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.
---
Sparrow was in the throne room again. It hadn't changed from when she last fought Jekelai, just a few days earlier... but Sparrow didn't really expect it to change in any way. Just like Jekelai... some people never changed.
She glanced around the huge room, searching for her opponent. She looked behind her, to the large, golden door... nothing. She looked in front of her, to the well-decorated throne... nothing. She looked all around, one, twice, and then three times. There was no sign of Jekelai, or any of the Sailor Senshi for that matter.
"The coward is going after them first," Sparrow thought. "It's just like that sick son of a bitch to go after his weakest foes first..."
Not that Sparrow thought the Senshi were weak... but in Sparrow's mind, her powers were far superior to those of the Senshi. She could sense that the Senshi were strong, but not nearly as strong as she knew herself to be... of course, she couldn't possibly have known of the Imperium Silver Crystal, the secret of Sailor Moon's true power. Had she known about that, she might have worried about her friends just a little less.
"I have to help them," Sparrow said quietly, turning toward the door. "I won't let Jekelai hurt-"
"Who are you talking about, Sparrow... I'm right here."
Sparrow turned back toward the throne. There, sitting in the plush, golden seat with his chin resting on his hand, was Jekelai, looking at Sparrow with a smile of pleasure on his face. Slowly, he rose from the throne, his cape briefly flowing out behind him as he began walking down the center of the long room, toward Sparrow. Sparrow stood her ground, clenching her fists as she prepared to destroy Jekelai once and for all.
"Where are they?" Sparrow asked. "The Sailor Senshi... why aren't they here?"
"They're in the bowels of my castle... you don't think I'd let those interfering little twirps disrupt our final dance, do you?" Jekelai asked, smiling proudly as he stopped about twenty feet away from Sparrow, the distance between the two spanning just less than ten percent of the room's immense length.
"It won't be a dance, Jekelai... it will be a massacre," Sparrow said, a familiar aura of energy beginning to circulate around her body. "I will tear you limb from limb."
"I plan to finish what I should have done a year ago, my darling Sparrow," Jekelai replied, and his eyes glimmered with an intense lust that made Sparrow tremble for a split-second. "But I will allow you to make the first move... ladies first, after all."
"I don't need the first move to defeat you, Jekelai... but I will take it," Sparrow said. She extended her right arm toward Jekelai, and immediately, a ring of cracks appeared in the floor beneath Jekelai's feet. In a fraction of a second, huge fragments of rock jutted out along the cracks, trapping Jekelai in a cage of earth nearly ten feet high. With one quick leap, Jekelai escaped the rocky cage and landed just outside its boundaries, before the rock structure collapsed in on itself, creating a large cloud of dust. Jekelai stood at the front of the dust cloud as if nothing had happened, the same smirk still remaining on his face.
"You just don't get it, do you, Jekelai?" Sparrow said intensely. "I came here to kill you."
Suddenly, the millions of dust particles that had been thrown up into the air all began to shine with an intense red glow, and Jekelai could begin to feel a small twinge of pain. That minor twinge intensified into thousands of piercing stabs as Sparrow accelerated the tiny particles into deadly projectiles that pierced entirely through Jekelai's body, cutting him hundreds of thousands of times and collapsing him to his knees, groaning in pain. Sparrow quickly traversed the gap between Jekelai and herself, flying up to the evil mercenary and slamming the tip of her leather boot into his forehead. Sparrow's kick sent Jekelai flying back through the air, but Jekelai quickly recovered, landing on his feet, steadying himself, and rising to full height as quickly as he had been launched into the air. His casual smile was gone, and now a look of determination was on his face, as it was evident that Sparrow's first attack had greatly damaged his pride.
"My turn," Jekelai said, wiping blood away from a large gash that Sparrow's kick had made on his forehead.
---
Jekelai was right, the Sailor Senshi were in the bowls of the castle... or rather, the dank, dingy dungeons that dominated the fortress' basement. As Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus looked around at the cells that lined the walls, the number one concern in each of their minds was the fate of their dear friend, Ami Mizuno.
"I really hope Ami's going to be alright," Sailor Jupiter said as the four Senshi wandered through the dark dungeon rooms.
"I know she will be," Sailor Moon said. "My brother loves Ami with all his heart and soul, and he'd never let anything happen to her!"
"I hope you're right," Sailor Mars replied. "But when we saw Ami, she wasn't breathing... what did Jekelai do to her?"
"They were near the pool, he probably tried to drown her or something," Sailor Moon suggested, shivering from both the coldness of the dungeon and the fear in her mind about Ami's fate. "Poor Ami... and poor Sammy, too."
"He's had such a rough day," Sailor Venus said sympathetically. "I just hope that we can find some way to bring Miss Haruna back..."
"Those jerks will pay for what they did to her..." Sailor Moon said through gritted teeth, showing a rare display of anger. "I can't let them hurt anyone else!"
Suddenly, the Senshi heard a faint, pained moaning noise from one of the adjacent rooms. They ran into the room and emerged into another row of cells, just like the last room. However, this room was different, because in the first cell on the right was a young woman, dressed in rags and chained by her arms to the wall. Her beautiful, purple hair, her face, her arms, and her legs were matted with dirt, and there were bruises all over her body, indicating that she had been badly beaten. The four Senshi gasped and rushed to the outside of the cell to get a closer look at the poor girl.
"Are you alright?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Of course she's not alright, look at her!" Sailor Mars said, pointing to the anguished girl. "She's probably been tortured by that sick freak, Jekelai... don't worry, we'll get you out of there, okay?"
The girl looked up at the Senshi and nodded at them, tears streaming down her face. Sailor Mars pointed her finger at the door of the cell and blasted the lock with a burst of flames. As soon as the cage was opened, the four Senshi rushed inside to free the badly injured young woman.
