Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC.

"Twen'y out a' eighteen?! S'pose it could work…"

Yes, I got another tidbit done, and I saw that it was the perfect size for another little post. Oddly enough, it still demanded to be part of Chapter 10, part 2. The reason for this is obvious: I have no clue what I'm doing.

Well, I might have a clue, but that's all. Actually, when I finish what is now considered part 10-2 and give it a nice spitshine, I am going to further confuse the masses by renumbering all the chapters, chopping them up and redesignating most sections "Books" and chapters as subsections.

Actually, we're all mad here.

Chapter 10-2M

In a lavish Dark Kingdom equivalent of an apartment, which consisted mainly of hard black stone and jagged cavern walls with a stalactite-jutting roof, one General debriefed the other on how the seek-and-destroy mission had gone.

"The search-and-destroy mission went flawlessly. It just turned out that we weren't the hunters," Zoicite whispered weakly in a rather lame attempt at humor. Her jacket was off and her chest was thickly bandaged. She laid facing upwards on a rectangular stone slab. The blonde took a breath, trying to reassure herself that she was, in fact, still capable of doing so. "Am I going to live?"

Kunzite nodded reassuringly. "Of course. You'll be up and around in no time," he said as he read through her last will and testament, which he had cunningly forged, to be certain that there were no problems or loopholes to prevent him from getting everything. The only task remaining was to get her to sign it…

Soon afterward, pair of servant youma zipped up the body bag and tossed it into the flow-through sewer system, where it disappeared, never to be seen again.

Zoicite awoke once more, sitting up with a gasp. She hadn't really been thrown out, but her current disorientation made her feel like she might as well have been. "Unnnnhh, it still hurts…"

"What do you expect?" Kunzite whispered, gently rubbing the other's hand. "He put his sword through your heart. Had you been any slower in returning and had I taken any longer in getting to you, then you would have been very, very dead."

SPOILSPORT, Death sighed, and disappeared through the wall.

"Did you just say something?" Zoicite asked, peering into the poorly lit chamber.

"I was just saying that you are very lucky that you're still with us," Kunzite murmured. "And you must be quite delirious, Zoicite. Because earlier, I thought you said that you discovered that the Starlight Knight was really Admiral Knight— or, StarKnight— whatever."

"He is," the female general insisted.

"That's impossible. He died back before we destroyed the Moon Kingdom!"

"I know, but he came, and he killed EVERYONE!"

Kunzite shook his head. "I saw him die, Zoicite! Twice." He paused and considered his last statement. "Oh, I see your point," he deadpanned.

"What're we gonna do?" the blonde moaned, drawing Kunzite closer. "What are we going to do?!"

"Well," Kunzite hesitated, "did you say that the rest of the Sailor Scouts were incapacitated?"

"They were rather worn down, if that's what you're asking."

"And the Starlight Knight— Admiral Tim— will likely have departed by now?"

"I don't know; this is the first time I've fought him! For all I know, he's gone back and set up defenses!"

The Fourth General glanced sideways at the woman and shook his head. "I know you are in pain, and have just been fiercely startled, but there's no need to go around second-guessing ourselves and overestimating our enemy. After all, the Scouts and the Admiral were all defeated, eventually."

"But they keep coming back!"

Kunzite frowned. "Yes, I can see how that would be a problem." Suddenly, he stood. "But that's no reason to give up the fight. If they keep coming back to haunt us, then we'll keep coming back to haunt them!"

*Vrrrr…*

"What do you mean?" Zoicite blinked in the faint light and noticed a faint hum building up in the background. "You mean, we'll never give up until we've dominated Earth?"

"That too," Kunzite replied, his voice taking on a slight reverb as he spread his arms wide. Lightning started crackling around him. "But no, what I REALLY mean is that we will resurrect our fallen legions and give them power beyond their comprehension! Then, with hateful souls filled with the Spirit of Revenge, they will seek out the pitiful little Sailor Scouts and that idiotic Knight… and maybe even that wimpy tux-guy, too. And that cat… And all their little friends, and, and, and, and, and—"

*WHACK!* Zoicite smacked her boyfriend.

