Mercury's Song Part Three written by Mike Koos -------------------- "Have you succeeded in locating the Princess?" Luna frowned, hoping that whoever was on the other end of the communication couldn't see her frown... just as she could not see him. It was frustrating; someone she knew only by a muted voice had asked her to find the Princess of the Moon, when there were almost no traces of the Princess she could identify. In effect, the voice had told her merely that the Princess was *somewhere* on the Earth and charged her with the task of locating the royal heir. What was worse was that the help she had recruited, a girl by the name of Tsukino Usagi, had turned out to be a questionable Sailor Senshi. Once, a millenium ago, the Senshi had been a powerful, formidable force no youma would dare take lightly... but now, the new Sailor Moon was barely surviving her battles with their new foe by an unusually extreme streak of luck. As well as the help of a masked stranger dressed in a full tuxedo and top hat, for whom Usagi seemed to have developed a crush. Her 'superior' didn't need to know all of these details, however. The basic report would do - neither she nor Sailor Moon had located the Princess, but they would continue their efforts. Luna wondered what would happen if she voiced her concerns about how hopeless this search for the Princess might well be. She reached out a black-furred paw to tap one of the buttons on the main console of the Sailor V game, calling up a picture she had scanned into the system before making her call. The face of a girl appeared on the monitor, her gentle features framed by short blue hair. "I sensed a highly unusual energy radiating from this girl. I doubt she is the Princess, but I thought I should check with you before possibly confronting her." There was a momentary pause. "She could be a powerful youma sent by our enemy," her contact said, though Luna wondered if she'd heard a measure of doubt in the other's voice. "I suspected she might be a youma. Hmm. I'll have to try to keep a close eye on her." * * * * * Ami sighed quietly to herself as she walked. It had only been about a week and a half since her transfer to Juuban Middle, though she knew that the rumors about her were already circulating in full force. That she intentionally kept to herself, apart from most everyone else, apparently was enough for others to consider her a snob. Of course, she didn't mind letting everyone think whatever they would about her. Mizuno Ami wasn't exactly the same person as Saotome Ranma, was she? She wasn't sure. Ranma wondered exactly what the curse of the Nyan-nii-chuan waters had done to him aside from forcing him to wear the body of a girl who had drowned a thousand years ago. Had the curse given him the girl's intelligence and fondness for academic matters - assuming the girl had possessed those traits - or had the intelligence always been present in him, waiting for some way to be called forth? Even the Guide who lived on the edge of those cursed training grounds had noticed her altered behavior. He had insisted that no victim of the Nyan-nii-chuan ever exhibited a change as considerable as hers. Ranma and Ami were the same person, she concluded, forced to pretend that they weren't. How would others view her if they knew she was both a boy and a girl? She also had no desire to have someone place her and her curse under close examination... if anyone were to do that, it would be her, and *only* her. she told herself, At least she wasn't being forced to resolve the matter on one way or another. Her father had disappeared to who knew where, possibly searching for her. Had the man been here, he would likely make her abandon all of this academic nonsense, return to the Tendo home and resume her training in the martial arts, as well as that archaic prearranged marriage to Akane. Here, in Juuban, she could explore being someone other than the person Ranma was being forced to be, even if she had to be a girl named Ami to do it. She was eager to learn how she had fared on the mock test held by the classes two days ago; proving her worth as a scholar had become just as important as proving her skill as a martial artist. Was that a side effect of her 'new' intelligence, her pride, or both? As she neared the wall where the test rankings were posted, she heard someone mention her name. "I don't believe it! Mizuno Ami in 2-5 is first, again?" Ami immediately turned and walked toward the nearest window in the hall, pretending to be interested in what she could see through it. Better to see what the crowd gathered around the ranking lists thought of her before making her presence known. "Well, she IS supposed to be a genius." "She must be if she's the best in the school," a blond-haired girl - who wore her hair in the most unusual style Ami had ever seen - added. "Usagi," another girl corrected her, "her scores are the best in Japan." Usagi's eyes widened. "What? The best in the whole country?" Ami blinked. No one had told her her scores were *that* high... When she glanced back in the group's direction, a boy with short brown hair and rather thick glasses had joined them. "She's rumored to have an IQ of three hundred," he offered. That particular fact, she had been told. "Wow... she really is a genius," Usagi breathed. "Do you HAVE to pop up like that?" the auburn-haired girl who had previously corrected Usagi rounded on the newcomer, bringing a loose fist down on his head. An abrupt flicker of movement outside the window caught Ami's attention - the wind carrying someone's lost paper away, she surmised. She was grateful for the 'distraction' seconds later when she heard Usagi say, "Isn't that