Part One

Twelve Years ago. Japan.

Sunset.

A small object drifted through the sky blown by the wind

down towards a mountainous region several miles from Tokyo. It

settled to the ground as small roots set it into the grass and dirt in a

forest below a winding highway. It didn't take very long for this

seed to grow into a relatively large flower, much larger then any

seen on Earth at the time. From beneath the petals legs grew and

settled onto the ground. The petals opened revealing a sinister

face. The flower glanced around at the surroundings as the sky

darkened.

On a nearby highway a luxury car sped down the road.

"Do you have to drive so quickly?" Mrs. Regina Shields

said.

"I'm only going a little over the speed limit," Mr. Arthur

Shields replied.

"I know. Still," his wife replied.

"All right, I'll slow down," Arthur relented glancing back at

his son Darien who sat in a car seat. Darien looked back at him.

Arthur smiled.

"What's that! Arthur!" Regina shouted. An object stood

framed in the headlights which if he had had time to think about it

would have reminded Arthur of a flower. Instead instinctively he

turned the car to avoid the object, but it was no use as he slammed

into it knocking it off the highway. The car skidded and plunged

through the guardrail. Regina shields screamed.

That was the last thing Darien heard before the car crashed

into the valley below.

Tokyo General Hospital, a week later.

"Well Darien, it looks like you're going to make a full

recovery," Doctor Jonathan Anderson said walking into the room.

"Who am I?" Darien asked sitting up on his bed. "I know

my name, but who am I?" Darien asked.

"Hmm...well I only know your name..where you live...who

your parents were. I'm afraid the rest is up to you, but don't worry,

you should remember in time," Dr. Anderson said. "I'll be back to

check on you in a while," he said and walked out.

Darien lay in the hospital bed and starred up at the ceiling.

Who am I? He thought.

"Hello," Came a voice. He turned to see a young boy

standing there. He had pink hair and a greenish skin color that

Darien had never seen before.

"Who are you?" Darien asked.

"I'm Fiore. Who are you?" the boy said.

"Uh...they call me Darien, but that's all I know," Darien

said.

"I see. You look hurt. Are you okay?"

"I guess I am," Darien said and shrugged.

"That's good. Do you want to be my friend?"

"Uh...sure," Darien said.

"Great....well..I've gotta go," Fiore said.

"Wait," Darien said.

"What is it?" Fiore asked. Darien reached over to a vase

filled with flowers next to him and pulled out a long stemmed rose.

He handed it to Fiore.

"Be careful, the stem is sharp," Darien said.

"I can see that," Fiore said taking it. "What is it?"

"It's a rose," Darien said. "It's all I've got to give to you

right now. I don't even know who I am."

"Ah...a rose. Thank you," Fiore said.

"You're welcome," Darien said. Fiore then turned and

walked out the door.

What a strange boy. Darien thought.

Ten years later. London, England.

Mina Deveraux walked down one of London's many streets

in her maroon school uniform. England was very different from

Tokyo where she had grown up, but despite the geographic

distance between the two countries as well as the massive culture

difference...there she was..still in a school uniform. On her walk

home from that day's classes she passed a park she hadn't noticed

before and was drawn inside by its beauty. It was filled with types

of flowers she had never encountered, others she recognized, but

they were all equally beautiful.

"I wonder why I haven't noticed this place before," She

asked herself not expecting an answer.

She noticed another figure amongst the people walking

through the park. He was tall, with a peculiar red hairstyle. His

skin was very pale.

He seems to be studying each flower as if searching for

something in particular. Mina thought to herself watching the

man's actions. Then her imagination took over. He must be

looking for one for his true love. How romantic. How nice it

would be for him to be in love with me. To have a guy who will

search for flowers for me. She heard a clock chiming in the

distance, reminding her of the time.

I've gotta go. She thought and whirled bumping into

someone. She fell to the ground.

"Woah, watch it there," came a relatively unsympathetic

voice. Mina looked up and found herself looking into the eyes of a

young man a few years older than her. He had blue eyes, and black

hair of average size. His name was Darien Shields, but she didn't

know that.

