It was evening time around Knightside Elementary, and the only one who was around the school was the janitor. He mopped away at the hallway between Mrs. Krass and Mr. Joseph's classrooms, a walk-man that was better suited to the 80's strapped to his belt. The music wasn't loud, but a fragment every now and then could be heard in between the swish of the mop down the otherwise silent hall. Ambrosia peeked through a window at the janitor, standing on her tippy toes to make sure he was occupied. She was going to patrol the school tonight after hearing that a couple of first graders had said they had seen a monster out at recess. She and her bee plushie Buddy were determined to figure out who or what it was. So the Honey senshi came down off the window, and sneaked through the bushes for the playground. She would start there, and hope she found it fast. After a couple days of patrolling and lack of sleep, Ambrosia got tired. A decent night's sleep would do her some good.


Shalott was getting used to the routine of patrolling at night for a while and then going to work during the day. She was even getting braver about going out alone. She'd only come across youma so far and was getting good about improvising when it came to their destruction. That's why she was here, horrified that a beast would prowl a children's school. She'd heard rumors and came to investigate and felt rather silly skulking arounf a school at night. When she spotted the little girl and felt a power signature radiating from her she thought she was mistaken at first. She moved ahead to catch up to her, her heels clicking on the sidewalk. "Wait." In her mind she saw a little girl, out of uniform and immediately started reeling. She told herself it was a stray child and not a senshi.


There was someone nearby, but Ambrosia ignored the power signature for now after deciding that it wasn't dangerous. The youma had to be about somewhere! She searched under the trees and bushes but found no sign of the skulking creature. When someone said "Wait", she turned and faced them quickly, heart jumping in anticipation. She had never met this one before, though she didn't feel like a senshi. Her outfit sure was pretty though! The small girl admired the older one's outfit, but still favoring her own fuku. It had honeycombs on it after all! Ambrosia looked up into the other's face, saying "Hi there! Are you looking for the youma around here too? I know it's here, but I can't seem to find it anywhere!"


Oh. Hell. No. She was a senshi and a child. She was holding a stuffed bee for Christ's sake! How was she not supposed to be completely horrified by this? She quickly imagined Harmony at this girl's age which wasn't all that long ago and saw someone's baby in a war with monsters and people that had no problem hurting or killing people like her. What the hell was wrong with a faction that could recruit children to its side? Did they lack members that they dabbled in playpens? Shalott was shaking, near furious at the idea. "You shouldn't be hunting youma. You should go home to your mother, baby." She knelt down to the girl's level, not meaning baby in any derogatory way but simply as a nickname. Her own motherly instincts were kicking in. "I'll find the youma. You don't need to get hurt."


Ambrosia looked at her quizzically, wondering just what she meant. She wasn't a baby! She went to school and everything! Her eyebrows creased iNto a v shape that wrinkled her forehead. She wasn't a baby! How come she had to leave? "Why can't I hunt the youma? I'm just as good as anyone else. I've even beaten one up all on my own!" She was very proud of that fight, because it showed that she was a real superhero, not just a kid playing pretend. Her arms crossed as Shalott got down to her height. Just who was this lady?


She'd offended the girl. That much was plain to see and she frowned. She'd specifically hadn't wanted to do that. "I'm sure you're very brave and you could beat up this youma all on your own but I don't want you to get hurt. Sweetie, this is very dangerous what you're doing and I know you want to help but this isn't your fight. You shouldn't have to do this." No child should have to do this. She immediately wondered if there were more of these child senshi out there in the city and meant to talk to Tony about it the next chance she got. It was an outrage and a very real part of her rebelled against the idea of the child being hurt for a war she had nothing to do with. It was bad enough teens were willing to fight and die for this but for children? This was crazy!


Green eyes narrowed, and this time her arms opened wide and she said "I'm a superhero though! IA kitty came and gave me my powers, and I'm supposed to use them to protect people." That was what Camelot had done for her. He'd risked his life against a youma to save hers and she wanted to return the favor someday. That meant fighting as many youma as possible so when the time came, she would be able to stand up and help him. Sure it was dangerous, but what else could she do? It was her respnsibility. "I don't have to do this. I want to. I want to use my superpowers to help people! And this youma has been scaring the little kids during recess." The said youma was now rounding the corner, pausing in it's steps as it caught sight of the page and the chibi senshi.


