This is a short altuniverse fic of Sailor Moon. Its based off an
idea Hotaru Fa had about a year ago. I don't own the idea or the
characters, I just wrote the thing. Her idea really grew - it was
originally darker. Anyway, I hope you like this. Comments are
appreciated - if I don't get them, I tend to stop writing.


"If you should ignore you daughter, your kingdom will be nought but
ruins." A Prophecy of Mokura d'Pluto, the Elder Senshi Pluto


"Serenity's Other Daughter"
Beky NeRichnead


     Queen Serenity, her white dress flowing, smiled down at the
baby in the incubator. Her own daughter, Baby Serenity, the heir
to the crown of Luna and her associated territories. Even now, she
could see the silver crescent moon that marked her daughter's
forehead.
     Another figure entered the room. The figure smiled, oblivious
to the world, put her hand against the incubator. "Hey there, kid."
     Serenity's voice was neutral, but she winced. "Yassoni."
     The teen girl blinked, then backed away. "Sorry! I didn't
realize..."
     So then, the meeting was an accident. Serenity reassured her,
"'Tis no problem, child. You wanted to meet your new sister?"
     Yassoni nodded, her blond hair bobbing. Blond hair, that if
longer and in distinctive ponytails, would be identical to that of
the Moon Kingdom's royalty. Her face was merely an older picture
of Baby Serenity's - except for her forehead, which was blank. "She
passed, right?"
     Serenity smiled, gesturing toward the incubator. "Feel free
to look."
     The teen peered hard into the glass, noting the mark and
sighing in contentment. "Good. You deserve a chance." She then
bowed to her Queen and left.
     "Ahem," Pluto cleared her throat and revealing her veiled
presence.
     Serenity turned towards her most mysterious ally in fake
consternation. "I suppose this meeting was *your* doing?"
     Pluto smiled happily. "Indeed. Sonni needed to see her
mother."
     A pang of regret went through Serenity's heart. "You know I
can't..."
     The young Senshi nodded. "Indeed. But she does need friends -
 more than just me. She's becoming more withdrawn. What she truly
needs is friends and a purpose."
     Serenity winced. "What can I do?"
     Pluto's smile turned mysterious. "I'd suggest appropriating
those two bastard mage children of King Venus and Queen Mercury.
They too deserve a chance at life. As for a purpose..."
                              *
     Yassoni swallowed nervously. She had been summoned to Queen
Serenity's quarters. This could be very bad... the Queen could
order her to disappear now that a new heiress had been "born".
     She hesitantly knocked on the door. "Come in." She walked in
and closed the door. She was shocked to discover that Serenity sat
on her bed, brushing out her long blonde hair. "Sit down, child."
     Yassoni nodded, looking for a chair. Serenity laughed
musically, and a bit sadly. "No, here on the bed."
     "Ah, of course," Yassoni replied, perching on the end of the
bed. 
     Serenity turned towards her, her eyes warm. Yassoni began to
relax. "Yassoni, you know your ancestry. What is your opinion of
it?"
     The relaxing ended quickly. She felt like a deer caught in the
headlights of an oncoming car. What a loaded question!
     Serenity seemed to understand the problem. She embraced
Yassoni, enveloping her in a maternal fashion. "Poor girl. Yassoni,
I'm proud of you." Yassoni pulled away blinking. It was fairly
accepted that her mother saw her as a failure, not being of pure
Lunar gene type. She saw her mother wince. "Yassoni... I am Queen
of the Moon Kingdom, and pretenses have to be kept up. But here,
in private, I can admit to feeling guilty about your lot."
     "Um..."
     "Yassoni, you have too much of my gene-type. You're truly *my*
daughter. Little Serenity is a near copy of her grandmother, but
you are much more like me. I fear she'll grow up too naive to truly
rule our empire. That's why I need your help."
     "My help? Queen, I'd be honored, but what..."
     "Yes, I need your help. But not as your queen only, but as
your mother. You have my political savvy... that much is obvious.
I therefore ask you to undertake a difficult task that I have for
you."
     Yassoni began to smile. "Of course, Your Majesty."
     Her mother laughed. "Thank you for the vote of confidence, but
I'd like you to discover what it is first. Yassoni, running a
kingdom such as ours has a great many problems. Will you accept
responsibility for the dirty end of the politics? Be my personal
trouble shooter, spy, representative?"
