** The Enemy Within **, chapter 3
by Lilian
lilian413@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: SM and all related characters do not belong to
me. Naoko Takeuchi owns them, and other assorted companies
I know nothing about.
******************
Zoisite was sitting in the living room, a forgotten poetry
book on his lap. Although he had had every intention of
finishing this latest acquisition of XVIIth century work, his
mind was somewhere else--- thousands of miles away,
actually, trying to reach his wife on a distant planet.
He knew she was hurting.
And he also knew what was wrong-- at least he thought he
knew.
He had been there when Rei had broken the news to
everyone; the wide smile Jadeite hadn't been able to hide
throughout the entire afternoon hindering some of the surprise. But
still, the great news had made the girls explode in glee as
they faced the prospect of aunt-hood again.
He hadn't meant to look at Ami that directly. He had just
been contemplating the overjoyed group of women shriek and
laugh as they all clasped Rei's hands and gave her various
recommendations on what to do and what not to do when the
cravings came, as if forgetting Rei herself had been through
two other pregnancies before.
He, on the other hand, had been on the other group,
congratulating the goofy-grinning Jedite. He had just given
Jedite a hard slap on the back and Nephrite was making some
comment or other when something in his heart had stirred. He
had looked up and he had watched as Ami took a few steps
backwards, away from the giggling circle of women.
He had seen the way her beautiful eyes had clouded in
despair, had seen the unconscious holding of her own belly,
still perfect and flat.
And he had understood.
Before he could gather her up in his arms and kiss her
worries away, Ami had bolted from the room and he had been
drawn into another group hug. By the time he was able to
weasel his way out of it, Ami had been long gone.
He had gotten home only to find a recorded message of his
wife where she all too happily proclaimed she was going
back to Mercury for a few days, that she needed to work on
some new developments for Phobos' and Deimos' terraforming
plans, and that she'd be back in a few days.
Any and all attempts at contacting her were graciously
declined and when he had finally managed to talk to her (just
last afternoon), the shadow of grief had already fled from
her eyes and Zoisite was hesitant to ask her about it.
Even if they shared a love matched by few others, he also
knew when Ami did not want to talk. And this issue was one
that had brought the few fights they had ever had to
endure.
He sighed. He had married the most intelligent woman in
the world, and his own mind wasn't too shabby either--- and
still, sometimes they were like mules in their stubbornness.
He snickered at the thought. If people knew how logic flew
out the window whenever they were together, they wouldn't
have let Usagi name them Joint Education Ministers...
He knew she was there before he saw her. A sudden change
in the air around him and he looked up at the door. It was
slightly ajar and Ami was leaning against the frame in
silence, in a posture so--- heartbreaking, Zoisite felt like
reaching out to her and hugging her for dear life.
The haunted look in her eyes stopped him.
Instead, he put the book aside and rose slowly. There was
a tautness to her stance that hadn't been there before and
for a brief second, he was reminded of when he had first
met her, back in the Silver Millennium--- by a fountain she
had stood, the same frightened look in her eyes.
"I missed you, my sweet angel".
His words hung between them for the space of three
heartbeats before she answered.
"Me too".
Without giving him time to react, she bolted forwards and
snuggled deep within his embrace. As his arms came around
her and his chin rested on the top of her head, he felt the
quivering of her body as desperate sobs rocked her.
"Hold me tight, Zoi-chan", she muttered in between two
sobs and a tear, and Zoisite could do nothing but comply. He
whispered silly nonsense to her, inarticulate words in seven
different languages, but all meaning the same thing:
"I'm here, love. I'm here".
They stood there for hours to no end, communicating
without words. And he dared not press her to tell him what was
wrong--- every time he as much as approached the subject, her
face would contort in a grimace that struck such a deep
chord within him that he felt as if it was him the one
suffering.
So he simply held her, and she was thankful for that.
He didn't know how long it had been until she softly
looked up to him, eyes rimmed with red and yet still managing to
take his breath away.
"Thank you".
He nodded and brushed a stray tear making its way down her
cheek. "Will you tell me what's wrong?", he asked her,
hearing her heart beating against his chest as if it was his
own.
She shook her head once, her long blue-black bangs
covering her eyes for a split second. "I cannot. It is not my
secret to give away".
And that was all she was saying about it, and he knew it.
That didn't mean he had to like it any better...
"Ami...", his voice took a pleading tone as he tried to
coerce her into telling him. Whenever he whined at her, her
resolve would melt--- this time, her beautiful pupils
hardened to the point of steel and she shook her head, harder
this time.
"Don't make me lie to you, Zoi, please".
As he fought for something to say, she snuggled back into
his chest and her hands encircled his waist once more,
ending the conversation. In a reflex born out of two lifetimes
together, his own arms hugged her tight again, but he felt
her fleeting heartbeat thundering across the room.
"I won't Ami, not if you ask me to. But it kills me to see
you like this".
She remained quiet after he spoke, as if pondering the
right thing to say. In the end, it was after a particularly
deep breath that she found her voice: "Give me until
tomorrow, Zoi. Everything will become clear tomorrow".
That eased his worry some. At least, they had reached a
compromise--- quite a rarity for two stubborn minds as
theirs.
"Till tomorrow it is, then".
They lapsed into another long silence after that.
When she stood on her tiptoes and nibbled on his earlobe,
he almost jumped right out of his skin.
It was seldom that Ami initiated any of their intimate
encounters--- it was usually him doing the seducing and Ami
the seduced... that was fine with him. One of the pleasures
in his life was making her blush, and with almost three
hundred years of knowing each other, he had found it incredibly
stimulating.
And he also knew things like that did not change
overnight. As his hands settled on her waist and softly pushed her
backwards, trying to get a glimpse of her face to try and
understand what she was doing, Ami's grip on his shoulders
tightened.
"Don't. Please, just this once, let me...".
He battled with himself, debating whether to let her
continue or not. He knew his fare share of human psychology, and
he *knew* this was not normal--- if only she would stop
trailing kisses across his jaw and her fingers stop playing
with his ponytail he could think straight and tell her...
what?
When her lips founds his and they fused in one of the most
passionate kisses they had ever shared, all thoughts of
stopping her flew out the window.
He held her tight against him, and he felt something give
within her in the way her body relaxed against his own and
she all but wrapped herself around him.
He never knew how they made it to the bed, but somehow
they did.
**************************
Ami woke up with a start, cold sweat covering her
forehead. For a brief instant, panic flooded through her, one
thought in her mind.
{It's too late!}
But then, she took in the semi-darkness outside, the first
indications of the world barely waking up... and the fact
that she wasn't in the planet Mercury but on Earth, inside
Zoisite's arms...
Trying to calm her frantic breathing, she looked up to
find Zoisite sleeping peacefully, seemingly undisturbed by her
sudden motion.
His beautiful gray-green eyes were still closed and his
chest moved up and
down, lulling her like a baby. His hair was still tied in
his custom ponytail and she fought the urge to run her
fingers through it. That would surely wake him up, and for what
she needed to do, she needed him asleep.
Squirming out of his hold carefully, she never took her
eyes off of him, drinking in his features.
So handsome, so very handsome... and all hers. She had
been blessed with the most wonderful husband she could've ever
dreamed of, and she loved him and he loved her
unconditionally. She should've known it would never work.
At least not forever.
She had been so tempted to tell him the truth last night.
Inside his arms, snuggled against his chest, she had all
but blurted it out to him, all this ludicrous plan of hers---
but she knew better. In the end, levelheaded, logical Ami
took control and pushed the desperate, irrational Ami back.
If she told him, he would try to stop her.
If she told him, he would probably attempt this himself.
And she was *not* endangering him (any of them, for that
matter) because she was too afraid to do what she knew she had
to do.
When she had walked across the shattered mirror that
fateful night she had sealed her own destiny by becoming the one
and only person who could stop the Feasting from occurring.
She alone knew how to stop it, and she alone would do it.
Leaning forwards, she kissed Zoisite's lips, breathing the
same air for a brief second.
"I love you, Zoi-chan".
Turning away from him was the hardest thing she had ever
done. But it needed to be done. So she did.
