Fiore Comes Calling

The sound of tires screeching and a car crashing rang through Darien's ears. A physician came before him with drastic news. "I'm afraid your parents did not survive the accident. We did everything we could to save them. It was too late."

Listening to his words, Young Darien starts crying, unable to bear what he's hearing. "Father," he sobs. "Why did you have to leave me? Why did you leave me all alone?"

"You're not alone," said a voice. Young Darien looked and saw Young Fiore standing next to him. "I'm here with you."

Darien opened his eyes and found himself in a containment pod and he saw Fiore standing in front of him just like how he saw in his memory. "Fiore," he groaned and grunted in pain.

"You need to rest now, Darien," Fiore said gently. "We can talk later."

But he wouldn't allow himself to rest. He had so much he wanted to say. "You're real. You came back. I thought you were just someone I made up to ease the pain of my orphanage loneliness."

It wasn't like that at all. Fiore began to explain the real truth starting from what he could remember. "I'm real, but there's still so much about my past that I can't remember. Before I came to the orphanage, all I knew about myself was that I was a servant to the Dark Lord Cobalt and he charged me with the task of protecting one of his Star shards. I had no idea what my life was like or who I was before then, but Cobalt promised me he could help me remember if I served him. Before I knew it, Cobalt sent me on a mission and I found myself floating in darkness. Finally, after a long and tiring journey, I came to this world. Why he sent me to this particular world, I often wondered. But I didn't care anymore when I met you."

When Fiore awakened, he found himself lying in front of the orphanage. That was when Darien found and rescued him from the rain. The boys became good friends, but Fiore knew he wasn't meant to stay because he couldn't forget his mission. But he promised to come back someday.

Before going away, Fiore was presented with a red rose as a token of friendship. He promised to return the gesture and present Darien with the perfect flower that would symbolize their friendship. With the power offered to him by the Cobalt Star shard, Fiore was able to travel through the vast regions of space. Finally, he came to a star where a unique flower grew. It was the Xenian Blossom. When Fiore touched the flower, many negative feelings began to fill up inside Fiore. He had been convinced that the people of Earth had left Darien alone to suffer and he vowed to make them pay. At the same time, he could still fulfill his mission to the Dark Lord; wait for Millennia's heroes to arrive and eliminate them.

"The Dark Lord sent me to this world to occupy it until Millennia's heroes would arrive," continued Fiore. "And now that they are finally here, I can finally carry out my mission and eliminate them on his behalf. And, you, Max, you will help me remember. I realize now that the key to learning more about my past is to obtain more Cobalt Star shards starting with yours."

Max was still in her form as Sailor Night. When she realized the seriousness of how misguided Fiore was, she knew that this was worse than she thought. "You're wrong. You won't get the help you need from me in such a way."

Tuxedo Mask agreed. "And I have family on Earth. And so does Max. That's where we belong."

"No longer," Fiore said bitterly. "You belong with me, your true friend, Darien. And so do you, Max."

"Fiore," she whispered, but he wouldn't listen to her. He instead left her and Tuxedo Mask. It hurt Sailor Night deeply to see how much her friend had changed for worse.

When Fiore left, Tuxedo Mask began talking to her. "Sailor Night, I think Fiore may have mentioned you before."

She gave him his attention and asked, "Really?"

He nods and explains, "Back when Fiore and I met and were getting to know each other, he told me he was on a mission for his master, but he was also searching for someone special to him." As he tries to remember, scenes of his past begin playing in his mind. The boys were sitting together in a small room and Fiore told Darien his secret.

"My whole life, I keep waiting and searching, but I never find her."

"Find who?" Young Darien asked. "Who are you trying to find?"

"I can't remember," Young Fiore answered. "It was too long ago. All I know is I'm looking for someone who's special to me, maybe an old friend. And I think that maybe this holds the key." He takes the chain from around his neck and shows Darien his Cobalt Star shard. "My master, the Dark Lord, gave me this to protect. He said it may hold answers to my past and help me find that one person. But before I can find out, I have to complete my mission. One day, Darien, I'll have to leave for that purpose."

When the memories end, Tuxedo Mask tells Sailor Night, "When I saw those Cobalt Star shards, I couldn't help but wonder, could you be the one Fiore's spent his whole life searching for? Could you have a connection to his past too?"

Sailor Night was hesitant to answer at first, but she finally replied, "Yes. Fiore and I knew each other from long ago. We lived in the same world, but a world separate from this one." She clenched her hands into fists. "I can't lose him again. I've got to help him remember who he really is."

"Sailor Night," Darien was asking, "Max, who are you really?"

This time, she didn't answer. She wasn't ready to reveal that yet.

After Fiore distanced himself from Sailor Night and Tuxedo Mask far enough, so many thoughts began pouring into his head. He also noticed that his Cobalt Star shard was shimmering. He placed it between his fingertips to closely inspect it. When he did, many visions began flashing before his eyes.

He fell to his knees and began gasping. Were those memories? He wondered to himself. He even saw Max in those visions as well, only she looked a little differently than she did now. He saw her with the ears and tail of a fox. She is part of my past. I have seen her before.

The feelings were too strong to ignore, but Fiore didn't want to forget about Darien. "I can't let these visions distract me. Darien matters most to me right now. I won't let anyone take my friend from me, not even those Sailor Scouts. But, Max, she's just as crucial to this. She appears as one of them, but I know she really isn't. I remember her, but only by a little bit." Fiore stops and tells himself, "It's strange, I feel as though she's special to me. This means I can't let her go either."

He began to feel as though everything was coming together for him. "I'll have to confront the Heroes of Millennia again and I'm sure they'll be wanting to take Darien and Max from me. I can't have that. I can't let them take my friends away from me. Maybe this is the reason the Dark Lord sent me here; to discover the truth behind my past and Max is part of it. He knew Max would come to this world. He knew she would be the key to helping me remember. But I'll never be able to as long as Princess Emily and her friends are in my way and they'll continue to be if they try to take Max from me. But I swear, I will remember everything and I will eliminate Millennia's warriors and the Sailor Scouts. When I do, nothing will stand in my way and this world will belong to Xenian and the Dark Lord Cobalt."

After giving it some thought, Fiore's thoughts broadened even more. "But then, what will become of me and my friends? There's no place for me in this world. As such, I don't belong here. Once I've fulfilled the task Lord Cobalt has given me, I'll finally be able to leave this world. But then, where will I go? I have no home to go to." He turns away and scoffs. "Not that it bothers me. With me being who I am, I could never belong anywhere. I never did." He looks at his reflection at a nearby mirror. "It's not because I'm an outsider who chanced upon this world, but because I'm not human. I'm an abomination."

Fiore continues to look at himself. "I've often wondered why I was even born. What purpose could a creature like me possibly have? Now I finally know that to find the answers, I must remember more about who I am and why I am here. To do that, I must keep Max close and prevent Princess Emily and her friends from taking her from me. They think they're so special, but really, they're just as abominable as I am. That means that they shouldn't even exist either. But I'll be sure to take care of that once I see them again."