Chapter One Mina Aino looked around her, smiling at the feel of the warm sun on her face and the sight of the blue, cloudless sky above her. Summer had finally arrived in Tokyo, and the weather was absolutely beautiful. She was on her way to a meeting at the Cherry Hill Temple, and since it was such a great day, she'd decided to walk, cutting across the park to get there. It felt good--Mina hadn't had much spare time recently, and this was a rare treat for her. As she walked, she let her mind wander back once again over the events of the last month. It had certainly been an eventful one, even though she hadn't been conscious for most of the excitement. Her friends had filled her in, of course, with Darien doing most of the talking, since he and Lita had been the only ones conscious throughout, and she hadn't been in any mood to talk at that point. Thinking of that, Mina slowed down, remembering how upset her friend had been the night they had destroyed the Dream Creeper. Poor girl--it had to be tough, finding your destined love and then losing him, all in the space of a few days. She hadn't really been acting like herself since then, either; she drifted off into daydreams far more frequently than she had before, and she never seemed more than half-present at their meetings. Well, at least all of the Scouts were healthy again, if not completely happy. They had recovered from the Dream Creeper with no ill effects. Mina shuddered at that thought, remembering the horrible nightmare she had been trapped in--fighting the Creeper with all of her most powerful attacks, none of which had any effect. It had been terrifying, but thankfully, she had been saved from it by the Dream Lord and Sailor Jupiter, who together had fought the Creeper and forced it to release them. Mina wondered if they would ever learn what had really happened that night--since the Dream Lord had vanished without a trace, and Lita couldn't remember any details of that night, it seemed unlikely that they would ever get the full story. Thinking about the Dream Lord reminded Mina of the story that Darien had told them, about the four young princes who had been abducted from the palace of Queen Serenity. One of them, Ethan of Callisto, had been the Dream Lord, and he was now gone. No one knew what had happened to the other three princes. Which one am I destined to be with? Mina wondered to herself, and where is he now? Lost in thought, she turned a corner and collided head-on with a person coming from that direction. She heard a muffled grunt of surprise. "Oh, I am so sorry!" she apologized, steadying herself. She looked up at a boy with short blond hair and very, very blue eyes. "I--I wasn't watching where I was going. I'm sorry." She said again. "Yeah, no problem," the boy answered, laughter in his voice. "You're all right?" She nodded, blushing furiously. "Um--yeah. I should go--sorry." With that, she turned towards the temple again, utterly embarrassed. That was the kind of stunt Serena would normally pull! There was one thing, though...she turned back towards the guy, who hadn't moved. "Do I know you?" she asked him. "You look really familiar." He shook his head, looking puzzled. "No, I don't think so," he answered. "I'm new in town. Just moved here." "Oh. Well, nice to meet you--maybe I'll see you around. I'm Mina, by the way." "Gage," he responded. "Nice to meet you, Mina." There was silence, until Mina broke the awkward moment. "Well, I really should be going now--see ya!" She turned back towards the temple and started walking again. A block later, she stopped dead. "Gage," she whispered to herself. "Oh wow, GAGE!' She turned, looking back the way she had come, but the boy had long since disappeared. She turned again, and ran all the way to the meeting. She burst into the courtyard without slowing down, and ran over to the other girls, who had already gathered. "I found him!" she yelled, panting breathlessly. "He's here!" She dropped to her knees, gasping for air. The others waited patiently for her to explain. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. "You'll never believe who I just ran into," she told them. "Gage. As in Prince Gage of Ganymede. He's here in Tokyo!" The other four girls stared at her in amazement. "Are you sure?" "Where did you see him?" "Did he recognize you?" "Does he know who you are?" All four of them spoke at exactly the same moment. Mina did her best to answer. "Yes, I'm sure. It was definitely him--it was the oddest feeling, like I recognized him or something. Somehow, I just knew who it was. I don't think he recognized me, though. I just bumped into him at the corner--it didn't really hit me until later, but I'm sure it was him, I just know it!" "I wonder what he's doing here," Raye mused. "I mean, it seems like pretty convenient timing, right after that whole Dream Creeper thing, doesn't it? "There hasn't been any trouble since then, though," Amy pointed out. "It's been completely quiet." "Too quiet, maybe," Serena said suddenly. "I mean, think about it. Since when do we get to live normal lives? We don't get holidays, remember?" "Serena's right," Raye answered. The other girls all turned to her, wide-eyed with shock. "Well, she is! First time in her life, maybe, but it HAS been quieter than normal the last few weeks. We should be expecting something big." "Mina, where is Artemis? He was supposed to be with you." Luna's question drew their attention for the first time to the white cat's absence. Mina laughed. "Well...he was with me, actually, but we cut through the park...um..." "And? Where is he? "Chasing a squirrel. Last time I saw him, anyway." That statement set off a round of giggles as the girls pictured their friend and mentor behaving like a...well, like a cat. A normal cat, which of course he was anything but. Luna just sniffed haughtily. "Well, then, we