Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Saga of Mercury ❯ A Real Test ( Chapter 30 )

The Saga of Mercury

Chapter 30

"A Real Test"

Written by Jose I. Ramos

Portions based on "Mercury Knight stories" by Ryuuen No Miko

"Sailor Moon" and all related characters are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha, TOEI Animation and other agencies.

Storyline © 2003 Jose I. Ramos

ATTENTION SAILOR MOON FANS

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DISCLAIMER

As usual, "Sailor Moon" and all related characters are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha, TOEI Animation and other agencies.

The Saga of Mercury story is copyrighted by me, however content in some chapters is based on the Mercury Knight Stories as described in the Chapter 1 Introduction.

Thank you for your support and patience in the long period of time between chapters.

To thank you for your support, please feel free to enter my Saga of Mercury contest, in which you can win a cameo role in a future chapter!

Scroll down for details... and thanks again!

Jose I. Ramos

June 21, 2003

Chapter 30 - A Real Test

Greg Urawa had already realized that an enormous amount of pressure was mounting… on the Sailor Scout team… and on him.

Nothing but worries were starting to flood his head.

With the power of the rainbow crystal, he knew that the big battle with Queen Sorinya was fast approaching. There was still a window of opportunity for preparation, but when it came time, he and the Sailor Scouts would need to come out with everything they had.

And of course, there was something else, which weighed in his mind as equally as his thoughts about Sorinya…

He had to propose to Amy.

Yes, yes, he thought to himself…

Every second of every minute of his life since he, Amy and Sasha de-liquefied that monster on the Sobu Line train…

Every time he took even a small glance at Amy, whether it was meeting her for dinner, or meeting her in a Sailor Scout meeting at the shrine…

And of course, with his feelings for Amy, he had to think about Sasha, who would be his future daughter, and the future protector of the planet Mercury…

He was in a trance…

The Japanese society values the thoughts of a group rather than the thoughts of an individual.

So he had to start thinking more about Serena… Darien… Rini… and the others.

Even though… deep inside… he had more feelings for…

BZZZ! BZZZZZZ!

Greg snapped out of it, and immediately pushed the throttle down and forward to pull out of Ofuna station on his morning Tokaido Line run to Tokyo station… followed by a two buzzer signal to the conductor acknowledging the "All Clear" signal.

He had to concentrate on his job at hand… taking hundreds of sardine-packed southwest suburb commuters into the heart of Tokyo to begin their day jobs.

45 minutes later, his run was completed… and his supervisor was standing right outside of the train.

"Hello, Mr. Urawa," said Mr. Yashima, the supervisor for train operators.

"Hello, sir," replied Greg, bowing.

"Greg, I've noticed in the time that you've worked here that you've always been proud of your job," said Mr. Yashima. "Yet today… today you don't look so well… at least the way I saw you coming into the station now. Is there anything wrong?"

"Well, sir, to tell you the truth, a lot of things are going on in my head," replied Greg.

"I can see that," he replied. "I tell you what, why don't I give you some time off?"

"A few days off?" quipped Greg. "Uh… no that's really not necessary…"

"I insist!" responded Mr. Yashima. "Your final run on the Narita Express is coming in shortly on the lower level. Take the forward section around the Yamanote Loop to Shinjuku and that'll be it for today. Give yourself a few days, then I'll send to to do some trips on the Yamanote Line."

"Well, if you insist, thank you very much," replied Greg, bowing.

Phew! Went a voice inside Greg's mind. The off time will allow me to concentrate on some other things…

As Greg finished his day at Shinjuku, he took his driver's ID out and scanned the ID's barcode across the reader in the crew's room (the electronic timeslip). Then as he exited and headed upstairs, he saw some excitement going on…

"What's this?" he said to himself as he exited onto the mezzanine. "A fair?"

Sure enough, there was a technology fair that was just getting underway, now that the morning rush hour was over.

Before Greg took the subway back to visit the shrine, he decided to wander around to see what might be of interest.

Greg glanced over to see that there was a display for "electronic pyrotechnics"…

"Fireworks!" he said.

That gave him an idea.

He approached the fireworks stall. A young man greeted him.

"Good morning, sir! Would you like to know about our fireworks?" he said.

"Well," Greg said, before looking at a few pictures of some fireworks displays.

"Yes sir," replied the man, "those are some pictures of some of our greatest firework displays."

Greg noticed that some of the fireworks in the photos looked very familiar.

"Did… did you orchestrate the fireworks show for the Hikawa Shrine re-opening?"

"Why, yes sir!" he replied. "Were you there?"

"Yes I was…" said Greg. "And I think that is good enough for me…"

Greg quickly thought about what was going on in his life.

His left eye briefly caught a diamond jewelry display that was also open, a few steps down from where he was, mingled in between computer booths…

He thought about the funds in his bank account….

And then turned to the young man and smiled.

