This chapter will be the fifth to last chapter of this story. Two of the last four chapters to this story will have a lot of trouble present for those currently in Peru, and two of them will have some good things happening for those there and elsewhere. But before the good things happen, the bad things will happen, unfortunately, and hit many people very hard, for sure.
With that all said, let's get to the next chapter now, folks. Until later, then, TUS out.
Inside Serenity's Chambers In The Imperial Palace
Cuzco, Peru, Earth
February 20, 987
A few days later, then, it was Queen Serenity's birthday. And she was still on Earth with several of her Scouts. It was now just after local dawn there, and most of her Scouts were just outside her chambers. Of course, those Scouts included her three girls. But none of the Scouts were currently in their respective Scout states, for it was still too early in the morning for them to train. Serena had just led the rest of her current crowd, except for Hannah, of course, to Serenity's chambers, with some food and drink. But she still wasn't the only one with those kinds of things waiting outside her mother's chambers there. Destiny and Bethany were connected by their usual cord, and they had either some tea or some pancakes in their hands. While Serena was now carrying a lidded jug of some orange juice and some scrambled eggs with ketchup. Amy was right behind Serena, next to Destiny, who was herself to the left of her younger twin sister Bethany. Raye was carrying a cake that the Emperor had asked Mara to give to Raye, so that Raye could carry it to Serenity's chambers. Lita was carrying two large pizzas in pans she was balancing on her arms quite adeptly, while she also carried two buckets of various kinds of recently-made cookies. Alexis was pulling a cart loaded with at least a few large gifts from four different Peruvian royals. Alexis was doing this while Artemis and Luna were walking behind Mina. They were both walking behind Mina as Mina was carrying several scrolls from the nearest royal library in a large sack. Michelle was now carrying a violin in its case. Susan was now carrying a gown or two at least indirectly, if not directly, from Empress Prakelena. Sylvia was still quite empty-handed now, as she brought up the rear. For it seemed to her fellow Scouts she was now with that she really wasn't up to carrying anything sufficiently large yet.
Eventually, Serena was able to knock on the door with one of her hands, after she briefly handed the jug of orange juice to Michelle. Serenity eventually heard her knocking, and soon let her daughters and their friends into her chambers.
Serena said, "Mother, we'd all like to wish you a very happy birthday. And we hope that today is a great day for you. That's if God sees fit to make it such a day for you, of course."
"Of course, Serena. And this stuff is all for me, no doubt," said Queen Serenity, once she saw that quite a few things had just been brought to her chambers by most of her Scouts.
"Yes, it seems that way, Mother," answered Serena.
"I see. Where are Mara and the rest of the Monitors right now?"
"Preparing Raquel's funeral, as a matter of fact," said Raye.
"When is it scheduled for, Raye?"
"Noon local time tomorrow."
"And would they like us to attend the funeral, Raye?"
"We can, if we wish. But they normally prefer not to have visitors to their land attend such funerals, if it can possibly be avoided. To tell you the truth, we may be at least partly responsible, I think, for the death of several Peruvian Monitors. And because of that fact, they are saying that we can attend the funeral of Raquel, if we really want to, Queen Serenity."
"I see, Raye. Girls, do you want to attend the funeral tomorrow then?" asked Serenity of her Scouts, a few moments later.
Most of them said that they didn't really want to, but that they would do so, if Serenity really wanted them to do so, at that time. Serenity accepted that, but she most especially accepted that from her three daughters.
Soon afterward, everyone began giving Serenity all the things they'd brought her from elsewhere in the palace, no matter what they were, if they'd brought anything to her chambers at all earlier. After the rest of the Scouts had done so, not counting herself, of course, Hannah gave Serenity some wood carvings that she'd made since they'd come together to the Peruvian Empire on Earth. Most of those carvings were of animals and flowers that Hannah had seen since then, if not all of them.
Queen Serenity soon had consumed much of the food and drink that several of her Scouts had just brought her, and what she didn't eat or drink, she often let her Scouts eat or drink as well. Including her cake, of course. While she and her Scouts consumed a great deal of the food and drink that her Scouts had just brought here, she often conversed at great length with them about various things and people now in their lives.
But eventually, it was late enough in the day for the Scouts to start training again, if possible. So Serenity had all her Scouts get ready for another training session in the South Courtyard, if they were in good enough shape for them to do just that for a while. She didn't make Sylvia prepare to train again, at least for the first training session of the day. For Sylvia was still not feeling well enough to train with the rest of the present Scouts. But she did hope that Sylvia would feel well enough by about 4 or 5 pm local time, so that she could train with the rest of those Scouts by the end of the current day, of course.
