MERCURY RISING
MERCURY RISING
A Sailor Moon Lemon

	This is my second lemon, and a sequel to my earlier one, "Soul of Fire."
Certain plot twists in this story will make more sense if you have read the
other one first.
	Put the standard disclaimers here. . .these characters ain't mine, I just
borrowed them for awhile.


By Sailor Mac
	"AAUUGGGHH! My button must be broken! There's no way I could have gotten a
score this low!"
	"Oh, stop whining. There's no way either of us could have beaten her.
Einstein couldn't beat her at this game."
	Amy flushed a bit as she looked at the scores appearing on her laptop
screen as the game of "You Don't Know Jack" wound up:
	Serena -7000
	Raye 500
	Amy 20,000
	"It's not that I set out to get so good at this game," she said. "I just
retain a lot of trivia."
	"How much room is *in* that skull of yours?" Raye said. "From the looks of
it, you've *retained* the entire contents of every single library in the
country!"
	"I want a rematch!" Serena cried, stabbing at the "Start New Game" button.
The game started to reset. . .and the screen went black.
	Amy groaned. "Oh no. . .not again. That's the third time this has happened
this week. It's that new electrical cord I got for it-I think it's
defective." She looked at her watch. "Well, no use putting it off. I've got
to go to Take a Byte and get a new one. If I hurry, I can make it before
closing time."
	"I think it's time to call it a night, anyway," Raye said, as they all got
up off the temple floor. "I've got some homework and chores to do."
	"Don't you have some homework too, Serena?" Amy asked.
	"Um. . .homework?"
	"That assignment that the music teacher gave us? We're supposed to be
studying 'La Boheme,' remember?"
	"Oh, *that* homework. I, um, did it already. I listened to it on my
Walkman on the way home."
	"You weren't wearing any headphones."
	"They're new, extra-tiny headphones that you can barely see?"
	"Oh, Serena."
	"Well, I don't see why they keep that dusty, boring old 'La Boheme' thing
around anymore, anyway. 'Rent' tells the same story with much cooler
music."
	Amy let out a big sigh as she packed her laptop back in its carrying case.
"We'll talk about the assignment some more later. Right now, I have to go.
Goodnight."
	She hurried down the street, keeping an eye on her watch. Take a Byte
closed promptly at nine. She should know their schedule well enough by
now-it was practically her second home. She loved the huge selection of
both hardware and software they stocked, and their prices were more than
reasonable-a definite plus for a teenage "grrrrl geek" who was funding her
cyber habit solely on allowance and babysitting money. But most of all, she
loved just shooting the breeze with the owner, Lois.
	Lois Berry had been surfing the Net back when the World Wide Web was
nothing more than a single strand. She could diagnose even the most severe
computer ills with just one quick glance inside the machine. And she went
out of her way to encourage girls who were interested in all things cyber.
	When Amy entered, Lois was counting out the till in preparation for
closing for the night. "Amy! How nice to see you! I've got great
news-SpamSquasher has just been released from Beta. We're getting the first
official copies in next week."
	"That's fabulous. PC or Mac?"
	"Both. For once, the coders aren't neglecting those of us with superior
taste in machines. Sometimes I think they're afraid to write programming
for the Mac because they won't be able to do it justice."
	"Amen to that," said Amy. She put her ailing laptop on the counter. "Lois,
do you remember the cord you sold me for my PowerBook? I think it's
defective. The machine's  been blinking on and off on me for the past
week."
	"Just when you use the cord, or when you use the battery as well?"
	"I haven't used the battery at all since I got the cord."
	"The problem could be more than the cord, you know. Listen, I'm about to
close up, so I can't get to it tonight, but if you leave it with me I'll
run a diagnostic on it first thing in the morning."
	"Would you? Thanks!"
	"I've always got time for you, Amy. You're one special young lady and
you've got a great future ahead of you."
	Amy left the shop feeling elated, as she usually did when she went there.
As she walked toward her house, the evening cold started to get to her, and
she reached in her pocket for her gloves. What her hand encountered was the
rolled-up cord for her laptop.
	"Oh, bother!" she said. How could Lois check to see if the cord was the
problem if she didn't have the cord? She turned around and headed back to
the shop.
