To reply, post publically or e-mail the author at AlphSailor@aol.com
Enjoy!
The FFML Refugee List
A Sailor Mercury fanfiction
NOTE: C&C will be appreciated. Thanks.
==--
Ami hated the mornings that began with clear skies. She
hated the every moment the sun slowly rose to greet her as she
woke up from her uneasy slumber.
She supposed that she had once enjoyed them. Once, but
that had been long time ago. She couldn't recall a single day
when she had truly enjoyed such a start of the day. Instead,
she remembered wishing for rain as the sun rose to greet the
crystal clear blue skies.
Because it reminded her too much about things that her
life _wasn't_.
The solid white cast on her left leg already was too much
of a reminder. She pushed herself up and pulled the sheets off
her body to stare at the white material.
"How are you feeling, Ami?"
She didn't lift her gaze from her broken leg. "Lousy.
What else'd you expect, Artemis?"
A white furry head poked over the edge of her bed. She
easily recognized the feline animal as her pet cat, Artemis,
due to the crescent moon symbol on his forehead. "Ami, it's
been two weeks ever since we relocated to the Minato ward. You
still haven't changed."
Ami shook her head lightly. Even though it had been
almost a month since she had discovered that Artemis could
talk, she still found the human nature of the cat unnerving.
This time, she turned to Artemis when she spoke, "You
can't expect someone to change their beliefs that easily. It
doesn't matter where I live or which school I go to; they're
just all the same to me. Nothing ever changes."
Before Artemis could speak, however, there was a rapid
tapping at the door of Ami's bedroom. A moment later, Miami
peeked into the room. "Hey, Sis! It's almost eight; you'd
better hurry up or you'll be late for school!"
Ami smiled at her. "I'm up already! I don't need a pest
like you reminding me about getting up on time!"
Miami stuck out a tongue at her sister as she entered the
room, pushing a wheelchair in the front of her. "Nyahh! Well,
Mom's almost finished making breakfast so you'd better hurry
and get cleaned or I'll give your breakfast to your cat!"
"You wouldn't dare!" Ami replied in mock indignation.
As she nudged the wheelchair next to Ami's bed, she
turned to Artemis and poked at his nose gently. "That would
teach Ami not to sleep in late so often, wouldn't it, Artemis?"
she said to the cat, giggling.
The accused quickly belted her sister with a pillow.
"Okay, okay! You win, Sis!" she laughed as she parried
the fluffy attacks with her arms. When the attacks finally
stopped, she gave Ami a quick hug. "Here's the wheelchair, so
you'd better get ready for your bath. I'll let Mom know that
you're up so I can help you get cleaned."
"Okay, I'll be there, Miami."
"Great! Better hurry, though!" With that, Miami left the
room.
After few moments of silence, Ami began to grunt as she
struggled to adjust her position on the bed so she could slide
into her wheelchair. Not an easy task with a broken arm and
leg. "I can't for wait for the day when I'll be able to start
walking again." Her broken ribs weren't helping much either.
"You'll have to be patient, Ami."
She glanced over to the white cat trying to lift himself
onto her bed. "I know. I just _hate_ being confined to a
wheelchair like this. I'm tired of being helpless!"
"Well, look at the bright side - you don't have to worry
about the bullies from your old school. We've moved far away
enough for you to start a new life all over again. Just try and
be yourself."
"Easy for you to say, you're not the one with broken
leg."
Artemis sighed and let himself settle on the bed. "You
have to let go of what happened to you last month. Don't let it
consume you!"
"Yeah, right. As if I'll be able to forget what they did
to me." Ami waved her hand dismissively as she wheeled herself
out of her bedroom. Stopping just short of leaving the room,
she paused unbuttoning her pajamas top and drew her good arm
around herself and tried to ignore the feeling of heavy padding
around her chest. She shuddered in the memory of a particular
incident. "No. They've made certain of it that I'll _never_
forget what they did to me."
Artemis remained silent as Ami left the room, the wheels
squeaking quietly in the early dawn of the day.
--- --- --- --- ---
The faulty G3 Studio presents:
A Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Mercury fanfiction
RIPTIDES
Segment II of VII:
COLDNESS - Desire to Be Alone
By Dark Alpha
--- AlphSailor@aol.com
Sailor Mercury and its associated characters are copyrighted by
Naoko Takeuchi. Please do confuse it with its alias show,
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, though. I'm just writing some fics
for that series, even though BSSMercury technically doesn't
exist, for fun.
This series is currently being hosted at
http://darkalpha.anifics.com/riptides.htm, along with
some extras.
BEGIN segment II of VII: COLDNESS - Desire to be Alone
--- --- --- --- ---
It was her second week at the new school and things still
hadn't changed. After waving Miami off at her classroom, she
began wheeling herself down the hallway to her class on the
second floor.
She could hear them, talking about her behind her backs.
"Hey, it's that brainy girl!"
She tried to ignore them.
"Who?"
"What happened to her?"
Whoever this boy was, he clearly had ignored the second
question when he replied, "Ami Mizuno. You know... the new
transfer student from Kusagawa school? I heard that she's so
smart that she would've passed the entrance exams for upper
classes easily! In fact, it's rumored that her IQ's over 250!"
"Wow, really? 250!"
"But what happened to her?"
The gossip quieted down for a moment. Much to Ami's
disappointment, the male voice whispered, "Well, don't tell
anybody I told you, but I heard some rumors that she was
attacked by a couple of guys. Some of her classmates, I think."
"No!"
It had to be her imagination, really, but did she just
detect a trace of concern in that last comment? She shook her
head slightly and continued to stare outside the windows,
trying her best to ignore the gossips behind her.
She listened anyway.
