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.

---

The five Senshi ran into the mall, completely unaware of the disaster that was occurring at the Sailor Senshi museum. They were completely focused on the task at hand, and they didn't have to wait long to figure out the source of the trouble.

"There's our mercenary, right there!" Sailor Mars shouted, pointing toward the center of the mall's front lobby.

There, hovering about ten feet off of the ground and nearly even with the second story of the mall, was a woman with a long, flowing brown dress and equally brown hair, with long arms, and hands at the end of those arms which were glowing with intense power. The source of the large pillar of fire and smoke was the ruins of a smoldering section of the food court, where several stores had been obliterated by the deadly mercenary. She looked down at the Senshi and began to laugh.

"You're right on schedule!" shouted the woman. "Kiragushi is my name, a name feared throughout the solar system... and you five will be my next victims!"

Kiragushi pointed her arms at the Senshi, and out of them flew five large, gray, tentacle-like appendages, two from her left hand and three from her right. The tentacles wrapped around the Senshi's midsections and picked them up, slamming them all to the ground, and then releasing the Senshi and retracting back into Kiragushi's hands. The five Senshi had been slammed into the hard linoleum floor. As the Senshi groaned in pain and rose to their feet, they noticed screaming people running for their lives past the Senshi, toward the exits of the mall.

"We'd better hurry," Sailor Mercury said quietly as she struggled to stand. "Or innocent people could get hurt..."


"Most of them are leaving," Sailor Jupiter replied, relief evident in her voice. "But you're right, Mercury... there are still a few people here in danger, and we have to destroy this fiend!"

Kiragushi began to laugh, and pointed her arms at the Senshi again.

"You'll do nothing of the sort!" Kiragushi shouted. "Didn't you hear me before? My name is FEARED!"

Hundreds of glowing, dark red specks of energy rushed out of Kiragushi's hands and fell upon the Senshi, slamming into both them and the ground at high speed. The tiny specks released their surprisingly large amounts of energy on impact, and the terrified Senshi were quickly engulfed in the large explosion that resulted, drowning out their screams.

---

Sparrow blinked open her eyes and stepped out of her space pod, yawning and extending her arms above her head.

"That was... a wonderful rest," Sparrow said, smiling as brightly as the sun that was shining down on her tanned skin. "I wonder what time it is? I should probably begin my hunt for Jekelai again..."

Sparrow walked out of the clearing of trees and onto the street in front of Serena's house. She smiled as soon as she set eyes on her friend's home, and was happy that she wouldn't have to repair it a second day in a row.

"Maybe I should apologize to Serena and Sammy before going out to look for Jekelai again..." Sparrow thought, remembering the previous night's confrontation. She walked across the street, waving at people she saw walking down the sidewalk. "Humans are so much friendlier in this dimension... I guess it's because they've never seen a shapeshifter demon before..."

Sparrow walked up to the Tsukino house and rang the doorbell. Almost immediately, the door opened, and Mrs. Tsukino smiled, beckoning Sparrow to come inside the house.

"Oh, is Serena home?" Sparrow asked as she stepped into the Tsukinos' living room.

"She went out to the park with her friends," said Mr. Tsukino from one of the adjacent rooms. "She should be back pretty soon..."

"Would you like to wait here?" Mrs. Tsukino asked in a friendly voice. Sparrow smiled, and then gently shook her head.

"No, no thank you..." Sparrow said kindly. "I'll just go to the park myself... but thank you for offering, Mrs. Tsukino!"

"You're welcome, Sparrow," she replied. "By the way... I haven't properly thanked you for restoring our house... Serena told me all about you, you're the new Sailor Senshi, aren't you?"

Sparrow giggled and nodded, then looked down and realized she was wearing her same sailor fuku outfit from yesterday.

"Um... yeah!" Sparrow said. "Sailor Sparrow, Senshi of restoration and replenishment!"

"How nice!" Mrs. Tsukino said. "Well, you should probably detransform before you go out in public with Serena..."


"You're right," Sparrow said. She snapped her fingers, and in an instant, she was wearing a black t-shirt with the word 'Demoness' in bright red letters, and a pair of black leather pants, perfectly matching her boots. "Is that better?"

"Demon...ess?" Mrs. Tsukino asked, reading the lettering on Sparrow's shirt and starting to giggle. "Oh, kids these days..."


"Well, bye bye, Mrs. Tsukino!" Sparrow said, waving and running off down the sidewalk toward the park.

---

"Die!" Sammy shouted in intense rage, furiously slashing his sword at Mikhail's head. Mikhail parried with his large, bloody knife with seemingly little effort, then leaped back and quickly slashed Sammy across the cheek. Sammy stumbled back, his hand wiping the blood away from his dripping wound.

"Now now, Sammy... don't make me kill you," Mikhail said. "The boss wants you alive. We can't extract the crystal with you dead!"

"Shut your mouth!" Sammy shouted, lunging at Mikhail and punching him hard in the face. The punch had far more force than Mikhail had expected, and it launched Mikhail back into the hard, plaster wall of the bathroom, shattering the plaster and creating a person-sized dent in the wall where Mikhail impacted. He quickly recovered and walked toward Sammy, his back flaring up with pain.

"That's the crystal..." Mikhail said, licking his lips. "That's the power that Jekelai and I desire..."

"You won't get it... not for a second!" Sammy shouted in an enraged tone, his face beginning to turn bright red. "Too many people... you've hurt too many of my friends... you bastards are ALL going to pay!"


Sammy pointed his arm at Mikhail and fired a blast of dark energy, gasping as the magical energy blast left his hand. Mikhail smirked and casually smacked it away, causing it to fly up and hit the ceiling.

"Did I... just fire... energy out of my hand? Like THEM?" Sammy thought in horror. "No... the crystal's making me just like them!"

