Life has gone on for Ami Mizuno since the turbulent and troublesome year of the embers of the Space Criminals, the Elves and Deathbusters, the Black Moon and Chibi Usa, and Zirae himself. With peace comes rest and routine, Ami's life soon falling into a familiar pattern - study, school, extracurricular activities, and occasional fun with your dear friends. Further, stagnation and a lack of resolution have come...
Yet, come the last days of November, things may finally be ready to crack open like an overripe melon.
(http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/ebiris/mugen1.jpg)
What a miserable Tuesday. With a blizzard predicted tomorrow and snow showers today, many students haven't bothered with class. On the anniversary of the Great Tokyo Blizzard of last year(And Celcia's scheme, which the Senshi put down most firmly), it looks as if a repeat performance will be had. Yet, this does not deter Ami, who sits through her half empty classes as a few inches of snow swirl on down, wet and heavy snow that will clog the roads and form ice.
As you head to the Witches office after class, you have to wonder if the rest of the students had the right idea. Most of your teachers just phoned it in today, with two of your classes being cancelled. As you would expect, the office is mostly empty - save, to your surprise, to a white Mau curled up on your desk, sleeping and waiting for you. Sitting at the seat of the desk of Hotaru, half laying her head down and petting the cat.
"Ami-chan," she glances up, smiling. She's not even wearing the school uniform today, favoring a warm and heavy purple sweater and sweat pants. Pausing a moment in her ministrations, "Artemis was looking for you," Hotaru goes on, "He nearly caught a cold out there."
Ami enters the office, unsure of whether the current state of affairs is a tragedy, or a blessing in disguise. Sitting through another class with a teacher only going through the motions would have been frustrating in the extreme. Though these thoughts are pushed aside at the sight of the headmaster's daughter and Ami's feline companion together gives her slight pause.
"Hello...." Ami begins, though Hotaru's statement interrupts her greeting. She blinks and hurries over to the desk, setting her satchel down as she rests a hand on her white furred friend's back, checking to see that he's all right, smiling back at Hotaru.
"You looked after him?" she asks, smiling a little and seeing that Artemis seems to be fairly dry, and warming up, at least.
As you find, Artemis is toasty and reassuringly warm under your hand. He begins to stir as Hotaru speaks, her violet eyes sparkling in the slightly dim office. "Dad and I found him when we were coming back to school," A tiny pause, "He took me out of class for cocoa and lunch."
The girl looks up at that with a honestly happy smile at that, then goes on. "He wanted to catch you afterschool, and he thought it would be easier to get here as a cat."
Ami can't help but smile at Hotaru's expression, recalling her conversation with the Professor some months earlier. The memory brings a slight blush to her face, but still, she can't help but admire his devotion to Hotaru, while still maintaining firm discipline.
"Today is definitely a good day for cocoa..." Ami agrees, absently petting the white furred Mau. "Well, at least he's okay...thanks for looking after him." she tells the younger girl, smiling.
"Thanks, Ami-chan," Hotaru smiles back, nodding. "Why don't you take him for some when he warms up?"
At that, said Mau does indeed begin to stir in earnest. Opening one feline eye towards Ami, "Ami-chan," Artemis asks, yawning. "Hey." At that, he stretches and rises, a consummate cat move if you've ever seen one. "Nasty weather, isn't it?" Hotaru agrees with the cat firmly, "What made you go out as a cat instead of as a human in a nice, warm bus," the girl asks. Artemis merely shakes his head, blushing slightly. "It's not imporant, really."
Please don't ask...please don't ask...
Suppressing a nervous smile, "Anyway, how was your school day, Ami-chan?"
"Boring." replies Ami succinctly, sighing.
"Well, at least it was." she eyes Artemis and absently pets the feline, peering at her friend curiously. "What made you decide to brave this weather? And in this form, yet?"
Her question was tinged with curiousity, wanting to probe further, but the deflection of Hotaru's question gave her pause, so she concentrated on the main issue for now. She'd probe the Mau on why he'd stayed in feline form later.
Smiling back and letting the latter question fall by the wayside again, "Yes, I wanted to talk to you, Ami-chan. You remember the battle with Celcia last year?"
"Celcia," Hotaru interrupts, curious. Artemis nods to her, turning. "Celcia was one of the escaped Lunar Criminals, and she tried to turn Tokyo into her own frozen kingdom. Of course," he nods to Ami, "Ami and the other girls put a halt to that real quick. But today is one day before the one year anniversery of that battle."
