Hi all, this is the second to last chapter of this story as I am posting an epilogue next.

Also, I am going to upload a new story of mine, Deception, which is an Ami/Heero pairing. There's more about it at the end of this chapter, so please enhoy this chapter and review!


Last Time:

"If everyone else was tied up like we were, we're all done for. I hope they're all still okay..."

He touched hand lightly and her eyes flew open. "You're freezing. We have to get you warm or your heart will stop."

Mercury tried to get up but failed, sighing. Managing to scoot closer to him, she carefully wrapped her arms around him.

"The body heat will help," she said, not bothering to blush as she knew it was vital to keep him alive.

Trowa wrapped his arms around her back carefully, wary that he had broken a window with her back. He wondered when the enemy would come back for them. Neither one of them could walk right now, that definitely wasn't a question.

He turned to look down at her face, realizing she was watching him.

"You okay?" She asked. His eyes were probably only a couple of inches from her when he made eye contact and still she forgot to blush although she couldn't tear her eyes away.

He nodded, lowering his face slightly and kissing her very tenderly, careful since she had a split lip.

The Finale Part 2

Duo struggled against his bindings, his eyes widening considerably when he noticed the amount of youma filtering into the ballroom. It looked like three-quarters of the youma in the house were being summoned into the room, and Duo was positive they all wouldn't fit in the old ballroom.

From next to him, he saw that Tuxedo Kamen had his hands freed and was hurriedly working on his legs so he could untie him and Sailor Moon. The witch from the day before appeared above them, and they all stopped moving. From above them, she opened a portal and allowed half of her youma to enter it. She allowed the other half to fully get into the room, finally addressing the three who were tied up.

"I have a skeleton crew guarding your friends; since they're tied up and wounded I am unconcerned. I will be getting to all of them eventually. You see, I want you all dead. However, I have wasted precious power and many troops on fighting you Senshi. Simply killing you will not be enough; I want every bit of your powers to replenish mine."

"You're insane," Sailor Moon said from where she laid. "You can never wield our powers."

"I think you'll see that you're wrong about that Sailor Moon," she drawled in response, her gaze traveling to Tuxedo Kamen, whose hands were untied. She frowned. He sat still, staring at her tensely. His mask was gone and he was injured. She floated down to the floor in front of her youma, tipping her head at him.

"How did you get out of those?"

"Trial and error," he responded succinctly. She glowered, turning away from him.

"Ready to show me some power Sailor Moon? I can't steal it until you try to use it."

"Well then she won't use it," Duo said with a shrug, feeling more at ease with the witch's admonition.

"I suppose," she stated carefully. "Or will she? Do you need some provoking, Sailor Moon?"

The shadow creature appeared in the ballroom from the library next to his master, having been called by her and bitter at leaving the other two alive although those were his orders. The witch ignored him, staring at the trio before her with mild interest.

"Provoking?" Sailor Moon questioned.

The witch raised her hand with a grin, nodding. "Yes. What can I do to provoke you into using your powers? I'm sure you know."


Sailor Pluto hurriedly explained the dangerous situation she had thrown the other Senshi in to Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn as they exited the portal she had opened and headed down the street to Quatre Winner's estate.

"Why didn't you send us with them, or in place of them?" Uranus demanded as she kept Pluto's pace. "The girls were at a graduation lunch and you took them away from that."

"I didn't realize the enemy here had become so strong. I was ordered to send them and busy with another time stream that was in danger. When I checked back to see if they'd discovered anything this morning and see if they were ready to come home, I got a shock."

"Sorry?" Neptune asked, wanting Pluto to elaborate as they neared the estate that the battle was raging in.

"Ami was killed in the fighting yesterday- not to worry! She was brought back thanks to the crystal," she said this bluntly and then quickly corrected at their horrified faces. "However the witch leading the cult messed with the crystal's powers and Ami's soul was trapped, her and one of the other men, for almost a week, or rather a couple of minutes this time. She returned though and this infuriated the cult leader, who sent all of her minions to destroy the Senshi and Pilots as for revenge. I'm sorry, I wish I could explain more but for now I'm afraid we are short for time. They are all separated and injured- are you ready?"

