PREVIOUSLY ON SAILOR MOON………
July 23rd, 1999.
The life of Amy Mizuno changed drastically the day Dark Mercury came back in time from the distant future to kill her friends! It was on this day that she learned she would one day become the greatest enemy of Sailor Moon and cause the downfall of Crystal Tokyo. With such a weight on her soul, Amy found it hard to even imagine going on.
Though Dark Mercury was stopped by the combined efforts of the Sailor Scouts; the Starlights; the Nova Senshi; Sailor Galaxia; and various others, it was not before her friends Raye Hino and Hotaru Tomoe perished in the battle. For Amy these deaths will forever haunt her.
In the immediate wake of the battle on that fateful day, Amy made a choice that would forever alter her life… She would cease to be a Sailor Senshi! Surely, Amy reasoned, if she were no longer Sailor Mercury, then the possibility of Dark Mercury ever arising again would never occur.
And so Amy quit as Sailor Mercury and moved away from her friends. Though it hurt her very much to do so, she knew it was for the best. She had to distance herself from Tuxedo Mask, the man she secretly loved, and from Sailor Moon, the best friend she secretly resented! She took up a Scholarship to study Medicine at Munich University, in Germany, and moved away.
But, as Amy will soon find out, escaping from her destiny may perhaps be much harder than she thought…
PROLOGUE: CELESTIAL DESTINY
Amy wasn't certain if she ever saw the place she now stood before. The landscape she stood upon was arid. From the precipice she stood at she could see several settlements beneath her, housed in large glass domes. The Sun was quite large and bright. It seemed to fill the entire sky!
Amy turned and her eyes fell upon the large crystalline Palace, also sequestered under the protection of a gigantic glass dome. At least it looked like glass. It was transparent. Also under the dome was a gigantic garden filled with blue flowers and flowing fountains. It almost resembled the Moon Kingdom, but it was different in so many ways. What was this place doing so close to the Sun?
"Hello Amy," a rich voice seemed to echo all around her.
"Who's there?" Amy turned her head this way and that, but found no one in sight.
"I am someone who has been watching you from afar," said the voice cryptically. "I have watched you proudly all these long years. I have seen you grow into a fine young woman. And I have waited so long to be able to speak with you again."
Amy listened to the words wash over her ears. It sounded like her own voice, but that couldn't be possible. "Where am I?" was her next question.
"The place you are standing is a representation of the memories locked deep inside you."
"But I've never seen this place before," Amy argued.
"So you say, but I remember differently," the voice began to sound wistful. "You were but five years old when I held your hand and gazed upon the cities of Mercury from the top of these cliffs."
"Mercury…" Amy's mind made a connection. "This is a memory… from the Silver Millennium, isn't it?"
"You are standing before the Royal Palace of Planet Mercury," the voice explained. "You were not Amy Mizuno here. You were Princess Ami… My daughter."
"Mother?!" Amy gasped.
Queen Chastity stepped from the haze at the periphery of Amy's vision. Amy's breath caught in her throat at the sight of a woman she couldn't remember ever laying eyes on, but whom she knew right away to be her long lost Mother! The resemblance was almost eerie! She looked just like Amy did now, only her blue hair was much longer, tied into a braided pigtail that hung over her left shoulder and dangled at her breast. And her eyes were much wiser, containing far more years than Amy could possibly imagine. Aside from that, they were like carbon copies of one another!
"I am Queen Chastity of Mercury. I am the fourth ruler in the Mercurian Dynasty. You, Amy, would have become the fifth had events not intruded."
"This is unbelievable! I mean… Everything I ever heard about the Silver Millennium always revolved around the Moon Kingdom and Queen Serenity," said Amy. "I guess… I never gave my own History much thought."
"And that is why we have never talked thus until now," Chastity explained, sitting on a marble bench. "Your heart was not open to me the way Serena's is to Serenity's. Do not feel bad, however. The others know even less than you do… by necessity."
"Am I dreaming?" asked Amy.
Chastity considered the question thoughtfully. "Yes and no… It is difficult to explain. The place we are now talking in is indeed of your mind's own creation, but I am speaking to you from a different Plane. I am speaking from the place where the Spirits walk. Thus I am not some fabrication to be taken lightly… Nor is everything I am about to reveal to you."
