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.

Reviews: Coming next chapter!

---

Sammy held out his katana, poised to strike down Jekelai at any moment. The faceoff was tense, and Sammy was very afraid... but he wasn't going to let Jekelai leave the room without a fight. A smile appeared on Jekelai's lips, and he let out a light chuckle before beginning to speak again.

"Sammy, I didn't come here for a fight," said Jekelai, striding toward Sammy, turning to the right at the last moment to begin walking around the boy, toward the door.

"No," Sammy said, extending his sword out in front of Jekelai to block his path. "You're not leaving."

"Incompetent fools, all of them," Jekelai said, stopping and turning toward Sammy. "They were coming after your friends, and your pathetic sister, but... they were obviously seeking someone else. I believe you already know-"

"Ami," Sammy said, coldly staring straight into Jekelai's eyes. "They were looking for her, but-"


"They didn't find her," Jekelai said, finishing Sammy's sentence. "And do you know why, Sammy Tsukino? Of course you do. They weren't looking in the right place!"

With a swift leap, Jekelai swooped into the air, several feet above Sammy and the classroom desks. As Sammy ran toward him, Jekelai extended his palm to his left, and a large, black gate appeared just behind Jekelai's outstretched arm. Sammy gasped.

"This gate leads right to the Juuban Gifted School, Sammy!" Jekelai said tauntingly. "Once I step in, I'll be closer to Ami than you could be in ten minutes, even if you were running at full speed. You couldn't possibly reach her in time..."

"NO!" Sammy shouted, dashing forward and leaping toward the gate. But by the time he was in the gate's proximity, both it and Jekelai had already disappeared, and Sammy landed hard on one of the desks, his face smacking against it, causing him to cry out in pain and fall to the ground. As Sammy stood up, holding his hand to his bruised cheek, a wave of despair swept over him. "Ami.... I'm coming, Ami!"

Sammy dashed out of the classroom at full speed, running down the halls and quickly exiting the school building, then sprinted down the sidewalk toward Ami's school, desperate to reach her in time.

---

On the other side of the school, oblivious to Sammy's encounter with Jekelai, and oblivious to the fact that Sammy had dashed out of the other side of the building just moments ago, were the Sailor Senshi, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus. They walked into the school and gasped as they saw the dented lockers, cracked walls, and devastated floors left by the fiends who had tormented the school. Many more monsters had been in the building besides the one Sammy, Rick, and Mika had fought, but they, like the giant turtle which had nearly killed Sammy and his friends, were all slain by Sparrow, who had also left the building just a few minutes ago.

"This place is a wreck, just like our own school," Sailor Moon said in a subdued tone as she looked inside the classrooms and gazed at the damaged halls.


"It looks like a total warzone," Sailor Mars said. "But... where are all the children?"

"Maybe they got out.... I don't see any youmas here," Sailor Jupiter said. "Did someone... did Sammy.... what happened here?"

As the Senshi turned the corner into one of the hallways, the hall in front of Sammy's classroom, a glowing purple sphere on the ground alerted them to its presence, and they ran over to it, in wonder of what it was.


"It could be dangerous, you guys," Sailor Moon said quietly. "So don't touch it!"

"It's okay, Sailor Moon..." Sailor Mars said, reaching down and picking up the glowing orb from the ground. "It's not hurting me to touch it..."

"Be careful!" Sailor Venus snapped, snatching the sphere away from Sailor Mars. "Really, Sailor Moon said it was dangerous... wait, that means I shouldn't be touching it!"

Startled, Sailor Venus dropped the sphere, and the Senshi all gasped as it plummeted to the ground. But as it hit, it didn't shatter. It made a loud, metallic clunking noise, and rolled over to the wall. Then, a bright light emerged from the sphere, the light composed of the same purple hue that the sphere was. Out of the light came the ghostly image of Sparrow, projected upward from the sphere.

