(Steve Stachowicz)
gerrek@hotmail.com
(Matthew Frey)
mafrey@charter.net 

Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/shores/2307	

                           Swords of Destiny Chronicle I

 				      ORIGIN

                                        By

                               Eric Thorsen and Stacko

LEGAL STUFF:

** The characters and concepts used here are the property of those people and 
companies holding the copyrights to the respective storylines, series, and 
movies. The only exceptions are those created by the demented minds of authors 
of this story. The use of this material should be seen as the sign of respect 
that it is. Besides, suing either of us would be a waste of time since we don't 
have any money to begin with.

**This is to let all of you know the Silver Millennium names for the Sailor 
Senshi and Immortals.

Scott Schwartzstern - Gerrek Bontrager
Kevin O’Connell - Siegmund Drakkar
Wesley Sorenson - Ivar Hurst
James Rosenfeld - Marcus Cathal
Usagi Tsukino - Princess Serenity
Rei Hino - Krystal Bakkari
Ami Mizuno - Meriel MacDougall
Makoto Kino - Natasha Damek
Minako Aino - Ruri Cathal
Mamoru Chiba - Prince Endymion
Haruka Ten’ou - Hadria Ammya
Michiru Kaiou - Meri Drakkar
Setsuna Meiou - Kiana Hurst
Hotaru Tomoe - Talia Burnaby

				*	*	*	*	*

	Ami was in amazement as she looked around the Island’s complex.  They had 
arrived on Drakkensburg Island an hour ago in order to locate the helicopter 
that took Chibi-Usa and Hotaru.  When they arrived, Kevin and Makoto had gone to 
check on the location as Scott showed everyone else to the main complex and to 
show them where everything was at.  After that, Scott had disappeared and Ami 
was walking around trying to find him.

	While everyone was waiting for Kevin and Makoto to return, they were busy 
trying to keep their minds off of their failed attempt at the rescue and 
Makoto’s recent introduction to Immortal hood.  Ami on the other hand had 
another item on her mind.  Ever since she found out about her past life’s 
engagement, a section of her past life’s memory had returned.  The only problem 
was that the memory had a lot of holes in it, and she knew that there was only 
one person that could fill in those holes.  The only problem was that she was a 
little reluctant to go talk to him.  After she gathered her courage, she went 
looking for him.

	She was about to give up looking for Scott when she came across an outside 
patio.  She glanced out and saw Scott sitting there with Artemis, looking at the 
stars.  When she saw Scott, she suddenly got cold feet and was backing away when 
she accidentally bumped into the doorframe, causing her to squeal in surprise, 
alerting Scott and Artemis to her presence.



	“Hello Meriel.”  Scott said to Ami.

	“Um, hello.”  Ami replied shyly.

	“Have a seat; it’s a lovely night out.”  Scott said resuming looking back 
at the stars.

	“Okay.”  Ami said quietly and sat down in a chair next to Scott.

	“What you doing here Ami?”  Artemis asked.

	“Um, well … I …” Ami tried saying but really didn’t know how to say it.

	“You were trying to think of our past.”  Scott said still looking up at 
the stars.

	“How’d you know?”  Ami asked surprised.

	“On the flight here, I saw it in your eyes as you kept looking at me.  You 
were trying to remember our past.”  Scott replied.

	“Yes.”  Ami replied.

	“I guess we have time.”  Scott said looking over at Ami and saw her small 
blush as she looked down at her feet.  “What would you like to know, with 
Artemis here, he can help fill in some things I may have forgotten.”

	“I think you will know more that I will.”  Artemis said.

	“How did we first meet?”  Ami asked after thinking of what she wanted to 
know.

	“Well, I was about fifteen at the time, and I think that you were around 
eleven at the time …” Scott started saying.

				#	#	#	#	#

7 B.C.  MINERVA CASTLE

	The halls inside of the castle of Aeriss, capital of Minerva, were mostly 
empty, except one hall, which had a lone person running down it.  That person 
was in a hurry so he was running.  As he came into the light, it revealed him as 
Gerrek Bontrager.  He was dressed in black tunic, pants and leather boots, with 
electric blue trim.  His brown hair was messed up because he was in a hurry.

	He had been training as a Planetary Guard for the last five years, and he 
had finally finished his training a week ago.  He had a hard time during the 
training, and was glad it was now over.  For the past week, he had been 
celebrating with his friends.  Now he had to hurry to get back to the castle, 
because he had forgotten he was supposed to be with his family when they met the 
Royal family of the Kingdom of Mercury, which included Elder Sailor Mercury and 
her family.  So he was running, hoping that he wasn’t late.

	He continued running down the halls to his quarters, so he could get 
dressed.  He turned down a different hallway and noticed a person wearing blue 
just before colliding with that person.  Reflex took over and Gerrek held the 
person, and rolled so the person wouldn’t get hurt when they landed on the stone 
floor.  After they landed, Gerrek got up to his hands and knees and was about to 
apologize to the person when he saw who it was and froze, staring at the person.

	The person turned out to be a young girl.  A very pretty young girl as far 
as Gerrek was concerned.  She was wearing a light blue traveling cloak that hung 
to her ankles.  Underneath the cloak, she was wearing a light blue traveling 
dress with matching slippers.  Her hair was a bluish color, and long enough to 
reach her waist.  It was currently spread out from her head in like a sunburst.  
She had crystal blue eyes, which were wide with surprise, staring up at Gerrek.  
Gerrek looked into her eyes and snapped out of his own shock.

	He realized just how compromising their position was, with the girl lying 
on her back with him kneeling on top of her.  He quickly stood up and held his 
hand out to her to help her up.  She looked up at him and then at his hand.  She 
then, hesitantly, reached out her delicate hand and placed it in his.  Gerrek 
closed his hand around hers and helped her stand up.  Once she was standing, she 
started straightening out her dress and hair.

	“Sorry about running into you like that.  I was in a hurry.”  Gerrek said 
to the girl.

	“No problem, no harm done.”  Replied the girl.  Gerrek found that he even 
liked the sound of her voice.

	“Are you all right?  I didn’t hurt you?”  

	“No, you just caught me by surprise.”

	“That is good.”  Gerrek said, quietly so she couldn’t hear him.

	“Um …” Started the girl, but died down as if she didn’t know how to ask 
the question.

	“Yes?”  Gerrek said being patient.

	“I’m visiting the Palace and got lost.  Could you tell me the way to the 
guest wing?”  The girl asked shyly.  Gerrek then made the connection between her 
clothing, her question, and figured she was from the Kingdom of Mercury's party.

	“You’re from the Kingdom of Mercury?”  Gerrek asked softly.

	“Yes.”  The girl replied, blushing.

	“Okay …”

	Gerrek told her the way back to the guest wing and watched her as she 
walked away.  After she had turned at the second right hand hallway, she was 
completely out of sight, and Gerrek suddenly realized that he hadn't gotten her 
name and now regretted it.  Then he remembered that she was from Mercury, and he 
still had to meet their royal family shortly.  He cursed softly, ran down the 
hall, taking the first left hand hallway and straight to his quarters, thinking 
about that girl as he can.

	Gerrek arrived at his quarters and his servants were there, ready with his 
clothes.  He started to change out of his tunic and into his formal clothing, 
and while he was getting dressed, he started to talk to his valet, the only one 
that Gerrek could talk about anything.

	“You seem to be happy about something,” His servant said, noticing his 
smile.

	“Yes, I am.”  Gerrek replied grinning.

	“You still are celebrating about passing your training?”

	“No, Leyerly, I met this one girl.”

	“Ah, now you're falling in love.”

	“I wouldn’t really know.  I think it’s more of a crush though.”

	“Young people these day’s.”  Leyerly said quietly shaking his head.  "They 
think they know so much."  He then looked down at Gerrek with a smile.  “So who 
is the lucky girl?”

	“I don’t know.”  Gerrek said looking down, after noticing Leyerly's raised 
eyebrow.  “She’s from the Kingdom of Mercury. That is all I know.”

	“I see. You found a girl you like but you don’t know her name.  How did 
you meet her?”

	“I kind of literally ran into her when I was on my way here.”  Gerrek 
replied and saw Leyerly give him an amazed look.  “I was running, and turned a 
corner and there she was right in my way, and I ran into her.  We landed on the 
floor in a heap, and when I got up to see if she was all right, I froze.  She 
was the most beautiful girl I’ve seen.”

	“What does she look like?”

	“She had crystal blue eyes that shown like a bright star.  Her hair was 
sky blue and was so long that it came down to her waist.  She wore light blue 
traveling clothes, and they looked great on her.  And her voice, it was like … I 
can’t even describe it.”  Gerrek said to Leyerly with a dazed look.

