Empire of the Dark Ami

by amiwakawaiidesu

(Based on characters and situations from "Sailor Moon", created by Naoko Takeuchi and not owned by myself.)

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CHAPTER SIX

(December, AD 1994)

"Knight takes Pawn. Check."

Mamoru grimaced slightly, contemplating his options.

"Perhaps you should resign," Ami said. "Is it so bad to surrender?"

"I'll keep playing. King to Queen 5."

"Pawn to Bishop 3. Checkmate."

Mamoru nodded thoughtfully.

"You shouldn't feel bad," Ami said, rising from the park bench opposite Mamoru's, so that she blocked out the afternoon sun and cast a shadow across him. "You did well to last that long. But a deal is a deal."

Whereupon Ami transformed into a Senshi clad all in black, with criss-crossing bands across her arms and legs and torso.

"Give yourself to me, Mamoru; Usagi is already beaten. Resistance is futile."

Mamoru stood as well, and became Tuxedo Kamen.

"Give myself to you? I can't do that. You can kill me if you like, but you are not the Ami that I once knew. You are monster, cold and inhuman."

Kuroiami shook with rage.

"But we had a deal! You said you would give yourself to me!"

"No. I said I would not resist you."

For a moment, Kuroiami seemed uncertain what to do; energy coursed through her visibly--terrible energy that had already overmastered Beryl, Beryl's generals and the Inner Senshi alike. Looking into the mask of Tuxedo Kamen, she seemed to search for some hint of surrender, but he simply stood there as proudly as ever.

At length, it was more than she could stand; searing energies flew forth from Kuroiami, melting the chess pieces on the park bench between them as they tore into the body of Tuxedo Kamen.

* * * * *

(August, AD 2000)

As Mugen Palace shook from the force of incoming attacks, Ami, Reika and Hoshi struggled to keep their footing while heading for the nearest stairwell. Though the elevators might be working, none of them were willing to chance it with the building being battered as it was, and on generator power from the basement to boot.

"The fighting is in front of the building," Hoshi said, "so the back is the safest way out..."

"So you are you letting me escape?" Ami asked.

"You and Reika, yes. Sailorsaturn will be vengeful once she penetrates Mother's defenses."

"Sailor...Saturn? But I thought she was dead!"

"I see it clearly enough," Hoshi explained, "with my second sight. Saturn has allied with the Outer Senshi, and their power is now complete."

Racing down the stairs with Hoshi and Reika, Ami's heart swelled briefly with hope--but then she remembered that Sailorsaturn was indeed the Senshi of destruction, whose very presence was ominous and foreboding. Ami could not say that Kuroiami did not deserve annihilation, but did Reika and Hoshi deserve that fate? And what of the two Usagi's still held somewhere inside Mugen Palace? Surely, Ami couldn't just abandon them while Sailorsaturn reduced the building to rubble!

"Hoshi, listen--" Ami said, as they reached the bottom of the stairs; "I need to find my friend, Usagi, and get her out of here. I can't leave without her."

Hoshi looked at Ami, even as another blast rattled the building. He seemed uncertain, until Reika bent down on one knee to speak to him.

"Hoshi-sama," Reika said, "won't you help Mizuno-san? You may have Kuroiami's power, but that doesn't mean you can't have compassion as well!"

"Don't worry," Hoshi said to Reika, "I don't object to helping Mizuno-san. I'm only wondering if this building will stand long enough for her to make good her escape. Come with me."

Not for the first time, Ami marveled at Hoshi's commanding presence--all the more remarkable for a boy of five.

I wonder who his father could be, that he could be so wise. Perhaps it was Mamoru...

But no, I can't imagine Mamoru betraying Usagi like that! Mamoru would rather die, I'm sure of it!

Following Hoshi and Reika, Ami soon found herself descending into a part of Mugen Palace that Kuroiami had never shown her. The way was dark, down winding stairways lined with dripping water pipes that made footing treacherous, and--for a moment--Ami had a real fear that she might die there when the shuddering building collapsed on top of them.