"It will be mine!" Mikhail shouted, running at Sammy and furiously stabbing at him with his dagger. In one smooth, fluid motion, Sammy sheathed his sword and then reached out with the same hand and grabbed Mikhail by the wrist, twisting it with intense force. Mikhail gasped and immediately dropped the dagger as his wrist was shattered by Sammy's strength.

"That's for Miss Haruna!" Sammy shouted, his fear replaced with renewed anger and hatred. "And this... is for me!"

Sammy leapt up and launched a powerful kick that struck Mikhail in the face and launched him back into the wall again, further damaging the dent that he'd already made. The weakened Mikhail groaned and struggled to stand as Sammy angrily walked toward him.

"This cannot be..." Mikhail said. "Apocalyptic Specters!"

The light completely disappeared from the room, but as Sammy looked around, he could still see, as everything was now glowing with a bright, grayish-white glow. Mikhail pointed both of his arms at Sammy, and out of them emerged eight screaming, ghastly wisps that whipped around Sammy and quickly drained his energy, causing the boy to fall to his knees.

"What.... did you do to me?" Sammy shouted.


"It's one of my favorite attacks, Sammy," Mikhail said, walking over to the boy with a menacing look in his eyes. "Now, will you come quietly, or will you die like your pathetic teacher?"

Sammy gasped, and his eyes grew wide as he remembered his dear friend Miss Haruna, who had been heartlessly butchered before his eyes. Immediately, his rage overtook him once more, and a powerful aura of dark energy emanated out from the crystal within his chest, renewing Sammy's strength and obliterating the specters and the darkness in the room. Mikhail shielded his eyes as the light returned, and that was all the time Sammy needed to kick Mikhail in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Mikhail struggled to breathe, as Sammy's incredibly powerful kick had knocked all the wind out of his body. With cold, furious intensity, Sammy put his foot on Mikhail's stomach and unsheathed his sword.

"Now you will suffer like all of my friends and Miss Haruna did..." Sammy said, his eyes stinging with tears.

---

"And that takes care of that," Kiragushi said arrogantly, floating down to the floor, just next to the smoldering mist of smoke where the Senshi once stood. "Good riddance."


Suddenly, the sharp stem of a rose slammed into Kiragushi's arm, drawing a tiny drop of blood. Kiragushi ripped the rose from her flesh and looked up to see Tuxedo Mask diving toward her, his staff fully extended. The blunt tip of the staff slammed down into the top of Kiragushi's forehead, and she stumbled back, grimacing in pain.

"How dare you attack innocent people!" Tuxedo Mask shouted. "You should be ashamed of-"

And then, the cloud of smoke drifted over Tuxedo Mask. He turned around and shielded his eyes from the dusty mist. Then, he gasped, knowing that something was extremely wrong.

"Sailor Moon... Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask shouted fearfully, trudging through the cloud of smoke. "Sailor Moon, please... please be alright..."

"Tuxedo Mask... we.... we're fine," came Sailor Moon's voice from the darkness. "Just a little hurt, is all..."

"Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask shouted, running toward the source of the voice. "I'm coming, don't worry..."

He still couldn't see through the fog, but as he felt around in the dark, his hand came to rest on Sailor Moon's face, and as a wave of happiness began to surge through his body, he immediately knew it was her. The smoke began to fade, and Tuxedo Mask wrapped his arms around his love, who replied by embracing him just as tightly. They stood there, locked in an embrace for several seconds, as the last of the smoke dissipated. When it was gone completely, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon continued to embrace as the four embattled Senshi looked on, their bodies and Senshi uniforms marked with tiny burns from Kiragushi's attack.

"I'm glad you're alright..." Tuxedo Mask said gently. "I... thought I was too late..."

"It's alright, Darien..." Sailor Moon whispered, kissing him briefly on the lips. "We're all fine... and now that you're here, we can take this monster down!"

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask broke off their hug and turned to face Kiragushi, who was still coughing up smoke that she'd created with her own attack. Sailor Moon smirked.

"So, can't take your own attack, hmm?" Sailor Moon said, her fighting spirit renewed despite the moderate pain that she was still feeling from Kiragushi's first two attacks. "Then maybe you'll like some of ours!"

"Mercury Ice Javelins!" Sailor Mercury shouted, channeling her strength and blasting Kiragushi with a barrage of deadly ice shards.

"Mars Flaming Cannon!" Sailor Mars shouted, launching a volley of fireballs at Kiragushi.

"Jupiter Thunder Axe!" Sailor Jupiter shouted, heaving a sparking axe of lightning straight toward the deadly mercenary's head.

"Venus Arrow Of Beauty!" Sailor Venus shouted, adding to the assault and firing a powerful, shining arrow of light at Kiragushi's chest.

"Moon... Blessed... Salvation!"

The five Senshi's attacks slammed into Kiragushi all at once, giving her no time to prepare for the humongous barrage of magical energy. The attacks created an explosion rivaling the one made by Kiragushi's rain of fireballs, but this time, the smoke quickly cleared away, leaving a hurt, but still very much alive and very angry Kiragushi, not an inch removed from where she had stood. The Senshi, weakened by using their attacks in such full force, gasped in disbelief, as did Tuxedo Mask.

"Surprised?" Kiragushi asked, sneering at the stunned Senshi. "Do you think Jekelai would send just ANY mercenary for this job? Puh-leese! I've seen stronger attacks by children! You're all pathetic!"

Kiragushi pointed her arms at the Senshi and fired a large, yellow beam of energy at them. Tuxedo Mask leapt in the beam's path and took the full brunt of it, flying back toward the weakened Senshi and lying at their feet, crumpled up on the ground like a pathetic ragdoll.

