Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.
A/N: Finally! I've been suffering from severe writer's block and working too much, but the chapter is finally done! Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Special thanks to: Cloud Auditore Fair, Ravendra, Neanda, Sugahcane, Yuuki Yami, Da Pyro's Love, Leilanecris and James Birdsong!
Chapter 7: Dark Mercury
-Distant Future: Mercury-
"Sailor Saturn." Ami stopped a few steps away from where Hotaru and Chibi-Usa stood. "Why are you still here?"
Hotaru looked over her old friend, noting the changes to her appearance in the last decade. Ami's hair had grown out and brushed the collar of her white lab coat, which was frayed and had several stains. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest as she stared them down. Hotaru met her once-gentle gaze and was startled to see that her azure pupils were streaked with black.
"We just want to talk," Hotaru said slowly. She didn't want to move closer to the woman before her but didn't want to betray her fear by backing away. She did, however, banish her glaive. She didn't want to make Ami feel threatened any more than she already was.
"Right," Ami sneered. "You and…" Her head tilted in curiosity as her gaze drifted past Hotaru. "Chibi-Usa. I almost didn't recognize you. How did this happen?"
Her sudden interest was almost as unsettling as her earlier anger. Hotaru shifted herself subtly between them. "Queen Serenity is sick," she said bluntly. "She might be dying and we need your help."
Ami nodded slowly as she considered Hotaru's words, but her attention was still riveted on Chibi-Usa. "You want me to find a cure," she guessed. Her lips curled in a cold smile. "I'm sure we could come to some arrangement."
Ami's expression was making her tense. Slowly, she peeled off her leather gloves and stuck them in a side pocket of Chibi-Usa's backpack." It's not that kind of sickness," Hotaru replied roughly. She opened and closed her hands, trying to dry the layer of sweat in case she had to use them.
"I see," Ami replied disinterestedly, her attention still on Chibi-Usa. She began walking around them in a slow circle, looking the princess over.
Chibi-Usa watched her as well, seeming nervous as she pressed closer to Hotaru's side. "We want you to come back with us to Crystal Tokyo," she reminded Ami hesitantly. She didn't sound as sure of the idea as she had been that morning. "You and the other Senshi…"
She trailed off as Ami scoffed loudly, blue-black eyes flashing in sudden anger. "Which other Senshi? They all left, remember? They left me alone to fight the darkness in the city and try to protect Serenity."
Hotaru frowned at that. "You weren't alone," she snapped. "You still had me and the other Outers. We would have helped if you'd let us."
"Helped?" Ami chuckled darkly as her attention returned to Hotaru. "The only one who could have helped was Pluto and she chose not to."
"She didn't-" Hotaru bit back her indignant comment. They wouldn't get anywhere arguing about the past. She took a breath, trying to calm herself. An emotional plea was unlikely to sway the Senshi of Wisdom, she would have better luck appealing to her rational sense.
"Sets-" she swallowed the rest of the Time Senshi's name in the hope of keeping Ami calm. "We think that having all of the Senshi back together will be enough to fight the darkness that's weakened the Queen," Hotaru explained. "And we came to you first because we thought you could help us find the others."
Ami nodded absently, but her darkened eyes drifted back to Chibi-Usa. "Is this to do with the Queen's sickness as well?" She gestured to the princess's newly mature form. "Or did you finally just grow up?" She laughed again, a slightly manic chuckle.
Chibi-Usa crossed her arms self consciously. "It's a long story," Hotaru answered for her. "It happened a few days before we left and we think it had something to do with her mother's weakened state."
"Interesting." Ami looked her up and down again. The black lines in her eyes began to thicken until the blue was barely visible. "I would love to run a few tests on her…" She lifted a hand to Chibi-Usa's face as though she wanted to touch her.
Hotaru's mind went to the labs left abandoned in Crystal Tokyo, the mindless drones wandering the buildings around them and the hellish monster they'd just battled. She caught Ami's wrist before her fingers could make contact with Chibi-Usa's skin. "No."
Ami turned her black stare on the younger girl. "You're going to stop me?" She gave Hotaru a mocking smile.
Hotaru stared back until Ami's smile faded. With an angry snarl, the bluenette wrenched her arm back.
Chibi-Usa moved between them, keeping a restraining hand on Hotaru's arm. "Please, we didn't come here to fight with you."
Ami glowered at them. "I know. You came here to convince me to come home with you." Her face twisted in fury at her own words. "You don't understand how far I've come! The breakthroughs I've made! The progress!"
Her gaze narrowed on Chibi-Usa and she flashed a crazed smile. "You want to help your mother? Then stay here. Together we can figure out what happened to her." She inched closer to the princess, who took a matching step back from her. "Maybe the secret is inside of you, Chibi-Usa. Maybe I could dig a cure out of you for her."