Amy sat on the bench next to her Mother. "Yes… Tell me everything. What was it like? What was Mercury like? What are those bubbles for over the cities?"
"Solar protection, my dearest," Chastity chuckled. "Mercury has no natural atmosphere, so we had to invent one over our homes, lest we be incinerated. Still, despite its harshness it was home." Queen Chastity's smile faded quickly. "Unfortunately, I am not here to speak of that either. I would love to tell you everything, but my time here grows short and there is so much I need to say." She reached down toward one of the fountains and poked her finger into the surface of the water, creating a ripple effect.
"You are not safe where you are, my daughter," she continued. She straightened back up and looked at Amy with fierce blue eyes. "Munich, Germany will soon become a focal point for an assault from the Negaverse."
"The Negaverse? But that was where… The Dark Kingdom hailed from." Amy remembered. It was seven years ago. Queen Beryl and her armies tried to steal energy from Humans to awaken Queen Metalia and retake the Planet Earth. She and Sailor Moon and her other friends had fought to stop her. It was so long ago it felt like several lifetimes.
"You remember Beryl. That is good. Her Kingdom was the opposite of ours. While the Moon Kingdom was the beacon of peace and prosperity, her kind knew only darkness and death. It was inevitable our two cultures would clash. But what you don't know about is how exactly it happened. The final confrontation, of course, happened on the Moon itself, but there were many battles before that climactic clash. It so happens that Mercury was a battleground of significant proportion… Where allies of the Dark Kingdom sought to gain a foothold in the early campaign."
"Allies?" Amy repeated.
"It is those allies who threaten Munich now," Queen Chastity gripped Amy's wrist and turned it palm upwards. She dropped a stick-like object approximately five inches long with a blue orb at the top. The symbol of Mercury was emblazoned on the orb. The stick itself was shot with silver and white swirls. It was a Henshin Pen.
"You will need this," Chastity said.
"What is it? This looks like the Mercury Pen," said Amy.
"You must take this responsibility, Amy. Very soon the Dark Syndicate will come out from hiding. They will attempt to awaken a very powerful force from the Underworld. The Dark Syndicate's Queen will try to use her power to take over this System all over again. If they succeed in Munich… No one, not even Sailor Moon… Will be able to stop them!"
"The Dark Syndicate?" Amy saw her Mother begin to fade away. "No, wait!"
"I must go now. I wish I could tell you more, but I have told you the most important things. I do not have the power to sustain my existence in this Plane very much longer." Queen Chastity's visage was transparent and fading away into the encroaching mist. "And you are about to awaken as well. Remember… the Dark Syndicate will come to Munich. Keep your eyes open. And when your life is in danger use your power. Not the power of Mercury… The power of Celestia…"
Chastity vanished, as did the landscape of Mercury. Amy heard a buzzing in the back of her head. "Celestia? What do you mean? Tell me more! Mother!!"
Amy opened her eyes in her Dorm room in Munich. The sunlight was spilling in through the blinds and soaking her blankets with golden light. The buzzing she heard was her Alarm Clock and she reached wearily over to slap it off.
Amy remembered something and opened her right hand. But there was nothing there. No Henshin Pen. So was it a dream after all?
CHAPTER ONE: A MONSTER IN MUNICH
"Amy?"
Amy Mizuno walked through the Central Garden of the University of Munich with her friend Robert Prower. The Sun was shining overhead. It was late Summer and the flowers were blooming in full color. The leaves on the trees were green and fully opened. The temperature was beautiful.
But Amy wasn't thinking about all that. Her mind was elsewhere. Her mind lingered to her dream last night. At least she thought it was a dream. Her Mother had told her it was only half a dream, half real. So what part should she believe?
"Amy?"
Queen Chastity had bestowed on her a Henshin Pen bearing the symbol of Mercury, but when she awoke in her bed this morning it was nowhere to be found.
"Amy!"
And a new enemy? Or rather an old one? The name Dark Syndicate stuck out in her mind. Her Mother had informed her they would emerge as a threat very soon. But who were they? What did they want in Munich? Those answers had not been supplied to her. It was a quandary, no doubt about it.
"Hey, Earth to Amy!"
She blinked and tore her thoughts away from last night long enough to give her friend Robert a surprised look. "Oh, Rob… Did you want something?"