shall just have to continue without him. We've been sensing a strange energy source in the city again...but of course that could be explained by the prince's presence." "Too easy," Lita said, entering the conversation for the first time. "Nothing is ever that simple for us." She sighed deeply, drawing sympathetic looks from her friends. She didn't seem to see them, though, or anything else; she was already staring off into space again. "Um...Lita's right, of course," Amy continued. "There must be a reason for Gage to be here. I don't think we have much chance of guessing it, though." "Not likely," Raye agreed. "Look, Mina, if you run into him again, don't let him get away!" "You're telling me!" Mina answered, looking almost as dreamy as Lita now. "He was SO cute..." She sighed happily. Serena, as usual, was twitching restlessly. "This is just stupid," she complained. "Why are we all sitting here? We're not going to figure it out right now anyway. And it's such a beautiful day..." Her voice trailed off wistfully. Luna sighed almost as deeply as Lita had, looking around the room. Amy was the only one paying any kind of attention...even Raye was staring out the window now, watching the crows in the temple courtyard. The black cat shook her head in disgust. "No discipline," she muttered, "Hmmph! Very well then, I can see there's no point in continuing today." "YAY!" Luna was almost trampled as the girls ran out the door. As they flew out through the gates, Artemis almost met the same fate...he watched them go with a puzzled expression, then turned to Luna. "I thought there was a meeting today?" he asked. She just stared at him for a moment, then lifted her head--and her tail--high in the air and walked away. Bewildered, he watched her go, barely hearing her final words. "Hmmph! Squirrels indeed. Unbelievable!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Two The five girls ended up, of course, at the park, with Serena leading the way and the others struggling to keep up with her...a hopeless attempt, since there was no one in the world who could catch Serena when she was on her way to an ice cream stand. They reached her just as she turned away from it, though, and they all continued on together, just walking around the lake and enjoying their time off. They ended up on the lawn at one side of the park, lying on their backs and staring up at the clouds. "That one looks just like a horse, don't you think?" Raye asked, pointing skyward. "Yeah, and this one looks like a bunny!" Serena cut in, waving frantically towards her chosen cloud. With the sun so warm and nothing pressing for them to do, it was easy for the girls to daydream, and Mina was doing just that. Gazing up into the clouds, all she could see was Gage's face, the blue of the sky melting into the shade that his eyes had been. Sighing happily, she imagined meeting him again, having him recognise her...having him wrap his arms around her... "Lita? Lita, where are you going?" Amy was sitting up now, watching the retreating back of her friend. Lita was running towards the nearest bridge, such a sudden change from their relaxed mood that all the other girls could do was sit in complete surprise. "I saw him, Amy!" She called back over her shoulder. "I have to find him, wait for me!" The four remaining girls exchanged bewildered glances, but stayed where they were. Fifteen minutes later, Lita came back, looking as if all the energy she'd just shown had been drained from her. She flopped down onto the grass beside the other girls, breathing heavily. Her eyes, Mina noticed, were red. "What happened?" She asked, wanting to draw attention away from the other girl's tears. Lita blinked gratefully, taking a moment to answer. "I was-just looking at the clouds, and then-I started daydreaming, I guess, about Ethan. I was only thinking about him, at first, and then I heard something, so I looked to see what it was- and it was him, I'm sure of it. He was standing on the bridge, right there, and then he started walking away from us...I had to follow him, I just had to!" "Of course you did," Serena answered reassuringly. "But you didn't find him?" Lita blinked again, on the verge of tears, and silently shook her head. "He was out of sight by the time I got there. I must have turned the wrong way or something." "Well, at least you know he's alive," Amy put in, "You'll find him, given time. Just be patient." The five girls sat in sympathetic silence for a few moments, each wishing she could give more comfort to the unhappy brunette. After a short time, though, Raye jumped to her feet, looking at her watch in dismay. "Oh no! I have to run, guys, I'm sorry. Grandfather's going to kill me if I don't get home before he does!" She hurried away in the direction of the temple. "It is getting kind of late," Lita said. "I should get going, too. I wanted to do some baking for the meeting tomorrow, since you're all coming over." She slowly got to her feet and started walking in the opposite direction from Raye. It was surely just coincidence that she happened to walk across that bridge again... Mina, Serena, and Amy looked at each other, shrugged, and decided to disband. They headed off in different directions, each lost in her own private thoughts. Within a few footsteps, Mina was thinking about Gage again, hoping that she would see him again soon. Luck was with her; she had travelled barely two blocks before she did see him, coming up out of a subway station. He looked exactly as she remembered, and she was about to call out to him when she suddenly saw that he wasn't alone. He was holding tightly to the hand of a very attractive woman, and as she watched, they moved together and shared a passionate kiss. Mina felt a surge of jealously coming over her. Just then, though, the light changed, making the whole scene somehow clearer, and she saw that it wasn't Gage at all. In fact, she couldn't see how she had made the mistake in the first place, since the man looked nothing like the prince she was looking for. Puzzled, she shook her head and walked away, never noticing the man standing a short distance behind her. The man with blond hair and blue, blue eyes, who slowly returned his outstretched hand to his side, gazing after the young sailor scout with a thoughtful expression on his face. The man who, when she turned a corner and passed out of sight, swept a golden cloak about himself, and vanished as quickly as he had appeared. