Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Nyanko's Pride ❯ One-Shot

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

"NYANKO'S PRIDE"
A Sailor Moon Lemon

By Bill K.
--------------------------------------------------------
Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2002 by Naoko Takeuchi/
Kodansha and Toei Animation and are used without permission, but with
respect. This story is (c)2002 by Bill Kropfhauser.
-------------------------------------------------------- AUTHOR'S NOTES
Nyan is the Japanese word for "meow".

"Baaste" in this story is an equivalent of the Egyptian cat goddess
Bast, as worshipped on Sailor Tin Nyanko's home world of "Mau" (and
don't yell at me for that one, Naoko Takeuchi thought that planet
name up!)

For continuity bugs, this story falls between Sailor Moon Sailor
Stars episode #192 and #193.
---------------------------------------------------------
Sai lor Tin Nyanko crept up timidly to the throne of her
mistress. She had bad news to report and no desire to report it.
Her tail switched behind her, further denoting her displeasure with
her current situation.

"Do not linger so in the shadows," came the calm, yet stern
voice. It echoed through the barren chamber, redoubling upon itself
until a stranger would be hard pressed to tell where it came from.
Tin Nyanko knew, though.

"My apologies, Sailor Galaxia," she quickly whispered,
scampering up to the throne where her leader and her god sat. "I
was - - lost in thought, planning how to accomplish the great mission
you have given me."

"Which means you failed in your last attempt," Galaxia replied.
There was no malice in her voice, and yet menace hung with every
syllable. "You are fortunate that Sailor Lead Crow has not had any
more success than you. And you do recall the fate of your two fellow
animates?"

"I do, my mistress," Nyanko said, bowing her head as she drew
herself up straight. The black leather of her costume receded into
the shadows save for the occasional glint of light it caught to
highlight the slope of her head, the line of her arm, or the erotic
curve of her breast or bottom. "I have tried to work with Lead
Crow," she lied, "but she begrudges me unfairly and shuns me. And
the senshi are many and I am only one."

"Do you claim that you are inadequate for the task?"

"No! I - - merely - - point it out to explain why it takes so
long. I will succeed - - but if I had numbers equal to the senshi, I
could succeed so much faster."

"Numbers under your control, of course."

"My loyalties are only to my mistress," Nyanko replied slyly.

"You and Lead Crow are the last of my animates, Nyanko," Sailor
Galaxia replied evenly as her eyes bored holes through the feline
woman. "If numbers are required to succeed, you will succeed
together or die separately. There are no other options."

Sailor Tin Nyanko's shoulders sagged. "As my mistress
commands," she whispered. Nyanko bowed to Galaxia and backed from
the room.

"And Nyanko," Galaxia added, "time runs short."
* * * *
Usagi peered into the mailbox and fished out the letters.
Desperately she looked at the return address of every one until she
went through them all. The weight that had been temporarily lifted
from her shoulders returned.

"Mamo-chan," she asked softly of no one in particular. "Why
don't you write me?"

By the time she reached the house, her mother had answered the
phone. She told Usagi it was Minako and exchanged the phone for the
mail.

"Hey, Usagi," Minako said over the phone. "You busy?"

"No," she sighed.

"Hey, you sound kind of down. Are you still missing Mamoru?"

"Yes," Usagi replied. It wasn't a lie, just not all of the
truth, and she only did it so her friends wouldn't worry.

"Well maybe this'll cheer you up. I heard The Three Lights are
going to do a special signing of their new CD at the mall this
afternoon! Isn't that just too cool?"

"I guess," Usagi said.

"Well hey, try to calm down, girl," Minako replied
sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," Usagi replied. "But we see them in class every
day. At least we did. I guess I just don't understand what the big
deal is."

"The big deal is it gives us a chance to see them one more
time! Is this a trick question? Besides, it's got to be better
than sitting around your house moping - - unless there's some hidden
thrill to it that I've missed."

"You're going to hound me until I go, aren't you?"

"Like your worst nightmare. I mean, what else are friends
for?"

"OK, I surrender," Usagi grinned. "I'll go."

"Great! The signing's at two, but feel free to pop in
earlier."

"When are you going to be there?"

"Girl, I'm there! I'm in line right now, calling from my cell
phone!"

"Oh, Minako, that's so 'otaku'," clucked Usagi. "I wonder what
Rei'll have to say about that."

"Why don't I ask her. She's in line ahead of me."

"YOU RAT!" Usagi heard Rei bellow over the phone. "YOU WEREN'T
SUPPOSED TO SAY ANYTHING!"

"Uh, gotta go! Bye!" Minako said and hung up. Usagi smiled to
herself and went upstairs to change.
* * * *
By the time Usagi got to the mall, there was a cacaphonus line
of teenage girls extending out of the CD store and down the mall to
the end and then winding back down the other side. Velvet ropes held
them in on both sides and security guards were ready in case of
trouble. Scanning the line, Usagi picked up Minako and Rei waving to
her. As she neared the line, she could see Ami and Makoto in line
with them.

"Have you four been here all morning?" gasped Usagi.

"No, just me and Rei," Minako smiled. "We dished these two in
ahead of us."

"And we saved a spot for you," Makoto chimed in.

"Hey, how many people are you going to let in ahead of us!"
protested the girl behind Minako.

"Well it's not my fault you don't have any friends," Minako
sniffed.

"Um, no, that wouldn't be fair to all the others," Usagi said.
"I'll just sit on the bench and wait for you four."

"Are you sure, Usagi?" Ami asked.

"Yeah. Besides, I don't have their CD."

"You can buy one at the table and they'll autograph it for
you," Makoto suggested.

"No money," Usagi grinned sheepishly.

"Well if you wiggle your butt at Seiya, he'll probably give you
one free," Rei groused.

"SHUT UP, REI!"

"Is there a problem here?" one of the security guards asked,
approaching them. Ami blushed, Makoto tried to shrink down, Rei and
Minako both eyed the ceiling while Usagi tried to swallow the huge
lump that had formed in her throat. She struggled for a response.

"Yes there is!" announced a booming hiss of a voice from behind
them. They all turned and saw Sailor Tin Nyanko atop one of the
benches, her chest thrust out and her stance arrogant. "You all have
your Star Seeds and I want them!"

"Dammit!" hissed Minako. "Not now!"

Usagi glanced around for a place to transform. The problem,
though, became moot when Nyanko aimed her bracelets at the security
guards rushing toward her and fired. When their Star Seeds sprouted
out of their foreheads, everybody in the mall broke and ran. Amid
the chaos, the five teens made their way to the corridor with the
storage lockers and transformed.

"Hmph!" scowled Sailor Tin Nyanko as she looked over the
rapidly blackening Star Seeds hovering before her. "Figures these
wouldn't be the one Galaxia's looking for, either. There's just too
many to search through! If only . . ."

"Stop right there!" yelled Sailor Moon. "How could you be so
cruel, disrupting the hopes and dreams of so many young girls? This
has gone on long enough! I am Sailor Moon, and they are the Sailor
Senshi, and in the name of the Moon, we will punish you!"

"We'll see," purred Nyanko. "But to get to me, first you have
to defeat these three: Sailor Good Cop . . ."

One of the guards rose, shaking his finger at them and smiling
serenely. However, there was malice in his eyes.