	That's when she heard the yelling and crashing-and what sounded like Lois
screaming. "Lois?" Amy took off at a run, and as she approached Take a
Byte, the sight she saw in the window confirmed her worst fears-the store
was being robbed, and three thugs were holding Lois at gunpoint.
	There was only one thing to do. Her wand was in her hand quick as a flash,
and she raised it as she continued to run. "Mercury Pow-" Then, her foot
hit a hole in the sidewalk, and she tumbled down, down, down, watching
helplessly as her wand flew out of her hand and rolled away from her.
	It was at that moment when the gun went off.
* * *
	"She's in a coma," the voice at the other end of the phone said to Amy.
"She was shot in the head. They don't know if she will ever come out of
it."
	Amy trembled, and she felt sick in the pit of her stomach. The policeman
she was speaking to was the one who had arrived at the scene and found a
shaking and crying Amy kneeling next to the fallen Lois. He'd promised to
call her to update her on Lois' condition.
	Amy almost wished he hadn't.
	If I'd been able to transform, she thought, I could have saved her. But
instead I just lay there on the sidewalk while they put a bullet in her
brain. . .that magnificent mind that will never, ever be the same again,
even if she does wake up.
	She hung up the phone, sunk to the floor, and started to cry.
* * *
	"A C+?" her teacher said to her. "This isn't like you, Amy. What's the
matter? Is something wrong at home?"
	"No, Miss Mazuka, nothing. Everything's okay."
	"Are you sure? Is there anything you want to talk about?"
	"No. . .I just had a bad week. . .I'll do better next time." She gathered
up her books and left the classroom, ignoring the teacher's shout of "Amy!"
	Tears stinging her eyes, she started off for home. How could she talk to
anyone about this guilt that was eating her up inside? It had been nearly a
week since the shooting, and Lois hadn't gotten any better. If anything,
she'd gotten worse. And the little voice inside Amy kept saying over and
over, "If you'd been a little more careful, you could have saved her. . ."
	She hadn't been eating or sleeping right. She'd been avoiding her friends.
And she hoped with all her heart that the Negaverse wouldn't decide to try
anything, because she didn't know if she could face transforming into
Sailor Mercury.
	She started to pass Cherry Hill Temple, and at first she sped up, not
wanting to meet up with Raye. Then, she stopped. Maybe, she thought, I
should go pray and meditate, talk to the gods. Maybe I'll get some comfort.
	But as she knelt before the altar, she could not still her heart or her
thoughts, and her mind was a jumble of one awful thought atop another. A
huge lump formed in the middle of her chest. She found it hard to breathe.
	"Okay, what's this?"
	She turned at the sound of the voice, and there was Raye, scowling at her.
"Raye. . ."
	"Serena and Lita are worried sick about you. They told me that all you do
is mope, that you haven't been talking to them, that you're just picking at
your food. Something is wrong, Amy, really wrong, and you had better tell
me what it is."
	"I can't." She burst into tears. "I can't tell anyone. No one would
understand."
	Raye knelt down beside her friend and hugged her. Her "sixth sense" was
telling her that Amy was lost in unfathomable depths of pain, and it was
pain that, indeed, she would have difficulty talking about. If only I could
crawl inside her head, she thought, and ease her pain. . .
	"Someone else can, Raye."
	She heard the voice in her head, the dear, dear voice that had spoken to
her in her mind ever since their encounter in the flesh. Her guardian, her
soul mate, the source of her power ever since the Silver Millennium-the God
Mars.
	"Who?" she thought.
	"You know who, Raye," the voice in her head answered. "And you know what
Amy is supposed to do."
	"Yes. . .yes, I do."
	She held Amy at arm's length. "Amy. . .I want you to do this, and don't
ask any questions. I want you to go out to my garden and gather a bunch of
flowers. Then take them to the. . ." She almost said "sacred fire," but
realized that would be the wrong element for Amy. "Take them to the river
and throw them in, and while you do that, call to the gods and ask them to
send you the one who has been your soul mate for eternity."
	"A. . .a love charm?"
	"I told you not to ask any questions. It's. . .more than a love charm.
Please, if you want to regain your peace of mind. . .do it."
