Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Saga of Mercury ❯ Play Ball! ( Chapter 28 )

The Saga of Mercury

Chapter 28

"Play Ball"

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.

Chapter 28 - Play Ball

It was a mostly cloudy and cool Saturday afternoon at the Ikebukuro Junior Baseball Complex, where most of the girls on the scout team decided to challenge their knights to a friendly game of softball.

Even though it appeared it was going to be a four on four situation, none of them seemed to mind, since the two young girls - Rini and Sasha - needed supervision. Amy and Greg were quick to offer their help in that matter.

The eight people would be divided equally among gender, with Darien, Raye, Ken and Mina on one team, and Serena, Chad, Lita and Jamie on the other team.

There was only one problem…

"Where's Jamie?" asked Mina.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," said Greg from the stands, "he forgot that he had to teach volleyball to some young kids today, this was going to interfere with that… but don't worry, he asked someone to replace him…"

"Here he comes," said Amy.

Mina looked in the direction that Jamie was pointing… and gasped. "Andrew!"

Sure enough, Andrew strolled his way down to the softball diamond, his light hair reflecting any sun that was able to peek through the clouds.

Andrew shook Greg's hand and greeted Amy, Sasha and Rini before he entered the field.

Someone else was trailing behind him… wearing a blue shirt, gray pants, shiny black shoes, a black cap and a mask. His long dark hair, mustache, beard and sunglasses were visible through the mask.

"Who's that?" asked Sasha. "Do we know him?"

"No we don't," replied Amy. "I believe it's one of Andrew's friends… He's going to umpire the game."

The umpire stopped and turned to Greg. He extended his hand. "A pleasure to see you, sir," he said, his mask muffling his voice.

"That's, uh, Jeff," said Andrew.

"Good luck, Jeff, and thanks for coming," said Greg.

With that, Jeff walked down to the field and had a meeting at home plate with the two captains, Serena and Darien.

"Ok," said Serena. "So if I hit the ball, you give me two runs, right?"

Darien shook his head in disbelief.

"Those may be the rules somewhere else, but not here," the umpire said jokingly.

While the meeting was taking place, Rini were looking for two others that were not around.

"Where's Artemis and Luna?" she asked.

"They have their hands tied up," replied Greg.

Amy laughed. "You mean `paws'?"

"Oh…" Greg said with a sweatdrop. "Uh, anyway. They're doing a lot of research into Queen Sorinya. I'm sure Sorinya will be relentless in going after Amy, now that Quartzia has been cured…"

"I'll stop her!" said Sasha.

Greg chuckled… "Thanks, Sasha, but it may not be so easy…"

"That's why Luna and Artemis are very busy now," said Amy. "The more information we know, the better the chances are of stopping her."

Greg then suddenly wrapped his arms around Amy. "She'll have to get through me first, because I love this munchkin very much!" he said in a silly voice. "Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"Stop, Greg!" yelled a laughing Amy.

"And I'll… oh…" Greg said, stopping the antics on his girlfriend. "We'll get to this later… but right now I think it's time for some softball…"

"PLAY BALL!" bellowed the umpire.

There were cheers from the quartet as the softball game began.

"It's interesting how they're going to pull this game off with only four people on each team," said Amy. "I can already think of one logical way…"

"You mean the backstop?" said Greg.

"Yes, the area behind home plate is very small, so they don't have to worry about a catcher," said Amy.

As Amy and Greg were figuring everything out, Darien's team was taking the field. Darien was walking to the pitcher's mound, while Raye, Ken and Mina were covering each of the bases.

"Remember guys," said Darien, "if anyone hits a long one that gets past us, then we'll just give their team a run."

"That makes more sense here," said Greg.

The first batter came up to the plate…

"Hey, meatball head!" said Darien to the batter.

Serena clenched her teeth in hate as she reacted to Darien's remark, and took a classic batting pose.

"I'm the best softball player," Serena shouted, "I can hold the bat like a professional, I can hit like a professional, and there's nothing you can do to prove me wrong!"

"STRIKE ONE!" yelled the umpire.

Serena's eyes and mouth went wide open, her body and bat not even budging once, as the umpire threw the ball back to Darien.

Serena turned her head to the umpire in disbelief, a huge sweatdrop forming on her head.

"It was in the strike zone," said the umpire.

