Heart of Ambrosia

Heart of Ambrosia

Chapter One

I come home to the same empty house. Saying house is an understatement; I have a mansion. I had wanted to help when I saw Serena go down. I always do, but something holds me back. That something is fear. The fear of being revealed and rejected. It has been so long since they last saw me and I know that they don't have their full memory of the Moon Kingdom. I do.

Sailor Moon and the scouts have been fighting to keep people form having their energy drained by the monsters. They don't know their real assailants. What's worse, for Serena at least, Darien doesn't remember anything. I want to help, but instead I keep running. I have no place in anything. I spend the entire day just watching over them or painting. Every once in a while I sell one of my older paintings. They're worth a lot; I've been painting since before Chris discovered America. I eat a light supper and go to bed.

The next morning I go out to my usual routine of watching over the scouts. They go shopping downtown. I hang back just enough so not be spotted and follow them. They shop for a little while, and then Serena spots an ice cream shop and runs over someone in her enthusiasm. Double scoop cone in hand she's ready to go back to shopping when a scream pierces the air. Four girls run off in the direction of the screaming. Rei grabs Serena, causing her to drop her ice cream. Another wail fills the air. I go after them, having to run to keep up. They head into a small courtyard in the middle of the mall. I come just in time to hear the end of the speech.

"I am Sailor Moon and on behalf of the moon, I will right wrongs and triumph over evil and that means you!"

I watch the battle scene from the shadows of a store doorway. The cardian glances at Sailor Moon. All around her are the bodies of hapless shoppers who just got drained.

"The only evil here is your long speech" the monster, who looks like a pumpkin mixed with a woman, sneers.

"Hey!" Sailor Moon cries indignantly, "At least I don't look like I belong in the vegetable isle!"

The monster has vines holding onto all the downed shoppers. She continues to drain their energy. This worries me because these people already look completely drained. If she goes on much longer, I'm afraid someone will have all his or her energy drained – and dies.

"Cut the chatter and waste her already!" I yell at them from my hiding place in the corner. Mercury looks over in my direction. I back further in to the shadows. The monster whips a vine out and grabs Mercury.

"Mars fire ignite"

Mercury falls to the ground. Sailor Moon runs over to make sure she's ok. Jupiter moves up to attack the pumpkin woman who throws small exploding seeds at her. As Jupiter jumps clear, Venus whips her chain at the monster, temporarily injuring her.

"Now Sailor Moon" Mars calls, out sounding annoyed that she has to remind her.

"Oh yeah" Sailor Moon says, chagrinned. She pulls out her scepter and the monster is no more. Mercury is back on her feet, she wanders around the shoppers who are all still on the ground. Instead of slowly popping back up, not one of them is moving. Mercury wears her visor and analyzes the situation.

"Their energy is too low! They're dying!" She calls to the other scouts who stand rooted on the spot.

"What do we do?" Sailor Moon asks worriedly.

"Call an ambulance!" Mercury yells to no one in particular. Venus takes off at a dead run to the nearest phone. She passes right by me, taking no notice. The remaining scouts go around turning the people on their backs for lack of anything better to do. Ten men, woman, and children lie there.

"They're using the last of their energy just keeping their hearts beating." Sailor Mercury says sadly.

Sailor Moon cries softly being helpless to do anything. This isn't the kind of healing she has done before, it is more than killing an evil spirit within the person. I know this time I can't stand back and do nothing. I come forward silently. The scouts watch, not knowing what to do. I place a hand on the nearest man's forehead and give him some of my energy. Then I go to a woman's. I work my way around quickly. The scouts stand back and watch, having no idea what I'm doing. My long hair hides my face from view. I come to the last one, a small child, when Mercury comes to her senses and looks at her computer.

"Their energy level has risen! They're stable." She says, surprised.

I take that as my cue and quickly give a last bit of energy to the child. Just as Jupiter, who is nearest me takes a step toward me; I get up and jump to the roof of the mall. Mercury stays with the drained people while Sailors Moon, Jupiter, and Mars follow up after me. I'm really too tired after giving so much energy away. I run along to the edge of the roof and jump down to the entrance of the mall. I go back in and get lost in the crowd that, knowing that the scouts won't be able to follow me there. They give up and head back. I wait a few minutes. As soon as the ambulances come, I head back myself.

