Mmmm....
Oh.....
There is the feeling of a passage of time. How much exactly is not clear to you when your vision finally returns again from the deep slumber you and it were in. You remember talking to Artemis, then things were blurry a second, then this. Again you float in the great white silence of your soul, the coldness of it perhaps a grim testament to what truly goes on inside of it.
As Sailor Mercury, you see not Celcia right now as your senses recover...yet.
Ami looks around, puzzled at the slower return. Slowly, she looks around, sighing a little at the bleak, endless white. "Is this really what my soul is?" she wonders aloud, a little disheartened at the prospect.
Narrowing her eyes, she looks around for her current roommate, biting her lip as she reforms her sheild on her arm, the action almost instinctive, now.
Celcia isn't in sight, though the horizon - only white light, perhaps from the soul itself - reaches farther than you can see. If anything, it's cold and lonely here, though the cold part carries a far better connotation for you than usual.
You find yourself wishing an ice bath, frankly, and relieved in a way. This is better than the palace and it's heat by far.
Ami sighs. "I wonder where she went?" she muses. "It's not like she'd miss the chance to kill me..."
Ami crouches, not willing to risk sitting and resting right now, holding her improvised weapon and wondering if she'd be alone this time until she 'woke'.
A small fragment of time passes like this, nothing happening. If Celcia is right here, right now; she has hidden herself beyond your means of noting her. Your legs begin to hurt slightly as you squat.
Distantly, you see a flash of light from the far horizon.
Ami stands up slowly, stretching the kinks out of her legs, and looks toward the source of the flash.
"Most likely a trap...but if I stay here, nothing will be settled." she decides, and heads off into the distance, wondering at the wisdom of walking too far.
The distance isn't as far as it seems. Once you get going, the distance seems to matter little. On arriving at the source - you find a standing mirror, carved from a great ice block. By it is Celcia, watching what it shows.
Ami is seen, crying on her bed. Over what is unknown, as you are perhaps seven or eight in it. Yet there you are, sobbing as if your entire life was ruined. It's vaguely familiar, but it doesn't place offhand. If Celcia notes your approach, she doesn't show it.
Ami grimaces, feeling vaguely unsettled by having her stated enemy watching her in an unguarded moment, even if it is only a memory. Still, she decides to hold off on what seems to be the obligatory fighting before Celcia is through, and let her see what she seems so fascinated by, remaining quiet, and instead wracking her brain to figure out where that 'memory' is from.
It goes on, Ami moaning about...a book? Oh yes...you remember now. Someone at school had a book you liked, but wouldn't loan it to you and was nasty about it. It was only elementary school stuff, yet...
She would have to be watching that. Ami sighs. I'd have a hard time explaining why I took that so personally. Still, Books were my only friends for a long time. Sach-Yes, Sachiko, she took it, just to spite me, because I got better marks than she did. Hmm...I guess I don't come across as very strong...But I've come a long way...haven't I? Or am I still that little girl, just older?
Ami frowns and stays quiet, letting Celcia continue, morbidly curious why she would be watching her life in memory, anyway.
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 for a beautiful mind! and gets 7."
As it ends, Celcia waves her hand. You notice something...it's odd, but you can almost feel the area around her shift as the mirror fades away. Like...you could do that. Celcia then turns, a sneer working on her lips. "So alone...." she murmurs.
Ami blink-blinks. Reaching out cautiously with her connection to the surroundings, and tentatively tugs, to see if she can duplicate the effect.
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6+1 and gets 4."
You feel a few strands, as if each is a set of different and unique memories. You could tap into any with enough time, but you don't quite have that right now. Namely, Celcia steps forward.
"Yet another in a string of your rejections," she goes on, a great club of ice appearing in her hand. "Such a sad set of memories, aren't they?"
"Funny you should see them that way." Ami replies, smiling serenely. "Some are painful, but I like them. they help me see how much I've gained and grown."
She takes a defensive stance, holding up her sheild. "You're still set on fighting out way out of this?"
She snorts again, disgusted. "How many more will it take? The one of your friends was even better," she grins darkly, another mirror beginning to form.
...yes, you feel as if you could do the same. It really isn't that hard now that you look at it....
Ami ponders. Keeping a close eye on her foe, she warily reaches out for the memory threads she can feel around her. "You show a peculiar fascination with my background and motivations, Celcia. Why is that?" she says, to distract her while she tugs on the necessary threads.
