Hey all, here's the chapter that shall reveal everything! You'll notice that the things remembered will include some of the flashbacks given throughout the story as well. I've really been waiting to write this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it! Also, it's long. You're welcome. Please review! I need feedback for this chapter!
Last Time:
Ami was on her knees, crawling over to him as he approached before collapsing to the ground. She felt violated but could tell that Trowa was really hurt, in much more physical pain than she was.
"Trowa," she muttered, realizing he was struggling to stay conscious. She turned him onto his back, trying to assess how badly he was wounded but unable to see.
"Huh?" Trowa's arms encircled her waist as he pulled her down on top of him, hugging her close to him.
"Did he hurt you?" Trowa asked quietly.
"N-no," she said, resisting hugging Trowa back tightly lest she hurt him more. "How can I help you right now? Are you bleeding?"
Trowa ignored her, and she could hear his soft yet steady breathing.
"I'm exhausted," he muttered finally. "I don't think I could handle one more thing happening today. I just want to sleep...."
Ami couldn't agree more as she allowed herself to relax in his arms and try to forget all about the day's events. Sleep sounded like heaven right now.
Seeing her finally relax, Trowa kissed the top of her head and leaned his head back, quickly drifting off to sleep.
Day 7
That morning had been rough. Ami stretched her sore arms slightly as they walked, the area around them cloudy and barren. She had once more awoken to find the black moon necklace around her neck, but that had been quickly discarded as she felt she had not a moment for it that day.
The two had been injured and still exhausted when they woke up, Trowa more so than Ami as on top of his other injuries; the pain from his dislocated shoulder was massive. He had been wrapped up and taken some aspirin but Ami was sure it wouldn't be enough. Ami glanced up at Trowa, who looked in pain even as he tried to hide it. To top it off, they were both starving again and knew they had no more food. They had each taken a couple of sips of water that morning, and from how empty the canteen sounded Ami was sure there was probably only another small sip or two left within it. She refused to drink it, knowing that Trowa would need to take more aspirin soon and that it would be pretty awful dry swallowing or chewing it.
Trowa tried to forget about how much pain he was in as they walked, limping from his other injuries those soldiers had inflicted on him. He was so overly exhausted from what they had been through in the last few days that he had been feeling like survival wasn't going to be an option anymore. This barren waste land went on forever, didn't it? If they weren't in a strange and unfamiliar time in history, then they walked empty lands such as this. They had wandered so long that it felt like they would continue to go on lost like this forever.
"I wonder," he said to Ami, his mouth feeling dry, "If we really are doomed to do this forever. I've never been on such a long journey with no destination....."
Ami's eyes widened as she looked up at him. "I was thinking about that as we wandered through the labyrinth a couple of days ago. It's......familiar," she said, looking thoughtful. "I just can't seem to place where I've heard of something like this before."
"Me either," he said, frowning at the thought. Where had he heard that before?
Trowa and Ami stopped speaking a moment as the sound of screams reached their ears. One moment, they had been standing in the barren wasteland, and in the next they were standing together within a shouting crowd of people.
"What the-" Trowa clamped a hand over her mouth, backing out of the crowd with her silently. Their shoes clattered on the stone ground. Behind the crowd was a large palace, and they stood in a crowd within a circular area. The crowd was not screaming in terror, but rather shouting in fury or looking excited.
They were distinctly shouting in French, which was why Trowa had not wanted Ami to speak in a different language amongst the angry crowds. A woman passed by Ami and Trowa holding a program of some sort, and the two glanced up at the center of attraction that everyone was gathered around. Their mouths dropped open.
In the center of the stage was a guillotine. The sharp metal of the contraption that would soon behead the man sitting on stage glinted in the sunlight. The man sat trembling slightly as people shouted around him, while what seemed to be a judge read him his sentence. An executioner was standing next to the man calmly, pausing to look at two more men whose hands were bound behind the first man.
Already knowing where she was and suspecting that she knew "when" they were, Ami approached a vendor handing out programs such as the one she had seen a woman holding. The man smiled and passed her one of the papers, and she was next to Trowa a moment later, opening it.
She had learned French in high school and Ami quickly skimmed the program, realization dawning on her face as she realized what it was. Trowa looked down at the date on the program.
20 novembre 1793
November 1793? The year sounded familiar....
Ami lowered the program, frowning. "We're in Paris, during the French revolution. More specifically, during the Reign of Terror...."
"Reign of Terror?" He murmured, not wanting passerby's to hear them. "You mean when the French were executing government officials left and right?"
She nodded, whispering. "Yes. This means that Louis the 16th and Marie-Antoinette have already been executed."
The crowd in front of them screamed in triumph and Ami and Trowa heard the sickening sound as the guillotine's blade beheaded one of the men.
"Let's get out of here," she whispered to Trowa. "All we need is for someone to notice our strange clothing and call us foreigners. We'll be jailed and possibly put to trial for execution."
He nodded, and the two quickly fled from the area, moving into more deserted streets and trying to find a way out of the place.
The streets were like a maze and Ami smiled in triumph as they came upon a dirt road that would probably lead them out of Paris and into the countryside.
"Should we have tried to get some food?" Ami questioned, glancing back towards the city.
"How? Steal it and still end up in jail?" Trowa lightly berated, although he looked back towards the city longingly as well.
"Let's just continue down this road," Ami finally said, staring up at the sky. It was already mid-afternoon and neither one of them was really in the condition to do much today. Perhaps they should start looking for a place to sleep from now?
The two began trudging down the road, the air chilly as it was November.
