DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon and its characters are not owned by me, blah blah blah, and other legal junk. Sparrow Migoto is owned by my friend Christina, and used with her permission.

Author's Note: This fanfic is a direct sequel to Looking Up To You, a Sammy/Ami romance fanfic that I wrote about a year ago. It's still on my profile, so I recommend that if you haven't read Looking Up To You, it would be best to stop, don't pass GO, don't collect $200, and go immediately to my profile to check it out. Otherwise, you'll be kinda confused.

Second Author's Note: This fanfic takes place after Sailor Moon Sailor Stars. (Serena, Ami, Rei, and Mina are 17. Lita is 18. Sammy is 14. Darien is older than all of them.) Also, if you're confused about some of the Senshi's attacks, that's because they got a whole set of new ones in Looking Up To You. So like I said, go check it out.

---

When Rick finally awoke, he immediately surveyed his surroundings. The room around him was huge, and the one or two lights in the room didn't do much to brighten up the room's dim interior. The huge room was quite dusty as well, and as dust entered Rick's nasal cavity, he struggled to keep himself from sneezing. As he came even more to his senses, his head began throbbing, and he felt a large pain emanating from the back of his head.

"Ugh... oh, geez... my head..." Rick moaned. But as he tried to reach up to touch his wound, he found that he couldn't budge his arms an inch. He looked back to discover that his arms were firmly bound behind his back with course, thick rope, securely tied in place to a large, metallic pole that reached all the way up to the ceiling. His legs were also bound, his ankles secured to a strong metallic loop that protruded from the floor. As he looked behind him again, he could see another set of hands bound to the pole as well. He gasped when he realized who was sitting right beside him. "Mika!"


A weak moan sounded from behind Rick, as his shouting had awoken Mika from her chloroform-induced slumber. As her eyes slowly opened, she quickly looked around to see that she was in the same predicament that Rick was. She turned her head at the same time that Rick did, and their eyes met, both of their faces etched with the same terrified expression.

"Rick, what's going on?" Mika asked, her voice beginning to tremble. "Were we... kidnapped?"


Rick nodded.


"It seems that way, Mika," Rick said softly.

Mika turned away from Rick, bowed her head, and began to sob. Rick immediately felt a sense of sadness, as his girlfriend, who had been so happy at the start of their date, and then had gotten so angry at him, was now afraid for her life... probably even more than he was.

"Sammy... he's the reason they've kidnapped us, Mika," Rick said, a hint of anger beginning to show in his voice. "He did something to piss those bad guys off, and now they're coming after us!"

"Rick, no...." Mika said, reaching behind the pole as far as she could and grasping one of Rick's hands in her own, as tears coursed down her face. "Don't blame Sammy for this... you can't blame Sammy, it's not his fault at all..."

"Oh, Mika, I'm so sorry about the way I treated you today..." Rick said regretfully, gripping Mika's hand slightly harder. "I was a jerk to you, and I shouldn't have made you go on that stupid ride, because it scared you, and it made you throw up, and-"

"Well, I didn't... exactly throw up," Mika said, her voice cheering up a bit. "I was about to throw up, but somehow, I didn't. And now I'm feeling a bit better... well, except for the headache from that stuff they put over my mouth.... Rick, it's alright, I forgive you..."

"I won't let them hurt you, Mika," Rick said. "No matter what any of those sick, twisted villains to do me, I swear I won't let them hurt you! I promise!"

"We'll... we'll be okay, Rick..." Mika said, her hand still clutching Rick's. "Are... are you okay? You've got a nasty gash on the back of your head..."

"I... I do?" Rick asked, but sighing as he realized he couldn't reach up to inspect his wound. "I guess that's why it hurts so much..."

"The Sailor Senshi... they'll come save us, Rick," Mika said quietly, blinking a tear away from her eye. "And... and Sammy will come too."

"That's precisely what I hope happens!" said Pyretta, appearing in front of Mika in a loud burst of flame, causing Mika to let out a loud scream. "You know, the Senshi were just here in this factory... I sent them after a couple of my men, though. They'll be chasing them all over town!"

"You won't get away with this!" Rick said through clenched teeth. Pyretta smirked and walked around to face Rick, leaning down in front of the boy and sensually stroking his sweat-covered face with her hand.

"I'm not getting away with this... I'm getting away with the Dark Crystal," Pyretta said tauntingly. "Because when Sammy comes, I'll have several more mercenaries here, waiting for him. Along with me. And then, we'll beat him to within an inch of his life, until he's completely helpless! And then do you know what I'm going to do?"

"Don't even think about it, you stupid bitch..." Rick spat. Pyretta growled in rage and grabbed Rick by the jaw, digging her razor-sharp fingernails into his flesh, breaking his skin in several places and causing blood to begin seeping down his face.

