[SM/Xover][FanFic] A Soldier's Duty, chapter 2

[metro...@mindspring.com]

A Soldier's Duty

4th Labor Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER characters owned by others, mainly Naoko Takeuchi. rest of this
mess by metro...@mindspring.com. i'm trying to take the typical fic of
this kind and at least put a different twist or spin in it. Let me know if
i'm succeeding.

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life,
when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic
about." - Charles Kingsley

=============

The ambulance had come and gone, as with the motorist that had run over the
boy present, and Usagi unable to transform to Sailor Moon, there hadn't been
a lot else that could have been done. Otherwise the broken and unconscious
heap could have had a Healing Escalation.

Those who knew Ami and her mother knew that Ami's mom would never have
raised her voice over the phone to her daughter. Watching Ami wilt further
during the phone conversation, they could only guess at what was said.

Usagi wondered that if studying and reading were Ami's usual joys, would she
be punished by having to play video games?

Rei waited until Ami had returned, a quiet lump in her usual spot at the
table, before relating the stories of her visions relating to this Grey
actually being a reincarnated warrior named Basalt.

"Basalt?" Artemis thought for a few moments. "I remember him!"

Luna frowned. "I don't. Are you sure about this?"

Artemis nodded happily. Maybe he could "fix" one of the girls up with him.
It was clear that Ami didn't want him. Besides Ami wasn't interested in
guys, just studying. "We commiserated many times on... that doesn't matter."
He had been about to say that they got together and talked about how
miserable the women in their respective lives had made them. Which would
probably not go over that well in this company. "I remember once he sent me
some salmon cakes back when I was... having some difficulties. A real prince
of a fellow in some ways."

"He's an ally?" Makoto slumped in place at the table. "Why did he have to be
such a jerk?"

"He's always had troubles relating to women, in this life too it seems."
Artemis winced, seeing the same comment in more than Luna's eyes that
Artemis *did* share some qualities with Basalt. "It's also very likely he
doesn't remember his Silver Millenium incarnation at all."

Ami slumped a little more. In fact it began to look as if Ami and Makoto
were having a guilt contest.

Running in third place, Rei weakly smiled. "Uhm. So, Ami, is your mother..."

"Not very happy. I explained it was an accident, but..." Ami felt about
twelve inches high at this point. "Concussion, hairline fracture at the jaw,
another in the third right rib, broken right elbow, multiple fractures left
foot, broken right collarbone..."

"...but I didn't hit him in the ribs. And his foot was run over while he was
lying in the street. I didn't..." Makoto hung her head. An ally. They
finally had an ally besides Tuxedo Kamen and it turned out to be a kid a
whole year younger, and she had managed to put him in the hospital.

Artemis frowned, thinking. There was something else about Basalt but he
couldn't remember what. His memory had proven fairly unreliable, but he
thought he almost had it. Oh yes, he was a second Uncle, twice removed (or
something like that) to Venus in a previous life. (Silver Millenium
genealogy tended to be rather convuluted.) Which meant that he was minor
nobility. Hmmm. They had some unattached princesses who were looking for a
boy, and minor nobility meant that the bloodlines wouldn't be weakened by
mixing with commoners. Knowing that this was one of Luna's buttons (she had
been BIG on family lines back then), Artemis figured that once he explained
it to Luna, the two of them could figure out who'd be a good choice to pair
up with the boy.

That was, Artemis appended, if they could overcome a *really* bad set of
first impressions.

Ami listened for a while to the swirling conversation around her, then got
up. "I think it would be best if I visited my fiance in the hospital. I
think we kind of got off on the wrong foot."

"Boy is that an understatement." Minako ignored the reactions to *her*
making such a statement. "Well, don't worry too much, Ami-chan. Remember
that it is always better to drop your britches before you cross them."

Rei fell over. Ami turned bright red. Usagi scratched her head.

Ami let out a deep breath. "That's 'don't burn your bridges before you cross
them'." Ami stopped, realizing that she'd gotten so out of sorts that she
didn't even remember how that old saying went. "I think I'd better get
going."

---------

Doctor Mizuno found the boy and the room had gotten a bit crowded. Why there
were so many nurses present, she wasn't sure. Sure, he wasn't Japanese, but
there were other gaijin about. And why was his blanket thrown back?

"AH?! Doctor Mizuno?! I... I mean we, we were just checking his..."

Kumori Mizuno eyed the panicked nurse, the "candy stripe" assistants, and
all the others showing signs of distress and embarassment. She looked
puzzled and then at the still unconscious boy. Eyes twitching under his
lids, slight jerking motions at the extremities, all signs of REM sleep,
even his...

Ami's mother cleared her throat. "Well, you've checked his catheter
placement. Now give the poor boy some privacy."

Watching with some amusement as the various nurses scurried out, Dr. Mizuno
covered the boy with the blanket, her eyebrow still raised. "Well, well.
Daughter, this boy might not meet your standards in some manners, but he
certainly won't disappoint you in others."

----------

Elsewhere:

"URD!"

"Hey, I couldn't help it! It's been a running joke since the beginning of
his Second Labor anyway. How could the Cupid of Love resist?"

