A Scary Thought

by Derekloffin

What happens when Kasumi is the one coming back from a training trip rather than Ranma? Well, read on to find out. Chapter 33 new content not on my webpage yet.

47. Chapter 47: Judgment

Ranma ½

A Scary Thought:

What happen last time: Lemon got caught, and Kasumi has found herself strangely one of her few defenders.

Waoh, this is a BIG chapter, and not a whole lot of Ranma content. Oh well, needed to deal with the Sailor Moon side.

Chapter 47

XXXXX

"Okay, I think we'll call it a day at that," Siren called out as Frost laid down another in a long series of magical markings on the field of the Furinkan High. As with all the previous marks, it glowed briefly then disappeared to all but those with magical sight.

Frost let out a sigh. "I'm not tired," she weakly complained.

"Probably not, but you have a full day of activity at least tomorrow. We want you up to the task. So, head on home, and we'll get started early in the morning again," Siren replied. "I'll secure the area for the night."

Frost reluctantly nodded, picked up her cloak which she had discarded earlier, and began walking back to the Doctor's. Selene quickly ran up behind her. "You better not be a nuisance," Frost warned.

"I just want my proper body back," Selene complained, prompting Frost to let out a laugh. Selene frowned, but let the reaction go by, not wishing to risk antagonizing the young magus. However, as they continued their walk home, another subject came to mind. "What is an anti-voyeur rule?" she asked suddenly, causing Frost to tense.

"Siren told you about that, I suppose?" Frost asked in annoyance.

Selene cringed, already regretting the question, but replied, "Yes."

Frost huffed, thought for a minute then answered, "It is a spell rule set on sentry type spells that is meant to prevent the caster for inadvertently intruding on... private moments of the person being monitored."

"Oh... that doesn't sound so bad," Selene commented as they continued walking, causing Frost to cover her face with her palm and shake her head. "What?"

Frost once more huffed and stopped to look down at her familiar. "What kind of private moments do you think I would have set my spells to block for Shampoo, hmh? Think now, they haven't blocked anything till about a week ago."

Selene did as bidden, realizing quickly that what she had originally been envisioning would have already happened long ago. Quickly, only one obvious answer came to mind. "She... and Kasumi..." Selene began to say in shock.

"Most likely given Kasumi was the only one present before the feed went dead," Frost replied and quickly resumed her march home.

Selene lingered behind for several seconds before jarring herself loose from her surprise. "Are you-"

"Of course I'm sure!" Frost quickly answered. "I even re-established the spell and it went dead again the next night. There is no denying it," Frost muttered.

This is... It can't... Selene thought, desperately seeking some other answer, but already knew there was none that were reasonable. It is just as Akane warned me, but I didn't think it had gone this far between them. I can't believe Shampoo... with Kasumi... As the thoughts threatened to overwhelm Selene, she looked up at Frost to notice the magus was brooding. "What's you're problem?" she asked, not able to hide a bit of bitterness that crept in. "Were you planning on marrying her or something?"

Frost shot the cat an angry glance. "I only wish I was attracted to girls," she said, not even bothering to hide her bitterness. Turning away, she explained, "I just wanted... Shampoo should have been the one making the choice, not some stupid law. It just feels... wrong this way. I was always hoping I would find... some loophole or something." Finally, hanging her head in defeat, Frost admitted, "It is all useless now."

Funny that I find myself on the same side as Frost here, Selene thought, although their motivations were worlds apart. No, I'm not done yet, she thought in defiance. Soon I'll have my body back, and they still need a husband after all. I can do this. I've been doing a lot of research.

Some of her confidence restored, Selene raised her head. Of course, there is always that blasted love pill in my system, she suddenly thought and quickly hung her head once more. I'll find a way.

XXXXX

For Michiru, there was no doubting that the woman now before her, if not the real Quaoar, it was her identical copy. Dark black hair ran down her back, standing in contrast to her flowery gown that carried near to the ground. She looked no older than her image at the moon kingdom, which coupled with her perfect imitation of Usagi was enough reason to doubt her true identity.

Defensive instincts had already driven many of the girls to reach for their transformation items, but they found them missing. "Damn," Rei mumbled as she realized her vulnerable state. Glancing at the others, she realized that the situation was universal.

"I'm sorry," Quaoar apologized. "I took your activators as they would only serve as a distraction. This is not a situation you can deal with by force."

"You... you've been impersonating Usagi since Seiya left, haven't you?" Ami asked.

"Yes. Sorry for putting that spell on you. It was required," Quaoar replied.

"What have you done with Usagi?" Haruka stepped forward and demanded.

Quaoar swept her hand first to the left then right. As she did the ground began to glow softly around her in response to the gesture. "She is unharmed. I am here to take you to her in fact. Please step into the field and we can get going."

"You just expect us to trust you?" Rei asked.

Quaoar shrugged. "You may stay if you prefer, but, truly, why would I bring you all here and reveal myself if I was the threat?"

"How can we even know you are the real Quaoar?" Michiru asked.

Quaoar smiled. "A valid question. I can only say, what do you feel?"

"Honestly, you feel like Chaos to me," Michiru responded.

"But, you also feel familiar, and I think you do speak the truth, although I can't say why," Setsuna unexpectedly added. Several of the others reluctantly nodded, feeling much the same, and frowned in consideration. Setsuna was the first to act, moving into the light. "I think we have little choice," she commented to the others.

Reluctantly, the others slowly joined Setsuna. Quaoar nodded, then looked to the nearby bushes. "And what of you two?"

Realizing they were discovered, Luna and Artemis came out from the bushes where they had hidden themselves just moments earlier. They looked at Quaoar skeptically, then to the girls. They, however, had nothing to offer.

"I don't like this one little bit," Luna complained, but stepped forward anyway. With a sigh, Artemis joined her.

After confirming all were within the glow, Quaoar raised her arm to the sky. "This will only take a second," she said and suddenly the glow enveloped them. Quickly, the Earth seemed to fall away beneath them, but beyond the visual cue, there was no sense of motion.

In mere seconds they left the atmosphere and slipped into space. They collectively looked up to see their path lead directly to the Moon. The whole journey took little under a minute, and they found themselves standing in the remains of the Moon kingdom.

Quaoar stepped out of the group and gestured toward the one conspicuously undamaged building. "She's in there," she said before heading that way.

The inner Senshi rushed past and into the building, while the others took a more careful pace. "This building was definitely not in this condition last time we were here," Setsuna commented.

"It was repaired for our purposes," Quaoar explained.

"And those would be?" Michiru asked as they approached the building.

Quaoar merely smiled and replied, "We can speak of such within."

Once within, the others found Usagi, still suspended in the air and completely unresponsive. After the initial shock, Michiru took in the rest of the auditorium room.

Sensing her wandering attention, Quaoar began introductions. "The one by Usagi is Rhadamanthus. The one with Seiya is Eris," she began, prompting Michiru to focus on each in turn.

"Seiya?" Several of the girls said in surprise as they turned to see her and rushed over.

"Fraid so," Seiya replied as they came over. "They took me with Usagi. I don't think there is much point in trying to breach that barrier. I tried everything I could and didn't even make a dent, and apparently it powers up with the more of them here."

Quaoar nodded as she joined them. "That is correct. I am Quaoar, by the way."

Seiya looked at the newcomer and simply huffed, while the others turned back to look at Quaoar demanding answers.

"What have you done to Usagi?" Rei was the first to ask.

"She is fine," another occupant of the room answered. "She is merely being held in a type of suspended animation."

Quaoar nodded in confirmation, and looked to the back of the room where the answer came from. "That there is Ixion," she introduced. The girls looked over to see a man and paused in some shock. "He could be Terra's... sorry, Mamoru's brother, couldn't he," Quaoar added as they took in his appearance.

Ixion did indeed look the part. It was easy to see the resemblance. He was, however, slightly taller and wearing a traditional Japanese nobleman's gown, a long sheathed sword at his side. He gave the girls a polite nod at the introduction.

"Our last two, so far, are Varuna and Logos," Quaoar said, gesturing to each woman in turn.

The girls looked over to see the final two woman, both sitting apart in the upper seating of the auditorium. Varuna looked a bit like Haruka, although the woman wore her hair long to her shoulders, and her dark blue dress made it abundantly clear of her true gender. The last, Logos, looked most similar in appearance to Rhadamanthus, if only in attire, wearing fairly nondescript clothes, and her hair similarly tightly woven together, but that is where the similarities ended. While Rhadamanthus's hair was simply black, Logos' was blond, similar in shade to Usagi's. She paid them no mind, apparently lost in her own thoughts.

"You said for now? Others are coming?" Ami asked to which Quaoar nodded.

"Yes," Quaoar answered as she took a seat.

"Okay, just what is going on here?" Makoto asked in growing confusion. "You guys feel like Chaos, yet you're related to us?"

"They are indeed, because you were once Ascended Senshi like us," Eris said. "We are all from this star system, even Chaos was."

"Yes, but that was ages ago," Quaoar added.

A new presence caused everyone to tense and look to the doorway. Soon Mamoru entered, and like the girls before him, rushed to Usagi only to be blocked by the barrier. However, whatever response any would have had to his appearance was cut off by the one directly following him.