"I'm going to kill you, AND your shrieking little girlfriend Mika, and I'm going to force Sammy to watch. And I'm going to do it slowly... slowly... slowly... so many negative emotions, the anger, the sadness, the pain, the HATRED-"

"STOP!" Mika screamed, thrashing about angrily in an attempt to break free of her bonds, as tears came gushing in streams down her face. "Leave Rick and Sammy alone! Just go away!"

Pyretta released her grip on Rick's face and slowly stepped back, away from the two terrified and trembling teenagers.

"Alright, I will go away," Pyretta said casually. "I'm going to go invite Sammy to our happy little party now. Toodles!"

And, with another burst of flames, Pyretta disappeared from the factory, leaving Rick and Mika alone to ponder their fate.

---

Meanwhile, Sammy was standing on Ami's porch, saying goodbye to his lover after the fun afternoon that they'd had.

"Goodbye, Sammy," Ami said, leaning out of the doorway and briefly kissing Sammy on the lips. "I really hope that your friends can patch up their relationship..."

"I've never seen Rick and Mika fight before," Sammy replied, nodding his head. "I'm sure they'll be back to normal soon... I mean, all couples fight and argue sometimes, right?"

"We've never had a big argument, Sammy," Ami stated.

"Thank goodness for that," Sammy said, obviously grateful that he and Ami had never really had a serious argument. The only time they'd ever yelled at one another was during the heat of battle, out of concern for the other's life... and Sammy hoped that they'd never even do that again. He kissed Ami once more, and then gently shut the door, turning and walking away from Ami's house and strolling down the sidewalk to his own home. He'd barely walked a block when a large burst of flames appeared several feet in front of him.


"Holy crap!" Sammy shouted, taking several steps backward and shielding his eyes from the bright flames. "What the..."

"Sammy Tsukino, you are cordially invited to the abandoned Juuban Takeshi Toyota Factory!" Pyretta shouted, a large smile on her face. "What's the occasion? Why, to save the lives of your friends Rick and Mika, of course! I hope you'll be there... because if you don't come, I can't guarantee that-"

Sammy's face lit up with rage as Pyretta mentioned that his friends Rick and Mika were in danger.

"What have you done to them?" Sammy shouted frantically.

"Nothing... yet," Pyretta said. "But if you don't come, I'll kill them both. That's a guarantee! Oh, and by the way... NONE of the Sailor Senshi, including your stupid girlfriend Sailor Mercury, are invited. If they crash the party, Rick and Mika are toast! I'll be expecting you soon...."

Sammy ran at Pyretta, but it was too late. As Pyretta disappeared, the large column of flames that her departure generated blasted Sammy back, knocking him down to the sidewalk. He slowly picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"Rick... Mika... hang on, you guys! I'm coming!" Sammy shouted with determination. "But first..."

Instead of going to the factory immediately, he rushed toward his home. He knew exactly what he was going to get... he had to have it. The sword that he'd been given by Alexis... it saved Ami's life, and now it was going to save the lives of Rick and Mika. At least... that's what he hoped.

---

"We've got you two cornered now!" Sailor Moon shouted. "Give it up!"

As soon as Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, and Tuxedo Mask had left the factory, they had spotted two identical-looking men with long, black hair, wearing similar blue uniforms. The Senshi had chased the two suspicious men into a narrow alleyway, and now had them pinned up against a brick wall. The two men, seeing that they were trapped, pointed their arms at the Senshi.

"You will not get in Lord Jekelai's way!" shouted the first man.


"The Dark Crystal will be ours!" shouted the second. As soon as they had said those words, they fired a large, red, magical blast at the Senshi.

"Mars Flame Cannon!"

"Jupiter Thunder Axe!"


The powerful combination of fire blasts and lightning-infused axes easily nullified the large red blast. Then, Sailor Venus stepped up, with a large, golden bow in her hand.

"Venus Arrow Of Beauty!" Sailor Venus shouted. Two powerful arrows sliced through the air and headed straight for the two men, hitting them in the chest and disintegrating both of them on contact. Venus lowered her bow and smiled in approval.

"Great job, Sailor V!" Sailor Moon said, giving Sailor Venus the thumbs-up. "We've stopped them from hurting Sammy and Ami! Excellent work!"


"Uh, Sailor Moon... I think that those two guys may have been a diversion," Tuxedo Mask said worriedly. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars nodded in agreement.

"We'd better use our communicators and call up Sailor Mercury to see if she's okay," said Sailor Jupiter. Sailor Mars gasped.


