Hey Everyone me and Jade decided to send in chapter 12. Thank you everyone
who has e-mailed me and Jade and told us that they wanted us to continue
writing it ^_^  We will continue this fanfic because so many people like
this fanfic and we are very glad that it turned out good ^_~ If you are
interested in eithe contacting me or Jade please contact jade and
Tnag@Lightspeed.bc.ca and me at DmacIn@Neptune.on.ca  We would both love to
hear from you ^_^
 IF you want to visit my homepage please visit it at this address

http://www.neptune.on.ca/~dmacin

I would love it if you could sign the guestbook can you please? I am
currently writing another fanfic with Nizardo and it should be out
sometime.., it's about Jedeite..., and it's called Twisted Path's. Hope you
guys take the time to read it ^_^  Happy 1999 everyone Imagin that it being
1999? Thats pritty speical.., Hope we don't disappoint you all with this
chapter.., A hello to

JADE (thanks for everything Jade ^_~)
Shikkaba (MY friend !! On icq and were I live)
Nizardo ( Who made a cool banner for me a while ago when my homepage was
called "Auston's Fanfic Archive)
Karen (Who wrote a fanfic that continued my fanfic a while back if anyone
remembers ^_^)
P-120 (Who's always there to talk to even when I am in my crazy mood ^_^)
Serena (Cause she's cool !!
Were writing a fanfic together too ne?)
Kathryn ( I loved that latest fanfic that you wrote with the dance.., the
next fanfic I write I am dedicating to you!!)
Joel (Who's helped me with my homepage numerous of times!)
Lianne (Thanks for answering those question's for me that was great ^_^)
Anita (If anyone remembers the fanfic she wrote ! Were are you Anita come
back!!)
Winter Witch (TAG YOUR HIT !!)
OK gettin' to long now talk to you guys soon ! Enjoy the fanfic While it
lasts ^_~

                         THE GOLDEN GENERAL
     HOMEPAGE: HTTP://WWW.NEPTUNE.ON.CA/~DMACIN







 Mrs. Tsukino was worried sick over her daughter, Serena
Tsukino. She hadn't seen head nor tail of her in what...
Months? Weeks? Days? It didn?t matter. All that she cared about
was that her daughter was missing! Even Sammy seemed to be
getting worried. They hadn't even seen Serena?s cat.. what was
her name? Moon? Crescent? Luner? Oh, yes, it was Luna wasn?t it?
Either one.

   Mr. Tsukino was in no better shape than Mrs. Tsukino herself.
He couldn?t sleep, eat, or drink and he was the first one too
suggest that they call the police. Mrs. Tsukino took a moment,
but agreed at last and was just going to call them when Sammy
suggested that they ask Serena?s friends where she was.

   Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino thought that it was a good idea, but
Mr. Tsukino still thought that they should call the police.
Sammy and Serena's mother agreed, but not until after they
asked Serena's friends if they knew anything.

   They all got their coats on quickly and went out the door,
each of them with worried frowns creasing their foreheads.

                     ___________________


   "Guys, I know we're all really tired and sore over this whole
thing, but we can't give up now, we must find Ami. The Nega-
verse might have taken her!!" Rei said to the group in front of
her, who were all sitting or standing quietly, trying to
conserve their energy after that attack the day before. Rei was
deeply troubled, as were the rest of her friends, as to the
whereabouts of one, Ami Andersan, a.k.a Sailor Mercury.

   So, much had happened to them these past few days... Serena?s
betrayal of them, Ami?s unconsciousness, having to reveal their
identities... their apparant inability to defeat Serena... or
rather *Crystal*. <Ami would have been good in this type of
situation; she would have been calm. She would have been able to
come up with something; like she always does! Oh, poor Ami! We
will find you!> Rei vowed.

   Turning her attention back to the group she decided to try and
straighten things out.

