9. Cold treatment
The morning rounds were conducted at the same time every day. Precisely two hours after morning fast, when Queen Lysanna of Mercury was in the capital, she would walk around with her Chief Physician through the halls of the Aquarian Healer and check up on the patients. They did not always take the same route around the hospital though, this was due to the fact that the Aquarian Healer was the largest of its kind in the solar system and housed several thousands of patients. But despite her heavy schedule the queen never missed out on these rounds where she paid personal interest to the developments of the patients.
While Ami had arrived home for nearly three months ago, today was the first time she was allowed to join the small party that accompanied her mother on her morning rounds. Normally Ami would be knee deep in whatever assignments Helios had given her but today she had been given the morning free. She was sure he had intended for her to use that time to catch up on some sleep, after all it had taken her until early morning before she was finished her report on the Seven Plagues.
The Seven Plagues was the deadliest disease that had ever existed in the Age of Serene. For over ten years seven different plagues ravaged the planets killing over half their population. It was a fascinating subject to study for any physician with historical interest, given time. Yet Ami could not help think it a bit strange that Helios found it so interesting as to waste time on it, considering his hectic schedule. Then again who was she to dig into the mind and reasoning of Helios? The man was an enigma and pretty much a hermit. She doubted that even Selenity knew much about him and she was the one he spent most time with. Besides, Ami had enough of her own problems to deal with.
Ami cast a glance at the woman leading the small group. Queen Lysanna was dressed in a simple blue gown with the Healer cape resting on her slender shoulders. Her face was youthful and the blue eyes sharp and intelligent as they surveyed the patients and the charts. She wore no jewelry aside from a tiny platinum circlet around her forehead, the one she had been given by Ami's father on their wedding day. Ever since her father's death, Ami could not remember many times when she had seen her mother wear her wedding ring, but the circlet seemed to be a constant adornment even when she was dressed for bed.
Ami watched Lysanna confer softly with the physician in charge over the patient's condition and the kind of medication they were treating him with and she felt both admiration and envy for her mother. She wished she had her mother's skill and confidence, even though she was the only female physician there, she held herself so naturally and acted like she belonged. Could she not feel the slight resentment in the air from some of the men? Did she not see the looks they gave her? Was she not able to hear their undermining tone in each question they asked her? Yet Lysanna kept her voice cool and reasoning as she answered all their questions and explained how and why. Secretly Ami wondered if she would ever be able to act with that confidence and assuredness.
Queen Lysanna closed the chart on the last patience, indicating the end of the morning rounds. Ami shook her head mentally and was embarrassed to realize that her mind had gone unfocused for the last ten minutes or so and she had missed out on the consultations. Some of the physicians that had moved along like a group of stiff corpses the whole morning started to liven up and murmur about food and catching up on their studies or patients. Ami herself was preparing to catch her mother before she disappeared off to her duties of ruling a planet. Small as she was it took her awhile to get through the group of male bodies to reach her mother and by the time she did, she managed to hear her mother saying, "Mardus, if you're not too busy I would like you to accompany me to the Intensive Wing."
The young physician's dark brows shot up and disappeared under the short bangs of his hair, but he recovered quickly and said, "Yes, most certainly, your Majesty." He stepped aside and indicated that the queen should lead the way to which she acknowledged with a graceful nod of her head.
Seeing her plans being crushed to dust, Ami did not have any other choice but to follow the pair as they headed over to the Intensive Wing. Not that she minded that much since she had never been to that part of the hospital. The place was a section that was strictly for the Senior Physicians. Only a few physician- apprentices were allowed to accompany their teachers and those were the gifted ones with promises of achieving the Senior Physician title themselves in the future. It was Ami's secret wish that she would one day join them as well. So she held her breath and walked along with the other two, waiting and fearing that one or both would tell her to go away. Mardus did cast her a glance but he did not object when she fell into steps with them. Lysanna did not even do, as much. Ami was unsure her mother was even aware of her presence, then again that was nothing new either. Ever since she got back from the Moon in disgrace, her mother had not acknowledged her presence much at all. Not that they had had much time to spend together, with the funeral of Mako's parents and now the war that had started on Saturn, Lysanna had been spending more times on the other planets than on Mercury.
The Intensive Wing was situated at the very center of the Aquarian Healer. The place was however very quiet and peaceful. Gardens of the Martian kind were built to give off a sense of peace and harmony and it surrounded the Intensive Wing on all sides where tube-like hallways of glasses were connecting it to the rest of the hospital. As the three of them walked down one of these halls Ami could see themselves reflected on the Intensive Wing's walls.
She knew that those walls were made of a special designed glass. The outside worked like a mirror reflecting everything back and yet looking from the inside it was just like any other glass, showing off the wonderful garden and artificially created ponds, and letting through the bright sunlight and starlight from above. The reason she knew so much about this glass was because not only was it one of the best export products Mercury had, but also because Lysanna had been part of the team who had invented it. Actually that was how she had met Ami's father to begin with.
The invention had brought such a sensation that the team had been sent to court to receive awards from the king himself. The moment Ami's father set eyes on the bright ebony haired scientist, he had fallen in love and begun his courtship of her. It had caused quite a sensation at that time since Lysanna was a commoner without any noble lineage at all and having a king marry a common female was just not heard of no matter how famous she was. Fortunately Lysanna had, at that time, made friends with the queens of the inner planets and somehow they had all stepped in and worked out the miracle.
Ami knew all of this by heart having heard it being told by her father hundreds of times and having read romance novels inspired by their love. Normally she did not read such romantic sop, that was Mako's and Mina's department, but this kind lay close to her heart not only because it was connected to her parents but also because of the influence they had to society in general. Her parents' love had inspired so many new stories that became quickly popular among the female commoners (of course highborns would never be caught dead reading those) that the literacy rates increased dramatically. Ami could not imagine a better gift than that. It always pained her to see how commoners were treated, especially the farmers, despite the fact Mercury was supposed to be a well advanced society like where education was provided by the crown to all citizens no matter their status.
Once they entered the Intensive Wing there was a hushed solemnity in the air. It was not exactly like entering a temple, since the former gave you sense of peace and a warm protective feeling, but somehow in that Wing one would automatically lower one's voice. Even the authoritative and often loud-spoken Mardus, lowered his voice without stopping in stride as he filled Lysanna in on status of the place.
".I'm not saying that we should not help out the Saturnians but certainly we should be able to cut down on the number of chief Physicians we send over there. At the moment we are having problems holding classes as well as managing the ordinary upkeep of this place. If you would only allow me to promote more physicians or abolish the rule of having only chiefs around here it would make things a lot easier."
"The physicians stays on Saturn and there will be no changing of the rules." Lysanna told the man in a quiet murmur stopping beside the nearest patient and took up the charts. "The requirements are there for a reason. These people would not be here if their condition were not considered grave enough. For that they will require the necessary skills, skills that can only be provided by the right people. If we bend either rule, in the end it will be the very patients we have sworn to help that will suffer."
From where she was standing Ami could easily see that Mardus was not happy about the queen's answer. Whether it was because he disagreed with her or because he did not like being told no, Ami was not sure. When it came to her mother, Ami was never sure which it was since most of the men she worked with resented having to take orders from a female. The only one Ami had seen being able to pull it off was Selenity but then again she was the ruler of the Moon and that gave her exceptions to a lot of things.
"I think we should cut down on the painkillers on this one. He does not seem to be reacting very well to the medication we give him and I don't want him to develop an addiction. Try using some mixture of Moondrops and Tearwells instead. They have some painkilling effects as well as calming the patient down. I don't think it's just the burns that are affecting him as much the memories of the fire itself. Maybe if his mind is more at rest he would stop tossing so much and finally let his wounds heal."
Lysanna scribbled something on the charts, set it back on its normal place and moved over to the next one. To Ami's surprise she did not automatically take up the chart to read, as she normally would do, instead she studied the patient for a long time and finally said, "What can you tell me of this one, Mardus?"
"She's new. Some hikers found her on their way from Krimsaele." He said the word hikers with a sneer to his tone that referred to daredevils. It was the derogatory terms Mercurians used for those adventurers that preferred to pass the great masses of snow outside on foot and cutting across country instead of using the shuttles that were built on the specific routes.
"She was brought here three days ago, with severe injuries as well as frostbite." Mardus continued his report his blue eyes frowning at the patient. "Jayna and I nearly lost her twice but with the help of Master Helios we were able to keep her on this side of the realm. However she has not woken up once, even during her time with the hikers."
"Any idea who she is or why she was out there in the first place?" Lysanna asked softly while she examined the woman.
Mardus shook his head. "We'd been meaning to ask the hikers a bit more but they disappeared on us. Jayna got the impression that they did not know her either. They told her that they figured since they would pass by here, they would do their duty and bring her along. They were quite prepared to leave her in case she would not make it on their journey."
Lysanna made a low sound as if she had expected it. "Strange colorings, she has." She mused.
Ami studied the woman on the bed and she had to agree with her mother. The woman's hair was very dark but unlike Ami's which tends to show blue highlights or Rei's with purple highlights this woman had dark greenish highlights to her black hair. An absent frown appeared on Ami's face as she tried to remember where she had read about people with black-green hair.
"I wonder if she has any connections to Pluto." Lysanna said absently.
Yes that was it! Some Plutonians were known to be born with this kind of color though it was a rare thing. Most of them were just dark haired like Saturnians, Martians and Mercurians.
"That's impossible! What would a Plutonian have to do here in Mercury?" Mardus demanded in a low hiss. The physician held, like many others, a strong suspicious nature towards the mysterious Plutonians.
"I don't know. Would you care to ask the Seers that the next you meet them?" Lysanna asked dryly.
That of course shut him up. Plutonians were known to be closemouthed about everything, they claimed it would interfere with their Quest. Everybody knew of the secretive Plutonians and their Quest but what it actually was only they themselves knew though Ami suspected strongly that many of them did not know either. Some that she had met seemed to act like they did not even know why they were doing what they were, except that they were told to do so by their Seers. Not that they would admit to it in quite that way if one should ask them, provided anyone dared to ask them that to begin with.
