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:
GracedAngel: Yup, Mikhail is the enemy... and I'm glad you liked Sparrow Crystal Power... hee, my friend did too... ^_^ Well, thanks for reviewing!
Sparrow Migoto: Glad you enjoyed the fights... and the jokes... and all the other stuff. ^_^ I just hope you enjoy everything your character does this chapter!
The Review Guy: Sparrow's only as strong as my friend tells me to make her... which is pretty strong. _ Don't worry though, I'm trying not to make her TOO powerful.
Happygolucky111: Hee, thank you very much for reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Brian, the Warrior Of Time: You really think they're THAT bad? Yipes... and trust me, they'll get even more evil this chapter. ^_^
---
By the time the three exhausted Senshi had managed to carry Sammy, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Moon, and Sparrow back to Rei's temple, Sparrow had already awoken, and she quickly made the others aware of that fact.
"Please set me down gently..." Sparrow said, causing Sailor Venus to gasp, startled.
"Um... okay," Sailor Venus said, gently setting Sparrow down on her back on a large blanket that had been placed on the floor. "Are you alright? It looks like your wounds are healing nicely..."
"That's good," Sparrow replied, smiling and sitting up. "And how are the others?"
"Should be okay soon," Sailor Mars said as she placed Sailor Moon on the blanket next to Sailor Mercury and Sammy. "Sailor Moon fainted because she was scared, so she should be waking up in a few seconds... Sammy and Sailor Mercury are the ones I'm worried about. They're both injured, perhaps seriously."
Sparrow crawled over to Sammy and Sailor Mercury and placed her hands over both of their foreheads.
"I wouldn't, Sparrow," Sailor Jupiter said, gently grabbing one of Sparrow's wrists. "That's how you passed out the last time... overexerting yourself."
"I'm not going to heal them completely," Sparrow said. "I'm going to heal them enough so that they'll be okay for certain, and so they won't be in agony when they wake up... alright?"
Sailor Jupiter nodded and stepped away from Sparrow, allowing her to do her work. Her hands began to glow with energy, and they continued to glow for several seconds as her healing magic began repairing the battered bodies of her two friends. Finally, she stood up, looking down at Sammy and Sailor Mercury, whose wounds immediately seemed not quite as severe as they had just a few seconds earlier. The three Senshi smiled.
"That should be enough," Sparrow said. "Their bodies will do the rest..."
"Let's go check on the fire," Sailor Mars said, turning to Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter, and Sparrow. "If there are any more of those creeps around, we'll need to take care of them... and quickly."
"I'll take care of these two first," Sailor Venus said, kneeling down next to Sammy and Sailor Mercury. "You guys go on ahead... Nurse Venus has to work."
Venus smiled, and Sailor Mars groaned for a second before giving a resigning sigh and turning toward the back room with the others.
---
About a half-hour later, Sparrow, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus were sitting in the back room in a circle, serenely sipping tea. Sailor Mars hadn't found anything by consulting the fire, and now the girls were just waiting for their friends to wake up. At that moment, Sammy and Ami, now detransformed from her Sailor Mercury state, walked into the room. The two seemed completely fine, though the minor bandaging on their faces, arms, and legs indicated that their wounds still needed time to heal, although, thanks to Sparrow's healing, they weren't nearly as severe as they originally were. Sparrow and Sailor Mars scooted over to give the two room to join the circle, and they did, sitting down and smiling at the others.
"Hey, guys... I'm really glad to see you're okay!" Sailor Jupiter said. "Do you feel alright?"
"Uh huh!" Sammy said cheerfully, nodding his head.
"I put the bandages on," Sailor Venus said, "but you can thank me later!"
"I'll thank you now," Ami replied. "Thank you... all of you. Was it you that brought us here?"
"Yeah," Sailor Mars said. "Jupiter carried two of you...."
"You're both really light, so it was no problem, really!" Sailor Jupiter said, smiling over at Sammy and Ami. "We carried Sparrow here too... she didn't wake up until we got here!"
"And what about Sailor Moon?" Sailor Venus asked. "She's still asleep?"
"Uh huh," Sammy said. "Ami was going to wake her up, but I told her not too... Serena gets really cranky when people wake her up. So we're just gonna let her sleep until she wakes up herself!"