"That's what we should've done in the first place!" Sailor Mars said. "But wait... we didn't really want to disturb them on their date, now did we...?"

"Better do it now, Sailor Moon," Tuxedo Mask said. Sailor Moon nodded and pressed the small button on the side of the communicator device that was located on her wrist.

"Sailor Mercury, you there?" Sailor Moon said. "Come in, Sailor Mercury..."

---


Ami, meanwhile, had just gone into her room to change her clothes when the communicator on her wrist began to beep. She lifted it up to her lips.

"Serena?" Ami said quietly. "Is something the matter?"


"Oh my gosh, thank goodness.... are you and Sammy okay?" Sailor Moon asked. Ami nodded.


"Yes, we are," Ami said. "In fact, Sammy just dropped me off at home... why?"

"What about Sammy's friends, Rick and Mika? Are they okay?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they are," Ami replied. "We left them at the carnival and then headed back home...."

"Well, this fire chick showed up... we chased her down to this factory, but then poof... she was gone! She left us two guys to fight, so we left the factory and chased them into an alley... but Sailor Venus got them," Sailor Moon said. "Ami, we think they might've been some kind of diversion... and that you could still be in danger. We're heading back for the factory now to pick up clues, but we're going to make a pit stop at Rei's temple to wait for you, okay? Please transform into Sailor Mercury and come right away!"

"I will," Ami said. "Just... don't tell Sammy about this, alright? I don't want him to get hurt..."

---

"Sammy, what are you doing?" Sammy's mother asked gently, knocking on Sammy's bedroom door, which he had closed and locked as he removed his large katana from under his bed.

"I'm going out," Sammy replied.

"Again?" Sammy's mother asked. "But we're just about to start eating supper... it's going to have to wait, okay? At least until you're done eating."

"But it can't wait, mom!" Sammy protested. "Mom, please, you've gotta understand..."

"Sammy Tsukino, you open this door right this instant!" shouted Sammy's mother as Sammy slowly walked over to the window and began to open it. "I'm warning you!"

"Sorry, mom," Sammy said, leaning out the window. "I gotta run... later!"


Sammy leaped out the window and began running down the street, his sword inside a large sheath that he had strapped to his back. Sammy's mother, tired of waiting for Sammy to open his door, slid a credit card through the gap separating his door from the wall and opened the door herself, walking into his room to see the window wide open, but no sign of Sammy.

"Sammy..." Sammy's mother thought, leaning outside the window. "You haven't snuck out like this since... you went to rescue Ami from those villains that you were talking about that once time six months ago... this is one of those Sailor Senshi things, isn't it? Oh... Sammy..."

A tear slid down Sammy's mother's face as her heart slowly began to sink to the pit of her stomach.

---

"There it is," Sammy said to himself. "The Juuban Takeshi Toyota Factory..."

Sammy knew where the factory was only because he'd passed by it so many times walking to school. Every single day he walked by it, he never in his wildest dreams could have imagined that the abandoned factory may one day become the scene of his demise... but that was the one thought in his mind now. He let out a long sigh and pushed open the doors that led into the building.

"Please let Rick and Mika be okay..." Sammy prayed silently. As he entered the factory, a series of loud, muffled screams immediately alerted his attention to the center of the room. There, Sammy saw Rick and Mika, both of them bound to the large metal pole in the center of the room. Sometime after Pyretta had left, one of her mercenaries had placed long strips of white tape over the mouths of both Rick and Mika, preventing them from signaling to Sammy that he was walking into a trap. He didn't get that message until a large boot slammed into the side of his face, sending him sprawling across the room before he could even get close to Rick and Mika. Sammy hit the ground hard on his back, and as he did, he was immediately rushed by three tall, hooded men. They ran up to Sammy and began stomping him violently, assaulting his face, chest, and stomach. As they did, the man who had kicked Sammy, a man with short, spiked, dark red hair, who was about Sammy's height, walked over to Sammy to survey the beating that the young man was getting.

"Pyretta, you certainly do give me the easiest jobs," said the man. A large, blazing column of flames appeared next to him, and with them, Pyretta.

"Well, Diaxis," said Pyretta, running her hand through her hair, "you never ask for the hard ones."

"Get off of me!" Sammy shouted angrily, rising to his feet with incredible strength and causing the three men to leap back several feet. In a split-second, Sammy unsheathed his sword, and Diaxis groaned in annoyance.

"I thought you wanted a hard job, Diaxis," said Pyretta. "So, Sammy... you showed up after all."

Three more cloaked men stepped out of the shadows and stood behind Pyretta. Sammy was now facing off against eight of Jekelai's mercenaries: Pyretta, Diaxis, and the six hooded men. He couldn't help but tremble, if only slightly. But he continued to stand tall, determined to rescue his friends.

