Chance of a Millennium

[azereath]

hey good to know that this is still ongoing, i was getting a bit worried that another good fic had gone on hiatus due to school or jobs. hope you can update soon, oh and one question, are they going to be visiting any other worlds, because ive got this scene of where they end up in the sailor moon verse. could you imagine the various reaction to the "new" serenity.

 

[Delta Green Friendly]

I'm afraid, not being a WoW player myself, the entire conversation on that was nearly unintelligable to me... so cannot comment on it.

I have the opposite problem, due to my Age of Conan experience.

You know... I guess Elune was lucky in way to only see our world's History and some of our philosophy. You made neither characters remember/think of WarHammer 40K or Fantasy while he was perusing your memories. That would have shocked her beyond belief. Even Warcraft gods aren't ready for the sheer level of over the top brutality, savagery, cruelty and violence of the 40K verse.

 

[Taiteki Kagato]

I'm afraid, not being a WoW player myself, the entire conversation on that was nearly unintelligable to me...á so cannot comment on it.

Ouch. The whole conversation?

It's issues like that I'd like to deal with... I hate alienating readers, but at the same time, it's turning out to be very hard to break everything down without rendering the fic overly-wordy and/or unintelligible.

Elune is the Goddess most Night Elves worship. A Pacifistic God by nature, she does assist in her follower's battles (Moonfire, specifically, as a spell in WoW, and in lore, she tends to put enemies to sleep) but most of the time, deplores violence. She's the Moon Goddess, much like Serenity is in Sailor Moon.

Since World of Warcraft has so many players, instead of one giant computer running the game with 11 Million+ people logging in throughout the day, the game is copied over onto multiple servers. Each Server runs its own copy of the game, and only under special circumstances can a character on one server interact with characters on another. Aside from regional differences (You can't play on Asian servers if you have an American copy of WoW), the servers are broken down into PvE, PvP, RP, and RP-PvP.

Player-versus-Player (PvP) Means that, aside from in areas where your faction (Horde or Alliance) holds almost total control, your character will be 'flagged" for PvP combat, and any wandering player of the opposite faction, at any time, can attack and kill you.

Player-versus-Environment (PvE) means that all areas (except the opposing factions home cities) are free to explore in, and players who wish to engage in PvP combat must manually toggle the PvP 'flag.'

Role-Playing (RP) servers (And Role-Playing Player-versus-Player) are the same as regular (PvE, PvP) Servers, except that emphasis is placed on playing the role of the character you create. Instead of running around, talking about how horrible work was, while killing monsters repeatedly for a specific reason, players are often seen walking everywhere, talking in their race's original language until they feel they've 'learned' another language through exposure (or teaching, I guess...) and completing quests and killing monsters in a way that's in-character, much like authors who write fan fiction try to keep the characters they borrowed from staying too far out of character.

Elune looks like a Night Elf, because, inversely, she's said to have influenced them or something like that, and basically, created them in her own image. I'm still of the impression that they're just highly-evolved Trolls, but nothing's been established in cannon to fully suggest (or deny) that.

In my mind, When someone asks about Warcraft, I tend to first think of the games/books, but tend to wander quickly away from it. A fraction of the human population plays WoW, so they could just be asking about waging war in general. Either way, unless specifically directed, my mind quickly wanders to various random bits of warfare, and while I'm no scholar on the subject, I do like to learn about it. So Elune's request for information on Warcraft turned up... a rather brief but grisly tale of our planet's history concerning War.

As I explained to Matt, as bad as Azeroth has it, the most violent thing to have happened was The Sundering (A cataclysmic magical event that sank a large portion of a super-continent like Pangaea into the ocean) , followed, probably, by the explosion of Blackrock mountain (Another magical event that blew up a mountain with so much force that nearby mountains were flattened, and an entire region was charred and rendered nearly lifeless). Both may outshine a Nuke, but with the Cold War's possibility of hundreds of nuclear weapons flying around, and things like Mutually Assured Destruction, Nuclear Winter, and other terms associated with War, Elune probably saw that, as bad as things were, they could have been far worse.

As for Matt... well, he's more stable in that than me. Warcraft to him means the Games, and nothing but the games, so she only got what she wanted from him.

And at one point, I created a Night Elf Priest with the most hideous, angry face I could, and named him "Imangryrar." There was a girl I was trying to get interested in the game, and she made a druid. Since I couldn't help much with a level 70 rogue, I made the priest, and when she stopped playing, I went back to my rogue and deleted the priest. But I figure Elune wouldn't have seen the humor in it that I did. That, and the conversation was somewhat too serious.

Anyway... err.. I'm late for work now, but hopefully that helps clarify things. I'll include all this exposition in a post-chapter glossary/Authors Notes when I post it to ff.net, and try not to be so obscure in the future. I know I've said before that this section of the fic, while entertaining, isn't required reading for the rest of it (at least, for the moment) but I'd hate to lose readers because I'm too pig-headed to make sense of things that not everyone understands. If I assume everyone knows as much as I do about things I write about... well.. you know what happens when you assume.

 

[PCHeintz72]

Well... one thing in particular became clear to me when reading the 2nd half of this... Serenity, for all her power, comes across as a brown noser or yes maam person in this. A pity, as I quite liked her up until that point.

I actually give kudos to the two SI's.

 

[Taiteki Kagato]

Oh, don't count Serenity out just yet. You know me; my female characters tend to all be fairly strong. Well.. unless I'm intentionally writing them weak.

 

[Taiteki Kagato]

hey good to know that this is still ongoing, i was getting a bit worried that another good fic had gone on hiatus due to school or jobs. hope you can update soon, oh and one question, are they going to be visiting any other worlds, because I've got this scene of where they end up in the sailor moon verse. could you imagine the various reaction to the "new" serenity.?

It's pretty much a straight shot from Azeroth back to the Silver Millennium. I actually had the entire Silver Millennium bit planned out before Warcraft was fully cemented in. Since then, I've had to make some revisions, but most of my outlining has been hastily adding this entire arc in, and making it mesh well with what I already have. Sort of like a prequel.

long story short: no, this, Azeroth, is it for worlds visited. At least, up until the end of the second story arc. Then? Well.. There are some bizarre, horrifying, funny, and extreme plans for what to do and where to go next, but only time will tell which, if any, of those choices gets picked.

 

[Taiteki Kagato]

First there was pain. Not physical pain, exactly, but the kind of pain that exists behind the eyes and between the ears and sends one scrambling for the Tylenol. After waking up, that is. When the first thing you realize is that you have a monster headache first thing in the morning, getting out of bed tends to be the last thing you want to do. So Kyle didn't even bother opening his eyes as he pressed the palm of his right hand to his forehead and groaned.

"Priestess Whisperwind, she's waking up!" Someone overhead called.

Kyle couldn't help but frown at that. He'd been placed in a bed, was he in a hospital now? Or some sort of clinic? Pain was shunted aside as worry forced its way to the fore of his thoughts. Had there been a Horde raid?

Feeling something brushing his brow, he tried to wipe whatever it was away, only to freeze as it slid almost naturally back into place. Grabbing a handful of it, he pulled, then gasped in shock as he felt fire along his hairline.

"What the...?"

That... was not his voice. Surprise, disbelieve, and worse, a vague understanding warring with fear forced his eyes open, and, ignoring the pain, he sat up, feeling an unfamiliar shifting on his chest, and the soft brush of hair along his brow and the back of his neck.

"She didn't..." Kyle muttered, glancing down.

"Oh, she did," someone replied, stepping into the room.

Looking down in shock at his blue-ish, slender hands, before reaching up and poking his... no, her chest tentatively, Kyle shifted his shocked gaze to Serenity, the look dissolving into the most intense glare he could muster upon waking up, and waited for an explanation.

"Please, allow Matt to awaken before I explain things," Serenity asked, motioning to a bed across the way.

Kyle sighed, reaching back to hold her hair off her neck. "Ugh, I need a scrunchie." She froze, went crossed-eyed for a second, then turned to Serenity, eyes wide. "WHAT DID I JUST SAY?"

"You said you needed a scrunchie," Matt mumbled helpfully, as he was awakened by the shouting.

"BUT WHY!?"

"For your luxuriously long hair. Duh." Matt stated this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He blinked himself awake as he realized something. "Wait, what am I doing? What am I saying?" He winced at the pounding pain that pervaded his entire body, but that mostly originated from his cranium. "This is too early in the morning and my head hurts," he complained.

"They're awake, I see," Tyrande Whisperwind stated as she entered the room. Glancing over both forms, she frowned slightly as she looked at Kyle, before openly scowling at Matt. "I don't know why the goddess did such a thing, but a High-Elf, here, in the Temple of Elune..." she shuddered. "And then this... a human, turned into a Night Elf... if only this were some joke of the Goddess..." She shook her head, before turning to Serenity. "And yet, you remain as you were. I suppose one of you has an explanation?" She paused, as if waiting for a response, before frowning again. "And which one of you had the black hair, and which one had the brown?"

"He did," both people spoke at once as they pointed at the other.

It was with this sudden movement that drew Matt's attention to his arm, and he finally got a good look at himself; or at least, as good a look as he could without a mirror. Creamy white, alabaster skin, much lighter than he was used to seeing, covered both his arms and he assumed the rest of his body. In shock he reached up to discover he himself had a fairly sizable mane of hair. He tugged a strand down to get a better look, and what was previously mud-brown now shone with an almost inner light, the blondest blond he had ever seen outside of someone from Sweden.

"..."