For the next few hours they moved through the dozen of patients that filled the wing. Lysanna and Mardus analyzed the patients and exchanged thoughts and ideas for treatment while Ami mentally took notes of everything they said and did. Especially since she did not know when she would have the opportunity to come back here again.
It was noon by the time they exited the Intensive Wing and announcing the end of the morning round for that day. Knowing that she only had an hour to take her back to the palace and grab a meal before she had to meet her alchemist teacher Ami nonetheless lingered behind to wait for her mother to finish so that they could ride back together.
If Lysanna was surprised by Ami's presence she did not let it show. Like earlier she did not acknowledge Ami's at all, which meant the ride back to the palace was a silent one. Normally Ami was a person who preferred solitude but she had to admit that this silence between her mother and her was not normal and while she did not let it show she was feeling it grate on her nerves. She was not the only one to sense it, she noticed the guards that had escorted them back hurried off to other errands even before their replacements had taken their proper places, not that the new ones felt any more comfortable. Ami felt bad about putting them through this but she knew her mother better than to break the silence first. If Lysanna wanted keep quiet nothing in the world could pry her lips apart and Ami needed her to talk. So she would wait her out. She only hoped it would not be too long.
Her wait ended when they reached Lysanna's private study.
"Don't you have a lesson to get to?" Lysanna asked stopping at the threshold when Ami made to follow her into the study.
The two guards accompanying them positioned themselves outside on either side of the door after having checked the room. Their faces were impassive but Ami knew that they were straining their ears to listen.
"May I have a word with you inside, Mother?" Ami asked carefully.
"Whatever it is Amelia, I'm sure it can wait 'til later. I have a lot of work to catch up on."
She turned to leave but Ami reached out with her hand and halted her. "No, it really can't. Mother, please? It won't take long." She promised.
"We will speak later, Amelia." Lysanna said firmly and with finality in her voice. It was a tone Ami and most of the court recognized. It was the tone of voice the Queen of Mercury used when she had had her last say on a subject. Anybody hearing that tone backed off, even Ami, at least she used to. While it still sent quivers up her back, Ami reminded herself that what she was about to say was too important, for the sake of her friend she had to do it. So stiffening her spine and lifting her chin she followed her mother in and shut the heavy double door behind her.
"No Mother. I think you and I have been postponing this conversation long enough. It is time that we spoke now."
From behind the desk Lysanna stared at her for a very long time, her blue eyes cool and unreadable. "Very well Amelia. What is it that is so important?" She settled down on the deep cushioned chair that was quite simple compared to the rest of the furniture in the room, still looking every inch the queen; a very unapproachable queen.
Gathering her courage, Ami moved forward and further into the room so that she was standing in front of her mother. "Mako." She said simply.
Lysanna acknowledged her reply with a nod. "A fair question considering the circumstances, but no."
"But Mother. It's been over three months now. Surely whatever faults we've made has been punished enough!"
"That is not for me to decide but Queen Selenity. As long as she says you are not to have any contacts with each other that is what it will be." Lysanna told her coldly.
"The senshi might be under the direct order of the queen," Ami waved her hand in the air before she set both of them down on the desk. Leaning forward she said, "but I am not asking as a senshi right now, Mother. I'm asking as a friend. A friend who is very worried about someone who just lost the two most important people in her life. Please mother? Let me go to Jupiter. Mako needs a friend around to help her through this."
Mother's and daughter's eyes met for a long time and for a moment there Ami was actually playing with the thought that her mother would give in. Yet hope flickered and died like candlelight in the middle of a blizzard when her mother shook her head.
"But why?"
"You already know why. Do not waste both yours and my time by asking the obvious, Amelia. Now if there's nothing more, then leave. I have things of importance to attend to here." Lysanna told her coolly and started to shuffle with the stack of papers on top of her desk.
"More important than the wellbeing of your best friend's daughter?"
Hands stilled in midair and her mother's face shot up in reaction to her words. Ami got to see a quick flash of anger before it disappeared but she felt no guilt or shame for her disrespect. It was hard to feel anything over the waves of anger she felt over hearing her mother's cold dismissal and so she barreled on. "I thought you and aunt Magda were close. How can you claim to be a good friend of hers and yet stand by and watch while her only child suffers like this all alone? Have you forgotten how aunt Magda and the others were there for you when father died?"
"Amelia, I'm only going to tell you this once so you had better listen carefully." Lysanna said with a quiet warning tone. "Friendship is important but never mix friendship with duty. Always remember who you are and where your loyalties must lie or one day you might hurt yourself and maybe bring casualties with you. Magda and others could come to me because there was nothing to conflict with their duties as rulers. Had things been otherwise they would have stayed away too and I would have understood just like Mako will understand."
Ami shook her head. "Usagi is not even around for me to protect anymore so how can my going to Jupiter affect my work as a senshi?"
Lysanna laughed but there was no humor held in it. "You think that just because you can call her aunt and she won't demote you from your post if you disobey her? Never forget she is the Queen of the Moon and she will always be a ruler before she is a friend. Even if you risk everything to save her own daughter she might not thank you for it."
"So this isn't about Mako. It's about Usagi." Ami said after a long while of silence and met her mother's eyes steadily. "What were we supposed to have done, left Usagi inside the enemies territories?" The question had been rhetorical and she had not expected her mother to answer, which was why Lysanna's cool reply caught her off guard.
"Serenity made that choice herself so she will have to live with the consequences of her action. Sooner or later you and the other girls will have to realize that and allow her to grow up."
"She was upset!"
"And that gives her the right to stop using her head and just act?" Lysanna arched a brow. "By choosing to run instead staying she not only risked her own life but millions of people with her. What do you think would happen if the Earthlings accidentally killed her before they found out her true identity? Or if they found out about her and used her as a hostage?"
"They signed the Treaty." Ami told her mother stubbornly out of loyalty to her friend more than real conviction of her own.
"And you think that will be enough? Less than fifty years ago the Silver Alliance were at war with Earth. There are still many alive who fought those on those battlegrounds, who remember their fathers, brothers and friends being killed. You think they forgive and forget that easily?"
She continued to list out different scenarios and possibilities with cold inarguable logic. Some of them Ami had to admit had also crossed her mind. There was no arguing with the fact that a lot of people's life would be affected if something happened to her friend. Running away was not the wisest thing to do, but still Ami felt anger build within her when she heard her mother's last comment.
"Usagi is not a selfish spoiled brat." She interrupted coldly. Her blue eyes were flashing with anger and unnoticed by her, her hands were clenched into tight fists at the side. "She wants to find love just like any other girl. I would have thought that you of all people would be able to empathize with her." She said the last in an accusatory tone.
"And what do you mean by that?"
Too wrapped up in defending her often-misunderstood friend, Ami missed the warning glint in her mother's eyes. "You and father were in love too. You fought hard to have each other so why should Usagi settle for less?"
"That was different." Lysanna told her shortly with a tone that clearly said end of discussion. To Ami however it was just another red flag waving in front of her. Suddenly all the frustration and anger she felt for the past few months boiled over and words tumbled from her mouth before she even knew what she was doing.
"It's so easy to point a finger at someone else when he or she make a mistake isn't it? But have any of you ever stopped and thought about how things were for you at that age? You call Usagi selfish and yet you were no better, despite the fact that you were older. Where was all this 'do the right thing, make the right choices and duty to your county and people' when you met father and insisted on marrying him?" Ami demanded softly. "Or have you forgotten that our planet nearly plunged into a civil war like the one waging on Saturn now? You -"
It was a question of debate over who was more surprised at the slap that came. Shock was written over both mother's and daughter's faces as they stared at each other. Silence stretched out with a heaviness that resembled the kind that hung in the air right after a thunderclap.
Lysanna was the one to break the silence first. With a voice that sounded quite hoarse she said slowly while standing and facing her daughter, "I will not have my own daughter talk to me in that tone of voice. This discussion is over. Queen Selenity has given her order and you shall follow it through to the letter. You not only dishonor me but you dishonor your father as well with misbehavior like that. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal clear." Ami told her with a dull voice as she slowly backed away from the desk and her mother. Her visions blurred at the edges as she felt her eyes stinging with unshed tears.
Without a word she whirled around and headed for the door. She kept her head high and her steps even, though her chest was tightening with burning emotions that threatened to burst.
She was not going to cry!
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Lysanna waited until the door had been firmly closed after Ami before she allowed the rigid facade she held to drop and all the weariness and pain she felt to show. Sliding down on the deep chair she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against her fist. She felt her eyes burn with unshed tears and her throat constrict in pain but she refused to let the dam break. She refused to cry another tear over him, never over him again!
The palm of her right hand stung but the ache in her heart was worse.
Like a million times since his death and she resumed the mantle of rulership, Lysanna looked up at the portrait of her husband hanging on the wall across from her. His loving face was expertly portrayed by the artist, even that glint in his eyes, the silent devil-may-care amusement was visible making him seem so alive.
"This is all your fault you know." Lysanna whispered to her husband in an accusatory tone. "If only you had enough love in your heart for the both of us I wouldn't be this harsh towards her." She fought against the guilt she felt and tried to block out the sight of Ami's hurt face but only managed to make the emotion increase instead. It did not help to feel his eyes looking down towards her from the wall.
She had not wanted to have the conversation with Ami here to begin with. In their office. In her sanctuary. The only place she had left that had up until today been untouched by Ami. Lysanna did not think of herself as a fanciful person. She did not believe in fate or higher powers and yet it seemed like a cruel joke when Ami just happened to position herself in front of Lysanna so that it seemed the portrait of Roland was gazing down at his daughter instead of his wife. She knew Ami did not do it intentionally but that did not make it any less painful for her.
Watching that portrait and at the same time hearing her daughter talk about friendship and love, especially the one Lysanna had shared with her husband had been too much even for her to bear and she had lashed out, lashed out without thinking towards a young girl. A girl whom she both loved and was jealous of. Her very own daughter.
