the curtain of shadows

It was a void, a black space, and Ami had trouble breathing. Although, it might have been the tight grip that the youma had her in. When the cold began seeping into her bones and her body began to numb, she suddenly found herself slammed into the ground. She gasped for air, her entire body stinging from the impact. And just as multiple sets of teeth sank into various places on her body, before she could even scream, she was pulled into the void again, her breath sucked away from her.

She was slammed yet again into the ground. When the pain subsided, she sat up slowly and looked around her, rubbing away the water in her eyes. She winced as the movement pulled at the fresh teethmarks, sending rivulets of blood down her body. She applied pressure to the one on her arm, covering it before she looked up again. She was in an empty throne room, ruins of one anyway, and the only sound seemed to be the nervous and frantic beating of her heart. It looked vaguely familiar to her, but she supposed that every throne room looked like the one she stood in. She pulled herself to her feet and started for the doors at the end.

"So."

She twisted to look. The thrones were suddenly occupied by a man and a woman. She swallowed hard. She could hardly see them, as they dwelled in a curtain of shadow, but she knew who they were, and she knew she would probably not make it out of here. A slight scuffle from beside them pulled her gaze in that direction, but she could see nothing. Her eyes scanned the rest of the darkness around her. She felt very small suddenly, for she could feel the multitudes of eyes upon her. She swallowed again, but kept her gaze on the two that she could see.

The woman tilted her head. "You are one of the special humans aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Her voice was steadier and stronger than she felt. "Who are you?"

His hand waved, and although she could neither see it nor hear it, she felt his power pass over her. She shivered. A glass coffin appeared in front of her, floating hardly a foot off the ground. She gasped and her eyes teared up immediately. She dropped to her knees.

"Usagi-chan," she whispered hoarsely.

"She is your friend is she not? Your shine is almost like hers."

There was visible movement in the darkness now, and a man stepped forward into the light. But she paid no attention to him. Her fingers ran lightly over the cold glass. Her hair was silver now, she saw, but the rest of her remained much the same. Her skin was flawless, and her white dress spotless. She laid on plush white silk, her hands clasped over her body as if in death. Ami glared at the throne. "What have you done to her?!"

"Done?" The woman laughed. "We've done nothing, despite the nuisance she was. We have preserved her, and we intend to revive her."

"Yes," the man agreed, "although she was problematic, she is powerful. We would not have her wasted on a species like humans."

The other man walked closer, and she saw his face for the first time. The blood drained from her face.

"MAMORU!?"

He did not appear to notice her, but walked right up to the coffin, his fingers grazing the glass much like hers had. She grabbed his arm and shook him. "What have you done Mamoru?!" She cried. "What have you done?!"

But he shook her off, and with a disinterested gaze at her, returned to the curtain of shadows beside the thrones. She was bewildered.

"Don't mind my pet," the woman said, "he has not recovered from the battle against her."

"No!" She couldn't believe it. He'd been the one to… "How could you! She loved you! Mamoru!" But the veil of darkness remained still.

"You monsters!" She cried angrily. "How dare you treat the lives of humans so callously! I can't forgive it!"

Light suddenly erupted from Usagi's chest. It spread outwards and enveloped her. A familiar searing on her forehead. The faded image of a blue planet in her mind. Shrieks echoed in the throne room.

"This light again!" The man cried, arms covering his face.

"Kill it!" The woman shrieked, cowering behind her hair.

But nary a thing dared approach her. She cried in a mixture of elation and sorrow as the familiar warmth enveloped her. Her wounds magically closed, her clothes and all the grime on her body evaporated as silky soft ribbons of air slid around her. Her soul filled with ice as phantom lips touched her cheek in a frozen kiss. Her vision went blue as the visor slid its way across her face and bits of data began scrolling down the screen. When her feet touched the ground, she was once again, a Sailor Senshi.

"From the Star of Water, Mercury is my Guardian! I am the Senshi of Knowledge, Eternal Sailor Mercury!"

"Special indeed," the man commented coldly. His eyes burned with hatred, intensifying his corneas until they glowed like blue flames. "You dare defy us?"

"Please!" She implored. "Why are you doing this? Won't you reconsider your position! This planet is beloved by many, it doesn't deserve the horror you inflict upon it!"

The woman sneered. "I think not. The youma is merely the darkness that resides in every human; we only released it into the open. You are fighting your own evil natures."

Sailor Mercury frowned. "While it may be true that every human has a dark side, it's something that can be overcome! We have good in us! What you're doing is unnecessarily cruel!"

"There is nothing you can do about it, my dear," the man's smile was malicious.

"Yes there is!" Her arms shifted to one side, her palms locked together. "MERCURY!"

"An attack?" The woman said mildly. "Do you really think you can do anything here? In our domain? You are grievously mistaken." Her arm rose almost lazily. She saw it and rushed to finish her attack. The visor flashed a warning.

"ARCTIC DR—!"

But there was no attack. Instead invisible fingers closed around her throat, cutting off her air flow and choking the words in her mouth. She gripped at the phantom fingers, pulling with all her strength but they did not lessen their hold, instead they lifted her into the air so that her feet dangled. And suddenly she was jerked forward and flung back. She tumbled across the stone floor, little bits of rock cutting into her.

"She's of no use to us." She heard the woman say dismissively as she rolled to her knees. "Give her to them."

And, for the third time in a row she was sucked into the void again and dumped in an unknown location again, except this time, before she even landed, she knew that she was in trouble. The howls and screams of the youma echoed all around the darkness, and although her landing was clear of any slimy filthy creature, it wasn't long before attack came from all directions.

