AUTHOR'S NOTES
Just FYI, in this Part there is some *major* foreshadowing.  (Look
hard!)  All of the ramifications of this foreshadowing will not be
covered in this 'fic, but maybe I'll write another one.  Hey, I've
already got an idea.
EEEEK!  I finally got around to reading Zorina Skye's Moon Chronicles,
and her scene in the past and mine when Endymion and Serenity are
little (from Part One) are eeriely similar.  This is what, the third
time this has happened to me?  Why can't I be more original?!  WAAAH!
I'm really depressed now.  Oh well, 'cest la vie.  (No, not Sailor V!)
*I* know that I came up with my ideas, and I'm sure that you do too,
by now, so apologies if I wrote anything similar to ANYONE else out
there.
*Anyways*, let me just thank Jupiter Knight who posted up my 'fic.
Thanks!  (I'll read your 'fics soon, I promise.  Just gotta
find time in my schedule and read Darkstar's first . . . I promised
him too.  *Sigh* ^_^;;;)
This part is dedicated to Renee, who sent me my first (and a very
nice) e-mail on Past Loves.  Thank you!
And thank yous go to Mimin Choy (who wrote me an awesome e-mail) and
Tenshi, who promised that she'd read Past Loves!  (Just as I was about
to send this Part in, Connie Somerville Kotkin, better known as
Neo-Queen Serenity, wrote me!  Thanks to you too!)  A *very* special
arigato goes to Lianne!  Lianne-sama, the *Goddess* of Romance
actually wrote to *me*!  I'm honored!  Aaah!  Wow.  I mean wow, uh
wow . . . I'll shut up now.
P.S. Thanks for believing me about the scene, Lianne!  (She's *so*
cool! Read her stuff! I mean it, now! Um, read this first . . .^_^;;;)
Anime Quote of the Day:". . . Even if we weren't meant to be together,
well, it just *feels* right being together, doesn't it?"ÑSerena to
Darien from Sailor Moon
Okay, now the DISCLAIMER:
Sailor Moon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko, Nakayoshi, Kodansha, Bandai,
Toei Co. Ltd., I know Buena Vista's in here somewhere, D.I.C., The
Program Exchange?, blah, blah, blah, and probably many, many, many
others.  Copyrighted 1992.  I am getting no money out of this, please
don't sue.  Oh yeah, Moonlight Densetsu is copyright somebody 1992.
However, this is an original work by ME, and the original song, "ANGEL
LIGHT" (COPYRIGHT 1997) is MINE, and I will suck out your pure heart
crystal, thereby KILLING you if you use it without my permission and
even scarier SUE you if you do. Mwahaha!  Uh, I'm not joking so please
ask first if you have any manners or decency at all.  Thank you.
Well, good luck on all your endeavors, fellow fans and on to Sailor
Moon Past Loves Part Two: First Love.

Sailor Moon Past Loves
by Fushigi Kismet

   It was supposed to be a simple operation.  Find evil creature from
outer space.  Stop evil creature from outer space from draining
helpless innocents of their energy.  Kill evil creature.  Oh yeah,
(since this one had fire powers) stop evil creature from burning down
downtown Tokyo while they were at it.  What could be simpler?
However, looking back, since when had anything ever really been
simple?
   It had started out innocently enough.  The Sailor Senshi (and
Tuxedo Kamen plus the two guardian cats) had tracked the monster of
the day to a large, empty storehouse.  It was the middle of the night
so no one was around.  The Senshi had felt safe using their powers
without the chance of an innocent (though, remarkably stupid if he/she
was hanging around during a battle ^_^;) bystander from getting hurt.
   The MOTD had been shooting at them with spurts of fire which Sailor
Mars had been returning flame for flame.  That was not a particularly
brilliant move even taking Mars's slightly flawed logic into account.
"And eye for an eye, a fire for a fire."  The flaw in Mars's plan was
obvious; fire plus fire equals FIRE!  (Usuallly, any way.)
   Mercury, intelligent and calm as always, tried pointing this out,
but Mars was too into the heat of the momentÑliterally into the heat
of the momentÑto listen.  The resulting fire quickly got out of
control, even with Mercury dousing it with water and ice.  Er, rather,
she was dousing it with ice that melted into water.  Sailor Jupiter
and Sailor Venus had been attacking the MOTD from the sides,
attempting to get its attention away from Mars long enough for her to
get a breather, but with no success.  Sailor Moon, in the meantime,
had crept up behind the monster, fully intending to turn it into so
much moondust with a wave of her weapon, when the monster unexpectedly
blasted all three of the Senshi attacking it and rounded on Sailor
Moon.
  Of course, brilliantly timing his arrival as usual, Tuxedo Kamen
threw down his rose into the path of the monster and leapt down from
the rafters, carrying Sailor Moon out of harm's way.  The rose didn't
faze the monster for long, but by the time it had gotten its wits
back, the Senshi had rallied and attacked it all at once.  Even Sailor
Mercury had stopped fire-fighting for an instant to add her attack to
the others.  That proved to be a mistake as the warehouse they were in
was rapidly burning to pieces around them.
   Sailor Moon quickly finished off the monster with a magical phrase
and instructed the Senshi to "get out of here before we're all toast!"
She began to run out of the warehouse, the Scouts on her heels when a
huge section of the roof caved in, taking several flaming rafters with
it in a fiery display.  In that brief instant, Sailor Moon turned to
see a flame-covered rafter heading straight towards Tuxedo Kamen's
unprotected back.
   "NOOOOOO!!!!" she screamed above the licking of the flames as
everything around her seemed to slow down.  She couldn't get there
fast enough!  Tuxedo Kamen turned to look at her, a questioning look
on his face, then noticed the rafter headed straight for him.  With
flames surrounding him on all sides, there was no way that he could
avoid it.  His eyes turned to look into Sailor Moon's as she ran
towards him, tears streaming from her eyes.  "Don't!" he mouthed at
her.
   She dove towards him, physically pushing him out of the way of
danger.  At the last instant before the burning support slammed into
her back, and the darkness took over, she thought, <To protect you, as
you have always protected me, I would give my life.>  Her burned in
agony and her soul cried out in pain.  Then there was nothing but
darkness.

