The Sailor Sprouts Hotaru's Wedding, Final Battle and Conclusion By Chibicardcaptor < chibicardcaptor@dellmail.com > Note: This is an adventure tale involving the Sailor Sprouts, daughters of the Sailor Scouts, and who were introduced in "Sailor Scout Melvin," and written about in "The Sailor Sprouts" by this author. The story is complete in one issue, but this concludes the tales of The Sailor Sprouts in fanfiction stories, at least for now. Rating: PG. No language or sex. Sailor Scouts type of violence. Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is copyright (c) 1992 Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOFI Animation. English Language Adaptation (c) 1995 DiC Entertainment. As Junko and Chibi-Usa had predicted to each other, Hotaru and her new friend, Florien, were getting married, that summer, in fact. It was now winter in Hokkaido and the five Sailor Sprouts were ice skating on the estate's pond. "Hotaru is really excited about getting married. She can hardly wait until June," Asami, Nina's fourteen year old daughter was talking. All five Sprouts were thirteen or fourteen, were living at the Hotaru mansion, now owned by Molly and Melvin, who had twin boys in college and twin girls, Kana and Kami, about two. Their girls had been cloned from the bodies of Ami and Sammy's, Shingo-san's, twins, who had been killed in the last battle with the Wormholers on Future Moon. Junko and Chibi-Usa are sisters, daughters of Serena and Darien. Seira and Yukari are daughters of Rei and Lita. All five Sprouts are students at Crossbow Academy in Hokkaido. "Florien is anxious, too," agreed Yukari. "I thought they would want to go to the Future Moon for a honeymoon, or even for the wedding itself, but they both said no. Hotaru has been there, but Florien has not." "Florien does not want to be away from work very long. He has college and graduate school loans to pay for, and getting married is expensive enough. Hotaru has money from the sale of the mansion and estate, but Florien does not want to use that money." Seira rambled on. Chibi-Usa summarized. "The Future Moon is not the greatest. We all left there ourselves, remember?" All five Sprouts had left the moon less than a year before, the formality of court living being stultifying. They had grown up at the mansion. It was their home, and they loved Molly and Melvin, who had raised them during the Wormholer Wars. "And their plan to get married here at the mansion, spend two weeks in Australia, and come back to work, sounds pretty good to me. Hotaru is as dedicated to protecting Kana- and Kami-chan as we are. Florien is just starting his career at Nakajima Ltd. and wants to do well. Melvin will cut him a little slack, but not that much." Ami had talked to Queen Serenity about the constant danger to Kana- and Kami-chan. There were no easy answers. The Dark Kingdom was threatened by goodness. The twins were as good as two people were ever to be found, the embodiment of goodness itself. Their father, Shingo-san, had died a hero in the war with the Wormholers. "First it was the Nega-verse. Then the Wormholers. Now the Dark Kingdom," Junko was watching some boys approaching. "And how about all the other bad powers the Senshei have battled since our mothers were in Junior High School. Look, we have company." It was some of the girls' dates. The five boyfriends had started out well, but Seira's, Yukari's and Asami's had lost interest. Asami quickly found other boyfriends, as hers stayed around only for a few weeks or a month. She was so busy flirting, she never had time or inclination to keep one once she got him. Yukari, like Lita, would keep one until she threatened to kick his tail, and he was gone. Seira was a telepath like her mother, Rei, and too often told boys what they were thinking, instead of waiting for them to tell her. Chibi-Usa's boyfriend's father had a farm, with two draft horses. She and Roger would occasionally go riding together, or driving in a horse cart. "I think sometimes you like your horse better than me," Roger-san quipped. "Oh, maybe I do," Chibi-Usa replied. "Actually he sort of reminds me of an old boyfriend." Roger did not know Chibi-Usa was closer in age to thirty, but had physically reverted to age fourteen to be with her sister Junko at Crossbow Academy. She had started life as a six or eight year old cousin of Serena, later discovered she was Serena's daughter on Future Moon but then had fought as a Senshei with Serena and the Scouts. She had been fond of various boys, especially Helios, who alternated between being a young man and a Unicorn. Try explaining all that to a boy and keeping a straight face. Actually, she was a different age on Future Moon than she was on Earth but, with her relatives at the Royal Court, it did not matter. They remembered Black Lady, and what a fighter Chibi-Moon had been with her father, Darien, and the new Sailor Sprouts, defending Future Moon. Later she became a Sprout herself, losing over half of her age. Ju-Ju-chan's boyfriend had also stayed with her. Douglas, Doug- ras-san as she called him, was a true friend. She could talk about life, feelings or friendships and not have him feel threatened. It was just three of the boys now approaching the ice skating pond, Roger, Douglas and Wills, Yukari's new friend. "We wanted to skate with you. Okay?" Wills was a fine skater and was just big enough to partner Yukari, who was a big girl. Those