Sailor Moon: Fellowship of the Moon
Chapter 12: Beach Party; a Spark Starts the Flames Again
Day 2
Kyoto Beach
The beach was packed as hundreds of teens and families were all over the beach during the bright and sunny day. Everyone was having the time of their lives at the beach, including a group of girls who were currently doing what most girls do at the beach: ogling and hunting for boys. Serena and the gang had all come on the beach for Spring Break of Day 2, and everyone was in a bathing suit. Serena was in a teal one-piece bathing suit with sunflower designs on it. Rei was in a two piece black bikini with a tie on mini skirt. Lita was in a green bikini with a pink top, and Mina was wearing a black and white one-piece.
Amara was wearing a green one-piece with bathing shorts on, and a short sleeve beach jacket. Next to her was Michelle who was wearing a purple one-piece. Next to them under an umbrella was Hotaru, and she wore a black one piece bathing suit, but had on a white long sleeved shirt over her tied at the bottom. They had all gone to the beach to relax, take a swim, and most importantly, hunt for boys.
Mina had out a pair of binoculars and looked around for a few good boys. She nearly shouted out when she spotted a few of them, "Oh, over there; those guys are so fine." Serena snatched them away from her to take a look, "Oh, you're right, but they're still no where in Darien's league." Lita was the one to snatch them next, "Where, I don't…oh wait! There they are!", she said as she blushed. Rei snatched them from her next, looking around for them, "Where? Where? I don't see them." "One of them looked like my Ex-boyfriend.", Lita said, causing the others to nearly face-vault over.
Luna, Artemis, and Diana had come along with them, but Artemis sweat dropped at the girl's pastime. "They come to this great beach and all they do is ogle boys.", but Luna raised an eyebrow and asked, "And your point would be what, exactly?"
The girls were just enjoying the scenery, until it was blocked by a huge shadow. The girls looked up to see the exact same beach bums from before the Arcade; the dreadlocked one smirked, "Well, well, look who's here, guys." The Bald one snickered at them, "So you girls like to hang out with real men?" the third just chuckled. The girls looked a little nervous at each other, as Rei confirmed the worst, "They're hitting on us." The girls nodded in agreement.
It was just then, "Hey, you!" The three beach bums looked around them to see Aaron and Frey making the scene. Aaron was wearing a red and orange pair of swimming trunks that reached to his knees with a white beach jacket. Frey was wearing a yellow and brown pair of swimming trunks that reached to his knees as well. Frey sneered at them and merely spoke his mind, "Don't you guys have anything better to do than harass a couple of girls?" Aaron had to nod at that; in fact that was the only thing he agreed on with Frey at this point.
The Dreadlocked punk got into their faces and nearly yelled out, "Oh, Yeah! And how are you scrawny punks gonna stop us without your samurai friend?" It was true; Jin was nowhere in sight. This was due to the fact that he had to take care of some family things, and that he promised Aoi that they'd spend some time together. Now they were here without the one help they could count on, until Dreadlocks was pulled back by his hair very painfully. The other two punks looked back behind them to come face to face with the last person they expected to see: Ian Hayner, AKA Thunder-Mountain Fists.
The former fighter-for-hire was dressed in green jean pants with the lower legs ripped, an under tank top shirt with his chain around his neck and still wore his bandana. Ian gave them an Oni sneer as he smiled demonically, "I hope you guys weren't trying to ruff up my buddies here. WERE YOU?" the punks just went as pale as ghosts as soon as they saw him and ran for the hills with Dreadlocks ripping out his own locks and running.
Ian dropped the hair and looked at the girls, "This isn't what I had in mind when I said I'd come along for the trip." Frey patted him on the back as he gave a reassuring smile, "Hey, c'mon. that's what buddies are supposed to do; look after one another and play bodyguards."
Flashback
Yesterday the girls asked if Aaron and the boys could play as chaperone bodyguards for the girls. Serena explained that Darien would do that to fend away unwanted boys, but seeing as he couldn't make it they asked if they could do it. Of course Aaron and Frey were up to it, but Jin had to leave due to a family duty, and that he promised that he'd spend the day with Aoi.