"Figures," Sailor Mars grumbled under her breath. "Well, Sammy... you should be really proud of yourself!"
"Mm-hmm," Sailor Jupiter said. "You took out Jekelai, all by yourself!"
"And with one hit, even!" Sailor Venus said. "Completely wiped out, off the face of the-"
"He's not dead!" Sparrow shouted angrily, rising to her feet. "I don't care what any of you saw, but if you think Jekelai is dead, then you're all fools! Naive fools!"
"Hey, now," Sailor Mars said, rising to face Sparrow. "You were knocked out the whole time, so you couldn't see what happened, but Sammy got this really powerful attack, and he-"
"Did you actually see him die?" Sparrow asked. "Did you see his body?"
"No, but... but he was buried in rubble!" Sailor Mars said. "And he got out last time, but this time, he didn't! We were there for several minutes, and-"
"He teleported away then," Sparrow said, walking toward the door. "I can sense him... he's still out there, somewhere. The evil is still out there!"
"Sparrow, please," Ami said, walking over to Sparrow and gently trying to calm her down. "We know that there are still more villains out there... and there is a possibility that Jekelai is still alive-"
"Not a possibility, it's a guaranteed, 100% sure thing!" Sparrow shouted, pushing Ami backward with a surprising amount of force. "And I'm not going to stay here and let more innocent people die! I'm going to beat Jekelai myself, once and for all!"
As Ami stumbled back from the force of Sparrow's push, her still-slightly weak legs could not sustain the force from walking back so quickly, and Ami began to trip and fall backward, letting out a quick, but loud scream. Sammy lunged forward and caught her, gently steadying her back up onto her feet. Sparrow briefly turned back for a second, then continued briskly walking out the door. Sammy ran into the other room and began shouting at Sparrow.
"Dammit, Sparrow, Ami could have been hurt!" Sammy shouted. "How dare you push her like that! She didn't even do anything!"
"I said I was sorry," Sparrow muttered, coldly and quietly. As soon as she was out the door, she flew off into the sky, toward the rapidly setting sun.
"Sammy, I'm alright," Ami said, quickly walking over and hugging Sammy as he turned around. "Don't be angry with Sparrow... she didn't do anything..."
"You're right, Ami... Sparrow didn't mean to push you or hurt you," Sammy said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "And she's right about Jekelai... I know I hit him hard, but... somewhere, somehow, he's still alive..."
"All of those people..." Sailor Mars said, bowing her head. "Ami, we're so sorry... Jekelai killed so many of your classmates... we couldn't get there in time..."
"No... no, you aren't the ones to blame," Ami said, hugging Sammy tighter as she struggled not to cry. "We have to stop Jekelai... for good... before he hurts anyone else...."
"Before he hurts you, Ami..." Sammy said quietly. "I won't let him... I won't let him..."
"None of us can go back to school until Jekelai's been defeated," Sailor Jupiter said. "I don't want any of my friends to become targets."
"Ami, are you... are you okay with that?" Sammy asked, slowly breaking off the hug and looking straight into Ami's eyes.
"So much damage was caused to my school, I don't think anyone will be able to go there for a while anyway," Ami said, using her finger to wipe a tear away from her eye. "And by the time I actually can go back, Jekelai will be defeated... I know he will be!"
"We'll all beat him, together!" Sailor Mars said with determination. "Right, guys?"
"Right!" said Sammy, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus. "The Sailor Senshi always win!"
Just then, Sailor Moon let out a loud yawn as she sat up on the blanket, her arms raised high above her head as she stretched out her limbs. She looked around and saw everyone else staring at her.
"Did I... miss anything?" Sailor Moon asked sleepily. "Oh, Sammy, you're alright... that's great! What happened, was everything a dream?"
"No, sis..." Sammy said. "None of it was a dream... but... we're all okay. I defeated Jekelai, and we're all okay."
"That's great, Sammy..." Sailor Moon said, wearily standing up and giving her brother a tight hug, then flopping back down on the blanket and detransforming back into Serena. "Wake me up in the morning for school, okay, Sammy?"
Sammy sighed as Serena went back to sleep, knowing that she was both physically and emotionally exhausted from all the events of the day.
"Sleep well, sis..." Sammy thought. "I'll protect you along with Ami..."
