Sailormoon, its characters, struggles and story, are copyright and 
the children of Naoko Takeuchi. No recognition to this tale can be 
given without properly paying honour to her first. They are 
rightfully hers and I respect how she has raised them all. May what 
I have written here, the dark and the light, be considered worthy 
as a token of my appreciation for the world she has created.



His lordship Chaos / Angel Electric 
02 - The Turn of an Unfriendly Card

Rated PG13.


*****

"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a 
  ruler is to look at the men around him."

	--Niccolo Machiavelli, "The Prince"


*****


	A little black cat padded softly into the Hall of Antiquity. 
Though it was early morning, the darkness of space and starlight 
kept up the appearance of the palace being under a perpetual veil 
of night. Shadows ran rampant along the great corridor, and gave 
eerie life to the tableaus and motionless figures lining the path. 
She could feel the eyes of many of the faces following her, and 
though they did not breathe, that did not make her feel any less 
paranoid about the sculptures in this place.
	History long and almost forgotten passed her by, frozen in 
beautiful poses and hellish expressions, and the little black cat 
suppressed a shudder at some of the depictions. The massacre of the 
planets, where millions died under a black cloud of living evil 
some four hundred years ago, was a painful reminder of the 
sacrifices made by many. It was a time that had marked the end of 
the Golden Millennium, and almost the end of life in the Solis 
System.
	Yet now it was but a thick chapter in a history book read 
(and usually disregarded) by students who could not grasp what went 
on so long ago. The little black cat herself had not been there to 
witness those dark, dark times, and she had to be honest with 
herself: she did not wish to have been there. Many good people were 
killed, and many unnatural things were loosed upon the Earth. 
	Her own kin had not survived, perishing with the Sailor 
Soldiers of old.
	Four hundred years had passed, and now after centuries of 
unbroken silence between the Solis System and the rest of the 
galaxy, she and her partner had been summoned to this "rural" 
system to answer an unnamed threat. Seeing the statues of the past 
served to remind her of Mau's legacy all too well.
	The little black cat drew near to the far end of the hall, 
where there stood a worn and weathered sculpture whose artist not 
even she could name. It was more ancient than ancient, and pieces 
were cracked or chipped off, and the details had been rubbed away 
by time and harsh worlds. All the identity the sculpture had left 
to cling to was a title: The Progenitor.
	The work bore a remarkable resemblance to a Sailor Soldier 
battling some great, terrible flood, her arms and legs ensnarled by 
tendrils and waves, the cold resolve on her face still standing out 
amidst the fading of other details. A tidal wave, the flood's core 
body, leaned forward as if to devour her, and it had enormous 
eyes--a being who was without true form, yet still was.
	As the little black cat gazed upon it, she was filled with a 
lingering fear she understood yet could not fully explain.
	She turned away and looked upon the other soul inside the 
Hall of Antiquity. The little black cat bowed down on her front 
paws, and the gentle light radiating off the Queen glimmered 
against a golden, crescent moon-shaped marking on the cat's 
forehead.
	"Halcyon Queen," the cat spoke with reverence.
	The Queen of Lunaria stared at The Progenitor, her face 
solemn, her hands clasped behind her back. "It's beginning, isn't 
it, Luna?" she said. "After four hundred years of dormancy, the 
Sailor Soldiers have been chosen anew by their henshin, and as a 
result this awakening has prompted your homeworld to send you and 
Artemis as our advisors."
	With great reluctance, Luna nodded her head. "The Sailor 
Soldiers have always been destined to appear in times of great 
crisis. A resurrection like this could only mean one thing: evil 
about to rise and threaten the Silver Millennium."
	Halcyon let out a deep sigh and her shoulders lowered as if 
weighed down by some unseen burden. "One princess chosen to become 
a Sailor Soldier is chance, Luna. But to have almost all of them 
chosen? The ramifications of this I cannot ignore."
	Only Pluto was from a family not related to nobility. Maybe. 
She still could be. Even Halcyon had no real idea about Pluto's 
identity. One day, Setsuna just appeared at the front gates of the 
palace, henshin in hand, and had since spoke nothing of her past. 
Saturn, on the other hand, was of royal blood--but she was the 
result of an affair, an illegitimate heir and contender for her 
kingdom's throne, and so the truth remained a secret even to her. 
	The other kings and queens saw this status as a double 
honour: to have a daughter of royal blood who was also a Sailor 
Senshi was a claim no other generation of parents could make. The 
pride in their eyes and voices every time Halcyon talked with them 
was unmistakeable. And yet only Venus' king, Temagami, had voiced 
to her his worries. He had good reason to see the possibilities, 
and fear.
	Why had the henshin chosen from the royal bloodlines of 
almost every planet? 
	"Do you think it will be as terrible as what happened so many 
years ago?" Halcyon asked.
	Luna was not quick to answer, and stared down at the floor.
	"It is difficult to say," she at last said, and hated 
admitting it. "This threat has not made any attempt to surface and 
make itself known. It's keeping to anonymity and shadows, and, I 
fear, gathering its strength. When it at last makes itself known, 
it will fall upon us in full force."
	She could only pray that when the time came, the Sailor 
Soldiers would be strong enough to establish a defence and drive 
the evil back.
	Luna looked back up at Halcyon. "Do I think it will be as 
terrible as before?" she said. "I sincerely hope not, my Queen. The 
losses then were far too great for us to call ourselves the 
victorious."
	Halcyon looked away from The Progenitor for a moment, lost in 
her knowledge of the past. "The henshin from each Sailor Soldier 
was recovered after that war," she said, "even if all their bodies 
were not. My Queen Mother and those before her kept the henshin 
under watchful eyes and never-ending guard. I can still recall the 
night the first two vanished, Luna. Somehow, even then, I knew what 
was to come."
	Luna nodded her head.
	It would be ten years after the first three henshin had each 
chosen their new candidates that she and Artemis arrived on Lunaria 
to locate and train the new Outer Soldiers. Even then, Uranus and 
Neptune had natural finesse and power, and required little 
training. Pluto required training of a wholly different calibre, 
and despite being two years younger than the others, Saturn was 
still their equal.
	Over time the other henshin chose new Inner Soldiers, and now 
here they were.
 	Halcyon stared at The Progenitor.
	"She was the first of them, wasn't she?"
	Luna nodded. "The first, the strongest and the greatest."
	"Do you think she won?"
	"No one knows for certain," Luna said. "That creature, the 
originator of all darkness in our galaxy, was never seen again 
after she set out to battle it that one final time. For that 
matter, neither was Galaxia."
	"How long ago was it?"
	"Longer than we can recall."
	Halcyon did not smile. "Do you think she's still alive, 
somehow or somewhere?" she asked.
	For a second time, Luna did not answer right away. "She was 
the first and the greatest," she said finally. "Her people were 
known for their longevity--that is until the Progenitor destroyed 
her planet."
	"And in doing so," Halcyon said, "the Progenitor created the 
very enemy that would in turn destroy it."
	She had been taught to respect and revere the past for what 
it was: the dark, brutal truth. Galaxia's people put the last of 
their hopes, their passion and their power into creating the 
henshin. It allowed their best warrior to become a Sailor Soldier. 
She in turn taught the other planets she encountered how to create 
henshin of their own. A small group of planets then banded together 
and worked to forge a great treasury of henshin that could be sent 
out to all the other systems, local and remote, in the hopes that 
should the Progenitor get that far, it would find them waiting and 
ready.
	Mau had been one of those core planets responsible the 
coalition. Mau had helped lead them, and others, against the 
Progenitor. Their world had been designated to send ambassadors out 
to the systems where Sailor Soldiers arose or awakened, to teach 
those soldiers about their destiny and then train them to fulfill 
it.
	"She could be alive," Luna said, trying to sound hopeful, 
"lost and adrift in a dreamless sleep, somewhere in the vast 
darkness of space." 
	Halcyon turned away from the sculpture, melancholy marring 
the smile she tried wearing upon her face. "I hope she finds her 
way home soon," she said quietly.
	"We all do," Luna agreed.
	They hoped that Galaxia was still alive, and sleeping a 
dreamless sleep as she drifted through the darkness of space. They 
could never have known that the Progenitor, the one destined to be 
called Chaos, was also alive, and sleeping within her. Once Galaxia 
awoke, so would the Progenitor, and the Sailor Wars would begin 
anew.
	But that was not yet due to happen for almost another nine 
hundred years.
	An unusual draft rose up and flowed past them, and the Hall 
of Antiquity was filled with the smell of waterfalls and 
sunflowers. Luna looked around, mildly curious. Halcyon did not 
turn her head.
	"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Halcyon said.
	"Why have you called me here, my Queen?" a new voice within 
the hall asked.
	Aware now of which way to turn, Halcyon looked to her left 
and found a tall young woman with tanned skin and long dark hair 
standing a few steps away from her. "What are your impressions of 
our good prince, Setsuna?" she asked.
	Setsuna no longer wore the garments of a palace attendant, 
but the uniform of a Sailor Soldier, and in her hands she held a 
large key-shaped staff. 
	"He's brash without being totally reckless," Setsuna said. "A 
flirt without being completely arrogant. He's a true Terran at 
heart, and in his heart of hearts better than all of them." With a 
slight grin on her face, she then added, "He's also in very good 
shape."
	"You noticed that too?" Halcyon remarked, allowing herself 
the indulgence of a genuine smile. "His uniform does little to hide 
his physique, I agree. Do you think he's connected with all this?"
	Setsuna shook her head in uncertainty. "It's difficult to 
say, my Queen," she answered. "The skeins of Time grow knotted and 
convoluted. Something is coming, that much we can be sure of, and 
in some way I have not yet discerned, Endymion's thread has been 
ensnarled with ours."
	Halcyon began to walk through the hall, and both Luna and 
Setsuna took up pace alongside her. The Queen moved with purpose, 
and her face mirrored the determination in her heart.
	"My daughter and her Sailor Soldiers," she said. "Prince 
Endymion and his greatest warriors. This meeting was not brought 
about by mere chance. Evil is coming, Luna. I feel its presence 
growing with each breath I take. We must find a way to ally 
ourselves before it arrives. If we do not, I fear we will be 
devoured one by one until none are left to stand against the 
darkness."
	"Yes, my Queen," Setsuna and Luna chorused.
	The double doors of the Hall of Antiquity closed, and the few 
lights that had been on clicked themselves off, plunging everything 
into serenity and shadow. The Progenitor was left to forever battle 
Galaxia in its frozen tide of darkness and destruction.




