Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Saga of Mercury ❯ Say Hello to Sasha ( Chapter 18 )

The Saga of Mercury

Chapter 18

"Say Hello to Sasha"

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 © 2002 Jose I. Ramos

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.

Please feel free to write a critique or send your comments to HRFANNY@AOL.COM with the subject line, in all caps, SAGA OF MERCURY. If you do not do this then the filter will block your e-mail.

CHAPTER 19 RELEASE SCHEDULE

(AS OF DEC 22, 2002)

No earlier than December 25, 2002:

In PDF format at the Fanfic home page, and on the Sailor Moon Newsgroup

No earlier than December 29, 2002:

All other fan fiction web sites (Moon Romance, fanfiction.net, Media Miner, etc.)

WARNING!

DUE TO AN INTENSE ACTION SCENE, THE PG-13 RATING OF THIS STORY IS STRICTLY ENFORCED IN THIS CHAPTER.

THIS SECTION OF THE STORY IS RECOMMENDED FOR READERS OVER THE AGE OF 13.

BY CONTINUING TO READ, YOU AGREE THAT THE AUTHOR SHALL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ACTIONS OR CONSEQUENCES ON YOUR BEHALF AS A RESULT OF READING THIS SECTION.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Chapter 18 - Say Hello to Sasha

The city of Fukuoka was getting ready for the special competition of young scholars and talents to begin.

Colorful banners were spread out across the city to announce the event, along with posters of some of the main contenders.

The posters had pictures of contestants that were considered top contenders.

Four of those pictures were of particular interest to one woman. This woman was wearing a straw hat, sunglasses, a red blouse, jet-black pants and black sneakers, and had her long, red hair tied into two long ponytails. Her face was stern as she read the poster and looked at the four faces.

Her straight-lined mouth curved upward slightly when she realized who the four contestants were.

Meanwhile, the crew of sailor scouts and knights, doffed in formal wear, made their way off of the overnight train from Tokyo. In the short distance, they could see a bus that had been chartered for them by the organizing committee, and by the hotel that they were staying at.

They got off of the train in this order: Amy, Greg, Mina, Jamie, Darien, Serena, Rini, Ken, Lita, Raye, and…

And…

Raye stepped back into the train to tug Chad out by his ear. Chad, who was carrying heavy luggage, complained to Raye about being tired after the red-eye trip. "Come on, Chad," she responded, "if you're too slow like this, we're gonna miss the bus!"

Chad, with a sweatdrop, grudgingly exited the train, bothered by the pain in his right ear as Raye pulled him forward.

The others didn't seem to notice as they made their way toward the bus.

Everyone was carrying something. The guys were carrying luggage for themselves and their respective princess, while Rini insisted on carrying her own luggage. It was heavy, but she managed. The other ladies either carried a purse or a backpack, and of course, Amy had her book of poems to keep her busy.

Trailing Raye and Chad was a train conductor, who followed the group to the bus while carrying two cages… one each for Luna and Artemis.

"What a horrible way to travel," complained Artemis to Luna.

At that, the conductor stopped walking and looked around him. "Who said that?" he blared.

Chad, his ear now free from Raye's clutches, turned around. "Who said what?"

"Who said, `what a horrible way to travel'"?

Chad knew that the cats had said that, but had to improvise. "Dude, you're just dreaming."

The conductor thought to himself, then frowned and said, "Yeah, you're probably right. I'm too old… I'm… starting to hear things."

Several yards away from the bus, Rini gave a stare to Serena. A second later, Serena gave a stare back to Rini.

And then… THEY WERE OFF!

Rini blasted her way past Jamie, Mina, Greg and Amy, running towards the bus.

Serena quickly followed after her, knocking Jamie to the ground in the process.

"OW!" was the sound Jamie made upon hitting the floor. "HEY!"

The rest of the group stopped and groaned as Serena and Rini ran forward, in an impromptu contest to see who would be first to get on the bus.

The bus driver looked back and saw his party… with two girls running forward. He had an intuitive thought… and as Serena and Rini made their way to the front door, opened the rear door, to allow the other nine to sneak their way in.

