Cassie stared out over the lake, watching the sun sink slowly on the horizon. Her mind drifted, lightly meandering over the recent events, and finally settling on Peter.

Peter. Now there was a puzzle. The boy claimed to be her protector, yet adamantly refused to tell her about her past. He said that she must regain her memories on her own; she must feel them, rather then know them. Well, that made sense, but she sure would sleep easier if she knew why the Elementals were after her specifically.

Cassie ran through the list of things she had pieced together in her mind. Item One: She was the Star Princess, Cassiopeia. Item Two: She was also Sailor Andromeda, with the power and responsibility of the Star Sapphire. Item Three: The warriors of the Elements seemed threatened by the Star Sapphire. Item Four: Peter was her Guardian.

Cassie never thought of doubting Peter's word on this last point. True, it was always a possibility that Peter was an agent from the Dark Kingdom sent to catch her off guard, but for some reason Cassie rejected that idea. Raye hadn't sensed anything unusual about the young man, and Cassie herself seemed to instinctively trust him and take him at his word.

There was a slight movement at Cassie's side, and she glanced over to find Peter watching her sadly. *Strange,* she thought, *I didn't even hear him come up. I wonder how long he's been here...*

"Cass..." Peter trailed off. He always called her that, she realized. Even before she had discovered that he was her Guardian, he'd called her that.

Peter sighed. "Cass, I wish I could help you. You have no idea how much it bothers me to see you like this. I remember everything from my past, and yours, and I can't share those memories with you. The truth is, I don't think you quite trust me enough to let me help. I mean, you have no memories of me, other than the way I am now, in this life. You have no reason to trust me." He paused. "But you do, don't you? Just a little bit, and you can't explain why..."

Cassie nodded once, and the two lapsed into silence once more.

After a moment Cassie broke the silence.

"Peter -- how did we meet? In the past, I mean."

Peter smiled faintly, an expression Cassie was coming to recognize as his typical reaction to a pleasant memory. He considered for a moment, then decided that that was a harmless enough memory -- it wouldn't hurt to tell her.

