Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Saga of Mercury ❯ Examination of Love ( Chapter 31 )

The Saga of Mercury

Chapter 31

"Examination of Love"

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

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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.

CORRECTION

A reader with a sharp eye caught an error in the beginning of Chapter 15 of The Saga of Mercury. Mars Knight should have attacked with his FIRE BLADE, not with his LOVE BLADE.

Thanks to the fanfiction.net reader that pointed this out. Corrected versions to Chapter 15 will be made to the PDFs on the Saga of Mercury web site and, whenever possible, to the text versions that can be found on the other web sites.

Chapter 31 - Examination of Love

Amy Mizuno was trying to make sure that her head was screwed on correctly.

Here she was, at the Kimura School in Funabashi, for a placement exam.

The Kimura School in Chiba is where liberal arts and medical students can take placement exams. In the case of Amy, it was the latter.

It is recommended that young, aspiring doctors, such as Amy, take a medical placement exam in order to determine how long they would spend in medical school. Medical school has very stringent course requirements, of course, but some of those courses can be waived depending on how a student does on this exam. In simple terms, one that finishes high on the exam has the possibility to graduate from medical school one year earlier than others.

It was an unusual situation for Amy, however, as she was preparing to take this test.

For the first time in a while…

She was nervous about taking this test.

She's not normally this way.

But too many things have happened in her life recently.

In her life as a Sailor Scout… and as a person.

She was influenced by the power of the Negaverse, and almost ended up killing Mercury Knight… her only love… before the love and spirit of the other scouts caught up to her.

She loved Greg.

She loved Sasha, her future daughter.

She loved Serena and the rest of the Sailor Scout team for bringing her up from the turmoil that existed.

She was engaged.

The thought streaked across her mind often… including numerous times when she took the Sobu Rapid train to the Funabashi station.

Mrs. Amy Urawa…

Amy always smiled at that thought.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen."

Amy snapped out of that trance when hearing those words.

"My name is Mr. Kawamura and I will be your exam administrator today. I will be administrating the Art, English, Math and Medical examinations. If you entered this room in error, please go out the door to the main reception desk at this time. The test will begin in ten minutes. Thank you."

Amy took a deep breath… in… and out.

The deep breath caught the attention of a young student at the adjacent desk.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked Amy.

"Um, yes… well…" went Amy, "I think… well I'm a bit nervous but I think I'll do fine, thanks."

"That's great!" responded the girl. "By the way, I'm Lana Carney, and you are?"

"Yes, I'm Amy. Amy Mizuno. Pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too!" responded Lana.

"What examination are you taking in this room?" Amy asked.

"The Art examination," said Lana. "I'd like to be a musician, or be a music teacher. I play the clarinet, and I'd like to help others get more interested in music. I think music can help people to be smart, if they'd only listen."

"Oh yes," responded Amy, "I like to listen to music sometimes too, whenever I study. I like to listen to classical music… my boyfriend has exposed me to a couple of other genres but for the most part, classical music."

"I see," said Lana.

Lana looked down toward the floor.

"The only thing is," she said, "I really don't like taking these tests. But my mom says they'll look good on my college application!"

"Oh yes, this test will definitely have an impact," Amy responded. "I think that if you put your mind to it - if you really believe that you have the knowledge and the will to teach someone about music - I think you will do well… on this test, and in the future."

Amy's comment brought a smile to Lana's face.

"Time for the examination to begin," said Mr. Kawamura. "Good luck to everyone."

Lana nodded to Amy and prepared to receive her test…

That was ten minutes? thought Amy.

Amy put her thoughts about Greg and the others aside for now… because this exam, she thought, could influence her future. And she had to nail it. (In other words, do well on the exam.)

Meanwhile, in central Tokyo…

When people want to shop in Tokyo, they go to some of the most lavish of venues… one of which is known as Ginza.

You can find it all here… enough shops, streets, people and nighttime lights to make the unsuspecting tourist's head spin around several times.

As Amy was taking her exam, Greg, Sasha, Jamie and Mina were together in the Ginza district.

Greg was wearing a blue dress shirt with khahi pants. Jamie was also with Khaki pants, but with a yellow t-shirt. Sasha was in formal Japanese attire, wearing a colorful yukata that Mrs. Hattori had given to her during their trip to Kyoto.