	“Sounds like you are head over heels in love with this girl, and you don’t 
even know her name yet.”  Leyerly said laughing a little.

	“I will find out who she is.”  Gerrek said adamantly, and then thought 
about something.  “Have you seen a girl like that in the Royal party, Leyerly?”

	“Sorry, your Highness.  When I was helping their servants, I didn’t see 
anyone that looked the way you described, but I haven't seen all of them.”  
Leyerly replied.  “Do you want me to find out who she is for you?”

	“No, that won’t be necessary, Leyerly.  I'll try to find her myself.”  
Gerrek said, smiling at his friend.

	“Very well, Sir.  We had better hurry and finish getting you dressed.  You 
must be with your parents soon.”  Leyerly said.  Gerrek looked down and realized 
that they still had a lot to do to finish getting ready.

	“You’re right.”  Gerrek said as he started to finish dressing. 

	Gerrek and Leyerly finished getting him ready and Gerrek made his way to 
the throne room.  He entered the waiting room and found his parents there 
waiting.  He walked over to them and let his mother, Andromeda Noelle Bontrager, 
or Sailor Minerva, checks him over to make sure he was squared away.  After she 
indicated that he was dressed properly, they all took their places to await the 
arrival of the Royal family of Mercury.

	When the trumpet’s started to sound the Royal Fanfare, Gerrek took several 
deep breaths then stood up with his parents.  The doors to the throne room 
opened and several knights from Mercury entered and stood in hover guard 
formation.  Then a Herald entered and took his place at the left side of the 
doorway.

	“Her Majesty, Queen Catherine MacDougall of Mercury, His Majesty, King 
Reignald of Mercury, and Her Highness, Princess Meriel of Mercury.”  He 
announced, bowing them in.

	Gerrek watched as the Queen and King arrived and watched them as they 
walked toward the throne.  They were dressed in what Gerrek had expected, formal 
clothing in the colors of their kingdom.  He was getting bored very quickly with 
what he knew was about to commence and wished he didn’t have to be there.  Then 
he saw the princess.

	She walked into the room slowly, with her head hung in embarrassment.  She 
was dressed in a formal dress, similar to her mother's, with matching colors.  
Her hair was so long, that it reached down to her waist, and was braided up to 
form a coronet on her head.  She made her way next to her mother and stopped but 
was still looking down.

	“Meriel, stand up straight.  I told you it was all right that you got 
lost.  It happens to everyone when they go to a new place for the first time.”  
Queen Catherine whispered to her daughter.

	“Mother!”  Meriel exclaimed quietly at her mother, embarrassed at the 
volume of her mother’s words.

	“Now behave yourself.”  Catherine told her daughter, ignoring her 
complaining, and then turned to face the Royal family of Minerva.  “I'm sorry 
we’re late, Andromeda, my daughter got lost when she was looking around and …”


	Queen Catherine stopped talking when she heard her daughter gasp and 
another intake of breath from near the throne.  She looked down and saw her 
daughter staring up at the throne, with her mouth hanging open and her hand at 
her mouth.  She followed where her daughter was looking, and saw that Meriel was 
staring at Prince Gerrek.

	Gerrek, by the same token, was staring at Meriel as if he didn’t believe 
she was there.  Queen Catherine looked around and saw that everyone else 
wondered what was going on as they glanced between Gerrek and Meriel.  The 
silence continued until Queen Andromeda broke it.

	“Catherine, what’s going on?”  Andromeda asked Catherine with a confused 
look on her face.  Gerrek and Meriel broke out of their trances and both looked 
at the floor, blushing.

	“As I was saying,” Catherine started again.  “My daughter got lost while 
looking around.  She told me that someone had run into her and given her 
directions, but she didn’t know whom that person was.  It appears to be, that 
person was your son, Gerrek.”

	Everyone turned to look at Meriel and Gerrek, and noticed that they were 
still looking down and now had a touch of red in their cheeks.

	“I see...Gerrek?”  Andromeda called.

	“Yes Mother?”  Gerrek asked as he stood up and faced his mother.

	“Would you please show Princess Meriel around the castle, so she can avoid 
getting lost again?”  Andromeda asked.

	“Yes mother.”  Gerrek said.

	“We’ll see you at dinner in the banquet hall then Dear.”  Andromeda said, 
smiling in dismissal.

	“Yes mother.”  Gerrek said then turned to the royalty of Mercury and saw 
Queen Catherine talking to her daughter.

	“Mother!”  Meriel exclaimed, blushing at something the queen had said.

	“I think that it is a good idea.  Go on now.”  Catherine said to Meriel.

	“Yes mother.”  Meriel said, defeated.

	Meriel looked over and found that Gerrek was standing, waiting for her, 
holding his hand out to her.  She looked up at him and saw that he appeared to 
be as nervous as she was.  She hesitantly placed her right hand in his, and 
Gerrek then placed her hand on the crook of his left arm and escorted her out of 
the throne room.

				*	*	*	*	*

	After they had left the room, Gerrek looked over at Meriel and noticed 
that she was still looking at the floor with a small touch of red in her cheeks.  
He could feel that he also had a small blush on his face as well.  He then 
realized that they had been walking for quite a while and hadn’t said anything 
to each other, so Gerrek built up his courage and started talking.

	“I'm sorry I ran into you, earlier.”  Gerrek said and smiled a little when 
he saw her jump a little startled.

	“That's all right.  You’re forgiven.”  Meriel replied to Gerrek.  Then 
there was a long silence until he broke it again.

	“Um, where would you like to go?”  Gerrek asked her, stopping in the 
middle of the passage.

	“Um, anyplace that's calm, peaceful, and quiet.”  Meriel replied after 
thinking about it for a while.

	“All right.  I’ll take you to the gardens first.”  Gerrek said with a 
smile, and then indicated the direction they should go.

	Gerrek took Meriel to the gardens and showed her all the plants and hiding 
places there.  After they had walked through the gardens, Gerrek took her 
through the Castle.  He showed her many places around the castle, so she 
wouldn’t get lost the next time she walked around the.  As they walked around 
and then up a tower to a balcony,  Where Gerrek released Meriel's hand and let 
her look around the place, while he was looking at her, as discreetly as he 
could.

	“Beautiful.”  Meriel commented on the view from the balcony.

	“You sure are.”  Gerrek said under his breath.

	“Hmm?”  Meriel asked turning to face Gerrek, thinking he had said 
something to her.

	“Uh, it sure is.”  Gerrek quickly said, realizing that she had heard him.

	“Oh.”  Meriel said letting the matter drop.

	“Are you enjoying yourself?”  Gerrek asked, trying to start a conversation 
so she wouldn’t think he was starring at her.

	“Oh, yes.”  Meriel said with a hardly noticeable blush as she looked down, 
smiling.

	There was a long silence as they both looked out to the horizon.  Meriel 
glanced over at Gerrek and saw an unhappy look on his face.

	“Are you unhappy that you have to show me around?”  Meriel asked him, and 
inwardly smiled when she saw him jump a little.  "I can find my own way around 
..."

	“N-no, no.  It’s not that, I rather enjoyed showing you around.”  Gerrek 
stammered out, and then blushed when he realized what he had said to her.  He 
didn’t notice her blush though.

	“You seem a little upset?  If you don’t mind my asking, what's wrong?”  
Meriel asked after a bit of silence.

	“It’s nothing against you or your kingdom, but I’m not very fond of formal 
court functions.”  Gerrek said after thinking how he was going to word his 
thoughts.

	“Why is that?”  Meriel asked curiously.  "I would have thought you were 
used to them."

	“I think it has to be something to do with me.  I just don’t like formal 
occasions.”  Gerrek said shrugging.

	“Oh.”  Was all Meriel could think to say at that moment.  Then she noticed 
something else about him.  “You don’t look very much like your parents.”

	“I know.  It’s because they are not really my biological parents.”  Gerrek 
said thinking he could trust her with the information for some reason.

	“What?”  Meriel asked shocked at what he had just said.  "But you're the 
Prince."

	“Not that many people know about it, but for some reason I trust you with 
this information.”  Gerrek said and saw her nod that she would keep it secret.  
“I was orphaned as a child when the civil war here ended, fourteen years ago, 
and the King and Queen adopted me because of services my parents had rendered.  
As according to what they told me the reason of what happened to me.”


	“Oh, my.”  Meriel said, realizing what this could mean.

	“What a shock it was when I found that out.”  Gerrek said, chuckling at 
the memory.  

	“What do you mean?”

	“You know that all of the powers that a child has, are related to their 
mother’s powers?”

	“Yes, of course.”

	“Mine aren’t related to my mother’s at all.  Mine aren't gravity based, 
but wind based.”

	“They are?”  Meriel said in surprise.