"Maybe the Cupid of Love *should* resist. Yeesh."

----------

Ami and her friends, there mainly for support, waited at the nurse's station
for a few moments when the conversation going on in front of them caught
their attention.

"Do you suppose *all* American boys..."

"...never seen one like that before..."

"...don't think it would fit..."

"...don't know about THAT, but can you imagine..."

"I heard the boy has a Japanese fiancee, and she and her friends beat him up
and threw him into traffic for being hentai."

"With THAT, he might not have any choice about being hentai."

"Heck, he's only fifteen. Imagine when he's grown up."

"Maybe it's just swelling. He could have a crush injury." A nurse with long
hair, which seemed to have a faint dark green highlight to it, said over her
shoulder as she walked away.

Ami twitched. She was good at math. American + 15 year old + male + beat up
by some girls. The rest of the conversation wasn't too clear to her. Just
enough for more frequent flyer miles on Guilt Airlines.

"Well, *I* heard that she didn't want him and he didn't even have a chance
to get hentai. She just assaulted him and tried to kill him. Some girls are
like that you know, don't stain the Japanese heritage kind of thing."

Ami twitched again.

"Geez, you'd think she'd at least try it out first."

"Excuse me, what exactly are you talking about?" Usagi asked innocently,
though her friends weren't quite sure either. Just that it involved hentai.

"Excuse me, but... I'm Doctor Mizuno's daughter. Is room 412 taking
visitors?"

There was much staring from the nurses. Ami wilted slightly.

"He's unconscious, but there's no reason you can't see him," allowed one of
the nurses. "He was given a shot for pain that pretty much knocked him flat
out. Low tolerance apparently."

"Thank you," Ami said, bowing slightly. What *had* the women been talking
about? Other than her apparently emerging reputation for being violent and
anti-gaijin? And he'd recovered consciousness but been in such pain they'd
had to knock him out again? Ami had been feeling somewhat ill since the boy
had landed in the street, this was continuing to increase.

Getting to the room, Ami and Makoto both WINCED. Feeding tube in one arm,
head all bandaged up except for a slit around the eyes, dark circles around
those eyes, a cast covering one foot up to just below the knee, his chest
covered in bandages. He was the very picture of someone who had gotten very
severely messed up.

"Yeesh, he looks more like someone who tried to take on Godzilla." Minako
heard Makoto whimper and patted her on the shoulder, trying to come up with
something reassuring to say. "Hey hey, Mako-chan. You know what they say.
'You can't make an omiai without breaking a few legs!'"

Rei winced. "You're not helping. And that's 'you can't make an omelet
without breaking a few eggs' Minako."

Makoto slumped further. Not only had she lost her temper and beaten up Ami's
fiance, who might be an ineffectual ally but still was apparently an ally,
but what was his opinion of Japanese girls going to be with *that* kind of
introduction. Maybe she could spontaneously master the ninja Art Of Stealth
and sink through the floor now.

The blanket had been bunched up, so, still feeling severely guilt ridden,
Ami tried to straighten it.

"What's this?" Usagi asked, tugging on a tube that went under the blanket.

Ami, puzzled herself momentarily, lifted the blanket again to trace its
length up to...

Ami STARED. "Oh my."

"Huh? What?" Usagi looked at Ami's reaction, traced her friends gaze.
"AAAAAAA!"

"What?!" Minako asked, her own curiosity piqued. "OH MY DEAR LORD!"

"Eeeep!" Rei eeped, turning the same shade of red as her senshi uniform's
skirt.

"Now THAT reminds me of my old sempai."

"HUH?!!!!" Lest anyone doubt, there was a mass facefault accompanying that.

Makoto shook her head vigorously, sending little sweatdrops everywhere. "Not
that I ever played doctor with my old sempai or peeked on him in the bath.
Nononono!" Makoto finished with a little laugh.

"Ohhhh?!" Almost everyone had focussed their attention on Makoto now. It was
safer.

Ami still stared, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Technically she
knew from studying anatomy that this wasn't unusual, it typically occurred
with men during REM sleep. A glance at what was visible of her fiance's face
did indeed reveal that his eyelids were twitching.

"You didn't kick him THERE did you, Mako-chan? It looks kind of swollen."
Ami decided that this was a MEDICAL case and to distance herself mentally
from the concept that this was her fiance.

"Nonononono!" Makoto tried to indicate this was not the case. Nope. She
didn't hit guys there. Not unless they REALLY deserved it. Heck, there were
Dark Kingdom Generals she wouldn't kick THERE. Very often. Well, maybe
Jadeite.

"Uhn," said Grey, moving his head.

*THWAM!* This was, as you might expect, the sound of several people trying
to occupy the exit at the same time. They might have been successful if
Usagi hadn't tripped and sent the whole group into a sprawling pile.

Usagi muttered briefly how glad she was that Luna wasn't here to see this.

Ami noticed she was staring at a pair of shoes, then let her gaze travel up.
"Oh, ah, Mother. Errr. I can explain."

Doctor Mizuno looked down at the pile of girls, ignoring Usagi's complaint
that "you guys are heavy" and looked into the room at the blanket that had
been left askew. Tsking lightly, the pediatrician resolved to have a little
talk with her daughter.