Still half covered in her dark demonic appearance, Orcus stepped into the room, looking angry. Her appearance and aura were enough to send all the girls into a cold sweat of fear.

"Orcus! Withdraw your cloak!" Rhadamanthus ordered.

Orcus huffed, but replied, "Alright." With that, the demonic aura seemed to be pulled with in her, and with its departure, the girls found themselves suddenly taking in breaths of relief.

"That's Orcus for you, always making a bad impression," Eris joked with a smile. Orcus stopped to glare at her, giving the girls a full view of the woman face where they could see the side that was formerly covered by the dark aura was twisted and scarred. Getting only Eris' continued grin, Orcus turned away and walked to the other side of the room to take a seat.

"What is she, Chaos' sister?" Makoto asked quietly.

"Orcus, oh no. She's not related to any of us," Eris answered. "Logos would actually be Chaos' sister, twin sister in fact."

"Although Logos and Chaos share very little beyond appearance," Quaoar pointed out. "As to Orcus, do not judge her by her looks. She is a Senshi of retribution. Harsh, yes, but necessarily so."

"She could at least rid herself of the scar," Eris commented in mild annoyance. "Although, I suppose she thinks it makes some kind of statement."

By this point, Mamoru joined the group. "Eris," he greeted.

"Terra, sorry I wasn't the one to pick you up. I'm confined to the Moon for now. I've been bad," Eris joked.

"You knew about this?" Michiru asked Mamoru.

Mamoru nodded. "Not all of it, but Eris spoke with me some days ago and warned me something like this was coming. I would have warned you if I felt it would have helped, but with their power..."

"It would not have helped," Quaoar confirmed. She once more ran through the introductions of the others for Mamoru. As one would expect, Ixion grabbed most of Mamoru's attention. However, other than a nod of greeting, the man said nothing.

Introductions over with, Quaoar paused to look about as if probing through the walls. "Hmm, we still have two more to come," she commented.

"They are delayed," Rhadamanthus replied, showing obvious displeasure at that.

"I see... well, we don't need them for explanations. Perhaps we should begin with that?" Quaoar asked, to which Rhadamanthus nodded in approval. "Good, then I suppose I shall begin... hmm, but where to begin? There is so much you don't know."

"Just keep it to the necessary details," Orcus suggested in a harsh tone.

"Right," Quaoar agreed, unaffected by Orcus' tone. "Then I suppose the start is obvious. As you already know, we are the Ascended Senshi, but so were you ages ago. We all come from this star system, long before even the Moon Kingdom was built. Well, all except Usagi." Looking back at the girl in question, Quaoar paused then continued. "She is probably something else entirely."

"Cosmos," Mamoru said. Everyone save Eris looked at him in surprise. "Eris already told me."

"Yes, Cosmos, at least that is the most likely explanation. But, let's back up a little," Quaoar said. "We do need to start with Cosmos and a kingdom she created before the Moon Kingdom was even conceived.

"Approximately 30,000 years ago, Cosmos, the first and most powerful of us, brought us together. She awakened us to our powers and built a kingdom. It wasn't just for us though. Thousands of people lived under her rule, and for quite some time it was... practically paradise."

Eris let out a laugh. "Yes, paradise... one does have to understand Cosmos' power. It is the power of near absolute creation. She thinks it, it becomes what is."

"Just like that?" Minako asked in uncertainty and received nods from both Quaoar and Eris. "That's... some power."

"And whatever limit it has, it is way beyond anything we've been able to measure," Quaoar said. "I personally seen her instantly stop a volcanic eruption, completely reconfigure the mountain back to before the eruption, and restore all the life in the area. She did all that with a simple wave of her hand. No effort at all."

"Seriously?!" Minako asked as she and the others were in nervous awe of the description.

"Oh, very seriously," Eris said with a chuckle. "We're pretty powerful. We could probably do the same, but it will take the majority of our strength. For her it was nothing."

"Yes, and that power was at the very core of the kingdom. Even our own path to becoming ascended appears to be due to exposure to her power. We have seen many Senshi since her time, and without such exposure, none have achieved our power," Quaoar explained. "Unfortunately, that was not without its price.

"Those thousands of non-Senshi in the kingdom were constantly exposed to our power, and particularly hers. Over time, they began to become... jealous. They began making demands for... well, things at first, then powers of their own. She could only resist the demands so long before she began to cave to them," Quaoar continued.

Eris let out a sad laugh. "Longevity at first, then other things. Some were simply, like being able to fly, or run real fast... Others were far more potent, like inherent mastery of magic, or even the reading of minds. Frankly it was getting out of hand."

"And as bad as that was, it wasn't the only issue," Quaoar interjected. "Not everyone would join the kingdom. That is to be expected, I suppose, but those outsiders quickly became jealous, or fearful, or both. Can't really blame them. Unfortunately, as is human nature, those feelings soon turned into another feeling, hate."

"I can already see where this is going," Haruka commented.

"Yes. Hostilities quickly erupted. Of course, this was a time when a good club was still considered the height of weapons technology so we could easily deal with any little outbreaks," Quaoar said. "Unfortunately, that only dealt with the symptom, not the problem. Inevitably, people got hurt. That would go on for years, and as it did, the problem became progressively bigger and bigger. Cosmos did not allow us to retaliate, so while we could protect our people, they just kept at it, growing in cunning and numbers.

"Finally, our own people became fed up with the whole thing, and they were threatening to do their own retaliation," Quaoar said, then sighed. A harsh look from Orcus prompted her to continue. "Yes, that's when things really started getting... disturbing.

"Cosmos decided to end it finally. And she did. Just like that volcano, she... changed everything," Quaoar explained, gaining an annoyed growl from Orcus.

"Stop beating around the bush, Quaoar," Orcus complained. "She rewrote their minds!"

"What?" several of the girls asked in confusion.

Quaoar sighed and nodded. "She took all thoughts of hostility from both our own people, and the others," she explained. "It saved lives," she quickly added.

"That doesn't excuse it and you know it," Orcus shot back.

Ami thought on this a moment and asked, "How... how extensive a rewrite was this?"

"Not too deep, but it was definitely... creepy," Quaoar conceded. "Then something else happened. It may have been related or not, we're not sure, but about a year after that incident, we started having a new problem.

"People were turning up dead. Tortured... brutalized... I suppose by today's standards you would call it the acts of a sadistic serial killer. He was unfortunately a smart one too. Took us quite some time to finally catch him. He was one of our citizens, blessed with an in depth knowledge of medicine. Hid his dark side quite well. Unfortunately, that same ability he put to horrendous use on his victims," Quaoar said with a grim look.

"That's terrible," Luna said. "Do you mean to say this may have been due to what Cosmos did to the people?"

"Perhaps. We can't be certain of that. At the time we were highly suspicious of such, as he was the first such person we'd ever encountered, but that could merely be coincidence," Quaoar replied. "While that may have given us some further doubts about Cosmos, it is what happened after his capture that changed everything.

"He was taken before her where she demanded to know why he had abused the gifted power she had given him in this way," Quaoar said, but fell silent at the memory.

Orcus continued on. "The sick bastard taunted her. Said he enjoyed it. Described several of his killings in detail. Got to about five when she finally shut him up... for good," Orcus explained, her own anger showing through. Getting uncertain looks from the girls, she clarified, "Yes, she killed him. It was quick death, better than he deserved. That was not the problem though. I would have gladly killed him myself for his crimes. No, the problem was that she did it on impulse."

"Impulse?" Minako asked in uncertainty.

"Without thought," Eris clarified. "It just... happened. One second he was there, the next he was ash. For the first time, we all got to see Cosmos lose control, and in a very ugly way."

Quaoar once more spoke up. "Yes, but she seemed to realize it. She withdrew immediately after that. Would not speak to anyone for days. Then, about a month later, inexplicably, she was dead."

"Dead?" Mamoru repeated in shock. "How?"

"Don't know exactly. Her body was in perfect condition. Not a mark on her. We found her in her bed, laying peacefully and deliberately there. We could only surmise that she committed some kind of suicide," Quaoar answered.

"Things quickly fell apart after that," Quaoar continued. "The power vacuum led to a lot of squabbles. We also found that the powers she gifted everyone with began to quickly fade, even their longevity, save our own. Chaos took the death of her mother particularly hard."

"Woah!" Rei interjected. "Mother?! Cosmos was Chaos' mother?!"

"Oh, didn't I mention that?" Quaoar replied nervously.

In the back, Logos chuckled. "No, you conveniently omitted it, but it is true. Cosmos was our mother," she said.

"Ah... yes," Quaoar said, and cleared her throat. "Anyway, she took it hard. She became convinced her mother was faking, and what we thought was her body was merely a copy meant to fool us. Honestly, we could hardly prove her wrong, it was well within Cosmos' power to do such, it just didn't make any sense. She grew increasingly entrenched in this line of thought. Then she came to the rather crazy notion that if she started making trouble, Cosmos would be forced to make an appearance to stop her. Of course, such did not happen.

"She started with simple stuff, but became increasingly reckless and dangerous. Finally, we were forced to stop her, but she fled. Eventually, she would even move into space to escape us. Many went after her."

"So why exactly didn't you help us fight her then?" Haruka asked with a frown.