Her slender legs came out from under the sheets and
allowed her to stand up. She stretched a couple of times, letting
her sore muscles relax and start working altogether.
Looking back one last time, she crossed the door and left, trying
not to think on her sleeping husband.
Her nudity was not something she was ashamed of. Besides,
privacy was something ensured in Crystal Tokyo. Still, when
she was outside the room, she changed into some clothes;
the first ones she laid her fingers on. She didn't care what
she was going to wear; it was just a precaution in case her
transformation reversed.
Taking a few precious moments to herself, she sat down at
a desk and wrote a letter to her husband. A long letter
where she explained her findings, told him the place where to
find the manuscripts and of the shattered mirror where she
had seen herself.
Of the daughter they would never have, of the Feasting and
of the truth behind the telling of the Ginzuishou legend.
But most of all, she told him he loved him.
With all her heart, with all her soul, she loved him---
and that was why she was doing this. Because she could not
let him die, not if there was every anything she could do
about it.
As she put the pen down, her hand trembling and staining
the bottom of the paper with ink, she took off her wedding
ring and set it down next to the letter. And then she
realized she had forgone the most common means of communication
of the Neo Silver Millennium (recording crystals), but she
was repulsed by the idea of touching a crystal at all, much
less record her message to Zoisite in one.
She would not let their love be corrupted by what she was
about to do, and as her wedding ring winked at her from the
table, she realized it stood for so much more than their
love--- it stood for their trust in each other, for their
link that went beyond life and death and had survived a Dark
Kingdom (twice) and an eternity of shadows.
She stood up, pushing the chair back against the desk. No
point in leaving a mess...
As she held her transformation pen in her hand, it felt
incredibly heavy... Staring deep into the diaphanous jewel
atop of the henshin pen, she noticed for the first time how
the insignia was crowned with snow-white little wings.
"Mercury Crystal Power... Make-up!".
As the familiar tendrils of magic wrapped themselves
around her, a wave of hope flooded her. All the power she had
should be enough. It had to be enough.
Absently smoothing out non-existing wrinkles in her fuku,
she took one last look around. This was her home. It had
been for ages now. This house had become a part of her. Of
her and Zoisite's life. Now, she would never see it again.
And it hurt more than she thought it would.
{Enough!. You have a duty to fulfill. Stop brooding, and
get moving!}.
She gritted her teeth and ran out of the house, tears
running down her cheeks. So early in the morning, few peasants
witnessed such a weird picture: a crying Senshi, running as
if Hell was high on her heels, straight towards the Palace.
As she ran, her boots click-clacking on the pavement, her
plan circled across her mind countless times as an endless
mantra. She had come up with in after reading the Book of
Truth that lay deep inside the Planet Mercury. It had been
waiting for her behind the door-turned-mirror-turned door,
and it had opened just on the page she needed as soon as her
fingers had first touched the impossibly soft cover.
She had seen it once before, she had even read it once
before--- or would read it once more. Or had she read it
already, considering that alternate future did not exist
anymore? Then, maybe she had never read it in the first place...
Thinking about time always gave her a headache. She never
knew how Setsuna managed...
The Book of Truth answered one question and one question
alone. And she had known what she wanted to ask ever since
she had first come across the Feasting scrolls. It had taken
its time in answering her, as if the Book was considering
her as a worthy recipient of its immense knowledge.
Just she had been about to turn on her heels and leave,
the pages had turned on their own accord, and it had all been
there for her eyes to see.
'You must find the Crystal when Serenity is sleeping ...
that is the time when their guards are low. You must
remember, the Crystal and Serenity are symbiotic beings. They are
one entity. As such, you will never accomplish anything
unless you yourself become attuned with the Crystal. And for
that to actually happen, they both must be dormant'.
That was a simple thing to do. Being Queen hadn't altered
Usagi's sleeping hours much--- there were no Royal
appearances until late morning. The fact that she now shared a bed
with Mamoru was a distraction too. It wasn't hard to see
them flushed and wanting when their presence was requested
earlier than usual.
The next part was much harder, though.
'Once you are in possession of the Crystal, you must focus
on your power.
Try to make it explode: you need to awaken the Crystal's
hunger before it is due. Once the thirst is awakened, nothing
will satisfy it, nothing short of draining whomever is
holding it dry'.
She was scared. Oh yes she was. She knew it would hurt. A
lot. And pain was something she didn't deal very well
with--- that's why she had become a doctor in the first place.
To alleviate other people's pain.
'Once the Feasting begins, the Ginzuishou will turn to its
closest source of energy. You. That is the only way of
saving Serenity, Ami, and you know it. By sacrificing your own
life'.
The fact that the Book had addressed her by her first name
hadn't surprised her as much as it should've. Maybe she
was becoming jaded, but she was used to impossibly powerful
ancient artifacts having a trick of two up their sleeves.
Then again, the Book didn't have sleeves, but she could've
sworn she had heard it sigh when the words had appeared on
the otherwise pristine pages.
Maybe even impossibly powerful ancient artifacts had
feelings...
As she all but flew by the guards, she acknowledged their
bow with a nod of her own. When questioned later, the
Palace Guard would remember seeing tears on her face.
Ami ran, knowing the Royal Family hadn't awakened yet. But
she only had about fifteen minutes before Serenity would
open her eyes, and the Crystal would be again linked with her
soul. And that way, it would only follow her orders.
Through the corridors and hallways, her stealthy running
lead her to the Sacred Room where the Crystal was kept. Only
The Moon Maidens could enter that room, the lock
recognizing DNA structure; but she was the master of hackers: and
she herself had designed the locks--- of what use is a
creator if she can't dominate its creation? She could easily
overpass the security system.
When she reached the door, she stopped dead in her tracks.
Her mind kept telling her to stop, to turn around, to go
away... but she
silenced it by taking out her mini computer. Throughout the
centuries, she had modernized it several times, and now it
was barely the small scanning device Luna had given her all
those years ago.
When she opened it, it immediately beeped, telling her
someone was near. Looking at the screen, she saw as a pink dot
was moving towards where she was. And a pink dot meant
Small Lady was near. So, she had less than five minutes to do
what she had to do, before Chibi-usa discovered her.
Quickly, she pressed some keys on her keyboard, and made
some mental calculations... when she was sure everything was
correct, she looked around one more time, and pressed the
'enter' button. A click echoed in the empty hallway, and the
door opened. She entered, and carefully closed it behind
her.
Once inside, she turned her eyes towards the Ginzuishou.
It was there, shinning in all its glory. For a second, Ami
considered the fact that she could be mistaken--- nothing
so beautiful and splendid could be evil... but then she
remembered her brief glimpse into what could be, and her
resolve strengthened.
{I won't let it happen again. I won't}.
She walked up to the pedestal where the crystal sat, calm
and unaware of its surroundings.
Nothing protected the Crystal from her now. In the
centuries that had passed since Chibi-Usa had first met them, back
in the XXth century, Usagi had developed a much deeper
connection with the Ginzuishou than her prior (or future,
thinking about things such as time paradoxes was demanding even
to her agile mind) self as Neo Queen Serenity ever had.
Hence, there were no locks or alarms around the crystal, as it
was quite capable of defending itself.
And because of the fact they had realized it simply did
not work with Evil. Its power could only be harnessed by
Usagi herself--- which worked all the better for her. She did
not want to tap into its power; she merely wanted to awaken
the sentient-like entity that seemed to reside within the
crystal itself.
To awaken the Feasting, and prevent hell from reaching
this Earth she loved so much.
She held her breath, unwillingly feeling the fear of the
unknown grabbing hold of her. Gathering her wits, she leaned
forward and captured the Ginzuishou with her hands.
She had expected pain, or even warmth... there was
nothing.
The crystal fit perfectly within her hands and it nestled
there quite comfortably, as if it was still hovering
aimlessly above the plinth it had previously occupied.
As she looked at the seemingly harmless jewel in her
palms, she realized the deeper she looked, the more she saw. It
was like catching glimpses and flashes of different
movies--- like zapping through channels at an amazing speed,
you're unable to *see* anything in particular but you know
there's something there.
She squinted, trying to get a better look.
