A Walk in the Park
     The Guardsman Chronicles, Chapter Four
                by Rick Federle  
                         
       
          Mina stopped in the doorway before Darien's apartment and
     raised her hand so she could knock on the door.   She paused,
     glancing up and down the hallway, noting that there was no one
     around, an unusual event given that it was about time for everyone
     to be getting home from work.
          Her mind was reflecting the opinions of her friends as she
     stood in the hallway.  Serena trusted him and so did Luna.  And
     much to her surprise, so did Susan.  And given that Susan tended to
     know more than she let on, Susan's reaction would normally have
     raised a few eyebrows among the Scouts.  But, everyone had their
     own opinions and were sticking with them for their own reasons.
          Mina gave an involuntary yelp of surprise as the door
     opened just far enough for someone to reach through, grab her by
     the wrist, and yank her through the opening.  She felt herself being
     spun in a circle, going most of the way around before landing in
     William's arms, recognizing his touch instantly.  He grabbed her by
     her waist as she landed in his arms, going so far as to lift her slightly
     off of her feet when he caught her.  Mina wrapped her arms around
     William's neck as he leaned her over on her back toward his left and
     pressed his lips down against hers for a kiss.  She felt the breath like
     breeze on her legs as the door swung closed, shutting with a soft
     click.
          "Hi."  William exchanged a smile with her as he pulled his
     lips away from hers, letting his face less than an inch from hers.
          Mina giggled impulsively, she couldn't help it.  "Do you
     greet all the girls this way?"  She asked, letting herself hang from
     his neck.
          "Only the one I'm in love with."  He clarified, setting her
     back on her feet.
          "So I get special treatment, huh?"  Mina's eyes twinkled in
     amusement as he pulled her up against himself so that her body was
     pressed up against his.  She let her arms slide off of his neck so that
     her wrists would rest on his shoulders.
          "Yep."  William pressed his lips back up against hers.
          "Miss me?"  Mina asked, all innocence.
          "Yes."  William stated.  "Let me show you how much."  
     With that, he gave her a passionate kiss.
          "Mmm . . . save some of that for later."  Mina suggested
     contently as the kiss broke, William's nose resting next to hers.
          "If Your Highness insists."
          "My Highness does."  Mina giggled again, slipping out of
     his arms.  She turned but got no more than a step before William
     had his arms around her waist.  His arms were wrapped firmly
     around her stomach, crossed over one another, his hands resting on
     her stomach.
          "I wasn't done yet."  He said, pulling her back up against
     himself.
          "Oh, yes you were."  Mina smiled back over her shoulder at
     him, dropping her arms and letting the palms of her hands come to
     rest on the back of his hands.  "You . . . "  She reached across and
     over her shoulder and touched him on the nose, which he wrinkled
     at her touch, causing her to giggle again.  "You are coming with
     me."
          "And where are we going?"  He asked, letting his chin rest
     on her left shoulder.
          "Shopping."  Mina declared.  "I've got to take you out and
     buy you some more clothes."
          "What's wrong with what I have?"
          "Nothing."  Mina agreed.  "Except you only have one set."
          "And what's wrong with that?"  William buried his face into
     the hollow of her shoulder, causing her to tilt her head as he began
     to nuzzle her on the neck.
          "Quit that."  Mina giggled again and smacked him gently on
     the top of the head.  "Pay attention to me."
          He looked back up at her.  "But I am paying attention to
     you."  He protested.
          "Not like that."  Mina giggled.  "Now, go get your key so
     we can go shopping."  William looked inquiringly into her eyes. 
     "Besides, we can always take a walk in the park first."
          William smiled at her.  "Now you have my attention."
          "I thought I already did."  Mina turned around, took his face
     in her hands, and stretched up to kiss him, raising her right foot to
     knee level.  Her arms dropped back around his neck as he put his
     arms back around her.  "Now get."  She exchanged a smile with
     him and they let go of each other.  Mina turned to watch him walk
     over to the coffee table.  She tilted her head as she caught the
     sound of him muttering to himself after a moment.  "What was that,
     love?"  She called.
