Hello.  I really only have two things to say here today.  

1) All standard disclaimers still apply.

2) Dedicated to Butterscotch "Kitsy-wobbles" Gentry
   My own personal Lunar cat
   September 15, 1983 to June 2, 1997

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter Five


Reenie woke up slowly.  She started to struggle as she felt herself
pinned down.  *Oh no!  They've got me!* was her first thought.  She
opened her eyes and got ready to scream, then collapsed in relief as she
realized it was just Serena who moved in her sleep.  Reenie gingerly
pulled herself out from under Serena's arm, stood up, and got dressed
without waking any of the other occupants of the room.  Then she swept
Diana up into her arms and walked out of the room.

She walked outside into the backyard, and settled down in a lawnchair.
Diana was looking up at her.  "I don't know what to do, Diana," she
answered the silent question.  "I've told them more than I was supposed
to, more than I'd planned.  Puu would be very annoyed with me."

"Why is it so wrong?" Diana mewed.  "After all, it's not going to happen
is it?  You're going to change it, right?"

"Well, yeah," Reenie answered.

"So you're not really telling them the future, you're just telling them
a might be, right?" Diana said absently, her head was raised smelling
something.

"I suppose," Reenie said reluctantly, "and it's really not fair only
telling them part of it," she sighed.

Diana jumped down from Reenie's lap and started following the strange
scent.  Reenie watched absently, still thinking of her problem.  "I
don't want to show her the note," she said very quietly.  "I know she
suspects, but I don't want her to `know'."

"Then don't," Diana mewed from her spot over by the fence.  She found a
hole and peered through it.  She backed away before her curiosity got
the better of her and she slowly started to step through.

The dog in the next yard rushed toward her, barking furiously.  She
hissed, and tried to pull back, but her bell got caught in the hole.
"DIANA!" Reenie yelled.

A black blur jumped the fence and the dog yelped backwards with claw
marks on his face.  Luna stood in between Diana and the dog with her
back arched and all of her fur standing on end as she hissed warningly.
Reenie pulled Diana back into their yard as Luna jumped over the fence
again.

"What do you think you were doing, going next door like that?  Didn't
you know there was a dog there?!" Luna yelled.  She took a few moments
to smooth down her fur and her temper as she noticed how Diana was
trembling.

"Is that a dog?" Diana asked in a very small voice.

Luna just looked at her.  "Don't you know what a dog smells like?" she
asked in a shocked voice.

Diana shook her head, making her bell ring.  "I wasn't allowed out of
the house. I've never seen a dog."

Luna blinked.  "Well then, let me tell you all about them," she said
leading her off.

Reenie smiled and then sighed, she still hadn't decided what to do.
After thinking about it for a long moment, she sneaked back upstairs and
pulled out the letter to read again.

Serena woke up.  Her hand automatically went to the spot beside her
where Reenie had slept.  Meeting emptiness, her eyes snapped open and
she sat up.  Seeing Reenie sitting at her desk chair she settled back
down.  "Good morning," she greeted.

"Morning," Reenie said softly.

"Is something the matter?" Serena asked, sitting up again and noticing
the sadness on Reenie's face.  She also noticed the doll sitting in her
lap.  "We'll get it fixed Reenie, don't worry.  Mika can fix it."

"I know," Reenie said quietly.  "Mika made it, that's why it's Mi'a
Doll.  Mika Doll."

"Tell me about it.  Please?" Serena asked softly.

"I was woken up by someone calling for Serena.  I thought I was back
here.  And then..." Reenie began.  Once she started she wasn't able to
stop until the whole story came out.  "It was all my fault," she sobbed.

Although she had started out in the chair, she looked up to find herself
held gently in Serena's arms on the bed.  "If I hadn't talked about the
Scouts like that, the youma wouldn't have busted in and they wouldn't
have died."

"You had no way of knowing," Serena soothed.  "There was no way you
could know that talking about the Scouts was forbidden or that there was
someone listening."

"But they told me!  They told me not to talk about them and instead I
just talked about them more!  I should have done as they said, then they
would still be alive."

"I doubt it," Serena said harshly.  "The fact that you said it once was
probably enough.  It sounds to me like this guy killed them because he
could and he wanted to, no other reason.  If it hadn't been because of
what you said, he would have found another reason."

Reenie sat silently for a few moments.  "Do you really think so?" she
finally asked almost silently.

"I really do," Serena agreed.  She gave Reenie a gentle hug that was
returned in full measure.

"Go on downstairs while I get dressed," she smiled.  As soon as Reenie
was out of sight, Serena dropped her head in her hands.  *Oh Reenie,
poor kid.  And Sammy and Mika and... and... Darien.  Their future's got
to go back to the way it should be, it's got to!*

As Serena finished getting dressed, she noticed the letter on her
dresser.  Reluctantly, she picked it up and read it.  Her eyes were
haunted as she folded it back up and clutched it in her hand.