"It was on the Moon, some years before the Dark Kingdom attacked. I wasn't called Peter then, we all had different names. I was called Xander, and I had been sent away from my home on Earth to live on the Moon..."

~~~~~

Princess Cassiopeia dodged as Sailor Jupiter feinted and kicked at her ribs. Her secondhand sailor fuku was soaked with perspiration; she had swiped it from Sailor Mercury's discarded uniforms several months ago, and Mercury had laughed when she finally found out that Cassiopeia was wearing it during her secret training sessions.

With a grunt, Cassiopeia spun away from Jupiter's assault and jabbed the taller girl in the back. With a cry, Jupiter leapt and aimed a kick at Cassiopeia's chest. Cassiopeia pulled back, throwing her body into a series of back flips to escape Jupiter's attacks.

The door to the training room opened. "Makoto, are you in he--" Xander stopped, noticing the looks of intense concentration on the two girls' faces. He watched them spar for a moment.

Cassiopeia righted herself from her last flip and blocked Jupiter's punch. Dropping to the floor, Cassiopeia swung her leg wide, swiping Jupiter's feet out from under her. The brown haired senshi landed on her back on the floor with a sharp cry. Cassiopeia was over her immediately, pinning her to the ground.

The two girls panted for a moment, then both looked up at Xander.

"Um, I can come back if I'm interrupting anything," Xander said quickly.

Jupiter -- Princess Makoto -- struggled to her feet, still breathing heavily. "No, that's okay, Little Brother, I need a break anyway. Cassie's getting too good for this." Cassiopeia grinned triumphantly and stood up.

Xander entered the room and pulled the door closed behind him. He was dressed in workout clothes as well, despite the absense of male sailor fukus. "So, what did you need to talk to me about, Makoto?"

"As a matter of fact, I wanted to discuss you and Cassiopeia." Xander and Cassiopeia looked surprised. "The senshi have their hands full keeping track of Princess Serenity lately. She seems to have developed an annoying habit of sneaking down to Earth every night to see that prince of hers." Xander shot Makoto an annoyed look. "Don't glare at me like that, Xander, I'm sure Prince Endymion is a perfectly nice young man, but Serenity shouldn't be sneaking out, especially to go to Earth." Xander was one of Endymion's closest friends; he had been sent away from Earth because the Prince's generals had though him a bad influence on their First Order Prince, but Xander was savagely loyal to his oldest friend.

Makoto continued. "I'm afraid we're all going to have to start keeping a closer eye on the Moon Princess, and that means we won't be able to help you two with these crazy training sessions you both seem to have your hearts set on. So, it'll be up to the two of you to take charge of your own training. From now own, you'll fight each other, learning how to handle different attacks. Cassie, you'll learn how to fight someone who is physically stronger and more massive than you, as well as armed, and Xander, you'll learn how to fight someone who is quicker, lighter, and generally more cunning than you are."

Xander and Cassiopeia exchanged a look, sizing each other up mentally. Xander couldn't help but feel guilty about fighting the girl. *I mean, look at her. She's a little slip of a thing, I'd be afraid I'd hurt her. Still, maybe Mako knows what she's doing...* Xander was jerked out of his thoughts by Jupiter's voice.

"Okay, let's see how well you two do against each other. Square off."

Xander and Cassiopeia walked to the fighting mats and faced each other. Cassiopeia crouched in front of him with confidence, looking up at him with a secretive smile.

On Jupiter's signal, Xander leapt towards the girl, intending to catch her by the arm and pin her. To his surprise, Cassiopeia jumped straight up in the air, flipping neatly over his head and landing behind him. She waited for him to turn around and then used the same sweeping motion of her leg to kick his feet out from under him. As Cassiopeia reached out to pin him, he grabbed her arm and planted a foot in her stomach, tossing her to the ground over his shoulder. She landed with a small cry of surprise, and rolled out of the way as Xander turned to attack her.

The two faced off again, hesitating, reevaluating each other. Cautiously, Xander threw a punch. Cassiopeia blocked it and retaliated with her own punch, which he in turn deflected. They stepped back and circled each other again for a few seconds. Suddenly Xander lunged, throwing himself at Cassiopeia. Again, she flipped over his head, landing behind him, but this time he anticipated her move.

Before she had a chance to whirl around and face him again, he had an arm around her neck. Struggling, she resorted to the classic female defense.

She elbowed him in the ribs.

Gasping, he relaxed his hold on her throat, and Cassiopeia seized his arm. She flipped him over her shoulder neatly and pinned him to the mat.

Smiling down at him sweetly, Cassiopeia pinched him on the cheek.

Sailor Jupiter laughed, delighted. Xander grinned ruefully and sat up.

"That is your first lesson, Xander: never underestimate your opponent. Cassie's one of the best fighters I've ever faced. A young woman of her station shouldn't be allowed to even fight for herself, but then again, Cassiopeia's never been your typical meek princess." Jupiter smiled at Xander's startled look. "Xander, meet your new sparring partner -- Princess Cassiopeia, ambassador to the Moon Kingdom and Royal Heir to the Star Empire. Cassie, this is Prince Alexander of Earth, from the province of Argos."

Xander grinned at Cassiopeia and bowed slightly. "You're sneaky for a princess. That backflip was just *not* fair."

Cassiopeia curtsied and smiled mischeiviously. "All's fair in love and war, and this *is* war, even if it's just practice. You use a sword usually, don't you? It shows."

Jupiter smiled, glad the two of them were getting along. "Well, the two of you will have a chance to work out the difficulties you each have with fighting new opponents. I've got to go now, it's almost time for my shift watching Princess Serenity." Jupiter waved and left the room.

Xander watched her go, then turned back to Cassiopeia. "Well, guess we'd better get to know each other. I must say, this promises to be in interesting training schedule, Princess." He held out his hand.

Cassiopeia smiled. "Please -- call me Cassie." She took his hand and they shook on it.

~~~~~

As Peter finished his story, he glanced over at Cassie. She was smiling to herself, imagining their first meeting as he had described it.

In fact, Cassie felt considerably calmer than she had before Peter's arrival. She felt... at peace with herself, for the first time since she had discovered that she was Sailor Andromeda.

