Alina 

Pyramids of Ice: Chapter ONE

The ice is thin come on dive in
underneath my lucid skin
the cold is lost forgotten
hours pass days pass time stands still
light gets dark and darkness fills
my secret heart forbidden--
Ice (sarah maclachlan)

(Chapter One)

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Present---England-- a few weeks after
Jaedite is found to be alive.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Wearily, Greg climbed the stairs to
his apartment...it was late, and he was
tired from studying. The books he
carried felt like a ton, and he almost
felt like leaving them on the steps.

Exerting his will power, he pushed forward.
Why had he started to get fatigued so easily?
Maybe it was this English weather. Ever
since he'd come here he just hadn't been
the same. Of course, maybe the problem
was his heart. He kept thinking back
to the last time he'd seen her...his
Amy...in the park, as he explained
his visions. Those visions had stopped
now--in fact, he hadn't had a premonition
since he'd moved into his apartment.
Therefore, he had utterly no warning of the
visitor who stood patiently outside his
door, pausing in the act of knocking.

"AMY" Greg called, surprise making his
voice rise in pitch. The last person he'd
expected to see in front of his apartment door
was Amy. He dropped his books...and they
made a soft *thump* on the faded threadbare
carpet of the hall.

"Greg--" She spoke as if she could
barely get all the words out "we need to talk."

He opened the door, as if in a trance.

They were barely in before she started
" We can't give up on our future because of my past." Her
voice was firm. "I'll leave, if you think that's best,
but I think we should reexamine your interpretation of the
dream. I've found something out that make me
think--no, know that you are wrong."

Greg stared at her--she was here. Was it a dream?
If so he didn't want to wake up.

"Greg?" She said...She lightly touched his shoulder
with her hand "Is everything ok?"

"This must be a dream." He said. "Amy, are
you really here? Do you really mean this?"

"It's not a dream." She said. "I'm really here...and..
I won't give up on you because of some dream or because
of anything..."

"Amy, I love you, you know that..I've always
loved you...but I can't go back to being
your friend..."

"I don't want you to do that! I've probably always
loved you but I was too scared to admit it.
I'd also convinced myself I was too busy to
fall in love. That love was this glamorous
enchantment that I didn't need, didn't deserve
and didn't want. Because I thought that love
picks you and you have no choice when it happens!"

"What changed your mind...?" Greg asked.

"A friend of mine set me straight." She smiled.
"She told me that everyone deserves a chance for
love! But you have to work for it...and that its not
always some magical overpowering experience that sweeps you away--
Sometimes, love is the soft warm glow you get when thinking about a person
you care about very very much...a person you'd
like to spend every minute of every day with...
a person who makes you want to keep on living..."

"Just to see their smile?" Greg finished for
her... "That's almost a direct quote from Sailor
V's latest issue..." Their eyes met and they
laughed..

Amy blushed. "I was quoting Serena actually,
but I suppose I should have known Serena
wasn't that eloquent. But I mean it, because that's how I feel."

One of the doors in the apartment opened. A thin,
deadly pale, bespectacled figure emerged. He pushed
the strands of his impossibly black straight hair
out of his face, and blinked with eyelashes that
looked white in comparison, looking at the couple before
him. He stared longer than was polite at Amy.
Finally, he coughed to get their attention and said
"Hallo there Greg--you're back early tonight
aren't you? I didn't mean to interrupt, but.."
Suddenly he placed why the girl looked familiar....
Greg had a picture on his desk of her.

"Is this your Amy?' His roommate asked, looking at the couple.
The other two barely noticed.

They were too busy staring into each other's eyes.

"Yes." Greg said. "This is *my* Amy."

* * *
The two weeks Amy could spend with Greg
flashed by in an eye blink. Mina had spent
the time visiting her old haunts, giving
Amy plenty of time to spend with Greg alone.

The odd thing was, Amy usually ended up hanging
out with Greg's roommate EZ. Greg had
been busy doing his coursework. EZ, who had
just turned in his doctoral thesis, was much
freer and the two found quite a bit in common
to chat about. Even though she'd mostly
watched Greg study, Amy still wished she didn't have to go.

The airline called her flight number.

Greg yawned. "Sorry, I didn't get to
spend as much time with you as I'd have liked."

Amy nodded, but he could see the disappointment
hiding in her eyes. "I understand...studying
is important. Besides, Greg, I know you really weren't
expecting me to show up like this." She
may be on vacation, but he wasn't. Two weeks
just wasn't long enough, she thought. She
wished she didn't have to go.

He still felt drained. Why in the world
had he'd picked an *English* school to
study medicine? He had to study twice as hard
as he would have otherwise. He sighed, knowing
that he'd done this to get as far away as he could
from Amy and the mystery man who Greg had thought
was destined to win Amy's love away from
Greg. "Look, as soon as I can, I'll visit you in Tokyo."
He managed a smile despite his exhaustion. "I have to
take a break sometime."

She smiled, . "Oh Greg! I'll write you
everyday...the time will pass quickly."
They'd agreed he would transfer back to
Tokyo at the year's end, pending
an acceptance in a medical school in
Tokyo. Though Amy's classes would
start a few days after she returned, Greg
had already turned down his seat in that
school. If he had not done so, he could
have just come with her now--but that was
not to be. Amy rationalized in her head--
you could be close to someone emotionally even if you were not
geographically close...but leaving bothered her anyway.

Greg's roommate EZ stepped in then, to hug Amy goodbye.
He'd come with them to the airport.
Though he was never standoffish, he also
wasn't genuinely gregarious...especially
with women, and he stood near to Mina, almost
ignoring her chatter. He didn't even make eye
contact, just kept watching Greg and Amy.

In a minute, EZ fell into a rather esoteric conversation
with Amy. Greg, bored by the debate
moved over to say goodbye to Mina, enjoying her
mindless lighthearted conversation. He was
too tired to think today.

For an instant, as he observed EZ's goodbye
to Amy, he felt a streak of
jealousy freeze through him--but he shook it off.
EZ never seemed to be interested in women...
Though, fairly, in all the years he'd known
him, EZ had never seemed interested in people
in general. Just chess, politics, studying,
and oddly enough martial arts.

"Your roommate is such a hunk! Too bad we're
leaving!" Mina gushed. "Why didn't Amy tell
me, I'd have hung out with you all then!"

Greg felt very uncomfortable at that. "Well,
he *is* moving back to Japan soon...."
He said as their seat numbers were called.

Not caring if Greg noticed, EZ kept his eyes on Amy's soft
ocean of hair, as long as he could as she walked
down the ramp. EZ watched Amy disappear into the plane.

He'd never met anyone like her. She seemed
so familiar to him...he felt a connection with
her that he'd never felt with anyone, except of course,
Greg. EZ frowned, and looked
away when Greg looked at him. Somehow, he
was glad Amy left--temptation is easier to resist
when its not before you.

As the days passed though, EZ had to admit that Amy's
face lingered on his mind. He'd taken to drawing
her face, and had even made a copy of Greg's photograph.
Furtively, he stashed these items away in a desk--fearful
lest Greg realize his secret.

Time didn't explain his connection with her, only
strengthened his conviction...
The feeling had washed over him, leaving him drenched with
guilt. She had to feel something too. EZ thought...
EZ's eyes would catch her's when Greg was pouring
over some problem. They'd both stayed up hours
talking to each other, or playing chess. Time she
should have spent with Greg. Of course, Greg was studying.
The problem was, EZ thought to himself, he should
have been studying Amy. EZ certainly had.
"I can't believe she left so soon." Greg said
sadly. "I miss her already."

EZ nodded, not wanting to agree for fear he'd
betray himself.

He'd known Greg forever it seemed..
But they'd met just after Greg had met Amy. So
he'd always known about Amy's place in Greg's life....he'd
just never met her, until now.

Funny that should happen in England, when they'd
all grown up in Japan. Yet life liked odd twists.
And EZ's life had been twisted. He tried not to remember
the strict, overly religious father who had all but
abused him. He'd run away at fifteen, suffering nightmares,
and then memory lapses. He awoke in a hospital, almost a year
and a 1/2 later...The state put him with a foster
family, and pushed him back two years in school.
The only good thing about that was he finally had
a more stable home life,and he met Greg,
who was somewhat younger.