She slowly went downstairs almost passing Sammy without noticing.

"Hey Sis!" he called out.  "Where's your `daughter'?" he sneered.

Serena was about to snap back at him when she remembered what Reenie had
told her.  Instead, she went over to him and kissed him on the forehead
before he could flinch away.  "You're a wonderful brother, you know
that?" she asked before continuing down the stairs.

Sammy stared after her in flabbergasted silence.

Serena gloated inside.  *I've got to try that more often if it shuts him
up `that' well.*

"Hi Mom, hi Dad," she greeted.  Sammy came after her, still speechless.

"What are you doing today?" Mr. Tsukino asked.

"I'm going to take Reenie over to Mika's and see if she can fix Mi'a
Doll," Serena answered through a mouthful of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, dear," Mrs. Tsukino said
automatically.

"Yes, Mom," Serena answered while eating.

Mrs. Tsukino sighed.  *And she used to be a princess?*

"That reminds me, have you managed to get in touch with Reenie's
parents?" he asked.

Mrs. Tsukino spoke up.  "Didn't I tell you?" she asked.  "I spoke with
them yesterday and agreed that Reenie should stay with us until it's
safe."

"Without consulting me?" Mr. Tsukino asked.

"Or me?" Sammy muttered.

"There wasn't exactly an opportunity," she answered calmly.  "And since
everything Serena told us was true, I couldn't see forcing her to go
back into a dangerous situation, could you?"

Mr. Tsukino looked over to see big red eyes staring pleadingly into his,
then looked up to see blue ones doing the same thing.  He softened,
quickly.  "I guess not."

"Surprise, surprise," Sammy muttered.

"Sammy," his mother asked, "whatever is the matter?"

"The matter?  What could possibly be the matter?" he asked
sarcastically.

"Are you having trouble with your science project?" Mr. Tsukino asked.

Mrs. Tsukino put her hands to her mouth.  "Oh, Sammy, I'm so sorry, I
forgot all about it."

"Yeah, I know, you thought that little girl was more important just
because she was cute."  He got up and stomped out of the room.

"Oh dear," Ellen Tsukino muttered, getting up and going after him.

"I think it's time for us to leave," Serena said, finished bolting her
breakfast.  Before Reenie had time to do more then finish her cereal,
Serena had gotten Mi'a Doll out of her room, grabbed Reenie's hand and
ran out of the house with Reenie trying to finish a last piece of toast
as she was pulled along behind the older girl.

"We're not going to be late, you know," Reenie panted as she raced
along.

Serena slowed slightly.  "I know, but I have to keep in shape some way
since I'm not running to school as often," she grinned.

"So you don't get detentions anymore?" Reenie asked.

"Well, not as often. I still get one occasionally.  Like the other day
when I was gossiping with Molly and Miss Haruna caught us.  I don't
think it would have been so bad if we hadn't been gossiping about her."
Reenie laughed.

"Here we are," Serena said, coming to a stop in front of a house.

Reenie suddenly looked nervous.  "Maybe it would be better if..."

She didn't have time to finish as Serena walked up to the door and rang
the doorbell.  A little girl opened the door.  "Hello?  Serena?" she
asked in confusion.

"Hello Mika," Serena answered.  "I'm sorry for coming so early, but I
was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

"If I can," Mika answered, "come in."

"Reenie?" Serena asked, stepping aside to let her go in.  Mika saw the
broken doll in her arms.

"Oh, the poor doll," she cried, "and you want to know if I can fix it,
right?"

Reenie struggled hard to keep the tears at bay as Mika reached for the
doll her future self had made.  "Her name is Mi'a Doll," she said
quietly.

"Mi'a Doll?  That's a nice name.  She's very well made, but if I can't
fix her, Mom can.  Come on in."  Mika stepped back, still holding the
doll carefully.

"Go on in, Reenie," Serena said, "I've got some things to do, so go on
home after, okay?"

"But Serena," Reenie said, staring at her.

"You'll be fine," Serena said, giving her a push.  "Thanks Mika, I
really appreciate this.  I've got some things to do, Reenie, I'll see
you later."

Serena turned around and left as Reenie was still staring after her.
"Come in, please," Mika said quietly.  Reenie geared up her courage and
stepped inside.  "My name's Mika."

"I'm Reenie," Reenie said shyly.  "I'm staying with my cousin Serena."

"You're Sammy's cousin?  I didn't know he had one," Mika said in
surprise, leading the way into the workroom.

"Well, he doesn't like me that much right now," Reenie admitted.  "He's
mad because Auntie Ellen took me shopping when she was supposed to take
him to get stuff for his science project."

"Sammy hasn't finished his science project yet?" Mika asked in surprise
as she examined the doll.  "It's due tomorrow!"

"I don't think he's even started it yet," Reenie admitted.

"That's just like him," Mika laughed, reaching for some glue, "He always
leaves things until the last minute.  I remember one time..."

