Nuke 'Em 'Til They Glow!! Chapter Four

&&&[Begin Chapter 4.]

This particular day, Ms. Haruna's class was a great deal
more rowdy that usual.

"Quiet! Be quiet, please!" Ms. Haruna shouted, beginning to
get angry. The class continued talking, throwing paper airplanes,
swinging from the chandeliers, well, everything imaginable except
for that last part. The only ones who weren't making a loud mess
of the place were Molly, Melvin, Amy, Serena, and Terra.

Ms. Haruna left the classroom.

Less than a minute later, a young girl in oversized clothes
walked into the class.

"Stop acting like delinquents!!" she snapped.

Nobody took notice.

She held up a coin.

"Happo Five-Yen Satsu!"

Energy drained from the ones who qualified as 'delinquents,'
and the girl grew to be Ms. Haruna, filling out her clothes. The
drained ones slumped to their desks.

"Let's continue, then," the redheaded teacher said.

Everyone who could made a sign of acknowledgment.

"Now, we are going on a field trip, and YOU WILL BEHAVE!"

The drained students slowly regained mobility and nodded
sluggishly.

A chuckle could be heard from the hallway.

---

<Didja see the looks on their faces?!> Atomic Starlight
Knight thought, laughing at the situation. It had been a
relatively simple task to adapt one of the previous youma's time
modification abilities and draining powers to this task. Once
Ms. Haruna had heard about this opportunity for a practical joke,
she had been all too happy to agree to try it if the class got
too rowdy. It finally did.

<And all was right with the world!> one part of A.S.K.'s
mind thought.

The past few attacks had been easy to repel, almost too
easy... But A.S.K.'s mind quickly swallowed that thought. They
had fought off perhaps a dozen attacks since A.S.K. had
upgraded Sailor Moon. During the attacks, if the Sailor Scouts..
or was that Senshi?

Anyway, if any of them ran into trouble, he or Tuxedo Mask,
or both would show up and blast some serious youma dust. Tuxedo Mask
would concentrate on giving moral advice to Sailor Earth, while
A.S.K. would cause extreme property damage while attempting to train
Sailor Moon, in hopes of improving her balance. Why was she so clumsy
as Sailor Moon, anyway?! With her upgraded powers, when she fell,
she got imbedded into the floor. You don't know how difficult it is
to fight evil with your face stuck in the pavement...

That thought was also crushed as an odd sensation came over
him. It was as if there was something very wrong about to take
place...

"I smell evil!" A.S.K. said with a smile. "Let's go destroy
it."

<Yee-haw!>

<Alrighty, then! Let's go do it now.>

<Later, when the evil appears.>

*WHAM!* "Shut up, shut up! Everyone just SHUT UP!" A.S.K.
yelled, pounding on his head.

***

"What do you have to report, Jedite?" Beryl asked.

Jadeite smirked. "Well, for you, I have to report that my
project is going EXTREMELY well," he said, smiling evilly.

"What do you mean, Jedite? All of your battles with the
Sailor Scouts have ended in your defeat!" Beryl snapped angrily.

The blonde general smiled. "Exactly."

Beryl rolled her eyes. "Alright, then, what do you have planned
for your next... attempt?"

Jadeite laughed. "Humans have a strange obsession with charms
for good luck. I plan to use this obsession, and, of course, drain
them with it," he said. "I also plan to factor in busses somehow."

Beryl sighed. "Proceed, Jedite."

"And one more thing," Jadeite began.

"What?"

"It's JADE-ite!" Jadeite finished forcefully, laughing as he
disappeared, just barely avoiding Beryl's blast.

"What's wrong with _him?_" Zoicite asked, appearing in a swirl
of cherry blossoms.

"He's enjoying his work a *little* too much," Beryl replied,
thinking of ways to punish Jedite for his insolence.

***

On a field trip to the very temple a certain Raye Hino just
happened to work at, a group consisting of Amy, Serena, and Terra
were having a look around.

The aforementioned Raye Hino, upon seeing the group, went
wide-eyed with surprise.

