Yeah, I'm back at this one project.  I've tried starting it up a couple of 
times before, but it fizzled.  And I guess this makes four projects that I'm 
working on right now.  Well, I guess that means I've got something to do for 
every mood that I can be in.
	Anyway, I was looking over the predecessor to this series, my "Shadows of 
the Past" series (hopefully to be posted before I get this up; Geocities/Yahoo's 
been having some problems recently), and I realized that there were many more 
holes in it than I had realized before.  As I was editing to try to put it up, I 
tried to repair as many as I could.  It's messy.  I promise, this series will 
have many fewer of the like.  Mostly youthful naivite working against me.
	No clue how long it'll be, or what all will happen.
	Anyway, I don't own Sailor Moon.  That honor belongs to Naoko Takeuchi.  I 
did create Michael Cross and Jennifer Hino (I had no problems characterizing 
them!).  My E-mail is jmh6187@uncwil.edu, so just try reaching me there if you 
have any complaints/comments.  Other than that, enjoy the series.  I suppose 
that this is some sort of alternate universe from the real SM plot (hey, if 
Tenchi can do it, then so can I!)

Missing Crystals
A Sailor Moon Original Flavor Fanfic
By: M.H. Torringjan

Part 1: A New Start

	Raye Hino awoke around about 10:00.  She wasn't worried, though.  It was a 
Saturday, so she wouldn't have to worry about school.  Too bad she wouldn't be 
able to cook for the Tsukinos.  She wasn't too happy about that, since that was 
one of the few things that she could do in return for their kindness.  Mrs. 
Tsukino took care of most of the house-work, and made Serena, Rini, or Sammy do 
the rest.  Well, she wouldn't be imposing upon them for much longer.  The Temple 
was going to re-open that day, and she was going to return home.
	Grandpa had lived with Chad since the Super Shadow Warrior incident, and 
had spent most of his time overseeing the reconstruction of the Temple.  She had 
gone to school, and Chad had worked at the arcade.  Her mother, Jennifer, had 
worked there, as well, trying to keep herself busy and find out as much as she 
could about what had happened to the world during the past ten years while she 
had been dead.
	Raye lay in bed, staring at the ceiling for a while, trying to come up 
with ideas of how to get her mother into the Temple without Grandpa asking too 
many questions.  The smells from Mrs. Tsukino's bacon and omelets, however, 
dragged her from the couch-bed and into the kitchen.  She sat down next to 
Serena's father, awaiting a plate. 
	"Well, Mrs. Tsukino, I'd like to thank you for your hospitality over the 
past month," Raye said.
	"What's this, Raye?" Serena's mother asked.
	"The Temple's going to be completed today, so everyone's moving back into 
it," Raye replied.
	"Well, it's been nice having you here for all this time," Mrs. Tsukino 
said.  "It was nice to have another helping hand around the house!  If you ever 
need anything like this again, just ask us.  We'll be glad to help!"
	"Thank you, Mrs. Tsukino," Raye said.  "And you, too, Mr. Tsukino."
	"Of course!  Any time," Serena's father said.  Serena walked in and sat 
down, yawning widely, across from Raye.  Her hair was let down and brushed, 
disguising her violent sleeping tendencies.  Her eyes were only half open, since 
she had only woken up a little bit earlier.
	"What's going on, Raye?" she asked.
	"I'm leaving later on today to go back to the temple," Raye replied.
	"Oh, really?  All right, then, I'll help you," Serena said as she and Raye 
were handed plates.  She dug hungrily into her cheese and mushroom omelet.  Raye 
ate her breakfast much more calmly than Serena.  She thought it such a waste to 
eat so quickly.  She wondered if Serena even tasted the food.

	Michael typed away at his computer, trying to think of a plot for his new 
story.  He was trying to write a story to put on his web-page.  Well, when he 
got something like a web-page.  He wanted to start a vault of some sort on the 
internet, like ones that he had visited at home.