"Thank you. Ahem. Now, where was I?" The silver-haired man scratched his head in an attempt to put his scratched phonograph record of thought back on track.

"The resurrected monsters will seek them out—"

"Yes! They will seek them out and DESTROY them ONCE and for ALL! MWAHA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"You've finally gone mad," Zoicite noted, not without the slightest bit of satisfaction. "We just might be able to win…"

"Yes, sweet cherry blossom— we will win!" Kunzite clenched a fist at the other general. "Join with me now. Together, we can CRUSH these Sailor Scouts and brink CHAOS to the Terran Empire!"

"Err, I think most parts are democracies, not empires—"

"No matter! We will CRUSH them anyway." With an increasingly dramatic flair in his voice, Kunzite spun around, clicked his heels, and spoke into the wind, "ANCIENT SPIRITS OF REVENGE! TRANSFORM THIS DECAYED— ER!! REVIVE MY FALLEN MONSTERS AND GIVE THEM POWER BEYOND BELIEF; POWER TO DESTROY THE SAILOR SCOUTS FOREVER! BY THIS NAME, I CALL YOU, I CALL YOU—"

A large, black Ninja Mushroom popped out of the stonework in the floor. It squeaked, looking around with the marble tile on its head, then screeched and clamped down on Kunzite's heel with its huge, pointy teeth.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!" Kunzite screamed in pain.

"Scream?" Zoicite wondered in her doped-up state. Apparently, Nephrite's former youma doctor hadn't spared any expense in treating her condition.

In the next instant, the big, black 'shroom dove back down the hole, the stone tile clattering back into place behind it.

By the time Molly and Nephrite had hobbled off into the distance, Sailors Mars, Mercury, and Serena spent a minute or two composing themselves before heading off together. Behind them, a shape stood, emerging from the ashes of the battlefield.

"So, Nephrite's really Molly's dad," Serena mused while hefting Mars's weight on one shoulder and Mercury's on the other.

"We probably shouldn't leave her alone with him," Mars muttered softly. "Since he was working for the enemy a short while ago."

Serena stopped, the sudden jerking motion nearly toppling Mercury in the process. "Oh!" she said, realization slowly filling her eyes in much the same way that maple syrup fills a plate of pancakes. "So, maybe we should go back and keep an eye on them, for a while, at least…"

"Unnnh," Mercury groaned. "No, I think they'll be fine."

Mars started to slip from her friends' arm-over-neck hold. "I second that. Sailor Moon, keep walking!"

Serena's eyes were still wide as her slow-clocked brain went through the possibilities. "But what if he tries to drain her energy again? Shouldn't we be, like, you know, cautious?"

Mercury breathed in a long, slow sigh. "Look, Serena," she said, throwing secret identities and disguise powers to the wind for the moment, "I was in the hospital yesterday and nearly all of today. I went through a major operation, and some WEIRD MUSHROOM left its shoe in a major blood vessel! Plus, did you see everything I fired off at the monsters?!"

"Yeah," Serena managed a soft whisper. "So…?"

Mars cleared her throat. "We're tired, we're burnt out, and right now, we don't want caution. We want sleep!"

"Oh…"

The two weakened Scouts were mostly moving under their own strength, but still needed a little help in order to get home. The plan, Mercury had said, was to help Mars limp back to her shrine. Once that had been accomplished, Mercury would feel quite honored to be carried in Serena's arms to her apartment.

"You were kidding about me carrying you, right?" Serena hazarded.

"Most certainly not," Mercury replied succinctly.

"Mmmm, okay."

The trio had barely managed a few more steps when a terrible yell split the air behind them.

"WAAAAAAAAAA-HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA! I YAM ALLLIVE!!!"

