Lurker: It's that time again...

Skuld: Time go bug-busting?

Hikaru: Time to watch ecchi videos?

Lurker: <aside to Hikaru> No, we'll do that after we get through here. <to
the audience> It's time to C&C the latest chapter of Shieldsman!

In a dimension near this one, shrouded in unending darkness, a crystal
stood.  The crystal was surrounded by crumbling stonework, the remnants

of

a once proud and mighty kingdom.

Hikaru: Must be one hell of a hard crystal...

A kingdom destroyed by five fourteen-year old girls, who wielded power so
great, so mighty, it could destroy a goddess like it was swatting a fly.

Skuld: ANOU NE....! 

Lurker: I'm sure that wasn't meant in a bad way...

Skuld: -_-*

Such a concept should scare the people of this dimension.  It should
terrify and enrage them.  Yet there was only one inhabitant of this cold
and lifeless place, and he could only stare, in silent wonder, at the

ruins

of the great civilization that he had lived in.

In the crystal that held him captive, he could only stare.

And rejoice.

Hikaru: Gee, I wonder who that is?

Lurker: I'm *sure* I wouldn't know...

"Oh wow," Apollo breathed as he entered the hall.  "She set all this up
with only six hours notice?"

Ares could only silently agree as they entered the grand ball that
Neo-Queen Serenity had thrown.  It it wasn't for Rei's steel-like arm
through his own, he was sure he would have stumbled.

Lurker: When did Rei get bionics?

The enormous crystal room was filled with people from all the nations of
the world, from ambassadors to heads of state.  The ceiling was filled

with

amazing, intricate chandeliers that reminded them of crystal spiderwebs

in

their beauty and intricate workmanship.  The sides of the room were lined
with white and silver tables, that were each topped by an amazing flower
arrangement that seemed to explode with all the colors of the rainbow.

Lurker: So basically, all the flowers are in boom.

Hikaru, Skuld: <facefault>

"What do you mean?" Rei asked.  She gently led him through the crowds to
where she saw the other Inner Senshi clustered together.  She mentally
complained for the thousandth time about their having to wear their
'uniforms' at formal functions.  It was hard to look dignified in a

sailor

fuku.

Lurker: But they wear it so *well*...

Hikaru, Skuld: LURKER NO HENTAI! <double-thwap>

"Pol falls in love every five minutes," he explained.  "He seems to have
this knack for choosing girls that will dump him too.  His longest

lasting

relationship was three months." He sighed again.  "And every time one of
them dumps him, he's in a funk for weeks."
  

Lurker: Sounds like my love life...

Hikaru: Yeah, only more active...

<Lurker thwaps Hikaru>

"Don't even THINK of it," she growled at him, tightening her grip on his
arm.  "You're mine, and I'll blast anyone who says otherwise."  It was
Ares' turn to look worried, but it was preempted by him groaning.

Lurker: <snicker>

"Why HER?" Minako seethed.  "The first cute guy in decades who's not
intimidated by us and he heads right to her!"

Lurker: <chuckle>

Kouma: <smirk>

Lurker: O_O Where the hell'd *you* come from? Get outta here! You ain't
supposed to be seen in public yet!

Kouma: <scowls, and disappears>

"Jealousy doesn't become you," Rei scolded.  Minako scowled back at her,
then regained some of her good humor.

Lurker: Be careful. Too much of that stuff'll make you fat...

Hikaru: <piku> ?

Lurker: <holds up a box of Good Humor ice cream bars>

Hikaru: -_-;;;

"I guess I'm still bitter over Warren," she admitted.  The other women
murmured their sympathies over Minako's loss, remembering the sweet
laughing young man they knew who had dumped Minako after finding out she
was a Senshi.  He had felt like a toy of an older woman, and couldn't
accept the fact that despite her physical age, she was still a

twenty-year

old woman in her mind. 

Lurker: I knew a woman like that once.

Skuld: Really?

Lurker: Yep. Acted just like a teenager.