"What kind of person would be hauling around THAT much
power?!" Raye asked herself. Either a super-ultra-super-hero(ine)
type, or a mega-demon come to make life a living nightmare.

"BEGONE, EVIL SPIRITS!!" Raye yelled, pouncing upon Terra
and Serena, slapping wards on their foreheads. Serena went down,
Terra just stood there, smiling.

"What's this about?" Amy asked.

"Nothing. Just banishing DEMONS, that's all," Raye said.

Serena got up, wobbling.

Raye gasped. "Ulllmm," she began, "Oh, sorry, I thought you
were evil spirits."

"Alright, what made you think _that_!?" Serena asked.

"Just the fact that your auras are powerful enough to
mistake for small stars!" Raye said, then pointed at Terra. "A
supernova in your case. But besides that, there's been some evil
lurking for the past while, and it doesn't look good for anybody."

"It sounds like fun. Maybe we could have a look around. We
fight evil part time," Terra said helpfully, Amy and Serena
giving her 'be quiet!' motions.

Raye looked a little interested. "Exactly how do you fight
evil?"

"Oh, we go and mfmfdufnyodyursf," Terra said as Serena
clamped her hand on Terra's mouth.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all, Terra was just joking,
WEREN'T YOU?" Serena said, glaring at Terra.

"Yphe!" Terra said, her mouth still covered by Serena's
hand.

Raye sighed. "Just go ahead with the tour, then," she said,
waving them off.

Jadeite walked by. "Hello!" he said cheerfully.

"Who's that?" Amy asked, not quite being able to see his
face.

"My name is Jay Dite," Jadeite said directly to Serena.
"Allow me to repeat that. I am JAY-DITE." He walked off, laughing
maniacally.

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Raye said, rolling her eyes.

"Wait! Wasn't that-" Serena began.

"Oh, that's just Jed. Don't mind him. He's just some hired
help we picked up a while back," the priestess replied.

---

"Those simpletons don't suspect a thing!" Jadeite said
to himself quietly, watching the students merrily buying the
'good luck charms.'

After the students picked up their purchases, they would
get on their busses, and leave.

The current bus drove off, directly into one of Jadeite's
traps, being sucked into some other dimension to be drained
via their lucky charms. "Oh, they're always after me lucky charms,"
the general said to himself, snickering.

It was a quick, efficient method, and if things went as
planned, nobody would suspect anything until long after Jadeite
had accomplished his goal.

Soon he would have the energy necessary to fight off that
annoying green-armor-wearing, sword-wielding, explosive-chucking
prank-maker! Ah, yes, revenge is a dish best served with pinto
beans and TNT!

Jadeite stopped. Why did he hate that guy so much? He was
just someone that popped up soon after that one 'destroyer of
worlds' creature attacked and the second princess appeared.
Summoning the memories, he attempted to reinforce his seemingly
irrational anger.

###

Jadeite was going to be Earth's emissary for a combined
meeting of officials from every planet in the solar system.
In transit, he met an unusual man.

"Prince Endymion?" Jadeite asked, looking at the man in
green armor.

The man looked up at him. "Who? Me?" He paused. "Let's
see... am I that little fifteen-year-old boy with an obsession
for formal wear? Hmm... I'm six and a half feet tall, more ancient
than the stars themselves, and could wipe the floor with you in a
thumb-wrestling match." He stood to his full height. "So, no. I'm
not good ol' Prince Darien. I'm someone a great deal different."

"May I ask who you are, then?" Jadeite asked, brushing off
the man's gruff mode of speech.

The man thought about it before responding. "My friends might
call me The Atomic Starlight Knight," he said, then thought it over
again, "but there are some who might call me... 'Tim."

"Ah, then I give you greetings, Tim," Jadeite said warmly.

'Tim shook Jadeite's hand. "But, please, call me Admiral."

The blonde royal guardian frowned. "Why? Did you just become
the commander of the remnants of the fleet?"

"No... however, that IS the plan," 'Tim replied.

Jadeite smiled. "How about I just call you 'Tim?'"

"Oh, that'll be fine," the man in green armor said.

A few minutes went by, then Jadeite decided to strike up a
conversation to help pass the time. "So, what are you headed to the
Moon for?"