So they had someone they cared about in common. Camelot was the only one that knew her secret and was her guide to this new world. She felt just as beholden to him as her smaller counterpart did. Of course a child would see it that way with the world to save and calling herself a super hero. To her it wasn't a war and there weren't very real casualties. Kyndall had seen them up close. She knew what was at stake and had still wanted to enter the war to protect her own daughter and as many daughter and sons, mothers and fathers as she could. How did she explain the girl wasn't a superhero without crushing her hopes and beliefs. If she ever saw a guardian cat it would probably get an earful for this responsible or not. She paused as she caught sight of the youma in question. "Get behind me sweetheart." She rose and nudged the girl in that direction

Ambrosia's convincing was interrupted as the lady nudged her behind, attention now drawn to the youma still trying to hide. It soonrealized that the talking had stopped, and two pairs of eyes were focused in it's direction. The cover was blown. It waddled into view. A large boar like creature, with tusks that curved cruelly and glinted, giving away the sharpness of them. It stood on four hooves taller than Ambrosia, and it's fur was long and spiky looking, as if touching it might hurt. The boar youma snorted, pawing at the ground. The chibi senshi gasped. There really was a monster around here! She readied herself, calling to mind her power. But she couldn't launch it when she was behind the other person. What was her name? Sh had completely forgotten to ask! Oh, well she thought. I'll get it after we dust this big pig!


Of course Shalott was still skeptical but she was getting more confident with youma. She just didn't want Ambrosia to get hurt. It didn't occur to her at the moment that she didn't know the chibi's name, only that she needed to protect her. Those tusks looked wicked and capable of damage. Beat up the youma, protect the child, get her home safely before bedtime. Those were her priorities, as if the chibi was her innocent to protect. "I will not be moved." she murmured under her breath reminding herself of the oath she'd made. She would not let any harm befall anyone in her presence. Not from these monsters. Not from Chaos. She didn't much care about getting hurt herself. That's what Tony was here for, to patch her up again. She thought ruefully of patching him up a few nights past and thought he could return the favor if she needed it. The pig grunted, pawing the ground with his hoof and looking like he was getting ready to charge and do some damage.


The boar youma snarled and charged, aiming for the two powered up people. Ambrosia's eyes widened, and she instincitvely reached for Shallot's fuku, gripping the fabric in the manner of a very scared child. She had never met such a straightforward youma before. Usually they were content to hiss and growl and occassionally throw a punch, but this one was much faster and looked more dangerous. SHe realized that she had Shallot by the clothing and forced herself to let go. How was the lady supposed to do her job if Ambrosia had ahold of her like some child? Instead, she stepped out from behind her, holding out her hands, ready to summon her attack.


Precisely. As the girl gripped her skirt in the same manner as her own daughter when she was scared or upset Shalott felt her motherly instincts shift into hyper drive. This wasn't so bad. She was a knight and a martial artist. She could figure out something useful. Then she saw Ambrosia moving to the side and putting her hands out and gave the little girl a split second to do what she was going to do before moving into action herself to deflect the monster's attack.


Ambrosia waited to see if the other would stop her, and when it became apparent that she wasn't going to, she shouted "Honey Shoot!" The ball of honey formed, and she kicked it with all her might toward the oncomng boar, who jumped expertly into the air above the ball. Ambrosia wanted to stomp her foot. Her power had worked every other time! The honey ball exploded over the side of the building, glistening in the night air as it began to harden. The Chibi took a step back, knowing that she couldn't attack again for a moment.


Shalott scooted her out of the way, being preciously short on time. She might have been a little rougher than she meant to be but the youma was charging fast. As it got close she moved out of the way, mistiming the action a little and having the beasts tusks snag her leg. She cried out as they bit in, bringing up a powerful kick as it passed. She began to bleed, ignoring it for now as the monster was knocked off course and slammed into a wall, reeling around to look at them both now that they were attacking it. No one was a superhero here. She shifted her violet eyes to Ambrosia to see if she was alright. "Stay back sweetheart. I don't want you getting hurt." Her leg wasn't badly injured but she'd walk with a limp for a few days and the blood wasn't very pleasant.


She pouted a bit as Shalott took on the beast, lip beginning to stick out. It was the same reaction she gave her mother when she said that she was too little to be doing something. If only her mom knew that she was fighting a big pig! Her hands went to her mouth as the pig hurt the lady, an angry thought passing as the pig went into teh building, stumbling backwards. It was seriously disoriented. She decided that, for the moment, she would listen to the older lady, and she kept her distance from the youma, who was still wobbly on it's feet.