"It's Sparrow!" Sailor Moon gasped, pointing at the holographic form. "What's she doing in-"

"Sailor Senshi, it's me, Sparrow Migoto," said the hologram, giving a friendly wink at the Senshi. "If you're wondering about Sammy... don't worry, he's perfectly safe. All of the students at this school escaped safely... I can only hope the same is true for your own school. Please, relay this message to Ami as well, if she's not present... I don't want her worrying, okay? Peace!"

The hologram faded, and then, the sphere shattered into a thousand pieces, which then disintegrated into tiny, glowing energy specks that floated up into the air and vanished. Sailor Moon smiled, and tears began to come to her eyes.

"Sammy..." Sailor Moon sobbed, intensely relieved that her brother and his friends were safe. "I knew you could do it... and thank you, Sparrow..."


"Well, that's a relief," Sailor Jupiter said, sighing and wiping off her brow. "I guess we'd better contact Ami now, huh?"

---

Ami's school, while being reserved for only the best and brightest students in Juuban, still had all the same facilities that a normal school would have, such as a cafeteria, a gym, and a swimming pool. Inbetween the second and third class periods of Ami's three-class daily schedule, the school allowed for students to take a half-hour break, to study in the library, play in the gym, or to swim in the pool. Ami generally frequented the library, but once in every two weeks or so, Ami would come to the pool and swim, the only physical activity which she really enjoyed, besides her tickling and kissing contests with Sammy. Ami, wearing a one-piece bathing suit of a slightly lighter blue than the color of her hair, with straps that went up over her shoulders, and a light dip in the rear of the bathing suit that showed just a tiny bit of her back past her shoulders (though Ami had a beautiful figure, she was still extremely modest), slowly walked toward the pool, and then dove in head-first, her graceful arms swiftly carrying her slender frame across the light-blue water. She swam over and back a few times, before her Senshi communicator, neatly tucked in her backpack which rested just below a metal bench near the pool, began to ring. Ami heard the ringing communicator, and ran over to answer it, ducking into the nearby locker room to conceal her conversation from the other students who were using the pool. She sat down against a row of lockers and began to speak.

"Hello, I'm here..." Ami said quietly.

"Ami, is that you?" came Sailor Moon's voice on the other end. "We just wanted to tell you that both my school and Sammy's were just attacked by-"

Ami gasped loudly, in shock. She quickly clasped her hand over her lips, stifling any terrified words that might have emerged from her mouth loud enough to be heard by any classmates passing by. She slowly slid her trembling hand down to her side and began to speak again.

"What?" she whispered, her voice beginning to tremble. "Is Sammy... are you..."

"We're all okay, don't worry," Sailor Moon said reassuringly. "We defeated the monsters at our school, and Sammy and Sparrow defeated the fiends at theirs... we're all fine."

"Oh, thank goodness you're all okay..." Ami said, her trembling hands slowly coming to a rest. "Is Sammy with you?"

"No, I think he might be headed back home...." Sailor Moon said. "But he's perfectly safe... it's okay, Ami."

"I'm so glad... tell Sparrow I said thank you for protecting Sammy, alright?" Ami requested. "And thank you for telling me, Serena..."

"You're welcome, Ami," Sailor Moon said warmly. "Stay safe, okay?"

Ami nodded, and then slowly put the communicator away, walking back out to the pool.

"I'm glad Sammy's safe... I just wish I could've protected him," Ami thought, slowly sliding back down into the water. "And I wish I never had to..."

---

Meanwhile, Greg and Bianca were still in class, advanced computer systems. Greg was working on a simple program, while Bianca was busy with a computer-aided design program, working on the exterior of a simulated sports car.

"How does this look, Greg?" Bianca asked, pointing to her computer screen. "Does this look like a car you'd drive?"


"I dunno," Greg said meekly. "I wouldn't want it to go too fast..."


Bianca giggled.


"Well, I guess that's the safest way to think about it," she replied. "But... it does look nice, doesn't it?"

"It certainly does," Greg said, turning back to look at his screen. "What you're doing looks a lot more interesting than my coding...."


