Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Saga of Mercury ❯ All Aboard ( Chapter 29 )

The Saga of Mercury

Chapter 29

"All Aboard"

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 29 - All Aboard

Queen Sorinya of the Negaverse was left reeling… still upset after the loss of Quartzia.

She sat on her throne… a stone cold look frozen on her face.

And her eyes full of evil and hate.

Another one of Sorinya's servants, Sentoosa, was about to enter the chambers.

"Your majesty," she began.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Sorinya shouted at her, her eyes fiery red.

Sentoosa had a huge sweatdrop on her head… and quickly bowed and exited.

Sorinya sighed… and thought to herself for a moment.

"Now I must deal the crushing blow to the fools that have kept me this long from carrying out what I have always wanted to do," she said.

Sorinya then stood up, and walked to a remote corner of her chamber.

She pressed her hand on one of the dark walls.

All of a sudden, as if by magic, a purple halo of light appeared in front of Sorinya.

Sorinya reached over and placed her hand into the purple light… and pulled out a fluorescent crystal.

"Fluorescent crystal of evil, source of destruction," she said to the crystal, "provide me with the answer to destroying Amy Mizuno!"

A gust of wind began to blow toward Sorinya. It was as if the wind came from the crystal… as if the crystal was responding to Sorinya's words…

"And that's why the fluorescent crystal of evil is the key to bringing down Queen Sorinya," said Artemis to the assembled Sailor team at the Hikawa Shrine.

"I am most impressed with your research," responded Amy.

"So let me get this straight," said Chad. "If we can get our hands on the crystal, then Sorinya is a dead duck?"

"Not just get our hands on it," said Greg, "but shatter it. The thing's been with her since her birth in the Negaverse."

"So we have a job to do, until Queen Sorinya is dealt with successfully," said Luna to everyone. "We must protect Amy at all costs."

"That's not necessary," said Amy. "I can protect myself."

"Amy, that may not help you in this case," said Artemis. "You're going to need all the assistance and backup that you can… Especially from Greg."

"That's right," said Darien. "Greg, you've got primary responsibility over her."

"No he doesn't!" said a youthful voice.

Everyone looked over at Sasha.

"I do," she said with a stern look.

Greg smiled. "Ha ha! Well, Sasha, I'll need all of the help I'll need. Not just from you, but from everyone else."

"I'm a bit interested in this phospho… uh… what's it… fluorescent crystal. Yeah, fluorescent," said Ken. "It must be one powerful crystal, and if it is, we all have to be ready for it."

Greg looked away for a moment. "I don't know how I'll be able to do it… I know there's a way… but I don't know it…"

Amy walked closer to Greg and held his arm. "What do you mean?"

"Well," said Greg, "there's protecting you… then there's school… and then, of course, there's my job training…"

"Job training?" said Chad. "Oh yeah, you won't tell us what that's about…"

"Nah, that's a small secret I've been keeping from you guys," said Greg. "Besides, that's almost done with, although I'll have one big test to take."

"After you pass the test… and I'm sure that a guy like you would…" said Raye, "will you please tell us what you will be doing?"

Greg thought for a moment.

"I might be able to show you…" he responded.

"Show us?" said Serena. "Oh, it's not fair, I wanna see!"

"You hate surprises, Serena?" said Lita.

"Of course!" shouted Rini in response.

Serena looked at Rini foolishly. "Not really, unless of course, Darien surprises me," she responded, her eyes soon turning into pink heart shapes.

Everyone had sweatdrops.

"That's what I thought," said Lita. "But let's face it, he surprised you when he asked you to marry him."

"Speaking of which," said Mina, "how are the wedding plans going?"

Serena was quick to answer. "Oh, it's going to be so fun! It'll be the best wedding anyone has ever seen. We're going to go and…"

As Serena was giving her long answer, Darien was looking away, a huge sweatdrop on his face.

"…isn't that right, Darien?" Serena concluded, looking at her future husband.

"Uh… I really haven't thought about it much," said Darien. "Don't you remember, we agreed that you would finish school?"

