In the last chapter for this story, Serena and Raye actually had a rather heated argument of some sort with each other. Just what the ultimate effects of it will be for all the necessary people here will continue to remain quite unrevealed before I get into this next chapter of this story here, quite obviously. But I'll 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 in my series here in order to find out, for all the obvious reasons, of course.
In this chapter of the story, there will be four new Scouts for Serena's crowd. And who they will become as Scouts is yet to be seen. I will say this, though, people. They will be entirely Terran as Scouts, no matter what their Scout names might actually be in their respective lives. They may not actually be from the Moon Kingdom, but they will still be Sailor Scouts, just like the current Skyhorse is. You might consider them to be, if you wish, members of the Sailor Scout Auxiliaries, so to speak, if you don't want to consider them actual Sailor Scouts. But they will still be considered actual Sailor Scouts in this particular story Universe, just the same, by me, in fact. Who they will be, you'll just have to read ahead to find out, for I don't really want to ruin this next chapter of the story, if I can possibly avoid it at all here, 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
Rainbow Garden In The Imperial Palace
Cuzco, Peru, Earth
January 30, 987 - January 31, 987
By the time she got there, four other girls were walking and talking with each other there for a while. Ginkya was the first of the four to see her, and she asked, "How are you right now, Hannah?"
"Okay, I guess. But Queen Serenity doesn't really want me in her chambers right now."
"Why, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Ginkya.
"It seems a few members of our party acted rather badly to each other for a while earlier today."
"Let me guess. Raye and Serena, Hannah?" asked Ginkya.
"As a matter of fact, Ginkya, yes. But how did you know that?"
"A feeling, I guess. From what we currently know of you all, it'd be most logical that those two girls would get into a really bad argument with each other, more so than the rest of you, I think. Sure, we don't exactly know what this particular disagreement might be about, Hannah. But if any of you girls would be arguing with each other here, it'd be most logical that it'd be Serena and Raye going at each other in their lives, based on what we currently know of you so far."
"I really don't like it, Serena and Raye fighting so much with each other in their lives."
"Do they do it often?"
"From my personal experience with them, it seems that they're often arguing about things or people in their lives. I don't really understand why, Mara, if I'll ever somehow understand why someday. But they're usually arguing with each other in them. From what I myself know of them, it's very rare for them to go at least one week or two without arguing with each other about something or someone in their lives."
"How bad do these fights get, Hannah?"
"Not cursing bad, but still lots of yelling and fighting bad, Mara."
Mara considered this, then asked, "It seems that your two fellow Princesses really care for each other, if they often fight with each other like they do. They don't often throw things that could seriously hurt or even kill each other, do they?"
"No, Queen Serenity's forbidden them and the rest of us from doing so in our lives. She doesn't want us to seriously hurt or even kill each other, of course. No matter how mad we might actually get at each other, she won't let us do so at all, or even take the risk that we might do so, Mara. Sure, she realizes that sometimes we might really be steamed at other members of our crowd, for the obvious reasons, of course. But she still won't let us even take the risk that we might seriously hurt or kill each other in our lives. No matter how mad we might get at each other, she still won't let us do that."
"She'd prefer that if you all ever had to fight, it'd be only against those people that'd be against the Moon Kingdom or its friends, and nobody else," said Zardiz.
"Correct, Zardiz. But she understands that at least sometimes, we may get really mad at each other in our lives, even though she might wish otherwise, of course."
"And what of all the other Princesses besides you who are now in Serena's crowd, Hannah?"
"Well, we don't often think that Raye and Serena need to argue with each other as much as they often do, Yazmis."
"I see. But is it sometimes warranted, most likely, for them to argue with each other about someone or something in their lives?"
"I suppose that might be the case at least every once in a while, but I don't think that it's usually the case, at least for them, if not other people as well, in their lives, Yazmis."
"For the obvious reasons, of course?"
"Yes, Yazmis. I'm afraid their all-too-frequent habit of arguing with each other in their lives may eventually come back to hurt us when we have to fight against the Negaverse, of course. Though I don't know when and where that might ever turn out to be the case for any or all of us yet, if I'll ever know those things in my life somehow and someday."
"How so?"
"The Negaverse might interpret their arguments as a sign of weakness for our Moon Kingdom and try to use them to separate us easily enough, I think. I don't know yet how they might try to separate us, of course. But I suspect that they might someday try to do just that, if they think that we're all showing that we might be too weak to oppose them well enough anywhere in our very own Moon Kingdom. And especially if they meet up with us somewhere back on the Moon."
