A.N. Welcome to the re-write of "In The Darkness!". This story was originally posted about 8 years ago, and since new plot bunnies have appeared, this story needs to be retooled to accommodate some non Ami POVs and hopefully, to make it prequel/sequel compliant. Notes regarding canon and continuity are at the end of the chapter. I consider fanfiction to be an expression of love for the wonderful characters that Naoko Takeuchi have given us. As Usagi has taught us, love needs to be shared. As such, I obviously own nothing.

Ch 8: Endgame is where all the action and the big payoff of the story are. I won't be offended if you'd like to skip ahead. I have a story synopsis in the opening author notes in that chapter. You will however, be missing out on some good exposition and character moments ;)

Chapter 1 - Wherein we see how Ami has coped with 6 years of self imposed exile.

It was cold. She couldn't feel anything. There was nothing to feel. The Princess had to be saved, and to that…

Ami sat up. Another night, another nightmare. She felt as though she had not slept in years. The dull throb behind her eyeballs grew more intense. Pain and an inexplicable rage pushed Ami out of bed, her heart pounding with restlessness

It was dark out, the moon hidden behind heavy gray clouds. The bleary red numbers on the clock told Ami it was 2 am.

Perfect.

Ami left her apartment looking for a fight. For the staff of the many hospitals in Berlin, a strange pattern was starting to emerge: bad men, gangsters, human traffickers and the like, were showing up at the E.R beaten half to death. There were rumors about a young woman. A masked figure with blue hair, blue eyes and apparently, the uncanny timing to interrupt crimes in progress. She never spoke a word. She would receive no thanks, no reward…just pain and violence for its own sake.

And so did Ami, alone in Germany, alone in the world, live on after the death of her mother six years ago.

Crack

Ami felt the man's bones crumple under her fist.

Shattered orbital, dislocated jaw, possible fractures of the zygomatic arch and maxilla, probable concussion, contusions c1 through 5…stop

Ami reluctantly forced herself to stop. The man collapsed in a senseless heap to the ground. His companion in crime lay 20 feet away, his gun 30 feet. Ami felt her heart pounding, her blood singing for more. It felt good. She grinned, and pulled her arm back in anticipation of the satisfying crunch of her fist collapsing the man's face. The broken man saw his life flash before his eyes in her feral smile. Suddenly, Ami froze. The mortal fear in the man's eyes brought her back from the haze. The man was no longer a threat. The world faded from red to the dull gray of another dreary winter dawn. She threw the bloodied criminal from her and looked at the final occupant of the lonely alley. A teenaged girl shaking in fear. The girl they were assaulting. Without a word, Ami walked away, her footsteps inaudible as the sound of police sirens grew louder.

When the police came, they saw that once again, someone had taken the law into their own hands. Some would secretly approve of this swift justice. Others worried about the kind of psychopath it took to do this night after night. In either case, another incident report would be filed with the others and patrols would be put out- who knew what kind of dangerous people walked the streets of the city?

Ami removed her mask and stepped out of the shadows of Berlin's gothic architecture. It seemed an unnecessary precaution however. She wasn't particularly attached to her life now and she doubted anyone would recognize her anyways. Nobody really knew her here in Germany. Even her friends in Japan would have trouble recognizing her now. Her hair was shorter, and her body was leaner and more muscular than it was when she left. She dressed differently, favoring looser men's pants that hid the scars on her leg and men's shirts to match. Overall, she looked like a different person.

I am a different person.

She really was. A few carefully prepared legal documents and she was Amy Anderson, estranged daughter of John Anderson, Japanese girl genius, who at the age of 18 received and accepted a prestigious scholarship to attend one of the best medical schools in the world at the University of Berlin.

The more I change, the more I remain the same.

Ami's heart hardened at the thought. She was being nostalgic again. That never ended well. The adrenaline of the fight had long since worn off. Ami was tired now, but it felt good. She needed the action, to hurt someone and be hurt in return. She enjoyed the power. If she got hurt or killed, so much the better.