Reenie slowly lost her shyness at being with the girl who would be her
foster mother in another future as they gossiped.  At first she had a
very hard time keeping the tears from her eyes as Mika talked about
Sammy, but Reenie started thinking of Mika less like the adult she knew
for such a short time, and more like the kid she was now.  Even after
the doll was fixed, they sat and played and talked for hours.  By the
end of the day, they were good friends, and made plans to meet again the
next afternoon.


Meanwhile, Serena had gone to the arcade.  She was taking out her
frustrations on the newest Sailor Moon game.  "Aw!  Come on!" she
practically yelled as she died again.  A hand caught hers as she tried
to punch the game.

"What's the matter, Meatball Head?" a very familiar voice came from
behind her.

"Muffin!" she cried, turning and throwing her arms around him, hugging
him almost desperately.

"Serena, what's wrong, my sweet?" he asked worriedly.

"Nothing," came her muffled reply.

He took her by the chin and raised her head so he could look her in the
eyes.  He was surprised by the tears in them.  "Serena?" he asked again.

She shook her head.  "It's nothing," she replied again.

"Alright, then how about instead of pounding on the game over nothing, I
treat you to an ice cream, okay?"

"Oh-kay!" Serena agreed happily, banishing the tears back to where they
had come from.

Darien ordered a cup of coffee as Serena started in on the biggest
banana split they had.  Darien kept the talk light, steering away from
any mention of Reenie or the future.  He could tell that she was still
on the edge of a full blown wailing fit and didn't want to set it off.

When she finished eating, she burrowed under his arm and they went for a
walk.  Not until they were alone did he raise the subject again.
"What's the matter, Serena?  Is it about Reenie?"

Serena told him what Reenie had said and handed him the note.  "I don't
want you to die!" she wailed, "And Sammy, and Mika and Amy and... and...
everybody!" she threw her arms around him and cried into his shirt.
"Why can't the Negaverse just leave us alone?! What did we ever do to
them?"

"ARRGH!" she suddenly yelled, pushing away from Darien before he could
try to calm her down.  "I am not in the mood for this!" she yelled,
pulling out her brooch.

Darien turned to look at what had caught her attention.  There was a
youma in the middle of the lake blowing water in all directions.  He
quickly transformed into Tuxedo Mask, but he was still seconds behind
Sailor Moon.

"This guy is really going to get it," she muttered, stomping toward the
lake.  "He's going to wish he never was born, I am not in the mood to
deal with him!"

"Sailor Moon, call the others," Tuxedo Mask reminded her.

"No," she snapped back.  She had already reached the edge of the lake.
"MOON TIARA MAGIC!" she called out, not even bothering with a speech.
The youma roared in pain as the tiara hit him.

"What do you mean, no?" Tuxedo Mask asked, even as he picked Sailor Moon
up and jumped out of the way of the blast of water the youma threw at
them.

"Just what I said, I want this guy to myself," Sailor Moon answered
before sending her tiara out again.  "Besides, it's just the two of us,
fighting evil together, isn't it romantic?"

"That's not exactly what I'd call it," he answered sarcastically,
sending out his roses.  "And if you don't call them, I will."

Sailor Moon watched as the roses tore through the youma.  "Why?" she
asked, taking out her scepter.  "Moon Scepter ELIMINATION!"  The youma
was dusted.  "That was easy," she grinned.  "I told you we didn't need
the others."

"Too easy," Darien disagreed.  "And I think we need to have a long talk
about what you should and should not do when fighting youmas! That was
just plain stupid!"

"WWWWHHHHAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! Why are you being mean to me?! I dusted it,
didn't I?" Serena pouted.  She knew what Darien meant, but was in no
mood to hear it.  "Besides, you said yesterday that you wanted to get in
the action."

"That's not the point!" Darien sounded frustrated.  "Just yesterday, one
of those youmas managed to get you in the shoulder. Have you already
forgotten that?  You cannot underestimate them or do something stupid
like that just because you're in a bad mood!  What if you'd gotten
hurt?" He played his ultimate trump card.  "What if I'd gotten hurt?"

Serena's face screwed up and she burst into tears.  "I'm sorry, I'm
sorry!  I didn't mean to put you in danger! I was just really mad,
that's all.  I'll never do it again. I promise."

Darien sighed, and smiled slightly as he looked down into Serena's
pleading face, half the time, especially when Reenie was around, she
acted so mature, and then the other times... *Oh well,* he thought
humorously, *I fell in love with her before she started to mature
mentally, I guess I can put up with her until she finishes the job.* He
stepped towards her and silenced her babbling.

She sighed when he finally broke the kiss.  "I am sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay, just don't scare me like that again, hmm?  Don't forget
you're a part of a team."  Darien smiled once more.  "Now, I think we
need to get Amy down here and see if she can get a reading on that
youma.  I don't like the fact that it was so easy to defeat, or that
it's the third one in two days."