"I'm Jae- what the HELL?" The (new) female night elf cried, before covering her mouth with a hand in shock. Blinking a couple times, Kyle tried again. "I'm... Kyle. The one with black hair. And holy crap, I almost said blue. By the goddess, what happened... to... SERENITY!" Spinning to pin the leader of the Silver Millennium with a far more frigid glare than earlier, Kyle demanded: "what, exactly, did Elune do?"

"I've slept with how many women?!" Matt whispered in fascinated horror to himself. "But that was Tannim! Not... wow. Some of them were really limber..."

Serenity, despite flinching at the vehemence in Kyle's voice when she yelled at him, nodded thoughtfully. "You were given the bodies, skills, and, as you've probably begun to realize, memories of two warriors, much like you had played. Since battles can be a matter of life and death in a single moment, we elected to leave the abilities and memories of the abilities as close to the surface as possible without overwriting... well... who you are. So habits, expletives, common behavior... most of what they would do in their day to day life might have a bit of an effect on you."

"By the light of Elune, I'll say they will!" Matt nodded in agreement.

"But..." Kyle paused, searching for the words, while absently reaching over to the bedside table and grabbing the earlier-mentioned scrunchie and quickly (and expertly) tying her hair up in a high ponytail, "... I don't think I like this." Then her eyes widened again at what she'd done, and she scowled, crossing her arms before squirming slightly and lowering the arms so they didn't crush two objects that hadn't been there the night before.

Glancing over at Matt, Kyle smirked. "At least it's not just me."

It took a second for Matt to realize Kyle was referring to him, but when he did his face broke out in a nasty grin. "Are you kidding? I've just been turned into a sexy bishonen. You've been turned into a girl. I fail to see the downside on my end."

"..." With nothing particularly scathing to say in response to that, Kyle's eyes narrowed. "Damn you."

In the tradition of his belief in returning curses with blessing, Matt made the Vulcan sign for peace, realizing he had the ears for it. "Live long and prosper."

Kyle returned it with a much less peaceful hand sign. "Go F*#k yourself."

"Anyway," Serenity said, trying to draw their attention back to the current going-ons, "if you have any complaints, I'm sure you'll get a chance to take it up with Elune soon enough. Now that we're all... capable, again, I think we should prepare to disembark."

Kyle groaned and crawled out of the bed, frowning at the way her clothes were stretching in the hips, and loose in shoulders and waist. And there was a wad of cloth between her legs. "I have no clue how Ranma did it, because boxers bunch up something fierce," She mumbled, reaching inside her waistline and pulling the cloth straight.

"Where is my father's sword?" Matt asked with a puzzled expression, then smacked his forehead. "I mean, Tannim's dad's sword. I need it to kill the undead." That was something both memories agreed upon; the undead were an abomination that were to be wiped out at all costs. Not only did he have his previous life's aversion to them, but Tannim's father had been a paladin in the plaguelands when he died fighting the scourge. Apparently the person Elune based him on had been a playboy up until then, but then decided to dedicate the rest of his life to seeing the undead menace destroyed utterly. It was something Matt admired and agreed to.

With a bit more grumbling from Kyle, and the occasional enthusiastic discovery by Matt, the intrepid band of newly-minted adventurers set off on their quest for the Silver Crystal.

Having been rushed through it before, Matt and Kyle had missed some of the more interesting sights in Darnassus, but once leaving the temple, all three got to experience it in all its splendor under the diffuse light of the afternoon sun through the towering limbs and broad leaves of Teldrassil.

"This is great! Look at this sword!" Matt cried with glee. He gave the blade a few practice swipes, marveling at the strength of his arms and ease in which he controlled the direction of the swings.

"This sucks." Kyle replied, looking down at his- now her- chest.

"Be careful what you say. My sister's gift is a blessing in more ways than one," Serenity intoned, though the way she snuck smirk-laden glances at Kyle somewhat undermined her words.

"Just think, with Serenity healing, you doing damage, and me tanking, we'll be able to overcome just about anything!"

"Matt... I've got boobs. And big ears. Very long, sensitive ears. Ears that are hearing people over thataway talking about how cute I am, and Serenity too. If you don't want to find a dagger in your armor, I'd suggest you shut up."

Matt snickered, but refrained from commenting.

"Your ears are twitching," Kyle muttered.

"So... where are we going?" Serenity asked, as Kyle lead them towards a series of buildings off to the side of the city.

"Well, Matt seems to have gotten a sword, but all I found in that small backpack the Priestesses gave me were some... err... rough-looking underwear," Kyle's cheeks colored as he said this, and he quickly pressed on, "and some sort of traveling cloak. As annoying as it is to have my boxers bunching up, I'd prefer machined cotton to hand-woven linen." Kyle replied.

"And when those get dirty?" Serenity asked.

Kyle winced. "I'm trying not to think about it. I'm also trying to avoid bouncing with each step... and the implied needs said bouncing keeps leading my wandering thoughts to."

Serenity, smelling blood in the water, grinned ferally before asking nonchalantly, "and what does Jae think?"

"Why am I not wearing a bra? And what the hell happened to my panties!?" Kyle said, slightly louder than intended, before clamping a hand over her runaway mouth.

"You may not agree, but your body knows better. And I do too. We're going to have to buy you some support. And possibly a set of spares," Serenity decreed.

With a sigh, Kyle just pointed. "Apparently, that's a clothing shop with some... acceptable?" she frowned, before continuing, "choices. Also does moderate tailoring services; for a light fee... Wow, when it's not annoying, it's actually somewhat helpful."

"And you thought we did it to spite you," Serenity mumbled, heading for the shop.

Matt, with earnest prompting from Tannim's memories, realized the danger he was in and, in his best impression of a rogue, tried to stealthily make his way in the opposite direction. "I wonder where I can get a drink around here? Or some armor?" His eyes lit up. "A full suit of plate would be nice. And a shield! I'd like to see those undead squished beneath my armored booties!" He chuckled darkly at the thought as he made is way down the street.

"Matt! Get back here! Don't abandon me to this!" Kyle shouted, turning to catch the fleeing Paladin. Unfortunately, a surprisingly strong hand landed on her shoulder, preventing her from getting away. "Let him go. Where we're going is not for him," Serenity intoned solemnly. Then her eyes sparkled, and she clapper her hands together with a look of pure glee on her face. "Oh, I haven't had a chance to go shopping since the last Venus was chosen! We're going to have so much fun!"

Needless to say, despite her protests, complaints, and generally unpleasant attitude, Serenity and Kyle left the store changed women, Serenity having traded in her silver dress for a much less extravagant robe, while Kyle wore a set dyed-leather armor, under which rested a surprisingly comfortable set of undergarments. Not that he'd ever admit it.

"You didn't do too badly in there," Serenity stated, as they looked around for Matt. "A couple times, I think I might have actually caught you having fun."

Kyle nodded. "Yeah, there are a couple times where the shock, horror, humiliation, and embarrassment got to be too much for me and Jae kinda took over."

Serenity's grin fell. "I see. I suppose it was too much to assume a man would be able to simply enjoy the experience."

Kyle shrugged. "Don't get me wrong. I don't really watch sports on Sunday, either. I'm just not keen on social outings. You should see me powerwalk through the mall. If anyone steps in front of me, they tend to fly a couple feet before sliding across the tile."

Serenity gaped at her. "How could you turn something so... free... into something to rush through as quickly as possible!?"

As they walked through the town, Kyle considered her answer, before replying. "It's a matter of personality. I'm an introvert by nature. I prefer being alone. Crowds... bother me. They're oppressive and encompassing, it's disconcerting and sort of... anxiety-inducing. And there's the anger."

"Anger?" Serenity asked, as they approached a somewhat-crowded building, the sound of silverware on glass plates and heavy glasses on wooden counters emanating from within.

"I dunno about the moon, but on Earth, there are a lot of people who go with the crowd. They... they're sheep. Sure, they're individuals, with dreams and fears, and all that comes with being your own person... but they don't try to break the mold... instead of challenging stereotypes, and doing what they want, you can see them doing what's expected, and that look in their eyes.. it's like.. they hate it, and they know they hate it, but they do it anyway, because it's all they know." Kyle stopped talking, realizing they Serenity had paused on the path behind her.

"That's... horrible." Serenity finally said.

Kyle shrugged. "It's not as bad as I think I've made it out to be. There's colors and sounds and laughter and all that. They're not all miserable or anything. It's just... a product of the past, heading towards an unknown future."

Serenity nodded, smiling slightly. "You might just be able to get along with Pluto with an outlook like that."

"Setsuna was always a favorite of mine, along with Hotaru and Makoto," Kyle replied, earning a puzzled look from Serenity. "Oh.. I assume their names are different in the Silver Millennium? I meant Pluto, Saturn, and Jupiter."

"I see... so Saturn is called once again, and Jupiter falls... I'm almost afraid to ask... but can you maybe tell me more about what's in store?"

Kyle mulled it over, idly reaching up to play with her bangs, before nodding. "I suppose after what I did for Elune, I should probably not be so... secretive. But wait until Matt's here. He knows about as much as I do."

Serenity took a deep breath, before nodding. "I understand. And I believe that's him dancing on the table inside."

Pulling her index finger out of the twirl of hair wrapped around it, Kyle buried her face in her palm with a barely-suppressed groan.

"This one's called the Macarena!"

"Don't you dare spread that here of all places, Matt!" Kyle snapped at the dancing elf.

"Jae! I mean Kyle! You're back!" Matt leapt down from the table, much to the obvious dismay of the patrons. "How'd your little shopping... thing ...go?"

Kyle's vague amusement died at that. "Don't ask," she spat, before smiling. "It was actually sort of a blur. But! Did you know Serenity kind of forgot I was a guy and tried to change with me? She wears this little... err..." Turning to glance at the suddenly-glaring Queen of the Moon, Kyle's mouth snapped shut with a little click. "On second thought, that's private... err... info. Only to be shared between... um... us girls? I'm going to buy a drink. I think I've earned it."