The scouts are gone. The people are placed on stretchers and cared out as police keep the crowd back. I see the detransformed scouts standing back watching. I gave the people enough energy to keep them stable. They will be in the hospital for at least a week, but I can only do so much. I go home and rest myself.

A few weeks go by. I keep my usual watch over them, but nothing really life threatening happens. They seem a little more wary now and keep a closer watch during battles. I've been spotted twice so far, and they're getting suspicious. Still, I go on with my life. This morning I am taking a painting down to sell at one of my favorite galleries. Part of me can't believe that I would sell this particular painting. It is one of my oldest, dating back to the 12th century. I painted it when I first found myself thrown through time, after the Moon Kingdom was destroyed. It shows me crying over my love, his blood on my hands. Serena stands over, a pitying look on her face and a comforting hand on my shoulder. Of course, that wasn't how the scene played out in reality. I never saw him die, but the blood on my hands shows the guilt I feel for his death. I was on earth then, so Serena wasn't there to comfort me, but I wish fervently that she had been. Maybe I need to get rid of the painting to let go of the true memory.

I head downtown in a taxi. I live on the outskirts of Tokyo, so it doesn't take too long to get there. I meet with the gallery owner and make a nice profit off of what I sell as a "family heirloom." He immediately puts it out in the window display. I walk out of the store and down the street, planning on doing a little shopping, when I hear a familiar laugh behind me. I duck into an alley and turn to watch as Serena and Mina stroll down the sidewalk right past the gallery. Serena, still laughing, glances at the window and keeps walking, then she does a double take. Literally screeching to a halt, she drags Mina into the gallery. I pull my hair up into a quick bun and pull my hat down, sunglasses on. With a sinking feeling, I walk back into the gallery and hide behind a large painting on a stand. I listen to Serena talking with the gallery owner.

"Who painted that?" she asks, pointing to my painting in the window.

The gallery owner obviously thinks she's wasting his time since she doesn't seem the like the type to buy expensive artwork.

"It was painted long before your time, now if you don't mind I have work to do."

Serena looks shocked at being treated so rudely and was getting angry besides. Mina stepped in.

"Ok, then who brought it here?" Mina asks diplomatically.

"A young girl about your age just brought it, if you go now you might catch her," He answers.

I am surprised that he would brush them off like that; he is always so nice to me. My opinion of him falls. I will have to find a new dealer. Serena and Mina hurry out. He rolls his eyes. Serena and Mina hurry back in.

"Could I just have her phone number?" Serena asks more timidly this time.

The dealer sighed, but went to get it. I head to the back and cut him off.

"You aren't really going to just give out my number like that are you?" I ask harshly.

He looks surprised to see me still there. Silently shaking his head, he heads back up and tells Serena phone numbers are confidential. Serena might have argued it further, except that Mina pulls her out of the store, thanking the man for his trouble. I set off after them. I want to know why Serena cares so much. She didn't recognize herself in Peggy's pictures after all, so why would she know herself in mine?

"Man, that guy was a jerk," Mina says.

Serena makes a noncommittal noise, lost in her own thought.

"Earth to Serena, come in Serena," Mina says teasingly.

"Oh, sorry."

"Serena that was you in that picture and that other girl, the one with the long golden red hair, she looked familiar too," Mina says.

Serena nods. Just then Darien walks out of a museum on the next block and the painting is forgotten as Serena runs to meet him. Mina also forgets it as she struggles to keep up with Serena. I shake my head as I watch Serena with Darien. It's kind of pathetic, not that Serena would go crazing seeing Darien, but rather that Darien has actually forgotten that he loves her. Ann runs across the street and joins Serena in trying to get his attention. I don't trust Ann. There is something strange about her and Alan. The way that Alan is always after Serena and Ann is always after Darien bothers me, as well as the fact that they seem to be more than just brother and sister to each other. I decide to go on with my shopping anyway.

Maybe I was just more attached to that picture than I thought, but I found myself continually going down to that store. No one had bought the painting. The gallery owner actually liked it enough to want to keep it around. Serena occasionally showed up and just looked at the picture for a few minutes every once in a while. I continued to keep an eye on the scouts, and Ann and Alan. The more I saw them together the more I was sure something was wrong. I didn't do very well tracking the couple; they always seemed able to just disappear or something. Today I head off to the gallery again, although I tell myself that I'm really just going grocery shopping. I know the truth, I am drawn back to that picture.

