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Chapter 7

Laycaon bowed deep before Andromache.

"So you say that the inferior attacks of the two Senshi actually harmed you?"

Laycaon merely nodded, bowing his head lower when she stood.

"What happened to your lip- and cheek?"

"The Mercury Senshi kicked me in the face. Plus, her stupid boy toy fired several bullets at me. I can only take so many my queen."

"You disappoint me, Laycaon. I know you're stronger than all the Senshi combined, but you are too weak to take a hit. We attack Tokyo today. Go lead the troops while I think of another strategy."

Laycaon bowed and ran off, and Andromache drummed her fingers.

They had sent four of the Senshi away- and yet they were still thorns in her side.

Plus, her takeover of Tokyo had been slowed since so many youma were destroyed early on. She needed something- extra.

An idea came to her head, and she gasped and gave a laugh of delight as she sprang to her feet, running to the dungeons.

There was Sailor Pluto, chained up and looking defeated.

"You still have a purpose, Senshi of time."


"We are so outnumbered!" Tuxedo Kamen glanced next to him at Sailor Moon, who was much less than optimistic, although he couldn't blame her.

Sailor Uranus fell to the floor next to the pair, unconscious after having received one too many blows to the head.

"Uranus!" Saturn was quickly at her side, Neptune destroying a youma and running over.

"We need something fast, people are being killed like flies," Neptune said worriedly from where she stood.

They were outside the hospital. Andromache had sunk so low that she had chosen to send youma in to kill sick people.

This was the hospital that Ami's mom had worked at.

The youma began to swarm in a group, and Neptune screamed.

"They've killed enough people!"

At that moment, her hand began to glow and Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask dragged Uranus away, keeping Saturn next to them as they realized she had probably just gained a new attack from her incredible anger. Sailor Moon could feel the power radiating from Neptune's fist.

"Raging Tide!"

She brought her other hand to meet her fist and an attack unlike anything the Senshi had ever seen Neptune do blasted forwards, beginning small and growing as massive as any wave they had witnessed, taking out about a third of the youma.

Neptune promptly passed out, having drained herself completely. Tuxedo Kamen checked on Neptune, glancing at Sailor Moon and Saturn as he laid her down next to Uranus.

"She's out cold but what a way to go down!" Sailor Moon screamed happily at Tuxedo Kamen's words, feeling more optimistic about the battle.

Laycaon's mouth dropped open in shock.

Saturn laughed as they watched Laycaon.

"Andromache will kill me," he said, ushering their remaining youma into a portal and running.

Once he was gone, their smiles disappeared, as they surveyed the wreck before them. Luckily, only about a quarter of the hospital had been damaged, but they were sick wondering how many people had been in that quarter.


"Your instructions are clear. Act natural. Tell them your time staff and wand have been taken, and that you were lucky to survive enough to leap through a gate Laycaon had conjured for a youma. Your true goal is not to kill the Senshi or their hosts yet. Just act natural, gain everyone's trust, and then once you've learned all their host's secrets and distracted the Senshi enough, we go in for the kill. Be friendly at first, but remember that in the end the more tension and distrust you cause between the two groups, the more likely they are to just kill each other- which is perfect."

Setsuna nodded.

The vile of liquid that Andromache had shoved down her throat had done its job. Setsuna knew everything about the Senshi, and retained her personality however her loyalty was to Andromache. The best part was that the solution in the vile had no antidote. Depending on the will of the person it was

given to, it would take anywhere from four to eight days to wear off. That was plenty of time for Pluto to do plenty of damage.

"Sometimes, I surprise myself with my brilliance," Andromache said, turning as Laycaon entered the room.

"M-my Queen."

She glowered at him immediately, sensing that things had not gone well. She had been busy creating her plan "Before I kill you or punish you severely, open a dimensional gate."

He nodded, and with a wave of his hand a gate opened.

Setsuna stood and stepped through, screaming when she dropped. The gate closed.

He glanced at his Queen worriedly.

"I will explain that part of my plan to you later," she said, referring to Setsuna. "Now- what happened?"

"We had the Senshi cornered, but Neptune freaked out and sent forth this huge attack. I've never seen anything like it, I-"

Andromache growled. "How many of our troops are gone?"

"About one third."

She let out a scream of rage, grabbing him by the neck.

"Idiot! How could you let this happen! I bet you saved yourself above the youma it took me countless hours to create or win over to our side!"

She dropped him suddenly.

"If Neptune has a new attack, Uranus may develop one too! Then the rest of them! We need more troops and Setsuna must work quickly in the other dimension. Only two of the inners in the other realm have powers, right?"

He nodded. "Yes, only Jupiter and Venus."