	“Yes. I found that out a couple of months before I joined the Planetary 
Guards.  Here, let me show you an example.  Howling Wolf Cyclone!”

	Meriel suddenly found herself in the middle of a whirlwind.  She also 
noticed that her skirt was being lifted up, and ‘eeped’ as she used her hands to 
hold her skirt down.  She then looked at Gerrek, glaring at him for what he is 
doing.  She was surprised when she found him with his eyes closed and his right 
hand straight out in front of him, with a look of deep concentration on his 
face.  She then looked back down and gasped in surprise when she saw that she 
was hovering a couple of feet off the ground.  Then the wind slowly died down 
and she was gently set on her feet.

	Meriel stared at Gerrek wide-eyed, and Gerrek blinked open his eyes and 
found Meriel starring at him.  He had to look away from her because of the look 
she was giving him.  He looked out over the horizon as he waited for Meriel to 
do or say something.  It seemed years later to Gerrek when Meriel finally spoke.

	“I see what you mean.  That was an interesting experience.”  Meriel said 
to him softly.

	“Sorry for not telling you what exactly I was going to do.”  Gerrek 
apologized as he looked down.  "It works better if I just do it."

	“That is quite all right.”  Meriel said smiling a little at how Gerrek was 
squirming in embarrassment.  “It was actually quite fun once I got passed the 
shock of it happening.”

	Gerrek was about to comment when they heard horns the trumpets sounding 
the call to dinner.  He sighed and told Meriel what the signal meant and held 
his arm out to her.  She had a look of disappointment on her face as she placed 
her arm in his and he led her back to the dinning hall.

	After dinner, both families went their separate ways for the evening, and 
Gerrek took his last look of Meriel for the day, and then headed back to his 
room.  After he got there, he told Leyerly all about Meriel as he changed.  
Leyerly was surprised that the girl that Gerrek had been talking about had 
turned out to be the Princess of Mercury, and smiled inwardly at the 
possibilities of the situation.  Then both of them heard a knock at the door, 
and when Leyerly opened it, he was surprised to see Queen Andromeda standing 
there alone.

	“Your Majesty!”  Leyerly exclaimed bowing.  Gerrek headed over to the door 
to see what was going on.

	“What are you doing here, Mother?”  Gerrek asked, tiredly.

	“Good Evening, my son.”  Andromeda said.  “I was wondering if I could talk 
to you in private.”

	“Of course, your Majesty.”  Leyerly said as he bowed and left the room.

	“What can I do for you, Mother?”  Gerrek asked his mother after he offered 
her a chair.

	“I wanted your opinion on a certain topic.”  Andromeda said, smiling at 
him.

	“Which is?”

	“What is your opinion of our relationship with the Kingdom of Mercury?”

	“I think that we have a good relationship with them, and it helps us out 
on the long run.”

	“That is what your father said also.”

	“Well, you know how much I hate politics.”

	“Yes, I know.  But someday you will have to deal with them.”

	“I know mother.”  Gerrek replied, shuddering.  "I have nightmares about 
it."

	“Want to change the subject?”

	“Okay.”

	“What do you think of Princess Meriel?” 

	“Well, um, she's lovely.”  Gerrek told his mother, blushing hotly at the 
way it sounded.

	“Hmmm … anything else?”  His mother asked, pressuring him.

	“Okay fine, I find her very attractive and I want to see her more often.  
I hate it that I can never hide anything from you.”

	“It’s a mother’s job to know things about her son.”  Andromeda said to 
Gerrek as she patted his cheek.

	“But you don’t have to embarrass me at the same time, do you?”

	“I’m sorry.  I’ll try not too anymore.”  Andromeda said to Gerrek to 
reassure him.  “So do you really feel so much for Princess Meriel?”

	“Mother, please!”

	“I’m sorry son.  I’ll see you in the morning then.”

	“Goodbye, mother.”  Gerrek said to his mother as he escorted her out of 
his room.  After she left, he locked the door and went to bed.

				*	*	*	*

	The next morning, Gerrek decided to take a walk through the Gardens to 
straighten out his thoughts about Meriel.  He wanted to know how he could see 
and talk to her some more.  His mother had hinted at his feelings again at 
breakfast, which was why he was out walking now.  He had finally accepted that 
he was probably falling in love with Meriel, but he was afraid that maybe she 
had no feelings for him.  So he was so deep in thought on that topic, that when 
he came across the object of his thoughts, he didn’t notice her until he had 
walked right into her.

	Gerrek snapped out of his daze when he felt himself bump into someone and 
heard the ‘umph’ that person made.  Gerrek looked down at the person, and he 
noticed that the person was wearing a lot of blue.  He looked closer and 
realized that the person was smaller than him, had long bluish hair, and was 
female.  He suddenly realized that the person he had just walked into was 
Meriel.

	“Oh man, I’m so sorry.  I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking.”  
Gerrek said feeling embarrassed.

	“That’s all right.”  Meriel replied, as he helped her up.  "I wasn't 
either."

	Gerrek looked down trying not seeing her expression and noticed a book 
lying on the ground.  He bent down quickly and picked it up.  He took a look at 
the cover and saw that it was in Mercuric, which meant it was Meriel’s book.  So 
he handed the book back to her with a smile.

	“Here.”  Gerrek said while he handed the book back.  "This must be yours."

	“Thanks.”  Meriel said with a small blush.

	“I feel like a heel.  Two days in a row I bump into you, and knock you 
down.  I’m very sorry.”  Gerrek said as he turned and started to leave.  He 
stopped when he felt her hand on his arm.

	“Please walk with me.”  Meriel asked quietly.  "I'm feeling a bit lonely."

	“Um, okay.”  Gerrek replied.  They walked around the garden silently, 
until they came across a bench and decided to sit down.

	“Lovely day, isn’t it?”  Meriel said looking around, trying to find 
something else to say.

	“Uh, sure.”  Gerrek said trying not to sound too nervous being near her.  
He tried to change the subject to something less obvious.  “So what are you 
reading?”

	“It’s about one of the famous scientist’s in my Kingdom.”  Meriel replied.

	“Oh, that's interesting.”

	“Do you read much?”

	“No.  Lately I’ve been to busy.”

	“Would you like to read this one?”

	“Well …”  



	“Here.”  

	Meriel forced the book into Gerrek’s hands and smiled sweetly at him when 
he looked over at her.  He then surrendered and looked over the book.  He then 
noticed something about the book.

	“Um.  It’s written in Mercuric.”  Gerrek said to Meriel.  "I don't know 
how to read it."

	“I can teach the language to you, if you like?”

	“Uh, all right.”  Gerrek said, smiling inwardly due to the irony of the 
situation.  He had wanted a way to be near her, and it had presented itself to 
him.  Meriel then started to teach him the language of Mercury, so his mind was 
too busy to think about it any more.

				#	#	#	#	#

	“You fell in love with me when I was that young?”  Ami asked surprised.

	“You have to remember that in those days, girls who had entered puberty 
became able to be married off.”  Scott replied.

	“Oh.”  Ami replied and then there was a silence for a while.

	“I remember a prank that the Planetary Knights use to play on the Senshi.”  
Artemis said after he got bored with the silence.

	“Prank?”  Ami asked confused.

	“Ah yes, Operation Phoenix Fire.”  Scott said chuckling.

	“What’s that?”  Ami asked.

	“It was a tradition that the Knights did to the Senshi that they liked.”  
Scott said.

	“You did that to me?”  Ami asked shocked.

	“Well, um, yeah I did.”  Scott stuttered.

				#	#	#	#	#

6 B.C.  MOON KINGDOM

	“Why should I do this again?”  Gerrek asked the two other people with him, 
for the fifth time. 

	“Cause it’s going to be fun and anyway its tradition that the Planetary 
Knights always play jokes on the Senshi.”  Prince Ivar Hurst of Pluto said 
reasonably.

	“But, Ivar, faking a kidnapping so we can scare them isn't that funny.”  
Gerrek told them.

	“Well, that and the other things.”  Ivar said.  He refused to elaborate.

	“My father said he did this when he was younger.  That was how he met my 
mother.”  Siegmund Drakkar added, laughing.

	“But still, Ziggy.”  Gerrek said.  "I don't think this is such a good 
idea.  What if someone gets hurt?"



	“You’re not afraid, Gerrek, are you?”  Siegmund asked teasingly.  "You 
don't have to if you don't feel up to it."

	“No, I’m not scared.”  Gerrek exclaimed.

	“Then what is the problem with playing a joke on a few of the Senshi?”  
Ivar asked.

	“All right.  What are we going to do?”  Gerrek asked knowing that they 
would continue bugging him until he went along with the plan.

	“It’s going to go like this.  First I’m going to have a messenger to tell 
the three Senshi we picked that someone wants to see them and then …” Siegmund 
said as he laid out the plan for the joke.  After they were done planning, they 
got into their disguises and left to start their plan.