her? I mean, Mizuno-san?" "Yeah," the boy wearing glasses replied. "Did you know she attends the Crystal Seminar?" Pause. "That's the new juku that they recently built. Mom was talking about it... she said that it's really expensive to go there." "Rumor has it that Mizuno-san's parents are very wealthy." Ami barely suppressed the urge to laugh. "Really?" the auburn-haired girl asked. The boy pushed his glasses back into place upon his nose, nodding. "Anyway... since she's such a special student and on the Crystal Seminar's preferential-students lists, they waive her tuition fees." That, too, was true; if not for that, Ami knew that the Tendos would have had to spend *far* more money for the sake of her education. She owed them so much, as it was... But how had the boy learned that particular fact about her tuition fees? Was he 'snooping' in the details of her life? Nabiki had supposedly created an identity for her that would withstand a great deal of scrutiny - how or with what help Nabiki had accomplished that, Ami wasn't sure she wanted to know - but she wasn't willing to test exactly how true that was. Hopefully, Ami thought, she wouldn't need to convince this boy that he should mind his own business. "She's a snob, though," another girl in the crowd said in a lower voice. "She acts like she's so special because she's smart." Ami restrained herself, knowing that the crowd was likely still watching her. "I can't believe that..." remarked Usagi. At that, Ami glanced at her in surprise. Nearly everyone thought she was a snob. What reason would Usagi have for not believing the rumors? Usagi suddenly shot a look at Ami, and was startled to find that the person they had been gossiping about was now staring straight at her. "Oh, uh," she laughed guiltily. "...Isn't the weather great today?" Ami said nothing in response. * * * * * Usagi continued to think about the issue nearly ten minutes later, on her way home. Mizuno Ami was smart - the most intelligent girl in the entire school, as far as the test rankings and Umino were concerned. Ami had to know what everyone was thinking and saying about her... calling her a snob, for example. So why was she *letting* them say practically anything about her, and not defending herself? The Ami she'd seen in the hall hadn't acted like a snob. Distant, yes, but Usagi guessed the young genius had perhaps been shy or afraid. Did Ami have trouble making friends? Usagi exhaled. "I'd love to be smart, too," she muttered to herself. "Mom's gonna kill me when she finds out what I got on the test." A vision of her mother sending her to a juku, following Ami's example, crossed her thoughts. "Why is this happening to me?" she wailed. Around the next corner in the street, Ami was walking home at a slower pace, lost in thoughts of her own. Had she been wrong in letting everyone think what they would of Ami? Ranma and Ami were the same person, after all, and it was ridiculous of her to only worry about others' opinions as Ranma. Why *wouldn't* a fourteen-year old super-genius care what other people thought of her? Certainly, her father - who had kept her isolated from practically everyone else for most of her life - had given her... *him*... very little encouragement or praise. He'd had to learn everything his father taught him properly and without a single flaw, or face endless repetition of the lessons and his father's harsh treatment. All in the name of the martial arts. The man had insisted that it was all necessary - a martial artist should be prepared to face anything, including hardship and pain. What use was a fighter who couldn't withstand pain? As a fighter, Ranma could easily find several dozen people who thought that whatever she did was 'cool,' but how many of those people would truly respect her? On the other hand, as a scholar she knew people respected her, even if a majority of her fellow students at Juuban Middle thought she was a snob. she wondered. Her new life already needed another change... but what change would it be? Preoccupied with her thoughts, Ami didn't notice that a cat was perched atop one of the tall walls bordering the sidewalks, watching her through narrowed eyes. Luna's frown deepened; at this range, she could sense traces of energy from the girl, energy stronger than humans normally exhibited - but to be one hundred percent sure, she needed to be near the girl or touching her. The girl either hadn't sensed her presence or was ignoring her. Luna knew that she had to use surprise to her advantage while she could... pouncing on the girl wasn't exactly a sound, tactical idea, but it *was* the fastest way to get a 'reading' of the girl's energy. One pounce, and she'd be well on her way with her results. *Someone* had to take the initiative, since Usagi wouldn't. She braced herself for the jump and leaped... In mid-leap, Luna could tell that the girl had sensed her presence. She pivoted to face her feline 'attacker,' sapphire eyes widening in what Luna thought might be fear, before instinctively leaping backward with a yelp. "A cat!?" she managed, her heart and breath at once racing. Luna forgot her goals for a moment as she landed on her feet, staring up at someone who apparently wanted to run in terror. Then, she felt a stronger sense of the girl's unusual energy. "Luna! What do you think you're doing?" Luna started. That had been Usagi's voice. Usagi was indeed walking toward her from the direction in which Ami had come. "Bad kitty," she scolded, shaking a finger. "Why did you scare her like that? You'd better go home." Seeing that Usagi meant what she had said - inasmuch as what little Usagi could say without revealing Luna's secret - Luna decided to