Before Jin had left, Frey had given him a thousand paper cranes with his blessing. Aaron, Jin, and even Hotaru, who was there, were even surprised at this. "Did you make those yourself?", she asked him. He immediately went into Hero mode, "THAT'S RIGHT! I'LL HELP AARON WATCH OVER YOU! I'LL MAKE SURE, IN JIN'S ABSENSE THAT NO EVIL BOYS WILL GO NEAR YOU!" Jin answered in a monotone response, "I have the feeling that you're the evil one, but I applaud your enthusiasm." Frey was crushed at that as he slumped in shame, "You guys are so mean to me."
He immediately lit up as he smirked, "oh by the way, we're thinking on inviting Ian to the beach." Just then, Jin's eyebrow went up as he asked Hotaru, "Are you sure it's a good idea to bring him along? I have no problem with Ian, but Frey's just as much a pervert as anyone here." Hotaru was a little nervous at first, especially since his accidental feel up, but if Aaron was going then things were going to be okay.
Frey caught the look of reassurance and smirked, "You think you can be safe from my pheromones?" He snapped his fingers and pulled a rose out of nowhere, "I intend to show the girls the gorgeous body I keep hidden underneath my shirt." With that he ripped open his shirt to expose his chest. This caused Aaron and Jin to go into shock while Hotaru just covered her mouth and blushed from embarrassment. "This blinding, sparkling, smooth as porcelain body of mine will drive them all crazy.", he said smoothly as he caressed his chest.
Finally, the trio present was getting creeped out as Aaron shouted, "Will you quit it, Frey! You're creeping us all out!" He spun around and immediately had his shirt back on, as he smiled at Jin, "Well, you just go on ahead with your silly plans, but we're gonna play." The two boys just growled as they thought the same thing, 'What is this guy's malfunction?' But then they suddenly heard Hotaru laughing outloud at Frey's performance, so they guessed that things would be okay.
Present
"Oh, come on! It was easy for Jin, but for Ian, he just kept screaming 'No!' out as we were dragging him along." Ian grabbed him by the hair as Frey kept wincing at this, "Hey! You were the one that said I didn't have to be near the girls.", Ian mentioned. Serena just waved for their attention as she apologized, "I'm sorry you guys. But my boyfriend, Darien, couldn't make it. So you guys'll just have to keep on protecting us fine babes from riffraff."
Aaron crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow, "I thought that we only had to protect you on this trip?" But their real reason for coming along was that they had a theory. Seeing that they knew that Hotaru was Sailor Saturn…it was plausible that Rini was Sailor Mini-Moon, and that she was the target for a Princess of Heart. They would have to keep a close eye on her at all times until the Heartless gave up. Which Ceros sincerely doubt they would.
"Well, protecting Serena and the girls is a tough job, Aaron.", Aaron was then drawn to the voice that spoke out. He looked over to his left and saw Ami, Sarah, Rini, and Trista. His little sister tagged along for the trip as well when they were invited. Sarah was dressed in a green one-piece with black vertical stripes on it, Rini had a red two-piece suit with little red ribbons on it, Trista was in a white one-piece, but Ami wore a blue one-piece that exposed her back. "Why don't you swim with us for a while, Aaron. It's so refreshing.", Ami said to him with a smile.
Aaron just stared at her for a moment; her hair was wet and hanging down, and she was shining with the water still dripping off her. He wasn't aware of what he was thinking but he thought that she looked very sexy. He felt someone tugging at his arm and that snapped him out of it. He looked down to see his sister, "C'mon, Big Bro." Feeling a little embarrassed about what he just thought, he made an excuse at the last minute. "Uh, I'm sorry…but I just remembered I gotta check our bags." And with that, he ran to the lockers.
Everyone just looked at him in confusion, until Frey spoke his mind out. "So he's finally succumbing to his true feelings.", he smirked. He turned to Ian, "Okay, pay up." Ian just grumbled as he tossed him a coin; Frey smirked, "Chump." The girls looked confused as Michelle asked, "What did you guys bet on, exactly?" Ian turned around and answered, "Pretty-Boy here made a bet on the train that during our little beach party, the two brainiacs would finally fall for each other."