The beginning of "Moonlight Densetsu" starts playing.

A painting of the Moon Kingdom appears.  The camera pans away from it
and we see Minako, Rei, Makoto, Ami, Usagi, and Mamoru looking at it
in a store window.  Yumeno Yumemi comes out and invites them in.
They walk in and are instantly surrounded by dozens of paintings of
the Moon Kingdom.  Usagi sighs as she sees one of Queen Serenity.
Mamoru puts an arm around her and holds her close.
She leans on his shoulder, looks up at him while he is looking down
at her and they smile.  The screen flashes BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILORMOON
PAST LOVES (in Japanese) and pans away until it is centered and
surrounded by flashing colors.

"Gomen ne sunao ja nakute,"

Fourteen-year old Usagi klutzes out with ice-cream in hand and falls
down.

"Yume no naka nara ieru,"

Fourteen-year old Princess Serenity walks around the gardens of her
palace *quite* gracefully.

"Shikou Kairo wa shotto sunzen,"

Usagi is sitting on the ground wailing when a hand appears in front
of her.  The camera pans back and follows the arm up until we see
Mamoru who is looking at her with a concerned expression.

"Ima sugu aitai yo."

Usagi gets a determined expression on her face and taking his hand,
gets to her feet.  She then notices that the ice-cream is still
intact.  She smiles.

"Nakitaku naru you-na Moonlight,"

Princess Serenity is alone in the palace gardens at night.  She's
weeping, then she turns around and stares at Earth.

"Denwa mo dekinai Midnight."

She begins to glow in the moonlight, then turns around to face the
camera.  She is smiling and her crescent moon glows.  (Mamoru's dream.
^_^;)

"Datte junjou dou shiyou?"

Cut to a scene of Princess Serenity vanishing in a silvery light.

"Haato wa mangekyou."

Cut to a scene of the full moon in the sky.  The view spirals around
it and then to the ground where we see a beautiful silver palace.  It
is *not* the one in Crystal Tokyo.

"Tsuki no hikari ni michibikare,"

Princess Serenity arrives on earth and glows with silvery light.
Prince Endymion, who was walking in the woods, comes across her in a
clearing.  They stare at each other.

"Nandomo meguri-au,"

Princess Serenity runs into Prince Endymion, knocking him over.

"Seiza no mataki kazoe uranau koi yukue."

The stars sparkle in the sky as Princess Serenity looks at them and
sighs.  The moon hangs in front of her.  Prince Endymion comes and
takes her hand, dragging her away.  She smiles.

"Onaji kuni ni umareta no Mirakuru Romansu."

Prince Endymion, around seventeen years old, sits bolt upright in bed
and stares out his window (which is on the left side of the screen)
at the full moon.  The camera shifts to focus on a red rose in a vase
on his table.  The rose glows and sends out a scarlet light which
fills the screen.  It fades to show fourteen-year old Princess
Serenity, sitting bolt upright in bed and staring out *her* window
(which is on the right side of the screen) at Earth.

