Before the story starts... you know, I just realized this fic will be
posted a little over a year since I posted my first Sailormoon fanfiction
to alt.fan.sailor-moon, "Queen Beryl's Fatal Stress-Related Atomic
Disintegration" (on Hotaru-chan's birthday, no less). Heh. What a strange
ride it had been. Oddly enough, the seeds of what would become Suburban
Senshi were in my mind even as I wrote that fic, although this series
didn't really get seriously underway until I posted the teaser preview
(based off a spam I found in the newsgroup) on 6/5/02...

So, hehehe... once again, I say (belatedly) Happy Birthday, Hotaru-chan,
and with that the History lesson ends, and Suburban Senshi series III
begins!

SUBURBAN SENSHI: BUDOKAI  EPISODE THIRTEEN: "THE GANG'S ALL HERE"

EPISODE PREVIEW

Hi, Everyone! Suburban Senshi is BACK! And this season, our cast is taking
a trip overseas! That's right! Everyone's going to a place called Papaya
Island, because there, in South City, every three years, there is a special
event-- a gathering of the world's best martial artists, where fighters vy
to be crowned the best in the world. It is the world's most famous and
revered martial arts tournament-- the Tenka-ichi Budokai. And the Suburban
Senshi are going to enter!!

HOTARU: There are spoilers for the True Identity of Pegasus in Act II. So
if you still don't know... just what kind of Sailor Moon Otaku are you?

By Dr. Xadium (drxadium@DEATHTOSPAMgate.net)

Naoko Takeuchi is hereby thanked for her involuntary contribution to this
fanfic.

Read the Official Suburban Senshi episodes at
http://dr_xadium.tripod.com/subsenshi

Visit the NEW constantly updated Suburban Senshi Weblog at
http://dr_xadium.tripod.com

Suburban Senshi's Kaioh Michiru is co-winner of the 2002 Senshi'ichi
Budokai! See the official site at
http://users.erols.com/tdouglas/sib/index.html

TEASER

FADE IN

LAST TIME, ON SUBURBAN SENSHI

<Inside a Ratty wooden warehouse>

"I said BACK OFF!" Haruka yelled, totally psyched.

Nephlite shoved Elza Grey to one side, raising an energy knife.
Haruka cursed mentally, wishing that she had a weapon as well. To her
surprise, her talisman appeared in her hand.

The final showdown between Haruka and Nephlite had begun.

Haruka and Nephlite circled one another, dimly noting that the room was
filling with flame. The light of the fire flickered, casting obscene
shadows as the combatants moved.

Elza looked on in terror from behind Jedite and Tomoe as they prepared to
do battle for the last time.

Nephlite raised his blade, his other hand holding Haruka's transformation
pen mockingly.

Haruka snarled "let's get it on."

Before they could move, a tidal wave of supercharged water blasted into the
room from the outside wall, knocking them aside and blowing a hole in the
opposite wall.

Haruka watched in horror as her transformation pen disintegrated in the
blistering tide, releasing a cataclysmic blast of raw power.

Nephlite cursed as the energy engulfed him. When it cleared, he was gone,
save for a charred and smoking, tattered piece of his uniform left on the
floor.

AND NOW, THE CONTINUATION

THE AFTERLIFE, SPIRIT CHECK IN STATION

Enma-daiou, Lord of the Afterlife*

*http://anime_capsule.tripod.com/profiles/lords_ladies/King_Yemma.html

sat back in his giant office chair,looking down past the edge of his
enormous desk to the relatively insignificant deceased soul standing
pathetically before him.

Leaning foward, the multi-story high god loomed over his visitor. The god's
red face and stern gaze struck fear deep within the depths of even this
soul's hardened heart.

"Didn't I tell you," Enma-diaou said in a deep, resonant voice that
literally shook the walls of the cavernous office, "that I never wanted to
see you in here again? After all that trouble you gave Kaiou-sama last
time, you're lucky you even got to keep your body, considering how evil you
are. But then again, all the really *evil* people get to keep their
bodies... so they may feel the pain of the tortures they will recieve... in
HELL!"

