For all of Ami's vast knowledge, there were a few things that she didn't know. She didn't know how to cure the common cold. She didn't know whether human beings were created or if they evolved from apes. And she certainly didn't know why she was in a dark room, in a chair, her arms tied behind her back with coarse rope, her legs tied to the chair's own legs. A piece of duct tape over her lips kept her from asking herself these questions anywhere but inside her own head.
The sound of a door creaking open caused Ami to suddenly become alert, and she began furiously thrashing in the chair, trying to escape her bonds. In the shadows, a tall, dark figure loomed, slowly walking toward her. The silence of the room magnified the man's every step, and every sound forced an involuntary whimper from Ami's sealed lips. Within a few seconds, the shadowy man was right in front of her, his hand reaching up to stroke her face.
"I'm going to ask you one question," said the man, in a gruff, terrifying snarl that only served to intensify Ami's fear, "and as soon as you answer it, you can go."
Ami thought that the man's words would be accompanied by the removal of the tape over her lips, but was perplexed when instead, the man began his question.
"Why do you love him?" the man asked, his voice as intimidating as ever. "Why do you love Shingo Tsukino?"
"What kind of a question is that?" thought Ami, pausing momentarily. "That's a very complex question..."
One couldn't just... say why they loved someone. There were so many different reasons, and many times, those reasons changed a little every day.
"He's kind, he's brave, he's fun to be with, he-"
But that was only a part of it. Ami knew why she loved Shingo, deep down in her soul, she knew, but... of course, a lot of it had to do with the one recurring thing Shingo did for Ami every time he was with her.
He had a weird habit of saving her life.
Never entirely by himself, of course... sometimes, Ami had to bail him out with her Sailor Mercury transformation... or the other Sailor Senshi had to come save the day. There was even this one time, on the day that Ami realized that she did love Shingo, that she loved him with all her heart and soul... that they were both going to die, and the only thing that saved them was a young girl by the name of Shai Senerain, coming to the rescue at the absolute last moment and saving them both.
Of course, that was six months ago. Shingo and Ami's relationship had been much less... exciting since then. Not once had Ami's life been in danger, and the two were free to enjoy their newfound relationship. Ami had to admit, despite Shingo's age, he had moments where he showed a level of maturity fairly close to that of Ami's and her friends. He'd proven himself to be a good listener, and Ami certainly enjoyed helping Shingo study for his high school entrance exam, which would now be coming up in less than a year. If Shingo passed, he and Ami would be in school together exactly one year. Even so, the two saw each other enough outside of school to have a fun, meaningful, and fulfilling relationship.
Just not as exciting as it had been in the start. Still, Ami was glad that she and Shingo weren't constantly in danger... at least Shingo wasn't. Ami still had this little matter of being gagged and bound to a chair to deal with.
"Tell me why you love him!" shouted the man, seizing Ami by the jaw and yelling in her face. Ami shut her eyes for a brief moment, wincing before trying to offer up the best answer that she could with a piece of duct tape over her mouth.
"Mmmph mmph mmph!" shouted Ami, which, had she not been gagged, would have sounded a lot like: "Because he'll save me from a monster like you!"
Was that the best Ami could come up with? Because Shingo would save her? Certainly that couldn't be the only reason. But it was the only reason that mattered now, because unless someone came to save Ami, who knows what might happen?
"What was that?" asked the man, his voice becoming angrier by the second. "Stop mumbling... I can't understand you!"
"Is this some kind of a joke?" thought Ami, still trembling in the chair she was tied to. "Mmmph... mmph mmph hmm!"
"You know what?" said the man, releasing his hand from Ami's jaw and smiling in the darkness. "If you're not going to tell me..."
The man shoved Ami hard in the chest, causing the chair to fall over, her entire body weight falling onto her hands, which were still tied tightly to the back of the chair.
"Mmmph!" screamed Ami, her eyes closing again as a dull pain shot through her wrists. "This can't be the end..."
The unmistakable click of a gun being cocked quickly caused Ami to snap her eyes open as wide as they would go. She felt the barrel of the gun being pressed to her forehead, and let out a loud scream through her gag.
"Goodbye, Mizuno Ami."
The last sound Ami ever heard was the explosion of the barrel.
O-O-O
Ami sat up in her bed, gasping loudly for breath. Her hands were at her heart, which was throbbing at over a hundred fifty beats per minute. Sweat was pouring down her face and down her neck, despite the thin, white nightgown she was wearing and the fact that her window was wide open, blowing cool air onto her face. She glanced over at her alarm clock... two forty-eight.
"What... kind of a dream... was that?" Ami breathed, flopping back down onto her pillow, her eyes still wide open, her heart still beating at nearly twice its normal rate. "I really thought... I was going to die..."
Wiping an involuntary tear away from her cheek, Ami scrunched up in her blanket and tried to get back to sleep. Her main problem was that the room, which had been cool and comfortable when she went to bed at eleven o'clock, was now hot like a furnace... uncomfortable and stuffy, an impedence to her dreams... but not to her nightmares.
And so, Ami did what any brilliant girl would do when she couldn't get to sleep. She thought. She thought of the camping trip that she was going to go on with her friends the next day... and that hopefully, she would see Shingo, who had started his Boy Scout camping trip the past afternoon.
She remembered Shingo telling her about how he still got homesick... a visit would certainly cheer him up.
Ami smiled and glanced over at her alarm clock again. Three twenty-seven. With that number, and thoughts of cheering up Shingo emblazoned in her mind, Ami went back to sleep, enjoying peaceful, undisturbed slumber for the rest of the night.
"I'll ask Rei about my dream tomorrow..."
O-O-O
Shingo's Boy Scout troup had set up camp in a large clearing in Nakahima Forest, a large wooded area about forty miles outside the city. It was one of the most popular parks in Japan, complete with a lake, several fishing ponds, caves for exploring, and mountains for climbing. Of course, thanks to Japan's rampant urban sprawl, it was also one of the last relatively pristine areas still remaining in the country outside of Hokkaido Island to the north.
Despite the beauty of the land around him, however, Shingo was depressed. He never really enjoyed camping. Oh sure, he loved ghost stories, S'mores, swimming in the lake, and fishing in the wilderness, but outside of that, he completely hated camping. No television, no video games, no comic books, and worst of all, no Ami.
Of all the people Shingo missed, his mom, his dad, even his sister... he missed Ami most of all. And so, as Shingo sat on one of the benches in the clearing usually reserved for picnickers and recreational campers, he couldn't help but be consumed by his sorrow as he used a rock to draw Ami's face on a leaf.
"Hey, man..." said Shingo's friend Nakajima, walking up to Shingo and poking him with a twig. "You bored or something?"
The one redeeming factor of this camping trip was that many of Shingo's friends were there with him, including Nakajima, his very best friend. The two slept in the same tent together, practiced carving together, went to get water together, even made sure they were on the same team together when the troop played Capture the Flag. If it wasn't for Nakajima, Shingo was sure he would've gone totally insane.
"Yeah," replied Shingo, accidentally carving too hard and tearing the leaf in two with his rock. "Awww..."
"Hey, we're gonna play football... maybe that will take your mind off being bored, okay?" asked Nakajima, tossing a large brown pigskin up and down. "I'll try to get them to let you be quarterback!"
Shingo smiled, standing up and walking with Nakajima away from the benches, campfire, and tents, over to a large field over on the other side of the clearing, where many of the boys in Shingo's Scout troup were already gearing up for the game. Maybe Nakajima was right... maybe a good game of football would take Shingo's mind off of how much he hated camping and how much he missed Ami.
The game started, and Shingo's team got possession of the ball first. Most of the people in Shingo's Scout troop were boys ranging from twelve to fifteen, and boys that age don't like to play that wimpy Thanksgiving tradition known as 'touch football'. Instead, they played rough... tackle all the way.
A painful reminder of this came when Shingo was sacked on the very first play of the game, by a tall boy with short, sandy-blonde hair, long, lanky arms, and thin but muscular legs. Despite the boy's lack of body mass, the tackle still hurt, and Shingo nearly coughed up the ball as he was tackled to the ground.
