In the last chapter of this story, Serena and several members of her crowd finally met up with four young Monitors from the Peruvian Empire, once they'd all come to Earth rather suddenly by some divine means. Those very divine means had been certain means that had just been provided by the One True God of the Universe, in fact. And after they did so, they began to get to know those Monitors in a garden on a Peruvian palace's grounds, to at least some degree, if not totally, as well.

In this particular chapter for the story, though, Serena and Raye will actually have a rather heated argument of some sort with each other. Just what they'll do or say during it will remain unrevealed before I get into this next chapter here, though. But I will say that this argument will make it even more difficult for the Scouts for at least a little while, if not for a long while, just the same, in fact, readers. How so, you'll all just have to read on to find out, for all the obvious reasons, of course.

Now, without further ado, if we may, readers, let's get on with the next chapter of this story here. For there are still plenty more chapters to put up for this particular story here. And I'd really prefer to put them all up in their proper order, just as soon as I possibly can, in fact. If you like what you see, or feel the need to do so, then please don't be afraid to read, review, and enjoy my related story chapters here, readers. I await your rather clean, rather courteous, and rather constructive, comments about this story and its related parts, and about its related series, as well. Supposing, of course, that any or all of you all would ever feel the need or the desire to put up any reviews for any or all of my various stories, for the obvious reasons, people. Remember, standard disclaimers will still apply here, if and whenever the need arises. However, I still would hope and prefer that you all not steal my own original characters and settings here, for I've spent many hours working on them for quite a few years, in fact. Now, let's get on with the story here again, everyone. And I really do hope that you all will continue to read and enjoy it, for it's obvious that you all haven't recently reviewed any of my fan fiction work here on , readers! It would be real nice to get some clean, courteous, and constructive reviews, though, just the same, people. Now to the story!

A Rather Hostile Takeover

A The Chrysanthemum Chronicles Series Story

Inside Serenity's Chambers In The Imperial Palace

Cuzco, Peru, Earth

January 30, 987

About 10:30 am local time, then, Raye eventually bounced into Serena's bed. And soon Serena was shaken awake by Raye. Destiny was woken up by Amy, when Amy tickled her feet with a feather from a seagull that Amy had found on a windowsill just outside her chambers. Lita and Mina woke up Bethany when they brought some new cookies near her bedside. Bethany's nose soon smelled those cookies. And she was awake not more than a few seconds or so later. As for Sylvia, she woke up when Hannah accidentally bumped into the couch that she'd been sleeping on just then. Hannah bumped into it when she tried dodging a few pillows Serena was trying to either throw at Raye, or bop Raye with, after Raye woke Serena up. Sylvia soon heard Serena and Raye get into another one of their crazy arguments, if they'd not already done so after Raye shook Serena awake in her bed.

Serena said, "Raye, you didn't have to shake me awake. I would've gotten up eventually."

"When, Serena, three weeks from now, or never?"

"Today, Raye. I was hoping to stay asleep for at least another hour or two, today, before we get adjusted well enough to being here for a while. But, as a famous Martian hothead often does, she woke me up before I could finish getting my sleep. We wouldn't, by any chance, possibly know who she might be, would we, Raye?"

"Serena, you'd sleep forever if you could, I think."

"And let you win Darien easily, Raye, while I do so? I don't think so, Raye. At least I hope I'm not that dumb, when he IS my honey."

"Well, if I'm a famous Martian hothead, then you're certainly a famous Meatball Head from the Moon, Serena."

Just then, Sylvia got off the couch. And she went to where Raye and Serena were now verbally going at it, at least, after getting Lita to go there with her as well. Sylvia then took a rather strong hold on Raye, and she slung her over her left shoulder, while Lita did the same with Serena. Of course, both Raye and Serena were quite surprised when Sylvia and Lita did so. And then Sylvia and Lita carried their fellow Princesses out of their chambers on their shoulders. Of course, Destiny and all the others followed along here. And soon everyone was in Queen Serenity's chambers, including, of course, Sylvia and Lita.

While Sylvia and Lita carried them both to Queen Serenity's chambers, Raye and Serena kept yapping at each other, as if they didn't know when to stop doing so. They often tried to pull each other's hair, as they were being brought to Queen Serenity's chambers. They both wanted Sylvia and Lita to let them down, so that they could finish their current argument without any significant enough interference from anyone else. But Sylvia and Lita didn't do so. Or at least not until they got to Queen Serenity's chambers, if not even longer than that here, of course.

