"Wait up!" Lance caught up to Candra. "I'll walk you there."
"Lance, it's alright," Candra tried to reassure her brother. "I can take Diana back all by myself. I'm a big girl now!"
Lance smiled. "Yeah. But you'll always be my lil' sis."
They stopped at an intersection. "Now hold my hand! We are crossing a big street," Lance said.
Candra rolled her eyes, but held his hand his hand anyway. "Oh, Lance. . ."
As they crossed the street, they were spotted by Haruka and Michiru. "Who is that guy she's with?" asked Haruka.
"I don't know," said Michiru as Candra gave Lance a peck on the cheek. "Maybe they are going out."
"Like boyfriend and girlfriend?" Haruka started heading towards Candra and Lance.
"Haruka!" Michiru had to use all of her strenght to hold Haruka back.
"If he hurts her. . .!" Haruka growled.
"Calm down!" Michiru pleaded. "They're just walking across the street! It doesn't mean anything!"

"Thank you for bringing Diana home, Candra-chan!" said ChibiUsa. Diana lept from ChibiUsa's arms to her shoulders.
"No problem," said Candra with a smile. "Besides I had to. Lance was threatening to turn her into kitty stew if I didn't."
"AAAAAAAAAACHOOOOOO!!!! It's not my fault I'm allergic to cats," said Lance as he wiped his nose.
Ikuko walked in to the room. "Usagi, who are your friends?"
"This is Candra-chan, that girl I told you about, Mama."
"Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Tsukino," Candra said with a smile.
Usagi continued. "And this is. . .?"
"This is my brother, Lance," answered Candra. "Well, we should get going. I just wanted to make sure Diana made it home in time for lunch. It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Tsukino."
"Why don't you two stay over for lunch? As a way of saying thank you," suggested Ikuko.
That's when Luna walked into the room. "A-another cat?" Lance made one of those funny, surprised faces. "Uh, sorry! Er, Gomen! Can't accept! Too many cats! Bye!" Lance ran off.
Since Lance had finished the conversation in English, Candra had to translate; then they all had a good laugh.

"Mama. I told you before; I don't like rice balls!" Shingo pouted.
"Well, you liked them last night," said Ikuko. "Here, have another."
"Mama!"
"Shingo!" said his father.
"Gomen, Mama," Shingo apologized.
"That's better. So, Candra-san, how long have you been in Japan?" asked Kenji.
It was a question that was always asked, but Candra still had trouble answering it. "Since April, sir. I have really enjoyed it here, especially since meeting Usagi," answered Candra.
"So what do you parents do for a living?" asked Ikuko.
"My. . .uh. . .father is a teacher at a college and my mother is a homemaker." Candra started to pay more attention to her food.
"We should meet them sometime," said Kenji.
Usagi noticed Candra's reaction and quickly changed the subject. "This is really good, Mama."
"Thank you, dear. Want some more?"
"Yes, please!"
I wish Mom was still alive. As she watched the Tsukino family joke around, Candra started to feel a little jealous. She was very close with her brothers and they acted in the same way at the dinner table, but it just wasn't the same. Usagi had a mom and dad; she didn't.
Candra put her fork on her plate and pushed back her chair. "Gomen ne. I have to go."
Candra left the table, but not before Usagi noticed the tears in her eyes. "Candra-chan! Wait!" Usagi pushed back her own chair and followed.
The rest of the family stopped eatting. "Was it something we said?" asked Kenji.

Even though it was just after noon, it was starting to get dark. Candra ran into an alley just as it started to rain. She leaned against one of the buildings and slid slowly down the side. Her body shook as she started to cry.
Usagi squealed in fear as lighting flashed. Catching her breath, she quickly continued her search. "Candra-chan! . . .Can. . .Hey!" Usagi almost ran past the alley and had to back up.
"I'm sorry." Candra sniffled. "I'm jealous of you."
"Why?"
"Because I want a family."
Usagi looked at her friend. She couldn't believe what Candra had just said. "You want a family? You have a family!" Usagi knelt next her friend. "You told me you have brothers who care deeply about you. And you have a sister who loves you very much."
"But it's not the same as having a mom and dad! That's what I want!" Candra broke down. "I can't take it anymore! I want my mommy!"
Usagi's eyes filled. "Please don't cry! You can be part of my family!" She rapped Candra in a big hug. "We'll adopt you! And your brothers!"
"But we're adults!" Candra pointed out. "What would be the point?"
"Everyone needs a family no matter how old they are!" Usagi said. "And even if that family isn't the family they were born into, everyone needs a family! I want you to be part of mine! Please!"
Candra looked at Usagi and could not believe what she had just heard. "No one has ever been that nice to me. They always made fun of me. But you haven't done that. If fact, you want to get closer. Thank you, Serenity."
"No problem, Candra-chan."

"That's terrible," said Ikuko.
"Yes. Please, come over as much as you want," added Kenji.
"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino. I should be getting home now." Candra stood up, bowed, and headed toward the door.
Usagi followed her. "You have my phone number, right?"
"Yep."
"You call me for any reason, even to yell at me about my grades, okay?"
Candra cutely stuck out her tongue. "Okay. See ya tomorrow!"
"They seem awfully close, dear," said Ikuko. "I think we should be doing more than letting her come over whenever she wants."
"Me, too," replied her husband. "But what?"

