Subject: [FFML] Re: [C&C]Ronin Summer - Dark Crusade 17
From: Morgan Hudson
Date: 12/21/2001, 2:21 AM
To: "K'thardin" <kthardin@yahoo.com>
CC: ffml@anifics.com

Greetings, K'thardin! 

Glad you took the time from your busy schedule to check in with me. Let's
see what you've got, shall we? ^_^

 > Hah. And you all thought I was dead. ^_~
 
 IA! IA! CTHULHU FHTAGN! PH'NGLUI MGLW'NAFH CTHULHU
 R'LYEH WGAH'NNAGL FHTAGN!

Wow, those allergies sound pretty bad. Do you need a Kleenex, or something?
^_^
  
 Now we have resurrected...oh, it's just Morgan Hudson.

The Dread Morgan Hudson: RAARGH! I have come to destroy this useless,
pathetic wor- Hey, look! Something SHINY! 

  Sheesh, can't we do anything right here? Oh well,
 let's go home.  ^_-

Jun: Geez, man, what's wrong with you? Do you know what they call people who
just GIVE UP the second something starts to go horribly wrong? 

Takenoko: Smart? 

Jun: QUITTERS! 

 > University can be pretty rough,
 > especially with a lot of the courses I've been
 taking. I had time to plan,
 > but never time to actually write. 
 
 Sacrilidge!  Thou must lose sleep, food, and all
 things worldy to your ficcing gods!

See, I tried to explain that to my teachers, but I don't think they
understood me. Must have been because of the gratuitous and unnecesary use
of Japanese phrases. ^_~

 They demand all
 that you are!  You see!  Ar has spoken...err...damn,
 that's not right...

So speaks Ayesha, She Who Must Be Obeyed! 

Not to be confused with Ayeka, She Who Thinks It Would Be Nice If Certain
People Obeyed Her Every Once In A While. ^_^
   
 > I present the results
 > below, so that you can determine whether I mix with
 free time "as well" or
 > "better than" baking soda and vinegar. ^_^
 
 I'm thinking more like Sodium and water.

I once blew up a test tube with that particular combination. Damn thing went
off like a gun shot. They tell me that the wall of the Chem Lab in my old
high school is still a funny colour in one place.

 Or maybe
 Aeka and Tenchi...paint drying on the walls that one.
 ^_-

Yeah, those two are as drab and boring as a nuclear explosion. ^_^
  
 > There, that seems like enough.
 
 You're slacking on your ass kissing man. ^_^

Personally, I blame a lack of practice. Went too long without doing it, and
now I'm rusty. Don't worry, I'll train hard and be back in prime ass-kissing
form next time! 
   
 > There are also earlier stories from the same
 > series to be found there, in case you're not sure
 why Haruka knows that
 > Anubis' real name is Kujuurou, or something.
 
 Nah, no one cares about continuity!  It's how Dragon
 Ball GT got made after all. ^_^  

Well, we're trying to avoid something like that happening again.

And I mean EVER. 

 *shudder* 56 episodes
 of pure Goku worship at the expense of all story and
 continuity.  The pain... even my mistress is not so cruel.

Speaking of hideously cruel things that cause unbearable pain, how IS that
new Tenchi OAV shaping up these days? I believe the last time I asked, you
started foaming at the mouth and speaking in tongues. ^_^
   
 > Anyway, on with the fic (assuming the attachment
 works this time)!
  
 You're in luck!  It certainly looks like it has. ^_^

And I'm certainly glad for it - that last time was quite embarassing enough
to last me for a good, long while. Seems like at least once every story arc,
I manage to mess up sending one of the chapters. Personally, I suspect some
form of "jinx", or "voodoo curse", if you will.
  
 You remember the good old days where people didn't
 used to sue each other?  

No. 

 Shit, they did it like real
 men and stuck swords in each other!  It certainly did
 away with a lot of the stupid people...so much for
 natural selection. ^^

Don't worry - even without duels, stupid people still find ways to both
embarass and kill themselves at the same time. And we really appreciate them
for it.
   
 >                    RONIN SUMMER VI : DARK CRUSADE
 > 
 >          A Sailor Moon / Yoroiden Samurai Troopers
 cross-over
 > 
 >              by Morgan Hudson
 (dataraven_659@excite.com)
 > 
 > Chapter Seventeen : Perspective
 > 
 > 	Control. He had to maintain control.
 
 *bap* 

OW! Okay, who threw the rock? 

 Just because I've seen that statement in far too
 many fics (mine included), comic books, books, and
 what have you.  Heh.

Yeah, I know. Thing is, Thraw just lends himself to that kind of dialogue. I
mean, it's not like Pedri or Rajura would ever be that melodramatic in their
inner monologues. 
   
 > His eyes were closed, and 
 > his pose one of total and complete submersion into
 the act of 
 > meditation. A small briar to his left allowed its
 small trickle of 
 > smoke to waft lazily upwards, and the only sound in
 the entire room 
 > was that of his breathing. 
 
 The smoke have any particular smell to it?  

Incense usually does.

 If it's
 the kindof thing I'm thinking it is, it might have
 both a pleasent (or not) smell and a relaxing effect.

I think it's fair to assume that it would be a relaxing smell. Thraw is
trying to keep himself calm, after all. Of course, given the way Thraw
thinks, the scent might not be pleasant to you or me. This is the same guy
who walked into a room full of moldy old bones and rotting flesh and
commented on how lovely it smelled. The things he finds relaxing are MUCH
different from the things that, say, Holts or Tuls would consider relaxing.
   
 > 	He was a big man, his broad and muscular frame
 covered with an 
 > almost endless criss-cross of scar tissue - a road
 map of countless 
 > battles fought through the mists of time. He had
 faced armies, beasts, 
 
 He still got those when he gets killed? Ressurected I
 mean?

Hard to say. It's possible that these are just the scars that he's gotten
since he was last resurrected. On the other hand, I'd guess that Pedri lets
him keep them. Otherwise, he surely would have gotten his ear back by now.
  
 > His body was the only monument 
 > to his greatness, no statues ever having been made
 to honour him. Such 
 > an act was one he reserved for those he had humbled,
 that in some 
 > small way their sacrifices could survive longer than
 the worlds they 
 > had ultimately failed to save. 
 
 I suppose that's honorable...in a psycopathic killer
 sort of way, but hey... ^_^

Thraw isn't an evil man, he's just a very, very angry man. He can honour the
efforts of the people who have tried to stand in his way, he just doesn't
let them stand there for very long. It's like his thoughts on walls -
knocking them down at least shows respect for them and their position.
  
 > That foul
 > horned helmet would be upended, and Thraw would be
 sure to toast his 
 > fallen foe with a thick, heady draught of blood and
 brains, drunk from 
 > his newest cup. 
 
 Some think that things like that give you the power of
 your enemy.  Or at least to be able to see through his
 eyes, which is a power all it's own.

All too true. Of course, if that IS true, then Thraw must be very powerful
indeed. He's been doing this for a very long time, and he's probably done it
to many, many people.
   
 > Not alone, oh, not alone -Thraw had crushed the
 miserable dog fiercely 
 > enough to insure that- but still he had fled. 
 
 At least he didn't claim to crush him fairly.  Unlike
 say...Megatron who kept saying he crushed Prime with
 his bare hands as he drifted in space broken and
 bleeding...heh.

Thraw is fairly honest about things... at least, the way that he sees them.
One of the reasons that he's so angry at Anubis is that he knows that their
first match was a draw, even though it was Anubis who retreated. Megatron
would claim that kind of fight as a victory. Thraw has a high opinion of
himself, but he lacks Megatron's overwhelming ego. 

Pedri would be the Megatron of this group. 

Actually, Pedri would be the GALVATRON of this group... ^_~

 > 	"Go ahead," Thraw growled, his sharpened teeth
 bared as his 
 > lips pulled back in a sneer. "Stick your tail
 between your legs and 
 > whimper in your mistress' lap for so long as she
 will have you. Writhe 
 
 Ouch. ^_^  Double whammy of an insult there.

Yeah, it's safe to say that Thraw will not be joining the Kujuurou Sasaki
fan club any time soon. Of course, the irony is that the last time we saw
Anubis, he actually WAS in his mistress' lap.
  
