Fan Fic
This was done in parts because of where it was posted before. If there are any spelling errors please forgive me. If it sounds cheezy or dumb please forgive me again.
ANDROMEDA - PART 1
On the edge of the galaxy a meteorite heads towards the Planet Pluto at incredible speeds. It passes Pluto and heads towards the sun passing Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. As it approached Earth it slowed slightly and orbited twice before entering the Earth's atmosphere.
The meteorite plummeted towards the earth's surface landing in a large park on the outskirts of a big city. But this was no ordinary meteor made out of rock. It was made out of a grey crystal and when it impacted into the soft ground it made a large crator and shattered.
The only things that now lay inside the crator was the crystal shards and a young woman who seemed to be barely alive. By Earth standards she was beautiful and looked to be around the age of seventeen.
Her hair was long enough to reach just above the back of her knees and it was violet in color. A silver tiara with diamonds adorned the top of her head. She wore a long dress made of a silver material that had very thin strapes to show off her soft elegant ivory skin of her shoulders. Her slippers were the same color of her dress and had ribbons attached at the heel that intertwined each other up her legs until they reached her knees where they were tied into small bows.
She opened her eyes slowly and gasped as she took her first breath on this new planet. Slowly she sat up and started climbing out of the crator. As she pulled herself out she noticed how dark it was. It was night time and this side of the park didn't have lights, but it was light enough out for her to see that she was dirty from climbing.
A few feet away she saw a large flat rock that was just high enough for her to sit on. She walked over towards it and gazed up at the stars. Tears welled up in her beautiful violet colored eyes. Not one star system in the night sky was familier to her. As the tears fell down her dirty cheeks, she knew that she was alone and in a strange place.
~ In the City~
On a balcony stood a couple holding each other closely.
"Oh Darien look! a shooting star. Isn't that romantic?"
"Uh, yeah Serena, but I don't think that's a shooting star." Darien watched the object that Serena thought was a shooting star fall to Earth with a questionable look on his face.
Serena looked up at Darien, "What do you mean?"
"Well first of all it's a little big to be a shooting star. Secondly it just hit somewhere on the outskirts of the city."
Serena wide eyed looked towards where Darien was staring. She started tugging on his arm excitedly. "Let's go look for it!"
Darien started laughing at Serena's insistance. "Alright, alright. We'll go before you pull my arm off." Darien looked back towards the direction he saw the object fall. "It looks like it landed in the park."
~ At the Observatory ~
A man is standing at a large telescope. He's watching an object that just passed Mars.
"Oh man, what is that?"
He watched as the object that was hurtling through space come closer towards Earth. Watching the whole time it fell through the atmosphere and into the park. Excitedly he jumped off the platform that the telescope was on and ran out the door down the stairs to his car.
"I've got to get there before anyone else does," he says to himself as he races towards the park and the fallen object.
Both cars carrying Darien, Serena and the man from the observatory were headed for the park. The man from the observatory was closer and he didn't have to go through the city to get there. Which was unfortunate for Darien and Serena because they did. It was the weekend and the city streets were full of people going out on dates and hanging with friends.
~ The Park ~
The man from the observatory jumped out of his car and headed into the park. Once inside he started sniffing the air to see if he could pick up the scent of burnt grass and wood. At the speed that the meteor fell, it would have scorched anything it touched.
"Bingo!"
He started running towards the direction the strongest burnt odor came from. About ten minutes later he came to a clearing that had been made by the meteor. There before him was what he was looking for. The crator that had been made when the meteor hit.
Slowly he approached the crator. he was amazed at what he saw. He had seen crators that were left behind by meteorites before, but never one so frequently made.
He was just about to crawl down into the crator when he noticed her. He was stunned by her beauty and temporarily forgot what he was going to do.
"Hi."
She just looked at him scared and puzzled. He noticed her reastion and also saw that she had smudges of dirt an soot on her arms and clothes. He looked at her face closely and noticed her that it was tear streaked.
