Usagi lay on her bed, a text book in front of her. Her cat, Selina, paced on the floor. Click, click, click. Usagi tried to ignore Selina as much as possible, focussing on her homework. Click, click, click. Usagi rolled over on her back, rereading the same passage for the fourth time. Click, click, click. "Do you have to do that, Selina?" Usagi finally asked. "So you finally noticed me," the cat said. Click, click, click. "If you're going to pace, could you at least not use your claws?" Selina stopped and glared at Usagi. The red-haired girl closed her books and got off her bed. "Where are you going?" Selina asked. "I need some fresh air." "You're supposed to be learning your responsibilities as the Crystal Princess." "Then tell me about them outside." -**- Mizuno Ami stretched, trying to get comfortable in front of the library's computer terminal, then brushed her blue bangs out of her eyes. Juuban High School was closed far too long for her taste. Ami was impatient to return. She finished the homework assigned on the shortened first day that day. The next two days afterwards, Ami tried to keep herself occupied, either by training for the track team or by trying to find out what the creatures that attacked the school were. She was ready to give up on finding what the creatures were. Even an inquiry on the Internet came up with nothing. Ami returned her attention to the terminal. A new e-mail waited for her, another response to her inquiry. Expecting the worse, she opened the message. Someone named 'Hologram' thought he remembered a myth similar to what happened, where an army of dark beings destroyed a kingdom made from crystal. Ami almost deleted the message, except Hologram mentioned a Japanese text that had more detail. She sent a quick thank-you note to Hologram instead. Logging off, Ami stood up and stretched again. She brushed her hand through her long, blue hair, checking both ribbons to make sure they were still in place. Keeping her desire to run in check, Ami calmly walked to the section where the text Hologram mentioned should be. Not finding it, she found another terminal and looked up the text. The book was in the section she expected, or would be, if it wasn't on loan. Surprised, Ami looked at the loaning history. The book had sat neglected for several years until yesterday, when it was finally borrowed. Ami looked around, then started entering commands that few people knew existed. She called up the name of the person who borrowed the book: Chiba Usagi. Ami blinked. She knew of Chiba Usagi; most people at Juuban did. Her hairstyle was . . . distinctive. Usagi had disappeared before the attack, though. 'Did Chiba-san know about the attack?' Ami wondered. 'Could she be responsible for the attack?' Ami grabbed her belongings and left the library. The Chibas lived near Juuban High School, maybe Usagi would still be home. Ami ran through the streets, working out the stiffness in her legs from sitting for so long. She stopped when she saw distinctive heart-shaped buns and long red pony tails. "Chiba-san!" Ami called. She caught up to her classmate. "Chiba-san, I need to talk to you." Usagi stopped. "Mizuno-san, good afternoon," she said. "I wish I could stop, but I have to get my homework done." Ami blinked. 'She *still* hasn't finished her homework?' "It's about a book - " "Can I talk to you tomorrow before class, Mizuno-san?" Usagi continued. "I would love to talk about any book you want then. I just need to get my homework done. Thanks." The girl flounced away, leaving Ami staring at her. Ami wondered what had happened in the conversation. Usagi acted strangely; normally she'd be willing to at least talk to someone. Ami decided to keep a closer eye on her at school. -**- Usagi rounded the corner, then breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to brush off the school's genius like that, but Mizuno-san could get obsessed with anything she was interested in. Selina caught up to the girl and walked along a wall beside Usagi. "Who was she?" the cat asked. "Mizuno Ami-san," Usagi answered. "She's in my grade at school." "How well do you know her?" "Why? You don't think she's working for , do you?" "She might be." "That's silly, Selina. Mizuno-san is the smartest person at school. Why would she be working for someone who just showed up?" "How well do you know Mizuno-san?" "Well enough. She's too busy with studying and running to get involved in any fiendish plots," Usagi said. [Outline: Base: Ami wants to find out the reason for the odd attack on the school in Chapter 1. Usagi conveniently disappeared, and people noticed that there was someone in a revealing uniform doing something to the attackers. (That someone was Sailor Corona, not Sailor Moon, but Ami couldn't tell from where she was.) Meanwhile, Usagi is trying to figure out what being the Crystal Princess means, with Selina's help. The text is one of myths, and includes the myth of a crystal palace destroyed by shadows. 's next move is to lure Sailor Moon away from his real objective, the arcade. wants to set up a base of sorts to work from, and the Crown Arcade is the best place he can think of. With all the students that pass through, he can both brainwash them into becoming Muerte's subjects and search for Sailor Moon among the teens. Events: - Usagi & Selina head away. Selina tries to get Usagi to pay more attention to her duties as Crystal Princess. - Ami discovers that Usagi has the one book that could tell her about the shadow attack the first day of class. She tries to find Chibi-san. Usagi rushes her off. - gets orders from Muerte to eliminate the Sailor Senshi. and Guerre stand ready, waiting for to fail. - decides that he needs a base to operate from, a place where he can search for the Crystal Princess and locate potential Senshi without being suspected. The Crown Arcade becomes his prime target. Mercury's attack: Aqua Mirage or Aqua Rhapsody. Stronger than Corona's - four shadows for every one of Corona's. Intro: "Hi! I'm Chiba Usagi. Last time on Sailor Moon: Generation Gap, I found a talking cat named Selina who told me that I'm the Crystal Princess, the last heir to Crystal Tokyo. Selina gave me the Silver Crystal; it allows me transform into Sailor Moon. Good thing, too, as an army of shadows, led by attacked Tokyo. I was able to defeat the shadows but escaped." ] -- Scott Delahunt ISM LAN Admin 800-466-9937, Option 2, x6081 (613) 247-6081