"I'd like you to do something for me…"

"And that's how you make a crane," said Sasha, who was showing Rini how to make origami.

"Neat!" said Rini. "Who taught you that? Your mommy and daddy?"

Sasha looked up toward the ceiling…

"Yes," she replied, looking back at Rini again. "My mom taught me how to make several different ones. I tell you how to make an easier one."

"All right," replied Rini.

While Sasha and Rini were meticulously transforming sheets of paper into objects for the eye to behold, Serena and Amy were looking from a distance.

"Amy," said Sasha, turning back to her blue-haired friend, "I'm starting to get worried about you."

Amy looked at Serena with concern. "Why do you say that? Are you talking about Sorinya?"

"Who else?" said Serena. "Ya know, even though I'm clumsy sometimes, I really care about you, and I don't want to see you get hurt. I'll do anything to make sure you won't get hurt."

"Oh, Serena," replied Amy, "I know you'd do that… but I'm treating her like just another enemy."

"Just another enemy?!" said a voice.

Serena and Amy turned to see Raye, in her red kimono, come over with some hot tea.

"What do you mean by that, Amy?" she said. "I'm with Serena, I'm afraid too."

Amy put her hands flat down on the low table. "Guys, I thank you for your concerns, but I tell you, I'll be just fine!"

Serena had the need to reiterate. "I would help you even if… if… I had to turn into an animal or something! Even…"

Serena ad-libbed. "Even if I turn into a bunny, I would hop to your rescue!!"

Serena then heard a loud, youthful laugh… from Rini.

Sasha had just made an origami of what appeared to be an animal with a round face, two long ears and two big teeth.

"SERENA IS A RABBIT! SERENA IS A RABBIT!" yelled Rini. "Look Serena, this bunny looks just like you!!"

Serena's eyes bulged, irises narrowing.

Amy and Raye chuckled.

Sasha looked at the rabbit that she made. "Do you really think?"

Raye snickered as she put two fingers behind each of Serena's odangos.

"Now I really know I can count on you!" replied a smiling Amy.

"Good," said Serena, regaining her composure. "And… I know I can count on you now to go up to Greg. See? He's outside with the others."

Raye glanced toward and nodded at Amy.

Amy looked outside of the window. Then she looked at Rini and Sasha, who stopped what they were doing to beam wide smiles at her.

Amy began to enter into deep thought…

Outside of the shrine, Greg was talking to Darien, Grandpa Hino, Chad, Lita, Ken, Mina, Jamie, Amara, Michelle and Hotaru… about his plan.

"Well, this certainly has been one lucky time for all of you!" said Grandpa Hino. "I'll make sure to get my best dress for the marriage ceremonies! Black, with a lot of dragons around… I haven't worn it since…"

"Um… okay!" replied Greg. "So what do you guys think?"

"It's a tough choice with the options that you have," said Jamie. "But I'll stick with whatever you decide. If you want to propose to Amy before we focus on eliminating Queen Sorinya, then that's fine."

"Personally I don't have a preference one way or the other," said Lita, "but at least this will take care of all of our engagements!"

"Yeah…" said Chad with a smile. "I can't believe that strength really beat intelligence…"

"Ohhh, yes," responded Amara. "Translation: Chad beat Greg out for popping the question."

Greg glanced at Chad.

"So you understand how this is going to work tomorrow, right?" Greg continued. "During the day the fireworks people are going to set up a short display, and by nighttime when we all meet here for dinner, it'll be all set… and I'll… propose."

"You look a bit nervous," said Darien.

"Nervous? Well…" replied Greg. "Yeah. But it's something I need to take care of. We, as a group, have to take care of Sorinya. But… I love Amy… that, I've figured out, is number one in my mind. Given what's going on, I feel like… no, I need to…"

"SSH!" went Michelle and Hotaru. "They're coming!" whispered Hotaru.

Greg looked over to see the others exit the shrine, and went to meet them. The others then silently looked at each other.

Amy looked at Greg for just a moment, before her eyes fell to the ground.

"Say something!" Raye whispered to Amy.

Amy was looking for the right words to say.

"Uh…" was all she could utter, her knees beginning to knock.

Greg was a bit hesitant to speak as well, but finally got some words out.

"It's a beautiful day," he said.

"Yes!" said Amy, jumping at what Greg had just said. "Yes, uh… nice… nice day."

The rest of them eagerly looked on… including a smiling Sasha.

"What, uh… what brings you out here?" Greg asked her.

"Well, um… I came out to tell you something… uh… Origami!!"

Amy quickly turned to her right, and a surprised Sasha saw her origami bunny snatched right out of her hand.

"Rini and Sasha created some nice paper figures out of these!" she cried out loud.

Greg meticulously looked at the origami bunny that was made.

"Wow, what a nice bunny," said Greg. "Kind of reminds me of someone I know…"

Serena's eyebrows went down in response to the remark, her tongue sticking out as far as it would go, while the others laughed in agreement.