"I've already finished my coding," Bianca said. "So I get free time for the rest of the period... I just pulled up this program because it looked neat... need any help?"

Greg turned back toward Bianca and blushed.

"She's... already done?" Greg thought nervously. "Ugh, I'm getting so slow nowadays... it's hard to think straight about anything... it can't be because of Ami, can it? Has seeing her again really affected me that much? I've got to get over her!"

"Um... Greg?" Bianca said, waving her hand in front of his face. "Are you-"


"Fine," Greg said, a hint of anger in his voice. "Everything's fine..."


"I see," Bianca replied, feeling a bit of concern. "I was just making sure..."

Suddenly, a large, black rift appeared in the front of the room. All of the students turned away from their work and gasped as they saw the large, glowing circle of dark light in front of them. After a few moments, Jekelai emerged from the portal, and it quickly closed behind him. The teacher rose up from his desk and confronted Jekelai.

"Who are you, and how did you get in here?" the teacher shouted. "I demand to know where-"


Jekelai pointed his arm at the teacher's chest and fired a tiny speck of energy. As soon as the energy hit the man's chest, his body illuminated with black light, and he only had time to scream for a split-second before his body completely disintegrated, vanishing into thin air.

"You... you killed him!" shouted a girl sitting at the front of the room. "How dare you-"

Jekelai pointed his arm at the three rows of desks, students, and computers, and fired another, slightly larger blast of energy. The blast slammed into the floor and created a fiery explosion that ripped through the room, smashing desks, destroying valuable computer equipment, and instantly killing several of the students. Greg and Bianca leaped up from their desk at the back of the room and dove away from the fiery explosion, hitting the floor and covering up their heads to shield themselves from the carnage.

"What's going on?" Bianca screamed, terrified.

"I don't know!" Greg shouted back, just as scared as Bianca was. "Please, Ami... get out of this buidling while you still can..."

As the explosion settled, and smoke sifted through the ravaged room, Greg and Bianca slowly stood up. They huddled around one another, linking hands and dashing out of the room before Jekelai could see them. They ran out into the hall and joined other students in fleeing in terror for their lives. But at the end of the hall lurked a tall, humanoid figure, with dark red skin and a large, lizard-like tail. The creature pointed its arms at the crowd of fleeing students, who stopped and gasped in horror at what was about to come.

"Say goodnight, fools!" shouted the fiend, firing a large magical energy blast into the crowd. The blast slammed into the fleeing students and detonated in a large explosion that killed several more of them and sent the survivors, including Greg and Bianca, crashing to their knees.

"Greg, this is terrible!" Bianca shouted, tears streaming down her face. Greg, who was crying as well, wrapped his arms around Bianca's chest in an attempt to console his new friend. "I... I knew some of those people... who just got blasted, Greg... I...."

"I know...." Greg sobbed, clenching his teeth and bracing for the monster's attack. "It's... it's going to be alright, Bianca... we've gotta get through this, okay?"

Still inside the classroom, Jekelai smiled as he surveyed the extent of his destruction. Then, he pointed his arm at one of the walls of the room, behind which were several class rooms, a couple of them still filled with students. He fired a large blast of magical energy, creating a huge explosion that swept through the adjacent rooms, sending a huge cloud of smoke and fire into the air. That was when loud alarms began to blare, all over the building, and hundreds of students rushed out of their classrooms and into the halls, unaware that Jekelai's mercenaries were waiting for them.

---

"Thank you, Sparrow," Mika said, hugging Sparrow as she stood on the porch of her home. Sparrow had dropped off both Rick and Mika at Mika's house, and was now preparing to head back to Serena's home to wait for the girls to arrive. "You saved Rick, and Sammy, and me, and all of my friends at the school... thank you so much..."


"You're welcome, Mika," Sparrow said, smiling. Slowly, the door closed, and Sparrow walked down to the sidewalk. Suddenly, she saw a large plume of smoke, rising into the air behind a row of trees. She turned toward the smoke and gasped when she realized where it had originated. "That's Ami's school!"

