Okaay, maybe thanksgiving is a little ambitious.  But I really wanted to finish this for my birthday.  Ah, it's so frustrating.  My stupid little rat ate my notes for the plot, or at least hid them.  Sady seems to like hoarding paper. 
But I am trying to get this out on time!  I really am.  But right now I am sick and feeling, well, frustrated with lack of inspiration.  Sorry.

                Ami groaned, holding her head as she sat up.  She immediately fell back down, feeling exhaustion pull at her bones.  She let herself lay flat, the clinical doctor side of her tallying up her injuries.  How in mortal hells did I manage to get this hurt?  The last time I felt this horrible was when Beryl killed me, along with the other senshis.  She groaned again, her headache reaching new heights as a load scream was heard somewhere in the distance.

                In the distance? She wondered, and turned her head slowly, attempting to get some sort of bearing on wherever she was.  But all she could see was blackness in every direction, and the impression of evil that came from all around.  Knowing she was getting nowhere, the bleu-haired senshi sent out her power, letting the psychro-sense within her explore on its own.

                She was stopped dead, the energy she had sent out of her body fizzing to an abrupt end.  The backlash of power whipped her mentally, and she cried out in pain as it burned her sensitive mind.

                "Aw, is the poor little healer-warrior trapped?" someone's voice taunted her.  Ami could only let out a soft cry, unable to do anything else in the pain of burning fire that was invading her mind.  "The intelligent one didn't know about this special little room, now did she?"  The voice laughed, a high, cruel sound coming from an invisible person.  "She obviously didn't know the little barriers the wiseman put up against your puny little powers, and the nice little after thought he added.  After all, we try to make our guests as comfortable as possible.  So, my dear Mercury, are you enjoying the little fire provided for you?"

                Ami's tortured mind was slowly shutting down, even her highly trained, nearly-immortal mind couldn't deal with prolonged pain.

                Fire.

                Pain.

                Ami shuddered one last time, before dropping into oblivion.  She lost the feel of the burning in her mind, even though the gods damned clinical side was on overdrive, screaming that it wasn't going away...

                One down.

                Four to go.

                Come, Queen.

                "Okay, Jupiter, I think maybe you were right.  Maybe these creeps did follow us," Minako commented as she finished off the last droid.  There had been many such attacks, though not in the same numbers as the first attack.  The Usagi-lookalike had not re-appeared, and they were no closer to finding Ami.

                Usagi cursed as she watched her former teammates fight.  Yes, they had won, but she couldn't believe their style of fighting.  Perhaps it is because of the influence the oh-so-perfect four former Dark-Kings had on me? she thought, knowing Zoicite would hear.  He laughed softly at her, but he agreed with her.

                "What I do not understand is why Endymion has done nothing to help train the senshis.  Obviously, Luna and Artemis do not remember enough from their past to be of much use," Zoicite said.  He had no sympathy for them, however.  Usagi had to be careful to be with him whenever they were following the senshis, as she remembered all to well Minako's fixation on Kunzite.

                "Did you get a sample of the droid?" she asked as they left the battle scene.  The five of them had decided that perhaps Ami had the right idea in searching for the origins of these new monsters.

                "Of course," he replied.  He looked offended that she would even suggest failure.  He held up a small vial.  "There was not much left of it, though."

                "That's fine.  We should be able to come up with some sort of location with that."

                Usagi tapped impatiently at the keyboard, attempting to hurry up the computer.  Jedeite watched her with amusement.  "It's not going to help, you do realize that, Usa-chan?" he said, grinning at her.

                She blew a raspberry at him, and started tapping her fingers impatiently against the table.  "This had better work.  I don't know what else to try."  Actually, she had one last trick up her sleeve, if this didn't work.  The high-tech equipment of Zoicite's had delighted the bunny, since her studies in America had included the use of them.  She had not used one much in Tokyo, but Zoicite's complicated network surpassed most of what was there anyhow.

                The beep of failure interrupted her thoughts.  "Dammit," she swore, but her voice was tired.  She got up slowly, picking up the sample, and made vague excuses to her friend.  He could keep searching if he pleased, but she had had enough.

Short, I know!  I am sorry.  But I will have the next chapter out to morrow (most likely), and it'll be soon that this whole mess will be over.  Like I said, thanksgiving, and I am trying to make it.
Sorry Ami lovers, but her death is a part of the story.  Can't say what yet!