The small soul crossed his arms, and tried his level best to look
nonplussed. The golden halo over his head, the signature of the dead, stood
out starkly in the umbra of Enma's long shadow.

The sprit frowned. "I don't fear you--"

Enma-daiou laughed. "Fear this!" He brought down a large rubber stamp,
which emblazoned the word "HELL" on a large sheet of paper- the spirit's
Akhashic record. "Now get out of my sight!"

"Wait!" the spirit screeched, as it fell through a trap door in the floor.

ACT I: LEST OLD ACQUAINTANCES BE FORGOT...

TB -2

SOUTH CITY, PAPAYA ISLAND - SITE OF THE 33rd TENKA-ICHI BUDOKAI

South City was abuzz with excitement. People from all over the planet had
converged on the city, located on the tropical isle of Papaya Island for
the 33rd edition of the Tenka-ichi Budokai, a legendary Martial Arts
tournament which has featured the most legendary fighters in history,
among them such great names as Muten Roshi, Jackie Chun, Tienshinhan, Son
Goku and Mr. Satan.

From its humble beginnings centuries ago as a gathering of elite fighing
monks from various rival schools, the tournament had grown both in
visibility and in size. Now it was more of a media circus than a solemn
place of ritual combat.

It was into this festival atmosphere that Ten'ou Haruka, Tomoe Souichi,
Jedite, and Tomoe Hotaru now walked.

All around them the ultra-modern of digital cameras, public display
monitors and hot dog stands clashed with the ancient architecture and
cobblestone paving of the streets.

"Ooh! It's Ten'ou Haruka!" a throng of young girls screeched, trying to get
close to the squave crossdresser, who was surrounded by a swirl of Sakura
petals.

"Stupid Ikuhara perfection field," Jedite mumbled, sakura petals all over
his hair and blue-gray military uniform. He spat some out from between his
teeth. "Every time she goes out in public, WHAM! The world turns to
watercolor and these [BLEEP]ing PETALS fly everywhere! It's not even the
right SEASON for them! This is INSANE! ARRGH!"

"Yes," Hotaru said sadly. "It makes taking a peaceful, albeit enforced,
vacation almost impossible, with all these idol-chasers following us
around." She snorted, ejecting a sakura petal from her nose. "And who does
that annoying "woo-woo-woo" humming that seems to follow Haruka-poppa
around everywhere?"

"I fail to see the problem," Haruka said, her arms behind her head, as she
admired the throng of lightly-dressed female admirers and the BGM woo-woo-
wooed.

"I know how to SHUT it off," Professor Tomoe said, momentarily taking off
his ultra-shiny glasses to wipe off some petals.

Pulling out a large wooden mallet from within his white laboratory coat,
Tomoe swung and clocked Haruka right in the side of the head.

Haruka's eyes crossed and her tounge stuck out at the most comical angle
possible. The Ikuhara perfection field instantly vanished. The crowd
dispersed.

"That was a bit extreme, don't you think!?" Haruka asked angrily, rubbing
the top of her head.

"Hmph," Jedite said roughly, "You're going to have to be able to take
knocks like that if you plan to fight in the Budokai." His voice took ona
tone of grudging admiration, laced with a tinge of mockery. "I must say
you've got some guts, Ten'ou, entering the World's Martial Arts Tournament
when you can't even transform into Sailor Uranus."

Haruka chuckled, and flexed a muscle in her left arm. "Heh. Transformation
Pen or no, I'm still tough enough to beat 99% of the competition here."

She paused to rub her throbbing scalp.

Hotaru looked at Haruka and sighed. "It's not even as if you're genuinely
interested in winning this competition. You just want to meet Mr. Satan.*

*http://100megsfree4.com/abcsofdbz/mrsatan.html

You know you could just walk up to him and ask for an autograph. You *are*
a world famous race-car driver and pianist, after all. I'm sure he would
gladly give you a moment of his time. You don't need to *enter* the Budokai
just to meet him."