She fought desperately, kicking and punching the shapes that appeared through heat sensor on her visor, trying to clear enough space and time for an attack to wipe out most of them. She took the first one she felt she had, ignoring the claws that raked against her back.

"MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"

Bright blue lit the darkness, illuminating the monsters that surrounded her, followed by a path of destruction as her attack destroyed a good portion of them. But it wasn't enough. There were just too many. It wasn't going to work. Fear settled into her stomach. Her jaw clenched, her mind raced. She cleared another opening.

Her arms crossed, her palms rested open against her shoulders, "GLACIAL FREEZE!" She flung them outwards and down in a complete circle around her. Ice emerged from the ground, accelerating upwards. It closed above her in a dome, separating her from the youma. She collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily, her back stinging from open wounds. It would not last. Already she could feel the tiny fissures opening as the youma pounded away. Her minicomputer appeared in her hand and she scanned for an exit. There were none.

She was at a loss. She could continue fighting them, there was always the off chance that if she destroyed them all more would not come. But she very much doubted it, seeing as how she seemed to be deep in the enemy's lair. To continue fighting would be almost futile and a waste of strength. Of course, she could continue to maintain the shield in hopes of rescue. In hopes that since she regained her powers it seemed plausible to assume that the others had too. But Rei was dead and Usagi had been in no condition to revive her. Then again, Usagi had not been in a condition to give her powers. It was possible. She hoped.

It was risky either way. Her computer suddenly beeped alarmingly. She glanced at it and shot to her feet. An opening had just come into existence. She frowned, but it was already gone. Her computer beeped again, registering a darker, more powerful presence approaching. She swallowed. She was going to have to fight to the end after all. The youma had gone silent. A heat signature in the shape of a man emerged from the mass of youma and stopped just outside her dome. The youma backed away.

"Interesting."

She stiffened. She recognized that voice.

"I don't recall you ever being so powerful. It must be a new development."

"What do you want Mamoru?!" She demanded.

"If you want to live, Senshi, you'll come with me now." He paused, but when she didn't answer, he shifted slightly, turning away. "Or you could stay here and die uselessly. It's really up to you."

"Come with you where?" Her mind raced. She didn't dare trust him, not after what he'd done, but she didn't seem to have any other options.

"Come or not."

She exhaled shakily and allowed her shield to fade away.


"Where are we going?" She asked him. Her voice was cool with confidence and all the calm in the world. But she trailed a full yard behind him and he could feel the tension radiating off her body…well, it might have been the power she now wielded. He cared not.

"To see her, of course."

A spark of anxiety flared behind him. "Usagi?" Her voice was hopeful and he had to smile. It was more of a sneer of course, but it was all he afforded at the moment. Perhaps later…when he was complete again…

"Mamoru?"

Startled out of the reverie of half-contemplations he'd fallen into, he oriented himself with reality again.

"Tell me, Senshi. Where did you gain such power?"

"If you know who I am, Mamoru. Why don't you say my name?"

He hesitated for a moment, his footsteps faltering briefly before resuming. In truth, it made him ill to even think her name, much like his own. He didn't want to suffer the consequences of saying either out loud. But he did know who she was. His memories were returning to him daily, at first a slow trickle, but now they rushed him in torrents, chasing away his nightmares only to replace them with a life he knew was certainly his. The war within him was a trying ordeal, but he knew where he belonged. And he would regain his life if it killed him.

She didn't speak anymore, perhaps discouraged by his lack of answers and he followed suit. The darkness inside him didn't allow much room for more than memories of his old life and so he preferred to keep his distance until he could remedy his situation.

"Here we are." The doors had been untouched since he'd first tried to open them. He felt a slight thrill that he now had a way to enter. The power of light always overcame darkness, even here, where no light could survive for long. He turned to her. "Even before we get through this, they will, without a doubt, know what we're up to and we won't be able to avoid them." He didn't have to explain who they were; her nervous expression already told him she understood. "That means we have to get to her quickly and teleport out of here. So don't hesitate and don't linger. If we get separated, I will leave you. Now, blast through this." He gestured towards the doors.

Her large eyes stared solemnly at him, nearly unreadable behind her visor. "Why are you helping us now? When you were the one who—"

"The time for explanations is later, Mercury!" He cut her off, feeling a bout of nausea rise in him as he said her name, threatening to overwhelm his senses. "Now blast through this door!"

She considered him for a moment and nodded once, her expression determined. She shifted, bringing her arms to one side, her palms locked together. An invisible breeze rippled through her clothes. "MERCURY." Her voice echoed from a distant place. A shiver ran through his body.

He winced as she glowed her signature color and actually had to back away as light gathered in her hands. "ARCTIC DREAM CASCADE!" The light exploded and he stumbled back, barely able to see as she spun once and released it at point velocity. The ball of light slammed into the door and disappeared. Ice spread out swiftly, crackling loudly. In the next instant it all shattered and only a large hole remained.

He moved, grabbing her arm and dragging her in. He was half blind but he Felt where she was. As Mercury cried out behind him he knew that they had also come. He could feel their rage now. He ran on regardless. He felt the darkness gathered and released behind him. He stretched out his hand towards her coffin. Almost there. Too slow! His mind cried, but arms wrapped around his body and Mercury screamed, the blast catching her fully as she shielded him from harm.

"Get us out of here!" She cried as she collided against his body.

They both flew forward.

His hand touched glass.