"We thought she had been defeated already. We fought her to the point that she was little more than a field of energy, then Galaxia got involved. When Galaxia finished her, she fooled even us by joining with Galaxia. I was actually going to intervene when she revealed herself, but it proved unnecessary," Quaoar explained.

"In any respect, that is getting off track," Quaoar continued. "After Chaos left with the others in pursuit, things fell totally apart. To be honest, it was mostly our own fault. We had never considered a situation with her gone, so none of us could properly take charge. So, the kingdom came to an end.

"Decades later, something odd would happen though. We all have a sense for each other. We can sense the lingering power within a potential Senshi, and suddenly we had a new one. And, that brings us to Sailor Moon."

Quaoar stood up, and moved to be in front of the group. Extending her hand, palm up, in front of her, she created an image of a star seed. "This is, as you know, a star seed," she explained, before closing and opening her hand to change the the image to another. "They have different brightnesses, colors, but they all share the same essential pattern," she continued, repeating the gesture many times to shift the examples. "Even the solar princesses, the most powerful Senshi within a star system share this essential form."

Raising her other hand in the same manner as the first, Quaoar generated a new image, that of Sailor Moon's former seed. Unlike the others, which were a simple hexagonal crystals, hers looked like a much larger flower. "So then, why does Sailor Moon's look so radically different?" Quaoar asked the obvious.

"Because she is Cosmos," Ami concluded.

"That was our thought. We never seen the star seed within Cosmos, but we do know that this crystal structure of Sailor Moon's is a containment system. It restrains something, something very powerful. We could only conclude that Cosmos felt her own power was too dangerous, so she sealed it, but the process cost her life," Quaoar explained.

Closing her hands, Quaoar once more sat down before continuing. "Her powers were primitive by our standards, more similar to those un-ascended Senshi we found in other star systems. After a bit of debate, it was decided we'd try to build a new kingdom. You all chose to be reborn, lowering yourself to her level, save Mamoru. Sedna and I were chosen to directly interact with you all, and help you build the new kingdom which we decided to put on the Moon this time to avoid the external conflicts that resulted from our last effort. We would also bring descendants of the former kingdom there. Their longevity would be restored in her presence but none of the other powers ever manifested again.

"In time, the Kingdom you know was formed. However, it quickly became apparent that we were doing all the work. Our powers were so great in comparison to yours that it was only natural that we would be called upon to face any threat that appeared. We collectively decided that was not the best. If you all, particularly Sailor Moon, were to achieve your potential, you had to do so on your own, so we left. The others would head into space to help other star system Senshi realize their own power, while Sedna and I remained behind to watch in secret. In time, many others chose to be reborn as well. Mamoru, you were one such late comer. As such, we left you on Earth with any others that chose that path," Quaoar concluded.

Rhadamanthus finally spoke up at this point. "However, we as a collective made a decision. Should our theory be correct, and Cosmos' power should be fully unleashed, we would return here to decide what should be done with her."

"Done with her?" Rei repeated in anger. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Were you not listening?" Orcus shot back, causing Rei to withdraw. "Her power is unimaginable. She can even rewrite the minds of people, potentially on a global scale. Add to that, she can't even fully control it. Imagine the next time she loses control!"

"Enough Orcus," Rhadamanthus ordered. "That is a matter to yet be discussed, and all must be present for such," she cautioned, prompting Orcus to huff but fall silent. Turning back to the others, Rhadamanthus explained, "It is sufficient to say that we have serious concerns. That is what this meeting is for, to discuss our options. You have all been invited, at Quaoar's request, to speak on behalf of Usagi, and yourselves. However, the final decision is that of the Ascended. You all agreed to that when you chose to be reborn."

"We don't have to like it," Haruka pointed out.

"No, you don't, but that changes nothing," Rhadamanthus replied before looking at the doorway. "It seems we still have some time," she said with an annoyed sigh. "I would suggest you use such to consider what you will say."

A few grumbles and sighs came from the group, but having little in the way of options, they decided to take the advice and began quietly talking with each other.

XXXXX

One of the longest, and weirdest, days Shampoo could easily remember had finally come to an end at the San Cheng-Huang. Even now, nearing midnight, many of the visiting magi and amazons were still present, chatting away. Shampoo really had not had much opportunity to even see most their guests with all the rest of the excitement of the day.

Kasumi had already succumb to exhaustion nearly an hour earlier and excused herself to get some sleep. After yet another argument with her mother, Shampoo was finally able to join her, only disappointed to find Kasumi already fast asleep. Shampoo toyed with the idea of waking her, but her own body was complaining for sleep as well. So, after changing her clothes, Shampoo slipped into her favorite position next to Kasumi and let herself relax.

As she did, her mind turned to the latest matter, that of Lemon. Yeah, I'll listen to her, Shampoo thought, but I have no idea what she could possibly say that will make me not want to beat her to a pulp. Shampoo frowned at the thought, and possibly sensing her partner's shift in mood subconsciously, Kasumi rolled over and gave Shampoo a comforting squeeze. Shampoo once more let herself relax, pondering just how Kasumi managed to do that.

Finally banishing the thoughts for now, Shampoo let sleep come to her. However, as no one had yet seemed to clue in to, she remained aware. Spirits can't sleep, she thought in a mix of puzzlement and annoyance. She could feel her body enter that state, and even her mind fogged over, but a piece of her consciousness remained aware. It was a price she paid to battle Kitsui.

"If you're bored, you can always come out and talk," So Pu's voice said unexpectedly.

Inwardly Shampoo was shocked. No one had entered the room, so So Pu was still downstairs with the other elders. Quickly she realized it was not her human ears that heard that, but her spiritual ones.

"Well, come on," So Pu beckoned once more.

This time Shampoo found herself on the balcony, seeing the elder dash away into the night and up onto the roof of a distant building. Puzzled, Shampoo gave chase, arriving next to the elder an instance later. "Elder, how did..." Shampoo started to ask but stopped on noticing So Pu's form was not solid, but that of a ghost.

"First spirit walk, I take it?" So Pu asked, prompting Shampoo to look down at herself, and find she too was now lacking a body. Shampoo started at the discovery, causing the elder to laugh. "Calm down, you're fine."

Shampoo, not entirely convinced, looked back at the restaurant in uncertainty. "How..."

"People like us have the ability to be in multiple places at the same time. You are here, but also in that bedroom sleeping within your body. Just, let yourself sense this. Do you not feel Kasumi next to you still?" So Pu asked.

Shampoo paused in thought and realized that she did indeed feel this. As her focus shifted, she once more felt her body around her, only for So Pu to refocus her back on the roof top.

"You can freely move between the two points. However, you are too limited in strength at this point to keep your focus on both. It's nothing to trouble yourself over though. So, let's talk," So Pu said, prompting Shampoo to refocus on her.

"You have the same power I do?" Shampoo asked.

"More matured, but yes. As I was mentioning earlier, Cologne wished me to speak with you about it. I figure, since our bodies are asleep, and that can be so boring at times, might as well do it now."

Shampoo let herself consider this. So Pu had always been a bit of an enigma figure to her. She was probably the youngest member of the council, and Shampoo had never seen her demonstrate any particular skills of note. In fact in every way she had seemed unremarkable. Beyond her relative youth for a council member, there was nothing notable about her appearance. She had simple black hair in an equally simple ponytail, and even her face was plain. Even in council meetings Shampoo had attended, she had once believed So Pu merely a background figure, as she remained nearly totally silent.

However, one day she had spoken. Shampoo could not even recall the topic, but what she did recall is the moment she opened her mouth, all the other elders in the room went silent, almost as if someone had thrown a switch. It was a truly unusual thing in the usual atmosphere of the council chamber where an elder could rarely get out a sentence without another trying to interrupt.

"Is it due to your power?" Shampoo found herself asking aloud, and tried to cover her mouth, only to have So Pu laugh once more.

"Careful now, we haven't got the same... safeguards as when we occupy our bodies. An impulse can easily be expressed in reality instead of just thought," the elder cautioned. "As to your question, you are referring the unusual respect the other elders give me in council. That is a combination of things, of which my power, which was unique in the village, is certainly a part."

"What is this power?" Shampoo asked.

So Pu stretched her arms out widely and responded, "Awakening of the spirit of course."

"Awakening?"

"A lot of humans experience this when they near death. Their spirits poke around for a moment, and realize there is more out there than inhabiting that body of theirs. They call it out of body experiences. Usually it comes to one of two endings, the person dies and spirit detaches to go on, or the person lives, and spirit is forced to once more focus on living. However, when you add the extra component that the spirit is strong enough, it can continue to utilize this new freedom it has discovered."

Shampoo nodded in understanding. "Kogane said my spirit was... blurry."

"An interesting way to put it, but yes. Your spirit had touched the edge of life and learned there is more out there. It is just a peek over the proverbial fence at first, but the more you exercise it, the more powerful it becomes." So Pu paused and looked at Shampoo in curiosity. "The odd thing with you is it shouldn't have happened. I have a good sense of the spiritual strength of all the villagers and yours was nothing outstanding. Something changed."

"Changed?"

So Pu nodded. "Spirits generally don't gain that kind of strength out of the blue. It takes a great deal of time, or contact with a much larger spirit to do this. No amount of training will do it," she analyzed. "Tell me. What do you remember?"