And Mina… well… besides the trademark bow in her long, blond hair…

Mina was wearing a sexy pink drawstring dress.

Jamie would be very pleased looking at Mina like that… at least, that's what Greg was thinking.

"Why do you always have to wear something like that when we go shopping?" asked Jamie, with low, mean eyes and a vocal tone to match.

"What's wrong with Mina?" asked Sasha.

"Whenever I say the word `shopping'," Jamie replied, "she goes bananas in her head. She dresses as if she's going to a ball. Of course, the first few times we did this, I'd always say `wow' when I look at her. But… now…"

"Now?" said Greg.

"Now, it's… well… ordinary," Jamie responded.

"Hmm… You find it ordinary that she stopped to look at that display window back there?" said Greg, pointing behind him.

At a particular window display outside of one of Ginza's large department stores, Mina was looking at the large swimsuit collection that had just been put out.

Small crowds of onlookers were gathering near where she was.

Mina's attention was drawn to a shiny light blue two-piece that was in the center of the window.

Jamie was walking back with Greg and Sasha to the display window.

"Yep, Mina's one of those people that always wants attention," said Jamie.

"You think she can get some more attention in that swimsuit?" Greg asked.

Jamie smiled and nodded.

"What do you mean?" Sasha asked Greg.

"Well… um…" went Greg, "it… the… it has… those blue colors on it. It… kinda reminds me of someone's hair," he said, ruffling Sasha's blue hair with his hand.

"That tickles!" Sasha said, smiling.

Sasha then looked at the people gathering around the window.

"There are a lot of people looking at that," she said.

"Yeah," responded Greg. "I wonder how much something like that would cost?"

"I would be worried about something else…" said Jamie. "I wonder how much Mina costs."

"Huh?" went Greg.

"Look a bit more carefully," said Jamie.

Greg did… and noticed something peculiar.

The onlookers weren't looking at the window.

They were looking at Mina.

Jamie, Greg and Sasha cautiously approached the group of people, overhearing things such as "You're so kawaii!", "You look familiar!" and "Aren't you that ballerina from the festival?"

"I was very impressed with your dance performance from that competition," said one man in a business suit to Mina, who by the way showed no sign of being surprised by the sudden questioning.

Mina, in a striking, upward pose, arms crossed in front of her, smiled as she said "Thank you very much! Do you really like it?"

Jamie turned back to Greg and Sasha.

"As I was saying…" he said.

"We are in awe of you so much," said the man, "that we at the department store would like you to model our latest dresses while dancing!"

Mina was NOW surprised, her eyes and mouth open wide, upon hearing the offer.

Those gathered around her uttered in agreement… they apparently were all working for the department store that had the blue two-piece in the window.

Jamie looked back at Greg and Sasha, "stunned" written all over his face.

"A dancing… model?" said Greg.

"I… I…" went Mina… "Uh… yes! Of course!"

As Mina continued to talk to the man, Greg found his body frozen for a moment, as if he was in a deep trance.

Sasha looked at Greg… and instantly knew what it could be.

"Something is wrong!" cried Sasha. "It's the N…"

Greg quickly covered Sasha's mouth.

Jamie, Mina, and the crowd all looked at Sasha, her eyes huge, trying to spit out the word.

Looking at Greg, Jamie silently mouthed the word "Negaverse."

To which Greg nodded.

"It's what?" asked Mina.

"Uh, sorry!" said Greg, who crouched down to Sasha's ear and whispered "DON'T SAY IT!"

"You must mean something is new," said the man in the suit. "Yes, indeed!" he said with a smile, pointing to Mina. "Miss Mina Aino is the newest model for the greatest department store in all of Japan!"

The supporters applauded in response to the statement.

Greg looked at Jamie hesitantly.

Jamie looked at Greg… then broke through the crowd and put his arm around Mina. "Gentlemen," he said, "she is not worthy but we are honored that you have chosen her. If you don't mind, we will come into your store in two hours to discuss the finer details… the four of us have a lunch date, and we don't want to be late."

"Well there are really no fine details," said the man, "but if you insist, we will see you in two hours!"