I don't take a taxi going downtown since I don't have anything to carry. Instead I walk. I always walk. I don't care for cars that much. A good old horse and carriage was more the thing for me. I still have two horses out back at home. I am just rounding the corner when I see Serena coming to the gallery from the direction of the arcade. I am standing next to the museum so I duck into there. The front hall is large and an ornate staircase gracefully winds around to the second floor. A receptionist desk sits off to the side by a cute little gift shop. I wander over and pick up a brosure. As I glance through it I am surprised at just how big this museum is since I'd not really heard too much about it before. Then something catches my eye, an advertisement for a new exhibit on Medieval Europe. The picture shows a very old book. I hurry off in to the exhibit in a daze, lost in memory. It was the fifteen hundreds and I remembered a kindly old woman, one of my few friends. But she had been more than a friend, she had been my mentor, almost like mother. It had been about four hundred years since the Moon Kingdom had fallen and I'd found myself lost on a strange new earth. Everything I had known was gone and I was alone. I had wandered aimlessly looking for a purpose for my continual existence. By chance I happened to come to her village, and by chance had I come to live next door to her and then learn from her. I hadn't known how to control energy before then. I had an untrained talent for all those years I'd wandered and never known about it, not even when I lived on the moon. That is her book in that picture. It contains all her most prized knowledge.

I find myself standing before a glass case. In it is the book. It looks old with its yellowed pages and deteriorating cover. It looks exactly how a five hundred-year-old book should look, even if it had been kept in the best condition. My heart falls. I don't feel the sheer energy that her book would hold trapped in its pages. It would not look old and worn either. Just as I am eternally young, so that book is also. She put all herself into it, to preserve it. At that moment I thought I might actually cry, something I hadn't done in a long time. I hear someone came behind me. I sniff once, but hold back the tears of disappointment as I turn. I realize that I've been standing in front of that case for a long time, blocking it form anyone else's view. Eyes down cast, I mumble my apologies to the person. She surprises me by speaking.

"Do you like the book?" She asks causally.

I look at her. She is an elderly woman with a kind smile and gray eyes that almost sparkle. I find myself liking her immediately. She holds a vague resemblance to my old mentor.

"Yes," I answer truthfully, "But that isn't the real book."

Her smile is replaced with a look of astonishment. She looks me over long and hard, trying to get the measure of me. I simply stand there silently.

"You're right, that isn't the real book. I had to put that one out because no one believed the real one was authentic since it looks almost new," she says, a little in awe of me. "But how did you know?"

How did I know? I smile to myself. Oh, I knew that book all right; I had even helped to write some of it, adding a little of my own energy to it. The real question is what I was going to say to this woman. No matter how kind the smile experience has taught me to be careful when talking about the past, especially this part of it. I had been forced to flee that village after my mentor died. The book had been buried with her, the grave considered contaminated because the villagers thought she and I were witches. And maybe she was and maybe I am. I don't think so; I don't worship the devil or mix potions. I simply control energy. And that book gives specific instructions on how to use energy to bring about specific objectives. I decide to trust her, at least a little.

"I know a lot about old things, especially that book. Do you work here?" I ask. I want to divert the attention to her.

"Yes. I'm a procurator. I also give tours and work at the reception desk though."

I think to myself that for such a big museum she had a very broad job description. More importantly, though, she sounded like she had the authority to let me see the book.

"Did you find the book?" I ask. She nods and before I can stop myself I add, "May I see it?"

She seems to be considering it so I decide to be more open and friendly. I introduce myself.

"Nice to meet you," she replies politely, smiling again, "My name is Ambrosia Failow.

Failow, I think, that was her name. And she did have a son… she could be a distant relative! I really want to believe that. To me, those were the best days of my life, off of the moon, of course. It was then that I had gotten myself back together and was finally able to move beyond the death of the Moon Kingdom, my parents, my friends, and my love, Jarreid. I even almost forgave myself for my part in the destruction of it. I got over the fact that I didn't know what had happened, that I was safe on earth, but in a new time, like the world had restarted and tried again. And now, here before me stands a connection to that time of renewal and hope. I smile warmly and return the polite greeting. Then I tried again.

"May I see the real book? Please, it would mean so much to me if you could just show me," I beg with pleading eyes.