"Sailor Bad Cop . . ."

Another rose, smacking his baton menacingly into his hand and
leering at them with evil intent.

"And Sailor . . . um . . ." and Nyanko stared quizzically at
the third perversion of the luckless security guards.

"I'm Sailor Lazy Cop," the man yawned and headed for the mall
donut shop. "I'm on my break."

Nyanko scowled. "Whatever!" she snapped. "Just get them!"

Without prompting, Sailor Moon summoned the Moon Tier.

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" she called out.

Silver energy shot out and seized the three guards. Each one
bellowed out "Beautiful!" as the silver energy restored them.
Mercury glanced up at Nyanko, computer in hand, hoping to trace her
inevitable transport and learn where she was headed or how it was
done.

"Look out!" Mercury shouted when she saw Sailor Tin Nyanko
hadn't transported out and instead was whipping a large, weighted
bola around her head.

Jupiter lunged to knock Sailor Moon out of the way. Venus
sprang and pushed Mercury to safety. But Sailor Mars was a step slow
and the bolas wrapped around her torso, pinning her arms to her body.
She let out a sharp grunt of pain and frustration, but before she
could bring her fiery powers to bear, the bolas connected and sent
energy coursing through her form.

"MARS!" wailed Sailor Moon, trying to extricate herself from
beneath Jupiter. She watched Sailor Mars be yanked to Sailor Tin
Nyanko's clutching grasp. As the teleportation box appeared behind
the renegade senshi, Venus was up and acting.

"Venus!" she snapped, her hand whipping to her side. "Love and
Beauty Shock!"

But the shockwave passed through the last ghostly image of the
teleport box as it disappeared with Nyanko and Mars inside.

"Did you manage to get a reading on that?" Jupiter asked
Mercury. "I noticed you were scanning it."

"No," Mercury grimaced, looking at her computer. "When Venus
knocked me down, the impact crashed the program. I didn't have time
to reboot."

The remaining senshi turned to Sailor Moon. She was staring
forlornly at the spot where Mars and Nyanko had been.

"Rei-chan," she whispered.
* * * *
Sailor Mars pulled again at the thick black strap pulled across
her chest. The strap gleamed like rubber, but bent like leather and
held like steel. It helped to pin her back to a thick stone pillar
and her arms over her abdomen, aided by similar straps drawn across
her stomach, above her knees and across her ankles.

Examining the straps again, Mars was willing to wager that her
'Fire Soul' attack could burn or melt the straps. But another strap
was drawn across her mouth, crushing her lips to her teeth and
stifling any attempt to shout her attack phrase. Temporarily
frustration overtook the senshi and she sagged against her fetters.
She glanced to the side and noticed her reflection, a senshi beaten
and helpless, in the mirrored surface of the walls surrounding her.
As one reflection reflected to another mirror, it seemed that the
room was filled with thousands of her, all humbled and at the mercy
of her captor.

"Have you finally accepted the hopelessness of your situation?"

Mars looked up and saw Sailor Tin Nyanko posed in the doorway
to the small, dimly-lit room. The villainess had a feline posture
and the soft accents on her black leather garb gave her an image that
was at once seductive and predatory. Mars puffed out her chest in
defiance.

"No doubt you're wondering why I captured you, rather than
merely rip the Star Seed from your head as my mistress would have me.
I have plans, Sailor Mars. I am planning," Nyanko said slowly,
savoring her superior position as she slunk into the room, "on adding
you to my pride."

Mars stared at her in confusion.

"You Earthers wouldn't know," sneered Nyanko, "but the pride is
very important on my world. I thought," and the woman seemed to
seize up on a painful memory, "that it wouldn't matter, that the old
ways died when Galaxia took me. But I miss it. I miss the comfort
it provides - - the safety in numbers - - the . . ."

The animate noticed Mars expression and realized she was
exposing more of herself than she wished to a captive. Instantly
Nyanko hardened.

"My mistress, Sailor Galaxia, asks of me things no one person
can do. But a pride can accomplish many things." Sailor Tin Nyanko
approached the captive Mars, her eyes locked on Mars in a way that
made the girl feel extremely uncomfortable. "Though I am vassal to
her, I still possess abilities native to my kind."

Mars felt herself swallow anxiously. Nyanko was near enough
that you couldn't slip a sheet of paper between them. The feline
villain took in a deep breath and their chests touched. Mars tried
to shrink back, but the pillar and her bonds held her in place.

"My people possess the ability to adopt strays and orphans into
one's pride through subtle telekinetic alteration of the genetic
code," Nyanko whispered as she reached behind Mars' head and grasped
the strap gagging the girl. "Transmitting my genetic code to you
will take but a touch. There are many ways to do it, but there is
one that is my favorite." The strap parted in back and the gag fell
away. "You will go from your kind to mine."

The moment her mouth was free, Mars took a deep breath and
bellowed, "Fire . . ." but Nyanko proved quicker. She jammed her
mouth to Mars', smothering the rest of Sailor Mars' power phrase with
a passionate kiss. Her hands, clad in black leather, locked onto the
sides of Mars' head as her breasts squished against her captive's and
her lips bruised the mouth they pressed to. Mars tried to squirm
away, overwhelmed by the rush of sensation and emotion that was
swirling around her and threatening to drag her under.

Those emotions were thrown aside by searing sensations of pain.
Mars' first thought was that someone had plunged twin spikes through
the top of her skull. But the sensation changed and she realized
that, rather than plunging in, something was pushing out. All the
while Nyanko continued to kiss her hard, grinding her body into her,
until Mars feared she would smother. As the agony in her skull began
to die, she noticed new pain from her hands and lower back. What was
Nyanko doing to her?

"Kami," Mars thought desperately, "hear me, please! If this is
the moment I die, please make it quick! And please take her with
me!"

Their lips parted. Sailor Tin Nyanko eased away and Mars
slumped forward as much as her bonds would allow. Mars felt her
chest heaving, trying to take in enough air and not succeeding. She
could hear Nyanko's breath loudly shuddering as well. Glancing up
through her bangs, she saw Nyanko staring back at her, licking her
red lips and rubbing the nipple on her right breast through her
leather costume.

"Oh, Baaste be praised for granting me good fortune," heaved
Nyanko. "It had to have been her hand that guided my bola and
selected you. You're so beautiful now."

Her thoughts were suddenly not her own. Nyanko's words seemed
to register in a part of her mind that was divorced from her and they
filled her with satisfaction and pride. Dimly she glanced to her
right at her reflection on the wall. It didn't seem to make sense at
first. Finally she was able to wrap her mind around what she saw.
Cat's ears stuck up from her thick mane of black hair. Claws had
pierced through the fingers of her gloves. A thick silky black tail
came from under her skirt and switched along her thigh. Part of her
mind thrilled at how beautiful she looked. Part of her mind screamed
in horror.

"You will be of my pride and you will love me and obey me,"
Nyanko said, caressing Mars along her cheek. Mars, to her amazement,
found herself raising her face to meet the gesture. "And we will
find this Star Seed that so vexes our mistress - - and perhaps when
she is occupied with her precious Star Seed, we will strike and then
Nyanko will rule as pride-queen."

She bent in again and kissed Sailor Mars. Against her will,
Mars found herself straining up to meet Nyanko's mouth. It was like
she was a prisoner in her own body and the part that was Rei urgently
sought some means to reassert control.