"So," said Greg to Amy after everyone settled down, "what else is new?"

"Um… well…" started Amy.

Michelle whispered in a soft voice to Amara: "She'd better do it here…"

Greg looked at Amy in earnest as she stumbled to find something to say…

All while her face began to turn a shade of dark…

"Oh, no," said Jamie, putting his hand on his face.

It was evident that from her shaking knees, her shaking young body, and from a face that turned so red that steam was about to come out of her ears any second - not from being angry, but from being nervous - Amy couldn't think of anything else to say, except…

"Will… I…"

Lita looked on, and thought to herself, No Amy! It's not Will I, it's Will YOU!

"I have to do some research, bye!"

And with that, Amy quickly sprinted toward the shrine steps… and out of sight.

Besides Raye, who started off after her, crying "Amy! Wait!"… Nobody even bothered to call out Amy's name…

Not even Greg, who didn't have a clue what just went on.

Greg turned to the others.

"Oooooooo K," he said, "What just happened?"

Serena started, "Don't you see, Amy was trying to ask you…"

"HA, HA, HA!" laughed Jamie, who was so loud that Serena got cut off. "Amy is doing some kind of research project on… uh…"

"On guys," said Chad, cutting in. "She's doing an intense study on men."

The girls found themselves with sweatdrops after hearing that statement.

"She's studying guys?" said Greg with bulging eyes. "Wow… who would have thought?"

"She… she said that you were her inspiration," said Mina, who began to play along.

"That's right," said Hotaru. "She says that… because you opened her up to a different, uh, what do you say, frame of mind? You opened her up to a whole new world…"

"I think she means to say," said Darien, "she didn't feel like she really had a chance to have a successful, close relationship with someone before she met you."

Greg was in another trance.

His mind didn't seem to care about the validity of their statements.

He was thinking about Amy.

He then turned down to Sasha.

"What do you think?" he asked her.

Sasha nodded in response.

Greg smiled.

"Wow, if she really cares about me so much that it's given her the courage to start this project, that's all the more reason for me to propose to her…

"Tomorrow… I can't wait…" he said.

While the others looked on, Jamie whispered to his girlfriend from Venus.

"So much for Amy proposing," he whispered to Mina.

Amy ran down the street until she was far away from the Hikawa shrine.

She sat down on a bench next to the road, panting heavily, sweating from her hair, with a skyrocketed heartbeat… and still with a slight blush.

She turned her head and looked back in the direction that she came from.

She then looked down towards the ground.

She put her trembling right hand over her face.

Why didn't I do it… she thought to herself. Why didn't I have the courage to propose to him?

As she began to sob, a man approached her.

"Excuse me, miss," said the man. "Are you all right?"

"No… I just made a huge mistake…" she replied. "I should have done something, but I didn't."

"You couldn't propose to that boy over at the shrine, now, could you?"

Amy stopped crying, took her hand away from her face, and looked up.

She saw an attractive-looking, well built man, who looked like he just came from the gym. He had blue sports trunks, white sneakers, and a tank top-type undershirt that helped to accentuate his large chest.

"Just come with me," the man said, "and I can help solve all of your problems… AMY…"

Amy's head quivered when she heard her name… it was as if something inside of her head was reacting to the name…

She stood up… with the irises in her eyes turning from blue intelligence… to an evil red.

Amy looked over the man's entire body…

"You are one gorgeous hunk," she told him.

With that, Amy put one arm around the man, who was smiling at this point…

And the two began to walk down the block.

Something inside Amy had just snapped.

And Raye couldn't believe it.

She was chasing Amy from a distance, and was hiding from behind a lamppost when she saw everything that was taking place.

She was about to call out on her communicator to the other scouts, when she saw something that was even more unthinkable…

Raye looked into the distance… and saw what was happening.

She almost let out a shriek… she covered her mouth with her right hand, while the intensity of the moment sent her left arm sticking out toward the street.

The next thing that Raye heard was screeching brakes from her left side, followed by two honks of the horn.

Raye turned to see that a car had just stopped next to her, and the rear door was opening on its own.

"Excuse me," said the driver. "Did you just hail for a taxi?"

Raye looked forward, then to the taxi… then forward again… then at the taxi again.

"Well?" said the driver.

Raye hopped in.

"Take me to the Hikawa Shrine, please!" she said.

"You got it," said the taxi driver.

With that, the taxi rounded the block and headed back north toward Raye's home.

Back at the shrine, Greg was on the steps that led out of the shrine, along with Mina, Jamie and Hotaru.

"I hope we can round her up for tomorrow night," said Greg. "I forfeit the deposit for the fireworks if this doesn't work!"

"Believe me, my good friend," replied Jamie. "You have to be optimistic! There should be no problems at all."

Just then, the taxi pulled up to the shrine, and Raye plopped out.

"You guys, we have a serious problem," she said.