				*	*	*	*	*

	Natasha, Ruri, and Meriel were walking in the Royal Gardens of the Moon 
Kingdom to meet someone that they had been told to see.  They all stopped at the 
Gazebo and waited as instructed.  After waiting for ten minutes, they got bored, 
and Natasha and Ruri started talking to each other as Meriel pulled out a book 
to read.

	Just then, a man dressed all in black, with a black mask, jumped down from 
the roof of the Gazebo and started for the girls.  Natasha and Ruri reacted 
quickly and pulled out their Henshin sticks.  They were about to call out their 
transformation, but they didn't see the person behind them, and their Henshin 
sticks were knocked out of their hands and landed several feet away from them.  
The man behind the girls grabbed Natasha, pinning her arms behind her and placed 
a cloth over her mouth and nose.  The man in front dodged an attack from Ruri 
and did the same thing to her.

	Meriel realized they were being attacked, but was slow to react because 
she was startled.  She dropped her book and pulled out her stick in the air and 
was about to call out her transformation when someone grabbed her raised hand 
and twisted it somewhat painfully.  It was more surprise than anything else that 
caused her to drop her stick.  When she tried to see who it was behind her, but 
had to stop when her arm was twisted behind her back and a cloth placed over her 
nose and mouth.  She realized the cloth wasn’t just to silence her; it had a 
drug in it.  She tried to hold her breath and wrestle her way out of the persons 
grasp, but the person held on too tight and she couldn’t hold her breath any 
longer.  Within moments, the drug overcame her and she passed out.

				*	*	*	*

	The three girls slowly came to and found themselves in a dark room, that 
they were gagged and that their hands were tied together and hanging from the 
ceiling, high enough that only their toes were able to touch the floor.  They 
also found that their shoes had been removed.  Whoever had kidnapped them had 
hung them up in the order of Meriel, Natasha, and then Ruri.  None of their 
struggles worked, so they just hung there waiting for their kidnappers to do 
something.

	After several minutes, the door opened and one of the masked men looked 
in.  Due to the bright light from outside of the room, the girls had to look 
away, so the man noticed that they were awake, and then left the room closing 
the door, and leaving the girls in darkness again.  The girls realized that 
whatever was in store for them was going to start soon.  They hoped that 
whatever it was going to be, that they would live through it.

	Again, several minutes later, the door opened and the three men walked in 
carrying a small chest and a couple of torches.  They set the torches in holders 
to give light in the room, and set the chest on a table that was behind the 
girls.  Whenever the girls would try and see what the men were doing, one of the 
men would slap them and tell them to look forward.  The three girls looked 
forward and silently prayed that they would get out of there soon.

	One of the men walked in front of them, holding what appeared to be a 
thin, wooden rod.  He was tapping it in one of his hands as he looked over each 
of the girls.  The other two men took positions on each side of Meriel and Ruri.

	“Okay, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”  The man with the 
stick said.  He looked at the girls and saw that Natasha and Ruri were glaring 
at him, while Meriel looked at him nervously.  “I’m going to ask you questions, 
I want you to answer them.”

	The man with the stick walked up to Natasha and removed her gag.  She 
retaliated by trying to kick the man in the head.  But she didn’t connect 
because he had grabbed her leg.  Natasha was about to kick him with her other 
leg, but stopped when she heard the muffled screams of fright from her two 
friends.  She looked over at them and saw that the man by Ruri had a knife at 
her throat.  When she looked over at Meriel, she saw the man by her had a knife 
on her side.

	“Looks like you want it the hard way.”  The man with the stick said.  He 
looked over at the man over by Ruri and then he nodded.

	The man removed the knife from Ruri’s neck and walked over to the chest 
and pulled two items out.  He walked behind Natasha and placed a collar around 
her neck.  She tried struggle free, but stopped when the man holding her leg hit 
her on her side with the stick.  The man behind her locked the collar in place 
and then walked in front of her.

	Natasha saw that he was holding leg chains.  She was about to struggle 
again, but stopped when the man brought the stick up again.  The other man 
fastened one of the leg restraints on and the man with the stick released her 
other leg.  The other man quickly locked the other leg in the chain.  Then a 
chain was brought up and fastened to the collar, which also fastened to the leg 
restraints.  The end result was that Natasha was kneeling suspended in the air, 
hanging from the ceiling. 

	“Now, do you two want to do this the hard way as well?”  The man with the 
stick asked Ruri and Meriel.  Both of them shook their heads quickly and Meriel 
sighed inwardly when the knife at her side was removed.  The other two men then 
removed the remaining gags.
	
	“Why are you doing this?”  Ruri asked the man with the stick and had to 
bring her head back quickly when the man suddenly brought the stick centimeters 
from her nose.

	“I ask the questions.  You answer them.  Understand!”  The man said to 
them.  He then waited to see if they were going to comment, and when they 
didn’t, he continued.  “Now let’s get to business.  What is ‘Operation Phoenix 
Fire’?”	

	The only response he got was silence and confused looks from the girls.  
Then Natasha broke the silence.

	“We don’t know anything by that name.”  Natasha told the man.

	“You’re lying.  Apparently you need something to jog all of your 
memories.”  The man with the stick said.

	He looked over at the man next to Ruri and the man reached up to Ruri and 
untied the shoulder strap of her dress.  That allowed that part of her dress to 
fall down, keeping her breast barely covered.  She gasped and tried to cover 
herself, but having her hands tied above her head made that sort of impossible.  
She stopped moving around when she felt that part of her dress slip a little 
more.  So she just hung there with a deep blush of embarrassment on her face.

	“Any thing to say or shall we continue what we’re doing?”  The man said as 
he used the stick to raise the hem of Ruri’s skirt to up to mid-thigh, revealing 
a good portion of her leg.  “Shame, she looks quite appealing now.”

	“Stop it.  Honest, we don’t know anything about this ‘Operation Phoenix 
Fire’.”  Natasha said pleadingly.  She inwardly sighed when the man removed the 
stick from Ruri's skirt.

	“Looks like we need further jog your memories.”  The man said when he 
stood in front of Natasha.

	“She’s telling the truth, we don’t know anything about what you’re asking 
us.”  Meriel said.

	“We’ll see about that.”  The man said as he glanced over to the man that 
was standing next to Meriel.

	“No!  Leave her alone.”  Natasha and Ruri shouted out for different 
reasons.  Natasha was to make sure that they would leave her shy friend alone.  
Ruri was to be sure that they didn’t do to Meriel what they were doing to her.

	“Then tell me what I want to know.”  The leader, as the girls thought of 
him, told them.

	When silence was all that greeted his statement, the man near Meriel 
reached in the chest and pulled out a collar and a leash.  He walked over to 
Meriel, put the collar around her neck and fastened it.  Meriel didn’t resist 
much when the collar was being put on her.  The man then attached the leash to 
the collar and stepped in front of her.  While holding the leash, the man 
reached up and released Meriel's hands.  He then started to walk out of the 
room, pulling Meriel by the leash behind him.

	“Have fun with her, and do whatever you like.”  The leader shouted out to 
man pulling Meriel out of the room.  Meriel was the only one that saw him flinch 
at what the leader had said.  That was the last that the girls saw of Meriel for 
a long time.

				*	*	*	*

	Meriel was being pulled down a long hallway of some unknown place by the 
leash that was attached to the collar around her neck.  Her hands were still 
tied together, but at least they were in front of her.  She was still bare foot, 
but was glad that the man leading her was going slow enough not to really hurt 
her.  They continued on until they came to a door and the man opened the door 
and walked in, pulling Meriel along with him.

	Inside a lone lamp on a small table lighted the room by an old, rickety 
bed.  After he had closed the door, he pulled Meriel over to the bed and told 
her to sit on it.  After she sat on the bed, she looked up at the man, wondering 
what he would do to her.  They stayed that way for what seemed like several 
minutes, her sitting on the bed looking up at him, while he was looking down at 
her.  Finally, the man broke the silence.

	“Are you alright?”  He asked.

	“Uh, yes.”  Meriel replied, confused at the question.

	“Good.  Are you thirsty?  Would you like some water?”  The man asked.

	“Yes, please.”

	The man let go of the leash and walked over to the table and poured a 
glass of water and handed it to Meriel.  Meriel was surprised that the man would 
be so careless as to not pay attention to her as he poured the glass of water.  
The man walked over to her and handed to glass of water over to her.  She had to 
grab it with both hands and slowly drank all the water.  She then handed back 
the glass and the man set it back on the table.  Then they were back to looking 
at each other. 

	“What are you going to do to me?”  Meriel asked nervously, after she had 
worked up some courage to ask.