"Oh.... oh, thank you... thank you so much..." said the girl as Sailor Mars blasted the chains around her arms, and Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus gently took her by the arms and began to carry her out of the cell. "I don't know... how I can ever... repay you..."
"Don't mention it," Sailor Jupiter said kindly, smiling and looking up into the girl's eyes. "We're the Sailor Senshi..."
"Yeah... saving people is what we do..." Sailor Venus said, also smiling. "We'll have you outta this stinky dungeon in a jiffy, okay?"
"I know... who you girls are," said the girl, who suddenly pulled free of Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus and stood inbetween them, looking back and forth between the two slightly stunned Senshi.
"Uh, okay..." Sailor Jupiter said, awkwardly. "If you can walk on your own, that's fine... we just don't want you to get hurt..."
"Oh, you're going to be the hurt ones, my pretties... mwahahaha!"
The girl spun around and punched Sailor Moon right in the jaw, sending her flying back into the cold, stony wall of the dungeon cell. The other three Senshi spun around to confront the belligerent woman, but were startled by a loud, violent crashing noise that caused all three Senshi to turn toward the entrance of the cell. The row of cells across the hall had been completely demolished as a large, black dragon had smashed its way into the room and was now standing in front of the three Senshi, confronting them and swishing its tail back and forth. Meanwhile, Sailor Moon, who had been temporarily knocked unconscious by the girl's attack, woke up to see her assailant standing over her weary form, smiling as Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus stepped back into the cell to escape the dragon.
"Do you like him, Sailor Moon?" asked the girl, whose bruises, dirt, and rags disappeared and were replaced by a skin-tight purple outfit that began just above her breasts and went all the way down to the bottom of her feet, like a jumpsuit. "You Senshi fall for the old 'crying girl in a dungeon' trick all the time, and now, my dragon and I have you right where we want you!"
---
For the past few minutes, Sammy and Ami had sat by the side of the pool, dangled their feet into the water, and gazed into each other's eyes. The experience of Ami's near-drowning had taken a lot of emotion out of both of them, and neither of them really had much to say after they had kissed once Sammy had been able to revive Ami. Finally, Sammy began to speak.
"Ami... even after what just happened... do you... I mean... still want to be with-"
"Sammy, of course I do," interjected Ami. "There's nowhere else in the world that I'd rather be than by your side... Sammy, what just happened... wasn't because of you... it was because-"
"I almost lost you, again...." Sammy said sadly, looking down at his own image, reflected from the pool below. "I know you say you love me, but... it's not just how you feel... I'm just so worried, Ami... I know you love me, but I love you too, and it seems like every time we get together, you get hurt... and I'm only barely able to help you, Ami. What happens when I don't get there on time? What happens then?"
Ami began to reply, but turned away from Sammy and looked down at her own reflection, deep in thought.
"Sammy knows I believe in him and I trust him to keep me safe... but... he doesn't trust himself," Ami thought. "He still doubts his own strength... he knows I would give my life for him, but he... he just..."
Suddenly, Ami felt a warm hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head to see Sammy smiling at her, trying to contain his worry as best as he could.
"I'm not afraid," Ami whispered, a gentle smile on her face. "Whatever happens to me, I-"
"I understand, Ami..." Sammy replied. "At least... I'm trying to. You're so much stronger than me, Ami..."
"What makes you think that?" Ami asked. "Sammy, I'm not sure if that's necessarily true..."
"Yes, it is... you are, Ami," Sammy said, finally smiling at her. "I can't control my emotions most of the time like you can... you're always so gentle and kind, and brave, no matter what's going on around you... even before the Dark Crystal came into my body, I'd fly off the handle, I'd start yelling, or crying... in a lot of ways, I'm still a little kid..."
"You were never a little kid to me, Sammy," Ami said, standing up at the side of the pool and helping Sammy to his feet, clutching his hands in hers and gently caressing his palms with the tips of her fingers.
"But you've always been more mature than me, Ami," Sammy said. "You-"
"You're catching up quickly, Sammy," Ami replied. "And I'm happy to wait, as long as it takes... but I love you just the way you are, Sammy... I'll always love you."
Ami and Sammy leaned in and kissed briefly. Then, the two slowly released each other's hands and began walking toward the locker rooms.
"Ami," Sammy said as he opened the door to the men's locker room, "when we're done changing, we'll go to the roof of my school, okay?"
"How will we get up there?" Ami asked. "They've got it closed off while they're rebuilding..."
"I'll find some way in," Sammy said, a sly smile across his face. "And then when we get up there, we can talk, okay?"
"Okay," Ami said, lightly nodding her head. "I always liked it up there... it was so peaceful..."
"And if any bad guys show up, no one else will get hurt, because we'll be the only ones around!" Sammy said cheerfully.
"Aren't you worried that I might get hurt?" Ami asked, rather jokingly.
"I'll protect you, Ami... and you're strong enough to protect me as well," Sammy replied. Ami nodded in agreement, and then the two lovers went into the locker rooms and closed the doors behind them.
---
Jekelai, wielding a glowing energy sword in each hand, charged Sparrow with incredible force, and slashed at her quicker than she could blink. Sparrow's fists lit up with bright energy flashes, and she used her ki aura to shield her fists from the blades as they came raining down on her with brutal speed. After several slashes, however, Jekelai's blade pierced her ki aura, and sliced a long gash across her palm, causing her to cry out in pain. Jekelai seized the opportunity to hit Sparrow in the throat with his elbow, knocking her backward. Sparrow clutched her neck, gasping for breath as Jekelai's energy swords disappeared and a powerful vortex of wind began circling around her.
"You were a fool to come back here, Sparrow Migoto!" Jekelai shouted. "You were lucky to escape the first time, and now you return to throw your life away!"
Sparrow caught her breath, but as she flew back toward Jekelai, she was caught in the winds, which whipped around her with incredible force, sending her flying up into the air, and ripping her 'Demoness' t-shirt into tatters, revealing her well-developed bust covered only by a small black bra.