The images within the crystal's layers simply whirled
faster, and she felt dizzy. Just as she snapped out of her
trance, the doorknob jingled. She almost dropped the Ginzuishou
as she jumped, but the lock held.
Who was it? No one should be there this time of the
morning! The Crystal hadn't hummed, which meant Usagi was still
asleep.... the faint voice on the other side of the door was
familiar, and she didn't have a hard time identifying it:
Chibi-Usa.
If she entered the room, the Silver Crystal would activate
in the presence of the Moon bloodline... and all her work
would be wasted. They would think nothing of her presence in
the Sacred Chamber, but she doubted she would ever go this
far again. Once given the time to seriously consider what
she was about to do, she would probably panic and bolt and
she couldn't afford that.
She couldn't let it happen.
Calling on her power, she froze the lock. The crystal in
her hand glittered in response to the call of the magic of
the ley lines, but other than that showed no response to
her.
As Chibi-Usa rattled the doorknob one more time, Ami
realized her time had been considerably shortened. It was now or
never...
She breathed deeply and closed her eyes. Through the
closed door, she could hear some pushing against the magically
reinforced doorway, followed by a sharp, familiar voice.
Small Lady, and someone else--- it sounded like Rei... she
stopped listening to outside noises, and focused on herself.
Going into her inner core, she gathered her power.
At first, it was just a small aura around her. She reached
deep into her, and called onto Mercury. Flashes began
dancing in front of her closed eyes, yet she *knew* it wasn't
enough.
More.
More.
She needed more.
She went into her mind, and begged for more. She begged
for her home planet to give her strength and power. The
smallest planet in the Galaxy maybe the little one, but not for
nothing it received the energy of the Sun. It was a living
battery. And when its Princess asked for power, it obeyed
immediately.
Her aura was beginning to expand. It began dancing around
her in a complicated waltz of power--- yet she knew nothing
of it. All she could think about was---
{It still isn't enough. I'm too weak to do this}.
What if she couldn't do it? What if all of this was a
play, designed to make a fool out of her? She felt herself
recoiling from the dancing blue spots behind her eyelids,
unsure of what lay behind them. As a scientist, she disliked
unwanted scenarios--- science was about control and
explanations and answers... magic had never entered any of those
fields.
This was as far as she had ever gone: what lay beyond her
own boundaries was something she had never tapped into
before. Was she ready to do it? Was she ready to lay her
concerns aside, and face what she was destined to be?
She wasn't, and she knew it--- but then again, she didn't
really have much of a choice. Either she did this now, or
she never would. But she couldn't... for the life of her,
she couldn't!
{I'm weak}
The thought sprang forth with such force her eyes flew
open on their own accord. And a sudden realization dawned onto
her. She wasn't weak. She was just afraid. She was
terrified of the consequences of releasing her true power. She had
always relayed on her mind, leaving her strength aside---
she had handicapped herself as she chose the brains over the
brawn.
A true warrior was neither.
A true warrior was both.
She needed completion. Completion she had never achieved
before. Completion which she had denied herself. And now,
she needed it. A door within her blasted open as Ami
destroyed the barricades she had unknowingly built around herself.
Her eyes fell closed again and her head tilted backwards,
and she let herself pour into the Crystal in her hands.
Her aura now filled the room, dancing around her in
complicated patterns that she couldn't even begin to understand.
The air inside was cold, even freezing, but she felt none
of it. She could faintly hear screams that were coming from
outside: maybe it was the Senshi or the guards. She didn't
really care right now.
She had to stay focused. She knew she couldn't let her
control slip. If she did, her power would go loose, and
release itself in one huge explosion, which would probably
destroy the Palace.
Her body felt numb, her fingers going cold to the point of
hypothermia. So big was the amount of energy she had inside
her, her body was having a hard time dealing with it. And
still, the Ginzuishou remained limp inside her cupped hands
as if silently laughing at her pathetic attempts at
matching the power Usagi wielded.
Tears came into her eyes and she felt powerless.
She had done everything she could think of. Doubt clouded
her mind again.
She *was* the weak Senshi then--- she wasn't strong enough
to awaken the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou's hunger... the jewel
would never even feel her call... she was too weak... she
was never the fighter type, and she never had a chance of
going through with this!
Why had she ever thought on doing this? It was crazy.
There was no way she could make the Crystal feed of her... she
was just the first course. That's why
Usagi was the chosen one to be eaten.
{Usagi}
She began crying, tears sliding down her cheeks. Why? Why
couldn't she save her friend?
She was too weak.
Too weak.
Too weak to even save her best friend.
'You're as strong as you want to be'.
Her eyes snapped open, hoping against hope. Zoisite. That
was Zoisite's voice!
Through a haze of thundering bolts of power going off
around her, she was able to make out his beloved form, standing
outside the now open doors. How on Earth had he gotten
there, Ami did not know...
'I love you'
She mouthed the words at him, her throat too closed up to
actually speak them. She saw him nodding slowly, the
saddest of smiles gracing his lips.
'I love you too'
He knew. He *knew*. She could see it him his eyes, could
see it in the way his fingers gripped the door frame and
longed to be with her, within the maelstrom of power she had
summoned... but he also understood why he could not.
He had found her letter.
He knew what she was going to do.
And even if he didn't like it, he supported her... no
matter what, Zoi stood by her.
He loved her.
And she loved him.
And then, she knew what she had to do. For the first time
in her life, she understood where real power came from. She
knew why Usagi was so strong. Usagi got her power from her
love to everyone. From her love to Mamoru. Love was the
source of all power, and now only did she fully understand it.
She had always gotten her power from her mind. She never
used the love she had for her friends, for her family, for
her husband. And now, thanks to Zoisite, she was able to
understand.
Her eyes searched his through the crowd that had gathered
outside the door. As she found them, she smiled sadly, her
lips twisting into a grimace as pain began filling her, the
first signs of the Ginzuishou acknowledging her presence.
"Thank you".
She closed her eyes again, and reached into her heart. Her
heart, the one which held the love for everyone: the same
heart she had once feared would remain alone forever, a
broken promise of the past keeping it in shards.
Not anymore.
Rei, Mako, Mina, Haruka
MichiruSetsunaHotaruMamoruChibi-usaUsagi...
Zoi...
With that last thought, she threw her head back and poured
her energy into the shimmering Crystal in her hands. She
felt it in the edge of her senses, a presence they had only
thought a dream before--- clearly female, it seemed to
awaken from a long dormancy and she could almost see a pair of
blue eyes looking down on her, blinking sleepily. The
Ginzuishou was starting to feel her. It was starting to sense her
power. And it liked it. As one sips a good wine, tasting,
deciding whether to drink it all or not---
And then, it happened. When her life force reached her
halo, a loud explosion reverberated across the room and it was
as if the sky itself had broken in half. The windows
shattered and a crack formed on the otherwise pristine crystal
floor, beginning right in between Ami's feet and running
through the corridors and into the innards of the Palace as if
searching for something.
Ami felt as the Ginzuishou awakened completely.
She could feel it pulsing stronger and stronger until it
rose off her palms and hovered a few inches above her
fingers. She felt as the Crystal pulsed in synch with her
heartbeat, one, two, three times---
{Now!}
Whether in response to her silent command or simply
because it had decided it was time, the Crystal shone with a
light so bright Ami feared it would sing her pupils and a
sizzling pain filled her body as the Feasting began.
It was then that she opened her mouth and screamed.
Her cry was heard all over the palace, the transparent
crystal walls serving as loudspeakers, increasing the sound.
On their bed, Usagi and Mamoru jolted awake, both feeling
the disturbance.
Mamoru felt as the Earth screamed alongside Ami,
witnessing the horror of the life-drain she was being subjected to.
Usagi felt as the Ginzuishou came to life on its own
volition and how it refused to respond to her commands... for the
first time ever. She tried to reach it through their link,
and she was softly yet steadily pushed away.
She tried again, and as if angered at her insistence,
their connection shut down completely. One look into her
husband's troubled eyes, and they were both on their way to the
Sacred Chamber, a black shadow crawling upon their hearts.
The tried to enter, to help her, but a hand stopped them
all. It was Zoisite, who sadly shook his head.