Kyndall had plenty of experience dealing with children who thought they were old enough to be doing things they weren't actually old enough to do. Harmony was the queen of "I'm not a child!" even when she was. But before that it was "I'm not a baby!" which, clearly, Shalott had already made the mistake of using tonight. She looked for a weapon, something familiar, and failing that decided to use the only weapon she had within each...her body. After all, that black belt had to be good for something. The kick had already damaged the youma a little, sending it into the wall to get hurt further. She just needed to keep going. She put a swift kick to the creature again, fiercely stomping down from above to drive it's head into the pavement with her heeled boot. The resulting crunch didn't sound good and the pig definitely didn't like it, growling and whipping it's head back and forth to try and get her away.


A winch came to Ambrosia's face when Shalott stomped on the pig. She really didn't mind getting dirty! The young girl wished that she could help, or that the other would let her help. Being little sure had it's disadvantages. Her heart wanted her to fight, but the small child in her thought it was perfectly ok to let someone else to the fighting. "Be careful!" She shouted, noticing the pig starting to get it's bearings. The thing was definitely hurt. It growled, pawing at the ground in frustration. Ambrosia could feel her power coming back. She could try again! Ambrosia took a deep breath and shouted "Honey Shoot!" Same song, different verse. The ball shot toward the pig, and this time, it hit the back leg, gluing it to the ground. The pig squealed, wriggling in place.


The youma was badly hurt, breaking up a little already between the attacks made on it. Shalott was starting to feel the strain and knew it would be more if she'd tried to do this without being powered up. She looked to Ambrosia, not really wanting to expose her to this but there was nothing she could do. "Close your eyes, sweetheart." She hadn't seen the wince but there was a reason she believed children shouldn't be exposed to violence and adult things. This was one of those things not to let her see. Careful to leave it's back leg alone Shalott lashed out in a quick combo or kicks, much preferring her shoes find the beast rather than her fists. If something was damaged leather was preferable to skin. And her leg was beginning to hurt so she hoped to be done with this soon. Where she hit the pig began to disintigrate into ash and dust, squealing furiously.


The little senshi closed her eyes, though she wasn't sure why. Then she heard the squeal, and was sure that the youma was dusted. Opening her eyes, only a pile o fdust remained of the enemy, and the honey that was attached to it's leg was now a fully hardened block, dusty and dirty around the middle where the ash had mixed in before it was solid. Boots clicked on sideway as she walked forward tenitively, saying "Thank you..for the help. I'm sorry it hurt you. Are you alright?" She eyed the gash on her leg and shuddered, hoping to never get that hurt in her entire life.


"I'll be alright but I think we need to talk." She powered down out of the way, mostly secluded, feeling the strain of her injury worse now. "What's your name, sweetie?" There were things this little girl needed to know, truths she needed to understand and as a mother Shalott felt it was important to explain things in a way she could understand. There was more to this than wearing a cape and beating up monsters. She led the little girl toward some stairs so she could sit down and so she could be sort of on the same level with her. "I think I need to explain some things to you." She mixed in a bit of her mother voice, the kind kids tend to listen to.


Blinking a couple times, she gasped as Shalott powered down into her normal clothes. They weren't supposed to do that at all! She avoided looking at the woman, perhaps she could still keep her idenitiy a secret. SHh allowed herself to be led and sat down on a stair, casting a look up every now and again. "What do you have to tell me? Am I doing this whole super hero thing wrong?" Her heart panged at the thought. What if she was making things worse?


Shalott indicated the stair next to her so the little girl could sit down. "I trust you with my secret because you have one of your own." And she was hurt and didn't want to attract any youma or Negas. "You should probably power down too but I can understand if you don't want to." She just didn't want Ambrosia laboring under false illusions. "Sweetie, my name is Kydall and I'm also Shalott and I'm a page of Earth. We're not super heros. We're more like soldiers and this is a very dangerous war. People get hurt and sometimes they even die." She indicated her leg as proof. "This is very serious and while I know you are very brave you shouldn't have to be a soldier or even a super hero. You should be a little girl and enjoy it."