"Thank you very much," said Jamie. "Please excuse us."

The four left the Ginza area and tried to find a quiet, isolated spot… among the throng of shoppers that were in the district.

Meanwhile, Greg was on his cell phone trying to get in touch with Serena.

"Waaah!" responded Serena on the phone. "Luna just waked me up from the bed! I just hate it when she does that! She has to claw into me and… HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU CRAZY CAT!! WHY I'LL...."

"Greg? This is Luna speaking. It appears that the Negaverse is trying to collect more energy at a school east of Tokyo."

"Yes, I know that," replied Greg. "I have a feeling that something located very close to the students is what's causing this problem."

"Try to transform as soon as possible!" said Luna.

"We will," replied Greg, flipping his phone closed.

Greg was running faster… and searching faster… for a place to transform.

"You're really in a hurry," said Sasha, who was straining to keep up with his future father's quick pace.

"That's because your mother might be in trouble," he responded.

"WHAT?!" went Sasha.

"Hey Sasha," said a panting Jamie, "I think you know to trust Greg by now… GREG! Over this way!"

The foursome darted into a small corridor that Jamie pointed out.

It was a rather dark alley, out of the way from the busy street.

The quartet stopped.

Mina took out her transformation stick.

Sasha held up her necklace.

Jamie took out his cell phone.

Greg took out his cell phone… and looked up.

"Very tight between the buildings," he said. "We're going to have to get back onto the street before we can teleport out of here. OK. Are you guys…"

Greg surprisingly found his mouth to be closed…

He looked over…

…to see that Sasha was covering HIS mouth, thanks to a lift from Mina.

"FHWAA HISS HIT?" Greg mumbled through the hand.

"YOU always tell us when it's time to transform… can't someone else do it for a change?" said a smiling Sasha, removing her hand from Greg's mouth.

Greg sighed and smiled. "Ok, your turn, sweetie."

Sasha beamed as Mina put her back on the ground.

"LET'S DO IT!" yelled Sasha. "MERCURY PRISM POWER!"

"MERCURY KNIGHT POWER!"

"VENUS STAR POWER!"

"VENUS KNIGHT POWER!"

Fully transformed, the four sailor soldiers made their way out of the street, ready to find a clearing from which to conduct a teleport.

"OH WOW!" yelled a girl in a school uniform from a close distance. "MERCURY KNIGHT!!! AAAAAAAH!!!"

"VENUS KNIGHT! WHAT A HUNK! YAAAAAH!!!" went another girl.

"SAILOR VENUS! MY IDOL!" said a young man.

Before they knew it, a throng of young high school boys and girls began to charge like the bulls in Pamplona.

Sailor Venus, Mercury Knight, Venus Knight looked at each other with that "What's going on?" expression.

Mercury Knight put his shoulders on Sailor Mini Mercury… and yelled, "SAILOR TELEPORT!"

As the throng of school kids came to where the Sailor Scouts stood, they were frozen to their spaces by a gust of wind.

They looked to the front, and above…

The scouts were gone.

"WOW! I ACTUALLY SAW THE SAILOR SCOUTS!" said one man.

"Yeah…" said his friend. "I wonder who they really are…"

The quartet landed near the Kimura School, a dark cloud visible overhead.

"That's a sure sign," said Venus Knight.

They slowly and stealthily approached the front door. "Careful, guys," was the warning from Sailor Venus as they entered the building.

Inside, Mercury Knight walked over to the reception desk. He was about to speak, when he saw the slumped, snoring body of the receptionist.

"So much for that kind of help," he responded.

As Mercury Knight was at the desk, Sailor Mini Mercury could hear a distinctive groaning sound down the main corridor. She turned her head to see that one of the male teachers was struggling to stay on his two feet.

Sailor Mini Mercury led the others over to the teacher.

"Are you all right?" asked Sailor Mini Mercury.

The teacher was struggling… "Help… us… weak…"

"You feel weak?" asked Sailor Venus.

"I don't… know… test…" he moaned.

"What about the tests?" asked Venus Knight.

"They're… glowing… everyone… asleep…"

"Glowing tests?" said Mini Mercury. "Maybe the tests are draining everyone's energy?" she asked, turning to Mercury Knight.