     Yassoni felt elated. It was exactly what she had wanted to do
all her life. "I'd love to!"
     She felt her mother embrace her once more. "Thank you,
daughter."
     "Mother..."
     "Indeed."
                                   *
[6 months later]
     Yassoni looked up from her office, buried deep in the Lunar
city of Tranquility. "Yes?"
     Setsuna appeared. "Sonni?"
     "Setsuna!" Yassoni got up and gave her friend a hug. "Wow, I
didn't expect you to visit so soon."
     Setsuna sat down in a rumpled chair. "So, how's the job?"
     Yassoni pushed her hair out of her face. "Awesome. So far I've
uncovered three rebel cells, delivered a secret message to the King
of Uranus, and prevented an assassination attempt. How are you
doing?"
     The young senshi smiled. "Oh, I'm learning. Mokura is a
competent teacher, if a bit aloof sometimes. I suppose it comes
from having public habits spill into your private life." She
frowned in mock seriousness. "You're not going to spill the beans,
right? If everyone knew how unmysterious Pluto is..."
     Yassoni laughed. "Not a chance."
     "By the way, I've found you some new recruits."
     Yassoni raised an eyebrow. "With Serenity's permission?"
     Setsuna nodded. "Indeed. They are fairly powerful mages."
     "Bring them in."
     A pair of twins walked in nervously. The male smiled. "Hi. Are
you our new boss?"
     Yassoni shrugged. "I guess so. My name's Yassoni. What about
you?"
     The female twin bowed. "Sonar."
     "And Spectrum."
     Setsuna blinked, her eyes unfocusing for a moment. "I must
go. I shall return soon."
     Yassoni frowned. "When is soon?"
     Setsuna walked to the doorway. "To me, all times are soon."
With that, she left.
     Yassoni gestured for her new recruits to make themselves
comfortable. "So, how did you decide to go into this line of work?"
     Spectrum answered, "With out heritage, we had little choice."
     Yassoni smiled. "Really. Perhaps you should tell me what that
is."
     Sonar gulped. "Um... King Anton and Queen Erudia."
     Yassoni grinned. "Really?" They nodded, relaxing as they did
so. "I never realized kids resulted from that affair. I'm the
eldest Lunar Princess, glad to meet you."
     Sonar blinked. "But... you have no mark."
     Yassoni nodded sadly. "That would be the problem. My gene
strain wasn't quite pure enough. I failed the Crystal test."
     Spectrum smiled. "Then you're in the same boat as us."
     She shook her head. "No, no. Now you're in the same boat as
*me*. We three get to run around doing the real work of ruling and
having a great time doing it. Don't envy the young princesses
Minako and Ami too much."
     They grinned. Sonar asked, "So, what exactly is our job?"
     Yassoni sorted through her desk and pulled out a file. "Well,
we have this little issue on Jupiter..."
                              *
[5 years later]
     The trio walked down the hallway, chatting excitedly. Yassoni
put on a face of disappointment. "Now, now, did you have to leave
that rebel without ear drums?"
     Sonar affected a hurt look. "But he was pointing a gun at my
bro!"
     Spectrum grinned. "Yeah! Do you want my help or not?"
     "Well..." Yassoni meditated. They walked into the small office
of Extremely Secretive Operations. "What's this?"
     A small girl in pink pajamas was bouncing a ball on the floor,
looking dejected. Yassoni made a quick gesture, and Spectrum and
his sister became invisible. "Hi there. Who are you, kid?"
     The child looked up, her crescent moon becoming clearly
visible. "I'm lost."
     Yassoni blinked. How had they lost track of the young Princess
so badly? "I'll say." She walked over to the phone, dialing a
number. "Advisor Luna?"
     "Yes?" an extremely irritated voice answered. "I'm very busy.
Can you call someone else?"
     "I was wondering what to do with Princess Serenity."
     "What do I care! You're her nurse, do some nursing. Don't call
me again!" the phone clicked.
     Yassoni looked up to see Serenity playing with her friends.
"Hey, what happened to invisibility?"
     Spectrum shrugged helplessly. "The kid can see right through
it."
     Serenity grinned. "Hi! Who are you?"
     Yassoni pressed a button on her desk, kneeling down by her
younger sister. "I'm Sonni. I work for your mom."
     "Wow!"
     "And these are my friends Ali and Alex. What would you like
to play?"
     The child deliberated. "Um, how about the Bunny?"
