Title: Children of Fire - Chapter 1 Author: Viper Inferno E-mail: viperdvman@hotmail.com Rated: PG Howdy, Sailor Moon Fans. Welcome back to the world of Y2V; it never ends, doesn't it. Well, here it is, the first chapter of "Children of Fire", the fifth and final story in my "Warrior of Fire" Anthology. This chapter takes place in the first season, again, some short time after "Wildfire" if y'all noticed the pattern with this anthology. Let's see how Russell/Tuxedo Inferno gets along now that he's free from Negaverse control, shall we? Enough of my Okie babblin', here's the Y2V... ...Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi, and I thank that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment, and I thank them for bringing' it to America, even though they lost the rights. Finally the S season's in America, it's goin' pretty good so far. Anyways, Russell Hino, Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, and all his other identities are MINE (in a deep, dark, growling voice). Titanius is also mine. So, please don't sue me. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Children of Fire By Viper Inferno Chapter 1 Titanius walks through the halls of the Negaverse Headquarters, with the thoughts of Tuxedo Inferno turning against him and defeating him running through his mind. He walks through the large doors of Queen Beryl's chamber to find her and Malachite talking amongst each other, obviously about future plans. Malachite has gotta be her most trusted general if she talks to him rather casually about battle plans. Her Majesty's not his type since Malachite likes guys, or was it Zoicyte who liked guys. Titanius may never know, but he respects Malachite as a true leader and a fellow warrior. At least he's better for the Negaverse than Tuxedo Inferno ever was, brainwashed or not. Queen Beryl turns to see that Titanius has entered her chamber as ordered. "Ah, Titanius. I see you've recovered," she says, then turns to Malachite, "Leave us." "As you wish my queen," Malachite replies as he proceeds to leave the chamber, leaving Titanius to deal with Queen Beryl, probably about his failure in the last mission. "You summoned me, Your Highness," Titanius says after Malachite closes the chamber doors behind him. "I'm proud to see that you've recovered from your last encounter with the Mars Prince," says Beryl, "He is indeed a threat to the Negaverse." "I still don't see how he was able to break through his spell and turn against us," says Titanius. "He is a warrior of strong will," says Beryl, "I can't even believe my own brainwashing couldn't tame that will of his." "But what could've made him turn against us?" Titanius asks. "Malachite told me some of what happened, at least only what he saw. What did you see?" Beryl asks. "Before he snapped, I told him to finish Sailor Mars off after she had landed beside him as a result of one of my attacks. He just looked at her, and then at me with burning hands. That is when he turned against me," Titanius explains. "His will is powerful, especially with that pyromaniac. What is his connection with that flaming little twit?" Beryl asks, slamming her fist down on the armrest of her throne. "The bounty is still up on him," she says in a deep and calm voice, "I still need you to rid us of him and those Sailor Brats." "My beef is no longer with the Sailor Scouts," says Titanius, "Malachite can take care of them. My beef is with Tuxedo Inferno." "And how do you propose to take care of this fiery nuisance?" Beryl sneers. "I know more about him than you think, Your Highness. I know his true identity. You may not be able to find him with your crystal ball very easily, but I know where to look for him," says Titanius. "You go after him, ha!" Beryl mocks, "I've never known you to go to your enemy." "Exactly, my liege, I won't go to him, not yet. He'll come to me. I'll send one of our weaker soldiers to lure him into my trap. Then, I attack him," Titanius explains. "An excellent plan, Titanius," Beryl praises. "He's gonna pay for turning against the Negaverse. He used a powerful cyclone of fire against me. It felt like I was in hell itself. He'll pay for that. He and I didn't even get along very well even when he did work for us, making me look like the weaker link when, in fact, he was the one who turned his back. He'll pay for that too. Whatever it takes, I'll defeat him and collect my bounty," says Titanius. "You sound like you're determined to get Tuxedo Inferno, bounty or no bounty," says Beryl. "Tuxedo Inferno will be mine," says Titanius, "You can count on that." He gives Beryl a British salute and turns to leave the chamber to map out his plans. Cherry Hill Temple... "Russell, time to get up," Raye's voice yells into Russell's open door. The weary Russell rubs his eyes in response to Raye's reveille. "Aah Raye, and I was just having this wonderful dream," he moans, "I was side by side with Sailor V fighting these men in black pajamas, then things got romantic..." He opens his eyes and pans around the room. He sees Raye already in her school uniform ready to go. As he continues to babble, he looks over to his alarm clock to find out why. "Holy shit, I'm gonna be late," he yells as he jumps out of bed in his boxers. "Love your use of language, Russell," Raye says as she closes the door and lets Russell scurry to get ready for his Astrophysics class. Russell quickly pulls out his black slacks and black T-shirt. For the finishing touch, he decides to wear his maroon blazer. Fully dressed, he grabs his bags and his car keys and dashes out of his room at warp velocity. "Bye Russell," says Raye as she brings a cup