two went off by themselves practicing toe loops, axels and camels. Douglas asked about Kana- and Kami-chan. "I remember the original ones. They would have been older, about your age, I guess. I am sorry they died, or whatever happened to them." The Sprouts, Melvin or Molly never discussed Future Moon or Sailor Scouts or Sprouts affairs with anyone outside of those circles. "But I think it is wonderful they could be cloned and given new lives." By now the group had broken up into four pairs, the three boys and their girls; Asami and Seira, all simply skating, or doing figures. As it darkened Ju-Ju-chan suggested they go in, get a snack and let the boys start home before it was very late. Junko had Serena's, her mother's, love of food. Ten minutes later, inside, the girls had hot cocoa and bowls of Raman noodles ready for everyone. "It is going to be great here next fall," Seira proclaimed. "Melvin is having a new pool built as soon as the snow melts. It will be underground, twice as long and twice as wide as the old one, wih two saunas. It will be part of a tunnel to a new house he is building for Hotaru and Florien. He says the old pool is just too small." Hotaru and Florien were content to live in a few rooms in the mansion. But a couple could become a large family in not-too- many-years, and Melvin preferred they have their own separate quarters. If Serena and Queen Serenity had not purchased the mansion from Professor Tomoe for Molly and Melvin it would have been all Hotaru's now. In May, a month before the wedding, Ami came from Future Moon to visit Kana, Kami and Molly. Junko and Chibi-Usa were on the floor playing with the twins while Ami talked. "The little girls are two, now. I still have genetic material from the older Kana and Kami's bodies. I can make two more embryos for you if you would like to have two more babies, Molly. You are still young enough. Are you interested?" Molly looked thoughtful, "Well, yes. I would have to talk to Melvin first, of course---." Junko overheard all of this, jumped up and said, "Oh Aunt Ami, I will take them. I would like to have them. If Molly does not want them, let me have them. I want to have twins. Shingo-san was my uncle ---," and on and on. Molly tried to talk, "I did not say I did not want them. I only said I wanted to talk to ---," but no one was listening to her. "Oh please, please, please, Aunt Ami. Oh, give them to me," Junko insisted. "Ju-Ju-chan, you cannot. You are just a young teen. You have a juvenile body. Wait five or ten years, get married, and have your babies the old fashioned way. It is barely ethical for Molly to carry clones. Think what your friends would say." Ami was almost startled. If Junko had been anyone but Serena's daughter she would have thought she was losing it. "Actually, Melvin would probably say 'yes.' He really likes the twins and would be glad to have ---," continued Molly, but no one was listening to her yet. Junko started to get tough. "Ami, I know how cloning and In- Vitro-Fertilization work. If you want one or two embryos, you make more, use what you need, and throw the extras away, right? How many Kanas and Kamies did you pour down the drain after you implanted Molly, like an old goldfish?" She had hit a raw nerve. Ami simply looked down, refusing to make eye contact. "Junko," she responded, "That is simply the way it works. Girls start into puberty with hundreds of thousands of eggs, release one a month for thirty years, and rarely have more than six babies in their lifetimes. It is nature's way. It is not waste. Call it redundancy. Certainly, I hated to lose living embryos of my own daughters, your cousins, of an uncle you do not even remember. I did what I had to do to implant two embryos in Molly. Now we all have beautiful two-year- old twins. See?" Junko got more insistent. "Ami, the other Sprouts and I have saved your twins' skins more than once. We have risked our lives for them. You owe me. Are you listening to me Ami? Do you hear what I am saying? YOU OWE ME!!" Ami and Molly were shocked. Chibi-Usa said, "Ju-Ju-chan, that was cold blooded!" "No!" Junko fought back. "Ami is being cold blooded. She would rather throw away a Kana and a Kami, her own daughters, than give them to me, and risk her precious reputation!" Molly spoke up. "Junko is right. We do owe her, and all the Sprouts. If she wants to carry a set of twins, then let her. She can have them." She almost choked on the last four words. Chibi-Usa spoke up, "Junko does not want to deprive Molly. She is just saying Ami will make more than two embryos for Molly, and to give Junko an extra pair of twins. So give them to her. We Sprouts stick together. No one in school will bother her. Several girls already have babies. It is not like fifty years ago. We will all make sure thy are raised right, you can be certain of that." Ami reluctantly gave in. "Okay, but only one embryo. My mother, Dr. Mizuno, does the implants, not me. She is the doctor, and she simply would not risk the life of a very young mother implanting twins. And I will talk to Serena. If she says 'No,' then 'no' it is. You still are under-age and your mother has final say-so." That seemed to satisfy everyone. Ami went on to arrangements. "The wedding is to be on a Saturday. Darien will be Florien's best man. He is Florien's uncle. Chibi-Usa, you are to be Hotaru's maid of honor, true? Molly and Junko, you two go to my mother's clinic on Sunday