Shades of Gray
A Sailor Moon Fanfic
By: Aaron Nowack

Chapter 6: Soul of Thunder

"...He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible, swift sword..."

- "Battle Hymn of the Republic"



Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi, whose creative talents far exceed my most humble own. Distribution and other rights to Sailor Moon belong to lots of different companies that I do not own. I make or imply no claim to ownership of Sailor Moon or its characters. However, the text of this fanfic is mine, and should not be used without permission. Thank you.


A sharp drumroll shattered the silence. Under a dark sky, as one, thousands of red flares appeared. Inside the citadel of Grim Respite, a handful of youma waited for the onslaught. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, a second drumroll pealed out. Simultaneously, thousands of flaming arrows were loosed, flying through the dark sky like shooting stars.

The defenders weathered the storm of arrows, losing only a few of their number. But that was not the end. A third drumroll sounded, rumbling like thunder over the horizon. Then, for a long moment, silence returned. The quiet seemed unnatural, and an expectant feeling filled the air.

A great groan broke the stillness. The very earth heaved, cracking open before the citadel. The widening chasm raced forward towards the solid walls of the castle.

The defenders were not worried, as the walls had wards inscribed on them, protecting them from such magical assault. What they did not know was that, amid the flaming arrows they had recently weathered, arrows carrying charms designed to counter those wards had been hidden. And thus, they were surprised when the chasm reached the walls, and the defenses collapsed in with a great crash.

Once more, a drumroll could be heard. One hundred of Mordrangar's elite guard charged forward. Once, these had been Malvaar's command. Now, they sought to avenge their lord. The surviving defenders raced towards the breach in the walls, hoping to throw back the assault.

The first of them to die was the castle's seneschal, whose head was cleaved in two by a massive axe. The second was Ixitar's brother, who was torn apart by two massive dog-like youma. The defenders never had a chance. First by the ones, but then by the dozens, they fell. The last to die was slain while he cowered in a corner.

He would not be the last to die in this war. This was only the beginning. Mordrangar had made his move, seizing the territory previously promised to the Mountains of Desolation. With Jadeite's youma split by their own bickering, this would be an easy conquest. Mordrangar felt that within weeks he would be seated on Beryl's throne, sipping wine out of a goblet made from Jadeite's skull. Yes... this would be sweet.



Ten thousand years ago...

The place was the Palace of Light, once home to the King and Queen of Venus. Those two had long since fled their home, headed towards the safe haven of Luna. Now abandoned except for a handful of loyal defenders, the Palace floated over bloodstained, ruined fields. Venus, Planet of Light, faced true war for the first time in recorded history.

The attack had been sudden, but not quite without warning. There had been revolutions on Mars and Saturn. The royal family of Saturn had been hung, while that of Mars was slain in battle. In the streets of Akturun, capital of Mars, the fall of the old order and the beginning of a new had been proclaimed.

Moments later, the word came that a coup had been staged on Saturn by the nobility of that world. A pact of unity was signed by the two new governments. The Brotherhood, a mysterious organization that had been causing problems for almost a decade, had come out into the open, declaring itself the protector of the new regimes.

It took three days before the identities of the Brotherhood's leaders were discovered. Cyrene frowned as she thought of it. She had been High Commander of the Silver Army, but she had made a costly mistake. She had hesitated, waited for orders. By the time they came, the fleet bases on Jupiter's moons had defected, and the planet itself was under attack. It only held for a few months before the King of Jupiter turned his coat, trading his kingdom for his life.

Cyrene had sworn that no more worlds would fall as easily. And she had succeeded. She had held the rebels for almost a year at Uranus and Neptune, and even now brave colonists made hit and run attacks on the enemy's supply lines. Pluto still held, though it had been under siege for years. Cyrene wondered how Dia was doing there, trying to keep morale up among the soldiers and refugees trapped on that tiny world.

When the war was almost two years old, the Brotherhood had moved back to the inner system, leaving half their force to keep Pluto bottled up. Their invasion had struck Mercury and Venus, bypassing the strong defenses of Terra, which soon had its own problems to deal with, in any case. Mercury had lasted nine months, but had been forced to surrender when the rebels had threatened to destroy the Sunshield. But Venus was where Cyrene had made her stand.