of tea into the living room. As she drops to her knees at the table, Russell bursts back into the temple. "I forgot my Astrophysics book," says Russell. He runs into his room and emerges seconds later with his book. "Bye Raye," he says as he runs out the door. When Raye hears the engine of Russell's car start, she relaxes and grabs her cup of tea. Just as she's about to take a sip, Russell bursts in again, startling her and causing her to nearly spill the tea on her nice clean uniform. "Now what, Russell?" Raye asks a little grimly. "I forgot my soccer gear," Russell says as he dashes into his room. Raye drops her head, with a large sweat drop forming, "Oh, you're worse than that meatball head, Serena." Russell dashes out of his room. "Did you forget anything else, Russell?" Raye asks. "Nope, that's everything. Bye!" Russell replies as he dashes out the door and to his car. "Hope you have a trophy oversleeping in that collection of yours," Raye says under her breath. She then raises the teacup to her mouth and enjoys the first sips of fine brewed tea. Azabu Tech... Russell makes it to Yagasaki Hall, where most of the physics classes are located, and manages to make it through the door of his Honors Astrophysics class before the professor begins his lecture. "You're on time, Russell," Dr. Carmichael comments, "Looks like being in soccer actually helped you out." 'C'mon, it's not like I do this all the time,' Russell thinks to himself as he casually takes his seat. Dr. Carmichael begins giving a short recap on the gravitational relationship between a star and its planets. Immediately, everything Russell had spent hours yesterday studying comes to his mind like second nature. This test is gonna be cakewalk for him. This confidence before a test due to studying is nothing new to Russell since he practically spent most of his junior high and high school years practicing good study habits. After the professor's recap, he begins handing out the tests over star and planet gravitational relationships. "Alright, you all know the drill. Do good, no cheating, and turn the test in on my desk when you finish," says Dr. Carmichael, "You may begin." Russell takes to this test like it was one of his soccer games. He continues blazing through his test like greased lightning, until he comes up to a highly difficult question. 'I didn't see this one when I studied,' Russell thinks to himself as he begins sweating. Not even the gravitation formulas he knows can get him out of this one. "Oh well," Russell mutters under his breath, "Move on to the next one." He makes it to the end of his test, through all the essay questions, and decides to give that one question another shot. With no luck finding the right answer, he decides to guess by choosing the answer that sounds more logical. With that finished he walks to Dr. Carmichael's desk and hands his test in. After everyone has finished completing their tests, Dr. Carmichael begins his lecturing about the gravitational relationship between binary and ternary stars. After about a half-hour of applying the various gravitation formulas to binary and ternary star systems, the class lets out, freeing Russell from the prison of such complicated Physics. Oh, well, he tested out of Introduction to General Physics. His Electrodynamics class is up next, so he walks to in that direction. "Hey Russell," a voice calls out as he rounds a corner. Russell turns to find Daniel dashing up to him. "Where 'ya headed?" he asks. "I've got a lecture in Electrodynamics today," Russell replies, "Where are you headed?" "Fluid Mechanics. I have a test there today," Daniel replies, "Man I can't wait to get this required class out of the way for my Physics major." "I just finished a test in Astrophysics," says Russell, "I personally can't wait 'til I get through my Beginning Particle and Nuclear Physics class next semester. With my Physics electives out of the way, the rest of college will be a breeze." "Tell me about it, I'm having to take one of my electives that I could've taken last year," says Daniel. "And I have to go to Crossroads Junior High for teaching orientation," Russell comments, "That's where I went to junior high and it's where 3 of my sister's friends go." "Oh yea," Daniel teases, "All you little 'freshmeat' have to go to the junior highs. I use to do that, only I went to Grass Valley." "That's where Mina goes to school," says Russell, light bulb clicking on in his head. "Funny how I didn't see her there," says Daniel. "That's because she spent a lot of time in England before she moved back here," Russell explains, "It's also probably why she's such a huge Sailor V fan. I tell 'ya, she's the biggest fan I've ever met." They make it to Russell's Electrodynamics class, "Well, I'll see 'ya at practice." "Catch 'ya later, buddy," Daniel replies as he walks in the direction of his Fluid Mechanics class. Tokyo Streets... Darien walks down the sidewalk, on his way to Crossroads Jr. High for a teaching orientation. He makes it to the arcade before a car slows down beside him. "Hey Darien," Russell's voice calls out from the car. Darien looks to see Russell waving him over, "Need a ride to Crossroads?" "How'd you know I was going to Crossroads?" Darien asks. "Cause I'm in Literature class with you," Russell answers. In response, Darien runs around to the passenger side of Russell's old coupe and hops in. Russell drives off toward the junior high. Darien feels relieved that he'll get to the junior high faster by car. "So Russell, which classes will you be in for orientation?" Darien asks. "I'm in Literature first, then I'm in Physics," Russell answers, "How 'bout