"Nice... sack..." groaned Shingo, weakly trying to pull himself from the ground. The boy smiled, extending his hand toward his conquered foe.
"Here, let me help," said the boy, pulling Shingo to his feet. "My name's Celdan... nice to meet you."
"Normally, you don't introduce yourself after planting someone on the ground!" shouted one of the other boys on Shingo's team, a chubby kid with an angry look on his face. "Shingo, if you can't throw the ball, then maybe you shouldn't be quarterback!"
"And maybe you should shut up!" Nakajima shouted, walking over to Shingo and patting him on the shoulder. "It's okay, Shingo... just try to throw a bit faster next time, okay?"
Shingo nodded, walking back over to the new line of scrimmage and standing in position to hike the ball again. He took one last glance at Celdan, who stood poised to tackle Shingo again, a confident smile on his face.
"Hmm..." thought Shingo, glancing over at the boy and scratching his head. "I don't know if I've ever seen him before... eh, he's probably new to the troop or something. I've just got to remember to watch him next time I try to throw the ball..."
The ball was snapped to Shingo again, and this time, he found an open receiver. It was Nakajima, running as fast as he could down the right side of the field, blazing past the small boy who'd been assigned to cover him. Shingo threw the ball as hard as he could, a perfect throw that Nakajima caught easily.
"Yes!" shouted Shingo, cheering on his friend as he raced toward the goal line. With just a few feet to go, however, the boy who was chasing Nakajima caught up to him, tackling him about a yard short of the tree trunk that symbolized the other team's goal. "Aww... well, that's okay, first and goal!"
As Shingo walked toward the other end of the field, several of his teammates cheered, clapping him on the back and shouting words of encouragement. Shingo felt the best he had all day, and finally, he began to enjoy this little Boy Scout camping trip.
His mind now focused on the game instead of Ami, Shingo took the next snap with confidence, dropping back and seeing his friend Nakajima wide open in the end zone.
"Shingo, throw me the ball!" shouted Nakajima, excitedly jumping up and down. "We're gonna get a touchdown! We're gonna get a touchdown!"
Shingo threw the ball, and immediately learned a harsh lesson... a little too much confidence can be a bad thing.
The ball sailed clear over Nakajima's head, through the grove of trees at the end of the field and all the way into the adjacent campsite.
"Aww... dammit!" shouted one of the boys on Shingo's team, angrily pounding his fist on the ground. "What the hell did you do that for?"
"Hey, don't get mad at Shingo... he just threw a little bit far, that's all," said Nakajima, throwing up his hands. Shingo sighed, trudging over to the trees to gather up the overthrown ball.
"Eh, that's okay," said another of Shingo's teammates, a red-haired boy who was already running into the trees. "I'll get this one... be back in a sec!"
While the boy went to retrieve the ball, Shingo sat down on the ground and rocked back and forth, his mind drifting back to thoughts of Ami... wherever she was.
O-O-O
Ami, Usagi, Rei, Minako, and Makoto had set up their camp in a smaller clearing, one just large enough for five tents, a campfire, some lawn chairs, and a couple benches. The warmness of the hot July day eliminated the necessity for a campfire, and so the five girls simply sat around their fire pit, talking about whatever interesting topic happened to come up.
The most recent topic was Ami's latest dream, which she told her friends about in all its horrifying detail. While Ami had mostly intended for Rei to her about the dream, the raven-haired girl couldn't get a word in edgewise, as Usagi reacted with great worry toward her friend's distressful nightmare.
"I think this proves you've gotta dump Shingo, right now!" said Usagi, dressed in a pink t-shirt, blue denim jeans, a pair of sky-blue flip-flops, and a wide-brimmed straw hat that shielded her blue eyes from the sun. "I mean, this guy in the dream must've been like... your guardian angel! And he came to scare you straight! This is a sign, Ami, a terrible omen of things to come!"
Usagi had been trying to get Ami to dump Shingo ever since the two got together. Sure, Usagi loved her dear brother, and wanted him to be happy... but the idea of her little brother hooking up with her best friend was just too... too 'weird'.
"Usagi, you know I love him," Ami replied. Clad in a red polka-dotted sundress, Ami was dressed slightly more formal than the other girls, but just as comfortable. The dress flapped gently in the slight breeze of the day, and Ami found herself holding down her dress at times, a response fueled mainly by her modesty. "The closest thing I have to a guardian angel is Shingo... I'm not going to leave him because of some stupid nightmare.
"I don't think the dream was trying to tell you to leave him," said Rei, finally getting her chance to speak. She wore a beautiful white kimono top, accompanied by a long, thin red skirt. "I think it was saying-"
"It was saying that only Shingo can save you from the darkest demons of the night!" interrupted Minako, a broad smile on her face. Though she was also slightly annoyed by the prospect of her friend dating a boy three years younger, she couldn't help but appreciate the bond shared by a loving couple. She was, after all, the goddess of love. Dressed in her PE clothes, a white t-shirt and small blue shorts, she was ready for a volleyball match, despite the absense of any games for at least thirty miles. "So... Shingo did come to rescue you in your dream, right?"
"Minako, were you even listening to her?" asked Makoto, a frown crossing her lips as Minako spoke. She wore a dark green tanktop and denim shorts almost identical to Usagi's. "The guy shot her! Then she woke up. Ami, we've all had bad dreams before... sometimes dreams don't really have any meaning."
"Actually, I think this one may have a bit of a meaning to it," said Rei, sitting up in her chair and leaning toward Ami. "Ami, I think-"
Without warning, a large football slammed into the back of Rei's head. It bounced up, landing behind the girl's chair.
"Ow!" shouted Rei, turning around and picking up the errant pigskin. "What the heck?"
"Looks like a football, Rei," said Usagi, stifling a giggle.
"Are you all right?" Ami asked, a concerned look on her face. Rei nodded, angrily looking down at the football.
"I'm all right, but in a few seconds, some little punk kid is going to be very, very sorry!"
"Rei, chill out!" said Makoto, also trying to stifle a giggle, though not snickering like Usagi was. "I'm sure whoever threw it didn't mean to hit you in the back of the head..."
"Excuse me," came a meek, boyish voice from behind Rei's chair. "Would you, um... happen to know where our football is?"
Rei turned around to see a short, red-haired boy in a Scouting uniform, a little younger than Shingo's age. He blushed as soon as he saw that Rei had the football in her hands, accompanied by an annoyed scowl.
"This... is your ball?" asked Rei, her eyes narrowing. "You threw it?"
The boy shook his head. When Ami looked at him, her eyes widened in surprise and delight, realizing what his presence meant.
"He's wearing a Scouting uniform... that means Shingo's troop can't be too far away!" thought Ami, smiling. "Maybe I can pay him a little visit later on... I hope I'm allowed to do that, anyway..."
Ami certainly didn't want to get in trouble by interrupting Shingo in the middle of an important Scouting activity or something. She knew that Shingo and the troop would be camping until tomorrow afternoon, so maybe she could catch him before he left, as she and the girls would be leaving at about the same time.
"Um... somebody else did, I just went to get it... can we please have it back?" asked the boy, his voice beginning to tremble. "Geez, this girl's pretty mad at me..."
"Sure you can have the ball back," said Minako, smiling devilishly, her mind always at work coming up with something funny to say or do. "But first... you have to kiss all of us. On the lips."
"Huh?" said Usagi, looking over at Minako with a puzzled glare. "I ain't doin' that..."
"Um... um... my mommy says I'm not allowed to kiss girls yet!" stammered the boy, waving his hands nervously while slowly stepping backward. His entire face turned red, and sweat began to trickle down his face. Seeing the boy's nervousness, Rei decided to join in on the joke and exact a small measure of revenge for the back of her aching head.
"Then I guess you don't want the ball back, huh?" asked Rei, her lips also curving into a mischievous smile. "That's too bad..."
Ami, who realized that Rei and Minako were simply playing a joke, still felt sympathy for the boy, especially because he was probably one of Shingo's friends.
