Author's Note: Although many cameos will be introduced, I feel I must include this note. Xander is an original creation of mine. Is he the main antagonist? I can't say just yet. ^_^


Last Time: Just an intro to the story. Ten thousand years have passed. Have eight crystals been released. A young alien's superior seems to think so, and that's why the alien (in human disguise) is on Earth. Suppi also thinks the crystals have been released, so he went to get Kero and they went out to the park. Sakura and Li…are completely unaware of all this. But they'll find out soon, won't they?


Hunt For the Crystals: Episode 1


The shrubbery, the walkway, the green grass. This place was certainly bigger than Penguin Park, that much was for sure. But Kero had no idea where Suppi had led him to.

"Suppi, where are we?"

The cold wind blew away at Kero's face, while the little black guardian beast known as Spinel (but always called Suppi) flew down the walkway.

"It's another park," Suppi answered. "I don't know the name, but I thought you'd have been here at least once by now."

"Are you sure this is where the explosion came from?" Kero asked.

"I'm positive."

Just then, a thought hit Kero. "Uh…Suppi…if this is as serious as you say it is…then where's Eriol?"

"He's not home," Suppi answered bitingly. "He's over at Madison's place…again. He told us not to disturb him for anything and unfortunately, as dense as she is, Nakuru is holding me to that. So I had her wait for Eriol back at the apartment."

Kero didn't argue that. Eriol was dead serious about not being disturbed during his time alone with Madison. They really hit it off since Eriol came back, and why not? They love each other. They had missed each other for so long.

Kero changed the subject back to the matter at hand. "So what are we looking for?"

"If it's true that the eight crystals have been released," Suppi began, "then they've probably assumed their animal forms. And they're very powerful."

"If they're so powerful, then why didn't we wait for Sakura?" Kero demanded. "We could have had her bring the Sakura Cards."

Suppi became more somber. "Uh…let's not let it come to that yet. Sakura's enjoying her summer so far and have you forgotten that it's only been a week since Sakura got stuck in a pyramid? Don't you think the last thing she probably wants to hear is 'the world's in danger'?"

Kero thought about that. It was a good point. "Ok, ok, you're right. Maybe this really IS nothing. Maybe the eight crystals really ARE just a legend. Maybe you're wrong on this one."

Just then, the two guardian beasts stopped in their tracks. They saw something in front of them. It was a bright yellow tiger with stripes that seemed to flow with electricity. And it roared so loud that the leaves almost fell off the nearby trees.

"Oh, no," Suppi moaned. "They ARE out!"

"Hey, I thought we were looking for crystals!" Kero pointed out.

"Haven't you been listening to me?!" Suppi snapped. "They're out and they're in their animal forms! This is the Tiger with the power of thunder."

Kero gulped. "Like a Raijou?"

"Exactly." Suppi suddenly noticed the Thunder Tiger coming towards them…and sweatdropped. "Um…maybe it IS time we go get Sakura…I mean we can't possibly handle this alone."

Kero and Suppi turned to leave, but the Tiger immediately positioned itself in front of them. They seemed to be stuck as the Tiger emitted small electrical shocks. It was ready to pounce on the two guardian beasts.

"Any ideas?" Suppi asked.

Kero knew there was only one option. As much as he hated to resort to this…it was looking like he had no choice. So he glowered as his wings began to glow a faint color…and that began the transformation.

Suppi sweatdropped. "Oh…why didn't I think of that?" Suppi also began his transformation.

To defend themselves…Kero and Suppi had to morph into their true forms. So now…it was Keroberos and Spinel Sun who stood in the face of the Thunder Tiger.


~--------------------~


It was quiet in that park with only the cold wind hitting her in the face. Lita had never been in this park before, but she knew that's where the explosion came from. And with nothing to do back in the temple, Lita was more than curious to find out what that explosion was.

"It's too quiet," she said to herself. That's how she knew she was truly bored. She was talking to herself. It's not that she wasn't used to being alone, she was. It was just that she was truly bored without her friends at her side. But she suddenly wasn't bored anymore. She saw what that explosion must have been.

Lita went behind a bush hoping the creatures didn't see her. One of them was a massive Tiger with electrical shocks emitting from the stripes. Another was a winged yellow lion with armor on its chest. The third one was a black panther with the wings of a butterfly. This was bizarre to say the least, but Lita quickly jumped to conclusions. None of this could have meant any good.

These three had to have been the source of that explosion. Were they going to wreak havoc? Lita didn't know what to do. What would her friends do? What would Serena do? Then she reached into her pocket and found her transformation pen. It had been a long time. She hadn't used it in many years. But this was an emergency. She had to do something. So she held up her transformation pen.