"What is this madness?" Sparrow shouted, her terrified and angry words drowned out by the winds, screaming about her at hundreds of miles per hour. "He's trying to use the wind to tear me apart!"
Jekelai lifted his arms into the air, and the wind began to do just as Sparrow had predicted, their crushing force pulling one side of her body in one direction and the other side in the opposite direction, as Sparrow furiously struggled to escape the deadly tornado. Debris created by the powerful winds ripping apart the floor below began slamming into Sparrow, some pieces only the size of pebbles, while other chunks were as large as a fist. One particularly large one slammed into Sparrow's knee, shattering the bone and forcing a loud cry out of the powerful warrior, whose arms were being blown back too hard to massage her shattered leg.
"I'll die if I don't get out of here... I have to get out!"
Using an agonizingly large amount of her strength, Sparrow painstakingly reached for her katana, located in the large sheathe on her back. She finally gripped the handle of the blade, but as she tried to remove it from its sheathe, she realized that the blade was being held into place by the massive difference in air pressure between the inside of the sheathe and the whirling wind column on the outside. After a few seconds of desperate pulling, she finally removed the blade with a loud pop, and then whirled around, slashing the gigantic tornado cleanly in half. The huge funnel disappeared, and Sparrow quickly dropped to the ground, landing on her feet and sheathing her sword while trying to catch her breath. Jekelai stood just a few feet away, admiring Sparrow's effort while silently planning his next brutal attack.
"Excellent work, my sweet Sparrow... rest assured, however, that I have far more attacks where that one came from," Jekelai said.
"And if they're all as weak as that last one," Sparrow said, folding her arms across her chest and smiling, "then I guarantee that you're going to get your ass kicked."
Jekelai smirked, and then a slightly amused chuckle escaped from his lips.
"But first," Sparrow said, indicating her bra, "there's the small matter of covering myself, since this skimpy thing is allowing you to see far too much."
Sparrow blinked, and in an instant, her familiar breastplate had returned, to her chest, revealing only a minimal amount of cleavage.
"I still say that you dress like a contemptible whore, which is exactly what you are!" Jekelai shouted. Sparrow growled and clenched her fists again, enough to turn her tanned knuckles completely white.
"You will regret ever calling me that!" Sparrow screamed, rushing toward Jekelai, ready to strike him again.
---
"You're pathetic, Sparrow Migoto... absolutely pathetic!"
Jekelai spat in Sparrow's face, and since her wrists were firmly chained to the wall, she could do absolutely nothing to stop the cold saliva from streaking down her cheek and falling to the floor, forming a tiny puddle on the floor below. But instead of physically attacking Jekelai, which was unfortunately impossible for the once-powerful girl, she decided on a different approach to his cruelty. She began to laugh, and Jekelai raised his hand to slap her, but then stopped, instead wishing to know exactly why Sparrow was laughing.
"Tell me, Sparrow... why are you-"
"The humans on my planet," Sparrow said, smiling as if she was talking to an old friend rather than her hated tormentor, "would give anything to be in the position you're in right now, Jekelai."
"Would they really?" Jekelai asked. "Tell me, demon bitch... why exactly do you say that? How many of their villages did you torch? How many of their children did you slaughter?"
"That's the funny thing," Sparrow said, a smile still across her face. "Not a single one. They just hated me for who I was... a demoness. Jekelai, why do you hate me so? You can't possibly hate me for being a demon, since I obviously can't hurt you."
"That's not it, not it at all, my darling Sparrow... and I don't hate you," Jekelai replied. "I just wish you'd be a little bit more obedient. But after nearly four years of this, you still continue to defy me..."
Jekelai turned away from Sparrow. Suddenly, she began to speak, an intense rage forming in her words.
"You do hate me, Jekelai!" Sparrow snapped. "You've done nothing but hurt me, you've done nothing but try to crush my spirit! You're heartless, Jekelai... not capable of love, therefore, you must be capable of only hate!"
Jekelai stopped, and his lips began to quiver.
"She's right..." Jekelai thought to himself. "She's absolutely right. I do hate her... why does she have to be so stubborn? Why can't I break her? Dammit!"
Jekelai turned back toward Sparrow and pointed his finger right at her face.
"You say that any human from your planet would love to be in my position right now... well then, why don't I just bring one of those humans here and let them do whatever they wish to you? What would you say to that?"
"Go ahead," Sparrow said through clenched teeth.
"But then... wouldn't you hate them?" Jekelai asked. "A human from your own planet... you hated all of them, didn't you?"
"Why don't you bring one of them in and then you can find out?" Sparrow asked. "They can't do any worse than what you've done."
---
Sparrow's fist slammed into Jekelai's cheek, and Jekelai quickly countered with a punch of his own, striking Sparrow in her left eye and blackening it instantly. It hurt severely, and Sparrow could barely see out of it, but thankfully, it didn't swell shut, and within a few seconds, it was back to its full vision capability again. In those few seconds, Sparrow launched a stream of hundreds of deadly ki blasts at Jekelai. The blasts slammed into Jekelai and knocked him high up into the air, where Sparrow met him and slammed her fists into the back of his head, sending him plummeting toward the ground. Sparrow smiled as she heard Jekelai's pained yell, and extended her palms toward him, ready to fire the ki blast that could potentially finish him off. But before she could, Jekelai spun around, and Sparrow gasped.
"He recovered a second faster than I thought he would..." Sparrow thought. "You son of a..."
A long, glowing chain of dark energy extended from Jekelai's hands and quickly encircled Sparrow's wrists, binding them together and pulling Sparrow toward Jekelai. Sparrow, stunned by the quickness of the attack and too surprised to dodge, now furiously began to struggle away, but each time she did, the chains cut even deeper, until finally, Sparrow was pulled right in front of Jekelai, holding Sparrow's wrists by a foot-long chain in his right hand. He observed Sparrow's struggle for a moment, and then began to chuckle.
