Title: The Elements of Song Author: Marianya Part: Chapter 3 Rate: PG - PG-13 Date developed: 30 November 2000 Date revised: 4 June 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Author's Notes: Sorry if the pace is a little slow, but as I was brainstorming this story, a thought came up to me, I wanted to pace the realization of love first instead of putting all in one chapter. So I decided to let the two realize they love each other and admit it to themselves first, then let them confess their love to one another in the last chapter and this chapter will be when **** (did you really think I would give the plot away just like that?). So here I am, Chapter 3 of the crossover fic. You saw the girl meet up with N'Sync, you saw the blossoming love between the JC and Mari, and now you get to the see them again. This time it's the day and night of the concert. Natural Disclaimers: Sailor Moon: I do not, will not own Sailor Moon in any way, shape, or form, everything pertaining to Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. Boy Bands: I relinquished all rights and knowledge to N'Sync and Backstreet Boys, not like I ever had them to begin with. Other Characters: The past lives and the girl belong to me and me alone. On to the story... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 3 - Another Like No Other Mari woke up slowly from the comforting sleep, she had an overwhelming sensation of heat that over took her body from her head to her toes. She realized that she was not alone in the bed, but with another, she turned her head around and caught sight of the mop of dark brown hair. She blushed at the sight of the hair as she remembered a few hours ago when he undid the knot on one of the woven bracelets on his wrist and wrapped the bracelet around her own. She was shocked to say the least, like most other girls she dreamt of seeing N'Sync face to face. Never in her wildest dreams did she believe that she would fall in love with one of them, nor be in bed by their side. She felt two strong arms wrap around her. She snuggled herself back into his embrace as he continued to pull her flush against him. She thought back to the night before when they danced in the room. She blushed at the recent memory; it was her first kiss, and by far the most electrifying. They spent most of the night dancing away with the soft songs from the mini-stereo. She did not know how long they had danced, but after a long while, she remembered lying down to rest, and JC just followed her in. Butterfly kisses warmed the side of her head and neck as she was gently pulled from her reverie. "Umm..." she purred as she slowly turned over. Light brown eyes met dark blue, and she was soon greeted with a deep passionate kiss. Their communion was soon brought to a close by the knocking upon the door, without a second thought the knocking stopped and the door opened. Mari still deep within JC's arms quickly turned around and waited for the newcomer to show their face. She was not disappointed for soon after she turned around a blond head with hazel eyes popped out from behind the door, and in a low singsong voice, sang, "Hello." When he was holding that note, a brown haired head with red tips came out above the first and also sang, "Hello." The second brown haired man came out next, "Hello." Finally the baby of the group, the curly haired blond reached the top of the door and in a high-pitched voice sang out, "Hello." When all four voices were singing in perfect unison and in a perfect chorus they continued on, "and a very good morning to you. For today is the day that you would enjoy, the N*Sync concert is today." The lowest bass finished, "Is today." "Bravo, did you practice that all night long?" JC asked his friends and band mates. The door side quartet filed out of the doorway and took seats throughout the spacious bedroom, "For your information, no we didn't practice it all night long, while you were on cloud nine. We did it this morning, then decided to surprise you with it." JC laughed, "And a good job with it, so what were you guys up to last night?" The other four N*Sync'ers distributed themselves throughout the room. Justin sat at a chair that was closest to the bed, the chair that JC sat on the previous night. Lance and Chris sat at the two chairs that surrounded a small table that was off to the side, while Joey took for the floor. JC and Mari, still in bed together lifted themselves up and rested against the headboard, Mari laid her head down against JC's shoulder as his right arm wrapped itself around Mari's shoulders. Justin looked at the bedroom couple and laughed, "You two guys make the cutest couple!" The rest of the boys laughed at the minor attempt to break the silence, while as JC and Mari blushed profusely. In an attempt to change the topic, "So what were you guys up to last night?" "Oh last night? While you two were... otherwise engaged?" Chris jibbed to the couple. "Nothing really just a little bar hopping a little sightseeing and little video game action!" JC smiled, "So nothing out of the ordinary eh?" The other four shook their heads, and soon an all out account of the previous night's events by the four guys took place. Mari on the other hand was listening to the discussion between the five