There was a moment of silence. Cassie and Peter watched as the sun finally vanished over the horizon.

Peter stood up, offering to help Cassie up. "C'mon, princess -- I'll walk you home. It's been a thousand years, and there's no telling if you can still beat a thug senseless."

With a smile, Cassie accepted his hand and hoisted herself to her feet. Together they turned toward her apartment.

Spirit glared at the Four Elementals, furious.

"You four are useless! Despite all your best efforts, the Star Princess is awakening AND she's been reunited with her Guardian! You are all very fortunate that their meeting did not trigger her memories -- she would have come after us immediately, without a chance for us to prepare a defense! I want that pretty little princess and her prince destroyed now, before they have a chance to gain back their full power. You will ALL attack them, I've had enough of this lone fighter business. Now get out of my sight."

The Four Elementals vanished.

After school, the senshi met at the temple for a special senshi meeting. Darien and Peter arrived a few minutes later; Peter immediately crossed to stand beside Cassie, and Darien took his place just behind Serena. The girls were surprised to see them, to say the least.

"I thought it best to include them," explained Luna. "After all, this *does* involve Peter, and Darien may as well be a senshi."

Mina and Serena giggled at the thought of Darien as a senshi; they couldn't quite picture him in a fuku. Luna glared at them.

Artemis spoke up. "There's not much we can do until Cassie regains her memories, since Peter won't fill us in." He glanced at Peter questioningly, but the young man simply shook his head.

"Sorry, I can't do that. Cass has to get her memories back naturally. My interference is prohibited. She has to believe in her past, not just memorize it."

Mina started whispering to Lita, who lit up and grinned. Artemis glared at them, and they smiled back innocently.

"Something to share with the rest of us, Mina?"

"Not really, Artemis, just pointing something out to Lita," Mina replied cheerfully. "It's not important."

"Good." Artemis turned back to the other senshi. "Like I said, we can't really go after these guys until we know more about them, and I think Cassie's memories are the key here. Unless there's something you CAN tell us, Peter."

Again, Peter shook his head and chose his words carefully. "I wasn't there for most of it. Cass wasn't always around me, she did a lot of stuff on her own. I don't know some of the things she does about the Elementals."

Defeated, Artemis sat down. Luna stepped in. "Well, then, I suggest we start gathering our own data on these Elementals. Amy, do you have scans of each one?"

Amy nodded. "Yes. They seem to be composed of their Elements; Blaze's central being is fire, Marine's is water, and so forth. Theoretically, we should be able to beat them with like powers, fire for fire and water for water. But there's something else in their systems, and that's what has me baffled."

"Maybe if I use the Silver Crystal..." Serena started uncertainly.

The other girls turned to her. "I thought you said the crystal wouldn't work, Serena," Raye said.

Serena sighed. "I still don't think it will. But I'm willing to give it a shot."

Luna nodded slowly. "It's the only thing we've got to go on so far. Next time you meet up with these Elementals, try that strategy. It can't hurt to try, at least."

The girls started to drift away, Raye going to find her grandfather and Amy heading toward the library. Mina and Lita shanghaied Serena away from Darien and the three girls started whispering and giggling conspiratorially. After a couple of minutes, Serena pulled Darien away from Cassie and Peter, where he had been chatting with them, and whispered to him. Darien looked doubtful, but appeared to give in when Serena looked at him pleadingly. The two of them turned toward Cassie and Peter.

Cassie glanced at her Guardian uneasily. *What are they up to?*

Serena and Darien cornered the pair on the way out of the temple complex. "Hey you guys, I think we should all go out and do something later on tonight, y'know, as a group." Serena smiled sweetly. "I mean, Darien knows Peter pretty well, and I know Cassie, but we don't really know each other all together. What do you guys think?"

Cassie glanced at Peter, who was looking at Serena with a perplexed look on his face. "Uh, that sounds fine with me, Serena." She was still slightly suspicious of Serena's motives. "Who exactly are we talking about? Besides the four of us?"

Serena flicked her hand noncommitally. "Oh, well, whoever wants to, of course." Cassie had a strong hunch that the other girls would quickly find better things to do. "So you guys'll do it?"