"Karla! A flagon of your finest ale!" Matt shouted towards a barmaid who looked entirely too happy to fill his order. He turned to his two companions. "They're really friendly around here." He paused. "Then again, I have been dropping gold pieces for tips. That probably helps."

"Indeed," Kyle muttered, as she took the mug and stared at the head of foam on top of the beverage. With a shrug, she blew some of the foam off, before taking a sip, and hoping it was better than she expected.

Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad! "Hey!" Kyle said with genuine surprise, "this is pretty good!"

Actually, it wasn't that it was good, so much as that it didn't have the rubbery bite of beer he was used to. Or maybe her new taste buds weren't the hyper-sensitive little pain-in-the-butts his usual ones were.

Matt nodded as he sat down next to her, and motioned Serenity to take a seat. "I've been asking around, and a couple of adventurers here said they've heard tales about the... 'Blue Dragonflight,' they called it, in Northrend."

Kyle nodded. "Good. It's nice to have some confirmation, there."

Serenity looked around at the patrons of the tavern with a slight smile, before returning her gaze to her traveling companions. "So we're to go to Northrend?"

With another nod, Kyle waved at the entrance, and the city beyond. "Darnassus is nice and all, but unless we want to become permanent residents, we're going to have to head there, yes."

Serenity paused. "So... why are we here? Lets get moving."

"Hold up there, princess." At Serenity's look, Matt hastily amended, "I mean queencess.. whoa... nice mental picture there... There are procedures for this sort of thing. We have to get better equipment than this vendor gear," he pointed at his current set of plate mail armor, "and that usually involves questing or somesuch. Along the way we'll probably pick up an ally or two, discover new things about ourselves, and likely end up saving a few lives as well. Then we'll be interrupted on our quest, of course, by some catastrophe that'll have to be solved by all of us working together, and we'll grow closer together as a unit."

Serenity looked uncertain. "Does any of what you are saying have any basis in reality?"

"No. Not really. Just guessing." He took a drink out of the flagon of ale that had been placed beside him unasked. "But hey, it'd be pretty boring if something like that didn't happen, and everything went smoothly, right?"

"I for one wouldn't mind avoiding sidequests," Kyle muttered. "I want out of this body as soon as possible."

After a moment Serenity had an epiphany and realized that this was their way of dealing with problems; Matt tended to go off on wild tangents, and Kyle focused straight ahead to fix whatever problem was currently plaguing him. They almost complimented one another... if they weren't being so annoying, that is.

Serenity grasped the flagon set before her and, with a determined look, drank the whole thing in one go. Kyle and Matt stared in amazement as she slammed the empty stein down on the table. "Is it not also customary to become drunk before such an excursion?"

"'Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die?' Yeah, I'd say so," Matt smirked.

"Not if they die first," Kyle replied with a viscous grin, pulling a dagger out of her belt.

Serenity sighed, but didn't bother to call Kyle on it. Elune had explained, somewhat unwillingly, that death on Azeroth was something all mortals seemed to take part in, and while she'd never approve of it, far better for those who've preyed upon others to meet their end than the innocents of the world.

"Karla! Another round! And bring somma that boar meat; we're having a party!"

As the room seemed a bit fuzzier than before, Kyle sighed. "I'd prefer something avian. Pigs tend to taste... not good."

"You would dare impinge the honor of bacon? I take affront at that!" Matt said jokingly. "But, have it your way. KARLA! Scratch the boar, bring some bird!"

"We need to get to Stormwind harbor," Kyle said, as a new set of drinks were set before them. "The boat to Northrend leaves from the dock furthest to the right, and the sooner we learn its schedule, the better."

"So, when do we depart?" Serenity asked around her flagon. As anxious as she was to get the Silver Crystal back, she was enjoying the atmosphere in here, and even Kyle, who'd seemed tense earlier, appeared to be relaxing. It was good that, despite the obvious differences, night elves seemed to have the same facial expressions and body language as humans.

"After we eat?" Kyle asked, looking at the roast bird placed on the table before them with a mixture of hunger, and annoyance. "What I'd give for some chicken fingers," she mumbled, before tearing off a leg.

"You have birds with fingers?" Serenity asked, surprised. That sounded somewhat... ridiculous.

Kyle's groan was the only response she gave, and the rogue turned to Matt after his laughing died down. "Care to explain this one?"

"Strips of chicken, wrapped in breaded batter and fried in grease. Delicious."

Serenity blinked in surprise, before nodding. "That does sound good."

Matt continued, "If there's one thing I'm proud of my place of birth, it's that they have lots of good food."

"California?" Kyle asked with a frown. She was pretty sure fried chicken wasn't something California stumbled upon. "What did they invent?"

"It's not what they invented, it's what they perfected: mass marketing. If it wasn't for Hollywood, or television, I wouldn't know of half of the confectionery delights that await us if only we'd shop at Mac Donald's place, or at Carl's Junior diner."

"..." Kyle stared at Matt, then looked at her empty glass, before returning her gaze to him once more. Her open mouth snapped shut again, and she shook her head dismissively, before grabbing it in alarm. "Oh, wow... taller body, lower tolerance."

"This is quite strong," Serenity offered, motioning towards her glass.

"Yeah, but this body doesn't have the slight tolerance mine had, I bet," Kyle said, before thinking on it. "Yeah," she finally said, "Jae's never been much of a drinker. The few times she... oh, damn."

"What?" Serenity asked, wondering why Kyle looked so worried suddenly.

"How many glasses have I had?"

"Three, and that's your fourth... why?" Matt supplied.

Kyle winced. "Don't hold it against me if I end up doing something stupid. Apparently Jae goes from tipsy to wasted pretty fast."

Serenity gave an exasperated sighed. "Lightweights."

Matt nearly fell out of his chair with laughter.

"Oh, looks like they're setting up a band!" Serenity said, drawing their attention to a small stage where a dwarf, two humans, and a gnome were indeed setting up a bizarre series of instruments.

"Dude, if they start playing that tavern theme from WoW, I'm going to break something," Kyle groused.

"Wouldn't they need a full orchestra to pull that off?" Matt wondered.

Kyle snorted in derision. "A string, a woodwind, some percussion, and maybe a second string... which it looks like they've got up there."

"I take it the song isn't that good?" Serenity asked.

"It's not bad. Just too ambient. This is a tavern. We need something more rousing. Rowdy. Fun. You know?" Kyle muttered.

Searching his memories, Matt commented, "Apparently Tannim was a bit of a lute player. I could probably play something." He tactfully did not mention the only reason Tannim learned how to play was to get laid. He eventually became very skilled, in fact.

Serenity, not wanting to be left out, pointed. "If that's anything like the Crystal Reed I learned back... when I was younger, I should be able to follow along."

Kyle, feeling very left out suddenly, groaned and rested her forehead on the table. "Both Jae and I never managed to learn an instrument. Unless you want me to be a backup dancer, you two are on your own."

Serenity smirked. "On the contrary, I'm unsure about Kyle, but I believe your current voice would be wonderful at vocals."

Kyle, unsure what to make of that, picked her head off the table to look at Serenity. "You think so?"

"I'm almost sure of it. Elune struck me as prideful, I doubt she'd make you a... disguise like that, and neglect to give you something like perfect pitch. Gods are somewhat vain like that." The Queen replied.

"You would know, I suppose," Kyle muttered, to which the silver-haired ruler only smiled.

By then, the band had started playing, and while it wasn't the stock tavern music, it was just as ambient and forgettable, earning another groan from Kyle.

"'My Heart Will Go On' by Celine Dion?" Matt suggested with a grin.

Kyle couldn't help it, she snarled. "Anything but that!"

"Hmm... The Sailor Moon Theme? Fighting evil by moonlight?" Matt asked, glancing at Serenity.

"The English lyrics are lame, and I don't know the Japanese well enough to fake it," Kyle replied.

"Hey, I like the English lyrics," Matt defended. "But what about... something by Britney Spears?"

Kyle shuddered. "I'm actually familiar with a few of those... but do you really want to hear me sing 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' to a flute, a lute, and some overturned pots and pans?"

"Well what do you think we should do?" Serenity asked, flatly.

Kyle shrugged, picking her chin up off the table, only to collapse back into her seat and staring up at the ceiling behind her. "I'm kind of having trouble just concentrating, really. All I know is, 90s music is mostly too... instrument heavy. Need something either simple, or fake-able. 80s, or folk songs. I know Old MacDonald."

Serenity, not recognizing the song or the references, turned to Matt, watching him shudder at the song name. "What are 80s?"

"Lots of things," Kyle mumbled, before Matt could answer. "Tiffany, and Tears for Fears, and Culture Club and... lots." She trailed off in thought. Or so Serenity assumed.

"Do you recognize any of those?" She asked, quietly.

Matt nodded. "Yeah, but doubt 'The Crying Game' would be a good opener. Maybe 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World?' But then again, there's got to be something for the adventures, peasants, and wanna-be heroes around here!"

"... I'm holding out for a hero..." Kyle sang quietly as she slouched, head back, and eyes closed, and trying to avoid the numb oblivion the alcohol was inexorably pushing her towards.

"Was that 80s?" Serenity asked.

"It was a ten-year stretch of time dominated by that type of music, yes."

"So is that agreeable?" Serenity asked, poking Kyle to get her attention.

"What?" the inebriated night elf asked, before looking down. "Those are so weird," she muttered.

"'I'm Holding Out for a Hero,'" Matt reiterated.

"I love that song!" Kyle gushed, not caring who heard. The tiny voice that tried to remind him that it wasn't exactly the most brilliant thing to announce was ignored.

