Author's note: Sorry for the slow update. I've been on holiday recently, and I've also been busy with other stories, so I haven't been able to work on this one as much as I wanted. I'm updating two chapters instead of just one, so everyone's patience will pay off. Enjoy!
XII: Revelation
Wandering off by himself, Zell left the ball and worked his way towards the training center. As usual, he didn't have a whole lot on his mind. The past few days had been uneventful for him, and with the exception of training new SeeDs, his days had been filled with inactivity. This gave him time to really go out and be himself; whether or not that was a good idea was another matter.
Zell allowed his mind to wander on Amy for a little while. Secretly, he really did like her, but of course, he figured the smart type wasn't his cup of tea. She was brilliant, and thoughtful, and gentle, and kind, whereas he was… Well, he didn't want to brood. Zell was not exactly the most romantic guy in all of Garden--his last attempt resulted in failure--and he usually turned girls off with his loud mouth and hyper disposition.
After a brief trip to his dorm to change into something a little more sensible, Zell jogged off to the training center. If ever he did find a woman that was just right for him, little chance of that, she would probably have to be equally as zealous and strong as he was. Quiet, shy, or physically weak girls just didn't seem to suit him well, yet these were almost always the kind he ended up liking. Fortunately, he didn't spend copious amounts of time reasoning why.
Twin gauntlets gave Zell a sense of comfort as he put them on. This pair was his weakest--not the sorceress-bane that his Maverick gloves had been, but mere protective pieces, too weak to count as weapons. The purpose of wearing these was not to annihilate foes, but to strengthen Zell. One-hit wonders barely qualified as training; he needed the experience of a long, drawn-out battle.
"Okay, monsters!" shouted Zell as he jogged into the interior of the training room. "Come and get me!" No sooner had he said that did a vicious Grendel pop up, its tail-blade shimmering brightly. Zell grinned as he saw his worthy opponent, and began to pound away.
Laughing merrily, Amy departed from the dance, her arms draped across the shoulders of Seifer and Fujin. The former was laughing as well, though not quite as much, since he was not yet familiar with Fujin's brand of humor. The pale girl merely kept a smile, for she knew it was rude to laugh at one's own joke.
"TRUE," she said. Amy chuckled more.
"That's sick!" she giggled. "Fujin, you're so nasty!"
"INHERIT FROM YOU."
"Shut up!" laughed Amy, slapping her friend's arm. Seifer roared out in hilarity.
"This is… this is… oh man, this was fun…" He paused, and keeled over to catch his breath. "I'm so… so out of breath… from laughing…" Fujin grinned warmly, and leaned over to examine her friend.
"HAPPY," she said gently, pointing to herself. "GLAD."
"Yeah…" The three friends shared another smile, and it didn't diminish in the least when Raijin and Selphie stormed in, chuckling like little kids.
"It's true, ya know?" he said. "All of it!"
"That's so sick!" giggled Selphie. Raijin laughed.
"Yeah, I know. Oh, uh, hey Amy! We had a good time, ya know?"
"As did we," smiled the blue-haired girl. She really was starting to see the roguish trio as her best friends, and secretly, she wished to stay in the Garden forever. Amy was becoming more and more reluctant to return home--after all, she would have to say goodbye to so many good friends!
"Well," sang Selphie, "it was great seein' you, but we gotta go! Raijin and I, uh, well we, uh… umm, ya know?!" She grinned, and even clueless Seifer knew what they were talking about.
"Oh… Uh, do you need a chaperone?"
"Nooooooo!" smiled Selphie. "We'll be just fine on our own!"
"BEHAVE," said Fujin coolly. Selphie growled and stuck her tongue out.
"Nyaaaa! I was a perfect lady tonight! Honest!"
"Sure you were," smiled Amy, who would have normally been surprised to see herself participating in such friendly fun. Now, though, she was becoming accustomed to everything, and slowly, her defenses of isolation and study were fading, and a social moray she was becoming.
"Okay, seriously, though…" sniffed Selphie. "We need to get going. Amy, try to keep those two in line. Seifer, no offense, but I hope you never ever ever get your memory back!"
"…You wanna know something?" he said.
"What?"
"I hope so too." Selphie smiled, and both she and Raijin snapped a salute before running off to who-knows-where. The trio that had been left behind continued to stand and sigh as the night waned on.
"Well," grunted Seifer, "I've had a blast, but I think it's high time I went to bed. Ladies, take care, all right?"
"AFFIRMATIVE," promised Fujin. She smiled and patted his cheek. "GOOD DREAMS."
"Right, I'll need them," sighed Seifer. With a farewell wave, he left his two closest female friends and made a beeline for Raijin's dorm. Fujin smiled at her friend and shrugged.
"FUTURE ACTIVITIES?"
"I'm not sure," sighed Amy, stretching her limbs out. "I think I'll pop on by the training room and see if I've improved in skill. I'll definitely shower, and I'll probably just have a little snack before bed. You?"
"NIDA," she replied with a wink. Amy chuckled, and needed to hear nothing else.
"All right," she sang, "but I don't want to hear any 'noises' coming from his room, okay?" Fujin snarled playfully and pushed her friend.