"Jupiter Crystal Power!"


~--------------------~


Keroberos stood face-to-face with the Thunder Tiger. It was a momentary standoff. He didn't know if he should attack it yet.

"What are we supposed do with this thing?" Keroberos asked.

"We need someone to recite the incantation to return it to its crystal form," Spinel Sun answered.

"So what's the incantation?"

"I don't know. Eriol knows it, but he never told me. And even if we DID know it, we have to weaken the Tiger first."

Keroberos shook his head. All he could do was keep this thing at bay. So he quickly unleashed a powerful breath of fire, which the Tiger jumped over using its amazing agility. Keroberos and Spinel Sun turned around just in time to sidestep a bolt of lightning that nearly struck them directly.

Spinel Sun tried to attack, but the Tiger shot out another bolt of lightning and struck him, knocking him down. Keroberos was briefly distracted and the Tiger tackled him. Keroberos quickly tossed the Tiger off, but it was ready to attack again.

"STOP!!"

Keroberos looked around. Someone was here. A stranger. Then he found her. It was a girl in a white uniform and green skirt. Yes, a green schoolgirl's uniform. She wore a tiara around her forehead and was very…tall (for a girl). Keroberos didn't know what to make of this. Spinel Sun, who was just recovering, couldn't understand this either.

The girl jumped in between the Tiger and Keroberos. "In the name of Jupiter, I will call upon the forces of love and nature…to put an end to your destruction."

Keroberos tilted his head. "Huh?"

The girl held her hands out. "Jupiter Thunder…Crash!"

Amazingly, the girl unleashed a thunder attack of her own. She must have had magic powers as well. The Tiger saw what it was up against and quickly sidestepped it. It tried to escape, but the girl was right behind it. Unfortunately, the Tiger made a huge leap…and escaped.

The girl shook her head…and turned towards Keroberos and Spinel Sun. "You two…won't get away!"

Something rang in the head of Keroberos. "Wait! You don't understand!"

"Jupiter Thunder…Crash!"

Keroberos and Spinel Sun both flew up in the air and avoided the crushing blow of the lightning attack. Knowing they wouldn't convince this girl like this, Keroberos and Spinel Sun took big risks. They changed back into their false forms just as this girl was preparing to strike again. Once again, they were Kero and Suppi.

"Hold it!" Kero shouted. "What are you, nuts?!"

The girl stopped and looked at two little guardian beasts curiously. "What…are you two supposed to be? You look like stuffed animals."

"We prefer the term 'guardian beasts'," Kero said irately. "And what are YOU supposed to be?"

"Why should I tell you?" the girl demanded. "You two were just about to destroy this park."

"We were not!" Suppi snapped. "We were trying to stop that Tiger before it got loose! But you came and messed everything up. Who are you?"

The girl scratched her head sheepishly. "Um…I'm sorry. I'm not used to going it alone. I'm…Sailor Jupiter."

Suppi gasped. "Sailor Jupiter? THE Sailor Jupiter? As in one of the Sailor Scouts?"

Jupiter nodded. "Uh…yeah…I'm one of the Sailor Scouts."

Suppi couldn't believe it. "But I thought the Sailor Scouts were just a myth. I didn't think they were real."

"We're real," Jupiter frowned. "If anything, I didn't think talking stuffed animals were…um…never mind. I've seen weirder."

"How did you get here?" Kero asked.

"I heard an explosion coming from out here," Jupiter answered. "And…I came to investigate. That's when I found you two and that Tiger. But…weren't you two a lot bigger just now?"

Kero asked another question rather than answer. "YOU came to investigate? I thought there were FIVE Sailor Scouts."

Jupiter's eyes dotted. "Um…the other Scouts are away…on vacation. It's just me right now. But never mind that, what WAS that thing? Was that some kind of monster?"

"I'm not completely sure myself," Kero answered. "I think my friend might know. I'm Kero…and his name is Suppi."

Suppi growled. "IT IS NOT!!"

Jupiter blinked. "So what do you know, Suppi?"

Suppi shook his head. That name would always haunt him, no matter what. "That Tiger is the animal form of one of the legendary eight crystals."

"Eight crystals?"

Suppi knew it would be a long explanation. "Maybe I'm not the person to relay all this to you. Let me take you to someone who CAN tell you."

Kero didn't take that too well. "Wait a minute, Suppi. You want HER to help us?"

"What's wrong with her?" Suppi shot back. "She obviously has what it takes. I mean, she's a Sailor Scout for goodness sakes. What else do you want?"