Sparrow dashed down the sidewalk and ran toward the school, as quickly as she could. She wanted to conserve energy, so she didn't teleport... and she hoped that she would be able to get to the school on time.

---

Meanwhile, Ami had also heard the explosions and the loud siren that signaled to everyone in her school that an emergency was taking place. She rushed out of the pool with her classmates, nearly slipping on the tiled floor as her wet feet slid across the slippery surface. She made it into the locker room, quickly realizing what was going on.

"Those fiends couldn't get to Sammy, Serena, or the others... so now they're going after me!" Ami thought. "I have to transform!"

Ami ran out of the locker room and ducked into the nearby athletic office, taking her henshin stick along with her. After looking to confirm that there was no one nearby, she closed and locked the office door and began to transform.

"Mercury Crystal Power!"

---

Sammy, who had journeyed to Ami's school as quickly as he could, finally reached the building after several minutes of intense running. He looked up and saw the smoke and fire emanating from the building, collapsing to the ground nearby as intense fatigue began to set in. Hundreds of students were pouring out of the school, but it was clear by the loud screams coming from the building that many more students remained inside.

"Ami... I promise you I'm coming..."

Sammy stood up, walking into the building and ignoring the shouting from the students rushing out, as many of them begged him to stop. He pushed through the crowds and ran inside, where a scene of chaos was unfolding. The tall, red mercenary that had tormented the crowd of students earlier was now roaming the halls, seeking out any students that remained in the building. Sammy ran up to the fiend and confronted it, and it turned around and smiled when it realized who was standing in front of him.

"You posssssesssss the Dark Cryssssstal, yessss?" said the mercenary in a miserable, hissing voice. "My name isssssss Ragorath, and I've already blassssssted away about fifty of your little girlfriend'ssss classsssmatesssssss! Doessssn't the death of all thesssssse people jusssst make your blood boil?"

Sammy's face lit up with rage, and he slashed his sword across the Ragorath's chest, creating a large, deep gash that elicited a screech of pain from the red-skinned mercenary.

"How dare you!" Ragorath shouted, blasting Sammy with an energy blast that sent him flying backward, landing hard on his back and skidding across the floor. Sammy quickly climbed to his feet and ran at Ragorath again. As the monster fired another blast, Sammy smacked it away, back at him. The blast smacked Ragorath in the face, knocking him to the ground. Sammy saw his chance, and stood over the mercenary, ready for the killing blow.

"I'll teach you to mess with Ami and her friends," Sammy said, his sword pointed at the Ragorath's chest. "Say goodbye."


Suddenly, Ragorath's long tail lifted Sammy up by his ankle and flung him into the wall. Sammy hit the wall with a loud smack and slid down against it, giving Ragorath time to stand up and recover for the next attack. Sammy quickly got up himself, pointing his sword at the mercenary's chest once again.

"You think you can defeat me that easily, Sammy?" Ragorath asked, smiling and waving his tail back and forth. "You're just a boy... a pathetic boy!"

"You're just making the same mistake everyone else has made," Sammy replied. He rushed Ragorath, leaping over the mercenary's tail as it swept on the ground, trying to trip him. Then, he slashed at Ragorath's neck, but missed, and simply cut his shoulder. The wound still caused Ragorath to stumble backward, giving Sammy time to knock him back down to the floor with a kick to the face. Sammy walked over to the stunned mercenary and quickly stabbed him in the chest.

"And that's the end of that," Sammy said, pulling out his sword. As soon as he had done so, Ragorath disintegrated.

"I wouldn't say that, Sammy!" shouted a loud voice from behind Sammy's back. As soon as Sammy turned around, he was greeted with a hard punch to the face that sent him sprawling backward. Standing in front of Sammy was one of Jekelai's mercenaries, far more powerful than Ragorath was. He was a tall, muscular man wearing a thick suit of armor, and a large helmet over his head. Sammy stood up and took several steps back from the powerful fiend.

