Mamoru stood motionless outside of the Crystal Seminar cram school, clad in his Tuxedo Mask persona. His feet remained rooted in the sidewalk as if the earth itself held him in place. Something was terribly wrong. The building seemed ordinary enough, yet an inexplicable sense of foreboding lingered in the air.
A chill ran down his spine, distinctly at odds with the warm afternoon air. Ignoring the crowd, he closed his eyes, focusing on the sensations rippling through him. He couldn't remember when he became aware of the way the earth seemed to speak to him. It was never frightening. On the contrary, he'd always found a strange sort of comfort.
It was just more proof that he was crazy.
"Tell me," he whispered.
The concrete beneath his feet seemed to vibrate with an unnatural frequency, a discordant hum that set his teeth on edge. As if the very ground was trying to warn him, to push him away from the innocuous-looking building before him.
The faint breeze carried a scent of decay, barely perceptible but unmistakable to his heightened senses. Under it all, there was a sense of danger, peril, of disaster waiting. Casing a quick glance around, the plants lining the sidewalk, usually vibrant and full of life, seemed to wilt ever so slightly as he watched.
"What's going on here?"
Dark tendrils of… something… oozed from the building's foundation, invisible to the naked eye but painfully apparent to him in the light.
"What am I doing here?" he muttered.
He should be searching for the Legendary Silver Crystal, not loitering outside some random cram school. Unconsciously, his hand moved to his chest, where the locket lay hidden. The weight of it was a constant reminder of his missing memories, of the past that remained hidden behind a veil of shadow and fog.
And yet… he couldn't shake the feeling that this place was important. That something was about to happen here, and he'd be needed. Mamoru gritted his teeth, torn between his duty to find the crystal and the undeniable pull of this strange aura.
"Just a few more minutes," he promised himself, even as the nagging voice in the back of his mind whispered hew as wasting precious time.
The mystery princess, the silver crystal, his entire past—all of it hung in the balance. And here he was, standing outside a cram school like a lost schoolboy.
Mamoru's concentration shattered as something smacked against his forehead. The sudden intrusion jolted him from his trance-like state, pulling him back to the busy street.
His irritation faltered as he recognized the girl standing before him—the same clumsy blond from the other day. Her long hair swayed in the slight breeze and something stirred in his chest, a warmth he couldn't quite place.
"Hey," he snapped, squeezing the offending sheet in his hand. "Bun-head, this is the second time you've treated me like a trash can. Didn't your parents ever teach you not to litter?"
She froze and whipped around. Those blue eyes widened and then narrowed.
"What! You're the guy from before? Are you stalking me?"
Mamoru leaned forward, eying the cat in her arms. Something prickled at the edge of his awareness. "Did that cat just talk?"
The girl flinched, her eyes expanded, and he almost clucked as the cat's eyes mirrored hers. For a few brief seconds, they wore the same startled and guilty expression.
"No waaaaay," she chuckled nervously. "You must be crazy. Not only are you wearing a tuxedo during the day, but you think cats talk. So no, definitely no. Absolutely not."
As she babbled, Mamoru found himself oddly captivated. The sun caught her golden hair, creating a halo effect that was almost ethereal. He blinked, trying to shake off the sudden and unwelcome attraction. This was ridiculous. She was just a girl—a clumsy, loud, probably too young for him, girl. Nothing like the mature, elegant, and refined princess.
"I'm, um, bye." Casting one last glance at him, she darted off. Her hair streaming behind her.
He watched her go, almost tripping on the sidewalk, a bemused smile tugging at his lips. Quickly, he schooled his features, shaking his head at his own foolishness.
"Get it together, Chiba," he muttered to himself. "You've got more important things to think about than some girl."
But as he turned back to the cram school building, he couldn't shake the lingering warmth in his chest, or the nagging feeling that there was more to her—and her strange cat—than met the eye.
Focusing again, he slipped into the alley beside the building. The strange wrong aura was stronger here. It almost burned his skin and brought tears to his eyes. He walked the perimeter, each step heightening his unease. An unnatural rhythm wove through the area, sending bolts of unease shooting through his body.
Casting a glance back at the street, he hoped the girl had left this place. Because if she stayed, she could be in danger. Panic gripped his chest at the thought, and he struggled to dismiss it. He was being ridiculous; she was nothing to him. If anything, he should be more concerned about himself. It's not like he had any power to defeat evil.
Pausing at the corner of the building, he pressed his palm against the cool brick. A shiver ran through him as he felt the wrongness more acutely—like a sickness infecting the structure from within. Now the smell of decay became stronger, unmistakable even in the damp alleyway.
"What are you hiding?" he muttered, his eyes canning the seemingly innocuous window above.
As if to answer him, a gust of wind carried a whisper. Mamoru froze, straining to hear. There it was again—a voice, faint but clear, drifting from an open window on the second floor.
"We are the minions of the great ruler, and we must collect any information about the Legendary Silver Crystal."
Mamoru almost didn't believe it at first. This was the first time he'd heard those words outside of his dream. Then an icy wave of panic washed over him. The Legendary Silver Crystal, the very object of his obsessive searches, the key to his past and haunted dreams. How could it be connected to such a place? To such a dark aura?
Instinctively, his hand went to his chest, where the locket lay hidden beneath his shirt. Its weight seemed to increase, as if responding to the crystal's name. The world around him blurred, the sounds of the busy street fading away, the implications of what he'd heard crashed over him.
Now he knew this was no ordinary cram school. Whatever evil lurked within these walls, it was searching for the same thing he was—and for all he knew, they might be closer to finding. An acute agony spread across his chest at the thought. He didn't know much, but he knew they couldn't find it first.