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Three At Lita's apartment the next day, the mood was very different from the relaxed one of the day before. The first thing Mina noticed when she walked in was how tired everyone looked, as though none of them had slept the night before; the second thing was that Serena and Raye seemed to be fighting again, because Serena was pointedly ignoring her friend. Amy looked slightly worried, normal for her when the other girls were fighting, and when Lita walked into the room with a tray of cookies, Mina was shocked to see just how worn out she looked. "There you go, guys, just out of the oven." Lita told them as she set the tray down on the table. The other girls rushed to try them, but even then, Mina saw, Serena wasn't showing quite her usual enthusiasm for any kind of food. "Weren't you going to bake last night?" She asked Lita, who looked suddenly sheepish. "Well, I was...but I got home really late, so I saved it for this morning." Curious, Mina only gave her friend a quizzical look, wondering what had kept her out so late. Lita blushed, further mystifying her friends. "I...um...I got lost." With that, she had everyone's attention. Lita lived only a few blocks from the park, within easy walking distance, and she must have travelled between the two places hundreds of times. Artemis was the first to break the surprised silence. "You got lost?" He demanded incredulously. "How?" The girl's blush deepened; now she looked truly embarrassed. "I don't really know," she confessed. "I just started walking home, and then I guess I turned the wrong way. When I stopped, I had no idea where I was. It took me forever to figure it out." What she didn't mention was how nothing, no matter where she turned, had looked familiar to her; even the park, when she had returned to it, had seemed out of place somehow. She had walked past her apartment building three times before it had finally seemed like the right place to go. "I was just really tired, I guess. Not paying enough attention." There was a note in her voice that warned the other girls to change the subject, and Serena promptly obliged. "Well, don't worry, Lita, you aren't the only one that got lost on the way home last night." Her voice was icy, and as she spoke she shot a glare at Raye, who looked utterly confused. "What are you talking about, Serena? I went straight to the temple. I wasn't lost." "Straight to the temple, hmm? Then why did I see you over in the rose garden? With Darien?" The tone was accusing, angry. Raye just looked bewildered. "I told you, I went straight home. I didn't go anywhere near the rose garden!" "Don't lie to me, Raye, I saw you kissing him! You just couldn't wait to get me out of the picture, could you?" Serena was yelling now, her eyes full of angry tears, and Raye's mood was beginning to match. "What? You're off your rocker, Serena. Darien and I were over a long time ago, and you know it!" "Liar!" "You're crazy, Serena, you must be seeing things!" "Why you backstabbing little-" "HEY!" Mina's yell cut Serena off, and both girls turned to stare at her. "This is going nowhere! Stop screaming at each other and just calm down, ok?" The two were still shooting death-glares at each other, but at least they were quiet. "Ok. Now, Serena, do you want to tell us what this is about? Calmly," she added just in time. The blond-haired girl took a deep breath. "Last night, on my way home, I saw Raye in the rose garden at the park. With Darien. They were holding hands, and then I saw them kissing!" Her voice was rising again. "I saw it, I know it was them!" "It couldn't have been," Raye broke in. "You must have seen someone else. I went straight to the temple, and I haven't seen Darien in weeks." "But I saw you!" Serena wailed. "Don't lie to me, I saw you!" "I'm not lying, Serena! It wasn't me! And besides, if Darien has a girlfriend, it's none of YOUR business. He dumped you, remember?" With that, Serena was speechless; her eyes filled with tears, and then she started crying in earnest. Without another word, she got up and ran from the room, leaving the others staring at Raye in something close to horror. She in turn glared back at them all, still angry, then shook her head in disgust and stormed out of the room as well. Several minutes passed before anyone was even able to think about speaking. "Wow," Lita said at last, content to leave it at that. "She must have made a mistake." Amy answered the question they were all thinking. "Raye wouldn't do that to her." "No, of course not," Mina said. "Of course not." They all sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes longer, seeing little point in continuing the meeting. