Hellish hangover and regrets (Ami thread)

[Bean Bandit]

"No." Ami replies simply, lifting the shield defensively, and circling warily away from Celcia. "I wouldn't. Even if I would, I wouldn't give in. It's not my right to take lives for my own aims. Nor yours. That's why I oppose you."

Openings...Openings...

[Anastasia]

"Why?" she asks plainly. "You barely have friends, let alone someone to love? What have your morals gotten you? Nothing but miserable battle after miserable battle, and you're still alone." A cold smile works on her face. "Feel it here, Ami. You are built for this and nothing else - as anyone gifted by winter is."

She maintains on guard, not giving you an ultra easy openings.  You'd need to make a full attack, you'd think.

[Bean Bandit]

Ami smiles a little. "You know, if you had tried that line on me a little earlier, it might have worked." she admitted. "I -am- alone...but not as much as you think. I have my friends, and my mother, and Artemis...even if they don't love me the way I might like them to, they're still there for me."

"How could I abandon them for fleeting, pointless pleasure?" Ami asks seriously. "You...You and I are alike, after all." she realizes. "But you don't have what I have, so you think this Perfect Winter is the ultimate goal...and it's really not."

Her smile grows sad and grim. "You won't try to understand me, and I can't understand you...Unless you want to at least try, we're doomed to facing off until one of us is dead."

Ami pauses, letting the unspoken offer rest between them, and waits for Celcia's response, tensing her legs to charge. One way or another, It ends. I doubt she'll take the offer...would be nice, though...but the moment she turns me down...-move-

[Anastasia]

"Which will be a very long time," she snorts. "If we cannot hurt each other with ice..." Trailing off, she stands more erect now, as if realising something. "Then it shall go on and on and on. Perhaps...we'll remain here forever?" she asks, becoming amused. "Would you stake forever, Ami? Merely agree and take what your body and spirit crave and we can escape this."

[Bean Bandit]

"I can't." Ami replies softly, but firmly. We can't hurt each other? Then...what are we doing? "It would be a betrayal of everthing, and everyone of value to me."

"Come with me." Ami offers hesitantly. "I'm more than willing to share my body, if you don't threaten innocent people with it. See what it's like to have people who care enough about you that they'll put themselves in harm's way for you. Before you really pursue a 'Perfect Winter', shouldn't you at least see what you're giving up?"

[Anastasia]

"You still don't understand...I am the spirit of Winter," she shakes her head, annoyed. "I don't CARE about humans.  You have winter in you as well...why do you stay with them? Everything you've ever needed is in it."

[Bean Bandit]

"There has to be balace in all things. What is winter, without summer?" Ami asks. "Irrelevant. Ugly. Pointless. But paired with summer, Winter is valuable. Useful. Even beautiful."

She sighs. "I feel sorry for you." she says finally, warily. "Humans have people much like you, who pursue pleasure at the expense of all else...and they usually destroy themselves. Only you intend to drag humanity with you. Why does it have to be earth? Why not create a 'Perfect Winter' someplace else?"

[Anastasia]

That gets a nasty grimace. "Summer is a vicious invasion of heat and misery," she shoots back. "It only serves to disrupt Winter's beauty." With that, she nods. "Earth is merely the beginning...this entire solar system and beyond must be blessed with an eternity of winter!"

[Bean Bandit]

Ami just shakes her head. "You still haven't told me -why-." She points out.

[Anastasia]

"You feel why yourself! You are in touch with Winter as much as I! I am the spirit of Winter, Sailor Mercury. What you felt when I attacked you, multiply that a hundred thousand fold. THat is the reason, if one is needed for such a thing." Advancinga nother step, she extends her hand. "Ami..." she even sounds semi sincere with this, managing not to look 100% viciously and icy evil. "Listen to yourself. You are meant for this as much as I am. Stop clinging to those other humans."

[Bean Bandit]

"You said it yourself. I am human." Ami replies calmly, and firmly. "I won't sell them out to you so that you can push them into insignificance. Pleasure is not an acceptable tradeoff for countless deaths."

