I have not been able to add to this story for almost a decade and a half, for multiple reasons, but hopefully, I'll eventually finish this series of stories, folks. Later on, after I post the rest of this story, I may go back and edit it at some length. I have recently begun trying to find and get more work done on a number of my stories that haven't been added to or edited for quite some time, if I've been able to find some related notes and other files to them.

Now that I have found at least a few notes or files related to this story and/or its related series, hopefully, I'll be able to resume posting the remaining chapters of this story, plus at least the next two stories after this one, once I have enough of a chance to do so. I originally completed the writing of this story in early 2002, but have been unable, for multiple reasons, to finish posting it, unfortunately.

I plan to do quite a lot of writing this year, and perhaps even post a lot of chapters for various stories of mine, both of the fan fiction and of the original fiction varieties. Although some of my stories will probably not be found online for quite some time, in truth, folks. Mainly because I may perhaps try to get them published for potential profit, as a matter of fact, just so you know.

I hope that I have improved my writing skills considerably in certain areas since I last posted chapters to this story, but we'll just have to wait and see about that, won't we, folks? And hopefully it won't take me another decade and a half to finally complete this story series, too, for that matter, Lord willing, of course!

Okay, enough talk for now, I think. Let's finally get back to this story here, and see what happens next, why don't we all? TUS out.

Inside Mara Zimak's Chambers In The Imperial Palace

Cuzco, Peru, Earth

February 16, 987

Meanwhile, as Daniel was waking up back in Moon City, several Monitors were in Mara's chambers with each other and a few of the Moon Kingdom's Princesses who were now on Earth. Those Moon Kingdom Princesses were Serena and her twin sisters. They were there because Serena and her twin sisters were trying to figure out what they could possibly give their mother on her upcoming birthday. Which'd be on February 20, whether or not they were all still on the Earth at that time.

Mara was sitting on her bed, while her cousins and the Moon girls were sitting on cushions or the floor around her, at the current time. Bethany and Destiny were currently connected by a cord between Destiny's right wrist and Bethany's left one. Mara was now asking, "Does your mother like flowers, Serena?"

"She does like flowers, but I don't think that she really wants more flowers right now in her life, Mara."

"How old will she be, if I may ask that, Serena?" asked Mara.

"42, I believe."

"Does she like pottery?" asked Mara.

"Not really, I believe. Sure, she might use them sometimes, but I don't think she's much of a pottery collector. At least from what I know of her in my life. There's probably a lot that I don't know about her, though, of course, Mara, in it."

"Painting?"

"She's not much into painting pictures, as far as I know, Ginkya. I do know that she's done them before, for I've seen her do it before. But I don't think she's often painted pictures in her life. At least not since either I came along or the twins came along, just for fun, Ginkya. Though, of course, I could be wrong, you know."

"Cooking?"

"A little bit, at most, I think, Zardiz."

"Jewelry?"

"I don't think she wants any more right now, Yazmis. You see, I believe we have more than enough jewelry back in our Moon Kingdom. And I believe we rarely, if ever, wear most of our jewelry, back in the Moon Kingdom. Sure, we may all wear some jewelry sometimes. But most of the jewelry that I know is in our possession back in the Moon Kingdom is rarely, if ever, worn by any of us from the Moon Kingdom. Most especially by those of us who are rather high-ranking in it, of course."

"Like you, for example, Serena?"

"Yes, I do mean people like me, for instance, Yazmis."

"Has she often been hard to get presents for, in the past?"

"Sometimes she has, Mara. But not always."

"I see, Serena."

Destiny commented, moments later, when she didn't hear Serena continue the conversation out loud for at least a few seconds, if not longer than that, "I think I may have an idea, though, about what might work for presents from us, if possible."

"Oh, you do, do you, Destiny?" asked Mara.

Destiny said, "Mara, I think the babies she's carrying now would be a nice set of presents for her, if they're supposed to come to us in the very near future, of course. But if not, Mara, then I think she'd settle for trying to make sure that we can really whack our enemies here on Earth, if possible. Sure, we may not actually be able to kick them all off Earth easily enough right now. But I think that we could all try to do that to the best of all our respective abilities to do so, if possible."

"Do you think that we can beat them easily enough here on Earth, somehow, Destiny?"

"I don't really know, Ginkya. I'm hoping, of course, that we can. But I realize that it may not be very easy for us all to do so, if they're actually as strong as they seem to be in the Zone of Darkness at least a few of your Monitors located not long ago in your own Empire's territory."

Ginkya asked, through Serena, "Bethany, what do you think of what now appears to be our current situation with us all here on Earth?"

"I think that Destiny is right, when she says that she doesn't really know if we can beat them well enough here on Earth. I personally am not expecting us to be able to do that easily enough, if at all. I think that many people are going to be needlessly hurt or killed by them, before too much longer, and I don't like the thought. But with beings like those we'll likely be facing again from the Negaverse, I think that many of your people are going to be either hurt or killed by them somehow, whether they're civilians or not. The Negaverse will give nobody any mercy that they think is or will be against them in battle. Whether they're civilians or not, I'm reasonably certain that'll be the case if they decide to fight against any or all of your people, Ginkya." Of course, Bethany said this through Serena.

"Do you think that they'll do the same to you Scouts, if they realize that you're here?"

