Hey! I really have to finish this before the end of June, so I'll be updating much more often.
Thanks to those who reviewed, I appreciate both your criticism and praise.
Chapter 12
Ami walked down the street to her house. It was after her cram school Tueday, and Ami was exhausted. That morning, Ami had awoken to find Rei already up. Ami had felt fine, and Rei had explained to her just why they had all lied about what they'd been doing on Sunday.
After she had woken up and gotten dressed, she had told Rei exactly what happened with Lara and Josh that made her powers go crazy.
Rei had called Mamoru right away. He and the other scouts, as well as the Gundam Pilots were already hanging around Ami's block, waiting for Lara's address. After confirmation from Rei, they had barged into the apartment, to find it empty.
The room Ami had described had the door wide open. And there was nothing there either. No one at school remembered Lara and Josh. They had totally erased themselves from that life, as if they had never been there.
Ami was about to unlock her apartment door when the door opened on it's own. There stood Duo.
"Hey Ames, come in," he said, ushering her in. Ami frowned.
"What are you doing here?"
"I just- look, us guys and Mamoru came over here to install the glass panels on your china cabinet and we even called a company to send someone over to install the carpet, which they already did. The panels are giving us a hard time. But...surprise!"
"Wow thanks. Anyways, don't worry Duo, I'll just- hey! How did you get in?"
"We have our ways," Heero said from where he stood with Mamoru and the others, slipping the panel into the space.
Ami was delighted that the boys had come to help. She helped them hook up the last of the glass and then gave them snacks and drinks.
They left about an hour later, and Ami got right to work on her homework. Her last test had been an 80, not bad at all, but for Ami, it was what her mother would call mediocre.
Ami knew her friends were working hard to pick up their marks as well. They were all struggling. It was their senior year, and their last report cards to send to University.
They were all struggling, and Ami knew it would catch up to them eventually. Especially Usagi, she had the most catching up to do.
She finished all of her homework within the next two hours, and began reading ahead in her books, as always. Maybe she wouldn't be two or three chapters ahead as usual, but she would be informed of one chapter beforehand.
Lara and Josh bowed very deeply before their master.
"You tryed to take advantage of Mercury and her friend, you disobeyed me and tryed to kill them! How dare you!"
"Forgive us master! We were wrong!" Lara was down on her knees, begging, while Josh was on one knee next to her, head bowned down. Siruto stood in the corner, snickering. It seemed as if their master's favorites were no longer.
"Siruto made the same mistake last time, only he returned with even more valuable information because of it! What do you have? Nothing!"
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Lara said through her tears, Josh nodding slightly.
"Well, being the kind King I am, and showing my dear planet Mercury's gentleness, I shall forgive you, but it will come with consequenes."
Josh, ever silent, muttered something to Lara when his master said this, and his master stood up from the throne he sat on.
"How dare you. Repeat what you just said, to this entire audience." The room was dark but grand, and there were ropes on both sides, where youma stood, watching and snickering occasionally. At this point they were outright laughing, but Master payed them no mind. After all, they were only stupid youma.
Siruto was smiling broadly as he watched from next to the King.
"I- I was only saying-" Josh looked like he was trying to make anything up, and Master threatened again.
"Say it or die."
Lara glared at Josh, her tears beginning to dry up.
"Let me re-phrase that. Say it or Lara dies."
Josh spoke up instantly.
"I only said that you were not the king of Mercury, to my knowledge at least. Please forgive me! I meant no disrespect!"
His master growled and paproached, staff in hand.
"Blasphemer! Cretin! Fool! How dare you? I AM THE RIGHTFUL HEIR TO THE THRONE OF MERCURY! IT WAS STOLEN FROM ME!"
"Master, King, please, no!" Lara collapsed back to her knees in fear, shaking. "Please don't kill us! We did not know you were a King outside the Dark Moon! Please! We have researched for you what you wanted on Ami. We found out her powers, her relatives, her friends, her lifestyle, everything! All for you!"
"Then your search was not thorough enough. You see Siruto here? Did your research tell you that he accepted my mission because he wanted revenge for an old lover's quarrel 1000 years ago? Or how about me? Did you seriously think I was that interested in the Mercury scout because she had powers hidden away? Sealed potential? Come now, eventually every scout will reach the top of their powers. No, it was for something else. Can your research tell you what? Did you research not just the scout but her past as well? Tell me and you shall be spared."
Lara stood, gazing at Josh. She knew now. They may have been born in the black moon, they may have made mistakes and done devious things- but they were young, and in way over their heads. And they realized as well, that what Josh had said was not the reason they were being killed.
As they gazed at each other, they realized that dieing, him destroying them, had been the plan from the moment Lara had first walked into the room and bowed before him.
They were pons.
Insignificant.
No different then the brainless youma.
Josh trusted Lara enough to let her attempt to answer. "We're waiting," Master said, tipping his head at the two teenagers.
"Um...did you know Mercury in the past as well? Were you of a different bloodline for the same throne?"
Master laughed.
"How old do I look?" Lara gulped.
"No older than 25, Master. Younger."
"Correct, I am only 23. Close on your answer, but not close enough. We were in the same bloodline. Siblings." He raised his hand to strike.