   "All right I am going to split you guys up into groups of two
because that way we can look for her better. Mina, you go with
Lita," Rei said, pointing to the two, and Mina and Lita nodded
their heads yes and looked at each other. "Luna and Artimes will
go together, and Darien and myself will go together." Darien
looked at Rei, hopeless showing in his eyes. Rei looked back and
smiled reassuringly.  "All right, lets go! We have our
communicators if anything goes wrong. And remember, be prepared.
Serena may try an attack anytime." There were mumers of agreement
from the others and then they all set off in different
directions, not knowing exactly where to look or even where to
begin.

                     ___________________


   Lita and Mina went to the local library first to see if, by
some extraordinary chance of luck, Ami was there. They both
knew it was more likely that she was in the Nega-verse right now,
but they couldn't go there, so they had to search here, and it
was also possible that Ami *had not* been taken by the Nega-
verse... so they were searching in all the places Ami was known
to go. Though, why she'd just walk off like that from the temple
was beyond the scouts. <She wouldn't do that.... would she?> Mina
wondered.

   Lita and Mina went up to the huge double door?s of the library,
after walking up a small flight of stone stairs, and pushed them
open. Seeing no Ami at first glance they walked up to the
librarian?s desk.

   The librarian was reading a book and didn?t notice them come up
too her. The woman had a *lot* of make-up on her face and she was
rather tall, with a very red smile. Her eyes, greenish blue, were
focused on the page in front of her and Lita and Mina sighed as
she failed to notice their approach. She had long black hair,
straight down to the middle of her back and her bangs hung down,
shadowing her eyes a bit.

   Lita cleared her throat to get this women?s attention, waited a
few minutes, and when it didn?t work Mina leaned forward and said
politely "Excuse, me Ma'am." The women jumped up from her set,
flinging her book across the room and almost falling off her
chair in the process. The girls smiled, laughingly. "Oh, I?m so
sorry, misses! I  didn?t see you! What can I do for you?" The
librarian asked them, flustered. She hadn't been expecting anyone
today. It was a school day, and during school hours... why were
these girls here?

  "Have you seen a girl with blue hair, about oh....... how tall
do you think Ami is Lita?" Mina asked Lita, questioningly. Lita
shrugged. "Oh, not to tall. Maybe 5'feet... could be a little
less." Lita said, taking a guess. "All right then. 5' feet, with
hmm.... blue eyes." They both looked at the already flustered
librarian.

  "No, I haven?t seen Ami around for a while I?m afraid. I?m so
sorry girls." She said apologetically. "Damn!!" Mina cursed,
barely keeping herself from saying it too loud. She turned back
to the librarian. "It's ok, thank you for your time." Mina said.
"Anytime girls! Come back soon and get some books." The
Librarian said and got up and picked her book off of the floor.

                       ___________________


   Darien and Rei, currently on the other side of town, were
headed for Ami's house, when Rei spotted Serena?s parents walking
up to them with very worried expressions on their faces.

   Rei and Darien looked at each other, sensing that this wasn't
going to be fun. Rei leaned forward to whisper in Darien?s ear.
"What are we going too do now??" She asked worriedly, casting
small glances at the approaching Tsukino's.

   "I don?t know Rei. We'll have to just fake it. Lets hope they
don?t see us." Darien replied. "Yes, you're right, don?t look at
them." But it was too late. Serena?s parents saw them and ran
towards them. "Rei, have you seen Serena any where?" Mrs.
Tsukino asked puffing, out of breath. Hope was shining in her
eyes.

   Rei didn?t know what to say. She was so sad for them and for
the scouts that Serena would cause them so much pain and worry.
It was most unlike Serena.... No, not Serena anymore... Crystal,
from the Nega-verse.  Noticing Rei?s silence Darien gently grabbed
Mrs. Tsukino?s hands. "No, Mrs. Tsukino were so sorry, we haven?t
seen your daughter... we didn?t know she was missing. We were just
out for a stroll in the park." Darien lied, feeling guilt lance
through him as the hope in the womans eyes vanished. Well, he
couldn?t possibly tell them that there loving daughter was a
sailor scout and had betrayed her friends and the Earth to the
Nega-verse not too long ago, now could he? Besides, he guessed
that they wouldn?t believe a thing that he said. The truth would
only make things worse.