Now with a red-hot temper, Serena beckoned for Darien to keep pitching at her.

SWISH! SWISH! went Serena's bat over the next two pitches.

"STRIKE THREE, YER OUT!" yelled Jeff.

Serena, eyes shrunken to dots, groaned as she walked back to the dugout, dragging the bat on the dirt.

"Cheer up, Serena," said Raye from second base. "You'll hit it next time."

Serena just glanced at Raye briefly before returning to her seat in the dugout.

Next up to the plate was Chad.

"I wonder if you've got the knack for it," yelled Raye.

Chad would indeed respond… by belting the first pitch out over the center field fence.

"THAT'S A HOME RUN!" yelled the umpire.

Chad was really impressed with himself, and ran around the bases, fists up in the air.

"Who do you think you are, Rocky?" said Lita from the on deck circle.

Amy, Greg, Sasha and Rini cheered Chad as he stepped on home plate.

"SCORE'S ONE TO ZERO!" yelled the umpire.

Lita would take her turn next, but would unfortunately ground out on the third pitch, from Darien to Ken, who was on first base.

As Andrew began to stroll up to take his turn, Rini had a curiously interesting question to ask.

"Amy? Greg?" she said.

"Yes?" said the two of them.

"How did you two fall in love?"

Greg's face froze.

So did Amy's.

"Ah…. Come again?" asked Greg.

"She said, how did you fall in love," said Sasha.

"Um… what makes you ask that," said Amy, who was starting to turn a shade of red.

"Well, I might be dumb sometimes," said Rini, "but I know that since Sasha's from the future, she probably knows the story… so if you don't tell me, then I know she will, right Sasha?"

Sasha smiled and nodded. "Do you remember Greg? Amy?"

Greg wasted no time.

"Tell them Amy, when did we fall…"

But Greg stopped talking when he saw that Amy's face was as red as a radish… too red to answer the question.

"Oh… all right, I'll tell you…" said Greg. "Rini, we might have told you that we fell in love the night of the big Negaverse attack in the Silver Millennium…"

The statement drew a shaking head from Sasha.

"But that really wasn't it, was it Sasha?"

"No, Amy fell in love first!" replied Sasha.

"Yes, A…"

Greg paused to see Amy… still blushing deeply.

"Yes, Amy fell in love with me first. Or at least, she clearly made it known that she was in love with me first. If I remember correctly…"

Greg stopped briefly when he saw Lita swing and miss for the third out of the inning.

"All right guys, let's go get them!" said Greg.

Chad gave a thumbs-up sign to Greg as he took the mound for the bottom of the inning.

"All right," said Greg, "about that night… it was about one or two days before the big attack…"

Greg closed his eyes as he started to remember.

"I was in Central Command… right, Sasha?"

"Yep, and they told you the Negaverse was coming."

"Uh… Something like that," went Greg. "Yes, there were reports that the Negaverse was planning something…"

Lieutenant Chadwick of Mars could not believe it.

"This is going to be the baddest attack we've ever seen!" he said.

"I think," said Admiral Gregory of Mercury, "number one, you should say it'll be the WORST attack, and second, I agree with you."

The knights of the inner planets had gathered in Central Command on the planet Mercury, along with King Francis of Mercury and King Marcus of Mars. They had been hearing reports from other kingdoms in space that the Negaverse… the evilest of entities… were beginning to plan an attack on the Moon Kingdom and its planets.

"The decision ultimately rests on Queen Serenity of the Moon," said Marcus, "but our job is to gather up as much intelligence as we possibly can in the hopes that we can effectively combat this threat."

"There's no question," said Captain James of Venus, "that all of our planets will have to be ready."

"I've been in close contact with the scouts on the outer planets… Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto…" said Defense Officer Kenneth of Jupiter. "They all seem to be ready in the event of an attack."

"Do you think that our five Sailor Scouts will be ready?" asked Prince Darien of Earth.

"They certainly have to be, and I know they will," said Francis. "They are excellent young women, and I'll know that if this happens, they'll give it all they have."

"They're actually practicing now on the Littrow range on the Moon," said Darien. "Even though they have no clue about what's going on."

"You know what…" said Marcus, pushing a few buttons on his console, "this would be a good opportunity to check in on them now."

Marcus was put in touch with the central operator. "Could you please establish a connection with Artemis on the Moon? Thank you."

Within a minute they were in touch with Artemis.