          "I can't find the key."  She heard William say.
          With a frown, she walked into the living room to find him
     going through several stacks of books lying on the very crowded
     coffee table.  Almost every inch had a book or more on it.  "I think
     I left it here."  William said from the far side of the coffee table,
     moving books around so he could check in between and under
     them.
          Mina walked over to where he was, but caught sight of the
     key lying on the couch before she could reach him.  She leaned over
     and picked it up from where it must have slipped out of his pocket. 
     "Is this it?"  She asked, holding it up, knowing full well that it was.
          William turned and looked.  "Yes."  He held out his hand
     for it.
          "No."  Mina closed her hand over the key.  "I think I'll just
     hang onto it for you."
          "Don't make me come over there and take it."  William
     lowered his hand.
          Mina slipped the key into one of the pockets of her shorts. 
     "Come and get it."  She gave a yelp and bolted for the door when
     William took a step toward her.
          William grinned at her when she stopped at the doorway,
     realizing that he wasn't chasing her after all.  "You can hang onto it
     for me."
          "Spoilsport."  She pouted as he walked toward her.
          "You know, you're lovely even when you're pouting." 
     William commented as he put his arms around her waist.
          "I know."  Mina giggled, resting her hands on his upper
     arms.
          William leaned forward and kissed her.  "Now, let's go for
     that walk."  He said as he took his arms from around her.  Mina
     smiled back and nodded in agreement.
          
                                     * * *
          
          Azmaria frowned as she paced, her mind on the problem the
     Negaforce had given her.  She had to collect as much energy as she
     could for her master and at the same time eliminate the Sailor
     Scouts and recapture the Guardsman.  Several alternatives
     presented themselves, none of them very good.  First off, she could
     send out a large group of warriors to collect the energy they
     needed, but while that would accomplish the objective, it would
     waste too many warriors in the process.
          Second off, she could send out just one warrior and hope
     the Sailor Scouts didn't notice, but that wasn't practical either,
     because if they did notice, the warrior was wasted as well.  Finally,
     she could send out a bunch of warriors one at a time, which had the
     advantage of the first alternative and the disadvantage of the
     second.
          Absently, she dropped onto the nearest boulder as she
     mulled over her choices.  The third had the advantage of collecting
     the necessary energy, the Negaforce's main objective at this time. 
     The second probably wouldn't accomplish much if anything.  The
     first might remove the Sailor Scouts from the picture, but based on
     the results of her encounter with them the other day she didn't judge
     that likely.
          With a wave of her hand, one of her warriors appeared at
     her elbow, standing next to her.  "Yes, mistress?"  It asked.
          "Go to a park and start collecting energy from the humans
     you find there."
          "Yes, mistress."  It bowed and vanished.
          With a smile, Azmaria raised her hand to summon another.
          
                                     * * *
          
          "All right, here we are."  Mina said, tugging gently at
     William's hand.  She had the fingers of his left hand interlaced with
     the fingers of her right hand.  "One park, as requested."
          William pulled her into his arms.  "One princess, as
     requested."
          Mina giggled, letting her hands come to rest on his upper
     arms.  "Quit calling me that."
          "Yes, Highness."  William agreed.
          Mina smacked him on the arm.  "Behave."  She commanded
     with a giggle.
          "You were the one always sneaking off to see me."  William
     reminded her.  "I was the innocent one."
          "You?  Innocent?"  Mina repeated.  "Not a chance."  She
     searched his eyes for a moment, locking her gaze with his.  "Let's
     go find a bench overlooking the lake and we can watch the sun go
     down."
          "What about shopping?"  William asked as he let go of her,
     their eyes still locked.
          "What about shopping?"  Mina repeated as she glanced
     down so she could take his hand again.
          "I thought you wanted to go shopping?"  William reminded
     her as they began walking down one of the paths in the park.
          "Later."  Mina remarked.  "I want to spend the afternoon
     with the one I love."
          William disengaged his hand from hers and put his left arm
     around her waist, pulling her up next to him.  Mina pressed herself
     into his side as they walked, slipping both of her arms around him
     and resting her cheek on his chest.  "I missed you so."  She
     whispered a few minutes later.
