I fixed it up a bit toward the end, adding a line to the fight and
cleaning up the ending a ton. Otherwise, nothing was toyed with as it
seemed to work the first time. Anyway, now, the concept of Matthias
should be a bit easier to understand, as well as Chris' motivations in
regards to keeping his secret. Hope this helps those who had questions.

Neptune Rising
--------------

 An icy wind whipped through the streets of Tokyo, kicking up snow into
the faces of those unlucky enough to be outside. The chill mocked
pedestrians citywide, yet there was one place where good cheer had not
been abated by low temperatures.
 In corellation with Sapporo's Ice Festival, a Snow Festival was being
held in Juuban Shizen park. Amongst the festivities were snow sculpting
contests, organized team snowball fights, and a skating rink, which was
pretty much just a rope stretched between posts around a section of lake

frozen thickly enough to be skated upon.
 Taking this situation to its full advantage were Mina Aino and Lita
Kino, two local girls who'd spent the entire grey afternoon in ice
skates. Mina, her long blonde hair framing pairs of blue eyes and cheeks

made rosy from the cold, suggested, "Let's go get some cocoa, already.
And don't try telling me 'Just one more time around,' again-It may have
worked the first 16 times around, but it sure isn't going to now."
 With her brown ponytail being bobbed about by the breeze, Lita replied,

"Just one more time!" She stuck her tongue out, giggling, "No, really,
you're right, we probably should take a break to warm up. Don't need to
be getting frostbite or anything."
 Mina nodded, and glanced toward the step-off point opposite their
position. "Race ya!" she said, shooting off before Lita had a chance to
reply. Not about to let her friend off easily, she rocketed after Mina,
her longer legs rapidly shrinking the gap created by Mina's impromptu
head start.
 About halfway across, Mina took a second to look back at her friend,
and that was when Murphy's Law decided to strike. Blade met rut. Rut
didn't want to move. Blade did. Skate moved with blade. Foot in skate
moved with skate. Body attached to foot moved with foot. Mina saw grey
sky shift to colors on a snowy background to the clouded white of frozen

lake. And then everything went black.
 But something wasn't quite right. This blackness wasn't very cold, for
one thing. And the wind, the wind she could still feel against her skin,

seemed to be blowing it around as well. Also, ice wasn't supposed to
have give when you fell on it, nevermind it actually helping you stand
back up.
 Looking up, Mina's eyes met those of the young man who'd caught her.
Standing just a bit taller than herself, he had brown hair with curls
that had been rather well tangled by the wind and eyes that weren't
quite blue, but weren't quite green either. His black trenchcoat that
hung open to the whim of the breeze gave him a slight air of foreboding,

but his friendly half-smile softened the image quite a bit.
 After he'd helped her get her balance back, the boy led Mina over to a
wall that had been set up like those found in indoor rinks. Mina began
to look him over, but was interrupted by him asking, "Are you all
right?"
 "W-m-y-d-yes," she stammered, "I'm fine. Sorry if I ran into you..."
 He shook his head. "Don't worry about it, it's no problem. If I hadn't
been there to run into, you'd have quite a headache right now."
 Mina took a second to look back, and nodded. "I guess so. Thanks, then.

Guess I got lucky."
 "You're welcome," replied the young man, as he looked over her head
toward a friend of his waving his arms and pointing to his watch. "And
be careful," he finished, skating to a nearby gate and stepping off the
ice.
 Lita came to a stop behind Mina as the blonde watched the young man
hastily remove his skates and throw on a pair of black leather boots.
"Who's that?" the brunette asked.
 "No idea," Mina replied, her eyes following the boy's path as he kicked

up a cloud of snow behind him and and hopped onto a bus just before the
door closed. "No idea whatsoever..."

