Windwalker Chronicles Book 2 - Winds of Madness

     The Crystal Tokyo Hospital was the most advanced place of healing on the planet. 
All sorts of patients and medical personnel could be found here, as well as the 
occasional security man or Senshi. All moved through the halls with purpose, giving 
the complex a vibrant life of its own.

     However, there was one floor that was less busy. It was the hospital security 
wing, where any prisoner in need of serious medical care was sent. Most of the time, 
it was nearly deserted.

     This wasn't most of the time.

     A tall woman with green highlights in her dark hair and carrying a staff stalked 
down the hallway. She wore a Senshi fuku, the skirt and bow purple in color, and her 
usually impassive expression replaced by one mixing concern and anger.

     She came to an intersection, turned to her right, and advanced toward a door 
flanked by two alert looking security men. They stiffened at the sight of her, but 
held their ground.

     One of the security men stepped forward, blocking the woman's path. The look 
she gave him was chilling. Summing up the last of his courage, the guard said, "I'm 
sorry, Senshi Pluto, but no one is allowed into the room."

     "No one?" asked the Senshi, her voice cold and unforgiving.

     "No one," said a familiar voice from behind her.

     Pluto turned slowly. Mars stood behind her, arms folded over her chest. The Senshi 
of Fire looked irritated.

     "What happened?" Pluto asked, her voice like a winter storm.

     "I don't have all the details. Ami was there. Talk to her."

     "I see." Pluto stepped past the shorter woman and walked away. 

     Mars watched Pluto until the Outer Senshi disappeared around the corner. She turned 
to look at the two security men. "If she tries to gain entry again, call me." With that, 
she turned and walked off, leaving two relieved-looking security men behind her.





     Ami looked up from her computer as a somberly dressed Setsuna entered the Doctor's 
office. "I've been expecting you," she said. 

     "I need to know what happened."

     "Please sit. I was just finishing some work."

     Setsuna sat in a chair in front of Ami's desk and asked, "How is he?"

     Ami saved the file she was working on before she turned off the computer, and 
spun in her chair to face the Outer Senshi. "Alan or Alisin?"

     She saw a grimace flicker across Setsuna's face, but chose to ignore it. "I meant 
both," the older Senshi said.

     "Alan is under sedation right now. He's battered physically, but I'm more concerned 
for his mental health."

     "Are Hematite and Titanite all right?"

     Ami nodded. "They're recovering quicker then Alan will."

     "What happened?"

     Ami told Setsuna what happened in a span of five minutes, describing the attack 
in detail. Setsuna listened in silence, her face without expression. The only sign 
that the Senshi from  Pluto was tense was the whitening knuckles from her hands gripping 
the arms of the chair tightly. After Ami finished, Setsuna closed her eyes. "I should 
have known," she whispered sadly. "I should have warned Alan about Hematite's resemblance 
to Beryl."

     "Don't blame yourself," replied Ami quickly. "We all made the same mistake -- We 
forgot that while Alan is from the twentieth century, Alisin was a citizen of the Silver 
Millieum and knew Beryl. When Alan first appeared, Hematite was out of the city. When 
she returned, we never bothered telling Alan or Alisin about her."

     "It's more then that," said Setsuna in the same quiet voice. "Alisin wanted Beryl 
dead."

     "Did Alisin hate Beryl that much?" asked Ami.

     Setsuna nodded. "There were few people Alisin felt strongly about -- Beryl was one
of them. Before she was exposed as a servant of Metellia, Alisin blamed her for the 
death of his wife, Ganieda."  

     Ami's eyes widen in understanding. "You did mentioned Alisin had been sent to 
Pluto after his wife's death," she said. "It was more then to give him time to grieve, 
wasn't it?"

     "You are right. I did not mention the reason at the meeting because I did not 
think it was important at the time. It seems that I was wrong."

     Ami's eyes widen even further. "What happened?"

     "I learned the facts surrounding her death after I became Sailor Pluto. Fourteen 
years before the Fall of the Silver Millieum, Ganieda went down in a skyboat over 
Arcadia, Beryl's own kingdom. There were some suspicions that someone with power was 
behind the downing, but no proof was found. When Ganieda's body was recovered, there 
were signs that she had been sacrificed."

     "I see." Ami hesitated, searching for the right words. "And Alisin blamed Beryl 
herself?"

     Setsuna nodded. "The one time he spoke to me about her, it was with disgust and 
loathing. I know Beryl felt the same way about him. To have both in the same room was 
to invite trouble."

     "I see."

     Setsuna leaned forward in her chair "When can I talk to them?"

     Ami's face became bleak. "I don't know. The Queen has ordered that everyone 
except Raiden and myself be barred from the room." She hesitated before she continued. 
"Also, Alan is under heavy sedation - We can't take the chance of Alisin breaking 
free."

     Setsuna stood slowly, her face an unreadable mask. "I will speak to the Queen 
and ask permission." She turned and went to the door. She stopped and said, "Please 
take care of them both."

     "You know I will."

     Without another word, Setsuna left the office. 





     Alan groaned and rolled onto his side. His head throbbed and his mouth felt 
like someone had stuffed several dirty socks into it.

     "Alan!" hissed a male voice. "You must arise!"

     "Go away," Alan mumbled. "I've a class in three hours, and I was up all night 
on that STUPID Pascal compiler . . . "

     "This isn't collage! I need your help!"

     Alan opened one eye and blinked. Instead of a white ceiling, he saw blue sky. 
"What the heck . . . "

     A young man in regal-looking, white robes knelt next to him, looking concerned. 
"Are you all right?" 

     "Helcion?"

     "Yes. Can you stand?"

     "I'm not certain. What hap . . . Alisin! I've got to stop him!"  He sat up 
quickly, only to groan and hold his head. "Augggg!"

     "Are you all right?"

     "No!" snapped Alan. "Grandfather's trying to kill someone he thinks is Beryl! 
I have to stop him!"

     Helcion shook his head. "Alisin did not succeed in killing Hematite."

     Alan stood slowly, his legs trembling. "That's a relief." He looked at the King 
of Halcyon. "So, what's wrong?"

     "I should show you first, then explain."

     "What's wrong with explaining first THEN showing me?"

     "It would be easier to show you first."

     Alan sighed. "Lead the way, Macduff."   

     The King led him up a path to the crown of a small rise and pointed at a large 
black sphere dominating the top of a small hill not far away. "That is the problem, 
and your grandfather is at the center of it."

     Alan looked at the sphere for several minutes while he regained strength. "He's 
inside THAT?" he asked finally  

     Helcion replied. "He is. The darkness that surrounds him is negative energy 
generated from dark emotions - Hate, anger, and fear among them -  and he will not 
talk to me."

     "I'll talk to him."

     "I do not think that is a good idea."

     "Well, tough."

     "I think you should come back with me." 

     "Not yet."

     "But - "

     "I've had it up to here," snapped Alan, holding a hand over his head,  "with 
'grandfather', his training methods, and his arrogance!" He then pointed at the dark 
sphere. "This is the time for me to have it out with the old goat!"

     "I would not advise it."

     But Alan had already stalked off down the slope toward the sphere. Helcion 
shouted after him, "Don't be foolish, Alan!" 

     "I've already been a fool!" Alan shouted back. "I've been a jackass since I 
dropped into this time and place!"

     "You don't understand!"

     Alan spun to glare at the King of Dreams, but continued walking backwards toward 
his objective. "NO! You're the one who doesn't understand! You haven't had your body 
taken from you by a vengeance-minded madman!" 

     "You can't do this by yourself!"

     "Just watch me!"

     Alan strode up the hill toward the Dark sphere sat. There was a hum like an 
electric generator that got louder as he got closer and he noticed the sphere seemed 
to be made up of shifting and swirling clouds. It was also larger then it had looked 
from the ridge line, large enough to hold a fair-sized house within and occupied the 
entire summit of the hill. A part of his mind whispered this was stupid, but his anger
ruthlessly overrode his caution.

     He stopped just short of the sphere and shouted, "Grandfather! Get your ugly carcass 
out here NOW!"

     There was no response. Alan let the silence stretch for a minute, then he bellowed 
"All right, you won't come out, I'm coming in!" He made a fist and swung it at the 
sphere. The result was spectacular, to say the least.

     As soon as Alan touched the sphere, a blast of dark energy slashed out from the 
orb and struck Alan in the chest. The discharge knocked him backwards hard enough to 
send him tumbling down the hill.

     "Ah  . . . oomph . . . eeef . . . .ugh  . . . ack . . . oomph!" With a final, 
"ack," Alan reached the bottom of the slope, face-down, in a heap. He was still for 
several seconds then lifted his head and glared up at the sphere. "You're not going 
to get rid of me THAT easily!" he hollered.

     He scrambled to his feet and charged up the hill again, screaming incoherently. 
He thought he heard Helcion yell "Alan! No!", but he ignored it and continued the 
charge up the hill. Arms pumping, he slammed into the sphere as hard as he could.

     The trip back down the slope was much like the first, only the blast this time was 
strong enough to send Alan flying for the first half of the trip. He bounced several 
times on the slope, then rolled to a stop on his back.

     He struggled to sit up, but a pair of hands firmly pressed him down again. "I 
can't let you continue this!" he heard Helcion shout. "You'll be killed!"
 
     "Er . . . right. . . ." Alan blinked several times before his vision cleared 
enough to see the King of Dreams kneeling next to him. "That hurt."

     "The sphere is fueled by Alisin's dark emotions," explained Helcion, glancing up 
at the sphere above them. "You cannot get through that shield unless Alisin allows you 
to."

     "NOW you tell me," muttered Alan as he sat up slowly. He waved off Helcion. "I'm 
all right now I'm not about to charge up San Juan Hill again."

     "That is good." He looked down at Alan. "Do you need a hand standing up?"

     "I'm fine." Alan got to his feet and swayed for several seconds. "I think," he 
amended.

     "Take my hand," said the King reaching out with a hand to Alan.

     "I tell you I'm all -"

     "Take my hand."

     Alan took a deep breath and took the offered hand. Suddenly, he found himself 
and Helcion in a large stone chamber. He blinked twice, then looked at the king. 
Helcion shrugged and waved him toward a large table in the middle of the chamber.

     Alan glanced around the room. "Where am I?"

     "My home." Helcion waved a hand around. "Even I need a place to call my own."

     "Why did you bring me here?"

     "First, to allow you to rest and regain your strength." He pointed at the table. 
"Please sit and eat."

     Alan glanced at the table again. This time, there was a large amount of food 
sitting there, food that hadn't been sitting there a few seconds ago. He sat in one 
of the high-backed chairs and slowly looked over the subsistence before him. He noted 
they were all fruit and vegetables, some familiar, others not. He reached for an apple 
from a bowl. "What were the other reasons you brought me here?"

     Helcion sat in a chair across the table from Alan. "I thought it prudent to get 
you away from the sphere before you tried to assault it again."

     "Oh." Alan took a bite out of the apple, "I suppose I got a bit carried away, 
didn't I?"

     "You did, and it could have killed you. The shield took your anger and use it 
to strengthen itself against your attack. It also used your anger to generate the 
force beams that knocked you down the hill. Do you feel angry right now?"

     "No."

     "The sphere absorbed it when you attacked it. All the efforts and anger on your 
part just made the shield stronger."

     "So I can't through then?"

     "Not unless Alisin allows them to pass through."

     Alan dropped the apple core onto the plate sitting in front of him. "If he's not 
going to allow me inside, then we're really in deep trouble."

     A tankard appeared by the King's right elbow. He picked it up, sipped from it, 
then looked at Alan again. "There are only two other people living today he might 
listen to. Senshi Pluto is one - the bond between them is stronger then your own - 
and Queen Serenity herself. There is no one else."

     Alan frowned. "I don't suppose we can leave him alone and wait for him to cool 
down, huh?"

     Helcion shook his head. "He is started on the path of madness. The longer we 
delay in speaking to him, the harder it will be to turn him back to the light."

     "And he could come charging out at any time, take over my body, and level a 
city, right?" asked Alan angrily. He slumped in his chair. "That's not much help. 
I guess Setsuna would be the best choice --  she knows him the best."

     "I’m afraid there is another problem."

     Alan looked at the King with half-closed eyes."What?"

     "At the current time, your body is under heavy sedation - you will not wake up 
until they decide you should."

     "You mean I'm stuck here until they decide to wake me up?"

     Helcion frowned. "Yes." 

     "Oh, great." Alan began rubbing his temples with his fingertips. "I just had to 
get out of bed today, didn't I?" He straightened abruptly. "Is there anyone I know 
in the Land of Dreams right now? Like Ami, or Raiden, or heck even Rei?"

     "Rei?"

     "I'm desperate, OK?"

     "I do not know, but I will check." The King stood. "I will be back shortly. Please 
eat and rest some more until I return."

     With that, he vanished. Ignoring the sudden disappearance of his host, Alan picked 
up an orange and began peeling it. "With my luck," he mumbled sourly, "the only person 
in the Land of Dreams right now will be Rei. Heck, she's probably got people stationed 
here. . . ."

     Halfway through Alan's second orange, Helcion reappeared. Raiden was cradled in 
his arms,  looking slightly miffed at the interruption of his dream. The King placed 
the moon cat on the table. "He was the only one that was here at the present time."

     "He'll do." Alan looked at the cat. "Sorry to disturb your dream, but I need 
help."

      Raiden walked across the table to Alan and looked at him closely. "Are you all 
right?" he asked.

     "No," replied Alan. "I'm not. Grandfather has gone off the deep end and I'm going 
to need help to pull him back. Unless we get to him, and soon, he and I are going to 
be in a world of hurt."

     "Helcion told me the basics. What do you want me to do?"

     "I first thing I need is to wake up. Tell Ami to stop pumping me full of the 
sleepy stuff. After I wake up, I need to talk to Setsuna - I'm going to need her 
help in talking to Alisin."

     "I understand. What else?"

     "I don't know yet, except to hurry   I don't know how long Grandfather is going 
to stay cooped up behind that dark sphere, but if he comes out and takes over again. . . . "

     "I will do as you ask." With that, Raiden disappeared in a flash of light. 

     Alan flinched, then looked at Helcion. "What happened?"

     "He woke up." The King sat across from Alan. "All you can do now is wait for 
yourself to awaken." A chessboard, ready to play, appeared in place of the fruit 
bowl. "In the meantime, care for a game?"





     The first evidence that Alan was going to wake up was when Helcion's chamber 
suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, then darkness.  Part of him noted that he 
was lying on his back, on a mattress and covered by a blanket up to his chin. He was 
aware that there were several people near the bed, but no one spoke. In a moment of 
clear thought, he realized he was coming out of his encouraged unconsciousness.

     It took several attempts for his eyes to open just enough to let light in. Like 
water through a broken dam, illumination flooded his awareness with color and texture. 
He blinked several more times, slowly at first then quicker as his vision became clearer. 
His mouth was dry and hot and he swallowed several times in order to generate spit,
with little success.

     "He's beginning to awake," said a familiar voice off to his right. "Go get Ami."

     Alan heard someone leave the room. The shapes sharpened into an off-white ceiling 
with light from a  window reflecting off of it. He moved his head slightly to the left, 
the effort to do so taking more energy then he thought it would.

     A woman with green tinted dark hair was standing by the bed. Dressed in a conservative 
business suit, she looked at him grimly. Something about her was familiar, but Alan 
couldn't place it. "Alan?" she asked carefully.

     "Yes," he croaked. "Do I know . . . you?"

     "I'm Setsuna," she replied. "What happened to Alisin?" 

     "Long st-story," he managed to say in a whisper. "What happened? Is everyone 
else all right?"

     Setsuna exhaled and nodded. "You're the only one who was seriously hurt."

     "Lucky me."

     Just then, Alan heard the door open, followed by two sets of footsteps. Ami and 
Rei joined Setsuna. Ami's smile seemed a bit forced, but Rei's suspicious glare was 
genuine. Without taking her eyes off of Alan, Ami reached down to the side of the bed 
and pushed a button, The top half of the bed began to rise, giving Alan a better view 
of the hospital room. Slightly short of a full sitting position, the bed stopped moving.

     Ami picked up a cup from the table next to the bed, placed the end of the straw 
into his mouth, and said firmly, "Sip."

     Alan did so, and a trickle of water filled his mouth. He swallowed slowly, 
allowing the water to moisten his dry mouth. After several seconds, Ami removed the 
cup from under his chin and removed the straw from his mouth. "How are you feeling?"

     Alan gave her a smile. "I could get use to waking up like this."

     "Are you sure this is Alan and not Alisin?" asked Rei, her eyes narrowing.

     Alan looked at her. "It's me, charcoal breath." he said in a stronger voice. 
"What's the matter, you run out of lemons to suck on?"

     "That's Alan," said Setsuna, the hint of a smile on her lips. 

     Rei's eyes narrowed dangerously, but before she could fire off a comeback, Ami 
stepped in front of her. "We don't have time for arguments," she said briskly. She 
turned to look at Alan. "All right. Tell us what's so important that you had to send 
a message via Raiden."

     "Where is Raiden?" asked Alan.

     "Over here," replied the Moon cat from the other side of the room. He uncurled 
himself from the chair he had been on and stretched slowly. "Are you ready to answer 
Ami?"

     Alan nodded. "It started with my conversation with Ami in the Hospital grounds. . . ." 
He told the story in detail, including his helplessness when Alisin seized control. "It 
was like being yanked out of the driver's seat of a car by a 400-pound gorilla, who then 
drives on the sidewalks of New York City during midday."

     No one interrupted him until he described the globe Alisin had built around himself 
in the Land of Dreams. Setsuna looked troubled. "It is worse then I thought. Alisin is 
starting to go mad."

     "That's what Helcion said."

     "Why didn't you contact me about this? We might have headed this off."

     Alan looked at her in amazement. "How can I contact you? You're bouncing up and 
down the time line, making it kind of hard to get a hold of you . . . at times."

     Pluto said nothing, but went over to the window and stared out. 

     "How can we stop Alisin's madness from happening?" asked Rei.    

     Alan looked at Setsuna. "Helcion said he'll only listen to two people --  you 
and Neo-Queen Serenity. He also said we have to hurry. That's why I had Raiden relay 
the message - I am going to need your help."

     Setsuna nodded. "I will go with you into the Land of Dreams, but I want to bring 
someone along with us, someone that Alisin will need to see."

     "Who?"

     She turned away from the window. "Not until I talk to her. She may not agree to 
come."

     "I don't care if you bring along K-9 and Adric," said Alan quickly. "But we don't 
have time for sightseers."

     "I will hurry." replied Setsuna cooly. With that, she turned and left the room.

     Ami looked thoughtful. "I'll need to check some medical supplies and make up 
some injections. This is going to a delicate situation. If you will excuse me."

     Rei didn't say anything until Ami left the room. "I don't like it," she said.

     "I'm not exactly thrilled about it myself," replied Alan. "But he and I are 
linked. If we don't cut him off at the pass before he loses all sanity, I can't stop 
him from roaring out of his shell and possessing my body like a cheap monster movie. 
And he'll make the hospital garden look like minor road work."

     "We could try and sever the link."

     "I have no idea how we're even linked. And taking time to study it is not an 
option."

     "I see." She turned to leave. "I'll leave you to rest until Setsuna gets back."

     Just as her hand reached for the door handle, Alan said, "Could you please 
stay a minute? I want to talk to you."

     She stopped, but didn't turn around. "About what?"

     He looked at her. He felt the words choke up in his throat. "I want to apologize," 
he said softly.

     Now, she turned to look at him.  "For what?" she asked suspiciously.

     He took a deep breath, then continued in a serious tone. "For the trouble I've 
caused you and the others since I landed here. For what I did to you and the guards 
when I first arrived - I still have no idea how I did that. For the attack on Lady 
Polaris and her daughter, even though it wasn't my fault. And finally, for being a 
square peg in a round hole."

     She looked at him, perplexed at his words. She clearly hadn't expected this from 
him. "Why are you bothering telling me all this now?" she managed to ask after several 
seconds of thought. "You have plenty of chances before this."

     "Because I've been avoiding you," he replied, looking down at the sheets. 
"Avoiding you because you scare the hell out of me. Avoiding most of the others 
because they just scare me." He closed his eyes. "I kept telling myself that was 
Alisin's fault for keeping me away from the others."

     "And was it his fault?"

     Alan shook his head. "He made it clear that I wasn't to talk to the Renegades, 
and he only did that a couple of days ago. It wasn't until later I realized he never 
forbade me from talking to the rest of the royal court."

     "So why didn't you?"

     "Because I'm an outsider here."

     "I see."

     "Do you?" asked Alan. He opened his eyes and looked up at her. Rei saw bitterness 
in his eyes. "I didn't want to be here, but my choices were limited. I'm not a reborn 
soul from the Silver Millieum, like you and the others. I'm just a guy who's in way 
over his head in a time and place not of his choosing."

     Rei started to reply, but Alan held up a hand to stop her. "A month ago," he 
continued, "my biggest ambition was to develop a security system for the Internet that 
couldn't  be cracked by a thirteen-year-old Cracker with bad skin. I wanted a normal 
life. And now, that's not possible." He looked out the window. "Have you ever wanted 
a normal life?"

     Rei shrugged. "What I do today IS my normal life, and has been for a thousand 
years."

     "I meant before you became Senshi Mars."

     She shook her head. "That was a long time ago. I gave up some dreams when I became 
Senshi Mars because I had to."

     "And now you're trapped in a role of your own choosing. I feel sorry for you."

     "Don't be. It was my destiny."

     Alan snorted. "And what's mine destiny?  I'm supposed to be the first of a new 
class of wizards, only my teacher's sanity has just gone and jumped the tracks. So, 
now I'm a time bomb with an unpredictable timer."

     "I don't know." Rei said at last

     "Do you know what I want to do now?"

     Rei's eyes narrowed, surprised at the sudden shift in the conversation. "No." 

     Alan gave her a sad smile. "I'm not asking for much. I want to leave the palace 
and look around Crystal Tokyo by myself. I want to lie under a tree in a park and 
watch the clouds roll by. I just want to be a normal human being. Is that so much to 
ask for?"

     "If you were a normal human being, then no. But you are not normal."

     "As Raiden reminded me." He glared at the cat, who ignored him. He looked at Rei 
again, his expression neutral. "I wish people would remember that I'm more then a warm 
body for Alisin to use. Before I ended up here, I spent most of my life without having 
a sprit share my body, and I functioned fine."

     Rei let some irritation creep into her voice. "Why this sudden urge to unload all 
your apologies and complaints onto me? Surely Ami is the better choice. She is your 
Doctor."