"Don't".
"Zoisite, don't you see? She's dying in there!", Makoto
all but snarled at him. He nodded sadly, his eyes never
leaving Ami's floating form. "I know".
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's get in there!".
Again, Zoisite pushed her back.
"No. Look".
He grabbed a small flower vase that stood by his side, and
without saying anything, threw it inside the room. As if
Time itself had stopped, the vase flew to a halt. For a split
second, nothing happened--- and then it was as if a white
sea had been pelted into it. Alabaster spread through the
surface like a tide before it exploded with a deafening
crash.
The pieces slid through the floor like marbles and one of
them came to a stop right at Rei's feet. She picked it up
and squeaked as her fingers came into contact with the ivory
fragment. It fell from her hands and shattered upon
landing, a million and one glittering shards lighting up the
corridor... it was as if someone had spread star dust over it.
"It's freezing".
"She's expanded her power. That room is a freezer right
now. She-- she saved you, Serenity".
Usagi turned her troubled eyes to the General, trying to
find in his face an explanation that wasn't there. "She
saved me? From what?".
"I can't explain it now. Later".
No one questioned him. They trusted him enough to wait.
Zoisite's eyes turned back to Ami (Mercury, a voice said
in the back of his mind. She *is* transformed, after all),
who still floated a few inches above the floor. Her body was
glowing with a light that wasn't its own and in her hands,
the Ginzuishou shone brighter than ever.
He watched with a heavy heart as Ami's aura decreased and
seemed to fold in upon itself with every passing second.
How he wanted to get in there and cradle his wife in his
arms, but he knew he would be frozen to death the second he
steeped into the room.
He had to wait and it was killing him.
Self-preservation be damned, if he didn't carry such
precious information within him that he was required to share
with the rest of the Senshi, he would've jumped inside a long
time ago.
Ami's mouth was twisted in pain, and her chest was moving
up and down in quick a series of movements as she tried to
breathe, trying to make her suffering more bearable. Her
whole body was shaking as her energy left her.
As her *life* left her.
Zoisite watched in utter helplessness.
The aura which minutes ago had filled the room was now
returning to normal. It now surrounded her body closer, as a
mother does a child. There was a familiar feel to the hum of
magic around them, and Zoisite realized they were all
feeling Ami's life force being poured *out* of her. As little by
little the nimbus around his wife diminished, the
Ginzuishou glowed brighter and brighter as it fed. And then, with
another explosion, everything was quiet.
They were all surprised to see how suddenly it had ended.
There was no sound but their breathing. It was strange,
almost anticlimactic---
Inside, Ami was laying on the floor, clearly unconscious.
And the Ginzuishou floated above her, glowing faintly,
seemingly dormant. Not a heartbeat had gone by and Zoisite was
already by Ami's side, kneeling by his wife, calling her
name.
The expression in his face was one the Senshi had never
seen. And it hurt to look at him--- it was the type of
despair that beckons you in and then swallows you whole, and this
all just by looking at it. They could only imagine what he
was going through.
As his hand reached out to feel the pulse on her neck, no
one noticed the faint outline of a beautiful, green haired
woman standing behind them, her otherwise cold eyes full of
tears.
"She's alive". There was a general sigh of relief but the
anonymous woman shook her head sadly before disappearing
into nothingness. There were still so many things they didn't
understand...
As if in cue with her disappearance, Ami's fuku rippled
and changed, dissolving into her every day street clothing.
The Senshi paled, and as Usagi's hand flew to cover her
mouth, it did not stop the terrified whisper that left her
lips:
"Her power--it's gone".
Zoisite nodded, clutching Ami's limp body to his chest. He
dared not to look at the Senshi as he spoke, but the
quivering of his voice let them know everything his stance did
not.
"She--she gave her power to the Ginzuishou".
At the mention of the crystal, Usagi turned to look at
her, stretching her hand and commanding it to return to its
sleeping place. When it did not answer, she frowned, and as
her fingers clasped around the flower shaped gem, a faint
moan echoed around them and Ami shivered.
"Don't touch it. It hurts her when you do it".
Zoisite looked at her pleadingly, and as he did so, Usagi
noticed for the first time the faint string that connected
the Crystal to Ami. It began right in the center of the
Ginzuishou, and flowed across time and space into Ami's heart.
As she released it, Ami seemed to relax in Zoisite's arms
and the Crystal hovered towards her, floating atop her
heart with ease.
"Angel. Why did you do it? You know *I* would've done it.
But you didn't give me a chance...".
His voice was barely a whisper, and the Senshi could not
bear the suffering it conveyed. They looked away, feeling so
awkwardly out of place... For a few more seconds, Zoisite
kept on soothing the unconscious woman in his arms. He then
picked her up, and motioned for the others to follow.
"Let's take her to bed. She surely needs to rest".
Everyone nodded, and didn't ask a thing, knowing that the
moment wasn't right. Zoisite led the way, knowing the
palace by heart. He was hugging Ami tight, as if trying to
protect her from that invisible link that was slowly drawing her
life away.
It did nothing to help. No matter how fast he moved, the
Ginzuishou was always a step ahead of him, always hovering
atop of Ami's prone form, almost mocking in its silence.
As they approached the South Wing of the palace, the
sinking feeling of dread began taking hold of all of them. Ami
was never sick. Ami never fell ill. Ami was a doctor.
Something didn't add up right in there.
Soon, magnificent doors opened and led them to a beautiful
room. The sun shone through the open window and the
curtains flowed sensuously in a dance only they understood. Yet,
there was something infinitely sad about the chamber---
hopeless, they felt hopeless.
Minako shivered unconsciously, as she realized what it
reminded her of.
A hospital room.
Trying so hard to appear cheery, happy and hopeful--- even
when the patient lying there would never leave it alive. A
facade, a lie, prepared to keep up the moral of grieving
relatives. She had never expected to find herself in this
place. Otherwise, the room would've been a wonder, a pleasure
to stay in--- right now, she couldn't stop the cold sweat
which ran down her back.
As Zoisite laid Ami on the bed carefully, she moaned in
pain, and the sound echoed loudly in the empty room. And it
brought tears to their eyes, as they realized she might not
make it.
"She--- she sacrificed her life for us".
When they tried to ask him what was going on, what was all
this about, Zoisite's hand placated them.
"Let me finish. She came to me heartbroken and desperate
last night and I knew something was wrong. I didn't push her
and I curse myself for that now. When I woke today, I found
a letter she had left me... where she explained
everything".
Zoisite sat in the bed, holding Ami's hand and caressing
the space between her index and thumb at a slow pace, just
the way she liked. He just hoped that wherever she was, she
could feel him...
"She had found a prophecy. A prophecy which foretold the
death of life. Not destruction, but total annihilation. And
she couldn't let it end like that. So, she made her choice.
And that's why she's here now".
There were so many questions that they needed to ask, so
many things that didn't make sense... but before any of the
Senshi could ask anything, Usagi had moved forward and was
kneeling by the bed, her gossamer Queen wings accommodating
in such a way that they did not brush the floor.
"Please, Gods, no....".
She closed her eyes, and the crescent moon in her forehead
shone for a brief second as she called for her heritage:
the Ginzuishou glowed once, twice, three times and then
settled back into dormancy, hovering above Ami's heart.
A general shriek exploded in the room as the others
understood what Usagi had feared.
"I--I can't control the Crystal".
As she slowly turned around, facing her longtime friends,
she saw mirrored in their eyes the same horror that lay in
hers.
Fear. Fear for the unknown.
The Silver Crystal had always been hers to control. Hers
to command. Now, that was no more.
"It's OK, Serenity. It will return to you when it's done".
"Done? You make it sound as if it's eating or
something---".
Minako had never been the brightest of the Senshi. Yet, as
years went by, she had learnt a lot. She had developed a
certain ability to *feel*, instead of the one Ami had, to
know. And somehow, she had just opened the biggest can of
worms to ever land on the Senshis' lap.
"*Eating* is a very good way of explaining it, Minako".
***************
TBC...
I don't think I need to explain who that mysterious woman
was, right?