"How can I think of her as my daughter when all I can remember is her as my rival?" Lysanna asked softly to the man whom she had loved and believed in with all her heart only to have him dash away her hopes and dreams one by one.
Yes it was true; the love story between Roland and her had been wonderful and fairy tale like. She was not much different from any other young girl of her class; she had harbored dreams of finding her prince one day too. Who would have thought that her prince would actually in truth turn out to be the very king of Mercury himself? And wonders of wonders that he returned her feelings and wished to marry her, a little nobody who did not owe much aside from the clothes she wore and who did not carry a single drop of noble blood in her veins? Yet it had happened and they had been happy despite the misgivings of so many people.
Unlike the stories they did not live happily ever after because everything must have an end and in time their happiness took that path also.
It began with the miscarriage she had and the limited chances of conceiving afterwards. Roland's advisors wanted him to take abdicate her and take another wife for the sake of the planet. The fact that the White Wings, a rebellious band living out in the Great Ice, the place they called the part of the planets where protective domes were not built to generate warmth, was gaining strength and plotting to overthrow the monarchy did not help matters either. Especially since the queen was not well loved, at least not by the upper class, those who had the power to make themselves heard.
Lysanna tried hard to fit in, to prove to these people that she was not an opportunist, a woman after Roland's position, power and wealth. Yet it seemed that the more she tried the more things went wrong and the more she and Roland drifted apart. For a while there when Ami was born things had gone back to normal between the two of them and Lysanna had harbored hope for their love and marriage but then slowly they began to drift apart again. The further they drifted seemed, the closer the bond between daughter and father became, leaving Lysanna alone to deal with the world.
There had been many times when Lysanna had thought about giving up, letting go of everything and just vanish. But a stubborn part of her had just refused to do that, giving up would be failing and proving to all those people that they had been right about her being an unfit queen and her pride would not allow her to take that fall. So she had held on and she had fought even when she had lost more and more. First her father and then Pythia. Then Roland and now Magda and Gregor. All she had left were a handful of friends, if it was even possible to call them that. With the increasing troubles in the galaxy they were all having their own problems and conflicts were increasing because of their different interests.
Lysanna closed her eyes remembering her argument with Selenity on Saturn right before she returned. It still hurt to know that despite everything she had done for Mercury and the good of the Alliance Selenity still did not trust in her enough to share secrets with her. It was obvious to everyone that Serenity or Usagi as Ami called her, had run away from home but Selenity refused to confirm the news either way to Lysanna. It annoyed Lysanna a great deal that despite what her daughter had done Selenity was still sheltering her and protecting her just like she was protecting her niece Minako concerning the civil war on Saturn. How come hers, Magda's and Pythia's daughters were sent home in disgrace while she protected the other two? Was it because they were kinsmen? She thought that when they had agreed to follow the old tradition and send their daughters into Selenity's care she would've treated them all like her own. Was that not what had been agreed upon? Yet the three girls were punished and with them their families.
Thinking about the list of problems that had arisen at home ever since the knowledge that the princess of Mercury was in disfavor with the Queen of the Moon had been made public, Lysanna felt her head start to throb. Her desk was piled up with complaints and incidents all through out Mercury, half caused by the high-borns who either did not approve of female leadership or commoners sitting on the throne and the other half by the White Wings. She knew they were planning something, reports had indicated high profiled members being spotted in all the major key cities of Mercury and nothing had happened, yet. Whatever it was they were plotting, Lysanna feared it, there were too many disturbances happening around the galaxy, even before the assassination on Jupiter and the civil war on Saturn.
Opening her eyes, Lysanna looked up and met her husband's on the far wall. "Beloved I really don't know how long I can keep this up but I will try to keep my promise to you and see Ami on the throne. No matter what."
The man on the portrait stared back at her with intelligent green eyes. Eyes that seemed to touch the very inner core of her heart and see the deepest part of her soul. The only pair of eyes that had been able to melt the coldness around her heart and fill the empty void residing there, for however fleeting that moment had been.
Silent tears slid down pale cheeks. The only visible proof of the pain a lonely woman felt as she nursed a broken heart and a longing soul for the man she had once believed was her soulmate.
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Unaware of it, a few stories above Lysanna, the cause of her misery was also crying her heart out. While her mother cried over the pain of losing her husband's love to her own daughter, Ami was crying over the lack of love from her mother.
Lying on the king size bed, Ami was stretched across, her head buried into the soft pillow while she with muffled sobs let out her pain.
Everything was just so unfair. She had done nothing to deserve her mother's reprimand and disappointment. Yet no matter what she did, it seemed her mother would only find the faults. Ami did not expect her mother to praise her for everything she did like Mako's or Mina's mothers did to them, but a sign showing some approval would not have hurt either. So why? Why could they not get along?
They were supposed to be mother and daughter but watching her friends interact with their own families only made Ami more aware of the lack of closeness between her and Lysanna. The worst part was watching her mother treat total strangers, like the patients they visited that morning, with more consideration and care than she ever did Ami.
It was not like Ami was asking for the impossible. She only wanted to visit one of her best friends. Was that too much to ask for?
Ami lifted her head slightly and looked at the small portrait standing on her bedside table showing her father holding her while she sat on the head of a shuttle.
"Why father? Why did you have to leave us so early?" Ami asked.
Of course he had no answer to that. This was an old habit Ami had. Whenever she was down she would talk to the portrait of her father. While she knew he would not be able to respond to her she felt deep within her heart that he still could hear her. At least that was what those green understanding eyes were conveying to her when she looked upon them.
Remembering her father and his love only made Ami more aware of the lack she felt from her mother's part and sadness rose within her chest. Ami fingered lightly at her left cheek, which was still stinging from her mother's earlier slap, and anger replaced sadness.
Fine, if she wanted to her to stay put, that was what she would do. She would stay put and not move at all. So far she had done everything by the book but also with consideration towards her elders out of love and respect for them. Since they were not going to show her any kind of consideration in return why should she making things easier for them and harder for herself? Showing respect was a two way street and it was about time her mother understood that.
Tears filled her eyes and drifted down to soak the pillow underneath her. Ami wished with all of her heart that she had her friends around her. Ever since her father's death they had been her family. Without them she felt so alone and so lost. She wanted to see cheerful Usagi skip around, brightening their lives at one moment and driving them insane the next. She missed hearing Mina's musical laughter and her talks about fashions and boys all the while mixing up the idioms. She longed for the peaceful mornings with Rei as she meditated and Ami herself sat and read. She wanted to smell Mako's cooking and watch her fighting spirit as she came to her friends defense. Would she be able to see any of them again?
So she stayed in her room. The maid came and called several times to get her to go down to the dining halls and have her meal only to give up each time and bring a tray of food back up to set down outside her door. Others came, even Helios came once but they all left without managing to move Ami's resolve. The only one who kept herself away was her mother.
After her initial shock had worn off and Ami kept herself busy by working with her mini computer. Ever since she had been given the device four years ago she had wanted to make adjustment to it but always Luna had stopped her. This time there was no Luna around so Ami took the opportunity to try out the theories she had for any improvements for the computer.
As she worked she lost all sense of time. Outside daylight came to be replaced by starlight and vice versa. Ami paid no attention to the world outside her room until she was abruptly pulled out of her concentration by a loud explosion. Dropping the computer in her hand, Ami jumped up from the chair and rushed towards the balcony.
It did not take her long to see where the explosion had come from and her heart lodged into her throat. Only less than a mile away set against the pristine white background, smoke was coming from a large dome like building: the Aquarian Healer.
Without hesitation Ami rushed back to her room pulled out her henshin pen from her pocket and called out "Mercury Power makeup!"
Blue light surrounded her swirling like water around her and in the next second she was no longer princess Amelia but Sailor Mercury.
Mercury pushed the secret panel by her bedside table and a part of the wall moved aside to reveal a secret passageway. Following the hidden passage, she entered the Invention chambers at the cellars. There was nobody there nor did she expect any since only she and her mother knew of this room and the other rarely came down here anymore.
Mercury headed first to the small computer by the wall and once the coordinate for the hospital was set; she jumped on to the shining aquamarine circle on the floor. Light surrounded her, blinding her and once she was able to see again she was no longer at the Invention Chamber at the palace but at the Intensive Wing of Aquarian Healer. Had she not been here with her mother and Mardus the last time, Mercury would never have known where she was. From the background screams and shouts could be heard as well as several explosions. From the corner of her eyes Mercury could see smoke through the windows.
First things first. She needed to find out what happened and maybe get the people to a safer place. She took a step forward and the room spun around her. Feeling weakened Mercury grabbed hold of something to steady her as she fought against the nausea that rolled over. The teleportation device her mother had created definitely needed improvement. It was a far cry from the Teleportation stones they had used to get them to and back from Earth.
Mercury shook her head to try and clear her vision when suddenly several of the doors leading to the wing burst open sending wooden splinters flying into the air. Monsters of all kind, some flying and some running, some smaller and others larger came rushing in to the room. She ducked just as one large wooden piece flew past where her head had been, while at the same time kicking out with her legs. She felt something connect and a guttural cry pierced the air mixing with the other screams and beast-like cries. Using the table that she had grabbed hold of earlier as leverage she pushed herself over it with a somersault landing on the other side of the table. Two more creatures came at her. She hit them quickly with her arm sending them either flying or rolling on the floor.
While she dodged and fought several more her eyes quickly scanned the room and frustration as well as anger curled around her stomach. She wanted to scream. She wanted to howl at what she saw.
Blood splattered everywhere. Red and dark drops filling the floor, the walls the furniture as the monsters went to work dismembering the unconscious patients on the beds.
Rage, the kind that she had never felt in her entire life filled her and she struck out at the small creature diving towards her. With a swift movement she grabbed hold of one of its four wings on the back and swung it into the air like a weapon striking down several more before she let go. The force she was using was enough to send the creature crashing against the wall with a sickening thud.
Putting both of her hands in front of her she called out. "Shabon Spray!"