   Mrs. Tsukino looked like she was about to cry. Mr. Tsukino
didn?t look too good either, but Darien could tell that he was
trying to be calm just for his wife who was in a daze. Rei's
silence just grew deeper at the huge, but necessary lie..... Oh,
if he ever got his hands on Serena he would..... he?d what? Kill
her? No... he could never bring himself to do that, no matter
what she did. Though he guessed that she's most likely be able to
bring herself to kill *him* without a second thought.

   Just then the group turned around when they heard a yell of
"Mom, Dad!" Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino hoped to the high heavens for
it to be there loving daughter and were disappointed to find
that it was just there son Sammy. They quickly they tried to
hide the disappointment though.

   "Mom! Dad! I found Serena?s cat, Luna, she was with some
other cat... a white one. I knew Serena never looked after her
kitty." Sammy said, hugging Luna tightly. Luna saw Rei and
Darien and looked at them pleadingly, trying to get out of
Sammy's grasp before she suffocated. Rei finally got the picture
and went to save Luna from the clutches of Serena?s evil little
brother. The phrase normally went, like father, like son, but in
this case Rei supposed it should be; like sister, like brother.

   Rei bent down to Sammy?s level and reached a hand towards the
cat in his arms. "Sammy, can I see that cat?" She asked in the
sweetest voice she could muster considering she was worried
about Luna. The cat was turning red from lack of oxygen, a very
hard thing for a black cat to do. Sammy just looked at her.
"Why, would I give my sister?s cat to you?" He said, holidng
Luna tighter. "So, you can take her away??"

   "Sammy, that cat could be dangerous. I am her friend and I
don?t think that you want to look after Luna. she can be a lot
of trouble." Luna glared at Rei and Rei promptly ignored her.

   Darien, noticing that Rei was having trouble with Sammy bent
down to Sammy?s level as well and said, "Sammy, I?ll give you a
cookie!" Sammy almost smiled. <At least this guy has some
sense...>

   Meanwhile through all this, black spots has begun to appear
before Luna's eyes ans she was gasping for breath at the
strength of Sammy's grip.

   "What kind?" Sammy asked, suspicous to the last. "Chocolate
chip!! Of course!!" Darien smiled for effect. <If I keep smiling
like this my face is going to freeze into this expression for
the rest of my live!> But he kept smiling despite his thoughts.

   "Alright it?s a deal!!" Sammy said gleefully and gave Luna
too Darien as walked over to his parents.  Rei just glared at
him. She'd wanted to be the hero of the day. Luna on the other
hand was just glad to be down on the ground and breathing again.

   "If you see her, let us know alright?" Mr. Tsukino said to
Rei. Rei nodded, feeling sick inside for having to lie like this
to these people. "When do I get my cookie???" Sammy yelled out
as he following his parents. Darien looked at Sammy and yelled
back, "Come to the Cheery Hill Temple later today and I?ll give
you one." Ignoring Rei?s look he smiled and walked off ahead of
Rei, to Amy?s house.

                        ___________________


   Lita and Mina were tired... they had looked almost all over
Tokyo for the missing scout without a clue to were she would be.
Both their heads were bent down in sadness as they stared at the
cement ground they were walking on, but then Mina suddenly
brought her head up and looked at Lita. "Lita why do we need
Ami? We have the better powers and what does she have? A whiny
voice that always says ?But I have to study I?m way behind in
my grades.? Don?t you find that annoying Lita? And she doesn?t
even have good powers to help us either!"