place several yards' worth of distance between herself and the two girls. Enough to keep an eye on the blue-haired girl. Ami waited until the cat had run around the street corner far ahead of her to begin breathing normally again. "Did she scare you? I'm sorry," Usagi apologized. "I don't know why she would do that." Ami gathered herself. "That's quite all right. She didn't really scare me. I just... have an allergy to cats." She paused. "Does she belong to you?" "Yes. Her name is Luna." "You named her Luna, after the Moon?" asked Ami, eyebrows raised slightly in interest. Usagi nodded. "Say, uh... aren't you Mizuno Ami from 2-5?" "...Yes." "Pleased to meet you. I'm Tsukino Usagi, from 2-1," Usagi said, offering the other girl a smile. Ami returned the gesture. "Pleased to meet you." Inwardly, Usagi was envisioning perfect scores on all her assignments and tests. If Ami could help her with her work, maybe she could become a super-genius, as well! Or at least *look* like one in her mother's eyes. Beyond that, however, Ami still behaved as though she could use a friend. She didn't act like a loner, but the rumors about her couldn't be making it easy for her to talk to anyone. An idea came to Usagi's mind. "Do you play video games, Mizuno-san?" "No... I've never really thought about doing that." Ami studied her for a brief moment. What did Usagi have in mind? "Would you like to come to the Crown Game Center with me? I can show you how to play if you want." Ami hesitated. This morning, she would have politely refused Usagi's request. But now... Was this the kind of change she needed? Making new friends? Especially keeping in mind what might happen if and when they learned about her curse? Still, there was something about Usagi that Ami couldn't help but like. "Okay," she said at last. Now, how much did it cost to play a video game? * * * * * The sliding glass doors of the Crown Game Center slid apart to allow Usagi in, followed by a reluctant Ami. Unseen by either of them, Luna dashed into the arcade just as the doors closed once more behind them. Ami was momentarily awed by what she saw. This was what an arcade looked like? It was like the computer lab she used at the Crystal Seminar, with rows of colorful video games replacing rows of computer cubicles. Bright colors and sounds of all type - electronic or otherwise - filled every corner of the arcade. Usagi immediately dashed toward the token machine, changing what Ami took to be most of her money into tokens. Ami nervously thought, as Usagi made her way to a game with a placard that read, 'Sailor V.' According to the reports and rumors, Sailor V was a teenaged hero who had made a name for herself both in Japan and other parts of the world, fighting criminals and perhaps getting involved in matters of espionage. Recently, someone calling herself 'Sailor Moon' had been making appearances in Juuban to fight attacks from what were apparently monsters or demons... though Ami hadn't seen any evidence, personally, that proved Sailor Moon or the monsters truly existed. She'd wondered if this was a fight in which she should become involved as either a boy or a girl - after all, she was an experienced martial artist. What kind of superhero would she make? Ami peered over Usagi's shoulder at the monitor of the Sailor V game while Usagi played the game - or tried to, given that Usagi didn't seem to get far in the game on any of her 'credits.' Finally, Usagi pushed herself away from the game and sighed. "I guess I'm just having bad luck today," she said, glancing up at Ami from where she sat on the stool. "Why don't you give it a shot?" Ami watched the game run through its attract mode. "I don't know... It looks like a difficult game." "That's right, it is hard," Usagi assumed a scholarly tone. "They say that if you score at least five hundred points in a game, you're better than the average player." "I suppose it won't hurt to play," concluded Ami. After getting two tokens of her own from the token machine, Ami took the seat Usagi had vacated in front of the game. She found that the game wasn't as hard as Usagi had made it out to be. There were simple patterns one could use in response to the progression of enemies in the game... even without using any of the 'special tricks' Sailor V's representation could call upon. Using those tricks did yield more points, however. A video game required hand-eye coordination - obviously, she would do a lot better at the game if she kept her eyes on the screen, not the controls. In no time at all, she had surpassed a thousand points. Usagi gaped. Ami had easily beaten the five hundred point-mark, and even after a few thousand points was showing no signs of stopping. By the time Ami had passed twenty thousand points, a crowd had gathered around them. She tuned out their comments about how well she was doing in the game or how many points she had scored; those, too, were distractions from the game. "Usagi-chan?" a voice Usagi recognized called to her from within the crowd. She turned to see Furuhata Motoki - the young man who was in charge of the Game Center during the afternoons - making his way through the crowd to get to her. "I wasn't aware you were here." His eyes traveled from Usagi to Ami, and the screen which held Ami's attention. "Who's your friend, Usagi? She's already beaten the record at that game." For some reason, Motoki's comment reminded Ami of where she was and what she was doing. Before today, she had never played a video game... and on her first attempt, she had broken a record? She spared a quick glance at her watch. "Oh, no!" she gasped, surprising everyone by bolting to her feet and abandoning the game. "I didn't think it was this late! I'm sorry, Tsukino-san - I really must be going to juku now." Usagi appeared slightly crestfallen. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you have juku today." Ami paused on her way to the door, as though what she was about to say was common knowledge. "I go to juku every day," she said, innocently. "E-every day!?" stammered Usagi. Ami nodded. "Studying and school are very important to me." she mentally added. "Thank you, Tsukino-san." She waited for the arcade's doors to slide open and stepped through. "Bye!" "Bye." Usagi watched Ami leave, feeling a note of sympathy for the young scholar. Was that what it was like to be a super-genius girl? Never knowing anything but schoolwork and studying? Never having any fun? "Usagi-chan?" Motoki asked, coming to stand behind her. "Yes?" He held up a small, black computer disk for her to see. "I think your friend dropped this." It was a shame the girl hadn't taken the time to enter her name in the Sailor V high-score table, though; now, whoever had assumed the controls after she left would have their name in the number-one spot without having done anything at all. Few people could score as high as the girl had on the Sailor V game... Usagi took the disk from him and examined it for a second. Written on the disk were the words, 'Crystal Seminar,' 'Computer Lab,' and Ami's name. Further proof that although she wasn't a snob, Mizuno Ami *was* a scholar above all else. "I... I'll return it to her." * * * * * At her assigned terminal in the computer lab, Ami rummaged through her bookbag. she thought, not finding what she had been looking for. She sighed. Ami felt a hand rest on her shoulder. "Mizuno-san," her instructor said, meeting her gaze, "be sure to use the Crystal Disk and concentrate on your studying. I know you're one of the best, but I hope you don't view that as an excuse to slack when it comes to your studies." Her instructor's words struck Ami as being rather strange. She had never been lazy with her work before, or taken any kind of shortcut that might be viewed as cheating. The thought had never crossed her mind. Everyone at the Crystal Seminar knew she would not take the easy way out. So why was her instructor implying she might do it now? Oh, well - it really wasn't that important an issue. "I won't," she replied, keeping her face expressionless. "We're all counting on you," the woman told her, moving on to the boy seated at the terminal to Ami's left. she wondered as her neighbor received a similar lecture. Why would a computer program cause headaches? True, one could develop a headache or eyestrain from staring at text on a monitor for long periods of time - but the Crystal Disk had consistently given her headaches after even only a half-hour of use. There was also the fact that their instructor seemed to be *forcing* the students to use the disk. Why? Ami wondered. Was there something strange going on here? She drew a notepad and mechanical pencil from her bookbag. Usagi stared at the small poster taped to the doors of the Crystal Seminar. The poster was completely computer-generated, featuring large pictures of Ami and the Crystal Disk at the top. "You, too, can be a genius like Mizuno Ami if you use the new Crystal Disk," Usagi read. That meant the disk Ami had dropped could be the Crystal Disk. Were the poster's claims true? If she used Ami's Crystal Disk, could she become a genius? Perhaps then she could better understand Ami... "Stay on guard, Usagi," Luna warned her. "I don't like the feel of this juku, either." Usagi frowned. "Is there *anything* about Mizuno-san you don't think is suspicious? I'm just gonna return her disk, that's all." "Hmm... I guess you're thinking about studying after all, odango-atama." Usagi cringed. Only one person liked to torment her by calling her 'odango-atama,' likening her hairstyle to a dessert, of all things... "You!" she grated, confronting the young, black-haired man. "What are YOU doing here? Are you following me around or something?" "Of course not. Say, didn't your cat just speak?" Both Usagi and Luna's eyes went wide. "What?" blurted Usagi. "You're losing it. There's no such thing as a talking cat." That said, she scooped Luna into her arms and ran away from him as fast as she could manage. "I can't believe how close that was," Luna said, catching her breath after Usagi lowered her to the ground. "If he ever discovered the truth..." Turning away from Luna, Usagi made a face. Suddenly, she realized she was holding Ami's disk in her hand a bit more tightly than necessary; the rear edge of the disk was digging into her palm. "Oh, great! I forgot to take this in to her, thanks to that guy!" Luna stepped away from Usagi in order to place herself back into Usagi's line of sight. "Usagi-chan, let's go to the school and find a computer. I want to make a closer examination of that disk." Usagi rolled her eyes. "How? I don't even know how to use a computer..." Fortunately, Juuban Middle was within walking distance of the Crystal Seminar. Usagi quickly located the audio/video room, and Luna had the room's lone computer up and running by the time Usagi secured the doors. "Hey, I didn't know you could do that," said Usagi, impressed by the sight of Luna tapping keys on the computer's keyboard. On Luna's cue, she pushed the disk into the appropriate drive. "Anyone can learn how to use a computer now, Usagi-chan. Including you." She thought about making a comment of her own, then decided to ignore Luna's words. Luna was merely trying to provoke her into 'improving herself' again. Why couldn't Luna stop pestering her about things like her schoolwork? A high-pitched buzz filled the