1213/Shards of Darkness

Shards of Darkness
Date of Scene:	17 March 2016
Location:	Plot Room #2
Synopsis:	Usagi and Mamoru text Ami in a panic asking her to help figure out what's wrong with Usagi. Turns out she's been infected with a shard of a dark-energy infused sword that's embedded somewhere that's very dangerous to remove from her.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Ami Mizuno

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Zoisite left her as soon as they arrived, taking her phone and promising to return.

He also told her to stay put, and she tried, but she was still itching so much.

When she's out of the gardens and crashing onto the floor of the old abandoned house, she clutches at her gut.

She grabs her phone back from Zoisite and texts Ami.

Something is wrong.

What she doesn't know, and what Ami may or may not find, is that when Hannah's sword stabbed her, a fragment broke off inside of Sailor Moon. Its Dark Energy is currently trying to leach out through the rest of her bone and tissue, trying to corrupt and seed thoughts that aren't her own.

If Usagi were anyone else, it may not have hurt so much.

And if she were anyone else, the depleted crystal wouldn't be trying its best to purify the foriegn object.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury wasn't kidding when she said she'd be right there. One minute Usagi receives the text, and the next Sailor Mercury literally steps out of thin air in one of the bedrooms of the abandoned house.

Mercury rushes out of the bedroom towards the staircase that leads down into the palaces, only to find Usagi already out. "Sailor Moon," she says, worriedly, as she rushes to her friend's side. "Zoisite, I've got her. Go see to Endymion," she instructs the cagey shitennou, who is all too happy to get away from the catty Sailor Moon and the ever-tempestuous relationship he has with Sailor Mercury.

Ami reaches up to touch her ear, instantly activating the visor that has become one of her most powerful tools. "Where did you get stabbed?" she asks uncertainly. "On a scale of one to ten, how bad does it hurt?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She wants to curl against Mercury even as she wants to claw at something. Someone.

She settles on snarling at Zoisite as he leaves.

And she pants as she tries to focus on Mercury's question. "Um...back. Six? Seven? Ei-" Then she screams. "FIFTY!" And she keeps screaming for a few seconds longer until she's done.

Wow. Purification hurts like hell.

Then she's panting against Mercury, leaning, cheeks wet. "Four."

Frustrated, she pounds her fist against the floor. "It shouldn't still hurt, he healed me but it itches."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"..." Mercury's eyes widen at that reaction from Sailor moon--or more specifically at the energy spike she saw during that brief bout of pain. "Good grief," she whispers quietly, then reaches up to hug Usagi. "Okay, I need you to kneel down," she says quietly. "I need to inspect the wound and figure out why it's not healing. And why it's causing you so much constant pain."

Ami helps Usagi kneel down, then moves to stand behind her and scans the sight of the injury for several moments through her visors--probably long enough for the crystal to make another attempt.

"Oh geeze," she says almost immediately, then reaches up to touch Usagi's shoulder, "Let me have the crystal," she begs. "Or put it away in your subspace pocket. Just get it away from you. It's trying to help, but it's actually making things worse, right now."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She does as Ami asks, and only once during the inspection does her body tighten at the wave of pain.

It makes no sense. Her crystal? Help with what?

Still, Ami-chan is very smart.

And she knows where Ami is better than she knows where the subspace pocket is at the moment.

After a moment of fumbling fingers, she places the crystal in Ami's hand, quite literally entrusting her with her soul.

She's sniffling, choking on her own voice. "What's h-happening?" She gulps and swallows and wonders if she can wake up now, please. "Why is the crystal hurting me?"

Had she done something wrong?

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami disappears the crystal immediately into her own pocket, then kneels down to inspect the injury more closely, now that the thing isn't trying to eject a clearly-lodged piece of darkness from Usagi.

"It's not," Ami says quietly. "But a part of that sword is still in you, and it's charged with some kind of dark insanity. It's trying to infect you, and the Crystal is trying to purify it. It's failing for some reason ..." she trails off, then frowns.

Boy does she recognize these effects all too well. At least Usagi is still conscious. But this isn't going to be fun for her. "Usagi-chan, this looks a lot like what Kunzite's spell did to me. I think I can try to start healing it the same way Frost Knight Iceni healed me, but ... I'm not positive it will work. And it's not going to be a fast process."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's a definite relief as the crystal is hidden away.

When Mercury is done with her inspection, Usagi curls around her friend, seeking comfort where she can. "Couldn't you just...cut it out?"

Her muscles spasm. "STUPID BITCHES I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

It's the shock of that anger that pulls her out of it, causing her to shriek and curl even tighter around her friend. "Please do it, please, please, please? I don't like it, please."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami winces at Usagi's scream, but she hugs her friend tight and gives a squeeze. "I can't," she says quietly. "It's in deep, and if I just 'cut it out' it's going to cause even more damage. Maybe kill you. Or maybe you'd heal, I don't know. We need to take you to Shelby, but ..." she trails off, "first I need to try and stabilize your pattern."

Sailor Mercury reaches up to gently grab Usagi's head with her hands, then closes her eyes. "I'm going to transfer some of my energy to you,a nd try and take some of it's energy out of you." Just like Takashi did for her. "It should help, at least temporarily. But it's only temporary. Doctor Shelby will know what to do once we've got you to that state. Okay?"

Ami doesn't really wait for a response. Instead, she simply calls on her star seed and begins drawing her own energy out. Like a tendril of hope, wisdom, and love, her energy flows into Usagi--straight into the lingering wound. Ami allows that tendril of energy to probe for the shard of the sword, and once it finds it ... she forms a connection.