EZ rapidly made up the missing months of
school. On scholarship he went to England for college,
and then his Phd, having graduated
early from school. He never minded leaving Tokyo,
as much as leaving Greg. He certainly couldn't miss the
other student's who never talked to him but only about him.
Or his well-meaning foster-family....no,
Greg was the only one who realized that despite
all Ezekiel Spade's genius lay a fear of social interaction.
He saw the self-imposed isolation was just a
shield to protect EZ from hurt.
So Greg meant more than just a friend to EZ...he
was his *only* friend...so that was why, when he
felt this pull to Amy, that EZ felt his soul turn upside
down. Why did he have to hurt the one person
he cared about, in order to fall in love? Because
he couldn't think of any other word to explain the feeling
he had when he looked into her soft blue eyes.

As Amy entered the plane, she turned to wave.
Again as she saw Greg's roommate a feeling
of deja-vu poured over her...he was so familiar
to her somehow.
* * * *

Impatiently, Serena watched the passengers file
off the airplane. She kept hopping up
to see over the heads of the others around her.
"Where are they!?" She warbled.

Lita's worried expression
vanished as she spied her friends "*There*
they are" she said...subconsciously she'd
not believed they'd be safe until she saw them.
She could still remember waiting for two other
loved ones, at this very airport, who never came...
but this time, she smiled wistfully, things were different.

"It's about time." A little grandmotherly
looking woman said. "Did they have
to be the *last* people off the plane?"

"Oh Mina and Amy!" Exclaimed Serena, obviously glad
her two friends were back, as she hugged both
of them.

The girls smiled, returning the hug.
Amy replied "I'm so glad to be home...
But we had a great time in England" She couldn't
help eye the strange old woman who stood near them,
tapping her foot.

"Yeah, I showed her all the fun stuff, and
she showed *me* all those great historic things
I'd missed!" Mina said. "It's funny how I
lived there and never saw those things...oh
well, it's hard to know what's under your chin!"

"See what's under your nose." The old woman corrected,
sounding exasperated.

Serena smiled even wider, she was happy to see Mina
as her normal cheerful self again. After their memories
returned, Mina had spent a few nights feeling moody
and antisocial. "Darien's
getting the car..." She informed them. "We should
all be able to squeeze in for a short ride."

Suddenly Amy realized she recognized the
prickly old woman...
"R--" She started to say when Lita put her hand
over her mouth. "Shush....she's hiding."

"Hiding? Why?"Amy asked.

"Let's just say you missed some adventures
on your trip." Serena said. "So we" She lowered
her voice "used the Luna Pen on Raye.."

"why?"

Lita grinned. "We'll explain later.
Say, you two must be tired. It's a
long flight--do you want me to go get your
luggage?" The girls described their bags,
and handed their tickets to Lita. Who walked
away "Ok, a small blue case and a *huge* orange bag.
Got it..I'll meet you at the car."

On their way out, Amy asked them to pause while
she called Greg to let him know she'd gotten in ok.

"Isn't that sweet!" Mina cooed. "She even called
him *from the plane*!"

While waiting, Serena placed a
hand on Mina's shoulder, as Raye scanned
the rows of cars for Darien's car.

"Are you ok?" Serena said, quietly...."I
was worried when you left...Artemis told Luna
that you were really *down* because Malachite was dead
and we couldn't' heal him...."

Mina's bright facade dipped for a second. "I'm ok...
Now....this trip was perfect....
Let's just say that seeing Amy and Greg together
made me rethink whether the generals were our soulmates...
Maybe I have a shot to find happiness, you know?
But... Artemis will pay for having such a big mouth."

"Good, but I have *even* more good news..."
Serena said..

Amy returned from the phone as Mina added "Will
it explain that grin on Lita's face?"

"She's in love " Serena said mischievously. "Just like Ra--."

Raye turned around, to see what they were talking
about--she hoped they weren't talking about
her and Jed, because she still didn't know
exactly *what* she felt, and she hated to think
of Serena---

Mina sighed.. "I knew that cute Joe and she..."

"It's not Joe." Raye warned, relieved the
subject was Lita. "Remember Lita's old boyfriend?"

"Freddy?" Amy asked perplexed.

"Turns out his real name is Maxfield Stanton..."
She whispered.

"NEFLITE?" Mina and Amy whispered back in unison.

Serena nodded. "Majorly heavy stuff huh? We
thought it was a fluke with Jaedite, but
guess not..."

Darien pulled up with the car. He
offered to take the two bags (which, from the
way Lita had carried them, he'd thought they
were quite light, but unfortunately were not,
so he hurt his foot as he dropped the large
orange bag, to which she shrugged a light "Whoops").

They had just pulled out of the loading zone, when
Mina slapped her hands to her head, and
screamed... "Where's Artemis!"

Darrien slammed on the breaks. " Don't
tell me you left him in England!?"

"OH No..he must still be in his cat carrier, running
around the baggage claim in circles!" She said horrified,
crawling over Amy to get to the door.

"Guess that's your revenge!!" laughed Serena,as the
car screamed to a halt. Mina flung herself out
the door, running to grab the small white cat carrier.

"I am not amused." Artemis growled out, forgetting
that cats aren't supposed to talk as Mina
rescued him. "Next time buy a seat for me...
And *you* fly cargo."

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"So that's why I'm in hiding." Raye explained
as they sat having tea at the Outer Scout's
penthouse.

"Are you sure its safe to be *here*?" Amy
asked worried. "From what you said, they
were observing Raye...they might have seen
you all together and found out who you
were."

"That's unlikely...since the attacks on Raye
started, we haven't seen her." Haruka
argued. "Are you sure you can trust Stanton?"

Lita swivelled to face Haruka "He's
not with them!" She said, stepping closer,
fighting stance adopted.

"Haruka didn't mean that!" Michiru
interceded, though Haruka shot her a look
(that's exactly what I meant, she seemed to say)

"It's just we don't know an awful lot
about him or his alter ego yet....and unknown
variables at a time like this..."

Amy nodded. "I see...so we should be
careful what we reveal to him..."

Lita frowned, glancing at Jed. "Then why
did we call Jed to this meeting--he's
still an unknown."

Raye snapped. "No. He's on *our* side now..."

"So is Freddy..."Lita complained...

Gently, Serena said "Yes, but he still
hasn't come to terms with his past life--"

Darien nodded. "We know that Jaedite was preserved
by Beryl, but we still don't *how* Nephrite
was reborn..."

"Hey..what about the Crystal?"Mina asked "Can't
it make them be reborn just like us?" She realized
now that was why Serena had been so excited to
tell her about Jaedite...the generals
could come back...

Setsuna stirred her green tea lazily. "Whoever
Queen Selenity touched with the crystal that day
can be reborn...as long as the holder of
the crystal wishes it."

The others eyed her-- "Why didn't you tell
us that *before*" accused Raye. "Why
do you hold things back?!"

"I didn't assume Queen Selenity touched the
Generals with the crystal. Therefore, it
was not relevant" She responded.
"And for Princess Serenity to use the crystal
to spell in such a fashion would disturb time.
I didn't want to encourage her."

"Then why did you mention this now?!"
Amy inquired.

"Jaedite and Nephrite's presence is
evidence that Selenity did include them." Setsuna
said. She turned to Serena. "Therefore, I don't
need to worry that you will bring them back
with the crystal....you already did."

"What?! What do you mean!? When did I do that?!"
Serena exclaimed.

"The second time you used the power, it was your own spell
to bring all of us back, but the first
time, you merely reinvoked your mother's spell.
I felt it during your battle with Beryl."

The others sat stunned, letting that little
revelation settle into their minds.

* * *
"Amy can you help me with--?"Serena broke
off noticing that Amy was not *really*
paying attention. They were still
hiding out in the Outer Scout's apartment,
investigating the leads Field had given them
on Stanton Electronics. Amy worked harder
than anyone, her computer blinking constantly.
She'd established that legally Field had
been declared dead, by his stepfather
Eris Sineheart. Sineheart, inheriting the company,
had created one of the most powerful
companies around. She'd found proof
that suggested Stanton Electronics was
attempting to monopolize a certain
portion of the electronics industry.

Despite this whirlwind of work,
Amy's mind was obviously elsewhere at the moment.

Serena put down the course selection
catalog for college. She'd not
gotten past anything but deciding
what she *didn't* want to take--that is
anything before noon.

"I can't STAY here Much LONGER"
Raye growled, as she stepped onto the terrace..she'd
been in the apartment for a week while the
others worked on leads. She hated feeling
so helpless.

She'd closed the shrine, and convinced her
grandfather to spend a few weeks at
a hot springs in the mountains...he'd not
wanted to go until Jed had mentioned how many
pretty young potential acolytes he could find.
Luckily for Jed, Raye hadn't heard him say that.