room, bringing an abrupt end to that thought. Usagi winced, covering her ears. "What's going on?" A voice was barely audible over the buzz. "You will surrender the energies of your minds over to us for our great purposes, and the all-powerful--" "Just as I thought - this is a subliminal brain-washing program!" exclaimed Luna. She shut off the computer; better not to risk any further surprises by leaving the computer running, she reasoned. "It can't be..." "It is," Luna said flatly. "Your 'friend' is a youma." * * * * * Ami paused in her calculations, long enough to add lead to the point of her mechanical pencil. She found it odd that her instructor wasn't making passes through all the rows every so often, to check on everyone... especially after warning them all about slacking off and insisting that they use the Crystal Disks. Ami had been anticipating a reprimand for *not* using the Disk, a reprimand that hadn't come as of yet. Until then, nothing would distract her from doing her assignments - even considering that she wasn't using her computer terminal as everyone else was. All of a sudden, the main door to the classroom forcefully swung open. "Medical emergency!" cried a blond-haired woman dressed in a school nurse's uniform. "Medical emergency! Everyone, please step away from the computers!" Ami instinctively rose from her seat. Whoever this woman was, she wasn't a member of the Crystal Seminar faculty. And since she had not made an attempt to provide any credentials - she wasn't even wearing an ID card! - or reason for the 'medical emergency,' Ami was skeptical of the truthfulness of this interruption. Why would the woman ask everyone to 'step away from the computers?' Why not have them all 'evacuate the room,' instead? "What is this all about?" demanded Ami. "Why are you trying to distract us from our studies?" The woman leveled a glare at her. "So you ARE a youma." Ami blinked. "What?" "Don't try to deny it!" she insisted. "Now!" someone whom Ami couldn't see instructed. "Transform into Sailor Moon!" Caught off-guard, Ami watched as the woman struck a defensive pose and shouted the words, "Moon Prism Power...... make up!" Sailor Moon had come to her classroom and accused her of being a demon. Before Ami could react, someone reached out from behind her, grasping her head tightly in one hand and wrapping their other arm around both of hers in an attempt to keep her from moving. Ami frowned; not expecting an ambush, she had been startled by the woman's transformation into Sailor Moon, too surprised to maintain a check of the area about her with her martial-artist's senses. Whoever was holding her probably didn't know she was a martial artist, or they would have taken care to restrain her with a much better hold than *this*... The fabric of the sleeve on the arm wrapped around her was the same as that of the red dress-suit her sensei had worn, and the bemused laugh Ami heard an instant later confirmed it - now, why would her sensei be holding her like a hostage in response to an appearance by Sailor Moon? Sensei or not, Ami wasn't about to let the older woman hold her in such a manner. She prepared to spin out of the hold... but froze when she saw the arm holding her begin to metamorphosize into... something else. Clothing melted into skin as the arm became longer, increasing in thickness. The skin became an unnatural shade of red as she watched; the fingers clasped around her head had grown so that her former sensei's hand now completely enveloped the top of her head. Ami caught a glimpse of talons attached to the ends of those fingers, before the 'monster' tightened its grip, forcing her to shut her eyes in response to the pain. No. Not a monster. She recalled what Sailor Moon had said. Her sensei was a *youma*. "I am Garoben, the youma of knowledge," her captor stated. "And this young genius is about to contribute the energies of her mind to our Master." As if to emphasize her point, she tightened her grip on Ami's head even more, eliciting a yelp from the girl in response. "I TOLD you Mizuno-san wasn't a youma!" Ami heard Sailor Moon exclaim. The voice - and Sailor Moon's appearance - suddenly came together in her mind. Tsukino Usagi was Sailor Moon? What kind of fighter was Usagi, to stand against monsters and demons? The Usagi Ami had seen at the Game Center hadn't behaved anything like a fighter at all... ...Usagi, who was currently making a speech about the value of intelligence and how she wasn't going to let the monster have the young genius. "For love and justice, I am the beautiful sailor- suited warrior, Sailor Moon! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!" wondered Ami. She prepared once more to break free of her captor's hold. "Question one," Garoben said, matter-of-factly. Sailor Moon blinked. "...Huh?" "Subject: Newtonian physics. What causes apples to fall from trees?" Ami boggled. A demon that fought using test questions? The answer immediately came to her. Usagi, on the other hand... "Why are you asking me? Go ask the apples!" Garoben took her hand away from Ami's head long enough to send an array of razor-sharp exam papers slicing through the air toward Sailor Moon. "Wrong answer!" she cackled. Luna dove under the nearest row of cubicles as Sailor Moon nearly tripped outrunning the test papers. She knew she was to blame for accusing Ami of being a youma; that mistake had placed the girl's life in danger, giving Garoben an advantage. Even if Ami's strange abundance of power hadn't been explained, Luna felt she owed it to Ami to help the girl break free from the youma's hold. "A typhoon blew them down?" Assuming Usagi didn't fall victim to Garoben's attacks, in the