"Guys," Ami said, "maybe we shouldn't be-"
Minako's hand clamped tightly over Ami's mouth, muffling any further objections.
"How about this?" asked Minako. "We'll give you the ball if you help us tie Ami up. C'mon, you're a Boy Scout, you've gotta be good with knots, right?"
Ami angrily mmmphed through Minako's hand, half-wondering whether the little 'joke' had suddenly become somewhat serious.
"Um... um..."
Clearly the boy was really becoming nervous now, completely freaked out by the girls' strange actions. He just wanted to get the football back, and now he was caught in the middle of some sick and twisted girl game! No wonder his mother didn't want him kissing girls!
It was an incredible relief to the boy when Rei suddenly tossed him back the football, a smile on her face.
"Here ya go, kid," said Rei, delighted that she'd been able to exact some measure of payback. "Now get outta here."
Minako waved at the boy as he stumbled back through the trees, her other hand still pressed down tight over Ami's mouth.
"Such a nice kid," said Minako, looking back at Ami and smiling. "Maybe we should've actually let him help us tie you up."
"Mmmph mm, mmmphmm. Game's over, Minako."muffled Ami, having had enough pranks for one day and still wanting Rei to finish answering her question.
Unfortunately, the conversation quickly drifted after that. The season finale of one of Minako's favorite sitcoms had shown last night, and before Rei could be reminded of Ami's dream, the subject had already been changed. Ami participated in the rest of the conversation half-heartedly, and like Shingo, her own mind began to wander.
"Maybe I'm the only one who can decide what my dream means..."
O-O-O
That night, as Shingo sat in his tent, looking up at the endless sea of green nylon polymer over his head, his mind kept drifting back to Ami. Even the football game, which his team had won by three touchdowns, didn't matter. He glanced over at Nakajima, who had fallen sound asleep in the sleeping bag beside him. Then, he looked back up at the ceiling, listening to the sound of the chirping crickets outside and becoming more and more unnerved.
"This can't be just because I MISS Ami, can it?" Shingo asked himself, brushing a tear from his cheek. "Something else is bugging me... it almost feels like I'm scared of something!"
But scared of what? Shingo didn't know, he couldn't possibly know. He was safe... Ami was safe, she hadn't been in danger for six months. Was she overdue? Bad guys just didn't attack Tokyo anymore... the Sailor Senshi hadn't been needed, Shingo knew that... so what was he afraid of?
Shingo crawled out of his sleeping bag and pulled out a small, blue flashlight. He turned it on and shined it inside the tent. Worried that his friend Nakajima would stir, he quickly turned his flashlight off. Dressed in just a white t-shirt and his boxers, Shingo began to feel cold outside of the sleeping bag, even though it was the middle of summer.
"Why does it feel chilly at night?" asked Shingo, sighing to himself. "Ami would probably know..."
Again with Ami. Why was he always thinking about Ami? That was what Shingo was supposed to do, wasn't it? People in love thought about each other all the time, right?
Instead of crawling back into his sleeping bag, Shingo unzipped the front of the tent and walked outside. Everyone was asleep at night, even the troop leaders. The fire had been extinguished, leaving the entire clearing dark except for the occasional blinking of a firefly in the night.
"What am I doing out here?" thought Shingo, standing in front of his tent for several seconds. He crawled back inside and pulled his tennis shoes out of his bag, slipping them over his bare feet. "I'm gonna take a walk..."
And so, Shingo did. He turned on his flashlight and began walking over to the other side of the clearing, staring up at the sky the entire time. Every star in the sky, it seemed, reminded Shingo of Ami, especially when he remembered that one of those stars could be Mercury, Ami's guardian planet. That was one of the things she'd shown him during the time that the two had been together... she pointed out Mercury during one of the few times it could be seen in the sky without a telescope. Shingo had thought that all of the planets were too small to see with the naked eye, but Ami showed him differently... she showed him Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, and told him that if he ever went away from the city and looked at just the right spot in the sky, even Uranus could be seen without a telescope, a tiny dot of light nearly two billion miles away.
Ami had taught Shingo so many things in such a short time... more important things than the stars and planets.
"Just because you don't have magical powers doesn't mean you don't have magic in your heart."
That was one of the most important lessons Ami had taught Shingo, and he wouldn't forget it, as long as he lived.
By now, Shingo had wandered deep into the forest, his flashlight still illuminating the darkness, shining the way ahead. Shingo knew he had no real way of knowing which way his campsite way, and could easily get lost among the trees... but he didn't care. He wasn't going to stop walking until he felt like it... which could take quite a while. He racked his brain trying to figure out why he felt the way he did, why he felt afraid when there was nothing to be afraid of. The night air blew past Shingo's face, giving him a chill as he passed a sign marked 'Nakahima Lake', still walking down a dirt trail and thinking of the stars, the night, and Ami.
He entered another clearing... he'd ventured all the way out to the lake, near the center of the forest. The lake was abandoned at night, the lifeguard having left his post hours ago, and no one else in sight. Shingo shined his flashlight around for several seconds before realizing that about fifty yards away, a small white light was glowing on the edge of the lake, illuminating a small shape in the darkness. Shingo couldn't tell exactly what the shape was, but whatever it was, it was moving.
"Someone else here," thought Shingo, wondering if he might be risking getting into trouble by being out near the late so late at night. "Hello?"
Sheepishly, he began walking toward the light, following the edge of the water as curved around the lakefront.
O-O-O
Mizuno Ami couldn't sleep. Whether it was because she feared another nightmare, or simply because her sleeping bag was itchy, she didn't know for sure. She did know that a late-night swim would be the perfect thing to help her relax, and so, despite her friends' plans to go out to the lake the next morning, decided to take the plunge a little early. She brought the small, battery-powered lamp from the campsite out to the lake with her, and set it down by the edge of the water as she got ready to dive in. She wore a sleek, black and white striped one-piece bathing suit, and nothing else. She knew that the lake would probably be cold at night, but she had several towels ready, and only planned to swim for about fifteen minutes anyway.
She slowly stepped into the lake, allowing her feet to sink into the soft sand of the lakebed, the water sifting up to her ankles. After a few seconds, she stepped further, so that the water slowly rose to her knees. After about a minute, she was up to her stomach in the water, quickly growing accustomed to its coolness.
"I'll wade out a bit, and then start swimming," said Ami to herself, her body sinking slightly further into the water. She was all alone in the middle of the park, but as the water climbed further and further up Ami's body, she felt completely safe and calm, at home in its cool depths. Even the experience of nearly drowning a few months ago when a rival swimmer's mother had chained her up inside a rapidly-filling shower did little to negate Ami's love for swimming and for the water in general. Recalling that experience made her think of Shingo once more, and though it had been a horrifying brush with death for both of them, she smiled when she remembered what she had learned that day. She'd learned about the love of her life... and his name was Shingo Tsukino.
The last thing she expected was to hear his voice from a few feet away.
"Ami?"
Ami gasped and turned around, the water in the lake now up to her chest. There, standing by the battery-powered light with a smile on his face was Shingo, dressed in his t-shirt and red shorts.
It was a pleasant surprise, though definitely a surprise first and foremost. Ami smiled back at him, while realizing the risk Shingo was taking by leaving his Scout camp.
"Aren't you supposed to be back at camp right now?" asked Ami. "You could get into trouble coming out here like this... or did all of you come out for a late-night swim?"
"Nope, just me," replied Shingo. "And yeah, I probably could get in trouble being out here so late... but what are you doing here?"
"Didn't your sister tell you?" Ami asked, her body bobbing up and down in the cool water of the lake. "The girls and I are camping out here for the weekend! Our campsite is right next to yours, you know..."
"Are you serious?" asked Shingo, a look of surprise on his face. "How do you know we-"
"A football from your game hit Rei in the back of the head," said Ami, smiling. Upon hearing this, Shingo put both his hands to his mouth, trying but failing to silence a loud giggle. That was HIS football that had hit Rei in the head... but she didn't need to know that.