Turning full to Ami again, his smile slips away into a more business like expression, serious and somber. "And a huge blizzard is coming this way, Ami-chan. I'm worried that perhaps Celcia survived somehow, or left another card on the table." Standing fully now and eyeing you, "Ami, I hate to ruin your afternoon, but you could run some scans with the Mercury computer to make sure?"
"Don't worry about that." Ami smiles, "It's not as though it hasn't already been ruined anyway with this weather." Despite her words, she's happy to have something useful, and potentially interesting to do, retrieving the Mercury computer from her subspace pocket.
She pulls the computer out, and sets it for a widening scan in a pattern spiraling outward, centered on Mugen itself, looking for an unnatural energy sources, and telling the computer to run any of it's findings against the data recorded from her visor while dealing with Celcia.
Your computer takes the entries dutifully, a text message informing you that it will be several minutes to properly initiate a scan. "Yeah," Artemis agrees. "No one wants to do anything when it's snowing like this." The Mau nods sagely, as Hotaru goes back to petting him.
"I don't know...I kind of like the snow," Hotaru ventures shyly to Artemis. "It's so pretty to look at when it's falling."
Ami nods to Hotaru in agreement. "Mmhmm. I like to look at it, too....it's only when there's a lot of it, like there is now that it's a nuisance." She takes the prompt from her computer, and leans against the desk as she waits, giggling a little as she watched Artemis enjoy himself.
"What made you suspect this wasn't a normal snowstorm, Artemis?" She wonders. "It's certainly unusual, but weither does throw us a curve every so often..."
Hotaru nods. "I remember last year's snowstorm," she says quietly, pausing a bit, then not going on at all. If anything, she simply clams up, frowning slightly at some unseen thing or memory. Your friendly Mau takes up the slack from that, though, deftly saving you from a pregnant pause.
"The Space Criminals were nothing but trouble, Ami, as much as Metallia or Zirae was. I wouldn't put it past one of them to have a scheme to come back, or even have a revenge lined up. The fact that it's happening in the one year anniversery stinks, doesn't it?" The cat rises, as Hotaru's petting has trailed off.
"It might be a fluke, yes. But neither Luna, myself or Nian wanted to sit idly in case it was something more."
Ami nods in agreement, -really- hoping Artemis is wrong, now. Haveing to always be watching over their backs for retribution for fighting for the survival of the universe seems terribly unfair.
"Best to check," she agrees finally, casting a worried glance at hotaru as she checks her computer's progress.
"Are you all right, Hotaru-chan?"
"Nothing, Ami-chan," Hotaru smiles wanly back at you a moment later. "Just a bad memory. Something I don't have to worry about anymore, thanks to Big Sis and all my friends."
At that, Artemis glances back at Hotaru, but says nothing. Though, his slightly sad eyes for a moment say all that is really needed to be said.
"Ami-chan," Hotaru says a moment later, before either get a chance to say much. "Could you show me what your computer is doing?"
Ami nods, almost to herself at the young girl's reply. Best not to push...she has confidants if she needs them, I suppose. Just be friendly... she decides, and blinks at the question posed afterward.
"This? Well..." she moves over beside Hotaru and sets her computer on the table where they can both see it, and points to a roving white dot on the screen. "Here's the scan's focus, and this is the area it's looking over..."
She explains the process as simply as she can, hoping against hope that Hotaru doesn't ask why the words 'Arrest Mode' Are flashing in one corner of the screen...
Hotaru leans in to see this. As she does so, Artemis hops onto your shoulders, to see himself.
The black haired girl nods on as you explain, taking in the information well enough. "Ami-chan," she finally asks, curious. "This is like one of Dad's computers only smaller, isn't it?" Glancing up at you for confirmation, she goes on with a curious eye. "And...but why is it flashing that up there?"
Artemis looks on at this calmly enough, his weight warm on your shoulders. "Ami," he whispers quietly as you go on, before Hotaru asks her questions, "Did Rei or anyone else mention anything unusual to you today?"
Ami blinks at Artemis' question, and shakes her head in discreet response, flashing him a questioning look as she responds to Hotaru.
"Well, yes...it is basically a hand held version of your father's computers." Ami agrees, smiling a little, then blushing a deep red as Hotaru's second question registers. "Well...uhm, it's from a foreign movie I liked a lot when I was very young." Ami replies, sheepishly. "It doesn't mean anything, it's just like...wallpaper on an ordinary computer." She offers the tiny computer to Hotaru to examine, and turns to Artemis.