"So it's agreed then?" Serenity asked, standing up.

"What?" Kyle asked, confusedly looking away from the candle on the table.

"C'mon Kyle... you said you're going to sing your favorite song," Matt winked at Serenity as he pulled the night elf up and over to the stage by the arm.

"I... did?" She asked, stumbling once as they approached the stage.

"Indeed," Serenity stated, following them with an amused grin. As Matt helped Kyle get steady on her feet, Serenity quickly explained things to the band, who seemed a little wary, but with the help of a few gold to persuade them, they came to see the that it was a good idea to allow them some stage time.

Taking a few minutes to get a feel for the odd, wooden instrument, Serenity asked Matt to strum a few bars so she knew where to start. After quickly getting an understanding for the song, Serenity turned to the crowd, some of whom were watching them and wondering where the music had gone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my friend here has asked to try out a new song she heard recently... apparently, it's very popular in... other cities. And she'd like to try her luck with it here. So if you would please give the shy Miss Jaessica a chance, I hope not to disappoint!"

There was a smattering of applause, that nicely drowned out Kyle's hiss at Serenity when she called her Jaessica, before Matt strummed the first few notes.

"Where have all the good men gone, and where are all the gods?"

Despite a rocky beginning, Kyle quickly gave in to the music, the booze, and the memories of all the times driving home and singing at the top of his lungs in his car where nobody could hear.

Serenity, for her part, was impressed at Kyle's enthusiasm, and Matt's apparent mastery of the stringed instrument. She was hard pressed to keep up with him, and the only saving grace was the lack of sudden shifts to throw her off. The one flourish he did during the bridge was easy enough to backup, and by that time, the Drummer and second lute player had joined in as well, with the human who's flute she'd taken stood behind Kyle and did her best to harmonize with the human-turned night elf.

As the song wound down (more abruptly than she'd expected) Serenity was surprised by the cheering that the crowd gave them. Hastily bowing to them, she looked over at Matt, before turning her attention to Kyle, who was both rocking in place somewhat drunkenly, but smiling as if pleased with himself.

"Want to try another?" Serenity asked.

Matt looked thoughtful. "Do you think Kyle will last another song?"

Serenity glanced at the wavering night elf, before smiling. "I think we're good for one or two more."

"Got any preferences?"

"How about that other one you mentioned? Tiffany, I think it was?" Serenity supplied.

Matt nodded, before turning to the other lute player and quickly coaching him on the bass' part. A quick example to the drummer, and another for Serenity, and Matt nodded. "I think we're good."

Before the crowd had finished clapping for them, he started strumming, the quick opening to the song painfully obvious to anyone who knew the song. Kyle, upon hearing it, straightened up, smile growing brighter as the drums and second lute joined in.

"Children behave, that's what they say when we're together," Kyle started, much less nervous on the first line, and going with the music much more naturally than the last song.

Not that the patrons could tell. Live performances like this were rare, and an unheard song as upbeat as this was a definite treat. That a rather lovely night elf was up there singing it, and dancing rather seductively as she strutted back and forth across the small stage definitely helped to cement the memory in the minds of the males in the audience. The flute player was quite pretty in an almost regal way, as well. The women in the audience weren't blind either, and the rapid, non-stop, almost magical way the fingers of the high elf strummed his lute lead to some rather enjoyable thoughts for them, as well.

Finally, the song came to a close, to even more cheering, and behind the crowd, which was almost all on their feet, Serenity spotted a number of heads standing outside.

"Seems we've drawn quite a crowd," Serenity said.

"Pity we can't think of an appropriate way to end this," Tannim said, solemnly.

"There's got to be something. Are the 80s only good for two songs?" Serenity asked.

Matt grimaced. "They're good for a lot of songs, but not exactly the best to end a spontaneous concert."

Serenity was unwilling to give up. "And the 90s? The crowd wants to hear something, and I don't want to disappoint them before the night is over!"

The Dwarf on the drums blinked, looking at the still darkening sky outside. "It's.. not really night yet, lass."

The crowd was begging for more, and Serenity felt that there had to be some way... "There has to be some way to save tonight!" Serenity blanched. That was not how she intended to ask Matt to try harder.

As if struck, Matt straightened up. "That's it!"

"What's it?" The lute-less lute player asked, one hand steadying the wobbly night elf singer.

"Simple song, try to keep up," Matt muttered, before coaching the band. Luckily, they'd already seemed to have grown used to the odd music from Earth, and all had enough skill to join a new song with little prompting.

Matt took his place once more, nodded at the backup singer, and began. "Ready? A one, a two, a one two three!" Strumming the lute and enjoying the way it actually managed to sound somewhat like an acoustic guitar, he watched Kyle straighten up once more, take a deep breath, and begin.

"Go on and close, the curtains; cuz all we need, is candlelight..."

Unlike the previous two songs, which were upbeat, and somewhat raucous, this one seemed more mellow, and the crowd visibly relaxed as it played on.

Finally, with a steady fade, the song ended and Kyle opened her eyes and grinned, before collapsing to the stage, much to the shock of the crowd, who'd just begun to cheer.

"Rushing to her side, Serenity was about to call for help when Kyle twitched before letting out a snore that seemed all too voluminous to have come from such a dainty mouth.

"She passed out," someone mumbled.

"Guess the show's over then," another patron muttered.

"But what a show it was, eh?" Someone else said.

Serenity grinned down at the sleeping figure, wondering whether or not she had the strength to lift carry her to a bed, before suddenly looking worried. Where would they take her? Back to the temple?

"Make way, Make way, Get out of my way before I up the price of your meals twofold!" Someone called, before the crowd parted and a night elf approached in a rather flamboyant suit. "The little lady can sleep here, on the house, I've yet to have the place this crowded. Is she for hire? Are all of you?" he asked, excitedly.

Serenity frowned. She was about to turn him down, before thinking it over. "Any decisions we make are between the three of us. It would be an ill deal, indeed, if we were to make such a decision with one third of our troupe left out of the discussion."

The tavern owner nodded. "I see."

"Yes, I'm afraid you'll have to talk to our manager if you'll want to book Queen for any future events," Matt interjected.

"I thought you said her name was Jaessica?" The owner asked, puzzled.

"That is her name, Queen is the name of the band."

"Oh. I see. Interesting name... Well, I suppose you'll want to see that room? I'll cover the meal and drinks as well, you more than earned it with that performance! By Elune! To think that such songs could be sung!" The Tavern owner took off towards a staircase in the back, and Matt and Serenity shared a look before grabbing one of Kyle's arms each and supporting the passed out elf between them.

As they followed the proprietor through the still-cheering crowd, Matt muttered under his breath "God, Kyle needs to go on a diet. Anyway..." he grinned at Serenity. "Still think we're so bad?"

Serenity looked down at the passed-out elf in her care, and over at the second elf she'd spent an hour performing before a crowd with. "Hmm... When one of you is drunk, and the other trying to please a crowd, you might just be agreeable." She smiled at his look of shock, before turning to watch where they were going. "Still... Elune explained some things to me after you returned here... and I think my initial assessment of you both was more accurate than I had come to believe."

Matt, realizing the conversation had turned serious, quietly asked, "and what was that initial assessment?"

Looking down at Kyle again, Serenity let a small smile grace her lips. "You two have potential to be a lot of things; the most important... and most selfish... being my friends."

 

[Japan8]

Interesting SI... although I am curious as to where you're taking this. Not being a WoW player does seem to hinder a bit here though...

 

[TannimFodder]

Thanks for expressing an interest! Now that we've gotten the main bit of exposition out of the way, more action and character dialogue will open up, and will hopefully alleviate any hindrances to enjoying the story. Any thoughts on the events so far?

 

[Japan8]

Thanks for expressing an interest! Now that we've gotten the main bit of exposition out of the way, more action and character dialogue will open up, and will hopefully alleviate any hindrances to enjoying the story. Any thoughts on the events so far?

Well... that was kinda the whole comment about WoW. I thought dropping the two SI in not only "Sailor Moon", but the Silver Millenium to be pretty interesting. And yeah... everyone getting sucked into WoW is a bit lulz and all, but... I could have just done with a focus on the SM universe only. The idea of an adventure to bond them all together is interesting... just be careful to not get lost along the way with sideplots.

 

[TannimFodder]

Excellent point! You're very insightful to have hit upon one of our chief goals of this excursion, which is to create a bond of trust between the Queen and our SIs. We realized this would be difficult normally in the SM universe, and agreed that this particular plot contrivance, despite its inherent difficulties and the possibility in alienating our readership, was worth the time and effort to give a try. We know not everyone plays WoW, but hopefully we've exposed some people to a new world they've not seen before and might become interested in. I do appreciate your concern for excess subplots, and believe me, there are some things we've got planned for the Silver Millennium that I can't wait to get to; I'm just as anxious as you are to see the WoW part of the story end and the rest of the fic continue. Hopefully, though, you'll enjoy the journey getting there. =)

Thank you very much for responding, we really appreciate your input. If you have any other comments, concerns, or questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[PCHeintz72]

Well... Ok... some thoughts. Take them for what you will, ignore if so desire.

I had been debating whether to post after that last update or not when I first read it. I was originally going to keep quiet and wait until the next segment to determine whether I was going to even continue reading.

I've mentioned before I've not played WoW. I've not seen all of LOTR either (just some, I far prefer Lodoss Wars and Slayers and WOT fan fiction). But since I've seen other fantasy based anime before, I've partially been able to get by. That aspect, while causing minor fustration in a bit of a understanding barrier, is not a cause for concern for me at this point.

However... I'll state I was a bit turned off with the last segment. The goddess with little in way of consent changing the SI's characters and even for the one the gender...