			Are you dancing?


			-ANGEL ELECTRIC-



	The Generals awoke to face the new morning, and were not 
altogether pleased with having to do so. 
	"It should be illegal for anyone have to get up this early 
for breakfast," Zoicite grumbled as he emerged from his 
bedchambers. His fingers fumbled with the straps and buckles of his 
uniform, and his hair had yet to be tied back.
	"You've fought pre-dawn battles before," Kunzite said. He 
looked as fresh and alert now as he had been all of yesterday, and 
Zoicite wondered how the man managed to pull it off with such 
disturbing success.
	"That was different," Zoicite said. "We didn't eat breakfast 
then."
	"You were still awake."
	"Well, just because we did it doesn't mean it should have 
been allowed." Zoicite dropped himself onto a settee and leaned 
back against it. The hot shower he'd spent ten minutes under had 
yet to fully wake him up. "At least each bedchamber has its own 
private bath," he said. "This would be impossible to pull off if we 
all had to get up even earlier just to use a common shower."
	Jadeite emerged from his room, the ends of his uniform's 
shirt having yet to be done up. He seemed more concerned with 
styling his damp hair. "At least you look better than him," Jadeite 
remarked, and thumbed over in Nephrite's general direction.
	Nephrite, dressed and groomed, sat on one of the chairs, 
cradling his head in his hands and looking a sickly shade of white.  
"Just shut up and let me die in peace," he grumbled. "I don't know 
whatever I did to deserve this, but I think I've suffered enough 
penance."
	"Don't say I didn't warn you, General," Endymion said, an 
unmistakeable grin directed at Nephrite's affliction. He walked 
around behind Nephrite's chair and gave Nephrite a pat on the 
shoulder. "At least you're not soiling their nice, clean floor."
	"If everyone keeps annoying me by talking," Nephrite growled, 
"then I'll vomit just out of spite." 
	He stared down at a little white cat who sat peacefully on 
the floor and stared back up at him. "What?" he demanded.
	Artemis simply cocked his head to the side, myu'ed, then 
trotted elsewhere.
	Endymion laughed and continued adjusting his collar. He 
glanced over at the table, and saw that the messy stack of poker 
cards left behind last night had been replaced by fresh flowers and 
a tray of small pastries, and cups steaming full of what was 
probably Lunarian coffee.
	"Who made the special order?" he asked.
	"Compliments of the Queen," Zoicite answered. "Apparently I'm 
the only one who can hear someone knocking at the front door while 
we're all showering."
	"I heard it," Nephrite grumped. "I'm just not about to answer 
a knock that sounds like a fireworks display going off inside my 
head."
	Jadeite rolled his eyes and said something that sounded 
distinctively like, "Crybaby."
	Nephrite glared at him.
	Endymion reached over and sampled one of the pastries. It 
resembled a snake coiled around itself, and was covered in red 
fruit and what looked to be white and gold icing. When he tasted 
it, the pastry proved incredibly sweet and dissolved most 
deliciously in his mouth. He made a mental note to find out the 
name of it later.
	"Was it Setsuna who made the delivery?" Endymion asked.
	"If it had been," Zoicite said, taking up a cup of coffee for 
himself, "I would have felt obligated to pick the lock on your room 
and let her in."
	That earned him a reproachful glare from Kunzite.
	"I know, I know," Zoicite sighed. "'Never let strangers into 
Endymion's bedchambers while he's asleep and unprotected.' We all 
know it, Kunzite, and a passing jest is different from one of us 
actually being stupid enough to do it. And damn, this stuff tastes 
weird."
	Zoicite made a face and set the Lunarian coffee aside.
	"Who says I'm completely vulnerable when I'm asleep?" 
Endymion said, feigning hurt. "I sleep with a knife under my pillow 
just like everyone else here."
	The Generals chuckled ruefully at the joke.
	"So then," Jadeite said, and glanced around the common room. 
"When is our escort due to arrive?"
	"If that thing on the wall is reading right, then probably 
another five or ten minutes," Kunzite answered.
	Nephrite glowered at the floor and tried not to focus on the 
horrible taste of bile creeping up his throat. "Yay. Another five 
minutes of not having to try to walk properly. Dammit, my brain 
feels like it's spinning around in my skull."
	"Let's just hope you don't need to do any of your farsensing 
for the rest of the day," Jadeite said.
	Endymion ducked into his own room, and when he emerged from 
it he tossed Nephrite a small medicine bottle carved out of jade. 
"A few of those should help ease the headache," he said, "though I 
can't guarantee a miracle cure for any of your other symptoms."
	"I'll take what I can get," Nephrite said, and removed the 
stopper from the bottle.
	"What's today's agenda?" Jadeite asked.
	Kunzite's eyes rolled up and to the left as he consulted a 
memorized itinerary they had been presented with in the zeppelin. 
"Breakfast with the Queen, and presumably the Sailor Soldiers as 
well."
	Nephrite snorted. "Well, that just ruined my appetite."
	"Aren't we a ray of optimism and sunshine today?" Zoicite 
said to him in a rather scathing tone. 
	"After that," Kunzite continued, letting his annoyance at 
being interrupted filter into his voice, "I believe Endymion and 
the Queen have 'matters' to discuss."
	Jadeite crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against 
one of the pillars in the common room. "Will this be a private 
debate, or can any one of us attend?"
	The Generals turned to Endymion. Almost grudgingly, he said, 
"It's her call, not ours."
	"Wonderful," Nephrite said, and his voice dripped with 
sarcasm. "And if her Majesty opts for a one-on-one for the rest of 
the afternoon, just what the hell are we supposed to do?"
	"You shouldn't complain," Jadeite remarked to Nephrite. "At 
least then you can come back here and sleep off the rest of your 
hangover."
	Nephrite grumbled a response, but it was incoherent at best 
and he didn't feel like repeating it. For that matter, Jadeite 
didn't feel like asking it to be repeated.
	"The only things that seem definitive for today," Kunzite 
stated, "are that we're having breakfast with the Queen and her 
Sailor Soldiers, as well as dinner. And--" Kunzite grimaced at the 
prospect, "--tonight there will be another masque we're expected to 
attend."
	All the Generals groaned.
	Nephrite threw up his hands. "I give up. I just give up! How 
many nights in a row can these people dress up in stupid costumes 
and dance like idiots?"
	"At least you'll have a dance partner for tonight, Kunzite," 
Zoicite sighed. "And a pretty one at that. She's not too young for 
you, is she?"
	Kunzite flashed him an indignant look. 