He approached her slowly so as not to scare her. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Slowly he reached out and tried to touch her hand. She started to pull back but stopped and let him touch her. She didn't sense him as being a threat to her. She could sense nothing but kindness and concern so she knew that he wouldn't harm her.
"My name is Taran. Who are you?"
She looked at him confused. She didn't understand what he was saying and Taran saw this.
Taran pointed at himself and slowly said his name, "Taran." Then he pointed at her. He did this a few more times in hopes that she would understand.
A look of sudden awareness came to her face. She looked at him for a s few seconds thinking. She opened her mouth and started to say her name when she was interrupted by a loud noise. All she could manage to get out was "Aaann..."
They started looking around to find out where the noise was coming from. Taran looked up and saw a small bright light coming towards them. It looked just like the light he saw earlier. The same light that was the meteorite that fell and made the crator they were standing next to.
Taran looked at the girl and pointed up. "We better get out of here before that one comes crashing down on us!"
She looked up and saw the light then panicked because she knew what it was. She ran for the edge of the crator and extended her hand out over it. Six crystal shards at the bottom began glowing. They began to rise out of the crator and floated over to her open hand. She clutched them tightly and ran back over to Taran. As she started to run past Taran, she grabbed his arm and started pulling away from the crator.
Taran started running with her. "Okay, I get it. You want to get away form here." He grabbed her hand and started running in the direction that his car was parked.
She hesitated when Taran opened the car door. Taran smiled, "Come on , it's okay. Get in, we need to hurry."
She decided to trust him and got into the car. Taran shut the door. He then ran around to the drivers side and jumped in.
As they speed away, Taran looked out of the rear view mirror and saw the second meteor hit. He let out a sigh of relief because he knew that they had left just in time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANDROMEDA PART 2
Darien and Serena were approaching the park. During the whole ride over Serena had kept her eyes on the sky while Darien kept his on the road. She wanted to see if there was going to be any more 'shooting stars' tonight.
All of a sudden Serena got excited, "Look Darien, another one!"
Darien glanced up to the night sky. Something wasn't right and he knew it. Meteors don't hit the same place twice. He pulled the car over. Darien wanted to wait for the second one to hit before going to the park.
The meteor was moving extremely fast. In only a few moments of Darien stopping did it hit. A bright flash could be seen and a loud boom could be heard coming from the park. Both Darien and Serena threw up their hands to cover their ears shutting their eyes simultaneously.
Serena slowly removed her hands. "That was incredible. I bet the girls would have loved to have seen that.", she whispered in awe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taran stopped the car. He wanted to go back. He wanted to see the other meteor. This was a rare occasion. Taran took one look on the young woman's face, that was seated next to him, and decided not to. He could see she was nervous and a bit scared of something.
While Taran was staring out of the rear view mirror, the young woman started pushing on the car door. He saw this, got out, sprinted around to the other side of the car and opened the door for her.
Slowly she got out and stood in the direction of the park. While staring at the park she raised the hand that held the crystals she took from the crator that she had been in.
The crystals began to glow. With her palm up she opened her hand. Slowly they began to rise from her palm. The crystals floated and began to rotate slowly in a circle giving off a soft silvery white glow.
A low soft hum could be heard coming form the six crystals. In a matter of a few seconds the silvery white glow of the crystals changed into a deep red slightly black color. The soft melodic humming became an off key whiny sound.
On the young womans face appeared a look of anger mixed with fear. Taran noticed the change of emotion and moved to stand closer to her. Gently he put his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture.
The crystal's color returned to the silver white glow and the whiny hum became the soft melodic tone as it had been before. She closed her hand around them again and turned to look at Taran. He could see a hint of sadness in her eyes as she looked into his.
Taran spoke softly, "I can see something about that second meteorite is bothering you." He moved his hand from her shoulder to her cheek. "Please, let me help you. I want to help you if I can."
