12th story from Sailor DKC. It's been over a month since the
tragedies on September 11, 2001.  I have been getting on with my life
as a proud New Yorker.  Those responsible for this cowardly act of
violence failed to prevent me to do my job as a teacher and my fun
hobby of writing Sailor Moon stories. I hate what they did, but
mostly, I pity them because this way of life is wasteful. I pray they
be brought to justice, and, hopefully, they will see the error of
their ways one day.  In the meantime, let's keep on living, America!

The story is the due sequel to "Something About You", starring the
couple Raye and Jedite.  The picture I got inspired from was from
Mercury Blue.  She is an artist from the site Generals Love where my
other stories are also.   When you see this *, I am describing the
portrait in a scene.
My stories are also at A Sailor Moon Romance, Lalala Land, and Lovers
That Never Were.

Dedicated to Mercury Blue. Beautiful work, Blue!

In honor of the heroes of Ground Zero, or Ground Hero.



COULD IT BE?
By Sailor DKC


"Come on, girls! We'll be late!
"Lita, slow down! What's the hurry?"
"Oh, I know, Amy! She wants to meet with the royal escorts of Prince
Darien. I hear they're drop-dead gorgeous!"
"Mina!" Lita blushed a deep red.
"It's OK, Lita. I'm dying to meet them, too. What about you, Amy?"
Mina asked as the four princess escorts of Princess Serena walked
toward the royal discussion chamber in the prince's castle on Earth.
"Well, I am a little curious to see what they look like, but we're
here to discuss our alliance with the Earth."
Lita gave a coy wink. "Well, it's important to find out who is behind
these attacks on both our worlds. But it wouldn't hurt to hope if
these guys are cute!"
"Hey, guys!" Raye was a few steps ahead of them. "This is serious. We
have no time for this." But the girls kept on chattering away so Raye
rolled up her eyes and kept on walking ahead. 'Besides Amy, I'm the
only sensible one here!' she thought. 'I don't really need to look
for a boyfriend. I've already met the man of my dreams.'  A vision of
General Jadeite appeared in her mind, and she became starry-eyed and
smiled softly.

They arrived to the chamber and entered. There at the head of the
conference table were Princess Serena and Prince Darien. To the
prince's right side of the table standing behind the chairs stood his
royal escorts.  Raye gasped quietly when she recognized one of them
as the blond Earthling whom she saved from the creatures attacking
the Earth school children. 'I was Sailor Mars at the time!' she
thought.
"Good day, ladies," Darien greeted as the girls stood behind the
seats opposite the men. The princess and I are glad we all are able
meet. These gentlemen are my royal escorts and the lords of the
Earth. May I present Lord Malachite, Lord Zoicite, Lord Nephlite,
and Lord Jedite. The men bowed, elegantly.
"And may I present my royal escorts and princesses of my court,"
Serena announced. "This is Princess Mina, Princess Amy, Princess
Lita, and Princess Raye."  The ladies curtsied, gracefully.
As everyone seated, Raye and Jedite looked at each other.  He smiled
warmly at her, and she blinked, confused.  'Have we met when I was
a princess," she thought. 'I don't think so.'
'She's looks confused,' thought Jedite, chuckling quietly. 'I bet she
would flip if she knew I'm General Jadeite!'

Serena began, "A while back, Earth had been attacked by strange
creatures, suspected to be sent from the Moon. But now, our kingdom
is also being attacked. The purpose of this meeting is to form a
union between our two worlds so we can find out where these creatures
are coming from."
"That's why the princess and I call upon you, our most trustworthy
people. Working together we can find out and deal with whomever is
behind these attacks," Darien concluded. "Since the last attack on
the Moon, we now know that neither world is at fault."
Clearing her throat, Raye responded, "We were very lucky that the
Earth Generals managed to delay that monster before it caused any
more damage to our palace. Will we be able to meet them today?"
The lords looked at each other quickly. Then Jedite spoke up. "Well,
it's hardly unlikely since they are protecting our kingdom all over
the planet. But, be assured, they are always on alert!"
"Just like your Sailor Soldiers protecting your Moon Kingdom!"
Zoicite added quickly.
"Yes!" Amy interjected. "They are hard to get in touch also, but they
are very reliable!"
Darien and Serena chuckled, quietly to themselves.  "So then," Darien
said. "We should start by-"

An explosion sounded outside the castle near the chamber and rocked
the room. Some fell from their chairs while some gripped onto the
table to keep from falling. Two guards entered the room. "Your
Majesty!" one of them shouted. "Three creatures are attacking the
Palace!"
Helping Serena to her feet, Darien yelled, "Sound the alarms! Defend
the entrance!" The guards left, and seconds later, alarms rang
loudly.
"Jedite! Nephlite!" Malachite commanded as he got up from the floor.
"Take the prince, the princess and her escorts to safety. Zoicite and
I will go get help!"  As everyone split into two groups, Serena gave
knowing looks to Lita and Raye. They nodded.
Nephlite and Jedite led the group to their training room. When
everyone was inside, Jedite looked around. "Princess Raye and
Princess Lita aren't here!"
"What?" Nephlite said, turning around to see Jedite leaving.
"Nephlite, stay here and be on guard. I'll go and find them!" And he
slammed the door behind them.