					*	*	*
	Breakfast was eaten beneath an open sky, and the long, wooden 
table they ate at stood in the middle of a lush garden filled with 
blossoming roses the colour of starlight upon snow. Arbours and 
trellises lined the walls of the outdoor courtyard, and they were 
covered in vines and ivy and tempestuous foxgloves. The flowers 
were only manicured when following the trim of the doors, and with 
no ceiling or scant glimpses of any stone wall, it was easy to 
believe the palace was gone and a magnificent sanctum had been left 
in its place.
	Halcyon sat at the head of the table. On her right was 
Serenity, and on her left was Endymion. Next to Serenity sat the 
four Sailor Soldiers who had been present at the Terran envoy's 
arrival, though now they wore dresses befitting princesses. On 
Endymion's side of the table sat his four Generals, each one 
dressed in formal robes befitting their respective domains, each 
one carrying a sheathed katana. 
	They dined on fresh fruit, both Lunarian and Terran, and 
warm, buttered bread, and washed their food down with awkward 
silence. While a number of unseen songbirds conversed in the air 
around them, that still did little to dispel the distance between 
the two sides.
	Jadeite seemed to care little for the furtive glances coming 
from both sides of the table, and preferred to distract himself by 
sampling the strange new fruits laid out in the silver platters on 
the white tablecloth. Though in his peripherals he could see Sailor 
Mars watching him with some sort of frown marring her otherwise 
elegant face.
	Nephrite drank lots of water, and grazed sparingly on the 
food. The colour was returning to his face, but that did not mean 
he looked any less sickly than when he had dragged himself from the 
common room and followed after the others to their breakfast 
meeting.
	Trying to conceal his boredom, Zoicite mentally tried to pick 
out the names of each item of food spread out on the table, and was 
able to name about two-thirds of the selection.
	Kunzite would have been more than content to eat his meal and 
then get on with their reason for being in Lunaria; however it 
appeared someone else had other ideas. Kunzite nearly choked on his 
mouthful of bread when he felt a slender, naked foot carefully rest 
upon his boot, then slide up and down his leg.
	His eyes darted from one Sailor Soldier to the next in a 
rapid effort to find out who was doing it. Sailor Jupiter was the 
far end of the table, and too far away. If her expression was any 
indication, Sailor Mercury was preferring to study the other 
Generals' facial expressions more than her meal. Sailor Mars was 
trying not to glower so openly at Jadeite, and Kunzite was pretty 
damned certain it was not Serenity's foot against his leg.
	Kunzite slowly turned his gaze to Sailor Venus, who sat right 
across the table from him. Her mouth curled into a coy, knowing 
smile, and Kunzite felt her foot tap his kneecap.
	"I never had the opportunity to ask you this last night," 
Halcyon said, jarring Kunzite from thinking about Venus' footwork. 
She was speaking Terran-Nihongo. "What did you think of our masque, 
Endymion?"
	"It was an honour and a privilege to be a part of it," 
Endymion replied with flawless respect in his voice. "The Lunarian 
masques are somewhat legendary on Earth." He looked at Serenity, 
and her face began to turn red when she found herself at the centre 
of his attention. "Your daughter is also a wonderful dancer," he 
added.
	Halcyon did not miss the look on Serenity's face, and did not 
say anything about it. She politely nodded and looked further down 
the table. "And the rest of you?"
	The Generals were a bit surprised at being addressed.
	Jadeite finished chewing on a slice of melon, and swallowed 
it down before he gave his answer. "Lavish," he said. "Though I 
admit feeling it a little too lavish for our expense. We don't need 
such extravagant receptions."
	He gave the Sailor Soldiers a broad, sweeping gaze and was 
able to judge within reasonable means their different reactions. 
Jupiter took his remarks personally and almost rose from the table 
to say something in rebuttal, had Mercury not placed a restraining 
hand on Jupiter's wrist. Mars' scowl grew in leaps and bounds. 
Venus seemed unusually nonchalant, though her attention could very 
well have been elsewhere at that moment. 
	Serenity's face was one of mild distress, as if the idea of 
the masques being too flashy was something wholly new to her. At 
the very least she seemed intent on working out her own thoughts in 
her mind.
	Halcyon's eyes, however, flickered with something Jadeite 
could not fully place, though he was certain she hadn't been 
insulted by his words. If anything she looked pleased that he had 
the gall to speak his mind to her, even if she may not have liked 
what he had to say.
	"You're on Lunaria now, General," Halcyon told him. "The 
masques are a way of life for us, for better and for worse."
	She turned her gaze to Nephrite, who was pillowing his face 
on his arms and trying to mediate a peace between his churning 
stomach and the bread he'd just eaten. "And you, General Nephrite?"
	Zoicite glibly answered for him, "He enjoyed it a little too 
much."
	"Hush," came a mumbled voice from beneath Nephrite's arms.
	"As for me," Zoicite added, "I was impressed. I may agree 
more with Jadeite, but I remain nevertheless impressed by your 
empire's hospitality."
	Halcyon looked over to Kunzite and asked him what he thought 
of the masques. Venus chose that perfect moment to let her foot 
glide up along his thighs and poke at his crotch. Kunzite fought 
hard with every part of his being to stop from sputtering or 
jumping up in his chair. This sort of thing had never happened 
before.
	"Stimulating," he said finally. 
	He saw the mischievous grin on Venus' face, and was relieved 
to feel her toes playfully sliding back down to the ends of his 
boots. Kunzite then made a mental note to somehow find a way to get 
even, and oddly enough he found himself enjoying the idea. 
	"A very intriguing company you keep, Endymion," Halcyon said. 
She wiped at her mouth with a silk napkin the colour of peridot. 
"Generals and poets, philosophers and kings. Such seemingly 
paradoxical attributes are rarely seen together, for admittedly 
obvious and unsaid reasons."
	"Thank you for leaving them unsaid," Endymion said to her.
	Halcyon nodded her head. "It would be rude of me to so 
blatantly insult you when you are my honoured guests. Lunaria has 
its own problems, ones that the Earth has not, and for that you are 
fortunate."
	"What sort of problems?" Zoicite asked.
	It was meant to be a harmless question spoken by a curious 
mind, but Jupiter slammed a fist upon the table. She called 
attention to Zoicite's question, and everyone turned towards her. 
With the feel of everyone else's eyes upon her, Jupiter's face grew 
flushed and she searched for a way to back down without having to 
voice any of the dark words caught in her throat. 
	Zoicite saw the wavering in Jupiter's eyes. "Earth has very 
unpleasant problems of its own," Zoicite told her. "We don't hide 
it, I don't hide it, Endymion does not hide it. What matters is not 
that we have problems, but that we're trying to solve them as best 
and as swiftly as we can."
	While spared any sort of outburst or reprimand from her 
Queen, Jupiter slunk back down her chair and radiated personal 
displeasure for the remainder of the meal. 
	"I apologise if my question was too blunt for some people 
here," Zoicite said, and returned his attention to Halcyon. "But I 
did ask: what sorts of problems does Lunaria have?"
	Halcyon did not hesitate to answer, and did not use her 
criticisms of her own empire sparingly. "A state of complacent 
lethargy," she stated. "Fear and mistrust of foreigners. A growing 
desire to resist any and all change."
	Her eyes were directed towards Endymion. "Do any of these 
sound familiar?"
	"Earth as a whole may not share in your complacency," 
Endymion answered, "though some petty kingdoms have seen the nobles 
squander their nation's wealth away with extravagant parties while 
the poor slowly suffer and die. But at its core, we share many of 
the same faults and problems as you."
	The smile on Halcyon's face almost broadened, but she held it 
back, though the quiet pride in hearing Endymion's reply was 
permitted to show in her expression. "Then we are not as different 
as both our people might believe," she said.
	"Agreed," Endymion said, and raised his glass to her.
	There was no toast or commemorative speech made, but they 
each reflected upon the moment and what it meant for Earth and the 
Moon. Breakfast soon ended, and the attendants stayed back until 
everyone had left.
	"Can I interest any of you in more fruit, or perhaps some 
pastries or liqueurs?" Halcyon asked.
	The Generals in their own turn politely declined, as did 
Endymion.
	Halcyon looked at Endymion and began to rise from her chair. 
"Then perhaps now would be the time for you and I to begin 
discussing the reason you are here, Endymion."
	"I agree," Endymion said. 
	He rose from his chair, and his four Generals stood with him. 
	"While I am sure you all are aware of the nature of these 
talks," Halcyon said, addressing the Generals specifically, "I 
would ask that they be conducted by your prince and I in privacy."
	She gestured to the row of Sailor Soldiers, and they along 
with Serenity rose from their chairs. "I have arranged for my 
Sailor Soldiers to show you around the palace in the meantime. They 
are your guides and my servants while you are here. Feel free to 
ask them anything within reason, and they shall endeavour to 
satisfy your requests."
	"Kunzite will be my counsel during our talks," Endymion 
stated. 
	"I would rather these talks be between us, and no one else," 
Halcyon said, her voice sterner.
	Endymion did not back down and ever so calmly stated, 
"Kunzite stays. Let him keep to the shadows if it makes you feel 
more comfortable, but he stays--for my safety as much as yours. I 
trust this will not be a problem." 
	Halcyon weighed his words, and did not seem entirely 
surprised to have heard them.  "On the contrary," she said, "this 
works well. One of my Sailor Soldiers will be guarding my daughter 
as we begin this, so there will be an even number of guests and 
guides in the meantime. I believe the seating arrangements prove 
for a ready means of pairing up our respective soldiers."
	The awkward silence from the meal was gulped down by a sudden 
surge of tension as Terran-Nihongo Generals and Sailor Soldiers 
stared at each other. Sailor Mercury stood across from Zoicite. 
Sailor Jupiter stood across from Nephrite, and Sailor Mars across 
from Jadeite.
	"General Kunzite," Halcyon added. "When you are not a part of 
the talks, feel free to consider Sailor Venus your guide and 
liaison to the palace."
	Kunzite bowed his head and glanced at Sailor Venus, who was 
escorting Serenity out from the garden. Before she vanished through 
the doors, Venus looked back over her shoulder and winked at him. 
Kunzite blinked for a moment or two, then shook his head.
	Halcyon led the procession out from the rose garden, and 
Endymion and Kunzite were among the last to leave its quiet 
grandeur. Endymion paused as he drew up alongside one of the 
displays of silver roses. He glanced over at the doors, where the 
Sailor Soldiers and his Generals milled about in the atrium 
connecting to the garden.
	They were probably waiting for Halcyon and Endymion to depart 
before deciding what to do with their partner.
	The roses next to him were not yet in bloom, and they had 
closed their petals to the starlight above. They were sleeping and 
dreaming of being worn upon a hero's breast or as a halo in a 
princess' hair. Endymion could not help but smile at their dreams, 
and forgot himself as he leaned forward and focused on a single 
rose. He ran a fingertip up the stem of the rose, and it shivered 
with his touch. The petals unrolled and glowed as if the flower was 
blushing. 
	How often did a flower understand a sensual caress?
	Endymion felt Kunzite's watchful eyes upon his back, and 
suddenly realised what he had done. He glanced back over his 
shoulder and saw Kunzite looking around to see if anyone else had 
noticed.
	"You almost gave yourself away," Kunzite said quietly in 
Terran-Nihongo.
	"Didn't mean to," Endymion replied in the like. "And I don't 
think anyone noticed. At least I didn't have a cup of water slide 
across the table into my hands."
	Kunzite smirked and motioned for them to leave before their 
lingering garnered unwanted attention. "We had enough trouble 
explaining that away to your tutors and caretakers when you were 
younger," he told the prince. 
	"You're one to talk," Endymion said. "From what I hear, you 
were just as much the trouble-maker when it came to playing with 
your power."
	"Yes," Kunzite dryly agreed. "And your father made quick work 
of ensuring that it wasn't seen by the wrong people. We should be 
going, milord. The festivities are over, and the work is about to 
begin."