For two and a half years, war had ravaged Venus. Vast forests had been burnt to the ground. Great plains had been trampled by the steeds of the Martian desert nomads, perhaps the finest mounted warriors in the solar system. Villages and cities had been stormed, captured, and retaken until there were only a few that had not been abandoned. Cloud Castles had been damaged, though not even the rebels risked destroying them.

Now the rebels were making their final assault. Their armies, boosted by native Venusian sympathizers, had finally battered their way to the Palace of Light. Behind them was only devastation, a tortured wasteland of muddy trenches, still-smoking craters, and countless unmarked graves. Ahead of them was the last bastion of loyalist power on Venus. Cyrene's orders were clear. At the first sign of defeat, she was to teleport to Luna, and from there probably back to take command of Pluto's defenses once again.

She turned to her aide, Allasandra. She and the Venusian woman had not gotten along well at first, but now Cyrene almost felt she was as much a part of herself as her own right arm, and she liked the thought of losing her as much as she did the thought of losing that limb. "When... when... I leave..." Cyrene struggled to continue. "Surrender. There's no point in wasting any more lives." Before she could say anything more, or before the aide could respond, they both heard the rumble of war drums below. With a smooth motion, Cyrene summoned her henshin stick and prepared for the final battle. "Uranus Planet Power, Make Up!"

She peered out through the viewports at the forces gathering below, readying for the assault. There was what had once been the famed Jovian Royal Guard, though they now called themselves simply the Jovian Guard. Her face twisted into a grimace as she saw a handful of banners from her own world, but that grimace was nothing before the expression that appeared on her face as she saw a single, plain blood-red banner. The Betrayer of Peace. Almost as soon as she saw this, the attack began.

The fighting was swift and deadly. The rebels breached the Palace's defenses in moments, throwing the loyalists into confusion. But wherever in the lines Senshi Uranus traveled, the defenders rallied, and the rebels fell back in disarray. However, Ares was also present, dominating the battle like a god of war. He called fire down on Uranus's command, and his very presence put spine back into fleeing rebel troops. Each time it seemed as though the attack was broken, Ares would lead a further charge, and that accursed battle cry would sound once more.

When the two met, a bloody fight ensued. Rebels and loyalists fought each other with a passion, neither side willing to give ground. A thin Saturnian stabbed one Venusian through the heart with a rapier, only to have the favor returned by a loyalist pikeman. The fighting swirled throughout grand halls. Priceless artifacts were shattered into a thousand pieces by sword blows. Bodies, and blood, were everywhere. Uranus felt a haze of red descend over her vision as she desperately tried to be everywhere at once, striking down the rebels with her Space Sword.

Suddenly, looming out of the carnage came Ares' form, his dark red armor covered in blood, as was his blade. A manic light was in his eyes and a cocky grin on his face as he approached Uranus. The two collided, blades striking like serpents, and in moments both were bleeding from several small hits. Wounds they could have avoided had they been well rested.

The two paused for a silent second, then leaped at each other once more. This time, it was clear who had the upper hand. Ares danced around a strike from Uranus, then darted forward and struck home, stabbing Uranus through the stomach. Falling back, dazed from the pain, Uranus was barely able to concentrate to successfully teleport to Luna.

None of the remaining defenders left the Palace of Light alive. Cyrene never found out whether they had refused to surrender, or whether they had been killed in cold blood after trying to do so. Days after being healed, she returned to Pluto, to rally the defenders there. A few days after that, the Silver Millennium fell.

That was then...



...and this is now.

The place was the shopping district of the Juuban ward of Tokyo. It was only a few minutes ago that the latest conflict between the Senshi and the Champions had started. A large crowd had already gathered, watching in awe... and no small amount of fear. No one noticed the shop owner, who sat bemoaning the certain destruction that would befall his store. The Champions had managed to gain the upper hand initially, but the Senshi quickly used their superior numbers to put an end to that.

"Ice Storm!" Hermes cried out, trying to buy himself and Aphrodite a little time.

Sailor Moon searched around herself, trying to find the Spiral Heart Moon Rod, which Aphrodite had knocked from her hand. Sailor Mars guarded her, flinging out a Burning Mandala in the general direction of the Champions.

"Deep Submerge!" Neptune's blast slammed into Hermes, sending him tumbling down. Mercury followed up by blasting him with a Shine Aqua Illusion.

Meanwhile, Venus fired a Crescent Beam at Aphrodite, backed up by a Sparkling Wide Pressure from Jupiter. The Champion of Venus staggered under the blows. Aphrodite dropped to one knee, gritting her teeth against the pain. "Guys... we might need to retreat." But one look told her that wasn't an option.

