. To her right, a hulking monster with large tusks and sharp teeth bounded down the hallway.

Usagi took the straight path, and saw the black wall fade away, replaced by a blue sky and white, puffy clouds. She ran, ran, and leapt upwards.

Riding like a rocket on a stream of sparkling dust, she felt her fear melt away. Up and up she went.

The clouds in front of her parted, and little by little, she saw the dark, striking form of Tuxedo Kamen approach from deep within the mist.

Yes, the man came closer, closer, and closer. Usagi could see his handsome face, despite the mask and the top hat.

The girl suddenly felt her feet grow very cold.

Tuxedo Kamen smiled at her, then knelt down beside her. "Usagi," he whispered, grasping her toes.

The blonde gasped as she felt herself being tickled.

"Usagi?" Tuxedo Kamen asked her.

"Y-yes?" Usagi replied between giggles.

"Wake up," the masked man said plainly.

The girl blinked. "Huh?"

Tuxedo Kamen grew impatient and dug his claws deep into the adolescent's feet, shouting, "Usagi-chan, WAKE UP!!!"

"WAAAAH!" Usagi suddenly sat upright. Her dream slowly faded. The clouds became her bed, and Tuxedo Kamen shifted and blurred into a small, black cat. "Luna!"

The crescent-moon-marked cat sighed. "You certainly are a deep sleeper." She shook her head.

"Am not," Usagi denied.

"Are too," Luna insisted.

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"AM NOT!" Usagi sat up and shouted.

In the next room, the monitor that Shingo was playing games on developed yet another miniscule, but eventually fatal, crack.

"Humph," Luna huffed and turned her head, "I stand corrected." She looked back at the girl. "I hope you haven't forgotten what we need to be doing right now."

"Of course not! We need to," Usagi fidgeted, "get started on my science project that's due today at the beginning of class?"

Luna's eyes widened for a second. "Errr, you didn't finish that?!" She shook her head quickly, her expression returning to normal. "No! I mean… Yes! But that's not the most important thing we should be worried about right now."

"Then what?"

"We still need to find the Moon Princess, remember? She's in danger from the Dark Kingdom."

Usagi yawned. "Can't that wait until after breakfast?"

"No! Now!"

"I think you're getting waaaay too obsessive about this. The Princess is gonna be okay for another couple a' minutes. She's got those people protecting her, remember?"

"But—"

"No buts, Luna," Usagi interjected in a commanding tone, "I am getting five more minutes of sleep, and no force on this planet is going to stop me." She pulled the covers over her face. "Nobody."

*KA-BLAAAM! * BLAM! * BLAM! * BRR-RR-RR-RRRT!*

Suddenly, the explosive sounds of a nearby life and death struggle rang out and a deep, penetrating alien voice split the air.

[YOUR WARRIORS HAVE ENGAGED THE ENEMY!!!!!!]

"AAAH!" the blonde cried, literally leaping out of bed.

[EN TARO ADUN!!!] *BZREOW!*BZREOW!*

*RRRK!*SQUELCH!*RAAAWWRR!* There were sickening crunching and squelching noises as another vicious alien brood bit the dust.

"USAGI, GET UP NOW AND GET READY FOR SCHOOL OR ELSE!!!" Usagi's mother called from downstairs. "THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO, SHINGO!"

"Awww, Mom!" Shingo called from his room. "I just got started!"

"NOW, YOUNG MAN!"

"One of these days, I'm gonna flatten that stupid computer of his!" growled Usagi, desperately trying to cover her ears with her pillow. "Then I'm burning all his CDs!"

Luna gave a lopsided nod in half-agreement.

[WE FEEL YOUR PRESENCE.] *BZRRRRRR*BZRRR-ZRRRR!*

To be continued…

Author's notes: So, how was that for an opening setup? If anyone sees ways to improve it, I would be happy to take your suggestions into consideration. Some suggestions can make whole scenes, while others merely require the modification of a line or two for the adaptation process. I don't care what the problem is, so long as the story ends up improved.

I've almost lost count of the people that have helped out with this over the past year. Jussi Nikander, Larry Fontenot, Jason Hanks, Joseph Fenton, Jared Ornstead… If I forgot to mention anyone, please feel free to speak up and be thanked in public!

…What? Okay, so I'm an insecure perfectionist. Later! ^-

Benjamin A. Oliver
boliver@email.arizona.edu

Webmaster: Larry F
Last revision: January 7, 2006