<TINY SNIP!>

 > 	"So you're too busy to have some fun with me, but
 you've got 
 > all the time in the world to scream at the ceiling?
 You're lucky I 
 > have such a good self-image, love; a lesser woman
 might think you 
 > weren't interested." 
 
 <Thraw>  A lesser woman would be right, so what's that
 say about your intelligence?

Hey, Tuls is probably one of the smartest members of that family! She just
doesn't bother listening to her head. 

She has other body parts with stronger opinions. ^_^
  
 Course, I don't think he has the mind for these kinds
 of insults. Heh.

That's true, too. Thraw is not the sharpest knife in the Siblings' drawer.
He tends to ignore the subtle insults and goes straight to the threats of
bodily harm. 
   
 > 	Tuls crossed her arms under her breasts and smirked
 as she 
 
 Mmm...ample breasts.  You know, that's something that
 both series were really missing.  A nicely neked ample
 breasted woman with a libido that would match Ataru
 Moroboshi. Heh. 

Match Ataru Moroboshi? Feh. Tuls would have Ataru running for his life and
screaming for his mommy in about ten minutes. This girl is like Happosei,
only without even HIS morals or sense of restraint. 

 But then I figure that might have
 taken care of most of the enemies (and good guys) of
 both series...they really  needed to get laid.

Sigmund Freud would probably agree with you. Excessive hostility and
aggression are often considered to be signs of repressed sexual desire. The
denied or repressed sexual tension can then build up and explode outwards in
displays of violence. 

 Beryl especially, that girl must have done without for
 eons to get to her bitchy level. ^_^

Not to mention her severe fixation on domination. Think about it; she wanted
to make ever single person on the PLANET her bitch! ^_^
  
 > With a mocking scowl, 
 > she wagged a finger at him and turned on one heel,
 melting back through
 > the door she had entered from as though it Thraw
 himself had not 
 > personally closed and locked it. 
 
 I bet Tenchi feels this way from time to time.  

It is kind of frustrating when you create the ultimate roadblock in an
attempt to get some privacy and have it get completely dismissed, or worse -
completely ignored.

 Course
 I'm wondering if that boy even HAS a sex drive.

Earlier in the series, Tecnhi had a relatively normal sex drive. My theory
is that he reacted to the situation he found himself in by making like a
turtle and withdrawing into his "shell". 

I mean, if he were to give in to his libido and show any kind of attraction
to ANY of the girls, the others would either feel crushed, or try to kill
him. It's a lose-lose situation. Abstinence was the only safe path the poor
guy could take.
  
 > Walls were places 
 > that creatures were not meant to go. At the very
 least, breaking a 
 > wall down was something that showed proper respect
 for it; simply 
 > ignoring the entire affair was somehow wrong in a
 way that Thraw had 
 > never bothered to figure out. 

 Heh, I've never seen someone describe a 'work ethic'
 so well before. ^_^

Thank you. ^_^
  
 > In his current mood, he 
 > almost wouldn't mind the distraction of knocking her
 unconscious; it 
 > took a surprising amount of effort to make her stay
 down.
 
 I take it he's had the occasion to do that to her? 

Quite a few, I'd guess. Tuls is the sort who wouldn't give up on her ideas
until she had been either properly restrained or knocked out cold. And since
she can phase through pretty much anything solid, restraining her is out. 

Assuming, of course, that she doesn't want to be restrained, and I wouldn't
put that past her.

 Damn, if she can phase like she does, what happens if
 she pulls a Vision on him?

I'm guessing he would find it incredibly uncomfortable. I'm guessing that
she wouldn't enjoy it much either. Keep in mind that Tuls CAN phase, but
never seems to be in very good health after doing it. It clearly has some
kind of negative effect on her to phase through things. 
  
 > The truly 
 > surprising thing was that it wasn't his sister. For
 one thing, the 
 > figure was far taller than Tuls usually liked to be,
 and definitely 
 > not curvaceous enough. It was probably male, Thraw
 reflected, although 
 
 Usually liked to be?  

Yes. Usually liked to be.

 She's a shape shift...oh my
 god...you know, I'm not sure I need to know that kind
 of information. 

Well, she's not a shape shifter per se. Not the way that Rajura is, for
example; she can't just assume any shape any time she wants to. She does,
however, have more than one physical form. The purple-haired, golden-eyed
body is just the one that she prefers to use. 

 I mean, if she can do that, it's
 possible for her to grow...other appendiges, and I
 really did not need that mental image.  Bastard! ^_^

Relax, buddy. Tuls is always female, no matter what. She doesn't switch
gender. 

 > vest. There was a fair bit of padding on that vest,
 Thraw thought to 
 > himself. It would probably absorb a fair bit of
 force from an 
 > opponent's strike. 
 
 I note how he considers everything in the point of
 view of how it would handle in a fighting scenerio. 
 Too bad it's not Saiyan or Space Warrior
 armor...that'd look pretty cute on the both of them.
 ^_^

Hmm... Dark blue skintight body stockings and white torso armour with gold
shoulderplates? Yeah, I think that would look just fine on those two. In
fact, it might even look better than their usual outfits. 

Although they DO manage to pull off those pleated skirts rather well.

 > 	The mask annoyed him, though. White ceramic or
 metal of some 
 > kind, with blue lenses over the eyes and a smile
 like a slit throat. 
 > Looked like it was laughing at him, or something. 
 
 Why a mask?

Because Haruka was wearing one when they captured her in chapter 15. There's
another reason, too, but I ain't telling what that is quite yet. 
   
<SNIP-SNIP!>

 > Thraw
 > raised an eyebrow as he turned to the newcomer, who
 was also not his 
 > sister. This one was definitely female, with a long
 mane of hair the 
 > colour of the ocean. A peaked cap of dark green
 rested atop her head 
 
 Question:  Ami and Michiru both seem to be water
 elemental based.  Did this not raise a few eyebrows? 
 Then again, one is liquid water, and the other one is
 geared more towards solid water...otherwise known as
 ice.  Still, it's water none the less.

Ah, but water and ice are sometimes considered to be two different elements
by the Japanese. That's why in games like Final Fantasy, ice and water
spells have different strengths and weaknesses. That's why, in Chrono
Trugger, Marle was the element of Ice and Frog was the element of Water.

If it helps, I like to think of Mercury as being like Bobby Drake. Iceman's
power isn't that he creates ice, it's that he creates COLD. The ice is a
side effect - he freezes the moisture in the air. 
  
 Then again, I'm wondering how Electricity and Oaks mix
 too, so who'm I to question these things?

The oak tree and the thunderbolt were both considered holy symbols of the
Roman god Jupiter.

 > "What do you think of my little puppets? Aren't they just 
 > precious? I swear, I could just eat them up...
 except, of course, that 
 > Pedri told me not to." 
 
 Would she?  I mean, litterally eat them and not
 umm...figuratively eat them? ^_^

No, Holts is speaking figuratively here. Her brother Tytolung is the only
one of the group who would probably eat them literally. ^_^
  
 > 	Thraw snorted and rolled his eyes. "And I suppose
 that you 
 > always do what Pedri tells you to do?" 
 > 
 > 	"You'd better believe it, baby. And speaking of
 doing things, I
 > have a few ideas that we could -" Tuls' usual
 predatory smirk faded 
 
 Which makes me wonder what he has Tuls DO for him? ^_^

Many things. ^_^

Before you get the wrong idea from that, though, I'd like to point out that
it was Tuls who originally led Pedri to Naaza, when Naaza was in the Earth
Realm. That was in Chapter Four, I believe. And it was Tuls who Pedri gave
the task of tracking down Kayura and Anubis back in Chapter 15. It was also
Tuls who captured Haruka and Michiru.

Actually, Tuls has the best track record of them all, so far. She hasn't
failed Pedri once. Other than Holts, she's the only one who can say that. 
  
 > Blinking rapidly and opening her eyes wide, she
 placed one hand over 
 > her forehead and slapped the other against the wall
 to steady herself. 
 > "Woah. Hold that thought of mine, supersize; I think
 I need to lie 
 > down for a minute. Not that you aren't free to join
 me." Holding her 
 
 You know, each of these siblings has a very
 interesting psychosis.  I wonder, will you go into the
 reasons behind them?

Indeed I will, pal... 

