Finding Mercury: The Meeting
'"Mars! Save me!" Rei turned to see a girl in a blue sailor suit, reaching out to her.
"How?" Rei reached out her hand to see if she would take it. Just as their hands touched, there was a bright light and all disappeared.
"Find me…Find Sailor Mercury!"'
*XXX*
Rei sat up in her bed and looked around, bewildered. She ran a hand through her hair, sighing. "As usual, it was simply a dream." Shaking it off, she began preparing herself for school.
'I'm gonna be late… WHY did I stay after for archery? Geez I-'"Ow!" Rei had been hurrying down the street, trying to get home in time for her study group. However she had just run into an obstacle…A distantly familiar one. Sitting below her, rubbing her head, was a girl about her age, wearing a school uniform. 'It looks like Usagi's…'
"I'm terribly sorry about that. I really shouldn't walk and read!" A blush covered her pale face, and Rei found herself rushing to reassure her.
"Oh, it was my fault too. I'm in a bit of a hurry. Let me help you-"Rei gasped when their hands touched. For a split second, the girl in her dream came to mind, but she quickly shook it off.
"Are you all right?" Rei came back to reality to see the girl waving a hand in front of her face.
"Oh yes, I'm fine Miss…"
"Ami. Mizuno Ami."
"I am Hino Rei. While I wish we could have met under better circumstances, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Ami smiled and blushed at her politeness, and Rei found she was also blushing. 'That smile…Where could I have seen it before?' Blinking, she remembered why they were meeting in the first place.
"I'm sorry to rush off like this, but I have to go!" Rei turned and continued to run down the sidewalk, leaving Ami to stare at the hand Rei had held. 'It's so warm…'
*XXX*
"And that's where the dream ends, Luna." Rei sighed as she finished recounting the vision.
One of the girls at the table, Usagi, scrunched her nose in thought. "Now that you mention it, where is Sailor Mercury? We have Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Earth, even the Moon! Why not Mercury?"
Luna sighed. "I don't know, Usagi. I haven't been able to sense her at all. I think her power may have been blocked somehow, which would mask her aura from us."
Another girl, Makoto, clenched her fist. "Well. Where ever she is, we could use her help. You said she's a strategist, right?"
"That's correct, but I-"
Minako interrupted her. "Well, that's perfect! Let's compile a list of the smartest teenage girls in Japan and see if they react.
Usagi perked up at this idea. "I know exactly where to start! There's this girl at my school, she's a real genius! Her name's Mizuno…Mizuno…"
"Ami?" Rei looked up. 'What a coincidence!"
"Yeah! Do you know her?"
"No, I just happened to meet her in passing on the way here."
"Anyhow," Makoto cut in, "where would we find the time? Nephrite has been attacking left and right!" The entire room went silent as they all pondered this.
Luna spoke up again. "We really don't have time for this. Mercury will awake when destiny decides it is time, and not a single second before." She paused and stared at Rei. "You really don't remember a thing else about her, other than the dream, Mars?"
Rei narrowed her eyes at the phrasing. "No, but should I?"
"N-no, just wondering."
*XXX*
It was a few days later, after school, and Ami was walking to her cram school. 'I wonder if I'll see her again…She was so beautiful. But I feel as if I've met her before, somehow.' She stared down at her hand. 'That tingling sensation when pour hands touched, just what was that, anyways?' Aloud she said, "Maybe some sort of buzzer?"
"Buzzer?" Ami jumped at the voice behind her.
"Rei? What are you doing?"
"Never mind that, what buzzer?" Although Usagi had already told her, Rei felt she needed to confirm that Ami did indeed go to Juuban Middle.
"That was simply me thinking aloud. Where are you headed?"
"I'm on my way home, and you?"
"I am headed towards my cram school."
"Oh, is it the one on fifth, where the bus is?"
"Yes, that's exactly it."
Rei felt happiness bubble up. "I take that bus, would you like me to walk you to the school? 'Why do I want to spend time with her?'
"But you'd have to catch a later bus…" As much as Ami wanted Rei to go along with her, she didn't want to be an inconvenience.
"Oh, it's no problem; my friends are never on time anyways." Rei waved a hand dismissively.
Ami was extremely disappointed when they quickly arrived at her school. Rei had been so easy to talk to, and they shared some common interests. Rei also smiled a bit sadly. "Well, I suppose this is where we say good bye."
Ami bowed gratefully. "Thank you for-"She was cut off by some children who bumped into her, throwing her off balance. Just as she felt herself descend to the ground, she caught against something soft. Ami reveled in the feel for a moment. As she felt arms tighten around her, she realized Rei had caught her. 'She's not only soft, she incredibly warm! I feel like I'm sitting in front of a fire!'