Ambrosia didn't like what she was hearing. Not one bit. People weren't supposed to die! The good guys were supposed to win. But looking at Kyndall's leg, she was struck with a bolt of reality. She stared at the lady before here, who was a Knight. Just like Camelot! Maybe she knew wher eto find him! Ambrosia decided that if Kyndall could share her secret, then so could she. She stood and denhenshined, revealing herself in jeans and a long sleeve shirt adorned with an owl. "My name is Minny. I'm the Senshi of Honey." She sat back down sheepishly, saying "So you don't want me to be a senshi anymore?"


"Oh, Minny, it's not that! I think you're very young to be fighting when you don't know what you're fighting for. If Camelot hadn't helped me I wouldn't know what I was fighting for, either, and I'm a grown up." She couldn't help but hug the little girl, trying to lend reassurance. "I want you to be able to play and spend time with your friends and not have nightmares instead of fighting monsters and getting beaten up by the bad guys. And most of all I don't want to see you get hurt." Which was the heart of the matter. When Harmony was gone her entire world was gone with it. She couldn't imagine any parent going through that. When Kyndall didn't know whether Harmony was alive or dead it was the worst thing she could think of. The only thing worse was imagining her daughter dead.


Minny allowed herself to be hugged, feeling comfort in the arms of a stranger. What they were fighting for? Wasnt it just to stop the bad guys? There couldn't be any more than that. But the way she said it, called them soldiers not super heroes, troubled the young girl. Soldiers fight in wars, and got hurt. The superheroes always won. SO she wasn't a super hero. She was a soldier. "Why are we fighting?" she asked into the woman's shirt.


"Because a very long time ago the warlike planet of Earth decided to fight back against the moon because the people of the moon kept coming here. They thought we were trying to take over and envied the people of the moon." Or something like that. Anyway it boiled down to a turf war. "It wasn't a very good reason to start fighting and I want it just to end. She wanted to preserve life. "The bad guys think we're trying to take over and we're fighting back to protect ourselves and the civilians. It's a very bad war, Minny, and might never end. But we're trying." She needed to tend to her leg. The blood was visible on it now in her civilian clothes. It was a slow leak now but a leak nonetheless


So this was a war from a long time ago. It sounded like kids in the school yard. "So, the earth people got mad because the moon people came and visted?" Now that didn't sound right! Mom always said that you were supposed to welcome visitors, even if you didn't want to see them. Minny had to do this when her cousin Jesse came to spend the weekend. "They sound like their Mommies didn't teach them the rule of sharing." Minny was trying to ignore the color rising in Kyndall's jeans, but soon she pointed, saying "You need a Band-Aid"


"Maybe they didn't but I think they were just afraid." She couldn't hate all Negaverse agents, thinking of Benitoite. "But it's nothing you need to fight for, darling. I don't want to see you get hurt, ok? And I'm sure your mommy wouldn't like it if you got hurt, either." She kinda tried to ignore that she needed a bandage or some kind of wrap around her leg. It wouldn't look good in her skirts. But she was kind of busy being a surrogate mother figure to an impressionable little girl.


"I guess so." She said, picking at her fingernail to distract her from the uncomfortabl feelings that wer arising. Maybe she WAS too little to be out here. There wer so many times that she had come home with bruises and things that she would have to lie to her mother about. And she knew that her mom couldn't beleive all of her lies. "I do try to not get hurt! she insisted, kicking her feet in the sudden movemnet to redeem herself. And I've only really been hurt once! And it was mostly an accident. But then Chibi Lenka helped me!" That's right..Lenka! Suddenly an idea popped into little Ambrosia's head. Oh she would ahve to share with her fellow Chibi her new master plan! She practically wiggled in excitement.


"I know you try not to, sweetie, but accidents happen and It's just not safe." It occurred to Shalott to wonder how many little girls and boys were out there like this, believing themselves superheroes in a very real and dangerous war. Her heart boiled with anger again at the injustice of it. Children, for Christ's sake! "Chibi Lenka?" There was one more, at least, and that concerned her. She shook her head, knowing that the little girl simply wouldn't understand the gravity of this. She wasn't meant to. She was a little girl. "Let me walk you home, Minny. I'm sure your mother is probably worried about you."


