Disclaimer: sorry don't own any stock in any Japanese entertainment business. Now that that's over with, let's get on with the story.

Setsuna Meioh was currently walking down the street towards the Saotome home with a smile on her face. It had taken the senshi of time a while and several migraines, but she finally gotten it through Michiru and Hakura's heads that they held the talismans in their heart crystals and that the princess was the only one who could safely retrieve the talismans. Currently it was a warm and sunny afternoon on a school day. Knowing that Ranma and Usagi liked to do their homework together, Setsuna figured that the best place to find the duo would be the Saotome home.

Feeling the sun gently warming her shoulders, Setsuna stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. It had been a bit of a surprise to Setsuna that the media had caught definite proof that Usagi and Ranma, or rather Sailor Moon and Jovian Paladin, were dating two days ago. However, the real surprise for Setsuna was how much that news seemed to be on everyone's lips. And by everyone, Setsuna wasn't just referring to the students in school. Oh no, even the teachers in the teachers' lounge were chatting away on the subject. Poor Usagi and Ranma seemed so embarrassed at the fact that their love life generated so much gossip. The only saving grace for the royal couple was the fact that no one in school who was gossiping about the 'Heroic couple' knew that it was Usagi and Ranma that they were talking about.

Shaking her head, Setsuna resumed her walk towards the Saotome household. While Setsuna was pleased at how Usagi and Ranma were such good influences to each other, she respected their privacy. Soon enough Setsuna found herself standing in front of the small but cozy Saotome house. After knocking on the door a few times Setsuna stood back and waited for someone to answer the door. Setsuna waited a few minutes and was about to knock on the door again when she saw the door open. Standing in the now opened doorway was Nodoka wearing one of her traditional kimonos and blinking her eyes.

Nodoka stopped blinking her eyes and said in a slightly confused tone of voice, "Yes Miss. Is there something that I can help you with?" Due to Ranma's rather crazy life Nodoka had developed a bit of caution towards people that she didn't know. It wasn't that she was paranoid, but Nodoka knew that only fools don't prepare themselves for what they know is bound to happen.

Setsuna just politely bowed and said, "Good afternoon Mrs. Saotome. My name is Setsuna Meioh; I'm the student councilor at the school that your son goes to. Now don't worry at all Mrs. Saotome, Ranma has done nothing wrong in school. I just wanted a chance to personally meet your son who I've heard so many interesting things about."

Nodoka put her hand to her face as if she was thinking about what Setsuna had said. Then after a minute of thinking, Nodoka got out of the doorway and motioned for Setsuna to come in. With a faint smile on her face Setsuna calmly walked into the house. Once Setsuna was inside the house, Nodoka closed the front door. Nodoka then turned to Setsuna and said, "Ranma is currently up in his room studying with his girlfriend. I'll show you which room it is." Setsuna nodded her head to show that she understood what Nodoka told her. Nodoka then smiled and started to walk down the hall towards the stairs.

While the two women were walking down the hall they passed by a small table with a couple of photos placed on the table. One of the photos caught Setsuna's eye and she stopped for a second to give the photo a better look. The photo showed a 12 year old Usagi sitting in front of a large birthday cake with Nodoka, Ikuko, and Shingo grouped next to Usagi. All four people in the picture were looking into the camera and smiling. Although she knew that the two were dating, Setsuna had no idea that the Saotome and Tsukino families had had previous contact. Setsuna then stopped staring at the photo and quickly, but at the same time in a dignified manner, caught up to Nodoka.

Very soon, Nodoka and Setsuna were in front of the door to Ranma's room. Nodoka then lightly knocked on Ranma's door. Her knock was quickly followed by Ranma calling out from behind the closed door, "Come on in the door's unlocked." Nodoka opened the door to see Ranma and Usagi both sitting Indian style on Ranma's bed. In both of the teens' laps were their literary textbooks opened to the same page. If Nodoka or Setsuna were to look at the two teens closely, they would have seen that Usagi's lipstick was smudged a bit. Also they would have seen that Ranma's lips had a faint hint of pink to them that was the same shade as Usagi's lipstick.