She started to take another step but the air between them shimmered purple and a moment later the blade of Hotaru's glaive was leveled at her throat. "You're not going to touch her," she warned softly. She felt Chibi-Usa's hand on her shoulder but, rather than try to stop her, the princess stepped fearfully behind her.
Ami's eyes darted between them but she didn't move. "I see," she said finally. She stepped back and turned away from them, toward the cracked monitors on the wall. She walked past them over to the broken window that overlooked the city.
Hotaru lowered her weapon a fraction as she watched the rise and fall of Ami's shoulders. Chibi-Usa crept around her and moved tentatively closer to the older woman. "Ami?"
Hotaru watched tensely, waiting for some sort of reaction from the genius. A cool breeze blew across her back, refreshing in the sweltering heat. Chibi-Usa looked back at her questioningly. Hotaru could only shrug. She was out of ideas of how to get through to Ami. She shivered and sighed, frowning as she saw that her breath was visible in front of her. She realized in alarm that the temperature in the room was dropping rapidly. The glass of the broken monitors was frosting over, as well as the remaining shards of the window.
"Usa, get back!" She grabbed Chibi-Usa and pulled her roughly back. Above Ami, a row of icicles began forming, their jagged points dropping down around her. Ami spun back around to face them, grabbing two of the icicles and snapping them off in her hands. In a flash of bright blue, they changed into two gleaming long knives.
Hotaru dropped into a fighting crouch, gripping her glaive firmly. "Ami, please don't do this," Chibi-Usa pleaded.
The shining weapons in Ami's hands reflected the light outside as she raised them. She smiled cruelly, eyes locked on the glaive clenched in Hotaru's fists. "Some part of you must have thought it would come to this," Ami replied quietly. "Otherwise you wouldn't have brought her to protect you."
Her words stalled Chibi-Usa's actions. In truth, she'd expected all of the Senshi to return willingly once they learned how badly they were needed. She'd hoped that the presence of the Silver Crystal within her would be enough to dispel the darkness. Ami's initial resistance had shocked her, but this was beyond anything she had imagined.
Chibi-Usa looked at Hotaru's tense shoulders in front of her, watching the lines of muscle move across her bare skin as she raised her weapon. Ami was right, she realized, they'd sent Hotaru with her because they knew she would be needed. She wondered if the others even believed in the mission or if they thought the Inner Senshi were already too far gone.
Her dark thoughts were interrupted by a crash like metal on metal. She jumped back, eyes wide as Ami and Hotaru's weapons met in a purple flash and spray of frost. She watched, stunned, as the two attacked each other.
Hotaru's eyes had gone dead, as often happened when she exerted her power. Her mouth was set in a tight line and each move she made was powerful but precise.
Ami, on the other hand, was fighting without her usual calculated grace. Her expression was twisted in fury as she recklessly attacked. Hotaru managed to block each deadly thrust of her long knives, but the ferocity of the attacks was pushing her back.
Chibi-Usa could only watch, wanting to help her friend but unable to move. Ami had helped raise her. She remembered the shy genius sitting with her, explaining the concepts of her studies with infinite patience. They'd worked together countless times over the years when Ami had allowed the princess to assist in her experiments. Some days they'd just relaxed together, reading in comfortable silence. And now she was expected to fight her, to hurt her and possibly even take her life. Each flash of purple or shower of frost made her flinch as her eyes darted between them.
A wild swing from Ami managed to make contact. Hotaru stepped back sharply, wincing as she glanced down at the long slice that had opened up across her upper arm. Chibi-Usa's eyes darted from the slowly seeping wound to the smear of bright blood on Ami's knife. The sight shook her out of her daze. She tightened her hands to fists, illuminating the floor with the pinkish glow of her power emanating from them.
Before she could find an opening to attack, however, Hotaru aimed a heavy blow to Ami's midsection. The bright blue knives were forced down as Ami blocked her and, in the same move, Hotaru brought the blunt end of her weapon around to make solid contact with Ami's face.
Ami stumbled back, dropping one of her swords as her hand jumped to the cut that had opened above her eyebrow. The weapon disappeared in a burst of fog before it hit the ground.
Hotaru dropped her guard a little, her expression clearing as she watched her opponent in concern. Chibi-Usa took a step forward as well. Ami pulled her hand away from the wound, seeming stunned as she stared at the blood smearing her palm. She tilted her head thoughtfully and a slight smile pulled at the corners of her lips. She curled her bloody fingers up and her black eyes cut to Hotaru. She pulled her hand toward herself invitingly and Hotaru raised her weapon uncertainly.
Chibi-Usa followed Ami's line of sight to where she was focused behind Hotaru. A patch of ice was spreading across the floor and, before she had time to react, Ami made a fist and jerked it toward her chest. The move pulled a spike of ice up from the frozen puddle and its deadly point flew toward Hotaru.