"Mo ichido futari de Weekend,"

Usagi and Mamoru sit on a blanket spread out in the park and eat a
picnic lunch.  Usagi is holding a pie in her left hand as she bends
to pick up her fork.  Mamoru turns to say something to her as she
straightens up with a happy cry, her fork in her hand.  He gets, you
guessed it, a cream pie in the face.  Usagi and Mamoru look at each
other, (he's just eyes staring out of cream) then start laughing.

"Kami-sama kanaeta Happy-end."

Usagi uses a napkin to tenderly wipe the last bit of pie off of
Mamoru's face and she smiles cutely at him.  He catches her hand and
smiles at her.  They kiss.

"Genzai kako mirai mo,"

Flash images really fast of toddler Princess Serenity in the past,
teenage Usagi in the present, and Neo-Queen Serenity in the future on
the screen.

"Anata ni kubittake."

Flash images really fast of six-year old Prince Endymion in the past,
Mamoru in the present, and King Endymion in the future on the screen.

"Deatta toki no natsukashii,"

Fourteen-year old Princess Serenity and seventeen-year old Prince
Endymion stare into each other's eyes where they are standing under a
big tree.

"Manazashi wasurenai,"

The stars sparkle in the heavens again.  Cut to a split screen of
fourteen-year old Princess Serenity (on the left side of the screen)
and seventeen-year old Prince Endymion (on the right side of the
screen) sitting up in bed and staring out of their windows.  (Since
it's a split screen, there are no windows and it looks like they're
staring at the same spot.)

"Ikusenman no hoshi kara anata o mitsukerareru,"

Fourteen-year old Princess Serenity watches her older Sailor Senshi
while they train on the moon.  Seventeen-year old Prince Endymion
watches his older Guardians while they train on Earth.

"Guuzen mo chansu ni kaeru ikikata ga suki yo."

Mamoru, Usagi, Rei, Minako, Makoto, and Ami walk through the park
together, laughing and talking.  Usagi, who isn't looking because
she's talking to Mamoru, accidentally walks into Rei where she has
stopped to smell some flowers.  Rei gets up, self-righteous and
annoyed and starts to yell at Usagi, who looks like she's about to
cry, but then Minako, who's talking to Makoto and Ami and also isn't
looking, walks into Usagi.  Minako sudden stop causes Makoto and Ami
trip and fall onto her while she's falling on Usagi, who's falling on
Rei.  They all land with a crash on the ground.  Mamoru's the only
one who's left standing and he gets a *huge* sweatdrop.  Everyone
gets to their feet, start to yell, stop, then start laughing.

"Fushigi-na kiseki Kurosu-shite nandomo meguri-au,"

Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion stare out their windows some
more.  Cut to a scene of a rose spiraling in a beam of moonlight.
There is the flap of a black cape at the edge of the pool of
moonlight on the right side of the screen, the rest is hidden in
shadows.  On the left side of the screen a tiara flashes right before
that person turns away into the shadows.

"Seiza no matataki kazoe uranau koi no yukue."

Another scene of the full moon and the earth.  They spiral around
each other, before coming to a stop.  Superimpose a picture of
Princess Serenity over the moon and Prince Endymion over the earth.
They're looking at each other while holding hands and smiling.  Pan
away to show the other planets of the solar system in alignment.

"Onaji juni ni umareta no Mirakuru Romansu."

Queen Serenity smiles at the camera, before fading into the
background with a fully grown Luna and Artemis taking her place.  They
also fade out and shadowy Senshi-like images appear and fade out.

"Shinjite-iru no,"

Queen Serenity appears, smiling.  Fourteen-year old Princess Serenity
appears in front of her, waving at the camera.  Seventeen-year old
Prince Endymion appears next to her and they hold hands.  All of the
other Senshi show up to the side of the trio.  Mina makes a "V" for
victory sign and everyone else just gets into position.

"Mirakura Romansu."

The cats appear and everyone poses for the camera and freezes in
place.