     Yassoni glanced helplessly at her friends. "The Bunny?"
     They shrugged. "We got as little of a childhood as you."
     "I'll show you!"
     Sonni smiled. "Okay, show me."
     "First you do this." Serenity crouched down. The three young
adults followed suit. "Then you bounce!" Serenity jumped into the
air, again followed by her elders. "See?"
     Yassoni smiled at her. "Great..." she was cut off by the buzz
of her phone. She took a glance at it and picked it up. Her mother
could be heard on the other end. "Yes, Sonni? Can it wait? I have
an..."
     "Um... Queen, I found your daughter down here in my office.
Luna totally blew me off. No one else around has clearance for me
to call from Esops. Should I send her up with one of the staff?"
     There was a pause. "She what?"
     "I think she thought I was Serenity's sitter. The kid's not
even dressed yet."
     The queen's voice was sad. "I haven't had enough time for her
lately... can you bring her up to my quarters? I'll be there as
soon as I can disengage myself."
     "Gotcha. Will do." They both hung up.
     She walked over to the princess. "Hey, Serenity, I'm supposed
to take you to your mother's quarters."
     "Don't wanna! Wanna stay here!"
     Yassoni frowned, then nodded. "Okay. But its too bad about the
piggyback ride."
     "Piggyback ride? What's that?"
     Spectrum and Sonar laughed. Yassoni turned to them. "Hold down
the fort. If something big is going down, send me a message on my
comm, okay?"
     They nodded. Sonar grinned. "Good luck with the Princess."
     Yassoni knelt by her younger sister. "Get on my back." She
grabbed the Princess' legs and stood. "Here we go!"
     They ran down the hall laughing. It was hard for Yassoni to
disengage the girl and get her to walk in the royal part of the
city more circumspectly.
                              *
     Serenity sighed. It was pure luck that Little Serenity had
ended up safely in Esops. There was a criminal element in
Tranquility. They would have had a heyday with the princess. How
had she managed to wander off?
     She looked down the hall and smiled. Sonni, her casual clothes
dirty from the trip, led her younger sister down the hall.
Disguised such, she seemed to be a worker leading the Princess. It
saddened the Queen that it had to be this way.
     Sonni bowed, adopting the speech of the common people. "Here
she is, Yur Majstiy. Hope she's okay."
     Serenity nodded, smiling. "Daughter, I've missed you." Sonni
smiled at the double meaning. "Come with me." She took her younger
daughter's hand.
     Her older daughter vanished into the maintenance corridors.
     Luna appeared. "Your Majesty..."
     "Now, Advisor, what did I hear about you refusing to take a
certain call..."
     Luna blushed. "Well, you see..."
                              *
[7 years later]
     Princess Serenity fidgeted in her chair. "But why did the
people revolt?"
     "Because of the economic..." a small beep could be heard.
"Serenity, we'll have to continue this later. I feel... tired. Why
don't you socialize with the new girl, Makoto?"
     Serenity nodded. "Of course, Mother." She rose and left the
room. However, after closing the door, she waited. Something was
up - what could it be? She placed her ear to the door.
     Her mother spoke. "Welcome, daughter. Your business is
urgent?"
     She heard a familiar voice answer, but she couldn't place it.
"Yes. I have concrete evidence for Earth force buildup in this
region. I need you to send a squad of the Elite Guard their on some
other mission to take out this youma production factory."
     Her mother sighed. "When do you think it will finally blow?"
     "Probably in about two years, maybe a little more... someone's
listening to us!" The doors were thrown open, and Sonni's face
appeared. "Princess? My apologies."
     Her mother appeared. "Serenity, come in here."
     Serenity walked in nervously. "Sorry, Mother."
     Sonni sighed and shut the doors. "How much did you here?"
     "Enough." She frowned. What was her old childhood friend doing
here? 
     Queen Serenity shook her head. "I had not planned to inform
you of this, Serenity, but it seems you are determined to know.
This is Sonni, a close advisor of mine."
     "You called her daughter!"
     Sonni winced.
     Her mother closed her eyes. "That is... a complicated matter."
     "I want to know." Her voice was petulant.
     Her mother frowned. "Serenity, Lunar Queens cannot crossbreed
naturally with other humans. For this reason, we use artificial
means of breeding. Sonni is your older sister, Yassoni."
     Serenity blinked. "But then... why aren't you a princess?"
