"L-lord of the Elements?" Cassiopeia gasped, staring at the man in front of her. "I don't understand."

Spirit swept her a charismatic bow, smiling predatorily. "The Elements, dear princess," he said, his voice low and oily. "Fire, Water, Earth, and Air; and I rule them all, the fifth Element that binds them together."

"Do you?" Cassiopeia asked, cautious. She had regained her composure, but this man still frightened her.

"Indeed, Empress-Heir. If not for Spirit, the Elements would still be locked in Chaos. All human beings have a tie back to those dark times, before Chaos was tamed. Your mother --" here he flashed a toothy smile at the Empress, "-- is very strong with Air. Your father, may he rest in peace, was aligned with Water. And you--" He stopped suddenly, the hungry look back in his eyes. "You, my dear princess, are a perfect balance of all four Elements. Your soul is a rarity -- a pure spirit." The oily smile returned. "That is why I have journeyed so far to meet you, Cassiopeia. I long to have a woman of pure spirit to rule by my side."

His implications turned Cassiopeia's stomach, but she forced her face to remain neutral. "To rule what, exactly, if I may be so bold?"

"Why -- the universe!" he laughed condescendingly. "Surely you don't expect me to settle for anything less?"

"I expect that you have come to the wrong place, Lord Spirit. Unfortunately, I am already betrothed. You will have to find another girl with a pure spirit, as you put it."

"That won't be necessary, Cassiopeia," the Star Empress cut in. "You see, Lord Spirit and I have reached an agreement. He will spare the Star Empire and leave it under autonomous rule -- in exchange for you. I thought it more than fair."

Cassiopeia's jaw dropped. "You-- you bargained with me?" she asked incredulously. "You would sacrifice my future for the empty promises of a total stranger?"

Spirit's red eyes flashed dangerously. "On the contrary, Princess. Your mother has made a very wise decision. You are mine, now, Cassiopeia, and I suggest you get used to the idea."

Cassiopeia fled, frantically trying to reach Xander's quarters. Her formal skirts were a hindrance, and she tripped and skidded over the polished marble floors, struggling to keep her balance.

Xander looked up in surprise as she burst into the room and hurled herself into his arms. He stroked her hair soothingly and tried to get her to calm down.

"What happened, Cass? Tell me, I can help..."

"No, you can't!" she burst out, shaking not with tears but with fury. "My mother has betrothed me to a stranger -- and a madman, no less!"

Xander blinked. *Surely the Empress would not...* The look in the Empress' eyes flashed in Xander's mind, and he amended his thoughts. *She would -- if it kept her daughter from marrying a nameless, illegitimate princeling.*

"Who is he?" Xander asked, his voice level.

"He calls himself Spirit, Lord of the Elements. He says that I have a pure spirit, a perfect balance of the Four Elements, and I have to marry him." Cassiopeia's green eyes flashed, making her look surprisingly like her mother. "I will not marry someone who has delusions of ruling the universe -- I will marry the man who has already proven that I am more important to him than social status."

"Well, rub my nose in it, why don't you?" Xander teased, kissing her lightly on the forehead. "Come, you need rest, dearest. Don't worry about this Spirit for now -- we'll figure out something."

Cassiopeia kissed him fiercely. "I love you, Xander. Don't ever forget that."

He smiled down at her gently. "I love you, too, Cass. That's something I could never forget."

Cassiopeia woke with a start. Every sense was suddenly alert, and she was only mildly surprised to find herself back in her own room. *Xander must have carried me here when I fell asleep,* she thought absently.

Her eyes roved ceaselessly, scanning the room for what might have woken her. There was nothing.

A soft gust of wind ruffled her red-gold hair, and she shivered. *The window is open,* she reminded herself. *I just have to close it...*

She slipped from her bed and padded softly over to the open window. Soundlessly, she closed the shutter and latched it.

A hand clamped over her mouth before she had a chance to scream, and everything went black.

"She's waking, Master."

The voice was indistinct, as if very far away, and Cassiopeia struggled to open her eyes.

"Good. Let her wake. She can't do anything with the four of you here. I doubt her senshi training has extended to Elementals."