Bubbles of water formed from her hand and shot out filling the room until a fog-like mist seemed to cover the entire place. There was a moment of deadly silence as confusion filled the attacking monsters. Without wasting time Mercury touched her earring pushing down the visor over her eyes. The visor made it possible to see the room clearly and using it to dodge the monsters as they ran around the room in blindness attacking everything and each other, Mercury reached out and grabbed the nearest patient from the bed and ran out the room.
It pained her that she was only able to take one of them but she knew that should she stay, then she would not have been able to save any. Her powers were protective, unlike her friends, and there was no way she would be able to defeat all of those monsters before they managed to kill the defenseless people in coma. She needed to find help.
The hallways of the place were littered with bodies both human and monsters alike. The guards placed here to keep order more than anything else had done their duties well in protecting the innocents. Mercury made sure she memorized the faces of those brave souls that she encountered on her way out with her patient. She swore that she would make sure they were honored for deeds and their families were well taken cared of. That is if she got out of here alive.
The monsters outside were even more than at the Intensive Wing and burdened down with an unconscious patient it did not make it easy for her to move freely. Even with her powers enhanced through her senshi form, she was feeling herself tire. For every foot she had to fight to get one step away from the central part of the building. Beads of sweat clung to her temple and her breathing was becoming labored. She knew her body well enough from the vigorous training Luna and Artemis had put them through to know that her body was slowly exhausting itself from all the fighting and use of her power.
Mercury did not know whether the monsters were turning more in numbers or becoming immune to her fog but it seemed it required less and less time before she had to call upon her powers again to blind and confuse them.
She stumbled over something and losing her balance, Mercury fell down pulling her companion with her. Shifting her body in time so that she would be the one to take the blunt, Mercury was still caught by surprise when the unconscious woman landed on her. Air whooshed out of her and she gasped out.
At that time she heard running feet. Turning her head she saw two of the Physician Trainees run towards her with a group of monsters at close pursuit. Their faces were terrified and only at the sight of her to be filled with hope.
"Sailor Mercury! Please save us!" One of the trainees called out to her. Her name was Rema. She had attended some of the classes together with princess Ami. Mercury remembered her as a kind girl with a shy smile and an encouraging word for her fellow students. She was very bright and showed promises in the healing arts. Unfortunately she would never be able to prove it, because the same time that Ami pushed aside her patient to come to their aid, Rema let out a shocked sound. Her dark eyes bulged. Red spot covered the front of her chest right before claws shot forward and ran through her. Shining dark eyes filled with hope darkened and became lifeless. Her fellow trainee quickly joined her.
Mercury stared at both the girls with horror and shock. Everything seemed to come to a stop. The sounds in the background fading to a buzzing level. The monster that had killed Rema and her friend, staring down at her from across the hallway with a leering grin. The many dozens of sharp teeth gleaming in the light. Dark green greasy hair falling down its face in patches. Long arms reaching all the way to its knees swinging back and forth as it walked towards her. The claws on each of the six fingers still dripping from the blood of its victims.
Blood. Blood was everywhere. Bodies. Bodies were littered across the hallway. Not just the two girls but so many more. Unfortunate people being caught in the middle of this slaughter and deep within her, Mercury knew they would be next.
She looked down at the woman she had saved from the Intensive Wing. She was not even surprised to realize that it was the same woman they had discussed the other day. The strange Plutonian that the hikers had found out in the Great Ice. Her face was so pale she looked dead. The long black-green hair streaming across her face and chest. A large purple bruise was forming on her face and she bled from several places. No doubt having her stitches torn up from all the movements.
Mercury felt an overwhelming sadness. Tears filled her eyes and she clenched her hands so hard that she could feel the nails biting against her flesh despite the gloves she wore. For the first time in her life, she wished that she had destructive powers like her friends. At the moment her powers were of no use. She could not protect her people with them. If only any of the others had been here they would have been able to help.
"I want to become strong. I want to help. I want to protect the innocent. Help me." She whispered while she pulled the Plutonian more tightly against her, shielding her with her body. "Somebody please tell me what to do. Give me the power! Please!"
Her throat constricted and she felt her chest hurting as if too many emotions were being bottled inside of her. She felt like she was about to explode. Coldness crept inside her swirling madly like a blizzard. She felt like she was about to explode, throwing back her head she screamed.
"SHABON SPRAY FREEZE!!!"
Just like before bubbles seemed to come from her except that they went in a maddening swirl much quicker than before and with more force and greater amount. Instead of coolness the bubbles were freezing cold and despite the fog Mercury was actually able to see mist forming as she breathed. But the most astonishing was that all the monsters not just the giant one in front of her but the entire hallway where the fog had filled seemed to have stopped as if frozen in time.
Realization dawned on her quickly and she closed her eyes. "Thank you, Athena. Thank you." She said softly to the Guardian Spirit of Mercury, the one who had gifted her with henshin pen of Mercury at the age of six at the Head Temple of Athena.
Without wasting more time, Mercury lifted the unconscious woman on the floor and hurriedly left towards safety. Feeling strengthened once again, the rest did not seem as impossible as before. She met soldiers halfway through along with mages and having given her charge over to more capable hands, Mercury returned to help them clean the place of vermin. While this was the first time she had actually fought with others than her fellow senshi, Mercury discovered quickly that the cooperation was not so bad either. The mages all controlled elements similar to theirs and the guards provided the pure hand to hand combats that became quite supportive in the attacks.
With their combined forces the monsters were quickly dispatched. The cleaning however took much longer. The numbers of deaths kept on rising as more and more bodies were found and brought out. Ami, having gone back to her normal self, knew that it would take a very long time before Aquarian Healer would ever be restored again, if ever.
Being the largest hospital in their galaxy and holding the hopes of promised life for so many thousands of people, today it was the deathtrap of thousands too. Defenseless sick peoples unable to protect themselves slaughtered like animals, some in their beds and others while running. None were spared. Only those able to fight had been fortunate to survive.
The most frustrating thing of all was the fact that they could not even answer the question why. Why did all of this happen? What was the meaning of it? Where did these monsters come from? Nobody had ever seen species like these before. And how did they manage to show up so sudden and so many without being detected earlier? The most puzzling thing was the fact that they seemed to have come from within the hospital not from the outside, which led Ami to believe that they might have used a teleportation device not so different from her own. That thought was more than enough to chill her blood to ice. If such things really did exist then what prevented them from coming back? Or somewhere else?
Just then Ami felt someone looking at her. Turning her head she met the familiar blue eyes of her mother. Relief washed over her seeing her unharmed but she was not able to hold on to that feeling for long. Lysanna only looked at her briefly before she turned and walked away in cold silence. Yet the look she had given right before she left had spoke volumes to Ami.
Shame, guilt, sadness, weariness and hurt all washed over Ami in waves. Somehow that brief look, the cold treatment had been even more painful than the slap her mother had given her. The worst part was knowing that her mother was right this time. This was Ami's fault. If she had not been sulking in her room for the past few days she would have been closer at hand and the casualties less in numbers.
Ami let her eyes sweep over the street where the dead bodies were being carried away. Monsters might have killed them but her hands were just as bloodied as those monsters because she had not been there to help, to protect. She had not done her duty like she was supposed to. Had she not locked herself up in her room she would have been having lessons with Rema and the others and maybe all of this could have been avoided.
Suddenly the last conversation with her mother started to make sense to her. By trying to help her friend she had let her duty as a senshi slide. She let one cloud her judgment of the other and these were the casualties for her mistake.
Ami looked at her mother while she moved along the rows of injured people.
"Before today I always thought my duty was to protect Usagi because she was the next heir to the throne of the Moon. I never realized that she symbolized so much more. Her wellbeing means the wellbeing of the innocents living in this solar system. To uphold order and peace so that people can live and prosper. Do not worry mother. I will honor you and father. I will protect Usagi and the innocents."
Just then her mother looked up and met her eyes briefly before turning away again. Fleetingly Ami wondered if she might have heard her thoughts somehow only to shake away the ludicrous thought. Most probably she only wanted Ami to start helping out instead of just standing there, to which she was right also.
Sighing inwardly, Ami wondered if there ever was going to be a time when her mother was not right about something. It was hard to measure up to someone who was did everything perfect. Well almost everything, in the healing field, Helios was still better than Lysanna.
At the thought of Helios, Ami looked around with a frown. Now that she thought about it, she had not seen him the whole time. She would think with a major thing like this, he would be knee deep in work already patching up the wounded. It was not usual for Helios not to be around. Where was the physician?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was with a heavy heart that, Helios patched up the last of the wounds on the young girl lying on the small bed. There were no outward signs of wounds anymore for him to attend to and with the help of his skills and time there would not be any scars left either to remind her of what had transpired today. There was however nothing to guarantee that there will not be any wound to the spirit or the mind. Those were beyond his powers to attend to. He only hoped that she was strong enough to handle them.
Helios still did not know exactly what had transpired here. The Elders had been very close mouthed about the whole incident. Obviously there had been an attack here on Pluto just like Mercury, but the forces seemed to have been stronger, from the little he caught sight of when it came to dead monster bodies that were still recognizable. Certainly the casualties had been more here. If he closed his eyes he was still able to visualise the bloody scene in front of him with all the dead bodies littered over the grounds and what was left the Midnight Shrine. He also knew that if he wanted to find out more he was going to have to wait for his queen to tell him. The Elders were a mysterious and close-mouthed lot that rarely mixed with the people of the other races. The only person they seem to have any respect for was the queen of the Moon. The only reason Helios was even here today was because the wound of the girl in front him had considered too serious for any physician here to take care of and only someone of Helios calibre would be able to handle. Still there had been a moment or two a while back when he had not been sure he would be able to save her. He was pretty much sure that without the help of the Silver crystal and the girl's two guardians she would not have.
Still he wondered what all this meant. The sudden attack on Mercury and Pluto. They all knew the war was arriving. The prophecies told them of it. But was it already here? Of those Champions they had been able to identify only a few were ready to take on their role most of them were not. And what about the rest that they still had not been able to find? How far have they come in the developments of their powers and what about their personal selves? Were they strong enough as individuals not to be tempted by the seduction of the Darkness? Just exactly how much time did they have left?