Both Mars and Mercury shut their eyes. "Oh no, not again," they whispered together.

Serena craned her neck, looking over her shoulder to see something hanging back behind the shadows. "Ummm, what do we do?"

"Brace yourself, everyone," Mercury said, "because this is really going to hurt." She wedged her eyes shut, and Mars did likewise.

*SKKUURRRREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAMMMMUUUU!!!!*

A tremendously powerful sonic wave ripped through them, blasting the three girls loudly and painfully against a brick wall. They spasmed wildly as they fell to the ground, slamming into the concrete with a dull thud. A white smoke wafted off of them.

"Waaaaaah, that huuuurt!" Serena whined, not any particular mood to get back.

Mars grimaced and rolled over. "Ack…"

"I told you," Mercury noted, flat on her back. Wincing from the inhumanity of it all, she sat up and pulled out her computer, clicking her earring to activate her visor. She started typing things in.

Serena, feeling rather like a sack of potatoes that had just gone through a french-fry factory, looked up to see their attacker emerge into the light.

It definitely looked like one of the youma from earlier— the one that kept on screaming and blasting them with those sound waves. Except this time, it had grown half a meter taller and had bits of metallic red armor all over it, complete with a set of large spikes on the shoulders and huge, jutting teeth. In short, Scream had come back to life, more powerful and frightening than ever, as Scream II.

"ALL RIGHT, I'M GONNA GET'CHEW THREE DIS TIME!!!" Scream II announced through her exceptionally enlarged mouth. She held up a microphone and large speakers popped out from behind her back.

Mars scooted around, muttering something to herself.

"Uh, so, anybody got any ideas?" Serena whispered urgently.

"Ideas, yes," Mercury whispered back. "Power, no."

"HAH-HAH!" Scream II laughed. "YOU'RE OUTTA POW-ERRR! NYAHNI-NYAH-NI-NYAH-NYAH!" She pulled down her small eyelid and blew a long and slobber-filled raspberry at them.

"Source of all power," Mars whispered loud enough so that the big-mouthed youma could hear.

"WHA—?" Scream II peered at them strangely. "WHAT'CHEW TRYIN'?"

"Yaaay!" Serena exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Mars still has some power!"

"Light which burns beyond crimson flame," the Fire Scout continued, holding up a hand at Scream II's face. A loud hum like the charging of a giant capacitor permeated the area. "Let thy power gather in my hand…"

The youma's face went into a rather large frown.

Serena dragged herself to her feet and pointed a finger at the enhanced youma. "Now you're gonna get it!"

Scream II peered dumbly at Mars's gloved hand.

"LIGHTNING!!!" Mars cried, her hair turning white again.

From the monster's perspective, the world suddenly burst into an impossibly bright whiteness. "GWAAAAAH! MY EYES!!!" she screamed, recoiling backwards and clutching at the upper part of her face.

With a mechanical sense of purpose, Mercury jumped to her feet and ran with such speed that it would have taken a slow-motion camera and lots of sound effects to get the full impact. Dragging her companions behind her, she launched herself into a distant alleyway, where she and her friends collapsed.

"Good work, Mercury! Wow, you sure can run fast," Serena congratulated. "And what was that, Mars?"

"A light spell," Mars explained, the color slowly returning to her hair. She took several deep, gasping breaths and added, "I don't think I can do any more anytime soon…"

"Me either," Mercury admitted, red in the face from the effort. "You're absolutely certain that you can't transform?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah, watch." She unclasped the brooch from the front of her outfit and held it up. "Moon Prism Power!"

*Bzzzrt* The magical object sparked and spluttered a bit before all signs of power faded away.

"Can you fix it, Mercury?" the blonde pleaded.

The blue-haired girl shook her head. "Give me a few days and a fully-stocked lab and I might be able to come up with something, but not like this."

"How about that crystal you were using earlier?" Mars asked.

