Setting Moon: Tsuki Ga Shimizu by Gregg Sharp ===== Yet another story in the storyarc of "The Bet" all char tm their respective creators, etc. stone supplied by talon@sgi.net pond by Naoko Takeuchi, Fred Perry & others... --------------------------------------------- Toltiir was roaming the streets of Heaven, noting that this version was very like Tokyo. He thought THAT was more than a little amusing in and of itself. Over here was Asgard with its Rainbow Bridge and Yggdrasil mainframe. Over there was Olympus, and there were a lot of other sections. This had to be one of the most odd multiversal sets he'd run across in millenia. Toltiir was brought out of his reverie by a presence. It took him a few moments to place the aura. "Ah, Lord Talon, is it not? I take it you're here regarding the Bet?" "Yes, but let's at least get out of Nerima, this time, shall we?" ------------------------------------------- "Silver Crystal Power!" The energy beam from the Silver Imperium Crystal met the Ice Queen's blast. Sailor Moon gritted her teeth against the pain. "Please...turn Luna into the Princess Kaguya...Please..." The other Scouts lay scattered about her, dead or dying. She knew she wouldn't last long herself, she'd unleashed too much of the Crystal's energy in a destructive beam. Her own lifeforce expended, Sailor Moon fell. --------------------------------------------- Toltiir blinked. "Well, let's see. She basically fails a control check and throws out the equivelant of a super-saiyajin IV kame-hame-ha, the heat and shockwave are too much for most of the Inner Scouts to handle. Eeeeewww. Man, she really got messed up." Lord Talon put his Stormtrooper helmet back on. "There'll be no escape for the princess this time." "Which one?" Toltiir shook his head. -------------------------- Luna twitched. She had expected the change to be temporary. It wasn't wearing off! How to cope with this. Having hands and walking on two legs, and all the attendent problems of being trapped in human form. "Luna?" "Well, it had seemed a good idea at the time!" "Luna," started Artemis again. "I... you...it's..." "I KNOW!" Luna was upset about this too. "Sorry, sorry...it's not your fault." "You know the Negaverse won't stop trying to break through." Artemis decided to change the subject. Some things were just too painful to deal with right now. "Makoto and Ami will recover, they did fairly well. Setsuna vanished. I expect her powers were what managed to shield Jupiter and Mercury." "So Pluto is around but we have to assume she's not going to be of much use in the near future," Luna agreed. "Ami and Makoto will recover, but I don't think they'll be of much use for some time." "Venus, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, and both Sailor Moon and Chibi-Moon." Artemis felt every year of his multiply reincarnated ages. "All gone. If the Negaverse attacks soon we are S.O.L." "Artemis!" Luna had never heard such language from the white cat. "Well..." An image came to her, of the saving of the members of the Silver Millenium that they would be reincarnated in the future. There were a LOT more than nine bubbles floating up through the image. Luna paused, "I think...we need to find some more of those people from the Silver Millenium." "A Sailor Senshi recruitment drive?" Artemis winced. "Even if we could, how are we supposed to find them?" "I'm not sure we can wait for Ami to heal up." Luna tossed her hair back. Having long hair was another thing she was trying to get used to. "Otherwise I'd stick the problem in her lap and have her come up with solutions. "There's only a small chance of her Senshi ability to channel manna returning, Makoto's got a really good chance. Rei..." "Rei and Usagi are in a coma, and if they come out, they'll still have burned out their ability to manipulate energy..." "Hmmph." Luna looked down at her hands. "Well, at least the Ice Queen's toast. She won't be coming back, EVER. Still, we can't just wait for more Senshi to appear." "Maybe..." Artemis managed to look thoughtful. He strolled back and forth. "Do you remember the Senate meeting back about five years before the whole Dark Kingdom thing blew up?" "Oh. The Knights. Not quite as powerful as the Senshi, they were intended to be the guardians of the Senshi and to take some of their duties. Actually, what they were was a political acknowledgement that discrimination for women over men was still discrimination." "So a male counterpart to the Senshi was born. Not nearly as powerful, but then these were seen