The girls all understood and just nodded, but Ami nearly shouted in embarrassment at this bet. "Come on, you guys. Can't you see that Aaron and I are just friends?" Rei then asked, "Come on, Ami. You can't deny that maybe you have just a little crush on the guy, right?" Sarah nudged in, "Yeah, I mean you've always eyed Aaron with starry eyes."
Ami knew she had to sigh and confess something to the girls, "Well, it is half true; I do have something of a crush on him." Michelle smiled at this news, as did Lita as she proclaimed, "I knew it! You couldn't help but fall for him eventually." Ami waved her hands trying to stop them from going further, "That's just it, everyone. That's all it is; a crush. Nothing more."
The girls just sighed in annoyance while Ami had a questionable look on her face.
Hollow Bastion
Within the darkened halls of the Throne Room, Lust, Greed, Envy, and the now recovered Gluttony were all standing there while the Dark Lord, Ansem sat on his throne. He stared down them in the shadows, with a look of pure annoyance and impatience. He spoke out, however, in a calm tone, "My dear Generals…have you been able to locate and obtain the Seven Princesses of Heart yet?"
Lust crossed her arms in a relaxed way, and turned her face to her left with a look of worry, "Well, we've spotted the Second one, but thanks to the fact that two more knights have made the scene…we've flunked in our attempts to get her." "Pathetic", Ansem merely said, which caused the others to flinch.
He then took something and threw it at Envy who caught it. He stated, "If you can't catch the second target, then inspect this one. The spies spotted her to be an option on our Princess of Heart hunt." Envy and the other four looked at the picture to identify the target; it was none other than Ami Mizuno.
Envy made a cringe look of disgust at this, and the others backed away. Greed was the one to speak out, "With all due respect, Lord Ansem, I don't think she could be a Princess of Heart." "She doesn't even look at all like a princess.", Envy pointed out. "She looks a little too smart to me; she might see right through us", Lust counted out. Gluttony spoke next, "On top of all that, she doesn't even look tasty at all."
Ansem was getting a little annoyed at this and asked, "So let me see if I understand this. You're disobeying my orders because you think this girl is smarter than you?" The four then started to sweat with nervousness at this, while Ansem continued. He stood up but still was shrouded in the shadows, "All you do is rely on you looks and charms in order to claim your targets, yet you haven't used any strategy at all. Your methods now have nothing but Zero SUCCESS TO DATE!"
The four Generals just stood there with their heads hanging in worry and shame. Envy, on the other hand, looked up to Lord Ansem and declared, "I will not disobey you, Great Lord Ansem. If you commanded me to find a Heart in a rock and make it into a Heartless, I would do it." Ansem then sat back on his throne, a little more calmed, "So then you'll be able to claim her heart then?"
Envy nodded, "Of course, Sir. We'll see if she's a Princess of Heart, or you can replace us!" With that they all bowed. However, the others didn't like this at all, as Greed thought, 'Did he have to say 'US', when he should be saying 'ME'?' Lust thought, 'Thanks to this loudmouth, we're all going to be up the creak without a paddle.' Gluttony thought, 'I'm really hungry.'
Kyoto Beach
The gang was all getting snow cones as they were still enjoying their beach time. Ami and Aaron had gotten their cones and were walking away to their spot on the beach. It was strange; none of them were talking to each other, instead every time they looked at each other they just blushed uncontrollably and couldn't look each other in the eye. It was at that time Frey saw them like this and had an idea. He ran off to somewhere and left the others for a minute.
Meanwhile Aaron and Ami were on their way back to their spot, but were bumped into by another guy, causing them to drop their snow cones. "Oh, I'm so sorry.", the two turned to see who bumped into them; a seventeen year old boy with long dark green hair tied in a ponytail, and had on a pair of black swimming trunks with a black beach jacket. Immediately, all the girls, minus Rini, Sarah, Hotaru, Amara, Michelle, and Trista, all got into starry eye mode.
The boy approached Ami and took her hand in an apologetic state, "I'm terribly sorry for that. Please allow me to make it up for you by inviting you to my boat house." He flashed her a smile, that made the five Sailor Scouts blush and go all heart eyes, and to Sarah's surprise, made Aaron a little agitated.