Eventually, every one of the non-Monitor Scouts now present here in the Cuzco area of Peru, except for Sylvia, of course, was quite prepared to train again as Scouts. Even Serenity, who was naturally still with child, at the current time, was ready by noon local time, to do that somehow. Serenity soon led those Scouts of hers who'd be training again in very short order back to the South Courtyard. She and her Scouts were quite surprised to see several Monitors already there, when they got there, in fact. By then, they were all in their respective Scout states, led by Sentinel Serenity.
Among them, of course, was Amilaram. And when Amilaram saw them arriving there, she soon asked Royal Sailor Serenity, "Where's Junior Sailor Skyhorse, Sentinel Serenity?"
"She's still resting, you might say, Amilaram. She hopes to be able to train with us again sometime later today, though."
"If she feels well enough by then, no doubt?"
"Correct, Amilaram."
"Sentinel Serenity, have you and the rest of your Scouts here met up with Monitors Firehawk, Enisangob, Sacala, and Ocabirama often enough?"
"I suppose you might say that by now, Amilaram. Why?"
"Because they want to know if it's also all right with you all for them to become at least temporary, if not permanent, Scouts, Sentinel Serenity."
Sentinel Serenity said, after at least a few minutes of consideration, and after also consulting with her other Scouts besides the ones who were also Monitors, "I and the rest of the Scouts here think that might be acceptable. Of course, Amilaram, things for them will have to be as they are for you, Sierra, Paquasim, and Onziza, if they're to be Scouts on at least a temporary, if not a permanent, basis. This is naturally for all the obvious reasons, as I hope you girls will all understand well enough here, Amilaram."
"Sure, I understand that'll have to be the case. And if I actually do know my cousins and the rest of our Monitors here well enough, I really do think they'll be all able to understand that well enough, as well, Sentinel Serenity. We've not often seen you in your Sentinel Serenity state of being before this, if at all, while you and the rest of your Scouts have been here with us all."
"That's right, Amilaram. That's because I've not often been strong enough to be in such a state here."
"I really do hope that you can all be back on the Moon by the time your babies come to you, somehow, of course, Sentinel Serenity."
"So do we all. But we realize that might not actually be possible here, of course, Amilaram."
Then after a little more consultation with her non-Monitor Scouts, Sentinel Serenity did decide to make Monitors Firehawk, Enisangob, Sacala, and Ocabirama at least temporary, if not permanent, Scouts. Just like she'd earlier done with Amilaram, Sierra, Paquasim, and Onziza, some time before. She had them each hand her their lockets and Crystals one girl at a time, starting with Firehawk.
After Firehawk asked her how long it might take for her to check them out well enough, Sentinel Serenity then said, "Hopefully not very long at all, Firehawk." Then she quite thoroughly checked them out with her Imperium Silver Crystal whenever she had to do that at all.
As she did so, Amilaram chatted briefly with the other Scouts now with her and her fellow Monitors. Not counting Sentinel Serenity, of course.
After Sentinel Serenity finished checking out all the necessary things, she soon handed each of the girls' lockets back to their owners, once she'd made it possible for their respective Crystals to unite with each of their lockets in the required manners. Of course, in order for her to make the aforementioned Crystals unite with the proper lockets, she had to make sure that the lockets' owners said all the necessary words when the need arose for those words to be said by them at all.
Eventually, then, all the required things were said and done that'd allow Firehawk, Enisangob, Sacala, and Ocabirama to be at least temporary, if not permanent, Scouts. No matter what those things they'd had to say or do were, they were still said and done by the proper people who were now in the South Courtyard with Amilaram and the rest of the other Scouts there. That meant, then, of course, that Firehawk, Enisangob, Sacala, and Ocabirama had just become at least temporary, if not permanent, Scouts. They might or might not ever be full-fledged Scouts, someday. But at least at the current time, they were all now Scouts of the Junior Sailor Scout variety, if they'd not always be that in each of their lives. Only time would ever tell, however, if they'd ever be able to get to the Moon for at least a little while, if not a long time, in them, someday.
Soon after they were made at least temporary, if not permanent, Scouts, they all began training with the rest of the now-present Scouts in the South Courtyard of the Imperial Palace. And they trained at least until 2:30 or so pm local time, if not longer than that, with each other. No matter what they might actually want to do other than to train with each other, they did just that with each other and the rest of the still-present Scouts there.