But Hoshi seemed fearless as he stopped before a seemingly featureless concrete wall, waved his hand and brought forth a secret portal. Beyond this lay a brightly-lit corridor, painted sterile white, and more corridors that branched off to the left and the right; Hoshi marched decisively to one particular corridor, though, and led his companions into a chamber that took Ami's breath away.

"Usagi!"

In fact, there were two Usagi's in the circular white chamber, hovering suspended in mid-air. Apparently unconscious, both Usagi's wore the elegant white gown of a Moon princess, and both held what seemed to be a glowing ginzuishou in her hands.

Reika reached out to stop Ami, though, before Ami could enter the chamber.

"Wait, Mizuno-san," Reika said; "your friend is in a trance, and she can't hear you."

"Yes," Hoshi said, entering the chamber; "you were here as well, Mizuno-san, when Kuroiami first brought you to the palace. Unlike your friend, though--and the Tsukino-san of our world--you resisted Kuroiami's trance, and Kuroiami removed you afterward."

Ami felt a rush of emotion; after all the trouble she'd gone through to follow her friend to this world, she'd been just a few centimeters from Usagi and never knew it!

"Can you help them?" Ami asked. "Can you wake them up?"

"Not yet," Hoshi said, "regrettably. Their trance is too deep. But they should awaken later, if you two think you can carry them out of here."

Ami nodded at once, but Reika seemed uncertain.

"What's the matter, Nishimura-san?" Hoshi asked.

"What about the others," Reika said; "can't we get them out too?"

"Nishimura-san, there's no time! We'll be lucky just to save the two Tsukino-san!"

"Wait a minute," Ami interrupted; "who are these 'others'?"

"I'll show you," Reika said, taking Ami by the hand and guiding her into another chamber. Once again, Ami was staggered.

"Oh my God," Ami gasped, beholding two figures encased in solid crystal. "Is that Tuxedo Kamen, and Furuhata Motoki--!?"

"Yes, they are," Hoshi said, "spell-frozen by Kuroiami, who could not bring herself to kill them. They might as well be dead now, though..."

"No!" Reika said, pleading with Hoshi; "you have Kuroiami's power! You can free them! You have to free them!"

"I can't be sure of that," Hoshi said; "it was powerful magic that bound these men; I might not survive, and--even if I do--the building will surely collapse before I succeed."

Reika bit her lip pensively, looking back and forth from Hoshi to Motoki.

Then suddenly, Ami made a decision.

"You go ahead and help Nishimura-san," Ami said; "I'll go carry the two Usagi's to safety."

"And I'll help--" Reika started to say.

"No," Ami said; "stay here with Hoshi; you should be here when Furuhata-san wakes up."

"But you can't carry both Usagi's at once; it will take too long..."

"I'm stronger than I look," Ami said with a smile, producing her henshin stick. "I'll be back soon."

* * * * *

To Ami's relief, Sailormercury's strength was indeed sufficient to carry both Usagi's at once. Disappointing herself, Sailormercury did lose valuable seconds trying to figure out what to do with the two ginzuishou held by the two Usagi's; since the Usagi's were unconscious, Sailormercury assumed they would drop the crystals if Sailormercury tried to move them. However, the ginzuishou remained glued to the hands of the two Usagi's even after Sailormercury threw the girls over her shoulders and carried them out of their circular chamber. Outside the chamber, weight returned to the seemingly weightless Usagi's, but it was indeed nothing Sailormercury couldn't handle.

One of them is heavier, Sailormercury noted with a slight smile; that must be my Usagi.

In fact, Sailormercury suspected it wasn't her Usagi's fast-food diet that accounted for the difference; whereas her Usagi had only been in the chamber for a number of days, the other Usagi had been there for at least five years. With only her ginzuishou to sustain her, it was no wonder that this world's Usagi was slowly wasting away.

Sailormercury had more important things to worry about in the meantime, however; with chips of concrete falling around her, and the building's steel framework creaking, Sailormercury knew she had to find a faster way out than the way she'd come in. Luckily, with her scanner, she found that way out through an underground parking structure.

"I'll just leave you two in the grass behind the school," Sailormercury said to the girls; "even if the building collapses, the debris shouldn't fall that far."

The girls remained silent.

"Oh well, at least I found you. That's all that matters."