"I think I'll name you Sailor Nyan-Nyan," Nyanko smiled as
their lips parted. Her hand drifted up to Mars' chest and she
squeezed a breast. Mars sighed. "Do you wish me to free you,
Nyan-Nyan?

"You are pride-queen," Mars said reverently, to Rei's internal
disgust. "If you wish me bound, I will gladly remained bound for
you. Your Nyan Nyan loves you and obeys only you."

Sailor Tin Nyanko smiled, her eyes narrowing. "Perhaps later.
Right now we have a task to accomplish." Nyanko looked over Mars
with a critical eye. "But you definitely need a change of uniform."
* * * *
Usagi sat in the café, looking alone and forlorn. It didn't
seem to matter that Seiya was with her trying valiantly to console
her, in spite of the wishes of the outer senshi and of his very own
partners. Even in his company, she seemed alone.

"We'll find her," Seiya told his blonde companion once again.
"Don't tear yourself up so, please."

"I can't help it," Usagi whispered, not trusting her voice.
"It's been so long since I've heard from Mamo-chan, and now," and
Usagi choked back tears, "and now Rei's gone. Why are they doing
this to us?"

"It's Galaxia's doing," Seiya replied, a hardness forming in
his gaze. "She corrupts everything she touches. And her animates
are little more than extensions of her evil."

"Seiya," Usagi gasped suddenly, fearfully, "you don't
think . . . well, that Mars could be . . ." Her fear remained
unspoken, but Seiya realized what she was trying to articulate. He
squeezed her hand, but honesty forced him to look down. Usagi closed
her eyes to wall off the tears and squeezed his hand back for
strength.

"I thought I warned that little pup to stay away from her,"
Haruka murmured. She, Michiru and Setsuna stared through the outer
window of the café at Usagi and Seiya. Haruka's eyes flared with
anger and perhaps something green.

"Perhaps we need to remind him again," Michiru replied calmly,
her narrowing eyes the only betrayal of her growing anger. The pair
started for the entrance, but an arm barred their way. Curiously
they looked at Setsuna.

"Perhaps now is not the time," Setsuna said.

"Why not?" snapped Haruka.

"The Princess is in dire need of something we three cannot give
her at this time," Setsuna answered, nodding to the café. Usagi was
again crying and leaning against Seiya's shoulder for comfort while
he spoke gently to her. Setsuna looked directly at Haruka. "Or have
you suddenly gained the eloquence to calm her fears and put her sobs
to rest?"

Haruka ground her teeth angrily, but the longer she refrained
from speaking, the more everyone knew Setsuna was right. The strange
senshi turned to Michiru.

"And while Haruka possesses the emotions, but not the words,
you possess an eloquence that could calm a raging sea" and she arched
an eyebrow at Michiru. "But do you possess in this matter the
emotions that would bring your words to life and give them meaning?"

Michiru's mouth thinned to a hair's width. Setsuna remained
impassive, accusing them of nothing save what was true fact.

"There are times when the well-being of a single flower is more
important than the most far-reaching battle. Come, my friends, let
us better occupy our time in preparation for the known enemy without
than with the seemingly harmless gestures of a possible enemy
within."

Sighing in frustration, Michiru allowed herself to be herded
away. Haruka reluctantly followed.

"I'm sorry for burdening you with this," Usagi whimpered as
Seiya led her out of the café.

"Don't apologize," Seiya smiled, a gentle smile Usagi only
recalled seeing him give her recently, but one she felt fit him more
than the arrogant one he previously used. "Anyone who feels burdened
by anything you do or say is not someone who is your friend."

Usagi stared up into his eyes. There was confidence in those
eyes and there was strength, things she longed for. Yet there was
also compassion for her and a desire to make her life right. And
some other desire . . . Seiya moved ever so slightly, like he was
bending down toward her mouth.

Then he stopped. His eyes shifted to the south and Usagi felt
the grip of his hand on her upper arm tighten.

"Seiya, what is it?" she asked.

"I sense them," he whispered. "Animates."

"Sailor Tin Nyanko?"

"And another - - possibly Sailor Lead Crow."

And Seiya took off like a shot, racing down the street, Usagi
desperately trying to keep up with him. The boy turned a corner and
skidded to a stop.

In the center of the street were people running, crawling,
frantic to escape the pair of women wrecking havoc on the little
street market. One was instantly recognizable as Sailor Tin Nyanko.
She blasted a Star Seed out of a luckless shopper, laughing
gleefully. The other was like her and yet not. Her shapely figure
was barely concealed in a black leather bustier open under the laces
which ran up the front from her midriff to her pushed up cleavage,
and black leather panties with a high arch at the hip and a low
plunge across the tummy. Thigh-high black leather boots with far too
high spike heels covered her shapely legs while black leather opera
gloves were laced up her arms. The woman didn't seem human, because
she had cat's ears on her head and a thick black tail dangling
between her legs. She blasted another shopper and Seiya suddenly
realized she was wearing a wrist bracelet like Nyanko's. But who and
how? The thick mane of black hair was an indication he didn't want
to consider, but . . .

"Rei!" gasped Usagi from behind him and Seiya's heart sank. He
spun around and forced Usagi back around the corner. "Seiya, we have
to help her!" Usagi wailed.

"And we will," he said sharply and with authority, "but we must
transform first.

"The Star Seed the mistress is looking for doesn't seem to be
here!" Sailor Nyan Nyan shouted.

"Just keep blasting them!" sneered Nyanko. "Even if we don't
find the Star Seed among them, it's still fun!"

"Sailor Mars!" they heard a cry and turned to see Sailor Moon
flanked by Sailor Star Fighter. "Please, stop! This isn't like
you!"

"Idiot!" snapped Star Fighter. "You should have just hit her
with your silver energy while her back was to you!"

"Sailor Mars is dead!" Nyan Nyan proclaimed with haughty pride,
thrusting her chest out. "I am Sailor Nyan Nyan now! And soon
you'll be dead, too!"

With the speed of thought Nyan Nyan leveled the bracelet at
Sailor Moon and fired. Sailor Moon stared at it like a deer in
headlights. Only at the last moment Star Fighter managed to push
them out of the way.

"Star Serious Laser!" roared Star Fighter, firing her attack
in response.

"Don't hurt her!" pleaded Sailor Moon even as Nyan Nyan leaped
out of the way and flipped majestically in the air to land on her
feet.

"You senshi are always interfering!" snarled Nyanko. "Sailors
attack!"

Between the two feline sailors and the pair opposed to them
rose all the women caught at the market and felled, as well as the
shopkeepers, all now transformed by Galaxia's magic and the dearth
of their star seeds. As one, the group of about twelve bellowed
"Sailor Shopper" to the heavens. Star Fighter crouched in a
defensive posture.

"They're getting away!" Sailor Moon cried, pointing to the
transport box that materialized behind Nyanko. She lunged forward,
determined not to lose Rei again.

"Deadly Yen Attack!" roared the twelve Sailor Shoppers. They
flung hundred yen notes out into the air. The yen notes then
mystically straightened into thin projectiles with deadly sharp edges
and launched themselves at Star Fighter and Sailor Moon.

