The senshi lounged outside on the steps of the Hikawa Shrine. The youma attacks had steadily increased in the past few days, and the senshi were concerned.

Cassie listened to the others talk in silence. These new enemies were not after the senshi -- they were after *her*. The seemed to actually fear the Star Sapphire. Impulsively, Cassie reached up to touch the gem that she wore around her neck.

Mina noticed. "Hey, Cassie, don't worry, those things can't beat us. We're the Sailor Senshi, there's nothing to worry about."

"I wish I had your confidence, Mina. Didn't Terra mention something about the circle not being complete? Does that mean there are more Elementals?" Lita looked worried.

Amy spoke up. "I think it's safe to assume that there is at least one more Elemental that we still have not faced -- the Elemental of Air."

The other girls looked confused, so Amy explained. "So far we have met three Elementals: Blaze, Marine, and Terra. They each have some connection to one of the four spiritual elements. Blaze is Fire, Marine is Water, and Terra is Earth. That leaves only one more element: Air."

"So we still don't know what we're up against," mused Raye.

Mina shrugged. "Does it matter? If they try to make trouble, we'll just thrash them. Sailor Moon's got the Silver Crystal, if worse comes to worst, she can just blow them out of the sky."

Serena looked up. She had been unusually quiet. "I don't think so Mina. Somehow I get the feeling... I- I don't think the Silver Crystal is strong enough."

The girls stared at Serena, who fought back tears. "I don't know how, but I'm almost certain that the Silver Crystal will not be able to win this battle. We need something stronger."

"Like the Star Sapphire?" Amy murmured, glancing at Cassie.

"Maybe." Serena returned to studying her feet.

Cassie suddenly found all the senshi looking at her. She coughed nervously.

"I don't know! I can't even remember what this rock does, much less how powerful it is. It might be strong enough..." she sighed. "I wish none of this had ever happened. I just want everything to go back to the way it was, when life was simple."

Lita laid a hand on Cassie's shoulder. "Life is never simple, Cassie. Our lives are just a lot more complicated than the lives of normal teenage girls. Hey, think of it as an adventure!"

Cassie looked up, holding back her tears. "Yeah -- an adventure that could get me and the only friends I've ever had killed."

Cassie trudged out of the school building as the bell rang, and breathed a sigh of relief. The day had seemed endless -- every minute had been pure agony for Cassie. She just wanted to get home, take a hot bath, and forget that the Elementals ever existed.

A commotion behind her made her glance back. Serena was flying through the doorway, with Lita and Amy close behind. The three girls quickly caught up to Cassie and attached themselves to her arms, effectively steering her away from her normal route home. A few minutes later, Raye and Mina joined them. Cassie began to suspect something, and her thoughts were confirmed when Mina spoke up.

"Hey guys, it's Friday, let's do something fun for a change! I am hereby declaring a Senshi Day Off, and ordering all of us to go on a shopping expedition downtown!" The other girls agreed immediately, even Amy, which made Cassie even more suspicious. Reluctantly, she also agreed, and the other girls dragged her towards downtown Tokyo's shopping district.

Peter stabbed a pencil at his notebook triumphantly. "There, see -- eight square roots of ten, just like I told you!" Darien stared at the problem in the younger boy's notes, and shook his head in disbelief.

"How do you do that?" he asked, studying the problem intently.

"Years of practice, Darien," Peter replied with a smile.

Darien grabbed a napkin and begin scribbling on it frantically. A few minutes later, he shoved both the napkin and pencil across the table in disgust. "I can't believe it, it takes me forever to do one of those problems, and you can do it in your head in a matter of seconds!"

Peter and Darien were sitting at a quiet outdoor café, arguing amiably about advanced algorithmic equations. Darien started to lean over and ask Peter a question about the problem when a high-pitched female voice interrupted, making Peter wince.

"Darien! What are you doing here?"

Darien's face relaxed into a gentle smile as he turned to greet the girl. "Hey, Meatball Head, where ya been?" He stood up quickly and leaned over to plant a kiss in the middle of her forehead.

Serena giggled and snaked an arm around his waist. "Darien, you're so silly."

Darien suddenly remembered Peter and turned to introduce Serena just as the other girls walked up.

"Peter, this is my girlfriend, Serena. Serena, this is Peter Stone -- he's the guy I'm mentoring, for school."

Serena flashed a bright smile at Peter and wiggled her fingers at him in greeting, never once relaxing her hold on Darien. Peter grinned back at her and turned to the other girls, who introduced themselves one by one.