FIRST LOVE

*The Past*

   The Princess sobbed as she ran down the peaceful path in the Royal
Gardens.  She had left Luna perched on the back of a bench, staring
after her in concern.
   It wasn't fair, her mind wailed, they were all so mean, especially
Rei and Luna.  Why did they have to keep on reminding her to be a
princess?  Why couldn't she just be normal like everyone else?  She
wished that she could go to Earth.  On Earth, no one knew her and she
wouldn't be anything but a normal girl.  Princess Serenity had never
understood why visiting Earth was forbidden to her, but she didn't
care.  Earth was her goal, and Earth was in reach.
   Looking around to make sure that no one was watching, she screamed,
"PRINCESS TELEPORT!" and the only thing left that ever marked that she
had been there was the cloud of flower petals that fluttered on the
breeze of her passing.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

   Tuxedo Kamen carried Sailor Moon's body out of the flaming
structure, and fell to his knees when he was far enough from the
building.  He detransformed to Mamoru, Sailor Moon still in his arms.
As the building burned behind him he gazed at her face.  <Be alive!>
he prayed.  <Please, Usako, be alive!>
   She weakly opened her eyes to look at his worried face, his eyes
full of concern.  She reached up with a shaky left hand and barely
touched his face.  He caught her hand and held it to him.  She smiled
a quiet little smile, then closed her eyes with a little sigh and
became limp in his arms.
   Mamoru stared at her as she reverted back to Usagi.  "Usako.
USAKO!  DON'T DIE!  DON'T LEAVE ME!!!"
   The Inner Senshi, who had been outside when Sailor Moon had pushed
Tuxedo Kamen to one side, ran over to the scene.
   "NOOOOO!!!!!!" Mamoru screamed in agony, as the flames of the
building flickered and roared in the night.
   The Senshi paused, tears in their eyes, then resumed running
towards the terrible tableau.  <No, Usagi, don't leave us!>
   They arrived at Mamoru's side where he was struggling with his
tears.  They all were.  Sailor Mercury quickly took Usagi's pulse.
Her expression brightened.  "Quick everyone, her pulse is very weak,
but she's not dead!"
   Mamoru looked up, hope written across his face.  "She's alive?"
   Mercury nodded.  "Yes, but we've got to get her to a hospital,
fast!"
   A determined expression crossed Mamoru's face.  "Right."  He
transformed into Tuxedo Kamen and seeing that she was still securely
in his arms, he leapt up into the night, heading into the city.  "I'll
get her to the nearest hospital, you meet me there!"
   "Right!"  The Senshi and cats began running.  <Oh Usagi, hang on.
Hang on!>

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

   Princess Serenity arrived on the Earth in a blazing sphere of
silver light.  It faded away until she was only surrounded by a
glowing silver outline.  <Whew, glad that's over.  I guess this must
be Earth.  Why'd I have to mess up and end up on Jupiter *three* times
in a row?  It was hard dodging all those guards so they wouldn't see
me.  I couldn't have messed up and landed on Mercury, oh no, it just
had to be Jupiter.  Well, I guess it's a good thing that it wasn't
Mars.>  She shuddered.  She didn't even want to *think* about Rei-
chan's face if she were to see her on her home planet on an
unauthorized "trip."
   She looked up at the night sky where she could just make out the
moon from behind a cloud.  <Well, that took longer than I thought it
would.  It's nighttime already.>  She heard the noise behind her and
turned, startled.  A young man, whose features she could not make out
in the brilliant dark of the night, stared at her in astonishment.
Serenity brought her hands to her mouth as she stared back at the man.
<Uh oh, now I'm in trouble!  I guess I better get out of here!>
   She whirled around, her back to him to hide the shining of the
crescent moon on her forehead.  Raising her right arm into the air,
she shouted, "Princess Teleport!" and was gone as her silver aura rose
around her.

   The moon shone down on the man blinking in astonishment.  <I
*really* haven't been getting enough sleep.  I must have been
hallucinating . . .  She looked like the girl in my dream . . .>

   Princess Serenity huddled against the tree, weeping.  She was cold,
hungry, lost, and lonely.  She was scared.  She was also too tired to
attempt a teleport.
   Suddenly, a bright yellow light shone on her and she looked up in
fear.  <Oh no!  Someone's found me!>
   "Well, what do we have here?" a male voice asked.

   The lantern hung on its hook on the wall of the cosy little
farmhouse.  Princess Serenity sat at the table and wolfed down a hunk
of bread and some soup.  Her manners were impeccable, but the speed at
which she devoured her meal was certainly not in the best of taste.
Her two hosts didn't mind, however.
   "Another bowl of soup?" the young woman (around twenty) asked,
smiling.
   Serenity stared up at her without comprehension, but nodded when
the woman gestured to the pot of soup.  The woman refilled her bowl
and Serenity proceeded to drink some more.
   Seated across from her at the rough wooden table, the twenty-five
year old man sipped at his steaming wooden cup of broth.  "So where're
you from?" he asked Serenity.
   She looked up at him, stared at him strangely for an instant, then
resumed eating.
   He sighed, then turned to his wife.  "Dear, she hasn't said a thing
to either of us."
   "That is because she is not from around here and does not speak our
language," she admonished, waving her wooden ladle at him.  "After
she's eaten, I'll see what I can find out."
   The man turned back to his broth with a sigh.  This might take
awhile.