"Stop... stop hurting my friends!" Sammy shouted angrily, holding his katana out in front of him. "Let Rick and Mika go!"

"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy," said Pyretta, a devilish smile still pasted onto her lips, "you know I can't do that. Hmm... where have I seen this before? No, wait, I haven't seen this before... but you have, Sammy."

Sammy stood and blinked his eyes for a few seconds, a puzzled look on his face.

"What does she mean by that?" Sammy thought. "Oh my gosh... wait a minute, she can't possibly mean..."

Sammy looked around and surveyed his surroundings. A large, dark room... his two friends tightly secured to a fixed point in the room, helplessly looking on... adversaries all around him... there were some differences, but... yes, Sammy had seen this before.

"This is almost exactly like when I faced Alexis," Sammy said, his voice nearly reduced to a whisper.

"History does repeat itself, Sammy," said Pyretta. "Well, except that this time, it's not one-on-one, Sammy. It's eight-on-one. But we don't want to kill you... oh no, definitely not that, Sammy. The crystal is what we're after."

"I'm telling you, I don't have any crystal!" Sammy shouted, anger welling up inside of him. Of course he had the crystal, they wouldn't be attacking him if he didn't, but maybe if he played dumb...

"Diaxis, tear him apart," Pyretta said, leaping back to observe the ensuing battle from a same distance. "I'll be waiting."

"You heard her, men!" Diaxis shouted to his crowd of six hooded mercenaries. "Attack!"


The six men rushed Sammy, their eyes reflecting a collective mood of swift and deadly precision. Sammy gasped.

"I can't do this..." Sammy said to himself. For a brief moment, he looked back toward the center of the room, where Rick and Mika were both frozen with fear, tears streaming down Mika's face as she closed her eyes, not wanting to see Sammy get hurt. But there was something different in Rick's eyes... he looked... almost... angry. "I won't let you down!"

In one swift, charging motion, Sammy leapt forward, plunging his sword into the chest of one of the men. Clearly, none of them had been expecting Sammy's attack, and for the mercenary that Sammy had stabbed, it was already too late. He fell off of Sammy's sword and collapsed to the ground, dead in an instant.

But Sammy's happiness at his defeat of one of the men was quickly short-lived as a hard kick to the side of Sammy's face sent him back down to the ground, and the katana flew from his hands. Now, as he hit the ground, he could feel the extent of the earlier attack on his body, as several painful bruises had already started to appear on his body. As he tried to stand, a small blast of magical energy hit Sammy in the side, causing him to roll over and come to a stop next to his sword.

"That really hurt..." Sammy thought as he looked at the large burned spot on his side, caused by the blast. It was a bad second-degree burn, and Sammy knew that it would begin to blister in a very short amount of time. "I'd better get my sword!"

Sammy placed his right hand on the hilt of the blade and gripped it tightly as he started to climb up from the ground. But a painful stomp to the small of his back quickly stopped him in his tracks and sprawled him out on the ground once again, a pained groan emanating from his throat.

"You should be proud, Sammy," said Diaxis, walking over to Sammy as the mercenary who had stepped on him kept him pressed to the ground with his large, powerful foot. "You killed one of the Pale Mercenaries. Not too many people can say that they've done that. Of course, not too many people who have done it are still alive. So, in the end, I guess it all evens out."

By now, Diaxis was standing right in front of Sammy. Sammy looked up, trying to get a better look at his tormentor. As soon as his eyes met Diaxis', he received an extremely hard kick to the face from Diaxis' large, brown boot. Sammy's head snapped to the side as Diaxis' foot followed through. When Sammy finally pulled his head back, he could taste the large stream of blood that was now gushing down from his nose and into his mouth, and he knew immediately that Diaxis' kick had broken his nose. Then, Sammy did something that he never thought he would do, at least simply because of pain. A tear slid down his cheek, and Sammy began to cry. Diaxis stepped back, and a slightly sympathetic look appeared on his face.

"Is Pyretta really sure that this is the right child?" Diaxis thought. "Pyretta, the child is crying. I kicked him, and now he's crying."

"So?" Pyretta shouted. "That's good! It's a sign that the Dark Crystal is about to emerge! Kick him again!"

Diaxis hesitated for a second. In that second, the mercenary that had been pinning Sammy to the ground stomped him in the back again, and Sammy let out a loud scream of anguish as his entire body flared up with immense pain.

"Sammy!" Mika shouted, her loud, desperate cry muffled by the tape over her lips. Diaxis walked away from Sammy and began briskly walking over to Mika.

"I can't help them..." Sammy thought, weakly trying to stand as the mercenary's foot pressed against his back. "It's all my fault..."