Cassiopeia froze at the sound of Spirit's voice. *How does he know about my senshi training?* she thought desperately. *It was a secret -- only the senshi and Xander knew...*

"Come, now, princess, open your eyes. I know you're awake."

Reluctantly, Cassiopeia lifted her lashes to stare at Spirit contemptuously.

"Kidnapping, Lord Spirit? That is hardly the way in which to win a wife."

Spirit shrugged. "We all have our methods. Mine are just more direct."

"No matter. Xander will wonder what has become of me eventually."

"I highly doubt that he will find you, princess. These chambers are very well hidden, and even a young man as clever as the prince of Argos will have difficulty navagating my mazes."

She stared at him. "How do you know such things? My senshi training, Xander's home -- you shouldn't know these things."

Spirit smiled, his teeth flashing menacingly. "I know many things, Empress-Heir. The souls of men are an open book to me."

He pulled her upright roughly, and she noticed for the first time that they were surrounded by several figures.

"Ah, I see you have not yet met my warriors. Princess, these are the Elementals. As I am the embodiment of pure Spirit, they are the incarnations of the Four Elements.

"Blaze, the Elemental of Fire..." A man with flame colored hair stepped forward, his unusual orange eyes catching the light.

"Marine, the Elemental of Water..." A woman stood this time, her blue-green eyes perfectly matching the shade of her hair.

"Terra, the Elemental of Earth..." A much shorter woman looked at Cassiopeia smugly, her eyes a deep reddish-brown, and her hair the color of autumn.

"And lastly, Breeze, the Elemental of Air -- and the one who was kind enough to bring you here tonight." The green-haired man directly behind Cassiopeia grinned ferally, and she shuddered at the arrogance in his icy blue eyes.

"That was nice of him," Cassiopeia retorted hoarsely. "Now do you suppose he could take me back? I'd love to stay, but I really should talk to my mother about this."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Spirit said with a vicious smile. "The Star Empress is incapacitated at the moment."

Fear gripped Cassiopeia's heart. "What do you mean?"

Spirit's expression turned somber. "I'm afraid the heart condition your father suffered was rather... contagious. The Empress won't be disturbing us." With those words, he pulled back the curtain he had been leaning near, and Cassiopeia gasped. Her mother's lifeless body lay on the floor, emerald eyes wide in horror.

"Unfortunate, isn't it?" Spirit smirked. "She would have made such a lovely trophy. And with her out of the way, all of the Star Empire is under my control."

"You bastard..." Cassiopeia whispered, her voice broken.

Spirit approached Cassiopeia from behind. She was frozen in place, unable to run or even face the man. Sweat beaded on her forehead as he stopped behind her, his lips just inches from her ear.

"Come with me, Princess. Forget that weak little Earth prince. Together we can rule the universe."

He reached around and turned her chin until she faced him. Cassiopeia closed her eyes in desperation.

"Your mother has forsaken you, princess. So will he."

"My mother did not abandon me." Cassiopeia forced out the words.

"Oh, but she did," Spirit drawled in her ear, making her wince. "Do you think the Elementals are powerful enough to turn a human being against their will? No, Princess, the Star Empress welcomed us -- and she sacrificed you, her daughter and heir, to us as a pledge of good faith. Do you think your Prince will not be so easily tempted?"

Cassiopeia shuddered. "Xander will not leave me. I believe in him, at least."

Spirit hissed. "Your faith is misplaced, Princess. Do you not think he would give anything to escape his exile? You of all people know how much he misses Earth. He is bitter because of the contempt his peers have for him, all because of the circumstances that surround his birth."

Cassiopeia shook her head emphatically, her eyes blazing. "Revenge holds no attraction for him. My Xander will not betray me -- you know I speak the truth."

Spirit pulled back, outraged. "If you will not join me, Princess, then both you and your Prince will suffer greatly."

He raised his hand toward her, and there was a brilliant flash of light.

Warmth surrounded Cassiopeia, and she gazed at Spirit triumphantly.

"You underestimate my prince," she observed, not even needing to turn to realize that Xander was beside her.

"Interesting concept of a maze -- all right turns. Spirit, I presume? It's not a pleasure, I assure you," Xander said coolly.