"Yeah sure. I'll take your brain back in this reality for starters," said Robert. "Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to get your attention?"
"I'm sorry. I had this crazy dream last night," Amy shook her head.
"Anything you want to tell me about?" probed Robert.
Amy shook her head. "No… It's not so bad. It's nothing. I just need to take my mind off of it."
Rob nodded in understanding, but his face was slightly less than satisfied. Amy really was sorry for having to keep him in the dark. He was her friend but she couldn't confide in him as fully as her last batch of friends. That was because he wasn't aware of her past. There was so much about herself she couldn't tell him. Telling him she had a dream last night about her Mother, the Queen of Mercury, from a thousand years ago, and that some strange enemy was about to attack Munich would pretty much certify her as clinically insane in any society. When Amy stopped to think about it, the story would sound pretty ludicrous to anyone.
And she really didn't want to alienate Rob like that. He was her only real friend thus far. When she first came to Munich from Tokyo, Amy realized just how hard the transition was. No one in Germany seemingly spoke Japanese. The town was laid out in typical European fashion. Winding, crooked streets surrounded by old brick and mason buildings. Even on a map the layout didn't make much sense. Unlike Tokyo it looked as if the Germans who built Munich back in the Middle Ages pretty much set up wherever it was convenient and built the streets in the spaces between. Her German was less than proficient. The only upside was she could rely on her much better command of English to get by. She spent a fortune on Taxis just to get her from the Airport to the University.
She found Rob, or rather he found her, while she was struggling at the front desk to check into her Dormitory. She was at her wits' end and wanted to cry with frustration. The Desk Clerk didn't even know English very well, and she was apparently from North Germany, which spoke German slightly different from South Germany, much like people from Osaka Japan spoke different lingo than those from Tokyo, or Okinawa. She thought she might actually have to admit defeat and return to Japan.
But Robert found her and he knew Japanese fairly well. Between him and the Desk Clerk he was able to work out the Dorm arrangements and then he graciously helped Amy with her personal belongings in moving into the room. The rest of the day he stuck by her religiously, showing her around the Campus and a little bit of the surrounding city. By days' end, Amy was extremely grateful. From then on he had been the one person she could turn to. She started learning better German from him and learned all about Munich. She didn't know why, but he gave so much of himself for her constantly. And in return she couldn't even tell him half about her own self.
"So, uh… You have Biology next, right?" asked Robert, changing the subject.
"Yes…" Amy hesitated. "I'll be getting out by six o'clock."
"Well that's great!" Robert quipped. "Then I'll meet you for dinner. I kinda need your help studying for Anatomy again. We can go to my room afterward."
"Yeah sure. I'll help you out. But only if you help me out with my German again," said Amy. "I tried to say hello to Professor Gunther the other day and I think I hurt his feelings."
Rob laughed. "Don't worry about it. You're smart, but you can't know everything overnight. I feel left behind enough as it is with you around."
Amy chuckled and looked at her watch. "Oh, wow! It's five forty-five! I got to get to class! I'll meet you at the Caf'!"
"Sure thing!" Rob waved as she ran off.
ssssss
"Herr Jan," the Biology Professor, Doctor Himmel, read from his attendance record.
"Hier," said Jan from the back of the classroom.
"Herr Karl," read the Professor.
"Ja!" Karl raised his hand.
"Fraulein Nicola."
"Tag!"
"Fraulein Heidi."
"Ja, ja…" Heidi purred from the back of the class. She had her feet up on the desk and was filing her nails.
"Heidi… please get your feet on the floor where they belong!" Doctor Himmel barked.
Heidi obeyed, but only after yawning as if doing so was just a favor. Some of the boys in the back of the room snickered and gave her lustful looks. Heidi smiled and winked at them.
Amy rolled her eyes. She'd only been here a month, but only in the past few days had Heidi started acting strangely like this. It seemed suddenly she was attractive to every man on the Campus and she acted as if she ruled the world. Every guy, for his part, was acting like she was in heat.
Oh well, she's probably just coming into her own. It's not like she's ugly or anything. She just used to be so shy and withdrawn. I was just starting to like her too. Amy thought.
"Herr Heinrich," said the Professor, continuing the role call.
There was no answer. "Herr Heinrich!" the Professor said more loudly, looking up at the classroom. "Ach! Another student absent? And no phone call either!"