"Good thinking, Mini Mercury," he responded. "That's what I'd bet…"

As Mercury Knight spoke, the teacher fell into unconsciousness.

"Will he be all right if we leave him here?" Venus Knight asked.

"He should be," said Mercury Knight. "Right now, we should see what's causing this mess…"

"I'd stay away from those tests if you come across them," said Sailor Venus.

Venus Knight looked down the corridor… at least from his view there were too many rooms to count.

"Let's split up," he said. "Sasha, you and Greg go down the main corridor. I'll take the left turn at this corridor, and Mina will take the right turn."

"Right!" responded the others.

The four began to search around the building, looking to see exactly who was responsible for the energy drainage.

For every room they came to, they saw many neatly dressed students sleeping on their desks, burying the examination papers under their heads. All of the examination papers were glowing in purple.

In most of the rooms, one or two teachers were unconscious on the floor next to the podium.

Sailor Mini Mercury and Mercury Knight came to a room which was labled "EXAMINATION: ART - ENGLISH - MATH - MEDICAL: RANK AA"

"Rank AA… Medical… This is the room that Amy would be in," said Mercury Knight.

The door was shut, unlike the other rooms.

An intense purple glow could be seen through the opaque window.

Mini Mercury and Mercury Knight looked at each other…

And Mercury Knight turned the knob.

The two stepped inside to the usual scenario found in the other classes.

They looked around the classroom to see if there was any sign of Amy… there were too many people in the room that it was hard to tell.

Mercury Knight saw a male proctor hanging over the podium, with a paper containing a list of names pressed between the podium and the proctor's chin.

He studied the list carefully.

It was an attendance roster.

The roster contained the names of the people in the room, and where they were sitting.

Mercury Knight studied the list.

"Sasha!" he said. "Row 4, seat 3… that's where she's sitting."

"Is this it?" she asked.

Mercury Knight turned around to see Sailor Mini Mercury, who was pointing to an empty desk.

In the fourth row.

The third desk from the front.

Mercury Knight walked over to the empty desk.

"She's got to be somewhere…" he said.

He tried to think of Amy's location using his special power, but his mind was turning up blank.

Suddenly, something in white grabbed Mercury Knight's shoulders.

Mercury Knight immediately went into defensive mode, instantly turning and throwing a direct punch…

A punch that stopped millimeters short, when he realized that he was throwing a punch…

…to a blue-haired sailor scout.

"Amy!" yelled Mercury Knight.

"Are you all right?" asked Sailor Mini Mercury.

"I'm all right," said Sailor Mercury, "I got out of here in the nick of time… but hurry! We have to go to the roof… Sailor Venus is in trouble."

The three left the room and headed for the staircase.

"I had a funny feeling about those tests," said Sailor Mercury. "I just looked at it… I examined the questions on it for a while before I realized that the people around me were starting to feel faint."

"Does touching the test paper put them in a spell?" asked Mercury Knight.

"Apparently," she replied. "At one point they all turned purple, and nearly everyone got the ill effects."

"Good thing it wasn't you that got hit," said Mercury Knight.

"VENUS!!" cried Mini Mercury.

The trio was at the top of the staircase and on the roof… to see that a giant, yellow and black-striped monster was there, a tight grip around the frame of Sailor Venus.

Nearby, Venus Knight lay groaning on the roof surface.

The monstrous being looked to resemble a big, fat cat.

Its feet were standing on purple-glowing examination papers.

Mercury Knight drew his sword, and the two sailors next to him took defensive stances.

"Here, kitty!" he yelled.

The monster turned its head. "DON'T YOU MEOW AT ME!" he roared.

"Who cares when you're responsible for taking the energy of people who have dreams?" said Sailor Mercury. "Everyone in this building wants to become a better person, but they can't if there's something like you around! We will defeat you in the name of love and justice! I am SAILOR MERCURY, defender of water and the soldier of knowledge!"

"I am SAILOR MINI MERCURY, representing the future of the Silver Millennium!"

"And the last time I checked, they called me MERCURY KNIGHT!"

"AND DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT US!" they yelled in unison.

"In the name of the planet Mercury and of the Moon Kingdom, WE SHALL PUNISH YOU!" yelled Sailor Mini Mercury.