There are are three, each distinct. Each contains so many memories, yet..
"It's a showcase of your failures and rejections," is all she says, waving to the mirror. "With how you cling to your friends, it's high comedy."
Ami pulls on the first, hard, mentally dragging it into view. "If you say so." she returns, unconcerned...or at least used to the mockery by now.
Feeling it, you feel your own memories and experiences rush into your mind on the touch, making you blank for a few seconds. Aaaaahhhh! It's too much unexpectidly. Rearing back from it, you feel strangely overwhelmed.
Yet...everything about you was in that one strand alone. You know this on a fundamental level, easily feeling just that.
Ami recoils, her eyes growing wide, and trying to shake that off. After the strange sensation subsides, she looks quickly to Celcia, making sure she's not in imminent danger of attack.
How...humbling, yet strangely exhilarating...That was all there was to me at once.
Double checking to make sure Celcia is still occupied with sneering at her life, which Ami found vexing in distant, petulant way, Ami reaches out to touch the next one, and see where that gets her, but making the touch more tentative, using her elemental connection to buffer her from a second overload, and hopefully project the image onto a mirror, rather than directly into her head.
The mirror in front of Celcia cracks suddenly, the ice woman turning in surprise as another forms! On it storms out a fury of images, a blurry and confused mess! Yet one theme stays constant - a blue skinned woman in each jumbled image.
Celcia turns to you, eyes narrowing as they go...
Ami narrows her eyes, and calmly begins to tighten her hold on the flow into the Mirror, attempting to slow and regulate to flood of information, putting a mental 'valve' on the hose.
Even as she does this, she divides her attention slightly, to watch for a possible attack.
"Well, it's only fair, isn't it?" Ami answers Celcia's unspoken thought. "If I'm so misguided and inferior, let's see what makes you so smug." she suggests, innocently...almost blandly.
Rage boils onto Celcia's face, her lips twisting into an angry grimace. HEr hands clench, her club of ice being raises. "You little impudent bitch," she grinds out, as the screen slowly focuses.
Where it stops is a hazy place - faint images are around, shimmer crystal binding her vision at every spot. There is a complete lack of movement, only a muted and frozen vision.
Ami quickly backs off a step, raising her sheild, and flicking a glance at the Mirror. "Is this while you were trapped in the prison crystal?" Ami asks. Inwardly, she shivers and flinches at Celcia's rage, but through force of will, she manages to prevent most of it from being seen, and even manages a level voice.
No reply, as the blurry, distant images of others show and manifest, all too distorted to see a thing. Face now radiating real, palpable anger, she rushes and swings at you!
* Hatbot --> "Ana rolls 2d6 and gets 11."
Yet it misses, as an image in the Prison begins to manifest. A great, grey swirling mass, points of light inside of it. It is almost transparent, like a ghostly condensation of cosmic energy.
Ami backs up again, and hops out of range, and takes another look at the mirror. "This energy...what is it?" She asks curiously. Reaching out, she touches her elemental control, and forms a javelin, lightweight and aerodynamic. "Did something happen to you in the prison? Is that why you're upset?"
Ignoring you, she turns to the mirror and tosses her club at it!
* Hatbot --> "Ana rolls 2d6 and gets 6."
* Hatbot --> "Ana rolls 2d6 and gets 6."
It hits it, yet only causes it to stammer a moment! After that...the energy approaches, a sense of a being from it. It probes forward, into her on a subtle and terrible way. For merely a moment, you can feel it's echoing memory - a cosmic being indeed, a spirit alien to your mind and incomphensible. It runs in and out of her, before fading and rushing forward, as if pressing the boundaries of this prison.
Ami freezes, her eyes wide. "Oh my god..." she breathes, a subtle, terrible conflict rising in her with every second she sees, growing stronger, and sapping her will to defeat Celcia, replacing it with a great swell of sorrow and pity for the ice spirit.
Trying to tear her eyes away, Ami finds herself riveted, watching the scene play out...
From here it blurs forward, images as the prison comes alive then breaks into a million, brilliant points of light...
* Hatbot --> "Ana-brb rolls 2d6 and gets 9."
* Hatbot --> "Ana-brb rolls 2d6+2 and gets 5."
With a gesture, a great torrent of ice slams into the mirror, yet it stands firm! This image fades after that, seeming to have run it's course.