"What do you all know about this Negaverse so far, Hannah?"
"Their foes will likely have to fight for their own lives, if they ever meet up with them in their lives. For they'll never likely give any of their foes in battle any mercy at all. That's if I remember our first tangling with them some time ago elsewhere in God's very own Universe well enough, Ginkya."
"And if we and other Monitors have to fight them?"
"Then you'll likely have to fight to the death with them. And quite likely, you'll have to kill them when you oppose them at all. If you don't show yourself to be on their side, then they'll most likely destroy you if they possibly can, Ginkya."
Hannah and the four Peruvian Princesses talked at least a little while longer with each other about many things, at least until Lita found them all in that garden as well, and found them with each other there. Lita soon came to where they all were in it, once she saw them all there, and she soon said, "Queen Serenity says that we're all likely going to have to train somewhere in the next hour or two, if at all possible, Hannah."
"How much of a space will you Scouts likely need to train in, Lita?" asked Mara.
"An area that's about 57,600 square feet or so in its size, at the very least, if not larger, Mara."
"Hmmmmm. Girls, would you say the South Courtyard would be large enough?" asked Mara of her fellow Peruvian Princesses.
"First, before we answer that, we have a question that I think we should ask of Lita, if not of any other member of her party of visitors," said Ginkya.
"Oh?" asked Mara.
"That question is this, Mara. What kind of things would you ladies then be doing in the place where we'd most likely be putting you all for your Sailor Scout training sessions, at least while you're all still here on Earth?"
"I think that you should have Queen Serenity answer that, girls," answered Lita.
"Hannah, do you agree?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do, Ginkya. We're not really at liberty right now to divulge all our secrets about our fighting techniques, items, and other weapons. I think the same thing might be true for you and any other Monitor, at least normally, Ginkya."
"So you're both saying that we'll all most likely have to direct any questions in that particular regard, at least, to your Queen?"
"Yes, we are, Ginkya," answered Lita.
"Then I suppose we need to talk to your Queen before we lend a place to you all, so that you can all continue to train as Sailor Scouts in your own mortal lives."
"If you think that's necessary, Ginkya, so be it. But she's still not expecting any other visitors at the current time."
"I understand that may be true, but before Mara and the rest of us can likely provide you all with a training area, we'll apparently have to talk to Queen Serenity for at least a little while."
"As you wish, girls," Lita finally said to her and Hannah's current companions, after a few moments of consideration and at least a little more discussion about the current matter for them all. Then she and Hannah soon brought their Peruvian friends to Queen Serenity's current chambers in the Imperial Palace. Lita knocked on her Queen's door when she and Hannah came to them with all four of the Peruvian Princesses who they currently knew were Monitors in the Peruvian Empire.
Queen Serenity soon said, "Come on in, Lita. I hope that you've already seen to a training area for us to train in as Scouts."
"Not yet, but I did see what I could do. However, you're going to have to talk to our Peruvian friends for a while, in order for us to have that training area while we're with them here on Earth."
"I see. Send them in, then, Lita. Hannah, come in here with them. Then, Lita, I want you to get all the other girls for the time being, even two certain ones who recently acted up here."
"Understood, Queen Serenity," said Lita. Lita then sent in the four Peruvian Princesses with Hannah, before she went to each of the necessary chambers elsewhere on the Cuzco-area Imperial Palace's grounds. The last two girls she picked up were Amy and Raye, after she'd sent all the other girls to Queen Serenity's chambers ahead of Amy, Raye, and herself. She didn't walk with more than four other girls at the same time, of course. Before she'd move on to the next chambers she'd have to stop at, she'd first send all the occupants of the chambers that she'd just stopped at on ahead of her in the Imperial Palace of Cuzco, Peru. This wasn't always preferred by her fellow Princesses, for they'd all really wanted to return with her to Queen Serenity's chambers, if it was at all possible. Even Serena, of course.
When Lita got to Amy and Raye's chambers in the Imperial Palace, she soon knocked on the required door, and she said, "There's a meeting now in Queen Serenity's chambers, you two. Your presences are required there as soon as possible."
Raye soon said, through the door, "Lita, I hope a certain Moon brat really isn't with you right now."
"Raye, she isn't. But if you don't quit talking like that, then I may have to try to give you an attitude adjustment, if Queen Serenity allows me to do that. Sure, you may disagree with her from time to time. But you do bring a whole lot of trouble upon your own head with her at least every once in a while, as well, Raye."