     "Who is going into space in a couple of days. She is going to have her hands full 
with the mission, and I don't want her worrying about me."

     Rei though over his answer and nodded. "But why talk to me?"

     "Because I'm scared that Setsuna and I are not going to succeed in talking Alisin 
out of his madness. I wanted to make sure I got some subjects cleared up - just in case."

     Rei frowned "I think you're worry needlessly over this."

     "I'm not so sure."

     Before Rei could reply, Ami opened the door and walked in "Everything's ready. 
We can start when Setsuna gets back."

     "In that case," said Rei quickly. "I'd better let you rest. If you'll excuse me." 
With that, she turned and walked out of the room. Ami watched her leave before she 
looked at Alan, her eyebrow arched in an unasked  question. Alan shrugged in reply but 
said nothing.





     It was an hour later that Setsuna returned.

     The first half-hour had been very busy. Under Ami's direction, two cots were set 
up in Alan's hospital room, one on each side of the bed. A tray was sitting on the 
bedside table, with several Star Trek-type syringes laid out for use on the tray. 
Several monitoring devices of some sort were sitting near the two cots and the bed, 
and a larger machine sat off in a corner under a sheet. 

     Alan had just watched as all this stuff was carried into his hospital room by a 
couple of large orderlies. Ami had been in and out of the room several times, checking 
on different things. During one of these visits, she told Alan that he should stay in
bed and rest, despite his protests he was well enough to get up. Only when she threatened 
to strap him into bed did he give up and just sit there, glowering at both Ami and the 
orderlies, who ignored him. Raiden had taken one look of the activity, sighed, and left 
the room to search for a quiet place to nap.

     After that, Alan found himself left alone. He sat in the bed, eyes closed, his 
mind a whirl wind of thoughts and fears. His mouth became dry, which several glasses 
of water didn't relieve. Sleeping was out of the question: he couldn't go back to the 
Land of Dreams until Setsuna and her mystery guest went with him. 

     Desperate for something to lock his mind on, his mind went back over Setsuna's 
words "Not until I talk to her. She may not agree to come." Who could she 
be talking about?

     He was dimly aware that someone had come into his room, and his eyes opened. 
Setsuna stood next to his bed, looking relaxed except for tightness around her eyes. 
"You're back," he said. "Find who you were looking for?"

     "Yes. She is talking to Ami now."

     "Who is she?"

     Just then, Ami came into the room, followed by a grim-looking Titanite. Alan 
inhaled sharply at the sight of the green-haired woman, then looked at Setsuna. 
"You're not serious," he said in a wooden tone. "She's coming along?"

     "She is."

     "Setsuna said I must go with you," said Titanite, her tone clearly indicating 
that she wasn't happy about this either. She was dressed in a jogging suit with her 
hair loose around her shoulders. She stood there with her arms folded, her expression 
unreadable as she stared at Alan.

     "Why?" asked Alan, not having the courage to look at Sailor Polaris directly. 
"Look, I'm sorry about what Grandfather did to you and your daughter, but I don't 
think that bringing you along is going to solve anything."

     "She is going with us," said Setsuna, her voice cold and flat.

     "And do what?" asked Alan angrily, looking Sailor Pluto in the eye. "After what 
happened in the garden, I'm skeptical that Grandfather is going to allow her anywhere 
near him."

     "She is necessary if we are to succeed."

     "For what? To send Grandfather into Godzilla mode again?"

     Setsuna's face clouded, and for a second, Alan saw the full force of Time's 
Guardian in her eyes. Then, like a curtain being drawn, most of the power in her 
eyes vanished, but the look she continued to give him chilled him.

     "Will you two stop arguing?" snapped Ami, her anger surprising the others. She 
stepped forward, a look of fierce determination on her face. She looked at Pluto. 
"Is Ti really necessary to save Alisin's sanity?"

     Setsuna dipped her head slightly. "Under the circumstances, she is the best choice 
to help us. Hematite's resemblance to Beryl eliminates her, and the other Renegades are 
not suited for this task."

     Ami turned to Titanite. "Do you want to do this?"

     Ti exhaled slowly, then nodded. "Pluto explained what happened between Alisin 
and Beryl, but I want to hear it from him. I also want to tell him our story, to show 
him that Beryl didn't rule everyone in her kingdom."

     Ami looked thoughtful, then looked at Alan. "I agree with them."

     "But -" began Alan.

     "We don't have time for this bickering," said Ami, cutting off Alan's objection 
with a wave of her hand. "You're going there to talk to him, not fight him."

     "But -"

     "Trust me, Alan," said Ami firmly. "I've known Ti for almost a millieum. I trust 
her and I'm asking you to trust her. Please?"

     Alan looked into her eyes and felt his resolve begin to slip. He saw sadness, 
concern and pleading in her eyes, backed by a wall of cool perseverance. A perverse 
part of his mind told him he still wasn't over his original crush of the pretty blue-
haired Doctor, but he slapped that thought aside. He was determined not to give in to 
her on this point.

     But after several more seconds of silence, his own determination to exclude 
Titanite broke under the doctor's gaze. "All right," he said finally, "She can come 
along."

     "Gee, thanks," said Titanite sarcastically. "I'm so glad you approve."

     "His approval was not needed," said Setsuna. She sat on one of the cots. "It 
is time."

     Titanite walked over to the other cot and laid down. Ami picked up one of the 
hypos and double-checked the contents. Alan eyed the instrument. "What's that for?"

     "We can't wait for all three of you to reach the state of deep sleep," explained 
Ami. "So I'm going to give each of you a strong sedative to put you under quickly."

     "That will not be necessary in my case," said Setsuna. She stretched out on the 
cot and folded her hands over her stomach. "I will meet you there." With that, she 
closed her eyes and after a minute, her breathing became deep and regular.

     Alan looked at the now sleeping Senshi for several seconds in disbelief, then 
looked at Ami. "Has she ever used the name 'Romana' in the past?"

     Ami tried to smile, but it didn't quite make it. "She has responsibilities far 
beyond the rest of us, and abilities we know nothing about."

     "I figure she wasn't one of the more sociable Senshi."

     Ami held up the hypo. "What about you? Are you going to be able to follow Setsuna 
by yourself, or do you need one on these?"

     Alan rolled up a sleeve. "I'm ready to start bouncing off the walls, so I think 
giving me a shot is best."

     Ami nodded and stepped forward. Alan barely felt the hypo press against his skin 
and release the drug into his blood stream. "How long?" he asked Ami.

     "Not long," she assured him. "Count back from one hundred."

     "Okay. One hundred . . . .Ninety-nine. . . .Ninety-eight. . . .Ninety-seven. . . .
Ninety-six. . . .Ninety-five . . . Ninety-four . . . . . ." 

     Darkness closed over his vision.





    When he opened his eyes again, Alan saw blue skies with wisps of white clouds 
above him. He rolled over and climbed to his feet. Once he was standing, he looked 
around for the others. He spotted Setsuna standing several meters away, and Titanite 
several meters beyond her.

     They were standing in the middle of a meadow, near a small grove of trees. Around 
them, there were rolling hills and several clumps of trees. Alan glanced around for 
any familiar landmarks, but saw none. "I have no idea where we are," he said, still 
looking around.

     Setsuna turned and looked at him. Instead of her business suit, she wore her Sailor 
Pluto Fuku, and her staff was gripped tightly in her left fist. "We wait for a little 
while," she announced. "Are you ready?" 

     Alan shrugged. "As ready as I'm ever going to be. You two all right?"

     "We're fine," replied Setsuna. "We are waiting just for our guide."

     "Who's that?" asked Titanite. Like Pluto, she wore her Sailor Fuku and looked ready 
for any challenge.

     Helcion appeared out of thin air. "The Guardian of Dreams greets the Guardian of 
Time," he said formally. Alan noticed he didn't look directly at Pluto.

     Pluto glared at Helcion. "The Guardian of Time greets the Guardian of Dreams," 
she said coolly. "I will talk to you later about the Princess. Needless to say, the 
Queen is rather agitated at your actions."

     The King looked more nervous. "But what I did I -"

     "Later," said Pluto, her voice chilling. "This is not the time or place for 
that discussion."

     Helcion looked as if he had been slapped. He turned away, but Pluto's sharp voice 
stopped him. "We need you to guide us to where Alisin is, and quickly."

     "Very well. This way." He led them toward a set of rolling hills off to their right. 
"It is not far," he said, his cheerfulness sounding hollow.

     The group walked toward the hills at a brisk pace. Pluto was several paces behind 
Helcion, her long strides forcing the King to keep moving. Several paces behind her, 
Titanite and Alan trudged along.

     Alan increased his gait so he could catch up with Pluto. "What was that with 
Helcion back there?" 

     Pluto turned to look at him, her stare hard and frosty. "It does not concern 
you or Alisin," she said firmly. "It is a private matter. Do not speak about it 
again."

     Alan stopped suddenly, as if it had been his turn to get slapped. "Gee, thanks," 
he said bitterly to the back of the outer Senshi, who had continued to walk along. 
"Do you want me to fall on my sword too while I'm at it?" Pluto ignored the jab and 
continued walking along.

     Alan felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced over at Titanite. "Is she always 
this outspoken?" he asked.

     "I don't know," the green-haired Senshi replied. "Pluto is so rarely seen outside 
the palace, most people think she's a myth of some sort."

     "Oh great," muttered Alan. "That's a lot of help."

     Titanite motioned with her head toward the pair who was increasing the distance. 
"We'd better catch up with them and quickly. Come on."





     By Alan's best guess, it took them ten minutes to reach the sphere of blackness 
Alisin had created Helcion pointed at the ball. "There it is," he said in a hollow 
voice. "Good-bye and good luck." With that, he stepped back and faded from sight.

     Alan stepped up to stand next to Pluto. "How are we going to get in? That thing," 
he motioned toward the sphere, "nearly killed me when I tried to force my way past it."

     "Then, I will not use force," Pluto replied, her expression bleak. She stepped 
forward until she was less then two meters from the sphere. "UNCLE!" she shouted, her 
words ringing in the air. "I WISH TO SPEAK TO YOU."

     "That is," mumbled Alan, "if you not out of your mind."

     There was silence. After half a minute, Pluto continued. "I AM HERE WITH ALAN 
AND SOMEONE YOU MUST SPEAK TO. PLEASE LET US IN!"

     More silence followed. "Nothing's happening," muttered Alan. Titanite glared at 
him.

     "THIS IS IMPORTANT, UNCLE!" Pluto continued. "THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU, FOR 
ALAN, AND FOR ALL FUTURE ELEMENTALISTS!"

     "I think Helcion had the right idea," breathed Alan. 

     Titanite tapped him on the shoulder. "Will you shut up?" she hissed. "You're 
getting on my nerves." 

     "Good," Alan whispered back. "Now you know how I feel about this."

     If Pluto heard the conversation between the others, she ignored it. "I WILL NOT 
LEAVE UNTIL I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU, UNCLE! YOU KNOW I CAN BE JUST AS STUBBORN AS YOU! 
SO, LET US IN!"

     After several seconds, a potion of the sphere shimmered, then flowed away from 
the center of the shimmering area, forming a hole in the skin of the sphere. The hole 
became larger as more of the dark substance flowed away into other parts of the sphere. 
Soon, the hole formed itself into an archway tall enough to walk through.

     Pluto nodded to herself, then turned toward the others. "Follow me, and stay 
close. I don't think he'll attack us, but be careful and stay alert. Let me do most 
of the talking. Is that clear?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked 
through the archway.

     Alan blinked. "Who died and made her leader?"

     "She did," replied Titanite, grabbing one of Alan's arms and guiding him toward 
the archway. "So we better follow her."

     Alan was expecting almost anything, but he didn't expect to find himself standing 
in a wide hallway straight out of a 18th century chateau. The corridor was three meters 
wide and very long in both directions. The walls, as well as the floor and ceiling, 
were made of what looked like white marble with flecks of blue highlights. All the 
blocks were fitted tightly together,  leaving almost no trace of a seam between each 
block. A thick carpet, a deep blue in color ran down the middle third of the corridor. 
Along the walls, lanterns of an unusual design were spaced out, supplying illumination 
to the entire corridor.

     Alan glanced up and down the hall, trying to make sense of what his eyes were 
telling him. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" he asked Titanite.

     "Yes," replied Titanite, releasing Alan's arm. "We can sightsee later. Where's 
Setsuna?"

     "You are in the Moon Palace," said Pluto, stepping out of a small alcove. 

     Alan took a step back at Pluto's sudden appearance. "Will you stop doing that?" 
he asked sharply. "You almost gave me a heart attack!" Pluto ignored him.

     "We're in the Moon Palace?" asked Titanite, admiring the marble walls.

     "Or, rather the Moon Palace that Alisin remembers." Pluto pointed down the hall 
with her staff. "His own quarters are down there."

     "This is all from Grandfather's memory?" asked Alan.

     "He has created this illusion from his memory and has retreated into it. This 
was one of the few places he truly was happy." Alan thought he heard a slight trace 
of sadness in her voice, but if it was there, it disappeared quickly. "Let us go."

     They walked down the corridor until they came to a tall set of panels recessed 
into a small alcove. The panels were made of the same material as the walls, though 
there was more blue in the marble then white. Someone had carefully carved a series 
of clouds and birds into the marble, covering the walls.

     "Very nice," said Alan. "But -"

     Pluto stepped forward and placed her hand on one of the panels. There was a soft 
click, and the panels swung in, showing themselves to be  doors, not panels. Pluto 
strode between the still-opening panels and disappeared inside. Titanite and Alan 
followed in silence.

     They found themselves in a circular room about ten meters in diameter, made from 
the same marble as the hall. Four thick pillars surrounded a small pool in the center 
of the room. At right angles to each other, three short flights of stairs led up into 
hallways running deeper into the building.

     Alan let out with a low whistle. "Impressive," he said in approval as his gaze 
traveled around the room. He saw a couple of paintings hanging on the walls between 
the stairwells, and walked around the pool to see them better.

     "Which way?" asked Titanite.

     Pluto pointed to the stairway directly across from them. "Alisin will be in his 
study, waiting for us."

     "That doesn't sound pleasant."

     "As long as he is willing to talk, we have a chance."

     The pair of Senshi walked around the pool. Alan looked at them as they came near 
him. He pointed to one of the paintings hanging on the wall. "This is the current Queen
Serenity's mother? The one Grandfather served?"

     The painting showed a tall, thin woman with long blond hair and an air of noble 
bearing that came through even now. She was sitting peacefully in a high-backed chair, 
wearing a long white flowing gown that seemed to combine simplicity and elegance at 
the same time. Like her daughter, the unusual hairstyle seemed to add something to the 
painting's quality.

     "It is," replied Pluto.

     Titanite peered at the painting. "I never realized how much Serenity took after 
her mother," she said slowly.

     "In more then just physical appearance," agreed Pluto.

     Alan looked at the second painting, which was hanging across the corridor for 
Serenity's. "Who is that?"

     "That is Ganieda, Alisin's wife and your grandmother."

     Alan walked slowly over to the portrait. It was clear at first glance that the 
two paintings were done by the same artist in the same room. Both also had the same 
air of tranquility that carried through the brush strokes. Ganieda was shorter and 
not as slim as Queen Serenity, though she was far from being overweight, with striking 
features that only women of great beauty have. Her hair was long and black, done up in 
a complex braid that hung down one shoulder. Her blue eyes radiated strength and warmness 
and for a second, Alan felt a deep sadness for not having met her. "What was she like?"

     "I don't know. She died when I was a little girl. I do know Alisin loved her deeply, 
and her death greatly affected him."

     "How did she die?"

     "Her skyboat went down over Arcadia. We never found out what actually happened."

     "Arcadia?" Alan turned slowly. "Arcadia is where a certain Queen came from, a 
queen who made a deal with a demon to gain a certain prince's love." He looked at Pluto, 
his expression hovering around anger. "A woman called Beryl?"  

     Pluto returned his gaze without faltering. "We suspected, but could never prove 
anything."

    "And you just forgot to mention to me and Grandfather that you had a dead ringer 
for Beryl walking around here."    

     "Hematite was out on a mission for the Queen when you arrived. In the backwash 
of excitement we . . . " She stopped and shook her head. "No, not 'we'  -- 'I' -- forgot 
to mention it to you. The fault is mine." 

     "Someone else could have mentioned it to me." He glanced over at Titanite.  
"Someone with a personal stake in the matter."

     The Outer Senshi shook her head. "Don't blame Titanite or the others. The Queen 
Beryl they remember was a twisted puppet of Metellia. With that much dark power running 
through her, Beryl changed. Only three people living today would remember how Beryl 
looked before she was physically corrupted. Guardian Ferrite is one, I am the second, 
and -" 

     "Grandfather's the third?"

     "Yes." She turned away from Alan and started up the stairs. "We have wasted enough 
time. Come, Alisin awaits us."

     "But for good or ill, I wonder," muttered Alan as he followed her.

     Pluto led the way down the hall. Several side corridors branched off, but the 
outer Senshi ignored them and continued down the hall. At the end of the hall, a plain 
wooden door. Pluto stopped and turned to face the others. "Let me do most of the talking," 
she said in a low, hard voice. "I'm the one who knows him the best." She looked at Alan. 
"No smart remarks - the wrong word at the wrong time could be disastrous."

     Alan nodded, the seriousness of Pluto's words sinking in. The Outer Senshi looked 
at Titanite. "Don't let him provoke you, Ti," she said softly. "He's out of his time 
and place and he's just as scared as angry." Her expression softened a bit. "Despite 
his faults, he's been a good uncle to me. It's time I repaid his kindness."

     Pluto turned and opened the door. She stood in the doorway for several seconds, 
then moved into the room slowly. Titanite and Alan came in after her, neither one 
knowing what to expect.

     The study was a big room with no windows. There was only a small light burning 
on a large desk in the center of the room, throwing most of the room into shadow. With 
the exception of the door that had come through and a cold fireplace in the far wall, 
every meter of the walls was covered in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Several chairs 
were scattered around the room. An air of gloom hung in the room like a cloud.

     "Are you here to kill me, or to gloat?" asked a voice out of the darkness. A 
shadow moved from behind the desk, and they saw Alisin lean forward in a high-backed 
chair. The Windwalker looked worn and tired, but there was still fire in his eyes.

     "We are here to do nothing but talk," replied Pluto, her voice gentle.

     "Talk?" snarled Alisin. "There is nothing to talk about."

     "There's more to talk about then you think."

     "Then why bring her?" Alisin pointed at Titanite, his voice bitter and intense. 
"A follower of Beryl and mother to that . . . creature reborn."

     Titanite's face darkened, But Alan grabbed her by the arm. Pluto calmly shifter 
her staff to her other hand and said, "That's not true, Uncle. Beryl has been dust for 
a millieum, with no chance of rebirth."

     "I don't believe you. I saw her with my own eyes." 

     "You are wrong, Uncle."

     Alisin slammed a hand down on the desktop as he stood. "Don't tell me I'm wrong!"
he roared. "This city is infested with followers of that monster! They have stopped
the recreation of the Orders! It is they. . . ." He stopped suddenly and sank back 
into his chair. "Leave me," he said, dropping his head. "Let me in peace."

     "I can't do that, Uncle."

     "There's nothing here for me. Let me go. There are no Elemental schools around, 
and no one remembers us." 

     "You can change that."

     "How?" He looked up at his niece. "Alan is not responding to my instructions in 
Elemental magic, and if I cannot teach him, my own decedent, then there is no one to 
continue to teach others."

     "You're forgetting that Alan comes from a time where magic did not exist. It will 
take time for him to unlearn everything he has been taught regarding magic."

     "And what about Beryl and her minions?"

     Pluto leaned her staff against a chair and walked slowly around the desk until 
she was standing next to Alisin. She held out a hand. "Do you still trust me?"

     Alisin looked at her, then at her hand. Slowly, he reached out, took her hand in 
his and nodded.

     Pluto glanced up at the others. "What I am about to say is not to leave the room. 
You are to tell no one, not the Queen, Calcite, Topass, or even Raiden. Understood?" 
After both Alan and Titanite nodded their agreement, Pluto looked down at her Uncle. 
"Have you even known me to lie, Uncle?"

     "No. Not even as a child."

     "Then believe me when I tell you that if I had any doubts about Titanite and the 
others of her kind, I would have eliminated them from the timeline long ago."

     The room was silent as the word sunk in. Titanite looked shocked, while Alan 
looked puzzled. Alisin looked at Pluto, frowning. "You would have done that?"

     "My concerns stretch far beyond the present, Uncle. If their presence had disrupted 
the timeline, it would have been my duty to remove them."

     Alisin said in a whisper,  "And they have . . . .not disrupted the timeline?"

     "They have been loyal servants for centuries. Every time the Queen has called on 
them, they have responded with their best efforts. Neo-Queen Serenity trusts them, as 
would have her mother, and never have the Renegades broken that trust."

     Alisin's face clouded. "Renegades?"

     "Yes, Uncle. Renegades. A term used by Beryl and her minions and adapted by these 
people as a matter of pride. Anyone branded a Renegade would be hunted down and killed, 
just because they were different." Pluto looked at Titanite. "Tell us your story, and 
let my Uncle hear how you survive." She released her Uncle's hand and walked over to the 
chair that her staff was leaning against and sat. Titanite moved to another chair, while 
Alan flopped into the chair farthest from the desk.

     Once Titanite was comfortable, she looked at Pluto. "Where should I start?"

     "At the beginning. Where were you born?"

     Under Pluto's gentle but through questioning, Titanite told about growing up in 
the Dark Kingdom of Arcadia. She described the fighting for power, position, and even 
simple survival that were common in the kingdom. In a voice without emotion, she described 
how her brother and the others had to hide the fact they were Renegades by being even 
more ruthless then the other Youmas. Neither Alan nor Alisin said anything during Titanite's 
story, but sat and listened in silence. As the story unfolded, the anger slowly dissolved 
from the wizard's face, replaced with intense concentration. Ti narrated how the Renegades 
manage to escape just before the destruction of the Dark Kingdom, how they were accepted 
by Neo-Queen Serenity, and their integration into Crystal Tokyo. Finally, She then gave 
them a brief outline of the service the Renegades had performed over the centuries.

     After Titanite finished her story, there was silence in the study for several 
minutes. Then Alisin asked quietly, "How many of you survived the destruction of 
Beryl's kingdom?"

     "Seven of us. My brother Calcite, Pyrite, Azurite, Myself, Chrysolite, Margrave, 
and Magnesite."

     "How many of you are . . . Renegades?"

     "Five of us. Margrave is the only non Renegade Youma who survived."