Coming back to herself, Ami releases her hold on the thread of memory, feeling somewhat sick to her stomach.
Numbly, she turns to Celcia, her gaze horrified and conflicted. "I...I suppose it won't mean much to you, coming from me." Ami tells her enemy softly. "But...I'm sorry you had to endure that."
Only a furious anger meets your words, Celcia's scream brutal and enraged. "Shut up," she shouts, as she lunges for you basely!
* Hatbot --> "Ana-brb rolls 2d6 and gets 9."
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6-1 and gets 9."
Caught in the tackle, the wind is knocked out of Ami as a rain of berserk blows batter her body!
Halfway expecting the onslaught, Ami still is caught offguard, falling back as the breath leaves her lungs in a sudden woosh.
Without even the time to raise her arms, Ami instinctively dips into her elemental connection and tries to lash out with the snow and ice all around her!
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 help! @_@ and gets 7."
Your body is bruised and beated from the bloody barrage, before you can focus your elemental energy! (10 points of damage, so to speak. Nasty bruise) A great gust of cold wind rips through, icing your mind over in relief and sending Celcia flying a goodly ways in it's embrace!
Hissing at the first real pain of the drawn out battle, Ami struggles to her feet. Adjusting her grip on her ice shield, She raises her hands once more, and closes her eyes as streams of shimering, watery ice stream to her hands. The ball gathers, and Ami hurls it at Celcia in her most powerful attack. "Mercury Frost Shrike!" she shouts, hoping to slow Celica's fury with her own attacks.
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 for Ice bitch action! and gets 6."
* Hatbot --> "Ana rolls 2d6+2 and gets 12."
Racing across the barren, icy reaches of Ami's spirit; The Frost Shrike cries out once, a cold and mournful dirge, as it reaches her as she staggers up, sending her further back and flipping in the air! She lands face down, clearly dazed and stunned quite a ways from you.
Ami slowly begins walking over to Celcia, taking deep breaths to dispell the aches where Celcia hit her. She wonders again if it's wise to give her foe a respite, but she really can't work up the will to batter the ice spirit to pieces.
Moving beside Celcia, Ami stays a respectful distance away, and just waits for the Ice spirit's next move. If I have to do this, I'm not going to stabe her in the back. For my own peace of mind, if it becomes a fight to the finish, it has to be fair.
Rising up slowly, her tunic is tattered and she looks slighly dazed. Celcia's gaze settles on you, clearly enraged and showing it. There is a moment, then...light! Light above! Light shines down, as you feel reality intrude ever so slightly! Without pause, Celcia leaps up,r acing for it!
Ami follows Celica instantly diving for the strange divide between the soul they share and reality, her heart leaping into her throat. Oh god...if she gets out now...
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 for wakefullness! and gets 8."
* Hatbot --> "Ana rolls 2d6 and gets 5."
The two of you race, but it's clear Celcia has the edge?! Oh, no....dammit! She's beaten you too it!
...At the last moment, the light dims, as if closing. The backlash comes in a great wind, sending the both of you flying in opposite directions...! Aaaaah!
---
"Ami," Artemis looks up a moment, as his ward stirs briefly, before moaning and falling still again. He sighs softly, rising up and putting two fingers on her forehead. "C'mon, Ami...keep it up." is all he says, staring at her flesh colored neck and blue arms...
"Oh..." he gasps, before smiling. "That's it, Ami-chan."
---
Gah.
Landing rather roughly, the horizon resumes it's white glow. You don't see Celcia around, as she was blown a goodly ways from you.
And to top it off, that hurt!
"Itai..." Ami whimpers, lying prone for the moment. Slowly, she picks herself up, and tests her body for damage, determining how physically able she is, and casting about for Celcia, or anything that might hint at her presence.
You feel sore, but you are certainly able to move about without too much of a problem.
Celcia is not within your range of vision at all. All you can feel are the three threads,s till ripping in the surface of this otherworld.
Ami sighs. Did she actually manage to get out, somehow? I hope not. Still, I'm alone, for now...I might at well have a closer look at Celcia's experiences. With any luck, if she's still here, she might notice, and come to me.
Her decision made, Ami begins reconstructing the process she used to view Celcia's thread...and in a moment of curiousity, tries the third thread, before resuming dealing with the one she used previously.
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6+2 and gets 9."