Sylvia and most, if not all, of the other Princesses with her now soon told Queen Serenity what all the fuss was about at the current time between Serena and Raye. And Queen Serenity soon said, "I think I need to have you girls train with each other for a while. I'll have to dampen your powers, Serena and Raye, at least for the time being, I think, so that you both don't kill or don't seriously hurt each other when you continue to train together. I think it's been too long since we last tangled with people from the Negaverse. So you girls might be getting rather bored right now with things as they are for us. I've also learned that certain Negaversers are going to be coming to somewhere on Earth. Though I don't know exactly when and where, and if we're possibly going to have to oppose them again in the very near future, before we can somehow return to the Moon for at least a little while, girls. Serena and Raye, why can't you girls ever get along with each other most, if not all, the time? Why do you two have to fight and argue so much in your lives?"

"I don't know, Mother. It seems to me that Raye loves to fight whenever she possibly can do so. Or at least most of the time, it seems that way, when it comes to her."

"Raye, what do you say to that? And keep your response civil enough to me, or there'll be the inevitable consequences if you don't do so."

Raye thought about her answer for a few moments here, and she then said, "With all due respect, Queen Serenity, I admit that I do fight a lot. But I think that Serena may often deliberately provoke me to do so, when I'm near her. Your daughter Serena's often a rather fiery girl, it seems to me. It's like she's so scared of being alone, just like Hannah's apparently seemed to be to many of the people I know from elsewhere in the Moon Kingdom, that she fights with those who she may care the most for in her life. I don't understand why, in fact, of course. But she really seems to often be scared of being alone, as Hannah seemed to be last night, after we got here."

Serena was about to deny that here. But she didn't actually say a word yet, when Queen Serenity gave her a certain look, and said, "Serena, Raye's talking to me now. You'll have your chance to speak as well. But I'm listening to her right now. So your comments will have to wait until I say you can share them with me and anyone else here in this room."

Then Raye eventually said, "Sometimes I wonder if she hates me. For we often don't get along with each other, especially when Darien comes up in our conversations. I'd not be all that surprised if, right now, she wishes I was back on Mars for a while. I wonder if she'd even miss me at all if I went back to Mars as soon as I could get back there easily enough, for at least a little while. I really do hate to say this here, believe me or not, Queen Serenity. But sometimes, she acts almost like a baby, if not entirely. It's like she wants everything her way right now, at such times in her own life. And if she doesn't get it, at such times in it, then she'll throw fits and otherwise misbehave, while also hoping that by doing so, she'll get whatever she wants in her life at such times in it."

Queen Serenity then said, moments later, after considering all those things that Raye had just said, "Raye, I don't think that Serena really hates you as much as you seem to think. Sure, I know that you two often have really heated arguments. But I think that she'd really miss you if you were back on Mars, Phobos, or Deimos for a long enough time. Just as she often really misses Darien whenever he's not on the Moon with us at all. And I believe that she still considers you the older sister that she'll never have with me and her father. I know that both of you aren't actually biological sisters to each other. But I do know that she's considered you to be the older sister that she'll never have with me and Prince Daniel as her parents in her life. From your own experience as the first daughter of your parents, you should be able to understand what it's like to be the first daughter of your parents. And if so, you should theoretically be able to understand at least a little bit what it might be like for Serena to be the first daughter of me and her father, Raye. Or at least I think so, for the obvious reasons, Raye."

"Maybe so, Queen Serenity. But she can really get me mad at her sometimes. I don't necessarily like fighting with her, of course, but I still often end up doing so."

"Raye, I know that you likely come from a world where people at least sometimes have somewhat shorter tempers than the average Moon Kingdom citizen might. But I don't think that you should use that as an excuse to just lay into Serena, so much of the time. I realize, of course, that there may actually be certain times when you have to argue with Serena in the future. But you're still going to have to be together with each other for quite a bit longer in each of your lives, I think. Even if you may not always want to be, you'll still have to be, with each other quite a bit in your lives, I believe. So you might as well get used to it as best as you all can in each of your lives."

"And let her have Darien once and for all, most likely, if we even fight about who gets him eventually in our lives?"

"Even if you ever have to do that someday, Raye. Raye, I can't have you two girls fighting each other all the time about almost everything, if not everything, in your lives. Especially since you're all eventually going to have to work together, most likely, if you ever want to keep from getting killed by our enemy once and for all anywhere in the Moon Kingdom, if and when they ever come to it."

"But I don't like a lot of the things that she does in her life, Queen Serenity," said Raye.

"So what? I'm sure that each of us could say things that we don't like about one another for hours, if not days, weeks, months, or years, on end, Raye. But what good would it do against any or all of the Negaversers who'll eventually come to our Moon Kingdom, if enough people's dreams and/or visions about any possible futures in which they might do such a thing are sufficiently accurate, for us to do that so much in each of our lives? Would it make our attempts to defend our Moon Kingdom at least a bit more successful, if we did so, most likely, Raye?"