Cassie and Peter looked at each other and shrugged. "Sure, why not?" answered Peter.

Serena giggled. "Great, then it's a date! Cassie, I'll come over to your place early to get you ready -- see you guys tonight!" She ran off, dragging Darien with her.

Alarmed, Cassie and Peter could only watch them go.

Around six o'clock, Serena blew into Cassie's apartment. She was armed to the teeth with cosmetics and various other baubles, and proceeded to bully Cassie through the process of dressing.

"Oh, come ON, Cassie, you can't just wear jeans and a t-shirt! Dress up a bit!" Serena pulled out a short blue-grey skirt and a matching blouse. "Here, put this on!"

Grudgingly, Cassie obliged, and Serena surveyed the result, nodding thoughtfully.

"Yes, I think Peter will like it. Now, what about jewelry...?"

Protesting, Cassie followed Serena to her jewelry box. "Serena, you don't understand, I can't go out with Peter -- he's my Guardian, for heaven's sake. Besides, I barely know the guy."

"That's why we're going out tonight, Cassie, so you can get to know him. And just because he's your guardian doesn't mean you can't date him. I mean, Darien's my guardian -- sorta." Serena pulled out the sapphire earrings Cassie had bought a few days ago and held them up besides Cassie's face. "I really like these, they go with your necklace."

Frustrated, Cassie put the earrings on, more to pacify Serena than out of actual interest. "I still think this is a crazy idea..."

Serena giggled and scrutinized Cassie. "Now -- make-up!"

Darien and Peter arrived at Cassie's apartment around seven o'clock, and Darien tapped on the door. Both boys looked decidedly uncomfortable as they waited for the girls to open the door.

Serena's voice yelled for them to come on in, so Darien hesitantly pushed the door open, to be greeted breifly by Cassie's panicked face as she was shoved into the bathroom. The guys caught a glimpse of Cassie's despairing expression and had to hide their amusement.

"We'll be ready in a minute, guys, I've just got to finish this hold still Cassie, I can't put it on with you squirming like that..."

There was a sharp cry, presumably from Cassie. "Serena, I am not letting you anywhere near my eyes with a sharp object!"

Serena sighed loudly. "Fine then, no eyeliner. You're such a worrywort..."

Darien barely cut off a laugh as Serena and Cassie emerged from the bathroom. Serena was instantly all smiles, and Cassie looked great -- but absolutely miserable.

She was wearing the blue-grey outfit Serena had picked out, along with her necklace and the earrings. Serena had done an amazingly good job with her make-up, and her hair was piled loosely on top of her head, with a few stray wisps of red-gold hair framing her face. Her face, however, was set in the most stubborn and mournful expression possible.

As Darien gave Serena a quick kiss, Cassie fidgeted with her necklace. Peter watched at her, amused.

"Is it that bad?" he whispered covertly.

"Perfectly awful," she responded, also whispering. "I never wear this skirt anymore -- it itches!"

Peter hid a smile and turned back to Serena and Darien, who were watching them closely. "What?"

Serena jumped into action at the question, and hauled Darien outside, talking a mile a minute. That left Peter and Cassie to follow.

"Well?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow and gesturing toward the door.

"The faster I get through this, the faster I can get into a pair of jeans," Cassie replied with a sigh, and ducked through the door with Peter on her heels.

The small group reached the restaurant a few minutes later. Before they went inside, however, Cassie glimpsed a pair of familiar heads peering out at them through the bushes.

"Peter -- did you notice Mina and Lita watching us back there?"

"Yes," he replied with a faint smile. "I take it you saw them, too."

Cassie's face turned incredulous as the full impact of the plot hit her. "Why those sneaky, conniving little-- they set me up!"

Peter grinned. "No, princess, they set us up."

Cassie looked at Peter, and started to laugh.

A mischeivious look crept into Peter's blue eyes. "We could have some fun with this, you know..."

Cassie glanced at him with a devilish smile. "What did you have in mind?"

The four Elementals watched Cassie and her friends enter the restaurant from across the street. They were all in human disguises, and the only indication of their true nature glittered in each Elemental's cruel eyes.

