Freeze     Amy watched as Serena ate the entire plate of cookies.  Raye looked angry enough to tear her limb from limb and both Lita and Mina didn't seem much happier.  As usual it would be up to her to keep everyone calm.
    "Raye?  Did I tell you how wonderful your performance was?  I could never get enough courage together to get on stage like that."
    A faint blush crept to Raye's cheeks.  "Thanks Amy.  I'm sure you would be wonderful..."
    Serena swallowed the last cookie and leaned forward.  "Aw, you weren't all that great Raye."
    Amy leaned back and just managed to keep from rolling her eyes as Serena and Raye broke into another argument.  The other two were ignoring them, gossiping amoungst themselves.  Silently Amy rose to her feet, "Lita I've got to head home.  I'll see you later..."
    Lita looked up long enough to nod but then quickly returned to her conversation.  Sighing Amy walked out of the temple and started towards her house.
    She was still five to six blocks away when she heard a scream that made her blood run cold.  Quickly she changed direction and ran towards the origin of the sound, which happened to be an ally.
    As she came around the side she spotted the source of the problem.  The Negaverse.
    Quickly sidestepping back out she grabbed her star stick, making sure no one was around.
    "Mercury Star Power!" Transformed she re-entered the ally, stepping into the light between the bad guy and the woman on the ground.  "If you want to pick on someone, why don't you try me on for size?"
    The creature's red eyes glowed in anger.  "Why not."  The creature's crystal body became incadescent and it disappeared from view.
    Mercury blinked in surprise, but didn't waste time as she ushered the young girll to safty.  Watching the girl's retreat she didn't see the attack coming.
    The blast knocked her off her feet and made her dive face first into the concrete.  Pushing herself back to her feet she turned to face her opponent.  It's skin catching the light, blinging her for a moment.
    "Mercurey bubbles... blast."  In the cloud of fog she jumped away from the spot she previously occupied.  Using her visor she located her target.  "Mercury bubbles... freeze."
    Seconds after the creature was frozen there was another shout.
    "Mars firebird strike!"
    Before she had a moment to dive for cover the creature shattered, shards of crystal flying in all directions.  A large piece came at her and she wasn't able to move out of the way but the crystal stopped inches from her chest, hovering.  Suddenly she couldn't move at all, not a single muscle.  Ever so slowly the crystal entered her body.  Finally she managed to loosen her vocal chords and she screamed in pain.  Blackness engulfed her.
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    "Mercury?  Mercury can you hear me?  Wake up."
    Someonee was gentlly shaking her.  Blinking she tried to focus on the faces above her.  Finally a face seemed to click.  "S-Sailor Moon?"
    The blonde's face broke into a relieved grin, "That's right.  Boy, you sure had us worried."
    With their help she sat up, a dull ache forming behind her eyes.  "Wh-what happened?"
    This time it was Sailor Jupiter who spoke,  "Don's you remember?"
    Shaking her blue head slightly she turned questioning eyes on her friend, "Not really, it's all kind of a blur..."
    "Well you froze the bad guy and Mars blew it to tiny pieces.  The closest wwe can figure it is that the blast knocked you out cold."  The brunette said with a shrug.
    Mercury nodded, careful not to aggrevate her head-ache.  "I seem to remember that... yes..."
    "Look I hate to break this up guys but Luna and Artemis want to see us back at the temple.  ASAP."  Venus said as her and Mars joined the group.
    Mars extended her hand and when Mercury grabbed it, hauled her to her feet.  "Sorry about that."  She muttered apologetically.
    "It's alright. It could have happened to anyone."  But even as the words came out and the other girl smiled, Mercury had a sudden urge to hit her.
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    Back at the temple they had detransformed and were once again sitting in Raye's room, except this time they faced Artemis and Luna.
    "When you Scouts were fighting we read a couple of other disturbances which disappeared minutes before you defeated the creature."  Artemis explained.
    "But what does that mean?"  Serena whined as she leaned forward.