*Several hours later*

   <I never knew such a little slip of a girl could eat so much!>  the
man thought, half amused, half aghast.
   The woman turned to look at him and frowned.  <<You shouldn't think
such things, dear.  Now, BE QUIET!  You're disturbing by
concentration.>>  She turned back to look at the girl where she was
seated, still at the wooden table, but facing the woman.
   "Now," she said pleasantly, "this is where I find out whether I'm
right or not."  She stared at Serenity, dark brown eyes into bright
blue ones.  Serenity's crescent moon glowed a little and the woman
smiled.  "You are her, aren't you?" she said quietly, and amazingly
enough, Serenity understood her.
   "YouÑyou're speaking in my language?" Serenity asked, astonished.
   "Yes," the woman replied, smiling.  "I speak your language.  The
language of the Planetary Sorceresses."
   "Who *are* you?!" Serenity demanded.
   "I am known as Ikuko, last of the line of the Priestesses of the
Moon."

   Elsewhere, a girl with long auburn hair frowned.  <I sense
something . . . not right.  There is a presence on this world that
should not be here.  Well, whoever you are, you're not going to be
around to bother me for long.>  She tightened her grip on the vial of
poison she held.  <But first, I have to take care of some business.
No one crosses Beryl and escapes with their lives!>

   "I-Ikuko?" Serenity asked, staring at the brown-eyed young woman
with her long blue hair.
   "Yes," the woman replied.  "You are a Lunar, are you not?"
   "Yes."
   "Are you Serenity, daughter of Serenity?"
   "H-how did you know?"
   "The hair.  It is a trademark of the Serenity line.  You are well
known to me for a reason. You see, the story of the Planetary
Sorceresses has been handed down in my family for generations.  The
women of my family were always Priestesses of the Moon, and the men
were always warriors, carrying on the line.  However, I am the last of
my line."
   "Why?" Serenity asked.
   Ikuko got a far-off look in her eyes.  "My mother was a farmer's
daughter who believed in the old ways.  My father was a warrior.  My
aunts and sisters were all Priestesses of the Moon.  But I could not
pledge my life to the Order," she said, smiling apologetically at
Serenity.  "I was in love."
   The man stepped forward and put a hand on his wife's shoulder.  "So
was I," he said quietly.
   Ikuko resumed speaking.  "I loved Kenji with all of my heart.  My
family knew that I had made my choice and did not object to my
marriage.  Thus, I was the only daughter who was not a priestess.  So
when the Day of Despair came, I was the only one of the family
spared."
   "Day of Despair?"
   "A decree was issued that everyone who still believed in the old
ways and every Priestess of every Planet, save that of Earth, was to
be killed.  And so they were.  My sisters, and cousins, and aunts, and
their children, and husbands, and parents, and wives.
   "My father was killed right away, defending my mother and my
sisters and I.  My only brother, Shingo, fought bravely against a
whole squadron of men before he was slain, defending us.  He
sacrificed himself to give us a chance to escape, but I was the only
one who made it.  Finally, the soldiers found me, but since I had not
become part of the Order, they spared my husband and I.  And that is
why there are no more Priestesses of the Moon."  She looked at
Serenity, tears forming in her eyes.  "I'm sorry, Princess Serenity.
There was nothing I could do."  She broke into tears and Serenity
wrapped her in an embrace.
   "Shhh, shhh, it's all right.  It's all right.  I'm so sorry about
what happened to your family, Ikuko.  Who-who would do such a thing?"
   "The prince, damn his black heart!" Kenji cried heatedly.  "The
decree came from the palace!"
   "No, Kenji," Ikuko cried, her tears slowing.  "You do the Lord
Prince a great wrong.  He did not have aught to do with this.  I have
seen him, riding mornings, and several times he has paused to exchange
pleasantries with me.  I have looked into his eyes, Kenji, and they
aren't the eyes of a murderer.  They're the eyes of a hurting soul.
His parents are dead and he is alone in the world, but he had naught
to do with this.  He's just a boy."
   "If you say so," Kenji said, calming down a bit.
   "I still think he's a horrible person to let something like this
happen!" Serenity said passionately.
   "No, no," Ikuko said, shaking her head.  "I do not believe that he
ever knew.  Someone went behind his back when they issued the decree.
And I would bet a year's harvest as to who.  It was that Lady Beryl.
She has the look of madness in her eyes and rumor has it that she uses
black magic to influence minds at the Royal Court.  She is a
vindictive, nasty woman and I am sure that she issued the decree."
Ikuko shook her head, clearing her mind.  "I'm sorry, it's quite late.
Would you do us the honor of spending the night in our home?" she
asked.
   Serenity nodded, gratefully.  "Thank you."
   "No, thank you, my princess."
   As Ikuko's bright eyes met hers, Serenity couldn't help but
exclaim, her heart full of compassion, "I'm so sorry that you lost all
of your family because they were of the Planetary Order!  It's my
fault, my family's and I!  I would do anything to make it up to you,
but there's nothing I can do, is there?  I wish it hadn't happened,
but this I swear, on the Moon, Ikuko, if there is ever anything I can
do to help you or yours, I shall not hesitate in my course of action."
   Ikuko turned her gaze down, but then looked up at Serenity with a
weak smile.  "I didn't lose everyone.  I have Kenji, and soon there'll
be another," she said placing a hand on her middle.  "Come now, my
princess.  Get some sleep.  You can tell us why you're here,
tomorrow."