Haruka snorted. "Hmph. You're just cross because the rest of us decided to
fly down here and you had to come because otherwise you'd have been all
alone at home."

Professor Tomoe cut in. "Well, technically PHARAOH 95-chan would have BEEN
with YOU."

Hotaru scowled. "I have no desire to be eaten by your latest summoning,
Papa."

Jedite flicked the top of Hotaru's extremely wide hat*

*the one Chibiusa had lost the first time they met

and looked over her typical all-black body covering outfit. "What's the
problem, Hotaru? It seems you also have no desire to get a tan."

Hotaru made a disgusted noise and said nothing. She could do without
melanoma, thank you very much.

Haruka looked up at the sky, a dreamy look on her face. "You don't
understand, 'Taru-chan. When I work my way up to the final Championship
bout and bravely but futiley test my mettle against the invincible Mr.
Satan, he will be so impressed with my courage that he'll help up my broken
body, shake my hand and tell me, "Be strong, Haruka! You'll be as tough and
mighty as me someday! And then he'll lift me onto his shoulders, yell
'HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'  and ask the crowd to cheer for me. For ME..."*

*Imagines super-deformed Chibi-Haruka riding on the shoulders of the big,
burly super-afro possessing Mr. Satan.

Jedite sighed. "Oh, man, not this dream again."

Professor Tomoe shook his head. "Maybe he WOULD do that, Haruka... if you
were FOUR years OLD..."

Haruka scowled, snapped out of her reverie. "Why are YOU here, anyway,
Tomoe? Don't you have sick plots to plan with your slimy pet from an
alternate dimension, Pharaoh 95?"

Tomoe held up a mottled grey Daimon seed. "I just want to TEST my newest
Daimon against the world's BEST Martial artists. I could USE some of the
prize money to fund my EVIL--"

Hotaru shot her father a sharp disapproving gaze.

Tomoe coughed. "--Uhm, I mean, TOTALLY BENIGN, SUUPA HAPPY plans!!"

Jedite laughed darkly. "I wouldn't count on getting any of that money,
Tomoe. *I* intend to win the tournament."

Haruka looked at Jedite quizzically. "But I thought you hated tournaments
where the losers got to live."

Jedite smirked. "I intend to defeat that fool Mr. Satan, who has cheapened
the reputation of this most glorious competition by fixing it all these
years."

Haruka blanched. "The Budokai's not fixed!!"

Jedite spat. "Oh, come ON, Ten'ou! You telling me that Mr. Satan, who's at
best an above-average fighter, managed to cleanly beat incredibly strong
people like #18, Mr. Buu, Son Goku, and Vegita?"

"He SAVED the world from Cell!" Haruka yelled, producing and clutching to
her heart a Mr. Satan UFO catcher doll.

"Please!" Jedite said incredulously. "Cell was one of the most powerful
fighters in the universe! There's no way--"

"The world's still HERE, isn't it!" Haruka protested. "And I don't see
anyone else stepping up to claim the credit! Besides, I saw the fight on
TV... well, most of it, anyway."

Jedite scowled. "You'll believe anything you see, won't you?"

Haruka pouted. "Hmph. Well, I don't think you care anything about the
tournament or Mr. Satan. Why I'll bet you have your own sinister motives
for entering the tournament."

Jedite smiled wickedly. "Heh. To win this tournament would be to place my
name upon the lips of every person in the world! I could become famous and
powerful overnight."

Haruka narrowed her eyes. "Why would you want to?"

Jedite smiled darkly. "There are vast powers that seek to rule the world.
Hidden cabals, like the Illuminati and the Freemasons. Hotaru knows what
I'm talking about--"

Hotaru nodded.

"--If I can wield enough power, I will be granted admission into their
secret societies. Then I will co-opt them, and through them, take over the
world!"