      He stopped typing and leaned back in his computer chair.  He thought to 
the past month.  His birthday present for Mina had gone over very well.  His 
parents had taken the loss of Rigel surprisingly well.  He had only had to tell 
them that he had gotten run over by a truck, and that he had buried Rigel, to 
save them the trouble and grief.  He had fashioned a fake grave to show them, 
and that was that.  They still hadn't gotten around to cleaning up Rigel's 
stuff.  He got tired of trying to deal with his writer's block, so he decided to 
clean it up and put it away.
	As he picked up the pad of Rigel's bed (which Rigel never used), he 
noticed a small disk that looked like something that would fit in Amy's 
computer.  He had never seen it before, but then again, Rigel had never let 
Michael even touch his bed.  He decided that he'd show it to Amy later, since it 
wouldn't fit in his own computer.
	He had been given his communicator recently, so he decided to put it to 
use.  He called Amy and asked her to meet him later so that they could figure 
out the disk's purpose.

	Lita made breakfast, ham and scrambled eggs, while Jennifer took a shower.  
She didn't have much left to cook, so she'd have to go to the store to stock up.  
As she turned off the oven and placed their food on plates, she heard someone 
knock on the door.  She opened the door and let Serena and Raye enter.
	"Hi, guys!  What's up?" she asks.
	"We're going back to the Temple," Raye says.
	"Are you sure?" Jennifer asks, emerging from the bathroom, wearing some of 
the clothes that she bought with one of her paychecks.  "Isn't it a bit crowded 
around there?  I mean, I'm sure that some problems would come up."
	"But Mom, I thought that you were going to be coming to live with me when 
we could get back in the Temple," Raye began.
	"Raye, I think that it'd work better if I just stayed here with Lita," 
Jennifer said.  "It'd raise too many questions when your grandpa figured it out.  
And besides it, I'm enjoying staying here with Lita."  Raye gaped for a few 
moments.  "And, it's not like you won't be able to see me."  She paused 
uncomfortably.  "Could you come with me for a moment?" she asked, leading Raye 
into the bedroom.
	"Mom, you promised me that you'd come back to the Temple," Raye said.
	"Raye, this really is the most rational decision," Jennifer said.  "And 
you can see me any time you want.  Besides, haven't you been spending more time 
over here than at Serena's house?"
	"Okay, I guess you're right, but-" Raye said, standing up to go back.
	"Really, you can still come to visit me.  Lita loves having you over," 
Jennifer said, stopping Raye from storming out.  Raye looked back at her for a 
moment sadly, before going back into the living room.  Jennifer wondered if she 
had handled that the right way.  She hated having to get a late start on 
learning to raise her daughter.  A month hadn't told her enough.  She looked at 
the mirror, at the troubled, tired face that looked back.
	Back in the living room, Raye picked up her suitcase and walked out.  
"Wonder what happened in there?" Serena said as the two stood up to go after 
Raye.   They caught up to her halfway down the stairs.
	"Hey, Raye!" Lita said, catching up to Raye.  "You all right?"
	"Yeah, I'm fine," Raye replied, holding on to her suitcase tightly, as if 
she was going to run at any moment.  "I know she's right.  It's just that I want 
so much to be with her.  When she said that she'd move into the Temple, it made 
me happy that I'd have her back, and that she'd be living with me, like when I 
was younger.  And I guess that having that taken away from me wasn't what I 
wanted to happen.  I'll be okay, though.  It'll be like the past, except that I 
can come see her."
	"Well, that's a nice way to take it," Lita said.  "Sure you don't want any 
food?"  She asked even though she didn't have anything else to cook at the 
moment.
	"Sure!  I'd love some food!" Serena exclaimed.
	"No, I already ate," Raye said.
	"Well, aren't I taking you home?" Serena asked, slightly puzzled.