"I'm sorry," Mina said.

"You should be," Darien said and held out a hand. He lifted

her up.

"See ya around, and get your head out of the clouds next

time," Darien said and walked off.

"What a jerk," Mina muttered. "Still...he's kinda of a jerk

in a good way..." she swooned.

"AH! I'm gotta go!" she said in realization and hurried off

taking no notice of the white cat following after her.

"Blondes," Darien muttered to himself as he also watched

Mina run off.

Fiore had not noticed Mina glancing his way before as he

was far too focused on another task.

So many flowers. Fiore thought searching each one of

them. Each are beautiful, but none are perfect. I can accept no less

than perfection. He thought. Where will I find such a flower?

There must be one on this planet.

"Ehh..what ya doing sonny?" came a voice next to him.

Fiore turned to see an old man in a pair of coveralls standing there.

"I am searching for the perfect flower. Where might I find

it?" Fiore asked.

"The perfect flower ehh? Well...aren't they all pretty

perfect? At least they are to me, you know, I've worked with these

things all my life."

"You have...how did you get such a prestigious job?"

"Prestigious? I don't know if being a groundskeeper is very

prestigious."

"But to work with these flowers every day, it must be a

wonderful experience."

"Well...yeah, but you should see my house. Maybe

someday, I can afford to fix that pipe."

"Pipe?"

"Yeah it's just the sewage pipe from the floor above..see...it

broke about ten years ago..and ....needless to say when a toilet

flushes I have to be careful where I stand. In fact, the whole

neighborhood has to be careful where they stand."

"Uh..I see," Fiore said not understanding.

"Is this flower for a sweetheart?"

"Uh....sweetheart?"

"Sure...you know, someone you care for very much, more

than anything else in the world."

"I guess if you put it that way you could say that..yes..."

"Ah I see, young love...I used to be in love..but that was

during the war, I couldn't believe the French surrendered and

all..but there was this girl..never mind...so..what's your sweethearts

name anyway?"

"Darien," Fiore said.

"Well..that's a cute name...wait a minute...." the

groundskeeper said. "I gotta go..fertilizer to spread you know!" he

said and hurried off. "Not that there's anything wrong with that!"

"Humans are strange creatures," Fiore muttered.

On a hillside on the outside of London, a figure stood, so to

speak, in the mist. She possessed a human torso and head, but her

entire bottom half consisted of a large flower held up by spider like

legs.

"Now to pick up where I left off," she said with a snarl.

Several egg shaped objects formed in the air around her as she

called forth her powers. The eggs began to flash with energy and

expand forming similar shaped flower creatures to herself. They

stood around her. The Flower's eyes narrowed as she looked for

her first target.

"Now we attack," she said.

Mina hurried back along the street towards the park

following a stop at home to change and make sure there was

nothing her mother wanted her to do. She wasn't in the habit of

running off and not telling her parents where she was going. At

least not yet anyway. Still, it was a nice day and she intended to

enjoy it. She walked back into the park again and to her surprise

found the same figure she had seen before studying a different

patch of flowers.

He's still here. She thought. Maybe I should talk to him?

No..he could be one of those weirdos who messes with kids. I'd

better keep my distance. Letting her mind drift off the stranger,

she became enamored by a group of pink flowers sitting in a patch

by a pond. She bent down and sniffed on. It was a nice smell.

"Hmm....those are nice," Came a voice from behind her.

Startled, she whirled around to see the mysterious figure standing

there.

"Hello," the figure said.

"Uh...hi," Mina said a bit frightened.

"They are nice flowers, but they are not perfect," he said.

"What? Why? Are you searching for the perfect flower?"

Mina asked.

"I have to give it to someone."

"Oh...I thought so," Mina said. "But these flowers are as

perfect as they get around here."

"Do you really mean it?" the man asked.

"Uh..yeah..." Mina said.

"Then my quest may be in vain," the man said solemnly.