An hour later their hunger was really starting to wear them down. The dirt road they walked down was broad with grass on both sides spreading as far as the eye could see. Ami knew the countryside of France was supposed to be beautiful, and it would have been far more appreciated from the two of them had they not been cold, starved, and in pain.
Trowa shuffled in the satchel Saori had given them tiredly, shaking Ami from her thoughts. He stopped walking entirely as he found the last two aspirin. His arm shook as he tried to find the canteen, and Ami was at his side digging it out of the satchel instantly. It felt empty, as she had suspected that morning.
Ever selfless and knowing they were both thirsty, Trowa tried to give Ami the canteen.
"Don't be ridiculous," she muttered. He unscrewed the cap and popped the aspirin into his mouth, tipping the canteen towards his lips. A small trickle of water was all Trowa got from the canteen as he swallowed the aspirin practically dry. Ami winced slightly, knowing his throat was already dry.
He dropped the empty canteen on the ground and closed the satchel, staring at the ground a minute. What was wrong with him?
Trowa stared at the ground, willing away how disoriented he was as he met Ami's eyes. She looked scared, and he knew it was fear for him. He cupped her face lightly, offering her a small smile although he felt disheartened. It had been a long week.
Ami sighed, turning and beginning to walk since Trowa seemed a bit better. Why the hell hadn't they gotten anywhere yet? Why hadn't she remembered what had happened? Every time she even felt remotely close to figuring out what had happened to them, they would get attacked or someone would interrupt. Well actually....Ami frowned now. Not someone, something.
That shadow being: it always seemed to be there when she and Trowa were seriously discussing what had happened. Also, what about those necklaces she kept finding around her neck every time she would wake up? That shadow creature had seemed surprised that she didn't know what they were.
What were they? Also, how did that shadow creature always know where she and Trowa were? They were lost in time....how in the world was this shadow creature managing to tail them? Was it some sort of magic?
"Ami?" Trowa asked from next to her. "Are you alright?"
"Why do you ask," she muttered, her voice sounding like she wasn't paying much attention to him.
"You're looking concerned about something.....I've been thinking though, about how we might have gotten here. I feel like we're so close to figuring it out if we could just remember the rest of our day. Something happened to us that first day....something big. I'm sure of it, if only I could remember...."
"What?" Ami asked, his words striking something within her. It was a heavy feeling of déjà vu, but more so than that, as though in her heart she knew what had happened to them but couldn't place it for the life of her. She knew...or she had once known.....no.....
Trowa gasped as Ami suddenly collapsed to the ground, completely limp.
"What?" he asked in disbelief, crouching down next to her and picking her head and shoulders up from the ground, shaking her slightly.
"Ha, I didn't actually think she would remember before you," a dark voice said from next to him. Trowa turned and stared coldly at the shadow creature that had plagued them from the moment they had arrived.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm just surprised you haven't figured anything out yet. I mean, your situation........the necklaces..........................me," it said, smiling in its sinister way.
"Wow, for a different dimension, this place looks a lot like our world," Minako commented as they headed down the street, having just emerged from the time gates and de-transformed.
"Well then I guess you forgot that we're on a space colony," Rei retorted, and Minako rolled her eyes in response as Usagi began to laugh.
"Take it easy everyone. We still have to keep our guards up," Makoto warned, Ami nodding in agreement as she surveyed the area. Mamoru looked around, keeping an eye on Usagi while trying to figure out where they were. The enemy base had to be around here somewhere.....
Usagi went running ahead with Minako, the two of them laughing as they glanced back at the group and tried to irritate Rei. Rei kept her cool, although she continued to glare at them when they looked back at her.
"Hold on Mako. Let's see what street we're on," Ami said, stopping at the corner. Makoto stopped with her, however Usagi and Minako were totally unaware and kept walking.
"Hey you two, slow down! Ami and Mako stopped! All we need is to get lost in this strange city," Rei called after the two, following them at a much faster pace.
Usagi and Minako turned the corner as they stared back at Rei, and Rei heard a small shout and a lot of ruckus as she came around the corner, placing her head in her hands temperamentally. True to Usagi's nature, she had smacked into the group of men whom had been coming around the corner. Minako had her hands on her knees as she laughed, while Usagi and the braided man on the floor tried to somehow modestly untangle themselves from each other.
"Oh- ahh, I am sooo sorry," she said sheepishly as Mamoru came running around the corner to help her up, shaking his head and smirking.
Ami and Makoto followed the others around the corner, staring at the group of men in front if them.
Ami glanced around at the five men, pausing when she made eye contact with a man possessing piercing green eyes.
"Why do you want to know how that?" Wufei asked the girl with the long black hair in an annoyed sort of way. She glared at him, ready to begin shouting at him. Trowa wondered why she cared about anything weird happening in town, but shrugged.
Her blonde friend had basically just trampled Duo and apologized profusely. Trowa looked back at the blue haired girl who had made eye contact with him briefly, but she was currently conversing with a girl who had brown hair in a pony tail and green eyes. Quatre was discussing something with the two of them and the brown haired girl was blushing at him slightly.
The other blonde with the red bow in her hair had finally stopped laughing at the girl who trampled Duo. She stepped in to avoid conflict between her friend and Wufei, smiling sweetly at him and touching his arm slightly as she flirted with him. Wufei looked baffled and blushed slightly, going silent. The black haired girl rolled her eyes and turned to question Heero, this time just asking him if he knew of any nice tourist spots on L2. Heero, staying incognito, began to nod and point the girl in the right direction. He was questioning her lightly but not obnoxiously like Wufei had done.
The girl who had crashed into Duo was currently conversing with her apparent boyfriend and him. Duo was laughing and cracking jokes as they all talked hurriedly.
