Introduction: The Silver Millenium's Greatest Loss


     Thousands of years ago, there was a time called the Silver
Millenium. This was a time of peace and tranquility.  The planets
shared resoursces amongst themselves and all of them had their own
separate kingdoms; how- ever, they all answered to one kingdom:  The
Moon Kingdom.  Then, next in line was the Earth Kingdom, the Mercury
Kingdom, the Mars Kingdom, and the Jupiter Kingdom.  The story
begins, ironically enough, not in the Moon Kingdom, but in the
Mercury Kingdom.  The planet was ruled by a wise and powerful leader,
and his son, Prince Damien, was to marry Princess Amy, the daughter
of a ruler in a nearby province.  Amy and Damien loved each other
very much and Damien vowed not to let anything separate them.  Then, 
two days before the wedding was to take place, an evil force began to
destroy everything that they had planned for.

     "Prince Damien!" a servant yelled, racing through the main
hallway, "Ihave an urgent message for you!"

     Prince Damien turned away from his studies to focus on the
huddled mass  of sweaty, exhausted flesh that knelt before him.
Damien had a wise look to him that went far beyond his nineteen
years.  His dark brown eyes gazed regally from his rigid face and
locked in on the situation at hand.  "Take your time," his baritone
voice echoed across the room.  "Relax, take a deep breath, and tell
me what has happened."

     The servant took a long drawn breath, released it, and said,
"The Mercury Kingdom is under attack!  Some strange force has
descended upon them and started attacking them without warning!  King
Mercury sent his mightiest  warriors to defeat them, but they all
failed!  They need your help!"

     "What of Princess Amy," Damien asked, hoping his biggest fear
didn't come true.

     "Princess Amy was captured by the evil general known as Jaedite.
Instead of killing her, which he had the opprotunity to do so, he
merely drained her of her energy."

     Damien hurriedly got up, went to his armor closet and pulled out
his battle armor:  a silver-plated chest guard, silver shin braces,
his belt and sword sheath, his blue cape, and his adamantium sword.
"Alert the Earth and Moon Kingdom; let them know of the situation.
Definetly alert the Venus Kingdom; they could be next!"  He then went
to his desk, grabbed a long-stemmed powder blue rose from his vase,
and ran towards the center of the room.

     "Where are you going, your majesty?"

     "Damien looked at the servant and said with all sincerity, "To
save our future."  He then crossed his arms in an X formation and
began to meditate deeply.  A blue aura surrounded his entire body and
a strange wind began to blow around him.  "Mercury Teleport," he
yelled, "ACTIVATE!!!"  With that, he vanished into an array of blue
light.

          *          *          *          *          *

     A blue glow filled the main hallway of the mercury Palace.  As
the light faded and Damien began to appear, he saw what horror had
attacked them.  The once luxurious hallway had been reduced to
shambles.  The throne of one of the most powerful rulers in the
silver Millenium had been completely uprooted and thrown into a
nearby corner.  The sight of this made Damien queasy and he knelt to
the ground in pain.  While he was attempting to regain his composure,
he heard the one thing he really didn't need to hear.  A young
woman's scream brought him out of his trance and back into reality.

     "Amy!"  Damien struggeled back up to his feet and ran towards
the Mercury Star Vault.  In the vault, Damien found King Mercury
fignting both the pain caused by the gash in his left shoulder and
the evil presence in front of him.

     "Give it up, old man," the general growled, "You do not stand a
chance against the mighty Jaedite of the NegaVerse!"

     King Mercury grimaced from the increasing pain in his shoulder,
looked up at Jaedite with fire in his eyes and declared, "Never,
Jaedite!  You and the NegaVerse do not stand a chance!"

     When Jaedite heard this remark, his face grew red with anger.
"Why  you insignificant little . . ."  Jaedite raised his sword to
strike, but a  blue flash stopped him dead in his tracks.  Jaedite
looked down, and was amazed to find a long-stemmed powder blue rose
sticking up from the ground.  "Who threw that?" he questioned.

     "Up here, genius!"  Jaedite looked up to find a tall black man
staring back at him.  He was obviously shocked by this sight.  "Who
are you?"

     "I am Prince Damien, sworn to protect the Mercury Kingdom from
filth like you."

     "Hmph," Jaedite smirked, "Never heard of you."  Damien became
very appalled by this statement, and that was what Jaedite was
waiting for.  He turned to King Mercury and slashed him in his chest,
killing him.  He then turned his attention to the Mercury Star
Fragment.  "With this fragment of the Silver Star," he said with
glee, "I can rule the planet Mercury!"

     "You would have a better chance of ruling a compost heap,
because you are full of crap," Damien growled after returning to his
senses.  "And if you think for one minute that I am going to let you
take the Mercury Star Fragment, you are sadly mistaken."  He then
leapt from the platform he was standing on to the ground.

     "Back off!"  Jaedite raised his hands towards Damien and
attacked him with a blast of negative energy.  Damien was knocked
back into a wall and he crumpled to the ground in a heap.  He looked
up, hoping ot find something positive, but he only found Jaedite
laughing over him, his blue eyes shimmering with pure evil.

     "What do you want, Jaedite?"  Damine groaned under the pain.

     "I was sent here by Queen Beryl to capture the Mercury Star
Fragment,take over the Mercury Kingdom, and destroy anyone who
interfered with our plans.  You interfered; you have to die.
However, before you go, I have someone who would like to meet you."
He raised his hand, and out of a near by pile of rubble levitated
Princess Amy enclosed in an energy field.

     "Damien . . ." Amy feebly moaned, "Please help me.  Please . .
."  With that, she lost consciousness.

     "You monster," Damien growled.  However, Jaedite found this
amusing. "Ready to go?" he asked, raising his sword high above his
head, "Times-a- wastin'!"

     "Not today."  Damien began to grow a blue aura, and it was
growing in intensity rapidly.

     "I call upon the power of Mercury . . ." he began to channel the
powerof the now powerful aura into his hands.
"Tatewa-jedoukai-zoda-ken . . ." He began to bring the cluster that
was growing in his hands behind him, as if to prepare to thrust it
forward.  ". . . Mercury Ice Fire . . ."  He looked at Jaedite with
fire in his eyes, the once well-known sensitivity being replaced with
an unadulterated force of anger.  Jaedite himself was at a total loss
as to what was going on.  His mistake.

     "STRIKE!!!"  He thrusted the energy attack forward at a
lightning fast pace and it slammed into Jaedite with an unheard of
strength.  Jaedite was in no way prepared to defend himself, and as
such, he was blasted into a crumbling pillar.  With Jaedite taken
care of for the moment, Damien turned his attention to a still
unconscious Amy in the energy field.  He ran over to the field,
placed his hands on it, and began to meditate deeply.  "Mercury
healing power . . . activate!"  The healing power of the planet 
Mercury encased the energy field and broke it.  Amy floated
harmlessly down to the ground, and when she came to, she saw her
dream come true.

     "Damien," she feebly cried, "You saved me.  Thank you."  Damien
looked down at her, tears filling his eyes.  "Any time," he said, "I
would do anything for you; I love you."

     "I love you, too."  Damien held her in his arms and they began
to walk towards the exit.  However, Jaedite had other plans.

     "You will not defeat me!"  He began to charge after them, but
Damien quickly turned his attention to Jaedite and growled, "Mercury
Ice Fire . . . STRIKE!!!"  the attack began towards Jaedite, but he
countered it with his own energy blast.  Amy started to intervene,
but was distracted by a loud beeping coming from her bracelet.  "I
wonder what that could be," she thought.  "OH!  The Sailor Scout
Alert!"  She fumbled with the bracelet until she found the comlink.

     "Amy here, Lita.  Go ahead."

     "We have a problem here at the Moon Kingdom.  We need your
help!" 

     "Understood.  Amy out."  Amy turned to face Damien, but she knew
of  her responsibilities as a member of Queen Serenity's court.  She
used her  Mercury Teleport and went to the aid of Princess Serena.
This distracted Damien enough to give Jaedite just the right amount
of time to strike.  His energy beam overpowered Damien's and it
knocked him well across the  room. The blow knocked Damien's sword
from his belt, and as he struggled to retrieve it, he turned his back
to Jaedite.  Jaedite was the NegaVerse's most corrupt general, and he
put that to the test against Damien. Knowing that he could never beat
him in a fair fight, Jaedite quickly teleported over to Damien and
stabbed him through the back with his sword.  Thinking it was over,
Jaedite turned from Damien, who was writhing in pain, clutching at
the sword Jaedite left in him.  However, Damien had other plans.

     "You will NOT defeat me by treachery!" he groaned, obviously in
excrutiating pain.  "If I can not save the planet, then I will
destroy it!" He slowly pulled the sword from his body, painfully
stood to his feet, and began to meditate deeply.  "I call upon the
power of Mercury; help me to defeat this minion of the NegaVerse!"  A
wind began to blow beneath him as his body became surrounded in a
bright blue aura.  Jaedite was in awe at this sight in front of him.
"He just will not die," he thought.

     "Mercury Kamikaze Attack . . ." Damien growled.  ". . .
ACTIVATE!" At that moment, his wounded body became encased in blue
lightning fire, and it began to began to quickly spread across the
room.  Jaedite took it upon himself to teleport off the planet.  The
flame spread across the room until it hit the Mercury Star fragment
located in the center of the room.  The Mercury Star fragment was the
center of the planet's power, and when the flame hit the fragment,
all was silent.  Deep beneath the planet's surface, spontaneous
combustions began taking place, and it quickly spread to the
surface.  Everything on the planet began to disentigrate, and when it
finally reached the ruins of the Mercury Kingdom, Damien sighed.

     "At least I did not die in vain . . ."

     "Meanwhile, at the Moon Kingdom, Amy felt a jolt of pain run
through her, and she realized what had happened.  She knew that her
worst fear ever had come true.  "He died," she cried softly to
herself, "He died just to save me."  She stood there in silence and
watched her home planet self-destruct, preparing herself for the
battle to come.

Chapter 1: Moving Day


     Amy Anderson looked out of her bedroom window and smiled.  The
day she had been waiting for since she was fourteen years old was
finally here. "I'm finally getting to study abroad," she thought,
"But am I really ready? I mean, I had the opprotunity before, but I
lost it to stay with my friends."  Amy was thinking back to the time
when the Sailor Scouts were fighting Rubius and she was accepted to
study Pediatrics abroad in Germany. She almost left, but she turned
it down because she really wasn't ready. So, instead, she stayed to
help defeat Rubius, and later on, destroy the Wiseman and save
Crystal Tokyo.  "Well," she sighed, "At least my friends will be
there with me.  That will make it more interesting."  Amy then
turned from the window and walked into the den to await Mina and
Lita.  Amy stood at about 5'9" tall and weighed about 120 lbs.  She
wore her neatly groomed blue hair in a bob cut; her blue eyes
sparkled in the Tokyo sunset. A very intelligent person at nineteen,
she was known at Crossroads High School as a major genius.  The most
amazing feature about her was her smile; a feature she rarely
exercised anymore.  The only reason she wore a faint smile now was
because she was finally leaving Tokyo.  She was so anxious to
get away from the pain and suffering caused by just being there.
That wasn't always the case, that is, until three months ago.
               *          *          *          *          *
     "Hey, Ames!" a voice cried out in the distance, "Wait up!"  Amy
turned around and grinned sheepishly at her caller.  "Hi, Serena!"
she called out. Serena finally caught up with her and they began to
walk to the ever popular Nobayura Ice Cream Shoppe.

     "Whew," Serena sighed, catching her breath, "You're a hard one
to catch up with."  Serena Tsukino was, as usual, a firey sparkplug
of energy. At nineteen, she had more energy than the local baseball
team combined. At an impressive 5'8" and 115 lbs, she could move,
too.  An outstanding member of the Crossroads Track Team and Japanese
Olympic Track Team, she had a lot to look forward to.  When they got
there, they sat at the usual booth, and ordered the usual:  a Vanilla
malt for Amy and a double fudge shake for Serena.

     While they were waiting, Serena decided to drop a surprise on
her long time friend.  "Did I tell you, Amy?"

     Amy looked confused.  "Tell me what?"

     "TA-DA!"  Serena held up her ring finger to expose a shiny
diamond ring.  "Darien proposed to me!  Isn't that the greatest?"
The waiter brought out the shakes and Serena was about to carry on
until she noticed a sudden change in Amy's mood.  "What's wrong,
Ames?"

     "Oh, it's nothing," Amy replied, not looking at Serena.
Instead, she was heavily contemplating her Vanilla malt shake.

     Serena looked at her and immediately picked up that she was
lying. "Don't give me that, Amy.  I should know better; after all, we
have been friends the longest of the Sailor Scouts.  So spill it!"

     "If you insist."  Serena sat there and listened as Amy told her
the reason she was so depressed.  It turns out that Greg, her
longtime boyfriend, was cheating on her and she didn't know what to
do.

     "Woah, Amy," Serena said inbetween gulps from her shake, "Are
you sure it was Greg?  I mean, couldn't it have been someone else?"

     "No, Serena," Amy answered in a matter-of-fact tone, "I
recognized the shirt I bought him."

     "Wow," Serena said in disbelief, "He was wearing your shirt?"

     "I didn't say he was wearing it, Serena."  Amy looked up to find
Serena speechless; something that rarely happened.  She was just
sitting there, straw in mouth, eyes glazed over, basically stunned.
"I don't want to say this," Amy continued after giving Serena a few
minutes to come back to her senses, "But I hate Greg for this.  I
don't even want to be here anymore.  I'm ready to go back home."

     "Yeah," Serena agreed with a smile, "Go back to your place and
get some sleep.  It'll do you some good; it works for me!"

     Amy looked at Serena and sighed.  "No, Serena, not my house; my
home.  I want to go back to America."

     Serena gasped at Amy's recollection.  "Are you serious?  Not
back to America!  We'll miss you here . . . don't leave us all
alone."

     "Well, you can come with me.  All of you!  We're of college age,
so we can all apply and go to the same school.  It will be great!"

     "Well . . ."  Serena was obviously in deep thought, considering
she would have to give up her life in Japan, her family, the few
friends she had that weren't Sailor Scouts, and her future happiness
in Japan.  Finally, after a few seconds had passed, she came to a
conclusion.  "O.K.!  Let's do it!"
                *          *          *          *          *
     Now, three months later, they were each packed and ready to go.
All Amy had to do now was wait for Mina and Lita to arrive so they
could get to the airport.  "Where are they?" she asked herself.  No
sooner than she asked that question, the doorbell rang  When she
opened the door, she allowed the biggest argument she had ever
witnessed to spill into her house.  Lita and Mina were at each
other's throats; again . . . over Mina's peculiar habits; again . . .
and it just seemed to keep getting worse. Lita was superior to Mina
in both height and intelligence.  At six feet and 130 lbs, Lita was
the tallest of the Scouts, and, to an extent, the most outspoken.
She had long brown hair that she wore in a ponytail that swung
violently whenever she swung her head.  Mina, on the other hand,
was the exact opposite.  Mina was 5'7" and 100 lbs, which made her
not only the shortest, but the lightest as well.  It didn't help her
cause much that she was lacking in the common sense department,
either.  When she first joined the Sailor Scouts, she was the
brightest and the most mature. However, as time progressed, she began
to pick up Serena's habits, and vice-versa.  Also, as time
progressed, Mina became active in all activities, including those she
knew she had no business involving herself with. This is what Mina
and Lita argued about nearly every day.

     "Well, maybe if you would stay out of trouble," Lita yelled, "I 
wouldn't have to argue with you!" 

     "Well," Mina pointed out, "iIf you wouldn't argue with me, then
I would stay out of trouble!"

     "One thing has absolutely nothing to do with the other.  Use
your brain!  Use your common sense!"

     "If you didn't argue with me, I wouldn't have to get my
satisfaction elsewhere!"

     Amy thought this would be the right time to intervene.  "Are you 
ready?  I mean, the flight doesn't leave for about two and a half
more hours, but I want to have everything set up properly," she
smiled.

     "Sure, Amy," Lita smiled, totally oblivious to Mina.  "Do you
have your bags packed?"

     "I sure do; let's go!"
               *          *          *          *          *
     On the way to the airport, Mina decided to make conversation.
"So," Mina smiled, "How's Raye doing?"

     "She's doing much better now," Amy said.  "Now, that she's over
her grandfather's death, she's back to her normal self again."

     "That's good to hear," Lita said.  "At least she can start her
life over now."

     "I wonder what the flight's gonna be like," Mina asked, changing
the subject completely.

     "It will probably be very bumpy," Amy declared.  "Remember, we
have to cross the Pacific Ocean and go to the other side of the
United States. So, it will probably be a lot of turbulence between
here and Alabama."

     "Oooh," Mina squealed, "I like bumpy!"  Amy rolled her eyes to
the sky and thought, "Why did she have to say that for?"  That was a
good question, for when Lita heard this comment, she got livid and
immediately pulled the car over to the side.  Mina was confused at
this, but Amy knew exactly what was going to happen.  "What didja do
that for?" Mina asked.

     "You are so disgusting!" Lita yelled.  "We did not need to hear
that!"

     "What did I do?"

     "Oh, shut up!"  This argument continued until they reached the
airport.  There, they were greeted by Raye Hino, better known as
Sailor Mars, Serena, and Darien.  Luna and Artemis came along for the
ride, although they both agreed that they would not go.  Raye looked
at Lita and Mina,and then over to Amy and realized that there was an
argument on the way over.

     "So," Raye smiled, hoping to change the mood of her obviously
irritated friend, "How was the ride?"  Amy shot an unbelievably cold
glance at Raye and she instantly knew how the ride went . . . rough.

     "I believe if I wasn't in the car, they would have killed each
other," Amy replied.  "They don't need to be roommates; they'd only
give each other hell."  Amy looked up to find everyone staring at her
in disbelief. This was not their usual Amy Anderson.  The old Amy
would have found some delight in this ray of darkness; however, this
one only saw the negative effects of a friendship gone wrong.  Amy
read this and decided to save face.  "Well, it's true!  They don't
get along, they're always arguing, and Lita's forever threatening
Mina's life.  They aren't friends; they're crazy!"

     "Amy," Serena said, "Are you all right?  You don't look so well.
This is so unlike you."

     "Well, what do you expect, meatball head," Darien groaned, "If
you would have ridden in the same car as those two, you'd react the
same way."

     "I would not . . . Darien, "Serena hissed, "And furthermore . .
. don't call me MEATBALL HEAD!!!"

     "Oh, give me a break, Serena.  Ever since we got engaged, you've
been acting strange; it's almost as if you're trying to tell me
something." 

     "Yeah, I trying to tell you something, all right."  She clenched
her fist, punched him in the stomach, and with a hearty sigh, she
stormed into the airport.

     "Are you all right, Darien?"  Raye asked after running to
Darien's aide, making sure that the newly enraged Serena was long
gone.

     "Ever since Serena started hanging out with that Akane Tendo,
she's become so violent."

     "You mean that girl from Furinken High School over in Nerima?"
Raye asked.

     "Yep.  ever since Akane and Serena had that big race, Akane's
been training her to be a martial arts fighter or something.  It's
really irritating me!"

     "Oh, yeah," Lita agreed, "The race!"  The race they were
referring to was the one between Furinken High and Crossorads High.
The two schools were heavy rivals, and Furinken had won the last
three meets.  Everything was tied near the end, so the final race
between Serena and Akane was the tiebreaker.  The race began, and
both girls gave it their all.  Unfortunately for Crossroads and
Serena, Akane won the race, and Furinken took home yet another title.
However, through the sheer passage of time, Serena and Akane became
fast friends, and Akane even offered to train her. This is what gave
Darien constant grief anytime he even pretended to slip up.  He
couldn't even call her "meatball head" any more.

     "Oh, Darien," Mina smiled, "I'm sure it'll pass.  It's probably
nothing serious."  Everyone looked at Mina and groaned.  Mina had
been saying the same thing for the past two months, and it was
getting on everyone's nerves.

     "Mina," Raye groaned, "Aren't you tired of saying the same thing
over and over again?  I don't know about the others, but it's really
irritating me!  It's quite obvious that it hasn't gotten better, so
do us a favor and stop it!"

     "Yeah, Mina," Lita agreed, "Put something in your mouth and shut
up!"

     Mina had finally taken all she could stand from Lita.  "Now, you
listen to me, Lita Jamison," she said, sounding like the Mina of old,
"I don't care what you say about me, just do it in private!  We've
dragged everyone else in this mud for long enough; now, it's time to
end this game.  Leave me ALONE!"

     Everyone looked at Mina as if they had seen a ghost.  "Hmm,"
Lita smiled, "She has backbone after all."

     "Welcome back, Mina," Raye smiled.  "Now, maybe things can get
back to normal."
               *          *          *          *          *
     During the comotion caused by Lita and Mina, Luna took it upon
herself to go and look for Serena.  She knew it wouldn't be easy,
considering the airport was so big and she was so small.  However,
after making a few right turns, not to mention following Serena's
wailing, she was able to find her in the women's restroom.

     "Serena," Luna pondered, always caring.  "What's wrong?"

     "Darien doesn't love me anymore," she managed to whimper out.
"Ever since I stopped being Sailor Moon and started being just plain
old Serena, he's turned cold on me.  He doesn't want to hold me
anymore, he doesn't caress me; he's so distant!"

     Luna looked at her and sighed.  "Well, Serena," she began, "If
you didn't constantly try to maim him, then you wouldn't have this
problem."

     Serena stiffened at that remark.  "Well, if he wasn't such a
jerk, then . . ."

     "No 'then', Serena!  You need to stop acting like Akane and
start back to acting like yourself.  Just because Ranma likes Akane
that way doesn't mean Darien likes you all violent.  Be yourself;
that's all that really matters.  Now don't you think you should
apologize to Darien?"

     Serena looked at Luna pitifully and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Maybe you're right, Luna.  Maybe I should apologize.  After all, I
have been giving him torture beyond torture."  They began to walk out
of the room when an interesting question hit Serena's mind.

     "Luna," Serena asked, "What about Sailor Moon?  I don't know if
I can be her again."

     Luna stopped and turned very serious.  "Serena," she said, "You
will know when you need to be Sailor Moon again when the moon is full
and terror strikes the land.  You see, Sailor Moon isn't gone; she's
just dormant. She isn't necessary right now, so you won't have the
ability to transform into her; however, when you and the other Scouts
are needed again, th planetary symbols on your forehead will
reappear.  Then, you will know it's time."

     "Thank you, Luna," Serena cried, "This means so much to me.  I
still wish you and Artemis could come along."

     Luna nodded her head in disapproval.  "No, Serena.  Our place is
here. We've lived our lives; it's your turn now."  Luna then jumped
into Serena's arms for one final hug.

     "Goodbye, Luna," Serena cried, "I love you very much and I'll
miss you more than you will ever know."

     Luna smiled at her.  "Good luck . . . Princess Serena."
               *          *          *          *          *
     Serena made it just in time to board the plane.  After she got
checked in, she sat in her seat next to Darien and smiled warmly at
him.  Darien didn't know exactly how to handle this, so he searched
in his mind for the best recourse, and he finally found what he
wanted to say.  "Are you still mad at me, Serena?"

     "No, Darien," she grinned.  "I understand why you acted the way
you did, and I hope you can forgive me."

     Darien looked at her and whispered, "Of course I forgive you,
Serena. I love you."

     "I love you, too."

     A few moments later, the airplane began to lurch forward and
they began their ascent to a new life in America, and what seemed to
them to be the end of their troubles in Tokyo.  Little did they know,
but their troubles weren't over.

     They were just beginning.

Chapter 2: The Past Returns







     Somewhere in the Northern Latitudes, an oil mining company was
digging in search of new few reserves when one of the workers found
the remains of a staff sticking out from a piece of broken ice.

     "Yo, boss," the foreman yelled out, "I've got somethin' for ya!"

     The boss, a big burly man, made even bigger in a huge fur coat,
lowered himself to ground level and stared blankly at the foreman.
He didn't appreciate being called from his perch, and he wanted to
know why.  "What is it?" he angrily asked.

     "It's this."  The foreman bent down to pick up the artifact, but
no sooner than he touched it, a hand broke away from the frozen tundra,
grabbed the startled forman, and snatched him down into the icy depths
below, leaving nothing behind but a horrified scream.  The others saw
this and tried to run, but bright flashes of light prevented any att-
empts of an escape.  The shocked crew looked up to see a woman rising
from the debris, cackling as she went.  She held the man in her left
hand and a long golden staff with a crystal ball at the pinnacle in
the other.  She had a wicked grin and a look of pure evil pulsating
from her glowing red eyes.

     "Prepare for oblivion!" she yelled.  Then, she raised her staff
high above her head, and no one was prepared for what was to happen
next.  Shards of lightning attacked them, and before they knew what
hit them, they were gone.  She looked at her work and grinned.  "Per-
fect," she cackled, "No one can escape the wrath of Queen Beryl of
the NegaVerse!"  She then reached down into the depths below and
picked up five capsules, each with an inverted planetary symbol on
the top.  "Arise my minions," she said, "Feel the power of the Nega-
Verse flow within you."  With that, the capsules flew off and five
bodies floated out.  Queen Beryl extended her hands to them, and they
began to come to life, the power of pure evil pulsating through them,
turning their once lifeless bodies into works of pure evil.  "Announce
yourselves to me," she yelled, and one by one they began to speak.

     The first was a tall, silver-haired, caped general, his lifeless
blue eyes shining with wickedness.  "I am Malachite, my queen," he
said, "I live only to serve you."

     The next one stood a couple of inches shorter than Malachite, his
long, brown hair flowing to his shoulders.  "I am Neflyte," he began.
"I am yours to command."

     The third was the shortest of them all, distinctively female, her
blond hair in a ponytail, her blue eyes cold and calculating.  "I am
Zoicite," she smiled, "I will not fail you again, my queen."

     The fourth one appeared from the shadows, mussed black hair almost
covering his dark, dead, black eyes.  "I am Kunzite the doppleganger,"
he whispered.  "I will not let you down."

     Then, the final one raised his head.  His cold blue eyes were felt
by everyone, including Queen Beryl herself.  His neatly cut blond hair
accented his face perfectly.  He allowed an wickedly evil grin to come
across his face.  "I am Jaedite, your head general.  We will not fail
you in this mission, my queen."

     Queen Beryl looked at her commanders and nodded in approval.  "Ex-
cellent," she said, "Because I need all of your assistance in this one."

     "What seems to be the problem, Queen Beryl?"  Zoicite questioned.

     "Is it the Empyrean Silver Crystal again, my queen?"  Malachite
asked.

     "Not this time," Queen Beryl declared.  "Now, we're after some-
thing much more powerful."

     "What could be more powerful than the Empyrean Silver Crystal?"
Kunzite pondered.  They all turned and looked at Jaedite, who was
completely lost in thought.  Neflyte thought it was something that
needed to be discussed.

     "What is it, Jaedite?"

     Jaedite looked up and coldly said, "The Silver Star."

     "That is correct,"  Queen Beryl said.  "We almost had it, but
two of us came backi empty handed."  She then looked over at Jaedite
and Kunzite, who growled at the mention of their defeats over a mil-
lenium ago.  Oblivious to this, Queen Beryl continued.  "The Silver
Star is a very powerful weapon which was to be ours.  It is a weapon
that overpowers that pitiful Empyrean Silver Crystal, and I sent you
five to defeat the Star Guardians and claim the fragments for our
purposes.

     "Malachite," here Malachite looked up, "you made short work of
Prince Donovan of Venus and captured the Venus fragment.  Zoicite-"

     "Yes, my queen?"

     "You managed to destroy Prince Nakorru and get the Mars fragment.
Neflyte, you defeated Prince Andrew and gained the power of the Jupiter
fragment.  All that was left was for Jaedite to defeat Prince Damien of
Mercury and Kunzite to defeat Prince Darien from Earth, and the Silver
Star would have been ours!  Instead, Kunzite fell for one of his own
tricks against Prince Darien-"

     "-But, Queen Beryl-"

     "NEVER INTERRUPT ME!"  Queen Beryl's eyes glowed with a firey red
evil that was a reminder to Kunzite not to interject his pointless
opinion.  "You gave Prince Darien enough time to sound the alarm, and
Jaedite allowed to Prince Damien to destroy the Mercury Star fragment
and the planet Mercury!  However, this time will be different.  This
time, we will not fail.  Each of you will find your respective Star
Guardians and teleport them here.  We will then use the power of the
NegaForce to rip the Star Fragments away from them and the Silver
Star will be ours at last!"

     "Queen Beryl," Neflyte questioned, "How will we know if our
Guardian enemies even exist, much less on Earth?"

     Queen Beryl thought about this question for a moment, and finally,
she gave her answer:  "When Queen Serenity saved the Moon Kingdom from
being destroyed, she effectively saved her court of arms, including the
Star Guardians.  They have been reincarnated and, through fate, been
sent to one central area.  Our job is to find them and take what is
rightfully ours.  So, go, my warriors; search and conquer!"

     With that command, they each began to disappear.  Malachite tele-
ported in blue ripples; Zoicite disappeared in an array of flower
petals; Neflyte faded away without a trace; and Kunzite kind of walked
into the distance and vanished, leaving Jaedite to talk to Queen Beryl
alone.

     "Queen Beryl," he began, "I have a favor to ask of you, and I did
not want to ask in front of the others.  I know I have let you down
twice before, but I would like to lead this command group.  I know I
can do it."

     "How can I trust you, Jaedite?  You have failed me before, and I
was not pleased at all.  I do not forgive and forget easily."

     "Queen Beryl, I am capable of succeeding this time.  I mean, if
they indeed have no clue as to who they are, they they will be of no
threat to us."

     "Very well, Jaedite.  I will grant your wish.  You shall be the
leader of the search party.  Do not let me down.  You will pay dearly
if you fail this time."

     "I will not fail, my queen."  With that, he vanished into a warp-
hole.  That being said, the plan was set into action.

     The hunt for the Silver Star was on.
Chapter 3: Enter Mercury
    Jaedite sat in his chambers and looked more than a little disgusted.
He had searched high and low for his Star Guardian, Prince Damien, all
over Tokyo, but to no avail.  He was nowhere to be found.  Jaedite had a
hard time accepting defeat now, considering what had happened to him in
the past.  His mind flashed back to when he lost to Sailor Moon, and
again
when he lost to Prince Damien.  "Where could he be?" he wondered.  Then,
in desparation, he decided to do a search of the entire world.  "He must
be around here somewhere," he growled.  "How can one person be so
difficult to find?"  Then, he found what he was looking for.
"Birmingham,
Alabama? Finally!  Prince Damien, you are mine."  With that, he
disappeared into a warphole in search of his target.
             *             *             *             *             *
     At the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the area of 
Birmingham, AL affectionately known as the SouthSide, people were filling
their minds with knowledge.  However, there were a group of people who
were filling their minds with something else.

     "Set . . . HUT!" the quarterback bellowed.  He dropped back a few
steps and threw a rifle pass at the receiver; unfortunately, the pass
fell
incom- plete because the receiver obviouisly had a bad case of the
butterfingers.

     "Stop the play!"  the coach yelled.  "Donovan Crawford!  What was
that! You're complaining about not getting any playing time, but when we
put you  in a practice situation, you drop the ball!  Back to the
receiver's side of the field for you.  You've got a lot of work left to
do
before you can catch Gordon's passes!"

     The quarterback took off his helmet and looked more than a little 
distressed.  "Aw, come on, coach!" he complained.  "He hasn't played in a 
game since his freshman year.  What do you expect out of him?  Jerry
Rice?!"

     "Damien Gordon, don't you EVER undermine my authority like that
again.  You understand me?"