"What? This?" Mercury took out the Totally Cosmic Power Crystal. It had regained a little of its former luster, but it was still quite dark.

Serena clicked open the Moon Transformation Brooch. It was normally bolted shut, but its recent damage had broken several of the rivets. Inside was what looked like the magical equivalent of electronics, and at the center, was a clear gem, broken into a dozen tiny fragments.

Mercury handed over the Crystal. "Here, try it."

Serena dumped the broken bits of diamond into one hand and tried to put Mercury's in its place. It didn't quite fit. "Umm, I can't get it in." She replaced the broken bits and returned the darkened crystal to its owner.

"Then I'm out of ideas," Mercury said.

Serena would have been biting her nails if it weren't for the gloves she had on. "What do we do???"

As if in reply, Sailor Mars's magical cell phone started to ring. Her eyes widened, as did everyone else's. She clicked the talk button and held it to her ear. "Hello?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at Serena. "Yeah, she's here." She handed the phone over to the blonde. "It's for you."

Serena blinked. "Really?" She put the communications device up to her ear. "Hello? What?" She frowned and yanked off her boot, staring into it. "Six and a half. Why—?" She tilted her head and put her footwear back on. "No, I DON'T want to save eight cents off of every long distance call!" She clicked the talk button, cutting the connection. "Oooh, why do they have to follow me everywhere?!"

The other two Sailor Scouts groaned in discomfort and disbelief. Then the Mars Cell phone rang again.

Serena turned it on again and asked, "What is it now?!"

It would be more or less at this point where a split-screen phone conversation would be appropriate. The cheerfully happy face of Kasumi Incognito appeared on one side and Serena's countenance remained on the other.

The woman held a hand to her cheek. "Oh my. Did I catch you at a bad time? I can call back later, if you'd like."

"We're kind of in the middle of something," Serena admitted, "but it's great to hear a friendly voice…" She gasped as something important occurred to her. "Is Terra there?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Kasumi replied, her voice fluently apologetic, "Terra can't come to the phone right now. Her grandmother would be very disappointed if she had to leave right now. Actually, that's why I called. She said she felt something bad might be happening, and wanted me to check up on you." She brightened. "How are you doing, by the way?"

Serena considered her response, remembering that Mrs. Incognito already knew all of their secret identities and there would be little point in hiding anything from her. "Well, we're not doing all that great. We stopped a small army of youma with the Starlight Knight's help," she blushed and giggled slightly at the memory, "but after that, we got all tired and started to head home—"

"Cut to the chase," Mars ordered.

"I-I mean," Serena stuttered while nodding at her friend, "one of the monsters came back to life and we're sort of pinned down in an alleyway and my prism's broken and Mars and Mercury are all tired out and, and, and… Could you please, please, PLEASE let Terra come and help out? I know she got hurt last time, but we really, really need her right now!"

Concern filled Kasumi's face. "Oh my. That's terrible. I would let her go, but she still isn't felling very well. She probably wouldn't be of much help anyway." She shook her head. "Her condition is very delicate. I'm sorry, I just can't let her go right now."

Serena nodded grimly. "Okay, so what can we do, then?"

The ponytailed woman put a hand to her chin in thought. "Hmm, have you tried out all of your most powerful attacks yet?"

"Oh yeah, a WHOLE bunch!" Serena frowned. "But we kinda ran out…"

"Oh, that's right. Did you get any special power-ups recently?"

"Sailor Mercury got these crystals and was Super Sailor Mercury for a while, but she's now run out of power and so have they."

"Hmm, anything else?"

"Uhhh. Sailor Mars has these spells she's been trying out…"

"Did she try out all the ones she knows?"

"Uh huh. But her hair turned white and she collapsed."

Mars looked over at the blonde. "Hey, I'm getting better!"

"Oh my," Kasumi added, rubbing her neck. "Do you have your Destined, True-Love Prince with you?"