Ami stretched in bed that morning, her head feeling much better. Minako shifted from next to her but did not wake up. Ami slowly climbed out of bed, feeling a slight pain in her leg but knowing it was mostly healed. Luckily, she could walk mostly fine, but her leg had a slight limp that she didn't have to fake.

She happily beat Mina to the shower, toweling off her hair and getting dressed.

Minako was stretching in bed when she exited the bathroom, smiling.

"Good Morning Ames," she said with a yawn.

"Good Morning Mina," Ami responded with a smile. "Shower's free if you're ready."

"How's the leg?"

"Better, I can walk on it today," Ami said, moving out of the room. She headed down to the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and waving at the chef, Melina. She downed the glass of water and stuck her plate in the dishwasher.

"Is most everyone still asleep?" Ami glanced at Melina and nodded. "I only saw Minako."

"Good thing I'm behind then today. How do scrambled eggs and bacon sound for today?"

"Everything you make is good," Ami said, waving and exiting the kitchen.

Penelope passed Ami in the living room.

"Miss Ami, did you all clean up in here while we were out yesterday? It seems cleaner, and that hideous vase is missing."

Ami laughed. "Yes, Quatre wanted it gone."

She moved on past Penelope, who touched her arm lightly. "Ami, you're limping!"

"I'm fine. Tomorrow I'll be jumping around on this leg."

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

Ami spun around to see that Trowa was up, heading down the stairs. Penelope waved and headed into the kitchen as Trowa stepped down.

"Good morning, when did you get up?" Ami asked.

"About fifteen minutes ago- are you sure you can walk on that leg?"

Ami nodded as Rei walked out of the hallway her room was in.

"Morning you two. Ames, are you the only one up? I had the strangest dream," Rei said, not going into details. Ami frowned at her, thinking it had something to do with the dreams she had previously experienced.

Rei did look troubled though.

"I dreamt we found someone outside. Weird, huh?"

Trowa was vaguely reminded of how they had found Ami and Makoto, but perhaps Rei didn't know that.

"Odd," he commented, moving towards the window and peering outside.

"Yes," Rei said, now convinced it was nothing more than a dream. "The dream was so vivid. I felt like I was walking up to the body myself."

Duo descended the stairs, meeting Ami and Rei at the bottom.

"Morning ladies, Trowa what are you looking at so early?"

Trowa was now gazing intently out the window, and Ami approached. "What?"

He turned and threw open the door, running outside. The other three looked at each other and dashed after him.

Duo gasped once he had stepped outside. Laying on the law, unconscious, was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. She looked a couple of years older than the rest of the girls, and she had long dark hair.

"Hey!"

Rei pushed past Trowa and Duo, Ami at her heels.

"She's the last person I expected to see," Rei said, crouching down and checking Setsuna's pulse. She seemed a little worn out in appearance, but at first glance looked fine.

Duo approached unsurely.

"Is she- is she a friend of yours?"

The two girls glanced at each other and back at Trowa and Duo.

"Yes," Ami said. "Can you help us get her inside?"

Duo nodded and approached, picking up the woman and carrying her inside. He set her down on the couch in the living room, and she stirred a bit.

"Setsuna," Rei said, unsurely. She blinked open her eyes, revealing large garnet orbs- the most beautiful eyes Duo had ever seen.

"What are you all looking at?" A couple of them turned to see that Wufei had spoken, exiting the hallway where his room was located with Makoto and Quatre.

The three approached and gasped when they reached the couch. Setsuna sat up, immediately becoming alert and looking at all of them.

"Setsuna?" Minako came rushing down the stairs, Heero at her side as everyone stood around confused.

"Girls, you're all okay," she said, sounding shocked yet relieved as she glanced around.

"How did you get here?" They all glanced at Heero and back at Setsuna.

"I don't remember," she said, confusion lining her voice.

Ami frowned at Setsuna. She wondered what the enemy had done to her. Captured her, obviously, and probably taken her time staff and most likely her wand. She felt the small hope she still had die within her as her friends chatted with Setsuna. She had been praying that Setsuna would find a way to escape and come save them- but if she was here and powerless then who would get them home?

"I'm starting to get a new theory on what's going on here," Heero muttered to Trowa. "We'll talk later. There are too many theories."

"Well, since Ami and Minako's room is one of the largest, we can set up an extra cot in there for Setsuna," Quatre offered, becoming more restless to know what was going on day by day.

"Thank you so much," Setsuna said, seeming very sad and worried.

"You okay?" Ami glanced over at Trowa. She shook her head at her own actions. Setsuna was here, she was safe and had not been killed, and all Ami had done was pity herself.

"I'm fine," she said, smiling slightly and heading upstairs with Setsuna and the other girls to get her set up.


When they were gone, Heero motioned for everyone to sit.