boys. Not long after they were beginning their talk did Mari's eyes begin to droop. The sights of the room before her soon started to fade as she was beginning to slip further away from the world of consciousness and into the void of unconsciousness. The room around her was slowly filling up with mists of gray and white as the thin mists grew to become a dense fog. Mari, now awake, looked around her with confusion in her eyes and a mind of a thousand questions, first of them being, ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hours before in an exclusive home away from New York City... Five young men were sleeping within a secluded house, however as the trees began to rustle in the wind of the night, four of those men were not sleeping soundly, but rather involved with their dreams, while as the fifth was sleeping soundly without a dream to haunt him with. One of the trees that overlooked one of the rooms within the home bent especially close by the window this windy night. As the wind continued to howl through the trees its leaves began to rustle uncharacteristically persistent seemingly in an attempt to wake the sleeping figure upon the bed. The figure upon the bed moaned as he live through the moments of the dream that continue to occupy his every thought at night... ***** START DREAM ***** The tall dark haired man was standing in the rolling meadows of the planet before him. The breeze blew gently across the rolling plains as the sounds of a harpist practicing nearby add to the gentle affect to the plains. The young man looked down at himself as he noticed that he wasn't wearing any normal clothing but rather a sort of medieval armor, however without the shield and the saber. He did not have much time to process his thoughts when a few young adult males made their way to him. Looking at the young adults he was able to notice how two of them looked very familiar. One of the two familiar persons spoke first, "Sir General Karstein, when will the examinations take place for the apprentice positions within the Royal Palace of Euphonia?" The young man was wearing lightweight clothing dark in color. His shirt was of a light brown color with short sleeves, it seemed to be made from sheep's wool. While as the pants were of a darker brown color, they were not form fitting, nor were they loose fitting, they seemed to be of a casual fit. The dark haired man did not know what was being said, but instinctively his mouth knew what to say, "Young Nicanor, the examinations will take place on the second upcoming sunrise. So unless you are ready to take the examination now, I suggest that you would go and study if you wish to be a part of the Prince's royal court." The second familiar face answered, "We are sir, we are just now taking a break from our intensive studies so that out minds may comprehend what it is that we have just studied." This young man was wearing somewhat the similar outfit as the first, however his shirt was buttoned with the top few buttons let alone, the shirt itself was of a dark green material. The pants were also of a dark brown color but with a noticeable wrap around sting to tie the pants around the waist. The young men were going to question the bewildered general further when their mouths began to open up to what seemed to be a shocking vision behind the general. Interested, the general turned around only to find himself looking at the most beautiful maroon colored eyes in the galaxy, instinctively he knew exactly whom the person was, so bowing down slightly, "Princess Pluto, what a pleasure it is to meet you again, after so long." Lifting himself up, he took the woman left hand within his right and with her palm down, he lightly kissed her hand, in a gesture of respect. The woman smiled and looked to the group of young men that were still watching the spectacle through shocked and dazed expressions. "Go on young men, I do so believe that you have an examination to study for." The command from the woman shook the men to the core and without a moment's hesitation they were on their way back to the homes to study again. Pluto looked to her male companion as he gestured towards a path further away from the metropolis of the kingdom. Offering his arm to the Princess of Pluto, she accepted the invitation and allowed herself to be led down the path. "You knew I was coming today, did you not?" The dark haired man nodded, "The wind was especially light today, and I knew how much you enjoyed this particular weather. Besides we had planned to talk again in the future and knowing your occupation upon the Spacetime Gate, your visits are few and far." Karstein took a quick moment to see what it is that his companion was wearing. The gown she wore was generally black in color, and smooth in grandeur. It was not extravagant, and at the same time, it was not plain. She wore a pair of silk black gloves that matched the color of her dress, for these gloves reached to beyond her elbows. he recalled. Pluto nodded, she loved how her hair floated in the light breeze. Though rarely would she show such emotion to anyone, Karstein on the other hand knew of her inner need to stay mysterious. Karstein looked to the princess, if it were not for the engagement he may have fallen in love with this