     Alisin looked at Pluto. "All five Renegades hold the Queen's trust," said the 
outer Senshi smoothly. "While Margrave has use her abilities to create a . . . unique 
place in Crystal Tokyo's society. She will not risk it for any reason."

     "What about the other one?" asked Alan from his corner of the room. "Mags . . . er, 
Magnesite." 

     "He suffered a slight 'accident' in his escape, and he's not a Youma anymore." 
Titanite looked at Alan."Before you ask, remember Odo from that Star Trek series?"

     "DS9?" Alan looked puzzled. "Yes."

     "Magnesite has more in common with Odo these days then just having a funny name."

     "Oh."

     "Magnesite is not a threat to the city," said Pluto to her uncle.

     Ti shivered slightly. "I rather not talk about that creep anymore, if you don't
 mind." She looked back at Alisin. "What else would you like to know, Master Windwalker?"

     Alisin took a deep breath. "The woman I attacked in the hospital grounds, the one 
who looks like Beryl. That was your daughter?"

     Titanite nodded. "Hematite is well aware of who she looks like, and she will not 
follow Beryl's path to destruction. Before you ask, Neo-Queen Serenity trusts her 
implicitly."

     Pluto nodded gravely. "A couple of years ago, the queen sent Princess Usagi on 
a trip to observe the world clandestinely. As a sign of her faith in her daughter, 
the Queen entrusted the Ginshousu to the Princess' care. The queen chose Hematite to 
act as the Princess' bodyguard."

     Alisin's eyes widen slightly at this revelation. "I did not realize. . . . "

     Pluto continued before Alisin could finish his thought. "The trip was completed 
successfully, and Hematite has never shown any signs of becoming the corrupted monster 
that consumed Beryl." 
  
     Alisin sank back in his chair, losing himself in the shadows. "She is not that 
monster?"

     Pluto's voice had a hard edge on it as she said, "If I had to remove the Renegades 
because they interfered in the timeline, do you think I would have allowed Beryl the 
chance to wreak her vengeance?"

     Alisin chuckled half-heartily. "You always had a practical streak, Moment, even 
when you were young." 

     "Do you believe me when I say that Titanite and the others are not the ogres you 
thought they were?"

     "I believe you." 

     With those three words, the mood in the room grew less oppressive. Both Alan 
and Titanite relaxed. Pluto smiled slightly. "I'm glad, Uncle. I was afraid you wouldn't 
believe us." 

     Alisin took a deep breath. "But if I  believe you, than I have been a fool in 
so many ways."

     Pluto shook her head. "Not a fool, Uncle," she said gently. "That is one thing 
you have never been."

     Alisin's voice became serious. "But my rash actions have endangered innocent 
people, damage property, and destroy any chance of Alan and myself being accepted 
by the Queen and the royal court."

     "You underestimate Neo-Queen Serenity's forgiveness," Pluto replied, her voice 
gentle again. "She is very much like her mother in that respect. Your actions did not 
seriously injure anyone and the damage you caused has already been repaired. Once you 
have spoken to her, I think the Queen will overlook your conduct."

     Alisin didn't look convinced. " Maybe I  made a mistake in waiting for this new 
era."

     "No, you didn't. There is a need for Elemental magic in this world, and a need 
for someone steeped in magical knowledge to teach it to a new generation of Elemental 
wizards" She stood up and walked around the desk to stand next to Alisin. "You are 
needed here."

     A flicker of understanding crossed Alisin's face. "Did you plan this?" he asked. 
"Did you plan to . . . ." He stopped, looking for the right word.

     "Try 'stash'," offered Alan, a cold look of suspicion directed at Pluto.

     Alisin nodded. "Was that your idea, to 'stash'  an Silver Millieum-era Elemental 
wizard in the Land of Dreams until they were needed in Crystal Tokyo?" 

     For a moment, Pluto looked uncomfortable. "I knew there would a need for a wizard 
to spearhead the revival of the elemental schools," she said carefully, aware that 
everyone else in the room was looking at her. "I had a vague plan at the time, but I 
didn't come to see you for that reason." She looked into her uncle's eyes. "My appearance 
on the cliffs after the Fall was only to make sure you were all right, not to hijack 
you into this future." 

     She reached out and took Alisin's hands in hers. The Windwalker did not resist 
as Pluto placed his hands inside her own hands and held them together. "When you told 
me what had  happened to the elemental orders, I knew my task would be more difficult. 
But your willingness to wait for the reappearance of the Senshi and the others gave 
me the idea of 'stashing' you in a place where you could wait until the time had come. 
I called in a favor that the Guardian of Dreams owed me, and got you safely into his 
world of dreams. The rest, as they say, is history."

     Alan stood. "Did you ever think of asking Grandfather's opinion on this plan?" 
he asked coldly.

     Pluto looked at him. "If I had thought Uncle Alisin couldn't adapt to this world, 
I would have never offered him the chance. I love him too much to hurt him on purpose."

     Alan sighed theatrically. "Well, wee-whoopee-flapndoodle," he said sarcastically. 
"Do you want me to pull out my violin and start playing?"

     "Alan," said Alisin, a look of anger forming on his features. "Don't be disrespectful."

     "He has a right to be angry, Uncle," said Pluto. "When you went into the Land 
of Dreams, I honestly had no idea how I was going to bring you back. Your merging 
was not something I expected or planned for."

     Alan's eyes widen. "You mean Sailor Pluto, Guardian of Time, the woman who taught 
Machiavelli how to be Machiavellian, didn't have a plan or two readied when we showed 
up?"

     "Alan!" said Ti angrily, turning in her chair to look at him. That was uncalled 
for!"

     "So, sue me."

     Pluto arched an eyebrow. "I see you have been listening to idle gossip about me," 
she replied coolly.

     Alan shrugged. "That all there is about you."

     "Moment," said Alisin, the expression of anger replaced by one of concern. "Why 
did you want me to watch over my descendants if you had no idea how to bring me back?"

     Pluto exhaled slowly. "I knew that in order to revive the magic, there would be 
a need for people with the right abilities who could be taught Elemental magic. Who 
better then your descendants?"

     Alisin nodded. "And if I had refused to watch over my descendants?"

     "Then I would have watched over them as if they had been my own, out of respect 
and love for you." 

     "Thank you, Moment. For your faith in me and everything you have done for Alan 
and myself."

     "There's another reason why I am glad to see you again." Pluto stepped back from 
her uncle and released his hands. Her fuku began to shimmer, growing and twisting into 
another set of clothing that flowed across her body. When the shimmering faded, the 
Fuku had changed into formal-looking dress similar to the one in Ganieda's portrait, 
only Pluto's was the same color as her fuku's skirt. 

     Both Alan and Titanite, surprised at this sudden shift was silent as Pluto - no, 
as Moment knelt beside Alisin and placed her hands into his. "I have been Sailor Pluto 
for a long time, Uncle," she said very softly. "I have guarded the timeline far longer 
then any of my predecessors, out of necessity." Sadness lingered in her face. "Somewhere 
during that time, the part of me that is Princess Moment was lost. I need someone to 
help me remember what it is like to be that Princess again." She smiled cautiously. 
"Someone like you, Uncle."

     Alisin looked uncertain. "I don't know how I can help." He glanced over at Alan. 
"I am somewhat limited in my actions."

     "You've got that right," muttered Alan.

     Both Uncle and niece looked at Alan. "You have something to say," said Pluto. 
It wasn't a question, but a statement.

     Alan stood up. "You've got that right." He glowered at his grandfather. "When 
you and I first met, you promised me you would NEVER usurp my body. But what happens 
less then a month after we arrived here? You see someone who you THINK is an enemy, 
and you evict me from my own BODY!" Alan was shouting now, jabbing a finger at Alisin 
with every word. "The result is you nearly kill four people, INCLUDING ME!"

     He took several steps toward Alisin, but Titanite stood up and intercepted him 
before he could reach the desk. Alan glared up into Polaris' face. "Out of the way," 
he said harshly.

     Titanite shook her head, her face impassive. "Go sit down."

     Alan held his ground. "Do you know what's it like to have someone sharing your 
mind?"

     Titanite's face became hard. "Go sit down, or I will sit you down."

     "No," said Alisin. He gently released Moment's hands and walked slowly around 
the desk. "This is between myself and Alan."

     Titanite stepped to the side, but stayed close. The Windwalker looked at his grandson. 
"I am sorry, Alan," he said slowly. "I allowed my blind rage at whom I thought was Beryl 
drive all rational thought from my head."    

     "And take over my body? " Alan leaned forward. "I am my own man, not a convenient 
body that you can occupy anything you feel like it!"

     "I'm sorry, Alan."

     "It's bad enough that I'm treated like a talking dog, because you and I are time-
sharing MY body! I have been examined so many times since I've arrived here, I know 
my insides better then I know the city I'm stuck in!"

     "That's unfair to Ami," said Titanite sharply. "She's concerned about you."

     Alan looked like he'd been slapped. But before he could reply, Moment said, "I 
agree with Alan."   

     All three looked at the woman who still stood behind the desk. She tilted her 
head slightly, her expression serious. "I had thought my words to the Queen would 
have made things easier for you." She frowned. "But it seems that Ami's curiosity and 
Rei's suspicions were too strong to them to ignore." She looked at her uncle. "Your 
actions have not helped the situation. Both of you are sharing his body, but he is 
the one who decides when and if you assume control of his body."

     Alisin nodded. "I do understand."
 
     "Remember that next time!" growled Alan. 
 
     "What Uncle Alisin did was wrong, Alan," she said softly. "But there is little 
you can do about it except to vent your frustrations at him."

     Alan sighed and turned away, running a hand through his hair. Titanite relaxed 
and resumed her seat. "So how do we do this?" Alan asked in a tight voice. "How can 
he and I work out a schedule when we're not in the mood to speak to each other?"  

     "May I make a suggestion?"

     Alan threw his hands into the air. "Why not? It's not like I'm doing something 
important right now."

     "To begin with, Uncle Alisin will only remain in your awareness for one hour a 
day, or if you're in a life-threatening situation. Once you are comfortable at that 
level, the length of Alisin's visits can be increased to a level you feel is fair."

     Alan turned to look at her. "I think I could live with that. Grandfather?"

     "I, too can agree to those terms."

     "There's only one amendment to these terms." Moment smiled. "One evening a week,
Alisin is to have complete control of your body."

     "What?" asked Alan, his face taking on a strange expression. "What the heck for?"

     "Because He and I will be having Dinner that night."

     Alan's eyes widen and he looked somewhat comical "Dinner? My BODY?. . er . . .  
ah . . .  What the heck for?" he managed to babble.

     "Uncle Alisin is the closest thing to family I have left. My responsibilities 
had not allowed me the option of forming close relationships. It has been a long time 
since I was able to relax and be anything else but the Guardian of Time. With Uncle 
Alisin, I can be nothing more then a dutiful niece for a couple of hours." She took 
on a look of hopefulness. "Will you allow that?"

     Alan blinked several time. "On two conditions," he said finally in a resigned 
tone of voice. "I'm the one that goes to the dinner site and I'm the one who leaves 
afterwards. Grandfather can have the time in between."

     "Fair enough. And the other condition?"

     Alan scratched his head. "I...er...ah...Idon'twantanyhankypankybetweenyouandGrand-
father," he said in a rush.

     Moment raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Would you repeat that a bit slower?"

     "Do I have to?"

     Moment giggled, while Titanite just smiled. Alisin looked astonished. "I'm old 
enough to HER grandfather," he said in an injured tone of voice.

     "But I'm not," countered Alan. "And that's the body you're going to be in."

     "Do not worry, Alan," said Moment, still looking amused. "I promise that I have 
no romantic intentions toward my uncle,no matter who's body he's in."

     Alan looked skeptical. "Fine. Chose a night and we'll set it up."

     Moment's dress shimmered again, and Pluto stood there, looking amused. "What else 
is bothering you, Alan Thomas? If this is to be a new beginning, it is best we clear 
the air now."

     "You don't make it easy, do you?"

     "It is best to talk out problems before they become a major headache."

     "Fine." Alan looked at Alisin. "Grandfather, don't take this the wrong way, but 
your teaching manner sucks."
   
     Alisin raised an eyebrow. "My teaching methods are at fault?"

     "You're short tempered and stubborn. You don't listen to me. Everything has to be 
your way."

     "You do not understand Magic."

     "And you haven't bother telling me anything about Magic." Alan's voice became 
strident. "It always 'do this!' and 'do that!' You haven't explained anything to me!"

     "I wasn't sure how much you could understand."

     Alan began rubbing his temples with his fingertips. "Look," he said in a softer 
voice, "I have a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science with a GPA of 3.56. I know COBOL, 
Pascal, C, C plusplus, and a couple of other computer languages. I can design and build
firewalls and other computer security programs like nobody else can. If I can survive 
college, I can survive your explanations."

     Alisin looked at Pluto, his look questioning. The Senshi replied dryly, "He will 
be able to understand your explanations."

     "I see." The Windwalker looked back at his grandson. "I did not explain, because 
I am not sure of your abilities."

     "What do you mean, 'not sure of your abilities'?"

     "You have a talent in you for the magic, but something is blocking your access to 
the power, limiting your use to high stress situations."

     "So, what do you suggest?"

     "Why not go over to Crystal Tokyo University?" suggested Titanite. "Pyrite is an 
expert on most forms of magic."

     "A sound recommendation," said Pluto, walking around the desk to stand by her 
staff. "I think spending some time at CTU might give both of you insights into Alan's 
problems with Magic, and how to work with High Magic."

     "Do we really have a choice?" asked Alan. "Besides, I want my Star Trek Novel 
back."

     Alisin frowned. "If we must." He looked at Pluto. "Why has no one tried to revive 
Elemental magic before now?"

     "Because Elemental Magic is High Magic, and Serenity has forbidden the teaching 
of High magic in Crystal Tokyo."

     Alisin sat down slowly. "I take it she had a good reason to do so?"

     "Someone who had been a student here used their knowledge of High Magic to become
a Necromancer."

     The anger that exploded on Alisin's face was extreme and powerful. "Those malefactors 
still exist?" he hissed.

     "A few do," replied Titanite. "Whenever they do show up, the Starhunters are not 
far behind."

     "Excuse me." said Alan. "But what is a Necromancer?"

     "A user of magic that draws on the mana of  the dying," replied Alisin harshly. 
"They are nothing more then carrion birds and despoilers of the worse kind."

     "I take it they aren't good guys, then."

     "Beryl used Necromancy, and you know what she was."

     "I get the message."

     "I will speak to the Queen and ask for an exception to the rule," said Pluto. 
"Until she approves, I suggest that you not teach Alan any more."

     "Fair enough," replied the Windwalker. "I must have some time to myself."

     "Are you all right now, Uncle?"

     Alisin exhaled unhurriedly. "You have given me much to sort through. I must 
think about everything we have spoken about." He smiled at her. "I'm glad we have 
had this time together, Moment, though the circumstances are far from the best."

     "True. But I am glad you're safe." She went over and hugged Alisin. He returned 
the hung and they stood silent for a short period of time. Finally, Alan coughed and 
the two parted awkwardly. 

     Pluto became serious. She stepped back. "While you are thinking about everything, 
I want you to remember this: You and Alan are a team, and you must work together as a 
team. Both will be needed if the Elemental orders are to be revived. You Uncle, has 
the magical knowledge, and the background on the Orders." She looked at Alan. "You  
Alan Thomas, have the familiarity of today's civilization and the talent to put Alisin's 
teachings to use. Can you two work together?"

     "I can," answered Alisin

     "I guess I can," said Alan. "But he and I have some things to hash out before 
I'll feel comfortable again."

     "That is between you two." Pluto picked up her staff. "It is time we returned to 
the real world."

     "I will escort you to the door," said Alisin. He led them out of the study and 
down the hall to the front doors of his quarters. With a wave of his hand, the doors 
opened, revealing a lush green of the hillside instead of stone walls. He stood by 
the door. 

     "Good bye, Moment," he said, hugging her once again. "I will think about all 
you have said."

     "That is all I ask, Uncle. Don't discount the future until you've had a chance 
to experience it yourself." She slipped out of his embrace and walked out.

     Titanite and Alisin just traded nods as she walked past him. Alan noticed there 
was still some tension between the two of them that he doubted would ease anytime soon.

     Alan stopped in front of his Grandfather. Alisin stared back at him, his own 
expression unreadable. "Good bye, Alan," he said after a while.

     "Good bye, grandfather."

     "I -"

     "Don't say anything," said Alan, "not until you've had time to think about any-
thing."

     "Very well. I will not bother you until I have thought about all the things we 
have spoken about."

     "I guess I can't ask for anything else." Alan held out a hand. His Grandfather 
looked at it. "It's a custom." explained Alan. "When you shake hands, it's a sign of 
agreement and friendship."

     "I see." The Windwalker carefully reached out and gripped Alan's hand. They held 
it for several heartbeats, then Alan walked outside.

     Titanite was standing near the door, while Pluto was slowly walking down the hill. 
As Alan passed her, he noticed that Titanite had a strange look on her face. "You OK?"

     "Er . . .  Yes." Titanite just looked at Pluto as she reached the bottom of the 
hill. "I just have never seen Setsuna act so . . . Human before."

     They started down the hill.  Alan said, "You lost me."

     "Pluto has always been the most aloof of the Senshi, and the least personable. 
To see the elder Senshi like this is rather unsettling."

     "Unsettling?" Alan snorted. "Try having your body invited to dinner without your 
mind, then we'll talk about Setsuna's personality."

     "I would prefer," said Pluto, "that you say nothing about what happened here. No 
one else needs to know."  She had stopped, turned around, and was now looking at them. 
There was no threat in her voice, but both Titanite and Alan felt a chill run through 
them.

     "I think you're right," said Alan in a rush. "As an old comedy character use to 
say, 'I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing.'"

     "Good." Pluto looked at them. "Let us leave this place." With that, she disappeared 
in a flash of white light.

     Alan shook his head slowly. "That woman is strange."

     "True, But she's a Senshi and the Guardian of Time. How many normal people could 
do her job?" 

     "How many normal people would want her job?"

     "See you in a couple of minutes." With that, Titanite vanished in a flash of light. 

     Alan turned and looked at the top of the hill. The dark sphere had vanished, leaving 
a low stone building sitting on top of the hill. He was still looking at the house when 
he vanished in a flash of light.





     The day after Alan's trip into the Land of Dreams, Ami entered Alan's hospital 
room. Alan was sitting up in bed, staring out the window. As he looked up at her, she 
dumped an empty book and three pencils into his lap, and said, "This might help."  

     Alan looked at the book and pencils, looked at her, then at the book again. "What's 
this for?" he asked. 

     "To write in," she said with a smile. "I want you to keep a diary for me while 
I'm gone."

     "What for?"

     Ami shrugged. "Despite the fact I'm going to Mercury, you're still my patient. I 
will be keeping track of your progress, but I doubt I'll be able to talk to you face 
to face much while I'm on Mercury. It's just I want something more then Doctor's reports 
and dry clinical discussion to read."

     "Couldn't I just use a computer? Maybe I can E-mail you the notes." 

     Ami shook her head, but she was smiling. "Rei hasn't cleared you for computer 
access yet." 

     Alan rolled up his eyes. "Why am I not surprised? That woman hates me."  

     "Suspicion is part of her job." 

     "What am I supposed to write about? I could send Rei some love letters to read 
but I'm not sure my insurance covers being flame basted by her Fireship." 

     Ami gave him a look of frustration.  

     "Look, Doc," Alan replied before she could speak, and she flinched at the nickname. 
"If you're going to start acting like Mars, I'm going to tie all my bed sheets together 
and escape out the window. One paranoid Senshi is one too many in my book, especially 
when she has the power to turn me into charcoal." 

     "It is her job as head of internal security to take an interest in people who appear 
out of nowhere." 

     "Interest? Try an obsession. That girl needs to get out more." 

     "Maybe she does." Ami turned and strode to the door. When she turned to look at me 
again, there was a gleam of humor in her eyes. "I want you to write about what's happening 
to you from your point of view." 

     Alan looked at her, and shrugged. "It'll give me something to do besides trying to 
drive Rei crazy -- only in her case, it's more like a putt then a drive." 

     Ami pulled her glasses down and peered over them at him."Why must you be so 
contemptuous of Rei? She is only doing her job." 

     "Look, I don't begrudge her job, but for the last three days she's come in here, 
glared at for several seconds, then leaves. I'm the only thing that poor girl has for
a threat to the city these days. I'm tired of being the first one she tries to pin the 
blame on when the Queen stubs her toe. Word is she hasn't been happy since some guy 
named Magnesite left the city." 

     Ami managed to look startled. "How did you -"

     "Know about Magnesite?" Alan didn't bother shrugging. "Somehow, a Bogart-loving, 
shape-shifting, Ex-Youma making his living in this city as a PI doesn't surprise me. 
What surprises me is you didn't run into a traffic jam at my door. Half of Crystal 
Tokyo University's History Department has managed to drop by in the two days." 

     "Oh." Ami managed to look embarrassed. "I didn't expect that response when I 
allowed visitors." 

     "Don't worry. It's giving me a chance to get caught up on a thousand years of 
history. We just trade information about our centuries. I learned a lot, and they've 
been filling those little data crystals with all types of useless information." 

     "Like?" 

     "Anything and everything, though why any same person wants to learn everything 
I know about a singing purple dinosaur is beyond me."   

     This brought an amused chuckled from the doctor. Alan smiled, then said in a 
more serious tone, "When are you leaving?"

     "Day after tomorrow." She looked nervous. "Tom and I are going to leave early 
in the morning as quietly as we can."

     "I assume the Queen will throw you two a going away party?"

     She smiled weakly. "Tonight. Just the Senshi and their immediate families." She 
hesitated for a second, as  if she was fighting an internal battle. "Would you like 
to attend? I'm sure the Queen wouldn't mind."

     Alan shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'm an outsider and 
Grandfather is not very popular with the court right now. I think it'll be a happier 
time for you and Tom if I wasn't nearby."

     "No one blames you for what happened with Alisin."

     Alan looked out the window. "I blame myself. I forgot I wasn't the only person 
out of his element here. Alisin waited so long for this time when he could serve the 
Queen again, and found that it wasn't the same." He looked at Ami. " It's going to 
take time for both of us to adjust to everything around here and even more time to 
work out our relationship. Getting caught up in royal parties is a bit extreme right 
now."

     "Have you spoken to Alisin since you saw him in the Land of Dreams?"  

     "Not really. He lets me know when he's around, but he hasn't directly said word 
one to me. He must be thinking hard."

     "I don't think that will last much longer."