*The next day*

   Serenity stared at the Earth flowers in the garden she had come
across.  <They're so pretty.  They don't look anything like the ones
on the moon.>
   She had spent the night at Ikuko and Kenji's small farmhouse at the
edge of town.  The had offered her the bed, but she had refused,
taking the cot in their guestroom.  She had been extremely proud of
herself for her compassion.  Even so, that had not helped soften the
hard ground any.  She looked at the rather plain dress she was wearing
and had borrowed from Ikuko and mentally berated herself for running
away in her princess gown.
   She sighed,Ñinhaling the scent of a flower that had been nothing
but a bud before and was now a flower in full bloom, as was everything
else in the gardenÑthis Earth was an odd place.  But it did have
pretty flowers.
   "What're you doing?!" a rough voice demanded.
   Serenity turned, confused.  What had that voice said?  Then she
remembered that she had forgotten to cast a translation spell, as her
mother did every time she had gone to Earth in the past.  Well, she
couldn't very well do it now.  She looked at the young boy who had
addressed her.  "What did you say?  I, um, don't suppose you speak
Lunar?"
   The boy stared at her.  "What're you saying?  I can't understand a
word."  He then saw the garden behind her.  "Hey, those flowers
weren't in bloom a minute ago!  What are you, some kind of witch?"
   Serenity stared at him in confusion.  <What's he saying?>
   The boy called to someone inside of a house.  Two more boys came
out.  The first boy yelled something at the other two and gestured to
her.  Serenity was only able to catch one word, "witch."  As she was
puzzling out what "witch" meant, the three boys picked up some rocks
and threw them at her.  One came awfully close to hitting her and she
backed away uneasily.  <These Earth people sure aren't very friendly!>
   They began advancing on her and she turned and fled.  <They're not
very nice at all!>