Usagi looked up to see that Setsuna had walked into the room as well as Nodoka. Usagi then tilted her head a bit and said, "Uh Setsuna, are you here on school business or are you here because of something relating to the Sailor Scouts?" Both Usagi and Ranma developed sweat drops as they watched a bug-eyed Setsuna give herself whiplash from looking between them and Nodoka too fast. The teens then developed a nervous chuckle when the realized that Setsuna didn't know that Nodoka knew about the whole scout business. Usagi took pity on Setsuna and said, "Don't worry about it Setsuna, Auntie Nodoka knows about the Sailor Scouts. Almost anything that you need to tell us relating to the Scouts can be said in front of her."

Setsuna rubbed her temples and mentally swore to buy stock in a brewing company; there were just too many days that she needed to get drunk due to things relating to the scouts. Putting her hands back at her side, Setsuna looked at her attentive audience. Both Usagi and Ranma were looking at her waiting for her to say something. Nodoka was looking at Setsuna with accusing eyes that were filled with distrust. It was obvious to Setsuna that Nodoka was feeling like Setsuna had deliberately lied to the brunette. Not wanting the situation to fester any longer, Setsuna sighed and said, "I wish I had known that earlier."

Setsuna then looked into Ranma's eyes and said, "It's good to see you again little Nephy. Like I told your mother when I was at the door, I have wanted to personally meet with you ever since I heard about what you did for Usagi a month ago. My desire to meet you only increased once I found out that you were the Jovian Paladin. I don't know whether your girlfriend has told you about me or not. In any case, let me introduce myself. My name is Setsuna Meioh, High School councilor and Sailor Pluto." Nodoka's face plainly showed her surprise while Ranma was just slowly shaking his head as if he expected something like this to happen.

Usagi put her hand under her chin and said while looking at Setsuna, "You said that seeing Ranma was one of the reasons why you came here. Am I correct to assume that there is another reason for you being here that you haven't mentioned yet?"

Setsuna's small smirk grew into a noticeable smile as she witnessed Usagi logically analyze the information that was unintentionally provided. One thing that had annoyed Setsuna in the Silver Millennium was the fact that most of the Lunar Queens, even though they were wonderful people, had the analytical skills of a two year old. Seeing that her princess was more like Queen Serenity in that department then her grandmother Queen Diana was very heartwarming for Setsuna. The green haired senshi then said quite cheerfully, "very good reasoning princess. You are correct in that I have another reason for being here. The remaining two talismans, the Space Sword and the Deep Aqua Mirror, have been found."

Ranma and Usagi then turned around and gave each other a high-five at that news. Ranma and the inner Scouts had been worried about the talismans falling into enemy hands ever since Usagi told them that the talismans were what Neptune and Uranus were looking for. It had really angered everyone when Usagi told them that Neptune and Uranus were recklessly endangering civilians in their quest to find the talismans. Luckily, in Ranma and the Inner Scouts' opinions, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus hadn't been in a position to cause another confrontation like what had happened before Ranma's identity was revealed to the inners. Ranma then said in a serious voice, "Whose heart crystals bare the remaining talismans?"

Feeling everyone's eyes focus on her, Setsuna put her hand to her right temple and said, "Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus hold the Deep Aqua Mirror and the Space Sword respectively." On seeing the Glares of Death being directed by Ranma and Usagi when she mentioned who held the talismans, Setsuna felt her headache returning. Figuring that her future queen and (by the looks of things) king would want a more through answer, Setsuna started to explain. "As I told Usagi a while ago, I gave Sailor Neptune a gem that would detect who bore a talisman in their heart crystal. From what I can tell, Sailor Neptune gave the gem to Sailor Uranus and then Sailor Uranus figured that the gem wasn't working when it indicated that she and Neptune were talisman bearers."