The third thread is quite different - there is no feeling of an intelligence behind it, only a vision that sees. A strange view, as you see a jumble of images, as well as many of simply sitting in a dark, quiet place for thousands of years. Yet of the ones that are not it - of a blazing mosaic of things you haven't seen in millenia, of Mercury and the Moon, of lives past and present.
Ami blinks, watching what appears to be the talisman's experiences with a sense of wonder. She watches the screen for some time, trying to harvest as much as she can from what she's given. It would be nice if the view inspired her, but she also had no idea when she'd get another chance to look.
After skimming for awhile, Ami takes a deep breath, and reaches for Celcia's thread, and tries again.
A few scenes from it stick out -
The Royal Ballroom, the Princess Serenity in dance with Prince Endymion. The latter is masked, the scene as if from a fairy tale. Your view is from the sidelines, as Rei, Minako and Makoto chat and dance away this time. Yet, hovering nearby you is Artemis and Luna, the two human Mau smiling at each other and then you as they nod greeting...
On Mercury, Mother....Father...Those smiles they gave you when you pleased them. Your room, the great Sun visible but light shielded. This close, it takes up most of the sky, shedding a deflected and merciful light all about...
Rei, bleeding, atop the roof's crater. Terror as Oxyite rushed forward again, coming fresh as if the battle was coming again. The feeling of hopelessness from a small corner of the other's mind as he seems more a demon than a human...
The mall, the conflicting energies a lovely storm of color. Of the deseprate sacrifice and those saved...
Ami pauses in her attempt on Celcia's string, and thinks for a moment.
The Talisman...seems almost aware. Yet...for some reason, it's not represented here, like Celcia and I. Why is that?
Thinking it over, Ami reaches out for her surroundings again, closing her eyes. first touching herself, then the surrounding area. Look for discord...something against the background. If the talisman is represented here, somehow, I may gain the upper hand, if I find it.
It's here...you think. Yet how it is...it's far away, a long path to follow it indeed.
THAT way, just past the horizon...
Ami blinks, amazed at this development. Abandoning the idea of viewing Celcia's experiences for now, Ami sets off in the direction she can feel the...Talisman? in. It might take awhile, but it'll be worth it.
Walking across your soul.
Hm. Sadly, the terrain shows no signs of changing. As you trudge across the wasteland, if anything, the cold only becomes stronger, more vicious. A normal human would fall and freeze in moments now, but it is merely nectar for your particular body as Sailor Mercury.
Slowly, you find yourself rising up a white hill. The Talisman is still far away, but there seems to be something atop here. A palpable zone of power, a concentrated zone. Atop the hill is a large slab of ice, somewhat taller than you. In front of it is a little groove in the ground, a circlular indentation.
Ami cautiously approaches the ice, examining it and the small impression curiously. I wonder what this is...I wish I had my computer...do I? Ami cautiously tries looking for her subspace pocket out of mostly reflex, not expecting to find anything as she touches the ice slab itself, gingerly. Hmm...The groove looks deliberate. If this is a magical mechanism of some kind, I would assume it to be the 'button'.
While your computer is not found on your examination, you do find the slab to be strangely numbing to the touch. Cancelling, even.
The impression on the ground is large enough for you to stand in - indeed, on close inspection, you see little grooves for booted feet to stand in. You...there is a draw to it, a feeling, along with the power focus, to take this unwritten invitation from deep in your spirit.
Thoughtfully, Ami examines the depressions carefully. Mmm...Could she have set a trap? I don't think she has the ability to make it call to me like this, though...I hope. But, without my computer, I'll have to make an educated guess...
Taking a deep breath, Ami moves to the depressions, and stands in the spots that seem almost -made- with her feet in mind...
There is a click as you step in, the ice humming softly. The great mirror shines as images fill it, taking up your plane of vision.
---
Ahead of you is the great hall of the Moon. Queen Serenity stands, the memories of the past brilliantly recreated. You stand at her side, as do the other Senshi, barring the one of the planet of time. The court of the Queen buzzes, a great gala dance spreading out as Queen Serenity sits at her dias and throne, watching the events with a small smile.
"You may go now," she murmurs to you, her eyes on the Princess Serenity, as she happily dances in the Earthlight drenched hall. Rei and Minako smile and dash off with Makoto, giggling happily as they leave you behind.