"I don't know who you are, but-"

"My name is Katura!" shouted the mercenary, reaching out and grabbing Sammy by the neck before he had time to get away. He lifted Sammy up into the air, holding him out away from his body so that he couldn't attack Katura with his katana.

"Lemme... go!" Sammy shouted, struggling to breathe as Katura gripped his throat. "Can't... breathe..."

"Mwahahaha!" Katura laughed. "Pathetic child... it's a good thing Jekelai wants you alive, or-"

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"


Several large waves of freezing water slammed into Katura from behind, causing him to drop Sammy to the ground and spin around. There, standing just a few feet down the hall, was Sailor Mercury, an angry look on her face.

"I will not allow you to mess with my friends!" Sailor Mercury shouted. "And in the name of Mercury... I'll punish you!"

"Ah, you must be Ami!" shouted Katura, wiping some of the cold water away from his face. "You'll pay for interfering!"

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Katura's back as Sammy stabbed him from behind with his sword, causing Katura to double over in pain. Sammy removed his sword from Katura's back and ran around him to greet Sailor Mercury. Sailor Mercury smiled and embraced Sammy tightly, then kissed him on the cheek.

"Sammy, I'm sorry I couldn't come to your school earlier and help you," Sailor Mercury said regretfully. "I'm so glad you were able to get out safely..."


"I'm glad you're safe, Ami," Sammy said, hugging Sailor Mercury even tighter. "I thought... I thought Jekelai was going to... going to hurt you, Ami..."

Katura, who had recovered from Sammy and Sailor Mercury's attacks, was now preparing to strike Sammy and Sailor Mercury a second time. But neither of them was going to let him do that.

"It's over for you, Katura," Sailor Mercury said. "Mercury Ice Javelin!"

Hundreds of spears of ice came rushing at Katura. As soon as they hit him, he disintegrated, and Sailor Mercury and Sammy immediately rejoiced at the mercenary's defeat.

"Ami, you did it!" Sammy said, hugging Sailor Mercury a second time. "Thanks for rescuing me..."


"It's okay, Sammy," Sailor Mercury said. "Anytime for you..."


"How many more monsters are there?" Sammy asked.

"I'm not sure," Sailor Mercury said. "We'd better get looking..."

---

Meanwhile, Greg and Bianca were hiding in one of the still-intact classrooms, having been chased there by a powerful mercenary. Greg had twisted his ankle, and Bianca had to drag him into the restroom, as it was very hard for Greg to walk on his own.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Greg said, clutching his injured ankle. "I can barely stand..."


"It's going to be alright, Greg... trust me, it will," Bianca said. She began to gently rub her hands over Greg's ankle, causing him to wince slightly.

"Bianca, what are you..."

"Shh, it's okay," she replied. "I've seen my dad do this before... it's a therapeutic massage, it should make you feel better soon... at least I hope it does...."

As Bianca continued to massage the ankle, Greg could feel his pain begin to slowly lift away.

"It... it doesn't hurt anymore!" Greg said, smiling. "Thank you!"

Bianca smiled back at Greg, happy that she was able to help.

"You're very welcome," Bianca said softly. "Now, let's get out of here before-"

Too late. A loud explosion sounded from outside, and the same mercenary that had chased Greg and Bianca into the classroom now walked in through a large, smoking hole where the door used to be. Greg and Bianca crouched under one of the desks and embraced tightly, both of them trembling.

"He's going to get us..." Bianca whispered, beginning to cry again. "Just like everyone else..."

"I'm sorry.... I couldn't... I slowed us down, I'm so weak," Greg replied.

"No, you're not weak, Greg," Bianca whispered, looking right into his eyes. "You went with me this whole time... there were times you could've gotten out of here, but... you stayed with me, Greg..."


"When I twisted my ankle, you could've gotten out too," Greg whispered, hugging Bianca even tighter as the mercenary walked closer and closer to them. "You... saved my life... why?"