"Tuxedo Mask!" shouted the Senshi in unison, and Sailor Moon instinctively kneeled by his side, turning him onto his back to inspect his wounds.

"You'll be okay..." Sailor Moon whispered. "I promise..."

---


Sparrow ran into the park, and quickly looked around for any sign of Serena or her friends. Because of her speed, she was able to quickly search the park within a matter of minutes, and was soon back at the park's entrance, sighing wearily.

"I should've probably just asked her about Sammy," Sparrow groaned. "Serena's nowhere to be-"

That's when Sparrow's eyes caught a large plume of smoke, rising up from the mall where the Senshi were fighting Kiragushi, about half a mile from the park. Sparrow didn't know the Senshi were fighting, but she did know that smoke usually meant fire, and fire usually meant trouble.

"I'd better see what's causing that smoke, and fast!" Sparrow thought, breaking out into an inhumanly fast jog and rushing toward the mall.

---

Mikhail looked up at Sammy, and Sammy looked back down at Mikhail. Their eyes met, and as Mikhail realized what Sammy was about to do, terror quickly overwhelmed him.

"Sammy, please!" Mikhail begged. "Don't you remember me? I'm your friend!"

"You killed Miss Haruna.... you were never my friend," Sammy said. "You just used me to get to my friends!"

"Sammy!" Mikhail shouted. "Don't do this! You don't want to do this!"

"Miss Haruna was like a mother to me," Sammy said. "Yes I do."

And then, Sammy stepped off of Mikhail's stomach and brought the sharp tip of his blade down on Mikhail's side. Mikhail screamed in pain as blood began to spurt out of the wound. Sammy removed his sword and stabbed Mikhail again, in the arm. More blood, and another scream. Now, Sammy couldn't stop himself. Rage and adrenaline, fueled by the pulsating Dark Crystal, caused Sammy to drive the blade into Mikhail again and again. Finally, after more than twenty stabs, Mikhail's screaming had ceased, as life left the treacherous mercenary's body. Sammy stepped back and inspected his work, and as the Dark Crystal's influence quickly subsided, Sammy immediately realized what he had done. He dropped his blood-drenched sword and collapsed in sobs over the brutalized, fallen forms of Miss Haruna and Mikhail.

"I'm no better than they are!" Sammy screamed out in anguish. "I'm filled with evil... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

The door to the restroom reappeared as Mikhail's dimensional control died with him. The first two to walk inside the room were Mika and Mei-Lin, and they gasped as they set their eyes on the horrifying scene. Sammy was covered in the blood of both Mikhail and Miss Haruna, and neither of the two girls could bear to stay in the room for more than two seconds. The next person to enter was the costumed tour guide, who gasped in horror.

"What.... in the world... happened here?" the tour guide shrieked.

"Mika, what's wrong?" Rick asked Mika as the sobbing girl collapsed into his arms.

"Sammy.... Mikhail... Miss Haruna..." Mika cried. "Sammy... I think he...."

"He killed them!" Mei-Lin screamed. Sammy, now noticing the voices all around him, stood up and turned toward the crowd of people who had gathered to witness what had happened.

"No way, that's impossible!" Rick shouted, running into the restroom. As soon as he saw Sammy, however, he recoiled in horror. "What the.... what's going on?"


"I'm calling the police, right now!" shouted one of the tour guides, running out of the room.

"Wait, no!" Mika screamed, charging through the crowd and back into the restroom. "Sammy, what happened?"

"M-M-M-Mikhail... was a bad.... bad guy..." Sammy sobbed, wiping the tears and blood away from his face. "And he... he killed Miss Haruna.... so... so... I... I..."


"You... killed Mikhail," Mika said quietly in a subdued tone. "Oh, Sammy..."


"He had to defend himself," Rick said, closing his eyes to shield himself from the horrible carnage of the room. "Sammy... that Dark Crystal thing... made you kill him... right?"

"I.... I don't know anymore," Sammy sobbed, bowing his head. "Ami... why can't this all just be a dream?"

---

"Look out!" Sailor Mars shouted, frantically leaping out of the way as Kiragushi tossed a deadly rain of exploding energy spheres down at the Senshi. "Grrr.... Mars Celestial Fire Surround!"


Eight rings of fire flew up at Kiragushi as she rapidly flew over the Senshi's heads. She smiled and formed an energy barrier around herself, blocking the burning rings of flame against it. Sailor Mars groaned in frustration.

"We've gotta hurry and defeat her!" shouted Sailor Venus, leaping back as Kiragushi extended a purple blade of energy from her right hand and swung it at Sailor Venus' head.

"Mercury... Ice Bubbles... Freeze!"

A torrent of bubbly mist washed over Kiragushi, encasing her in a large block of ice and stopping her right in her tracks. Sailor Mercury let a brief smile form on her lips as the block of ice hit the ground and skidded several feet with Kiragushi trapped inside.

"Nice going, Mercury!" Sailor Moon said, giving Sailor Mercury a thumbs-up with one hand while caressing Tuxedo Mask's face with the other.

"Guys, I don't think she's finished!" Sailor Jupiter yelled. As soon as she had finished her sentence, the large block of ice cracked and shattered, and Kiragushi cackled victoriously, pumping her fists in the air.

"The good thing about ice is that it's so easy to break," Kiragushi said, smirking at Sailor Mercury. "Well, if you're strong enough..."

Suddenly, a powerful figure came flying through the entrance of the mall, extending her leg and kicking Kiragushi hard in the back. Kiragushi hit the ground and skidded several feet before coming to a stop, lying flat on her face. The Senshi all looked to see who had attacked Kiragushi, and delightedly rejoiced when they saw Sparrow, standing near the mall's entrance.

"Sparrow!" Sailor Mercury said, smiling in her direction. "Are we glad to see you...."

