Mizuno Ami stared at the door long after her unexpected, unwelcome visitors had departed.
She glanced down at the shimmering blue bracelet on her wrist, mind racing.
None of what had happened made any sense. In the space of one day, her neatly ordered, rigidly structured world had been violated, literally and figuratively. The terrifying assault by that teacher had been bad enough; the sudden, violent, implausible end to the encounter had torn a gaping hole in everything she believed.
The appearance of Tsukino Usagi—the revelation of those strange powers, and what they represented—had effectively dropped an atom bomb on her perceptions, burning away what little remained of her cool, logical, ordered world in a firestorm, reality evaporating in a mushroom cloud of the impossible.
Senshi...
She had no use for such things. Whatever Tsukino Usagi expected of her, she could not—would not—deliver. Whatever this strange new element of her world was, it would simply have to be pushed as far into the corners of her mind as it could, because there was no place in her world for something so...
Ami stared at the blue bracelet. It glinted back at her, its weight cool and comforting.
You cannot deny me, it seemed to say. Whatever destiny you believe you have, I'm here to change it. I'm here to change YOU.
She toyed with it, fingering the clasp, wanting no more than to rip it from her wrist and throw it as far as she could.
Instead, she collapsed heavily into a chair, head buried in her hands.
"Well, bugger."
Mina nearly choked on her tea as she looked up at Timothy. The two of them were spending a quiet afternoon together in a small cafe they enjoyed. "Pardon?" Mina asked, fighting back a giggle fit.
Timothy sighed and leaned in closer. "They found another Senshi," he whispered.
Mina blinked. "That's good, though, right?"
"She...expressed disinterest in being a Senshi."
Mina's eyebrow quirked. "As in, she thought they were barmy?"
"As in, she threw them out of her flat."
The blond sat back, shaking her head. "Well, that's..."
"Hopefully, she can be made to see reason," Timothy said. "Otherwise, we have a problem."
* * * * *
Luna seethed as they left the part of town where Mizuno Ami lived. "That little...ungrateful...self-centered..." She hissed. "I have half a mind to go back in my real form—"
"Let it go, Luna," Usagi said softly. "It was wrong of us to push this on her so soon after she was..." She trailed off, picking at a crack on the sidewalk with the toe of her shoe. "I should have known better. But I had to try." She sighed. "I think...she just needs time. It's a lot to take in, what happened to her, the Senshi thing..."
Luna growled softly. Then she paused, tilting her head and glancing at Usagi. "You know, I just realised something."
"Hm?"
"You're...a lot different than when we first met. Than I expected from the way you..." She paused. "You seem a lot smarter than I gave you credit for."
Usagi frowned, brow furrowing. Then, she smiled softly, sadness in her eyes. "The night we met was...bad. I was already stressed out, and then the whole panther thing and then the Princess thing and the monsters on top of that...I kind of freaked. I don't take big shocks very well, they turn me into a babbling spaz." She paused. "I'm not anywhere near as smart as Mizuno-san. I don't pretend to be. But...I'm not the airhead people take me for. For some reason, people expect me to be an empty-headed ditz. So I..." She shrugged. "I don't try to prove them wrong. It's easier that way."
Luna's ears twitched. "Easier how?"
"People don't expect as much from a ditzy crybaby," Usagi replied, continuing to walk. "They don't put as much pressure on you because they think you'll cave in. Sure, they nag and harass you and get exasperated, but once they think they've gotten everything out of you they can, they leave you be."
Luna nearly fell off the wall. "So you let people think you're a brainless twit because you're lazy?"
"Basically," Usagi said, smiling.
Luna stared at her, expression a mixture of awe and incredulity. "That's...underhanded," she said breathlessly.
The long-haired girl giggled. "I know. It's pretty mean, isn't it?" she sobered. "But like I said, I'm not an airhead. I'm not a crybaby, not really. And...what's happening now is important. I don't completely understand it yet, but...I know it's time to be serious, and I'm taking everything that's going on seriously."
Luna was silent for a moment. "So what ARE you going to do about Mercury?"
"For now? Nothing. I'll give it a week before I try to talk to her again. Unless something comes up before then. Hopefully, it won't. I don't know about you, but I could do with a few peaceful days after all this."
* * * * *
Ami did not return to school for the next two days. The buzz over the incident had continued; more than a few wild rumours were flying around, but Usagi had not caught any further indication that anyone suspected Ami of the crime.