"Sorry--my mind wandered...here, the structural
study of the Stanton Tower reveals a hidden
space between two floors." She said handing
Serena a paper.

"This isn't the print out--hey, who's EZ?"
Serena said, and seeing Amy's fierce blush,
she grabbed the paper and attempted
to read it.

Amy grabbed the letter with the email and
hid it in her pocket. "Serena!" She chastised.
"What?! You told me to read it!"

Amy looked around the room. Raye was
leaning over the balcony, getting air.

"Not that...it's a letter from Greg." She
blushed...she hated love letters...but then,
this really wasn't one. "Greg wrote me
that his friend EZ is moving back to Japan
this weekend."

"Oh...Mina mentioned him..he sounds
really cute....Can't wait to see him"

Amy blushed..."Greg wanted me
to help him find an apartment..."

"Why are you blushing?" Serena asked
suspiciously, sensing a story underneath
with her uncanny instincts.

"His job is at Stanton Electronics."Amy
said...that was part of what bothered
her, but that was not what made her
face feel heated. "Could he be part
of this plot?"

Serena couldn't think of anything to say to
that. "You don't think..."

"We can't be too careful." Amy said. "He's
starting very soon...but even if he isn't
connected maybe we can use him to get
access to the building. He may be the
break we need."

"I hope so! Raye's going to be certifiable
if something doesn't happen soon." Serena
said... "And all this waiting makes me
nervous...and hungry" She grabbed another
sweet off the table.

"You're always hungry." Raye said coming
back in. "You're a walking stomach, dumpling
head...."

Eloquent as always, Serena sucked the sweet
down and stuck out her tongue at Raye.
Raye did the same after saying "Oh, great
comeback, Serena!"
"At least I don't act like a monkey!!" Serena replied.

"Oh? Who's a monkey?"

Amy shrunk back down behind her computer
screen, and began writing an email to Greg.
It started "Greg, you don't know how much
I miss you." Especially right then.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Moon Kingdom--morning before the shields are raised
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Princess Serena was wailing, wheedling to get the others
to let her go down to Earth.

"We're lucky we weren't discovered
the other times!" Lita exclaimed
"I want to go too, Princess. But we can't.
>From what Jaedite sent Raye,
the new threat that started attacking Earth's
kingdoms is too unstable. We know nothing of it.
We at least need to wait until there is peace."

"Yes...you all were very lucky that you left before
the first attacks. The generals and Endymion will
be too busy fighting whatever it is."Amy said,
over the book she was reading. "This war
illustrates why the Moon kingdom has not associated
with those of Earth. You should all forget the
Generals....it is best and required by our honor,
and for the Moon Kingdom's peace."

Everyone stared quite shocked. "Don't tell me you
don't want to see Lord Warrior Zoicite again!" Lita exclaimed.

"What I want, does not have importance,
beside my duty." Amy said. "Zoicite and I have
gotten to be good friends......"
She blushed "But that doesn't change
that I am a member of the Moon Kingdom Court. I
cannot go against Queen Selenity's wishes." Inside, she
felt her heart turn over. With the raising of the shields,
she might never see him again. She had to forget him, because
her place was here on the moon, not by his side.

Mina swept in hurriedly. "Artemis just said that Earth Generals
Malachite and Zoicite transported here unexpectedly..." She
exclaimed... "They're seeing Queen Selenity
but asked to see me and Amy."

Amy stopped listening to Serena's wailing--
all she could think was *he* was here. Logic,
theory, sense forgotten, in the flood of happiness
that splashed through her. All her reasons why
she *shouldn't* see him washed away....
Thankfully the other's didn't notice her
change in expression...she thought. She
tried to compose herself.

"How's my dress look?" Mina said, as she looked
at what she had on. "I can't believe he's
here!!!"

Lita looked at Amy's face. "Maybe I'll
join you two."

"You were not requested!" Amy argued.

"So...I'd like to get to know your *friend*
better." She teased, as Amy flushed again.

Mina considered... "There is a *war*, Lita,
stay with Serena." She ordered.

"Yeah, on earth, and it's never going to
touch the moon kingdom! There's nothing to
fear *here*!" Lita said "ok, ok, if you're going
to be like that and pull rank, I'll leave
you lovebirds alone!"

"We're just friends!" Amy exclaimed, while
Mina just grinned with a guilty-
but-I-like-it expression.

Raye meanwhile had been saying something to Serena
that stopped the flow of tears. The two
wandered off. Amy didn't notice...she
all but ran to the gates of the gardens,
where the two generals waited.

"Amy!" Zoicite said. "We must talk." He led her away.
He looked as beautiful as he had the night
she'd met him--she couldn't stop staring at
his perfect features, soft curly red hair
spiraling down...Why did she always
feel so hesitant around him? He was so
gentle, kind, intelligent, she knew he'd
never hurt her... She managed a smile...

"Amy, if your suspicions are correct, this
enemy is but a distraction." He said.

She nodded...though they had not seen each
other since the ball, they'd taken to
communicating through magic...ostensibly about the
war, though often they drifted to other topics.

"From what you've told me, these monsters,
shocking as they are, could not be the real
intelligence...they're just pawns. You need
to find the power behind that." She responded.

"I'll keep that in mind for if, forbid it,
they should attack our kingdom rather than
just our neighbors. " He paused, swearing
under his breath "I'll blame Queen Selenity if ...

"Lord Zoicite--"She exclaimed shocked
by the vehemence in his voice.

"She refused to help our kingdom."He
said. "She's raising the shields on us--
and I won't be able to see you again."
He turned to her--she stepped back.

"Lord Zoicite...I cannot listen to you
abuse my Sovereign"

"You did it again...why are you suddenly
so formal?"

She sighed. "Lord Zoicite--we both know our
duties. Especially in the face of war--If
Queen Selenity decrees we will not interfere,
then we can't."

"I see. Where does that leave us?" He asked.

For once she feigned ignorance. "Us?"She blushed
shyly, as he took her hands in his.

"Amy, you must feel it too--when I'm with
you, I taste music...I feel flowers bloom,
with every breath I take in the poetry of your eyes..."

"Zoicite?" She asked, as his hand traced the planes of her face.

"You are the Queen, and I but the vulnerable
King in your way." He said kissing her cheek.

She pulled away, slightly embarrassed
and very red. "Lord Zoicite!" She gasped.

"I'm sorry..." He let her hands go. "I
shouldn't have. I've offended you."

"No.." She said quietly looking down, her heart
fluttering and dominating her mind. Before she could
stop herself she said "That's how I feel too--"

"Checkmate" He whispered. "You've had me
from the start."

He moved to kiss her then, but was surprised
when she wouldn't let him hold her.

"Amy?" He asked.

"But Zoicite! The timing is awful...
I have a duty to the Moon Princess..
And you have a war on your planet."
She said looking away. "We both
know how limited the pieces are in their motions..."

"And our emotions?" He snapped, losing his patience.

She looked at him,a slightly wounded and worried
expression in her enormous blue indigo eyes....
"What I feel doesn't change what must be." She said.

"Amy, this isn't a game." He stared at her
for a second, everything written in that gaze,
and then turned to head for the portal.

She looked stricken "Don't--don't look at
me like that--!I" She blushed "Zo--Lord Zoicite,
"If I were not a SailorScout or you not a General...
I would--" Her whole face and neck grew red.
She looked away. "but I'm not...and
you're not. We're not free."

"If we controlled our own fate you mean?"
He said, pausing "You would what?"

"I would say I love you." she said quietly.
"But you see, I cannot say that...and as
long as there is war on your planet, and we have
our duties, I have no right to say that." She turned
and fled for the palace, hoping he didn't hear the
embarrassing onslaught of the tears that betrayed
her inability to control her emotions. She couldn't
do this.

He felt a confusing swarm of thoughts--she loved him.
He didn't even tell her he loved her.

He ran after her, catching her arm. She swung around,
her skin as pale and frigid as ice.

"Amy, don't give up on us, like this!" he pleaded.
He felt as if he were staring at an eclipse, afraid
of the dark, and unable to stop it.

"Zoicite, I haven't a choice." She didn't meet his gaze.

Perhaps it was only seconds that passed, but it felt
like hours or days, or as if time itself had stopped
its gentle ebb and flow. Zoicite's world stood still.

"Amy?" He whispered at last, tilting her
head up . "Don't...don't do this
my angel. Don't take your light away from me."