you?" "I'm in Literature with you, then I'll be in Algebra," Darien answers, "Doesn't it feel odd to be in the same school as your sister's friends?" "Actually, it doesn't bother me that much," Russell replies, "Lita's not that mad at me after I broke up with her a few weeks ago. I know she's in literature, but she hates Physics." "I know Meatball Head's in Literature," says Darien, "I just don't know what hour." "You and Raye both call her 'Meatball Head' an awful lot," Russell comments. "Yeah, I guess so," Darien says as he slips into one of his daydreams of her. He then snaps out of it after a few seconds, realizing Russell's with him, "She's a lot like Ariana, if you know what I mean." "Oh, come on, Darien. No one's as ditzy as Ariana, not even Mina," Russell comments, "You know she's only at Azabu Tech 'cause her daddy's the head of the English Department." "She's only there to be a cheerleader," says Darien. "Mina would make an excellent cheerleader," Russell comments, "Only I don't know why she doesn't. She'd pick up more guys that way." Moments later, they reach Crossroads Jr. High. They hop out of Russell's car and head for the front door. They walk into the main office and stand in line behind about 20 other Azabu Tech students waiting for their orientation. "How many are at this junior high?" Darien asks Russell. "About 50 at this school. The rest are spread out throughout the rest of the junior highs. There are about 40 down at Mina's school," Russell explains. After a 15-minute wait, Russell and Darien make it to the front of the line to receive their visitor's passes. They then squeeze their ways out of the office and to Literature class. Meanwhile, Serena is trying her best to concentrate on this rather difficult story by Edgar Allan Poe. 'How could this guy develop so much talent as to write an almost perfect description of the Negaverse?' she thinks to herself, 'But that doesn't make this story any easier.' The door opens seconds later, breaking her concentration. She looks up and almost leaps onto the ceiling like a scared cat when she sees Darien walking with Russell into the classroom. His eyes meet hers for a split second, almost causing him to have a heart attack, 'That Meatball Head's in here THIS hour.' Russell immediately walks over to the teacher's desk and lets her know that he and Darien are here for the orientation from Azabu Tech. He then scans around to find that Lita doesn't have literature this hour. Russell takes his seat next to an empty desk, leaving only that one vacant seat for Darien, behind and to the right of Serena. Darien quickly regains his composure as Serena inconspicuously sticks her face in her literature book, pretending to be reading and not paying attention to the incredibly hot, but mean Darien. He casually takes his seat next to Russell, trying not to think about how cute she is when she's either embarrassed or angry. "Alright class," the teacher says, getting the classes attention and pulling Serena's face out of her literature book, "We have here Russell Hino and Darien Shields from the Azabu Institute of Technology here to observe the class." The class greets them before the teacher begins her lecture. She begins giving a short lecture about Edgar Allan Poe's story, which some of it is baffling Serena's poor meatball headed mind. The teacher then begins going into some particular content of the story, what little parts Serena actually somewhat understands. "You mean it's like this Negaverse that I hear the Sailor Scouts are fighting," Serena immediately blurts out, drawing up a few ribald chuckles from a few students and Darien. "Yes Serena, like that Negaverse on the news," the teacher replies in a monotone voice. Darien leans over to Serena's ear and whispers "You got those meatballs pulled up a little tight, eh?" Serena's face turns red in near fury and pushes Darien off his chair, making him land in Russell's lap. Darien looks at Russell's face and wraps his arms around him, batting his eyes, "Jeez, Russell. I didn't know you cared." Russell blushes as most of the class laughs profusely at their hijinks. "Serena Tsukino, that was uncalled for," the teacher scolds, quieting the rest of the class down in a hurry. Knowing she's in trouble, Serena begins to blush. Russell regains his composure and pushes Darien off of his lap, causing him to plop onto the floor like a dead fish. "I'm sorry, miss. It was Darien's fault, not Serena's," he says, trying his best to stand up for Serena, I mean she had every right to push Darien, even if she did embarrass them. "Alright, Serena. Since it wasn't your fault, I'll let this one slip by. Don't let it happen again," the teacher says. "Yes, Ma'am," Serena replies, slouching low enough to hide half her face. The teacher continues her lecture on Edgar Allan Poe's story. Serena turns her head and eyes in Darien's and lowers her eyebrows at him for almost getting her into trouble. Later, Darien looks at the back of Serena's head. 'Actually, those meatballs look cute on her," Darien thinks to himself as he begins thinking about her. Russell is to busy observing the class to notice Darien looking rather oddly at Serena. The bell rings at the end of the hour, relieving Serena from being embarrassed by Darien. Serena bolts out of the classroom at almost light speed to get away from the guy who was gutsy enough to come to her school, her class, and embarrass her in her class. She stands by the door, realizing that deep down inside, she finds Darien rather... attractive. "I'm sorry for embarrassing you in class," Darien's voice says, nearly causing Serena to drop all her books. 