---
When Serena awoke again, she was lying on her bed, in her room. The clock next to her bed read "10:30" in bright, red letters.
"10:30 in the morning?" Serena asked, rubbing her eyes. When she gazed out the window of her room, all she saw was darkness. That's when the door to her room opened, and Darien walked in, along with Serena's parents.
"Serena, thank goodness you're alright..." Darien said, leaning over and kissing Serena on the forehead. "I'm so sorry I didn't get to the battles in time... all of them..."
"That's okay, Darien," Serena said, returning his kiss by gently kissing him on the lips. "Where were you, though?"
"My university class was taking a sightseeing field trip in Osaka... but as soon as I heard about what happened in Tokyo, I rushed here as quickly as I could..."
"Your friends brought you here, Serena," said Serena's mother. "They said you were tired from all the fighting you did and that you just wanted to sleep."
"Don't worry about Sammy, either," said Serena's father. "He and Ami are off at the movies... it's past Sammy's bedtime right now, but he's had a rough day, so we're letting him go out with Ami late tonight. I'm just glad you're all safe and sound..."
"Mom, Dad, Darien... they... they attacked because of us," Sailor Moon said softly. "It's... it's all our fault... they burned the house last night because of us too... they-"
"Shh," Darien said, gently putting his finger to Serena's lips. "It's all over for now..."
"Oh yes, that's right... we haven't been able to thank Sparrow for fixing the house..." Serena's mother said, looking around. "Everything's been completely restored, like the fire never happened... where is Sparrow, anyway?"
"I'm not sure..." Serena whispered, having still been asleep during the altercation between Sparrow and her friends. "Didn't she bring me here?"
"We didn't see her," Serena's mother said. "But wherever she is, we owe her a great debt of gratitude..."
"And I'm glad you're safe, Serena... you and Sammy, and your friends," Darien said, kissing Serena on the lips. "Good night, my moon princess... I love you.... sweet dreams."
"Goodnight.... mom... dad.... Darien..."
And then, Serena once more slipped blissfully into slumber.
---
A few blocks away, Sammy and Ami stood in the lobby of the movie theater, saying their goodbyes for the evening.
"Goodnight, Ami..." Sammy said. "I had a really wonderful evening."
"It was wonderful," Ami replied, smiling at Sammy and looking into his eyes as she gently held his hand. "I... I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
Sammy nodded.
"I'm sorry again... about... everyone at your school," Sammy said. "Maybe once we beat Jekelai, there'll be a way to bring them all back."
"I hope so, Sammy," Ami said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "I really hope so..."
Sammy and Ami gently embraced, and then closed their eyes, gently allowing their lips to meet for a passionate kiss. None of it mattered now, the battles, the near-death experiences, the deaths of Ami's classmates... because Sammy and Ami knew that as long as their love survived, everything would come together again on the glorious day when the evil could finally be defeated.... and they both knew that day would come soon.
---
Sparrow hovered over downtown Tokyo, having scoured the entire city over the past few hours in her frantic search for Jekelai. With a frustrated sigh, she slowly floated down into an empty alleyway.
"He's nowhere in the city...." Sparrow grumbled to herself. "Damn Jekelai... the coward must have gone back to his palace to recover from his wounds... I haven't recovered enough to teleport there, but I could take the spacepod... I can't let him hurt anyone else again, he has to pay for everyone else he's hurt... he has to pay for everything he's done to me!"
---
Sparrow cried out as the tight, metal chains bit into her flesh, securing her wrists to the front of the bed that Jekelai had placed in her room. Her legs had been chained to the other end of the bed, and that, combined with the powerful Ultinius seal on her forehead, rendered her completely helpless as Jekelai stood next to her, smiling. He caressed her face with his large, rough hand, and Sparrow clenched her fists, seething with intense rage as she knew she was helpless to stop Jekelai.
"Let me go... right now... you bastard!" Sparrow growled through clenched teeth in a futile appeal.
"You know I can't do that, my darling Sparrow... you've not cooperated at all today. How am I supposed to make you a strong mercenary if you keep... disobeying... every... word... I... SAY!"
As Jekelai spoke those last few words, he struck Sparrow in the face as he said each one, his strikes becoming progressively more severe each time. Jekelai leaned over Sparrow, looking down at her face, stained in tears and blood. A sick smile appeared on his lips, and Sparrow resigned herself to her fate.
