Disclaimer: If you think I own Ranma or Sailor Moon then you need to take a dip in Spring of Drowned Rational Person.

Ami was walking to Ryoga's house with a gym bag over her shoulders. Today was her and Ryoga's martial arts training session and the gym bag was holding a set of her clothes that she could change into once the training was over. While other girls might be shocked that quiet little Ami would be willing to take a shower and change her clothes when there was a guy in the same building Ami didn't give it too much thought. At least, she didn't give it too much thought when it was only Ryoga. Her boyfriend had always made sure to stay downstairs when use used the upstairs bathroom. Besides, a part of Ami's mind brought up, it wasn't like he hadn't seen her in the nude before.

That traitorous thought caused Ami to stop in mid-step as she fought to keep down a nuclear blush. Both of them had agreed not to mention 'The Incident' to each other or to anyone else since neither of them wanted to bring it up again. Once Ami had gotten her blush under control she resumed walking and quickly came to Ryoga's house. When Ami got to Ryoga's house she pulled out a loose brick in the wall by the front door and removed the spare house key. After she unlocked the door Ami put the key back in its hiding spot.

Now inside Ryoga's house, Ami re-locked the front door and headed towards the living room. When she got there she casually placed her gym bag on the couch and then looked around for Ryoga. Since he wasn't in the kitchen Ami decided to look for him in the back yard. Sure enough Ryoga was outside in the small backyard already working out. Ami didn't immediately join him outside and instead she just watched him workout.

To Ami's surprise, she saw Ryoga pull back his left fist and the fist started to glow. From where she was standing Ami could see Ryoga's face and she noticed the intense look of concentration on it. She silently watched as Ryoga launched his left fist, kicked up a small ball at the same time, and called out, "Shishi Bakusai Tenketsu Ken!" Although she didn't shout it out for fear of ruining Ryoga's concentration, Ami was cheering him on. Hopefully, she prayed, today would be the day that Ryoga finally mastered the Shishi Bakusai Tenketsu Ken for both hands.

Time seemed to slow down for Ami as she watched Ryoga's fist connect with the small ball he had thrown earlier. Just as Ami had been hoping, the ball quivered and then sailed forward with a small flash of Chi coming from Ryoga's fist. Ami had seen Ryoga do this dozens of times with right hand so she knew that he had succeeded in performing the Shishi Bakusai Tenketsu Ken.

Ryoga looked at his fist after he had preformed the attack and he almost couldn't believe that he had succeeded. When he had first started trying to use the Shishi Bakusai Tenketsu Ken with his left fist almost two months ago he had been expecting it to only take him a few days to a week or so to master. Sadly, that was not the case as Ryoga had soon realized. The Shishi Bakusai Tenketsu Ken was an extension of the Bakusai Tenketsu which Ryoga had learned from the Amazons. However, what Ryoga hadn't realized at first was one needed to be able to perform the Bakusai Tenketsu first before they could move on to his variant.

The stumbling block for Ryoga and the reason why learning the Bakusai Tenketsu was so important was because he only used the Bakusai Tenketsu with his right hand. Thus, Ryoga had to first learn how to use the Bakusai Tenketsu with his left hand before he moved on to his own technique. Needless to say it had been a challenge for Ryoga to learn to use the Bakusai Tenketsu in the city without causing property damage, but he had managed to pull it off.

Suddenly Ryoga heard the sound of someone clapping and he turned around to see who was there. To his surprise and pleasure Ami was the one who was clapping. Ami the walked up and said, "Good job Ryoga. I'm glade that you finally managed to master that technique since I know how much you wanted to master it." She then gave Ryoga a quick kiss on the check and said, "So do you want to start my lessons now Ryoga or go out and celebrate?"

Now that was quiet the conundrum for Ryoga. On the one hand he could train with Ami which he loved to do while on the other hand he and Ami could go out on a date. After thinking it over for a minute Ryoga said, "Why don't we have your training session like we plan and then afterwards go out to eat? I don't want you to fall behind do to my success dear." Ami agreed to this and showed it by getting into a defensive stance.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

"The instructions say that after replacing the mage stone you have to connect the stone to the secondary stabilizing crystal."

"Which one is it?"

"The book shows a picture of a small blue crystal that must be the stabilizing crystal."

"Uh Usagi, there are five different small blue crystals here. Can you be more specific?"

Usagi looked down at the technical book in front of her and carefully observed the picture of the stabilizing crystal. After she finished her examination she called out, "Okay Ranma. The stabilizing crystal is a seven-sided rectangular crystal with a rounded end on one side and a pointed end on the other. According to the diagram the stabilizing crystal should be near the main mana flow conduit with the pointed end in the crystal holder."