"Herr Josef is still absent, Doctor Himmel," another student volunteered.
"Ja. Ja. I know," Himmel looked upset. "And no phone call from him for days. Has anyone in here spoken to him or at least seen him on Campus?"
Everyone looked around the room, but no one had an answer. Heidi smiled and chuckled under her breath. Amy looked at her again. This wasn't a laughing matter. Did she know something? Amy thought about her dream again…
"Very well! We shall move on with the lesson!" Himmel threw down his list and began drawing on the Dry Erase Board with a Marker.
ssssss
Amy sat at a small round table just inside the Café up the street from the University. Early on this place had become one of her favorite places to hang out. Her favorite spot was always next to the picture window in front where she could watch people going by. She was waiting for Robert to show up. For some reason he always seemed to come late, even if he made arrangements ahead of time. It was just one of his little personal quirks. Not that she minded.
Amy had already ordered a Latte' and stirred it idly with her spoon, waiting for it to cool down slightly so she could drink without burning all of her taste buds off. She kept her mind busy with thoughts of Heidi. Why had the girl acted so weird today? What did she know about Heinrich and Josef's disappearance? What kind of secrets was she keeping?
Maybe I should approach her and ask, Amy thought. I could just be jumping at shadows. But that dream of mine got me thinking. And the pattern here is pretty much the same as it was back when I was a Sailor Senshi fighting the Negaverse. People disappearing without a trace. I wonder if this Dark Syndicate would be after energy as well?
Bingo! another thought intruded on her consciousness.
Amy's head bolted up and she dropped her spoon on the table with a loud clatter. Some people in the Café looked at her funny and then turned away again. Amy looked around. That voice! Where did it come from?! Was it inside my head?
That's two for two, darling, said the voice. Indeed it was inside her mind. It even sounded female.
Amy gave up trying to look around. No one in the Café seemed suspicious at any rate. After all, the person talking to her could be miles away… Or she could just be going insane, whatever.
Who are you? What do you want? she thought.
Your SOUL! said the voice dramatically.
Amy's heart froze in her chest. She cupped a hand over one side of her face and directed her vision outside the window in order to hide from everyone else the horrified expression on her face.
The voice seemed to laugh out loud. Perhaps that was a bit melodramatic, she said. Nevertheless your reaction was priceless. Much better than I expected. I figured a Senshi would be much harder to faze.
I'm not a Senshi, not anymore, Amy denied. But you still haven't told me who you are. Stop toying with me.
Before long you will discover who this is, said the voice in her head. If you live long enough that is. Until then my only purpose in speaking to you directly like this is to pass along a message.
Go on, Amy prompted, controlling her expression tightly.
I'm afraid that you are going to die today, said the voice in mock sadness. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you see… We weren't expecting you to show up in this city at all. It threw us into quite a spin to know that one of the nine children actually came here. You've really forced us to step up our plans a bit. You're quite an inconvenience, therefore you must be removed before you become an obstacle. I trust you left your Henshin Pen in Tokyo? Good. Then I am quite certain today is the day you meet your demise.
Amy scowled. What do you want with me? Are you the Queen of the Dark Syndicate? You're the woman my Mother warned me about, aren't you?!
The voice did not answer, but Amy thought she felt a little bit of a tinge of apprehension from the intruder before the sensation vanished.
She wasn't expecting me to know that much, Amy realized. Did I give away too much information? Or did I perhaps throw her off? And she said I'm going to die today… When? And how?!
"Amy?"
Amy nearly jumped clear out of her seat as she turned to look up at Robert. Rob stood over her with concern on his face. "Are you alright?" he asked in Japanese.
Amy put her hand on her chest unconsciously to still her pounding heart. "Yes… I'm fine… Really."
"You had the most frightening look on your face just a second ago," said Robert. "Didn't you see me walk by the window?"
"No… I was… thinking, that's all," said Amy, picking up her spoon. She tried to go back to stirring her drink, but her hand trembled.
Robert sat down across from her and reached across to still her hand with his own. His eyes stared deeply into hers full of sympathy. "Is there something you want to tell me?" he asked.
Please! Don't ask me that! Amy thought, unable to NOT look back into his eyes. "I'm fine now. Just something about school that I forgot. I could really kick myself but I forgot there was a test tomorrow in Statistics."