OOC - Mind check, +1
Ami tries not to appear flustered, and simply follows behind the other senshi, after hesitating beside the Queen for a moment. Queen Serenity...The Moon...is this an interactive memory? What have I gotten myself into -now-?
You follow, the faint music almost heard to your ears. YEt as you go, the other Senshi head away, leaving you to be alone. "Come on, Princess," Minako laughs, leading the other two away into the crowd.
What...do I do? Ami wonders, hesitating again. As the Senshi disappear, She reluctantly heads off in the direction they went in. I question the wisdom of blindly trying this...
Making her way slowly, Ami looks around, hoping to find something to latch onto. I need...help. she thinks. But if the Princess is out there, and the others are gone...I think I may have some difficulty...
As you walk, the Senshi are lost in the crowd, leaving you...alone. As you look about, patrons dance and frolic happily, while you stand by your lonesome. Crushingly alone...only a man, sandy and long hair neatly brushed back, leans against a pillar, sligthly away from everything else. He looks slightly cold, or perhaps bored.
Ami eyes the man curiously, easing herself into an inconspicious vantage point, unsure of what she's looking for. He did stand out in the crowd, after all. ...Well, it's not like I have a concrete idea of what to do...but surely I could find a better use for my time than boy watching...I hope. Involuntarily, Ami blushes. I do need to settle down. Emotions bouncing all over the place are not going to help.
As you settle in, you see the man idly waiting, staying there as the dance goes on.
OOC - Mind check +1
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6+1 and gets 7."
As you sit here...a lightbulb goes off. One of the last birthday parties of Princess Serenity's life, when you got left behind and spent all night alone. It wasn't meant to be, but you ended up going back to your apartments here before midnight, rather depressed at the outcome of this particular dance.
That man was there the entire time...you know that face, but you can't remember anything else other than that he was there.
Well...wonderful. Ami sighs. I don't remember enjoying this, but...Well, this has already, techncially happened, right? So will I just do the same things I did before, or...All right, less time pondering temporal causality, and -do- something.
Hesitantly, Ami approaches the sandy haired man curiously. "U-Um, pardon me..." she begins awkwardly. "I noticed you as I was leaving. Have we met? You seem familiar..." Not entirely true, but it will have to do. Remember, this is just a memory, not another person, so don't get shy...
His blue eyes perk up slightly at your approach, as he smiles. "Oh, have we," he asks nicely enough, a small smile working on his face. "You've been to Saturn before?"
Ami tries quickly to remember if she ever spent time on Saturn. Uhm...creative truth telling? No, I think this counts as an outright lie...
"Uhm, Yes, but not very long, usually." Ami replies, trying to smile. "You're from Saturn?"
"Yeah...My Mom's a maiden for Princess Hotaru, and dragged me along," he nods. "I'm Jeremy," he smiles again. "Are these parties here always so formal and stuffy?"
"Usually." Ami remembers, then blushes. "I don't think I was supposed to say that out loud. You get used to it after some time, though."
He supresses a laugh, then nods. "In that case...I think I'll go see the gardens instead," he nods. Upping his smile a level, "Want to come, MIss...?"
Ami hedges for a moment, then smiles nervously. "Mizuno." She replies softly, "I'd love to, if you don't mind company."
There is a click, a clack, then...the mirror goes suddenly still, melting away soundlessly. The energy surges and heads forward, a followable path leading you onward now. Even the little groove is starting to rise up, ice evening it up with the rest of the surface.
Ami blinks at the sudden shift. "I...got it right?" she wonders blankly, absently starting along the path, eyeing the disappearing grooves and blushing. "What is this, 'this is your life'?"
"I wonder why...Maybe I should have approached him the first time..." Sighing, she goes back to her lonely hike...but smiles a little. That might have been nice...
Heading along, you walk in the still white world of your spirit. Each steps causes you to feel the cold intensify, gales blowing on occasion, cold enough to crack stone with each gust. Yet you go on, only feeling better and better from each.
You feel the energy getting closer, yet...another hill is ahead. Tall and steep, you can barely see the peak of this one.
Ami shakes her head. "It bothers me that this doesn't bother me." She sighs, and begins the long climb up the newest hill. "Maybe this one will be my third grade science project. I've never gotten quite over my fear of ants from that..."
As you ascend, you can see the top clearer and clearer. Yet nothing seems to be there, only a great walk up. On finally reaching the summit, you see a path ahead, as if this forms a butte here, leading you onward. The energy is stronger now, Ahead, sitting a goodly ways away, you can see some sort of uprising. Is your Talisman sitting atop that?