				*	*	*
	As he watched Endymion and Kunzite leave with Halcyon, 
Zoicite glanced back at the others. Nephrite looked like he was 
going to be sick, or else he was going to drastic lengths to avoid 
going on any palace tours. Jadeite and Sailor Mars were already 
heading elsewhere, and Zoicite puzzled over the curious rapport 
those two shared even though, as far as Zoicite knew, they had only 
just met at breakfast. 
	He glanced back at Sailor Mercury, who stood dutifully next 
to him. She smiled pleasantly. "Great," Zoicite muttered in Terran-
Nihongo. "Now what?"
	"This way," Sailor Mercury said to him in Lunarian, and 
gestured for him to follow.
	She brought him through great halls and immense chambers 
filled with flowing water, elegant art and tables awaiting 
aristocrats to sit down at them. Mercury seemed to be taking him 
into places that were not on the usual "royal tour", and Zoicite 
had to admit to himself that he actually preferred this. Granted, 
he was not entirely certain what language to speak, so for the most 
part he left it up to Sailor Mercury to do the talking. 
	"How are you enjoying the tour so far?" she asked in broken 
Terran-Nihongo. 
	Zoicite stopped and nodded his approval, though his eyes 
betrayed how much he had uncovered in her question.
	Her brokenness was too perfect. She was trying to sound like 
she did not speak his language as well as she obviously could. 
Sailor Mercury read his eyes, and understood her mistake. She 
laughed and leaned her back against a nearby pillar.
	"Almost," she sighed, shaking her head ruefully. She was now 
speaking fluent Terran-Nihongo, and without any notable accent. "I 
almost had you believing I was less than I truly am."
	"To your credit, I think anyone else would not have been able 
to tell," Zoicite said. "You probably could pass yourself off on 
Earth as a very exotic foreigner."
	Mercury's smile broadened, and changed in a way Zoicite could 
not entirely read. "Your turn now," she said. "Fair is far, after all."
	He had no idea what she meant.
	Mercury pushed away from the pillar and walked up to him. 
"There's no need to pretend you don't understand," she softly 
chided him in Terran-Nihongo. "I know you can listen and speak 
Lunarian very well."
	"How so?" Zoicite asked, still speaking Terran-Nihongo.
	"I saw your face," she answered. "You might not have looked 
it, but you were listening to the ongoing conversations whenever 
possible."
	"There was very little Lunarian spoken earlier this morning."
	Mercury shook her head. "I wasn't talking about breakfast, 
General. I was talking about last night during the masque."
	She was rewarded with a bemused look from Zoicite.
	"You were there?" Zoicite asked.
	"The masques do not require us to come dressed as Sailor 
Soldiers," she said, "so we are allowed the chance to pretend we're 
like everyone else."
	Zoicite arched one of his eyebrows. "Aren't you?"
	"You'd be surprised what whispers you hear behind your back 
when people think you're not listening."
	There was a sincerity and weariness in her voice as she spoke 
those words, and Zoicite could not help but regard her with 
newfound respect. She may not have been as experienced as he was, 
but she was learned enough to understand that, and showed a 
willingness to try to discover what she could. Not to mention, she 
was quite pretty, though probably a good three, maybe even four 
years his younger.
	"I'll be damned," Zoicite said as he shook his head.
	Ami looked at him with inquisitive eyes. 
	"I think I'm actually starting to warm up to you," he told 
her in Lunarian.
	"It's a mutual thing, I can assure you," she said with a 
laugh. "My name is--" She then spoke a very long and intricate 
name. Zoicite only caught the first few syllables of it. Ami 
chuckled at the bewilderment on his face. 
	"The language of my people is among the most complex in this 
system," she explained. "You can imagine why most children would 
prefer learning the Lunarian language as opposed to the one of 
their own kingdom." 
	"Should I attempt to still call you by that name?" Zoicite 
asked.
	Ami shook her head. "My friends call me 'Ami'. It's a much 
shorter version of my name, and easier to remember."
	Then she kissed her palm, and placed it against Zoicite's 
cheek. 
	"A Mercurian greeting custom," she explained.
	Unfazed, Zoicite kissed his own palm and placed it against 
Ami's cheek. "I know. I've studied most of the cultures in the 
Lunarian Empire," he said. He then added, "You know my name 
already, but you can call me Zoicite as opposed to General. Having 
a military rank in this place tends to get everyone staring at you 
funny."
	"I know the feeling," Ami agreed.
	She took him down near-forgotten halls and through 
illustrious chambers found off the proverbial beaten path. There 
was an elegance to the antiquity Zoicite saw that the rest of the 
palace lacked. It was a quiet grace, near mystical in its power, 
and Zoicite found the mystery of why these places stayed empty and 
almost lost even more alluring than their sheer grandeur and 
splendour.
	For hours they walked, and Ami led Zoicite to the outer edges 
of the palace. They came to an end of the towering palace walls, 
and to grasslands and holding pens for animals the likes of which 
Zoicite had never before seen.
	"Welcome to our menagerie," Ami said, noting the stunned look 
on Zoicite's otherwise stoic face. "This is a private zoo, where 
only those permitted within the palace are allowed to visit. Some 
areas here are also storage for the more exotic, live animals that 
are raised for food."
	She took him down winding pathways, and Zoicite bore witness 
to the existence of strange and wonderful creatures he had only 
heard about in legends. There were manatees and mermaids swimming 
together, chimera monsters and great sea serpents. He saw horses, 
and wolves as large as he was, and lizards that both lumbered on 
all fours or ran on their hind feet.
	"Remind me to thank Halcyon Queen for making you my liaison 
and guide," Zoicite breathed as he watched a herd of what looked to 
be zebras galloping past him.
	"You give me honour by saying those words," Ami told him.
	Zoicite grinned at the zebras once more and stepped away from 
the railing. "Your efforts are worth the compliment."
	They continued touring the zoo--and there were monkeys and 
birds and strange beings who could fly though their leathery hides 
lacked any feathers. Ami led Zoicite up to a large pen enclosed by 
wire mesh. Inside were winged birds who strutted on the grass and 
drank from a pool of flowing water and rested in the boughs and 
branches of a large tree.
	They resembled peacocks, and their feathers were varying 
shades of gold. Only the colour of their eyes stood apart: a 
brilliant blue to match a Terran afternoon sky.
	"They're magnificent creatures," Zoicite said when he saw 
them.
	Ami nodded and turned to him. "Choose one."
	"As a pet?"
	Ami laughed. "No. As dinner."
	Surprised, Zoicite stared at her, and then stared out into 
the pen. "You eat these things?" he asked, somewhat incredulous.
	"Beneath their plumage is a delicious meat you have never 
before tasted," Ami explained. "They are considered a delicacy, 
though they are quite common on Lunaria." 
	Zoicite watched the majestic birds move about their pen. They 
looked perfectly content, unaware of their fate. "At least tell me 
they don't have a names," he sighed. "I'd rather not know what my 
dinner was called before he became dinner."
	In the end, Ami selected their dinner, and she assured 
Zoicite their dinner's name was not "Michikusa." The two ventured 
through the rest of the menagerie, and found themselves back in the 
palace. They talked at great length, learning from each other as 
they asked questions and tried to give adequate answers based on 
their own knowledge and experience. Quite often they would shift 
from speaking Lunarian to Terran-Nihongo and back to Lunarian 
again.
	"Do you have a palace library?" Zoicite asked. "An archive? A 
hall of records? Anything resembling those?"
	Ami nodded. "Why do you ask?"
	"I'm curious to see how they compare to the libraries of my 
kingdom," Zoicite casually lied. "Our country is somewhat renowned 
for its vast stores of the written word."
	"I'm afraid to think your archives will be put to shame when 
you see ours, General," Ami said.
	Zoicite smirked. "That's a risk I'm willing to take."
	Ami led them towards the palace library, and Zoicite paid 
careful attention to the rooms and halls they passed through. Some 
places and major intersections he already recognized, and from it 
all he constructed a mental map of how to locate the archives again 
on his own. One of the reasons he had risen to become such an 
impressive military general was his near photographic memory.
	Ami brought him before a set of closed, double doors. Over 
the doorway was a banner carved into the wall that read, in 
Lunarian: The Unknown Is The Beginning Of Knowledge. 
	Ami made a gesture to the doors, and they opened into the 
archives for her. That the palace's archives would have put 
Zoicite's to shame was an understatement. Zoicite took five steps 
in, and realised how enormous the archives truly were. There was an 
open foyer in the centre, but Zoicite counted easily three or four 
floors above them of nothing but shelves running from floor to 
ceiling that were crammed with scrolls, books, papers and papyrus.
	"Most of the archives are in truth underground," Ami 
explained as she led Zoicite through the labyrinth of bookshelves. 
"There are roughly another ten levels beneath our feet, though the 
last three are purely for storage use--sorting through and 
cataloguing unregistered books until we find a place for them 
here."
	Zoicite came to a stop and sighed, "This is going to take a 
while."
	Ami smiled, though she did not entirely understand what he 
meant.
	In time they came to a large desk located just beyond the 
foyer. It was probably a very elegant if not fancifully carved 
desk, but Zoicite couldn't tell since the desk was littered with 
papers and stacks of books. Behind it was an enormous series of 
shelves holding catalogues, and large drawers filled with what 
might have been index cards.
	"Ah, hello there!" a voice said from somewhere behind them. 
"I thought I heard someone come in."
	Zoicite and Ami turned around, and saw a woman with an 
armload of books walking towards them.
	"This is Garnet," Ami said as the woman placed the stack of 
books onto the already cluttered desk. "The palace's key historian 
and archivist."
	Garnet smiled warmly from behind her reading glasses. "That's 
the fancy way of saying I'm the librarian," she said, removing the 
glasses from her face. "But if you ever need to find a book or 
manuscript, the odds are I'm the one who knows where it is, based 
even on a vague description." 
	Her strawberry-blonde hair was tied back in a single braid, 
and she had magnificent green eyes. Garnet placed one of her hands 
across her chest, and bowed at the waist before Zoicite.
	"It is an honour to meet you, General," she said, speaking 
Terran-Nihongo fairly well.
	Zoicite bowed in the like. "I see you know our formal 
greetings."
	"I was on Earth for a while when I was a child, in your 
country to be exact," she replied. "Picked up the language fairly 
quickly, and haven't forgotten it since."
	It wasn't often that Zoicite heard of Lunarians going to 
Earth, but it also was not so uncommon that it surprised him. 
Garnet may not have necessarily looked the part, but it was clear 
to him that she possessed a great deal of panache that all 
adventurers had.
	"So what do you have in these archives?" Zoicite asked.
	Garnet grinned. "What do you want?"
	Zoicite flashed Ami a look that told her the archives were 
certainly living up to their reputation.
	"We should probably be going, sadly," Ami said, more 
apologetic towards Garnet than Zoicite. "There's a lot more of the 
palace I'd like to show him before dinner and the masque." 
	"I won't take it personally," Garnet said, and she 
nonchalantly waved their departure aside. "As it is, Ami's a more 
than familiar face around here. She's just afraid that if she stays 
here, I'll show her some new manuscript I discovered down in the 
vaults, and we'll forget about you for countless hours as we 
examine it."
	Ami blushed a little, and Zoicite laughed.
	"I do hope to see you again during your stay, though," Garnet 
added to Zoicite.
	Zoicite could not help but flash Garnet a cryptic smile. "I 
hold very little doubt of that."