evening. She will check you over, and do some tests. I will teleport from Future Moon Monday morning with the embryos, and we will go from there. I am not totally certain I can create embryos from genetic material almost three years old." She choked up, remembering the death of her teen-aged daughters from the Wormholers' blast, and harvesting her dead daughters' ovaries. "Have the four other Sprouts look after the twins. I do not want them unguarded for even a minute, understand?" They all spent the next few weeks preparing for the wedding. The Sprouts decided to have the twins occupy the secure room in the basement while Molly and Junko were away. The wedding was to be small by anyone's standards. Less than thirty people were invited. Florien already had his tuxedo. He had bought it while working as a waiter in a fine restaurant in Berkeley as a graduate student. Hotaru borrowed three wedding dresses from Melvin's five sisters, and put together enough pieces and accessories to make a very nice outfit. Wednesday before the wedding, Serena and Darien appeared from Future Moon. Darien did not like time traveling or teleporting, and was briefly ill from the trip. Serena and Junko spent hours discussing her plans. Finally, Serena simply accepted Junko's decision to bear one of the twins. "It is your life. I think you are nuts. Children are nice, but when you have them, you have them." "We have another problem," Ju-Ju-chan pointed out. Chibi-Usa was there with them. "Do you hear that buzzing? It is like bees. But I have never heard bees like that. It has a sinister feel to it, like Dark Forces. What do you think?" Seira had been trying to discern something, with no success. Serena simply urged being on guard. "Keep Hotaru or someone with the twins all the time," she advised. Douglas visited briefly that afternoon. Junko told him of her plans for the embryo implant, and said she was nervous about it. He admired her for what she was doing and said he would stick by her, no matter what anyone else did. "Some of the kids at school may not believe you, even if your baby has blue hair, just like your Aunt Ami and the twins." After that he left, saying he would be back after the wedding and when Junko returned to the mansion. Chibi-Usa was the only one who knew why Junko was doing what she was doing. "You feel we may lose a battle, and lose a twin or two, correct?" She was more perceptive than their mother, who thought it was all misguided maternal instinct. "You got it, big sister," Junko affirmed. On Friday morning, Darien and Florien went into town to see the sights, have lunch and talk. They had never actually met before in their lives, but looked so much alike no one would believe they were not related. Then all chaos broke loose. They saw, or felt, the Dark Forces moving in. Chibi-Usa spoke on her communicator; "Archangel to Hotaru. Get the twins to the secure room. Sprouts to the balcony." Within seconds the girls arrived. Ju-Ju-chan took over. "Serena, Chibi-Usa and I will go airborne. The rest of you follow us on your communicators. Transform!" "Pegasus Power, Make Up!" "Moon Crystal Super Power, Make Up!" "Luna Pen Disguise Power, Make me an Eagle!" "Mars Crystal Power, Make Up!" "Venus Crystal Power, Make Up!" "Jupiter Crystal Power, Make Up!" Eternal Sailors Moon and Chibi-Moon leaped off the balcony, wings flapping, and were in flight. Ju-Ju, the Eagle, followed, then led them. Sailors Chibi-Mars, Chibi-Jupiter and Chibi-Venus followed on foot. "Archangel to Mars. Sailors, you have bandits on the ground, directly ahead." Four lizard-like demons were surrounding them. "Mars to Archangel; bandits six o'clock high." Four winged Unicorns were diving on Sailors Moon and Chibi-Moon. Eagle flapped skyward, got behind one Unicorn, seized its eye sockets in her talons and flung its head from side to side. It panicked, lost altitude and tried to buck her off. Just as it tucked its head between its front legs, Eagle broke loose, and the heavy Unicorn crashed and buried its single horn in the Earth. The Sprouts on the ground finished it off. "Mars Fire, Incinerate!" "Jupiter Thunder, Blast!" "Venus Crescent Beam, Attack!" The Unicorn was nothing but a smoking cinder. Eagle swiftly rose to a second Unicorn, attacking this time from the front. She grabbed its lower lip and nostrils in her talons, cutting off its breathing, and slashed at its eyes with her beak. It, too, lost control and spun towards Earth, unable to even see where it was going. She released the equine two hundred feet above the girls, who finished it off in mid-air as it plummeted Earthwards. "Celestial Fire, Surround!" "Jupiter Lightening Bolt, Destroy!" "Venus Crescent Beam, Incinerate!" The burning carcass buried itself in the mud. In the air, Sailor Moon downed one Unicorn with her Spiral Heart Moon Rod, chanting, "Moon Spiral Heart, Attack!" The rod had a narrow energy beam and was good at longer ranges. Chibi-Moon's Crescent Moon Wand was not very effective against Unicorns at longer ranges, so Eagle tried a daring maneuver. She flew above and in front of the Unicorn attacking Sailor Moon and transformed into Sailor New Moon. Wingless, she plunged Earthward, but pointed her Moon Scepter and chanted, "Moon Scepter Power, Destroy!" moon-dusting the Unicorn on her mother's tail. Sailor New Moon then transformed back to Eagle, while in freefall. They then all joined the ground forces. Gargoyles were