   Lita's eyes showed surprise, but then she quickly agreed,
seeing the logic and ignoring the shocked voice in the back of
her head trying to tell her differently. "Yeah!! All she?s good
for is her brians. And we got plenty of that! She never wanted
to be a scout in the first place.... or was that Serena?" For a
moment she looked confused and that voice at the back of her
head tried to surface, but Mina's next words pushed it down
again. "Well, we don?t need her! Lets go back to the temple!"
Mina said and turned around, walking back the way they'd come.
Lita about faced as well and followed after Mina.

   Neither of them noticed the figure in the shadows, watching
them and the red eyes that peered out at them from the darkness.
Had Crystal been there she might have recognized them, and their
power, but she wasn't. The two were alone and with a cynical
smile and an evil laugh the figure disappeared to report a job
well done. Now there would only be three scouts to contend with,
and the caped idiot.

   And that same voice that Crystal had heard in her dreams
yesterday now echoed throughout Tokyo's streets like a siren or
a warning bell... only no one else could hear it.

   <"Soon....">

                        __________________


   Meanwhile, things were being turned upside down for Rei and
Darien. The world seemed to be going insane... or maybe it was
just them.  How on Earth could Ami have left so fast?!

   If you're wondering, what made them come to the conclusion
that Ami was indeed gone, it was the visit to her house which
had resulted, unfortunetely in Mrs. Anderson's explanation of
just why Ami seemed to be missing.

   She'd left for Canada.

   Rei and Darien now sat on the temple steps, not too close to
each other, and each thinking back to the conversation that had
taken place between them and Mrs. Andersan.

   After the incident with Serena's parents Darien and Rei had
then left in the same direction they'd been going in before
they'd had to stop; to Ami's house. Both of them knew it wasn't
likely that Ami had gone home after what had happened to her,
but hey, it was worth a shot. Boy did they get the shock of
their lives!

   They had walked up the stone steps in front of Ami's house
and knocked lightly on the door, intending to leave if no one
 answered. But someone did answer. After the third knock the
sound of shuffling feet could be heard behind the door, and
then footsteps. Both of them had glanced at each other with
surprise. Could this be Ami?

   But no, it wasn't Ami, just her mother, a young woman in
her mid thirties with long blue hair, darker than Ami's, and
very light blue eyes. Her face was pale and she wore glasses.
She reminded Darien of a librarian or a doctor.

   "Mrs. Andersan?" Rei had asked and at the womans nod she
continued. "Hi. I'm Rei Hino and this is Darien Chiba." She
pointed at him and then went on before he could even greet
the woman. "We're looking for your daughter, Ami Andersan.
We've been searching around town for her for some time and
haven't got a clue where else to look. We're good friends of
hers. Do you have any idea where she might be?" Mrs. Andersan
had blinked, seeming surprised at Rei's worried tone, as if
she hadn't been expecting it and Rei and Darien had waited
patiently for her answer to their inquiry.

   Then Mrs. Andersan's visage had changed, into something
more akin to confusion and Darien and Rei's worry grew at
her look. "Why, yes. Of course I know where Ami is. You mean
she didn't tell you why she'd be gone or where she was
going?"

   Rei's face had lit up, relief flooding her like an ocean
as she heard Ami's mothers words. But the relief quickly
faded, to be replaced by that same worry as before as Mrs.
Andersan continued talking, ending her words with a question.
What was the woman talking about?

   "Um... no, Ami never told us anything about being gone
before. Uh... where is she now?" Both Rei and Darien were
looking more and more worried by the minute. They didn't know
what was going on here... but both of them had this awful
notion that it wasn't going to be good.

   "Ami left for Canada early this morning. She's staying with
relatives there, and she's not coming back for two years."

   Such a simple sentence. But one with not so simple
consequences.