     Damien mentally groaned, then he turned to Donovan and said, "Head
     on 
over to the receiver's side, Donovan.  We'll work one on one later."
Don-
ovan muttered something incoherent and went over to the receiver's side
for more snakes, drills, and whatever "niceties" the Receiver's Coach
could could come up with.  Damien watched his friend leave and sighed in
disgust. "He'll get it sooner or later," he said, "I'm not giving up on
him yet."

     Damien Gordon stood at six feet tall and weighed 195lbs.  His dark 
brown eyes surveyed the area where Donovan once stood and he looked more 
than a little disgusted.  Damien was known for his patience, which was
severely tested against his coach.  He turned to his offensive squad,
huddled them up, and smiled an easy smile.  Damien had a special knack
for
fighting his way out of a difficult situation, which is why he chose to
play quarter- back.  He had done a good job so far; UAB hadn't lost a
game
since his freshman year, which isn't saying much because he was only a
Sophomore, but it is saying something for his maturity, considering that
he was only nineteen.

     "All right, boys," he smiled, "It's time to show coach what we're
made  of.  Here's the plan:  Pro Right, X Fly on two . . . ready . . .
BREAK!" The offense went up to the line of scrimmage and lined up as
follows:  The six down linemen lined up on the line of scrimmage, Damien
lined up under center, the wide receivers lined on the right side of the
line and two running backs were five yards behind Damien.

     "Down . . . set . . . " he yelled, "hut . . . hut . . . HIKE!"
Damien dropped back a few yards and released a rifle pass down the
middle.
The receiver made the excellent grab and continued down the field until
the coach blew the whistle, ending the play.  The team continued making
great strides and great plays until the coach blew the final whistle
ending practice.

     "Very good, men," the coach smiled.  "You've earned the chance to
     hit 
the showers.  If you keep this up, we just might win this game on
Saturday. See you guys tomorrow."  With that, the football team trotted
off the field and headed to the locker room.  Everyone, that is, except
for Damien and Donovan.  They had the grueling task of going to the
coach's office.  They stepped in the office, and before they could say a
word, the coach gave his opinion on the whole sorted matter.

     "All right, men," he began.  "I'm going to say this one time and one 
time only;  Damien, you may be the star quarterback for this team, but
you
do NOT make the decisions around here; I DO!  I'm gonna decide who plays
on gameday, and Damien, you are the only best bet I've got.  As for
you, Donovan, you need to work extra hard to improve yourself in order to
play on THIS team.  Understood?  Dismissed!"

     The looks on both Damien and Donovan's face was pure shell shock.
They couldn't say anything; there was nothing left to say.  They just
turned on their heels and walked out of the office.  As the two weary
warriors made their way to the locker room, they decided to hold a minor
conversation.

     "Hey, Donny," Damien asked, "What was up with that pass earlier?  I 
mean, I threw it so you could catch it perfectly.  What happened?"

     "I don't know," Donovan muttered.  "I guess my mine wasn't exactly
     on
the play."

     "Well, I'm trying to help you out as much as I possibly can;
     however,
I can only do so much; you have to do something!  What exactly was
weighing so heavy on your mind that you couldn't catch that pass?"

     "Well, you know I've been having a lot of studying problems going
     on;
lack of concentration problems and stuff like that, but I'll get it
event-
ually; don't you worry!"

     "You'd better hurry up," Damien said sternly.  "Coach doesn't have
     as
huge a tolerance for mistakes as I do, and my tolerance is dropping
pretty
fast!"

     "Excuse me?!"  Donovan fiercely responded.  "I ain't got time for
your bull!  If you gonna criticize, then, do that!  Don't be switchin' up
on me, you know what I'm sayin'?"

     "Yeah, I know what you're saying," Damien laughed aloud.  "The
question is, do YOU know what you're saying, 'cause it sounds to me like
you're trying to sound urban.  Guess what?  Italians can't do a good
urban
accent.  It just comes out hosed up."

     Donovan looked at his friend rejectedly, then smiled.  "Maybe you're 
right, Damien."  Then, in an Italian accent, he said, "Maybe I'll just
stick to this one, eh, paisano?"

     Damien couldn't help but laugh, and Donovan followed suit.  "Give it
a rest, man!  Just stay the way you are before you give me a laugh
attack!" This continued for a few minutes until Damien finally sobered up
and asked, "Hey, Donovan, me and the guys are headed up to DreamLand for
a
few slabs of ribs.  You wanna come?"

     Donovan thought this offer over for a few minutes and then smiled.
"No thanks," he said, "I've got some studying to do . . . and so do you!
We've got a Political Science test tomorrow!"

     "I guess you're right."  As they walked out of the locker room into
the Birmingham sunset, Damien mused, "I wonder what made me take a
Political Science class anyway."

     "I dunno . . . maybe you figured you needed a challenge."
Chapter 4: Revelations

     Amy woke up at six o'clock that Friday morning, thankful that she
was able to sleep after that chaotic night.  As she got up and headed
for the bathroom, she tried to put past transgressions aside and get
ready for her first day of classes.  She had been studying the habits
of American college students, and it was her understanding that they
didn't get much work done on the weekends, which was fine with her.
She wanted to get some shopping done for their new apartment.  As she
pulled off her clothes and began to step into the shower, she felt a
strange presence in the room with her.  "Who's there?" she cautiously 
asked.

     "You do not know me yet," a voice called out to her, "But you will
soon enough, Princess Amy."

     "Princess Amy?" Amy thought back to the last time she heard that
voice. It sounded so familiar to her.  "Who are you, and how do you
know that I used to be a princess?"

     "Not used to; are.  You are a princess; nothing has changed that.
Just be-cause you do not fight evil in Tokyo does not mean you can
discard your past.  As to who I am, do not worry about that now.  You
will find that out soon enough."

     "But...!" She was talking to air after that, because her
mysterious callerhad vanished, leaving her naked and confused.

     "Who was that?"

             *             *             *             *             *

     Damien woke up that morning to find himself staring at a blurry
sheet of paper.  He snapped to his senses and realized that he had
fallen asleep while studying last night, which was a real surprise to
him.  "When'd I go to sleep again?" he asked himself aloud.

     "About thirty or forty minutes after you told me about your
dream," Don-ovan answered from the bathroom.

     "My dream?"

     "Yeah!  The one about you and that Amy chick.  Don't you
remember?"

     Damien got up and threw some clothes on and tried to remember.
Finally, he realized nothing was going to come out of this.  "Nope," he
shrugged as he walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

     "You must've really been tired, Damien.  It sounded pretty real to
me the way you were describing it."

     "Sorry," Damien said through his toothpaste.  "Doesn't ring a
bell."

     "Whatever.  When are you gonna move into your place?"

     "After the test...wait a minute!"  Damien was shocked to remember
what he had fallen asleep on.  "How much studying did I get done?"

     "Let me think...next to none," was Donovan's reply.

     "Oh, great!  I'm in for it now.  You know we got practice today,
right?"

     "Duh!  Tell me something I don't know!"

     "O.K.  How's about I tell you that I'm gonna recommend you to
start tomorrow against La Tech?"

     "Really?"  Donovan was ecstatic.  "If you were a man, I'd kiss
you!"

     "Do it and die."  Damien and Donovan walked out of the bathroom
and into Donovan's bedroom and grabbed their books for the day.  Damien
reached into Donovan's closet and pulled out two green football
jerseys, one with the number seven on it and the other with number 81.
Needless to say, Donovan was not pleased.

     "The green one?" Donovan protested.

     "Home game, home rules," Damien responded as he tossed the jersey
toDonovan.  "Now, put it on."

     "Aw, man!"  Donovan put on his jersey and Damien put on his.  They
gave themselves a quick look over in the mirror and Damien smiled.

     "Let's go," he said.  With that being said, they set out for a
full day of classes and boredom.

             *             *             *             *             *

     The day went as expected for Amy and the others.  They were each
dumfounded as to where their classes were, and after asking several
dozen people for help, they finally found their separate buildings and
went to work preparing for their future.  However, Darien had to
prepare for the workforce.  Since he had already been through college,
they felt that it was in everyone's best interest if Darien got a real
job while the others went to school.  Darien himslef wasn't too keen on
the subject, seeing that he had just learned to speak English, but he
proved to be a good student, even negotiating the rent prices when Amy 
couldn't do it anymore.  They had heard about the football game between
the UAB Blazers and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, but they didn't know
if they were going.  However, it took the mention of one name at the
bookstore to get their attention.

     "Yes," the girl at the counter said cheerfully.  "We have a
phenomenal quarterback named Damien Gordon!"

     "What did you say his name was?" Amy asked curiously.

     "Damien Gordon," the girl repeated.  "You have heard of him,
haven't
you?"

     "Yes," Amy hissed, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, "The
name 
does ring a bell."

     "Good!  Then, you're coming to the game, right?"  Amy thought long
and hard about it before giving her answer.  "I'll think about it," was
her response. Then, before the girl at the counter could ask her
anything else stupid, Amy quickly left the store.

             *             *             *             *             *

     Damien had been having an awful day since he first woke up that
morning.  First, he forgot to study for his test, a test that he
flunked royally.  Second, he had a difficult time moving into his new
place, considering he had to move all of his stuff from Donovan's place
to his in a monumentally short amount of time.  Third, he found a weird
note at his doorstep just when he thought he was done packing.
Something about some Silver Star or something like that.  The
best thing that he thought would come lovely out of this day was
football practice.  At least there, he was king.  That is, until he
made his recommendation to Coach Brown.

     "Absolutely not!" Coach Brown replied.

     "But, why?" Damien protested.

     "Why?  I'll tell you why: he couldn't catch a cold if he was
standing in the middle of Alaska with nothing but a football helmet on,
that's why!  Donovan Crawford is the most horrendous football player I
have ever seen!"

     "I'd be horrible, too, if I didn't get in a single game," Damien
muttered in response.

     "What's that supposed to mean, Mr. Gordon?"

     "That's supposed to mean how are you gonna expect the world out of
somebody that hasn't played a game since the beginning of his freshman
year?  Look, let's say he does start, O.K.?  Now, let's say he does
mess up royally, you know, dropping passes left and right...fine!
He'll live and learn from his mistakes!"

     "Damien, this is a very important conference game!"

     "What conference?"  Damien was getting fed up with Coach Brown's
lame excuses.  "We're an independent team!  There is no conference!
There's nothing to win, and nothing to lose!  Let the man play!"

     "I'll think about it."

     Damien looked at Coach Brown with fire in his eyes and sneered
violently at him.  "I'll take that as a no," he growled.  Then, before
storming out of the office, he said, "I thought you were all about
opprotunity, coach.  You gave a young freshman from San Diego a shot
last year, and look at us now.  I guess you've done your good deed for
the millennium, huh?" With that, he left before his coach could get a
word in edgewise.

     Practice did not go smoothly for the team at all.  Coach Brown,
despite all of their efforts and protests otherwise, decided to run the
team into the ground...a full day before a big game.  However, no one
was worked harder than Damien and Donovan.  It was almost as if he was
trying to force them into an early retirement.  But, neither one gave
up, and when it was all said and done, Coach Brown admitted he had
never seen such hard owrk before in his life.  So, he decided, much to
the consternation of the original starter, Aaron Stokes, to let Donovan
start against Louisiana Tech.  Needless to say, Donovan was vividly
pleased.

     "I'm starting tomorrow!  I'm starting tomorrow!  Damien, I'm
starting to-morrow!" an ecstatic Donovan yelled as he ran down the
hallway to the locker room.

     "I'm happy for you, Donny," Damien grinned as he began to change
for his "routine".

     "That time of the week again?"

     "Yep," Damien answered as he tied his shoes.  "That time of the
week again."

     "I got a question: why do you do this every week?  What's the
point?  Everybody knows who you are; they see you everyday on TV.
Don't you think they're gonna suffer from 'Damien Overload'?"  Damien
heard him and promptly ignored him.  Instead he grabbed his glasses and
walked out of the locker room.

     "Don't wait up for me, Donny," Damien said as he left the stadium.
Donovan watched him leave and grimaced slightly.

     "If he wasn't my friend, I'd tell him about himself.  But, he's
been doing this since we upset Nebraska last year, so I guess he
deserves it."

             *             *             *             *             *

     Amy and Lita began moving into their apartment immediately after
classes were over.  Amy originally reasoned that if they allowed Lita
to move in with Mina, as was originally planned, they would kill each
other.  So, to save bloodshed and mayhem, Amy moved in with Lita, Mina
moved in with Raye, and Serena moved in with Darien, of course.  While
they were bringing in some of their stuff, Amy decided to discuss
something with Lita.

     "Lita," she began, "How do you know when you're in love?"

     Lita looked at her friend and said in Japanese, "I dunno.
Sometimes you just do."

     "What was that?" Part of Amy's teaching them English was teaching
Chapter 5: The Dawn of a New Day
   Damien and Amy woke up in separate beds that morning, but they both
had the hardest time sleeping.  It was almost as if someone was
purposely torturing them, but for fear of deliberation, they didn’t say
a word of it to anyone who didn’t know.  Damien woke up with a huge
knot on the back of his head and a hunger in his stomach.  It seems
that he forgot to eat when he got in last night, not to mention clean
himself up.  He stag-gered into the bathroom and glanced coldly in the
mirror.  His face was puffy from Darien’s attacks, his lip was busted,
and he had a cut under his right eye.  He winced as he cautiously
touched the cut, and decided to clean up his face to make it look as 
unnoticeable as possible.  He opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed a
bottle of alcohol, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and some cotton
swabs.  However, when he closed the door to look at his reflection, he
was in for the surprise of his life.

     “Who the hell are you?!”
 
     “You will find out soon enough, my son,” the old man in the
reflection regally answered.

     “Wait a minute...”  Damien glanced at the old man for a moment,
then said, “I know who you are!  You’re the old creep from last night!
Where’d ya run off to, anyway?”  Then, before the man could answer, he
added, “And how’d ya get in here?”

     “That is unimportant,” he answered.  “Right now, I need your
help.”

     “Uh-huh.  I think I’m finally going crazy.  I’m talking to some
old twit in my mirror...MY MIRROR!!!  I think I hit my head a little
too hard on that base.”  He shook his head in disappointment, looked up
at the mirror and roared, “Would you mind getting out of my mirror so I
can clean up my face?”

     “But there is nothing wrong with your face.”

     “GET OUTTA THE WAY!!!”  He furiously swung at the mirror and the
man disappeared.  When his own image reappeared in the mirror, he saw
that his face was perfectly healed, with no scars or anything.  Albeit
the bump on the back of his head and the tremendous headache he still
had, it was almost as if nothing had happened last night...which
promptly drove Damien up the wall.  “WHAT  THE HELL IS GOING ON
HERE??!”  He stormed out of the bathroom and into the hallway leading
to his bedroom.

     “You know what?” he yelled to no one in particular,  “I quit!  I’m
about to get my stuff together, I’m about to call Donovan to remind
him, and I’m going to practice!  I got a game to play tonight!”  He
threw some clothes in a duffel bag, grabbed a bottle of aspirin from
the Medicine Cabinet, (which he was afraid to go to) violently snatched
his UAB Blazers hat from its perch on the hat rack, and left for
football practice.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     When Amy woke up, she found herself lying on the sofa in the
living room, which was strange, considering that her bed was only a few
feet away.  However, rather than question the events of last night,
including why she was in the living room instead of her bedroom, she
just wandered sleepily into the bathroom to wash up for the day’s
events.  She picked up a toothbrush from the cup on the sink and
reached for the toothpaste that sloppily sat on the base of the toilet.
When she looked back into the mirror to face herself, she was 
face to face with the strangest image she had ever seen.

     “Who are you?!” she yelped as her toothbrush fell into the sink
with a clank.

     “Who I am is unimportant,” the man in the mirror said.  “The
question is what happened to you last night?”

     “What do you mean?” she cautiously asked.

     “Why did you allow Prince Darien to defeat Prince Damien?  Prince
Darien can NEVER defeat Prince Damien!  He has not defeated Damien in a
millennium, and I do not plan on it happening ever again!”

     “You know more than you’re letting on, don’t you?”

     “That is unimportant.  You must remember that your goal as heiress
to the throne of the planet Mercury is to stand by your man no matter
what!  You must never allow him to be defeated again, and you must
NEVER, under any circumstances, let him die!  Do you understand me?”

     “No...how am I supposed to protect him?  He can take care of
himself!” she answered, not fully aware of what was going on.
“Besides,” she added nonchalantly, “He’s a football player.  He’s
strong enough to ward off any bad guys...” Something came over her
suddenly, for when she stopped, she could have sworn that she had seen
that man before.  “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

     “You will find out who I am in due time.”  Amy started to protest,
but she was wasting her time as the vision disappeared, leaving her
looking at her own ragged, tired body.

     “This is getting really weird,” she said to herself as a scruffy,
sluggish Lita wandered into the bathroom and looked in the mirror at
the two of them.  Needless to say, it was a rather pathetic sight.

     “Who were you talking to?” she asked.

     “What?”  Amy was officially gone in the head.  She figured that
she would need a full psychiatric exam by the end of next week.  “I’ve
got a big problem, Lita.”

     “Tell you what: how’s about I cook breakfast and you tell me all
about it.  Deal?”

     “Sure.”  While Lita was in the kitchen cooking some American-style 
pancakes and Japanese-style curry, Amy sat at the counter and told her
all about what had happened to her.  It sounded confusing at first, but
then Lita finally began to get the gist of the whole scenario…except
for the “Prince” part.

     “You mean to tell me,” Lita said as she stirred up the curry for
the final time, “That this Damien guy is a prince?!”

     “I guess so.  He doesn’t seem so prince-like to me.”

     “What if he doesn’t know it yet?”

     Amy frowned at Lita as she brought her the curry and pancakes.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking like Mina now.”

     “Granted, she’s gotten kinda slow...”

     “‘Kinda slow’?”

     “O.K., very stupid, but she has a point, though.  What if Damien
Gordon and this Prince Damien character are one in the same?  What if
his memories haven’t fully awakened yet, and what if he’s going through
the same thing you are?”  Amy shook her head and gave Lita a disgusting
look as she got up to get some Orange Juice from the quickly emptying
refrigerator.  “What?”

     “You and Mina are one in the same.  I just didn’t realize it at
first...”

     “What are you talking about?”

     “Both of you are crazy.  You have no proof of this, you’re just
making this up as you go!”

     “Do you have a better option?  ‘Cause if you do, I’d love to hear
it!”  Lita was beginning to get very frustrated with Amy and her
insults.  “Look, Amy,” she started as Amy came back to her seat, “I
think you should ask the others what they think; gather their
opinion...it’s obvious that you think I’m a flailing moron that doesn’t
know what I’m talking about.  So listen to what they have to say, and
you tell me what you think you should do!”

     “Fine!” Amy spat back.  “I will!”  

     “Fine!” Lita responded.  Amy then looked down at the food in front
of her and back up at Lita and added, “After breakfast!”

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Damien shrugged past the hordes of people outside of Legion Field
that Saturday morning and headed to the locker room for their typical
pre-game meeting.  He went to his usual seat beside Donovan and eagerly
awaited his coach’s arrival so they could get the day’s game plan.

     “Well,” Donovan smiled to his friend, “You look refreshed today.”

     “Oh, shut up,” Damien groggily responded.  “Are you ready?”

     Donovan looked at him and sighed.  “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

     “Don’t get nervous on me.  You know they won’t be looking for you
because they don’t know about your skills at receiver.”

     “What skills?”

     “The skills you’re gonna get during the game, of course!”

     “Don’t make me beat you, Damien.”

     “Whatever.”  Coach Watson Brown decided to come into the locker
room at that particular moment and everyone quieted down to listen to
what he had to say.

     “Good morning, gentlemen,” he began.  “Today we take on the
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.  As you may or may not know, we squeaked out a
victory against them last year, winning 21-20.  That year, no one was
expecting us to do much, but now, they’re looking for us to repeat as
independent champions this year. Granted, it’s not going to be easy,
considering that we’re going to be up against Notre Dame and Navy, but,
if we have determination, we will come out victorious.  Now, about the
game today, we’re go-ing to be using Donovan at the slot receiver in
place of Aaron.”  Donovan looked over at Aaron and shrugged his
shoulders.  

     “Now,” Coach Brown continued, writing on the board as he talked,
“we’re going to be using the one-back slot formation a lot today, with
the slot receiver going in motion to confuse the defense.  If we keep
this up, they’ll never know if we’re running the ball or passing it.”
Damien thought about that scheme for a second, then he raised his hand
in protest.  Coach Brown turned around to see this and frowned.
“Typical Damien,” he thought.  “What seems to be the problem, Gordon?”

     “Well, coach,” Damien began, “Aren’t you worried that we might
confuse ourselves? You know,” he added sarcastically, “We might be a
little tired from yesterday’s fiasco…wouldn’t wanna put too much stress
on us, now would you?”

     “All right,” Coach Brown continued, completely blowing off
Damien’s question, “Our go-to play should be in this formation.”  He
turned his attention back to the board and began drawing up a play.
“Point one to Coach Brown,” Damien sighed.

     “Like I said, we’re going to be in the one-back slot formation for
most of the day, and this play is no different.  We’ve got the same
team starting off with the exception of Crawford taking Stokes’ place.
Donovan is going to go in motion-” he drew it on the board so that all
could see “-then he’s going to return to the starting position.  When
Gordon hikes the ball, Crawford, you’re going to run a five-and-out.
Williams, you’re going to run a post pattern, Henry, you’re going to
run a ten-and-in and Thomas, you’re going to run a quick slant inside.
Foster, you block for Gordon’s weak side, and the down linemen are
going to do their jobs.  Gordon, your primary receiver will be
Williams, but you do have the option of going to Crawford if he’s being
covered by a linebacker.”

     “Well,” Damien intervened, “Donovan really isn’t gonna be getting
any good looks this game, because he’s never played.  So, he’s gonna be
open a whole lot of the time.  How’s about giving him better routes
than this little five-and-out stuff?”

     “Gordon, the one-back slot receiver is used primarily for short
yardage gains.”

     “You’re the coach; change the play!”  This argument continued for
a few moments until Damien silenced his coach and said, “Don’t we have
a game to play today?”

     “I’ll deal with you later, Gordon.”

     “No, you won’t!”  Then, he sprinted out of the locker room before
Coach Brown could protest it any further.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Amy and the others arrived at Legion Field and attempted to make
their way to their seats.  Lita looked around and commented, “So, this
is a football stadium, huh?  It’s nothing like the Tokyo Dome.”

     “That’s why it’s called a ‘dome’, Lita,” Amy shot back.  “Maybe
you should call home.  It’ll do you some good.”  She then turned her
attention to a furious Raye.  “What’s wrong, Raye?”

     Raye glanced at her and groaned, “I HATE ENGLISH!”  When Amy
looked at her curiously, she decided to clarify on what she had just
said.  “I was born in Japan, spoke fluent Japanese, and practiced
Japanese rituals and customs.  But, now, I’m in America, where they
don’t practice the same customs or speak the same language!  I’m sick
of it!”

     “Well,” Amy cautiously pointed out, “You just told me all of this
in perfect English.  So, it must mean something to you.”

     Raye opened her mouth to protest, but she thought about what she
had just said, and smiled, “I guess you’re right!  I still hate
speaking English, though.”

     “Suck it up,” Serena chimed in from the back in English.  “You
know, for someone who was so tough in Tokyo, you sure are a big whiner
here in America.”

     “Don’t start with me, Serena,” Raye growled. “I am not in the
mood!”

     “Personally, I don’t care if you’re in the mood or not!”

     Mina and Lita looked at each other and grinned.  “Looks like
they’re back at it, huh, Lita?”

     “Doesn’t surprise me one bit, Mina.”  Amy smiled at this notion
and thought aloud, “Maybe those two will get their acts together after
all.”

     Darien walked over to Amy and whispered in her ear, “Now, maybe
Serena can get her act together.”  Serena heard this and immediately
went ballistic.  “I heard that!” she yelled as she tried to strangle
the very life out of a hapless Darien.  Amy saw this and sighed in
defeat.  “The more things change...” she began.

     “...the more they stay the same,” Raye finished.  They both pulled
Serena off of Darien and found their seats.  No sooner did they sit
down did the PA announcer come on and begin the commentary.

     “Good afternoon, Blazers fans!” he yelled.  An ecstatic crowd
cheered in response.  “On behalf of Coach Watson Brown, the Athletic
Director Gene Bartow, and the president of the University of Alabama at
Birmingham, I would like to welcome you to another exciting season of
Blazers football.”  The crowd cheered again, coming dangerously close
to losing their minds.  “Welcome to today’s nationally televised game
between the number 25 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and the number seven UAB
Blazers.  Last season UAB shocked the nation by going undefeated and
winning the Builder’s Square Alamo Bowl.  This season, they hope to go
even further up the polls to take number one!  The pre-game show is
being brought to our listeners out there in Radio Land by Papa John’s
Pizza.”

     Lita looked to Amy and asked, “You’ve been studying up on this;
what’s so important about these rankings?”

     “Well, I’m a little fuzzy on this one, but the goal of these
football teams is to be the number one team in the nation.  That’s all
I can tell you right now.”

     “Gee,” Lita sarcastically said, “Thanks for clearing that one up.”
Amy smirked at her and laughed.  

     The PA announcer continued, “Now, entering the field from the
south entrance, the visiting Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.”  The crowd booed
as the visiting team ran on the field.  

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Damien and the others stood in the tunnel and waited to be called
out to enter the field.  “This is it, fellas!” he yelled.  Today’s the
day we start defending our title!  Today’s the day we show the world
that this team was not a fluke last year!  Today’s the day we show
everyone that the UAB Blazers mean business!”  The team cheered wildly
as they listened to Damien’s words.  “This is what we practiced all
preseason for; this is what we sweated all summer for;this is the light
at the end of the tunnel.  This is Louisiana Tech, and they’re the
first stepping stone for reaching New Orleans and the National
Championship!  This one’s for you, Coach Brown!”  Coach Brown smiled
and patiently awaited the call.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     “And, now, entering the field from the north entrance, your UAB
Blazers!”  The crowd cheered wildly as the school band played the fight
song and the Blazers, led by Damien Gordon, ran on the field.  

     “Now, for the starting offense for the UAB Blazers.  At Offensive
Guard, a freshman weighing in at 312lbs from Leeds, Alabama, Stephen
Johnson!  At, Offensive Tackle, a senior weighing in at 331lbs from
Salem Massachusetts, Daniel Alleman!  At center, a sophomore weighing
in at 300lbs from Augusta, Georgia, Greg Howard!”  At Offensive Tackle,
a junior weighing in at 301lbs from Memphis, Tennessee, Adam Lloyd!  At
Offensive Guard, a senior weighing in at 328lbs from Mobile, Alabama,
Jeremy Hawkes!  At Tight End, weighing in at 257lbs from Ft.
Lauderdale, Florida, Jonathan Thomas!”  The offensive line ran 
on the field one by one, and took their spot at center field.

     “At Split End, a junior weighing in at 212lbs from Montgomery,
Alabama, Dwight Williams!”  Williams ran out to center field and joined
the offensive lineman, looking a little out of place among the huge
down linemen.  “At Flanker, a sophomore weighing in at 190lbs from
Compton, California, Brian Henry!”  Henry ran out and joined Williams
so he wouldn’t look as out of place as he was earlier.  “At halfback, a
junior weighing in at 185lbs from Tampa, Florida, Russell Foster!”
Foster ran out and joined his teammates at midfield.  “At Slot
Receiver, a junior weighing in at 207lbs from Salt Lake City, 
Utah, Donovan Crawford!”  Donovan ran out to center field and joined
the others as they awaited the man of the hour.

     “And, at quarterback, a sophomore weighing in at 195lbs from San
Diego, California, Damien Gordon!”  The crowd cheered wildly as Damien
ran to the center of the field.  Amy saw him run on and nearly lost her
mind.

     “That’s him!” she yelled.  “That’s Damien Gordon!”

     “Hmmm?”   Darien looked at the field for the first time since they
entered the stadium and saw the young, cocky Damien pointing aimlessly
at the fans and the heavens above before taking his place at center
field.  He didn’t even seem hurt.  “Look at him,” he said to the
others.  “He doesn’t even look like I beat him last night.”

     “Whatever,” Lita groaned.  “You look like you got whipped pretty
bad yourself, Darien.”

     “Don’t start, Lita,” Serena interjected.  “If it wasn’t for
Darien, Amy would have...”

     “Shut up!” Amy yelled.  “I’m trying to watch the game!”

     “Well, excuse me,” Lita smirked.  “Didn’t mean to make you mad or
nothing like that.”

     “The Head Coach of the UAB Blazers is Watson Brown.”  Coach Brown
ran out to the field and joined his team. 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     The proceedings continued, and the game got underway.  Damien led
the Blazers down the field to begin the scoring barrage, and they
controlled Louisiana Tech every step of the way.  However, during the
third quarter, Damien began to have noticeable problems.

     “Hey, Damien,” Donovan asked while they were on the sidelines
waiting for the defense to either force another turnover or force
another punt, “You O.K.?”

     Damien massaged his forehead for a few moments before looking up
at him and saying, “Yeah, I just got a little headache; that’s all.”

     “A little headache, huh?”  Donovan knew that Damien was lying.  It
was something that he just couldn’t do without giving off some form of
telltale signs.  “Look.  We’re leading 31-0, and they haven’t been able
to stop us all day.  Sit down and let Dixon get some time in.”

     Damien scowled at that remark.  “Not a chance.  Just because I’ve
got a little headache don’t mean nothin’!  It just means that I’m a
little tired that’s all.  Now, let me concentrate!”

     “Well, excuse me, Mr. “high-and-mighty” Damien Gordon!  How can I,
the humble Donovan Crawford be of service to you, o omnipotent one?”

     “Well, since you’re trying to be funny, you can get me some
aspirin.” Damien grabbed his helmet and went to stand over by the
offensive coordinator to find out what the next plays in the series
would be.  As Amy and the others watched the game, Amy began to feel
strange vibes run through her body.  She instantly jumped at these
feelings and nearly scared everyone else to death.

     “What’s gotten into you, Amy?” Mina asked.  “You don’t look so
well.”  Indeed, that was true, because Amy had all of a sudden turned
very pale.

     “Is it cold to any of you?” she asked.  They all looked at each
other, then looked at Amy, who had adopted a dumfounded look on her
face.

     “Amy,” Raye began, “It’s 87º out.  It is nowhere near cold.  What
is the matter with you?”

     “I don’t know,” she shuddered as she began to sit down.  “It’s
almost as if I’m losing control of myself.”  She reflexively looked
down at the field to find Damien and see if he was going through
convulsions.

     And he was.  “When did it get cold?” he asked.

     Fred Dixon, the backup quarterback, looked at Damien and said, “It 
hasn’t.  Are you all right, man?”

     “No.  Will someone please explain to me why it feels like it
jumped from blistering hot to freezing cold so quickly?”

     Donovan chose this time to bring Damien his aspirin.  “Here you
go, man.  Take in good health.”  Suddenly, Damien was grabbing him by
the jersey, asking, “Why is it so cold?!”

“HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!”  At this point, Donovan was fed up with
Damien’s mood swings.  “I don’t know what’s gotten into you all of a
sudden, but if you don’t straighten up, not only will you lose your
starting job, but we will kill you!”

     “Donny,” he sobbed, “You gotta help me.”

     “What?”

     “I used to be a normal college student, you know, playing football
and going to classes everyday.  Now, all of a sudden, I’m a raving
lunatic who needs to be shot on sight.  I’ve lost my mind, I’m coming
close to losing my starting job, I’ve got a tremendous headache...”