"I will enjoy this... and in good time, you will enjoy it too..."
---
"I thought I would lose my innocence that night..." Sparrow thought. "But Jekelai could never go through with it... something stopped him... each time, something in his mind seemed to tell him to stop hurting me... why did he stop, every single time? Maybe the question should be, why can he stop hurting me, but not stop hurting everyone else! BASTARD!"
Suddenly, before Sparrow could walk out of the alley, a hand clasped over her lips, and a sharp object was pressed to her neck from behind. Before Sparrow could scream, she could feel a sharp sting across her neck. Then, whatever was holding her disappeared, and she fell on her knees to the ground below, trembling slightly. She reached up and felt her neck... no blood.
"The... the hell?" Sparrow stammered, slowly rising to her feet. "Who-"
"Sparrow," came a low, male voice from the shadows, beckoning her closer. "You are looking for Jekelai, yes? You have no need to... not now... you're not his target anyway, not yet. That's why I didn't kill you, even when I could have."
"You couldn't have killed me anyway," Sparrow growled. "Even if you had cut me, it would have healed."
"Perhaps I should actually do it, and we can find out, Sparrow Migoto..."
A tall, boyish figure with black hair stepped out of the shadows. He appeared to be about fourteen, close to Sammy's age, and he was wearing a blue sweater with jeans. He gave the appearance of one of Sammy's classmates, and in fact, he was.
"My name is Mikhail, and the day of reckoning has arrived," Mikhail said coldly. "By the end of the day, the Dark Crystal will emerge... I am a prophet, Sparrow. I know these things."
"And you're also dead meat!" Sparrow shouted, unsheathing her katana. "If you work for Jekelai, you must be killed! I will not allow any more innocent people to be hurt!"
"Shouldn't you be going after Jekelai, instead of smallfrys like me? And... you're supposed to be honorable anyway, Sparrow. Jekelai's still recovering from his wounds. You wouldn't attack an injured man, one who can't possibly fight at 100% full strength, would you?"
"Jekelai only dealt with me when my powers were blocked, and I was chained like an animal," Sparrow said, intense rage in her voice. "I will afford him with the same honor with which he treated me. But only after killing you first!"
Sparrow lunged at Mikhail, who flew up into the air to escape Sparrow's attack.
"Sparrow, I have no business with you!" Mikhail shouted down at her. "You will get what is coming to you when the time is right!"
Mikhail disappeared into a black energy gate, which quickly closed behind him as Sparrow leapt up into the air to give pursuit. As Mikhail disappeared, Sparrow cursed angrily and floated back down into the dark alleyway.
"Damn coward!" Sparrow shouted. "Is what he said really true? Is the Dark Crystal really going to emerge today? And why does that name Mikhail sound familiar... I must sleep on this... hopefully, no innocent people will be hurt while I slumber."
Sparrow ran out of the busy downtown area and headed back toward Juuban... to her spacepod... and to the solace of sleep.
---
The next morning, Sammy awoke to a loud ringing noise coming from the phone on the floor next to his bed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then leaned over to pick up the phone.
"Hello?" Sammy said, half-yawning.
"Sammy!" came Rick's familiar voice on the other end of the conversation. "Guess what? You're not gonna believe this!"
"They fixed the school?" Sammy asked.
"Tch... no, they won't have it fixed up for a month! We'll be going to a big building for school starting next week with the students at the other schools that got wrecked... hey, maybe you'll get to see Ami!"
"I hope so," Sammy said sleepily. "And I hope we beat Jekelai by then..."
"Anyway, what I called to tell you is this. You know that museum they're building, to honor the Sailor Senshi?" Rick asked.
"Yeah... that won't be up until next week," Sammy said. "I can't wait to go there and see all the neat stuff about-"
"I know, I know, Ami, right? Well, anyway, it's already finished, and they're opening it up today especially for tour groups. Your teacher, Miss Haruna, set up a tour for kids from her class and the other classes in our grade so that we'll get to see it! You'll have to get there yourself, but you know where it is, right?"
"Just a few blocks away from my house, next to the movie theater me and Ami went to last night!" Sammy said excitedly. "I'll be right over there! You and Mika are coming too, right?"