"Now... where have I seen this before, hmm?" Jekelai asked.
---
A few hours later, Jekelai had brought back a human from Sparrow's world, a tall man dressed in an ancient, robe-like Japanese garment. He was tall, but not as tall as Jekelai or Sparrow, and had a black mustache and short, dirty black hair. When he saw Sparrow, he gasped in shock, surprised to see the so-called 'legendary world-destroying demoness' in such a helpless position. Sparrow stared back at the man, an emotionless look on her face.
"Are you sure that's her?" asked the man, turning toward Jekelai.
"Of course she is," said Jekelai, with a nod. "She is the demoness that's been terrorizing your villages, is she not?"
"It's been nearly four years since anyone has seen her..." said the man, walking up to Sparrow to get a closer look. "My God, it IS her!"
"I told you," Jekelai said. "I am a demon hunter, scouring the worlds to purge vicious killers like this from the universe... although I must admit it was a shame to have to lock up such a beautiful demon as Sparrow... but what must be done must be done."
Sparrow wanted to say something to the man, knowing that Jekelai was clearly lying through his teeth. However, she knew that anything she said would fall on deaf ears, and though she was a strong and proud warrior, she still, deep within the back of her mind, feared retribution from Jekelai. So, as the man drew a large dagger from his waist and stepped up to Sparrow, she could only clench her teeth and close her eyes, preparing for the worst.
---
"You know, Sparrow," Jekelai said as Sparrow struggled to escape from the deadly energy chains, "I think you'd be pretty used to this by now..."
"Save it," Sparrow replied. "I'm not through with you yet!"
Sparrow flared up with energy, and shattered the chains in an instant, blinding Jekelai as her bright energy aura lit up the entire room. Before Jekelai could open his eyes, Sparrow had tackled him to the ground, and was now savagely pummeling his face, every single blow causing more pain to Jekelai than almost any blow that Sparrow had suffered at his hands during all her years of captivity. Finally, after sixteen progressively stronger punches, Sparrow leapt off of Jekelai and left his cowering, trembling form moaning in pain on the ground.
"And I'm still not through with you, Jekelai," Sparrow growled. "Get up... get up, right now!"
Weakly, Jekelai rose to his feet, and the beating he'd taken at the hands of Sparrow had been truly severe. Both of his eyes had been blackened, bruises covered his cheeks, and blood was trickling from his nose, his forehead, and the side of his lips. As a final testament to the powerful attack, two of Jekelai's teeth had been completely shattered, and several more of his teeth were damaged. Due to this, Jekelai's voice was slightly distorted as he began to speak.
"You think this... is enough to beat me?" Jekelai asked.
"No," Sparrow said. "If it was, I'd be pretty pissed off. I want you to suffer, Jekelai."
---
"Sailor Moon!" shouted the three Senshi to their leader as she faced off against the deadly, purple-clad mercenary.
"Don't worry about me, I can take this trickster by myself!" Sailor Moon shouted. "You guys take care of the dragon, I know you can-"
Sailor Moon's words of encouragement were cut off as the purple-clad girl's hand squeezed over her face, her gloved fingers pressing into Sailor Moon's cheeks.
"Shut... the hell... up!" shouted the girl. "You... are so... annoying!"
With a powerful toss, the girl threw Sailor Moon into the back wall of the dungeon. She crashed through its bricks and then disappeared into the wall, and the girl flew into the hole she'd made, giving chase. After several seconds, neither Sailor Moon or the girl came back, and the Senshi were gripped with worry.
"This is bad, you guys," Sailor Mars said fearfully. "Sailor Moon is-"
A loud roar from the dragon shocked the three Senshi right back to their senses, and they forgot about Sailor Moon, beads of sweat dripping down their faces as the prepared for the task at hand.
"Girls... let's kick this dragon's butt and go help Sailor Moon!" Sailor Jupiter shouted, rushing toward the huge, black dragon.
"Yeah!" shouted Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus, eagerly rushing in to provide assistance.
---
Sailor Moon flew out of a dark, swirling energy gate and into a huge, circular space, surrounded by rows of benches. Another figure, the purple-clad girl from before, flew out with her, and then, the gate disappeared. Sailor Moon turned toward the ground and gazed into her eyes with a look of determination, her henshin stick transforming into the Sword of the Moon.
"You will not defeat me," Sailor Moon said. "I've beaten so many villains like you before, and now it's starting to get old! You're going down, Negawitch!"
"Such childish trash-talking," said the girl, walking toward Sailor Moon. "But if you think I'm going to face the Princess of the Moon, champion of justice, punisher of evil all by myself... well, take a look around."
Sailor Moon did just that, and as she looked around the coliseum, her eyes widened in horror. Hundreds of mercenaries, not just hooded ones, but of all different colors, shapes, and sizes appeared in the stands, and all of them looked ready to fight. They looked down at Sailor Moon, and many of them laughed as they sensed her intense fear.
"Oh my God, I've never faced so many youma at one time before... I'm finished!"
"Everyone, get her!" shouted the girl, floating up high above the coliseum and watching as the mercenaries raced down the steps and charged into the arena, all of them rushing at Sailor Moon at the same time, some of them trampling the others to reach her. As the deadly stampede drew near, Sailor Moon threw out her arms and formed a huge, glowing barrier around herself, desperately trying to hold the vile fiends back.
"None of you are getting through!" Sailor Moon shouted, struggling as she fought to keep up the barrier, sweat pouring down her face. Finally, one of the strongest mercenaries, his powerful muscles bulging as if they were about to explode, slammed his fist through the magical barrier, destroying it instantly. As the fiends rushed forth, Sailor Moon desperately swung her sword at the fiends, and she managed to cut up at least two dozen of them, the destroyed fiends disintegrating as the sword's powerful magically-enfused blade neatly dispatched the deadly monsters. But finally, the combined number of fiends was just too great for the Moon Princess. The sword was knocked from her hands, and soon, she was tackled to the ground, the ravenous mercenaries pushing her down while kicking and punching her at the same time. She was soon pinned to the ground, and it took fifteen of the strongest mercenaries to hold the thrashing Sailor Moon down. As Sailor Moon struggled in the grip of the deadly fiends, the purple-clad girl floated down to her and smiled a broad smile, happy that her cowardly gang-up tactics had triumphed over Sailor Moon.