Meanwhile, Serena and Rini were still pushing and shoving each other at the front door entrance.

"ME FIRST!" yelled Serena.

"NO, ME!" countered Rini.

"ME!"

"ME!"

Finally, the front door to the bus opened… to reveal Amy, who was already inside.

"No," said a firm Amy, "you two LAST."

Serena and Rini's eyes shrinked to dots, and huge sweatdrops covered their heads after hearing Amy's stern words.

The bus left, taking the eleven (plus two cats) to the Peak Hotel, where they would stay for two nights in separate rooms during the competition.

As the first day was coming to a close, Amy was in the room that Greg and Jamie were staying in. Jamie quizzed Amy and Greg through the night for the next day's IQ competition, using flash cards that he had been provided.

"Well," said Jamie, "I'd say you two guys are set."

"Thanks for helping us out tonight, Jamie," said Greg.

"Yes," said Amy, "we really appreciate it."

At that moment, a sliding noise could be heard at the door.

The three turned their heads to the door, and Jamie said, "Someone's trying to get in here."

Greg replied, "With a card, I guess." Instantly alert, he stood up and said, "You two guys stay here, I'll see who it is."

As Greg was walking to the door, the sliding noise could be heard again.

"Maybe it's Mina returning from her final dance run-through," said Amy.

"Well, uh, no," said Jamie, "because she said she would call me up when she was finished, not come here."

Greg cautiously looked through the peephole.

He didn't see anything.

That was, until he looked down.

Through the hole, he could see a young girl with a pretty orange and blue dress, white socks, shiny blue-laced shoes, and a blue beret on her head, which completely covered her hair. She was pulling a mini-luggage cart.

Greg laughed and turned back to Jamie and Amy.

"It's only a girl!" he said.

The two walked up to join Greg.

"Maybe she's lost?" Jamie suggested.

"Well," said Greg, "we'll soon find out…"

With that, Greg unlocked the deadbolts and opened the door.

"Hi!" said Greg with a smile. "Can I help you?"

The young girl's face was frozen cold, her large, blue eyes staring at Greg for a brief moment… then the girl bowed, smiled a cheerful smile and said: "Good evening! My name is Sasha and I was hoping to find my hotel room on this floor. Is this my hotel room?"

"Well, Sasha, what room number are you looking for?" asked Greg.

Sasha immediately pulled out her hotel guest card. "Room 304."

"Ah…" said Greg, turning to Amy and Jamie. "This is 304, isn't it?"

Jamie then asked Sasha, "What tower? Does it say anything about a tower?"

Sasha looked at her card. "Ummmmmm… Oh, I'm sorry, Tower A."

"Mm-hmm, yes," said Greg, "I'm sorry Sasha, but this is Tower C. You want Tower A, which is at the other end of the hotel."

"Oh, thank you very much for telling me!" said a smiling Sasha.

Amy then stepped forward, "Hey, your room is only two rooms away from where I'm staying in! I'm in Tower A, room 302! I'm on my way there right now, perhaps we can walk there together? After all, we don't want you to walk by yourself all alone in this large hotel."

"Well," said Sasha, "I thought I could walk around on my own without any help… SURE! Thank you very much indeed!"

"Sasha, my name is Greg," said Greg, who extended his hand. Sasha shook his hand, and both of them bowed.

Greg continued, "And this is my friend and roommate, Jamie… and this is my girlfriend, Amy. Amy will take you over to your room."

"Ready, Sasha?" asked Amy.

"Ready, Amy!" said Sasha in reply.

"All right then!"

Amy turned to kiss Greg on the cheek. "Sweet dreams," she whispered into his ear. "See you tomorrow."

"Ok, you too," said Greg softly.

"Good night, Jamie!"

"Good night, Ames. Good luck!"

"Thanks!"

Amy walked out the door, then joined Sasha, as the two of them made their way to Tower A.

Greg could hear Amy ask Sasha, "What are you doing around here all by yourself…" before he closed the door.

"She's a very nice kid!" said Jamie.

"Yeah," replied Greg, who was silent for a moment. "Anyway, let's get ready to hit the sack."