     Alan looked at her expectantly, but she just smiled at him, and left without 
saying a word. 





     "Well?"

     "I have the people."

     "How many?"

     "I managed to secure the services of one of  Nemesisans terrorist groups we sponsor. 
One of the group does have some magical power - not of an element we could use in the
Brotherhood, but he should be strong enough to do the job."

     "Will it be enough?"

     "It should be. Even an experienced Windwalker is not immune to bullets." 

     "Are our own people in place?"

     "They are. Once the Windwalker leaves the Palace, they will alert the Nemesisans. 
The Nemesisans will move in, kill the Windwalker under the cover of a terrorist attack, 
and escape in the confusion. Our people will confirm the death."

     "Is there any way the Nemesisans can be traced back to us?"

     "None. The Windwalker will simply be an innocent victim of a terrorist attack 
carried out by Nemesisans."

     "The plan still needs to be approved by the Council. If they give us the approval, 
set up the strike as soon as possible."

     "We’re going over Rho’s head? He is the head of all operations in this area."

     "Rho is a cautious old dolt. The Council has always handle elimination of rogue 
Elementalists. This is no different."

     "I hope you’re right."

     "I am. Now, go."





Part 3 - "Don't Get Me Angry - You Wouldn't Like It 	When I'm Angry . . ."



     Rei sipped her tea, waiting for Serenity to speak first. She glanced around the 
tearoom, drinking in the peace and quiet that always seemed to be present here. Now, 
if only Sally would finish her security checks. . . .

     The Queen leaned back in her chair, a biscuit in one hand and a cup of tea in 
the other. In front of her, a beautifully made tea pot with matching cups sat on a 
low wooden table, wisps of steam still drifting from the spout. This room was her 
idea, her sanctuary from the outside world, and she enjoyed taking advantage of it 
every chance she got.

     Serenity nibbled on the biscuit before she asked, "Would you like a pastry?"

     Rei glanced over at the small tray next to the teapot, then shook her head. "No, 
thank you." she said politely. "I had a late lunch."

     A slim young woman in a kimono appeared out of thin air in front of Serenity's 
chair. She bowed to the queen. "The room is now secure, your Highness."

     Serenity smiled. "Thank you, Sally."

     Rei let out with a deep exhale of relief. "Finally," she muttered. "What was the 
delay this time?"

     Sally bowed to the queen again, then turned to Rei, smiling. "Someone's been 
trying to plant a series of sophisticated bugging devices throughout the palace. In 
order to find them, I have been running high intensity frequency scans, and the process 
is time consuming. I didn't find any this time."

     "This time?" Rei's eyebrow arched up in surprise. "How many have you found?"

     "Two in here the last three weeks, and two more just outside the room."

     Rei tone became glacier-like. "And you didn't tell me?"

     "I'm afraid that's my fault," replied Serenity with a weak smile. "I told Sally 
not to say anything to you about these devices until we could analyze them. As far as 
the people who planted them know, the devices still work, but all the conversations 
picked up by them involve the weather and court gossip."

     "I see." Rei relaxed slightly and looked at Sally. "Then why are you so happy? 
I would think that would annoy you."

     "Actually, I find it exciting," Sally replied. "Whoever is doing it, it's someone 
with a lot if money, power, and skill because these devices are the most challenging 
I've ever come across. Papa examined a couple of them, and he's impressed! It's like 
a real treasure hunt!"

     Rei covered her hesitation by talking another sip of her tea. Sally was a fully 
functioning AI, one of the very few in the world, whose main purpose was to secure this 
room from listening or any other type of recording devices. Most of the time, Sally 
would scan for bugging devices. After finding a bugging device, Sally would then run 
simulated conversations between the people in the room involving the weather, local 
events, sports, and other boring subjects through the bugs. While Sally was doing that, 
the people in the tea room could Talk freely. Still, it was hard to think of Sally as 
anything but a living person.

     "Was the information I gave you helpful, Auntie Rei?" Sally asked eagerly.

     "Information?" asked Serenity, puzzled.

     Rei smiled at her Queen. "Now you know how I feel about not being told about 
the bugging devices." She looked back at Sally. "It was very helpful. We know who 
slid the note under the door, and we're having a talk with him right now."

     Sally beamed. She turned to Serenity again. "Is there anything else, Your highness?"

     "Not at the present time."

     "OK!" Sally said happily, then vanished.

     Serenity looked over at Rei. "What did you have Sally do?"

     Rei returned Serenity's gaze. "I just asked Sally if she saw anyone at a certain 
place at a certain time, and she said yes. She then described him to me, and I took 
it from there. Nothing major." 

     "And what was this person doing slipping a note under a door?"

     "The note was slipped under Alan's door and started the entire mess with Alisin. 
The person who did it is a member of the custodial staff by the name of Klam, and he's 
being questioned now by my best people."

     "I see." Serenity sipped her tea. "Alan's one of the things I wanted to talk to 
you about anyway, so perhaps I should start with him. How's he doing?"

     Rei shrugged. "I haven't seriously talked to him since before he went into the 
Land of Dreams with Setsuna and Titanite."

     "That was, what, three days ago?"

     "About that." Rei took a sip of tea. "I still don't know what happened in the 
Land of Dreams."

     "Did you ask them?"

     "Only Setsuna and Titanite -- and neither one of them gave me a straight answer. 
Alan was still under the influence of the sedative, so all I got out of him was 'I see 
nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing,' in a very bad German accent."

     "You don't like Alan, do you?"

     "Like has nothing to do with it. Personally, he's a pain in the neck most of the 
time."

     "And Alisin?"

     Rei frowned. "He could still be a danger."

     "Setsuna said he'll be all right."

     "With all due respect to Setsuna, I can't just take her word for it. I've got 
people trailing Alan everywhere he goes. In addition, there's a tracking device imbedded 
in his arm, just in case my people lose him."

     "Aren't you going overboard here?" asked Serenity mildly.

     "Given what happened to Hematite, something might set him off again. What if he 
comes across someone else, someone normal, who resembles a villain from the Silver 
Millennium? Not everyone is as tough as Titanite's daughter.  He could be a danger to 
someone and I would be derelict in my duty if I didn't use all available resources to 
safeguard the citizens."

     Serenity sighed. "You're right, of course. Just use your best judgement with Alan, 
and remember he's not here by choice."

     Rei nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

     "Now," said Serenity. "Let's talk about the security arrangements for the symposium 
on climate changes. . . . "





     The phone rang its shrill note, forcing the shadowy figure sitting behind the 
desk to pick up the receiver. "Yes?" it asked in a cold male voice.

     The other voice was also male, low-pitched and lacking warmth. "The Windwalker 
has been spotted outside the Palace."

     "Are you sure?"

     "I am. The assassination group has been alerted and is on their way."

     "Do they know about his powers?"

     The man on the other end chuckled. "There is no need," he said, "I intend to keep 
them completely in the dark about their assignment. I didn't even want to give them his 
picture except they would kill the wrong person. The Nemesisans are twenty to his one 
and will be carrying guns. My people have told me the target is a young man, too young 
to have much experience in Elemental Magic."

     "I still don't like this," growled the man behind the desk. "This is Crystal Tokyo. 
There's no telling how old this mage really is."

     "You worry too much."

     "That is part of my responsibilities," the man behind the desk said. "When this
matter came up, I demanded to the Council that we do more reconnaissance before we 
risked such an attack.  It is extremely hazardous to attack someone in Crystal Tokyo 
this way. We risk drawing the attention of the Senshi and their allies. While they 
might limit themselves to Crystal Tokyo, they are not without friends who pay less 
attention to international borders, the Hunters for one. Striking without being 
absolutely certain of the outcome is madness."

     "These are Nemesisans terrorists striking out at a target in the heart of their
enemy's stronghold. There is no way they can be traced back to us."

     "You'd better be right."

     "I'd stake my life on it," the other fellow said.

     "You are," the man behind the desk said. "I am not happy about your actions so 
far, especially with you going over my head directly to the Council. That is not how 
we do this!" 

     "Do not worry. The Council realizes the threat this Windwalker could pose to our 
plans. Remember, they are the ones who approved of this plan to eliminate him. The 
Nemesisans are disposable cannon fodder, nothing more."

     "I hope you are right. Call me when the job has been finished."

     "I will. Good Bye."

     The man behind the desk hung up the phone and stared at it for several minutes. 
"Why am I not confident that your people will succeed?" he asked the phone.

     The phone didn't answer him back.





     "Now," said Serenity, setting her now empty cup of tea down on the tray in front 
of her. "Is there anything else?"

     "Huh?" replied Rei, startled out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry, I was thinking 
about something."

     Serenity's expression was one of concern. "Are you feeling all right?"

     "I'm fine."

     "Then why have you been trying to drink out of an empty tea cup for the last five 
minutes?"

     Rei glanced down at her cup, and saw her friend was right. She gingerly set the 
cup down on the tray. "I should get back to work."

     Serenity held up a hand. "When was the last time you took an afternoon off?" she 
asked.

     "I don't need --"

     "Yes you do. Why don't you go for a walk or something? It's a beautiful day outside."

     "I'm fine."

     Just then, Sally appeared next to Serenity. "I'm sorry to disturb you, your highness, 
but there's a Moon Cat outside this room trying to get in."

     "Oh?" Serenity seemed surprised. "Who is it?"

     "Raiden."

     Rei glanced sharply at Sally. "Is he alone?"

     "Yes, Auntie Rei. He also seems to be agitated."

     Serenity's eyes widen slightly. "Raiden agitated? You better let him in then, 
Sally. Something serious must have happened to Alan."

     "Yes, your highness." Sally disappeared again.

     The doors to the room opened slightly, and the compact form of Raiden trotted 
into the room. "Forgive the intrusion, your majesty," he said in a tight voice. "But 
I must speak to Lady Mars for a moment."

     "What is it Raiden?" asked Rei. "Where's Alan?"

     Raiden hung his head. "I don't know."

     "You lost him?" asked Serenity, surprised.

     "It's more a matter of him losing me," replied the cat miserably. "We were in 
the Palace library and I got . . . distracted. When I went looking for him, he'd 
disappeared. The librarian told me he'd left, and I . . . I can't find him."

     "You like Alan, don't you?" asked Serenity gently.

     "I do. He's a bit abrasive at times, but he's not really that bad a guy."

     "We'd better find him then," replied Serenity. She looked at Rei. "Could you 
locate Alan, please?"

     Rei looked at Raiden. "Why didn't you ask Marcus to find Alan for you, instead 
of coming to me?"

     "I did," replied the Cat in a slightly irritated tone, "But, I do not have the 
authority to make such a request. All the first generation cats and Diana do, but I 
was never given the authorization." 

     Rei thought for a moment and realized Raiden was right. "An oversight on my part," 
she admitted. She activated her wrist communicator. "Mars to Security Command."

     "Security Command," said a strong male voice. "Marcus here. How can I help you, 
Lady Rei?"

     "Was the Moon Cat Raiden down there earlier?" asked Rei briskly.

     "Yes, he was. He wanted to us to locate someone for him, but he didn't have the 
clearance to --"

     "I know." Rei looked directly at Raiden. "As of this minute, Raiden has the same 
authority as the other first generation Moon Cats."

     If Marcus was surprised at the request, he didn't let his boss know. "Understood 
and logged. Is there anything else?"

     Rei hesitated for a second, then said, "I want you to act on Raiden's request and 
find Alan Thomas."

     "Done. He's currently in the Yuuchiro Kumada Memorial Park, near the shrine."

     Rei's expression flickered. She didn't notice the sly expression that crept onto 
Serenity's face. "Who's in charge of the tailing detail?"

     "Tsukiyama Tanuma."

     "Isn't she one of your best people?" Serenity asked blandly.

     Rei nodded. "Put me through to her, Marcus."

     "Patching her through."

     There was silence for several seconds, then a new voice said, "Tsukiyama here."

     "This is Senshi Mars. I need a status report on the subject. What's he doing now?"

      Tsukiyama's voice was low and steady. "He's wandering around the shrine now -- 
wait, he's going over to a bench and sitting down."

     "How's he acting?"

     "To sum it up in one word? Depressed. Looks like he lost his only friend."

     "Is there anyone near him?"

     "Negative." Tsukiyama's voice sounded sad. "From the way he's acting, I doubt 
he'd notice anyone even if they sat next to him. Hell, I'm getting depressed just 
watching him."

     "Keep your distance for the time being, and inform me at once if he leaves the 
area."

     "Understood. Tsukiyama out."

     Rei broke the connection and looked at Raiden. "Now you know where he is," she 
said.

     The cat bowed his head. "Thank you, Lady Mars. I will leave immediately."

     "Wait a minute, Raiden," said Serenity. "How long will it take you to get over 
to Alan's location?"

     "At least thirty minutes," replied the cat, looking unhappy at the thought. 

     "That's a long trip to make by yourself."

     The cat shrugged. "If mother or Diana find out I'd lost Alan, I'd never hear the 
end of it. The sooner I get back to him, the less trouble I'll be in."

     "Leave Luna and Diana to me," said Serenity. She looked up at Rei. "Rei, would 
you mind helping Raiden?"

     Rei suddenly had a suspicion. "Help him in what way?"

     Serenity looked down at Raiden. "Could you please wait outside until we're finished? 
We'll be a couple of minutes longer, then Rei will make sure you're on your way."

     "Thank you, your majesty." The moon cat trotted over to the slowly opening doors 
and slipped out.

     Serenity waited until the doors closed again before she spoke. "I still want you 
to take the afternoon off."

     "I can't."

     "I insist."

     "You can't make me."
 
     "How about a compromise?" Serenity's smile became a grin. "If you take Raiden back 
to Alan, I won't insist on you taking the afternoon off. Fair enough?"

     Rei glowered at the queen. "What's the catch?"

     "I want you to talk to Alan."

     "Talk to him?" Rei's expression was one of puzzlement. "Why do I want to talk to 
him? I don't even like him."

     Serenity sighed. "Alan needs someone to talk to and by the process of elimination, 
you're it. You're one of the few people Alan knows in Crystal Tokyo. With Ami and Tom 
off for Mercury, and Setsuna guarding the Time Gate, you're the only one who's spoken 
to Alan more then twice."

     "If you can call the arguments we've had conversations," replied Rei in a low 
voice.

     "I just want you to just talk to him," Serenity explained, "Show him around the 
shrine. Find out what's bothering him. Make sure that it's Alan and not Alisin in 
control."

     Rei closed her eyes. "Is this an order?"

     Serenity looked pained. "It's a request, nothing more." 

     "Lucky me," muttered Rei. She closed her eyes for several seconds, then opened 
them and looked at her Queen. "All right. I'll talk to Alan. But I'm not promising 
anything."

     "Thank you." Serenity's smile was beginning to get on Rei's nerves. "There is 
one more request I want you to consider."

     Rei frowned. "Now what?"

     "The request involves your clothes."

      Rei looked down at her fuku. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

     "According to Raiden, Alan is a bit skittish around all the Senshi, especially 
you. Maybe if you approached him in civilian clothing, he'll relax more and you can 
talk to him."

     Rei's jaw tightened, but before she could speak, Serenity continued, "Besides, 
you'd be less conspicuous and less likely to end up on the front page of a tabloid. 
I know how you hate that type of publicity and I think Alan is the same way." 

     Rei shook her head. "Do you want me to bring a bottle of wine and a picnic basket 
also?" she asked in a voice heavy with sarcasm.

     Serenity's smile faded. "I want you to talk to him, not romance him," she said 
softly.

     Rei leaned back and exhaled. "I'm sorry," she said slowly. "That was uncalled 
for, and I shouldn't have said it."

     "The apology accepted." Serenity tilted her head. "Let me guess, Minako tried 
playing matchmaker again, right?"

     Rei nodded. "One of Calcite's aides. He's a nice guy, polite, well mannered, 
handsome, and --"

     "-- about as exciting as dishwater," finished Serenity knowingly. "I know whom 
you're speaking about."

     "I don't know why she tries. With my responsibilities, I don't have any time for 
a long-term relationship."

     "I'll speak to her about it, but you know what's she's like when she's determined."

     "I know." Rei stood up. "I'd better get going." 

     Serenity nodded. "Be gentle with Alan," she said soothingly. "He's not a bad 
person."

     "I know he isn't. It's just that he has a knack of getting under my skin." She 
turned and walked over to the doors. When she reached the doors, she turned to her 
queen. "I'll make the changes in the security for the symposium on climate changes 
that you asked for, but I still don't like them."

     "Do what you think is best, Rei."

     Rei didn't see the smile on Serenity's face as the Senshi of Mars walked out of 
the room. 





     The modified cargo carrier rumbled toward the park, careful to obey all the traffic 
rules and speed limits. The name on the side of the delivery truck belonged to one of 
the largest companies in the city, but the company in question didn't have anything to 
do with this particular truck or it's cargo.

     The Nemesisans inside the truck were dressed in cast off clothing of differing 
styles and colors that would have been conspicuous in any other city except Crystal 
Tokyo. There were a score of them, from different clans, dissimilar backgrounds, but 
each with the same determination to make Crystal Tokyo pay for the humiliation inflicted 
on their home world. Most now were examining and loading weapons for the upcoming attack.

     Their leader was a thick-bodied, baldheaded man by the name of Hessonite, who 
led the group with combination of  violence and cunning. He stood up in front of the 
trailer and glared at the people around him. "Listen up!" he snarled.

     "We're listening, Commander," replied a thin, rat-faced man by the name of Rutile. 
His nickname in the gang was 'Hessonite's shadow', or the more cruel 'Hessonite's lapdog', 
but no one called him the latter  when he was in earshot - Not only was Rutile a vicious 
fighter, he wouldn't hesitate to stab someone in the back over a perceived insult. "Did 
our sponsor finally give us a target?"

     Hessonite looked over at him. "They did."

     "About time,"  grumbled one of the few women in the gang. "If we have to sit around 
for much longer, I was going to have to get my nails redone."

     Hessonite glared at her. "I'm not happy about this either, space-for-brains, but 
it's better then ending up in prison, or worse, shipped home. If you think I'm going 
to let any of the three eye inquisitors strap me down for a  cleansing ritual, then 
you are dumber then you look." He glanced back at Rutile. "Are we missing anything from 
our smuggled cache?"   

     The rat-faced man shook his head. "Everything came through as promised," he said. 
"Our sponsor was true to his word."    

     "Good. Everyone armed?"

     There was a chorus of affirmative answers from the others. One of the team leaders 
by the name of Abbas spoke up. "What's the target?"

     "Yuuchiro Kumada Memorial park." Hessonite pressed a switch on a small device in 
his hand, and a map appeared from nowhere and floated in the air a meter from the terrorist 
Leader. He pointed at a building near the center of the park. "This is a Shinto shrine, 
focus of the park. Four entrances into the park." He tapped a location as he named them. 
"North, Northwest, South and Southeast. Most of the park is heavily wooded, but the shrine 
sits on a hill above most of it."

     "What's the plan?" asked Rutile.

     "Five four-member teams. Teams to be designated as Black Moon, Seven Star, Knifewind,
Bloodstar, and Rudra Wept. First four are to secure the park's entrances, the fifth to stay 
with the truck as security, reserve and if needed, a diversion."

     "Hostages or body count?"

     "Hostages, but if they run or resist, burn them down." Hessonite Tapped the shrine 
again. "Drive all the hostages toward the shrine. We can use the shrine as cover, they 
won't dare damage it. How many teleport blockers do we have?"

     "Eleven," replied one of the other terrorists. "One should be enough for each team, 
while the others will make a quick response by security teams difficult at best. If we 
spread them out, the security troopers and that she-youma leader of theirs won't be able 
to teleport within sight of the park."

     "Good. We'll hold the hostages and make the Crysties dance to our tune for once. 
When we've gotten whatever we can out of them, We'll destroy the teleport blockers, 
quickly teleport ourselves to a rallying point, then make our escape." Hessonite's 
smile was cold. "Of course, since the shrine is going to be razed by a massive explosion, 
they're not going to be looking for us for a while."
 
     "What about me?" asked a low cold voice from the back of the group. 

     Hessonite sneered." If you want to come with one of the assault teams or stay with 
the reserve, Diaspore, that's fine. That is, if you wanted to get involved at all."

     "I think I'll join you this time." Diaspore stepped forward, the other gang members 
moving away as he approached them. Unlike the others, he didn't bother dressing like a 
native, a dark grey cloak draped over a grey bodysuit. "I am bored with just existing."

     The bald leader glared at him. Diaspore was tall and thin as a cadaver, with the 
same pale skin of someone dead. Only his eyes, two bright sparks in deep sockets, showed 
any life. Like the others,Diaspore's clan symbol had been removed sometime in the past, 
so Hessonite didn't know which clan, if any, the walking corpse belonged to. Rutile had 
suggested several times  in the past that a knife in Diaspore's back was the easiest way, 
but something told Hessonite that would be a bad idea. Besides, Diaspore had some uses.   

     "Well, you can help us by staying out of the way, unless we need you."

     Diaspore nodded, then smiled like a feral animal. "I think you'll need me." His 
eyes glittered with some unseen pleasure. "You will need me today."

     There was a smattering of laughs from the assembled insurgents, as Diaspore was 
less liked then Rutile. Hessonite touched another button. "One other thing, troops. 
Our sponsor also sent this along." The map changed into a three-dimensional image of 
a head that slowly rotated. It was the image of a young man with dark hair and plain 
features. Hessonite glanced down at a subscreen. "According to this, we're looking at 
one Petor Weiss, one of Michael Robert Maxwell toadies, and a so-called 'Hero' of the 
War."

     There were a few muttered responses from the ones that had served in that part 
of the world during the war. Hessonite silenced them with a glare. "Seems the Crysties 
and Maxwell aren't on real friendly terms these days," he continued. "Weiss is here to 
iron out some of the more outstanding differences as quietly as he can. About this time, 
he's supposed to be in the park for a  meeting with one of the Queen's bootlickers." He 
looked up and smiled. "If we cap him, our sponsor will kick in an extra million Yen."

     "So, all this is to take up some minor sycophant?" asked Abbas.

     "It's much more then that," replied Hessonite. "The guy is just extra cash. When 
we pull off this attack, we show everyone on Earth that the Crysties 'utopia' is nothing 
more then a masquerade for a weak woman to hide behind. We cripple the traitor Topass' 
attempts to ally Nemesis with the Crysties. We also give that Mars strumpet and her bully 
boys a nice black eye. But, we also put some honest fear into the Crysties, make them 
start looking over their shoulders for the next attack."

     "Very noble goals," Diaspore said, his stare trapping Hessonite’s gaze like a steel 
trap. "Of course, you have to pull this strike off first."