"Yeah, I see that you guys could use at least a little bit of help," Sparrow said. "So, are you guys ready to kick this girl's butt, or what?"

"You.... must be... Sparrow..." Kiragushi said, standing up and turning around to face Sparrow and the Senshi. "Jekelai warned me about you... I was a bit worried, though... I thought you'd be...."

"Thought I'd be where?" Sparrow asked, quizzically.

"What's she mean by that?" Sailor Jupiter asked. Sailor Mercury thought for a second, her thoughts racing.

"Where else would Sparrow.... oh my God, Sammy!"

Sailor Mercury gasped loudly enough for everyone on the battlefield to hear.

"Kiragushi's only a diversion...." Sailor Mercury said. "Sammy's in trouble!"

"Go!" Sparrow said, turning toward Sailor Mercury. "Do you know where he is?"


Sailor Mercury nodded.


"Don't worry about leaving us, Mercury," Sailor Mars said. "Whatever danger Sammy's in, you have to get there, in a hurry!"

"Right!" Sailor Mercury said, nodding her head. "But... will you guys be okay?"

"We can... take care.... of this girl..." Tuxedo Mask said, looking up from the ground and smiling at Sailor Mercury. Sailor Mercury nodded, and then ran out of the mall, desperately trying to reach Sammy before it would be too late to save him.

"If she gets to Sammy and Mikhail, our whole plan is screwed!" Kiragushi thought. She pointed her arm at Sailor Mercury and fired out a long, gray tentacle, trying to catch her before she escaped the battle. Sparrow grabbed the tentacle as it flew past and sent a jolt of electrical energy through it, shocking Kiragushi with hundreds of thousands of volts and immediately causing her to retract the tentacle back into her palm and grimace in pain.

"You won't stop our friend from helping the person she loves," Sailor Moon said, rising to her feet and pointing the glowing Sword of the Moon directly at Kiragushi's face. "Your time is up!"

---

"I have to get to Sammy... I have to get to Sammy... if he's hurt, I'll never forgive myself!" Sailor Mercury thought as she ran down the street toward the Sailor Senshi museum. She stopped in front of it, and at the same time, a police car pulled up on the sidewalk next to the museum, causing Sailor Mercury to gasp in fright. "Something terrible has happened... oh, no! NO!"

Sailor Mercury ran into the museum and pushed through the crowd that had gathered in front of the women's restroom. Many of the people in the crowd thought that Sailor Mercury was simply one of the tour guides in disguise, and so she had a very hard time pushing through the crowd to get to the restroom. Once she finally made it to the entrance, she pushed the last few people out of the way. The strong stench of blood immediately found its way to her nostrils, but she shook off the smell and scanned the room for Sammy, fearing the worst. When her eyes finally spotted him, she had to put both of her hands over her mouth to stifle the loud scream that was quickly working its way up to her lips.

Kneeling inbetween the bodies of Mikhail and Miss Haruna was Sammy, rocking back and forth with his arms around his knees. Rick, Mei-Lin, and Mika had all tried to comfort him, but were all ejected from the room by the tour guides, who held Sammy's friends back in the crowd and were now waiting for the police to arrive. Sailor Mercury, not knowing whether any of the large amount of blood on the ground belonged to Sammy or either of the two people on the ground, but she knew that something had happened, and that Sammy desperately needed her. She knelt down in front of Sammy and tried to lift up his face, but as soon as Sammy opened his eyes, and his eyes met with Sailor Mercury's, he turned away, ashamed to be in her presence.

"Go away..." Sammy sobbed, burying his head into his knees. "You'll only be hurt... like Miss Haruna...."

Sailor Mercury hesitated. She didn't know what to say, and tears began to flow down her face, as the coldness of Sammy's rejection sunk in.

"Something has happened... Miss Haruna... oh, God... and it looks like one of Sammy's friends was killed too..."

Two police officers pushed their way into the room, and glared at Sailor Mercury with contempt, guns drawn.

"Step away from him, ma'am," the first officer said. "There's been a crime committed here, and-"

"Get away from him!" Sailor Mercury shouted, deeply offended that the police evidently thought Sammy had committed this horrible atrocity. "Don't you DARE touch him!"

"Ma'am, calm down," said the second officer.


"Do you know who I am?" Sailor Mercury shrieked. "Do you KNOW who I am?"

"You work here," said the first officer. "But it's over now, and we can handle-"

"I'm Sailor Mercury, dammit!" she screamed, extending her arms and coating the walls of the room in an inch-thick layer of ice. "The real Sailor Mercury!"

The two officers looked at each other, and then backed out of the room, stopping at the rooms entrance and waving their arms innocently. The other bystanders gasped and stepped back.

"Alright, alright," said the first officer, slowly putting away his gun. "But we really don't think this is any of your concern..."

"Sammy didn't do this!" Sailor Mercury shouted, and for the first time, Sammy looked up at her, tears streaming down his face. "It was those... those monsters... they... they..."


"The ones that went after the school?" asked the second officer. "But then why-"

"Mikhail.... he was... he was evil..." Sammy gasped through his sobs. "And he killed Miss Haruna..."

Sailor Mercury turned around and stepped toward her grieving lover, who stepped back away from Sailor Mercury as she tried to get near him.

"No... you can't..." Sammy sobbed. "My friends... none of them... can be with me anymore... I don't want you to get hurt like Miss Haruna! I-"

Sailor Mercury ran up to Sammy and hugged him as tightly as she could, intense tears coursing in rivers down her face, as some of the blood from the fallen Mikhail and Miss Haruna caked onto the bottom of her boots. Sammy began to push Mercury away, but then felt something... incredible, as he hugged her. When he was in Sailor Mercury's arms, all he could think about was her... it was like the Dark Crystal didn't even exist. He wrapped his arms around Sailor Mercury, returning the embrace, as his crying slowly subsided. Some of the stunned bystanders wearily walked into the room as Sammy and Sailor Mercury slowly pulled away from the hug, and the ice melted from the walls of the room.