				*	*	*
	Rei was quick to break away from the clustering of people. 
With her eyes she told Jadeite to follow her, and in that momentary 
glance Jadeite knew what she meant. They disappeared quietly down a 
smaller cross-corridor, where they came to yet another part of the 
palace Jadeite had not seen before.
	Rei said very little of anything to him, save for an 
occasional, "This way", and while she stole a few glances back at 
him she did her very best to not look at him. It felt as if she 
didn't want anyone to know where they were, or even hear whatever 
conversations they might share if she ever decided to talk. More 
amused than insulted, Jadeite sauntered in behind her, his hands 
crossed behind his back. He acted more like he was on a silent, 
guided tour of a museum.
	"Where are the others?" Jadeite asked abruptly.
	She turned her head and stared at him. Jadeite was not 
entirely sure if she was glaring, or completely blasé about his 
question. "Excuse me?" she said.
	"The other Sailor Soldiers," he said. "I count four currently 
under Princess Serenity, and nine planets in our Solis System. With 
Earth having no known Sailor Soldier, that makes a possible eight 
in total. Where are the other four?"
	Rei did not answer him immediately, and judging by her facial 
expressions it was not because she disliked Jadeite and didn't want 
to answer him. She told him the simple truth: "We don't know. They 
serve the Queen, and report directly to her alone. Barely anyone, 
even us, sees them, but they are around. They're very mysterious 
and very distant." 
	She smiled to herself. "It isn't any wonder why we've called 
them the Outer Soldiers."
	"Are they more powerful than you?" Jadeite asked.
	That earned him a definite glare.
	"Merely wondering," he said, a little surprised at how easily 
that had managed to ruffle her proverbial feathers. "As it is, I 
have no idea how powerful you are, but I'm willing to bet that if 
these Outers report only to Halcyon-sama, then they are probably 
older, more experienced and overall more powerful than you."
	The glare aimed at him lost much of its edge, but it did not 
fade away. Grudgingly Rei turned elsewhere and said, "You are 
probably right."
	"It's not meant as an insult," Jadeite said, "if that's what 
you fear. All four of you...would you be called the Inner Soldiers if 
the other four are the Outers?"
	Rei nodded.
	"Well then," Jadeite continued. "You Inner Soldiers look no 
older than the princess you serve and are sworn to protect. I doubt 
you've had much of any chance to prove yourselves in battle yet."
	"The four of us are a year older than the princess," Rei said 
to him. "And not everything in life revolves around battle." 
	"No," Jadeite agreed, "but everything in life gets displaced 
quite impressively when battle appears. You cannot plan for peace 
without also planning for war. It's the nature of the beast. All 
humans are like this."
	Rei began to walk away, and over her shoulder she callously 
said, "Strange how Earth remains the only planet that still seems 
in the throes of bloodshed."
	One of Jadeite's eyebrows went up. He did not move from where 
he stood. "Strange how your home planet is no longer inhabitable," 
he called out after her, "even when a war-mongering planet like 
Earth had nothing to do with it."
	That managed to stop Rei in her steps.
	She whirled, and in her eyes erupted a personal ferocity 
Jadeite rarely saw in anyone. "What's that supposed to mean?" Rei 
snapped.
	"Exactly what it means," he said. "Nothing more and nothing 
less. Might I remind you that evil is not exclusive to the human 
race. In our system's time of greatest peace, evil came from afar 
and sought us out. If it had not been for the fighters, for the 
soldiers--soldiers like you in fact--we would not be having this 
conversation here today."
	She had to concede to that, and he knew it just as well as 
she did. Rei looked away and gave some vague nod of the head. 
Jadeite said nothing more, since it was probably as close to any 
sort of agreement or concession from her as he would get.
	They traversed down halls and through immense chambers that 
seemed to serve no other purpose save for just being there to look 
pretty. Rei eventually began leading him down corridors where the 
lush carpeting tapered away, and the elegant masonry of the palace 
drew back to allow for a more natural, rugged elegance in the 
architecture.
	Jadeite noted how there were more glass windows and plant 
life here than he had seen in any other room, save for perhaps the 
garden where they'd had breakfast. The air started to grow thicker 
as well, and it tried making him feel sluggish.
	"Where are we going?" he asked.
	"You'll see," Rei answered.
	They came to their destination. Part of the chamber was 
covered beneath an overhang of glass and metal, and most of it was 
blurred with steam. Everything else was left open to the darkened 
skies, allowing for a comfortable cool to settle down upon them. 
Much of the floor was a blue ceramic tile, and in many places the 
tiles formed a path that led around beautifully groomed gardens of 
small, while rocks raked into lines and spiral designs. 
	There were clusters of bamboo shoots and palm trees standing 
proudly alongside each other, and in the middle of the area were 
four enormous pools of heated water. Steam wafted up from the foamy 
surface, near thick as fog. Porous, grey rocks, larger than either 
Rei or Jadeite, were scattered all around the area; a small 
mountain of those rocks were clustering at the far end of the pool.
	"Heated by the rocks?" Jadeite asked.
	Rei nodded. "This is one of the palace bathing pools," she 
said. "There's about six or seven in the palace that I know of. 
This pool is the largest and most public; it's used mainly for 
visiting groups."
	Jadeite turned in a slow, full circle, his eyes taking in 
every last possible detail, though there seemed to be more scrutiny 
than awe in his face.
	"Not to your liking?" Rei asked. She sounded disappointed.
	"On Earth we have hot springs," Jadeite said, "but nothing of 
this scale. And usually we have to venture out into the mountains 
to find them. These pool seems custom-built for the palace."
	He looked around the hot springs and their surrounding 
gardens once more. 
	"No change rooms," he muttered to himself. He glanced back at 
Rei and remarked, "Lunarians don't exactly strike me as the type to 
bathe in the nude, not unless it's a private pool."
	"The changing rooms are made to blend in with the rest of the 
garden, so as not to draw attention away from the aesthetics," Rei 
said. She then added, "And besides, we're not that vain and uptight 
about ourselves, if you're willing to take the time to find out."
	"Are you inviting me to wash your back?" he remarked, a lop-
sided grin on his face.
	While she shook her head at him, Rei did laugh.
	Jadeite knelt down at the edge of the pool and tested the 
temperature of the water. "So what do you do when out of uniform?" 
he asked. "I can't imagine you being a Sailor Soldier every moment 
of your life. Are you actually a priestess?"
 	"Yes, I am," Rei answered.
	Jadeite stared down at the murky water. 
	He was starting to feel uncomfortable in his uniform, and 
would need to leave this chamber soon. "A princess and a priestess, 
and above all that, a Sailor Soldier," he said to Rei. "Where do 
you find the time for hobbies?" 
	Rei's smile and growing respect for him fell. "It's always a 
game with you, isn't it?" she said, and she sounded ill for 
thinking he might have admirable qualities. "The way you bait me 
with praises and criticisms, it's no more than a passing amusement 
for you."
	Jadeite drew his hand out from the water and stood up. "Here 
you chide me," he said, "when you were playing a very similar game 
last night, Sailor Mars. You were pretending to be someone who had 
never seen my face or knew who I was, and you tried to pry as much 
casual information out from me as possible."
	Rei averted her eyes. "That's not true," she said, and only 
half meant it.
	"So bumping into me in that corridor last night was just an 
impressive coincidence?"
	Her silence told him the answer she was unwilling to admit 
to.
	"Life is not a game, General," she said quietly. 
	"No, it's not," Jadeite agreed, "but it has rules like a 
game, and people who move like the pieces found in a game. I do not 
play games with life, Sailor Mars. I play games with people."
	Rei's eyes found the resolve to look directly at him again, 
but they were eyes filled with pity. "That means you are always 
against everyone," she said.
	"It's kept me alive this long," Jadeite said. "You don't know 
what I've seen."
	"Neither do you know what I have seen."
	At that, Jadeite's mouth curled into a thin, almost bitter 
smile, and all the cynicism he had swept to the side before now 
burst into his words and gestures. He stepped closer to Rei, and 
the glint in his eyes made him seem even taller than he already 
was.
	Rei instinctively stepped back, and seemed worried that he 
might attack her.
	"Here you have been raised in a palace," Jadeite said to her, 
"in a closed world comprised of a select group of people. I admire 
you innocence and naiveté, and I also admonish it. I have spent 
more time in the company of death than I ever want to be. I never 
asked for it, but it sought me out regardless, and I had to make a 
choice. I chose to live, Sailor Mars. I chose to keep myself alive 
by drawing my sword and spraying the grass with the blood of 
another human being."
	He cast a sidelong glance back at the hot spring. The water 
in the pool burbled contentedly, and the air stayed thick and hazy.
	"There will be a time where you must face that choice 
yourself," Jadeite said. "Will you want to live, in spite of the 
pain, or will you want to give in to the cold comfort of death?"
	He spared her from having to wriggle beneath whatever gaze he 
might have chosen to pin her under. Jadeite could see well enough 
that she had never been confronted with such doubts and darkness 
before. In his mind, he was being merciful.
	"I think you should leave," Rei said quietly.
	Her voice teetered between subdued melancholy, and helpless 
anger.
	"And I think," Jadeite said to her, "you need time alone to 
consider my words, and your world. I thank you for your time, 
Sailor Mars. I believe I can find my way back."
	He brushed shoulders with her as he passed her by, and walked 
down one of the connecting halls. He half-expected to hear sobbing. 
Instead he heard a frustrated shout and the sound of a clenched 
fist smashing against rock. Jadeite hoped she hadn't injured her 
hand doing that. For that matter, he hoped she didn't linger too 
long inside the hot spring, where the heat might get to her before 
any epiphanies were reached.