Saturn nodded, stepping forwards first and looking determined. The other three smiled at the fourteen year old, becoming serious as they eyed the estate.

"It's probably best not to make our presence known when we first enter," Neptune commented softly as she stared at the estate's busted door and numerous shattered windows. "Perhaps we should find a secluded place to enter?"

"Good idea," Uranus commented, "But where?"

"Let's quietly head around the back," Saturn said smartly. "If we run into anything, we can destroy it quickly."

"I agree, let's go," Sailor Pluto said, heading off quickly with the other three following quickly.

Heading around the back was surprisingly easy, as it was quiet. Although it was still late morning, the fact that it was light out didn't bother them.

Uranus paused by the side wall of the house, peering around the back silently. Her eyes widened as she saw Venus and a dark haired man tied up in the back. Venus was lying on her side, looking somewhat defeated, and the man was gazing around the area annoyed. They were both wounded.

The four Senshi quickly approached the two, and Wufei tensed before Venus looked up at them with a new hope.

"Guys! I can't believe you came! Right on time," she said, unable to believe she had been so down only a few minutes before.

"Well we're late but thanks anyways," Neptune joked as they were untied, standing shakily next to the four.

"This is Wufei," Venus introduced, eying the house in front of them disdainfully. Wufei nodded at the four, also eying the house critically.

A couple of youma came around the corner, gasping as they saw that they were let loose.

"World Shaking!" Uranus attacked quickly, destroying the two and glancing at the group. "We'd better move. Where is everyone?"

"I don't know," Venus said. "But this door leads to the kitchen; it would be easy for us to be captured here."

"That onna, the leader," Wufei murmured. "She's up to something. Why hasn't she killed us yet? What does she want?"

His words left the group pondering in silence, even Pluto stumped.

"Let's hurry," Saturn urged from next to them. "I'm worried about the others. Isn't there a window or something we can get into?"

"Maybe on the side of the house," Pluto noted, the group taking off before any more youma could spot them.


Mars continued to try and tug at her bindings, her arms tied above her head to the bedpost she was on the floor next to. It was more than uncomfortable to be bound like this, and her arms ached at the continuous strain she put on them. Besides their other injuries, she and Heero were tied up and most likely wouldn't be able to defend themselves should a problem arise.

Outside the room they were being held captive in, there were a minimum of five youma guarding them. The other youma had gone off a few minutes before, having been called by their master although the purpose was unclear.

Heero watched as Mars struggled futilely with her bindings, his mind racing as he tried to think of a way to escape. The window was right there and if he could find the strength to break his bindings and get up, he was sure he and Mars could survive the jump, even in their current conditions. The clueless monsters patrolling the room were outside, laughing together and whispering in languages unfamiliar to him.

The door wasn't closed all the way, but rather partially opened so the youma could peer inside every few minutes.

He turned his attention back to Mars, who seemed to have an idea but was grappling with it.

"What?" He murmured quietly, catching her attention.

"I think I know what to do, just be really quiet," she whispered. He frowned, but nodded, wishing he at least had a gun on him.

She nodded too, and looked tense as she turned to look up at her bound wrists. She managed to angle her forefinger towards the bindings, seemingly bracing herself. Heero's eyes widened, but he kept quiet for sake of the youma looking in.

Mars counted to three in her head, preparing to unleash one of her smaller and more controllable attacks but worried about her wrists all the same. She became braver knowing it was necessary.

"Mars Fire Ignite," she hardly whispered, and concentrated to keep the scorching flame as small as possible as she bit back a scream, drawing blood from where her she bit her lip. The bindings on her wrists fell to the floor, her wrists free, as she brought a hand to her bloodied lip and stifled a cry, inhaling deeply as she eyed her completely scorched wrists and hands.