   And now, here they were, sitting at the temple, finally
having figured out where Ami was but having no idea what to do
about it. What *could* they do? Teleport all the way to Canada
and get Ami to come back?  Not likely. After questioning Mrs.
Andersan a little more she told them that Ami had left because
she'd been accepted to a school over there and had been given
a special course that would not only give her a much more
advanced education, it would also help involve her in the
beginnings of medicin, as it was her dream to become a doctor.
Neither Darien *or* Rei had ever heard anything about this, but
now they were stuck with it, and they had the unfortunate task
of also telling the others about this.

   "Hey Rei! Darien! Have any luck?" Mina asked as she and Lita
strolled up the temple steps. Neither one of them looked very
interested in the answer, and both of them looked bored. Rei
nodded hey head yes to the question and Darien just looked
blank. Both newcomers looked at them curiously and when Rei
elaborted on where Ami had gone Mina and Lita bothed looked at
each other, and shrugged, like it didn't mean anything to them.
"So she left for Canada? Good. We don't need her." Rei and
Darien stared in shock at Mina's words, and changed their gazes
to rest on Lita when she piped up too. "Yeah. Why do we need
her here? I mean, come on. We're all stronger than she is. All
that she's goosd for is her brains and we have plenty of that
already."

   Darien stared at both girls with a bewildered look on his
face for some time before he shook himself and opened his mouth
to retort that they needed all the help they could get. Rei cut
him off when she held up her hand for silence. It was
immediately given as Rei's whole demeanor changed and she
paused and cocked her ear, as if listening to a distant sound..
then she said quietly, "Someone's coming." Mina, Lita, and
Darien all immediately forgot about what had just happened and
whipped around and dropped into fighting crouches.  They'd
been caught off guard by Crystal too many times.  They needed
to be ready this time.

   "It's not Crystal." Rei said quietly from her still sitting
position. The others relaxed and then looked at her, waiting
for her to say more.. and after a few moments sadness took
over Rei's face. "It's Serena's family."

   Darien's face contorted into a look of sad, almost pleading
desperation as a picture of Mr. amd Mrs. Tsukino flashed
before his inner eye... but it disappeared quickly and he
sighed with some relief. "Sammy probably just wants that
cookie I promised him." Mina and Lita looked at him strangely
and Mina questioned, "Cookie?" Rei explained the whole story
to them and at the end, they too looked saddened at what
Serena's sudden betrayal had doen to the Tsukino family. Now
footsteps could be heard in the near distance as the Tsukino's
began climbing the many temple steps.

   "Hey!"  Sammy called as he rushed up the final stone steps
that led to the temple. "I'm here for my cookie!" Darien
couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him at the boys
excitement in getting a simple cookie... but the chuckle
quickly died in his throat as he beheld Serena's parents
again. They looked defeated, bedraggled, and worn to the bone.
They were obviously exhausted, and definetely saddened at
their inability to find their daughter. Darien couldn't blame
them, but he couldn't help but think that it was wrong to
keep such important information about their daughter from
them... that perhaps it would be better if they knew rather
than seeing them like this.

   As Rei went inside to see if they had any homemade cookies
left, Darien dragged Mina over into a corner and began to
speak to her in hushed tones. As Lita watched them, every
once in a while Mina would glance over at her, and then at
Sammy or Serena's parents, then she would turn her attention
to Darien again, and then repeat to pattern. She wanted to
know what they were talking about but something seemed to be
holding her back. She felt hazy... like she was sleep
walking or something, or only half awake. She felt.. she
felt... she felt out of sync with herself.. something was
imparing her thoughts, her feelings... and suddenly what
she'd said about Ami kicked in and she gasped. <What in the
world...? Why did I say those things? Of course we need
Ami! She's our friend...> But her thoughts were cut off
when Mina suddenly walked forward and began speaking to Mr.
and Mrs Tsukino openly.