"But there's also some rumors that she deliberately
provoked the attack just so she could get some sympathy for her
injuries. She IS the teacher's pet, after all."
"That's got to be one of the stupidest thing I've ever
heard! Why would she do such a thing?"
"That's right! Anyone that smart don't NEED to hurt
herself to get some attention!"
"But..."
"If we're supposed to believe you about Ami," one of the
girls cut him off abruptly, "then what about the rumors that
you're gay? They're saying that because you don't have a
girlfriend yet, you're really gay."
"What?!"
"Really, Umino! I never knew..."
Ami easily detected the faltering tones within this Umino
person's voice. "But, but I'm _not_ gay...!"
"So it's not true? Then why should we believe those
rumors about Ami? For all we know, she's just another victim of
those horrible rumors."
"But it's true, I tell you! There's even stories about
her on newspapers!"
"Are you sure you're not gay?"
The Umino guy shut up abruptly after that accusing
remark.
"She looks lonely to me, Naru. Maybe we should try
cheering her up?"
"Don't be stupid, Usagi!" Umino protested once more
again. Ami had to give him the credit for being tenacious, at
least. "You haven't heard about other rumors about her I've
heard! She's dangerous, I tell you!"
The same concerned voice quickly replied, "But she looks
lonely to me." She also overheard the second girl's voice --
Naru? -- bite back with a comment: "I guess being gay explains
a lot about you, Umino."
Usagi... That boy had referred to the concerned girl as
Usagi, so that must have be her name. Suddenly, she wondered
what this Usagi person looked like.
Ami turned her head slightly just so she could see two
girls and a boy gossiping about her personal life. One of them
in particular caught her eye. She wasn't sure why, but it could
have been the girl's unusual hair style. Certainly, she had
never met anybody who sported knee-length twin pigtails snaking
from two 'meatballs' perched on opposite sides of her head.
Then again, it could have been the blond hair. Students
with strikingly blond hair like hers were rare in Japan, much
more so in Tokyo.
Suddenly, the blonde girl perked up and realized that she
was being watched. Abruptly, she tried to change the topic. "Oh
gosh, the weather's been hot lately, hasn't it?" She scratched
the back of her head and tried to laugh.
Ami narrowed her eyes slightly and her face hardened. She
recognized the blond girl's voice.
Usagi. She would have to talk with her sometime soon.
* * C O L D N E S S * *
She was already waiting for her when the bell signaled a
lunch break. It had been an easy task for her to ask certain
questions about the blonde student, like where she tended to
frequent while eating her lunch. All answers had pointed to a
single location, a particular tree outside, often seen with her
best friend, Osaka Naru. Immediately, through logical
reasoning, she deduced that the auburn-haired girl Usagi had
been with earlier this morning with that boy must have been the
same Naru person.
The students also had been eager to point out the local
nerd-boy, Umino Guiro, whom she had recognized as the one
spreading false rumors about her earlier this morning. She
would have to deal with him some other time.
Ami smirked. It had been rather easy for her to obtain
information. Intimidation had worked wonders on the weaker-
willed students.
She was beginning to understand why bullies had loved to
pick her in the past. Well, no more of being bullied upon now,
she swore to herself. She would have to teach others not to
cross her ever again in the future.
Satisfied that she had found a spot to rest near the
tree, where she could see the students leaving the entrance,
she folded her arms to herself and frowned. She had better
things to do than waste her time waiting for some girl.
Ten minutes passed before Ami spotted a blonde girl
exiting the entrance. Sure enough, she was with the same girl
Ami had seen with her earlier. As she had predicted, they were
heading for the spot Ami was at.
Ami decided to meet them first, instead of waiting for
them, so she deftly wheeled her wheelchair forward to intercept
the girls. The girls were startled when she did so, clearly not
expecting her. She refolded her arms.
"Um... hi."
Ami flickered her eyes over to the blond girl who had
greeted her, but didn't return the greeting. There was a
strained silence between them as they stared at each other, not
speaking. Finally, the auburn-haired girl stepped forward. "Ah.
You're Ami, right? We heard about..."
"I know."
"Huh?" the girls said in unison.
Ami turned to the pigtailed girl. "Tsukino Usagi, isn't
it?"
Usagi blinked. "Wha...? How'd you know my name?"
"This morning," Ami replied bluntly, "I overheard you
gossiping with your friends about me." She gave Usagi's friend
a sidelong glance as well. "And you too, Osaka Naru."
Naru blinked, surprised. "You- you know who we are?"
"Of course. And I also know that you were talking about
me behind my back with Umino this morning."
"Oh yeah, that. Ah, heh, heh." Usagi appeared to be
embarrassed, but Ami remained impassive. "I just didn't mean to
be so nosy. I was just curious, you know?"
"So you say."
"Hey! You don't have to be so rude, Ami!" Naru raised a
fist at her. "We had nothing to do about that!"
"Why should I believe you? You're all the same, making
snide remarks about me behind my back! Always mocking me and my
intelligence. I overheard what you said this morning, and you
had the gall to accuse me of... _faking_ my injuries just..."
She trailed off as she pointed an accusing finger at them. "I
worked hard to be as smart as I am, and I will _not_ have
anybody ridiculing my efforts like that!"
The girls were taken aback by her unexpected bitter
retort, but Usagi seemed to recover quickly. She stepped closer
and asked her, "Oh, really? So it's true, then? That you're so
smart?"
"Yeah," Ami replied curtly.
Usagi was silent as she considered her words. Internally,
Ami smirked. Got nothing to say, eh? Now you see the truth;
you're not--
"Oh, WOW!"
"Eh?!" Ami started as Usagi's words suddenly exploded out
of her, her hands together under her chin, her eyes wide and
sparkling blue.