*--------------*

 Mina stretched, leaning back against a rather handy wall as she did her

best to feign interest in the buzzing bouncing between Serena and Lita,
with explanatory interjections by Amy in between. Apparently, a new and
relatively attractive young man had just come over from the United
States, California to be a bit more precise, and was now attending the
very school she leaned up against, Crossroads Jr. High. Normally, she'd
have been a bit more intrigued, but as the only relatively exciting
things going on had involved cute boys in one way or another for the
past few weeks, the topic was effectively being beaten to death.
 "...and this morning, all he had to keep warm was a trenchcoat. It
certainly didn't look all that warm, but he seemed fine so..." Serena
continued, having been awake enough (for once) to have been one of the
first people to see the new student this morning, and happened to catch
Mina's attention. Trenchcoat. Yesterday, she'd been 'rescued' from a
bump on the head by a young man in a trenchcoat. A not too bad looking
young man, at that. And it's not everyday that some stranger comes out
of nowhere to help you out like that. Seeing a potential date, Mina
jumped into the conversation, cutting off Lita, who'd taken over so
Serena could catch her breath.
 "Say...Lita, this new guy...he didn't happen to be the guy at the rink
yesterday, did he?" she asked, her newfound speech catching the others
by surprise. Lita snapped her fingers. "I /knew/ I recognized him from
somewhere!" she exclaimed nodding. "Yeah, let's see...since you don't
seem to have been paying attention earlier, I'll brief you...available,
15 years old, dark brown hair, blue-green eyes, a little less than two
meters tall...name was Chris something...Chris-"
 "Meston," stated a voice which definitely wasn't Lita's and was
obviously male.
 The girls turned their heads to find who'd happen to intrude upon their

conversation, only to find that it was none other than the object of
said conversation himself. "Sorry to butt in," he smiled apologetically,

"but I heard you talking about me and wanted to make sure no one was
spreading embarrassing rumors or anything."
 Amy waved a hand in front of her. "No, of course not. We didn't really
mean to talk behind your back like this, but Raye and Mina here," she
said, pausing to indicate those whom she named, "don't attend
Crossroads."
 Chris nodded, and sat down on the end of an empty bench. "'sokay," he
began, "At least it seems some people around here consider me to be more

than just some ignorant American." Noticing Mina, he cocked his head
slightly. "Say...were you at the rink yesterday?"
 Mina blushed slightly. "Yes-" she started, but was quickly cut off by
Serena. "Ohmigosh!" she squealed, "I forgot about the new Sailor V movie

opening today!"
Raye smirked, "That's no surprise... Lucky for you, I went ahead and got

tickets." She glanced down at her watch. "If we hurry, we could make it
to the theater before the previews start."
 As Serena frowned and stuck her tongue out at Raye, Mina glanced first
at Chris, and then at her departing friends. "You coming with us?" asked

Amy, slinging her bookbag over her shoulder. "I'll...catch up with you
guys. Save me a seat, okay?" Mina replied, remembering to retrieve her
ticket from Raye before they left to catch the next bus.
 "Oookay..." Chris uttered, "Does...this have something to do with me?"
 Mina shrugged. "I just figured you and I might want to do something."
 Chris blinked a few times, having been caught rather off-guard. "Why,
whatever do you mean?" he grinned goofily, a tone of attempted innocence

creeping into his voice.
 "I may not be the best in school, but if there's one thing I do know,
it's guys and dating," Mina explained, winking at him. "The fact that
you managed to catch me so quickly yesterday would make one think that
you'd been paying a good deal of attention to me, probably skating near
me as well. That would make it rather likely that you were just the
/slightest/ bit interested in me."
 Smiling and shaking his head, Chris looked down at his feet. "Guess you

found me out, then. Anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"

*---------*

 "So," Mina began to summarize everything Chris had told her over the
past hour as they sat in a booth at the Kuma Cafe, "Let me get this
straight. Your family and most of the people back home weren't too fond
of you, so you somehow managed to get yourself a place to stay here in
Tokyo, flew over without your parents' consent, and changed most of your

records in America to make it look like you never existed there."
 Chris nodded. "As I said, 3 years in the making. Mostly for saving up
the money and the records alteration.""But what about all the people you

left behind? Don't you miss your family, or your friends?" Mina asked,
realizing as she spoke how inappropriate the question was; the
realization being pounded even further into her skull by Chris' pained
grimace.
 Chris simply averted his gaze down into the cup in front of him, trying

