Shattered Ice: Super Sailor Mercury

Chapter 39

Ami Mizuno smiled slightly as the blue haired young woman walked beside Setsuna, her eyes sweeping the crowd. The scar across her face was slightly paler than the other flesh, matching the quiet intensity in her eyes.

"You think something will happen?" Setsuna asked coolly, the taller green haired woman keeping pace, the two of them somewhat shielding Hotaru and Usagi.

"Star Fighter called us out of the blue last night, warning us that something might be happening here," Ami answered her lover seriously, "and after looking into it I agree there's something off about this free concert."

"You think it's some kind of trap?" Hotaru asked, the long, black haired younger girl narrowing her violet colored eyes.

"It's possible," Ami answered honestly. "It could be some power draining scheme, or possibly some other plot. Either way, we need to be on our guard."

Usagi frowned slightly, "Were you able to warn your mother not to come?"

Both Setsuna and Ami grimmaced. "No," Setsuna answered, sounding mildly frustrated, "Nicole wasn't answering her phone."

The four made their way through the press of screaming Three Lights fans, rather astonished by the sheer number of teenaged girls. The specially reserved seats were all filled, the aisles were packed and the area all around the outdoor was teeming with kids too. The cheering and screeching was deafening, making conversation difficult for everybody.

The four young woman reached the stage, walking over to the door where several guards kept interested teens from venturing back stage. Setsuna showed them the special pass that Haruka and Michiru had gotten them, and the large men respectfully moved aside.

"I guess it helps to know the right people," Ami murmured wryly, glad to be in from the noisy outside. She tossed a look over her shoulder at the two men, wondering why it was that she felt something... off, about them.

"Those men aren't normal," Hotaru murmured as they walked down the hall, following signs towards the dressing rooms.

"There's not much we can do about it yet," Setsuna offered, confirming that she felt the same thing off them too.

There was a large dressing room at the end of the hall, that was in turn subdivided to offer the Three Lights and their musical guests two separate areas to change. Ami knocked on the door with her knuckle, then announced who they were.

"Come in," Seiya called, sounding tense.

Entering the room they saw a near confrontation going on, with the Three Lights arrayed on one side, and Haruka and Michiru standing on the other. The three men were tense looking, as was Haruka, while Michiru seemed to be trying to calm things down.

Setsuna looked over the five of them and raised a eyebrow questioningly as she calmly asked, "What's going on now?"

Haruka ran a hand through her sandy blonde hair as she growled, "They are trying to talk Michiru and I into dropping out of today's preformance."

Ami looked at the three men in surprise and asked them politely, "Well, why would you want them to do that?"

Seiya puffed out a breath, looking frustrated as the black haired man said, "Something stinks about today's show."

Michiru looked at them curiously, "How so?"

Taiki nodded slightly as the taller brown haired boy said, "It isn't any one thing, ladies. Galaxy TV has acted very erratically in staging this show, trying to draw in massive numbers for a live preformance. They have taken no steps to broadcast this even on their station, nor have they even advertized it on TV. It's as if this event doesn't officially exist."

"You think someone is setting up a attack, or something?" Usagi asked, the pink haired girl getting over her star struck feelings a moment.

"We don't know," Yaten sounded annoyed, "it could all be just a odd coincidence." He sighed as he felt his brothers' gazes on him, "Well, it could be!"

Haruka was frowning too, clearly taking into account the call Ami had given her the night before, passing on Star Fighter's warning. "Isn't it too late for us to back out now?" she asked the whole group, shrugging as she added, "If something happens here we're almost sure to get caught up in it at this point anyways."

Seiya scowled, but he also couldn't argue. They were probably right, this close to the concert they would be caught up by whatever happened even if they did quit. He looked over at Ami, again feeling that odd... stirring, within him. "What do you think?" he asked.

Ami looked a bit startled to be asked, but schooled her expression to calmness. "I agree that it's too late to call off the event," she said frankly. "If something does happen, you should try to urge people to calmly leave, I suppose," Ami mused.

"Not that thrilling a job," Yaten noted, "but reasonable."

"We'll do what we can to help as well," Setsuna said, very pointedly not mentioning any of their identities as Sailor Soldiers. She had... suspicions about the Three Lights, but they had proved incredibly difficult to track with the Time Gates. Which was proof that SOMETHING was unusual about them, but not exactly what it was. And she didn't feel comfortable bringing such vague suspicions to Ami.

"Is something wrong, Puu?" Usagi murmured to her softly.

"Nothing I can say," Setsuna whispered back as she thought grimly, 'Sometimes being a time traveler sucks.'

