Past Loves, dub name version

by Dinozore

this is the story of how Dinozore and Sailor Jupiter first met in the Silver Millennium

Princess Michelle had been watching her friend Prince Nick for the whole duration of the festivities. He had, unusually for him, not eaten much. He had, in fact, fed most of his food to the assorted avians assembled around him. Princess Amara looked up from her dinner and followed Princess Michelle's gaze. "Stop feeling sorry for that miserable boy and eat your dinner." She said irately. Princess Michelle scowled at her. "How dare you! You're part of the reason that Prince Nick's so depressed." She said angrily. Princess Amara continued to eat. Princess Mina had been watching Prince Nick too. She turned to Princess Raye. "I feel sorry for him. Not only did Amberite dump him, but the first girl he ever fell in love with likes other girls." She said, remembering her own recent breakup, with Malachite. Princess Mercury, Jupiter, and Mars had suffered similarly. "We all got dumped, remember?" Princess Raye said, holding a fork to her mouth. "Yes, but Prince Nick seems to have taken it rather hard." Princess Amy said. Prince Nick got up suddenly and walked out of the main hall, towards the gardens. Slither, Luna, Artemis, and Squawky were seated near Queen Serenity. "That boy could be a problem. Why is he allowed here if he's an Earthling? Why is Princess Holly allowed?" Luna asked. "Yes, Earthlings aren't supposed to be here." Artemis said. "I have my reasons. The boy has great power, and the girl is Sailor Gaia." Queen Serenity said. Prince Nick slipped out of the banquet hall, into an empty hallway. He hoped no one had noticed. I hate my life. First I learn Michelle is a lesbian, then Amberite dumps me. She joins the forces of Queen Beryl for some reason, just like the other generals. The Princesses have many friends. I only have the animals and my best friend. He walked through the empty hallway, only to suddenly run into Endymion, his brother. Before Endymion could say anything, Prince Nick slipped by him and out of sight. Prince Nick continued onward. He reached the ornate doors to the Moon Palace. He opened them and walked into the Moon Gardens. He sat down on a bench, and looked up at the Earth, which was visible in the sky. "Earth, why can't I find a girl to love me?" Prince Nick said sadly. He hung his head. Princess Michelle walked up to him. "Why are you acting like this?" "It's nice of you to try to console me, but I don't need your pity." "Nick, I'm your best friend. As your friend, I can't bear to watch you all depressed like that." "Michelle, I know you're just trying to make me feel better. I also know that you feel responsible for this. Don't. If I only knew that you were-" "I should have told you. That way, you wouldn't have fallen in love with me." "Nick, you should go to the dance in Moon Palace." "Mina, dances only make me sadder. I hate seeing all the other boys with dates. All I have for company are you and a bunch of birds." Princess Michelle grabbed Prince Nick roughly and slapped him. "Snap out of it! Listen to me: The girl for you is out there somewhere. She may even be inside Moon Palace! You'll never find her if you sit around here moping about." She said sharply. Prince Nick stood up and turned towards Moon Palace. "You're right! But one thing, Michelle, keep Amara away from me. I don't want to deal with her criticism." He said, smiling at the sea-green haired girl as he walked away. He quickly left her behind. He walked slowly towards the entrance to the ballroom. He looked inside. The dance has begun! Michelle said the girl for me may be here somewhere. And look, there's my brother and Princess Serena. He has a girl, why can't I? Prince Nick wondered. He walked slowly, threading through the crowds. He found a seat and sat there. Then, there was the dry hiss of reptilian scales. Prince Nick looked to his left and drew back in horror. A Jupiterian Darksnake! Prince Nick edged away. He knew that Darksnakes were volatile, and only trusted people they knew. They struck at those they did not know. The snake slithered towards him. "Nice Darksnake, go away now," Prince Nick hissed. Then he had an idea. He withdrew his flute from his pocket. He put the beautifully carved flute to his lips, and began to play. The music clearly entranced the Darksnake. Its head swayed back and forth in tune to the music. Then it slithered up his arm, along his back, to rest on his shoulder. "I guess that means you won't bite me. I knew animals liked me, but I didn't think it would work on those from other planets. Now who do you belong to? A Jupiterian for sure. But which one?" Princess Amy came up to talk to Prince Nick. Then she saw the Darksnake. Princess Raye walked up. "What's wrong with you?" "S. sn. sna. snake!" Princess Amy stammered, her face draining of color, "I hate snakes!" "Wait, that's Europa! But why hasn't she bitten him?" "You're right," Princess Amy said, hiding behind Princess Raye, "But I thought Princess Lita was ordered to leave Europa in Castle Io on Jupiter." MEANWHILE: Queen Serenity saw Prince Nick charm Europa. She gestured to the boy. "See that, Luna? That's why. I've known he was special ever since he was young. I visited the Earth then, and I say a young man call birds down from the sky with his flute. Then I thought I knew who he was. I think he is Talonstrike's successor." "That's not possible!" Squawky said. "I'm not finished," Queen Serenity continued, "I asked the King of Earth who the boy was." "Who was he?" "Artemis, the Earth King said that this was his younger son, Prince Nick. I invited the boy to the Moon Kingdom. He met a girl there who has been his friend ever since." Queen Serenity used the power of the Silver Crystal to generate an image in front of the cats, lizard, and bird. Prince Nick was exploring the Moon Gardens. The prince heard a little girl crying, and he set off in search of the sound. He found a girl sitting by the side of Moon Lake. She had a large cut on her leg that was bleeding, causing a rivulet of crimson to drip down her leg. She looked up as Prince Nick approached. She tried futilely to wipe away the tears that streamed down her face. "What do you want?" she snapped. "You're bleeding." "It's nothing. Really." "You can't fool me. I can see the blood on your leg." "I'm fine. I don't need your pity or your help." "What caused this? How did you get hurt?" The little girl sniffed, and looked at him, eyes full of tears. She gestured to her arm. "I had a bracelet, a beautiful one. But I was swimming and I. I lost it, in Moon Lake. I couldn't find it. And I cut my leg on a sharp rock." The girl's voice was full of sadness. "What's so special about that bracelet?" "It was a birthday gift from my father. I love that bracelet." "I'll get it back." Prince Nick said. The girl was amazed. "Why would you do that? If I can't find it, no one can." "I don't know. I just don't like seeing a girl in tears." The girl stopped crying. She watched as the boy walked over to the water's edge. Who is this boy? He's so unlike the other boys of the Moon Kingdom. Most of them would laugh at me. She thought, impressed. Princess Michelle watched as the boy withdrew a flute from his pocket. He began to play a haunting tune that echoed across Moon Lake. Suddenly a lithe, graceful, aquatic creature leapt above the surface of the water. Princess Michelle identified it immediately. A Terradelphinian! She thought. They were aquatic animals native to Neptune. Her father had given some of them to Queen Serenity as a gift a few years ago. The cetacean dove beneath Moon Lake, and as the boy continued to play his flute, the water turned calm. Suddenly, the cetacean erupted out of the water, and swam to the water's edge. It dropped something at the boy's feet. He stopped playing, and the cetacean dove under the water again. He picked up the object, and walked back towards her. "Here," he said, holding out his hand, "I told you I'd get it back." In his hand was her bracelet! Carved out of sea-green stone and engraved ornately, it was beautiful indeed. "Th. thanks. I owe you. Who are you?" "You're welcome. I'm Prince Nick, of Earth." "But Earthlings aren't-" "I was invited by the Queen. Animals have always listened to me. I can talk to them with my flute." "Animals must play a big part in your destiny. My life is entwined with water." "Your hair is pretty. I've never seen a girl with turquoise hair in Castle Terra. Where are you from?" "I'm Princess Michelle, of Neptune." Princess Michelle stood up; wincing as she put her weight on her injured leg. Prince Nick reached into his pocket. "Here." He said, pulling out a bandana. He got his hand wet, and wiped away the blood. Then he used the bandana as a bandage. Princess Michelle smiled at the boy. "Thank you," she said. "Maybe we should be friends." "Yes, Princess Michelle," Prince Nick said, "Maybe." The animals found themselves in Moon Palace once again. "So that's how Prince Nick met Princess Michelle." Luna commented. "Yes, and it was amazing that she's still his friend after the incident with Amara a few months ago." Artemis said. "He likes her too much to hate him, even if she will never love him," Queen Serenity said, "Now we must continue my tale. I saw this boy make friends with the Princess of Neptune and I hoped my suspicion was correct." Then Queen Serenity caused the scene to change. It was night. Prince Nick snuck out of his quarters in Moon Palace. He walked as quietly as possible down an abandoned hallway. His feet made dull echoes as he walked. He then found a door that he hadn't seen before. He pressed on it, and it opened. Prince Nick found himself in a huge room. The air was dusty, and everything smelled musty. On a pedestal in the middle of the room was a strange object. It was grayish, and shaped like the claw of some large animal. Prince Nick felt irresistibly drawn towards it. His hand strayed upwards; he tried to touch it. The artifact began to glow brightly. Then a light turned on. "What are you doing here!" The boy froze, too scared to reply or move. Queen Serenity stood in the doorway. "This area is off-limits! You should not be here!" "But. but Queen-" "Back to your quarters! I'll let you off easily. You could have damaged that artifact." Prince Nick was sent back to his quarters by a guard. Queen Serenity examined the artifact. "The Sickle-Claw has never glowed like this. Is that boy the one from the Earth that Talonstrike's prophecy foretold?" she exclaimed to herself. Then the scene returned to normal. "Now I have told you. That is how I figured out what he is, and how he met his best friend." MEANWHILE: Prince Nick threaded his way through the crowd. Europa was seated on his shoulder still. Think, Nick, think. I know who this snake belongs to, but I can't remember her. Prince Nick was shadowed from a distance by most of the Princesses. "Where's he going?" "He's trying to find Europa's owner." "I'd hate to be him when he comes upon Princess Lita. She won't be happy." Prince Nick started moving quicker. Then, he collided headlong with a tall, brown-haired girl. She crashed into him and fell to the ground. "I'm very sorry. Here, I'll help you up." He extended a hand down to her. She took his hand and he helped her up. However, soon he wished he had not. Princess Lita! Oh, no. Prince Nick thought. "How dare you-" Princess Lita began, but she was captivated by the look in the young man's eyes. He was staring at her with a far-off look. She's so beautiful he thought. Princess Lita saw the pendant the boy was wearing. Everyone wore a pendant of his or her planet's symbol. This boy's pendant was in the shape of a quartered circle. Earth! "What do you want, Earthling?" She asked angrily. "I am Prince Nicholas, Prince Nick for short. I am indeed from Earth. Don't look at me that way. I am just as human as you are." Prince Nick said. Then Princess Lita saw Europa, who was perched on his shoulder. "What? Europa never lets strangers touch her! Only my family and I can. She even attacks the other Princesses!" "I'm good with animals. I always have been, as long as I could remember." Prince Nick said, looking around. "Do you care to dance? I see no man or woman with eyes for you." "Woman?! Do you think I'm a lesbian?!" Prince Nick froze. "No," he said, "but I fell in love with one once. I don't want that to happen again." "I don't have a date for the dance. I don't see anything wrong with dancing with you." Princess Lita said. She started to dance with the prince. He's almost as handsome as Endymion is. Wait, what an I saying? The two continued to dance for a while. Then Princess Lita broke off the dance. "I'm going to the Moon Gardens to look at the Earth in the sky. It's beautiful from here." She disappeared. Prince Nick followed immediately. He followed her outside, and sat on the steps for a while. Then he heard Princess Lita scream. He ran as fast as he could. "You know, Princesses shouldn't be out here when there's a dance going on." "I like her. Hey, want to-" "NO! Leave me alone!" "Why should we do that?" Three older men were threatening Princess Lita, making advances on her. They were stronger than her, and that was some feat. She declined their advances once more, and then they got angry. The biggest, a Uranian, grabbed her arm. "STOP! Didn't you hear the lady? She said no!" Prince Nick shouted. "Well, the loser Earthling." "Pick on someone from your own planet, Uranian" "I would, but our Princess is a dyke." Prince Nick leapt down in front of Princess Lita. "Cirrus! Strike!" He yelled. A golden-yellow avian dove from the sky like a thunderbolt, hitting the Uranian. "Forget this! I'm leaving!" he said. "Why don't we go after them?" she asked. Prince Nick shook his head and beckoned her to sit down on a bench. "I'll tell Serenity. She'll make sure they're dealt with, for assaulting a Princess if nothing else." "Thanks for saving me." "You're welcome. I feel, well, happier around you. I haven't felt happiness like this for a while." "You care about me. No other man I've dated, even that traitor Neflite, would do that. But how did you order Cirrus around?" "I am half Uranian. Princess Amara is my cousin. Cirrus knows and trusts me." Prince Nick put his arm around Princess Lita's waist. She flinched, but then relaxed. She laid her head on his shoulder. "I felt that you were different. Maybe it's because you're from Earth. But you're so handsome, like Endymion." "Like my brother?" Prince Nick was surprised. He was never favorably compared to his older brother. It was always 'But Endymion would've done this', and 'Endymion wouldn't do that' and so on. It irritated him to live in his brother's shadow. Princess Lita kissed Prince Nick on the cheek. His face felt flushed, warm. He stammered, trying to speak, but his words stuck in his throat. "Perhaps we should return to the dance?" "Yes, Lita, perhaps we should." "The other Princesses will wonder where we went." Prince Nick looked at the bushes. He saw a flash of movement. "I don't know. Maybe." He stood, and helped her up. Hand in hand, they walked back into Moon Palace. They threaded their way through the crowds, to the side of the room. Princess Raye and Princess Mina were sitting dejectedly there. They looked over at Prince Nick, and both ran over to him and hung on his arms. "Well, how did things go?" they asked. Prince Nick only blushed. Princess Mina and Princess Raye let go of his arms, and slunk off, looking for dates of their own. "Do you wish to dance?" Prince Nick said, embracing Princess Lita and kissing her on the cheek lightly. Princess Lita felt her face turn red. "Not yet." She said softly, turning her head so that, as he kissed her again, their lips met. Princess Amara and Princess Michelle were watching too. Cirrus perched on a railing next to his mistress. "Well, he's finally found himself a girl. Now he'll stop hating me, I hope." "He just hated you because he was in love with