to look unfazed as he muttered, "Being a reject doesn't typically
entitle one to friends..."
 Mina hurried to try and make up for her mistake. "I'm sorry," she
blurted, " I didn't mean to-"
 "Don't worry about it," Chris sighed, "You just caught me...off guard.
I came here to get away from everything, and your question was the last
thing I expected to hear. Of course, being here with someone /to/ ask a
question wasn't exactly what I expected either." A smile crossed his
face, and he took a moment to look up at a clock on the wall. "Sorry for

keeping you so long, it would seem I've probably killed any chance of
you meeting your friends for any part of the movie."
 "It's all right. I can just catch it another time," Mina responded.
"It's not like the film reels are going to run off anytime soon, right?"

 Chris chuckled a bit, and shook his head. "No, I doubt they're going
anywhere, but still, you'd already paid for your ticket. Would you mind
if I made it up to you? Popcorn'll be on me, too."

*---------*

 Artemis gazed out from Mina's bedroom window, his eyes scanning the
slush-covered length of street out in front of the house for signs of
Mina's arrival home. "She's almost as bad as Serena," he muttered,
sighing. "And of course, Luna's account that she never showed up at the
theater sure hasn't put my mind to rest..."
 Just then, he spotted a flash of blonde at the end of the home's
walkway. The red bow atop the hair that drifted down over a blue sweater

confirmed that Mina had, finally, decided to arrive. A door opened, then

closed, and 14 stairs later, the child of Venus found herself being
glared at by the white cat she found to be almost as bad as her parents
when it came to disapproval.
 "And just where have you been, young lady?" Artemis asked, half-smiling

at the 'nagging mother' tone he'd slipped in just for the fun of it.
Mina smiled as well, sitting down on the edge of her bed as she slid off

her navy sweater and kicked off her white boots. "Out," she answered
simply, unbuttoning the sleeves on her medium blue blouse and laying
back against the headboard, "Just out."
 "Oh really?" Artemis mused as he hopped down from the windowsill and
curled up next to her, grateful for the petting that ensued. "Luna said
you were supposed to be at a movie with the other girls, but never
showed. You certainly weren't here, so it leads me to wonder what
exactly you were up to. Luna did mention Lita saying something about a
new guy in town..."
 Mina merely smiled and, after taking a moment to yawn, said, "Oh, she
must've meant Chris. Not that big a deal, really. He and I talked for a
bit. He's from Washington, just moved here last week. He's going to
school with Serena, Lita, and Amy, and he lives in an apartment with a
friend of his not too far from here."
 Artemis hrmed. "A bit, you say. Normally, a bit doesn't make one miss
an entire movie. One would think you happen to be interested in this
Chris fellow."
 Mina stood up, trying to hide the slight blush that ran to her cheeks.
"So what if I am, Artemis? And besides, I did manage to catch the
movie..."
 "With Chris, I'll bet."
 The beeping of her communicator saved Mina from having to respond, much

to her relief, and she retrieved it from her desk to find Amy staring
back up at her. "What is it?" she asked as Artemis padded his way over
to see what was up.
 "There's something up near the train station. Hurry up, we'll be
waiting for you!" Amy said hurriedly, the 'you' getting partially cut
off as the screen winked out. "Looks like I got home just in time," Mina

said to herself, before raising her transformation pen in the air.
 "VENUS POWER!"