     Just then, a radio squawked, "We're coming up on the park in thirty seconds."

     Hessonite managed to break free from the cadaver's stare. "You can come with my 
group, Diaspore," he rasped. He glared at the others. "What are you waiting for?" he 
snarled. "A directive from Rudra himself? Get ready to move out!"





     Rei climbed the stairs leading to the shrine slowly, her mood hovering between 
sadness and loathing. Why did I allow Serenity to talk to me into this?

     She hadn't come here too many times since the shrine had been rebuilt. In part, 
it was the result of her work, but mostly because the memories still lingered here, 
forming a barrier in her mind she didn't like to cross except when she had to. She 
could see his face sometime, or catch an image of him in the corner of her eye, only 
to have the image disappear when she turned to look in that direction. Even after all 
this time, she felt the void his death had left in her, a small deep hole she knew would 
never be filled by anyone else. She readjusted the large bag she had over her shoulder and 
continued up the stairs.

     "Are you all right?" asked Raiden, his voice muffled by the large bag slung over 
Rei's shoulder.

     "Not really," Rei replied quietly. "And don't talk anymore. We're near the top 
of the stairs."

     "Understood."

     As she reached the top of the stairs, a plain faced woman walked up to her, a 
large map in one hand. "I'm sorry to bother you," the woman said, waving the map around 
like a misshaped fan. "But can you help me?"  

     "Of course," replied Rei smoothly.

     The both held the map and stared at it. Rei glanced over at Tsukiyama. "Status 
of subject?"

     The plain face woman said in a soft voice, "He's sitting on a bench on the north 
side of the shrine, near the grove. He just sitting there, staring at the ground like 
he's waiting for something."

     "Has anyone tried to contact him?" asked Rei in the same quiet voice.

     Tsukiyama shook her head. "No one's come close to him except for a police foot 
patrol, and they gave him just the once over."

     Rei nodded. "Where's the rest of the surveillance team?" 

     "I've one member stationed near the North and Northwest trails, another one near 
the South and Southeast trails, and the third in a car outside the park, in case he 
catches a bus."

     "Good." Rei folded the map and handed it back to Tsukiyama. "I want you to stay 
near the shrine while I go talk to him. If he becomes violent, just get everyone out 
of the way and I will handle him, Understand?"

     "Understood. Just be careful with him, OK? If what happened in the Hospital garden 
is true, he could level this place in a matter of seconds."

     "I don't think that will happen." Not if I have anything to say about it! "Get 
going."

     Rei waited until Tsukiyama had strolled over to the shrine before she walked slowly 
toward Alan's location. She allowed some old memories to drift across her mind as she 
walked along -  Grandfather working in the garden, Her pet ravens, Phobos and Demos, 
sitting over the entrance of the temple, Yuuchiro . . . . 

     She stopped suddenly and placed a hand on the shrine's railing to support herself. 
To hide her discomfort, she lifted her left leg to look at the sole of the shoe she was 
wearing. As she worked out several small stones out of the tread, her mind did its best 
to put away those painful memories as quickly as they had surfaced. 

     Rei scowled. Nearly every time she came here to the shrine, memories of Yuuchiro 
came to the surface. Most of the time, memories of him were a dull ache in the back of 
her mind that only asserted itself when she felt depressed or when she came here. For 
all her abilities as a Senshi, she couldn't save him when he needed it. . . .

     She shook her head and, with a final mental effort, she banished the last of the 
memories. There were too many responsibilities in the present to dwell on the past for 
any length of time. She straightened and slipped the bag off her shoulder. "Are you 
ready?" she asked the Moon Cat.

     "I am if you are," replied Raiden. He tilted his head to the side. "Are you ready?"

     "Ready for what?"

     "For your talk with Alan."

     "How did you know?"

     "That Serenity wanted you to talk to Alan?" The cat managed to shrug. "In the 
misquoted words of Sherlock Holmes, ‘Elementary, My dear Mars.' You don't like coming 
here because it reminds you of the past. Yet, you not only make sure I get here quickly, 
you bring me here yourself. I also observed the look of distaste you displayed when you 
came out of the tea room, which meant Serenity asked you to do something you didn't want 
to do. You took time to change clothes, which makes you less obvious to everyone around 
you. I know you don't like Alan, yet you going to take me to him. Ergo, Serenity asked 
you to talk to Alan and try to find out what's going on with him."

     Rei shook her head slowly. "I don't know how, but you're right."

     "When were you going to ask for my help?" 

     "I wasn't sure you'd help. You have a reputation for being lazy."

     Raiden sighed. "That is an unfounded rumor that I suspect my sister took great 
delight in starting. Alan is a friend, a friend that needs some help. I will help you 
in any way that I can."

     "Thank you." Rei took a deep breath. "Ready to go talk to Alan?"

     "Yes. Where is he?"

     "Just around the corner."

     "Then let's get this over with."

     Rei replaced the bag over the shoulder and walk around the corner. She spotted 
Alan almost immediately, sitting by himself on a park bench. He was leaning forward, 
his face in his hands, and from his body language, Rei could tell he was depressed.

     Alan didn't react as Rei walked up to him. She stood there in silence, waiting 
for Alan to speak. After about half a minute, Alan said, "I'm fine. I don't need any 
help. Please go away."

     "I would like to, but if you stay there too much longer, you'll start to attract 
pigeons."

     Alan looked up at her. "Rei?" he asked in a wary tone.

     "Yes." She motioned to the bench. "May I sit down?"

     "Go ahead." Alan waited until Rei sat next to him. "What brings you out here? Is 
there something happening?"

     "I'm here to deliver someone to you." She opened the bag and Raiden launched him-
self from the bag and landed lightly onto Alan's lap. 

     Alan exhaled slowly and began to stroke Raiden's back "Sorry I left you in the 
library, furball. I needed to be alone for a while."

     Raiden seemed miffed. "What for?" 

     Alan closed his eye and smiled. "I needed to do some deep thinking. And this is 
a good place to do so."

     Rei nodded slowly. "This is good place to come and think."

     "You know this place?"

     "I should." She looked up at the shrine. "I built this place."

     Alan frowned. "You don't seem to be the type --"

     "To build such a peaceful place?' she finished. "It reminds me of the temple where 
I grew up." 

     "A temple? Isn't that an unusual place for --"

     "For a girl to grow up?" Rei shrugged. "My mother died when I was young, and my 
Father. . . ." She took a deep breath. "My father was more concerned with his political 
career then with a family. My Grandfather was the head priest at a nearby shrine, so 
I went to stay with him and learned the ways of a priestess."

     "How old is this place?"

     "Nearly a thousand years. They had to rebuild it after the Black Moon War."

     Alan looked up at Rei. "Why are you really here?" he asked.  
 
     Rei leaned back. "The Queen is worried about you," she said softly. "I'm here to 
make sure you're all right."    

     "I'm fine."

     "I don't believe you," Rei replied in an annoyed tone.

     "Fine." Alan closed his eyes and sighed. "Can I ask you a question?"

     Rei frowned. "Depends on the question."

     Alan opened his eyes and looked at her. "Have you ever lost your temper when 
you've used your powers? How do you keep the power you have from corrupting you?" 

     "That's two questions." Rei's frown continued. "Why do you ask?"

     Alan closed his eyes again. "Because I've had time to think about what happened 
in the hospital gardens with Grandfather." 

     "I don't understand."

     "You and the other Senshi have abilities that can't be explained by normal 
scientific means. With me so far?"

     "Yes."

     "Grandfather also has abilities, abet different from yours, that can't be explained 
by normal scientific means. Is that a fair statement?"

     Rei nodded. "Where are you going with this?"

     "I now realize that I'm way over my head. Setsuna told Grandfather in the Land 
of Dreams that I came from a time where this. . . . " He trailed off as he looked for 
the right word. "I guess magic fits the best. I came from a time where magic did not 
exist, that it will take time for me to unlearn everything I had been taught regarding 
magic." He looked into the sky. "I'm not sure I should be an air wizard, even if Serenity 
allows Grandfather to teach me."

     "Why not?"

     "Because, to put it bluntly, I'm frightened. The entire concept of that much personal 
power scares the hell out of me. What Grandfather did in the hospital gardens scares me. 
And I have to wonder if welding power like that is something I should be doing." Alan 
looked at Rei. "What would happen if I lost it like Grandfather did, only it happened 
in a mall, or on a crowded street? How many people would die if I went off the deep 
end?"

     "Aren't you reaching for something that may never happen?" asked Raiden.

     Alan looked down at the cat and gave him a tired smile. "I'm a great believer 
in Murphy's law, especially when it comes to things that might happen to or around me. 
Because of that, I'm not sure that I should be an air mage."

     "Then what will you do with your life?" asked Rei sharply.

     Alan shrugged. "Do you need a security type in one of your computer departments? 
I maybe a bit behind on the current practice and theory, but I should be able to pick 
it fast enough."

     "I think you're selling yourself short, Alan."

     "That's not too hard to do." He leaned forward again. "I'm just a guy, not someone 
who can jump buildings at a single bound or go around throwing blasts of energy like a 
comic book character."

     Rei stood up. "I want to show you something."

     "What?"

     "You asked me if I ever lost control when I was using my powers. I'm now ready to 
answer that question."

     Alan stood up, Raiden cradled in his arms. The cat looked at Rei. "Are you up to 
this?"

     Rei nodded slowly. "I don't like it, but I can do it." She pointed to the shrine. 
"In there."

     They walked over to the shrine in silence. There was a slight breeze, just enough 
to rustle the branches of the trees around them. A few people, mostly couples and small
families, strolled around the grounds, enjoying the warm afternoon and the peaceful air 
of the shrine. 

     They went up to the doorway. At Rei's signal, they both removed their shoes and 
quietly went in. The bottom floor of the shrine was one large hall, with a dozen people 
sitting in meditation around a central firepit. The hall was silence except for the 
distance sounds of breathing and the occasional outside sound that made it through the 
doorways

     Rei pointed to a roped-off staircase over in the corner. They went over quietly, 
careful not to disturb the people in the hall. Rei removed the rope from its hook, waved 
Alan through, then followed him and replaced the rope in its proper place. They went 
silently up the stairs. 

     When they reached the top of the stairs, Rei took a deep breath. "I don't come 
here much," she said in a low voice. "My security responsibilities take up most of 
my time and there are too many painful memories here. But I come here once in a while 
to remind myself about my responsibilities, to pay my respects,and remember." She 
motioned to the walls around them.

     Like the floor below, the entire floor was one room. However, there was an air 
of disuse in this room. There was a series of small shrines scattered around the room, 
each neatly arranged and properly formal. Each shrine had a photo or painting of a 
person sitting on a ledge with a pair of candles and an incense burner.

     Rei walked to the closest shrine, Alan staying several steps behind her. She 
stood in front of it, clapped her hands and said a short prayer in a low voice. The 
shrine's picture was that of a woman with black hair and soft features. The small 
nameplate above the picture read HINO MIKO. Rei bowed, then moved onto the next shrine.

It took her fifteen minutes to work her way around three of the walls. Alan looked at 
each shrine as he passed them, the wide-awake Raiden cradled in his arms. One shrine had 
a picture of a servere-looking man with glasses that Alan knew was Rei's father. Another 
photo showed a wizened old man in priest garb -- Rei's grandfather in all probability. 
Most of the others didn't tell him anything about them except Rei remembered them.

     They reached the last one, hanging by itself on a wall. The picture was that of 
a young man with long hair that seemed to cover his eyes. He was dressed in temple 
robes like Rei's grandfather. Alan waited until Rei stopped praying before he stepped 
forward and read the name out loud. "Yuuchiro Kumada" He looked at Rei. "A friend?"

     "He was my Husband," replied Rei quietly.

     "Your husband?" Alan looked at the shrine. "I'm sorry," he said in a low voice. 
"I didn't know."

     "There was no reason for you to know." Rei looked down at the photo. "He's been 
dead for nearly a thousand years."

     Alan took a deep breath. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but how did he 
die?"

     "Have you heard of the 'Great Silence'?"

     Alan nodded. "That's when some weirdo group of Aliens showed up and tried to deep 
freeze the Earth, right?" He groaned as the flip tone of his words hit him. "I'm sorry," 
he said quickly. "That was extremely rude of me and I'm sorry."

     There's no need to be sorry," Rei replied softly. She looked in the direction of 
the stairs. "There was an attack by the Acolytes on the temple where we lived. He died 
in my arms." She looked at Alan, her face sad. "He told me he loved me with his dying 
breath. When he died, all the anger and hate that I'd been holding in for so long got 
loose." She shivered. "Let's go back outside."

     They walked down the steps, put their shoes back on, then walked back out to the 
bench and sat down. Rei folded her arms and stared at her feet. "You asked me if I ever 
lost control of myself while I was a Senshi. The answer is yes. Yuuchiro's death was the 
last straw in the most difficult period in my life. I channeled all that hate and anger 
into my powers and created a column of fire that incinerated most of the Temple in a 
blink of an eye." Bitterness crept into her voice. "But that wasn't enough for me. I 
continued to feed that firestorm all the hate and anger I felt. It began to expand, 
destroying everything in its path."

     Alan reached out and slowly placed a reassuring hand on Rei's shoulder. "How did 
you regain control?"

     "Serenity, or as she was known at the time, Senshi Moon, used the power of the 
Ginshousu to project herself into my mind and showed me what I was doing was wrong. 
She was very persuasive, and I realized that I was wrong. With that, I lost the 
consuming anger I felt, and the fire dissipated." She motioned to the area around 
them. "When the time came to raise Crystal Tokyo from the ruins of Tokyo, I asked 
Queen Serenity if I could build a shine, as a memorial to my Grandfather, Yuuchiro 
and others who had died."

     "This is a peaceful place. I can see why you would want to build it here."

     Rei nodded. "Serenity knew I would ask even before I did. By the time I was ready 
to ask, she'd already made most of the arrangements."

     "And you never lost control again?" Alan asked gently.

     Rei shook her head. "Never to that extent."

     Alan hand left Rei's shoulder and he leaned back, Raiden curled up in his arms. 
"How do you keep doing this?" he inquired. "How can you function as a Senshi with the 
knowledge that if you lose your composure, you can level a city block?"

     Rei glared at him. "I am Senshi Mars," she said sharply. "I've lived with the 
possibility of 'losing it', as you call it, for over a thousand years now. I can't 
hide from my powers, or my responsibilities to use those powers in a proper manner."

     Alan closed his eyes. "I wish I had your confidence and strength," he said wistfully. 
He opened his eyes and looked at Rei. "But outside of my computer skills, I'm a nobody."

     Rei's eyes narrowed. "Why do you say that?"

     "Because it's true."

     "Do you remember when you arrived? The first time we saw each other?"

     "Hard to forget. You and that security team welcome wagon are a vivid memory."

     Rei scowled. "That mouth is going to get you into trouble."

     Alan looked sheepish. "It has on more then the odd occasion," he admitted.

     "Then why do you persist in the smart remarks?"

     "Because it's one of the few weapons I have left to keep me sane." He looked down 
at the ground. "This is a different world from mine, and I'm an outsider. Grandfather 
is even more of an outsider. You know what happened when he got angry."

     "But you're not Alisin," piped up Raiden.

     "But I'm his decedent and maybe even his heir."

     "You can't run from your destiny," said Rei. "None of us can. You have to accept 
and embrace your new life."

     "Maybe I can't run, but I can sure give Destiny a heck of a chase for its money."

     Rei decided to take another tack. "Have you ever heard of fire reading?"

     Alan shook his head. "I can't say I have. What is it?"

     "It's when a priest or priestess looks into the sacred fire for visions of the 
future."

     Alan opened his mouth, stopped, then closed it again. "You have the talent for 
fire reading," he said in a small voice.

     Rei nodded. "I had visions that involve you, visions that you should know about."

     "Like what?"

     "A man with two faces and a man calmly floating inside a tornado." She looked at 
him. "One of those faces and the man inside the tornado was you."

     "Me?"

     Rei nodded again. "But you were older in these visions." She hesitated for a 
moment. "I also saw Fire, Water, Earth, and Air twisting around in a vortex, each 
element trying to destroy the others. There was feeling of corruption there in most 
of the images."

     Alan frowned "Did you have the same feeling of corruption when you saw me inside 
a tornado?"

     "No."

     "How accurate are these visions?"

     "They all come to pass, sooner or later, in one form or another."

     Alan exhaled noisily. "Do you mind if I remain a skeptic? I find it hard to 
believe I'm going to have a new career as a superhero."

     Rei opened her mouth to answer, but a series of muffles pops interrupted her. 
Raiden went from a compact ball of fur to an alert moon cat in a blink of an eye. 
"Trouble," he said in a loud voice, his whiskers twitching.

     Rei turned in the direction of the sounds. Now there was someone screaming, and 
others shouting along with the popping sounds, getting louder by the second. "Raiden's 
right," she said, her fingers already activating her wrist communicator. "That's gunfire."

     Another series of shouts, screams and muffled popping echoed from nearly behind 
them. Alan glanced in that direction. "And it's spreading," he said in a nervous tone 
of voice. "What do we do now?"

     Rei rolled her eyes, but didn't answer him. "Mars to Tsukiyama What's happening?" 

     "It looks like some type of terrorist attack on the shrine," replied Tsukiyama 
in a rapid voice. "I've lost contact with my team member guarding the North and North-
west trails, and the other member reports at least eight suspects, heavily armed, moving 
toward the shrine. They're herding anyone they come across toward the shrine and shooting 
anyone that tries to run or resist. Looks like they're interested in hostages. Orders?"

     "Are your people armed?"

     "Only with Mark two stunners."

     "Don't resist," replied Rei tightly. "Go with the crowd and keep your eyes open. 
Are they searching anyone?"

     "Negative."

     "Then keep your stunner concealed. If things go wrong, you and your teammate's 
responsibility is to protect the hostages."

     "Understood. Here they come, Tsukiyama out."

     Without looking up, Rei touched another button on her transmitter. "This is Senshi 
Mars. I'm in the Yuuchiro Kumada Memorial park. I have a Class Three Emergency - I want 
Green and Red teams to teleport in, STAT!"

     "Unable to comply with teleport order," said a voice from the communicator. "Sensors 
are detecting a strong blocker field centered on your location that appeared thirty seconds 
ago. We are sending Red, Green, and Blue teams to your location by truck, but ETA is five 
minutes."

     Rei swore softly, then growled into the communicator, "All three had better be here 
before then, or I'm going to be really upset. I'm keeping the channel open - do not send 
until the teams are here, understood?"

     "Understood. Standing by."

     Alan grabbed her by the arm. "We're getting out of here." He pulled on it, only 
to find himself holding air as she easily broke the grip.

     "I can't go," she snapped. "Get out of here now!" 

     "What, and leave you here alone?"

     She turned to glare at him. "Remember what I said about responsibility? This is 
my responsibility, Alan Thomas. This is what I must do."

     "But -- "

     "Too late, we've been spotted," said Raiden, looking over Alan's shoulder. "Five 
bandits at five o'clock, closing quickly."

     Rei looked in that direction and saw the group of armed men less then thirty meters 
away moving toward them. She cursed again, louder this time, and grabbed Alan's arm. 
"Get behind me," she said. "Raiden, go find the security teams."

     "On it." The cat leaped out of Alan's arms and dashed into the nearby bushes.

     Alan tried to break Rei's hold on his arm, but failed miserably. "Now what?"

     Before Rei could answer, the group reached the top of the hill. There were five 
men in the group dressed like normal citizens of the city, but Rei knew immediately 
that they weren't out for a walk  Two she pegged as simple followers who each carried 
an ugly looking submachine gun. Another one, a thick-bodied, baldheaded man with cold 
eyes and a pleased expression carried a large pistol. Behind him, a thin, rat-faced 
man was slinging his own machine gun and was in the act of pulling out a large thin-
bladed knife, an ecstatic look creasing his face. The last one stood several meters 
away from the others, a tall thin man that reminded Rei of a walking corpse, a smug 
smile on his drawn features.

     "Ruda's own luck is with us today, boys," the leader growled. "He's the one."

     Alan stepped back, a look of unease crossing his face. "Sorry guys. If you're 
looking for money, we don't have any on us."

     "We're not here for your money," replied the bald headed man.

     The rat-faced man started waving his knife around. "Let me cut him up, Commander. 
I want to hear him scream."

     "We don't have the time, Rutile," said the leader. He stared at Rei. "A pity in 
her case."

     Rei noticed the stares she was getting from the terrorists. She also noticed that 
there were other groups of terrorists moving into the area of the shrine, herding their 
hostages along with prods and pushes. At least fifteen terrorists, she thought,
and maybe three times as many hostages. Fairly well-trained team from the look of things, 
heavily armed. I'm guessing Baldy here's the leader. She spotted Tsukiyama among 
the hostages. Their eyes locked for a second, then Tsukiyama lower her head in apparent
submission and tapped her wrist communicator with her finger. Good. Let's see if 
I can keep the head man busy.

     She stepped in front of Alan and slipped into a defensive stance. "You have less 
then five minutes to leave the area," she said in a commanding voice, "before internal 
security teams flood this area and capture all of you."

     "Some sprit in this one." The leader chuckled. "Maybe we'll take you along with us 
after all."

     "Hey, Guys," said Alan, stepping around Rei and standing in front of the leader. 
"Put your eyes back in your heads, look at me, and answer some  questions, all right? 
What is going on here? Who are you guys?"

     "Alan!" hissed Rei. "Stay out of this!"

     The bald man looked at him. "A million for you?"

     "Huh?" Alan looked confused. "What million?"

     The dead-looking man chuckled. "I think finding out what his life is worth has 
affected his ego, Hessonite."

     The bald headed man turned to look at him. "Shut up, Diaspore." The dead man 
merely smiled.

     Rutile stepped forward, his knife gleaming in the sunlight. "I want to gut him!" 
he hissed excitedly.

     "Would you mind keeping the Peter Lorrie reject under control?" snapped Alan. 
"I-"

     The bald headed man's fist lashed out and connected solidly with the side of 
Alan's head. Alan's head snapped to the side from the force of the blow, and with 
a half-spin, he fell onto his stomach, face first. Before he hit the ground, the 
two of the gunmen pointed their firearms at Rei, while the leader kept his own pistol 
covering Alan. He waved the knife wielder forward. "Make it quick. Slit his throat. 
We'll dump his body down the hill to let the Crysties know we mean business."

     Rutile slid over to where Alan was, the knife carried loosely in his hand and a 
big grin on his face.