me." "Ha! I still think that he should have won Michelle's heart instead of you." Cirrus cackled. "Shut up, Cirrus! That guy is worthless." "AMARA! He's known me far longer than you have. He's been my friend since we were little." Princess Michelle reached into the pocket of her gown. She withdrew a small sea-green bracelet. "It's too small to wear, but I keep it as a symbol of our friendship. It's supposed to bring good luck." "That worthless thing?" "It's not worthless! I love it, but I've outgrown it." "What's that symbol?" Princess Amara said, pointing to the slit-pupiled eye. "I don't know. It's pretty." "I'm amazed Nick doesn't hate you, after that incident." "Shut up! I can't help the way I am, and he understands that." "I still think he's better for you, Michelle." Cirrus added. A FEW DAYS LATER: Prince Nick was walking with Princess Lita in a forest near Io Castle. Then they heard a weak screech. An eagle-like bird with bright green feathers and a long green plume above each eye was flapping furiously, trying to fly. "What is it?" "It's a Jupiterian Eagle. This one is a little unusual though, I think. Do they always have green feathers?" "No-" Princess Lita began. She reached for the injured eagle, and it pecked her viciously. She bit her lip to keep from saying as her hand bled. Prince Nick withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket and tied it around her hand. "Thanks." She said, looking at the eagle. Even though its wing was broken, it fluffed its feathers and hissed at them. Prince Nick withdrew his flute. He began to play. The eagle stopped hissing and listened. It relaxed its feathers. "How do you DO that?" "I have a gift, I guess. Animals like me." He picked the eagle up and handed it to Princess Lita. She looked at it nervously. "Don't worry. I told it not to hurt you. I think you should keep it." "ME? Keep it?" "Yes, as a pet. It is only fitting that a Princess would own a beautiful bird like him." "But his wing-" "Don't worry, I'll set it." A FEW DAYS LATER: Princess Lita laid on her bed, deep in thought. I've never felt this way towards a boy. He is the nicest boy I've ever met. She turned to the eagle, which she had christened Io after the castle. "Io, is this love? It's a stronger feeling than I ever felt when I was with Neflite." Io stopped preening and screeched. Then Princess Lita heard a voice in her mind. Do you think it is? He loves you. "Io?" Princess Lita gasped. The eagle said nothing else. She must have been hearing things. Princess Lita sat up, and scratched Europa under the jawbone. Then she heard a commotion downstairs. She heard her father's voice. "An EARTHLING! My daughter is in love with an EARTHLING? How dare she!" Her father came storming up the stairs. He locked eyes with his daughter. "From now on you are FORBIDDEN to see this boy!" King Jupiter shouted. His wife tried to placate him, but she could not. Princess Lita felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. He couldn't do that! Tears welled up unbidden to her eyes. "NO! You can't!" She cried. Tears streamed down her face now. "I can and I will, young lady! As long as you live here, you listen to me!" "Maybe I don't want to live in Io Castle! Maybe I'll go and live on the Moon Kingdom! Queen Serenity will give me a room there." "You are not allowed to leave Castle Io!" King Jupiter bellowed. Lita pushed past him, running down the hall. She opened a portal to the Moon Kingdom. She arrived there suddenly. She cried as she ran, seeking out Prince Nick, hoping he was there. Then Cirrus swooped past her face. She stopped. He hovered in front of her, then took off at a low altitude through the Moon Gardens. Princess Lita followed, still crying, wondering where Cirrus was leading her. Then the Dimorphodon pulled up and flew out of sight. Princess Lita saw Prince Nick. He turned, alerted by Cirrus perhaps. "What's wrong? You're crying." He wiped the tears from her face with a gloved hand. She tried to speak, but only managed a strangled sob. Then she cleared her throat and spoke. "My father. He found out about. us. He forbid me to see you anymore." Princess Lita sobbed. She laid her head on Prince Nick's chest and cried her heart out. "Don't worry. Everything will be all right. You'll see." Princess Lita looked up at the man, who meant so much to her, through her tear-clouded vision. "You really think so?" Prince Nick ran his hand through Princess Lita's brown hair, gently stroking it. He smiled fondly at her. "Yes." Then Princess Lita thought for a second. "There's a festival in Castle Io," she said, "In two days. You've got to get there, somehow." "I will. You might not recognize me when you see me, but I will be there." "LITA!" King Jupiter yelled. "Oh, no, my father's here. You've got to get away!" Princess Lita said. She kissed him on the lips quickly. Prince Nick got up and hid behind a wall of shrubbery. It was if he had never been there at all. "There you are! You're coming back to Castle Io! Now." Then King Jupiter looked towards the bushes. "Someone's here. He's here, that Earthling! Isn't he?" King Jupiter moved towards the bushes. Oh no! I don't know what he'll do to Nick if he finds him! Then Cirrus dove from the sky, claws first. He scratched King Jupiter's hand. "Damn flying lizard! Why does Serenity keep so many animals here?" King Jupiter grabbed his daughter by the arm and dragged her away, to the Moon Palace and then back to Jupiter. "I'll do what my brother does: hide my face under a mask! I will meet my beloved Princess Lita again!" Prince Nick shouted, raising a fist to the sky. Then he saw Cirrus. "Thank you. You helped Lita find me, and you stopped King Jupiter from finding me." Prince Nick said, thanking the Dimorphodon. He walked slowly back to his quarters on Moon Palace. He had spent the last few days on Earth, at his home, Castle Terra. He had sworn that earlier this day, he had heard a voice in his mind. Go to the Moon Kingdom. It is important. the voice had said. He had done so. He wondered who, or what, the voice had been. When he reached Moon Palace, he found Queen Serenity in the doorway. "Queen, I-" "I know all that has happened. I spoke with King Jupiter, trying to buy Princess Lita some time to reach you and speak with you. It is not right to separate two people in love. That is why I allow your brother Endymion to come here: to see my daughter, who loves him." "Why does everyone hate us? We're just like them." "There is a reason. Come to the throne room and you will see." Prince Nick followed Queen Serenity to her throne room. It was beautiful, and vibrantly decorated. On a pedestal by Queen Serenity's throne was the Crescent Moon Wand, which held the Silver Crystal. "You know of the Negaverse?" she asked. Prince Nick nodded. "Then you know that Empress Metallia's sorceress, Queen Beryl, is an Earthling?" "I didn't know." "Queen Beryl was a mere Earthling, but then Metallia offered her power. Lots of it. She became dark and twisted. Others, including her four generals and her advisor, whom you well know, succumbed to Metallia's evil and became foul, corrupt creatures." "All the planets hate us because of her?" "Partially. Added to it is the fact that people from Earth do not have the powers that we have. They are considered inferior." "But the Guardians have power. They are human." "They are in a class of their own." "What will I do? I can't let this happen. I love Princess Lita, and she loves me. I must see her." "I will try to persuade King Jupiter to let Princess Lita see you. It won't be easy, he's very stubborn, but I should be able to do it." Prince Nick walked out of the throne room, his feelings like a black thundercloud. "How are you going to get to Jupiter?" Princess Mina asked, butting in. "Leave me alone!" "I'll help you. You should be careful. Europa and that eagle, Io or whatever, will know you and react in kind." "I didn't think of that." "People in love seldom do." TWO DAYS LATER: Princess Lita leaned against the railing of the balcony that overlooked Castle Io's ballroom. She started to cry. He lied. He isn't coming. Then a flash of green caught her eye. As she watched, a familiar-looking boy walked into the ballroom. Dressed in a tuxedo and wearing a green mask, the boy looked like Prince Nick, but he couldn't be- The boy walked past Europa, and the snake struck at him. Princess Lita's heart sunk. It isn't him. Europa doesn't strike at Nick. She descended the staircase, to find herself confronted by the masked boy. She wanted to say "I'm taken" but the words caught in her throat. "Do you wish to dance?" the boy asked politely. She had no choice but to accept. She stepped out onto the dance floor with the boy, and she was sure she knew him. "He's a good dancer." Princess Amara said, leaning against a wall. "But he's more of a loser than my cousin." "AMARA!" Princess Michelle hissed. "That IS your cousin, you know. And he's my best friend besides." Princess Amara looked at her beloved with puzzlement. "He is? I didn't know. But the snake-" "Was told to act like it didn't know him. They listen to him, even Cirrus. Sometimes I think Cirrus likes him better than you." Then the boy swept Princess Lita into an empty hallway. She saw the sly smirk, and she immediately sensed what he was up to. Disgusted by his intentions, she pushed him away. She turned to leave. "I'm spoken for." She said scornfully. The boy smirked. He grabbed her by the wrist. "Let me go! My heart belongs to someone else!" She hissed. The boy reached up with his other hand and pulled off his mask. Princess Lita gasped, her mouth moving, but no sound was produced. The boy was Prince Nick! "But how. Europa struck. at you!" "I told her to with my music, in order that she not give me away." Princess Lita blushed and hastily apologized. "I told you that I would be here." He said, embracing her. He kissed her softly on the lips. She closed her eyes, and he kissed her again. This time, their lips locked and they stayed that way. "AHEM! If you two aren't too busy-" Princess Lita, face flushed red, whirled towards the voice. It was Princess Mina! Princess Lita glared at Princess Mina, but Prince Nick stopped her. "She helped me get here, and she alerted me to the fact that Europa would recognize me." "Well, so our plan worked?" Princess Mina queried. "Guess that mask was a good idea." "The mask?" Princess Lita was mystified. She'd seen a mask like that one before, but where? Then her mind conjured up an image of Princess Serena's significant other, Endymion, the eldest child of the King of Earth. Nick's brother? "Yes, I emulated my brother." "I was afraid that you-" "Weren't coming? I had to wait for a while." Princess Mina laughed. "Seeing how you two were acting when I arrived, I guess you were glad to see each other." "What can I do about my father? He forbid me to see you, and he'll find out about this and not let me out of my room." "Queen Serenity is trying to get him to let you see me." "She is?" "Yes." "I believe I'll leave you two alone now." Princess Mina teased. Then she left. "I missed you." Princess Lita said, drawing closer to him. "I felt sick, knowing you and I were forbidden to meet." Prince Nick said, kissing his Princess on the cheek. She smiled. "Did you hear the voice in your mind too?" she asked. "Yes. Whose voice was it?" "I don't know." She said. She turned her head towards him, and their lips met again in a long, passionate, soul-searing kiss. LATER: Prince Nick and Princess Lita were dancing again. He was wearing his mask again so he would not be recognized. However, King Jupiter was watching them. "She and that boy are deeply in love, but it couldn't be possible unless she'd known him for a. THAT EARTHLING!" King Jupiter snarled. He'd gotten in somehow, right under his nose. But how? Serenity. It was her doing. His daughter's birthday was coming up, and he would make SURE that the boy didn't get in. And if he did, he wouldn't leave. alive. Later that night, Princess Lita and Princess Raye were standing on the balcony. "Princess Lita, are you sure about this? You might just be desperate, what with Neflite dumping you and all." "This is true love. If it weren't, Prince Nick would not have come here. And Raye, you had a failed relationship too, with Jedite. Opal stole him from you." THE NEXT DAY: "You are grounded! You cannot leave your room, and you definitely can NOT go to the Moon Kingdom!" King Jupiter roared. Princess Lita cried and cried. "You don't care!" She shouted. "You don't love me!" She pounded on the wall with her bare fists. "I do love you. That's why I won't let you be heartbroken when this boy leaves you like Neflite did. Earthlings are all the same; they are nothing compared to us." "Nick is different! He loves me! He's no different than we are." "Your beloved Earthling only wants one thing from you." "That's not true!" Princess Lita shouted at the top of her lungs. King Jupiter left, slamming the door behind him. Princess Lita threw herself on her bed, crying. "I love him! We can't be separated like this!" she sobbed. Io looked on with pity. Princess Lita looked at her pet. She ripped off a small strip of cloth from her dress. She wrote on it furiously, still crying as she did so. "Io, take this message to Prince Nick. He'll understand," she said. She tied the cloth to Io's leg with a ribbon she took from her hair. This can't happen! She thought. She hurled herself facedown on the bed and continued crying. Io launched himself off of his perch and out of the window. He flew through a portal, towards the Moon Kingdom ON THE MOON KINGDOM: Princess Michelle was sitting in Moon Palace, eating a slice of cake and humming to herself, when Io came careening through a portal, slamming into her. She fell backwards, hitting the ground hard. Her cake flew into the air and landed on her. She sat up, wiping the cake from her face and rubbing the bump on her head. "What was-" she began, spying the Jupiterian Eagle. She recognized it immediately. "Io? What are you doing here?" The eagle took off and flew outside. He continued flying. Then he realized with horror: Nick wasn't here! He was on Earth! Io gulped. He couldn't get to Earth from here! Then he heard the sound of a portal opening. Io turned, puzzled, to see Princess Michelle and a portal. "Don't worry, Io," she said. "This one goes to Earth. I know what you've got tied to your leg is important, so go on through." Io screeched gratefully, and flew through the portal. He emerged in Castle Terra's courtyard, in front of Princess Holly. She shrieked as she saw Io appear out of nowhere. Io flapped his broad green wings, gaining altitude. Prince Endymion and Prince Nick ran to their startled sister. "What's wrong?" They said as one. "A green eagle appeared out of nowhere," Princess Holly gasped. "It was big, and fierce looking." Prince Nick looked shocked. He said one word. "Io." He pulled out his flute and started to play. Io heard the sound and descended. He landed on Prince Nick's shoulder. Prince Nick untied the piece of cloth from Io's leg. "The ribbon is from Princess Lita's hair, and the cloth from her dress, but why.. Oh, no!" "What?" "Endymion, my brother, she's been grounded. And when there's another event on Jupiter, the King will make sure that I can't get in." "That's horrible!" "Yes, sister. Io, return to Lita." Prince Nick said. He tore a small strip of cloth from his own shirt and used it to tie the message back onto the eagle's leg. He tossed Io upwards, and the eagle spread his wings and flew away, through another portal. Io got back to Jupiter. He circled Castle Io, looking for an open window. He found one, and swooped through it. He landed and walked awkwardly down the hall to his owner's room. He scratched at the door with his talons. The door opened, revealing a teary-eyed Princess Lita. "Io, didn't you find him?" she asked. Io nodded. "You did?" Io noticed that his mistress's face was streaked with tears, and red, as if she had been