On hearing what Sailor Uranus did, Ranma and Usagi crashed onto the floor anime style. Usagi, with her face still firmly on the floor, mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear, "That's it. If my senshi don't pass a basic common sense test, I'm outsourcing to the King of Fighter's Women's Team!"

Both Nodoka and Setsuna cracked a small smile when they heard Usagi's proclamation. Usagi then picked herself off of the floor and straitened out her skirt. After casually flinging her ponytails over her shoulder, Usagi looked into Setsuna's red eyes and said, "So I take it that you're going to take me over to wherever it is that those two live so that I can extract the remaining talismans?" Setsuna politely nodded her head to show that Usagi was correct in her assumptions. Usagi then turned to face Ranma, gave him a kiss on the lips, and said, "See you later Ranma. We're still on for tonight at the Mainland Mandarin Meal Stop?" Ranma's smirk and eye grin were an obvious and emphatic yes for Usagi. Dinner plans safely taken care of, Usagi and Setsuna walked out of Ranma's room to go extract two talismans.

Ryoga was currently sitting on a barstool in the Mainland Mandarin Meal Stop with his face on the counter next to a mug of root beer. Mousse, the real one and not one of the shadow clones working the kitchen, glanced over to where Ryoga was sitting and shook his head. The former lost boy had waked into Mousse's restaurant half an hour ago, ordered a soda, and had just sat there staring at the counter and at the soda. The fanged fool looked so pathetic just sitting there that it was eating at Mousse's heartstrings. Finally Mousse caved in and said, "I'm a restaurant owner, not a bartender. However, I can't stand him sitting there like that." Mousse calmly walked over to where Ryoga was sitting and said, "Are you going to drink your soda or are you going to mope around all day?"

Ryoga looked up and locked his eyes with Mousse; baring his fangs, Ryoga almost growled out. "Look Mousse, You're a friend and I respect you. However, you're putting yourself into some dangerous territory. So I would suggest, as a friend, that you mind your own business!" Mousse looked on as Ryoga sent a look of anger through his eyes in an attempt to make Mousse back away. However Mousse did not back away and Ryoga's eyes quickly betrayed the sadness that Ryoga was feeling. Ryoga quickly started to cry and put his head back on the counter. Mousse just stood by his friend and waited, Mousse figured that Ryoga would eventually tell him what the cause of the problem was.

Soon enough, Ryoga broke down and told Mousse all about the 'bathtub' incident involving Ami and him. All the while Mousse leaned back and calmly listened to what Ryoga was telling him. Once Ryoga was done talking, Mousse put his hand on his chin and thought about the situation in front of his friend. Snapping his fingers, Mousse turned to look Ryoga in the eye and said, "Guess what Ryoga! There is still a way for you repair the damage in your love life. Go down the street, buy a dozen roses, and go find Ami. Once you find Ami, give her the roses and apologize for teleporting on her in the bath. You should then explain that you were not used to teleporting in your cursed form. After you do that, explain to her all about the curse. However I would recommend that you don't tell her who else has a curse, that won't make you look good in a girl's eyes."

Ryoga listened to Mousse's suggestions and thought long and hard about them. A tiny part of him was shocked that Mousse told him to forget his pride, reveal the most painful secret he had, and go crawling and begging after Ami. However Ryoga quickly squashed this part of him and buried the remains in the bottom of the sea. This wasn't just any girl he was talking about, but Ami! In Ryoga's mind Ami was the perfect girl, nothing he could give up was too high a price to pay in order to possibly win her love.

Besides Ryoga thought, it's not like a normal girl like Ami would automatically freak out once he explained the curse to her. Ami had after all seen his teleporting abilities and was just as good a friend to him afterward as she was before. Also, Ranma's girlfriend Usagi knew about Ranma's curse and didn't dump Ranma even with all of Ranma's other faults. Since Ami and Usagi are friends, wouldn't it be likely that Ami wouldn't mind the curse too much after he explained it her? Even more importantly, could he ever forgive himself if he let Ami slip through his fingers now?