"Actually, I just came from the Moon. I came to Earth to
brush up on my primitive civilizations etiquette," 'Tim replied.

Jadeite raised an eyebrow. "Primitive civilizations?"

'Tim shrugged. "I would have gone to Nemesis, but, well,
Earth was closer."

"So, you consider Earth and Nemesis to be primitive
civilizations compared to the Moon?"

"Well... a little. Not by much, really. I'm not from the Moon
either, so, well..."

"Where are you from?" Jadeite asked, interested in where
someone with _this_ sort of attitude might have originated.

"A civilization composed of beings so powerful that the
universe decided that it had to be annihilated before the first
being gained sentience," 'Tim said, sadly shaking his head.

"Mars, huh? No sentient beings there! Heh," Jadeite said
jokingly. Even though Jadeite had been chosen as an emissary,
he still had quite a bit to learn about diplomacy.

'Tim thought about it. "Quite a bit further, actually."

"How much further?"

"_Much_ further."

Jadeite shrugged and decided to let the topic go, since his
attempted joke died a terrible, terrible death. They had a discussion
on what they were going to be doing on the Moon. 'Tim found out that
Jadeite was attending a meeting of some sort, while 'Tim was going to
be conducting "ballistics demonstrations."

A while later, they arrived on the Lunar surface. They said
their goodbyes and went their ways. Before they did, however,
'Tim gave Jadeite a pat on the back.

"Have fun!" 'Tim said, a little too jovially.

Jadeite nodded pleasantly and left. After he did, 'Tim finally
lost control and had to pound on his head and tell the voices to
stop, and then he began to laugh.

On his way to the meeting, Jadeite kept wondering why so many
people kept trying to kick him.

###

Jadeite gritted his teeth. He remembered now: The embarrassment
of having a childish sign attached to his back throughout the entire
meeting, during which everyone was staring and laughing at him!

The worst part was that he couldn't reach behind his back! He
had to get someone else to take it off. Asking Queen Serenity to
"Please get this thing off my back!" had been too much to handle.

The disguised general growled in anger. "RANMA SAOTOME, PREPARE
TO DIE!!!"

Somewhere, a pigtailed boy looked around in a paranoid fashion.

"Wait... why did I say that?" Jadeite asked himself, then
called out, "Sorry! I meant Tim!"

~Meanwhile~

"I, THE MATHEMAGICIAN, WILL TAKE CONTROL OF ALL THE SCHOOLS
AND FORCE THE CHILDREN TO DO NOTHING BUT HOMEWORK, FOREVER!!!" the
youma in purple robes yelled, laughing maniacally.

*KABLAAAM!!!*

"Yeah, quiet," the Atomic Starlight Knight said, putting away
the five other grenades he had been casually juggling. The children
cheered.

"Remember, kids," the tall knight said, "there's no such
thing as too much raw destructive power!"

The elementary school children laughed as they were ushered
back inside by their bewildered teachers.

It was times like these that made life worth living. Or, in
A.S.K.'s case, existing. He existed for combustion. It was a
wonderful thing. Fission and fusion were fine, too.

This reminded him of how this particular persona came into
being.

###

The former "big scary monster" found her relatively new
existence as an adopted princess... different. She spent a goodly
portion of her time learning how to act. She knew, from the info
she downloaded from the minds of the Queen and the Senshi, basically
everything she needed to know, but experience was something that
needed to happen. Being talked down to, for example, was a
completely new thing.

"Now, Terra, you really need to learn some responsibility.
You can, at the very least, clean your room," Queen Serenity
told Princess Terra.

"But, mother!" the little girl whined.

"You must," Queen Serenity said firmly.

"Yeah, but I could still destroy your planet if I really
tried," Terra mumbled under her breath as she went to her room.
"There are so many breaking points on this world, it's so not
funny... it's funny. I could just accidentally step on one and
the entire Moon might explode into fine debris..."

"What was that?" Queen Serenity asked, concerned.

"Nothing, mother!" Terra said sweetly, flashing a cute,
little-girl smile at the Queen.