"I really can't believe it! I didn't think there'd be
anybody so smart and pretty like you! That's so wonderful; I
think it's great!"
"You'd be the first," Ami muttered darkly.
"Eh? What do you mean by that?"
Ami just gave Naru a flat look. "How do you think I got
those casts?"
The girls blinked, then drew their hands to their mouths,
suddenly understanding what must have happened to her. Ami's
face remained emotionless as she continued, "That's right. My
former classmates did this to me because they felt 'threatened'
by my intelligence. They hospitalized me for almost a month
just because I was smarter than them.
"You just don't get it, do you? My intelligence isn't
just some praise; it's a _curse_. You have _no_ idea how what
it's like
to have people like you talk behind my back about how
'snobbish' I am, about what a _freak_ I am."
She paused for a moment before leaning back into her
wheelchair, exhaling out her air forcefully. "But not anymore.
This time, I'm putting an end to this. I'm going to make those
who snub at me regret it. That's why I'm here." Ami gestured
around herself. "To warn you. Even though you helped defend me
against Umino today, which I appreciate by the way, I still
don't appreciate it when people talking about me behind my
back.
"You want to say something about me, come right up to me
and say it right in my face! Got it?" Ami finished. Both girls
blinked slowly, then nodded hesitantly.
"That's good." With that, they fell into quiet silence.
"So..." Naru finally spoke up, "what are you going to do
now?"
"I... don't know. But I'm sure I'll figure out soon,
though."
Usagi licked her lips nervously, clearly searching for
something to say to her. She found something. "It must've been
hard on you, having to wear those casts."
"Not really," she lied.
"Oh."
Naru asked, "Did they ever catch those bullies who broke
your leg?"
"No, they didn't."
"Oh, I'm so sorry!"
Ami turned to Usagi and smiled. "Don't be. They're dead."
This statement took Usagi off-guard. "Oh- what?"
She kept the smile on her face. "Are you familiar with
Sailor Mercury?"
"You mean the 'Cold Ice' Mercury?
The grin grew even wider. "Yep. She killed them, and I'm
damn glad."
For the first time since she had met Usagi, the girl was
speechless. After several seconds of silence, Usagi finally
responded. "Oh."
For some reason, Ami suddenly felt very uncomfortable
with Usagi's answer. Quickly, she tried to explain, tripping
over her own words. "Ah, don't worry about it, Usagi. That was
in the past... I... I just have to try and move on with my
life, you know? Let go of the past and look at the bright
side..." Internally, she winced as she realized that she had
told Usagi almost exactly what Artemis had told her earlier
this morning.
Usagi slowly nodded. Suddenly, she slammed her fist into
her open palm hand. "I know! I know the just the thing to cheer
you up! I'll take you there!"
Before Ami could protest, Usagi spun around her, grasped
the handlebars of her wheelchair and began pushing like crazy.
"Hey! What are you doing, Usagi?! I've got classes to
attend!"
"Aw, don't worry about it! You gotta learn how to loosen
up!"
Ami overheard Naru's words: "Good grief, Usagi..."
The rest of her protests went unheeded by Usagi as they
left the school campus.
* * C O L D N E S S * *
"Too easy," Ami thought as she entered a series of
commands into the console, prompting her fictional character to
execute a fiery projectile. Her opponent quickly tried to avoid
it, with predictable results.
"Aw, that's not fair!" Usagi wailed as Chun Li collapsed
to the ground, its life-bar extinguished by the projectile.
Ami's victorious character, an American named Ken, flashed them
a victory sign, causing Ami to raise one of her eyebrows
momentarily.
"I can't believe you beat me that quickly, Ami!" Usagi
turned to her, grinning. "You learn pretty fast."
"It's not that hard to do once you learn the basics." Ami
shrugged as she settled back into her wheelchair after standing
rather precariously on her good leg for half an hour while
playing against Usagi on Street Fighter two console. "Better
hurry up and take over my player or he'll lose too."
"Ah!" Usagi quickly took over and Ami watched her as she
tried her best against the new challenger... a grotesque green
beast named Blanka. Predictably enough, Usagi lost in less than
fifteen seconds.
"Aww, I lost again!"
"That's because you still haven't mastered the skill of
timing."
"Huh?"
"No matter how good you're at things, timing is very
important. Knowing when to use one of your skills is just as
important as knowing when _not_ to use them. Of course, that
skill is completely useless if you haven't grasped the
understanding of how to execute those combos and moves."
Usagi looked at her blankly.
Ami sighed as she clarified herself, "You have to know
when's the best time to use a move, otherwise you'll just lose
again."
"Ah!" The blonde girl nodded in understanding and turned
back to the console, depositing yet another fifty yen coin into
it.
As Usagi resumed her game, Ami decided to relax for a
moment and reflected on the unusual girl. She had to admit that
Usagi did have a good point when she said she needed to relax
and have fun once in a while. The brief time she had enjoyed
while playing Street Fighter II had surprisingly relaxed her
muscles and helped her let go of the strain that had built up
inside her for the last few days. The fact that Usagi had such
an easy-going personality seemed to be helping soften her
demeanor.
Also, Ami was surprised at how easy it had been to read
Usagi. When she had first played the game with her, she had
initially assumed that Usagi simply didn't have a good poker
face, but it slowly became apparent that it was quite the
opposite; Usagi liked to be carefree, to express her feelings
in the open with others.
But there was something about the girl that didn't settle
well with her. For one thing, why was Usagi going out to such
extreme lengths just to cheer her up? She was nothing more than
a brainy girl with no personality whatsoever to her. So why
attempt to help her? It was almost as if Usagi wanted to be
her... friend?