'Well, at least he and Russell also got their share of embarrassment,' Serena thinks to herself, remembering how funny it was when the class laughed at their hijinks. "That's alright Darien," Serena says as she slowly backs away from him, "Well, gotta get to my next class." Serena turns and runs in the direction of her next class. "I wonder where she gets all that energy," Darien says to himself, watching Serena's hair waving as she runs. He turns and walks toward the Algebra class for his second observation. Meanwhile, Russell makes it to Physics in a hurry, just like he always did back in his junior high and high school days. The teacher, Mr. Felgar, immediately recognizes him, "Russell Hino, is that you?" "The one and only," Russell replies, waving his arms to his sides. They exchange a handshake. "You're still here after all these years?" Russell asks, surprised that such an old guy is still teaching at the junior high after 28 years. "You know me, Russell. They'll never be able to put me out to pasture," Mr. Felgar replies. "Is Ms. Haruna still here by any chance?" Russell curiously asks. "Of course she is, she'll still be here for years to come," Mr. Felgar replies, "You still play soccer?" "Sure do, I was there when Crossroads High won the state championships 2 years in a row. I'm a starter for Azabu Tech now," Russell explains. "I thought that was you I saw in Sunday's paper. Congratulations on your win against Okinawa," says Mr. Felgar, "You're here as another observer from Azabu Tech, aren't you?" "Of course," Russell replies as he immediately takes his seat in the back of the class. He watches as the students file into the classroom and take their seats. Most don't even take notice of him as they take their seats. Seconds later, a rather familiar face walks into the classroom. A girl with short, blue hair and baby blue eyes walks into the classroom and takes her seat toward the front of the class, not even noticing Russell. 'Amy has this class,' Russell thinks, surprised at the coincidence as his eyes widen and he begins sweating. After the bell rings, Mr. Felgar immediately introduces Russell, "Class, he have another student from Azabu Tech here to observe the class. This is Russell Hino, who used to be one of my students when he was attending this school." Amy looks over to see Russell greeting the class. She turns back to her book in a rather big hurry, with her cheeks turning almost crimson. Mr. Felgar then begins his lesson over two-dimensional motion, something that is second nature to Russell. He gets a quick glimpse at Amy, who seems to be absorbing every word coming from Mr. Felgar's mouth. He then turns back to his former Physics teacher, listening to his lecture, figuring it'll be merely a refresher for him. Amy takes a peek over her shoulder at Russell sitting in the back of the class. 'Amy, what are you doing,' Amy says in her head as she turns to her book, 'You're supposed to be paying attention to the lesson, not Russell.' She turns back to Mr. Felgar writing down the formulas. She closes her eyes as she finds it difficult to concentrate on the lesson. 'Oh, well,' she thinks to herself as she lets out a sigh, 'I can get this stuff down at home.' She inconspicuously peeks over her shoulder at Russell, resting his head on his hand and paying attention only to Mr. Felgar. 'I never thought I'd be looking at a guy like I do him," Amy thinks to herself, 'I never looked at Greg like that. But that's because I'm not the type who looks at such an incredibly attractive guy like Russell. Just look at how his bangs hang at the sides of his head.' She lets out another sigh as she turns back to the formula on the board. After Mr. Felgar ends his lecture, he writes the assignment on the board and lets the class carry on with their work. Amy immediately takes to the assignment, trying to forget about the cute guy sitting at the back of the classroom. Russell pulls out a book and begins going over the notes he had taken in Electrodynamics. He then pulls out his textbook and begins going through it, taking notes as he reads along. After finishing her assignment, Amy gets up and sets her finished paper on Mr. Felgar's desk, first as usual. "That's the quickest I've ever seen you complete an assignment Amy," he says quietly. Amy blushes as she walks back to her seat. She doesn't even know how she completed a more difficult assignment in near record time when she couldn't even concentrate throughout half the lecture. With class almost out, she pulls one of her books out and begins reading, with thoughts about Russell behind her, literally. The bell rings, signaling the beginning of lunch. Amy casually closes her book, grabs her others, and walks out of the classroom and on her way to lunch. Russell gets up and walks up to Mr. Felgar. "I gotta get back to Azabu Tech for one more class before soccer practice," says Russell. "Hey, it's good seeing you again Russell. Feel free to drop by my class anytime," says Mr. Felgar as he and Russell shake hands. Russell turns and walks out the Physics classroom door, with thoughts of Amy still in his head. Azabu Tech Stadium... Russell walks out onto the soccer field, fully suited in his scrimmage uniform. Half the athletes are already on the field, practicing their game and getting ready for a scrimmage before Saturday's game. Daniel meets him minutes later, dashing onto the field like a true track star. "Hey Russell, you ready for practice?" "Yeah, I'm ready to wax your can," Russell replies. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid it's you who's gonna get an ass whoopin' in this contest," Daniel rebuts. "We'll see, Daniel," Russell replies as the two make it to the field, "We'll see." "So how was your stay at Crossroads Jr. High?" Daniel asks. "Saw my Jr. High Physics teacher, and Darien and I got a few laughs in Literature class. Other than that, it was pretty much a waste of 2 hours," Russell replies. "Did you see any of your sister's friends?" Daniel asks. "I was in Literature with her friend Serena and I was in Physics with Amy," says Russell. "Hey Russell," a familiar voice yells from the stands. The duo turns to see Lita, still in her uniform, waving at them. "She must've come over right after school got out, Russell says to Daniel. They both wave in response and join the other players on the field. Later, the coach comes out with the rest of the team following. "Alright you little freaks, divide up into your two teams. We've got a game against Kyoto University on Saturday, and you need to be ready to give them a good slap in the face," he says as the players group up into their two separate teams. "Alright, I want to see some real action here," the coach says, "just because you're playin' against each other doesn't mean you play like a bunch of babies." The players take their places at the field while one of the coach's assistants tosses the ball out. A player on Daniel's team gets a hold of the ball and takes it downfield. Russell makes a beeline toward the guy with the ball, but his attempt to steal the ball fails as he slides by the guy, missing by inches. He recovers quickly and gives chase to the guy, with his teammates trying to take possession of the ball. The guy gives the ball a good kick toward the goal, but misses as the goalie catches it and kicks it past Russell. "Come on, white team, get that defense together," the coach yells after the goalie kicks the ball. Russell runs to the other side of the field where his teammate passes him the ball. Russell gets face and face with Daniel as he knocks the ball past him and pulls a football move to get by him. Russell gets the ball back and heads toward the goal, with Daniel close behind. Russell makes it to the goal with Daniel sliding behind him to try and knock the ball away. He misses as Russell kicks the ball toward the goal, but misses as the ball sails over the goal. "What's the matter, Hino. This isn't American Football," the coach yells, "You're supposed to kick the ball into the goal, not over it." 'Lita seems a little quieter then usual,' Russell thinks to himself. He takes his place in the middle of the field as the goalie kick the ball to Daniel. Daniel takes the ball downfield away from Russell, but a member of Russell's team swipes the ball from Daniel's feet, knocking it out of bounds. "Good defense, Shiroki, wrong direction," the coach yells as Daniel throws the ball to one of his teammates, who bounces it off his head toward the goal. This attempt proves unsuccessful as the goalie knocks it away. After about a 30-minute round, the coach pulls everybody together. "You guys are doing good so far, but there must be some improvement in your defense. Kyoto U has a strong offense. If this had been a real game, they would've scored 4 points by now. You need to go out there and keep them from scoring. The objective is not to take the ball from them, but to knock it away from them and keep it away from your goal..." the coach says. "This is getting' tough," Daniel says to Russell. "Tell me about it," Russell agrees, inconspicuously pointing to Lita, "Notice Lita up there? She's been quiet almost throughout practice." "I guess all that yelling the coach throws at us leaves little room for Lita. Isn't that your sister sitting right by her?" Daniel says as he points out Raye walking into the stands and taking her seat. "Yeah, looks like Raye's decided to come and watch me practice," Russell replies as the coach finishes his little lecture. "Now get back out there and show me some defense," the coach yells as the players take their positions on the field. "Go Russell," Raye yells from the stands. "You can do it Russell," Lita also yells, "Make them pay." "Uh, Lita," Raye says uneasily, "You're welling at his team." "Oh, sorry," Lita says, letting off her insults, "Kinda thought I was really at Saturday's game for a second." "So how was school?" Raye asks as the ball is tossed out. "Same as usual, except that we had some students from this college come over," Lita replies. "Russell told me that all the freshmen had to go to the junior highs for observation," says Raye, "He told me he was going to Crossroads." "I didn't see Russell there," says Lita as she turns to see Russell with the ball. She immediately jumps up, "Come on Russell, get it in there. Come on, come on, YES!" She and Raye jump up and down cheering as Russell gets the ball into the net after his teammate had knocked it from Daniel. "That's my Russell," Raye yells as she claps excitedly for him. She and Lita sit back down to continue with their conversation. "He must not have been in any of your classes," says Raye, referring to Lita's last statement before Russell scored a goal. "I saw Darien in the halls, but he wasn't in any of my classes," says Lita. She turns to see Raye in la-la land. "Thinkin' about Yuuichiro, aren't you?" Lita says trying to get Raye's attention. "What?" Raye says, shaking her head and snapping out of it. "You like him, don't you?" Lita teases. "Who, Darien? No!" Raye snaps. "I'm talking about Yuuichiro," says Lita. "Oh him? No way," Raye bluntly responds. "Ever heard of that river in Egypt, what was that... De-Nile?" Lita says sarcastically. "Russell's got the ball again," Raye says, pointing to the field. Lita quickly