Tell me what you thought of it, and we've only got one more chapter to go.
by Lilian
lilian413@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: SM and all related characters do not belong to
me. Naoko Takeuchi owns them, and other assorted companies
I know nothing about.
******************
Zoisite was sitting in the living room, a forgotten poetry
book on his lap. Although he had had every intention of
finishing this latest acquisition of XVIIth century work, his
mind was somewhere else--- thousands of miles away,
actually, trying to reach his wife on a distant planet.
He knew she was hurting.
And he also knew what was wrong-- at least he thought he
knew.
He had been there when Rei had broken the news to
everyone; the wide smile Jadeite hadn't been able to hide
throughout the entire afternoon hindering some of the surprise. But
still, the great news had made the girls explode in glee as
they faced the prospect of aunt-hood again.
He hadn't meant to look at Ami that directly. He had just
been contemplating the overjoyed group of women shriek and
laugh as they all clasped Rei's hands and gave her various
recommendations on what to do and what not to do when the
cravings came, as if forgetting Rei herself had been through
two other pregnancies before.
He, on the other hand, had been on the other group,
congratulating the goofy-grinning Jedite. He had just given
Jedite a hard slap on the back and Nephrite was making some
comment or other when something in his heart had stirred. He
had looked up and he had watched as Ami took a few steps
backwards, away from the giggling circle of women.
He had seen the way her beautiful eyes had clouded in
despair, had seen the unconscious holding of her own belly,
still perfect and flat.
And he had understood.
Before he could gather her up in his arms and kiss her
worries away, Ami had bolted from the room and he had been
drawn into another group hug. By the time he was able to
weasel his way out of it, Ami had been long gone.
He had gotten home only to find a recorded message of his
wife where she all too happily proclaimed she was going
back to Mercury for a few days, that she needed to work on
some new developments for Phobos' and Deimos' terraforming
plans, and that she'd be back in a few days.
Any and all attempts at contacting her were graciously
declined and when he had finally managed to talk to her (just
last afternoon), the shadow of grief had already fled from
her eyes and Zoisite was hesitant to ask her about it.
Even if they shared a love matched by few others, he also
knew when Ami did not want to talk. And this issue was one
that had brought the few fights they had ever had to
endure.
He sighed. He had married the most intelligent woman in
the world, and his own mind wasn't too shabby either--- and
still, sometimes they were like mules in their stubbornness.
He snickered at the thought. If people knew how logic flew
out the window whenever they were together, they wouldn't
have let Usagi name them Joint Education Ministers...
He knew she was there before he saw her. A sudden change
in the air around him and he looked up at the door. It was
slightly ajar and Ami was leaning against the frame in
silence, in a posture so--- heartbreaking, Zoisite felt like
reaching out to her and hugging her for dear life.
The haunted look in her eyes stopped him.
Instead, he put the book aside and rose slowly. There was
a tautness to her stance that hadn't been there before and
for a brief second, he was reminded of when he had first
met her, back in the Silver Millennium--- by a fountain she
had stood, the same frightened look in her eyes.
"I missed you, my sweet angel".
His words hung between them for the space of three
heartbeats before she answered.
"Me too".
Without giving him time to react, she bolted forwards and
snuggled deep within his embrace. As his arms came around
her and his chin rested on the top of her head, he felt the
quivering of her body as desperate sobs rocked her.
"Hold me tight, Zoi-chan", she muttered in between two
sobs and a tear, and Zoisite could do nothing but comply. He
whispered silly nonsense to her, inarticulate words in seven
different languages, but all meaning the same thing:
"I'm here, love. I'm here".
They stood there for hours to no end, communicating
without words. And he dared not press her to tell him what was
wrong--- every time he as much as approached the subject, her
face would contort in a grimace that struck such a deep
chord within him that he felt as if it was him the one
suffering.
So he simply held her, and she was thankful for that.
He didn't know how long it had been until she softly
looked up to him, eyes rimmed with red and yet still managing to
take his breath away.
"Thank you".
He nodded and brushed a stray tear making its way down her
cheek. "Will you tell me what's wrong?", he asked her,
hearing her heart beating against his chest as if it was his
own.
She shook her head once, her long blue-black bangs
covering her eyes for a split second. "I cannot. It is not my
secret to give away".
And that was all she was saying about it, and he knew it.
That didn't mean he had to like it any better...
"Ami...", his voice took a pleading tone as he tried to
coerce her into telling him. Whenever he whined at her, her
resolve would melt--- this time, her beautiful pupils
hardened to the point of steel and she shook her head, harder
this time.
"Don't make me lie to you, Zoi, please".
As he fought for something to say, she snuggled back into
his chest and her hands encircled his waist once more,
ending the conversation. In a reflex born out of two lifetimes
together, his own arms hugged her tight again, but he felt
her fleeting heartbeat thundering across the room.
"I won't Ami, not if you ask me to. But it kills me to see
you like this".
She remained quiet after he spoke, as if pondering the
right thing to say. In the end, it was after a particularly
deep breath that she found her voice: "Give me until
tomorrow, Zoi. Everything will become clear tomorrow".
That eased his worry some. At least, they had reached a
compromise--- quite a rarity for two stubborn minds as
theirs.
"Till tomorrow it is, then".
They lapsed into another long silence after that.
When she stood on her tiptoes and nibbled on his earlobe,
he almost jumped right out of his skin.
It was seldom that Ami initiated any of their intimate
encounters--- it was usually him doing the seducing and Ami
the seduced... that was fine with him. One of the pleasures
in his life was making her blush, and with almost three
hundred years of knowing each other, he had found it incredibly
stimulating.
And he also knew things like that did not change
overnight. As his hands settled on her waist and softly pushed her
backwards, trying to get a glimpse of her face to try and
understand what she was doing, Ami's grip on his shoulders
tightened.
"Don't. Please, just this once, let me...".
He battled with himself, debating whether to let her
continue or not. He knew his fare share of human psychology, and
he *knew* this was not normal--- if only she would stop
trailing kisses across his jaw and her fingers stop playing
with his ponytail he could think straight and tell her...
what?
When her lips founds his and they fused in one of the most
passionate kisses they had ever shared, all thoughts of
stopping her flew out the window.
He held her tight against him, and he felt something give
within her in the way her body relaxed against his own and
she all but wrapped herself around him.
He never knew how they made it to the bed, but somehow
they did.
**************************
Ami woke up with a start, cold sweat covering her
forehead. For a brief instant, panic flooded through her, one
thought in her mind.
{It's too late!}
But then, she took in the semi-darkness outside, the first
indications of the world barely waking up... and the fact
that she wasn't in the planet Mercury but on Earth, inside
Zoisite's arms...
Trying to calm her frantic breathing, she looked up to
find Zoisite sleeping peacefully, seemingly undisturbed by her
sudden motion.
His beautiful gray-green eyes were still closed and his
chest moved up and
down, lulling her like a baby. His hair was still tied in
his custom ponytail and she fought the urge to run her
fingers through it. That would surely wake him up, and for what
she needed to do, she needed him asleep.
Squirming out of his hold carefully, she never took her
eyes off of him, drinking in his features.
So handsome, so very handsome... and all hers. She had
been blessed with the most wonderful husband she could've ever
dreamed of, and she loved him and he loved her
unconditionally. She should've known it would never work.
At least not forever.
She had been so tempted to tell him the truth last night.
Inside his arms, snuggled against his chest, she had all
but blurted it out to him, all this ludicrous plan of hers---
but she knew better. In the end, levelheaded, logical Ami
took control and pushed the desperate, irrational Ami back.
If she told him, he would try to stop her.
If she told him, he would probably attempt this himself.
And she was *not* endangering him (any of them, for that
matter) because she was too afraid to do what she knew she had
to do.
When she had walked across the shattered mirror that
fateful night she had sealed her own destiny by becoming the one
and only person who could stop the Feasting from occurring.
She alone knew how to stop it, and she alone would do it.
Leaning forwards, she kissed Zoisite's lips, breathing the
same air for a brief second.
"I love you, Zoi-chan".
Turning away from him was the hardest thing she had ever
done. But it needed to be done. So she did.