"Artemis...there's something more than you've said so far, isn't there?" She murmurs, barely loud enough for the sharp eared Mau to hear.
Hotaru nods throughout, her curiosity sated by your answers. "A foreign movie, Ami-chan," she asks, mildly interested. "Was it about a scientist?" So asking, Hotaru focuses on what she figured would appeal to Ami. "Though....Dad's kind of like that now."
Artemis shakes his head once, a soft whisper of, "We'll talk once Hotaru leaves," reaching your ear.
Ami blushes a little deeper. "No, actually, it was about a policeman." she admits. "Though, there were a lot of scientists in it." she nods, smiling. "Just like like your dad."
So saying, she nods discreetly to Artemis, to signal her understanding.
With a quiet agreement, Hotaru nods. At that, "Hotaru, why don't you go back to your Dad now," Artemis suggests. "Ami's here, so you don't need to watch over me." Teasing slightly, he grins winningly.
Smiling back, "Do you mind, Ami-chan?"
Ami smiles slightly lopsidedly, nodding to Hotaru. "Mm...Thanks for looking after him, Hotaru-chan." She leans down and confides, "You did really well...he can be a real handful..."
That elicits a warm giggle from Hotaru, who nods. "He's an armful," she agrees, glancing at him. For his part, Artemis just smiles back, letting it go for the moment. "Dad should be done with that boy now..." Hotaru murmurs. "Ami-chan, that reminds me. Dad said someone who knew the Witches was coming back, his secratary called his cell phone about it because it wasn't supposed to wait."
Going on, "Do you know an Azurite, Ami-chan?" Hotaru asks innocently, while Artemis perks up.
Hoped he'd gone back to Sapporu or wherever the hell players like him come from...
"We know him," Artemis nods. "Ami and I met him before."
Ami flushes a little, remembering Azurite all too well. "Uhm...Yes, we've met him." she concurs.
I don't recall ever feeling so off balance in my life as when I spoke to him...not even Urawa-kun put me off like that. Ami thought with an inward sigh.
Hotaru nods once. "Dad took up to his office, but they should be done by now." With that, she smiles and leaves, Artemis still scowling.
"Ami-chan...never mind Azurite right now," he decides, now that it's just the two of you in the office. "Luna and I were out yesterday, and we felt something amiss near the Tokyo Mall." That rings a familiar bell; it was the site of Celcia's ice palace. "Between that and the coming snow - something may be very wrong."
Ami frowns. With that little detail, the problem comes into sharper focus. Artemis may not be as paranoid as first glance reveals. "Perhaps." She agrees, and checks her computer to see if the broad scan has picked anything up. "It's worth investigating, then."
Artemis nods. "Agreed, Ami." As that goes, your computer tells you it will be a few minutes more...
As you wait, "Ami," Artemis begins, "You're not planning on hanging out with Azurite, are you," he asks. Sounding almost paranoid, his feline eyes study your own intensly.
Ami blinks, turning to give Artemis a puzzled look. "He hasn't asked me to do anything, if that's what you mean." she ventured, cocking her head slightly. "Why?"
"Ami-chan," he begins, seriously. "I just don't think he'd be a good influcence on you. At all. He's a charmer, a trickster, and I just don-"
Artemis stops half spiel, glancinga t the opening Witches door. As if summed by Artemis's speech, Azurite steps through the door, looking around.
Fuck.
Seeing you, he looks up and smiles. "Ami, isn't it," he smiles easily. "I was afraid I'd gotten lost down here." Artemis barely keeps a scowl off his face, eyeing the youth.
OOC - Azurite picking up after this post, using GM perogative to get the scene going without undue slowdown. Yadda yadda.
Ami blinks as Azurite steps into the room, and smiles politely. The boy was nice enough, after all, but while Artemis was a bit overboard, he wasn't entirely wrong, in her opinion.
She nods, discreetly pocketing her computer while it continues running. "Hello." she replies, a little reserved, but friendly enough.
“Tomoe-san, the younger one that is, said you were here, and talking about me to boot,” he says by way off explanation. “And seeing as there was nothing much left to do in the paper work and whatnot, I thought I’d drop by and say hi.”
“SO, well, hi.” He chuckles a little, his mood brightening somewhat. “Oh, and hello talking-cat-familiar-type person-whose-name-eludes-me-at-the-moment. Nice weather we’re having, eh?”