A short distance away, Chronus and Sailor Pluto continued their swirling duel. Blade and staff clashed in a merger of a hundred different styles, many of which hadn't been seen on Earth for thousands of years. Chronus was a blur, moving faster than the eye could see. Pluto's defenses, however, were always in the right place at the right time. Her attacks, on the other hand, were never quite fast enough. Despite the exchange of hits a few moments earlier, their duel was a stalemate. The two were perfectly matched.

A little bit further away, another duel was coming to an end. Sailor Uranus stood over Ares, her Space Sword at his throat. "I underestimated you, girl," he said, and his voice weary. "And maybe overestimated myself. A bad mistake, it seems." He knew he wouldn't be able to teleport away before Uranus could put her sword through his throat.

Uranus's face twisted into a sneer. "You won't get the chance to make another mistake."

Ares sighed. "No, I won't. What a way for this to end, after so many years." He closed his eyes, waiting for oblivion.

Uranus tightened her grip and prepared to press down.



Down below in the gathering crowd, a man with shaggy long hair looked around frantically. "Where did that two-timer go... I'm gonna pound him. Wait... I better make sure this one's not a girl first." The man continued to search in vain for Fuarku Ikawa.

Near him, a blond man rose to his feet and stumbled towards an alley, clutching his head. His head was pounding, and every step resounded like thunder between his ears. Something was happening to him... something unlike anything he had experienced.

"Who am I?" he breathed out as he entered the alleyway.

"I'm me," his own voice answered in his mind.

"I'm Zeus," another responded. It was his voice, but it sounded... ancient. As the voice faded, memories of another age came pouring in. A vast city that floated through the reddish-brown clouds, watching the sunset from a distant world, responsibility. An oath. A duel. Hatred. Rage.

He weakly raised one hand. The man struggled for a moment, as if trying to remember how to use a muscle he hadn't used in ages. Slowly, a massive sword appeared in his hand. The man paused once more, then called out, "Jupiter Sword Power!" Green armor formed around him, with the sigil of Jupiter displayed in gold on the chest plate.

A moment later, Zeus leapt up to the rooftop. His eyes quickly took in the situation. He had only moments to act, or he would lose a brother. "Thunder Bolt!" he cried. The blast of lightning slammed into Sailor Uranus, nearly blowing her off the rooftop. Ares opened his eyes and smiled, rising to his feet once more, sword in hand.

"Welcome!" the Champion of Mars said before he hurled a Flame Strike at the rising Uranus. The Senshi fell back down under the burst.

Pluto suddenly backed away from Chronus. "The time is not yet right for this duel to conclude," she said before vanishing.

"Uranus!" called out Neptune, racing to her lover's side.

Ares observed the battlefield. Neither side was in the best of shape. "Serenity!"

"What is it?" asked Sailor Moon, a bit of hope in her voice.

"We all have wounds to tend. We will continue this another day." Ares and the other Champions leapt down, swiftly vanishing.



A few minutes later, at the Tomoe house, wounds were being bandaged. Michiru silently tended Haruka's burns, which fortunately were not quite as severe in this form as they had seemed on Sailor Uranus. Not far away, Usagi morosely stared at the wall, wondering for what seemed the thousandth time what this fighting was about.

"So, we have two more Champions to deal with," said Makoto, grimacing.

Ami was typing on her computer. "Yes, Chronus and Zeus. Fortunately, Chronus's powers seem to be more in line with Pluto's than with Saturn's."

"Fortunately?" exclaimed Minako. "I'd almost rather take on a Champion who could destroy the world than one who could manipulate the time stream!"

Rei sighed. "That is true. I'm feeling something... dark on the horizon. It might be his influence."

"Well, that's a cheery thought," grumbled Haruka. "Does Crystal Tokyo even exist anymore, I wonder? Have we already failed?"

Ami frowned. "I don't think so. We all remember Chibi-Usa, and that would, I imagine, be a paradox if Crystal Tokyo was no longer the future."

At this point, Hotaru silently slipped into the room. Her purple eyes took in the exhausted and battered Senshi, and she frowned. She silently walked over to Haruka, and soon her hands began to glow, and Haruka's burns started vanishing. "What happened?" she asked.

"We fought the Champions," Michiru said quietly, carefully eyeing Hotaru.