attacking the Senshei, six of them. They could not concentrate on any one Gargoyle long enough to destroy it. Eagle evened the odds by biting off the wings of two Gargoyles in mid-flight. Serena downed one in the air with, "Moon Spiral Heart, Attack!" Sailors Chibi-Mars, Chibi-Jupiter and Chibi-Venus were able to incinerate one each with, "Celestial Fire, Surround!" "Jupiter Thunder, Attack!" "Venus Crescent Beam, Blast!" Soon they were mopping up giant lizards, and Chibi-Mars warned, "This all may have been only diversionary. Check the twins." "Archangel to Saturn, what is your situation?" "Come quickly," she replied. "We are in trouble." Eagle flew to the mansion, followed by the others, and transformed to Sailor New Moon. In the basement, a canine, three times taller and ten times heavier than any of the Sprouts, was clawing, tearing its way into the secure room. Its sulphurous smell and glowing red eyes suggested it was a powerful demon. Everyone attacked at once. "Mars Firebird, Incinerate!" "Jupiter Thunder, Blast!" "Venus Crescent Beam, Smash!" "New Moon Scepter Power, Destroy!" "Moon Spiral Heart, Attack!" The beast was still alive, but nearly gone, when Chibi-Moon did a pirouette, a cabriole and a cartwheel, followed by a back flip, and chanted: "Crescent Moon Healing Power, Activation!" The monster canine morphed, shrinking into a whimpering little tail-wagging puppy. Saturn came out of the secure room when Chibi-Moon told her it was all clear. The twins ran out, and each grabbed the mutt by one ear, squealing delightedly, "Doggie, doggie," and dragged it upstairs, out onto the balcony. The bees were all swarming around. Chibi-Moon transformed into a toddler and called the twins. "Our turn," she told them, and they all chanted, "Mercury Crystal, Attack!" "Moon Crystal Heart, Attack!" "Mercury Crystal Locket, Attack!" The bees, driven by the concentrated beam of sonic energy from the three silver crystal lockets, swarmed, swirled, turned into first a shadow warrior, then a death-head, a skull, finally disintegrated into gunpowder-like pellets, exploding and falling burning to the ground with an unearthly howl. A few escaped. New Moon handed Chibi-Moon her Moon Scepter and said, "You and Sailor Moon go finish them off." The two followed the remaining bees in flight, found them entering a hollow tree and gave it their best. "Moon Spiral Heart, Attack!" "Moon Scepter Power, Destroy!" The tree exploded in flames, and the ugliest insect of all time, the queen, exited. She was too heavy to fly. "Sailor wenches, you will regret this before you die. The Dark Kingdom will have your twins and they will be ours, Ours, OURS!" Serena taunted back at her. "Bug-ugly honeybee, you are so sweet our teeth are starting to rot. In the name of the Moon we will punish you!" Sailors Moon and Chibi-Moon moon-dusted and kept moon-dusting her until her carcass was ashes, and even the ashes were burning to ashes. Chibi-Jupiter and Chibi-Mars came running up, finished burning the tree to the ground, and created a thunder storm to wash away all of the remains of this enemy. They then gathered at the mansion where the twins were sitting on the balcony floor, playing with their new puppy. Darien and Florien returned from town after Serena and the girls had de-morphed. "Anything happen here?" Darien asked, noting the burning tree trunk, the carcasses of dead Unicorns, Gargoyles and giant lizards. "Oh, nothing special. Just a little skirmish. Have a good trip to the village?" Serena spoke for everyone. Florien did not believe any of this. He knew a little, very little, about the Senshei, and even what little he knew was family folklore. Who would want to tell outsiders your female in-laws change into winged warriors, grow feathers and fight in the sky against flying Unicorns and Gargoyles, while wearing little short skirts and sailor tops? Serena, Darien and Mamoru-kun, their son, had a very pleasant reunion. He was not concerned about never having seen his parents in the lifetime he remembered. He knew about the battles with the Wormholers. He was more interested in finishing high school at Samurai Central, going to college and possibly marrying Machiko if she was still around in six years. "We will be betrothed in a few years if our families are agreeable," Mamoru quietly stated. He regarded Molly and Melvin as his family, with his real mother and father, Serena and Darien, as only secondary. The wedding went well. The quiet service was performed in a local temple, and then everyone returned to the mansion for a catered dinner in the main dining room. Hotaru and Florien had decided to have no additional attendants other than Darien and Chibi-Usa. Melvin gave the bride away, Hotaru's father being unable to leave his rooms. After a few hours of partying, Melvin and Florien's mother drove the couple to the little airport. A commuter jet flew them to Tokyo where they would leave, that evening, for Brisbane, Australia and their two-week honeymoon. After the reception broke up, all five Sprouts gathered in the sauna for some steam, a scrub-down and a swim. From here on out everything would be different. Hotaru would no-doubt come back pregnant. Junko was to have Kana's or Kami's embryo implanted in a day and a half. Four Sprouts would have to offer the protection six had provided. "Not totally true," Chibi-Usa spoke. "Our mother told us she or one of the other Sailor Scouts would be here