woman, her long dark green hair floating in the breeze. Upon her ears dangled two perfectly matched garnet arrow shaped earrings. "Karstein, something is upon your mind, is it not?" The dark haired man shook his mind out of the reverie; he mustn't think such thoughts about a wonderfully close friend and companion such as Pluto. "Yes Pluto, these upcoming examinations. There are only two openings within the council of the Prince of Euphonia however all of the young men within the kingdom are studying hard for the only the first cut." "And after that is the interview, and then the six elder generals will choose the five that showed exemplary performances for a final in depth interview." Karstein nodded, so many young men studied all their lives for a chance on the royal council, he had to go through the grueling process as well as every other member of the council. Had it not been for the betrayal of two of the original eight members of the council, there would not have been any need for these examinations. But since the betrayal a couple of centuries ago, many young men breed to strive to become the new apprentices that would fill those empty positions left vacant for so long. The walking couple stopped at a brook, both waiting for the other to answer. Finally Pluto broke the uneasy silence, "Karstein, it seems to me that, the examination is not the issue at hand, the betrayal is. The six of you have done a marvelous job on keeping order with the vacancies, and only the six of you and the prince know of the immense pressure of the kingdom, and the inhabitants." The Princess of Pluto let out a shallow breath before continuing. "Within the library of the Sol Kingdom, there is a book of Prophecies, pay a visit to the Princess Greta. Tell her that I sent you there, wishing for you to read that book. What you will discover cannot be mentioned to anyone not even Prince Arion, or the other generals." General Karstein was confused, Pluto smiled at the nearly unnoticeable confusion upon the face of her friend and confidante, "I am telling you this, because there is a reason behind the deceitfulness of the two generals. As you would recall they disappeared soon after they were publicly stripped of their positions." Karstein remembered that fateful day, the public announcement, the exile of the two generals, and their proclamation for revenge upon the entire kingdom. It has been centuries since. Pluto noticed the slight change in expressions upon the face of her friend and smiled. Karstein nodded to the Princess, "Alright Pluto, I will pay a visit to Princess Greta after the examinations and interviews so that I may focus." "Fair enough." Taking a slight step away from her friend, she gave him a small butterfly kiss upon the cheek, one of the rarest signs of affection that the woman ever displayed to him. "The Gate I must return to, for time is always in motion. I will visit again soon." Soon a black portal appeared and the woman vanished into the portal that closed soon after her entrance. Karstein felt more at ease with the upcoming examinations, and discretely vowed that the two young men to fill the vacancies, they will not have any distinctions of having disloyalty to the Prince and the kingdom, not as long as he is still alive. ***** END DREAM ***** The young man woke up with a start. He threw the covers off the bed and walked to the kitchen, not realizing the figure in the tree, the one that allowed that particular event to resurface sooner than what she had originally planned. Taking a graceful leap from the tree branch onto the ground below, she quickly henshin into the figure of the princess of that man's dreams. The young man was drinking a cold glass of water when he heard a *thump* outside. Feeling the need to investigate the disturbance, he quickly put on a black robe and tiptoed outside, careful to not let anyone else awaken. When he finally reached the outdoors the wind started to pick up more, the wind blew the young man's robe all over, and still he held on. Looking around for the intruder he noticed a shadow in the distance. Taking a careful look he noticed the long dark hair, and the dress on the person, and how it just flutters gracefully in the harsh wind. Before the young man figured out that the intruder was in fact female, she waved her hand in the wind, and the wind suddenly died. Not believing that the woman actually brushed the wind to disappear he stood up, "You there, who are you and what do you want?" The figure turned around to allow the young man to see her face better in the dark sky. What he saw rendered him speechless for more than mere moments... "The Princess of Pluto." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Back in the midst of NYC... (a few hours before the above scene) ***** START DAYDREAM ***** Mari found herself looking at a majestic palace that shone a silvery light tint in the background. A sense of familiarity of the palace filled her senses, her eyes had to adjust to the lack of lighting in the palace and in a way she felt more at home at this palace rather than back on Earth. Looking around the palace she realized that she was in fact upon a balcony that was overlooking the palace gardens. Soft music murmured through the air as Mari looked beyond the balcony, slowly she raise her head skyward and realized that the moon was not in existence. In fact what she saw in place of the moon was the Earth, hanging in the sky as if balancing on a single point. Utterly speechless and completely in awe Mari did not realize that she was wearing a gown of the lightest lavender. Embroidered in the lightest silver thread, so that in the lightest light, her gown would constantly be a glow. Mari looked beyond the gardens and realized that someone was there in the shadows, looking straight at her. Silhouetted against the shadows was an outline of a man, Mari could not identify the man, but deep within her heart she knew that this man was the love of her life. The soft music that was whispering in the air now had distinguishable words in the breeze as it softly called out for her... "Mari. Mari?" ***** END DAYDREAM ***** JC looked at Mari with concern in his deep blue eyes, gently he shook the young girl next to him, "Mari? Mari, snap out of it." Mari woke with a start as she realize that she was no longer at the palace but now at the New York Hotel in one of the rooms surrounded by the members of N*Sync. "I'm sorry Joshua, I suppose I just floated out for a while." JC caressed Mari's tired face as his eyes filled with all the love and compassion he had for the young girl. Meanwhile it had occurred to the other members that the girl called JC by his given name, rather than his nickname. "Joshua? Whoa, this is getting deep." Justin cried out. Lance meanwhile glanced at Mari's wrist and there hung one of JC's bracelets, "Umm I hate to break this to anyone, but we have a concert to do soon, and we had better get going for the bus to get us to the concert so we could do warm-ups and rehearsal for the concert tonight." Realization went to JC's eyes about that concert later in the day. Looking over to Mari he asked the unspoken question. Mari's face fell slightly giving JC the confirmation that he needed that Mari did not have tickets for the concert that night. "Alright, maybe management would let me bring my girlfriend backstage to hang with the rest of us and watch from the side wings." At Mari's brighten smile she thanked JC with a kiss on the lips that never seemed to end. Leaving the rest of the guys a show that the two were sure to never to stop hearing for a long time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A few hours before the above scene (back with the BSB)... The woman smiled gently in the now gentle wind, "Yes General Karstein, it is I, or rather it was I, Princess Pluto." Setsuna walked slowly to the speechless Backstreet Boy. She realized that over the past millennium she had been watching over him the most, waiting for his rebirth, watching him as he grew both spiritually and mentally. "You have a cousin Karstein, both in the past and in the present, they are one in the same." "I'm sorry miss... but I do not recall ever seeing you before. And who is Karstein?" At the young man's answer she realized that he had not yet put two and two together. Taking a deep breath she started to let him know of the purpose of her visit. "General Karstein, is you, except now it is not the same as before. General Karstein was from an era known as the Silver Millennium, where nothing but happiness and peace reign." The young man tilted his head, "Silver Millennium...?" Setsuna nodded, "Yes, he took part in the last battle and died in the battle as did a great many of other warriors," fighting back the urge to let out a tear Setsuna continued, "the keeper of the key of the cosmos, Queen Serenity, used her life force, to send many people to the future, our present. Many of those persons are reborn initially not knowing of what their past lives were." "You mean I have a past? That's crazy." "It is fact, you do not know the truth of your past and now it is time to let you know of why you have been reawakened..." with a slight pause Setsuna continued, "Kevin, please, if things had not come about as they are now I would have no need to come here, but alas, there is no other choice." With a final graceful step, Setsuna reached the tall Backstreet Boy, the Time Key in hand with the Garnet Orb glowing a bright maroon color. Setsuna slowly closed her eyes and concentrated. In a few seconds the orb floated away from the Time Key to reach between the shocked Backstreet Boy and it's master. With another thought, the massive Time Key disappeared leaving the Garnet Orb floating in between the two. Now opening her eyes, Kevin realized that her eyes were not of a natural color, her eyes, in fact were of a deep maroon color. Setsuna placed her hands above the orb feeling it pulse beneath her hands. Slowly her deep maroon eyes looked up to catch the dark brown eyes of Kevin. Slowly her lips mouthed, "Touch it, do not be afraid." Kevin half wanted to touch it out of curiosity, and half did not want to for fear of what it may be capable of. Slowly he raised both his hands until they were hovering above the glowing orb. Taking one last breath he closed his eyes and placed his hands upon the orb and instantly he felt a bolt of electricity running through his arms and into his body. Through the shockwave he barely felt hands lay themselves above his own, working hard to open his eyes