Amy wasn't able to find any real information on the youma or the reason
for it. It hadn't tried to drain energy. It had just made noise and
caused destruction until Sailor Moon took care of it.  She did give
Serena a dressing down for acting on her own, although she was more
interested in why.  She remembered the last time it had happened and
seemed relieved that it was just bad temper that caused it.


Four days later, Jupiter was sure she had found the reason for the
youmas.  "They `are' trying to drain energy!  They're trying to drain
ours!"

The others tiredly agreed.  Sailor Moon was asleep next to Tuxedo Mask.
Crescent Moon was curled up in Sailor Sol's arms.  The youma they had
just defeated was the twelfth in the last four days.  Of those, eight of
them had come in the middle of the night and three in the middle of the
day.  Out of all twelve, only one had come at a time when they weren't
in school or asleep.

Serena had gotten detention the last two days.  After getting woken up
in the middle of the night to fight, she would fall asleep in class.
Even Amy had received detention this afternoon, after having to leave
class without permission to fight a youma rampaging almost ten miles
away.

Mrs. Tsukino was getting increasingly worried. She alone knew what
danger her daughter was in, but even Sammy was starting to worry about
the two girls.  They would fall asleep at any time in any place, and
while that had been normal for Serena, she had been getting over it.
Serena was even losing her appetite, which worried everyone.  Mrs.
Tsukino put it down to hormones when her husband brought up the subject,
and promised to take Serena to the doctor if she didn't get her energy
back soon.

She had gotten into the habit on checking on her daughter several times
each night, and if she found her gone, would sit and wait until she came
back.  She too, was getting dark circles under her eyes, but she never
said anything about her worries, keeping the promise she had made to
herself not to burden Serena with them.

"Let's get home and try to get some more sleep," Mercury said around a
yawn.

"Somebody wake sleeping beauty up," Sailor Mars groused.

"That's okay," Tuxedo Mask said, "I'll take her home."

"Ooh, you going to go into her bedroom?" Jupiter asked with a shocked
expression.

Tuxedo Mask would have answered, but he was too tired.  He had a major
test the next day too. He stood up and raised Sailor Moon into his arms.
Followed by Sailor Sol with Crescent Moon, they jumped away from the
fight site where they had collapsed after the battle.

"I don't know how much longer we can take this," Sailor Sol admitted as
they reached Serena's house.  "I know I'm not the only one having
trouble staying awake during the battles, not to mention during the
day."

"I know," Tuxedo Mask agreed, jumping to Serena's window where Luna and
Diana were anxiously waiting.

Mrs. Tsukino came in as Tuxedo Mask was depositing Sailor Moon on the
bed.  "Oh my god!  What happened?  Is she alright?  Where's Reenie?"

"Right here, Aunt Ellen," Sailor Sol answered from the window, "and
they're both fine. They just fell asleep after the fight tonight and we
didn't have the heart to wake them."

"Thank goodness," she breathed.

"Either cover them up real well, or wake them up and have them
detransform please," Tuxedo Mask said around a yawn as he headed back
out the window.

"I'll be by in the morning," Sailor Sol smiled tiredly at his `aunt' as
he followed his blood brother.

Sailor Moon and Crescent Moon slept on.

Mrs. Tsukino tried several times to wake them up, but they slept on.
Not even Luna was able to wake them up.  Finally, she just made sure the
sheet covered them and left the room.

The next morning, the alarm clock rang.  Sailor Moon reached out and
swatted it, and then, to the amazement of the cats, got up.  "What
the...?" she exclaimed, looking down at herself.  She quickly
detransformed, and looked at the Scout in the bed next to her.  "Come on
Reenie, wake up," she reached over and shook the little girl, who woke
up immediately.

"Good morning, Mommy," she said while stretching.

"Good morning, Small Lady," Serena answered, "Now detransform and get
dressed."

"Eek!  I didn't even know I was transformed," she said, quickly changing
to Reenie.

The two girls reached the kitchen followed by two completely mystified
cats.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad, hi Sammy," Serena greeted brightly.

Reenie waved hello and sat down to eat, followed quickly by Serena.
"Where's Travis?" Reenie asked with her mouth full of food.  Serena was
too busy eating to do more than nod agreement.

"He said he'd be here," Mrs. Tsukino answered, looking as surprised as
everyone else.  "He must have overslept."

Serena stopped in mid-bite and her eyes gleamed as she looked at her
mother.  She swallowed what she had in her mouth before speaking.  "Did
you say overslept?" her eyes were dancing with mischief.  "We can't have
that, can we?  May I borrow a pitcher?"

Reenie and Sammy choked on their food as they realized what she
intended.  "Can I watch?" they both asked as they stopped coughing.

Serena hadn't even waited for her mother to agree.  Without even
finishing her breakfast, she ran and got her things, grabbed a pitcher
which she filled with ice and ran out the door.  Reenie and Sammy
quickly followed.

Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino grinned at each other.  "I think she's over
whatever she had," he said.

"It looks like it.  Poor Travis," Mrs. Tsukino mock sighed.  "I don't
think he ever considered what she might do if this ever happened."  Her
eyes had lost the worry that had seemed to take up permanent residence.

"It worked though," Mr. Tsukino laughed.  "Now to see if it will work on
the other half."


Serena knocked frantically on the front door of Travis' house.  Darien
Jacobson finally opened it.  He looked at the three people on his front
porch, practically bouncing with eagerness.  "What's the matter,
Serena?"

"Is Travis up?" she asked breathlessly.

"I haven't checked, I thought he was already at your house for
breakfast," Jake admitted.

"Yes!  He's overslept!"  Serena grinned madly and moved into the house.

"What's going on?" he asked the other two.

"Do you remember what Travis did to Serena when she overslept?" Sammy
asked moving quickly past him.

"It's her turn now," Reenie continued.

Jake had to think for a long moment, before he understood what they
meant.  He grinned as well and moved quickly behind them to Travis'
room.  Serena had already filled the pitcher and was testing the water,
waiting for the ice to make it cold.

Finally, taking her time, Serena slowly tipped the pitcher, pouring the
water over her sleeping brother.

"YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!" he
yelled, bolting out of bed.  Serena, Reenie, and Sammy collapsed into
laughter.  "What did you do that for?" he yelled, shivering.

"I had to wake you up," she answered when she could stop laughing.

"Why are you so wide awake this morning?" he asked grumpily.

"I don't know, but I feel great," she was still grinning.  "And if you
don't hurry and get dressed, you're going to be late for school."

"I'm going to get you for this one," he muttered, shooing them out of
the room.

Serena just laughed.


That afternoon, after a day with no fights, everyone gathered at the
temple.

"Why's the meeting so late?" Serena asked.  "I was actually able to go
to the arcade without being late."

"You mean you didn't have detention?!" Raye asked in disbelief.

"Nope, did you?" she asked absently, then stared as she realized.  "You
did!  You had detention!  Raye, the `why are you late, detention again'
person had detention!  Oh, this is so cool, and after I got to wake
Travis up this morning too."

"It's not like it's my fault I overslept," Raye snapped.

"That's what I always say, but you never believe me," Serena answered.
They seemed about to get into one of their tongue wars when it was
broken up.

"You woke Travis up?" Mina asked.

"Yep, and I don't think he liked it much either," Serena laughed.
turning away from Raye.

"You were awake before him?" Artemis asked in disbelief.

"'I didn't have any trouble waking up this morning, I felt great,"
Serena responded.

"Me too," Reenie agreed.

"Of course!" Luna interrupted. "It's because you slept in your Sailor
forms," she realized.  "It refreshed you more than sleeping in your
normal form, the same way that you heal faster as Sailor Moon."

"You mean, all we have to do to get a good night's sleep is sleep in our
Sailor forms?  That's easy enough," Lita crowed.

"For you," Mina replied, "but what about those of us that have
families?"

"There's no telling when my mother will come home and come check on me,"
Amy agreed.

"Uncle Jake rarely does, but what if he does and finds me in my Scout
form?" Travis put in, "There's no way I could explain that away."

"I don't dare do it again either," Serena agreed, coming down off of her
high from having done better than Raye. "Sammy's been playing tricks on
me and Reenie lately," she continued, ignoring Amy's automatic, "Reenie
and I".  "If he came in the room to play one...  But to be able to wake
up that easily every morning..."

"I don't think it will work like that," Luna answered.  "You were
totally exhausted, your reserves completely dry, so your Scout form
healed you.  But doing it again won't do you any good, you can't heal
something that isn't hurt."

"You mean it will only work if I'm that tired?" Serena pouted.  "That's
not fair!"

"We still have to find a way for the rest of us to raise our energy
levels," Raye put in.

"I smell a slumber party," Mina announced, grinning.

"I like your nose," Lita answered.  "When and where?"

"As soon as feasible," Amy yawned.  "If we can perhaps convince our
parents it's a study session?"

"There is that test on Friday in English," Lita suggested.

"Which is still my worst subject," Serena agreed.

"I don't think Uncle Jake will accept that," Travis grinned.  "But my
bed's probably still wet, so I might be able to beg a couch from
Darien."

"That won't work, you have several spare rooms in your house," Serena
answered.

"Well, I could always say I was afraid you'd come and douse me with cold
water again," Travis answered back.

"You deserved it," Serena said, sticking out her tongue.

"I haven't done it to you in almost two months!  How can you say I
deserve it?"  Travis stuck out his tongue at her before thinking of a
better way.  "Mayhaps my sister doth not truly care for my poor
sensibilities.  She hath seen fair to strike me down in my darkest hour.
Oh woe is me, to have such an ungrateful and revengeful kin."

"Alright already!  I'm sorry!" Serena yelled, covering her ears.

