Before the Scouts could regain their bearings, Prince Ayashii's henchman suddenly faded from sight, slipping back through the cracks from whence they came.
"What was that?" Sailor V asked, her eyes wide with disbelief. Luna and Artemis looked at each other knowingly.
"I think we have our culprit in the diamond theft." Luna said. Amy moaned softly, barely able to lift herself from the ground. Serena helped her up gladly.
"I can't believe how it feels to be attacked by my own powers. I feel sorry for all those bad guys." Amy murmured. Lita put one of Amy's arms around her shoulder, helping her walk.
"At least you're okay. We thought we'd lost you." Raye said, her voice breaking.
"Don't be ridiculous, Raye. Sailor Mercury can't be harmed by 'shine aqua illusion'." Serena said, smugly. Raye rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, moon dork. I'm just saying I'm glad she's all right."
"Prince Ayashii is responsible for all those stolen diamonds?" Mina asked, suddenly remembering. Luna nodded grimly.
"Prince Ayashii and his vile cohorts are planning on sucking the beauty out of earth." Tuxedo Mask said, his cape swirling as he descended from the awning.
"All the beauty???" Serena asked. Raye laughed in her face.
"Good thing you're not pretty enough to steal from." She replied.
"How dare you-"
"Girls, please…we have to get to the bottom of Prince Ayashii's plans before everything pleasant on earth is taken away." Artemis interrupted the quarrel.
"But what do the diamonds have to do with their plan?" Mina wondered. Artemis shook his head gently.
"We don't know yet." He murmured. Amy's eyes brightened.
"Of course. The diamonds must be giving them enough power to steal the beauty from this planet." She explained.
"In essence, the diamonds are their source of strength. It would certainly explain how Prince Ayashii's men have gotten more powerful every time someone is robbed." Artemis said.
"How strange. I wonder where they come from…" Serena said to herself.
"Are they from a Nega-moon?" Lita wondered. Luna and Artemis shrugged.
"Well, let's find out." Amy said.
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They gathered at Serena's house that afternoon and set to work doing research on Prince Ayashii and his followers.
"Prince Ayashii doesn't live on a Nega-moon…but he does live on a moon, all right." Artemis began. He shifted his gaze worriedly to all the girls.
"He lives on earth's moon?" Amy asked, finding Ayashii's profile on her special computer.
"No way! That would make him unbeatable if both he and Sailor Moon drew their strength from the same place." Lita said.
"Please…no one is unbeatable for me." Serena said. She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt.
"You're right, Serena. You can crush anyone with that huge head of yours." Raye muttered.
"Let's not start this again." Luna sighed.
"But one thing I don't understand. If Sailor Moon and Prince Ayashii come from the same origins, how is it that she doesn't receive a power charge from a cluster of diamonds?" Amy wondered.
"My origins? Could he be related to me?" Serena exclaimed.
"It's possible, but not likely." Artemis told her.
"Well, whatever we do, it's going to have to be fast. Midterms are next week." Mina put in. The girls sighed as they remembered their exams.
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"Grandpa? Where did you go?" Raye walked around the temple but couldn't find the old man anywhere.
She finally returned to the house finding Eddie Devereux and her grandfather chatting in the main room. She knelt beside her grandfather, her eyes glaring at him with all of her power.
"You traitor. How dare you invite him in?" She whispered in his ear.
"I was just telling Eddie-kun about your gift of foresight. He seems incredibly interested." Grandpa said. Raye pursed her lips together.
"I'll bet." She mumbled under her breath.
"Raye…you are so wonderful. I hope you will not think me forward if I ask you to attend a movie with me." Eddie said slowly. His Japanese was formal, but correct at any rate.
"Eh…"
Raye's grandfather jabbed her in the ribs with his arm.
"Sure!" She squealed in pain. Grandpa gave a slight nod.
Eddie Devereux's face lit up and he bowed profusely, his nose nearly touching the mat.
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"He asked you out?" Mina said a little too loudly. Raye stared straight ahead and ignored the question.
"Oh, he's so dreamy. Foreign boys are such cuties." Lita sighed.
"His scores are really high considering Japanese is just his third or fourth language." Amy said.
"If I weren't with Darien, I might be tempted to make a move on him myself." Serena said softly, looking around to see if Darien was nearby.
"You guys are making me sick." Raye shouted. She opened her schoolbag and took out her books. Whilst rummaging through her things, she found a tiny blue box.
She opened it carefully, her eyes growing large as she discovered a huge diamond necklace inside.