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Four "Well," Mina said eventually, "I guess we might as well leave, right? Amy?" "Yes, I suppose so...we certainly won't accomplish anything today." Amy sighed, never happy when her friends fought. "Can I come with you guys?" Lita asked, strangely timid for her. "I don't really want to stay here alone right now. I think too much." "Yeah, of course!" Mina answered. The three girls left the building, followed closely by Luna and Artemis, and out of habit headed towards the Crown game centre. They walked halfway there without saying a word, all of them sunk deep in thought and worry about Serena and Raye. The two fought all the time, but never this seriously. "Girls!" Luna hissed suddenly. "There's something wrong, look around!" The three did so, seeing nothing wrong until they noticed several people nearby who looked almost frozen, moving but with a complete lack of awareness on their faces. "Trouble," Mina muttered. Just then they heard the sound of roaring coming from the next block, and took that as their cue. "Venus Star Power!" "Mercury Star Power!" "Jupiter Star Power!" They ran around the corner and saw their monster, just as expected; human-shaped, but oddly blurry around the edges, making it hard to look at. Wasting no time, they attacked. "Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" "Jupiter Thunder Crash!" That definitely got the thing's attention. With another roar, it spun and ran straight at them, seeming to expand as it did so. As the monster charged, Venus was right in front, knowing every moment that this battle, like every one, might be her last. The thought never even slowed her; there was far too much at stake for her to act selfishly, in any fight. Besides, she couldn't bear to stand back and watch her friends get hurt; none of them could, and so they fought together. "Mercury Bubbles Blast!" "Jupiter Thunder Dragon!" "Venus Love Chain Encircle!" The combined attacks slammed into the beast, halting its progress and bringing it to its knees. Within moments, though, it seemed to shake them off, and rose again. With a wordless cry, it shot a beam of black energy into their midst, forcing the girls to leap apart. An eerie grin appeared on the thing's face, and it turned slightly, throwing the next attack straight at Sailor Venus. She dodged it easily, moving slightly farther away from the other girls. The three of them attacked again, and the creature again retaliated-directly at Mina. She frowned, realizing that it hadn't attacked her friends at all, and an idea came to her. Knowing it was too risky to tell the girls her plan, she simply acted, hoping they would understand. She attacked one more time, then started running, sure she had its attention. When she had circled opposite her friends- narrowly escaping several more of the vicious beams-she stopped. "Venus Meteor Shower!" She cried, and the other girls attacked simultaneously. Once again they brought the monster to its knees, but it again recovered quickly. Now they were starting to worry; with Sailor Moon nowhere in sight, and not likely to appear, they could be in serious trouble. At least she'd managed to draw it away from her friends, though. "Venus Love Chain-" She was cut off as the monster attacked once again, jumping to the side to avoid the black beam. This time, though, she wasn't quite as lucky; the energy caught her shoulder as she moved, sending a searing pain through her and knocking her to the ground. She heard the other girls gasp, and then, as the beast drew back its hand for the attack that would finish her, a brilliant silver-gold light appeared, enveloping the creature in dazzling colour. The light was blinding, and when it faded, the creature was gone. As one, the girls turned towards the source of the light, seeing their mysterious benefactor for the first time. He was standing behind them, effortlessly floating high in the air. The sun, behind him, was painfully bright, making it impossible to see details. He was a shadow, wrapped in gold. Mina stepped forward, inexplicably drawn to the figure before her. At the movement, the man shifted slightly, turning to watch her. Blue eyes bored down into hers, sharp as a hawk's, stopping her in her tracks with the force of the connection she felt as the man smiled down at her. "You're still very brave, aren't you, Nikko?" He said, his voice deep and soft. "Just as I remember you." He moved slightly away, holding his cloak in both hands as he turned. "Gage-wait-" she called out, stepping towards him, but he was already gone. Mina stayed standing, clutching her injured arm, staring at the spot where he had been. "Wow," Lita said after a moment, breaking the silence. "Who was that guy?" "That," Mina answered softly, still stunned from that electric bond, "was Gage of Ganymede." The three of them stood a long time after, simply staring at the sky. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Five Meanwhile, Raye Hino was absolutely fuming as she swept the temple courtyard. Physical labour usually took her mind off her problems and helped to calm her temper; but it was having no effect on her now. "Stupid Serena," she muttered under her breath. "As if she thinks I would do that to her. Me! Her best friend!" She was, at the moment, too furious to let herself realise that part of the anger was fuelled by guilt. She had regretted her words as soon as they had left her mouth, but was certainly in no mood to take them back now. Still, though, the repetitive motion and her own common sense were working to calm her down, and the more she thought about it the worse she felt. She was still angry that Serena would accuse her of such a thing; but then, they'd all been under a lot of pressure lately, and it was easy enough to make mistakes, right? Sighing, she put the broom away and went into the temple. Ten restless minutes later, she came back out, checked her watch, and decided she didn't want to be alone at the temple for the rest of the day. Instead, she headed over to the park; she found the lake soothing, making it easier for her to meditate, and she definitely needed some peace of mind. She had just reached the park gate when she had a sudden feeling of being watched. Trusting her instincts, she turned slightly, seeing nothing behind her in either direction, until she looked up. A little distance away, she