Amy then opened the door, and let Lita into their chambers, as Raye said, from another part of them, "I don't really think that Queen Serenity will really let you try to do that to me, Lita."
"Maybe not. But frankly, Raye, I'm quite tired right now of you fighting with Serena so often, if you don't have to, in your life. And I really think that Amy and a least a few other members of Serena's crowd besides Serena, of course, also feel the same way, normally, or at least at the current time, in each of their own lives," said Lita, as Amy then shut their door.
"I agree with you, Lita," said Amy, as she sat down on a couch in the chambers currently in question in the Imperial Palace. "I don't think that Raye and Serena should fight with each other so much in their lives."
Raye then came out from the part of their chambers she'd just been in, and she soon said, "I guess I'm as ready to leave here as I can be right now, Lita."
Lita then asked, "Amy, what about you?"
"I've got my locket with me now, Lita, so I believe I'm ready to leave here now." Amy said this as she reached into a handbag hanging from her left shoulder, and produced her locket, so that Lita could see that she actually did have it at the current time.
"Queen Serenity has my locket, Lita."
"I know that, and so does Amy, of course."
"Well, I wish I had it with me now."
"Maybe so, but you don't, because you acted up with Serena just a while ago. She has them for a very good reason, Raye. And this time, I think that you and Serena really got her quite mad at you both. For I really don't think she's ever taken your respective lockets away from you both before, because of you fighting with each other."
"No, she hasn't, I think, Lita."
"Well, then I think that you two are going to have to work very hard to get them back again all the time in the future, Raye. Queen Serenity's apparently quite upset with you both, and I really don't blame her at all. You and Serena have never gone at each other like this before, as long as you've known each other in your lives, I think."
"I don't know about that, Lita."
"Well, I think that you and everyone else in your life who knows you and Serena well enough in it would say that you two have never gone at each other like this before."
"Maybe so, but would they be entirely correct?"
"Perhaps they would be, Raye. Perhaps not. But I think that they would be, because I feel that you two haven't ever gone at each other before like this in your lives."
"Well, I want my locket back."
"I'm sure Serena would too, Raye, but you two lost your lockets for a while, because of your recent fighting with each other. I suggest that you both had better mind yourselves rather well for at least as long as you'll be grounded if you want to have your lockets all the time again at your disposals, Raye. Both you and Serena, of course."
Then Lita said nothing more, before she eventually left Amy and Raye's chambers with Amy and Raye, of course. Lita soon showed up outside Queen Serenity's chambers, as required, and then knocked on her leader's door.
From inside the chambers in question currently, Queen Serenity then asked, "Is that you, Lita?"
"Yes, Queen Serenity, it is. I have Raye and Amy here with me now. Should we come in right away?"
"Please do." So Lita, Amy, and Raye soon entered the room, and Queen Serenity then said, "I'm glad you three are now here."
"What's up, Queen Serenity?" asked Lita.
"The Princesses want to train with us, if at all possible, while we're here with them."
"But they're not Scouts like us, are they?"
"No. But I don't think that'll be a problem, if you girls won't mind me making them part of our training sessions while we're here with them."
"But they don't have any special powers or items at their disposals as Monitors in their Peruvian Empire, do they?"
"Not yet, I think, Lita, though I could be wrong, of course. But they do have Crystals representing at least four of their nation's main cities, if not more." Lita, Amy, and Raye then sat down wherever they could find a spot to do so in Queen Serenity's chambers.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, Lita. They have Crystals representing their cities of Lima, Cuzco, Arequipa, and Puno, at least, if not other cities as well in their nation here on Earth."
"And how would you be able to make them able to train with us?"
"Well, if they'll provide lockets for their Crystals to be put in, I think that I can make them at least temporary, if not permanent, Scouts, for at least as long as we're here with them. Of course, if I do, then we'll have to share more about ourselves than they already know about us, most likely."
"You mean by transforming in front of them, Queen Serenity?" asked Raye, moments later, after she thought about that for a little while.
"Yes, Raye. We're most likely going to be facing the same people in battle, at least once, if not more, I think, so maybe we should show them who we all are whenever we're in each of our Sailor Scout states of being in our lives. This is so that if we show up around them while we're here on Earth with them, they won't be so surprised with how we look whenever we do just that."
"I don't know if that'd be wise, Queen Serenity."