Not sure why he really cared, he joined the conversation between Quatre and the blue and brown haired girls.
"Oh," Quatre said as Trowa approached. "This is my friend Trowa. Trowa, these are Ami and Makoto. They wanted to know of any tourist spots that people find particularly interesting," he explained, his smile empty and his words holding meaning for Trowa. Quatre was suspicious although Trowa wasn't of these two just yet.
"Explain," Trowa shouted, unable to keep his temper down even one moment towards the creature he despised. Ami was still unmoving. She had sat up once and muttered something he didn't quite understand, before blacking out again. What was she seeing?
"You should already know," the creature taunted, begin to pace around Trowa and Ami in a circle. Trowa was too weak to stand, and his fury got in the way as he tried to stop himself from lunging at the creature. He had to know- he just had to know.
"Didn't you ever wonder how all of this was possible," it taunted. "Why the two of you were here alone?"
Trowa remained silent, now trying to get what he could out of the shadow creature.
"I'll tell you one thing for sure...those necklaces on the girl- I was placing those there. They're a spell. Every time I would place it on Ami, even if she would remove it, it would leave something like a 24 hour marker, allowing me to tail you through time. You are lost in time, although.....not in the way that you and the Mercury scout figured you were."
"Go on," Trowa said coldly. The creature shook his head, smirking, its beady red eyes boring into his.
"You'll know soon, although I wish that wasn't the case. I was after all sent to stop you from remembering. My brother and I were actually, you know, the one you killed in the cave. Or did you forget that?" It hissed, its voice rising a few pitches.
The girls and Mamoru sat crowding a booth at a local diner on the colony. They had left the boys they had run into and now felt exactly like they were at the Crown Arcade back in Tokyo except that they really had no idea where they were. There also didn't seem to be any suspicious activity in the area like Pluto had told them, making their task more difficult.
"This sucks," Minako declared, throwing down the fries she had been munching on and sighing as she clanked down at her pale yellow summer dress. She had been having fun at the graduation brunch and was now bored and disappointed. This stupid mission had come out of nowhere and ruined her day.
"I agree," Makoto said, sipping her strawberry shake as she wiped some crumbs off of her knee length flowing green skirt and pearl camisole. Glancing at Usagi, who was now whispering in Mamoru's ear and giggling, she smirked. "Well at least the day wasn't ruined for everyone."
Usagi stiffened and laughed slightly, her cheeks flushing pink like the color of her dress."Cheer up guys," Usagi said, Mamoru nodding.
"We'll finish this mission before the end of the day and we'll reschedule our delicious graduation lunch for tomorrow. Maybe even throw a party?" Mamoru suggested.
"That sounds fun," Ami commented while she typed on her mini-computer, it having picked up some areas in town with negative energy. She set it down and pushed some of her short blue locks behind her ear, smoothing her white dress and smiling at everyone. "I did find a few points with negative energy," she said, lowering her voice so that other people in the diner didn't hear.
"Where Ames?" Rei asked, flipping her long dark hair behind her shoulder and messing with the strap on the right side of her red tank top, retying the bow on it while smoothing down her black mini-skirt.
"Well I'm picking up at least six distinct points," Ami said, "five smaller ones and then one larger energy reading. I believe we should all check them out. The larger one could very well be the base.....but if the smaller readings are youma attacks brewing then we should probably check those out first."
"Are the points anywhere near each other?" asked Makoto. Ami shook her head. "They're opposite parts of town."
"I guess we're splitting up then," Minako commented. "I wish we had Luna and Artemis here to help us."
"Or the outers," Rei added, wondering why Pluto had chosen only them to come here but realizing that the outers were needed to protect Tokyo since they were away.
"Well, the four of us can each head to one of the smaller points then," Ami said, tipping her head at the screen on her computer before continuing. "Usagi and Mamoru can go together to the last of the five smaller points. I guess then we can all keep in contact, before heading to what I'm positive is the main base together."
"Alright then, let's move," Usagi said energetically, as the group stood and exited the diner.
From the booth behind them, the five Gundam Pilots stood.
"What are they up to?" Duo asked.
"Each one of us can tail one of them. Hurry before we lose them," Heero said stoically as the five hurried from the diner.
"I can't wait to find out. Tell me what you know!" Trowa demanded as the shadow creature continued to circle him in that infuriating way. It gave him a knowing smirk, before breaking out into laughter as it circled him.
"This is exactly why you don't know. You were always so blinded by the situation at hand, such as myself, that you couldn't stop for a moment and just think."
Trowa followed Ami, leaving a decent distance between them. Heero had gone after the black-haired woman, Rei. Duo had chosen to follow the girl who had trampled him and her boyfriend, Usagi and Mamoru if he was correct, and Quatre had followed the brunette Makoto. Wufei had been forced to follow the bubbly blonde Minako.
Ami followed her computer, having just finished instructing each Senshi on exactly where the disturbances were so that they could investigate.
Trowa frowned. She was talking into her watch, although she had tried to make inconspicuous and she kept using the little computer.
Ami continued on her path, her destination being only a few blocks away. Her computer started to beep slightly as she neared the negative energy, and she was surprised to see it was a grocery store. It had a lot of customers, several people coming in. A large sign above the glass doors read "General Grocery."
She frowned. A sign that seemed to be handwritten hung next to the doors, saying "EVERYTHING IN STORE 75% OFF." She sighed now. This had their enemies written all over it. She should have expected so many innocent bystanders, although now she was hoping her friends were better off than her.