     “Damien, you’re babbling.”

     “...I got into a fight last night...”

     “You did WHAT?”

     “I got into a fight last night with some jerk over that Amy
girl...” he paused for a moment before continuing, “You know something?
Amy is the root of my problems!  If I would have never met Amy, then
I’d be all right.  But, did it work out that way?  No!  I had to bump
into her at the Hill Center, I just had to touch her, and I just had to
get my butt whipped last night!  You know what?  This is not healthy!
This ain’t healthy at all!”  He then got this maniacal look on his face
and finished, “Where’s my aspirin?!”

     “I gave you your aspirin.”  Donovan was beginning to get really
worried, and then, he looked at Damien’s forehead.  “Damien,” he began,
“Have you been trying to tattoo yourself again?”

     Damien shuddered and pathetically looked up at him.  “No.  Why?”

     “Because you’ve got a faint blue thing dead center on your
forehead.”

     “What?”
 
*                    *                    *                    *
*

     While Amy looked down at Damien, Lita curiously looked at Amy.
This went on for a few moments until Amy just got fed up with it.
“What?”

     “Amy, your symbol.”

     “Huh?  What are you-”  Lita handed Amy her compact, and when Amy
brushed the hair covering her forehead back looked at the reflection,
she knew what was happening.  “My symbol,” she muttered.  The Mercury
planetary symbol glowed faintly on her forehead.  It wasn’t noticeable
from a distance, but for those who knew where to find it, it was almost
stunning.  The planetary symbols that marked them as Sailor Scouts was
thought to be lost forever, until now.  Now,here was proof that they
were indeed still active, and that they had better be on their guards.
“Serena,” Amy said, “Look.”

     Serena, who was concentrating on a hot dog, managed to sputter,
“What?” before she turned her head and saw what Amy was pointing at.
When she saw the Mercury symbol, she almost choked on what was left of
her lunch.  “Amy, your symbol!” she said.  The others looked at her and
were as shocked as Amy was initially.  Darien shook his head in despair
and sighed.

     “I think for us, the game is over.”  They all got up and left the
stadium, home being their immediate destination after these insane
events.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Damien looked up at the scoreboard as the final gunshot went off.  
Normally, he would be happy with the final results, but today, he
seemed awfully despondent.  Donovan, on the other hand, was ecstatic.

     “I had a great game!” he yelled.  Indeed, he did have a good game;
six receptions for an eye-opening 174 yards and three touchdowns.  He
even ran a wide receiver reverse back sixty yards before being pulled
down at the goal line.  All in all, he proved all of his doubters
wrong.  He would have continued on until he noticed his best friend was
in a state of despair. “Damien, you feeling better?”

     “No.”  In a span of twenty-five minutes, Damien had went through
two bottles of aspirin and had a serious headache just before he threw
one of four touchdown passes.  He finally let Fred Dixon play after his
headaches were just too much for him.  As they walked to the locker
room, Damien expounded on his worries.  “You know how much I hate pills
and the like, but I just had to take those.”

     “Damien, you took almost two bottles worth of aspirin.  It’s a
miracle you didn’t OD.”

     “You know something?  You’re right.  I should’ve been unconscious
after that first bottle.”  He paused for a moment, then finished, “It
was exactly two bottles.”

     “You were keeping a tally on how many pills you took?”

     “You’d keep count, too, if you were swallowin’ ‘em!”

     “Man, I’m takin’ you to a drug rehab place.  That was unreal.”

     “Maybe so, but it doesn’t matter.  You know why?  ‘Cause it didn’t
work!  Actually, I got a question for you: why was the score so
lopsided?”

     “Well, Fred ran the ball in at the last second, and you know they
don’t allow extra points at the end of a game, especially one of this
magnitude.  Face it; the game was over after the first quarter.”

     “It was just 14-0.  They could’ve come back.”

     “All right; second quarter.”

     “Try mid-third.”

     “31-0?  Yep, that’ll do it every time.  So, you goin’ to the dance 
tonight?”

     “Nope.  I got a remake to study for. Our Political Science Prof.
decided to be nice to me after class and told me that I could redo the
test later on.  So, I told him I’d be ready by Monday.”

     “Will you really be ready by Monday?”

     “No.  Just sounded good at the time.”

     “You are so full of it, Damien.”

     “Maybe so, but it keeps me out of trouble.  Plus, it gives me some
time to at least make a passing effort at the test.”

     “What didja get last time?”

     “Um...30.”

     “30?!  I’ve seen high school freshmen with a higher score on a
test like that than you!”

     “Yeah, but I bet they get decent study time, too, unlike myself.”

     “Damien, no one told you to talk about that girl all night.”

     “Some friend you are, Donny.  When I need to talk to you about
something important, you just throw it back in my face.  Now, I know I
ain’t got no friends.”

     “Don’t even go there, Damien.”  Damien grinned at him and Donovan
prepared for the after party.  While Damien was getting dressed, he
found a strange envelope in his jacket pocket.  He looked at it and it
had some strange symbol engraved on it.  He almost wanted to open it,
but his conscience told him otherwise.  So, he put the letter back in
his pocket and walked out of the locker room and headed home.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Serena and Darien entered their apartment first, followed by Raye,
Lita, Mina, and Amy.  Serena adopted a serious tone and said, “We have
a very serious problem on our hands here.  It seems that Amy’s symbol
reappeared on her forehead while we were at the game.  Now, I’m not the
brightest person in the group, but that sounds like a very dangerous
thing.  Luna told me before we left if we were needed again, that our
symbols would reappear on our heads.  I don’t know about the rest of
you, but I’m scared about this.  This could mean a big change in our
lives; something that we are entirely incapable of dealing with right
now.  We have got to get to the bottom of this.”

     “Somebody’s gotta keep an eye on Amy, too,” Lita chimed in.  “If
this problem is really serious, then Amy could be in big trouble,
seeing that she is the root of all of these problems.”

     “Thanks for your support, Lita,” Amy scathingly spat back.

     “Well, what do you want me to do?  Hide the truth?  Look, you were
fine back in Tokyo, then the day we got here, you started acting
different; as if the world was against you!  Not only that, but you
tried to hide it from all of us, even though you should have known it
was obvious.”

     “Lita’s right, Amy,” Mina added.  “Even I noticed something was
wrong with you, which is exactly why I said what I did about his
probably being the chosen one for you.”

     “What is this,” Amy spat at the group, “A
“Let’s-Gang-Up-On-Amy-and-Make- Her-Feel-Stupid” get-together?  If I
wanted ridicule, I would have stayed home and dealt with Greg and the
emotions.  Instead, I came here to make a new name for myself, and the
instant things start going wrong, the people I consider friends turn
their backs on me!”

     “Don’t even go there, Amy,” Raye said.  “We’re trying to help you,
but you spit it back in our faces.  If anyone should be complaining, it
should be us!”

     “Raye’s right,” Mina added.  “If you would only listen to us for a
moment, you’d realize that we do have a slight idea what we’re talking
about.  Now, will you just listen to what we have to say?”

     “Fine,” was Amy’s only response.

     “Now, when Serena went through what she did when she first
realized that Darien was her chosen one, it was almost unbearable.
But, with time and her friends beside her, she made it through, and so
will you.  We’re more than happy to help you get to the bot-tom of
this.  You’re our friend; we love you.”  Everyone nodded their heads in
agree-ment, all except Raye.  She seemed to be in some distant trance,
her eyes clouded over as if the was searching the depths of her mind
for some sort of explanation to the problems.  “What’s wrong, Raye?”
Mina asked.

     Raye jumped slightly as she came out of her trance and began,
“Well, I haven’t used my powers of perception in a while, so it was
difficult for me to try and do it without practice...but, from what I’m
seeing, we’re right about our suspicions.  Amy-” here she turned to
face Amy “-do you trust me?”

     “Of course I trust you.”

     “Good, because what I’m going to tell you might shock and upset
you.  I couldn’t see much, but from what I saw, your efforts to avoid
Damien and his advances are going to fail.  Of course, I could be
seeing things, but it would be wise to keep our guard up around him.
He appears to be more than he actually is.”

     Amy shook her head and yawned, the effects of the past three days
finally getting to her.  “I’m tired, so, I’m going to go to sleep now.
I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow.”  Everyone said their good-byes, and
Amy groggily got up and left, more confused now than she had ever been
before.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Damien staggered into his apartment that night, still sore from
the game.  He didn’t get hit much, but the few times he did, he could
have done without...especially the one where the guy almost buried him
at midfield.  He looked at himself in the mirror and grinned at the
revelation that he was still able to breathe properly.  He turned to
close his door, but a white flash of paper caught his eye.  He snatched
it from its post on the door and chuckled to himself.  “An eviction
notice already?” he grinned.  “This is so sudden; I just moved in!”
However, when he got another look at the letter, it wasn’t an eviction
notice at all.  It was another one of those strange letters he had 
been receiving for the past couple of days.  He scowled at the letter
and threw it on the coffee table.  He walked over to the TV and turned
it on to the nightly news. 

     “And in today’s sports,” the newscaster said, “The number seven
ranked Blazers tromped all over Louisiana Tech today, winning 43-0.
The game appeared to be over in the second quarter when Damien threw a
long bomb to surprise starter Donovan Craw-ford, who finished the run
into the end zone, which made the score 21-0.  Donovan fin-ished the
game with six receptions for 174 yards and three touchdowns.”  Damien
men-tally laughed as they showed him dropping back and throwing the
deep pass to Donovan.  “Damien himself finished with 312 yards passing
and four touchdowns.  UAB has the next week off, but they take on 
Alabama State University that following week.”  Damien laughed aloud
and turned off the TV.

     “That one oughta be good for a laugh or two.”  He reached to turn
on the light and read one of the letters.  However, instinct got the
better of him and he turned to look behind him.  No one was there, but
the LED on his answering machine was blinking, something it wasn’t
doing when he first walked in the door.  He put the letter back on the
coffee table and went to check his “message”.  However, when he pressed
the button, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice on
the other end.

     “Prince Damien,” the voice called out, “You must become one with
destiny!  Accept your fate and become a Star Guardian!  Take your place
amongst the leaders of the Silver Millennium!”

     “There it is!” he hysterically yelled, “There’s that voice again!
Why won’t he leave me alone?!  I don’t know nothin’ about no Star
Guardian!”  He ran through the apartment and finally jumped into the
bed, locked the door, and went to sleep; praying that nothing else
would bother him anymore tonight.  However, as Damien slept, his
sub-conscious mind began to take over, and once there, he began to
dream...

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     He was standing in the middle of a grassy field
somewhere...somewhere with two moons.  He didn’t quite understand what
was going on until he saw a red rose fall to the ground.  He looked at
the rose curiously, and then a bright light shot from the petals and
formed the shape of a man.  When the light faded, the man appeared and
Damien in-stantly recognized him.

     “That’s the jerk that beat me up!” he yelled.  Prince Darien
looked very serious in his red karate gi for a moment before assuming a
Shotokan Karate stance.  He looked very regal and deep in thought as
the excess ribbon from his headband and belt flowed gently in the wind.
Damien studied him for a moment before noticing another rose flying to
the earth; this one being powder blue in color.  “Oh, no,” he thought.
“Don’t let that be…” A blue light shot from the petals and they too
formed the shape of a man.  Damien groaned at this recollection because
he knew all too well who was going to appear from the “light”.  He
looked straight into the eyes of the man who appeared from the image.

     “It’s me.”

     Prince Damien looked up at his adversary and frowned.  He was
dressed like Prince Darien with the exception that his gi was blue and
he had no bandanna.  He assumed a Kempo stance and waited.  Finally,
Prince Darien said, “You do understand what this is for, right, Prince
Damien?”

     “I know all too well, old friend,” Prince Damien answered.  “The
winner gets the energy attacks of their home planet.  The loser goes
powerless.”  Then, he grinned at Prince Darien and said, “I do not
intend on their being a split decision like the battle that your father
and mine participated in.”

     “Nor do I, Damien.”  No sooner did Prince Darien say those words
that he started running towards Prince Damien.  Prince Damien did
likewise, and when it seemed that they were going to collide into each
other, Prince Darien jumped in the air.  Prince Da-mien followed suit
and kicked Prince Darien in the chest.  Prince Darien sprawled in the
air onto the ground below and instantly jumped up for a counterattack.
A heated battle ensued, with one constantly outwitting the other in a
test of strength and wills.  Damien stood there and watched this entire
fight and was amazed.

     “I’m actually good at this kind of thing,” he mused to himself.
“I wonder what else I can do...” He watched as they fought around him,
oblivious to his presence.  Prince Darien and Prince Damien were like
two equals; one never giving an upper hand to the other.  Damien
watched and he looked behind him and saw the image of him fighting
Darien at Pickwick place.  He looked at that image and the other and
noticed that they were two equals.  Damien and Darien barely gave each
other an advantage, and Prince Damien and Prince Darien never gave each
other any prevalence.  However, Damien knew how the fight between him 
and Darien ended, so, he turned his attention to the other fight.

     “You have been practicing, old friend!” Prince Damien screamed to
Prince Darien.

     “As have you, comrade,” Prince Darien responded.  Both looked very 
exhausted from the battle; they were crouched on the ground, catching
their breath.  Damien looked at the two weary warriors in amazement.

     “They’re obviously tired, but I have a chance to beat him, but I’m
not,” he thought aloud.  No sooner than he said that did Prince Damien
spring from his knees and kicked Prince Darien in the face.  Damien saw
this and giggled with glee.  “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” he
yelled.

     “I am sorry, friend,” Prince Damien apologetically said, “But, for
the power of the planet Mercury, I will do whatever it takes!”  Prince
Darien charged him, but Prince Damien looked at him and waited for the
right time.  Prince Darien jumped up for a flying kick, but Prince
Damien blocked him, and as he was falling out of the air, Prince Damien
gave him a deadly roundhouse kick to the back.  Prince Darien stood on
all fours and contemplated getting up, but his ragged body refused to
let him go any further.  Prince Darien fell to the ground in a heap,
and both Prince Damien and Damien rejoiced.

     “YES!!!” they both yelled.  Then, blue arcs of energy began rising
from the planet’s surface and surrounded Prince Damien.  Damien looked
at this feat and watched in awe as Prince Damien was lifted off the
ground and the blue ripples of energy seared through his body, fusing
him with an awesome power.  Prince Damien was lowered to the ground,
and all of a sudden, he collapsed.  Damien ran over to him, but he
never made it.  He fell through a hole that suddenly appeared in front
of him, to a destination that was new to him...

     He landed in a heap in the middle of a ravaged kingdom.  The
pillars that once held the roof up was scattered all over the place
like a child’s toys. Damien looked around and cringed at this sight.
Then, the room took on a blinding bright light, and when the light
cleared, he saw Prince Damien looking at the same wreckage as he was.
He was dressed in the same battle armor he was in when he proposed to
Amy.  Damien cautiously walked over to him, making sure there were no
holes about to open up and swallow him again.  Prince Damien looked
around at his surroundings and fell to his knees in pain.  Damien
looked at him-his mirror image-grimacing, until they heard the one
thing they really didn’t need to hear.  A woman’s scream brought them
out of their trance and into reality.

     “Amy!”  Prince Damien struggled to his feet to follow the scream.
Damien started to follow, but he was stopped by some sort of an
illusory wall.

     “What’s goin’ on here?” Damien demanded.  “Let me pass!”

     “Prince Damien!” a voice bellowed out to him.

     “Who are you?  Show yourself!”  A strange wind began to blow
around the ruins, and in the center of the floor, a holographic vision
appeared of an old man.  The old man wore a cloak with a planetary
symbol on the left side.  Damien looked at the old man cu-riously.
“Why am I here?”

     “The time is not right yet, Prince Damien.  You have many
questions to ask of me, but I can give you no answers now.  If I do,
the results would be disastrous.”

     “Well, can you at least give me a hint or somethin’?”

     “No.  Just be patient, my son.  All of your questions will be
answered in due time.”  The image disappeared and so did the room
Damien was standing in. Suddenly, Damien was floating in mid-air.  He
looked around at his surroundings and began to wonder what else could
possibly go wrong.  He would never know, for when he least expected it,
he started falling to the earth-fast.  He kept falling and
falling...towards his apartment, his bed, and his body.

     Damien sprung to his feet, completely unaware of what day-or what
time-it was.  He staggered into the living room/den and turned on the
TV to get his bearings.  The sportscaster was talking about the game
against Louisiana Tech, so he figured it was Sunday morning...until he
looked outside.  It was still pitch dark out, and he finally looked at
his watch.  “2:30,” he muttered.  He then looked at the score of the
game on the screen.  “Must be a rerun,” he sighed.  He let the TV play
as he curled up on the sofa and fell into a deep and thankfully
dreamless sleep.  When he woke up the next morning, he decided 
that he was in the mood for breakfast, and he wasn’t in the mood for
cooking.  So, he threw some clothes on, grabbed a soda from the
refrigerator, stuffed the two letters in a bookbag that was resting by
the door, and left for a lonely Sunday breakfast.






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Chatper 6: A New Challenge

   

     Amy awoke the next morning glad that she didn’t have any dreams to
worry about.  It seemed that whatever had been bothering her earlier
had abruptly went away.  So, she got up and poured herself a glass of
orange juice and sat down to watch the morning news.  Ironically, the
sports report of yesterday’s football game was on.  “Why must he follow
me around all the time?” she asked herself aloud.  She sat and watched
the highlights intently, hoping to see when he finally cracked.  When
she saw it, about the time he threw his final touchdown pass, she was
relieved in the fact that at least she wasn’t by herself in the
suffering.  Lita came in a few moments later dressed in her over-
sized nightshirt that Ken had bought here “many moons ago,” as she
liked to call it.

     “Whatcha doin’?” she sleepily said.

     “Watching the news.”

     “Anything interesting on?”

     “Just local sports.”

     “Who won the game last night?”

     “UAB did 43-0.”

     “43-0?”  Obviously, that stunned Lita.  “Don’t they have some sort
of rules for stopping blowouts or something?”

     “Afraid not.  What’s for breakfast?”

     “Probably more of the same.  You wanna see if the others are up so
we can have a group breakfast?”

     “Sure, why not?”  Lita ran to the kitchen and Amy gathered the
scraps of paper they had hurriedly scribbled the phone numbers on.  “We
have got to get some organization to this stuff.”

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Damien was beginning to get annoyed.  Ever since he first met Amy
at the Hall University Center and again at Pickwick Place, things had
started to go south for him.  For starters, he got into a fight with
some tacky, two-bit idiot he had never met before over her; a fight he
would have won had he not been distracted.  Second of all, the weird
dreams he was having were driving him up the wall.  He could deal with
the ones about Amy; as a matter of fact, he liked those.  However, the
others made absolutely no sense at all.  After all, what did he know
about a Silver Star?  Then, there were the oddball letters; and the
roses, which were powder blue for some strange reason; and the messages
on his answering machine; and the notes left for him at school.  

     He grimaced as he walked down University Boulevard on his way to
the Waffle House to enjoy a good Sunday morning breakfast.  He reached
into his book bag and pulled out a soda and the most recent letter he
got.  He began to read it aloud, trying to make some sense out of it.
It read like this:

Prince Damien,
        Time is of the essence!  The evil one is returning to the
land, and if we don’t hurry, it will be too late!  You must find
the other stars and save civilization as we know it.  Please!  You
have got to do something!

     “Find the stars,” he snickered, “Find the stars?!  How am I
supposed to ‘find the stars’, when I can’t even find my way to the
bathroom thanks to this lousy bump on my head?”  The bump he was
referring to was the one he sustained thanks to Darien’s upper-cut two
days earlier.  His head bothered him so much yesterday that he had to
take ex-treme painkillers to get him through the game and the damage to
the concrete base sur-rounding the fountain was still there.  He
decided to stop dwelling on the past and con-centrate on things ahead,
so he opened his soda and began to drink his headache away.

     However, something wasn’t right.  Someone, or something for that
matter, was following him; stalking him; watching his every move,
waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.  When it found that
time, just as Damien started drinking his soda, it vaulted from its
perch to strike its victim.

     Damien continued to drink his soda, making his way to the Waffle
House, when the note flew from his hand and landed behind him.  He
groaned something incoherent and turned to pick it up.  He snagged it
off the ground, and when he stood up, he was face to face with the most
horrendous thing he had ever seen. However, where most people would
have freaked out or fainted, Damien just stood there.  Whether or not
he was in shock or just scared stiff, he didn’t know. So, he just stood
there like a statue, praying that his life wouldn't flash before his
eyes.  He was too afraid that it would be more of those weird 
visions.  After a few moments had passed and the initial scare was
over, Damien finally moved.

     He dropped his soda on the ground.

     Then, accompanied by a steadily increasing yell, he turned in the
opposite direction and ran.

     The monster wasted no time in pursuing him after that.  Damien
hurriedly made his way through the few Sunday morning passer-bys,
hoping to elude his would-be assailant, but it didn’t quite work.  The
monster violently knocked the people out of the way, maintaining a
perfect distance behind him.  A pair of bonbori appeared in its hands
and it tossed them at Damien.  Somehow, Damien sensed then coming at
him and he be-gan to pick up speed.  As he continued to gain more
momentum, he began to realize that he was rapidly running out of 
options.  Either the bonbori were going to smash into him or he was
going to run out of breath.  With that in mind, he noticed a perfectly
timed opportunity for escape.  He ran into the street, took two giant
leaps on top of an oncoming car...and jumped.

     As he began his ascent and the bonbori sailed harmlessly under
him, he noticed a lamppost within grabbing distance.  He grabbed onto
the horizontal pole, did a few 360° spins to pick up velocity, and let
go.  He latched himself onto the face of a nearby build-ing and began
to spring himself upward.  He continued on this pattern until he
reached the rooftop of a nearby building.  Once he landed, he breathed
a sigh of relief.

     “I lost it,” he chuckled.  “I lost it!  Oh, man...” Then, he made
a grave mistake: he turned around.  Standing there, to his surprise,
was the very entity he thought he had es-caped, staring him in the
face.  However, instead of running away this time, primarily because
there was nowhere left for him to run, he decided to stay and fight.
That was not one of his brighter ideas, for when he threw a punch at
it, he missed.  The monster responded by knocking a surprised Damien
several feet in the air.  When he landed with a thud on the ground, he
sprang to his feet in anger.  “Who are you?!”

     “I am Frow, a warrior of the NegaVerse, and I have come for your
fragment, Prince Damien,” it cackled.

     “Look,” Damien responded, “I don’t know who you are, nor do I
care, but I ain’t got no fragment!!”  With that, he charged the beast,
but to no avail.  Frow knocked him back into the wall, and Damien ran
back at it.  This went on a couple of times until Damien just got fed
up.  He vaulted up and launched an onslaught of punches and kicks at
the monster.  However, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t
hit it.  One of his punches landed him off balance and Frow took that
opportunity to launch a mean backhand at Damien, knocking him back into
the wall.

     At this point, Damien was getting very frustrated.  “What’s going
on,” he pondered.  “Why can’t I hit it?  It’s as if it knows my every
move!  That’s all right, though; I’m not giving up yet!  Here goes!”
Then, rising to his knees, he charged the monster, unleashing an even
greater flurry of punches and kicks.  He was amazed to find out that he
was still unable to touch it.  However, three body blows later, he knew
that it could touch him.

     “Give up?” Frow chuckled.

     “Not now,” Damien growled, rising to his feet, “Not by a long
shot!”  Damien attacked again, this time landing punches left and
right.  Overexcited by this change of momentum, he let forth a
premature yelp of jubilance.  Little did he know, but Frow was
preparing for a powerful attack, and when he finally realized what was
going on, it was too late.  Frow attacked with a highly charged punch,
and Damien went flying into the opposite wall.  Frow let out a menacing
laugh and walked over to Damien, hoping to fin-ish him off.  As he lay 
there, anger overcoming him, a blue aura began to surround him.  He
didn’t recognize this new sensation at first, but new memories began
flooding him, and when it finally donned on him what was happening, he
knew exactly what to do.

     It was payback time.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Meanwhile, back in the NegaVerse, Queen Beryl was ecstatic.  Her
dream of universal conquest was finally at hand.  The leader of the
Star Guardians, the one man who had the power to shut her down
indefinitely, the mighty Prince Damien of the Mercury Kingdom, was
about to meet his demise at the hands of a simple warrior.  She sat at
her throne with Jaedite standing by her side watching the entire scene
unfold from her crystal ball.

     “This is perfect,” Jaedite smiled, “Soon, the Mercury Fragment
will belong to the NegaVerse, and Prince Damien will be no more.”

     Queen Beryl nodded her head in approval.  “Yes, and finally we
will be able to-” She suddenly stopped when she noticed the aura around
Damien.  “What is this?” she bellowed.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     “Ready to go?” Frow chuckled.  “Time’s-a-wastin’!”

     Damien stood up and an unworldly frown appeared on his face.  “No;
you will NOT defeat me by treachery!  You will pay for what you have
done to me!” he growled.

     Back at the NegaVerse, Queen Beryl was about to explode.  “What is
this?!”

     Damien held out his hands in a clustering formation and began to
channel the aura into it.  “I call upon the power of Mercury...help me
to defeat this vile monster!”

     Queen Beryl began to see victory disappear right before her eyes.
“What is going on?!  He can’t do this to me!”  Jaedite saw this, and
began to inch away from his queen, hoping not to catch her wrath.

     Damien may not have supposed to do this, but he was.
“TATEWA-JEDOUKAI-ZODA-KEN...” he yelled, “...Mercury Ice Fire...” He
took the clustered energy, forced it behind him, and with his final
ounce of strength, he thrust it forward and yelled, “STRIKE!!!”  The
blast went forward at an unbelievable speed and slammed into a
be-wildered Frow.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     “NO!!!”  Queen Beryl had seen enough.  She had come so close to
victory that she could touch it, and to have it snatched away from her
at the last minute was just too much to bear.  Jaedite couldn’t find
the words to say on this foul-up; instead, he just stood there with a
slack-jawed expression on his face.  He began to wonder if he would be
punished for this unexplainable turn of events.  After all, this was
the second time Frow had failed him.  The first time was when it
allowed a confused Serena, just begin-ning to learn the ropes as Sailor
Moon, to derail their energy draining “Love Zone” radio show attempt.
That was bad enough, but to have another attempt halted by some half-
witted kid who didn’t even know he was Prince Damien was too much for
him to bear.  He could only hope for a second chance next time.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     As the blast hit Frow, it couldn’t even force itself to scream as
it disintegrated into nothingness.  Damien saw this and jumped for joy.

     “YES!!!” he yelled.  “I got it!”  Then, after calming down, he
sighed, “The worst is over.”  Little did he know, as he was being
watched by an ominous figure on a nearby rooftop, that this was just
the beginning.

The worst was yet to come.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Amy and the others met at Serena and Darien’s apartment for a big
Sunday breakfast of American pancakes, sausage, Japanese curry, and
orange juice. While there, Amy hoped and prayed that no one would ask
her about if she had any dreams last night.  Thankfully, she didn’t
have any, but that was beside the point.  She had been so tired last
night that she didn’t do her usual bedtime routine.  Instead, she had
just took off every-thing and climbed into bed.  However, this morning,
she was actually missing the feeling.  She had grown so accustomed to
dreaming about Damien that it was a shock to the system when she didn’t
see him or the mysterious old man in her dreams.  Needless to say, it
was quite obvious to the others.

     “Amy, are you O.K.?” Serena asked first.

     “Yes, why?”

     “Well...” Serena searched for words to explain what she wanted to
say, but Raye picked up on what she wanted to say.

     “Don’t you have anything to share with us today?” she cautiously
asked.

     Amy began to catch on to what was going on after that.  “No...why?
Should I?”

     “I don’t know,” Raye came back.  “You’ve had so much to talk to us
about these past few days, so we were wondering if there was anything
else that happened to you last night?”  The others nodded in agreement,
and Amy suddenly felt the world shrink away in front of her.

     “Is this what you think of me now?  Some sort of lunatic?”  Amy
was suddenly on the defensive, and that was something she had no
experience in.

     Lita shrugged in disagreement.  “It’s not that at all, Amy.  It’s
just that we’re worried about you and we want to make sure you’re well
taken care of.”

     “So you think I’m crazy.”  Amy had done enough studying to realize
when she was being played for a fool, especially since it had been
happening to her an awful lot lately.

     “No!” Mina yelped.  “That’s not it at all!  It’s just-”

     “Yes, it is,” Amy defensively spat back.  “You’ve probably been
thinking I’m crazy since we got here, and now, you think I’m even
crazier because I haven’t been dreaming about Damien!”  She jumped to
her feet and yelled, “Maybe there was nothing to worry about in the
first place!”

     “Amy, eat.”  This time, Lita was being very forceful.  She had
seen her closest friend reduced to shambles, and she was blaming
everyone else for it. “I don’t know about the others, but I’m sick and
tired of you jumping down our throats because you’ve got problems!”
Amy began to stammer out a protest, but Lita abruptly cut her off.
“Sit down, shut up, and eat your food!  I don’t wanna hear another word
from you except ‘The meal was delicious.’ You got it?”  Amy sat there
for a few moments before raising her hand as if she were still in grade
school.  “What?” Lita furiously asked.

     “The meal was delicious.”  Lita started to stammer out a protest,
but Amy giggled and stuck out her tongue.  The others laughed at this
and realized that maybe Amy would probably be getting back to normal
soon.
*                    *                    *                    *
*

     It was almost noon when Damien finally came to his senses.  He was
still sitting on the roof from earlier, and he had no clue as to what
had just went on.  He reasoned it all to being very distressed.

     “Wait a minute,” he said aloud, “Let me think.  For starters, it
all started with this stupid letter.”  He pulled the letter out of his
pocket and stared at it in disgust.  “Then, there were all the others.”
He reached into his bookbag and pulled the other letters out and sat
them in front of him. “Maybe if I read them, maybe there’d be a clue in
here.”  So, he sat there and read all of the letters aloud.  When he
finally finished the last letter, he realized that none of them made
any sense to him at all.  “This is just a bunch of crap!” he yelled.
“They all say the same damn thing!  I don’t know nothing about no Star
Guardians, I don’t know nothing about no Silver Star, and I damn 
sure don’t know nothing about no Mercury Star Fragment!”  Then, he let
his mind wander back to his dreams, in hopes that they would help make
some sense out of the mysterious letters.

     He saw himself standing in the throne room of the Mercury Palace,
and he saw himself standing there.  He somehow managed to stop time,
and he walked up to take a good look at himself.  He was dressed in the
battle armor he’s always in, and the look of horror was frozen on his
face.  Then, he saw something he had never noticed before.  “What’s
this?” he asked aloud.

     There were two pieces of chain holding a diamond-shaped object in
the center of his chest.  It was outlined in blue and in the middle
there was the same symbol that was on all of the letters.  “What is
this symbol all about?” he asked.  He reached up to touch it, and as he
got his hand closer and closer to it, the fragment began to glow
ominously.  When he finally grabbed it, everything around him began to
glow with a violent blue aura.  The vision disappeared, and he found
himself back on the rooftop...with the fragment still in his hand.
“What’s going on here?”  At that moment, a blue streak of light 
came flashing past him, ending as a powder blue rose on the ground.  

     “Look,” Damien yelled, “I do not wanna go through this again!
Leave me alone!”  At that moment, the rose blossoms began to glow with
a vibrant blue aura.  Damien stared at the rose for a moment before it
grew too bright for him.  He ducked into a nearby crevice and watched
as the light from the rose began to take the form of a man.  

“Oh, no...not again...”