She placed her free hand onto his cheek as well. She smiled and nodded. She understood what he was saying even though she didn't understand the words. It was the emotion that she understood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darien placed his hand on Serena's back and motioned her back to the other side of the car. As he bent down to reach for the door handle, he stopped, his body tensing. Slowly he stood back up. A look of concentration was on his face.
"What is it Darien?" Serena had noticed the change in his body and the look on his face.
"Can't you feel it also? Clear your mind."
Serena closed her eyes and stood next to him in silence. "I don't....." She stopped in mid sentence.
Opening her eyes, Serena looked in the same direction as Darien. "I feel it. It's a..," she paused for a moment, "It feels like some sort of energy."
But just as she sensed it, it had went away. Serena looked up at Darien puzzled.
"Yes, it's gone."
Darien smiled at her and opened the car door. "Come on. We have a 'shooting star' to find."
Serena giggled and jumped up and down clapping her hands. Darien laughed at her excitement and shut the door as she got in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next to the crator from the earlier meteorite was another one. Inside this crator lay a large black meteor. It began to glow as it slowly began to crack open. The crack began to widen, revealing a being inside. The being looked like a young man.
His chest heaved underneath his white shirt as he took his first breath of Earth air. His eyes slowly open and he looks up at the night sky. A loud deep cry came from his mouth that echoed through the trees of the park.
Slowly his body began to rise out of the crator, righting himself as he ascended above the crator. He stretched his arms and legs out, letting his head fall back. He laughed. It was an eerie and evil sound that came from deep within him.
As he looked around him, he knew he needed energy. The long trip had caused him to loose some of his strength. He must replenish it if he was to begin his hunt.
He exteneded his hand out in front of him with his palm facing up. Slowly he opened his fingers to reveal a black crystal. It began to glow, a black light shinning from it.
Slowly it rose form his hand. The black crystal began to spin slowly increasing it's speed. Suddenly it stopped. The crystal appeared to be pointing.
Smiling, he looked in the direction the black crystal was pointing. His emerald eyes glinting in the moonlight. He closed his hand back around the crystal.
Slowly he descended to the ground. As his feet touch the grass, they burn into it. With each step he took, there remained his print. After a few steps he disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darien and Serena got out of the car and walked hand in hand into the park. They headed into the thicker part of the wooded area. Darien not only felt drawn to this area but he could smell the burnt and chared remains of the trees and grass that the meteors had destroyed on impact.
When they came to the clearing the two meteorites had made, they were a little surprised.
Serena gasped, "They destroyed so much."
Darien walked father into the clearing. He pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket that he had taken out of the car before they went into the park. Darien wanted to get a closer look at the crators. Serena followed close behind.
Darien pointed the flashlight into the crator. They saw nothing. He turned the beam from the flashlight upon the second crator. It wasn't empty like the first had been.
The light from the flashlight revealed the meteorite. It lay there broken in half. The inside hollow.
Darien aimed the beam of the flashlight at the area around the crators edge. Slowly him and Serena walked around the edge until the light fell upon something in the grass.
Darien didn't like what he saw. Footprints burned into the grass.
Serena didn't like the look on his face. "This isn't a good thing, is it?"
"No, it's not."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young woman sat in front of a fire. The flames grew higher with each passing second. Her hair gently floating around her, her eyes closed as she whispered a chant.
The young woman's eyes suddenly popped open. She gasped. "Evil. An evil presence as come."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANDROMEDA PART 3
Taran opened his apartment door and let the young woman enter first. He moved around her and walked farther into his apartment setting his keys down on a table. She followed slowly studying everything as she passed it. Pictures, artwork, furniture.
He waited for her to come into the living room before speaking. "I have an extra room you can use as long as you want." He began walking down the hall and motioned for her to follow.
Taran opened the door to the spare room. The room was painted a powder blue color. Book shelves, with books overflowing from them, lined the walls. There were a few stacks of books on the floor next to the book shelves. A bed was against the far wall. The room wasn't nothing fancy, but it was still nice to look at. A small table sat next to the bed with a small clock on top of it.
