One More Step
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The feel of her heart thudding against her chest only heightened her anxiety, but Ami—no, Sailor Mercury—forced a smile to her lips as she watched her friends walk away. Mercury watched until they were completely gone. Even when Sailor Moon glanced back hesitantly, worriedly, Mercury never let her smile slip.
If she allowed sweet Sailor Moon to catch even a glimpse of her own fear, the girl would never allow Mercury to go off by herself. But their mission was far too important to let their fears to take over.
Too many lives counted on them all.
Mercury waited until even the imprints of her friends' footsteps were covered by the pure white snow, masking the fact that they had even been there in the first place.
Now she truly was alone.
Mercury wished that she could be as brave as strong and beautiful Jupiter—the memory of her friend's closed eyes made Mercury shiver. But she wasn't as brave nor as strong as Jupiter, and her hands shook as she took out her computer and her heart raced even faster. Mercury took in a deep breath to calm herself.
A useless thing to do.
Already she was picking up readings of the enemies closing in on her, closer with every passing second. Could she buy her friends enough time?
Mercury knew that she would die here—there was no reason to kid herself into thinking otherwise. Her powers were not nearly as deadly as Mars and Venus, and did not even compare to the strength Moon held within herself. She would not be as useful when it came to the fight against Beryl.
But she hoped that she would be able to help in the way she always did—subtly.
And then she could die peacefully, knowing that she did everything in her power to help her friends reach their ultimate mission. Mercury took another step forward, ignoring the way her knees shook as she put her weight on each foot.
She had faith in Usagi—her leader, and her princess. Mercury just hoped that Usagi would be able to forgive her for lying. There was no way she would leave this place alive.
But she would buy Sailor Moon a little more time, give her a chance to get just a little further away, a little closer to Beryl. Perhaps she would even be able to damage their enemies as well.
A figure emerged from the shadows—an illusion, of course. Upon seeing the figure's face, Mercury allowed herself a small smile. At least she got to see his face one more time. Seeing his face strengthened her resolve. She was doing this for him, and for all of the innocent people that were counting on her and the other Senshi.
Mercury took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Her hands no longer shook as she took another step closer towards her destiny, and her demise.
xxx
A/N: Just a small snippet about what might have gone through Mercury's mind during this heart wrenching scene.
It's a little amusing that the first Sailor Moon story I post is about a character I have never written previously.
Thank you for reading.
LuV