Professor Tomoe stood in front of Jedite challengingly. "No way! I'M taking
over the WORLD first!"

Jedite stepped closer to Tomoe, getting in his darkened face. "I'm taking
over the world! You hear me!?"

Professor Tomoe shoved Jedite backwards. "OH YEAH!? We'll I'm TAKING over
this ENTIRE DIMENSION!"

Horaru got in between the two men and stared her father in the eye. "You
will do NO such THING, Papa!"

Professor Tomoe sweatdropped and held the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yes, dear. I mean, no dear. Uhm--"

Hotaru scowled. "Can't you be content living a normal family life?"

Professor Tomoe stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. Normalcy?! Whata
concept! "Hmm.. I've never ACTUALLY tried that, in between EXPERIMENTING
upon YOU with NANOTECHNOLOGY, summoning extradimensional OVERLORDS and
running vast evil conspiracies.... what an INTERESTING idea...
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Haruka tapped Jedite on the shoulder. "And you're not taking over the world
either."

"What do you care?" Jedite said in a sinister tone.

"Well," Haruka began casually, "I *am* Sailor Uranus, and believe in
justice, or something like that. So I guess I'm obligated to dissuade you..
or something."

Jedite snorted derisively. "First of all, you *aren't* Sailor Uranus, as
you can't transform anymore. Secondly, even when you WERE Uranus, Justice
meant little to you. By all accounts you were the coldest, most amoral,
maleficent mother--"

Haruka, who was not paying attention, suddenly facefaulted and then pointed
into a crowd of people. "Look! Isn't that Tienshinhan? He's a former
tournament champion!"

The others looked over at a tall, well built bald man in green and red
monk's robes.*

*To help all the Dragonball-deprived Moonatics out there, I was going to
include URLs to all the relevant crossover character's biographies online.
But when even the OFFICIAL Dragonball Z site has such charmingly indepth
character analyses as "Tien is a three-eyed man intent on training to be
strong," I got depressed and gave up entirely. Sorry. Well, actually, I
found a source after I wrote this, so here. :)
http://100megsfree4.com/abcsofdbz/tien.html

He was busy conversing with a small boy who had a chalk-white
complexion, and ruddy cheeks.*

* "This white-skinned, red-checked [sic] little being is the devoted
companion of Tien." -- FUNimation
http://100megsfree4.com/abcsofdbz/chaiotzu.html

As he was speaking, his eyes blinked a lot. All three of them.

Jedite frowned. "Why does he have three eyes? Is he some kind of alien?"

Hotaru tilted her head to one side as she pondered the superfluous eye.
"Perhaps he's a very enlightened person whose Third Eye has opened..."

"Or he's a GENETIC freak," Professor Tomoe mused.

"Man, he's got a LOAD of advanced fighting techniques under his belt!"
Haruka said with child-like glee. "He's one of the top fighters on the
PLANET! And that little guy with the whiteface and red spots is Chao Tsu!
He's Tienshinhan's best friend. I hear he has formidable psychic powers!"

Professor Tomoe chuckled. "HEH. With that PALE a complexion I guess he gets
OUT less than YOU, eh, DEAR?" He patted Hotaru on the head.

Hotaru sighed. "Very funny, Papa."

Haruka continued to gawk. "Heh. Those are the two to beat at this
tournament. Tienshinhan even beat the legendary Son Goku once, you know."

Jedite coughed immodestly. "Yeah, well I bet he's never faced a General of
the Dark Kingdom before. Don't overlook me, Ten'ou."

"I--" Haruka began.

"That WOMAN!" Professor Tomoe yelled, pointing to a blue-haired, middle
aged woman who was standing near Tienshinhan and Chao Tsu.*
http://100megsfree4.com/abcsofdbz/bulma.html

Haruka nodded sagely. "Yeah, she's kinda cute. If a little old. Mmm... blue
hair. Reminds me of Michi--"

Jedite shook his head. Haruka was being her old self again. Even worse now
that Michiru had stormed off weeks ago.