Ranma and Usagi were in one of the major factories of Argentaniople in the middle of trying to repair one of the assembly lines. The factory that the royal duo was working in was a civilian factory that had assembled simple robots. Well technically it manufactured golems, but to Ranma and Usagi they were robots. To their immense joy Ranma and Usagi had discovered that the factory's computer allowed them design robots that, while within a certain level of simplicity, would be able to repair Argentaniople for them. The only snag that was stopping the duo from creating an army of robots to repair the city was the fact that the assembly lines had been damaged in the attack.

For the past week Ranma and Usagi had spent every free moment they could in the factory working to get the least damaged assembly line up and running. Even martial arts training had taken a secondary place to getting the assembly line repaired. Happosai's death had triggered their danger alarms and was the reason for their dedication to restoring Argentaniople. The old capital might be needed as place for refugees if the unknown enemy favored a more destructive style of combat. Of course both of them, Usagi in particular for several reasons that she didn't share with Ranma, hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

Currently Ranma had his head and upper body inside one of the larger machines in the assembly line. Once they got this particular machine fixed the assembly line would be operational. Just as Usagi was going to ask Ranma if he needed any further advice when she heard him said, "Almost there got it!" Usagi happily watched as first the machine Ranma was working on and then the entire assembly line became illuminated. At last they had gotten this thing up and running so that the robots could take care of the rest.

One of the many reasons why getting the line up and running was important to Usagi was because of her senshi uniform. The Sailor Scouts' uniform was a very cute outfit and was usable for both formal occasions and combat. However, it was just not suited for grease monkey work. It was the bows and frills that were the cause of the problem. Those things got caught in all of the various parts of the machines all the time. After one particularly bad snag a week ago that caused a large and embarrassing portion of her blouse to be ripped off, it had been unanimously agreed that she would stick to reading the instructions only.

Ranma then pulled himself out of the machine he had been working on and started to replace the panel. Very quickly he screwed the panel back in place and then he started to clean his face off with a rag that Usagi provided him. Once his face was clear of all the dust that was on it he said, "Man I hope we don't have to repair anything like this again anytime soon. When we start allowing people to immigrate to the city we need to remember to offer special incentives for engineers."

Usagi then said, "I agree with you there Ranma. Now why don't you go back to the palace and take a shower. The residual life support magic on the palace does insure that all of the palace's utilities work and I don't think you want to show up at Aunty Nodoka's house all covered in dust." Ranma gave Usagi a mock salute and then snuck a kiss in when she pretended to glare at him for the solute before he headed off back to the palace.

After Ranma had disappeared from sight Usagi headed over to the factory's main computer. Once she was sitting down she imputed the final commands to start the production of the repair robots that she and Ranma had already prepared. Usagi then leaned back in her chair and thought about how things were going. To help herself think Usagi started to talk to herself. "What do I do next? Thanks to the robots Argentaniople should be fully repaired with a month or so."

"However, even though the city will be repaired in a month or so there is still the fact that only the palace and its grounds can support human life right now. Unfortunately I can't expand that magical field or cast another spell to make the entire city capable of sustaining human life. The Millennials never bothered to create such a spell and by the time I study spell theory enough to create one I might as well just use the altar."

Letting out a small sigh Usagi then said, "Maybe I should focus on more manageable goals. Perhaps I should set up one of those transport circles at home so that my family can escape to the palace if something comes up. But if I did that, I would have to reveal that I'm Sailor Moon to my parents. Also, I don't think I should tell my parents about being Sailor Moon until I talk to the other scouts about it. They should have some input into the situation as well. I'll bring that up in the weekly meeting latter this week."

Emperor Akihito of Japan was sitting down for a light breakfast when he noticed a strange portal open up in front of him. The emperor was about to call for his guards when he saw Sailor Pluto step out of the portal which promptly closed behind her. Although Emperor Akihito was a little nervous at the fact that his security had been compromised, he didn't panic. After all the Sailor Scouts, who the woman in front of him seemed to be a member of, had protected Japan against supernatural threats that the Japanese government didn't really want to admit were occurring.

In a very calm and dignified way that befitted his position Emperor Akihito said, "Good morning. Forgive me if I sound rude, but I don't recognize you. You look like one of those Sailor Scouts my wife loves to talk about. However, you aren't Sailor Mercury, Venus, Moon, Mars, or Jupiter."

Setsuna gave the emperor a gracious bow and said, "My name is Sailor Pluto, Emperor Akihito. It is not surprising that you did not recognize me since my duties do not normally have me on the front lines defending Earth from supernatural threats. No doubt you are wondering why I am here. Perhaps, if you told me what you are currently aware of about our group I can then fill in what you will need to know so that we can talk about why I was sent here."