"Do you have a better idea on how we can protect them all easily enough if our enemies come here to wreak havoc anywhere they possibly can on Earth, Raye?"
"I guess not. But I still don't like it, Queen Serenity."
"Well, Mina, Alexis, Susan, Hannah, and all the other Moon Kingdom girls here besides you, Lita, and Amy, think that it might be a good idea for us to do this kind of thing, Raye. So do Sylvia, Luna, and Artemis, as a matter of fact," said Queen Serenity.
"I don't think we should transform in front of them, though, if you want us to, I suppose that we could all do so, Queen Serenity."
"Understood, Raye. But I feel that we have to take the risk that the Negaverse finds out about our new connection to these Peruvian Empire Princesses, and to their Monitors, Raye. They're willing to take the chance that just by knowing us, they could find themselves and many other people in their lives in at least some danger, if not a lot. And if they are, the least that we can do, I think, is to try to help them all out to the best of our own respective abilities as Sailor Scouts. Even if we have to transform in front of them in order to do just that."
Amy said. "I hope you've thought this out as logically as you possibly can, Queen Serenity."
"Believe me, Amy, I have. I've considered all possible variables that I can even think of, and considered them quite thoroughly, Amy. And this idea of mine and everyone else here besides you, Raye, and Lita seems to be our best course of action while we're here with our Peruvian friends, or at least it does at the current time. I know that you three may have your doubts about it, of course. So do we all, as well, Amy. But this just seems to be the best course of action for at least a little while, if not for the rest of our stay here on Earth this time."
Then Queen Serenity said, "Serena and Raye, I'm going to hand you both back your lockets at least for the time being. I want you two to transform in front of everyone else here, including our new Peruvian friends, when I say so, after I give your lockets back to you for the time being."
"Understood," said Serena and Raye, in turn, when Queen Serenity looked at each of them, one girl at a time.
Raye said, "Before we do so, Queen Serenity, don't you think that our Peruvian associates should provide lockets for their Crystals first?"
Queen Serenity considered this for a few moments, at least, then she said, "I suppose that might be a good idea, Raye. If that isn't too much of a problem for them, of course."
Mara said, "I think that we can do that here, if it might ease Raye, Lita, and Amy's fears about you actually transforming in front of us."
"Then, if you all don't mind, would you get lockets for yourself to wear for at least the time being, whenever you train with us in this part of Earth?"
"Sure, I think that we can do that, Queen Serenity," said Mara. "Just give me a few moments to consult with my fellow Monitors who are now with you and me here."
So Queen Serenity and her other current companions did so here. And then Mara soon said, "Ginkya will bring four lockets to these chambers for us to use while you're here with us. We have our Crystals on our persons, but not our lockets that we might be able to use while you're here with us."
"I think that you'll also need to provide four tiaras for your own use, Mara, for at least the time being, so that you look enough like a Scout to maybe be able to protect your people better than you might be able to if you didn't do so. You might also have to refrain from using face paint most of the time, at least, if not all of it, while you're training with us. Also for the same reasons, I think. Believe me, I have nothing personal against you using face paint, girls. But if you look like a native of this world, at least of this part of it, they might pay special attention to you, and single you girls out for their attacks against their various enemies in the Universe. And if they did, and were successful enough, then you girls might not be able to protect your people well enough from potential harm at their hands."
"What about any other Monitor?"
"They'll likely have to do the same, if they somehow encounter us while we're all here on Earth with you all, Yazmis."
"Ginkya, please go as I have so directed, and bring us four lockets no more than 48 cubic inches in size. First, go to the Rainbow Garden. Then, after you leave there, go through the Hall of Memories and the High Sierra Garden to each of our chambers elsewhere in this palace. While you're in each chamber, retrieve our favorite lockets from their usual hiding places in them, if at all possible. I won't say where those places are in them, at least not in front of our new Sailor Scout friends, of course. But you should still know where to look for them all, Ginkya. Be back here with them and as quickly as you can, and let nobody who doesn't already know of our newest associates yet see you do so, if at all possible. As you return to us here, I want you to then stop by the Hall of Messengers, and for you to bring us the four tiaras that we all wear on most formal occasions that we normally have to attend here in our nation, Ginkya. Oh, and before I forget, please make sure, if you can, that before you leave each of our chambers, you've also retrieved one neckerchief or scarf from them, so that we can put our lockets on above the knots in them."