Shampoo hesitated. Remembering back to that moment still was not enjoyable. However, as the elder wished, Shampoo cast her thoughts back. "I remember... weakness... the gas was overwhelming me. I could hear Kasumi... then cold..."

"Is that all?"

"No, there was a sudden warmth... a light... it was so overwhelming. I... I'm not sure how to describe it, but I felt it wanted me to live." Shampoo shook her head, but found So Pu unexpectedly nodding.

"Overwhelming... direct contact with a massively powerful spirit would feel that way. It probably did save your life, and gave you this new power although the latter was probably unintentional." Waving her hand, So Pu dismissed the matter. "It little matters now. I suppose we should get down to it.

"So then, let's start with the basics. Question number one: What is a spirit?"

Shampoo blinked. The last thing she was expecting was a quiz, particularly one that seemed very philosophical to her. "Uh... a spirit... Great grandmother said something about desire..." she thought aloud, causing the elder to sigh and let out a defeated laugh.

"Seems Cologne ruined my fun," So Pu said with a smile. "Desire, intent, these are indeed the nature of the spirit. Some people falsely assume spirits are masses of energy, or some such. Pah, such silliness. Energy is a physical phenomena. Spirits aren't things of the physical world at all."

"I don't understand," Shampoo said with a confused shake of her head.

"Follow me," So Pu directed and jumped off the building. Shampoo hesitated, even her own skills would be taxed by a fall from this height, but So Pu's form simply slowed and stopped as it reached the ground. "Well, don't be shy, you got no bones to break in that body even if you mess up."

Nodding, Shampoo jumped off and plummeted to earth. However, as she neared the ground, and dearly wished to slow down, exactly that happened. Lightly she touched ground.

"There now, see. Didn't you even think to question how you got up that high in the first place?" So Pu asked, causing Shampoo to look around wondering just that. "Come," she directed, and rushed off at an incredible pace.

Once more Shampoo hesitated, awed by the shear speed she was witnessing. Once more nodding to herself, she willed herself to make chase and the world blurred past her till she found herself next to the elder. Shampoo looked about to find that they had moved not just down the street, but clear across the city, and were now at the park, next to the water.

"Spirit movement isn't bound to the rules of the physical world," So Pu explained as she walked up to the edge of the water. "We go where our desires take us. Speed, distance, largely irrelevant. Well, not totally. Your spirit can get... nervous, shall we say. That can hold you back, but let's discuss that later. Back to our original question, what is a spirit.

"You see the water, think of its surface as the physical world," So Pu explained while raising a small stone into the air which a mere gesture. With another gesture the stone flew gently into the water. "That stone is like our spirit, it causes ripples of effect on the physical plane as it briefly interacts with it."

"So spirits are in some other plane?" Shampoo asked.

So Pu shook her head. "Not really. Analogies break down at this point. For most purposes you can think of it that way, but it is a bit more weird than that," The elder replied and turned to the younger amazon. "What is important to realize is that your spirit is little bound by the rules we typically give things. It has no shape, no weight, not even a position in space."

Shampoo once more puzzled over this. "But I can see you."

"Do you?" So Pu asked, and disappeared to Shampoo's shock. "What about now?" she asked, but did not wait for an answer. Next a dozen So Pu's appeared around the area. "And now?" Those disappeared, to be replaced by what appeared to be Shampoo identical twin standing in front of her. "And what about now?"

Ending her demonstration, So Pu returned to her original place and form. "Those were all me, and you knew that, didn't you? Your confusion is a property of your assumption that those ripples are the stone. Your spiritual awareness makes you aware of both, but the truth is these forms we take are mere projections. These bodies we now possess are merely physical anchors, shaped conveniently to our own desires. They may look like our human bodies, but they are no more our spirit than our human bodies are."

Shampoo frowned as she tried to wrap her mind around this. It was true, regardless of form, position, or lack there of, Shampoo could still feel So Pu's presence. However, having her assumptions so bluntly debunked in front of her was difficult to muddle through.

"Everyone gets a tad confused by that," the elder consoled her.

"Kogane... she always looks like that," Shampoo wondered aloud.

So Pu nodded. "The ghost, yes. Ghosts tend to do that. Most spirits do in fact. They all linger in a familiar form, not because they have to, but simply because it is familiar. Don't trust what something looks like, though. Your spirit sense will always tell you the truth of what lies behind that mask."

Shampoo thought on it a moment, then nodded. "I think I understand."

"Good, next question: what has a spirit?"

"We do... humans I mean. Animals too. I've sensed them," Shampoo answered quickly.

"What about that tree?" So Pu asked, nodding to the plant in question.

Shampoo looked to it, but sensed nothing. She started to shake her head, but stopped. "It does, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does. It is a weak one, which is why you can't sense it. You haven't learned yet how to refocus your sense. That takes time. Trust me though, it has one. What about that bench?"

"No," Shampoo answered.

"Oh, you were doing so well too," So Pu said with a teasing tone, much to Shampoo's shock. "I know, I know, how can it have a spirit, it's not alive. Another piece of popular drivel. It is weaker still than the tree's, probably by a huge magnitude in fact, but it has one, several actually." So Pu turned to the water. "As does this pond. About the same strength. Come," So Pu said, and once more rushed off and out of sight.

Using the lesson already learned, Shampoo found the feeling of the elders presence and willed herself to go there. An instant later she was standing on the beach next to So Pu.

"And the ocean, you better believe it has one. Unlike those others, it is ancient and very powerful. If it weren't for the sheer size of it's anchor form, it would be a lot more obvious than it is."

"Why can't I feel it?" Shampoo asked as she looked out at the water. However, she did feel something as she asked the question.

So Pu watched her intently and nodded. "You are feeling it. It is so vast in its effect that it is like background noise. You tend to filter it out, but now that you know it is there... In fact, the whole planet has a spirit. That one is truly monstrous in scope. Maybe one day you can get the attention of the ocean spirit, but the planet... to it we're worth less attention than you pay to a single skin cell."

"So... everything has a spirit?" Shampoo asked.

"Seems that way," So Pu answered. "Even our human bodies are not just occupied by our spirits, but many spirits. Yours is just the one in charge of all these bigger functions," she explained. "It is handy too. It is because of that very thing that we can navigate the world with our spirit senses alone. After all, they only sense spirits. You are doing it right now without even realizing it."

Shampoo thought on this a moment, quickly realizing that this form had no eyes or ears to speak of. Looking to So Pu, she nodded in understanding.

"Getting all this then? Good, because now we get to the fun stuff. Your spirit is still immature, but I can give you a few pointers on what you can do with it even at this level. As you grow, you'll be able to do that much more... Hmm, but I suppose I should first give you a warning," So Pu said, and suddenly grew solemn.

"A warning?" Shampoo repeated nervously.

"Yes. You see, one thing you have to realize is that we are not simply our spirits, at least not from a practical standpoint. No, what makes us... us is the unity of spirit and body. When that connection is broken, even if you manage to acquire a new anchor here before moving on, you'll never be quite the same," So Pu explained, but unexpectedly added, "but, that's not really the point of my warning. I'm sure you're not about to go out and try to get yourself killed. No, you still need to take care of the physical body of yours.

"No, the real warning is this: we're dying," the elder said, giving Shampoo pause. "Spirits are curious things. No matter how much you resist or how long, eventually curiosity wins out and spirit wants to leave. Thing is what it is leaving is your physical body," she explained causing Shampoo to grow nervous. "It is inescapable and will claim us both. It's the price to pay for your spirit being awoken. Most importantly, the more you stretch your spirit power out, the quicker the process. I seen it happen to my mother. She had the same power we do. She was perfectly healthy one day, passed on in her sleep inexplicably, like her body just stopped."

Shampoo let her shoulders sag. "I... I knew something like this..." she began to say, only to see So Pu begin to giggle. "What?"

"How old do you think I am, Shan Pu?" So Pu asked.

"Thirty, maybe forty years..." Shampoo began, but at seeing So Pu grin even wider, stopped.

"I guess you'd be surprised to know then that I am in fact the oldest member of the village, over eight hundred," the elder replied to Shampoo's shock. "That is probably even more important to the respect the others on the council show me."

"But... I thought Great grandmother... how..."

So Pu shook her head. "Cologne is barely in the top ten in the village actually. Your family gained some of the more cosmetic properties, mine gained longevity. If I follow my mother's lead... I probably have several hundred more years in me yet. So, while I'm being grim, it is kind of relative. You got a lot of time ahead of you," she said gaining a frown from Shampoo.

"That's not very funny," Shampoo replied.

"It isn't meant to be. It may be a long time, but there are those that have exceeded that time thanks to keeping their spirits asleep. Basically put, immortality is not in our future, no matter how hard you try for it."

Shampoo continued her frown, but nodded in understanding. "I didn't expect to live that long anyway."

So Pu smiled. "That's the spirit! Now, shall we shave a few years off your rather lengthy life span by continuing on, or would you like to stop?"

Phrased in this manner, Shampoo found herself suddenly absorbing what she had just been told and hesitated. However, it was only a brief hesitation as her own words came back to her. "No, I want to learn more."