Robert gave her an 'I don't buy that for a second' look, but he let go of her hand and sat back in his seat. "You know if you need anything you just need to ask and I'll help you."
Not with this, Amy thought. "Thank you," she said aloud. "But this is my problem. Only I can deal with this. It would be wrong of me to drag you into this. So please stop talking about it."
Robert nodded and picked up a menu. He tried to hide it, but his expression of disappointment made Amy feel sorry she'd rebuffed him so harshly. Still… Whatever problems were about to be visited upon her… There was no way she could involve Robert in it. He could get hurt… Or WORSE!
ssssss
The Sun was down when Amy got back to her Dormitory. It was still early in the evening, so a lot of students were still lingering in the lounges and speaking through open doors.
Amy was unusually alert this evening. The mental warning she'd received still hovered in the back of her mind. Part of her didn't even want to say goodnight to Robert on the way home from the Café. She was expecting an attack, but she wasn't prepared. She wasn't a Senshi anymore. She wouldn't be able to fight back against any Youmas if they came at her.
Maybe if I stay in a crowded area I'll be safer, she thought. I'll find out just how much the Dark Syndicate values its privacy. Just how secret is their mission anyway?
Amy took a left turn and instead of going to her room she entered one of the lounges. There were about ten or eleven people just mingling there. Watching TV, or playing cards, or just talking. Two people in the far corner were making out, yet no one seemed to notice.
Amy couldn't help but stare at them, with her cheeks glowing. Seeing public displays of affection like that always made her uncomfortable. Maybe she should find another lounge to stay in.
All of a sudden, the girl who was making out broke contact with the boy's face and looked directly at Amy. Amy suddenly recognized the girl's face. It was Heidi! She was with yet another boy tonight.
Heidi smiled at her, then suddenly she pushed the boy away and walked toward Amy. The boy protested in German, but Heidi simply ignored him.
"Hallo, Amy," Heidi greeted her. The smile on her face could have melted ice, but somehow it seemed frightful to Amy. "I have something I want to talk to you about. Do you have a moment?"
Amy blinked. I wonder what I should do? she thought. Heidi was acting suspicious today, laughing about those missing boys. Plus she had been seen dating both of them at one point shortly before each boy vanished. Is there some foul play here?
"Um, sure," said Amy. "We can talk here, if you like."
Heidi flipped her hair over her shoulder casually. "Actually… This is something rather private. I don't want others to hear it. It's so embarrassing really. As a fellow girl you might understand what I'm going through."
"Heidi. Come back to the corner, bitte'?" the boy she'd brushed off put a hand on Heidi's shoulder.
"Later, Peter. I have something important to do," Heidi dismissed him. "I promise I'll make it worth your while."
"Ach… You're so mean, Heidi," Peter brushed by and walked out the door like a whipped puppy. "Call me."
"Ja, ja," Heidi waved him off and smiled again at Amy. "So… Will you come with me?"
Heidi's behavior wasn't at all suspicious. Amy couldn't read her expression. Her conversation with that boy Peter was so normal and everyday sounding she wondered if maybe she was overreacting to her nerves again. After all, it's not like she had solid proof Heidi had something to do with those boys disappearing. It was all very circumstantial.
Not that she had any reason to refuse her request without coming off as completely rude… "Okay," Amy said haltingly in German. "I'll come with you."
"Oh, good. I hoped you'd help me." Heidi took Amy's hand and guided her out the door of the lounge. "Let's go to my room. It's quiet in there. I have no room mate."
Amy nodded, trying weigh her options here. If Heidi wasn't dangerous, there'd be no problem, but if she was… What to do? How would she fight back if the situation deteriorated?
I never thought I'd ever regret my decision to leave Sailor Mercury behind, Amy thought. Yet here I am actually wishing I had her powers again. Then she shook her head. No!… I won't regret my decision. I'll find some other way to fight back.
Heidi and Amy came to room 202 and she slipped her Key Card in the slot. Oddly enough, she looked both ways down the hall before entering her room and motioning Amy in. Amy hesitated once again, but then she entered the room. I'll stay near the door in case I need to run, she thought.
Heidi closed the door and let out a breath as if relieved of something. "I'm so glad you came with me, Amy. You're the only person who can help me."