Running back through the halls, Jedite stopped instantly when the
large window ahead on his left was smashed in by a thrown body.
Landing hard on the floor was General Kunzite!  "Kunzite!" Jedite ran
to the general who was struggling to get up and helped him.
"The...the... cr-cr-creature!" Kunzite said, through clenched teeth.
Jedite looked up in time to see it entering through the broken
window, screaming and spouting hot energy blasts. He and Kunzite
jumped out of the way as it landed where they just stood.  As it
turned to attack, a voice boomed, "BURNING...MANDALA!"
Rings of fire surrounded and held the creature which screamed and
struggled.  Jedite was shocked to hear that familiar voice. 'Could it
be?" he thought.
Kunzite then formed a huge energy ball. "SPHERES OF ENERGY...BLAST!"
The ball shot at and enveloped the creature which disintegrated
instantly.  Behind the creature was...
"Sailor Mars," Jedite whispered, taking in her beautiful and brave
soldier form.
"Where are the other two creature?" she asked, running to the smashed
window.  Kunzite and Jedite joined her. They heard the battle cries.
"SUPREME...THUNDER!"
"ZOI-PETALS...PULVERIZE!"
"That's Sailor Jupiter!" Mars shouted.
"And General Zoisite!" Kunzite climbed out of the window. "They're
holding the creatures down with their powers. I'll help them out."
Turning, he looked back at Sailor Mars. "Thank you."  Then he ran
toward them.

Jedite and Mars watched Kunzite destroy the creatures with his
powers. Then Jedite turned to stare at Mars who also turned to look
at him. Smiling, she spoke, "Everything's fine now. You can go and
tell the others to come out."
Jedite moved, but not to leave. He stepped toward her, mesmerized by
her fiery eyes, her long raven hair and her...
"Are you OK?"
...mouth, her lips.
Mars noticed he was very close to her, close enough to...
"Hey," she said, softly as if hypnotized. "What's going ..."
Suddenly, Jedite placed his lips on her and held her shoulders.  Mars
struggled at first, her eyes open wide in shock. But as he deepened
the kiss, she slowly closed her eyes and allowed it.
When they slowly broke apart, they stared at each other, not moving.
Then Jedite backed away, breathing hard. "Thank you. For helping."
Turning, he ran off.  Mars placed a hand on her lips. "He kissed me!"

Princess Raye and Princess Lita claimed to have gotten separated from
their group and hid in another room. Lord Malachite and Lord Zoicite
said they alerted the Generals but also went to search the castle to
make sure there were no other invasions.
No one knew where the creatures came from, but they do know that the
enemy is from a place that is not of this solar system of the Silver
Millennium. It was also a fact that no matter where Princess Serena
is the monsters would attack. Figuring that she is the intended
target, Prince Darien agreed that a union treaty between the Moon and
the Earth will be allowed.
To show her gratitude, Queen Serenity invited the Prince and his
escorts to a masquerade ball. The Prince agreed to attend but only if
he brings the Earth Generals instead of his lord escorts. That way
Serena will have more protection. It was agreed.

Raye was attacking her closet, throwing dresses and gowns on the
floor. "No. No. No. No. ARRGH! Why can't I find something perfect to
wear? General Jadeite is coming to the ball. I've got to look my best
for him!"
She practically cleaned out her closet until she saw one dress packet
hanging at the back as if stored away. "Huh?" she said, reaching over
and taking it out. "What dress is this?"  She opened it and gasped at
the gown as she pulled it out. Hanging it on a display hook, she
stepped back and admired it.
The straps were spaghetti thin, trimmed with silk dark red rosebuds.
The bodice was ruby red while its sides were dark red like the
rosebuds, and the gown ended about mid-calf. "I know a perfect
necklace with a ruby stone and a dark red choker to go with it!" she
squealed as she grabbed the dress, hugging it and swinging around the
room in glee.

