Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I had a small brain freeze and was getting ready for college which starts Monday. So it will probably be a while until the next chapter gets out. Well, enjoy! Standard disclaimers. I do not own Sailor Moon and if any one wants to argue for Travis, they can claim him all they want.

Recap of last chapter:

"Darien wins!" Rini exclaimed rushing to give Darien a hug. Darien looked at Seiya and said with a smirk of his own. "So what do I have to prove my strength against?"

Seiya grinned and answered. "You have to beat me to win this test." Then with that being said, he took out his headset and shouted, "Fighter Star Power, Make Up!" With everyone watching in shock, Seiya transformed into a girl.

The Test of Strength

Cosmos watched as Darien fought Seiya. At first, she forgot what the outcome of the test signified and almost started to cheer for Seiya. But then, she remembered that her friend's life hung on the balance of who won and started to cheer for Darien.
Darien heard Cosmos cheer for him and a warm feeling went throughout this body. For some reason, it just felt right for her to support him. Barely dodging another punch from Sailor Star Fighter, Darien wondered why she wasn't using any of her powers against him.

As if sensing the question, Sailor Star Fighter smirked. "I don't need to use my powers on the likes of you. I can take you any day without them!" Truth be told, she had almost started to use them, but Moon Dancer had stopped her. Moon Dancer wanted the fight to be fair, so it was physical strength against physical strength.

The trio watched as the two battled on for what seemed like forever. With each punch and kick, neither seemed to be affected or showed signs of relenting. They had held their breath in the beginning because Darien refused to hit a girl and Sailor Star Fighter used that to her advantage.

Then after a roundhouse kick to the head, Darien suddenly had a change of heart and started to be on the offensive. Yet, both were great fighters and seemed to have an unlimited supply of endurance.

'I have to win this fight, not only for Sailor Star, but to prove myself to Serena wherever she is.' Darien chanted over and over again. If he ever wanted Serena to show herself again, then he had to prove that he was a changed man.

"Darien!" Rini cried as Sailor Star Fighter hit him in the stomach and then performed an uppercut. Darien started to fall backward, but swiftly caught himself and rolled away just in time to miss Sailor Star Fighter's kick.

Time ticked by while both fighters stopped to stare at each other. Both had numerous bruises and cuts and were sweating profusely. Panting, Sailor Star Fighter called out, "Have you had enough, pretty boy?"

Darien grinned and said "I was just about to ask you the same thing." Travis called out, "I really don't want to be a bother. But we don't have all day! Finish this, Darien!"Cosmos nodded and thought about the change Darien went under. He wasn't the same man who had betrayed her years ago. He seemed to be more like the prince she fell in love with during the Silver Millennium. 'I guess the years have changed us both.' She thought to herself.

"He's right. The next move finishes this once and for all." Sailor Star Fighter said. Both fighters gathered their last remaining strength and in a split second, it was all over.

Erika looked down at the girl's sleeping face. After informing Luna, she had come over to the hospital to see Rose for herself. The doctor had informed her that Rose's vitals were steady, but they had a limited time they kept patients on life support. Rose's adopted family had died last year in a coincidental car crash just like her biological parents.

Leaning over to grasp Rose's hand, Erika vowed, "Don't worry, Rose, we'll find a way to get your rainbow crystal back. Until then, just hang on." After that, Erika spent the remainder of her time just informing Rose about everything that had happened to her since they had last seen each other. Somehow, she knew Rose was listening to everything that she was saying.

Rei looked at Chad's guilty face and couldn't remember one reason why she loved him. She felt the tears running down her face and the sob threatening to be let loose. This wasn't like her at all, she should be screaming at him to get out instead of standing there crying.

"Rei, I can explain." Chad started, but Rei just held up her hand. "There's nothing to explain, Chad. I knew that you wanted a physical relationship, but I just couldn't give you that. So you went somewhere else. I understand perfectly." Even her voice didn't sound like her. Instead of being vibrant and filled with sarcasm, it was quiet and sad.