It didn't take much time for Ryoga to make up his mind: do whatever it took to get Ami to talk to him again. Sitting up strait on his stool Ryoga grabbed his mug of root beer, chugged it down in a few large gulps, placed the now empty mug on the counter, and stood up to leave. Just before he turned to walk out the door Ryoga tossed a coin at Mousse and said, "Thanks for the advice. You're a real pal Mousse and I'm glad that you were there for me."

Herb was sitting in his room at the Hikawa Shrine when he heard a soft but firm knock on his door. Turning his head towards the door, Herb said in an uncertain voice, "you can come in." The door opened up to reveal Rei leaning against the doorframe in her shrine maiden clothes. Most likely, at least in Herb's mind, Rei had just come back from attending her duties in the public areas of the shrine. Rei's face was in a frown as if she was both upset and worried about something at the same time. Looking his eyes with hers Herb asked in an uncertain tone. "Is something wrong Miss Hino, you seemed quite aggravated? Can I do something to lessen your aggravation?"

Rei closed her eyes and looked like she was counting numbers in order to keep calm. She then opened her eyes and said, "Yes Herb, there is something you can do to help me keep my temper. Actually, there are two things that you can do to help me." Rei then brought her hand out and slapped a finger on that hand with her other hand. "The first thing you can do for me Herb is to call me by my first name, understood." After Herb nodded his head to show that he understood her request, Rei grabbed a second finger. "Second Herb, tell me what's bugging you. Ever since that add that mentioned Sailor Moon and the Jovian Paladin, you've looked like you've seen a ghost."

Herb thought about Rei's second request for a moment, revealing the reason behind his troubles would be almost unprecedented in the long history of the Musk dynasty. However, these were almost unprecedented times as he had discovered so recently and just confirmed a few hours ago. Making up his mind, Herb motioned for Rei to sit next to him on his bed. Rei then promptly came over and sat next to Herb. After Rei had sat down on the bed, Herb reached into his trunk that was at the foot of the bed and pulled out an old leather-bound book. He then placed the old book reverently into his lap and turned to look at Rei.

Herb stared into Rei's eyes for a minute before he spoke with his usual confident tone. "Understand Rei that the Musk Dynasty has a LONG history. By long history I am not referring to 3,000 years or so like the Amazons Ranma and I told you about. I am not even referring to over 5,000 years of history like the 'ancient' civilization of the Egyptians. Rather, I am referring to over 10,000 years of history as a people and knowledge of the 4,000 years before the Dynasty arose. This book, known as the Tome of the Taisho, is a copy of the words that the founder of the Musk Dynasty carved into the Dynasty's sacred shrine 10,000 years ago."

Rei let out a small gasp of surprise when she heard Herb state the length of time that the Musk Dynasty had existed. Not only was her surprise from how long the Musk Dynasty had been around, but also from WHOM they likely had knowledge of. Thanks to the Mercury Computer the scouts knew that the Silver Millennium ended 10,000 years ago. The Scouts had assumed until now that they were the only people with knowledge of those times. However, Herb's proclamation and his reaction at the names of Sailor Moon and Jovian Paladin made it obvious that Musk at least knew of the Silver Millennium.

Herb, after seeing that Rei's face had calmed down from the shock, reverently opened the Tome of the Taisho and said, "I think that my situation would be even more clearer after I read you this section of the Tome." Rei instantly focused her entire consciousness on Herb and what he was saying. "And so it was that, to my eternal shame, that I the Dragon Captain was unable to prevent my ledge General Nephrite of the Earth Kingdom from being enslaved by the traitorous Lady Beryl. My survival of Ragnarok was not the act of a brave and courageous leader but the act of a coward. I and the rest of the 10th company hid ourselves in caves among the Tibetan mountains. There it was we stayed while our brothers in arms were coerced into destroying all that we held dear."