"Zoicite...It's not forever. We just have to wait."
She said, looking down. She whispered the words, lying
to both herself and him. For all she knew, this *was*
forever. How could she promise to be with him, if the
shields were raised permanently?

He tightened his arm around her. As if holding her closer
might break the sheet of ice that had slid over everything.
"Amy, I love you. I want to be with you. If you
wanted, I'd stay with you now....and fight and die
by your side, if that was necessary!" It was as if
he'd guessed her secret, that this goodbye could be their
last.

"Your duty to Endymion?" She asked, her eyes
filling with tears. Why was life torturing them with these
choices? "Your honor!" She couldn't say the same.
She could never leave Serena. "You're a general!"

"And that does not mean as much to me as you do." He said.
His voice wavered slightly, betraying that he wasn't
being entirely honest. Images of earth's cool green hills flitted
before his eyes, the lakes and the rivers. Could he really
stay in this world of Magic and Crystal? Or would he rather
have Amy with him, swimming in the Ocean, gazing up at
the moon? Whether to convince her or himself
he continued "No matter what happens, what the others say,
that means nothing to me now. In your eyes I've seen all I've ever wanted.
I need no one else but you. We'll make our own world, Amy.
Say you'll come with me, that you'll stay with me?"

"I can't leave." She said trembling a little. She was afraid
of this feeling washing over her, this compulsion she
felt as she looked into his bright green eyes. "I would
have nothing to give you if I left. And you would have nothing
to offer if you stayed. Without our duties, and our beliefs
what are we? We can't make our own world, and I wouldn't
want to--there are too many people I care about in
this one."

He jerked as if she'd slapped him. "I know you don't
mean this. I'm not giving up Amy. Stop fearing love,
and stop fighting our fate. I knew you were the one,
the moment I saw you." He paused. "This isn't
over, Amy, but it's your move."

He bowed slightly, turned and left.

He headed to the outer gates,
and seeing Malachite walking towards him,
he waived and disappeared in a shower of
heart-shaped petals.

The Master Engineer watched the scene, jealousy
melting the away the numbness he'd felt upon first seeing
them together. He almost went after Amy, to shelter
her in her sorrow. But he put that thought away.
He didn't have that right, nor would he ever.
He turned back to the reason he'd been in the garden--
the creation of the permanent shield. His science
would be his solace, his reason to exist, his destiny.
Without her love, he had nothing else, and through it
he could claim a small place in her life. He fingered
the small blue crystal he wore around his neck. This
way, they were linked forever in destiny if not in their
hearts.

END OF CHAPTER ONE

Guardians of the Millennium:
Pyramids of Ice
Chapter Two:
1. As always, sorry I switch how I spell the names I use
for the characters...

I just happened to be listening to Sarah Machlachlan's
Fumbling Toward Ecstasy album, and that's why all
these chapters start with those songs...it's
moody music, ethereal and passionate.

"Elsewhere" maclachlan again
"I know this love is passing time
passing through like liquid
I am drunk in my desire
but I love the way you smile at me
I love the way your hands reach out and hold me near

0o0o0o0o0oo00o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o00
Present--Tokyo: Stanton Tower
o0o0o0o0o0o0oo00o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o00

Sineheart looked mildly annoyed as a signal indicated
the Assistant arrival. He pushed the button releasing
the door.

The door opened, admitting the Assistant.

"Sir...I have evidence confirming Hino's
identity as SailorMars." She said in a dead pan voice.

"Excellent...where are the recordings,
I need to analyze this..." Ruler of a secret
empire or not, he was still a scientist.

"Sorry, but I was attacked and the device was lost."

"WHAT!" He stood then, hands slapping
the surface of the desk. "That device
was difficult to construct...it contained
expensive, rare materials...you incompetent
piece of machinery! Did you at least
bring her here?"

"No sir, she got away. Several bots were
destroyed as well."

"Your errors are fast eroding my confidence
in your work. I gave you life...and this
is how you repay me??" The words were spoken
very quietly, just above a whisper.

"Sir, I apologize, but circumstances---"
a glitch in the cyborg's voice cut off the
statement she'd been about to make. A light
flashed on her collarbone, signalling low energy.

"I deploy you to control circumstances...
Remember that." He took out a small green
object that glowed with faint phosphorescence.

"Sir...I nee--need" The cyborg staggered
forward, hand outstretched for the small
green vial he held.

"Yes, it is time for your next power
replenishment...but maybe I should let
you wait...let you experience the sensation
I feel from the inconvenience that
your incompetence causes me."

"Sir..." The dryness in her circuits wasn't
pain, but the sensation was not pleasant. Logically
she knew that he would give the fluid to her. She
was too valuable for him to dispose of just yet.
And she needed to keep it that way.

He flicked it to her, just before she
shut down, and she inserted the vial in
her shoulder...the green substance flowed through
her and the world righted itself.

"This time, bring me that Scout, or you
will be discontinued...." His voice
trailed off sinisterly as his attention
shifted back to the jade fragment, which lay
next to a framed picture of a girl with short, oddly
blue hair. "Am I clear enough?"

She nodded. She knew he meant it.
* * * *
EZ Spade shifted nervously, knowing he was early.
He'd left his hotel suite, and stood pacing
the lobby of the Tokyo Tower View Hotel.

He pulled at a loose strand of his long
hair, fidgeted with his glasses and paced the
marble halls.

The corporation had placed him in a very
expensive and elaborate western-style hotel.
He was surprised by the ostentatiousness of the gesture,
but at the salary they were offering
him he should have expected it.

The man who'd hired him, Sineheart, had been
absolutely candid.

"You've impressed us with your research.
We want you. We don't want the competition
to have you--and price is no object." The
man had said in the interview. EZ had
liked and respected him immediately--in time, he
hoped to be friends with him. He admired
that the CEO of a corporation like this
would take the time to meet with someone like him.

He also liked that unlike other interviewers
who played games, or waffled, Sineheart
placed everything on the table.

"You do theoretical physical chemistry. You've also done some
interesting work with organics. What we want is
experimental work--to go beyond electronics. Our goal is to
start building circuits chemically right
at a molecular level. Design the properties right
into the material. I'll tell you right
now you won't have complete freedom.
We direct what you do. But the access to
our proprietary research is incredible--a wealth
of scientific miracles the likes of which
other scientists don't know. That's the catch.
You won't be able to reveal what you
work on here--so if you're after scholarly
recognition, forget it. If you want
to work on cutting edge projects, change
the world, and get paid *very* well,
take this offer."

Perhaps the greatest thing about this
place was that he'd have his own lab, and
despite the limits on his intellectual
searches, his personal life would be free.

A few places had raised eyebrows at his
very unconservative appearance. When
EZ was younger, he'd died his hair an impossibly
dark black for his pale skin, in an effort to
fit in.

He found life hard enough to be different without looking it too.
Once he moved to England he'd just let his hair grow.
So his shoulder-blade length hair was mostly black,
but the lighter color peeked out at crown of his head.
More rebellious as a graduate student, than in youth, EZ relished
in his odd look. He found it easier to disconcert people from
the start--sooner or later most people
had that reaction to him anyway. They needed to
know he wasn't one to toe a company line.
While that attitude suited the hip London club scene just fine,
the research world had been less then thrilled.

That was another reason he'd liked his future
boss. Sineheart himself wore his hair long,
and had explicitly stated "As long as they do
the work, I don't care how you look. I have no
uniforms here, I"m not running an army or a fashion
show."

That hit a note with EZ's nonconformist spirit and
he'd known he'd found his dream job.

He looked at the reflective surface of the chess
board at which he'd seated himself. He must have
been quite a sight walking with the clean cut, hopelessly
conformist Greg. He loved the guy, but he had to admit
his friend was a little boring. Amazing he'd won the
heart of a girl like Amy. Catching himself on a line of thought
he'd promised he'd not go down, he shook
his head. He shouldn't be trying to imagine
what Amy found attractive. Although, maybe a haircut and
some new clothes wouldn't have been a bad idea. He frowned,
and cleared his mind of those thoughts.

To get a hold of himself, he started playing
chess against himself.

He'd just gotten himself into check,
when a hand moved forward and blocked.

"When you play against yourself, you
can't win." Amy said smiling, one hand
self-conciously running through her blue hair.

"You can't lose either." EZ said smiling
back.

"You do...because you don't learn anything.
What I liked best about chess is what
it teaches you about the other player.
Are they aggressive, cautious, or creative?
If you ignore that, you reduce the game to
a boring set of mathematical probabilities..."

"That's what it is." Ez moved a piece.