"Was she... mad?" asked Shingo, still chuckling slightly. Ami nodded, realizing from the expression on Shingo's face that he had been the one who had thrown the football.
"Don't worry, Shingo... I think she's forgotten about it by now," Ami replied, indicating to Shingo that she knew he'd thrown the ball. "Did you guys win?"
Shingo nodded.
"Nakajima was the one who caught most of the passes... he's a better receiver than I am a thrower..."
It was then that Shingo sighed, sitting down on the ground, his arms folded over the top of his knees.
"Ami... are you as bored out here as I am?"
"So that's why Shingo came all the way out here," thought Ami. She could see the melancholy look in his eyes, and though her presence had cheered Shingo up a little bit, she still knew that he wasn't enjoying his time out in the woods.
Ami didn't much like camping either, though she loved spending time with Usagi and the other girls. She didn't go for the experience of camping, that was mostly Makoto's idea. She went because she would be with the people she truly cared about... the people she would sacrifice her life for should the need ever arise. She'd laid down her life for Usagi in the past, and she'd gladly do it again.
"Shingo, I know how you feel... why did you join the Boy Scouts, anyway?"
"Because all my friends did it, and I like doing stuff with my friends. Why?"
Ami already knew what Shingo would say. Now, for another question. A question that Ami also knew the answer to, but didn't quite know what Shingo's response would be.
"Shingo... why do you love me?"
The question stopped Shingo cold. Why would Ami ask something like that? Shingo thought she already knew... and what even led to that question? Was that what Shingo was afraid of? A question that he couldn't quite answer?
"Because you're sweet, and kind, and smart, and pretty, and-"
"Really, Shingo. Why do you love me?"
...and this, Shingo couldn't answer. He knew he loved Ami, it was the dominant emotion in his heart, a constant that controlled his every action... but still, he couldn't answer. But he knew. Deep down in his heart, he knew. And he knew that he knew, but when it came to actually speaking the words...
"It's all right, you don't have to answer," said Ami, her face now reflecting the same sad, lonely look that Shingo had shown just a few moments ago, only slightly different. In her eyes was a look of concern, the slightest hint of fear... that Shingo, despite his youth and inexperience at reading people's emotions, could pick up immediately.
"Ami?"
"Last night, I... I had a dream..."
"Hey!"
A flashlight was suddenly shined on Ami and Shingo from behind. Ami was staring straight into it, but Shingo, whose gaze was focused on Ami, had to turn toward the source of the voice. It was Celdan, the tall, lanky boy who'd sacked Shingo on that very first play in the football game... and who now appeared to have busted young Shingo on his midnight excursion.
"You're not supposed to be out here, Shingo..." said Celdan, a stern look on his face. His gaze switched to Ami, and he smiled. "Well, well, well."
"Celdan, it's not what it looks like!" shouted Shingo. Immediately, Ami climbed out of the water, trying to explain Shingo's actions. But before she could, Celdan began to laugh.
"Oh, that's all right... it's fun swimming at night, I should know," said Celdan, chuckling. "I just got kinda worried when I saw you leave camp... didn't want you getting eaten by a bear or anything."
"There aren't any bears in Japan," said Shingo, pointing to Ami. "Ask her, she's like a total genius!"
Ami giggled, flattered but a bit embarassed that Shingo would flaunt her knowledge to a total stranger... at least a stranger to Ami. "He's just a member of Shingo's scout troop, no harm done..."
"My name is Mizuno Ami, and it's wonderful to meet you," Ami said in a friendly tone. "And actually Shingo, there have been some occasional bear sightings in a few Japanese forests, mostly in Hokkaido, which is closer to Russia. The native Ainu people sometimes bring them across the strait."
"...whatever." said Celdan. "As long as there aren't any bears out here, it's all right. Well, I guess I'd better be going back to camp... don't worry, I won't tell anyone you guys are out here."
Celdan turned and walked back toward the forest, leaving Ami and Shingo alone by the lake to talk. Shingo turned back toward Ami and smiled.
"I was kinda worried there for a minute," said Shingo, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "So Ami... about that dream?"
Ami, glad Shingo had remembered the point of the conversation, continued.
"Well-"
Suddenly, Ami saw something that made her scream. A claw-like tree branch was right behind Shingo, and it appeared to be alive.
"SHINGO, LOOK OUT!"
Before Shingo could turn around, the branch clenched around his back, pinning his arms to his sides and crushing into his chest.
"Aaaaagh!" gasped Shingo, his breathing constricted by the deadly tree limbs pressing into his ribs. Behind Shingo stood Celdan, a long, wooden branch extended from his arm, which had mutated into the branch that was now crushing the unsuspecting boy.
"Sorry about this, kid... but it's the only way I'm going to get what I need!"
Celdan tossed Shingo aside, his body skipping several times along the ground before coming to a stop about ten yards away. Shingo was now crumpled in a heap on the ground, his entire midsection bruised and aching with pain. Ami gasped as Celdan's branch-like arm retracted into his body, changing back into a normal limb.
"And now to get you out of the way," said Celdan, rushing toward Ami with seemingly inhuman speed. With Shingo hurt and her life in danger, Ami did the only thing she could... she withdrew her Senshi wand from inside her swimsuit and held it out in front of her body.
"Mercury Crystal Power!"
O-O-O
A blue flash engulfed Ami, and immedately, she became the Senshi of Water, Sailor Mercury. Once the bright light faded, the Water Senshi began to speak.
"Attacking innocent people is always wrong... you'll be sorry you attacked my friend!" declared Sailor Mercury, pointing at Celdan. Celdan simply smiled, his own body glowing a bright amber color for several seconds before finally revealing his true form. His Scout uniform had been replaced with a shimmering brown jumpsuit, and his hair had transformed into long tree branches that extended back from his head.
"I am Celdan, soldier of wood and earth... I was warned that one or more of you Sailor Senshi might show up to interrupt my plans, but no matter... they will proceed once I get rid of you!"
As Shingo stood up, Celdan's arms transformed into long, flowing branches, both of which were extending rapidly toward Sailor Mercury in an attempt to ensnare her. She leapt out of the way, her body gliding into the air and landing inbetween the two branches, ready to attack.
"Mercury Bubbles Freeze!" Sailor Mercury called out.
"That's the way, Ami... I know you can beat this guy!" thought Shingo. He'd seen Sailor Mercury fight but one time, and even that wasn't much of a fight. She took out a pair of kidnappers with one attack... hopefully, she would do the same to Celdan.
But the wooden warrior was unfazed. The stream of water splashed against his face and chest, but quickly dissipated, leaving Celdan unfrozen and fairly angry. He recoiled his two branch arms inward, and Mercury once again had to leap into the air to escape, this time jumping to the side as Celdan's arms changed back to normal.
"Hey, that was supposed to take you out!" shouted Shingo, almost as if he was angry at Celdan for being unaffected by Sailor Mercury's attack.
"And when I threw you on the ground, you were supposed to die," replied Celdan tauntingly. "What's your point?"
But before Shingo could respond, Sailor Mercury had an answer of her own, leaping at Celdan and striking him across the side of the face with a powerful spin kick. What her water attack didn't do, her kick did... sort of. Celdan stumbled back, wincing slightly in pain. When he looked up, Sailor Mercury was striking at him with her fist. Reacting almost immediately, Celdan grabbed her wrist before the punch connected, his fingers tightly squeezing into the Senshi's captured arm.
"You didn't think you could actually beat me at close-range, did you?" asked Celdan. Sailor Mercury desperately tried to break free, but Celdan's grip was rock solid. The Senshi clenched her teeth, trying as hard as she could to get away, even smacking at Celdan's chest with her other hand. Suddenly, she could feel Celdan's fingers transform into long, thin tendrils that climbed up Sailor Mercury's arm like vines climbing up the side of a fence, only much, much faster. Soon, her entire arm was encased in thick, wooden branches, leaving only one of her arms free.
"I've got to think of something... quickly!"