A few seconds later, Sailormercury finally escaped the interior of Mugen Palace. The nighttime sky was lit with flashes of red and white--the tangible evidence of the battle occurring at the front of the school-but Sailormercury simply focused on getting her charges to safety. A few meters further would be enough...

A few meters further...

A few meters further...

"Leaving so soon, Ami-chan?"

Still carrying the two Usagi's, Sailormercury spun around.

"Kuroiami! But how--?"

Just then, Sailormercury noticed Artemis, curling around Kuroiami's legs.

"This white rat," Kuroiami said, "was too late to warn me about Sailorsaturn. But he wasn't too late to warn me about your treachery."

"So you've defeated the Outer Senshi."

"Not hardly," Kuroiami said. "I've erected a barrier, and the Black Senshi will be strong enough to keep it up for several minutes. Long enough for me to take back what is mine, and make good my escape."

Reaching out her hands, Kuroiami lifted the two Usagi's effortlessly out of Sailormercury's hands.

"Damn you," Sailormercury said, starting to form an attack, "Mercury Aqua--!"

"So quick to kill your friends?" Kuroiami said.

Sailormercury scowled, but canceled her attack.

"Kuroiami, don't you realize your son is still inside that building? And Nishimura-san? If the Outers break through your barrier, they could both be killed!"

Kuroiami just laughed.

"Oh, Ami-chan," Kuroiami said, "I have enjoyed our battles, but in some ways, you are very slow."

Kuroiami paused to savor Sailormercury's confusion.

"Hoshi isn't my son," Kuroiami said. "He's yours."

Suddenly, Sailormercury went pale.

"But--that's impossible..."

"Quite the contrary," Kuroiami said, "Hoshi is your son--or rather, he is the son that you will have in the future. After I came to power in this world, I realized that I had no real enemies; there was no one in the world to challenge me, and I realized I would go mad without a worthy adversary. So I learned the spells necessary to leave this dimension and search for that adversary elsewhere. That was how I first became aware of you.

"But--to my chagrin--you were not powerful like me. You had the means to be powerful, but none of the will to use that power. Indeed--as I watched you, kind to all, loved by all--I came to loathe you. Or more correctly, I came to despise you. I could have killed you easily, it's true, but simply killing you was not enough. Instead, I wanted to make you suffer; I wanted to make you suffer agony so wrenching that it would be burned into your peace-loving, idealistic heart forever.

"So I travelled into your future and I found your infant child, Hoshi. Spiriting him away from his home, I returned him to this dimension, where I took a special delight in teaching him the ways of torture, destruction and evil. In the end, though, this exercise has served only one real purpose: so that I might see the ineffable sadness on your face when Hoshi dies before your eyes."

Just then, as if on cue, a colossal explosion lit the sky, and Sailormercury knew that the barrier of the Black Senshi had collapsed. Then--a moment later--Mugen Palace began to sway, ever so slowly...

Then the building collapsed. 100,000 tons of concrete, glass and steel fell into itself, and a cloud of dust exploded outward. Too stunned to move or even shield herself, Sailormercury could only gape in horror as the wave swept across her, like a hot wind of death from Hell itself.

"NOOOOO--!!!"

* * * * *

In the year A.D. 3055 of the old Christian calendar, Neo-Queen Serenity led a party of her closest friends and family to a wind-swept plain in eastern Russia. There--standing before a huge dome of concrete holding spent nuclear fuel rods and reactor cores--the queen invoked the power of her ginzuishou one last time to purify the Earth, then died.

"Your Majesty!" Princess Mercury cried, running forward to scan the queen with her minicomputer.

"How is she, Mercury?" Princess Venus asked.

"I'm sorry," Mercury said; "the queen is dead."

"Mama!" cried Princess Serenity, throwing herself on the queen's body. "Mama, you can't be dead!"

Even as the King Endymion, Princess Serenity and planetary court gathered around the queen, though, they didn't realize that the queen's spirit was still nearby. Like a person waking from a long sleep, the queen looked down upon her dead body first with curious detachment, then a poignant sense of loss and sadness.

Oh my goodness, Usagi thought; I'm dead! I'm really dead!

"You sound surprised," a woman's voice said. "Didn't you realize this would happen?"