     When the light faded and Damien looked up at what the rose had
created in front of him, he was stunned in realization.  “It’s you!” he
yelled.  “You’re the old creep from my dreams!”  The man stood at six
feet tall, was going slightly bald, and wore a bright blue cloak with a
strange symbol on the left side.

     “Prince Damien, the time has come,” he said.  Damien looked at him
and groaned.  Things couldn’t possibly go any worse for him.

     “Time for what?”

     “It is time for you to find the other Star Guardians and train
them in the ways of the Guardian Rites in preparation for the coming of
the Evil Ones.”  Damien looked at him again and tried to keep from
laughing to death.

     “Wait a minute, let me get this straight; you want me to go out
looking for some grown men, teach them how to fight and attack the
so-called ‘Evil Ones?’  Forgive me for being blunt, but I think you’re
a nutball, and I think you should go back to whatever old folks home
you came from.  You might be missing Checkers, you know?”

     “Checkers?”

     “Yeah!  You know, Checkers, Chess, Backgammon, board games, you
know!  Whatever it is y’all do in them homes y’all live in!”

     The man looked at Damien and sighed.  “I do not know what you are
talking about, but your future is definitely not a game!  Prince
Damien, please be serous!”

     “I am serious!  You obviously have some deeply rooted serious
mental problems, and you need help.  Now, there’s a hospital right down
there-” he pointed down the road to the hospital “-and I think you fit
the bill.  I hear they only help disabled veterans.”

     “Very well, let me introduce myself to see if I can jog your
memories.  I am King Mercury from the Mercury Kingdom.”

     “Mercury Kingdom…uh-huh.  Now, I’m hearing things.  If you’ll
excuse me, I’m going to breakfast...” he glanced down at his watch and
sighed.  “...I mean, lunch.”  He walked to the doorway that led to the
inside of the building.  King Mercury looked at him in disgust before
following him out.

     Damien walked out of the building and continued on his trek to the
Waffle House, with King Mercury in tow.  He didn’t realize that King
Mercury was behind him until he stopped at an intersection and King
Mercury promptly ran into him.  Damien stumbled at this impact and
turned on his newly formed “shadow.”

     “Whaddya want?!”

     “Your cooperation!  This is a very important matter!”

     “Yeah, maybe to you!  But, to me, it don’t amount to a hill of
crap!  I...” Damien got a closer look at King Mercury and noticed that
he had changed clothes.  Instead of the blue smock, he was dressed in a
tattered brown jacket with equally pathetic pants and a brown shirt.
To top it all off, he had on a ratty fedora.  Damien angrily shook his
head, then threw up his hands in defeat.  “I’m gonna go and grab a bite
or two to eat…wanna come?”  When King Mercury looked a little
indecisive, Damien added, “We can talk about whatever it is that’s
burning up in that little head of yours.”

     “Very well,” King Mercury hesitantly agreed.  “Although I do not
think that this is such a good idea.”

     “Whatever...” Damien looked at King Mercury for a moment in
disgust, then added, “Do you know how to use contractions?”

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Jaedite looked at his collection of Crystal Warriors and scowled.
Every one he chose to go out to battle in the past had failed
miserably.  Even when he tried to do it himself, he failed miserably,
losing at the very last moment.  He looked around his cham-bers in
hopes of finding an answer to this terribly complex problem, but
everywhere he looked, there was no answer to be found.  All he saw were
failures and misguided steps.  “Why must this be so difficult!” he
growled.  He stared at his image in a nearby mirror and yelled an
unholy roar, blasting negative energy all over the room.  He then
channeled that energy and sent it flying to the mirror,  blasting it
into nothingness.  He began to go through a menacing rage, destroying
everything in sight.  He would have continued on this tirade had he not
felt someone’s presence enter the room.  “What do you want, Zoicite?”

     “I came to offer my condolences, Jaedite,” Zoicite said.  Jaedite
looked up at her  and scowled.  “Go away, Kunzite,” he said, “I have no
time for your foolish games!”  Zoicite began to dissipate and reform
into the body of a man.  Jaedite looked unimpressed as Kunzite began to
take form from the mass.  “Ah, but Jaedite,” he said, “You act as if
you have never lost before.  Come now, what is the problem?”

     “The problem is that I almost had that little twit, and I lost him
again!  I was so close to victory this time, but I lost!  I grow tired
of losing!”

     “Calm down, my liege.”  But Jaedite would hear none of that.
“What if I lose again?  What happens to me then?  You do not know the
torment of being frozen alive, do you?  You do not know how it feels to
see yourself with the same horrendous gaze in the reflection of the
ice, do you?  You do not know what it is like to be humiliated in front
of all who once looked up to you, do you?”  Kunzite stood still for a
moment before Jaedite roared, “Well, answer me!”

     “No, I do not,” Kunzite began, “But does that give you any reason
to destroy your chambers as a result of your foolish pride?  No.  You
are still alive, and you are still pursuing your adversary.  What else
do you want?  I say, quit whining and take what you have been given.”
He turned to leave, but before he left, he added, “And do something
with your chambers; it is a mess.”  With that, Kunzite walked out,
leaving Jaedite alone to his thoughts.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     “So what’s the deal?”  Damien  and King Mercury arrived at the
Waffle House, and sat down to discuss the events of the day.  Damien
took one look at him and decided that he had better feed him (which was
something he really couldn’t afford to do) or else do without the
information he so desperately needed.  “It’s a good thing he only
wanted coffee,” he muttered aloud.  After a few moments had passed in
silence, King Mercury cleared his throat and began.

     “Like I said before, I am King Mercury, and I was sent here to
find you and train you in the Guardian Rites so you can go and teach
the others.”

     “Wait a minute,” Damien groaned, “You want me to go out and find
some grown men to train them in something?  I think you might have the
wrong person.”

     “No, I am certain it is you.  I was told that I would know him
when he found the Mercury Star Fragment.”

     “Oh, that?”  Damien’s face lighted up with glee.  “If that’s what
you’re looking for, then you can have it!”  Damien pulled the Fragment
from his bookbag and pushed it towards him.  However, King Mercury
pushed it back abruptly.

     “No; the Fragment belongs to you.”  King Mercury waited a few
moments until their food got to them.  After the waitress left, he
asked, “So how did you get the Fragment, Prince Damien?”

     “I got it from a dream...” He thought about what he had just said
for a few seconds before adding, “That must make absolutely no sense at
all, does it?”

     “Actually, it does.”  Damien gave him a confused look as King
Mercury continued.  “Like I said, I am to train you in the Guardian
Rites so you can find the others teach them.”  He waited for Damien to
start drinking his orange juice before adding, “Prince Damien, the fate
of the universe is in your hands!”

     “What?” he said, choking on his orange juice.  After he let a few
moments pass to regain his decorum, he said, “O.K., let me get this
straight.  Help me out with this if  I’m wrong, but I am a sovereign
prince from the Planet Mercury-”

     “Reincarnated,” he added.

     “Oh, mustn’t forget that.  I’m a reincarnated sovereign prince
from the planet Mercury, and it is my job to find the
other...Guardians?”  King Mercury nodded his head in approval.
“Right...Guardians and teach them how to fight so we can save the
universe?”

     “Exactly!” King Mercury yelped with glee.  He thought that Damien
had finally gotten the point; however, he couldn’t have been more
prepared for what was about to come out of Damien’s mouth next.

     “This just gets better and better every day.  Look, I don’t know
what old folk’s home you escaped from, nor do I really care, but I
don’t have time for your stories!  I have a major test to study for and
I have a tremendous headache, not to mention that I’m all of a sudden
very tired, and I don’t feel like playing games!  So do me a favor and
leave me alone!”  Damien stood up as if to leave, but King Mercury had
other plans.

     “Sit down, Prince Damien!” he bellowed.  Damien saw this and he
very quickly changed his mind.  “How did you end up on the rooftop?
How-”

     “I-”

     “SHUT UP!”

     “Shutting up.”

     “How did you end up fighting the monster?  How did you end up
defeating the monster?  How did you get the Mercury Star Fragment?
And, how did you end up talking to me now?  I am sick and tired of your
excuses, your tales, and your whines!  Now, it is about time for you to
stop cowering in self-pity and take some responsibility for your
actions!”

     Damien looked at him and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.  “I give
up,” he finally said.  “Look, I’m going home to study.  It’s getting
kind of late, and I’m really tired.  So, you’re welcome to come with me
if you want.  The way I see it, either you’re gonna bother me in person
or you’re gonna bother me by popping up in my mirror and scaring me
half to death.”

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Amy looked at the sunset over the Birmingham horizon and smiled.
She was glad that she finally had some peace of mind after the events
of the past few days.  She finally had her first full night’s sleep and
her body was thanking her for it.  Not to mention the fact that no one
had popped up in her mirror or no weird dreams had found their way into
her mind.  So, at last, she was at peace.  “Finally,” she smiled, “I
can relax at home.”  Lita came in after her shower and grinned.  It was
good to see Amy smiling again.

     “Well,” she began after waiting a few minutes to take in the
sight, “I haven’t seen you smile in ages.  Feels good, doesn’t it?”

     “Feels great, Lita.”  Then, she did something she thought she’d
never do again.  She went over to Lita and gave her a great big hug.
“I just wish I had someone to share this with,” she whispered in her
ear.

     Lita let go and sympathetically said, “Don’t you worry about a
thing, Ames.  You don’t need any man here to share any special moments
with.  You are an independent woman, free to do with your mind as you
please, so don’t you worry about a thing.  If some man wants you and
you want him, then you’ll be just fine.”

     “I know,” she sobbed, wiping a tear from her eye, “But sometimes I
whish that Greg and I could have worked things out.  I really miss
him.”  Lita looked at Amy and froze.  For a moment in time, she felt
that Amy had finally gotten over Greg Shinozu, but it was apparent that
she was dead wrong in her assumptions.

     “Amy,” she finally managed to choke out, “You don’t need any man,
and you really don’t need anyone like Greg.  He was bad news from the
jump.”

     “You liked him at first.”

     “Yeah, that was until he took advantage of your emotions and used
you.  He loved you for a split second, then he cheated on you and left
you without an explanation!”

     “That’s not true!” Amy yelled, trying to defend his honor even
though she knew she was wrong for doing so, “He did love me!”

     “Yeah!  While he was with you!  But who was there for you when you
really needed it?  Who was there for you when the stress of being a
Sailor Scout had gotten too much to bear for you?  We were!  He was out
doing something unspeakable and we were by your side, helping you out
every step of the way!”

     “But, I know he loved me!  I-”

     Lita grabbed Amy and slammed her into a nearby wall.  “Listen to
what you’re saying!  You’re so desperate for male companionship that
you’re willing to go back to the man who abused you and your feelings
for so long...just for a little help!  I bet you’re so in need that
you’d go for that Damien fellow!”

     Just then, any joy and remorse that Amy had inside of her
disappeared.  “Take that back!  I would never go for him!  I have a
little more respect for myself than to go for him!  I’d much rather be
alone than to be with him!”  Then, with a hearty sigh, she added, “Now,
if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sleep.  I’m too angry to play games
right now.”

     “Amy?”

     “What is it now?”

     “I love you.”  Amy took a look at Lita’s innocent look and
couldn’t help but to smile and forgive her.

     “I love you, too.  Now, I’m going to sleep.  Good night.”

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Damien walked into his apartment with King Mercury in tow.  He
quietly shut the door behind him and went about his business of
studying and cramming.  King Mercury looked around at his “home” and
commented, “You always did have a way of having extravagant chambers.”
His apartment was decked out in a way not common of a normal college
sophomore.  The first thing people saw when they walked in was the
living room.  It wasn’t much, but it was obviously comfortable for him.
It made up the bulk of the apartment and it led into the kitchen/dining
area.  Once again, there wasn’t much there, just a stray pot on 
the stove while Damien cooked some noodles for a quick snack while
studying.  He didn't bother to look up from the stove as King Mercury
started looking around.

     “Make yourself at home,” he called out.  Then, after a few seconds 
thought, he added, “Just don’t get too comfortable in the bedroom;
that’s mine.  You’re sleeping on the couch.”  When he didn’t hear a
response, he took his noodles off of the stove and went to go find him.
“Look, man.  You can’t just go off wandering around when you want to.
You gotta let me know where you’re going!”

     “I am in the bathroom,” he called out.

     “Man, you just can’t be wandering around like that,” he said as he
entered the bathroom and stood beside King Mercury and looked in the
mirror at their reflection.  It was eerily similar.  “Is there
something else I can call you besides ‘King Mercury’?”  I mean, that’s
kind of a long name for somebody, don’t you think?”

     “No,” King Mercury said nonchalantly as they began walking towards
the dining room.  “King Mercury will do just fine.”  Damien snickered
at King Mercury and said, “Fine.  King Mercury it is.  I’ve got class
tomorrow morning, so don’t trash the place, O.K.?”

     “I will try.”

     “Good.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to study and go to
sleep.  We can discuss what happened with me and the rooftop tomorrow
after practice, O.K.?”

     “Fine with me.”  Damien walked into the kitchen and poured his
noodles into a bowl.  He then walked into the dining room and began to
study his Political Science notes.  While he was doing this, King
Mercury began looking at the various pictures on the wall.  “Is this
your family?” he asked.

     Damien looked up at the picture he was staring intently at and
said, “Yeah.  That’s my mom, my dad, my sister, and me.  That picture
was taken about three years ago...before my mom died.”

     “I am sorry to hear that.  How did she die?  That is, if you do
not mind my asking.”

     Damien looked up at him and smiled.  For some strange reason, he
felt as if he could talk to him about anything.  “She had a heart
failure.  I think they said it was a weak heart.  My dad took care of
Andrea and me until I could get a job.  After that, I had to help run
the family.  Andrea was only nine at the time, so there wasn’t much she
could do.  But I helped dad run the house and pay the bills, all while
playing football and studying to get a good scholarship.”

     “Everyone knew I was smart,” he continued after he paused to eat
some of his food.  “But they knew I could play football, too.  After a
while, the ‘smart’ part of me was completely ignored, and the focus was
put on my football skills.  I’ve always been an athletic type person.
I’ve been playing football since I was nine, and I’ve always worn the
same number five.  If you’ll look at this picture here,” he got up to
show off a poster-size picture of him in his bedroom, “This is a
picture the school newspaper took of me as I was throwing a touchdown
pass that sealed the state championships for our school.  There I was,
with number five in my blue and gold.  However, when I came to UAB,
things changed.”

     “How is that?”

     “Well, for starters, Russell Foster already had the number five.
Coach Brown wasn’t about to make a junior give up his number for some
young frosh coming out of high school looking to play college ball.
So, I ended up taking number seven.  The way I figured it, it was close
enough for me.”  His mind began to wander aimlessly for a moment, and
when he finally caught his train of thought, he chuckled and continued,
“Man, that year at summer training was rough.”

     “Why do you say that?”

     “Well, because the upperclassmen weren’t about to let me come in
and school them.  So, when we had freshman introduction day, I
introduced myself.  And they promptly shut me up.  They were like,
‘There’s no way I’m gonna let some young meat tell me how to play my
game.’  Turns out, I knew more about them than they knew about
themselves.  Our first game was against Nebraska, and they were coming
off of a Co-National Championship season.  They were looking forward to
trouncing on us.  After beating up on Louisiana Tech the week before,
to play us was just what the doctor or-dered.  However, they weren’t 
looking for me to start the game.  They were looking for Dixon or Fox
to play QB.  But, what they didn’t know was that I took the starting
job from Dixon during summer training.”  He paused for a moment and
said, “You know, I feel like I can tell you anything.  Why do you think
that is?”

     “I do not know.”

     “Interesting...”

     “You must have been pretty good to take over the starting job.”

     “Yeah, I was.”  He cleared his throat and continued, “We ended up
winning that game, 35-0, and we went undefeated after that.  We were
snubbed of a National Championship berth by virtue of rank, so we
played in the Builder’s Square Alamo Bowl against Texas A&M.  We won
24-0, and that was our National Championship.  This year, we’re going
for number one!”

     “Tell me, Damien,” King Mercury said, changing the subject, “Do
you dream?”

     Damien gave him a wayward glance and commented, “Sure.  Everyone
dreams; who doesn’t?”

     “No, I did not mean it like that.  I meant, what do you dream
about?”

     “Different things,” he answered, walking back to the dining room
to finish studying.  “You know, dreaming about us winning the National
Championship, dreaming about my mom, dreaming about the past and things
that I’ve done...stuff like that.”

     “About the dreams from the past, can you be specific?”

     “Like how?”

     “Like exactly what it is you dream about in the past?”

     “Well, as of late, I’ve been having this really weird dream about
me in some sort of battle armor fighting this blond haired weirdo and
kissing that Amy girl...wait a minute,” he said, the force of what was
going on hitting him like a ton of bricks.  “You know exactly what’s
going on, don’t you?   You’re responsible for the whole thing, aren’t
you?”

     “Indirectly,” was King Mercury’s reply.

     “‘Indirectly’ my eye!”  Damien wasn’t buying the ‘indirectly’
story.  He knew there was more to this than his new roommate was
letting on.  “How’s about telling me how you know all of this?”

     “You have studying to do.”

     “Don’t change the subject!”

     “If you want to pass your test, then you should study.”

     “Yeah, but-”

     “No ‘buts’, Prince Damien.  You will study for your test.  We will
talk tomorrow.”

     “Man, will you just call me ‘Damien’?  I’m tired of this ‘Prince
Damien’ stuff.  Besides, I ain’t no prince and you know it.”

     King Mercury pondered this decision for a moment before saying,
“Very well.  Although you birthright says you are a prince, I will
appease your decision.  I shall call you ‘Damien’ until you are ready
to accept your fate.”

     “If you insist, King Mercury.  You know what?” Damien said as a
wave of thought hit him, “I’m gonna call you ‘Merc’, and there’s
nothing you can do to stop me!”

     “How are you going to do that?”

     “Well, I’m gonna call you that until you answer me...Merc.”  King
Mercury looked at him and shook his head in disgust.  “Merc!”  Still no
response.  "Merc!  Merc!  Merc!  Merc!  Merc!  Merc!  Merc!”  Finally,
King Mercury could handle no more.

     “Damien, stop it!” he groaned.  “If you want me to respond to
‘Merc’, then I will respond to ‘Merc’.”

     “Fine.”  Damien grinned at this recollection.  He’d finally worn
him down on one of his annoying habits.  Now, it was time for annoying
habit number two.  “Now...how’s about you and those contractions?”
King Mercury looked at his young protégé and smiled.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     The next day went as routinely as Damien could have ever imagined.
He woke up at about six-thirty and took a shower in preparation for the
new day’s adventures.  He grabbed an apple and a can of orange juice
out of his refrigerator and ran to class, being careful not to awake
his slumbering friend.  He went through his day normally, joking around
with Donovan and getting his mind ready for football practice that
afternoon.  He went back to his apartment after his second class to
check up on his guest...only to find that he wasn’t on the sofa.

     “Merc!” he yelled.  “Where are you, man?”  He wandered around the 
apartment, from the living room to the bathroom in search of him, but
to no avail.  Then, he noticed that his patio door was open.  “Probably
outside,” he thought.

     “Man, you can’t just be leaving the door open like that,” he said
when he stepped outside to talk to him.

     “This city is beautiful,” he said.  “Almost reminiscent of the
Tokagawa Palace on the Mars Kingdom.  I have fond memories of that
place.”

     “I gotta question for you.”

     “Yes?”

     “What do you know about a blue-haired girl named Amy?”

     “Ah, yes.  Princess Amy.  I know her well.”

     “How well?”

     “She was a frequent visitor of the Mercury Palace.  Her father and
I were close friends, and she used to come with her father on formal
and informal visits.  If I remember correctly, she was very fond of
you.”

     Damien looked at him intently and said, “Are we related?”

     "No!”  King Mercury answered abruptly.  “You were abandoned as a
child on the Mercury Palace steps, and I took you in after my own son
had died tragically.”

     “Right.”  Damien didn’t believe him for a second, but he tolerated
his bad answer; for now.  “Look, the reason I’m asking is that I’ve all
of a sudden found myself infatuated with her, and I don’t know exactly
what to do.”

     “Tell her how you feel.”

     “Yeah, right.  If I tell her how I feel, she’s gonna either A)
Laugh at me, or B) Slap me silly!  Either way it goes, I’ve been
embarrassed by her once before, and I don’t expect it to happen again.”

     “Damien, the longer you wait, the longer it is going to eat at
you.  You are going to spend countless nights wondering ‘What could
have been’ when you just need to go out and do.  Your problem is your
foolish pride.  I noticed that about you last night.  You have an
arrogance about you that you are afraid to break.  If you would just
tell the girl how you feel about her…that you love her, then you would
avoid half of the messes you get yourself into.”

     “But, Merc, you don’t seem to understand.  If I tell this girl
that I love her and she shoots me down, I’ll never be able to show my
face around here again.  I’ll be the laughingstock of the city!”

     “Swallow your pride, Damien.  If you do that, then you will be a
better person.”

     Damien looked at him and grinned profusely.  “Maybe you’re right.”

     “I know I am.”

     “Now, about the rooftop...”

     “Have you been to football practice yet?”

     “No.”

     “Then, you will know nothing about the rooftop until after
practice.”

     “I ain’t got no more classes today…well, that stupid foreign arts
class, but that can wait.”

     “What is the language?”

     “Spanish.  I grew up in San Diego, so Spanish is the last thing I
need to worry about.”

     “Very well.  What do you remember about that incident yesterday?”

     “Let me see...” Damien searched his mind to find out exactly what
it was that stuck out in his mind about yesterday.  “I remember walking
to the Waffle House to eat breakfast, I remember pulling out one of
your carefully written letters...letters that didn’t and still don’t
make sense to me, and I remember some goofy monster chasing after me.”

     “The monster.  Do you remember the name?”

     “Name?  Um...what was it?  Fray?  Fry?  FROW!  That’s what it
was,” he yelled enthusiastically.

     “Frow.  Crystal Warrior Frow; one of the stronger minions of the 
NegaVerse.”

     “What is the ‘NegaVerse?’”

     “I will explain the NegaVerse in due time, but first you must
learn about the incident.  Do you remember anything else about the
monster?  Do you remember fighting the monster?”

     “No.  Should I?”

     “You should, but you do not.  It is rather disappointing, but that
is all right.  You were probably so scared from the trauma that you do
not want to remember, for fear of bringing back haunting memories.  So,
to make a long story short, you jumped to the rooftop, got smacked
around for a few moments until your battle aura kicked in, and you used
a blast of energy called the tatewa-jedoukai-zoda-ken, or Mercury Ice
Fire, to dispose of it.”

     “The tate-what?”

     “The tatewa-jedoukai-zoda-ken is a very powerful secret attack
used only by the holders of the Mercury Star Fragment.  You earned it
by defeating Prince Darien in combat during the Silver Millennium.”

     “Wait a minute.  If it’s passed on by everyone who has the
Fragment, then why’d I have to beat up on this Darien character?”

     “Because, it was not always that way.  In the past, the power of
the tatewa-jedoukai-zoda-ken was split up between the Earth and Mercury
Kingdoms.  No one knew who would get it, so a ritualistic battle was
set up.  The winner would get the power of the attack and the loser
would go powerless for the duration of his life span.  The attack would
remain in that family until the next generation was ready.  This went
on for generations until the final battle between you and Prince
Darien.  You won that battle and you kept the attack until the
destruction of the Silver Millennium.”

     “Yeah...that wasn’t too far from that point...”

     “You remember?”

     “It’s all part and parcel of the whole dream thing.  I get to see
myself die and I see the planet destroying.  After that, it should be
totally blank, but I see everyone else die, too.”

     “Everyone else?”

     Damien looked up at him with a painful look in his eyes, and said,
“I remember watching the separate kingdoms go through their downfalls,
although I don’t remember the names of the people fighting for them.”

     "I do.  They are Prince Nakorru of Mars, Prince Andrew of Jupiter,
Prince Donovan of Venus, Prince Darien of Earth, and Prince Damien of
Mercury...you.”

     Damien looked over to the garbage can where he had thrown the
roses at earlier.  “What’s the semblance of the roses?  I remember one
dream when I fought that Prince Darien guy and a couple of roses flew
to the ground.”

     “Well, the rose symbolizes what is pure and good about the planet.
All of the planets have their own separate roses, each a different
color.  You have the powder-blue rose symbolizing water and the Planet
Mercury.  Prince Darien has a regular red rose symbolizing Earth’s
goodness.  Prince Donovan has a bright yellow rose for the peace and
love of Venus, Prince Nakorru has a fire engine red rose symbolizing
the furor and vigor of Mars, and Prince Andrew has an electric green
rose symbolizing the power of Jupiter.”

     Something inside of him told him to ask about Prince Donovan, but
for fear of being wrong, he asked another question he had in mind.
“How am I supposed to find these people?”

     “Prince Darien already knows of his fate.  Well, he knows part of
it.  He has no idea that he was once a Star Guardian.  The others you
are going to have to find by accident.”

     “Accident,” Damien repeated.  “How am I supposed to ‘accidentally’
find somebody?”

     “You accidentally found Princess Amy.  You accidentally found me.
You accidentally found out about your powers.  Do not question any
event.  Just go with it.”

     “You’ve been watching T.V, haven’t you?”

     “Yes, I have.  It is a remarkable machine.  Do you know they cut
up your game and showed it all funny looking?”

     Damien began to laugh uncontrollably at this.  After a few moments
had passed, long enough for him to regain composure of himself, he
answered, “Those are called ‘highlights.’  They only show the best
parts of the game.  If you missed anything, then, you’re outta luck.”
He looked at King Mercury for a second before asking, “Now, what about
the contractions?”
     “I do not speak in contractions because I was never taught them.
I am from what you would call the ‘old school.’  If I am not taught
something, I will not use it.”

     “When are we gonna start this Guardian Rites training?”

     “I see you are anxious to take your place in history.”

     “It’s not that!  It’s j-”  

     “Good.  We will begin after you come home from practice.”

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Amy was walking home from her afternoon class when she saw an
all-too familiar disaster coming towards her.  It was the cause of all
of her grief and suffering, Mr. high-and-mighty Damien Gordon, “star”
quarterback for UAB.  Bleah.  She had had enough of that grief when she
first got here; she didn’t need it now.  However, she noticed something
different in his demeanor.  He didn’t seem nearly as cocky as before,
like something catastrophic had happened to him.  It’s almost as if he
wasn’t the same person.  This notion startled her more than anything
else, more startling than the apparent notion that she wanted to find
out more.  Obviously, he saw her, too, because his mood changed 
from plain old deep in thought to surprisingly cheery.

     “Hi, Amy!” he yelled from almost a half a block away.

     “Hello, Damien,” she smiled.  However, that smile suddenly went
away when she realized who she was talking to.  “Wait a minute,” she
coldly said, “Now, you want to talk to me?  After all you’ve done to
me?”

     Damien froze.  “What?  What are you talking about?”

     “You know good and well what I’m talking about!  Ever since I
first saw you, my life has been nothing but hell!  I can’t sleep right,
I don’t eat properly anymore, I’m even afraid to go into my own
bathroom!  And it’s all your fault!”  Amy was expecting him to collapse
after that, but his response stunned her even more than that.

     “I understand.  I’m sorry.”

     “And another thing, I’m-what?”

     “I’m sorry if I caused you any grief or problems.  I only wish
there was a way I could make it up to you.”  This time, it was Amy’s
turn to freeze.  She wasn’t expecting for Damien to react in such a
gentlemanly way.  As a matter of fact, she was expecting him to fly off
the deep end and start banging his fist into the ground.  “Amy,” he
continued, “There’s something I’ve got to tell you...”  He never
finished his sentence, because four loud, cackling girls came 
and prevented all hopes of finishing the conversation.

     “Hey, Amy!” Serena yelled, “We’re going to get something to eat.
You wanna come?”  She peered behind her, and almost screamed when she
saw who she was talking to.

     “Amy, that’s him!  That’s that Damien creep from the other night!”
The blinders came off Lita’s eyes as well when Serena pointed that out.

     “You’ve got some nerve,” she said to Damien.

     “Wait!”  Damien protested in self-defense.  “You don’t understand!
Just let me-” But they would hear none of it.  This time, Raye and Mina
were with them, so it was five against one...not the best odds in the
world.  Damien began to backpedal for a moment before finally
stammering, “It’s been fun, but I gotta go!”  And without waiting for
another word of protest from the girls, he took off the long way for
football practice.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     He went about his normal ritual during football practice: the
stretches, the runs, the passes, the sprints, the practice routes, and
the like before heading back home for more rigorous training.  However,
this training would be more than he would have ever dreamed of.  When
he stepped into his apartment, he was in no way prepared for what he
was about to witness.

     “What the hell happened here?” he asked.

     “I just did some rearranging,” King Mercury answered.

     “‘Rearranging’ my butt!  Where’s my furniture?”

     “Your furniture is fine.  I put it in a safe place.”

     “There you go with your easy recollections.  Now, explain it
again, but this time, in a language I can understand.”

     “I put it outside.”

     “You did what?”  Damien was visibly not pleased with this new turn
of events.  “How you gonna put my stuff outside?  You been smokin’,
ain’t cha?”

     “I do not know what you are talking about, but we have training to
do.”

     “Where is my furniture?”

     “On the patio.  Now, stretch.”

     “Where?  Man-” Damien started, but King Mercury only ignored him.
So, instead of arguing, he just decided to stretch…for about twenty
minutes.  By the time he was done, Damien thought he could tie himself
into a knot.

     “Haven’t we stretched enough?  I feel like I would fall apart if I 
stretched any more.”

     “Stand.”  Damien obediently did as he was told, although he didn’t
like the way he was being told to do it.  “Now, when you fought against
Crystal Warrior Frow, you  fought using the Kempo martial art, so, that
means you have a fighting foundation.”

     “Yeah, I-”

     “No one told you to talk.  You are to listen and do.  You are not
to talk unless told to do so.  I will further your training, so, be
quiet and do as you are told.”  King Mercury began pacing around the
room, making Damien feel utterly uncomfortable.  A few minutes passed
by in silence, King Mercury yelled, “Jab!”  As if on cue, Damien began
jabbing alternately with his left and right hands.  This continued for
a few moments until King Mercury changed the command.  “Thrust kick!”
“Sweep kick!”  “Spin kick!”  “Uppercut!”  This went on for hours, with
Damien learning new moves and attacks without even realizing it.
However, just as Damien was beginning to enjoy this, King Mercury
stopped it.  “That is enough for tonight.  You did well, Damien.  You 
managed to keep your mouth shut the entire time.”

     “That’s easy for you to say.  All you did was walk around and show
me new stuff in slow motion!  I did the hard stuff!” he commented
in-between breaths.  He could have just as easily compared this to his
worst football practice...multiplied by six.  “Can we bring my stuff
back in from the patio?  I heard it was supposed to rain tonight.”

     “Certainly,” King Mercury commented.  “Go right ahead.”

     “Why you...”

     “All part of the Guardian Rites: Strength, Wisdom, Discipline,
Self-Composure, and Patience.  Never forget that.”  Damien started to
protest, but since he didn’t want his furniture to become a wet bar, he
decided to huff the living room back into the living room.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     “What do you suppose he wanted?”  Amy was very curious about her
abrupt visit with Damien earlier in the day.  He had seemed to want to
talk about something, but he was quickly interrupted, leaving Amy with
a thousand questions, and leaving Lita to have to listen and sort them
out.

     “Who knows,” she cheerily answered, “But he looked pretty good for 
somebody that had just been beat up a few days ago.”

     “You’re right.  He did heal pretty fast.  Darien still looks
pathetic.”  It was true; Darien’s face still hadn’t healed up, and the
bandages he had to wear on his face weren’t helping him in his job
hunt.  Amy reasoned if this kept up, they would empty their savings
funds within a month and have to get jobs themselves.  “Not to mention
the fact that he really did look good.”