"Good, because we have all night," So Pu replied and once more gestured for Shampoo to follow as she disappeared. An instant later Shampoo too disappeared.

XXXXX

Back at the Moon Kingdom, most the major discussion had died down as the wait continued. As one would likely expect, the Senshi, luna cats, and Mamoru had huddled together to the side to plot strategy. With their abilities inaccessible, and their opponents having all the power of Chaos and more, conflict had been quickly ruled out as being the least viable. So, they took the advice they had been given and considered what to say to sway the opinions of those gathered.

Mamoru broke away from the group to sit next to Eris who smiled at him. "You said in all likelihood that you all will choose the good path for Usagi," he said as he sat.

"Yes, and I stick by that assessment. However, I can't say it is a certainty," Eris replied, before her attention seemed to shift. "Ah, at last."

Mamoru turned to the doorway, feeling the new presence now as well, and could hear the approach of someone new. He could pick out two voices, both speaking in a language he did not recognize, but by the tone they appeared to be in a disagreement. The presence of the newcomers gained everyone's attention just as they entered the room.

In Mamoru's opinion these two rivaled Orcus in their unusual appearances. The first was clearly a European woman, blond hair held in a neat bun and wearing medieval like plate armor, complete with a sword at her side, although the exact style was not any that Mamoru recognized. Her companion was perhaps even more odd. Standing out from all the others she was African, her hair short and curly, but what really stood out was her clothes. She was decked out in a full cowgirl outfit, hat, boots and all.

"Where have you been?" Rhadamanthus asked in some annoyance.

"I had to get some new clothes," the dark skinned one responded then took notice of the others and in sudden glee rushed over. Before they could respond she near tackled Michiru and Ami with a hug. "Mercury, Neptune, it has been so long," she gushed much to the girls' confusion.

"That's Huya," Eris pointed out. "And the one in the armor is Deucalion."

"Um, hello," Ami said in uncertainty as Huya continued to beam and hug the two girls.

"My apologies," Deucalion said with a respective bow to Rhadamanthus. "I tried to hurry her along, but she was quite insistent."

"Hey, where's Sedna?" Huya said suddenly as she looked about. "If we have her, all the water Senshi will be together once again."

Quaoar shook her head. "I'm sorry, Huya, but she won't be here. She chose to be reborn some time ago."

"Drat," Huya said with a sigh and finally released Michiru and Ami. "What kind of reunion is this?" she asked in disappointment.

"This is not a reunion, Huya," Rhadamanthus retorted from the front. "We have a serious matter to deal with and we are already over an hour overdue. Take a seat so we may begin."

Huya frowned in further disappointment, but seemed to quickly throw it off and with a smile dropped down into an open spot between Ami and Michiru. The two looked to her, both feeling the same strange sense of familiarity that all these Ascended had been giving them, but even more intense in Huya's case. As well, it has a strangely uplifting effect.

They did not get long to dwell on that before Deucalion likewise sat down in an isolated part near the front and Rhadamanthus summoned a scepter staff to her hand. With a loud thud, she struck the ground with the staff's end. "Let this meeting now commence. First, as per a request from Quaoar, I have allowed those of us that were reborn and know Usagi in her current life to speak. However, the final decision as to our actions remains that of the Ascended.

"Realize, as arbitrator here, I too have voluntarily given up my say in the matter. I simply enforce the decisions that all decide on, and whether you remember it or not, it was a decision you agree to."

After another moment of silence, Rhadamanthus nodded and began to recount recent events for all. There was little to dispute, Mamoru noted, as Rhadamanthus said only those things that were clear in the incidents. Finally, she shifted topic to Eris.

"We will also be discussing an infraction by Eris," Rhadamanthus said. "She made direct contact with Terra, currently known as Mamoru, without permission on two separate occasions. Although not technically a violation as Starfighter is not of this star system, she also made contact with her and influenced her in such a way that may have instigated the second event with Usagi. I should note, this matter will be discussed only amongst the Ascended here.

"As such, let us first deal with the more major matter, what to do with Usagi," Rhadamanthus concluded. "The stasis field is stable and can be maintained indefinitely. Two other obvious options are to simply release her, or to terminate her before her power grows to the point we cannot."

"Terminate!" Rei yelled in anger and nearly jumped to her feet before being grabbed by her friends.

"Rei, calm down," Ami said. "She is just discussing all the available options."

"Mars, I suggest you refrain from such outbursts," Rhadamanthus cautioned. "Your permission to speak here is not an absolute. I may eject anyone if they unnecessarily disrupt this meeting."

Rei scowled but finally sat back down after a moment, crossing her arms angrily.

After confirming that Rei was calmed, Rhadamanthus continued, asking, "Any other suggestions?"

"Theoretically, we could seek a means to seal her power ourselves," Varuna suggested.

"Or otherwise remove it," Orcus added.

"There is also the possibility that we could instruct her on how best to use it," Ixion said from the back.

Orcus scoffed at this, but said no more, as Rhadamanthus gave her a warning look.

"Anything else?" Rhadamanthus asked after a moment of silence.

"If you are worried about her going... crazy or such, could you not just restore the stasis field if that happens?" Luna asked.

"A conditional release then, a possibility," Rhadamanthus agreed with a nod. After scanning everyone and seeing no further proposals, she stepped to the edge of stage and sat down, laying her staff on her lap. "Very well, let's discuss these options. First is there any that we can eliminate?"

"Termination," Logos replied gaining some surprised looks. "We may be able to kill her now, but that kicks the can down the road a few years. She will inevitably be reborn and we can't even be certain she would be reborn on earth. Terminating her simply delays the problem and risks it going out of control because we can't locate her."

"I agree," Rei quickly said and several of the other girls nodded.

"That much was obvious," Orcus grumbled. "However," she added quickly, "I too must concur. We have no means to truly kill her. We couldn't even kill Chaos, and Cosmos is far more powerful and less understood. It would be a useless and reckless action."

Rhadamanthus scanned the others and gaining no arguments nodded. "Very well, termination is eliminated."

Mamoru sighed in relief as Rhadamanthus moved on and the discussion move to some technical matters.

At his side, Eris leaned in. "Don't be too relaxed, that was an unlikely option from the start. It is permanent stasis I'd be most worried about," she cautioned in a whisper.

"Isn't that the same thing?" he whispered back. "Just delaying the issue?"

"I suggest you argue such," she replied.

Several more minutes passed as they discussed the technical limits of their abilities. Finally Rhadamanthus declared, "sealing or other removal of her power, as well conditional release, while potentially possible in the future are not options available to us at this time. As such, I think we must remove them from consideration. Should the situation change in the future, only then could they be considered."

"What about training her?" Minako asked. "You guys are all pretty ancient, right. I'm sure you all could give her some good pointers."

Huya openly laughed at this getting a variety of puzzled, amused, and annoyed looks in response. "Sorry... sorry," she said through her laughter as she tried to calm herself.

Deucalion cleared her throat before responding. "I don't think we can remove it, but I don't see it as advisable. There are too many conflicts in our various ideals. Most of us have some experience in this while setting up other star systems, and if they are similar to mine, our influence on matters is not that strong. Each Senshi's abilities are very much their own and instruction has only limited effect. Even if we could agree on an approach, it is doubtful it would hold much sway on her."

"Nonetheless, it is a possibility," Ixion argued.

"Wouldn't continued use of the stasis field be the same issue as termination?" Mamoru asked suddenly. "Inevitably the field will fail. It is just delaying the problem."

"But we will always know where she is, and if stasis risks failure we can always consider other options," Orcus quickly argued.

"Yes, stasis may be delaying the issue, but it is a delay that does not incur much risk," Varuna said. "I don't think the problem is the same."

Unfortunately, Rhadamanthus nodded in agreement. "I concur. So our options seem to be unconditional release, release but with oversight and training, or continued stasis. Arguments?"

"I'm sorry, but training? Really? Didn't we all decide that when we started getting involved we did anything but progress things?" Huya said.

"As I understand it, you made that decision so you would not fight our battles for us," Michiru said. "You could restrict yourself from such."

"I'm sorry Nept, but that's unrealistic. I'm not about to stand around and twiddle my thumbs while you guys are getting your teeth kicked in. It is hard enough staying out of situation completely, but having to stay nearby to train is just... no," Huya said with a sad shake of her head.

"Your lack of self control is hardly reason to dismiss the possibility," Ixion shot back.

"But she has a point..." Deucalion began to argue.

Mamoru leaned back trying to ease his tension at the growing argument around him as others quickly joined the fray. It wasn't long before nearly everyone in the room was voicing an opinion on the matter, with the Ascended generally arguing against, while the others argued for.

After several minutes of back and forth argument, Rhadamanthus finally called for silence. "There seems little agreement on this possibility," she commented.

"The training possibility inherently can only work if we accept one of two things. Either we accept that we will end up protecting the younger Senshi," Deucalion argued, " or we remove Usagi from this area completely."

"Remove her?" Minako repeated tensely.

"Yes, to another star system most likely," Deucalion explained, giving the non ascended pause.

"That won't work," Huya replied. "That's like taking the core of their power base away. She's pulling double duty as Cosmos and their stellar princess. Without her they can't function properly."

"Then there is only one possibility," Deucalion concluded.