Later, though. Doing it in front of her friends might embarass her. Worse
than she already was, that is.

--------

"...I'm sure it's a Dark Kingdom plot... mumble mutter... get us to lower
our guard... mutter mumble... THEN they'll come in and reveal their true
plan... grumble gripe..."

Artemis winced a little as he heard Luna muttering. "Well, maybe the daimon
have some connection to the Dark Kingdom. Basalt, on the other hand, was
trusted by the Queen herself to perform delicate missions. Remember the
Alien Derelict?"

Luna stopped in mid-mutter and her hackles rose. "No, but just that phrase
gave me goosebumps and I'm a CAT!"

"Well, I can't remember that much myself," said Artemis, not for the first
time cursing their scattered memories. Mind you 100,000 years was a bit long
for suspended animation. Especially as the technique had been experimental.
"I just remember it because one of our little discussions was right after he
returned and the Queen hadn't classified the whole thing as Imperial Seal
yet. He was pretty badly shaken as I recall."

"Really, was it that bad?" Luna wondered how 'Alien Derelict' could manage a
security lock which was 'so secret you can't even tell yourself about it'.
That, of course, would have piqued the curiosity of everyone who'd heard
about it. The only level higher, Imperial Edict, would have required the
death or permanent memory erasure of everyone who knew about it.

"I don't remember," admitted Artemis. "I think he gave me some details but
you know what our memories are like. All I remember for certain is that he
had the shakes. Whatever went on there really got to him, and apparently he
confessed that the Queen had been sending him into more and more dangerous
missions of late."

"Ah HAH!" Luna wheeled on Artemis. "Why was THAT?! She had reason to suspect
him of disloyalty?"

Artemis winced again. "Well... apparently she'd been advised she was
spending too.." Artemis' eyes widened and he stiffened in shock.

Luna frowned, managing to show teeth. "Too much money? Too many of the
Kingdom's resources? Too much of the Crystal's resources?"

"...too much time with her Consort..." Artemis blinked, amazed at how
clearly the memory had just clicked into place. "I *remember* now. He was
*really* a wreck after the Queen dismissed him from the Court stating he was
unsatisfactory in the long run."

Luna puzzled over that. Probably not that good in the sack or something?
Well, a Queen had to have discerning tastes, it was in the job description
somewhere- Luna was sure. "So, a failed Consort? Think there was one or two
of those. Hmmph. She always did have trouble just dismissing her lovers
normally. Love and leave 'em, I say. Queens don't have the luxury of forming
relationships of the heart."

Artemis winced yet again, but noticed that Luna wasn't as hostile about his
old "drinking buddy". (Even if he'd never seen Basalt drink anything harder
than cider, and he'd most often gone for cream himself.)

Luna sat back on her haunches, considering. "Well then, if he was good
enough to make the cut for Consort, even if Serenity felt he couldn't keep
up later, and that might have just been she had her eye on someone else,
then he *is* suitable for a Princess."

"We could certainly use more allies," pressed Artemis. "Since he's here
about an engagement, if he fails with Ami (which looks likely) then he'd
need a new reason to stay. This new enemy looks pretty tough, and Sailor
Moon is currently unable to transform..."

"Hmmmm," hmmed the black mooncat as she considered who to match this Basalt
up with. ~Makoto? Maybe. Have to find a way to get him to look more like her
'old sempai' otherwise he's got an uphill battle. Definitely not good for
Ami though. Professional soldier & aspiring doctor? No, definitely not.
Minako! Definitely! She speaks English even better than Ami. Playing
matchmaker ON the 'Soldier of Love' - irresistable. It just *has* to be
done.~

Artemis sighed in relief. It looked like Luna was at least thinking about
it. ~Now who am I going to pair Basalt up with? Ami's not interested in
guys, just studying. Makoto maybe. Though maybe some advice on how to look
more like 'her old sempai' would help. Maybe Rei? Yuuichiro just seems to
bug her. Hmmm. Have to try both Rei and Makoto and see where it goes.~

"...or maybe Sailor Pluto..." seemed to whisper the breeze, but both
mooncats ignored it.

---------

Elsewhere/Elsewhen:

"He what?!" Jared blinked. Repeatedly.

"You heard me, he sent an e-mail with the files and schematics during his
First Labor," Edema glanced at the other elf and repressed a shudder.

"Can I see them?" asked Jared, distrusting the drow. They *were* the
darkness left over from the shattering of the elven races. The reason for
hundreds of thousands of elven deaths. Such things were neither lightly nor
easily forgotten.

Long nails traced a quick pattern in the air, and a computer clicked on to
display a 3D model. "Behold," Edema said, unable to resist being a bit of a
showman in this instance. "The Pheonix RuneGod."

Jared quickly flicked over the salient points. "Not robotechnology, not
protoculture driven." ~Good armor and forceshields though.~

"Ah'm a mage and a confectionary specialist, not an engineer," Edema
allowed. "Celeste, you're the techie of us three, what kinda jazz did he put
in this?"