"Star Serious Laser!" called out Star Fighter. With the
accuracy of a sharpshooter, Star Fighter began picking projectiles
out of the air in rapid succession. The ones he missed were the ones
that passed by them both on either side, though one yen note clipped
some hair from the ribbons at Sailor Moon's side. "Heal them
quickly, or I'll have to destroy them!"

"Ominous Vendor Coupon Attack!" roared the Sailor Shoppers.
Coupons flew out from their Sailor purses.

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" Sailor Moon called out,
directing the flow of silver energy with the Moon Tier. The cry of
"beautiful" rose up as the silver energy converted them back to
shoppers again.

Sailor Moon frantically looked around, praying for some glimpse
of Rei. There was none to be had. When she felt Star Fighter's
hand on her shoulder, she buried her face in the woman's chest and
began crying anew.
* * * *
"That Sailor Moon!" fumed Nyanko, back in her lair. "It's
always . . . unnngf . . . S-Sailor Moon!"

Nyanko squirmed on the velvet mattress she was draped across.
Her arms reached above her head and fumbled until they found slats to
hold. Her legs, still in their thigh length boots, rose up off the
mattress and curled around Nyan Nyan's shoulders.

Rei was situated between Nyanko's spread legs, her mouth
pressed to intimate areas. Her gloved hands were leashed behind her,
strapped at the wrists and her elbows bent to meet and similarly
lashed. She knelt on her doubled legs, a difficult thing in the
thigh-high boots she wore. Her bustier and panties were gone, with
only her bushy tail and her mane of black hair to cover her naked
back and bottom. Nyanko's legs had her pinned to the animate's
groin, but she was no prisoner. To Rei's internal disgust, Nyan Nyan
was only too eager to pleasure her pride-queen.

For Rei still existed, in a tiny walled off portion of her
brain. She could see and hear and feel, but she could exert no motor
control over her body. And with every drooling lick of Nyanko's
exposed vulva, the young shrine maiden thought she might go insane.
It was too horrible to endure - - almost as horrible as her attack on
Sailor Moon, an image still burned in her mind. Frustration had
powered her anger for the body of her captivity, but frustration and
anger had only so long of a shelf life before they disappeared into
despair.

"Uhhhhhhhh," sighed Nyanko. "Oh, my little Nyan Nyan, you do
that so well!"

"I live to serve," Nyan Nyan gasped between laps.

Nyanko released her right hand and brought it to her breast.
Leather-clad fingers began worrying the hard nipple. Nyanko had been
divested of the cat-suit that covered her head and torso by her
pride-mate before she bound her. The ears on the cowl covered real
cat's ears, sticking out from silky black hair closely cropped to
her skull and sculpted into a sharp widow's peak. The black braids
that sprouted from just behind onyx ears trailed haphazardly behind
her head on the mattress. The long, thin tail was real, too, and as
Nyan Nyan continued to lick, Nyanko got a wicked idea.

"You deserve a reward, my pretty little kitty," Nyanko breathed
lustily.

The tail curled between Nyanko's legs and around Rei's hip,
seeking out her anus. When the orifice was found, she eased it in.
Rei grunted audibly.

"You've stopped licking, Nyan Nyan," teased Nyanko, her face
drawn in a saucy smile.

"M-My queen," Nyan Nyan groaned. When she regained enough of
her wits to concentrate, she returned to pleasuring Nyanko while the
tail thrust in and out of her.

"Somehow we must deal with Sailor Moon," Nyanko said while
massaging her nipple.

"Allow me, my queen," Nyan Nyan offered, peering up at her
queen from between her legs. Inside her cerebral prison, Rei
screamed in protest.

"Uhhhhhhh!" Nyanko moaned, then looked down charitably at her
partner. "All right. But there is one thing you must remember, Nyan
Nyan. Her Star Seed is important to our mistress, but her
destruction is more important to me. Once she is gone, I can begin
to add her pride to mine until I have an entire room full of pretty
little Nyan Nyans scampering around. But she must die!"

"I understand, my queen," Nyan Nyan smiled, her lips and chin
slick with her queen's secretions.

"And Nyan Nyan," Nyanko hissed, her lips pulling away from
parted white teeth as yet another orgasm flowered within her, "her
destruction will not be complete unless she is first sadistically
humiliated. Do you understand?"

"Oh, yes my queen," Nyan Nyan sighed happily. She bent back
and drew her tongue across Nyanko's loins once more and that was
enough to throw the animate over the edge yet again.

Her screams of joy drowned out Rei's internal screams of
horror.
* * * *
"We'll get her back," Makoto told Usagi as they lingered
outside the Tsukino residence. "You just got to have faith."

Usagi nodded, but it was a polite nod, agreeing without truly
believing.

"I've been analyzing the readings I was able to salvage," Ami
said, adding her encouragement to Makoto's. "I'm sure I can
extrapolate the sufficient power curves needed to replicate their
transport system."

"Yeah, and Artemis is working on it, too," offered Minako.
"But you've got to stay strong, too. When we find out how to get to
her, we're going to need you."

"I'll be ready," Usagi whispered firmly. "I won't let Rei
down." Her lip quivered and she bit it to stop it. "I just hope
we're not too late."

The three girls watched Usagi trudge to her front door and
wished they could do more.

Inside, Usagi barely acknowledged the greetings of her family
and the crude insults of her brother. She trudged upstairs to her
room. Perhaps Luna knew something or could share some breakthrough
Artemis had made. If nothing else, she needed the company of
someone who understood.

"Luna?" she said, letting her purse drop to the floor. There
was no answer. Assuming the black cat was with Artemis, she crossed
to her closet to change. The door slid back.

Usagi jumped back with a start. Luna lay on the floor in the
closet. The girl didn't know if she was unconscious or dead, only
that she wasn't moving. As her eyes bulged, she drew in breath to
call the cat's name.

From the shadows a streak of black lunged at her. Before she
could react, a gloved hand clutched her mouth and a leather-covered
forearm was pressed hard across her windpipe. Her assailant was
behind her, so she couldn't see, but Usagi knew who it was. Whether
it was from the claws from the hand over her mouth that pressed into
her cheek or simply intuition, Usagi knew. Her hands went to the arm
across her throat, but she didn't have the strength to pull it away.
She screamed into the muffling hand, but little sound escaped. Being
Usagi, she wasn't quick-witted enough to think of any other defense.
Then the pressure on her windpipe increased. Spots formed before her
vision and everything went to soft focus. As she blacked out, Usagi
thought that if she had to die, hopefully it would be the impetus to
bring Rei back from the spell that held her.

Not expecting to wake up, Usagi was surprised when she did.
She was even more surprised by where she found herself. She was sure
she was staring up at her ceiling in her room. Furthermore she lay
on her futon.

All at once, clues to her predicament came flooding into her.
There was the soft tickle of air moving along her breasts, her pubic
hair, her legs, all of which were unclothed. There was the choking
wad in her mouth, a wad thick enough to force her jaws wide apart, a
wad held in by an equally thick cleave tied behind her head. There
was the biting cord that dug into her wrists and pulled them over her
head to the frame beneath the mattress, and the cords that cut into
her delicate ankles and secured them spread to the legs at the foot
of the futon. She tried to cry out, but all that came was a
smothered gurgle.