Chad started to stand, but suddenly remembered his nudity and grabbed for the sheet. The blonde headed girl laying in the futon beside him yanked it back. So instead, he just sat down and reached for Rei's hand.

"Please don't do this to us, Rei. Give me another chance. I love you." Chad begged, but Rei just shook her head. "No, Chad. We were never meant to be together. I'm giving 24 hours to find another place to stay." With that being said, she started towards the door.

Suddenly, she was yanked from behind and lost her footing. The hand that grasped her fell with her and with a thud she hit the chair beside her. Getting up, she felt her cheek where she fell on the chair and could feel the bruise forming.

"Rei, I'm so sorry." Chad started again, but Rei stopped listening. Spitting, she saw the blood mixed in with her saliva. Rei started out the door once again and this time she was able to leave.

Ignoring Chad's cry, Rei shut the door and then ran to hers. Once she reached the sanctuary of her own room, she fell to her knees and started sobbing.

At the park, the Inners and the Generals were sitting on a blanket with a huge picnic basket in front of them. Lita and Nathan had made a huge lunch for everyone. "Has anyone seen Rei today?" Jed asked his voice tinged with concern.

The girls all looked confused and then seemed to snap from a daze. Suddenly, they realized Rei wasn't with them. "No, we haven't seen or heard from her since yesterday evening." Lita replied feeling guilty for not noticing sooner. Her only excuse was that Nathan had her so dazed that she couldn't concentrate on anything else.

"I'm going to go check on her. Go ahead and eat without us." Getting up, Jed forced himself to calmly walk away instead of running to his beloved.

"I hope she's okay. Do you think we should go with him?" Mina asked the others. "No, I think this is something only the two of them can fix together." Nathan replied with a confidence from an inner sense. Nodding everyone concentrated on eating instead of the couple's problems.

"Rei? Rei, are you here?" Jed looked around the front of the temple, but didn't see any sign of the black haired priestess. "Rei, where are you?" He muttered to himself and walked to the back where Rei lived.

'The second room is hers, I believe. I think the first one is her grandpa's old room and then the last one is that guys.' Just thinking about the loser Chad made Jed angry. If only he had gotten here sooner, he could be like the rest of the generals who easily snagged back their beloveds.

Instead he was competing with some rock loser who seemed to be stuck in the 80's with his shaggy hairdo. Stopping, Jed heard someone shouting. Coming upon Rei's room, he saw the guy Chad outside it yelling for Rei to let him in.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jed asked waiting for Chad to reply. Chad looked at him and gave him a cold look. "Look, dude, this is none of your business. Rei and I just had a little misunderstanding that's all." Jed just smiled at the man and leaned against the building.

"I don't think you understand. Rei is my business and if you have hurt her in any way, I will make you pay." Still smiling, Jed watched as Chad started to look scared. All in all, he was just a man with big words who couldn't back them up.

With Chad still trying to think of something to say, Jed pushed himself away from the wall and pushed Chad away from Rei's door. "Rei? Rei, its Jed, open up." He said calmly and waited for an answer.

What seemed like minutes, Rei finally answered. "Please, Jed, just go away. I just want to be left alone." Her voice was raw with grief and tore straight through Jed's heart. He wanted to kill Chad for hurting her so bad.

Instead he settled for giving him a look that would make any man run for his life. Chad was no different, with one last longing look at Rei's door, he left without another word.

"Rei honey, I'm coming in." Luckily she didn't lock it, Jed thought as he stepped into the dark room. Even though it was bright outside, in Rei's room no light prevailed. Straining his eyes, he could see her huddled form in the back corner of her room.

Walking quietly to her side, he gently picked her up and put her in his lap. With surprise he noted that she was crying heart wrenching sobs. Rubbing her back, he whispered comforting words to her while she latched on to his shirt and cried.

Finally, she seemed to calm down and pushed away from his chest. "I'm sorry." She whispered averting her gaze from his. Lifting up her chin, he forced her to meet his eyes. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I'm just sorry that I couldn't have prevented you from crying in the first place."