saw a familiar silhouette standing on a rooftop. It couldn't be, though, she thought to herself; why would Serena be watching her? Puzzled, she shook the feeling off and continued into the park. A little way further, a flash of motion caught the corner of her eye, and she looked just in time to see the quick withdrawal of a person nearby-a person with distinctive blond hair who obviously didn't want to be seen. Irritated now, Raye walked on, only moments away from the soothing water she had come for. If Serena wanted to follow her, that was her problem. She hadn't gone very far before she saw Serena again, standing all alone at the edge of the lake. Her friend was watching her with a predatory gleam in her eyes, her lips curved in a half- smile with nothing soft about it at all. Startled, Raye stopped, just watching as the other girl came a few steps closer. She paused just out of reach and grinned cruelly. "Got you that time, didn't I, Raye?" she gloated. "They ate up every word. And it must really hurt, knowing you did half the work yourself. Lost your temper again, didn't you, Raye." She laughed. "Hurts your credibility, you know." Astonished, Raye was slow to react. "What? Serena, what are you talking about?" Serena's expression turned suddenly vicious. "What I'm talking about," she answered, biting off each word, "is that you will NEVER challenge my leadership again. In fact, by the time I'm through, you won't even be a Sailor Scout. How does THAT feel, hmm, Raye? Surprised to see I'm smarter than you thought?" Raye simply stared at the gloating, cruel monster that her friend had become, only one thing running through her mind. "But Serena-why?" Beyond that, there was only the mounting anger. * * * Twenty minutes later, Lita, Mina, and Amy entered the park, looking now for their friends so they could tell them about the monster's attack. They walked around for a while, seeing no sign of either girl, until- "Look!" Lita called out, pointing towards the lake. "That's Raye, isn't it?" It was indeed, but she showed no reaction at their approach. As they came closer, they could see that she was glaring-but there was no substance behind it, no awareness at all. Except for the fact that she was standing up, they would have said she was unconscious. "Raye?" Mina said softly. When there was no answer, she reached out to shake the girl's shoulder. Her friend simply crumpled, falling to the ground, her eyes still wide open and unblinking. "What's wrong with her?" Lita whispered, voicing the question in each of their minds. "She's breathing normally," Amy noted. "And her heartrate is normal...she seems just fine, except for...that." They were still gathered around Raye's still form when Serena found them, so absorbed in the problem before them that all of them jumped at her voice. "What-what happened?" she asked, as horrified as the rest of them. "We don't know," Mina answered. "We just found her like this. Just-gone." They all passed several more minutes in silent indecision. "Let's take her back to my house," Lita said finally. "At least it's a little better than just lying here on the grass." They all agreed, following Lita as she carried Raye the few blocks to her apartment. They made it as far as the front doors before a familiar roaring sound stopped them in their tracks. Turning as one, they saw another monster; this one shaped like some kind of nightmare hound, but with the same strange blurring at its edges to link it with the first one. Lita gently propped Raye up in the entranceway of the building, the four of them making a defensive barrier around their helpless friend as they transformed. "We have to draw it away from her," she murmured to the other girls, who immediately nodded their agreement. That, as it turned out, proved to be no problem, as the beast seemed once again to be targeting only Mina. She quickly moved away from the building, trying to turn the creature back towards the park. The black dog snarled, launching a beam of dark energy from its mouth. It was a narrow miss, and Mina had barely recovered her balance before it fired again. The third attack would have hit her dead on, but she was saved once again by Gage of Ganymede, as he stepped in front of her and took the brunt of the attack. The force of it knocked him to the ground; the black ribbons of energy flickered across his body, and he didn't move. "Gage!" Mina screamed, throwing herself across his still form. He was conscious, though barely, and he managed to whisper three words to her: "Nikko...the locket..." He might have said more, but the hell-hound attacked Mina again, forcing her to leap away from the fallen prince. Desperately, she renewed her attacks, but the growling animal wouldn't let her anywhere near him. Just then, a woman none of them had seen walked forward, from her appearance definitely not human. Without a word, she walked past the monster to where Gage lay, a cruel, satisfied smile on her lips. "Hey!" Mina yelled. "What are you doing? Get away from him!" The woman barely glanced at her before turning back to the prince. The bands of energy around him were slowly growing thicker, covering his body. "You challenge me, child?" The woman hissed. "Not strong enough. Phantasy is stronger." "Get away from him," Mina repeated, leaving no doubt that she was deadly serious. At that, the woman whipped her head around and glared at Mina, hissing like an angry cat. "Do not order Phantasy!" she howled. "You die now." She moved her hand slightly, and the evil dog started attacking again, forcing their attention onto it once again. With another wave of her hand, Phantasy disappeared, taking the helpless prince along with her. "Venus Meteor Shower!" "Mercury Ice Bubbles Freeze!" "Moon Sceptre Elimination!" The silver wash of light surrounded the creature, forcing the unnatural thing