   Endymion leaned with his back against a tree, his arms behind his
head and one leg propped up against the trunk as he gazed reflectively
up at the blue sky.  <Must've been hallucinating last night.  What
else can it be?  There are *no* glowing people on Earth, Endy!>
   "Still," he mused to himself, unconsciously fingering the jagged piece of quartz stone that he wore on a gold chain around his neck, "I
wish that person had been real.  The glow . . . must've been a magic
aura or something.  Maybe that person could've helped me with my
power."  He pulled his arms out from behind his head and stared at his
clenched fists.  Power sizzled in them, sweet as summer lightning.
<If only, I knew how to channel this magic, this power that flows
through my body.  If only . . .>
   Endymion had been born different.  He was the only Earth princeÑ
everÑto have the ability to manipulate magic.  The healers, some of
whom had weak latent powers, had all flinched at his birth.  The power
he had, could be felt.  His four Guardian princes also had latent
magical powers, but unlike him, they could not seem to use them at
all.  Though his ability to control the magic was limited, he could
use it to an extent.
   Nephrite had once told him that the pattern of the stars and the
alignment of the planets on the night he had been born, had been quite
cryptic about his destiny.  But he was sure of one thing, they had
predicted great power.
   Endymion rubbed his fingers together, almost sensing his magic,
almost able to control it.  At times his magic had given him visions,
at others he had been able to heal, but those were flukes and he was
incapable of doing either on his own initiative.  He sighed.  Once
there had been people, possessing the knowledge and the magic, who
could have taught him how to harness all of the power that he seemed
to possess, but they were long gone.
   A legend his sensei used to tell him, when he had still been small,
had spoken of the nine sorceresses who had fled the Earth to find
their way among the stars.  To settle on the worlds that gave them
power, and form a vast kingdom known as the Silver Millennium, headed
by the Moon Kingdom.  There had been a sorceress of Earth as well, who
might have helped him, trained him, but she too was long gone.  Now,
his only hope lay with the stars, and he doubted the authenticity of
the legend anyway.  Still . . . he could dream.
   Endymion stopped the motion of his fingers and relaxed, letting the
power drain back into and be absorbed by his body.  <No time for
experimenting now, I have to get back.  They'll be worried.>  He
grimaced.  <They're always worried.>  He pushed himself away from the
tree, surveying the orange-red sunset.  He turned away, ready to head
back to the palace, when he was nearly bowled over.
   Endymion got his bearings with a curse, his head dizzy from the
impact.  <What was that?  A carriage at forty miles an hour?>
   He looked down to see what had run into him and saw a young girl,
around fourteen years of age, clinging desperately to him and weeping.
   "Um," Endymion said, attempting to extract the girl from his chest.
Then he heard shouting and looked up to see three young boys, ranging
in age from nine to fifteen, running up with jagged-looking rocks in
their hands.
   They came to a stop a few feet away from him.
  "Move aside!" the youngest snarled, hefting the rock into position
to throw.
  "Yeah," the second oldest agreed.  "We're not after you.  It's the
witch we want!"
   "What's the matter with you?!" Endymion demanded.  "She's just an
innocent girl!"
   "What's it to you?" the last boy spat out.
   Gently prying away the girl's fingers from where they had been
clinging onto his shirt, Endymion moved her to one side and said in as
regal a voice as he could muster, "As your Lord Prince, you are
required to answer me."
   "You?  The prince?  They never let him out of the castle!"  With a
nasty curse, the youngest boy threw his rock.
   It flew right into Endymion's raised hand, where his power
manifested itself and he proceeded to crush the rock into powdery gray
dust.  "That wasn't very nice," he said calmly.
   The boys stared at the pile of dust that the wind was already
beginning to blow away and fell to their knees, begging for
forgiveness.  The girl looked on, wide-eyed in wonder.
   "You, what's your name?" Endymion asked the oldest.
   "IÑI'm c-c-called Clinden, m-my Lord Prince."
   "And what were you doing seeking to harm this girl?"
   "She's a witch!  Sire," he added after a minute.
   Endymion raised an eyebrow in amusement.  "Oh?  And what did she
do?"
   "S-she made the f-flowers in the garden bloom."
   "Is there anything wrong with that?"
   "No, but it was creepy.  No normal person could do that!"
   Endymion crouched down and said very softly, "You see what I did to
the rock?  Well, I'm not such a normal person myself, and you wouldn't
dare hurl rocks at me, would you?  So I suggest you leave the girl
alone and realize that even if a person isn't "normal" he or she is
*still* a person."  He stood.  "Now, apologize to the young lady and
go back to your homes."
   The three boys stood and asked the girl for forgiveness.  She
smiled at them and seemed to accept their apologies so they ran off
back to their homes, except for Clinden who paused and looking back,
said, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I still remember what happened in
Cathis.  My older brother died there."
   Endymion gave him a sympathetic look and the boy rushed off.  Then
he turned back to the girl.  "Well, I might have let them off a little
easy and I'm sorry for that, but they're just boys and don't know any
better.  Miss, ah, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
   She smiled at him, uncomprehending, and said, "Washuu?"
   "Uh, erg, you don't speak my language."  Endymion floundered around
for something to say.  The girl walked up to him and took his hands in
hers.  He felt a warm glow as their hands touched and a sudden sense
of euphoria.  He looked at her and saw what he had missed before.
This girl was beautiful.
   Gazing into her shining blue eyes, he found himself unable to look
away.  "Who are you?" he asked, breathlessly.
   She simply touched the side of his face in a brief caress, but the
touch was electric.  This close together, Endymion could practically
feel the electricity between them.  "IÑI know you," he said, and he
knew that he did.
   Just then a voice called, "Endymion!" and the trance was broken.
He turned to look in the direction of the noise and saw Kunzite
striding over to him.  When he turned back to find the girl, she was
gone.  He cursed long and fluently as he went to meet Kunzite.