"Hi, I'm Mina!"

"Raye, nice to meet you."

"Amy Mizuno."

"I'm Lita."

Peter's gaze finally settled on Cassie, who looked harried.

"Oh-- I'm Cassie. Cassie Starr."

Peter smiled and took her hand to shake it. "You're from America, aren't you?"

Cassie looked at him in surprise. "Yes, I am. How did you know?"

"It's the accent -- you Yanks always have the most obnoxious accent, eh?"

Cassie laughed weakly, picking up on his Canadian lilt. She suddenly realized that he still held her hand, and it made her self conscious.

Lita jumped to the rescue. "So, Peter, you're in college? What are you majoring in?"

Reluctantly, Peter released Cassie's hand and turned to Lita with a rueful smile. "I'm not exactly sure. I thought about going into business, but I'm too nice to be a CEO staging hostile takeovers. Darien's trying to convince me to go into medicine, but I don't know..."

Amy smiled, suddenly in her element. "There's nothing wrong with the medical field, but it takes lots of time and hard work, not to mention dedication."

Darien grinned at Peter conspiratorially. "Amy's mother is a doctor, and she wants to follow in her mom's footsteps." He pointed to each of the senshi in turn. "Lita's dream is to be a gourmet chef, Raye is a Fire Priestess at the Hikawa Shrine, and Mina is already an accomplished actress." He smiled down at Serena. "And Serena here just wants to goof-off for the rest of her life. Let some poor schmuck take care of her."

Serena glared up at him. "That is not true, Darien, and you know it!" She pouted.

Darien laughed fondly. "Okay, so you want to go into politics -- I guess that's how you would classify 'Queen of the World.'"

Serena glanced at Peter quickly at Darien's comment. She knew Darien wouldn't have told Peter about her future as Neo-Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo, but he was getting dangerously close to the truth here. She drew herself up as regally as possible and looked at him scathingly.

"Queen of the World or not, I'd settle for just being able to pass a history test without having to lock myself away from the world for weeks on end studying. Amy, HOW do you do it!?"

The others laughed, and Serena slowly let out the breath she had been holding. She had successfully steered the conversation away from the future and firmly rooted it in the present.

Mina explained their little day-off plan to the guys, who agreed to come along, and the group set off once more, fissioning into smaller packs. Serena and Darien lagged at the back, whispering and joking with each other quietly. Mina and Raye started to list the places they each wanted to go, and Amy decided to help them prioritize. Lita and Peter struck up a conversation and meandered along near the middle of the herd, with Cassie trying very hard to blend into the surroundings just behind them.

*Lita and Peter seem to be getting along very well,* Cassie thought to herself. For some reason this observation twisted her stomach in knots, and she frowned slightly.

"Hey -- Cass, what's wrong?"

Startled, Cassie looked up to find Peter watching her with a concerned look on his face. Lita had also paused and turned to look at Cassie.

"N-nothing. I'm all right, just a little tired, I guess. Honestly. Don't pay any attention to me." She fervently wished they would take her advice; she hadn't been feeling very social lately.

Lita wouldn't hear of it. She dropped back swiftly and linked her arm with Cassie's, trapping the shorter girl in between herself and Peter, and the trio continued walking. Cassie cast one last look in the direction of home, then sighed and surrendered herself to her fate.

A few hours later, the guys announced that they needed to study for an astrophysics test and excused themselves. Reluctantly, the girls left downtown Tokyo, hauling massive armloads of packages.

Cassie was the only one with a single bag. She had bought a pair of delicate earrings, each a silver star that dangled from her earlobe and was set with a small, clear sapphire. The other girls had gushed when she tried them on, exclaiming that they matched her pendant perfectly. But that wasn't what made Cassie buy the earrings. She had caught a glimpse of Peter's face in the mirror, and he had been watching her with a slight smile, as if expecting her to choose those particular earrings.

*What is it about that guy?* Cassie asked herself. *Why does he make me so uncomfortable?* She wondered if he could be an enemy, an agent of the Dark Kingdom, but dismissed the thought immediately. It wasn't as if she mistrusted him; he just made her feel like she should remember something, that she should know him, and it frustrated her. *And he kept calling me 'Cass,' too. Like he'd known me for years.*

Mina's voice brought her abruptly out of her reverie. "What do you think, Cassie? Has Lita found herself a man?"

"What?" Cassie looked up, confused.