An odd expression crossed her face at the thought. No, it
surely couldn't be. Usagi _had_ to have some hidden agenda. But
a part of her refused to believe that; she had sensed something
inside the girl that she hadn't felt in a long time...
Suddenly, she realized what it was. It was the same thing
she had encountered in her younger sister.
She HAD to know why.
"Hey, Usagi..."
"Call me Usagi-chan, I don't mind."
"_Usagi_," Ami emphasized, ignoring her request, "I want
to ask you something. Why are you doing this? Why aren't you
afraid of me? Don't you feel _jealous_ about my abilities?"
Usagi inclined her head to one side, obviously confused.
"Why should I be?"
"Everyone's always despised me because I made them look
inferior compared to my intelligence. Don't you hate it when I
make you feel stupid because I simply know more than you do?!"
"Oh, well, now that you mention it, yeah, I do feel kinda
silly... but I still think it's great that you're so smart."
"You... really think it's great? You're just..." Ami
compressed her lips into a thin line as she pursued her
thoughts. "No. You really do believe that... You're the first
person I've ever met who thought that way."
"Really?" Usagi was about to add something to her reply,
but a voice interrupted her.
"I CAN SENSE HER..."
Both girls snapped their heads around, trying to pinpoint
the source of the menacing voice. Usagi suddenly pointed past
Ami's head.
"What's that?"
Ami craned her neck to the opposite direction from where
she had been looking earlier and followed Usagi's finger.
The wall was blood-red, or at least a part of it was. She
briefly wondered why in the world would anybody want to paint
the wall to resemble blood dripping from ceiling, and install a
growing head to depict a gothic scene from a... a _growing_
head?!
Sure enough, there was a large blob emerging from the
middle of the red pool that had collected on the floor. As she
watched it emerge, she could see its features softening,
becoming more defined into an unmistakably feminine humanoid
figure. Then it began to walk towards them, gradually
perfecting its figure.
She immediately pegged it as a youma of some sort; she
could sense unnatural magical energies emanating from the
beast.
She knew that she should be trying to find a way to leave
Usagi's side without arousing any suspicions and transform into
Sailor Mercury to deal with the youma, but she remained rooted
in her place, transfixed by the sleek and shiny surface of the
youma.
Its surface appeared to be viscous, yet fluid-like. If
its rather dramatic entrance was any indication, it
demonstrated a rather remarkable capability to manipulate its
body down its molecular structure. Its skin was bright crimson,
like a blood-red wine.
Ami stared at the smooth surface where its face should
have been, her subconscious mind trying to implant familiar
facial features on it. For some reason, the face looked
familiar to her. She had met it... her before, she was sure.
But when, and why?
It turned to pierce Ami's eyes, studying her carefully.
"SHE IS HERE..."
This youma was looking for her specifically, Ami suddenly
realized.
"SHE IS HERE..."
"Ah..." Usagi gulped in fear, but Ami refused to be
intimidated.
"Who is this 'she'?"
It turned to pierce Ami's eyes, studying her carefully.
"YOU..." For a moment, it seemed to be wracked in indecision,
then it quickly reasserted itself. "GO AWAY. YOU ARE NOT THE
ONE I WANT."
When it attempted to sidestep the girls, Usagi pointed
out weakly, "Umm, if you'll excuse me, my friend here's stuck
in the wheelchair, so can you, umm, move over for a bit so I
can get her out of here...?"
The red creature returned its attention back to Usagi,
its body seeming to convey signs of disgust. It turned away
even as it attempted to swat Usagi aside.
Fortunately for Usagi, the youma appeared to be
distracted and as a result, it moved slowly enough for the girl
to duck under the incoming back-handed brush in time. The game
consoles behind her weren't as lucky, however.
"Ahhh--!" Usagi cried involuntarily as she saw them split
apart, neatly bisected, behind her. "Wedbettergetoutofhere!"
she finished in a rush, came around Ami's wheelchair and ran,
pushing the wheelchair in front of her as she did so.
"Usagi, waiiitt...!"
But Usagi wasn't listening to her, still running and
weaving through the maze of consoles like a mad animal.
"I'll take you out of heeerreeeee--!" Usagi cried out
suddenly as she tripped over some unseen object behind Ami.
"Usagi--!" But it was too late; she was already
carrolling out of control through the doorway, Usagi suddenly
no longer behind her. Then before she could gather her wits to
stop her mad dash, her wheelchair slipped into another room and
slammed into the wall, up-turning her to the ground. She yelped
briefly in pain.
Dammit... and just as her ribs had _finally_ stopped
aching after two weeks of enduring pain every time she tried to
breathe...
Pushing herself off the ground, she growled, angered by
the unexpected arrival of the youma. Not to mention that her
chest was aching after that hard blow against the concrete.
"You're going to pay for that..."
She glanced up around and was surprised to see that Usagi
was missing. She wondered briefly what had happened to her,
before realizing she had far more important things to do than
worry about some girl. In a deft move, she pulled out her
henshin stick from a well-concealed pocket within her uniform
and held it up. "Mercury Power Make-Up!"
A flash of light surrounded her and began comforting her,
reassuring her. However, this time she tried to resist the
erotic stimulation her transformation induced in her. This was
no time for pleasure... she had a monster to stop. In another
flash of light, her clothes vanished even as new blue ribbons
of light wrapped themselves around her body to form into her
Sailor Mercury uniform. Then all of the sudden, it was over and
Mercury dropped to her knees, kneeling over as she struggled to
regain control of her breath. This time, she had barely managed
to restrain herself in the transformation phase. But why was
she feeling so exhausted despite being rejuvenated by the surge
of the power?
Even as she heard noises of destruction just outside the
storage room she was inside, it still took her nearly a minute
to recover her stamina before finally pushing herself up to go
after the youma.