meantime. "The force of gravity draws the apples to the Earth!" Luna yelled in exasperation, hoping Sailor Moon would understand. "The force of gravity draws the apples to the Earth!" Sailor Moon repeated, causing the airborne exams to vanish. Garoben had no intention of giving her time to relax. "Question two, then. Define gravity in fifty words or less." "You have GOT to be kidding." "If you don't answer, you don't pass!" gloated Garoben, as she drew the arm she had locked around Ami free for a grand sweeping gesture... again tightening her hold on the girl's head. Ami fought against the urge to pass out. Somehow, she had to break free and help Usagi... no, *Sailor Moon*. At Garoben's command, the remainder of the students left their workstations in a daze and began advancing on Sailor Moon. She'd seen this tactic countless times; apparently, having their victims mob her was a favorite trick among youma. They knew full well she wouldn't attack innocents... "And now," Garoben brought Ami's forehead against the nearest computer monitor. "Surrender your mental energies!" A ghostly hand of mist reached forth from the monitor to engulf the girl's head. Ami shut her eyes tightly and grit her teeth - more from the pain of Garoben's forced grip on her than the thought that an unknown youma force was trying to steal her 'energy.' Rather than take her energy, however, the hand suddenly dissolved, retreating back into the monitor. The youma stared in surprise. "What!? Her energies... why aren't they being absorbed?" Garoben glared at Ami as she realized what had happened. "The Disk!" she snarled. "You didn't use the Disk!" Luna watched in stunned surprise as the Roman symbol which represented Mercury took shape upon the center of Ami's forehead and furiously started to glow. "That mark......" she breathed. <*That's* why she wanted us to use the Crystal Disks!> Ami understood, her temper growing. In a burst of strength, she grabbed the youma with both hands and threw her across the aisle. "What foolishness is this?" Garoben drew herself up. Ami assumed a defensive stance. "I study better on my own than with a machine," she gave the youma a thin smile. "Fine!" Garoben narrowed her eyes. "I'll just take your energy the hard way, by taking your brain!" She held her right arm before her, quickly reforming the arm and hand into an elongated axe, then charged Ami. Luna was faster, however; she dashed toward Ami, carrying a polished sapphire-and-gold pen clenched between her teeth. "Ami-chan!" The martial artist took her gaze away from her opponent long enough to track the voice... "*CAT*!" she screamed, backpedaling in abrupt horror and eventually falling backward onto her rear - narrowly avoiding a swing from Garoben's axe in the process. Again, Luna noticed the fear evident in Ami's eyes, as well as her trembling and rapid breathing... and understood. Ami wasn't necessarily allergic to cats, as she had told Usagi - but she was *afraid* of them. And perhaps embarrassed of that fact, just as Shingo had been. There wasn't time to wonder why the girl feared cats. Ami was in danger and needed her transformation pen. Luna hid behind a bookbag left propped against one of the legs of another student's desk, sending the pen sliding along the floor in Ami's direction. "Ami-chan! The pen!" Heedless of the fact that she knew the voice she had just heard had come from a cat, Ami extended a hand and snatched the pen as it came into range, then rolled to her right to avoid a forceful axe chop. That done, she sprang to her feet and leapt backward, alighting neatly at the end of the aisle. No youma was going to get the better of her... "Hold the pen up and shout, 'Mercury Power, make up!'" Ami caught a glimpse of the pen she held. The pen's body was a deep, rich blue, much like the color of her eyes and hair. What drew her attention was the cap - it appeared to be completely made of a gold-colored metal, or perhaps even gold itself. At the tip of the cap rested a flat disc embellished with the Roman symbol for Mercury, within a golden orbit. Why would she have a pen like this? And what use would shouting... wait. Usagi - if indeed Sailor Moon was Usagi - had shouted the words, "Moon Prism Power, make up!" before becoming Sailor Moon. Would a similar change be triggered in her? She mentally shuddered for an instant at the thought of yet *another* transformation. There was only one way to discover what would happen if she followed the directions of a talking cat that looked suspiciously like Luna. Ami steeled herself. "Mercury Power... make up!" In a considerable swirl of color and energy, what felt like flows of water washed over and enveloped her body, solidifying into a uniform much like the one Sailor Moon had worn. Sailor Mercury had been reborn. Luna felt a sense of joy and relief - another Senshi had been found and awakened, in time to help Sailor Moon. Now, what were the special powers of the Senshi of Mercury? Oh, yes. "Use the Shabon Spray!" she called to Sailor Mercury. Sailor Mercury instinctively acted on the suggestion, throwing her arms wide. "Shabon...... Spray!" A dense cloud of mist exploded forth from her hands and descended upon the entire room, causing visibility to drop sharply. Sailor Moon gasped as the mob of students advancing on her abruptly collapsed... only a scant few inches from being able to grab her. "Wh-what happened?" Had Tuxedo Kamen arrived and created this fog? She glanced in all directions, yet was unable to see much at all beyond the Spray. Luna emerged from underneath a nearby row of desks. "It's Ami-chan," she said, proudly. "She is the second bishoujo senshi, Sailor Mercury." Sailor Moon's eyes