"Oh… really?" Amy fumbled with her German. She must have sounded like an imbecile to Heidi. And when she was nervous she found it hard to focus on her foreign languages. If only more people spoke Japanese here, she wished.
Heidi walked to the bed and sat down with her legs crossed. Amy stayed right near the door. "So what do you need help with?" Amy asked. "Homework?"
Heidi suddenly blushed and looked away shyly. "No… It's something more personal…" she said in a hushed voice. "I am in love with you, Amy!"
"You what?!" Amy took a step back and banged the back of her head on the door. "Ouch." Did Heidi just say what she thought she said?!
"I am in love with you!" Heidi confessed, looking as vulnerable as possible. "I have tried to ignore these feelings since I first met you… Even tried drowning myself in boys to make myself forget them… But I can't anymore! Every time I look at you my heart pounds and I long to touch you!"
Amy began to sweat. Of all the things she had expected, THIS was not one of them! Her own heart began to hammer in her chest. "Uh… Wait a minute… Th-this is… well, uh…" Damn! Now she REALLY couldn't focus on her lousy German!
"Amy…" Heidi stood up again and began walking toward her, running her hands down her neck, shoulders, chest and torso slowly. "I cannot resist my feelings for you any longer. I must know do you find me attractive?"
Amy gasped. "O-of course I… don't… At least… Not in that way!" She began to feel desperate. This situation was almost worse than finding a Youma in Heidi's room. She almost would have preferred it! Amy tried fumbling for the doorknob.
Heidi reached out and gripped Amy's chin with her hand and turned her face slowly toward hers. "Amy… I love you…" she said again.
"B-b-but…!!" Amy was pinned with no place to go! What was she going to do? She knew Amara and Michelle loved each other like this, but she wasn't that kind of girl! She always wanted to marry a good man, not a woman. Darien's face jumped to her head all of a sudden and Amy shook that image away immediately. Wishful thinking is not going to save me from this!
Heidi didn't pause for an invitation. She leaned forward and kissed Amy on the mouth! Amy's eyes darted wide open as she felt an uninvited tongue slide past her lips! Amy muffled something, but she couldn't form the word 'Stop!' What was worse was the fact that some small part of Amy was actually enjoying this!
Heidi's hands slipped down and un-tucked Amy's shirt. They began to slide slowly up underneath. Amy's stomach sucked in reflexively at the alien touch and she gripped Heidi's arms with her hands to stop her petting. "Please stop!" she said in Japanese when they broke the kiss.
"But don't you enjoy this?" asked Heidi, also in Japanese as she began kissing Amy's neck.
She just spoke Japanese! Amy thought with a shudder. But how would she know...? This isn't the real Heidi! THIS ISN'T THE REAL HEIDI!!
Amy's nervousness suddenly vanished and she was filled with indignation. She put her hands on Heidi's shoulders and pushed off as hard as she could. Heidi let go and stumbled backward, knocking into a dresser. The lamp on top of it fell to the floor and shattered.
"Get off of me!" Amy exclaimed. "Who are you really?! You're not Heidi Klaus! Show yourself for what you really are!"
Heidi kept up the act of looking hurt right up until Amy finished her sentence, then she dropped the façade entirely. Suddenly the girl's eyes flashed dangerously and she smiled. Her body shook with a small chuckle that built into a bubbling laughter. "Why, Amy. What's wrong? Don't tell me you didn't enjoy all that attention," she spoke, once again in Japanese. "Of course, I would have had you had I not slipped up and spoken your tongue."
"You wouldn't have had me anyway! I'm not that kind of girl!" Amy felt anger well up inside of her. She literally shook with it. She couldn't remember being this angry in a long time. She was actually more angry at herself for being fooled like this. "Who are you?!"
Heidi laughed again, and this time her canines could be seen. They were sharp like fangs in her mouth. The color of her skin began to drain and turn white. The timbre of her voice changed and deepened.
This is it! Amy thought.
Heidi's body continued to transform. Her claws sharpened like daggers and her body became huge, tearing through her clothes. Bony protrusions began to poke through the taut skin.
Seconds later, a six foot tall Youma stood before Amy and snarled at her. "Princess Ami! You who are Sailor Mercury! I have been ordered to kill you! It's a pity that I couldn't make you enjoy your last moments as much as I will!"
