When Zoisite finished his story he looked at Mercury. She was giggling, and trying her best not to show it. When she realized he had finished, looked at him, and asked: "Did you get him?"

"Well, it depends on what you think catching is. If it means to finish in the kitchen, completely covered with flour, with Neflyte and Endymion choking him, and me and Kunzite with all that night's food all over us, while everyone looked at us, well, we did."

Then, for the first time since they were together, Mercury laughed. She didn't care any longer; she just let everything free. She laughed until her stomach hurt, then looked at Zoisite's confused expression, and laughed again. She was so happy, as if she had opened at last the shell she always carried. For the first time, she was revealing herself as she truly was, not as her friends or everyone else thought she was. This was the real princess Mercury, a joyful, happy and passionate about-to-be-woman, and not the cold, lonely and boring girl the Moon people knew.

In the meanwhile, Zoisite heard her laughing. It was like as if heaven itself was being revealed to him. A sound that filled his ears, his body, and especially his heart. He could feel as Mercury loosened up, and laughed from her heart. Zoisite felt as if his goal had just been achieved. For some minutes, he stood there, just staring at her, and them he started laughing himself. Their voices melded again and again, echoing through the Moon morning. They felt so good in there, alone, together, being how their hearts told them to be.

Suddenly, Zoisite felt a shiver ran up through his spine. The air was changing from a light, happy feeling to an evil, full of hatred environment. His seriousness was immediately detected by Mercury, who stopped laughing, and looked around. There, walking towards them, was their worst nightmare. Ren, the Saturn Prince.

"I've caught you at last," he said venom dripping from his voice. "Now, you little pathetic earthling, let's finish what we started." Ren opened his hand, and threw black energy towards Zoisite. He was surprised, and the evil energy hit him in the chest. As he fell backwards, he heard a scream that he recognized as Mercury's. "Nooo!! Zoisite!"

He tried to stand up, but something seemed to be holding him in place. He moved his head, and looking over him, saw an energy web trapping him. He felt as it surrounded him completely. Trying to get rid of it, he wriggled impatiently, but he wasn't able to break free. From the corner of his eye, he saw as Mercury ran to him, and was stopped by a commanding voice: "No, no, Mercury. If you don't behave, your friend here will suffer." Then, Zoisite felt as he was levitating, and was stuck against a nearby tree. His back smashed against the tree trunk, and he heard a cracking sound, which he recognized.

There go two of my ribs. He grunted, and opened his eyes, trying to focus them on something. Everything was a blur, but there, always there, was the black energy that had him trapped. Shaking his head, the only thing he could move, he cleared his gaze. He looked at Ren, who was clearly enjoying his suffering. Zoisite felt as his stomach revolted just forcing him.

But then, he turned his eyes to his right, and what he saw made his heart break. Mercury was crying. Hot tears running quietly along her cheeks, coming from her beautiful blue eyes, leaving behind them a wet trail of pain. Desperately, he tried to break free again, but all he did was make the evil net to hold him tighter. Air was not reaching his lungs properly, and he started choking. Mercury looked at him in despair, and made a movement to run to him. Suddenly, Ren was in between them, repeating: "Princess Mercury. Forget about him. You have me, and that's an honor. If you continue being so stubborn, you'll make me kill him." While he spoke, he moved his hand towards Zoisite, and he felt as the net pressed against his flesh. The pain was unbearable, especially as it pressed against his arm and he couldn't avoid screaming. Turning his head to his right, he saw as the bandage Mercury had put over his wound was dried again with a deep red: blood…