"Well, this is just wonderful," said the girl, floating just inches above the trapped Moon Senshi. "I've beaten you, and quite easily, I might add."
"Oh, sure," Sailor Moon shouted, not even trying to contain her rage. "You win all your fights by having your small army do it for you... you're nothing but a cheating-"
"Would somebody please shut her the hell up?" said the girl in an annoyed tone, and immediately, one of the mercenaries clamped their hand over the furious Senshi's mouth. "That's better... your voice is so freaking annoying! Well, Sailor Moon, this is your lucky day. You're not going to die just yet, oh, no, no, no... you're going to be the centerpiece in Lord Jekelai's presentation to Sammy! It's quite an important little exhibit, and if everything goes according to plan, the Dark Crystal will be ours, and we can get out of this annoying little part of space. Did I ever mention that your planet really sucks, and I'm grateful every day that Jekelai doesn't deploy me there? Well, you know now."
Even more rage swelled within Sailor Moon's body, and she struggled even more to escape the grasp of the vicious mercenaries, screaming muffled curses at the purple-clad girl. Finally, she realized the hopelessness of her situation, and a tear began to flow down her face. The purple-clad girl smiled, and formed a small dimensional gate just above the coliseum.
"Take her away," said the girl. "I've got to go see how my dragon is doing!"
---
"It's time to meet one of your friends," said Sailor Jupiter, lightning forming in her fists. "Jupiter Thunder Dragon!"
A huge bolt of lightning in the shape of a long, slender dragon plowed into the black dragon, shocking it and causing it to let out a loud roar of pain.
"Funny, I thought dragons liked being with other dragons," Sailor Jupiter said, a smirk on her face.
"Guys, this thing takes up nearly half the room... we've gotta get to a bigger battleground if we want to have any chance of beating it!"
The other two Senshi nodded, and followed Sailor Mars out of the dungeon and up several flights of stairs, until finally, the three Senshi reached a large, carpeted room with several pictures hanging from the walls. The room was decorated with a golden chandelier, and a beautiful grand piano was in the corner of the room, its beautiful wooden surface painted completely white.
"I hate to trash such a lovely room," Sailor Venus said, "but we've gotta beat this dragon!"
"Say.... where is the dragon, anyway?" Sailor Jupiter asked, looking around. "Why didn't it follow us up the-"
A loud rumbling noise immediately alerted the Senshi to something very big, and sure enough, it was the dragon, flying up and crashing through the floor on the opposite side of the room, shattering the grand piano into pieces. The dragon's powerful wings began to flap, and it hovered in place across from the three Senshi, roaring loudly. Though this room was much bigger than the dungeon room, the dragon still took up about a sixth of the room's space, a very imposing presence indeed.
"Dragons typically like fire," Sailor Mars said, "but I still think this will work on him just fine! Mars Celestial Fire Surround!"
Eight burning rings of flame flew at the dragon. The dragon reared back its head and breathed off a large stream of its own fire, nullifying the effect of the rings and nearly singing the Senshi, as the long jet of flame reached back nearly completely across the room.
"Okay, that didn't work..." Sailor Mars said, slightly embarrassed.
"Venus... Arrow... of Beauty!" Sailor Venus shouted, firing off an arrow at the dragon before it even had the chance to recover from breathing its stream of flames. The arrow slammed right into the dragon's chest, and Sailor Venus let out a loud cry of victory, pumping her fists in approval as the tip of the arrow pierced the dragon's skin.
"I think you just beat it!" Sailor Mars cheered. "All right!"
But the Senshi's joy was short lived. As soon as the arrow had pierced the dragon's chest, it completely disappeared, leaving only a tiny puncture wound in the dragon's skin.
"Dammit!" Sailor Venus cursed. "I was so close..."
"Jupiter Axe Of Lightning!" Sailor Jupiter shouted, running at the dragon and tossing a lightning energy axe at its head. The other two Sailor Senshi nervously stayed behind, and the axe completely missed its mark as the dragon merely swerved its long head to the side, the axe whizzing harmlessly by.
"Sailor Jupiter, get back!" Sailor Venus shrieked. "Hurry!"
But the dragon was too quick for Sailor Jupiter. It reared back its head, and then snapped furiously forward, firing two deadly, rainbow-colored beams of energy from its eyes. The beams hit Sailor Jupiter and sent her flying back into the wall, Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus barely able to catch her.
"No, Sailor Jupiter!" Sailor Mars cried. "Are you alright?"
"Just.... fine..." Sailor Jupiter said weakly, smiling up at the two Senshi. "I..."
And then, her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She had fallen unconscious. The other two Senshi set Sailor Jupiter down on the ground and stepped forward to face the vicious beast.
"You'll pay for hurting our friend!" Sailor Mars said angrily.
"It's time to clip your wings!" Sailor Venus shouted. "But first, so that you don't try to breathe any more fire at us... Venus Lovechain Encircle!"
Sailor Venus' golden chain flew up to the dragon and wrapped around its snout, sealing its mouth closed. But the dragon wouldn't take this lightly, and he began furiously thrashing, as Sailor Venus struggled to keep a grip on her energy chain.
"You've gotta hold him so I can get a clean shot!" Sailor Mars shouted.
"I'm trying, but I-"
With a powerful bucking motion, the dragon tossed Sailor Venus up into the air, and the chain completely disappeared. The dragon opened up its mouth, and Sailor Venus was helpless to stop herself from falling in. She disappeared into the mighty dragon's gaping maw as Sailor Mars stood watching in complete and utter horror.