	Amy hugged Raye, then got up and went out to the garden.
	Raye watched her go, and sent up a prayer-"Please, please let this work."
* * *

	It was night. Amy sat on her bed, looking at a schoolbook, comprehending
nothing. She'd done as Raye said, and as the flowers floated away, she'd
briefly seen a reflection of a beautiful male face in the water. The sight
of it had given her a ray of hope.
	But nothing else had happened after that, and the old despondency closed
in on her again.
	She tried to read the book, but all she could see before her was an image
of Lois lying in her hospital bed hooked up to all kinds of tubes. She
slammed the book shut. "Why, oh why did this have to happen to her?"
	"There's no easy answer to that, Amy."
	She gasped and whirled around. There in the corner of her room stood a
beautiful young man-the very man she had glimpsed in the water. "How did
you get in here?"
	"I came because you needed me. But I have never been far from you, Amy.
Look at me-you've seen me before."
	She raised her eyes to his face, and fragments of dreams and fantasies
came vividly to her. In nocturnal visions, she had been held in the arms of
this man, kissed him, made love with him. "I have," she whispered.
	"Then you know that you can trust me absolutely. I love you, Amy. I always
have and always will." He sat down next to her. "Now talk to me about
what's been bothering you."
	And it all came out in a sobbing rush. He held her as she cried and cried,
gasping out the tale between sobs. He kissed the top of her head and
stroked her hair-and his touch felt like balm to her shattered nerves, as
if he was drawing her pain away from her with his fingertips.
	"My Amy," he whispered, "you have no need to feel guilty. Even as Sailor
Mercury, you would not have been able to stop a speeding bullet. Your
powers were given to you to fight the Negaverse. Human evil is an entirely
different matter."
	"If only I knew she was going to be all right. . ."
	"She will. Trust me, Amy, she will." He clasped her tighter, and as his
flesh crushed against hers, a delicious shudder passed through her. He was
even more magnificent in person than he'd been in her dreams. Tentatively,
she touched her lips to his throat, then kissed up to his chin. He took her
face in his hands, and brought his mouth to hers. She purred as his lips
moved on hers, and his tongue softly probed her mouth. This kiss seemed to
go on forever. When it broke apart, they squeezed each other as tight as
they could, her face buried in his shoulder. "I never thought I could feel
like this. . " she whispered.
	"Amy. . ." He turned her around and sat her on his lap. His hands roamed
over the front of her nightgown, smoothing over her stomach, cupping and
stroking her breasts. She felt like she was a lump of clay and he was a
sculptor forming her. The cloth seemed like a brick wall between them. She
hopped off his lap, pulled off the nightgown, dropped it to the floor. He
sucked in his breath. "You're breathtaking, my Amy. Like a sea nymph in the
moonlight."
	"I want to see you, too. Let me see you."
	Was it her imagination, or did he just pass his hands over his body and
his clothes vanished? As soon as her eyes passed over the broad expanse of
chest, the strong arms and wide shoulders, she felt her heart pound into
overdrive, her breath come in quick gasps, a dampness rising between her
thighs. She fell upon him, and they tumbled back onto the bed together. His
hands sought out her breasts as their lips locked, and the feathery touch
of his fingers on her nipples made her groan deeply. He took his mouth from
hers only to lower it  where his hands had been, his lips sucking, his
tongue dancing on the hardened tip. "Ohh, ohh," she groaned, as his mouth
moved quickly from one rosebud to the other and back again.
	Her hand moved along his thigh, tentatively inching toward its ultimate
goal. She touched it for a second, then pulled her hand quickly away.
"That's right, sweetheart, put your hand on it. Don't be timid about
expressing your love." He guided her hand, helping her grasp him and stroke
him in just the right rhythm. She felt it swell, heard his groan of
pleasure. Pleased and encouraged, she bent over it, opening her mouth and
slowly taking it in. "Ooohh, you *are* a fast learner!" he said. She
sucked, enjoying its heat, its texture, the way it filled her mouth. He
reached between her legs and began to stroke her heated folds, probing
gently between the virgin nether lips before moving up to caress her jewel.
Amy's whole body jerked. She felt her nipples get even harder as electric
sensations began running through her.