The emperor, although he didn't show it, was very curious about why the Sailor Scouts were approaching him. He knew everything that the Japanese government knew about the Sailor Scouts thanks to his various contacts. However, the government only knew a tad bit more about the Sailor Scouts then what everyone else in Japan knew about the group. In a very polite manner Emperor Akihito said, "I and the Japanese government are aware that the Sailor Scouts are from someplace known as 'The Silver Millennium' and that Sailor Moon is also referred to as 'The Moon Princess'. However, neither I nor my government contacts know what these terms refer to or really anything else about your organization. The government of Japan's official policy is to deny that the scouts, along with any other supernatural phenomenon, exist."

Nodding her head Setsuna said, "An understandable policy given the fact that JSDF is not equipped to defend against supernatural enemies. Moving on to the explanations, the Silver Millennium is the name of a magical interplanetary kingdom that controlled everything in the Sol system except for Earth at the time of its destruction some 10,000 years ago. The last queen of the Silver Millennium, Queen Serenity, managed to seal up the demon that was used to destroy the Silver Millennium and send the souls of her court forward to this time to be reborn. Just so you know the demon that Queen Serenity sealed away has since been slain by Sailor Moon. The reason why Sailor Moon is also referred to as the Moon Princess is because she is the reincarnated crown princess of the Silver Millennium."

"By now Emperor Akihito you must be wondering why I have told you this. Simply put, my leader Sailor Moon is planning on resurrecting the Silver Millennium on the Moon and the other worlds in this solar system. Humanity, even with its rapid technological progress, is still not advanced enough permanently establish themselves on any of the other worlds in this system. Even a small lunar outpost is decades away given the leaders of Earth's current lukewarm attitude towards space."

"What my princess is planning on doing is to use the magic of the Silver Millennium to return the Moon and eventually the other worlds in this system to the life-sustaining status that they once had. Do to the nature of the magic used to first bring those worlds to life only Sailor Moon, and her corresponding vassals for each planet, can revive those worlds so that they have an ecosystem similar to Earth's. Currently only Sailor Moon, Jovian Paladin, I, and now you Emperor Akihito are aware of these plans. The other Sailor Scouts are not aware of these plans yet because Sailor Moon wants them to enjoy being teenage girls without the weight that their position as her vassal queens brings."

Thanks to his experience with handling politicians the emperor was starting to get a general idea about where this conversation was going. In a very polite manner he said, "Am I correct in assuming Ms. Pluto that your princess is hoping for my help in her endeavor to revive her kingdom?" Upon seeing Setsuna nod her head the emperor continued, "Might I ask what your princess believes I can do to help her? I may be the emperor of Japan, but I do not have any official power that can help Sailor Moon."

Setsuna smiled and said, "Sailor Moon is very much aware of your official powers or rather the lack there of. However, it is because of your connections and unofficial political power that I was asked to talk to you. My princess is aware that there will be political trouble here on Earth when she first announces the rebirth of the Silver Millennium and starts allowing immigrants to come. To mitigate this she is hoping that you, and other people with similar political pull, would be willing to talk to various political leaders and convince them to not cause a lot of hassles for the Neo-Silver Millennium."

After carefully considering what Sailor Pluto had told him for a few minutes the emperor said, "I think I understand the situation Ms. Pluto. Please tell your princess that she has the Chrysanthemum Throne's support for this endeavor. This is provide of course that she promises to rule justly and agrees to continue to protect Japan against supernatural threats until such time as the Japanese Government can protect the people of Japan against those same threats. Also and a more personal note, do you think she could be persuaded to give an autograph photo of herself in her uniform? My wife is a big fan of Sailor Moon and it would make a wonderful anniversary present."

Kasumi walked into the Tendo house with today's mail in her hands. As she was sorting the mail she noticed that one envelope was addressed to Genma. Very politely Kasumi called out, "Uncle Genma, there is a letter for you."

Genma appeared around the corner and wearily accepted the letter from Kasumi. Even though Genma had come to accept responsibility for his ill advised actions, he didn't like having to deal with the consequences when they found him. The consequences got especially difficult for Genma to deal with when the Tendo family got roped in. As the only people Genma knew he could count on Soun, Kasumi, and even Nabiki had become very important to Genma. They were the only family Genma had left and he didn't want them harmed because of his foolishness.