Taran went to a linen closet in the hallway and pulled out a set of sheets, a few towels, a washcloth and a couple of pillows. Walking back to the room he set the items on the floor as he made the bed up.
As he tossed the bottom sheet across the bed and began putting one end over a corner of the mattress, she walked to the other side and grabbed it. Smiling at Taran, she helped him make the bed up.
"Well, at least I know you make beds like we do where you come from." Taran chuckled some. "Maybe we'll break this language barrier soon."
Taran showed her where the bathroom was and how to work everything just incase things were differant where she was from. He took out the extra bathroom supplies that he kept for over night guests. Then slipping off to his bedroom he came back with a t-shirt and a pair of his shorts with a draw string in it.
Taran handed the clothes to her and she took them, smiling warmly. "These will be a little loose, but that draw string should help."
She stood there and stared at him with a soft kind smile on her face. Taran started to feel just a little uncomfortable, but not in a bad way, more like in a shy type of way. "Well, I'm off to bed. Good night."
He turned and walked away to his room, stopping at the door for a few moments scratching his head in bewilderment. "Why in the world am I speaking to her. She can't understand a word I say."
Just then Taran felt a hand touch him softly on the shoulder. As he began to turn she kissed him softly on the cheek, turned and walked into the room he had just showed her. Taran's mouth fell open some and his cheeks turned a slight pinkish color for a few moments. "I guess that answered my question."
~At the Park~
Serena spoke into her communicator. "We need to have a meeting tomorrow morning before school guys." Four female voices could he heard awknowledging what Serena had said. Questions followed right after.
"What's going on?" Lita asked.
"Is it important?" Mina asked.
"Of course it is or she wouldn't be using the communicators. Right Serena?" Ami said.
"Are the Scouts need again?" Rei asked.
"Serena, I think we need to have the meeting now." Darien said after the others had asked their questions.
~Cherry Hill Temple~
Six people and two cats sat on the floor around a table listening to Darien speak. He went through the recent events of the night. He told them of the meteorites falling, the crators, the cracked meteorite, and the prints burned into the grass.
"Oh, I was watching those with Greg." Ami said softly as she blushed.
Rei sat there as if she was in her own world. "That must have been what I felt from the fire."
Everyone turned their attention to Rei. "Did you see a new enemy?" Lita asked.
Rei shoke her head slowly, her eyes unfocused and glassy looking. "It didn't show me a face, just a presence. An evil presence."
No one said a word. They just looked from one to another realizing the Scouts were needed again. So much for a peaceful life.
Ami interrupted the silence. "I want to go out to the crator site and get some readings on my computer to analyze."
"I'll go with you Ami. There's no telling if whatever made those prints is still there." Lita said as she stood. "As will I." Artemis chimed in.
Rei looked up, her eyes refocusing themselves on the people around her. There was a determination in them this time that wasn't there before. "I'll do another fire reading. Hopefully this time I'll get answers."
"That's a good idea Rei. What should I do to help?" Mina asked.
Luna spoke up. "We all should go to the park. The more of us there, the more ground we can cover in a search. Besides if whatever came out of that meteor attacked, we'll all be there."
Serena pouted. "Well, there goes the rest of my date with Darien."
"Oh Serena." Ami said, letting out a sigh.
~A dark street on the other side of town~
Click, click, click, click. The sounds of a couple's shoes could be heard echoing down the deserted street.
"Meow!" "Bang!"
The young woman jumped. "What was that?" She gripped her boyfriend's arm tightly.
"Calm down. It's just a cat."
"Sure. It's probably someone who's going to rob us." She looked around. "I thought you got your car fixed? It would have to break down on us now."
"Well, I didn't get a chance to take it to the shop *sweatdrop*."
"What!" The young woman hit him in the arm.
Before she can chastise him, an eerie laugh can be heard softly on the slight breeze that blew. Slowly it grew louder, echoing down the street, then stopped. The young woman jumps as she let out a stiffled cry. The young man embraced her trembling body tightly.