crying for a long time. Io knew she had been. Princess Lita carried Io into her room and set him on the bed. She looked at her message, and noticed that the ribbon had been removed. A strip of blue cloth with green trimming now tied the message to Io's leg. She removed it, and read the message that Prince Nick had written. "I'll be there," The letter read. "One way or another." Princess Lita was worried now. What if her father caught him here? He might not leave alive! She loved him, why didn't her father understand this? "Io, I don't know why, but I feel safer with Nick around. I feel like he'll protect me no matter what happens." Io merely looked on with emotionless eyes. Princess Lita laughed, her voice harsh from crying. "Why do I bother talking to you? You're an animal. Just an animal, nothing more. I bet you don't even understand me." Io cocked his head, his eyes still betraying no emotion. ON THE MOON KINGDOM: Prince Nick was walking, kicking a stone in front of him. Princess Michelle ran up to him, followed by Princess Mina. "You're acting like you used to." Princess Michelle said. "It's mean of King Jupiter to keep you two apart. There's truly something here, like there is between Michelle and Amara. As disturbing as that is." Princess Mina commented gloomily. "Oh, no, Princess Lita's birthday is soon, isn't it?" Prince Nick nodded. Cirrus flew in and landed on Princess Michelle's shoulder. It chirped and spoke to her. Princess Michelle giggled. "She uses Cirrus as a message carrier. He talks quite well." "Cirrus has more vocal ability than my cousin knows he has." "He does?" Princess Michelle queried. Prince Nick nodded. Cirrus preened himself for a moment, then took off again. He flew out of sight, into the Moon Gardens. "This is wrong. When two people love each other as much as you two, it's wrong to separate them like this." Princess Michelle said distractedly. Princess Mina grabbed Prince Nick by the collar and stopped him. "You ARE going to her birthday party!" "But how? King Jupiter will make sure that I don't get in. And heaven help me if he catches me. But I will do it, no matter what happens." "Nick, Queen Serenity is trying to get King Jupiter to reverse his decision. There's no point in putting yourself in danger." Princess Michelle said. Prince Nick increased his pace and outdistanced them. Princess Amara came running up behind them, startling Princess Michelle. Cirrus was sitting on her shoulder. "Amara! Don't DO that!" Princess Amara smiled. "You know, some boys never learn." "Nor do some girls." Cirrus said. "Huh?" "Never mind." Prince Nick walked onwards. He was brooding over what he was going to do. Lita's birthday is in less than a week, and I'm in great danger if I go, but I can't afford not to go. I love Lita, and I'll do anything to help her. Prince Nick wasn't watching where he was going, and he crashed headlong into two people going the opposite direction. His brother and Princess Serena! "Prince Nick!" Princess Serena exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" "I'm sorry!" Prince Nick hastily apologized for crashing into her. Prince Endymion watched him intently. He seems bothered. Maybe his being separated from Princess Lita is getting to him. "Nick, don't crash into us like that!" he hissed. Princess Serena laid her hand on his shoulder. "Don't be so harsh. He was not watching where he was going. He was thinking about Princess Lita." "How did you know?" the two brothers exclaimed. "Endymion, Nick, you two are the only ones who are banned from Jupiter. Everyone else can come and go freely. Princess Lita told me about what happened." Prince Nick stood up and dusted himself off. Before either Prince Endymion or Princess Serena could speak, he had disappeared. Prince Nick ran. He ran from the cruel judgement of King Jupiter, from Princess Amara's criticism, from the people who said he didn't belong here, from everyone who hated Earthlings. He ran and ran, his feet hitting the ground rhythmically as he ran. Finally he stopped, in front of Moon Lake. He sat down, breathing heavily. "I love her. But why is everyone against me?" As if in response, the waters of Moon Lake began to churn, as if a massive creature were moving under the surface. A small head, attached to a long thin neck, emerged from the water, followed by a massive body. The Moon Dragon! This massive beast's appearance was said to herald an important event. He heard a commotion from behind him. "The Moon Dragon!" "It appears again!" "What event does the Moon Dragon herald now?" "Who knows?" Prince Nick turned around, and saw other Moonites watching. They weren't looking at him, but were pointing at the Moon Dragon. The great beast trumpeted loudly and slipped beneath the water's surface. Prince Nick slipped away from the Moonites. He came to Moon Palace, to find Queen Serenity waiting for him. "You saw the Moon Dragon?" she asked. "Yes. What does it mean?" "Prince Nick, the Moon Dragon foretells important events." "Like what?" "When Serena was born, it appeared. It appeared long before that also, on the day when a great warrior died. When the Negaverse appeared for the first time, it also appeared. It even appeared on the day of your birth." "Am I important? The Moon Dragon foretells important events, not the birth of a mere Earthling Prince like me." "It heralded the birth of every Princess." "Queen Serenity, I can't stand living here. It reminds me." "Of your Princess, am I correct?" Prince Nick was speechless. Queen Serenity had hit a bulls-eye! "Yes, Queen. The Moon Gardens, the Palace itself, they all remind me of Lita." "You must go to her birthday party. That is all I will say." Nick left the throne room, then found a portal. Prince Nick stepped through. He found himself on Pluto, in front of Castle Charon. He walked up to the Time Gate that stood in the courtyard and pushed it open. He found himself standing in a hazy open area. "Who dares to invade the Time Gates!" a voice commanded. A large reptile charged at him, the ground rumbling as he lumbered forwards. Prince Nick withdrew his flute and began to play it. The reptile stopped dead and turned around. "Could it be." the voice began. "Who are you?" Prince Nick commanded. The haze dissolved. Prince Nick was standing in front of a gigantic version of the Time Gate, decorated with the phases of the Moon. A girl who looked only a little older than him, but whom he felt was much older, stood before the Time Gate, holding what looked like a giant key. She nodded her head in recognition. A small saurian perched on her shoulder. "I am Princess Trista, the Princess of the planet Pluto. You are Prince Nick, the Earthling on the Moon Kingdom." "But-" "I am Guardian of Time. I have seen the past and the future. I know who you are, and I know all about your relationship with Princess Lita. Why are you here? You know time travel is forbidden." "What is that creature? On your shoulder." Prince Nick said, changing the subject. "This is Charon, a Compsognathus. The other creature is a Dimetrodon. Both are creatures from your planet's past. They keep me company here." "Sailor Pluto, Queen Serenity said that I must go to Lita's birthday party, but she didn't say how I could." Sailor Pluto gestured with her staff. "She will be devastated if you do not go there." She waved it above their heads, and an image appeared in midair. The image was of Princess Lita. She was lying on her bed, crying her heart out. The other Princesses were there too, trying to comfort her, but to no avail. "She loves you. You must go. It is important for the future." "Is Lita's birthday the reason the Moon Dragon appeared?" "I am not sure. The Moon Dragon has never appeared when a person was as close as you were. It trusted you." "I wonder why?" "No matter. You must go to Princess Lita's party, but you cannot enter Castle Io's front door." "How do I get in?" "I cannot tell you that! Now, be gone!" Prince Nick turned and left through the mists. I cannot tell you what will happen, or what you shall become. Prince Nick made a pledge. He would go to Jupiter, no matter what! SEVERAL DAYS LATER: Princess Lita, by all accounts, should have been happy, but she wasn't. It was her birthday, and the only thing she wanted was to see Nick. She leaned on the railing that overlooked the Great Hall, and sighed. He wasn't coming. Maybe my father was right about him. she thought. Then she heard a voice in her head. Don't be so sure, Princess. The day is not over yet. Princess Lita looked around nervously, but there was nothing near her save Io and Europa. "Who said that?" she ventured nervously. No one answered. She suddenly broke down and started crying. Why her? All of her misfortune, why did it have to happen to her? She ran up the stairs, back towards her room. She didn't notice however, that Io was not with her anymore, nor was he anywhere on Jupiter for that matter. The other Princesses saw her run up the stairs. "I think she cracked." Princess Raye said idly. "Shut up!" Princess Mina snapped. "All of you!" Princess Serena commanded. "We're going to console Princess Lita. NOW!" Princess Raye reluctantly got up, and along with Princess Mina, Princess Serena, Princess Amy, and Princess Michelle, they followed Princess Lita upstairs. Princess Amara stayed where she was, lazily sipping her drink. Princess Lita sat down on her bed, crying. She was a fool to believe that the Earth boy was different. He was no better than Queen Beryl. Then someone knocked on her door. "Lita, it's us. Let us in!" Princess Serena said. Princess Lita opened the door, and the Princesses stumbled in. "Lita," Princess Mina began. "If he loves you, he'll be here. The problem is that your father won't allow Earthlings in." "But if he's coming, why hasn't he already?" Princess Lita hissed. "Relax. Endymion isn't here either, so maybe it's because they're Earthlings." ON THE MOON: Io came through the portal at top eagle speed, nearly crashing into Prince Endymion. "Whoa, Io, watch out!" he shouted. "You almost hit me!" "IO"? "Yeah, your girlfriend's pet eagle. He came through the portal" Prince Nick ran up to his brother. He was once again wearing his mask, and except for the color of their hair and their height, the two brothers looked almost identical. Io gestured for them to follow him. The two boys did. They found themselves on Jupiter, at the back entrance of Castle Io. "Io, of course, you're going to help us get inside, aren't you?" The eagle nodded. "Serena is in there too, somewhere. Probably trying to comfort your beloved." The two young men snuck in through the back entrance. The slunk silently through dark, abandoned passages, until they reached the upper floors, far away from the party. MEANWHILE: Princess Raye turned towards the hallway, and paused, listening. "Someone's coming. No, two people are." "Two people?" Princess Amy queried. "Yes, moving quietly, as if they are trying not to be found." "Trying not to be seen, perhaps?" "Who would-" Princess Amy and Princess Raye looked at each other, arriving at the same conclusion within seconds. "Nick!" Princess Amy whispered "And probably he brought his brother along too." Princess Raye concurred. They decided to say nothing to the others, to keep the Princes' arrival a secret. Princess Lita explained her troubles to Princess Serena. Princess Michelle listened, but her gut instinct told her that someone was coming. She turned, and saw Princess Raye and Princess Amy watching the door intently. Then Princess Lita sat up. "I heard something." "What? You're hearing things, Lita. There's nothing here but us." Princess Serena laughed, but Princess Lita stood and ran out into the hall. She looked towards the end of the hall, cloaked in shadow. "Could it be?" she whispered. "No, my heart is playing tricks on me." Then twin shadows detached themselves from the rest of them. The Princesses screamed. Then the two shadowy figures walked into the circle of light emanating from Princess Lita's room. The girls trembled, except for Princess Michelle. She knew who they were. "Back away!" Princess Lita said, trying to sound brave. "I WILL hurt you!" Princess Serena hid behind Princess Lita The foremost shadowy figure walked forwards, removing the mask that hid his eyes. Princess Lita gasped in shock. Nick! "Nick." she stammered. "How? And who's-" Prince Nick gestured behind him. "Princess Serena, you look like an idiot, hiding from Endymion and I like that." "Endymion?" Princess Serena babbled. Prince Nick nodded. "I figured it'd be just as hard for him to get in as me. So I invited my brother too." Princess Lita rushed to Prince Nick. She embraced him, crying tears of joy. "NICK! You came! I was right! You do love me!" she cried. "I was a little late, but directions you get from an eagle can only be so precise." "From an eagle?" Princess Lita was puzzled. Then Io lifted off of the shoulder of Endymion, who was now being embraced by Princess Serena, and landed on his perch. "Yes. Io flew to the Moon Kingdom and got us. He showed us the back way into Castle Io." Princess Lita beamed. "Maybe Io somehow sensed our love, and resolved to help it thrive." "Maybe indeed. Animals know more than people give them credit for. They have knowledge that we have lost or never had to begin with." Then the sound of someone coming up the stairs startled them. "Oh, no! My father's coming!" Princess Lita cried. King Jupiter reached the top of the stairs, and saw the Prince. "THE EARTHLING! I don't know how you got in, boy, but you won't leave alive!" he said, drawing his sword. Prince Nick and Prince Endymion backed up. Then Princess Lita ran between them. "Lita! Get out of my way!" "NO!" "This is for your own good!" "I love him! I won't let you hurt him!" Princess Lita turned her head and shouted to Prince Nick. "Nick, run! Run, while you can!" she cried. The boy turned and ran down the hallway, into the darkness. Princess Lita still barred the hallway, arms outstretched. "You are now forbidden to leave your quarters, Lita!" King Jupiter commanded. "The rest of you, back to your own planets!" IN THE NEGAVERSE: "Amberite, how goes our plan?" Queen Beryl asked. Her amber-haired advisor bowed, then spoke. "Our plan is coming along nicely, Queen Beryl. Now, I believe that we should capture the Princesses and brainwash them. If they serve us, nothing can defeat us!" Queen Beryl silenced Amberite with a wave of her hand. "I make the plans, Amberite, not you! But your idea has promise. If the Princesses serve me, I will be invincible!" "You like my plan, O Queen?" Queen Beryl looked annoyed. "It has potential. The question is: how do we catch the Princesses of the planets off guard? They won't submit to us willingly." Amberite puzzled over this for a few seconds, then spoke. "Maybe use your generals?" Queen Beryl glared at her. Amberite wished she hadn't spoken. "My generals? How might I use- Ahh, I remember! They were in love with the Inner Planet Princesses before they joined me. And you were in love with a Prince of the Earth, I believe." Amberite scoffed at the suggestion. "That is the past, and I do not wish to think of it. Anyway, your generals can catch Princess Mina of Venus, Princess Lita of Jupiter, Princess Raye of Mars, and Princess Amy of Mercury off guard. The Princesses of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will be harder. Princess Amara and Princess Michelle are lovers, if I recall correctly." "I knew that!" Beryl snapped. "If that fails, your youma and my Negamon could always take them by force." "That would be too great a loss of forces, Amberite. You know that those Princesses are Sailor Scouts." "Oh, I forgot." "That's why I'm Queen of the Negaverse, and you're a mere pawn!" Queen Beryl cackled. "I shall give Jedite, Neflite, Malachite, and Zoicite their orders at once, Queen." "Excellent!" A FEW DAYS LATER: Prince Nick sensed something was wrong. The previous night, he had dreamt that Princess Lita was in terrible danger. He had seen four familiar faces, with another, even more familiar face looming behind them. One of the four was embracing Princess Lita, but Princess Lita's eyes were strange, dark, evil. "I've got to get to Jupiter. To hell with the King, Lita's in danger, I know it!" Prince Nick grabbed a sword and sheathed it, attaching it to his belt. He opened the portal, and ran through. ON JUPITER: Princess Lita was startled to see Neflite emerge from a black portal. "Neflite." she stammered. He walked slowly towards her. "Yes, my love, I've returned." "Hah! You liar! You don't care for me!" "Oh, but I do." Neflite said. He pulled off one of his gloves and extended his hand towards Princess Lita, palm first. On his palm, an eye appeared. This eye emitted strange waves of energy. Princess Lita felt like she was floating. She thought she heard a voice, but it sounded far away and muffled. Nick. Her senses began to swim, and she felt herself being inexorably drawn toward Neflite. Lita, snap out of it! a voice said in her mind, but she ignored it. Why should I? I must go to my only love. Princess Lita heard a bird scream, but it sounded like it was coming from very far away. Her vision was hazy, except for the center of her field of vision. All she could see was Neflite. "That's right. Come to me. Join the Negaverse!" Neflite said ominously. Then the screech sounded again, ear-piercingly loud, and from right next to Princess Lita. The shrill sound dissolved the haze immediately. She heard Neflite yell in pain, and curse the bird that now attacked him. She looked, eyes focusing correctly again. Io! He had attacked Neflite's hand, damaging the eye. Io, screeching in rage, dove at Neflite's face. Neflite suddenly blasted the bird with dark energy, knocking the eagle to the ground. "Damn bird! Oh, well, if my hypnotic powers won't work, I'll just take you by force!" Neflite snarled. He took a menacing step forward. Then a voice rang out from nearby. Neflite stopped and looked behind him. A young man stood on one of the towers of Castle Io. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, wearing a cape, a mask, and a top hat. In his left hand, he carried a sword. His hair was a very familiar blondish-brown. Princess Lita couldn't believe it. Was it who she hoped it was? "Neflite, you fool! Hypnotizing a girl is truly despicable! No wonder the Negaverse wanted you on their side!" "Who the hell are you?" "I am the protector of Princess Lita. If you try to harm her, you answer to me!" Neflite drew his sword and smiled. "Foolish boy! I know who you really are! You're that Earthling Prince, the one who lives in Endymion's shadow!" Prince Nick leapt down from the tower to the ground, landing softly on the ground. The two men clashed swords. "Nick, you truly are my prince. You came to save me." Princess Lita said softly, her eyes tearing up. Silently, she cheered for her prince. The two men fought back and forth across the courtyard, until a woman's voice interrupted. "Neflite, you're here to capture Princess Lita, not to have a sword fight with this Earthling!" "Amberite, I will not retreat from a mere boy. I will run him through, then take the Princess and leave!" "Need I remind you that I am your superior, Neflite?!" Neflite ignored Amberite completely. He and the Prince clashed blades again. Princess Lita watched helplessly as her Prince got the worst of the battle. Then she suddenly remembered something. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pen-like object. She remembered what Luna had said when she had given one to her, as well as to Princess Mina, Princess Amy, and Princess Raye. "Use these only when you are in danger, or if you need to protect Princess Serena!" Luna had told them. "To use them, hold them up, cry the name of your planet, then Power, and then Make Up." She had said. Princess Lita held up her transformation pen. "Jupiter Power, Make Up!" She cried, as lightning crackled around her body. Both Neflite and Nick stopped fighting and stared in amazement. Princess Lita was becoming a Sailor Scout! And she was nude when she transformed, too. Prince Nick blushed crimson red as he watched. "I don't believe it!" Prince Nick said sharply. "My beloved is a Sailor Scout!" Sailor Jupiter stepped forwards and confronted Neflite. "How dare you hurt the boy I love! In the name of Jupiter, I'll punish you!" "Damn it!" Neflite shouted. He aimed an energy blast at Sailor Jupiter. She stood, too surprised to move. Prince Nick ran in front of her, taking the blast himself. "What?" Neflite gasped. Then King Jupiter came running out of Castle Io. He saw the Earthling leap in front of his daughter, Sailor Jupiter. "But why would he," King Jupiter began, the truth dawning on him, "Perhaps he does love Lita!" Sailor Jupiter charged Neflite. Her dodged her first attack, but she swung her fist backwards and slammed him in the back of his head. He collapsed in a heap. Then he staggered upright. He watched in shock as Sailor Jupiter crossed her arms in front of her. "I call upon the mighty forces of thunder and lightning, help me defend the boy I love!" She said. A bolt of lightning struck down from the cloudless sky, hitting an antenna that emerged from the tiara on her head. "Jupiter Thunder CRASH!" She shouted, channeling the electricity towards her foe. It hit Neflite, sending him crashing into a wall. "Well, looks like your mission is going to be harder than you thought, huh Neflite?" Amberite said snidely, hovering in midair. Sailor Jupiter turned towards her, but Amberite knocked her feet out from under her with a bolt of dark energy. Then a sharp chunk of rock grazed her face. "What the hell was that?" she asked. Then she spotted the tuxedo-clad Earthling standing nearby, getting ready to throw another rock shard. Amberite laughed. "Just because you surprised me with that rock before I could raise an amber shield doesn't mean you can win!" Amberite cackled. She aimed a blast of dark energy at him. Then Io dove from the sky like a thunderbolt, slicing her across the chest. A portal opened in the air, and an evil voice was heard. "Neflite! Amberite! You have failed me! Return to the Negaverse at once!" Queen Beryl commanded. Neflite and Amberite opened portals and disappeared into them. Prince Nick ran to Sailor Jupiter. "Lita! Are you okay?" he said, concern evident in his voice. Sailor Jupiter smiled weakly. "I'm okay. I think. But Nick, what about Mina, Amy, and Raye? They don't have someone to protect them like I do, so that hypnosis strategy might work." Prince Nick looked worried. "You're right. We've got to go to them. But I'd wager that Queen Beryl is only sending them one at a time, so that way Amberite can keep track of them." "Which planet though? Mars? Mercury? Venus?" The planet of the Bird of Love. a voice announced in their heads. "Venus!" they exclaimed together. Sailor Jupiter opened a portal to Venus, not seeing the bird soaring overhead, wings crackling with electricity, which rode at the head of a thunderstorm. IN THE NEGVERSE: Queen Beryl was livid. She was scolding Neflite for his failure. "Neflite! You failed to capture Princess Lita!" "But Queen Beryl, the Prince of Earth, the bird, and then the Princess transfor-" Queen Beryl silenced Neflite. "That's quite enough! You'd better come up with a new plan, Neflite. You are dismissed." Queen Beryl hissed. Amberite, who was standing at the side of Queen Beryl's throne, spoke up. "The boy, he's resourceful. And if I didn't know better, I'd assume that the green bird was intelligent." "Rubbish, Amberite! Now, I hope Malachite's plan goes better than Neflite's did." "Well, Princess Mina has no lover to come to her rescue." "But that Earthling prince may have figured out our plan. He's very clever." "That could be bad. Will Malachite be able to pull it off?" "If he knows what's good for him, he'll succeed." MEANWHILE: Malachite had Princess Mina in his power. The blond Princess was standing helpless, unable to resist his will. She was hypnotized completely. Amberite was thoroughly nonplussed. "So what? Neflite had Princess Lita in his clutches too, you know." she said. Malachite smiled wickedly. "Yes, but I'm better at this than Neflite." He said. Then a streak of yellow flew at him. He yelled and threw up his arms to protect his face. The furious flapping form of Aphrodite wheeled and dove again. This time, Malachite was ready. He shot the bird out of the sky with a bolt of energy. "See Amberite?" he chuckled. "Princess Mina doesn't have a large deadly eagle for a pet, just that. thing. That's all the resistance I'm expecting. Now Princess Mina, come to me." Princess Mina started to walk slowly towards Malachite. Steadily, she took one step after another, each one a step closer to her doom. "That's right, come to me, join the Negaverse!" Malachite laughed maniacally. Then. "Jupiter Thunder CRASH!" Bolts of electricity hit Malachite and the area immediately around him. "What the hell?" he yelled. Then he saw two figures outlined against the sun. "You were saying?" Amberite said snidely. Malachite ignored her. "How dare you use your hypnotic powers to try to capture an innocent girl!" Prince Nick hissed. "In the name of Earth and Jupiter, we'll punish you!" Sailor Jupiter intoned. Malachite was worried now. "You didn't say anything about Sailor Scouts, Amberite!" Malachite said nervously. Amberite shrugged. "My bad." she said, shrugging. Then Princess Mina regained her senses. She looked at the two people who saved her. "Nick! Princess Lita!" she cried out. Sailor Jupiter looked down at her. "Mina, get out your transformation pen and use it. It really works! That's what did this." She said, gesturing to her Sailor outfit. Princess Mina reached into one of her pockets. She fished around for a few seconds, then found her transformation pen. She held it up. "Venus Power, Make Up!" she shouted, as she whirled a beautiful orange star ribbon around herself. Then small stars blocked their view, and when they disappeared, Princess Mina had become Sailor Venus. "Um, Amberite, I believe our plan failed." Malachite said anxiously. "Well, let's attack them then, you idiot!" Amberite said. She held out her hand, and fired energy at them. Malachite extended his own hand and fired a bolt of energy. The two Sailor Scouts and the young Prince were hit several times. Then, suddenly, a gigantic shadow loomed over Amberite and Malachite. The two warriors of the Negaverse looked up. A blast of fire washed over the two of them. They screamed in pain. Then the portal opened again. "Amberite! Malachite! Return to the Negaverse, you've failed me again!" Queen Beryl's voice boomed. Malachite turned and glared venomously at Prince Nick before vanishing into a portal. Amberite whirled, causing her amber hair to swirl around her lean body. She grinned maliciously, before vanishing. Sailor Venus inspected her new outfit. "It isn't too bad," she said. "I like the colors. Do I get powers too, like Jupiter?" Sailor Jupiter smiled. "Of course you do, Mina. I don't know what exactly. Maybe ask Luna." "Sorry to interrupt your little girl talk, but what about Raye and Amy? I'd wager Beryl's going to change her tactics after two consecutive failures." IN THE NEGAVERSE: Queen Beryl was raging mad. She was giving a tongue-lashing to Amberite and Malachite. "You are both failures! If you weren't so loyal, I'd slay you where you stand!" she snarled. "Yes, Queen." Amberite bowed deeply, before assuming her usual position beside Beryl's throne. "What pray tell, caused your failure this time?" Malachite bowed humbly to his Queen. Then he spoke. "Queen, Princess Mina has transformed as well. And some unidentifiable large animal attacked us from behind." Malachite said. "It was a Sentience." Amberite corrected. "This is not good. We cannot capture Princess Serena without capturing her guardians first." Queen Beryl said thoughtfully. "It will be much easier to destroy the Moon Kingdom if we have her." "As I said, my Queen. May I suggest that we attack both Princess Raye and Princess Amy at once? The interferers can't be everywhere at once, you know." "A good idea. Amberite, you and Jedite go to Mars and turn Princess Raye to our side." Queen Beryl ordered. Then she turned to someone in the shadows. Malachite recognized Zoicite at once. "Zoicite, go to Mercury and turn Princess Amy to our side. Beware, there are certain people who have foiled our last two attempts. And if Princess Amy has any pets, take care of them immediately. They seem to protect their owners zealously." Queen Beryl commanded Zoicite. He bowed to her, and disappeared in a flash of cherry blossoms. Queen Beryl turned to Amberite, and glared. Amberite immediately summoned Jedite. The two of them disappeared. "Now let's see those damn Sailor Scouts stop us!" Queen Beryl laughed. MEANWHILE: "Nick, what do we do?" Sailor Venus asked. "I don't know. There are two potential targets, and we can't get to them both." He said solemnly. Then suddenly Cirrus flew out of nowhere and landed on his shoulder. "Nick, what's going on?" Cirrus said. Nick whispered something to the Dimorphodon, and it nodded, then took off again. "What was that about?" Sailor Jupiter asked. "Trust me, I'll explain later. Now, we go to Mars." "What about Princess Amy?" "Sailor Venus, trust me, it's covered." The two Sailor Scouts opened a portal to Mars. ON MERCURY: "That's right, look into my eyes." Zoicite hissed. He had Princess Amy right where he wanted her. She was standing right in front of him, her eyes dull and lusterless from the hypnosis. When Zoicite had arrived, the first thing he did was cage that irritating Archaeopteryx that Princess Amy kept as a pet. That way, it couldn't hurt him. He would do what Malachite and Neflite failed to do: capture one of the Princesses! He smiled maliciously. "I can't fail now!" He cackled. He motioned Princess Amy forward. Then a yellow ball of energy hit him. Zoicite whirled, to see two women standing on a tower. Princess Amy collapsed to the ground. "Are you that despicable Zoicite, that you bend innocent young girls to your will?" "Who are you?" Zoicite growled. The taller of the two women shifted her weight, and spoke. "I am protector of the skies, Sailor Uranus!" Then the other girl, who had sea-green hair, spoke. "I am protector of the waters, Sailor Neptune!" Then a small winged creature dove from the pinnacle of the tower. It hovered nearby. Then it focused energy, and started glowing. "World SHAKING!" It squawked, mimicking Sailor Uranus's voice perfectly. It created a ball of yellow energy, and hurled it at something on the ground. There was the sound of smashing wood. Zoicite laughed out loud. "You missed, you flying lizard!" "Oh, did he?" Sailor Neptune said. "Look again." Zoicite did look, and he didn't like what he saw. Iyse, Princess Amy's pet, had been freed. The pterodactyl's attack hadn't been aimed at him, but at the cage! The Archaeopteryx flew at Zoicite, slashing his face with its talons. "Damn you, you bird-lizard!" Zoicite shouted, clutching his face. He aimed two blasts of energy at Uranus and Neptune, knocking both from their perches. Both girls hit the ground, stunned. Iyse flew and landed by the unconscious Princess Amy. He stuck his head into the pocket of her dress, and withdrew a pen-like object. Then he pecked tenderly at his mistress, but she was out cold. Iyse turned back to Zoicite, eyes flashing with cold fire. He took off, screeching. A spectral voice that sounded eerily like a male version of Princess Amy's voice spoke as Iyse attacked. "Screaming Blaster!" Iyse screeched, as blue fire spouted from his mouth, like some sort of feathered dragon. This icy fire washed over Zoicite, seeming to burn and freeze him at the same time. Zoicite cried out in pain. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune stood. Sailor Neptune walked awkwardly over to Princess Amy. She gently prodded the younger woman. Princess Amy stirred slightly. Sailor Neptune poked Princess Amy again and she sat up suddenly. "What happened? Princess Michelle? You used that transformation planet stick Luna gave you, didn't you?" Sailor Neptune nodded. She picked up Princess Amy's transformation pen and handed it to her. "Here you go. Iyse pulled it out of your pocket." "Iyse did? And what happened to Zoicite?" "Iyse happened. He used some attack called Screaming Blaster, and hit Zoicite good." Princess Amy looked apprehensively at her transformation pen. "Luna said to only use it in case of emergencies." "Now, Princess Amy, for someone of your intelligence, that was a stupid thing to say. This seems like an emergency to me." Princess Amy nodded. She held her transformation pen up to the sky. "Mercury Power, Make Up!" She shouted, as she whirled her pen around, creating bands of blue energy. These bands wrapped around her body, and then the air around her seemed to ripple. Zoicite, scorched and weakened, staggered to his feet. Then he saw the newly transformed Sailor Mercury, and the blood drained from his face. "Oh no, I failed. Beryl will kill me." He said. "Unless I destroy her!" Zoicite charged a bolt of energy, but before he could fire it, Sailor Mercury acted. "Mercury Bubble Blast!" she cried, creating a haze out of bubbles. Zoicite whirled, unable to see where his foes were. Then Sailor Uranus charged out of the fog, and tackled Zoicite. He got up, but Sailor Uranus was gone. "Deep Submerge!" Zoicite whirled to face the sound, only to have a ball of water hit him head-on. He flew backwards, into a wall. He stood, and opened a portal. "I don't want to explain this one to Beryl, but I'm getting out of here!" Zoicite said, disappearing. Sailor Mercury looked herself over, taking note of her new Sailor Scout outfit, including the knee-high boots. "Not bad," she said. Then Iyse flew over and landed on her shoulder. She scratched the feathers of his neck. Then she looked at Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. "How did you know I was in danger?" Sailor Uranus chuckled. Cirrus landed on her shoulder, and chirped "You've got to thank Prince Nick for that. He sent Cirrus to me with a message about how both you and Princess Raye were in danger. He, and Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter were going to Mars, but they couldn't let you get captured, so he asked for our help." "Oh. Wait, Princess Lita and Princess Mina transformed too?" Sailor Neptune nodded. "And since they were fighting Jedite on Mars when Zoicite was here, Princess Raye may also have transformed by now." Sailor Mercury opened a portal. "Where're we going? Mars?" Sailor Uranus asked. Sailor Mercury shook her head from side to side. "No, to the Moon Kingdom. By now, either Raye is safe or she's been captured. Either way, Beryl will attack Princess Serena and the Moon Kingdom next." Sailor Mercury, Iyse, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Uranus, and Cirrus opened a portal, unaware that a great bird soared high above them, a bird wreathed in ice. WHILE THAT WAS HAPPENING: On Mars, Jedite had finally gotten Princess Raye in his power. He smiled. His plan was working. Amberite hovered nearby; alert for any sign of the three troublemakers that had interfered with Queen Beryl's plans before. Princess Raye stood before Jedite, eyes blank and dull. Amberite was pleased. Their plan had one off without a hitch, so far. Then, they were attacked. Beams of yellow energy and small lightning bolts struck all around them. "Damn them!" Amberite shouted. Then that Earthling dove from a tower and tackled Jedite. Princess Raye shook her head quickly and regained her senses. She felt very dizzy, and sank into a sitting position. She watched the sword fight between Prince Nick and Jedite, as the two men parried and slashed, dodging every blow aimed at them. She watched Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter fight Amberite with their attacks. "Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" "Jupiter Thunder Crash!" Amberite created her amber shield, and the attacks bounced off. Then she blasted the two Sailor Scouts with her dark energy. Princess Raye knew she was forgetting something important. She had to help them, but how? Then she remembered the transformation pen Luna had given her. But where was it? She always kept it in her pocket, unless- She started to search the ground, but she couldn't find it. She gulped. Luna would kill her if she found out about this! Then a familiar caw got her attention. She looked over to see the two crow-like Corvoids Phobos and Deimos perched nearby. Ares, her pet Martian Vulturoid, was perched next to them. Phobos had something in his beak. Princess Raye couldn't believe it! It was her transformation pen! But how- Phobos lifted off, and flew over to her. He dropped the transformation pen next to Princess Raye. She grabbed it, and held it up to the sky. "Mars Power, Make Up!" she cried, as rings of fire surrounded her body. These rings solidified into her Sailor Scout outfit. The newly transformed Sailor Mars prepared to attack. "Mars Fire IGNITE!" She yelled. Her fiery attack caught Amberite off guard, and burnt her. She shouted. "Ow! Oh, great, one more Sailor Scout. Just what I need. Beryl's gonna kill me for this." Amberite complained. Jedite looked over. "Oh, damn it! She's transformed." He said. He swung his sword, disarming Prince Nick. He pointed the blade at the Prince's throat. "Now, you die!" he hissed maliciously. Then Sailor Jupiter dove from higher up, where she had been combating Amberite, and kicked Jedite hard between the legs. Jedite gasped in shock, and dropped his sword. "Good timing, Lita, but I wouldn't wish that on any guy. Even an evil one." Prince Nick said. Jedite stood up, very slowly and painfully, and opened a portal to the Negaverse. He stepped through it. "Hey, wait for me!" Amberite cried. She entered another portal and disappeared. Sailor Mars checked herself out, and was impressed. "I look good." She said. "We've got to go to Moon Palace." Prince Nick said. "Why?" "Well, Mina, I sent a message with Cirrus. I asked Princess Michelle and Princes Amara to save Princess Amy. That's why I wasn't concerned with her." "Oh. And why the Moon, then?" "That's where Princess Amy would logically go." Prince Nick said. He opened a portal to the moon, and the four of them stepped through it, not seeing the fiery bird that appeared in the Martian skies. IN THE NEGAVERSE: "Are you all incompetent, or just acting it!" Queen Beryl ranted. Amberite, Zoicite, and Jedite knelt before her throne. She was furious, and all three knew it. "Why couldn't you capture ONE of the Princesses? You can't brainwash ONE measly girl between the five of you!" "Queen," Zoicite ventured, "They're no ordinary girls. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune stopped me from capturing Princess Amy. They were quite powerful." "SILENCE!" Beryl snarled, "When I want your opinions, I'll ask for them! You say Princess Michelle and Princess Amara are Sailor Scouts too?" Zoicite nodded nervously. "Yes, and Princess Amara's pet can use her World Shaking skill. And that pet of Princess Amy's can breathe icy fire somehow." "That might be trouble. Amberite, Jedite, why did you fail me?" "Queen," Jedite began, but Amberite elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a glare that told him to keep quiet. "We were stopped by the combined forces of that Earth Prince, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, and the newly transformed Sailor Mars." "That's not good. We need to attack Moon Palace somehow. Jedite, Zoicite, you may leave now. Amberite, you stay here." Zoicite and Jedite got up, bowed to queen Beryl, and left. Amberite looked at Queen Beryl nervously. She shifted her "Amberite," Queen Beryl mused, "What do YOU think is the best way to capture Princess Serena?" "Though I don't make final decisions, I think you should send your youma, and maybe some of my Negamon too. They're dispensable enough. The power of the Silver Crystal is too great to risk ourselves going. As I understand it, Empress Metallia isn't strong enough yet." "You are correct, Amberite." Queen Beryl said. "Maybe I should send some youma, and maybe a few of yours as well. Summon about seven youma, and get about three of your Negamon. Send them to Moon Palace with instructions to capture Princess Serena and the Silver Crystal too, but to destroy anything, or anyone, that gets in their way. Understand?" Amberite nodded vigorously. She turned and walked out of Queen Beryl's throne room. She would get one terrestrial Negamon, and two aerial Negamon. Basilisk, Myotis, and Aquilus would do nicely. AT MOON PALACE: As Prince Nick had guessed, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Mercury were at Moon Palace. Then Queen Serenity came out of Moon Palace. "I see you have discovered how to use your transformation pens." She said. "At least they all got here safely." Luna said. "Yes. We were lucky. Thanks to the Sentience that burnt Amberite and Malachite, Prince Nick and Sailor Jupiter survived." Slither hissed. "Thanks to Cirrus, Princess Amy is still safe." Artemis said. "Yes. Luna, I was right in telling you to give them their transformation pens." "What about Prince Nick and Princess Holly? Both have transformed states, but we gave them to neither. Princess Holly did not get her transformation planet stick." Queen Serenity silenced Squawky. "I have my reasons. Trust me." Then Queen Serenity addressed the Sailors. "Princesses, you have become Sailor Scouts, destined to protect Princess Serena and the Moon Kingdom." "Queen Serenity, why were those guys after us?" Sailor Venus asked. "Because Queen Beryl wants to destroy the Moon Kingdom, and if you were on her side, she would be much more powerful." "Oh. I guess we have Prince Nick to thank for that, then. He saved Sailor Jupiter, twice, she tells me, then saved Sailor Mars and me. And he sent Neptune and Uranus to save Sailor Mercury." "Well, Prince Nick, I believe you deserve my thanks. And this." Queen Serenity said, drawing a sickle-shaped object from a fold of her dress. She handed it to the bewildered Prince. He looked at it with confusion. "What is it?" he wondered, tucking it into his pocket. In his pocket, the object began to glow dimly, but no one saw, save for Slither. "This boy must be the one from Talonstrike's vision" Then there was an explosion nearby. The Sailor Scouts looked behind them. They saw seven humanoid monsters and three that looked like animals of some kind. "Youma!" Queen Serenity hissed. She looked at the Sailor Scouts, her daughter, Prince Endymion, and Prince Nick. "What do we do?" asked Sailor Mars. "I hope we fight them!" Sailor Jupiter said. "Serena, come with me. The rest of you, stop them from getting inside!" The Sailor Scouts nodded. Prince Nick drew his sword, and his brother did the same. The ten monsters split into two groups. Two Negamon and three youma took to the air by some means or other. The remaining Negamon and the four youma charged right at them. One Youma carrying a sword flew right at Sailor Jupiter; sword aimed at her throat. She screamed, but Prince Nick tackled it sword first. The two landed, and began to battle, clashing metal against metal. Prince Endymion was holding the entrance against a huge lizard Negamon with sharp fangs. Sailor Neptune attacked a streamlined aquatic youma that tried to drag her beneath Moon Lake. Sailor Uranus deftly dodged the attacks of an aerial youma with dragonfly wings. Sailor Mercury cast her Bubbles, but a giant black bat Negamon swooped out of the haze right for her. Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, all of them also fought a monster, but there were still two left. Both were aerial, one a falcon-like Negamon, the other a youma with membranous wings. They dove for the nearest window of Moon Palace. The Sailor Scouts were helpless to stop them. As it was, they were getting the worst of the battle. Then Slither, Luna, and Artemis flew out of the window and attacked the two monsters. The youma fell to the ground, the two moon cats clinging to its face and arms. The falcon Negamon swatted Slither off of it, and landed on the edge of the window. Then it smiled, and turned to go inside. Suddenly, a glowing blade flew past the Sailor Scouts, heading for the Negamon. The falcon turned, and screamed in fear. As the object hit it, it glowed, and disintegrated! Sailor Scout and monster alike were frozen in place, amazed. Sailor Jupiter turned. Prince Nick was standing behind them, his arm extended. His eyes were glowing bright green, with black slitted pupils. The youma he had originally been fighting was nothing but a pile of dust now, with his sword in the middle of it. He had thrown the object. The object, which Sailor Jupiter immediately identified as what Queen Serenity had given him, circled back and went right back into his hand. His eyes stopped glowing, and returned to normal. He picked up his sword and looked directly at Sailor Jupiter. "Lita, I'll handle the winged one over there. The rest of you, take care of the others!" he shouted, charging at the winged youma the cats were attacking. It shook off the cats and took to the air again, only to have Prince Nick's sword tear through its right wing, causing it to crash to the ground. The youma hissed angrily and fired dark energy at the Prince. It hit him, sending him crashing to the ground. "Nick! " Sailor Jupiter shouted. She charged right at the youma, jump- kicking it back into a wall. The youma she had been fighting made a break for the Moon Palace, but a number of assorted animals barred its way. "Move, you brainless beasts!" It snarled. Europa stood in front of it, hissing savagely. Cirrus, Io, Ares, and Iyse dove at its eyes. Then the youma heard something behind it. It whirled to see the Sailor Scouts! However, they had not finished off the monsters they had been fighting! The six monsters that were fighting the Sailor Scouts split up, running for any entrance they could find. The lizard Negamon Basilisk looked up from the unconscious body of Prince Endymion, and saw that he could slip by the Sailor Scouts. He grumbled. He had been intending to EAT his prey, but orders were orders. He streaked towards the entrance. Everyone watched in shock. But before Basilisk could reach the entrance, a brilliant light illuminated the Moon Palace. A beam of energy struck down from above, vaporizing Basilisk. The other youma, and the one remaining Negamon, turned and ran for their lives. Beams of energy lanced from the sky, disintegrating one youma after another. Myotis, the only remaining Negamon, flew for his life, but lost the race. A beam of positive energy lit him up like a spotlight, then destroyed him. Only one youma managed to escape the onslaught. The youma that had been fighting Sailor Neptune dove into Moon Lake. Sailor Neptune ran to follow it into the depths, but Prince Nick stopped her. "Trust me, she isn't getting away." He said. The youma surfaced, terrified. Then, there was a ferocious roar, and the waters began to churn. A huge hump arose in the middle of Moon Lake. The hump bore down on the swimming youma. As it approached, a long neck lifted from the waters. The small head on the end of the neck opened its mouth, revealing many sharp teeth. The creature struck, sinking its fangs into the youma's body. Then it sunk beneath Moon Lake, dragging the youma down with it. Then the waters right around that area turned slightly crimson. Sailor Neptune put her hand to her mouth. She felt sick. "The Moon Dragon." Prince Nick said. "It doesn't like intruders in its lake." Then Princess Serena stuck her head out of the entrance. She spotted Endymion, who was unconscious and bleeding, and ran to him. "Endymion!" she cried. The Sailor Scouts ran over to her. Then Queen Serenity walked out of Moon Palace. "Sorry that I waited so long, but I had to see how well you could fight." "Of