"Yep," said Jamie, "you and Amy have a big day tomorrow!"

"Don't forget Mina and Raye, too."

"Of course! How could I forget? Well, I'll be cheering all of you guys on!"

The next day brought sunshine and a happy atmosphere… on the outside, throughout the city, and on the inside, at the Fukuoka Center, where the pre-competition registration was now taking place.

Amy, Greg, Raye and Mina were by themselves, separated from the others, who were trying to find good seats in the arena. (Of course, Rini was trying to beat out everybody, and Serena was following suit.)

Mina was wearing a yellow shirt and blue jeans, carrying a red shoulder bag with everything that she needed for her dance recital.

Raye was already in the red dress that she wore a while ago, when she performed several songs for a large audience, including "Oh Starry Night", which she had planned to sing today. She was busy looking over the song sheet that she had written… it had been some time since she last sung that song, and she wanted to make sure that everything was perfect.

Amy was wearing a blue dress, and Greg was wearing dress pants, a white dress shirt and a black tie.

The four of them signed in, and then proceeded to a waiting area, awaiting the schedule for the day.

"Nervous, ladies?" asked Greg.

"No," said Amy.

"I'm confident," said Mina.

"WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER THIS PART?" said Raye.

"Oh, Raye, don't be in such a hurry," said Greg. "Take nice, deep breaths, and take your time. You can do it."

"Yeah but still…"

"Raye," said Amy, "you don't need to worry about losing your sheet music like you did last time."

Raye thought for a moment, then looked at her sheet music, went over the words rapidly in her head, and managed to smile at the end. "I'll be just fine."

Amy looked around to see how many people had gathered. There were many young people of different ages that were participating… all dressed up nicely for the occasion. Most of the younger ones were enrolled in the IQ contest for their respective age group.

Amy then turned her attention to the far corner of the waiting room… and saw someone.

Amy tapped Greg's shoulder, and pointed in the direction of that corner.

Sitting on a chair, isolated from everyone else, was…

"Sasha! Greg… that's Sasha!"

Greg focused in on the young girl sitting on the chair.

"Why, yes, that IS Sasha!"

"Sasha?" said Raye.

"Oh, Is she the young girl that Jamie talked to me about, that was lost yesterday in the hotel?"

"That's her," said Greg. "I wonder what she's doing here."

"She's in the IQ competition for young children," said Amy.

"How do you know that?" asked Greg.

"We had a nice conversation as we were walking from your room to Tower A last night. She told me that she currently lives in a very small orphanage in Nagatacho, but she's well known there, and her manners are so proper, that they let her walk out in the open sometimes… even long distances, like here, for this contest. Of course, she has to call them twice a day to let them know how she is…"

"Gosh, how interesting," said Raye.

"Poor thing," said Mina. "I wonder where her parents have been all this time."

Amy continued, "She was told that her parents had abandoned her when she was three years old, and left her at that orphanage. A small note was left with her, along with a small, gold heart necklace that she wears to this day. That note apparently said that one day, her parents would come back to pick her up. It's sad that she doesn't remember her parents at all."

"Wow, what an interesting conversation you two had," said Greg. "Why don't the four of us go over there to cheer her up?"

"Good idea!" said Mina.

The four of them made their way to where Sasha was sitting.

Sasha was in her blue beret, wearing a yellow dress and matching socks and shoes.

"Sasha!" said Amy.

Sasha, who was staring at the floor with a small frown on her face, turned up to see Amy's face. "AMY!" she yelled.

"How are you, Sasha?" Amy asked.

"Well… I'm so happy, now that you're here!" Sasha responded.

"You remember Greg, right?"

"Hello, Greg!" said Sasha.

"Hi Sasha!" said Greg. "Sasha, these are our friends, Mina and Raye."

"Pleased to meet you," said Mina and Raye.

"So you're in the IQ contest, too, eh?" asked Greg.

"Yeah," said Sasha. "I guess because I like to learn new things all the time, plus the director at my orphanage wanted me to show my talent to the rest of the country."

"You must be proud to have made it here today," said Greg.