Raye sighed exaggeratedly. "Peter, Cassie. Lita and Peter. They looked a little cozy together didn't they?"

Lita swatted at Raye amiably. "Buzz off, Raye."

Mina grinned mischieviously. "Hey Lita, wouldn't you say Peter looks just like your old boyfriend?"

"Not really," answered Lita absently. "He's a nice guy, though -- sorta reminds me of my cousin Russ..."

The other girls stared at Lita in disbelief. They obviously had been expecting a very different answer.

Lita suddenly turns to face Cassie, her eyes vague and glazed. "What about you, Cass? Does Peter remind you of anyone?"

Cassie stopped in her tracks and the bag slipped from her fingers in shock. She stared at Lita for a moment, uncomprehending. *She called me 'Cass,'* she thought. *No one calls me that, except-- and why should that question throw me so badly?*

Recovering herself a bit, Cassie hurriedly retrieved her dropped bag, her mind racing. She straightened and looked at Lita, bewildered. "W-why should he remind me of anyone? I've never met him before today!"

Lita blinked, her eyes clearing. She paused for a moment, then anwered, sounding slightly confused. "I don't know. I just thought -- I mean, you're both new to Tokyo, and he seemed to be watching you so closely..."

Mina jumped on that comment greedily. "Ooh, competition! This could get messy!" She giggled.

A glare from Lita silenced her. "You guys, shut up about Peter. And leave Cassie alone."

Raye and Mina took an involuntary step backward, and Amy blinked in surprise. Lita's sudden anger confused them, and the girls eyed each other nervously.

Serena, oblivious to everything that had been said, continued walking with a blissful look on her face. Unfortunately, she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking and tripped over an imaginary crack in the sidewalk. She sat up and started to wail, breaking the tension in the air.

Raye covered her ears in annoyance, while Mina and Amy hurried over to quiet Serena. Lita and Cassie looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Surrounded by darkness, something stirred. Slowly, Breeze opened his ice-blue eyes.

The Elemental of Air glanced around before sitting up. His siblings were standing nearby, watching him. He stared at them for a moment, collecting his thoughts.

"Well, I assume you aren't waiting around to make me breakfast. Where am I to report?"

Ten minutes later, Breeze stood in the dim room that had once been a grand throne room. A figure sat in the shadows, invisible except for the smouldering red eyes.

Breeze gave a short bow. "What are your orders, Master?"

The gravelly voice floated out of the darkness. "With each passing day, the Star Princess grows closer to regaining her memories. If she is reunited with the Guardian, she will surely remember her past. You must make sure that does not happen, Breeze. You are to go find out exactly how much our little Princess remembers, and make sure she does not find her Guardian. Find him, and get rid of him before he ruins everything we're fighting for."

Without a word, Breeze bowed once more and vanished.

The figure leaned forward slightly, and the dim light fell upon his sharp features. His mouth was set cruelly, and his shoulder-length black hair was tied back tightly. His mouth twitched with silent laughter.

"Soon, my princess... soon."

Lita glanced at the clock irritably. It was still too early for Serena or Mina to be awake on a Saturday morning. Amy was studying for some exam that was still a full three weeks away, and Raye had chores to take care of at the shrine. And Lita was bored.

Suddenly, she lit up. Of course -- she could call Cassie!

Lita quickly dialed the other girl's number and waited impatiently for someone to pick up.

To her relief, Cassie herself answered.

"Cassie, hey, it's Lita. What are you doing today?"

"Nothing so far, Lita. Dad's out of town on a business trip, so I'm pretty much on my own this weekend." Cassie's mother had died years ago, and she rarely spoke of her, but she adored her father, a tall, rather goofy man in his mid-forties.

"Great! Can you meet me at the arcade in twenty minutes? I'm about to go stir-crazy!"

Cassie laughed. "Sure, I'll be there."

"Okay, thanks. See ya." Lita hung up the phone and tore out of the apartment, grabbing her purse on the way out.

Lita met Cassie on the way, and practically dragged the laughing girl into the Crown video arcade. Realizing that Cassie had never played the Sailor V game, Lita pushed her toward it and proceeded to show her how to play. An hour later, Cassie had earned enough points to earn second place in the High Scores list, and she still had two lives left.

Lita watched over her shoulder, absorbed. She had never seen this level before, and she was delighted.

"Is it really that facinating?"

Lita and Cassie looked up, startled. The game beeped as Cassie lost a life, and Peter chuckled. With a quick grin and wave, Cassie turned back to the game.