Professor Tomoe adjusted his obscenely shiny glasses. "I think I KNOW
her..."

Haruka nodded sagely. "I think I'd LIKE to..."

Hotaru exhaled a quiet "Ecchi..."

Tomoe snapped his fingers. "BULMA Briefs? Is that YOU?"*

*"Bulma is also fashion conscious and changes clothing and hairstyles
during the [various Dragonball] series." --FUNimation

Hotaru's eyes widened. "Briefs? As in the Briefs family that runs Capsule
Corporation, one of the largest research and development firms on the
planet? You used to do business with them, right Papa?"

The woman looked over in their direction and yelled happily. "Souichi-san?
Is that YOU?"

Tomoe cackled madly and outstretched his arms.

Bulma screeched happily and ran towards him. "It IS you! You used to
visit my dad all the time when I was little!"

Professor Tomoe gave her a friendly hug. "You were always BUILDING things
with your DAD. Robots, Speederbikes, RAIL GUNS. What are YOU doing HERE?"

Bulma pointed at Tienshinhan. "Tien is a friend of mine. In fact, a lot of
my friends are here to watch the tournament and the special dedication
ceremony that wull happen afterwards."

"Dedication ceremony?" Jedite asked.

"Statues of some of the greatest past champions will be unveiled," Bulma
replied. "Son-kun--"

"Tell me SOMETHING," Tomoe interrrupted, drawing Bulma off to one side, "Do
you still go around the WORLD looking for DRAGONBALLS?"

"No," Bulma replied with a laugh. "I gave that up years ago. Why do you
ask?"

Tomoe chuckled. "I was THINKING of hunting them DOWN myself."

Bulma fished around in her purse and produced a small object that looked
like a large stopwatch, but had a green faceplate. "I have something here
that might just be able to help you. It's called a 'Dragon Radar'."

"Dragon Radar, eh?" Tomoe threw his head back and laughed. "YES!"
"MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Hotaru nudged Jedite in the ribs. "What's a Dragonball?"

Jedite shrugged. "I have no idea. But if that insane father of yours wants
it, I'd be worried about it."

Hotaru nodded dumbly.

All the while, Haruka was scrutinizing Tienshinhan, noting the aura of
confidence and strength that he seemed to exude.

"Hmm," she muttered to herself. "That Tienshinhan is gonna be trouble,
especially if I can't transform. Nuts. Thanks a lot, Michiru, wherever you
are."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about HIM, Tenou Haruka," said a strange voice
from behind Haruka.

She turned to find herself face to face with a very short, but oddly stocky
big-headed alien creature in human clothes.

"YOU!" Haruka exclaimed with shock.

"MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Professor Tomoe cackled in the background.

EYECATCH - Super-Deformed Michiru is playing her violin in front of a bored
crowd. Super Deformed Jedite fires a thin ki blast which cuts the strings
on the violin.

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TONS of ILLEGIBLE CRACKED FOREIGN SHAREWARE PRODUCTS will be UPLOADED to
the hapless SPAMMER's BOX and an AUTODIALER will send an INSTANT message to
the SPA, the ANTI-PIRACY guild... and just like in HACKERS, within SECONDS,
fifty ARMED FEDERAL AGENTS with WAY TOO MANY guns will BUST down the door
of the IM FREAK and ARREST him/her/it for THE CRIME OF using a computer in
a NON SANCTIONED way!*

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course!

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EYECATCH - Superdeformed Jedite sits on stage drenched with water, a broken
violin shattered over his head. Superdeformed Michiru stands off to one
side rubbing her hands together and nodding with satisfaction.


ACT II: HERE COMES TROUBLE

Haruka thought back to her first encounter with the strange creature,
trying to forget the subsequent hangover.