Ami smiles slightly, nodding in acceptance of the explanation. "It's been awhile since we saw you last. Are you settling in?" she observes, politely making small talk, and looking to Artemis, checking to see the Mau's reaction.
“Considering I just got back in yesterday, sure. Sadly, the apartment lacks basic sustenance so I need to go shopping but beyond that I’m ok. How about you? How have you been?” He moves more fully into the room, glancing around.
“Not too cold, I hope.”
Artemis doesn't quite hold in a scowl this time, but does manage a nod to Azurite. "Yeah, something like that," he says, not sounding overly thrilled. Catching Ami's eye, "Ami and I were just in the middle of something."
Take it Ami...take it...
Artemis looks rather insistant at that, pushing you every so slightly.
Ami blinks, glancing at Artemis in surprise. Well, it's true, but...Alright, I'll play along, but it's not like you to be this rude...Well, not intentionally, anyway.
She smiles apologetically at Azurite. "I've been fine." she nods. "I rather like winter weather. And...unfortunately, Artemis is right." She picks up her satchel, and bows a little, flushing at the awkward segue. "We have an errand to run at the moment...I'm sorry. Perhaps I'll see you again?" she offers as she prepares to leave.
Somewhat surprised by the cat’s hostile reaction, Azurite frowns slightly as well.
First Tomoe-san and now this. What is it, Hate Azurite Day or something?
“Yeah, I think I’d like that, Mizuno-san.” The frown suddenly vanishes, replaced once again by his normal smile. “In fact, I’m certain of it. Hm, tell you what. Since we’re both buzy today, maybe we could meet up tomorrow? You could help me get up to speed on some things that have happened while I was away. Does that sound ok?”
Artemis sighs, but sticks his nose into it anyway. "That's fine," he says, speaking up. "Ami and I really need to be going to Tokyo Mall, though."
So we can worry about a playboy after we deal wi---gah!
Artemis suddenly fumbles a bit, annoyed at himself and grumbling.
Way to go, Arty. Watch him try and make that some sort of date pickup now.
Ami blinks, taken aback slightly, but recalls the young man's manner the last time they met, and decides not to be as easily flustered, now that she's prepared.
"I do have some plans tomorrow," she begins cautiously, "But a small break couldn't hurt...Assuming the weather clears up."
“Assuming the weather clears up,” he repeats.
Translation: no.
He nods to himself, beginning to withdraw from the room.
“Well, good luck in your endeavors Mizuno-san. Perhaps fortune will smile on me. Later, Artemis was it?”
Ami smiles and nods, flushing a little as she watches him withdraw, preparing to do the same herself. He looks a little...no, that must be my imagination. Anyway, I could hardly make other plans, especially if Artemis is onto something.
"Goodbye, Azurite-san." she responds, giving him another, final concerned look. "Be careful out there."
OOC - Azurite to a new thread. Man...poor Azurite. -_-
IC:
As the male warlock leaves, Artemis shakes his head to dismiss that entire incident. "Later," he manages to him, waiting until he's out of the room to pick up with Ami.
"Ami-chan, is your computer finished yet?" he asks, still perched on your desk.
Maybe I was too hard on him...? Probably not. He wouldn't be anything but trouble for Ami, and I'm not going to let Ami get into any trouble. Ever.
Ami pulls out her computer again, and checks the scan to see if it's wrapped up, yet. "Artemis..." she murmurs softly as she works with on it, "I know you don't like him, but was that the best way to handle things?" she asks, a guilty expression on her face.
Artemis frowns a bit, but nods. "I...don't like him, Ami-chan," Artemis replies, slightly defensive. "And you don't need to get tangled up in someone like that right now."
If I'd done this with Minako...she'd...
Your computer has indeed finished, the results of the scan being displayed. There is only one match - a slight anomaly at the Tokyo Mall, the site of the battle with Celcia.
Looking at you honestly, "Don't worry about it, Ami," he says, nicely as he can manage. "What did your scan turn up?"
Ami nods to herself. We'll talk later, then. she resolves, and glances at the computer screen, frowning. "You were right." she reports thoughtfully. "Tokyo Mall shows an anamoly, right where we fought her..."
Artemis nods, speaking desciviely. "We should go check it out, Ami-chan. Before any chance of something bad happening there, if at all possible." That causes Artemis to smile, strangely. "It'll be nice to get the drop on the bad guys for once instead of the other way around."
Ami nods and smiles back at Artemis knowingly. "Definitely a nice thought." She agrees, closing up her computer, and picking up her satchel again.