"I have too many theories right now. The first is that I think that the girls aren't learning enough information on us and more help keeps being sent. If that's the case, watch them closely. However, as more and more confused women show up, I'm starting to think that they could be pawns in a bigger organization."

"I agree," Quatre said.

"What do you mean?" Duo asked.

"Maxwell, pay attention. It is very likely that these onnas are just amazing actresses, but I think what Yuy is saying is that they never have an answer and know about all of these weird non-existent attacks because they are being drugged before being sent here. They could have a mission that they don't really know about until it comes into effect."

"It's very likely," Trowa said. "I somehow don't think they're guilty of anything just yet."

"Another scenario is that they are covering for somebody and keeping quiet about something. After all, we've seen enough monsters the last week that have come specifically to kill them," Quatre said.

"The fact that none of their names are in any record I've found shows me that they could be using an alias though," Heero said, and everyone nodded grimly. That certainly indicated guilt of something.

"Alright then," Wufei said. "We stick with the plan; each one of us tries to get information. Maxwell, it's your dream come true. You tail Setsuna."

Duo laughed and tried to high-five an unwilling Trowa, who frowned at him in return.

"Awesome, she's so hot!"


Upstairs, the girls were asking Setsuna a million questions.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I've been captured for a few days now. I tried to escape, but in response my time staff and wand were stolen. They tossed me here, and I'm very worried about the time stream."

Minako hugged Setsuna. "Don't worry Sets, we'll figure something out!"

"We've got to," Makoto said, staring at her and looking away, worried.

"Rei, you dreamt about us finding her?" Ami asked.

Rei nodded. "Yes, it was like a vision."

"Well, whatever happens now happens," Setsuna said glumly. "How many of you still have your wands?"

"Minako and I," Makoto said.

"Well, there's power in numbers at least," Setsuna said. "I know enough about this dimension, although I know nothing about the occupants of the house that I can disclose to you right now."

The girls nodded.

"Ladies," Duo's voice said from the door. "Our talented cook Melina would like me to inform you that breakfast is ready," he said, looking at Setsuna and entering the room.

"I haven't eaten in days," Setsuna admitted. "Where's the kitchen?"

"Duo Maxwell at your service," Duo said, offering her his hand. "Allow me to escort you there."

Ami rolled her eyes at the tone Duo was using with Setsuna, but Setsuna was apparently too hungry to care.

"Coming girls?"

They nodded and followed.

The rest of the day was quiet, even though Duo bothered Setsuna the whole time. Setsuna would simply smile and pay him no mind, her stoic yet kind nature shining through.


The next afternoon, everyone sat in the living room, bored and sprawled out on the floor and across the couches.

"What to do, what to do," Minako was saying as she strummed her fingers on the table. Heero glanced over at her and turned back to his laptop.

"Mina, we're lucky that Quatre is letting us stay here at all," Ami reminded, glancing up from the last chapter of the novel Trowa had given her and turning her eyes back to her book. Trowa, who had been reading over her shoulder, glanced up as well.

"Don't worry Ami, I understand where Minako is coming from," Quatre said. Makoto was leaned against him, tapping her fingers on the edge of the couch as he fiddled with her long brown locks. Both looked equally bored.

"Well I'm so tired of this house," Duo whined from a few feet away. Setsuna, who had just arrived and was lucky to be there, looked pleasant enough and just smiled.

"I hate winter," Rei agreed. "It's too cold to hang out outside."

"If you onnas would stop whining perhaps we could think of something to do," Wufei retorted from where he sat, although he seemed bored as well.

"I'm really resisting the urge to smack you right now," Rei told Wufei, and he rolled his eyes. "Me too, you're lucky I'm not a woman beater."

"Wufei," Quatre said, sounding exasperated as he thought of something to do. "I believe there's an outlet mall an hour away from here."

"Absolutely not," Ami said from where she sat, once again glancing up from the most exciting part of the novel. She and the others didn't have a dime on them, and Quatre and his friends had done so much for them already. It wasn't Quatre's job to provide them with extra clothes that they didn't need. She laughed as Minako and Makoto's eyes had become hopefully and now both looked equally crushed.

"You're right Ami," Rei agreed from where she sat.

"Well it is winter," Makoto suddenly said from where she sat. "I mean, don't you guys ice skate or anything?"

The idea passed around the room quite nicely.

"That is a gay man's and women's sport," Wufei said.

"Well you fairy, you know what they say. The biggest homophobes are homos themselves," Rei retorted, and Wufei went red with anger.

"No Wu-man, I'd suggest you say nothing back," Duo cut in, Wufei shifting his anger at him for the nickname.

"You can rent hockey skates Wufei," Quatre said, happy with the idea. "Actually, there's on outdoor rink about fifteen minutes from here, walking. Plus, it's sunny today, not snowing."

"A rink?" Quatre glanced at Heero.