"Destined, True-Love Prince?" Serena asked with a raised eyebrow. On a whim, she glanced around. Nobody there but Mars, Mercury, and the rats. "Not exactly… The Starlight Knight left already."

"Oh dear, that certainly cuts our options down. Have you had any dreams about a Pegasus?"

Serena started scratching her head, idly wondering from where Terra's mother was coming up with this stuff. "Uh, no. Not since I was six, anyway…"

Kasumi rested her cheek on her hand. "Hmm, this isn't a simple problem, is it?"

"Nope."

"Do you have any wands or anything you haven't used yet?"

"No," Serena quickly replied, then remembered that she did. She pulled out the Crescent Moon Wand. "Weeeeeell, just this crescent moon stick-thingy here."

Kasumi's smile suddenly grew so large that she had to close her eyes in order to maintain it. "Oh! That's very nice. You should try it out."

Serena laughed nervously. "Er, I don't know how. Nobody ever told me how to use it."

"Does it have a crystal on it?" Kasumi asked.

The girl checked. "Uhhh, yeah, a red one, on the handle."

Mrs. Incognito's expression fell slightly. "Just that one? Hmm. That's not good." She shrugged. "But it's okay! Try saying 'Muun Hiringuu Escarayshuun'. That usually works."

Serena's jaw dropped. "…Say WHAT?"

"Well, just," Kasumi breathed haltingly, trying to come up with the proper way to explain the ideas she had, "swing it around until you think of something to say. That should work."

Serena started swinging around the Wand. Nothing came to mind.

"Watch it," Mars warned, after the standing fourteen-year-old beaned her on the head.

"Oh! Sorry," the unpowered Moon Scout apologized, then spoke into the phone. "Nothing's happening."

"That's not right," Kasumi said softly. "Oh, wait, did you say your prism was broken?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah, that's what I've been trying to say…"

Kasumi looked off to the side. "Oh!" She turned her attention back to her phone conversation. "Terra wants to know if you have anything that can inject high energy photons into the crystalline matrix."

Serena looked down at Mercury. "Umm, do we have anything that can interject high-synergy futons into, umm…?"

"I heard what she said," Mercury replied, and patted her outer thighs. "And I'm afraid we're fresh out." She irritably tilted her gaze upwards. "Look, is she just making wild guesses, or how does she know all of this?"

"We'll have to do it the old fashioned way, then," Kasumi said. "We will use all of your combined love to give you your powers back!"

"Yeah!" Serena exclaimed. "That sounds more like it."

Kasumi nodded. "Yes. Here's how you do it. Think of someone you love— one of your friends, maybe. Who do you love the most?"

Serena rubbed her neck. "Umm…"

"Well, better yet, think of everyone you love."

"Okay…" The blonde started concentrating as hard as she could. If anyone could have seen the thought bubble hanging over her head, they would have seen the following: First, her mother and her father appeared, then came her younger brother Sammy. His image flickered in complete indecision for a moment before solidifying. Next came her friends. Molly came into focus, then Amy and Terra. Raye's image had trouble appearing, but it managed. Next came the handsome guy at the arcade, and a few other of her acquaintances. Darien's image wavered deep into the background, and some more friends.

"That's it," Kasumi said, "you can do it. Try just a little harder. It takes a powerful love to bring your powers back."

Serena nodded, and then her heart skipped a beat when, at the forefront appeared an image that outshadowed them all. The Starlight Knight came into focus in the tall, dark, and handsome way that she remembered him. Her mind went through the dozens of occasions that he'd rescued her and then passed by the memory of how he defeated the remainder of the attacking youma army.

A surge of emotions rushed through the girl's body when she examined once more the memory of how he proclaimed his love for her, then the moment went through her mind when he took her into his large, powerful arms and kissed her.

Mars and Mercury watched the grand smile appear on Serena's face grow larger. Her eyes closed and tears of joy flowed down her cheeks.