He walked up to him and said in an annoyed tone, "Hey buddy, no one asked you for…", but was immediately shoved out of the way by Mina. She asked, "Did you say Boathouse?" Rei popped up behind her and spoke out, "We're Ami's friends, and we're just happy to accept your offer." Serena also butted in, "Yeah, we'd be honored." Rini objected, "Well that's all good for you, but what would Darien say?" Serena just scowled, "We'll talk about it later, Rini."
Aaron just looked a little annoyed at this as Ian helped him up, "And what exactly are the rest of us supposed to do?" The character, who was obviously Envy, thought in an annoyed tone, 'I know I didn't invite these annoyances.' He spoke to them with a nervous smile on his face, "Well, actually, I was talking to…" "No thanks.", Ami said.
This surprised not only the girls, but Envy as well; Ami walked up to Aaron helping him up as well. She stood by Aaron as she explained, "I can't go without my friends; I could never expect you to understand since we're complete strangers." The stranger was about to protest and apologize but Ami beat him to it by taking Aaron's arm, "Come on, Aaron." Aaron just shrugged and went with her. The others soon followed, leaving Envy standing there like an idiot.
"I CANT BELIEVE IT!"
He slammed his fists into a table shattering it, "ARGH! She's like a fortress, just like we said. She's not easy to dupe." Lust, Gluttony, and Greed were there with him, in an abandoned beach restaurant. Greed was wearing a black swimming thong with a black beach jacket, Gluttony was wearing a male one-piece bathing suit that was nearly stretched out too much, and Lust was wearing a sexy black bikini with a tie on skirt.
Lust just shrugged, "I told you it was hopeless." Greed nodded in agreement, "Did you really believe you could handle a girl like that? 'Sides, she already has a boyfriend." Gluttony just shrugged and mumbled about wanting something to eat. Envy grabbed Greed by his jacket's collar and nearly shouted, "Well if she didn't have those yakking friends or that pathetic excuse for a guy for a Boyfriend, she'd be mine right now!"
He calmed down a little and turned around heading out. He was leaving with a sadistic smile, "Besides I see it as a challenge; nothing that's worthwhile is ever easy." He then left in a dark flame gate, leaving Greed to talk with Lust, "He's gonna try something evil and sadistic, isn't he?" She merely shook her head in disgust, "Yeah, and we're going to have to clean up after him." Gluttony merely said, "I hope he brings something to eat later."
The Gang's Spot
Aaron was lying on his beach blanket he'd brought along and looked at the others who were huddled around Ami asking why she turned down on that guy. Rei asked Ami, "But why? There aren't that many guys that good looking." Lita nodded, "Yeah, I mean that was probably once in a lifetime." Michelle then had a snicker and asked, "Or maybe there's someone else you've set your eyes on?" She was referring to a certain crush Ami was having and that caused Ami to blush a little.
Aaron was a little confused as well as he thought, 'They do make a good point. Why did Ami reject that guy's offer to his boathouse? I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything, but how could any girl turn down a guy like him for someone not as appealing as me?' Ian sat next to him and asked, "Hey, have you seen Frey? He took off without saying anything." Aaron shrugged, "Who knows? Probably trying to hit on another girl or catch them sunbathing."
He then looked out towards the beach and saw his sister, Hotaru, and Rini all making a sandcastle together and having a good time. It was then around that Ami stated her reason, "I know, but it's just that we just met and I don't know a thing about him." Then Amara explained, "That's why you should get to know someone, Ami. You can't stay hidden in a shell for the rest of your life."
Ami nodded at that, "That's true, but I don't think you should rush into love like that. Things like finding your true love is something that should be destined, not decided on a whim. One day I'll find that person, get out of my shell, and take a chance." Ian and Aaron heard the whole conversation, and Ceros, hiding behind Ian, whispered, "Destined true love, eh? She couldn't be any far from her true love or the truth." Ian looked down and asked, "What are you talking about?" The little stuffed toy waved it off, "I'll tell you guys later."
The girls, completely oblivious to Ceros' existence, still talked on. Mina said, "Yeah, now that you talk about it, that guy just didn't seem right for you, ya know?" The girls agreed and they made comments of any type of guy that might peak an interest, but Ami tried to say no to everyone of them. Just then, Frey zoomed in on the scene, "Hey guys. Listen, I got a ticket for a two person boating. You can rent one of the beach boats."