	Pulling him out of her mouth, she gasped, "Please, please let's keep
going. . .I want to feel you inside me."
	"Oh, Amy. . ." He rolled her on her back, positioning her legs so that he
lay between them. "It'll hurt a bit at first. . ."
	"I don't care. I want you and I to be a part of each other."
	"We always have been," he whispered, as his fingers probed deeper in her,
opening her up, getting her ready. Then she felt his manhood begin to probe
her, and she tensed up slightly. The first thrust brought a searing pain,
and she let out a little shriek. He paused, to see if she was all right.
Then, she looked straight into his eyes and gave him the sweetest smile he
had ever seen. It was all the encouragement he needed.
	He moved, first tentatively, then faster and faster. Amy felt like her
insides were turning to lava. With every outstroke, his huge cock stroked
against her hot nub, and a fury built in her and grew stronger and
stronger. "Oh, honey, it's incredible," she gasped. "Oh, it's wonderful.
Don't ever stop. Don't ever stop." The sound of his murmurs and moans, the
scent of sweat and sex, the feel of his chest rubbing against her
super-sensitive nipples. . .everything was driving her over the edge. She
grabbed his ass with both hands, trying to pull him deeper and deeper into
her, raising her hips off the bed and thrusting up hard against him. He
stroked his tongue up her neck and into her ear-and that burst the
floodgates. With a great cry, she felt the world shatter, dimly aware of
him reaching the same peak just seconds afterward.
	She didn't know how long she slept afterward. When she awoke, it was still
dark out. She looked around for him frantically. "Are you still there?"
	"Right here, my sweet. I was just admiring you sleeping from a distance."
He was back in the corner where she had first seen him. "I chose well."
	She got out of the bed, walked over to him. She embraced him from behind,
rubbing her breasts against his back, her womanhood against his ass. "I
never want you to go away."
	"We only have a short time together like this, face-to-face. But I'll
always be near you." He turned in her arms, took her face in his hands and
kissed her, long, deep and soulful. "How do you feel?"
	"Wonderful."
	"Do you want me to come back to the bed with you?"
	She blushed, smiled sweetly.
	"Don't ever be ashamed of your sexuality, Amy. It's a very beautiful part
of you. If you want me, just ask."
	"Then. . .I want you to make love to me again."
	He picked her up and carried her to the bed. Their mouths caressed and
played with each other as he laid her down, his fingers stroking lightly up
and down the inside of her arms, moving up and over to her breasts. Gently,
he squeezed the nipples between his fingers, feeling them contract and
harden. She felt the answering tingles deep in her liquid center, and her
legs slowly parted, exposing the most vulnerable part of her, extending an
open invitation. It was an invitation he was eager to take.
	He kissed down her throat to her breasts, taking the left nipple in his
mouth, sucking and rolling his tongue over it until she groaned. When he'd
had his fill, he fed from the other. She tangled her fingers in his hair as
he began moving down, down, and still down, and when his tongue made
contact with her pearl, she thought the top of her head would come off. He
teased it, flicking his tongue over it lightly at first, then licking
slowly, agonizingly slowly. Finally, he took it in his lips and sucked, and
she bucked her hips and moaned. "Yes. . .oh baby. . .I'm coming, com-
AAAHHH!!"
	As she recovered from her spasms, he held her in his arms, kissing her
face and neck gently. "I want to make love," she whispered, "with me on
top."
	"MMmmm, that's a request I can live with." He propped himself up against
the headboard so he was in a semi-sitting position. With his hands on her
hips, he guided her as she sat on his cock, drawing it deep inside her. She
just sat there still for a moment, savoring the feel of him filling her.
Then, she began pumping her hips, slowly, then faster, enjoying the feel of
being in control. He brought one hand to her breasts, stroking the nipples,
caressing them, squeezing them lightly.
	Though she was unaware of it in her passionate delirium, he was stretching
the other hand out to the side while giving a mental command. Her Mercury
wand flew into his hand.
	She was thrusting and pumping, harder and harder, feeling herself getting
ready to let go. "Baby. . .baby, almost there, almost there. . .OOHHH!
NOW!" As she cried out in orgasm, and he cried out too, she felt something
cool thrust into her hand, something he was holding on to also.