Chibi-Usa felt as though her heart stopped when Hotaru let out a cry of pain. Her glaive fell from her slackened grip and vanished in a shimmer of purple. She collapsed just as Chibi-Usa reached her, unable to support her weight on her injured leg. Chibi-Usa wrapped her arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a sitting position. The ice shard had pierced all the way through her thigh. The blood-covered tip was protruding through a hole in the front of her jeans.
"Taru?" Chibi-Usa whimpered, clutching her tighter. Hotaru let out a pained breath between clenched teeth but didn't respond. The ice was melting rapidly and the trickle of blood was quickly soaking through her jeans to drip on the floor.
Hotaru's eyes were dull with pain but widened as they moved past Chibi-Usa. She turned to find Ami advancing on them. She had both knives again and her knuckles were white against the aqua hilts as she raised them both. Ami stared down at Hotaru, grinning in crazed triumph.
There was no time to call her staff or attempt to fend off the attack. Instead Chibi-Usa twisted and leaned forward, using her own body to shield Hotaru as Ami's blades came down. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, waiting for the blow to come.
But it never did. After a second of silence, she slowly lifted her head and looked up. A bright light was illuminating the room, glinting blindingly off of the glass and ice around them. Ami had thrown an arm across her eyes and stepped back until she was pressed against the far wall. It was then that Chibi-Usa realized that the light was coming from her own body. As soon as the realization came, the white light faded into nothingness.
Chibi-Usa watched, keeping her arms protectively around Hotaru, as Ami slowly dropped her arm. "That was the Silver Crystal," she said in a shocked whisper. She took a step closer and Chibi-Usa tensed, but she didn't attack again. "You have your mother's crystal."
Chibi-Usa nodded, trying not to show the fear that was rising inside of her. "But that means…" Ami shook her head as though trying to deny what she'd seen. The long knives fell from her slackened grip and shattered, scattering bits of ice that melted almost instantly. She ran her hands over her face, smearing the blood that had made a trail from her eyebrow down to her chin. She looked down at herself and then at her blood stained hands.
Ami dropped to her knees where she stood and Chibi-Usa could see tears welling up in her eyes. "Usagi. She's…" A sob swallowed the rest of her words and she fell forward, forehead nearly touching the floor as she sobbed.
Something dark seemed to lift away from her body. The shadow was only visible for a second before it disappeared above her.
Hotaru managed to sit forward and press her hands to the bleeding wounds on her leg. She met Chibi-Usa's gaze and jerked her head toward the sobbing girl bowed in front of them. Chibi-Usa gave her shoulders one last squeeze before she crawled the short distance to Ami. Tentatively, she laid a hand on her arm. "Ami?"
She lifted her head to look at her and Chibi-Usa was amazed to see that the black had vanished from her eyes, leaving the soft azure of her memories. "Chibi-Usa," she choked out between sobs, "I'm so sorry."
Chibi-Usa smiled and finally allowed the tears she'd been holding back as she pulled Ami into a tight embrace. "I'm so happy to see you, Ami," she whispered as she held the older woman close.
After a long moment, Ami pulled away and approached Hotaru. Her eyes lingered guiltily on the blood seeping between her fingers before lifting to her face. Silently, she stripped off her lab coat and rolled it tightly before holding it up like an offering. Hotaru's expression was unreadable as she looked up at her, but she acknowledged the unspoken request by moving her hands and leaning back. Ami wrapped the jacket like a bandage around the wounds and tied the sleeves to hold it in place.
"That should do until we get somewhere to treat it," she said softly. She sat back on her heels and studied Hotaru's face. "That is, if you still want me to come with you."
Hotaru frowned down at the makeshift bandage before lifting her dark gaze to Ami. "Of course we do," Chibi-Usa answered as she knelt beside her. She caught Hotaru's arm to help her up then pulled it across her own shoulders to support her. "We need you with us."
Ami stayed on the ground, staring at the puddle of Hotaru's blood on the floor. "How bad is Serenity?"
Chibi-Usa sighed, remembering how peaceful her mother had seemed when they'd left. In her mind, she was simply sleeping, waiting for them all to return home. "She'll be alright," Chibi-Usa assured her confidently. "As long as all of us come back to her.
She put just enough stress on 'all' to imply that she meant each of the Inner Senshi. Ami nodded and got to her feet. "I'll need to get a few things together before we go." She started toward the elevator door, but then stopped and looked at them over her shoulder. "Thank you for coming for me," she said softly. "And for still believing in me."
Chibi-Usa smiled back and nodded. She watched until the doors closed before helping Hotaru to a chair near the wall. Now that they had Ami, the real Ami, back with them, it felt like things were finally starting to work out. They still had a long journey ahead of them but now they were one step closer to success.