This will be a short chapter, but it will only involve all the Scouts and their feline companions, plus King Jason, Queen Eve, a royal artisan, a the royal chronicler. The artisan will begin creating a sculpture that will eventually be seen inside the Imperial Palace, while the chronicler will write whatever he can about one of the last meetings the royal guests from the future will have with King Jason and Queen Eve in 174 BC.
With no further ado, then, I'll close this. Let's get back to the story, and all, folks. TUS out.
Outside The Imperial Palace's Walls
Moon City, Moon Kingdom, Moon
September 14, 174 BC
Just about 44 hours after the known Scouts had finally left the area of the future Crystal Palace's grounds where the Sailor Scout Garden would be in them, Queen Eve met up just outside the Imperial Palace's walls with all her time period's current guests. Or at least as many of them as she could meet up with at the current time. She did this because they'd wanted to meet up with her for at least a little while before she'd be unable to be with them again, for all the obvious reasons. King Jason accompanied her to that meeting, as did a single royal chronicler and a single royal artisan who was not only just a painter, but a sculptor as well, at the very least, if nothing else as well at the very same time in his own life.
The chronicler would copy down anything that he could possibly copy down while his monarchs were with all of their current guests from the future, of course. While the artisan would try to memorialize this last very likely meeting of his monarchs with those guests of theirs as much and as well as he could do so, for all the obvious reasons, whenever he could do so somehow here.
A large block of solid marble that was about twenty or so feet long, about six or so feet thick, and about twelve or so feet high would be the artisan's main means of expression here, most likely. It'd already been brought to the Moon City area of the Moon by the time that the Scouts who weren't actually from this particular time period in the Universe's history had suddenly arrived in it. It'd actually been part of the very last free Nallisan castle that Moonian military forces had taken when total lunar union had finally been achieved by them, under the quite wise command of King Jason and Queen Eve, at least, if not anyone else as well.
That particular castle had finally been taken, but not without a great deal of fighting, in fact. Not much of that castle had actually survived after the final fall of the Nallisan capital to the Moonian military's armed forces. What currently still remained of it in its original location was now quite obviously a global monument, quite naturally. The block of solid marble now in question here had actually somehow been loaded onto the nearest usable enough transport-capable ship, and brought as close to Moon City as it could be by sea, if it couldn't be brought all the way there, for all the obvious reasons. If it wasn't somehow actually able to be brought there just by sea, it was then carried by as many land-capable animals, people, and ground transport methods as possible, until it finally reached the place at which it now sat, of course.
It'd taken at least a little while, if not a long while, for the block of solid marble to be transported to the Moon City local area, after the fall of the Nallisan capital. But it still had been brought there by the time that the known Scouts had first arrived as they had in the Moon City area of August 174 BC. It might not necessarily have been easy at all to transport it to Moon City, but it still had been brought there, just the same. And it was the largest piece of the castle it'd been part of to be transportable to Moon City's local area, if it hadn't already been destroyed or damaged sufficiently before it could be. Other parts of the same castle had been destroyed or damaged, either by military forces or by civilians that lived sufficiently nearby, in fact. But the solid block of marble that now sat outside the walls of Moon City's Imperial Palace had been kept from any harm at all since the fall of the Nallisan capital, somehow.
It might actually take at least a little while for the sculptor to complete the sculpture that would be carved out of that block of marble, for all the obvious reasons, of course. But it'd still, somehow, be completed before the eventual end of King Jason and Queen Eve's shared reign in the Moon Kingdom, in fact. He'd first paint the assembled visitors to the Moon City area of 174 BC on at least one large deerskin, if not more than one. Then he'd use that painting of his as the basis for his work on the sculpture he'd begin work on after they'd all returned to each of their respective time periods. This would be the first of many sculptures that he'd be commissioned or ordered to do during the reign of King Jason and Queen Eve over the Moon Kingdom. For he'd just become a royal artisan in his life, not long after the fall of Nallisa to Moonian military forces.
His royal chronicler counterpart had also become a royal chronicler at about the same time, if not at the exact same time, that he'd become a royal artisan in his life. This royal chronicler would be one of the main royal chroniclers, if not the main royal chronicler, for King Jason and Queen Eve during their reign over the Moon Kingdom. And he'd actually be one of Queen Serenity's very own ancestors, as well. But that wasn't yet known, for all the obvious reasons, of course, if it ever would be, anywhere at all in the Moon Kingdom. Especially in the area of Moon City on the Moon.
For most of the next three or four hours, at most, after King Jason and Queen Eve joined their time period's current guests, the known Scouts and the Moon Kingdom's current rulers conversed with each other at considerable enough length, whenever it was somehow possible for them to do so at all. As already stated, the royal chronicler who was also present proceeded to copy down everything that he possibly could during the current meeting, for all the obvious reasons, of course. And the artisan also began the necessary process of producing a painting of the occasion, to the best of his current ability to do so here and now.
The artisan periodically positioned the various known Scouts and his rulers in various positions, as he felt the need to do so here. Even going so far as to put several of the Scouts at heights that they might not normally prefer to be at, if the need arose for him to do so at all here. He even had at least some, if not many, of the known Scouts sitting in nearby trees. Even if they really didn't want to have to be in any or all of them, as well. Mainly, at least one of the known Scouts who was also actually a Monitor, if not also any or all of the other known Scouts, in fact, didn't really like the idea of actually having to be in any trees at all at the current time in their life or their lives.