"You know, his formal speech isn't `that' bad," Lita murmured to Mina.

"I know, it's kind of cute actually," Mina giggled.

"They're just having fun," Reenie says.  "They still do it once in a
while in the future."

"You mean they don't ever grow up?" Raye asked in semi-despair.

"Would you want them to?" Reenie shot back.

Raye didn't believe that required an answer.  "So we're going to try for
a slumber party at Lita's house tonight, right?" she asked.

"My house?  When did we decide on that?" Lita asked, surprised.  "It's
fine with me though."

"Me and Reenie will be there.  Okay, okay," Serena continued as Amy
opened her mouth, "Reenie and I will be there.  Happy?"

"I can convince Grandpa easily," Raye said.  "What time?"


The fight that night found a group of well rested Scouts.  It took them
almost no time at all to dust the youma.  Mercury took readings as she
had from the beginning.  Suddenly, she frowned.

"What's up Mercury?" Jupiter asked.  "Did you find something?"

"I think so... It's almost as if..." she looked up.  "I don't know why I
didn't pick this up before, but I've got traces of a youma actually
draining energy.  I just can't figure out where, or why I didn't see it
before."

"One of these?" Crescent Moon asked.

"No, somewhere else, one we've never seen before," Mercury answered.
"It will take me a couple of days to gather the data and correlate it,
especially if it stays this low key."

"Do you think the youmas have been sent to distract us from finding the
one that's gathering energy?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"I'd say it's likely," Mercury replied.

"So now we know why," Sailor Sol muttered.


The next day, in the Emperor's castle in the Negaverse.

"We have enough energy," Spessarite gloated.  "It's time to begin."


Serena's watch beeped as she was reading comics in her room.  "I've
found it!  The one that's been draining energy," Amy's voice came
through clearly.

"Time to go, Reenie," Serena called after finishing the scene she was
reading.

"Be careful, Serena," Luna said.  "I think this one will be a lot
different than the easy ones you've been fighting for the past week."

"I know, I know," Serena answered.  "The others are going to be happy,
they've been itching for a real fight."

The eight humans, three cats, and a falcon, met outside the park's
perimeter.  "Here, again?" Mina asked plaintively.

"There was an outdoor concert here tonight," Amy answered.  "That's
where it pulled the energy from.  It was clumsier than usual, allowing
me to get a comprehensive reading on it."

"You going to fight?" Diana asked, having enjoyed the fights she'd seen
so far.

"Transform everyone!" Artemis called out.

"SUN STONE POWER!"
"MARS STAR POWER!"
"VENUS STAR POWER!"
"JUPITER STAR POWER!"
"MERCURY STAR POWER!"
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER DUO!"

Tuxedo Mask took to the trees as the Scouts raced towards the youma who
suddenly appeared.

"SOLAR FLARE!" Sailor Sol yelled as he attacked.

"Eww!" the other Scouts cried in disgust.

The large, human headed spider easily sidestepped the burst of energy
Sailor Sol had thrown at him.  His eight legs allowed him to move
quickly.  As the Scouts were still staring at it in disgust, it crawled
the side of the monument nearest to it, and threw a sticky strand of
rope towards the Scouts.  They barely managed to get over their disgust
in time to get out of the way.  Venus found herself roughly pushed to
the ground by a fast moving Jupiter, just before the strand would have
hit her.

"I am Arachna, and I am here to destroy you!" the youma said
confidently.

"I've seen a lot of ugly monsters, but you're one of the worst," Sailor
Moon called out.

From within the Negaverse Palace, Spessarite looked through the youma's
eyes at the seven Scouts getting ready to attack.

"A park is a place for picnics and fun, not a place to get your energy
drained.  In the name of the Moon, I will right wrongs, and triumph over
evil and ugliness.  And that means you!"

His mind went back to `convincing' Quartz to tell him how to defeat the
Scouts.  He smiled at the thought, before his mind was brought back to
the fight before him.

The youma shot out another strand of sticky web at Sailor Moon before
she could even move from her pose. She yelped as it wrapped around her
ankle, and she fell to the ground. The web started dragging her towards
the spider bodied one.

"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" attacked the sticky rope, breaking it.

Sailor Moon scrambled to her feet and breathed out a quick thank you to
her friend.

Spessarite held his breath as he watched the Scouts spread out to
encircle the youma.  His eyes lit with triumph as Sailor Mercury stepped
within one of the previously set web traps.  Before she could move, it
snapped close around her, pulling her high into one of the nearby trees.

"Mercury!" several of the Scouts cried out.  Sailor Moon started running
towards the tree with Venus a step behind her.

The spider was faster. Before they could get to the tree, it had already
passed them, heading for the same place.

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!" Sailor Moon called as she sent her tiara towards the
human head.

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" shot out towards the monster's legs,
wrapping around one of them.  Sailor Venus pulled back, pulling the
youma off balance, and, unfortunately, out of the way of Sailor Moon's
tiara.