     Lita looked at Amy and grinned uncontrollably.  “I knew it!” she
yelled.

     “Knew what?”

     “You like this guy!”

     “I do not,” Amy protested, although she knew for a fact that she
did have some sort of attraction for him.  She had to admit that he was
kind of handsome and slyly erotic.  But, she also knew that he was
egotistical and self-centered.  The latter two were not something she
really wanted or needed in a relationship.  Besides that, Lita was
right.  She was so desperate for a man that she was willing to go for
someone like him.  Someone who she knew was not her type.  “But, he did
look good,” she thought.  Lita read her thoughts and said, “Go ahead
and say it, Ames.”

     “Say what?”

     “That you think he’s cute.”

     “I’m not going to say he’s cute.”

     Lita looked confused.  “Why not?”

     “Because, I’m going to say he looks sexy,” Amy grinned.  Lita
nearly fell out of her chair laughing, and Amy joined her.  They joked
about this all night until it was time for bed.  Then, with a smile on
their faces, they went to sleep with nothing but good thoughts on their
minds.


 

Sailor Moon: Legend of the Silver Star Copyright 1997 Joseph Keith
Seltzer and 2-Hype Productions. All rights reserved. 




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Chapter 7: A New Romance


     The rest of the week went pretty normal for everyone.  They went
to school, Damien and Donovan went to football practice, and Damien
went home and trained on each of the Guardian Rites with King Mercury.
Little by little, Damien began to comprehend the grand scheme of things
and as he listened to King Mercury tell the stories of the Mercury
Kingdom and the Silver Millennium, everything began to take
form...except for Amy.

     "O.K., let me get this straight: Amy is a reincarnated princess
from the planet Mercury, right?"

     "Correct."

     "Does she know that?"

     "Yes, she does."

     "O.K.  She knows this, and I know this, but how come it ain't
donned on her about us yet?"

     "Because, her memories have not resurfaced about you two.  She
knows that she is a princess, and I think she knows that you are a
prince, but she is not going to act on a hunch.  Princess Amy is a very
intelligent young woman; she always has been.  But she does not have
any proof that you are her prince, and until she gets that, she will
not act upon her feelings."

     "Is there anything I can do to help?"

     "No.  You can only tell her how you feel.  It will not help
matters if you force yourself upon her."

     "I know she feels something for me."

     "Outside of pure hatred?"

     Damien scowled at him.  "Yes, outside of pure hatred.  If I
remember correctly, when I took her hand, Damien and Amy disappeared
and Prince Damien and Princess Amy took our place.  It was almost as if
the memories had been reawakened long enough for us to almost kiss."

     "Why did you not kiss her?"

     "Because that jerk Darien interrupted us."  He began to clench his
fists as he told the story of how he got beat up by Darien.  "And,
that's not all," he continued.  "When I went to sleep later on, I
dreamed about me fighting, and beating Darien!  That makes no sense to
me at all."

     "Yes, it does.  You said you remembered fighting against Prince
Darien and taking the power of the planet Mercury, correct?"

     "Yeah."

     "Then, it makes perfect sense."

     "Perhaps you're right."

     "I know I am right."

     "I know I am right," Damien mocked.  "So, what am I supposed to do
now?"

     "Continue on with what you have been doing.  It will come
naturally."

     "But, you don't understand.  I am nineteen years old.  I do not
know what love feels like, primarily because I've never felt it.  Now,
all of a sudden, I meet this girl out of the blue, and I have a sudden
crush on her that I just can not get rid of.  Is this normal?"

     "It is perfectly normal, Damien."

     "Then why does it feel so damn weird?"

     "You are insecure about your feelings, and you do not know how to
act upon them.  You just go about your life as if nothing affects you,
but deep down inside, you wish that you had someone to share all of
those football victories and special awards with.  You are a shy one,
Prince Damien.  I have noticed a side of you that never knew existed in
you.  You love life, and you want someone to share it with.  However,
you have never had that special someone before, and now that you do,
you do not know how to react."

     "It shouldn't be that damn hard!"

     "You can not rush love; it is a feeling that you have to patiently
wait on."

     "I ain't got no patience."

     "You must find it, or else you will risk losing a good thing."
When Damien didn't respond to that, he said, "Think about what it was
like for you to lose your mother.  How did that feel?"  Damien started
to answer, but King Mercury cut him off.  "Do not answer that
question.  Just sit there and think about it.  It felt cold and lonely,
correct?"  Damien nodded his head solemnly and King Mercury continued.
"It was almost as if the world was taken away from you, correct?"
Damien nodded again.  "Well, imagine what it would be like if you lost
Princess Amy again.  Do you want to feel that kind of pain again?"

     "No."

     "Then, be a man.  Tell her how you feel."

     "I tried that before, and it didn't quite work out."

     "There will be a time when you two are not interrupted, and you
will be able to tell her how you feel."

     "What if I can't do it?"

     "Do not say can not, Damien.  Say you will."

     "I'll do it tomorrow."

     "How do you know if you will see her tomorrow?"

     "Trust me; the way my luck's running nowadays, we probably stay in
the same building and on the same floor." 

     "Well, if that is the case, then we have a long way to go."
Damien looked at him in disbelief and realized that, no matter how hard
he tried to think otherwise, King Mercury was probably going to end up
being the best friend he had.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Serena and Darien stopped by Amy and Lita's apartment the next day
to find out how they were doing.  Needless to say, when they stepped
into the apartment, they were in for a shock.  The normal
neat-to-a-point Lita Jamison had the apartment in shambles.  Amy was no
help in the matter, either.  With books and notes strewn all over the
place, the apartment looked like a home economics/pediatrics class gone
awry.  Serena looked over at Amy, who was looking rather depressed
amongst the muck and said, "Well, it's nice to see that you have
everything under control."

     "I wasn't expecting company," Amy replied.

     "You know we said we were coming over sometime this week."

     "Yeah," Lita said to their defense, "But you didn't say 'when.'"
Lita was hoping that comment would buy them some time to come up with a
plausible excuse.  However, Darien wasn't buying it.

     "I always figured that you and Amy were the neat ones," he said.
"I guess that's what I get for thinking."  Lita started to say
something evil, but Amy intervened.  "I guess I forgot," she said.
"So, what can we do for you two today?"

     "Well," Darien  began, "We were wondering about the 'Damien'
situation."

     The 'Damien' situation?  Amy was trying to hide her ferocity in a
cleverly placed smile.  Unfortunately, it didn't work too well.
"Look," she scowled.  "Just because some guy has an infatuation with me
doesn't mean that he's all of a sudden a 'situation'; someone to be
stuck into a test tube and examined until the end of time!"

     "It's not that, Amy," Darien said, but Amy's mind was mad up.
"Get out of my apartment," she coldly said.  Darien gave her a wayward
glance and said, "Since when did you become a shrew?"

     "A shrew am I?"  Amy had finally taken enough abuse from him for
the day.  "If you don't get out of my apartment right now, I'm going to
make you regret the day your memories came back!"  Darien, sensing that
this was indeed serious, matched by the furious scowl on Amy's face,
decided to take Amy's advice.  "Come on, Serena," he said.  Serena
began to head towards the door until Amy stopped her: "Serena, you
stay."  Darien looked at her for a second before looking back at Amy
and solemnly leaving on his own free will.  After Darien left, a fact
that Serena had to reassure her of, Amy plopped onto the ground and
began to cry.  Furiously.  Lita and Serena looked at her and decided 
to let her cry for a few seconds, thinking the tears would pass.  They
didn't.

     "Everything's gonna be all right," Serena said, reaching to wipe a
tear from Amy's face.  Then, turning to Lita, she added, "Isn't it?"

     "I couldn't tell you," Lita said.  I've never seen Amy like this
before.  It's almost as if she has no reason to live anymore.  I
thought she was bad when she was with Greg."

     "I wonder if there's anything we can do to help..."  No sooner did
Serena say that did Amy begin to babble incoherent words throughout the
tears.  Serena sat down beside her and said, "What's wrong, Ames?"

     "I love him," she babbled.

     "Who?" Lita asked.

     "Damien," she cried.  "I love Damien Gordon!"

     "Are you sure of this," Lita questioned.  "You know what happened
the last time you gave your heart to some guy.  You ran halfway across
the world.  What if he hurts you?  Then, what are you gonna do?  You
can only run so far."

     "There's something different about him.  He just might be the one.
  But, I don't know what to do!"

     "Let him come to you, Amy.  Don't run to him."

     "But, I'm confused...I do love him, but I'm afraid of being hurt
again..."

     "Don't let what happened in the past affect your present.
Whatever happens will happen.  I'm quite sure he feels the same way
about you, too."

     "But what if he doesn't?"

     "Then," Serena took over, "You're free from worry.  You've done
your part by telling him how you felt.  It's his job to express
likewise or not.  Don't push anything on him; he just might change his
mind."  Serena read Amy's mind for the next question and went ahead and
said, "And if he doesn't, then, we'll be right here by your side...just
like best friends are supposed to do."  Amy picked herself off the
floor and smiled a watery smile.

     "I love you guys," she whimpered.

     "We love you, too, Ames," Lita said.  "Now, enough whimpering;
let's eat!" 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     A couple of days later, Amy received a note from Damien.  The note
read like this:

                    Amy, I really need to talk to you.
                    It is very important that you take
                    this seriously.  Please meet me at
                    George Ward Park Friday afternoon 
                    around lunchtime.  I will be waiting.

                    Damien

     "I wonder what this is about," she wondered aloud while walking
with Mina to grab a quick lunch before getting back to her afternoon
classes.

     "Maybe this is D-Day," she smiled.  "Maybe he's finally going to
tell you how he feels.  Have you told the others about this yet?"

     "No.  I'm kind of afraid to, because I don't want them to judge
him anymore than they already are."

     "Amy, how do you feel about him?"

     "I love him."

     "Then, what the others think shouldn't matter.  What's important
is how you feel about him, and how he feels about you."

     "Yeah, but I'm so confused!  What if he turns out to be like Greg?
Then what am I supposed to do?"

     "Well, if he turns out like Greg, then you leave him.  Key word:
him.  You can't just up and leave an area just because you were hurt
there.  You got away with that once before, but it's not happening
again.  You don't have enough money to go anywhere else."

     "How practical," she sarcastically said.  "You think I should go?"
Mina's smile was so reassuring that Amy knew the answer before it even
came out of her mouth.

     "Go.  Put all your fears behind you, and listen to your heart." 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "Well, I did it, Merc," Damien told King Mercury later that day.
"I told her to meet me at George Ward Park Friday afternoon.  I told
her it was really important.  Think she'll show?"

     "I do not know," King Mercury responded.  Then, he said, "Why do
you act as if I know where these places are?"

     "Well, you know," Damien slyly said, "You have been living at the
Old Folk's Home for a while, and I figured that they did let y'all go
on a field trip to the park or something like that."

     "Really?"  King Mercury quipped.  "Really."  Damien sneered.
"Very well then," King Mercury said, "Drop and give this old man 100
push-ups."

     "But, I-"  King Mercury shot Damien an evil glance, and Damien
just shut up and began doing the push-ups.  But, his mind wasn't on the
grueling exercise/punishment.  His mind was on Amy.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "Today is the day," Damien said to himself that Friday as he
walked down University Boulevard, "Today is the day I finish off my
fears once and for all; today is the day that I tell Amy how I really
feel."  Ever since the first time he saw her in the Hall University
Center, and again at Pickwick Place when he touched her for the first
time, he realized that she was the one.  However, every time he tried
to tell her how he felt, she pushed him away.  This time, he would do
it right.  This time, he would make sure it was special and romantic.
He wore the same ensemble he had on that night at the Pickwick Place.
This time, he would do it in broad daylight to ensure there were no 
rose-throwing jerks around.

     "No fear," he smiled.

     Amy was sitting on a park bench at George Ward Park awaiting
Damien's arrival.  As she waited, she began to take in the sounds of
the fall; rustling leaves, calm breezes, and children playing.  She
wondered about Tokyo often, wondering how things were going there.
However, she left for a reason; to start over.  And that's what she was
going to do.  She was dressed in her favorite UAB Blazers pullover
jacket, sweatshirt, and blue jeans.

     "I wonder what this is about," she thought aloud.  "I've told him
'no' countless times, but he just keeps going.  I think he's either
crazy or–" she stopped as her mind flashed to the touch back at
Pickwick Place.  She remembered how she felt as if she knew him from a
very long time ago.  "—Maybe it was the touch.  I felt the same thing
he did, but it was only temporary."  She looked up and saw Damien
coming.  She felt his aura of confidence and she couldn't help but
smile.  "Here comes my would-be suitor now."

     Damien saw her and almost exploded with joy.  "God, she's
beautiful!" he thought.  He sat down on the bench beside her and
smiled.  "Hello, Amy," he began.  "I want to thank you for meeting me
here today."

     "The pleasure's all mine," she said with a smile.  Damien saw her
smile, and all sorts of thoughts ran through his head.  "Maybe today is
the day," he thought.

     "I know this is kind of awkward," he began, "But please bear with
me.  I've got something very important to tell you."

     "What is it, Damien?"

     "Well...this may sound kind of strange, but I think I've fallen in
love with you."  Amy heard this, and her heart almost skipped a beat in
shock.  "No, he didn't," she thought.  Like was one thing, but for him
to tell her that he loved her was something totally different.  Here
was some guy she just recently met, some guy she didn't know from a man
on the street, and he was talking about he loved her.  She was
appalled, and her facial expression gave it away.  Damien noticed this
and quickly tried to save face.  "Now, I know this sounds crazy—"

     "Uh-huh."

     "—But, it hasn't been too easy on my side, either!  Imagine
telling someone how you feel about them, and your getting shot down is
your only reward!  I tell you I care a great deal about you, and you
BRUSH ME OFF!"  Damien was getting very upset and tears began to fall
from his eyes.  "Now, I ain't gonna lie to you; if someone told me they
were in love with me right from the jump, I would have been shocked,
too.  However, the least I would have done would be to hear them out
before passing judgement.  You won't even give me that courtesy."

     Amy saw Damien's reaction and was amazed.  Had she really turned
so cold?  "I do love him," Amy thought, "But, I don't think I'm ready
for this now."  She hated to do this, but she felt she had no choice.
It was all too sudden.  "Oh, Damien," she began, "I'm sorry; I really
am.  I had no idea how you felt.  It's just that I'm still—"

     "NO!"  Damien interrupted.  "Don't you dare!  I AM NOT GREG!!  I
AM NOT GOING TO LEAVE YOU FOR SOME TRAMP!  Don't you see it, Amy?  I
LOVE YOU!!"  Amy heard this and cracked up on the inside.  Here was a
man who was willing to go to the ends of the Earth for her, and she
didn't have a clue.  Unfortunately, fear took over where pity once was.

     "Damien," she sobbed, "Forgive me; but, I can't."

     Damien's whole world crashed right in front of him when he heard
that.  He lost.  Although he had never done it before, he had an idea
how it felt, and he reasoned that it felt like this.  "Very well," he
sullenly said, "I had this for you—" he pulled a powder blue rose from
his coat pocket "— but, I guess it's pointless now."  With that, he
dropped the rose on the ground, turned, and walked away in defeat.  Amy
saw this, and she was crushed herself.  He may have been persistent,
but he was very nice about it.  She was surprised to see that he had
given up.  She decided that she needed to talk to him, but not before 
picking up the rose.  When she did that, new feelings began to
overpower her.  At first, she didn't want him to go without an
explanation, but now, she just didn't want him to go.  "Damien, wait!"
she screamed.

     "What," he growled, obviously not wanting to be bothered anymore.
The last thing he needed was added insult to injury.  However, he was
shocked to see what Amy would do next.  She grabbed his arm to get his
attention, not realizing that she had just made a connection with him,
flooding them with old memories again.  She thought they were the same
ones she had always had for him.

     "Damien," she cooed, pulling him close to her, "Please don't."
Damien's eyes grew wide with amazement.  This was what he wanted all
along, but he had to hide his happiness now.  Needless to say, it
wasn't easy.  "Now, what?"

     "Please..."  The feelings began running through them at an
unbelievable pace, replacing Damien's anger with a whole new feeling
altogether.  Damien looked into her eyes and didn't see the same Amy
that just shot him down.  Instead, he saw something else.  "Could that
be love I see in there?" he thought, "Well, let's find out then."  He
went for all it was worth and leaned down to kiss her.  Amy herself
decided that it couldn't possibly hurt things: after all, she did just
make his life miserable.  So, she allowed him to kiss her.  She was
confused at first, but those confusions quickly went away.  She 
found herself enjoying him, and Damien deepened the kiss even further.
Then, something happened...

     One thousand years of history began flooding them, the memories
became clearer to them and began to overcome them, and they became one
again.  From that point on, there was no mistaking it: he was Prince
Damien and she was Princess Amy.

     Both enjoyed the kiss, and neither of them wanted it to end.
Unfortunately, it did...but the feelings didn't.  Damien looked at Amy
and had a puzzled expression on his face.  "What on Earth was that?"

     "I don't know," Amy said, grinning profusely, "But I enjoyed it."
She rested her head on his chest and continued, "I think I will take
you up on that offer."

     "I knew you'd see it my way."

     "Excuse me?"  Damien began to laugh, and Amy smiled right along
with him.  Maybe this would work between them after all.



Sailor Moon: Legend of the Silver Star Copyright 1997 Joseph Keith
Seltzer and 2-Hype Productions. All rights reserved. 



Chapter 8: The New Discovery


     "I did it!"  Damien reported to King Mercury that night.  "She's
     mine!  
I finally did something right in my life!"

     "I am happy for you," he smiled.  "Tell me; how did it go?"

     "Well," Damien sighed, "It was rough at first.  I told her that I
     loved 
her, and she didn't want to hear it.  She was about to compare me to her
last 
boyfriend, Greg.  I told her that I wasn't gonna be like that.I told her
that 
I loved her, and that I wanted her in my life."

     "Did she take the rose?"

     "Not at first.  You see, at first, she rejected me.  So, I pulled
     out the 
rose, dropped it to the ground and left.  She picked it up, and I guess
she 
decided she wanted to talk to me about why she rejected me, so she ran
after 
me.  She grabbed my arm, and-"

     "The connection was made." 

     "Exactly.  She looked deep into my eyes to find the truth or
     something to 
that extent, and we became one.  Then, I kissed her."

     "You kissed her?"

     "Sure did.  I guess after that happened, there was no more reason to 
wonder about the past, because it all came screaming up to the present.
It's 
almost as if my memories have reawakened and they are still coming
strong."

     "That is good, Damien.  You are finally beginning to see the light."

     "Yeah...something like that."

     "So, what did you two do after your big declaration of love?"

     "We walked and talked a lot.  We got to find out a lot about each
     other. 
Like the fact that she loves children.  She is striving to be a
pediatrician 
when she graduates."

     "Unlike yourself, who wants to be a hot shot football player."

     "Hey," Damien sternly said.  "You take that back!"

     "Well, what do you want out of life?"

     "Sure, I want to play football, but that's not all I want.  If I
     can't 
play ball, then that's why I'm majoring in Political Sciences and
Computer 
Sciences."

     "A double major?"

     "Yeah.  If I can't get work in one field, I can always go into the
other."  King Mercury began to laugh uncontrollably, and Damien took a
minor 
offense at that.  "What's so funny?"

     "I have never seen you so ambitious before.  It is like you have
     your 
entire life planned out, with the exception of being a Star Guardian."

     "Oh, I can do that part time."  That was not what King Mercury
     wanted to 
hear.  "Part time, huh?"  Damien cocked his head sideways and
empathetically 
said, "Yeah."  King Mercury shook his head and smiled.  "Interesting," he 
said.  Damien took one look at him and knew he was in trouble.
"Uh-oh..."

     "Drop and give me 100 push-ups."  Damien didn't protest, he just did
     as he 
was told.  At least he had something to focus on while he was doing his 
exercise/punishment.  "One for Amy; two for Amy; three for Amy..." 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "JAEDITE!!!!!!"  Queen Beryl was not amused.  She had assumed she 
sent her five warriors to Earth to reclaim the Star Fragments, but she
assumed 
wrong.  Jaedite appeared in front of her and bowed loyally.  "Yes, my
queen," 
he somberly said.

     "Why have you not gotten that Fragment from Prince Damien?  Why does
     he 
know who he is?  WHY HAVE YOU FAILED ME?!?!?!"

     "I am sorry, my queen," he replied.  "I understand that you are
     angry with 
me.  I would understand if you banished me forever.  I will accept my 
punishment from you."

     "That would be too easy," she growled.  "Neflyte!  Malachite!  
Zoicite!  Kunzite!  COME FORTH!"  The other four generals appeared behind 
Jaedite and bowed majestically.  "What are you doing to get the Silver 
Star?  All of you; ANSWER ME!"

     "We have been searching for our respective Star Guardians,"
     Malachite 
answered up, "But, it is not easy to find someone who does not know who
he is.  
We have really been trying, my queen."

     "Well, it appears that everyone has an excuse...everyone except
     Jaedite.  
Explain yourself."

     "I thought that since Prince Damien did not know who he was, I could 
easily send Crystal Warrior Frow after him.  I guess I was mistaken, my
queen."

     "No matter," Queen Beryl said.  "We will be successful.  It is just
     going 
to take some time, but do not worry; the Silver Star will be ours."

     "Yes, my queen," they all answered.  "Very well, then," she said.  
"Dismissed!" 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "I am so relieved," Amy beamed as she closed the door and slid to
     the 
floor.  "I'm in love with him, and he's in love with me!  That's
perfect!"

     "I'm happy for you," Lita cheerily said as she continued stirring up
     her 
cookie dough for the night's desert.  "So, I take it that everything went 
smooth?"

     "Not exactly," Amy replied.  She went to the refrigerator to pour
     herself 
a glass of orange juice, and commented, "Something smells great!  Whatcha 
cookin'?"

     "Something I was introduced to during lunch.  I think it's called 
lasagna.  Anyway, I figured it'd be better than the usual sandwiches you
stuff 
down your throat at night.  Anyway; continue."

     "Well," Amy said, pausing momentarily to take a sip of orange juice,
     "He 
told me he loved me, and all of a sudden, all of these memories of Greg
telling 
me he loved me started flooding my mind, and I didn't like that too 
much...so..."

     "So, you accidentally brushed him off," Lita guessed.

     "Something to that extent.  He almost broke down my defenses, but
     memories 
of Greg came back again, and I told him that I couldn't be with him.  He
pulled 
out a rose and told me it was for me, but he said something to the extent
that 
it wasn't important anymore...so he dropped it to the ground."

     "Let me guess: you picked it up; right?"

     "Right.  After that, there was no need for me to pretend anymore."
     Lita 
checked the lasagna in the oven and said, "So, what happened after that?"
Amy 
finished off her orange juice and said, "We walked and talked the rest of
the 
day.  I found out that he is actually a smart person.  He graduated 
salutatorian from Los Altos High School back at his home in San Diego.  I
am 
going to be so happy with him."

     "Is his ego gonna get in the way?"

     "I doubt it.  Besides, when you peel off the ego, he's just like me;
     an 
intelligent person who's constantly misunderstood."

     "Whatever happens, I'm happy for you," Lita said as she played the
     switch 
game with the lasagna and the cookies.  "Now, if only I could find
someone for 
me..."

     "What ever happened to Ken?" Amy asked, curiosity overpowering her.
     "I 
haven't heard you talk about him in years."

     "He went off to school in Europe and forgot all about me," she
     solemnly 
said.  "It seems that we always forget about those who helped us out in
the 
past.  Don't you do the same."

     "Why would I do that?  All of you mean too much to me, especially
     you, 
Lita.  You've put up with my problems for so long now."

     Lita brought the food to the table and said, "Yeah, and knowing you, 
you'll never be done with your problems."  

     "Ha-ha" Amy sardonically said.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Zoicite looked at the image of the handsome man being projected in
     front 
of her with her Black Crystal.  "Ah, the handsome prince of Mars," she
said.  
"I remember him; he was one tough opponent.  That's O.K., this time will
be 
different..."

     "Zoicite," a voice called out to her from the distance.  She turned
     to the 
doorway to see who was calling her.  "Lord Malachite," she gasped.

     "Hello, Zoicite," Malachite said, his voice booming across the room.  
"Have you found your Star Guardian yet?"

     "No, I haven't," she said rather disappointingly.  "But, don't you
     worry, 
Malachite.  Prince Nakorru will be mine."

     "Be careful, Zoicite.  You know Queen Beryl hates failure.  Do you 
remember what happened last time you failed?"

     "Yes, I do."  She shuddered as she remembered how she had tried to
     kill 
Darien, only to be struck down by one of Queen Beryl's energy-based
attacks 
while Malachite could only watch in dumbstruck awe.  Malachite remembered
as 
well, remembering how his hatred had engulfed him and made his attempts
at 
defeating Sailor Moon more personal than professional.  "We will not fail
this 
time," Malachite said.  Zoicite nodded her head in agreement and they
decided 
to begin an intensive search the next day. 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     It was a normal day for most of the people in Birmingham, but the
     world 
seemed a lot different to Damien and Amy.  He went to her apartment
bright and 
early that morning and took her out to breakfast.  Later on, they went to
the 
park and the movies, and Damien decided that it was about time for Amy to
meet 
his "guest."

     "Now, don't get alarmed when you see my place," he whispered.  "He's 
expecting me to go through Guardian Rites training tonight, but I don't
see 
that happening."

     "Guardian Rites?" Amy asked.  Damien nodded and said, "Yep; Guardian 
Rites.  Strength, Wisdom, Discipline, Self-Composure, and Patience.
Those five 
points make up the rules of being a Star Guardian."

     "What exactly are we going to do here?"

     "Well, I'm gonna cook you dinner-"

     "You COOK?" Amy was completely awestruck.  She had never met a guy 
who could cook before.  "I sure do," he said.  "Nothing major, though.
Just 
some noodles, some pancakes, hamburgers, and the occasional pie."  Damien 
opened the door, but, to his surprise, his furniture wasn't scattered all
over 
the place.  Instead, everything was as it was before he left.  Nice and
neat 
and completely spotless...and that stunned him.  "Yo, man!  What about 
training?"

     "Training is only on the weekdays," King Mercury said from the back.  
"Besides, you said you were bringing Princess Amy over tonight."  Damien
just 
knew he was in trouble as soon as those words came out of his mouth.
However, 
he couldn't have been more shocked to find out what was going to happen
next: 
Amy began to laugh.  He looked at her and said, "What's so funny?"

     "You are," she giggled, poking him in the nose.  "You knew you were
     going 
to invite me over, so you told your roommate that's what was going to
happen, 
and he forgot to leave."  Damien smiled at her and then his smile turned
into 
an astonished look as Amy's face went from giddy to afraid.  "Damien,"
she 
managed to stutter out, "I know that man."

     "Really?" he sarcastically asked, turning to look in the direction
     that 
King Mercury's voice came from.  "I wonder how that is?  How's about
sheddin' 
some light on this hazy subject."

     "I visited her," he said from the back.  "WHAT?" Damien yelled.  
"You never told me you visited her, man.  When exactly were-HEY!  GET OUT 
HERE!"  King Mercury sullenly peeked his head out from the bedroom.  "And
get 
the hell out of my bedroom!"  King Mercury stepped from out of the
bedroom and 
looked pathetically at the two.  "I am sorry, Princess Amy," he quietly
said.

     "Speak up!  You know you ain't that damn timid!"  He repeated
     himself, and 
Amy glared at him for a moment before turning to Damien and saying, "So,
was it 
his idea or yours to ask me out?"

     "A little bit of both," he answered.  "You see, I was determined to
     ask 
you out if only to find out why I was having all of these weird dreams
about 
you.  However, after talking to Merc and finding about my 'destiny,' I
decided 
that telling you how I felt was the only way I could put my mind at
peace."

     "So, if it wasn't for this man..."

     "King Mercury," King Mercury interjected.

     "Right.  So, if it wasn't for King Mercury, we would have never
     ended up 
together now; is that correct?"  Damien looked up at the ceiling for a
second, 
turned his attention back to Amy and answered, "Yep."  Amy shrugged at
Damien 
and said, "Fair enough.  So, he lives with you?"

     "You can say that," he answered.  "He likes to drink coffee and
     orange 
juice a lot, and besides pretending to be an interior decorator every
night, 
he's a pretty cool old man.  You know, he sleeps on the sofa, doesn't
turn up 
the music sky high, doesn't bother me when I'm studying, he basically
stays out 
of trouble.  It's when I'm here that he starts acting stupid."  

     "I do not act stupid," King Mercury protested, but Damien saw right 
through it.  "Lies you tell!  You have this tendency of acting like a big
King 
Jerk sometimes!  Like when you popped out of nowhere when I was sitting
on my 
duff on the rooftop!  You were acting like the biggest jerk I'd ever
seen!"

     "Well, that is in the past now."

     "You still acted like the big King Jerk Leader!"

     "Well, now that is your job."

     "MY JOB?!  Why you-"  Damien stopped in mid-sentence when he heard 
Amy laughing again.  "What's so funny?"

     "You two argue like bickering siblings," she smiled.  "Yeah, yeah,"
     Damien 
nonchalantly said as he blew that one off easily.  "Look, you can have
the bed, 
Merc," Damien said.  "We're gonna be in here watching TV for a while
tonight, 
so...you do the math."

     "I see," King Mercury groaned.  "Well, if you will excuse me,
     Princess 
Amy, I am going to sleep.  You two take care."  They both nodded and King 
Mercury went into the bedroom and closed the door.  "Well," Damien said
after 
closing the door behind them, "This is my not-so-humble abode."

     "Not-so-humble, huh?  My, aren't we modest?"

     "Yes, we are.  Now," he said as he grabbed Amy around the waist and
     laid 
her down on the sofa in front of him, "It is time to revel in the
complacency 
of the 'idiot box'."

     Amy looked up at him and said, "My, my.  You have such a way with
     words, 
Mr. Gordon."  Damien winked at her and smiled.  They laid there watching
TV for 
a while, before they ended up falling asleep in each other's arms.  The
next 
morning, Amy woke up to see Damien's sleeping face.  "Damien," she
whispered.  
No response.  She lifted her head up and kissed him gently in hopes that
would 
stir him awake.  Damien's facial expression shifted ever so slightly as
he 
began to awaken from his dreamless sleep.  When he finally woke up and
looked 
at Amy, he began to shudder very hard.

     "Oh, my God...Amy, I am so sorry!  I didn't...I mean, I...oh, 
man...uh...I..."  Amy put a finger to his lips to silence him and said, 
"Nothing happened, Damien.  We watched TV, and we fell asleep here.  You
didn't 
take advantage of me, and I didn't take advantage of you.  Relax."
Damien 
finally calmed down enough to give a nervous laugh.  "This is something
new for 
me, Amy.  Outside Merc, you're the only other person who's been in here."

     "So, tell me," Amy said, changing the subject as she got up to look
     out of 
the window, "How long have you been living here?"

     "About a week," he replied as he got up to cuddle up behind her.
     "It was 
kind of lonely here at first, then I met Merc, and everything's been
pretty 
easy from that point on."

     "No girlfriends before you moved here?"

     "Nope.  I know there were some girls that were interested in Damien
     Gordon 
'the Quarterback', but I don't know if there was anyone that was
interested in 
Damien Gordon the person…that is, until you."  He kissed her softly on
the neck 
and said, "Thanks, Amy."  He paused in thought for a moment before
adding, "And 
I'm sorry about the way I treated you when I first met you.  It's just
that I 
don't like being called a jock.  It insults me to no end."