*---------*

 The trouble on the train platform wasn't, as all 5 girls noted as they
arrived, being caused by just another Negaverse monster, but by no less
than two goons of evil. The more imposing one, which would have stood
nearly 7 feet tall if it hadn't been hunched over, was a black-scaled
mass of thick muscle with a clubbed tail, its left and right arms a
vicious-looking long-fingered claw and a barrel-like, fingerless
appendage covered in tough chitinous plating, respectively. On its back
rode a much smaller humanoid, about the size of a small dog with
tentacles replacing its arms and hair. The two arm tentacles were
currently wrapped around the necks of a pair of comatose station
workers, draining their energy, so it was obvious they'd have to get
moving fast.
 "Don't forget," yelled Luna, who stood with Artemis off to the side,
"You're only to use your lowest-level attacks unless it becomes
absolutely necessary to do otherwise!"
 "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!" shouted Sailor Venus, slashing through the

tentacles with surgical precision and causing both beings to be
distracted long enough for Jupiter to shout, "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!"
sending a blast of electricity slamming into the side of the drainer's
mount as the drainer itself leapt into the air and began to float on a
cloud of dark mist above the beast, which barely managed to catch itself

before falling with its blocking arm as Sailor Mars chanted, "MARS FIRE
IGNITE!" The smaller being made a quick nod toward Venus, and the
lumbering reptilian leapt toward the blonde as fire exploded behind him,

showering smoldering splinters down on its back with no effect.
 A quick "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" managed to obscure the battleground,
causing the confused airborne creature to whip its head tentacle out
into the fog at random as its 'arms' regenerated. The larger opponent,
however, had already caught the scent of its prey, and wasn't planning
to give up just because of a loss of visibility. Mina soon found herself

wishing she hadn't been where she was as the ebony talons of the
lizard-ogre's left arm swung straight down towards her. Preparing
herself for the possibility of impact, she tried to step back out of the

way, but slipped on a hidden icy patch and fell, which she tried to work

into a roll even though it would be too little too late. Suddenly, an
arc of silver flame shot up from the ground in front of her, followed by

a sickening slashing sound and a deep-throated roar. The claws and
attached arm that had been about to slam into her landed with a
slush-softened thud behind her, and the fog began to clear to show a
black-clad figure standing in front of her. It seemed to most likely be
male, dressed in traditional blue-black ninja garb that was lacking a
head wrap, revealing a mass of short brown hair being toyed with by the
wind, but retained a wrapping of the lower half of his face. Two straps
crossed over his back and chest, holding a long silk-bound scabbard at
an angle crossing his spine, and another belt at his waist connected to
the other two and bore an assortment of pouches, shuriken, and another
scabbard holding a ninjato on his right hip. He took a moment to glance
behind himself to see if Sailor Venus was all right, it seemed, then
thrust himself bodily, left shoulder first, into the now one-armed
reptile, sending both himself and it sliding a short distance away down
the platform.
 "Sailor Moon!" called the mystery figure to the princess, who until now

had been mostly idle, "Take out the little one first! I can only hold
off ugly for so long!" Serena jumped into action, pulling her tiara from

her forehead and, with the words, "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" boomeranged its
discus form through both the small betentacled form and the large beast
that was engaging the ninja at that very moment, turning both into piles

of dust along with the severed arm, which were swiftly carried away on
the breeze. As the evidence of the battle cleared, it occured to all of
the girls that they had no idea who it was who'd helped them. Sailor
Venus began to approach him, but no sooner had she taken three steps
than had the young man sheathed his flaming sword, squelching its
illumination, and seemingly sunken into a puddle and disappeared.

*---------*

 Mina, back in her room once again, was brushing her hair as she and
Artemis discussed the evening's events, her hair ribbon having been set
aside as she prepared for bed.
 "Nice job out there, Mina," commented Artemis, "Especially since you
guys were only using your earliest powers."
 "Why did you and Luna set that down as a requirement for the past few
fights, anyway?" Mina asked, sounding irritated. "It nearly got me
squashed by the big guy," she continued, setting the brush down and
getting her school uniform ready for the next day.
 "Simple," Artemis replied, "We need you guys to keep your older skills
from getting rusty. Each attack has its advantages and disadvantages,
and it helps if you know them so you know when it would be best to apply