Ginkya acknowledged her cousin Mara's orders with a brief nod, then set off for the necessary places elsewhere in the palace, as directed by her cousin. She took the exact course given her by Mara, and soon arrived in her chambers. She then went to where she'd normally hide her favorite locket in her chambers, and she retrieved it. It was just barely small enough to meet her cousin's criteria for locket size. She stored it away in a sack that she'd tied on her belt shortly after entering the Hall of Memories, and then she soon left her chambers behind for her cousin Yazmis Takya's chambers.
While in those chambers, Ginkya got another locket for her cousin to use for at least the time being from the necessary place, as well as a pair of shoes that were part open-toed sandals, part rabbit-fringed moccasins, and part boots. The front third of the shoes were mostly open-toed with leather straps crossing periodically across each other, while the middle third of the shoes were made of highly tanned and rainbow-dyed doeskin, and the back third of the shoes basically looking like medium-height boots with two-inch-high mostly rubber heels. The front of the shoes' heels were cut about three inches in front of the back parts of them, and about an inch or two behind the line dividing the shoes' middle sections from the shoes' back sections. The lines between each shoe's thirds were marked off by seams joining them to their neighboring sections, of course. The soles of the shoes were made of leather, doeskin, or mainly of rubber, and they were joined with rather strong stitching to each of their three zones, mainly with rather strong twine that'd also allow some stretching of the soles whenever the situation might require it, but not too much. Ginkya got those shoes for her cousin Yazmis to wear, after she first got the necessary locket from her cousin's chambers, and then she put that locket and those shoes in her sack as well. Before she left them, she also picked up a rug somewhat near the door that was decorated on both sides with a rather eagle-like bird with several black and crimson wingtips on its mostly silver body. And this particular bird on the rug here had three black stripes and two crimson stripes alternating with each other on the back of its mostly olive green head, as well as an orange stripe running lengthwise down the center of its mostly sky blue and chocolate brown bill, from the innermost end of each half of its bill to the outermost end of it. She also put that rug in her sack, of course, before she finally left her cousin's chambers behind again.
Next, she went to Zardiz's chambers, and she then retrieved the necessary locket from them, after confirming to a sufficient enough degree that it'd meet with Mara's criteria for the lockets they'd use at least temporarily while they practiced with the Scouts. She also got a bow and at least one full quiver of arrows, as well as a shield about two feet wide, three feet tall, and about six inches thick, from a closet in Zardiz's chambers. After which she then inserted the bow and arrows into her sack, and hung Zardiz's shield rather securely indeed on her back, much like Terrans of a future time might possibly wear a backpack, if not entirely like that. The shield was mostly light green with gold border trim and two mostly white llama heads on it, and she put it on her own back rather easily, as a matter of fact. After doing that, and after having loaded her sack with the aforementioned bow and arrows and the required locket, she then left her cousin Zardiz Buzmura's chambers again, of course.
She then set off for Mara's chambers, and she soon found the necessary locket of Mara's in them, as well as a few writing utensils, some paint that Mara would normally use whenever she wrote something down, and at least one blank scroll of Mara's in them. Of course, she then loaded up her sack with Mara's locket, a few of Mara's writing utensils, several paint containers, and the aforementioned blank scroll or scrolls, before she again left her cousin Mara's chambers. After leaving Mara's chambers, she then set off for the Hall of Messengers, as she'd been directed to do earlier by Mara, so that she could then pick up the necessary tiaras there, of course.
She soon arrived in the Hall of Messengers, then moments after doing so, she found all four of the necessary tiaras there. After saying the necessary access phrases, she then retrieved them, and hung them on her right arm near her elbow, in such a manner that they wouldn't easily fall off her arm, at least while she was in the process of returning with them to Queen Serenity and Hannah's current chambers in the Imperial Palace of Cuzco, Peru, on Earth. She hung those tiaras on her arm, with Mara's tiara being closest to her shoulder as she did so. After doing that, she then returned as quickly as she could do so safely enough to Queen Serenity's chambers, of course, returning just before her fellow Peruvian Princesses were about to search for her elsewhere in the Imperial Palace.
When she returned to them, it was now about 5:30 pm local time. Mara asked her why it took her so long to return to them, after being away from them for at least an hour, if not longer, and Ginkya said, "It took me a little while longer than I expected to get the tiaras you wanted me to get, for I had to take an alternate route between your own chambers and the Hall of Messengers, Mara. General Tucariono was then occupying the main route between your chambers and the Hall of Messengers as he was also with a number of his Black Thunder Order cronies there. He was then heading off toward the main stable area with them, as if they were all planning on raiding several nearby villages around here, but he and his BTO cronies didn't do anything to suggest to me that they were about to do that. I couldn't get close enough to hear their conversation well enough for a long enough time, for you told me, essentially, to avoid all unnecessary contact with any other people here on the grounds of this Imperial Palace for us, though, if I possibly could do so, Mara."