Heero couldn't help but feel a lot of respect build within him for her. He didn't know many soldiers that would have harmed themselves that painfully to escape.

"Are you alright?" He murmured quietly. A youma looked through the half-opened door, but seeing Heero sitting in the same position, didn't bother to push open the door and look at Mars.

She nodded, bringing her trembling hands to the bindings on her legs. She undid them as quickly as possible for her burned hands and wrists, not moving from her position on the floor as she tried to make certain no youma were coming.

Standing quietly, she crept across the floor towards him, first undoing the bounds on his ankles and then shakily trying to remove the ones on his wrists. His eyes flew to the door as the two stood silently, gazing at the clueless youma. The two limped towards the window, Heero pushing it open and nodding his head towards it. Mars began to climb through until the scream of a youma from the doorway stopped her.

The five youma all entered the room looking furious, and Mars wasted no time in attacking them, glad that many of them were gone.

"Mars flame sniper!"

Three of them were destroyed almost instantly, the other two attacking her and Heero. Heero fought off the youma holding him down, rolling out of the way as it unleashed some sort of a lightning attack at him.

Feeling a big amount of heat nearby, he saw that Mars was on her feet having taken out the remaining youma. He felt useless, needing some kind of a weapon, as he limped towards her to make sure she was alright.

One of the youma had hit her with another attack, and the two were already pretty beat up, this attack seeming a bit too much on Mars. She swayed slightly on her feet and he debated whether they should exit through the door and risk encountering more youma or jump out the window as planned.

Grabbing her arm to steady her, he glanced towards the window.

"Yes, the window," she said painfully, but he doubted she could make even the small two story jump now.

Seeing the doubt in his eyes, Mars shook her head. "I'm fine. We have to move, now. That witch is up to something and our friends could be in trouble."

Heero nodded at her words, allowing her to jump through the window first. She managed to land in a crouch, although she had trouble getting to her feet. He leapt out after her, helping her stand as the two turned their attention to the stunned group standing before them.

Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Saturn, Venus and Wufei all stared at the two in shock, before running over. They had been searching for a first-floor window on the side of the estate before Mars and Heero had leapt out from above them on the second floor.

"Thank God you got out!" Venus said, the group hurriedly whispering plans of re-entry to help their friends as they searched for an unguarded first-floor window to enter from.

"Wait," Wufei said, stopping at a smaller window in the ground. "What about this?"

"The basement?" Pluto questioned, as a few members from the group crouched down to peer inside.

"Hey!" Venus whispered excitedly. "Jupiter and Quatre are down there! I think they're hurt pretty badly...but I don't see any youma guarding them!"

"How do we open this window?" Uranus questioned, not seeing any way to do so without alerting some youma.

"We have no choice but to break it, although we shouldn't use an attack. Saturn, smash it in with your glaive, I don't think it's too thick," Neptune said. Saturn nodded, raising her glaive before she brought it down with a lot of force onto the window, cracking it the first couple of times and breaking through it the last.

Jupiter glanced up with worry at the sound, the window bringing the little amount of light into the basement shattering. Quatre looked up as well, the two badly injured and hardly able to raise their heads and look.

The window was tiny, the only one in the basement as it was partly in the ground, and she gasped when she saw Saturn slide through it lithely and fall to the ground with a slight groan.

"Saturn! What are you doing here?" Jupiter whispered, glancing up the stairs and at the door, hoping the youma outside hadn't noticed.

"We just arrived," Saturn explained, rushing over to help untie them while their other friends clumsily squeezed through the window. When the second to last person got in, Pluto still outside, the basement door flew open. A few youma came running down the steps, not having much of a chance in the dark as Neptune eliminated them once the got down the steps.

Pluto came in through the window and approached the stairs. The door was now wide open but no more youma moved to enter.