I am not put off by gender changes... when it fits with the plot or circumstances. Perfect example is what occured to Kyle in NASIFic III. No problem. But here... it causes me consternation.

This goddess could have merely given them a nice info dump of what it really was like to live in the world and knowledge of the languages, instead she changed their very beings. She played them, and they seem to be taking it fairly well... I have to wonder if that was also not part of the changes.

I cannot help but wonder if one further reason for changing the gender was also to make Serenity more comfortable around them.

On a more minor note... considering how upset Serenity was on them killing that guy, she seemed to get over it pretty fast.

 

[Taiteki Kagato]

WARNING! Spoilers ahead.
One big one.. well.. maybe medium-sized.. it depends really. But it's something I intended to cover the next chapter, so reading this will minimize the impact I'll be trying to make in the next chapter.

... how's that for a confusing warning.


I suppose being clever at times can backfire. Or... I suppose thinking you're being clever.

While this wasn't in the rough outline I threw together (While at work, deafened by air conditioning units and humming computer parts) the whole becoming-your-character thing emerged fairly soon thereafter as one of the few ways to legitimately compete with characters who had been living in a world ravaged by war for years. After all, a couple of city guys are unlikely to have the upper body strength to swing a sword all day, much less with any degree of skill.

So the change, we decided, would have to be in body, with a little in mind at least so we wouldn't make asses of ourselves and ensure we didn't, you know, over swing and accidentally amputate Serenity's arm (Though the mental image for that scene just asks to be written, for Monty-Python-esque laughs...)

While I have a male character... or did, Imangryrar the priest wasn't at all what I wanted, and after talking it over with Matt, he finally suggest I just become Jae. Which was both good and bad. I've had a little practice with it in NASIF by now, so keeping my pronouns straight wasn't an issue (as much...) and all, but, at the same time, I did it in NASIF. Why repeat myself?

In the end, though, I decided the lack of Jusenkyo, the whole species-change, and even the thought of a little voice in the back of my head saying "It's okay! They've been there for years now!" made me agree, if there was suitable justification.

... this, in case you haven't guessed, is the whole "being clever" part I mentioned earlier.

After voicing my complaints to Matt repeatedly, he (who had started a female draenei hunter on my server) offered to do the same thing with Linnya the hunter, under the pretext that Serenity would be unused to male companionship, particularly if we were to become erstwhile protectors while on Azeroth. But she'd spent decades with female protectors, so she'd be far more comfortable if the change were to take place.

And yeah, I kinda latched onto that idea as a lifeline, because it would solve so many problems that kept cropping up, and the likely hood that I'd complain (and yeah, I'd complain. Night Elf ears alone would drive me insane) could be cut off with a simple and reasonable explanation.

Later, however, I realized that a party of women, human and elf, would be somewhat... lopsided. And difficult to write. being a guy and all, it's far easier to write out what you think you'd do, it's another thing entirely to fake having some sort of "Ive-lived-my-life-as-a-girl-in-this-body" personality floating around in the back of your character's head. You should see some of the looks my roommate has given me when I asked her something obliquely for a feminine perspective.

... on second thought, you shouldn't. In any case though, I try to sidestep the issue by having it happen offscreen, and allowing my SI to 'translate.' As far as I've seen, Matt's done the same, intentionally or not.

Anyway, I digress; Matt's attitude has been (in-fic) vaguely mellow, and go-with-the-flow-ish. Whether that's his west-coast sensibilities emerging, or an unintentional byproduct of his writing style, I can't see Serenity having much of an issue with it.

On the flip side, I've always been somewhat pro-active. I've got patience, sure, but given a world like Azeroth, my priorities would be to 'Ensure my security,' followed immediately by 'Capitalize on my foreknowledge.' Punching out the gold farmer is a good example. The do what they do in the game illegally, so I would assume that what they do in Azeroth is also frowned upon. And they were loaded, which would definitely help me achieve my goals.

Which reminds me, Serenity was upset the gold farmers died. Understandable, yes, but blaming Matt and Kyle for the death was premature. Neither had intended for the two to die (Just... wake up with a headache and empty wallets). That mage who barged in and killed the farmers was just as shocking to them as it was to Serenity.. who was already shocked by the hostility Kyle showed by attacking the one farmer without warning.

So yes, she was upset, and initially blamed Matt and Kyle for the death, but I suppose Elune would have cleared things up for her. In the hundreds (thousands?) of years Serenity ruled the Silver Millennium, she has to have been witness to at least one grisly death, by accident if nothing else. That's one more than me, and I'd assume Matt as well. Given enough time to think things over, I'd like to think the more forgiving and caring nature she seems to have would come through in our favor. And if not, Elune would have probably stepped in.

Upcoming chapter will detail some of this... some is actually already written, and the rest is pretty much all settled out in my head. I'll probably modify it to clarify things (It's not a retcon if the chapter isn't published!) but for the most part, a lot of the points I had wanted to make out as a bit of an epiphany will come out... though I've covered the biggest one here, I think. Guess I ought to toss in a spoiler warning at the beginning of this post... Heh. That's kind of a sad warning...

I don't ignore thoughts (and if I tried to, Matt wouldn't, and he'd bring it up, and then I couldn't anyway) so don't hesitate to post your thoughts, complaints, and observations. As you can see, I try to respond to each here, as a forum is for interacting, and I enjoy the brainstorming conversations and comments like this can inspire. Nothing worries me more than losing a reader to something I've overlooked or missed.

I realize the jump to Azeroth was less popular than I had hoped, but with plans that hinge on the adventure here, it would require a major revamp of the outline to cut it out, and I really think that what we have planned is entertaining on its own. I just need to work on making my writing descriptive enough to overcome the unfamiliarity with Warcraft.

 

[Japan8]

After reading your comments... I understand why the adventure on another world. I suppose the real question is... why WoW? Particularly after you were having the character and sex change issues... why stick with WoW? Why not WOT? Maybe El Hazard? Or even Ranma 1/2? Particularly if you picked WOT... you could always use the plot device similar to El Hazard... crossing the dimensional barrier gives them some kind of special powers... access to magic or something.

Not saying you should rewrite it now or anything... just kinda tossing out thoughts after reading your recent comments...

 

[nick012000]

Heh. I hope for her sake Serenity has hangover-curing magic.

I do wonder if, when Serenity tries to return to her own universe, the thoughts of the SIs of "Sailor Moon universe" will send them into the time of, well, Sailor Moon.

 

[Wakka]

I have to ask when the SI's are gonna clue Serenity in to what's coming. Frankly, given that they've given Elune spoilers on the future, it seems only fair to give Serenity her own chance to fuck Beryl over.

The only real problem I can see with that is the other Sailor Moon enemies, if no one else then Galaxia alone will do horrible things to the Moon Kingdom.

 

[Skelethin]

I am slightly amused by your character's lack of... exploration with his new body. Or her new body, as the case is.

I know the first thing I would do, given the chance in a magical sex change would be to test out ever possibly erotic zone as fast, and as thoroughly, as possible. And depending on the results, multiple times.

But as your story seems to be missing the perversion I have come to expect from TFF... I'm not surprised. Disappointed, though not surprised.

 

[Taiteki Kagato]

While the temptation would certainly be there, knowing there's a literal goddess watching the body she made specifically for you would kinda put me off to the whole "well, might as well answer that question real quick..."

That and I'm sure in the thousand plus years of Jae's life, somewhere in there is a memory of that. Or something like that.

... you know, you're the first review/comment I've gotten on any fic like this, asking about that? I'm not sure whether I should be pleased that I've managed to keep those kind of thoughts from the more vocal reader's minds, or disappointed that I write it so masculine-like that the fact that a character turns/turned into a female is forgotten or overlooked.

 

[Skelethin]

While the temptation would certainly be there, knowing there's a literal goddess watching the body she made specifically for you would kinda put me off to the whole "well, might as well answer that question real quick..."

That and I'm sure in the thousand plus years of Jae's life, somewhere in there is a memory of that. Or something like that.

... you know, you're the first review/comment I've gotten on any fic like this, asking about that? I'm not sure whether I should be pleased that I've managed to keep those kind of thoughts from the more vocal reader's minds, or disappointed that I write it so masculine-like that the fact that a character turns/turned into a female is forgotten or overlooked.

For the most part I would be pleased that you don't have a horde of people following you always thinking "wouldn't (insert perveted idea here) be cool?"

Well... other than on TFF. In which case you should be disappointed that the people here(who, on average, never leave the 'what can we do to make this perverted and fun at the same time' mindset) haven't thought of it yet.

For me, I would just think that the goddess that gave me the body wouldn't mind me 'exploring' a little.

Though she might get annoyed when I attempt to spend the next week with every hot, nimble female I can get into bed with me.

Unless, of course, she would be willing to join me... I'm sure shes been rather lonely over all those years.


In other news, I was thinking about what I would do if I got a SI in Azeroth... I would try to take over my female nightelf druid. After my week-long orgy, I would promptly spend as much time as possible as a cat. And probably spend time recovering by sleeping it off in the sun.

 

[PCHeintz72]

While the temptation would certainly be there, knowing there's a literal goddess watching the body she made specifically for you would kinda put me off to the whole "well, might as well answer that question real quick..."

That and I'm sure in the thousand plus years of Jae's life, somewhere in there is a memory of that. Or something like that.

... you know, you're the first review/comment I've gotten on any fic like this, asking about that? I'm not sure whether I should be pleased that I've managed to keep those kind of thoughts from the more vocal reader's minds, or disappointed that I write it so masculine-like that the fact that a character turns/turned into a female is forgotten or overlooked.

You should be glad it is avoided as much as it has been.