"Great, Mini Mercury! Two points scored today," Mercury Knight said.

"I AM CALLED GRUFF," responded the monster, "AND I WILL RUFF YOU UP!"

Gruff? thought Mercury Knight. A monster who looks like a cat, and his name is Gruff?!?

Gruff took his large finger and pointed it at Sailor Mercury.

"IT IS YOU THAT THE NEGAVERSE WANTS TO EXTINGUISH… BUT I'D BE NICE TO MAKE YOU AN OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE," he said.

"I make no deals with you!" said defiant Sailor Mercury.

"MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOURSELF AND FOR YOUR VENUS FRIEND HERE!" Gruff said, revealing sharp, steel, dagger-like claws from the hand that was holding Sailor Venus. The sharp piercing nails were pinching Venus' delicate skin at the throat.

"Sailor Venus!!" yelled Mini Mercury.

"YES, SAILOR VENUS!" responded Gruff. "EITHER SAILOR MERCURY COMES WITH ME, OR SAILOR VENUS' BEAUTY IS RUINED AND REMOVED FOREVER!!"

Sailor Mercury looked in shock at the nails that were close to moving into Sailor Venus' neck.

"MAKE UP YOUR MIND! I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"

Sailor Mercury didn't know what to do. She embraced Mercury Knight tightly.

"M… Mina…" she said to her knight with a horrified look.

"FIRE SOUL!"

At that cry, Gruff was gruffing in pain when his sharp claws melted into soup.

Sailor Venus, released from the claws after that precision attack, fell down into the waiting arms of Venus Knight, who started to come back around.

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!" yelled a woman in a red fuku with long, black hair.

"Huh?" said Gruff as he was trying to regain his composure.

"Say hello to our friends," said Mercury Knight.

Sailor Mars, and the rest of the sailor scouts, made their presence known on the roof.

"If you want to attack her, then you'll have to get through all of us! I am the soldier of fire, SAILOR MARS!"

"And I am her protector, MARS KNIGHT… and boy, is he fat."

"I am the soldier of thunder and lightning, SAILOR JUPITER!"

"And I'm JUPITER KNIGHT, her future husband!"

"I am SAILOR NEPTUNE, the pure-hearted sailor, protected by the Planet Neptune!"

"I am SAILOR URANUS, the flying warrior, protected by Planet Uranus!"

"I am the pretty suited Sailor Solider of love and justice, SAILOR MOON!"

"And I'm SAILOR MINI MOON! In the name of the moon, WE'LL PUNISH YOU!"

"TUXEDO MASK is my name, and I ensure the support and friendship of all the sailor scouts, and of the entire moon kingdom!"

"ARE YOU FINISHED ALREADY?" went Gruff, whose sharp nails had already regenerated in his hand. "TAKE THIS!" he said, beginning to lunge at the group of scouts that had just arrived at the scene.

"WATCH OUT!" yelled Uranus, as they all fell to the floor.

With Gruff having missed his mark, Sailor Jupiter found an opportunity.

"SUPREME THUNDER!"

Jupiter missed the target by inches.

"JUPITER THUNDER BLADE, CHARGE!"

Instantly, Jupiter Knight responded. His aim was toward Sailor Jupiter's thunder attack. The thunder deflected off of the blade's thunder beam, and went straight toward Gruff's chest.

Gruff was shaking in pain as the high voltage of the attack jerked everything inside of him.

The Jupiters smiled at each other.

"That was a nice jolt," said Sailor Jupiter.

"GRR! NOW YOU'VE MADE ME REALLY ANGRY!" went Gruff, who opened his mouth wide.

"Aww, what's the matter, you want some cat food?" joked Mars Knight. "I'll run to the store to get you some…"

But Mars Knight and the others found themselves in trouble when a strange spray was dusted over all of the scouts.

"Ick! What is this stuff?" Sailor Moon wailed when the purple mist dusted her body.

"Yuck! It's in my hair!" cried Sailor Mars.

Before they could even move any further…

Well, they couldn't.

The purple mist instantaneously froze the movements of all of the sailor scouts.

"I can't move my feet," said Sailor Neptune.

"I can't more my arms," said Venus Knight.