Greg turned back to Jamie with a blank stare.

"Oooh! Yeah, Jamie! I'm VERY optimistic!" he said.

"Greg, I'm not joking," said Raye. "It's about Amy… something has happened…"

"What? What happened with her?" said Greg.

"Is she all right?" said Mina.

"Well… is everyone else up there?" said Raye.

"They're just about to leave for the day… Sasha's with Rini…" said Greg.

"Let's get to them quick," Raye responded.

"Oh boy, it's that bad…" said Jamie.

The five ran up the steps… with Hotaru holding on to Greg's hand.

"I hope everything is all right," she said.

"She WHAT!!" yelled Greg as everyone else gasped.

"She kissed that guy," said Raye.

Greg took a few steps back and almost passed out.

After a moment in which everyone was silent… Greg sat on one of the benches…

"This cannot be happening…" he said. "Do you know who he was?"

"I don't know… I haven't seen him before… all I saw is that he came up to her, and before too long, they were kissing each other!

"I can't believe Amy would pull something off like that! The nerve!" Raye said.

Greg was already depressed.

A wailing Sasha went up to Greg and hugged him tightly.

"No… Amy couldn't do this to me… to us…" Greg said, looking up.

"…Could she?"

The scouts attempted to contact Amy in any way that they could… by wristwatch communicator, by phone, by fax, by e-mail, even with a rush telegram to her house. But they were either unanswered or undeliverable.

When morning came, they were all at the Crown Parlor… exhausted… except for Rini and Sasha, who were sleeping at their respective homes from all of the excitement.

"Hey Greg, sorry to hear that Amy ditched you," said Andrew as he brought over a stack of pancakes. "I'm gonna serve you first today. See if it helps take your mind off of it at all."

Greg looked at the golden brown pancakes in front of him, with the melting butter on top and the side of maple syrup.

He tried to smile…

He couldn't…

But he started eating them anyway.

"They're good, thanks," replied Greg in a monotonous, food-stuffed voice.

Andrew shook his head in disbelief as he went back to the counter. "Well, at least I tried," he said, taking his position.

Jamie excused himself from the table, and then went up to Andrew.

"Don't worry Andy, you've tried your best," he said. "After all, Greg's been like this all night long."

"So have you, apparently," replied Andrew.

"Oh well, it's been pretty long for all of us…" said Jamie. "Greg is just… not himself. You can add to that, he's going to lose the deposit he had for tonight's fireworks… he's going to have to return the ring that he got Amy… I guess he got one for her… AND he has to go back to work tomorrow, on the Yamanote Line."

"The Yamanote Line?!" said Andrew. "Where the trains run every three minutes and the passengers pack on like sardines? He won't be able to survive."

Just then, as Greg was eating and as Jamie and Andrew were still talking, the other scouts looked at the main entrance.

Darien took the fork from Greg's hand. "Look who it is!" he said.

Mina ran from the table over to Andrew and Jamie. "Look!" she cried.

Entering the Crown parlor was none other than…

Greg stood up immediately and saw a woman with short blue hair take a seat near the entrance.

He excused himself from the table, then walked on over as the others looked on.

Greg stopped a few feet short of where the woman was.

The woman was reading a book… then looked up to him.

"Yes?"

"Amy?" said Greg.

"Uh… yes?"

Greg crouched down and held her hand.

"Amy! Where have you been?" he said.

Amy gasped and removed the man's hands from her own.

"Stop that! I don't know who you are," she said.

"You don't know me? Have you been high on something? It's me, Greg… U… rawa…"

Greg stopped when he looked into Amy's eyes…

Her eyes were deep red in color.

Greg then inched back.

"You… you haven't met me before?" said Greg.

"No, now could you please leave me alone?"

"What kind of crap is this," said Chad in a loud voice, standing up and approaching the two.

Amy looked at the other man that was approaching her.

"You don't know who we are? We're your best friends, Greg and Chad, don't you rem…"

Amy immediately threw her arms in front of her, in the direction of Chad, yelling in a booming voice, "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"

She pressed her hands forward to Chad…

And all of a sudden…

Chad found himself flying in the air, over the entire length of the restaurant…

"LOOK OUT!" yelled Jamie.

Jamie and Andrew jumped out of the way in the nick of time…

As Chad crashed headfirst into the counter from which Andrew worked, completely destroying it.

Everyone in the entire restaurant gasped. Some of the women screamed.

"CHAD!!!" wailed Raye.

All of the Sailor Scouts stood up and looked at the wreckage.

Greg immediately stood up and backed away from Amy.

Jamie was the first to reach Chad in the wreckage, with Darien, Ken, Amara and Michelle following suit. Andrew ran right to the phone to call for an ambulance.

Raye was trying to get to Chad, but was held back by Greg, who had reached the table.

"LET ME GO!" cried Raye. "GREG, PLEASE LET ME GO!"

Raye then turned to Amy. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!" she cried.