widened. "Mizuno... Ami-chan is... Sailor Mercury!?" Elsewhere within the Spray, Garoben shivered. "Blast that girl! Where is she? It's so cold..." The Shabon Spray cleared enough for her to see the silhouette of Sailor Mercury, walking toward her. "Ready to finish the fight you started?" Mercury taunted. "There you are!" the youma growled, charging her. "*Die*!" Mercury pivoted on one heel to avoid a straightforward thrust from Garoben's axe. She lunged forward, executing a one-two punch into her opponent's midsection, followed by an uppercut that launched the youma a slight distance into the air. The Senshi hopped after her, using a mid-air spin-kick to send Garoben crashing back to the ground. By the time she landed on her feet, the mist she'd created was beginning to dissipate. Mercury caught sight of Sailor Moon, rushing to the scene of the fight. "Sailor Moon!" she exclaimed, surprised. Noting that Garoben was making an effort to stand, Sailor Moon took that as a cue to act. She drew her tiara from her forehead, and - with a snap of her wrist - flung the tiara-turned-weapon into the youma, shouting the words, "Moon... Tiara...... ACTION!" Sailor Mercury watched the Tiara slice a path through Garoben... after which the youma lost all color and exploded into minute particles of sand or perhaps ash that settled in a large pile on the ground, before vanishing from existence. She was impressed; Sailor Moon apparently had quite a bit of power to call upon, even if she did seem the novice fighter. Several of the students groaned. With the youma gone, Mercury surmised, they were no longer in danger - but to be safe, the Crystal Disks would have to be destroyed. Assuming they hadn't disintegrated along with their youma distributor... "Don't worry, minna," Sailor Moon told the class. "You're all gonna be okay." Well. Now that the fight was definitely over, Mercury decided it was a good time to catch her breath and take stock of everything that had just happened. She propped herself against the nearest chalkboard. Her uniform caught her attention. What she could see of it - blue, stylized knee-high boots, short skirt, white elbow-length gloves ending within blue, ribbed elbow protectors... ribbons of a lighter blue color tied in bows upon her chest and below the small of her back, a round sapphire jewel-brooch fastened to the center of the bow on her chest - precisely resembled the uniform of the girl she had seen in a picture at the Guide's hovel near Jhusenkyou. She could feel a choker band fit snugly around her neck, and a tiara resting, half-hidden by the bangs covering her forehead. Earrings. She was wearing earrings, could feel the studs' weight in her earlobes... even though she knew her ears had never been pierced. Somehow, she had become the girl who had come to Jhusenkyou one thousand years ago. Glancing up from her uniform, she saw that Sailor Moon was approaching her. "Usagi-chan... wh-what's going on?" Luna, not wanting to trigger Ami's fear, had hidden behind a nearby file cabinet. "Ami-chan, you are the second member of the Sailor Senshi... Sailor Mercury." "Sailor Mercury," Ami repeated to herself. The name did sound familiar to her. Sailor Mercury had come to Jhusenkyou a millennium ago, and created the Nyan-nii-chuan. But why did *she* look like the original Sailor Mercury, and why was she Sailor Mercury, *now*? Countless others had fallen into the Nyan-nii-chuan before her, and been cursed. A dynasty known as the 'Musk' even used the Nyan-nii-chuan to turn animals into helpless brides - a fact that had made Ranma shudder in revulsion when she had come across it in the books at the Guide's hovel. But she was the only person in a thousand years to emerge from the pool with the appearance of the girl who had originally drowned there, or have her behavior, personality and more changed. Why? Perhaps she had met some kind of condition or requirement to become both the girl and Sailor Mercury. Or maybe... maybe she had *been* the girl who formed the Nyan-nii-chuan. No, that couldn't be it. Could it? If she had been a girl and Sailor Mercury, why would she have been reborn as a boy? She couldn't imagine herself as being anything other than a boy, even taking into account all the time she had recently spent living as Mizuno Ami. But she was also Sailor Mercury, now, and didn't feel at all out of place in the uniform. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury were fighters, warriors with incredible power who fought against demons trying to steal the energies of people. A worthwhile cause. She had felt the exhilarating increase in power her transformation into Sailor Mercury had given her. Her father had said that it was important for him to be the best martial artist in the world. Assuming he - or she - achieved that goal, what then? All he could look forward to was a life of teaching students to fight and fending off challengers. At least as Sailor Mercury, she was using her abilities as a fighter to protect and defend others. And she didn't have to tell anyone who she truly was, either. Being a Senshi had officially given her a purpose as a fighter. "Now," she said, fixing Sailor Moon with a serious stare, "I want to know everything. Including the reason why you and Luna thought I was a youma." * * * * * The phone rang. Ami glanced at the clock hanging on the wall above her desk. It was late - she'd gone straight to Usagi's house immediately after the dismissal of her class at juku. Usagi had introduced her new friend to her parents... who, to Usagi's chagrin, already knew who Ami was. That triggered a short argument between Usagi and her brother, Shingo, who wondered why Usagi would be making