     "I understand that now," she commented.  "And I'm sorry for calling
     you 
that.  I promise it won't happen again."  They stood there for a moment
before 
Amy looked up at Damien and said, "I think it's time you met my friends.
I 
think they'd be interested in finding out who you really are."  Damien
heard 
that and gulped nervously.  "Do I have to?" he whined.  "You remember
what 
happened the last time I saw your friends..." He shuddered slightly at
the 
remembrance of that day.

     "Those were different circumstances, Damien.  They thought you were
     a 
jerk, and at the time, so did I.  But then I got to know the real you."

     "Do you like what you see?"  Amy grinned profusely at him and said
     all-too 
convincingly:

     "Oh, yes."

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Zoicite began her search for her Star Guardian in earnest.  She
     began by 
looking throughout the suburbs of Birmingham, figuring that if he wasn't
there,
she could just look through the Yellow Pages and find him that way.  When
the 
suburban route ended up in waste of time and the Yellow Pages were even
more 
worthless, she pulled out her Black Crystal and yelled, "Black Crystal!  
Help me to find my victim!  Help me to find Prince Nakorru!"  The crystal 
began to quaver a bit before projecting a picture of the UAB campus.  It
then 
showed a picture of its English department building.  "So, that is where
he 
is," she sardonically said.  "Prince Nakorru, you are mine."  With that,
she 
went over to her chest of Crystal Warriors and picked a reincarnation of
one of 
the original Seven Shadows.  "Green Shadow Warrior Veena; COME FORTH!"  
The crystal underwent a violent metamorphosis before changing into Green
Shadow 
Warrior Veena.

     "What may I do for you today, Mistress Zoicite?" it asked.

     Zoicite chuckled for a moment before answering, "I am sending you on
     a 
search and recover mission, Veena.  You are to find the Star Guardian
Prince 
Nakorru.  I want him back here dead or alive."  She turned to walk away
before 
turning around and adding: "Preferably dead."

     "Very well, Mistress Zoicite."  Veena then disappeared into a
     warphole in 
search of her target.  Zoicite watched her leave and began to laugh 
hysterically.  "Perfect!  Prince Nakorru won't know what hit him!" 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "Are you nervous?"

     "Very.  I don't know what to expect from these people."

     "Just be yourself, Damien.  They'll accept you for what you are, and
     how 
much you mean to me.  Relax!  You're gonna tremble to death!"  Damien was 
coming dangerously close to shaking out of his skin.  He wasn't afraid of
what 
the girls would think of him; he was more worried about what his reaction
would 
be when he saw Darien.  Amy had told him about all of them, including
Darien.  
When she told him how he had made her feel earlier, he was infuriated.
It took 
her about ten minutes to calm him back down.  Now, they stood at her
apartment 
door, Amy once again trying to calm him down.  "Come here, Damien."

     "What?"

     "Come here," she repeated.  He turned to face her and she kissed him 
deeply, hoping that would calm him down.  Needless to say, it worked.
"Now, 
are you ready?"

     "Yeah.  Let's go."  Amy opened the door and looked around timidly at
     her 
surroundings.  Lita had assembled the others together as Amy requested,
not 
fully knowing why.  Amy walked in, making sure to keep Damien hidden
behind the 
wall.

     "Now," she began, "I know you're all wondering why I asked for you
     to meet 
here."

     "The thought did cross my mind," Raye said scathingly.  Ignoring
     that 
comment, Amy continued.  "As you all may know, I've been battling with
the 
emotions I have for a certain Damien Gordon.  Well, I met up with him 
yesterday, and we fell in love."  Groans erupted from Raye and Darien,
giggles 
came from Lita and Serena, and Mina just looked pleased.  "Let me explain 
something to you, Raye," she continued, "Just because you know of the
past 
Damien Gordon, the arrogant, cocky, conceited Damien doesn't mean that's 
the Damien I know."  Meanwhile, Damien was sitting outside, listening to
the 
whole ordeal.  "Arrogant?" he whispered.  "Cocky?  Conceited?  That's
what they 
think of me?"  He began to shudder even more.  "I'm dead."

     "Amy, what did he do to you?"  Raye questioned.  "Did he brainwash
     you?"

     "If he hurt you in any way," Darien began, "I'll..."

     "You'll do absolutely nothing, Darien," Serena interjected.

     "But-"

     "'But' nothing!  Amy's happy, so let her be happy!"  Then, turning
     to Amy, 
she said, "Well, where is he?  I'm dying to see him!"

     "Well," Amy shyly smiled, "He's right outside, actually.  Come on
     out, 
Damien."  Realizing that was his cue, Damien got up from the floor, shook
off 
his nerves and timidly appeared from behind the door.  "Hi, everyone," he 
nervously said, adding to that a little timid wave.

     "Hi, Damien.  I'm Serena," Serena said, getting up to extend her
     hand to 
him, much to the chagrin of Darien.  Damien reached to shake her hand,
and when 
he did, he froze.  Memories began flooding them both, and he instantly
knew who 
she was.  "Princess Serena!" he yelled.  "Forgive me, your highness!"  He 
placed his right hand over his heart and knelt in front of her
obediently.  "I 
am Prince Damien of the Mercury Kingdom.  I am sorry for my insolence!"
Then, 
he came back to reality.

     "You're from the Silver Millennium?" Serena questioned.

     "Surprise."  Amy timidly said.  The next few hours were spent
     telling 
Damien stories about the Silver Millennium that he didn't remember.  He
looked 
over at the other girls and marveled at how quickly his memory had come
back.  
"You're Mina," he said, pointing to Mina, "Princess Mina of the Venus
Kingdom.  
That's Princess Raye of the Mars Kingdom, and that's Princess Lita of the 
Jupiter Kingdom.  Of course, I know Princess Amy of the Mercury Kingdom,
and 
now I know the illustrious Princess Serena, princess of the Moon Kingdom.  
But," he stopped, kind of afraid to ask this question.  "Where are your 
princes?"

     "We haven't found them yet," Lita said.  "We don't actually know if
     they 
exist or not."  Damien started to say something, but he remembered the
words of 
King Mercury from an earlier conversation: 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "I remember watching the separate kingdoms go through their
     downfalls, 
although I don't remember the names of the people fighting for them." he
said.

     "I do.  They are Prince Nakorru of Mars, Prince Andrew of Jupiter,
     Prince 
Donovan of Venus, Prince Darien of Earth, and Prince Damien of
Mercury...you." 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "They do exist," Damien said.  "They exist, and I know who they
     are."  
There was a murmuring through the room before Darien said, "So, I'm not
the 
only prince?"

     "No," Damien hurriedly answered, "I think I proved that point
     myself.  No; 
the other princes are..." He paused to think about answering that
question for 
a moment.  He wasn't quite sure that he should be the one to answer that
just 
yet.  So, he decided to improvise.  It had done him some good so far.
"They're 
somewhere around here, and I've got to find them.  There's also something 
called a Silver Star, and I need to find them so we can get it.  
Coincidentally, Darien, you're one of the carriers, or Star Guardians."

     "Me?"  Darien was getting more and more annoyed with this situation
     as 
time progressed.  "Naturally, I'm the leader, right?"

     "I don't know!  Tell you what; I've got to talk to someone, and I'll
     get 
back to all of you tomorrow, O.K.?"

     "We've got classes all day tomorrow," Mina said.  Amy looked around
     at the 
others, then turned to Damien and said, "I'll come by tomorrow afternoon
when I 
get a break, and you can tell me then...that is, if Merc says it's fine."  
Damien looked a little confused for a second before agreeing and smiling
at the 
others.

     "Well, it's been fun, but I've got to get going!  Got some training
     to 
do!  See y'all around!"  With that, he turned to leave, Amy hot on his
trails.  
She closed the door behind them and grabbed him by the neck and kissed
him.  
"You were great in there!" she said enthusiastically.

     "Yeah," Damien sighed.  "But what am I supposed to tell Merc?  That
     I 
kinda blew it?  That I kinda told them that they had princes?  What am I 
supposed to do if I can't find them?"

     "You'll find them," Amy reassuringly said.

     "How can you be so sure?"

     "You found me."  She kissed him on the cheek and said, "Now, go home
     and 
talk to King Mercury.  I'll see you tomorrow."

     "All right.  Bye, Amy."  He turned to leave, certain about his
     feelings 
for Amy, but uncertain about what he was going to tell King Mercury.

     "This oughta be good," he groaned. 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "I can not believe you told them!"  King Mercury was livid.  Damien 
assumed that if he told Merc about the situation, that all he would tell
him to 
do was continue to do what he had been doing.  Apparently, he was wrong.
"But 
I didn't tell them...101!...in those exact words...102!"

     "You told them enough!  Has all of my training and teaching been a
     waste 
of my time?"

     "No!...106...it's just...107...I opened my mouth...108...without 
thinking...109...again...110!"

     "You must start thinking with a level head, Damien!  The life of you
     and 
Princess Amy might not be the only ones at stake."

     "But I didn't...113...do it...114...on PURPOSE!!!...115!"

     "Stop."  Damien did as he was told and perched himself on his feet
     as King 
Mercury continued, "You must realize that you are not the only Star
Guardian.  
Prince Darien is also a Star Guardian..."

     "A Star Guardian who doesn't realize it yet..."

     "Ah, but he is one nonetheless, correct?"

     "I guess...but..."

     "No 'buts,' Damien.  Until Prince Darien realizes that he is a Star 
Guardian, you must do all of the work on your own.  Now," he said,
changing the 
subject, "What are you and Princess Amy doing tonight?"

     "Well...HEY!  Have you been spyin' on us or somethin'?"

     "I do not think that 'spying' is an appropriate word..."

     "So, you have been spyin' on us!  Don't you got nothin' better to 
do?"

     "It is not that, Damien...it is just..."  Damien motioned for him to 
silence before saying, "You're not my father.  You can't just go around 
spyin' on me like that!  Take into consideration that I am an adult, and 
am perfectly capable of making adult decisions, O.K.?"  King Mercury
nodded and 
Damien answered, "Not that it's any of your business or nothing, but I'm
going 
over to Amy's tonight.  I'll see you in the morning."

     "What about school?"

     "I said I'll see you in the morning!  I do need clothes!"  
He turned to leave, and as he reached to close the door behind him, he
yelled, 
"And don't trash my apartment, neither!" 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Shadow Warrior Veena appeared in the hallways of the UAB English 
Department main building and began searching through everyone's classes
for one 
name: Nakorru.  When she finally found what class he would be in, she 
teleported back to the NegaVerse to give her report to Zoicite.  "Is that
a 
fact," she cackled.  "Very well, then.  Veena, your job is to impersonate 
his teacher and get him for me.  Understood?"  Veena nodded her head and
smiled 
wickedly.  "I understand completely, Mistress Zoicite."  Just then, there
was a 
knock at her chamber door.  "I'm busy right now!" Zoicite yelled.

     "You must let me in," the voice called out.  Zoicite heard this and
     yelped 
with glee.  "Lord Malachite!"  She ran to open the door, but when she
did, her 
face went from ecstatic to downright enraged.  "KUNZITE!!!" she yelled.  
"How dare you impersonate Lord Malachite!?"

     Kunzite began to take his true form and laughed.  "You see," he
     said, as 
his voice began to interchange between Malachite's and his own, "The job
of 
impersonation does not belong to a mere drone.   I am the doppelganger.
It is 
my job to impersonate people.  Do not forget that."  Then, as added
insult to 
injury, he metamorphosed himself into Zoicite and said, "No one is safe
from 
impersonation; not even you or your boyfriend."

     "GET OUT OF MY CHAMBERS!!!"  Kunzite once again transformed into 
himself and disappeared from view, leaving Zoicite in complete mental
ruin.  
"Two down, two to go," he whispered to himself. 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Damien woke up at about 6:30 Monday morning and looked to get his 
surroundings.  He looked directly at a photo of all of the girls back at
Tokyo 
in front of the Tokyo Tower.  "My Amy," he sleepily grinned as he looked
at the 
picture with an unheard of intensity.  He then turned to the real thing
and 
looked at her even more yearningly.  He kissed her on the forehead and
crept 
out of the bedroom...right into Lita.  So much for an easy exit.

     "AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"  Damien and Lita each looked at each other for a 
split second before one of them made a move.   Unfortunately for Damien,
it was 
Lita, for she proceeded to pound him into the ground before she finally
heard 
Damien's muffled groan begging for forgiveness.  Lita looked at the mound
of 
stuff on the ground that used to be Damien and squealed, "Oh, Damien!  I
am so 
sorry!  I didn't realize it was you!  I forgot you spent the night here!
I 
am...oh, man...are you all right?"  Damien somehow managed to pick
himself up 
long enough to rest himself on his knees and ask, "How am I supposed to
explain 
this?  I can't cover this one up.  Where's the bathroom?"  Lita pointed
towards 
the back and Damien made his way to the medicine cabinet.

     During this commotion, Amy woke up and noticed that Damien wasn't
     laying 
next to her anymore.  She figured he had left to get ready for school
when he 
heard Damien and Lita's scream.  She figured it was a dream, but when she 
turned to go back to sleep, she heard Damien's now all-too familiar groan
for 
mercy.  She walked out just in time to notice Lita's retreating body into
the 
bathroom behind a hunched over Damien.  "I wonder what happened?"  She
tiptoed 
into the bathroom and saw Damien looking at his face in disgust in the
mirror.

     "You really went and did it now, Lita," Damien groaned.  "You hit
     harder 
than some of the guys on the team!"  Lita looked at him in disgust and
growled, 
"Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

     "Let's hope not," Amy called from the back.  "Because if it was,
     then it 
was the worse kind you could ever give someone."  Damien didn't say a
word; 
instead, he splashed some cool water on his face.  He turned towards Amy
and 
said, "Good morning, Ames.  Too bad you have to see me like this."  Amy
gave 
him a wayward glance and questioned, "Like what?"  Damien gave her a
confused 
look before turning his attention to the mirror...and shaking his head in 
disbelief.  Both Amy and Lita were confused about this.  "What's so
funny?"

     "That Merc," he smiled.  Then, he turned to them and said, "Well,
     it's 
been fun, but I've got to be going; school calls!  I'll see y'all later,
K.?"  
He gave Amy a quick peck on the cheek, said, "Bye, Amy!" and sprinted for
the 
door.

     "I wonder what that was all about," Lita inquired.  Amy shook her
     head and 
said, "I don't think he even knows right now."

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     The day was quite normal for most of the students and faculty at
     UAB, but 
for one professor, the day was about to take a fateful twist.  While on
her way 
to her Shakespearean Literature class, an unknown assailant nabbed the 
instructor, and almost instantaneously, she reappeared around the
corner...or 
so it seemed.  This new instructor had an evil glare in her eyes,
accompanied 
by a wicked grin.  Veena walked the halls of the building, thankful that
she 
had the insight to absorb some of her memories before absorbing her
persona 
entirely.  She went through her first few classes just like she had been
doing 
it her entire life.  When her second class began to filter out, she
opened a 
communications portal to the NegaVerse and said, "Mistress Zoicite, the
one you 
are searching for is nowhere to be found."

     "Keep looking.  He is bound to show up sometime."  Zoicite closed
     the 
portal and Veena prepared for her next class.  When they showed up, she
wasted 
no time in class lectures or the like.  "Now," she said as calmly as she
could 
without changing to her real voice, "Does anyone in here know a man by
the name 
of Nakorru?"  When she got no response, she asked the question again.
However, 
when a class full of dumbfounded looks, she went berserk.  "Look," she
started 
as she began to transform, "I don't have all day; answer me or DIE!!!!!
"  By this time, she was already in her normal form, and the natural 
response occurred: widespread panic.  It just so happened that the entire
roup, 
Damien included, was walking past the building when they heard a loud
scream.

     "What the heck was that?" Darien asked.  No sooner did he ask that 
question did a desk come flying out of the window and crashed right at
his 
feet.  "Does that answer your question," Damien sarcastically said as 
Darien attempted to regroup from the near-scare.  Then, Damien got a
scare of 
his own when Veena crashed out of the window, maddened with rage.  "And,"
he 
said after he regained his decorum, "If that didn't answer you earlier,
this 
will."  Serena took one look at the monster in front of them and yelled,
"It's 
Veena!"

     "That's correct, human scum!" Veena cackled.  "And, if you don't
     give me 
what I want, then I will destroy you!"

     "Uh-huh, sure.  Look," Damien sighed, "I don't know what day you
     think 
this is, but it ain't Halloween, so you might want to take your costumed
act
elsewhere and quit scaring the hell outta everybody."  Veena looked at
Damien 
for a moment before grabbing him by his throat and throwing him across
the 
street.  "Or not," Damien groaned as he struggled to get up to his feet.
Veena 
ignored him for the moment and turned her attention to the others, who
were 
being shielded by Darien.  "Out of my way, human!"  

     Darien shook his head and said, "Sorry; I can't do that.  You may be
     able 
to throw my colleague over there around, but not me.  Come and get it!"
Darien 
reached into his coat pocket...and grabbed at air.  "Great," he muttered,
"I 
don't have any roses."  Veena picked him up and tossed him into the air.
Just 
before he hit the ground, she kicked him in the back, which sent Darien 
sprawling into the bushes.  As he lay there motionless for a while, he
said to 
himself, "Well, at least I didn't end up across the street."

     Damien regained his composure long enough to watch Darien become a
     new 
form of lawn decoration.  He stood up and ran over towards Veena,
yelling, 
"Now, I've got cha!"  This reprise didn't last long, for Veena simply
grabbed 
Damien by the neck again.  "Or maybe it's the other way around."  This
time, 
she threw him into the closest wall she could find.  Damien sprung back
to his 
feet and began a charging attack, with Veena dodging him all the while.
"Will 
you" -right jab- "sit still" –left jab- "so I can" –left kick- "KICK
YOU!!!
"  Damien aimed a right kick straight at Veena, but the monster
skillfully 
dodged him and did a backward somersault.  Immediately after she landed,
she 
sent a flurry of feathers aimed strategically at him.  However, because
her aim 
was off due to the bad landing, they all missed him...with the exception
of one 
that slashed his left arm.

     "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"  Damien grabbed his forearm and knelt to the 
ground in pain.  Amy ran over to him and knelt beside him.  "Damien,
stop!" she 
pleaded, but Damien shook his head.  "No way is this creep gonna get away
with 
this."  Just then, a voice called out, "Prince Damien; CATCH!"  Two blue 
flashes went towards him and when he caught them, he looked up and said, 
"Merc?"  Indeed, it was King Mercury, dressed in his blue smock.  Damien 
thought he was saved after that, but then he looked down at what he held
in his 
hands: two long-stemmed powder-blue roses.  "What am I supposed to do
with
this?!"

     "Throw them to the ground and yell 'Mercury Star Guardian Power!'"
     Damien 
looked at him and groaned.  "You have got to be kidding me," he thought,
but at 
this point, he was out of options.  "If you insist, Merc," he sighed.
"Mercury 
Star Guardian...POWER!!!"  He threw the roses to the ground, where they 
stuck pointing straight up.  Then, something interesting happened...

     The two roses shot out a blinding white light as it surrounded
     Damien and 
his clothes began to disappear, and in it's place a battle armor
appeared, 
first at his feet, then moving up his body up to his arms.  A blue cape 
appeared next followed by the Mercury Star Fragment appearing on a chain
that 
dangled from his chest.  A blue streak went flashing above his head and
he 
caught it as it took the form of a sword.  He twirled it around briefly
before 
bringing it behind him at the ready position.  Thus, the transformation
was 
complete: Damien Gordon had become Prince Damien, Defender of the planet 
Mercury.

     "What the hell is this?" Damien whined as he looked down at what he
     was 
wearing.  "That is your battle armor, Prince Damien."  Prince Damien
nodded his 
head sarcastically and said, "Remind me to kill you later on, O.K.?  Now,
as 
for you, tall, blue, and ugly," he said, turning his attention to Veena,
"It's 
about that time for me to send you back to whatever ugly farm you came
from!"  
King Mercury looked at him and shook his head.  "He has a long way to go
before 
he gets the wording right."  He then directed his attention to Darien,
who was 
still lying in the bushes.  "Get up, Prince Darien."

     "Who are you?" Darien wearily asked.  "I will explain later," he
answered.  "But, right now, you must help Prince Darien."  King Mercury
helped 
him to his feet and said, "Take these roses.  When you want to help
Prince 
Damien, say 'Moon/Earth Star Guardian Power.'  You will then be able to 
transform into Prince Darien, Star Guardian."

     "Uh...O.K."  Darien took the roses from King Mercury, which changed
     in 
color from powder-blue to red, and hobbled over to the others and said,
"Look 
what I got!"  Serena looked at him and shook her head in disgust.   "You
know, 
Darien," she said, "I think you are so worthless sometimes.  This is one
of 
those times."  

     Meanwhile, Prince Damien was putting on quite an impressive battle
     against 
Veena.  It seemed that every attack Veena used on him, Prince Damien
countered 
very easily.  Finally tired of playing games, Prince Damien said, "This
is 
really getting boring, so I'm gonna go ahead and put you out of your
misery."  
He pushed her back, drew his sword, and stabbed her.  Prince Damien
looked at 
her as she dangled from the end of his sword and said, "How ya like me
now?"  
Veena looked down at the sword, up at Prince Damien, and smiled.

     "Extra crispy."  Prince Damien looked stupefied and gave her a dazed 
"Huh?" before realizing what was about to happen next.  She drew all of
her 
energy into a powerful energy blast and sent it right at Prince Damien.
The 
concussion of the blow knocked him into the building across the street. 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Serena and the others saw Prince Damien become a new entrance to the 
building and were dumbstruck.  They remembered Veena being powerful, but
never 
like this.  The Veena they remembered was a reincarnated member of the
Shadow 
Warriors, the most powerful warriors of the NegaVerse.  Veena had taken
over 
the body of Peggy Jones, a local artist.  Sailor Moon, along with Sailor 
Mercury, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter, had taken the evil out of Peggy
Jones, thus eliminating Veena from their time.  Now, it seems that she
had come 
back stronger than before.  "I don't remember her like this," Raye said
to a 
bewildered Amy.  "Neither do I," Amy responded, "But, we've got to do 
something!  Damien will be killed if we don't!"  

     Just then King Mercury appeared behind them and said, "Prince Damien
     will 
be fine."

     "How do you figure?" Amy spat at him.  "Simple," he answered.  "Just 
watch." 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Prince Damien stepped out of the hole he had just created and shook
     of the 
dust and rubble that had suddenly found itself on him.  Surprisingly,
there 
were no injuries to him.  "Maybe this armor will do some good," he
thought.  
Then, turning to Veena, he said, "I have you know I have a class there 
tomorrow, and you just ruined it!  You're gonna pay for that!"  He began
to 
charge himself in preparation to attack, an attack that he and King
Mercury 
knew all too well.  

     "I call upon the power of Mercury..." he began to channel the
     surrounding 
energy into a cluster in his hands.  "...TATEWA-JEDOUKAI-ZODA-KEN..." he
began 
to bring the cluster behind him, as if to prepare to thrust if forward.  
"...Mercury Ice Fire..."  King Mercury looked at the others and said, "We
might
want to get out of the way."

     "Why?" Serena asked.

     "You will see..."  They began to inch away from the view they had in 
preparation for something they would never believe.  Prince Damien looked
up at 
Veena and she knew instantly what was about to happen next.  It was over
for 
her.

     "STRIKE!!!"  The blast went straight for Veena, and all she could 
do was watch in horror as the Mercury Ice Fire attack slammed into her
and 
disintegrated her into nothingness.  Prince Damien looked at the results
of his 
attack, still awestruck at its power, and collapsed. 

     "DAMIEN!!!" Amy yelled as he hit the ground with a thud.  His head 
bounced off the concrete and lay there motionless.  "We must get him to
his 
apartment," King Mercury said.  Just as he said that, Prince Damien's 
armor began to disappear and be replaced by Damien's clothes, including
the 
gash on his arm.  Darien shook the cobwebs from his head long enough to
realize 
something was dreadfully wrong.  "I'll drive." 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     The ride to Damien's apartment was a silent one.  Darien sat there
     and 
drove quietly, following King Mercury's directions.  Serena sat beside
him, 
looking both at him and Damien in the back.  Raye and Mina sat in the
separate 
chairs behind them and King Mercury and Lita sat in the very back seats.
Amy 
sat on the floor with Damien's head in her lap.  Damien lay there
motionless, 
the blood from his cut no longer bleeding, but the damage was done 
nonetheless.  It would probably require stitches, and she knew he
wouldn't be 
too pleased with that.  She sat there in tears while stroking his head
ever so 
gently, as not to awaken him from his much needed slumber.  Her own
clothes 
were covered in blood from holding him in her arms.  She looked at his
pained 
face and whispered, "Please be O.K., Damien."

     "I am almost certain he will be fine," King Mercury said, hoping to
     calm 
her down.  She looked up at him and cried, "I hope so.  I just found him,
and I 
don't want to lose him again."

     "You really love him, Princess Amy."  It was more of a statement
     than a 
question, for he already knew the answer.  "I love him with all my heart,
and I 
won't let anything happen to him."

     "Then, I know he will come back to you.  Because he loves you just
     the 
same."  Serena looked back at them and asked, "How's he doing, Ames?"

     "Still the same," she said.  Then, turning to King Mercury, she
     asked, 
"How much farther?"  King Mercury looked out of the window and said,
"Pull in 
here.  This is the place."

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "ZOICITE!!!"  Queen Beryl was definitely not pleased with the 
efforts of one of her best generals.  Not one, but two of her generals 
had been bested by the same person, and she was not pleased at all.
Zoicite 
appeared in front of Queen Beryl and nervously said, "Let me explain, my 
queen..."

     "SILENCE!"  Queen Beryl was in no mood for explanations.  "Give me 
one reason why I shouldn't banish you forever."

     "Because I sorely underestimated my chosen warrior.  I had no idea
     she 
would lose track of her mission like that."

     "My patience is wearing thin, Zoicite.  I am tired of losing these
     battles 
to the same worthless human!  Now, I want you and the others to work
together 
to find and destroy these pathetic humans, before I have to destroy all
of 
you.  Understood?"

     "Yes, my queen." 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Damien woke up later that night, no longer in his battle armor, but
     now in 
the clothes he had on before the transformation.  His shirt was off to
the 
side, the damage irreparable.  His arm was bandaged up, and that was one
scar 
that wouldn't go away in a matter of seconds.  He had a cool towel on his 
forehead, and he was very groggy and cool to the touch.  He noticed that 
everyone was there, even Darien.  Naturally, Darien was the first to
speak.  
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," he said.  Damien slowly got up and
looked at 
his surroundings.

     "What am I doing here?" he said.  King Mercury walked over to him
     and 
said, "You were badly wounded, Damien.  It is a wonder you are still
alive.  
Tell me; what do you remember?"  Damien looked at him for a second before 
saying: "Everything."

     "Everything?"

     "Everything."  He then looked over to Amy, who sat at his side with
     a very 
disgruntled look on her face.  "What's the matter, Ames?"

     "I was worried about you," she said.  Damien looked at her and could
     tell 
that she had been crying.  He noticed blood-his blood-on her shirt and
pants, 
and just having his hand in hers made her tremble.  He struggled to sit
up, and 
when he finally made it, he swept her in his lap and said, "Thanks, Amy.  
Thanks to all of you."  He then kissed Amy and said, "I love you."
Serena went 
over to Darien and wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "I'm
sorry 
for being a jerk today."

     "Did I miss football practice today?" Damien already knew the answer
     to 
that question, but he just wanted to ask just to make sure.  "Yes," King 
Mercury said.  "I think Amy took the call."  Damien looked up at Amy and
asked, 
"What'd they say?"

     "Coach Brown said he wants to meet with you tomorrow afternoon."
     Damien 
shook his head in disgust.

     "I'm in for it now," he muttered.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "I'm WHAT?" Damien was livid.  He wasn't expecting Coach
Brown to say what he did, but it came out nonetheless.  "You're
suspended for one game, Gordon."

     "But, how-"

     "You know the rules.  How am I supposed to run a functional 
team if I bend the rules for you?  What kind of a coach would that
make me?"

     "One with good sense!" Coach Brown started to protest, but 
Damien continued. "You know we're going up against Alabama State
Saturday, and you know they're upset-minded!  If I'm not playing
in that game, they will beat us!"

     "Well, you sound pretty overconfident, Mr. Gordon."  Damien real-
ized that the wrong words had just come out of his mouth.  "It's not
that!  It's just-" Coach Brown silenced him and said, "Maybe this sus-
pension will do you some good.  Maybe you'll realize that this team can
and will win without you."  Damien sat there looking slack-jawed before 
Coach Brown added, "You know what?  Don't even bother showing up for the
game Saturday.  Dismissed."  Damien hung his head low and walked out of
the office, still in disbelief of what had just happened to him.  On the
way out, he ran into Donovan, who instantly noticed something was wrong.

     "Hey," he said, "You look like somebody just lost your best friend,
and I'm righ there.  What's wrong?"  Damien looked at him and said, "I've
just been suspended for the game on Saturday."

     "You WHAT?"  Damien looked at Donovan and gave him a weak smile.  
"That's about the same thing I said."

     "Why is he suspending you?"

     "'Cause I missed practice yesterday."  They walked into the locker 
room to change when Donovan asked, "I don't get it; where were you
yester-
day?"  Damien started pulling off his uniform and started getting ready 
for a shower as Donovan continued, "I mean, it's not like you to miss 
practice without a word to anybody.  What's up?"  Then, he noticed the
bandage on his arm...which promptly freaked him out.  "What happened
to your arm?!"

     "I cut it," he answered a little too quickly.  Donovan looked at
him and said, "That's on your shoulder.  How'd you go and cut yourself
on your shoulder like that?"  Damien looked at him and thought, "Should
I really answer that question?  No."  "I was wrestling with Amy and
I fell and cut it," he answered.  Simple.

     "Amy?"  Donovan felt as if he was out of the loop.  He remembered
Damien going ballistic over this girl who called him a jock, and now
he's wrestling around with her?  "Is there something you'd like to tell
me, Damien?"

     "Why should you care?"

     "Well...one minute you're telling me that you can't stand the 
girl, and the next minute you're fooling around with her!  What gives?"
Damien laughed at the situation he was put in and commented, "I have
been keeping you uninformed, haven't I?"

     "You can say that," Donovan assnwered as calmly as he could.

     "Watch it, now."  Donovan sat contently as Damien explained the
whole situation to him, from beginning to end.  By the time he was 
done, Donovan understood even less than before.  "You know," he said,
"I wish you had never told me now.  I'm more confused than ever."

     "That's what you get for being nosy. Now, I think we should go."

     "Why's that?"  Damien looked around and said, "The janitors wanna
go home."

Chapter 9: A Fiery Introduction


     Zoicite looked at the holographic image of Prince Nakorru and
     sighed.  
She was not ready to fight against him.  He had given her such a hard
time 
in the battle, and she had almost lost.  She thanked her lucky stars that 
he had fallen for one of her tricks.  If it was one thing that Zoicite
was 
good at, it was optical illusions.  She was almost as good as
Kunzite...she 
growled at where her mind was going.  The mere thought of that dimwitted 
doppelganger was enough to make her nauseous.  And to think that they
used 
to be an item during the glory days of the NegaVerse...however, that was
all
in the past.  Her present was with Malachite, and that was the way it
would 
remain for all time.  But, for some reason, she just couldn't get her
mind off
Prince Nakorru...