Peeking out of the room, she glanced around the deserted
adjacent room and was surprised to see that Usagi was nowhere
to be found. A part of her hoped that Usagi had managed to
escape to safety.
Wait, voices...
She could hear distinct voices from the other room, the
one where she knew the youma was inside. They both sounded
familiar to her somehow, but couldn't quite place them.
Suddenly filled with a sense of anticipation and dread, she
hurried to the gaping doorway and ducked to one side of it so
as not to expose herself accidentally.
She then leaned around the door frame for a glimpse and
gasped in surprise. The youma creature that had ambushed her
and Usagi just minutes earlier was still there, but it wasn't
the one that caught her attention. It was another girl who was
wearing a similar uniform as her own.
*Another Senshi?!* She thought in shock. *Wait, she must
be one of the others Artemis told me about!"
But she could notice that there were some subtle
differences between the new Senshi's and her uniforms. While
the main skirt remained the same blue color, the newcomer's
bows and long boots were painted in bright red.
Mercury studied the new Senshi intently, noticing the
girl in greater detail than before. The Senshi's blond hair
were tied up into twin long pigtails that trailed nearly all
the way to her knees, from two balls perched on the opposite
sides of her head. They struck her suddenly as meatballs.
She shook her head; this was no time for analogies - the
situation was serious. Whoever this new girl was, she clearly
was a novice. She could read it from the way the she held
herself; slow and clumsy. The Senshi wasn't even relaxed!
Suddenly, the newcomer's voice rang out in Mercury's
ears. "To score a knock-out by demolishing the children's games
is unforgivable!"
Mercury stared. Who in the world was that idiot?
"WHO ARE YOU?"
The newcomer Senshi posed before the unamused youma. "For
love and justice, the beautiful sailor-suited soldier... Sailor
Moon!"
Sailor Moon, as the aforementioned idiot had introduced
herself as, pointed an accusing finger at the red creature. "In
the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"
Mercury groaned, still hiding behind the corner. That
_idiot_...! She was practically wide open, making herself
vulnerable to the red monstrosity! Of all the things to do...!
Almost as if to prove Mercury's thoughts true, the youma
suddenly lurched forward towards Sailor Moon, its arms
outstretched. Before the young newcomer could react, the
creature already had ensnared its fingers into a vise-like grip
around her throat. It didn't smile as it began to tighten its
grip around Sailor Moon's throat. "WHERE IS SHE?"
"W-who...?" Moon croaked, hovering scant centimeters off
the ground.
"I KNOW SHE IS HERE, I CAN SENSE HER."
Mercury finally decided that she had waited long enough.
Quickly, she barged into the room with a small blast of her
elemental ability. The ball of water she had chucked deflected
harmless off the youma's tough hide.
The creature clicked its head. Turned to Mercury and
narrowed its eyes. "MERCURY. SO WE MEET AGAIN." Its response
evoked an expression of surprise from the blue senshi.
"Huh? We've met?"
It ignored her. It returned its attention back to Sailor
Moon and spoke slowly. "YOU ARE USELESS. NOT OF MY VALUE AND
TIME." Without a warning, the youma tossed its captive aside
roughly.
The Senshi cried out in pain as she slammed hard against
the wall to its left. But she was of no concern to the beast;
it had found its mortal enemy at last. Sailor Mercury was
clearly a greater threat and therefore had to be eliminated. It
raised one of its outstretched arms, and before the blue
Senshi's eyes, the arm began to mutate.
More than three dozen tendrils exploded out of its body
and wrapped themselves around its arm. Gradually, it stretched
out to twice its length and thinned until the tendrils melted
into its arm to reveal a crimson blade that appeared to be
razor-sharp.
"YOU BETRAYED ME..." The red creature growled in a voice
that sounded strangely human and familiar to Mercury.
Before Mercury could contemplate on this information, the
youma quickly sprinted forwards, slicing its arm wide open at
her. She barely had enough time to react and duck to one side
before the blade passed through the space where she had been
only moments ago. Two arcade consoles collapsed into each
other, apparently having been cut into halves.
"She's FAST!" she thought as she had to dodge once more
again to avoid the follow-up attack.
The red youma screamed as it raised its other free arm at
her. "I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE, SAILOR MERCURY." A dark orb of
energy manifested in its raised hand.
"Mercury, WATCH OUT FOR THAT ATTACK!"
Mercury complied to the warning without a moment's
hesitation.
The entire wall segment facing East, in which direction
the blast had been aimed at, detonated the instant black energy
made contact with it, leaving behind small pile of debris. The
senshi stared at the opening where the entire wall had stood
only moments earlier, before reasserting herself.
She had had enough, Mercury decided. In a fluid motion,
she pressed both palms of her hands together and then parted
them. As she did so, a tiny orb of water manifested in the
space between her hands, enlarging rapidly as she drew them
further apart.
"So you want to play it rough, eh? Fine, I'll be glad to
oblige you! SHABON SPRAY!"
"Mercury, WAIT!" Unfortunately, Artemis' warning came too
late as the Shabon Spray onslaught exploded forth unrestrained.
Half a dozen arcade consoles crumbled into junk metal as if
they were made of aluminum the instant the water torrent plowed
through them. The youma didn't stand a chance when the wall of
water hit it.
The cold water struck the beast directly, slamming it
against and through the thick concrete wall. It was already
unconscious by the time its body crushed the walls of the
building across the street into debris. Mercury quickly
summoned another ball of water, in case the youma returned for
another round. After few moments, it became clear to her that
her enemy done for the count, for as she detected no further
movements.
"That's what you get for messing around with me,
monster," Mercury spat.