"Actually, it's a small man-made lake that always freezes over deep in the winter. The ice on it is very thick, and so many people from the area go there to skate and bring their families. Every winter, the indoor arena in the city sets up a place to rent skates next to the lake too, and children's hockey games are hosted there."

"Well Ami's leg is-" Ami cut Trowa off.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I don't even have a limp today," Ami said, and it was true. Her quick healing had shocked Trowa, especially since she had been unable to walk the day before, then limped slightly yesterday, and now was perfectly fine.

"Then it's settled," Duo said. "Now ladies, there is a dress code. Women skaters wear little mini-skirts and also tights if you want." Five hands reached out to smack him, and he ran from the room.

"Well thanks to what he just said I'm putting on jeans and a sweater," Rei said, exiting the room.

Everyone followed.


Since it was only fifteen minutes away walking, the group had decided to enjoy the walk there. Everyone was in thinner coats or thick sweaters for more easy movement, and all had found enough hats and cotton gloves and earmuffs to go around thanks to how many sisters Quatre had.

The group chatted excitedly, happy to be out of the house, and upon arriving at the rink began the confusing process of renting skates. It was crowded as Quatre had mentioned. The frozen lake was about 200 feet across and it was circular in shape. It was clear that it was man-made like he had said, since there was grass circling the entire lake and a forest right behind it.

Everyone split up and headed to different benches to lace up their skates. Trowa finished his and stood, waiting as Ami tied her last one.

She stood and he couldn't help but smile at her. Ami was wearing jeans and one of Quatre's sister's old petty coats. It was grey and stopped right at her hips, and she had on white cotton gloves and white earmuffs. Her cheeks were slightly red and she looked excited as she gazed at the ice. 'So cute,' he thought, resisting commenting.

Trowa had on a thick forest green sweater with pockets in the front and a hood he was ignoring in the back, since he had on a hat.

"Wow, look at Makoto," Quatre said from nearby and both turned to look as Makoto did a perfect spin on the ice and skated over to where Quatre stood by the ice.

"Come on," she said, taking his hand. "Let's have some fun."

"Hopefully not the fun you just had, I'd fall flat on my face," Quatre commented as he skated next to her.

"She is such an amazing skater," Minako said, watching Makoto.

"Well you don't have to be amazing to have fun," Heero commented from next to her, having just finished lacing up his hockey skates.

"True dat, true dat," Minako said, attempting to sound ghetto or tough, he wasn't sure which one. When he only glanced at her oddly, she rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, dragging him towards the ice.

"Let's go," she said.

"Miss Meioh, please do me the honor of skating with me," Duo said, extending his hand.

"No need for formalities Duo. I haven't skated in years though," she commented, standing. "Of course I'll skate with you."

Setsuna and Duo passed by an arguing Rei and Wufei. The two had stepped onto the ice together unintentionally, but after only getting a few feet from the edge both had slipped and fallen.

Unfortunately for Rei's pride, she had toppled right on Wufei.

She stared at him a moment and he stared back, the two absolutely silent although Rei couldn't fathom why. As soon as Setsuna and Duo had approached, the two had immediately begun to argue.

"Get off me onna!"

"Like I wanted to fall on you, I would have preferred to fall on the ice and break something!"

When the staring Duo and Setsuna had skated away, the two had immediately become silent.

Wufei stood and offered Rei his hand to help her get up, and surprisingly she accepted.

Trowa meanwhile had stepped onto the ice. He wasn't an amazing skater, but he could at least move smoothly on the ice. Ami wasn't bad as well as she joined him, the two moving at approximately the same pace and beginning to talk about their friends, namely Rei and Wufei, whom they passed by and noticed weren't arguing, but actually trying to help each other across the ice.

Ami giggled slightly as she watched them, suddenly remembering that she and her friends hadn't gone skating in years. Not since Mamoru was being controlled by Beryl when Makoto had become a target by those two possessed skaters.

She remembered how many times Usagi had fallen that day, and also taken down Ami and the others with her.

"What's funny," Trowa asked, peering down at her.

"Nothing," she said, glancing up at him. "I was just remembering something." Immediately, her thoughts drifted back to her friends, only now she was wondering how Usagi, Mamoru and the others were fairing alone.

Seeing her demeanor change immediately, Trowa sighed. Ever since the night Ami had hurt her leg, she had been a bit more withdrawn. She tried not to show it, but she was, and he wondered why.

"Watch out!" Minako screamed from nearby. Ami and Trowa looked up to see Minako coming straight at them, seemingly unable to stop herself. Heero was about ten feet behind, and Ami heard him say something about using the front of her skate.

"Mina, Mina, use your front pick! Mina!" Ami shouted.

Minako did as she was told, but when she shoved the pick at the front of her skate into the ice so suddenly when she was going so fast, she went flying forwards and still crashed into Ami, who hadn't backed up far away enough.