"Of course we are!" Rick said. "She called me and told me to tell you since she couldn't get through to your number the first time... phone was busy."
"Probably my sis talking to Darien," Sammy groaned. "I'll be right there!"
Sammy said goodbye to Rick, then swiftly hung up the phone and got dressed in a white sweatshirt and blue jeans, then put on his sneakers and ran out the door. Right before he left, however, he picked up his sword and put it in the concealing pocket that he'd cut into his blue jeans, just in case.
"I really hope I don't need this today..." Sammy thought.
---
When Sammy got to the museum, a colorful, two story building with a large sign on the roof that had all of the Sailor Senshi painted on it, many students from his class were already there, including Mei-Lin and Mikhail. Mei-Lin smiled at Sammy as he walked over to her, and from the look on her face, she looked like she had recovered from the terrifying events of the previous day.
"Hey, Mei-Lin," Sammy said. "Are you okay? After yesterday and everything that happened?"
"I'm just glad you're safe, Sammy..." Mei-Lin said, wrapping her arms around Sammy's back and hugging him. "This is going to be a pretty fun day, isn't it? Definitely better than yesterday!"
"I'll say," Mikhail said, turning to Sammy. "It's good to see you're doing well..."
"How about you?" Sammy asked him. "That monster hit you pretty hard yesterday, are you-"
"Just fine!" Mikhail said, smiling again.
"Sammy!" shouted Mika, running over to Sammy and closely followed by Rick. "It's great to see you again!"
"It's a good thing I was able to get a hold of you, Sammy... this place is supposed to be really cool, and I don't wanna miss anything... you don't either, right, Sammy?" Rick asked.
"Nope!" Sammy said, shaking his head. "Let's go!"
The crowd of students walked up to the door, where Miss Haruna was waiting with several tour guides.
"Alright, let's get started, everyone!" Miss Haruna said. "You'll need to pair up in groups of five... and if you do this quickly and quietly I won't do it for you..."
"Well, it looks like we already have our group," Mikhail said, looking around at Sammy, Rick, Mika, and Mei-Lin. "If... that's alright with all of you."
"Sure is!" Sammy said, smiling. Rick and Mika nodded.
"That went really well!" Mei-Lin said. "And I guess that means we should probably find a tour guide..."
The five teens walked over to the front of the museum, where a pretty female tour guide dressed in a sailor fuku greeted them. The tour guide was wearing an outfit identical to one worn by one of the Sailor Senshi. This tour guide was wearing a Sailor Mercury outfit, and she wore a wig as well, to fit the part.
"She's not nearly as pretty as the real Sailor Mercury," Sammy whispered to Rick and Mika, who laughed quietly.
"Shall we begin?" the tour guide said in a friendly voice. "Right this way, everyone!"
---
Meanwhile, Serena, Ami, Rei, Lita, and Mina were enjoying their day off by taking a walk around the park. It was unseasonably warm, and the snow that had accumulated in the park over the last few days had begun to melt, creating a wet slush that lined the park's pathways.
"Snow always looks better when it's really cold outside," Serena said. "It gets really yucky when it melts..."
"It's really nice out today, though," Ami said. "I'm really loving this warm weather! I wonder how Sammy's doing today..."
"Sammy said he was going to that new Sailor Senshi museum they've just opened," Serena said.
"Isn't that supposed to be closed?" Mina asked.
"Yeah, but they've opened it up for tour groups a few days early," Serena said. "So Sammy and his friends from school are going to be there for the day. I just hope he'll be alright..."
"A Sailor Senshi museum would be a good place for the Negaverse to strike," Rei said.
"Well then, it's a good thing we're dealing with Jekelai, and not with the Negaverse," Mina replied. "But Serena's right... maybe we should head down there and make sure everything's alright."
"As long as Andrew's not anywhere near the museum," Lita remarked. "You know what happened last time."
"Hey, that's ancient history now!" Mina snapped. "And besides, Andrew's in college, remember? We won't get sidetracked again."
"Then we're going to the Senshi museum?" Ami asked.
The other four girls nodded.
---
Back at the museum...