Her slender legs came out from under the sheets and
allowed her to stand up. She stretched a couple of times, letting
her sore muscles relax and start working altogether.
Looking back one last time, she crossed the door and left, trying
not to think on her sleeping husband.
Her nudity was not something she was ashamed of. Besides,
privacy was something ensured in Crystal Tokyo. Still, when
she was outside the room, she changed into some clothes;
the first ones she laid her fingers on. She didn't care what
she was going to wear; it was just a precaution in case her
transformation reversed.
Taking a few precious moments to herself, she sat down at
a desk and wrote a letter to her husband. A long letter
where she explained her findings, told him the place where to
find the manuscripts and of the shattered mirror where she
had seen herself.
Of the daughter they would never have, of the Feasting and
of the truth behind the telling of the Ginzuishou legend.
But most of all, she told him he loved him.
With all her heart, with all her soul, she loved him---
and that was why she was doing this. Because she could not
let him die, not if there was every anything she could do
about it.
As she put the pen down, her hand trembling and staining
the bottom of the paper with ink, she took off her wedding
ring and set it down next to the letter. And then she
realized she had forgone the most common means of communication
of the Neo Silver Millennium (recording crystals), but she
was repulsed by the idea of touching a crystal at all, much
less record her message to Zoisite in one.
She would not let their love be corrupted by what she was
about to do, and as her wedding ring winked at her from the
table, she realized it stood for so much more than their
love--- it stood for their trust in each other, for their
link that went beyond life and death and had survived a Dark
Kingdom (twice) and an eternity of shadows.
She stood up, pushing the chair back against the desk. No
point in leaving a mess...
As she held her transformation pen in her hand, it felt
incredibly heavy... Staring deep into the diaphanous jewel
atop of the henshin pen, she noticed for the first time how
the insignia was crowned with snow-white little wings.
"Mercury Crystal Power... Make-up!".
As the familiar tendrils of magic wrapped themselves
around her, a wave of hope flooded her. All the power she had
should be enough. It had to be enough.
Absently smoothing out non-existing wrinkles in her fuku,
she took one last look around. This was her home. It had
been for ages now. This house had become a part of her. Of
her and Zoisite's life. Now, she would never see it again.
And it hurt more than she thought it would.
{Enough!. You have a duty to fulfill. Stop brooding, and
get moving!}.
She gritted her teeth and ran out of the house, tears
running down her cheeks. So early in the morning, few peasants
witnessed such a weird picture: a crying Senshi, running as
if Hell was high on her heels, straight towards the Palace.
As she ran, her boots click-clacking on the pavement, her
plan circled across her mind countless times as an endless
mantra. She had come up with in after reading the Book of
Truth that lay deep inside the Planet Mercury. It had been
waiting for her behind the door-turned-mirror-turned door,
and it had opened just on the page she needed as soon as her
fingers had first touched the impossibly soft cover.
She had seen it once before, she had even read it once
before--- or would read it once more. Or had she read it
already, considering that alternate future did not exist
anymore? Then, maybe she had never read it in the first place...
Thinking about time always gave her a headache. She never
knew how Setsuna managed...
The Book of Truth answered one question and one question
alone. And she had known what she wanted to ask ever since
she had first come across the Feasting scrolls. It had taken
its time in answering her, as if the Book was considering
her as a worthy recipient of its immense knowledge.
Just she had been about to turn on her heels and leave,
the pages had turned on their own accord, and it had all been
there for her eyes to see.
'You must find the Crystal when Serenity is sleeping ...
that is the time when their guards are low. You must
remember, the Crystal and Serenity are symbiotic beings. They are
one entity. As such, you will never accomplish anything
unless you yourself become attuned with the Crystal. And for
that to actually happen, they both must be dormant'.
That was a simple thing to do. Being Queen hadn't altered
Usagi's sleeping hours much--- there were no Royal
appearances until late morning. The fact that she now shared a bed
with Mamoru was a distraction too. It wasn't hard to see
them flushed and wanting when their presence was requested
earlier than usual.
The next part was much harder, though.
'Once you are in possession of the Crystal, you must focus
on your power.
Try to make it explode: you need to awaken the Crystal's
hunger before it is due. Once the thirst is awakened, nothing
will satisfy it, nothing short of draining whomever is
holding it dry'.
She was scared. Oh yes she was. She knew it would hurt. A
lot. And pain was something she didn't deal very well
with--- that's why she had become a doctor in the first place.
To alleviate other people's pain.
'Once the Feasting begins, the Ginzuishou will turn to its
closest source of energy. You. That is the only way of
saving Serenity, Ami, and you know it. By sacrificing your own
life'.
The fact that the Book had addressed her by her first name
hadn't surprised her as much as it should've. Maybe she
was becoming jaded, but she was used to impossibly powerful
ancient artifacts having a trick of two up their sleeves.
Then again, the Book didn't have sleeves, but she could've
sworn she had heard it sigh when the words had appeared on
the otherwise pristine pages.
Maybe even impossibly powerful ancient artifacts had
feelings...
As she all but flew by the guards, she acknowledged their
bow with a nod of her own. When questioned later, the
Palace Guard would remember seeing tears on her face.
Ami ran, knowing the Royal Family hadn't awakened yet. But
she only had about fifteen minutes before Serenity would
open her eyes, and the Crystal would be again linked with her
soul. And that way, it would only follow her orders.
Through the corridors and hallways, her stealthy running
lead her to the Sacred Room where the Crystal was kept. Only
The Moon Maidens could enter that room, the lock
recognizing DNA structure; but she was the master of hackers: and
she herself had designed the locks--- of what use is a
creator if she can't dominate its creation? She could easily
overpass the security system.
When she reached the door, she stopped dead in her tracks.
Her mind kept telling her to stop, to turn around, to go
away... but she
silenced it by taking out her mini computer. Throughout the
centuries, she had modernized it several times, and now it
was barely the small scanning device Luna had given her all
those years ago.
When she opened it, it immediately beeped, telling her
someone was near. Looking at the screen, she saw as a pink dot
was moving towards where she was. And a pink dot meant
Small Lady was near. So, she had less than five minutes to do
what she had to do, before Chibi-usa discovered her.
Quickly, she pressed some keys on her keyboard, and made
some mental calculations... when she was sure everything was
correct, she looked around one more time, and pressed the
'enter' button. A click echoed in the empty hallway, and the
door opened. She entered, and carefully closed it behind
her.
Once inside, she turned her eyes towards the Ginzuishou.
It was there, shinning in all its glory. For a second, Ami
considered the fact that she could be mistaken--- nothing
so beautiful and splendid could be evil... but then she
remembered her brief glimpse into what could be, and her
resolve strengthened.
{I won't let it happen again. I won't}.
She walked up to the pedestal where the crystal sat, calm
and unaware of its surroundings.
Nothing protected the Crystal from her now. In the
centuries that had passed since Chibi-Usa had first met them, back
in the XXth century, Usagi had developed a much deeper
connection with the Ginzuishou than her prior (or future,
thinking about things such as time paradoxes was demanding even
to her agile mind) self as Neo Queen Serenity ever had.
Hence, there were no locks or alarms around the crystal, as it
was quite capable of defending itself.
And because of the fact they had realized it simply did
not work with Evil. Its power could only be harnessed by
Usagi herself--- which worked all the better for her. She did
not want to tap into its power; she merely wanted to awaken
the sentient-like entity that seemed to reside within the
crystal itself.
To awaken the Feasting, and prevent hell from reaching
this Earth she loved so much.
She held her breath, unwillingly feeling the fear of the
unknown grabbing hold of her. Gathering her wits, she leaned
forward and captured the Ginzuishou with her hands.
She had expected pain, or even warmth... there was
nothing.
The crystal fit perfectly within her hands and it nestled
there quite comfortably, as if it was still hovering
aimlessly above the plinth it had previously occupied.
As she looked at the seemingly harmless jewel in her
palms, she realized the deeper she looked, the more she saw. It
was like catching glimpses and flashes of different
movies--- like zapping through channels at an amazing speed,
you're unable to *see* anything in particular but you know
there's something there.
She squinted, trying to get a better look.