	"I'll be alright," Raye said, continuing down the stairs.  Serena shrugged 
and walked back up the stairs to Lita's apartment.  Lita watched Raye walk down 
the street alone.  She shivered for a moment.  She disliked winter, or at least 
being out during winter without a jacket.  She walked back in to find Serena 
eating her scrambled eggs.  She was talking to Jennifer, who looked slightly 
depressed.

	Michael sat at the table in the snack shop, waiting for Amy to arrive.  A 
cloud passed over the sun, giving Michael's eyes a rest.  He liked the window 
seat, so that he could look out the window.  It was almost like watching an 
aquarium.  Well, a terrarium, anyway.  He took off his coat, it was very warm in 
the snack shop.  The lights were dimmer than usual.  He looked over at the ice 
cream bar.  A cute girl was sitting at one of the seats, eating a cookie-dough 
ice-cream sundae.
	Michael watched her for a while, out of the corner of his eye.  He knew 
that Amy would be getting there soon, and he doubted that she'd like to catch 
him looking at other girls.  He wished that he could help it, but he'd just been 
alone for too long to be able to stop it.
	"Hey, Michael!" Amy said from behind Michael, giving him a start.
	"Hi, Amy!" he replied.
	"You okay?" Amy asked.  "You looked like you were spacing out for a minute 
there."
	"Yeah, I'm fine.  I was just thinking," he replied, taking the disk out of 
his pocket.  "Take a look at this disk.  I found it when I was finally cleaning 
up Rigel's stuff."
	Amy opened up her computer and turned it on.  She slipped the disk into 
the slot on the left side.  As she started it up, the waitress brought Michael's 
order.  He had bought an ice cream sundae for him and an Italian soda.  He took 
the two items from the waitress and flashed her a quick smile before she walked 
away.  He didn't think she'd noticed.  Probably better, he thought to himself.  
She walked away as Amy began running the program.
	"Here you go, Amy.  I got this for you," Michael said, handing her the 
Italian soda.  She took it and set it on the other side of the computer at a 
distance where it wouldn't spill.
	"Hello, Scouts!" the computer said in a familiar voice.  Michael gave a 
start when he realized that it was Rigel's voice speaking to them.
	"Whoah!  What's going on there?!" Michael asked, crowding Amy to see the 
screen.
	"Well, if you're listening to this, then something must have happened to 
me," Rigel said from the computer.  "Well, as you can probably guess, our next 
job is to go and retrieve the crystals to power us up.  This program was sent to 
me near the end of our last mission, and it contains the last-known positions of 
the crystals.  They should be in the same place as they were no matter how long 
ago it was.  I would imagine that some sort of evil force will be seeking them, 
as well.
	"The easiest crystal to get will be the one that I held for a long time: 
Michael's.  I didn't feel that Michael was ready for the awesome power of the 
crystal.  What I've seen recently has not made me change my mind.  However, we 
need to collect the crystals as quickly as we can.  I would advise you to go for 
the others first, but it is your choice.  You should do well enough without me, 
as long as you try to remember the little amount that I was able to tell you.  
And Artemis, don't try anything with Luna."
	After the recording ended and the program began, Michael said, "I wonder 
if we can run that recording again."
	"I hope so," Amy said, typing away at the keyboard.  "Luna would probably 
need to see this."
	"I'd love to see Artemis and her reaction to that last bit," Michael said, 
grinning.  Amy leveled a glance at him.  The grin remained on his face as he 
returned the glance.  She closed the computer.
	"Let's go," she said, shaking her head slightly.  "Pay for the food.  I'll 
call the others to get them to meet us."
	Michael walked to the register, only to meet the waitress and the cute 
girl from the ice cream bar.  He had to get on with it.  He placed more money 
than they needed on the desk and told the waitress to keep the change, flashing 
another smile at her.  His communicator went off, and he ignored it.  He joined 
Amy outside, where she was in the middle of the communication.
	"Where can we meet, everyone?" she asked.
	"We can meet at the Temple," Raye answered over the slightly static 
communicator.