				*	*	*
	Nephrite growled many vicious unpleasantries to himself as he 
followed Sailor Jupiter down the halls. She wasn't saying much to 
him, outside of the basics--this room did that, that room was used 
for this--and Nephrite was pretty damned glad it was that way. His 
head was throbbing from both sides, and it hurt just to keep his 
eyes open and look around.
	Why did they have to keep doing this? Couldn't she just call 
an end to the damned tour, and let him go back to his chambers and 
die in peace?
	This hangover was bordering on cruel and unusual punishment, 
and it was bad enough to make him want to swear off Sake, his most 
beloved of drinks, forever. And Jupiter was not making his 
situation any better with the way she was muttering rueful things 
about him and the others in Lunarian, thinking he didn't 
understand.
	Most of them he'd already heard at last night's masque, but 
that still didn't mean it was improving his mood. He endured her 
ignorance and her insults, and kept pace behind her.
	Mercilessly, Jupiter brought them to a halt in some fancy-
looking room that was too bright for Nephrite's already sensitive 
eyes. He groaned and massaged his temples with his thumb and 
forefinger.
	Sailor Jupiter rolled her eyes and looked away in disgust. 
"Are all Terrans drunkards like you?" she muttered scathingly in 
Lunarian.
	Nephrite stopped, and his face was contorted into a fierce 
scowl that revealed his teeth. Damn it all, the left side of his 
head was now throbbing in synch with the right side.
	"Tell me, little girl," he said in Lunarian. It was his one 
last, desperate attempt to act civil, and he spoke through clenched 
jaws. "Do you hate me because I'm me, or do you hate me because of 
what I am?"
	Jupiter froze and slowly turned around. "Y-You..."
	"Speak Lunarian?" Nephrite finished for her. "Yes, some of us 
Terran drunkards actually do have other hobbies."
	Jupiter's entire face went flush, and she was quivering 
either from fear of him reporting her to the Queen, or from anger 
at having been made a fool. Nephrite didn't care about petty 
snitching, and in his kingdom he would have removed the tongue of 
such a worm unless it was regarding raiders, betrayals or 
conspiracies.
	It might have very well been the hangover talking. It might 
very well have been all his combined frustrations culminating into 
near total apathy. Whatever it might have been, Nephrite no longer 
held back.
	"Act as lofty as you want, Miss," he said to Jupiter. "Parade 
around in your fancy uniforms and strange powers, but when it comes 
to bare combat and swordsmanship, you would not survive. Your 
magic, if I would even dare to call it that, could kill me, yes. 
But one thrust from my blade, and you would be dead before you hit 
the floor."
	Jupiter was desperately trying to restrain herself from 
leaping in, and it was visible. "I do not like the scorn in your 
voice," she said. 
	Her voice trembled.
	"You?" Nephrite said, and would have laughed at her had his 
hangover not pulsed inside his skull again. "You do not like the 
scorn in my voice? What's the matter, never had someone bite back 
at you whenever you bit into them? Is the little Sailor Soldier not 
liking the fact that there's one person out there who doesn't give 
a damn who or what she is, no matter how hard she barks?"
	Jupiter did not say anything to that, but now her body was 
trembling as fiercely as her voice, and her fists were clenching 
tighter and tighter.
	"I speak scornfully," Nephrite said to her, "because I am 
Terran and therefore scorned. Lunarians are renowned for their 
elegance and their strange psychokinetic powers...and their disdain 
of anyone who does not share their abilities. I would rather be 
seen as inferior because I have to unsheathe my weapon instead of 
summon it, than be an arrogant, overprotected and over-adored brat 
like you."
	"I am not Lunarian!" Jupiter shouted at him.
	In a voice colder than ice, Nephrite stated, "You still work 
for one."
	Jupiter's fists were trying to jump out and strike Nephrite 
across the face; he could see it. She wanted to throw a punch. She 
wanted to draw blood and make him choke on his words. 
	But she could not, and they both knew that.
	Nephrite shook his head at her. "I am bound to Endymion by 
honour," he said. "I serve under him because I want to serve under 
him. I have found him worthy of my allegiance."
	His eyes appraised Sailor Jupiter, and found her lacking. 
"You," he said, "are bound to your princess by fate. You never 
asked for it, but you've been raised to believe it, and so you do 
not believe in her the way I believe in Endymion. You never will."
	That did it.
	Sailor Jupiter lunged for him, letting out a shout of blind 
anger. Her fingers grasped for his wrist, his neck, for any part of 
his body she could wrap them around. They were denied any part of 
Nephrite, and found only air.
	Despite his hangover, Nephrite moved faster than Jupiter, 
sidestepping her attack. His own fingers wrapped around her 
outstretched wrist, and held it at bay. "I would never react this 
way should Endymion's honour come into question," he whispered 
cruelly into her ear.
	His boot came sweeping in behind her and smashed into the 
heel of her foot. Jupiter tumbled backwards, and Nephrite released 
her arm, leaving her to fall to the floor. She picked herself up, 
but dared not rise to her knees or her feet. She stared up at him, 
humiliated, and tried to force back the tears beginning to stream 
down her face.
	Nephrite showed her very little compassion as he stood over 
her. "If you really believed in your princess," he said, "you would 
not have lashed out the way you did. You attacked because you 
suddenly doubted her, and thus doubted yourself, and it frightened 
you. You wanted the fear to end, and so you forgot whom your 
opponent was."
	He turned and began to walk out of the chamber.
	"And that, my dear, is why you failed. Our tour is over, and 
I'm going back to bed."
	When she was left alone, Jupiter pounded her fist against the 
floor and let out a cry that laid somewhere between rage and 
frustration. She now found herself lacking. 