"Are you okay, Mercury?" Artemis asked as he approached
her, surveying the area. The cat was clearly awestruck by the
extent of destruction within the building. "None of the youma
I've seen were as powerful as this one."
Mercury shrugged. "It was nothing."
The white cat sighed. "That may be the case, but I wish
you'd be more conservative next time you use your powers. You
caused just as much damage as that youma did."
She quickly spun around to the cat, pointing an accusing
finger at him. "Now you look--" She cut herself off abruptly
when she realized that Artemis wasn't alone.
Right alongside Artemis was another cat, a black one this
time. She immediately noticed an up-side down golden crescent
moon mark on the black cat's forehead. It was identical to the
one Artemis had.
But before she could ask Artemis about his new companion,
however, she heard the new Senshi moan behind her. Dismissing
the cats for the moment, she turned to Moon. "Are you okay?"
"Uhh... I guess so, yeah..." Having finally recovered
from her shock, Sailor Moon got up slowly and walked to the
edge of the gaping hole in the wall, peering outside at the
demolished building that had buried the youma before turning to
Mercury. "Um... Don't you think that was, um, bit too much?"
The water senshi stared at her for a moment before
approaching her. Moon never had a chance to react as Mercury
slapped across her face, _hard_. Caught off-guard, Moon
stumbled backwards, tripping over her own feet.
Sailor Mercury ignored Artemis' angry yowls as she
snapped at the novice. "'Too much?' _You're_ telling me _that_
was 'too much'?!"
"Ahh, it's not like that..." Moon tried, her hand to her
reddened cheek, but the Water Senshi interrupted her coldly.
"In case you've forgotten, this _monster_ tried to KILL
you a few minutes ago! And what did you do at that time?
NOTHING! You just waffled around like a moron!"
Sailor Moon winced at the verbal jab, but Mercury wasn't
done with her.
"This isn't some childhood fantasy; it's the real thing.
You can't expect to prance around sprouting out flowery words
like they did in those shoujo shows and expect to live!"
Mercury threw one of her arms out, gesturing towards the
demolished entrance of The Crown arcade shop. "This is the real
thing; there are no second chances or time-outs. They kill you,
that's it for you."
In a quick motion, she bent over and grabbed a firm grip
on Moon's leotard, dragging her to a standing position, her
face just centimeters from Moon's. "You were very, _very_ lucky
today. If it hadn't been for me, you would've been dead, and
whoever you have had as your family and friends would have to
mourn for you."
Sailor Moon gulped at her words. Mercury continued
anyway. "You just don't understand the concept of being a
Senshi. No... you aren't even FIT to be considered one! You
just think it's some kind of game!
"There's a lot of monsters that are just as dangerous as
the one you saw today. To be a Senshi means you have to accept
risks; that you might be hurt or even killed while fighting
those monsters! I accept nothing but total commitment! I will
_not_ accept anything else."
She released the stunned Senshi. "If you can't deal with
that, then you'd better pack away your pretty clothes and toys
and mind your own business and leave the real thing to Senshi
like me."
Moon staggered back few steps but recovered quickly.
"But..."
"Pft! You disgust me, Sailor Moon." Mercury sniffed and
waved away at the blonde Senshi. "Get out of here before we
both do something we'll regret."
The new senshi didn't make any motion, nor did she
attempt to speak. She just simply stood there, watching her.
For some reason, this annoyed Mercury greatly.
"Didn't you hear me? I repeat: GO. AWAY."
"No."
Mercury nearly stumbled at Moon's response, but quickly
recovered. "'No'? You must be more of an idiot than I thought.
Let me make myself perfectly CLEAR to you: You are NOT wanted
here, so get your ass out of here!"
Sailor Moon shook her head defiantly. "When I said no, I
meant it. I won't leave."
"Get out of here."
"No. Not until you hear me out first."
Mercury sighed.
"Um... it's true that I could've been killed today... but
I also want to be just as good as you, Mercury. I mean, you
trashed that youma as if it was nothing! That was so
incredible! I know I'll probably never be as good as you,
but...
"One of them hurt one of my friends last week, and again
today. I can't just stand by and let them do that! What if, i-
if something terrible happened to them... I-I'd never be able
to forgive myself..."
Sailor Moon's voice cracked slightly as she finished,
"That's why I want to be a Senshi, so I can stop them from
hurting my friends!"
"So?" Mercury ignored Moon's reaction to her response,
who looked like she had just been slapped in her face for the
second time. "It doesn't matter why you want to be a Senshi;
you're as good as dead if you keep doing what you just pulled
off today. Like I said before, intelligence and power
determines the outcome of a battle, not words or poses. Unless
you learn how to _fight_, you'll--"
"That's why I want you to TEACH me!"
Mercury jerked around to stare at the senshi. "Teach
you...?"
"Yes!" Moon nodded. "You're so good at it so it shouldn't
be a problem, right? All you have to do is show me how to do it
right and then I'll be able to become a better Senshi just like
you!"
"Ha, you?" A faint squeak of chuckle escaped Mercury's
lips. "What good will it do? I was watching you before I even
showed up, and quite frankly, that was a _sorry_ excuse of a
performance out there, Moon. No, you'll never cut it out as
one."
"But...!"
Mercury waved her away and began walking away from Moon.
"Forget it. It's not worth my time anyway. Just go back home to
your friends and families and forget that we ever met today."
Moon trailed behind her like a love-sick puppy. "No, I
won't accept that!"
"Leave me alone."
"No, teach me, please!"
"Forget it."
"Please!"
"No."
"Pleeease?"
"Aargh!" The blue Senshi snapped around to face Moon,
startling her. "How many times do I have to tell you, no, I
will NOT teach you?!"