them. And make sure you remember that the same policy will be in effect
for a few more. So what's this about getting  squashed? I take it that
happened while it was foggy, because I sure didn't see it."
 Mina sighed, frowning as she fluffed her pillows. "I almost didn't see
it either. Big Ugly's claw came at me out of nowhere. I was lucky that
ninja guy, whoever he was, happened to be there when he did."
 Artemis hrmed. "I was going to ask you if you knew who he was, but
since it seems you don't, I guess that's it for debriefing."
 Mina nodded, and, after saying, "Good night, Artemis," crawled under
the covers of her bed and flicked off in the light. As she lay there in
the darkness, her mind began to drift.
 'So now that's two rescues by considerably handsome guys, and in only
two days...does this mean I've got two guys interested in me? Just
great...Sure, Chris is a perfectly nice guy, and wasn't afraid to risk
his own falling to help me out, but...Mr. Man in Black risked just a bit

more than just his balance to keep me from getting hurt...just what I
needed, my own personal Tuxedo Mask...maybe I'll get lucky and meet his
Darien side too.....' she mentally drifted off as she fell into sleep's
warm embrace.

*---------*

 (BGM Cue: 'Waking Up Beside You' by Stabbing Westward)
 "I've been alone for so long...forgotten by the world, forgotten to
myself...your effervescent eyes have awakened me...and brushed the dust
away..." Chris' voice carried out over the other patrons of the karaoke
parlor Jonas had dragged him to right after school, as emotions rolled
over one another in his head.
 "...but I knew you'd never stay...so I memorized the color of your
eyes...as I lost myself inside you..."
 *I see why you picked this little ditty. How fitting,* chimed a voice
in the back of Chris' mind.
 /Shut up, Matthias,/ he thought in response, trying to keep the lyrics
straight at the same time.
 "I memorized the way our legs entwined...as I drifted off beside
you...I miss...God I miss waking up beside you..."
 *How nice of you...and when I finally decided to wake up and start a
conversation, no less,* replied the voice, leaving an impression of a
chuckle at the end.
 /Just because you were courteous enough to return my memory to me
doesn't entitle you to trying to distract me when I'm in the middle of
something,/ Chris mentally snapped back, /so shut up and wait 'til I
finish./
 "At night...I cling to you I'm so afraid...afraid the day will
come...and I'll wake up and find you gone...but you promised that you'd
not abandon me...and kissed my fears away...but I woke up to that
day..."
 *Oh fine, be that way, little ingrate-* Matthias began, only to be cut
off by a hasty /Stuff it!/ from Chris.
 "...but I had memorized our eyes would meet...reflected in the bathroom

mirror...and I memorized your naked silhouette...as you slowly brushed
your hair...I miss...God I miss...waking up beside you..."
 /Now you've just got to wait one more verse. Think you can ponder that
long, chief?/ Chris grumbled silently.
 *Can do, boss..* Matthias complied, not sparing any sarcasm as he got
the last word in.
 "I've been alone for so long...I forgot how much it hurts...to wake up
so alone...but I'd memorized how warm your body felt...as you lay half
asleep beside me...and I memorized the way the sunlight filled the
room...and played upon your body..."
 "I miss...God I miss...waking up beside you...I miss...God I
miss...waking up beside you..." Chris finished, bowing his head to the
applause he recieved and stepping down from the stage to make room for
the next person in line. Snaking his way around scattered tables and
chairs, he made his way over to the stools by the snack bar and plopped
onto the one being reserved for him by a young man a bit older than
himself, with long hair that had been dyed black except for the last two

or three bleached inches and held back with a black binder clip.
 "Well done, sir," Chris' friend remarked in a mock British accent,
"Well done indeed."
 "Kill the shtick, Jonas," Chris said, turning around and retrieving the

Pepsi he'd left there before going up front. "Before I have to kill you.

I still don't know how you talked me into this."
 *Hey, what about me?* Matthias whined.
 /You wait a bit longer, that's what about you,/ Chris answered plainly.

 Jonas smiled, shrugging into his jacket as he turned around as well.
"Well excuse me, Mr. Mopelord. What's your problem, anyway? There's
chicks, just like I promised."
 "That's exactly my problem..." Chris muttered, sipping the Pepsi as he
stared off into space.
 *Ha! I knew it! If I had need for money, or anything physical for that
matter, you'd be paying up big time right now!* Matthias gloated,
providing Chris with the image of a grin that almost qualified as a
leer.
 /So? You already know more about me than I do, if I remember correctly.