	“What do you want me to do to you?”  The man asked to her.

	“Let me go.”  She said with some hope.

	“I’m not allowed to do that.”  The man said shaking his head sadly.

	“I tell you I don’t know anything about 'Operation Phoenix Fire'.”  Meriel 
said to him pleadingly.

	“I know that.”  The man said.

	“But, if you know that, then why are you keeping us prisoner?”  Meriel 
asked surprised at his last response.

	“Because.”

	“Because why?”

	“I can’t tell you.”

	They became silent again and Meriel started thinking about her situation.  
She noticed that the man that was supposed to be doing something to her seemed 
to be very nervous around her.  She saw that he really wasn’t guarding her, 
since he wasn’t holding the leash and the door wasn’t locked.  So she started to 
think of a plan to escape.  When she thought of one quickly, she set it in 
motion.  She just hoped she was strong enough to pull it off.

	“Can I have more water, please?”  Meriel asked.

	“Oh, sure.”  The man replied, absently.

	The man went over to the table and poured another glass of water, then 
brought it over to Meriel.  Meriel took the glass and slowly drank it.  When she 
was done drinking, she started to hand the glass back.  When the man reached out 
to collect the glass, Meriel dropped it before he was able to grab it.  The 
glass landed on the floor, and by some miracle, it didn’t break.

	“Oops, sorry.”  Meriel apologized.

	“That’s alright.”  The man said, absently.

	The man bent down and picked up the glass.  When he stood back up, he was 
knocked back to the floor, causing the glass to roll out of his hand.  He looked 
up and saw that Meriel was on top of him, with her hands around his throat, 
trying to strangle him.  He reached up and grabbed her wrists and slowly pulled 
her hands away from his neck.

	Meriel realized that the man was stronger than she was, when he had pulled 
her hands free from his neck.  Even so, she tried to put all her weight into 
trying to bring her hands back to strangle him.  She succeeded in over powering 
him, but the man was able to move her hands so they were on his collar.  So 
Meriel changed her tactics and grabbed a hold of his collar and started to rock 
back and forth, trying to bang the man’s head on the floor.

	The man tried to make Meriel loosen her grip, but she had too tight of a 
grip to his collar.  On one of the upward pulls, a medallion, that the man was 
wearing, fell out and lay next to his head.  Meriel noticed the medallion and 
when she saw the symbol on it, she froze with surprise.  The symbol on the 
medallion was that of Minerva's royal family.

	The man was able to use her shock and pulled her hands off his collar.  He 
then made both of them sit up and that was when he noticed that his medallion 
was hanging out.  He cursed softly and released her wrists to put his medallion 
back under his shirt.  When he was done, he looked at Meriel, noticing that 
their faces were only a few inches from each other and saw the surprised, 
shocked look to her face.  He had to look away from her.

	“Gerrek?”  Meriel asked the man nervously.  The man just kept looking away 
from her without saying anything to her.  “Gerrek, is that you?”

	When the man still didn’t reply, Meriel grabbed his face, at the chin, in 
her hands and turned his face so he was facing her.  That was when the man saw 
some tears running down her cheek.

	“Gerrek, I know that it’s you.  Please say something.”  Meriel said.

	“What do you want me to say?”  Gerrek asked sullenly.

	“Why are you doing this?”  Meriel asked him.  Gerrek didn’t reply to her.  
“Why?”

	Meriel then collapsed into his chest and started crying when he wouldn’t 
answer her.  She was repeating over and over ‘why’ between her sobs.  Something 
broke in Gerrek while he watched, as Meriel cried on his chest.  Gerrek slowly 
wrapped his arms around her and slowly stroked her hair to calm her down.

	“Please don’t cry, Meriel.  If you stop crying, I’ll tell you.”  Gerrek 
said.  

	“You will?”  Meriel asked after she looked and sniffled, trying to regain 
control.

	“Yes.”  Gerrek said as he used one of his hands and wiped the tears off 
her cheek, while she sniffled some more.

	“Why were you doing this?”

	“It was supposed to have been a practical joke on you guys.”

	“A joke!”  Meriel said, suddenly angry.  “You and the other two men 
kidnapped us and you say it was a joke!”  Meriel said each word as she poked 
Gerrek in the chest.

	“If you want to know the reason, ask your parents about ‘Operation Phoenix 
Fire’.”  Gerrek said in resignation.

	“Huh?”  Meriel said when her anger changed to confusion.  "What do my 
parents know about this?"

	“Just ask them.”  Gerrek told her.

	Both of them suddenly realized how close together they were, and suddenly 
looked away from each other blushing.  After a few minutes, Gerrek placed his 
arms around Meriel’s waist and tightened his grip as he stood up.  Meriel was 
surprised when Gerrek wrapped his arms around her waist and became even more 
surprised when he stood up.  

	Gerrek carried her over to the bed and sat her on it.  When she was on the 
bed, Gerrek released her and walked over to the table and reached into one of 
his pockets and pulled out a small key.  He set the key on the table and headed 
towards the door.  Before he opened the door, he took one last look over at 
Meriel and saw the confused look on her face.

	“You should go.  That key is for your restraints.”  Gerrek said and left 
the room.

	Gerrek made his way back to the room where the other two friends of his 
were playing with the two other girls.  As he got closer, he could hear female 
laughter and between the laughs, the girls were saying to ‘quit it’.  He entered 
the room and stopped at what he saw.

	Natasha was still in the same position as he last saw her, but Ruri was 
now in the same position as Natasha.  He saw that the section of Ruri’s dress 
that was untied, now had totally uncovered her breast, so her breast was now in 
plain view.  He noticed that they had tears running down their cheeks, as they 
were laughing so hard.  He saw his two friends with big feathers, tickling the 
two girls.  When the one that is tickling Natasha saw Gerrek, he stopped and 
walked over to him.  Everyone watched as Gerrek whispered in the man’s ear.  The 
man nodded and faced the third man.  The third man walked over and the leader 
whispered in his ear.  He nodded and grabbed the other man’s feather.

	“Looks like this is your lucky day.”  The leader told the two girls.

	“What do you mean?”  Natasha asked but got no reply as an answer.  "What 
happened to Meriel?"

	The man with the two feathers walked behind the girls and set the feathers 
in the chest.  He then walked up to Ruri and fixed her dress so she was modest 
again.  Then all three men left the room and left the two girls there without 
another word.  About half an hour later, people came and rescued the two girls.

				#	#	#	#	#

	“You were going to …” Ami said in surprised shock that she couldn’t finish 
her sentence.

	“It wasn’t anything like that.”  Scott said quickly when he figured out 
what she was thinking.

	“Then what was it?”  Ami asked angrily.

	“I don’t know.”  Scott replied.  “If you hadn’t attacked me, who knows 
what could have happened.”

	“I can’t believe you did that.”  Ami said after she calmed down.

	“I think it was the hormones of youth that made me do it, besides, you 
retaliated back.”  Scott said smiling.

	“I did?”  Ami said surprised.

	“Yep.”  Scott said.

				#	#	#	#	#

	“Meriel, what are you doing here in your Senshi outfit?”  Gerrek asked 
Meriel slightly confused.

	“Nothing really important.  I wanted to talk to you.”  She replied.

	“What about?”

	“’Operation Phoenix Fire’.”

	“Oh, what about it?”  Gerrek said as he turned away from her so he 
wouldn’t have to look at her.

	“That it was tradition that certain Knights play a certain joke on the 
Senshi.  That and that my Mother said that was how she met my father.”  Meriel 
said.

	“Are you mad at what was done to you?  What I did to you?”

	Gerrek heard Meriel walk up behind him, placed her hands on his left 
shoulder and, from what he could tell, stand on her toes to whisper in his ear.  
He somewhat tensed up at her touch.

	“No, not anymore.”  Meriel whispered and felt him relax a little as she 
continued whispering in his ear.  “But I've got a challenge for you if you are 
willing to take it.”

	“Wha-what is it?”

	“Since I was going to be a slave and do whatever you wanted while I was at 
your mercy back there with Natasha and Ruri.  I’m going to fulfill that wish for 
you.”

	“What?”
	
	“I’m going to run away from you and if you can catch me, without using any 
powers, I’ll be your willing slave for however long you want me to be.  Are you 
willing to take that challenge or are you scared?”

	“I’m not scared!”

	“Then try and catch me if you can.”

	Gerrek realized that Meriel was being serious as she started to run away.  
He turned and saw that she had a good head start on him as he started to chase 
after her.  He chased after her through the garden as fast as he could.  Several 
times he just about had her, but she was just able to wiggle out of his grip.  
So they continued running around the garden and Meriel squealed with laughter 
when she saw Gerrek’s look of frustration.

