It came out of nowhere. A split-second decision to follow him after the latest skirmish.
Ami wasn't the best at being stealthy, but compared to Usagi (a total klutz) and Rei (who was better suited for shows of raw power than stealth and secrecy), she was the best one for the job. That, and she was the only one that could actually track Nephrite.
She grinned at the thought of using the Shabon Spray to 'hide'. In the middle of the day like this, a Shabon Spray's mist would be the same as announcing "Here's Sailor Mercury, trying to be sneaky!" at the top of her lungs.
That's when she saw it. The mansion in the woods. She switched her visor from normal vision to a false-color that showed the flow of magical energy... definitely some magic at work here, to keep people from finding the place by accident. Lots of Voyance Mana, too; apparently Nephrite used magic to determine the next attack. The place was built like an european cathedral, which apparently aided the flow of magic for what purposes Nephrite needed it for.
With a quick motion, she dismissed her visor. She needed to be able to see where she was leaping, and the transmitter wouldn't be any use if it was noticed. It was a small black chip, no larger than the nail on her thumb, connected to her palmtop by a nearly undetectable thread of mana. With all the Voyance Mana in the air, the only way to know that there was an intrusion would be a total cut-off of magic.
She froze in place as she heard a gust of wind from inside the cathedral. A blonde-haired man with a ponytail had just appeared inside. Pulling out her palmtop from the pocket dimension she kept it in, and connecting a small earpiece to it, she was able to overhear the conversation between the two generals.
"...Beryl is getting impatient with you, Nephrite. You promised results that would make Jadeite's successes seem like nothing, and yet your best operation has yet to exceed the worst results Jadeite had ever gotten."
"Quality versus quantity, Zoicite. I may not be able to bring in much, but there are two differences between how I do things and how Jadeite did things. First of all, Metallia has yet to reject any of the energy I have been able to deliver. Secondly and more importantly, my failures have been because I am only a distraction for the Sailor Senshi to chase, to keep them off of your back. It is your job that is the more important of ours. I see you still have yet to find any clues as to the whereabouts of the Ginzuishou."
"I refuse to believe your theory, Masato Sanjoin!" The syllables of the assumed name were spat out with such acid, Ami was surprised she didn't hear the hiss of chemically-burned flesh. "If all it took was love, then me and Kunzite could have-"
"Pure love, not just physical lust. I will not curse what you and Kunzite share, I think it's a beautiful thing that two people could be as close as you and Kunzite. In any case, you know the situation better than I do, both in and out of Beryl's court. Tell our queen that I will remain on Energy Collection only as long as she will permit me, but that I will continue to do things my way."
Ami held a hand to her mouth. Dissent in the ranks of the enemy could be very helpful. There was another sound of rushing wind, then the scratching of chalk on the floor. Listening closely, Ami resumed her reconnaisence mission.
"Stars, show me how best to get me out of this mess. It will not be long before Beryl realizes that I'm providing bad results on purpose. I seek only to keep the Great Shield empowered, not to further Beryl's revenge against innocent people that wouldn't even remember what happened..."
Crack. Crack crack crack. Ami didn't hear the roof start to give way, she was too focused on what Nephrite was saying. She had always thought that the enemy was pure evil, incapable of wanting to protect people...
Crash! Nephrite's plea to the stars was interrupted by the blue-haired girl landing in the middle of the floor. Before he could react, though, Mercury held up a hand. "Hold your fire, I didn't come here to start a fight. We both seem to want the same thing - to protect the lives of the innocent. Can there be peace between us?"
Nephrite discarded his disguise as Masato Sanjoin. "You're very good to have breached my barriers and found this place. Did you follow me, or were you just curious about these woods?"
Ami chose to ignore the question. "Do we have a truce, at least?"
"I need to keep up ap-"
"DO WE HAVE A TRUCE?" Sailor Mercury was starting to lose her cool. We could help him so much, but he's still worried about this Beryl person.
The forcefulness of the question drove the doubt from Nephrite's mind. This was no accidental meeting. He asked the stars to guide his path, and here it was staring him in the face. "Yes. We have a truce."
Sailor Mercury shook hands with Nephrite. "Then follow me."
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(Posted Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:48)
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