     Sonni chuckled grimly. "My genes weren't quite pure enough."
     So that was why the name Yassoni was said in such hushed
terms...
     "Now, Serenity, you will tell no one of your sister,
understand? She is doing invaluable work for me. This is all a
secret. Very few people know."
     "Yes, mother." The rumor she had heard was that Yassoni had
disappeared, probably dead or on another planet. But now she had
a sister. "I'll keep the secret."
     Sonni smiled. "Actually, I have an idea..."
                                   *
[1 year later]
     Princess Serenity grinned. "I knew it!"
     Her mother smiled. "I too am glad. I shall invite Endymion for
a visit. Hopefully he will agree to help us. Yassoni, where are
your forces?"
     "Well, the twins are on their way back from Neptune. Gren is
here, but he's sick. I think he picked up something on Venus. Half
of my agents are on other missions. I have ten people in Beryl's
organization. So I have about fifteen agents left here."
     Serenity frowned, her young face showing more maturity. "What
about Endymion's guardians?"
     Sonni frowned. "Tough one. Beryl will want them - it may be
a good idea to inform them of the danger. They're still good now,
as far as I can tell."
     The Queen nodded. "I'll have a ball, which we'll invite the
representatives of Earth to. Sonni, I'd like it if you were there."
     "Need more security?"
     "No, not at all. The Senshi will protect the princess, and the
elite guard will protect me. I was thinking you might enjoy it.
Perhaps you could introduce your young man to me."
     "Gren? Sure. But I'd make it a masquerade if I were you. And
keep the Senshi out of uniform."
     "Goodie! A masquerade! But what will you dress as, Yassoni?"
     Sonni smiled mysteriously. "You'll see."
                                   *
[The next day]
     Serenity smiled radiantly at her betrothed. It was their third
meeting, and she was coming to like him. "Prince Endymion, its
wonderful to have you."
     He nodded. "Thank you, Princess. The invitation was
appreciated. These are my friends and guardians: Kunzite, Zoicite,
Nephrite and Jadeite."
     "And these are my friends and protectors: Princess Mars,
Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus."
     The two groups bowed to each other formally. Then they paired
off, the men escorting the young ladies to the ball.
     Serenity walked into the ball room and grinned. The masquerade
was full of people dressed as various Senshi and Lunar Royalty.
"Oh, isn't it wonderful?"
     Endymion grimaced. "If you like parties. I'll see you later,
Princess."
     She curtsied. "Of course."
     The Guardians, however, remained paired with her Senshi,
moving onto the dance floor. 
     She circulated the room, dancing with several handsome men,
enjoying their company but hoping Endymion would join her.
     It was with consternation that she saw Princess Venus dancing
with Endymion. How could Minako do that to her? Then she realized
that it wasn't Endymion and Minako at all. They were about ten
years too old. It must be Sonni and her gentleman!
     They looked magnificent touring the floor together. Sonni had
a real smile spread across her face.
     Serenity walked over to wait by the edge of the floor, hoping
Endymion would notice her.
     Several moments later, a man in the armor of earth came up to
her, asking for a dance. It was the masquerader pretending to be
Endymion. "Certainly, handsome Prince."
     They danced onto the floor, keeping the steps simple. He
smiled. "You're beautiful tonight, Princess." He whispered, "Sonni
says that the Earth reps are clean but their entourage isn't. We've
taken out one, but be careful. Tell the queen."
     "Thank you, Prince." She smiled. "I've enjoyed this dance, but
I must seek out my true betrothed."
     He smiled and spoke softly. "As must I, Princess. My princess
awaits." She was happy he was devoted to her sister.
     She nodded, and they disengaged. Serenity went to the dais,
preparing to whisper in her mother's ear. Then she heard from the
side of the room, "Venus Crescent Beam!"
     She and her mother were quickly bundled out of the chaotic
room.
                              *
     Sonni smiled, sensing her friends to be behind her. She was
truly enjoying this night. She needed to relax more.
     Then her quick eyes caught the signature movement of pulling
out a concealed weapon. It was one of the Earth guards.
     Damn! She didn't have a gun on her. But she was dressed as
Princess Venus... plausible deniability... "Sonar, Crescent Beam
that guy on 3. Spec, cover us."
     She held up her finger. "1..2..3!"
     She heard it, "Venus Crescent Beam!" and saw the light erupt
from her finger and knock the gun out of the would be assassin's
hand.