"I don't know, Queen Serenity."

"I doubt that, Raye, very much. You see, if we show any weakness at all, I think that our enemy will try to take advantage of that weakness, if they possibly can do so. If we're fighting so often with each other, then how are we really going to be able to protect our Moon Kingdom and its people well enough against them? Raye, you can't always be fighting with other people in our Moon Kingdom. Or it may be hard for me to save as many of our people as I possibly can. If they come, I really do want to save as many of our people as I can possibly save. Even if it actually means my death and the end of the Moon Kingdom. Including you, of course, if at all possible, Raye."

"But I wish we didn't have to worry about the Negaverse."

"I'm sure that a lot of us also feel the same way back in the Moon Kingdom, Raye. But I believe that they'll be coming to our Moon Kingdom. And that they'll wreak as much havoc in it as they can before they're somehow stopped. Even if I have to sacrifice myself and our Moon Kingdom to do just that somehow in my life."

"Am I going to get punished, Queen Serenity, for acting like I just did with Serena?"

"Of course, Raye. After I hear what Serena has to say, I'll let you know how you're both going to get punished for at least a little while," said Queen Serenity. "Now it's time for Serena to speak. I don't want to hear a word from you, unless I say otherwise, while she's speaking with me. Otherwise, I'll likely have to increase the punishment I give you after I hear whatever she has to say. Once I've heard from her enough, I'll then give you about five more minutes each to make your concluding statements about this matter, with you speaking first, before I decide your respective punishments for at least the time being."

Then Queen Serenity nodded for Serena to begin speaking. Serena then discussed the matter at hand at some length, at least, with Queen Serenity, before Queen Serenity finally said, "Enough, Serena. Raye, do you have anything you want to say in your closing argument about this matter?"

Raye then answered, "Yes, I do." Then she spent about the next five minutes wrapping up her side of the matter in front of Queen Serenity and all of her fellow Princesses, until Queen Serenity told her she'd done so for a long enough time here. Then she had Raye sit down while Serena had her chance to make her final arguments about this particular matter to her mother. About another five minutes later, then, Queen Serenity then had Serena sit down elsewhere in her mother's chambers.

Queen Serenity had everyone remain quiet while she then considered the matter at hand for at least a little while, for the obvious reasons. She silently considered the real facts of the case, and she eventually reached a decision for it. She then had Serena and Raye stand next to each other, before she gave her verdict about the current matter.

She looked at Serena and Raye for a moment, with a straight face, so as not to let them know her decision before she announced it to everyone now with her in her chambers. She then said, "Raye Erica Hino and Serena Ruth Teresa Hope Rose Moon, you have recently acted rather hostile to each other without entirely justifiable reasons while we've been here in the Imperial Palace of Cuzco, Peru, here on Earth. It is the judgement of this court that you both be grounded for the duration of this stay of ours on Earth, plus another four to six months after we return to the Moon from Earth, if at all possible. When you're not required to be elsewhere either on Earth or on the Moon, or wherever else we might end up in God's Universe, before we return for a long enough time to the Moon, you'll both be restricted to your respective chambers, wherever they may be, unless I state otherwise. You'll also be allowed no unnecessary visitors while you're grounded. There'll be no time off for good behavior this time, I think. For your recent actions around each other have been so bad, since we came here a little while ago, that I think such reduction of this sentence is unwarranted, at least at the current time, if I'll possibly change my mind about such an idea being implemented. And I've also decided to put you both on probation, Serena and Raye. Meaning that, unless I see some reasonably appropriate improvements in your normal behavior around each other very soon, you'll all not be going to the Academy anytime in the very near future, so that you can all eventually become official Cadet Scouts."

"But haven't we been training well enough to likely be going there in the very near future?" asked Serena.

"If you hadn't acted up with Raye, Serena, I might've said that you girls might have been due to go there sometime in the next year, at the very latest. But now that you and Raye have done this bit of misbehaving with each other, I won't likely be sending you all to the Academy until at least your 12th birthday, Serena, if not later than that. And I don't think that you'll all be able to train officially as Cadet Scouts for at least another year or two here. This is because of your rowdy misbehavior with Raye. I know that the other girls might not deserve to get punished for your misbehavior. But you're supposed to be their leader, Serena. And if you get punished, then they'll be punished too. Even if they don't actually deserve it. Destiny was actually hoping that you girls could all become Cadet Sailor Scouts, at the very least, by your next birthday, Serena. And so was Bethany. Now, by acting like you have with Raye, I don't think that I can, in any good conscience, allow that, at least not for quite a while."