Amy stood up and was ready to leave, when she once again caught the attention of everyone who was in there.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" she bellowed, her red eyes lighting up in hate…

…and a faint, bright, inverted crescent momentarily appearing on the top of her head…

…before storming out of the parlor.

Greg and Raye froze for a moment at what they saw…

Then turned their attention back to Chad.

By the time they had gotten to Chad's body, Jamie was already frantically searching for life signs.

Raye's face turned into one of disbelief, her eyes falling upon what appeared to become a lifeless body.

"NO!" she cried. "DON'T TELL ME! PLEASE! HE'S NOT… HE'S NOT…"

Jamie kept running his fingers around the top of Chad's body.

Jamie's head then froze.

He kept moving his fingers, starting to realize that it might be to no avail.

"Come on Chad!" yelled Darien.

Tears were starting to come out of the women's faces.

"No," said Jamie.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO!!" yelled Raye, now being restrained once again by Greg. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO!!!! PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS TO ME!!! PLEASE!!!"

Jamie began to shake his head.

"I'm sorry…" said Jamie. "He's…"

Just then his fingers stopped moving… and he could feel something.

"No, wait…" said Jamie.

Jamie looked back down at Chad's body.

Raye froze.

"He's got a pulse!" said Jamie. "But barely. We've got to get him to the hospital right away."

Andrew ran back from the phone. "The ambulance is on its way," he said.

"Stay with us, Chad! Please!" said Michelle.

The other scouts who where there did likewise.

At that point, Greg let Raye go… and Raye immediately ran to the aid of her knight.

All the scouts could really do was wait for an ambulance… they couldn't transform in the presence of the restaurant's other customers, who were looking on in shock.

Greg then turned and started for the door.

"Hey, Greg!" yelled Ken. "Where are you going?"

Ken ran up to Greg and stopped him before he reached the door.

"Where are you going, man? We've got to save one of our own!"

"I know that," Greg replied.

"So?"

Greg thought for a moment.

He whispered into Ken's ear…

"Looks like Amy was `taken in' by the Negaverse… I think by that guy who kissed her yesterday…"

Ken's eyes opened wide. "So now what? What are you going to do? You're just going to leave? You're just going to let Chad DIE on us?"

"Chad… Chad's going to be fine," said Greg.

"Are you sure?"

Greg looked at Ken. "Trust me… Get him to the hospital; his brain surgery will be successful. In the meantime, I've got to do what I can to save someone before THAT person's brain gets more fried than it is now."

Ken thought for a moment.

"I understand," he said.

"Listen, I've got to do this all alone," Greg said. "You and the others should stay with Chad until medical help arrives."

"All right, I'll trust you," said Ken, putting his hands on Greg's shoulders.

"Good luck," he said.

Greg bowed to Ken… and left the parlor.

Outside of the Crown Parlor, Greg looked left and right, frantically trying to see where Amy went.

After searching around the immediate area, Greg darted into a dark alleyway.

"Ok," Greg said. "Amy, if I'm not going to find you this way, then I'll have to find you the other way."

Greg released the cell phone from his belt clip, flipped it open, and held it high in the air.

"MERCURY KNIGHT POWER!"

After his transformation sequence had completed, Mercury Knight jumped up into the bright sky, yelling "MERCURY TELEPORT!"

Instantly, he found himself soaring high in the air… heading north towards the Harajuku and Roppongi district.

Everyone looks like dots, he thought to himself. I'd better get down low without blowing my cover.

He was about to do so, when suddenly…

BOOM!

Mercury Knight was startled with a tremendous gust of wind.

The wind was so strong that it was encircling Mercury Knight… forming into some kind of tornado-like vortex.

Mercury Knight could feel the tremendous pressure all over his body.

He flung his arms wide, desperate to try to control himself.

The intensity of the wind grew and grew…

Until finally…

It stopped.

The next thing Mercury Knight knew, it was pitch black… and he couldn't move his arms anymore…

Or his legs…

He was tied up…

… somewhere.

"What the…" he started to say.

"WHAT THE, INDEED!" said a strong voice.

Mercury Knight looked around in the darkness. "Who said that!" he cried out. "I demand to know!"

He then saw a lightly visible blue mist straight ahead, closing in and becoming more visible.

Mercury Knight looked intently at the blue mist as it drew closer and closer.

"I have a funny feeling you're not a friendly person," Mercury Knight said.

"WELL THAT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT," said the voice. "AS FOR YOU, I HATE YOU SO MUCH THAT I WANT YOU DEAD!"

Mercury Knight heard howling laughter… as something began to took shape from within the blue mist.

It was the same well built man with the blue sports trunks, white sneakers, and undershirt that Raye had originally spotted.

"YOU!" yelled Mercury Knight. "YOU TOOK MY GIRLFRIEND! WHAT GIVES?"

The man drew closer to Mercury Knight.