"What about you-know-who?" Kero asked dryly. He was obviously referring to Sakura.

"Who said she can't help us?" Suppi pointed out. "She can help us, too. That Tiger was just the beginning, Kero. There're a lot more dangerous things like that out on the loose. We need all the help we can get. So of course we can get help from…you-know-who."

"Who are you talking about?" Jupiter suddenly asked.

Suppi just glanced at Kero. "They should be home by now. Tell them to meet us by Madison's front gate. I'll go get Eriol. And I'll take…Sailor Jupiter with me."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Kero snapped. "We have a secret, you know! You really think we can share it with a stranger?"

Suppi shook his head. "She's a Sailor Scout, Kero. If we can't trust a Sailor Scout, then who CAN we trust?"

Jupiter blinked. "Am…I missing something?"

Suppi grinned. "Any questions you have will be answered as we go along. Now come with me. I'll take you to Eriol and he can tell you everything about the eight crystals." He then glanced at Kero. "And YOU go get…them."

Suppi reached over and started dragging Sailor Jupiter away by the hand, leaving Kero by himself. Not even Kero was sure what this whole legend of the eight crystals was about. But he trusted Suppi when he said that Eriol knew all about it. So Kero had only one task. He had to go get Sakura and Li.

But he remembered how ecstatic Sakura was about her summer. She was really enjoying it (despite the minor detour through that stupid pyramid) and Kero hated to have to spoil it…

…by telling her that the world was in danger again.


~--------------------~


It's been a wonderful night thus far and Sakura hated to see it end. But now was the time for Li to take her home. So they walked down Sakura's street, hand-in-hand, and slowly came towards her front porch.

"I had a wonderful time," Sakura smiled.

"Me too," Li agreed.

Li ran a finger through Sakura's hair and they were about to share a kiss…when…

"Sakura!"

Sakura's euphoria faded and it was replaced with anger. She looked to her left to see she was being interrupted by Kero. The little guardian beast was panting…as if he had been out all night. Sakura started to feel suspicious. Had he been spying on her?

"What do you want?" Li asked angrily.

"We've…got an emergency," Kero answered reluctantly.

"What is it?" Sakura asked curiously.

"I don't know the whole story myself," Kero replied. "All I can tell you is…the world's in danger."

Those words echoed in the head of Sakura. Mere seconds ago, she was having a wonderful time with the love of her life, Li Shoran. Now Kero was telling her that the world was in peril. This wasn't supposed to happen. This was supposed to be her summer vacation. Why couldn't she just be a NORMAL GIRL?!

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. "Kero…what's going on?"

"Like I said, I don't know the whole story myself. But Eriol does, so we all have to meet by Madison's front gate. I'm sure we'll learn everything there."

Sakura and Li exchanged glances. Something was going on and neither one had any idea what. All they knew…was that things were going to get a lot more interesting. And they would learn everything from their friend, Eriol. Still holding hands, Sakura and Li walked away. Their destination: Madison's house.

Kero quickly caught up to them. "Wait, Sakura! You'd…better take the Sakura Cards. I have a feeling you're going to need them now…more than ever."


~--------------------~


A night alone. That's all that Madison Taylor was aiming for tonight and so far that's what she got. Her mother, having been called away on business, had no clue that Eriol was inside the house right now and maybe it was better that way. When Madison's mother found her kissing Eriol, she practically threw a fit.

Now they were alone together. Eriol leaned over and kissed Madison again. It was such a beautiful night and Madison was so happy that no one was there to interrupt.

"Eriol?"

Until now. The kiss broke and Eriol and Madison spied a certain guardian beast sitting on the windowsill.

"Not now, Suppi," Eriol muttered sourly.

"Um…Eriol, we've got a big problem."

"I'm in the middle of something," Eriol persisted. Frankly, Madison would have said something as well. But such displays of anger weren't in the polite young girl's nature.

"Eriol…we need you out here. It's IMPORTANT!"

Eriol let out a frustrated huff and turned around. "WHAT IS IT?!"

Suppi took his time. "It's been ten thousand years, Eriol…and the crystals are loose."

Eriol had a mortified expression on his face. Madison frowned. She never saw such a grim look on her man's face before. Whatever this meant…whatever these crystals were…it must have been something horrible.

"The world's in danger," Eriol said. "Have you told Sakura?"

"I had Kero tell her," Suppi answered. "She'll be here and so will Li."

Madison tugged on Eriol's sleeve. "Eriol…is there something I should know?"

"I'll explain everything," Eriol sighed. "And believe me…it's a very long story."


Next Time: Eriol explains the meaning of the crystals in detail. And the search for the eight crystals begins.


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