CHAPTER ONE: CELESTIA'S TEST
"Amy? Are you almost packed?" Robert Prower knocked his knuckles on the frame of Amy's open dorm room in Germany.
"Just a few more items, Rob," Amy said from her bedroom. "How much time do we have."
"Don't worry. Take your time," Rob told her as he stepped inside the room. "Our flight doesn't leave until noon. We have four hours. I was only asking in case you needed help."
"You mean to say that you're all together for this trip?" Amy asked.
"Of course," he shrugged. "I pack light, and most of it went in last night."
"And here I was thinking you would be the one needing my help," said Amy, throwing some socks into her green suitcase.
"Heh," Rob leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "You know before you came along I actually did pretty well by myself. Stop worrying so much about me."
Amy chuckled and shook her head. "Yet you're such a klutz around me."
"Yes well… Beauty like yours has a tendency to do that to me…" said Rob.
Amy paused and a sharp blush hit her cheeks. She glared at him and advanced to within inches of his face. "Well that still doesn't answer why you're such a klutz around me," she said.
"Because you're the beautiful one, believe it or not," Rob leaned down to kiss her, only to have Amy sidestep his action. Rob was thrown off balance by her move and he fell onto all fours on the floor.
"And I still say you're crazy," Amy said, walking back to her suitcase to close it.
"You're mean, you know that?" Rob stood up sheepishly. "You never used to lead me on like that."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Amy said, tossing her now long blue hair over her shoulder.
"Oh yes you do," Rob shot back. "Ever since you became Sailor Celestia and kicked Queen Lucia's butt. Ever since you got angry and let out all of your pent up frustration you're not the same shy and withdrawn girl you once were. Everyone sees it."
Amy paused and her smile faded. "Am I more… like her?" she asked quietly.
"In the sense that you're evil? No," said Robert seriously. "But you do emote better. You get angry. You get happier than you used to. You tease me. You speak your mind a lot more. That's a good thing, Amy. You can't go crazy and go on a killing spree if you don't build up your feelings inside." He stopped himself. "That last part was probably uncalled for. Sorry. Didn't mean to dig up that part."
"It's funny.Dark Mercurywas nothing but emotion," Amy thought back. "She was my opposite in every way."
"I think it's safe to say you've made peace with the Dark Mercury inside you," said Robert sagely. "I don't think she'll ever be a problem ever again. Deep down you know that too. That's why you're going back, isn't it?"
Yes. They were going back to Tokyo after a year away. Amy had come here to Munich to escape her feelings and her future. Recent events had taught her that all she'd been doing was running from the truth. That night she fought Queen Lucia had been like a dam bursting. That night was the first and only time in her life she knew rage and even though it frightened her to her core, she could never forget how, when the dust settled and the battle was over, she felt a hundred times better than she'd ever felt in her life. She had, apparently, taken out all her frustration on her enemy and it opened her mind to the truth. Dark Mercury existed because she denied herself her feelings all those years. Sometimes one simply had to let it all go, punch a wall or two now and then, cry one's eyes out until they stung, laugh until one's sides hurt, to keep from going over the edge down the road. Now that she finally knew the remedy… She could go home to her friends and not worry about a cloud hanging overhead.
"Penny for your thoughts?" asked Robert.
"And a nickel to keep you from prying," Amy said, holding out her suitcase to him. "Carry that out to the car, will you?"
"Me?" Rob pointed at his chest. "Do I have a sign around my neck that reads: 'Amy's Slave'?" he asked jokingly.
"Take it, or you don't get the window seat on the plane," Amy scolded him.
"Man you're cruel," Robert laughed and took the suitcase.
Amy smirked just as Diana and Alora walked into the room. "Amy. Come quick," Diana waved at her. "There's someone outside to see you."
"To see me? You guys all ready to go?" asked Amy.
"Oui. But you may not be going to Tokyo as you first thought," said Diana.
"What do you mean?" Amy grew concerned.
"Come on, don't ye fuss," Alora said in her slight Scottish drawl. "It's nothin' tae worry aboot. Actually we were kinda expectin' her any day now. She really wants tae meet ya."
sssss
Robert dragged the suitcase with them as he followed Amy and the others outside to a bench situated in the center of the Munich University Garden. The stone bench was located underneath a marble pavilion. Two people were gathered around it. One, a small young looking girl was sitting down. The other one, whom Rob recognized as his Sister, Sailor Solara, currently in her Human guise as Andrea Prower, stood with one foot propped on the bench, the other on the ground. The two of them were having some kind of conversation when they approached.