	"All right, we'll be there soon!" Amy answered before the others, turning 
off the communicator.  "Let's get a bus.  It's faster than walking."

	Raye had her broom, cleaning up after the construction.  A thick layer of 
dust had been left behind when the machines and workers left.  She wore a mask 
so that she wouldn't cough her lungs up.  She didn't wear a coat, but the work 
warmed her up.  The leaves that she usually swept up were not present to keep 
the dust down.  The trees had been uprooted in the droid battle that had wrecked 
the Temple.  She'd need a shower after this.  Well, first, she'd get the meeting 
over with.
	Chad was back to his training on their first day back.  She almost envied 
him for not having to help her sweep up.  She wondered when the others would be 
getting there to save her for a while.  She wondered what the meeting would be 
about.  They hadn't had a mission for a while, so it must have been something 
important.  Probably the thing about the others' crystals.  Luna and Artemis had 
been saying for a while that they'd have to take care of that unfinished 
business.  She wondered where they'd find the crystals.  Everything usually 
seemed to come to them, almost like a charm.
	Raye propped her broom against the wall while she went inside for a drink.  
She'd give her job a rest until after the meeting.  She wandered around the 
halls of the new Temple, trying to find her room or the kitchen again.  They had 
used a different plan to build the Temple, and she hadn't found her way around 
it yet.  She walked into the bathroom first, followed closely by Grandpa's room.  
The shades were opened, letting light shine in.  She didn't understand why he 
got a heart-shaped bed for that room.  She didn't even want to think about it.  
She just walked along the dim hallways, searching for either of her desired 
destinations.  It would be another week before the electrician returned to 
install lights.
	She arrived at the kitchen first and poured a glass of water.  She walked 
back out of the kitchen and tried finding her own room one more time.  She 
didn't have much more time before she was sure the others would be there.  She 
slid another door open and walked into her room.  "Good luck," she thought to 
herself.  She grabbed her jacket and followed her path back outside.  When she 
emerged into the daylight, Serena, Lita, and Mina were already waiting for her 
in the courtyard, near the entryway posts.
	"Hey, guys!" Raye exclaimed as she walked up to the others.  "What's the 
meeting about?"
	"Darned if I know," Lita said.  "I just got the call, same as you guys."
	"I was thinking that it might be about the crystals," Raye commented.  "I 
mean, after all, I've gotten mine, and we still haven't gotten you guys yours."
	"Makes sense," Mina said.  "I wonder where Michael is.  I have to talk to 
him."
	"Well, he'll be here for the meeting," Raye said, sitting down with her 
back against one of the posts.  Lita liked that idea and took the opposite post.  
Luna and Artemis ran up the steps together, coming to a stop at Serena's feet.
	"Is everybody here?" Artemis asked.
	"Not yet.  Amy and Michael are missing," Mina replied, sitting down on one 
of the steps.  Michael and Amy walked around the corner at that moment, chatting 
about something that Mina couldn't make out.  Amy laughed in her usual way.  
Mina wondered what they were talking about.  Michael waved his arms around 
wildly for a moment.  She knew that he was joking around with her.  He was such 
good friends with Amy.  She wondered how that could have happened so quickly.  
She didn't even-But anyway.  There were bigger things to worry about right then.  
Amy and Michael reached the top of the stairs and stood on the step just below 
Mina.
	"Okay, Amy, what's this all about?" Luna asked, laying down for Amy's 
meeting.
	"All right, everybody, you know how we need to find everyone's crystals?" 
Amy asked.  Everyone nodded.  "Well, Michael found something important while he 
was cleaning up Rigel's stuff this morning.  Let me show you."  She turned on 
her computer and placed the disk inside it.  She replayed the recording for 
everyone to see.  Michael payed special attention to Artemis and Luna's reaction 
to the end of the recording.  Luna blushed as Artemis glared angrily at the 
computer.
	"Okay, everyone," Luna began after the recording had ended, "I guess that 
we're on our next mission from here on out."
	"Yeah," Artemis agreed.  "So, where are these crystals located, anyway?"
