The Pulse

Part 10

Author: Nyneve

Okay, once again I have gone a long period of time without writing. And I have a terrible excuse. I was at a long, stressful band conference thingamajiggie and I haven't had any time to write on account of all of my free time has been spent practicing oboe. *silence* Yes, I play oboe. Anyways, I guess a lot of people like the Duo/Mercury coupling, so you'll like this chappie if you do. Don't own the anime, you know the drill.

-Nyneve

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"The shards are getting stronger."

"Which ones?"

"The Thanatos."

"We're running out of time."

"No. There is always time."

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Mina sighed as she stared out the window at the gray day. Things were going from bad to worse. First they have to save the universe without Serenity, then they get attacked by demons, then Heero expresses absolutely no interest in her, then Raye goes and gets herself nearly killed? How much worse could it get?

That was when a cute, almost-harmless little idea hatched in the blonde's head. Sure, they were facing near doom, but if she could maybe improve the relationships between everyone?

Well, Heero made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with me Mina admitted to herself, a little sad. She knew that if he would just open up he could find some sort of feeling for her, even if it wasn't positive.

Anyways, she could worry about her own crush later. Right now, she should focus on everyone else.

Let's see… Quatre's finally figured out how much he likes Raye, even though she's still unconscious. Trowa and Trista are always together, even if they never talk. They're madly in love with each other Mina concluded. Lita and Wufei she shuddered. She wasn't going to go there.

"So, that leaves Duo and Amy. Well, Duo can probably handle it if I can just get Amy to realize her feelings. No problemo!" she grinned, then bounced out of the room down the hallway. Conveniently enough, the braid-boy himself was peering through a crack in the door to Raye's room. Quietly, Mina tiptoed over to him and tapped him on the back. Immediately, he spun around, grabbed her wrist, and covered her mouth. When he realized it was only Mina, he relaxed and let go.

"Geez Mina. Aren't you supposed to be stalking Heero?" he asked, slightly annoyed. Mina stuck her tongue out.

"None of your business. For your information, I was looking for you because I need to talk to you," she said matter-of-factly.

"About what?" Duo asked suspiciously.

"About a certain genius by the name of Amy," Mina replied. Duo blushed and edged away from the door nervously. Mina stared at him oddly. What was he…?

She gasped. "You were spying on her!" she cried, realizing that Amy was in Raye's room running tests.

"Tell the whole world why don't you?" Duo muttered, then started to walk away. Mina followed.

"I'm not finished. I wanna know how you feel about her," she remarked. Duo paused and thought a moment before answering.

"Why would you care? Are you jealous?" he asked. Mina rolled her eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself baka. I'm saying that you could be really good for Amy. Maybe if she spent more time with you she wouldn't be so much of a bookworm and would be more outgoing. She's got feelings for you, Duo. Maybe she doesn't realize that. If you care about her, you need to be the one to help her figure out how she feels," Mina answered.

"Okay then. I love her, does that clear it up? I've been crazy about her since the first time I saw her. Why she would feel anything for me, I don't know," he remarked. Mina smiled slightly.

"Well, she is a genius. She must know something right?" she asked, then glanced back towards the door. "Duo, take her out tonight. She's been way too stressed lately."

Duo's face brightened. Really going out with Amy would be more than he could've hoped for.

"But what if those demon girls come back?" he asked. Mina shrugged it off.

"Don't worry. You've seen what we can do! Everything will be fine. Now go. It's going to take a while to convince her," she replied, then happily skipped away, her mission complete.

Meanwhile, Amy sat in Raye's room, doing a scan of her energy. There was nothing abnormal, but Raye was still in a lot of pain. She sighed, and closed the computer. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Amy called. Duo poked his head in and smiled.

"Hey Ames. What's up?" he asked, sitting down next to her. Amy smiled sadly and shook her head.

"I can't get anything on Raye's illness. All of the evidence says that she's just fine, that there should be no pain. But she isn't faking those screams. She's really hurt badly," she remarked. Duo put his arm around her.

"Don't worry too much about it Ames. You've done all you can for her. All we can do now is hope she gets better," he said.

"I can't. There may not be much more time…"

"Amy," Duo said, staring into her eyes. "You've got to take a break. You've been working since four in the morning! You need to relax."

"Maybe you're right," Amy agreed reluctantly.

"How about I treat you to dinner. It'll help you get your mind off of all this," he suggested. Amy blushed slightly.

"Duo, I'd love too, but that would take way too much time. I was thinking just a cup of tea or…"

"Aw, please Ames? Pretty please with sugar on top?" Duo asked sweetly, giving her the "sad puppy eyes". Amy giggled for a moment, then closed her eyes.

"I can't. I just…"

She was cut off by something. Her mind woke up suddenly when she realized Duo was kissing her gently. She kissed back. When they finally pulled away, Duo had resumed "the face".

"Oh fine. You've won me over," Amy finally gave in. Duo smiled triumphantly.

"I knew you couldn't resist my charms. See you tonight!" he cried, bouncing out the door happily. Amy touched her lips gently. He had kissed her. What now?

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"Go get 'em Alecto!"

"Yeah, show that wimpy genius who's really smarter!"

"And get that guy with the braid. He's so annoying."

"Yeah."

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"Well, here we are!" Duo remarked as he and Amy parked in front of the restaurant.