    With a grunt of disgust, Amy faced her.  "It means that the Negaverse has developed a strategy that will break us down into smaller, more defeatable groups.  That's what it means."  Amy felt even more angry when she saw Serena's lip quiver.  Her small mouth formed a sneer as she sstared unremorsely at the blonde.  "You aren't going to be a crybaby are you?"
    "Amy what's gotten into you?"  Lita demanded, her eyes flashing as she glared at her, fists clenched.
    Rubbing the place just over her heart she shook her headd.  "I'm sorry Serena.  I didn't mean to be so rude, it's just... no there's no excuse for it I shouldn't have said that..."
    Serena smiled limply.  "Don't worry about it.  You've had a hard day.  Maybe you should go hoome and get some rest."
    Somehow Amy capped a sudden surge of anger.  "I-I think that's a good idea.  Luna, can you brief me tommorow?"
    ""Of course."
    Nodding, Amy stood.  "Thank-you.  I'll, uh, see you all tommorow."  With that Amy nearly bolted out of the room, leaving the others to stare after her retreating back.
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    "Now that was strange."  Lita mumbled staring at the doorway.  "I've never seen Amy act that way.
    "Me neither.  Do you think something happened to her during the fight?  Something she's not telling us..."  The worry was evident in both Serena's voice and face.
    "Could be.  But whatevers wrong, we should keep an eye on her."  This came from Raye who seemed a little preoccupied.
    "Okay, what is it Raye?"  Mina asked pointedly.
    Raye shifted uncomfortably and hid behind a curtain of raven black hair.  "It's nothing."
    "Yah right.  Come on Raye, spill it."  Hands on hips Lita focused her harsh gaze on the priestess.
    Not one to back down Raye met the gaze head on.  "No.  Not until I knoww for sure.  First I need to consult the sacred fire...  I'll let you know tommorow what I find out."
    Luna jumped into the centerr of the table and sat facing the girls.  "If that's all.  I hereby close the meeting.  Raye, as soon as you're certain I want to know what you suspect."  With that the meeting disperesed.
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    Sweat beaded on her forehead, causing her blue hair to plaster to her temples as if glued in place.  Despite this fact, a coldness seemed to be spreading out from her chest which only served to cause her pain.
    She walked, head bent, clutching her chest in paiin and didn't see the person before her until they crashed to the ground in a mess of tangled limbs.
    "I-I'm sorry... I..."  The words caught in her throat as others threatened to take their place.
    "Amy?  Is that you?"
    Looking up she saw a pair of dark, concerned eyes watching her.  "Darien?"
    He stuck out his hand and helped her to her feet but she wasn't standing more then two seconds before she doubled over in pain.
    "Woah.  Here, sit down.  I'll go call Serena and the others.  Then we can take you to the hospital..."
    "NO!"  Amy clawed at his arm, drawing blood.  Feeling slightly nauseous at the joy she ffelt at the sight of the dark red beads welling in the cuts.  "I mean...  oh Darian what's happening to me?"  Tears flowed from her eyes, freezing on her cheeks and falling to the ground as tiny cubes of ice.
    "Don't worry Amy.  Everything will be alright, you'll see."  But in Darien's mind he wasn't so certain.
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    Raye backed away from the fire, trembling with emotions.  And she jumped when Artemis spoke.
    "Is it really that bad?"
    Her strength seemed to leave her with the words and she fell heavily to her knees.  "Worse."  At Artemis' questioning look, she drew a shuddering breathe and attempted to gain back her lost composure.  "When we finished that fight earlier today, Amy was hurt but seemed fine... at least on the outside.  When I helped her up I sensed a discoursee in her body's natural balance.  Something that flows against her normal goodness.  Somthing with the saame evil essence as the Negaverse..."
    Artemis' jaw opened and closed a couple of times before he could get any words out.  "What exactly are you saying Raye?"
    Letting out the breath she'd been holding she faced him.  "She's been affected by something from the Negaverse, something that's turning her evil."