The images within the crystal's layers simply whirled
faster, and she felt dizzy. Just as she snapped out of her
trance, the doorknob jingled. She almost dropped the Ginzuishou
as she jumped, but the lock held.
Who was it? No one should be there this time of the
morning! The Crystal hadn't hummed, which meant Usagi was still
asleep.... the faint voice on the other side of the door was
familiar, and she didn't have a hard time identifying it:
Chibi-Usa.
If she entered the room, the Silver Crystal would activate
in the presence of the Moon bloodline... and all her work
would be wasted. They would think nothing of her presence in
the Sacred Chamber, but she doubted she would ever go this
far again. Once given the time to seriously consider what
she was about to do, she would probably panic and bolt and
she couldn't afford that.
She couldn't let it happen.
Calling on her power, she froze the lock. The crystal in
her hand glittered in response to the call of the magic of
the ley lines, but other than that showed no response to
her.
As Chibi-Usa rattled the doorknob one more time, Ami
realized her time had been considerably shortened. It was now or
never...
She breathed deeply and closed her eyes. Through the
closed door, she could hear some pushing against the magically
reinforced doorway, followed by a sharp, familiar voice.
Small Lady, and someone else--- it sounded like Rei... she
stopped listening to outside noises, and focused on herself.
Going into her inner core, she gathered her power.
At first, it was just a small aura around her. She reached
deep into her, and called onto Mercury. Flashes began
dancing in front of her closed eyes, yet she *knew* it wasn't
enough.
More.
More.
She needed more.
She went into her mind, and begged for more. She begged
for her home planet to give her strength and power. The
smallest planet in the Galaxy maybe the little one, but not for
nothing it received the energy of the Sun. It was a living
battery. And when its Princess asked for power, it obeyed
immediately.
Her aura was beginning to expand. It began dancing around
her in a complicated waltz of power--- yet she knew nothing
of it. All she could think about was---
{It still isn't enough. I'm too weak to do this}.
What if she couldn't do it? What if all of this was a
play, designed to make a fool out of her? She felt herself
recoiling from the dancing blue spots behind her eyelids,
unsure of what lay behind them. As a scientist, she disliked
unwanted scenarios--- science was about control and
explanations and answers... magic had never entered any of those
fields.
This was as far as she had ever gone: what lay beyond her
own boundaries was something she had never tapped into
before. Was she ready to do it? Was she ready to lay her
concerns aside, and face what she was destined to be?
She wasn't, and she knew it--- but then again, she didn't
really have much of a choice. Either she did this now, or
she never would. But she couldn't... for the life of her,
she couldn't!
{I'm weak}
The thought sprang forth with such force her eyes flew
open on their own accord. And a sudden realization dawned onto
her. She wasn't weak. She was just afraid. She was
terrified of the consequences of releasing her true power. She had
always relayed on her mind, leaving her strength aside---
she had handicapped herself as she chose the brains over the
brawn.
A true warrior was neither.
A true warrior was both.
She needed completion. Completion she had never achieved
before. Completion which she had denied herself. And now,
she needed it. A door within her blasted open as Ami
destroyed the barricades she had unknowingly built around herself.
Her eyes fell closed again and her head tilted backwards,
and she let herself pour into the Crystal in her hands.
Her aura now filled the room, dancing around her in
complicated patterns that she couldn't even begin to understand.
The air inside was cold, even freezing, but she felt none
of it. She could faintly hear screams that were coming from
outside: maybe it was the Senshi or the guards. She didn't
really care right now.
She had to stay focused. She knew she couldn't let her
control slip. If she did, her power would go loose, and
release itself in one huge explosion, which would probably
destroy the Palace.
Her body felt numb, her fingers going cold to the point of
hypothermia. So big was the amount of energy she had inside
her, her body was having a hard time dealing with it. And
still, the Ginzuishou remained limp inside her cupped hands
as if silently laughing at her pathetic attempts at
matching the power Usagi wielded.
Tears came into her eyes and she felt powerless.
She had done everything she could think of. Doubt clouded
her mind again.
She *was* the weak Senshi then--- she wasn't strong enough
to awaken the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou's hunger... the jewel
would never even feel her call... she was too weak... she
was never the fighter type, and she never had a chance of
going through with this!
Why had she ever thought on doing this? It was crazy.
There was no way she could make the Crystal feed of her... she
was just the first course. That's why
Usagi was the chosen one to be eaten.
{Usagi}
She began crying, tears sliding down her cheeks. Why? Why
couldn't she save her friend?
She was too weak.
Too weak.
Too weak to even save her best friend.
'You're as strong as you want to be'.
Her eyes snapped open, hoping against hope. Zoisite. That
was Zoisite's voice!
Through a haze of thundering bolts of power going off
around her, she was able to make out his beloved form, standing
outside the now open doors. How on Earth had he gotten
there, Ami did not know...
'I love you'
She mouthed the words at him, her throat too closed up to
actually speak them. She saw him nodding slowly, the
saddest of smiles gracing his lips.
'I love you too'
He knew. He *knew*. She could see it him his eyes, could
see it in the way his fingers gripped the door frame and
longed to be with her, within the maelstrom of power she had
summoned... but he also understood why he could not.
He had found her letter.
He knew what she was going to do.
And even if he didn't like it, he supported her... no
matter what, Zoi stood by her.
He loved her.
And she loved him.
And then, she knew what she had to do. For the first time
in her life, she understood where real power came from. She
knew why Usagi was so strong. Usagi got her power from her
love to everyone. From her love to Mamoru. Love was the
source of all power, and now only did she fully understand it.
She had always gotten her power from her mind. She never
used the love she had for her friends, for her family, for
her husband. And now, thanks to Zoisite, she was able to
understand.
Her eyes searched his through the crowd that had gathered
outside the door. As she found them, she smiled sadly, her
lips twisting into a grimace as pain began filling her, the
first signs of the Ginzuishou acknowledging her presence.
"Thank you".
She closed her eyes again, and reached into her heart. Her
heart, the one which held the love for everyone: the same
heart she had once feared would remain alone forever, a
broken promise of the past keeping it in shards.
Not anymore.
Rei, Mako, Mina, Haruka
MichiruSetsunaHotaruMamoruChibi-usaUsagi...
Zoi...
With that last thought, she threw her head back and poured
her energy into the shimmering Crystal in her hands. She
felt it in the edge of her senses, a presence they had only
thought a dream before--- clearly female, it seemed to
awaken from a long dormancy and she could almost see a pair of
blue eyes looking down on her, blinking sleepily. The
Ginzuishou was starting to feel her. It was starting to sense her
power. And it liked it. As one sips a good wine, tasting,
deciding whether to drink it all or not---
And then, it happened. When her life force reached her
halo, a loud explosion reverberated across the room and it was
as if the sky itself had broken in half. The windows
shattered and a crack formed on the otherwise pristine crystal
floor, beginning right in between Ami's feet and running
through the corridors and into the innards of the Palace as if
searching for something.
Ami felt as the Ginzuishou awakened completely.
She could feel it pulsing stronger and stronger until it
rose off her palms and hovered a few inches above her
fingers. She felt as the Crystal pulsed in synch with her
heartbeat, one, two, three times---
{Now!}
Whether in response to her silent command or simply
because it had decided it was time, the Crystal shone with a
light so bright Ami feared it would sing her pupils and a
sizzling pain filled her body as the Feasting began.
It was then that she opened her mouth and screamed.
Her cry was heard all over the palace, the transparent
crystal walls serving as loudspeakers, increasing the sound.
On their bed, Usagi and Mamoru jolted awake, both feeling
the disturbance.
Mamoru felt as the Earth screamed alongside Ami,
witnessing the horror of the life-drain she was being subjected to.
Usagi felt as the Ginzuishou came to life on its own
volition and how it refused to respond to her commands... for the
first time ever. She tried to reach it through their link,
and she was softly yet steadily pushed away.
She tried again, and as if angered at her insistence,
their connection shut down completely. One look into her
husband's troubled eyes, and they were both on their way to the
Sacred Chamber, a black shadow crawling upon their hearts.
The tried to enter, to help her, but a hand stopped them
all. It was Zoisite, who sadly shook his head.