Entering the sliding glass doors, she pushed her way through the crowds trying to get grocery carts and walked through the isles. Her computer had stopped beeping since she was already in the proper location and it was no good to her now as it was offering her no more information. Putting it away, she watched the customers in the store load their carts to the brim and quickly move into the huge lines at cash, as though they were afraid the promotions would end soon.
The cashiers seemed normal, if a bit frazzled at the sheer amount of customers. Everything looked normal, although Ami knew that was never quite the case.
She turned from where she stood at the edge of the isle only to crash right into Trowa, whom had been trying to follow her and hadn't thought she would turn but rather continue ahead.
Cursing himself for his own mistake, he watched as she first looked on apologetically before a look of recognition flashed across her face.
"You again," she said, offering him a tight smile, "Trowa, right?" Was he following her?
"Right," he said smoothly, stepping back since they were standing so close to each other. "Sorry I bumped into you. Duo has a big appetite and right now he's craving those chips I was trying to grab."
Trowa ushered at the row of chips above her head and she nodded, not really caring for his explanation but deciding to hold him to it. "Well then, let me help you."
Before he could say anything she had grabbed the chips and placed them in his hands, pushing him towards the lines. "You might want to get in line; it looks like Duo's going to have to wait a long time with these crowds."
Mouth agape, Trowa turned back to where she had been standing only to see that she was gone. Damn it, where had she run off to? What was she up to?
Ami quickly distanced herself from Trowa, knowing him also being in the grocery was not that big a deal but unable to shake the feeling that he had followed her here.
Seeing two large metal doors with signs reading "Employees only," Ami took a quick glance around before entering. She was met with a burst of cold air and dismissed that as the attempt to keep the product in the back fresh, but it was ridiculously cold back here.
Also, it seemed like all of the employees were in the front, because it was deserted. She walked down the dark hall, turning to the right where a large storage area almost as big as the store itself was. There were several shelves, filled with product, ranging from a few food items to general groceries such as toilet paper and detergent.
It was still too dark and cold in the place for a storage area. Only one of the large lights in the room as on, the other five burned out. Another large metal door on the opposite end of the room read "freezer" and Ami paused to wonder why it was so cold in the main storage area when everything that needed to be frozen was in there.
Turning away from the freezer door, she gasped as she once again came face to face with Trowa. The question about whether or not he was following her was answered as she glared at him, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"What are you doing in here?" He demanded, quickly taking in the room and how cold it was before returning his attention to her.
"That's none of your business, who do you think you are anyways?"
"I..." he paused a moment, eyes narrowing. "I'm in law enforcement. An employee saw you come back here and I told them I would take care of it."
"My apologies then," Ami lied, not believing a word he said. "I'll leave."
"Not so fast," he said. "You never answered my question. What are you doing back here?"
"Took a wrong turn," she said flippantly, blatantly ignoring him now as she thought she heard something from the back, either behind the back shelves or the freezer, she wasn't sure.
She took a few steps towards there, Trowa narrowing his eyes before he heard something as well.
He also approached the freezers, but saw nothing. Ami frowned. She had been sure she had heard something....
The freezer door suddenly flew open, a huge gust of wind tearing through the room.
"What the-" Trowa began, only to be immediately silenced as the two were swept off of their feet and knocked harshly to the ground by an unseen force.
Ami groaned, her head pounding from where it hit the ground as she tried to get up, only to realize that Trowa was right on top of her.
He shook his head, placing his hands on the ground and attempting to get up. "Sorry," he muttered, his eyes catching hers since his face was only a few inches away. A light blush colored both of their cheeks as he quickly got to his knees. Ami, trying to suppress her blush, gave a quick retort.
"No problem, officer," she snapped, the last word in her statement sounding as rude as she had meant it. She mentally berated herself. Why was she acting so mean? This was so unlike her.....
He shook his head, silent as he tried to figure out how he had been knocked to the ground. Glancing down at Ami, he offered her his hand. She didn't take it, standing on her own as she walked towards the freezers once more.
"Hold it," he said. "It's not safe to go there."
Ami ignored him, and he pursued her.
"I'll arrest you," he warned.
"Are you going to show me a fake badge before you cuff me? Why are you following me?"
Trowa frowned deeply. "I'm not. I told you that I-"
"Well I didn't believe you. What don't you want me to find back here?" Ami demanded, curious as to whether he or not he might be with the enemy.
She was suspicious of him now?
"I've never been back here, how am I supposed to know," he retorted, never speaking this much with someone who was practically a stranger and also never losing his cool like he was now. What was this girl doing to him?
"Sure," Ami said, peering inside the freezer. There was nothing here....
Loud screams filled the air and the two of them turned towards the sound, coming from the doorway leading to the rest of the store.
They took off towards the sound, the two of them moving at the same pace as they looked through the glass windows on the metal doors.
There were about five youma from where they could see, knocking over shelves and catching people, draining them of their energy.
"What the hell are those things?" Trowa asked, eyes widening. Ami looked at him to try and verify whether or not she felt he was telling the truth.
Trowa frowned. He had been sent to this colony to investigate dangerous cult leaders, not monsters.
More screams filled the air and Ami knew she had to act now. Before she could run from Trowa and investigate, she noticed that he had a gun in hand and had moved through the doors, beginning to shoot at the monsters that were in front of the doors. The bullets wounded one of them and it dropped a woman whose energy it was draining and turned its attention to him, flying straight at him.
Trowa fired at it as it approached, but it didn't relent, grabbing him as it flew back through the doors he had come from and pinning him to the ground. A smile spread across its ugly face as it began to drain his energy, an ugly purple light surrounding him.
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
The youma was destroyed with a scream, and Trowa felt his energy return to him as he got off of the ground and turned to look for who had saved him, although he wasn't too sure how. All he saw was a flash of blue hair before whoever it was dashed out the doorway and into the store. Ami had blue hair, didn't she? Anyways, she had just been standing where that person was, so whoever it was had to be Ami.