"Where did all of the youma guarding you go?" She asked Jupiter and Quatre, who were hardly able to stand. Uranus picked up Jupiter, holding her piggy back style. Jupiter chuckled weakly, the carrying usually being her job.

Wufei supported Quatre, Venus nodding as she spoke. "Perhaps the youma were called by their master, like the others guarding us and Mars and Heero."

"But why?" Pluto asked critically. "Where did she take them? For what purpose, shouldn't she have left them to guard all of you?"

The group began to head up the stairs cautiously, Pluto, Saturn and Neptune walking ahead of the injured group since Uranus was carrying Jupiter, ready to destroy any attacking youma.


Sailor Mercury could feel Trowa's heartbeat returning to normal as he warmed up slightly, the effects of her attack gradually wearing off of him as the two lay on the now damp floor of the library, the ice having melted.

"Trowa," she murmured, not wanting to move but knowing they had to. "Can you stand? We should move and try to find our friends before that shadow creature or his master come back."

Trowa inhaled deeply, not wanting to get off the ground and release her but also knowing it was necessary. "I can....can you?"

She nodded shakily, pushing herself away from him and placing her trembling hands on the ground, trying to get off the ground. She managed to rise to her knees with a groan, watching as Trowa got to his feet, leaning on the table. He extended his hand to her, she accepted although she didn't rely on him to pull her up, trying to stand without weighing him down. Once they were both up, they leaned against each other for support, limping out of the library doors. The youma in the hall were gone, and Mercury knew that the witch's plan to steal everyone's energy was taking place somewhere, with some of their friends, or else the shadow creature wouldn't have been called away.

The two headed towards the stairs as fast as possible, before the voice of a youma entered their ears.

"Hold it," it seethed, the two barely getting a chance to turn to look at it from the foot of the stairs before it attacked, blasting them with some sort of black electricity that surrounded them and nearly made them black out.

Mercury felt herself falling backwards, Trowa doing the same from next to her as they both tumbled down the stairs with screams.

The group that exited from the basement heard the screams and took off running towards the sound.

Neptune stopped at the foot of the staircase, gasping at Trowa and Mercury's unmoving bodies. A youma stood at the base of the stairs as well, and Pluto was next to her in an instant.

"Pluto Deadly Scream!"

The youma was obliterated but no one paid to much attention as Pluto, Neptune, and Saturn tried to help up Trowa and Mercury, who were just coming to.

Wufei, Heero, and Quatre eyed Trowa, who was soaking wet and shivering. The other Senshi looked at their battered forms, before Venus spoke.

"Mercury- is it just me or did you attack Trowa?"

Mercury nodded painfully, managing to stand with Neptune's arm around her, although she offered no explanation. Trowa cut in before his friends could get angry, speaking. "We...sort of attacked each other."

No one asked any more questions, certain that it was more complicated than that, as Trowa was finally on his feet and held up by Saturn and Pluto.

"I really hope the last three can stand at this rate," she muttered, the group continuing their search for Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen and Duo.

"You wouldn't happen to know why all of the youma left to their master, would you Mercury?" Mars asked from where she and Heero supported each other. Mercury nodded.

"Actually yes, the witch wants to steal all of our powers and drain us and the pilots of our energy until we're lifeless. Judging by the fact that all of you don't know, that must mean that she went after the other three. We'd better hurry."

"I knew she was up to something," Wufei muttered darkly. Mercury opened up her VR visor, quickly locating where her friends were.

"They're at the room down the hall and to the left. What's that?"

"The old ballroom," Quatre murmured, the group taking off in that direction.


The witch smiled at Sailor Moon. "Well? What will make you do it?"

"Nothing, I won't let you provoke me into using my powers." Sailor Moon stated this calmly.

"Oh no?" The witch's smile returned full force. "I know."

Duo frowned, staring at the witch's smiling face and wondering what she was getting at.

She raised her hand and turned it palm facing the three, moving it until it was in pointing at Tuxedo Kamen.

"No!" Sailor Moon screeched immediately.