"PERVERT," she muttered. "NOT LIKE THAT."
"Okay," shrugged Amy, giving her one-eyed friend the benefit of the doubt. "I'll take your word for it. Night."
"GOOD DREAMS," responded Fujin. Amy gave her a brief hug, but Fujin pulled on her dress before she could go anywhere.
"Yes?"
"GOOD-NIGHT KISS?" Amy gazed at her pale friend in surprise.
"…You're crazy," she uttered. "You're absolutely out of your mind." Fujin frowned and crossed her arms.
"KIDDING. KISS NIDA, NOT YOU." Amy grinned, and gave her friend as Fujin left for her room. Letting out a yawn, Amy stretched again and decided to venture towards the training room. Her physical prowess certainly demanded an examination, and besides, she had never deliberately been there before (that one time was just by accident).
Walking slowly into the training room, Amy was only slightly surprised to find that it was already occupied. The sounds of another person in the midst of the battle was as plain as the grass below her feet, and Amy had to wonder who else was in there with her.
Her question was answered rather quickly, as a sudden shriek from the far upper-right of her resulted in a very familiar fighter running from the bushes. Amy recognized him as Zell, but she had no idea why he was running away. She knew for a fact that the blonde boy was anything but a coward, so what could have caused him to retreat like that…?
Amy's face paled as she discovered the reason why. Chasing after poor Zell was a gigantic Tyrannosaurus Rex, probably even bigger than the one Amy defeated before. Her eyes bugged out to the size of watermelons as she saw the huge dinosaur give chase to Zell; the poor young man could only run as a defense.
"Zell!!" Poor Zell was so concentrated on running away that he did not even hear Amy shout out to him. Reasoning that her Katals would be useless, Amy pursed her lips and considered transforming into Sailor Mercury. A thought crossed her mind as she contemplated: everyone thought she was the Ice Warrior, correct? If she transformed into Sailor Mercury, would that affirm everyone's suspicions? Would she suffer the fate of a celebrity, always having a cadre of bodyguards around to shoo away fans?
Or worse still--what if the other Ice Warrior was still out there somewhere? Would that only confuse people if the "other" Amy Mizuno was still alive? Or even worse--what if she had already died?? What would Fujin, Raijin, and Seifer think? Or Selphie? Or Cid and Edea? Or…
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Amy's thoughts were abruptly cut off as Zell screamed towards her, the Rex still in hot pursuit. He spied Amy, and nearly collapsed as he fell behind her.
"Oh… man!!" he wheezed. Zell keeled over and caught his breath. "Oh… jeez! Amy! What the… What the heck're… you… doing here?"
"I, uh, guess I came to train," she said. Zell groaned and waved at the air with his hands.
"You picked a baaaaaaaaaad time, Ames. Seems this Rex hasn't had anything to eat since the Sorceress War! I hate to ask, but could you help me beat him?" Amy gazed at Zell doubtfully, and wondered what course of action she should take. Her first thought was to run from the training center and to never come back again.
But the Rex was within visual distance, and too close to run away from, so a fight was inevitable. Amy's stomach knotted up nervously as she explored her three options, none of which seemed enjoyable. First of all, they could both become supper for the monster. That was thrown out. Second, she could fight as she was and hope to ward it off. Amy knew she wasn't strong enough to tackle this behemoth with her own skills.
Third, she could transform into Sailor Mercury. But, that would only…
"AMYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!" Zell yelled out, and shook her gently. "Hurry up, Amy! We need to do something!" Taking a deep breath, Amy realized that she needed Sailor Mercury's powers, and that saving their lives was much more important than keeping her secret, so with great reluctance, Amy stepped forward and brought out her pen.
"…Uh, Amy?" said Zell. "What's that?" She gave no response, and placed many things at risk by transforming. Oh well, she thought to herself. It was going to come to this anyway…
"Mercury… Crystal… Power!!"
A wave of ice struck Amy, and her body washed clean with the frozen energies. Pure snow bathed her body, and blizzards covered her soul as the transformation took place. Amy soon vanished into mystery, and the warrior of ice, Sailor Mercury, took her place.
Needless to say, Zell was dumbstruck.
With his mouth gaping open in disbelief, Zell could only stare as Sailor Mercury stood in a battle position. With a cry of "Shine Aqua Illusion!", a wave of frozen water blasted forth, halting the Rex in his tracks. Another blast from her Mirage Rhapsody attack, and the dinosaur was soon frozen in his tracks--no pun intended.
Sailor Mercury let out a sigh of air, gazing at her handiwork and thanking the powers that be that the dinosaur was weak against ice. Slowly, she turned towards Zell, whose mouth was still hanging open like a stuffed fish's. She did not smile at him, only giving a look of calm and wonder.
"…Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaa!!!!" Zell's amazed face burst out in a huge smile, and shining eyes gazed at Mercury as if she were made out of sapphires. "Amy… What just… I… ……Oh, MAN!!! You are the Ice Warrior!!!! You really are! OH, MAN!! This is unbelievable!!!"
"Zell…" Amy sighed, and placed her hand on the boy's shoulder. "There's, ah, something that I need to tell you."
"Eh?"
"Yes," she said smiling dryly. "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do."