"I don't care what the two of you think," said Lita, staring into the eyes of Ken. "Ken and I have been together for many years before we realized our destinies…"

"That's right," Ken responded. "Lita and I wish to get married immediately… in two months, at the earliest."

"That fast, huh?" responded Jamie.

As some of the members of the team discussed their wedding plans, Chad and Greg stayed silent. They looked at each other.

The two men did not know who would propose next… would Chad propose to Raye first? Or would Greg step forward and propose to Amy?

Raye and Amy knew separately in their minds as well, that a proposal would have to come soon from Chad and Greg, respectively.

Everyone that had gathered… including the two cats… had the same question in their heads…

Who would propose first?

It was a question that would linger silently for the next couple of days. In that period of time, Greg passed the examination for his job, and began to work… all despite having this thought in his head.

Aside from this, Greg was with Amy most of the time, going to the library, a few museums, a movie, and even a romantic candlelight dinner… while always watching Amy's back for any sign from the Negaverse… which had not occurred yet, surprisingly.

During the evening hours, despite repeated but futile resistance from Amy, Sasha would always sleep in the same bed, next to her mother of the future.

After a week had passed, Greg had asked Amy and Sasha to meet him in the morning at the front of the northbound underground rail platform at Tokyo for a day trip to Chiba, where they would visit several parks together.

True to the watch, Amy and Sasha arrived at platform 4 at 9:30 AM, seven minutes before the train was scheduled to depart.

Amy was dressed in a yellow shirt with blue suspender jeans, nice blue sneakers and a blue headband over her hair. Sasha was in a yellow and blue sweater with white sneakers.

Two minutes after their arrival, the train pulled into the station.

"NOW ARRIVING," said the announcer, "IS THE 9:37 SOBU LINE TRAIN TO CHIBA, MAKING EXPRESS STOPS."

"This is the train," said Amy.

"But where is Greg?" asked Sasha.

Greg was nowhere in sight as the train pulled into the station, stopping right on the mark.

Amy and Sasha saw the doors of the train open up… but were hesitant to enter the train.

A few more minutes passed… it was now 9:35. Two minutes before departure. And as they very well knew, the punctuality of the Japanese trains was what made train travel in Japan very prestigious. So, if the train was listed to depart at 9:37, then this train was going to leave AT 9:37.

"THIS IS THE 9:37 SOBU LINE TRAIN TO CHIBA," said a fuzzy voice over the speakers inside the train. "STOPPING AT SHINNIHOMBASHI, BAKUROCHO, KINSHICHO, SHINKOIWA, ICHIKAWA, FUNABASHI, TSUDANUMA, INAGE AND CHIBA."

Amy and Sasha were growing more hesitant.

"WE WOULD REQUEST THAT AMY MIZUNO AND SASHA URAWA KINDLY ENTER THE TRAIN AT THIS TIME," the voice continued.

Amy and Sasha gasped, their eyes wide open.

"DID THEY JUST SAY OUR NAMES?" they shrieked in unison.

Someone in the front of the train, in the driver's section, then slid open the side window and looked at the two young ladies.

The man was wearing a black uniform with a white shirt, black tie, and a train operator's cap.

The two ladies turned around and saw him. They gasped again, with Amy's hand covering her mouth.

He looked a lot like Greg.

"Well, are you two coming in or not?" said the voice, which was a lot like Greg's.

It only took them a split second to realize… that it was Greg.

"GREG!" they both yelled.

Greg pointed to the first open door on the train. "Come on in!"

Amy and Sasha wasted no time entering.

As they did, the door to the driver's cab opened.

"SURPR…" started Greg, who was unable to finish the word `surprise' when Amy leaped into his arms.

"You're driving the trains?" said Sasha with excitement.

"Can you believe it?" said Greg. "The instructors were so pleased with my performance that they have assigned me to this express line. The ride will only take about 40 minutes, so in the meantime you can see what I'm doing."

"I don't know what to say…" said Amy.

"Well, you can thank Warren Sakai, the conductor, for saying your names correctly," Greg said with a smile. "He's in the back of the train, and he's in charge of opening and closing the doors."

Greg then pressed a button in his cab that allowed him to speak to Warren. "Thanks very much, Warren!" said Greg.

