Author's note: WOW! This story is becoming quite popular! All thanks go to M*Y*S*T*L*A*D*Y for her idea. I'm just doing this as a fanfic challenge. I would never pen these two as a couple, but after writing for awhile, I've really gotten into the story. And yes, there will be a Seifer x Lita in the story--but obviously, not right now!
XIII: It Shall Set You Free
Sailor Mercury de-transformed, once again resuming the guise of Amy Mizuno. Zell gazed at the petite lady in awe, his mouth hanging wide open.
"Whoa-ho-hoa!" he exclaimed. "You really are the Ice Warrior, huh?"
"…No, I'm not," said Amy slowly. "But we'd better go to a secluded place before I tell you who I really am. I don't want anyone else to overhear us."
"Uh, oh!" exclaimed Zell. "Of course, right! Hey, uh, why don't we go to the 'secret place'?" Amy gazed at Zell quizzically.
"Secret place?" He smiled.
"Oh yeah! The secret place, right here in the training room! C'mon!" Amy made a face, and despite her growing distaste for the training room, she followed Zell anyway. Together, the two wandered through the steaming jungles of plants and steel, encountering few monsters on the way. The ones they did find were of no consequence, and were easily taken care of by Zell.
The secret place was an open balcony located deep in the heart of the training room. It overlooked a large part of the Garden, and with the night sky above them, the facility glowed like an ethereal night light. The wind was soft and calm as Zell and Amy stepped onto the terrace, and with stars and a crescent moon above, and crickets below, the night was becoming quite romantic.
"Well, here we are," announced Zell. "The secret place. Huh, I haven't been here too many times. I heard it usually has a lot of stragglers around." Amy took little note of what he was saying, and slowly walked towards the balcony. She sighed and leaned over, gazing at the illuminating Garden and the sparkling stars above.
"Pretty cool, huh?" smiled Zell, joining her. Amy smiled and nodded her head in agreement. The young man sighed, hanging his head in amazement. "Man…!" he said. "I still can't believe it! You're the chick I saw fighting the Rex that one time!"
"Huh?" Amy jerked around in disbelief, and gave Zell an inquisitive look. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, uh, I… well… sorta saw you fight that dinosaur that one time," stammered the man. "I'm really sorry!"
"…No, it's okay," sighed Amy. "I guess you know my secret now, eh?"
"Ahuh." A very long pause hung in the air as both Amy and Zell stared out at the sky. The silence was a mixture of comfort and awkwardness; Amy had just shown Zell her deepest secret, and she hardly even knew him. He had seen her transform, and despite the reason why, neither of them would ever look at each other the same way again.
"…So, who are you, really?" asked Zell, breaking the silence. Amy shifted her head to gaze at him.
"If I tell you, will you promise to not think I'm crazy?"
"Heh…" He smiled, and gave her a thumbs-up. "Ames, I've seen a lotta freaky things in my life. I don't think anything you could say would make me think you're crazy!" She shrugged and gave him the benefit of the doubt.
"All right…! But don't say that I didn't warn you!"
"Can it really be that bad?" he grinned. Amy nodded her head slowly.
"Maybe even worse."
Let me start out by saying that I do not have amnesia.
I did not come from this world, Zell. I am not a native of this land, but another world--a reality parallel to this one. In that reality, I am known as a Sailor Scout, a defender of love and justice in the never-ending battle against evil. I was born under the sign of Mercury, a planet closest to my sun, so I am called Sailor Mercury.
Sailor Mercury has been blessed with the powers of ice, much like the Ice Warrior. But unlike her, I am accompanied by a small group of friends with similar abilities: Sailor Mars of fire, Sailor Jupiter of thunder, and Sailor Venus of love. Together we are known as the Sailor Scouts. Our leader is Sailor Moon, of the Moon Kingdom, and we four are her guardians.
Yes, my real name is Amy Mizuno. Sailor Mercury is more or less an alter ego of mine, something that I--shall I say--transform into. It is through Sailor Mercury that I am able to fight with ice like you saw me. It is true, however, when I say I know nothing about the world you live in. That is because, up until a few months ago, I never knew it even existed.