"Will you shut up?" Diaxis shouted, slapping Mika hard across the face and eliciting a muffled scream of protest from Rick. "And you shut up too!"


"THAT DOES IT!" Sammy shouted, a feeling of renewed vigor, mixing with anger and overtaking his entire body. He firmly grasped the hilt of his katana and swung it backwards, slashing off the leg of the mercenary and freeing his back. Then, Sammy stood up and stabbed the katana through the mercenary's chest, killing him and causing Diaxis to turn around and gasp.

"So he does possess the Dark Crystal..." Diaxis thought. "Pyretta was correct..."

The other four mercenaries all looked at each other, puzzled about what to do next as the furious-looking Sammy stormed toward them.

"Don't just stand there!" Diaxis roared. "Take him out!"

The four mercenaries did as they were told. But now, Sammy was fighting with a purpose. His face had taken on a look of anger, his eyes narrowed into tiny slits, and his lips curled into a lupine growl. As four blasts of magical energy were fired at him, Sammy swatted them away with his sword, and then leapt upon the four mercenaries, cutting them all down with one mighty slash of his katana. The bodies of the six mercenaries were all at Sammy's feet as Diaxis approached him, all sympathy removed from his face.

"It's coming out, Diaxis!" Pyretta shouted. "Don't fail me now..."

"This boy is no match for me," Diaxis said, extending his arms and holding them about two feet apart from one another. "Watch."

A field of black electricity formed between Diaxis' hands, crackling and sparking. Sammy seemed completely unshaken, and stood just a few steps away from Diaxis, beckoning him closer. Diaxis smiled.

"That's just what I've been waiting for, Sammy," Diaxis said. Suddenly, the field of electricity disappeared from Diaxis' hands. Instead, it had engulfed Sammy. The large field of electricity shocked Sammy and caused him to cry out as he fell to the ground, landing on his knees and breathing heavily.

"I... I have to do this..." Sammy breathed. "I've gotta help Rick and Mika!"

Diaxis kicked Sammy hard across the chest, knocking him to the ground and causing him to skid next to the bodies of two of the mercenaries that he had felled earlier. He slowly rose to his feet, but the spark that had spurred him to battle earlier seemed to be dimming fast.

"What's happening to me?" Sammy said. "I was able to kill all of those bad guys before... why not now?"


"It's all about power, Sammy," Diaxis said. "They didn't have it, and you did. But now, I have more."

"Just beat him into absolute submission so that I can start torturing his stupid friends," Pyretta said.

"They're not stupid!" Sammy shouted, angrily rushing toward Pyretta.

"Not so fast!" Diaxis yelled, striking Sammy in the cheek with his fist and causing him to stagger back. "You've still got to deal with me, first."

With a loud yell, Sammy rushed at Diaxis again, and again, he was punched. This time, the punch hit Sammy straight on the tip of his broken nose, and Sammy was forced to the ground, painfully clutching his face.

"Sammy... come on, you have to beat this guy!" Rick thought, watching with dismay the battle between Sammy and Diaxis, while tightly gripping Mika's trembling hand in a futile attempt to ease her fears.

"No matter what happens, Sammy... we'll still be your friends... I know I'll be," Mika thought.

A large, dark circle of purple light lit up below Sammy. Then, a bright explosion engulfed his body, blasting him up into the air. He hit the ground hard on his face, his body severely bruised and burned in several places. He was about ready to pass out.

"Alright, Pyretta, I think I've done it," Diaxis said, walking over to Sammy. "He's completely helpless now."


Sammy tried to stand, but the huge amount of pain in his body prevented him from doing anything at this point, except holding onto the hilt of his katana.

"I can't let this be the end... I can't let Rick and Mika down... I can't let my sister down... and... Ami... Ami, I can't let you see me like this..."

Ami loved him... Sammy knew Ami loved him, and he knew that if something happened to him, it would tear her apart, just like it would tear him apart if anything ever happened to Ami.

"There's too much riding on this battle... to give up now... I have to keep fighting!"

Diaxis triumphantly walked over to Sammy... and that's when Sammy's katana stabbed straight through his chest. Diaxis let out a gasp of pain and shock, and looked down to see Sammy, standing on one knee and holding up his katana as high as he could, somehow finding the strength in the depths of his body to run Diaxis through. Diaxis fell off of Sammy's sword and hit the ground, a thin stream of blood trickling from the side of his mouth.


"How... did.... how could this happen?" Diaxis gasped. "It's... not fair..."


Diaxis' eyes closed. He was dead. Pyretta gasped and pointed her arm at Sammy.