"Ragnarok has passed us by and we have lived, better it would be by far if we had perished in its flames. At least then we could descend into the Halls of Osiris knowing that we died doing our duty to defend the kingdom. Instead the kingdom is dead and our sisters in the heavens have grown silent while we live on. The stench of our shame permeates all of us; it is a musk that we suffocate in. Even our neighbors who are rapidly descending into barbarism avoid us, sensing the guilt that we bare. Not even a thousand times thousand generations will be enough time to whip out our shame."

"I can only offer this one hope to my children and the children of my subordinates. One single way that our shame may be removed and we may take our rightful places once again. I have visited the Pythia and she uttered a prophecy to me. She told me that 'The heir of the general shall be reborn in a far away land to fight with his mother and his promised bride.' Also, the Pythia revealed to me that only by serving the heir shall we remove the stain on our honor and regain our proper place and defenders of the kingdom reborn."

"I shall now reveal a secret that I have kept in confidence; I do so only so that my heir may use this knowledge to redeem the once honorable Dragon Company or as we have begun to call ourselves the Musk. Our General, the wise and clever Nephrite, fathered a single child. This child is known throughout the Silver Millennium and the Earth Kingdom although Our General was never able to claim the child as his. That child I speak of is none other than Prince Nephelite, FIRST BORN son of princess Hippolyta of the Jovian Kingdom. When news of the Prince Nephelite's rebirth comes, my heir must make all haste to deliver our oaths of loyalty to the reborn prince and take his place as the prince's loyal servant."

"I know that I shall not live to see the glorious day that our future liege is reborn. However, I have been able to do my part to prepare us for when our liege returns to accept our oaths of fidelity. I have managed to find and secure several armories of the on glorious Western Army. The locations of these armories are carefully guarded and will only be accessed in the following manner. On the western side of this monument that these words have been inscribed upon there is as you will notice a palm print carved into the monument. The reborn prince must place his hand on the palm print and channel a small part of his senshi energy into his hand. The palm print shall recognize the prince for who he is and using a hologram, display the locations of the armories that I have hidden."

Herb then closed the Tome of the Taisho and placed it back in his trunk. He then turned to face the shocked Rei and said, "Now do you see why I am so upset and worried? For 10,000 years my people have lived with the shame of our ancestors haunting us every day. Now, after so long, my people have a chance to have their shame removed and what do I do? I forgot about my part in removing their shame! Instead of instantly going out and looking for the prince, I have to go and check the Tome in order to remember my duties."

Rei looked on and saw that Herb was practically forcing himself to not cry. It really ate at her heart to see Herb like he was. She knew from Ranma that Herb had a lot of pride and confidence in himself and his abilities. His draconic blood enabled Herb, at least according to Ranma, to generate at least three times more chi than a normal person of the same training could. Although Herb wasn't as strong as a Senshi, his skill and power probably put him on equal footing with either Neptune or Uranus. With such power at his disposal it was not at all surprising to Rei that Herb would be prideful and confident.

However, none of that confidence or pride was being displayed before her right now. Before Rei was not a proud prince or a confident warrior but rather a scared and uncertain young man. A young man, who was almost alone in a strange land and deeply afraid that he had failed his people's hopes and dreams, was all that Rei saw when she looked at Herb. Although her temper might at times hide it, Rei was a rather empathetic person. You really can't work at a shrine helping people for years without developing at least some empathy. In a move that would greatly surprise the inner scouts, Rei wrapped her arms around Herb and pulled him into a hug.

Herb was at first shocked at Rei's action and was unsure of how he should respond. Since the Musk rarely ever saw a girl after they were weaned and until they were married, this was not an experience that he had any pervious knowledge of. To Herb's immense surprise, Rei softly said, "Don't worry Herb, you've done nothing wrong. All you've done is double-check your facts in order to make sure that you didn't make a mistake. After all, fools rush in where angels fear to tread. I will do everything that I can to help you locate Jovian Paladin, I swear." Slowly Herb started to draw comfort from Rei's actions and words, knowing that everything would indeed turn out for the best.