				*	*	*
	Halcyon led Endymion and Kunzite through a dizzying array of 
corridors that all seemed to look alike, and through two or three 
chambers of exquisite displays and decorations. As far as either of 
them could tell, they were being taken into an area where only 
royalty (and perhaps the Sailor Soldiers) was permitted. Court 
attendants and servants seemed to all but disappear, and the 
grandiose halls were not without a haunting tranquility.
	She took them into a part of the palace few Lunarian eyes 
ever saw, and they understood this well enough. The walls were jade 
marble, and three long fountains sunken into the floor ran the 
width of the chamber, with three small footbridges allowing passage 
over each of them. Columns and fanciful trimmings towered over 
them, and busts of historic figures past and present lined the 
lengths of the walls.
	Endymion looked up at the ceiling, where great murals of 
angels and starlight were painted with such life that he could feel 
their eyes upon his form. "Where are we?" he asked.
	"It's a private chamber, known only to myself and a few 
select others," Halcyon said. "These rooms are hidden from prying 
palace eyes, allowing for the utmost in secrecy and trust. I think 
you will agree that both are paramount in these darkest days."
	"That I trust you is not the problem," Endymion said. "The 
real problem is finding a way for the people of Earth to trust you 
in the same way."
	"As it will be for helping the Lunarians see with eyes 
unclouded by centuries of suspicion," Halcyon agreed.
	Kunzite knelt down next to the outer left fountain, and 
dipped his hand beneath the water's surface. It felt cool and 
clean, and he marvelled at the details of the amphora-carrying 
cherubs who let more flowing water spill down into the pools. His 
eyes caught a shadow of movement in the reflection of the water; it 
was somewhere high above his head.
	Very calmly, Kunzite pulled his hand out from the water, 
shook it free of any loose drops, and strolled towards Endymion. 
"We're not alone," he murmured in Terran-Nihongo.
	"I know," Endymion said quietly in the same. "I'm willing to 
bet they're Halcyon's bodyguards."
	"And if they're not?"
	Endymion directed his gaze upon the Queen's back. "We are 
both armed, and Halcyon is not," he said. "If it's a test, wound 
them. If it's an attack, spare only one. Either way, we do not draw 
against Halcyon herself." 
	Kunzite nodded, and they continued in behind the Queen. She 
brought them before a bust of a Terran man both Endymion and 
Kunzite had known all too well. Endymion let his fingers run over 
the contours of his father's likeness. Beneath his father's marble 
face was a small gold plate that had his father's name and a date 
embossed into it.
	"You recognise it?" Halcyon asked, and Endymion nodded.
	"I remember that year well," he said, and tapped his finger 
against the nameplate. "It was the year my father journeyed here to 
negotiate for peace and trade."
	Halcyon smiled at the memory, but it was quick to fall. "It 
is also the year," she said quietly, "you lost your innocence."
	Endymion turned away from his father's effigy. "Are you 
apologizing?"
	"Your father never forgave himself for leaving you behind on 
Earth," Halcyon said. "The ones who took you did it because they 
thought holding you prisoner would cause your father to abandon 
entering the peace accord."
	She wanted to look away and avert her eyes, so she would have 
to look into his and see whatever blame might be awaiting her. "In 
part, I cannot help but feel responsible for what happened to you."
	Endymion glanced over his shoulder at Kunzite, who remained 
stoic, and then returned his gaze to Halcyon. "You did not tear me 
from my bed at night, Halcyon Queen," he stated. His voice lacked 
any signs of the emotional scars he'd spent years licking and 
healing. "You never shackled my wrists behind my back, or 
blindfolded my eyes. You were not the one who whispered strange 
terrors and threats into my ears. I do not blame you. If there is 
vengeance I seek, it is against the ones who took that innocence 
from me."
	Halcyon's smile came back, but it was not as strong as 
before. Endymion knew she would still hold herself partly 
responsible, and nothing he could say or do would ever change that. 
It was something she would have to wrestle with on her own.
	"Did your father ever find them?" Halcyon asked.
	Endymion's jaw clenched. "No."
	With a half-weary, half-satisfied sigh, Halcyon's smile fully 
returned. "You wear your father's mantle well," she said to 
Endymion, "despite having been entrusted with so much at such a 
young age." 
	Her eyes darted back to the peripherals where Kunzite stood. 
"And I see you choose your allies carefully."
	"I trust my Generals because they have fought with me in more 
battles than I wish to remember," Endymion said. "They have proven 
their loyalty, sometimes to the edge of death. I trust their words, 
which are unclouded by politics. They want peace, and with that 
peace a security. All five of us are here at your palace because we 
believe that it can be achieved."
	Halcyon turned to Kunzite and personally flashed him a warm 
smile. "They also speak Lunarian just as good if not better than 
you."
	Kunzite's mouth was drawn into a thin smirk. "So you 
noticed," he said, switching to Lunarian.
	Halcyon nodded. "The fun is in seeing who else notices, and 
how long it takes them."
	"Strange," Kunzite said, and he looked at her with newfound 
respect. "I never pictured you as the type to have a sense of 
humour." 
	"In this day and age, it's a necessity," she replied. "It's 
also a prerequisite for me, given my position."
	Halcyon began to stroll around the chamber, and Endymion and 
Kunzite moved with her. 
	"I've followed the newslinks," she said as they crossed over 
one of the footbridges. "Reports of numerous insurrections on your 
world are starting to spread quickly here, to the point where many 
Lunarians believe an all-out civil war upon the Earth is 
inevitable."
	"Is there a time frame?" Endymion asked.
	Halcyon gave him a helpless, if not somewhat indifferent 
shrug. "Optimists give it two months before the spiral begins. And 
they are afraid that Earth will turn the Moon Kingdom into a 
scapegoat, claiming that all Earth's suffering is because of the 
Lunarians."
	"Nothing personal," Endymion said to her, "but I think I'll 
derive some vicious satisfaction in proving your gossip-mongers 
wrong, Majesty."
	Halcyon seemed to take little of any insult to his remark. If 
anything, the smile of her face broadened. "I look forward to 
seeing that," she agreed. "Now, tell me of the dagger you found."
	"I can do you one better."
	Endymion gestured for Kunzite to join them. Kunzite 
approached Halcyon, unclasped part of his uniform, and reached 
inside. He pulled out a slender item wrapped carefully in a silk 
cloth.
	"You've been keeping it hidden beneath your uniform all this 
morning?" Halcyon remarked to Kunzite. 
	"You'd be surprised at what else is hidden beneath my 
uniform, Halcyon Queen," he answered respectfully, though not 
without a slight grin.
	Halcyon shared in it. "I'm sure I would."
	Kunzite unfolded the ends of the cloth, and set the dagger 
down on the footbridge's railing for them to see. Its blade was 
double-edged and forked at the tip.  It curved like the waves of 
the sea, and bore strange markings running down along its length. 
The hilt and pommel were made of a material resembling gold that 
had lost its lustre, and were decorated with small, precious 
gemstones.
	Halcyon leaned closer to inspect the weapon. "It's authentic, 
and unmistakeably Lunarian," she was forced to admit. "I know that 
inexpensive knock-offs abound, but the craftsmanship here cannot be 
faked. The gemstones burrowed into the hilt here and here are of 
lunar origin."
	Endymion and Kunzite exchanged looks.
	"Earth has no major trade going on the Lunarian empire, save 
for the underground markets," Endymion said.
	Kunzite nodded his head, and his arms crossed over his chest. 
"Procuring these stones would be difficult," he said, "but finding 
a Lunarian weapons smith on Earth is near impossible." 
	Halcyon directed her gaze at Kunzite. Her eyes were curious 
about how he could speak with such authority on the matter.
	"I've tried finding one myself," he explained. "So far 
without any success."
	Halcyon took the point, and went back to studying the weapon. 
	"Could this dagger have been smuggled to Earth?" Endymion 
asked.
	Halcyon frowned, and it looked like a very foreign expression 
for her. "It's possible, though I don't see how. This is a dagger 
of the old royal guard, and a symbol of their elite status. They 
prided themselves in claiming that they would resist parting with 
their dagger even in death." 
	She pointed to a series of small runes carved down along 
broad side of the blade. "See those? That's a name. Each sword had 
the name of its wielder engraved upon the blade, so no contests 
could be made about whether he or she belonged to the royal guard."
	With a scowl, Endymion glanced over at Kunzite.
	"What is it?" Halcyon asked.
	"While we could translate those markings," Endymion said, 
"they didn't make any sense to us. We thought it might have been 
the name of the sword, not the name of its owner."
	"We have limited access to things Lunarian," Kunzite 
explained. "It's difficult to find someone on the Moon willing to 
give us information, and equally difficult to hide the information 
we do have on the Moon from the rest of the Earth, since they would 
not look too fondly on it."
	"'Lover Lunari'," Halcyon said. "I believe that is the term 
many Terrans use to mock sympathisers of the Moon Kingdom."
	"There are words much worse than that," Endymion said, and he 
did not like admitting to it. "Much, much worse. You wouldn't want 
to know."
	"I fear I might have heard them already," Halcyon said. She 
ran her fingers along the dagger's surface, feeling the grooves of 
the Lunarian runes. "Spinel," she read. 
	Endymion glanced over at Kunzite, but the General could only 
shrug at the word, and did not understand its meaning. "Sound 
familiar?" he asked Halcyon.
	Halcyon shook her head. "Whomever he is, or was, he was not a 
recent member of the royal guard. There are subtle differences in 
the design of the dagger. This is perhaps fifteen, maybe twenty 
years old. I would need to consult our registry archives. If you 
both would follow me."
	She wrapped the dagger back up in its cloth and took it in 
her hands, and led them over the remaining two footbridges. On the 
other side stood a set of double doors; they opened without Halcyon 
even needing to touch them. At the rear of the procession, Kunzite 
could feel their unseen watchers creeping amidst the shadows.
	They were tagging along, and he kept casual about it. He knew 
they were there. They probably knew that he knew as well, and no 
one was about to make the first move unless necessity dictated it 
be done. Kunzite kept Endymion's orders in his mind, and while he 
did not rest his hands upon the hilt of his sword, he was not about 
to let them stray very far from his weapon either.
	Another hideaway awaited them on the other side of the 
doors--a garden of sheer unparalleled beauty and splendour. It was 
adorned with blinding arrays of colour and petals, and the 
fragrances in the air were near overwhelming. Halcyon guided them 
down a series of pathways marked in silver cobbles, until they came 
to a gazebo located at the very heart of the garden. They ascended 
the three or four stairs of the gazebo, and stood within it. In the 
middle was what looked to be an old, stone fountain, rising up to 
Halcyon's waist. 
	There was no water inside. Instead, a shimmering orb of 
silver floated a few inches off the surface of the basin. The first 
thing Endymion noticed was that it was decorated with intricate 
Lunarian runes older than any he had ever studied or come across. 
The second thing he noted was how, while Halcyon's reflection 
appeared on the surface of the orb, his and Kunzite's did not.
	As Halcyon placed her palm upon the orb, light sprang to life 
in the air above the fount. It was like looking into a large, 
round, semi-transparent mirror. Endymion could see Halcyon standing 
on the other side, but her figure was blurred and at places 
completely obscured by the colours being projected into the air. 
The colours gelled together and took definitions and form. 
	Endymion and Kunzite found themselves staring at a screen 
that displayed a message of greetings to its user. Everything was 
backwards to them. Either Halcyon faced the proper side, or else 
the screen had decided it would be facing her.
	"I wish for you to examine this," Halcyon told the orb.
	She kept her one hand upon its surface, and with her other 
hand she fumbled with the cloth covering the dagger. Kunzite 
stepped around the basin and helped reveal the blade.
	"Thank you," the Queen said to him.
	A thin, focused beam of light shot out from the floating 
screen, and it ran itself up and down the length of the dagger. 
Endymion saw how the runes identifying the name of the owner glowed 
golden as the light struck each of them in turn.
	The screen flickered momentarily, and created enormous lists 
of the Moon Kingdom's soldiers, past and present. Names and runes 
were scrolling by at an astonishing rate, and Endymion could not 
keep up with any of it, especially when he was trying to decipher 
it all backwards.
	Abruptly the scrolling stopped, and a name was highlighted. 
	Halcyon squeezed the orb ever so slightly, and a personal and 
family history of the man was pulled up from the archives and put 
on display. Alongside the list of the guard's accomplishments, 
promotions and placements was a large image of the man's face.
	"Commander Spinel," Halcyon read. "Lunarian by birth. At age 
fourteen he was inducted into the royal guard as an apprentice, 
where he received this very dagger as a sign of his acceptance into 
their ranks. Three years later he was taken out of the royal guard 
and inducted as a member of the Seraphim."
	Endymion glanced over to Kunzite. "The Seraphim?"
	"The Lunarian equivalent to our Shinobi," Kunzite replied. He 
looked at Halcyon through the projection. "Are they the ones 
currently watching us?"
	Halcyon shook her head, though she was visibly impressed. 
"No, but not many can detect them in the first place. You both 
noticed their shadows amidst the darkness, a feat few can claim. 
Well done, Endymion, General Kunzite; I expected nothing less from 
men of your skills and reputations."
	She returned her attention to Spinel's profile. "The Seraphim 
hand-pick the members of their order, so he obviously had some 
qualities and skills they liked. Though what they might have been 
is not listed here. He served in the Seraphim until he was twenty-
two. And then twelve and a half years ago he vanished, along with 
many of the Seraphim who had previously served under him. No one 
has seen or heard anything since. There are no records of any 
dissention in his behaviour, no incidents against him reported. His 
profile reads no different from any of the other royal guards, or 
even the Seraphim, save for that he became a ghost."
	Endymion exhaled and shook his head. His hands became crossed 
over his chest. "That doesn't make much sense," he said. "There's 
no discernable motive here."
	"This just tells us who he was while in the employ of the 
Moon Palace," Kunzite replied. "We need to go further back."
	Halcyon opened another file on Spinel's family history. Her 
face abruptly paled, and her expression became tense. "Oh no," she 
whispered.
	Endymion stiffened and walked around the fount. "What is it?"
	Halcyon was unable to tear her eyes from the tragedy upon the 
screen. "When he was eight," she said in a quiet voice, "his family 
was wiped out by Terran marauders. He was part of a Lunarian 
settlement on one of the islands in your southeast hemisphere."
	Kunzite scowled. "Oceania. Even now it's infested with 
pirates and pillagers."
	Images taken of the massacre's aftermath began to flash 
before them. Halcyon winced and turned away, unable to stare 
directly at the brutality. Endymion and Kunzite had seen such 
things before, and had even walked down blood-drenched fields after 
epic and gruesome battles, but here were unsettled by what they 
saw.
	"They were butchered," Kunzite almost hissed. "There is no 
excuse for what these bastards committed."
	"They were just trying to make their own way of life as 
quietly as possible on Earth," Halcyon said, her voice shaking. "I 
don't even know how he managed to escape. The records don't say, 
and he never told anyone."
	Her eyes locked with Endymion's.
	"I remember this," she told him. "Lunaria almost went to war. 
Had your father not intervened..."
	Endymion said nothing in response. He gently took Halcyon's 
wrist and removed it from the orb. With the contact broken, the 
horrific images ceased.
	"It would appear Spinel still demands vengeance," Kunzite 
said. He looked at Endymion. "If that is the case, he may very well 
have murdered your father because your father prevented Lunaria 
from avenging his family's deaths."
	"Your father prevented countless other innocent lives from 
being lost that day," Halcyon said to Endymion. "That is not just 
cause for an assassination. Not in my eyes, or in my people's 
eyes."
	She turned to Kunzite. "Do you know if it is Spinel for 
certain, General?"
	Kunzite shook his head. "No. We found nothing else, save the 
dagger. But if he was a former member of your Seraphim, that would 
explain how no one saw him come or go."
	Halcyon drew in a deep breath, and regained much of her regal 
composure. "You have already given me far more than I expected," 
she said, addressing them both. "Far more to think about, and far 
more to fear. I think it best that we adjourn for the moment; there 
are some other experts I wish to consult with regarding this dagger 
and its owner. May it be kept with me?"
	"I have no use for Lunarian weapons," Endymion said, and then 
added, "No offence meant by that, Halcyon Queen."
	Halcyon smiled again. "None taken. You and your Generals wear 
your country's katana with great honour, and I take pride in seeing 
that."
	She left the knife behind upon the gazebo railing, and they 
began to make their way back through the gardens. "I can escort you 
to another part of the palace that is not so private," Halcyon 
said, "and from there you may decide what to do with the next few 
hours."
	"When shall we next meet?" Endymion asked.
	"If there are any new developments regarding the dagger, I 
will ensure that someone will bring you to me," the Queen replied. 
"This afternoon, however, I would like to spend time alone with 
you, Endymion. No politics, no diplomacy, just you and I talking as 
friends would."
	Endymion almost laughed at how much Halcyon reminded him more 
of a grandmother than the Queen of a great and foreign empire. "I 
would very much like that," he said. "When shall I expect your 
summons?"
	"The second hour after noon," Halcyon said. "I shall have 
someone bring you to wherever I might be at that time. General 
Kunzite, this might be an excellent time for you and Sailor Venus 
to get acquainted with each other and the palace."
	"I'm sure," Kunzite agreed somewhat dryly. 
	Halcyon brought them back through the gardens and over the 
footbridges. They retraced their steps back through corridors and 
great and secret chambers, until they reached an atrium both 
Kunzite and Endymion recognize. They were not all that far from the 
ballroom that had hosted last night's masque.
	There, Halcyon bid them a good day, and she disappeared down 
another hall. The trio of watchful shadows disappeared with her, 
and Endymion and Kunzite were free of the feel of prying eyes upon 
their backs.
	"You didn't tell her," Kunzite said quietly in Terran-
Nihongo.
	Endymion kept his gaze fixed on the corridor. "She doesn't 
need to know."
	It had been eleven years to the exact day. 
	His father was murdered on the anniversary of when he had 
been abducted so many years ago.