     People began to mill around. The Senshi and Guardians gathered
their royales and dragged them out, and her own agents began
searching for more assassins. The rest milled like cattle. 
     "Guys, lets get out of here!" They vanished into one of the
many cleaning passages around the palace.
     She and Gren changed quickly into casual suits of clothing,
putting their firearms back on. "We've got to check on them." They
walked over to a grill and saw that Serenity, Little Serenity,
Endymion, and assorted Senshi, Guardians, and advisors were
arguing. "Hmm, lets give them some time."
     Gren pulled her back, kissing her. "Sounds good."
     Sonar and Spectrum quickly made themselves scarce.
     Fifteen minutes later, her comm beeped. She sighed,
disengaging from Gren's attention. "Direct summons from mother.
Figures." She disappeared out a door.
                              *
     Queen Serenity swallowed carefully, regaining her poise.
"Please, everyone sit down."
     Princess Minako seemed rather upset. "What happened?" She was
cuddling with Kunzite.
     She sighed. "Please sit down, and I'll explain." They sat,
expectant. "My intelligence reports have been tracking events on
Earth for quite a while. We've discovered some rather large events,
which is why we invited you all here."
     Endymion frowned. "Why now?"
     "Because only yesterday was I able to make sure that you were
not involved, nor your generals. There is a violent rebellion group
on earth that seeks to control your government and strike at the
Moon."
     Ami gasped. "That would be suicidal!"
     "Not at all. They have quite powerful magic, but now that we
know of the threat we can take care of it. Our operatives have been
striking at the rebels' facilities, but a more local action is
needed. We believe their next action will be to enslave or corrupt
the Earth Guardians."
     Jadeite laughed. "That'll work real well."
     Endymion frowned. "You have proof?"
     "Yes."
     "Then I shall take action."
     "Thank you, Prince."
     There was a silent pause.
     Luna asked, "So, who did fire the Crescent Beam? I thought it
was a trait of Venus?"
     Serenity's daughter smiled insincerely. "Why, Princess Venus
did, of course. We owe her our lives."
     Luna rolled her eyes. "I wasn't asking for the official line.
Who really did?"
     Serenity smiled. "Why, I don't know." She paused dramatically.
"But I do know it was probably one of four people who reside here.
They are all premier servants of the crown."
     Her daughter frowned at her. "Mother, shall we let them in on
the secret? They will be of great help."
     "Mmm... will you all take an oath of secrecy? None of this can
go past those doors, not even to other royales."
     Endymion shrugged. "I will."
     Minako nodded. "I want to know who did the crescent beam."
     The others agreed, ending with Artemis.
     She pushed the button on her desk that would call Yassoni.
Esops would be secret no more.
                                   *
     Princess Minako of Venus waited expectantly for the arrival
of the mysterious savior.
     A door opened out of the wall, and a woman stepped out. She
appeared to be between twenty-five and thirty years old. Her long
blond hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her clothing was casual.
She bore a strong resemblance to the Moon family. Her hand did not
stray from the gun at her hip. She strode easily into the royal
filled room and sat. "What's up?"
     Several people gasped at her utter lack of decorum, but the
Queen wasn't fazed. "Well, I was wondering how you managed that
beautiful bit of fakery in the ballroom. Also, you'll need to act
in accordance with these people in the upcoming operation. They
need to know about Esops."
     The woman frowned. "It wasn't fakery, it was plausible
deniability. The onlookers saw Princess Venus protect Serenity -
not an unusual occurrence."
     The Queen blinked. "But how did you actually do it?"
     The woman shrugged. "Me? I didn't do anything but hold up my
finger. Sonar did the attack. Spectrum just made it seem I did it."
     Princess Serenity gasped. "I didn't realize that she inherited
that..."
     The woman shrugged again. "Spec inherited more from his mom.
I guess he could do some kind of freezing attack in pinch. They
both prefer their own unique magic."
     Minako frowned. What were they talking about?
     The Queen turned to the woman. "Perhaps you should call in
your senior staff."
     The woman spoke into her comm. "Gren, Ali, Alex, get up here,
use the side door."
     In moments, three figures appeared. Two men and a woman. One
woman and man were clearly related. They had dark hair the color
of Princess Ami's. All three were dressed much like the first
woman, and about the same age.