"Hello, gentlemen," said Artemis. "How are you all coming along?"

"We're coming along fine… we just want to know how the ladies are doing with their practices," said Marcus.

"I… I don't know how to respond to that," replied Artemis.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… I'm afraid they know about the rumors now," said Artemis.

"What?" said Gregory.

"No!" said Chadwick.

"Who told them?" asked James.

"Well," responded Artemis, "nobody told them… they found out themselves. It appears that while the scouts were practicing, Sailor Mercury picked up a Negaverse spy satellite orbiting the Moon with her VR Visor. Before they could attack the satellite, it self destructed."

"Spy satellite?" said Francis. "How can that be possible?"

"Well, seeing that Sailor Mercury was the only one able to pick up the masked signature, there must be quite a bit of technology involved," said Kenneth.

"I'm going to have to find out if they've got any other satellites lurking about," said Gregory. "Shall I start now?"

"Actually, I've just been told that Queen Serenity would like to speak to all of you now. She's standing by on a secure channel," said Artemis.

"Patch it through," said Marcus, "and thanks for your report."

"My pleasure," responded Artemis.

Artemis' face disappeared in a wave of static and snow on the view screen… replaced a few seconds later with the face of the ruler of the Moon Kingdom.

"Your Highness," said everyone.

"Gentlemen," said Queen Serenity, "I speak to you now in what appears to be the most unfortunate of circumstances. I have discovered that the Negaverse is possibly planning to attack the entire Moon Kingdom. The thought of the peaceful times that all of us have had may soon vanish and be replaced with the thought of a new war… and as Artemis just told you, the Sailor Scouts attempted to disable a Negaverse satellite which apparently was orbiting our Moon for an undetermined amount of time.

"Given the graveness of the current situation," she continued, "I must proceed with the Code E plan in the event that we are outnumbered and are unable to respond to the attack."

Darien, Gregory, Chadwick, Kenneth and James looked at each other, wondering what the Code E plan was.

But Francis and Marcus reacted to the news with gaping mouths.

"To all my inner knights who don't know what Code E is," said Serenity, "it is the evacuation plan to Earth. If we are unable to respond to the attack, I intend to send all of you to the planet Earth to be reborn as ordinary people, many years from now. You will grow up as normal humans, but in time, you will start to regain knowledge of who you really are. Your job will be to protect the planet Earth and the kingdom from any threat of evil, be it from the Negaverse or another entity."

"So we're going to be… in a kind of suspended animation?" said Kenneth.

"Yes," responded the Queen, "but you do not have to worry, because when you regain your memories of this time, you will regain your abilities to fight against the evil forces, exactly as it is right now."

"What about King Marcus, King Francis and the others?" asked Chadwick.

"What about YOU?" asked James.

"There is the good possibility that we may not make it through this crisis," Serenity replied. "In which case I have another very important plan that is crucial to the survival and rebirth of the Moon Kingdom… one which I must keep secret."

"Your highness," said Darien, "no matter what the outcome is, I will stand by to defend the Moon, the Earth, and the kingdom… and your daughter."

"I'll be ready to defend Jupiter, and Lita," said Kenneth.

"And I will stand by to defend the most beautiful planet, with its most beautiful princess," said James.

"Please understand, stupid as I may sometimes be," said Chadwick to King Marcus, "I will be ready to defend you and your daughter as the knight of our planet of fire."

Gregory was about to speak to Francis about the planet Mercury, when…

"Admiral Gregory?" interrupted Queen Serenity. "May I speak to you in private?"

"Yes… yes, your highness. Allow me to step into my quarters next door," said Gregory.

"I'll patch her into your room," said Marcus.

Gregory stepped out of the Central Command room and into his quarters, where Queen Serenity's face was already on the view screen located on his desk.

Gregory stood at attention. "Yes your highness?"

"You might want to sit down, Gregory," said Serenity.

Gregory immediately did so.

"Gregory, you are the smartest of all of the knights in the Moon Kingdom, and you are the leader of the inner knights, behind only Prince Darien. Because of this, I feel it is important that I disclose to you my plan to save the Moon Kingdom."

"I am listening," said Gregory.

"If the worst happens, Gregory," said Serenity, "I will send you to Earth using the power of the Silver Millennium Crystal, and then separate that crystal from my moon sceptor."