The morning rounds were conducted at the same time every day. Precisely two hours after morning fast, when Queen Lysanna of Mercury was in the capital, she would walk around with her Chief Physician through the halls of the Aquarian Healer and check up on the patients. They did not always take the same route around the hospital though, this was due to the fact that the Aquarian Healer was the largest of its kind in the solar system and housed several thousands of patients. But despite her heavy schedule the queen never missed out on these rounds where she paid personal interest to the developments of the patients.
While Ami had arrived home for nearly three months ago, today was the first time she was allowed to join the small party that accompanied her mother on her morning rounds. Normally Ami would be knee deep in whatever assignments Helios had given her but today she had been given the morning free. She was sure he had intended for her to use that time to catch up on some sleep, after all it had taken her until early morning before she was finished her report on the Seven Plagues.
The Seven Plagues was the deadliest disease that had ever existed in the Age of Serene. For over ten years seven different plagues ravaged the planets killing over half their population. It was a fascinating subject to study for any physician with historical interest, given time. Yet Ami could not help think it a bit strange that Helios found it so interesting as to waste time on it, considering his hectic schedule. Then again who was she to dig into the mind and reasoning of Helios? The man was an enigma and pretty much a hermit. She doubted that even Selenity knew much about him and she was the one he spent most time with. Besides, Ami had enough of her own problems to deal with.
Ami cast a glance at the woman leading the small group. Queen Lysanna was dressed in a simple blue gown with the Healer cape resting on her slender shoulders. Her face was youthful and the blue eyes sharp and intelligent as they surveyed the patients and the charts. She wore no jewelry aside from a tiny platinum circlet around her forehead, the one she had been given by Ami's father on their wedding day. Ever since her father's death, Ami could not remember many times when she had seen her mother wear her wedding ring, but the circlet seemed to be a constant adornment even when she was dressed for bed.
Ami watched Lysanna confer softly with the physician in charge over the patient's condition and the kind of medication they were treating him with and she felt both admiration and envy for her mother. She wished she had her mother's skill and confidence, even though she was the only female physician there, she held herself so naturally and acted like she belonged. Could she not feel the slight resentment in the air from some of the men? Did she not see the looks they gave her? Was she not able to hear their undermining tone in each question they asked her? Yet Lysanna kept her voice cool and reasoning as she answered all their questions and explained how and why. Secretly Ami wondered if she would ever be able to act with that confidence and assuredness.
Queen Lysanna closed the chart on the last patience, indicating the end of the morning rounds. Ami shook her head mentally and was embarrassed to realize that her mind had gone unfocused for the last ten minutes or so and she had missed out on the consultations. Some of the physicians that had moved along like a group of stiff corpses the whole morning started to liven up and murmur about food and catching up on their studies or patients. Ami herself was preparing to catch her mother before she disappeared off to her duties of ruling a planet. Small as she was it took her awhile to get through the group of male bodies to reach her mother and by the time she did, she managed to hear her mother saying, "Mardus, if you're not too busy I would like you to accompany me to the Intensive Wing."
The young physician's dark brows shot up and disappeared under the short bangs of his hair, but he recovered quickly and said, "Yes, most certainly, your Majesty." He stepped aside and indicated that the queen should lead the way to which she acknowledged with a graceful nod of her head.
Seeing her plans being crushed to dust, Ami did not have any other choice but to follow the pair as they headed over to the Intensive Wing. Not that she minded that much since she had never been to that part of the hospital. The place was a section that was strictly for the Senior Physicians. Only a few physician- apprentices were allowed to accompany their teachers and those were the gifted ones with promises of achieving the Senior Physician title themselves in the future. It was Ami's secret wish that she would one day join them as well. So she held her breath and walked along with the other two, waiting and fearing that one or both would tell her to go away. Mardus did cast her a glance but he did not object when she fell into steps with them. Lysanna did not even do, as much. Ami was unsure her mother was even aware of her presence, then again that was nothing new either. Ever since she got back from the Moon in disgrace, her mother had not acknowledged her presence much at all. Not that they had had much time to spend together, with the funeral of Mako's parents and now the war that had started on Saturn, Lysanna had been spending more times on the other planets than on Mercury.
The Intensive Wing was situated at the very center of the Aquarian Healer. The place was however very quiet and peaceful. Gardens of the Martian kind were built to give off a sense of peace and harmony and it surrounded the Intensive Wing on all sides where tube-like hallways of glasses were connecting it to the rest of the hospital. As the three of them walked down one of these halls Ami could see themselves reflected on the Intensive Wing's walls.
She knew that those walls were made of a special designed glass. The outside worked like a mirror reflecting everything back and yet looking from the inside it was just like any other glass, showing off the wonderful garden and artificially created ponds, and letting through the bright sunlight and starlight from above. The reason she knew so much about this glass was because not only was it one of the best export products Mercury had, but also because Lysanna had been part of the team who had invented it. Actually that was how she had met Ami's father to begin with.
The invention had brought such a sensation that the team had been sent to court to receive awards from the king himself. The moment Ami's father set eyes on the bright ebony haired scientist, he had fallen in love and begun his courtship of her. It had caused quite a sensation at that time since Lysanna was a commoner without any noble lineage at all and having a king marry a common female was just not heard of no matter how famous she was. Fortunately Lysanna had, at that time, made friends with the queens of the inner planets and somehow they had all stepped in and worked out the miracle.
Ami knew all of this by heart having heard it being told by her father hundreds of times and having read romance novels inspired by their love. Normally she did not read such romantic sop, that was Mako's and Mina's department, but this kind lay close to her heart not only because it was connected to her parents but also because of the influence they had to society in general. Her parents' love had inspired so many new stories that became quickly popular among the female commoners (of course highborns would never be caught dead reading those) that the literacy rates increased dramatically. Ami could not imagine a better gift than that. It always pained her to see how commoners were treated, especially the farmers, despite the fact Mercury was supposed to be a well advanced society like where education was provided by the crown to all citizens no matter their status.
Once they entered the Intensive Wing there was a hushed solemnity in the air. It was not exactly like entering a temple, since the former gave you sense of peace and a warm protective feeling, but somehow in that Wing one would automatically lower one's voice. Even the authoritative and often loud-spoken Mardus, lowered his voice without stopping in stride as he filled Lysanna in on status of the place.
".I'm not saying that we should not help out the Saturnians but certainly we should be able to cut down on the number of chief Physicians we send over there. At the moment we are having problems holding classes as well as managing the ordinary upkeep of this place. If you would only allow me to promote more physicians or abolish the rule of having only chiefs around here it would make things a lot easier."
"The physicians stays on Saturn and there will be no changing of the rules." Lysanna told the man in a quiet murmur stopping beside the nearest patient and took up the charts. "The requirements are there for a reason. These people would not be here if their condition were not considered grave enough. For that they will require the necessary skills, skills that can only be provided by the right people. If we bend either rule, in the end it will be the very patients we have sworn to help that will suffer."
From where she was standing Ami could easily see that Mardus was not happy about the queen's answer. Whether it was because he disagreed with her or because he did not like being told no, Ami was not sure. When it came to her mother, Ami was never sure which it was since most of the men she worked with resented having to take orders from a female. The only one Ami had seen being able to pull it off was Selenity but then again she was the ruler of the Moon and that gave her exceptions to a lot of things.
"I think we should cut down on the painkillers on this one. He does not seem to be reacting very well to the medication we give him and I don't want him to develop an addiction. Try using some mixture of Moondrops and Tearwells instead. They have some painkilling effects as well as calming the patient down. I don't think it's just the burns that are affecting him as much the memories of the fire itself. Maybe if his mind is more at rest he would stop tossing so much and finally let his wounds heal."
Lysanna scribbled something on the charts, set it back on its normal place and moved over to the next one. To Ami's surprise she did not automatically take up the chart to read, as she normally would do, instead she studied the patient for a long time and finally said, "What can you tell me of this one, Mardus?"
"She's new. Some hikers found her on their way from Krimsaele." He said the word hikers with a sneer to his tone that referred to daredevils. It was the derogatory terms Mercurians used for those adventurers that preferred to pass the great masses of snow outside on foot and cutting across country instead of using the shuttles that were built on the specific routes.
"She was brought here three days ago, with severe injuries as well as frostbite." Mardus continued his report his blue eyes frowning at the patient. "Jayna and I nearly lost her twice but with the help of Master Helios we were able to keep her on this side of the realm. However she has not woken up once, even during her time with the hikers."
"Any idea who she is or why she was out there in the first place?" Lysanna asked softly while she examined the woman.
Mardus shook his head. "We'd been meaning to ask the hikers a bit more but they disappeared on us. Jayna got the impression that they did not know her either. They told her that they figured since they would pass by here, they would do their duty and bring her along. They were quite prepared to leave her in case she would not make it on their journey."
Lysanna made a low sound as if she had expected it. "Strange colorings, she has." She mused.
Ami studied the woman on the bed and she had to agree with her mother. The woman's hair was very dark but unlike Ami's which tends to show blue highlights or Rei's with purple highlights this woman had dark greenish highlights to her black hair. An absent frown appeared on Ami's face as she tried to remember where she had read about people with black-green hair.
"I wonder if she has any connections to Pluto." Lysanna said absently.
Yes that was it! Some Plutonians were known to be born with this kind of color though it was a rare thing. Most of them were just dark haired like Saturnians, Martians and Mercurians.
"That's impossible! What would a Plutonian have to do here in Mercury?" Mardus demanded in a low hiss. The physician held, like many others, a strong suspicious nature towards the mysterious Plutonians.
"I don't know. Would you care to ask the Seers that the next you meet them?" Lysanna asked dryly.
That of course shut him up. Plutonians were known to be closemouthed about everything, they claimed it would interfere with their Quest. Everybody knew of the secretive Plutonians and their Quest but what it actually was only they themselves knew though Ami suspected strongly that many of them did not know either. Some that she had met seemed to act like they did not even know why they were doing what they were, except that they were told to do so by their Seers. Not that they would admit to it in quite that way if one should ask them, provided anyone dared to ask them that to begin with.