Gathering up as much strength as she could in her trapped arm, Sailor Mercury began exuding magical energy from it, chilling the air around her arm until it began freezing the tendrils locked around it.
"I know enough about plants to know that when it gets too cold, they die... very quickly, I might add!" shouted Sailor Mercury. Soon, the tendrils wrapped around Sailor Mercury's arm had completely frozen, and with one powerful tug, she was easily able to free herself, shattering the vines into thousands of frozen pieces.
"Yes!" shouted Shingo, pumping his fists victoriously. "That's the way to do it! Now finish him!"
Celdan, annoyed by Sailor Mercury being able to so easily escape his grasp, simply extended more tendrils from the stump where his arm used to be. The tendrils transformed back into a normal arm almost as quickly as Sailor Mercury had broken them off.
"Impressive," he said, stepping forward as Sailor Mercury was readying another attack.
"Let's see how impressed you are about this!" Sailor Mercury shouted. "Shine Aqua Illusion!"
Several waves of water rushed toward Celdan, each one more powerful and more freezing than the last. He raised his arms and quickly formed a shield of vines in front of his body. The vines completely stopped the first wave of water, but were frozen solid by the second, and shattered by the third. Sailor Mercury smiled, knowing that the fourth wave would make a direct hit.
"You attacked the wrong couple... and the wrong Sailor Senshi!" thought Sailor Mercury as the fourth wave of water slammed into Celdan and completely froze his body solid. Quickly, Sailor Mercury pressed the button on her earring to trigger her VR visor, which appeared over her eyes and scanned the frozen Celdan for any sign of life. "Now to finish this..."
Sailor Mercury knew that an Aqua Rhapsody attack would be powerful enough to finish Celdan off for good.
"C'mon, Ami, finish him!" shouted Shingo, jumping up and down. "That's the way... nobody messes with Ami!"
But as soon as she started the attack, two vines broke out of the chunk of ice and wrapped themselves around Sailor Mercury's wrists, trapping her and stopping her attack in its tracks.
"What the..." Sailor Mercury began as the ice around Celdan began to crack, and then shatter, freeing the demented villain. Tiny tendrils all over Celdan's body had extended with enough force to break the ice, quickly retracting back once he had been freed, except for Celdan's two arms, transformed into long branches that were now trapping Mercury's wrists.
"You let her go!" Shingo shouted, running toward Celdan. "I've gotta help Ami!"
But for all Shingo's determination, Celdan soon stopped him just as effectively as he'd stopped Sailor Mercury. Celdan lifted his foot, which turned into another long vine that snapped into Shingo's chest like a whip, immediately knocking all the wind out of him and sending him flying into the lake with incredible force.
"SHINGO!" screamed Sailor Mercury, instinctively fearing that Celdan's counterattack had been a fatal blow.
"And as for you..."
More vines extended from Celdan's arms, wrapping around Sailor Mercury's legs and holding the Senshi in place, her limbs trapped and immobile. He spun Sailor Mercury around until her back was facing the forest, then rapidly extended the limbs holding her until her body was slammed into a tree at nearly eighty miles an hour, immediately rendering the Water Senshi unconscious. Her Sailor fuku flashed, then faded away, leaving only Ami Mizuno in her black and white striped bathing suit. The Mercury transformation pen slipped from the unconscious girl's hand, and the vines quickly retracted from her body and back into Celdan, transforming into human-like limbs once again.
"Now to fulfill my mission..."
Suddenly, hundreds of tendrils extended from Celdan's body, flying outward toward the lake and dipping beneath its surface. Within seconds, the entire lake had been drained, and only a glowing blue gem, a few fish, and the unconscious body of Shingo Tsukino lay in the dead pit that had once been Nakahima Lake. Celdan smiled, retracted his tendrils, and walked down to the gem, picking it up and placing it in the pocket of his jumpsuit. Then, he walked back to Ami, nudging her unconscious body with his foot.
"I could have some use for you as well..." Celdan said, picking up the girl and flinging her over his shoulder. "I know you have friends, Sailor girl... who are just dying to know where you are. And I'm sure they'd do anything for you."
Shingo regained consciousness for a few seconds... just long enough to see Celdan taking the love of his life into the dark forest. Then, they both were gone, and Shingo's world went dark.
O-O-O
When Shingo awoke, the first light of the sun's rays was already shining on his weary form. By now, mud from the lake bed had caked onto his back and into his hair, and he groaned as he stood up, stumbling forward and shaking his head.
"Ami..." muttered Shingo, dragging his body out of the drained lake and remembering how he'd seen Ami being dragged into the woods. Everything else seemed to be a blur to him, but Ami's abduction came though with complete clarity. Before he could ponder the matter any further, he tripped and stumbled over the lamp that Ami had placed on the beach, its nine-volt battery now burned out. He fell on his face into the dry sand, almost numb to the pain. "Where... where is Ami?"
Shingo's forced slumber had brought him no dreams, just a recurring ache in his back and the realization that, for the first time in six months, Ami's life was in mortal danger.
"That's what I was so afraid of..." Shingo thought, pulling himself from the ground and gazing out into the foreboding woods. It had tugged at him ever since he'd started the camping trip, and now his fears were confirmed. Ami was in trouble, and Shingo should've been able to warn her, but he was too blind to see it. He knew now... and now he knew what he had to do. "Ami, I'm coming!"
Shingo dashed off into the woods, a layer of mud still caked on the back of his hair, his shirt, and his shorts. He didn't care if Ami saw him like this... he was her knight in shining armor, her guardian angel, and he had to rescue her, no matter what!
O-O-O
Ami opened her eyes to a much different awakening. She awoke into darkness, and the only thing she could feel was a cold, stony surface against her back... and long vines wrapped tightly around her wrists and ankles, stretching her limbs out but keeping her slightly compressed so that she bent somewhat at the knees and ankles. From what she could tell, she was on the inside of a cave... a suspicion confirmed when a fire was lit about ten feet away from her on the floor.
The fire allowed her to ascertain the identity of her captor... it was Celdan, who'd attacked her and Shingo the previous night and had apparently taken her hostage. Of course, she could've figured that out without seeing his face... who else would be keeping her here?
"Shingo..." Ami groaned, her eyes closing, her head weakly rocking back and forth. The last she'd seen of him, he'd fallen into the lake... "Oh my god... you killed Shingo! You bastard, you killed him!"
"Calm down," said Celdan, leaning his face in toward Ami's, his hand slowly running across her face. "He's not drowned... I think. I drained the lake, last I saw, he was lying at the bottom. I'm fifty percent sure he's not dead."
"Drained the lake?" thought Ami. "So there's a chance... a small chance... he could still be alive!"
She could still see Shingo running toward Celdan after she'd been trapped by his vines... could see the powerful tree branch smashing hard across his chest... memories of the very first time Shingo had tried to save her came rushing back into Ami's head. Tiger's Eyes had knocked out Shingo with a tree branch as well... but this time, Shingo had not only been hit, he'd been knocked clear underwater... and from what Ami could tell, he'd been down for a long time. Almost long enough to...
"He could still be alive..." thought Ami. "Just keep telling yourself that, he could still be alive..."
"Don't feel too bad about him," said Celdan, dismissing Shingo as if he meant nothing at all to anyone. "It's not him I'm after. I was just coming here to recieve something... but decided to pick you up on the side. I'm going fishing for Sailor Senshi... and you're the bait. While I'm here, I might as well take them out in one fell swoop, hmm?"
Ami struggled at her bonds, but the vines held strong, as hard as rock against her soft limbs.
"Don't even try struggling... I grew those vines myself, out of the walls of this cave," said Celdan, stroking his hands across one of the strong vines that bound Ami's arms. "They're almost like my children... so try not to damage them. As if you could."
"Vines that could pierce through rock... they're too powerful to break anyway," replied Ami. "I know that."
"You know a lot of things," said Celdan, "and I know you can't transform without your wand, which I'm going to keep on me at all times. You know, I think I'll collect all your friends' wands when I'm through with them..."