Mina was surprised at his seriousness.

"Quest? It's just finding some flowers isn't it?" she replied.

"Not some. One. The most perfect one on this planet. I

must find it," he said with determination.

"If you say so," Mina said now a bit concerned that maybe

he was a weirdo.

"You...uh....what is your name?" he asked more cordially.

"Mina," Mina replied.

"Mina. That is a beautiful name."

"Uh thank you," Mina said blushing.

"I am Fiore," he said.

"I see. That's nice too," she said and their eyes met.

"I'm sorry...I must not keep my task waiting any longer,

there must be a perfect flower somewhere, I must depart, good

day," Fiore said and walked away.

"Oh...sure," Mina said awestruck as he resumed his task.

She stared at him dreamily, a crush firmly set in, the only thing that

could have broken her stare would have been a major crisis, and as

it happened, that is exactly what occurred. A group of large

flower creatures appeared in the street and began attacking people

at random. The screams of the people broke Mina out of her trance.

She noticed Fiore turn and look for the source of the chaos. The

flower's arms looked like they could be thrown like whips nearly

ten feet in any direction, and that was exactly what the invaders

were doing. One hit from an arm caused numerous people to

collapse.

"That's right," their leader said. "Inject them with the

venom!"

"What's going on?" Mina shouted in fear. A flower arm

shot over towards her. She screamed. The arm never hit. The

flower's arm had been intercepted by a large plantlike vine covered

with thorns. It had cut through the flower's arm and cut it off at the

source. To Mina's shock the thorn covered arm had been Fiore's.

Now it was all plant.

Mina screamed again in fright.

Fiore jumped in front of her.

"Do not worry, I will protect you," he said. Another flower

arm came flying at them. Fiore knocked it away with his left arm

which had also had become spiked and green. His right arm shot

out and slammed into the attacking flower. The enemy

disintegrated into a pile of dust. Mina looked on in shock at the

entire scene. Another flower flung it's arms at Fiore. He destroyed

it as well

"What is happening over there," The Flower said as she saw

two of her warriors destroyed. She scuttled over towards the scene

and saw Fiore fighting off her forces.

"How dare you challenge the Kisenian Flower!" She

shouted and threw her own arm at him. He saw it and, reverting

his arm back to normal, grabbed Mina and leapt into the air. The

arm missed both of them. Fiore landed awkwardly a few feet away

and barely avoided dropping Mina.

"Stay behind this tree," he said pointing a nearby oak.

Mina still stunned, nodded.

"Get him!" the Kisenian Flower yelled. Her warriors

stopped their other attacks and advanced slowly on Fiore. Fiore

blasted them all backwards as energy flew from his hands. Several

more were destroyed, but the rest advanced.

"He can't fight them all," Mina said as the warriors moved

in.

"No, he can't, but you can help," came a voice behind her.

She turned. No one was standing there.

"Down here. I said that," the voice said. She looked down

to see a white cat sitting there with a crescent moon emblazoned on

it's forehead.

"But...you're.....a cat," Mina said. "A talking...cat...."

"So I've been told," the cat said. "Never mind that. Take

this," he said and motioned to a golden pen shaped object sitting

below him.

"What is it?" Mina asked.

"There's no time for questions. Hurry and pick it up. Say

‘Venus Power'," he said.

"What?" Mina asked in complete disbelief.

"Do it!" the cat said urgently.

"Uh..okay, I mean after all..that guy just turned into a

plant..and he's fighting a bunch of killer flowers," Mina said picked

the stick up willing to believe anything. "Venus Power!" she

shouted. To her complete amazement she began to transform. Her

clothes were replaced by a white leotard, an orange skirt, and a pair

of orange shoes. A tiara slid across her forehead. She emerged

from the transformation as Sailor Venus, though she didn't know

that quite yet.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I'll explain later," the cat said.

Fiore blasted another flower, and barely avoided becoming the

victim of an attack.

"Just aim at one of those flowers and say Venus Crescent

Beam Smash," the cat said.