"Sailor Moon," a figure said in satisfaction. Usagi peered
between her breasts and saw the figure approaching idly from the foot
of the bed. Her body was sheathed in black, her face framed in
black, and draped in shadow from the dying light of the day, so much
so as to be obscured. But Usagi knew who it was. "At last we have
you."

Usagi furtively searched the room for other assailants.

"No one else is here," the creature said, using Rei's voice.
"It's just the two of us."

Her assailant extended a black-clad arm and brought the claw of
the index finger down so that it just touched Usagi's exposed
underarm. Usagi held still, wondering what she intended. The claw
drew across the tender skin ever so lightly. Usagi struggled to keep
from flinching. The sensation was maddening, not quite an itch and
not quite a tickle, but an insistent sensation that she couldn't
attend. Usagi began to quiver beneath it.

"Why do you shy?" Nyan Nyan asked. "Don't tell me you've never
thought of it." Usagi closed her eyes and shook her head. "Naughty
Sailor Moon. I know everything that your Sailor Mars knew. I know
the way you'd tease her, smile at her, flaunt yourself before her."
Usagi shook her head harder. "I know how you'd lead her on and then
go running to the safety of your 'Mamo-chan'." The claw circled her
breast and drew up Usagi's breastbone. "I know how you'd glance at
her when you were in his arms, your panties so wet from your
fantasies that she could smell them." The claw came to rest under
Usagi's chin. She looked up fearfully at this monster in Rei's form.
"For that alone you will pay. But you will also pay for opposing my
queen. You will pay," and the creature with Rei's face gave her a
devilish grin, "and then you will die."

Tears sprouted from Usagi's eyes as Nyan Nyan straddled her
hips, crouching on her like a cat on prey. As her mouth began
sampling Usagi's neck, the gloved hands closed around her pert
breasts and began squeezing and kneading them. Usagi sobbed into her
gag, the thick covering trapping the sounds in her throat. She
squirmed impotently beneath Nyan Nyan, but was too weak and too well
tied to be able to throw the woman off.

Then she felt something thick and furry force its way between
her legs and inside her. Usagi screamed silently. It was the tail.
Nyan Nyan was raping her with her tail. The girl strained at the
ropes holding her, if for no other reason than to expend the
adrenaline pouring through her system. The cords held her with
uncompromising strength. Nyan Nyan nipped her shoulder as her claws
dug into the sensitive flesh of Usagi's breasts. Usagi screamed
again and it again went unheard. She couldn't decide what was worse:
the raking of her breasts, the intrusion of the tail inside her, or
that it was Rei doing it to her.

"Suffer!" hissed Nyan Nyan as she rode Usagi's bucking body and
kept ramming the tail home. "Know the pain and humiliation that
comes to anyone who opposes the will of my beautiful queen!"

Usagi opened her eyes and looked up at Nyan Nyan through her
tear-filled orbs. Silently she appealed to the woman, begging
through her big blue eyes for relief, for mercy, for the woman to
come to her senses and abandon her cruelty. As Nyan Nyan thrust
with her hips to get more strength behind the tail, she glanced down
at her victim. Their eyes met.

And she stopped. Usagi stared up at her with those eyes, those
eyes filled with the tears that could stop rampaging armies and Nyan
Nyan seemed entranced by them. Inside her mind, Rei was fighting to
reassert control, using the connection with Usagi's soul she saw
through those blue eyes to claw her way back to dominance.

"Mmmmmph!" groaned Usagi, for she felt Rei's presence as well.
She kept hold of Nyan Nyan's eyes and silently wished and hoped and
prayed for her friend to return to her. And as they stared at each
other, neither noticed the Silver Crystal emerge from the warp over
Usagi's bared chest. It floated up, feeding on Usagi's intense
desire for her friend. The crystal reached a point equally distant
between the two, then moved a fraction of a centimeter closer to Nyan
Nyan.

"RAOWRR!" screeched the raven-tressed girl, flinging her arms
up over her eyes as the crystal seemed to explode in light before
her. Nyan Nyan lost her balance and toppled backward off Usagi and
to the floor. Usagi stared down the length of her spread-eagled body
and saw Nyan Nyan crouched on the floor, her expression a mixture of
anger and fear. The crystal seemed to move toward her ever so
slightly and Nyan Nyan sprang, bounding across the room and out the
window.

As Usagi sagged with disappointment, the crystal receded back
into its warp. Unable to free herself, Usagi lay on the bed, crying
helplessly.

"U-Usagi?" Luna said groggily after a time. "Are you here?
I-I think I was struck - - by some sort of energy." The cat
staggered out of the closet.

"Mmmmph," Usagi groaned weakly.

"USAGI!" Luna gasped, leaping up on the futon and seeing Usagi
bound and gagged. "Oh my gracious, what happened?"

Realizing immediately that Usagi was in no position to answer
any questions, the cat set about trying to free her.
* * * *
"You're lucky I don't beat you with Lead Crow's whip!" hissed
Sailor Tin Nyanko.

Tail twitching out her anger in semaphore, Nyanko stood over
Nyan Nyan's quivering body. It was quivering from fear at what
Nyanko planned to do to her. It also was quivering from the position
it was tied in.

Nyan Nyan's back arched because a rope circled each of her
knees and was connected behind her to each of her wrists, the tethers
drawn as close as her spine would allow. Another cord crisscrossed
her breasts above and below, was knotted in a diamond shape beneath
the breasts, then the ends brought down and secured to her ankles.
This served to double her legs, painfully stretch the thigh muscles,
and force the legs spread.

Another diamond shaped lattice cut across her hips and over her
belly. It held a doubled cord that passed between the cheeks of her
bottom, cleaved the lips of her femininity and drew up to her navel.
But before this was tied into place, Nyanko had drawn a huge knot
into the ropes, tying it over and over again until the knot was the
size of her fist. When the ropes of the lattice were in place and
drawn tight, the knot plunged up into Nyan Nyan until it was
partially swallowed by her vagina.

Nyan Nyan lay on the floor, her back arched and her legs spread
invitingly, while the position pinned her shoulders to the floor and
prevented much movement. Her mouth was stuffed with packing and a
smothering cloth was drawn tight over her mouth and nose in a
traditional Japanese "bandit gag". There was no way to relieve the
stress on her body and no way to beg for mercy, assuming Nyanko would
have given her any.

She looked up at her pride-queen, awaiting the woman's next
move with dread. Sailor Tin Nyanko stared down at her, disappointed
that she didn't dare inflict any further torment without risking the
loss of a pride-mate, yet frustrated that her rage was not yet
assuaged. As she glared down at her Nyan Nyan, her hand crept
between her legs. Nyan Nyan noticed her massaging her groin through
her cat costume with the knuckle of her gloved hand.

"Perhaps I should look in on Sailor Lead Crow," Nyanko mused as
she continued to wither Nyan Nyan with her glare. "I can't risk
letting her get a lead on the Star Seed and finding it before I do."
Her attention returned to Nyan Nyan. "You can just stay this way for
a little while. Perhaps it will remind you of the price of failure."

Nyan Nyan mewled pitifully through her gag.

"And when I get back," Nyanko purred, arching an eyebrow, "you
can still stay that way. Right now you're the perfect picture to
masturbate to."