For the next few hours they moved through the dozen of patients that filled the wing. Lysanna and Mardus analyzed the patients and exchanged thoughts and ideas for treatment while Ami mentally took notes of everything they said and did. Especially since she did not know when she would have the opportunity to come back here again.
It was noon by the time they exited the Intensive Wing and announcing the end of the morning round for that day. Knowing that she only had an hour to take her back to the palace and grab a meal before she had to meet her alchemist teacher Ami nonetheless lingered behind to wait for her mother to finish so that they could ride back together.
If Lysanna was surprised by Ami's presence she did not let it show. Like earlier she did not acknowledge Ami's at all, which meant the ride back to the palace was a silent one. Normally Ami was a person who preferred solitude but she had to admit that this silence between her mother and her was not normal and while she did not let it show she was feeling it grate on her nerves. She was not the only one to sense it, she noticed the guards that had escorted them back hurried off to other errands even before their replacements had taken their proper places, not that the new ones felt any more comfortable. Ami felt bad about putting them through this but she knew her mother better than to break the silence first. If Lysanna wanted keep quiet nothing in the world could pry her lips apart and Ami needed her to talk. So she would wait her out. She only hoped it would not be too long.
Her wait ended when they reached Lysanna's private study.
"Don't you have a lesson to get to?" Lysanna asked stopping at the threshold when Ami made to follow her into the study.
The two guards accompanying them positioned themselves outside on either side of the door after having checked the room. Their faces were impassive but Ami knew that they were straining their ears to listen.
"May I have a word with you inside, Mother?" Ami asked carefully.
"Whatever it is Amelia, I'm sure it can wait 'til later. I have a lot of work to catch up on."
She turned to leave but Ami reached out with her hand and halted her. "No, it really can't. Mother, please? It won't take long." She promised.
"We will speak later, Amelia." Lysanna said firmly and with finality in her voice. It was a tone Ami and most of the court recognized. It was the tone of voice the Queen of Mercury used when she had had her last say on a subject. Anybody hearing that tone backed off, even Ami, at least she used to. While it still sent quivers up her back, Ami reminded herself that what she was about to say was too important, for the sake of her friend she had to do it. So stiffening her spine and lifting her chin she followed her mother in and shut the heavy double door behind her.
"No Mother. I think you and I have been postponing this conversation long enough. It is time that we spoke now."
From behind the desk Lysanna stared at her for a very long time, her blue eyes cool and unreadable. "Very well Amelia. What is it that is so important?" She settled down on the deep cushioned chair that was quite simple compared to the rest of the furniture in the room, still looking every inch the queen; a very unapproachable queen.
Gathering her courage, Ami moved forward and further into the room so that she was standing in front of her mother. "Mako." She said simply.
Lysanna acknowledged her reply with a nod. "A fair question considering the circumstances, but no."
"But Mother. It's been over three months now. Surely whatever faults we've made has been punished enough!"
"That is not for me to decide but Queen Selenity. As long as she says you are not to have any contacts with each other that is what it will be." Lysanna told her coldly.
"The senshi might be under the direct order of the queen," Ami waved her hand in the air before she set both of them down on the desk. Leaning forward she said, "but I am not asking as a senshi right now, Mother. I'm asking as a friend. A friend who is very worried about someone who just lost the two most important people in her life. Please mother? Let me go to Jupiter. Mako needs a friend around to help her through this."
Mother's and daughter's eyes met for a long time and for a moment there Ami was actually playing with the thought that her mother would give in. Yet hope flickered and died like candlelight in the middle of a blizzard when her mother shook her head.
"But why?"
"You already know why. Do not waste both yours and my time by asking the obvious, Amelia. Now if there's nothing more, then leave. I have things of importance to attend to here." Lysanna told her coolly and started to shuffle with the stack of papers on top of her desk.
"More important than the wellbeing of your best friend's daughter?"
Hands stilled in midair and her mother's face shot up in reaction to her words. Ami got to see a quick flash of anger before it disappeared but she felt no guilt or shame for her disrespect. It was hard to feel anything over the waves of anger she felt over hearing her mother's cold dismissal and so she barreled on. "I thought you and aunt Magda were close. How can you claim to be a good friend of hers and yet stand by and watch while her only child suffers like this all alone? Have you forgotten how aunt Magda and the others were there for you when father died?"
"Amelia, I'm only going to tell you this once so you had better listen carefully." Lysanna said with a quiet warning tone. "Friendship is important but never mix friendship with duty. Always remember who you are and where your loyalties must lie or one day you might hurt yourself and maybe bring casualties with you. Magda and others could come to me because there was nothing to conflict with their duties as rulers. Had things been otherwise they would have stayed away too and I would have understood just like Mako will understand."
Ami shook her head. "Usagi is not even around for me to protect anymore so how can my going to Jupiter affect my work as a senshi?"
Lysanna laughed but there was no humor held in it. "You think that just because you can call her aunt and she won't demote you from your post if you disobey her? Never forget she is the Queen of the Moon and she will always be a ruler before she is a friend. Even if you risk everything to save her own daughter she might not thank you for it."
"So this isn't about Mako. It's about Usagi." Ami said after a long while of silence and met her mother's eyes steadily. "What were we supposed to have done, left Usagi inside the enemies territories?" The question had been rhetorical and she had not expected her mother to answer, which was why Lysanna's cool reply caught her off guard.
"Serenity made that choice herself so she will have to live with the consequences of her action. Sooner or later you and the other girls will have to realize that and allow her to grow up."
"She was upset!"
"And that gives her the right to stop using her head and just act?" Lysanna arched a brow. "By choosing to run instead staying she not only risked her own life but millions of people with her. What do you think would happen if the Earthlings accidentally killed her before they found out her true identity? Or if they found out about her and used her as a hostage?"
"They signed the Treaty." Ami told her mother stubbornly out of loyalty to her friend more than real conviction of her own.
"And you think that will be enough? Less than fifty years ago the Silver Alliance were at war with Earth. There are still many alive who fought those on those battlegrounds, who remember their fathers, brothers and friends being killed. You think they forgive and forget that easily?"
She continued to list out different scenarios and possibilities with cold inarguable logic. Some of them Ami had to admit had also crossed her mind. There was no arguing with the fact that a lot of people's life would be affected if something happened to her friend. Running away was not the wisest thing to do, but still Ami felt anger build within her when she heard her mother's last comment.
"Usagi is not a selfish spoiled brat." She interrupted coldly. Her blue eyes were flashing with anger and unnoticed by her, her hands were clenched into tight fists at the side. "She wants to find love just like any other girl. I would have thought that you of all people would be able to empathize with her." She said the last in an accusatory tone.
"And what do you mean by that?"
Too wrapped up in defending her often-misunderstood friend, Ami missed the warning glint in her mother's eyes. "You and father were in love too. You fought hard to have each other so why should Usagi settle for less?"
"That was different." Lysanna told her shortly with a tone that clearly said end of discussion. To Ami however it was just another red flag waving in front of her. Suddenly all the frustration and anger she felt for the past few months boiled over and words tumbled from her mouth before she even knew what she was doing.
"It's so easy to point a finger at someone else when he or she make a mistake isn't it? But have any of you ever stopped and thought about how things were for you at that age? You call Usagi selfish and yet you were no better, despite the fact that you were older. Where was all this 'do the right thing, make the right choices and duty to your county and people' when you met father and insisted on marrying him?" Ami demanded softly. "Or have you forgotten that our planet nearly plunged into a civil war like the one waging on Saturn now? You -"
It was a question of debate over who was more surprised at the slap that came. Shock was written over both mother's and daughter's faces as they stared at each other. Silence stretched out with a heaviness that resembled the kind that hung in the air right after a thunderclap.
Lysanna was the one to break the silence first. With a voice that sounded quite hoarse she said slowly while standing and facing her daughter, "I will not have my own daughter talk to me in that tone of voice. This discussion is over. Queen Selenity has given her order and you shall follow it through to the letter. You not only dishonor me but you dishonor your father as well with misbehavior like that. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal clear." Ami told her with a dull voice as she slowly backed away from the desk and her mother. Her visions blurred at the edges as she felt her eyes stinging with unshed tears.
Without a word she whirled around and headed for the door. She kept her head high and her steps even, though her chest was tightening with burning emotions that threatened to burst.
She was not going to cry!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lysanna waited until the door had been firmly closed after Ami before she allowed the rigid facade she held to drop and all the weariness and pain she felt to show. Sliding down on the deep chair she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against her fist. She felt her eyes burn with unshed tears and her throat constrict in pain but she refused to let the dam break. She refused to cry another tear over him, never over him again!
The palm of her right hand stung but the ache in her heart was worse.
Like a million times since his death and she resumed the mantle of rulership, Lysanna looked up at the portrait of her husband hanging on the wall across from her. His loving face was expertly portrayed by the artist, even that glint in his eyes, the silent devil-may-care amusement was visible making him seem so alive.
"This is all your fault you know." Lysanna whispered to her husband in an accusatory tone. "If only you had enough love in your heart for the both of us I wouldn't be this harsh towards her." She fought against the guilt she felt and tried to block out the sight of Ami's hurt face but only managed to make the emotion increase instead. It did not help to feel his eyes looking down towards her from the wall.
She had not wanted to have the conversation with Ami here to begin with. In their office. In her sanctuary. The only place she had left that had up until today been untouched by Ami. Lysanna did not think of herself as a fanciful person. She did not believe in fate or higher powers and yet it seemed like a cruel joke when Ami just happened to position herself in front of Lysanna so that it seemed the portrait of Roland was gazing down at his daughter instead of his wife. She knew Ami did not do it intentionally but that did not make it any less painful for her.
Watching that portrait and at the same time hearing her daughter talk about friendship and love, especially the one Lysanna had shared with her husband had been too much even for her to bear and she had lashed out, lashed out without thinking towards a young girl. A girl whom she both loved and was jealous of. Her very own daughter.