She considers me for another moment and I am about ready to give up when she finally agrees. I follow her back down the stairs. When we step onto the ground floor entrance, however, the beauty of the place is no longer what catches my eye. Two aliens float over a cardian, which stands over a tour group, poised to drain their energy. Everyone else is running out of the way. They go in a panic into the streets. The doors stand open and I spot a small black cat with a crescent moon standing there for a moment just trying no to get run over. She quickly ducks under feet and runs off. I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Sailor Moon will be here soon. Then I tense up as I realize that I will have to hold the cardian off until she comes, and still avoid being seen. I have nothing to hide my identity. The aliens seem satisfied that no one will interrupt the cardian and disappear. That's the problem with the enemies the Scouts have to face, the main villains never stay around long enough to fight, of course since I'm on my own I have no objection to their leaving. I take off a high-heeled shoe and, putting all the extra energy I can behind it, throw it at the cardian. It hits with a resounding "thunk" and I can almost imagine I see a bump growing out, large as a baseball. Ambrosia gasps at my audacity, I suppose. I now have the cardian's full attention. It turns toward us. This one looks like a cave woman. It made sense, at least as much sense as it ever did; the prehistoric display was about twenty feet from it.

"Run!!" I scream to everyone and no in particular. I've never seen a hall that size clear out that fast. The tour group was out to the street before I'd finished the word. It took ten seconds for Ambrosia, the cardian, and I to be the only ones in the hall. I was actually ahead of Ambrosia on the stairs, accidentally blocking her path. And now the cardian is covering the doors.

"Go back up!" I yell without turning. I don't hear her move so I chance a glance at her. She stands there, no look of panic on her face; just deep in thought like Amy would be during a battle.

"No, down." She says almost calmly.

"Are you nuts?!" I ask incredulously, "That thing is blocking the way!"

"Maybe, but we can hide better there." With that said, she goes down pasts me. She moves quickly for a woman her age. I belt my other shoe at it and run while its distracted by rubbing its head where I hit it. I ran past Ambrosia, grabbing her hand and dragging her along behind me. She takes the lead then and we go to the door behind the receptionist desk and down a flight of stair into a fairly normal, but excessively very large, basement. It is filled with relics, desks, and work tables where artifacts are being repaired by people who have no idea what has been going on above them. Ambrosia aims for a closet across the room. I wish to myself that I had locked the door to the basement.

"Everyone into the closet!" Ambrosia calls. They look at her, confused, but not for long as they hear the cardian rip the door off its hinges. They all make it into the closet and I shut the door, prepared to defend them. I hear someone lock it. I pull over a chair that's probably worth more than I am so Ambrosia won't come out to get me in. I hear her try the door and scream at me to get in there. Just then the cardian jumps over the banister and lands with a crunch on a carefully placed pile of paintings. I cringe just thinking of all the repair work that they're going to have to do after this. The creature comes straight at me, probably mad about the shoes, which I can see did leave some nice, big marks. I pull my energy around me as a shield just as it begins to throw spears that seem to come out of nowhere. I try to dodge them even though the shield is enough to hold them back; I don't want to waste the energy it takes to maintain the shield under impact. I've never actually tried fighting before; I've always run from the people that would hurt me. Now is the time for change. I grab one of the spears and throw it back at the creature. It ducks out of the way. Then I hear the usual speech.

"Stop right there! I won't let you destroy these great works of time! I am Sailor Moon, Champion of Justice. And on behalf of the moon, you're punished!" Sailor Moon says, striking a theatrical pose at the top of the stairs. She, too, jumps over the banister, but aims for the floor. Unfortunately, her heel catches and she lands painfully on her bottom instead. I groan.

"Ow, that hurt!" She wails. The creature forgets me and moves to a more promising target. Seeing that Serena won't get up in time, I go for another spear and catch the cardian off guard, in the shoulder. It pulls the spear out like it was nothing and turns back to me. I understand now that it can't be hurt by its own attack and try to think of something new. I've never killed anything before, but it is clear that too will change. Sailor Moon is up. She throws her tiara, it falls to the floor before ever reaching the monster.

"Oh no! It still isn't working! What do I do now Luna?" Sailor Moon cries. I notice Luna watching tensely from the stairs. The cardian laughs and goes back after Sailor Moon. It obviously has a bad memory.