	Amy clicked some keys on her keyboard.  "Well, one was located with 
Jennifer Hino.  Another is located in New York, New York, at Michael's old home, 
a small house in one of the suburbs.  The others are located around the world in 
various places.  Luna, I've got some bad news.  They're in some big places for 
these others to get lost.  London, Paris, Nassau, and Chicago."
	"Oh, great," Artemis said, "And we won't even be able to be there.  Amy, 
you're going to have to play babysitter while you're away."
	"I hope you girls and Michael realize that you'll have work to do while 
you're there," Luna said sternly.  "You won't have much time for sight-seeing or 
for fun."
	"But we will have *some* time for that, right?" Serena asked hopefully.
	Luna sighed.  "We'll see what we can do.  First, we've got to figure out 
how to get to all those places.  We've got to figure out how to get out of 
school, not worry your parents, and all that.  This may be a bit difficult.  I 
say that we should come back here tomorrow, after Artemis and I have had a while 
to think about this."
	"Sure, that's what they call it," Michael said, smirking.  Luna just shook 
her head and walked away with Artemis in close tow.
	"So, see everybody tomorrow?" Lita said, standing up.  Serena and Raye 
stood up with her.
	"Hey, can I get a warm drink before I head home?" Serena asked.
	"Me, too?" Lita asked.
	"Sure, you two.  Just follow me in," Raye said.  The three moved towards 
the Temple.  Raye hoped that she could lead them back to the kitchen.
	"Michael, I need to talk to you," Mina said.
	"Sure, Mina," Michael replied.  "What you need?"
	"Can we go over here?" she asked, walking over to one corner of the 
courtyard.  Amy waited as Michael and Mina went to talk.
	"What do ya' need?" Michael asked Mina, smiling warmly.  He seemed as if 
he was going to reach for her hand.
	"Well, Michael, I've been thinking over the past month, and I've come to 
the decision," Mina began.  She looked at his face, innocent and happy.  He had 
no idea what she was about to say.  Probably better, for his sake.  She wondered 
if this was the best thing for her to do.  She really didn't know why she didn't 
feel anything.  She hadn't felt anything for the whole month, when it came to 
Michael.  She saw Serena, and how Serena felt towards Darien.  Then again, maybe 
that wasn't the best example.  Then again, it was the only example that she 
could think of.
	"Yes?  What decision, Mina?" Michael asked.  Mina had been quiet for 
longer than she had expected.
	"Well, I don't think that we should go out anymore," Mina said.  She had 
expected Michael to break down or something.  He only stood there for a moment, 
looking shocked.  Almost immediately, he regained his composure from before her 
statement.
	"So, you're pulling a Darien on me, are you?" Michael commented with a 
whole-hearted smile.  "That's cool!  Whatever you want.  I mean, I'll do 
whatever you want to be happy."
	"Well, you seem to be taking this fairly well," she commented.  "I would 
have expected a bit more than this."
	"No, not really.  Doesn't surprise me, as such," Michael responded.  "Just 
tell me, what happened?"
	"Nothing," she said.  She elaborated for Michael; he had a confused look 
on his face.  "Nothing happened at all in my mind.  No matter what the rest of 
them said, nothing."
	"Odd.  That was really vague, but it sounds like what happened to me," 
Michael said.  "Or, in this case, what didn't happen to me."
	"So, we're still friends?" Mina asked.
	"Well, we kind of have to be," Michael commented.  "We work together.  So, 
let's get back there."  Mina nodded, and the two rejoined Amy.
	"Well, I've got to get back home," Michael said.  He walked to the nearest 
bus stop for a long wait.
	"So, what happened there?" Amy asked.
	"Nothing important," Mina commented.  "So, see you tomorrow?"
	"I guess so," Amy said.  The two walked home to get some rest before the 
next day, when they'd hopefully make their first move for the crystals.