"Mm-hmm, yes I am!" said Sasha.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," said a male voice on the loudspeaker, "PLEASE COME TO THE MAIN ARENA FLOOR FOR THE OPENING CEREMONIES."

"Can we all go together?" asked Sasha.

The foursome looked at each other and smiled, and all of them agreed.

So the five of them walked through the tunnel to the arena floor.

As they walked through, they could see their other friends in the stands: Serena, Rini, Darien, Chad, Lita, Ken and Jamie.

Greg pointed to his friends, and talked to Sasha. "Those are my friends up there. You see the girl with the pink hair eating the cotton candy? Her name is Rini. She must be around the same age as you are."

"Great!" said Sasha. "I'd like to meet her!"

"I think we can arrange for that afterwards," replied Greg.

After Amy, Greg, Raye, Mina and Sasha took their seats, the host came forward, to a round of applause.

"Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and contestants! My name is Mr. Kenji, and I will be your host for today's competition. Why don't we kick things off the right way, by welcoming last year's overall champion, who will be an assistant judge this year. She is one of the most talented musical players in all of Japan."

"Sounds like someone big," said Raye quietly to the others.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, playing a solo piece which she composed herself, please welcome last year's champion, violinist… MICHELLE KAIOU!!!"

The audience cheered and applauded.

But Greg clapped only three times before stopping and saying to himself: did he just say Michelle Kaiou?

Greg turned to Amy, Mina, and Raye. The three girls were looking at HIM for an answer.

Greg then turned his attention to where Serena and the others were sitting. None of them were clapping… instead most of their jaws were wide open. Lita and Rini had covered their mouths.

At this point, Michelle Kaiou, with her flowing blue hair and long red gown, walked on to the stage, violin and bow in hand, toward the microphone.

Then the other members of the sailor team, who knew who Michelle really was, erupted in applause.

The audience quieted down, as Michelle took her place in front of the microphone. She bowed deeply before the audience, then put her violin into position, and lifted her bow to play the first few notes… when she saw some people that she recognized sitting on the main floor.

Michelle gasped… her gasping sound could be heard throughout the arena over the loudspeakers. Michelle smiled, waved, and said softly in the microphone, "Hi!"

Some of the others in the arena turned their heads in the direction of Greg, Amy, Raye and Mina, who all waved back.

"Do you know her?" Sasha quietly asked Amy.

"Yes," said Amy, "she's one of our best friends."

Michelle then proceeded to play her piece. It was a three and a half minute piece, which everyone enjoyed.

At the end, the audience again erupted into applause.

"I love that song," said Sasha to Greg. "It reminds me of when I was very young."

"Really?" said Greg.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen," said Mr. Kenji on the microphone, "please support our contestants as they will now break into their respective groups for each competition. Winners will be announced through this microphone. Thank you!"

"Well, I guess that means we're on our own now," said Mina, who stood up and grabbed her red bag. "Good-bye guys! Good luck!" she said to the others. She then blew a kiss to Jamie and proceeded on her way.

"Guys, the schedule says the musical performers go first," said Raye.

"All right, Raye, good luck!" said Amy, who hugged Raye.

"Break a leg!" said Greg.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Raye, who moved up to within inches of Greg's face with an angry look.

"It… It's only an expression…" said Greg. "Do your best, that's what it means…"

Raye stepped back, thought for a moment, then said, "Anyway, good luck you guys!"

"Bye!" said Greg.

That left Amy, Greg and Sasha together.

"Why don't we walk over to the IQ place over there so we can start?"

"All right!" said Sasha.

"Let's go then," said Amy.

In the stands, Rini saw Greg, Amy and a young girl walk together to the IQ area.

"Who's that?" asked Rini, pointing towards the young girl.

"The girl with Amy and Greg?" said Jamie. "That's Sasha. She got lost yesterday in the hotel, and Amy helped bring her to the room. I'd call her our newest friend."

"Wow!" said Rini. "I'd sure like to meet her! She's so cool in that blue hat!"

A few rows behind Rini sat the woman with the large hat and sunglasses.

"Just wait, just wait," she said to herself.