Mara soon said, "I suppose we should ask Firehawk and at least a few other Monitors to keep an eye on them for us for at least a little while, then, Ginkya."
"That might be a good idea, as a matter of fact," said Ginkya.
"Now or later, Ginkya?"
"Later, I think, after we spend at least a little more time with our new associates here, Mara. I don't think that our enemies here will do much in the next few hours, at least, for it usually takes them at least a week or two, if not longer, to plan their next attack or attacks elsewhere in our nation, after they go after certain villages close to our nation's main cities, if I'm not mistaken. I heard about a day or two ago about their latest raid about five days before then in the area of Macchu Picchu, when they tried to disrupt the latest precious metals train to Callao from the general area of Ayaviri, as it stopped for the night in the Macchu Picchu area. Fortunately, they weren't able to get away with more than about a few hundred pounds, at most, of gold and various other metals, such as copper and iron, mainly, I think."
"So most of the things on that cargo train got to Callao safely enough?" asked Mara.
"Yes. It may take them a while to process the things that they just stole into useful enough items for their purposes, whatever they may be, and while they're doing that, I don't think that we'll have to worry about them a great deal here in our nation. Sure, they may eventually cause more trouble for us later, of course, but I don't think that they'll be raiding again in the next few days, unless they get some help from certain people we don't know all that much about yet, if we ever will."
Then Ginkya began giving the necessary items to her fellow Peruvian Princesses, as needed. She gave Mara her writing supplies, including, of course, the blank scroll or scrolls she'd earlier gotten from Mara's own chambers. And, of course, she gave one of the tiaras to Mara as well. The tiara that she gave to Mara had a stone set in its center that was mostly white with purple and hunter green swirls on it. Mara then thanked her for getting that tiara for her, for the obvious reasons, just before she put it on her head, just above her hairline. Mara then received her locket and a neckerchief that was colored much the same way as the stone in her tiara was colored currently. Mara then put the neckerchief Ginkya had just given her on, then the locket, before she tied a knot in the neckerchief just below where she placed the locket on it. That meant that while she was wearing the neckerchief around her neck, she was also wearing her locket, of course. Her locket had her initials on it interlocking with each other in purple on a mostly hunter green background on the front of it. On this locket, there was a mostly rolled-up scroll in white on that background, and where it wasn't rolled up, the interlocking letters appeared on that scroll. The remaining parts of the locket were made primarily of an alloy of gold, silver, and steel, in equal parts, whenever possible. And the locket normally opened to its right whenever she wore it, as it'd likely be able to do, even if she became at least a temporary Sailor Scout, and not just a Monitor. The area that'd then be accessible would normally be just large enough for certain items that were small enough to fit in it, like maybe a small portrait, for example, if it was small enough to do so.
As Mara then made sure that her locket was exactly as she wanted it above the knot in her neckerchief, she said, "Queen Serenity, I hope that you'll be able to unite my locket with my Crystal, once I get close enough for you to see if you can do that." After she did that, she then took her Lima Crystal out of a pocket of the purple, white, and hunter green gown that she was now wearing, and showed it to Queen Serenity and the rest of their current companions who hadn't ever seen it well enough before, or allowed them to feel it, if they couldn't see it, of course. That very Crystal looked almost entirely, if not entirely, like the stone in her tiara, and the neckerchief, that she was now wearing on her person, not to mention her own current gown.
Queen Serenity and her fellow companions who hadn't ever seen or felt that Crystal well enough before, then soon finished looking at it, and/or feeling it, as the case might be, before Mara lent it to Queen Serenity for at least the time being, of course. Queen Serenity then said, "Mara, what do you want us to call you whenever you're training with us as a Scout, at least on a temporary basis?"
Mara thought for a moment, then said, "Call me 'Amilaram', if that's all right with you all, everyone. It's my current Monitor name anyway, as a matter of fact. Partly because I'm from Lima, and partly because I chose that name when I became a Monitor, for that's one of my current pen names as a writer and poet."
Queen Serenity thought about that idea for at least a few seconds, then she said, "Agreed, Mara. Let it be as you've said, then."