	They lay entwined together, their breathing returning to normal, their
heartbeats slowing down. As she came back to her senses, she raised her
head to look at what was in her hand.
	It was something made of a curious metal, a metal that seemed not of this
earth. It was a staff around which two serpents were entwined. She'd seen
the symbol in doctors' offices before. And it was glowing with a strange
blue light.
	"It's your Mercury wand, Amy," her lover said. "It was transformed by our
loving."
	"What is it?"
	"It's the caduceus, the ultimate wand of healing. You're going to use it
to heal Lois."
	"The caduceus? The symbol of the god. . ." Then, it clicked. She knew who
her lover was, and she gasped. "You're. . .you're. . ."
	"Yes, Amy. I'm Mercury. The source of your power. I chose you to be my
priestess, champion and lover back in the Silver Millennium. I came to you
because you were hurting and needed me."
	Her mind was whirling. Bits and pieces of Greek and Roman mythology were
flying about in her head like debris in a tornado. "Am I going to carry
your child like the women in the old stories?"
	He laughed. "No, you don't have to fear the wrath of Hera. The mating
between a god and his champion cannot produce offspring. However, you'll
notice the next time you use your powers that you have a substantial
power-up."
	She shook her head. "I still can't believe it."
	"Believe it. Believe in me, and believe in yourself. You'll need it to
heal Lois." He drew her to her feet. "My time with you grows short. I have
to leave you, my love."
	"But. . .you said you were coming with me to help Lois."
	"*You're* going to help her. You can do it, Amy. You and only you."
	"But what do I do?"
	"When the time comes, you'll know. Now let's get you suited up." He
concentrated for a moment, then put his fingertips on Amy's temples. She
went into her transformation, and within seconds, Sailor Mercury was
standing there, caduceus in hand.
	"My beautiful Amy," he said. "I always knew I had good taste."
	She threw herself into his arms. "Will I ever see you again?"
	"Yes, you will. In your dreams. In the eyes of a man you love. And I will
always be speaking to you. I'm never far from you, Amy." Their lips met for
a last kiss, and she felt his warmth fading away. When she opened her eyes,
he was gone.
	Filled with a sense of purpose, she grasped the glowing blue wand and
headed for the hospital.
* * *
	Her Mercury powers must have given her a cloak of invisibility, for nobody
stopped her as she entered the hospital and sought out Lois' room. There
the woman lay, just as Amy had imagined her-looking shrunken and frail,
lost in a horror movie maze of tubes and wires.
	Gently, Amy touched the caduceus to the spot where the bullet had entered
her brain. "Mercury. . .supreme. . .healing. . .activation!"
	The blue glow suddenly enveloped Amy, Lois, and most of the room. When it
faded, the caduceus had turned back into the regular Mercury wand, Sailor
Mercury had turned back into Amy, and Lois Berry's eyelids were fluttering.
	She looked at the girl beside her. "Amy? How did you get in here?"
	"Lois! You're all right!"
	"What happened? The last thing I remember is this guy with a gun. . ."
	But Amy was flying out into the hall, crying, "She's awake! Lois Berry is
awake!"
	Instantly, a flood of doctors and nurses began pouring into the room, and
exclamations of surprise and astonishment filled the air. Amy quietly
slipped out of the building, kissing the symbol on her Mercury wand before
sliding it back into her purse.
* * *
	"They're calling it the medical miracle of the century," Lita said,
reading from the newspaper. "Nobody can figure out how the damaged and
destroyed brain tissue grew back. According to this, she hasn't lost a
single memory." She put the paper down and looked at her fellow Scouts, who
were sitting around a table at the diner. "Is that the damnedest thing you
ever heard or what?"
	"The guy down at Take a Byte said she'd probably be coming back to work in
a couple of weeks," Mina said, shaking her head. "Incredible."
	"Maybe the doctors just goofed up the first time," Serena said. "Maybe she
wasn't hurt as bad as they thought."
	"You can't underestimate a gunshot wound to the head," Raye snapped back.
	Amy had a dreamy look on her face. "I guess. . .some things were meant to
remain mysteries."
	Then her eyes met Raye's, and they exchanged a smile, knowing that each
now had a very sweet secret.