"He loves me!" Serena breathed. One after another, her tears cascaded down upon the golden brooch. It flashed in reply as each touched it, growing brighter with each small splash. When the last fell, the broken disc shifted form, wavering into a heart-shaped locket, slightly larger than the disc had been. It was red in the center and had gold lining, topped with three small gems.

"Wow," Mars whispered.

"It worked," Mercury noted.

"Good!" Kasumi beamed. "It worked, I can hear it. When you're ready, hold up the prism and say whatever seems most appropriate to you."

Still in a state of complete bliss, Serena nodded and held up the glowing gold brooch.

"AHAH! I HAVE YOU NOW! WHEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOW!!"

The sudden blast of vibrating air molecules not only ended the split-screen phone conversation, it also knocked all three girls back against the brick wall on the opposite end of the alley. They fell to the ground and groaned.

Scream II stalked forward through the alleyway, her face full of menace. And, given the tremendous size of that face, an exceptional amount of this particular brand of menace was being displayed.

"Do it now!" Kasumi called through the phone, which had fallen behind a dumpster.

"Right!" Serena said, grimacing. She fumbled around for the new locket, and found it after a moment. She stood, then held it up and shouted, "MOON STARLIGHT HONEY-LOVIN'-SQUISHIN' POWER, MAKE-UP OR BREAK-UP!!!"

"HUH?!" Scream II asked, cocking a large eyebrow at the girl.

"Whoa," noted Sailor Mercury, shielding her eyes with one arm.

The entire section of the city lit up brightly, shafts of light shooting out the alley, scorching bricks and searing concrete. Mars and Mercury hid behind a pair of garbage cans, whose contents promptly burst into flames.

Some transformation music would have been appropriate more or less at this moment, whether it was high-pitched celestial chimes or some down and dirty heavy metal. Either would have been quite appropriate.

Serena's glistening body twirled around midair in an oval of brightness, her extremely long ponytails flowing around her. She thrust a finger into the air and a big bunch of pink bows encased her body, forming her white, swimsuit-like, sailor-style leotard. Red ribbons winked into place at the center of her chest, bound by the heart-shaped brooch. She crossed her arms in front, allowing her elbow-length, red-rimmed white gloves to form. Her white-rimmed red boots with the crescent-moon motif appeared next, then her blue pleated skirt. A glowing heart appeared on her forehead, from which sprouted a golden tiara with a red, heart-shaped gem at the center. At the same time, crescent-shaped earrings formed and red, circular gems appeared on the buns of her hair.

When Sailor Moon finally struck her patented wide-stance pose-salute with the big, glowing crescent moon behind her, the entire transformation sequence was complete.

Badly scorched, Scream II had to wait for her eyes to regenerate before she could tell what was going on. She picked her huge cranium off the pavement and listened to one of the girls speak.

"Kicking people while they're down is foul play! Trying to kill helpless girls on their way home after such a rough day is unforgivable!"

"WHADDA— HUH!?!" Scream II gibbered when the girl's image wavered into view.

"For LOVE and meting out JUSTICE, I am the BEAUTIFUL, sailor-suited soldier," the blonde exclaimed while going through a whole bunch of flashy and obviously unnecessary poses, "SAILOR MOON! Just here to let you know that I right wrongs and I DO triumph over evil— which means you— and in the name of the Moon, and my friends, and my family, AND my favorite knight in shining armor, the Starlight Knight," she took a deep breath, "I WILL punish you!!!"

The word "yipe" hadn't entered into the youma's vocabulary. Then again, it wasn't a very smart monster to begin with. Actually, that went a long way toward explaining why the beast laughed confidently, put her hands on her hips and cried, "OH YEAH?!! WELL, I'M GONNA GETCHA!"

With an iron gaze, Sailor Moon stared down Scream II and challenged her, pounding a fist to her chest and saying, "Take your best shot, punk."

"YAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Scream II sent a huge burst of sonic waves directly at the girl.

Sailor Moon whipped out the Crescent Moon Wand, twirled it between her fingers for a second, spun around a few times, and thrust it into the air.

*WRING-WRING-WRING!!!* A sphere of light focused itself between the tips of the Wand, growing larger and more concentrated before Sailor Moon braced herself and held her weapon forward, shouting, "Moon Cutey Heart-Throbbing Reflex Missile!!!"

The energy pulsated for a second, like a fast-beating heart, then shot itself directly at Scream II. The blast dissipated the youma's attack as if it were a light breeze, then impacted directly on her chest.

*KERBLAAAAAAAAAAM!!!*

Scream II wailed in pain as the shot tore her apart, the energy burning her with its pure light. The buildings for miles around rattled as if by a minor earthquake. "@#%@$^&@$&@#$&@$&@!!!" was all the monster could think to say as it went through the utter vaporization process.

When it ended, a small mushroom cloud and a strong gust of wind was all that remained of the attacking creature.

Sailor Moon did a quick pirouette, twirled her wand around some more, then put it away and struck a victory pose.

"Show off," Sailor Mars muttered, climbing out from behind the garbage can.

"Good work," Sailor Mercury said, using the wall to help her efforts to stand back up. She looked her blonde friend over from head to toe. "It would appear that you have your powers back."

"And then some," Mars added, trying to avoid letting anyone know that she was seriously impressed.

The Mars Cell phone rang again. The black-haired girl stumbled over and picked it up. "Hello?" She frowned and held it over to Sailor Moon. "It's for you again."

Sailor Moon rubbed her hands together for joy, breathing quickly and bouncing up and down like a happy-boinky rodent on way too much sugar. "All right!" She took the phone. "Hiya there!"

The aforementioned split-screen conversation resumed.

"Hello, Sailor Moon," Kasumi greeted sweetly. "How did it go?"

"It went GREAT!" Sailor Moon replied with great, big, sparkling eyes. "THANK you for calling!"

Kasumi nodded. "That's very nice. We normally reserve this sort of thing for when we need a really big upgrade to fend off some huge interstellar threat," she mentioned, almost offhandedly. "It would have been better with a proper crystal, though. But I think it'll be okay for a while with what you've got right now."

Sailor Moon took a deep breath to revel in her newly regained power for a moment. "Oh yeah, I love it! I'd like to see those NegaCreeps try something right now!" She tried a few fast experimental punches, which made sharp whooshing noises in the air. Then she stopped, frowned, and started fidgeting when the paradox hit her right square in the noggin. "Er, Mrs. Incognito? How did you know about all this stuff?"

Kasumi blushed. "Well, you, um, sort of have to know these things when you're a mother." She laughed a pleasantly nervous laugh. "I hope you had fun dusting the monster! B'bye!"

*Click!* And thus ended the Split-Screen Phone Conversation.

Sailor Moon stared at the phone for a second before shrugging cluelessly and handing it back to Sailor Mars.

"All right," Mars said. "Let's go home." She looked down the long street and recalled just how long of a walk it was to the shrine. "Oh, forget it." She opened up the Mars Cell phone and started dialing. "I'm calling us a taxi."

To be continued.

Author's notes: Some people might have wanted a bit more, so I sent this part in. Others may still be stuck at the first couple of sections, waiting for the thing to be completed. Yet others may not have cared at all. ^_^

"Awl part a' th' job, Oye s'pose. Roight. G'day, then!"

Oh! And I'd like to know what everyone would like to see in the upcoming part where Terra talks with Grandma. Any preferences?

Benjamin A. Oliver
boliver@email.arizona.edu

"Got'cher four major food groups roight here: Pork, Beans, Bacon, and Lard!"
—An ill-tempered Red ArbyFish chef

Don't complain about the food. Just… don't complain about the food!

Webmaster: Larry F
Last revision: January 7, 2006