Blaze, feeling that he should be in charge since he was the first to awaken, spoke up first. "Well, she's in there with her Guardian and two of her friends -- we could take the two humans hostage and use them as insurance of the Princess' good behavior."

Marine snorted. "Do you really think she'll let that happen? Cassiopeia may not be fully awake yet, but she understands the power of the Star Sapphire, at least to an extent. If we were to threaten her like that, she might just decide to use the Sapphire against us, even if it destroys her. No, we must face her ourselves, Blaze."

"I agree, sister dear," added Terra. "Nothing like the direct approach, I always say."

Breeze listened to his siblings, looking bored. "Well, whatever we're going to do, let's get it over with. Master Spirit's not terribly happy with us as it is, it would be a shame to anger him further by taking our own sweet time."

"Right then, here's what we do..."

The two couples finally left the restaurant and wandered toward the lake in the middle of the nearby park. Cassie strongly suspected that their destination was predetermined, but chose not to say anything. She instead concentrated on her surroundings; she had a vague sense of something being wrong -- something out of place...

Before she had a chance to react, the surface of the lake erupted, forcing them all to step back. Marine shook the water from her hair dramatically and smiled down at them.

"Well, well, well, what a cute little group! Say, haven't I met two of you before?"

Cassie stepped in front of Serena and Darien, realizing that Marine did not know their identities. "Huh, what do YOU want, fishface? I told you, you're not getting your hands on my necklace!"

With a sudden burst of flame, Blaze materialized behind them. "Really, Cassiopeia, we must stop meeting like this. Your necklace is of no concern to us any longer, and neither are these two worthless humans. We have more important things to discuss with you..."

"Go on, get outta here!" Cassie whispered to Darien and Serena from the corner of her mouth. "Get the others, we'll probably need all the Senshi for this..." Nodding, Darien and Serena inched away, breaking into a run when they are out of the two Elementals' reach.

Marine smiled. "There, you see? They can go, we won't stop them. As for Prince Xander..."

Suddenly the ground between Cassie and Peter trembled and split open, separating them. Terra appeared and grabbed Peter by the arm, pinning it behind him.

"Hello, Your Highness -- I don't believe we've been introduced,"she breathed in his ear.

"Not likely to, either," Peter replied, glaring at the Elemental of Earth.

"Well, isn't he a bold one?" In a swirl of air, Breeze was suddenly standing to one side, effectively surrounding Cassie and cutting her off from Peter. "I bet he's not so daring when he watches us destroy his little girlfriend here. Or maybe we should make her watch us kill him first...?"

"Why is everyone so convinced that he's my boyfriend?" Cassie exclaimed, annoyed. "Geez, I just met him a few days ago, and now everyone's jumping to conclusions!"

Terra tightened her hold on Peter's arm. "Well, then, I can go ahead and break a few limbs, then, and you won't mind at all."

Cassie stared her straight in the eye. "Now you know I can't let you do that. He IS my Guardian, and I don't like the way you're treating him right now." Before Terra could blink, Cassie had leapt across the split in the ground and was standing right in front of the Elemental, her hand on the Sapphire at her throat and a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Now, do you want to let him go, or do I start experimenting with this rock?"

Terra's eyes widened, and she released Peter and vanished, only to reappear a safe distance away. Cassie and Peter were both now locked in the circle.

"You were right, Sister, she's just brash enough to try it, even though it would destroy her." Terra crossed her arms in front of her, glaring at Cassie coldly. "You won't intimidate me that easily, though."

The ground started to quake once more, and the earth gave way under Cassie's feet. With a cry, she began to fall. Peter barely managed to catch her as a deep hole opened beneath her.

Blaze laughed as Peter helped Cassie out of the pit. "Not bad, but I've seen better. Let's turn up the heat a bit, shall we?" A ball of flame formed in the palm of his hand, and he hurled it and Cassie and Peter.

Cassie shoved Peter in one direction and dived in another to avoid the fireball.

"Star Sapphire Power -- Make Up!"

When the dust and stars cleared, Sailor Andromeda faced the Elementals defiantly. "Do you guys realize how redundant this is getting? Can't you think of anything original?"