"Duo, thank you again for this. You're so sweet," Amy replied as he helped her out.

"I know. But you're getting the "exclusive" package. Most girls only get the "standard"," he answered, sending Amy into a fit of giggles.

Dinner itself was fairly uneventful (AN: I think it's pointless to write dinner scenes. Besides, food is not all there is to life you know! *munches on nachos*). As the two left the restaurant, Duo put his arm around Amy's waist.

"I'm not quite ready to head home yet. Are you?" he asked.

"Not really. Would you like to go somewhere?" Amy answered.

"I don't care. As long as it's with you," Duo replied. She blushed slightly, and looked up at the night sky full of stars. A shooting star streaked across the heavens.

"Look! A shooting star!" Amy cried.

"Make a wish," Duo said.

I wish I could stay with you always Duo she almost said. In truth, she knew that now that the Thanatos crystal had been found, the Senshi and herself would be going home soon. But she couldn't say that to him. What if he didn't feel the same way about her? He did treat her special, and looked out for her, but did he love her?

"Ames?" Duo asked, tapping her shoulder. Then he realized she had a strange look in her eyes, a mixture of bliss and sadness and fear.

Without warning, Amy suddenly turned and buried her face in his chest, trying to hold back the tears. She wasn't exactly sure why she was crying, but she still felt terrible just the same.

And Duo just stood there, his arms around her as she stood shivering in the cold night. He looked down at her, and tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes.

"Come on, don't cry. What are you so sad about, huh? I mean, it's like you've just been watching "Gone with the Wind" too many times," he said. Once again, his humor had evoked a smile from Amy.

"I'm sorry. I'm not quite sure what's the matter with me. I guess it was just a mood swing," she answered sheepishly. Duo grinned down at her.

"Hey, give me a call the next time you have a mood swing," he replied.

"Duo…" Amy paused. "You're the best, you know that? You're kind, you're funny, everything I could want."

"Uh, thanks," he said.

"I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you," Amy murmured.

"That's a coincidence, because I know for a fact that I love you," Duo countered, leaning down and kissing her again.

"Could you two stop that? It's quite rude to do that in a public place," a cruel voice remarked. The two instantly pulled away from each other to see Alecto standing a few feet away.

"What do you want? Quatre isn't with us, so you have no business here," Amy said angrily. Alecto grinned.

"Oh, what gave you the idea I was after him?" she asked. Amy paled.

"If you're not after him, then…" she clung tightly to Duo as she realized it.

"You've got it now. It's your boyfriend who's the dead man. Of course, I'll kill you in the process. Say your prayers, mortals," the demon threatened, then pulled out a bow and arrow. The arrow zinged through the air, nearly missing Duo's head and lodging itself in a tree instead. Immediately afterwards, the tree turned to ice.

"Duo, I'm going to transform," Amy yelled, then pulled out her henshin pen. "MERCURY CRYSTAL POWER!"

The familiar indigo and blue ribbons surrounded her, and moments later Sailor Mercury stood in Amy's place.

"Well, this should make it more interesting," Alecto remarked, then let another arrow fly. Amy leapt out of the way, then cupped her hands.

"Shabon Spray!" she called, releasing a blinding mist. Instantly, she grabbed Duo's hand.

"Come on, let's get out of here while we still can," she yelled. But their escape route through an alley was instantly blocked off by a wall of ice.

"You're not going anywhere. I have a mission to accomplish. And unlike Megaera, I will not fail!" Alecto cried, as three more walls of ice appeared, enclosing the three of them in a chamber of ice.

"Alright lady. I'll admit, people have threatened my life before. You may the first non-human to do it, but I'll handle this the same way I've handled all of the other threats," Duo replied, pulling out a gun and firing at her. The bullet lodged itself in the middle of her forehead.

"Right on target," he said proudly. Alecto raised an eyebrow.

"Was that supposed to be painful? Here, I'll show you what pain is," she said, then removed one of her gauntlets. Immediately, Duo felt a stabbing pain in his heart that forced him to his knees.

"Duo!" Amy cried, kneeling next to him. "You witch! What did you do to him?"
"Oh, nothing that shouldn't be done. Now, it's your turn," she answered.

"I don't think so! Mercury Aqua Mirage!" Amy cried, unleashing the wave of water. Seconds following it, she too was aware of a pain in her heart. The last thing she saw before blacking was Alecto, both gauntlets removed, screaming in agony as she was drowned in the wave of water.

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Later, Duo arrived at the Winner Mansion, carrying an unconscious Sailor Mercury. Mina and Lita, who were outside talking, saw him arrive.

"Oh my god! Mercury!" Lita cried, rushing over.

"Duo, what happened?" Mina asked.

"We were attacked. It was Alecto. I think Amy beat her, but I was out before I actually saw it. When I came to I saw Ames laying next to me, and she was having difficulty breathing," he answered, laying Amy in Lita's outstretched arms. "You can forget about a pattern of any type. Alecto said she was after me. If this keeps up they could attack any one of us."

The two girls nodded, and headed inside to put the second injured scout with the first.

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"Two down, three to go."

"Bios or Thanatos?"

"Good question. At this rate, the Bios will be eliminated."

"Then that is when it will be time for our part."

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Long chappie, I know. And please don't hurt me Mercury fans! I have nothing against the Ice Gal. Or Duo for that matter. Or anyone. Except Serena. SERENA IS EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!