"Yes, I took your girlfriend, and I'm proud of it," said the man. "All part of Sorinya's plan to take over the world, I'm afraid."

"AHA!" said Mercury Knight. "So it is the Negaverse behind this! I was right?"

The man chuckled in an evil tone.

"You can call me… Bob."

"Bob?!" replied Mercury Knight. "So let me get this straight, out of all the names that Negaverse warriors have had in the past, your name is… BOB?"

Bob looked at him.

"That's short for Boburanzo, and don't you forget that!" he replied.

Mercury Knight looked at Bob with anger, yelling "HEY! THAT'S MY LINE!" as Bob turned back toward the blue mist.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter now… as long as I've got someone who's so dear to me… and will be so dear to the Negaverse…"

Bob outstretched his hand toward the blue mist…

And another hand reached out from the blue mist to grab it.

Mercury Knight could not see what was going on, since Bob was blocking his view.

Bob then turned around.

"Yes, it's your EX-girlfriend, and now mine…" he said, stepping aside, "SAILOR MERCURY!"

Mercury Knight could now see Sailor Mercury in his sights, the bright red still emanating from her eyes.

"Go on, my dear," said Bob. "Do as I discussed…"

Sailor Mercury stepped up to Mercury Knight.

"Amy… come on… get some common sense into yourself… please…"

Sailor Mercury reached down to the dark floor and picked up Mercury Knight's sword.

Mercury Knight didn't realize that his sword was in his sheath… until he saw Sailor Mercury pick it up.

Bob laughed hysterically. "In just sixty seconds, Mercury Knight, Sailor Mercury will thrust your sword into your very own body… reminiscent of that time long ago when you tried to kill yourself… don't you remember that?"

Mercury Knight painfully remembered that moment.

"Well, let me put it in simple terms," Bob said, inching closer to Mercury Knight's face.

"You," said Bob, "will…"

Bob was cut off by Sailor Mercury.

"DIE. DIE," she said.

Bob smiled at Sailor Mercury and kissed her.

Mercury Knight saw this… and was getting both scared and steamed.

Bob turned back to Mercury Knight.

"SIXTY SECONDS!" he barked.

Sailor Mercury struck an evil smile as she raised the sword above her head, its point aiming at Mercury Knight.

Mercury Knight had to do something… quick.

He couldn't read the outcome of his event from the rainbow crystal.

So he closed his eyes.

I wish my friends could listen to me… he said to himself… Darien? Jamie? Serena? Anyone? I need help… help me…

In the Crown Parlor, the sailor scouts who were left started to hold their heads in discomfort.

Jamie was trying to clean up with Andrew when he started to feel something.

"Aaah…" went Jamie.

"You alright man?" asked Andrew. "What's up?"

"Uh… I don't know…" went Jamie. "If I knew it, I'd definitely tell you…"

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Raye, Darien and Serena were starting to feel the same way.

As soon as Chad was taken into emergency surgery, they felt discomfort as well.

"You starting to feel as if someone's talking to us?" said Darien.

They settled down as they started to realize…

"Is that Greg?" went Raye.

"I think Greg's trying to talk to us," said Jamie to Andrew.

"Whoa… is this from your special power to…"

"Ssh," went Jamie, "let me try to listen…"

Jamie translated to Andrew what he and the others were hearing…

I don't have that much time left to go, if these demons get their way. Amy is ready to thrust my sword into me…

"He don't say!" went Andrew.

Amy is still possessed by the Negaverse… please if you can, concentrate all of your energy on her… tell her to stop… tell her that she's being controlled by the side of evil… tell her to snap out… like I'm trying to do. Please! I need all of your help! Call on your planets power deep within you to make Amy turn towards good, like she's always been…

Raye, Darien and Serena joined hands at the hospital.

Lita, Ken, Hotaru, Amara and Michelle were holding hands at the table inside the Crown.

Inside Serena's house, Luna, Artemis and Rini were now alert as to what was going on.

At Greg's place, Sasha was about to get into the shower when she began to realize that something was wrong with her future parents.

In the Crown, Mina ran up to where the counter used to be to hold Jamie's hand.

Jamie took Andrew's hand.

"Wha…"

"Don't worry, we've got to try to save Amy," said Jamie. "Just concentrate…"

Andrew sighed. "All right," he said, closing his eyes.

Each of the sailor soldiers whispered to themselves, as if they were talking to Amy… and they believed that they were.

"In the name of the Moon," went Serena, "please Amy. You're our best friend. Don't do this to him. Please be good again!"

"In the name of Mars," went Raye. "I can't blame you now for what happened to Chad. I know it wasn't your fault. Please come back…"

Y… yeah… struggled Chad in his thoughts, in a brief moment of awareness before the anesthetics began to kick in. I know you'll make the correct decision…

"Come on Amy," went Darien, "make the right choice."