Marine narrowed her eyes, seething. "You want original? Try this on for size!" She and Breeze mechanically interlaced the fingers of their hands, standing side by side and facing Sailor Andromeda. The air in front of them shuddered, and Andromeda realized in disbelief that they were combining powers to strip the moisture out of the air around them.

The rough sphere of water droplets solidified, turning into hundreds of rock hard water pellets, which shot swiftly towards Sailor Andromeda.

Once again, she was knocked out of the way by Peter, who hurled himself against her and threw her to the ground.

"Don't you ever try anything different?"she muttered, struggling to sit up.

He glanced at her, amused. "Don't you ever duck?"

"You act like you actually enjoy knocking me over like that," she retorted.

"Oh, but I do -- I can finally get a bit of my own back from all those times you thrashed me in practice battles." Peter was grinning, but his attention was drawn to Terra and Blaze, who had linked hands.

"Uh-oh," Cassie cursed. "You got a plan for this one?"

"Well, I don't think slamming you into the ground will work a second time, so I'm open to suggestions..."

A ring of fire sprang up from the earth, surrounding the two figures. It started to contract, trapping them within a shrinking wall of flame.

"This does NOT look good," Sailor Andromeda commented. Peter merely nodded once, grimly.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

Mercury's water based attack appeared out of nowhere, extinguishing the flames. Sailor Andromeda and Peter looked up to see the other senshi and Tuxedo Mask stroll into the clearing.

"You didn't think we'd let you guys have all the fun, didja?" asked Sailor Moon with a wink.

The four Elementals frowned, reassessing the situation. Six senshi, a Guardian, and Tuxedo Mask, against the four siblings.

Blaze didn't like those odds. "We'll meet again, Princess. And next time we won't be so... playful."

The Elementals faded and vanished, and the landscape was once more intact, with no pits, chasms, or rings of fire.

Peter still knelt next to Sailor Andromeda, who had still not gotten to her feet.

"Well, at least they can count!" he said cheerfully.

After detransforming, the group left the park together. Mina and Lita elbowed each other until they reached Cassie and Peter. Eagerly they latched themselves onto the pair, Lita grabbing Peter's arm and Mina walking close beside Cassie.

"Did you guys have a good time? I wish I could have gone, but I just had so much schoolwork to do..." Cassie had to stifle her laughter at Mina's comment; Mina disliked homework almost as much as Serena!

"Yeah, you know how it is -- something comes up, amd what can you do? I hope you guys had fun without us, though." Lita smiled innocently at Peter.

A familiar glint entered Peter's blue eyes as he glanced at Cassie. She caught it and cleared her throat.

"Actually, I have a surprise for you guys." She threaded her arm through Peter's, watching gleefully as the other girls' eyes widened. "Peter and I are getting along so well, we've decided to elope."

"WHAT!?" The yelp came from Serena, who whirled to face Cassie.

Peter smiled calmly, ignoring the look off utter shock on the others' faces. "That's right, we're on our way to get married right now -- do you guys wanna come? I mean, since it was all your idea..."

"I didn't mean this!!" Mina wailed. "For Christ's sake, Cassie, you're only fifteen, you can't get married!"

"I'm almost sixteen," Cassie replied indignantly, but Mina ignored her.

"I thought you guys would get along, I didn't even imagine that this would happen! Oh, what have I done!" Tears formed in Mina's eyes.

Cassie and Peter couldn't hold it any longer. The both dissolved into helpless laughter.

Darien was the first to catch on, then Amy and Raye. They started laughing as well.

Serena, Lita, and Mina just looked confused.

"There, that ought to teach you not to play matchmaker," Cassie announced, satisfied. "Did you guys really think we wouldn't figure it out?"

Peter grinned at Lita as he raised her fist at him. "Hey, don't blame me, Big Sister. You brought it on yourself. Man, the look on your face was
priceless!"

Serena was still lost. "Um, guys? What's going on!?"

Mina pouted. "They tricked us, Serena. They made up that whole story about getting married just to make us panic."

Cassie and Peter looked at each other, smiling and reaching out to shake hands.

"And it worked like a charm!"