"Took long enough," Andrea said to them.
"No more than ten minutes, love," Alora quipped. "Anyway we got the guest o' honor with us."
"Alora," said Andrea.
"Aye, Andrea?"
"Stop it with that awful Scottish brogue. How many times have I told you I can't stand that accent?"
Alora sighed and grinned from ear to ear. "Alright, alright. I'll go back to Japanese since all of us are more or less familiar with that tongue." Her accent changed on the spot with very little flaw. Amy was still amazed at how smoothly the Wind Senshi switched languages in a heartbeat.
"My dearest Andrea. Don't be rude just because you're good friends," said the little girl in an astonishingly womanly voice. "It's her native language. How long has it been since she's been able to speak it?" The girl jumped up in the chair and bowed floridly to Amy and Robert. "Princess Ami of Mercury. It is an honor to meet you. You are every bit as lovely as your reputation suggests."
Amy's face flushed as she bowed in return a bit stiffly. "Oh… Pleased to meet you, er… Who are you?"
Robert looked the girl up and down. He had to blink to make sure he was seeing things correctly. She was short like a child, but now that he saw her standing up he was certain she was built like a grown woman. She was simply more compact, about four and a half feet tall at the most. Her eyes were two different colors, one blue, one green. Her hair was a mystery. It seemed to be one color one minute, until she moved her head slightly and it shifted into another hue. Rob began to wonder if the mushrooms he ate last night were cooked well enough.
"My name, for the time being, is Violet LaRouge," said the girl.
Andrea snorted a laugh and covered her mouth. "Good one," she muttered.
Rob blinked in confusion. Her name was Violet the Red?
"I thought you'd like that one, you nit," Violet replied smoothly with a bit of a smirk. "Obviously a contrived name. Who I really am is something to be revealed in a much less public place."
Amy nodded in understanding. "Your hair… You're a Senshi aren't you?" she said in a softer voice.
"It's tough to get any more obvious than that," Violet replied. "Yes, I am. I am from Kinmoku. I have come here to see you myself and to personally extend to you a most important invitation. But first… Might I have the honor of fighting you?"
"Fighting? Come again?" Robert started.
Diana put a restraining hand on his shoulder and shook her head. Rob narrowed his eyes at her. What did Diana and the others know about this?
"You want to fight me?" Amy looked almost as shocked as Rob felt.
"It's nothing personal, but part of my mission is to test your skills," Violet shrugged. "I promise you no one will get hurt."
"Now just a cotton picking minute!" Robert interrupted.
"At ease bro," Andrea told him. "There's nothing to worry about."
"You know about this?" Rob's question reflected the confusion in Amy's eyes as she looked at the other three.
"Of course they do," Violet smiled sweetly at Amy. "They helped to set this up. Galaxia wishes to see you in action with her own eyes. If you succeed I am required to extend to you the opportunity of a lifetime."
"Galaxia? What does she want with Amy!" Rob was getting loud.
"I don't want to fight you, Violet," Amy said.
"Perhaps not, but you don't really have a choice this time, your highness," Violet said, her smile fading slightly. "I'm afraid I am under orders that I cannot deviate from."
"Just listen to her, Amy," Diana leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "If you go along with her it will be so much easier."
"Diana, what's going on?" Amy whispered back.
"I told you. A test," Violet replied. "Can you not trust the word of your friends?"
"Don't do it, Amy!" Rob insisted.
"This is her choice, not yours," Violet turned her attention to him crossly.
"Didn't you just get done saying she has no choice!" Robert bit back.
"Oh, but she does," Violet turned once again to Amy. "One way or another, Princess Ami. You can either refuse to transform and be defeated straight away… Or you can unleash your potential and fight me Senshi to Senshi and show Galaxia what you're made of. But we will fight either way. I much prefer it be on equal terms. With honor."
"Don't let her tell you what to do, Amy!" Robert shouted before Andrea clamped a hand over his mouth roughly.