She smiled. "Checkmate...no, not a *good*
game anyway."

He smiled. "I usually win..." He was
surprised, he hadn't thought of that move..he'd
calculated the game would end differently.

"Of course you win if you're playing yourself!" She
teased him.

He met her eyes, his hands meeting hers
on the pieces as they started to put
them back. "I'd rather play you." His
voice was low and resonated in the room.

She drew back her hand as if she'd touched
ice. "Another day then, are you ready
to go search?"

He nodded, and she changed the subject neatly.

"So...when do you start work?" She asked.

"Tomorrow. I'm excited, but
also reluctant to give up my student lifestyle."

"They have an excellent reputation for
inventions. Would you mind if I came
and looked at your lab? I'd love
to get a look at that place."

Stanton Electronics also had an excellent
reputation for security and secrecy. Sineheart
had warned him about that--showed him the
elaborate voice, and fingerprint recognition
systems to access every room. EZ
just bet Amy was curious, like a good
many people, what was going on in there.

He smiled tempted to agree immediately simply
because *she* asked him. He quickly debated
in his mind. He was just starting out.
But then again, this was probably the time
he had the most flexibility. They wouldn't
fire him over a visitor--and if they
did then he probably didn't want to work
at that autocratic a place anyway. In any case
he could say he didn't know he wasn't
allowed--a lie, because the company
manual clearly prohibited unauthorized
visitors. He balanced these considerations in
his head.

She was looking at him with those large
blue eyes, that always hinted that here
was a heart that had known sadness. He couldn't
say no when she looked at him. At least, he
didn't want to.

"I don't see why that should be
a problem. Just come to the front
door around lunch time."

* * *
"So, did he buy it?" Serena asked.

"He put down a rental on a nice--"Amy began

"NO Amy, did he agree to get
you in the Tower?" Raye clarified.

"Oh! Yes. Tomorrow." Amy said, sitting
down on the piano bench, her back
to the fabulous view of Tokyo.

"Tomorrow! Why didn't you
go in today!" Raye asked.

"I'm sorry!" Amy said.

Serena waved away Raye. " Ignore
her, she's just anxious to be
back with Jed...you did your
best Amy. Tomorrow's soon enough."

"I'm sorry...I just miss being in
the *Shrine*." Raye said heavily emphasizing
the last word. With each
passing day, they'd grown more nervous
as the enemy continued to move slowly. Not being
able to consult the sacred flame had made
Raye more tense than usual. And not seeing Jed
probably contributed to her irritability, though
she'd have jumped into the fire before admitting that.

"All those Negaverse monsters just attacked,
They weren't subtle like this!. They didn't make
us wait. It's creepy. I feel
like... a fly on the world wide web." Mina
said over her comic book.

"Fly in a spider's web." Luna corrected
"But I do think that we might
want to set a trap--we know they're
after Raye."

"LUNA! How could you suggest that!"Serena
said aghast.

Raye however looked thoughtful. "That's
better than waiting for them to attack
one of you. They probably have your
addresses. Since I haven't shown up
for a week, they're going to be pretty
nervous."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Silver Millennium
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0
"The lands bordering Beryl's kingdom
are falling." Zoycite thumped
the report on the table before
Endymion. "We must go to support her."

Endymion, thinking of his last evening
with Serena, blinked. "What?" He hadn't
really heard what Zoycite said. "So
she won't let me officially visit her
Kingdom?" He'd sent Malachite and Zoycite
to petition her for a formal diplomatic
visit--he wanted to see Serena as himself,
in the open, with no hiding. He hadn't
thought past that.

"No. She even refuses to help our Kingdom
as an Ally." Malachite intoned.

"The worst is happening. Beryl's kingdoms
are falling--but the reports are
unclear as to why." Zoycite frowned.

Malachite eyed Endymion. "You have a duty
to defend her, whether you like it or not."

"War? Not now..." He thought to himself, not
when he'd just met Serena...how could
he see her--- "You have to back to the Moon Kingdom--"

"Queen Serenity regrets she must suspend
the travel privileges between our worlds
again....even your subjects are not allowed
to go now. She's adamant about her refusal to aid
or interfere in this war." Zoycite sounded
annoyed. "Ingratitude for the service we
did for her."

"Zoycite, our entire trip was but a
symbolic and ceremonial novelty." Malachite admonished
the brash young general. "She was signalling
a change in her policy--but this
war returned our relations to normal. We shouldn't
have expected anything else."

"A novelty? Expect?" Endymion
said staring at Malachite. "Just politics and power.
It's all a game to you--can't you see that her
decision is cruel? We're not the ones at war?!
You've got to go back, convince her. "

"Endymion, My Prince, put that world out of your mind.
Your people need you. Beryl needs you. We
need you to fight. We are at war" An
undercurrent of excitement ran through
his voice--the syllables more curt and clipped than
usual. "We don't have time to waste on such a trip."

Endymion's eyes focussed then. "You live
for this don't you? You are actually
*happy* we're at war! Finally a chance
to put these drills in action. " He snapped.

Malachite held Endymion's gaze. "I won't
deny that. I am a soldier. I am also
a man." He said simply.
"You don't act like it."
"You are Prince, do you act like it?"He replied.

Zoycite watched Malachite walk out, and then
met Endymion's gaze.

"Sometimes I think you don't deserve
him as your High General." Zoycite said.

"Why? You heard him. Forget the Moon Kingdom,
and let's go fight for Beryl." Endymion
narrowed his eyes. "He doesn't understand ."

"Why should he? You've been hiding things
from us--don't deny it. Why are you so
eager to visit the Moon Kingdom as yourself?"

"I ...uh," Endymion frowned.

"Exactly...Malachite would never even ask you that--
but does it matter when you don't answer?" Zoycite
pulled a strand of his hair back. "Endymion,
I know we haven't always gotten along as well as we might..
But I am your friend as well as your soldier. What
draws you to the moon?"

"I can't explain." Endymion confessed. He never liked
discussing his emotions. Somehow he couldn't even
say the answer--Serena...how did he explain the
glory of her gaze? The way he felt when her smile
slipped into his? The light underneath her laughter?
"I suppose you could say I met someone there."

"I see." Zoycite nodded but his tone
indicated he didn't really understand. He knew about the Prince's
habit of breaking hearts. He wondered what could
be so special about this girl? Perhaps it was the
challenge of her being a lunar. His Prince's
whimsy whirled where it would. "Why didn't
you tell us?"

"Malachite wouldn't understand." Endymion said.

"Why did you think he was so eager to take your
message there?"

"I thought you just liked all the diplomacy
ceremonies."

"Maybe Mal, but me? I'd rather swallow a chess
piece. " Zoycite laughed. "We both met women
there."

"YOU?" Endymion asked shocked. "BOTH of you?"

"Why are you so surprised?" Zoycite asked annoyed.

Endymion face contorted as if he'd swallowed a lime.
"Uh..." Yet another question he didn't want to
answer. "So who are they?"

Zoycite smiled wryly. "you keep your secret and we'll keep ours."

"It's Serena, the Moon Princess."

"I'm supposed to believe you fell for that
little girl?"Zoycite asked, his eyebrows flying
up in surprise. "How the mighty have fallen!"

"So your turn." Endymion argued.

"Ami, the Princess of Mercury."
Zoycite said, a faint wash of blue longing
coloring his words.

"I can't even picture Malachite with--"

"Mina...Princess of Venus." Zoycite said. "He'll
kill me for the gossip you know but you
didn't hear it from me. I suppose sooner or later he'll
ask permission to marry her--He's in love. And
he's the sort that only loves once."

Endymion nodded.

"But he knows his duty.
So you see, neither of us welcomes this
turn of events any more
than you or Jaedite." Zoycite
explained. He didn't quite mean it though.

He doubted the Prince felt
the intense longing he himself felt.
The Prince would likely forget this
girl with the next pretty girl he
saw--while Zoycite's knew his soul
would remember the sad expression in Amy's
eyes forever. He thought to himself,
"The next time, Amy my love, I will see those
eyes alive with happiness."

Later that evening, Zoycite felt an unauthorized
transport--he'd set up a net of magic to detect
such things. No one had contacted him to schedule
a visit--who was it?

He wandered into the gardens, checking the faint
traces from where the person or people had teleported.
The residual energies were familiar to him--he'd studied
them before--Mars. He smiled as he thought that she must have come
to see Jaedite. Almost hidden within that signature was
another--white and golden--the one he recognized from
her earlier visits as Venus'. He frowned. Why was she here?