"Hello? Is anybody there? Our car broke down and we need to use a phone." The young man was trying to be brave, but his body trembled slightly also.
Looking over to the alley he saw a pair of glowing red eyes coming towards them. He froze, jaw dropping open. He couldn't speak because of the feeling of terror coursing through his body. Feeling her boyfriend's body stiffen, the young woman turned, saw what he was looking at and also froze in terror.
A tall man with black hair stopped a few feet from them. The glowing red eyes belonged to him.
The man smirked as he looked at the frightened couple. A low guttural growl came from his slightly parted lips as he extended his arm and opened his hand. The black crystal he held began to glow.
Moments later the young woman gasped as her body became limp in the young man's arms. He looked down at her, the expression of fear on his face turning into one of worry and concern. "Sarah. Sarah!" He turned to the man with the red eyes. "What did you do to her!"
Before the young man could say anymore he was siezed by the neck, causing him to drop Sarah to the ground. The man with the red eyes held the black crystal to the forehead of the young man. He struggled to get free, but the more he struggled, the weaker he became.
Before passing out, the young man looked into the eyes of the strange man. "Who...why..." His eyes became glossy and distant as if the light within them were extinquished.
The stranger began to laugh. "I am Magnus. I needed your energy and knowledge of this planet so I may accomplish my mission." Magnus loosened his grip on the young man's throat, and being too weak to stand on his own, the young man collapsed to the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANDROMEDA PART 4
"BUZZZZZ." Taran groaned loudly as he looked over at his alarm clock. "I can't believe it's seven thirty already." he mumbled, rolling out of bed.
Stumbling to the bathroom, he undressed and took a shower. Just as he was rinsing the shampoo out of his hair, it dawned on him about the events that had happened last night. It also dawned on him that the young woman was in his apartment.
Quickly Taran jumped out of the shower, nearly tirpping on the bath mat as he reached for a towel. Barely dying off, he ran into his room and threw a t-shirt on and grabbing a pair of shorts, pulling them up as he ran out into the hallway.
Seeing the door to the spare bedroom was still closed, he stood there for a few moments, catching his breath before knocking lightly on it. Not hearing a reply, Taran opened the door a crack and peeked in. "What the...?"
Books were strewn all over the room. Some were open and some were closed. The bed looked as if no one had even slept in it and the young woman was no where to be seen.
"I know I wasn't hallucinating. Maybe I was. Maybe I was doing some research in here and dreamed it all." Shaking his head some what, Taran began to pick the books up.
Crouching down, he began stacking the books when a hand reached over his shoulder and put a book on top of the pile. Startled, Taran knocked the pile over as he turned to see who the hand belonged to.
In front of his eyes were a pair of gorgeous legs. Looking up, his eyes took in the body that belonged to those legs, finally stopping at the beautiful smiling face that looked down at him. Taran returned the smile eagerly at seeing that she wasn't a dream afterall.
"I'm so sorry for making such a mess. I'll clean it up."
Taran's jaw dropped. "You...you...spoke!"
The young woman smiled brightly again and laughed, offering her hand to him. "Yes, I can speak your language thanks to you and all of your books."
Taking the young woman's hand and getting up, Taran recomposed himself. "Amazing. You learned Japanese last night, from these books?"
She nodded. "Yes. Japanese, English, and Chinese."
Taran's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "What?"
She laughed. "I learned Japanese, English, and Chinese from these books you have here."
"That's incredible!"
"I guess. I know you must have many questions. I will answer them all, but let's eat something first. Okay?"
Taran just nodded his head and followed the young woman out of the bedroom. Stepping into the living room, his stomach growled as the smell of something wonderful from the kitchen permeated his nose. The smell seemed to draw him farther into the apartment and to the kitchen.
"I hope you don't mind, I found some things in the fridge and thought I would make you something. To sort of thank you for helping me."