Trowa and Heero skated over as Heero helped the laughing Minako get off of Ami. Ami was laughing as well, and accepted Trowa's help as he hoisted her off the ground and didn't let go until she got her bearings.

"Thanks," Ami said, her laughter calming as she grabbed onto Trowa's hand without having to fall and began skating. Trowa seemed relieved at her action, but said nothing as they continued across the ice.


It began to get dark about twenty minutes later since they had decided to leave the house at around 5:30, and by 6:25 it was dark outside, typical for winter.

"I'm not ready to go just yet," Makoto said as she and Quatre skated over to where they had all congregated in the middle. "Plus, the lights around the lake have come on."

It was true, the rink was very well lit, and now they had it mostly to themselves since many of the families had gone home.

"We'll skate a bit more then," Quatre said, agreeing with Makoto as they skated off.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Setsuna announced suddenly.

"Well, it's by the skate rentals. It's kind of dark over there, so I'll wait for you outside," Duo offered as the two skated off the ice, leaving everyone to their fun. Duo stood outside, leaned against the wall as Setsuna entered.

She headed to a stall, shutting the door and turning on her communicator. She had told the girls that all she could get on it was static, but in truth Andromache had modified the communicator so that she could contact her.

"Setsuna here," she whispered.

Andromache's voice came through. "Good. Where are you? I sent Laycaon and some youma to the house to help cause tension but he said that it looked like no one was in."

"Yes, we're at a local rink about fifteen minutes away by foot. Only the Senshi and our hosts are here now."

"Good job. You're more efficient than Laycaon. Remember to keep up your act and allow them to attack you like the others. They will not kill you. I have given Laycaon specific orders for no scout or mortal to die tonight. I want to see exactly how much mistrust I can create among the Senshi and their hosts. I believe their hosts would be good soldiers on my team."

Setsuna stepped out of her stall and turned on the water a moment, before exiting.

Duo grabbed her arm from the shadowed wall and she jumped, turning.

"Got you," he said, slinging his arm over her shoulder. "Let's go skate."

She nodded and laughed somewhat nervously as they both made their way back to the ice.

Makoto was currently teaching Quatre, Ami, and Trowa how to make a figure eight. Rei and Wufei were talking with Minako and Heero in the corner of the ice, and Duo insisted that they get in on the figure eight lessons.


Not five minutes after Setsuna had made the call, Laycaon transported himself and a few youma to the darkened woods behind the rink.

"You understand the plan," he cautioned the youma. "If you attack Setsuna, make sure her wounds are non-fatal, she will let you attack her. Also, Queen Andromache has shown some interest in the hosts of the Senshi. She believes that they are of value, and would like to see if the hosts themselves will kill the Senshi. Perhaps she is looking for recruits to replace your pathetic asses. So make sure that you only harm them and help to cause distrust amongst them, but do not kill yet. She was very specific with her commands." He paused, looking at the youma. They were his most trusted group and he hoped they followed his orders.

"The Mercury scout did me damage when she was not transformed. When she kicked me in the face yesterday, she busted my lip and bruised by cheek." He touched his lip angrily. "Leave her to me, I want

to attack her, at least do some damage if I am not allowed to kill, and perhaps harm her interfering trigger-happy boy toy. Remember, even if you forget everything I just told you: you kill a scout or one of their hosts without direct orders from Andromache, and I kill you."

The youma nodded blankly. They had been killing blindly in Tokyo so far, and were not sure why Andromache was suddenly so insistent on sparing the residents of the house, but figured it was all part of a larger scheme of things. It always was.


Makoto laughed as she helped Duo get up after a failed figure eight. Her friends hadn't done badly actually. Most of them had been able to complete half of one before falling.

A loud cracking sound was heard and everyone stopped laughing. From where they were conversing, Heero, Minako, Wufei, and Rei jumped.

The ice began to shake, and everyone fell to the ground.

"Oh no," Ami said, her tone becoming miserable as she realized what was happening.

A huge crack tore through the ice down the middle, and everyone scrambled to opposite directions of the ice, away from the center.

The four youma that had caused the breaking of the ice floated up in the air above the crack, staring at the groups.

On one half of the ice was Minako, Heero, Wufei, Rei, and Setsuna and Duo whom had scrambled to that side of the lake.

On the other side were Makoto, Quatre, Ami, and Trowa.

Laycaon floated next to his youma, surveying the damage.

"Good, but not good enough," he said, raising his hands and breaking more ice in the center, which spread cracks towards the sides.

Immediately, three of the youma flew towards one half of the lack while the last youma and Laycaon headed to the other, each one of them taking on two people.

Minako and Heero scrambled away from the youma that came straight for them, just as the ice beneath their feet was breaking.