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Damien paced around the apartment in a furor.  The last thing he
     wanted 
was to be suspended from the game he loved so much.  However, he didn't
have 
any say-so in the matter.  Coach Brown had made up his mind, and that was 
that.  King Mercury stood in the center of the room and watched as his
protégé 
wandered around aimlessly a little while longer before turning to him and 
yelling, "This makes absolutely no sense!  What did I ever do to him?"
King Mercury looked at him sardonically and said, "Would you like a
list?"

     "Don't go there."  King Mercury rolled his eyes to the heavens
     before 
continuing, "You told me you basically said that the team needed you in
order
to win.  Personally, I do not think that was a fair thing to say."
Damien 
opened his mouth as if to speak, but King Mercury quickly silenced him
and 
continued, "You have no idea how the team would play without you, and I
think 
it is about time you found out."

     "This is gonna be in every newspaper in the state!  I bet it's
     already 
on TV!"  To prove his point,  he reached for the remote control and
turned 
the television to ESPN.  As they watched the extreme sports unveil before 
them, the "Bottom Line" came up and, sure enough, the headline screamed,
"UAB 
Head Coach Watson Brown announced today that QB Damien Gordon has been
sus-
pended one game for missing practice."  Damien turned to King Mercury and 
said, "There!  You happy now?"

     "Of course not.  However, I do believe the suspension was just."
     Damien 
looked at him and rolled his eyes.  "You would say something like that."

     "Do not take me for an old fool.  I am wiser than you think."

     "Sure you are.  And I'm taking the Indianapolis Colts to the Super
     Bowl 
next year."

     "Funny.  Now, get ready for practice.  If you are to find Nakorru,
     you 
must be ready for any and all challenges.  Understand?"  Damien nodded
his 
head repulsively, accentuating his mood with a less than interested
"Yeah, 
yeah," before moving his furniture to the patio for another day of
training. 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     The next day, Damien and Amy met up during their lunch break to talk 
about how things had gone for them so far.  "How's your shoulder," she
asked.  
Damien patted it and said, "It's fine.  I just wish that it wouldn't have 
happened the way it did."

     "That's O.K.  These things happen."  She stopped for a moment before
     asking, 
"Have you read the school newsletter yet?"  Damien shook his head and 
answered, "No.  Ever since they gave me that bad review for the Nebraska
game, 
I decided that they didn’t know what the hell they were talking about.
Why?  
What’s in it?"

     "Well..." she began as she flipped through the newsletter, "There's 
something about your suspension..."

     "Why am I not surprised?"  Amy noticed that he looked glum about the 
whole suspension thing and added, "It's only one paragraph-"

     "With a big picture over it-"

     "You are such a ham.  And the quarterly predictions for Dean's List
     are in 
here, too."

     "Really?"  Damien perked up and began to scoot over beside her to
     read 
the list.  "What's the order?"

     "Descending to ascending."  Damien laughed aloud at that before
     saying, 
"I never have competition for the top of the list."  Amy looked at him
and
said, "Is that so?"

     "Yep," Damien said with a reassuring nod.  "We'll see about that,"
     Amy 
said.

     "Wanna put your money where your mouth is?"

     "I think I'll put my mouth where your mouth is."

     "Ooh, you freaky!"  They continued to read the list from beginning
     to 
end, and when they got near the top, Damien yelled, "A-HA!  I beat you!"

     "By one point!" Amy whined.  "You didn't say by how much," Damien
     said. 
"Now, pay up!"  Amy smiled and said, "With pleasure."  She leaned in and 
kissed him before mumbling, "I wonder who's at the top?"  Damien froze
for 
a moment before looking at the list again.  Granted, he was ranked higher 
than Amy, but he wasn't number one.  He broke away the kiss and growled
at 
the paper in disgust.  "Who is this jerk?!"  He looked at the name at the
top
of the list and said, "You're from Japan; you oughta know who he is!"
Amy 
glowered at him and said, "My, aren't we the socially conscious one
today?"  
Damien ignored that comment and stared at the paper in disgust.  Neither
one
of them noticed the ominous figure standing behind them, reading the
paper 
right along with them.  "Who the heck is Nakorru Kodanna?"

     "My name is Kodanna Nakorru," the stranger said in disgust.  Amy and 
Damien jumped as they realized that someone was behind them.  Nakorru
picked
up the paper and said, "Number one again?  Why is it that every school I 
go to, I am placed at the top of the Dean's List?  American educational 
standards are so trivial."

     "Trivial!" Damien thought, "Why is he so special?" Amy looked at him
     and 
saw that he was indeed enraged.  She then looked at Nakorru and realized
that 
she knew him from somewhere.  "Hey, pal!" Damien yelled, "Whaddya mean by 
'trivial'?!  Just who the hell do you think you are?  Where are you from, 
since you so damn special?"  Nakorru looked at Damien and laughed.
Trivial 
and rude.  "Well," he answered, "Why don't you ask your friend; she 
knows me well.  After all, we are from the same place."

     "WHAT?"  This statement instantly appalled Damien, and he felt the
blue aura beginning to rise in him.  He was about to show his true anger
until
he decided to calm down and ask the source.  "Amy," he cooed, "You
wouldn't 
happen to know this jerk, would you?"  Amy was silent for a moment while
she 
pondered whether or not to tell him.  Finally, she gave her answer.
"Actu-
ally," she began, "I do.  His name is Kodanna Nakorru-"

     "I think we've already established that one."

     "Very funny.  Everyone called him, 'Mr. Brain' at the Albert
     Einstein 
School of Gifted Children, and he's from Nerima, Japan."  Damien was
shell-
shocked by this turn of events.  Amy noticed it, but there was nothing
she 
could do at the moment.  However, she thought, later on tonight would be 
entirely different story altogether.  "He transferred and went to
Furinken 
High School, where he was one of the top students.  He even tried to date
me
once, but I was still with-"

     "DON'T!"  The last thing Damien needed to hear right now was any 
mention of Greg's name.  "So, you mean to tell me that this jerk is from 
Nerima?  That's absurd!"

     Nakorru groaned in disgust.  "Don't you ever get tired of calling
     people 
'jerks'?  You remind me of that idiot Ranma Saotome."  At the mention of
that 
name, Damien perked up.  "Ranma?" he asked.  His mind began to travel
back to 
when he visited Japan with his father a long time ago.  He learned the
Kempo 
martial art while he was ther, but he couldn't remember from who...that
is, 
until now.

     "You know him?" Nakorru asked, curiosity engulfing him.  Amy was
     just as 
curious as Nakorru, just not in the same way.  "Yes, Damien," she 
scathed, "You know Ranma Saotome?"

     "Yeah!" Damien beamed, ignoring Amy's tone.  "He taught me Kempo!"

     "When was this?"

     "It was during the summer a few years ago.  My dad took a business
     trip 
to Japan when I was fifteen, and I tagged along just for the fun of it.
I 
thought it would be cool to say that I went to Japan for my summer
vacation.  
I was expecting to see exotic sights and hear exotic sounds, but when I
got 
there, it was just like downtown San Diego.  So, instead of being
intrigued, I 
was bored out of my mind!  So, while I was waiting for the two and
one-half 
month trip from hell to end, I ran into Ranma...literally.  He was
getting 
food, and I was getting angry.  We started to talk, and I asked him if he
knew
any martial arts.  He said he did, and I asked him to teach me some.  We
went 
into the mountains of Japan and trained for the longest time.  It was
rough, 
but it was fun, too.  I don't know any of his special moves, but I do
know 
enough of the basics to improvise; you know, make myself look good."

     "So, basically, you were faking it, huh?" Amy asked, thinking back
     to 
when he fought Darien and Veena.  "Faking it?" he asked.  "When was I
faking 
it?"  Amy glowered at him and said, "When you were fighting Darien and
Veena, 
remember?"

     "Ye- Wha- NO!" Damien quickly shouted in protest.  "Didn't you 
hear me?  I said I knew the basics!"  Amy looked at him and shook her
head.  
"'The basics,' huh?"  She was getting very unhappy with his cockiness.
"What 
if you would have been more hurt than you were?  What if you would have
been 
killed, huh?  You wouldn't be here, and I'd still be alone!  You didn't
think 
about that, did you?"  Damien blanched; he never thought of it that way 
before.  "Well," Nakorru smiled, "I see you got your inconsiderate
behavior
from Ramna as well as his martial arts techniques."

     "Hey, pal," Damien growled.  "I can still beat you!  Just because I
     know 
the basics don't mean I can't 'basically' kick your butt!"

     "I don't fight," Nakorru sighed.  "It's a pointless, barbaric
     ritual."  
Damien thought about it for a moment, realized that he could possibly
kill this
guy, and smiled.  "You're right!  Truce?" he asked, extending his hand
for a 
handshake.  "Truce," Nakorru agreed, taking his hand in a strong
handshake.  
Then, something happened.  Some sort of information flashed through their 
minds, and it came on fast and furious.  Memories began to hit them,
memories 
Damien knew of the Mercury Kingdom, but there were other memories coming
to 
him as well.  Memories of another kingdom flashed in there, and standing
on 
a high cliff overlooking his kingdom was...Nakorru!  Nakorru snatched his
hand back and was enraged.

     "What the hell was that?" Nakorru yelled in disgust.  "I have never
     felt 
such insolence!"  Damien was at a total loss to describe this new
sensation.  
"Uh...Amy," he finally managed to stutter, "I think we need to
go...something 
important just came up."

     "Like what?" Amy questioned.

     "You know...something really important...really important stuff,"
Damien said, trying his best to keep Nakorru in the dark.  Amy finally
caught 
on and snagged Damien's hand.  "You're right!  Let's go!"  Then, they
bolted 
out of sight, leaving a confused Nakorru behind, the only remnants being
a 
crumpled newspaper lying on the table.  "These Americans," he sighed,
"Always 
in a rush."

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Zoicite was busy in her chambers brushing her hair when she noticed
     some-
one was in the room with her.  She turned around and saw Jaedite standing
there
with an intense look on his face.  "What do you want, Jaedite?" she
asked, not
too pleased with his being in her chambers.

     "I think you might want to take a look at this," he answered.  He
     extended
his hands to the wall, and an image of Damien and Amy appeared before
them.  Zo-
icite looked at the image, then at Jaedite, and said, "I do not see what
your
surveillance on Prince Damien has to do with me."  Jaedite turned to
Zoicite and
said, "Just wait."  He then added a very reassuring smile to his face.
The
scene between Damien, Amy, and Nakorru played out in front of them, and
Zoicite
looked in amazement as a bright red aura began to take from around
Nakorru as
he shook hands with Damien.  "Freeze that image!"  She then grabbed her
Black
Crystal and compared the image of Nakorru with the image of Prince
Nakorru and
found htey were the same.  "Aha!  Prince Nakorru lives!  Now, it is time
for me 
to sang that fragment!"  With that, she disappeared in a flurry of cherry 
blossom petals.

     "How ungrateful," Jaedite said.  "She didn't even thank me."

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "What was that all about?" Amy asked as they stepped into his
     apartment.
"I never knew you could act like this."  Damien had been mum about what
had 
just happened, and she felt like it was time he told her.  "Well," Damien
began
as he wandered into the kitchen to grab a couple of apples off the
counter, "I
know this is pretty early in the game, but-" he tossed an apple towards
Amy, 
"Nakorru is one of us."

     "One of us?" Amy groaned, obviously confused by the dubious
     distinction
that he had just given.  "Yeah," he answered, taking a bite out of his
apple,
"One of us; a Star Guardian!"

     "How do you know?"

     "Remember when I shook his hand?"  Amy nodded, urging him to
     continue.  
"Well, I saw a vision; something I recognized from my own resurfacing
memories.
You see, in one of my flashbacks, I see myself, Darien, and three others.
Each
of us had Star Fragments, and all of us were over different kingdoms.
Well, our
'I'm too smart for American schools' friend held the Mars power in him,
which
means..."

     "...Which means he is the rightful heir to the throne of the planet
     Mars 
and the holder of the Mars Star Fragment," a voice called from the
bedroom.  Da-
mien groaned at this because he really didn't want to be bothered by him
today.
"What do you want, Merc?"

     "Ah, Damien," he chuckled, "I could not help but overhear your
     conversation
with Prince Nakorru today, and-"

     "There you go again.  You're always spyin' on me, ain't cha?  Don't
     you got
nothin' else better to do?"  Amy began to laugh uncontrollably at this
sight.  
She always got a kick out of seeing her Damien stressed out.  "You two
never 
stop, do you?" she managed to get out amisdt all the chuckling.

     "What are you laughin' at?" Damien playfully yelled.  He then ran
     over to 
Amy, picked her up, playfully threw her on the sofa and pounced on top of
her.  
He looked deep into her eyes and smiled.  "Bet that'll teach ya."  Amy
looked at
him and had the decency to blush.  "I don't know," she beamed, "I might
need a
little more encouragement."  Damien grinned and kissed her.  It was a
soft kiss
at first, then he deepened it to heighten the plesure.  King Mercury
looked at
the two and thought, "I really do not need to hear this."  He cleared his
throat
in an attempt to get their attention.  When that didn't work, he simply
walked
around the sofa and sat on the floor beside them.  Amy looked up, noticed
King
Mercury sitting there nad frowned.

     "You pervert."  Damien looked up and showed his agitation for his
     guest's 
bad timing.  "What?!" he yelled.  "Do you mind going away somewhere?"

     "Well, I..."

     "'Well, I' nothing!  Go away!"

     "Very well," King Mercury sighed.  He got up and walked to the door,
     and 
slammed it behind him.  "I'm gonna get it when he gets back," he said."

     "That's all fine and good," Amy began, "But, we've got another
     problem on 
our hands."

     "Like what?" Damien asked as he sat up on his knees.  "Like, if
     Nakorru is
a Star Guardain, that would mean that the NegaVerse is after him."

     "I think Veena was a good indication of that yesterday."

     "Exactly.  Now, since they've already started after him, that means
     he's
gonna need some sort of protection until he realizes his fate."  Damien
nodded
his head and smiled.  "I agree 100%."  Now, since they had gotten that
out of 
the way, he could get what he wanted.

     "Good," Amy smiled.  "Now, set this place up."  Damien leaned in to
     kiss 
her, but Amy had something else on her mind.  "We're about to have a
meeting."
She got up and left Damien kissing the sofa.  "Yeah, but, what about-"

     "It can wait."  Amy dug around in her purse to find her telephone
     number
list.  When she found it, she picked up the phone and headed to the
bedroom.  
Damien sat there on the sofa with a disgusted look on his face before
whining,
"Until when?!"  Amy didn't respond; instead, she poked her head outside
the door
and gave her sweetest smile before going back to the phone conversation.

     "Aw, man!"  Damien then began the conversion from living room to
     meeting 
place in preparation for their 'guests'.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     Within moments, the whole crew had made it to Damien's apartment.
     Serena
and Darien were sitting on the sofa while Raye was standing by the
bedroom door.
Lita was in the kitchen cooking some snacks for everyone, Mina was in an
easy
chair skimming the newspaper for a car, and Amy and Damien were sitting
at the
coffee table neatly centered in the middle of the room.

     "All right," Damien began.  "Now, I'm sure you all are wondering why
     you're
here."  Then, in a much lower tone, he added, "I'm beginning to wonder
the same 
thing myself."  Amy heard this, and, after elbowing him in the side, she
said,
"We've found a new Star Guardian.  His name should sound familiar to the
rest of
us.  His name is Kodanna Nakorru."  Whin Mina heard the name, she dropped
the 
newspaper to the ground in disgust.  Damien noticed this change
immediately.

     "What's with you, Mina?" he cautiously asked.  Mina didn't answer or
     even
look in that direction; instead, she simply stared off into space.
Distraught, 
he turned to Lita, who had just stepped out of the kitchen with a fresh
tray of
pigs-in-a-blanket, and asked her, "What's gotten into Mina?  I've never
seen 
her like this before.  Amy mentions Nakorru's name, and-"

     "Mina used to date him," Lita answered inbetween bites of a
     pig-in-a-
blanket.  "It was about the beginning of our junior year, and we were
about to
have our first track meet against Furinken High.  We're arch rivals, in
case
you didn't know that already.  Anyway, we were at the track meet,
cheering Se-
rena on, and we saw this cute guy sitting on the Furinken-Crossroads
dividing
line...

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "Hey, Lita," Mina asked, "Do you think I should talk to him?"  Lita
     looked
over at him and noticed that he did look kinda cute and said, "Go for it.
But,
don't forget to cheer on Serena.  You know she's up against that Akane
Tendo."
Mina began to bubble up with glee and said, "No sweat!"  She then got up,
ex-
cused herself from the others, and sauntered over to meet the handsome
man.
When she got there, she was amazed to find out that he had his eye on her
as
well.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "We began to talk for a while," Mina continued before pausing for a
     moment 
and saying, "You know, to this day, I have no idea who won the meet..."

     "I did!" Serena blurted out in protest.  "Anyway," Mina continued,
     "It 
wasn't serious at first.  You know, we'd go out to the movies every now
and then
or go to the park or something like that; however, somehow it began to
get ser-
ious.  Then, there were forms of affection.  They started out slight and
inno-
cent at first, but before either of us kenw it..." she took a deep
breath, re-
leased it, and wiped a tear from her eye before concluding, "I haven't
quite 
been the same since."

     Damien looked flabbergasted.  He had no idea how Mina was feeling
     inside.
He hadn't had that much personal experience with her outside of the one
long 
meeting they had, but she seemed like such a down-to-earth person with no 
problems at all.  Now, this changed everything.  "Mina," he said, trying
to pick
his words carefully, "I need to know the answer to this question: Can you
or 
can't you work with this guy?  Because, if you can't, then I have no
choice but 
to limit your activity with us."  Time seemed to stop for Mina St. Croix
as she
debated the answer to this question.  If she stayed, she risked having
emotional
flashbacks with him.  If she didn't stay, though, the Sailor Scouts would
be 
doomed.  Finally, after what seemed like hours had passed, she gave her
answer:

     "Yes; I can indeed work with him.  He is in the past, and I have put
     him
behind me."  Damien and the others breathed a sigh of relief.  "That's
one bul-
let dodged," he thought.  Little did he know what Darien was about to
ask.  
"Just out of curiosity," he began, "What planet does this guy oversee?"

     Amy gave a worried look at Damien, then to Raye, and said, "Mars."
     Up un-
til this point, Raye had been unbelievably quiet.  However, when she
heard that 
this new guy would bear the same symbol as she does, she was outraged.
"No 
way!" she screamed.  "No way will I be paired up with some jerk who hurt
my 
friend back in Tokyo!"  Damien shook his head and said, "You ain't got
much of
a choice, Raye."

     "Very well.  Then I request to be pulled from the team."  Amy looked
     at her
and shook her head.  "Denied," she answered for him.  "We need you here,
Raye.
Now, we all have a reason to hate Nakorru, but if Mina can put it behind
her, 
then, we can definitely do the same."  Raye let out a rough sigh and
grunted,
"Deal.  But I am NOT kissing him!"

     "Damn it, Raye!  Did we ask you to?"  Damien was really getting
     frustrated
with this meeting.  He wanted everyone to leave so he could have Amy all
to him-
self.  Granted, he spent almost every waking hour with her, but that's
because
he loved her.  He was getting annoyed with the distractions of keeping
his hor-
mones in check and paying attention to what was going on.  "Look, can't
we speed
this up?  I've got some important stuff to take care of!"  Amy looked at
him 
with an evil scowl and whispered, "Keep this up, and you won't be taking
care of
anything for a while."  However, amisdt all the trouble that was going
on, she
wanted to be with Damien just as bad.  She just knew that this wasn't the
right
time...so, she dealt with the emotional overflow long enough to conduct
busi-
ness.  Unfortunately, Damien hadn't quite learned that yet.

     "So, now what, Damien?" Darien asked.  "What are we going to do
     about Na-
korru until his memories awaken?"  Damien sat there and pondered that
question
for a moment, not quite knowing the answer himself.  He had to admit that
he 
hadn't given it that much thought.  As a matter of fact, after kissing
Amy, he
hadn't given much of anything that much thought.  "Gotta learn to control
the 
hormones," he thought.  Finally, he came up with a fairly logical answer.
"All
right; here's the deal," he began.  "We all know this guy is from the
Mars King-
dom, we all know the NegaVerse is after him-" here, he patted his arm for
empha-
sis "-and we all know he needs protection.  In order to constantly keep
an eye
on him, we're going to need a steady communications flow.  That being
said, Dar-
ien and I will keep an eagle eye on him, and Raye will back us up with
decent 
comms with the others.  What do you think, Darien?  Sound good to you?"

     "Wonderful plan, Damien," Darien said before adding with a smirk,
     "Who knew
you could still think straight, Lumpy?"  Damien looked at him and growled
on 
the inside.  He was really getting tired of Darien's little jokes about
the bump
on his head.  Fortunately for Darien, because of the emotional feelings
that 
were running rampant through him, he ignored his snide remark and went on
to 
more important issues.  "How's about you, Raye?  You up to it?"  Raye
looked out
of the patio door, then back to him and said, "Sure; why not?  This could
be
interesting!"

     "It's all set, then!" Damien shouted, jumping out of his seat.  "The
     fight
for Prince Nakorru is on!"  The group responded with a cheer of
jubilance, fig-
uring that Damien was finished.  But, he wasn't finished...as a matter of
fact,
he wasn't even close.  "Now," he continued, "Everybody...GET OUT!"

     "What?"  Mina, as well as the others were totally confused by
     Damien's mood
change.  However, Damien ended that confusion very quickly.  "If your
name
ain't Amy Anderson, then you don't have a lifetime pass here.  So, take
your
newspaper, your pigs-in-a-blanket, and your attitudes and get out!"

     Serena put her hands on her hips and moaned, "Humph!  What nerve!"
     Lita
added, "What nerve."  Darien looked at Damien and said, "Why am I not
sur-
prised?"  Damien knew what he was saying was wrong, but at this point, he
really
didn't care.  "I'm glad you're not surprised," he said in response to
Darien's
sardonic remark, "Now, surprise me and get out of my apartment!"  Amy
knew what
this was leading up to, but she didn't put forth an honest attempt to
stop it,
either.  "But, Damien-" she started, trying to hide her smile.  Damien
wasn't 
listening, though.

     "Not now, baby."  By this time, Damien had began attempting tjo herd
     them 
out one by one.  "Come on, get out!  We'll talk to y'all later!  Get
out!"

     "Talk to you guys later," Amy smiled.  "Yeah!" Damien quickly
     shouted, 
"BYE!"  With that, he slammed the door and turned to Amy and gave her a
wicked
grin.  "We're finally alone!  I've been waiting for this for too long."

     "Likewise," Amy said, blushing all the way, "But what about King
     Mercury?"
Damien looked around for a moment, then turned to her and said, "Let him
watch."
He then fingered Amy over to him.  When she finally sauntered over in
arm's 
reach, he grabbed her by the waist, pulled her close and began to kiss
her pass-
ionately.

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     At 5:30, his alarm clock went off, but he was already awake.  A very
     weary Na-
korru woke up the next day almost deranged from lack of sleep.  He had
been hav-
ing strange dreams and visions ever since he met the strange black man
downtown.
He would occasionally see himself overlooking a kingdom; then, he'd see
himself
dancing with an Oriental girl with long, flowing black hair.  Then, he
saw himself
dying at the hands of an evil, blond-haired, blue-eyed witch who called
herself
Zoicite.  "This is too much," he groaned as he finally gave up and got
up.  "I never
had a sleeping problem until yesterday.  Now, it's almost impossible for
me to
sleep."  Frustrated, he prepared himself for the day ahead of him.

     He began his early morning routine by doing 50 push-ups and 70
     sit-ups.  He
then took a quick shower, followed by preparing a particularly strong cup
of
coffee.  Finally, when everything was in place, he sat on the sofa and
began to
read the morning paper.  Suddenly, he was alarmed to find his TV turned
on and 
an immensely beautiful, but horrendously evil woman staring at him.  He
re-
cognized her from the dreams, but before he could get the name out, she
intro-
duced herself.  "Hello, Prince Nakorru.  I am Zoicite, a general of the
Nega-
Verse, and you have something I want."  Nakorru looked at the screen,
thought
for a moment, then said in broken English, "No a-speak-a English..."

     "Don't play dumb with me, Prince Nakorru," she sighed, "I know you
     speak
perfect English."  Nakorru looked at her and said, "Well, if you know all
of
this, then y ou should know that I am not a prince, so I would appreciate
it if
you left me alone, O.K.?"  Zoicite laughed and said, "Of course, I
will...so long
as you give me what I want."  Nakorru smirked and said, "Sorry,
lady...you're
not my type."  When Zoicite heard this, she growled, "Don't you dare
change
the subject!  I want the Mars Star Fragment, and I want it now!"

     "Fragment?  What fragment?!"  Nakorru was looking rather puzzled at
     the
strange woman in his TV.  Then, it donned on him what the problems were.
First of all, he was sitting here in his underwear talking to his TV,
which was
weird in and of itself.  Second, the strange woman in his TV was asking
about
a Mars Star Fragment, something he had no idea about.  Finally, when he
de-
cided to add up all of the options, none of it made any sense at all.  "I
know
nothing about a Mars Star Fragment, so leave me alone!"  Zoicite wasn't 
giving up that quickly, though.  "On the contratry, you do know  about
the Fragment; you just don't remember it yet.  Don't you worry, though; 
you'll remember soon enough...I will make certain of that."  That being
said, she disappeared, leaving Nakorru more confused than ever before.

     "What in the hell is going on here?" 

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "7:15?!  Christ!  I overslept!"  Damien woke up that morning and
     quietly
but quickly slipped out of bed, making certain not to wake up Amy.  He
bent down to look at her sleeping face one more time before getting ready
for school.  In contrast to Nakorru, Damien's morning ritual was very
dif-
ferent.  He grabbed a quick shower, got a glass of orange juice from the
refrig-
erator, and went to pick out his clothes for the day.  Knowing he didn't
have
that much time fefore he would be late for class, he grabbed his jersey
from the
closet and threw it on with a pair of black wind pants.  He then put on
his 
tennis shoes, snatched his bookbag from its perch by the door, and sped
off
for class.  He slammed the door behind him, and that effectively woke up 
King Mercury, who was sleeping on the couch.

     "Why can he not make it to class on time?"

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     The day went pretty routinely for everyone.  Damien eventually met
up with Amy so they could go to lunch.  Darien was with Serena most of 
the day; however, that didn't keep him from keeping a watchful eye on 
their target.  Later on, they met at Dreamland B.B.Q. for an afternoon
meal before Damien went to watch practice.  It was there they had a quick
meeting and swapping of eyewitness accounts.  "Well," Damien asked Raye,
"Have you found anything out?"  Raye shook her head and said, "Nothing
outside of the fact that he's an English Literature major."  Damien
looked
at her and shrugged.  "Right; nothing.  What about you, Darien?"

     "Not a thing," he answered.  "He's heavy on Shakespeare, but not 
much after that.  I don't think we'll have a problem protecting him."  No
sooner did Darien say that when he noticed a red flash outside the
window,
followed by a figure stumbling past it.  "Damien, look!" Damien stopped 
concentrating on the slab of ribs in front of him and turned around just
in
time to see Nakorru stumbling by, followed by a sinister woman.  "Well,
so much for practice," he said.  "Let's go!"  They all jumped out of
their
seats and ran out, leaving just enough money to pay for the meal.  When
they stepped outside, they saw Nakorru cowering in fear with Zoicite
hover-
ing over him in sheer bliss.

     Serena reached into her pocket and pulled out her brooch.  "It's 
been a long time since I used this," she thought.  "Hey," she said to 
Amy and Raye, "Did you two find your transformation wands?"

     "Yep," Amy said.  "Sure did," Raye added.  "Well," Serena said, 
"Let's put them to use."  Damien looked at Darien and asked, "You 
ready, man?"  Darien nodded and replied, "I'm always ready."  Damien 
then turned to Zoicite and growled, "Let's do this."

     "Moon/Earth Star Guardian...POWER!"

     "Mars...Star...POWER!"

     "Mercury...Star...POWER!"

     "Mercury...Star...Guardian...POWER!"

     "Moon...Star...POWER!"

     A mystical transformation took place, and within minutes, Darien, 
Raye, Amy, Damien, and Serena were turned into Prince Darien, Sailor 
Mars, Sailor Mercury,Prince Damien, and Sailor Moon.  Meanwhile, 
oblivious to what was going on behind her, Zoicite was about to get 
just what she wanted; the Mars Star Fragment.  "Now, you're all mine," 
she chuckled.  She then grabbed Nakorru by the throat and lifted him 
off the ground.  This was just too much for him to take at the moment.  
"Will...you...let...me...GO!"  Suddenly, Nakorru's entire 
body began to take a bright red glow.  However, Zoicite didn't flinch; 
instead, she held on stronger.  Then, a wind began blowing out of 
nowhere, blowing up the portion of hair that covered his forehead to 
reveal the Mars planetary symbol.  However, just before she was about 
to take the power of Mars from him, someone shouted, "LET HIM GO!"

     "Who said that?" she growled.  She turned around to see the Sailor
Scouts and the two Star Guardians standing before her.  "Not the Sailor
Scouts!  I thought you girls retired!"

     "Yeah, well, consider this our coming-out-of-retirement party!" 
Sailor Moon yelled.  "And we're gonna celebrate by stopping you!  On
behalf of the moon-"

     "-and the planet Mercury-" Sailor Mercury added, followed by 
Sailor Mars' "-and the planet Mars-"

     "We will right wrongs and triumph over evil...and that means you!"
Prince Damien looked over at Sailor Moon, then to Prince Darien and 
smiled.  "I'm impressed!"  Zoicite wasn't, though.  She let Nakorru
collapse to the ground with a thud adn turned her attention to the 
Sailor Scouts and Star Guardians.  "Well," she said, "I see we have a
coming-of-age party as well.  Too bad I'm the party pooper."

     "More like the pooper scooper," Prince Damien groaned.  "We know 
what you're up to, and we're not going to let you get that Fragment.  
It belongs to Nakorru, and that's where it's staying!"  During all of 
this, Nakorru laid to the side, forgotten for the moment.  He looked at
his body, noticed the aura around him and called for someone...anyone's
attention.  "Excuse me," he said, "Would somebody tell me what's going 
on here?"  Prince Damien looked over at Nakorru and pulled out a pow-
der-blue rose.  "Nakorru, catch!"  He threw the rose at Nakorru, and 
thanks to sheer luck, he caught it.  Then, the rose mysteriously 
changed color from powder-blue to fire-engine red.  "What am I supposed
to do with this?" Nakorru whined.  "Give her a bouquet?"

     "No," Prince Damien answered, "Hold it in the air and shout 'Mars
Star Guardian Power!'"  At this point, Nakorru didn't know what else to
do.  So, instead of arguing with the strange black man in a cape, he 
struggled to his feet and held the rose up high in the air.

     "Mars...Star...Guardian...POWER!"

     No sooner did those words come out of Nakorru's mouth did Zoicite
decide to turn around.  She looked over at her victim and began to
shudder uncontrollably.

     The hunter had become the hunted.

     Nakorru puled hte rose down in front of him, and a red light shot
from it.  His regular clothes disappeared as the Star Guardian armor
took its place.  The rose disappeared from his hand in a beam of light,
and a swored materialized in its place.  As this was happening, a sil-
ver fragment appeared on his chest dangling from his cape guard by a 
chain.  He held the sword in the ready position, nad it was done.  Ko-
danna Nakorru had become Prince Nakorru, Defender of the Planet Mars.
But, unlike Damien, he knew exactly what to do.

     How dare you try to harm me!" he yelled.  "You will pay for that!"
Prince Nakorru sheathed his sword and began to meditate, allowing the 
anger he had built up inside of him to come forth.  "Mars Nuclear 
Fire..."