He moved forward, wondering if Malachite had arranged
another meeting with her. The temptation to observe
his friend's courtship overwhelmed him. He moved
forward, his mouth pulled into a smirk. Despite
the lecture he'd given Endymion earlier about Malachite's
capacity to feel, Zoycite agreed that Malachite was
entirely unsentimental. Picturing him romancing a
woman was--Zoycite stifled the snicker that would give
him away. Peering through the rose bushes he could
hear the soft words of lovers-- He grinned, surprised
at the sweet sentimentality. "Mal, I never thought you
had that in you." He grinned to himself, imagining
just how he could mercilessly tease the High General later.

And then everything changed. He felt himself grasp
the rosebush involuntarily, barely noticed the dark red
stain that spread on his finger. The pain in his hand
was easily dismissed--the scene was not.

Endymion, with his back towards Zoycite, stood holding
someone in his arms. Zoycite couldn't see her face, not
from this angle. All he could see was a few wisps
of blonde hair, and the soft white hands which
made no attempt to push Endymion away.

As clear as the scene was dim he heard her say:

"I must go for the shield swill close soon.
But, if you are attacked--or need
to see me, this moonlight ring will let you
in through the shields--but it will only work one way."

They were not aware of his approach--the rest of
the world didn't exist for them. Certainly
not Malachite, thought Zoycite bitterly, the one
they both insulted with their inability to understand
loyalty. He watched for barely a second longer, feeling
his disgust boil through his mind. "Mina" He thought
to himself "Endymion, of all the women in the world,
why her?" He never even considered the possibility
that the woman was anyone else--the signature, the
hair color. He remembered how she'd come down to Earth
before, without seeing Malachite--was this why? Had she
been too busy dallying with Endymion? His conclusions
formed in an instant, as he condemned them both silently.

The couple pulled apart slightly at the sound of
a bush moving. He looked away from them, and
from his vantage point could see he was not the
only observer. Beryl had witnessed the scene
as well--and her face exemplified fury.

END

GOM: Pyramids of Ice
by Alina:

Prologue:
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Author's Notes: (Mercury Bubbles ^ ^)
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
1. Amy's story begins now!

2. The Outer Scouts are back in here--and
I apologize for switching to their Japanese
names.....I know, I've been inconsistent with
how I spell everything. Hopefully, you'll know who
I mean.

LOOK FOR END OF CHAPTER, or something's missing.
***************************
Sailor Moon Says:
Ok, so here's the scoop. Greg drew us a picture
showing the scouts and those first set of nega-creep
all coupled up! Turns out that in the Silver Millennium,
that's what happened! Sigh...Isn't it romantic, all our
guardians, destined to love each ? But anyway,
we found out Jaedite is alive, and now he's
kind of an ordinary guy named Jed. And he's in love
with Raye. Who knows why though, she's so prickly
and picky and --

Sailor Mars: Moon-brain, stick to the story!

Sailor Moon (Waaaaaaah) you're so *mean*. I was
doing the story! Anyway, Jed's not the only
general to come back, because Neflite was also
reborn! And as a boy Lita used to love! But
while we learn that, our Enemy the BOSS learns
about our powers and sends someone after us.
*WheW* I wonder whether Zoycite is alive?

Sailor Mercury (blushing): Sailor Moon, I think
that's enough summary! Let the readers get on with
the story, so I can go study! College starts in only
a few more weeks.

*****************************
"Never Give up! I'll give it my best"
This time for sure it's my turn"--
ending song to "Ami-chan's first love"
"Let's go as we are"

*************************************
Present--a few days after Jaedite is rescued.
**********************************

Sitting on the library steps, Amy tried to
concentrate on the geology book she was reading.
Despite the warm late spring sunshine, Amy felt
coated in a frozen mist of confused desires.
Her attention kept wandering as she thought
back over the last few days. Finding the picture,
regaining her memories, and then finding Jaedite
was alive. Her world had spun 360 degrees, and right
back again.

Finally she pulled out the picture Greg had given her, and with a finger
traced the images in it. Though its immersion in a puddle
and the multiple folds had faded the colors, she
could still see how detailed and accurate Greg's vision had been.
Now that she'd regained her memories of her past life,
or at least, more of them than she had ever had before,
what was she to do? More difficult than any quadratic
equation, was this puzzling pull she felt to a man
she knew that had betrayed her.
And even more disquieting was the equally strong
push she felt to run to Greg. He'd always been in the
periphery of her life, and she'd done nothing to bring him
closer. What was it about reliving her past that made
her want to change her present life?
Could she be in love with two people at the
same time? Her face colored with the thought. What
was she saying? She couldn't be in love! Greg was
her dear dear friend, and Zoycite was...gone. And
she couldn't love either of them and fulfill her role
as a Sailor Scout, could she? She pulled
another book out of her bag, forcing herself to study
and stop thinking the useless chilling thoughts.

"Hey Amy, stop this right now!" Serena's sunny
voice teased, as she grabbed the book away. "What's
going on? It's a gorgeous Saturday! We've finally all graduated!
And you're *STUDYING*? No WAY! Come on , after last night
I say we deserve some icecream. My treat. ok?" She pleaded,
holding the book inches out of Amy's hands.

Amy sighed and pulled out another book, on geometry.

"AMY!" Serena said, and snatched that one too. "What
so interesting about triangles!? Come on!"

"Hey meat-ball-head, what are *you* doing with
books? Besides, I thought we were going to get ice-
cream?" Raye said tapping her foot, as Lita
grinned, and Mina winked.

"Your treat remember Serena? You promised!" Mina said.

Serena suddenly paled, grabbed her pockets looking
for money. "Oh no! I forgot to bring money...I'm
broke."

"That's ok Serena, I don't want to go." Amy said. "And
they're not triangles, they're pyramids."

"Oh that's just great Serena!!" Raye yelled sarcastically.
"You mean you dragged us all the way down here for nothing!"

"It's not for nothing, it was for icecream" Serena
said back."And what were you doing anyway? Unless"
Her smile became a smirk "You wanted to spend
the day with Jaedite? Can't bear to leave him huh?"

"Don't be an idiot!" Raye raised her chin into the air,
and looked away. "He could be dangerous, and *that's*
why its not safe to leave him alone."

"Oh so *that's* why you didn't want to leave!" Lita
joined in to tease the dark haired girl. "And I thought
it was his blue eyes."

"Oh yeah? , not all of us are as boy-crazy as you are."
Raye challenged, her eyelids lowering, as she widened her
stance.

Mina giggled, as she tried to stop the
incipient fight. "That's ok everyone, the ice
cream's on me. I've got *big* news! But I want to wait
til we get to the Icecream parlor, ok?"

While the others continued to argue, Serena focussed back
on Amy. Now that Amy was no longer hidden behind her shield
of a book, Serena noticed how shadowed Amy's eyes were.
She hesitated a moment, then called down the
steps to where the others were. "Guys, why don't you go
ahead...I'm gonna see if Darien's around."

"Fine, we'll go find our own cute guys then!"Lita
joked as the three started off.

Serena sat down next to Amy and balanced her head
on her hands, elbows resting on her knees. "What's
wrong Amy? Even you don't like to turn down icecream.
Is it that picture? Your memories?"

Amy's silence and slowly expelled breath gave Serena
her answer. She hugged Amy quickly, and then pulled
her shy friend to her feet. "Amy, it wasn't your
fault! And besides, I'm happy *now*, so why bother
about what happened a life time ago? Everything worked
out!Let's not pass up on icecream today because of something
that's done with ok?"

Amy smiled slightly at that. "I'm just bothered by
the possibility that Zoicite, and the other generals,
could be alive. What will we do?"

Serena frowned. "Heal them I guess. It worked with
Jed, right? And besides, didn't we decide it was just
a fluke he was alive? So stop worrying!"

"But that's all I have, is my worry. "Amy shivered
despite the sun. "That's my duty Serena, to worry
so you and Darien can be happy together."

"And I told you, I won't be happy unless you are.
*AND* I know you love Greg. Missing him is what's making
you sad!"

"love?"Amy blushed.

"AND, he loves you. So you have more than
just your role as a sailor scout, Amy! You've got
a great guy who'd do anything for you!" Serena said vehemently
and a little loudly.

"But Greg and I are just good friends!" Amy protested.
"We're not like you and Darien!" She added, lowering
her voice a bit.