"You'll never beat them!" shouted Ami, angry despite her growing fear. "You hear me? The Sailor Senshi are the most unstoppable force in the universe!"
"When they're together, maybe so," Celdan replied snidely. "But without you... I don't think so. And they'll never find you, not in these caves... I don't think anybody will. But enjoy your stay. Once I've killed your pathetic friends, I'll be back to you. Be glad knowing that you'll be the last one of them to die... and enjoy your stay."
As Celdan began to leave, Ami clenched her fists, ashamed that she'd been defeated so easily, and terrified for the lives of Shingo, Usagi, Rei, Makoto, and Minako, who were all in serious jeopardy... because of her weakness.
"I TOLD YOU, YOU'LL NEVER DEFEAT THEM!" Ami screamed, wildly flailing against the vines and the wall. Celdan smirked, turning around and brushing his finger against one of the vines, which was now oozing a sticky, golden substance.
"I don't like your tone," said Celdan, quickly brushing two of his fingers across Ami's lips. When Ami tried to speak again, her lips wouldn't open... whatever Celdan had placed across them was now sealing them shut, and only muffled screams could escape. "Another reason I love my children... they release a sap that can instantly harden into the most durable amber in the world. Enjoy one hundred million years of silence..."
"MMMMMPH!" Ami screamed, unable to move or open her mouth or do anything else but watch helplessly as Celdan walked out of the cave, whistling a happy tune to himself. Again, Ami hung her head, her horrifying nightmare becoming a terrible reality.
Mizuno Ami would've given anything just to be able to wake up.
O-O-O
Ami's friends were only just now waking up, the sun shining and already beginning to evaporate the morning dew. As Usagi, Rei, Makoto, and Minako walked out of their tents, it didn't take them long to realize someone was missing.
"Hey, Ami..." whispered Rei, poking her head into her friend's empty tent. "You in there?"
Rei climbed into the tent and poked Ami's sleeping bag, soon finding out that it was empty. She climbed back out and walked over to her friends, a puzzled look on her face.
"Ami's not in her tent... is she anywhere around here?" asked Rei. Usagi shook her head, having not seen Ami anywhere in the camp.
"Ami?" shouted Makoto, glancing into the nearby woods. "Hey, Ami!"
"I really hope she didn't take what happened yesterday personally," said Minako, grabbing a box of cereal that the girls had left out on a bench and reaching inside. "I mean, it was only a joke and all... hey, I got spy glasses!"
As Minako pulled a pair of blue and red cardboard glasses out of the cereal box and put them on, Rei shook her head, a worried look on her face.
"Guys, that was a long time ago," said Rei, "and Ami's not the kind of girl to dwell on stuff like that anyway. I'm actually starting to get pretty worried about her..."
Usagi gasped, immediately drawing the attention of Rei, Makoto, and Minako.
"Guys... you think that maybe she went out for a swim or something?" asked Usagi. "I mean, on the train ride here she wouldn't stop talking about wanting to swim in the lake... maybe she decided she couldn't wait any longer and she went out at night!"
"Meatball head! You know Ami wouldn't do something stupid like that," Rei grumbled, shooting an angry glare her friend's way. "She knows how dangerous it is to go out in the woods at night! She might get eaten by a bear or something!"
"Whoa, guys... the trees are all weird and stuff," said Minako, stumbling around in the glasses she'd pulled from the cereal box. Rei walked over and angrily snatched the glasses from her face, tossing them back onto the bench.
"We've got to find Ami, right now!" Rei shouted. "And nobody does anything else until we find her!"
"...we can't have breakfast?" Usagi said quietly.
Just outside the clearing, Celdan had heard most of the girls' conversation. Ami... that was the girl's name, Celdan remembered it from last night. "I'd bet anything that these girls are the other Sailor Senshi... why else would they all be travelling with her? I guess I'd better make my proposition right now, while they're all together... this is the perfect time to strike!"
"Hey, Celdan... have you seen Shingo anywhere?"
Celdan turned around to see Nakajima standing behind him, a worried look on his face.
"Shingo wasn't in his tent this morning... now everybody's out looking for him, even the Scout master... I think he's in big trouble," said Nakajima. "And you might be too... even if you went out looking for him, you still shouldn't have gone without permission."
"Is that so?" Celdan replied, now fully transformed back into his boyish disguise. "Well, Nakajima... I was really worried about Shingo, and-"
"What about Shingo?" asked Usagi, stepping out of the nearby trees and walking up to Celdan and Nakajima. She was soon followed by Rei, Makoto, and Minako. "Have you guys seen Ami at all? You know, blue hair, really smart, kinda shy?"
Celdan smiled. This was much too perfect.
"Ami's gone too?" asked Nakajima, slowly beginning to put two and two together. If Ami and Shingo were both camping out in the woods... then... "Oh, cool! Shingo and Ami must be off in the forest somewhere making out! Way to go, Shingo!"
"WHAT?" shouted Usagi, her fists quickly clenching in rage. "You mean to tell me... that that little dweeb Shingo... came over to OUR camp... and took Ami out in the woods to have a little midnight rendezvous?"
"Actually, that's not entirely accurate," said Celdan, his body beginning to glow. "I know EXACTLY what happened to Ami and Shingo."
"...are you aware that you're glowing?" asked Minako. "You might wanna get that checked..."
"Guys..." said Rei, beginning to sense an overwhelming evil force coming from Celdan's direction, "I don't think he's sick... I think he's a... a..."
"Your worst nightmare!"
Two tendrils shot out from Celdan's left arm, while two more shot out from his right. The four tendrils immediately wrapped around the arms of all four girls, holding them high up in the air and beginning to squeeze tightly.
Nakajima, standing just behind Celdan for all of this, had suddenly developed a case of cold feet that would make Frosty the Snowman freeze in his tracks.
"Uh... uh... uh... I'msosorryI'msuchacowardI'mgettingtheheckoutofhere!"
Nakajima dashed off into the forest, leaving the four Senshi alone with their horrible foe.
"Well... he wasn't... much help..." said Rei, her voice straining as the powerful vines squeezed tightly into her arms and sides.
"Looks like... we'll have to... help ourselves!" shouted Usagi, her hand grasping around her transformation wand. "Moon Crystal Power!"
And as quickly as Ami had transformed into Sailor Mercury, Usagi transformed into the leader of the Sailor Senshi, the great Sailor Moon. She quickly broke out of Celdan's vines, and the shock was enough to cause the evil warrior to release his other three captives, roughly dropping them to the ground. As soon as they could stand, they too transformed, becoming Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus.
"We are the Sailor Scouts... we fight for love and justice, and in the name of the Moon, we'll-"
"Stop if you ever want to see your pathetic friend Ami again!" shouted Celdan, pulling out Sailor Mercury's transformation wand and causing all four Senshi to gasp simultaneously. "That's right... I have your precious Sailor Mercury, and if you want her to remain alive, you'll do everything I say!"
"You can't kill her from here, and once we wipe you out, we'll find her!" shouted Sailor Jupiter, boldly mustering up an attack. "Jupiter Thundercloud Zap!"
The attack sent a disk of lightning hurtling toward Celdan, slamming into his chest and shocking him with nearly a million volts of electricity. The attack would've killed a normal human and seriously injured the average youma... but Celdan simply laughed it off, his feet having transformed into roots that anchored him to the ground, taking the lightning with it.
"Little bit of a physics lesson," said Celdan, the roots retracting back to his feet. "Wanna know how to avoid an electric shock? Dig deep roots. Your smartass little friend Ami would've probably known that."
Enraged by the insult toward her friend, Sailor Mars lunged forward, an Ofuda Scroll in her hand.
"Electricity may not hurt you, but I know what will... there's about to be a little forest fire in here!"
Defying the advice of Smokey the Bear, Mars hurled the Ofuda Scroll, affixing it to Celdan's shoulder. It burst into flames, quickly burning away the wood warrior's entire right arm. Celdan grimaced in pain, clenching his teeth and pointing his burned-out stump at the Senshi who'd melted it away.