he noticed that Pluto had placed her hands above his own and that she was glowing black. Her gown was blown behind her as a fierce wind began to pick up and he soon realized that he too was being surrounded by a colored aura. The fingers of the watch on Kevin's arm began to rotate in a counterclockwise motion as memories that were embedded within his subconscious mind began to resurface. Memories of his life living in a musical world, his acceptance as a member of the prince's court, his own advanced musical talents. When he met his beloved from a neighboring system and their courtship, his meeting the princess of Pluto and their growing friendship. Centuries of memories continue to resurface in the eldest Backstreet Boy as years and years of experience, love, trust, and friendships that had once been forgotten were now being remembered. The wind that was at a standstill at Setsuna's command came back in full force circling the couple forming a cylindrical barrier taking grass pickings, leaves and fallen flower petals. The wind increased in speed as more and more memories continue to resurface until after several long minutes the wind stopped in mid blow and everything that the wind had picked up fell lazily to the ground. Kevin was far too frightened to open his eyes, the last few memories were of war, of the battle. Most of the faces he encountered were still too hazy to pinpoint exactly whom he had seen, but the features he realized triggered his recollection. He remembered that final battle the battle that destroyed everything from Euphonia to the Moon Kingdom itself. He remembered the pain within him when he told his bride to be that he had to go to battle far away, and though he had promised her that he would be back, he knew in his heart that this battle would be his last in the Silver Millennium. Taking a few minutes to calm his thoughts and all the information and memories that his mind had taken in, Kevin finally opened his eyes. Allowing the darkness to calm his thoughts. The blood red garnet orb that his hands had barely touched, the orb that triggered the waterfall of memories, no longer had the brilliant glow. It stood there between him and the woman in front of him, floating as if waiting for commands. Setsuna, who had been silent all this time looked up to the young man that she had become close with once. Kevin looked down at the dark green haired woman through new eyes, this was the woman that he had grown to love as a close friend, this was the woman that became his confidante. Even though he was the prince's trusted second advisor, she was his advisor in matters he dare not speak to with anyone else. Kevin also knew within him that if he was awakened before he was suppose to, then something was terribly wrong with the cosmos, especially if the one that awakened him was his friend, Sailor Pluto. "Pluto," he spoke with her formal name, "why have I been awakened? Is there something amiss that both the prince and Queen Serenity do not know about?" Pluto looked up at her companion with sad eyes, "Her Majesty is no longer with us, she gave her life for the well being of all of us. To give all of us another chance at life and peace." Kevin's face deepened in sadness, "I'm sorry to hear that, if I had known..." Pluto shook her head, "No Karstein, Her Majesty knew what was to come before anyone else. In fact it was at her discretion that the Protectors of the Sol System would not participate in the war effort, regardless of the fact that if we had been summoned the outcome of the war would have been greatly changed." "But is that not what..." Pluto shook her head. "No I am afraid not, had we won the war, there would have been heavy causalities, ones that we will not be able to overcome, no matter the span of time we would be given." Kevin nodded his head in agreement, understanding the positives and the consequences in each of the different possible outcomes for the last great battle. "This does not, I'm afraid, answers my original question. Why have you awakened me?" Kevin's eyes grew darker, solemn, he knew the answer, somewhere deep within his heart, however he needed that answer to be told to him, for a chance that his gut feeling was not true. Pluto took a deep breath, she knew the reason behind awakening him and only him, she knew that telling him that he is the only one that remembers anything of the past would greatly disturb him. However, she knew her purpose, she knew her intention of coming to this foreign land, and that was to awaken General Karstein to, "Karstein - Kevin, the reasoning behind my awakening your memories of the past is so that you may find the other generals and prepare yourselves for the upcoming battle." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ At Central Control in Tokyo... The room was rather dimly lit at this time of night, there haven't been many youma as of late, but one must always be prepared. However for the past day, since that afternoon meeting there have been many more unanswered questions that left this person up all night with more questions than answers. Mamoru looked upon the computer console as he tried to decipher the very few details regarding the newfound planetoid Euphonia. From that day's meeting he was able to figure out that Euphonia is the one planet from where most of the stunning musicians originated at that period of time. Princess Neptune was one of the few that showed exemplary performance on her instrument of choice, however she was not from the planet itself. The reigning prince at the time, as Mamoru understood, was strong in vocal performance, and songwriting. In fact most of the court seemed to be comprised of those that were extremely strong in vocal performance. When the formation of the court of the prince came about, there were two that were not completely devoted to their kingdom nor their prince, the first minute that this was found out, the two were driven away from the kingdom. Never to be heard of again. For a few centuries there were vacancies in the court for the kingdom's youth to compete for and it was during these trials and examinations that the positions became filled. Mamoru was curious about this 'Musical Planet', "Were you unable to sleep Mamoru-san?" A soft voice spoke from beyond the corner. Instinctively Mamoru knew whom it was, "Hello Ami-chan." The blue haired girl smiled and walked over to the computer console that Mamoru was working upon. Before she was able to get another word in edgewise another night walker pounced onto the monitor, "Shame on the both of you working up all night, when you should be at home resting." The black cat smiled, "found anything yet?" Mamoru chuckled, "Yes and no..." quickly he related all he knew off the bat about the 'Musical Planet' and what was it's significance in the Silver Millennium. "An ally you say? Strange how we do not know about it until now," Luna pondered this last bit of information. "What about the Princess, Greta isn't it?" "I'm looking at the display now, her parents were killed when Greta was still a babe, it seems that Queen Serenity raised her as her own, and Princess Serenity and Princess Greta became inseparable. Greta's destiny was to continue ruling the monarchy of the Sun of this system. Which was until she was of age, was controlled loosely by Queen Serenity herself, but more of an acting government. "Greta grew to learn vocal performance, even though she did not study under a professor from Euphonia. She became very adapt in performance that she even did a few duets with the violinist, Princess Neptune." "Is there anything that may warrant Pluto's need for the meeting?" Mamoru shook his head. Ami was at another computer console not far from Mamoru pulling out other information from the kingdoms of the past, and what she saw shocked her. "Mamoru? Luna? Come take a look at this..." Instantly Mamoru and Luna went over to what Ami pulled up onto the screen and they began to skim through the documentation, "The Written Prophecies a book that contains the prophecies from the beginning of the evolution of the Silver Millennium. Kept in the Library of the Sol Kingdom, the only people able to read its contents were Queen Serenity and Princess Greta." Mamoru mentioned softly, more to himself than anything else. "Why, why would Her Majesty hide a book that would obviously be of so much importance in the future?" Ami looked up from her console with sullen eyes, "because within the pages of that book are the pronouncements of the future of the Silver Millennium and possibly even Crystal Tokyo." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Back at the home of the Backstreet Boys... Kevin's mind was all a whirl, Kevin fought the urge to release his frustration, the frustration that his past life had built since he realized that the evil spirit that had destroyed his home and that of his loved one had not been completely destroyed. Pluto was sensing her friend's frustration and anger, a rarity for the normally even-tempered general. She decided on the best course of calming down her friend, "Karstein, do not worry about your beloved, she's reincarnated as well, though she does not remember anything. The Senshi do not remember much of your planet nor the system. Though Mercury and Endymion may have already looked into it. Many of those from the Silver Millennium that had a chance at rebirth were reborn. So there isn't anyone that you were close to that was not reincarnated." Kevin was frustrated, being the only one of his comrades that has been awakened pained him to no end. "Pluto, when, when could I speak to my friends, and who are they?" Pluto let a small smile creep up to her lips, "Karstein, I cannot tell you whom they are, you alone could figure them out, listen to your heart and it will lead you to them. Do not ask questions unless you are sure that they are the one. Some of them are having dreams regarding the senshi that they were close to in the Silver Millennium. Why did I awake you? Simply because I trust you, and I know you won't let me down." Pluto smiled again, behind her a black portal appeared, "I must go dear friend, I will watch over you and talk to you again someday." Pluto walked over to the portal and looked back at her dear friend, "trust your heart my friend, and it will take you far." With that she turned back to the portal and disappeared into the dark abyss. Leaving the bewildered and speechless Kevin behind. After a few moments of shock and disbelief, Kevin slowly walked into the house and poured