Turning around, Usagi was startled by the source of the voice.

"Queen Beryl! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm dead, of course, just like you."

Usagi frowned, crossing her arms.

"Well, I never have thought we'd go to the same place!"

"Hell, you mean?"

Beryl chuckled.

"We're all the same in death, Usagi. The only Hell is the life we live on Earth, if we choose to live in hate and cause suffering and pain for others. I lived in such a Hell once, but you freed me from that place."

Usagi looked at Beryl skeptically.

"Why am I having trouble believing you?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter whether you believe me or not; the truth is that I asked to come here and guide you, after you finally met your end. I feel very close to you--and not just because you stole away my love."

Usagi tensed warily.

"It's true," Beryl said, moving forward with a gentle expression on her face. "We both loved Endymion, but now I understand that his heart belonged to you and you alone. I'm truly happy you had so many years together in peace and happiness. And, of course, it pleases me to know that you left your beautiful daughter behind to carry on your legacy."

"I don't understand," Usagi said, suddenly crying uncontrollably. "Why are you being so nice to me? You tried to kill me once! You nearly killed all of us!"

"So much the better that I'm here then," Beryl said, reaching out to embrace Usagi. "I have much to atone for."

Usagi was too surprised to speak; she was just glad to have someone there to comfort her. And how strange it was, that Beryl seemed so much like an old, old friend.

"Actually, though," Beryl said, after a moment, "there is an important choice you have to consider, and that's one reason why I'm here. You see, there is another world waiting for you..."

Beryl made a sweeping gesture, and Usagi beheld a tunnel of light stretching off to eternity.

"...but you can't leave for that world until you're ready. You left a great many things unfinished in this world, and your attachment to this world is still very strong. Unless you're truly ready to leave, you may find that your Hell is on the Other Side, as you dwell on what might have been."

Usagi was confused.

"I didn't think it would be this hard. I thought we just died, and that was that."

"Well," Beryl said, "it usually is. But you chose to use the ginzuishou, fully knowing it would kill you. In a sense, you did kill yourself, and therefore your soul will not rest easily."

"Oh my, I didn't realize...

"Is it bad? Will Endymion and Chibi-Usa suffer because of what I did...?"

Beryl smiled gently.

"Not necessarily; what was meant to be will be. All that matters is whether you can accept the consequences of your actions."

"I...don't know. I do love Endymion very much...

"Is there any chance I could wait a while, and see how I feel later?"

"But of course. Take all the time you need, Usagi."

* * * * *

At first, Usagi thought Beryl might be overly concerned about nothing. In the days after Neo-Queen Serenity died, her old friends came together in a spirit of love and camaraderie, and it warmed Usagi's heart to hear them tell old stories about her--the way she used to be such a clumsy ditz in school, and even her own brother couldn't believe such an idiot was actually Sailor Moon. And it warmed Usagi's heart further to see her daughter crowned as queen, before all the people of Crystal Tokyo.

My daughter, Usagi thought, hovering about the new queen like a gentle breeze, how beautiful you are, and how I love you!

Usagi was more than a little shocked, though, when Princess Mercury met King Endymion in a side hallway of the palace, and the two of them kissed like old lovers! Usagi was heartbroken.

No, Usagi thought, resolving not to be angry, no, I must not be angry at them! These are my dearest friends, who fought for me, and stood by my side through every crisis; is it so unnatural that Ami would love Mamoru? Could it be it was always this way, and I was just too blind to see?

Fleeing the palace--unseen, of course, by anyone there--Usagi flew into the forests of the newly-green Earth she had given her life to purify. There, in places no human eye had seen in centuries, Usagi cried and cried, until finally she could cry no more.

I can't hate these people, Usagi thought; gentle Ami--she was always like a sister to me. There was nothing I could ask that she wouldn't do for me; and Mamoru, who loved me always, even when I doubted him.

It's just...

"Difficult?" Beryl asked, completing Usagi's thought.

"Oh, Beryl," Usagi said. "I never realized...

"Did they always love each other?"

Beryl didn't answer.

"Or does it matter?" Usagi asked, completing her own question. "They were always so kind to me, and even now I listen to them talk about me, with love and tenderness in their voices. So why I am sad about this? Why can't I let this go?"