"We have to get off the ice," Heero shouted, grabbing Minako and leaping with agility towards the grass they were not far from as the ice beneath them broke. They both landed in a heap on the edge of the ground, which was still covered in snow.

"You may have escaped the ice but you both have me to worry about," the youma said above them.

The two barely had a moment to look up before the youma raised its hands and threw some sort of a web on them.

"What is this?" Minako asked, sitting up and trying to get out of it. Heero sat up as well, but before two could move it started crackling with electricity, attaching itself them.

The two began to scream from pain as their skin began to burn, and the youma laughed.

Everyone could hear the screams but could do nothing as they had problems of their own. Setsuna and Duo were fairing alright since the youma had been told to take it easy. It had to however keep up appearances, and it began to pelt them with flames. The flames scorched their skin as the two screamed, Duo's bullets having no effect on the youma. However, the ice beneath their feet did not break, staying solid wherever they landed.

Rei and Wufei had at first put up a good fight, and Wufei's katana had done some damage at first as he slashed at the youma before him. The youma snarled, and it took the sword and flung it at a nearby tree, advancing menacingly. The two were not near enough to the edge, and too close to the cracks in the ground for comfort. The youma suddenly raised her hands and threw small black arrow heads at Rei and Wufei. They screamed as they made contact with their skin, feeling them draw blood instantly from the several places they had hit.

On the other side, Makoto and Quatre were doing no better. When the youma had first attacked, it had sent large blades at them immediately. Each one of them threw themselves away, and the ground beneath them cracked. Since Quatre was closer to the edge of the lake, Makoto leapt over to him. She kept balance perfectly in her skates, and the two leapt to the side, landing on the snow and making a run for the darkened woods. Laycaon glanced over at his youma and tipped his head in the direction of the woods, and the youma pursued.

Laycaon pursued Ami and Trowa immediately, still having a score to settle. He immediately went after Trowa first, knowing he would help Ami, and blasted him towards the center of the lake near the cracked ice.

Ami screamed and Trowa grabbed his chest, trying to regain the breath that had been knocked right out of him.

Laycaon turned his attention to Ami, who attempted to scramble away towards the edge of the lake.

"Not so fast," he said, jumping in front of her. She backed up but he raised his hand and punched her across the cheek before she could get far enough, knocking her to the ice.

"That is for my lip and cheek," he said, glaring at her. "Fair is fair." Ami was pretty sure that he had injured her far more two nights ago, but wisely kept quiet.

"Silent today I see," he said, approaching her.

Ami scrambled backwards, noticing Trowa slowly getting to his feet several feet away.

"Hold it right there," Laycaon said, leaping forwards and reaching Trowa first. Trowa moved away very quickly, raising his gun which he had kept hidden beneath him and firing with precise aim- right at Laycaon's eye.

Laycaon gave an angry scream of rage, crouching to the ground and holding his eye as Trowa scrambled over to Ami, kneeling next to her and checking on her cheek.

"How did you know?"

He shrugged. "I took a shot. I fired at him basically everywhere else last time. I don't think a bullet in the eye would harm him like it does you and me, but since he is so strong than that would probably be his weakest point."

Ami stared at him in amazement, and he smiled, but Laycaon was quick to interrupt them.

"You foolish mortal, I will teach you to interfere!" A small trail of blood was leaking from his eye and he was squinting from that eye, but seemed otherwise fine. Trowa was right; it hadn't affected him like others.

Before Ami and Trowa could move, the ice beneath them began to break in several pieces, and Ami screamed as Trowa fell into the icy water. She grabbed at his hand but missed and his head went under as well.

The ice beneath Ami began to crack as well, but rather than jump away she braced herself to go down, and instead dove into the hole in the ice Trowa had fallen into, intent on saving him.

"Foolish Senshi," Laycaon said with a shake of his head. "Hopefully that won't kill them or Andromache will kill me."

He raised his hands and signaled to his youma.

"Let's go!"


In the woods, Quatre and Makoto had been hiding from the youma that had pursued them. It had found them and begun to attack but looked up suddenly and disappeared.

"That was close," Quatre said, out of breath.

"Too close," Makoto admitted as they leapt up to find their friends, having the feeling that they were injured less than their friends. Quatre stopped at a tree by the edge, Makoto pausing as he pulled out Wufei's katana from the trunk.


Ami gasped for air immediately when she leapt into the freezing water, feeling as if a thousand knives had stabbed her. She could barely see since it was so dark, but thought she saw a figure a few feet away. Swimming down towards him, she realized it was Trowa. He was shaking and struggling to swim up, but was conscious. Ami guessed the difficulty he was having was probably due to him swallowing a bunch of water when he first went down, leaving him no air.