Trowa pursued the person, watching as she ran to the front of the store where the most commotion was. As he approached, he stopped. There was a woman he didn't recognize shooting ice from her hands at one of the creatures terrorizing people at the front of the store. He blinked. He knew it had to be Ami, because she had been standing where the woman who had saved him was, by the storage doors. It didn't look like Ami though.....
His head suddenly began to pound and when he glanced back up he realized that the woman fighting the monsters was Ami, in a different outfit. How had he not recognized her before? Some kind of magic? Normally he would have laughed at that, but he was watching her fight monsters while shooting ice and water from her hands, so.....
Not missing a beat, he looked to where customers had crowded the glass doors of the grocery store. The doors seemed to be jammed shut, and they struggled to escape the place.
Rushing over there, he fought through the crowds and shot at the glass doors, watching with a nod as they cracked and then shattered. People spilled through, fear overtaking them as they ran from the store.
With the remaining conscious victims gone, the monsters focused on Ami.
She stepped away from them, taking out two more of the four remaining youma with one of her most powerful attacks. Without pause, the other two youma attacked, throwing some kind of an electrifying web at her. Her screams echoed through the store as Trowa rushed back to where he had seen her standing, firing at the two remaining youma. The two youma snarled, moving to attack him.
"Mercury Ice Storm!"
The youma were disintegrated a couple of feet from him. Trowa approached Ami, who was now on her feet and looking a bit weary.
"Ami?"
"Huh?" She said, frowning deeply. He hadn't seen her transform- he couldn't have; he was outside the doors shooting the youma.
"Ami," he repeated, and she shook her head.
"I don't know who you're talking about," she said, flustered as she waved her hands apologetically.
"Yes you do," he insisted, stepping closer to her. "We were just arguing in the storage area. I don't know how the hell you just did what you did, but it's you."
"It's not. I'm Sailor Mercury."
Trowa stared at her critically. "I know it's you."
"It can't be."
"You're infuriating beyond belief," Trowa stated, trying to keep his cool as he stared her down.
Much to his shock, rather than respond Ami took off running, out the shattered glass doors and into the parking lot.
Damn it, this was not his day! Trowa took off after her, wary that he was making idiotic mistakes and acting very much unlike himself. The others would get pissed knowing he had lost his target.
Mercury ran as fast as she could, knowing Trowa was behind her. What was up with him? He had helped her, so he couldn't be the enemy.....unless it was all a trick. How the hell had he seen through her disguise? Okay, so Ami was standing behind the door in the storage room one moment and then Sailor Mercury was there the next, but usually her disguise power stopped people from putting these very simple facts together.
"Girls," Mercury said in her communicator. "Are you all alright?"
"We're all fine Merc, everyone just called me and told me they're already headed for the main place with the big negative energy reading," Sailor Moon told her, and she could hear Tuxedo Mask saying something from next to her. "Actually, I think the other Senshi are already there. We're coming up to the building too.....my God its city hall."
"Alright," Mercury said, glancing behind her shoulder at Trowa, who was fast approaching. "I warn you, I've got company."
"What a coincidence," Sailor Moon said somewhat dryly from her communicator as the two disconnected from each other.
Were Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask also being pursued by one of Trowa's friends? Were the others? Mercury didn't have time to ponder the thought as Trowa caught up to her, tackling her to the ground.
Mercury tried to kick him off of her and he refused to let up, shouting. "Hold it!" She paused a moment and he allowed her to sit up and breathe a moment, although he didn't release her wrist.
"Why the hell did you run from me back there? What are you hiding? While we're on the subject, how the hell can you shoot ice from your hands and what were those monsters back there? What exactly are you and your friends up to?"
Mercury stared at Trowa a moment, frowning. Why was he following her? 'Because he doesn't trust me,' she realized.
"Well, what are you and your friends up to then?" She asked, throwing the question back at him. "You followed me for a reason."
He opened his mouth to respond and closed it again, cursing as he once again either said too much or lost his words around her.
"You answer me first," he said, staring at her intently. She forced back a blush, not used to having anyone stare at her like that. Her second best option next to blushing furiously was all too clear. As Trowa only had a hold of her wrist while the two sat on the floor, Mercury kicked him in the chest as hard as she possibly could, knocking him off of her. He took only a moment to regain his breath but it was all Mercury needed as she pushed herself off the ground and took off running. Trowa angrily lunged after her, only a foot behind her as she seemed to slow down. He watched as she stared intently at city hall and began approaching it.
"Where do you think you're going?" He demanded, pursuing her. It was now just half past nine. City hall was closed and the employees had gone home.
"Leave," Mercury demanded, heading up the steps towards the doors of the large building.
"Don't bet on that," he said as he followed her up the steps. Mercury tried to reach her friends on her communicator and received only static. She could feel the negative vibes radiating off the building and she frowned.
She reached for the door and he scoffed.
"Obviously it's locked."
She opened the door with ease and he once again cursed God, who seemingly had it out for him as not a single thing he said today had been correct.
"Well then you're trespassing," he stated, grabbing her arm. "You're not going in. You're under arrest."
She raised an eyebrow in response and Trowa took a deep breath to keep his cool.
Pulling out his Preventers badge, he showed it to her and spoke.
'I'm serious, no more games. You are under arrest. If you don't answer the remainder of my questions, I'm arresting your friends too."
"Alright rent-a-cop," she said, pulling her arm free. Trowa bit back a growl, pulling out his gun and ushering with it.