Hikaru: Wow.

Lurker: When her arthritis wasn't acting up, that is.

Hikaru: <blink><giggle>

It was a side effect of their longevity.  They could live for thousands

of

years, but their attitudes and reactions would always be those of a woman
their apparent age.  It was like the traumas and bitterness they had in
their lives simply washed away over time.  Unfortunately, so too did the
great joys and happiness.  A part of what made their eternal lives
tolerable, the fading effect was both a blessing and a curse at times.

Lurker: Eeeesh.

Hikaru: That's sad...I think...

"I should warn you, Mako-chan," Rei continued, "Pol tends to go overboard

a

little when it comes to women."

"I noticed," Makoto breathed.  "How on earth did he do that?  I FELT like

a

schoolgirl all over again."

Lurker: Enter Kino Makoto, the Eternal Horny Sailor--*ooof!*

Hikaru: <calmly extracts her sword from Lurker's gut> Hentai teme...

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.  "Listen to me, do NOT go
after the Senshi!"

"But sh...they're hot!" Apollo protested.

"They can kill you without breaking a sweat!"

"But they're hot!" 

"They're five hundred years old!" Ares insisted.

Apollo rolled his eyes, and spoke slowly, like he was speaking to an

idiot.

 "But they're HOT!"  As Ares' opened his mouth to continue his argument,
Apollo continued.  "Listen to me, bro.  YOU may have been waiting your
entire multiple lives for Sailor Mars, but _I_ have no such woman waiting
for me.  They're everything I've been looking for - hot and single."

Lurker: (mysteriously recovered from being skewered) <snicker>

Hikaru: He's as bad as you, Lurker-kun.

The two men returned to the waiting women, and Apollo was quite vocal in
his disappointment at Makoto's disappearance.

"She said something about talking to her Majesty," Ami helpfully

supplied,

sipping her wine.

"What is it about her, anyway?" Ares asked while he returned to Rei's

side,

drawing her close as she slipped her arm through his.

"She reminds me of an old girlfriend," Apollo admitted sheepishly.  The

two

men looked on in confusion as Ami began to choke on her wine, and Minako
pounded her on the back.  Rei bit her tongue to prevent herself from
laughing out loud.

Lurker: O_O <snicker><chuckle><chortle><guffaw>
ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hikaru, Skuld: <giggling hysterically>

Rei's eyes were locked on Ares' face as the man looked at where his

brother

had disappeared.  She suddenly realized that sense of wonder she had was
never lost, it was just...unused.  This man before her was Kaneda, yet he
was not.  The differences were enough that discovering everything about

him

would be as much a joy as it was the first time with Kaneda.  

Lurker: Awwww...

Skuld: <bleah>

"We made our appearance," Rei said primly.  "There's something I wanted

to

do for a very long time, and I'm very tired of waiting."  She steered him
through the halls in the direction of her quarters.  Reaching the door,

she

opened it and shoved Ares through the door.  Grabbing for the shoulder of
her leotard, she began to take it off.

Lurker: <grin> 

Hikaru: <giggle>

Skuld: <rolls her eyes>

"Uh...Rei?" Ares said, backing away as Rei shut the door behind her. 

"How

long?"

The halls of the residential wing were silent until a muffled cry

shattered

the peace.

"FIVE HUNDRED YEARS?!"

Lurker: O_o

Hikaru: o_O

Even *Skuld*: O_O

Silence filled the remains of the hall where the great crystal stood. 
Almost invisibly, a small crack began to form on the crystal's

perfection,

quickly forming into a lattice of fissures that covered the

once-beautiful

and horrible crystal.

Lurker: So now it's ugly and wonderful?

"What have I done?" he cried into his bleeding hands.  "By all that is
holy, what have I DONE?"

Still crying, he used what was left of his dark powers to create a portal
to the dimension he came from.

It was time to go home.

Lurker: Wow. Does this mean Jadeite's not going to be a villain this time?

Hikaru: That'd be a first.