"SAILOR VENUS!" Sailor Mars shouted desperately, collapsing to the floor on her knees. "Please, no..."
Suddenly, and without warning, the dragon spat Sailor Venus out, and she hit the floor next to Sailor Mars, unconscious. Sailor Mars knelt over the body of her fallen friend, trying her best to continue fighting.
"I won't let you guys down..." Sailor Mars said, turning back toward the dragon. "I'm the last one left... I can't let you guys down!"
The dragon reared its head back, and Sailor Mars knew it was going to breathe another deadly stream of fire.
"C'mon..." Sailor Mars said, courageously facing down the huge beast. "You hurt my friends... you're mine!"
The dragon spewed forth a giant, blazing beam of fire from its mouth, all of the flames heading straight for Sailor Mars. She pointed her arms outward at the flame, tears streaming down her face as adrenaline completely overcame her.
"For all of my friends.... MARS ULTIMATE INFERNO!"
A huge burst of flame rushed outward from Sailor Mars' hands, meeting the dragon's flame and pushing it backward, toward the roaring beast. The dragon was already at its maximum level of strength, and as Sailor Mars' flames reached its mouth, the dragon roared one last time, more of a painful scream than an actual roar. A huge explosion engulfed both the dragon and Sailor Mars, and then a large red flash. When the smoke cleared, the dragon was gone, completely obliterated by Mars' attack. Sailor Mars herself was on the ground, unconscious like her friends, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus. Unlike them, Sailor Mars had a smile on her face... she knew that she had won. Her face was wet from tears and sweat, and the three Senshi remained unconscious as the purple-clad mercenary reappeared in the room. As she sensed the death of her beloved dragon, she screamed a scream of pure rage, and walked over to the unconscious Sailor Mars.
"You... you bitch!" the mercenary screamed, kicking Sailor Mars in the side. "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU!"
The mercenary continued to kick Sailor Mars, whose unconscious body absorbed the blows relentlessly. Finally, the girl stopped her assault of the Senshi of Flame and let out another loud scream.
"If Jekelai didn't want you alive, you'd be DEAD! You hear me? DEAD!"
The girl sighed.
"No matter," said the mercenary. "Phase one of this mission is complete..."
---
"Hellish Incendiary!" Jekelai shouted, flying up above Sparrow and tossing a gigantic, burning fireball directly at her head.
"Glacier Zero!" Sparrow shouted back, tossing a huge, glowing ball of magical ice at Jekelai's fireball. The two magical blasts collided, creating a huge pillar of discharged magical energy that engulfed both Jekelai and Sparrow. They both screamed at once, loud, painful screams of agony, as the huge rush of magical energy battered their bodies. They both hit the ground next to one another, and climbed to their feet at almost the same instant.
"It's going exactly as it did... one year ago..." Jekelai said, blood dripping down his face.
"With one... difference..." Sparrow groaned. "This time... you die..."
Conjuring up new strength seemingly out of thin air, Sparrow ran forward and punched Jekelai in the face as hard as she could. At the start of the battle, the blow would prove to be a minor annoyance for Jekelai, but now, it devastated him, knocking him to the ground, flat on his back. Sparrow ran over to strike another blow, but when Jekelai responded by kicking Sparrow in the stomach, the attack sapped a huge amount of energy from her battered body, and she fell to the ground as well, wincing in pain. The two warriors again rose to their feet, and their weak auras flared up once more, as they prepared to attack each other yet again.
"This is fruitless.... we'll kill each other... my dear Sparrow," Jekelai said, hacking up blood.
"You're going down first... I swear... you'll pay!"
Sparrow was again the first to strike, and she lunged forward with another punch at Jekelai's face. He ducked under the punch and tried to elbow her in the chin, but Sparrow saw Jekelai's attack and caught him by the elbow, spinning him around and trying to knock him down once more. Jekelai retained his balance, however, landing on one foot and striking at Sparrow with the other. Sparrow didn't see the kick coming, and Jekelai's foot struck her in the chest, knocking her to the ground. She let out a loud scream of pain as her ankle hit the ground and twisted under her, adding to the pain already plaguing her as an affect of her shattered knee, which had only slowly begun to mend itself during the battle. As Sparrow lay on the ground, weak and in an immense amount of pain, Jekelai fell on top of her and punched her hard in the face, sending shockwaves of agony through Sparrow's entire body.
"How does THAT feel?" Jekelai shouted. Sparrow gritted her teeth, ignoring the metallic taste of blood now omnipresent in her mouth. "I should have KILLED you, Sparrow Migoto! You hear me? I should have KILLED you!"
Sparrow looked up at Jekelai, and saw in his eyes the same intense, hateful rage that she saw during all of those years in his captivity. The viciousness, the brutality, it was all still there... every negative emotion Sparrow had felt came flooding back, all at once...
"Everything you did to me.... punching, kicking, choking, scratching, torturing, insulting, and so on... and so forth...." Sparrow growled, her rage clouding out nearly every other thought in her head. "All the things you did to others... Sammy, and Ami, and Serena, and Rei, and Lita, and Mina, and Rick, and Mika, and Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino, and Miss Haruna... everyone you've hurt, tortured, killed... I represent their anger... their hatred... their vengeance, tears, and blood... their vendetta is MY VENDETTA, Jekelai... NOW DIE!"
Sparrow pressed her palms against Jekelai's chest and screamed, sending a huge wave of ki surging through his midsection. Jekelai let out a cry of pain and flew up into the air, a smoking hole burning its way through his chest. Finally, Sparrow's ki blast ceased, and Jekelai fell to the ground next to Sparrow, a smoldering wound in the center of his body. Sparrow, unable to get up from the ground, all of her energy completely spent, simply smiled.
"It's over..." Sparrow thought. "This battle... is over... Jekelai is... defeated at last..."