"On behalf of Jupiter," went Lita, "let the forces of thunder and lightning strike Sailor Mercury to realize the wrong that has been cast upon her…"

"Bring her back," went Ken.

"Mommy, Daddy," went a sobbing Sasha.

"In the name of Saturn," went Hotaru, "please give Amy new life, the way she used to be…"

"In the name of the moon of the future," went Rini, "please don't let them take Amy away from us…"

"Please do not harm Amy," went Michelle, "in the name of Neptune."

"On behalf of Uranus, please don't let them do this…" said Amara.

"On behalf of Venus…" went Mina, holding Jamie and Andrew's hands, "please let the beauty of Amy… Sailor Mercury… live once again…"

Andrew was starting to hear the messages of support now… and he didn't know from where.

"Greg, you've got my unconditional support… in the name of the Venus… M… Military?"

Mina and Jamie opened their eyes. "Venus Military?" went Jamie.

Jamie then said quietly, "Amy… you have heard the cries of your friends…"

A pause.

"…even of Andrew…"

Jamie looked at Andrew.

"Please believe in yourself," Jamie continued. "Don't let the Negaverse take control of you. You are one of our best friends...

The messages were starting to echo inside Sailor Mercury.

Sailor Mercury's eyes were starting to turn from red to clear…

…from the clear tears that were starting to come out.

We love you with all of our hearts… she could hear Jamie say… and we don't want to lose you to the Negaverse… especially the man in front of you that you want to get rid of… he's been the love of your life… he will always be, as we are all destined to a future of peace…

Sailor Mercury looked at Mercury Knight through her tears.

"I think he's right," said Mercury Knight. "I love you…"

Sailor Mercury was still holding the sword high above her head.

Meanwhile, Bob barked "TIME IS UP!"

Sailor Mercury didn't move.

Tears were now streaming out of her eyes…

… and she whispered to Mercury Knight…

"I… l… love you… Greg…"

Mercury Knight smiled, then got scared as Sailor Mercury lifted the sword, as if ready to thrust down.

Bob looked in disgust and walked over to where Sailor Mercury was.

"What's going on here? Time's up and you're supposed to…"

Bob never finished his sentence.

Sailor Mercury used all of her strength to thrust the sword down towards Mercury Knight…

… past Mercury Knight…

And into Bob.

Sailor Mercury had made a complete semi-circular thrust with the sword, catching Bob off guard.

Bob was gasping as he fell back.

Sailor Mercury then let go of the sword and turned around.

Bob continued to gasp in shock, the sword still through his stomach.

"You just don't get it, do you?" said a choking Sailor Mercury. "Your efforts have failed… and all of the efforts of the Negaverse will fail… I will do anything to fight for justice… even if it means protecting the people that I love…"

Mercury Knight looked on as Bob staggered to the ground and disappeared in a cloud of bright white smoke.

Left in the wake was Mercury Knight's stained sword.

"YES!" shouted Mercury Knight.

Sailor Mercury looked at her knight and smiled.

She then took out the Shabon Rod (aka her extended transformation stick) and yelled "MERCURY HEALING ACTIVATION!"

The showers of light and bubbles once again stretched forth out of the Shabon Rod… and onto Mercury Knight.

Not only was Mercury Knight starting to feel rejuvenated… the ropes that binded him were starting to melt.

After a moment of being covered in the magical and cool fog, Mercury Knight broke free and began to take a few steps forward… noticing that the symbol of Mercury was beginning to shine on his forehead.

"Thank you, Sailor Mercury…"

"Maybe you should call me `Princess Amy'…" said a familiar, feminine voice.

Mercury Knight came out of the fog… and saw someone in a beautiful, sparkling blue dress… with short, blue hair… tears still coming out… and the planetary symbol shining on her head.

They wasted no time.

Mercury Knight and Princess Amy ran up to each other for a tight, deep embrace.

"I LOVE YOU!" said Princess Amy.

Mercury Knight backed away…

"I love you too," he said, as he leaned forward to kiss his princess.

The two shared a long kiss…

A passionate kiss…

Soon, Mercury Knight began to feel something strange in his mouth…

…something he felt for the first time in a kiss…

Could it be?

Yes… it was…

Mercury Knight broke the kiss abruptly…

And saw Princess Amy looking at him… with her tongue sticking out.

Mercury Knight's eyes went wide. "Are you tonguing me?!" he said in amazement.

Her head nodded in agreement, her tongue moving with it.

Mercury Knight smiled as he took his finger and pushed Princess Amy's tongue back into her mouth. "Are you drunk or something?" he asked.

Princess Amy was blushing deeply now… and she rested her head on his chest.

"Yes," she responded, her gorgeous blue eyes looking up to him… "I'm drunk… I'm drunk with love…"

Mercury Knight looked down at her. "You're drunk with love… Amy, I haven't seen you act this way since…… ever!"

Princess Amy lifted her head. "You don't like it?"