It was extremely strange to not have people running and
screaming at her appearance. But, that was the price of being
too cute to be terrifying, she supposed.

As a matter of fact, that was where she had chosen her name
from. Terra, short for Terrifying. Most thought that she chose
the name since it was another word for the utterly insignificant
little blue-green planet that was always somewhere in the sky. No,
she wouldn't be so petty to name herself after a world... Now, an
element or a concept, those were _much_ more far reaching.

As time passed since her adoption into the royal family,
(say, a week or so) she began to really miss the destruction and
cataclysm part of her life. In order to avoid destruction herself,
she felt that she had to act like a "perfect little angel," and as
such, she couldn't go around randomly blasting things as much as
she'd like to. Very young princesses don't get out very much either,
so leaving to privately blow things up was not an option.

And, let's face it, there are only so many times you can
manifest "limited bursts of amazing power" without people getting
suspicious that something's up. Also, unfortunately, the "perfect
little angel" that she had to act like was not some huge, demonic
monster with multiple sets of eyes...

"As much as one might wish it otherwise," Terra mumbled as
she entered her all-too-adorable bedroom.

No, the "perfect little angel" that she had to imitate was
Princess Serenity, who was also named after a concept. Patient,
kind, and full of love, Serenity was. Copying that was quite a
change from randomly blasting galaxies for the sheer joy of it.

Ah, yes... Listening to the sound of a billion voices suddenly
cry out, then be silenced... That was what made existence worth
existing. But no, she had to stay home and act like an adorable,
kind, loving little princess of a beautiful magical kingdom! AARRGH!!

That was when she saw a case of what she deemed the 'Knight
in Shining Armor' syndrome. Sufferers of KISA tended to have a
portion of their personality separate and concentrate on whatever
part of their personality was not being used and was strong enough
to surface.

Classic cases involved someone with a wiped memory who had
previously been involved with an EXTREME case of 'True Love' having
their need for protection of the loved one surface and become its
own person for a period of time, normally until their memory
resurfaces and the extra protection is no longer needed.

Having retained her energy duplication abilities, she
attempted to modify a case of KISA to suit her needs. In this case
meaning the creation of focused alternative entity whose sole purpose
was to vent her frustrations, since she would be in no position to do
so without the possibility of destruction awaiting her.

Such an entity could be quite useful, considering that even
if it were destroyed as a result of this emotional venting, it
could easily be re-created, so long as any personality and memories
she chose to dump into it were transferred back before its KISA
matrix failed.

Working on this while cleaning her room was simple enough,
but energy manipulation on this level could be quite draining,
especially since her main energy source had been completely severed
by Queen Serenity's 'healing,' and she therefore had to use whatever
other energy sources became available to her. Her adoptive mother's
Silver Crystal... or was that Ginzuishou...?

Anyway, that crystal wasn't a very good option. People were
suspicious enough of her already, and if she were to be caught using
it in the way she wanted... She wouldn't be able to get enough energy
from it before she was toast. Yes, there were people who were just
waiting for her to make a mistake.

Some, however, had gotten tired of waiting, which, of course,
explained why an assassin decided to blast through the wall of
Terra's bedroom and set about the task that assassins do best.

Terra, acting her part, gasped, holding a pseudo-surprised
hand to her mouth. "Wh... who are you. Wh... what do you want?"

The black-cloaked assassin wordlessly advanced closer.

Why would an assassin be after her? I'll explain further. After
the assault and her appearance, rumors spread about her. Some said
that she was really a horrible monster. Others said that she had come
to destroy them all. Still others said that she had tricked them all
into putting her where she was. Then there were the others who said
that she was an extra-terrestrial come to punish them all for
polluting their beautiful worlds. They, of course, don't count.

Many such rumors spread throughout the solar system, nearly
all of which were true, but that was no reason to make a fuss about
it.

"Soon, you little menace, will feel the taste of cold steel!"
the assassin said, mechanically sliding out a really evil-looking
knife. As it left its sheath, the metal made a sound that was near
to shrieking.