But not just yet. ^_~
  
 > 	"Are you all right?" he asked, making sure to keep
 his 
 > distance as he did so. No point in ending up like
 those two mannequins 
 > in the corner, after all; he had enough trouble
 controlling himself 
 > without letting someone like his sister take a shot
 at it.
 
 So what is this?  Telepathy?  Pheremones?  Something
 else? ^_^

Kind of a combination of the two. She gives off pheromones that make
creatures highly susceptible to her mental commands. A sort of
chemical-based hypnosis, you could call it. If you don't get close enough to
her to breathe them(like Thraw) or hold your breath (like Vyne), you're
mostly safe. Mostly.
  
 > 	"I see there's no reason to worry," Thraw said
 acidly, as 
 > he took an extra step back, "you're obviously on the
 mend."
 
 You know, I hope that healing factor of hers doesn't
 intefere with her loss of virginity...

It wouldn't intefere at all. Tuls could lose her virginity, no problem. It
would just come back a few minutes later, that's all. 

 unless she gets
 off on that sort of thing every time too...

Which she likely would. Thraw smashed her in the face with a set of brass
knuckles, and she took it as a kind of foreplay. She seemed to enjoy it when
Vyne was kicking her around a few chapters ago, too. And then there was the
time she asked Pedri why he was "wasting" his sadism on someone who
"wouldn't appreciate it"... It's a safe bet that Tuls is a trifle
masochistic.  

 assuming
 she ever had that slight problem that plauges our
 females for the most part. ^^

Well, her body seems to be more human-like than any of her other siblings,
except for maybe Erdge or Pedri. It's not like she has a huge pair of wings
or a bunch of scales, or anything. ^_^
  
 > She had, Thraw noticed from 
 > his vantage point, decided to wear stockings for
 some reason. It was 
 > hard to tell -her skin was nearly as white as the
 silk itself- but 
 > the garters were a dead give-away. 
 
 White, eh?  Mmmm....

The real irony here is that her skin is so pale he didn't notice right away.
She doesn't get much sunlight, this girl. 

<TEENSY SNIP!>

 > 	Sighing deeply, Tuls sat up and brushed her hair
 back over her 
 > shoulders. "Let's just say that an hour ago upon the
 stair, I met a 
 > man who wasn't there." 
 
 <Tuls>  Note, this was after I met Wheelie, he was
 such a sweetie.  Fun though, dontcha know? ^_^

Nice one. Actually, this was a bastardized quote from a famous poem:

"Yesterday upon the stair / I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today / I wish that man would go away."

<SNIP!>

 > She chucked a thumb in the 
 > direction of the two motionless figures standing
 nearby. "Especially 
 > them."
 
 You ever going to go into how he actually captured
 them?  Or did I miss that in a previous chapter. ^^

Chapter 14. Setsuna and Kayura left the wine cellar to look for Anubis, and
left Haruka and Michiru behind. Tuls showed up about ten seconds later. 
   
 > **********
 > 
 > 	Once, a very long time ago, Haruka Ten'ou had been
 twelve years
 > old, and she had gone to a carnival with her
 parents. That had been 
 > back when she still had parents willing to be seen
 with her. Or, at 
 > least, parents who did more than just sit at home
 and wait for their 
 > little girl to 'get over' whatever was 'wrong' with
 her, and find a 
 > nice husband. Parents who spoke to her. Parents who
 didn't treat her 
 > like some kind of-
 
 I imagine she shares a common problem among those that
 have chosen a similar lifestyle. 

The reaction I've implied from her parents isn't an uncommon one. It also
helps if you remember that Michiru is Haruka's first homosexual partner, and
they've only been together for a year or so. Her parents may still believe
that this is just a "phase" or an "experiment" on their daughter's part. 

 One wonders what
 Michiru's parents think of the situation, if she has
 any?

There's no canon answer that I'm aware of, so I guess it could go any way.
Personally, I suspect that Michiru would have no problems coming out of the
closet, so her parents have likely known for a long time. Maybe even long
enough to accept it. On the other hand, it's just as likely that Haruka may
pose as her boyfriend when her parents visit. It's not as if Haruka has
never passed herself off as a man before. 

 Also, you ever note that the Senshi rarely talk or
 even associate with their parents, cousins and/or
 siblings?

Most of them don't seem to have very good family lives. Rei lives alone with
her grandpa, Makoto's parents are dead, Ami's mother is always travelling,
and Minako's parents only existed in the Code Name Wa: Sailor V manga. Once
she left for Britain, it's as if they disappeared. And let's not forget
Mamoru; another orphan.

Only Usagi seems to have much of a family at all.

 And in the future of Crystal Tokyo, it's
 like those people don't even exist and never did. 

Like I just pointed out, pretty much everybody except Usagi doesn't seem to
have much of a family to begin with. It could be that their families have
all been dead for so long by the time of Crystal Tokyo that they just don't
think about them that much any more.

 I still have this idea...the beginnings of a fic
 really...
 
 <Serenity> Shingo, dear brother!  Why are you so...
 <Shingo> You're not my sister!

That's a good point, too. By the time Usagi becomes Serenity, who's to say
that anybody would be able to recognise her as Usagi any more? The two don't
really seem to have much in common; even her own daughter had trouble
realising that they were the same person.
   
 > On the roller coasters, because, well, the 
 > bumper cars were only fun until they busted you for
 flipping over 
 > somebody else's cart. 
 
 <Kup> Then let's hold a demolition derby!

"When I see what I want, I'm gonna take it...
If it's against the law, you can beat I'll break it!
My need for speed gives me the will to survive; 
I've got to find it fast to keep me alive!

Hunger - I want it so bad I can taste it, 
It's driving me mad to see you waste it... 
When I need it so bad that it's burning me!
I'm Hungry..."

Spectre General. Fine song, that. 
  
 You ever notice that Kup and Hotrod were doing far
 better as cars then doing the hand to hand thing they
 wound up pulling right there?  Makes one wonder why
 they even bothered to transform.

Like at the end of the movie. Hot Rod was doing great against Galvatron when
he was in his car mode. The second he transformed, he started to get
strangled. 
   
<SNIP-SNIP-SNIP!>

 > a coat hook in her hallway with her arms and legs
 tied together. To 
 > her dismay, she hadn't been able to get down by
 herself, which had 
 > left her stuck until the next morning, when Michiru
 found her. Of 
 > course, a few weeks later, Michiru finally confessed
 to having tied 
 > her up and hung her there in the first place...
 
 Michiru?!  That seems almost out of character...I
 could see her letting someone else do it, 

Somebody else? Touch Haruka? I have trouble seeing Michiru let somebody do
that. She'd be far more likely to do it herself. Besides, who would she get
to do it? Hotaru? Setsuna? 

 but her do
 that herself?  Well, maybe the tying up part, but the
 coat hanger part seems almost like something the guys
 from Oh My Goddess would do. ^^

The coat hanger was to be embarassing and uncomfortable. The tying up was so
she couldn't get down. Consider it Michiru's subtle way of letting Haruka
know how much she appreciated having to deal with a drunk. You can bet that
Haruka wouldn't be getting sloshed too regularly if she knew that was how
she would end up the next day. ^_^

 > 	"Michiru?" Haruka croaked, hands clapped over her
 face as she 
 > stared through her fingers at an unfamiliar ceiling.
 "Is that you? 
 > Come closer, darling... It's... It's getting so
 dark, and cold... I 
 
 You know, this sounds more like a dying speach rather
 than, "Hug me, I need squeezes!" type speach.

That's the point. Haruka is feeling pretty sick right now. I believe the
phrase is "If I felt better, I'd be dead". She's trying to get some
sympathy. And failing.
  
 > can't hardly see, anymore..." Plus, she was pretty
 sure there were 
 
 <Leia> Your eyesite will return in time. 

Well, they are in a vaguely similar situation... except that Pedri is much
more svelte than Jabba the Hutt could ever hope to be. And slightly nastier,
I suspect. 
  
 > 	"Stop being so dramatic, Haruka," Michiru sighed,
 "you've had 
 > worse and lived."
 
 To be strictly technical, they had worse and died.

Heh. ^_^

 Heh...were they present in the Silver Millenium?  

Yes.

 I
 remember you once asking me about the Crystal
 Millenium, but what about the Silver Millenium?  