     {Grandfather!}

     The reply was quick. *What's wrong?*

     {We're in deep trouble. Someone's trying to kill me!}

     *Who is it?*

     {I don't know, but someone is paying these guys to put me on a cement slab!} Just 
then, Alan felt something begin to build up inside of him. He began feeling lightheaded.
{What's happening to me?}

     *You're channeling Air Mana,* Alisin replied, his voice unable to hide all of 
the wizard's concern. *I don't know how, but your body is building up mana for release.*

     {Well, can't you step in and take over?}

     For a second, there was no reply, then Alisin responded, *I cannot. The Mana is 
blocking my pathway.*

     {Then what do I do?}
 
     "Make it quick. Slit his throat. We'll dump his body down the hill to let the 
Crysties know we mean business."

     {Oh, SH-}

     *Panic later!* snapped the Windwalker. *Have you ever had this feeling before?*

     {No, Er . . . WAIT! I remember! When I first ended up here, the security guards 
and Rei! When the wind and the force wall and the bouncing sphere! I was still confused 
from the trip forward, but now I remember!}

     *Good.* There was a change in Alisin's voice, a quiet confidence that seemed to 
pass into Alan. *Make a fist with your right hand.*

     Alan did so. {Now what?}

     *I can feel something in your subconsciousness, a word or phrase that seems to 
be a trigger. Start going through words having to do with air and strikes.*

     {WHAT?}

     *Just do it!*

     (Er . . . Air, blast, wind, strike, storm, kick, punch. . . .} At the last word 
something clicked into place. {I know!}

     *Then use it!*

     Alan rolled onto his back, pointed his fist at Rutile, who had started to reach 
down to grab him. "HURRICANE PUNCH!" Alan shouted.

     A faint bluish bolt shot from Alan's fist and struck the rat faced man in the 
chest. There was a large rumble and Rutile went head over heels like a piece of paper 
caught in a high wind, his high-pitched scream stopping suddenly as he slammed into a 
nearby tree.





     "HURRICANE PUNCH!"

     Hessonite had just enough time to say, "What the -" 

     Rei, who had just been ready to make her own move in any case, exploded into 
action.

     With a scream of rage, she stepped forward and kicked Hessonite between his legs. 
As the big man fell to his knees in extreme pain, Rei nailed the gunman on her right 
with a hard right to the chin. She then finished him off with a spinning sidekick into 
his solar plexis that knocked the wind out of him. As the breathless gunman fell, she 
snatched her transformation wand from her pocket and held it over her head. 

     "MARS CRYSTAL POWER MAKE UP!"

     To the other Nemesisans around the shrine, the flash of light made them pause 
for a moment."Shit, it's Mars!" one of the Nemesisans cursed, "let's get out of here!" 
In a panic, half of the terrorists immediately broke ranks around the hostages and 
fled. They'd seen what Senshi could do when they were unleashed during the war. And 
Mars' reputation wasn't one they wanted to challenge first hand.

     Hessonite hesitated, the pain subsiding long enough for him to start thinking 
again. There was no way his men armed with anything less then portable nukes could 
overcome One of the Inner Senshi. Even Diaspore would hardly slow her down much less 
allow them to succeed in their mission. They had to retreat before they were over-
whelmed.

     He opened his mouth to order a retreat the T-blocker in his belt pouch suddenly 
emitted a plume of smoke and became very hot. He managed to rip the pouch open and let 
the T-blocker drop just as it glowed cherry-red and burned out. He was aware of shouts 
and scream of pain from several other of his men.

     What could . . .  it had to be Serenity! The T-Blockers been detected and Serenity 
had destroyed them with the Silver Crystal! He growled a curse and straightened up, just 
as Rei hit him with an uppercut that sent him into oblivion.

     Meanwhile, Crystal Tokyo security troops suddenly appeared out of thin air all 
over the park. Accompanying them was Senshi Venus, Jupiter, and Polaris, along with 
Guardians Calcite, Azurite, and Chrysolite. Needless to say, the fight was short and 
very one-sided The Nemesisans tried to run, but upon hearing Rei was in trouble the 
rest of the Senshi had dropped whatever they were doing to teleport to the scene and 
delivered many, many, nasty boots to the head, body, or other parts of the terrorists' 
anatomy. Not that Rei stood by and did nothing, much to the regret of several Nemesisans.

     Within five minutes it was over. All the hostages were freed unharmed - the sudden 
arrival of Senshi, Guardians and security troops being a complete surprise. Several of 
the Nemesisans had managed to escape in the confusion, but they were being pursued by 
groups of determined security troopers eager to get their own shots in.

     Calcite strode up to Rei. "That was interesting," he said offhandedly. Behind him, 
the second wave of Emergency personnel, mostly medics and additional security teams, 
was teleporting in.

     Rei looked down at Hessonite. "I don't know what these idiots had in mind. What 
were they thinking of?"

     "Who said terrorists think?" He turned and shouted, "Colonel Von Tramp!"

     The veteran solider answered immediately. "Yes Sir!"

     "How many prisoners do we have?"

     "Fourteen, including those four over when you are."

     Rei frowned and glanced around. "Four? There should be five."

     "Who's missing?"

     "There was a tall thin man that reminded me of a walking corpse. I think his name 
is Diaspore."

     "Colonel Von Tramp!" bellowed Calcite.

     "Yes Sir!"

     "Is there a corpse-like man among the prisoners?"

     "No sir!"

     "Are you sure?"

     "Very sure sir!"

     Calcite turned to look at Rei. "He must have escaped, but we'll get him." He 
then frowned. "What were you doing here in the first place?"

     "Serenity wanted me to talk to Alan."

     "Where's Alan?"

     "Right over. . . ." Rei's voice stopped as she saw the spot on the ground she 
was pointing at was empty. "He was right over there."

     Calcite sighed. "We'll add him to the search list."    

     Rei frowned. What happened to Alan?





     Alan darted down the path, the only sounds were his feet hitting the gravel and 
his deep breaths. Inside his mind, Alisin argued with him. *We should go back and help 
her!*

     {She is a Senshi,} replied Alan. {She has about as much need of rescuing as a 
grizzly bear does from a four-year-old with a squirt gun. If anything, I think the 
killers will be in need of a rescue.} 

     *You're  a coward.* There was a stinging accusation in those words.

     {Put yourself in my position. There is no dishonor in retreat if there is a good 
reason to do so. I have zip in combat experience, those guys had guns, and I'm not 
about to shout out stupid phrases unless I know something will happen when I shout 
them out.}

     *The fact that something did happen when you shouted out 'Hurricane Punch' needs 
to be explored more.*

     {I know, but - YEEEAAAAAAA}

     Instead of striking gravel, Alan's right foot came down on something slick. With 
nothing to give it traction, the foot went sliding out from underneath Alan, causing 
him to slip and fall. He crashed onto his back, forcing the air from his lungs and 
stunning him.

     *Alan! Are you all right?*

     Alan blinked several times, clearing the haze that had sprung across his vision. 
(I think so. Why am I cold all of a sudden?)

     *Get up slowly*

     Alan did so, noticing the ground below him was wet and cold to the touch. "Ice?" 
he mumbled as he stood up, staring at the dark patch that covered several meters of 
the of the path. "It's over seventy degrees out here!"

     *This ice isn't natural,* said Alisin in an ominous tone of voice. *Someone 
created it through magic.*

     {That would mean there's someone around here who can wield magic.}Alan glanced 
around nervously. {Do we continue running?)

     *Yes. As you said, you aren't ready for any type of combat.*

     {Fine by me.}

     Alan took two steps then stopped suddenly. A figure stepped onto the path from 
a small clump of bushes several meters in front of Alan. Alan immediately recognized 
the wasted figure as a member of the hit team at the shrine. The man smiled at him, 
a smile that sent shivers down Alan's spine. 

     *Be careful of him,* warned Alisin. *I've seen Wizards look like that when they 
have put too much of their own life mana into their magic. They become unstable mentally, 
weak physically, but very powerful in their magic.*

     {So this guy could be loony?}

     *Loony?*

     {Nuts, bonkers, mad, insane-- }

     *Yes.*

     {Oh joy.} Alan stepped back, careful not to step onto the ice. "Who are you?" 
he asked.

     The man continued to smile. "My name is Diaspore and I didn't think you would 
be so easy for me to kill you."

     "And why do you guys want me dead?" Alan asked

     Diaspore shrugged. "Our employer has a reason for your death, but it doesn't 
matter." His eyes seemed to gleam. "Though your show of magical strength has made 
this a challenge."

     {Any ideas, Grandfather?}

     *Without seeing him use magic, I have no idea what to expect. All I can suggest 
is you try to avoid him.*

     {That helps. And how do you propose doing that before he kills me?}

     *Hit him with your attack, then run. Keep talking to him until you're ready.*

     {That's your plan?}

     *Do you have another?*

     Alan sighed mentally.{All right. Here goes nothing.} He tried to relax and allow 
the Mana to flow into his hands. "I suppose you have magical skill?"

     "Of course."

     "Are you an Elementalist?"

     Diaspore's eyebrow rose. "A what?"

     "Never mind - HURRICANE PUNCH!"

     "ICE SHIELD!"

     A man-sized wall of ice formed in front of Diaspore half a heartbeat before the 
blueish bolts crashed into it. The wall exploded, sending chunks of ice in almost 
every direction except directly at Diaspore. The wizard waited until most of the ice 
had fallen away, then stepped forward. "A nice attempt, but due to fail like -" He 
stopped when he realized he was alone on the path. His face twisted up in anger for 
a second, then relaxed and a cruel smile replaced the snarl. 

     "RUN WHILE YOU CAN, BOY! BECAUSE I WILL KILL YOU!"





     "HURRICANE PUNCH!"

     "ICE SHIELD!" A few seconds later. "RUN WHILE YOU CAN, BOY! BECAUSE I WILL KILL 
YOU!"

     Rei looked in the direction of the shout, recognizing the voice of the corpse-
like killer. Alan! "Diaspore must be using magic."

     Calcite waved over Minako, Chrysolite, and Colonel Von Tramp. He motioned to 
Minako and Chrysolite "You two take the left, Rei and I will take the right." He 
looked over at the solider "Colonel, Two squads up the middle. Take him alive if 
possible, but no unnecessary risks."

     The troops scattered. Rei charged off after Calcite. Does Alan need our help? 
Or did he manage to get away?

     "FROST STORM!"

     I guess that answers my question. Rei increased her speed, hoping she 
wasn't too late.





     Alan ran up the path as quickly as he could, dodging the last remnants of Diaspore's 
spell.{Any . . . chance of you taking over and  . . . fighting this cold happy kook?}

     *No. The mana is flowing too strongly through you.*

     {I can't keep outrunning him.}

     *The others would have heard the sound of battle. They will be on the way to 
rescuing us.*

     {I sure hope so. I -- }

     He spotted the patch of ice on the path at the last second and twisted to avoid 
it. A sharp pain in his left ankle sent his leg out from under him, and he fell onto 
his face. He laid there for several seconds, all the exhaustion and pain of the last 
several minutes catching up with him all at once.

     *Get up Alan!*  shouted Alisin. *You must keep moving!*

     Alan got to knees, then to his feet, but the first step he took with his left 
foot sent a jolt of pain through the ankle. {I can't! I've twisted my ankle!}

     "A good chase, boy," said a chilling voice from behind Alan. "Time to die."

     Alan turned around slowly to look at Diaspore, who had just walked into view. 
"Has anyone told you that you're a sick bastard?"

     "Brave words for a fool." The Nemsisan's hands came up. "Good-bye."

     Something ignited inside Alan then. The fog that had been draped across his mind 
lifted away, and several thoughts broke free of his subconsciousness. He felt better 
then he had in several days. All the fears, doubts, and questions faded away in this 
new flame of confidence. {Grandfather, I know some spells!}

     *Then use them, my boy, before he kills us!*

     Alan smiled at Diaspore. "Come and get me, you refugee from the graveyard."

     "ICE SPEAR!" A long thick needle of ice shot from Diaspore's hands at Alan.

     "STORM BUCKLER!" Alan held his left arm out as if he had a shield on the arm 
protecting him. As he did so, a blue nimbus about the size of a manhole cover snapped 
over the arm. The ice missile struck the shield, the spear shattering against the 
solidified air. Small chunks of ice scattered across the path. Alan was forced back 
several steps by the impact, ignoring the shock of his injured ankle. As quickly as 
it had appeared, the shield vanished. "Is that the best you can do?" he taunted.

     Diaspore stepped back. "So the boy does have more then one trick up his sleeve." 

     Alan pointed his right fist at the warlock "HURRICANE PUNCH!

     Diaspore dodged to his left as the azure bolt flashed by his face. His hand came 
up and he made a throwing motion at Alan. "HAIL SWARM!"

     "FORCE WALL!" A square, pale blue barricade one and a half times Alan's height 
snapped into place between Alan and the sudden horde of hailstones, completely blocking 
the attack. Like with the 'storm buckler' spell, the barricade faded away after the 
attack had been blocked.

     *Excellent!* cried Alisin. If he'd had a body, he would have been jumping up and 
down in glee.

     {Stop cackling and give me an idea of what to do next!}

     Alisin voice became serious again. *Keep him off balance. With this warm temp-
eratures, he has to be working harder to produce his ice then he would in a cooler 
climate. What other spells can you access?*

     {Two more, both offensive types.}

     *Is one of them a pressure ball-type of spell?*

     {Yes. 'Stress Sphere'}

     *If it's the same one you used on Rei . . . .Try and force him toward the trees 
behind him. When I say now, use the 'Stress Sphere', then use 'Force Wall' to protect 
yourself.*

     {Right.}

     Diaspore frowned. "Who are you?" His eyes narrowed. "I've never seen anyone use 
Air Magic like you do."

     "Well, I'm the first of a new class. No, actually I'm the first of an old class, 
or . . . Never mind."

     "You're no diplomat!"

     "I never said I was."

     "Could it be our sponsor lied to us?" Diaspore smiled again. "No matter. You 
skill will not save you. Just for the record, who are you, really?"

     "My name is Alan Th -- " something told him to change his last name. "I'm Alan 
Windwalker, decedent of Alisin Windwalker, and the first of the New Air Elementalists."

     Diaspore twitched. "A Windwalker? Myths will not save you boy."

     "Maybe not, but --  HURRICANE PUNCH!"

     The Ice mage jumped back as the ground at his feet exploded into the air. Alan 
fired off two more blast of compressed air at Diaspore's feet, forcing the cadaver-
like man back. "You have a poor aim, 'Windwalker'."

     *He's in place!* shouted Alisin. *Now!*

     "See if you like this any better -- STRESS SPHERE!"

     A glowing ball the size of a basketball coalesced in Alan's right hand and he 
threw it at Diaspore. As the globe left his hand, Alan shouted, "FORCE WALL!" As 
before, the barricade came into being. 

     There was nothing wrong with Diaspore's reflexes. The older wizard twisted to 
the left as the sphere flew past him, missing him by scant inches. "Not bad, Boy," 
he hissed. "BLIZZARD'S SHRIEK!"  

     A wave of white shot toward Alan. Swarms of ice particles crashed onto the force 
wall, beginning to distort its shape. Alan gritted his teeth. {How do I keep the wall 
up?}

     *Continue feeding Mana through the matrix. It's strong enough to handle it.*

     {What matrix?}

     *It's six inches in front of your nose,* replied Alisin. *Do you see the air 
sparkling?*

     Alan did so. {I see it!}

     *Can you make out the shape of the matrix?*

     The blue field began to buckle under the barrage of snow and ice. Alan stared 
hard before something came into focus in front of his eyes. {Yes, Like a bright gem.}

     *That's it! Bring your hands up so the matrix is between them*

     Alan's hands came up. {Now what?}

     *Release the Mana into the matrix!* 

     Alan relaxed, willing the mana to flow freely. The mana flowed down his arms 
and through his hands. The matrix sucked it all in, glowing brighter as more mana 
passed through it. The force wall stopped bucking and began to straighten itself out, 
forcing the brunt of Diaspore's attack to be deflected.

     From behind the wall, Alan could see the look of disbelief on Diaspore's face. 
"What manner of wizard are -"

     It was at this point several things happen at the same time. The first was the 
arrival of Rei, Calcite, Minako, Chrysolite, and two squads of Security troops who 
had converged on the spot from three different directions. 

     The second was the stress sphere that Alan had thrown half-a-dozen seconds before. 
Instead of crashing through the trees, it had ricocheted off several branches and trunks,
gaining speed as it did so. It came flying out of the trees behind Diaspore and crashed 
into the wizard from behind, sending him head-over-heels before the sphere dissipated.

     The third was the sound of an explosion from the base of the hilltop, the result 
of Jupiter and Polaris' efforts to stop the last terrorist team from escaping. Neither 
the truck, nor the terrorists, was in any shape to escape after that.

     Seeing Diaspore down and out for the count. Alan relaxed. It was at this moment 
that all the bones in his body turned to rubber, and he dropped like a rock. He wasn't 
really aware of hitting the ground, nor of the aches and pains his protesting body 
tried to inform him of. His sight grew grainy and the noises distant. {What's happening 
to me?} he asked in a half-panic. {Am I dying?}

     *You're not dying,* said Alisin soothingly. *You focused too much mana through 
your body too quickly and it's not use to it. Relax and rest.*

     Alan felt himself being turned over onto his back. Above him, he could see two 
shapes moving in his vision, but he was unable to tell who they were. Through his 
slight hearing ability, he thought he heard voices, but none of it made any sense. 
He opened his mouth just in time for something wet to be poured into it. {What the -- }

     As soon as the liquid touched his tongue and throat, small jolts of clarity and 
understanding crossed his perceptions. Feeling started coming back into parts of his 
body in a slow, steady way. His vision cleared to the point that he could make out the 
figures standing over him as medics attached to the security forces. One of them tuned 
to look over his shoulder. "Lady Mars! Lord Calcite!" Alan heard the man shout, "He's 
reviving!"

     Two more people moved into view. One was Rei, looking pensive and angry. The 
other Alan recognized as Lord Calcite, his face composed and speculative. {Don't you 
try anything!} Alan shouted in his mind. {There's no way you can win with us in this 
condition, and you're sure as hell not going to take me with you on a kamikaze assault! 
Do I make myself clear?}

     *I understand and accept your warning. Even if I could use my magic, I would not 
do so.*

     Calcite knelt beside Alan. "How are you feeling?"

     "Weak," Alan bleated, his voice matching his words. "I take it the good guys won."

     "We did," said Rei, who was standing behind Calcite. "What happened here?" she 
asked sharply.

     "Crash course in Windwalking 101."

     "An interesting display of air magic," said Calcite. There was no smile on his 
face. "Considering that you had shown no real ability until a few moments ago."

     "It's amazing what you find out about yourself when someone is trying to kill 
you."

     "Will you stop with the one-liners?" snapped Rei. "What are you hiding?"

     "I'm not hiding anything. Until I yelled 'hurricane punch' and watched that 
sleazy psycho go flying, I didn't know anything. The other spells came all at once 
when that cold creep tried to kill me."

     "Did Alisin have anything to do with it?"

     Alan felt strong enough to sit up slowly, supported by the two medics. One of 
them handed him a cup of what looked like orange juice. He took several sips from it 
and allowed the liquid to give him badly needed strength.

     "Did Alisin have anything to do with the battle?" Rei repeated again, suspicion 
flowing across her face.

     "Only as an adviser to me."

     "I want to speak to Alisin." Rei said sternly. "And now."

     Calcite frowned and looked up at her. "Is that such a good idea?"

     "In this case, yes." She looked at Alan. "Is he willing to talk?"

     Alan sighed. "I think so, but let me make sure." He closed his eyes. {Here's your 
chance, Grandfather. You made a promise.}

     *Very well. If you wish to stay conscious while I talk to them, that is up to 
you.*

     {You're not going to do something stupid, are you?}

     There was silence for a heartbeat, then Alisin said *No. Moment is right. I cannot 
change the past, only influence the future. If those who call themselves Renegades can 
live within Serenity's shadow and remain not only alive, but allied with her court, then 
I can also live with them as a loyal subject should.*

     {Huh?}

     *I will make peace with those I have wronged.*

     {Oh. Good. Great. What am I missing here?}

     *Moment and you were right.  I must live in today's world, not yesterday's. Will 
you help me move from my past to our future, Please?*

     {Only if you control you temper and don't do anything stupid.}

     *Agreed. And thank you.*






     Alisin opened his eyes and looked at Rei and Calcite. "You wished to speak to 
me?"

     Calcite nodded, looking warily at the propped-up mage. "Is this your doing?"

     "No, Lord Calcite. The boy was the one using the spells. I merely advised."

     "So what happened here?"

     Alisin glanced in the direction Diaspore had fallen. The Nemesisan was still 
lying on the ground, surrounded by a mix of security and medical personnel. "That 
sorcerer tried to kill Alan."

     "He friends were already willing to kill others," said Rei.

     Alisin shook his head. "This wasn't a chance act to cause more bloodshed, but 
an attempt directed at Alan."

     Calcite shook his head. "I don't believe you."

     Rei frowned. "Wait, I think Alisin may be onto something here. When the group 
first approached us up at the shrine, The leader said to the others, 'He's the one', 
meaning Alan. About ten or so seconds later, the leader says to Alan 'A million for 
you?' Diaspore over there then makes a joke about Alan finding out what his life was 
worth was affected his ego."

     Alisin nodded. "The Warlock also said to Alan, 'Our employer has a reason for 
your death, but it doesn't matter,' and 'Could it be our sponsor lied to us?' I do 
not think that trickster has the brains to make up something this disturbing, nor do 
I think this event was a simple terrorist plot."

     Calcite looked unconvinced

     "You don't believe me," said Alisin in a neutral tone.

     "You've not given me a reason to trust you," replied Calcite, his voice cool.

     "I see."

     "Who do you think is behind this, Master Windwalker?" asked Rei.

     "I do not know."

     "We'll discuss this later," said Calcite, getting on his feet again. "I want to 
speak to Alan again."

     "Very well. Just one other thing, Lord Calcite."

     "What?"

     "I owe you and your fellow Yo . . . Renegades an apology." 

     Calcite's eyebrow went up, but he said nothing.

     Alisin stopped to sip some more juice before he continued. "Once Alan has recovered 
from this fight, I will make this apology, again, in front of the entire court. But this 
is for you, here and now. My action and words have been clouded by memories and emotions 
I had thought safely in check. I allowed fear and hate to cloud my judgement, personal 
feelings to rule my reason, and remembrances to over ride my sanity. I failed to trust
my Queen's conclusions regarding you and the others. I should have realized that she is 
truly her mother's daughter and she would have never allowed you to stay if you had evil
intentions. In short, I apologize for any and all actions I have taken against you and 
your fellow Renegades."