Ami gasps in shock at the sudden sensation, then grimaces and forces the energy to transfer back along that connection, drawing darkness out of Usagi, and sending raw energy back. It's not an attempt to purify her; just an attempt to ensure Usagi has enough energy to fight the damned thing on her own.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi's shoulders slump and her eyes slide close. She just wants it out.

But Ami knows what to do.

And she wants to protest Ami taking this into herself to help, or whatever it is she's doing, because Ami's already been through this, but--

But Ami knows what to do.

And it helps. And she tries to wrap herself around that tendril, and its a relief even before the connection is made.

Then it is and it helps even more.

But part of her wants more. More more more.

Her eyes snap open and her body jerks back. "No!" It's a yelp.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Usagi's jerk-back motion sends Ami flying backwards a few feet, and severs the connection instantly. But still, Ami probably managed to give Usagi enough energy to last little while, at least. It's not a solution, but it is a reprieve.

Ami shivers and hugs herself, then wills herself to overcome the sensations and the evil that's coursing through her system. A small laugh escapes her at a small realization. "I've spent the last few years of my life building up an immunity to iocane powder," she says, then laughs a little more heartily at that, as she doubles over and clutches her stomach.

For a moment, she stays thus, then slides her legs forward and pushes to her feet. If there's still anything wrong, Mercury only shows it in that slightly too-smug grin, as she offers Usagi her hand. "This isn't permanent, Bunbun," she says to her friend. "We need to get you real help. Maybe I'll need to do this for you again. But for now, let's go see Doctor Shelby."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
And she feels even better now, but that doesn't stop her from getting onto her knees and watching her friend with worry and concern both.

There is, of course, a small giggle at the awesome movie reference.

She accepts the hand and when she stands, she's hugging Ami. "Are you okay? I'm sorry. I didn't want it to be greedy on you."

And then she nods and pulls away. Last time she was a patient at Doctor Shelby's, she'd also been recently stabbed by a friend.

Poor Hannah-chan.

She sniffles and wipes her eyes. "I put the bug on her."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury rolls her eyes at Sailor Moon. "Its just a little dark energy," she tells her friend. "Seriously, by this point, I'm practically an expert on this stuff. Or didn't Rei tell you? She blabbed her mouth to everyone else who came around," she grumbles unhappily.

"Takashi gave me home-made chocolates for white day," she says, cheerfully, to Usagi. "And because he wanted them to be magical, he added just a hint of dark energy to them. Makoto and Rei were pissed, but I don't see what the big deal is. It's not enough to do me any harm, and it was a sweet gesture, at least in thought."

Ami lets out a soft hmf of disapproval for Rei and Makoto, then hugs Usagi chan. "Who'd you put the bug on? I'll keep an eye on them while you're with the good Doctor. And if she says you'll need more infusions of energy, I'll supply it. No worries, I've got plenty to spare, and it's not like anyone ever needs me to actually fight. I'm mostly just there for moral support, cheerleading, and strategy. I could probably do everything I do for you without being a Senshi. Not that I want to give it up. You can't have my pen," she tells Usagi with a peer, then a grin.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Oddly enough, Usagi hasn't heard. When she wasn't being a zombie at school, she's been lounging and napping.

She opens her mouth, at first going to join the ranks of Rei and Makoto on this one, but then she snaps it closed as she thinks about it.

"Awww, that's kind of sweet!" She gives a little giggle. "Was it Dark dark chocolate?"

She hugs Ami again at the sound of disaproval. "Aww, they worry. It's what they do." A cheek smooch.

Then she sighs. "I put it on Hannah-chan. She kind of fell on me after..." she waves her hand. "And I kind of just, you know, slipped it on her."

Usagi has a peer of her own for Ami and she pokes her friend in the side! "And you can't give it back, either, missy!" Poke, poke!

And then she's wibbly. "Do you think Mamo-chan's going to be mad at me? I was kind of a jerk. And Zoi-kun!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"No, it was Dark white chocolate!" Ami says with a grin for Usagi. "The white chocolate mint balances out the Dark energy. Heavenly flavor, devilish thoug--" errp! She shuts right up with a blush, then giggles and hugs Usagi. "I know they worry. And it's fine. I just wish they wouldn't gossip."

Ami then holds Usagi at arm's length to study her. "You did that?" she asks, eyes wide. "Usagi-chan! That's really smart of you! I'm really impressed! I'll definitely keep an eye on Hannah with it, don't worry."

As for Mamoru ... "I think he's just a little hurt. But you've got a lot of dark energy in there, right now. I'll explain it all to him. I'm sure he'll understand it wasn't you. I mean, after all, he tried to kill Takashi-kun while he was dark energied, so he really has no room to talk about you being a little witchy at him." She shrugs, then starts walking Usagi towards the back room. "Come on, I've got a waypoint to Shelby's. We'll just step through," she suggests, then holds out her hand to open the doorway. "The sooner we can get you looked at, the sooner we can get you better."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Her eyebrows widen a bit at Ami's description of the chocolate, the huehuehue evident in her eyes. Then she's snuggling back and admits something with no guilt. "If I haven't been sleeping a lot, I'd have been gossiping, too."

Usagi's cheeks turn pink at the compliment, her small grin a happy, pleased one. "I just figured, you know, if we had a way to keep an eye on her, and then I knew you could do smart stuff with it!" Happy preen!

Then she sighs and leans against Ami as she's led to the waypoint. "But Ami-chan, I still feel like me, just a grumpy, grumpy me!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Yeah, that's dark energy for you," Ami says, then kisses Usagi gently on the cheek. "It's the mind control that's really nasty. But this one doesn't have that. Just dark energy."

Then they're transferring through the portal and on their way to see Iris.