"You're taking this far too seriously. Keep it down!" she hissed. "Have faith in Amy."
Amy felt nervous being so openly challenged. The fact that Diana, Alora and Andrea seemed to be in on this made her feel confused and slightly betrayed. Violet, as if sensing her tension, beamed again at her. "I told you… No one will get hurt here. If you cannot trust me, trust your friends. Have they not helped you time and time again?"
"Do it, Amy. Show her what she came to find out," Alora added. "Show her what you can do."
"Come," Violet held out a tiny hand for her to take as she got up off the bench. The smile on her face and the look in her mismatched eyes was hard to resist. There seemed to be nothing but genuine respect and honesty in her smile. "Let's go somewhere we won't be disturbed and we won't cause a lot of damage."
Amy hesitated. She looked once at Robert, who had stopped struggling against his Sister and looked at her with obvious concern. Conversely, Andrea's face was writ with her trademark cool grin. She nodded once to Amy. Feeling slightly better about this surprise challenge, Amy reached out tentatively and gripped Violet's small hand.
"I am honored by your trust in me, your highness," Violet said, turning her hand, bringing it to her lips and kissing it lightly. Amy gasped at the feeling that passed through them at that very moment. She felt like she'd moved suddenly and when she looked up she saw the two of them were now in a rocky gorge somewhere in a range of mountains. The two of them were alone.
"I teleported the two of us deep into the local Alps region. Your friends will go on ahead," Violet said to her, releasing her hand. "You have nothing to fear so long as you trust their judgment. This is all for you, Sailor Celestia, daughter of Mercury. And before we begin my real name is Sailor Rainbow Prism."
"It's… a pleasure," Amy replied a bit uncertainly.
Violet turned and walked away about twenty paces and raised a colorful looking stick overhead. With her back still turned, she cried:
"RAINBOW PRISM POWER!"
Her high pitched voice echoed off the rocks around them as her body became awash in rainbow hues. Her clothes disintegrated, to be replaced by ribbons of rainbows that entwined around her body, feet, and hands. They solidified into her fuku, which consisted of a white tube top, blue skirt with a red hem, yellow chest bow, green rear bow, and orange gloves and boots. Her lips became painted with bright red lipstick and a rainbow symbol appeared on her chest, just above her collar and below her orange choker. It was looking in that general area that Amy saw just how grown up Prism truly was. She wasn't a child, just shorter than most. With her face transformed, the age shown through. Her blue and green eyes showed wisdom, but never lost that sense of honesty and caring.
As Amy finished watching her opponent transform, she realized that this person… This Senshi… Had something very special about her. Something that made Amy want to go along with this. Was she actually starting to feel excited about fighting her?
"Your turn," Prism said in a much more adult voice.
Amy held out her right hand, already clutching her Henshin Stick, out in front of her and closed her eyes.
"Celestial Eternal Power!" she chanted.
She could feel her power rise to new heights as her uniform solidified around her body and infused her with the energy of Celestia. Lastly, the Staff of Celestine formed in the air before her and she grabbed it, twirling it overhead like a baton before jamming its end into the ground beside her.
Sailor Rainbow Prism grinned. "Beautiful," she said. "Rainbow Storm!"
Prism put her palms together and blasted a multi-colored beam of light about three feet in diameter directly at Celestia. Amy held up her staff and spun it swiftly like a propeller to deflect the shot, only to see the light break up into seven different beams that arced around overhead and surrounded her. The energy had split and threatened to strike her from seven different directions!
Amy closed her eyes and concentrated. "Bubble Shield Surround!"
Her liquid force field rose from the ground and wrapped her in a spherical liquid shell. The seven lights, each a different color of the rainbow, struck the shield and dissipated harmlessly into white sparkles.
"Nice shot, Sailor Rainbow Prism," Amy said, lowering her shield after the attack. "But your powers, it appears, are light based. Every educated person knows that water refracts and diffuses light."
"I admire that you use your intellect in battle," Prism replied with an unwavering smile. "But I've been doing this since before you were born. You must have more tricks than that."
That was an open invitation if Amy ever heard one. Unable to suppress her own smile, she raised her weapon. "Try this one out, then!" she shouted. "Bubble Spray!" It was an old Sailor Mercury trick. The bubbles flew from her hands and created a thick fog all around the two fighters. Only Amy could see through the mist and home in on her foe. "Got you," she said, going for the quick strike.