She glanced around, when she realized why Trowa had been in the same spot. Which way was up? She couldn't tell anymore. She and Trowa grabbed onto each other's hands, and Ami guessed a direction, hoping she was right for both of their sakes. The two smacked into a hard surface which was the ice above them. Where was the hole she had come down from? They wouldn't survive another minute down here, she knew, as the two brought their hands up and continued to kick their feet, feeling the ice above them and looking for an opening. Trowa began to grow weaker by the second, and Ami cursed mentally. He had been under too long and she wasn't helping. She couldn't let him down, he had saved her and she would never forgive herself.


Makoto and Quatre ran up to their friends, who had all begun to gather on the edge.

Minako and Heero were being helped up by Setsuna and Duo, who weren't too injured. She and Quatre rushed forwards to help Rei and Wufei up. Both were bleeding but none of the wounds were serious.

"We're fine," Rei said, leaning on Wufei. "Where are Ami and Trowa?"

"I just got déjà vu when you said that," Duo commented, as the group stared across the rink.

"Those youma didn't stick around. They didn't even try to kill us," Minako said weakly, staring at the group. "They only injured everyone."

"Oh my God!" They all looked at Makoto, and followed where her finger was pointing. On the opposite end of the lake there was a huge hole, somewhat near the already cracked center.

"That wasn't there when we ran off," Quatre said, stepping forwards. "You don't think..."

He didn't finish his statement as Makoto ran off, and he followed. Wufei and Rei were close behind, trying to move while supporting each other. Minako and Heero, helped by Setsuna and Duo, were in the back.

"Ami!" Makoto looked down into the dark water, suddenly shaking as she couldn't see a thing.

Ami grabbed onto Trowa as he began to go limp, shaking him when she realized her hands had reached a crack in the ice.

He became alert a moment as the two tried to figure out how to get out.

Quatre gasped when he saw that there were fingers protruding from the cracked ice a few feet away, and not the whole. He and Makoto rushed over, kicking away the chunk of ice in the way of their friends with all of their might- a task made easy since Laycaon had broken much of the area.

Ami's arms shot up momentarily, but she backed up and used the last of her strength to shove Trowa in front of her, knowing he'd been down their longer and needed air. Quatre gasped as Ami pushed Trowa up slightly.

Trowa was pretty much limp at this point. They pulled him up and then pulled Ami out, who was conscious and gasping for air. She collapsed next to Trowa on the ice, taking big strained breaths. Her head felt like it was going to explode and her body was shaking uncontrollably.

Ami crawled over to Trowa, turning him over. He was very white and wasn't breathing.

She vaguely realized there were tears streaking down her face as she choked out her words. "I think he needs CPR!"

Ami felt ready to pass out, and at her urgency Quatre got down on his knees.

"Push down on his chest a few times first," Ami rasped out.

"You're lucky you're my best friend Trowa," Quatre said, doing so and getting ready to give Trowa CPR with Ami's instructions, knowing she was in no condition to do it right now.

It was unnecessary.

After pushing down on his chests five times, Trowa suddenly jerked to the side and coughed up water, suddenly taking deep, ragged breaths, his body shaking uncontrollably from the cold.

He attempted to sit up, staring at his friend's faces, who were too shocked to do much but stare with a mix of relief and tears.

Ami began to sit up, feeling frozen to the core, before her pounding headache became too much. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she dropped backwards as Makoto barely caught her head.

Makoto pulled off her jacket and put it on Ami, zipping it and holding her still shaking body close to shield her from the cold.

Quatre removed his own jacket as well, making Trowa put it on and helped Trowa stand but he only managed to take a couple of steps before also passing out, Duo leaving Heero to lean against Minako and Setsuna as he helped Quatre grab him off the ice.

"Do you think they need a hospital?" Rei asked warily, gripping on to Wufei. Wufei stared down at her and looked back at the rest.

"I think you all need a hospital," Makoto said, glancing at the group.

"Setsuna and I just have some minor burns," Duo said from where he stood.

"No, let's just head home and sleep," Minako complained.

"We'll see how bad you all are when we get home. If necessary, I'll call that doctor friend of mine to make a house call. Hopefully he's not out of town; otherwise we'll have to drive about forty minutes to get to one." Quatre said.


Ami blinked open her eyes, placing her hand on her pounding head.

What time was it? What was going on?

Her eyes flew open as memories of the previous night all came back to her.

She jumped from her bed, keeping quiet when she realized that Minako was sleeping next to her. Minako looked seriously drained, and she had dark circles under her eyes. Setsuna was lying in a cot in the corner of the room. One of her hands that was sticking out of her blanket had a minor-looking burn on it- although Ami assumed it had been worse and that Setsuna's healing powers had taken care of much of it.

What happened to her friends? She looked at the clock next to her, which read 6:30. It was still dark outside, the sun having at least a half-hour before rising.