"I'm not leaving until you agree to teach me how to be a
better Senshi!" Moon's tone was surprisingly serious, full of
determination.
"Oh, geez..."
Together, they stared at each other, breathing slightly
fast. As Mercury continued to gaze into Moon's eyes, she was
somewhat taken aback by how serious the novice appeared to be.
Well, this girl seemed to be sincere enough. Maybe she should
accept Moon's request to teach her...
She doubted the novice's ability to cope with the real
responsibilities of being a Senshi, though. Still...
"If I promised that I'll consider it, will you leave?"
The reply was firm and without any doubt. "Yes."
"Fine. I'll consider it. Now get the hell out of here!"
Sailor Moon quickly answered her in that annoying
cheerful tone as she gave her a big wave, "Thank you very much,
Mercury!" Moments later, the Senshi left the devastated room,
almost skipping jauntily.
Mercury groaned and covered her eyes with her hand. She
could feel the beginnings of headache coming. How in the world
did she get into this mess, she wondered.
"Mercury! Where are you?!"
Mercury immediately recognized the voice. "I'm over here,
Artemis!" She turned around just in time to see Artemis
approach her with the same black cat she'd seen with him
earlier.
She blinked at Artemis' new companion. "Who...?"
"Never mind her!"
'Her'? Ah, it made sense to her now. Mercury grinned.
"Ami?! Where are you, Ami?"
Uh, oh. She'd had forgotten about Usagi. Quickly glancing
around the place to make sure nobody was around, she sprinted
back to the storeroom where she had left behind her wheelchair
after her initial transformation into Mercury.
"Mercury, you've got to--!"
"Just one minute, Artemis..." Mercury interrupted the
white cat as she closed her eyes and concentrated. A faint blue
aura of light surrounded her for few seconds before vanishing,
taking away her blue and white Senshi uniform. In its
departure, her school uniform remanifested, quickly covering
her nudity. Almost promptly, she dropped to the ground as her
original injuries were redressed.
Artemis caught Ami grimacing in pain but decided not to
pursue the topic.
"So what was it that you wanted to tell me?"
The white cat sighed. "Nothing. I just wanted to warn you
that someone's coming, but I guess you already knew about her."
Usagi's voice cried out again. "Ami! Ami! Where are you,
Ami?!"
Ami nodded to the cat before answering Usagi's calls.
"I'm here, Usagi! I can't get up!"
She heard footsteps increase in volume as it came closer
to her. She could hear Usagi's voice. "Hold on, Ami! I'm
coming!" Few moments later, Usagi popped into full view and
gasped as she saw Ami's condition.
Ami gasped out, "I can't get up..." She winced as she
tried to ignore the pain in her chest. She had rushed things
too fast after her detransformation and as the result her
cracked ribs were beginning to protest.
Usagi knelt next to her. "Are you all right, Ami? I was
so worried that monster might've hurt you!"
"Hah--!" Ami bit herself off, reminding herself that she
had to maintain her secret identity's cover. "I'm... okay. The
monster just brushed me aside. Can you help me up back on my
wheelchair?" Usagi nodded.
While she knew that she had to maintain appearances, Ami
was still thankful for Usagi's help as she helped her back on
her wheelchair. It was a difficult task for her do it on her
own with a broken leg and arm.
"Thanks." Ami sighed, relieved.
Together, they left the backroom and stepped into the
main room where the majority of the battle had occurred.
"What a mess," Usagi murmured as she slowly navigated
Ami's wheelchair through the debris.
Ami nodded, awed by the extent of the destruction. The
eastern wall was completely gone, most of the games had been
demolished in the battle. Ice and water were everywhere, but
most of them were concentrated near the demolished entrance
where she had blasted the youma through earlier. The building
across the street from the entrance was in shambles.
"I just _bought_ those new consoles three days ago!"
Both girls turned around to see a young man wailing at
the demolished arcade consoles Ami had recently destroyed as
Sailor Mercury.
"That's Motoki, the guy who owns this place," Usagi
explained. "I feel sorry for him, though. Thanks to that
monster, there's no more games to play..." The girl widened her
eyes as she realized what she was just saying. Suddenly she
began to wail as well. "Noooo! That's not _fair_! If there's no
more games left for me to play, what am I gonna do now?!" Usagi
crumbled to her knees on the ground, moaning.
Ami blinked at Usagi for a moment, then covered her mouth
to stifle a light chuckle. Resting a hand on Usagi's shoulder,
she reassured her, "Don't worry. I'm sure the owner has
insurance to cover the damages. He can use the compensation to
buy the replacements."
"You sure?" Usagi sniffled.
"Yes."
The blond girl bounced to her feet, suddenly cheerful.
"Yay! That's great!" But before she could voice out another
cheer, they were heard some mewing noises behind them. They
turned around to face two cats.
Ami recognized one of them. "Artemis!" She beckoned her
pet cat to jump into her lap. He did. "That's a good cat."
Artemis waggled his nose at her, clearly ruffled by the fact
that Ami seemed to be belittling him. Ami smiled back at him,
reassuring him that she was only joking, as Usagi walked over
to Artemis' companion.
"Luna!" Usagi picked the black cat up into her hands.
"Bad cat, Luna! I thought I told you to stay home today!"
Ami raised an eyebrow at Usagi. "You've got a cat too?"
"Mmm-hmm!"
"I didn't think you'd have one..." She suddenly broke
into a grin, giving Artemis an amused glance as she spoke
rather casually, "Well, it appears that Artemis has developed
an interest in your cat."
Usagi merely inclined her head at her in curiosity, even
as Artemis leaped to his paws and meowed angrily at Ami as she
added, "I saw him fraternizing with your cat."