"If you say so," Mina said. "Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"

She shouted. The golden blast shot out from her hands and flew at

the Kisenian Flower herself. It smashed into to her chest and

caused her to scream out in pain and scuttle backwards.

"Who dares!" The Flower shouted as she recovered and

looked to see Venus standing there.

"I didn't say target their leader!" the cat said worriedly.

"Woah, sorry," Venus said embarrassed.

"Look out!" the cat yelled. The leader's two arms were

flying at her. She screamed. Fiore jumped in front of her and

pushed her to the ground. The two arms hit him in various places.

He let out a yell and sank to one knee.

"The venom should get him now," The Kisenian flower

said. Fiore flung his arms out and destroyed two more flowers.

"What?" The Flower shouted.

"I'm stronger than you expect," Fiore, said standing up.

"Quick! Use your power again," the cat said.

"Uh...right," Venus said and aimed for one of the weaker

flowers.

"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" She yelled and blew the

flower apart.

"What?" the Kisenian flower said.

Fiore destroyed another flower. The Kisenian Flower

herself attacked and knocked him down with her own hands again

then stared at Venus who looked at her worriedly.

"Now...you have interfered enough," The flower said and

advanced. Venus backed up.

The flower readied herself and then stopped suddenly. One

of Fiore's arms was embedded in one of her legs.

"You!" she said and whirled around. Her few remaining

warriors jumped at Fiore. He destroyed one with his other arm, but

two more hit him with their venom, he began to sink to the ground.

"Oh, no," Venus gasped.

"Do something!" the cat shouted.

"Uh...right. Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"

She threw one of her attacks out and smashed another flower to

pieces. Fiore managed to destroy the last one before falling to the

ground unconscious. Venus smiled for a brief second before she

realized that the Kisenian Flower was still ready to attack. She

swept away Fiore's limp hand from her leg and stared at Venus.

"Now there's only you," she said.

A rose flew through the air and slammed into the flower's

chest. She screamed in pain yet again. Both her and Venus looked

up to see a man on a nearby rooftop dressed in a tuxedo and a top

hat. A white mask covered his eyes.

"Flowers are beautiful things. How dare you disgrace them

with your actions," the figure said.

"And who are you?" The flower shouted.

"I am Tuxedo Mask. Leave this place now!" the man

replied.

"I have grown tired of fighting you all...but I will return,"

The Kisenian flower said and grabbing Fiore with her arms

vanished.

"Fiore!" Venus shouted.

"Fiore?" Tuxedo Mask said in surprise. The surprise was

only momentary. The cloaked figure turned away quickly and

headed back the way he came. With the battle over, Venus had

time to catch her breath and think about all that had happened.

"Okay..let's review....flower creatures attacking. Guy I

think is just a guy..turns into a thorny handed weirdo....though a

cute one at that...and then I get this short skirt and fire off blasts of

energy..oh..and there's a guy who wears a tuxedo throwing roses

off of rooftops.....did I get it all?" Venus said.

"I think so," the cat said.

"Aw..good...now..." she said calmly. "WHAT IN THE

NAME OF THE LONDON BRIDGE IS GOING ON!" She

screeched.

"Calm down, I'll explain it all to you," the cat said. "You

should be remembering some things right now that will help you

comprehend this, but let me make this clear to you. My name is

Artemis and I've been searching for you. You are Sailor Venus, it's

your job to protect this planet. And for the first time out you didn't

do a bad job."

"I'm beginning to understand..I think...I was a warrior in the

past?" Venus asked trying to deal with the new memories that were

slowly surfacing in her head.

"Yes, you helped protect the Moon Kingdom."

"The Moon Kingdom..yes..I'm beginning to see it. But who

were we fighting here?"

"I don't know, and that worries me."

"It worries you? How do you think I feel?" Venus asked.

Two Years Later. One Month Before the present day.

A large asteroid drifted through space. Set within the rock

was a large control room consisting of organic electronic systems

as well as numerous vines and stems. The Kisenian Flower stood

within it staring out a glassy window at the stars as they passed by.