Lita let out a huge breath and shook her head. "It's absolutely amazing, she's never even played the game before, and she's beating it! I've never seen anyone pick up anything that quickly."

The game beeped again, signaling the end of the game. Cassie stood up and triumphantly punched in her initials; she grinned as they flashed at the top of the scores list.

Lita and Peter applauded politely, and, seized by an impulse, Cassie swept them a graceful curtsy.

She straightened, startled, and Peter looked equally surprised. Lita, however, was delighted.

"Ooh, I didn't know anyone could curtsy in blue jeans. Do it again, Cassie!"

Cassie blushed and muttered an excuse, which seemed to satsify Lita. The taller girl pulled Cassie and Peter to an abandoned table and proceeded to order three milkshakes.

Lita chattered constantly, but Cassie retreated into thought, stirring her milkshake with a straw. She still couldn't put her finger on why Peter made her so uncomfortable, but it was worse now. Occasionally she would refocus on her surroundings and notice Peter watching her out of the corner of
his eye. It made her paranoid.

Cassie finally gave in and stood up quickly. Lita squinted up at her, surprised.

"Um, I just remembered, I've got some homework I really need to get done tonight. Thanks Lita, I'll see ya tomorrow, bye!" She headed for the door, fleeing Peter's watchful eyes.

Peter and Lita both watched her go; Lita was skeptical, but Peter looked a little sad. Finally Lita turned to him and noticed his expression.

Without fully understanding why, Lita reached out and touched Peter's shoulder. "Don't worry, she'll loosen up soon. She's had a lot of stuff on her mind lately, she's handling it all really well, actually. Give her a few days, she's really a lot of fun once you get to know her."

Peter smiled sadly. "I know -- I mean, I know what's she's going through," he added hastily. "Moving to a new country is always difficult."

He glanced over at Lita, meeting her eyes. A small smile played on his lips. "Thanks, Big Sister." He used the nickname lightly, as if he had called her that before. Lita's eyes widened slightly at the name.

Lita startled herself even further by grinning at him and answering by reflex. "No problem, Little Brother. Anytime."

Cassie found herself in the park. She hadn't lied to Lita -- she really did have schoolwork to do. She just didn't have to do it right now.

*WHAT is wrong with me?* she thought. *I'm not usually this paranoid. Why do I get the feeling he's going to be watching me everytime I run into him?*

Her thoughts were interrupted as the air around her distorted and two figures materialized in front of her.

"Hello, Princess," drawled Breeze. "So nice to see you again. It really has been too long." His hand rested on the back of the second figure, a large, vaguely humanoid cat.

Instinctively, Cassie's hand went to her throat.

"Oh, by all means, transform. I am eager to meet the famous Sailor Andromeda in person." Breeze smirked at her.

The cat youma shifted, turning to stare directly at Cassie with its yellow eyes. A low noise resembling a growl started deep in the youma's throat. Breeze stroked the youma's head soothingly.

"Shh, Puss, let her transform. She is no threat to us by herself -- she does not even know how to use that pretty little trinket around her neck." He stepped forward as if to reach for the Sapphire, and Cassie shrank back. Breeze laughed.

Taking a deep breath, Cassie gathered her energy.

"Star Sapphire Power -- Make Up!"

When the silver and gold stars cleared, Sailor Andromeda stood in her place.

"Oh, very well done. The stars are a nice effect, don't you think, Puss?" The youma growled again, and Breeze laughed softly. "It looks like my kitty wants to play. Well, far be it for me to deny her a bit of sport..." And with that, the youma sprang at Sailor Andromeda.

Andromeda leapt out of the way and spun to face the monster.

"Andromeda Black Hole Absorb!" A massive black vortex formed at Andromeda's hands, and flew at the youma. The cat-monster screamed as the attack drained some of her energy, and Andromeda used the delay to pull out her communicator and send a quick distress message.

"Guys, it's Andromeda -- if you can hear me, I could really use some help right about now. There's a youma in the park, and it's fast! I don't think I can handle it by myself, please, I'm not ready for this..." the message ended abruptly as her voice took on a panicked tone and the youma leapt again.

Lita's communicator beeped. She quickly looked at her watch, pretending the noise had come from it. "Oh, rats, look at the time. I have some schoolwork I should be doing, too, I'll see ya later, 'bye Peter!" She hurried out of the arcade, leaving a bemused and highly suspicious Peter sitting at the table.