Continuing to act like the frightened little girl she was
supposed to be at this point, Terra backed off and screamed when the
assassin drew its blade. She tried the door, but it was magically
sealed... The ones who wanted her dead had apparently gained access
to the locking mechanisms.

"D-don't hurt me," Princess Terrifying said, backing off while
she attempted to think of something inconspicuous enough to terminate
the existence of the current threat.

After all, a "perfect little angel" isn't supposed to tear
her foes apart with her bare hands... It simply isn't proper!

<Wait... I got it!>

There was a green flash and a grenade imbedded itself in the
floor in front of the assassin. Princess Terra dove for cover.

The assassin stopped to look down at the grenade. "What is-"

*KABLAM!* The grenade exploded, tearing the assassin apart.

Metal fragments clattered to the floor, and shrapnel from
the blast imbedded itself in the walls throughout the room.

Terra walked closer to the remains of the assassin, and
saw that it was most assuredly not human.

"A robot?" the young princess asked rhetorically.

The one who threw the explosive stepped into the light.

"I'm the Atomic Starlight Knight!" he said confidently,
then looked down at the broken bits of machinery on the floor and
smiled. "And you're _scrap_, buddy-boy!"

"IT'S ALIVE!" Terra shouted triumphantly, having successfully
created her 'Knight in Shining Armor.'

The small, apparent nine-year-old princess jumped up to give
her new mental projection a great, big hug around the neck. "ALIVE!"

Now, perhaps she'd be able to vent some of that built-up
frustration...

###

<Then when Mom and the rest of the crew got in, there was a
brief scuffle with the guards...> the Atomic Starlight Knight
thought. <I disabled fifty of 'em before the Senshi showed up.>

<Hey, I was running low on power. The guards were easy, but
I wouldn't have survived an attacking Senshi for two minutes.
Besides, saying that I was Terra's friend 'Tim, the only other
survivor from her homeworld made a great setup for later.>

<Yeah. They actually believed it!>

<That's no excuse for stopping such a wonderfully explosive
situation from going critical!>

<Exactly. So, quiet!>

<But I STILL managed to get my room cleaned!> another part
of his mind added.

<Heh. Yeah, that entire situation was fun.>

<Yeah? Not as fun as that time I made it rain instant
Nyannichuan!>

<BWAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!>

<Heh. That was great! How'd I do that, anyway?>

A.S.K. got a merry chuckle out of all this, as he tried to
figure out why he was still feeling ambient evil if he blew up
the monster-of-the-week.

<Yeah, maybe this was only a diversion.>

<NO!!!>

<No, it's not true! That's impossible!>

<NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!>

"This is a bad thing," A.S.K. concluded.

---

"Sacred fire... Show me the cause of all this," Raye said,
meditating before the fire.

The fire sputtered and showed a shadow. It intensified to
show the face of a blonde man with short hair.

Raye gasped. "Jed!"

"Jadeite, actually," Jadeite said, walking in, "I am, quite
frankly, surprised that it took you so long to figure it out."

"Why... Jedite?" Raye asked, standing, moving into a defensive
position.

Jadeite's eyes narrowed. "Can't anyone get it right!?" he
whispered incredulously.

"Well?" the priestess pressed. "Why?"

Jadeite took a deep breath and regained his composure.
"Simple, really. I need energy. This is a good a plan as any."

"So what are you going to do now?" Raye asked. Jadeite
smiled, as if expecting that question.

"Why, since you now know that I'm the cause of it, I
now have to destroy you," the Negaverse general said, raising
his right hand to throw an energy blast.

"NUCLEAR BOOT TO THE HEAD!!!" A voice rang out.

*WHAM!* A man in green armor came out of nowhere and smashed
his foot directly into Jadeite's face, who staggered back, holding
his cheek in pain. The armored man rebounded, did a flip and landed
in front of the unwitting general.

"Oh, I see, attacking innocent bystanders instead of just
draining them, eh? Thought you could send me on a wild youma
chase, didja? Well, it's not gonna work! On behalf of the
Moon, I'll punish you!" Atomic Starlight Knight said emphatically.

"Hey, that's my line!" Sailor Moon whined as she ran in,
followed by Sailor Mercury and Sailor Earth.