     The woman bowed formally. "I am Yassoni, director of Extremely
Secret Operations (ESOPS). This is my betrothed, Grendal. He's the
exec officer. The twins are Spectrum and Sonar, my best trouble
shooters."
     Minako gasped. Yassoni was the supposed older sister of
Serenity... by about fifteen years. She disappeared years ago.
     Nephrite nodded. "I see. That makes sense. I'd wondered where
you went. I am the intelligence expert of Earth's government. I'll
be glad to work with you."
     Princess Serenity smiled. "I'm sure we'll all be. What is our
plan?"
     Yassoni smiled. "Well, we have to destroy their major magic
base - my people can't handle that, we're leaving it for the
Senshi. There is some cleanup that we could use native help on. My
people are spread thin."
     Endymion nodded. "Then I'll send my guardians with you to do
that."
     Minako, as leader of the Senshi, spoke up. "And we'll confront
the magic center."
     The Queen smiled. "Not by yourself. My daughter *and* her
Senshi shall assault it, together with Endymion."
     Luna frowned. "This is dangerous."
     Yassoni nodded. "But necessary. Anyway, the twins will
probably prefer to go with the generals and coordinate my agents.
Gren and I will guard the Senshi's backs."
     Kunzite shifted. "What power do you have?"
     "Me? A quick gun and quick wit. Gren here is a planetary level
mage. He'll handle the big baddies. I'll take some elite moon
troops with me. Good enough, Luna?"
     Luna nodded unhappily.
     The Queen smiled. "So it shall be done. Sonni, have the
assassins been remanded to custody?"
     Yassoni nodded. "I have them locked up, but I'll be happy to
hand them over to the Terrans."
     Endymion frowned. "Could you keep them in custody secretly,
so that they seem to disappear?"
     "Sure. That's what's happening now."
     "Keep them, then. It will frighten their compatriots."
     "Gotcha."
     The meeting ended with dispatch.
                                   *
[the next afternoon]
     Ami frowned at Yassoni, who had commanded them to call her
Sonni. She was tiring of this jungle slogging, but the woman beside
her seemed almost as tireless as Minako. It made her wonder. Their
own senshi powers accounted for their ability to ignore gravity
changes, but she was moon born. How did she keep up?
     "Come on, everyone. Its just a bit farther!" Minako yelled.
     Serenity pouted. "What I need is..." she grinned at Sonni.
"... a piggyback ride!"
     Sonni chuckled. "Nope. You're too old for those now, Bunny.
You're almost as large as I am. In Earth gravity, no less!"
     Ami blinked. Any of the Senshi would have obeyed their
princess immediately, but this woman was cheeky enough to refuse
her. Even if she was a relative of some sort...
     Makoto frowned. "You should obey the princess."
     Serenity giggled, spoiling the tense mood. "Yes. You should
obey me." She began to giggle harder.
     Sonni smiled, ignoring Rei and Makoto's threatening stances.
"Oh, sure, youngling. Not even a crown on your head and you're
bossing around your elders."
     Rei's voice was colder than Makoto's. "You shall not address
the princess so casually."
     Serenity rolled her eyes. "Yes she will, Rei. Its one of the
prerogatives of siblinghood."
     Everyone grounded to a dead stop except Minako, who was just
becoming conscious of the argument. "WHAT?!!!"
     Sonni frowned in disapproval. "Now, now, sis, you told me you
had a reasonably intelligent court."
     "Well, yes, but I think they're a bit surprised. Give them
time."
     "Oh, gotcha." She studied her comm. "The guards are only a
quarter mile away. Let's get going." She headed off, being joined
by Minako. The other Senshi followed in various stages of
amazement. Endymion took it in stride, helping Serenity over a log.
     Ami herself couldn't believe it. How could Serenity have an
older sister? It didn't make sense... unless there were things the
Lunar Royalty didn't tell others.
                              *
     Yassoni smiled at the shock written over the faces of
Serenity's friends. Good. She headed out towards the rendezvous
point, walking along with Minako of Venus.
     Minako looked at her nervously. "Sonni, can I ask you a
question?"
     She shrugged. Why not? "Sure, ask away."
     "Why does Sonar dislike me so?"
     Oh. That. "Well... she's unhappy because her father didn't
love her. She's jealous that your dad loves you so much."
     "Oh. But why me?"
     Sonni sighed. "That's not my story to tell. It is Sonar's
secret. You'll have to ask her yourself."
     "Oh."