     Calcite frowned. "It will take more then a flowery repentance for me to trust you." 
he said bluntly.

     Alisin nodded. "I would not expect any less from you were our positions reversed. 
But don't allow your mistrust of myself to wash over onto Alan. He is innocent of my 
folly and deserved none of the hostility you feel for me."

     "He's right," said Rei quietly. Her expression had softened somewhat, but her face 
still had most of the hard countenance she was famous for. "Alan had nothing to do with 
the attack on Titanite and Hematite."

     Calcite nodded, his expression sour. "I have nothing against Alan Thomas. I cannot 
say the same for Alisin Windwalker." He took a deep breath. "I'd better check in with 
Colonel Von Tramp to make sure everything is secure."

     Rei nodded. "I'll stay here until the ambulance comes for Alan." She watched Calcite 
stride over to the Colonel before she turned to Alisin. "Give him some time."

     "It will take more then time for him to change his mind about me." replied Alisin 
sadly. "And I, for one, do not blame him." He closed his eyes. "It is time I return 
Alan's body to him. Good afternoon, Lady Mars."

     When Alan opened his eyes, Rei knelt beside him. "Feeling any better?" she asked.

     Alan took a deep breath. "I still feel weak, but I don't think I'll pass out."

     "So, what really happened here?"

     Alan told her, leaving nothing out. She listened in silence until he completed 
the story. "And these spells just came to you?"

     "Yes. The 'hurricane punch' came first, with a little coxing from Grandfather. 
The others came to me just as Diaspore tried to kill me."

     "I see." Rei looked over at the senor medic. "Is it OK to move him now?"

     "He's got a sprained ankle and is suffering from exhaustion," replied the thin-
faced man. "But I'm afraid we're going to have to walk him down. According to the 
radio, there's a truck burning in the middle of the street, and it's tying up traffic 
for three square blocks. It's a good thing we don't have serious causalities to worry 
about -- I'm not sure we've got enough teleporters to do the trick."

     "What about him?" Rei asked, glancing over at the group surrounding Disapore

     The medic scowled. "Concussion mostly. Some bruises, but, I'm sorry to say, he's 
going to live."

     "Pity. Make sure he goes into one of the special security rooms at the Hospital."

     "Right."

     By this time, the other medics had gotten Alan to his feet. With practiced ease, 
the two medics supported Alan between them. Alan was glowering, his left ankle buried 
under white bandages. "I will NOT go to the hospital," he said in a low, firm voice.

     Rei stepped up to him. "Now what?" she said sharply, her eyes dangerous. "You're 
going to the hospital to be examined."

     "I just got out of there!"

     "Next time, tried not to get injured."

     "What next time?" was the hot reply. Suddenly, Alan's head snapped to the right, 
in the direction of a grove of trees.

     Then all hell broke loose.





     It was at this point that Abbas charged out of the treeline to Alan's left, 
screaming incoherently and firing his submachine gun from his hip at the assembled 
force. He'd managed to outpace his immediate pursuers, but one look at the security 
cordon around the base of the park had convinced him he was trapped. The thought of 
surrendering never crossed his mind. He was Bloodstar -- If he couldn't have victory, 
then he would make the enemy's victory as costly as he could.

     Most of his shots went high, but one of the medics holding Alan grunted and 
collapsed. With a violent motion, Alan shoved the remaining medic off to one side, 
his body gathering air mana as he turned toward the threat. Rei's hands came up, the 
ball of fire forming on her fingertips. "FIRE SOUL!" she shouted.

     "HURRICANE PUNCH!"

     A distorted blast of compressed air, a cone of fire, and several of Calcite's 
throwing knives all converged on the Nemesisan. Abbas screamed as the fire of Mars' 
ignited his clothing and several of Calcite's knives hit him in the thighs. By the 
time Alan's attack arrived, the terrorist was already falling, so it only shattered 
the machine gun in Abbas' hands. As soon as Abbas hit the ground, several security 
men charged him, Senshi Venus and Chrysolite leading the charge. 

     But all attention had been diverted at exactly the wrong moment

     *Alan!* shouted Alisin. *Beware the Warlock!*

     Alan was already turning in the direction of where Disapore had been lying. The 
Mage was on his feet now, tossing aside two of the security men like they were rag 
dolls, and even from his distance, Alan could see the madness in his eyes. And that 
madness was directed at one person - Rei.

     *All reason has left him!* shouted Alisin. *He must be stopped, or people will 
die!*

     Alan heard the Nemesisan shout "Die, you immortal witch!" Out of the corner of 
his eye, he saw Mars was also spinning to confront the sudden reappearance of the 
Nemesisan magic user. He saw Diaspore raise his hands, a look of triumph in the insane 
eyes as he stared at Senshi Mars.

     "ICE SPEAR SEEKS!" A needle of ice a meter long shot from Diaspore's hands, it's 
target the dark-haired Senshi.

     "BURNING MANDELA!" Rei's attack detonated in and around the agile wizard's feet 
as he released his attack, setting his cloak on fire. But she had been a fraction too 
late in stopping Diaspore's attack.

     Without thought, Alan reacted. He took two quick steps to move in front of Rei, 
the last of his new spells forming in his mind "WIND SHEAR!" A wave of air raced from
Alan's fingertips toward the Ice enchanter and the oncoming frozen projectile.

     From behind him, he heard Rei shout "Alan! What are -- " just before the Ice 
Spear struck the expanding air wave and exploded into razor-sharp fragments. Alan 
screamed as several pieces slammed into him, sending him crashing into Rei. They 
both hit the ground hard, Alan on top of Rei. 

     *Alan! Alan! Speak to me!*

     Pain raced through Alan's system like red-hot needles. His sight was non existent, 
but his hearing remained almost normal. He was vaguely aware of Rei pushing him off 
of her, swearing at him a very unladylike manner which stopped suddenly, replaced by 
shouts for a teleporter and a medical emergency. Then everything went black and Alan 
fell into the darkness.





     Alan expected to find himself in the Land of Dreams when he opened his eyes, so 
he wasn't disappointed when he did open his eyes. He was lying in the same hillside 
he'd found himself on the first time he was here. The grass was green, the birds were 
singing, the breeze soft and gentle. 

     What was unexpected was Alisin standing there, looking down at him. What was 
even more unexpected was the large smile the Windwalker had on his face. He extended 
a hand to Alan.

     Alan took it, and Alisin pulled him to his feet. "What happened, Grandfather?" 
Alan asked.

     "You stepped in front of an ice spear aimed at Sailor Mars. Your last attack 
shattered the spear and you were struck with several of the fragments."

     "I did?" Alan though for a minute, remembering the last few seconds before he 
lost consciousness. He winced at the memories. "What the heck was I doing?"

     Alisin continued smiling. "You reacted without conscious thought."

     Alan snorted. "Without thought is right! Rei's now probably irritated that I 
robbed her of her chance to get impaled!"

     "I doubt it."

     "Grandfather, am I dead?"

     Alisin shook his head, his tone serious. "Right now, you're in surgery, having the 
damage repaired. The wounds are serious, but you were teleported directly to the 
hospital, so the outlook is heartening." He slapped Alan in the back. "We have some 
time together to talk, and there is a need for you and I to talk."

     He led Alan up the familiar slope to a small, one story house sitting on the 
top of the ridge line. Alan looked at his Grandfather. "Yours?"

     Alisin replied, "It's a replica of the place where I was born. The inside is 
more telling."

     Once they entered the home, Alan recognized the interior. "Pluto said this is 
a copy of your quarters at the Moon Palace."

     "It is."

     As they reached the stairs leading to the study, Alan pointed to Ganieda's 
portrait. "Did it include the painting here?"

     Alisin looked at the painting, a look of wistfulness in his eyes. "Yes, it did. 
Your Grandmother, my wife."

     "What was she like?"

     Alisin waved a hand toward the study. "Lets talk about her in there."

     The Study was almost the same as before, only there was a cheerful fire blazing 
away in the fireplace. Alisin sat down behind his desk and waved Alan to a comfortable 
chair. The Air Wizard looked at his decedent. "Where do you want me to start?"

     "Why not at the beginning?"
 
     Alisin raised an eyebrow. "You mean when she and I first met?"   

     "A good a place as any." Alan leaned forward in his chair. "Was she also a 
wizard?"

     "No, A healer." Alisin leaned back in his chair. "I first met Ganieda at a 
reception for the new Neptunian Ambassador . . . "

     Alan had no idea how long he'd listened to his Grandfather talk, because there 
was no way of telling time. Once started, Alisin continued in a slow and easy manner, 
stopping only long enough to produce a tea set and to pour two cups of a mildly spicy 
tea. The stories ranged from funny to heartwarming to sad, but they all expressed the 
love Alisin had for his wife and soulmate.

     Alan listened in silence, cradling one of the tea cups in his hands and allowing 
the room's feeling of comfort ease into his bones. After Alisin had finished, both men 
sat in silence, both mourning for a woman long ago dead. In those moments of silence, 
a bond between the past and future was  quietly forged.

     Finally, Alan asked, "What happened with I fought Diaspore? I was able to beat 
him, but I don't under --"

     Alisin slowly raised a hand, silencing the younger man. "I should have listened 
to you a long time ago," he said quietly. "But ambition seems to be another one of my 
sins."

     "I don't understand."

     "Do you remember the last day of training we did on the roof before all this 
trouble started?"

     Alan nodded. "Sort of."

     "Remember when you told me you couldn't keep the spell matrix stable?"

     "You told me it was my lousy pronunciation of Avalonian that was screwing up 
the matrix."

     "I was wrong."

     Alan said nothing for a few seconds. "Then what was the problem?"

     Alisin stood and waved a hand in the direction of the fireplace. A floating 
object slowly formed from swirling air, a meter above the study's floor. After half 
a minute the object had completely formed and spun slowly in the air. "This is why 
you were having problems with the matrices."

     Alan's first thought the object was a gemstone of an unnatural size. It glittered 
in the light of the fire with unsurpassed beauty. Without realizing it, he got out of 
his chair and stepped slowly toward the glittering item. "What is it?" he asked in a 
voice full of wonder.

     "A visible representation of your soul."

     Alan whirled around, surprise replacing the wonder. "A visible representation 
of my WHAT?"

     "A visible representation of your soul," Alisin repeated calmly. He walked around 
the desk and walk over to stand next to Alan.

     "I don't understand."

     Alisin waved a hand toward the floating gemstone. Several smaller gemstones 
broke away from the larger and formed a circle around the larger gem. Once the first 
group was in place, another set of gems repeated the actions of the first set. These 
actions repeated themselves several more times until there were nearly two dozen gems 
orbiting the soul.

     "The smaller gems you see circling your soul are spell matrices," said Alisin 
in a lecturing tone.

     Alan looked blank. "What do they do?"

     "Do you remember the name of the first spell you used?"

     Alan frowned. "Sure -- 'hurricane punch'."

     One of the orbiting gems suddenly flared to life, lighting up the room in a 
bluish light. Alan took a step back in surprise, shielding his eyes from the sudden 
illumination. Alisin gently gripped his Grandson's arm. "Relax, Alan. It cannot hurt 
you."

     The light slowly faded away and Alan relaxed. "I don't understand."

     "Say the names of the other spells you used in the battle with Diaspore, one at 
a time."

     Alan did so. Each time he called out the name of a spell, another gem would light 
up with a blue light, then fade away to its sparkling state as another spell was invoked. 
After the last spell had been called upon, Alisin guided Alan back to his chair. With 
a wave of the wizard's hand, the gems vanished, bringing the room back to its normal 
state of lighting.

     Alisin got behind the desk and sat down and faced Alan. "Most Elemental wizards 
have to use the spoken word to focus mana for use in spells. The speaking of Avalonian, 
a language created for magic use, helps the wizard construct the matrix and direct the 
mana flow through the matrix to generate a spell." He paused and sipped from his tea 
cup. "But a very few wizards have a built in advantage - the matrices for some of their 
spells are engraved on their souls. We call this the Talent."

     Alan squinted. "And what advantage does having one of these matrices on you soul?"

     "Such a condition allows the wizard to merely call up the matrix instead of having 
to weave a fresh matrix every time he uses that spell. It saves him, or her, time and 
mana."

     "But?"

     Alisin smiled. "But the presence of such a matrix can disrupt other matrices. The 
ones that are most vulnerable are matrices formed by the magic user that have a similar 
one already engraved. The engraved matrix will form in the same location as the forming 
matrix, and because the engraved matrix is already created, it will interfere with the 
forming matrix. Do you understand?"

     Alan nodded. "The engraved matrix overwrites the forming matrix, leaving the 
engraved matrix as the sole entity."

     It was Alisin's turn to nod. "But it was rare to see more then three or four 
engraved matrices on any one wizard's soul. I recall from the history of the Orders 
that the most engraved matrices ever discovered on one soul is seven."

     "How many do I have?"

     "At least two dozen."

     Alan twitched. 

     Alisin continued. "Once more, these matrices form a larger matrix the likes I 
have not seen before. As far as I can tell, this larger matrix seems to absorb air 
mana and store it."

     Alan found his voice. "How much mana?"

     "Enough to let you use several spells in quick succession, like you did in the 
battle with Diaspore."

     Alan looked thoughtful. "So we know what some of these engraved matrices do. 
What about the rest?"

     Alisin leaned back in his chair. "I don't know."

     "What do you mean you don't know?"

     "I can locate the matrices, but I cannot open them. They are attuned to your 
mind and body and will respond only to your command."

     "Great. So how can I access them?"

     "I don't know."

     "You're not helping."

     "If it's any help, the trigger phrases for each matrix are locked in your subcon-
sciousness. It seems stress helps unlock these trigger phrases and allows them to float 
to your consciousness."

     "Great. Maybe Rei needs a moving practice dummy."

     "We need not rely on the possibility that someone will try to kill you to bring 
those trigger phrases out of your subconsciousness. It will be long and tedious, but 
it is better then shouting out random phrases and hoping for the best."

     Alan frowned. "We sit here, and I throw out phrases and hope one of them clicks?" 

     Alisin nodded slowly. "We can use the visible representation of your soul as a 
guide. It is attuned to your soul, so any phrase that lights up a crystal will bring 
out the corresponding spell in the real world."

     Alan slumped back in his seat. "It was too much to expect I'd end up doing something 
the easy way."

     "Magic is never easy, Alan," said the wizard gently. "But you have the talent 
to be the strongest Air wizard ever. Now that I know what your talents are, I can 
adjust my teachings to them."

     "That's assuming Serenity allows you to."

     Alisin frowned. "I must convince her to allow me to teach you. Not for my sake, 
or the Elemental Orders, but for your sake."

     "You think the bad guys who sent Frosty and the terror team may come after me 
again?"

     "I think it most likely."

     "Will you be able to defend me while I'm getting my act together?"

     "I cannot."

     Alan looked stunned. Before he could say anything, the wizard held up a hand. 
"There is something else you should know, something that I only realized after the 
fight with Diaspore. The greater matrix has a side effect that I cannot do anything 
about. Because of the mana flow into the  matrix,  I cannot use my magic while I'm 
in command of your body. Any spell matrices I try to construct will be over written 
by your own matrices."

     "But you did it before!"

     "That was before your body became acclimatized to the abundance of Mana in this 
time. Your use of magic just speeded up the process."

     Alan slouched in his chair. "I wanted a simple life," he muttered. "But do I 
get one? No. I'm playing real-life Dungeon and Dragons, and the GM is a SICK puppy!"

     If Alisin heard the muttering, he ignored it "In addition, unless you can control 
this magic, it will control you. The wrong phrase at the wrong time could have serious
consequences. The sooner we can find what spells you have, the sooner we can train you 
in their proper use. Using magic without training is dangerous."

     "You've made you point," replied Alan sourly. "I like breathing -- it's one of 
the few things I do really well. I don't have a choice in the matter?"

     "If you want to live, no."

     Alan sighed. "When the Queen gives you the green light to teach me, I'll be ready 
to learn."

     "Good." Alisin looked up at the ceiling. "We'll talk again soon."

     "What do you mean soon? What's wro --"

     Everything went white.





     Alan felt himself float back up to awareness slowly. His first sense was the 
softness of the bed he was lying in. Relaxing slightly, he kept his eyes closed, 
content to simply listen to what was going on around him.

     "He's coming out of it," announced an unfamiliar female voice coming from off 
to his right. "He's going to be still out of it for the most part, so you can't spend 
too much time with him."

     "I just want to see if they are both all right, Doctor Wolfe," replied Setsuna 
from another direction.

     "As do I," chimed in Rei from the foot of the bed. "That fool nearly got himself 
killed!"

     "Because he stepped in front of a javelin meant for you?" asked Setsuna.

     "No!" snapped back the Senshi of Mars. "Because he did something stupid!"

     "Maybe if you had treated him like a guest and not like a spy, this would not 
have happened."

     "Look, you two," snapped Doctor Wolfe. "If you two want to play 'Macho Women 
with Superpowers', do it outside."

     After several seconds of silence, Pluto replied, "You are right, Doctor. Look, 
he's moving."

     Alan wasn't aware he had moved until Setsuna mentioned it. There was a dull pain 
in most of his body and his limbs felt heavy. He opened his eyes, blinked several times, 
then looked around.

     As he expected, he was in a hospital room, or what he thought was a hospital 
room. He struggled to rise, but a large pair of hands pressed him gently, but firmly 
back onto his pillow. "Stay right there," directed Doctor Wolfe her voice unyielding, 
"I'll adjust the bed for you."

     Alan did as she directed, not wanting to provoke the Doctor's wrath. There was the 
sound of an electric motor and Alan felt himself rise into a sitting position. Setsuna 
and Rei, both wearing their sailor fukus, watched him in silence until the motor stopped. 
Doctor Wolfe, a gray-haired woman with the size and build of a linebacker, stepped back 
and picked up a cup from the bedside table.

     Before Alan could speak, the doctor placed one end of a straw into the cup and 
held it under his nose so he could sip from the cup. He sipped slowly, allowing the 
cool water to run down his throat. After a minute, the Doctor removed the cup and 
looked at him closely. "How are you feeling?"

     Alan smiled faintly, feeling a bit light-headed. "I feel like an army on the 
march -- parts of me keeping passing out."

     No one laughed. Doctor Wolfe frowned. "Your sense of humor is still beyond help. 
How are you feeling?"

     "Not bad. Somewhat lightheaded, and somewhat silly."

     "So you're back to normal then?" asked Rei, a trace of a smile showing.

     Alan tried to glare at her. He didn't succeed very well. "You finished giving 
our playmates the hot foot?"

     Rei's stare wasn't hard as it should have been, but it was still serious. "We've 
identified our attackers as Nemesisan terrorists left on Earth after the Black Moon 
War who were smuggled into the city and supplied arms by some unknown benefactor. All 
they seem to know is they were told you were a representative from an ally of Crystal 
Tokyo, and their sponsor would kick in an extra million if they would kill you. They 
don't know who did the hiring, but they were paid a lot of money. We're still working 
on them, but it doesn't look good."

     "What about Diaspore? Did I nail the bastard?"

     The trace of a smile was back, but it was more wolfish then before. "In the words 
of one of my security officers, 'Oh, yea.’ Your last spell shattered his Ice spear, 
then did its best to shatter him. That spell also did a number on a couple of trees 
behind Diaspore before it was finished. Calcite told me he was rather impressed."

     "I don't know what you hit him with, but he's going to be in traction for the 
next three months," said Wolfe with a frown. "And after those three, he's going to 
have to spend another three months in physical rehab."

     "I didn't know," said Alan weakly. He stared up at the ceiling, suddenly feeling 
very tired. "They were after me? Why not you? I'm a nobody."

     Senshi Mars smiled even more. "They were somewhat upset to find a Senshi guarding 
their victim."

     Alan managed a weak smile. "Guarding? Is that what you were doing?"

     Doctor Wolfe cut is sharply. "You two lovebirds can continue your discussions 
later." She ignored the twin glares from Rei and Alan, and spoke to Alan. "Consider 
yourself very lucky. You're most seriously injured of the half dozen people we had 
to treat."

     "How bad?" 

     "Well. . . . Four fragments struck you in the right side and center of the chest, 
two of which were serious enough for immediate surgery. One broke a rib and collapsed 
the lung. If it had hit you several centimeters to the left, it would have punched 
through your heart and killed you. Two more hit you in the left arm, three hit you in 
the right arm -- I suggest you don't do anything strenuous for a week after you leave 
here. The last two hit you in the face. The first one  missed your right eye by several 
centimeters, so you'll need to see someone to repair the nice scar it left there. The 
last one hit you in the temple and put you out. Other then that, you're perfectly 
healthy."

     Alan became pale during the doctor's listing of his wounds. "Oh. How long was 
I out?"

     "Most of the week. Don't make any plans for the next week or so, because you're 
not going anywhere."

     "That's final?"

     Wolfe smiled. "Bright boy."

     "Alan," said Pluto gently. "Can I speak to Alisin?"

     "Sure." Alan yawned. "I'm still woozy. Hold on a second, I'll get him." His 
eyes closed and after several seconds, he opened them again.

     "Uncle Alisin?" asked Pluto cautiously.

     "I'm here, Moment," replied Alisin, his voice weak and hollow.

     "Are you all right?"

     Alisin took a deep breath. "No," he replied slowly. "I have been a fool and a 
spoiled child for far too long." He smiled at Pluto. "It is difficult to admit that 
in this case, my Grandson and you were right."

     "In what way?"

     "This isn't the Silver Millieum, and this isn't the Moon Kingdom. Maybe it's 
time I realize that and look to the future that you have provided for me."

     "I'm glad." Pluto reached out and took Alisin's hand into hers. "Welcome home, 
Uncle."

     "Thank you Moment." He smiled at her. "Can you ever forgive a crotchety old man 
for causing all this trouble?"

     "I think I can, if you can forgive yourself."

     "It will be hard, but I will try. If not for my sake, then for Alan's."

     "Do you still want him to follow your footsteps and become an Air Wizard? Are 
you still willing to -"

     "Teach him? After what I saw when he dueled Diaspore? Oh yes," whispered Alisin. 
"Not just because Alan is my Grandson, but because he has the Talent to be the greatest 
of all the Air Wizards that have come before him."

     "The Talent?" Pluto asked. "You mean --"

     Alisin eyes shone brightly. "I have seen the matrix engraved on his soul, Moment. 
Air is his element in a way that we could only dream about during the Silver Millieum. 
Even now, the Mana in the air is his to use and command at a level that very few Masters 
could attain. In time, he will surpass them."

     "And you will teach him?"