"Let's go tell someone what we're going to do before we go, though." She suggests. "Best to have someone know where we are if something goes wrong."
Hopping onto your shoulders with feline grace and agility, "That's a good idea, Ami-chan. Who do you have in mind? I know Usagi and Rei had a date this afternoon, and I think Haruka already went home."
"Professor Tomoe, or one of the witches should be fine." Ami decides, smiling a little and scratching Artemis behind the ears as he rests on her shoulders. I'm really getting used to him sitting there....the weight used to be uncomfortable...and now I'm more comfortable with it, than without it...
"They can get ahold of the others in an emergency, and can help themselves, if the others can't be reached." she adds, heading out of the office.
Nodding and enjoying the sratching, replying with a warm purring, "Professor Tomoe is still probably in his office," the cat agrees, reassuringly warm on your shoulders and hand.
I'd missed this, Mina-chan.
Ami smiles at the sound of Artemis' purring, and nods, heading out of the office, and towards the headmaster's personal office.
"So." Ami begins with a slight smile. "You never did say why you were in cat form in this weather, Artemis..."
As the elevator takes you upward, Artemis laughs a bit. Nervous one, this cat. "Welllll....Ami-chan...um...." he tries to play it off.
"Back in the Silver Millenium, I remember sneaking around when it snowed - it was easy since I blended in. And it seemed like a good idea at the time...but I'd forgotten how cold the snow is when you fall into a pile of it." He speaks casually, trying to keep the embarrassment out of his voice.
Ami blinks once.
Then twice.
Then three times.
Casually, she brings a hand up to her mouth, and attempt to stifle the fit of giggles that that mental image brought on...and only partly succeeds.
Grumbling a bit, "It's really not THAT funny," he protests, purring despite that. "I mean...it's a perfectly normal miscalculation to make."
As you chat, the elevator opens to the correct floor. Looks busy today, with people going back and forth to various office prints, copiers, etc al.
"Good...if it's this busy, he'll still be here for sure," Artemis whispers, as you step out.
Ami glances at Artemis and nods, wrestling her mirth down to an unsually wide (for her) grin, and sets off for the headmaters office.
"Hopefully." she replies quietly, still grinning, and giving Artemis a few final strokes before heading down the hall to discover if the Professor is indeed still in.
A secratary informs you that Headmaster Tomoe is indeed in. Reconizing you as one of his assistants, she rings you right on in. "He'll see you now," she nods to you, going back to typing.
Artemis simply rests on your shoulders all the while, enjoying your body heat.
Ami enters the office cautiously in any event, still unused to such quick access to the headmaster, despite all the time spent as an Assistant, casting a quick glance at her reclining cat before opening the door and slipping inside...
Artemis just nods at you, motioning for you to enter.
On doing so, the warmly lit office is there. It's a shame this one doesn't have a window - it would go well with the snowy backdrop. But no matter, Professor Tomoe is sitting at his desk, working at his computer. Turning from it with a practiced spin of his chair, "Ami," he nods. "You needed to speak with me?"
Ami smiles, clasping her satchel in front of her uniform skirt with both hands, relaxing and nodding. "I just had a request, actually." she offers, a little selfconsciously, but not with her usual hesitantcy.
"Artemis and Luna found something a bit worrying over at Tokyo Mall, and I was just about to go investigate with him." she explains. "Could you have someone check on me, a bit later? I don't expect trouble, but I'd prefer to have someone know what I was up to." [/i]
Listening, his friendly smile fades into a more sombre and composed neutral before your eyes. "Of course, Ami. I'll ask Cyprine and Ptilol to keep an astral eye on the mall all evening," Professor Tomoe offers.
"Thanks," Artemis nods, looking up from Ami's shoulder. "I don't think we'll have any problems if we catch it early, but I won't complain about having backup."
"Yes," Tomoe goes on from that. "And they can contact Usagi if need be, and she can contact everyone else."
Ami nods pleasantly, then hesitates for a moment. I can do most of the math curriculm in my head, and yet conversation seems beyond me, at times. she sighs inwardly.
"Thank you." she replies warmly, but a bit awkwardly. "Um. I'll let you get back to work, then." she murmurs, wishing she didn't sound so abrupt.
Professor Tomoe nods to you, giving you a slight smile. "Alright, Ami. But do be careful - I don't want to see anything happen to you or any of the other girls after all we've gone through," he says. Still smiling, there is a bit of insistant steel beneath his words.