"At last I have returned to this star system," She said.

"Aren't you glad to be back Fiore?"

Fiore, dressed in an immaculately decorated white uniform, stood

behind her staring out into space.

"I suppose so," he said.

It seems the venom I have been injecting into him does not

entirely do the job it was supposed to. He still resists my power.

She thought.

"Is something on your mind?" the Flower asked.

"You never told me why you wanted to conquer the Earth,"

Fiore said.

"Fiore, I seek conquest wherever I can. However, it is true

that the Earth is special."

"I know the Earth is special," Fiore interrupted.

"Indeed, though I'm guess your reasons are different from

mine. The point is that the key to this galaxy, lies on that planet,"

the Flower said. "Especially now with the Galactic War occurring.

What makes the Earth so valuable is that no one has conquered it

yet."

"I see," Fiore said.

"And I would like you to know that..." she paused.

"What is it?" Fiore asked.

"I will continue later, I sense the presence of a life from,

very close," the Flower said.

"Where?" Fiore asked.

The flower walked over to the organic circuitry and began

to operate the ship. A small view screen appeared. An image

flashed onto the screen, that of a very small tree and two figures

standing beside it. They appeared to be floating in a large bubble.

"Fiore, I'll handle this," the Flower said. "I want you to go

down to the storage chambers and make sure my beautiful plants

are safe for the invasion."

"Of course," Fiore said and bowed before heading out of

the control center.

Those figures look an awful lot like Fiore, perhaps they are

even members of his race, I cannot let him meet them, that might

rekindle memories that may shake him from my power. She

thought and studied the readings coming into her console. They

do not appear to need oxygen to breathe, the bubble merely seems

to be a form of transportation....it's certainly not a shield of any

kind. The Flower grinned and pressed a button. The plant walls of

the command center withdrew along with the rock of the hull,

revealing open space. The flower stared at the two figures. The

figures stared back cautiously.

"Who might you be?" She shouted.

"I am Alan," the male replied.

"And I am Ann," the female replied.

"I see," the Flower said. "And what are you doing around

my ship?"

"We were drawn to you somehow," the two replied.

"I see. That is an interesting plant you have there," The

flower said.

"It's the doom tree," Alan said.

"Have you heard of it?" Ann asked.

"I'm afraid I haven't," The flower said. As much as I

would like to drain them or capture them for my own ends, I really

don't have the strength to hold more then one person under my

control and invade a planet at the same time right now.

"Do you know why we could have been attracted here?"

Ann asked.

"I have no idea," The flower said. "Whatever did attract

you here had some very bad judgement," she said launching her

arms at them. Alan and Ann both dived out of the way of the arms

and launched their own attacks. The Flower was blasted back as

the energy hit her, but swung out her arms anyway hitting Ann full

force. Alan charged the flower and knocked her back into the

control room. He continued his attack. The Flower backed

towards a door weakly. Alan attacked again, the door opened and

several replicates of the flower rushed forward swinging their arms.

Alan avoided the arms for a few minutes but couldn't dodge

forever and was soon hit by the venom. The Flower tossed him out

of the ship.

The Asteroid moved away from the tree and back towards

on course for Earth. Fiore hurried onto the bridge.

"What happened Mistress?" Fiore asked.

"It was an ambush," The Flower replied. "But I fought

them off. Now I just need some time to recover and the invasion

can begin."

The Present Day. Tokyo, Japan.

It was a very sunny day, and summer was just beginning.

On this particular afternoon, students all across the city had been

finishing up their high school entrance exams. Including a group

of five girls who were all relieved to have the tough tests behind

them.

"Finally, those entrance exams are over," Serena said.

"How do you think you did?" Lita asked.

"Terrible," Serena moaned.

"Me too," Lita muttered.

"It wasn't our fault though, we were fighting the negaverse

up to a couple of weeks ago," Raye said.

"Yeah, we even tried studying everyday," Mina said.

"Maybe if you were paying attention all year it would have

been easier," Amy replied.