"There are... terrible villains... out there," Sailor Mercury sobbed. "And I... I'm so deeply sorry... that we haven't been able to stop them... before innocent people got hurt...."

Sammy, weak from fighting and weak from grief, collapsed onto one knee. Sailor Mercury picked up his blood-soaked form and began carrying him out of the room, as the crowd of people parted to allow them to leave. Three of the people in the crowd, Sammy's three friends, Rick, Mika, and Mei-Lin, walked out after Sailor Mercury, following her into the lobby of the museum as paramedics filed past them to take away the bodies of Mikhail and Miss Haruna. All three of them had been crying, and tears were still falling down Mei-Lin's face.

"M....Miss Haruna...." Mei-Lin sobbed, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "Why did this have.... to happen?"

"Will Sammy be alright?" Mika asked. "Please... please say Sammy will be alright..."

"This is just... this is just completely insane," Rick said in subdued shock. "I can't begin to describe how I feel..."

"What happened today... and yesterday," Sailor Mercury said, remembering her classmates who had been killed by Jekelai, "was terrible.... and the Sailor Senshi will destroy those who are responsible. "I promise that you won't be affected by this terrible evil again... we're going to destroy the evil... once and for all."


Sailor Mercury looked down at Sammy, who had passed out in her arms. The emotion of the last few hours was just too much for the poor child and his ravaged psyche to handle, and Sailor Mercury shed a tear onto his blood-stained face.

"Hey.... the kid just vanished!" shouted one of the paramedics from the women's restroom. "The black-haired kid is gone... faded away right before my eyes!"

"So that kid was telling the truth," said one of the tour guides, recalling a fight on one of the videos in which one of the Senshi's foes had faded away after being vanquished by an attack. "Those evil fiends..."

The tour guide, who was the one accompanying Sammy's group, dressed to look like Sailor Mercury, ran out of the crowd and approached the Senshi of Water as she left the building.

"Make those bastards pay," said the tour guide, anger evident in her voice. Sailor Mercury simply turned to her and gave a quick nod. Then, with Sammy in her arms, she walked out of the building, despair, anger, and relief all clouding her thoughts.

---

"I don't care if you have a sword, or if Sparrow is with you!" Kiragushi shouted. "You're short one lovestruck Sailor Senshi, and now that she's gone, you'll all die!"

"You're forgetting that I'm stronger than Sailor Mercury," Sparrow said, "despite what Sammy may think... and you're about to get the buttkicking of your life!"


"Just bring it!" Kiragushi shouted, leaping into the air. "Gravity Force!"

Kiragushi waved her arms and extended them outward, sending a crushing wave of gravitational energy at the Sailor Senshi. Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Venus immediately felt the impact of the crushing force and were pinned to the ground, but Sailor Moon and Sparrow stood their ground, although it was clear that they were both struggling to stay on their feet.

"Damn... this is nasty..." Sailor Moon said, turning toward Sparrow while keeping the Sword of the Moon pointed in Kiragushi's direction. "I'm going in for the kill... cover me, alright?"

"What?" Sparrow said in disbelief. "Not with all this gravity you're not..."

Sailor Moon smiled at Sparrow.

"Watch me," she whispered. With a burst of strength, she ran forward at Kiragushi, who was still several feet above the ground, keeping her arms extended outward and intensifying the gravity's effect. Once, Sailor Moon almost fell to her knees, but she miraculously recovered, and stopped right in front of Kiragushi.

"Try all you want, you'll never get up here with my gravity in effect!" shouted Kiragushi.


"You're really leaving yourself open, keeping your arms out like that," Sailor Moon said. "And now, to finish you for good!"

Sailor Moon channeled all of her strength into her legs, and pushed off into the air, desperately leaping up to get a good shot at Kiragushi. However, she had vastly underestimated the gravity's crushing force, and was rudely awakened by being slammed into the ground at full speed as the crushing gravity pressed her body into the earth.

"Oh no, you don't!" shouted Sparrow, running forward and straining to pick the collapsed Sailor Moon up off of the ground. "Finish her off!"


Sailor Moon turned her head and smiled at Sparrow, whose face was now covered in sweat from the monumental effort of holding Sailor Moon in the air under the intense gravitational force. With a mighty thrust, Sailor Moon plunged the sword into Kiragushi's chest, and the mercenary barely had time to gasp before she was instantly disintegrated. The gravity subsided, Sailor Moon's sword reverted back to its original form, and Sparrow and Sailor Moon both collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. The other three Senshi wearily rose to their feet, along with Tuxedo Mask, who had seemingly recovered from his injuries enough to stand. Finally, Sailor Moon and Sparrow got up, and turned to face one another. Sparrow was the first to smile.

"Sailor Moon, that was... really fun!" Sparrow said, smiling brightly. Sailor Moon nodded.

"High five!" Sailor Moon said, holding up her hand in the air. Sparrow giggled, then slapped her palm against Sailor Moon's gloved hand.

"That wasn't fun, that was exhausting!" Sailor Mars barked. "And Sailor Mercury is still in trouble!"


Sailor Moon gasped.

"I forgot about that," Sailor Moon said. "We'd better hurry to the museum, right away!"

Sparrow nodded.


"But first, Sailor Moon, I.... I want to apologize," Sparrow said. "I acted really harshly last night, and..."

"We know Jekelai's alive now," Sailor Moon replied, "and we're going to beat him... together. You don't have to apologize, Sparrow... you're the only one who really understands how truly evil Jekelai is."