Ginkya then provided Zardiz and Yazmis with the items that she'd gotten from each of their chambers in turn, of course, before she attended to the things that she herself had brought with her from her own chambers in the Imperial Palace of Cuzco, Peru. Zardiz was quite happy that Ginkya had brought at least one loaded quiver of arrows from her own chambers there, when Ginkya had gone there to get all the necessary items from Zardiz's chambers.
And Yazmis was glad that Ginkya had found her favorite shoes and the rug with that bird on both sides of it. This was because she really liked wearing those shoes and being near that rug, at the very least, whenever she possibly could do so in her life. Little did anyone know, though, that the rug might allow her to fly high in the sky someday, or that she might find that wings like the ones for the bird on either side of that rug might appear on her Monitor and/or Sailor Scout uniform back or backs. But only time, of course, if either or both of those things ever became the case for her in her own mortal life in God's very own Universe. After Yazmis had received that rug from her cousin Ginkya, she said, "I made this rug all by myself about a year ago, everyone."
Everybody who'd not yet ever seen it before, and who could see it now, soon said, "You did a really good job on it, Yazmis. I wish we could've watched you make it when you did."
Ginkya then said, "Queen Serenity, you all can call me 'Sierra Ayknuzco' or just 'Sierra' for short, if you all want to. I'm also from Cuzco, as a matter of fact."
"Yazmis, what about you?" asked Queen Serenity.
Yazmis said, "You can all call me 'Paquaresimzay', or 'Paquasim' for short, if you want to. I'm from Arequipa, by the way, just in case you all don't already know that yet."
"Zardiz?"
"Queen Serenity, 'Onupzidraz' is fine for me, if you all want to call me that in the future, or at least whenever I train with you all, for I'm from Puno here in our nation of Peru. If not that, then you can all call me 'Onziza', if you all want to do that instead."
"Fair enough, I suppose, Zardiz." Queen Serenity then retrieved her Imperium Silver Crystal from the same pocket that it had been in just before she dampened Raye and Serena's lockets with it, and she brought the Lima Crystal in close enough contact with it. She used the Imperium Silver Crystal to examine the Lima Crystal for a few seconds, then said, "It seems that this Crystal's of sufficient quality for me to be able to join it well enough with your locket, Mara. If it's all right with you, then, I'll make you at least a temporary Sailor Scout, Mara."
"It is, Queen Serenity, if you choose to make me one somehow."
"As you say, Mara. I shall then make you one. You'll be a Junior Sailor Scout, then."
"Agreed." Then Queen Serenity put her Imperium Silver Crystal back in her pocket moments later, after examining the Lima Crystal with it. When she looked at Mara, to confirm for sure that Mara was being totally honest with her at the current time, she saw Mara nod at her. Then she began bringing the Lima Crystal into substantial contact with Mara's locket, until it began uniting with her locket, as Queen Serenity and Mara were also saying all the necessary words that'd turn Mara into a Sailor Scout, at least on a temporary, if not a permanent, basis, as the Junior Sailor Scout Amilaram.
After Queen Serenity finished working with Mara's locket and Lima Crystal, she soon worked with Ginkya, Yazmis, and Zardiz's lockets and Crystals, so that they could allow their respective owners to become at least temporary Sailor Scouts, if not permanent Sailor Scouts, of any currently-known kind of Sailor Scout in God's very own Universe. Which meant that they'd be, in most, if not all, cases, at least while they were Sailor Scouts, the Scouts Amilaram, Sierra, Paquasim, and Onziza, if the longer versions of their names weren't used by other people while they were on Earth with their new Peruvian Empire associates.
After Queen Serenity did that, she then handed Serena and Raye back their lockets, at least for the time being, and had her Scouts follow her into their respective Sailor Scout states of being. Of course, Luna and Artemis didn't transform themselves into Scouts, for the obvious reasons, but after Queen Serenity transformed herself into Royal Sailor Serenity, all her other companions transformed into their respective Scout states of being, if they were able to do so well enough at the current time. Serena became Moon, Amy became Mercury, Raye became Mars, Lita became Jupiter, Mina became Venus, Susan became Pluto Beta, Alexis became Uranus Beta, Michelle became Neptune Beta, Hannah became Saturn Beta, Destiny became Corona, Bethany became Eclipse, and Sylvia became Skyhorse. Mara and her fellow Monitors soon said, after all of them had done so, "We think that you all look rather attractive in your Sailor Scout uniforms. I suppose that we could actually let you use the South Courtyard, after all, for your training sessions. You did tell us what you'd most likely be doing in whatever place we make available to you for your training while you're with us. But if you needlessly destroy anything, then you'll likely have to replace it, for the obvious reasons, of course, everyone."