"Hey, why's the Sailor Mercury exhibit closed?" Sammy asked, pointing to a large, blue room with Sailor Mercury memorabilia decorating the interior. The room's entrance was roped shut with a large 'CLOSED' sign hanging in front of it.
"That exhibit isn't quite done yet," said the tour guide. "I'm sorry... are you a big Sailor Mercury fan?"
"You bet I am!" Sammy said. "In fact, I- whoa, Mikhail and Mei-Lin don't know about Ami's identity... better stop there."
"In fact you what?" Mei-Lin asked. "You don't have a crush on her, do you? Silly Sammy, I thought Ami was your girlfriend!"
"They're one in the same," Mikhail thought, smiling deviously. "And this is the perfect opportunity to bring out the Dark Crystal..."
"I'm sorry, but when the museum opens you'll be able to come back and see the exhibit, okay?" said the tour guide sweetly. "She's my favorite Senshi too... that's why I took this job! She's smart, and nice-"
"And sweet, and funny, and wonderful, and-"
"Sammy?" Rick said, waving his hand in front of his friend's face. "You're zoning out, buddy."
The tour guide giggled.
"Let's go to the Sailor Mars exhibit next, okay?" said the tour guide, leading Sammy and the others on to the next exhibit. Mikhail, however, stayed behind. He looked both directions to see if someone was coming, and then slipped under the rope blocking off the Sailor Mercury exhibit. Sammy looked back and gasped as he saw Mikhail trespassing in the exhibit, and quietly walked over to him.
"Mikhail, what are you doing?" Sammy whispered. "We're not allowed in here! I want to see Sailor Mercury too, but-"
"Then why don't you come in here with me?" Mikhail asked. "C'mon, Sammy... it'll be lots of fun!"
"But Mikhail..."
"C'mon, Sammy!" Mikhail said, taking a few steps into the room and waving at Sammy to come inside. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"We could... get in trouble," Sammy said. "Maybe Mikhail is right... I need to do this, I've done stuff like this before... but Ami wouldn't do something like this. What would happen if I got caught? I can't do this, I can't!"
But as Sammy began to turn away, he could hear Mikhail reading from some of the signs posted in the exhibit.
"Sailor Mercury is the most intelligent of the Sailor Senshi," Mikhail read. "Her wisdom and intelligence is critical to the success of the Senshi's battle techniques."
"Mikhail, stop!" Sammy ordered sternly, walking under the rope and entering the exhibit. "We need to leave, before we get into trouble!"
"But Sammy, look at this place!" Mikhail said. "They've got so much stuff here... a replica of her Sailor costume, her transformation staff... real footage from her battles, it's all here!"
Mikhail walked up to one of the TVs that was showing one of Sailor Mercury's fights, recorded off of a video surveillance camera outside a store that had been attacked by a youma. Sailor Mercury was on the screen, blasting the youma with an Aqua Rhapsody attack.
"This fight sucks, I wanna change it," Mikhail said, pressing one of the buttons on the TV.
"Mikhail isn't usually like this..." Sammy thought. "What's gotten into-"
A bright spark and a loud booming noise emanated from the back of the TV. Mikhail gasped as the TV flashed off and smoke began to pour out of it.
"Oops," Mikhail said nervously. "Uh... bye!"
Mikhail quickly ran out of the room and ducked under the rope blocking the entrance to the room. Incredibly, none of the people now running toward the room had witnessed Mikhail's daring escape, due to a tiny amount of magic he'd used to briefly conceal himself. The only thing the people saw when they looked into the room was Sammy, standing next to the broken television set.
"Sammy Tsukino, I'm disappointed in you!" Miss Haruna said, anger in her voice.
"But I didn't-"
"You broke one of our exhibits!" said a tour guide dressed to look like Sailor Mars. "How dare you trespass in here!"
"Sammy, I can't believe you'd do something like this..." Mei-Lin said.
"Whoa, way to go, Sammy!" Rick said, giving Sammy a thumbs-up before Mika shot him an angry glare.
"Sammy, I never thought you'd be so destructive on this field trip," Miss Haruna said, scolding Sammy as he dejectedly walked out of the exhibit. "I'm going to have to ask you to go home for the day, Sammy!"
"Miss Haruna, everyone, I didn't... I didn't do this! It was... it was..."
Sammy looked around the crowd, trying to find Mikhail amongst the angry-looking group of people. But Mikhail was nowhere to be found.