After carefully opening the envelope just incase it was booby trapped, Genma pulled out the letter inside and began to read it. The few remaining strands of hair on Genma's head stuck out in shock when Genma read the first few lines and realized that the letter was from Nodoka. Once he had gotten over his fear that she would suddenly jump out demanding that he commit seppuku, Genma found the letter very fascinating. In it Nodoka talked to him about how things were going for her over in Juuban.

To Genma's absolute astonishment Ranma was actually living at home with Nodoka. He then started to cry when he read that Nodoka had actually known about both their curses before Ranma had left the Tendos. That really drove home to Genma just how pathetic a man he had been in those days. Once Genma stopped his near pity party he found himself absorbed in Nodoka's letter.

It interested Genma that Nodoka had adopted a girl and that another young girl was living in the house after Nodoka and Ranma befriended the older orphan. But, the biggest surprise for Genma was the fact that Ranma had a new girlfriend and that the girl in question was Usagi Tsukino. Genma suddenly remembered the little pig-tailed girl Nodoka's friend Ikuko used to bring over when she visited Nodoka. Considering how cute little Usagi had been and how Ikuko looked, Genma figured that Ranma now had a very lovely girlfriend.

In gruff manner Genma said, "The boy deserves it after the shit I put him through." As far as Genma was concerned Ranma deserved to have a good life with friends and a caring girlfriend, who hopefully would become his wife, at his side. Unlike Soun, Genma didn't have any fears about his school's survival since he was sure Ranma would pass it on. Nodoka's letter, even though it was painful for Genma to admit that he had caused Ranma so much trouble, showed that Ranma growing into an excellent young man.

Near the end of the letter Nodoka mentioned that Ranma was going to be in the City-wide martial arts tournament that was starting up two weeks from today. Nodoka had listed which school Ranma was going to and where the Juuban preliminaries were to be held. She had even included a ticket for him with the letter. Obviously Nodoka was trying to repair the rift in the Saotome family by using the tournament to bring the family together.

Personally, Genma had no idea what he wanted to do or should do about the tournament. He really wanted to go and see Ranma win the tournament so that he could take pride in his son's achievement. At the same time Genma also felt that he had no business intruding upon Ranma's life now that the boy was finally going somewhere. And yet Nodoka, who by anyone's standards should have divorced him, wanted to try and make them a family again. What to do, what to do.

Usagi and Ranma were standing in the park watching Hotaru practice with her wooden naginata. The two of them had finished their own spar and were now casually talking as they watched Hotaru. Both of them had been surprised at Hotaru's amazing aptitude with using the naginata. Ranma didn't care at all about why Hotaru became so skilled while Usagi had the theory that it was some connection that Hotaru had with her powers and the Silence Glaive.

The duo's conversation about the upcoming preliminaries ended when Usagi changed the conversation. "Ranma," Usagi started to say just a little nervously, "Do you think we should tell Hotaru that she's Sailor Saturn? It would help her training if she knew what she was capable of doing as Saturn and we can take her to the Moon so she can train some of her more destructive spells. Also, I'm worried that she might feel like we're manipulating her if we reveal what she is at a latter date."

For a few minutes Ranma just stood where he was thinking about what Usagi had told him. As much as the protective brother in him didn't want to admit it, Usagi had a very good point. Hotaru might start to feel resentment towards them and the rest of the Sailor Scouts if they kept what she was a secret from her. In a sad and resigned tone Ranma said, "Okay Usagi you're right. How do you recommend we approach telling all of this to Hotaru?"

While giving Ranma a knowing smile Usagi said, "Just follow my lead Ranma. I've given this a great deal of thought since I know you would probably try to put it off." When he heard that, Ranma started to blush because he knew that Usagi had read him like a book. The two of them then headed over to where Hotaru was practing. Once Hotaru had noticed them and had stopped her exercise Usagi politely said, "Hotaru? Would you mind following Ranma and I? There's something the three of us need to talk about with you."

Hotaru was surprised by Usagi's request, but she didn't worry about it too much. Her big brother and Usagi hadn't ever led her astray before. Besides, they had trusted her when she had discovered that she was partially possessed so it was only fair that she return the favor. "Uh Usagi," Hotaru began, "Should I bring my practice nagianta or should I leave it here?" Before Usagi could say anything on that matter, Ranma ended the matter by placing the item in question in his hidden weapons' pocket.

The trio then walked a bit further into the park so that Ranma and Usagi could be sure that they wouldn't be overheard. Once they were in a suitable spot Usagi started to speak. "Hotaru what I'm about to tell you may be a little hard for you to accept or believe, but it will be the truth I promise you." Usagi then pulled out her brooch and said her transformation phrase. Once the transformation light ended a second latter Usagi was standing in her Sailor Moon outfit.