She nudged Nyan Nyan with the toe of her boot, then turned and
left. Nyan Nyan peered up over her body, watching Nyanko leave.
When Nyanko was gone, she closed her eyes, enduring her torment.

Then she opened them again. There was a different glint to her
eyes.
* * * *
Makoto entered with a tray of tea and cakes. Minako and Ami
were seated on the couch in her apartment. Though she suppressed it
well, Makoto was wondering why Minako had called them together and
furthermore why Usagi wasn't included. She set the tray down on the
table. Ami waited for her to pour a cup of tea while Minako as usual
helped herself to a cake without asking.

"I'm worried about Usagi," Minako announced, crumbs falling
from her full mouth. "She's going through a rough time."

"Yes, first all the trouble with these Animates hunting
people's Star Seeds," Ami nodded, "and then these mysterious senshi
from another world. And to find out they're the Three Lights."

"And Haruka and her bunch aren't exactly helping," Makoto added
gruffly.

"Well it is their job," Ami shrugged. "Personally I think we
can trust the Three Lights, but I suppose they feel they have to be
thorough."

"That trust wouldn't have anything to do with Taiki, would it?"
smirked Makoto. Ami blushed right on cue.

"And now Rei's gone," Ami said. "It has to be wearing on poor
Usagi. I know it's wearing on me. I wish Artemis and I could have
gotten more results from those scans."

"It's more than that," Minako said. "Maybe I'm wrong, but I
think she and Mamoru are having some problems."

"Oh no," groaned Makoto. "What makes you say that?"

"She gets depressed so easily now. And she never talks about
him - - how he's doing at Harvard, what he said in his last letter."

"Yeah, usually she'll talk your ear off about the littlest
thing he did. Man, it's like the whole universe decided to dump on
her all at once."

"There may be something else," Ami added. "Something I've
been considering. These Animates seem to be looking for one Star
Seed in particular, a Star Seed that shines with a unique
brilliance."

"You don't think . . ." Makoto asked ominously.

"Of all the people on Earth, who's the most likely candidate to
be carrying it?" Ami proposed.

The three girls looked at each other, the same thought shared.

"Maybe we better keep a closer eye on her," suggested Minako.
"There's no telling when or if they're going to narrow their search
down to her. And if Rei's corrupted and on their side now, they know
exactly where and when to get her. They may have already tried."

A fear passed unspoken through the girls. Makoto put down her
cup and picked up her phone.
* * * *
"I'm all right," Usagi said once again and once again it failed
to penetrate the blanket of concern her friends were smothering her
with, particularly Makoto.

"Was it really Rei who did this?" Ami asked incredulously.

"Not really," Usagi replied, flashing back to the soft, furry,
probing tail that still seemed to be thrusting into her vagina.
"She's been changed - - like what happens when people have their Star
Seeds removed, only not quite."

"How so?" Minako asked.

"I could feel Rei inside of that - - cat thing, trying to get
out." Usagi bit down on her lip. "She must be suffering so."

Her friends stared at her. After being tied up and raped by a
monster using a friend's form, her only thought was for the welfare
of that friend. At once, all three of them felt small and ordinary.

"We've got to find a way to track her down," Makoto fumed
impotently.

"It's so weird," Usagi said, barely hanging on to her calm
state, "it still feels like she's in the room."

"Well, a brutal attack like this is bound to inspire at least a
mild paranoia, particularly in the first hours after the attack," Ami
told her, patting her hand. "You just have to keep reminding
yourself that there's no reason to be afraid."

"No, Ami, that's not it," Usagi said, shaking her head. "I'm
not afraid of being attacked again - - not really. It actually feels
like she's here, standing here with us and listening in."

Ami took out her computer and did a sweep of the room. Her
eyebrow raised.

"There's no sign of any monitoring device," she mused, "but I
do get an odd energy signature." She pointed the computer around
until it was aimed at Usagi. "It's coming from you. There's a
second wave piggy-backed onto the wave from your silver crystal.
Could you bring it out, please?"

Usagi complied. No sooner was the crystal out of its warp than
Usagi's eyes seemed to glaze over.

"She's here," Usagi whispered.

"Who? Where?" asked Makoto.

"Rei," Usagi mumbled. "She's in this dimension again. I can
feel her - - through the crystal." Usagi's eyes suddenly widened
with alarm. "They're about to attack a whole room full of people!
We have to stop them!" and she bolted up and out the door, the others
scurrying to catch up.

"Give me your Star Seeds!" cackled Sailor Tin Nyanko happily.
Her beam sliced through the evening audience for the current number
one movie hit in Japan. Patrons scurrying for cover fell helplessly
before her beam. However, the dozens of Star Seeds that levitated up
into the air quickly corroded and grew dark in the air. "Again,
nothing! Still, it was fun for a while, eh Nyan Nyan?"

When there was no answer, Nyanko turned to her partner. Sailor
Nyan Nyan was standing over a mother and her two-year-old daughter,
just staring at the Star Seeds that hovered above them. She seemed
hypnotized by them. Nyanko came up behind her unnoticed.

"What's wrong, my little Nyan Nyan?" she asked.

"Nothing," the girl replied, "my queen."

"Oh, poor little Nyan Nyan," Nyanko said, nuzzling the girl's
neck from behind. She reached around and fondled the girl's breasts
- - and felt her stiffen. "Don't tell me you're mad at me," pouted
Nyanko. "You know I had to punish you. You failed me."

"Of course," Nyan Nyan replied hoarsely. "You're pride-queen.
You know best. Are there any others whose seeds we haven't checked?"

"Stop where you are!" a voice rang out and echoed through the
theater. "Only a low-life, fashion-challenged little alley cat like
you would deprive all these people of seeing this wonderful movie!"
They both turned and saw Sailor Moon and the senshi in the aisle near
the door. The Silver Crystal hovered before Sailor Moon's chest.

"Fashion-challenged?" hissed Nyanko. "You are rapidly becoming
overbearing! Overbearing people just stress me out and I hate stress
lines! But we'll see just how well you do against a room full of
. . ."

A burst of energy from behind cut Nyanko off. She pitched
forward, rolling to a stop on the concrete floor of the theater.
Recovering quickly, she popped up into a crouch on the floor and
turned behind her.

"Nyan Nyan?" she gasped in shock.

"No, bitch," snarled Rei, still in the revealing Sailor Nyan
Nyan costume, "guess again! Do it, Sailor Moon!"

Instantly Nyanko whirled and shot a burst of energy from her
wristlet. Sailor Venus lunged to push Sailor Moon out of the way,
but she was too slow. The burst hit the Silver Crystal and the room
exploded in a blinding shower of light.

Rei blinked, trying to fight through the blindness. Slowly her
vision refocused. She felt the wrist band was missing from her
wrist. No doubt Nyanko had reclaimed it. She looked up at where
Nyanko had been and saw the woman pointing the bracelet at her.

"We could have been magic, Nyan Nyan," Nyanko said bitterly and
Rei wondered if being robbed of her Star Seed would hurt very much.

"Mercury!" boomed through the theater, "Aqua Rhapsody!"

A surge of water flooded over Sailor Tin Nyanko, carrying her
to the screen. She hit hard against it and the wall behind it, then
fell back and sprawled on the floor, momentarily stunned. Instantly,
though, she sprang back up.