Artemis nods. "I'll keep an eye on her," he says, turning his gaze to just meet the edge of Ami's eyes.
"I will." Ami promises, though she knows there's a hidden footnote, unspoken, but still there. If I can. If something needs to be done, and I can do it...I will...otherwise, why do I have these powers?
She blinks slightly in surprise at Artemis' statement, and, turning a little, smiles ever so slightly at the Mau, before nodding again to the Professor, and backing up to the door, resting her hand on the knob. "I'll be fine, I'm sure. Thank you again, Professor. I'll see you tomorrow." she says, by way of farewell.
"Until then," Professor Tomoe smiles, as Ami leaves. Once she does, he turns his gaze inward, thinking.
Do be careful, Ami. I know far too well how hard it is to be alone like that ....and to die like that?
Frowning now, he picks up his phone, to call two certain twins.
---
On exiting and going back to the elevator, "It's not too far a walk from here, Ami, and the bus route passes Tokyo Mall. Shouldn't take us more than a half hour to get there." At that, Artemis pauses a moment, then leaps off your shoulders. One blurring of his body later, you have a elevator mate.
"Suppose I shouldn't try going outside as a cat agian," he offers with a tilted smile, still a bit embarrassed - his white hair makes a tiny blush all the more visible.
Ami nods and smiles warmly at the white haired man. "Please." she agrees pleasantly, but with a serious undertone, preparing to retrieve her jacket, scarf and gloves.
"I just about panicked when Hotaru-chan told me how they found you..." she admits. "With all we've been through, losing you to hypothermia from a snowdrift would be too cruel..."
"Hey," he smiles back quickly, waving his hand in front of himself, "It's not like I was in any danger. I just was a bit cold and I was taking a break to catch my breath, yeah?" Nodding, "A bit of snow won't do me in - we made it through Metallia and everything else, after all," he says with a bit of pride.
"I'd never hear the end of it from old Queen Serenity if I died that way," he finishes, laughing warmly now. "Or Luna when she caught up to me."
What is it Usagi used to say? 'Oooh, men!' Ami smiles and shakes her head. "And me." Ami adds with a flicker of amusement. " But...Just so long as you're being careful." Ami allows, waiting for the elevator to reach the ground floor, and flashing him a warm smile.
Matching it easily with his own smile,
Reminds me of my own warnings to Sailor V...dammit, cat. Don't start getting into that again. Not today.
and surpressing a momentary falter, he steps out of the elevator. "At least the bus stop isn't far from here. If it's still snowing, it's likely to be even nastier to walk in than it was before."
Ami nods, smiling more ruefully now. "Best to be Prepared." she agrees. "My coat and clothes are near the door...Will you be allright?" she wonders, eyeing Artemis speculatively. "We can stop to buy you a jacket quickly, if you need it."
Artemis shakes his head, despite his rather revealing clothes. "I'm fine, Ami-chan. It shouldn't be a long wait for the bus, and humans are better at staying warm than cats.
Funny, isn't it?" he muses after a moment, idly tapping a finger against his side as he thinks. "You think all that fur would be good for something besides looking fine, but....
Ami smiles. "It's better than being bald?" She suggests impishly, heading off to retrieve her coat, scarf and gloves. Inwardly, she starts paying closer attention the the white-haired man, not knowing exactly why, but feeling a slight oddity in the Mau's mood.
"Ami-chan!" Artemis complains lightly, smiling back at you. Waiting as you don your hat and coat, "Don't even joke about something like that!"
As he speaks, one of his hands goes to his head, almost protectively, over his hair.
Ami giggles, making short work of getting preapared for the weather, and smiles up at him. "Well, it wouldn't be too bad in your human form, but I can understand why you might be distressed to be a hairless cat..." she agrees.
"Shall we go?"
Supressing rightous grumbling, Artemis nods. "Let's go, Ami-chan."
At that, you get to the bus stop nearest Mugen. It's a short wait, only ten or so minutes before the bus comes. Just quickly enough to prevent a Mau popsicle, as the two of you warm up on the nicely heated ride to the mall. This goes without incident.
On getting off the bus, you're right at the main entryway. Nothing of note, save a sign advertising a ice scupting exhibition this week.
Ami nods to herself as they get off the bus, biting her lip as she looks around. Why don't threats ever just put up a sign with big, flashing lights? It would save me time, and trouble. She glances at Artemis, checking him for signs of discomfort from the weather.