"Only because you're too afraid to see what you have with
him for what it really is, Amy." Michiru interrupted,
almost materializing out of nowhere as a soft breeze
kissed a couple of cherry blossoms their way, "You keep thinking
love is this fairy-tale, miracle romance, and maybe,
sometimes it is." She smiled gently, her sea-green eyes
liquid and luminous "But true love isn't about danger and
excitement. It's a feeling that you share a dream with
someone that only you can make real together." Michiru
gracefully stepped down one step to stand level with them.

Though it looked to the girls as if she'd appeared from
thin air, in actuality, she'd exited the library
seconds before. Under one arm, she balanced a huge
artbook. She'd stopped on the steps to enjoy the
view of the park and the small outdoor stage where she liked
to practice. Somehow though, the winds had picked up
the tail end of the conversation, and carried it to
her.
The two girls swivelled their heads to look at the older
woman, who blushed slightly, bowing her head.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but Serena's voice caries
a bit." She said in her gentle voice. "You said
Greg was the man who drew that picture?" She asked.
She'd noticed that the picture's detail of Amy was particularly
splendid, though everyone else was more roughly done.

Amy nodded.

"Then I would agree with Serena. He loves you."
Michiru added. "Their is more to life than duty, Amy."
She blushed slightly, as a familiar blonde haired figure
roared up to the steps on her motor-bike. "And
everyone deserves a chance for love."

"Yes but Greg and I--we're in two separate worlds now.
And there is no room in mine for more than friendship." Amy said
blushing even harder. "I don't need anything else."

"The world wouldn't be worth living in without
something more than friendship." Michiru added before she
thought, and then blushed a little. A little more evenly,
she said over her shoulder "You shouldn't give up on love so easily."
She waved and glided down the steps to the waiting bike.

"Greg and I? In love!?" Amy said, almost in a trance..

As the pair roared away, Serena turned towards
Amy. Impressed by Michiru's eloquence, Serena did not
want to be outdone. "Yes, Amy. Love is the soft
warm glow you get when thinking about a person
you care about very very much...a person you'd
like to spend every minute of every day with...
a person who makes you want to keep on living
just to see their smile."

As she said this,she waved her arms exuberantly, and
she dropped Amy's books. They tumbled down the stairs, landing
on a very unlucky Darien.

"OUCH!" He swore. He looked up, very annoyed until
he noticed who had thrown the book. His expression softened
as a slow smile crept onto his face.

"Oh no! Muffin!" Serena gulped, as she ran to him.
"I'm *Sooooooooooo*Sorry."

Then he literally did a double take as he
looked at the book. "Geometry in ancient
cultures? Is this *your* book Serena?"

Amy followed Serena down more slowly,
and took back her book. "Come on
Serena, don't we have some ice cream to go
get?..." Her eyes had a determined glint as
her mind turned over the possibilities.

***************
On the mysterious hidden floor of the Stanton
Electronics Tower, Eris Sineheart fingered the small
fragment of jade. Almost reverently he turned
the scrap, his imagination recalling the figurine
to which the fragment once belonged.

To a casual observer, the scrap looked so
unimportant and worthless. Sineheart found
great personal significance in the
object. The piece reminded him of his
start, and kept his humility before him.
Six years ago, he'd nearly lost
everything while trying to gain control
over everything...he smiled coldly
at the games fate could play. Of course,
he'd gained everything back in time.

This time, he didn't intend to make the same mistakes.
He folded the ancient manuscripts before him,
studying more closely the ancient grimoire
that lay open.

Briefly he reviewed the events of Project
Gate in his mind. He'd painstakingly
captured a set of six ancient jade figurines. The
fragment he held came from one of the six, but he could
barely recall which. They all looked alike.
They were all of women, with really short skirts. His
stepson's had been of a girl who's arms
were crossed, head dipped, ponytail flying
to the side. Time had worn down the features,
but one could make out a fiercely determined
look. That was why Sineheart had married Hikari
Stanton, in order to gain access to the prize
jade collection of her son Maxfield.

Early on in Sineheart' life, he'd felt this
draw to gain power, an obsession with magic.
He'd studied physical chemistry, trying to
unlock the secrets of matter at their structural
levels. In his off hours he studied myth and legend.
That interest and fate had led him to the small jade statues..
Legend told him that these statues
were the key to releasing a powerful force.
They had not been easy to procure--the most
difficult was perhaps the one he
stole from the Smithsonian in the United States....
Sineheart twisted his face in a snide smile. That
had brought the FBI down on his trail, since
his method of stealing had been so unusual.

He remembered the first time he'd touched one
of these statues...the piece he held had once
formed the figurine of a girl with long hair.
Fire had crackled at the touch-- he'd almost
dropped it so shocked he'd been. His first
taste of magic, and he'd craved more.

In order to fuel the spell for the Gate,
he'd needed vast amounts of life Energy...so
he'd tricked his wife's Grandfather, wife
and (he thought) his stepson onto taking
the ride of their lives. He'd planned
for the plane to crash into another Jet
streaming into Japan.
At that moment, as it crashed over his
head, he'd arranged the figures in a circle
and smiled...
"Today I release a great power..."He'd chanted
"The sacrifice will be worth
it-- to open the Gate of Power, and break the seal!" Almost
as if he moved without will, he knew what
to do...The statues crackled,
and crumbled, leaving white powder emitting
a strange white glow-- then in the sky, a
pulsating, swirling light appeared.

Then his plan dissolved.
He heard his stepson shout his
name. The questions still plagued him.
Where had he come from? Why hadn't
he been on the plane? Maxfield had run forward
into the circle, dislocating one of the pieces,
and the lights above had whirled dangerously.

Then a woman's voice had yelled out "Halt-- FBI! Everyone
Freeze" As the portal above them exploded
with the screech of something inhuman.

Sineheart remembered feeling himself knocked over the side
of the clearing, into ditch. He felt himself covered by the
strange woman, her body propelled by some unknown
force into his.

He awoke naked, cold and hungry,
in a cave of sorts. Rather than the
warm air of summer, he detected the chill of
snow and frost. At least a few months had passed.
To his right lay the body
of the woman who he would later turn into
the Assistant. He moved over to her, and
surprisingly found a pulse, though neither
of them should have been alive.
At sunrise-- he had climbed back up the hill to investigate.
A huge black spot covered the ground where the
figures had stood the night of his project before. No sign
of life, everything was charred.

The only other human was the woman in the cave, her shiny
FBI badge tarnished and uselessly lying on the
ground. She continued to lay limp,
mostly dead where he'd left her. There
was no sign of his stepson, or
the Gate or what happened. He never did find out.
But he didn't care. He didn't care about anything
but gaining the power he'd but glimpsed the night before.
The next time, he swore, he'd be ready.

He had returned to civilization, easily claiming to
have been on the plane which killed his "family."
Quickly, Sineheart claimed ownership of everything.
The lawyers were satisfied that he was the only remaining heir.
Though it puzzled them that a few people had mentioned
seeing Maxfield after the plane crash. Sineheart's
efforts to locate (and exterminate) Maxfield proved unsuccessful.
Eventually, Sineheart rested assured that his
claim over his empire was secure.

Even though no one else questioned his yearlong absence,
Sineheart found himself wondering
how he'd spent a year without any memory of the events. This
amazed him and intrigued him. Magic was
an unpredictable force just like the market.
For the next few years it was the market
rather than magic that consumed his life.
To that end, he'd arranged to have Sora Tamaguchi
kidnapped before her wedding--and had ended up
finding a far bigger prize. He smiled a mirthless
smile, his green eyes glittering like the scales of
a snake. "Sailor Scouts." He whispered, fingering
the clippings.

He returned the scrap to the black velvet
drawer as he refocussed his mind on the
present. He wondered how his Assistant was faring?

*************************************
PAST: SILVER MILLENNIUM:
***************************************

Princess Mercury, though she possessed more patience
than most, felt like throwing her book at the
Princess of the Moon.

"Serena! What's gotten into you. You haven't heard
a word I've said *all* morning."

"I have." Serena said with a sigh. Her mind filled with
memories of her meetings with Endymion.
How could her mother *do* this? She thought Serena
didn't know that the shields were to come down, but
Artemis had inadvertently let that slip. Ever since
then, her morning lessons seemed so unimportant. "I heard
every word."

"Then you have not understood them!" Amy countered.
"What's wrong!?"

"How can you ask! I'm here, and Endymion's there,
and there's a war on, and!" She broke off, close to
tears. "How could I think about math!
Who cares about triangles anyway!"

"The only triangles she cares about are romantic
ones." Princess Raye added, looking up from her book.
No one could tell, but she'd hidden an illustrated fairy
tale on top of hers. "Like her, Endymion and Beryl."