"That was cute... but you should also know that even when burned completely to the ground, a forest always regenerates itself!"
Vines rushed forward from Celdan's arm, wrapping themselves around Sailor Mars and quickly engulfing her entire midsection in a mass of binding tendrils, rendering her unable to move her arms, or even breathe for that matter.
"Mars!" shouted Sailor Jupiter, running to her bound friend's aid and trying to rip the branches away from her chest. While she was doing that, Sailor Venus now stepped up to try her hand at battling Celdan.
"Venus Love Chain... Encircle!"
A chain of golden light rushed toward Celdan, who tried to leap up to avoid it, but realized that it had locked onto him. He thrust his left palm downward, firing a tendril that wrapped itself around Venus' energy chain, destroying both the vine and the chain. The force from the attack slammed Sailor Venus back into a tree with a loud cry of pain. Meanwhile, Sailor Jupiter had freed Mars' arms from Celdan's tendrils, but by now, the Senshi of Fire was on the verge of unconsciousness, exhausted from the compression of her arms and chest.
"Your pathetic friends are as useless as Sailor Mercury was," said Celdan, now staring down Sailor Moon and preparing for whatever attack she had to give. "Well? Aren't you going to try and attack like your worthless companions?"
Sailor Moon steadied herself, her hand clasped tightly around her transformation wand.
"It's now or never..." thought Sailor Moon, her eyes narrowing. "This is for Ami!"
O-O-O
"Mmmph... mmm... mmmmmmgh!"
Ami, still trapped in her cold, stone prison, as much a part of the cave as the vines trapping her arms and legs, inextricably bound to the wall by the tendrils weaving in and out of the cracks behind her. She could only think of her friends... and Shingo, who was probably still lying on the bottom of the drained lake, maybe even dead... the thought of Shingo's death, even unconfirmed, was too much for Ami to bear, and she muffled out a sob, a tear streaking slowly down the side of her face.
"That's why... that's why I love him," thought Ami, realizing that Shingo had been ready to sacrifice himself for her. He wouldn't do that for a crush... someone he loved just for her body, her voice, or even her intelligence. True love was the willingness to lay down one's body, to sacrifice one's one life for another person. The same kind of love the five Senshi shared for one another... they were a sisterhood, a sisterhood of the guardians of the galaxy. She knew that kind of love when she saw it... and she saw it in Shingo. She could never actually verbalize that kind of love, because it wasn't just an emotion... it was an entire state of being, the things someone said, the actions someone took... and it took a moment of despair to see what it was. At least that's what it seemed to Ami, now sobbing at what was in all likelyhood the death of the person she truly loved, the death of the person who would give up his life for her no matter what, who loved her above all else... and who she would do the same for. Ami would give up her life for Shingo... she would have gladly died right there in that cave, just to know that Shingo was alive and safe.
But she couldn't... and she had no idea of knowing that Shingo was looking for her. But if he was alive... she knew that's exactly what he would be doing.
O-O-O
Now in front of the cave where Ami was trapped, but completely unaware what lay inside, Shingo sat down, his back slumped against the cold stone outside. He sighed, desperately thinking about places where an evil mastermind like Celdan could possibly think to hide prisoners.
"If I was a big, evil jerk like Celdan, and I had captured the most beautiful, wonderful girl in the world... what mean, stinky, evil place would I put her?" asked Shingo to himself, rapidly brainstorming ideas about potential hostage hiding places. "There aren't any castles in the woods... or warehouses, I don't think. I'm out in the woods, where do I put someone?"
Shingo had never actually rescued Ami from a youma before. He'd been up against criminals, criminals who kept their prisoners in factories, houses, and showers. Now he was dealing with a bad guy like the Senshi fought against... like Ami had told him about so many times before. He was dealing with a REAL bad guy... and getting his butt kicked.
"Who am I kidding?" Shingo sighed. "I don't stand a chance against this guy... even if I do find Ami, he'll kick my butt, just like Tiger's Eye did. I couldn't even really save her from measly human bad guys... the Senshi had to show up, or Ami had to transform, or..."
A faint noise suddenly emerged from the cave. Ami, screaming through the hard amber at the top of her lungs, had managed to produce a sound that was just loud enough to escape the boundaries of the cave and make it all the way outside. Shingo, happening to be outside, heard the noise... a miraculous coincidence? Or just the force of destiny, once more bringing the two fated loves together? Whatever it was, Shingo knew he'd heard something... something from inside the cave. It didn't sound like a scream, but it was enough to make Shingo think.
"A dark and scary cave..." whispered Shingo. Of course, there were many caves in the park... but as long as he was here, he might as well look. "Ami, I'm coming! Please, please be in here..."
O-O-O
"Moon... Glorious... Hallation!"
The blast from Sailor Moon's wand took the form of a wide beam of light that barrelled straight into Celdan's chest. He stumbled back, letting out a cry of pain that signalled to Sailor Moon that her attack was working... just like it always did.
"That was... a lot stronger... than I anticipated..." thought Celdan, who could now feel Sailor Moon's attack starting to destroy him from within. "But I'm not... beaten... YET!"
Out of Celdan's chest where the beam had hit came several long tendrils, spiralling their way through the blast and slamming into Sailor Moon's chest with enough force to knock the girl off balance and rip the brooch from her chest. She collapsed to the ground, detransformed and disoriented, while the pain-racked Celdan fell to one knee, groaning in pain. The attack, while halted halfway, had still taken a lot out of him, and he began to think that it might be best to cut his losses, kill the Sailor Senshi he HAD managed to capture, and escape to fight the Senshi another day. Before Usagi could reach her brroch and retransform, Celdan had dashed into the forest, toward the cave where Ami was still helplessly trapped.
"Moon Crystal Power!" shouted Usagi, retransforming and pointing toward the woods. "He's trying to get away... after him! Quick!"
O-O-O
Shingo walked slowly through the cave, squinting as the last of the outside light faded behind him. He had to wait for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before he continued, pressing his hands against the wall to keep himself from slamming into anything.
"I'm still coming, Ami..." said Shingo, determined to reach her before it was too late. As he continued walking, he heard another loud, muffled scream. This time, it was much louder, and unmistakably Shingo recognized it as Ami's. "I'm close... I don't believe it! Ami!"
Shingo was close enough for Ami to hear her... but when she heard him, she wasn't quite sure it was really her beloved Shingo. More tears streaked down her face, and she let out another muffled cry. This time, the reply was definitely Shingo's... she heard him loud and clear, saying 'don't worry, Ami.. I'm coming... I promise I'll be there soon!' Though her lips were frozen beneath the amber, she tried her best to curve them into a smile, while her tears of grief became tears of joy... Shingo was alive... and he was close... and he was...
"I'm here, Ami..." said Shingo, dashing over and gasping at the sight of the situation Ami was in. He immediately tried to pull her from the wall, but quickly realized the vines held her tight. He saw the golden amber over her lips, and tried to remove it, thinking that it was tape. Again, no success. He began scratching at the amber with his fingernails, but still couldn't break it, or even make a mark on his surface. Shingo was dismayed. He'd reached Ami, but... now that he found her, he couldn't free her! He was useless to her again... useless and pathetic... he'd failed. "Ami, I'm sorry... I can't... I can't get the vines, or any of the weird stuff that's on your mouth... I-"
"Mmmph... mph..." Ami said, her right hand reaching out to him, or at least trying to. "Shingo... it's all right... you're here, and you're alive, and that's all that matters..."
Shingo reached over and took Ami's hand, his fingers clasping with hers.
"I won't leave you, Ami... my sister and the others... I know they'll show up... I know they can get you out of this... Ami, I promise, I won't leave you until I know you'll be safe..."
Ami wanted to respond, to tell Shingo that he should go out and find Usagi and bring her back... but what if Usagi and the others were fighting Celdan, and she'd merely be leading Shingo to his death? Besides, she couldn't tell him anything, not with her lips sealed so tightly that a bug could make its home in her mouth and emerge unharmed, even if nuclear war killed every other living thing on the planet. She sighed, her hand clasping Shingo's as tightly as she could, reassured at least by the knowledge that he was alive and safe.