His jaw clenched. He wouldn't allow whoever—or whatever—was inside to get their hands on the Silver Crystal. Not when it held the key to his past, to his identity of the princess who called to him in his dreams. Not when this aura was so evil and the crystal was so pure.
Making sure he wasn't being observed, he ducked further into the shadows. In a flash of light and flurry of rose petals, he completed his Tuxedo Mask transformation, his cape billowing as he emerged from the darkness.
"Time to find out what's really going on in there," he murmured, his eyes fixed on the building that now loomed ominously before him.
Because if she was in danger… Somehow he knew that if evil was involved, Sailor Moon would eventually arrive. He fought to keep thoughts of her from his mind. Because he was already being unfaithful to his princess by thinking about the girl, if he added another to the mix…
Shaking his head, he slipped into the building and blended with the shadows.
Darkness engulfed Ami, thick and oppressive, pressing against her from all sides. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move. It was worse than any nightmare she'd ever had, as if she were suspended in an endless pool of pure darkness—a void that stretched on forever. She was weightless yet impossibly heavy, numb yet excruciatingly aware, frozen yet burning, silent yet screaming.
Inky blackness swirled around her, tendrils of shadow wrapping around her limbs, her torso, her neck, pulling her deeper into the unknown abyss. The moment she opened her mouth to scream, the darkness rushed inside her, filling her lungs, choking her. It tasted of despair and decay, bitter and acrid on her tongue.
A faint voice echoed in the distance, familiar yet distorted, as if heard through water. "Blue, wake up! Blue! You have to fight it!"
But how could she fight when she couldn't even move?
The darkness pulsed, alive and terrifying. It whispered to her, promises of power and knowledge seeping into her thoughts like poison. Ami knew, with a certainty that chilled her to her core, that something was terribly, irrevocably wrong.
"If you don't fight," the voice said, "you'll be lost, and I'll never find you again."
This wasn't a nightmare; it was real, and it was consuming her.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, a frantic rhythm that seemed to be declining with each passing second. The cold embrace of the darkness numbed her limbs, creeping towards her center. Each thought became fragmented, memories slipping away like sand through her fingers.
Who was she? Why was she fighting? No one liked her. No one wanted to be her friend. All she was good at was studying. All she'd ever be was a loner bookworm.
It would be so easy to give up. To surrender to the soothing nothingness.
But something within her refused to give up. A tiny spark of defiance flickered in the depths of her fading consciousness. A crystal building surrounded by stars and brilliant moonlight. Laughter among delicate white flowers. Purpose. Dedication. Friendship.
She had to fight. She had to endure.
As Ami hovered on the brink of oblivion, caught between resistance and surrender, a new sensation cut through the darkness. A warmth, faint but growing stronger, like the first rays of moonrise.
A new sensation jolted through Ami's body, sharp and sudden. The crushing pressure around her neck snapped her back to reality, yanking her from the endless void of nothingness. Her lungs burned, desperate for air.
"You little slacker," the darkness hissed, its voice like sandpaper against her ears. "Why haven't you succumbed? You've skipped lessons, haven't you?"
Indignation flared within Ami. How dare they accuse her of slacking! She, skip lessons? The very thought was preposterous.
"I didn't skip anything!" she choked out, her voice hoarse and strained against the monster's grip. "Studying diligently is an accomplishment in itself!"
The creature's eyes narrowed, its grip tightening. "Then why are you still conscious? Why are you still alive?"
Just as Ami thought she might lose consciousness again, a streak of golden light cut through the darkness.
"Hey, you big bully! Let her go!"
Ami's eyes widened as she saw a familiar figure silhouetted in the doorway. It was that girl—Usagi—dressed in an outlandish sailor uniform, her long hair whipping around her as she struck a dramatic pose. Despite the gravity of the situation, Ami couldn't help but feel a mix of relief and bewilderment.
Usagi's bravado faltered as the monster turned its attention to her. "Um, I mean… please?" she added, her voice quavering.
The monster snarled, its grip on Ami loosening just enough for her to gasp in a precious breath of air. It raised its free hand, dark energy crackling between its fingers.
"Ami-chan!" The black cat, Luna, appeared from nowhere, leaping into the fray. "The pen! Throw the pen into the sky."
Despite her limbs feeling like lead, Ami managed to fumble the pen from her pocket. With the last of her strength, she tossed it upward. The pen twirled end over end, catching the light. As the brilliant blue gem atop it glimmered in a stray beam of moonlight, something within Ami resonated.
A searing heat bloomed on her forehead, and suddenly, blinding fog erupted from her body. The monster recoiled, its grip finally releasing as it staggered backward.
"What is happening?" it shrieked, its voice distorted by pain. "My body is freezing!"
Ami collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. The moisture in the air clung to her skin, cool and comforting. It didn't harm her; instead, it felt like a protective embrace. Through the dense fog, she could make out shadowy figures moving.
"Fog? Luna! Where are you?" Usagi's voice cut through the mist, high-pitched with panic. "Ami-chan? Okay, I'm sorta, kinda, freaking out here!"
Ami wanted to call out, to reassure Usagi that everything was okay, but her voice refused to cooperate. Instead, she pushed herself to her knees, the fog swirling around her like a living thing. She felt different—stronger, more aware. As if she were waking up from a long dream.
Through the mist, she saw the monster regrouping, its eyes now fixed on the flailing Usagi. As the fog began to clear, Ami felt a new sense of purpose settling over her. Whatever was happening, whatever this new power was, she knew one thing for certain: she had to protect Usagi. And somehow, she knew exactly how to do it.