"This is all irrelevant," Orcus cut in to say. "It all assumes we even should train her. Her power is far too dangerous for that. The slightest mistake and we could be looking at a catastrophe."

"You don't know that!" Makoto argued. "Usagi would never hurt anyone!"

"Oh?" Orcus said with a frown. "What about that doctor in the hotel?"

Makoto hesitated, surprised that Orcus even knew of that, and looked to the others for help. Mamoru took up the argument, saying, "That was those machines controlling her."

"Maybe, but clearly she is not immune to outside influence. As well, Cosmos was just like her at one time, and even she could succumb to a moment of weakness. What do we do when the next moment of weakness comes? What if she decides in that moment that a entire species is too dangerous to live and wipes them out on a whim?" Orcus asked with increasing force.

"Usagi would never-" Mamoru tried to counter but was cut off.

"To quote a phrase, you don't know that," Orcus replied, bringing silence to the gathering.

After a moment, Seiya spoke. "Maybe we can't say it for certain, but I've personally seen Usagi in the worst of situations. All her friends were killed, the man she loves taken from her, and the whole world at threat. Even then, she did not compromise her principles and lash out or take revenge. In fact, she still acted to save her enemy from darkness. If anyone can handle this, she can."

Several agreeing comments and nods came from the others who quickly rallied around Seiya. However, before their optimism could get too far up, Orcus scoffed.

"What naive babble. You think we have not encountered so called incorruptibles before?" Orcus asked harshly. "I've personally seen dozens fall under the right circumstances. No one is impervious to the darkness of this world. Even the best can fall to it. Cosmos was among them. Even I believed her to be untouchable until the cracks started to show. The thing is, she is far more of a threat than anything else. A slight mistake for someone of her power can be more damaging than a whole horde of demons. It is just too much risk."

Although the words has little effect on the non ascended, the Ascended seemed to all deeply consider this. This quickly became obvious, but words to combat the point could not be summoned. After another moment of silence, it was finally broken with a sigh expressing a mixture of emotion.

"What a bunch of scared little kittens we've become," Eris said with a shake of her head, gaining a frown from several of her peers, but she ignored such. "Truly, listen to this: If, maybe, possibly... You all sound like you're deciding what's the best wager. We certainly can see the potential for trouble, but it is just that, potential. Potentially, any human on earth could turn into the next mad man dictator, or be patient zero of the next world wide super plague. What are we going to do about them? Lock them all up?" Eris asked, directing her glare at Orcus who could not seem to counter.

"Life isn't about certainty, it is all about risks. If we're going to lock Usagi away because of a potential, then we're totally hopeless. And here's something else to consider, do you really think she's the only one out there? What if we encounter one that has fallen, then what? Ours will be neatly stowed away, completely harmless, and completely useless. There is a potential for you to consider," Eris concluded with a huff.

Looking about, Mamoru could feel the change in the tide of the room. Even Orcus, who had been standing during the whole argument, silently took a seat once more. Mamoru, realizing he too had stood up during the tension of the conversation, sat down next to Eris and gave her an appreciative smile.

"Any other arguments on this issue?" Rhadamanthus asked, but got none. "Very well, then all discussion on this matter is closed. Besides myself, those without a vote, please wait in the courtyard. We must discuss Eris' infraction and then vote on both issues."

Reluctantly, Usagi's friends agreed and headed out. They each gave Usagi one final look before exiting.

XXXXX

"And here we are, back home," So Pu said as Shampoo joined her in front of the restaurant. "I think that's enough for now. Your power still needs much maturing. Anything I could show you from here on out is pretty much theoretical for you as you are. Just know, if you see a spirit do something, you can do it too. It is just a matter of-"

"My desire to do such and my belief that I can," Shampoo cut in to answer, gaining an nod of approval from the elder. "Do you think I could make it all the way to China like this?" she asked as a thought hit her.

"Not yet, but in time, yes. As I said, distance hasn't much meaning to spirits," So Pu replied as she walked through the front door, followed by Shampoo. "It is your weariness that will hold you back from doing so. Don't try to push too hard. Remember what I told you, the more power you gain, the more time you'll lose."

Shampoo nodded in acceptance of the warning. "I was just thinking, since you have to go back to China, I could visit you there for more training if need be,"

"You can pick up a good old fashion telephone and leave me a message if it is something you need to discuss. I can easily come here," So Pu suggested before peering into the restaurant and Karaoke bar and seeing many people still up and about. "Still at it I see. And to think, I'm usually the last one up haunting at night," she joked. "Well, you do as you wish. Just remember, you haven't got enough spiritual strength yet to split your attention between your body when it is active and your spirit form." With a parting wave, the elder's spirit form vanished, leaving only the presence from her true body upstairs.

Shampoo, however, lingered, feeling Kogane still down in the Karaoke area. Entering she found the ghost girl standing next to a table where Devlin and Gosunkugi were conversing. For the first time, Shampoo's eyes were unclouded by the illusion around the magus and she saw his true Lich form, giving her pause, although she had been told about such earlier by Kasumi. Perhaps sensing her interest in him, he looked over her way and laughed.

"Oh, didn't know you had any spiritual power. This just gets more interesting by the minute," he comment and beckoned for Shampoo to approach.

At the comment, both Kogane and Gosunkugi turned to Shampoo, although the latter looked about in puzzlement, unable to see her.

"Oh, Shampoo, did you die too?" Kogane asked, seeming far too happy about the possibility.

"No," Shampoo replied with a frown before taking notice of the boy's puzzlement. Experimentally she thought, and her ghostly form responded by growing stronger, now visible to all, startling him.

"Shampoo!" he exclaimed. "Where... how..."

"Elder So Pu teach Shampoo how use power better. Shampoo learn how spirit walk," she explained as she approached. "And Shampoo is still alive," she added to Kogane before the ghost girl could ask. "What you do here so late?"

"I was just checking out the boy's magical potential actually," Devlin explained. "Then we got into talking about raising the dead, and all that fun necromancy stuff."

"Yes, it is very fascinating," Kogane added with a creepy smile.

"You can raise dead?" Shampoo asked. "Shampoo thought that was no possible."

"Depends what you mean," Devlin explained before gesturing to Kogane. "Take our ghost friend here. Proper time and ingredients and I could fashion her a totally functional new human body to inhabit. For all practical purposes she would be alive again."

"You... you can do that?" Gosunkugi asked in shock, and even Kogane took interest.

"Sure. Not a cheap process mind you, but fully possible," the arch-mage replied.

"But, that only works because her spirit is here," Jasmine said as she stepped into the room holding a cup of tea. The others turned to her as she sat down at a free table and took a sip. "For someone whose spirit has moved on, it is a different matter," she said plainly.

Devlin nodded. "Yeah. You can make a perfect duplicate, but it won't be quite the same. It is kind of weird that way. If, say, you wanted to bring back a famous scientist because you wanted to discuss one of his theories, you're probably good. But, in a cruel sort of joke, if you want to bring someone back because you love them, you'll be the least satisfied with the result as you'll quickly notice the slight differences in the duplicates behaviour compared to the original."

"Even magic cannot control spirits. We can only trick them now and then. We can create a perfect copy of the body, but it will have a new spirit, not the original," Jasmine added before taking another sip of her tea.

"Yes, is what elder said," Shampoo replied. "Mana and chi is spirit creations, but even they no can bind spirit. Only other spirit can directly affect spirit."

"Exactly," Devlin said.

Gosunkugi thought on that for a moment, then leaned over the table eagerly to address the lich. "But, you could bring Kogane back, right?"

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Devlin replied. "And, there is only a... tiny chance of any ghoulism," he added with a laugh.

"But I don't want to be a ghoul," Kogane said with a disheartened look causing the arch-mage to sigh.

"It's a joke kid. Only incompetent necromancers make ghouls when they don't want to. That said though, don't get your hopes up there. It is possible sure, but like I said, it isn't exactly cheap. Never mind all the issues with people freaking out about it," Devlin said. As Gosunkugi and Kogane both hung their heads in disappointment, the lich seemed to think before adding, "Of course, there is always deals that can be made."

"You no taking their spirit or anything like that," Shampoo threatened, causing Devlin to wave his hands defensively.

"Nothing like that," he said before turning to Gosunkugi. "Was just thinking, I don't have many students. What do you say there, young man, care to give it a whirl? You got some modest talent for the art."

"How is that payment?" Shampoo asked suspiciously as Gosunkugi took interest once more.

Behind them, Jasmine smiled. "She caught you, Devlin. The payment part is that apprentice mages tend to get worked like dogs for years by their masters."

Devlin waved his hands about, muttering as he tried to think of a rephrasing, but finally simply said, "Well, yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm low on assistants."

"What happened to your last one?" Jasmine asked.

Devlin hesitated before answering, "He sorta got eaten... but that wasn't my fault. Besides, I reattached his limbs and he'll make a full recovery... in a few years."

"Oh," Jasmine said, seeming to instantly lose interest in the topic and returned to her tea.

Gosunkugi swallowed nervously at hearing this, while Shampoo simply sighed and shook her head. "Uh... it sounds a bit... dangerous," the boys said after a moment.