"Maybe," the other four muttered and lowered their heads

in embarrassment.

"Hey girls!" Mike said rounding the corner with Rick and

Steve.

"We just finished failing our exams and are ready to party,"

he continued.

"Failing an exam is nothing to celebrate," Amy said.

"He's kidding Amy," Raye said.

"I know that," Amy replied. "But I just thought I'd make

the point anyway."

"So what do we do now?" Lita asked.

"I didn't sleep well last night. I'm going home to rest," Mina

said.

"Maybe I can call you later?" Mike asked.

"Sure, tonight," Mina said.

"Fine," Mike said.

Mina walked off.

"I've got to find Darien. See you guys later," Serena said

and dashed down the street.

"She's in a hurry," Lita said.

"With all the studying we've been doing she hasn't seen

Darien in a week," Amy said.

"Raye..I think we have to talk," Rick whispered.

"Oh...right," Raye said apprehensively and the two headed

for her place.

"Lita...I want to show you something," Steve said a bit

nervously.

"Really? Okay," Lita said. And that couple walked off

leaving Amy and Mike standing there.

"I guess I'd better get home," Mike said. "After all, what

else am I supposed to do?"

"You could walk me home," Amy said.

"Why? I mean..ahem..it's not that I wouldn't enjoy it, but

usually girls use mace when I offer to walk them home, and in

some extreme cases they use a mace to get rid of me."

Amy grinned.

"I'm just curious. I haven't had a chance to talk to any of

you boys really that much."

"Oh..well we're nothing special..but sure I'll walk you

home," Mike said.

And the two headed off towards Amy's house.

In space high above, the asteroid floated towards the Earth.

The Kisenian Flower pressed a few buttons on the ship's controls

and a projection of the planet appeared. She managed a grin.

"Once I was defeated here. The second time I will succeed.

Isn't that right Fiore?"

"Yes, you will succeed," he said.

"It's been awhile, but the power I had then is nothing

compared to my power now. This should be easy. But, there are

still preparations to be made," the Flower said. "We attack soon."

"Yes mistress," Fiore said bowing, he made his best effort

to make sure the Flower did not see the grimace forming on his

face.

"Darien! Are you home!" Serena shouted knocking on the

door. The door opened.

"Yes, I'm here," he said. "You didn't have to yell," he said.

"Sure I did! I'm happy to see you. I just finished my

exams, so now I've got all summer to be with you!" she said giving

him a hug.

"That's great Serena," Darien said drowsily.

"Aren't you excited?"

"Yes, I'm just tired, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh..then I should let you rest then," Serena said retreating.

"I can come back later."

"I'd appreciate it, I mean I'd love to see you, but I am so

tired," Darien said with a smile.

"Okay! See ya later," Serena said hiding her disappointment

with a cheerful smile. The door shut.

Serena dropped her head and moaned.

"Why couldn't I have just been selfish then? Jeez...I am all

the other times," she muttered and walked off.

Mina was slowly walking down the street trying to

understand where she was. A thick fog floated around her. A bell

rang.

"Where am I?" she asked herself. The fog cleared slightly

so she could make out the outlines of buildings.

"This looks like London. But what I am I doing back

here?"

"I wonder that myself." came a voice behind her. She

turned to see Tuxedo Mask standing there.

"Tuxedo Mask? Why..."

"I don't know...I wonder the same thing of you. What has

brought you back here?"

"I wish I knew," Mina said.

"I can tell you," came a third voice.

"That sounds...familiar..somehow.." Mina said.

"I...don't remember it that clearly..but you're right..it

seems..." Tuxedo Mask said.

"Who are you?" Mina asked.

"The Flower," the voice replied.

"What?" Mina and Tuxedo Mask said both said.

"The flower, I have sought it, and I have found it, and it is

here," the voice replied.

"What flower?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"The perfect one," the voice replied.

The fog lifted. They both stood in the park in London

surrounded by the flowers. Around them the city of London was

fading in and out, replaced by what looked like Tokyo.