"Enough. I am a Preventer and I'm placing you under arrest."
Ami groaned. This idiot was wasting her time, her friends were probably in danger .Curiosity got the best of her though and she met his gaze, surprising him that she was not afraid of his gun. What surprised him more was the general curiosity in her gaze, as though was anticipating learning something new. The look was different from the one she had given him that entire afternoon. It was softer.....he liked it.
"What's a Preventer?"
Her question shocked him more than everything previous as he stared at her incredulously.
"Are you.....being honest with me?"
"Yes," she said, true innocence lacing her voice at her response.
"You must know what the Preventers are. Huge government organization, deal with post-war problems and general security......" He trailed off when no recognition flashed across her face.
Seeing how shocking it was that she didn't know, Ami was quick to enter the dark doors of city hall and leave Trowa standing there a moment before he followed her.
"I said you were under arrest," he reminded, "Ami."
The lights in the main hall suddenly came on and she tensed. "Call me Mercury."
"I'll call you by your name."
She spun around to face him, general concern showing on her face. "When I look like this, my name is Mercury. You have to get out of here, it's not safe. There will be more of those monsters here." She suddenly looked to the right intently, having heard something. Trowa took the opportunity to finally see why the outfit was so important with her name. He stared down at her outfit, taking a good look for the first time and wondering how the hell he hadn't noticed it before. It was a tight fitting white bodice with a blue sailor collar, a light blue bow in the center of her chest although it did nothing to hide her shapely figure as his eyes traveled down, past her slender waist and to her hips, covered in a mini-skirt which was really hardly a skirt, and moving to her thin and yet well toned legs. Blue boots completed the outfit, and he glanced back up at the tiara on her forehead, which had a blue gem in the center. Around her neck was a blue choker with a star on it.
His glance had been only a couple of seconds and he was sure that if Mercury had seen him looking, she thought he was just looking at the outfit although he still felt like scum.
Mercury turned to meet his gaze just as the front door slammed shut. Running past him, she tugged at the heavy wood door and gasped.
"We're locked in. Oh my God, you're locked in here!"
Trowa approached, tugging at the door as well and frowning.
"I told you," Mercury said, frowning now as she began to get worried. "This is bad."
Pulling out her mini-computer, she double clicked her earring. A blue visor came over her eyes and Trowa frowned and glanced over at her just as the lights went out. He could now here Mercury typing, but she soon sighed.
"I can't get any readings in here. Let's just go, my friends are in here somewhere. Oh, and if your friends are anything like you, they probably are too."
"That's true," he agreed, not too sure on what was happening but deciding to just go with the flow and stop trying to arrest her, for now anyways.
The two walked down the dark hallway, keeping near each other so as not to lose one another in the dark. A loud crash sounded from a distance, and they took off running towards the sound.
".....just think," Trowa repeated after the shadow creature. It smirked and nodded. Ami rolled in his arms and he glanced down at her, needing answers. She began to open her eyes, blinking slightly.
"Trowa......I saw some of..." she trailed off as her head began to pound. Her eyes rolled to the back of head and she fell back into his already awaiting arms.
"She didn't finish seeing what she was supposed to see yet," the creature said matter-of-factly.
"What was she supposed to see?" Trowa asked.
"Well didn't you ever wonder?" It asked.
"Wonder what? How we got here?" Trowa questioned. "Of course we did."
"Not that," the creature said, beginning to chuckle. "Didn't you ever wonder....."
Sailor Mercury and Trowa tore up the steps of the building, away from a youma that was in pursuit of them. The layout of city hall had changed entirely apparently, as doors would become walls and as the two got to the top of the stairs and screamed as they began to plummet to the basement, apparently the floor could disappear as well.
The two struggled to get off of the ground, in pain but alright.
"You really weren't joking huh?" Trowa asked, helping her stand as the two glanced around the darkened basement. It was very big and dark, although the two knew that they weren't alone.
"No," she said, allowing herself a small smile as they tried to see what was in the room. The two cautiously approached the center of the room, jumping backwards as the lights in the room came on, making it look like a large warehouse.
"Mercury!" A voice shouted. The two turned to see Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Duo come running into the room in a much more graceful fashion than she and Trowa had.
Trowa smirked.
"Of course you followed her too, Tro-man," Duo joked, looking around the room. "Cult my ass. This is way beyond what we expected. Where is everyone else? Have you seen anyone....and can you believe their outfits?"
Tuxedo Mask punched Duo on the shoulder in warning and Sailor Moon blushed. Mercury ignored the three, her attention on the other side of the large basement. It was dark in there and as of yet unlit. She thought she heard....was it whimpers?
"You have good ears Mercury," a voice drawled, belonging to a woman who stepped out from the dark area of the room. The woman had long blonde hair, cascading in waves over her shoulders. She gazed at the five of them calculatingly, her steely grey eyes roaming over the group. She wore, quite unlike many of their other enemies, the robes of a priestess. However, the robes colours were black and grey, and she uncrossed her arms and spread them wide.
"Welcome."
The last section of lights came on, revealing their remaining friends, all of who were tied up and gagged, hence the whimpers.
Sailor Venus and Wufei were tied together, and it looked like large pieces of duct tape were across their mouths. Both seemed injured but it wasn't obvious in the bad lighting how bad it was. Next to them were Sailor Jupiter and Quatre, similarly bound and tied back to back. Lastly were Sailor Mars and Heero, conscious but lying down on the ground and bound that way.
Sailor Moon stepped forwards angrily and Tuxedo Mask threw up his arm to stop her. She nodded and stepped back.