out of existence. When it faded, the silence was deafening. Mina, numb, sank to the ground, staring blankly at the spot where Gage had been. They had destroyed the creature and protected Raye-but then why did she feel so defeated? The feeling of failure affected them all; they stood there, eyes downcast, for a very long time, none of them wanting to move or break the heavy silence. After a time, though, the stasis broke; Serena and Lita carried Raye up to the apartment, laying her on the couch, and after a few more minutes of miserable silence the girls decided to disperse. Lita, of course, was left behind to take care of Raye, and the other girls went their own ways through the city, looking for any sign of danger and any way to prevent it. Mina, physically and emotionally exhausted, wandered for hours, paying no attention to where she was going. When she finally looked up and found herself standing in front of her own house, she sighed and went straight to her bedroom, wanting nothing more than to sleep until the whole nightmare had ended. When she reached her room, though, something was different about it, out of place. She couldn't figure it out, though, not until she looked over at her bed. There, sitting on her pillow, was a large, egg-shaped pendant, which definitely had not been there when she'd left that morning. Mina picked it up; it was completely smooth, no hinges, no way to open it, but she knew somehow that this was the locket that Gage had spoken of, and she felt a sudden intense need to keep it safe. Thinking of him, she clutched the locket closer to her, holding it tightly as the sweet numbness broke away and the first helpless tears began to fall. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Six Mina was hardly the only one to feel helpless; Lita, alone in her apartment with only the unresponsive Raye for company, felt nearly as desolate. Sighing, she tried to keep her hands busy and her mind off her stricken friend, but neither attempt was working terribly well. She went to check on Raye again-no change- glanced out the window as she straightened up, and stopped dead, staring out at the street. It was him. Ethan, her Ethan, standing outside and looking up at her window, his expression unreadable from this distance. For once in her life, Lita acted completely selfishly, leaving Raye without another thought and running out into the street, terrified that he would disappear again. He didn't; he was still standing there when she reached him, his expression just as mysterious up close. He was even more attractive than she remembered him, that adorable half-smile on his face as he watched her come closer. Her heart seemed likely to burst, it was pounding so hard, and she was quite overwhelmed with emotion; he was back, he'd come back to her, and how could anything be wrong when she had her Ethan? And then the moment passed, and her elation came crashing back down, as his smile turned into a sneer and he turned away from her. She called out to him, disbelieving, but he did not respond; and she was left there, held frozen by her pain, unable to do more than watch as he walked away, her eyes slowly filling with stunned, wounded tears. * * * Serena's wanderings, meanwhile, had taken her once again to the park, specifically to the rose garden in one corner of it. It was a beautiful spot, especially this time of year, and it always cheered her up when something was wrong. It was a popular spot for weddings, too; as she drew closer she could see a ceremony in progress, normal for the park on a summer weekend. She changed her path a little to go around the happy group instead of through them, but before she had even reached them she came to an abrupt stop, looking more closely at the couple being wed. The second glance confirmed it; the man standing there was Darien. Her Darien, but obviously hers no longer. The girl beside him did look a great deal like Raye, explaining her earlier mistake. Serena just stood and shook her head numbly, unable to believe what her eyes were telling her. Tears streamed unheeded down her cheeks as she watched the ceremony. She'd known her relationship with Darien was over, but somehow she had never fully believed that it could really end, had truly thought it their destiny...and seeing this hurt more than any mortal wound could. He hadn't invited her, hadn't even told her about it-she hadn't thought that he cared so very little. But the last straw came when Darien, the only man she'd ever loved, looked up briefly and saw her standing there, and gave her only a look that seemed to say, "Look, Serena, see how much better I've done?". Sobbing now, she turned and ran back down the path the way she had come, her emotions warring between anger and jealousy and, worst of all, the wrenching, killing pain. * * * Mina's crying fit had finally ended, leaving her worn out but feeling a little better than before. She was just drifting off to sleep when the phone rang, startling her back to full wakefulness. "Hello?" she answered. "Mina! Thank God you're all right." The voice was Darien's, and he sounded as worried as she had ever heard him sound. "Can you meet me at the park right away? It's Serena, something's happened to her." In fact, he sounded almost frantic. "I'll be right there," Mina promised. He told her his exact location, and she was out of the house almost before he'd hung up, slipping the tightly held locket around her neck as she went. She ran most of the way to the rose gardens, arriving to find Serena in much the same state as Raye had been, except that instead of glaring the girl had tears pouring down her cheeks. There was the same lack of awareness, though, the same absence of response. "I called all of you girls," Darien told her. "You were the only one who answered. "That's odd," Mina wondered. "Amy might not