"Thank you, Sailor Moon," Sparrow said.

"Are we going to the museum now?" Sailor Jupiter asked. "We'd better hurry... Sailor Mercury could be in really big trouble!"

---

Ami, who detransformed as soon as she entered her room, gently placed Sammy on her bed, after first wrapping him in a towel to shield her sheets from the blood covering Sammy's body.

"After he wakes up, I'll let him use the shower to clean up..." Ami thought. "My gosh, how could someone do such a terrible thing... Sammy's friend Mikhail betrayed him and killed Sammy's favorite teacher... it's too unspeakable to think about... he must be completely overwhelmed..."

Sammy's eyes fluttered open, and Ami kissed him on the forehead as he awoke.

"A....Ami?" Sammy said sleepily, sitting up in Ami's bed and wiping his face with the towel. "What.... what happened?"


"You fell unconscious at the museum, so I took you back to my house... oh, Sammy, I'm so sorry I let all of this happen..."

Ami put her head in her hands, and tears fell down her cheeks once more. Sammy walked over to comfort her, but didn't want to touch Ami with his body still drenched in blood.

"Ami, I... can I use your shower, really quickly, please?" Sammy asked. "I'm sorry to-"


"It's alright, Sammy," Ami said, nodding to him. "I'll be waiting when you come out, okay? We can talk then... anything you want to talk about, alright?"

Sammy nodded, and walked into the bathroom with the towel still wrapped around his body. Ami slumped against the bathroom door and sat with her head bowed, sniffling and wiping tears from her eyes.

"Jekelai has to be stopped now," Ami thought. "Before he hurts anyone else... they all have to be stopped..."

And as she recalled the look on Sammy's face from earlier, as she first set eyes on him in the restroom of the museum, his face twisted in anguish and grief, Ami bit her lip, the memory of Sammy's suffering wrenching her body with pain every time she thought about it.

"I have to do something... show him I still love him, no matter what happens... I want to make him happy again..."

---

"Where is Sammy?" Sailor Moon shrieked at the two police officers as paramedics walked past her, carrying the bodybag containing Miss Haruna out of the building.

"Sailor Mercury came and carried him off," said the officer. "We sent everybody else home, the woman was the only one killed."

"Someone was... killed?" Sailor Mars said, her heart sinking to the pit of her stomach. "We got here too late..."

"Well, there was another one killed, but... he was one of those... whatdya call 'em, monsters from the... what do you guys call it again? The Negaverse?" asked the second officer. "Kid was trying to protect his teacher from the monster, but it got her first... kid went ballistic and-"


"TEACHER?" Sailor Moon shrieked. "Oh my God, no..."

"Haruna was her last name, I don't know her first, but-"

"Miss Haruna, no!" Sailor Moon thought, her lip beginning to tremble.

"Hey, that was your tea-" Sailor Venus began before Sailor Mars pressed her hand over Sailor Venus' lips.

"Shh, don't give away Sailor Moon's identity, stupid," Sailor Mars whispered.

"Sorry," Sailor Venus mumbled through Mars' hand.

"That's terrible," Sparrow said. "We were responding to an attack on the mall... we're... sorry..."

"And what about the child?" Sailor Moon asked, a tear falling down the right side of her face. "What was... his name?"

"Sammy Tsukino," said the first officer. "Sailor Mercury carried him out of here, though. Don't you girls ever talk with each other? You oughta know what the other ones are doing."

"We'd better contact Sailor Mercury," Tuxedo Mask said. Sailor Moon nodded and raised her communicator to her lips.

---

"Okay, Ami," Sammy said through the bathroom door. "I'm all washed up, but... my clothes are still-"

"It's okay, Sammy, I'll find you some other clothes to wear," Ami said, walking into her room and looking through her drawers. "There's gotta be something in here for Sammy to wear that looks remotely like a boy's clothes... plus, I have to get some swim trunks for him to wear."

Ami had decided that she would bring Sammy to the swimming pool that she frequented at the recreational center a few blocks away. Whenever Ami was sad or depressed, she would go to the pool and just swim, sometimes for several hours at a time. It was the pool where she had raced her friend Michelle, AKA Sailor Neptune, so long ago... at least, it seemed long ago. If swimming could raise her damp spirits, maybe it could do the same for Sammy.

Suddenly, the communicator on Ami's wrist began to ring.

"Hello?" Ami said, lifting the communicator up to her lips. "Sailor Moon?"

"Oh, thank goodness.... where's Sammy?" Sailor Moon asked. "We heard about everything that went down at the museum, are you both okay?"

"Yes... I took him back to my house, and he's in the shower, getting washed up... oh, Serena, I feel so terrible about what happened!"

"I know... me too, Ami... Miss Haruna's the last person that this sort of thing should happen to... I mean, she yelled at me in class a lot, but... I really cared for her, she was a wonderful teacher, and... how's Sammy taking it?"

"It'll be hard for him to recover," Ami said. "But right now, he's doing the best he can."

"Thank goodness," Sailor Moon replied. "Ami, you know what this means..."


"We've got to defeat Jekelai, and we have to do it now," Ami said. "I'll talk to you in a bit, alright? Then we can figure out what to do about all this..."


"Take care, Ami," Sailor Moon said. "And stay safe..."

Ami turned off the communicator and resumed looking for clothes. Finally, Ami found something suitable for Sammy to wear. A blue sweater, and a pair of blue jeans, the only pair Ami had. They would be a little tight on Sammy, but he wouldn't be wearing them very much anyway once they got to the pool, so she was sure he wouldn't mind. Then, she found a clean pair of boxer shorts that she obviously never wore, so they would be okay for Sammy to put on. Finally, she also took out a pair of socks, and a pair of tennis shoes that she rarely wore.