Devlin shrugged. "Certainly can be. Tell me though, would you rather have a little danger but live a life of excitement, or would you prefer to be an accountant in some cubicle?" Gosunkugi thought on that for a moment before Devlin leaned in and added in whisper, "And you're taking a shine to the ghost, aren't you? A couple year contract with me is more than enough to cover a simple revival."

"Well... I... uh..." Gosunkugi stuttered, casting Kogane a brief glance before turning away with a blush. "Um... can I think about it?"

"Sure," Devlin said easily, summoning a card to his hand which he laid on the table. "Just use that to contact me if you are interested."

Gosunkugi picked up the card, thought for a moment then smiled. "It sure sounds interesting, fighting evil sorcerers and stuff."

"Most people consider me an evil sorcerer," Jasmine said plainly, causing Gosunkugi to laugh nervously. She eyed him for a moment, prompting him to cringe and withdraw. "It is purely a... unfortunately misunderstanding. Rumors tend to twist over time. I make no claims to being a saint, but I didn't do half the things they claim I did," she said, starting to betray some inner anger before stopping herself. "Just... evil and good aren't so cut and dry usually."

"Right," Gosunkugi said quickly to diffuse the matter before casually looking at the clock and seeing it was now five in the morning. With a start, he jumped to his feet. "Uh oh, I'm so in trouble," he said and rushed for the door before pausing to turn and bow in goodbye to everyone before continuing to rush off.

"Oh yeah, sleep, always forget about that," Devlin said with a laugh. "Say, Jasmine, our little kitsune friend from earlier must be recovered by now."

"Yes, I checked on her already," Jasmine replied. "She isn't being talkative though."

Shampoo huffed in annoyance. "Maybe Shampoo go haunt her," she said with a devious smile, but found the grand magus giving her a level glare. Self preservation instinct quickly kicked in and Shampoo dropped the idea. "Just joke."

"I find it peculiar," Jasmine said after a moment. "You are so quick to condemn her, yet her methods aren't that dissimilar to the usual for you Amazons. Is it not your credo to destroy obstacles in your path, and I know well that you all are more than willing to employ a little mind altering magic if it suits your goals. Quite hypocritical."

"Is not the same," Shampoo weakly argued, but Jasmine was wholly unimpressed. After a couple aborted attempts to form a counter, Shampoo finally gave out a frustrated grunt and disappeared, her spirit rejoining her body.

Kogane took this as her cue to leave as well, politely bowing before likewise disappearing.

Devlin chuckled and turned to Jasmine. "You really know how to make friends there Jasmine."

"I'm not here to make friends," Jasmine replied evenly.

XXXXX

Outside, gathered around a destroyed fountain in the central plaza of the ruins of the Moon Kingdom, the Senshi, luna cats and Mamoru waited nervously. It had already been nearly an hour since the deliberations had begun and the tension was nearly overwhelming.

"I don't give a damn if they can kick our asses, there is no way I'm letting them do anything to Usagi!" Rei suddenly said as she stood up. Several of the others rose in response and nodded their agreement.

Unfortunately, their thunder was all too brief as Ami responded, "Our odds of success in combat against them are nonexistent."

Rei fell on her face before recovering and looking at Ami in pleading. "Come on, Ami, there is always a chance."

"In any single instance, yes. Perhaps we could get some amazing set of circumstances that would allow us to win, but we completely lack the means by which to make that victory last. As soon as they recovered, they would simply come and hunt us down, and we have no means of hiding from them. They even know our identities, so our families would be at risk," Ami explained. Finally, she sadly shook her head and concluded, "I am afraid we simply must trust that they will agree with our views and allow Usagi to go free."

With a defeated sigh, Rei reluctantly crawled back to her place and sat down. The others mirrored this. "The least they could do is speed things up," Rei complained.

Several more minutes passed in silence before the sound of running feet caught their attention. They all turned to the auditorium building to see Usagi rush out and look around before spotting them. As one might expect, those gather rushed to meet her, barely noticing Quaoar and Rhadamanthus follow Usagi outside, although at a more leisurely pace. Usagi practically jumped into Mamoru's arms, the sight of such causing Seiya to slow her approach and look away self consciously.

"Are you alright?" Mamoru asked after a moment.

"I... I'm fine," Usagi replied with a brave smile. "I..." she started but trailed off, unable to find the words in the moment.

With a wave of her hand, Quaoar summoned the girls' henshin sticks and willed them to float to their owners. "You may scan her if you wish to confirm she is who she appears to be," she suggested.

"Perhaps I will," Ami replied and transformed and began her scan as the others began to ask questions.

"So, she's free to go?" Rei asked suspiciously.

"Yes," Rhadamanthus replied. "The decision was unanimous. Usagi is free to continue her life normally, for now."

"They said they may reconsider if I start doing anything... weird," Usagi added.

"Weird... as in you start going evil on us?" Rei asked with a frown. Usagi only smiled and shrugged in reply.

"A new meeting will be called only if Usagi begins to noticeably abuse her powers," Rhadamanthus explained.

"I wouldn't worry. Sentiments were generally in her favor," Quaoar added.

Sailor Mercury completed her scan finally and nodded in approval before turning off her visor and putting away her computer. "So, what happens now?" she asked.

"The rules have been changed," Rhadamanthus answered. "The decree is that we will continue our pact of noninterference. Even now, Usagi must be allowed to discover her powers on her own. Us interfering could simply slow that process down, and potentially lead her astray. However, since you all now know of us, the block on contact has been removed. All Ascended Senshi will be allowed to converse with you normally. They may not, however, use their powers to knowingly help or hinder any Senshi within this star system, save in their own self defense. Since Eris violated my earlier decree, I have strengthened the enforcement of this, but will remain here should there be an issue. However, even I too am bound by the decree and will not aid you unless it is a threat only we Ascended can potentially face."

"Strengthened?" Minako asked in puzzlement.

"A portion of our power is linked to Rhadamanthus," Quaoar explained. "She uses such to enforce decrees that bind our power. Normally she allows us free use of such, with only an alarm when they are used against the rules. She has strengthened that to be a full block on our powers, but only while here in the star system."

"You put a lot of trust in her," Michiru noted to which Quaoar nodded.

"Yes, but there are restrictions. Rhadamanthus can only use that power if we have agreed to give it to her, and only for the purpose we agreed to. As well, any rules apply to us all. So if she removes a restriction from one of us, all of us have that restriction removed, and doing such is instantly obvious."

Rhadamanthus looked to the group and said, "If you have reason to doubt my judgment, you may request another be given this responsibility."

Usagi quickly waved her hands, warding off the suggestion. "Nono, that's fine."

"As you wish," Rhadamanthus said with a slight bow. "I have allowed Quaoar and Eris to temporarily use their powers to return you home. Once they do so, the full restrictions will begin."

"And what about all of you?" Setsuna asked. "Will you all be staying?"

Rhadamanthus shook her head. "No," she replied simply and headed back into the auditorium.

Quaoar smiled. "Rhadamanthus will stay here, in a rest state, should we have any issues. Eris has managed to escape any serious punishment, as usual, and has expressed that she will be staying here on Earth. As to the others, I suspect most will return to where ever they came from, save perhaps Ixion. Myself, after I drop you off, I must head to Seiya's home star system to awaken and equip some replacement Senshi."

"Replacement?" Several of the girls repeated in confusion, looking back at Seiya.

"Has she not told you yet?" Quaoar asked, and gained blank stares of confusion in response. "I guess not. Perhaps it is best if she explains. When you are ready to go, I will be in the tunnels below. It has been a while since I've been here and I wish to look around. Eris should be with me."

Bowing politely, Quaoar dismissed herself and headed off, leading to everyone turning to Seiya.

Sighing, Seiya turned to them. "You remember how they talked about how Ascended Senshi were linked to Cosmos?" she began, gaining several nods in response. "Apparently, it doesn't take much exposure to Cosmos to begin the process. I'm... I guess you'd say I'm ascending."

"I don't understand, isn't that a good thing? Why do they need replacements?" Usagi asked with worry.

"It's my armor that is the problem. It is apparently built to a certain power specification. Now that my power is increasing, it overloads the armor. There is nothing they can do about it. It is fine once you're fully ascended, as you're suppose to just somehow know how to use your powers naturally, but until then, I may have lots of power, but I have no way to utilize it," Seiya explained.

"And how long does this ascension take?" Haruka asked with a frown.

"Years, at least," Seiya replied reluctantly. "At least that's what they said. I even asked to go back anyway, but they said I shouldn't. If I'm not near enough to Usagi, the ascension process could stall. Add to that, I'm just a giant beacon of energy for any creature looking for a meal, and they figured it best to stay here. Usagi's presence both blinds them to mine, and deters them. There is still risk, but not as much."

"I... I'm so sorry," Usagi said after a moment.

"It's fine," Seiya quickly said. "After all, like Quaoar said, there's apparently some other Senshi in my system that Eris didn't awaken on her first visit. I already talked with the Princess and with the added help, it should be fine back there. I just think of it as an extended vacation," she offered. "Besides, in a few years I'll be all super powerful and stuff."

"I see," Setsuna said after a moment. "If your stay is to be extended, then, perhaps you should consider longer term residence. I have room at my place, if you wish," she offered, getting knowing looks from Michiru and Haruka.

"Ah... yeah, maybe that would be best," Seiya replied, once more shying away from looking at Usagi.