All of the scouts were stunned at their frozen state.

"YOU CAN'T MOVE YOUR FEET, YOUR ARMS, NOTHING!" growled Gruff. "NOW I'LL JUST TAKE EACH OF YOU OUT ONE BY ONE, AND THAT'LL BE THE END OF EVERYTHING!"

Sailor Jupiter clenched her teeth in hatred. "YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!!" she cried.

"You just wait!" said Mini Mercury. "Something bad will happen to you once we get out of this mess!"

"WELL, THAT'S JUST THE POINT, YOU CAN'T, CAN YOU??" Gruff went.

"Actually," responded Mercury Knight, "my daughter is right. We can, and we will."

"AND JUST EXACTLY HOW, WHEN YOU CAN'T REACH YOUR SWORD?"

"Oh, it won't be me," he responded. "Say hi to my two friends."

"WHAT?" went Gruff.

"Good day," said a voice behind Gruff.

Gruff turned around to see two figures…

"VENUS LOVE LASER, CHARGE!"

"DEATH REBORN REVOLUTION!"

Gruff saw what appeared to be a long yellow light, surrounded by clusters of other yellow light, coming quickly toward him… too quick for him to react.

The strong force of both attacks knocked him down to one knee.

The gust of wind generated from the attacks shattered some of the purple substance that was covered on the other scouts, enabling all of them to break free.

Sailor Uranus and Neptune stepped forward.

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" cried Neptune.

"WORLD SHAKING!" went Uranus.

Gruff, flooded and shaken by both attacks, was now lying on the floor, struggling to regain his composure.

As Gruff was on the floor, Sailor Mercury and Mercury Knight joined hands and activated their VR computers.

Both of them attempted to find an aiming point for the final attack that would destroy Gruff.

Sailor Moon had stepped forward with her spiral moon rod. "I don't like people… or things… that ruin my hair!" she cried. "Just tell me when, guys!"

"Oh, you meatball head," replied Tuxedo Mask.

The two from Mercury came to an agreement.

"Sailor Moon," said Sailor Mercury, "Spiral Healing Activation toward his neck."

"Gotc… whoa, healing?" asked Sailor Moon.

"Correct," replied Mercury Knight. "Gruff's a human. We can't kill him."

"Right," said Sailor Moon, stepping up to the prone monster and twirling her moon rod.

"I cast the Negaverse out of this… thing!! MOON SPIRAL HEALING ACTIVATION!"

Gruff wailed in pain, and the others noticed right away when Gruff began to change shape.

From the fat cat-like monster look, Gruff shrunk down in size to a human being dressed in a business suit. A purple aura seemed to shoot out of his body.

The Sailor Scouts were relieved, and then looked up at the two latecomers.

Venus Knight walked over to the two of them while Sailor Mars and Mars Knight attended to what once was Gruff.

Venus Knight saw a man and a short woman, the man wearing a uniform similar to his, and the woman wearing a purple and white fuku that matched up to her short black hair and her staff.

"Mister Andrew," said Venus Knight, "and Miss Saturn."

"Pleasure to see you. You can call me General Venus," the man said, shaking hands with Venus Knight.

"General Venus, eh?" said Venus Knight with a smile.

"He helped me out a… lot…" said a weak Sailor Saturn, who dropped her staff and fainted into the hands of Venus Knight.

"Saturn!" yelled Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus, who ran over to her side.

Saturn was slightly alert, but too weak to be standing.

General Venus laughed. "That attack of yours really drew a lot of energy," he said. "Good thing you were able to harness it."

"It's a… special… attack," said Sailor Saturn, "I was surprised… it didn't cause… a lot of damage…"

"A lot of damage?" said Venus Knight, helping Saturn back to her feet. "You just took this guy out in one blow!"

"That's not what she means," said Sailor Uranus.

"That attack is very powerful," said Sailor Neptune. "We know about that."

"It can be… more powerful… but… Andrew helped me to focus that energy so that it doesn't have to be so big…" replied Sailor Saturn.

"I happened to bump into her and her father at the Crown Parlor this morning," said General Venus. "We found a bit of time during my break to help her concentration out… and boy did it come in handy."

Venus Knight looked at General Venus's rod-shaped gold sword.