She struck straight for Prism's body, but was shocked to discover her staff go right through the image, causing it to swirl with the fog like a cloud.
"What!" Amy skidded to a halt. "How?"
"You were correct about water and light," Prism's voice seemed to come from all around her. "Water refracts light and makes it harmless, however, water can also be turned against you using the same principle. Refracting images, creating a mirage. Look around you."
Amy looked and saw many Sailor Rainbow Prisms standing on all sides of her, giggling.
"Fine. But you won't have that advantage for long," Amy waved her staff and caused the mist to tatter away to nothingness. She watched as all but one of the images of Prism vanished along with it. Prism's real body was glowing with a prismatic aura.
Amy went for an opening, but was shocked when that opening suddenly closed up with amazing speed. Prism leapt skyward, bounced off one vertical rocky face overhead, rebounded off the opposite cliff, and rocketed toward her with frightening speed! Amy was not expecting such dramatic agility from such a small person. Prism was almost like a ping pong the way she ricocheted off the walls and yet slammed into her body like a wrecking ball! Amy was on her back almost before she could register that she'd been drawn into a trap.
Lifting her head, feeling a pain in her ribs from the blow, Amy looked at Prism, who stood before her now in a Martial Arts pose. One leg lifted off the ground and bent at the knee in front of her chest. Her left fist pointed at a 45 degree angle to the ground and her right arched over her head, tightened into a fist. All her weight was concentrated on her right leg. At first she wondered how Prism could stand like that and not lose balance, until it occurred to her… Because of her short stature she had a much lower and far more stable center of gravity. That's what contributed to her amazing quickness as well.
"Surprised yet?" Prism grinned at her tightly.
"That hurt," Amy stood up shakily. "I thought you said no one would get hurt."
"And no one has. None but the two of us, Princess," Prism replied. "But how do you plan to defeat me if you don't wish to hurt me?"
A very good question. One which made Amy feel a little foolish when she thought it through. "Alright. You're obviously a better fighter than me. So how about I come at you with all my strength?" Amy held her staff up overhead. "Celestial Waterspout! Blast!"
A giant cone of water seemed to fall from the sky and tore its way along the narrow gorge toward Prism. The Rainbow Senshi put her leg down and braced for impact. She took the blow head on and the water exploded all of its energy on her at once! Prism's small body was flung to the ground and smashed into the rocks!
Amy winced and ceased her attack. "Oh, no! I think I overdid that one!" she cried. She had to remember her powers were still a work in progress, even though her staff made it far easier to control them. Sometimes she still underestimated her own power. I hope I didn't hurt her too badly.
Prism stood up slowly, shaking stones out of her hair. "Excellent," she said, still smiling, if not a bit painfully. "But if you had total control over that waterspout you could have defeated me outright. Power alone is not enough, you must have something else." She stood up fully and began to glow. "Amy Mizuno! You must not hesitate!"
The little Senshi moved so quickly that Amy could only mount a feeble defense against her next strike. Prism aimed a kick at Celestia's face which Amy blocked with a forearm. She gasped as her arm lost all feeling and began to tingle as if she'd been laying upon it all night. The foot had struck a pressure point.
"Good show, Celestia!" Prism said, rebounding once more off a nearby boulder, twisting in midair like a gymnast, then landing on Celestia's shoulders with her thighs on each side of Amy's neck. "But you're wide open. You still have much to learn."
Prism twisted her lower body, causing Amy's head and neck to go with the rotation. Suddenly Sailor Celestia was on her back, staring in shock upward at Prism, who still straddled her neck with her legs. She felt the small, but surprisingly powerful thighs begin to clamp down, causing her vision to twinkle with tiny lights. She was losing consciousness!
"I can't recall any time recently where I had more fun fighting one like you, your highness," said Prism. "But youth and inexperience are your worst enemies. When you wake up, you will have the opportunity to learn more about yourself than you could have possibly dreamed…" Prism's voice faded even as Amy's vision dimmed to darkness and she passed out from the submission clamp…
TO BE CONTINUED...
NEXT... CHAPTER TWO: MERCURY AND VENUS