"Because.... I just... I...."

Then, Greg and Bianca's trembling lips met, kissing only briefly before the mercenary picked up the desk they were crouched under and threw it into the wall, putting both of them out into the open.

"We're finished..." Bianca whispered, tears streaming down her face. "No...."

Just then, several ice spears pierced the mercenary's back, and it immediately turned its attention away from Greg and Bianca, turning around to see Sammy and Sailor Mercury, standing together at the entrance of the room. Sammy ran at the mercenary and quickly slashed at its arm, but his slash was parried by the mercenary's own sword, clashing against Sammy's and making a loud, metallic noise.

"Um... a little help here?" Sammy asked, smiling back at Sailor Mercury.

"You got it!" Mercury said. "Mercury Bubbles Blast!"

Suddenly, the room was filled in a thick, misty fog. Greg and Bianca stood up, but found it just as hard to see in the fog as the mercenary did.

"Sammy, help Greg and Bianca get out of here!" Sailor Mercury said. "I'll take care of this fiend!"

"But I-"

"Please, Sammy," Sailor Mercury pleaded. "I... I'll be alright."

"Okay..."


Sammy, who was also having trouble in the dense fog, still managed to find Greg and Bianca, who were still crouching on the floor in fright. He helped them to their feet, and the three of them quickly evacuated the room.

"This way," Sammy said, leading the two toward one of the school's exits. Greg, despite his twisted ankle, was able to hobble down the hallway, and when the three had made it to the exit, Bianca wrapped her arms around Greg's chest, nearly knocking him off-balance.

"Greg... we're going to be safe now," Bianca said.

"I'm just glad you're safe, Bianca," Greg replied, smiling warmly at her. "And thank you for making my leg feel better... but, um... what was that... that kiss back there?"

"You guys kissed?" Sammy asked. "Greg, wow... so Bianca's your girlfriend now, not Ami?"


Greg blushed, and Bianca giggled, turning back to Greg.

"Well.... honestly, I.... I'd like him to be," Bianca said. "Greg, would you...."

"I.... I would," Greg said. "I'd like that very much!"

Bianca let out a loud squeal of happiness and tightly hugged Greg again, who returned the hug and then kissed Bianca on the cheek.

"Sammy... you and Ami be careful, alright?" Greg asked. "And if there are any other students in danger, please do your best to save them."


"I will, Greg," Sammy said. "I promise."

---

Meanwhile, back in the classroom, Sailor Mercury had just exterminated the mercenary by stabbing one of her ice javelins into its chest while it was blinded in the fog.

"Now I'd probably better get back to Sammy," Sailor Mercury said. "But first, I should probably call the other Senshi... Sammy and I can't do this alone."


Sailor Mercury raised her communicator to her lips and began to speak.


"Serena, are you there?" Sailor Mercury asked. "Serena?"


"Oooh, you caught me at a bad time, Ami," Serena said. "I'm kinda busy with something..."

"Serena, is that Ami?" Darien asked. "Ami, what's wrong?"


"There's a bad situation at my school," Sailor Mercury replied. "You see, Jekelai's mercenaries attacked, and-"

"We'll be right over!" shouted Serena's voice. "C'mon, Darien, get the other girls and let's go!"

"Thank you," Sailor Mercury said. She lowered her arm to her side and slowly walked out of the classroom, looking down the halls for any sign of Sammy. "Sammy? Sammy, where are you? He should be over by the nearest exit... maybe-"


A large hand clamped over Sailor Mercury's mouth, and her arms instinctively flew to her face, trying to pull the hand away. She could not move the hand, and began to scream, her loud cries being muffled.

"Ami, Ami, Ami, it's been so long," came Jekelai's menacing voice from behind Ami. "That was all too easy... let's take a walk, shall we?"

Jekelai pulled Sailor Mercury down the hall, turning a corner and walking into the school's large gymnasium. He walked to the center of the gym and stopped, still holding the struggling Water Senshi.