Minny nodded, rising from the stairs. "Chib Lenka is my friend and a senshi too! We are on a team together." Team Yum Yum. That was the best team name ever. "It's called Team YUm Yum because her power is watermelons." Her tiny hand went out, and curled except fo the pointer finger. "I live over that way." She said, skipping ahead a couple steps. The next sentence was a little quieter, as if somone she knew would hear her. She knew she was in the wrong, but "My mommy doesn't know I come out here actually." Her voice carried the weight of a child who knew they were being bad. "The kitty that awoke me told me that I wasn't allowed to tell my family because then the N.." she paused, struggling to find the word "N-negaverse. Yeah that's it! The Negaverse would hurt them." Her solumn voice was a sharp change from the enthusiatsic girl she had been not too long ago.


"I don't suppose this kitty that awakened you stayed to help you out at all. Protects you?" It was disgraceful and Kyndall could have wrung the furry little neck. She started off in the direction Minny pointed in, listening to her excited chatter. It didn't seem like a good thing to her but that was mostly because she was afraid for them, all of them. An entire team of them... "At least the guardian cat was right about that. But I'm a teacher, Minny, and I understand what you're doing. If you ever need help you can usually find me at the Crystal Academy. I'm here to help you." And make sure that nothing happened to someone else's child that happened to hers. Finding out your child died was something no parent should ever hear.


Crystal academy? She thought hard for a moment, then snapped. Oh Yeah! The high school! "He stayed and helped me the first time I fought a youma. But I haven't seen him since." she prattled on, unknowingly getting her awakener in deeper and deeper trouble. She was too busy making a friend! Her skipping resumed, and she said "Well if I need help, I'll come find you! Say." he mind quickly shifted gears, and she turned to waling backwards to look up at Kyndall. "You know Camelot. That means you can help me find him!" They were three streets away now, so time was running out "Me and Lenka are both lookin for him actually."


Oh boy. She knew Camlot only too well in both versions of himself. "Yes, I know Camelot very well. He's been helping me. He's my...partner?" She guessed that's what he could be defined as better than mentor and certainly not superior. "Perhaps I can help you find him. Why have you been looking for him?" She didn't think any harm could come of it, she was simply curious as to the reason. It didn't surprise her much that Camelot made friends this easily. "It would be easy to arrange to meet you." And secretly she needed to yell at him for not warning her that their side advocated child labor. A travesty! The more she thought about it the more upset she became. "That cat of yours doesn't sound very helpful. Does he have a name?"


Oh yay! Minny felt excitement push the remainder of doubt out of her body, filling her with happiness. Kyndell knew Camelot! "Before I became a senshi, Camelto saved me from a youma. But I thought it was a monster at the time. And I told him I wanted magic powers too, and he said if I was a good girl and patient, then I would get them just like him ." Her face practically glowed with joy at the memory. "And I guess he saved Lenka too. I want to find him to tell him that I finally got my powers and to thank him for telling me how." Oh poor Minny. Little did she know that she was probably going to get her hero into trouble with his partner, given her current views on Chibi Senshi. But it was all of no matter to the tiny child. She was too busy imagining meeting Camelot in her senshi outfit, maybe saving his life! At Kyndall's second question, Minny had to think again. "He said his name was Pippin." The tiny cat also brought back good memories. When she ffirt got her powers. The two were on her street now, a street more rural than urban. Her house stood alone, a yard wrapping around the entire house. Out here, people had bigger yards, which meant her mom could grow her garden without worrying about anyone getting mad.

Kyndall was not pleased by the story or by Camelot's words to the young girl. He shouldn't be encouraging this! And Pippin, if she could ever find the scrawny cat, would get quite the earful from the protective mother and knight. When they turned down an urban street Kyndall guessed they were getting close. She wasn't really familiar with this part of town, having her own town house near to Crystal Academy. Sure it was scrunched between two others but it had been home for years and better than that it was rent controlled. She was locked in at 525 which was high when she was younger but very good now for the three bedroom house. She let Minny go, preparing to say goodbye to the little girl. "Stay safe, sweetie. Come and find me the next time you think about hunting monsters, ok?"


Minny nodded, practically tackling Kyndall with a hug that just barely rached her hip. "Thank you for all your help!" She said into the woman's shirt, words slightly muffled by the fabris. She beamed up a her new friend, and said "If you ever want to be a part of my team, I'm sure Lenka would want you to join! And let me know about Camelot ok? Byee!" She let go of the woman, running to the side of the house where a plastic house was set up against the wall. Minny clambered up ontot he roof of the playhouse, and slid open her window quietly, climbing inside. There she changed into her pajamas and flopped into bed after making sure no one heard her come in.