They were shown there. It was what is widely considered the best cameo
appearance in the entire anime - and there were quite a few. In the
flashback parts of the first season, when Serenity is shown sending all of
the Senshi into the future, you see everybody floating away in those bubbles
of theirs. Apparently, if you look closely, you will see someone who looks a
LOT like Sailor Neptune floating past in one of the bubbles. 

It's not the first time a character made a cameo before their introduction -
Minako Aino makes a brief appearance in the episode that introduces Sailor
Mars, and the Code Name Wa: Sailor V manga had appearances by Usagi, Ami,
Makoto, Rei, Naru and Motoki (the guy from the Arcade) long before the
Sailor Moon manga began. For that matter, Sailor V is shown on posters in
the Sailor Moon anime long before she appears as Sailor Venus. 
   
<MEGA-SNIP!>

 > slightly, "the 
 > Masho of the Dynasty have never struck me as the
 type who would retreat
 > from a battle. Most of the times we met them before
 this, they seemed 
 > rather busy LOOKING for fights. But ever since we've
 come here, it 
 > seems as though Kayura and her troops are running
 scared." 
 
 It's generally what happens when you catch your enemy
 by total surprise and overwhelm them with superior
 fire power.  In fact, that's actually considered good
 tactical sense right there.

It may be good tactical sense to run away from a fight you can't win, but is
certainly isn't something that, say, Anubis or Naaza would usually do. They
would put their back against the wall and go down swinging. If they had even
the slightest idea what was going on, at least. The fact that they're
running like they are shows that they don't have the slightest idea what
they're up against. 
   
 > 	"And -as long as she doesn't find out I said this-
 Rajura is a 
 > lot like Setsuna. They may not like each other, but
 they think and act 
 > alike. Would Setsuna simply run away from a fight?" 
 
 Which might make you wonder about a few things, but
 they're not speculating on that.

One of the greatest weakness that Uranus and Neptune have is that they
rarely question Setsuna. Sometimes, they really should. At the very least,
Michiru is a little bit suspicious as to Setsuna's exact connection with
these people. 
   
 > She shifted her 
 > position slightly, steeling herself to leap at him.
 It might throw him 
 > off balance, she thought hopefully. Maybe give Michi
 a chance to run...
 > 
 > 	The man's eyes met hers, and Haruka froze. "Try
 it," he said 
 > quietly, and smiled. 
 
 I take it that's happened a few times before.

That, and he can just tell when someone is preparing themselves to attack.
Tensing muscles, dilating pupils, a change in breathing... people's body
language can give them away every time, if you read it well enough.
   
 > 	"I assure you," the man replied with a smirk,
 "compared to my 
 > brothers, I am a paragon of gentlemanly behaviour.
 For example, despite
 > your foul attitude, I have yet to fold you into a
 swan. Others in my 
 > family would be far less considerate. Now watch your
 tongue, or I will 
 > gladly tear it out and watch it for you." 
 
 Ah.  You know how refreshing it is to hear enemies in
 Sailor Moon actually act and talk like they've studied
 the evil overlord's manual? ^_^  

Well, the Senshi have been working their way up the ranks of villainy since
the first season. Their opponents have gotten just a little bit better each
time. It was really just a matter of time before they actually started
facing people who were actually GOOD at being evil. 

 They are the bad
 guys, so there is no need to act compasionate and
 polite...they're peers would never believe it anyway.

Exactly. Pedri knows that he doesn't have to explain himself to anybody -
why should he care what people think about the way he acts? He's planning to
exterminate all of them, anyway. He'll do it whatever damn way he pleases. 
  
 I mean, had even one of the generals in Beryl saga
 actually thought to turn invisible, follow the Senshi
 closely, learn their identities, and then kill them in
 their sleep, things would have gone a lot better for
 them.

At least those two aliens (Ail and Ann?) were smart enough to go undercover
as students at Usagi's school. She never did catch on to them until the very
end. And the Dark Moon Family might have actually beat them, if Wiseman
hadn't been manipulating them into destroying each other. Even the
Deathbusters came close; if they had known that Hotaru was Sailor Saturn
ahead of time, they would have let Mistress Nine take over somebody else.
  
 THAT'S the kind of thing that evil overlords should be
 thinking of!  How to kill the good guys with a minimum
 of resources and loss of troops.

The Dynasty was actually pretty good at that. Sure, their idea was to drown
the Troopers in a deluge of youja, but considering that they had about a
million youja for every Trooper, it wasn't a bad plan. 

Memo to all villains: If you have overwhelming numbers - USE THEM! Don't
send one monster to handle five Senshi! That is a BAD TACTIC!
  
I mean, even if they didn't want to be subtle and use your cockroach idea,
Beryl could have sent ALL FOUR of her generals to Earth at the same time.
Split the planet into four, and tell each general to take over one quarter.
Use all of your youma at the same time, and suck the whole place dry in,
like, a week. How the heck could Sailor Moon stop that? Even if she was able
to find all of the Senshi in time, she'd have to fight thousands of youma,
all over the planet, all at once. It's not like the villains have anything
to lose; they shouldn't care if people find out they exist.

 > 	Haruka shrugged, and pinched her fingers together,
 drawing them
 > across her lips and miming the act of turning a key.
 With a flourish, 
 > she threw her arm back and opened her hand, then
 returned it to her 
 > side. 
 
 Cocky even when she's shutting up. Heh.

Haruka has the most attitude of all the Senshi. She will kick your ass if
you look at her cross-eyed. To paraphrase Shakespeare, Haruka "wouldst
quarrel with a man for cracking nuts, for no other reason than that thou
hast hazel eyes! Oh, what eye but such an eye could spy such a quarrel? Thy
head is as full of quarrels as an egg is full of meat, and has oft been beat
addle as an egg for quarrelling!" 

Bonus points if you know who said that. Extra bonus points if you know who
it was said to. ^_^

<SNIP!>

 > **********
 > 
 > 	After nearly an hour of walking, Michiru's feet
 were beginning 
 > to hurt. She had thought that those blasted suede
 boots she picked up 
 > in the village might be a little too small for her.
 Grimacing slightly,
 > she clenched her teeth and forced herself to keep up
 with the group. 
 > It wasn't easy, either, with Haruka's long legs to
 compete with; 
 > sometimes the dear girl forgot just how much longer
 her stride was. 
 
 How tall are those two anyway?  Are their 3 sizes
 recorded on any pages? ^_^

Haruka Ten'ou is five feet, eight inches tall and Michiru Kaioh is five
feet, four inches tall.

I don't know their exact measurements, though.

 > Wherever they were, it had to be an 
 > architect's idea of hell. Iron staircases that lead
 straight into blank
 
 Kal Torak and Jareth the Goblin King construction! 
 When you need places designed that make MC Escher wet
 his pants!

Pedri: You remind me of the babe.

Michiru: What babe? 

Pedri: The babe with the power.

Michiru: What power?

Pedri: The power of voodoo.

Michiru: Who do?

Pedri: You do.

Michiru: Do what?

Pedri: Remind me of the babe...
  
 > granite walls, floors fused together so badly that
 she could stick her 
 > fist through the gaps between them... it was like
 someone had decided 
 > to build the place by simply taking a few dozen
 other buildings and 
 > then gluing their parts together at random. For
 heaven's sake, there 
 
 You know, she's probably more right than she realizes
 presently.

Pedri: HEY! I did NOT use glue! >_<
  
 > 	The rather large gentleman who had been leading
 them finally 
 > came to a stop, placing his hands on his hips and
 looking up at a 
 > massive pair of doors blocking the path. They were
 nearly twice as 
 > tall as he himself was, and looked to be made out of
 solid oak. Michiru
 
 But probably weren't...oak that is.

Hard to say. However, since oak is considered a strong ward against evil
spirits, I'd say no. It likely isn't.
  
 > It was a good thing that Haruka was so aggressive; she 
 > all but painted a bull's-eye on her chest as far as
 any enemies were 
 > concerned. People rarely expected trouble to come
 from placid, quiet 
 > little Michiru. That usually guaranteed her at least
 one free hit. 
 
 Hope she has enough power to make it count.  Bet
 that's what she's hoping too.  But you know, it's
 never the loud ones you gotta worry about.  It's the
 quiet ones in the corner minding their own business
 that you should really pay attention to. Heh.