"Like it, Ami?" Jekelai asked. "It will soon be the site of your death..."

A large, crackling ball of red magical energy slammed into Jekelai's back, shocking him with millions of volts of electricity, but not harming Sailor Mercury at all. He let out a cry of pain and fell forward, releasing Sailor Mercury from his grasp. She stumbled forward as well, but didn't fall, and came to a stop several feet away from Jekelai, gasping for breath. She turned around and looked up, and there, sitting on one of the rafters that were hanging from the ceiling, was her savior, Sparrow Migoto.

"Sparrow!" Sailor Mercury shouted. "How did you-"


"You have to go, NOW!" Sparrow shouted back. "This entire building is a trap! You're Jekelai's target!"

"That's right, Sparrow," Jekelai shouted in a rage, standing up. "And I am not letting you interfere with my plans!"

Jekelai pointed his arm at Sailor Mercury, and blasted her with a ball of dark energy, sending her flying back into the wall. She impacted the wall and let out a loud scream, painfully sliding down against it and falling unconscious. Sparrow flew down at Jekelai with incredible speed, her katana unsheathed and ready to strike.

"If that's the way you're going to play..." Jekelai said, beginning to rise up into the air, "then take THIS!"

Jekelai flew at Sparrow at the same speed, and as the two collided, they created a momentous energy explosion that shattered all of the windows at the top of the gymnasium, and blasted the roof clear off of the ceiling. Sammy, wandering just outside and looking for Ami, quickly ran into the gym to see what had caused the explosion. He stopped when he saw the unconscious form of Sailor Mercury, lying against the back wall of the gym, and ran over to her, a look of fright on his face.

"Ami.... Ami!" Sammy said, gently kneeling down next to Sailor Mercury and caressing his hand gently over her forehead. "Are you okay? Please, please be okay..."

Above the floor of the gym, above Sammy and Sailor Mercury, were Jekelai and Sparrow, their battle exposed to the sky by the destruction of the roof. By now, all of the mercenaries were gone, all of the surviving students and teachers had fled the building, and the only witnesses to Sparrow and Jekelai's fight would be the two lovers, one of them still unconscious, and the other one frantically trying to awaken her, his tears falling onto her Senshi uniform.

"Only a coward hurts those weaker than themselves," Sparrow said angrily, facing Jekelai from a distance of about thirty feet.

"So then, if you were stronger than me, and you hurt me, you would be a coward, wouldn't you, Sparrow Migoto?" Jekelai asked, a smirk on his face.

"Don't you dare use that logic to justify your actions," Sparrow replied. "You know what I mean."

Sparrow flew at Jekelai again, and took a hard punch to the chin as Jekelai ducked under her charge and hit her with a vicious uppercut. As Sparrow wiped a trickle of blood from her chin, Jekelai blasted Sparrow in the legs with a powerful blast of magical energy, sending a huge amount of pain shooting upward through Sparrow's body.

"It's gonna be okay, Ami..." Sammy said quietly, ignoring the fight and still trying to awaken his unconscious lover. "I won't let anything happen to you..."

Slowly, Sailor Mercury's eyes began to open, and she let out a loud groan.

"Ami!" Sammy said, sensing the pain in Ami's body and gently resting his hand on her forehead. "Don't... just take it easy... okay, Ami?"

"Sa...Sammy..." she whispered up at him, clenching his left hand in both of hers while his right hand continued to caress her face. "What's... going on?"


"Jekelai and Sparrow are fighting," Sammy told her quietly. "We've got to escape... can you stand?"

Suddenly, the two were interrupted by a loud, crashing noise from above and a loud, painful scream. Sammy looked up to see Jekelai, his hands pinned to the wall by two glowing energy spikes.

"Get away from the wall, now!" Sparrow shouted, her body glowing with an immense amount of magical energy. "NOW!"