"Was there anything else specific that you can tell me, or will we need to search the area?" She asks thoughfully.
Artemis looks fine to you after that bus ride. It's only a minute or so to make the walk inside, it's not really that far.
It feels even worse now...something is really wrong here.
"Let's search the area," he says after a moment. "And scan. I feel something wrong here, Ami-chan." Staring ahead at the doors to go inside, he steps forward, taking the plunge to inside of the mall.
Ami nods, sighing inwardly. Why aren't 'feelings' ever good news? I have to remember to ask Usagi, some time. She takes out the Mercury computer as they walk, and sets to to passive scan, enabling a beeping function when it locates the source of the anamoly found earlier.
"Alright...Until my scan turns something up, you're all I have to go on." Ami says to Artemis, switching over to 'Problem-solving' mode. "Can you feel anything else?"
"Just that something is off," Artemis says. As you step inside...
The floor setup is pretty simple - underneath the shadow of the upper walkways are the stores, each advertising great deals and bargains in glittering glass windows. Past that is the guts of the floor area, the open areas with benches, trees, and such, leading to the center area with the fountain and exhibit. Esclators dot here and there, leading to higher floors.
The roof of the fourth floor is a giant skyroof. Gray light comes down from it, but not enough. Due to the snowy weather, it leaves a certain lack of light in the majority of the mall. A special, almost dusk like shadowness, only banished in small pools of yellow light in intervals.
Some people are about, all dressed in warm sweaters, scarves, coats, trench jackets - the familiar wear of the winter months. A high number of school uniforms are hidden underneath the jackets, showing that Mugen wasn't the only school with low attendance today. Everyone seems cheery and relaxed despite the gloominess as you head to the ice scuptures. It's a strange contrast.
"Nice feeling to the place," Artemis mutters, glancing around and then upward.
Ami nods, taking in her surroundings at the moment only as they pertain to the problem at hand. Noting their general direction, Ami turns to Artemis. "Well....let's start with the ice sculptures." she says, nodding once, then making a beeline for the exhibit.
"It's as good a place to start as any, and since it's relatively new, something could have been moved or snuck inside during the setup."
* Shai`Hulud --> "Ami-chan rolls 2d6 and gets 12."
Walking along, "That's a good idea, Ami," Artemis nods to you. "If anyone snuck anything in , that would be it." HE turns and smiles at you brightly...an as he does, something on the third floor catches your eye, and you turn up to look. But as you do so, you miss a slight catch int he floor, which causes you to trip and fall face first down! (2 damage and a large dollop of embarrassment.)
Artemis hustles to you, kneeling down. "Are you alright, Ami-chan," he asks quickly, extending a hand to help you up with.
"Ow..." Ami whimpers, rubbing her abused nose and glancing around in mortification, her face heating up. "This isn't a promising start..." she groans, taking Artemis' hand gingerly. She ducks her head into her scarf to hide the bottom half of her crimson face as the Mau helps her up.
"Come on," he says, helping you up and leading you to a nearby bench. Sure, you get a few amused looks as you do so, but there isn't a chorus of laughter or cameras, you guess.
As you head over, "Are you okay? I don't see any blood, at least...."
At least I know how to handle this sort of thing. Thanks, Luna.
Ami blinks, the initial embarrassment fading as they move to the bench, though still feeling a bit chagrined at her own clumsyness. She looks up, blushing a little as Artemis inspects her.
I don't know why, but this is unexpected...I always assumed he just brushed off minor injuries, like most boys. Hmm, he really is a good father figure. Or older brother.
"I'm fine." She smiles. "Nothing hurt, except my pride." She assures him.
Giving you a quick once over, he smiles. "Good, Ami-chan. I was worried that you'd inherinted something from Usagi." Brushing off his own pants as he does so, "Anyway, why don't we sit down a moment until you have your bearings back?" With a nice, friendly smile, he offers you a hand for whenever you are ready.
Ami shakes her head a little, taking Artemis' hand. "I'm okay, really." she assures him, smiling.
As you rise, you note it's cold in here. Really rather cold, as if the heat was turned off.
"Alright, then," Artemis nods. "I guess we can get started in a moment..." he says, cut off near the end by a subtle, insistant beeing from Ami's pocket. Her compuer, namely. "That was quick," Artemis notes, glancing down.
Ami blinks, retrieving the mini-computer from her pocket, and flipping it open to examine it. "Well, we are closer now, and it already had data to begin with." she muses, examining the screen, and holding it on a slight angle, so Artemis can see as well. "Is...it a little cool in here?" she asks, looking up suddenly.