   Up in the branches of the tree they had been standing under,
Serenity let out the breath she had been holding, thanking the moon
that she hadn't had a klutz attack and fallen from the tree.  <What
was that feeling?> she asked herself.  <Who was that man who saved me?
And why, oh why, didn't I want to ever stop looking into his eyes?>

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

   The Senshi arrived, breathless, at the hospital and hurriedly
detransformed in an empty alley.  Luna and Artemis were forced to
remain outside.  The four girls ran into the lobby where Mamoru was
arguing with some woman at the desk.
   "And you are?" the woman asked patiently.
   "I'm Chiba Mamoru!  I'm the one who brought her in!" he lowered his
voice.  "Please, can't I just be allowed to see her?"
   The woman glared at him over the rim of her glasses.  "I'm sorry,
the girl is in critical condition.  Only immediate family members are
permitted to see her."
   The Senshi ran up to the desk and Rei quickly interjected, still
panting for breath.  "But *pant* he *pant* is *pant* her immediate
family!  *Pant*, *pant*, *pant*."
   "And who are you?" the woman asked.
   "I'm, um, his sister."
   "So who is he?"
   "He's her husband."
   Makoto stifled the choking sound she was making.
   The woman looked at her skeptically.  "Isn't she a little young to
be married?"
   "Her family's old fashioned.  It was an arranged marriage!" Minako
put in quickly, catching on.
   "And you are?" the woman asked.
   "HerÑ" she was about to add "sister" when Ami pushed ahead of her
and said, "Her friend.  We're all her friends."
   "I see.  Well, give me her name and I will see if I can allow you,"
she looked at Mamoru sternly, "and you," she said looking at Rei,
"admittance."
   "Thank you," Mamoru said softly.  "She's Tsukino Usagi . . ."

   Minako dragged Ami to the other side of the lobby, Makoto and Rei
trailing behind.  "What's the idea, we're all her friends?!" she
demanded.  "If I'd said I was her sister, I could've gotten in to see
her!"
   "No, you couldn't have," Ami said softly.  "As all of her records
show, Usagi only has one sibling, her brother Shingo."
   "Well, how do you plan on tricking them into believing that
Mamoru's her husband?" Makoto asked.
   "Easy," Ami said.  "I'm not."
   "WHAT?!" the three girls cried, a little too loudly.  Everyone in
the lobby turned to look at them, where they stood off to one side.
Sweatdrops appeared and they tried to look inconspicuous.  Gradually,
everyone else's apparent interest faded and they turned away.
   "What do you mean, Ami?" Makoto asked urgently.  "Mamoru has to be
with her."
   "Oh, he's going to get in all right, because he *is* her husband."
   Minako looked at Ami strangely.  "Uh, Ami, are you feeling all
right?  Since when has he been her husband?  I mean apart from the
future and all."  Her expression changed to one of shock.  "Do you
know something that we don't?  Did they secretly go off and get
married without letting us know?"
   Ami looked at Minako in disbelief.  "No."
   "Then why are they going to believe that he's her husband?" Makoto
asked.
   Ami smiled.  "Don't you guys remember?  The motorcycle accident
awhile back?"
   The girls all realized it at the same time.  "OH."
   "Wait, you mean this is the *same* hospital?" Makoto asked.
   Ami nodded.  "It is.  And *their* records show that Tsukino Usagi
and Chiba Mamoru are husband and wife."

   A while back, Mamoru had gotten into a motorcycle accident.  Usagi,
desperate to see him, had used the disguise pen to make herself older
so that she could masquerade as his wife.  After Ami had had tapped
into the hospital's computer system with her mini-computer to show
that Usagi and Mamoru were indeed married, Usagi had been permitted to
see him.

   "Well, how is Rei supposed to get in as his sister?" Minako asked.
   "Simple," Rei said smugly.  She had remembered the motorcycle
accident, but hadn't bothered to interrupt Ami's explanation.  "Even
if the hospital has a complete record on Usagi, I doubt that their
records on Mamoru will be half as complete.  He's an orphan, remember?
So I'm his long-lost sister, or adopted sister, or whatever."
   "So how come *you* get in to see her?  Why can't we all be his
sisters?"
   Rei glared at Makoto, then began counting off points on her
fingers.  "Because 1) I've got the dark hair, so there's some kind of
resemblance between us, 2) I doubt the woman would buy the fact that
we're *all* his sisters, and 3) Ami's mom works at this hospital and
I'm sure she'd recognize you two, but *we*'ve never been properly
introduced."
   "Okay," Makoto said, subdued.  "You'll take care of her for us,
won't you, Rei?"
   "You know I will," she answered softly.
   "Make her pull through, Rei.  Yell at her if you have to, just make
her pull through," Minako said, teary-eyed.
   Rei nodded.
   Ami looked at Rei and said, "Mamoru's headed this way with some ID
tags.  Looks like it's time for you to go."
   Rei turned and met Mamoru.
   "Shouldn't we call her parents?" Mamoru asked.
   "They're out of town," Ami replied.  "Go on, you two.  Go and see
her."
   They nodded, and left.

* ~ *