"Are they on the train with you now?" said Warren, his voice sounding fuzzy through the small speaker.

"Yep, all in one piece, thank goodness," Greg said. "Are we ready to go?"

"Another 30 seconds," replied Warren.

Greg understood the message, then clicked the reverser into the forward position and eased off on the brakes.

"Hang on," said Greg. "This is going to be one quick ride to Chiba."

Sasha was looking around the inside of the train with excitement as the doors closed, Greg released the brakes and started the train out of the station.

The train slowly exited, and then picked up speed as it entered the dark tunnel. Sasha could hear the different motors kicking in as the train increased in speed.

But, before Sasha knew it, it was time for Greg to apply the brakes, as the train had already reached its first station, Shin-Nihombashi.

Over the next several station stops, as the train exited above ground and into the open air, Greg was explaining to Amy and Sasha how he got interested in trains, how he applied for the job, and how his schooling and testing went.

His conversation with them stopped abruptly as he reached a red signal outside of the Funabashi station.

"Hmm," said Greg. "We're halfway to Chiba, we're on the timetable, and we get a red light? This isn't supposed to happen… unless of course a train is stuck up ahead…"

As Greg was surveying the situation, a call came over Greg's radio

"ATTENTION ALL TRAIN OPERATORS AND CONDUCTORS!" blared the voice. "THERE APPEARS TO BE SOME KIND OF MONSTER ON THE LOOSE ON THE SOBU LINE! IT IS SLOWLY BEGINNING TO MAKE ITS WAY TOWARD TOKYO! ALL OPERATORS AND CONDUCTORS ARE ORDERED TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS FOR THE SAFETY OF THE PASSENGERS!"

Greg looked at Amy and Sasha immediately, with wide-open eyes. "Do you think…" started Greg.

Amy's face turned stone cold. "You don't think that…"

Greg turned to speak to Warren over the speaker. "Warren, did you copy that?" he said.

"Affirmative," replied Warren. "What should we do about it?"

"I'm going to see if we can get into the station," said Greg over the speaker. "Then we're going to dump the train."

Sasha looked at Amy. "Dump the train? What does that mean?"

"I think it means they're going to make everyone get out of the train and onto the platforms," Amy replied.

"And we're going to have everyone leave the platforms, too," said Greg to Amy. "I really, really, am starting to get the strange feeling that this monster is after someone important, like you."

Amy looked at Greg, her cheeks showing a small redness.

In the meantime, Greg was talking over the radio to dispatch.

"COPY," dispatch replied. "YOU ARE CLEARED TO BYPASS THE RED SIGNAL, ENTER FUNABASHI, AND CLEAR THE TRAIN."

While Warren was giving the bad news to the passengers, Greg was slowly driving the train into the station.

"Amy…" Greg said as he was driving, "I know that Sorinya has sent this monster after you. So what you and Sasha have to do is to file out of the train and mix into the crowd of passengers that will be heading onto the street."

"You mean you want us to mix in with the crowd?" said Sasha.

"Exactly," said Greg.

"But what about you?" asked Amy.

"I'll look out for, and possibly deal with, this monster," he replied. "When it's safe, I'll call everyone back on board."

With that, the train stopped on the platform at Funabashi. "EVERYONE OUT OF THE TRAIN AND ONTO THE STREET, PLEASE!" Warren yelled.

Amy and Sasha quickly filed out with everyone else.

After about two minutes, Warren closed the doors.

Save for Greg at the front and Warren in the rear, the train and the platform were completely empty, while a throng of worried passengers, Amy and Sasha among them, spilled out onto the street, waiting to see what would happen.

"So now what do we do?" said Warren over the speaker.

Greg took a deep breath, and then responded.

"Wait."

After several minutes had passed, Greg closed his eyes. He began to concentrate.

Then, abruptly, Greg told Warren quickly over the speaker, "Lock your cab now!"

"What? Are you sure?" asked Warren.

"JUST DO IT!" Greg yelled over the speaker.

"ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT!" Warren responded.

Greg then opened his eyes… and saw a gooey, green glob stare at him in the face from the outside.