Meanwhile, on the Moon. . .

Sir Grety watched Mamoru as he left the house. Grety saw that he was in a hurry and taking a shortcut through the woods.
"Hmmm. It seems very dense in there," Grety thought aloud. "I could kill him in one swipe! "Grety then processed to laugh that really annoying bad-guy-laugh. "I'll get him, then Serenity will have to fall for me! Great plan, old boy! And I'm so glad that the Moon Kingdom computers still work. This place has such a good view. But enough about that. Look out, Endymion! Death awaits you!" He then threw back his head and laughed some more. (Have you noticed all bad guys do that? Why?)

Mamoru couldn't believe how much time he had spent at Motoki's. He looked at his watch. It wasn't very late, but he did have that exam to study for. He was thinking about re-enrolling in Harvard to finish out his college education and to do that, he need to keep his grades up. "If nothing else, I should at least try to get some more sleep." Mamoru smiled as he pictured himself to be like Usagi: asleep in the middle of class.
Mamoru sensed something and turned around. Someone's here. Where are they? Should I transform? Mamoru didn't want to overreact, but you never know. "Is anyone there?" he asked in a clear voice.
Something caught the corner of his eye. Out of instinct, he jumped to the right. Right where he had been was a big hole.
"Earth Star Power! Make Up!" Tuxedo Kamen's outfit has changed since we saw it last. He ditched the cape and top hat. On his forehead was his symbol and his tux was now green. (Now that I think about that, it seems as if that will look very weird.) He took out his replacement for the cane: a sword. "Okay, who's there?"
"The Angel of Death!" Sir Grety came flying at Kamen, who ducked. They started a duo that went on for several minutes. It became obvious that Tuxedo Kamen was out of shape as it was difficult for him to keep up.
Grety managed to knock our hero's weapon away from him and beat him up to say the least. "You know, you two were a cute couple."
"What are talking about?" Tuxedo Kamen didn't even know what he was fighting about. He was just defending himself.
"You remember the Moon Kingdom?"
"How do. . .?"
"How do I know? Because I was her fiancée!" Grety took another swipe at Kamen who dodged and landed on the ground. "See, since the Princess and was unable to choose a husband, I was chosen to marry her when she turned eighteen. Now, she was perfectly okay with this; in fact we were best friends. So she was as happy with the arrangement as I was.
"When she met you at the summit meeting, you made fun of her hairstyle and she made fun of your height. You two always bickered though, so I wasn't worried a bit. But then I realized that you two were actually play-fighting, that you liked her and she liked you. Still, I thought it was just a friendship, one that would benefit both worlds. So I made plans for the wedding and didn't interfere.
"One day, though, I overheard a conversation Serenity was having with her sister. Serenity kept saying that she was too shy to kiss you and Cynthia told her to admit she liked you! That's when I saw through your little game. You stole my girl! And now, it's pay back time!" Grety went to stab his foe.
Kamen managed the roll out of the way. (Good thing he ditched the cape). "I didn't know she was engaged!"
Grety blasted him against a tree. "Too late! Die!" Grety raced toward Kamen, who was too drained to move. All he could do was close his eyes. Usako!
Then he realized that this attack was taking way too long. He looked up and saw Sailor StarMoon. Her StarWand was longer and she was using it to block Grety's sword.
"How nice to see you, Serenity!" greeted Sir Grety.
"How many times do I have to say it? Address. . ." She pushed him back. ". . me. . ." Her wand got smaller. " . . .properly!" A thick, star-shaped beam came out, the most powerful one yet. Grety screamed as he was hit and disappeared to avoid further damage.
Breathing heavily, Sailor StarMoon turned around and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," answered Kamen. "I'm fine."
"Luna Sphere Kitty Magic!" Luna-P became made a first aid kid and StarMoon started working on fixing up Kamen. "Try to sit up, but other than that, don't move."
Kamen smiled. "This will go down as the only time I'm glad you were follwing me," he told her.
StarMoon rasied an eyebrow. "The only time?" she joked.
"Well, you always spied on Usako and I back on the Moon," Kamen reminded her. "I know that I really didn't like that. Ow! That stings."
"Yeah, well, neither did Serenity," said StarMoon. "Sorry, but I don't want your wounds to get infected. Can you feel your arms and legs?"
"Yeah. My wrist hurts, though."
"After I get you cleaned up here, I'll take you to the hospital, okay?" She turned back to her kit to get another bandage when a bubble surrounded her. "What the heck? Wha-?" The bubble flew up into the black sky. StarMoon pressed her hands against the inside. "Chiba-san!"
The first-aid kit became Luna-P again. Kamen slowly and painfully got to his feet. "Candra!"
Grety reappeared leaning on the bubble. "You know, I really wanted to kill you, Prince, but since I have her now, there's really no point. Say all you want, but it better include 'Goodbye'."
"Chiba-san! Please tell Usagi I love her!" Those were the last words she was able to say before Grety kidnapped her.
Kamen and Luna-P stared up at the spot. What have I done? thought Kamen.

Chpater Nine: A Race Against Time! Save Candra!