"Perhaps you don't have to," Beryl said. "Perhaps it is enough to know the truth, and be honest with your feelings."

"I guess that's true," Usagi said, crying once again; "I know Ami would...always take care of my Mamoru!"

"There, there," Beryl said, holding Usagi. "You always were a crybaby, weren't you?"

Usagi sniffled.

"I thought you were supposed to be on my side."

"I'm just kidding, Usagi-chan. Do you think you want to stay here longer, or do you think it's time to go? I understand they have quite a wedding planned..."

"No, it's all right. I think it's time to go."

"Very well," Beryl said, taking Usagi's hand. "Look now, into the sky."

Once again, the tunnel of light appeared, but this time Usagi didn't fight the light. She felt it pulling her, even as Beryl stayed beside her.

"You know, I was just thinking," Usagi said to Beryl; "Ami told me once your name means 'brilliance'. I thought it was strange, that you should have such a beautiful name..."

"Usagi, you seem pensive; is something the matter?"

"I was just thinking," Usagi said, "I never told Ami good-bye. Is there some way..."

"To contact her...?"

Beryl gave Usagi a stern look.

"Usagi, you should know that we pay a price for death. We leave that world behind."

"But, Beryl, please...is there a way?"

Beryl frowned, looking very upset, then finally gave Usagi a smile.

"Well, there is a way," Beryl said. "I'm not supposed to tell you, but--if you really really want to, and there's something you still have to say--you can go back."

"Oh, thank you, Beryl--!"

"But be warned, Usagi. Ami knows you're dead; you could frighten her if you aren't careful--and you could be trapped as a ghost in this world forever, if this was not meant to be."

Usagi thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.

"I understand. But...I still need to go."

"Very well, then," Beryl said. "If you must, then go quickly. I will wait for your return."

Usagi smiled, looking up at Beryl now, as she felt herself falling back from the tunnel of light. The last thing she remembered was Beryl surrounded by a halo of light--the very brilliance of Heaven...

* * * * *

...then there was dust, like a sandstorm of concrete.

"What in the world--? Ami--?"

Despite the sudden storm of dust and debris she found herself in, Usagi wasn't so disoriented that she didn't see she was draped over the shoulder of a blue-haired girl that could only be Ami. But where was she, and what in the world was happening?

Curiously, Ami was dressed very oddly, in a black costume that looked very much like Sailormercury's fuku, only black and crisscrossed with band-like cords. It was weird enough to freak Usagi out, and-half-purposefully and half-accidentally, she kicked Ami right in the gut.

"OOF!"

Mighty though she was, Kuroiami was caught off guard and crumpled to the ground.

"Usagi!" Sailormercury yelled, coming forward to grab her friend.

"Oh, you're tricky bitches," Kuroiami gasped, grabbing hold of another Usagi she had dropped when she fell. "But no matter; one Usagi and one ginzuishou are more than sufficient for what I have planned. Until we meet again, I shall consider this another draw."

Then-abruptly--Kuroiami vanished.

"Mercury," Usagi said--only just then noticing her white gown, and the silver crystal in her hand, "what the hell is going on here? I was dead--I was going to Heaven--then..."

"Oh, Usagi," Sailormercury said, embracing her friend, "I'm sorry you had to go through that! I'm sorry I couldn't protect you! I'm sorry...!"

Usagi frowned, still mightily confused by the whole situation. But then a memory came back to her--of visiting Ami's apartment to study, then meeting a strange blue-haired woman and blue-haired boy...

"I've been dreaming, haven't I? I was in some kind of trance."

"Yes," Sailormercury said tearfully. "But you're okay now."

"So where are we, Ami? And who was that lady? And why were there two of me...?!"

Sailormercury tried to laugh, but it actually came out as a choking sob. With dust from Mugen Palace still swirling around, she looked around for some kind of shelter--some place she could talk to Usagi--then found it in a small tool shed nearby on the grass. She led Usagi there, then collapsed on the floor and de-transformed back into Ami.

"I'm sorry, Usagi," Ami said, finally succumbing to exhaustion. "I'm just a little out of it right now. You see, I just watched my son die..."