Ami's expression hardens. "We're at an impasse, Celcia." she declares firmly. "If we must be in here forever so that I can protect them from you, so be it."

[Anastasia]

"You foolish girl," she says, anger returning. "You again reject your nature for idiotic ideals!" As she speaks, you feel a strange rushing upward, a mingling of another reality and this one.

"Awakening..." Celcia murmurs, before rising up and going for it!

[Bean Bandit]

Wha...No!Ami grits her teeth and with all her strength, hurls the shield off of her arm and at Celcia as she lunges for the opening as well!

[Anastasia]

* Hatbot --> "Ana-chan rolls 2d6 for ice bitch and gets 7."

* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 and gets 5."

Ami races up, soaring above to...to...you feel yourself pass Celcia, who seems to fall back down after you do, then...

Awake.

---

OOC - Paused here until tomorrow, as I need to get Natsume straight and everything in line.

[Halbarad]

[09:37] <Ana-breakfast> ---
[09:41] <Ana-breakfast> Artemis takes off once Ami falls asleep again, after a brief conversation with Usagi about whom to bring on  his end. After leaving, Ami seems to simply rest, her spirit focused inward to a high degree.
[09:43] * Serenity remains by Ami's side, keeping a close watch over the girl as she rests - there's not much else she can do, for the moment.
[09:45] <Ana-breakfast> Her aura continues to be introverted - forces moving beneath it rather rapidly. Perhaps a half hour passes before Tellu arrives, having clearly just thrown on her school uniform and not even tied or brushed her hair back. "Usagi," she asks, rushing over. "Oh my...Ami?" she asks, staring. "Artemis said something was wrong, but this...?"
[09:46] * Serenity shakes her head. "Apparently Celcia managed to get out of her Talisman - her spirit is completely mixed up with Ami's right now. I can't even do anything for her myself - it's all just too jumbled up."
[09:47] <Ana-breakfast> Holding back tears as she sits next to Ami, just by the field, "Oh...Ami-chan," she says brokenly. "Will she...?"
[09:48] * Serenity smiles a bit. "She'll make it," the blonde says, more confidently than she feels. "I know she can."
[09:49] <Ana-breakfast> A nod there, Tellu simply watching and waiting for now. It's not too much longer before Ami finally stirs again, the aura(s) coming to the surface. A moan and gasp escape her lips as her eyes slowly open. Ami - you feel tired and achy again, but slightly less than before. Is that...Usagi? Tellu?
[09:53] <Ami-chan> Ami blinks a few times, trying to get her bearings. The way her insides and outsides had...mingled, just briefly, was disconcerting, to say the least. "Nnn..." she groans softly, trying to make her eyes focus. "Made it..." she whispers and then the dissheveled green haired girl comes into view, and Ami smiles weakly. "Hi...S-sorry to wake you so late..."
[09:55] <Ana-breakfast> "Ami-chan," she shakes her head. "What...are you safe?"
[09:57] <Ami-chan> Ami tries to sit up, testing how much her body will let her do. "...No." She admits quietly. "I...just barely avoided having Celcia wake up instead of me."
[09:58] <Ana-breakfast> You manage it, though you feel warm even here. Not hot, but you wish someone would turn down the temperature, so to speak.
[09:58] <Serenity> "Just relax," Usagi says quickly. "Don't push yourself too much."
[10:00] <Ami-chan> Ami nods, lying back and sighing. "Usagi-chan..." she tells the blonde quietly, "You...should put me under guard." Ami's voice is bleak and tired as she dabs at her forehead with her sleeve.
[10:01] <Ana-breakfast> "Oh, Ami..." Tellu murmurs softly, closing her eyes as tears begin to form.
[10:02] <Serenity> "I'm not going to leave you until we get this taken care of, Ami-chan," Usagi says. "Don't worry."
[10:05] <Ami-chan> Ami nods slowly, quiet for a moment. She looks up at Tellu, and smiles, a little weakly. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this...but thank you...for coming, I mean." Ami smiles a little more warmly, wishing she could stop perspiring. "It means a lot to me..."