"Master! Please, history says that the King and Queen bore only one child. Ami."
Her master growled.
"Yes! I was written out of history! Out of my bloodline, out of my planet, out of my FAMILY! I am her brother, her older brother, and she stole my rightful throne from me!"
"I love you Lara," Josh said, knowing what was coming. He jumped right in front of Lara as his master blasted her. Lara screamed.
"Master no!" She got down on her knees, and looked at Josh. He was dead.
With that said, Master raised his hands, and blasted Lara into oblivian, her screams echoing off of the walls.
"Goodbye Lara," Master said pleasantly.
All the youma, minions, and Siruto in the room were shocked. Not at the death of their comrades, but at the revelation of his ties with Mercury.
"Siruto. You take over keeping an eye on Mercury and the Gundams. However, disobey me again, and that will be your fate."
Master suddenly turned and ushered to someone in the doorway.
A man with brown hair and eyes, tall and confident looking strode in, wearing a generals uniform like Siruto's, only black rather than grey.
"Hey! You're that idiot friend of Mercury's I killed," Siruto shouted, pointing at Greg, whom smiled darkly.
"Yes Siruto. When you killed Greg, I took his body, and brought him back to life. He is quite useful, more useful alive working for me than dead anyways. He is the key to getting Mercury. Her mental state after you killed him is slowly deteriorating, and seeing him again, alive, and with me, might just bring her to the point we want her to be. She will suffer as I have, and then I will take her powers and kill her, letting the world know who the rightful heir to throne was, and who he is now! The time has come. There will be no more goofing off. I will unleash Greg right away. The final battle will have ended within the week. Before Sunday, this world will be mine." Master turned to the youma.
"Prepare for battle! All of you!"
The youma all looked around excitedly, ready to see some blood.
Ami tapped her fingers against her knee, as she thought. It was Wednsday, and she had the worst feeling. She thought about Lara and Josh, and about Siruto as well. Siruto was handsome, she had to admit. Black hair, deep green eyes, nice features. Ami just couldn't figure out why he was such a freak.
Her eyes wandered over to a picture of Greg on the bedside table. He and her were smiling and standing in front of a ferris wheel. 'Greg.' Tears brimmed her eyes and she wiped them away.
Her phone rang. It was Usagi, reminding her of a senshi meeting. She told her to come with the guys, not seperately so they could protect her.
She knocked on their door.
"Hey Ames. Ready," Duo asked, as they all filed out, closing their door. She nodded.
"Yes, let's go. Usagi said that Setsuna had something for you."
"Setsuna's there," Trowa asked.
"No. Rei said she dropped it off and left." Ami quickly took notice of how Trowa's face fell, and he tryed to hide it. She had seen it in Duo as well, outright flirting with Minako.
Quatre wouldn't stop blushing like mad when Rei was around, and Heero was so nice to Makoto, so gentlemanly like- it was odd. She had yet to figure out Wufei, who strangely enough always glanced at her and turned away. He must have thought she was such a bother.
They walked semi-quietly down the street, only commenting about the weather and everything else.
Once they arrived, they were quickly ushered in by an excited Minako.
"You five are so lucky," she told the pilots. On the table sat 4 guns and Wufei's katana.
"Hey, our guns and Wufei's katana. How did they get here," asked Duo, walking over.
"Setsuna. Wanna try 'em out?" Makoto looked at Heero for an answer, whom seriously looked unimpressed.
"What could she have down to my gun?"
Picking it up, Heero felt a jolt of electricity. He looked at the girls, whom smiled.
"Shoot at that chair in the corner over there," Rei said, pointing to a beat up old chair in the corner.
Heero did so, and instead of a bullet, a beam of blue light, similar to what the enemies used, was fired at the chair, singing a hole clear through it. Heero nearly dropped his gun.
"All of your guns do the same, except Wufei's katana slashes straight through youma like Uranus's sword. Pretty cool, huh," Usagi said.
"Indeed it is, Miss Usagi," Quatre said as he looked over his gun.
A small thump outside was heard. They group ran outside of the temple to the steps. Greg was helping himself off of the ground. Everyone gasped, and Ami ran over.
"Greg!" She hugged him and he hugged back fiercely, Ami automatically getting a bad feeling as soon as she hugged him. She quickly took notice of the black outift he was in.
"I thought Siruto killed you," she said quietly, looking past his shoulder to the empty street.
"He did," Greg responded in a voice very unlike his own, as he stared strait forwards at the other senshi and pilots gathered about 10 feet away. Greg could feel Ami's breath quicken at this statement.
Everyone gasped, Ami most of all, as she stepped away from Greg slowly, glimpsing his cold eyes and unsmiling face.
"Oh Ami. Why do you back away? Are you not happy to see me?" He reached forwards and touched her face lightly, Ami moving away more until he could not. He smirked at this. She backed right up in front of her friends, fearing the worst. Greg snapped his fingers.
Almost instantly, many youma appeared behind Greg.
"Poor, poor Ami. I bet I know what's going through your mind right at this moment."
Greg never finished his statement, as he turned to the youma.
"Attack."
I know it's really really short, but I'm trying to introduce my chapters quicker, which means slightly shorter. I'll make the next one longer, please tell me what you think!