Some fandoms, (ie like Ranma), have a sort of wall in place when it comes to situations regarding gender swap or flexibility of change of gender.

Many rabid fans are on either side of the wall, each demanding the author follow their particular wants in this matter as it is the only 'right' way.

Personally, if you get complaints on lack of action, I'd claim up to now it was due to shock of the change and presence of the goddess and others. And later have it occur offscreen.

 

[Taiteki Kagato]

Super late, but I told Matt I wanted to get this out by Monday, and here it is. Hopefully, now that he's graduated, we might see some more writing at a much more appreciable pace. I peek making, improving, and modifying plans for upcoming events, so believe me when I say that, at least in my head, this fic isn't close to being dead. We just.. need to work on getting it out a little faster. Or a lot faster...

In any case, here's Chapter 7. I did some prelim. editing, but it's four-thirty in the morning, so please point out any glaring errors my sleep-deprived eyes might have missed.

Xxxxx


"I still can't believe you guys did that to me!" Kyle groused, trying to both hide her face and glare at her companions as they walked along the paths of Darnassus.

Matt nodded along with whatever Kyle was saying. She had been complaining for the past fifteen minutes. While it was starting to wear a bit on him, Serenity was still snickering every once and a while at Kyle's complaints. Neither one had apologized for their part in last night's fiasco, but Matt dearly wished he'd been able to snag Kyle's cell phone and record to the whole thing. It would've been great blackmail material for years.

Kyle, for her part, had had a fairly horrible morning. Waking up with a pounding headache, she'd quickly discovered that Jae's body was apparently one of those that experienced the hangovers most people only pretended to have. Back when she had been a he, and human, the worst he'd ever suffered was a dry mouth and some h. This, though...

"And Serenity, your snickering is like driving an ice-pick through my brain... these ears are sensitive!"

Serenity tried to keep a straight face, she really did. But the memory of Kyle singing drunkenly to a crowded tavern simply brought her too much joy to contain. It was quite possibly the most fun she'd had in centuries, and she really couldn't help the occasional fit of laughter that seeped through her regal facade.

"Alas, it appears I cannot quite contain myself." Serenity did not sound apologetic in the least.

With an overly-dramatic sigh, Kyle threw her hands up. "Forget it, you guys are... ugh. I hate you!" Despite her words, she continued to travel with them towards the odd gazebo that lead to the docks.

"Remind me, friend, where we're headed?" Serenity asked, once she'd gotten her laughter under control, and felt Kyle'd had enough time to cool off.

With a weary sigh, Kyle explained. "Up ahead is a portal... thing, that leads down to the docks of Teldrasil. From there, we're going to take the ferry to Auberdine, which is where the main boat to Stormwind departs. Hopefully, we'll be able to catch that boat, and from there, we'll mosey on over to the boat to Northrend."

"Don't forget to grab the flight path." At Serenity's curious gaze, Matt winced. "Or will we need it? Are we coming back? I just remember needing to talk to those griffon guys if we ever wanted to ride anywhere." He did not add how much he really, really wanted to try riding a griffon. Despite Tannim's memories of riding such beasts, Matt wanted the first-hand experience. It seemed very, very fun.

"Not to burst your bubble, kid, but we're probably never coming back this way again," Kyle thoughtfully added, and secretly enjoying the look of crestfallen dismay on the Human-turned-High-Elf's face.

"And... what is this Auberdine place?" Serenity asked, a moment later.

Kyle paused, forcing the others to stop behind her or risk running into her, before turning around. "Auberdine is a night elf city on the northwestern coast of Kalimdor, one of Azeroth's two major continents. Stormwind, where we're headed, is in the Eastern Kingdoms, where Ironforge and Dun Morogh are. That's the other continent."

Serenity nodded in understanding.

Matt reached deep in the recesses of his mind to try and recall just where the ships in Auberdine went. He gave up and searched Tannim's memories. "Hey, when did they put in a ship to go to Stormwind? I remember it going to somewhere else." Of course, that had been several years and two expansions ago. "And they've got a ship going to Exodar, too?"

As they approached the low gazebo glowing with an unnatural pinkish light, Kyle shrugged, before turning to walk backwards. "Auberdine did have a boat going to Menethil Harbor, as well as a boat to-" With a flash, Kyle disappeared as she entered the pinkish light, her explanation being cut off mid-sentence.

Matt bowed and motioned towards Serenity. "Ladies first." She smiled at this bit of chivalry and without hesitation stepped into the pink light. He soon followed, and enjoyed the brief tingling sensation that spread throughout his body from that particular form of transport. It was like being caressed with a hundred feathers all at once, both inside and out.

"-The Exodar," Kyle finished, somewhat dismayed that Serenity seemed utterly unimpressed with the magic that had teleported them from the city in the trees down to sea level.

Leading them down the hill they'd appeared on, and towards a dock that jutted out into a gray, foreboding sea, Kyle continued his explanation. "When Wrath of the Lich King came out, the boat from Auberdine to Menethil instead went to Stormwind, and the dock in Menethil was instead used to give players a path to Northrend. One of two. With the Horde, they have Zeppelins; we in the Alliance have boats."

"Sounds... interesting," Serenity said, thinking the explanation over. "Do you think the boats will run as they did in the game?"

Kyle snorted. "I doubt it. Maintaining a fleet of ships to constantly travel back and forth with or without passengers seems not only excessive, but wasteful. And Jae agrees... we're going to have to hire a ship."

"From here?" Serenity asked, with a note of disdain in her voice. The dock ahead had a few boats tethered to it, but none looked capable of sailing across an ocean.

"No, from here, we'll just find someone to ferry us across to Auberdine... you can just make it out through the mist," he said, pointing across the water, towards a cloud of mist, and the mountains peeking up further behind it. "And it looks like Blaine's still here," Kyle said, grinning.

"Blaine?" Serenity asked softly.

"Blaine!" Kyle called in Darnassian, before freezing.

"... can I help you?" The male night elf asked curiously as he looked over the night elf, human, and... high elf? approaching his fishing boat. He may be old, but he didn't recognize any of them, despite the apparent familiarity the night elf seemed to have with him.

"Sorry, I'd just... heard so much about you, it's like I already knew you," Kyle said, wincing internally. Jae's memories were damnably complete, but sometimes, the lack of her actual existence could be problematic.

"That's alright, friend. You're not the first to address me with such familiarity. I assume, then, you seek passage to Auberdine?" The fisher asked.

Kyle nodded. "Yes, please. My friends and I are on our way to Stormwind." Despite having no trouble talking in a language utterly unfamiliar to Kyle a few days earlier, this body had no trouble with it, and managed to switch to English without pause when speaking the name of the human city.

"We're willing to pay, if it'll help," Serenity offered, in Darnassian as well.

Both Kyle and Blaine stared at Serenity in surprise, and even Matt couldn't help but ask: "When'd you learn that?"

"Learn what?" Serenity asked, sounding confused.

"Darnassian... and English, now that I think about it," Kyle asked.

"Oh! Languages? I'd be a pretty lousy leader of a Solar System if I couldn't understand different languages, wouldn't you think? The Serenity line has always had an innate ability to understand and speak any language observed," the Queen explained, as if discussing the weather.

"Goddess, I wish I had that ability," Kyle said, earning a nod from Matt and Blaine as well.

"Anata wa wakarimasu desu ka?" Matt asked in one part of his admittedly small Japanese vocabulary.

"Yes, I understand. Why do you ask?"

Matt switched to Thalassian, language of the high elves. "Doral ana'diel?"

"Well, thank you. And you?" Serenity asked in the same.

"Ow-hey bout-ay ow-nay?" Kyle shot.

"Ine-fay. is-thay one-ay," she paused, looking down with a frown for a second, "is-thay one is un-fay?" She shrugged. "I can't actually fully grasp it. What's the purpose of a language modifier like that?"

Kyle shrugged. "Pig Latin. call it a roughly humorous bastardization of English to be... err.. latin-ified." With a grin, she pointed at a wandering night elf Sentinel. "Bogey on your six, please eyeball to de-louse."

Serenity blinked, before turning around and looking at the night elf indicated. "Bogey verified. It's a Chick." Again she paused, before frowning. "That one was confusing... And vaguely militant. I can see the Martian Legions falling in love with it."

"Huh. I honestly didn't think Brevity Code would count, since it's just a bunch of... code," Kyle admitted.

"Um.. excuse me," Blaine said, wondering what had just happened.

"Oh, Blaine! Sorry!" Kyle said, before holding out her hand, "I'm.. err... Jaessica, and my friends are Serenity and... Tannim?" Smiling away, as best she could the confusion in her voice, she waited as he greeted each in turn.

"One's as good as the other," Matt shrugged. "It'll do. Please to meet you, good sir. Slain any undead lately?"

"I killed my share of the Scourge and Burning Legion in the Battle at Hyjal, but after that..." he trailed off, and turned to look at the misty sea."I'm tired of the death. I do what I can for my people, Paladin. It may not be as glorious as the fight against the undead, but I like to think I've done my part... and continue to do it."

Serenity spoke up, before Matt could respond. "I, for one, appreciate your contributions. Even if the humans of this world never directly benefit from your contributions, the help of the night elves in the ongoing war is not to be dismissed or ignored."

"And an army marches on its stomach," Kyle amended with a quick grin.

"Indeed it does, friend. Indeed it does," Blaine responded, smiling in return. Strange though these three were, they at least seemed to have a bit of common sense. He hoped they'd survive long enough to get the chance to make the decision he had, even if they chose to continue the fight, in the end.