The monster's trail of green slime could be seen on the roadbed behind him.

"MERCURY!" the monster yelled, as it molded its way into the train. Greg could not believe what he was seeing… it was able to enter the train, without breaking any glass.

Greg ran back halfway into the first car, before reaching for his cell phone.

"This is something I'll have to do on my own," he said. "MERCURY KNIGHT POWER!"

After his transformation was complete, Mercury Knight aimed his sword right at the gooey glob.

"This is going to be too easy," said Mercury Knight. "MERCURY ICE BLADE CHARGE!"

The ray of blue light that extended out of his sword shot straight at…

… and through… the monster.

Mercury Knight could not believe it… again.

He furiously then came forward and slashed his sword several times through the monster's midsection.

The monster didn't flinch, and immediately gripped at Mercury Knight's throat.

Mercury Knight dropped his sword… and started to place his hands around those that were gripping at his neck.

"MERCURY DIE! MERCURY DIE!" yelled the Monster, as Mercury Knight choked and gasped for air.

On the street below, the people could hear one of the train cars overhead start to shake.

Amy and Sasha were looking up at the train as well.

Amy then turned to Sasha…

"I love him…" she said softly to Sasha… "and I appreciate him for being concerned about me… but… he needs help… and we can't just leave him there…"

"Do we transform?" Sasha said quietly.

Amy grabbed Sasha's hand and looked around. "Come with me," she said. "Let's see if we can squeeze out of this crowd."

Meanwhile, in the train, the monster was still yelling "DIE MERCURY!" as Mercury Knight began to turn blue. He wasn't going to last much longer. His eyesight and hearing were starting to slip.

Suddenly, he could hear the faint sounds of glass breaking in the front of the train…

Followed immediately by the monster's hands lowering in temperature and loosening its grip.

Mercury Knight fell through onto the ground, grabbing his throat and gasping heavily for air.

After a moment, he crawled past the frozen monster and toward the front of the train… where to his surprise, saw two young blue-haired ladies in fukus.

Mercury Knight saw Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mini Mercury, then bowed his head and began to point down.

"I told you to stay down there…" he grudgingly said.

Sailor Mercury immediately opened her computer and began to search for a weakness. She had to do so quickly before the monster thawed out.

"I found it," replied Sailor Mercury. "His composition is liquid except for his nose, which is solid. If… if we can destroy the nose, then it should destroy the rest of him."

Meanwhile, Mercury Knight had activated his visor and had detected the same thing.

At the same time, he recalled something about his future… and about his daughter.

"Come here, Sasha," said Mercury Knight, who was regaining his strength, but still somewhat weak.

"What is it?" said Sailor Mini Mercury.

Mercury Knight held his sword up to Mini Mercury.

"Do me a favor and slash off his nose," he said, handing the sword to her.

"GREG!" yelled Amy. "Why are you giving the sword to her? It's very dangerous! She could get hurt!"

But Sailor Mini Mercury seemed to have no problems with it. She waved the heavy sword high above her head… took a huge leap into the air… and as the monster was coming to… she cut the monster's nose off.

The monster groaned, and began to shake violently.

Mercury Knight had gained enough strength to run out of the way. He quickly scooped up Mini Mercury, who was still holding the sword, and yelled at Sailor Mercury. "GET INTO THE DRIVER'S CAB! QUICKLY! THE MONSTER'S GONNA BURST!"

Sailor Mercury immediately turned around and ran forward toward the cab, with Mercury Knight and Mini Mercury trailing.

With the three inside the cab, Mercury Knight lowered Sailor Mini Mercury to the floor, and immediately closed the door and engaged the lock.

And the timing couldn't have been better.

As he engaged the lock, the monster burst in a huge liquefied explosion, with green slime spraying all over the first car of the train, but none of which entered the driver's cab.

"The liquid should dissipate in a few minutes, then it'll be safe," said Sailor Mercury.

Then, she felt two arms wrapping around her waist.

"Thank you very much for coming in there and saving me," said Mercury Knight from behind.

"Isn't it about time we saved you?" said Sailor Mini Mercury.