"WATER!" she squealed, prancing in the puddled remains of
Mercury's attack like it was hot coals. "ICK, I HATE WATER!"

The transport box materialized behind her. Sailor Tin Nyanko
scrambled inside, all thoughts of the senshi abandoned. The box
disappeared in seconds. Rei looked down at her wrist as she folded
her arms to cover her chest. Though the bracelet was gone, the claws
coming from her fingers remained, as did the tail she felt brushing
along her thigh. A wave of mortification passed through her, but she
swallowed it and looked for Sailor Moon.

And instantly was jolted by a horrific sight. Jupiter and
Venus were bent over Sailor Moon as she lay unconscious in the aisle.
Using her cat-like speed and agility to leap over the rows of seats
filled with recovering victims of Nyanko's rampage, Rei closed the
gap between them in moments. But when she got within ten feet of
them, Venus whirled on her suddenly.

"Bad kitty!" she snapped, her hand in the air ready to launch
her attack at a second's provocation and a glint in her eye that told
Rei she'd do it.

"Venus, it's me!" Rei said, holding her hands up in a gesture
of peace. "That blast I got from the crystal when - - um - - when I,
uh, attacked her last time broke Nyanko's hold over me! I've been
lying low since then, looking for a chance to escape!"

"Uh huh," Venus said, glaring skeptically at her. Mercury and
Jupiter were wary of her as well. "And you wouldn't happen to be
lying, would you? After all, that's something you baddies would
'never' do."

Rei's face hardened. "Well if you think I'm a threat to her,
then you have no other choice." She dropped her hands to her side
and stood defenseless. "Take me out."

Venus looked at her for a few seconds. Then her mouth curled
into a smile.

"Them's the magic words. Nice to have you back, Rei." Venus
looked up and down, taking in the leather boots and gloves, the
bustier and the thong panty. "That's a new look for you, isn't it?
What are you supposed to be, Sailor Streetwalker?"

"Oh, shut up," fumed Rei. She shoved Venus aside and knelt
down by Sailor Moon. "What's wrong with her?"

"She seems to be unconscious," Mercury said, examining her.
"There's no sign of external trauma."

"That energy burst from that weird cat-woman hit the Silver
Crystal," Jupiter reported, then glanced at Rei. "Uh, no offense."
Rei rolled her eyes. "Suppose Sailor Moon got some sort of energy
feedback or something?"

"It's hard to say," Mercury replied. "I thought I saw the
crystal go back into her chest. I hope the energy didn't affect her.
Luna or Artemis could probably tell us more about the crystal. We
need to get her someplace where she'll be safe."

"How about my place?" suggested Jupiter. She glanced at Rei
again. "If you want, you can camp out there, too, until we can find
a way to get you back to what you were."

"Thanks," Rei said. "Grampa's pretty open-minded, but I doubt
he'd be able to swallow this."

"We could tell him you've got a part in a live-action
Dragonball Z movie," shrugged Venus. Rei jabbed her in the butt with
a claw and the blonde jumped. "Ow! That hurt!"
* * * *
Morning dawned. Makoto rose from a fitful sleep, pulled a robe
on over her panties and headed for her bedroom. She'd slept on the
sofa (something that, due to her height, was not conducive to sleep),
giving her bed over to Usagi.

Inside the room, Usagi slept like the dead. Makoto instantly
got flashbacks of seeing "Sleeping Beauty" as a child. Luna sat on
the bed next to her, watching. Artemis was on the dresser, banging
away on a laptop. And Rei sat in a chair, staring at her fallen
friend, ears perked and tail switching from between the slats on the
back. She had divested herself of the leather uniform of Sailor Nyan
Nyan and was wearing the bulky sweatshirt and white cotton panties
Makoto had lent her the previous night. She'd offered sweat pants,
too, but Rei refused to stuff her thick tail inside of them.

"How is she?" Makoto asked.

"Unchanged," Luna replied softly. "I never thought I'd miss
her drooling when she sleeps, but that's normal and this isn't."

Makoto's gaze shifted to Rei. "Were you up all night?"

"Sure," Rei said bitterly. "That's what us cats do."

"You make it sound like a bad thing," Artemis tossed over his
shoulder as he ran complex equations.

"Artemis, hush," scolded Luna. "We'll find a remedy for your
condition, Rei. Don't lose hope."

"I understand," Rei said, her gaze never leaving Usagi. "She's
more important. Besides, this is probably the gods punishment for
what I did."

"Hey, you weren't exactly in your right mind," Makoto told her.

"That's not an excuse."

"I think so, even if you don't. And more importantly, Usagi
thought so when she told us what happened."

"Figures," sniffed Rei, tears overflowing her eyes. "The
little ditz doesn't even have enough common sense to be mad at
someone."

Makoto came over and put her hand on Rei's head. Reflexively,
Rei arched her head and neck so the hand stroked down. Then she
realized what she'd done and shrank away. Makoto stood, momentarily
stunned, then awkwardly removed her hand.

"Any ideas?" Makoto asked Luna.

"As to Rei? I'm certain Usagi could cure her with the Moon
Tier. The genetic alteration a being from Mau is capable of isn't
terribly complex - - on Mau it doesn't have to be. Usagi probably
had a greater challenge altering the Strange Sisters when we faced
Nemesis."

"So what about Usagi?" Rei asked hoarsely.

"That's the tricky part," Artemis said. "Makoto was right
about her suffering a feedback from that energy blast she took from
Sailor Tin Nyanko. This Sailor Galaxia must be pretty powerful to be
able to supply her with a device that gives off that much energy in a
concentrated blast. It's at least as powerful as the Silver Crystal
itself. Nyanko never had anything close to that level of power."

"You talk like you know this freaky cat-lady," Makoto said.

"We do," Luna replied reluctantly. "We're both originally from
Mau. These cat forms weren't our original forms. We were originally
closer to what Rei looks like now. We gave those forms up when we
came to the Crystal Kingdom. Anyway, one of the greatest soldiers
for justice on Mau was Sailor Nyanko. Although her uniform was white
instead of black, she was very much like what little I've seen of
this Sailor Tin Nyanko. I don't know how she came under Sailor
Galaxia's influence, but I'm sure it's not a story I'd relish
hearing."

"Sailor Nyanko was pretty important to a lot of people on Mau,"
Artemis added.

"Hmm," nodded Makoto. "So what can we do about Usagi?"

"Wait for her to wake up," Artemis replied. Then he glanced at
Usagi. When his gaze lingered, Makoto followed it.

Rei was bent over in the chair, her head laying on her folded
arms. She was nuzzled as close to Usagi as she could get. The
woman's eyes were closed and she seemed, temporarily, at peace.

"Look at Usagi," whispered Luna.

Usagi was still comatose. However, the corners of her mouth
were turned up in a tiny smile.
* * * *
"I got here as soon as I could," Minako puffed, trying to catch
her breath. She joined Ami, who along with the others was waiting
for her in Makoto's apartment. "Any change on Usagi?"

"A subtle change, but it's one that I think points to how we
might revive her," Luna told them. "There's overt evidence that she
sensed her proximity to Rei this morning. If she's able to respond
to a single friend who isn't consciously trying to reach her, perhaps
if all four of you tried to draw her out using the bond you have, it
could stimulate her to wake up."

"It sounds plausible," Ami nodded. "Our senshi forms would
give us better ability to probe along that bond, too."