Giving her a smile, he then asked in a soothing voice what had happened. "It was stupid really. I caught Chad in bed with another woman." Ignoring the cold look that appeared in his eyes, she continued. "I should have seen it coming. I had refused to take our relationship to another level. I wanted to wait until I was married to give that to a man."

Looking down again, she felt like crying again. He probably thought she deserved being cheated on. Knowing him, he probably already had tons of girls in his bed.

"Rei, it's not your fault. Guys like him don't deserve respectable girls like you. It was brave of you to say no and stand by what you believe in." Hearing him say those words, Rei gasped in astonishment. He was on her side?

"Now dry your eyes and let's turn on the lights. We still have a picnic to attend." Letting her get up from his lap, he gave her a dazzling smile. Stumbling just a little, he found the light switch and turned it on.

Rei was actually started to feel better. She couldn't figure out why she was crying in the first place. Maybe she had secretly feared that if an idiot like Chad could cheat on her, then how could she possibly keep a guy like Jed from doing the same thing. But having him comfort her seemed to quiet that fear and give her hope that maybe with him, it would be different.

After all, they had been lovers in the past. Smiling, she glanced up at Jed. Seeing the fiery look in his eyes made her breath catch in her chest. "Jed?" She hesitantly asked.

With a determined look, Jed started towards her. Instinctively, Rei took a step back but then caught herself and stood her ground. She almost flinched away when his hand grasped her chin.

"Did he do this to you?!" Jed almost shouted with rage in his voice. At first, Rei was confused but then she remembered hitting the chair. "Jed, I can explain." But Jed didn't listen. He started back out the door.

Catching his hand, Rei tugged and made him stop. "Rei, I will not allow anyone to harm you. Release me, so I can make this man an example of that." Rei refused to give up his hand and forced him to look at her.

Her smile caught him off guard and what she did next, not only surprised him but her also. She kissed him on the lips briefly. Jed, not missing a chance when he saw one, he grasped the back of her head and pulled her lips to his once more.

The passion raged between them and soon their kisses grew from being chaste to being filled with that fervor. Finally, they both pulled away giving just enough space for both to breathe properly. Jed's hands were entangled in Rei's luscious, black mane and Rei was absently twirling Jed's golden locks with her finger.

"You know, I'm still going to kill him for daring to lay a finger n you." Jed said lightly touching the bruise on Rei's face. Sighing, Rei explained what had happened. Jed was still fuming, but decided to spare him for her sake. But when she wasn't around, he was going to give that man the thrashing of his life for making her cry.
"Rei, there's no turning back now. I'll give you the time you need to get over that man, but eventually we will be together." Jed declared looking into Rei's violet eyes.

Rei smiled at his oblivion to her feelings. "You fool, I don't need any time. I realized already that any feelings I had for Chad couldn't compare to the feelings I have for you. You're the only man I could ever want." With that being said, Jed's face lit up and soon the kissing started all over again.

Everyone held their breath, as the last punch fell and both fighters lay on the ground. Sailor Star Fighter had de-transformed back into Seiya and lay unmoving. Rini ran to Darien and helped him get back up. Darien had won the match. Travis cheered and went with Rini to help Darien stand again.

Cosmos watched as the others went to help Darien and decided he had enough help. Turning she searched for Seiya. Surprisingly, another man was already helping him up.

Travis and the others joined her and waited for the man to speak.

"You have passed the first test of strength. Choose who will be the next person because this test is a test of intelligence." The man spoke still supporting Seiya. "Who exactly are you?" Darien asked. "I am Seiya's brother, Taiki, and I will be whoever does this test's opponent."

Looking at each other, Cosmos spoke up. "Well, Darien's already eliminated since he has already competed. So that means it's just you and me." Looking at Travis, they seemed to size each other up. "I guess it's me then." Travis said with a sigh. "Yep, definitely." Cosmos said enthusiastically, happy to be off the hook on this one.

Sighing at Cosmos victory dance, Travis turned towards Taiki. "Let's get this over with." And with that, the second test started to begin.