course!" Sailor Venus said, smacking her forehead with her hand. "The Silver Crystal! That's what vaporized those monsters!" "You are right, Sailor Venus. However, Prince Nick used the Sickle-Claw to destroy the one Negamon, did he not?" "Yes," Sailor Jupiter said, looking at her prince with a far-off look in her eyes. "And he slew the first one he fought as well." Sailor Uranus yawned, then looked surprised. "Are you tired?" Sailor Mars asked quizzically. "I think she needs to sleep more at night." Prince Nick said, his arms crossed, smiling slyly. Then Endymion sat up, blinking groggily. Sailor Uranus blushed as she realized the double meaning in her cousin's comment, then turned red with anger. "Why you!" she yelled, taking a swing at Prince Nick. However, her cousin had been expecting this, and dodged her easily. "I guess our powers use up a lot of our energy and make us tired." Sailor Mercury said. "It probably wouldn't be wise to go back to your own planets just yet. Maybe you should stay here." Princess Serena suggested. "There are plenty of extra rooms. One of you to a room, of course. Prince Nick has quarters here already, though. I would suggest that you de- transform first." "Oh, of course they should." Prince Endymion said. "Jupiter Power." "Venus Power." "Mercury Power." "Mars Power." "Uranus Planet Power." "Neptune Planet Power." "DE-TRANSFORM!" Prince Nick watched Princess Lita's de-transformation with interest. When she de-transformed, her Sailor outfit disappeared, and her normal clothes faded back in. However, for a few moments, she was nude. Prince Nick turned bright red. They all de-transformed like that, in fact. Princess Lita looked at Prince Nick suspiciously. "Why is your face so red?" she asked. "." Prince Nick struggled for words, but they stuck in his throat. Princess Amara sidled up behind him. "The reason is because you're not especially wearing a lot when you de- transform." She said, crossing her arms and smirking. "None of us are." Princess Lita realized what that meant, and it was her turn to blush. Then Io landed on her shoulder. "Io? How did you get here?" "He arrived a little while before you did. Ares arrived just after you did, and Aphrodite too. Europa came with Io." Princess Serena said. Then Queen Serenity gestured to Prince Nick. "You know your way around Moon Palace. Show them to rooms of their own." Queen Serenity said. Prince Nick nodded enthusiastically. The Princesses, and Prince Endymion, followed him. Queen Serenity turned to Luna, Artemis, Squawky, and Slither. "Squawky, I have my reasons for not telling him how to transform. When the time comes, he will know. Luna, Artemis, are you two okay?" "I'm okay, I guess." Luna said. "Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure." Artemis said. THAT NIGHT: Prince Nick shot awake suddenly. His shirt was soaked with sweat. It was all. just a dream. He thought, relieved. He looked around his own quarters. The dim light from outside gave his room an odd glow. He saw nothing amiss, until he looked at the table next to his bed. The object, it was glowing! It glowed brightly, but as he watched, the glow faded. "What was that?" he asked himself. Prince Nick stood up, changed into a fresh shirt, and walked out of his quarters. He walked slowly down the hall, being careful not to wake anybody up. He leaned into Princess Lita's room and looked at her. She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping. I can't tell her about my dream. He decided. He backed out of her room and continued walking. He turned a corner, and crashed headlong into Princess Michelle! Both of them fell to the ground. "Michelle, are you okay?" "Nick, what are you doing up? It's late." "I couldn't sleep. I had a bad dream" "Dreams often tell the future. What did you dream." "I saw me, but it wasn't me. I had a long, flexible tail, and claws, and cold eyes like those of a snake." "Anything else?" "Well, that part was hazy, but then things became clear. The sickle-shaped weapon was floating in front of me. I grabbed it, and I heard a million voices speak as one. They said: 'you are our Voice. But you have another duty. You must protect the princess, and her guardians. And guard your girlfriend with your life.'" "This is important. It means something, I know it." "Michelle, don't tell anyone, not Lita, and especially not Amara, about this. Until I know what it means, I don't want anyone else knowing about it." "Ok, I promise." Princess Michelle said. She stood up and, with a quick look back, disappeared into her room. Prince Nick slipped out of the doors of Moon Palace, and into Moon Gardens. He sat on a bench, in the earthlight, watching the glittering surface of Moon Lake. He sighed, and looked at the Earth, which resembled a blue crystal in the sky. He watched the clouds swirl on the Earth's surface. As he watched, the clouds began to take the shape of a lizard-like creature with a wide-open slit-pupiled eye. He blinked, making sure he was not seeing things. The clouds shifted, taking the form of a hand with three sharp, hooked claws, but then this vision disappeared. Prince Nick gazed at the Earth for a while, contemplating the events into which he'd been placed. Then he heard a noise from nearby. It was really nothing more than a twig cracking, but Prince Nick was alert. Something seemed wrong. He ran towards Moon Palace, but he was ambushed on the way! A black, catlike creature sprung at him, knocking him to the ground and slashing him. Prince Nick cried out as the creature's claws raked his face. A Negamon! But what can I do? The leopard-like Negamon raised its paw to slash him again, but Prince Nick kicked out, catching it in the chest. He pushed it away with his legs as hard as he could. The Negamon, Wraith, yowled in pain and landed hard on all fours. Prince Nick turned, and ran for the doors of Moon Palace. Wraith was faster by far. It overtook him, and knocked his legs out from under him. Wraith pinned him down with its paws. The boy wasn't going to get away this time. Then a voice rang out. "Screaming BLASTER!" Iyse dove out of nowhere, breathing a blast of icy flame. This icy fire washed over Wraith. The Negamon roared in rage and pain. It swiped at Iyse, and winged him. Wraith turned back to the Prince, and licked his lips. How dare you! a voice said in Prince Nick's head, and Io dove at Wraith like a thunderbolt. The Negamon reared up, and snarled at the Jupiterian eagle. Prince Nick stood up. Wraith swatted Io out of the sky, and lunged again, but this time, Prince Nick dodged it! Then a streak of light came flying down out of the sky, right into the Prince's hand. What do I do with this, though? He wondered. Then he heard millions of voices speaking as one. CHOOSE YOUR FORM, VOICE OF LIFE. the voices said. Prince Nick held up the Sickle-Claw. "I want my form to be the Velociraptor!" VERY WELL. HOLD UP THE SACRED BLADE AND RECEIVE YOUR POWER. "Raptor's Claw Power!" he yelled. Instantly, the area lit up with green energy as Prince Nick transformed. But his transformation was not like a Sailor Scout's. He stood, flexing razor-sharp claws, his muscular, prehensile tail lashing back and forth. He drew himself up to his full height. Wraith cringed in fear. Green, slit-pupiled eyes glowed like gems. His feet had become two-toed feet, with a third, gigantic claw on each foot. Dinozore took a step forward, still wielding his Sickle-Claw. The doors opened, and the Princesses were standing there. Dinozore heard them, and whirled, his eyes flashing with anger. The Princesses were frozen in place, to scared to move. "What is that?!" Princess Mina said, cowering behind Princess Lita. "I don't know, but it looks familiar." Princess Amara said. "I'm not afraid of it. I feel a very familiar energy coming from it." Princess Lita said, starting to approach the creature. "Stay where you are!" the creature snarled. Princess Lita stopped. The creature turned back to the Negamon. He extended the glowing weapon to its full size. He drew it back. "Sickle-Claw's Extinction!" he yelled, throwing the weapon. It hit the Negamon, and disintegrated it. Then, before any of the Princesses could move, Dinozore was gone. "Where'd he go?" Princess Serena asked, very puzzled. "I don't know," Princess Lita said, "but we should be thankful. He saved us." "He did indeed." A voice said from inside. It was Queen Serenity. "That Negamon was trying to get in. Good thing he was here." "Queen Serenity," asked Princess Mina, "Who is he?" "I cannot tell you. You know him, I'll tell you that much. Now, back to your rooms. It's not morning yet." The Princesses left, except for Princess Michelle That. thing looked just like what Nick described to me in his dream. Could that thing be- no, that's foolish, Michelle. She, too, turned and went back inside. Queen Serenity turned to Luna and Artemis. "'A boy will be born of the Earth with eyes as blue as the sky and as deep as the ocean. All animals shall heed him. His heart will be filled with love and cruelty, and he shall inherit the Sacred Blade.' Those were the words that Talonstrike said before he died." "Could you explain that?" Luna asked. "Prince Nick is a prince of the Earth Kingdom. He has startlingly blue eyes. He can talk to animals." "Those things are obvious, but what about 'His heart will be filled with love and cruelty.' What did that mean?" "I do not know. That is only one of his two forms. His other form is a mystery, and I don't know how he will awaken it." LATER: Prince Nick woke up in his own quarters. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead. Was that all a dream too? The Negamon, my transformation, all of it? Do I really transform into something that terrifying? Prince Nick felt a warm wetness and a dull pain on his cheek. He touched it. He saw the slick blackness on his fingers. Blood! But where. unless it was real! The Sickle-Claw was not glowing anymore, and gave no indication of being anything but an object. Then Princess Lita burst in. She looked concerned. "Nick," she said, sitting down on the bed. "A Negamon attacked here a little while ago." Oh, no! If the Negamon part was real, then the rest, my transformation. all true! "And?" "And this strange creature destroyed it. It looked like some sort of giant lizard. But I wasn't afraid of it at all." "I wonder what it was?" "I don't know." Princess Lita said softly, kissing Prince Nick on the forehead. Then she noticed the slashes on his cheek. "What happened to you?" she asked, concerned. Prince Nick said nothing. She decided that he would tell her sooner or later anyway. Then she got up, and left to go to her own room. Is it possible? Is that creature, that beast, what I am supposed to become? But Lita won't like me anymore; she'll say I'm nothing but a hideous monster! Prince Nick lay down in his bed, and fell into a fitful sleep. THE NEXT MORNING: Prince Nick awoke. He touched the wounds on his face. They were scabbed over now, but they were still there. What was he going to tell Lita about this? Princess Lita intruded just then. She sat down on the bed, and shot him with one of those looks that said 'you're not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on'. "Now, how did you get those scratches on your face?" "That Negamon attacked me last night." "But, it never got inside." "I was outside." "We didn't see you-" Princess Lita said, the color draining from her face as she realized the truth. "That creature, it was you, wasn't it?" "Yes." Prince Nick said, averting his eyes. Princess Lita reached out, running her fingers gently along the wounds on his face. "I don't care Nick, you should know me well enough by now to know that. I love you, and I don't care what you look like. But how did you-" "Transform? I held that object, and millions of voices spoke to me. They asked me what form I would like to have, and after I answered them, I transformed." "But why did you run away?" "I was afraid of what you'd do if you found out." Princess Lita smiled, and took Prince Nick's hand, standing up, and pulling him up with her. "Now, let's go get some breakfast, after I clean out those wounds." She led him off down the hall, towards the eating room, where everyone else was. When they got there, Princess Michelle approached Prince Nick. "Nick, I'm sorry, she asked if something was wrong, so I told her about your dream. She put two and two together, I guess." "It's okay, Michelle." "So you WERE that creature!" Princess Amara said loudly. "HIM?" the other Princesses chorused. Then Queen Serenity appeared. "Yes, the boy is Dinozore." She said. "He has finally discovered how to transform." Luna jumped up onto the table. "I thought animals weren't allowed on the table!" Princess Raye complained. "Nick, you are the Voice of Life. It's no coincidence that animals like you. You derive your powers from them. It is also your duty to guard the guardians of Princess Serena. And your special duty is to guard Princess Lita." "That's why I've been able to communicate with animals all my life? And why you allowed me here?" Queen Serenity nodded. "As Dinozore, your instinct is to protect your pack, and by having the Princesses as friends, you thought of them as your pack, and you will protect them. Also, I was fulfilling a promise I made to Talonstrike long ago." "So I'm the Voice of Life, am I? Then that's what I've got to do. I will protect the Princesses with my own life." Prince Nick said, bowing to Queen Serenity and Princess Serena. Then he stood up. Princess Lita took his left hand in her right one and pulled him back towards the table. He began to eat. "So," Princess Amara mused holding a fork midway to her mouth, "he's one of us after all. But he's some sort of reptile." "AMARA!" Princess Michelle scolded. Princess Amara stuck her fork in her mouth, silencing herself before she made Princess Michelle more annoyed. Suddenly, Prince Nick felt like something was amiss. "Something's wrong." He said. Princess Lita trusted him He got up, and so did she. "We're under attack!" Princess Raye said, surprising the others. "We've got to transform!" Princess Mina said. Prince Nick took off running, before the Princesses could transform. Queen Serenity turned to Squawky. "Did you give Princess Holly her transformation planet stick?" she asked. The parrot nodded. "Good" This time, the enemy wasn't just one Negamon, it was two. And several youma as well. And Amberite. "We can take them! Jupiter Power." "Mercury Power." "Mars Power." "Venus Power." "Uranus Planet Power." "Neptune Planet Power." "MAKE UP!" "Raptor's Claw Power!" The Princesses transformed into their Sailor Scout forms, and Prince Nick became Dinozore. Sailor Venus shivered at the sight of Dinozore in the light. He was scarier in the day than at night! His tail, as long as his body, swung gently back and forth. He was quite a bit taller than he was as a human, and his hands and feet were tipped with claws. He stalked forward. Amberite cringed. "What the hell is that thing?" she yelped. "It's hideous!" "I am Dinozore, you foul creature, and you will not succeed at this!" "That's what you think, boy!" Amberite crowed. "Malachite! Zoicite! Neflite! Jedite! Show this boy how wrong he is!" The four generals appeared as if out of nowhere. Now the Sailor Scouts were worried. Amberite ordered the monsters to attack. "Now!" cried Sailor Mercury, "Attack!" "Mars Fire Ignite!" "Jupiter Thunder Crash!" "Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" "World Shaking!" "Deep Submerge!" "Sauros Beam!" The attacks merged into one gigantic attack, hit the monsters, and disintegrated them. "Damn it!" Amberite hissed. "We should've used stronger youma! Generals, attack!" Neflite, Malachite, Zoicite, and Jedite extended their hands towards the Sailor Scouts, and fired beams of dark energy at them. The beams lanced through the sky, hitting the Sailor Scouts. Sailor Uranus ran in front of Sailor Neptune, shielding Neptune with her body. Sailor Uranus was hit hard, and