"Your friends were here kind of early," the woman said plainly, watching them closely. "They were difficult to take down though, I'll give them that much. I understand that the government thinks we're a cult?" She directed her question at Trowa and Duo, tipping her head back and beginning to laugh. "Hardly, although we did have to act like a cult in order to get some minions from this world under our cooperation."
She ushered at her robes, and smirked. "You preach salvation to people, and no matter how ridiculous what you say sounds, they come running. They will give you anything to be saved. Property, money, ....their energy. Well...they didn't know about that part until our final ceremony, but by that time it was too late. I'm assuming the government was looking into those one hundred and fifty missing people?"
Trowa and Duo nodded, gazing at her calculatingly. She was clearly not someone to be messed with although it seemed like the force behind her were her monsters.
"Then, after we completely drained those people and realized we still didn't have enough for our master plan, I was forced to send youma out into the city to get me more. That is- until you all got in the way."
"Master plan? Who are you?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Call me the goddess of the after life. That's what all of my minions called me until we took care of them a few days ago and you are no better than my loyal followers. As for my master plan, it's simple. Domination. I heard that you Senshi protect the other dimension, so I went to a lot of trouble to come here and yet you still pursued me. You have to understand that I am a little inconvenienced."
"You're no goddess, you're a devil in disguise," Sailor Moon shouted.
Mercury grabbed Sailor Moon's elbow, warning her to calm down. All they needed was to get tied up like the rest of their friends.
The woman simply laughed. "I suppose you'll just have to fight me then. I've been feeling bored lately...so you won't just be fighting my youma, you'll be fighting me as well."
Several youma appeared in the room and immediately charged at them. They weren't her most powerful bunch, immediately being taken down by attacks or even bullets from Trowa and Duo.
When half of her youma were destroyed, the self-proclaimed goddess got involved, shooting large energy attacks from her hands at all of them.
Mercury rolled out of the way of one of them, turning and destroying a youma behind her with a small attack. She heard bullets from Trowa's gun quickly taking out or delaying youma from next to her. The woman attacked again from above, sending a large blast of energy towards Trowa. Mercury ran and shoved him out of the way as both of them rolled several feet, narrowly missing the attack.
"Thanks," he muttered, helping her stand. "I owe you one."
Duo was knocked in the chest with a lot of force by a youma and collapsed to the ground, conscious but unable to get up.
About six youma lunged at Tuxedo Mask and knocked him to the ground, attacking him fiercely.
"Tuxedo Mask!" Sailor Moon screamed, trying to fight off a youma she was dealing with to go help him.
Mercury saw the woman begin to aim at Sailor Moon before Sailor Moon was at all aware of it.
"Sailor Moon!"
"Didn't I ever wonder what?" Trowa asked the Shadow creature as it continued to circle him in that infuriating way.
"Wonder why everything that happened to you here injured you massively," it said with a shrug. Trowa's eyebrows creased in confusion. Why? Clearly, he and Ami weren't being extra careful this last week, but what did that mean?
Ami gasped, her eyes flying open and meeting Trowa's. They were slightly glassy, and Trowa had to know what she had found out.
"Ami, what did you see?" He asked, his voice urgent. She stared at him, almost as though she was looking right through him.
"Didn't you ever wonder, I mean, how you sustained those injuries on your bodies," the creature said, circling them as it laughed. Trowa struggled to keep his temper down, the creature's taunts too much for him to handle as he tried to get the answer from Ami. His head was spinning and he needed answers now.
"Shut up!" He shouted at the creature, focusing on Ami. "Ami," he shook her shoulders as her eyes started going blank. "Ami! What happened to us? How did we get here? Ami!"
Her eyes focused on his instantly, the words falling softly from her lips but holding more meaning to him than he would have ever guessed.
"We died."
The sound of his heart, beating loudly in his chest overtook his senses for a moment before he snapped back.
"What?" He asked, shock tearing through him as his grip on her shoulders slackened. He was sure his eyes were wide and he could hear the creature laughing as it continued to circle him, beginning to throw Trowa into a maddening rage.
"No!"
"We died," Ami repeated firmly, grabbing the sides of his face and forcing him to look at her. "Trowa, we died. A week ago....we died."
"Ami no!" He shouted. He would know if he was dead. He felt so alive. He was inured. He needed food. He needed water. He was alive.
Ami understood his paranoia. She knew the cold feeling of death and this wasn't it. The truth however, was suddenly all too clear.
"Trowa, we died!"
He continued to shake his head even as the feeling of the truth behind her words began to creep into his heart. How was this possible?
Suddenly Ami remembered what she had been thinking while they were walking in the labyrinth that day. "Bound to walk forever with no destination....we were lost. We're lost, Trowa, our souls are lost. We had to remember what happened to us. We had to remember!"
Trowa suddenly looked up, the creature's laughter meaningless to him as he saw what had happened to them one week prior. How had he forgotten? The clarity of the truth was unbelievable......
"Sailor Moon!" Sailor Mercury screamed, trying to get her attention. Sailor Moon didn't hear her. She began to run away from where Trowa stood, at Sailor Moon.
"Sailor Moon! Sailor Moon! Usagi!"
Trowa saw where Mercury was running and turned pale. He tried to shoot at the self-proclaimed goddess who was attacking Sailor Moon, but his bullets were ineffective. What was Sailor Mercury trying to do? His legs began to move him forwards before his mind registered what he was doing.
"Ami stop!"
Sailor Mercury could feel the heat from the unbelievably large blast as she neared Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon, still blissfully unaware, was trying to fend off a youma that was on top of her while she worried about Tuxedo Mask's situation.
"Princess!" Mercury screamed one last time.