   She cleared her mind and caught on to what Mina was
saying. The gist of what she was saying was like 'Please come
inside the temple, there's something you need to know about
your daughter.' Lita knew immediately what was going to
happen and tried to stop Mina before she told them anything
they might not understand.. or they might later regret.
Sammy was pacing around impatiently, waiting for his cookie,
and looked up as she began to stride towards where Mina was
entering the temple with Serena's parents following behind.
"Hey? What's going on?" He asked her, but she ignored his
question and walked past him withut even pausing, doing her
best not to *run* after Mina. Sammy followed her in.

   Once inside Lita could see Mina beginning to sit down on
a chair that was opposite to the couch Nr. and Mrs. Tsukino
were sitting on. She quickly ran up to the blond and pulled
her aside, looking over at the couple and muttering a quick
'excuse us.'

   She dragged Mina over to a corner, much like Darien had
done, and began to whisper to her fiercly. "What do you
think you're doing? You can't tell them about Serena! It
will not only make things harder for us, it also increases
the possibility that our identities will get out, as well
as Serena's! And it's not gonna help them any to know what
Serena did!" Mina calmly removed Lita's hand from her arm,
where it had stayed since pulling her away, and then
whispered just as fiercly, "We need to tell them! They
have to know about Serena! I mean, think of it from there
point of view. If you had a kid and she was midding, would
you rather be left in the dark about her, or would you
want to know the truth?"

   Lita took a few moments to answer that, but managed to
keep her voice quiet and level as she hissed back, "I
still don't think we should tell them. What good is it
gonna do? Serena will still stay a traito, nothing they
can do will stop that, and you know it Mina! You and I
both know that nothing short of a miracle will turn her
back." Mina shook her head stubbornly. "No. Darien's
right. We need to tell them. It's our *duty*. They have
to know!" Lita growled and glared daggers at  Darien, as
he too entered the room. He ignored her look and moved to
sit on the floor near the wall. "So this is Darien's idea
huh? I'm gonna kill that guy before this is all over... I
don't understand why Serena ever-"

   "Lita." Mina interrupted her, pulling her attention
back to the situation at hand and away from such anger
filled thoughts. Serena's betrayal had worn them all
pretty thin, and Lita's temper was close to the surface
now. "I'm *going* to tell them about Serena, so you can
either try to help, or get lost!" Mina's look told her
that she was serious and with one last glare at her, and
at Darien, Lita backed off and sat down near the chair
Mina lowered herself in moments later. Of course, Rei
chose that moment to enter the room too and she handed
Sammy his cookie as she looked around the room for some
clue as to what was going on.

   Mina motioned for her to sit down, and she did,
waiting patiently for what was to come next.

   "Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino," Mina began, and they turned
their full attention to her. "There's soemthing you need
to know about your daughter, Serena." The Tsukino's
immediately looked panicked at Mina's serious tone of
voice and began firing question after question at the
blond haired girl. Even Sammy looked a little concerned.
She raised her hand for silence, like Rei had done and as
the Tsukino's settled back, worry plainly written on
their faces Mina continued. "I know all of this is going
to be hard for you to believe, but you must listen,
alright?" At their nods she took a deep breath and began
her tale. "Serena is not the girl that you thought you
knew. In fact, she's not the girl that any of us thought
we knew. You see, Serena is-"

   "Hey there sailors. Ready for another round, hmm?" A
cynical voice interrupted her and as all of the
Tsukino's turned around to stare at the sorce of the
voice, everyone else in the room stiffened and slowly
turned their heads to the mocking, yet familiar voice.

   The Tsukino's all gaped in shock as a small form
materiallized before their eyes, a larger form fading
into existence right beside it. "My god..." Mrs.
Tsukino breathed while her husband and son were shocked
into silence. The two who'd appeared didn't even seem to
notice then, their icy glares focused on the scouts.

   Crystal smiled with contempt at the shocked, fearful
looks of the scouts and Darien's faces and snickered
coldly, eyes flashing, gathering her energy. She never
was one to stall for very long... well, not from the
point that she turned traitor on.