Finally flopping on her bed in a sitting position, Raye smoothed her
silky dress across her lap. Sighing, she brushed a bit of her bangs
aside. Then she slid her hand from her bangs to her lips. Recalling
her kiss with Lord Jedite, she turned a little pink around her
cheeks. 'Why did he kiss me?' she thought. 'It's so weird yet I liked
it.' Falling back on her bed, she stared up at the ceiling. 'I
haven't seen General Jadeite since the first time I met him yet I
feel like I betrayed him by letting Lord Jedite kiss me!'
Pushing her dress aside on the bed, she sat up and drew up her knees
to tuck under her chin. "Jedite is kind of cute, but now I'm
wondering what a kiss from Jadeite would be like!" she said, aloud.
Smiling, she got off her bed. "Time to get ready!"

Walking through the room, General Jadeite observed the festivities of
the masquerade ball. Wearing white masks, many danced to a soothing
melody, many conversed with old acquaintances and meeting new people
from either the Earth or the Moon, and many are eating the finest
dishes in the kingdom.
Jadeite noticed that his fellow General companions are engaged with
the princesses of Serena's court. Zoisite was talking with Amy in
what seems to be a topic of current issues. Kunzite and Mina were
dancing, but only to keep an eye on their royal superiors, Serena and
Darien, also dancing and gazing adoringly into each other's eyes.
Lita and Nephrite are sitting at a table, discussing about the
recipe of the main dish they were eating from.

Sighing in disappointment, Jadeite hoped he would maybe get a glimpse
of Sailor Mars. Although they were not attending the party because of
duties to protect the Moon Kingdom, Queen Serenity assured that they
will be nearby in case anything happened. Positioning his arms in
order to cup his chin, Jadeite ran his finger over his lips,
recalling his kiss to Mars as Lord Jedite. Smiling, he closed his
eyes. Oh, how beautiful she looked, how soft and sweet her lips were.
If only she were here so he could kiss her again! 'But she only knows
me as Jedite. Will she accept me as General Jadeite, too?' he
thought.

"Ahem?"
There was a tap on his shoulder. Jadeite turned to see Princess Raye,
wearing a lovely gown and donning a mask, standing at his side.
"Good evening, Princess." Jadeite bowed his head. Raye shivered at
how handsome he looked in his uniform, draped with a blue gray cape.
He also donned a mask.
"Um, will you consider dancing with me?" Raye asked, boldly, holding
out her hand.
Jadeite looked at her in surprise, then quickly replied, "Uh, as you
wish, milady." Taking her offered hand, he led her to the dance floor
and they proceeded to dance.  There were hanging flower nets over the
dance flow, and by magic, some petals float down and around, making a
very romantic atmosphere.
Raye gazed adoringly at Jadeite as they waltzed. Feeling
uncomfortable, he looked around the room as if waiting to be caught.
'I feel so wrong,' he thought. 'as if I were cheating on Mars. It's
not Raye's fault though. She has nothing to do with this!'  Yet, as
he held her, he felt a sense of familiarity. He finally looked at
her. She does look very pretty tonight, and was it his imagination,
did she seem to be leaning more closer to him?

'Kiss me!' thought Raye. 'Kiss me! I want to know if I feel different
with you than with Jedite.'
Jadeite felt so weird at these familiar feelings. 'I want to know why
I feel this way.' Gazing at Raye's soft violet eyes, he started to
lower his head, eyes beginning to close. Raye closed her eyes,
waiting. Suddenly, Jadeite opened his eyes and gasped, turning his
head to the side. 'What was I thinking? It's Mars whom I want. Or is
it?'
Raye opened her eyes when nothing happened. She stared at his turned
head. Did he changed his mind? 'Oh, no, you don't,' she thought,
making a determined face. 'I want your kiss!' Clasping her hands on
the sides of his head, she forced his head to face her and brought
his lips down to hers.
At first, Jadeite was so surprised at what is happening right now,
but as she kissed him, something inside him snapped. Placing his
hands on her back, he allowed her to keep on kissing him. 'I know
this kiss!'
Raye felt it, too. 'I know this kiss!'

Breaking apart, they stared at each other, astounded. Then, at the
same time, they each reached out and removed the other's mask. Their
masks fell from their hands as they once again looked at each other.

* With his left hand, Jadeite drew Raye to him, resting his chin
against her forehead and holding her right hand in his. Petals fell
around them, and Raye stretched forth her left hand as if to touch
one. *

At that moment they tore away from each other. Jadeite fled toward
the balcony while Raye fled from the party to her room.
Outside, Jadeite went to balcony edge and placed his hands on the
cool, smooth marble, looking down in the gardens and breathing hard.
Entering her room, Raye leaned against her shut door, also breathing
hard.
Simultaneously, they touched their lips and thought the same thought.
'Could it be?'


					THE END


10/01