One day, my friends and I were called in to fight a terrible mechanical monster. We were victorious in destroying it, but as a last-ditch effort, it called forth a kind of wormhole in reality, and with the dark magic of the wormhole, it sort of pulled me into this world. I have been here ever since, more or less going under the guise of an amnesiac, and to be perfectly honest, I would very much like to go back home.
For what seemed like an hour, Amy gazed at Zell, trying to pick out an emotion in his face. She allowed him to absorb the information, but after a suitable pause, she began to grow worried. She felt as if she had told him the biggest lie in all the world, and expected him to believe it. For all she knew, she wasn't far from the truth.
"…You don't believe me," she sighed.
"……That's… unreal," he managed. He shrugged, and returned Amy's gaze. "I gotta admit, Ames, that was pretty freaky. I guess I'm eating my own words now."
"So you really don't believe me…" sighed the girl.
"No!!" blurted Zell. "I, well, it does sound pretty weird, but hey! What reason do you have to lie to me?" He smiled and patted her back; she looked back at him in confusion.
"But… all this time I've been lying to you!" she insisted. "I told everyone I had lost my memory, when I never did at all! I told everyone so much, and I let Fujin and Raijin and Seifer believe that I was their friend, and so many other things were said to so many other people… But… they're all lies…" Quietly, she sighed, and covered her face in shame.
"Hey…" Calmly, Zell placed his arm over her shoulders, and shook her gently. "It's okay. You had a pretty good reason. You're right; if you told anyone what you just told me, they'd think you were some kinda nutcase!"
"And you don't?" shivered Amy. Zell grinned broadly.
"Naw! We all go crazy every once in awhile, but I believe you're the most sane person I've known since… well, Quistis, I guess!"
"So…… you believe my story?"
"Well, why not?" he shrugged. "I figure that you're not the kind to lie to someone unless you got a really good reason. And I've hung around you long enough to know you're not crazy in the head. Therefore, you've gotta be tellin' the truth!" He smiled brightly and patted her back; she merely let out a sigh of relief and smiled back.
"Thank you, Zell. That's really nice of you." Smiling, Amy gently leaned forward to kiss his cheek, and she received an adorable blush in return.
"Aw… jeez…" She giggled, and placed her arm across his shoulder.
"So, Mr. Dincht," she said, "what do you want to do with Sailor Mercury?"
"Well, you said you wanted to go back home, right?" A pause. Amy frowned in thought, and brewed over whether or not she really wanted to go home so quickly. She decided to test Zell on the matter; she'd have plenty of time to think about things later.
"Only if you know of a way."
"Well, not really," he admitted, "but… I bet I know someone who does! …Yeah! Hey, yeah! I think I just got an idea… sorta…"
"Really?" Amy stared at Zell in surprise. "You know of a way I can get home?!"
"……It's just a thought," he admitted. "I'll have to make a phone call tomorrow to make sure. But if my theory is right, you might be able to return home in… uh… a month, at the most."
"A month?!" Amy stared at Zell in amazement, unable to believe what he was saying. A month?! Why would it take so long? What did he have in mind? And… and… Did she really and truly want to return, now that she had so many good friends here? But what about her other friends, and her duties? Things were just too confusing to think about!
"Well, we may have to do some traveling," said Zell. "But don't worry. That's if we go the long way. I'm sure I could get you back home sooner." Still amazed at the way her current situation was turning, Amy could only let out a sigh of exhaustion and shake her head.
"That's… really sweet of you, Zell. And, thank you for believing me. I need to take a shower before I hit the sack, but will you promise not to tell anyone about my true identity?"
"Hey…" A serious look grew on Zell's face, and with the honor of a General, he covered his heart with his hand. "I would never do something like that. I've learned my lesson a long time ago. Trust me, Amy, your secret's safe with me."
"Thanks, Zell," smiled Amy. She gave him a kiss on his other cheek before departing. "You're a really nice guy."
"…Thanks," he stuttered, and Amy left Zell standing there on the training room terrace to grin.
Okay, wise guy. Start kicking yourself!
Why's that? demanded Zell.
Because, replied his conscience. You just offered to kick the girl you like outside of your life forever!
…………
Yeah, not too smooth, huh?
…Hey, shut up! Did you ever think that maybe she wants to go home?
Did you ever think she wants to stay here, with you?
…………
Thought so.
Shut up…! It's her decision to make!
Whatever you say. You're going to regret this.
Up yours!