   She raised her right hand, allowing a red orb of
energy to form there and prepared to throw it at the
still frozen scouts..... That is, until she finally
took note of the family of three sitting on the couch
opposite from Mina.

   The energy ball immediately disappeared as the
contemptuous thoughts floating around in Crystal's mind
vanished list mist and fog suddenly hit with the suns
rays. She could not believe her eyes.... anymore than
the Tsukino's could believe *their* eyes.

   "S.. Serena?" Her father whispered and Crystal
stumbled back in shock, accidently bumping into an
unsuspecting Kunzite, who had no idea what was going
on. He quickly clasped her shoulders, firming his own
stance, and her own in the process. He didn't know who
these people were.... but he had the distinct
impression that they knew who Crystal was.

   Darien scowled and glowered at Kunzite as he saw him
nearly embrace Crystal from behind, steading her with
his own strength. A stab of jealousy shot through him
and he nearly growled as Kunzite pulled her closer,
obviously confused by this turn of events. He *did*
growl, low in his throat, when he saw Crystal relax
into the near embrace and that she appeared to be..
comforted by it.

   "Crystal," Kunzite whispered in her ear quietly, so
no one else could hear. "Are you alright? Who are
these people?" Crystal didn't answer for a long moment
and Kunzite could feel concern turn to worry. He'd
never seen Crystal appear so.... fearful before,
especially of mere humans. "They... the two adults are
my mother and father, Kunzite, and the smaller boy is
my brother." Kunzite looked at the three in question
sharply and saw that they were still staring at Crystal
- or to them is was probably Serena - with dumbfounded
expressions on their faces, even the boy. He understood
now why Crystal was acting this way, and why the attack
she had been planning had failed. Kunzite knew that
the shock of seeing her parents had probably shaken
Crystal even more than he realized... so he took over
the situation.

   Gently moving Crystal behind him so she was out of
sight and out of range Kunzite sent his own attack at
the, as yet, untransformed sailor scouts. Everyone in
the room screamed and he could feel Crystal flinch as
her parents and the boy she called her brother all dove
for cover, the blast of energy coming close. He turned
around slightly and gave her a small smile of
encouragment that she barely managed to return before he
had to engage in the fight again.


   He threw another attack at the scouts and they
scattered, some going left, some going right, and Darien
jumping backwards sop that he now stood in the door
frame.

   "Run!" Rei suddenly shouted to the hiding Tsukino's.
"Run!  Get out of here now, while you still can!" None of
them needed anymore encouragment and they all ran for the
door Darien presently stood in. He moved aside for them
to pass and Mr. Tsukino looked up as they did. "Is that...
my little girl?" He pointed despairingly towards the girl
who looked exactly like his daughter and for a long
moment, Darien was silent... then he quietly stated in a
firm voice, "No Mr. Tsukino, that's not your daughter.
That's just someone who looks like her and is trying to
kill us all. Her name is Crystal. Your daughter would
never do this." Mr. Tsukino hesitated only slightly,
looking back once more to the nearly hidden girl standing
behind the silver haired man.

   "Yes." He said quietly, almost to himself. "I suppose
you're right. My Serena would never do that." Then he
turned and quickly ushered his wife and son away from the
temple, down the steps. Darien stared after them for a few
seconds with a sad look on his face. "If I were you," He
said quietly to nothing. "I wouldn't be so sure.

   Then he ran behind one of the far temple walls and
transformed himself, preparing for an all out battle.

   When he returned to the room, what he saw was not
encouraging. all three of the scouts, though still in
civilian form, were being badly beaten. They were bruised
and battered, and obviously having trouble. Crystal had
chosen to join the battle as well now that her parents
were gone, and Tuxedo Mask could plainly see where this
battle was going.

   Pulling three roses out of thin air Tuxedo Mask sent
two at Kunzite, and one for Crystal. He didn't want to
hurt her.... but he couldn't let this continue...