"It's a combination of three types of technology, crafted of living metal,"
Celeste indicated. "Like a Valkyrie or similar mecha, it can transform. The
bird shape is surrounded by a plasma flame. The soldier configuration
concentrates the plasma into a sword shape. You'll notice the changes made
recently? Marionette technology, allowing for speed and reflexes surpassing
that of most pilots. The engine driving it is a tachyon chamber. The main
gun, located in the central chest there, is a..."

"Buster style weapon," finished Jared. "Soldier configuration would have 1/4
the power of the cannon compared to Pheonix configuration. A combination of
elements from Magic Knight Rayearth, Star Blazers, Five Star Stories, and
Gatchaman. He was still trying to be useful, apparently. What's that second
cockpit?"

"Another recent addition," Celeste said. Tech stuff *was* her provence after
all. "Direct interface with a marionette or combat cyborg frees up some
capabilities from internal computers and through the magical elements has a
possibility of increasing the marionette's abilities to the scale of the
mecha."

Jared briefly grinned, picturing a 60ft tall mecha using a to-scale World
Shaking or Moon Healing Activation. "So Grey was planning on building *that*
in an attempt to be useful?"

"There were some problems, namely time," indicated Edema. "He *was* trained
by Hephaestus, after all. Interfacing magic with machines is something he's
rather good at."

Jared's eyes flicked back to the drow. "So why show me this? What's your
angle?"

"My angle, as you so quaintly put it, is simple." Edema's golden eyes
regarded Jared impassively. "I want to know why you haven't dispelled the
Arrow Of Obsession that Shan hit Sakyo with."

Information for information? Jared nodded. A fair trade, and the dark elf
*might* have a legitimate reason for wanting to know.

---------

Ami sat in the chair provided for her as her mother hustled her friends off.
Having seen Makoto with her cigarettes, and as there was a patient being
treated for lung cancer scheduled for a blockage removal - knowing her
mother's recent anti-smoking mania they'd be getting shown around for
awhile.

Likely Makoto would get an up close and personal view of what blackened,
fluid filled, scabrous, lung tissue looked like. Yup. This might take a
while.

Ami fidgeted and tried to figure out what was expected of her.

She felt guilty, after all - it had been HER fault that her fiance had
wandered the streets and gotten rained on. She felt sympathy for the fellow,
as he'd been lost and most people would be a *little* irritable in such a
situation. Then a little admiration, he'd not done that bad for not speaking
the language and getting lost. And not many normal people would have tried
to come to Rei's rescue like that. That was a good quality, and Ami felt a
little pride that her fiance was at least brave. Not necessarily an
intelligent move, but a brave one, and perhaps his heart was in the right
place. Of course he could have been a LOT more effective, but Ami was
inclined to be generous. Then came around to guilt again because her friends
had possibly crippled him for life.

"Okay," said Ami aloud, trying to organize her thoughts. Naturally, being
mathematically inclined, she put together a plus and minus column.

PLUSES: He had some courage. According to Rei, he'd been someone named
Basalt - a soldier in the Silver Millenium. Therefore he wasn't likely to
come apart upon learning of their senshi identities - he was already
involved. Based on the suitcase they'd gone through looking for his
passport, he wasn't unintelligent either. Books on customs and language,
notebooks and newspaper clippings on Juuban had been present. Also a paystub
from some company called Waldenbooks. A boy who worked at a bookstore and
could get her a discount, well, that was definitely something for Ami's plus
column.

MINUSES: He wasn't particularly handsome. Rather average looking for a
gaijin. He *was* a gaijin as well. If Luna was right about Crystal Tokyo,
then this needn't be a permanent problem, but until then it was sticking
point. Gaijin often went through periods where they were tolerated, and an
Americajin would be confronted every time relations between the US and Japan
was strained - such as during the Gulf War. He might be intelligent, but he
was prone to act without thinking, or he'd have not attacked that "daimon"
threatening Rei. Brave but not terribly smart. He was also a year younger!
Scandalous! Well, at least if it was the girl who were older. He was just
slightly taller than herself, and she'd prefer someone... like Mamoru-kun
actually.

Ami ducked her head at THAT thought. It had been discussed several times
since the Queen Beryl days, NEVER when Usagi was around. Each and every one
of the Senshi felt they had more in common with Mamoru Chiba than Usagi
Tsukino. They were a Fated Couple, though, so Mamoru was off limits. Unless,
as Minako had jokingly suggested, they were to end up "sharing" him. Once it
had come out into the open, and several months later, another private
meeting had determined that it almost seemed Fated as well. Though if they
mentioned ANY of this in front of Usagi, she'd likely come unglued. While
Usagi might want more than one guy, she was not going to want to share the
one she had.

Deciding she'd study and hold her fiance's hand (guessing that this was what
she was *supposed* to do), Ami reached over to grab that errant hand. She
felt a spark at the contact and...

-----

Ami looked up at the polychrome sparkle that marked the dome that kept the
air inside. Cold air, blown from a shaft nearby, caused her sailorsuit's
skirt to flap. An errant memory told her this led to a Dimensional Gate,
which abounded a land of icy seas. The bitter cold served to make living on
the planet Mercury possible.

"You wanted to see me, Princess?"