with us at all times to protect the twins and everyone else." The girls all asked Ju-Ju-chan if she was certain she wanted to go through with this. "You still have a day or so to back out of it, you know." "I am certain," she replied. "I feel compelled to do this. I also have a gut-level feeling these future Kanas and Kamies are going to be closely involved in ridding the world of evil, destroying the Dark Forces and making life livable. You saw how powerful the twins were with their silver crystal lockets. They did more damage than the rest of us together, and they are only two." "I bet the reason the Dark Kingdom wants the twins is the same reason the Nega-verse wanted me." Chibi-Usa remembered being Dark Lady. "They are very powerful, and if they were on the Dark Kingdom's side, the Dark Forces would be unbeatable." "With five twins they could conquer the Universe." Junko agreed with Chibi-Usa. "We will have our work cut out for us when the new twins are borne." "We need to pick out names, someone does, for all these new babies." Yukari had a good suggestion. "We cannot just keep calling them Kana and Kami." They all tried on names for a while, finally went to bed. It had been a fine wedding and reception. Sunday evening, Molly and Junko entered Dr. Mizuno's clinic where she examined them and put them to bed. Monday morning Ami showed up, said she had three vigorous, healthy embryos and two that were inferior. Dr. Mizuno then implanted twin embryos in Molly, and a single embryo in Junko. Afterwards Ami gave Ju-Ju-chan a little lesson in biology. "These embryos started out as zygotes, or very close to that. A zygote is normally a single cell, a fertilized egg. However, these are clones, and no additional father or sperm cells are involved. As soon as the single-celled clone divides a few times and grows, it is called an embryo. In a few weeks it has identifiable human characteristics, and becomes a fetus. In about forty weeks you and Molly should give birth. You are a healthy girl, big for your age, and should do well delivering. We can always do a C-section if problems develop, but I would rather you gave birth normally." Junko spent the next few days lying on her back, her hips elevated. Serena visited repeatedly, and Ju-Ju-chan's friend Douglas, Doug-ras-san, even stopped in daily for a few minutes. She came to realize how welcome, necessary in fact, a supportive husband is to a new mother-to-be. She was glad of his friendship, but was not counting on it. Nine weeks later, school started. Her pleated skirts and middy tops were already snug on her. Yukari was a fine seamstress, in addition to being a good cook. She made two long-sleeved middy maternity tops for her, very baggy, and long enough to cover Junko in front. Not only was she going to have a baby in the spring, she needed to pass high school entrance examinations. Next year, she would be in Samurai Central High, the elite last four years of Crossbow Academy. "Me and my little girl Samurai," she thought; "two female warriors." There were a few detractors in school, of course. Most of the older students remembered Kana- and Kami-chan, and were supportive of Ju-Ju-chan's decision. However, one girl and one boy, both known to have made negative statements, showed up, one with a split lip and one with a black eye. Neither Yukari nor Douglas knew anything about it, of course. Seira got very close to Junko for a while. She said she felt something, sensed a presence and urged her to talk to Dr. Mizuno about the baby. Dr. Mizuno said to wait until Ami came back to the Earth. They did one more ultra-sound examination in early December, brought the computer graphics into the examining room and told Ju-Ju-chan she was expecting twins. "Twins? How can that be? You only implanted one embryo, correct?" "That is true," Ami responded. "It apparently divided. Be philosophical if you want to, and say Kana, or Kami, simply wanted to be twins. In any case, you wanted twins last spring, now you have got them. Or will, in a few months." Dr. Mizuno spoke. "Your biggest problem now is carrying the additional birth weight. Their total weight needs to be ten or eleven pounds. If they behave themselves, and get borne one at a time, it will be a little easier than birthing one big baby. I said easier, not easy. Nothing is going to be easy." That was a lot of information for Junko to digest. "Their names are Hiromi-chan and Yuki-chan. We already have too many named Kana and Kami." Her two would be special, not someone else's reincarnation. She got dressed, met Douglas in the waiting room and went home. Wonderful Douglas; his presence made life almost bearable at times. She spent much of the two weeks' December break with Hotaru, also pregnant, and with Molly. She missed fighting, and had loved transforming to Eagle, just soaring in the sunny sky. Serena and Chibi-Usa became an effective team, airborne, and would cover each other's tail while the other would survey the ground. With Junko's Moon Scepter in Chibi-Usa's hands, and Serena's Spiral Moon Heart Rod, nothing escaped. The other three effectively patrolled the grounds on foot, routing an occasional Shadow Warrior or Youma. One night, Molly and Junko had identical dreams. A black voice from a black presence declared the Kana and Kami twins to be theirs. "We will come for our property when the time has arrived. They are ours. We shall prevail!" Hotaru somehow was left