This pertains mainly to the original Japanese manga.


Sailor Mercury stood side by side with the other Sailors. Some part of her wanted to cry, though she could not remember exactly why this was. She looked up at the dark green-haired figure watching the proceedings from overhead. It was something that she had told her a long time ago. The crowd below was eagerly cheering, calling for their new Queen to be coronated, and for her to appear with her daughter.

Daughter. A flash of memory overcame her, but when Mercury tried to grasp at it it flickered away. She no longer could remember that day a long time ago. She could only remember glimpses and flashes of it. Even if it was months before. And the woman who stood over the Gates of Time, had warned her of something. Something she could no longer remember.


A few months earlier, Ami had told her parents she needed to make a confession to both of them. She said she wanted to go to a French restaurant. It had been years since the Mizuno family had gotten back together in one room. Even years after the divorce, Dr. Mizuno and Mr. Mizuno had never been in a room together to really talk about anything other than Ami. It was only after months of prodding and begging that Ami had finally gotten her wish. She had her father and mother in one room. Her mother, who was usually busy as a doctor, seemed anxious about Ami. Ami didn't blame her. It had been a long time since they could talk about anything and begging them to go out to a fancy restaurant to eat was not typical of Ami.

Ami blushed and said, "This has come much faster than I thought it would."

"What's wrong Ami?" Her mother asked.

"I--I have something to tell you," Ami said, folding her hands in her lap.

"Yes?" her father asked.

"But, please do not think I have a paranoia or dementia. Because I can prove the validity of my arguments."

Both of her parents were taken back at this. Their often shy and quiet daughter wasn't one to keep secrets. She had been such a good kid, even through the divorce.

"The structure downtown, the one that's growing, is in part my fault," Ami said not looking up at her parents.

"How--"

"I designed the structure--which is not what I wanted to tell you, but anyways, it's like this Mama--Papa..."

Her throat dried for a second and then she croaked out, "I'm a Sailor Soldier. I'm Sailor Mercury."

Her father at first seemed like he wanted to laugh, but Ami kept a straight face. Mr. Mizuno did not take well to this news. How could a quiet studious daughter--so talented keep the grades she had and fight as--what? Sailor Mercury? He'd heard of the rumors from Tokyo, but never believed them. Here was his daughter saying she was part of that group that was often reported on the news.

"Are you alright Ami? Do you have a temperature?" her mother asked feeling her forehead compulsively and taking her pulse.

"It's true, mama! But I promise to continue my studies as I always have, but it's coming soon, the second attack on the Earth. If you don't come to the Palace with me, I will not be able to protect you," Ami said in sudden rush.

"No, your pulse is fine. Your temperature seems to be normal, are you sure you took your iron this morning--it isn't, you know... that time is it?"

Ami blushed at this.

Ami's mother could not believe that Ami would say such things. She was at the top of her class, studious, always striving to be the best to perfect herself. Ami wanted to be a doctor and help people as she grew up. The idea of her fightng crime and monsters seemed ludicrious.

"Mama, remember when you saw the black blood in Mamoru-san's lungs? Remember how it disappeared suddenly afterwards? It wasn't a medical condition but one that related to a sickness of the Earth."

Ami had insisted on a private room in a fancy French restaurant. This was her moment. She took out her Sailor Crystal, and yelled out the words she had been dreading to shout all week.

"Mercury Crystal Power! Make up!"

Her parents gasped, and Sailor Mercury wanted to cry. Her mother looked completely dismayed. Her father, who was usually kind and gentle, was angry. He seemed very angry with her. She pressed together her lips. She wasn't going to cry. Her throat caught and she stood up proud in her Sailor Senshi form.

"I am Sailor Mercury, the guardian of the water planet, Mercury. I am guardian to the Royal Moon family. Once a lifetime ago, I was the guardian to a Princess called Serenity. I was a Princess to my own planet, but because of the destruction of the kingdom, all was lost...then I was reborn here, on Earth and--"

"Are you saying that you aren't my daughter? Are you rejecting me? I raised you, Ami. I carried you in my womb. I love you. Why are you doing this to me, to us?" her mother suddenly asked.

"Mama--no. I'm not rejecting you. I love you Mama. I still want to be a doctor just like you--but the second wave is coming, don't you see?

"Once Usagi becomes Queen, I--we-- will have to protect her. It is not a destiny that I can dictate, it is one that was chosen long before I was born to this solar system."

Her father, though he was creative, never expected this from his quiet daughter. All of the rumors were true. From her death and disappearance to her not showing up in classes for school. He didn't believe it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he yelled, not at Ami but at his former wife.

"How was I supposed to know?" she asked looking at her daughter.

"You are her mother, I kept her in your care. I expected you to take care of her!"

"While you traveled the world?" she asked, "What have you done for us?"

Ami's transformation faded from her. Her parents began to argue as they did when she was young. She covered her ears and tried to ignore them. She was almost 22 years old--she would be in a few months, but the sound of her parents arguing reminded her of how she felt as a child--helpless.

She finally curled up on herself on the floor.

"Miss?" a waiter said.

She looked up.

"Are you alright miss?" the waiter asked.

Ami slowly nodded and breathed. She blushed and apologized.

Her parents were still arguing about her. After the waiter left with her order for Chicken Souffle. She sat at the table. She had fought monsters. She wasn't a child any longer. She looked up at her parents and said, "Enough!"

Her parents jolted at that. Ami cried, "Blame me, not each other! It's my fault. I snuck out and I was the one that was lying."

Ami fought the tears. When she announced this fact to her parents, she didn't think they'd end up fighting each other. She thought they'd be angry at her. She'd lied to them, both of them, especially when she disappeared after being killed fighting Galaxia. She had to lie to them for so long, that she hated it.

But it was coming, and if she did not live in the Palace, they would die. Her papa she loved so much from the time she saw his first drawing to her mother, who had encouraged her to be the best she could. She couldn't let them go.

"So will you come to the Palace?" she asked hopefully.

"I have to consider it," her mother said.

"I can't--I have an art show to do. I have to paint more landscapes," her father said.

"It will come sooner than I or you think. I don't know the exact time frame of their arrival, but if you don't get to the Crystal Palace, I cannot protect you. Before long, I will not remember of the danger. Please, please come to live at Crystal Palace. There will be gardens there, and I have programmed in all of the landscapes of the Earth and how they will change overtime, Papa. Please, please come."

She didn't want to say it. Or they might die.

They ate the meal in silence, and the usual questions about her schoolwork, how she was were passed by. Ami knew she deserved this. It was going to be her price. They didn't give her an answer and just left without a word. Ami's mother paid for the bill. Ami was left alone in the room without an answer to her question. Would they come to Crystal Palace with her?

But this heartache and grief would only be the beginning. Who else would she have to try to save? Would her parents believe her or would they die before her eyes? She didn't want to think such thoughts, and in the silence of that room her heart ached. That's when she let herself cry.


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