"No? So you'll show me your powers then?"

"No, she won't," Tuxedo Kamen said angrily.

"Let's try and prove you wrong then, Prince Endymion," the witch said quite formally, firing a black beam of energy at Tuxedo Kamen before anything more could be said. It hit him in his chest, Sailor Moon's scream of terror mixing in with his anguished one as he slumped backwards, shaking heavily but not unconscious. The attack had almost been too much with all of his other injuries.

"Not attacking me yet Sailor Moon? You and I both know your Silver Crystal could fry the bonds holding your arms and legs in milliseconds. Shall I persuade you some more?" The witch asked, raising a hand to fire at Tuxedo Kamen's trembling form.

Duo fumed. "Hey, leave him alone!" He shouted angrily. "The guy almost blacked out when you hit him! Don't you believe in hitting moving targets?"

"Not at all, actually. We tied you all up, remember?" With that, the witch turned to Duo and fired a similar beam, this one hitting him in the arm and causing him to scream loudly.

"Stop it!" Sailor Moon screeched. "Just stop!"

"It would be all too easy Sailor Moon," the witch stated calmly. The shadow creature standing next to her smirked, enjoying the scenario now and happy he hadn't missed it when he was back at the library.

Sailor Moon struggled to crawl closer to Tuxedo Kamen, the witch floating down next to him and ignoring her and Duo for the moment. Duo tried to break free of his bonds despite his arm injured on top of his other wounds, but it wasn't happening.

"One more hit should do the trick. Between you and him, I believe that you have the more valuable power." The witch raised her hand to strike the unmoving Tuxedo Kamen again, and Sailor Moon screamed loudly.

"I said stop!"

Her broach suddenly lit up, opening as the crystal flew out to float above her prone figure. It unleashed a bright light in the room, all of the ropes holding them disintegrating. Sailor Moon struggled to her feet, trying to return the crystal to her broach.

The witch was suddenly in front of Sailor Moon just as Moon's hand had grabbed the crystal. She took a step back, but the witch moved forwards and simply grabbed onto her shoulder.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Duo called, trying to get to his feet as Sailor Moon's loud scream followed. The crystal continued to glow from Sailor Moon's grasp, and the self-proclaimed goddess laughed loudly.

"The power this crystal contains is incredible! I feel so much stronger within only a few moments!"

"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

The witch screamed loudly, tumbling forwards slightly but regaining her balance as she spun around to angrily face the Senshi and Pilots. Sailor Moon rushed back immediately, kneeling by Tuxedo Kamen and Duo as the crystal returned to her broach.

"You wretched Senshi!" Venus didn't have a moment to dodge as the witch raised her hand and fired a huge beam of energy at her, most likely having been collected from the crystal.

Venus' loud scream was followed closely with the screams of her friends as she collapsed to the floor unmoving. Wufei rushed forwards, leaving Quatre to lean on the others as his eyes widened at the amount of blood quickly seeping from Venus' head, neck, and chest.

"Damn it!"

He grabbed her off the floor and ran towards the others, kneeling down and gasping as blood coated her uniform and beautiful golden locks.

"There's so much blood," he murmured, wondering if she was even still alive as his trembling hand reached for her pulse.

Saturn screamed, rushing forwards and bringing her hands to Venus' head to try and close the wound with her healing power. Moving to her neck and chest, she closed those wounds as much as possible before passing out as well from the loss of energy, Wufei catching her with his other arm.

Mercury limped over, scanning Venus with her visor to make sure she was alive while everyone else faced off with the self-proclaimed goddess. The shadow creature appeared in front of her, reaching forwards and placing his grasp on her visor as it crackled and shattered, her computer also clattering to the floor.

Trowa, temporarily forgetting his pain, lunged angrily at the creature, more than sick of his interference. The creature grabbed Ami's wrist, pulling her closer.

"Enough of your interference," it seethed, Mercury trying to tug her arm away.