out of this threat. Junko concentrated on schoolwork, in preparation for the Samurai Central entrance examinations in early April. In February all three ladies moved into the downstairs dining room, now converted into a bedroom or dormitory. They simply could not do stairs anymore. By early-March it was only a question of who would have the first baby or babies. Molly produced little twin girls first, both about five pounds six ounces, and named hers Nobuki-chan and Chizu-chan. A week later, Hotaru had a nice little boy, seven pounds three ounces, and named him Florien Jr. He had his father's dark hair but Hotaru's purple eyes. Junko's Hiromi-chan and Yuki-chan were the last to arrive at five pounds two and three ounces each. She looked at their blue hair, their blue eyes, their little hands and feet, and said to herself, "You are worth it, little flower buds. No one will ever take you from me. No one. Never." For a month she stayed home, the four girls bringing schoolwork to her and returning completed assignments for her. Douglas visited each afternoon, explained many of the lessons to her, and enjoyed holding a baby, even helping take care of it. Both were slightly embarrassed the first time she nursed one in front of him. After that, they both took feeding babies for granted. He learned to diaper and bathe the baby girls quite well, and was a real help. By mid-April, Ju-Ju-chan would go into school for an hour or more each day to see teachers and take occasional quizzes. She took her high school entrance exams, and in late May came finals and, finally, summer. The babies all grew like weeds, and the new pool had been ready since the previous fall. Amy and Serena were around frequently, and put the four new twins in the water, holding them, letting them splash. All the ladies would swim on their backs with a baby on their chests, laughing and splashing away. The infants would grow up loving the water, as had Ami and Ju-Ju-chan. Fall came, and all five Sprouts were enrolled at Samurai Central High School, as was Douglas. Junko attended full time with her babies, now crawling. One or more of the four girls, and Douglas, invariably helped her. Chibi-Usa and Asami were her closest aides. It was a striking contrast with two blondes and a pink-haired beauty holding two blue-haired babies in classes of predominantly dark-haired almond-eyed students wearing thick glasses. More than one looked at Douglas being attentive and started to ask, "Are you ---?" but thought better of the question with his dark hair and eyes in contrast to the twins' blue hair and eyes. During spring, everyone's interest changed from ice-skating to swimming, and Molly suggested a birthday party for all five babies. The five Sprouts invited boyfriends, Roger and Douglas being the only two from the original five. They all had a wonderful time, and drifted down to the pool for swimming. The four babies could just barely swim with someone holding a hand under their ribcages. They had not yet learned to come up for air, and simply coughed and choked. Kana-chan and Kami-chan entertained everyone, swimming under water, but coming up like porpoises to breathe during each lap. They were now about four. Suddenly, Serena burst in on the festivities. "Showtime, girls. Youma are infiltrating the house." Everyone scrambled to change out of wet swimsuits and into regular clothes. Four of the boys headed for home, but Douglas stayed, herded into the secure room with Molly's four twins, Hotaru and her family. Molly and Melvin also went secure. Ami placed blue silver crystals about Hiromi-chan and Yuki- chan's necks at the Sprouts' request. "What are you two up to?" she asked Chibi-Usa and Junko. "Kana and Kami are powerful fighters," Junko responded. "I have been teaching these two to say 'Mercury Crystal, Attack.' We cannot fly tonight. It is too dark. Chibi-Usa will work with them. Do you have that thingy that sees through walls and stuff?" "The data computer and virtual reality visor? Of course. Let's transform." "Luna Pen Disguise Power, Make me a Black Panther!" "Mercury Power, Make Up!" "Pegasus Power, Make Up!" "Moon Crystal Super Power, Make Up!" "Mars Crystal Power, Make Up!" "Jupiter Crystal Power, Make Up!" "Venus Crystal Power, Make Up!" Panther had a communicator hanging around her neck to listen for Sailor Chibi-Moon's voice. Sailor Mercury saw a Youma through a wall outside in a hedge. Panther leaped through a window, climbed down a trellis and broke the Youma's arm with her teeth, raking its stomach with her back claws. Its insides fell to the ground. Ami saw another Youma inside, and the girls all fired their best shots. "Moon Spiral Heart, Attack!" "Chibi Moon Scepter Power, Blast!" "Jupiter Thunder Dragon, Burn!" "Mars Celestial Fire, Incinerate!" "Venus Crescent Beam, Smash!" "Mercury Bubbles, Freeze!" Suddenly two Youmas grabbed Hiromi and Yuki and ran outside with them. They were fast, and were going to take them far away; but not if Panther had anything to do with it. In a sprint that exceeded one hundred kilometers per hour, she caught up with one Youma, bit his neck in back, severing his spine, while raking his glutes to shreds with her rear claws. The other Youma, holding Yuki-chan, stopped to look back for his friend. Yuki squirmed in his grasp, turned around, facing him, grabbed her Mercury Silver Crystal Locket in her hands and sang, "Mercury Crystal Locket Attack," in baby