Hotaru's frown deepened. Should she have gone? If she had, then her friends would have been safe. But... a memory came back to her. She stood before Sailor Moon, Uranus, and Neptune. Her impossibly long hair was slowly choking the life out of the two Senshi who would become like parents to her. No. She couldn't risk it. She would not risk destroying the world again. Not even for Serenity.

No. She would not do it. Not for anything. But a small voice inside her sounded, and she somehow knew that she would eventually be forced to give into her power's siren call. She could only hope to delay that date.



Jadeite frowned as his two new Generals left. He had been forced to accede to Ishamanar and Nyxan's demands. He couldn't afford to have his kingdom split by civil war now. Not with an invasion begun and the conjunction on the way. He slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne, staring at the black ball Beryl had used to scry out her enemies.

"So, the Dragon of the North has seized Grim Respite?" said the former General, speaking to the empty air. "That is of little importance." He sounded as though he was almost trying to convince himself of that fact.

What to do, what to do? Jadeite had already ordered Nyxan and Ishamanar to march north, to meet Mordrangar. Together, their force was probably outnumbered three to two by Mordrangar's army. That would have to be enough for now though, because he could not let the opportunity of the conjunction go to waste.

He would have to send his own personal forces across. There was no way around it. If he appropriated any of his Overlords' forces, there wouldn't be enough youma left to keep Mordrangar from sitting on this throne, which Jadeite intended to keep firmly beneath him. It wouldn't be as many youma as he had been hoping for, but it should still be more than enough to slaughter the cursed Senshi and Champions.

At that thought he reviewed the reports on recent events on Terra. He would have to strike with overwhelming force soon, since the Champions were Awakening so quickly. The more there were, the more difficult his conquest would be. He offered a quiet prayer of thanks, though to what god he knew not, that Saturn was dead. He had no desire to rule over an asteroid belt.

And, to the north, three armies converged on a stretch of wasteland, not yet any different from any of the countless barren regions of the Dark Kingdom. Two armies marched under the banner of the Dark Kingdom. The third, and by far the largest, carried the standard of the Mountains of Desolation. In a matter of days, the three would collide, and this wasteland would become distinguished by hosting one of the greatest battles in the history of the Dark Kingdom.



Back on Earth, in an abandoned alleyway not far from the site of the recent battle, the Champions stood. "Looks like you were having a bit of a problem there, no?" Zeus asked, eyes sparkling.

Ares smiled. "Yes. Until we get up to full strength, we're going to be at a disadvantage fighting the Senshi."

Aphrodite turned to Hermes. "Speaking of that, any clues on who any of the others are?"

Hermes shook his head briefly. "Not one. By the way, Gladian, who are you in this life?"

Aphrodite nodded. "Who are you?"

Zeus detransformed, his forest green armor fading away to reveal his street clothing.

Aphrodite gasped as she detransformed as well. "Brother?" she asked.

While the others detransformed, Furuhata Motoki stared at his little sister. His face went through disbelief and shock in a matter a moments "Unazuki? You're Aphrodite? That's... that's impossible!"

Unazuki slowly nodded. "The odds of this have to be... astronomical. I can't think of any time any of us have been related by blood."

Meno nodded. "I can think of once when Hades and I were distant cousins, but that's it."

Tamori looked as though he was getting a headache. "I hate to break up this reunion, but Pluto's trying to find us. I'm blocking her, but I'd suggest we get a move on it."

"Right," said Ikawa. "Let's all meet over at my place tonight so we can make plans, alright?"

The other Champions quickly agreed and went their separate ways. Ikawa thought of heading over to the Hikawa Shrine and talking with Rei, but decided against it. He needed to talk and think about something that was only about Ikawa, and had nothing to do with Ares, but homework fulfilled that requirement just as well as Rei, and he had been letting it slip the past few weeks.

He didn't notice the man who began following him about halfway there. That man grimaced as he raced after Ikawa. "Rei, tomorrow I will crush this two-timing bastard for you!"



The Senshi had gone their separate ways from the Tomoe house, promising to meet again the next day. The Outer Senshi had also promised to try to get some answers out of Pluto if they saw her, but both groups knew exactly how likely that was. Pluto never answered anything she didn't want to. In the bedroom the two of them shared, Michiru tried to comfort her lover.

"What is it, Haruka?" she asked. She had quickly noticed that Haruka seemed depressed.