Hotaru almost couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Usagi transform into Sailor Moon. She hadn't mentioned it to anyone, but Hotaru had always hero worshiped Sailor Moon ever since she had first heard of the superhero. What lonely outcast girl wouldn't admire a strong superhero that had saved the world and was around her age? Even after Hotaru had become friends with Ranma and Usagi she had still continued to greatly admire Sailor Moon.

Now that she had found out that Usagi, who Hotaru view as an older sister, was Sailor Moon Hotaru didn't know how to act. With a slight stutter Hotaru said, "Y-You're Sailor Moon Usagi?" Upon seeing Sailor- er Usagi nod her head Hotaru turned to face Ranma. Remembering all of the media hype that had been going on about Sailor Moon and Jovian Paladin; Hotaru made the next logical connection. With a more confident voice Hotaru said, "Ranma, you're Jovian Paladin correct?" Ranma didn't say anything, but he did nod his head to answer her question. Then in a confused manner Hotaru said, "Why are you telling me this Usagi? Aren't superheroes supposed to keep their identity secret?"

Usagi was touched that Hotaru considered her to be a superhero, but she didn't show it as she continued on talking. "There's a very good reason why I'm revealing all of this to you Hotaru. About a month ago traveled to the remains of the Silver Millennium and discovered something very important. There was a room in the ruins that allowed us to check up on ALL of the Sailor Scouts, even ones that we were not aware of at the time. You are a Sailor Scout Hotaru who just hasn't awakened her power yet."

After she said that Usagi leaned over and gave Hotaru a hug. While the two were hugging Usagi softly said, "I know that this is a shock Hotaru. Right now you're probably thinking 'there must be some mistake, there's no way I can be a Sailor Scout'. You may not believe it, but I was the same way when I first found out that I was Sailor Moon. Trust me Hotaru when I say that you are a Sailor Scout. The only reason you haven't awaken your powers yet is you haven't been given the key to unlock them."

Then Usagi let go of the hug and moved so she was half an arm's length away from Hotaru. Next Usagi raised her right hand and pressed two fingers of that hand on Hotaru's forehead just above her eyes. Concentrating very hard Usagi called upon one the powers that she had as the princess regent. As princess regent Usagi take the place of a planetary queen and summon an un-awakened scout's transformation pen or call back a transformation pen that another scout had lost.

Ranma was watching the girls and he noticed a silvery glow that started to come off of Usagi's fingertips. The symbol for Saturn then appeared on Hotaru's forehead partially covered by Usagi's fingers. Slowly Usagi started to pull her fingers away from Hotaru's forehead and to Ranma's surprise he saw a purple transformation pen being drawn out of the Saturn symbol. Once the pen was completely out of the symbol Usagi quickly snatched it and presented it to Hotaru. She then cheerfully said, "Here you go Hotaru. This is your transformation pen. All you need to do is hold it in your hand, say 'Saturn Planet Power, Make Up' and you'll transform into Sailor Saturn."

Hotaru looked at the transformation pen she had been handed and she started to feel weak in the knees. Part of her still couldn't believe that this was all real. Another part of her was giddy with excitement that her secret fantasy had come true. With these two conflicting thoughts in mind Hotaru warily raised the pen up in the air and said, "Saturn Planet Power, Make Up!" She then felt the rush as an incredible surge of power filled her while her vision was covered in a blinding light.

When Hotaru's vision returned to her she raised her hands and immediately noticed the gloves she was wearing. This caused Hotaru to look over herself as she took in the sights of her new outfit. After Hotaru had quickly accepted the fact that she had transformed into a Sailor Scout she noticed the Silence Glaive that was resting in the bend of her right elbow. She quickly grabbed the Silence Glaive and held it tightly. The weapon/talisman seemed very familiar to Hotaru like it was an old friend or a precious item she hadn't seen in years.

Ranma let Hotaru have a moment of silence so she could mentally process everything that had happened. After that moment was over Ranma said, "This is one of the main reasons why I've been having you train with that naginata sis. I hope you don't feel that I've been manipulating you." Once Hotaru sent Ranma a smile to answer his question he continued on. "Just so you know Hotaru Mom is aware that you are a Sailor Scout just like I am Jovian Paladin. You won't have to worry about keeping this a secret at home because Makoto is Sailor Jupiter. She doesn't know, although I'm sure that she suspects, that you're Sailor Saturn, but she'll find out tonight. Now I think that you and Usagi should turn back into your civilian forms so that we don't attract too much attention. There is much that we still need to talk to you about in regards to the Sailor Scouts."

Author's Notes: Emperor Akihito is the reigning Emperor of Japan and has been the Emperor since 1990.