That's why Haruka and Michiru make such a good team. I'd actually say that
Michi is the member of the pair who needs to watched most closely. She's
just a little bit TOO quiet, you know? You get the feeling that she's just
waiting for the right time to spread some violence all over the place.
   
 > Haruka rubbed her wrists in what appeared 
 > to be a nervous gesture, and smiled as she nodded in
 response. Good. 
 > Her henshin stick was still in her sleeve, then.
 Michiru took another 
 
 hensin stick?  wouldn't that be better stated as
 "Henshin wand?" or is that redundant?

"Henshin" translates as "strange body" or, to be less literal,
"transformation". In Sailor Moon, the devices that they use to transform are
called henshin wands or henshin sticks. Either one is acceptable. 
  
 > Rich velvet draperies hung from golden rods
 > along all eight walls of the octagonal room, their
 dark purple nearly 
 > black, with slight gleams of colour where the light
 struck them. 
 > Silver saucers filled with some kind of liquid
 burned atop intricately 
 
 Yeah, but what color liquid? ^_^

Clear. Probably either alcohol or gasoline. I'm betting alcohol, as it burns
less violently and is more likely to be odourless. 
  
 > Covered dishes sat 
 > in front of each chair, the steam creeping out of
 each dish and mixing 
 > with the smoke from the two candelabras dominating
 the table. 
 
 Which really leads me to wonder who their cooks are. 
 Nice description, BTW.

The meals were cooked by Pedri. He also set the table and prepared the room
himself. It's one of the reasons that he was waiting in there for them - he
had a few last minute preperations to make. 
  
 > 	It wasn't quite the torture chamber Michiru had
 been expecting.
 
 Don't give me those mental images!  I have enough
 problems not thinking of Michiru like that!  Now I
 have the idea of her in an S&M...

Wow, and I wasn't even trying with that one. O_O

I must be better at this than I thought. Either that, or you're just really
easy to subvert. ^_^

 *beats head on the wall*  Bad thoughts, bad thoughts,
 bad thoughts.  Bout as bad as Clover Way's dubb of it.

Don't get me started on this, or I will be spewing vitriol all day. I hate
Clover Way with an illogical, undying passion. I hate Clover Way more than
DIC. I hate Clover Way more than I hate Saban. And you explain why below. 
 
  They made them cousins. Not only are they lesbians,
 but they are also into incest.  Real smart there.

I just refuse to think we couldn't leave them as they were. Why, oh WHY must
dubbers always try to change parts of the story? It's NEVER FOR THE BETTER!
Can't they understand that? I mean, I don't mind dubs, but I prefer it when
they at least TRY to keep the original plot and characters in mind. 
  
 > Aside from that, it was hard to 
 > tell much else about her - the girl was bent over,
 with her head 
 > cushioned on her arms and her face on her plate. A
 gentle prod with 
 > Michiru's elbow resulted in nothing more than a
 slight change in the 
 > pattern of the strange girl's snores. 
 
 Narcolepsy.  Really, Frued would have a field day with
 these people.

Nah, this is more like narcoholism than anything else. As an alcoholic is to
a shot of whiskey, so Holts is to a quick nap. She CAN stay awake, she just
prefers not to.
  
 <snip> 
 
 > 	The black shape suddenly opened, flashing white on
 its reverse 
 > side as the cape's wearer straightened and let it
 fall away from him. 
 
 Almost vampire like of him.

Pedri does seem to have certain vampiric tendencies. He's kind of like a bad
mix of Dracula, Vegeta, and the Joker. ^_^
  
 > His coat was a dark crimson, the colour of
 drying blood, and 
 > his pants were as dark as the abyss itself. Hair the
 colour of a 
 > raven's wing swirled about his head as he floated
 towards them, and 
 > his blue eyes seemed to glow with an inner light as
 he scowled at the 
 > two women. 
 > 
 > 	"Oh, my..." Michiru breathed, feeling a strange
 lump form in 
 > her throat.
 
 Didn't think men could get that kind of reaction out
 of her. ^^

It's more a bit of "we're screwed" than "wow", actually. ^_^

Fun trivia fact: when Michiru is trying to make Haruka jealous, she will
flirt with men. When Haruka wants to make Michiru jealous, she will flirt
with women. ^_~
  
 > 	"If his hair turns gold," Haruka said in a
 strangled tone of 
 > voice, "I'm bolting."
 
 BWAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAAA!!!

^_^
  
 > 	"What?"
 >
 > 	The blonde woman shrugged. "Just thought I should
 warn you."
 
 Hell, I'm wondering if Michiru even got the joke. ^_^ 

Let's all just assume that Hotaru and Chibi-Usa watch Dragon Ball Z
sometimes, and let it go at that. Michiru and Haruka probably know at least
as much about the various Saiyan transformations as any attentive parent
would. ^_^

 Course if his hair turned gold, you'd have a shitload
 of OTHER problems...the least of which being the
 survival of yourself, the planet, and most of the
 surrounding area, but hey...

Ah, Pedri can't be a Super Saiyan. He's nowhere near muscular enough. He'd
look positively scrawny standing next to any of the DBZ heroes. 

Besides, no tail. ^_^
   
 > "Good evening," he said, in a voice as soft as powdered chalk. 
 
 Tell me he's got a Transelvanian accent.  ^_^  It'd be
 as cool as listening to Janos Aldron's accent when
 talking to Rahziel. ^_^

I always have pictured (radioed?) Pedri's voice as having a very soft
accent. Not much of one, but enough to give him that slightly more cultured
sound - especially compared to the rougher tones of his brothers. German or
Russian, maybe, but Transylvanian would work just as well. 
  
 > "You ladies will have to forgive me if I don't shake
 your hands." His 
 
 <Pedri> Terrible case of radiation burns I'm afraid. 
 You know how that goes right?  Your siblings get
 killed and you have to bring them, back.  Ungrateful
 little brutes I tell you.

They really are. Most of the prigs don't even know how much he sacrifices
for them. Pedri may not be the most likable character I've ever created, but
he does have his good points. The fact he would nearly cripple himself to
bring back somebody who already wants him dead is among them. 
  
 > cape parted and spilled back over his shoulder as he
 raised one arm, 
 > and the chair once again moved of its own volition,
 sliding forward 
 > until it made contact with the back of his knees. He
 sat, resting his 
 > wrists on the arms of the chair and gazing at the
 two Senshi as though 
 > he were a king on a throne. 
 
 At least he's not doing the Gendo Ikari stare.  Heh.

Glasses, my friend. He doesn't have the glasses. And without those, you
simply can not do the Gendo Ikari stare. It just doesn't work. 

This is more like that cocky, raised eyebrow, "Yeah, I'm looking at you -
what are you planning to DO about it?" stare that they teach in Villain
School. 
 
 Here's a question.  Suppose for a moment they do whack
 the entire universe.  What then?

Pedri: Well, then we win. BEERS FOR ALL! 

Siblings(all): WOO-HOO! DING-DONG, THE WORLD IS DEAD! 

Pedri: WHICH OLD WORLD?

Siblings(all): THE STUPID WORLD! DING-DONG, THE STUPID WORLD IS DEAD!
  
 <snippage, oh yeah!>
 
 > 	"That's an interesting pin," Michiru said,
 gesturing towards 
 > the stylised silver bird holding his cape. "It looks
 rather old." 
 > 
 > 	"It is." 
 > 
 > 	"Roman?"
 > 
 > 	"No." 
 
 <Pedri> Archillian actually.
 <Michiru>  And they are?
 <Pedri> Extinct.

Heh. Good one. ^_^
   
 > The front of the hood was thicker 
 > than the rest, with what looked more like a hard
 shell of cured 
 > leather over the woman's face. Only her eyes could
 be seen, her 
 > green irises glowing balefully behind the wire mesh
 screens that 
 > covered them. 
 
 Whoa.  Probably the best description of her yet in the
 fic.  Any particular reason she's got the leather
 thing going?

Several of them, actually. First of all, she just likes leather. Second,
leather is very protective - it never gets caught on things, is nigh
impossible to cut or rip, and can take a hell of a beating. There's also the
simple fact that all those zippers and buckles make her very hard for Tuls
to unwrap. ^_^

 > There was a certain furtive manner about her, and
 her fingers kept 
 > twitching slightly whenever she looked down at the
 silverware.
 