friends with someone 'as intelligent as Ami.' She and Usagi had talked for a while in Usagi's bedroom; Ami had confided in Usagi that she did indeed have a fear of cats rather than an allergy, as Luna suspected, but wouldn't elaborate on her fear. To be safe, Luna had vanished to parts unknown. As much as the newest member of the team needed her knowledge and guidance, there was no telling how Ami would react to her presence. Hopefully, Luna had thought, Usagi could answer any question Ami had about 'Senshi business.' Ami sighed. Usagi hadn't been able to tell her much about their 'enemies' except what Luna had told her... that their enemies weren't human and were making an effort to steal everyone's energy for an unknown purpose. Only a few people who had her phone number would be calling her at this time of the evening. Either Usagi was calling her to talk about something - perhaps going out on a patrol? - or Kasumi, Nabiki or Akane were calling to check up on her. She answered the phone. "Mizuno residence, Ami speaking." "Hello, Ranma," the voice on the other end of the line greeted her. "Akane?" asked Ami. A smile came to her lips. "I was expecting Kasumi to call." There was a pause, in which she attempted to guess the expression on Akane's face. "Very funny, baka," Akane muttered. "Kasumi's busy and Nabiki's out with her friends, so I get to be the one to call. So... you get tired of school yet, like the rest of us?" Ami frowned. "I doubt I'll be getting tired anytime soon." "Well, that's because you're the one with the huge IQ." "If you've got better things to do than talk to me, Akane, I can go back to finishing my homework for the night." Another pause. "You're weird." Ami snorted in response. "Good-bye, Akane." "All right, fine. I was only supposed t'call and see how you were doing, anyway. Kasumi'd never let me hear the end of it if I didn't." Ami drew in her breath, hoping that Akane wouldn't notice it. She couldn't tell Akane about Usagi and Luna, and that she was Sailor Mercury, could she? No... better not to get Akane and her sisters involved. The situation here was too dangerous for that. "Are your days as fun as I think they are?" Akane asked, a note of sarcasm evident in her voice. "I suppose they are," she answered. "Nothing interesting is really happening around here right now." Later that night, Ami lay awake in bed, staring up into the darkness that she knew to be the ceiling of her bedroom. Trying to think about the events of the day and what those events meant to her was keeping her awake. She was Sailor Mercury. Teamed with Usagi - who was Sailor Moon - and a talking cat who could probably help with answering some of her questions... if she hadn't had her blasted fear of cats. That fear was a result of her father's irresponsibility, not hers. True, the Nekoken *was* a powerful technique, but at a great cost. There had to be a way she could bypass her fear... especially now that she needed to work with Luna. she wondered. She was a boy who transformed into a girl, thanks to the magic of a Jhusenkyou curse. Different magic had designated her as a Sailor Senshi. Her magic. The power and magic within her. Of Mercury and herself. As a Senshi, she was a defender and fighter. A girl in an unusual uniform that fought against an unknown evil. Wearily, she pulled herself out from under her covers and sat on the end of her bed, reaching for the switch of the lamp resting on the nightstand. While letting her eyes adjust to the light, she stared at her legs... clad in a light-green pair of pajamas which Nabiki had given her. There. On the nightstand, between her clock-radio and the lamp, was her Mercury transformation pen. On a whim, she stood, grabbing her pen as she did so. She spoke the words to trigger her change into Sailor Mercury, taking care to keep her voice down so that no one would hear her voice through the apartment's walls. Within several seconds her transformation was complete. She slowly walked toward her bedroom door and stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror she'd mounted on the back of her door. The Senshi uniform was designed for fighting as well as appearance, she guessed, though wearing it would take a bit of getting used to. Particularly the boots; she'd never fought in anything but bare feet or simple shoes. At least the heels of the boots were thin enough to not interfere with whatever athletic maneuvers she would have to make while fighting. Kasumi had convinced her to try on a pair of her high-heeled shoes for a brief moment, to see how the female Ranma looked in different types of clothes; as a result, Ami suspected that high heels would hinder her fighting style. Apparently, though, if she didn't think about it while she fought, she would not have a problem. She'd fought Garoben without any concerns about her uniform. Fighter's instinct, perhaps? A fighter had to be able to fight in *all* situations, expected or not. And any fight the Sailor Senshi found themselves in was bound to be full of the unexpected. Again, the feeling that all of this was completely right was with her. Saotome Ranma was secretly Mizuno Ami, who was secretly Sailor Mercury. She smiled. <...to be continued...> ------------ Special thanks to the RanMoon discussion list and Tom Williams for comments and prereading. This story is a part of the RanMoon project. Visit the project's homepage at: ********** * Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos: makoto@cal.net * http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto * * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your background music is too strong * for me." - Sam Johnson, Whose Line is it Anyway?