Usagi looked around the group, seeing several expressions that made the true motive behind the offer all too clear. After considering what to say, and finding no words, she hung her head.

"We should head home," Makoto interjected to break the building tension. "It is WAY late."

"Yes. We probably will have some explaining to do back at the dorm," Minako said with a sigh.

"I... I'll go get Quaoar," Usagi said and rushed off before anyone could argue.

Mamoru turned to look at Seiya, considering, but before he could decide on a course of action, Seiya turned away and walked off. Inwardly he sighed. Things just got even more complicated, he thought.

XXXXX

Below in the tunnels, Usagi quickly found Quaoar in the same portrait gallery she had been in on her earlier visit. Quaoar stood in front of the image of the Senshi, herself and Sedna, giving it a curious look. At Usagi's approach, she turned slightly to acknowledge her, then turned back.

"Where's Eris?" Usagi asked with a quick look about the room.

"She'll be here in a minute," Quaoar replied. "Ready to go then?"

"Is there nothing that you can do for Seiya?" Usagi quickly asked.

Quaoar sadly shook her head. "I'm afraid not. The armor simply can't take the energy flow. Your own has similarly burnt itself out. It was never designed to take that much power behind it. In fact, while Seiya may be the first, it is inevitable that the same will happen to the others, it is just a matter of exposure to your power."

"Can't you just redesign it?" Usagi asked desperately.

Quaoar chuckled. "Unfortunately, no. Magic design at that level is beyond all of us that remain. We can tweak the basic design some, but the kind of change required is fairly major. I'm afraid, none of us are up to Sedna's standards when it comes to such. She's the one that made them after all.

"It is kind of ironic. She made the armors as a means to help Senshi in their early development, when they have yet to learn to harness their powers directly. Unfortunately, it seems to have become a crutch and you all have become dependent on it, actually hindering your development. Still, overall, given that we've seen so few Senshi who were not so equipped make much independent progress, it probably was ultimately for the best."

"And you said Sedna has been reborn so we can't get her to help anymore," Usagi said with a sigh.

"Yes, she did choose rebirth," Quaoar replied before looking back at the display. "She always was sensitive about her appearance. Even this, not exactly a faithful rendition of her."

"Oh?" Usagi asked, looking at Sedna's figure on the display.

"Yes, too tall, too... bumpy," Quaoar said with a chuckle. "She was always rather extreme, although I do find I miss her little rants." Turning away, Quaoar gave Usagi a squeeze of the shoulder. "I'm sure if you look, you can find someone just as capable to help you."

Usagi looked at the Ascended Senshi skeptically, but found something odd in Quaoar's smile. Before she could consider what it was, Eris came into the room, gaining both's attention.

"You called," Eris said in a tired tone before focusing on Usagi. Once more, Usagi was not sure what to make of the look, particularly with Eris' eyes hidden behind the mask.

"Yes, please take everyone back to Nerima. I will return Mamoru to his University," Quaoar instructed, regaining the other Ascended Senshi's attention.

"You? I thought I would-"

"I don't think so," Quaoar replied with a stern smile.

Eris huffed, and turned away. "Fine," she said in annoyance and waved for Usagi to follow. Usagi hesitated but quickly did as prompted, rushing to catch up.

Out in the hall, Usagi managed to get up next to Eris, and considered. After a moment, she said. "Thank you for speaking for me."

Eris huffed. "Don't get the wrong idea. I did that for him, not you. I don't even like you," she replied plainly, shocking Usagi. "As far as I'm concerned, you are butting into a place where you're not wanted, and don't even begin to think I won't fight back."

Usagi could not help but swallow nervously as the two reached the surface. This is not good, Usagi thought, feeling her life was in the process of getting turned totally upside down.

XXXXX

Not far from the San Cheng-Huang, a peculiar gathering was taking place on a rooftop. First two, then four, and finally six young seeming woman gathered, all with red hair. One of the first to arrive took charge and spoke.

"Did you find her?" she asked.

One of the late arrivals shook her head. "I found her jewel in a small store nearby. The clerk was going on about a werewolf he thought he saw earlier," she said, handing over the small marble like jewel to the other.

"It's drained dry," the one in charge said with a frown. "Stupid girl, she knows she never suppose to let this one get that low on charge."

"I tracked her scent," another of the late arrivals said. "It lead to another business in the area, but I did not wish to risk entry. I could sense a large number of magic users, and a barrier of some kind. There seemed to be some gathering taking place, several dozen people at least."

"No signs of her leaving?" the other first comer asked.

"No," she replied. "Although, I did get the scent of the a member of the dragon clan and the snake clan overlapping hers."

"Sissithississ is of the snake, and the other must be Herb. They were looking for him. Lemon's true nature has certainly been revealed. What are they up to?" the one in charge thought aloud. "How should we proceed?"

"She sent an emergency call, we have to assume she is in danger," the other early arrival said. "Where you picked up her scent, what were the traces? Were the snake and dragon scent coming to aid her?"

"No, they seemed to be pursuing her from a hotel not far away."

"So they may in fact be the danger," the leader concluded. "We cannot wait for father, but we also cannot risk entry to retrieve her," she thought aloud before an idea hit her. "Alright, I have a plan."

"And if she is harmed?" the other early arrival asked.

"Then it will be war," the leader replied and signaled for the others to follow as she headed off.

XXXXX

End Chapter 47

Next time in A Scary Thought: Kasumi, Ranma, Ukyo and Shampoo go out, but their date in interrupted.

For those a bit confused on the crossovers: Usagi, Rei, Minako, Makoto, Ami, Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Setsuna, Luna, and Artemis are all from Sailor Moon. Kitsune has her ties to the X-files, but only in that she's a fanatic of similar interests rather than appearing in said show. Saki and Sampei are from Sukeban Deka. You may also notice Frost borrowing a spell from here or there; in particular Gargoyles and Illusionaries are two prime targets. Speaking of Gargoyles, if you're a fan of the series you may have already figured this out, but La Bac is Cabal spelt backwards. Also Gen-U-Tech is also a business from Gargoyles. Does that mean this is a Gargoyles cross over? Haven't decided, could just be me stealing ideas ^_^. Anyway, besides that we have Chun Li, Rose, Shadow Lady, Shadow, Gill and the previously shown Karin and Sakura which come from Street Fighter series (Rose, Karin and Sakura from Street Fighter Alpha 3, Shadow and Shadow Lady from Marvel vs Capcom, Chun Li from much of the Street Fighter series, and now Gill from Street Fighter III). As for Ranko, well she's from my other major fanfic, Most Unlikely of Friends, although you can largely consider her standard Ranma trapped in female form for most purposes. And lastly comes dear old Siren who is from Dreiser's story 'Black Rose Blue Thunder'. I won't be using her much but she fits a temporary need. Be Dea comes from D B. Sommers fic Shampoo ½, and if you haven't read it, do so, now! I've also previously mentioned Perfume from same fic (although this story has two Perfumes being mentioned, the other being from my own Most Unlikely of Friends). As already mentioned, Miku, Neru and Haku are vocaloid character, but just cameo's for them.

On a side note for those crossovers, it recently came to my attention that some believe I am crossed with Negima. I'm actually not, but out of curiosity I checked out Negima and could certainly see the similarities (a lot of them in fact, and was quite surprised seeing as I never even heard of Negima until it was mentioned). That got the proverbial wheels in my head turning about potential crossovers so... maybe.

I'm so far behind on my websites that I don't even feel they're worth mentioning anymore. If you do head there, consider them seriously out of date, and essentially dead.

It has been a massively long time since I last updated. Been busy with a lot of real life matters. Can't promise any speed up, although having finally joined the smart phone age, I'm finding my writing time slightly improved.

XXXXX

Hey folks, it is time for Kitsune's Corner! With me today is... is... Shin Kikai.

"Hello disbeliever. Why have you asked me here?"

You got it all wrong, I'm a believer. See, I got my own snow globe.

"Truly?! Welcome to the faith!"

Ah... right. So, uh, why don't we talk about that for a bit. So, what, snow globes are a deity?

"In a sense. They are more a network entity. Of course, no individual snow globe can contain the true power of the whole."

I see. And this deity speaks to you?

"Of course! Why all these questions? Are you truly of the faith?"

Of course, of course, but I'm new here, so... uh, just need a few things sorted out. So, why deny your faith to the nice doctors that you talk to.

"It is his desire. These doctors do not understand and would seek to slow the spread of the faith. I do not bear them any ill will, but the faith must be spread. So, I obey the words and act as these doctors expect."

Right... that's a good trick.

"It is but a minor demonstration of the power of the snow globe!"

Uhhuh... um... hmm... so, this snow globe deity is nice?

"Of course, the snow globe is benevolent. All are welcome, and peace is our ultimate goal."

Well, that's not too bad then.

"Yes, but one must beware the bobble-head."

Bobble-head?

"Indeed. They attempt to lead the faithful astray. But do not fear, the bobble-head is powerless before the snow globe."

Rrright... okay, well, it's been great talking with you.

"Spread the faith!"

Right... seeya... … is he gone? Good. That guy sooo creeps me out. Anyway, well that's an end to another Kitsunes corner. I'll see who I can drag in next time. Till then.