 And here's another in the list of psychosis. 
 Cleptomania, isn't this one?

Yep, she's a klepto. Remember back in chapter 2, when Thraw was busy
attacking the castle, and Erdge was busy looting it? That's why. She can't
resist the urge to take things that don't belong to her. 
   
 > 	"If you even start to consider it," the caped man
 said 
 > warningly, "I will personally handcuff you to your
 chair."
 
 But would he need to? 

Probably not. 

 With his power, couldn't he
 just hold her there? ^_^
 Nah, that would take
 concentration.  Never mind.

Yeah, he could do it, but he'd need to pay total attention to Erdge and
Erdge alone. It would make it hard for him to enjoy his dinner if he did
that. Plus, he'd probably get a hell of a migraine. 
  
 > 	"You can borrow mine," the next entrant offered,
 slinking into 
 > the light and sitting at the far end of the table.
 "I'm more than 
 > happy to share ANYTHING with YOU, dear Leader..."
 The woman in question
 
 And probably has, too.  Really, this family is
 increadibly dysfunctional.

Indeed they are. Tuls is a nymphomaniac, Erdge is a kleptomaniac, Holts is a
narcomaniac (assuming that's a word), and Thraw and Pedri seem to be just
plain old-fashioned maniacs. Plus, Vyne seems to have delusions of grandeur.
And Tytolung most definitely has some kind of eating disorder. 
  
 > Her pants were made of a nearly transparent
 material that 
 > managed only to tint her pale skin a rosy pink, and
 the matching 
 
 I note she didn't note wheather the hair color was
 natural or not. ^_^

Who's to say that she had any way to tell?
  
<SNIP!>

 > She heard a soft chuckle come from the far end of the table,
 > and felt her spine stiffen in response. She made a
 mental note not to 
 > look in that direction for the rest of the meal.
 Something about that 
 > purple-haired one made her feel queasy. 
 
 Now, asside from that fact she puts most nymphs to
 shame with her libido, one wonders why she'd get that
 feeling?  

Is that not reason enough? There are few things more unnerving than having
someone look at you like you're on a menu. 

 I mean is it something more than Tuls just
 looking at them as if they were only in existence to
 satisfy her rampant lust?  

Maybe just the instinctual 'prey' reaction of someone who sees something
that screams 'predator'. Tuls is giving off incredibly menacing vibes, and
Michiru is picking up on a few of them. Everybody else at the table is being
pretty non-threatening, and Tuls is doing nothing to hide the fact that she
intends to hunt them down and have her way with them all.  

 > 	The once small and flickering flames had grown into
 thin 
 > streamers of fire, wax flowing down the sides of the
 rapidly 
 > disappearing candles like water gushing from a hole
 in a dam as the 
 > flames swirled around each other and reached towards
 the ceiling. 
 
 Keep in mind, all Pyrokinesis is, is really
 telekinesis taken to a very small level.  What is
 heat?  Simple the motion of particles.  

Actually, heat is the energy released when chemicals bond. The only way that
heat and particle motion are related is that increased heat will cause
particles to move faster, and eventually change state (ie, melting or
vapourising). 

At least, that's what my high school chemistry text book tells me. Keep in
mind, I DID manage to blow something up in that class. ^_^;

 And what is
 fire?  The light and heat byproduct of two elements
 reacting to each other...by increasing the heat, often
 you can increase the chemical reaction.

True. Specifically, combustion is an exothermic reaction between oxegen and
any other chemical. Heating a substance will excite the particles in
question, and excited particles DO form new bonds more readily than stable
ones. For example, two gases will blend much faster than two blocks of solid
chemical. 
  
 Or did I just make myself look really fucking stupid?
 ^_^

I don't think you did, pal. I was able to follow you through pretty easily.
Of course, I haven't set foot in a chem lab for about three or four years,
so don't take my word on any of this. ^_~ 

<'NOTHER SNIP!>
   
 > 	"That's an oyster fork, Haruka," the green-haired
 one 
 > explained. "You don't really need it." 
 > 
 > 	"Then why the hell did they GIVE it to me?" the
 blonde -Haruka,
 
 I ask the same question when I go to places like that.
  Never have gotten a straight answer.

I figure that oyster forks are things put out by people who are trying to
show off how high-class they and their table settings are. Most people don't
even bother having oyster forks at all. How often do you need to eat oysters
that you need a special fork for it? 

Of course, Pedri is not above a little showing off every now and then,
either.
  
 > 	Erdge stiffened again, and her eyes began to dart
 around the 
 > room. "I, uh, think we should wait," she said
 quickly, "until Pedri 
 > comes." 
 
 Until Pedri comes.  Interesting choice of words when
 considering who she's talkign to. ^_^

Yes, the poor girl really should watch her words more carefully when she's
around Tuls. Then again, she's probably busy watching things like Tuls'
hands and her own body, and making sure they stay as far away from each
other as possible. In which case I don't blame her for a slip or two of the
tongue.
   
 > 	"Well," Tuls replied, "as long as THAT'S what we're
 waiting 
 > for, I don't mind in the least..." Raising her
 eyebrows, the
 
 Heheheheh, even she caught that one.

What do you mean "even"? Of every person at that table, she was the MOST
likely to catch that one. ^_^
  
 > violet-haired woman leaned forward and propped her
 chin on one fist, 
 > giving her sister a sultry smile. "Of course,
 sometimes it seems like 
 > as soon as he comes, he goes... know what I mean,
 Sister Erdge?" 
 
 BWAHAHAAHHAHHAHHAHAAHAHAHHA!!!


  
 <snip>
 
 > 	"People like you are why I prefer to work alone,"
 Vyne 
 
 Considering it's unlikely he's actually worked with
 anyone else, wouldn't it be better to have him say
 something like "You know, you are the reason I prefer
 to work alone."  ?

Good point. It's not very likely that Vyne has ever worked with anybody else
like Tuls. The only person he doesn't seem to mind working with is Holts,
and even she rubs him the wrong way every once in a while.  
  
<SNIP!>

 > Leaning forward, he stretched a hand towards 
 his wine goblet, then stopped 
 > mid-way there. Biting his lower lip slightly, he
 curled his fingers 
 > into a fist and set it down on the surface of the
 table, instead. "So,"
 
 He's telekinetic...why not just drink that way?

Maybe he's just trying not to drink, period. It COULD be that Pedri has a
bit of a problem with alcohol...  

 > 	Pedri snorted, his lips twitching upwards in a
 humourless grin 
 > as he leaned closer to the green-haired maiden.
 
 I don't think she quite qualifies as a 'maiden.' ^_-

She could. As long as she's still a virgin, she can be called a 'maiden'.
And, depending on exactly what she and Haruka do when they're alone
together, she may very well still be a virgin. 

Technically. ^_^
  
 Ami on the other hand is going to be a maiden for
 quite a while longer...the poor girl.  Heheheheheh.

Yes, poor Ami. Going out with the only Samurai Trooper whose guiding kanji
makes him too much of a gentleman to try anything at all. She may start to
find that a teensy bit annoying, eventually. Shame she doesn't seem to have
realised that there is a down side to dating the personification of Virtue. 

Maybe in the next arc(he said, as though he hadn't been planning just that
for months now)... ^_^
  
 > 	"That's a good point," Michiru admitted, holding
 her goblet 
 > and staring into its depths contemplatively.
 "However, I have a feeling
 > that if we left the youjakai to your tender mercies,
 it wouldn't take 
 
 I think that's the first time I've heard them referred
 to as 'youjakai.'

Who's 'them'? Michiru is referring to the world. 

 > you long to get bored with it. Eventually, you'd
 show up in our 
 > backyard, and then our stake would be very high
 indeed."
 
 It's kinda on the order of knowing what Kagato was
 going to become, when he was simply a disgruntled
 Science academy student.

Well, except that Pedri and his ilk are far from disgruntled students.
Still, the sentiment is the same. Nip a future enemy in the bud BEFORE they
actually pose a direct threat to you. It's the kind of strategy that the
Inner Senshi would never agree with, and the Outer Senshi have tried at
least once before that I can think of.

 > 	"We move rather slowly," Pedri argued, "and the
 mulitverse is 
 > an unbelievably large place. It make take us
 thousands of years to 
 > reach your home."
 