     "On my oath as a Windwalker, Yes."

     Pluto released Alisin's hand and stood. She smiled at Alisin. "When Alan is 
released from the Hospital, give him this." She handed her uncle a small gem. "It 
will allow him to contact me immediately in case you or he needs advice or my help."

     "Thank you, Moment. We will treasure this."

     "My duties are pressing. We will talk when Alan is out of the Hospital. Good-
bye, Uncle."

     "Good-bye Moment."

     Pluto turned and walked out of the hospital room, Doctor Wolfe following her 
silently. Rei waited until the door closed behind them before she said to Alisin, 
"I want to speak to Alan."

     Alisin shook his head. "You can't. He's asleep again."

     "Damn," Rei muttered. She looked at Alisin again. "If Alan's asleep, then how 
come you're awake?"

     "Strength of will, Lady Mars. But I cannot stay long. Even now, the drugs that 
are in Alan's body are forcing me back into the Land of Dreams." Alisin raised an 
eyebrow. "Is there something important you wanted to talk to him about?"

     "It can wait."

     "Can it?" asked Alisin, his voice gentle. "I have spent too much time over my 
lifetime reading other people's body language to be mistaken. You want to ask Alan 
something that's bothering you. What is it?"

     "I'd better go." Rei turned and walked to the door.

     "What is it?" asked Alisin, his voice taking on an air of command.

     Rei spun and faced him, her eyes flashing in anger. "I want to know why he 
stepped in front of me to take Diaspore's attack. That ice spear wouldn't have hurt 
me, but it came close to killing him."

     Alisin smiled. "He didn't know that. But even if he did, it wouldn't have mattered."

     Rei frowned. "What do you mean?" 

     "If given the same situation, he would have stepped in front of that attack 
again. It would not matter who was behind him, be they Senshi or simple humans."

     "Then he's an idiot."

     Alisin laughed. Rei glared at him. "What's so funny?"

     "Alan said much the same thing to me while he and I were in the Land of Dreams. 
He also said that, and I quote, 'Rei's now probably irritated that I robbed her of 
her chance to get impaled!'"

     Rei's face started to turn red. "That . . . "

     "Do not waste your anger on him." replied Alisin, "Alan is a good man, despite 
his cynical nature. He will do the right thing in the end, despite grumbling and foot 
dragging all the way. He is, and will be, a hero in spite of himself."

     "Just keep him away from me, all right?" Rei hissed. "The last thing I need is 
some accident prone would be hero interfering with my job!"  

     Alisin chuckled again. "Now what?" asked Rei.

     "In some ways, you and Alan are similar. You are both stubborn, cynical, hot-
headed . . . "

     Rei stalked out of the room, leaving Alisin to drift back into the Land of 
Dreams.



Epilogue
	



     The third day after Doctor Wolfe allowed Alan out of the Hospital, He was in a 
park near the palace. He was lying under a tree near the summit of a tall hill, watching 
the sky. Raiden was curled up on Alan's stomach, enjoying the warm spring day. Just a 
man and his cat dozing in the sunlight.

     The sound of movement nearby spoiled the peaceful scene. Moving quickly, Alan 
rolled to his feet, Raiden moving slightly faster to avoid being tossed by the violent 
movement. The young man had his hands ready to channel Air Mana he was about to call 
on when his brain realized the two newcomers weren't trying to attack him.

     "Queen Serenity?" he stammered.

     Queen Serenity stood there, alongside King Endymion. They were dressed casually, 
like a young couple out for a walk in the park. Slightly behind them, Makoto and 
Chrysolite were picking flowers from among the park's bursting assortment of colors.

     The Queen smiled. She looked up at her husband. "I told you we couldn't surprise 
him. You owe me a dinner."

     Endymion shrugged. "I didn't think he could move that fast, not with Raiden lying 
on his stomach." He looked at the gray moon cat. "I thought you were keeping an eye out
for trouble."

     "I was," replied the cat. "But I could hear Rei all the way up here directing 
the security detail to their places. She has a certain . . . emotion in her voice 
when she's setting up security for you and the Queen. The chances of anyone getting 
past her these days are not worth calculating."

     "I see."

     "Also, I recognized Makoto's perfume. So, I concluded that your royal self and 
your wife were nearby."

     "So what didn't you bother telling me, furball?" asked Alan.

     Raiden looked at him. "You never asked."

     Alan closed his eyes and sighed. "When did I become a straight man for a cat?"

     Raiden shrugged. "Be thankful Puck wasn't assigned to guide you."

     "I'll pass, thank you very much." Alan looked at the royal couple. "Queen Serenity, 
what brings you here?"

     "Besides the obviously nice day?" She waved in the direction of the tree. "Why 
don't we sit down and make our selves comfortable?"

     Alan waited until the royal couple seated themselves before he sat down. "Do you 
want to talk to Grandfather?"

     "In a little while. I wanted to talk to you first. How are you feeling?"

     Raiden crawled into Alan's lap and curled up into a tight ball. Alan stroked the 
cat's head. "Doctor Wolfe says as long as I don't throw myself in front of any more 
ice spears, I should be fine."

     Serenity tilted her head, and looked carefully at Alan. "Are you going to get 
that scar healed?"

     Alan fingered the dull red scar that ran from the outside of his right eyebrow, 
followed the outside of the eyesocket before ending several millimeters below his 
eye. "No, your majesty," he said. "I'm keeping it as a reminder of thinking before 
reacting."

     "You did a brave thing by trying to shield Rei." said Endymion.

     Alan shook his head. "It was stupid. I had just finished telling Grandfather 
that she didn't need any help. So, what do I do? I throw myself in front of her, one 
of the very few people in this city who can survive an attack like that. I should have 
my head examined."

     "It didn't matter," replied Serenity. "The fact that you did such a selfless 
thing speaks highly of your bravery."

     "I don't suppose claiming temporary insanity will be accepted as an excuse?"

     This elicited a laugh from the royal couple. Serenity smiled. "Pluto tells me 
you have a talent for air magic that is superior to the wizards of the Silver Millieum."

     "That's what Grandfather says. Me, I'm still wondering. That much power . . . "

     "You know teaching High Magic is forbidden in Crystal Tokyo."

     "Pluto mentioned that in passing. That's why Grandfather hasn't tried teaching 
me anything since I got out of the hospital."

     "How is Alisin?"

     Alan shrugged. "It's hard for him, but he's now willing to learn. He'll grumble 
about how they did things in the Silver Millieum, but he's coming around."

     "Was it his idea to send the flowers and note of apologies to Titanite and 
Hematite?"

     "It was a compromise between the two of us. I wanted us to make the apology in 
person, but Alisin said he couldn't face Hematite right now. Too many painful memories 
were brought up when he saw her." He looked down at the cat. "Does Hematite really 
look that much like Beryl?"

     "Her resemblance to Beryl is uncanny," replied Endymion softly. "Under the circum-
stances, I might have reacted the same way. Queen Beryl left a lot of pain and agony 
in her wake."

     "So Grandfather told me." Alan looked up at Serenity. "Do you want to talk to 
him now?"

     The Queen nodded. "I think it is time."

     "OK." Alan closed his eyes and after several seconds open them again. This time, 
Serenity noticed subtle changes in Alan's body language and there was a gleam in Alan's 
eyes that hadn't been there before.

     "My Queen," said Alisin slowly. 

     "Windwalker," replied the Queen. "We must talk."

     Alisin started to get up, but Serenity pointed to the ground and said sharply, 
"Sit."

     The wizard did as she directed. "Now then," she continued, her face serious, 
"it's time we had a long talk."

     Alisin hung his head in submission. "Yes, my Queen."

     "Pluto told me about what you think Beryl did to you. I'm sorry what happened 
to Ganieda, but that is in the distant past. Beryl is gone, her evil scattered to the 
four winds over a thousand years ago." She leaned forward. "Isn't it time you released 
that anger?"

     The Wizard continued to avoid Serenity's gaze. "You are so much like your mother," 
he whispered.

     "Thank you for the complement, but you're avoiding the question."

     "I know." He finally looked at her, his face sad. "To tell you the truth, I didn't 
realize the anger was still there until I saw Hematite walking toward me. I had thought 
that ten thousand years would dull the pain, the anger that I felt toward Beryl, yet 
the mere sight of someone who looked like her . . . " He stopped, and Serenity saw 
tears form in Alisin's eyes. "In a second, all the hate and loathing for that woman 
came back to me like a tidal wave. All I could see was Ganieda's body . . . " He 
stopped and dabbed at his eyes. "I'm sorry, My Queen. I am not an emotional man by 
nature, but this new world is a far cry from what I knew."

     Serenity looked sad. "I wish I could remember," she murmured. 

     Alisin looked at her in puzzlement. "My Queen?"

     She looked at her husband, smiled at him, then looked at Alisin. "We can't 
remember much about our past lives during the Silver Millieum. What little I do 
remember is based all around Endymion and my love for him." She looked down. "I've 
talked to my mother's sprit several times over the years, but I can't remember any-
thing about my Father except that his name was Halcyon."

     "I see, my queen." Alisin thought for a moment. "What would you like to know 
about him?"

     "You'll tell me about him?"

     "As much as you like to hear." Alisin looked into the sky. "It'll be a change 
from most of my memories lately." He looked at the royal couple. "Where do you want 
me to start?"

     "What was he like?"
   
     "In many ways, your father was a perfect match for your mother both physically 
and mentally. He was tall and willowy like your mother, with the same blond hair and 
blue eyes. You inherited much, including your grace and stature, from both of them."

     "Was he a good father?"

     Alisin nodded, the faintest signs of a smile beginning to form around his mouth. 
"The best. While your mother ran the diplomacy and foreign affairs for the Moon Kingdom, 
your father attended to the daily duties of the Kingdom. But he never let that interfere 
with his love of family." The smile came this time. "On more then the odd occasion, 
the mere sight of you coming into the room was enough to end an unproductive meeting."

     Serenity smiled back at him. "What was he like as a person?"

     Alisin closed his eyes. "He was a quiet, gentle man who liked to read, think, 
and debate. He would listen to all sides on a problem, but when he made a decision, 
it was always fair and reasonable. He treated everyone the same way, be they servant 
or nobleman, as people, not animals. I never saw him get angry at anyone, including 
yourself." He told her several stories about King Halcyon in rapid succession, 
elucidating smiles from both King and Queen.

     "Thank you, Alisin Windwalker," said Serenity softly after the wizard had finished. 
She reached out with her hand toward her husband. He gently took her hand in one of his 
and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I want to have more talks with you about the Moon 
Kingdom in the future. There is much you can tell me about my mother, father and the 
royal court."

     "It will be my duty and pleasure, My Queen." 

     "But memories can be both good and bad." Serenity withdrew her hand and looked 
at Alisin. "The trick is knowing which ones to dwell on and which to leave buried."

     The smile faded from Alisin's face. "I can't bury my memories of Ganieda."

     "I would never ask you to. But what would she say if she saw you like this? 
Allowing old memories hold you back?"

     Alisin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "She'd tell me to move on with 
my life." He opened his eyes and looked at the queen. "Assuming there is still a 
place for Alan and me here."

     "There will always be a place here for you and Alan." She reached out with her 
free hand and pulled one of Alisin's hands off his knee. "What happened in the Hospital 
garden was as much our fault as yours. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt or killed 
and most of the damage was repaired quickly enough."

     Alisin looked down. "And what am I supposed to do, My Queen? How can I rectify 
the mistakes I made?"

     A trace of a smile brushed Serenity's lips. "Pluto tells me that Alan has the 
innate talent for air magic."

     "He does my Queen." Alisin leaned forward slightly. "I can say with pride that 
I have never seen a person with such a strong talent, a talent that must be harnessed 
for his benefit as well as others." He glanced up at her. "I hadn't realized how unique 
his talent was until I saw the matrix engraved on his soul. To allow it to go unexplored 
is not only wasteful, but possibly dangerous." He sighed and leaned back against the 
tree. "But you yourself has declared that High Magic is not to be taught in Crystal 
Tokyo these days." 

     "The reason at the time was very clear." The Queen looked thoughtful. "You do 
know why it was banned from being taught at the University?"

     Alisin nodded. "A student used the knowledge to become a Necromancer." The last 
word was spit out with disdain. "The Elemental Orders during the Silver Millieum agreed 
on very few matters, My Queen, but the elimination of Necromancers was one of those 
matters in which all four orders acknowledged was necessary. To use death magic was 
always considered a serious breech in the use of magic."

     "That is one thing that hasn't change in today's world."  

     "I understand your reasons for banning High Magic." Alisin closed his eyes.

     He didn't see Serenity smile. "Under the circumstances, I think we could allow 
you to teach Alan air magic, but under carefully control conditions. Are you ready 
to listen?"

     Alisin's opened his eyes in surprise. "You would still allow me to teach him?"

     "Under certain conditions." She held up a hand to silence the wizard. "The first 
thing I need to do is ask you this question, as there are people who will question 
any decision on this matter. Can you promise me Alan will never use death magic?"

     "I can do better than that, My Queen. I can tell you that Alan could never use 
a necromancer spell, or almost any other type of spell. His internal matrix is attuned 
to only one type of magic - Air magic. Any other type of magic that he tries to cast 
would be disrupted by the matrix."

     "Are you sure of this?" asked Endymion.

     Alisin looked at the King. "Very much so, your Highness. His matrix is so saturated 
with air mana, it dilutes all other forms of mana around him. Any spell he casts will be 
with air mana as the main source. "

     "Which means?" asked Serenity.

     "Any non-air-based spell he would try to cast will simply fail. It would be like 
adding several drops of ink to a gallon of water, then using the water to write a 
letter." Alisin looked back at Serenity. "The spell matrix will usually collapse before 
enough mana can be channeled through it to trigger the spell. If it does not, there will 
be an unpredictability about the spell that could backfire on the caster."

     "I see," said Serenity. "That's welcome news." 

     "Besides that, I have seen Alan's core. He is not an evil or vindictive person. 
He does not crave power for himself or even responsibility. If you were to hand him 
the Ginshousu and tell him what he could do with it, he would politely give it back 
to you immediately and walk away from you as fast as he could. Power and authority 
scares him." Alisin smiled thinly. "My greatest challenge will be getting him to use 
the abilities he has been given. But he will, My Queen, he will."

     Serenity gave him a look of disapproval. "I don't want you to force him to become 
something he doesn't want to be."

     "I will not force him. His own nature will guide him along the path." The Air 
Wizard became grim. "I do not believe the attack against him at the shrine was random, 
but a planned attempt to kill him. I do not think the people behind it will be satisfied 
with failing just once."

     "I agree with you," replied Serenity. "That's why I want to impose some conditions 
on your training of Alan. For everyone's safety and well-being."

     "What are your conditions, My Queen?"

     "The first condition is that you allow Guardian Pyrite to monitor the training." 
She saw a flicker of distrust across Alisin's face. "He can be trusted, and there is 
no one who knows more about magic in the city."

     Alisin took a deep breath. "If you trust him, my Queen, I will also trust him."

     "Good." Serenity smiled. The second condition is that you allow Alan to have his 
own life. You must allow him the freedom to walk the streets of the city, and associate 
with anyone he chooses to."

     "Agreed. I have never intended to become the ruler of Alan's life, just his teacher."

     Serenity exhaled deeply. "The third condition is maybe the most difficult for me to 
ask of you. I want you to delay the reestablishment of the Elemental Orders for the fore-
seeable future." 

     Alisin looked startled. "Why, My Queen?"

     "Because. . . ." She trailed off, looking embarrassed.

     "Because We talked to Senshi Pluto about the Elemental Orders," Endymion said 
quickly. "She told us that there were certain . . . er . . .  problems."

     "What sort of problems, your highness?" 

     "The tension between the different Orders for one. She mentioned that there had 
been periods during the Silver Millieum when members of the different Orders would 
square off in combat. And not all battles were in deserted areas." 

     "Ah," replied the Windwalker nodding slowly. "And you do not think it is a good 
idea to reform the Orders before making sure the Orders will not fight amongst them-
selves. Am I correct?"

     "Yes."

     "Would it surprise you to know that thought had crossed my mind?" Alisin began 
stroking Raiden, who had remained silent through the conversation. "Very well. I will 
not broach the subject of the Orders unless something happens that I feel would be a 
boon or a hindrance to the formation of the Orders. Is that satisfactory?"

     "Very satisfactory," replied Serenity. "I hope you understand why I want these 
conditions."

     Alisin dipped his head respectfully. "My loyalty is yours, My Queen. I will abide 
by your conditions as you have laid them out."

     "There are a couple of other things," said Serenity. "Please note that they are 
nothing more then requests, so do not feel compelled to say yes if you do not want to."

     Alisin raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I will listen to your requests."

     "The first request comes from several historians who want to talk to you about 
the Silver Millieum." Serenity shrugged. "They feel that the chance to speak to someone 
who can clearly remember that time is too valuable a chance to pass up. The only other 
two who can remember anything are not forthcoming with their memories."

     The wizard nodded. "Neither Ferrite nor Moment is the type to answer question 
if they don't have to. So little of the Silver Millieum survived?"

     "Yes."

     "Alisin sighed. "Very well, I will speak to them. The next request?"

     "Guardian Pyrite wants to discuss the theory and use of Elemental magic with 
you."

     "I will also speak to him. If he will be monitoring Alan's training, it is best 
he is aware of the concepts behind the use of the magic."

     Serenity arched an eyebrow. "You seem to be very accommodating today. I was 
expecting more resistance from you, or even an argument."

     Alisin gave her a sad smile. "As you yourself said, I have to live here now. 
You have seen what happens when I did not accept that before." He closed his eyes 
for a second, then opened them again. "Is there anything else you wish to speak to 
me about? I can feel that Alan is getting anxious to reclaim control of his body, 
and I do not blame him. May I withdraw?"  

     "You had best go," Serenity replied. "We will talk again. I promise that."

     "I will look forward to those talks, My Queen. Your Highness." Alisin closed 
his eyes, and Serenity saw the body language shift again.

     Alan opened his eyes and blinked several times. "I'm glad that's over," he said.

     "Did you hear our conversation?" asked Serenity.

     Alan nodded. "I have no problems with the conditions or requests you asked Grand-
father about."

     "Good." She handed Alan a card. "Here is Guardian Pyrite's Vid-phone number. Call 
him to arrange a schedule that both you and Alisin can work with."

     "Thank you, Queen Serenity." Alan took the card and put it into his pocket. "Maybe 
Grandfather was right about me wanting to learn the ways of an Air wizard. It'll give me 
something to do while I pull myself together a life here."

     "Magic is not a matter to be treated lightly," said Endymion sternly.

     "I promise you that I won't treat it lightly."

     "Good." Serenity smiled. "What are you doing tonight?"

     Alan frowned. "I don't know." He glanced down at Raiden. "Do I have anything on 
tap for tonight?"

     Raiden looked slightly amused. "I believe you said something about spending some 
time tonight trying to drive Rei crazy, or go bowling. I'm not sure which."

     Serenity sighed theatrically. She addressed the moon cat. "I believe Alan is a 
bad influence on you," she said with a smile.

     The cat managed to shrug. "He has some uses, Your Highness."

     "I should hope so." The Queen looked at Alan again. "We're having dinner tonight 
with the inner court. Would you like to attend?"

     "Dinner . . .  Inner court. . . . I attended?" sputtered Alan in surprise. "Er. . . .
ah . . . um  . . . er. . . ."

     "We accept," said Raiden quickly. "Is seven o'clock fine?"

     "Seven o'clock will be fine. The dining room overlooking the gardens."

     "I'll make sure he gets there, Your Highness," replied Raiden formally.

     Serenity beamed. "I think that's everything." Endymion stood first, then helped 
his wife to her feet. "Until tonight, Alan Thomas."

     The Royal couple walked away, trailed by Makoto and Chrysolite, who had stood 
nearby during the entire conversation and said nothing the entire time. Alan watched 
them until they disappeared behind the slope of the hill. He then leaned  back against 
the tree. Raiden looked up at him. "Are you all right?"

     "No. I'm not. I've got a dinner with the King and Queen tonight and I have no 
idea how to act, or even which fork is the one for salad."

     Alan heard Alisin sighed at the same time Raiden did. *I guess I will have to 
teach you more then just how to be a Windwalker.*





     The room was almost completely dark, the only exception was a small light on 
the desk. The small pool of light showed only the hands of the person sitting behind 
the desk.

     There was the sound of someone knocking.

     "Enter."

     A door opened in the far wall, and a figure slipped into the room. The door 
closed, and it was dark again.

     The person behind the desk said, "They failed."

     "I know. It seems I underestimated the power and abilities of the Windwalker. 
It will not happen again."

     "Do not make rash promises," replied the man sitting behind the desk. "Those fools 
may not know who really hired them, but the Palace will know something is going on, and 
they will be alert from now on."

     "We will wait and watch until their guard is lax again," purred the visitor. "Then, 
we will strike." 

     "Do not foul up again. The Council is nervous about this sudden emergence of an 
unknown Windwalker. There is some talk among the Council of sending Omega to do the 
job."

     "They are not serious!" The confident tone changed to one of fear. "Omega is as 
likely to kill us as he is the Windwalker." 

     "Which is why we need to eliminate the threat ourselves."

     "I will take care of it myself, if need be."

     "Let us hope it does not come to that. For now, watch him and learn everything 
you can about him. When we have more data, then we can decide what our next move will 
be. Go."



Author's Notes
	



Queen Serenity and other canonical Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon characters are the creation 
of TAKEUCHI Naoko and are copyright jointly to her, Koudansha, Touei Animation, and either 
TV Asahi or Fuji TV, depending on which season.  

Calcite, Azurite, Pyrite, Titanite and Hematite are the creation of Mark Latus. The full 
story of the Renegades's escaping the fall of the Dark Kingdom can be found in the story,
Dark Kingdom Renegades. Also, the full story of Rei's loss of control can be found 
in Mark’s story, Hearts of Fire. I suggest you read both.

Chrysolite is the creation of Berk' Watkins. 

Ferrite is the creation of Frank Barr.

Colonel Von Tramp is the creation of Ben Harrison

Anyone else not covered in the notes above are the creation of my own warped imagination. 
I hereby blame A friend of mine for force feeding me enough eps of Sailor Moon to overload 
my brain, and turn me into a fanfic writer. B-)  

I can be reached at trboturtle@aol.com. Drop me a line, and let me know how you liked 
this story. 

My webpage is at http://members.aol.com/trboturtle/index.html. Currently, there are 
three stories in progress set in the world of Bubblegum Crisis, and four stories set 
in the Battletech Universe. Come on in and see what you think.






	

	
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