talk, but it worked. The concentrated beam, close up, burned a hole through the Youma, evaporating his entire abdomen. All that was left of him were two legs attached to his pelvis bone; and separately, his upper body, arms and head. The stench of burning flesh was overpowering. It was not over yet. An arch demon materialized as a swarm of bats, flying in formation to appear as a giant head with horns and glowing eyes. "Count your days, Sailor witches. We will have your twins, all six of them. They are our property!" "You will burn in hell first, bat brain. You will have to take us all. Never will you get our twins!" Sailor Moon defied him. While the verbal parrying was taking place, Chibi-Usa got Yuki and Hiromi, one in each arm, and they all held their crystal lockets, chanting, "Mercury Crystal, Attack!" "Moon Crystal Heart, Attack!" "Mercury Crystal Locket, Attack!" and burned the bat-demon to smoking, putrid ashes with their concentrated beams of energy. It swirled, shrank, flamed, popped and finally sifted slowly to Earth, like a heavy, oily, smoke or soot. "You were good little girls!" Everyone wanted to hold a twin. They, Yuki and Hiromi, had defeated the biggest Dark Enemy of all of those that had come after them. Everyone went down to the secure room. They were glad it was over. Douglas was looking for Ju-Ju-chan, when this black panther put its front paws on his shoulders and started licking his face. Douglas was petrified, absolutely terrified. Chibi-Usa yelled, "Junko, de-morph!" Panther changed back to her normal self, to Junko, to Douglas-san's relief. "Had you going for a minute, didn't I," she giggled. She grabbed one twin, handed the other to Douglas, and said, "See if she needs changing. These two little girls have been busy." Things were back to normal except for burned preternatural body parts lying about the place. They could clean those up in the morning. Final Battle and Conclusion After Douglas had gone home, and the mothers had put all their children to bed, Junko came unglued, fell apart, totally lost it. Serena and Ami stayed with her. They had both been there and done that. "We need to get rid of the Dark Forces once and for all," she said. With her, it was a prediction, a declaration. "Here and now, we can protect Kana and Kami; they are at home or at Crossbow Academy in pre-school. Eventually, the Sprouts will not be at Crossbow or at Samurai High, either one. Then, all six twins will be in school and vulnerable." Junko was rambling, and stating the obvious. The Sprouts could not protect the little girls forever, not even beyond their high school years. There were more battles fought over the next three years. Good times were had. All five Sprouts were accepted in college, as was Douglas. Every time they fought the Dark Forces, the Sprouts hurt them badly, and they were slow to come back for more. But they did come back. Junko and Chibi-Usa told Ami and Serena of their plan. She would bring all of the Sailor Scouts who could come to Earth, then drive around Hokkaido and locate the home base of the Dark Forces. When found, the Scouts and Sprouts would go to them, instead of waiting for the enemy to come to the mansion. "How will you protect all the twins?" Ami asked. "We will take them with us," Chibi-Usa answered. "They are powerful fighters, especially all together, united." Two months later Ami, Serena, Mina, Lita and Rei all came to the Earth. Their husbands were taking care of their children. The Outers, Haruka, Setsuna and Michiru were guarding the Future Moon along with Darien and Queen Serenity. "The Queen a fighter?" Yukari asked. "She may be a queen, but she is one heck of a warrior," Serena responded. "Do not ever get on her bad side." Ami, Serena and Chibi-Usa spent a week driving round Hokkaido. When they returned, Ami said they had found the Demon's Lair. "It is an old abandoned coal mine. There were a lot of cave-ins fifty years ago and it was closed. We even found an entrance, overgrown with shrubs, and we saw Youmas going in and out." The next day all ten Senshei, the Scouts and Sprouts, and the six twins loaded up and drove to the abandoned coal mine. They transformed, checked their weapons and entered the mine. The twins were now four and seven, and knew this was a big event coming up. They followed Ami's guidance, using her virtual reality visor, and came into a large chamber hundreds of feet underground. In it was The Arch Demon, The Grand Wazzoo Himself, and the seven Shadow Warriors, gathered around a table. Youmas and Cardians were standing or sitting in the chamber. They weren't even scheming, plotting nefarious deeds, merely playing cards. Poker. Low stakes. Penny ante. Sailor Moon spoke, "You have terrorized our children long enough, O' Prince of Pastiche. You are a phony, a counterfeit. I am the Moon Princess, and we will punish you!" "You are no match for the power of the Black Onyx Crystal, Sailor Wanna-bes. Prepare to meet your doom!" The Dark Forces gathered, interlocked their arms, picked up their Black Onyx spheres and chanted, in unison: "Dark Crystal Power, Annihilate!" A beam of energy from each crystal focused on a point in front of the Senshei, about to destroy them. The six twins, Kana, Kami, Yuki, Hiromi, Nobuki and Chizu, interlocked their arms with Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi-Moon. They chanted, "Mercury Crystal, Attack!" "Mercury Crystal Locket, Attack!" Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi-Moon held up their Imperium Silver Crystals. All their beams of energy joined, focusing, fighting, canceling the Black Onyx Crystals' energy beams. For several seconds, nothing happened. The negative energy of the Black Onyx Crystals was absorbing the positive energy of the twins' Silver Crystals, the two Imperium Silver Crystals held by Sailors Moon and Chibi-Moon, and the crescent beams of Sailors Venus and Chibi-Venus, the fire of Sailors Mars and Chibi-Mars, the power of the Moon Scepter held by Sailor New Moon, and the thunder and lightening bolts of Sailors Jupiter and Chibi-Jupiter. Sailor Mercury was behind her six twins, supporting her daughters. As all of the energy flowed from the Senshei weapons and their crystals into the Black Onyx Crystals it was converted into mass, then critical mass. Suddenly, the Black Onyx Crystals combined into one, a black hole, and absorbed all of the Youmas, Cardians and Shadow warriors. "What is happening?!" were the Arch Demon's, Beelzebul's, last words as he vanished into the Black Crystal, never to come back out again. They, the Dark Kingdom, were all trapped inside, forever. Sailor New Moon shouted, "Expel!" The others echoed, together, " " " " " " " " " " E X P E L ! ! " " " " " " " " " " The Black Crystal rose to the top of the chamber, penetrated the roof above it, gathered speed and soon left the Earth, the Solar System, the Galaxy, and was destined to wander the Universe for the rest of time, forever. "Let's get out of here," Sailor New Moon ordered. "Set this coal mine on fire as we leave." They made their way to the surface, leaving the Hall of Iniquity a burning cinder, a smoldering coalmine that might never be extinguished or inhabited again. On the surface they de-morphed, piled into their vans and drove home. Before they got to the mansion, Junko asked to stop. She wanted to go back by herself. She morphed into Eagle. All six twins morphed into Bluebirds; Serena and Chibi-Usa transformed into Eternal Sailor Moon and Eternal Sailor Chibi-Moon. They flew home, all nine of them, circled the mansion twice and landed on the balcony where Molly and Melvin were waiting. Yukari, Asami and Seira said, "Oh oh. They are going to be royally miffed. Big time. Majorly." And they were. Molly screamed, "Serena! My girls! What have you done to the little girls? What were you thinking of?!" They all de-morphed and the little girls said, "Mama-san, mama- san, we got rid of the bad people. Boom Boom! All gone!" Chibi-Usa explained the battles were over. No more. Never again. They were safe, free at last. They celebrated, partied, enjoyed their summer. For the first time, all six little girls could run around in the trees with no fear of getting kidnapped or murdered. The five Sprouts started discussing future plans. Seira wanted to go to college. She had no steady boyfriend, and did not want one. Yukari wanted to travel, maybe go to school in Tokyo or Brazil. There were lots of Japanese in Brazil. Asami was more interested in dating. "So many boys, so little time," were her sentiments. Chibi-Usa said she wanted to go to Future Moon. "It is my second home. Our parents, Serena and Darien, have children there I would not mind seeing." "What about Roger, the clod-buster?" asked Junko. "No thanks. His father is dying. He will have to work the farm. He needs a wife who would feed the geese, grow a vegetable garden, cook, clean, wait on his bossy mother hand-and-foot, and have a new baby every year, preferably male, so he would not have to hire farm hands." So much for the love of Chibi-Usa's childhood. "Being a princess may not be easy, but it surely beats being a farm wife. I asked him if he wanted to go to the Future, live on the Moon and be my Consort; and he thought I was nuts. Totally spaced out." "Well, Hotaru and Florien are staying here. Their Florien Jr. and their new baby, Marion, are perfect playmates for Yuki and Hiromi. I would never leave the other four twins. Douglas wants to marry me, and I love him. As soon as he is ready, after college, or even during college, I am ready. I want to finish school myself before having more babies. That is the only thing. It was too much work, lugging twins around high school. I am only eighteen, but feel thirty or forty; I have been through so much in the last five years." Junko had seen more life in five years than most people see in a lifetime. "You are good with children, Chibi-Usa. The way you made warriors of toddlers and pre-schoolers was a sight to behold. Don't you ever want to get married?" asked Junko. "I suppose I do. I may just wait until our mother and Queen Serenity get tired of having me single, and pick out someone for me to marry. If I don't like him, I can always zap him with the Crescent Moon Wand and make him over, the way I want him to be. Remember the little puppy dog, how Kana and Kami liked him?" Was Chibi-Usa serious? Junko was not sure. "Hey, big sister, whatever works. I may try it myself some day if Doug-ras-san gets out of line." Would the Sprouts ever get together again, once they separated? Maybe. Probably not. However, they would always be Senshei, and had a duty to protect the Moon Kingdom and the Queen. If duty called, they would answer. The End I hope you liked it. Let me know. Check out "Ami's Diaries," by Lady Guinevere, Entry #29. Very good. Chibicardcaptor < chibicardcaptor@dellmail.com >