Usagi appeared to be confused by her response, so she
clarified. "I think Artemis likes her."
"Ooh!" Her friend caught on suddenly and held out her own
pet cat, nuzzling her nose against the feline's. "Hey, you
never told me that you had a boyfriend!" Luna squirmed
violently in Usagi's hands. Ami giggled. As she did, Usagi
suddenly stopped and turned to stare at her.
"What?"
Usagi snapped out of her state and smiled. "Nothing." She
inclined her head slightly. "It's just that it's the first time
I've seen you laugh."
"Really?"
"Yup! You should do that more often. I don't like it when
my friends look so gloomy and depressed like you. I want you to
be happy and have lots of fun like we did today."
Ami reconsidered the events she had done with Usagi
today, and decided that they had definitely been fun. A small
part of her hoped that there would be more to come, but she
quickly suppressed it. She still didn't quite trust this
girl... yet.
"I want to be your friend, if you don't mind," Usagi said
suddenly and reached out her hand to her. Ami blinked at it for
a moment before returning her gaze to her own hand. Lifting her
head to Usagi, she saw that the hand was still extended to her.
"Well? C'mon, let's be friends!"
She was surprised by how Usagi's smile seemed to be
affecting her. It made her feel... well, special. She suddenly
felt unsure. Why was she feeling warm and happy inside? She
couldn't quite understand why, but she found out that she liked
the feeling.
"Hm?"
Prodded on by Usagi's smile, she raised her hand and
grasped Usagi's firmly as she smiled. "No, I don't mind. Thank
you... Usagi-chan."
Afterwards, it didn't take them long to reach Ami's home.
"Ahh, you live here?" Usagi asked, awed, as she gazed
upwards at a high-rise condo building.
"Yeah."
"I didn't think you'd live in a place like this..."
"Oh? Where did you think I'd live in?"
"Well... I'd have guessed that it'd be a house or
something like that. Someplace as nice as my house, I guess."
"You live in a house?" Ami was surprised. While she would
have preferred to live in a house instead of the condominium,
the board of Trustees responsible for managing the money left
to her by her parents' wills had limited her choices. "Sounds
like a nice place to live in..."
"Uh-huh! You should come over and pay a visit! I'd love
to show you around my home! You'll like it!"
Ami smiled. "I'm sure. You'd better hurry up and get
home; it's getting late."
"Are you sure? I still can take you up to your place..."
"Don't worry, Usagi. I'll be all right by myself," She
reassured Usagi. "Thanks for taking me home."
"Okay, I'll see you at the school tomorrow then!" Usagi
picked up Luna off Ami's lap and held on to the feline. Artemis
didn't protest, remaining rested on his student's lap.
"Yeah, I'm... looking forward to it." Ami was surprised
to find that she meant it.
"Great! See you later, bye!"
Ami waved Usagi off at the entrance, watching her friend
run down the streets against the setting sun. "Usagi-chan..."
She reflected upon her new friend, subconsciously scratching
behind Artemis' ears. "I like her... I really do."
She didn't notice the white cat perk his ears up at her
remark.
* * C O L D N E S S * *
It was already almost midnight when the windows of Ami's
bedroom finally opened, revealing Sailor Mercury.
"You're late, Ami." Artemis admonished lightly. It was
clear to the senshi that his heart wasn't into it this time.
Mercury was thankful for that because she was too tired at the
moment to deal with the annoying preaching of his. She yawned,
blinking her eyes open.
The cat sighed as he realized how tired his student was.
"I really wish you would let your vendetta to rest."
Mercury said, "No."
"Then at least put it off until you've healed
completely!" Artemis snapped as he stood up. "You've been
outside almost every night since we moved here. You're putting
too much strain on your body and your injuries! Let them heal
completely first, please!"
"Screw the injuries; I'll deal with them when the time
comes. All that matters to me is finding that bastard who
killed my father." She clenched her fists.
Artemis groaned. There was no deterring Ami from her
goals, he knew. Living with her for two months had taught him a
great deal about Ami's personality. One of the things he had
learned was that once Ami put her mind to a task, nothing short
of a major event would deter her from completing it.
With a quiet sound, Mercury plopped herself across her
bed and stretched her muscles. And she then prepared herself
for the pain as she detransformed.
Artemis could only cringe as he heard her student's bones
break anew before sighing in relief as Ami settled into her bed
for the night, snoring quietly.
"This is going to be a LONG week."
END
--- --- --- --- ---
For now.
CONTINUED IN -
RIPTIDES
Segment III of VII:
ILLUSIONS - Lies to Be, Deception Beholding.
While Ami may have found a true friend for the first time
in her life, she is clearly not content with the new changes
her life has brought her. She evidently wants more out of it,
and is determined get what she can.
In segment III, things grows even hotter not only with
the introduction of a new Senshi to the scene, but when Ami
attempts to seduce her newly-found friend.
Even as the implications of Ami's bold move continue to
reverberate throughout the deeply divided Senshi groups, the
clues as to Ami's heavily shrouded past finally begins to
emerge with shocking facts.
--- --- ---
C&C will be greatly appreciated.
Author's notes:
What a surprise! When I posted the first segment of Riptides
last year, I never thought I'd get to follow up it by posting
the second segment several months later. I've restored a lot of
my confidence in this series and am looking forward to writing
the future segments.
As for Segment III, I still haven't made the final decision as
to whether it will be a lemon, or just a heavy lime. (Sorry,
Andrew! :)
I'd like to thank Andrew Norris for his continuing support for
this chapter, as well as his ideas and suggestions; Diese,
KaraOhki, and Kieron for their suggestions; and Latin_D for
prereading. If I've forgotten anybody else, I apologize.
DA/R
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