"Looks like you need a little bit more tenderizing!" Pyretta shrieked,

Suddenly, Pyretta's hand lit up with a bright red glow, and a large burst of flame engulfed Sammy, causing him to scream loudly. After a few seconds, the flames stopped, and Sammy fell to the ground, the katana falling from his hands and clattering loudly as it hit the floor. His bruised, burned, and battered body had finally had enough. Rick and Mika, who, for just one second, had rejoiced as Diaxis had fallen, had now given up all hope. Mika simply fell unconscious, her grip on Rick's hand loosening as her fingers fell limp. Rick started to scream, but then bowed his head toward the ground, hopelessly. Pyretta cackled victoriously.

"I've done it!" Pyretta shouted. Sammy, who hadn't quite passed out, simply moaned, his voice nearly spent as well. Despite the massive damage to his body, he felt no pain, except for one... a sharp, burning pain that tugged at the center of his body, making it feel as if Sammy was being eaten from within. Sammy had felt this pain before... most recently when he had to suffer the disappointment of not getting to eat Ami's cookies. This feeling, however, was much stronger.

"That... that must be what the Dark Crystal feels like..." Sammy thought, realizing now that he truly had something evil inside of him... and it was eating away at him every single second.

"Darn, the girl passed out," Pyretta said, now standing next to Mika and inspecting her unconscious form as Rick began another tirade of muffled shouts directed at the orange-haired mercenary. "I'll get to you in a second... right after I wake up your little girlfriend. Hmm... maybe fire would-"


"MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"

"What the fu-"

Several large torrents of chilling water washed over Pyretta and knocked her backward, away from Rick and Mika. She turned toward the entrance of the factory, and gasped. Standing there, in the doorway, were the five Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Mask, arriving at last. Sailor Mercury stood at the forefront of the Senshi, and she had been the one that had attacked Pyretta just a few seconds ago. Pyretta, drenched in both water and ice, angrily walked toward the Senshi, puddles of water forming behind her.

"So, you actually came back here," Pyretta said, lighting up in a burst of flame that evaporated the water covering her body.

"We only meant to come back for clues," Sailor Moon said. "We didn't think you'd actually be here... but in the name of the Moon, we'll punish you!"

Mika opened her eyes again and looked, along with Rick, to see the Sailor Senshi. Her eyes lit up with hope, and Rick's eyes lit up as well.

"It's about time you guys got here," Rick thought.

Sammy had noticed the Senshi as well. Gathering all of the strength in his body, he slowly began to rise up, ignoring the sharp pain in his chest, and the pains that quickly rushed in from the rest of his body as he climbed to his feet. But somehow, someway, he was able to climb into a standing position. As soon as Sailor Mercury saw him, and the condition that he was in, she gasped in fright and rushed to his side.

"Oh my God, Sammy!" Sailor Mercury screamed, tightly wrapping her arms around Sammy's chest and hugging him as tightly as she could. "Sammy... are you alright? You're hurt... really badly... oh my gosh, Sammy..."

As Sailor Mercury embraced him, the pain in Sammy's body seemed to float away, and more tears started to come up to his eyes.

"Ami..." Sammy said, pain clearly evident in his voice. "I'm so glad to see you again..."

"Sammy..."

Sailor Mercury was now sobbing, clearly devastated to see that Sammy had been hurt. She continued to embrace him, now only wanting all of the bruises, and cuts, and burns that he'd sustained to go away...

"I should have been here sooner..." Mercury sobbed. "Then I could have stopped all this from happening..."


"Shhh..." Sammy said, gently stroking Sailor Mercury's hair with his hand. "You guys have to have Rick and Mika.... they're the ones in trouble..."

"I'd love to destroy you Sailor Senshi, but first, the matter of these two being freed must be clearly addressed," Pyretta said, walking over toward Rick and Mika. Suddenly, a vortex opened up behind her, and another hooded mercenary stepped out. The Sailor Senshi gasped. "These two will be taken right to Lord Jekelai's headquarters... he will figure out the best thing to do with them."

The portal quickly engulfed Rick, Mika, and the mercenary, and then closed as quickly as it had opened. The metal pole was still standing, but now, the two teens who were tied to it were now gone. Sammy gasped, and more tears came down his face.

"NO!" Sammy shouted in despair, sinking to his knees again. "Rick... Mika... no..."


Sailor Mercury gently bent down next to him and clutched Sammy's sobbing form tightly to her chest.

"We'll get them back..." Sailor Mercury said softly. "I promise..."

"That does it!" Sailor Mars shouted. "Abducting Sammy's friends and then sending them off to your dumb leader is about as low as it gets!"

