Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from this fan fiction, they all belong to the creators of Sailor Moon. Warnings for some violence and death to start with, as well as some shoujo-ai (or girl/girl love) later on. This alternate timeline story starts out pretty dark, but will hopefully lighten up somewhat as the chapters go on.
Super Sailor Mercury: Shattered Ice Prelude
The weeping pulled Ami back to consciousness, a young man's broken cries of pain and grief. She struggled to think clearly, taking in the battlefield around her, and her blood ran cold. Minako and Rei lay crumpled against the wall, the force of the impact breaking and twisting them. Makoto was impaled in the phone booth, her blood forming a pool around her limp form. Mamoru lay in the odd young man's arms, the boy rocking him as he wept. And Usagi..
Their Princess almost looked like she was sleeping, laying there on the pavement. Usagi's eyes closed, her golden hair spread about her, she looked like she was waiting for her fairy tale prince to awaken her. But the blood on her chest shattered the comforting illusion, and Ami could almost feel something breaking inside of her own heart at the sight.
"Usagi," Ami managed weakly.
Fiore looked up in surprise, looking over to where he had flung her with a single sweep of his sword. His skin was pale green, and his hair was blue, with two pink tufts on each side of his face. His clothing was all black, edged in gold, with a flower on his breast.
"You still live," Fiore said to her softly, laying Mamoru down on the pavement gently. His eyes hardened as gracefully he rose to his feet, "You and that girl tricked him, turned him against me. For that, you will pay."
Ami knelt there, blood streaming down her face from the cut that Fiore had given her. It was odd, she thought to herself dazedly as Fiore calmly approached, I didn't know that you could feel cold rage. Her power sang within her, rising to new levels, and once he was near enough she flung her hand up and cried out, "Shine Aqua Illusion!"
"Urk," Fiore staggered back, gazing down at where a spear of sharpened ice had plunged right through the kisenian flower on his breast. He struggled to lift his blade, and looked down into what looked like the cold blue eyes of a demon.
Again and again Ami struck, driving the many spears of ice into him. With a fury that she had never known before she drew deep upon her power and screamed, "Shine Aqua STORM!" A massive wave of elemental cold poured out of her and Fiore simply exploded, each and every cell of his body rupturing, his body crumbling to frozen dust.
In the darkness of her apartment Ami Mizuno came awake, her chest heaving and body covered with a cold sweat. 'At least I didn't wake up screaming,' she thought weakly. She turned to look out the window, noting it was still dark outside. With a sigh she slipped out of bed, knowing that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep tonight.
The apartment was lit only by the moonlight that came through the windows, but Ami still navigated the dark halls with ease. She carefully opened up the other bedroom nearby her own, and peeked inside. The little girl lay there on the bed, curled around the doll that she held, her pink hair spread out around her on the pillows.
'Good, I didn't wake up Chibi-Usa,' Ami thought with some relief as she shut the door as quietly as possible.
Ami walked down the hallway and passed through the living room, smiling slightly as she looked at the sleeping Luna and Artemis curled up together on the couch. She moved on to the kitchen, putting the kettle on to make herself some tea.
The distorted reflection of her face in the shiny side of the toaster caught her eye, and Ami reached up to trace the scar running from one cheek, across the bridge of her nose and down to the other. If Fiore's strike had been just a bit harder, she would either be blind or dead. Her mother had urged her to consider plastic surgery, but Ami had refused. She wanted to remember, always.
The soft whistle of the kettle caught her attention, and she turned off the heat before pouring a cup of the hot water. Two tea bags floated in the water before sinking, and she sat down at the small dining table to let it brew.
The dream still hovered about her. Ami sat back in her chair with a sigh, letting herself remember what happened after that...
Ami sat there on the pavement, not caring that blood was dripping down her face onto the pavement, or that bits of Fiore had splashed against her. She was numb, as if all the heat had been sucked right out of her in that final attack.
"Ami?" a little girl's voice asked weakly.
Ami's head jerked up, looked at the stunned, shell shocked face of Chibi-Usa. The little girl was bone pale, tears streaking her face. 'She just saw both her parents killed, right before her eyes,' she thought dazedly. Ami forced herself to her feet, summoning up some of her power to cleanse the blood and filth from her costume.
"Come here," Ami said softly, and with a cry Chibi-Usa ran into her arms. She held the broken, sobbing child close to her, murmuring soft, soothing worlds that she knew would have no meaning to her right now. She held her until the tears eased into sniffles, keeping her close.
They both felt it then, the warmth and the light on their faces. The five of them floated there, glowing with an inner light, there expressions serene, yet sorrowful. "Mommy," Chibi-Usa cried, trying to fight free of Ami's arms to run towards them.
Ami took in the bodies that were still laying on the pavement and held Chibi-Usa back, knowing exactly what these shining figures were. "You can't touch them," she said to the struggling girl, "they aren't entirely here."
Usagi's face was the saddest as she gazed down at her daughter, then looked up at Ami's face. "Will you take care of her?" she asked, her voice ringing in Ami's mind. Ami nodded, accepting the responsibility fully knowing the obligation it placed her under. She smiled gently at Chibi-Usa, and though Ami couldn't seem to hear what was said, the words comforted the little girl.
"I failed you," Ami murmured, looking away from her friends, feeling tears and a bit of blood still trickling down her face.
"No," Makoto's voice was gentle, "you avenged us. Thank you." A gentle kiss on the cheek, and Ami almost felt something pass between them.
Rei gave her a smile, "Take care of yourself, Ami. I know how you like to take care of everyone else, but save some energy for yourself." A soft touch, a spark, and she moved on.
Minako surprised her with a gentle kiss on the brow. "This isn't good- bye," Minako said softly, "just farewell." The senshi of love's voice dropped to a whisper, "There is someone waiting for you out there, I promise."
Mamoru put his hands on her shoulders and she felt her costume itself changing, becoming tougher and more durable. The shoulders decorations became more elaborate, and the bow at the back lengthened even as she felt a weight gently settle on her back. "My sword, Champion of the Moon Kingdom," Mamoru's voice was soft.
Usagi looked at Ami with eyes dark with the regret of what she had to ask her, so Ami took it out of her hands. "Yes," Ami said to her softly, "I'll guard the Silver Imperium Crystal until you return. I swear it will be safe."
"Always the wisest among us," Usagi murmured, and tears somehow glistened in her blue eyes. The Crystal floated above one hand, and Ami's transformation wand was in the other. She brought them together, there was a blinding flash, and a broach marked with the insignia of Mercury dropped down into Ami's lap.
Usagi turned to where the guardian cats were stirring and she and Minako spoke to them a few moments. Both cats looked almost as bad as Ami felt, torn open by their grief. 'I guess I have two more to watch over,' Ami thought.
"Minako's right, this is not good-bye," the voices rang out to them all as the figures began to fade away, "merely a farewell..."
Ami noted that the sky was lightening outside and that her tea had gone cold. She got up to put the kettle back on, and dumped the old cup down the sink. 'Chibi-Usa will be up soon, better start breakfast,' she thought.
It had been over a year since it happened, a year since a very new life had been thrust upon her. She had adapted, and she hoped even begun to find a certain kind of contentment in her new life. But things were changing again, and she wasn't sure what was going to happen.
The Outers had arrived...