"It is," Artemis notes, glancing around. In fact, it feels outright cold-outside-cold now.
The computer screen shows that there is a low grade anomaly all over the place, with the main disturbance somewhere above...glancing above by habit, you note that either ice or a really bad new paint job is starting to appear on the undersides of the floors, in the completely shadowed areas.
"I think that means it's getting close," the Mau asks, peering at you computer monitor and not seeing above.
Ami wordlessly touches Artemis' shoulder, and points upward, to the mottled areas on the floor above. She quickly adjusts her computer's scan, narrowing the focus, to try and gather more specific information while they track it.
"Let's go up a level, and have a look." Ami suggests softly.
As he looks up, ARtemis's gaze narrows. "Yeah, Ami," he says, already starting to walk. An escalator is nearby, the logical choice to use. As you refine your search, "Something is going really wrong here...I hate to say it, but I think I was right."
Ami heads for the escalator, with a measured, calm strides, hiding her inwardly mounting nervousness. "In my experience, you rarely hate to say you were right." she giggles, with a teasing glance over her shoulder, doing her best to appear calm. "Though, it does appear you were onto something."
Smiling back despite himself, "I know, Ami-chan. Trust me, I know." Getting on the rising stairway, you note that ice is just starting to appear on the sides of it as you get to the top. It's getting colder, too. Notably so. People around are starting to shiver and note it.
And we beat the bell with it this time, so at least it'll be easy to deal with. Right?
Ami frowns, and quickly checks her computer again, attempting to home in on the anomaly. "Time appears to be of the essence, if we want to head this off before it becomes an issue..." she murmurs, movign in the general direction indicated by her computer, staring intently at it, and hoping for something more specific...
Ami - Your computer has it in a moment - it's on the third level!
"Yes, we have to hurry," Artemis agrees, glancing around as ice is starting to appear everywhere. "It's getting colder," he grimaces at the cloud of breath that comes from his mouth...and at that, you see the ice spring up, encasing a nearby teenage girl solid, trapping her in a tomb of blue ice!
"Really hurry," Artemis amends quickly, jumping a bit in surprise. "It's starting to popsicle people!"
Ami shivers and nods. "Right." She replies quickly. "It's on the third level. let's go." she replies, and casts about for the nearest escalator or elevator, with the intent of hurrying up as quickly as possible.
And yet again, I find myself running to danger, rather than fleeing it...I've never considered myself brave, but perhaps courage is just a very specific form of insanity? Either that, or I am simply too responsible for my own good.
There is an icing over escalator nearby, near the one that lead you upstairs to this floor. "Over here," Artemis shouts, as more people are encased! "Hurry!"
Ami-chan...let's go and do this again! One more time...Sailor M...
Despite the exertion, Artemis smiles as he breaks for the now frozen stairway to above.
Ami breaks into a quick run, just shy enough of a full out sprint that she can avoid a nasty accident falling on the rappidly growing ice, following Artemis' lead. "Right!"
You and Artemis rush up the frigid escalator! Up to the third floor you go, slipping and sliding with a few bumps and small trips(3 damage each, some bruising up) but you make it to the third floor!
The source of the anomaly on your computer here is a small little place in the nearby food court! Ice is spilling out from it like wild, as the entire mall is turning into an eternal palace of cold!
Rubbing his bruised up side, "Ami-chan! Look over there," he points, the wellspring of this problem obvious to the naked eye, past a small herd of now flashfrozen mallgoers.
Ami nods, her hands reflexively going to her subspace pocket, and coming away with her henshin wand. "Right." she affirms, casting a quick glance around for danger or onlookers, before raising the blue pen aloft.
"Mercury Holy Power...MAKE UP!"
In a swirl of watery blue, the familiar transformation takes over, the liquid flows of Mana erasing her clothing, and replacing it with the garb of Sailor Mercury!
Transformation complete, Ami looks quickly to Artemis, tapping her earring, and summoning the mercury visor, setting it to continous scan. "Be careful." Ami urged him, a sudden flash of worry hitting her. Should I tell him to go contact the others? No...I can't insult him like that. He knows as well as I do that the twins are already watching. I'll trust him.
OOC:
And thus, INTO A NEW THREAD!
Congratulations, Ami-chan!
*Pets and does not make a splatterfood comment, whilst sticking her tongue out at Haruka. Nosirree bob.*