Gotta Wear Shades - At least he had the legs for it, half the time.

The Senshi and their advisors had all gathered together in Rei's Temple on Usagi's eighteenth birthday.

Setsuna smiled and held up a small box. "This box holds the ascension key. When the princess of the Moon reached her majority in the Silver Millennium, it was used to confirm her as the heir and teach her everything she needed to know to be a good queen."

"Teach?" Ami asked curiously, wondering if there was something similar for Mercury.

"Yes. The crystal answers any questions asked or thought of from the royal archives. So if a young princess was unsure of the etiquette of a situation or needed to know the laws pertaining to something she'd simply mentally ask the crystal and it would reply the same way. It's part of the reason the line of Serenity was renowned for their knowledge and wisdom." Setsuna smiled.

"Why couldn't you have given that to me when I was still in high school?!" Usagi moaned.

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "It's most effective when used to build on existing knowledge, which is part of the reason it's not given until the heir reaches majority."

"What's the other part?" Ami asked curiously.

"It's connected to ALL the books in the royal library, and after a rather young princess got a crush on her personal guard and used the crystal to access all of the books on seduction techniques and Lunarian sex manuals, it was decided to limit the crystal to adults."

Usagi got an evil (for her) grin and rubbed her hands together while giggling pervertedly.

*WHAP!*

"Ow!" Usagi rubbed her head where the shrine maiden had whacked her with a paper fan. "Rei, you meany!"

Everyone ignored Usagi's complaint and hoped the crystal provided some maturity, but not too much, to their immature but fun princess.

"You're so going to be my first victim," Usagi muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What?!" Rei asked, eyes wide.

"Nothing," Usagi replied with an innocent look on her face and a halo over her head.

Setsuna sighed. "Uagi, stop using the Ginzuisho to make halos, they only make you look more guilty."

"But I'm not doing it on purpose!" Usagi protested.

Michiru slipped Haruka five hundred yen while Setsuna tried to get things back on track. "Anyway, traditionally the high priestess of Mars would lead the ceremony, but that was generally a grueling twelve hour affair in uncomfortable clothes so instead I'll handle it." Setsuna opened the box and said, "Find Serenity's Heir."

A softly glowing blue gem levitated itself into the air, sparkled for a second, and then vanished through an open window.

Everyone turned to Setsuna.

Setsuna stared out the window, stunned. "It would only do that if a blood heir of Serenity had survived."

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Ranma almost paused while eating her bento, made by Kasumi, when she felt her danger sense start to tingle. Her eyes darted around, but she couldn't see the source of the danger. Shampoo and Ukyo were sitting with her, not arguing for once, and Akane was with her two friends, no doubt complaining about Ranma sitting with them, but she wasn't angry enough to attack her yet, nor was she trying to feed Ranma any of her poisonous cooking.

So what was setting off her instincts?

Ranma turned to look the other way just as a glowing blue gem slammed into her forehead with enough force to make her somersault twice before landing on her back. Ranma was immediately knocked unconscious, but her right hand still darted out and caught the last morsel of food from her lunch, instinctively bringing it to her mouth and swallowing it before dropping limply to the ground.

Shampoo and Ukyo dropped their lunches and examined the unconscious martial artist.

"The force of the blow must have knocked him out," Ukyo said. "And that gem doesn't look like it's coming out for anything short of surgery."

Shampoo nodded. "Ranma seem ok, just had knock to head, but gem could be bad magic. Need great-grandmother to have look at."

Ukyo groaned. "I'm sure other people don't have things like this happen to them every other day."

Shampoo shrugged. "Ranma attract too, too strange events." She grinned. "Life with Ranma never be boring, neh?"

Ukyo nodded. "And while that may be great fun on the weekends, it does tend to disrupt the restaurant business."

Shampoo shrugged again. "Is good thing Shampoo only work in restaurant as something to do than."

"Something to think about," Ukyo said, before helping Shampoo pick Ranma up.

"Yeah, sound like Spat-ahem, Ukyo only really enjoy having Ranma around during weekend, so business normal during week."

"I think I'd enjoy having him over at night as well," Ukyo protested, blushing brightly as she realized what she'd said.

Shampoo nodded. "Have house away from restaurant with too, too big bed?"

Ukyo frowned as she figured out what Shampoo was hinting about, but Akane's voice broke her out of it.

"What's the lunkhead done now?" Akane groaned, already knowing she didn't want to get involved in whatever Ranma was mixed up in this time. Really, was it too much to ask that her unwanted fiancé live a normal life?

"Ranma honey was just eating his lunch when bam, a glowing jewel imbedded itself in his forehead," Ukyo explained.

Akane blinked, and they could see she was trying to get mad, but in the end she just sighed. "Fine, you guys take him to Cologne, and I'll let the school know you'll be busy.

"You're not coming along?" Ukyo asked.

"I'm tired of dealing with all the weirdness, besides it was Kasumi who wanted excitement, I wanted some peace and quiet," Akane said grumpily before heading off to class.

"And once again, Shampoo save violent girl's life," Shampoo announced as they carried Ranma towards the Cat Café.

"Eh, how?"

"Shampoo not pound violent girl into something flat enough to cook on Ukyo's grill for being disrespectful of husband."

"How do you figure?"

"Akane not love Ranma or wouldn't be so dismissive or problems, and yet still not let go."

"I'm sure she cares for him and she just can't stand aside because of family honor."

"No said she not care, said she not love, and Shampoo never see her care about honor when yelling lies and breaking engagement because of temper."

"I'd like to argue with you," Ukyo said, leaving 'but I can't' left unsaid but understood.

"Ukyo show she love husband. Ukyo actually listen to Ranma's half-clear rants when he end up in crazy situations, and give up vengeance quest when see what kind of guy Ranma is, golf ball in sand trap."

"That would be diamond in the rough," Ukyo explained after a moment of thought.

"No, diamond in Ranma's head, that why we going to see great-grandmother."

Ukyo wisely fell silent.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Venus glanced around uneasily, drawing Mercury's attention. "What's wrong?" Mercury asked, glancing up from the Mercury computer that she was using to track the gem's path.

"I don't know, I just feel this sudden urge to sue somebody for copyright infringement."

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"The trance is fading too fast to follow," Mercury complained.

"Try using the Ginzuisho to strengthen the trace," Pluto suggested.

Moon nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, causing her brooch to glow brightly, but Mercury shook her head. "It's no use, it's gone."

"Back to base everyone," Moon announced, taking charge for once. "We're not going to find it by wandering around blindly, and Mars may have found something in the meantime."

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Shampoo and Ukyo stared at Cologne and wondered how they'd get answers now. Cologne had been more than a little concerned that Ranma hadn't woken, but then a crescent moon had appeared on Ranma's forehead and Cologne had fallen off her staff laughing. Every time she'd catch her breath either Ukyo or Shampoo had tried asking her a question and she's start back up again.

"I wish I knew where we could get some answers," Ukyo said, stroking Ranma's forehead.

"The Hino shrine, Juuban prefecture," Ranma said clearly, talking in his sleep.

"Well, that was easy," Ukyo said, nonplussed.

Typing by: Elrod Albino