"Something's wrong," Sailor Mars suddenly said. "I can feel it,
something is very wrong."

"Of course something's wrong," Jupiter answered, as she ran towards the
fight, "That thing has Mercury!"

The youma suddenly lunged to the side, and sent a strand of web at
Jupiter, catching her arms as they were crossed to begin her attack.
The sticky strands pinned her arms across her chest.  "Yuck," she cried,
as she tried to pull her arms apart, "this stuff's worse than taffy."

"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" Sailor Mars yelled.  Most of her attack
traveled towards the youma, scorching its fur, while several rings tried
to burn off the web on Jupiter's arms.

Once again the youma proved how fast it was. Even with Venus' chain
still wrapped around its leg, it managed to get out of the way of most
of the attack, only getting scorched.  The fire sent at Jupiter didn't
do much good, for Sailor Mars was afraid to let it get too close to
Jupiter herself.

"How much longer can you hold, Venus?" Sailor Sol asked.

"Not much longer," she gasped.

"Then everybody at once," Sailor Sol commanded.

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!"
"SOLAR FLARE!"
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"
"CRESCENT MOON TIARA MAGIC!"

The attack flew towards the youma, who suddenly gave an extremely sharp
yank, pulling his leg out of Venus' chain and racing up a nearby tree.
The tree that Mercury was in.

"Mercury!" came from several throats.

Tuxedo Mask had been trying to work his way through the trees to the one
Mercury was in, but it had taken him longer then he expected.  He
reached it just in time to see Arachna skitter up it.  Tuxedo Mask
followed immediately.  When Tuxedo Mask got to the top of the tree, he
saw the youma almost finished covering Mercury with a cocoon.  Only her
nose was still uncovered.  A rose flew out, destroying the web strand
before it could finish the job.  The spider whirled, just in time to get
a cane in the face.  Arachna fired off several strands of web which
Tuxedo Mask just managed to evade, before a scream from down below
caught their attention.  The youma jumped downward and Tuxedo Mask was
about to follow.

"Hmmph!" Mercury murmured.

Tuxedo Mask turned back towards the trapped Scout and covered her in his
cape as he carried her down out of the trees.  "Are you okay?" he asked
in concern as he used a rose to cut the strands around her mouth.

"I think so, but I feel weird, like something has happened but I can't
determine what it is," Mercury answered as they reached the ground.

"Let me get this off of you," Tux said gently.

"Go, I'll be fine," Mercury answered.  "Help the others."

"This won't take long," he insisted, using the rose to start cutting
more of the web off of her face.

"Tuxedo Mask, what if it was Sailor Moon or Crescent Moon that screamed?
I'll be fine here by myself as long as you keep the arachnid busy."

Reluctantly, he hid her cocoon nearby and went out to help the Scouts.

When the youma had gone into the tree, the Scouts just stood there for a
long moment trying to decide how to get up there.  Then they saw the
flash of Tuxedo Mask's cape going up as well.

"Tuxedo Mask will save her," Sailor Moon said, her eyes going dreamy.

"I want to see if I can find a better place to see from," Sailor Venus
said, darting in a large circle around the tree.

"I can't get this stupid stuff off of my arms!" Jupiter yelled in
disgust.  Not being able to get in on the action was a real pain.  Mars
and Sol turned their attention to that problem as Moon and Crescent Moon
continued staring towards the battle they could occasionally hear going
on at the top of the tree.

The scream cut through the air like a knife.

Sailor Moon looked around quickly.  "Venus!  Venus where are you?" The
Scouts started running to the new problem spot, leaving Sailor Sol still
working on Jupiter's bonds.

"Go on, find Venus," Jupiter told him.

"I'm not going to leave you defenseless like this," he answered as he
pulled out his sword and carefully started slicing the web apart.

"Sailor Venus needs you more. Please Sailor Sol, you know nothing's
going to get the best of me," she said with a confidence she didn't
truly feel.

"Alright," he agreed resignedly.  After checking to make sure there was
no one near, he ran off after the others.

He found Venus sprawled on the ground, where she had fallen when two
tiaras had cut the web holding her in the tree.  "There's traps on the
ground, snares.  If you step in one, you set it off, and it takes you to
the top of the tree," she explained.

"Which is what happened to Mercury," Mars said.

"Mercury is fine," Tuxedo Mask said as he caught up with them, "She's
wrapped in web, but other than that, looks like she's okay.  Where's
Arachna?"

"Jupiter!" Sailor Sol called out, turning to run back in the direction
he came from. The other Scouts followed. They arrived to find a long
white cocoon where Sailor Jupiter had been.  It was rocking wildly.

Tuxedo Mask pulled out a rose, as Sailor Sol pulled out the Sun Sword.
They quickly but carefully cut away the webbing on her nose and mouth.

"Thanks," she whispered after taking several deep breaths.  "It was on
me so fast, I couldn't defend myself."