Shaking his head at the thought of all the young wanna-be adventurers that had passed though his boat on their way to adventure and untimely death, he turned to the trio. "Well, we'd best be off before the tide turns. If you don't mind me checking my traps on the way, I can get you to Auberdine free of charge. If you must get there as fast as possible, though, I'll have to ask for compensation for the lost time."

"Well..." Kyle started, frowning in thought. "I suppose that depends. When does the Ferry to Stormwind arrive?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, if the weather holds," Blaine responded amicably.

Serenity nodded. "Well then, don't let our presence keep you from your work."

"I'd even offer my assistance with it, if you'd have it," Matt offered with a tilt of his head. "It'd be more than fair for the ride."

Blaine nodded. "The help would be appreciated friend." Glancing once more at the three, he nodded. "Well then, let us be off. The tide is with us, and the wind is fair. I should have you in Auberdine before the sun sets."

Kyle blinked, and was about to point out that the other shore was visible from where the stood, but a stray memory of Jaessica's stopped her. Apparently, Blaine's traps went up the coast of Teldrasil, then down the coast of Darkshore, with a few scattered among the shallows between the two. It was an afternoon affair to check them all, and Blaine would definitely make Matt work, though his apparent chivalrous streak would let her get away with watching.

"Score!" Kyle mumbled, as she crossed the dock and jumped down into the boat. It wasn't a galleon, but at 30-some odd feet, and a pair of square sails, it was impressive that Blaine handled it by himself most of the time.

"Come, Tannim. We've got lines to cast, and traps to check." Blaine called, as he followed Kyle onto the ship.

"Aye aye, captain!" Matt said cheerfully.

A few hours later, Matt's cheer had evaporated, to be replaced with weariness and displeasure. "Surely it wouldn't hurt 'her' to help a little?" Matt asked, glancing at a smiling Kyle, who was sitting at a small table with Serenity and watching the two run around to check trap after trap.

"Of course not, Lad, but that's not the point! Women like them have their duties, and Men like us have ours."

Leaning forward, Serenity quietly asked Kyle "'Women like us?'"

Kyle held back a snort. "'Women' indeed." With a shrug, she grinned and leaned back. "Social Sexual-dimorphism. It's not quite sexist here on Azeroth, but chivalry exists... go figure."

"I see... so what is our job, exactly?" The Queen finally asked.

"As far as I can tell, avoid sweating, smile at the big strong men, and maybe work on our tans." Kyle said, before scowling at her blueish skin. "Can I tan?" Thinking about it a moment, she scowled. "Apparently, I burn. Easily."

"And you would prefer what? To turn cyan?" Serenity deadpanned.

"... I guess not." Kyle looked around then sighed. "This is somewhat boring, though."

"I'm sorry my company isn't mentally stimulating enough for you," Serenity replied. "You're not exactly girlfriend material yourself, you know."

Kyle winced, before scowling. "Why does Jae take that... oh. Huh. One sec, let me think..." Kyle was surprised to find out that, despite Jae's forays into the world, she'd made few strong friends, and they were all merely memories placed there by Elune, so for all intents and purposes, they were dead. While a bit of a tomboy, Kyle couldn't help but blanche at the more feminine memories, before wincing again upon realizing the kind of things Serenity might have wanted to talk about. "Wow... umm.. tell you what. Since we're here for Blaine-knows how long, why don't you ask some questions about night elves. Who knows.. I might learn something, too."

Serenity looked thoughtful for a moment, before nodding. "Alright."

And so, as Matt and Blaine whiled away the afternoon with hard labor, Serenity and Kyle talked about the inconsequential until the boat drifted to a stop at an empty dock in Auberdine that evening.

"I musta gained like two hundred points in my fishing skill," Matt muttered to himself as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Yes yes, but can you open all the clams you got while mounted?" Kyle replied, with a smirk. Serenity ignored the inane banter to observe the coastal city of Auberdine.

Matt paused to think. "We should probably can the game chatter. It wouldn't do good to spook the locals." He kept the fact that he himself had no idea what Kyle was talking about carefully hidden and as the boat neared the dock, and he leapt out to help tie it to its mooring.

Xxxxx

Meanwhile, in a cave far, far away:

"Alright, the next item on the agenda... an attack on our Ironforge outlet."

"Survivors?"

"Three. Apparently, our wizard got confused and killed our men, letting the attackers go."

"... I see.. and our wizard is...?"

"Never going to make that mistake or any other again."

"Excellent. And the attackers?"

"Actually, it appears two of them have run afoul of the Priestess of Elune. They were escorted to the temple in Darnassus and have yet to emerge. The third has, apparently, been released."

"Well, keep an eye out for the other two, and the usual for the third."

"..."

"I sense you're going to argue with me on this."

"Not argue, merely.. /suggest./ She's... unusual. Fetching. Carries herself well. There are uses for someone like that. She could prove valuable."

"I see... very well then. I trust you to see to the details. Make it so."

"Very good sir. Next, we have a surprise turnout of..."

Xxxxx

Unlike the marble structures that made up the bulk of Darnassus' buildings, Auberdine was a quainter-looking town, the buildings made of thick curved timbers supporting violet tiled roofs. Most of the buildings were open as well, where one would expect a wall with a door, there were gaping entrances that gave Kyle both a sense of nostalgia, as well as unease.

"For a race so ready to call itself 'prepared' for the second coming of the Demons, Simple concepts like 'security' and 'privacy' seem to have been totally overlooked.

Serenity blinked at that, having totally missed that aspect of the architectural philosophy. "Hmm... and how does Jae feel about it?"

Kyle smirked. "Honestly, she feels about the same way.... huh. Apparently she had a nice little house. Actually, it was like a studio apartment, with... ..." she trailed off, eyes wide.

"What? With what?" Matt asked.

"Umm.." Despite the blueish skin, Kyle managed an impressive blush. "Apparently there's a community bath."

"Oh?" Matt asked, then his eyes widened. "Oh!"

"Yeah," Kyle nodded. What wasn't mentioned were the thoughts such memories lead to, and the associated memories there. Who knew?

"In any case," Kyle said, trying to divert attention back to their surroundings, "I'm pretty sure this building here at the base of the dock is an inn, and we can get a room while we wait for the ferry to Stormwind."

"Remind me again why we couldn't just get a portal to Stormwind?" Matt asked plaintively. He'd already had a long day working on a boat, the less time spent on another, the better.

"Because there weren't any mages in Darnassus that would send us."

"This should also, I believe, allow you more time to be acclimated with your abilities and memories," Serenity pointed out. "I'd much have two capable fighters at my side than two people, and four conflicted personalities."

"The lady doth have a point," Matt pointed out.

Matt shrugged, "I guess so."

It took several seconds to register that he had been talking to himself. Matt nodded to himself. "Ah, there's the first sign of insanity. I was wondering when that'd show up. It's a little late, though, don't you think?"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Lets... just get a room." pausing to think about that for a moment, she hastily amended. "Lets get two rooms."

Fortunately, the Inn was fairly empty, and a pair of rooms were easily gotten with some of their purloined gold, Tannim getting his own at Serenity's insistence, while the two girls shared a room with twin beds.

When they were as alone as they could be, Serenity waved Kyle over towards her bed, and whispered quietly; "I know you're really a man, but I don't think I could face Matt and ask you about this. I..." she trailed off, and looked somewhat concerned, before whispering. "I need a refresher."

"... Excuse me?" Kyle deadpanned.

"I... there's.. you know. pressure. I've been looking, but there aren't any... devices to help cope with such things around here."

"What are you used to?" Kyle asked curiously.

"Crystal Refreshers, the highest quality of personal relief," Serenity admitted. "Only the best. But here...?" She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to do."

Kyle's blue face twitched, the long eyebrows wiggling as she tried to comprehend this. "Wait... you.. are trying to.. uhh... <i>relieve</i> yourself?"

Serenity's innate grasp of language helped her catch what was implied, and she reared back in shock. "NO!"

Doing her best to calm herself (and wishing away the blush that burned her cheeks) Serenity pointed to her lower abdomen, just below her navel. "Here. Pressure. Relief?" She hoped the simplicity of the request would convey what her failed attempts at explanation had not.

"OH!" Kyle said, in sudden understanding. With a knowing nod, he crossed his arms and elaborated. "You need to take a leak."

Serenity's blank stare at that worried Kyle. "err.. you.. have to go to the bathroom, I mean? Number one?" at her lack of a response, Kyle scooted back on her bead a little. "It's not, you know.. number two, is it? Is it in the front or the back? I... why am I asking? Why are <i>you</i> asking?"

Serenity, who had managed to lose all her composure, stared at Kyle with the most impressive set of puppy-dog eyes (s)he could ever recall seeing. "I don't know what it means!"

"..." That wasn't expected. "You.. don't... know how to go?"

The queen shook her head. "That's what a Crystal Refresher is for. Ever since I can remember, whenever I felt like this, I stepped inside, there was a flash of light, and I felt better."

"... how about that. They teleport the shit right outta ya on the moon."

Serenity, face flushing, buried her face in her hands. "I cannot believe you just said that."

"Well, seriously. This isn't something I think I've ever had to explain. Do the moon cats use these... Crystal 'freshers too?" Kyle asked, hoping to sidestep the issue.

"Of course! They're fairly ubiquitous." Serenity responded, as if it were obvious.

"Well then. This... is going to get fairly.. umm... There's a word for it, but goddess only knows what it is, cuz I can't think of it," Kyle finally said, while trying to figure out how to phrase things.

Fortunately, despite the few times the new-night-elf tripped over an explanation here and there, Serenity seemed willing to listen, and finally she nodded her understanding, before heading out the door.

When she came back a good twenty minutes lated, she looked a bit less sure of herself. "This... stays between us." She said, her voice allowing no argument.