Sailor Mercury smiled. "You've saved us too many times already," she said, turning to face her knight. "I couldn't… I mean, we couldn't… leave you alone like that."

Mercury Knight lightly kissed Sailor Mercury on the head. "I have a feeling you may just be helping me out several more times," he said.

He then kissed Sailor Mini Mercury's hair and ruffled it. "And thanks to you! You did a wonderful job!"

Sailor Mini Mercury laughed. "That tickles!" she protested.

Then looking at her future parents, she said, "My dad taught me how to use his sword, just in case there were any problems, and he wasn't able to do anything."

As Sailor Mercury and Mercury Knight smiled in response, a voice came from over the speaker.

"Greg!"

It was Warren.

"Are you all right in there?"

Mercury Knight reached over to respond to Warren in a regular tone of voice. "Yeah, the monster just exploded in the first cab here. It just burst before my eyes… I didn't do a thing!"

"Well, that's good news," replied Warren. "Is it going to be safe to continue?"

"We'll have to close the first car, otherwise we're in good shape," replied Mercury Knight. "I'll keep you advised."

As Mercury Knight finished talking, Sailor Mercury's watch began to light up.

On her wristwatch communicator was Raye.

Raye's cheeks were red as she talked to Amy.

"Hey Amy! Do you need any help?"

"No," responded Sailor Mercury, "the monster's destroyed, we'll be fine. Thank you for checking in!"

Raye was smiling. "Ok!" she said, her cheeks still red.

"Are you all right?" asked Sailor Mercury.

"Oh yes…" responded Raye. "I couldn't be more happy right now!"

"What are you so happy about?" asked Sailor Mercury.

"Well…" started Raye.

Mercury Knight then turned around slowly to face the front of the train.

"Chad proposed," he said.

Sailor Mercury looked at Mercury Knight, then back at her watch. "Did Chad propose to you?" she asked Raye.

Raye's eyes lit up. "Yeah! How… how did you know?"

Sailor Mercury paused for a moment. "Lucky guess…"

"Well, of course I had to accept, and everyone is meeting up at the shrine tonight to celebrate! You guys have to come over."

"We'll be there," Sailor Mercury responded.

As Sailor Mercury closed the connection, Mercury Knight appeared worried.

Chad had beaten him out.

He could not believe it.

And now, all pressure was coming down on him.

To fulfill destiny, he was now it.

He had to propose to Amy.

But how could he do it?

And more importantly, when could he do it?

Mercury Knight turned back around to speak, but when he did, found himself in a deep and romantic kiss with his princess… and his future daughter eagerly looking on.

"I know…" started Sailor Mercury. "I know that this has to happen, and I know that you're nervous about it… so am I…"

"When are you going to ask Amy to marry you?" said Sailor Mini Mercury.

"Whenever he's ready, Sasha," Sailor Mercury responded, turning back to her knight. "Whenever you are ready, Greg," she said with a big smile. "You decide for yourself when the right moment is."

Mercury Knight thought silently to himself…

And shed a tear out of his left eye.

Sailor Mercury gasped when she saw this. "Greg?" she said.

"I… I…" said a choked Mercury Knight.

Sailor Mercury smiled once again as she reached over with her right hand, and cleared the tear from his face with her thumb.

Mercury Knight looked at Sailor Mercury. He remembered the times that he cleared the tears from Sailor Mercury's eyes with his thumb… this was the first time she had ever done it back to him.

After a moment, Mercury Knight regained his composure, and hugged Sailor Mercury.

Sailor Mini Mercury then wrapped her arms around the legs of her future parents, bringing smiles to their faces.

Mercury Knight reached down to sheathe his sword, then lifted Sailor Mini Mercury up to eye level.

Looking at the both of them, he replied:

"There's going to be one moment soon… that will really test our loving relationship with each other… a life and death situation…

"I'm confident," he said to Mini Mercury, "that we will pass this test.

"That, my love," he said, turning to Sailor Mercury, "will be the right moment."

The final chapters of The Saga of Mercury begin with Chapter 30, scheduled for release on Memorial Day Weekend, 2003.

The Saga of Mercury Chapter 29 - All Aboard 14

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