Ami put on her glasses as she joined the regular morning flow of pedestrian traffic. She didn't need them, but they helped to hide whatever emotions her icy eyes may sometimes betray. Those times had become fewer and fewer as the years wore on. This was how she learned to deal with her pain. She became it. She deserved it, for her weakness and selfishness. Cold. Numb. Truly she had become the Senshi of Ice. Anger, hate, self-loathing, all the raw emotions she felt could once again be forced onto the backburners of her mind. At first, six years ago, right after the final battle with Metaria, she had tried everything to make the pain, the guilt, go away. Nothing worked. Her friends didn't help either, she blocked them out. They didn't understand. How could they?

After all, they didn't kill their own mother.

Ami walked into the well-lit medical research lab. It was as if a sudden cold snap chilled the room. Other students and researchers quickly looked away from the petite blue haired woman walking through the lab. Muted whispers and hurried hushes followed in her wake.

Wow she looks like she hasn't slept at all

I wonder what could that sociopath is working on now?

I tried to talk to her the other day, total ice bitch

Little Miss Genius doesn't even want to spend an extra minute in the room with us mere mortals

Did you hear? She leaving?

Good. She freaks me out.

"Entschuldigung Sie bitte…Doktor Anderson?"

Ami sharply turned her gaze towards the timid voice beside her.

"Doktor Boaz, Er hat dich schon überall gesucht."

"Warum?"

"Ich weiß nicht. Es tut mir leid, aber… Jetzt muss ich gehen"

The luckless intern scurried away, glad to be done with her errand.

So the director was looking for her? Ami sighed and headed to his office. She had no desire to explain herself, even if she could.

Dr. Boaz was a thin man, quiet and overworked. Still, he knew talent when he saw it. If only it were properly utilized. The young blue haired doctor that stood in front of him seemed like a lost cause, but still, he had to ask.

"Amy, the University called about your resignation. Why is this the first time I've heard of it?"

Ami didn't answer.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"It's done Doktor. You'll have my exit report by the end of the day."

Ami walked out of the office without another word.

Dr. Boaz sighed. As much as he tried, he couldn't get through to her. There was potential there. She was nothing if not brilliant, a genius really, but there was something off with her. He didn't know anything about her personally, no one did. She never spoke to anyone at length, and seemed to project an aura that frankly scared off anyone who might try to reach out to her. Overall, she seemed lonely. Somehow, he suspected that this was the way that she had wanted it.

Germany had been good to her, she couldn't deny that. She spent most of her days studying and working alone, completing medical school in half the time and then burning out her days in a lab where no one could keep up with her anyways. No one noticed that she spent her nights wandering the more dangerous parts of the city. She had the freedom here to be alone in her self-imposed exile.

She deserved to be alone.

The friendship and warmth she felt as a young Senshi seemed so far away. The warmth that was Usagi and Makoto and all of her other friends. She had ended that. She hurt them, and somewhere in her despair, she had enjoyed it. At first, she didn't know what came over her, but over time, it started to make sense.

She killed her mother.

To save the princess.

For the princess.

It was always the princess.

Now, there was something calling her back to Japan. She couldn't explain it. Her dreams at night had become stronger recently. Scenes of Tokyo overrun, the Sailor Senshi fighting, falling. She felt drawn to these scenes of destruction. As much of a nightmare it was to see this night after night, it felt right. She had to go. There was something waiting her there, something at the other end of this restlessness. Something for her to take, to do, to prevent? She didn't know what. All she knew is that it was time. The normally logical, rational Mizuno Ami was following an impulse.

Why not?

Six years after the worst night of her life, Ami was going home.

A.N. The "canon" of this story diverges from the actual canon starting at the original anime episode "Believe in Love! Ami, a Kind Hearted Senshi" (please refer to my other story, "Fear and Understanding on a Nanoscale" as an optional prequel to this story). This means no Dead Moon Circus, and no Galaxia. I always figured any conflict I can fanfic Senshi in would pale against the threat that Galaxia was during the season 5 arc. The events that lead to this story happen approximately 2 years after a 16 y.o. Sailor Moon pulled baby Hotaru (aged 0) out of Pharoah 90. Ami, and the inner Senshi would have been around 18 and graduating from highschool then. 6 years later (aka, the time this story is set), they are approximately 24-25 - ish.

Up next: Ami's homecoming. All hell breaks loose. Also, flashback to the events of 6 years ago.