(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.