Haruka sat down on her bed. "It's like the Talismans all over again," she said, disgust filling her voice.

Michiru blinked as she sat down beside Haruka. "What do you mean?"

"We're fighting with our lives... and the princess's... on the line, we have a hundred questions, Pluto knows all the answers, and she's not giving us any. I hate it," Haruka said bitterly. "The others still don't quite trust us because of what Pluto had us do last time, and none of it was necessary."

Michiru paused for a moment, looking into Haruka's eyes. "I know. But that's not it, is it?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on Haruka's face as she looked at the woman who meant more to her than anything. "I never could hide anything from you, could I?"

Michiru grinned in response. "No, you couldn't." She placed her hand over her lover's, then continued. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

Haruka's face turned grim once more. "It was what happened with Ares today. I could have killed him-"

"He's the enemy. He would have killed you if he had the chance, just like the youma or the daimons," Michiru replied.

"That's not what I meant!" shouted Haruka. "My sword was at his throat. I was about to kill him. I was happy I had the chance! But then... I remembered the Talismans. I remembered how we stood by, risking other's lives for our quest. I wondered if this was all another of Pluto's games." Haruka grimaced before continuing. "I wondered whether Ares had another identity like us, whether he had friends, people he loved and who loved him. I hesitated, and then Zeus hit me. And I realized I was glad I hadn't killed him!" Haruka paused for a breath. "And then I was upset that I was glad he had survived, and then I felt guilty I was being upset about it."

Michiru put her hands around her lover, drawing her into a hug. "We can't worry about that. We can only work on what we know."

Haruka closed her eyes. "I guess... but that's what we did last time. What will Usagi think... no, what will we think of ourselves if we kill one of the Champions, and he's someone we know? Or someone one of the others knows? We don't even know why we're fighting, this time."

Michiru tightened her grasp on Haruka. "We have to trust Pluto. It all worked out last time." If she hadn't been so close, she wouldn't have been able to hear Haruka's whisper.

"I don't think I can trust her." Michiru couldn't think of a reply to that.



The sky was dark and overcast. But then, it was always dark and overcast. What was unusual was that dark clouds of smoke lanced upward like spears, pillars rising up until they were lost in the dark sky. Rising up with them were screams of pain, prayers for merciful death that went to an uncaring goddess.

The countryside glowed with a light like the sky would have had, had the clouds not been there. Rivers of flame flowed over the landscape, consuming all they touched. Serpentine columns marched south, spreading the flames as they went. To meet them, more columns of youma headed north, into the devastated regions. Already, scouting groups had met and clashed in bloody combat. The Dark Kingdom was at war.

Had anyone bothered to count, the death toll from the war would already have been numbered in the tens of thousands. It was already obvious that the victor would rule over a depopulated, ruined province, wrecked by the war that was in the process of consuming it. But the true purpose of the battle that was already beginning was not to take this battered ground, but instead to destroy the opposing force.

Senalks was a youma leader, one of Ishamanar's men. He commanded a patrol unit, which was currently trying to ascertain the location of Mordrangar's main force. Working with them was a patrol of Nyxan's, a patrol that mere days ago had been the enemy. But it was not Senalks's place to question the politics of his masters.

War was not an uncommon event in the Dark Kingdom. Raids between neighboring provinces occurred on a daily basis. Larger feuds happened fairly regularly, with at least one going on somewhere at any given time. But war on this scale was rare. The only war in the history of this sordid subdimension that exceeded it was the disastrous conflict that had occurred after Beryl's death, a conflict that was still occurring on the vast western continent. But here, on the smaller eastern continent, some semblance of a peaceful status quo had been formed. A status quo which had been shattered by Jadeite's return.

Senalks's musings on the causes of this war were stopped by an arrow through one of his three eyes. He died before he realized what had happened. Youma erupted from hidden position around the patrol, charging towards them, battle cries in their throats. The Dark Kingdom patrols only lasted eight minutes against Mordrangar's scouts. Two dozen more lives to be added to the rapidly growing death count. And all before the first major battle.

And the clouds of smoke continued to rise up into the heavens, like grasping hands. Their numbers grew as the day wore on. As night fell, some of them slowly started to die down, as the fires ran out of things to consume. The cries of pain quieted, as those that cried out died or became too weak to shout out their anguish. The columns halted, resting for the next day. It would not be long before all these things started once more. Not long at all.