About a minute later, she saw Celdan, looming behind Shingo with a sinister smile on his face. She screamed.
"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMPH!"
But it was too late. Three sharp tendrils shot into Shingo's back, running him through. He collapsed to the ground on his knees, his mouth wide open in shock.
"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMPH! MMMMMPH MMMPH MMMMMMMMMPH! SHINGO! OH GOD, NO!"
"I told you he could've stayed alive... if he'd have just stayed away from you," said Celdan, his tendrils still buried deep in Shingo's back. "But noooooo... he just had to come and try to screw up my plans. Unfortunately for him, he came too late."
Celdan's return, thought Ami, could mean only one thing. He had killed the Senshi... and now, he'd just killed Shingo, the love of Ami's life. She could no longer scream... no longer cry... just leave her eyes open, staring wide-eyed into Shingo's face, his eyes as wide as hers.
"Ami..." thought Shingo, weakly trying to move his hand up to comfort her. He didn't feel the pain in his back anymore... just the enormous burden of knowing that Ami was about to watch him die. A single tear fell down both of his cheeks... just before his body began to glow. The same blue glow that Ami had seen before he'd leapt off the catwalk to save her from the two kidnappers in the magnesium factory was once again illuminating Shingo's body... and he began to notice it as well. "What the..."
"That glow..." thought Ami, now nearly blinded by its radiance. "I've seen that glow before..."
A burning pain began shooting through Celdan's body, and he quickly retracted the tendrils from Shingo, stumbling back toward the wall of the cave. As soon as he pulled out the vines, the wounds in Shingo's back closed, and he stood up, his entire body engulfed in sky-colored blue. "What in the world?"
Shingo could feel an enormous feeling of power coursing through his entire body, from his toes all the way out to his fingers and up to the tip of his head. He reached out... and touched Celdan's chest. Immediately, Celdan froze where Shingo had touched him. Shingo yanked back his hand... and smiled.
"Wait a minute..." said Celdan, his tendrils beginning to activate, all of them pointing at Shingo as he nervously prepared a counterattack. "You don't know what you're doing... you have absolutely no idea!"
As hundreds of small tendrils shot out at Shingo, Shingo's hand plunged forward into Celdan's chest. The tendrils stopped millimeters away from Shingo and began retracting back into Celdan, his entire body freezing in just a few seconds. When Shingo pulled back his hand, Celdan was frozen completely to the wall in a block of ice that had attached itself to the side of the cave.
Ami, who had watched the entire spectacle unfold with a mix of shock and joy, now silently willed Shingo on to destroy forever the monster who had endangered her and Shingo and who had apparently murdered her friends.
"Finish him off..." thought Ami.
Shingo was thinking the exact same thing. His glowing fist plunged into Celdan's frozen chest, instantly shattering the once-proud magical warrior to pieces of ice, which then evaporated quickly into nothingness. The glowing Shingo turned back toward Ami, placing his hands on the vines that trapped her arms and legs. They too froze and shattered, and with one last gesture, Shingo rubbed his fingers over the amber that sealed Ami's mouth. After a few seconds of gentle rubbing, the hard, golden substance was gone, and Ami could finally speak again.
"Shingo..."
As soon as Ami's arms wrapped around Shingo's body, his glow disappeared, and he fell to the ground, exhausted but otherwise unharmed. He returned Ami's embrace, before noticing that she had begun to cry... and she didn't sound happy.
"Ami... you're all right now... you're safe... what's wrong?"
"Oh, Shingo... Usagi and the others... Sailor Moon... they-"
"What the heck happened here?" asked Sailor Moon, looking down at Ami and Shingo and smiling from ear to ear. "Okay, I'm glad you guys are safe, but-"
"...Usagi?" said Ami, looking up and gasping with delight as she laid eyes upon the four Sailor Senshi. "Oh my gosh... you're all... you're all..."
"Wondering where Celdan is," said Sailor Mars, looking around the cave.
Shingo stood up, his arm around Ami's shoulder. A proud smile was on his face.
"Guys... I totally kicked Celdan's butt!"
"You WHAT?" shouted Sailor Moon, pointing her transformation wand at Shingo. "You? Oh, that's funny. That's really-"
"Usagi... guys... he's right," said Ami, looking over at Shingo and smiling. "He defeated Celdan and saved my life..."
Just a few minutes earlier, Ami thought that her friends and Shingo had been killed... that everyone she had in the world besides her mother was completely lost forever. Now, as she stood in the middle of Usagi, Rei, Makoto, Minako... and Shingo, her savior, her guardian angel... and her soulmate... she knew that no matter how bad things seemed, no matter how helpless or hopeless she felt... as long as she had the people she loved, everything would turn out all right.
As long as she had Shingo, everything was gonna be just okay.
"That's why I love him..."
"Ami, you might need this," said Sailor Moon, picking Ami's transformation wand from the floor of the cave and handing it back to her. "Wherever that guy came from, he's bound to have friends, and when he doesn't come back, they might be kinda pissed off."
"Hey guys... check this out..." said Sailor Venus, retrieving a gem from the ground. It was the gem that Celdan had stolen from the bottom of the lake... only now, it appeared to be glowing. "That's kinda weird..."
O-O-O
And somewhere, out in space, there were people watching it glow.
"Sir, you might want to see this..."
"The tracking gem... it's lighting up! It's been activated!"
"I don't believe it... when I placed that gem on Earth, I didn't expect to actually... I sent Celdan out to bring it back here... but it appears that our search is over. The final Cosmic Node is on Earth. Begin gathering the forces immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
O-O-O
It's amazing how much an explanation from Sailor Moon can calm an angry Scoutmaster... but when he was told that a youma had kidnapped Shingo and Ami in order to drain their energy, and that's the reason for Shingo's sudden disappearance... well, you have to believe her. She's Sailor Moon!
That night, Shingo and Ami were alone in the lake... Shingo in his green swim trunks, and Ami in the same black and white one-piece she'd worn when she was abducted. Ami told Shingo about her dream... and that now she knew what it meant.
"Ami... it seems like the longer we're together, the more you're put in danger..."
Ami smiled, shaking her head and clasping Shingo's hand underneath the surface of the water.
"It only seems that way, Shingo... but believe me, I've been in a lot of messes that were worse than that."
"I know," said Shingo. "You told me about them... and you know what? Every time you tell me about a time where you've been captured, or placed in danger... I can't help but put myself in one of the Senshi's shoes... I can't help wanting to be the one that got to save you... not that I want you in danger or anything, it's just-"
"Shingo, I know how you feel," Ami replied. One day, and she knew it would come soon, she would have to rescue Shingo... whoever had come after her had friends, and they'd obviously be looking for revenge. But like Shingo, she hoped that day would never come... she knew how badly Shingo felt whenever he saw her in distress, and she would certainly feel horrible if he were captured, or hurt, or... "Shingo... can we talk about something else?"
Shingo nodded, swimming out farther into the lake with Ami, so that the two no longer touched the bottom, but were simply floating, their heads the only thing that remained above the surface.
"It's so peaceful out here..." said Shingo, looking at Ami while still holding her hand. "I could get used to something like this... I might even start to like camping."
The combination of being in the water, Ami's very favorite place to be... and being with Shingo, her very favorite person to be with... was almost too much for Ami to bear. She felt completely at peace, completely blissful, completely happy. No matter what happened to her or Shingo, she would always have moments like this in her memories, moments to treasure the rest of her life...
"Shingo, I love you," Ami said softly, her voice warm and kind, just as Shingo always remembered it.
"And I love you, Ami," replied Shingo, tightly wrapping his arms around her underneath the water. She embraced him back, and leaned her lips toward his. Anyone looking at the lake would have seen two heads, one with blue hair, one with light-brown hair, their lips pressed tightly together in a warm, love-affirming kiss.
From the depths of hell to the heights of heaven in one day... Mizuno Ami wouldn't trade it for the world.
THE END
O-O-O