---
The human whom Jekelai had mercilessly sent to torture Sparrow had taken full advantage of the opportunity, his dagger cutting large gashes across her face, chest, arms, and legs. Sparrow made not a sound through the entire ordeal, though she had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming out because of the pain. The man laughed as he inspected his handiwork, but Jekelai simply looked on, emotionless, as the man raised his blade to Sparrow's throat. As Sparrow felt the cold blade cutting into her neck, she could no longer hold in her pain, and a tear escaped her lips, falling to the ground below. Jekelai saw Sparrow's tear, and immediately grabbed the man by his wrist.
"Stop," Jekelai said. "You've done enough."
"But... but I have to kill her!" the man shouted angrily. "She's a vicious demon, and-"
"I said ENOUGH!" Jekelai shouted. He blasted the man in the back with a bolt of energy, killing him in an instant. The man fell to the ground, and the dagger dropped from his hand onto the floor. When Jekelai looked back up at Sparrow, tears were streaming down her face, and as he heard Sparrow's quiet sobs, an intense and unfamiliar feeling of remorse began surging through his body. He had never seen Sparrow cry before, and now, he wondered why. Slowly, he began wiping blood away from her face, and Sparrow turned her head away.
"Stop..." Sparrow sobbed. "Don't... don't... just stop!"
"Why are you crying?" Jekelai asked, a tiny bit of sympathy in his voice. "You never cried when I-"
"A human..." Sparrow sobbed. "I didn't want... to be killed... by a human..."
"I'm a human," Jekelai said. "So why-"
"You're a monster!" Sparrow shouted, even more angrily than before. "You're not a human, you're a sick, vile monster! Stop trying to act like you're sorry! You're not! You're a vicious monster, and I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I... I..."
Sparrow fell unconscious, the pain from her wounds too much for the young demoness to bear. Jekelai gently reached up to her face and wiped away her tears, but then, as soon as he finished, he stopped.
"Why... why did I do that?" Jekelai said to himself. "Why did I kill the human who was hurting her? Why did I... why did I actually feel remorse? This has never happened to me before... what I'm doing... what I'm doing is wrong... why am I hurting you, Sparrow Migoto? Why am I doing these things.... why am I hurting the woman I lo.... NO!"
Jekelai slapped the unconscious Sparrow across the face. Then he turned and exited the dungeon.
---
"Why am I.... why am I... why-"
"Lord Jekelai!" shrieked the purple-clad mercenary girl, standing above her fallen master, Jekelai and looking at the large hole in his chest. "What happened?"
"Sp....Sparrow... damn... you.... I can't believe... I'm going to..."
"Perhaps this will help," said the girl. Suddenly, four large energy spheres appeared, one at each corner of the room. The pink sphere contained the unconscious body of Sailor Moon, suspended in the energy sphere by an unseen magical force. The red sphere contained Sailor Mars, in similar condition. The green sphere contained Sailor Jupiter, and the orange sphere contained Sailor Venus. Suddenly, bright flashes of light began emanating from the fallen Senshi, and a warm glow engulfed Jekelai's body. The four Senshi all woke up at once, and began screaming loudly, seemingly in great pain. At the same time, the large wound in Jekelai's chest rapidly began to close, and then sealed up completely. The wounds and bruises on his body completely disappeared, and even his teeth were fully restored. Once Jekelai had been restored to full health, the spheres stopped glowing, and the Senshi fell unconscious once more.
"Excellent," said Jekelai, floating up into the air and smiling as his observed his fully-restored body. "I must remember to thank the Senshi for their generous donation of life force... I only hope that some is still left to scream for Sammy when I finally extract the Dark Crystal!"
"You won't extract.... anything..." Sparrow said, weakly rising to her feet. She had been arisen by the Senshi's screams, but while Jekelai's body had been fully restored, Sparrow was still badly wounded and barely able to stand. "Let... them... GO!"
"How... about... NO?" the girl said mockingly, blasting Sparrow with a large beam of energy and knocking her unconscious, then lifting the unconscious Sparrow into the air and forming a white energy sphere around her, suspending her body in magical energy like the other Senshi.
"Excellent work, Emperius..." Jekelai said, commending the purple-clad mercenary for her efforts. "I knew you could take care of the Senshi for me."
"Was there ever any doubt?" Imperius said with a giggle. "But I lost my poor pet dragon..."
"You will have your chance for revenge soon enough... I will allow you a front-row seat for the Senshi's suffering," Jekelai said. "But for now, rest up... I shall go bring Sammy here myself."
---
Sammy and Ami sat on the roof of Crossroads Junior High for nearly an hour, talking and kissing, just like they had done in the pool at the recreational center. The threat of Jekelai attacking was buried deep within their minds, but they didn't let fear stop them from being in love... and they knew they never would.
"Sammy, did I ever tell you the time I faced Japan's national chess champion?" Ami asked, sitting on the top of one of the benches next to Sammy, her hand gripping his.
"Tell me, Ami... please?" Sammy asked, looking up into her eyes with that same, carefree smile that he'd worn ever since he met Ami, more than three years ago.
"Well, Sammy... I was pretty intimidated coming into the match... it was part of a charity exhibition, and he was taking on all comers... he didn't know about me, but I'd studied a lot of his games, and I came into the match really expecting I'd win."
"What happened, Ami?" asked Sammy.
"About sixty moves in, he offered me a draw... I had the winning position, and I actually knew I did, but..."
"But... you didn't take the draw, did you, Ami?"
Ami nodded meekly.
"Oh, Ami...."
Sammy smiled.
"You're a lot more brave now, though... I know that if you guys played the game again, you'd win for sure!"
"Thank you, Sammy," Ami said. "Actually, I've entered the Japanese Open... it's supposed to take place in two weeks, and I'd be honored if you'd come with me... you know, to cheer me on?"