Something HAD changed, however: more girls were coming forward, like Moeko had, and admitting to the police that they had been molested, even raped, by Saegusa. Some of them were making their declarations rather openly, seeming to take savage pleasure in their vindication. It did not take long for the truth about what kind of monster Saegusa was to circulate among the students, the parents, the faculty, and all the way to the education board.
On the third day—Ami was once again absent, and the day before her mother had called to tell the school she was suffering from exhaustion from working herself too hard—there was a noticeable lack of police presence at the school. The principal once again spoke to the assembled students.
"The police have declared the death of Saegusa-sensei a result of self-defence by an unknown party. As there have been no further incidents, and in light of details unearthed in the last three days about Saegusa's record of serial sexual assaults of underage students, the case is no longer considered a priority. There will be no further interruption to the daily life at this school as a result of the incident."
A general murmur of relief and assent rippled through the student body; the more everyone knew about what kind of bastard he was, the less anyone cared who actually killed him.
As the students settled in for homeroom, Usagi pulled out her phone and fired off a brief e-mail to an address she had gleaned from Umino, but had never actually used. She then hastily put away her phone, turning it off, and hoped that she would not receive quite as frosty a reaction to this news as the last news she imparted to Mizuno Ami.
* * * * *
Ami had been morosely picking at a late breakfast of toast and smoked fish when her cell phone's e-mail alert sounded.
She blinked. She very, very rarely received e-mail—or calls, for that matter—and only carried a phone at all as a matter of convenience. She dug her phone out of her bag, and checked the display. Her eyes narrowed.
From: TSUKINO USAGI
Sub: School
She nearly deleted the message without reading it, but paused; although she wanted nothing to do with the long-haired girl and all the strangeness she had brought into her life, it seemed unlikely Tsukino would have bothered contacting her again unless it was important.
Frowning, she opened the message.
Police left school. Case closed.
Call @ lunch for info.
See you in school Monday.
Usagi.
A number was appended to the e-mail.
* * * * *
Usagi went up to the roof again for lunch. She had just sat down when her phone rang.
"Moshi-moshi, Usagi desu."
//Tsukino-san.//
"Ami-san. How are you feeling?"
//I am...recovering. You clearly wanted to tell me more about what the police said.//
"A bunch of girls came forward and told the police they'd been...hurt by that creep. After two days of that, the police decided to call it self-defence, and they're not looking for who did it anymore."
A pause. //I understand. Thank you for relaying this information to me, Tsukino-san.// The call dropped before Usagi could reply.
* * * * *
Ami pressed the "end call" button on her phone and let out a deep, shaky breath.
She glanced down at the screen, where Usagi's e-mail still sat in her inbox, and moved to delete it. Then she paused, frowning pensively.
A moment later, she added a new number and e-mail address to her small list of contacts, then deleted the e-mail.
She didn't intend to have anything to do with Tsukino Usagi ever again...
...but it seemed prudent to have a way to get in touch with her, just in case.
* * * * *
The shabby, run-down dormitory in a grubby, lower-class neighbourhood was home to a number of social outcasts. Physically and mentally deformed, the five tenants of this building were technically wards of the state, but tended to suffer neglect by their caretakers. The residents rarely dared venture out in public for fear of the scornful, often violent treatment they met at the hands of the citizens of Tokyo.
At least, that had been the case two days ago. Today, they would not venture out into the city because all five of them lay dead in their beds, dull amber glows pulsing from slits in their throats. Their deaths had not been noticed because nobody cared enough to check on their well-being.
The foul air, thick with the reek of decaying flesh, stirred. A gloved hand extended over the first of the five corpses. Fingers snapped.
The amber glow intensified, and the unfortunate outcast rose from the ground, misshapen face contorting as its putrid flesh began to change.
"The Senshi, Mercury," a sonorous voice intoned softly. "Find her. Kill her. Go."
* * * * *
That afternoon, Ami left the flat for the first time since the assault. She had considered going to juku, but decided instead she would visit a bookstore she liked, and perhaps spend the afternoon reading in the park. "Book Queen" though she may be, as the daughter of a doctor, Ami knew the healthful benefits of fresh air and sunshine, and after three days in self-imposed confinement, she could use the change of scenery.
Sunset was approaching by the time Ami decided to pack up her books and head home. The security lights in the park were just lighting up; she ventured out into the street, keeping a watchful eye on the shadows of alleys, nervously remembering that perhaps it wasn't the best idea for a girl her age to be on the streets alone after dark. She quickened her pace, hoping to get safely home before it was well and truly night.
Five blocks from her flat, she began to feel a prickling sense of danger; the hairs were rising on the back of her neck. She glanced around warily...