"You mean that Raye and I cost all of us potential upgrades in the next five or so months, most likely?"

"Yes, Serena, I am meaning that. And the blame rests on your shoulders exactly as much as it does on hers, and vice versa. If you'd actually each sworn at each other, then the penalties I'm assessing you would be considerably greater, for all of the obvious reasons. Furthermore, I'm going to be dampening your powers whenever you're training with Raye, at least for as long as you two are grounded, Serena. The same thing's true for Raye's powers whenever she's training with you, as well, of course. When you aren't training with each other, then I may or may not dampen them. Darien will also not be coming to your chambers anywhere alone while you're both grounded. I also will not reduce one term of the grounding punishment for one of you two more than I do for the other term of grounding punishment for the other one of you two. If I reduce one term a certain amount, I'll reduce the other term just as much, to be fair to either of you girls. Even though you both acted rather terrible around each other quite a while ago. However, if you two still actually continue to misbehave more than I feel you should around each other, I may very well increase the term of the grounding punishment for either or both of you, as I see fit. If you two actually do want to ever make it somehow to a full-fledged Sailor Scout state of being for either of you before they come after those of us in the Moon Kingdom, or elsewhere in God's own Universe, at least once more, then I very strongly suggest that you girls start behaving well enough around each other very soon. Or you'll most likely never even have a chance to do so. And all your fellow Sailor Scouts who aren't yet full-fledged Sailor Scouts by then, will also most likely never have the chance to do so either, before it may be too late for us to save our Moon Kingdom somehow, if at all possible."

"Anything else, Mother?"

"Until further notice, both of you girls are to be restricted to your chambers. And you're both to relinquish your power lockets to me. When it's time for you to train again, or you'll need them at other times, you'll then receive them back from me. After each training session, or other situation which you'd need them to be available to you, you're both to return them to me. And I'll hold them at least until you each have need of them again. I don't really expect there to be any balls or parties during which you'll likely have to wear them. So I'll retain possession of them whenever you two aren't actually training or you don't have need of them at all. Do you two currently have your lockets on your persons right now?"

Serena and Raye soon said, "No," after checking their respective persons for such things, of course.

"Amy and Bethany, go to your respective chambers, and get them for me," ordered Queen Serenity. So Amy and Bethany did so, and they returned with them moments later. After Bethany and Amy did as ordered of them by Queen Serenity, Queen Serenity then produced her Imperium Silver Crystal from a pocket in her current gown, and she said, "Amy, Raye's locket, please."

Amy gave it to her, and Queen Serenity soon brought it in contact with her Imperium Silver Crystal. By doing so, she dampened the power of Raye's locket to a certain degree, of course. By the time that she'd finally done so well enough to suit her, she'd then dampened it twenty percent, at the very least, if not more.

Bethany soon provided her with Serena's locket, after which Serenity also dampened the power of Serena's locket by at least twenty percent, if not more, in the exact same manner, of course. After she'd done so well enough to suit her as well with Serena's locket at the current time, she then set both Raye and Serena's lockets on a table near her at the current time. Then she soon dismissed everyone from her sight except for her cats Luna and Artemis, finally. For she really didn't want to see any other Princess from Serena's crowd for at least a little while at the current time. Especially Serena and Raye, of course.

Of course, that obviously meant that Hannah and all the other Princesses with her in Queen Serenity's chambers had to leave them for a while. By that time, when they all had to do that, it was now getting very close to 12:30 pm local time. Hannah soon went to somewhere else on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Cuzco. While each of the other Princesses then went back to each of their current chambers in that palace. Hannah went alone to that particular place elsewhere on the Imperial Palace's grounds. Specifically to the area immediately around the Rainbow Garden's main fountain on those grounds.


A Rather Hostile Takeover will still take at least some time to put up here, just the same, readers. For I've not yet completed the series, even though I've written at least partly into the seventh volume of this series, if not totally into it. Six volumes are complete. The seventh volume in this series is in progress, as of the current time. And the Moon Kingdom hasn't yet fallen at the point that I am now at in its series. When I finish getting the first six volumes of this story series up, I'll then start to upload the seventh one. And then we can go from there, once you've seen all that I'll have by that time for "The Chrysanthemum Chronicles" story series, readers. I don't expect to be able to start uploading the seventh volume in the series for at least a few weeks or months, though, people. For each volume in this particular story series of mine here is generally of good size, whenever possible, in fact, readers. There are many more things yet to come in this series. But if I say too much more than that right now and right here, you might choose not to continue reading this series, I think. For I might then be spoiling it for you all here, obviously enough, of course. Until later, then, this is "The Universal Storyteller" signing off here. Happy reading, and God bless, and all that, of course, readers! Over and out!