          William stopped and gathered her in his arms.  "I missed
     you, too."  He agreed, kissing her on the top of the head then
     resting his right cheek there.   "More than you can imagine."
          Mina gave a content sigh and closed her eyes while William
     led her over to a bench.  "Hold me."  She requested, burrowing her
     face into his chest.
          "I am holding you."   William reminded her as they sat
     down, wrapping his arms tighter around her.
          "Don't let go."  She whispered.  "Hold me until the end of
     time."
          "I will."  William told her.  "My heart."
          Mina looked up in surprise.  "You've never called me that
     before."
          "But it's true."  William declared.  "You mean everything to
     me, now more than ever."  William's eyes looked out into the park,
     seeing the children playing in a nearby field.  "Things are so
     different, yet so much the same."
          "What do you mean?"
          "Technology may have changed, but people are still the
     same.  The children still run through the grass as they play and
     everyone else still watches over them, remembering when they were
     the ones running through the grass."
          "Are we going to have children, then?"  Mina teased.
          "Only if you decide to marry me some day."  William
     agreed.
          "I will, some day."  Mina stated after a moment.  "But until
     then, we can pick up where we left off."
          "And where would that be?"
          "Right about here."  Mina stretched up and kissed him
     seriously, wrapping her arms around his neck.
          "Watch out!"  A young female voice called.
          William's hands came up in a blur as he let go of Mina.  He
     caught something with a sharp smack between his palms.  Mina
     turned her head and saw the volleyball William had caught only
     inches from her head.  She paled slightly.  "That could have been
     painful."  William commented.
          "Sorry about that."  A girl about eight or so apologized as
     she came trotting up to them.  "It got away from us."  William
     passed the ball back to the girl, who blinked in surprise.  "Hi,
     Mina."
          "Hi, Kerry."  Mina said with a friendly smile.  "No harm
     done."
          "You two know each other?"  William asked.
          "Kerry, this is William."  Mina said.  "He's an old friend of
     mine."
          "Hi."  Kerry said.  "Mina came and told my kindergarten
     class all about Sailor Venus and Sailor Moon a couple of years ago. 
     Sailor Venus is so cool."
          "Yes, she is.  I like Sailor Venus, too."  William agreed.
          "Really?"  Kerry sounded surprised.
          "Oh, yes.  She's my favorite."
          "Mine, too."  Kerry agreed enthusiastically.
          "Kerry!"  A woman called.
          "That's my mom.  Gotta go!"  Kerry waved to them as she
     ran off.
          The two smiled after the retreating girl.  "So, you like Sailor
     Venus, too."  Mina turned her attention back to William with a
     smile.
          William smiled back at her.  "Yes."
          "You'd better, mister."  Mina poked him gently in the
     stomach.
          "Or what?"  William teased.
          "Or else."  Mina stretched back up to finish their interrupted
     kiss.
          They broke off as the sounds of screaming arose. 
     "Trouble."  William's eyes went flat.
          "Let's go."  Mina said and the two disentangled themselves
     from one another and leaped to their feet, heading in the direction
     the sound had come from.  They broke through a line of bushes and
     skidded to a halt as they nearly plowed into a Negamonster. 
     William tackled Mina as an energy tentacle from the Negamonster
     reached for them, carrying both of them back through the bushes,
     out of sight of the Negamonster.
          Mina blinked in surprise to find William over top of her,
     covering her body with his own, his arms still locked around her
     waist from where he had grabbed her to tackle her.   "Umm . . . 
     Shouldn't we do something about that Negamonster?"
          "Right."  William stood up and offered her a hand.  Mina
     accepted it and rose to her feet a little unsteadily.  "You okay?"
          "A little shaky but I'll be okay."  Mina reassured him as she
     glanced around.  "Don't think anything's broken.  Let's transform
     and trash that Negacreep."
          "I'm with you."  William stated, holding out his hand and his
     power pen materialized.  "Guard Crystal Power, Make Up!"
          "Venus Crystal Power, Make Up!"