"Are you okay, Ami?" Rei had become worried when her friend hadn't stood up; however, she seemed fine, if a bit dazed.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you. For everything." Ami smiled at her before waving and turning to enter the building.
Rei smiled back and waved until Ami was inside. Just as she lost sight of her however, she noticed a small disk at her feet. 'Now where did this come from?'
*XXX*
"Nephrite! You have mixed reviews when it comes to your plans to gather energy for our great ruler. What do you intend to do now?"
A tall man with long brown hair bowed before his mistress, Queen Beryl. "In schools across Japan, students and teachers spend lots of energy cramming and reviewing. I plan to attack one such school made especially for that purpose."
Queen Beryl narrowed her eyes. "Very well, but know the price of failure."
"Yes, My Queen."
*XXX*
"It looks like a normal disk to me, guys." Rei frowned at Luna's statement.
"I get a bad feeling from it is all. If there's really nothing wrong, I ought to return it to her."
"Wait! What's this program?" Luna began tapping faster at the keys with her paws before gasping. "This is a program form the Dark Kingdom! It's intended to slowly suck the energy from you!"
Rei's eyes widened. "Ami's in trouble! We have to help her." 'I have to help her!"
Luna sighed. "Are you sure about that, Rei?"
"Wh- what do you mean?"
"I mean who knows how many minions Nephrite has under him? Ami could be one of them!"
Rei clenched her fists. "That's not true! Ami is a good person, and I have to save her!" Without waiting for the opinions of her friends, she dashed from the temple.
*XXX*
Ami frowned as she stared at the screen. 'First I lose my disk, and now I can't concentrate. Gosh, this program makes my headache. I'd prefer to just write it all down.'
Nephrite watched the classroom from the door. "Alright, Bunbo, give me lots of energy!" He threw open the door and let the monster inside.
"I am Bunbo; I am here to collect your energy!"
Ami looked in fear at the monster that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. 'We have no way to call for help… What can we do?' She coughed as the monster blew out some sort of smoke. Everyone around her began to moan as they dropped to the floor, unconscious. Only she remained upright, but she could feel herself getting weaker.
"You there! Why have you not fallen prey to my dust? No matter, I will take your energy myself!" Ami screamed in fear, then pain as Bunbo grabbed her head and shook it. She could feel claws digging into her skin, and tears formed.
"LET ME GO!" She felt a burst of power, and heard Bunbo's surprised shout.
"What's this mark on your forehead?" Before anything else could happen, another voice interrupted, and the mark abruptly faded.
"That's far enough!" Ami weakly turned to see a figure standing in the mysterious fog that seemed to have half formed. The figure stuck out their hand at pointed at Bunbo. At once, a burst of flame erupted and headed straight for them. The monster threw her to the side, and Ami saw everything go black as her head hit the floor.
*XXX*
"Ami? Are you awake?" Ami groaned as she came to. She looked around, and could see there was still a battle going on. 'Those must be the Sailor Senshi… They fight monsters.' She suddenly noticed the beautiful girl in front of her. She wore a sailor suit with a white body and a red skirt. A large purple bow and a small mask adorned her face and chest.
"Are you okay?" She asked softly, amethyst eyes filled with concern.
"I-I-"Ami struggled to talk. 'Do I have a concussion?'
"Can you stand?" She nodded, but still need assistance to get on her legs. As soon as she was upright, however, she collapsed half way to the ground, and the mysterious girl held up.
"I can't very well let you stay like this…up you go." Ami gasped softly as she was lifted into her arms. Once again, she felt dizziness overtake her and blackness crept at the edges of her vision.
"Who…are you?" The girl smiled down at her, and she heard a faint whisper as all went dark again.
"I am Sailor Mars."
*XXX*
Ami felt the faint sensation of being carried, but the next time she was fully alert, she was on a park bench, with someone sitting next to her. As her vision cleared, she was slightly shocked to see her new friend.
"Rei? How did you get here? How did I get here?"
Rei put a finger to her lips. "Well, that I don't know. What do you remember?"
Ami frowned as she tried to remember. "I- There was a girl, one of the Senshi. She saved me." Ami blushed. "I hope I get to see her again. I really would like to thank her." 'She was so cool!'
Rei smiled mysteriously at her. "Well, who knows? Maybe you just met your knight in shining armor." 'I will definitely protect her.'
A/n: Would you look at that? This is the first chapter of my 2015 project: Finding Mercury. In addition to GOF and Shining Pearls (Which I can assure you will be finished by Summer and Winter respectively) I will be writing this story. I can't give a confirmation of whether I'll be updating regularly yet though. As always, please give comments and criticisms on what you thought. Until next time, vale!