"I hope he has small feet," Ami thought.

Also, buried deep in one of her closets, was a pair of swim trunks that had once been worn by her father before he moved out of the house when Ami was still very young. Ami didn't know why she still had the trunks, but she was glad that they were around for this occasion. Finally, Ami picked up a small, black handkerchief from her desk.

"I want this to be a surprise," Ami thought. "If I just flat-out proposed the idea of swimming to him, he'd probably shoot me down."

Ami opened the door of the bathroom just a little ways, tossing the clothes (sans the swim trunks) in to Sammy with her head turned. Then, she shut the door. A few minutes later, Sammy walked out of the bathroom, wearing all of the clothes Ami had given him. He looked and smelled completely clean, and he didn't have a drop of blood on his body, with a bandage pressed over the cut on his cheek. Ami smiled at Sammy, and he smiled back, but still felt a great deal of guilt over Miss Haruna's death.

"Ami, I... I still don't think I should be near you," Sammy said, turning away from her. "I love you, but I... you saw what I did you Mikhail... the Dark Crystal's got a hold of me!"

Ami gently turned Sammy around and looked straight into Sammy's eyes, a warm, caring, understanding smile on her beautiful face.

"Sammy... I promise you... that I will never, ever, ever let the Dark Crystal take hold of you. I love you too, Sammy... more than everything and everyone else in existance, Sammy... more than all of the stars, and the planets... my love for you is eternal, and I don't want to leave your side, not even for a moment..."

"But Ami, I don't want to endanger you," Sammy said sorrowfully. "You saw what happened to Miss Haruna!"

"I know... but I trust you, Sammy... I trust you to protect me... and I promise to stay safe.... you've saved my life more times than I can count, Sammy," Ami said.

"And you've saved mine just as many, Ami....." Sammy replied, beginning to cry. "I... I don't know what I'd do without you..."

The two lovers leaned in and kissed, wrapping each other in a tight embrace and silently vowing to protect one another from the deadly enemies who were soon to come.

---

"Are we there yet?" Sammy asked. Ami was leading Sammy down the sidewalk toward the recreational center, and had tied her black handkerchief around his eyes before they had left the house, blindfolding him to keep her plan a surprise.

"Almost," Ami said, smiling as the entrance to the recreational center came into view. She walked up to it and led Sammy inside, walking him down the halls and leading him toward the pool area. As Sammy and Ami neared the pool, Sammy could detect the faint odor of chlorine, and quickly figured out where he and Ami were.

"Ami, is this the pool?" Sammy asked. "Did you take me to the-"


"Hold on, Sammy," Ami said, walking Sammy over to the hallway outside the locker rooms. "Now, wait here, and don't take off the blindfold until I tell you too."


"Okay, but I know we're at the pool, Ami," Sammy said, obediently waiting for Ami to come out of the locker room, and not touching his blindfold. Finally, after several minutes, Sammy could hear Ami's voice once more.

"Alright, Sammy, you can take off the blindfold now!" Ami said cheerfully. Sammy pulled the handkerchief up from over his eyes, which widened to nearly twice their size as Sammy gazed at the vision in front of him.

"Oh my... Ami, you look wonderful!"

Ami was standing in front of Sammy, wearing a shimmering, dark blue, two-piece bikini that perfectly matched her hair and accentuated her beautiful, slender frame. Ami giggled at Sammy's bewildered reaction.


"You like, Sammy?" Ami asked, smiling. "I know you've only seen me in a one-piece before, so... well, I went out and bought this in the fall, and was hoping that one summer rolled around I could wear this to the beach, but... now's as good a time as ever, hmm?"

Ami handed Sammy the pair of swim trunks.

"Would you like to swim with me?" Ami asked. "I'd be honored if you would... swimming always cheers me up, and-"

"Ami... just being with you makes me feel the most incredible joy," Sammy said, looking into her eyes. "I'd love to swim with you, Ami."

---

An hour after Sammy and Ami had gotten into the pool, the two were playfully splashing around, not really having done very much 'swimming'. Neither Ami nor Sammy really cared that they weren't really swimming, because both of them were happy, and that's all that really mattered.

"Oh, Ami...." Sammy said, briefly stopping his splashing exchange with Ami. "I... I'm having the most wonderful time of my life... but I still feel really terrible about what happened with Miss Haruna..."


"Sammy, I promise that... I promise we'll find some way to get her back," Ami said. "We've revived people before, and once Jekelai and his mercenaries are defeated, I'm sure we can do it again..."

"Oh, Ami..." Sammy said blissfully. "I.... I love you so much, and..."

Sammy could barely find the words to speak, he was so happy... both he and Ami were. This was the kind of thing he and Ami used to do, back in the old days... before Jekelai, before the Pale Mercenaries were trying to attack Sammy and his friends... and he longed to be able to be with Ami without fear, without having to worry about her being hurt... that was all Sammy and Ami wanted now.

Ami waded over to Sammy and put her arms on his shoulders, staring longingly at him. He did the same, and then, the two both slipped under the surface of the blue water. No one was around, and the lifeguard on duty knew Ami, knew that she was an extremely good swimmer, and was taking a coffee break elsewhere in the building. It was just Sammy, Ami, and the water. The two touched the bottom of the pool and embraced, their lips meeting, and their mouths slowly opening, lips tightly wrapped around the other's and forming a watertight seal. Their tongues briefly met, and they kissed for several seconds, still kissing as they floated up to the surface.

"Havin' fun?"

Sammy and Ami gasped and broke off their kiss, looking up toward the deck of the pool with their arms still locked in an embrace. There, standing just a few feet away from the pool, was Jekelai, smiling an evil grin as he gazed at the two embracing lovers.