have gone home yet, but Lita should have answered-she was looking after Raye. We should take Serena there, too." "Raye? What happened to her?" Mina explained as they walked, not that there was much to tell since they didn't really know what HAD happened. She had a distinct feeling, though, that the woman who called herself Phantasy had a great deal to do with it. As they turned onto Lita's street, they could see the beginnings of a traffic jam; cars were stopped every which way, and right in the middle of it all was someone just standing, utterly still, in the middle of the street. "Oh no," Mina moaned, and broke into a run. Somehow she managed to get Lita off the street and up the stairs to her apartment, though the girl was in the same state as the others. Her eyes, too, were full of tears. Then and there Mina made a silent vow to herself, that no matter what happened she would rid the world of the evil creature who had caused her friends so much pain. Even her own death would be better than watching them suffer like this. She could read the same thoughts on Darien's face, especially when he looked at Serena. It might have been that look, or perhaps her instincts as the namesake of the goddess of love, or possibly just simple female intuition; but in that instant she knew beyond doubt that he still loved Serena, truly loved her, as Destiny had decreed. That made her think again of Gage, and for her own sake and to keep his mind off Serena, she asked Darien about him. Darien smiled, very briefly. "He was bound to you, Mina, but you must have guessed that much already. He loved spending time with you, even then- said you were as adventurous and as brave as any boy, and he was right. He used to call you-now what was it?" "Nikko," Mina prompted, remembering the way his voice had softened when he said that name. "Yes, that's it, it was Nikko. It means sunbeam." He actually laughed at that. "Seems fitting, knowing you now. We used to tease him about it something awful, Alden and -" He broke off suddenly, a look of intense concern on his handsome face. "Alden...he was bound to Amy. Mina, we forgot all about Amy!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Seven Like Mina, Amy had been wandering for hours, just thinking through the many things on her mind. As she walked she couldn't help but feel that she had somehow let her friends down, though of course none of them would ever say anything; but ever since the first of the lost princes had appeared, she'd felt worse than useless. Whatever it was that threatened them now, it was too immaterial, too ethereal for her to get any kind of solid grasp on it, let alone any solid facts. Deep in thought, she didn't even notice that she was walking in a circle until she found herself once more in front of Lita's building. Having nothing more productive to do, she decided to go up once again and check on Raye. She was surprised to see Mina open the door; when she walked into the apartment she saw that all of the girls were there again, but she had eyes only for Raye, who looked terribly pale. Amy saw a sudden slight movement there...then stared in horror as the girl began to convulse. "Amy, do something!" Serena cried. * * * Their problem seemed solved when someone knocked gently at the door and Mina opened it to find the girl in question. Amy looked perfectly healthy, awake, alert, and surprised to see her. Before Mina could say a word to her, though, Amy looked past her into the apartment, saw Raye still immobile on the couch-and went suddenly as blank as the others. * * * They were all begging her to do something, to save Raye's life, but she couldn't concentrate, couldn't think of what to do. She didn't have time to hesitate, but hesitate she did, unsure of what was wrong, not knowing how to make it stop. And that was the worst of it-with all her learning, with all her studying and her perfect marks, all her justifiable pride in the power of her mind-she didn't KNOW. She simply did not know what to do. She put her hands to her face and they came away wet; and, weeping, she sank to her knees as she watched her friend dying before her eyes. * * * Mina was truly alarmed when Amy started crying, too, for no reason apparent to her. She looked over at Darien. "Well, we found her-now what?" "Now," he said firmly, "we call an ambulance. We can't just take care of them here." It only made sense, so Mina agreed, calling the hospital and trying to explain the situation without saying anything that would get her committed. When that was done, she went out of the building to wait for the paramedics so she could guide them to the right apartment. Darien couldn't bring himself to leave Serena's side, so she left him alone to take care of the girls. Once outside, she leaned against the building gratefully, more shaken than she cared to admit to be deprived of her friends' support. There was to be no rest for her, though, not so soon. She stood there only moments before she became aware of someone watching her; she scanned the area slowly, experienced enough to expect it to be somebody hostile. She was hardly prepared for what she saw. Gage was standing just down the street from her, watching her, his eyes even bluer than she recalled. When her eyes met his he smiled softly, making it seem as if all was right in the world, and she felt herself smiling in response. And then the unimaginable happened; a woman, a stunning redhead, stepped out from a doorway just behind him, and he turned away from Mina and went to her, reaching for her, moving closer and closer as Mina watched... "No..." she whispered softly, overwhelmed. Their lips met...and the locket grew suddenly warm against her chest. She took it out and held it in her hands, lifting it up like a talisman against this betrayal. But she could not, would not blame this treason on Gage, for