"These are pyramids!" Amy said exasperatedly. "They
have five points, and exist in three dimensions!"

"Who cares where they exist. And it's *not*
a triangle...Endymion loves *me* and he can't
stand Beryl!" Serena shouted at Raye, as she whipped
around so fast her pony tails lashed out at Jupiter.

"HEY! Watch the hair!"

Amy sighed, as she lost control of the room. Though
the same age as the others, she had so surpassed them in
her studies that she tutored them. Yet today, no one
felt like learning. She was therefore very happy
when Artemis appeared and told her that Queen Selenity
wanted to see her.

* * *
Queen Selenity looked again at the letter
that Neflite had sent her a year ago, his words of warning
so cagily phrased. He might as well have
written "It's all your fault." But of course,
he didn't. And he didn't even know how right
he was. Sighing, she gripped the staff which
held the crystal tighter in her hands, letting her
wings stretch out of her back for a second.

The movement felt good. All the weeks the generals had
been on the Moon, Queen Selenity had instructed her daughter
to hide this sign of their transcendent evolution.

Selenity smiled, thinking that Serena (the preferred nickname
her friends had adopted to distinguish her from her
mother) had taken that commandment in stride. Her daughter
always surprised her with her hidden strength. Not for the
first time, Selenity wondered if Serena might in fact be
the stronger of the two of them? Did she underestimate
her most beloved daughter? Was she wrong to continue
to try and shape her destiny and protect her?

Sailor Mercury's steps upon the marble tile, though they made no more
impact than a snowflake upon a tongue, pulled the Queen from
her internal dialogue.

"Mercury!" She said, welcoming the shy soldier.

"My Queen." Mercury replied respectfully, head bowed, as
she stared at the Queen's reflection in the highly polished
tile.

"Mercury, the Earth Kingdom has requested my permission
for an audience. This means only one thing. They fear
the war is not going well."

Mercury nodded. She had been corresponding with
Zoycite, and had been monitoring the energy readouts
from the fighting in Beryl's kingdom.

"And I know that I have no choice but to raise the
shields for travel."

"Your Majesty?"

"That was why I called you Mercury. I want this to be
a permanent shield. It will not be strong enough otherwise,
if I design it to be taken down."

"Permanent?" Mercury gasped.

"I do not want the others, especially Serena,
to know just yet." The Queen said. "I
will tell her myself when it is done, and when it is too
late for me to change my mind. If you must, lie.
She suspects I'm raising them, but not that I have
no intention of lowering them ever again."

"Lie to Serena?" Mercury asked puzzled as the Queen handed her a strange
device. The Queen did not bother to explain why she
wanted to raise the shields permanently.

"This is a portable version of the Main computer. It is
almost as powerful and Mercury, I trust you will use
it well."

"Why are you entrusting this to me?" She asked puzzled. She
fingered the controls almost lovingly. "Surely Venus, as leader
should be the one --"

"Mercury, you alone of all the scouts possess the talent to truly
use this tool. And I will need you to help me design and improve
the shield,to create the permanent one." The Queen lightly
touched her shoulder, her wings brushing Mercury as she
exited the chamber.

Mercury's eyes widened, and she suddenly understood what
the clouds must feel when rain changes to snow. A face
flashed through her mind, bright green eyes,framed by
redish-blonde slightly curly hair, neatly arranged in a pony tail.
The shield might be the only way to save the Moon Kingdom from the wars
that raged on the planet below, but what would it do to
this slowly growing tie between her and her Earth General?
Frozen in that thought, she didn't move for a long time.
*********************

The Queen paused in the hall outside of where she left
Mercury, to speak to a man who almost merged into the
shadows-- the Moon Kingdom's master engineer. "I wish to commend you on the
computer you created. " She said quietly to break
the silence. "You've outdone yourself."

"Was she pleased?" He asked, his eyes still fixed
on the slight figure in the room behind them. "I've implemented
several of her theories in it." The apprehension resonated
not only in his voice, but in his stance--heels lifted,
leaning forward, eyebrows raised, eyes wide.

"She will be, when she uses it." The Queen smiled, but a sadness filled
her eyes. "Tell her, before its too late."

He looked startled. "Tell her what?!"

"You know very well. Tell her you love her."

"My Queen?" His dark eyes met her crystal blue ones.

"You are one of my oldest friends, so do not say
My Queen to me now." Selenity said, looking deep into
his heart through his eyes. "I'm not speaking as your
Queen when I say this. And do not tell me that
Mercury is only important as someone who appreciates your
work. I know how you created that computer."

He didn't say anything, but kept his gaze even and blank
as a new page.

"Or I should say, not that I know *how*, but out of
what you created that computer." She paused. "You've
altered your heart crystal, and you've given it to her."

He'd often been unnerved by his ruler's uncanny knack
of reading his emotions, but her quick grasp of the magic
he'd wrought surprised him. "By rights, if I'd done that,
I should be dead." He didn't deny or confirm what she'd said.

"And yet, you've found a way." She lightly placed a hand
on his shoulder. "How can you live without your heart crystal?"

"I don't know for sure how long I will last without it.
Without her, though, I would not care." He raised a hand
to forestall any objections she might raise. "We both know a
battle is brewing, and that she's the weakest one.
Selenity, you were right to ask me to augment her powers.
So this was how I chose to do it. And even for you, I will
not change what I've done. "

The Queen leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Would I
of all people ask that of you, dear friend? No, my interest
is only out of concern for you."

"With the help of a crystal I've designed, we can live
without our heart crystals inside of our bodies."

"A crystal?"

He concentrated and produced a small blue crystal in his
hand, that looked remarkably like the silver crystal in its
cut and facets. "I'd been trying to recreate or reproduce the
silver crystal, and though I failed, I stumbled onto these...
it's sort of bonded with my heart crystal, and as long as I
have it, I can remove my heart crystal. I suppose you could
say it transmits the resonances of my heart crystal to me."

Selenity held one up to the light. "It's as if it's
trapped a rainbow!" She said, caught in the beauty. At that
moment, one caught a glimpse of the happy girl she might
have been, rather than the burdened ruler she'd become.
Mother began to resemble daughter, as she suppressed a
giggle. "It's a rainbow crystal!" She began to laugh.

He smiled. "I haven't heard you laugh like that since-- a long
time, Selene." He said the pet name without hesitation
the tension between them melting away with their memories
of the years. "I'm sorry I--" He darkened, not sure if
addressing the old pain in her heart would be wise. What
could he say? That he was sorry that her love had died? That
he had not developed this technique in time to design
a way to stop the tragic attack on her husband's kingdom, the
attack that took his life?

And then just as the moon disappears from the sky at
dawn, her laugh waned.

"It will be a long time before I do so again." The calm
mask reclaimed her. "If ever. But you've discovered
something that may make it possible for everyone else
to have that chance."

"I have?"

"I know that this battle will be the Moon Kingdom's
and my last one. The Seven Shadows will be released,
but you've given me a way to stop them. This rainbow
crystal of yours may be the answer--or at least, part of
it."

"My rainbow crystal? You want to create more computers?"

She smiled mysteriously, hope beginning to blossom,
even as the starkness of her fate confronted her.
"You did this transformation of yours without
the silver crystal-so let's go see what your
theory can really do, when it has enough power."

"What are you suggesting?"Every fibre in his being warned
him that the look of selfless transcendence in her eyes was dangerous.
"Who's heart crystal are you going to alter!?"

"Mine, of course." She said. "And those of seven volunteers."

Their eyes locked and held, their impending self-sacrifice
a bond between them which prevented either one from
dissuading the other. To help those they loved, they
had no choice. "You have a plan, don't you?" He asked.

"I've known the nature of the enemy
we're facing long before you did.
But promise me one thing, Rory." Selenity said, using
her nickname for him.

"What?" He said turning to her.

"Before we...before this battle ends, promise me
you will tell her what you feel? Love should always
be expressed."

"Why? I love her, but love does not always run
in two directions. It's better she doesn't know when
she never asked for me to love her like this. To her,
I'm just an old professor, with whom she can discuss science and magic.
I'll leave the romantic nonsense to the young...like
that general of hers." The undercurrent of
bitterness in his voice spoiled the noble meaning
of the words. He ran a hand through his dark black hair.
He was painfully aware that Selenity could see through
his words like rice paper.

"But a heart that loves without return can grow cold.
Rory, do not become like Beryl." The Queen warned. "Come
we have much work before us to prepare for Metallia."

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