Several minutes later, the competition began. The different competitions were spread out all across the arena floor, and it got very busy and noisy down there.

Amy and Greg were waiting quietly to begin taking the written IQ exams for their grade level. Sasha, meanwhile, was already taking her written test. Since it was so loud in the whole place, all of the IQ contestants were given custom-fitted noise-canceling headphones to use. Wearing these, they could take their tests in peace and quiet.

While Amy was seeing Sasha doing her test, she felt a tap on the shoulder.

"What is it, Greg?" said Amy.

"Uh… I'm not Greg," said a low, feminine voice.

Amy turned around… and gasped…

"AMARA!"

"Hi Amy," said Amara, who embraced Amy.

Greg then turned around, and opened his jaw. "You!" he said before embracing Amara as well.

"Well, well, well, Amara Tenoh, boy, if Michelle was playing today, I just knew you'd be around here! So what's up?"

"Ah, the same stuff," said Amara, "I'm in a brand-new racing league now. The league is covering tracks all over Japan. We're on a two-week hiatus now, so I thought I'd stop by to see Michelle perform on stage."

"Being there for your cousin… I'm proud of you!" said Greg.

"Where is Michelle now?" asked Amy.

"She's judging, so I can't bother her. I'm working as an usher here, so that's how I got in here. So I figured I'd say hello to you guys."

"Thanks for stopping by," said Greg, who pointed into the stands. "The others are up there, if you want to say hi."

"All right, thanks! I'll see you later."

The entire competition took several hours… but most of the people in attendance didn't seem to be bored.

At the close of the day, the top winners were announced.

There were many winners in different categories… the top five finishers were announced last, in this order:

The winner in the dance category was Mina Aino, who put on an exhibition performance of The Dying Swan on the stage, to the delight of everyone, including her boyfriend Jamie.

The winner in the musical talent category was Raye Hino, who made Chad so happy when she sung "Oh Starry Night" to the entire crowd.

Next up were the IQ winners in the advanced category. Finishing in a tie, having scored 120 out of 121 questions correctly… were Amy Mizuno and Greg Urawa.

Sasha's name would be announced last, as the IQ winner in the beginner's category… but just as Amy and Greg were about to leave the stage, trophies in hand, the lights in the arena went out.

Everyone immediately panicked and attempted to fumble their way toward the exits.

The light that was coming into the arena was only sunlight from the sun, setting in the west… but even so, to the crowds it felt like the arena went completely dark.

Suddenly, there appeared a dark, demon figure in a flash of light.

The figure was wearing a ruby red and black dress with dark, long hair and an inverted crescent on her forehead.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" said the figure. "ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF… I AM QUEEN SORINYA OF THE NEGAVERSE!"

At this, Greg and Amy turn their heads back. "SORINYA!" they said.

"BEHOLD AS I SUCK OUT ALL OF YOUR ENERGY IN ONE ZAP!!!"

Queen Sorinya snapped her fingers, causing a flash of light throughout the arena.

Those who were panicking… and those were fleeing… slumped unconscious onto the floor.

Even the scouts and knights, who were ready to transform then and there, collapsed onto the ground.

The host fell down, the stagehands fell down… everyone was on the floor, their energy having been drained from them.

Except for Amy and Greg.

"HA, HA, HA, HA!" said Sorinya, turning her attention to the two. "NOW! IF YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD GET AWAY FROM ME OR MY YOUMAS SEVERAL TIMES, THINK AGAIN! YOUR DESTRUCTION IS AT HAND!"

"Shut up, blabber-face!" yelled Greg. "You're about to see what we're really made of!"

Greg immediately drew out his Mercury dagger and flung it at Sorinya.

Sorinya, in turn, caused a powerful shockwave blast, which ricocheted the dagger and flung it back toward Greg.

Greg caught the dagger in the nick of time, before it stabbed him.

"FINE, IF YOU WANT TO PLAY THAT WAY, TAKE THAT!" yelled Sorinya, who snapped her fingers again to cause a flash of light.

Greg looked at Sorinya and said, "What's a matter? You so weak you missed me?"