	Gerrek subconsciously realized that she was leading him to the pond behind 
the garden.  They got closer to the pond, with Gerrek just missing her several 
more times.  Gerrek stopped running as he watched Meriel jump off the edge of 
the pond and run across the top of the water.  She stopped running and stood at 
the center of the pond and looked at a surprised Gerrek.  She started laughing 
at Gerrek's shocked expression.

	“Are you going to come and catch me?”  Meriel asked.

	“How are you doing that?”  Gerrek asked surprised at what he was seeing.

	“It’s a secret, but one I may tell if you catch me.”

	“But you’re standing on top of the water.”

	“You just need to find the right places to step.”  To show her point, she 
stomped one of her feet to the water surface and only created minor ripples.  
“Come on, you aren’t going to let a little water stop you, are you?”  

	She then seductively raised one side of her skirt high enough so that 
Gerrek could see a hint of white underneath of it.

	“If you get me, you’ll have a willing little slave to do whatever you want 
to.”  Meriel said tauntingly.  She looked at him and saw that he seemed to be 
contemplating what to do.  “Oh, I know, you’re not man enough to catch me.”

	That’s was it for Gerrek.  He jumped into the water, expecting it to be 
shallow, and was surprised when he went completely under the water.  When he 
resurfaced, he looked at Meriel and found her laughing her head off.  While 
Gerrek was treading water, Meriel was laughing.  She would only stop laughing 
long enough to see him in the water and then would go into a laughing fit again, 
several times.  After several minutes of treading water with his clothes on, he 
was starting to get tired, and Meriel's laughter was annoying him.

	“Ha, ha, you’ve made your point.”  Gerrek said to her while making small 
waves by dragging hand across water at Meriel.  Meriel just bobbed up and down 
as the waves reached her.  “Now help me out before I drown.”

	Meriel stopped laughing and walked over to Gerrek.  She grabbed his arm he 
had out of the water for her to grab and slowly started to drag him back to the 
shoreline.

	“Oh, you’re all wet.”  Meriel pointed out as she grabbed his arm.

	“Oh ha, ha.”  Gerrek replied to her.

	As he was being dragged back to the shore, he suddenly got an idea and 
smile slyly when Meriel wasn’t looking at him.  He then jerked down on her arm 
causing Meriel to be off guard and squeal in surprise as she lost her 
concentration for walking on water and fell into the water.  When she 
resurfaced, she glared at him as he grinned back at her.

	“Now who’s all wet?”  Gerrek asked her.

	“That wasn’t nice.”  Meriel said.

	“But the look on your face was worth it.”  Gerrek said snickering.  "By 
the way, nice panties."

	“Humph.”  Meriel said as she turned away from him, and started swimming.

	They swam to the shoreline and pulled themselves out of the water.  As 
they stood up, Meriel felt a backward pull on her flap of her collar as she 
tried to walk forward.  She looked back and saw Gerrek having a grip on her 
Senshi outfit.  She looked up at him confused.

	“I caught you.”  Gerrek said smiling.

	“But, but, I … uh …” Meriel tried to say something but couldn’t think of 
anything.

	“You didn’t say when the stopping point was.”  Gerrek pointed out to her.  
"So you're now my willing slave."

	“Well, uh … that is … but …” Meriel said trying to think of something when 
she realized the loophole in her plan.  She tried to think of something to cover 
the loophole but couldn’t.  So she looked down and dropped to her knees in a 
servant type fashion.  “What would my Master ask me to do?”

	“First off, I want you to stand.”  Gerrek said as she then stood up, but 
still looked down.  He started walking around her as to check out his latest 
possession.  “Now, ‘Slave’, what is the limit of your willingness?”

	“No limit, Master.”  Meriel said quietly, regretting her lack of 
forethought.

	“So if I asked you to strip naked right now, you’ll do it?”  Gerrek asked 
testing her limits.  She just stood there looking down for a little while and 
then she slowly nodded her head in agreement.  “Then this is what I want.”

	Meriel regretted playing this joke on Gerrek.  When Gerrek leaned in to 
whisper in her ear, her eyes opened wide at what Gerrek proposed to her.  She 
figured he would want her to do something humiliating, not to basically make it 
an inside joke between them.  When Gerrek leaned back for an answer, she nodded 
her head at him smiling.  But she wanted to know why he proposed the situation 
he had come up with.

	“Gerrek?”  Meriel called out to him.

	“Yes?”  Gerrek asked.

	“Why don't you want me as a slave?  By all rights, I should be your slave 
now.”  Meriel asked him.

	“I couldn’t bring myself to do that to you.  You're my closest friend.”  
Gerrek replied.  "Unless you want to do what I had previously suggested?"

	“Thank you.”  Meriel said and came up to him and gave him a hug.  Gerrek 
hugged her back and smiled as he realized their friendship had grown.  "But my 
Master will have to be a good boy, and he may get what he asked for."

	Gerrek could tell by her voice that she was suggesting that she might do 
it.  He suddenly heard Meriel sneeze and felt her shiver as a breeze blew by 
them just then.  He felt a chill coming over him as he realized that they had to 
get their clothes dried.

	“We need to dry out our clothes before we catch a cold.”  Gerrek told her.

	“You’re right.”  Meriel replied shivering.

	They broke off the hug and stepped a few feet apart from each other.  
Gerrek looked on in shock as Meriel closed her eyes and seemed to be 
concentrating.  Gerrek watched as the water just jumped right off of her.  When 
she opened her eyes, she was standing there, perfectly dry.

	“I wish I could do that.”  Gerrek said as he called for a tornado around 
him, drying himself off.

	“What now?”  Meriel asked him when the tornado disappeared.

	“Let’s head back to the castle.  I've got to see how Natasha and Ruri are 
handling the realization of the true intent of ‘Operation Phoenix Fire’.”  
Gerrek said.

	“Okay.”  Meriel said before she detransformed and then walked with Gerrek 
back to the Moon castle.

				#	#	#	#	#	

	“I can walk on water?”  Ami asked surprised.

	“You didn’t know that?”  Scott asked surprised also.

	“Well, it never really came up.”  Ami replied blushing.

	“Well, that will give you something to work on after all this is over 
then.”  Scott said.

	“I guess so.”  Ami said.

	“You should have kept her as your slave.”  Artemis said.

	“Artemis!”  Ami exclaimed at the surprise that Artemis would suggest such 
a thing.  She then heard Scott chuckling.  “What’s so funny?”

	“Artemis isn’t the first one to suggest that.”  Scott replied.  “My first 
Immortal friend and teacher said the same thing, and I told him the same thing 
I’m telling you Artemis, and that is I didn’t feel right doing that to her.”

	“Thank you.”  Ami said smiling while blushing a little.

	“Hey, I remember a time that Minako played a prank on Ami.”  Artemis said 
suddenly.

	“I don’t remember Minako doing anything to me?”  Ami asked confused.

	“I think he meant your past selves and I think I know of the one he’s 
talking about.”  Scott said.

	“What happened?”  Ami asked worried.

	“I don’t know, you never told me what happened but the result was your 
hair became shorter.”  Scott said.

	“Shorter?”  Ami asked confused.

	“Well, you always had your hair down to your waist, but after a prank that 
Ruri did, it was at the length your hair is right now.”  Scott said.

				#	#	#	#	#

4 B.C.  MOON KINGDOM CASTLE
	
	“You need my help to do what!?!”  Gerrek exclaimed questioningly.

	“I want your help to get back at Ruri.”  Meriel told him again.

	“Uh, okay.”  Gerrek responded, still not quite sure about it.  “What do 
you need my help for?”

	“Well,” Meriel started but unsure on how she was going to ask him.  
“There's the Royal Ball tonight, and I was wondering if you would go to it with 
me.”

	“Uh, alright.”  Gerrek replied after he got over the shock that she asked 
him to go with her to the Royal Ball.

	“You will?”  Meriel asked surprised at his response.

	“Uh, sure.  What do you have planned for Ruri?”

	“Well, it sort of goes like this.”  Meriel started.  Meriel led Gerrek 
down a hallway, telling him what she wanted him to do.  She had come up with a 
plan to embarrass Ruri at the Royal Ball.  She told him what to do and when to 
meet her.  After she was done, she left him to get dressed.

				*	*	*	*

	Gerrek met Meriel where she had told him and they both entered the 
Ballroom.  Gerrek’s breath was momentarily taken away when he first saw Meriel 
in her Ball gown, and it took him a moment to recognize her because of her short 
hair.  After he came out of his daze, he held out his arm for her and led her 
into the Ballroom.

	They danced several times while they kept their eye on Ruri.  Meriel was 
slightly angry at how happy Ruri was.  Then there came a point when a contest 
was held and, of course, Ruri won.  So when Ruri went up to receive her prize 
that was when Meriel started putting her plan in action.