FLASHBACK

Haruka turned around and saw herself facing a big-headed grey alien with
oversized eyes, broomstick-thin limbs, no nose, and a slit for a mouth.  It
was wearing a fancy looking uniform. "I am Mutanex," the alien said. "My
people come from the star system you would call Zeta Reticuli."

Haruka blanched. "Are you the b[BLEEP]ds who want to come to Earth and
stick probes up our--"

"No, no, no," Mutanex mentally projected smoothly, stepping by nonchalantly
as a screaming Krill ran past and another alien staggered by, a hard candy
stuck to its face. "There was just a big misunderstanding caused by one of
our malfunctioning robot probes."

END FLASHBACK

"You were a most clever adversary," Mutanex said darkly.

FLASHBACK

"Now come on," Mutanex said, "I saw the probe transmissions. I know you
humans are a bunch of, how you say, 'supahfreaks'. I saw you get shot like
about a hundred times, and then you'd show up somewhere else ready to fight
again."

"Respawning," Haruka said, raising her glass. "You see, in a Counterstrike
level--"

"--and then I saw the most interesting thing," Mutanex said. "One of the
humans actually did something to themselves whereby they became completely
invulnerable and then they fired unlimited rounds of ammunition at everyone
else, reigning death with unchallenged supremacy."

"That was 'God' mode," Haruka replied.

"God mode?"  Mutanex asked a little too eagerly.

"Yeah, with that [BLEEP] on you could walk in naked yelling at the enemy
and they'd die from their own ricochets."

"Such an audacious conquest would live forever in the annals of history,"
Mutanex mused. "A fitting capstone to my brilliant military career."

"It's damn annoying, that's for sure," Haruka said.

"You will give us the secrets of this 'God' mode," Mutanex said darkly,
rising up from the beer. "You will give them to us now."

END FLASHBACK

"Your deception cost me everything," Mutanex said darkly. "Clever, getting
drunk so as to defy the truth-sensors".

"Wait.." Haruka asked in shock. "You actually thought that [BLEEP] worked
in the real world?"

"SILENCE, MONKEY GIRL!" Mutanex yelled. "YOU COST ME EVERYTHING!"

FLASHBACK

ZETA HIGH COMMAND

Mutanex stood alone on a levitating platform, surrounded by a dozen Zetan
generals. Telepathically, they were bombarding his mind with a barrage of
insults.

//Mutanex//

the Chief High Omnipotent Chancellor of the Zetan Hive projected
telepathically,

// You allowed your troops to invade the Earth naked and screaming //
// on the premise that some kind of //
// God Mode //
// would enable them to //
// be invulnerable to enemy fire //
// ? //

Mutanex tried to gather his thoughts.

// But the data from the Probe unit sent to observe humanity-- //

// SILENCE! //


// You believed such a silly tale //
// ? //
// You are unworthy of commanding the Zetan Military //
// This Council Banishes you to Earth //
// Moreover, as punishment for your perverse attraction to Humans //
// we are going to place you in a human body //

Mutanex panicked.

// But that means I'll sweat //
// I'll have to excrete from my reproductive system //
// I'll have to eat with my.. with my MOUTH //
// My eyes will be so TINY //
// I'll be virtually BLIND //
// !!!! //

The council telepathically sighed.

// Too bad //
// for you //

END FLASHBACK

"But that doesn't look like a human body," Haruka said. "You're slender and
androgynous, You've got no eyebrows, no real nose, a razor thin mouth and
funky eyes. Only difference is you talk with your mouth now."

Mutanex scowled. "This is thanks to your surprisingly efficient 'plastic
surgeons'. I went to one of them and asked for the 'Michael Jackson'. But
as good as they were at that, they could not redirect my bowels to my pores
or make my urine come out of my eyes."

Haruka shuddered involuntarily. "Thank goodness for that."

Mutanex fidgeted. "REALLY?! Do you know how NASTY it is that you BREED with
your EXCRETORY organs?"