"Try a kick!" Luna calls. Sailor Moon jumps to kick the thing, but it grabs her leg and throws her up against a shelf full of priceless antiques. She slumps to the floor and the cardian moves in for the kill.

She can't help without the use of her tiara if she can't even get close enough to kick the cardian.

Without thinking, I form my energy into a stick and charge the cardian from behind. I cut it down in half. There is no blood, thankfully, the two pieces separate and turn to a blackened card before hitting the floor. I check Sailor Moon. She is actually physically injured. There is a small pool of blood around her head. Luna is beside me in a moment. She purrs and licks Sailor Moon, unable to do anything else. I sit and stare dully. Then I snap out of my daze and place a hand over the injury to her head. Luna looks up at me hopefully. To concentrate, I close my eyes and pool every once of energy I can into the wound, directing energy to make platelets clot blood quickly, to make cells multiply and then cover the wound, to increase bone growth and make her just as healthy as before.

"Go watch for the others," I say softly to Luna, eyes still closed, still concentrating. I can feel her hesitation to leave her charge with this strange girl she knows nothing about, but then she turns and leaps up the stairs. The blood stops flowing and I can feel skin forming under my hand. I feel the energy moving through her and working, then it's completed and I slowly pull out, allowing the processes to return to normal. I open my eyes and smile. Serena blinks a couple of times and sits up, rubbing the spot where dried blood is the only indication that anything had happened.

"How? –Thank you!!" She says gratefully.

"I'm sorry," is all I could reply. If it hadn't been for me the cardian wouldn't have come down here and she would probably have gotten help from the rest of the Sailor Scouts. Down here, though, they couldn't have found us and there was too little room to fight. I hear running up above and know that the rest of the team has arrived. I hurry and let the people out of the closet. A few of them cry over the many objects that now resemble expensive pincushions with the spears sticking out of them. Sailor Moon walks over to me carefully. She is obviously dizzy still.

"Who are you?" She asks.

"I have no name. My real name passed with time and now I take another, but I am a friend," I reply trying to be mysterious and ultimately confuse her to buy myself some time. It works. She looks confused. The rest of Sailors come down the stairs and Luna jumps into her arms and purrs like her motor will go out permanently if she stopped. The scouts surround their leader and I back away into the shadows and up the stairs.

"Wait!" Serena calls at me. I want to stay, but the old fear works and adrenaline surges through me, giving me the strength to run. Forgetting the book for the moment, I run out the doors and toward a park like my life depends on it. They give chase. I reach the park and jump into the tallest oak tree I've ever seen, especially in Japan. Mars follows not too far behind and lands precariously in the tree. Then I jump out of the tree and into thin air. I float for a moment before getting my balance on the energy field that holds me up. She stares, more than a bit surprised. I wonder for a moment how she can stay in that tree like that with high heels on. As if the tree heard me, a branch moves under her. Mars is caught off guard and falls forward into the air with nothing to grab onto. The other scouts scream. I drop down and catch her before she can hit. I saved her, but now my energy is spent, the adrenaline has even run out. Mars falls unceremoniously to the ground the second my feet touch down. Mercury helps her up while Jupiter holds onto me, which is probably a good thing since I black out for a moment and only her hold keeps me from joining Mars.

In a few minutes I come to and find Mercury looking over me with her visor on and computer out.

"She's awake and she'll be fine," Mercury says. Jupiter has a firm hold on one arm and Venus has my other arm before I can so much as blink. Still rather drained and a little woozy from having had to drop so fast to catch Mars in time, I open my eyes slowly. Serena stands a little ways back, seemingly unsure of what to do. Then I realize they all are. I stare at them; they stare at me. People walking dogs and riding bikes in the park join the staring contest. Artemis breaks the silence first.

"Hey, don't you think we should go somewhere else," he asks, "Somewhere more private and talk."

They all agree to that. I think I would like to agree to a nice long nap. I've never spent so much energy in so short a time. My arms are still pinned, but that doesn't matter, I couldn't get up anyway. No one moves still. They've never done anything like kidnapping someone off the streets before.

"I agree too," I say softly because that's all I can manage. "No one can tell who you are, but I'm here as just me, and I'd like to go on being just plain me."

"Venus, let her go. Jupiter, help her up," Luna says, taking control. They comply and I find myself brought shakily to my feet. I hope I get better at this with practice, I wish. Jupiter and Venus support my arm and I walk/am dragged away.