"This...what is all this?" Mina asked.

"Who are you?" Tuxedo Mask said.

"I am Fiore," The voice replied and the park began to erupt,

flowers were blown across the air, fires rippled through the

buildings which still faded in and out. The ground seemed to fall

away, Mina dropped surrounded by burnt petals.

She awoke suddenly and gasped.

"Mina? Are you all right?" Artemis asked sitting on her

window still.

"No," Mina said and hurried out of bed. Soon she was out

her door and off into the city.

"Where is she going?" Artemis asked himself in surprise.

"So...I didn't understand how the truck had gotten there,

much less why it was upside down, but I figured something must

be up," Mike was saying.

"And then what happened?" Amy asked.

"Then this guy climbed out of the truck and asked me if he

could use our phone," Mike said. "That was odd."

"Oh...I see," Amy said confused by Mike's stories.

He is one weird person. She thought. They rounded the

corner to the street that Amy's house sat on and to her surprise she

saw a moving van parked in the driveway of a neighboring house.

"Someone bought the house next door. I was wondering

when someone would," She said.

"Had it been on the market for a while?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, it's price went down a few times."

"I guess someone finally became interested..but..I'd guess I

should be running along..I'm sure you have to prepare for the next

school year and all.."

"Actually yes.." Amy said.

"Thought so...though you might remember that since the

school system is experimenting with that new vacation schedule

we'll have over two months of summer vacation before school

starts, rather then all the other schools who only get a few weeks."

Mike did have a point. Japan's school systems traditionally

met year round with a larger number of breaks throughout the year,

but nothing as long as the usual summer break American students

were exposed to. Certain Japanese authorities however saw their

might be some merit in giving students a larger break and decided

to experiment in certain districts with the new schedule, which

meant the students at Crossroads and soon to be Juuban High had a

lot more free time.

"Yes..I know, even with the long break though I want to

make sure I'm all set," Amy said.

"Yeah..well..we all have the roads we must stagger down,"

Mike said.

"What?" Amy asked.

"Ehh...never mind. I'm sure my stories have changed your

life," Mike said and chuckled.

"Yes, but I don't think it's for the better," Amy replied with

her own laugh.

"Any time I can walk away without undergoing some sort

of physical harm, I'm happy," Mike said and grinned before

walking back down the street.

As Amy walked up to her own house, she kept searching

for signs of her new neighbors, none were apparent. She walked in

the door to her house and found her mother sitting in the living

room with a trio of people, a tall man, and a brown haired boy she

couldn't help but recognize immediately.

"Meet your new neighbors Amy," her mother said.

Greg turned in his seat to smile at her.

"Uh..hi Amy," he said.

When Raye and Rick arrived at her temple she was

surprised to see leaning against a tree.

"Finally, you've arrived," Chad said.

"What's this all about?" Raye asked.

"You know very well," Rick said.

"So who's it going to be? Me or him?" Chad asked.

"What?" Raye asked.

"Come now Raye, you dumped me for him, for various

reasons, but then you've been avoiding both of us saying you had to

study. Now we want to know. Who is going to be your

boyfriend?" Rick asked.

"I...I don't know....I need time," Raye said.

"Time? To decide between this jerk or me?" Chad said.

"We had a truce till this was decided, remember?" Rick

snapped at Chad.

"Yeah...I know," Chad said. "But you're still a jerk."

"Raye, I was your boyfriend before this started," Rick said.

"Yeah, I know...it's just that I like both of you...a lot," Raye

said.

"Isn't that nice?" Rick said.

"Yeah....sweet. You know you can't have both of us as

boyfriends," Chad said.

"Why not?" Raye asked.

"What?" the two boys said.

"At least for now....I mean.....what's the trouble? We could

alternate days or something. At least until I know for sure," Raye

said.

Chad and Rick glanced at each other.

"We're going to regret this," They muttered in unison.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Raye asked.

Rick and Chad just glanced at each other again.

"This is your fault," they both said to each other.