He paused and waggled a non-eyebrow. "Hey, Haruka-baby... wanna breed?"

"Wha--?" Haruka asked in shock.

"If you do, I'll call it even..." Mutanex waggled his non-eyebrows again.

Haruka's face turned blue and she backed off several steps. She frantically
waved her hands in the negative.

"I'm not... the breeding type," she stammered.

"FINE THEN!" Mutanex yelled. "This three dimensional human meat body is far
stronger than my old one in certain ways. I suppose there is benefit to
being a beast. I will use these human hands to crush the life out of you at
this Tournament! And then you'll BEG to breed with me!"

"But I'll be dead then," Haruka protested weakly.

"That's NEVER STOPPED ME BEFORE!" Mutanex yelled, stalking off.

"Disgusting!" Jedite exclaimed.*

*Hey, if the WWE can do it...

Hotaru walked over to Haruka and pointed to the rapidly moving Mutanex.
"Haruka-poppa," she said quietly, "I would be careful. I can feel a
powerful force coming from him."

"That's just his flatulence," Haruka said dismissively.

Hotaru scowled. "Besides that. It's coming from his mind. It's dark and
filled with hidden energy."

Haruka frowned. "If it's hidden how can you sense it?"

"..."

"Hello, ladies," a suave, eerily pedophilic dub voice said. Haruka and
Hotaru suddenly found themselves weak kneed, unable to divert their
attention from the white haired, regal-looking, dark complexioned young man
with white hair.

A black floral border with yellow rotating Roses at the corners covered the
screen for a moment.

"Pegasus," Hotaru tried to say with disdain, but her words came out airy
and breathless. The Ikuhara aura of absolute perfection that Pegasus had
picked up when he had cloned the body of Prince Dios*

*Revolutionary Girl Utena - http://www.firesenshi.com/utena/diosutena.jpg

was far stronger than any perfection afforded the Outer Senshi by Ikuhara
during his time on Sailor Moon S. The women were unable to resist the raw,
animal will of Prince Elios "Pegasus" Dios.

"So good to see you again," Prince Elios said, casually taking Hotaru's
hand. Hotaru didn't have enough blood left in her arm, or will in her
spirit, to pull it back.

From the bushes, a pair of violet eyes narrowed in anger at the sight.

"We have unfinished business to take care of," Elios said in a suave,
sophisticated voice. "I stopped by your quaint little house in Azabu-
Juuban, but it was all empty. The little squid demon with three million
eyes told me where to find you."

"Pharaoh 95?" Hotaru asked, her legs getting rubbery. Haruka was already
sitting down.

Others in the crowd were beginning to notice the strange sight, stopping to
gawk.

Elios, for his part, paid them no heed, continuing to stare deep into
Hotaru's violet eyes.

"Pegasus..." Hotaru began weakly, her voice barely a whisper, "I won't let
you... use your power..."

"It's all right, baby," Elios said cooly as he kneeled down before her.
"Before this tournament is over, I'm going to rule you inside and *outside*
the ring. And then I'm gonna leave you..."

His voice grew cold and hard.

"...a shattered woman filled with unquenchable desire for the Horse with
the Force. You got between me and my Chibi-Queen Chibiusa, and for that you
will pay. Dearly."

Weakly, Hotaru protested, "But I'm only here to watch... I'm not... even...
fighting... in the Budokai..."

Elios laughed darkly. "So you just want to watch? No matter, Goth grrl.
I'll crush your friends over there, just to see you squirm. Then I'll use
you, abuse you, and lose you. Permanently."

Hotaru tried her best to struggle. "Get... away... from me!" As she
struggled, Elios began to laugh darkly.

The sigil of Saturn began to glow on Hotaru's forehead. She could feel an
involuntary transformation about to take hold.

"What's that guy think he's doing?"

From the crowd, Tienshinhan was watching the spectacle along with Chao Tsu.
At first he thought they were just two lovers having a conversation, but
now he knew something was horribly wrong. He looked down at his young
friend.