Cautiously, Ami moves forward, pursuing the energy she can feel, heading for the uprising.
It is a small pillar of ice. Atop it sits your Talisman, sparking lightly, as if waiting to be taken...
Ami approached her talisman, cautiously reaching out, and then hesitating. I've seen a movie like this, haven't I? Shaking her head at the seemingly random thought, Ami tentatively reaches for her talisman. Irrationally, she wondered if it was angry with her...
As you reach for it...ther eis a strange shimmer. Fingers grasping it, you feel a thread vanish, a faint feeling of...satisfaction? Fulfillment? Hope?
Ami smiles in relief as she feels the thread vanish as she holds the Talisman. Slipping it onto her wrist, she smiles a little at the echoes of feeling.
"All right, that's one down. I suppose it's me or her, this time." Ami says aloud, smiling slightly as she's reminded of J.M. Barrie. "Maybe I -can- do this."
Now, you feel just the two threads. Also, you feel better, refreshed now that your bracelet is back on your wrist. You know that the snowflake design is still there, but the symbol of Mercury underlays it.
Ami Looks up to the 'sky' of the world, a bright smile on her face as the refreshment of feeling a 'partner' back where it belongs. She smiles at the latest addition to her bracelet's design. "Good to have you back." she tells it softly.
"Now...It's time we cleaned up the mess I made." she says firmly, feeling an odd surge of confidence. "I assume she'll find us eventually...so, it's time to study our opponent."
Reaching down, she mentally grabs hold of the thread that personifies Celcia, and pushes it through the system she'd learned for projecting the information...
You grasp it, feeling the breath and width of her memories. So many of them, more than your strand by far. So much to plunge into, the end and the beginning of it both a long ways apart.
Ami frowns in thought. If this were a computer file, I could 'search' for areas I wanted. Hmm....Let's see... Taking a more tangible grasp of the thread, Ami looks for Celcia's battles first, concentrating on the losses...assuming she can find them.
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6+2 and gets 12."
You get a messy jumble of things, but you can't seem to sort between it easily. IT's just too much for your mind to handle.
Ami sighs. "The hard way, then." she decides, and opens the mental 'valve' all the way, letting images flow by, and 'shutting' the valve occaisionally, trying to skim the larger parts of the content for anything useful.
It's a flood, alright, so many images coming out. Yet, in a way, it's not too hard. Many of them are fairly simple and similiar, of ice and her related things. Certain images of other things stick out...
Faint images of the Crystal Prison and those inside of it, as it broke down.
Of battling the Senshi, her palace of ice collasping thanks to Rei and the others.
Of...of...something before that, hazy and misty.
Ami frowns, and concentrates on the hazy and misty images. "There's something that she can't remember?" Ami wonders. "Or am I not displaying it right?"
It's...you can see through the mist if you try, but it's as if the fog is trying to shield it from sight. It's...bright beyond it, but you can't quite make it out without more effort.
Ami takes a deep breath, trying to penetrate the fog hiding the memories from her sight, wondering if Celcia put it there...or, in a more sinister thought, the being that violated her might have.
You press onward, past it...gah!
A family is curled up in a cave, shivering...only the little daughter is really moving. "Mommy, I told you I'd make snow," she giggles, her long blue hair waving in the wind that seeps into the cave.
"Mommy, come on! I made it snow again...! Mommy! Daddy!"
Ami watches the scene, her gut twisting. "Oh god...did she even understand?" the senshi of Mercury wonders, watching the scene. "It's...My god..." Ami continues watching, rather numbly. "Is she a victim, or a monster?"
Going on, the little girl, nude, frolics in the snow. Her laughter is like bells, even as her parents slump over, ice forming over there. "Come on, you two," she laughs at last, going to them. "We'll make a snow fort next, right?"
Sh estares down, before laughing again. "Okay," she chuckles, a slightly darker tone in her voice now. "I'll keep playing, then!" On and on she goes, her light laughter becoming something different, a cackle as she dances. Her skin turns blue, her body fading away in chunks as a new one forms. THe winter in the air only goes stronger as it flows into her over and over, until she IS the winter that devastates your view.