Glancing at the solid hold the creature had now on Mercury's arm, Trowa ushered at Neptune, who had come to stand beside him. She nodded, and trying to be careful of Mercury, attacked.

"Neptune Deep Submerge!"

The creature screamed loudly in agony, releasing Mercury's wrist. She rushed away from him and back towards Venus and Saturn, checking their pulses while Wufei laid Saturn down next to Venus.

"You're only solid when you want to be, right?" Trowa asked the creature darkly, unable to hide his smile as it faded into nothing. Mercury gave a relieved sigh, never having been so glad that any form of life was dead.

Meanwhile the witch unleashed the remaining youma to attack the Senshi, total chaos taking over the room immediately.

Luckily, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were uninjured and fresh, immediately taking out a majority of the youma with ease.

"There were many more youma than this," Pluto shouted to the two as she dodged an attack. "The witch saved them; she sent them back to her headquarters. If we kill her than the youma she saved will be killed as well, they are all extensions of her power!"

The witch had meanwhile turned her attention back to Sailor Moon, still floored by the power of the crystal.

"Come here little girl, I want that power."

"I know," Sailor Moon said, standing but keeping her distance. "Unfortunately for you you're about to be on the receiving end. This ends now, my Senshi don't have the strength to fight another tedious battle with your youma today."

The witch scoffed, Sailor Moon nodding at Sailor Mars who stood shakily behind the Queen, ready to give one useful attack.

Sailor Moon pulled out her crystal, knowing the witch would come charging at her to steal its power. Before she could move, Sailor Mars attacked.

Pulling out a paper charm, she began to mutter Shinto words, watching as the paper crackled with energy. She chucked it at the woman's back, watching her freeze in her place. It wouldn't last long; Sailor Moon knew this as she raised the crystal and shouted. "Moon Crystal Power!"

The large attack hit the woman, and she screamed loudly, Mars' charm fading but unable to move from the crystal's power.

Sailor Moon poured as much of her energy into the crystal as she could, not stopping until she could hear the scream of the woman indicating that she was dying. It didn't take long.

"Such an- unbelievable power," was all she gasped out as she faded into oblivion. The remaining youma disappeared when their master died, all having been an extension of her.

Sailor Moon dropped to the ground, falling unconscious next to Tuxedo Kamen. Duo crawled over to the two to check on them, grabbing his side in pain and collapsing, on the brink of consciousness. The other injured but still able Senshi ran to check on everyone who was unconscious.

Pluto knelt next to Duo, frowning. "Are you alright? Can you stand?"

He blinked open his eyes, his vision hazy but knowing he was staring at the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. "Are you an angel?" He asked, a blush quickly spreading to her cheeks as he passed out cold.

From behind her, newly awakened Saturn chuckled at her bewildered expression.

"Shit, is Venus alright?" Uranus asked, limping over to Wufei. He shook his head, frowning deeply as he gazed at how injured everyone was. Quatre, voice of reason, limped forwards and spoke.

"Senshi, de-transform, I'm calling 911."

"Hold it, what will everyone think?" Neptune asked. "Look at this place. Look at us."

"My employees left thinking this was a mission gone wrong. They knew I was about to be attacked. Plus, my work in the Preventers is well known. It's okay if we call an ambulance, the public's general assumption will be that of my employees and employers. Actually," he turned to Heero, who was now supporting Mars again. "Headquarters will think we faced off with the cult."

The explanation was good enough for everyone. The conscious Senshi de-transformed and helped the others. Quatre limped into the hall to find a phone while everyone sat or lay on the floor, unable to do much more. It was by now only around once o'clock in the afternoon since they had been attacked in the morning, but from how exhausted the group was it felt like the end of the day.

Quatre returned to the ballroom a few minutes later. "They should be here soon," He clarified, approaching where Uranus had set Jupiter down before fighting the youma and lowering himself to the ground painfully next to her. She smiled weakly at him from where she lay, touching his shoulder lightly.