Lita ducked into a deserted side street before activating her communicator. She listened to Sailor Andromeda's message, then quickly put the device away. Lita took off toward the park, transforming as she ran.

She was so intent on reaching Sailor Andromeda that she didn't see Peter following her.

Sailor Andromeda lay on the ground, panting for breath. She clutched her left arm, where the youma had managed to catch her with its claws. It was bleeding pretty badly, and she had very little use of that arm.

Breeze stood over her, laughing. "Well, little Star Princess, where's your fabled Guardian now? Tell me, Sailor Andromeda, whatever happened to your pretty little Prince?"

Andromeda looked up at the Elemental, her eyes blazing. "It don't know what you're talking about. And even if I did, what makes you think I'd tell you?"

Breeze laughed and made a small gesture. "It doesn't really matter whether you tell me or not. Oh, my Master will be very pleased to have you out of the way... come, Puss, let's finish her off. Quickly, now."

With a growl, the cat-youma leapt straight at Sailor Andromeda.

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

The youma froze in mid-air, its body twisting as Sailor Jupiter's attack hit it full force.

Sailor Andromeda looked up and smiled faintly at Sailor Jupiter. "It's about time."

Jupiter snorted. "Well, next time, I'll just let you be catnip, how's that?" She was grinning as well. Jupiter nodded toward the slavering youma, which was trying to get up and charge the two senshi. "You wanna take that?"

"Oh, all right, if you insist." Sailor Andromeda turned to confront the monster. "Andromeda Comet Clash!" The silver orbs knocked the youma back several feet before it disintegrated.

"Well, looks like you guys don't need us after all." Jupiter and Andromeda looked up to see the other senshi, plus Tuxedo Mask, standing a few yards away. Sailor Moon tilted her head at Breeze and raised an eyebrow. "Lemme guess: Dances-With-the-Wind?"

Breeze trembled with rage. "I am Breeze, the Elemental of Air, and I WILL NOT be so easily beaten!" His arm shot out, green energy streaming out of his fingertips.

And straight toward Sailor Andromeda.

She hit the ground with a soft thud, and it took her a few seconds to realize that it wasn't Breeze's attack that had hit her -- someone had knocked her out of the way. He was still sprawled protectively over her.

"Peter!? What the hell are you doing!?" Sailor Jupiter gasped.

Peter Stone calmly looked up and met Jupiter's infuriated gaze.

"My job. I am Sailor Andromeda's Guardian."

Sailor Andromeda struggled to sit up, shoving Peter away. "Your JOB, are you insane, you could have been killed--" Her eyes met his. Green to blue.

Andromeda sucked in a breath, in shock. She had never noticed how blue his eyes were before -- deep blue, the color of sapphires...

Peter met her gaze steadily, willing her to remember, trying to force her to remember her past.

Nothing happened.

Breeze began to laugh. "Oh, this is too perfect! The Star Princess finally comes face to face with her Guardian and can't even remember who he is. Oh, yes, Master Spirit will love this bit of information." He smirked as his body faded and he teleported away. "Until next time, Princess..."

Peter started toward the fading figure, his fist clenched and his jaw set. Andromeda restrained him with a hand on his shoulder.

"He's right," she said sadly. "I don't remember anything. What's worse is that I know I should remember something, and that feeling is driving me mad... I don't know how much longer I'll be able to handle these vague memories and eerie flashbacks."

A tear rolled down her cheek. Peter reached out and wiped it away with his hand. "It's all right. You'll remember eventually. The seal on the Star Empire is already weakening, you must regain your memories before it fails completely. Queen Serenity told us that you would remember when the seal finally failed, and you will. I'll help you."

He stepped back and bowed slightly. "Until then..." He offered her an imaginary sword, hilt first.

Bewildered, Sailor Andromeda pantomimed accepting the proferred sword, then stared at her hand, holding... nothing.

"When your memories start to return, so will my own powers and weapons, including the sword. But until that happens, I'll just have to do my best." He grinned suddenly. "So much for going into medicine. I'm going to have to brush up on my self-defense now -- I have a feeling I'm going to end up being a professional bodyguard."

The other senshi and Tuxedo Mask had formed a loose semi-circle behind Sailor Andromeda, who looked at Peter uncertainly.

After a long pause, she hesitantly held out her hand, palm up.

With his small, secretive smile, Peter took her hand. "First things first: let's take a look at that shoulder."

END OF CHAPTER II; CONTINUE TO CHAPTER III: XANDER