Ami turned to see... Shard-san? No, this was him but a decade older and with
a harder look to him. This was the same boy, but one that had gone through a
lot. Including quite a bit of exercise. He seemed to examine her briefly,
then saluted and waited.

Ami felt her mouth moving without her wanting to say anything, like she was
just a passenger. "Yes, Lieutenant, the Derelict. I'm told you were one of
the survivors of that little... adventure."

The soldier gave a tired sounding sigh and shook his head. "That's
classified, Princess. By order of the Queen. You know that."

"Still, you could tell me the declassified part," Ami heard herself say.

"Princess, it's under Seal. To quote an old compatriot, 'it's so classified
i can't even dream about it'."

-------

Ami broke the contact. Was THAT the sort of thing Rei had been talking
about? How could...

Pluto. The Guardian of Time. Her involvement somehow was producing these
little glimpses into the past but why?

Viewed THAT way, the reason was obvious. She wanted them to know, for
whatever reason, that this Basalt was safe to pursue - unlike that Nebula
fellow. Though Nebula hadn't struck her as being particularly villainous...

Ami's eyes widened. Take the Musketeer clothes and exchange them with this
odd set of fatigues that she'd seen, and there was one conclusion. Nebula
WAS Basalt. The boy that Pluto had warned Makoto not to pursue.

But why? How?

Ami's hand reached out uncertainly for Grey's, and she felt the little
electric crackle again. This time she didn't pull back, wanting to see the
images clearly.

It was a palace, vaguely Greco-Roman with its many pillars and polished
marble. The dance floor was crowded with people mingling, though the music
was pleasant there wasn't anyone dancing. Something seemed to tell Ami that
this was an earlier scene from the first one, and she tried to relax and
watch it occur.

Princess Mercury heard a hiss and noticed her friend, the Princess of Venus,
waving at her. Uncomfortable with the stilted courtly manners in the first
place, Mercury quickly used the excuse to seperate from the latest in a long
series of boring courtesans that had been arranged to escort her.

"That's him," indicated Venus with a nod of her head. "My Uncle, though the
relationships are a bit more tenuous and complicated. You know how it is."

Mercury rolled her eyes. She certainly did. Geneaology was all some people,
way too many by her estimation, could talk about. Then she focussed on
Venus' Uncle. Shorter than most of those around him, the courtiers and
politicians didn't even seem to notice his presence. He was dressed in a
fairly simple uniform, without many of the frills and laces and ribbons that
bedecked the others. The symbols on his collar denoted a minor noble, house
of Jasper of Venus - though that was a guess. The symbol on his sleeve
denoted that he was a Lieutenant. Though that, as the nobility markings, was
something that Princess Mercury was mainly guessing at. She didn't have more
than a marginal familiarity with either. He was clearly as out of his
element as Mercury was here.

"There was an exception made for tonight, he's here in an official capacity.
Otherwise he's banned from Court," confided Venus.

"Yes, I know already. Queen Serenity tired of another Consort and banned him
from the Court," Mercury didn't admit to having heard the gossip. It was
so... mundane. And often inaccurate.

"That's not all," continued Venus, still in a hushed voice. "He's the father
of little Serenity. I know him, that's gotta be hurting him pretty bad."

Mercury nodded. Even from here she could see the sad, pained, look about
him. She feigned disinterest, though she privately thought he looked much
more interesting than the usual court hangers-on. "So what makes this Basalt
special, other than he's fathered the Princess?"

"Well, I told you that he's been a Space Marine, he fought in that Ceres
Uprising a few years back," Venus was thinking aloud, "he's gone after the
usual pirates and such. Oh, and when that alien derelict entered our system,
he was one of the survivors of the boarding party. He's also the Knight Of
Duty..."

Mercury's interest, though hidden, increased. Maybe she could talk to him
later, there were sure to be things not precisely classified about the
Derelict that he could talk about, and a Knight put him on a social ranking
that wasn't unseemly for her to associate with. "Are you sure? This isn't
more Court gossip, is it?"

"Scout's honor," Venus held up a white gloved hand. "It's commonly known
around the Court, after all, the Queen wouldn't have accepted someone of
such a minor house as Consort."

"I see," said Mercury. Maybe she could corner the fellow later. It would be
better than talking to that two-dimensional fop she'd entered with.

Ami Mizuno put down the boy's hand, letting the vision fade. So Princess
Mercury and "Nebula" had known each other? Luna and Artemis couldn't be
right, could they?

Ami blinked. If the main reason he was a threat was that he'd been banned
from court. And the reason he'd been banned was that the Queen had tired of
him as a Consort...

Then Artemis and Luna wanted to kill him because the Queen got bored of
him?! That would explain why Pluto had warned Makoto not to pursue, he was
the sort who had trouble dealing with rejection. How could she tell them
they were wrong without letting them know she knew who he was?

"ahem."

And how long had her mother been watching?

Doctor Mizuno had entered the room and noticed her daughter hurriedly
putting down her fiance's hand. Well now, this *was* promising. She had
waited while her daughter had continued in some deep thought about something
before clearing her throat. "Ami-chan?"

"I, err, that is..." Ami just *knew* her mother was misunderstanding the
whole thing.

"Hmmm?" A hummed comment and a raised eyebrow was sufficient response to Ami
getting more and more flustered.