She reached Sailor Moon just as the blast was about to connect. Trowa, on Mercury's heels, was too late to move her safely out of the way. The blast tore through him and Sailor Mercury simultaneously, burning into them so deep that it left a sizeable hole in their chests.
Sailor Moon turned, finally knocking the attacking youma off of her, and began to scream. Tuxedo Mask finished off the last of the attacking youma as he got to his feet, beaten but in total shock.
The fighting seemed to come to a halt as the room became silent save for her cries.
Mercury reached a shaking hand to her profusely bleeding chest, feeling the blood leaking out of her faster than she could ever have imagined. Gasping, she met Trowa's gaze as he sank to the floor with her.
"Why d-did you do that?" She managed to gasp out. He never tore her eyes away from her, managing a shaky smile even though his blood was seeping through his wound painfully.
"I owed you one, remember? That a-and I definitely thought I was faster than that....."
Their eyes became lifeless as Sailor Moon continued to scream. Mercury's transformation faded, leaving Ami and Trowa lying in a pool of blood.
From Sailor Moon's screams, the silver crystal activated, flying from Sailor Moon's brooch. The light hit Ami and Trowa's prone figures, and the attacking woman began to scream.
"What are you doing? Are you trying to bring them back? I won't allow it!"
The woman released a black beam of her own, also hitting their bodies.
"Now their souls are lost wandering time Sailor Moon. I am sending my minions after them to stop them from remembering what happened to them. If they remember, only then can they return to you!"
"No," Sailor Moon said, collapsing to her knees as tears wet her face. "Stop it!"
"Don't worry," the woman said coldly. "If they remember, they will be coming back here in a few moments. Time passes differently when you're dead, especially with this spell I just cast. Either they come back within a few more moments or they are dead forever scout."
"We have to go back," Trowa murmured as the initial shock of their situation set in.
"You're probably too late," the shadow creature said cruelly. "You were on a time limit that was set for under seven days. If you've breached it by even a second you won't return to the place you died."
Trowa spun around only to see that Ami was fading away from next to him.
"Ami! Ami what's going on?"
Glancing down at his own hands, he realized he too was fading......
Ami took a deep breath, feeling the air enter and leave her lungs. She felt........alive. More alive then she had ever felt before, or perhaps it was disbelief. Placing her hands on the wet floor, wet from the blood she had soiled it with seven days prior, or rather in this timeline, a few moments before, she attempted to stand.
Her white dress was soaked in the blood she had fallen in although she knew that she was no longer wounded.
From next to her, Trowa had discovered the same thing. The two found each others hands, well aware that the room was deadly silent as they helped each other stand.
A couple of feet from them, Sailor Moon sat looking stunned. Tears covered her face and she looked at the two of them in disbelief. From behind her, Tuxedo Mask gripped her shoulder. Duo stared at them wide eyed. Their bound and captured friends on the other end of the room had all gone deathly silent, tears of relief trailing down a few of the Senshi's faces. Their blonde enemy had her hands clenched tightly at her side.
"How did you remember?" She demanded. "How did you remember in time? I made sure my minions followed you."
"They did," Ami said, still in disbelief at what has happening as she watched the woman.
"I made sure you suffered," the woman stated coldly, her steely grey eyes boring holes into them.
"We did," Trowa said coolly, staring right back at the women. Again, her hands clenched by her side in fury.
"You were lucky this time Sailor Moon," the woman stated, watching the group. "I will however be ready for a rematch very soon. I will make sure that you don't bring anyone back then," she said, disappearing from the room with a snap of her fingers.
Immediately, the bonds holding their friends on the other side of the room disappeared. They stood quickly, removing the duct tape from their mouths and running over.
It was in that instant that Ami and Trowa were attacked by their friends individually, separated and questioned thoroughly although they were slightly dazed from it all.
"Ami I can't believe you jumped in front of me like that," Sailor Moon said for the hundredth time, continuing to sob as she hugged the life right back out of her.
"We're just glad you're alright Ami," Sailor Venus said, Mars and Jupiter voicing agreement while Tuxedo Mask tried to pull Sailor Moon off of her.
"Tro-man, you are unbelievable! You died, and then like a minute later you just stood up! I never thought I'd see anything like that!" Duo exclaimed as his friends surrounded him. "How long were you two wandering time, or whatever that woman said?"
"A week," Trowa said.
"A week? You experienced an entire week while it had been less than a minute here?" Heero asked, looking shocked. Trowa nodded. Wufei stared at Trowa a moment, nodding.
"You wandered through time?"
"Yes," Trowa said, responding to Wufei's question. Wufei nodded, still trying to come to terms with everything that had happened that day.
Quatre watched Trowa, whose eyes continued to flicker towards the blue-haired girl he had been sent to follow that day, Ami. The two had spent an entire week together, so it was natural that they would be friends, but......Quatre was pretty sure he saw something else in Trowa's eyes as he stared at her.
The groups moved towards each other, the Senshi detransforming as they all began to chatter about that woman's threat of returning to fight with them. Quatre invited all of them to stay at his estate on L2 for the night while they rested and finally got to talk about everythign that had happened, as all but Ami and Trowa only knew each other from that day.
Ami was for the moment uninterested, the situation still surreal to her as she couldn't believe she was finally out of that wretched place. One look at Trowa told her he felt the same as he glanced around the room, just trying to get his bearings. Catching her eyes, a small smile tugged on the corner of his lips. She returned it, her feet moving her forwards and into his arms before she told herself not to act like this in front of the girls, who were sure to make a big deal out of it later.
Trowa hugged her tightly, for the moment just happy to be home.
How was it? I'll be updating soon hopefully, but PLEASE review because I badly need feedback for this chapter!