Be quiet and let me talk to my friend. We converse too much as it is,/
Chris thought, accompanied with an audible sigh.
 "Hmm? What's this?" Jonas asked. "Girl trouble? If you remember
correctly, that's my field of expertise, mainly due to the fact that
I've gotten into most varieties of it myself," he continued, causing
Chris to break a weak smile for a moment. "Explain, so that I may impart

my wisdom, oh honorable apprentice."
 *If I remember correctly, he does not know both sides of you, correct?*

Matthias asked, with a hint of concern.
 /No, he doesn't. Which is why I'll have to-/
 *Be careful. Yes. Good idea.*
 After a moment of pondering the safest way to word things, Chris
explained, "Let's say...you had two basically different personas you
needed to use at different times, an everyday persona and a work
persona. Now let's say a girl you were interested in had a similar dual
persona situation, and the same line of work, but, due to circumstance,
did not know who you were in your work persona, while you knew her in
both her personas, and the likelihood that if you identified yourself in

your work persona, you'd be mistrusted for one of several reasons."
 Jonas blinked. "What?" was all he could manage to respond with.
 "Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I've had to hide a secret
from someone while I know something about her which is along the same
lines of my secret, and she thinks I don't know what I do. And
eventually, she's going to find out."
 "Hrm. That makes a /lot/ more sense, or at least it sounds like it
does," Jonas said, "And you're trying to figure out how to break it to
her without getting yelled at or worse. Sounds like some crap out of a
bad comic book,if you ask me. Anyway, I'd say arrange for some sort of
revelation of circumstances by an 'accident' or an anonymous source.
That way, you'd probably just get asked 'Why didn't you say anything?',
and that's a worst-case scenario."
 "Thanks, I think," Chris said, having confused himelf with his own
initial explanation, to a degree. One thought lingered in the back of
his mind though, and this time, it wasn't Matthias.
 /How the heck do I pull off an accident without putting anyone else at
risk?/

*---------*

 "Excuse me..." Amy said rather irritably (at least, irritably for Amy)
as yet another mallgoer happened to bump into one of the group, this
time being her. She, Lita, Serena, Raye, and Mina had gone to the mall
for the afternoon, as it had been a while since they'd gone on a group
shopping expedition and the chill weather was certainly not inspiring
any outdoor activities.
 "Another one?" Lita complained, her eyes following the latest impactee
for a moment. "If people don't start watching where they're going and
and start considering staying out of other peoples' paths, I may have to

keep them out of our path the hard way," she continued, clenching a fist

and closing her left hand over it.
 "It was Serena's idea to come here in the first place, if you'll
recall," Raye mentioned, glaring at her meatball-headed companion with
annoyance, who in turn was about to retort when Amy interjected, "Well,
it is Christmas season after all, which has proven to cause an increase
in the number of mall patrons consistently over the years."
 "And besides, you think the weekend would be any better?" Mina added,
smiling. "We're lucky we came while a good deal of potential shoppers
are still at work. This place must get packed to the brim in the
evenings."
 Serena grinned in triumph. "Ha! My idea to come here now /was/ a good
one!"
 "So that puts your record at what, two so far this month?" Raye
countered.
 "Oh, be quiet. All you've done since we showed up is whine," Serena
responded, accompanied by an extended tongue.
 Attempting to change the topic before her friends' argument got out of
hand, Amy turned to Mina. "So, Mina, I was wondering...where were you
yesterday? You never showed up for the movie."
 Before the blonde had a chance to respond, Lita cut in. "Oh yeah,
that's right...what were you and Chris up to all that time?" she said,
her words laced with a tone hinting of romantic endeavors.
 "Not much, really," Mina began, only to be cut off yet again, this time

by Serena.
 "Ooh, I smell reluctance! Sounds like someone had more fun than they're