Amy reached for the doorknob and threw the door open. She left Heidi's room and ran down the hallway as fast as she could. People who were still mingling looked at her oddly, then they screamed and ducked into their rooms when they saw the Youma charge out of the open room.
"Come back here… Coward!" the Youma snarled at Amy.
"I'm not Sailor Mercury anymore!" Amy protested, scrambling down the stairs to the first floor. If I had let her proceed… She might have killed me without a chance to fight back! thought Amy. I have got to be more on guard from now on!
"It matters not. Our Queen wants you dead." The Youma cleared the steps with one leap. Students on the first floor either froze right where they stood, or screamed and ran. Amy steered herself away from the panicking mob and burst through a side door outside into the dark courtyard.
"You cannot escape!" shouted the Youma. "Get her, boys!"
From out of the bushes charged two young German men. Amy looked over her shoulder as she ran and recognized both of them. It was Josef and Heinrich! The two missing students! They chased her like they were possessed. Though they still looked like themselves their eyes were bright red and they foamed at the mouth like rabid predators.
Amy screamed and ran harder through the maze of the garden paths, trying to lose her pursuit. However she was getting tired. Those that chased her didn't seem to get tired. Suddenly Heidi dropped down from above and landed right before her. Amy stopped short and turned, but Josef and Heinrich were right there to grab her by each arm. Their grip was incredibly strong, and they didn't faze much when she kicked one of them in the balls.
"What did you do to them?!" Amy asked
"I simply stole their Spirit Energy," Heidi explained. "Once their Spirits are drained, they become our servants. Soon even their bodies will become like monsters to match their new personalities."
Josef and Heinrich took Amy and dashed her against the wall. Amy cried out in pain and felt a little bit dazed. She wondered just how painful her death would be. She didn't see any way of getting out of this situation alive.
"What are you doing with their Spirit Energy?" Amy asked when she caught her wind back.
"Queen Lucia demands it," said Heidi. "We need energy to raise the Great Demoness from her slumber and conquer the world."
"The Great… Demoness?" Amy repeated slowly. Very soon the Dark Syndicate will come out from hiding, Amy recalled Queen Chastity's prophetic words from her dream the other night. They will attempt to awaken a very powerful force from the Underworld.
If they succeed… No one, not even Sailor Moon… Will be able to stop them… Chastity had said to her.
But HOW?! How can I stop these monsters if I can't even fight back against one of their henchmen?! Amy thought desperately. I'm sorry, Mother… But I'm just not a Senshi anymore!
"And now we'll take your Spirit Energy," said Heidi, reaching for her chest with her claws. "The Spirit Energy of a Senshi is said to be rich in power, and you will make a powerful ally to the Dark Syndicate."
Amy screamed and tried to struggle, but she couldn't break free. Oddly enough, her last thought wasn't of Darien this time. It was of Robert. What would he do if the Dark Syndicate succeeded in enslaving the world? What would become of everyone she knew and loved?
Amy wasn't aware she had her eyes closed until she heard something approaching at high speed. She opened them just in time to witness a rather large ball of yellow energy fly in from the right and slam into Heidi's side. The Youma snarled as the energy carried her into a tangle of brush, setting it aflame!
Amy gasped and looked to the right from where the energy had come. Was it a Senshi? She couldn't quite make out the shadowy figure who stood at the end of one of the paths. Whoever it was, was tall and seemed to wield a large smoking Pistol in their right hand.
"So long as my body holds breath, you will not take the Spirit Energy of a Sailor Senshi!" It was a man's voice!
Heidi leaped out of the burning bush and roared. "GET HIM!!" She commanded the two former students clutching Amy's arms.
Josef and Heinrich dropped Amy and took off down the path at a full sprint, their red eyes blazing. As Amy looked on, the man waited until the last second to jump into the air and flip over their heads, behind their backs. The two Demons turned, only to have the mysterious stranger blast a gaping hole in Josef's chest with his pistol. Josef yowled in agony and fell to the ground. As he did so his body turned black and crumbled into ashes!
Heinrich seemingly ignored the plight of his companion and set to work slashing at the man with his hands, which now bore humongous claws on them. The man athletically back-stepped away from each swipe. Heinrich couldn't even touch him.