sent flying backwards, to collapse on the ground. Amberite aimed twin beams of very powerful dark energy at Sailor Jupiter, and fired. "DIEEE!" she screeched. Sailor Jupiter braced herself for the impact, but she wasn't hit. There was the sound of an impact and a hiss of pain, but she wasn't hit. She opened her eyes and gasped in shock. Dinozore was standing in front of her. He protected me, and took the blasts himself! Dinozore took a step forward, wobbled, and fell. He lay on the ground, eyes half-open. Sailor Jupiter struggled to her feet and ran to him. She knelt down next to him. "NO!" she cried. "You can't die!" Amberite suddenly appeared about 20 feet away, hovering in a sitting position. "Well, not who I was aiming for, but I do believe I've mortally wounded him. Queen Beryl will be very pleased." Amberite cackled. Sailor Jupiter stood up, clenching her fists, her face a mask of cold fury. "You will pay for this! No one hurts the boy I love and survives!" Sailor Jupiter shouted. Amberite merely looked bemused. "I'm so afraid. Boys, fry her!" She said. The four generals loomed over Sailor Jupiter. She was frozen in place, terrified. Then, Dinozore staggered to his feet, startling Sailor Venus. And then, to everyone's great surprise, with a flash of light, he became Prince Nick again. "But how? With that kind of wound-" A voice from behind her made her whirl. A bruised and battered Sailor Uranus was standing there, supported by Sailor Neptune. "Love conquers all, Sailor Venus. You, out of all of us, should know that." Sailor Uranus said. Sailor Neptune smiled slightly. "Nick is way to stubborn to give up now." She said. The four generals loomed over Sailor Jupiter. They smiled wickedly. Neflite made the first move. He extended his hand, and a globe of black energy formed in front of it. He fired it. It hit Sailor Jupiter, and she screamed in pain. Neflite laughed, and prepared to fire again, but Malachite elbowed in front of him. He, too, fired. Sailor Jupiter felt herself being launched into the air, and she hit the ground hard about 15 feet away. Then Jedite pushed the others out of the way. Neflite and Malachite glared at him, then turned towards the other Sailor Scouts, to attack them. Jedite was about to fire when a glowing object sliced through the air, and his arm. Jedite hissed in pain, as he watched the slice begin to bleed. Sailor Jupiter looked towards the thrower, and saw Prince Nick. He was holding up his hand, and obviously had just thrown the Sickle-Claw. The Sickle-Claw flew back into his hands, and he collapsed. Sailor Jupiter stood up, ignoring her own injuries, and ran to his side. He opened his eyes, and looked up at her. "No! You can't die, Nick!" she cried, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "Now, now, don't cry." Prince Nick said, lifting his left hand to brush her hair away from her face. "But you're going to die! All because you saved me from Amberite's attack." Princess Lita took his left hand in both of hers. "Lita, I saved you because I love you. And I always will." Prince Nick said. Then his eyes closed, and his hand slipped from hers. Sailor Jupiter drew him close to her. "No!" she cried, tears streaming from her eyes. "I love you!" One of her tears fell from her face, and hit his. Suddenly, a brilliant green glow illuminated the area. Amberite and the generals shaded their eyes against the glow. "What is that glow?" she said, startled. Then, a crystal rose from Prince Nick's body, and a similar one from Princess Lita's body. Princess Lita had de-transformed somehow. Each gem resembled half of a heart. One half had the Jupiter symbol, and the other had the Earth symbol. The two halves floated towards each other, and joined into one gem, a heart-shaped pink crystal that floated between the two. "A love gem!" Slither hissed. "But those are very rarely formed." Sailor Mercury said. "Then this must be one of those rare times." Sailor Venus said. Then, Princess Lita started to float. Prince Nick started floating too. Suddenly, the Prince's strikingly blue eyes blinked, then opened wide. Princess Lita couldn't believe it. He was alive! Some strange force had healed all his wounds. He took Princess Lita's hands in his own. They floated in mid-air. "How on Earth is this happening?" Sailor Uranus said, not believing her eyes. "Love gems have many powers, Amara." Sailor Neptune said. Suddenly, a globe of green energy enclosed the two of them. When it disappeared, Princess Lita was Sailor Jupiter again, and Prince Nick was transformed, but not into Dinozore. He was dressed in a tuxedo, cape, and mask, much like what he wore on other occasions, except that this was different somehow. His sword was still sheathed at his side, except that it gave off a different energy now. The love gem separated into its two halves, and returned itself to their bodies. The floated back down towards the ground. "What the hell happened to him? He's not a giant lizard anymore!" Amberite said, worried. Then she aimed a double blast of Dark Energy at them. The bolts of energy headed for them, but some sort of shield deflected it. Then Tuxedo Raptor, which was Prince Nick's other form, raised his sword. This sword seemed to have a blade of green light. He pointed it at Amberite. "Amberite, I've had enough of you! I'm going to destroy you!" he shouted. Amberite scoffed at the threat. "Foolish boy! I'm more powerful than you!" she cackled. Tuxedo Raptor pointed the sword right at Amberite. Sailor Jupiter put her hand over his on the sword's hilt. "Love Gem Power, Double Love Beam!" They shouted as one. The sword, the Razor Fang, began to glow green. A beam fired from it that looked like the symbols of Earth and Jupiter intertwined. Amberite erected an amber shield around herself. The beam hit her shield, and forced her backwards. Then, the shield shattered, chunks of amber flying in every direction. The beam hit Amberite, sending her crashing to the ground. She sat up, scorched by the positive energy. "Damn you!" she cursed. She hovered above the ground again, and then she gestured to the generals. "Attack!" she ordered. Jedite, hovering on a cushion of air in the same manner as Amberite, prepared a blast of energy. A ball of energy hit him, blasting him to the ground. However, he recovered immediately. "Who did that?" he demanded. Then he looked up. A girl was standing on one of the spires of Moon Palace, her orange hair flowing in the wind. "Holly?!" Prince Endymion and Tuxedo Raptor exclaimed. It couldn't be their sister, could it? "Yes. I am Princess Holly." The Sailor Scout said "But I have become Sailor Gaia." "Sailor Gaia?" Sailor Uranus asked. Then Zoicite, Neflite, and Malachite attacked together, but they were foiled as well. A spectral voice, a very familiar one, rang out, along with two others. "Screaming Blaster!" "World Shaking!" Thunder Eagle Blast! A ball of energy hit Neflite. Then Iyse dove from the sky spouting blue fire. Io dove, surrounded by electricity. The two birds hit the remaining two generals with their attacks. "That's it!" a voice rang out from a portal. "Return here immediately!" Amberite created a portal and disappeared. Jedite, Neflite, Zoicite, and Malachite did the same. Then Princess Serena came rushing out of Moon Palace. "What was THAT? I saw everything, but, can someone explain it?" "Serena, be more considerate. They have just finished a stressful battle, it's not polite to bother them with so many questions." Queen Serenity said. "Queen Serenity, why. how did Nick become Tuxedo Raptor?" Sailor Jupiter asked. "Before she answers, let's turn back to normal. My Sailor outfit has a potentially embarrassing rip in it, and I'd like to not have that concern." Sailor Mercury said. Sailor Uranus curiously craned her neck to look, but Sailor Neptune glared at her venomously. "Mercury Power." "Mars Power." "Jupiter Power." "Venus Power." "Uranus Planet Power." "Neptune Planet Power." "Gaia Planet Power." "DE-TRANSFORM!" Once again, Tuxedo Raptor found himself watching Princess Lita de- transform. He blushed furiously, and pulled his hat down so that they wouldn't see. "You're doing it again." Princess Amara said. "You're blushing." "Amara, now is not the time for that!" Princess Lita snapped. Princess Amara shut her mouth. "Nick, I knew that you had a second transformation, but I didn't know how you could access it. As it turns out, the missing piece of the puzzle was Lita's love for you. When you gave your life to protect her, and then she cried for you, it somehow activated the two halves of the love gem that were dormant inside you." Queen Serenity said. She gestured to the sword in Tuxedo Raptor's hand. "Apparently, your old sword has been transformed. It seems to be tied to your Tuxedo Raptor form now." "Um, Queen Serenity, why didn't you tell me I was one of the Sailor Scouts before?" "Holly, now is not the time!" Tuxedo Raptor and Prince Endymion hissed at her, but Queen Serenity silenced them. "Now, now. Princess Holly, I wasn't sure if you were mature enough to control your powers, seeing as how you are quite a bit younger than the other Princesses. However, you can control your powers quite well." Tuxedo Raptor stood and held up the Razor Fang. "Raptor Power, De-transform!" he shouted. Princess Lita stared in shock, because he de-transformed just like they did. She blushed crimson red from her forehead down. Princess Amara grimaced and averted her eyes, and gestured for Princess Michelle to do the same. She did, with a moment's hesitation that irritated Princess Amara. Princess Amy and Princess Raye hid their eyes, but peeked through their fingers. Endymion and Princess Holly simply screwed their eyes shut. Princess Mina stared, too embarrassed to move. Then Prince Nick was himself again. Princess Amara pointed to Princess Lita. "And she got mad at him for blushing!" she said. "I. can't help it, I just-" "How do you think he feels when you transform?" Princess Michelle said. Princess Lita decided not to get mad at Prince Nick in the future when she transformed. If anything, it's kind of a compliment. She thought. "Now, I think it would be good idea for you all to return to your planets now. I doubt the Negaverse will try anything, not after that display of power Prince Nick and Princess Lita enacted." Queen Serenity said. LATER: (On Jupiter) Princess Lita was sitting on her bed, looking through the window. Io was perched in his usual spot, but still Princess Lita felt alone. "I miss him. After all the times he's saved my life, I still am forbidden to see him." Then the door opened. Princess Lita turned. It was her father. "Lita, I have something to say. I was watching when that servant of the Negaverse tried to abduct you, and the Earthling prince saved you." "You saw that?" "Yes, and I realized something when that boy jumped in front of you and got hit. He must have true feelings for you, or he wouldn't risk his life like that. And after what Queen Serenity told me about what happened on the Moon Kingdom, I realized he truly does love you." Princess Lita couldn't believe her ears. "What?" "You are no longer forbidden to see the Earthling. True love cannot be held back, the boy has proven that by risking his life to meet you, and then to protect you." Suddenly, Princess Lita's chest began to glow green. She looked down as her half of the love gem emerged from her chest. The pink half-gem glowed green. "Serenity wasn't lying! A love gem! And the other half must be in the boy-"

"Yes, father, but call him Prince Nick. He isn't just an Earthling. He is pledged to protect me, and the other Sailor Scouts." "Well, he is no longer forbidden to see you, or to come here." Princess Lita's heart soared. Was this true? She stood, gave her father a grateful hug, and raced off down the hall at top speed, Io flapping furiously to keep up. She opened a portal to the Moon Kingdom. ON THE MOON KINGDOM: Prince Nick was sitting by the lake, watching the Earth. Then, suddenly, he was nearly knocked over by an ecstatic Princess Lita. "NICK! I have GREAT news!" "What, my love?" "My father has un-forbidden me to see you! We can be together now!" "That is great news, but why did King Jupiter reverse his decision?" "It's because of when you jumped in front of me when Neflite attacked, and because of what you did earlier today." Prince Nick embraced Princess Lita and kissed her gently on the cheek. She laid her head on his shoulder, and they sat together in the near-darkness, watching the Earth, which hung in the sky like a blue gem. Or like Nick's eyes. Princess Lita thought. Io craned his head to the Earth, and they both looked up. Prince Nick could swear he saw the profile of some sort of animal in the clouds, but in a moment, the shape was gone. Princess Lita drew herself as close to him as she possibly could, and he put his arm around her shoulders. Nearby, Princess Mina, Princess Serena, and Princess Raye were watching. "They look so cute together." Princess Mina said. "Yes, they do make a perfect couple. Maybe a cuter couple than Princess Serena and Prince Endymion." Princess Raye said, fully aware that Princess Serena would object to the comment. "Raye!" Princess Serena said sharply. "That's not true. There's no better couple than me and Endymion!" "Whatever." Princess Raye shrugged. "Quiet, you two. I would die for a boyfriend like Nick. He gave his life for Lita, remember?" Princess Mina said. "Now, let's leave them be." The three Princesses snuck off, leaving Prince Nick and Princess Lita seated on the bench, Princess Lita's head lying on her Prince's shoulder, utterly happy as they watched the reflections play off of the surface of Moon Lake. IN THE NEGAVERSE: Beryl was livid. Extremely displeased with her advisor and generals, she had decided to punish them. All now bore marks from her punishment. "Now, tell me again why our attack failed this time." "Queen," Zoicite ventured, "Our attack started fine, but then our youma and Negamon were destroyed by their combined attacks. And then Amber-hair over there made the grievous mistake of attacking Sailor Jupiter." "Grievous mistake? Amberite, explain this immediately!" "Queen, I attacked her, but the boy interfered. He had gained a transformation, into a were-reptile. He took the blast himself, and was mortally wounded. Sailor Jupiter attacked me, but I sicced them on her. Malachite and Neflite hit her, but then Jedite's arm was sliced by the boy's weapon. Then he collapsed and died." "This does not seem like a mistake, Amberite." "I am not finished, Queen. The girl cried for him, and her tears, they created some sort of gem. This gem brought the boy back to life and gave him a new form. They attacked together, and shattered my shield. Then a new Sailor Scout showed up. She and three of those wretched animals thwarted those four from attacking the others. Then you called us back." "The gem you speak of must be a love gem. Their powers are great indeed, but not as great as the power of the Negaverse!" Queen Beryl dismissed her generals, but made Amberite stay put. "Amberite, we will lay low for a while, to lull them into a sense of false security, then we will strike." "Strike? What are we trying to do?" "Amberite, you know very well that our goal is to destroy the Moon Kingdom, and capture the Silver Crystal for Queen Metallia!" Amberite bowed to Queen Beryl, and smiled wickedly. "They won't know what hit them!" she cackled. And neither will you, once your purpose is served, you fool! She added silently to herself. ON THE MOON KINGDOM HALF A YEAR LATER: It was winter now, and the thing everyone on the Moon Kingdom wanted to do was ice skate. Unfortunately, Prince Endymion, Prince Nick, and Princess Holly weren't the best skaters. The three of them sat at the side of the frozen Moon Lake. It was frozen completely. Prince Nick knew that the Moon Dragon was in a deep sleep far beneath the ice. Then Princess Lita, one of the best skaters by far, skidded to a halt in front of them.