Taran couldn't believe his eyes. Before him lay a spread of a traditional Japanese breakfast. "Wow, this is great." He sat down at the table. "You really didn't need to do this. I didn't know I had this stuff in my fridge." Laughing some he looked from each item that was presented before him.
"I've always dreamed of rescuing a fair maiden. It's I who should be thanking your for giving me the opportunity and fulfulling my dream." Taran looked up and smiled at her.
The young woman blushed and giggled softly. "Your most welcome, my knight in a white lab coat."
Taran couldn't help but laugh. "You did learn a lot from those books. I didn't realize I had a gold mine of information in there."
"Mmm, yes. Please...eat."
Without hesitiation or further prompting, Taran dug in. with a mouth full of food, he looked up at the young woman who was smiling down at him. "Please sit....uh...what is your name?"
"My name is Andromeda."
~ TV NEWS SPECIAL REPORT ~
Anchorman - "A couple was found early this morning downtown, both laying on the street unconscious. When taken to the hospital, they were both diagnosed as being in comas. On further examination, the man, Chris Thompson, had burnt marks in the shape of a hand about his neck. More news after this break."
~ Manor House Apartments ~
"Ring."
"Moshi Moshi."
"Hello Darien, is Serena up yet? Have you seen the morning news yet?"
"No, she's not up yet and yes, I saw it. Say Ami, your mom works at the hospital, doesn't she?"
"Yes, she still does rounds there."
"Can you maybe get in saying your seeing your mom and possibly get a reading on that couple?"
Ami laughed. "Darien, have you forgotten that I'm a candy stripper there?"
"Oh, that's right!"
"I'll get over there after my morning class at the college and then meet you guys for lunch at the Crown Parlor."
"Good, then it's a date." Darien looked at the door of the bedroom after hearing some noises coming from the other side of it.
Ami giggled. "Bye Darien."
Darien turned back towards the wall to hang up the phone. When he turned back around, Serena was standing there in his t-shirt. On her it was two times too big and fit her like a night gown. "That was Ami. It seems that there was an incident last night with a young couple."
"And you two think it has something to do with the two meteorites."
"Yes." Darien said, sighing some.
Serena frowned and turned away from Darien. As her eyes misted up, she looked out the sliding glass door at the morning outside. "Are we ever going to lead a normal life? Will we ever be able to become husband and wife? How about peace? Will there always be a struggle going on?"
"Oh Serena." Darien said softly as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms about her waist. "Of course we will be able to."
"When?" Reaching up with her left hand, Serena lightly caressed his cheek. "Every time we start enjoying life and start the plans for our wedding, something happens. It never fails."
~ Cherry Hill Temple ~
Soft chanting could be heard and the fires flickered before Rei as she sits before them and meditates. She chanted some more before opening her eyes and looking into the fire. Before her, a vision appeared. Two red glowing eyes staring back at her.
The fire began to grow. The flames whipping about as if it were a creature, breathing, living, growing. Rei gasped as she felt the flames grow hotter, turning her fair skin a pinkish color as if she were getting a sun burn.
Chad had brought Rei some tea. When he opened the partition that seperated the fire reading room from the hall, he saw the flames burning out of control as Rei sat their mesmerized by whatever she saw.
"Rei!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANDROMEDA PART 5
Chad quickly got up from his kneeling position and ran the short distance between him and Rei. If anyone had seen, they would have sworn he had flown. Grabbing Rei just above the waist, Chad quickly pulled her back from the flames just as they hissed and grew.
"Rei...Rei..." Chad ran his fingers across Rei's face as she lay in his arms, her eyes staring up at him, blank, still in the trance like state. Even at the distance they were at, Chad could feel the heat of the flames as they burned out of control.
"Come on Rei, snap out of it."
Suddenly Rei blinked, her eyes finally coming back into focus. "Chad..." she gasped. "What...what are you doing? I was in the middle of a fire reading." Rei sat up and rubbed her forehead. She had a splitting headache.