     "Hmm..." Prince Damien thought aloud, "He didn't need my help af-
ter all.  Hey; what's he doin'?"  He looked at Nakorru, cringed, and 
said to the others, "Uh-oh...this could get messy.  I think we should
clear out."

     "ENFLAME!"  An eruption of fire exploded from his outstretched
hands and zoomed at Zoicite at an outrageous speed.  When she saw this,
she only had enough time to teleport back to the NegaVerse.  "Queen Be-
ryl is not going to like this at all," she thought.  However, she did
leave one message before she disappeared.

     "You got lucky, Prince Nakorru, but everyone's luck runs out!  
I'll get you next time!"

     Prince Nakorru looked at the flaming trees he had just created, 
then at the others and asked, "What was that all about?"  Prince Damien
looked at him and said, "How much time you got?"  Prince Damien walked
over to him and began to break the story down to him in detail.  After
it was all said and done, Prince Nakorru was still confused.  "I'm so-
rry; I still don't get it."

     "Don't worry," Prince Damien smiled.  "You'll understand it in 
time."

*                    *                    *                    *
*

     "So, this is Prince Nakorru.  My, my...what an impressive sight."
King Mercury was thrilled to be meeting the third Star Guardian.  Da-
mien was less than impressed at King Mercury's behavior.  "Get off him!" 
Damien groaned.  "He's just as clueless as I was."  King Mercury looked
at him and said, "Well, you are still confused, Damien."

     "Hey!  You take that back!"  King Mercury shook his head and said, 
"I only speak the truth, and the truth shall set you free."

     "The truth in your own mind!  Just because I'm not a gung-ho Star
Guardian like you want me to be doesn't mean that I'm useless!"

     "I did not say you were useless.  I just said you are confused."
     Da-
mien looked at him and rolled his eyes to the heavens.  "I am not
confused.
Just because I have a hard time accepting this Star Guardian thing some-
times doesn't mean that I'm confused.  I'm just working on the concept of 
being what I am."

     "You are confused," Nakorru said.  "You're just trying to dress up
     the
words to make it sound different.  You can fool everyone, but you can't
fool
yourself."  Damien looked at him and said, "You stay out of this!  You're
no
help at all!"

     "It's not my job to be helpful.  It's my job to point out the
     obvious."
Damien sneered at him and said, "You're an idiot, you know that?  You
really
are.  I bring you into my house, let you meet my mentor, and this is how
you
repay me?  By stabbing me in the back?  Give me a break!  Just when I was
about
to introduce you to your princess, you go and make me mad!"  Nakorru
perked
up after hearing his fate.  "I have a princess?"

     "Oh," Damien smirked.  "So, now you're being receptive.  Yes, you do
     have
a princess, but I'm not too sure she wants to meet you."  Nakorru gave a
way-
ward glance and asked, "Why is that?"

     "Three words: Mina St. Croix."  Nakorru paled instantly after
     hearing
that name.  "What does Mina have to do with this?"

    "You hurt her in Japan.  You expect them to just forgive everything
    you
did to her?  If you think that, then I'm not the one trying to fool
myself.
That job belongs to you."

     "I don't have to take this abuse!" Nakorru growled.  Damien shrugged 
at him nad said, "You're right; you sure don't.  So, get out of my apart-
ment...now."  Nakorru looked at Damien and yelled, "Look, just because I 
made a mistake in Japan doesn't mean that I can't be a reformed man!"

     "Spare me the colloquialisms, Nakorru!  If you want to get back in
     their
good graces, then you'd better swallow your pride, and you'd better do it
soon.  Let me tell you a little secret; it's not that they hate you,
because
that's not the case at all.  They don't like what you did to Mina, but
other
than that, they have nothing against you.  The only person you'd better
look
out for is Raye.  She's the one that truly hates you.  And,
coincidentally,"
he snickered, "She's your princess!  Good luck!"

     "Raye?" Nakorru shuddered.  "Raye Hino is my princess?  She's a
     Sailor
Scout?"  Damien started laughing as Nakorru started practically begging
him, "Damien, you've got to help me!  She hates me, and if I try to talk
to 
her, I'm good as dead!"  Damien straightened up long enough to say,
"Serves
you right!  Next time, you'll learn to keep your hormones in check!  Now,
get out of my apartment!"

     "Fine," Nakorru scoffed.  "I guess I'll face the wolves alone!"  He 
then left the apartment, slammign the door behind him.

     "I'll be sure to leave a bouquet of roses at your funeral," Damien 
chided.  "I hope you don't mind if they're powder-blue."

                                                                                 

LEGEND OF THE SILVER STAR:
CHAPTER 10


Neflyte looked out of his chambers and smiled. He
was always used to extravagant surroundings, and this
was no exception. While he was in Tokyo as Maxfield
Stanton, he was the most handsome person there, drawing
attention from all the females, including Serena and
Raye. However, he let his emotions take over, and he
fell in love with, and died for, Molly Baker. He
promised himself he'd never do that again, no matter
what. Now, his only goal in life was to find his Star
Guardian. He turned his attention to the stars and
commanded, "O, great Sagittarius, help me to find the
one I am searching for; help me to find Prince Andrew!"
A holographic image of the constellation Sagittarius
appeared in front of him, and an image began to take
form after that. The image was that of a young man,
possibly part German, who looked as if he was about to
get in a little bit of trouble.

* * * *

*

He thought he had left the stupid people behind
when he graduated high school. Unfortunately, he was
dead wrong. A few upperclassmen decided that he was
the perfect person to beat up on. "Why me," he
thought.

"Hey, freshman!" one of the upperclassmen yelled,
"Don't you know to respect your higher-ups when you
pass them?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't recognize stupid people,"
he said. "Try again next time so I can ignore you once
again." That got a few laughs from the upperclassmen,
but not from the main one. "Come here, you little
weasel!" The big upperclassman grabbed the freshman by
his collar and growled, "Give me one god reason why I
shouldn't thrash you into the ground..."

"Maybe because you're afraid to try someone your
own size." Everyone turned and looked in the direction
of the voice and was not surprised to find out who it
was. "Well, well, well; if it isn't Damien Gordon,
hotshot QB. Why am I not surprised?"

"I'm not here to surprise you. I'm here to get
you off this freshman's case. What did he ever do to
you?" The upperclassman turned to Damien and said, "I
don't think you need to be gettin' in my business.
What you NEED to do is start showin' up for practice."
That one got to Damien. He casually strode up to him
and looked him directly in his eye, and everyone had to
admire Damien for standing up to him. Granted, he was
about four inches and thirty pounds junior to the guy,
but he stood up to him nonetheless. That took class,
and Damien had tons of that.

"Did you make up that one all by yourself? That's
a REAL winner. Just because I missed football practice
doesn't mean you're in better shape than I am. At
least I work out the entire year; all baseball players
do is work out for a month…and that's during the
season!" The upperclassman tossed the freshman aside
and said, "I may be in a different sport than you-"

"Isn't it true that you're not playing football
because you were too dumb for the team?" The upper-
class man started to grab for Damien, but he stepped
back and assumed his Kempo stance and growled, "Come
with it." The upperclassman looked at him and said,
"You're not worth my time." He then turned to the
freshman and said, "You got lucky this time, freshman.
I'll be looking for you soon." After Damien had made
sure the upperclassman had left, he then turned his
attention to the freshman. "Hey, you all right?"

The freshman got up and said, "Thanks. If you
wouldn't have showed up, he probably would have
flattened me into the ground." Damien smiled at him
and said, "No problem. The name's Damien; what's
yours?"

"I'm Andrew Smith."

* * * *

*

"Could it be?" Neflyte mouthed, the words barely
coming out through the surprise, "Could this be Prince
Andrew?" He watched everything unfold in front of him
and reasoned, "This is Prince Damien he is talking to
now. He has led us to our respective enemies thus far;
why would this one be any different? I must watch more
to make sure."

"You know," Damien said as he walked Andrew to his
next class, "You shouldn't let people push you around
like that. Just because you're a freshman doesn't mean
that everyone can just bully you around. That's not
fair to you. You gotta learn to take a stand against
people like that."

"Thanks," Andrew said. They walked a little
further in silence before Andrew asked, "Why did you do
it?" Damien looked at him and asked, "Do what?"

"Help me out like that?" Damien looked around
before saying, "I don't really like him. He's a jerk.
He tried to push me around when I first got here.
Naturally, it didn't work, but he did give me a run for
my money." They walked a little further before Damien
asked, "So, what's your major?"

"Business Administration. What about you?"

"Computer Programming and Political Science."
Andrew looked at him and uttered, "A double major? How
do you do it?" Damien shrugged and said, "A lot of
hard work, a lot of dedication, a lot of attention to
detail, and a little bit of help from my girlfriend."

"But, you play football." Damien glared at him
and said, "Yeah; so, what does THAT have to do with the
price of tea in China?"

"I always thought that all athletes were-" Damien
knew where this was heading and growled, "If you even
think of calling me a 'jock,' I'll break every bone in
your body." Andrew jumped back and quickly said,
"Woah...sorry, man. I didn't know that was a curse word to you." Damien
didn't even bother to give him a
glance while saying, "How much longer before we reach
your class?"

"Look," Andrew retorted, "I said I was sorry!
Give it a rest!"

"No, you don't understand. If it's one thing I
can't stand is someone calling me a 'jock.' I don't
like the terminology, and I don't want to hear it
again!" Andrew shook his head and questioned, "What
bug crawled up your shorts? Why don't you stop your
whining and accept my apology?" Damien stopped walking
and mouthed, "Whining?" He then marched up to him and
yelled, "You take that back!"

"Why should I? If I'm right, then I'm right!"

Damien was really getting frustrated with Andrew
at the moment. "Look," he sighed, "I don't know where
you're from-"

"Washington, D.C."

"-nor do I care, but...Washington, D.C.? How
interesting...I always knew they had bourgeoisie
females, but bourgeoisie guys? Especially incoming
freshmen? That's a shock to the system."

Now, it was Andrew's turn to be insulted. "You
take that back!"

"Figure the odds! Let me tell you something, Mr.
Smith. I was really concerned with your well being at
one point, but now, I don't really care. So why don't
you just take your pathetic, whiny, bourgeoisie behind
BACK TO WASHINGTON!" He grabbed Andrew by the collar,
then, everything came to a sudden halt. New memories
began flooding Damien and Andrew, and before either of
them knew it, the past was revealed to them in vivid
color. Damien dropped Andrew to the ground and began to
shudder uncontrollably. "It's happening to me again," he
thought. "Andrew," he quivered, "I think you should
get away from me. This is not me being evil, this is
me trying to save your life again. Go away; go far far
away, and forget I ever existed; deal?" Andrew nodded
and took off in the other direction."

"Wait 'til Merc gets a load of this."

* * * *

*

Neflyte watched the entire scene unfold before him
as he poured himself a glass of his special "lemonade."
When Andrew was revealed to be Prince Andrew, Neflyte
grinned. "First, Prince Darien. Next, Prince Damien.
Then, Prince Nakorru. Now, Prince Andrew. The Silver
Star will belong to the NegaVerse very soon." He then
got up and walked over to a chest he had in the corner
of the room. "Which one of the NegaVerse entities
shall I use today? I think I will use Alan and Ann's
Cardian Nacrid." He picked up a card with the image of
Cardian Nacrid and summoned, "Cardian Nacrid, COME
FORTH!" A mysterious flute began playing throughout
his chambers and the card began to metamorphose and
take the form of an evil villain. "I am Nacrid," it
said. "What can I do for you, Lord Neflyte?"

Neflyte looked at his creation and laughed.
"There is a human that I want you to keep an eye on.
He goes by the name of Prince Andrew..."

* * * *

*

"You know what I miss?"

"What?"

"Ice skating!" Lita was furious. Ever since she
came to Birmingham, she had been able to do pretty much
everything she wanted...except go ice skating. She
feared she would forget how if she didn't hurry up. "I
need to find an ice skating rink around here!" Amy
peeked her head over the mountain of books she was
reading long enough to say, "Well, look in the phone
book. I'm sure they have a listing of them. Can you
still read English fluently?"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't remind me," Lita groaned. She
got up and went to the bookcase to pick up the yellow
pages, and she skimmed through the directory until she
found what she was looking for. "Perfect! Alpine Ice
Skating Rink!" She then turned to Amy and said, "Come
on, Ames, let's go!"

"Oh, no," Amy protested. "The last time I went
ice skating, I almost twisted my ankle. I don't want
that to happen again."

"Damien might be there," Lita hinted. "I hear
it's a great cardiovascular workout. Besides, he might
need to work on his legs. There's no better way to do
that than ice skating!"

"I don't think so. Damien's legs are perfect just
the way they are." Lita looked at Amy and asked, "How
do you know?"

"Let's just say that I've seen them work up close
and personal."

"Is there something you've been hiding form me?"
Amy smiled at Lita and said, "It's not what you think.
I just wen to the gym with him one day and watched him
work out. He has very powerful legs."

"Sure, he does," Lita smirked. Amy ignored that
comment and went back to reading her books. Feeling
left out, Lita decided to get dressed and go ice
skating by herself. "Who knows," she thought, "I just
might find myself a boyfriend."
* * * *

*

"I did it again." Damien shut the door behind him
and slid to the ground. He had run all the way from
the Business Administration building to his apartment,
and was understandably out of breath. He looked up at
King Mercury, who was staring at him intently. "What
did you do?"

Damien took a deep breath, released it, and said,
"I found another one."

"Another what?"

"Another Star Guardian." King mercury perked up
and said, "Really? Who?"

"Prince-" Damien was interrupted by a knocking on
the door. "Who is it now? Amy said she was staying at
her place to study." He slid up the door and looked
through the peep hole. He reared his head back, rubbed
his eyes, and looked through again. He turned to King
Mercury and blanched. "I just got all the luck today."

"Who is it?"

"Your boy, Nakorru." He opened the door and
Nakorru casually walked in. "Hey, Damien," he smiled,
"What are you doing today?"

"Studying, going to practice, coming here for
training, and going to sleep. Why?"

"Well, I'm going to the skating rink. Wanna
come?" Damien shot a panicked glance and him and
thought, "If he goes to Valley, he's a dead man." He
then worriedly asked, "You ain't tryin' to commit
suicide, are you?" Nakorru gave Damien an astonished
look and said, "Of course not! Why do you ask?"

"Valley ain't the safest place in the world for
you to go. Hell, I wouldn't even go there!" Nakorru
grimaced and said, "Whoever said anything about going
to Valley? Whoever said anything about roller
skating?"

"You're the one who said you wanted to go the
skating rink." Nakorru laughed at him and said, "I
meant ice skating. I'm going to Alpine. Wanna come?"

"Struck out with Raye, huh?" Nakorru shook his
head and said, "Nope. Haven't even tried."

"And they call me a coward. Give me a few minutes
to change." As Damien walked to the bedroom to change,
King Mercury followed him like a lost puppy. When they
reached the bedroom, King Mercury demanded, "Who did
you find today?"

"Guess. Only I could find two Star Guardians in
the same week." King Mercury was growing impatient
with Damien's riddles. "Who did you find?" Damien
walked over to the closet to get a sweatshirt and said,
"Prince Andrew." King Mercury wandered over to
Damien's bed and plopped down on it and said, "I told
you that you would find them by accident. You will
learn to listen to me soon enough; I do have SOME idea
as to what I am talking about. Now, what are you going
to do about football practice today?"

"I'm not going," he responded. "I told Coach
Brown that I don't see a need for me to even be there
if I wasn't playing. I told him I'd work out on my
own, and that I'd be ready for practice Monday
morning."

"Are you going to watch the game?"

"Sure, I am. And, I'm also flying to New York for
the draft next Friday."

"Cute. I ask a simple question, and I get a
sarcastic answer." Damien winked at him and King
Mercury asked, "Will you be back in time for training?"

"I should," he responded. "Besides, I really
don't ice skate. I used to go for the snow bunnies,
but that's not entirely practical anymore, now, is it?"

"No, it is not. I do not think Princess Amy would
care for that too much." Damien went over to the bed,
sat beside him, and said, "Anyway, I think it'll be
fun. You know, give me a chance to relax after
everything that's happened to me as of late." King
Mercury glowered at him and said, "What has happened to
you as of late?"

"You know, the whole Star Guardian thin, finding
out that I'm supposed to save the universe and
everything, you know, crazy stuff like that." He
walked out of his bedroom, collected Nakorru off the
sofa, and grabbed his hat from the lamp he tossed it on
earlier. He turned to the bedroom and said, "See ya
later, Merc!" With that, they were off to the Alpine
Ice Skating Rink.

* * * *

*

Lita walked into the Alpine Ice Skating Rink and
immediately felt out of place. The rink was full of
couples and she was all by herself. She tried to blend
in with the crowd, but her six-foot frame made it kind
of difficult. So, she decided to just enjoy herself
instead. Granted, she was by herself, but she knew how
to have fun for one. She went to put on her skates,
and when she stepped out on the ice, she immediately
fell. "I guess I'm a little out of practice," she said
to herself. She picked herself up and tried again,
this time with great success. As she flowed gracefully
from side to side, the music pulsating in her ears, her
mind wandered back to when she dated Ken back in Japan.

* * * *

*

She was so happy. The one guy that knew her
inside and out had just told her that he harbored a
secret crush on her for some time, and had finally
decided to tell her. She honestly didn't know how to
react at first.

"But, Ken," she said, "We're friends. What would
happen if we broke up?"

"Well," Ken sighed, a dreamy look over his face,
"I'd still be your friend, no matter what happens.
Nothing can ever change that." Lita was so confused.
"If I do date you," she said, "I would be afraid to
even touch you." Ken shrugged his shoulders and said,
"That's no matter to me, Lita. All I know is that I
love you, I've always loved you, and I'll always love
you. You don't have to touch me at all if you don't
want to. All that's important to me is your
happiness." Lita blushed; no one had ever told her
that before.

"That's flattering, Ken; it really is. But, you
are aware that I have another suitor." Ken shrugged
his shoulders again and said, "I'm not worried. It's
just that Tatewaki Kuno guy. He has about as much
common sense as a rock." Just then, a wooden Kendo
sword appeared out of nowhere, and a voice cried,
"HOLD!" Ken and Lita turned around to see just the
menace they were taking about. "Upperclassman Kuno!"

Tatewaki Kuno stood at 6'2" and weighed 217lbs.
He was dressed in a Kendo uniform and was prone to
carrying that little wooden sword around with him. He
had annoying brown eyes and equally annoying brown hair
that he was accustomed to brushing back whenever he
thought he made a sensible comment. Unfortunately, the
ration of supposed sensible comments to ACTUAL sensible
comments were a million to none. "Ah, fairest Lita,"
he said in his usual iambic pentameter, "Of all the
women in fair Tokyo, none are as fair as you. Come, my
dear; ALLOW ME TO DATE WITH YOU!" He ran up to Lita,
arms spread open for an embrace, but he ended up
embracing a book bag instead. Ken swung his hefty
satchel right into Kuno's face.

"Nice shot, Ken," Lita beamed. Kuno, on the other
hand, was less than thrilled. "Ken Urwara," he said,
"Come from another school to challenge the great
Tatewaki Kuno. Very well; I accept." Ken looked at
Kuno and said, "I have no interest in fighting you,
Kuno. Just leave Lita alone, got it?"

"WHAT?" Kuno growled. "And who are you to give
orders to the great Tatewaki Kuno? Am I not Blue
Thunder?!" Lita cracked him in the back of the head
and answered, "No, you're not." She then turned to Ken
and said, "Come on, Ken; let's go."

* * * *

*

Now, two years later, she had broken up with Ken,
but remained good friends throughout. She was
wondering how he was doing, but the sight of one guy
made her forget all about Ken. He stood about 6'1",
looked kind of built, and he had the most beautiful
blue eyes she had ever seen. She sauntered over to
him, making sure not to trip over her own skates, and
she succeeded in running into a wall. Fortunately, it
was the wall he was leaning on. "Oh, my God," he said
after regaining his composure, "Are you all right,
miss?" Lita pushed herself off the wall and said,
"Yes; thank you."

"That was quite a spill there, miss...miss..."

"Jamison. Lita Jamison." Andrew was all smiles
after seeing her glittering brown eyes. "Hello, Lita,
I'm Andrew Smith. I'm an assistant manager here at
Alpine, so-"

"You're a manager?" Andrew shrugged his shoulders
and said, "Yes. My major is Business Administration,
and I thought, what better way to learn Business
Administration first hand than to help run a business?
It's kind of rough, but the job has its perks. It's
not everyday a beautiful girl falls at your feet." He
began to smile and blush and added, "That must sound
kind of silly, doesn't it?"

"Actually," Lita grinned herself, "I was thinking
sort of the same thing."

"Really?"

"Really."

* * * *

*

Damien and Nakorru walked into Alpine Ice Skating
Rink and went completely oblivious to the crowd.
Everyone was skating to their heart's content, and
Damien was fine with that. The way he figured it, the
longer they skated and didn't notice he was around, the
fewer autographs he'd have to sign. "Well, Damien,"
Nakorru said, "Where do you wanna begin?" Damien shook
his head and said, "Nowhere. I'm not the ice skating
kind of person. I have no interest in it, and I think
I'll just watch you...if you don't mind."

"I don't care. Just don't laugh when I fall."
Damien grinned and said, "Don't worry; I will."
Nakorru started to blurt out a retort until he looked
over and saw the assistant manager talking to someone
that looked very familiar. "Hey, Damien?"

"'Hey, Damien' what?" he responded while looking
at a poster for a pep rally that was at least two years
old. "Isn't that Lita talking to the manager?" Damien
stopped reading the poster and looked over in the
direction that Nakorru so inauspiciously pointed to.
"Looks like her; why?" Then, he looked at the guy she
was talking to. "Uh-oh."

"What? What's with the 'uh-oh,' Damien?"

"If that's Lita, and the guy she's talking to is
Andrew, then that means..."

"The NegaVerse is around here," Nakorru reasoned.
"We've gotta get over there." They began to run over
to the rink when they saw the ice in the rink begin to
crack. This didn't escape the attention of Lita and
Andrew, either. "What on earth is happening?" Andrew
questioned. "There are no earthquakes here."

"This isn't an earthquake," Lita answered.
"Something bad's about to happen."

"Great," he muttered, "Why does something bad have
to happen on my shift?" He hopped over the wall and
slid over to center ice to get a closer look. What he
WASN'T expecting to see was a tentacle to shoot out of
the crack in the ice and grab him by the throat.
Damien saw this and instantly got depressed. "Aw,
damn," he said. "Why can't I have a normal day off?"
He pulled Nakorru off to the side and said, "You got
any roses?"

"No; why?" Damien shook his head, flicked his
wrists, and three powder blue roses materialized out of
nowhere. He handed one to Nakorru and said, "Be ready
for anything." Nakorru nodded his head in agreement
and said, "Right."

* * * *

*

Meanwhile, Lita was trying to get Andrew out of
the clutches of the tentacle when a blast of energy
knocked her back. "What the heck was that?" she asked.
The ground began to shudder more violently than before,
and a figure slowly crept out of the ice and into plain
view. The figure was somewhat humanoid, somewhat
feminine, but grotesquely evil at the same time. More
tentacles shot out of its head and grabbed several
other innocent bystanders and began to slowly drain
them of their energy. "Who are you?" Lita asked.

"I am Cardian Nacrid, and I am here to retrieve
the Jupiter Star Fragment from Prince Andrew, and there
is nothing you can do about it!" Nacrid answered. To
punctuate her words, she sent an energy blast directly
at Lita, hitting her dead in the chest. Lita went
flying through the air before landing with a thud
against the wall. "I've got to do something," she
said, "But what? I'm completely helpless against this
one, and besides, I don't want to risk injuring Andrew.
But, if I don't do something, he'll die!" Finally, she
got up and said, "No matter what, I'm gonna put a stop
to this!" She reached in her pocket and pulled out her
transformation wand. Damien looked over at her and
whined, "What the hell is she doing?"

"Jupiter...Star...POWER!"

"Lita.....NO!" Damien screamed, but it was too late.
A transformation began to take place, and Lita Jamison
disappeared, only to be replaced by Sailor Jupiter.
"Damn it, Lita!" Damien yelled, "You ain't supposed to
show every damn body!" He then turned to Nakorru and
yelled, "Come on, Nakorru!" Nakorru looked at him and
asked, "'Come on' what? I ain't goin' out there?"

"You're going out there, and you'll like it." Not
wanting to get back on Damien's bad side, he decided to
go ahead with it. "If you insist, fearless leader."
Damien shook his head and muttered, "Whatever, man.
Just do your thing."

"Mars...Star...Guardian...POWER!"

"Mercury...Star...Guardian...POWER!"

Another transformation took place, and Kodanna
Nakorru and Damien Gordon were replaced with Prince
Nakorru and Prince Damien. "We've got to get the odds
going in our favor," Prince Nakorru said. "You're
right," Prince Damien responded, "Go for what you know,
pyro!"

"Mars Nuclear Fire.....ENFLAME!" Prince Nakorru sent
a blazing fireball directly into the ice rink, melting
it instantly. This did not escape the attention of
Nacrid or Sailor Jupiter. "Help is on the way, Sailor
Jupiter," Prince Nakorru called out. "Right!" Prince
Damien added. He then pulled out a powder blue rose,
and threw it in the direction of Cardian Nacrid's
tentacles, specifically the one that held Andrew
hostage. The rose sliced through the tentacle, causing
Cardian Nacrid to undergo extreme pain and displeasure.
As gravity began to take control of Andrew and send him
plummeting into the shallow water below, Sailor Jupiter
ran over to him and caught him at the last minute.
"Are you all right, Andrew," Sailor Jupiter asked.

"I'm fine," he responded, "But the rink's a
mess...Princess Lita." Sailor Jupiter looked at him
and blushed. "Prince Andrew?!" Prince Damien saw
their reaction and decided to take matters into his own
hands. "Andrew, CATCH!" He threw a powder blue rose
in their direction, and Andrew snagged it out of thin
air. "Hold it in the air and say, Jupiter Star
Guardian Power! You'll know what to do from there."
Andrew looked over at Prince Damien, then to Sailor
Jupiter and nodded his head. "Sure thing, but
somebody's gotta take care of this creature here."

"Don't worry about that," Prince Damien said, "We
got this!"

"If you insist." Cardian Nacrid saw Prince Damien
and Prince Nakorru and yelled, "You will NOT stop me!"
She jumped over Sailor Jupiter and Andrew and headed
for Prince Damien. Prince Damien pulled out his sword
and was ready for anything. Just then, Andrew decided
to take charge of the situation.

"Jupiter...Star...Guardian...POWER!"

Andrew began to twirl the rose above his head
rapidly, and the rose began to glow and take the form
of a discus. A light shot out of the disc and covered
his entire body. His normal clothes began to dis-
appear, and the armor of the Star Guardians took its
place. The Jupiter Star Fragment appeared dead center
on his chest, followed by a chain that linked itself to
his cape guards. Finally, the rose he was twirling
around turned into a sword and he sheathed it, crossed
his arms, and the transformation was done. Andrew
Smith was transformed into Prince Andrew, Defender of
the Planet Jupiter. He took one look at his armor,
looked at Sailor Jupiter and the others, and said,
"Wicked cool!" He then turned his attention to Cardian
Nacrid and said, "All right, buddy boy; it's pay back
time!"

"And, just what do you think you're doing?" Sailor
Jupiter asked. "Watch and see," Prince Andrew
responded. "Zeus Thunderbolt..."

"Wait a minute," Prince Damien started, "If Prince
Andrew's from Jupiter, and his elemental power is
lightning, then..."

"...we're about to have a fried Star Guardian on
our hands," Prince Nakorru finished. They both began
running to the rink, yelling, "Get out of the water!
You'll fry yourself!" Prince Andrew stood there in
mid pose, with a dazed look on his face before
realizing that he was standing in six inches of water.
"Oh, boy," he said.

"TATEWA-JEDOUKAI-ZODA-KEN...Mercury Ice
Fire.....STRIKE!" Prince Damien's Mercury Ice
Fire attack went screaming towards Cardian Nacrid's
back, knocking it across the rink. "Uh-oh," he said
after noticing it was starting to get up, "That didn't
quite work."


"You dare to attack me," Cardian Nacrid bellowed.
"You'll pay for that!" Prince Andrew grabbed Sailor
Jupiter, jumped out of the water, turned to Cardian
Nacrid, and said, "That's where you're wrong! The only
person who's gonna pay for anything is you! And guess
what; the rent's due!" He turned to Sailor Jupiter and
asked, "You ready?" Sailor Jupiter responded with an
enthusiastic, "Oh, yeah."

"ZEUS THUNDERBOLT..."

"JUPITER THUNDERBOLT..." Cardian Nacrid looked at
them and shuddered. It's time was up. Prince Damien
looked at Prince Nakorru and said, "That's gonna hurt."
Prince Nakorru nodded in agreement and shuddered. "No
kidding..."

"CHARGE!"

"ZAP!" Two bolts of lightning went di-
rectly for the jugular of Cardian Nacrid, and that,
coupled with the fact that it was sitting in the water,
fried the NegaVerse monster to no end. After it was
all said and done, the only thing that was left was a
smoldering card, the image of Nacrid turning into an
opaque mark of destruction. Prince Andrew breathed a
sigh of relief. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"
Prince Damien looked at him and said, "You ain't seen
the half of it."

* * * *

*

"So, you are Prince Andrew," King Mercury said.
"You are skinnier than I remembered you from earlier."
Andrew looked at King Mercury and said, "Who is this
decrepit old miser?"

"That decrepit old miser just happens to be the
trainer of the Star Guardians," Damien answered. King
Mercury put that idea to rest, though. "I am not the
actual trainer, I am just helping you guys out. The
actual trainer is not ready to show his face yet."

"Cute," Damien said, "And you say I speak in
riddles." Andrew wasn't getting the whole story here,
and he was desperate to find out. "What is this 'Star
Guardian' business? What is a 'Silver Star' and what
does all of this have to do with me?" King Mercury
patted him on the shoulder and said, "Have a seat,
Prince Andrew. I have a little story to tell you..."

* * * *

*

"NEFLYTE!" Queen Beryl had seen enough. She was
getting sick and tired of her generals coming back
empty-handed. Every general she sent out came back in
defeat, and that was getting pretty old. Neflyte
appeared in front of her and mocked a respectful bow to
her. "Yes, Queen Beryl?"

"Do not play coy with me, Neflyte. You know why I
am calling you here." Neflyte shook his head and said,
"No, I do not. I'm sure you are going to tell me,
though." Queen Beryl looked at him with fire in her
eyes and yelled, "How dare you talk to me in that-"

"Is this important, or are you just going to
scream and yell like a banshee with no purpose?"
Neflyte returned her gaze with an even more intense
look of fire in his eyes. "Or better yet, are you
going to tell me that Cardian Nacrid failed? Give me a
break; I already know this. Trust me; I keep a watch
over my messengers."

"Has it crossed your mind that maybe these pa-
thetic humans are getting their acts together?" Queen
Beryl asked. Neflyte scoffed at her and said, "I am
not worried about them getting their acts together.
Let them try. They are going to fail anyway. The
power of the Silver Star is too immense for them to
handle right now. They do not have the training or the
prowess to use it to the potential that we can use it
as." Queen Beryl sat back in her throne and said, "I
am amazed, Neflyte. You have been studying these
humans very well."

"Yes, I have," Neflyte responded. "Now, I would
like to be left alone so I can continue my studies."
As he began to fade away, he added, "And, please do not
summon me anymore. The only thing you are doing is
making matters worse. Not to mention giving me a
headache."