Kyle just nodded, before trying to change the subject. "So... umm... yeah." After fumbling for a moment, she decided on a much better subject. "Why did Elune... do this to me? And Matt, though, more me, since this is a fairly drastic change, you know..."

Serenity smiled, sitting down on the bed she'd claimed, and looking across the room at Kyle, who was watching her intently. "Do you really wish to know?"

Kyle nodded, and Serenity sighed.

"You scare me."

Kyle blinked, unsure how to respond to that. Finally; "Elune... this world's moon goddess, turned me into a female night elf, because I /scared/ you?"

Serenity nodded, looking out the oversized window at the dreary conifers beyond. "You're very... strong-willed. Elune explained it to me some, after you two had left, and I don't hold it against you or anything, but you're..." She paused, turning to look at Kyle, before sighing again. "You're different than most every man I've ever met."

Kyle smirked, and grabbed his breasts, ignoring how odd it felt, and replied. "Yes. I'm definitely different than most men."

Serenity rolled her eyes, before pointing at him. "You are /not/ of the Silver Millennium. While Matt behaves similarly, you treat me with little reverence at even the most trying of times, and it's hard for me to cope. All the people I've ever met at least respected my position... you... don't seem to care."

"I care," Kyle frowned, not liking this almost-melancholy dressing-down. "I'm..." She paused, humming in thought for a moment, before continuing, "I'm not used to royalty whatsoever, and I'm pretty socially independent. So... it's just... not in my nature to act so... subservient. I tend to toss out the phrase 'respect is earned, not given,' but in truth, I tend to show little respect to anyone."

"Yes, I'd been told as much. Your stint in the military gave Elune a good-enough look at that facet of yourself." Serenity stated with a wan smile. Then the smile faded. "But that's not what you asked. You wanted to know why you are like you are?"

Kyle nodded, and she continued. "I'm not used to strong-willed men, but women? I've quite a few of them around me at almost all times."

"Ahh.. the senshi."

"Yes. My friends, my protectors, the guardians of the Silver Millennium. They themselves are not as free-spirited as you at your most rebellious times, but you behave far more like one of them than any of my male guards."

"So... it's to make you comfortable? At the expense of my comfort?" Kyle asked, her displeasure creeping into her voice.

"No, it's... something Elune refused to say. But from what I can guess, I'm to come to trust you as I do any of my senshi... to what end, I don't know, but in this way, I can begin to get over the part of you that frightens me the most." Serenity replied cryptically.

"Well, that's..." Kyle started, before pausing. "What frightens you the most? The fact that I'm a guy?"

"Have you ever wondered why no men are senshi, despite an even split in the sexes, both on earth and in the Silver Millennium?" Serenity asked, changing tactics.

"You mean, aside from the fact that it was a story written by a girl, for girls, and a bunch of guys acting like girls would be fairly underselling?" Kyle deadpanned.

"... That's... not quite the response I expected." She shook her head, before pointing at Kyle, "there's a common theme in many of the cultures I've observed; 'women create, and men destroy.' It's certainly untrue, as both have the capacity for both creation and destruction, but-"

"Every myth has some basis in truth," Kyle said, cutting her off.

Serenity smirked. "Indeed. A nice way to put it. So, when the idea of the Senshi was first proposed, we decided that, in a female-ruled society, a set of female guardians would reinforce the theme we'd established: forging an empire of peace and prosperity."

"So.. men kinda got shafted." Kyle said.

"Of course not. They're not second-class citizens, and they certainly have every opportunity to advance as women, but certain positions are held only by women, and over time, that's filtered down so that our society as a whole tends to have a matriarchal bent to it... something I've been told is pretty much the opposite where you come from."

Kyle nodded. "Okay... and... what's this got to do with me?"

Serenity sighed, "I'm just establishing the past so you understand where I'm coming from. /Your role/ in things is... unknown to me. But Elune has stated that there's... a need for you. You and Matt. And I get the feeling that need goes beyond Azeroth."

"You mean... what? You're not going to send us home from here?" Kyle asked, frowning.

"If that is what you wish, than I'll use everything in my power to return you to your homes..." she paused, looking somewhat unsure whether or not to continue, before nodding softly to herself and straightening up. Turning to gaze at Kyle with all her regal bearing, she elaborated. "My Kingdom is in danger. I knew this before you came, and have done all I can to see it through these troubled times. Yet you imply that there's more to come, up to and including the collapse of everything we've ever built."

"We never said that!" Kyle protested, though even to her, it sounded hollow.

Serenity pierced her with a glare. "I can read between the lines, you know. Your implications and insinuations were enough to fill me in on the most likely outcome. And even if you two had never arrived, what you've hinted at is similar to what my court scribes have predicted in their worst-case scenarios."

"I see... and you think Matt and I can change this?"

Serenity shook her head. "I don't know what to think. Elune, however... she feels it's destiny. And I fear she's correct. There's something about you two that implies change, unpredictability... chaos. If I can harness that for the good of my kingdom, my /people/, what kind of ruler would I be to pass up the opportunity to save everything I built? Everything that I love?"

Kyle sighed. "People are dying?"

"Few at first, but recently, it's been hard to face the coming day, knowing that a steadily growing list of casualties is waiting for me each morning." Serenity explained, factually.

"And you think I can somehow change this?" Kyle asked quietly, eyes closed.

"I don't know. Can you?" Serenity asked, just as quietly.

Kyle thought on this. Without asking, Serenity had requested his aid. Aid in a fight he knew was destined to fail. And yet, was it? He knew the source, knew the enemies plans, even had a rough idea as to when the decapitating blow was to be delivered. Could he change history so drastically? /Should/ he?

Opening his glowing eyes to look down at his- no, /her/ obviously female chest, an attempt by Elune to help him gain Serenity's trust faster, Kyle couldn't help but sigh in resignation. There was really no other answer to give.

"I can't do it alone."

"Whatever help you need, you'll have it," the Queen replied instantly.

"This will not be quick, and it will be violent and unpopular with your more peace-loving citizens."

"Do what you can to keep it clandestine, and I will work whatever magic it takes to cover it up."

"And the violence? casualties? Collateral damage and innocent bystanders whose luck runs out at the most inopportune of moments?" Kyle asked, eyes narrowed.

Serenity closed her eyes, looking pained. "Death is never acceptable, but sometimes, it is also unavoidable. You will do everything in your power to minimize innocent casualties, and I will simply have to learn to accept that which I cannot change."

Kyle nodded. "I can do that. Will you offer Matt the same choice?"

Serenity nodded. "I shall, though his nature is less inclined to dip towards the more visceral responses as you. Do you think he'd accept?"

Kyle grinned. "You're very good at telling me I'm violent-prone without insulting me."

"I'm a queen. We have to have /some/ tact to get through the day." She said, rolling her eyes and smiling. "Do you?"

"You /are/ a queen... And by accepting, I suppose that would make you /my/ queen, as well. So, your highness, I feel I should say, with all due respect, that you're being an idiot for even considering the possibility that he'd turn you down."

"... Really?" She asked, looking somewhat surprised.

"Definitely."

"Well then, I shall ask him tomorrow. And as for you..." She put her finger to her chin in thought. "The Silver Millennium doesn't currently have knights, but I think you'd best fit that role... I'll see to it that you're given the proper recognition upon our return, and for now... For now, I only ask that you continue with the task I've already asked of you."

"Yes yes, your precious space-rock." Kyle said, rolling over in bed so her back was to the queen.

"Space rock!?" Serenity squawked, shocked at the way one of her guardians referred to the Silver Crystal. Before Kyle could say anything, she hurled one of her pillows at the night elf's back, earning a grunt of surprise.

"Oh, I see how it is," Kyle answered, before the room was full of flying pillows and bubbly laughter.

Xxxxx

Matt glared at the ceiling. He didn't know why, but he had the sudden sensation that he was missing out on one spectacular girl-on-girl pillow fight, and every bit of him that was Tannim was screaming at him to go outside and look for it.

Rather than give into the urge, he curled up on his side and placed his own pillow over his head. Someone down the hall from him was making an awful racket, and it was getting hard to sleep.

It was then that it occurred to him just who was sleeping down there; namely, Kyle and Serenity.

Matt spent the rest of his evening trying to block out the mental image of the two bouncing up and down on their beds, tossing pillows at one another.

 

[azereath]

ah its good to see this fic is alive again. funny thing was i was just thinking of rereading this when i logged in and lo and behold it had updated. interesting chapter with some particularly good charactisation on serenity's part, keep up the good work.

 

[kojivsleo]

I hope that Serenity gets a wake up call soon, peace is a lie that can only last so long.

 

[Japan8]

Glad to see this resurface. I'm still a bit lost with the WoW world (and that can be a bit annoying), but the adventure itself is still fairly enjoyable.

A note though... when they were testing languages with Serenity, the Japanese was incorrect. While using "anata" is technically correct, it is actually rude to use it.. particularly in that way. You use the person's name or title or the subject is assumed. Also you don't use the "desu" copla at the end of a verb. So...

"Wakarun desuka?"
"Wakarimasuka?"
"Owakari desuka?"

are probably your best choices... the difference being that they are increasing in formality/politeness.

EDIT Almost forgot about Kyle and battling Beryl. Most definitely technomage weapons and preemptive strikes are going to be needed. I am VERY much looking forward to this part of the story.

 

[Wakka]

Since the setup with Kyle and Serenity I'm now imagining some honest to goodness military trained special-ops types with magic being unleashed on the growing Youma threat after they get back. Even if the Youma are twice as competent as they were in the Manga it'll still be a hilariously one-sided slaughter, at least until the spec-ops run into the uber-powerful Generals/Beryl/Metallia. That's the Senshi's job though.