Ami watches intently, a mixture of horror and regret twisting through her. "This...What could make a child behave this way?" she wonders. "Is this the culmination of getting strong with our element? Everything good is twisted and hidden away?"
Shoving a distinctly ill feeling away, Ami frowns. "For her own good, she needs to be defeated. But, at least this explains how she came back..." Ami muses. "She isn't based in body or mind at all. She seems to be sentient ice energy." he voice falters as she turns that over in her mind.
"...Is that even possible?" she muses. Settling down to watch a bit more, Ami sets her jaw. "Not for the faint of heart..."
From there, white, then....it goes misty again, as that hellish vision fades into nothingness. The cruelly cold laughter continues to ring in your ears, as this version of reality again comes to the forefront.
Sighing deeply, Ami begins skimming the thread again, looking for anything Else that seems to be hidden from view, as she heads toward the cracking of the crystal prison.
If only I knew what to look for...
On and on you go - a feast of frozen worlds and shattered dreams, as Celcia falls farther and farther into her role. Finally, the Moon - a great battle, where the might of Queen Serenity and her Crystal finally stop the spirit, despite her taking the bodies of several Lunar citizens to continue the battle. Finally, the Crystal Prison is brought, darkness taking over the view for a very long time.
Ami bites her lip. "Well, I don't exactly have a Silver crystal." she reasons. "And if the only people who have contained her permanently for any length of time are the Queen and I..." Ami blinks as she digests that. Well, that may not be true. Don't go on an ego trip, Ami. You only managed it for a few days, at any rate.
"Hmmm..." With that, Ami continues watching, pausing only for the parts that seem significant.
There are things here and there past this point, but it's mainly rehash - the battle only a day after the Prison broke, the long misty time as Miss Nakahime was slowly corrupted, the second battle, then....
The memories draw to a close, as you reach the current time.
"Nothing new, really." Ami sighs. "Aside from the revelation that she's fairly twisted. I dread to think that the only solution to this mess is to hurt each other until one of us dies....What to do?" she wonders, thinking hard.
As you stand in the icy depths of this realm, a gale of wind chills your body and refreshes you. No answers come on it, yet it is still a welcome harbringer of relief.
For lack of anything better to do until Celcia finds her, Ami pauses in perusing her foe's life story, and turns her attention to her bracelet. Tentatively, she reaches out to it with her elemental connection, trying to determine if any dramatic changes have been wrought.
It doesn't feel any stranger than usual to you, but it's admittedly somewhat muddied right now. Can't say that's really surprising, all things considered.
Ami sighs, yet another avenue frustrated. "You'd think she would have found me by now." she muses. "Unless....No, she didn't get out. That explosion blew us both back." Ami reassures herself.
"So, I can try and find her, or use my time to go over her thread again, and see if I can glean any useful tactics."
Hesitantly, Ami reaches out with her mind, trying to see if she can 'touch' Celcia the same way she found her Talisman.
You feel out, the sensations of your soul strong and strange to you. Seemingly far away, you feel...her. Or you think so, this is still odd to you, but you think it's her. She is indeed a goodly ways away...
Ami sighs again. "Well...I'd best start walking. She doesn't appear to be in any hurry, and going over her life story again...is not a pleasant prospect."
Ami stands, and turns down the hill to go back to the 'ground', begins descending. "Hmm...and I seem to have begun talking to myself. I hope this isn't a permanent thing..."
As you begin to travel, light breaks forth on the horizon, a spot of light on high. Are you...it's...reality shows ever so slightly, as you feel the pull upward as...
Ami doesn't even hesitate, and Throws herself upward, diving for the opening. I WANT OUT!
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6-1 and gets 6."
* Hatbot --> "Ana rolls 2d6 and gets 7."
Racing...!
You feel reality and another battle a moment, Celcia in a jumble, then....BURST! Light floods in as you again segue into reality...
OOC - Paused until the 'ruka catches up.
Falling!
You tumble back into the reality of your inner soul, falling as your body aches and cries. As Sailor Mecury reasserts herself as well, as you land in a dazed pile of flesh. Celcia lands near you, vicious and shallow cuts here and there on your body from her hands.
No More...No MORE! Ami practically whimpers, frustrated and dazed, urgently attempting to re-orient herself, and climb to her feet, turning to look at the madwoman sharing her soul.
Quote"All I can do is try to judge when the best time will be. If it doesn't come, and you do have to kill her, then do what you have to - she's got to be stopped, one way or another."