Serena, a little annoyed, asked, "So why didn't you take up on the offer?" Frey shrugged, "I did, and unfortunately I signed it in Ami and Aaron's names by mistake." Aaron bolted up and together with Ami, shouted, "WHAT?" Frey gave Aaron the ticket and walked over to the water, waving, "You two have a fun time." Ami and Aaron looked at each other blushing.
Later
Aaron and Ami were on an inflatable boat with Aaron rowing for a little while. The two had remained quiet for a while, never actually talking but just blushing and staying quiet. Aaron thought while he was rowing, 'we've been quiet the whole time; I've got to think of something to talk about.' It then hit him in then head; he looked to Ami and said, "I don't think they're right." That caught Ami's attention, "Huh, what do you mean?"
Aaron rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Well, it's none of my business, Ami. But I always thought that your dream was to be a doctor. I didn't think you had room for anything else." Ami smiled as she explained, "Well I think there's room for everything in the heart. But there's always infinite room for love." She blushed at that, making Aaron confused to why she was blushing.
"It's true that I do want to become a doctor, but there are other elements to life; Love, I believe, is a main factor in it. No one can survive without it.", she went on. Aaron nodded at that, and remembered how Dad sometimes told him he couldn't survive without Mom at some times in his life. He looked at Ami and for some strange reason, he couldn't stop staring at her as she continued, "I do have one other dream and that's to have a big family." She just smiled as a sea breeze blew by them, causing her hair to wave.
At that moment, Aaron felt kind of dizzy at that time. He snapped out of it, 'What is the matter with me? I'm used to always being around Ami, so why do I feel so hazy, restless, and light headed right now' he then tried to change the subject and asked Ami, "A family, huh? So if you have kids, then who do you picture the father to be?"
That kind of got Ami by surprise as she merely blushed and looked down, "Well…I guess he'd have to be someone strong, yet gentle. He would also have to have a kind heart." She then shook her head, "Ugh, I feel so embarrassed about this." Aaron waved while trying not to laugh, "It's alright, Ami. This dream guy sounds like a perfect match for you." She smiled and blushed at that, "Thank you."
Just then, Aaron spotted something coming out of the water; a sharp dorsal fin. Aaron and Ami spotted the fin, and realized it was heading towards them; a sharp fin like that only could belong to one sort of creature: a shark. But before they could do anything to yell for help, someone popped up beside it; it was the same guy who invited him to his boathouse. Also it seemed the supposed shark was actually a dolphin as it got closer, making Aaron and Ami feel relieved at that.
It stopped almost a foot away from them, as Envy waved, "Hey! How's it hangin', babe?" Ami looked a little puzzled at his arrival, "Where did you come from?" He merely shrugged, "Oh, I was just passing by, that's all." "Are you some kind of dolphin trainer?", Aaron asked, making Envy fault over in the water. He got back up and shouted, "WHAT DO YOU THINK? I just rented it? Of course I'm a dolphin trainer!"
Aaron shot back, "Who cares? You don't have to be rude about it!" Envy yelled back, "Shut your yap, Twerp!" "I'm not a twerp! I'm a year younger than you!", Aaron shot back at him. Envy was really getting ticked off as he clamped his jaw so tight that his teeth would nearly break. This guy was really starting to piss him off, "If you won't shut up, then I'll just have to do it for you, Loser!"
Unknown to Ami and Aaron, two underwater Heartless were under their boat. They were green and light green colored, with their bodies shaped for underwater movements, and their heads were shaped like torpedoes. They shot their claws from under Aaron's feet and pulled him down through the boat, yelling. In the water, the Heartless pulled him down further in with him struggling.
Ami watched in horror as whatever it was pulled Aaron in, "AARON!" Envy just smirked with himself, "Now it's just the two of us." But just before he could get any moves in, Ami dived into the water, splashing in front of Envy, leaving him startled and puzzled.
Ami swam down towards Aaron who was just sinking unconsciously. She grabbed onto him, nearly running out of breath, and swam up to the surface while still holding on to him.