	"Michael, I'm almost afraid to ask if you know the answer to this 
question," Ms. Haruna said.  "Just don't go too far into detail, or you'll 
confuse Serena."  The bell rang, saving Serena from yet another embarrassment in 
class.  Serena, Amy, Michael and Lita walked outside with their books.  Serena 
hadn't seen Luna all day.  She supposed that Luna had been out working on the 
plan to get them to each of the crystals.
	"Girls!" Luna called from the bushes.
	"Hey!" Michael exclaimed.
	"Sorry, Michael," Luna said sheepishly.  "We're getting together at the 
Temple to go for the first crystal."
	"All right!  What's the plan?" Serena asked.
	"First, we're getting Michael's crystal," Luna said.
	"Yeah!  In your face, Rigel!" Michael exclaimed, grinning.  "We sleeping 
over there?"
	"Hardly," Luna said.  "You know the time difference.  It'll be around the 
middle of the day when we get there.  And we'll have to be back before the end 
of the day.  We don't want your parents to panic or anything."
	"Then whose?" Serena asked hopefully.
	"Then, we were considering Amy's crystal," Luna replied.  "Then, we'd take 
Mina's, Lita's, and Serena's."
	"In that order?" Serena asked.  "You're torturing me, aren't you?"
	"Of course, Serena," Michael said.  "It's all just a big conspiracy."
	"All right, let's get on with it," Luna said, leading the way to the 
Temple.
	At the Temple, Mina and Raye were already waiting for the others.
	"Everybody ready?" Luna asked.  Everyone nodded and transformed.
	"Mercury Star Power!"
	"Mars Power Transformation!"
	"Jupiter Star Power!"
	"Venus Star Power!"
	"Europa Star Power!"
	Oddly enough, there was a pause where Serena was supposed to transform.
	"Serena?" Luna asked.
	"Sorry, I forgot my brooch this morning," she replied.
	"Oooooo, what a bubble-brain!" Mars exclaimed as she finished 
transforming.
	"Hey, I'll get it and be right back!" Serena shouted, running in the 
direction of her house.  An hour later, she ran back to the other Scouts.
	"Moon Crystal Power!"
	After Serena had finished transforming, they all gathered around to 
teleport.  "So, we're going to Michael's old house now?" Venus asked.
	"Yeah, Venus," Mercury commented.
	"Like it matters," Europa commented quietly to himself.
	"Did you say something?" Jupiter asked.
	"No, nothing!" Europa answered.  He didn't want them to know anything 
about what had happened between him and Mina.  "Let's get this over with 
quickly."
	"Will this still work with Mars in her new form?" Venus asked.
	"It should.  It should even be able to take us further, since she's 
stronger," Mercury commented.  "That's how we can get all the way around the 
world."
	"All right, so let's get going!" Jupiter exclaimed, grabbing Mercury's 
hand.
	"We'll see you later, and don't get hurt!" Luna said as the Scouts 
teleported.

	The Scouts landed in the middle of the street outside of Michael's 
old suburban house near New York, New York.  A small group of children played in 
the small, city-yard next door to Michael's house.  A small oak tree grew in the 
front yard of Michael's house.  Europa saw a "For Sale" sign on the front lawn.  
A cab drove down the street in front of Michael's house.  Heading straight for 
the Scouts.
	Everyone jumped out of the way of the car, Europa dragging the slow-on-
her-feet Venus with him.  The car screeched its horn at them as it drove past at 
speeds that seemed too fast for a residential area.
	"Nice save, huh?" Europa said to Venus, who humphed, crossing her arms.  
"So, they still haven't sold this old place.  Not surprised.  It's a dump 
inside, no matter what it looks like outside."
	The kids who were playing in the next yard had stopped playing at the car 
horn and looked over at the Scouts.  Slightly cautiously, one of them called 
out, "Sailor Scouts?"
	"What?  They know about us here in America?" Mercury asked.