They were on her before she had the time to react. Screaming, she ducked under the heavy, foul-smelling body which had just tried to land on her head, breaking into a run and nearly tripping over her own feet. She heard heavy thumping sounds and dull moans behind her; she chanced a glance over her shoulder—and nearly ran directly into another figure blocking her path.
Glasses askew, she glanced up at the new figure, and her eyes widened in mute horror. The thing in front of her was two metres tall, and its only resemblance to a human was in its general shape. It had only one arm, but that arm ended in a jagged mass of splintery bone that might have once been a hand, and looked as though it could easily crush her with a decent blow. Its features were sunken, hollow; it stank of decay.
It raised its massive bone arm; she sprinted underneath its reach, nearly gagging on the stench. Once she was several metres away, she turned, clutching a stitch in her side.
Three nightmarish creatures barred her path home. They looked like they could possibly have been human at some point, and had some features in common. For the most part, their limbs seemed to be arranged in the right general order. Their flesh was greyish-green and ragged, patches clearly peeling, revealing rotting tissue beneath. Their eyes were jaundiced and swollen, sightless; each of the creatures seemed to be oozing thick, foul fluids from various festering carbunkles.
They advanced on her, slowly, shambling lifelessly. She clutched her bag to her chest; her heart pounding, she sought an escape. The most misshapen one, with uneven limbs and a massively swollen head, began to convulse strangely. Its huge, malformed cranium burst open with a sickening, wet sound; black, watery fluid gushed down its face as a tangled mass of fat grey maggots fell out of its skull onto the street, writhing and wriggling as they hit the ground with a meaty splat. The misshapen creature did not break its stride, continuing to shamble forward despite the rupture of its head; it stepped on the maggots, crushing several of them, and continued on.
Ami dropped to her knees and vomited on the street.
The monstrosities closed the distance as she was emptying her stomach; she scrabbled in a half-run, half-crawl away from the things, falling roughly to the pavement several times before she managed to properly climb to her feet and run. Her lungs were burning, sweat poured down her face, and the acrid taste of bile was strong in her mouth. The foul stench of the monsters lingered in her nose, making her eyes water. She felt stinging scratches on her hands and knees from where she had fallen on the street. Still, she pushed on, desperate to put distance between herself and the things chasing her.
She'd run two blocks before two other monsters appeared in her path. She skidded to a halt, gasping for air.
She was trapped.
They were closing in on her. She felt sick with the dread of her impending death, paralysed with fear of these unnatural, diseased things which were stalking her.
She drew in a shuddering breath to scream for help...
A guttering flicker from a half-broken streetlight played across the bracelet on her wrist, its blue metallic sheen glittering up at her.
*Mercury. I'm...*
She paused, wracked with indecision. The things drew closer; slowly, to be sure, but she was quickly running out of time....
Logic snapped back into place with the force of a cannon blast. Still shaky, still drawing deep, gasping breaths, she drew her phone from the side pocket of her bag and rapidly selected the most recently added number.
Two rings. //Moshi-moshi, Usagi desu.//
"Tsukino-san. I'm in trouble. If you are...what you claimed to be the other day, please help."
//Ami-san? What's wrong?//
"Five...creatures...are surrounding me, blocking my way home. They look extremely deadly."
A pause. //Where are you?//
"Halfway between my residence and Seigaku Honya."
//I'll be there as soon as I can. Transform into Mercury. You should be able to hold them off until I get there.// The line closed.
Pocketing her phone, Ami set her bag on the ground. Glancing at the Mercury Ring with apprehension and dread, she looked up at the advancing creatures, now fewer than three metres from her.
*I guess...I have no choice.*
"Mercury Power, Make-Up!"
* * * * *
One Senshi and one great black panther dashed through the darkening streets, darting in and out of the pools of light cast by streetlamps. "I hope we make it in time," a worried Serenity said.
"If she transformed, she'll be fine. What bothers me is I don't sense any dark energy."
"Which means?"
"The enemies aren't youma."
"Do you think it's more of those...Necrowhatsits?"
"It seems likely," Luna rumbled. "I don't like this."
"I don't like any part of it," Serenity replied.
They quickened their pace.
* * * * *
She felt alive with cold, clear energy. Her fear, while still present, had diminished, buried under a wintery blanket. The aches and pains in her body had vanished. Her eyesight, despite the absence of her glasses in this form, seemed sharper than she could ever recall.
Mercury leapt into the air, planting the booted heel of one foot on the head of the nearest monster. Using it as a springboard, she propelled herself higher than she would have believed possible, coming to rest on the awning of a storefront. She turned to survey the assembled creatures below.