His sword was in his hand -- not the common steel that he usually used, but the blade of pure light that was forged of his partnership with Cassiopeia. The sword could only be called by their combined wills -- they had discovered it during a mock battle with the senshi one day, when Xander was about to take a particularly vicious kick from Jupiter.

Spirit glared at Xander. "You are of no consequence, princeling. Blaze, Terra --" the two Elementals stepped forward, and Spirit gestured toward Xander lazily. "Our friend here needs a lesson in manners, don't you think?'

The Fire and Earth Elementals grinned. They turned toward Xander, who raised the blazing sword negligently.

"Well? Who's first? Or shall I just take you on at once?" Xander taunted them.

With a snarl, Blaze leapt, spitting fire as he tore at Xander's face. Terra darted to one side, attempting to catch the prince from behind.

The sword blurred, moving too fast for the eye to follow. Dumbfounded, the two Elementals clapped their hands to their faces, howling. On each cheek, a thin stream of blood welled up, and the slashes across thier foreheads blinded them momentarily.

Outraged, Breeze and Marine joined the fray. Spirit moved quickly to loop and arm around Cassiopeia's neck, once again breathing heavily in her ear. "One move and I'll kill him myself, Princess."

Helpless, Cassiopeia willed more power to the sword, desperately praying for Xander's safety.

Even with the sword afire in his hands, Xander was no match for the Four Elementals. Within moments, Marine had gotten close enough to club him at the back of the head, and he sank to the ground, unconscious. The sword vanished from his grasp.

"So much for 'love conquers all,'" Spirit smirked. "Now -- princess. I believe you have access to a very special gem -- the Star Sapphire, yes?"

Cassiopeia's throat went dry. "That's why you're targeting the Star Empire. You want the Sapphire."

"On the contrary, Empress-Heir, the Sapphire is merely an added bonus. I want you -- for your pure spirit."

"What is it with you and pure spirits?" she cried, furious.

"I told you before -- a pure spirit is the perfect, harmonious balance of the Four Elements in a being. Very few humans have that balance. You are one of them. The Star Sapphire also happens to be balanced. It was made of the Four Elements: Earth for its form, Water for it's color, Fire to mold it, and Air to cool it -- and bound with Spirit, the only gem in the universe to rival my power."

Spirit pulled himself closer to Cassiopeia. "You can control the Sapphire, because of your pure spirit and your blood ties to the Empire. And with your training as a senshi, you will make an excellent queen."

Cassiopeia threw her weight against him, startling the taller man. He stumbled, and she twisted out of his grasp, calling the Star Sapphire to her as she scrambled away.

"Star Sapphire Power, Make-Up!"

The swirl of silver and gold disoriented the Elementals and their Master for a moment, and Spirit blinked.

"Oh, that's impressive," he sneered at her. "You fight evil in a short skirt and high heeled ankle boots? How practical."

Sailor Andromeda wasted no time responding to his taunts. "Andromeda Starlight Shower!"

Sparks erupted from her fingertips, encircling the nearest person -- Marine. The Water Elemental looked down in horror, her arms bound to her sides with ribbons of gold and silver. As the bindings grew tighter, Marine's blue-green eyes rolled up into her head and she fainted.

Andromeda smirked. "Who said practicallity had anything to do with it?" She was proud of her progress -- even though that was her weakest attack, the element of surprise had been on her side.

Blaze growled at her and stepped forward to attack. He never had a chance.

"Andromeda Galactic Surge!"

A blast of silver energy sprang from Sailor Andromeda's outstretched palms, slamming into the Fire Elemental. He froze as well, and crumpled slowly under the weight of the onslaught.

Breeze tried next, and had worse luck than the other two.

"Andromeda Comet Clash!"

A series of brilliant silver orbs streamed from her hands and whirled around the Air Elemental. He too collapsed beside his brother.

Terra looked at Spirit nervously. She didn't like the odds.

"Go on, you pathetic little coward!" Spirit hissed.

The Earth Elemental narrowed her eyes in concentration. Before Andromeda could react, the floor beneath her feet began to churn.

Swaying to keep her balance, Andromeda chanted her attack haltingly.

"Black Hole... Absorb!"