It watched its former host open a portal and dived through it moments
before it closed.  Entering the new dimension, it tasted the currents of
power and was satisfied.  There was an abundance of the energy it needed

to

live, and there were many like its former host here, many of them far

more

powerful than he had been.

Lurker: O_O 

Hikaru: Uh-oh...

The two entered into a large room with a high ceiling.  The walls and
floors of the room were covered in mats, and in several places they saw
practive dummies and other implements.  All in all, it was a world class
training room.  It even had a mid-sized fighting arena in the center.

Lurker: The Crystal Dojo! <narrowly dodges anvils dropped at him from
above>

"They're not bad," Haruka said beside her.  Rei looked over at her, and
only long experience enabled her to resist her desire to pull away.  She
looked Haruka up and down, and remembered the changes that had been

wrought

by Serenity and the Ginzuishou.  Where once Haruka Ten'ou had been a

woman

with a strongly masculine character, Haruka Ten'ou was now a strongly
effeminate man.

Lurker: O_O !!!!!!!!!!

Hikaru: Wow...the Ginzuishou does Jyusenkyou...

Skuld: <frowns> A Jyukenzuishou? 

Lurker, Hikaru: <stare at Skuld>

"Ahh...heh," Makoto delayed, then shrugged.  "He was above average in
hand-to-hand before, now he's fantastic."  She paused for a moment. 
"Frankly, as Crimson, he could out fight any of us in melee."

"And he's all mine," Rei whispered.

Lurker: Awwwwwww.....

Skuld: <barf>

"Everything I said, multiply it by two," Makoto said in a breathy voice. 
"They're fantastic."

"I'll say," Rei agreed, her voice husky.

"Oh my," Ami said softly.

Lurker: <snicker>

Hikaru: <giggle>

As much as she had been expecting it to happen, Serenity was not looking
forward to the events that were about to occur.  She had known about the
man who stood outside her hall now for centuries, even since she made an

Lurker: Ever since

Mars and Crimson quickly walked into the throne room, and Serenity gifted
them with a stern scowl that didn't reach her eyes.  It was obvious from
the blushes on both of their faces they were...occupied when the summons

to

court reached them.  Serenity smiled to herself. She and her husband
weren't much better at times.

Lurker: Heh...

With a thunderous snap, the doors parted, revealing a man in tattered
clothing between Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune.  His face was bowed,

and

he shambled forward between his two guardians like a zombie.  His blonde
hair was matted with dried blood, as were his clothes and hands.

Lurker: Ugh. Ol' Jade looks like hell...

"You have that right."  Serenity turned to look at Crimson, and was

shocked

by the sheer fury she saw boiling off him.  Mars watched him with fear

and

confusion.  She reached out to touch him, but he drew his face back in a
snarl, and leapt to attack the supplicant man.

"DIE, TRAITOR!"

Lurker: Uh-oh...

Jadeite's eyes are blue in the show, but I changed them to green because

it

works better.  Trust me.

Lurker: We trust you. Really, we do.

Also, please recall I'm not using the classical Silver Millenium history.

Jadeite & Co. were NOT Endymion's pals/guardians/lieutenants.

Lurker: Oooh, should be interesting to see what backstory you created for
them. Put the next chapter out soon, or else...<evil grin>

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Reunions and tearful farewells in Tokyo, and the
start of a dangerous trek to find the Escudo, as
the young defenders of Cephiro prepare for the
dangerous battle to come.
Jikai ni: Onna: Red Side, Chapter 20.
Don't miss it!

---
One Angel.
One Demon.
One Planet.
One Weapon.
Zero Hope.
-=FINAL IMPACT=-
Lurker's new crossover epic
Coming soon...
---
The Eternal Lost Lurker
Kyouju, Shin Mugen-gakuen
EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net

---
The Eternal Lost Lurker can now be spotted roaming
around on AOL! ELstLurker@aol.com
---

Crack kills. Remember that next time you eat chili.

I like sword better. More personal weapon.
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