"Fair enough, Mara," said Royal Sailor Serenity.
"Now how do we transform into Sailor Scouts?"
"Did you see how we began the transformation process?"
Mara said, "So we're supposed to say our Scout names followed by the word Power."
"I believe that'll be how it works for you, just as it usually, if not always, works for those of us who are Sailor Scouts, girls."
Mara and her three fellow Peruvian Princesses then began saying the necessary phrases, of course. And they all soon began transforming into their new Sailor Scout uniforms, which for them, looked like their own Monitor uniforms, as a matter of fact, but not entirely, of course. Mara ended up in a mostly purple, white, and hunter green outfit. Ginkya ended up mostly in navy blue and maroon. Yazmis ended up mostly in silver, crimson, and black. And Zardiz ended up mostly in gold and light green. Their face paint also disappeared from each of their faces, as their feathers also vanished from where they'd been in their hair, at least for the time being. However, their own snakeskin armbands did stay with them, and they even ended up with two snakeskin armbands each. Both of which looked like each other, even down to the agates hanging from them, for each of the girls currently in question, of course.
Just after Mara, Ginkya, Yazmis, and Zardiz had then become the Junior Sailors Amilaram, Sierra, Paquasim, and Onziza, respectively, here, Royal Sailor Serenity quite soon asked, "Can we all go to the place that you'll allow us to train in now, please, Amilaram?"
"Very well, Royal Sailor Serenity." Amilaram and her fellow Monitors who were also going to be Sailor Scouts on a temporary basis, at least, then said, "If you'll all follow us now, we'll all bring you to that particular place now."
So Royal Sailor Serenity and all her fellow Sailor Scouts not from Peru on Earth did indeed follow Amilaram and her fellow Monitors to that area of the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Cuzco, Peru. And so did Luna and Artemis, as quickly as they could, of course. After several minutes of walking, they all soon arrived there, of course, and Amilaram brought them all to the middle of it for a little while. She and her fellow Monitors then spoke of various things all over that courtyard, if the need arose for them to do so, before Royal Sailor Serenity and all of her current Scouts, including the ones that were also Monitors for the Peruvian Empire, of course, soon began training in it for a time. They all then trained in that courtyard together until about midnight local time, at the very latest, before Amilaram noticed that several of the Scouts were beginning to tire quite a bit in the Imperial Palace's South Courtyard of Cuzco, Peru, on Earth.
Amilaram suggested that they call at least a temporary halt to their training there, and Royal Sailor Serenity, having also noticed the same things that Amilaram just had, agreed with her completely. So she and Amilaram soon called an end to their training, at least for the time being. And after doing so, she soon got back Serena and Raye's lockets, after all her Scouts had powered down, and had transformed out of their respective Sailor Scout states of being, of course.
After she'd gotten back both Serena and Raye's power lockets from their respective owners, Queen Serenity soon sent them to bed, once they'd had a chance to get themselves a bedtime meal or snack for a while. She also let all her other companions do the same, of course, but she didn't take away their own respective lockets, if they had any at all. That was because they'd not lost access to them most of the time for any reason at all, unlike Raye and Serena, who'd lost majority access to them, for at least a while, to Queen Serenity, for their rather heated fight that'd taken place not too long before.
Raye eventually went back to her chambers with Amy, while Serena did the same with her sisters and Sylvia. And all the other Scouts soon returned to their assigned chambers in the Imperial Palace as well, of course. Even if they might've still preferred to stay out of them at least a little bit longer than all their other companions from the Moon Kingdom or elsewhere on Earth, they still did so.
After they all did so, they all eventually retired to their assigned sleeping areas in each of the chambers that'd been provided to them by their Peruvian friends. They all soon fell quite asleep in those very same sleeping areas in the required chambers of the Imperial Palace in Cuzco, Peru, on Earth. Even Michelle and Alexis, if not other people with them as well, did so, of course, in that very palace. As they returned to their respective chambers in it, their still-new Peruvian friends then said good night to them all, just before they themselves eventually retired to their own chambers there as well.
And they stayed asleep for at least a while, until it was at least local dawn, if not later than that, in the area of Cuzco, Peru, on January 31, 987. This, of course, was for all the obvious reasons.
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!