"I knew I shouldn't have left you here alone," Sailor Sol swore at
himself.  "I should never have left you unprotected."

"You couldn't have known it would come back, but could you get me out of
this stuff?  Please?" Jupiter wheedled.

"I'll go get Mercury," Tuxedo Mask called out.  "After this, I don't
want her left alone."

Sailor Sol was carefully cutting the strands of web surrounding Jupiter
when he returned.

"Mercury!  Are you alright?" Sailor Moon asked in concern.

"Help!" Crescent Moon cried.  "Get it off, get it off!"

The Scouts turned quickly to see Crescent Moon being pulled into the
forest.  "CRESCENT MOON TIARA MAGIC!" she cried, sending her tiara
towards the line of spider's web holding her waist.

"Crescent Moon!" Sailor Moon cried out as she raced after her daughter.

"Reenie!" Diana called, and started moving towards the fight.

"No you don't, little one," Artemis said, putting one paw on her to hold
her down.  "There's nothing you can do to help her.  This is the hardest
part of being a guardian, waiting."

"Watch out Sailor Moon, or you'll be caught too!" Sailor Mars yelled as
she started to run after their leader.

"No, Mars, stay here with Jupiter and Mercury.  Sol and I will go after
her," Tuxedo Mask ordered.

Mars looked about to argue, but Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Sol didn't give
her any time to do so.

Mars and Venus watched with bated breath, waiting for something to
happen in the trees their friends had just gone into. The sticky web
hitting them in the back and connecting them together was a complete
surprise.

Both of them tried to whirl to face their opponent that had come up
behind their backs, but only managed to enclose themselves farther into
the web.  They turned again, trying to get out, and bumped into each
other, almost sending them both to the ground.

"Stand still," Mars growled at Venus, managing, by turning in a circle,
to allow them both to face the youma.

Somehow, luckily, their arms were still free.  "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE
SURROUND!" "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" raced towards the youma.  It
jumped, but once again the chain managed to catch one of its legs.  This
time it pulled it down into Mars' fire rings.

The youma screamed.  More and more webs came from its spinnerets, tying
the Scouts together, tighter and tighter.  It covered their mouths and
noses before they could react, entrapping their arms against their
sides.

Mars tried to use the meditation techniques she had learned as a
priestess to slow her breathing.  It was working until her concentration
was broken as her mind was abruptly drawn to something else.  *This is
what I felt before, there's something else here, something more.*  That
was her last thought before losing consciousness from oxygen
deprivation.

Sailor Moon, Crescent Moon, Sailor Sol, and Tuxedo Mask exploded from
the underbrush once more to see Arachna standing over three cocoons
where there had been only two.  The youma was singed, and looked like it
had been hurt.  No one waited to see how badly.

"CRESCENT MOONBEAM STRIKE!" "SOLAR FLARE!" flew towards the youma,
followed by a number of roses.  It jumped into the air, but this time,
they were ready for it.

Moon Scepter ELIMINATION!" turned the youma into dust.

From the Negaverse, Spessarite chuckled as his youma was destroyed.  It
had done what was necessary.

On the battleground of Mina's school, Sailor Sol and Tuxedo Mask were
frantically trying to cut through the bindings around Mars and Venus.
Everyone sighed in relief as their noses and mouths were cut free, and
they started to take deep breaths.

"Now that they're safe, do you think someone might be able to cut me
free?" Jupiter asked plaintively.

Sailor Moon and Crescent Moon moved towards the youma's first victims.

"This isn't logical," Amy said, as their tiara's started carefully
cutting the webbing.  "Why would the youma trap us so thoroughly, but
not try to drain our energy?  It goes against every strategy they have
used."

"Well, it did feel like I lost some of my energy, soon after I was
covered," Lita disagreed.

"True, there was that sensation, but not to the extent there should have
been," Amy still pondered.

At almost the same time, the cocoons were cut from all four bodies.
Sailor Moon frowned.  "Why did you all detransform?" she asked, puzzled.

"I didn't!" the others answered, also puzzled, before looking down at
themselves.  "How did that happen?" one of them asked in confusion.

Sirens were heard in the distance.  The cats' voices were heard closer
by. "Why are you four in your normal forms?  The police are coming.
Transform and get out of here!" Luna ordered.

Mina and Raye were still a little weak, but they stood up and raised
their hands to the sky.

"JUPITER STAR POWER!"
"MERCURY STAR POWER!"
"MARS STAR POWER!"
"VENUS STAR POWER!"

"This isn't possible," Lita whispered.  "JUPITER STAR POWER!  Come on,
come on, JUPITER STAR POWER!! Why isn't it working?!" her voice was
almost a shout.  "Why can't we transform?!"

----------------
There we have it.  Yet another chapter.  I liked this one, what about you?
Write and tell me!  Jendra@aol.com or visit my site at 
http://members.aol.com/Jendra