        "And on behalf of Mercury," Sailor Mercury said.
        "And Earth," Sailor Earth added sweetly.
        "We will punish you!" They finished, posing cutely.

Jadeite smirked and snickered, covering his mouth, and finally
burst into all-out laughter.

"What?" Sailor Moon asked indignantly.

"Oh, sorry, it's just that... when you did that... it looked
exactly like what Paracite, my cousin, does when he..." Jadeite
managed to squeeze out before he collapsed on the ground, laughing
uncontrollably.

All present except for Jadeite sweatdropped.

Starlight Knight thought about it and started laughing too.

Mercury was able to guess a possible situation and joined in.

Soon, everyone except Sailor Moon was consumed by the hilarity
of the idea, rolling on the floor and laughing uncontrollably.

"Hey! We're supposed to fighting here!" Sailor Moon shouted,
annoyed at being left out on the joke. They gradually calmed down.

"Right. So say goodbye to your -heh- miserable -heheh-
misbegotten lives!" Jadeite said, still not fully recovered.

"Okay, (*smirk*) ATOMIC SUCKER PUNCH!" Starlight Knight,
driving a fist at Jadeite, but missing entirely when Jadeite
decided to teleport. His forward momentum drove his fist into
a wall. "Hey! You can't do that!"

"Where'd he go?" Sailor Moon asked.

A bus's horn honked twice.

"The bus!" They realized all at once, leaving a surprised
Raye behind.

Arby fluttered up to her. "You're prob'ly wonderin' what just
'appened. Well, it's loike this..."

Raye fainted at the sight of the odd creature.

"'Ey!" Arby said indignantly, "I'm not through with you yet!"

---

"Don't let him get away!" Starlight Knight said, running
after the bus, finally catching a handhold. The others were
chasing the bus as well. Finally, only Sailor Moon was able to
get on. Sailor Earth, deciding to be nice, stayed behind with
Sailor Mercury.

...

As they went in, they saw that Jadeite, wearing a pilot's
cap, was driving. Scattered throughout the bus were drained
people. The bus finally entered a glowing portal, which ended
in one of Jadeite's pocket dimensions.

What they saw shocked them. Dozens of busses were there,
full of drained people.

"That's... Brilliant!" Starlight Knight said, gazing in
wonder.

"What?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Don't you see? Jadeite's been stealing busloads of people,
draining them, then just leaving them."

The Sailor Scout scratched her head. "What's so brilliant
about that?"

"I would never have expected him to do that!"

Jadeite jumped out the window.

"Hey! Not so fast!" Starlight Knight said, following the
general.

"Wait for me!" Sailor Moon said, also following.

Outside, Jadeite was waiting for them. "Now prepare to be
defeated, annoying ones!" he said.

Starlight Knight chuckled. "Yeah, by you and what *army*, pal?"

"This one," Jadeite replied calmly. With that, dimensional
gates appeared and hordes of youma poured out. Sailor Moon's jaw
dropped. Starlight Knight remained calm.

"I suggest a change in tactics," S.K. whispered to Sailor
Moon.

"What?" Sailor Moon asked.

"RUN!" S.K. said, tossing a sphere into the youma army.

Jadeite caught it. S.K. and Sailor Moon ducked behind a bus.

"Stay down and cover your ears," S.K. said to Sailor Moon.
She did so.

There were a few shouts, some musical notes, and finally an
explosion, then the noise level went down. S.K. motioned for
Sailor Moon to come out.

Jadeite stood there with a surprised expression, his hand
still where it was when he caught the device, his face blackened
with soot, and his hair blown back. The army hadn't been destroyed,
since there was no scattered dust on the ground; they had simply
left.

"Amazing what they leave behind after a robot carnival,
isn't it, Jadeite?" S.K. said.

Jadeite shook himself out of his daze. "Still up to your cheap
tricks, I see!" he said, "So I'll just have to trap you here instead
of destroying you!"

"Yeah, yeah, we heard it," S.K. said to Jadeite, then to
Sailor Moon he said, "Do you want to blast him, or should I?"

"Moon Tiara Magic!" Sailor Moon said, throwing her tiara.