"It gets lower!" Sailor Moon yelled. "You used Sammy's two best friends to lure him into a trap, and then you nearly beat him to death! You're the sickest of the sick, the foulest of the foul, and-"


"Yeah, yeah, and proud of it!" Pyretta shouted, her hands glowing a bright red. "Take this!"

As Pyretta's arms began to make a series of tossing motions, several dozen fireballs were hurled at the Senshi. Tuxedo Mask ran in front of the girls and tried to swing his staff around to deflect the fireballs, but it was useless, and Tuxedo Mask was blasted back into the wall for his trouble.

"Ami, you have to help them!" Sammy said, gently nudging Sailor Mercury away from him. "I'll... be alright... Sailor Moon can heal me."

"She can only heal people who are slightly injured, Sammy," Sailor Mercury said. "Otherwise, it drains too much of her energy..."

"I'll still be alright," Sammy said. "Ami..."

"I don't want to leave you," Sailor Mercury sobbed, leaning in and hugging Sammy tighter.

"Jupiter Thunder Axe!"


"Mars Flaming Cannon!"

"Venus Arrow Of Beauty!"

A large stream of fire and lightning flew at Pyretta, swirling around a large, silver-shafted arrow that flew straight at Pyretta's chest. As the arrow got closer and closer, a large shield of fire appeared around Pyretta's body, completely blocking the attack as it slammed into the shield and created a large explosion.


"It didn't do a thing to her!" Sailor Mars shouted as the smoke began to clear.

"I'll handle this!" Sailor Moon said, pointing her henshin stick at Pyretta. "Moon... Blessed... Salvation!"

A large wave of magical energy slammed into Pyretta, knocking her backward, but barely doing any real damage to her. As the attack dissipated, Pyretta smiled, and began giggling.

"Is that all that you puny Senshi have?" Pyretta said through her laughter. "Oh, please..."

Pyretta extended her arms and floated into the air. A giant burst of flame engulfed her body, taking on the form of a large, winged phoenix.

"The phoenix usually brings life, but mine is different!" Pyretta shouted as she floated around so that her head was pointed at the Senshi, getting ready to dive-bomb them. "My phoenix brings DEATH!"

Pyretta, encased in her phoenix-shaped flame, flew toward the Senshi with incredible speed. They had no time to dodge, and could merely brace themselves for the attack that was to come.


"Mercury Ice Javelin!"

Out of nowhere, several large, icy spears flew at Pyretta, hitting her and catching her completely off-guard. The phoenix-shaped flames disappeared, and Pyretta was sent hurtling toward the ground, landing just a few feet in front of the Senshi. Sailor Mercury ran over to rejoin her teammates, as Sammy stood a few feet away, watching them with a large smile on his face. He gave Sailor Mercury a thumbs-up, and she returned it with one of her own.

"I know you'll be alright, Sammy," Sailor Mercury thought. "I trust in you..."

"Now's the time!" Tuxedo Mask shouted. "Hit Pyretta with an Ultimate Planet Power attack!"

"Right!" the Senshi shouted in unison. They clutched hands and formed a circle around Pyretta as she began to stand up. Their bodies shined brightly with magical energy, which floated out of their bodies and formed a large mist above Pyretta.

"What's going on?" Pyretta shrieked as she saw the energy gathered above her. "Lord Jekelai never said anything about..."

"Sailor Ultimate Planet Power!" the Senshi shouted, causing the mist to engulf Pyretta and shower her with magical energy. It overwhelmed her, and within seconds, Pyretta had been disintegrated. The Senshi slowly released their grip on each other's hands and walked over to Sammy, all of them extremely worried. Tuxedo Mask was with them.

"Sammy, I can heal some of those wounds," Sailor Moon said, putting her hand on Sammy's forehead. "But you're still gonna take a ton of bruises home to mom..."


"Rick and Mika got sucked into a portal..." Sammy said worriedly. "We've got to find them! We've gotta save them!"

"First things first, Sammy," said Sailor Jupiter. "At least you're okay... but you're right. We need to find and rescue Rick and Mika as soon as possible..."

---

"So, now Pyretta is dead..."

Jekelai paced around the interior of his room, sitting down on a large, plush, red chair and putting his head into his hands. At that moment, the door to Jekelai's room opened, and a hooded mercenary walked into the room, carrying the still bound and gagged Rick and Mika with him.

"Lord Jekelai, these are the two children you wanted," said the cloaked man, roughly setting Rick and Mika down in front of him.

"At least Pyretta's death was not totally in vain," Jekelai said, rising to his feet. "Take these two to the dungeon... I may yet have some use for them."

As the cloaked man dragged Rick and Mika from the room, Jekelai walked back over to the window and leaned up against it, deep in thought.