Back on the Beach
It had been less than an hour and Ami and Aaron were nowhere to be found. Everyone had started a search group for the missing duo, but to no such avail as everyone regrouped and discussed what they found. Trista asked, "Did you find anything?" A few shook their heads in a negative. Sarah looked worried as Rini and Hotaru stood there to comfort their friend, "I hope they're okay, wherever they are". Ian shrugged as he tried to encourage the kid, "I'm pretty sure that those two are okay" Mina made a suggestion, "Well, maybe…and this is a big maybe…but I think those two ditched us to have some 'alone' time". Frey nodded agreement as he got a lecherous smirk, "got to admit, that crafty American sure knows what he's doing."
He got a huge punch to the head from Serena, "HE'S NOTHING LIKE YOU, SEX FIEND!" "I'M NOT A SEX FIEND, MEATBALL BRAIN!", Frey retaliated. The two began a regular verbal fight, while everyone else just sweatdropped. As they turned around, Hotaru was the first to notice it.
"Hey, everyone! Over here, quick!", she yelled as she ran for the shore with everyone following her. It was when she stopped they all gasped as they saw the very same boat that Ami and Aaron were on. The only thing was there was a hole in the bottom that looked like a wild animal had bitten through. Sarah was now even more worried at this, "Big Brother!" Trista knelt down to her and hugged her close. "Don't worry, I'm sure they're alright, somewhere."
Everyone looked to each other and continued the search for their missing friends.
Nearby
On the rocky shores of the cove, in a small but large cove cave, Ami had brought Aaron to shore. With them was Envy, who just so happened to be following them. She had laid her unconscious friend on the ground and was trying to wake him up. She shook him gently as she tried to wake him up, "Aaron, can you hear me? Please wake up, Aaron." She was starting to get a bad feeling and had to check to be sure.
She tilted his head upward a little and leaned in to hear his breathing. She gasped as she realized he wasn't breathing; she wasn't going to lose him. She slightly opened his mouth and immediately began CPR on him. Envy looked at this in confusion; he knew the human was dead, so why was she trying to help him. "Why bother? He's already dead, so there's no point for that. Do you really care that much for your boyfriend?"
Ami stopped between to explain to him, "No, he's not my boyfriend. He's a special friend." Envy was confused at this so he asked, "He's your special friend?" She explained, "Yes, he is. Don't you have any?" She looked down at Aaron, his form still not moving. Her eyes began to water, almost to the point of crying if he didn't wake up, "I've only known him for two month now, but he means more to me than anything. I'll do whatever I can to help him."
She then continued to resuscitate him while Envy thought, 'Pathetic. All this for one friend? That's the dumbest and weakest thing I've ever heard.' Just then, Aaron snapped awake, coughing up water until he sat up, surprising the two. He was feeling a little disoriented at the moment, but his eyesight got straight again as he saw the one person he wanted to see. "Ami?", he asked in a groggy tone. It was at that moment, Ami began to cry, "I'm…I'm just glad you're alright." And then she hugged him and cried on his shoulder, making him feel a little embarrassed and not sure of what to do.
Envy, on the other hand, was seething with annoyance and anger at this scene. Then after a moment of watching this he shouted, "This whole friend/love thing, it sounds weak! I don't need friends! All I want to do is find the Seven Princesses of Hearts!" it was with that he snapped his fingers, and a bunch of Shadows appeared between the two friends, pulling them apart form the hug. "I'll do it all alone if I have to.", Envy said with an evil smirk.
The Shadows held onto Aaron holding him back, while the Shadows that held Ami, melded together to form a crude crucifix, and holding her in place with their claws, careful to make sure not to hurt her. She struggled to get loose, "Let me go!" But to no avail as Envy transformed to his original self. He walked up to her as Aaron saw this and shouted, "If you hurt her, you'll be sorry! I swear you'll be sorry!"
Ignoring him, he finally got face-to-face with Ami, completely terrified at him. "Now let's see if you've got a Princess Heart, Miss Brainiac.", Envy said in a sadistic tone. He rammed his right hand into Ami's chest, in a black gate over it. She screamed out in pain, almost like her heart was being torn out. Aaron watched in horror at this happened; he immediately became writhing in anger as he felt a familiar force begin to take over. Envy rummaged around in Ami's chest cavity through the gate he created, but became a little disappointment. He pulled his hand out of the gate and it dissipated, leaving Ami a little weakened as she closed her eyes breathed heavily. Envy growled at this, "You're not even a Princess of Heart? This sucks!"