"Now, that is just sick. Who french kisses in a pool, anyway?" Jekelai asked. He raised his arm, lifting Sammy up, away from Ami and out of the water. His other hand began to crackle and spark with electricity.

"LET SAMMY GO NOW!" Ami shouted furiously.

"Ami, look out!" Sammy yelled as he saw Jekelai's electrified hand slowly lowering toward the water.

"Here's a physics lesson for you, Ami. If you're so smart, tell me this. What happens when electricity touches water?"

Ami gasped in horror.

"Don't you dare, you son of a-" Sammy began before Jekelai plunged his hand into the water, sending a momentous electric shock through the entire pool. Ami screamed as the shock jolted her body, immediately passing out and floating up to the surface, her lifeless body floating face down in the water. Sammy struggled to reach her, but found his body hopelessly paralyzed by Jekelai's power.

"She's either dead from the shock, or she's drowning as we speak, Sammy," Jekelai said, smiling. "And you get to watch!"

"LIKE HELL I DO! ERAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"

With a loud scream and a huge burst of energy, Sammy broke free of Jekelai's paralysis and emanated a gigantic, black magical energy wave from his body, blasting Jekelai back into the wall. Instead of going after Jekelai, who had been knocked out by Sammy's attack, he dove into the pool and pulled Ami over to the side, where he set her down face-up on the hard floor and put his hand to her neck. She wasn't breathing, and Sammy couldn't feel a pulse. He felt a crushing wave of despair.

"No..."

"Yes," Jekelai said, waking up and slowly climbing to his feet. "She's dead, Sammy... ding dong, the bitch is dead!"

"DIE!" Sammy shouted, blasting Jekelai back into the wall with another wave of energy, then leaning over Ami's still form. "Ami... I know you're alive..."

Remembering the CPR techniques Ami had taught him a few months back, Sammy put both of his hands over Ami's heart and knelt down over her face, pressing his lips tightly over hers.

"You saved my life with CPR once, Ami... I only hope it works for you as well as it worked for me..."

Sammy pressed down hard on Ami's chest, counting off the seconds and compressing in a strict rhythm, alternating chest compressions with breaths into Ami's lips, desperately trying to save her life.

"What are you doing now, Sammy?" Jekelai asked, standing up. This time, Sammy completely ignored Jekelai, and continued giving CPR to Ami at a furious pace, hoping that he'd hear her breathe, just once... just enough to tell him she was still alive. "I'll kill her, Sammy!"

Jekelai pointed his arm at Sammy and Ami.

"Moon... Blessed... Salvation!"

A large wave of magical energy hit Jekelai, blasting him back into the wall a third time. Sammy looked up and saw Sparrow and the Sailor Senshi, standing just outside the pool, all of them looking at Sammy and Ami with concern in their eyes.

"Ami's hurt!" Sailor Moon shouted.

"It's alright, Sailor Moon... I'm going to save her... I promise I will!" Sammy shouted.

"Damn you, Sailor Senshi... damn you, Sparrow! How did you get here?" Jekelai shouted.

"I can smell you from miles, Jekelai... your evil stench is repulsive," Sparrow said in disgust.

Jekelai extended his arms and formed a large, swirling black gate.

"I can't extract the Crystal with those interfering fools around... Sammy's too strong now, I'll have to get him by himself!" Jekelai thought.

"You won't escape!" Sparrow shouted. As Jekelai plunged into the portal, Sparrow dove in after him. The portal remained open and Sammy turned to the Senshi once more.

"Hurry!" Sammy shouted, continuing to give Ami chest compressions. "Sparrow can't beat Jekelai alone!"


"But Sammy, Ami is-" Sailor Moon began.


"She'll be fine... I promise she will," Sammy said. "You have to beat Jekelai now, before he hurts anyone else!"


"Alright, Sammy..." Sailor Moon said, nodding to her little brother. "But... you have to promise you and Ami will-"

"We'll be fine..." Sammy said, tears streaming down his face. "GO!"


Sailor Moon nodded, and the four Senshi disappeared into the barrier, just before it closed behind him. Sammy and Ami remained alone, beside the pool. Sammy knelt down over Ami and continued giving her CPR, as his tears freely fell onto her face.

"Please... Ami... please wake up... I can't do this without you, I can't go on without you... I can't live without you..."

Sammy breathed into Ami's lips one last time, and as he raised his lips away from hers, she let out a loud gasp, then began coughing sputtering, water violently escaping from her lips. Sammy rolled to the side, and Ami sat up, spitting out even more water. Finally, she stopped coughing, and opened her eyes, turning to Sammy, who was kneeling on the ground beside her.

"Sammy...." Ami said, shaking her head in bewilderment. "What... where... what happened?"


"Oh... oh Ami.... I'm so glad you're-"

Sammy could say no more, his sobs of sadness turning into tears of joy. He embraced Ami for what must have been the millionth time that day, and as she returned his hug, her eyes lit up with joy.

"Sammy, you... saved my life, didn't you?" Ami asked, slowly pulling away from the hug.

"I was just... returning a favor... Ami," Sammy replied, blinking back tears and wiping the tears away from Ami's eyes. "Ami.... I love you so much..."

"Sammy...."

The two lovers embraced again, and kissed more deeply than they had ever kissed before. Jekelai's departure meant that the two lovers would be safe from harm, as long as the Senshi and Sparrow were still able to fight... but Sammy's mind wasn't ready to dwell on Sparrow and the Senshi, who must have been in Jekelai's hideout by then... only one thing was in his mind now... one person, one beautiful angel... Ami Mizuno, the girl he loved. As long as he was with Ami, he could never feel despair.

---

*hands die* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I have to get new hands now... 8,000 word chapter... never thought it'd be this long. But it sets up the last four awful nicely, don't you think? Please review!