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    The pain was growing more and more intense with every second and she was dimly aware that Darien was carrying her.  Where she couldn't imaginee but all of that was behind her.  Because she was loosing her fight.
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    "Darien's bringing her to the temple right now.  He says that she doesn't look too good.  Which probably means that the evil is spreading.  And fast."  Luna commented solemnly.
    The other Scouts sat around her and Artemis, all in their uniforms and all wearing grave expressions.
    Artemis took a step forward.  "They'll be here shortly and we'll have to be on guard..."
    "But it's Amy!  We can't fight a friend.  We just can't."  Sailor Moon's golden tails shook with a stubborn shake of her head.
    "Sailor Moon.  You and everyone else will do what they have to, when they have to.  But until then we'll pray we won't have to lift a finger against her, but that is all we can do."
    The silence that followed was the only response to Luna's statement.
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    Darien had transformed into Tuxedo Mask long ago and he was glad he had.  Amy's condition was worsening drastically and as Darien he wouldn't have been able to move as he was.
    With one last jump he landed just outside the back of the temple, and was relieved to see the Scouts waiting.
    "Thanks for the lift Romeo."
    The words caught him by surprise as he looked down at the formally unconcious girl in his arms.  Amy's blue hair seemed to have grown four inches, her eyes glowed red and a black upside down cresent moon marred her forehead.  Taken by surprise he nearly dropped her.  "Amy..."
    A mocking smile appeared on her face.  "Wrong.  The name's Freeze."  With that she disappeared, reappearing under an arch ten feet away.
    "Mercury!  Look you have to fight it!  If you fight it we can help you."  Running towards her friend, Sailor Moon's eyes filled with tears.
    Freeze chuckled humourousily, blue hair reflecting the light as snow would.  "The crybaby strikes again.  Tsk, Tsk, and I thought you may have grown up.  Maybe you should try me on for size, then we can watch your pitiful friends cry at your unschedueled departure from the living."  She pulled out her star stick which had turned white and grown spiney burs around the handle.  "Freeze Nega Power!"  In a flash her dainty figure was clad in a shimmering white, skin tight dress.  No straps or sleeves adorned it.  On her forehead, amoungst her mass of blue curls was a silver tiara with a blue/black gem at it's center.  A white chocker finished the ensemble.
    "Look Mercury we aren't going to fight you!"  Jupiter cried moving just in front of the Princess.
    Freeze shrugged nonchantedly.  "Your death, hope there's no hard feelings.  Just kidding."  She laughed harshly, then glared at them with a gleam in her eyes.  "Ice Canon ball, explosion!"
    Darien watched, horrified, as a huge glass-like ball appeared in her hand before it launched directly at Sailor Moon and Jupiter.  Quickly he threw his rosse to divert it's direction but the flower froze solid before it was halfway to it's target and it shattered into tiny shards as it struck the ground.
    His breath caught in his throat as the ball continued towards the two Scouts.
    "Mars firebird... strike!"
    The clashing of fire and ice caused a foggy vapour to spread over the area.
    Freeze's voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.  "This is like shooting fish in a barrell."
    Jupiter's voice rumbled in the quiet.  "Sorry about this Mercury... Jupiter Thunder... Crash!"
    A squel of pain echoed to Darien's left and he could see Amy's bent form as the fog lifted.
    "Now Sailor Moon.  Use your septer!"  Darien didn't have to look to know it was Luna yelling.
    "Right.  Moon Healing Activation!"
    Darien had to look away because of the brightness but he couldn't block out the screams that sseemed torn from Amy's throat.  When he glanced back he could see Sailor Moon holding an unconcious Sailor Mercury in her arms, waiting quietlly as Luna looked her over.
    With a sigh of relief the cat spoke.  "She'll be alright, she just needs some rest."
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    Amy screamed, sitting up in bed, only to be enveloped by numerous caring arms.  "It's alright Amy.  Shhhh. It's alright."
    Glancing around she noted her friends relieved and unharmed faces before she met Serena's watery blue eyes.  "No, no it's not alright Serena.  But with help from my friends, it could be.