"That's an odd sword you've got," said Venus Knight.

"It's my, I guess new, laser blade," said General Venus. "It comes in very useful, and I think it works well, especially combined with Saturn's concentrated attack."

"Well, seems you two have a future then!" said Venus Knight. "Welcome, And… uh, I mean… General Venus."

"And welcome back, Hotaru," said Sailor Neptune.

The quintet turned around to see Sailor Mars and Mars Knight lead the suit-clad gentleman down the roof stairs.

"Well, that should be it," said Mercury Knight. "Everyone should be waking up to resume their tests in just a bit… our work is done here."

"Who was that guy that we just healed?" asked Venus Knight.

"That was Mr. Kimura, the principal of the school," responded Sailor Venus. "We told him about what was going on."

"Yeah, he was a bit spooked, but he'll be all right," said Sailor Jupiter.

As the grown-up scouts debriefed each other, Sailor Mini Moon and Sailor Mini Mercury got together.

"That was messy stuff," said Mini Mercury.

"Well, my hair is all right, I think," said Mini Moon.

"You're hair is always pretty in pink," said Mini Mercury.

"Well you've got blue hair," said Mini Moon, "with yellow, and light blue, and… your hair is more special than mine! How did it get to be that way?"

"From when we were young in Crystal Tokyo…" responded Mini Mercury, "before I was sent to the Earth of today, my parents of the future added color to my hair, so that my parents of today could tell who I was… I think…"

"Uh… I think I get it…" said Mini Moon. "HOTARU!"

Sailor Mini Moon ran over to embrace the approaching Sailor Saturn, who was now back on her two feet. Mini Mercury hugged her as well.

"OK guys!" said Tuxedo Mask. "We should get out of here, or else in a few minutes the students will be wondering what we're doing in this place."

The scouts agreed, and were ready to teleport theirselves off of the roof.

Sailor Venus then touched her head. "I almost forgot, I have that lunch interview with the department store," she said with a smile. "The dancing model girl is ready to make her DEBUT!"

Venus Knight stared at Sailor Venus with sweatdrops on his head.

"What about Sailor Mars and Chad?" asked Jupiter Knight.

"They're still tending to Mr. Kimura. They'll be all right," responded Tuxedo Mask.

"Okay, let's go back!" said Sailor Mini Mercury.

"Ready, guys?" said Sailor Mercury.

"SAILOR TELEPORT!" cried the team.

Instantaneously, the entire sailor scout team on the roof teleported into the sky, leaving colorful streaks of light in the sky…

That is, except for Mercury Knight, who was holding down Sailor Mercury's shoulders with both of his hands.

Sailor Mercury still found herself on the roof of the school facing Mercury Knight, feeling his strong hands.

"AHEM," went Mercury Knight. "And where do you think you're going??"

"I'm done here, so I'm going back to…"

Sailor Mercury paused for a second, then laughed and smiled, her left hand on her head.

"I'm going back to take the exam..."

"Correct," responded Mercury Knight. "Are you still all right to take the exam?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," responded Sailor Mercury. "Thanks for asking."

"No problem," said a smiling Mercury Knight, who began to ruffle Sailor Mercury's short, blue hair with his right hand.

With the dark cloud over the school now gone, Sailor Mercury's hair shined in the sunlight.

"Oh, Greg…" said a blushing Sailor Mercury.

Mercury Knight gently held her neck and brought her slightly closer to him.

"You know," he said gently, "you have TWO big exams to take."

"Two exams?" asked Sailor Mercury.

"Yep. Two exams… This exam here, and an even bigger exam…"

"Oh yes, the exam against Queen Sorinya," responded Sailor Mercury, "I know what you're talking about. You always say it's coming, but it hasn't yet…"

"It hasn't yet," said Mercury Knight, "but…"

Mercury Knight stared into the blue eyes of his princess.

"But what?" asked Sailor Mercury.

"I have a feeling that it will be our next battle…" said Mercury Knight.

"Oh, I see."

"Yes, dear Amy," he said, continuing to stroke Sailor Mercury's hair. "And it could be… it… could be…"

Mercury Knight paused again.

He knew that what he was about to say might have a big impact on her…

He thought to himself for a bit.