	"Yeah! You guys are bigger than Brittney Spears over here," Europa 
responded.  "And these kids are nice.  They argue over who'll pretend to be 
Tuxedo Mask.  They used to love Rigel, too.  I think they gave him food."
	"You guys willing to visit some fans?" Serena asked, as though she herself 
would turn down the opportunity.
	"I'm going to go get the crystal," Europa said.  "Wanna come with, 
Mercury?"
	"Sure, I'll join you!" Mercury said as Sailor Moon, Jupiter, and Mars went 
to visit with the kids.  "You coming, Venus?"
	"No, that's all right," Venus said, approaching the kids.  Mercury gave 
Europa a searching look as they walked into the front door.
	"Europa, did something happen between you and Mina?" she asked as she 
closed the door behind her.
	"No, not really," Europa replied.  He tried not to let her know that he 
was lying.  It didn't work.
	"Michael, you know I hate it when my friends lie," Mercury said a moment 
later.  "Especially when it's to me."
	"How could you tell?" Europa asked after a short pause, during which his 
smile faded.
	"I couldn't.  I called your bluff," Mercury said.
	"Tricky little girl, aren't you?" Michael chided, grinning.  "Look, let's 
not take this too far public, shall we?  It wouldn't sit very well with the 
others."
	"So, was it your fault?" Mercury asked.
	"Well, I guess that depends on who you ask.  However, she asked me to 
break up," Europa said.  "Look, let's just go get the crystal," he continued, 
walking towards the basement door.  When he threw the door open, a wave of 
roaches crawled out from the darkness and crawled up Europa's pants leg.  Europa 
yelped and began jumping around the room, trying to pull off his pants.  Mercury 
blushed and turned around as he took care of the little problem one by one.  She 
turned on her visor and looked down the stairs.
	"My visor is detecting a large amount of energy from the basement," 
Mercury told Europa.  The slapping sound had stopped; Europa merely laid on the 
floor, panting.
	"Man, I knew we had a bug problem, but it wasn't *this* bad," Europa said 
between deep breaths.  "And why didn't they attack you?"
	"The energy output probably has something to do with that," Mercury said, 
pressing some buttons on her computer.  She was afraid to look at him- he might 
not have replaced his pants.  "As for the roaches, I have no idea.  It really is 
odd, though."
	"Funny, I don't remember storing any nuclear waste in our basement," 
Europa commented with a weak chuckle.  "Maybe I'll have to ask my parents."
	"It might be the crystal," Mercury replied.  "Or maybe some evil force has 
taken control here."
	"Yeah, there's probably some gigantic roach-critter at the bottom of the 
stairs, just waiting for us to go down there," Europa said.
	"Oh, just put your pants on and come on," Mercury replied.
	"Aww, you really want me to?" Europa asked.  He grinned as Mercury moved 
towards the stairway without comment.  "Hey, wait!" he exclaimed, moving to put 
his pants back on.  He'd need a nice, peaceful, long, warm, comfortable shower 
when he got home.  They descended the stairs, Mercury first and Europa close 
behind.  The dusty smell made Mercury sneeze.  Europa winced when he heard her 
sneeze.  He took a defensive stance, preparing in case anything jumped out.  The 
floor was dirt.  Michael's parents had been in the middle of constructing it 
when the order for Michael's dad to transfer came along.
	They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Michael flipped the light 
switch, only to find that the light bulb had gone out.
	"Some help here, Mercury?" Europa said.
	"Darn it, Mike, I'm a med student, not an electrician!" Mercury said.
	"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Europa asked.
	"Well, since I've got night vision in my visor, yes," Mercury replied, 
activating her night-vision.  She activated the function on her computer to 
locate the crystal.  "Just hold on to my arm and follow me," she said, offering 
her arm to Europa.  She walked in a straight line towards the spot where the 
crystal was.  When she got there, there was nothing but a green hand trowel 
laying on the ground.
	"Oh, great, so what's my attack with that thing?" Europa asked 
sarcastically when Mercury told him about the trowel.  "Europa Sandbox Player?"