"I... well I..." Ami twitched and fidgeted.

The smirk vanished from Kumori Mizuno's face. "Ami-chan? Has he been glowing
like that before?"

Ami yelped as she realized that the boy had a faint glow and a symbol
glittering on his forehead. It wasn't a *planetary* symbol either.
Remembering Rei's talk about some guy named Basalt, could this be *his*
symbol?

"Well, Ami? You appear to know something about this," Doctor Mizuno had
suspected that *something* was going on with Ami of late. Instead of looking
alarmed, Ami was looking guilty and evasive.

Even more alarming, and damning, was the blue mark fitfully beginning to
glow on her daughter's forehead.

"Well..." Ami started looking for a cover story.

--------

"i am Grey. i am a 15 year old boy from Tempe Arizona, here in Japan to meet
a girl i was engaged to through an arrangement of my grandfather and HER
grandfather. i am a so-so student who has a weird ability to get impressions
of what might be correct. One year of studying Tae Kwon Do, one year of
fencing, and a few mechanical skills learned as a 'shadetree mechanic' and
working odd jobs."

"I am Basalt. I am 248 years old, in the manner of Silver Millenium
lifespans that makes me about 39 in this Millenium's terms. I was born on
the Venus Colony, of the House of Jasper. I joined the Space Marines on
reaching my majority, and reached First Lieutenant. I became a Special
Operative for Queen Serenity at the same time I became a Consort. I spent
ten years there, then was dismissed from that duty. I perished in battle
against the Dark Kingdom."

"i am you?"

"Sort of. We are injured."

"i noticed."

"We are sarcastic. Part of my training as a Marine was in basic chi
techniques."

"Chi?"

"Life energies. Similar to, though different from, mana techniques such as
the senshi use."

"Senshi?"

"The reborn princesses. The 'weird stuff' in Juuban that occasionally made
it into the news."

"Ah, that stuff. Yeah, i remember. i take it you want to use those chi
techniques."

"No. We must be as one, or nearly so. As it is you who are injured, it is
you who must use it. We must be Grey and Basalt and Nebula. At least in
part."

"Well, I suppose. It's better than losing the foot at least."

"That it is. That it is."

---------

"Dear. I'm a doctor. And your mother. And that boy is currently floating one
inch off the bed. I know darn well that something is going on, and you
apparently have an idea of what it is. If you *don't* want me to call in
nurses and orderlies, you're going to have to talk."

Ami winced. "Uhm. Can we do this later? Where people aren't as likely to
come walking in?"

"All right, young lady, but this isn't over by a long shot." Doctor Mizuno
pursed her lips. "Is there any radiation or other special dangers that we
need to be aware of?"

"No, nothing like that," Ami said, beginning to resent this boy now. If he
could only have just stayed at home, their secret could have been maintained
until Crystal Tokyo was established. Though how nobody's parents had ever
noticed *something* going on was another question.

*CRACK!* Bits of cast exploded from around the leg, causing Ami to flinch
and her mother very nearly to hit the Nurse button.

The body jerked several times, the glow appearing especially bright around
the areas of injury. Then the glow faded and the body dropped back onto the
bed.

Kumori Mizuno was immediately at the boy's side checking injuries and
muttering under her breath. "These wounds look to have healed several weeks
at least. The leg, particularly the foot, several times that."

"Well... errr..." Ami wasn't sure what to tell her mother. Sailor Moon might
have done that with a Healing Escalation, but who else could have done
something like this? From the symbol on his forehead, now fading to the
color of normal skin, she'd say that it was Basalt who healed Shard-san.

"We'll need new Xrays, need to recast this..." Mother looked at daughter.
"Tonight young lady. I'll be done here by seven."

"Yes, Mother..." Ami mumbled.

The boy stirred and his eyes briefly searched around. "Princess Mercury?"

Ami's hair toinged in all directions, and she began sending little
sweatdrops everywhere.

Still groggily, the boy slumped backwards and mumbled. "Lieutenant Basalt,
Imperial Space Marines. Esper of the 4th Circle. Reporting by Imperial
Law..."

Ami's eyes bugged and she was still emulating a sprinkler system with little
sweatdrops.

"What language was that? It wasn't English," Doctor Mizuno stated, then
looked to her daughter. Obviously, Ami had understood whatever language had
been spoken. Yes, they were definitely going to have that talk tonight.

--------

Professor Tomoe stood back in the shadows, ready to laugh maniacally.

"Pathetic."

As the Professor could have sworn he was alone, that single word, in a
*male* voice, managed to catch him flat-footed. "W-what?!"

"You heard me, I said 'pathetic' and you *are*." The old man stepped out of
the wall and looked over the lab. "This whole place is pathetic. 'Eggs of
Daimon'?! Pretty lame too."

Professor Tomoe was not used to this level of sarcasm and was still pretty
shaken up by someone walking through the walls and apparently knowing all of
his evil plans.

"Pharoah 90 is pretty lame too. Well, you don't have to concern yourself
with that anymore."

"I don't..." The Professor started reaching behind his back. Perhaps if he
were to throw one of the reagents?