But those known Scouts, whoever they might have actually been then, still tried to deal with such things to the best of their abilities to do so, just the same. It might not have been all that easy for them to do so at all. But they still were able to do so well enough, in fact. And just as soon as they could, they quite quickly proceeded to leave those trees again to the best of their abilities to do so, of course.
Mara, Ginkya, Martina, Jolata, Miranda, Abigail, Yazmis, and Zardiz, at least, if nobody else as well, were the known Scouts that most definitely had to be in the necessary tree or trees here. Others either sat or stood as the artisan then told them to do so, at the same time, of course.
Serenity stood in a considerably-sized cluster near Serena, Destiny, Bethany, Margaret, and Rini, at least, if nobody else as well, just above where Amy, Raye, Lita, Mina, Luna, and Artemis were making another cluster on the ground. Andrea was part of a third cluster of people on the ground with Sirashiki, Catrimusa, Laura, Shari, Rocío, Jostara, and Denise, as well. Sonir, Geline, Fadra, and Vurkigad formed what possibly could be considered to be a fourth cluster on the ground near where their fellow Monitors/Scouts were sitting in at least one nearby tree, if not more than one nearby tree. While Queen Eve and her husband King Jason both then sat on one considerably-sized rock located just to the right of Raye's cluster, and a little bit below the basic ground level of Serenity's cluster, as a matter of fact. As for Hannah, Alexis, Michelle, and Susan, they all basically sat in a cluster just to Rini's left side, and at about the same ground level that Rini sat at just in front of and to the left of Margaret, in actual reality.
Serenity and Margaret stood next to each other, with Serena sitting roughly in front of the space between her mother and her grandmother. Rini sat to Serena's immediate left, while Destiny did the same on the other side of Serena. That then meant, of course, that Bethany would quite naturally be on Destiny's own right, for all the obvious reasons. And Destiny's right wrist was connected to Bethany's by the required cord, quite naturally, as well.
Hannah was the closest of the members of her own cluster to Rini, and she sat at the same basic ground level as Rini was currently sitting at. To Hannah's own left, then, running from the nearest to her to the farthest from her, the other members of her own cluster were Susan, Michelle, and Alexis, in fact.
Amy sat almost directly in front of Bethany, while Raye did the same thing just in front of Destiny. Lita held Luna in her lap, as they both sat to Amy's own right. Which then meant, of course, that Mina had to hold Artemis, quite naturally enough here. Mina sat with Artemis directly to Raye's left, and in front of Serena, as well.
Andrea sat in the approximate middle of her cluster on the ground, as she was mostly surrounded in that cluster by Sirashiki, Catrimusa, Laura, Shari, Rocío, Jostara, and Denise. However, Jostara and Denise were both standing, in their shared cluster, right in back of Andrea, even as at least three, if not all, of the other five members of their cluster were sitting around Andrea as well.
Sonir leaned against one part of the tree that Amilaram was now in, while Geline sat on the ground almost directly in front of her. Fadra did the same with another nearby tree, at least in terms of leaning on it, in front of the Imperial Palace's nearest wall. And Vurkigad sat in a position quite like, but not entirely like, the one that Geline was now sitting in as she sat in front of Sonir.
Queen Eve sat closer to Lita and Luna than her husband did, but still was at least two feet away from both Lita and Luna, due to the actual run of the terrain that was immediately surrounding the rock that she and Jason both were on now here. She didn't like that fact much, but it wasn't something that she'd not be able to change, most likely. Or at least not yet, if she'd actually be able to change the nearby terrain enough at least periodically in the future, after she'd actually form the Sailor Scouts within the next day or two of time, somehow.
Eventually, then, and before it was too late for him to do so well enough somehow, the artisan had finished with at least the basic things that he'd need to do before he'd be able to carve the necessary sculpture out of the nearby block of marble once and for all. Then he finally let all the necessary people actually move around a great deal again, once and for all, if he'd not already done so to at least some degree right here and right now.
And then soon enough afterward, the meeting between the Moon Kingdom's current monarchs and their time period's current guests had to end again, so that those guests of theirs could do whatever they wanted or needed to do before they'd have to return to each of their respective time periods in the Universe's own history. The royal chronicler and the royal artisan really wished they could've spent more time with those people from the future, but it just wasn't possible for them to then do so, of course. That was also the case for Queen Eve and her husband King Jason, in fact. But they too accepted that it just wasn't possible for them to do that somehow either. Or that it most likely wouldn't be, as well, in either or both of their lives, if not also in anyone else's lives as well.
Five chapters remain. The last fight will happen two chapters from now. Next up, several discussions between multiple Scouts leading to the chapter with that fight in it. After that fight's chapter, just three chapters will remain, and everyone not native to 174 BC will return to their proper time periods as the need arises for them to, for sure, one way or another, in the next-to-last chapter for this story.
I hope to have the rest of this story posted by no later than this evening or night, if possible. But not sure yet whether I'll be able to do that here. After I finish posting it, Operation Cocoon One will be next to post, for sure. I do not know right offhand how many chapters/segments it will have for it, and how long it will take to completely post, but I do know that it will be about the same length, more or less, as this story is. As for Book VII, I currently have it at about 44 pages, if memory serves.
Operation Cocoon One was originally written completely, if I remember correctly, sometime by the end of 2003 or 2004. So it will probably read much, if not entirely, like all the other volumes of this series already posted and/or begun do. I will try to get back to editing and/or revising Book III at some point, so that it may read better. But that may not happen for at least a little while longer, I think, unfortunately. For there are a fairly good-sized number of other projects I want or need to complete and/or write, whether they're already posted online or not.
Until the next chapter for this story, then, I'll close this. TUS out.