"Well, Sammy?" Miss Haruna snapped. "Who was it?"
Sammy sighed. Suddenly, he felt a large pain in his chest, and his hand immediately flew over his heart, as he started to grimace in pain.
"The Dark Crystal... it's taking a hold of me again..."
Sammy's eyes began stinging with tears. He angrily looked up at Miss Haruna, who continued to stare at Sammy with an angry look in her eyes.
"Sammy, go home!" Miss Haruna shouted.
"Fine!" Sammy shouted back, tears streaming down his face. "I didn't want to go on this dumb field trip anyway! I hate it, and I hate you, Miss Haruna! I wish you were DEAD!"
Sammy stomped out of the building, his rage now at a boiling point. Miss Haruna, and everyone else gasped at Sammy's tirade, and Miss Haruna's expression softened for a second, her hand briefly reaching out toward Sammy, as she entertained the thought of calling him back. Sammy walked down to the sidewalk and sat down. He buried his face in his hands and began to sob violently.
"What... what came over me?" Sammy cried. "How could I... how could I yell at Miss Haruna like that? My own teacher..."
Meanwhile, back inside the building, Miss Haruna continued to stand in front of the exhibit, looking sadly toward the entrance of the building.
"Why did Sammy go off at me like that?" she thought. "Maybe he's just stressed out about what happened at the school yesterday... I've never seen Sammy like that before, he... he threatened my life... no, he'd never do that, it has to be something else..."
"Do you want me to talk to Sammy?" Mei-Lin asked.
"Miss Haruna, he didn't mean that, really he didn't!" Mika pleaded. "And I don't think he broke that TV, either..."
"It looks like he's still out there," Rick said. "Should I go to him and-"
"No," Miss Haruna said, walking toward the women's restroom. "I need to think for a minute... I'll be back."
As Miss Haruna walked toward the restroom, Sammy's friends looked outside with intense worry.
"Sammy seems really upset," Rick said quietly. "I don't think it was him either, Mika.
"Me neither," Mika said. "Let's go out and talk to him... it's definitely not like Sammy to go off like that."
"Hey," Mei-Lin said, looking around the building. "Where's Mikhail?"
Miss Haruna stepped into the restroom. As soon as she did, the door behind her disappeared in a flash of black light, and Sammy's teacher gasped in shock.
"What's going on here?" Miss Haruna shrieked.
"The beginning of the end, Haruna-sensei," came Mikhail's voice from behind her, causing Miss Haruna to turn around and gasp in frightened shock as she saw Mikhail, standing in front of one of the stalls with a smile on his face. "Your torture session begins now."
---
Meanwhile, Serena, Ami, Rei, Lita, and Mina were casually walking down the streets of Juuban, toward the Sailor Senshi museum.
"I'm beginning to wonder if there really anything to be worried about," Rei said. "I'm not sensing any evil..."
"Better safe than sorry," Serena said, keeping up her walking space. "Especially where my brother is concerned..."
Suddenly, a large explosion from down the street alerted the Senshi to the nearby mall, which was now engulfed in flames. They gasped, and quickly ducked into an alley to transform.
"They're attacking the mall!" Sailor Mercury shouted.
"Well, at least they're not attacking Sammy!" Sailor Moon said as the Senshi dashed toward the flaming mall.
---
Sammy sat outside the museum, still sobbing, even a full two minutes after he had been kicked out of the building.
"What is WRONG with me?" Sammy thought. "Why am I still crying... why am I still angry?"
Sammy stood up and turned back toward the museum.
"I have to go inside and apologize to Miss Haruna... I just hope she doesn't yell at me again..."
Sammy entered the museum. As soon as he went inside, Rick, Mika, and Mei-Lin immediately ran up to him with concerned looks on their faces.
"Hey, Sammy's crying..." Rick said, noticing the tears on Sammy's face.
"What's wrong?" Mika asked sweetly. "Sammy, are you okay?"
"You shouldn't be in here," Mei-Lin said. "You got kicked out, remember?"
"I know, I just... I want to apologize to Miss Haruna, where is she?"
"In the restroom right now," Rick said. "You should wait outside... when she comes out, we'll-"
"I have to do it now," Sammy said, pushing past his friends and marching toward the restroom."