"Well, that answers that," S.K. commented with a smile.

However, before the tiara could reach Jadeite, he disappeared.

"What the... He's learned!" S.K. said in bewilderment, "You
don't take hits, you dodge 'em! The big singin' pansy learned!"

The busses started to move to a portal that was struggling
to stay open. As one went by, S.K. saw Tuxedo Mask driving one.

"Good plan... Get them out of here before the gate crashes,"
S.K. said, noting the procedure. He cupped his hands to yell at
Tuxedo Mask. "HEY! TUXY! HOW 'BOUT A LIFT OVER HERE!"

The man in the black tuxedo just smiled mysteriously and waved.

"GET BACK HERE, YA PANSY!" S.K. shouted in annoyance. There
was no response. "Now that's just rude..."

"We could just walk out," Sailor Moon noted.

S.K. thought about it for a moment. He finally sighed.
"Oh, well, if you want to do it the EASY way... Okay, let's go."

He picked up Sailor Moon and rushed out, completely unaware
of the heart-eyes she had directed at him.

---

Back in the normal dimension, Sailors Earth, Mercury, and
the newly found Mars were concentrating on keeping the gate open.
Finally, string of busses came out, followed by Starlight Knight
and Sailor Moon. The gate finally collapsed.

"And... that'd be the last one," S.K. said, noting that
all the busses seemed to be out. He placed Sailor Moon on her feet.
"It's been a GREAT night, don't you think?" he asked her
enthusiastically.

All Sailor Moon could do was look at him and sigh.

"THAT good, huh? I thought so, too. See you later, then!"

The Starlight Knight left, bounding over a building with
an overly show-offy quadruple somersault.

Sailor Moon gazed after him for a moment, then, noticing a new
Sailor Scout, she went over to ask about it.

Interestingly enough, it turned out that Raye was Sailor Mars.

Even more amazing was the fact that she didn't seem to be
having any problem accepting it...

"After seeing your little... ArbyFish there," Mars explained,
"I don't think much else is going to surprise me for a while."

"Thank'ya koindly," Arby said in his usual accent, perching
on her head.

***

"JEDITE! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?!" Queen Beryl asked
angrily.

Jadeite still appeared smug. "Following my plan, of course."

"That's all well and good, but (deep breath) WHY DO ALL
OF YOUR PLANS INVOLVE YOU LOSING?!?!" The throne room shook
from Beryl's voice.

The blonde general still appeared as if he thought the
situation was going well. "You'll see."

"I had better, Jedite, or you're going into the eternal
sleep!" Beryl said.

Jadeite looked a little shaken at that last part, but he
quickly regained his composure. "Don't worry. I have everything
under control."

***

*WHAM!*

"HEY! What did you do that for?!" Serena asked, looking
annoyedly at the ArbyFish who was brandishing a Heavy, Blunt
Object(TM).

"Re-enacting me favorite song. Lil' bunny Fu-Fu 'oppin'
thru' th' forest... Ya know, pickin' up the field moice 'n
boppin' 'em on th' 'ead!" Arby said.

"Arby, go back to bed!" Luna said with a sigh.

"Oh, I see. One a' those deals, eh? Oh, all roight," Arby
replied, fluttering back to his newly grown mushroom patch under
the house. "I COULD flog you incessantly if I wants to, though!"

Serena watched him exit the room and turned toward Luna.
"Was he like this back in the Moon Kingdom?"

Luna was able to remember a great deal about Arby. "Worse."

"Why did you keep him around if he was such a problem?"

"I made a promise to him that I would stay with him until
he learned to control himself."

"Rough promise, huh?"

"You have NO idea. But promises must be kept!"

---

Jadeite stood on top of a tall building, holding an ever-
growing ball of energy.

<Soon, very soon I will finally be able to destroy them!>
he thought, drawing the energy into himself.

&&&[End Chapter 4.]

[Sailor Sez]

"Today, we learned that having a knight in shining armor handy can keep
you from getting blasted by the defenders of justice!

"And remember: What THEY don't know can't hurt YOU. Sailor Nuke sez.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!!"

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