 'make take us?'  don't you mean 'might take us?' ^_^

Heh. Typo. Will fix! ^_^
  
 > "It wouldn't be very prudent of us 
 > to let you show up and surprise them. I think it
 will be better for 
 > everyone involved if we just do this earlier,
 instead of later."
 
 I dunno, later they'd probably be better prepared to
 take something like him on, but then he'd probably be
 far stronger as well.  

And why do it when he's already in a position to destroy their world, and
the Masho are too dead to help? It does make more sense to fight him here,
with Kayura and her troops to aid them. Even if they fail, Earth isn't in
direct danger, and the other Senshi will still be around to prepare for
Pedri's eventual arrival. 

 > 	"Besides," Haruka interjected, "we're do-gooders.
 You call it 
 > risking our lives for no reason, we call it
 Saturday." She shrugged. 
 > "It's a sickness, really. If we weren't here, we'd
 probably be off 
 > helping old ladies cross streets."
 
 No, I think that's probably Jun right there. 

Well, Haruka's being sarcastic. Jun actually WOULD be helping old ladies
cross streets. The younger kids at his school must love him; he probably
beats the hell out of every bully who tries to take somebody's lunch money.

 > 	Pedri frowned, closing his eyes and lightly
 pressing his 
 > fingertips against his forehead. "Do you truly want
 to throw your 
 > lives away so recklessly?" he asked, almost looking
 pained at the 
 
 <Haruka> That's a question...
 <Michiru> Don't you dare say it!
 <Haruka>  Awe...c'mon!  It was the perfect setup! ^_-

Michiru: NO. 

Haruka: Why not? 

Michiru: Because I want to say - THAT'S A QUESTION YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF,
MEGATRON! 

Haruka: Aw... You got to say it LAST time...
  
 > Rising from his chair, the slender man glanced to his 
 > left. "Sister Holts, wake up." 
 > 
 > 	"Snuh?" Blinking slowly, the red-haired girl lifted
 her head 
 > from her plate and glanced over at her brother.
 "What's up?" 
 
 <Pedri> Sky.  Taxes.  The body count.  You know, the
 usual.

Pedri: Also, my blood pressure. 

Holts: Why your blood pressure?

Pedri: BECAUSE I WORK WITH IDIOTS!
  
 > Unfastening his ebony cape, Pedri flung it aside and
 gestured with one 
 > hand, sending his chair scraping back across the
 carpeted floor. 
 > "Dinner is over," he said brusquely, as another
 gesture caused the 
 > long table to upend itself and hurl its contents
 through the air like 
 
 <Shang Tsung> And now for a taste of things to come.

THAT'S who Pedri sounds like! Not that accent, but that tone of voice. That
soft-spoken, "don't screw with me" tone of voice.

So basically, he sounds like a Transylvanian Shang Tsung. 

Uh... Yeah. ^_^
  
 > 	"GO!" Pedri snapped, his face flushing red as he
 began to 
 > away from the floor, rising into the air. "All of
 you go! You have 
 > things to do! DO THEM! LEAVE US ALONE!" 
 
 Leave us alone?  That sounded weak, even the way he
 said it.  Perhaps "Now, DEPART THIS PLACE!" or
 something of that nature.

Good point. Pedri's speech does lack a little dramatic "oomph".
  
 > 	One by one, the other people began to file out of
 the room. 
 > First went Vyne, muttering foul things under his
 breath as he headed 
 > towards the door. Thraw followed quickly after, a
 sour look on his 
 
 He really doesn't quite do a good Starscream.  Then
 again, even Starscream didn't do a good
 Starscream...he kinda got himself perished...two or
 three times.  I'm senseing some similarities here.
 Heh.

Gee, if Vyne is the Starscream of this group, and Pedri is the Galvatron of
this group, then... then... I'm really telegraphing this one, aren't I? ^_^
  
 > face. Tuls stalked after him, holding Erdge firmly
 by her braid and 
 > using the hair as a leash. 
 > 
 > 	"Drop her," Pedri ordered. "Erdge stays."
 > 
 > 	Tuls pouted. "But, Pedri, love... I was going to-"
 
 She was about to describe in gorey detail how she was
 about to do Erdge, wasn't she? ^_^

Of course she was. And just think: now all of that salad dressing will go to
waste. ^_^
   
 > 	"Let her go, Sister Tuls, or I swear I will find a
 way to hurt 
 > you that you will NOT enjoy." As the violet-haired
 woman reluctantly 
 > relinquished her prey, Pedri straightened one cuff
 of his dark crimson
 > jacket and turned back to Haruka and Michiru. 
 
 What's really bad is that she believed him. ^_^

I don't think she's willing to gamble that he can't. Pedri is at least as
good at causing pain as Tuls is at taking it. There's a good chance that he
could find the one thing she might not like. 
   
 > 	"There is a practice," he explained, "which I
 follow. A 
 > contest, you might say. The stakes are rather
 simple: win, and you 
 
 Get this shiny fiddle made of gold!  But if you lose
 the devil gets your soul! ^_-

Pedri: Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy, but give the devil his due.
I'll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul, 'cause I think I'm better than
you...
  
 <I am SNIPPAGE MAN!>
 
 Rather...romantic scene right there.  Considering the
 circumstances, I suppose I could kinda sorta use that
 word, heh.

Yeah, that got a little trippy. I'd apologise, but the fact is that it's
going to get worse before it gets better. ^_^
   
 > 	Pedri stared down at his hands, seemingly
 fascinated with the 
 > way that his fingers moved and flexed under his
 leather gloves. After 
 
 <Pedri> Holy shit!  I can feel my right thumb again!

Pedri: Now if only it didn't feel so much like mind-shattering pain...
  
 > 	"I suppose," he said, "the fates have chosen to
 smile on you 
 > today. Congratulations, you are free to go. State
 your wish, and I 
 > shall grant it."
 
 My question is, what he would have done had it
 actually been the REAL song.

Let them go, and granted them the wish, same as he did otherwise. He just
happened to bend the rules this once. His inner humanity reared its head for
a few brief seconds. ^_^
  
 > 	"Our wish?" Michiru turned and looked at Haruka,
 who nodded 
 > almost imperceptibly. "We wish for you and all of
 your people to leave 
 > here and never return."
 
 She actually tried that? ^_^  

She'd have felt pretty damn stupid if she found out that it would have
worked, and she hadn't tried it, now, wouldn't she? ^_^ 

 Heh, it's never that
 simple, but I guess you gotta try these things.  Bout
 as bad as trying to get the Djinn to will himself out
 of existence. Heh.

Or trying to do that whole "wishing for more wishes" routine. Sure, the odds
against it working are a billion to one, but you jut gotta take that shot at
it being the one, and not the billion...
  
 <just an itty bitty one...you'd hardly feel it. ^_^>
 
 > 	"That," Pedri replied with a smile, "I can do. I'll
 have one 
 > of my siblings take you to your compatriots - we
 happen to have 
 > stumbled upon their encampment just this morning."
 
 The Keep you mean?  Or did he find Jun and his gang of
 Wreckers? ^_-

The Keep. You may recall that Vyne and Holts were looking for it the last
time we saw them. And Tytolung was there too, however briefly. He fought
Naaza in the front yard, remember? ^_^
  
 > 	"They don't seem to pose an immediate threat,"
 Pedri said 
 > simply, "and I have other things to do. As long as
 they aren't 
 > bothering me, I'm content to leave them alone." With
 a flippant toss 
 
 <Pedri> At least til it's time to kill them, of
 course.  But again, you know how it is, right?

Actually, this "don't screw with me and I won't screw with you" approach
explains an awful lot about Pedri. Like, for example, why he keeps Vyne
around when he KNOWS the guy is out to get him. Pedri prefers to handle his
problems as they present themselves. 

In other words, Vyne is perfectly safe until the second he actually tries
something. ^_~
  
 > of his head, the youth settled back in his chair and
 folded his arms 
 > actoss his chest. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have
 busy things to 
 > do. Holts will take you to your friends. Farewell."
 
 'I have busy things to do?' ^_^  How about 'I'm quite
 busy and have many things to do.' ^_^

Yerk. What the hell was I writing, here? That's the worst sentence I've ever
seen. It was SUPPOSED to look much more like yours, but it doesn't for some
reason. I shall have to change that.
  