"You're not gonna go in there, are you?" Rick asked, putting his hand on Sammy's shoulder. "You're a dude, man! You can't go into the-"
"I'll wait outside for her," Sammy said, stopping in front of the restrooms and looking around. He saw the entrance to the men's restroom, but the entrance to the women's restroom was gone. "Eh? That's strange, the women's restroom isn't-"
And then, Sammy was engulfed by a bright flash of light. Rick, Mika, and Mei-Lin gasped and stepped back as Sammy disappeared into thin air.
"What happened?" Mika gasped.
"We need to go get one of the security guards or something, right now!" Rick shouted.
---
Sammy reappeared inside the women's restroom. There, lying on the floor in a pool of blood, was Miss Haruna. She had been badly beaten, and there were hundreds of tiny cuts all over her body, as well as a large slash across her neck. Sammy gasped and immediately knelt at his fallen teacher's side, his sobs sending tears streaming down onto Miss Haruna's body.
"Oh my God... I'm so sorry.... I'm sorry, Miss Haruna... I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything I said, I..."
"S...S....Sammy?" Miss Haruna said weakly, looking up at Sammy. She could barely open her eyes, and from the sound of her voice, it was clear that she could barely speak as well. She was hanging onto life by a thread.
"What happened... to you... Miss Haruna?" Sammy sobbed.
"It's exactly what you wished for, Sammy," Mikhail said, stepping out of one of the stalls and walking over to the other side of Miss Haruna's body. "And you know what they say... be careful what you wish for... you just might get it. Actually, it looks like your precious Haruna-sensei is the one that... 'got it', so to speak."
Mikhail began to laugh viciously, and Sammy immediately stood up and faced him, pointing down at Miss Haruna's fallen form.
"You... did this, didn't you?" Sammy shouted. "You're covered with her blood!"
"And how wonderful it was, Sammy... all of those screams, it was pure pleasure.... of course, it's your fault, Sammy," Mikhail said. "I am a prophet and a dream maker... you wished for this to happen, and I merely fulfilled your wish. Tell him, Haruna-sensei... tell Sammy how much you hate him for doing this to you. Tell him."
"SHUT UP!" Sammy shouted, lunging at Mikhail. "YOU VICIOUS MURDERER!"
But just before Sammy could reach Mikhail, a burst of energy blasted him back, into the wall at the other end of the room. He cried out as he hit the wall, but instead of slumping against it, he retained his balance and slowly walked back over to Miss Haruna, again kneeling by her side.
"Miss Haruna..." Sammy sobbed, tenderly clutching her hand. "I didn't mean... any of those things I said, Miss Haruna... you're my friend, you're my favorite teacher... I'm so sorry... it's all my fault... I'm sorry..."
With all of the strength left within her being, Miss Haruna weakly gripped Sammy's hand and looked up at him. A gentle smile appeared on her face.
"There's... nothing to feel sorry about.... Sammy... you didn't do this... none of this... I really did... like you, Sammy... you were my favorite student... you and your sister... class... wouldn't... have been the same... without-"
Mikhail plunged a large knife into Haruna's chest, violently cutting her off.
"Geez, just going on and on... should've killed her before you got here."
Sammy's fists clenched. His tears streamed down his face as his entire body filled up with an incredible pain... the pain of loss. Miss Haruna was one of Sammy's cherished friends... he remembered the way she smiled when he came into class, how she would tease him about assignments and tell stories about his sister... and now, none of those things could ever happen again. The familiar aura of dark energy surrounded Sammy as he faced Mikhail, standing at full-height, and stared straight into his treacherous former friend's eyes.
"I trusted you... you betrayed me... and you killed someone I loved!" Sammy shouted. "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU, YOU BASTARD!"
"And Ami's next," Mikhail said sadistically, a smile creeping across his face. "But that will be Jekelai's task. For now, I am to take you and force you to watch."
Sammy unsheathed his sword and faced down Mikhail, whose large, blood-covered knife was at the ready.
"He's going to pay..." Sammy thought. "They're all going to pay..."
---
Ouch. Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch.... poor Miss Haruna and poor Sammy! Mikhail has got him ticked off, but does he really know what he's getting into? I don't think so... five chapters left!