   The only problem was: Crystal had sensed the roses
coming almost before he'd thrown them, and she turned in
mid-attack, catching all three roses, to the dismay of
the scouts and Tuxedo Mask. But because of the fact that
she had not thrown the intended attack this gave Mina an
oppertunity to transform, and she took it without
hesitation. Moments later she sent a Crescent Beam at
Kunzite that momentarily broke his concentration and
Lita and Rei took the opertunity to transform themselves.
Crystal and Kunzite both looked irritated at this, but
not worried. They didn't seem to take any of them, even
together, as a threat. Tuxedo Mask knew he had to change
that opinion some how.... but he also knew there was
virtually no way they'd ever be able to. Because, true to
their belief, all four of them together simply weren't a
match for Kunzite and Crystal, or even one of them alone.

   Gathering a fair amount of energy Mars threw an
attack at Crystal that should have knocked her into
next week, but she blocked it with almost unnatrual
ease. Next, Venus threw another Crescent Beam at Kunzite
and he blocked just as easily, if not more so. The four
of them were definetely at a disadvantage here.

   All four of them pressed their attacks, and tried to
block the two generals in, but the attacks were
deflected and Crystal and Kunzite weren't moving. All
four of them continued throwing attacks at the two from
all angels... but nlothing seemed to work. Nothing was
getting through, not even Tuxedo Mask's roses this time.
It was blocking physical and non-physical attacks alike
and nothing the scouts or Tuxedo Mask seemed to do made
any difference against Kunzite and Crystal's powers....
it was a hopeless battle, and they all knew it.

   Then suddenly, the scouts all froze and Tuxedo Mask,
who had been reaching for three more roses, was
suddenly caught in mid throw, the roses still clutched
in numb fingers. It was the same thing that had
happened before. None of them could move. They were all
stuck to the ground and trying to move was like flexing a
muscle... you couldn't keep it up for long.

   Crystal broke away from Kunzite and moved towards
Tuxedo Mask. As she moved forward he shifted his eyes,
the only thing he coudl actually move, to look at her.
Their gazes locked for the breifest of moments and Tuxedo
Mask could honestly say that she looked sorry for what
she was about to do. He closed his eyes, waiting for the
eventual attack, knowing that it would be the end of him.
He had no defenses.. nothing left, and Crystal was
ruthless and unmerciful. If she chose to kill him, he
would die. It was as simple as that.

   The scouts were near tears. They too knew what the
consequences would be if Crystal chose to kill Tuxedo
Mask... and they weren't able to turn their heads away
so they could see what was to come next. All three of
them closed their eyes, anticipating the blow they knew
should come.....

   "You're lucky I have orders not to kill you,"
Crystal's quiet voice broke into their silent thoughts,
causing all four of them to open their eyes in surprise.
"Because if I hadn't.. then you would be dead right now,
you know." Her gaze flickered over to the scouts and
then back to Tuxedo Mask. He couldn't speak, and he
couldn't move, so he only watched as she suddenly reached
up and grabbed a rose out of his hands. As she did her
eyes met his once more, and, keeping her back to Kunzite
she mouthed the words 'I'm sorry.' Then she turned around
and returned to Kunzite's side, snuggling close as the
fair haired general put an arm around her shoulders.
Jealouisy raged like a storm through the masked man.

   "For now, the battle is over sailor scouts. We have won
yet again. You have no chance against us. And remember
what I warned you about sailor scouts. Someone among you
*will* die when we are through.... have no doubt. You will
pay for what you did to Kunzite, and to Zoisite... I will
show no mercy unless I have to." With that Crystal held out
her hand and squeezed it shut, crushing the rose as the
thorns bit into her flesh like knives. Both of their forms
began to waver, and Crystal repeated quietly just before
they disppeared, "None."

   Then they were gone, and the spell was broken. But the
scouts were defeated, injured, and missing one among their
ranks. They were alone... and they knew when Crystal had
to, she would kill them........

   And their world would fall.

                To Be Continued....