	"No, Michael, you're supposed to use it to dig," Mercury responded.
	"Well, Rigel did always love to bury stuff," Europa commented, feeling 
around for the trowel.  Mercury handed it to him and guided him to the place 
where he was supposed to dig.  "You know, my mom has been looking for this thing 
for a while now," Europa said, stabbing the tool into the soft dirt.  After a 
few trowels-full, he heard a soft clink come from the ground.
	"You've hit it," Mercury said.  Europa groped around the hole for a moment 
before laying his hand on the crystal.
	"Europa Power Transformation!" he exclaimed.  His body was instantly 
covered by golden armor, decorated with silver gilding.  A pouch hung at his 
side, filled with powder of some sort.  "Cool!  Let's get out of here and get 
back with the others."
	The two retraced their steps outside and saw the others playing with the 
kids.  "Mercury!  Europa!" Moon exclaimed.  "What took you so long?  We were 
getting a bit worried."
	"We had a bit of a bug problem," Europa commented.  "And an electrical 
problem.  And a digging problem."
	"Enough problems?" Jupiter asked.
	"Hardly.  Like my new suit?" Europa asked, modeling for everyone.
	"Very nice, almost like mine," Mars replied.
	"Anyway, can we get out of here?" Europa asked.  "I'm really tired, and I 
need a shower."
	"All right, everyone, let's gather around and get out of here," Mercury 
said.  The six gathered in a circle and teleported back to the Temple, where 
Luna and Artemis were waiting for them still.
	"Well, I see that you found the crystal," Luna said.
	"Yeah, now if everyone will excuse me, I've got to go get cleaned off," 
Europa said, reverting and walking towards his house.  He was tired of 
everything that had happened that night.  He'd go home, take his shower- no, his 
bath- and do some writing.
	"What happened there?" Moon asked.  Everyone turned their stares on Amy, 
who wouldn't say a thing.  She'd keep her promise to Michael.  Then, everyone 
turned to Venus, who told them instead.
	"It may have something to do with the fact that he and I broke up earlier 
today," she said.  Well, at least I won't have to keep a secret anymore, Amy 
thought to herself.  Serena never lets me be if I've got a secret about our 
friends.
	"Yeah, that might be it," Moon said.  "Oh, the poor guy!  I hope he's 
okay.  Are you okay, Mina?"
	"Yeah, I'm fine," Venus replied.  "I'm the one who broke it off."
	"Well, I always had heard that it was just a political arrangement," 
Artemis said.  "Figured that it was worth a shot anyway."
	"Should we go talk to him about it?" Moon asked, reverting along with the 
others.
	"I don't think so," Amy said.  "He told me that he didn't want it to be 
very 'public.'"
	"Well, we'll leave him be until tomorrow," Luna said.  "We're going after 
Amy's crystal tomorrow after school."
	Amy walked alone down the street towards her home.  She watched the lights 
of the cars passing along the street.  The sky was dimming earlier than she had 
thought.  Either that or they had spent more time away than she had thought.  
Some of the stores were still open, but most were closed or closing their doors.  
She was glad that she had remembered her coat, since it was cooling down 
outside.  She was beginning to feel hungry.  She wondered what she had to make 
at home.  She would sleep very well that night, after doing her homework.

End of part 1
Coming soon- Part 2: The City of Lights

	Yeah, for the most part, nothing happened here.  Sorry 'bout that!  Then 
again, a story needs some sort of set-up before you can knock it down.  Much 
more will happen next time, trust me!  And in a shorter number of pages!  And I 
just realized when I was writing this that it really seems like what I 
understand of Ronin Warriors.  Understand that I had NO INTENTION of making it 
as such.  I've never even seen the show.  Okay, Michael Cross/Europa and 
Jennifer Hino are my characters.  The rest are not owned by me in any way, 
shape, or form.  Oh, well.  Until next time, I'm out!  E-mail any C&C to me at: 
jmh6187@uncwil.edu.