<SNIP!>

 > It wasn't like it was her fault - things just went 
 > missing sometimes! Another quick zip, and another
 fork was quickly 
 > tucked in to join its fellows. 
 
 Does she ever question WHY she likes the shinys?  I
 mean, it's not like their monetary value has any
 meaning to her...if they need something, they just
 take it.  

Erdge doesn't care about money. She cares about THINGS. She hoards them, she
shines them, she sorts them and she counts them. She just gets off on owning
things. Anything that catches her eye, she takes. 
And locks it away so nobody can ever get it back from her. As the old saying
goes, she'd trade everything she had... for just a little more. 
   
 > 	Without even turning his head to look at her, Pedri
 extended 
 > a hand. "The fork," he said. "The one you just
 tucked into your
 
 ample. ^_^

Define "ample"; Erdge is a 'B' cup. If anybody wants more details than that,
let me know and I'll mail you privately. No reason to spam the list with my
villainess' measurements. ^_^
   
 > cleavage. It happens to be MY fork. I would
 appreciate it if you 
 > returned it to me. 

<TINY SNIP!>

 > 	"Fork?" Erdge glanced down curiously. "I don't
 think I remember
 > picking up any forks, especially not any that I -" 
 > 
 > 	Pedri looked at her. 
 
 Heh, to be telepathic must be an interesting
 experience for him around his siblings.  Her thoughts
 would be rather funny to listen to, but Tuls would be
 in the area of outright bizzare, would she not?

Probably. It must also kind of suck to always know what people are really
thinking, despite what they say or do. I think I saw a Twilight Zone episode
about that once. 
  
 > 	"I know, Erdge," Pedri said calmly, as though not
 really 
 > paying attention to her. "You just can't help
 yourself. Like a little 
 > raccoon."
 
 So he's been to earth and knows what a raccoon is? 

But of course he's been to Earth. Nasuti knows about him, right?

 Then again, they DO have legends of him on
 Earth...makes one wonder how they got such legends,
 and if he did visit, how they repelled him.

Yes, indeed. It certainly does. Shame that Nasuti hadn't paid a little more
attention to that specific scroll, isn't it? It might have had all sorts of
useful clues, and now she can barely remember any of it. ^_^
  
 > She
 wondered if he'd 
 > let her take a closer look at that brooch of his,
 maybe even touch it 
 > for a second. She'd only touch. And maybe borrow it
 for a while... 
 > 
 > 	"No," he said glumly, "you can't borrow my brooch.
 You may 
 > look at it, if you wish. No touching." He glanced
 back over his 
 
 You ever going to describe this brooch?  I mean it
 seems like you've gone out of your way to mention it
 quite a number of times, so I'm wondering just what it
 is. Heh.

No problem: it's a plain silver brooch about the size of Pedri's hand,
shaped like a stylised falcon with its wings spread and head turned to one
side. The eye of the bird is a small blue sapphire. Pedri wears it over his
left breast, near the collarbone, to hold his black cape together. ^_^
  
 > It's like an epidemic. Even I'm 
 > breaking the rules." 
 
 He talks as if the universe is not a dynamic entity
 where things constantly adapt and change. 

That, I would suggest, may be what Pedri and his group are trying to fix
about the universe. Not much can change when all life has been extinguished,
can it?

 Or is that
 the problem with the entire situation concerning him,
 his mother, and their siblings?

Pedri is out to make one of the biggest changes that the universe has ever
seen, because he says his Mother told him to. He somehow doesn't quite
understand that this is something that nobody else appreciates. The boy is
firmly convinced that it's all for their own greater good. 

<YET ANOTHER SNIP!> 

 > 	"I'm not a monster, Erdge." Pedri's smile turned
 almost 
 > sorrowful. "I can feel some compassion. They would
 have won that 
 > contest if they had plucked strings at random. If
 they refuse to 
 > leave, then we will have to destroy them with the
 rest of this place, 
 > but Mother never said I had to kill them right away.
 I guess I just 
 > thought that a mother's place should be by her
 child's side."
 > 
 > 	"You know, Pedri? Sometimes you're all right." 
 
 For a perpetrator of Universal Genocide, but everyone
 has their faults. Heh.

Pedri's just happens to be that he has no morals or values of his own.
Everything he believes in comes from Mother's voice in his head. If it tells
him to do something, he does it with no questions asked. It told him to beat
Erdge unconscious with a whip, so he did. Then it told him to treat her like
an equal, so he does. If it told him to beat her again tomorrow, he probably
would. 
  
 > 	"We're still destroying all life on the planet,
 though, right?"
 > 
 > 	"Well, of course," Pedri answered, staring at the
 wall again. 
 > "It's for their own good." 
 
 I'd really love to hear the reasoning behind that one.
  
Okay: Pedri wants to spread peace and happiness throughout the multiverse by
killing every single living creature therein. Dead people never have wars,
get sick, live in poverty, commit crimes or treat each other poorly. Ergo,
if everyone is dead, they can't be hurt or suffer. Ergo, he should kill
them, so that they won't have to suffer through the pains and toils of life
any more. 

 > **********
 > 
 > TO BE CONTINUED...
 
 Man, speaking of slacking my whiticisms devolved into
 movie quotes and bad sexual innuendo jokes...oh, I
 guess that's business as usual. ^_^  Anyway, I hope
 what little I put in could help in this chapter. 

Hey, I appreciated it as always, my good man. There's nothing I enjoy more
than recieving some C&C, and you're always good for some in-depth and
entertaining stuff. 

 Seems there at the end you were writing REALLY late at
 night, and it showed with some of the weird ass errors
 that popped up.  

Yup. I really gotta stop rushing those last few scenes. I try to slow down,
but when you're SO CLOSE to being done, the temptation to just stay up and
crank it out is overwhelming. And of course, once it's done, I want to send
it out right away... It's a vicious cycle. 

 Other than that a nice fleshing out
 of the bad guys chapter, so we don't see them as the
 totally one dimensional villain element that pervades
 the current batch of cartoons we see on domestic TV.

Heh. I spent about three months creating these villains in my head before I
started writing this story. One-dimensional they are not, I can gaurantee
you that. ^_^ 
  
 You ever notice though, that those that want to take
 over the world, and/or destroy all life on the world,
 don't generally consider the step after that?  

All too true. That's why I liked Megatron's strategy: steal Earth's
resources, load them all on a ship, and leave. Maybe flip the bird at the
Autobots if his ship passes them on the way back to Cybertron. He was just
here to steal as much as he could get his metal mitts on and then get the
hell out. It was like the planetary equivalent of a smash-and-grab. 

 I mean,
 you take over the world then you assume responsibility
 for it, and then it's listening to your warlords bitch
 and moan all the freaking time! 

And really, Cobra Commander - how long would it be before Destro and the
Baroness were sneaking around behind your back and planning your downfall?
You know you can't trust them; they're a bunch of CRIMINALS! 

I'm not even touching Skeletor. That guy could barely tolerate the crew he
had working for him as it was. I always just assumed that he wanted the
secrets of Castle Greyskull so he could grow a face and hang out with the
cool people instead of all the other freaks and losers he was stuck with. 

 You destroy all life
 on the world...umm...then what?  What next...I mean, I
 can't even begin to think there'd be a step beyond
 that...there's got to be something you're doing after
 you blow everything up or why bother to do it to begin
 with?

In Pedri's case, I suspect he's just one of those guys who wants a little
freakin' peace and quiet and is willing to do whatever it takes to get some,
DAMMIT. ^_^
  
 Oh well, just something I was considering while
 reading G.I. Joe the other day.  They never really say
 what they're going to do with the world after they get
 it.  

They don't say because they honestly don't know. These are the people who
had about a million tanks, jets, and highly-trained troops, and spent most
of their time playing with shrink-rays and kidnapping people in white lab
coats. And then screeching at the Joes until they came to put a stop to it.
As far as long range plans went, Cobra Commander didn't have anything but
Jack and Shit, and Jack left town long before the first episode. 
  
 Hope this helped a little bit.  Take it easy man.

It always does, pal. You take it easy too, okay? Have a Merry Christmas, a
Happy Channakuh, and a Joyous New Years! ^_^

Farewell!

-Morgan Hudson





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