Ami climbed out of bed, realizing she was in her nightgown when she was halfway out the door but intent of finding someone who could give her some answers as to what had gone on with the rest of her friends- and a lot of Tylenol.

She descended the stairs quickly yet quietly, aware that it was too early to bother anyone. The chef probably wasn't even up yet. At least she could have Tylenol.

The house was quiet. Ami crept into the kitchen, hoping to be quiet enough not to wake anyone with rooms nearby.

She froze when she saw someone hunched over the sink, and couldn't tell who it was. She stepped back unsurely and accidently knocked her elbow into the doorway.

The person jumped slightly and turned around.

Ami gave a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Trowa.

She barely realized how quickly her feet were carrying her over to him as he moved away from the sink with equal speed and wrapped her in a crushing hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright," she murmured against shirt, enjoying his hold.

"I- thank you," he said, referring to her jumping in after him when she had the opportunity to leap from the breaking ice.

"I wouldn't ever leave you like that," she said, and he nodded.

"I know."

Ami parted from him reluctantly, reminding herself that she was still in her flimsy white nightgown.

"I came down for Tylenol," she admitted.

"Me too," he said, indicating to his empty glass. He approached the cupboard and pulled out the bottle, popping the cap and passing Ami a couple as she grabbed herself a glass of water.

She gave him a grateful smile as he put them in her hand and she downed both with one gulp of water, praying they took effect immediately.

"Do you know what happened to everyone else?"

He shook his head at her.

"No, I just woke up about fifteen minutes ago."

She nodded, setting her glass down at the counter with a small thud.

"You seem feverish," she commented, reaching up to touch the back of her hand against his forehead.

"You too, if you didn't notice you're shivering," he said with a smirk, also touching her forehead lightly..

"Well, what am I interrupting," Makoto's voice said from the kitchen doorway. She was also in her PJ's, and pranced into the kitchen. 'Nothing, you would have been interrupting had you entered the room two minutes ago,' Ami thought, but chose to smile and explain.

"The checking of temperatures," Ami responded as Makoto hugged her.

"I'm glad you're both okay, you two had us worried," Makoto said.

"What happened yesterday, to the rest of you we mean?" Trowa asked, and Makoto nodded.

"Well, Quatre and I hid from our youma and it was called back before it attacked us. Setsuna and Duo got burned a bit but I think they're fine. Wufei and Rei had these piercing arrow heads thrown at them.

They bled but weren't hit anywhere vital, but Minako and Heero got off pretty bad. They were electrocuted by this web thing, they could barely stand."

"That's awful," Ami said.

"Yes, but like I said nothing was even meant to be fatal apart from the tumble in the lake you two took. Seems fishy to me, but who am I to say," Makoto said, digging around in the cupboard and emerging victorious with a box of granola bars.

Ami and Trowa reached out immediately and she laughed.

"Okay, okay." After Makoto had handed them each one, Ami headed out of the kitchen, speaking.

"I need a shower and some warm clothes." With a wave she was gone. Trowa stared after her a moment, before also exiting the room.

Makoto frowned as she munched on her granola bar. She would be the first to admit that she had immediately taken a liking to Quatre. Minako seemed quite taken by Heero as well, and Rei was surely in denial of her feelings for Wufei. Setsuna had just arrived, but Makoto figured that Setsuna was only being nice to Duo since she held such a solitary post at the gates of time. Although they had only known the guys a few says, it would be hard to leave. Still, as she thought back to Ami and Trowa's behavior the last few days, she grew weary. Somehow, the topic of the two had come up in a conversation she and Quatre had the night after Ami hurt her leg.

"I mean, he seemed pretty mad," Quatre told Makoto as he thought back to Trowa's mood when he had brought Ami inside after the attack.

"Yeah, I noticed that. I've also noticed Ami's slight change in behavior around him," Makoto said.

Quatre nodded. "That's the thing. Trowa is my best friend and its taken years for him to be as comfortable around us as he currently is with Ami."

"Yeah, he seems pretty talkative and outgoing around her. Also, very happy and different from how he acts with the rest of us."

"It's only been a week," Quatre said. "I really like all of you, but our current situation is so confusing and unstable. I would hate to see him get hurt, even if Ami doesn't mean him any harm."

Makoto nodded. "I want them to be happy- it's just that there's this sort of intensity between the two that I just can't place. I can just feel it even when they aren't talking."

Makoto shook herself from her thoughts as the chef, Melina, entered the kitchen.

"Good morning," she greeted. "You're up early."

"Yeah, I'm energetic today," Makoto said, staring down at herself before laughing. "I think I'll go change."


That's all for now, I've been trying to get the chapter out quicker so please review and encourage me! I'm writing chapter 8 right now!