*Now what?*
The one-armed creature raised its bony appendage, and Mercury was forced to roll from her perch as a volley of thick, sharp bone shards launched themselves at her, embedding in the brick where her head had been seconds before. As she landed roughly on the pavement (a fall that would have dislocated her shoulder at any other time, surely), one of the least malformed things wrenched a post box out of the ground and hurled it at her. With a cry of alarm, she rolled to her feet and sprinted across the street. Her dash carried her within the striking range of a third creature; it launched a vicious haymaker at her, but miraculously, she caught its fist with her gloved hand, staggering only slightly. Pivoting at the hip, she pulled with all the force she could muster; the clumsy, improvised throw sent the monster flying into the middle of the street.
The thing with the burst skull stumped up behind her, catching her full in the small of the back with a door it had ripped off a parked car. A strangled cry of pain escaped her throat as she was knocked, sprawling, onto her stomach. She painfully struggled to her knees, barely having time to roll out of the way as another blow attempted to sever her head.
She was kneeling in the street, breathing heavily, sweat plastering her oddly-hued bangs to her forehead. Even with the power she felt as a Senshi, Mercury was definitely outnumbered and outmuscled...
"MACHINASAI!" a voice cried out.
Mercury's head snapped up, as did those of the creatures.
A red, white, blue, and gold blur shot out of nowhere, a booted foot slamming into the back of the creature with the car door. It flew across the street, colliding with one of the other monsters; both went down in a tangle of mismatched, rotting limbs.
A large black shape peeled itself from the shadows, pouncing silently on a third creature, tackling it to the ground. The shape left a trail of crimson flames in the air as it bounced away again, melting into the darkness.
Serenity posed in the silvery-blue pool of a streetlight, blue eyes flashing angrily. "Attacking innocent girls in the street is the worst, most unforgivable crime! You unnatural creatures who are enemies of mankind and enemies of the Moon...I will punish you!"
Mercury stared at the golden-haired Senshi in disbelief and morbid embarrassment.
Serenity moved to stand in the centre of the ring of creatures, and raised her arms. "Silver Tide!"
Nothing happened.
"Silver Tide!" She repeated. "...Silver Tide? Luna, why isn't it working?"
"Remember what I said about when a Senshi's power first Awakens? That attack you used the first time was an emergency attack!"
"This isn't an emergency?!"
"You have conscious control of your power now! You have to use an attack you can handle! Mercury, the same goes for you!" The panther suddenly burst into view again, slamming the bone-armed thing to the ground with a roar.
"But how? How do I do that?" Serenity asked.
Mercury stared at her. "You don't know how to fight? But..."
"I've only been in one fight! One!"
The blue-haired Senshi stared at her. "...so we're basically doomed," she stated flatly.
"No, we're not! We just need to...LOOK OUT!"
Mercury leapt out of the way of another attack by the open-skulled thing. Suddenly, something buzzed in her mind—words that weren't there before. Landing again on the awning she had perched on earlier, she concentrated on those words, extending her hands before her.
"FROST DUSTER!"
A spray of glittering ice crystals erupted from her outstretched hands, a fine mist that enveloped the misshapen monster. It flailed and moaned in agony as the icy mist surrounded it, condensing into a thick layer of glittering frost on its skin. It toppled over, struggling to move but unable to do so, its limbs frozen solid.
"Nice, Mercury!" Serenity cheered. "I think...yes! I know what to do!" She raised her left hand in a vertical position before her, extending the other so that the elbows of both arms touched and the forearms were perpendicular to one another, her right hand stretched flat and pointing at the fallen creature. "CRESCENT MOON!"
A crescent-shaped burst of silver light shot from her outstretched hand, slamming into the shoulder of the creature. Its arm was neatly severed. Three more crescent blasts severed its remaining limbs. Serenity jumped up and down, cheering at her success.
"Behind you!" Mercury called. She aimed and released another Frost Duster as Serenity ducked and rolled, avoiding a strike from another creature which had picked up the post box and was using it as a cudgel. It dropped its weapon and toppled over, rotten grey-green flesh crackling as it froze over.
Serenity rolled to her knees a metre away and crossed her arms in a slightly different pose. "HALF MOON!" A semicircle of silver light flew away from her, cutting cleanly through the torso of the fallen enemy. "Hey, two attacks! How about that!"
Luna growled, "You've got to aim for their throats or it won't do any good!"
Mercury froze the other three, and Serenity used her attacks to sever their grotesque heads. As the heads fell to the ground, glowing amber crystals rose into the air, pulsing with sickly light.