Ami nodded tiredly, she and Trowa sitting on the floor and trying to just relax until they could get some treatment. They were all in a lot of pain, having been injured in the first youma fight and then having had to deal with the shadow creature or witch leading them. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, just glad that the ordeal was over.

Wufei glanced down at Minako, who looked worse now that she was untransformed. Despite the fact that Saturn had most closed the wounds, her hair was soaked in blood and she was pale white. He reached for her pulse for perhaps the hundredth time since Saturn had healed her, unable to hide his worry now. Worst of all, he wasn't sure why he cared so much. He had only known the onna a little over a day.

Heero held Rei up by her shoulders, sitting silently and staring straight forwards at the others. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Rei's burned wrists, still impressed at her courage although it would probably take a lot longer than a day and a half to get him to admit it out loud.

Setsuna and Hotaru sat tiredly by unconscious Duo, Usagi, and Mamoru. They glanced over at Haruka and Michiru, whom were talking in hushed voices.

The sound of many sirens in the driveway caused everyone to look up, but Quatre spoke. "The front door is already busted open and I described to them where we are, they're coming in with stretchers to get everyone so don't worry."

A couple of paramedics with stretchers appeared in the doorway, followed by several more. The rest from that point was a blur as they spilled into the room and immediately picked up those who were injured the worst, moving onto the others, still seriously hurt, and getting everyone into ambulances more quickly than Ami could have imagined.

When Ami was carted into the emergency room, she looked for her friends but was immediately moved onto a cot with curtains around the bed, as were all somewhere in the emergency room. A nurse approached her with a needle, a pensive frown on her face. Ami knew all of their injuries were severe, and before the nurse could administer the numbing needle a doctor came and told her to put Ami to sleep instead, most of the group having to be dealt with this way because there were just too many wounds. Ami had no complaints, welcoming sleep peacefully once the anaesthetic mask was placed over her face.


Everything hurt. Her head was pounding, and that was the only coherent thought Ami had when she awoke several hours later, lying in a dark room. Some light filtered into the room from the doorway of the room, and she could here the quiet hum of machinery as some nurses walked down the hall.

Ami tipped her head to the side, trying to see who else was in the room. There were three other cots, but in the dark she couldn't see who were in them.

It was obviously late at night. Shaking her head, she willed herself to go back to sleep, but it wasn't happening. Glancing back around the room, she frowned when she noticed a small amount of light beginning to peak into the room from behind the curtains.

It wasn't lat at night; it was early morning, perhaps five or six from the light.

"Ami," a soft voice whispered. She recognized the voice instantly, whispering back. "Trowa?"

Trowa glanced at the two sleeping forms besides him, wondering who it was although their faces were pretty much hidden by their blankets. He pushed his own blanket back, climbing from the bed and padding quietly across the floor.

"Trowa, don't get up, you're hurt," Ami hissed from where she lay.

His quiet laugh followed as he carefully lowered himself onto the edge of her bed, speaking. "The effects of your attack have almost completely worn off. My prominent injuries were from the first youma attack at the house, so I'm sure they'll let me go today."

His hand found hers, Ami's eyes having adjusted to the room's dim lighting as she tried to gauge whether he was telling the truth about his injuries. He was shivering slightly, probably still feverish, although she supposed it was plausible that the major effects had worn off since it was almost a day since she had attacked him.

At her silence, Trowa's other hand moved to brush her bangs from her face, trailing down her cheek and jaw lightly as he frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"My attacks almost killed you. I stabbed you in your side with that shard too. You shouldn't be up," she said.

He sighed now. "Ami, if I remember correctly, I also stabbed you with that shard, broke a window with your back and head, threw you into a shelf and a table, and punched and kicked you until you blacked out. I should be the one who's worried."

"I'm okay," she said, and he shook his head. "You're not. If you were, you would be able to do more than lightly grasp at my hand. Besides, now that your wounds aren't fresh, your face alone is all the proof of what I did. Even in the dim light I can see the bruises all over your face."