"Could be what?" asked Sailor Mercury.

"Oh Amy… it could be our last one together."

Sailor Mercury pushed Mercury Knight off.

"WHAT!" she said out loud.

Mercury Knight slowly nodded his head.

"What do you mean it could be our last one?" she said with a shocked expression, eyes wide open.

Mercury Knight turned his head away slightly.

"I'm not completely sure," he said, "but something tells me that I… may not make it through the final battle."

Sailor Mercury approached again, and held Mercury Knight's hands tightly.

"Greg… I can't believe you're saying that…"

"Well, actually, I've… kinda had that thought for a while," he said.

Sailor Mercury began to shed a tear. "And now… now, you tell me this?"

"Forgive me," said Mercury Knight. "I'm not known to do this, but I procrastinated."

Sailor Mercury shed another tear, and had a worried look on her face.

"I should have told you straight out… but now that I have a feeling that this big battle may now be really coming upon us…"

Sailor Mercury released her hands from the knight and covered her face.

"I had to tell you right away, right now," he continued. "My psychic thoughts have been telling me that… I may be giving my life… for the sake of the Moon Kingdom."

Sailor Mercury's head looked down, tears streaming down her face.

"No…" she said. "No… please… I don't want to lose you…"

"Are you kidding me? I want to see Sorinya's defeat too…" he responded. "But my thoughts leave doubts as to whether or not I will…"

Sailor Mercury was still crying as she looked back up at him.

"I love you, Greg…" she struggled to say. "I… I don't… I don't want you to die…"

"Now Amy, you listen to me," said Mercury Knight. "Please… in case I don't make it… you have to take care of Sasha… you know that they sent her… I mean, WE sent her here for a purpose, to grow learning the ways of the sailor senshi. That's my request, if I don't make it through. Please do that for me."

Sailor Mercury, still with tears, looked at Mercury Knight up and down.

Sailor Mercury then wrapped her arms around Mercury Knight and brought her entire body up to his body… so much that her breasts were pressing against his chest.

Mercury Knight's eyes went wide. "AMY?! WHAT ARE…"

He quieted himself when Sailor Mercury brought her head very close to his.

"Now you listen to me, Greg…" she said with determination. "My love will save you. I will not let you die. I want you to live out your life. You are a precious and unique human being. You are the future ruler of the planet Mercury. And most importantly… you are too precious for me, and the rest of the scouts… and your daughter… to lose."

Mercury Knight's head had just become scrambled eggs.

"Amy…" he said, "I'm… uh… I don't know… but…"

"But nothing," she interrupted, smiling. "Greg, your special gift is what makes you very unique… but at a time like this, I have to challenge it… I love you… Greg… I… I love you too much!"

Without hesitation, Sailor Mercury started to deeply kiss Mercury Knight.

Mercury Knight was a bit hesitant initially, but instantly gave way to the sensation of Sailor Mercury's lips.

The passionate kiss lasted about one minute.

The two then pulled their heads away, breathing heavily… stared at each other… and embraced again.

Now, Mercury Knight's thoughts were not of his undoing…

His thoughts were about Amy, as well as everyone else…

Sailor Mercury stepped back, and de-transformed back into Amy Mizuno.

Mercury Knight smiled. "Time to take that first exam?"

"Time to take that first exam," replied Amy.

Amy walked back to Mercury Knight and gave him two quick kisses before walking back to the stairwell and down the stairs.

Mercury Knight looked at Amy as she walked to the stairwell door.

Amy turned around one more time to wave goodbye.

"Be strong, Greg," she said with a smile, before turning and heading down the stairs.

Mercury Knight smiled.

He looked up at the sky.

Amy's love will save me, he said to himself.

He still had confusing thoughts in his head, one of which was still saying that his chances of surviving the battle with Queen Sorinya are not so good.

But he had another thought in his head.

"Amy…" he said, as he looked back at the stairwell.

He took a deep breath.

"I hope so, Amy…" he said.

He looked back up at the sky.

"I hope so."

Mercury Knight took another deep breath.

"MERCURY TELEPORT!"

The final fight begins... FOR REAL... in Chapter 32 of The Saga of Mercury.

The Saga of Mercury Chapter 31 - Examination of Love 24

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