"The crystals! Break the crystals!" Luna rumbled.
"On it! CRESCENT MOON!" Serenity spun in place in a graceful pirouette; five deadly crescents of silver light shot forth from her, neatly shattering the crystals. They broke with a sound like soft screaming, and dim amber flames flickered into nothingness. The remains of the dead Necrocites decayed into foul-smelling piles of slime and dust.
Serenity exhaled deeply, then turned to look at Mercury. "Are you okay?"
The blue-clad Senshi levelled a cool look at her. "No. I'm not. I was just attacked by five rejects from a bad horror movie. I've turned into...this...despite vowing not to. I have just been in a fight for my life. I am very tired, and I hope I never have to do anything like this ever again."
Serenity faltered, eyes moist and sad. "Ami-san..." She hesitated. "I won't lie to you. Like it or not, accept it or not, you are a Senshi. Creatures such as these WILL seek you out and attack you, regardless of whether you accept or deny your power."
"She's right," Luna added, padding into view. "You're going to have to fight. You won't have a choice in the matter, in the end."
Mercury sighed, bowing her head. "I was afraid you were going to say that." She paused, then looked up at Serenity. "So be it, then. I will fight to protect myself, when I am endangered. And..." She hesitated. "I...owe you, for saving my life tonight. If...you need my assistance, I will come. But only if it is an emergency," she admonished. "Do not misunderstand, Tsukino-san. I have no desire to be your friend. I will be your ally in battle, out of necessity, and to repay the debt I owe. But I have no desire or use for friendship. I ask that you respect this."
Serenity looked at her for a long time, her crystal blue gaze searching. At length, she sighed. "I understand. I won't try to force you into anything you don't want. I do wish we could be friends, but..." She paused, and extended her hand. "I suppose if all we can be is allies, then I am grateful to you for that much."
Mercury looked at the offered hand for several seconds before grudgingly extending her own. They shook, briefly. Mercury glanced around warily, then reversed her transformation. Adjusting her glasses and retrieving her bag from where it had fallen, she bowed stiffly to the other Senshi. "Good evening, Tsukino-san." She turned her back on the Senshi and the panther and headed home.
Serenity watched her go for a few moments, then sighed and leapt to the nearest rooftop, Luna silently following her.
"It's a beginning," she said eventually.
* * * * *
Ami collapsed bonelessly onto the sofa as she entered the empty flat, not bothering to turn on the lights.
In the dim glow from the window, she could just barely make out the bracelet clasped around her wrist, the dull colour of the midnight sky in the scarce light.
"Mercury..."
She sighed.
"How bothersome."
And yet, somehow...
Somehow, it felt as though she might have found the piece which filled the ragged hole that had rent itself into her ordered world.
Perhaps.
* * * * *
Timothy smiled as the he listened to the report from his distant subordinate. "Problem solved," he said cheerfully to nobody in particular as he turned a page in the book he was reading.
* * * * *
"Jadeite."
The blond man appeared before Beryl's throne, pressing a closed fist to his chest and bowing.
"Another Senshi has appeared."
"Hai. My watcher in the area informed me of this."
"The new Senshi was attacked by several Necrocites."
"Hai. I was also informed of this. Two Senshi defeated them with little difficulty."
"Have you forgotten, Jadeite, the penalty for acting outside of your assigned orders?"
Jadeite frowned. "I do not understand the implication, my Queen. You surely do not think—?"
"You are certain you had no hand in this?"
Jadeite paused, his face tightening; he was clearly struggling to remain composed. Fury flashed in his grey eyes.
"My Queen, I am Jadeite, of the Shitennou. Nobility is my sword."
Three other figures appeared in the deep shadows of Beryl's throne room. One of them stepped forward, enough to reveal a grey uniform similar to Jadeite's, but not enough for any features to become distinct, and saluted the throne as Jadeite had done.
"We are the Shitennou. Honour is our armour."
The second of the newcomers stepped forward, also saluting with one clenched fist to his breast. "We are the Shitennou. Integrity is our shield."
The final shadow stepped forward, also saluting. "We are the Shitennou. Loyalty is our standard."
Jadeite spoke again. "We, the Shitennou, would not lower ourselves to consorting with filth. I know not what agent sent Necrocites to attack the Senshi, but I assure you, on my honour—on the honour of the Shitennou—it was not I."
Beryl contemplated him for a long moment. Then, she nodded. "My apologies for doubting your loyalty, Lord Jadeite. Please continue your mission."
"Hai, Queen Beryl-sama."
The Shitennou vanished from the throne room.