looks at the field to see his teammate with the ball. "Made 'ya look," Raye teases. "Wait a minute, Raye, he has it now," Lita says as Russell's teammate passes the ball to him. He kicks it to the goal, only to have it blocked by a red team member. Russell grabs possession of the ball in a short time and gets it by Daniel like a true artist. He kicks it to his teammate, who bounces it off his head and into the goal. "Excellent work, white team," the coach says, "Red team, get that defense together before attacking them." Raye and Lita watch on as the practice continues and both teams' progress improves. At the end of practice, they get up and walk over to the stadium entrance to wait for Russell. Russell and Daniel get up and walk with the rest of the 46 players toward the stadium entrance on their way to their dorms or houses. "So Russell, what'cha doin' tonight?" Daniel asks. "I gotta study tonight for a test in Electrodynamics," Russell answers. "Bummer, I have a Math test tomorrow I gotta study for," says Daniel. "Looks like we're not doin' anything tonight," says Russell, "No life for us tonight." They make it to the entrance, where Lita and Raye await them. "Hey girls," Russell says as he leaves the entrance and walks toward his car. "Great practice, Russell," says Raye as she and Lita follow him. "Thanks Raye," he replies, "Look, I got a lot of studying to do. I'll take you girls home." "Thank you Russell," Lita says as the trio makes it to Russell's car. They hop in and drive off first towards Lita's apartment. "What kind of studying do you need to do," Raye asks. "I have a test in Electrodynamics tomorrow," Russell replies. "Bet that's gonna be tough," Lita comments. "Not exactly," says Russell, "It's one of my easier tests. Nevertheless I still have to study." "You're a lot like Amy," Lita comments, "Always studying." At the sound of that, thoughts about Amy begin going through Russell's head. He thinks of that sad look on her face as she studies. He snaps out of it as he nears Lita's apartment. "Yeah, but I don't spend all my time studying. I hang out with the guys sometimes," he says. Russell drives up to Lita's apartment to drop Lita off. Raye hops out, since she and Lita arranged a little get together back at the stadium. "I'll see you later, Russell," Raye says. "I'll be down at the park if you want to find me," Russell says as he drives off. Park... Russell walks in the park with his Astrophysics book in hand. He walks along the lakeside trail, searching for a bench, preferably facing the park and not the lake. The sun's reflection off the lake can be blinding. Russell finds the bench he is looking for and takes a seat. He looks around to see a small group of girls, some still in their school uniforms. A group of kids are having a great time at the nearby playground. A barbecue is taking place at the nearby pavilion, with a large group of people. "It's almost the beginning of winter, you don't hold a barbecue this time of year," Russell says to himself, commenting on the summer activity. Other than being a little chilly, there's not even a cloud in the sky. The day is almost perfect. With the fresh air and outdoor sounds, Russell relaxes and opens his Astrophysics book and begins studying the gravitation in binary and ternary star systems. Some of it comes to him rather easily, while others take some time and effort for even Russell to understand. Meanwhile, Amy walks the lakeside trail, still in her school uniform, after completing some of her studies. She walks the trail, thinking of how great of a day it is. She carries one of her Math books with her as she finds the perfect place in the fresh breeze to study her math. Something about the outdoors pulls even Amy out of that house, whether for a leisurely walk or for studying under a cloudless sky. She decides she'd rather study by the lake since its glistening in the sunlight gives her that relaxing feeling, kind of like the feeling she somehow remembers from back in the Silver Millennium. She lets out a sigh as she continues her walk. "I don't know how, something about the glistening lake brings me such fascination," she says to herself. She decides to find a bench facing the lake. With the sun getting ready to set in an hour, it gives her plenty of time to study in the glistening of the lake and later the captivating sunset. She makes it to the eastern side of the lake so she can face the sunset as she studies. She finds someone sitting at a bench some short distance from the lake, facing away from it, reading a book. "He looks familiar," she says as she slowly walks closer to get a better look. Suddenly, her heart throbs and sweat beads fly from her face as she recognizes the person. "Russell," she says under her breath in surprise. She calms down and casually walks toward the lakeshore. She sits down on the bank no more than a foot from the water and opens her math book. She begins looking through matrices. "Ah, this is rather easy," she says to herself as she goes through the lesson and her notes from class. Then, she remembers that Russell is sitting about 50 feet behind her. She forgets about him and carries on with studying. She finds an interesting formula in dealing with the multiplication of matrices. "3x3 matrices, now this I can work with," she says to herself. Soon, that feeling of Russell being behind her gets her attention again. She tries to fight temptation, but it's unsuccessful as she closes her book. "What are you doing, Amy?" she asks herself, "You're falling to your curiosity." She can't take it anymore, she walks over to a tree near where Russell's sitting. She's surprised he didn't even notice her, with his face stuck in that book. He must really be into it if he didn't even notice her walking behind a nearby tree. Being closer now, she sees that he's studying Astrophysics. "I've always been interested in Astrophysics," she says to herself. She peeks around the tree to get a good look at him, trying to somewhat stay out of Russell's peripheral vision. 