letting on!" said the pigtailed one, with a handful of giggles.
 Mina blushed slightly, and then picked up where she left off. "No,
really, it wasn't much at all. We talked over coffee. No big deal-"
 The conversation was suddenly halted as the sound of glass shattering
echoed across the mall, a skylight being blown out as a bat-like
creature, standing as tall as a man, its hands and feet aflame, flew in
and began to hover over the fountain below it. After surveying its
surroundings, it began flinging balls of fire at mallgoers, sending them

fleeing in panic. Only a few meters away, the girls stood transfixed,
proving that experience doesn't always remove the element of surprise.
 Moments later, a hail of icicles rained through the opening, tearing up

the beast's wings and sending it spiraling out of control into the
fountain. It landed with  a splash, dousing the firey appendages and
sending red-tinted water spreading across the tiles just outside the
impact site.
 All this was followed by the arrival of the black-clad ninja from the
night before, diving after the bat-creature as he drew his sword,
igniting its silver flame.
 Only slightly dazed for the impact, the monster regained its composure,

picking itself up just as the ninja rolled over in midair and landed
feet-first, the inertia of the fall forcing him into a crouch.
 "Who dares to challenge Lanternwing?" screeched the man-bat as it
headed toward the edge of the fountain, glaring at the dark figure
rising to stand.
 "Neptune Ninja. Now to get down to business," answered the ninja
flatly, pulling his blade up to neck height and leveling its point
toward Lanternwing. "Your move."
 Lanternwing took full advantage of the offer, leaping from the water
and landing atop a nearby bench, which was promptly used as a launching
point for a a claws-first dive toward his opponent, who leapt back out
of the and missed a return swipe with his blade. Using his wings to slow

him down, Lanternwing cut the dive short and flipped back onto his feet,

ducking and sweeping the ninja's legs as the flaming sword whistled
overhead. The Neptune Ninja fell to the ground, and was promptly greeted

by a kick to the chin, sending him flying backwards into a couple of
trashcans next to the still-awestruck girls. His facewrap, having been
caught on one of Lanternwing's claws, was torn off, revealing his face.
 /So much for having to -create- an accident.../ the ninja mused
mentally just before impact.
 The clattering of the ninja's collision with the trashcans snapped the
five girls out of their daze, and Mina quickly turned toward their
fallen ally only to be greeted with quite a suprise.
 "CHRIS?!" she exclaimed with a combination of surprise, anxiety,
concern, and a slight tinge of relief. Indeed, Chris Meston /was/ the
Neptune Ninja, a wry smile crossing his face as he picked himself up out

of the scattered garbage.
 "Guess you found me out," he said quickly, just before noticing the
sodden Lanternwing heading his direction, furious that the attack had
been less effective than had been expected. "Go get the Sailor Scouts,"
he added, with a knowing wink, as he prepared to jump back into the
fray.
 Mina blinked, staring at Chris in disbelief, resulting in a nod on
Chris' part. "Yes, I know. You've got nothing to worry about, though.
Just get moving, I'm going to need help!"
 As Serena and company ran for the nearest empty store, Chris rolled out

of the way of a right hook from Lanternwing, snatching up his sword in
the process. Hopping to his feet, he side-stepped another of
Lanternwing's blows, then attempted a roundhouse which drew a grunt from

the batlike creature as it only managed to deflect some of the force
with its crossed arms. The ninja then followed up by twisting his body
into the air with the momentum of the kick and swinging his left heel
into the side of Lanternwing's head and then twisting his foot to launch

himself off of the hairy shoulder and landing a few yards away.
 After shaking his head to clear it, Lanternwing growled, tearing a
bench from the bolts that held it fast to the floor and hurled it at
Neptune Ninja before he had a chance to turn around. It was about to
leave Chris with a nasty concussion when a female voice shouted "MARS
FIRE IGNITE!" and a tongue of flame whipped out from Sailor Mars'
fingers, ripping through the bench in mid-flight and igniting the shards

as they fell to the ground around the ninja. Before he could utter any
thanks, however, Sailor Venus had grabbed him by the arm and was guiding