Ami had forgotten how many times she had been hit in the face, but at the mention of it she was sure she looked awful. She tipped her face away immediately, his hand slipping from it, and spoke.

"I'm not mad at you. I heal fast, by tomorrow they will be nearly gone."

"If you're not mad, why did you pull away?" He asked.

"Because it's not very attractive," she admitted, chancing glancing up at him.

His soft chuckle followed. "You pull away, not because you're mad about what I did to your face, but because you're worried I will see it?"

She said nothing, biting her lip to stop herself from laughing at her own actions, this being an appropriate action as she bit her split lip lightly and the pain wiped the smile off her face.

Trowa had returned to stroking her hair, the action relaxing Ami as the room grew lighter with each passing minute, the sun rising. A nurse appeared in the doorway of the room a few minutes later, noticing that they were up. She smiled and entered the room, wagging her finger at Trowa for getting out of bed before smiling at the two and speaking quietly lest she wake the others in the room.

"Are you two feeling alright?"

Trowa nodded. "I'm fine, but I think this one here could use some more pain medication," he said, indicating at Ami.

Ami stared up at him, not realizing she had been so transparent. He smiled back down at her, the rare genuine smile causing her to feel exposed somehow. She couldn't explain it..... maybe it was it how tenderly he held her hand and touched her face. Perhaps it was the look in his eyes as he stared down at her that alone scared Ami, and caused her heart to pound a little faster and her head spin. No one had ever treated her like that, or looked at her like that.....

Ami stopped herself from thinking anymore, knowing the feelings she felt for him were only increasing as the nurse said something about grabbing some medicine and lectured Trowa on getting back to bed. Ami watched the nurses retreating form just to distract herself, glancing up and blushing slightly when she realized Trowa's eyes were still watching her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, and she cursed mentally.

'He can read me like a book,' she thought, now totally sure what she was feeling but having been unwilling even to think it. She had admitted to him that she cared for him, simply had feelings, hadn't she? However, this....

"Maybe you should sleep another hour or so." He sounded worried now, his eyes reflecting this as he leaned forwards and placed a light kiss on her forehead, standing and heading back to his bed carefully as she stared after him. No, it was all too clear now....she knew this as her heart continued to thud loudly in her chest.

She loved him.

Trowa returned to his bed, ignoring the pain from his injuries as he tried to control his erratic heart. Why was Ami suddenly so pale? She must have been really hurt. The thought only caused his head to pound and thoughts to roll over every detail of what had occurred once more. The thought that he had unintentionally brought her any harm made his chest hurt, although he knew he wasn't wounded in his chest.

His thoughts travelled back to her pretty face, bruised badly by his assault, and frail form. She looked so small lying in the bed. He had done it to her. She was in pain and it was his fault, the shadow creature had been in him before, so it should have been easier for him to resist.

He stopped himself, his thoughts returning to the admonition he had made to Ami in the closet that previous morning.

His lips were against hers a moment later, silencing her. Pulling away, he stared at her a moment before speaking. "I know we only just met a week ago.....but I have very strong feelings for you and I won't pretend that they're not there."

He was a liar. He hadn't wanted to scare Ami off that previous morning. She had been so reluctant to speak with him, so reluctant to admit that she cared about him because she was leaving.....

His intention had been to tell her that he loved her. The thought of confessing this to her, even now, made him feel like a fool. She couldn't possibly feel the same. This was what made him keep quiet before and this thought would surely stop him from saying anything.


Epilogue comes next. Also I am posting a new story in this section, called Deception. It's an Ami x Heero story and I've already written and am about to post the first three chapters of it. I wasn't planning on writing one, but I was re-reading my old Ami x Heero fic, Ami's Escapade, and I just found so many things wrong with it as it was my first story. This story is different as I had a different idea for it, but much better and still involving the couple, so I hope you guys read it!