"Perhaps I am going about this all wrong," Jekelai said to himself. "Perhaps abducting certain people to build up negative emotions in Sammy is not the quickest way to extract the crystal... but targeting people whom Sammy's negative emotions have already affected may amplify Sammy's negative emotions quite significantly... yes, that could be it... I do not have much time. Sparrow will arrive shortly... and then I will be forced to fight again."

---

Sparrow stood her ground as the twelve men walked toward her, each of them wielding a different weapon. Some had spears, some had maces, and one of them had a huge, ten-foot battle axe. To everyone but Sparrow, it seemed that she was outmatched.

"These guys are history," Sparrow said. But before attacking the men with her sword, Sparrow did something else that even Jekelai hadn't expected. She slammed the blade into the middle of the manacles encasing her wrists, shattering the supposedly 'unbreakable' metal into pieces.

"I can't believe it!" Jekelai roared from his vantage point, a tiny window located just outside the training room. "I should've inspected her sword..."

Now that her hands were free, Sparrow took the opportunity to clean house. She quickly beheaded three of the men with her blade before one of her opponent's weapons nicked her in the arm, causing her to spin around and slash the man across the chest, killing him instantly. Suddenly, a large, metallic flail was swung at Sparrow's head, and she was narrowly able to duck. The flail continued to spin around, killing one of the other mercenaries as it slammed into his head, a fatal blow.

"That's kinda funny," Sparrow said, giggling quietly to herself before stabbing the flail-wielding man in the stomach, killing him. Then, Sparrow quickly ran around the room, killing five more mercenaries before they even had time to blink. Finally, Sparrow was left with just one man... the man holding the giant, ten-foot battle axe. The man swung the axe at Sparrow, clipping her in the side and causing her to spin around, a small cut dripping blood down the side of her body. "Nothing to be too worried about..."

That was the last cut that the man ever made. Sparrow leapt up and kicked the man hard in the face, sending him flying into the wall. Then, Sparrow ran across the man's axe and stabbed her sword into his chest, before leaping back away from the man and into the center of the room, turning toward the door and waiting for Jekelai to enter.

"C'mon, Jekelai..." Sparrow said quietly, pointing her sword at the door. "Show yourself..."

The door opened, and Sparrow immediately rushed at the door, sword in hand. But in the doorway was... no one. Jekelai had tricked Sparrow, and before she could turn around, he knocked her out from behind with a hard blow to the back of Sparrow's skull. Then, he picked up her unconscious body and carried her back to his room, laughing evilly.

---

"She escaped," Jekelai said lamentfully, turning away from the window and walking back toward his chair. "After four years in my captivity, she escaped... so much happened up to that point... everything I did made her hate me even more, and everything she did... made me..."

Jekelai slumped down in his chair, closed his eyes, and let sleep overtake his weary body.

---

Back at Rei's shrine...

"There ya go, Sammy," Mina said, bandaging the last of Sammy's wounds that Sailor Moon hadn't been able to heal. "All patched up and good as new!"

"That's Nurse Venus for ya," said Serena, patting Mina on the back.


"Sammy, are you sure you feel all better now?" Ami asked.

"I'll only feel really better when Rick and Mika are okay," said Sammy, walking toward the other room, where Rei was busily observing the glowing flame. "Are you sure that fire is gonna know where Rick and Mika are?"

"It can't know any less than we do, Sammy," said Lita, her voice heavy with doubt. Ami walked up to Sammy and gently took his hand.

"Sammy... wanna go outside and look at the stars?" Ami asked. "Sometimes it makes me feel better..."

---

Sammy and Ami had climbed up to the roof of Rei's shrine, and were now sitting side-by-side, holding hands and looking up into the night sky. The air was cold around them, but they didn't seem to mind, as they had the warmth of each other to bring them solace from the cold.

"Star light... star bright..." Sammy said quietly, his eyes fixated on a brightly glowing star. "First star I see tonight... I wish I may, I wish I might... have this wish I wish tonight..."

"Sammy..." Ami said longingly. "I hope that your wish comes true..."

"If I know you, Ami," Sammy said, looking into her eyes. "I know it will... I trust you to find Rick and Mika, Ami... you and the Sailor Senshi..."

"And you too, Sammy," Ami said. "We won't be able to find them without you..."

The two lovers, Sammy and Ami, kissed deeply, warmly, their eyes closing and their arms around each other. The lives of another young couple were now in their hands, and they weren't going to let them down... or each other.

---

Jeebus, that was long and dark and dark and long. ^_^ What an amazing chapter, huh? There's a twist coming up you won't believe... and I'd like to have a lot of reviews this chapter after only getting one for Chapter 7! I know you guys can do it! ^_^