He then smiled as he shot out his steel claws, "well I can still take out my frustration out on you then." Aaron knew what he meant by that; he got even angrier as the same force that fueled him the first time he became a knight began to take over. The color of his eyes became an orange yellow as they glowed, and then with a huge show of power, he threw off the Shadows, completely destroying them.
He ran up to Envy, and just before the General could even slash at Ami, Aaron backhanded Envy across the cave wall, embedding him in it. Ami, still unconscious for the moment, didn't notice Aaron in his little 'Phoenix State' as he touched the Shadow crucifix, his tremendous power flowing through it and dissolving it into black mist. Without the crucifix to hold her, Aaron caught her as she fell into his arms.
She groggily regain consciousness as she looked up to see Aaron holding her. "Aaron?", she asked and he just smiled, "unless I've been cloned." She just smiled at his little joke but then noticed his hands. There were cuts and slight burn marks on them (due to his power being used without his armor); she grabbed them while Aaron didn't notice or wince in pain. "Aaron, you're hurt!" He noticed his hands and immediately came up with an excuse, "I guess I got into a little tussle with those things after I tried to save you."
She immediately got worried at that, "Aaron, you shouldn't have risked your wellbeing like that!" But before Aaron could give a reason so, Envy busted out of the cave wall, now even more pissed off than before. "NOW YOU TWO ARE DEAD!", he yelled before he charged at them. Aaron got up and charged right after, but Ami shouted as she reached out to stop him, "Aaron! No!"
But she went unheard as Envy neared his target, but missed to swipe at him as Aaron ducked and delivered a powerful uppercut that nearly broke his right hand. This caused Envy to stagger back a little as Ami ran up to Aaron, but he stopped her from getting in front as he was shielding her now.
Envy staggered a bit as he regained his balance and sneered at the two. "Don't get cocky, Loser!", Envy shouted as he got ready to kill this punk. "This can go two ways: you let me kill the girl to get rid of my frustration, or I can kill you both right here." The way this guy talked and looked at them, in all her life, Ami had never been more scared.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Aaron continued to stand in front of Ami ready to fight. "There's no way I'm letting a psycho like you hurt Ami! So you can just forget it, pal!" Envy then relaxed for a moment, sighed and shrugged. "Why do stupid people like you always do things the hard way?" He then got his claws ready and charged at the two of them.
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" Out of nowhere a discus ball of thunder struck Envy, sending him backwards. Aaron and Ami both had a relieved look on their faces as they saw none other than Sailor Jupiter in her fighting stance, ready to take on Envy. With her were Sailor Neptune, Venus, and Mars, all at the ready.
"How dare you threaten the lives of two soon to be boyfriend and girlfriend!", Jupiter said while Aaron and Ami nearly face vaulted at that. Mars pointed out, "In the name of the Sailor Scouts we won't forgive you for that!" Envy was just getting annoyed at this as he just shouted, "THAT'S IT! I HATE YOU, PEOPLE! I WANT YOU ALL TO DIE! HEARTLESS!" Then suddenly, out of the shadows arose gangs of Shadows, accompanied by a few of the marine Heartless that pulled Aaron under and nearly drowned him. They were holding some sort of harpoon trident weapon, and Envy ordered, "Turn these annoyances into Fish Fillets! I'm outta here!" And with that, he took off in his Dark Flame shadow gate. The Sailor Scouts shouted to the two, "Stay right there! We'll handle this!" The Heartless ignored the two humans, both realizing the situation that they couldn't transform without the other knowing about it.
Mars clasped her hands together, as nine fireballs appeared in a circle in front of her, "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" She shot the nine fiery blades at a couple of the Heartless and they dissipated into black mist. It was Venus' turn as she raised her right hand and pointed at a group of Heartless and pointed her index finger at them. The tip of her finger glowed, "VENUS CRESENT V SMASH!" And she shot out a golden yellow laser blast that incinerated the group.