				*	*	*
	There were so many hidden chambers lurking within the Moon 
Palace: so many that the general public was unaware of; so many 
that most of the palace officials and attendants were unaware of; 
and more than a few that not even Halcyon and her most trusted 
soldiers knew about.
	While Beryl regretted that her room had no windows, she had 
more than compensated by draping rich and colourful tapestries over 
the amber walls. They showed knights slaying dragons and Sailor 
Soldiers defying a slithering darkness alive with eyes. The ceiling 
sloped into a point. Murals over Beryl's head depicted the creation 
of the planets
	She drew up next to a bed adorned with satin sheets and silk 
pillows, scarlet and black contrasting beautifully with each other, 
and next to the pillows was a silver tray filled with chocolates 
and fruit delicacies. Upon the bed slept her twins, dressed in 
fragile white gowns that revealed more than hid.
	The eyes of the twins opened as they sensed her approach, and 
the two young women slid up off the covers as if they owned the 
wind. Beryl smiled as she sat down on the edge of the bed, and 
caressed their faces.
	"What have my daughters dreamed?" she asked.
	"They know," Lapis said, almost giggling. "They are going to 
be coming to us now, instead of us having to go to them."
	"We can start out games soon," Lazuli said. Her excitement 
showed in her eyes and her smile.
	Beryl sighed, and she absently twirled a lock of Lazuli's 
hair around her fingers. "So soon?" she drawled. "My, but they are 
quick." 
	"It's not like we have to hastily rearrange any of our 
plans," Lazuli said. "I don't like waiting anyways." 
	"Patience is a virtue, my child," Beryl said. "We have waited 
years and sacrificed much to bring our little Endymion to this 
point. The seal is finally weakening, and everything is coming to a 
climax now that the necessary players have assembled together."
	She glanced over her shoulder at the door, and said more to 
herself, "I shall notify Spinel, and have him assemble his 
martyrs." 
	"Do we get to watch the blood dance through the air?" Lapis 
asked.
	"Perhaps," Beryl said. "It all depends on your vantage 
point."
	Lazuli plucked a chocolate from their tray, and brought it to 
Beryl's lips. Beryl ate the offering, and savoured its sweetness.
	"So we're to watch from afar again," Lapis huffed. She stuck 
out a pouting lower lip. "There's no fun in that."
	"I did not say that, Lapis dear," Beryl countered. "I merely 
said it depends on your vantage point. After all, there will be 
many other people on the ballroom floor when it begins."
	The twins' eyes lit up, and they shared a frightening, 
excited smile with each other.
	"Yes," Beryl said as she saw their expressions. "We're going 
to the masque tonight. Time to make yourselves look pretty." 



The dance continues soon with the assassins of midnight...





Sailormoon, its characters, struggles and story, are copyright and 
the children of Naoko Takeuchi. No recognition of my story can be 
made without giving her proper recognition first. There are 
original characters in my story (Garnet, Spinel and the twins at 
this moment), and if you wish to make use of them I'd rather you 
asked first rather than after the fact.


Close, personal thanks goes out to: Mel, without whom this story 
would have never gotten off the ground; to the Fic Bitch, who told 
me I was being too wordy in some places, and (again) was absolutely 
right; and to Dejana, a great friend and writer who could probably 
use some inspiration, or encouragement, or else a day at the spa 
right about now.

My sincerest appreciations to Andrea & George for creating, 
updating, maintaining and revising 'A Sailormoon Romance.' 
(www.moonromance.net) It is good to know that so many wonderful 
stories will always have a home at ASMR, and it is a good home I 
will always enjoy coming back to.


Email Chaos at: hislordshipchaos@hotmail.com







	ON THE LUNARIAN EMPIRE & PLANETARY KINGDOMS:


400 years before the events of "Angel Electric", each planet was 
inhabited. The atmospheres were hospitable, the environments lush 
and varied, allowing for different worlds to develop and evolve. 
Some were predominantly ocean or water worlds, while others were 
consumed by forests the size of continents. Many of the worlds 
shared the wondrous variety of landscapes found upon Earth.

The civilizations on each planet flourished over the centuries, 
with kingdoms and empires rising and falling. During the Golden 
Millennium, a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity, each 
world came under the banner of its own unified kingdom.

Relations and trade between each planet were maintained by the 
establishment of the Star Chambers. Built by beings unknown who had 
long ago left the Solis System, these chambers were housed inside 
enormous star-shaped temples. The architecture of these temples 
heavily influenced the builders of Lunaria, and in time the 
Lunarian palaces came to closely resemble these temples.

The Star Chambers proved crucial for inter-planetary travel and 
commerce, connecting the planets together and allowing for people 
to journey without having to risk the cruel emptiness of space. At 
the height of the Golden Millennium, there was little to no 
animosity between worlds.

Then came the Darkstorm. From origins unknown, it swept across the 
system like a plague, unforgiving and unstoppable. It devoured 
worlds. It destroyed kingdoms. It left no survivors behind. Only 
during a final, desperate fight upon Earth did the war turn. The 
Sailor Senshi of that era drove back the Darkstorm, and it was 
never seen or heard from again.

But the war as not without its heavy losses: in the aftermath, all 
but Earth and its moon were left intact. The other planets were 
decimated in the Darkstorm's wake, reduced to lifeless spheres of 
gas and ice. All life upon them had been wiped out.

The survivors of each world had used the Star Chambers to transport 
whatever numbers they could to Lunaria, which became a safe haven 
for the refugees. There are still records of the Star Chambers 
sending people to Lunaria even as the Darkstorm destroyed the 
temples.

When the Darkstorm was gone, there was no place left for the 
survivors to go. Lunaria itself was a relatively small yet powerful 
empire; most of Earth's moon was unoccupied, or else being used for 
agriculture. In a radical and ultimately beneficial move, the 
Lunarian Queen allotted large portions of the moon to the refugees 
of each planet. They were allowed to re-establish their kingdoms 
once more, and rule over it as they had before the Darkstorm.

And so it has remained.

That is not to say each kingdom can do whatever it pleases. The 
royal families of each planet (in some cases, the first to escape 
their dying worlds through the Star Chambers, and in one case, the 
very last and not by their own choice) still have a high sense of 
obligation and duty to the Lunarian Queen burned into their minds. 
A vote of at least ten out of the twelve council members must be 
obtained for anything to be ratified or passed.

Most basic matters are left up to each kingdom's royals or 
governing body to decide on their own: finances, internal trade, 
education, law to name a few. However they choose to make it work 
is left up to each kingdom, so long as what they decide does not 
cause any great problems.

Other matters require a higher level of negotiating or decision-
making. Most of these relate to inter-kingdom relations or trade. 
Certain core issues cannot be decided by one kingdom when they 
would in turn affect their sister kingdoms. For this, the Lunarian 
council holds a higher authority and ultimately decides what must 
be done when certain issues of conflict arise.

Members and delegates of each kingdom may present their cases, or 
debate and negotiate in the presence of the council, but in the end 
the council must make the decision. More often than not, these 
decisions are concrete and cannot be appealed. However, rare is the 
circumstance in which the word of the Lunarian council is 
contested. The council members are skilled and knowledgeable 
diplomats, and take their work very seriously. 

If for any reason, even the council cannot come to an agreement or 
decision, the Lunarian Queen acts as the final authority. If there 
is no Queen (for whatever reasons: absence, illness or death), then 
the eldest female in the royal family is consulted. In the past, 
sometimes it has fallen to the Queen Mother, who has since stepped 
down from active rule, and is called back by emergency protocols. 
Other times it falls to the oldest of the Queen's daughters to be 
the deciding factor.

However, a Lunarian princess only has such authority after the 
Ritual of Ascension, which is performed on her (according to the 
common Terran calendar) eighteenth birthday. If the only eldest 
female of Lunarian royalty is under the age of Ascension, then she 
is given emergency powers, but cannot make the final decision on 
her own. She is allowed to vote as an extra member of the council. 
In cases like this, the council number still remains at 12, and she 
can either add a surplus vote either for or against the issue at 
hand. There has been one occasion where a pre-Ascension Lunarian 
princess cast the final vote on a council issue, and allowed a 
decision to be made, narrowly averting a war. 

(To date, Princess Serenity is little less than a year away from 
her Ascension.)