Bethany said, "I think so, Mara. But I hope that we'll be able to protect your people and ourselves well enough at least long enough for at least some of your people to somehow survive their invasion of your land easily enough. We may not, depending on how strong they actually are when we face any number of strange beings from the Negaverse again in our lives. But I really do hope that we can do just that, somehow. At least long enough for many of your people and all of us to survive easily enough for as long as we possibly can, in order for as many of us and as many of your people to get away from here in a sufficiently safe and sound manner or in such manners."

Serena said, "Sure, we may fall, of course, Mara. But if we dwell on that possibility too much, if and when we might face them in battle, it may actually come to pass for any or all of us. We've got to try to keep that from crowding out other thoughts in our minds that might help as many of us survive as possible, if possible. I realize that might not be all that easy for us to do. But at least we'll have to try to make as sure as we possibly can that we can do that. Just so that we might somehow actually be able to help out the chances of survival for as many of our people as possible, if and when we have to oppose them in battle someday, and somewhere, here in your very own Peruvian Empire on Earth. I really don't like the thought much of having to fight for my life and the lives of so many other people I may not ever meet in my life for a long enough time. But I still realize that I and others with me may actually have to do that at least one or two more times in each of our lives."

"Even Luna and Artemis, perhaps?"

"Even them, Mara. I really don't like the idea of our cats ever having to fight for their very own lives. And I'm sure that all of my friends and relatives would feel the same way, if they were asked the same question by others close enough to each of them in each of their lives."

"I think you're right, judging from the looks on your sisters' faces, as you say those things in sign language and aloud, Serena," said Mara.

Serena and her sisters spent at least a little while longer with Mara, Ginkya, Yazmis, and Zardiz, before several other young Princesses eventually came to the door of Mara's chambers, and knocked on them, at least once each, if not more. Among them were Princesses Amy and Raye, of course.

Mara soon went to the door, after the Princesses had knocked on her door a few times. Several moments later, after conversing outside her chambers with those Princesses that'd just knocked on her door for a while, Mara came back into her own chambers. Mara said, "Serena, our presences have been requested in the main ballroom of this palace. It seems Emperor Isumelico and Empress Prakelena, as well as at least a few other people, need to meet with us there for at least a little while, as soon as possible."

"They're your grandparents, if I'm not mistaken?" asked Serena.

Mara nodded, and said, "It seems like they need more information about the Negaverse than your people have likely provided to us since you came here a while ago. And they want to know what we Monitors have learned of late since the last time that we were generally able to spend enough time reporting on recent happenings for us as Monitors with them at all, if possible. So I suppose that we'll all have to brief my grandparents and a whole lot of other people about our current situation here in our part of Earth, of course, Serena."

"Even Mother, I suppose."

"Yes, even your mother will probably have to share a lot more about the Negaverse with our people, if possible. Sure, many of our people may not believe that you people are generally from elsewhere in our own solar system, or that you even were on a world in another galaxy of the known Universe. But I still really do hope that you and your people can somehow help us convince enough of our other people that there's a very good chance that beings from the Negaverse will quite possibly wreak great havoc, if not total death and destruction, here in our Empire, of course. At least those of us who believe in what you've told us so far generally think that's possible, if we don't totally think it's possible. That's if I'm not too mistaken about that, of course, Serena. I believe you, obviously enough. And I'm sure that at least a few other Monitors besides my cousins here who've already met you most likely feel much, if not entirely, the same way that I feel about you and our likely common enemy of the very near future."

Moments later, then, Mara, Ginkya, Yazmis, Zardiz, Serena, Destiny, and Bethany left Mara's chambers here. And they did that, just so they could all join up with the necessary other people elsewhere on the Imperial Palace's grounds before too much more time passed for them all there. First, Serena and her sisters left them behind. And several moments after the Moon girls left them behind, Mara and her cousins did so as well. They didn't all go to the main ballroom in that palace with each other. On the way there, Serena and her sisters briefly stopped off at their current chambers in that palace, for the obvious reasons. And then they also did the same in the Imperial Palace's main dining hall as soon as they could after changing their clothes in their current chambers there. They each got a few things to eat and drink for themselves, before they resumed their traveling to the necessary other part of the Imperial Palace, of course.

By the time they eventually got there, Serenity and everyone else, including, of course, Luna and Artemis, was already there with their Peruvian hosts. And Serenity was briefly conversing somewhat pleasantly with Emperor Isumelico, his wife, his son, and his son's wife, when her three daughters finally arrived in the necessary ballroom of the Imperial Palace. Or at least as pleasantly as she could then do with any or all four of them here, if not completely in that way, in fact.

About half of this particular story remains to be posted here, if memory serves me correctly enough. I don't know how many chapters are left of this story, in terms of the already-written text that has not yet been posted for it, just yet. But I still expect that there may be at least another five to ten left here to post, based on how much of the story remains to be posted after this chapter here. For in the full-length manuscript, there were over two hundred pages worth of text, it seems. So I'd figure at least the equivalent of at least 80 to 90 pages of text for the story are yet to be posted, if not more.

Well, before another week or month passes, I suppose I'd best try to get this story completely posted as quickly as possible, so that you don't have to wait another decade or more for the next story here, folks. If I can get the rest of this particular story posted by the middle of the month, at the latest, then maybe I can post all of the next story by the end of this month or sometime next month, I think. Or at least much of it, anyway, if possible and all, that is.

Until the next chapter, I'll close this here, then. TUS out.