At that, Greg could hear someone struggling to get his attention.

"G… Greg…" went the voice.

Greg looked down… to see that Amy was flat on the floor, stunned in shock, blood starting to seep out of her nose.

"AMY!" said Greg who immediately crouched down and held her in his arms.

Greg then turned his head toward Sorinya, and yelled, "YOU'LL PAY, SORINYA, FOR BREAKING MY GIRLFRIEND'S PRETTY NOSE!"

"Yes, that's the first step in the complete destruction of Amy Mizuno, now witness the conclusion!"

Sorinya was about to launch another attack, when she heard a voice behind her…

"Excuse me, could you please leave my friends alone?"

Sorinya turned around to see a young girl looking up to her.

"What do you want?"

Greg looked over to see that the little girl… was Sasha.

"SASHA!" cried Greg. "Get away from here! Leave this place! Go! Go!"

"I can't, Greg," replied Sasha in a firm voice, hands on hips. "This woman is very, very bad and very mean. She destroyed everything, and she is trying to steal the spotlight."

"SASHA, PLEASE!" pleaded Greg.

At this point, Amy was strong enough to be able to lift her head, and produce a worried look when she saw both Sorinya and Sasha.

"So, what are you going to do about it, little girl?"

"I'm not a little girl!"

Greg and Amy were now looking on at Sasha.

"My name is Sasha… and I want you to leave this place right… AAAAHHHH!!!"

Sasha screamed when Sorinya reached over to pick her up.

"So, Sasha, you want to play games?" said Sorinya.

Sorinya could then feel waves of energy beginning to surge through her.

"Oh… oh yes… your energy… you have lots of energy… I feel myself becoming stronger and stronger… you have… you… have… TOO… MUCH…"

Sorinya was now violently shaking from the energy overload that was being emitted from Sasha.

Greg and Amy, meanwhile, were seeing this incredible sight before their eyes, as large blue waves, like bolts of lightning, surrounded Sorinya and Sasha.

When it ended, Sorinya fell on to her side, able to stay off the floor with one hand.

Sasha, on the other hand, fell hard onto the ground.

"SASHA!" yelled Amy, who tried to get up.

"Stay down," said Greg, who grabbed his Mercury dagger, looked around, and immediately yelled, "MERCURY KNIGHT POWER!"

Mercury Knight, in full military uniform, had his sword drawn and was ready to attack at Sorinya.

But Sorinya yelled, "You… haven't… seen… the last of… MEEEEE!" as she disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

After the smoke cleared, Mercury Knight turned his attention to Amy, still bleeding from her nose.

Mercury Knight held his sword with both hands, and aimed it at Amy. He yelled, "MERCURY ICE BLADE HEALING ACTIVATION!"

A ray of blue light emanated from Mercury Knight's sword, hitting Amy's nose. Amy could feel that the area around her face was turning from painful… to cool and refreshing, as the ray of light healed her nose.

Amy was about to thank Mercury Knight, but then turned her attention back to an unconscious Sasha.

"SASHA!" she yelled, running toward her. Mercury Knight ran close behind her.

Amy and Mercury Knight kneeled down to try to wake up Sasha… when they saw something that almost knocked THEM down to the floor.

The hard hit on the floor from before had knocked Sasha's blue beret off of her head.

Amy and Mercury Knight looked at Sasha's head to see that…

Sasha's hair was…

Short…

And, save for some streaks of light aqua and orange on one side…

Blue…

Styled exactly like Amy's.

Mercury Knight looked at the spot where Sorinya was a moment ago… then at Amy… then back at Sasha.

Mercury Knight grabbed Sasha in his arms, and gently stroked Sasha's short blue, aqua and orange hair. It felt as if he was stroking Amy's short blue hair, which he'd done countless times.

He said to Amy:

"Ames… there's something about the way she acted just now… and… there's something about this hair…

"Let's get the other scouts, and go to the hotel quickly," he said.

What is it about Sasha that has Greg curious?

You'll find out in Chapter 19 of The Saga of Mercury.

The Saga of Mercury Chapter 18 - Say Hello to Sasha 17

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