     They soon reached the rendezvous point. Her plants among the
Elite Guard joined them. They headed the short distance towards
Metallia's main base.
     Ami caught up with her. Great, another one wanting to know the
twins' histories. "Sonni?"
     "Yes?"
     "Spectrum... he's Alexander, isn't he? That's why he's
uncomfortable around Venus and I."
     "You'll have to ask him about that. I can tell only my own
story."
     "Fine. Why were you disinherited?"
     Sonni chuckled. Easy one. "See my forehead? No mark. No mark,
no crown. Like being a bastard, really."
     Ami winced. "Oh. So, what do you do?"
     Do? What did it *look* like she did? "I protect my mother and
sister and keep the empire from falling apart."
     "You aren't jealous?"
     Sonni sighed. "I was, when I was young. But I can't be angry
at Serenity - I love her too much. I enjoy my own role. Aren't
*you* jealous of me?"
     "What?"
     "I get all the perks without he public annoyances. My time is
my own. Are you jealous?"
     "Well, no. I like being a princess."
     "And I like being a Secret Ops director."
     "Ah. Thank you... I feel enlightened."
     "Glad to help you."
                              *
[1 hour later]
     All in all, Sonni thought, the battle was anticlimactic. While
Metallia could have been a serious enemy in a few years, she had
built up almost no forces. She and Endymion had taken out the
youma, while Serenity and her court had used the Crystal to cut
through the dark spirit.
     All the girls were in high spirits, as they had the right to
be. There would be a great celebration tonight - which she would
guard, as usual.
     Sonar and Spectrum reported great success in their own
mission, and a great liking for Earth's guardians. The empire was
peaceful once more.
                              *
[the next day]
     Sonar looked up from her desk. "Yes?"
     Princess Ami and Minako walked in. "Um, we wanted to talk to
you."
     She frowned. What did they want? "Spec, get in here."
     Spec joined them, and they all sat.
     "So, what can we do for you?"
     Ami swallowed nervously. "We noticed you seem to have some...
antipathy for us."
     Minako nodded. "And we were wondering what the problem was...
did we do something wrong?"
     Sonar sighed. "I suppose it has something to with our last
name."
     Ami asked, "Are you Alexander and Alexis?"
     Sonar started. "You... you know of us? When we were there, no
one acknowledged our existence."
     Minako frowned. "Huh? Ami, what are you talking about?"
     Spectrum snorted. "Not common knowledge, anyway."
     Ami frowned. "I'm afraid not. I discovered your existence by
searching through medical databases. Nothing was recorded but you
birth. I'm... sorry. I didn't realize I had older siblings."
     Minako blinked. "They're your siblings?"
     "And yours too. You have the same father."
     "My god..."
     Sonar sighed. "Yes, neither of our parents wanted to admit to
our existence. A stain on their perfect record. You'll understand
if we're a bit jealous of you."
     Ami frowned. "But Sonni said you liked your job..."
     Spectrum exploded. "We do! But not at the sacrifice of
parental *love*. We have no parents! They could have at least
admitted we exist. You can have the stupid titles! I want a
mother!" He sat down, tears in his eyes.
     Ami walked over to him. He was a grown man - she was barely
young adult. But she embraced him. "I can't give you that... but
I hear there's a sister available."
     Sonar blinked. "But... why would you want to associate
yourselves with us? Your mother will not be pleased."
     Minako shrugged. "Neither will my father. But they can go
roast an egg. I have an older sister and brother I never knew. I'd
like to." She giggled. "We could even take you home with us
sometime. Wouldn't father have a fit!"
     Sonar smiled. "Definitely. It sounds like a plan."
     Spectrum patted Ami on the shoulder. "Thank you."
     Minako turned to Sonar. "So you're the one who can do a
crescent beam attack, huh?"
     She shrugged. "A weak one. My powers tend more towards sound,
and Spectrum's to light."
     Yassoni stepped in. "I just love a family reunion, but I need
the twins." Ami and Minako's faces fell. "You can have them later!
I need them now."
     The two girls left. 
     Yassoni slumped into a chair. "Nice girls. Now, what's your
opinion on this..."
                              *
[2 years later]
     Serenity smiled, happiness radiating from her. Serenity's
wedding had gone off without a hitch, as had her senshi's weddings.
The happy couples were now following her back to her quarters,
ostensibly to get marching orders.
     Instead, after the huge double doors were closed, they had the
most important ceremony of all. The staff of Esops awaited them
there.