"Try to contact Pharoah 90," urged the old man. "Stealing 'pure hearts' and
all that. No. It stops here and now. No more of this lame half-assed evil."

"Excuse me?"

"Cthulhu."

"Gesundeit." The Professor could almost reach the beaker.

"No," said the old man. "Cthulhu. Now THERE is some pretty potent evil.
Someone who'd chew up Pharoah 90, Metal'la, AND Sailor Galaxia and spit them
out like watermelon seeds. Sailor Moon would be sitting in a padded cell
with her brains leaking out of her ears before the season ended if she'd had
to face Cthulhu. Oh, and if you throw that, you'll only piss me off. You
don't want to see me pissed off, Professor Tomoe."

Professor Tomoe threw the beaker anyway. Which stopped halfway to the target
and just hung there in midair. Then the glass rippled and began to change,
until a rat squirmed where the beaker had been.

"You're pushing it, Tomoe. Or should I say Geramatou?" The old man made a
gesture, more for show than anything else, and the rat exploded in a shower
of gore. "I'm taking over. NOW. You can join me, or you can be an
experimental subject."

"I don't..." Whatever the Professor was going to say after that was lost. He
frantically started feeling at the blank space where his mouth had been.

"You obviously need to think about your decision," the old man suggested.
"Kaolinite just needed me to remove her arms and legs and replace them with
something... creative. This way she'll also serve as an object lesson for
the others."

The Professor started gasping through his nose as panic set in.

"Try to contact Pharoah 90. As I said, some pathetic wannabe Cthulhu is
hardly worth your time. I'll be back tomorrow for your decisions."

---------

"Interference in the simulation," Celeste noted from a warning flag.
"Unaccounted for variable."

"Why is everyone looking at me?" Jared grumped.

Edema shrugged. "Much as it pains me, ah've got to side with the high elf on
this. Unless he's split himself again, he's been looking over that scroll ah
brought him."

"What's it do?" Celeste queried, knowing full well that the dark elf and the
fiery elf, though they had common friends, did *not* get along. Despite
Edema doing things like deliberately showing the Mage where he could play
around in a timeline and actually not be technically interfering with it.

"It's something ah worked out," drawled Edema. "A little project of mine.
Allows for one to draw out a dimensional aspect of a merged being. Very
experimental, of course, and likely would only work in the area of Mimir's
Well..."

Jared eyed the scroll uncertainly, making a little mental note that the drow
had just deflected everyone's attention from blaming him for the
disturbance. Accident?

---------

The clock ticking in the kitchen was briefly the only sound heard. Ami
fidgeted LOTS under the steady gaze from her mother.

"Well, young lady?"

"Uhm, you see, my friends are into cosplay, and well..." Ami's voice trailed
off. "I guess not, huh?"

Kumori Mizuno continued to eye her daughter, giving just the slightest shake
of her head.

Ami sighed. "I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone. And I haven't had the
chance to discuss this with anyone else..."

A throat clearing brought both of their attentions to the patient.

"-Look, i can't speak Japanese very well, and your Mother doesn't speak
Millenial. She's wanting to know what went on earlier?-" The boy leaning in
the doorway ignored the shocked looks.

Ami puzzled out the English phrases. It wasn't like she got to use her
English that much and her accent tended to be a bit thick. "-Yes. Mother
want know why you float. Think she suspect much.-"

"-I speak some English, Shard-san.-" Kumori reminded her daughter, though it
had been tempting to just remain silent and see what would be revealed.

"-Good. i haven't promised anything to anyone regarding this,-" Grey hobbled
to the table, wincing everytime he put weight on the one leg. "-Mizuno-san,
according to my books, most Japanese believe in reincarnation, right?-" At
the doctor's nod, Grey continued. "-My memories are rather spotty, but the
Princess and i have met in a previous life.-"

Doctor Mizuno's mind started racing. ~Ah, a romance between two lovers from
a previous life, reunited. The red thread of fate at work, just like in one
of those shojo manga I read as a child. And he uses the term 'Princess' -
obviously a petname or phrase of affection.~

"-i was a soldier in service of a kingdom,-" continued Grey, "-where i
learned a few tricks like that fast healing trance.-"

Dr. Mizuno nodded. ~A romance between a soldier and my daughter in a
previous age. No doubt he was summoned off to a war while she waited at
home, only he didn't return. Now fate has brought them together again. How
suitably tragic/romantic!~

"-Until i met the Princess here, i didn't remember my previous life at
all,-" Grey said, bowing slightly towards Ami.

Dr Mizuno smiled and her gaze flicked from her daughter to the young man.
~Ah, the ties of the ancient love have awoken their previous identities. How
very Shinto. Perhaps I should start scheduling the wedding? He's *only*
fifteen, though, so perhaps after they graduate high school.~

"-There are many things i don't remember and many things i'm not clear on,
but if i don't focus too hard, i can speak Lunarian Millenial - the language
of the ancient Kingdom we were in.-" Grey grimaced and moved his legs
slightly. "-Uhm, so tell me, Ms. Mizuno, what exactly is the situation?-"

Ami blinked, realizing that both Shard-san and her mother were appraising
her. "Oh dear."