Gregory was shocked. "Your highness, with all due respect, I must protest! The Silver Millennium Crystal is the core of our existence!"

"You have every right to point that out," said Serenity, "But this will ensure the safety of our kingdom from falling into evil hands in the future."

"In that case, it makes sense," said Gregory.

"It will be separated into seven crystals, with each a different color of the spectrum. Each crystal will carry a unique characteristic… And Gregory, as one of the best knights the Moon Kingdom has, I wish to bestow one of these crystals to you."

Gregory's eyes went wide open. "Uh… T… Thank you, my queen," was his response.

"Your impressive knowledge makes you the chosen one to receive the yellow crystal… the one which will contain my power to foresee the future. If you are sent back to Earth and are reborn, you are free to use the power at your will, but remember that the Negaverse must be dealt with… that should be your priority."

"I will use the power… as you wish," responded Admiral Gregory. "But I must ask, with all due respect, can you use the power right now to foresee the Negaverse attack?"

Queen Serenity closed her eyes. "I'm afraid I cannot," she responded. "The Negaverse has a very powerful force that has blocked my ability. I must therefore conclude that they may attack… However…"

"Yes?" asked Gregory.

"I do see Princess Amy… Sailor Mercury… is in the process of teleporting back to where you are, and she is very intent on seeing you… In that case I shall leave you so that you can speak with her. I will call Central Command back in a few hours with an update."

"Thank you, my Queen," said Gregory.

Admiral Gregory departed his quarters… and was quickly stopped by Michael, the herald.

"Admiral Gregory…" he started.

"Sailor Mercury has just arrived from practice and wishes to see me?" said Gregory.

Michael gave him a strange look. "Why, yes, how did you…"

"Where is she now?" asked Gregory.

Michael pointed to the rear of the castle. "In… in the back terrace, overlooking the reflecting pool."

"Thanks, Michael," said Gregory, who went toward the back terrace.

"You're… welcome," replied Michael, still amazed at what he just saw from Gregory.

Sure enough, just as Queen Serenity predicted, Gregory walked out to find Sailor Mercury standing there, looking down at the reflecting pool, her back facing the rear entrance where Gregory was currently standing. Her right hand was on her head, while the left arm was crossed over to support the other one.

Gregory slowly approached Amy. With news of the possible attack now known to the scouts, Gregory did not know what to expect from her.

That was, until the princess turned around, tears visibly streaming from her eyes, and ran toward her knight.

Sailor Mercury threw her arms around Admiral Gregory and buried her face into his chest, sobbing out loudly.

Admiral Gregory was surprised at what she was doing… in all of the years that he knew her… he had never, ever been held this way before… with the exception of properly accepting his arm to kingdom balls and festivals.

After a moment, Gregory began to wrap his arms around the crying princess.

"Shhhhh…." went Gregory. "Shhhhh…."

Sailor Mercury then lifted her head.

Gregory could read from what he saw that Amy had no idea why this was happening.

Then, he took his right thumb and began to wipe the tears away from her eyes.

The phrase "What am I doing" crossed Greg's mind as he did this.

"I'm… sc… sc… scared…" said a shaking Sailor Mercury through the tears, not sounding like her normal self.

Gregory looked at Sailor Mercury…

And into her eyes.

He then straightened himself up… "I'm scared too, you know… and I have a feeling the other guys inside are scared…"

Sailor Mercury then looked down to the ground, then over toward the reflecting pool. "Now… now would be a good time to tell you this…"

"Tell you what? I mean, ME, tell ME what?" said Gregory.

"Well…" said Sailor Mercury, trying to shake the tears away, "I've had a lot of time to think this over…"

"About?"

"About… the two of us," she responded, "and the friendship we have…"

Sailor Mercury took a deep breath.

"Gregory…"

"Yes?" he said, not knowing the severity of what Sailor Mercury was hiding.

"Well, my whole life on Mercury has been, well, ordinary… you know, growing up to become Sailor Mercury and the eventual leader of the planet, as I was destined to do…"

"You should thank your father," said Gregory. "If it wasn't for King Francis' guidance, who knows where you would be today."

"Yes," said Sailor Mercury, rolling her eyes to the side, smiling. "I have a lot of things to thank my father for… especially for something very important…"

"Which is?"