"C'mon, Nick, skate." She said. "It's really fun." Prince Nick shook his head. He remembered when he had tried to skate a few days before. He had ended up on his backside on the ice. "I can't, Lita. I'm a truly terrible skater." Princess Serena came skating up. "Endymion! Come on!" Endymion was no fonder of skating than his brother was. "I. I can't skate either." He said with much embarrassment. The two Princesses sighed. "We know there's ice on Earth, so why can't you skate?" "There's never ice around Castle Terra. It's in a tropical area." "Yes, " Princess Holly concurred. "There's never ice there. There is in the far north and south though." Princess Lita grabbed her beloved's hands and pulled him to his feet. "Well, you're learning to skate NOW. Come on, now." She said. Prince Nick gulped, and took a step forwards. He wobbled, but remained steady. Then Princess Lita skated backwards, pulling him with her. Io flapped along, performing aerial stunts in the sky above them. Prince Nick was gaining his balance quickly. He held Princess Lita's hands tightly. Princess Lita was surprised that he did so well. He couldn't stand on the ice a few days ago, but now he's so good at it. They skated together, and though Prince Nick wasn't as good as Princess Lita, he was close. They looked so graceful, seeming to skim the ice like birds. Speaking of which, Io swooped low to the ground. A wrong turn forced him to the ice, and he slid along, trying to regain his balance on the frozen water, screeching madly, talons clicking on the slick surface. Then a pair of graceful hands snatched Io off of the ice. Princess Michelle cradled the startled bird in her arms. "Io, you must be more careful. What would Princess Lita say if you got hurt?" she said, smiling. Princess Amara skated up to her. "Get that idiot bird out of here. We're supposed to be skating together, remember?" "Sorry, Amara, but I can't imagine that Nick would be happy if Io got hurt. I don't want to see Cirrus hurt." "I'd like to see him dead." Cirrus landed on Michelle's head and hissed at Amara. "I wouldn't mind one less dyke in the world, either." "Both of you be quiet" Princess Michelle gestured to the side of the frozen Moon Lake. "Io, go there, and try not to do that again, ok?" Io nodded, and took off. Thanks a mental voice said. Meanwhile, Princess Mina, Princess Amy, and Princess Raye were watching the skaters, especially Princess Lita and Prince Nick. "They look so beautiful together, like they're hovering above the ground or something. Right, Mina? Mina?" Princess Mina snapped to attention. "What? Them, yes. I'd wager that even Princess Serena would be hard pressed to do better." Princess Mina said. Meanwhile, Queen Serenity was watching them, and thinking about something else. "Luna, Artemis, I'm beginning to get suspicious. The Negaverse disappeared after the attack that Tuxedo Raptor foiled. There's something odd about that." "Maybe they disbanded, or left." Luna suggested hopefully. "Not likely, Luna. But they have been unusually quiet recently. Could they be planning something." Artemis contradicted. "They might, Artemis, but why would they disappear like that?" Slither said. "Maybe to make us think that they were gone, and then they'll strike when we're off-guard." Squawky said "The question is: what are they planning? I have a bad feeling that we don't want to know." Queen Serenity said. "The Princesses are in the greatest peril of all." Artemis said. "They'll be the first victims of an attack." "No matter what happens, Prince Nick's love for Princess Lita will never die. Nor will Princess Serena's love for Prince Endymion." Luna said surely. "You know what they say, 'true love conquers all'? That is certainly true. Even death, time, and space cannot defeat it." Queen Serenity said. "Queen, why are you talking like that? What do you know?" Luna asked. "I don't know what will happen, but I do know that their love will prove important somehow. Maybe a long time from now." EPILOGUE: The Moon Kingdom was in serious trouble! Queen Beryl and her troops had re- appeared, and attacked! Queen Beryl stood at the rear of her army of youma. Her generals and Amberite commanded the Nine Shadows, which commanded the youma army. The Sailor Scouts rushed outside, to defend the Moon Kingdom, with their lives if necessary. "Where's Tuxedo Raptor?" Sailor Jupiter said worriedly. "There's no time! Worry about him later, Jupiter!" Sailor Venus said. They fought hard against the youma, but then Queen Metallia zapped them with her power. Tuxedo Raptor ran madly through Moon Palace, gathering all the help he could. Io, Ares, Iyse, Phobos, Deimos, Aphrodite, Cirrus, Europa, Diablo, and the other animals rallied to him. He ran at full speed for the main doors, and burst outside. He stopped suddenly in shock. A huge shadow loomed over everything. It zapped the Sailor Scouts with evil power. It killed them! Tuxedo Raptor felt a mixture of grief and rage well up inside him. A tail sprouted behind him, and claws tore through his gloves. His eyes glowed with angry light as he roared and charged. Queen Metallia aimed a blast of power at him, but he jumped aside and dodged it. He stood, with the animals around him. "All of you! Your mistresses are all dead, you must avenge them! We have no reason to fear, we will fight!" Dinozore snarled. He extended his arms, and brought his hands together. "I call upon Mother Earth, turn these creatures into savage beasts so that they may avenge their mistresses: ANIMAL METAMORPHOSIS!" he shouted. Suddenly, the animals began to glow. Lightning surrounded Europa, and when it receded, she was a gigantic serpent, an anaconda! A huge beam of thunder hit Io, and then a majestic eagle, feathers sparking with lightning, emerged, phoenix-like, from the thunder. A Jupiterian Thunderbird! Ares screamed, and the area around him exploded with fire. A new creature with feathers composed of flames rose from the fire. A Phoenix! Aphrodite dove, and bands of yellow energy swirled around her, turning her beak into a deadly slashing razor, her talons into slicing knives. Iyse grew, turning into what could best be described as a cross between an Archaeopteryx and a Velociraptor. He screeched in rage. Diablo did not change. He had no need to. His venom was already almost instantaneously lethal. Cirrus grew and grew, gaining a crest on his head, the crest of a Pteranodon, which was what he had become. Phobos and Deimos folded their wings about themselves, and then erupted into aquiline form with a blast of fire. Dinozore and the transformed animals faced Beryl's army. Beryl smiled. "Jedite, Neflite, Zoicite, Malachite, take care of those nuisances!" she cackled. The generals floated forward. Dinozore looked at the animals. "I'll handle them. I don't think any of us are coming out of this alive, but at least you can take a couple of dozen of those monsters with you, right?" Dinozore charged straight at the generals, and was among them before they could attack him. Then Zoicite charged at Dinozore, only to be on the receiving end of a sledgehammer kick. Malachite fell to a flying kick from Dinozore. Neflite dodged a slash aimed at him, but Dinozore would not be stopped. Eyes gleaming with primeval rage, his knee caught Neflite in the chest. At the same time, Dinozore entwined his fists and brought them down on Neflite's back. Jedite drew his sword and wounded Dinozore, but that wouldn't stop him either. He grew a club on the end of his tail and swung his tail at Jedite, slamming him across the face. Queen Beryl was livid. "Victory is in sight, and then this savage beast shows up and defeats my generals like they were nothing!" "Relax, Beryl. Never send a man to do a woman's job. I'll take care of him." Amberite lifted her staff. She turned to a girl with gray hair and a woman with red hair. "Pearl, Ruby, do something about those animals!" The two women nodded gravely. Amberite stepped forward, smiling. Dinozore roared and charged at her, his claws glancing off of her amber shield. She blasted him back into a wall with Dark Energy. Meanwhile, the Sailor Pets were beating down the youma. Ares and Io were an incredible team, causing lightning and fire to rain from the sky. Cirrus hid atop the spires of Moon Palace, and his quarry never knew what hit them until it was too late. He struck like a fatal lightning bolt. Iyse played a game of hide and seek with several youma. He crouched, motionless, in the bushes. Two of them stopped right in front of them. The last thing they heard was the rustling of the bushes as the deadly killer went to work. Iyse was at them like a tornado full of knives, eyes gleaming with the lust for blood. and revenge. Aphrodite, Phobos, and Deimos flew at the faces of the youma, aiming for their throats. They didn't miss their marks. Diablo delivered one lethal bite after another. Four youma tracked the anaconda into the Moon Gardens, then they lost her. Looking around puzzledly, they failed to see the "branch" that opened slit-like eyes and moved slowly towards them until it was too late. Then a Time Gate opened, and Charon and Hades ran out of it. Charon grew, larger and larger, becoming a huge Allosaurus. Hades roared and joined the fray. "Go, my pets, your destiny awaits you!" Sailor Pluto shouted to them. "We outnumber these beasts, and we're losing! They fight like a hundred demons!" Queen Beryl said in alarm. A small group of youma was fighting Charon and Hades. They backed up, terrified. Then they found themselves between a lake and two sets of teeth. They panicked, fleeing into the lake. "They're not following us! We can escape!" one youma yelled. The Allosaurus and the Dimetrodon stood at the shore. They didn't do anything. They didn't have to. The youma had sealed their own fate. The Moon Dragon surged up from the depths of Moon Lake. It turned its savage gaze on the youma in the water. It roared ferociously, and struck. The youma realized, too late, the mistake that they had made. No evil creature enters the territory of the Moon Dragon. and LIVES! A crimson slick floated on the surface of Moon Lake, the legacy of the Moon Dragon's vengeance. The Sailors' pets suddenly found themselves outnumbered. They retreated to Moon Palace, and suddenly, they changed back into what they had been. "Now!" Beryl yelled. "You can destroy them! They've de-transformed!" The youma moved forward as a swarm, but the Sailor Pets had a trick up their sleeves yet. They still had their powers to use. "Screaming Blaster!" Iyse screeched, breathing a blast of icy fire. "Wing Blade!" Ares screamed, creating a bird-shaped fireball. Thunder Eagle Blast! Io screeched. "Wings of Love, Razor Feathers!" Aphrodite crowed. "World Shaking!" Cirrus squawked. "Fire Soul!" Phobos and Deimos cawed together. "Blast From the Past!" Charon snarled "Ground Pounder!" Hades bellowed. "Seabird Splash!" Poseidon chirped "Rattlesnake Thunderstrike!" Europa hissed. A bolt of lightning stuck from the sky, forming into the shape of a serpent. Diablo struck forward, hissing savagely. Their attacks devastated the charging youma. Though the youma outnumbered the animals by at least twenty to one, they still cringed back. "You idiots!" Beryl shouted. "You outnumber them! Destroy them all!" The youma surged forward again, and they fired dark energy at the animals. Ruby and Pearl attacked with fire and water, respectively. The beams hit the area again and again, causing massive damage to the structure. And to the Sailor Pets. Mortally wounded, they still tried to defend Moon Palace. Io, feathers singed and wings broken, tried to attack, but fell lifeless to the ground. One by one, they fell, never to rise again. "You see, other than that reptile Amberite is fighting, nothing stands in our way now!" Beryl gloated. Then the Moon Dragon surged up out of the lake and made his way towards shore. Queen Beryl smiled, and a bolt of black lightning hit the aquatic saurian. Roaring in agony, it sunk beneath Moon Lake, dying. Meanwhile, Dinozore and Amberite were battling. Dinozore rose, and charged at his amber-haired foe. He felt the deaths of the Sailor Pets, and of the Moon Dragon. He fought with a fury born of sadness. Lita's dead now, and I have nothing to lose by fighting the Negaverse. I'll fight as long as my body functions and I'll teach these foul beings what it means to feel the claws of the Raptor! Amberite laughed gleefully, and extended her arm, blasting Dinozore backwards. He landed, cat-like, on his feet. He turned towards Amberite, and smiled, revealing his sharp fangs. Amberite shuddered. Those eyes displayed no human emotion; they were the soulless, cold eyes of snake or a shark! Then Dinozore charged without warning, like chain lightning. Amberite didn't have time to react. She glimpsed a green blur, and heard the scraping sound as Dinozore slashed at her amber shield. But Dinozore didn't relent; he hacked furiously at the amber shield. Hairline cracks appeared in the shield, and they grew and spread, spiderwebbing across it. Then the shield shattered, and Dinozore's claws broke through. Amberite screamed. Dinozore snarled, and slashed Amberite's face. Amberite fired Dark Energy at Dinozore, and he went flying backwards. She felt her face with a gloved hand, then looked at it. Her glove was covered with blood. "Damn him!" she snarled. "He damaged my beautiful face!" Raging mad, she stomped towards Dinozore. He rose, and sprung at her throat. Calling up all her power, the furious Negaverse Advisor unleashed an extra-powerful ball of energy. Dinozore called forth all his power and unleashed one last attack. Both of them fell, mortally wounded. Then Queen Serenity used the power of the Silver Crystal. Then, the bodies of the fallen Sailor Scouts, their pets, Dinozore, even the Moon Dragon, suddenly were enclosed within glittering bubbles. Then they were mysteriously healed. The Sailor Pets were transformed, into normal Earth creatures. Io became a majestic golden eagle, Europa became a diamondback rattlesnake, Phobos and Deimos became crows, Ares became a turkey vulture, Diablo became a cobra, Aphrodite was turned into a dove, Charon into a rooster, Hades into a saltwater crocodile, Iyse into a peregrine falcon, Cirrus into a toucan, and Poseidon into a seagull. Queen Serenity stood in the ruins of the Moon Palace. Slither, Squawky, Luna, and Artemis stood in front of her. "I will send them all to the future, where they can hopefully live a peaceful life. You four shall go to the future as well." "But what about Dinozore?" "He too will go, Luna. The animals need a Voice, and Princess Lita would be devastated if he was not reborn there." "What about us?" Artemis asked. "You four shall go as well. Luna, you must find my daughter and protect her. Artemis, protect and instruct Princess Mina. Squawky, your duty is to find and train Sailor Gaia." "What about me?" Slither asked. "I will get to that, Slither. When I send them to the future, I must hide their memories of this place, and of the people they loved. Endymion's future form will not clearly remember my daughter or his love for her. Nick cannot remember Lita, either. He will know the girl he loves is somewhere, but he will not know who or where she is. Nor will she remember him. Slither, your job is to make sure they remember each other, but do not under any circumstances tell either of them their past together until they fall in love of their own accord. The mental barriers will decay as time goes on, until they remember each other once more. You must manipulate the people around them so that things go as they should." Queen Serenity raised the Crescent Moon Wand and suddenly, the two cats, the bird, and the lizard were enclosed in time-suspension capsules. Then Queen Serenity turned towards the battleground. The Nine Shadows, the strongest monsters in the army, needed to be dealt with. She directed a beam of energy at the Shadows, and the crystal sucked them in! However, the Crystal shattered into seven crystals, one for each of the colors of the rainbow. Then she gestured, and Dinozore's Sickle-Claw rose from the ground. "Dinozore, your weapon has one final use here." Queen Serenity said. She placed the Sickle-Claw on the end of the Moon Wand. The Sickle-Claw glowed brilliantly, and its power sucked up the two Shadows that were Negamon. Bladebeak and Snapstrike were contained within the Sickle-Claw, but then it shattered too, into two Sickle Crystals, one orange-red, the other turquoise. The Rainbow and Sickle Crystals floated up into the air among the bubbles, floating to Earth. Queen Serenity had seen to it that her daughter and the other Princesses, as well as the Sailor Pets, Dinozore, and Endymion were sent to the relative safety of the future. She had contained Queen Metallia, Queen Beryl, Amberite, and Beryl's generals, the entire Negaverse. Now, she could die in peace.