"-You should call her 'Ami-chan', Grey-san, she *is* your fiancee.-" Doctor
Mizuno crossed her legs and continued to watch her daughter. ~Ah, young
love, I remember it well.~

"Well, I..." Ami blinked and perspired. "That is..."

"-In English, daughter,-" Ami's mother gently reminded. "-Though I suspect I
already know everything.-"

"Gleep!" Ami managed. ~Mom knows that me and my friends are actually the
Sailor Senshi? That we've been killed once already, brought back by the
Silver Moon Crystal, and we go about Tokyo saving the world from Threats
From Beyond regularly?~

Kumori Mizuno smirked. ~Yes, I can see it now. Their eyes met at that shrine
Ami and her friends visit, and suddenly they remember their previous lives.
Cue soft lighting, drifting sakura petals, as they cross to each other. Ah,
and one of her friends misunderstands Grey-san running towards Ami and
protects her.~

"-Just a moment, if we're to explain this to your mother, a demonstration
might be in order,-" Grey said, standing up. "-Besides, i think i'll heal
faster as the Knight.-"

Ami blinked, beginning to sweat. "He, that is, I..."

Grey held one hand up, which suddenly held the Chain Of Duty. The chain
lengthened, swirling around the boy who changed more than just his clothing
into combat fatigues. He was taller and more muscular, adding another five
years at least.

"..." Somewhere inside Ami's head, Reason (normally occupying 92% of
available resources) was abruptly trampled under Hormones. Reason recovered
quickly however and beat the invader down.

Kumori had the sudden desire to run a full physical. Purely out of medical
curiosity of course.

Ami glanced at her mother, aware that once again both were watching her. "Oh
dear." With *great* reluctance, Ami pulled out her henshin pen. Then
realized that this boy would see *her* nude! "Uhm, could you turn around?"

The man blinked. "-You want to try that again in Millenial or English?-"

"-Turn around please?-"

"-Why?-" The man seemed puzzled. So was Ami's mother. After a moment he did
so, though he was plainly annoyed.

Ami raised the pen up. "-Mercury power. Make up!-"

"-You're expending a lot more energy than you need, Princess.-"

Kumori Mizuno noted that her daughter was one of the Sailor Senshi, and that
she normally went about going through naked transformation scenes. The day's
events caught up with her and she fainted.

Turning and catching the woman, Nebula couldn't resist. "-That went better
than I thought it would."

---------

"The first thing is to change the modus operandi significantly," said the
Wizard. "For one thing, you do *not* want to kill anyone until the Senshi
have been neutralized. *Especially* any of the Senshi."

Eudial adjusted her glasses and held up a hand, waiting until the Wizard had
called on her before asking her question. "Pardon me, but how do we seek the
Talismans without getting those 'Pure Hearts'? And..." Eudial's voice
trailed off at the look from the Wizard.

"No 'Talismans' or 'Rainbow Crystals' or 'Star Seeds' or anything of the
sort." The Wizard glared at everyone in the room. "The second goal will be
to sow discord and chaos. With people's lives thrown into turmoil, they will
seek stability. Which will be what we can offer, unlike any of the forces of
good in this world. The third goal will be to find and defuse those forces
of good. Better yet if we can subvert them, but that bears its own risks."

"...and OUR role in all this is what?" Kaolinite asked, glaring at the
Wizard. Bad enough to spend the night with her feet turned into tree roots
and her arms into feathers. But it would take some time for her to forgive
what this fellow had done to Soichiro Tomoe.

"Power. Not the pathetic stuff you've got now. REAL power. Ruling over the
world, and not one drained of all life as you'd have had under Pharoah 90."
The Wizard gestured and a piece of chalk started writing on the blackboard.
"You will be those who Sow Chaos with the Seeds of Daimon and your powers.
As you exercise those powers, they shall grow."

"What kind of Powers are we talking about?" Mimete smiled at the Wizard. He
was *so* cool!

"The Senshi follow the typical pattern of sentai teams." The Wizard gestured
at the blackboard, indicating each point as he continued. "Color coded
superheroes with elemental powers, stronger together than apart. With their
previous enemies, their tactics were 'gang up on the single monster' and it
served them well. Every new enemy they adapted and evolved to meet upgraded
threats. That is, their attacks have evolved. Their defenses are pathetic."

"So why don't we just kill them quickly?" Eudial waved her hands in front of
her face at the Wizard's glare. "Ah-ah-sorry..."

Mimete giggled.

"Kill any of them and you awaken a sleeping beast that will go through your
ranks like a sword through wet toilet paper." The Wizard indicated the
blackboard again. "On to the first priority. Energy. The Dark Kingdom
managed this in a rather pathetic fashion. Some can be obtained through the
chaos tactics I mentioned earlier, however, more constant energy flows that
are subtle can provide better empowerment to each of you. The basic spell
mechanics are simple, and I shall provide the collection crystals to use.
Your first assignment will be to develop the cover identities. The more
energies you collect, the greater your powers. Now, see what you can come up
with."

==============
writer's notes: trying to take the typical conventions and invert them a
bit. most recent chapters will be on www.fanfiction.net
-gregg

-----------
"Zotec sucks."
metro...@mindspring.com
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/