Heidi began to grow impatient and she too began to charge in to fight him. The man's back was to them and so he didn't see the attack coming. Amy knew if he got ambushed by Heidi the fight wouldn't last very long! Amy did the only thing she could think of to help him out… She squatted down and stuck out her leg as Heidi ran by and tripped her.
Heidi stumbled and fell to her knees. Growling even louder in rage, she turned and grabbed Amy by the throat. "I'LL RIP YOUR LUNGS OUT!!" She bellowed.
The man turned suddenly to look at Heidi and Amy. All of a sudden he snapped into action, ducking under the extended swipe of one of Heinrich's arms and booted the former student in the midsection. The blow knocked Heinrich off balance enough for the man to come to one knee, take aim with his Pistol, and fire another shot at Heidi, a bigger one this time.
Heidi's attention was on Amy, so she didn't see the fireball coming in time to dodge or block it. She could only look over her shoulder as the shot burned into her torso and incinerated half her body, along with the arm that held Amy by the collar. Amy fell to the ground and quickly brushed off the remains of the claw that held her. Heidi was still alive, but she was writhing on the ground in agony with only one arm and half her body intact.
The man turned as Heinrich charged again and stuck the Pistol right into Heinrich's stomach. Heinrich's eyes widened just before getting vaporized at point blank range! That was two down. Only Heidi was left.
Heidi had somewhat recovered and was scrambling toward Amy on one side, reaching out to try and finish her off. Amy stood up and backed away, nodding once to the man. Her rescuer stepped out of the shadows, into the light of a nearby lamp post and took aim. He was dressed in a long flight jacket over a set of black boots, brown pants, a heavy brown belt with a symbol of a Star on the buckle, and a white shirt with the same logo on the chest. A pair of flight goggles were down over his eyes. His hair was brown and he was tall, probably as tall as Tuxedo Mask.
"That's as far as you go, Youma." He said in flawless Japanese. "I told you before I will not allow you to take her energy!"
Heidi roared at him in frustration as he squeezed off one more shot with his Pistol. The ball of energy that roasted the Youma was his biggest yet, and it completed the job of turning her into a pile of ashes. In less time than it took for Amy to get caught, the fight was over.
Amy's knees trembled as she looked at the man who had saved her. The man smiled a little bit at her as he held up his Pistol next to his face.
"Who are you?" Amy asked.
"My name is Solar Pilot, and I'm here to protect you," he said to her. "Without your powers you're going to need my help against this enemy. The creatures of the Dark Syndicate are fierce."
"You mean this isn't the first time…?" Amy asked, looking at the pile of ashes that was once Heidi Klaus' Youma.
"No, I've fought them before," said Solar Pilot. "But they never targeted someone in particular before like they targeted you. That's how I knew you were special. And I overheard them saying you were a Sailor Senshi… Well I can't very well let them take one of you Angels from this world before your time."
Amy blushed slightly at being referred to as an Angel. "What are you? A Kamen?"
"Just a soldier of good. It looks like from now on I'll be your protector. The Dark Syndicate I don't think will stop with that Youma," said Solar Pilot, twirling his Pistol on his finger as if to holster it. Suddenly his grip slipped and he dropped the gun on one of his boots! Solar Pilot yelped in sudden pain and grabbed his foot, hopping up in down!
Amy sweated as she watched what had been a stoic and flawless hero a moment ago suddenly act like an idiot. He cursed a few times in several languages as he hopped around on his good foot.
"Um… Are you okay?" Amy asked him, feeling sorry for him, but trying not to think any less of him at the same time.
Solar Pilot stopped hopping as he saw the expression on Amy's face and picked up his sidearm. Clearing his throat nervously, with a giant sweat-drop hanging by his face, he turned to leave.
"Wait!" Amy called out to him. "Who are you really?! You know that I'm a Senshi, but I don't know who you are!"
"Don't worry, your secret's safe," Solar Pilot waved over his shoulder and smiled at her. Soon he was gone in the shadows, leaving Amy standing next to a burning shrub in slightly tarnished clothing.
"What a day this has been," Amy muttered. "I wonder who he really is? He was like Tuxedo Mask… But a bit clumsier," she finished, thinking about the gaffe with the gun.
TO BE CONTINUED...
NEXT CHAPTER: WHO IS THAT MASKED MAN?