	She signaled to Gerrek that the plan was about to start, and he nodded and 
moved into position.  When Ruri was on the platform in front of everyone to 
receive her prize, Gerrek started his part of the plan.

	When Ruri received her prize and started a short speech, Gerrek started a 
cyclone under Ruri's skirt.  She at first didn’t realize that the wind would be 
a problem until she noticed that her skirt came straight up, to revel what she 
had on underneath, which to everyone’s surprise that were near enough to reveal 
skin toned panties, but for those that were to far away it looked like she 
wasn’t wearing anything.

	She shrieked in embarrassment and tried to bring her skirt back down and 
was failing miserably, then after a few moments, Gerrek stopped the cyclone and 
Ruri was able to lower her skirt.  She was on her knees, with a dark shade of 
red to her cheeks, listening to everyone laugh at her.  After a bit, tears 
started running down her cheeks and she ran out of the room crying.  Gerrek in 
the meantime met up with a grinning Meriel.

	“Was that good enough?”  Gerrek asked her.

	“I think it was too good.”  Meriel said now frowning in concern when she 
saw Ruri run into the Garden.

	“What do you mean?”  Gerrek asked confused.  “My view was blocked by the 
people in front of me.”

	“It went as I wanted, but she was dressed in a way I didn’t think she 
would be.”  Meriel explained to Gerrek.

	“Oh.”  Gerrek said.  "How was that?"

	“I better go talk to her.”  Meriel said, ignoring the question.

	“Okay.”

	“Gerrek?”  Meriel called out to him when she was several steps away from 
him.

	“Yes?”

	“Do I look better with short or long hair?”

	“You look great either way.”  Gerrek replied smiling at her.

	“Thanks.”  Meriel said and then turned and left to go find Ruri.

				#	#	#	#	#

	“I was the one that thought to do that?”  Ami asked in surprise.

	“Yes.”  Scott said.

	“If I remember correctly, if it wasn’t for Ivar, she had vowed to never 
talk to you two when she found out it was you two that did that to her.”  
Artemis said.

	“Ivar?  Who’s Ivar?”  Ami asked.

	“He was one of the other Knights during the Silver Millennium.”  Artemis 
replied when he saw that Scott wasn’t ready to reply to Ami.

	“Oh.”  Ami said.  They sat in silence for a while longer when Ami thought 
of another question she wanted to ask.  “Um, how did we become engaged?”

	“We were somewhat tricked into becoming engaged to each other.”  Scott 
replied.

	“What?”  Ami replied shocked thinking what their engagement really was.  
“How did that happen?”

	“It seemed that everyone knew we were meant for each other except us, so 
they had plotted to get us together.”  Scott said.

	“What did they do?”  Ami asked.

	“Well, it started at the end of one of the annual competitions that was 
going on during the Silver Millennium and it went from there.”  Scott said.

				#	#	#	#	#

3 B.C.  MERCURY CASTLE COURTYARD	

	Gerrek was at the open courtyard at the Mercury Castle, with Meriel, 
helping her out with her fighting skills.  He was teaching her a defense move 
that she could use in the up coming competition.

	“Okay, for this defense, you need to keep your left arm up and your right 
arm at the ready.”  Gerrek said to her as she then took the stance that Gerrek 
had just said.  “Yes, just like that.  You ready?”

	“Yes.”  Meriel said.

	Gerrek took a few steps away from Meriel and then threw several punches at 
her.  Meriel was able to block all of them, so he sped up his punches.  After 
awhile, Gerrek called it quits for the day.

	“Okay, that’s enough for today.  I think that you’re ready for the 
competition.”  Gerrek said smiling.

	“Thanks for your help.”  Meriel replied.  "I hope I do better than last 
year, knocked out in the first round."

	“Hey, I have to pay you back for helping me to read and write Mercuric.”  
Gerrek said and saw the small blush on Meriel’s face and smiled at her.  “Well, 
let’s go wash up and have some food.”

	So both of them headed back to the castle to clean off and eat dinner.

				*	*	*	*

	It was the day of the competition, and everyone was waiting for all the 
victor’s names to be announced.  The audience cheered each victor as their name 
was called at the end of each competition.  For most of the competitions, the 
people knew who was going to win.  There were two competitions that everyone was 
waiting for the winner to be, and was surprised by two of the winners.

	The first one had to deal with the Knights.  Most people knew it was going 
to be between, Siegmund Drakkar, and Gerrek Bontrager.  When the fight ended, it 
was Gerrek that won the fight by slicing through Siegmund’s sword and then 
putting his sword point at Siegmund’s neck.  Siegmund admitted his loss and 
congratulated Gerrek on his win.

	The biggest surprise of the day was the competition with the Senshi.  
Everyone expected Sailor Uranus or Sailor Jupiter to win, but the surprise was 
Sailor Mercury.  They had expected her to be defeated in the first round, but 
she made her way through all the rounds to the finals.  Her final round with 
Sailor Uranus was the longest round that day.  Sailor Mercury finally used a 
move that Gerrek had showed her and defeated Sailor Uranus.  It was the first 
time that a Senshi from Mercury won the competition in three hundred years.  

	Everyone that won each event was presented a trophy for that event, then 
after the awards ceremony, came the party afterwards at the Moon Palace.  That 
was when everyone congratulated all the winners in high style.

	At one point during the evening, Gerrek pulled Meriel off to the balcony 
for some privacy.  When they were relatively alone, Meriel asked Gerrek what he 
wanted.  She could tell that he was nervous about something and waited patiently 
until he gathered enough courage.  When Gerrek was ready, he reached into his 
pocket and pulled out a medallion.  She looked at it, and saw an Amethyst gem 
with the symbol of Minerva inside of it.  On the metal frame, were several small 
Mercury symbols.  Meriel suddenly realized that he was giving it to her, so she 
bent her head down a little and Gerrek placed it around her neck.

	“It’s lovely.”  Meriel commented after looking at it more closely.  
“What’s it for?”

	“Well, I created it to signify our friendship with each other, but after 
today, it will also represent our dual victory in the competition.”  Gerrek 
replied.

	“Thank you.”  Meriel said, smiling warmly.

	They looked at each other for what seemed like forever, before they both 
leaned towards each other and kissed.  Unknown to the two kissing, there were 
several sets of eyes watching them.

	“We’ve got to get them together.”  Ruri said in frustration.

	“I know, but I think that they only think of each other as friends.”  Ivar 
replied.

	“There’s got to be a way to get them together?”  Natasha asked.

	“I may know of a way.”  Siegmund said.  "But it will take some work."

	"What is it?"  The other three asked him.

	"In order for my idea to work, I need to talk to Meriel's parents first."  
Siegmund replied.

	"What is it?"  Natasha asked again curiously as they walked towards Queen 
Catherine.

	"When I'm talking to Meriel's parents, just play along."  Siegmund told 
Natasha with a wink.

	"Okay."  Was all Natasha could say to that, and walked along with 
Siegmund.

	The four of them went in search of Meriel's parents.  All of them spent 
several minutes looking around and eventually went to the study.  They found 
Meriel's mother and Siegmund started telling her about his observations and his 
plan to get Gerrek and Meriel together.  

	"I know about those two."  Catherine said to the four, surprising them.

	"You do!"  Exclaimed all of them in shock.

	"I'm not blind."  Catherine said, smiling.  "I can see things in front of 
me."

	"Sorry, your Majesty."  They apologized.

	"Don't worry about it.  I know you four are trying to help, and I think 
that your plan may just work, but it will need a few alterations.  I've been 
watching those two for years now.  I know that they have feelings for each 
other, but due to adverse circumstances in the beginning, their feelings had to 
be shelved for a time and that is where they remain.  I will take your idea and 
help you guys out, just wait for awhile."  Catherine told the four, who agreed 
eagerly, then left the room.

	Catherine watched as the four kids walked off and smiled.  She had known 
that her daughter had feelings for Gerrek and wasn't surprised that there were 
other people who had the same idea and wanted the same results as her.  The idea 
that Prince Siegmund suggested had started her thinking of a way to get her 
daughter and Gerrek to announce their feelings for each other publicly.  She 
already had her own plan, but with the idea that Siegmund had, she thought of a 
way to combine both of them to get what she wanted.  She went out to put the 
plan into action.

	She waited until the party was over, and then went to work.  She called 
her daughter off to the side to have a formal discussion with her the next 
morning.  When they were all alone, Catherine went into action.  

	"What would you like to talk with me about, Mother?"  Meriel asked.

	"You are coming of age soon, my daughter."  Meriel's mother said.  "There 
have been several suitors that have been asking for permission to marry you."  
Meriel didn't like where this was leading.

	"But Mother, I am not ready to get married yet."  Meriel pleaded.  "You 
know that."