"Then let's get changed," Makoto said. Moments later three
Sailor Senshi stood in the room. They turned curiously to Rei.

"I tried," she whispered, struggling not to wither before their
stares. "My henshin stick wouldn't come. I guess it's another
little present from Nyanko messing with my genes."

"Is that going to hurt our chances?" Jupiter asked Luna.

"Well, Sailor Mars would be preferable," the cat replied.
"However, Rei does have enhanced psychic ability. That could
compensate. Your psychic powers are still intact, aren't they?"

"They're not what they were," Rei replied. "I think they'll be
enough."

The others nodded and they all adjourned to the bedroom.
Gathering around the bed where Usagi still lay motionless, the girls
joined hands. Rei's eyes slowly shuttered, while the jewels in the
tiaras of Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter began to
glow. Luna and Artemis closely monitored the situation.

At first nothing seemed to happen. Usagi slept while the
senshi and Rei called out to her along their psychic link, imploring
her to return. Though there was no response from her, they continued
doggedly, shutting out the outside world and focusing only on
contacting their princess and drawing her back to the waking world.
Then Luna noticed it. Usagi's mouth began to curl up again.

"You're getting through to her!" the black cat exclaimed.
"Keep it up!"

"Move!" Rei barked out suddenly. The senshi reacted, but not
in time and each were caught by glancing blows from powerful energy
blasts. The three senshi crumpled to the floor. Rei and the cats
crouched defensively and saw Sailor Tin Nyanko in the doorway.

"Did you think you could hide from me, my foolish little Nyan
Nyan?" Nyanko asked, her honey-dripped tones masking a menacing
demeanor.

"Sailor Nyanko!" gasped Luna in revulsion. "It is you! I'd
hoped, prayed to Baaste that I was wrong! What could Galaxia offer
you that could make you turn on the ideals you held?"

"A chance to live," Sailor Tin Nyanko replied. "How we face
death is as important as how we face life. And I wasn't ready to die
yet."

"Coward!" spat Luna.

"Think what you like," snapped Nyanko. "You'll have to face
the choice I was faced with, and sooner than you think! We'll see
how well your ideals stand in the face of that!" She turned and
aimed her bracelet at Rei. "You get to choose now, my beautiful Nyan
Nyan. Live in my pride or die alone."

"There are fates worse than death," Rei said. "Letting you
touch me was one of them."

Nyanko's features hardened with anger. She steadied her
bracelets to fire. Then out of nowhere Luna appeared in her field of
vision, slashing wildly at the woman's face. Nyanko recoiled,
swinging wildly to try to swat Luna away. And from the other side,
Artemis suddenly appeared, gouging her bared shoulder with his claws
while he bared his teeth.

At once, Nyanko was struck in her midsection and driven
backwards. She came to rest in the living room by the sofa. Looking
down, she saw Rei had launched herself into Nyanko like a torpedo.
Staying atop Nyanko, Rei raised her taloned hand to strike.

However, Nyanko was much more experienced at close quarter
cat-fighting than Rei was. She lashed out with claws of her own,
scratching the side of Rei's neck, then quickly flinging the girl off
of her. She was on Rei in a heartbeat, her left hand tangled in
Rei's thick mane of hair. She used it to control Rei's movements
while she slashed wildly at Rei's face and torso. One slash opened
the sweatshirt, baring Rei's chest to attack.

As the fight continued, feline instinct began to get the better
of human thought. Rei didn't think to pull her legs up and use them
to shove Nyanko off; she just did it. Nyanko didn't go far, for she
still had hold of Rei's hair. She kept hold and reeled Rei into
slashing range. Rei retaliated by gouging at her attacker's face.
Nyanko suffered several scratches along her face, as well as having
her black leather cowl ripped away. Her response was to lunge at Rei
and bite her on the bared shoulder the torn sweatshirt revealed. Rei
howled in pain and responded by kicking and scratching with her foot.

Luna and Artemis watched the battle, looking for an opening to
exploit. Rei's clothes were in tatters and she had several ugly
bruises and scratches, as well as a nasty bite mark on her shoulder.
Nyanko, though, wasn't fairing much better. Her cowl was gone, one
glove was down around her elbow, her bodice had inched down to reveal
her breasts and ugly scratches were on every inch of exposed skin.
And throughout the battle, the bell on Nyanko's collar continued to
ring like it was on the ice cream truck from Hell. Suddenly a shove
came from one of them and both females rolled away and up into a
crouch.

Nyanko faced her opponent, hair falling wildly in her eyes, her
ears pinned back and her tail switching as her chest heaved. Yet
Luna and Artemis both could tell with experienced eyes that Nyanko no
longer had a heart for this fight. Yet she knew as well as they did
that, once engaged, fleeing a battle was practically begging one's
opponent to attack the unguarded rear. Rei knew no such thing, but
she was not even close to backing down.

"You leave her alone!"

Everybody turned and saw that, indeed, it was Usagi who had
bellowed that. It was the opening that Sailor Tin Nyanko needed.
The transport box materialized behind her and the battered Animate
dived inside. The threat gone, Rei sagged down on the carpet,
feeling exhaustion rapidly overcoming her. Out of the blue, though,
she felt a body impact hers and arms wrap around her neck.

"Rei!" sobbed Usagi. "Are you all right?"

"Are you?" Rei asked.

"I asked you first!"

Rei grinned. "I am now."

"Are you sure? You're all beaten and bruised - - and you're
still a cat!"

"Usagi, you don't know the half of what I've been through," Rei
sighed. "But as long as you're all right, it was all worth it."
* * * *
The silver energy flowed over her like the cascade of a warm,
crystal clear waterfall. It was so wonderful, so uplifting, that the
whispered word "beautiful" escaped her lips before Rei was aware of
it. When it ended, she felt a momentary sense of loss.

"How do you feel, Rei?" Sailor Moon asked. The others peered
at Rei from behind Sailor Moon.

Rei looked herself over to confirm what she felt. The claws
were gone. The tail was gone. Even the bruises and scratches were
gone. She felt the top of her head and confirmed that the ears were
gone as well. She was a normal human girl again - - standing in the
middle of the room in just panties.

"Can somebody get me something to wear?" Rei groused, covering
her breasts with her arm.

"She's back to normal," grinned Venus.

"I'll see what I've got in my closet," Jupiter smirked.
"Although you already owe me for that sweatshirt."

"I'll buy you another one!" Rei huffed. Once again she felt
Sailor Moon's arms wrap around her.

"I'm so glad to have you back, Rei!" Sailor Moon cried.

"That's good to hear," Rei said humbly. "Especially after what
I did to you."

"Rei Hino, you stop that right now!" fumed Sailor Moon. "You
didn't do anything to me! That was all the fault of that horrible
Sailor Cat-woman!"

"I should have been . . ."

"Stop it, Rei! Yes, what I went through was terrible, but it's
nothing compared to what you probably went through! Rei, I forgive
you. Forgive yourself."

Rei looked down, smiling contritely. "Yes, ma'am." Usagi
hugged her joyfully.

"Glad to have you back," Mercury said, patting her on the
shoulder. "We're going to need you."

"I'll be ready," Rei smiled, then sobered. "I still owe Sailor
Tin Nyanko - - big time."

END