more as front line fighters and similar warriors." Luna grimaced. "Yeah, I do remember. Mainly they ended up being couriers and the like of the royal families. So we should look for them too. Not that I think they'll do much good in a fight, as strong as the Negaverse has gotten." "Luna," Artemis sighed. "What choice do we actually have?" --------------------------------- Well, we can see where this is going, can't we? I didn't want to use any of the Ranma characters, but there's something amusing about the idea of Kasumi (as Sailor Neptune's replacement) throwing a Cleansing Wave attack that not only knocks the villains away but leaves everything sparkling clean behind it as it passes. "Oh my." Ami recovers, but can't channel the manna necessary for her attacks. She goes into a support role, as she can still use her computer and transformation pen. Makoto Kino recovers, and gradually regains her strength as Sailor Jupiter. However, her butt got kicked so hard that she's a bit underconfident. Fortunately, she can get further martial arts training from several sources. Rei and Usagi are just hangers-on and advisors, wanting to get into the action, but without their Senshi abilities aren't able to do much. Knowing that they've got to "beef up" their ranks for the inevitable confrontation with next season's bad guys, (whatever was directly after Sailor Moon R), Ami starts tracking down unusual power signatures as potential recruits while she's still in a wheelchair. A few scenes for the road: -------------------- "But she doesn't have any real Sailor powers. She's not even human!" "Point taken, Artemis." Luna smiled. "But tell me we can't use a 10,000 horsepower combat android. That she thinks like a cat just means we'll be able to understand her better." Atsuko smiled. "Nuku nuku can help!" ----------------------- "Luna...." "Don't start with me, Artemis." The white cat sighed. "Well, we could really use the help, Miss Ifurita." "What do you think, Makoto?" ------------------------ "So you see why we really need your help. It's your duty as a member of the Galaxy Police assigned to this world, anyway." "But I'm having to work a lot of stupid part-time jobs now!" Kiyone moaned. "Unless...is there anyway I could make money off this?" "Let ME handle that angle," Nabiki said with a grin. She wasn't and wouldn't be a Senshi, but she'd overheard the recruitment of her sister and was all for something that put more money in her bank account. Being the Official Agent of the Senshi... Luna nodded. "In the meantime, Miss Washu has graciously decided to upgrade a few systems. After all, it wouldn't do to have the Negaverse showing up around here, would it?" "Ahem." "Excuse me, I meant LITTLE Washu." ------------------------ "Well, we're really not supposed to get involved in that sort of thing." Skuld looked a little unhappy. She was clearly tempted, just the opportunity to play with the powersuits that Washu had cooked up for the non-Senshi. And that Nuku-nuku, she'd love to get a look-see at her systems... "Well, if it's against your rules." Luna was disappointed. Getting a goddess or two on their side would have helped a LOT. Urd slipped Ami a note. Ami glanced at it and smiled. Urd was apparently not one to play by the rules that often anyway. "I know!" Skuld snapped her fingers and went to the phone. She punched in a number, a very long number. "Hey. It's Skuld. No, I'm still on the mortal plane. You remember how you wanted to beat that bad rep you got? Yeah, yeah, I think I got a chance for you. Think about it, there you are fighting for love and justice! I mean talk about major turnarounds from the last lifetime, eh? You'll come! Oh, goodie! I knew I could count on you." Luna and Artemis bigsweated. "Uhm. Miss Skuld?" Luna wasn't sure she wanted to know, but she had to ask anyway. The old line about curiousity and cats seemed to come to mind. "Who was that you were speaking to?" Nabiki flipped open her book of Mythology, ready to search out the appropriate references, then she could make plans for the action figures, toys, collectibles, stickers, etc. "Didn't you just say that your gods and goddesses couldn't get involved?" "That's right," Skuld said with a nod. "That's okay, though, he's not really a god. He worked for the other side, in fact, in the last incarnation. Now he wants to try working for the Good Guys..." Rank breath stirred the short hairs along the back of Nabiki's neck. "Try a few pages further on," suggested a deep growling voice. ----------------------------- It was...interesting...to be given a ride home by a wolf the size of a cement mixer. Riding along the ruff where neck met shoulders, Sailor Mercury thought this _was_ quite an interesting change of pace. The crowd's initial reaction, panic, faded as two other things became notable about the odd ride. First was the presence of the two girls safely riding said wolf. That might have been dismissed, but the banner that the rearmost girl was holding further deadened the "flee" reaction. "Coming soon from Bandai, Sailor Moon's new companion Fenris. 