"Of course I'll come with you, Ami... and I know you'll win," Sammy said. Ami smiled back at Sammy, and kissed him on the forehead.
"You could probably enter too, Sammy...." Ami said.
"I would, but... what if I had to play you?" Sammy asked. "I know you'd probably beat me, but... but... but..."
Ami giggled.
"Sammy, I'd be delighted if you won! I mean, I'd try my hardest, and of course even if I lost to you, I'd be disappointed, but-"
"But if you had to lose to someone... you'd want it to be me, right?"
Ami nodded again.
"Ami, do you remember the first time we met?" Sammy asked. "I mean, way back... I think it was just after Sailor Mars joined you guys."
"I sort of remember it... I know it was when Serena and Rei and I were at Serena's house having a slumber party, and you and your friends were out at the movies..."
"And when I came back, Serena and Rei grabbed me," Sammy said, his face beginning to pout.
"Oh, I remember now!" Ami said, and she began to giggle.
"It's not funny," Sammy replied, glaring at Ami. "You know what happened. They tied me up, and put one of Serena's smelly socks in my mouth, and then-"
"They started putting makeup all over you..." Ami said, still trying to stifle a giggle. "And then...."
"And then you came in," Sammy said, and a smile came across his face. "And you were struggling not to laugh, but you really did try your best to act mad."
"Well, of course I was mad," Ami said, smiling back at Sammy. "How could somebody do that to their little brother?"
"So then you untied me, and cleaned all the makeup off of my face, and then you said that if Serena and Rei bothered me again, that I had to come to you and tell you about it.... Ami, you risked your friendship with Serena and Rei to-"
"No, I didn't," Ami said. "I knew they wouldn't get too mad at me... and plus, they were about ready to let you go anyway. And I was the one who kept Serena from getting grounded for a week..."
"That's because you made me promise not to tell mom or dad," Sammy said. "And I said okay because... because... because I was glad that you saved me."
Ami smiled warmly, and kissed Sammy on the cheek.
"Well, from another ten minutes of embarrassment, maybe..." Ami said. "But... you've saved my life, Sammy..."
"And you've saved mine, too," Sammy said. "It wasn't just the time you saved me from Serena and Rei! Ami, you're... you're like a guardian angel... a beautiful, sweet, wonderful guardian angel... I love you so much..."
"Oh, Sammy..."
And once again, Sammy and Ami kissed deeply, passionately, affectionately, their lips mingling for at least ten seconds before they finally broke off the kiss and looked into each other's eyes as the sun slowly set behind them.
"I love you, Ami..."
"And I love you, Sammy..."
And then, the gate reappeared, right in front of the two lovers. They turned to face it, and immediately, Ami transformed into Sailor Mercury, ready for anything about to emerge from the gate. Sammy, who had taken his sword with him both to the pool and now to the roof, pointed it toward the gate, reading to protect Ami just as much as Ami was ready to protect him. Jekelai emerged from the gate, and Sammy immediately rushed him, but was stopped when Jekelai held out his hand and shot out another paralyzing wave of energy, stopping Sammy in his tracks.
"Ami, run!" Sammy shouted.
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" Sailor Mercury yelled, blasting Jekelai with wave after wave of magical energy. The attack was more potent than usual, and Jekelai was nearly pushed into the gate as every wave hit him, causing him to wince slightly in pain.
"You're fighting with much more passion than usual, Mercury... it will be necessary if you wish to save the lives of your friends!" Jekelai shouted.
"Let them go!" Sailor Mercury screamed.
"You'll have to come to my palace and get them... that's all I will say for now," Jekelai said, backing into the gate. It remained open, swirling in front of Sammy and Sailor Mercury and beckoning them inside.
"Jekelai, you bastard!" Sammy shouted into the gate. "I-"
"Let's go, Sammy," Sailor Mercury said, taking Sammy by the hand and pulling him toward the gate. "We... we have to save them!"
"I know... my sister... my friends... Sparrow... but I know he's just inviting us in there to hurt us! To hurt you! It's a trap, Ami, and...."
Sammy paused for a moment, and Ami didn't respond, choosing to let Sammy finish what he had to say.
"And I'm ready... and I need you, Ami," Sammy said. "I love you..."
Sailor Mercury smiled, and kissed once more on the lips. Then, Sammy and Ami, tightly clasping each other's hand, leapt into the gate together, as it closed behind them one final time.
---
"This is it..." said Jekelai, walking up to Sparrow's sphere. She was the only one of the five unconscious warriors who had reawakened, and she was glaring at Jekelai, still as enraged as ever. "This is the hour of reckoning."
"So, I am merely a pawn to you now, Jekelai?" Sparrow spat. "Is that what I am to you?"
"You are more than that, Sparrow Migoto..." Jekelai said, his expression softening. "While I was asleep... you know what I realized?"
"What... was... that?" Sparrow growled through clenched teeth. "Did you have another one of your perverted dreams about me or something?"
"I did hate you, Sparrow... but at the same time... while you were my captive, I... it just happened one day, Sparrow," Jekelai said. "I felt remorse, every time I hurt you. Every time I wanted to rape you, or kill you, something stopped me. And do you know what stopped me, Sparrow? Do you? Can you guess?"
"No," Sparrow whispered, shaking her head.
"Yes," Jekelai replied. "I love you, Sparrow Migoto."
---
Woooo, what a chapter... I seriously CANNOT keep that quality of writing up. Or... can I? This is what happens when I'm not lazy, people. I'm capable of stuff like this, better than the legends of writing *cough*Ace Sanchez*cough*. If I wrote the wrote Trunks/Ami sequel this good, it could go 200,000 words, easy... whoa. ^_^ So, what didja think? I must get some reviews for this. 9,000 words, I expect at LEAST 9 reviews. I mean, that's what, 1,000 words per review? Egh, I'll write the next chap even if I don't get any reviews... this is a labor of love. Wait, forget I just said that! ^_^ Pwease review!