"How can I think of her as my daughter when all I can remember is her as my rival?" Lysanna asked softly to the man whom she had loved and believed in with all her heart only to have him dash away her hopes and dreams one by one.
Yes it was true; the love story between Roland and her had been wonderful and fairy tale like. She was not much different from any other young girl of her class; she had harbored dreams of finding her prince one day too. Who would have thought that her prince would actually in truth turn out to be the very king of Mercury himself? And wonders of wonders that he returned her feelings and wished to marry her, a little nobody who did not owe much aside from the clothes she wore and who did not carry a single drop of noble blood in her veins? Yet it had happened and they had been happy despite the misgivings of so many people.
Unlike the stories they did not live happily ever after because everything must have an end and in time their happiness took that path also.
It began with the miscarriage she had and the limited chances of conceiving afterwards. Roland's advisors wanted him to take abdicate her and take another wife for the sake of the planet. The fact that the White Wings, a rebellious band living out in the Great Ice, the place they called the part of the planets where protective domes were not built to generate warmth, was gaining strength and plotting to overthrow the monarchy did not help matters either. Especially since the queen was not well loved, at least not by the upper class, those who had the power to make themselves heard.
Lysanna tried hard to fit in, to prove to these people that she was not an opportunist, a woman after Roland's position, power and wealth. Yet it seemed that the more she tried the more things went wrong and the more she and Roland drifted apart. For a while there when Ami was born things had gone back to normal between the two of them and Lysanna had harbored hope for their love and marriage but then slowly they began to drift apart again. The further they drifted seemed, the closer the bond between daughter and father became, leaving Lysanna alone to deal with the world.
There had been many times when Lysanna had thought about giving up, letting go of everything and just vanish. But a stubborn part of her had just refused to do that, giving up would be failing and proving to all those people that they had been right about her being an unfit queen and her pride would not allow her to take that fall. So she had held on and she had fought even when she had lost more and more. First her father and then Pythia. Then Roland and now Magda and Gregor. All she had left were a handful of friends, if it was even possible to call them that. With the increasing troubles in the galaxy they were all having their own problems and conflicts were increasing because of their different interests.
Lysanna closed her eyes remembering her argument with Selenity on Saturn right before she returned. It still hurt to know that despite everything she had done for Mercury and the good of the Alliance Selenity still did not trust in her enough to share secrets with her. It was obvious to everyone that Serenity or Usagi as Ami called her, had run away from home but Selenity refused to confirm the news either way to Lysanna. It annoyed Lysanna a great deal that despite what her daughter had done Selenity was still sheltering her and protecting her just like she was protecting her niece Minako concerning the civil war on Saturn. How come hers, Magda's and Pythia's daughters were sent home in disgrace while she protected the other two? Was it because they were kinsmen? She thought that when they had agreed to follow the old tradition and send their daughters into Selenity's care she would've treated them all like her own. Was that not what had been agreed upon? Yet the three girls were punished and with them their families.
Thinking about the list of problems that had arisen at home ever since the knowledge that the princess of Mercury was in disfavor with the Queen of the Moon had been made public, Lysanna felt her head start to throb. Her desk was piled up with complaints and incidents all through out Mercury, half caused by the high-borns who either did not approve of female leadership or commoners sitting on the throne and the other half by the White Wings. She knew they were planning something, reports had indicated high profiled members being spotted in all the major key cities of Mercury and nothing had happened, yet. Whatever it was they were plotting, Lysanna feared it, there were too many disturbances happening around the galaxy, even before the assassination on Jupiter and the civil war on Saturn.
Opening her eyes, Lysanna looked up and met her husband's on the far wall. "Beloved I really don't know how long I can keep this up but I will try to keep my promise to you and see Ami on the throne. No matter what."
The man on the portrait stared back at her with intelligent green eyes. Eyes that seemed to touch the very inner core of her heart and see the deepest part of her soul. The only pair of eyes that had been able to melt the coldness around her heart and fill the empty void residing there, for however fleeting that moment had been.
Silent tears slid down pale cheeks. The only visible proof of the pain a lonely woman felt as she nursed a broken heart and a longing soul for the man she had once believed was her soulmate.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Unaware of it, a few stories above Lysanna, the cause of her misery was also crying her heart out. While her mother cried over the pain of losing her husband's love to her own daughter, Ami was crying over the lack of love from her mother.
Lying on the king size bed, Ami was stretched across, her head buried into the soft pillow while she with muffled sobs let out her pain.
Everything was just so unfair. She had done nothing to deserve her mother's reprimand and disappointment. Yet no matter what she did, it seemed her mother would only find the faults. Ami did not expect her mother to praise her for everything she did like Mako's or Mina's mothers did to them, but a sign showing some approval would not have hurt either. So why? Why could they not get along?
They were supposed to be mother and daughter but watching her friends interact with their own families only made Ami more aware of the lack of closeness between her and Lysanna. The worst part was watching her mother treat total strangers, like the patients they visited that morning, with more consideration and care than she ever did Ami.
It was not like Ami was asking for the impossible. She only wanted to visit one of her best friends. Was that too much to ask for?
Ami lifted her head slightly and looked at the small portrait standing on her bedside table showing her father holding her while she sat on the head of a shuttle.
"Why father? Why did you have to leave us so early?" Ami asked.
Of course he had no answer to that. This was an old habit Ami had. Whenever she was down she would talk to the portrait of her father. While she knew he would not be able to respond to her she felt deep within her heart that he still could hear her. At least that was what those green understanding eyes were conveying to her when she looked upon them.
Remembering her father and his love only made Ami more aware of the lack she felt from her mother's part and sadness rose within her chest. Ami fingered lightly at her left cheek, which was still stinging from her mother's earlier slap, and anger replaced sadness.
Fine, if she wanted to her to stay put, that was what she would do. She would stay put and not move at all. So far she had done everything by the book but also with consideration towards her elders out of love and respect for them. Since they were not going to show her any kind of consideration in return why should she making things easier for them and harder for herself? Showing respect was a two way street and it was about time her mother understood that.
Tears filled her eyes and drifted down to soak the pillow underneath her. Ami wished with all of her heart that she had her friends around her. Ever since her father's death they had been her family. Without them she felt so alone and so lost. She wanted to see cheerful Usagi skip around, brightening their lives at one moment and driving them insane the next. She missed hearing Mina's musical laughter and her talks about fashions and boys all the while mixing up the idioms. She longed for the peaceful mornings with Rei as she meditated and Ami herself sat and read. She wanted to smell Mako's cooking and watch her fighting spirit as she came to her friends defense. Would she be able to see any of them again?
So she stayed in her room. The maid came and called several times to get her to go down to the dining halls and have her meal only to give up each time and bring a tray of food back up to set down outside her door. Others came, even Helios came once but they all left without managing to move Ami's resolve. The only one who kept herself away was her mother.
After her initial shock had worn off and Ami kept herself busy by working with her mini computer. Ever since she had been given the device four years ago she had wanted to make adjustment to it but always Luna had stopped her. This time there was no Luna around so Ami took the opportunity to try out the theories she had for any improvements for the computer.
As she worked she lost all sense of time. Outside daylight came to be replaced by starlight and vice versa. Ami paid no attention to the world outside her room until she was abruptly pulled out of her concentration by a loud explosion. Dropping the computer in her hand, Ami jumped up from the chair and rushed towards the balcony.
It did not take her long to see where the explosion had come from and her heart lodged into her throat. Only less than a mile away set against the pristine white background, smoke was coming from a large dome like building: the Aquarian Healer.
Without hesitation Ami rushed back to her room pulled out her henshin pen from her pocket and called out "Mercury Power makeup!"
Blue light surrounded her swirling like water around her and in the next second she was no longer princess Amelia but Sailor Mercury.
Mercury pushed the secret panel by her bedside table and a part of the wall moved aside to reveal a secret passageway. Following the hidden passage, she entered the Invention chambers at the cellars. There was nobody there nor did she expect any since only she and her mother knew of this room and the other rarely came down here anymore.
Mercury headed first to the small computer by the wall and once the coordinate for the hospital was set; she jumped on to the shining aquamarine circle on the floor. Light surrounded her, blinding her and once she was able to see again she was no longer at the Invention Chamber at the palace but at the Intensive Wing of Aquarian Healer. Had she not been here with her mother and Mardus the last time, Mercury would never have known where she was. From the background screams and shouts could be heard as well as several explosions. From the corner of her eyes Mercury could see smoke through the windows.
First things first. She needed to find out what happened and maybe get the people to a safer place. She took a step forward and the room spun around her. Feeling weakened Mercury grabbed hold of something to steady her as she fought against the nausea that rolled over. The teleportation device her mother had created definitely needed improvement. It was a far cry from the Teleportation stones they had used to get them to and back from Earth.
Mercury shook her head to try and clear her vision when suddenly several of the doors leading to the wing burst open sending wooden splinters flying into the air. Monsters of all kind, some flying and some running, some smaller and others larger came rushing in to the room. She ducked just as one large wooden piece flew past where her head had been, while at the same time kicking out with her legs. She felt something connect and a guttural cry pierced the air mixing with the other screams and beast-like cries. Using the table that she had grabbed hold of earlier as leverage she pushed herself over it with a somersault landing on the other side of the table. Two more creatures came at her. She hit them quickly with her arm sending them either flying or rolling on the floor.
While she dodged and fought several more her eyes quickly scanned the room and frustration as well as anger curled around her stomach. She wanted to scream. She wanted to howl at what she saw.
Blood splattered everywhere. Red and dark drops filling the floor, the walls the furniture as the monsters went to work dismembering the unconscious patients on the beds.
Rage, the kind that she had never felt in her entire life filled her and she struck out at the small creature diving towards her. With a swift movement she grabbed hold of one of its four wings on the back and swung it into the air like a weapon striking down several more before she let go. The force she was using was enough to send the creature crashing against the wall with a sickening thud.
Putting both of her hands in front of her she called out. "Shabon Spray!"