Without a word, Sammy picked up Sailor Mercury and ran toward the other side of the gym, as quickly as he could. As soon as they were at a safe distance, Sparrow flew at Jekelai's chest like a bullet, and Jekelai gasped as he realized he would be unable to break free from the spikes, piercing into his hands and holding him to the wall at the same time. Sparrow's head slammed into Jekelai's chest, and in an instant, the entire wall cracked and crumbled, and a huge explosion of energy engulfed both warriors. As debris from the wall flew out towards Sammy and Sailor Mercury, Sammy dove over her body, holding her close and cringing as some of the rocks pelted him.

"I'm... going to protect you, Ami..." Sammy groaned, hovering over Sailor Mercury's body like a protective shell.


"Sammy, please stop..." Sailor Mercury said, tears stinging her eyes. "You can't... you can't let yourself... get hurt..."


"You've already been hurt too much, Ami..." Sammy said quietly.

"No, Sammy... no, I haven't..."

Mustering all of her strength, Sailor Mercury rose to her feet, stepping in front of Sammy and courageously blocking the rest of the debris from hitting him. Then, she collapsed back onto the ground, her body covered in bruises.

"Ami!" Sammy shouted in anguish, rushing to her side once again. "Why did you..."


"I love you, Sammy," Sailor Mercury said, smiling and looking up into Sammy's eyes. "I'll... always love you."


"I love you too, Ami..." Sammy said, kneeling down next to Ami and gently kissing her on the lips.

Meanwhile, Sparrow was sifting through the huge pile of debris left by the crumbled wall, sure that Jekelai was still alive somewhere under the rocks.

"Come out and face me, you coward," Sparrow said, angrily tossing rocks away. "Or I'll-"


"You'll what?"

And right in front of Sparrow, floating up out of the rocks, was Jekelai, burned and battered by Sparrow's attack, but still at nearly full strength.

"This is not what I came for," Jekelai said angrily, looking past Sparrow and seeing Sammy, kneeling over the fallen Sailor Mercury and tightly gripping her hand. "I didn't come to fight you, Sparrow."

"You'll never touch her again," Sparrow said. "Your fight is with ME!"

"I don't think so."

A long, black beam shot out from Jekelai's hand, too fast for Sparrow or Sammy to stop. It hit Sailor Mercury and wrapped around her, lifting her into the air and binding her arms to her chest, and wrapping her legs together. Then, a large, black gate appeared in the center of the room. The energy beam ripped Sailor Mercury away from Sammy and into the gate, a loud scream from her being that last thing that anyone in the room heard.

"AMI!"


Sammy ran toward the gate, but as soon as he got up to it, a large energy beam shot out from the gate and blasted him backwards, crumpling him to the ground.

"Sparrow, you're the only one that can enter that gate and save Ami's life," Jekelai said, smiling. "If you don't go in there now, Ami will die."

"Sparrow, hurry!" Sammy shouted. "You have to save Ami, please!"

"Jekelai wants to face Sammy alone..." Sparrow thought. "I can't leave him... but if I don't follow Ami, she'll die.... dammit!"

With a look of rage, Sparrow spat in Jekelai's face. Then, she ran into the gate as quickly as she could. As soon as she leapt into it, it snapped shut behind her, leaving Sammy and Jekelai alone in the rapidly crumbling gymnasium. Sammy unsheathed his sword and turned toward Jekelai, gripping the hilt of the blade and walking forward, his emotions a whirling maelstrom of anger and fear for Ami's life.

"I'm going to kill you," Sammy said. As soon as he had finished those words, an aura of black energy began to surround his body. Jekelai smiled in approval.


"The Dark Crystal just became much stronger within you," Jekelai said. "Good. When Sparrow and Ami die, that energy will explode and the crystal's power will be released."


"I won't let that happen," Sammy said. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

---

Okay, finally it's getting ready to begin. Sammy vs. Jekelai II... and another cliffie. *smirks* I'll keep doing these unless I get more reviews... *dances* Cliffy cliffy cliffy...