A massive black vortex formed at her hands, and engulfed the Earth Elemental. Terra shrieked as the attack drained her of her energy, and the ground ceased its quaking as she fell to the floor.

Andromeda narrowed her eyes at Spirit. "You're out of Elementals, Spirit."

"Not quite," he replied, baring his teeth. "You've forgotten the fifth and final Element, princess -- Spirit binds them all together!'

With a roar, he leapt at her, and she barely managed to dodge his outstretched arms.

Desperately, Sailor Andromeda gathered her energy for one last attack -- the only one she had not perfected yet...

"Super Nov--"

A wall of pure energy slammed into her, igniting every nerve in her body with pain. Her limbs suddenly refused to respond, and she sank to her knees, numb.

"No, princess, I don't think I'll let you shoot one of those cute little attacks at me." Spirit reached out and stroked Andromeda's neck. His fingers found the Star Sapphire clasped at her throat, and with a sharp tug, it came off in his hand.

A flurry of silver and gold ribbons preceded Andromeda's detransformation, and Princess Cassiopeia slumped forward.

"A pretty little trinket," Spirit mused, examining the Sapphire. "You know, anyone of a pure spirit can use it -- which means I really don't need you after all, Princess. Pity -- you would have made such a beautiful trophy -- just like your mother."

He lifted a hand to her hand, preparing to send a jolt of energy through her cranuim, but a blast of white fire interrupted him.

Xander was conscious, and he was pissed off.

Fire shot from his hands again, enveloping Spirit. The evil man writhed in agony and stared at Xander in disbelief.

The fire stopped, and Spirit lifted his head weakly.

"What-- how--?"

"It's called heartfire," Xander explained calmly. "Queen Serenity told me about it just before we left the Moon. Heartfire is the physical manifestation of two joined souls -- two pure spirits."

"You!?" Spirit shrieked. "Another pure spirit? Impossible!"

"There are many in the universe, Spirit. You've just blinded yourself to that fact." Xander shot a swift glance at Cassiopeia, and she realized that there was sweat standing out on his forehead.

"You can't do this! I can't be defeated!" Spirit screamed, gathering his energy for a final catastrophic blast.

Heartfire filled Xander's hands once more. "Cass, the Sapphire! Use the Sapphire, it's the only way to stop him!"

As if on cue, the Star Sapphire flew from where Spirit had dropped it to Cassiopeia's palm. She slammed her fist in the air, calling upon the latent power of the gem.

The voices of the past murmured in her ears, guiding her. Her father... her mother... she heard them both clearly, prompting her in the use of the Sapphire. They whispered, weaving a coarse melody in the air. Her voice rose in countermelody.

"Sapphire of the Stars..."

"Destroyer of ambition..."

"Defender of true brotherhood..."

"Hear me..."

"Seal them away..."

"My kingdom and my enemies..."

There was a brilliant flash of blue and silver, and colors swirled over the surface of the Star Sapphire. The silver-blue glow lit up Cassie's features, face set with determination.

And then, it was gone, and there was only darkness.

* * END OF FLASHBACK * *

"I sealed Spirit and his Elementals away with the Star Empire," Cassie concluded softly. "Xander and I vowed to return to restore the Star Empire when the universe was once more at peace, and then we headed back to the Moon Kingdom. The situation on the Moon had turned ugly -- it was the first indications of the Dark Kingdom's assault on the Moon Kingdom. "

Cassie faltered, and Peter took up the story. "Eventually, in the battle with the Dark Kingdom, Cassiopeia fell. I tried to protect her, but we were both killed, along with the rest of senshi.

"Queen Serenity sent Cass and I to be reincarnated with the rest of you. When the seal on the Star Empire began to decay, Sailor Andromeda was awakened. Prince Xander, reborn as Peter Stone -- myself -- retained the memories of the Silver Millenium to act as Sailor Andromeda's Guardian -- almost like Luna and Artemis' guardian duties, but a little more involved. At Sailor Andromeda's activation, our mission is to clease and restore the Star Empire, in preparation for the time when the Silver Millenium will rise again -- under Princess Serenity."

THIS IS THE LAST SECTION OF CHAPTER IV: STAR EMPIRE

STAY TUNED FOR PART V: ELEMENTALS