And they only stopped training for a while, at least, after Amilaram and Royal Sailor Serenity, who'd moments before had dropped down a power level from her Sentinel Serenity state as a Scout, both felt they'd trained together for a long enough time. When Royal Sailor Serenity and Amilaram thought they'd trained for a long enough time without a sufficiently long break, Royal Sailor Serenity soon let all her Scouts power down again. And for those Scouts that didn't really want to stop training, Royal Sailor Serenity eventually made each of them stop.
Moon and Mars didn't really want to stop training for a while, but Royal Sailor Serenity eventually made them stop for a while, by unleashing somewhat dampened, yet somewhat strong, attacks at their respective kinds of shields. She dampened them enough to keep her Scouts safe enough, of course. But not totally, for she really wanted to get them to obey her at the current time. And she felt the only way to do that at that time was to force them to stop training for a while.
Before she started to force them to quit training, she first asked them to power down. They refused, quite naturally. Even after she'd asked them to do so at least two or three times, they both still quite earnestly refused to do so. At least for a while, they did so. Which might bring them both some more trouble, of course, if Queen Serenity chose to add to their punishments she'd already put on them a while before.
So she sent various kinds of attacks she'd quite rarely used in training with them against their respective shields. She'd quite rarely used them when ever training with her many Scouts. For even quite dampened, they were often quite strong attacks. And because of that very fact, she'd only used them whenever she absolutely had to during those training sessions with her many Scouts. Not many of her Scouts could withstand those attacks at a strength of at least twenty percent of their usual maximum strengths. At least not at the current time, anyway, if they'd ever be able to do that in their respective lives. Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter were the only Scouts that she currently thought might possibly be able to withstand such attacks at strengths of at least twenty percent per attack, if not more. For all of her other present Scouts, she wasn't yet sure if that was the case well enough, if she'd ever be. Even if they were the current Alpha-level Scouts from Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and/or Pluto, she still didn't know well enough if they might possibly be able to withstand those attacks well enough. That was if those attacks were used by Royal Sailor Serenity against them, at strengths of at least twenty or so percent of their usual maximum strengths for said attacks. That was, of course, for all the obvious reasons.
As Royal Sailor Serenity worked on Mars and Moon's shields, she still tried to convince them to power down, of course. Moon said, "I don't want to, Mother. I want to get enough training time to be ready for our enemies when we meet them next, Mother."
"Moon, what's the point of training yourself to complete exhaustion? Do you really want to make it so much easier for them to wipe us out?"
"Well, I think we might be dead anyway, when they come to the Moon, if you can't save us, Mother."
"Moon, don't you think that this extra training might sap our strengths too much between battles? Couldn't it be possible that by refusing to power down, you girls might be losing more than you might be gaining, at least at the current time, Moon?"
"Mother, I don't think so."
"What do you think your honey might say, Moon?"
"He'd want me safe, I'd hope."
"Then power down, Moon."
"I don't want to, Mom."
"Do you want to take the chance I might lose the babies?"
"No, of course not."
"Then please power down, Moon."
"Not until Mars does, Mom."
"Mars, with all due respect to Moon, what do you think Moon should do now?" asked Royal Sailor Serenity.
"Power down, of course."
"How do I know that you won't try to take a shot at me, Mars?"
"Because, Moon, we need you as the Moon Princess, at least. And we'll all need you in the future against our enemies."
"Prove it, then, Mars, by powering down first."
"And how do I know you won't take a shot at me either, Moon?"
"If I do, I'll sign over my locket to you in the presence of all the Scouts here, and you can lead our group in the future for as long as Mother feels you'd deserve to lead our group for a time."
"And your powers?"
"I'll let you have them too, when I sign over my locket, if I can, Mars. And I'll also let you have Darien, if you really want him."
"Promise?"
"Of course I promise you all this, Mars."
"Did everyone here either hear or see what she just said?" asked Mars of everyone, just before Royal Sailor Serenity probably would've sent more attacks toward Moon and Mars, in order to weaken their shields at least a little bit more, if not a lot more.
All the other Scouts who were in the South Courtyard besides Royal Sailor Serenity said they had seen and/or heard what Moon had just said to Mars. Then Royal Sailor Serenity said, "It's your call, Moon. The ball is in your court right now, it seems, Moon."
"I suppose you're right, Mother."
"So will you let Mars power down without taking a shot at her?"
"Very well, Mother. I shall do so, as sure as I'm the Moon Princess Serena and the Junior Sailor Scout Moon. Go ahead, Mars, and power down. I'll not take a shot at you." Moon put her hands at her sides, so as to let Mars know that she really meant what she'd just said.