'Is that how I look when I study,' she thinks to herself, 'Yet he looks so peaceful, so serene.' With her perfect 20-20, she watches his dark purple eyes as he scans through the textbook. 'Just look how he reads his book...' Russell looks up from his book and Amy swiftly pulls herself behind the tree and out of his view. 'Get a hold of yourself, Amy,' she thinks to herself, slapping herself in the face. 'But I never at any guy like I'm looking at Russell. Never have stopped my studying schoolwork to study a guy. I gotta get out of here," she says as she gets up to walk to another part of the lake. She takes one look back to see him again reading his book. Something had prompted Russell to look up from his studies, a feeling that somebody was watching him. 'Wonder who's there?' he thinks to himself. He continues studying, not even paying attention to that feeling. How does Russell find it so easy to concentrate on his work, nobody but God knows. Soon, he gets another feeling, but this one is different. It's not a feeling of someone watching him, but one of danger lurking nearby. He looks up from his book and sees a soldier in the distance with a sword in hand, staring at him and taunting him. "What's the Negaverse up to?" he says to himself as he closes his book and gets up. The soldier backs up, jumping up and down. "Their asking for it," he says as he begins running toward the soldier. In response, the soldier turns and begins running. Amy turns back again to see Russell as he begins running at full speed, like the true soccer star she saw in his yearbook that Raye had shown her. "Where's he off to in such a hurry?" she asks herself, "He'd make Serena jealous." She turns in his direction and decides to follow him, running at full speed. Surprisingly, she seems to keep up with the star athlete, wondering how she's doing it. 'Must be the fact that I'm a Sailor Scout,' she thinks to herself. Russell disappears into an alley ahead of Amy. When she makes it to the alley, Russell is nowhere to be seen. The alley is long and there aren't any ladders low enough for even Russell to grab onto. "Where'd he go?" she asks herself. She decides to give up her chase and turns back toward the park to continue her studies. "Oh, well. He's gone now, at least I can try and study," she says to herself. How can a girl like Amy, who literally does nothing but study, muster up enough speed to keep up with Russell. Downtown Tokyo... After Russell had transformed into Tuxedo Inferno in an alley near the park, he continues to chase the soldier. 'This soldier is either very smart, or very chicken,' he thinks to himself as se finds that the soldier is leading him near the tower, 'He must be very smart. He's gotta be luring me somewhere.' Tuxedo Inferno stops running as the soldier runs to the base of the tower. Suddenly, Tuxedo Mask appears right next to him. "You're chasing him too, huh?" says Tuxedo Mask. "Yeah, he found me and insisted that I fight him, but then he started running," Tuxedo Inferno replies. "He crossed my path a few blocks back," says Tuxedo Mask, "So I decided to follow him. I didn't see you until now." "Well, now that you're here, let's see what this soldier wants. He seems to be waiting for us at the tower," says Tuxedo Inferno as the caped crusaders run towards the tower. When they make it to the tower, another figure jumps down from the tower and lands near the soldier. "TITANIUS," the duo yells as they stop. Titanius only laughs at the two, "A two for one deal. Good job, soldier. I don't need you anymore." He extends his arm out to the soldier and zaps him with a deadly purple lightning, causing the soldier to explode, with only his armor remaining. "I lure Tuxedo Inferno and what do I get? Both him and Tuxedo Mask. You know, you would've been safer if you didn't chase my soldier. But since you're here, Tuxedo Mask, I might as well destroy you too," Titanius says as he fires a ball of energy at the tuxedoed superheroes. They jump out of the way and scatter before the energy strikes the ground and explodes. Tuxedo Mask immediately throws a rose at Titanius, striking him in the chest. It doesn't even phase Titanius as he pulls the rose out. "What are you up to this time, Titanius?" Tuxedo Mask bluntly asks. "I want Tuxedo Inferno, you just happened to get in the way," Titanius replies as he blasts Tuxedo Mask with a beam of energy, throwing him into a nearby lamppost. "Oh, you didn't just do that to my old friend," Tuxedo Inferno says as he pulls his arm across his body, "Inferno Blaze, Wall!" He sends a wall of fire rushing at Titanius, but misses as Titanius jumps out of the way. Tuxedo Mask recovers with a perplexed look on his face, "Old friend? How does he remember me, but I don't remember him?" He then pulls out another rose and tosses it at Titanius, hitting him in the face and paralyzing him. He then walks up to him and begins talking to him about ancient Chinese philosophy, another one of his witty speeches. "Get out of my face, you tuxedoed philosophical dork," Titanius says as he blasts Tuxedo Mask with lightning. "His famous witty speech didn't work," says Tuxedo Inferno as he does a few kung fu moves, "Inferno Fire, Dance!" He dances around Titanius at blazing (literally) speed, setting