as she stood there a gentle light came from the locket and shone in her eyes; when her vision had cleared she saw the scene before her very differently. Gage still stood where she had first seen him, his beautiful blue eyes gone a dead and deadly black, and she knew all fault lay with the woman there behind him. Phantasy. The evil she had sworn to rid the world of, even to her death. Mina's face hardened, her eyes now cold as she glared at her enemy. "What have you done to him?" She demanded, but the only answer she got was a mocking grin. That was more than enough. "Venus Star Power!" She yelled, knowing somehow that this was to be the final battle. Phantasy only smiled again, then closed her eyes slightly and stretched out her arms as if reaching for something. "Come," she whispered, and moments later the door behind Mina opened and her closest friends came out, each still as blank as before. The creature meant to use them against her, then, but she took some comfort in their lack of awareness; their attacks, their transformations, were all wholly conscious things, and she doubted that Phantasy could call those powers forth. A bewildered Darien came right behind them. "Mina? I tried to stop them, but-" He broke off as he noticed Gage, and Phantasy behind him. The girls slowly lined up behind Mina. When they were all in place, Phantasy lowered her arms and moved closer to Gage, placing one hand lightly on his shoulder. "Kill them," she whispered now, and he smiled coldly, his eyes still that horrible dull black. Staring into them, though, Mina thought she saw a spark, just the tiniest glimmer of awareness, that made her think he was fighting the monster's power. It was a small thing, but it gave her hope. Phantasy's control of him was definite, though; he took a step forward and put his arms in front of him, then closed his eyes as if concentrating. A ball of black energy started forming in his hands. Mina and Darien shared a despairing look; they had to stop him, but how could they without hurting or killing him? The decision was quickly taken from them as Gage attacked, throwing the evil thing straight towards Mina. Her first instinct sent her leaping aside to avoid it; an instinct she immediately regretted as the attack aimed at her instead hit the silent line behind her. Amy fell without a sound, surrounded now by the same flickering bonds that had captured Gage. Furious, Mina acted. "Venus Meteor Shower!" She cried, aiming not at Gage but at Phantasy. It was no use, though; with the slightest of motions the woman pulled him in front of her, using him as a human shield. He was thrown back by the force of Venus' attack, but it didn't stop him; the energy balls came faster and faster, and one by one her friends fell despite Mina and Darien's best efforts. They didn't dare attack, knowing that any attempt would just end up hurting someone they both cared about very deeply. Gage's cruel smile never wavered as he took aim again, this time right at Serena, the only one left standing. "No!" Darien cried out, leaping to block the attack. It hit him dead on, and Mina was left alone. The last thing she saw was the despair in Darien's eyes-and then something inside of her snapped. "Stop it!" she screamed at the near-stranger in front of her. "Why are you doing this? Fight it, Gage!" He didn't answer, just formed another missile between his hands. He was hesitating now as he hadn't before, as if waiting for her to defend herself. Instead, she spread her arms wide, palms up, making no effort at protection. Surprise flickered swiftly across his face before he hardened again. Seeing that, tears filled her eyes. "Don't you understand?" She whispered helplessly. "I love you." With those words, the gentle golden glow began again from the locket, brightest along a thin line that perfectly halved the golden pendant. Mina took it in her hands again; the line widened until the locket broke completely open, leaving a large round topaz floating above it, giving off a brilliant golden light. Somehow, she knew what she had to do. She let the locket fall away; the crystal stayed where it was. Slowly, she brought her hands up again, one on each side, and brought it up before her face. She closed her eyes, concentrating deeply, thinking of Gage. The golden light spread, becoming a brilliant aura around her. Her eyes snapped open, fierce with determination. "Love Healing Salvation!" she cried, and the aura exploded outwards, showering everything with pure golden light. Gage seemed caught up in a spell, completely still, only his eyes following the motion as Mina came slowly toward him. Carefully, she reached out to him. "I love you," she repeated softly, then reached up and kissed him deeply. The brilliant light enveloped them both, becoming absolutely blinding. Moving in a spell of her own now, Mina spun and somehow reached out with the light, cocooning Phantasy in its glow. The creature screamed, a cry of pure pain that changed to a shriek of terror as the other four girls, restored by Mina's power, attacked all at once. "Jupiter Thunder Dragon!" "Mars Fire Ignite!" "Mercury Ice Bubbles Freeze!" "Moon Sceptre Elimination!" As the last words were spoken, Phantasy was caught up by the massive energies and destroyed. With her gone, the golden light vanished, and Mina collapsed. She came to minutes later, her first thought one of relief at the sight of her concerned friends gathered around her. She had saved them, somehow, saved them all...but the relief was short- lived as the sudden emptiness flooded her, making her gasp aloud with the fierce pain of it. He was gone. "Oh, Gage," she whispered, brokenly, her eyes flooding with tears of loss. She was so tired...but the ease of sleep was a long way off as she lay there, desolate, crying, with her world in sharp golden pieces around her.