6/17 In Stores Near You." Nabiki smirked as she held up the sign. Her carefully edited inside information was giving her the chance at being the Sailor Press Secretary and Agent. Happily counting the yen she would be making, she thought of all the knock-off products she could put together. Why, with Fenris trying to change his image, maybe the various eco-groups could use a spokesman! Both Fenris and Kasumi tried to ignore the evil laughter echoing from behind them. "This diguise field will work," Kasumi (Sailor Mercury) said. "I'm still not comfortable with this whole fight the demons' concept. It's just not me." "Obvious from your attacks, Sailor Mercury," rumbled the wolf. "I mean Mercury Cleansing Wave', Mercury Healing Wave', Shabon Spray'? I'd say that you're most definitely NOT the front line fighter. And yes, nobody will recognize you as other than Sailor Mercury. Nabiki on the other hand WANTS to be recognized as an official Senshi press agent. I wonder if she's realized that there's potential danger there?" "It could be that she's just gotten carried away with the thought of having regular income." Kasumi looked back at her sister. "Uhm, according to Urd, they defeated a Fenris..." "That was the Norse Fenris. I'm the wolf-kami Fenris. Different pantheon, but I keep getting lumped in with that other guy." Fenris sighed, a particularly mournful sound. "It's all those damn bards' fault..." ------------------------------- Brianna Diggers held up her henshin stick. "Oooo. This'll be SO cool. I get to be Sailor Venus, the Senshi of Love, Beauty, and Rocket Launchers." "I thought Urd was going to be Sailor Venus." "She was, Ami." Brianna grinned, showing a fang in the process. "But, apparently her daddy had an objection to that except in emergencies." Ami held her head in her hands and made an odd noise. Things were SO much simpler when it was just the Inner Senshi. Now they had to fight time travelling dogs, perverted martial arts masters, and aliens as well as Negaverse baddies... "And what," Ami asked through her hands, "does He consider an emergency?" ------------------------------- "So I have to be Sailor Moon," Luna said with a certain exasperation. "Who else do we have for the job? Nabiki? Nuku-nuku? Yohko? I agree that Honey could have done it, but she left saying that she preferred to work alone." "Okay. So we've got Nabiki and Ami doing research and legwork. Mokoto Mizuhara, occasionally Washu, and Skuld for repairs, upgrades, and needed transportation." "Have you been around when Ami, Washu, Mizuhara, and Skuld start a jam session on Little Washu's computer systems? It is major scary." "Yeah. So we've got our main forces as: Luna as Sailor Moon Makoto Kino as Sailor Jupiter Kiyone as Sailor Mars (reluctantly) Kasumi Tendo as Sailor Mercury (can't we talk this out?) Brianna Diggers as Sailor Venus (can I shoot it NOW?) Nuku nuku with the transformation pen added as an internal mechanism and a powersuit which allows her to fly. Sailor Kitty? Ifurita isn't quite as powerful with her power source altered to a micro-fusion generator, but she is still quite formidable and will do as Sailor Pluto until the other one shows up. Other Sailors (mainly those looking for a good fight): Benten (Urusei Yatsura), Akira (Devilman), Cutey Honey (if the cause is just, Cutey Honey), Space Pirate Ryoko (TM), Tenchi Masaki (well, if the world's in danger, TM), Urd (I am the goddess of love & beauty,OMG), Devil Hunter Yohko and/or Ayaka Kisaragi.... also: the Wolf Spirit Fenris (kami) =============================== NOT a knight of the True Fiancee (Akane) NOT a knight of the Smart Fiancee (Nabiki) NOT a knight of the Nice Fiancee (Kasumi) NOT a knight of the Cute Fiancee (Ukyou) NOT a knight of the Affectionate Fiancee (Shampoo) NOT a knight of the Kinky Fiancee (Kodachi) DEFINITELY NOT a knight of the Weird Fiance (Happosai/Ranko) just whichever fits the fic... and yes, i am still looking for a good tagline. ja ne, gregg