          Sailor Venus and the Guardsman crouched and leaped into
     the air, clearing the line of bushes easily.  The Negamonster had
     moved away from the bushes, apparently as surprised to see them
     as they had to see it.  It was about ten feet tall with glowing red
     eyes, blue skinned but otherwise human looking.  "Go away or
     Hurricane will thrash you."  It said.
          A young girl struggled weakly in Hurricane's left fist.  "It's
     got a hostage."  Venus said, alarmed.
          "Then we do it the hard way."  The Guardsman drew his
     sword.
          "Are you still here?  Then let me help you leave."  Hurricane
     raised a hand and released a gust of wind as the Guardsman leaped
     into the air.  He flew over backward and landed on the ground near
     Venus.
          Venus looked over at the Guardsman then back up at
     Hurricane, her eyes hardening.  "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"
          Hurricane sidestepped the golden energy heart.  "Is that all
     you got?"  It taunted.
          The Guardsman sat up with a groan, causing Venus to
     glance over at him for a second.  "Now I'm upset."  He rose back to
     his feet and held out his hand for his sword.  It disappeared off of
     the ground and rematerialized in his hand.
          With a frown, Hurricane released an extended gust of wind,
     sending Venus and the Guardsman tumbling.  "Come and get me." 
     It taunted as it battered them with the wind.  "If you can."
          "Mars Flame Sniper!"  The fire arrow slammed into
     Hurricane's shoulder, causing it to drop the hostage.  "That good
     enough?"  Mars asked from where she stood one step in front of
     the others on the left side of the line.  The other Scouts stood
     nearby, centered on Sailor Moon.  Hurricane turned around to face
     them with a frown, clutching it's shoulder as the hostage crawled
     for safety.
          "For love and justice, I am Sailor Moon.  In the name of the
     Moon, I will punish you."  Sailor Moon said.
          "Try this, Moon brat."  Hurricane raised a hand and bolts of
     tree trunk sized lightning crashed into the ground around it, tearing
     huge holes in the ground.  The Scouts yelped and dodged for cover
     as the lightning bolts slammed into the ground where they had been
     standing only seconds before.  "You will all be shattered by the
     power of Hurricane."  It declared as the lightning bolts followed the
     Scouts toward cover, and keeping them pinned down.
          Venus shook her head to clear it as she sat up.  The wind
     had abated and lightning had taken it's place.  As she looked toward
     Hurricane, she saw the Guardsman sprinting toward it, his sword at
     ready.
          Hurricane turned and saw the threat and began to direct the
     lightning toward him, trying to hit him. 
          "Guardsman!  No!"  Venus called as she rolled to her feet
     and began to sprint after him, only to topple over backwards as a
     bolt of lightning ripped the air directly in front of her.
          "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"  Venus flung the golden
     heart at the Negamonster more to try to distract it than to actually
     hit it, something she couldn't do without possibly hitting the
     Guardsman.
          "Be careful."  She whispered to her love as he dodged bolt
     after bolt, her eyes full of worry and clasping her hands in front of
     her as he danced between the bolts.  The two had bought the
     reprieve gave the other Scouts needed to re-form.
          Hurricane parried the Guardsman's first sword slash with an
     energy axe.  "So, you can fight after all," Hurricane commented as
     it swung back.
          "Oh, yes."  The Guardsman agreed, stepping back and
     Hurricane half turned in time to see the Scouts launch their attack
     as the Guardsman threw himself clear.
          "Dead Scream."
          "World Shaking!"
          "Deep Submerge!"
          "Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"
          "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
          "Mars Flame Sniper!"
          "Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
          Hurricane gave a scream of pain as the Scouts' attacks bolts
     tore into and shredded it.  Venus rose to her feet and began walking
     toward the Guardsman, absently brushing herself off.  The
     Guardsman got to his feet and sheathed his sword as Venus walked
     over to him.  "You. . . . " She began.  "You . . . You  . . .You . . . " 
     She gave up and flung her arms around him.  "Don't scare me like
     that."  She demanded as she buried her face in his chest.
          He put his arms around her and kissed her on the top of the
     head.  "Yes, my heart."