Chad noticed that when Rei finally responded and woke from her trance, the flames that had been raging out of control finally died down. "I'm sorry Rei, but the fire looked to be out of control. I became worried for your safety."
As he let go of her, Chad began to feel bad for interrupting. Rei was always getting onto him for making noise while she meditated. And after all, she was a Priestess and fire reader, she probably had everything under control.
"No, I'm sorry, you're right. The flames were getting out of control for some reason." Rei's eyes darted to the now calm flames and shoke her head slightly for a moment before muttering. "It was like they were being controlled."
~ Crown Parlor ~
"Ohhhh!!" Mina squealed in disgust as she stood outside Crown Parlor. "I can't beieve someone is playing the new Sailor V game!"
"Geez Mina." Artemis exlaimed as he popped his head out of her book bag. It was one of his favorite ways to travel....no work on his part. "You act like your the only one entitled to play that game."
"Well, they did get the idea from me, didn't they?" Mina was grinning from ear to ear as she entered the arcade.
"You would think that a girl in college with a promising modeling career would have better things...mmph!!"
Quickly Mina had pushed Artemis' head back into her bookbag and zipped it up as she walked into Crown Parlor and over to the Sailor V game.
The young man sitting at the controls turned the moment Mina stepped up behind him and looked up at her. Mina's jaw nearly dropped when she noticed he now had top score. "Wow, your good." Even though she had complimented him, she was upset. "You must play this a lot."
The young man stood and ran his fingers through his red toned, black hair. "Actually this is the first time I've played this. To me it's a pretty easy game, but whomever I beat high score for must think it's not."
"And what makes you say that?" Mina asked through gritted teeth as she forced a smile.
"Well, their initials are on all ten rankings. So either it's been a real challange and they've repeatedly played it to finally reach the number one spot, or no on else plays it."
"Grr...." Mina clenched her fists and tried to remain calm. Artemis, still inside her bookbag was beginning to worry that Mina would loose her cool. But then again, he couldn't help but snicker at what the man had said to her.
At hearing Artemis snicker, Mina dropped her bookbag. When the baghit the floor, a loud "Oof!!" was heard, but Mina conveniantly covered the soud up by exlaiming, "Oops...I can be such a clutz."
The young man looked at Mina's bag with an odd expression on his face. He could have sworn he heard something come from the bag.
Catching the look on his face, Mina tried to get his attention back on the game. "Well, maybe she likes to play the game a lot."
"That could be true." he said, turning his attention back to Mina. As his eyes moved up from the book bag, he drank in every inch of her until his eyes met her's. "You said she...do you know who the player is?"
Mina had noticed the young man checking her out, causing her to blush. "Uumm..." she smiled. "The she is me."
"Oh, I'm sorry." He reached down and took her hand into his. "If I had known it was you, I would have never had said those things." Bringing Mina's hand to his lips, he kissed it softly. "I never meant to offend a goddess such as yourself."
Softly Mina giggled as her blush deepened. "I'm no goddess, but your forgiven."
"What can I do to make up for my rudeness to one such as fair as you?"
Mina couldn't help but to giggle again. "Don't worry about it. I already said you were forgiven."
"Still, I feel like I should do something to show my sincere apology. Let me take you out to dinner tonight."
"On one condition."
"And what would this one condition be?"
"You tell me your name."
The young man smiled brightly. "My name is Alexander Brice. And may I inquire as to the name of whom I'll be taking out to dinner tonight?"
"Mina....Mina Aino."
*Oh my goodness! The girls are going to be so jealous!* Mina thought as she gave Alexander her phone number and address.
Inside the bookbag, Artemis sighed. "Oh good grief." Peeking out of the bag, he saw that they were all alone and Mina was just standing there with this far off dreamy look on her face. Reaching out of the bag, Artemis flexed his claw and swatted Mina on the leg.
"YEOW!!" Mina's yelp brought looks from a few other arcade patrons on the other side of the room. "hehe...stubbed my toe."