"Oh no, no, no… of course…" responded Mercury Knight. "Of course I like it… I just… I just don't recall you ever feeling like THIS before…"

Princess Amy smiled.

"Maybe that's because I've never felt so much love for you… as I do now…" she said.

Mercury Knight smiled back.

"Calm down… Just never forget," he said, embracing her once again, "my feelings for you will never change… even if some day, the same thing that happened to you happens to me… deep down, I want you to understand that I will always love you."

"And I will, too," said Princess Amy.

"Now… I want to show you something that symbolizes my unconditional love…" said Mercury Knight.

"So do I," said Princess Amy.

The two simultaneously pulled out engagement rings.

Mercury Knight looked at the ring that Princess Amy was holding.

Princess Amy gasped when she saw the ring that Mercury Knight was holding.

"Well… they sort of told me that you were trying to propose to me yesterday…" said Mercury Knight.

"I had no idea… you would get…" started Princess Amy.

"Ssh," went Mercury Knight. "I have a good idea… if we're going to profess our love to each other, I want to make sure, positively sure, that the others know about it… I want to go to the Hikawa Shrine tonight and meet up with the other scouts…"

"Why?" said Princess Amy. "Why not here, now?"

Mercury Knight smiled and put his finger on Princess Amy's lips.

"You'll soon find out."

Soon it was evening, and the scouts had gathered at the Hikawa Shrine… save for Raye and Serena, who were at the hospital, and Chad, who was in the recovery room following successful surgery.

Sasha and Rini had joined the other scouts that were at the Shrine, as well as Andrew, who was invited by Jamie.

"Thank you very much for coming, folks," said Greg, holding Amy's hand. Both were dressed in formal attire.

Next to them, three representatives from the fireworks company had their computer control panel set up, and were ready to start the fireworks show on Greg's command.

Greg and Amy turned to each other…

They looked at each other for a while.

"Come on!" yelped Sasha.

"Ok, ok!" yelled Greg.

Greg took out his engagement ring and took Amy's hand.

"Now I think there's room on that hand for one more ring…" he said, pointing out Amy's Scout Ring.

Greg took the ring and placed it on Amy's ring finger, right next to the scout ring.

Amy then took her ring and placed it on Greg's ring finger.

"Greg…" went Amy. "Greg, I know you're supposed to ask me this, but, will you marry me?"

Greg's head snapped back slightly while the others chuckled. "Yeah, that's right… Amy, the answer is yes…"

Amy smiled and was ready to hug him…

"BUT… and I'm just going to say this because I was ready to… Will you marry me, Amy Mizuno?"

Amy inched closer to Greg's face…

"Does this answer your question?"

Greg closed his eyes as his lips met those of Amy.

The other scouts cheered, and Sasha ran up to her future parents to hug them.

As Greg and Amy were embracing, Darien was on the phone with Serena, telling her the official word.

Greg then turned to the people from the fireworks. "You guys ready?"

The fireworks people nodded.

"All right then, let's get this show on the road."

One of the employees stepped forward. "Everyone, please get comfortable, because we proudly present a show that you will never forget!"

With that, one of the other employees pushed the space bar on his keyboard.

Ten seconds later, the fireworks display… featuring blue and white as the only colors… was on.

The scouts looked in awe at the tremendous display that was before them.

As the show was in progress, Jamie crawled over to Andrew.

"Hey Andy… I think I've figured it out… you're a knight from Venus, but you don't realize it…"

"Until now," Andrew replied.

"Wow, to think you were once Captain Andrew of the Planetary Military on Venus… I bet we were buddies for a while…"

"Just tell Greg to fill me in on the story when he can," chuckled Andrew.

Mina then went over to hug Andrew.

"Thanks for helping us out today," said Mina. "I have a feeling Amy and Greg wouldn't make it if it wasn't for you."

"Welcome to the Sailor Scout team, Sailor uh… or something… something knight," said a now confused Jamie. "Anyway, we'll think of something up… but I have a really good feeling about our continued partnership."

"Whatever you say man," replied Andrew. "I'm happy to help my best friends out."

As the fireworks continued, the spotlight shone on three groups…

Andrew, who was now officially a member of the Sailor Scout team…

Chad, who was going to survive that nasty incident at the Crown…

… and Greg and Amy of Mercury… who truly felt compassion and love for each other… and who would pledge their lives to each other if the Negaverse threw anything more at them…

… and they knew…

… the fight was already underway…

… and …

… after all that Greg had been through in the past few days …

… he had to go back to work tomorrow.

The Saga of Mercury Contest

Do you have a title for Andrew?

Sailor _________?

Or ________ Knight?

Or a combination of the two?

Or something completely different?

Send your ideas to the author of The Saga of Mercury, and you could have a cameo in a future chapter!!

See the Saga of Mercury Web Site for more details

http://jrhorse.keiichi.net/sagaofmercury

The Saga of Mercury Chapter 30 - A Real Test 29

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