As Mars began the necessary process to power down, she kept an eye on Moon, of course. Seeing that Moon was keeping her hands to her sides, and not making any aggressive moves toward her, she lowered her shields, and she powered down out of her current Scout state as Junior Sailor Mars. Moon took no shots at Mars as she did so, as promised by her. Mars was soon just Raye Hino again.
"Now, Moon, it's your turn to power down. Remember, you can't take a shot at Raye here, in order to be fair, of course, Moon."
"Don't worry, Mother, I won't take a shot at her here, while I'm still like this, and while she's just Raye Hino."
"After you power down, then I will, Moon."
"Agreed, Mother." Then Moon powered down fully. Even though she still did so quite reluctantly. A few moments after Moon had done so completely, and after Moon had dropped back to being just Serena Moon again, Royal Sailor Serenity dropped herself back to being just Queen Serenity again in her own life.
Queen Serenity said, after she dismissed everyone else from the South Courtyard, except for Serena and Raye, "Serena, I think I really need to talk to you two again sometime later on, if not now. I'm sure you two can both figure out what we'll likely be talking about there, either now, or later on, if we have the chance to do so."
"Yes, I suppose you're right, Mom. But I don't generally like powering down before Raye does, whenever we train near each other."
"Serena, I'm sure that there's a lot of things you don't like, in terms of how they relate to her. And I'm sure that there's a lot of things she doesn't really like, in terms of how they relate to you, either. But you two are going to have to be with each other quite a bit longer in your lives, I'm sure. So you're both going to have to try to get along with each other to the best of your respective abilities to do so. To do any less would probably put your very lives, and the lives of so many others, at great, if not grave, risk. This isn't one of the times when it's okay for you both to argue and fight with each other, if there's ever times when it'll ever be okay for you to do so in your lives."
"But Raye makes me so mad sometimes, Mother."
"Maybe so, Serena, but don't you think you often do the same for Raye as well?"
"Maybe I do. But don't I often have a legitimate reason to be mad at her in my life?"
"Maybe you do, Serena. But not all the time. Sure, she may chase Darien a little more than you might prefer that she would, at least. But don't you think that she might at least occasionally have legitimate enough reasons as well to be mad at you in her life?"
"Like when?"
"Queen Serenity, please let me answer this." Queen Serenity nodded her agreement with Raye's just-made request. So Raye asked Serena, "Like when you may call me a Martian hothead, for example. Or when you put tabasco sauce in my shampoo bottles sometimes?"
"That's not me, Raye. Or at least not when it comes to people putting tabasco sauce in your shampoo bottles."
"Then who would it be? I've at least occasionally caught you with my shampoo bottles when I've not given you permission to have them in your possession, Serena."
"That doesn't mean that I've ever put tabasco sauce or anything else in your shampoo bottles before, Raye."
"Maybe not, Serena. But to those who don't know you well enough, it might look mighty suspicious to them, if they caught you holding any of my shampoo bottles without my permission."
"I suppose it might, Raye."
"Maybe you didn't put tabasco sauce in my shampoo bottles, Serena. But I do know someone did, whether it was you or not, at least once before in my life."
"Understood, Raye."
"And what about the time or times you'd ever put shaving cream in a number of my pillowcases, for instance, while we're at it, Serena?"
"Wasn't me, Raye."
"Then who did it then, or those times, if I've not already found out who's done that, at least one time, to me by now, Serena?"
"Allison from Io did it?"
"Not logical, Serena. How would she know where my chambers were in any of our palaces on the Moon, Serena? I've never knowingly allowed her access to them before."
"Couldn't Lita have told her where they were?"
"Not very likely, Serena. For I don't generally tell many people exactly where my chambers are in our various Moon palaces, Serena. And even if Lita knew exactly where they were, what makes you think she'd ever knowingly tell Allison exactly where they were, in them?"
"They're from the same mini-system in our solar system, Raye."
"Maybe so, but Lita doesn't get along with Allison very well. You seem to forget that Allison has often tried chasing Ken and other boys from their mini-system, at least, if not from elsewhere in the Moon Kingdom, Serena. According to Lita, Allison may even have started to try to make a play for your honey Darien by now."
"I hope not, Raye. For Darien's mine!"
"I think you better tell her that, and tell her that in a extremely clear manner, the next time you see her, and you get a chance to do just that, then, Serena. And if she ever actually finds out that you just said that she might have ever put shaving cream in any or all of my pillowcases, you'd probably better be ready for a real rumble. For she's not often as understanding of people as I and other Scouts who know you well enough might be, Serena. That's based on what I know of her to date, mainly from talking to Lita and Beatrice, if not from other reliable enough sources as well that I have in our Moon Kingdom, Serena. Of course, that's for all the obvious reasons, no doubt."