"Introducing you to me," said Sailor Mercury, looking into Gregory's brown eyes. "I credit you for the way you have changed my life. You've made me look at life from a different perspective, one that has instilled change in me… and for that, I am very thankful…"

"Well, you're welcome," said Gregory. "After all, it is my sworn duty."

"Well, Gregory, I am so thankful that…"

Sailor Mercury started to wrap her arms around Gregory once more… and this time… pressed her body toward his.

Gregory was so surprised and so shocked at what she was doing, that HE was the one starting to shake now.

Sailor Mercury silenced the shaking when she reached up onto the tiptoes of her boots… and kissed her knight.

Sailor Mercury was kissing a man for the very first time…

And Admiral Gregory's eyes were wide open at this point.

Amy was able to murmur something as her lips continued to press his…

"I… love… you…"

Which caused Gregory's head to snap back, breaking the kiss.

"What did you just say?" he asked.

Sailor Mercury uttered a small sound before her cheeks began to engorge with blood.

Gregory was still waiting for a response.

But all that he got was another quick kiss from the red-cheeked Amy, the best smile he's ever seen from the red-cheeked Amy, and a glance at the red-cheeked Amy running back into the castle.

"Amy!" yelled Gregory.

Gregory was about to pursue Amy back into the castle… but didn't.

Instead, he just froze there… and after a moment, looked into the reflecting pool.

Two minutes passed… or, to Gregory, what seemed to be an eternity.

In that amount of time, memories of Amy flowed into and through his head.

He then realized what his inner self was thinking…

"Oh my goodness…" he said to himself.

"I… I… love her…"

"You do?" said a voice from behind.

Gregory turned around… to see his best friend from the neighboring planet of Venus.

"Welcome to the club!" said James.

"Club?" asked Gregory.

"Yep," said James, putting his hand on Gregory's shoulder. "We figured you'd always be the last one to fall in love… looks like we were right!"

"Wow, I'm feeling, uh… how do I feel now…" said Gregory.

"Cool, maybe?" said James.

"More wicked than cool…" said Gregory. "Wicked… cool… wicked cool… that's how I feel. Wicked cool. If you want to call it that."

"Works fine with me," said James. "It's interesting, though, she made her love known before you did. Wasn't like that with me, or the others."

"Yeah…" said Gregory, starting to look up into the sky. "And now that I know how she feels… I wonder… exactly when… I'll be able to tell her… how I feel…"

"I'd eventually tell her after I rescued her when the Negaverse finally attacked," said Greg.

"Wait, she didn't tell you that when you rescued her?" asked Rini.

"What do you mean, Rini?" said Greg.

"I remember you told me the story of how you rescued Amy, and after you told her that you loved her, she told you that."

"Nice memory, Rini," said Greg. "But now that I think about it more, especially with Sasha here, I can remember the real turning point of my life in the Silver Millennium… which was that very evening… Ames, would you agree about…"

Greg stopped when he saw Amy shedding tears.

"Oh, AMY!" said Greg, reaching over to clear the tears from her face.

Once he did that, he took a long look at Amy…

And Amy took a long look at Greg.

Sasha tapped Rini and pointed at her future parents. "Look!" she whispered.

Amy and Greg inched closer together, and closed their eyes…

"YER OUT!" yelled the umpire.

Greg and Amy snapped back into reality at that instant, and looked toward the softball field where Darien had just struck out.

Chad had his fist pumping in the air as Darien looked at his bat in disbelief.

While Greg told his story, Chad walked Raye to first base and forced Ken to ground out. With Darien now out, Mina was making her way to the plate.

"All right Chad! This is it!" yelled Greg from the stands.

Mina, waving the bat in front of her, got to the batter's box. Interestingly, Jeff, the umpire, greeted her with a bow as she got there.

"Ok, let's win this game!" yelled Mina. "Throw one right down the middle, Chad! Make it easy for me!"

But Chad had other plans.

Instead of down the middle, he threw the first pitch about fifteen feet to the outside of Mina.

Mina didn't swing the bat, and looked back at Chad, shaking her head.

"STRIKE ONE!" yelled the Umpire.

Mina's eyes bulged open, her head snapping back toward the umpire. "WHAT!" she yelled.

"WHAT!" yelled Greg.

"What happened?" asked Sasha.

"I don't know," said Greg, "but that pitch should not have been called a strike."

The others were looking in shock at the umpire's call.