him afire. Titanius jumps halfway up the tower and manages to douse his burning armor. He looks behind him to find his cape gone, obviously the victim of Tuxedo Inferno's flaming hot slam dance. "That was my favorite satin cape you just burned," Titanius yells as he launches a ball of dark energy at Tuxedo Inferno, striking him in the chest and drilling him into the concrete. Titanius jumps down toward the pavement, but halfway down, a glowing disk hits him in the face, causing him to lose his balance and fall a couple hundred feet to the pavement below, leaving a Titanius shaped hole. He climbs out to find Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts standing in the street. "You leave Tuxedo Mask and Tuxedo Inferno alone," Sailor Moon says to him. "My beef is not with you, Sailor Moon. Why don't you just be a good girl and go back home and finish your homework," Titanius mocks. "Ooooh," Sailor Moon says angrily with her face redder than Tuxedo Inferno's tuxedo. She tries to rush toward him, but is being held back by Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury. "I won't let you take my friends," says Sailor Moon as she pulls away from their grasp. "On behalf of the Moon, I will right wrongs and..." "I already know your stupid motto, Sailor Moon. Since you've decided to meddle in my affairs, you're mine," says Titanius. Sailor Moon's face turns red again at Titanius' comment, "No one makes fun of the Sailor Moon motto, for that, I will punish you." Tuxedo Inferno crawls out of the hole he had left in the concrete and finds that the Sailor Scouts have arrived. He jumps out of the hole just as the Scouts scatter to engage Titanius. Titanius throws his arms in front of him, aiming at Titanius, "Inferno Fire, Beam!" He launches a beam of fire at Titanius, striking him in the chest. "Titanius recovers to find Sailor Venus standing right in front of him. She tries to get an attack off on him, but Titanius beats her to the gun and blasts her with a devastating surge of lightning. "You did not just do that to my friend," says Sailor Jupiter, "In the name of Jupiter, I'll show you the true power of thunder. Jupiter Thunder, Crash!" She zaps Titanius with her lightning, with his armor acting as a conductor. Titanius goes for a ride all the way to the top of the tower. To his surprise, Sailor Mars just happens to be up there. "Mess with my friends, do you," she scolds, "Mars Fire, Ignite!" With her fire attack, she knocks Titanius off the tower, causing him to fall hundreds of feet down to the pavement. He slams into the ground with such force, that it cracks the concrete within a 50-foot radius of him. Tuxedo Mask looks on, "Well done Sailor Scouts. With your pure hearts, and a new ally, not even Titanius can stand against you." Titanius comes to minutes later to find all 5 scouts, Tuxedo Mask, and Tuxedo Inferno standing in front of him, ready to end his bounty- hunting career. "You win this battle Sailor Scouts, but the next one for you won't be so easy, Tuxedo Inferno," Titanius says as he throws a smoke bomb at the 7 warriors, causing them to cough and gag. When it clears, Titanius is no where to be seen. "Well, that was certainly a short battle," says Sailor Venus. "And we know who Titanius is after," says Sailor Jupiter. "He's must be after me for everything leading to and my coming back to my senses," says Tuxedo Inferno. "He's a bounty hunter," says Sailor Mercury, "The Negaverse must have a price on your head." "He seems very determined to rid the world of you," says Sailor Moon. "And take out anybody who gets in his way," Tuxedo Mask adds, "He displayed that when Tuxedo Inferno and I were lured to him." "Anyway, we must keep on the look out for Titanius, and everyone else in the Negaverse," says Sailor Mars. Everyone begins going their own separate ways, going back to their civilian activities that they had left off with. Negaverse Headquarters... Titanius walks into Queen Beryl's chamber, expecting a good scolding for his failure to destroy Tuxedo Inferno. "I monitored your progress today, Titanius," says Queen Beryl in a domineering tone, "That was some of the best fighting I've seen from you." She raises her tone even more, "Right up to when the Sailor Scouts came. After that, it seems that they cleaned your clock in a hurry. What happened out there that you so miserably failed your mission?" "They somehow found out about my battle with Tuxedo Mask and Tuxedo Inferno," Titanius explains. "And somehow they're getting along very nicely with Tuxedo Inferno. That's some of the best fighting I've seen from those Scouts." "Then you'll have to change your plans in order to get Tuxedo Inferno without dragging the Sailor Brats into it," Beryl sharply orders. "I might have to change my ways and go to Tuxedo Inferno, or rather his civilian form," Titanius proposes, "I just hope those Sailor Punks aren't nearby when I do so." "Just in case, Titanius, I suggest you practice harder in using your powers," says Beryl. "As you wish, Your Highness," Titanius says as he gives Beryl a British salute before leaving her chamber to map out his next plan on attacking Tuxedo Inferno. ------------------------------end of chapter 1------------------------- Well, it took me a while since I'm takin' care of other stuff too, like the construction of my new web site, it ain't out yet. I just finished movin' 'bout a week ago into my dorm at the University of Oklahoma. So I'm out on my own now, yee-haw! I'ma get started on chapters 2 & 3, so... OOOOOOO O O O U O U BOOMER O U O U SOONER! O U O U OOOUOOO U U U UUUUUUU Have fun Sailor Moon fans, Viper Inferno (Y2V)