Bubbles of water formed from her hand and shot out filling the room until a fog-like mist seemed to cover the entire place. There was a moment of deadly silence as confusion filled the attacking monsters. Without wasting time Mercury touched her earring pushing down the visor over her eyes. The visor made it possible to see the room clearly and using it to dodge the monsters as they ran around the room in blindness attacking everything and each other, Mercury reached out and grabbed the nearest patient from the bed and ran out the room.
It pained her that she was only able to take one of them but she knew that should she stay, then she would not have been able to save any. Her powers were protective, unlike her friends, and there was no way she would be able to defeat all of those monsters before they managed to kill the defenseless people in coma. She needed to find help.
The hallways of the place were littered with bodies both human and monsters alike. The guards placed here to keep order more than anything else had done their duties well in protecting the innocents. Mercury made sure she memorized the faces of those brave souls that she encountered on her way out with her patient. She swore that she would make sure they were honored for deeds and their families were well taken cared of. That is if she got out of here alive.
The monsters outside were even more than at the Intensive Wing and burdened down with an unconscious patient it did not make it easy for her to move freely. Even with her powers enhanced through her senshi form, she was feeling herself tire. For every foot she had to fight to get one step away from the central part of the building. Beads of sweat clung to her temple and her breathing was becoming labored. She knew her body well enough from the vigorous training Luna and Artemis had put them through to know that her body was slowly exhausting itself from all the fighting and use of her power.
Mercury did not know whether the monsters were turning more in numbers or becoming immune to her fog but it seemed it required less and less time before she had to call upon her powers again to blind and confuse them.
She stumbled over something and losing her balance, Mercury fell down pulling her companion with her. Shifting her body in time so that she would be the one to take the blunt, Mercury was still caught by surprise when the unconscious woman landed on her. Air whooshed out of her and she gasped out.
At that time she heard running feet. Turning her head she saw two of the Physician Trainees run towards her with a group of monsters at close pursuit. Their faces were terrified and only at the sight of her to be filled with hope.
"Sailor Mercury! Please save us!" One of the trainees called out to her. Her name was Rema. She had attended some of the classes together with princess Ami. Mercury remembered her as a kind girl with a shy smile and an encouraging word for her fellow students. She was very bright and showed promises in the healing arts. Unfortunately she would never be able to prove it, because the same time that Ami pushed aside her patient to come to their aid, Rema let out a shocked sound. Her dark eyes bulged. Red spot covered the front of her chest right before claws shot forward and ran through her. Shining dark eyes filled with hope darkened and became lifeless. Her fellow trainee quickly joined her.
Mercury stared at both the girls with horror and shock. Everything seemed to come to a stop. The sounds in the background fading to a buzzing level. The monster that had killed Rema and her friend, staring down at her from across the hallway with a leering grin. The many dozens of sharp teeth gleaming in the light. Dark green greasy hair falling down its face in patches. Long arms reaching all the way to its knees swinging back and forth as it walked towards her. The claws on each of the six fingers still dripping from the blood of its victims.
Blood. Blood was everywhere. Bodies. Bodies were littered across the hallway. Not just the two girls but so many more. Unfortunate people being caught in the middle of this slaughter and deep within her, Mercury knew they would be next.
She looked down at the woman she had saved from the Intensive Wing. She was not even surprised to realize that it was the same woman they had discussed the other day. The strange Plutonian that the hikers had found out in the Great Ice. Her face was so pale she looked dead. The long black-green hair streaming across her face and chest. A large purple bruise was forming on her face and she bled from several places. No doubt having her stitches torn up from all the movements.
Mercury felt an overwhelming sadness. Tears filled her eyes and she clenched her hands so hard that she could feel the nails biting against her flesh despite the gloves she wore. For the first time in her life, she wished that she had destructive powers like her friends. At the moment her powers were of no use. She could not protect her people with them. If only any of the others had been here they would have been able to help.
"I want to become strong. I want to help. I want to protect the innocent. Help me." She whispered while she pulled the Plutonian more tightly against her, shielding her with her body. "Somebody please tell me what to do. Give me the power! Please!"
Her throat constricted and she felt her chest hurting as if too many emotions were being bottled inside of her. She felt like she was about to explode. Coldness crept inside her swirling madly like a blizzard. She felt like she was about to explode, throwing back her head she screamed.
"SHABON SPRAY FREEZE!!!"
Just like before bubbles seemed to come from her except that they went in a maddening swirl much quicker than before and with more force and greater amount. Instead of coolness the bubbles were freezing cold and despite the fog Mercury was actually able to see mist forming as she breathed. But the most astonishing was that all the monsters not just the giant one in front of her but the entire hallway where the fog had filled seemed to have stopped as if frozen in time.
Realization dawned on her quickly and she closed her eyes. "Thank you, Athena. Thank you." She said softly to the Guardian Spirit of Mercury, the one who had gifted her with henshin pen of Mercury at the age of six at the Head Temple of Athena.
Without wasting more time, Mercury lifted the unconscious woman on the floor and hurriedly left towards safety. Feeling strengthened once again, the rest did not seem as impossible as before. She met soldiers halfway through along with mages and having given her charge over to more capable hands, Mercury returned to help them clean the place of vermin. While this was the first time she had actually fought with others than her fellow senshi, Mercury discovered quickly that the cooperation was not so bad either. The mages all controlled elements similar to theirs and the guards provided the pure hand to hand combats that became quite supportive in the attacks.
With their combined forces the monsters were quickly dispatched. The cleaning however took much longer. The numbers of deaths kept on rising as more and more bodies were found and brought out. Ami, having gone back to her normal self, knew that it would take a very long time before Aquarian Healer would ever be restored again, if ever.
Being the largest hospital in their galaxy and holding the hopes of promised life for so many thousands of people, today it was the deathtrap of thousands too. Defenseless sick peoples unable to protect themselves slaughtered like animals, some in their beds and others while running. None were spared. Only those able to fight had been fortunate to survive.
The most frustrating thing of all was the fact that they could not even answer the question why. Why did all of this happen? What was the meaning of it? Where did these monsters come from? Nobody had ever seen species like these before. And how did they manage to show up so sudden and so many without being detected earlier? The most puzzling thing was the fact that they seemed to have come from within the hospital not from the outside, which led Ami to believe that they might have used a teleportation device not so different from her own. That thought was more than enough to chill her blood to ice. If such things really did exist then what prevented them from coming back? Or somewhere else?
Just then Ami felt someone looking at her. Turning her head she met the familiar blue eyes of her mother. Relief washed over her seeing her unharmed but she was not able to hold on to that feeling for long. Lysanna only looked at her briefly before she turned and walked away in cold silence. Yet the look she had given right before she left had spoke volumes to Ami.
Shame, guilt, sadness, weariness and hurt all washed over Ami in waves. Somehow that brief look, the cold treatment had been even more painful than the slap her mother had given her. The worst part was knowing that her mother was right this time. This was Ami's fault. If she had not been sulking in her room for the past few days she would have been closer at hand and the casualties less in numbers.
Ami let her eyes sweep over the street where the dead bodies were being carried away. Monsters might have killed them but her hands were just as bloodied as those monsters because she had not been there to help, to protect. She had not done her duty like she was supposed to. Had she not locked herself up in her room she would have been having lessons with Rema and the others and maybe all of this could have been avoided.
Suddenly the last conversation with her mother started to make sense to her. By trying to help her friend she had let her duty as a senshi slide. She let one cloud her judgment of the other and these were the casualties for her mistake.
Ami looked at her mother while she moved along the rows of injured people.
"Before today I always thought my duty was to protect Usagi because she was the next heir to the throne of the Moon. I never realized that she symbolized so much more. Her wellbeing means the wellbeing of the innocents living in this solar system. To uphold order and peace so that people can live and prosper. Do not worry mother. I will honor you and father. I will protect Usagi and the innocents."
Just then her mother looked up and met her eyes briefly before turning away again. Fleetingly Ami wondered if she might have heard her thoughts somehow only to shake away the ludicrous thought. Most probably she only wanted Ami to start helping out instead of just standing there, to which she was right also.
Sighing inwardly, Ami wondered if there ever was going to be a time when her mother was not right about something. It was hard to measure up to someone who was did everything perfect. Well almost everything, in the healing field, Helios was still better than Lysanna.
At the thought of Helios, Ami looked around with a frown. Now that she thought about it, she had not seen him the whole time. She would think with a major thing like this, he would be knee deep in work already patching up the wounded. It was not usual for Helios not to be around. Where was the physician?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was with a heavy heart that, Helios patched up the last of the wounds on the young girl lying on the small bed. There were no outward signs of wounds anymore for him to attend to and with the help of his skills and time there would not be any scars left either to remind her of what had transpired today. There was however nothing to guarantee that there will not be any wound to the spirit or the mind. Those were beyond his powers to attend to. He only hoped that she was strong enough to handle them.
Helios still did not know exactly what had transpired here. The Elders had been very close mouthed about the whole incident. Obviously there had been an attack here on Pluto just like Mercury, but the forces seemed to have been stronger, from the little he caught sight of when it came to dead monster bodies that were still recognizable. Certainly the casualties had been more here. If he closed his eyes he was still able to visualise the bloody scene in front of him with all the dead bodies littered over the grounds and what was left the Midnight Shrine. He also knew that if he wanted to find out more he was going to have to wait for his queen to tell him. The Elders were a mysterious and close-mouthed lot that rarely mixed with the people of the other races. The only person they seem to have any respect for was the queen of the Moon. The only reason Helios was even here today was because the wound of the girl in front him had considered too serious for any physician here to take care of and only someone of Helios calibre would be able to handle. Still there had been a moment or two a while back when he had not been sure he would be able to save her. He was pretty much sure that without the help of the Silver crystal and the girl's two guardians she would not have.
Still he wondered what all this meant. The sudden attack on Mercury and Pluto. They all knew the war was arriving. The prophecies told them of it. But was it already here? Of those Champions they had been able to identify only a few were ready to take on their role most of them were not. And what about the rest that they still had not been able to find? How far have they come in the developments of their powers and what about their personal selves? Were they strong enough as individuals not to be tempted by the seduction of the Darkness? Just exactly how much time did they have left?
