Postscript

     As in my previous stories, I did not decide on a title until after I
had outlined the story (I tend to start with fairly detailed outlines, and
I rarely make any major deviations from them).  It simply occurred to me
that events were being driven by a set of people who all had very deep
secrets of one sort or another.
     Yes, the Order is essentially a cross between the 'men in black' of
urban legend and the Dark Guard of Supernatural Beast City.
     The bit about Rei's tattoo was inspired by a painting by Naoko
Takeuchi.  It is a group shot of all the Senshi in black evening gowns. 
Rei's scandalously low neckline reveals the tiny tattoo.
     Yes, in another reality, the young boy Akira could have become *that*
Akira.
     The ending was inspired by what is probably the shortest horror story
on record, which I can quote verbatim: *The last man on Earth sat alone in
a room.  There was a knock at the door...*  I couldn't resist.

Note: this story also contains one character created by S.M. Stirling as
noted below.  I didn't want to mention this in the preface because I wanted
his 'cameo' appearance to be a surprise :-)

Dramatis Personae

Note: Japanese names are given family names first, for no other reason than
that reversing them ruins the 'pun names' that Takeuchi-sensei gave the
Sailor Senshi :-)

The Sailor Senshi

Tsukino Usagi - Sailor Moon
Mizuno Ami - Sailor Mercury
Aino Minako - Sailor Venus
Hino Rei - Sailor Mars
Kino Makoto - Sailor Jupiter
Tomoe Hotaru - Sailot Saturn
Tenou Haruka - Sailor Uranus
Kaiou Michiru - Sailor Neptune
Meiou Setsuna - Sailor Pluto

Other characters taken from Bishojou Senshi Sailor Moon

Chiba Mamoru - Tuxedo Mask/Endymion
Oosaka Naru - Usagi's childhood friend
Umino Gurio - Naru's boyfriend
Urawa Ryou - Ami's boyfriend
Nagashima Saori - Mamoru's former classmate (She appeared in the fourth
season of the TV series.  I made up the family name, as far as I know it
was never revealed).
Kenji - Usagi's father
Ikuko - Usagi's mother
Shingo - Usagi's brother
Queen Serenity - mother of Princess Serenity, Usagi's former incarnation
Rei's grandfather (as far as I know we never find out his name)

The Ancients

Himiko - the Matriarch
Kaori - Himiko's granddaughter, head of a large household near Tokyo
Shoji - Kaori's son
Yui - Shoji's girlfriend
Akechi - Shoji's friend
Hitomi - Yui's friend
Megumi - Kaori's sister
Akira - Megumi's son
Aiko - Himiko's most gifted precognitive

The Order

Note: These are all assumed names.  Their real names are classified :-)

Takada Hitoshi - acting director of the recently formed Tokyo office
Allen Smith - agent from the New York office
John Brown - director of the Hidden branch
Noriko - Takada's assistant
Lafarge - agent from the New York office (character from S.M Stirling's
novel 'Drakon')
Ichiro Hori - Buddhist priest

The Refugees

Jeneth (assumed name: Jennifer Constantine) - the healer
Thetan (assumed name: Thom Russell) - the monk
K'Theelm (assumed name: Tony Harth) - the engineer

Other characters of my own making

Cyrus (latest assumed name: Daniel Churchland) - the immortal
Miho - shrine maiden

     One might suspect from all the background I've set up in this story
that I plan on creating a "fanfic universe" for lack of a better term, a
framework within which to place further stories.  To be honest, I have no
idea whether I plan to write any more stories in this series.  Time will
tell.  I hope everyone has enjoyed what I've written so far.  If you've
read up to the end of this sixteen chapter (whew!) monstrosity, I guess it
must have at least kept your interest.  My warmest thanks to all those who
wrote to me about my previous stories.
     Best regards to all my fellow Sailor Moon fans.

Ken Wolfe   Ken_Wolfe@mbnet.mb.ca