Usagi's words come back to Ami in a rush, and she narrows her eyes, gathering herself.
The half-hearted attacking, the reasoning, the dodging...it's done. I have a job to do. I've got to be like Mako-chan now, and get it done, even it's it's not my area of expertise.Moving as quickly as she can, Ami stands gritting her teeth against the wounds in her body, raising her hands above her head, and gathering flows of watery ice to her hands, Ami prepares her most powerful attack! "I've had enough! It's over! I want you OUT, Celcia! MERCURY FROST SHRIKE!"
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 for Ami's last stand and gets 5."
* Hatbot --> "Ana-breakfast rolls 2d6 and gets 10."
Ami' scream echos as her Shrike forms and flies out! As it does, Celcia rises, words on her lips...words that are never spokes, as she is caught cleanly by the Shrike, staggering back a step then sent flying from the concussive impact. She flips in mid air, however, floating as she reorients! With a narrowing of her eyes and a flip of her hand, a storm of ice shards come raining down at you!
* Hatbot --> "Ana-breakfast rolls 2d6 and gets 10."
As they fall about you, not a one finds you! You stand in a flurry of slicing knives of your element, yet not a blade of it will dare cut your pale skin.
Ami narrows her eyes, feeling the mighty bird as it begins to dispel....and refuses to release the ice construct. With a gesture, she reaches out to the bird, holding it together and pulling on it. With a loud shriek, it turns at her command, and Ami sends it back at Celcia for another pass!
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 for keeping it up and gets 7."
* Hatbot --> "Ana rolls 2d6+2 and gets 8."
This second strike of your Shrike is brutal, catching her in the small of her back! She cries out, crumpling in mid air as blue blood flows, her back ripped open as she falls! Little crystals of ice fall from her eyes and litter the ground about as her agony is vocalized, the impact of the frozen ground muffling even that.
A tiny corner of Ami's mind cries out in agony at what she has to do, but she shoves her own revulsion at the act down, shivering as she dips into her power and connection the enviroment around her, and forming a storm of ice kunai, and sending them flying at Celcia's prone form! Don't let up, don't let up, Serenity, forgive me, but I no longer have a choice...
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 for viciousness and moral quandries. and gets 4."
* Hatbot --> "Ana rolls 2d6 and gets 11."
Soaring down like heaven sent blades of vengence, dozens of knives impale her back and legs and more cries come! Her lifeblood flows, as the assault shreds her body,
Another cry, then with a slight arc up...she goes still.
Ami fights off the urge to vomit, and staggers over to Celcia's limp body, forming her shield on her arm with the last extra strength, and approaches the limp form cautiously, wary of a trap, to check her vital signs...
As you do so, the shield is found to have been a good idea indeed! A scream comes from her, as her body shatters like ice, a mass of blue energy coming right at you! The keening wail of Celcia rattles in your ears as she rushes forward!
OOC - DCV check, +1 with all mods totalled.
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6+1 for deep shit. and gets 10."
Your shield and CElcia meet! The former buckles once, as if it's going to rock but hold, then...ice fragments fill your vision as it shatters, the energy rushing forward! It hits you hard, your body going dreadfully cold as the energy flows into you!
OOC - Mind check and Soul check, Ami. Body check as well.
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 for Mind and gets 5."
<Ami-chan> roll 2d6 for body
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 for body and gets 12."
<Ami-chan> -_-
<Ami-chan> roll 2d6 for Soul
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 for Soul and gets 4."
Your mind and spirit are bombarded by the cold, yet...the image of your friends stay in sight, as you find yourself resisting! You feel a shift as the energy goes somewhere else, then....
It's over. The energy seems to fade, then gone. The thread of Celcia simply fades away, a oneness returning to yourself that is native and familiar, and unknown and welcomed back.
Ami shivers, now alone in the white expanse. "I....I won?" she mutters softly, looking around, exhausted, but smiling wearily at the inalieable sense of...rightness to her surroundings, now.
"I won." Ami says again, smiling a little. "Now...how do I wake up? Hmm..." Closing her eyes she reaches out to her surroundings, trying to calm herself, not thinking not moving, but trying to become 'one with her environment, in hopes that her tattered soul could mend itself that way...
IT's simple now, just....just...
Just like falling back asleep after an unremembered dream.
---
OOC - Paused into a new thread once NAtsume is ready.