Usagi and Ranma were walking down the sidewalk coming away from a happy date at Mousse's restaurant. Mousse had given them a private booth in the back of the dinner away from everyone else and away from the windows. When Usagi asked why they were given such a romantic location Mousse had responded, "I'm doing everything I can to make sure that no nuts who may have a pathetic grudge against Ranma can find him. After all, I don't want my insurance rates to skyrocket due to a low level martial arts moron trying to pick a fight in my restaurant. If the spot that best insures this just happens to be romantic, well I guess that it's just a good bonus for us all."

Even though that may have been the reason Mousse had told her and Ranma, Usagi had a feeling that Mousse was genuinely happy for Ranma and was trying to help insure that Ranma and her had a good date. Slightly increasing her grip on Ranma's arm, Usagi laid her head on his shoulder as they walked together in comfortable silence. There was a content smile on Usagi's face as she thought about her and Ranma. While she freely admitted that Ranma had his faults, Usagi loved him just the same. Although Ranma could easily be kind and caring, he wasn't like the white knight that Usagi had fantasized about when she was a little girl. Even thought Ranma was a reborn prince, he could be better described as the archetypical heroic barbarian coming to the rescue of the 'civilized' princess.

Of course, no literary archetype could fully describe Ranma in Usagi's mind. But Usagi actually liked that about Ranma. Ranma was a completely unique and wonderful person that was hers. At that moment Usagi tilted her head and gave Ranma a small peck on the cheek. She then softly whispered loud enough for Ranma and Ranma alone to hear her, "Thanks' for the date Ranma. I had a wonderful time tonight and I wouldn't trade it for anything." Ranma's cheeks started to blush as he listened to what Usagi said to him. Although they had been together for a little while, Ranma was still quite unused to such public displays of affection being directed towards him.

Usagi looked up from her position next to Ranma and saw the intersection coming up that ended the shared paths between their homes and the restaurant. Thinking about something for a moment, Usagi softly said, "Ranma, please walk with me to my house." Ranma turned his head to look Usagi strait in the eye. Before Ranma could say anything Usagi continued. "I know that if we show up together my parents are probably going to figure out that we're dating. I don't mind them finding out about us; I'm not ashamed of you in any way and there's nothing that we have to hide about our relationship. Besides, I wouldn't be too surprised if my mother at least has a suspicion that we're an item now."

Usagi's words made Ranma smile. It still at times seemed like a dream to him that he could have a girl like Usagi love him. She wasn't pushy, demanding, or considered him to be a pervert. Instead Usagi was everything that Ranma had secretly wanted in a girl without loosing that certain spark like Kasumi, who he had before used as a model of the perfect girl, seemed to have lost. A sense of warmth flooded Ranma's heart when he heard Usagi say that she didn't mind her family knowing about the two of them. Even during his days in Nerima, Ranma figured that no girl would really want to bring him home to meet her folks. The fact that the Tsukinos already knew him didn't factor into Ranma's worry when it came to his and Usagi's love life.

So in accordance with Usagi's wish, the two of them turned the corner and continued walking on their way to the Tsukino home. The setting sun painted a glorious image in the sky that both of them would occasionally glance up to see. However, the moment between them was broken when they heard the sounds of a labored run coming towards them. Ranma and Usagi looked down the road to see Hotaru running towards them like the hounds of hell were on the poor girl's heels.

Hotaru spotted Ranma and Usagi and seemed to redouble her pace in order to reach them. Usagi broke her hold on Ranma's arm in order to scoop up the frail frightened girl into a friendly embrace. With a calming voice Usagi softly said, "What's wrong Hotaru? We're your friends; we'll do whatever we can to help you."

Hotaru's frail body was practically shacking in Usagi's hug. Looking up at the worried looks on Ranma and Usagi's faces, Hotaru said in a quiet mouse like voice, "I-I h-heard my f-father talking t-to one of h-his assistants." Hotaru stopped talking for a moment and seemed to somehow make her form seem smaller then she really was. Ranma and Usagi then had to strain their hearing in order to clearly hear the next words that she mumbled out. "My father and his friends are behind the monster attacks."