The Shadows and the Aquapooners saw the resistance and decided on a new tactic. The Shadows swarmed together to create a living wave of Shadows while the Aquapooners rode in it like surfers and charged at the Scouts. The girls stood there in fright but suddenly, a huge figure busted through the cave door accompanied by a huge sandstorm that pushed the wave back. The figures turned out to be none other than Persian Prince and Taurus Barbarian. Persian shouted, "Senior and Senioritas, have no fear; Persian Prince and Taurus Barbarian are here!"
The huge figure then swung a massive hammer strike, "TAURUS HAMMER QUAKE!" And then when the hammer made impact with the Heartless wave, it shattered the wave, along with the Aqua Heartless. But the impact created a huge amount of fissures all around the cave, causing the Sailor Scouts and Ami and Aaron to nearly fall on their backs. Then suddenly, out of the fissures shot out electricity that shocked not only the Shadows, but also the Aqua Heartless.
Then Persian jumped off of Taurus' back and shouted, "SAND BLADES!" he spun around in the air, until he was a flying discus with his blades spinning around, and charged at the Heartless, slicing them up until they dissolved. The Sailor Scouts just stood there amazed at this new Knight, Taurus Barbarian and Persian just back flipped towards his buddy. He waved to the Scouts, "Sorry for the intrusion ladies, but we're just doing what knights do: rescuing helpless boys and beautiful princesses."
And with that he shouted, "SANDSTORM!", a huge whirlwind engulfed the two knights and when it blew over, it disappeared, along with the two knights. The Sailor Scouts looked each other in confusion as Jupiter looked over at Ami and Aaron. She crossed her arms and smiled at the two, "Well, I guess you two are alright." Neptune smiled, "You know, your friends have been looking for you guys. You might want to go back and make sure that you don't worry them."
And with that, the Scouts disappeared from the cave entrance, leaving the two to go and find their way back. Ami secretly said, "Thanks, guys." Aaron said the same thing, "Thanks for saving our butts, guys."
Back on the Beach
The gang had returned and regrouped with everyone else, now that they found Ami and Aaron. During the time, it was nearing dusk as the sun was almost close to setting. They went back to the beach out of their armor and uniforms and returned to their spot where Sarah gave both Ami and Aaron a huge hug for their return.
Later on, after getting dressed, Aaron was in jean shorts with an orange T-shirt, and Ami, wearing a red mini, black sleeveless shirt, and a white short-sleeved jacket, walked away from the others shortly after they changed. They walked along the beach shore, the waves rushing over their feet as the tide came in. They stopped for a moment to watch the sunset. Ami then looked at Aaron with a slight blush before she finally spoke. "Aaron…", she said, catching his attention, "I never did thank you for saving my life."
He smiled as he scratched the back of his head and shrugged, "Ah, it was nothing, Ami." She then took another look at his hands, which still looked a little burned. No one else had noticed the burns as soon as they got back, but she remembered, "I also wanted to apologize to you." He then got a look of confusion at this, "What do you mean?" She brought a hand up to her mouth as she nearly shook from what she had to say. "if you hadn't tried to help me…", her voice shaking with sadness, "..You wouldn't have gotten hurt because of me."
She was on the verge of crying at this point, as Aaron was looking at her hurtful. He walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her, and brought her close to him. He said firmly to her, "Ami, I chose to want to help you. I'd sell my soul just to see you safe." She stopped crying long enough to look up to him as he looked at the sunset with a solemn look. "I can't bear the thought of losing those I care about. Not my dad, Sarah, and especially you, Ami." She looked surprised at what he said to her. He looked at her; his eyes locked into hers, "You mean a lot to me, Ami. And I just couldn't live with myself if anything were to happen to you."
Ami's eyes watered a little as she did what she could do at that moment; she wrapped her arms around him and returned his hug. She then whispered, "Thank you"
Aaron smiled at this as he hugged her a little more; as they did, the sunset lit up the ocean shore. Ami nuzzled her head on Aaron's shoulders as she realized something important. Something that she realized now that whenever she saw Aaron hurt, she would be hurt back emotionally in worry and in sadness that he'd get hurt like this. Just the very thought of losing him was like a dagger striking her heart.
She realized it and thought, 'It's more than just a crush….I'm in love with him.'
Next Chapter: Trust; The Fellowship Enemies?
Heartless:
Aquapooners (I think that's the name for these guys?)