	"That is beside the point.  You need to continue the line of Mercury.  You 
must have an heir."

	"But Mother...." Meriel said as she felt tears forming.

	"No 'but's' daughter.  You need to get married and produce an heir to our 
Kingdom.  So in that respect, I am going to send word to Kirru that I'm going to 
approve of his claim of marriage to you."

	"No!  Mother not him, please anyone but him."  Meriel exclaimed in fear.

	"I'm sorry, but he has one of the strongest claims on you. I can't ignore 
that."

	Inwardly she felt her daughter's pain.  Kirru was of minor nobility in 
their Kingdom.  Even she knew how Kirru acted around her daughter.  Kirru was 
just looking for any means to gain a powerful hold on Mercury.  He was just 
going to use Meriel as a means to produce an heir of his bloodline, so he would 
have a hold of the Kingdom of Mercury.  She knew she wouldn't really accept 
Kirru as a suitor for her daughter, but she knew that that name would force her 
daughter into action.

	"You have until we get back home to change my mind."  Catherine watched as 
her daughter ran out of the room crying.  She then whispered to herself, "I'm 
sorry Meriel, but this is for your own good.  Now to put the other half of the 
plan into motion."

	Catherine left the study in search of Gerrek.  After a few minutes of 
searching, she found him, outside practicing with his sword.  So she went over 
to him and got his attention.

	"Yes your Majesty?"  Gerrek asked respectfully.

	"I need your help."  Catherine replied.

	"With what?"

	"My daughter and I have had a disagreement recently and she ran off.  If 
you can, would you help her, she probably needs someone to talk to right now."

	"Okay, I'll help out.  Do you know where she could be?"

	"Probably to a quiet, secluded place."

	"Okay, I think I know where she is."

	"Thank you."

	"No problem, your Majesty."

	Gerrek left Catherine immediately and went in search of Meriel.  He knew a 
few places where she might be, and got lucky when he found her in the Garden of 
the Moon Palace.  He found her sitting on the ground, with her knees up to her 
chest, her arms wrapped around her legs, and her chin resting on her knees, 
crying.

	"Meriel?"  Gerrek called out and smiled when he saw her jump a little.  
"Are you alright?"

	"Yes."  Meriel said quietly after she wiped her eyes futilely.

	"Then why are you crying?"

	"It's nothing."

	"I know it's not nothing, what's wrong?"

	"My mother is going make me get engaged."  Meriel said after a bit.

	"What?"  Gerrek said surprised and feeling a touch of dread.

	"When we return home, she is going to make my engagement formal."  

	Gerrek sat down next to Meriel and placed his arm around her.

	"Who is she engaging you too?"  Gerrek asked her, feeling a little sick.

	"Kirru."  Meriel replied, shuddering in revulsion.

	Gerrek held her closer as she started to cry again.  They just sat there 
in silence; the only noise, Meriel's quiet sobs.  Suddenly Meriel shot up to her 
knees and looked at Gerrek, with hope in her eyes.

	"Meriel?"  Gerrek asked in surprise.  "What is it?"

	"What are your feelings towards me?"  Meriel asked urgently.

	"Whaa?"  Gerrek asked confused.  "Why are you asking me that now?"

	"I need to know, what are your feelings towards me, it's important."

	"Oh, well, I've been in love with you since the first time that we met.  
But because of the Law, I had to keep my feelings locked up."

	Gerrek looked up at Meriel's face to see what response she would give to 
him.  He saw a smile and more tears running down her face.  Suddenly, Meriel 
threw herself at Gerrek and gave him a hug.

	"I've been in love with you too!  Ever since we first met.  But I didn't 
know what your feelings were."

	"But we can't be in love with each other now.  You're getting engaged to 
someone else."

	"No, you don't understand."

	"What?"  Gerrek asked.  "What don't I understand?"

	"Mother gave me until we got back home to change her mind.  If I tell her 
I'm in love with someone else who is just as eligible, I can get out of the 
engagement."

	"But, wouldn't we be lying to your mother then?"

	"You love me, I love you.  We are not lying to my mother if we tell her 
that."

	"Alright then, let's do it."

	"Oh thank you."  Meriel threw her arms around Gerrek’s neck and kissed him 
hard.  Gerrek was surprised at first when Meriel kissed him, but after awhile, 
Gerrek slowly wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back.  After several 
minutes, they broke the kiss and looked at each other.  They both realized they 
had been kissing for longer then they should have.

	"Uh, I think we better go talk to your mother now."  Gerrek said.

	"Yes, we better hurry."  Meriel replied, and then smiled slyly.  "I want 
to get back where we left off."

	They got up and went off to see Catherine.  They found her in the study 
reading a book.  She looked up when they stepped in front of her and smiled.

	"I see you found her."  Catherine said.  "Is she feeling better?"

	"Yes, your Majesty."  Gerrek replied.  "I think so."
	
	"Thank you for your help."  Catherine said and silence followed for a bit.

	"Mother?"  Meriel said breaking the silence.

	"Yes, dear?"  Catherine asked.  "What is it?"

	"I have something to tell you."  Meriel said.

	"What is it?"  Catherine asked.

	"I will not marry Kirru."  Meriel replied.

	"Why not?"  Catherine asked.  "He's quite eligible."

	"I am in love with someone else."

	"And who is this 'someone else'."  Catherine smiled inwardly as she 
watched her daughter grab Gerrek's hand for support.

	"Gerrek."  Meriel replied.  "I'm in love with Gerrek."

	"I see.  But being engaged and being in love with someone are two 
different things."  Catherine said, and then saw her downcast look.  "Young 
Gerrek?"

	"Yes?"  Gerrek asked in confusion.

	"Are you in love with my daughter?"  Catherine asked.

	"Yes, your Majesty."

	"But are you willing to protect and take care of my daughter, for the rest 
of your life?"

	"Yes, your Majesty.  With all my heart."

	"Are you willing to marry my daughter?"

	"Absolutely."  Gerrek said after her looked over at Meriel and squeezed 
her hand.

	"Then kiss her like you mean it."

	Gerrek and Meriel stared at each other.  They both realized what Catherine 
was saying.  That if they kissed now, they would be engaged to each other.  
After a moment of looking at each other, they started to lean towards each 
other.  Their lips met and they started kissing.  It went on for a long time.

	Then all of a sudden, there was cheering and clapping all around them.  
They broke the kiss and started looking all around them.  Most of their friends 
were there clapping and cheering for them.

	"What are you guys doing here?"  Gerrek asked, surprised and embarrassed.

	"We're here because both of you needed a push to admit your feelings for 
each other” Came a voice from the far side of the study that Gerrek recognized.

	"Mother!"  Gerrek gasped in shock.

	"Hello son."  Andromeda said smiling.

	"What are you doing here?"  Gerrek asked.

	"The same as everyone else here.  Helping you two admit your feelings for 
each other."  Andromeda replied.

	"Why?"  Meriel asked.

	"It appeared that the only ones that didn't know about your feelings were 
the two of you."  Catherine said to the two.  Everyone gave out a small chuckle 
when they blushed a little.

	"Hey, we've got to celebrate this occasion, let's go party."  Ruri shouted 
happily.

	Everyone filed out of the study and left Meriel and Gerrek to stand alone 
and look at each other.  They smiled at each other realizing that they were now 
engaged and held hands when they walked out of the room, happy to be that way.

				#	#	#	#	#

	“I see what you meant, but what is this Law that prevented us from getting 
engaged sooner?”  Ami asked.

	"Law of Inheritance of Kingdoms."  Artemis replied when he remembered it.

	"What is that?”  Ami asked confused.

	"The basic concept is that they needed a female heir to carry on the rule.  
Since I was male, I couldn't marry any other of the Senshi because of that rule.  
From what I’m able to remember, I was able to marry any female that wasn't an 
heir to a Senshi position until there was an heir to Minerva.  That is what held 
up me being engaged to you sooner.  After the heir was born on Minerva, I was 
free to marry whomever I wanted.  Before, I was stuck."  Scott replied.

	"I see.”  Ami said.  “That would put a damper on a relationship."

	"Yeah.  Tell me about it."  Scott said chuckling, it was then that he felt 
the presence of another immortal approaching and knew Kevin was returning.  
“Well, we better head back in, Kevin and your friend are returning.”

	“They are?”  Ami said surprised that he knew that but then figured that it 
was getting late and they had to rescue Chibi-Usa and Hotaru the next day.  
“Okay let’s go.”

	The three of them started back inside the complex when Ami had one last 
thing to say to Scott.

	“Thanks for the talk.”  Ami said.

	“You’re welcome.”  Scott replied and the three of them went in to see what 
Kevin had to say.

    Source: geocities.com/zciwohcats