"Chao Tsu."

The request was all that was needed. Chao Tsu extended his short little
arms and held out his hands, palms forward. Mentally, he concentrated, and
telekinetic power began to flow.

"There's nothing you can do--" Elios said, freezing suddenly as he found
his body petrified.

"Wha--" he exclaimed, turning his eyes as best he could sideways. He saw
a short palefaced kid holding out his arms. Mentally he could feel the
power projecting from the boy.

The sigil faded from Hotaru's head. She pulled herself away from Elios'
grasp.

For her part, Haruka slowly sat up, unsure of her surroundings.

"This isn't your business," Dios snarled to Chao Tsu.

Tienshinhan stepped forward fearlessly. "Leave the young lady alone."

"Stay out of this, Triclops," Elios snapped.

All three of Tienshinhan's eyes narrowed. "Release him, Chao Tsu."

"A wise choice," Elios began to brag, before he noticed Tienshinhan
cracking his knuckles.

Dios growled. "You're so cocky now, with your little psychic friend running
interference. But you won't be so fortunate at the Tournament--" Elios
paused, tapping into the power of his Golden Crystal, "--Tienshinhan."

Slowly, Elios walked off.

"Are you alright, miss?" Tienshinhan asked Hotaru, who nodded.

"Yes, thank you."

"Who was that guy?" he asked.

"A very dangerous boy," Hotaru said after taking a few moments to compose
herself. "I wouldn't take him lightly. At all."

Tienshinhan looked at the retreating Elios and nodded. His sixth sense was
telling him there *was* something odd about the lad. But what it was
exactly, he didn't know.

Standing some distance away, Haruka also watched Elios leave.

FLASHBACK

This home is truly magnificent," The Prince said to Haruka.

Haruka looked at the Prince askance, and was frozen in place as a black
floral border surrounded the screen, framing the prince. Four rotating blue
roses were in the corners.

"Someone else... with an Ikuhara perfection field..." Haruka said
breathlessly, the strength suddenly going out of her knees. All worries
about Michiru evaporated in her mind, so confident was she in this Prince.

"And it... works in private places?"  Michiru asked dreamily as she got to
her feet, seemingly revived.

"Oh," said the Prince very smoothly. "It works in *all* the private
places, my dear."

Haruka didn't even notice as a small trickle of blood began exiting her
nose. Her usually macho cool was completely smashed. Steadying herself on
Master Hino's bald head for balance, she coughed and tried to look away
from the Perfect Prince. She failed.

Haruka backed off a bit, almost stumbling backwards into the dining area,
unable to disentangle her gaze from the Prince. Something was wrong. These
feelings were alien to her... but they were also undeniable. Blood mixed
with drool began flowing out the corner of her mouth.

Haruka weakly dropped back into her chair, totally powerless. Blood leaked
freely from her nose. She was staring into the face of a perfection
magnitudes more perfect than her own, and she was being drawn into it.

END FLASHBACK

Haruka bit her lower lip in frustration. "With that absolute perfection
field of his, he'll be trouble in the ring. I guess this tourney won't be
that easy after all. Hopefully there aren't gonna be any more surprises."

From the bushes, a short pink-haired girl with angry violet eyes stared at
Elios and Hotaru, her fists clenched in rage.

TO BE CONTINUED

FADE OUT

PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE

Next time on Suburban Senshi, the preliminary rounds take place! Will
everyone make it into the tournament quarterfinals, or will their
tournament ambitions be ruined? Was that *really* Chibiusa staring out at
Hotaru and Elios from behind the bushes? What's SHE doing at a Martial Arts
Tournament?! Who ELSE is gonna show up? Find out next time on Suburban
Senshi: Budokai - "Plans and Plots"! You Better Get Ready!!

ZINGER: "I went to one of them and asked for the 'Michael Jackson'. But as
good as they were at that, they could not redirect my bowels to my pores or
make my urine come out of my eyes."