[10:09] <Ana-breakfast> "I'll be here for you, Ami," Tellu promises, nodding. "If you want...We could go to the Lunar Garden? It's nicer than Usagi's bedroom balcony."
[10:11] <Ami-chan> Ami looks as though she's about to agree, when the slight perspiration reminds her of something. "I...don't know if I can." she sighs. "I wouldn't want to hurt the plants, but I can't seem to function very well in warmer temperatures."
[10:13] <Serenity> "And I'm not so sure it's a good idea for her to be moving around until she can get more of this sorted out," Usagi says with a slight frown. "It's up to you, though, Ami-chan."
[10:17] <Ami-chan> "I...suppose I shouldn't." She sighs. "I don't know what to do...if I fall asleep, she'll be waiting for me again..."
[10:18] <Ana-breakfast> "Ami-chan," Tellu asks, worried. "Celcia is in your dreams?"
[10:21] <Ami-chan> "She said it was my soul." Ami smiles wanly, nodding and looking pensive.
[10:23] * Serenity nods, frowning slightly. "That's more or less right, from what I can see," the blonde agrees. "And I can't separate her out myself." She takes a deep breath. "I think you're going to have to try to separate her from yourself, Ami, if you can. You're just too tangled together for me to try purifying her out, and it's too complex to even try to start sorting it out on my own."
[10:26] <Ami-chan> "Where do I begin?" Ami asks softly. "This...isn't as simple as extracting her from her victim, where I could work out what needed to be done..." Ami closes her eyes. "Even Celcia seems to think the only way to seperate us is for one of us to die."
[10:28] <Ana-breakfast> "You can't die, Ami," Tellu says quickly, tearing up. "You just can't!"
[10:28] <Serenity> "You know who you are," Usagi says. "Hold onto that, and why that makes you different from her. You might both have powers over ice, but you're not really anything like her. That's about all I can suggest, really."
[10:32] <Ami-chan> "Tellu-chan..." Ami smiles at Tellu gratefully, her own eyes getting a little wet. "Thank you...I won't give up." she promises, a little more energy in her voice. After a longer moment, she turns to Usagi. "But...how can I expel her?" she asks. "Do you have any ideas that can help? Right now, we're at a stalemate...she can't use her powers to hurt me, and I suspect the same applies for me."
[10:37] <Ana-breakfast> Tellu merely stays there, reaching up for your hand before recoiling an inch away from the shield. "You have to be strong, Ami...I know that much, at least," she volunteers.
[10:37] <Serenity> "What do you have besides your powers, then?" Usagi asks. "Maybe you can't hurt her with ice, but what else can you do?"
[10:42] <Ami-chan> Ami nods to Tellu, reaching up and matching her gesture. "It's hard, though." she confesses, her voice brittle. She pauses to contemplate Usagi's question...before coming up blank. "I don't know. She's utterly immune to being reasoned with, and...my mind is where my strengths lie." she sighs but doesn't give up on the problem, turning it over in her mind.
[10:52] <Ami-chan> "She wants my body." Ami muses to herself as she thinks. "Whatever I do...It can't be gradual, or she'll stop me...I wish I knew more about spiritual combat..."
[11:02] <Serenity> "I wish I could help you more too," Usagi says with a slight sigh. "But I don't have any experience with it, either."
[11:06] <Ana-chan> "You'll find a way, Ami," Tellu supplies, as you feel your eyelids gettin gheavy again.
[11:07] <Serenity> "Just remember, Ami - we're here for you," Usagi says, seeing Ami start to drift off again.
[11:08] <Ami-chan> "Oh no...what I wouldn't give for a dozen cans of soda..." Ami mumbles, soft, quiet dread in her voice as her eyes try to close. She smiles a little at Usagi. "Thank you..."
[11:15] <Ana-chan> Even as Usagi replies, Ami's vision swims and darkens, as she again falls into the pit of slumber.
[11:15] <Ana-chan> ---