They became even more shocked when the second pitch, which went soaring into the sky, was called "STRIKE TWO!"

Greg had enough. He excused himself before jumping out of his seat, running down the stairs, jumping over the barrier and charging toward the umpire.

"GREG!" yelled Amy. "STOP IT!"

Greg was running toward Jeff… and Mina tried to stop him.

"What are you doing, Greg?!" yelled Mina.

"Please stay out of this!" responded Greg, before looking Jeff in the face.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, MAKING CALLS AS BOGUS AS THAT!" Greg yelled to Jeff.

Jeff was just standing there, hands on hips.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU CALL THAT, BUT I CALL THAT POOR OFFICIATING! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!!"

Jeff stared at Greg for a moment.

"WELL?!" yelled Greg.

Jeff then looked down and shook his head.

"WHAT NOW? ARE YOU CHANGING YOUR MIND?"

"I… I…" went Jeff through the mask. "My mind's just not on the game today."

"Not on the game, well that's for sure," said Mina.

"Let me ask you then," said Greg, quickly taking a few steps toward the other bench. "What IS your mind on today?"

"Something else," said the umpire, who started to remove his facemask and his hat.

"Why is he taking all of his stuff off?" asked Sasha.

"Is this a strip show now?" said Ken.

"Jeff reminds me of someone," said Amy.

Jeff was starting to remind everybody on the field of someone… until Jeff removed the fake beard, the fake mustache, and the wig with the long hair… that made people realize that it wasn't Jeff… but instead, was…

"GASP! JAMIE!" shrieked Mina.

Darien, Greg, Chad and Ken were starting to laugh as Mina made the surprise discovery.

Amy's mouth went wide open, while Serena, Raye, Lita, Rini and Sasha began to laugh along.

"YOU!" Mina screamed in amazement.

Jamie raised his hands to quell the small crowd.

"Yes, me," he said, pulling a very small black case out of his front pocket.

Mina covered her mouth. And so did the other girls.

"YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES!!!" a smiling Mina screamed, jumping up and down, in anticipation of Jamie's next question.

Jamie laughed out loud. "Do… Do you mind if… I ask you first?"

Mina quickly nodded her head up and down like a bobble-head.

Jamie took a deep breath… laughed some more… and opened the case to reveal a ring with four gemstones… two diamond, and two citrine.

"Mina Aino," Jamie yelled, "Will… you… marry…"

Jamie had no chance to say "me" since Mina raced right to him and kissed him.

The others, who figured the kissing to mean yes, cheered wildly.

Mina smiled as Jamie placed the ring on her finger.

She then jumped up and down, yelling wildly and doing a celebratory dance, with the others laughing… Chad hysterically.

When she was finished, she went back to hug Jamie… and that was when the real emotions, and Mina's tears, began spilling out.

"I love you," said Mina.

"And me to you," said Jamie.

Andrew and Greg ran up to the duo from Venus.

Andrew hugged both Mina and Jamie, and offered his congratulations. "I know you're going to make one fine couple, both here, and where you'll eventually be going," he said.

Greg then went up to hug Mina, and then gave a big friendly hug to his best friend.

"It worked, Greg! Thanks a million! I'll never forget this," said Jamie.

Mina then turned to Greg. "You did it… AGAIN?!"

"Yep, unfortunately," said Greg with a smile. "Well, why complain to me, when you've got your future suitor here and…"

Greg was interrupted when his silver blue cell phone began to go off.

"Excuse me," said Greg, stepping away.

Three down, he said to himself before answering the phone.

"Luna! I haven't heard from you in a long time! How are you? … And Artemis? … Yes… oh… I see… you really think you've found something… all right then, when do you… tomorrow at the shrine? Gotcha… Ok, see you tomorrow! Bye…"

Greg flipped his cell phone to his off position before addressing everyone.

"Guys," he said with a bit of hesitation, "we've got an important meeting tomorrow at Hikawa Shrine."

"What for?" asked Raye.

Greg paused… and looked over towards Amy.

"Luna and Artemis believe… they may have the solution to bringing down Sorinya…"

What do Luna and Artemis have to report?

And, the burden is now on Greg and Chad... Destiny brought them together with Amy and Raye respectively. So who will propose next?

Find out in Chapter 29 of The Saga of Mercury.

The Saga of Mercury Chapter 28 - Play Ball 18

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