"Don't".
"Zoisite, don't you see? She's dying in there!", Makoto
all but snarled at him. He nodded sadly, his eyes never
leaving Ami's floating form. "I know".
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's get in there!".
Again, Zoisite pushed her back.
"No. Look".
He grabbed a small flower vase that stood by his side, and
without saying anything, threw it inside the room. As if
Time itself had stopped, the vase flew to a halt. For a split
second, nothing happened--- and then it was as if a white
sea had been pelted into it. Alabaster spread through the
surface like a tide before it exploded with a deafening
crash.
The pieces slid through the floor like marbles and one of
them came to a stop right at Rei's feet. She picked it up
and squeaked as her fingers came into contact with the ivory
fragment. It fell from her hands and shattered upon
landing, a million and one glittering shards lighting up the
corridor... it was as if someone had spread star dust over it.
"It's freezing".
"She's expanded her power. That room is a freezer right
now. She-- she saved you, Serenity".
Usagi turned her troubled eyes to the General, trying to
find in his face an explanation that wasn't there. "She
saved me? From what?".
"I can't explain it now. Later".
No one questioned him. They trusted him enough to wait.
Zoisite's eyes turned back to Ami (Mercury, a voice said
in the back of his mind. She *is* transformed, after all),
who still floated a few inches above the floor. Her body was
glowing with a light that wasn't its own and in her hands,
the Ginzuishou shone brighter than ever.
He watched with a heavy heart as Ami's aura decreased and
seemed to fold in upon itself with every passing second.
How he wanted to get in there and cradle his wife in his
arms, but he knew he would be frozen to death the second he
steeped into the room.
He had to wait and it was killing him.
Self-preservation be damned, if he didn't carry such
precious information within him that he was required to share
with the rest of the Senshi, he would've jumped inside a long
time ago.
Ami's mouth was twisted in pain, and her chest was moving
up and down in quick a series of movements as she tried to
breathe, trying to make her suffering more bearable. Her
whole body was shaking as her energy left her.
As her *life* left her.
Zoisite watched in utter helplessness.
The aura which minutes ago had filled the room was now
returning to normal. It now surrounded her body closer, as a
mother does a child. There was a familiar feel to the hum of
magic around them, and Zoisite realized they were all
feeling Ami's life force being poured *out* of her. As little by
little the nimbus around his wife diminished, the
Ginzuishou glowed brighter and brighter as it fed. And then, with
another explosion, everything was quiet.
They were all surprised to see how suddenly it had ended.
There was no sound but their breathing. It was strange,
almost anticlimactic---
Inside, Ami was laying on the floor, clearly unconscious.
And the Ginzuishou floated above her, glowing faintly,
seemingly dormant. Not a heartbeat had gone by and Zoisite was
already by Ami's side, kneeling by his wife, calling her
name.
The expression in his face was one the Senshi had never
seen. And it hurt to look at him--- it was the type of
despair that beckons you in and then swallows you whole, and this
all just by looking at it. They could only imagine what he
was going through.
As his hand reached out to feel the pulse on her neck, no
one noticed the faint outline of a beautiful, green haired
woman standing behind them, her otherwise cold eyes full of
tears.
"She's alive". There was a general sigh of relief but the
anonymous woman shook her head sadly before disappearing
into nothingness. There were still so many things they didn't
understand...
As if in cue with her disappearance, Ami's fuku rippled
and changed, dissolving into her every day street clothing.
The Senshi paled, and as Usagi's hand flew to cover her
mouth, it did not stop the terrified whisper that left her
lips:
"Her power--it's gone".
Zoisite nodded, clutching Ami's limp body to his chest. He
dared not to look at the Senshi as he spoke, but the
quivering of his voice let them know everything his stance did
not.
"She--she gave her power to the Ginzuishou".
At the mention of the crystal, Usagi turned to look at
her, stretching her hand and commanding it to return to its
sleeping place. When it did not answer, she frowned, and as
her fingers clasped around the flower shaped gem, a faint
moan echoed around them and Ami shivered.
"Don't touch it. It hurts her when you do it".
Zoisite looked at her pleadingly, and as he did so, Usagi
noticed for the first time the faint string that connected
the Crystal to Ami. It began right in the center of the
Ginzuishou, and flowed across time and space into Ami's heart.
As she released it, Ami seemed to relax in Zoisite's arms
and the Crystal hovered towards her, floating atop her
heart with ease.
"Angel. Why did you do it? You know *I* would've done it.
But you didn't give me a chance...".
His voice was barely a whisper, and the Senshi could not
bear the suffering it conveyed. They looked away, feeling so
awkwardly out of place... For a few more seconds, Zoisite
kept on soothing the unconscious woman in his arms. He then
picked her up, and motioned for the others to follow.
"Let's take her to bed. She surely needs to rest".
Everyone nodded, and didn't ask a thing, knowing that the
moment wasn't right. Zoisite led the way, knowing the
palace by heart. He was hugging Ami tight, as if trying to
protect her from that invisible link that was slowly drawing her
life away.
It did nothing to help. No matter how fast he moved, the
Ginzuishou was always a step ahead of him, always hovering
atop of Ami's prone form, almost mocking in its silence.
As they approached the South Wing of the palace, the
sinking feeling of dread began taking hold of all of them. Ami
was never sick. Ami never fell ill. Ami was a doctor.
Something didn't add up right in there.
Soon, magnificent doors opened and led them to a beautiful
room. The sun shone through the open window and the
curtains flowed sensuously in a dance only they understood. Yet,
there was something infinitely sad about the chamber---
hopeless, they felt hopeless.
Minako shivered unconsciously, as she realized what it
reminded her of.
A hospital room.
Trying so hard to appear cheery, happy and hopeful--- even
when the patient lying there would never leave it alive. A
facade, a lie, prepared to keep up the moral of grieving
relatives. She had never expected to find herself in this
place. Otherwise, the room would've been a wonder, a pleasure
to stay in--- right now, she couldn't stop the cold sweat
which ran down her back.
As Zoisite laid Ami on the bed carefully, she moaned in
pain, and the sound echoed loudly in the empty room. And it
brought tears to their eyes, as they realized she might not
make it.
"She--- she sacrificed her life for us".
When they tried to ask him what was going on, what was all
this about, Zoisite's hand placated them.
"Let me finish. She came to me heartbroken and desperate
last night and I knew something was wrong. I didn't push her
and I curse myself for that now. When I woke today, I found
a letter she had left me... where she explained
everything".
Zoisite sat in the bed, holding Ami's hand and caressing
the space between her index and thumb at a slow pace, just
the way she liked. He just hoped that wherever she was, she
could feel him...
"She had found a prophecy. A prophecy which foretold the
death of life. Not destruction, but total annihilation. And
she couldn't let it end like that. So, she made her choice.
And that's why she's here now".
There were so many questions that they needed to ask, so
many things that didn't make sense... but before any of the
Senshi could ask anything, Usagi had moved forward and was
kneeling by the bed, her gossamer Queen wings accommodating
in such a way that they did not brush the floor.
"Please, Gods, no....".
She closed her eyes, and the crescent moon in her forehead
shone for a brief second as she called for her heritage:
the Ginzuishou glowed once, twice, three times and then
settled back into dormancy, hovering above Ami's heart.
A general shriek exploded in the room as the others
understood what Usagi had feared.
"I--I can't control the Crystal".
As she slowly turned around, facing her longtime friends,
she saw mirrored in their eyes the same horror that lay in
hers.
Fear. Fear for the unknown.
The Silver Crystal had always been hers to control. Hers
to command. Now, that was no more.
"It's OK, Serenity. It will return to you when it's done".
"Done? You make it sound as if it's eating or
something---".
Minako had never been the brightest of the Senshi. Yet, as
years went by, she had learnt a lot. She had developed a
certain ability to *feel*, instead of the one Ami had, to
know. And somehow, she had just opened the biggest can of
worms to ever land on the Senshis' lap.
"*Eating* is a very good way of explaining it, Minako".
***************
TBC...
I don't think I need to explain who that mysterious woman
was, right?
Tell me what you thought of it, and we've only got one more chapter to go.