him toward drier flooring, pointing toward the antenna rising from
Jupiter's tiara as a silent explanation.
 "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" The lightning rocketed from the end of the
antenna, and, despite missing Lanternwing himself, it struck the water
that had splashed on the floor earlier, the voltage rocketing up into
his body and producing a sickening scent that combined the worst of
burnt flesh and scorched fur. Thankfully, this was followed by a
resounding "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" as Sailor Moon, hurled the energy discus,

which proceeded tear through Lanternwing's well-crisped body and turn
him into dust. As the few confused patrons who'd managed to stay behind
to watch the proceedings began to trickle from their hiding places,
Sailors Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus made a hasty retreat
through the nearest exit, followed closely by the ninja from Neptune.

*---------*

 Outside, the six warriors powered down before walking over to some
benches near a bus stop out front. Grateful for a break after his own
ordeal, Chris plopped down on the end of the closest one and was about
to turn to lie down when he found that Mina had taken a seat next to
him.
 "You have quite a bit of explaining to do before you get to relax,"
said Mina flatly, hiding any possible anger but certainly not evoking
any sense of admiration either.
 Chris nodded meekly, guiltily. "That I do..." he trailed off, taking a
moment to glance up at the somewhat accusing and obviously confused
gazes of the girls surrounding him. After taking a moment to clear his
throat, Chris began, "Well, first of all, I'm most certainly not a spy
or some such from the Negaverse. If I were, you seriously don't think I
would've stayed to keep Nightlight or whatever busy and then hung back
to confess, do you?"
 "Yes...I know who you all are...but it's not from reconnaissance of any

sort. It's because I remember you from back on the Moon." As gasps of
combined relief and surprise arose from the girls, he continued, "I was
the Prince of Neptune, then. And part of one of Queen Serenity's squads
of ninjas. On the day Beryl attacked, my comrades and I happened to be
fighting so far out from the origin of the Silver Crystal's effect that
my memories weren't as effectively sealed away as all of yours. When I
was reborn in the United States, I kept having flashbacks that made no
sense to me, until I was 11 or 12. That's when Matthias showed up."
Chris paused again, this time searching for words, then picked up from
where he left off, "I'm not sure what he is, to be perfectly honest. He
seems to be something of a second conscience, except he's not always
'awake' and he's not necessarily around to help me make decisions. He
helped me decipher my memories, as well as digging up other ones that
had been more effectively suppressed. The truth about myself was
probably the primary factor that led me to leave the U.S., although
there are plenty of other reasons I'd rather not go into right now, and
I came to Tokyo to try and find all of you. It seems I've at least
gotten -that- attempt to go right."
 Silence pervaded for a couple of moments as the story sank in and
various memories related to Chris began reawakening themselves in
everyone, and then Luna spoke up again, "I believe you left something
out, Chris. Something the person beside you just may appreciate your
mentioning."
 Chris' face turned red slightly as he looked toward his feet. "Um,
yeah," he began, "Mina...you and I were...lovers back then. That's the
biggest reason I came here, actually, to try and get you back." Mina's
face began to soften as her anger at Chris' hiding of the truth started
to fade, yet she held off saying anything before he was finished. "I'm
really sorry I didn't mention it before, but you combine having the code

of the ninja pounded into your skull for almost your entire life, plus
the obligatory paranoia that comes from the sort of things I do with
computers, and you'll see why the last thing I would've thought of doing

is revealing myself. Still, if you don't think that's an excuse, and
you're not interested, I'm not going to force you into reviving what's
now ancient history."
 "I guess it's understandable and all," Mina said. "And from what you
said, you've been carrying your secret and our secrets for a whole lot
longer than any of us have, and it'd be pretty unfair to condemn you for

just doing what you're technically supposed to."
 "So I'm forgiven?" Chris asked, looking hopeful.
 Mina gave a nod and smiled at him, sidling a bit closer to him in the
moonlight. "Mm-hmm. And you -do- know what they say about history, after

all..."
 "What would that be?" Chris queried, a tad puzzled.
 "It usually ends up repeating itself."

---------

Christopher Meston
wdbdgbear@enter.net