Scooping up the bag, Mina quickly left the arcade. "Why did you do that?"
"You don't even know him! He could be the the enemy or some serial killer for all you know!"
"No way, not him." Mina shoke her head and got that far off look in her eyes again.
"Oh, and just how do you know that?"
"Hey, I'm the goddess of love. I can just tell."
"Oh Mina." Artemis let out a loud groan.
~ Taran's Apartment ~
"It really wasn't necessary for you to buy me clothes."
"I know, but I wanted to Andromeda." Taran put the bags he was carrying down next to the sofa. "You know, that is an exotic and uncommon name."
"Yes, that's why I am going to change it." Andromeda sat the one bag she was carrying, down next to his.
Taran was a bit shocked to hear that she was going to change her name. "But...why? I love that name."
Andromeda looked away from him as she felt her face flush. "Thank you. I am very fond of it myself. But....I came to Earth to hide and it sticks out like a sore thumb."
"I see." The young man was silent for a moment before continuing. "Have you decided on a new one yet?"
"I was thinking about Anne Romeda. It's a play on my name." Andromeda sighed. "What do you think?" She hoped that he would approve of her choice. Not that she need his approval to do it. It was her decision after all.
Gently Taran put his fingers on Andromeda's chin and turned her face towards him and looked at her face intently. "Hmm...I think that name suits you well." Taking her hands, he guided her over to the sofa where they both sat down.
Taran's expression changed to one of concern as he looked at this fallen star he had been lucky enough to find. "You never did mention before that you were hiding. Care to tell me why? I'd really like to be able to help you."
Andromeda let out a heavy sigh as she looked down at their still clasped hands. "I...I fled from my home to avoid being forcefully married to the warrior that was consumed by the darkness that had entered my galaxy." After what seemed to be a long moment of silence, she looked back up at Taran. "I am not just some girl by the name of Andromeda, but a Princess of the Tarusian galaxy, far from here. And in order for the Dark Warrior...who was once one of my personal guards....to take control, he has to marry the heir to the throne."
"Which happens to be you."
"Yes."
Taran was again shocked by something Andromeda had revealed to her. This was something he had not been expecting, but yet in a way he had a feeling there was something more to her than just an ordinary girl. "Okay, that was something I was not expecting. And if It weren't for what I saw the other night and heard this story from anyone else, I wouldn't believe it."
"There's more. The reason I choose to come here to Earth was to search for the five legendary soldiers known as the Sailor Scouts. Which I must hurry to do. I fear that Magnus has followed me here."
"The second impact."
"Yes. My....powers reacted to his presence when he emerged from the meteorite."
This time Taran was the one who let out a heavy sigh. "Well, that would explain what you did when I stopped the car and you got out, last night."
Andromeda smiled as she nodded slightly. "Yes. Now I must find the Scouts for not only am I in danger, but I have put you and the people of this planet in danger."
Embracing Andromeda, Taran held onto her tightly. "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. And I still want to help you. More so now than before."
"How will I ever find the five soldiers in such a large city?"
Taran was becoming more and more aware that he was feeling more fond of this stranger from another galaxy, the longer he was around her. "I can help you with that. Everyone here is aware of the Sailor Scouts. They've saved this planet on more than one occasion." He thought for a few moments. "How about we put up a few fliers around the local colleges. I remember them looking like they were junior high...high school students when they were always seen fighting some monster. they should all be about the age of college students by now."
Andromeda gave Taran a slight squeeze as they both released their embrace on each other. "Sounds like a plan to me. Now...what can I do to help you with that?"
"Anne Romeda will start college. I know of a few people at Tokyo University that owe me a favor." Smiling, Taran stood, went over to the phone and dialed the number to the University. "May I speak to Trista Meiou please."
I hope you enjoyed reading what I have here so far. I'm a bit behind in updating the fanfic....but that's because I haven't had time to write. But don't worry, I plan to finish it!