Taiki looked at his watch and frowned, "It's getting near showtime, you'd best get to your seats before someone tries to take them."

"Right," Hotaru nodded, blushing faintly as she quickly added to the young men, "It's been very nice to meet you."

Seiya looked amused as he told her, "Thank you very much. Assuming things go well, I'll sign you a autograph later."

"Thank you," Hotaru smiled as they hurried out, Setsuna only pausing to exchange a serious look with Haruka and Michiru.

Usagi looked at Hotaru with a smile as she said, "You want their autographs?"

"The music's good," Hotaru blushed cutely as they hurried down the hall and out into the noisy crowds waiting for the show.

Several young women were 'squatting' in their seats, but once Ami showed the tickets they scurried off, disappointed. They settled in near the front rows, Setsuna and Ami taking the middle, Hotaru and Usagi taking each side.

"Do you think there is going to be something blatant?" Usagi asked after a moment, looking at Ami worriedly.

"I don't know," Ami confessed. She shrugged, "Iron Mouse tells us Galaxia is connected to this TV station, so we have to assume something is going to happen. But what will it be? Energy draining like the Negaverse did? Heart Crystals? Or something more exotic?"

"They might completely change their plans or carry on as usual," Setsuna shrugged, "we'll have no idea until they act."

"Can't you just see the future?" Hotaru asked innocently.

"My ability to see the future can be... clouded, by powerful enough beings," Setsuna said quietly. "It's part of why I can't just pop up and tell people exactly what our enemies will do, and so on. And of course there's time paradoxes too."

"Please don't get her started on paradoxes," Usagi visibly whimpered, "they give me a headache just trying to untangle them."

Thankfully any further talk on that topic was prevented by the arrival of three other women, two older and a child. Nicole Mizuno looked surprisingly content as she lead the pretty copper haired woman over to them, both of them keeping a grip on a small redheaded girl.

"Mother," Ami got up, smiling as she hugged her then looked at the other woman curiously, "who's your friend?"

"Ami," Nicole blushed just faintly as she said, "I'd like you to meet my friend Kakyuu, and her neice Chibi chibi."

"Chibi!" the little redhead smiled sweetly.

"She's adorable!" Usagi murmured, looking at the little girl and feeling strange, somehow.

Meeting Kakyuu stirred confusing emotions in Ami, ones eerily familiar. Somehow Kakyuu reminded Ami of her long lost friend Usagi Tsukino, inspiring the same kind of love and trust that her friend once did. It took a effort of will for Ami to summon her usual level of skepticism, and she could tell that it wasn't as strong as usual.

"Nice to meet you," Ami offered her hand, blinking as a memory struck. 'The Starlights said they were looking for a Kakyuu, could this be...?'

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sailor Iron Mouse watched from concealment, peering through binoculars as she tried to guard her new found friends. The silver haired woman was hiding under a car, her trench coat lined with charms by the priest Hino. The old man hoped his charms would shield her from Galaxia's view, and so far she hadn't been noticed.

She watched Ami Mizuno go behind the stage and cursed softly, knowing the four were very nearly going into a lion's den. 'Damn it Mercury-sama, be careful,' Iron Mouse thought grimly.

After the Sailors had sent her to Doctor Nicole Mizuno for a examination, Iron Mouse quickly decided that he had to be related to one of the sailors. That lead to Ami Mizuno, who in turn led her to the new friends she made, likely the other Sailors. It was all rather obvious, which rather annoyed her when she thought about it.

A frighteningly long time later and Ami and her friends emerged from the back, heading to the front seats. 'Thank goodness they're all right,' she thought, sweeping the crowd with her binoculars. A familiar redhead stalked along the edge of the crowd and Iron Mouse cursed softly, realizing she looked like her former assistant Lead Crow. Clearly things were going to start soon, and she had no idea how to let Sailor Mercury or the others know.

Making matters worse another innocent bystander appeared, in this case Nicole Mizuno and two other females. Ami rose to greet her mother and guests, talking to them quietly. A hand was offered and taken, then Iron Mouse cried out in pain as a sudden burst of life force washed over her from the two women. It was like a sun rise after long winter, or the coming of spring maybe. It felt warm and clean,and worse, it felt powerful.

'This is going to change Galaxia's plans completely,' Iron Mouse thought as she climbed out from under the vehicle. 'Every agent she can call will come,' she decided as she hurried to the concert hall, 'and I have to do everything I can to save them all.'

End

Notes: Addressing why Setsuna aka Sailor Pluto doesn't know who the Starlights are, as well as what the baddies will do. That, and the whole paradox issues, of course.