Back on Earth, in an apartment in Tokyo, a diverse group of people met. The owner of the apartment and leader of this group was tall, black-haired, and blue eyed. He greeted each of his fellows as they arrived, then sat on his bed, cold eyes taking in the others. His name was Fuarku Ikawa. Or Deinas. Or Ares.

The only female in the group had reddish brown hair and bright green eyes. She sat cross-legged on the only chair in the apartment, her back to Ikawa's desk, on which his computer sat. A smile was on her face as she looked around. Her name was Furuhata Unazuki. Or Azala. Or Aphrodite.

Beside her stood her brother, who silently ran his hands through his short blond hair, his green eyes, twins to his sister's, noting the identities of the others in this assembled group. He was the newest addition to the group. His name was Furuhata Motoki. Or Gladian. Or Zeus.

Leaning against the door was a man with long white hair, tied back into a ponytail. His gray eyes were closed, though if they had been open they would have been staring at the ceiling. His musings were his own, but the others gathered there, who knew him well, could guess what he pondered. The future, or maybe the past, both of which were on everyone's minds to some degree. His name was Urawa Meno. Or Janus. Or Hermes.

Staring out the window was a man with blond hair and blue eyes. His face was dark, his mouth twisted into a frown. His face smoothed as he finished what he was doing, then turned to face the others. his name was Inusha Tamori. Or Genitas. Or Chronus.

"It's done," he said quietly. "That daughter of mine won't be able to see us here. She'll only see Ikawa working on his homework if she looks."

"Good," replied Ikawa. "Now to the matter at hand. Since my Awakening in this time, we have been fighting two wars, one against the Dark Kingdom and one against the Senshi. Enough of us are Awake now to decide what to do about those wars. A unanimous vote here will bind all of us, even our brothers who are not present, until a further vote is called to overturn these decisions." The traditional words said, Ikawa quieted.

Unazuki was the first to speak. "I don't think there is any doubt about fighting the Dark Kingdom. The youma are the enemies of all who live." The others nodded at that.

Ikawa spoke. "Do we know anything about who's leading them?"

It was Meno who replied. "No. We don't have any definite evidence. We know Kunzite is dead, because one of the youma wanted vengeance for him. We don't know whether Beryl is still alive or not, nor anything about the other Guardians."

No one was surprised by this accounting. Ikawa spoke once more. "Are there any objections to continuing the war against the Dark Kingdom?" No one replied, so Ikawa continued. "Very well. What of the Senshi?"

"We may need to consider attempting to make a truce," commented Meno.

"That is true," said Motoki, nodding in agreement. "The youma threaten both us and them."

"I don't like it," said Ikawa, a frown appearing on his face, "but I can see that it might be necessary, if we can."

"But would they accept peace?" asked Tamori. "They have no reason to trust, any more than they did before. It's far too late for that."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Unazuki. "They're the same as they were then. There's no reason to think that any overtures we might make would have any effect."

It was Ikawa who shook his head. "Remember the park? Serenity offered to let us join them."

Unazuki sniffed. "And you answered her rightly them. 'Come back, all is forgiven?'" She shook her head. "I have no intention of kneeling to any Serenity."

"Nor do I," Ikawa said. "But-"

"It is more than her mother ever offered us," Meno interjected. "It is a start for negotiations, if nothing else."

Ikawa nodded, and a moment later Unazuki sat back with a nod of her own. "I think we should at least try this course of action. I trust there are no objections?" There were none. "Very well," Ikawa stated. "So shall it stand, until all are one!"

The others raised their fists. "Until all are one!"



Author's Random Revised Ramblings

1) Well, while Fallen Chapter 4 is at the prereaders, I figured I may as well churn out another revision. The most substantial change this time is to the final scene, which is quite different. Other than that, I believe there are mainly just cosmetic changes.

2) Any and all comments of all kinds are most welcome.

3) Thanks goes to Angus MacSpon for prereading the first version of this chapter. Additional credit goes to Brian Randall and Michael Chase for their comments on this revision.

4) The truly observant will have noted a minor change to the disclaimer. I decided it was a little hypocritical to request that my characters not be used without permission, given I was doing just that myself. Not that I anticipate this being an issue, as I expect anyone wanting to use the characters would, barring outright cases of plagiarism, be kind enough to ask permission anyway, which I would almost certainly grant.

Released: March 06, 2001

Revised: October 07, 2003

Final: December 30, 2003