     Yassoni and Grendal were dressed regally, having attended the
weddings as anonymous courtiers. Sonar and Spectrum wore the dress
of both Mercury and Venus, acting as seconds.
     The two lovebirds held hands. Serenity asked, "Are you ready?"
     Her youngest piped up, "She had better be! Sonni, you're an
old maid now."
     Sonni chuckled. "Hey, I'm only thirty. Yes, mother, we're
ready."
     "Yassoni d'Luna, do you pledge yourself to Grendal d'Plu-mage
as wife?"
     "Anytime!"
     "Grendal d'Plu-mage, do you pledge yourself to Princess
Yassoni d'Luna?"
     "With all my heart."
     "They I, as your Queen, declare you to be married."
     They kissed vigorously, smiling. But their happiness could not
outstrip her own. Her daughter had found happiness - and that was
the greatest thing in the world.
                                   *
[15 years later]
     Old Queen Serenity lay in bed, smiling. She'd managed to
completely disband her empire. Every planet would be free upon the
moment of her death. Both of her daughters had prospered. It was
time for her to go.
     Her quarters were crowded with well-wishers. Yassoni and
Serenity sat on her bed, holding her hands. Their husbands were
supporting them. Serenity's senshi stood at the end of the bed by
the twins and the guardians.
     Luna and Artemis stood at attention, sadness in their eyes. 
     "Goodbye, all. Serenity, you shall be the Queen of the Moon.
Senshi, thank you for protecting my daughter. Feel free to return
home. Yassoni - thank you for your invaluable service. It was much
more than I deserved. You don't have to continue - you owe nothing
to the crown. Find some enjoyment in life. Luna, Artemis, retire,
please. Have some fun. Alex, Ali, your names have been added to the
Lunar citizenry roles. You're free to do as you wish. Endymion -
love my daughter well. You too, Grendal. Guardians, I wish you
well. Protect my daughter as you would Endymion."
     Yassoni chuckled. "Now, mother, I meant what I said. I like
my job. Anyway, sis is going to need me to keep her head on
straight." She turned to her sister. "If you'll have me, that is."
     Serenity smiled. "Of course I would! I couldn't rule without
you. I'd mess something up."
     Ami turned to the twins. "You could come home."
     Sonar chuckled. "We *are* home." Spectrum nodded.
     Ami frowned. "Princess Serenity, would it be acceptable if I
stayed? There are enough royales on Mercury to rule a hundred
planets. I'd like to stay with my sister and brother."
     "Me too!" Minako chimed in.
     Serenity frowned. "I'd love to have you... but you'll lose a
chance at having your own thrones."
     Ami shrugged. "I've decided I don't want a crown."
     Queen Serenity felt her eyes begin to closed. "Daughters...
I love you."
     And she was gone.
                                   *
[40 years later, epilogue]
     Usagi looked up from her work and frowned. "Yeah? What is it?"
     Her mother laughed. "You're working too hard. Go take a break.
The other kids are."
     "Hey! I'm twenty! I'm not a kid."
     "Un-huh. Go have fun."
     "Oh, ok."
     She walked out the door to see that the small lobby was
crowded with people. They stood clustered around a cake. "But...
I checked all my sources! The party was tomorrow!"
     Yassoni d'Luna, her mother, laughed. "Guess I'm still the
superior at secret operations, huh?"
     The party was a complete surprise - and a dream. Everyone was
there. Her friends fathers, the Guardians, had taken a day off from
the toil of building new settlements on Earth to populate it.
     Luna and Artemis, two old but stately cats, had come out of
retirement to hobnob with the elite once more.
     Sonar and Spectrum were actually in-system for once, instead
of far out.
     Her friends, the sons and daughters of the Senshi/Guardian
marriages had all come from their apprenticeships. 
     The Senshi had accompanied their husbands, and Ami had pulled
her head out of Esops and into social life.
     Even Aunt Serenity was there. Her aunt walked over and rubbed
Usagi's moon mark affectionately. "So, my heir, how do you like
it?"
     "It's perfect."



                    THE END... now and forever

Whew! Hours of frantic typing and revising are done. I hope you
like it. I started at about 10 last night and wrote till midnight.
Then I wrote more from 8 to 11 this morning. Then my computer lost
everything I typed today, and I had to retype a lot of it. I
finished it at 8 tonight.