himself some warm milk, , after taking a sip he thought back to what had happened. After a few moments he washed and cleaned the empty mug and went back to his bed. As a wave unconsciousness began to overtake him, ------------------------------------------------------------------------ During the N*Sync Concert... Mari stood out in the wings her hands clapping wildly for the by band that she just met earlier that day, clapping wildly for the young man that she had come to know well, that saved her life only yesterday. For her boyfriend, JC, that she never knew that she could ever love so well and so soon after their first meeting. Of course the other girls were screaming wildly for the quintet that was on stage, but she was not frightened, she knew that deep down inside Joshua belonged to her and only her. She smiled brightly as N*Sync finished their latest number. Suddenly JC took to the microphone. "Hey everyone, we are all glad that you guys are here with us tonight!" the crowd cheered in love and admiration for the boy bands. "And you are all there to cheer us on!" The fans cheered even louder as Joshua tried to quiet them down for the next song. "Okay, this song is for that special someone that you love. So when you hear this song just close your eyes and make a wish and your special someone will be right there with you..." JC then looked to the corridors and made a wink towards Mari as he finished, "You know I will." ***** START MUSIC ***** "This song is dedicated to that special someone of mine," *glances towards Mari*, "You know who you are." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Can this be true? Tell me, can this be real? How can I put into words what I feel? My life was complete I thought I was whole Why do I feel like I'm losing control? Never knew that love could feel like this and you changed my world with just one kiss. How can it be that right here with me there's an angel? It's a miracle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mari loved this song amongst them all, whenever JC was able to he would sneak a glance over at Mari and his smile would just grow, Mari's eyes would brighten with every peek, every smile, and every glance of love. Everything from the past day was heavenly for her, she never did thought that love could be so incredibly wonderful and fulfilling. And nothing could ever go wrong. JC looked towards Mari's direction as much as he could, out of all the songs this was the one that reminded him before that he was never truly complete that he was missing something. But at the same time it gave him hope that one day he would find the one. Who knew that the one he was searching for would fall into his arms? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Your love is like a river peaceful and deep your soul is like a secret That I could never keep When I look into your eyes I know that it's true God must of spent A little more time On you ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mari shed silent tears of happiness and joy as the song continued, . She never wanted this song to ever end she wished for time to just stand still so that she could live in the moment, remember the moment, and keep it within her forever. JC kept smiling, JC and the other band members kept pace... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In all of creation All things great and small You are the one that surpasses them all More precious than Any diamond or pearl They broke the mold When you came into this world And I'm trying hard to figure out Just how I ever did without The warmth of your smile The heart of a child That's deep inside Leaves me purified ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Never did anyone suspect that one of the crewman did not belong there, he came through the security as a crewman and knew exactly what he was suppose to do. With his target not guarded by a bodyguard, he could make his capture and escape while the other crewmen are still busy with other tasks at hand. Taking a handkerchief, he made sure the odor wasn't too noticeable and headed towards his desired target. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Your love is like a river peaceful and deep your soul is like a secret That I could never keep ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mari stood at the wings, her heart fluttering with happiness at the thought that she would be able to spend time with the one she love more than anything in the world. Her eyes focusing towards the stage, she never noticed anything until the handkerchief covered her nose and mouth by surprise. Struggling she tried to get a scream, but it was too late, she was being pulled from the wings and into the corridor. Frantically she tried to hold on to that last amount of control and consciousness she had left, but the closing darkness was too overwhelming. Within seconds Mari blacked out with the last phrase of the song echoing through her mind mixed with the slow cackling laughter that nearly broke her spirit to the point of being near irreparable... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When I look into your eyes I know that it's true God must of spent A little more time On you ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------