"What do you mean, Raye?"
"She's been known, apparently, to actually break people's arms, at least, if nothing else at all, when she's ever in the mood to fight anyone, Serena. Supposing, of course, that it's actually then possible for her to do that somehow, whenever she fights them at all in her life."
"Really, Raye?"
"Yes, Serena. And I don't know if you can protect yourself against her well enough in a normal state of being, when you're alone with her. Much less whenever you two might be in your respective Scout states. You might need to have help if you ever face her in a fight."
"From who, Raye?"
"Us, of course."
"Us, meaning who, exactly, Raye?"
"Me, Lita, Amy, and Mina, at least, I think."
"She's that strong, often?"
"Yes. And I'm not exactly sure why yet, if I'll ever be. At least one rumor I've heard before has suggested to me and to my sister, at least, that she may be trying to help Prince Caliterios work against your mother. But that rumor hasn't, or those rumors haven't, yet been sufficiently confirmed to us at all, Serena."
"And are you suspecting that we could have a whole lot of trouble from her in the future, Raye?"
"I'd really not be surprised, Serena. You can believe me about that, at the very least. Nor would I be surprised if she'd ever try to help the Negaverse against our very own Moon Kingdom, as a matter of fact, Serena."
"I admit that sometimes, at least, I've tried to play tricks on you before in our lives, Raye. But I've not put any shaving cream in your pillowcases or any tabasco sauce in your shampoo bottles before. Or at least not for a very long time, if I've ever done either or both of those things to you before."
"So you admit that you may have done either or both of those things to me before, Serena?"
"Yes, it might be possible that I've done either or both of those things to you before. But that doesn't mean that I've done it recently, if ever before, Raye. What about when you painted my hair, face, and neck so that it looked like I had a zebra head on my shoulders, while I was asleep about three or four years ago?"
"I admit that I probably shouldn't have done that. And I admit that I probably shouldn't have gotten anyone else to help me do so, but I did. Don't you remember what my punishment was for doing that to you?"
"No. What was it, Raye?"
"I couldn't go shopping for at least a month in the Moon City area for any comic books, because your mother wouldn't let me do that."
"Oh, now I remember what your punishment was. You got punished just before some new comic books' first issues were due to be published."
"Yes. Granted, I did eventually get the comic books in question, but I had to wait to get them, because of what I and at least one other girl did to you a little while earlier, Serena."
"And did you learn your lesson from getting punished like that?"
"Sure I did, Serena. You won't find me painting you up like a zebra again without your permission, Serena."
"It took me several hours of showers to get all the paint you girls put in my hair, on my face, and on my neck, off me, so that none of it still remained on me, Raye."
"Spread out over at least a few days, no doubt, Serena."
"Right, Raye. And I really didn't like having to take so many showers so often, Raye."
"You were quite steamed at me for at least that long, if I remember correctly, Serena. Me and whoever else helped me paint you like we painted you then, if I'm not too mistaken about this thing here."
"Correct, Raye. Mother wasn't very happy with you about such a thing, either, if I remember correctly, Raye."
"No, I suppose she wasn't. Were you, Queen Serenity?"
"No, I wasn't happy with what you, Brittany, and Karalee did to her, Raye. And you all got punished as I saw fit. None of you girls have tried to do that to Serena again, or to anyone else, for that matter, since I punished you all. At least not as far as I know so far in my life, at the very least."
"True, Queen Serenity."
Then Raye and Serena talked at least a little while longer, but not very much longer, with Serenity here, in fact. During which time, all three of them calmed down completely. Of course, that was if they'd not already done so, after Raye had just confirmed that they'd not tried such a stunt with Serena, or anyone else again, since they'd been punished for doing so by Serenity some time before. And after all of them had done so, they all eventually parted from each other again. Of course, just before they did so, Serena and Raye still gave Serenity their respective lockets, for all the obvious reasons.
Just four more chapters are left now to post for this story, once this chapter gets posted and shows up well enough, people. The next two chapters' events are going to be very difficult for many to deal with, and not just for the Peruvians or their Moon Kingdom allies, for sure. And many things will change very soon and very drastically for many in the whole solar system, once they come to occur, folks. And not just for a while, but for a very long time, most likely, at that. To learn about them, you'll all just have to keep reading on, of course.
Until next time, though, I'll close this. TUS out.