The weeping pulled Ami back to consciousness, a young man's
broken cries of pain and grief. She struggled to think clearly, taking
in the battlefield around her, and her blood ran cold. Minako and Rei
lay crumpled against the wall, the force of the impact breaking and
twisting them. Makoto was impaled in the phone booth, her blood
forming a pool around her limp form. Mamoru lay in the odd young man's
arms, the boy rocking him as he wept. And Usagi..
Their Princess almost looked like she was sleeping, laying
there on the pavement. Usagi's eyes closed, her golden hair spread
about her, she looked like she was waiting for her fairy tale prince
to awaken her. But the blood on her chest shattered the comforting
illusion, and Ami could almost feel something breaking inside of her
own heart at the sight.
"Usagi," Ami managed weakly.
Fiore looked up in surprise, looking over to where he had
flung her with a single sweep of his sword. His skin was pale green,
and his hair was blue, with two pink tufts on each side of his face.
His clothing was all black, edged in gold, with a flower on his
breast.
"You still live," Fiore said to her softly, laying Mamoru down
on the pavement gently. His eyes hardened as gracefully he rose to his
feet, "You and that girl tricked him, turned him against me. For that,
you will pay."
Ami knelt there, blood streaming down her face from the cut
that Fiore had given her. It was odd, she thought to herself dazedly
as Fiore calmly approached, I didn't know that you could feel cold
rage. Her power sang within her, rising to new levels, and once he was
near enough she flung her hand up and cried out, "Shine Aqua
Illusion!"
"Urk," Fiore staggered back, gazing down at where a spear of
sharpened ice had plunged right through the kisenian flower on his
breast. He struggled to lift his blade, and looked down into what
looked like the cold blue eyes of a demon.
Again and again Ami struck, driving the many spears of ice
into him. With a fury that she had never known before she drew deep
upon her power and screamed, "Shine Aqua STORM!" A massive wave of
elemental cold poured out of her and Fiore simply exploded, each and
every cell of his body rupturing, his body crumbling to frozen dust.
In the darkness of her apartment Ami Mizuno came awake, her
chest heaving and body covered with a cold sweat. 'At least I didn't
wake up screaming,' she thought weakly. She turned to look out the
window, noting it was still dark outside. With a sigh she slipped out
of bed, knowing that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep tonight.
The apartment was lit only by the moonlight that came through
the windows, but Ami still navigated the dark halls with ease. She
carefully opened up the other bedroom nearby her own, and peeked
inside. The little girl lay there on the bed, curled around the doll
that she held, her pink hair spread out around her on the pillows.
'Good, I didn't wake up Chibi-Usa,' Ami thought with some
relief as she shut the door as quietly as possible.
Ami walked down the hallway and passed through the living
room, smiling slightly as she looked at the sleeping Luna and Artemis
curled up together on the couch. She moved on to the kitchen, putting
the kettle on to make herself some tea.
The distorted reflection of her face in the shiny side of the
toaster caught her eye, and Ami reached up to trace the scar running
from one cheek, across the bridge of her nose and down to the other.
If Fiore's strike had been just a bit harder, she would either be
blind or dead. Her mother had urged her to consider plastic surgery,
but Ami had refused. She wanted to remember, always.
The soft whistle of the kettle caught her attention, and she
turned off the heat before pouring a cup of the hot water. Two tea
bags floated in the water before sinking, and she sat down at the
small dining table to let it brew.
The dream still hovered about her. Ami sat back in her chair
with a sigh, letting herself remember what happened after that...
Ami sat there on the pavement, not caring that blood was
dripping down her face onto the pavement, or that bits of Fiore had
splashed against her. She was numb, as if all the heat had been sucked
right out of her in that final attack.
"Ami?" a little girl's voice asked weakly.
Ami's head jerked up, looked at the stunned, shell shocked
face of Chibi-Usa. The little girl was bone pale, tears streaking her
face. 'She just saw both her parents killed, right before her eyes,'
she thought dazedly. Ami forced herself to her feet, summoning up some
of her power to cleanse the blood and filth from her costume.
"Come here," Ami said softly, and with a cry Chibi-Usa ran
into her arms. She held the broken, sobbing child close to her,
murmuring soft, soothing worlds that she knew would have no meaning to
her right now. She held her until the tears eased into sniffles,
keeping her close.
They both felt it then, the warmth and the light on their
faces. The five of them floated there, glowing with an inner light,
there expressions serene, yet sorrowful. "Mommy," Chibi-Usa cried,
trying to fight free of Ami's arms to run towards them.
Ami took in the bodies that were still laying on the pavement
and held Chibi-Usa back, knowing exactly what these shining figures
were. "You can't touch them," she said to the struggling girl, "they
aren't entirely here."
Usagi's face was the saddest as she gazed down at her
daughter, then looked up at Ami's face. "Will you take care of her?"
she asked, her voice ringing in Ami's mind. Ami nodded, accepting the
responsibility fully knowing the obligation it placed her under. She
smiled gently at Chibi-Usa, and though Ami couldn't seem to hear what
was said, the words comforted the little girl.
"I failed you," Ami murmured, looking away from her friends,
feeling tears and a bit of blood still trickling down her face.
"No," Makoto's voice was gentle, "you avenged us. Thank you."
A gentle kiss on the cheek, and Ami almost felt something pass between
them.
Rei gave her a smile, "Take care of yourself, Ami. I know how
you like to take care of everyone else, but save some energy for
yourself." A soft touch, a spark, and she moved on.
Minako surprised her with a gentle kiss on the brow. "This
isn't good- bye," Minako said softly, "just farewell." The senshi of
love's voice dropped to a whisper, "There is someone waiting for you
out there, I promise."
Mamoru put his hands on her shoulders and she felt her costume
itself changing, becoming tougher and more durable. The shoulders
decorations became more elaborate, and the bow at the back lengthened
even as she felt a weight gently settle on her back. "My sword,
Champion of the Moon Kingdom," Mamoru's voice was soft.
Usagi looked at Ami with eyes dark with the regret of what she
had to ask her, so Ami took it out of her hands. "Yes," Ami said to
her softly, "I'll guard the Silver Imperium Crystal until you return.
I swear it will be safe."
"Always the wisest among us," Usagi murmured, and tears
somehow glistened in her blue eyes. The Crystal floated above one
hand, and Ami's transformation wand was in the other. She brought them
together, there was a blinding flash, and a broach marked with the
insignia of Mercury dropped down into Ami's lap.
Usagi turned to where the guardian cats were stirring and she
and Minako spoke to them a few moments. Both cats looked almost as bad
as Ami felt, torn open by their grief. 'I guess I have two more to
watch over,' Ami thought.
"Minako's right, this is not good-bye," the voices rang out to
them all as the figures began to fade away, "merely a farewell..."
Ami noted that the sky was lightening outside and that her tea
had gone cold. She got up to put the kettle back on, and dumped the
old cup down the sink. 'Chibi-Usa will be up soon, better start
breakfast,' she thought.
It had been over a year since it happened, a year since a very
new life had been thrust upon her. She had adapted, and she hoped even
begun to find a certain kind of contentment in her new life. But
things were changing again, and she wasn't sure what was going to
happen.
The Outers had arrived...
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