Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Pearls of Experience ❯ Jupiter and a Beautiful Butterfly ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun or Sailor Moon

Sharem: Hi everyone…^_^ I know, I have other stories that I need to finish but this one just wouldn't leave my mind. This is my first story in the Sailor Moon Crossovers section and the story takes place after the end of both anime.

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Pearls of Experience

Chapter Eight - Jupiter and a Beautiful Butterfly

Ami left Knives' room after having that confrontation with the Plant and leaned against the wall of the hallway. Transforming into the Lady Mercury took a lot of energy out of her petite frame. She couldn't remember the last time she had to transform but estimated it to be about five hundred years ago. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as she concentrated on regaining some of her strength back. She knew that if it was not for the arrival of Chibiusa, she probably would not have transformed.

The doctor waited for a couple of minutes and then slowly walked down the stairs and went into the kitchen. She quickly made a small breakfast for herself and ate it quickly. She had her rounds to do that morning and would be late if she did not hurry. She pulled on her doctor's coat and was about to walk out the front door when she heard something on the stairs. She turned around to see her patient slowly descending the staircase, his free hand gripping the banister tightly. He looked up and caught Ami's sapphire eyes with his own cold, cerulean ones.

Knives had decided to actually try to do some exploring of the house while everyone was gone. He put on the robe and tied it tightly and put on his sandals. He grimaced at the fact that he didn't have any clothes to wear outside of the house. The blonde Plant heard some noises and chose to investigate. He slowly walked down the stairwell and spotted the blue haired doctor about to leave. He caught her attention and observed that the woman was still weak from that strange transformation earlier into Lady Mercury. The fact that she really was not a human intrigued the man but he didn't want to admit that to himself…it might make him seem weak in his own eyes.

"Did you need anything, Knives?" Ami asked warily, taking in the tall man's expressionless face.

Knives just stared at the petite woman for a few minutes, making the former senshi a little self-conscious about her appearance. When he noticed that she was starting to fidget, he smirked. "There is something I need," he answered in a dark, husky tone that made Ami shiver. "I do not wish to walk about this house in these sleeping garments. I require clothing that does not make me feel like an invalid."

The doctor nodded. "I…I suppose that I can do that," she remarked as she studied her patient's frame and body. A deep blush appeared on her face as she gazed on certain parts of his body. She tore her eyes away from him and glanced out the door. "I'll try and get some clothes that will fit you."

The blonde Plant saw Ami's blush and wondered what the cause of it was and then realized where she was looking. He chuckled evilly and smirked once more. She was pleasing to the eyes whenever her face went red. His eyes went wide when he realized what he was thinking and scowled. Knives couldn't believe that he had thought that. It just made him vow to find a way to get rid of the woman and her adopted pink spore.

Ami saw the changes of expressions on the man's face and concluded that he was not happy, probably had to do something about her. 'That man has never been happy since I met him,' she thought to herself as she grabbed her black doctor's bag, opened the front door and exited her home quickly. She spent the rest of the morning checking up on the people who were sick and tended to a couple of new patients. She saw Meryl enter a clothing store with Chibiusa and Millie; Vash and Wolfwood were following the females with glum looks on their faces.

She giggled softly to herself as she strolled past the Lowery house. It was almost across the street from her home and was about to head for it since it was close to noontime. That was when Mrs. Lowery came out onto her porch and waved the doctor over to her. Ami smiled and nodded as she walked over to the older-looking woman. She saw that the woman had pulled her gray and brown hair into a bun and was wearing jeans, a plaid work shirt and riding boots.

"Doctor Mizuno, I'm glad that you were walking by just now," Mrs. Lowery replied as she grabbed the former senshi's arm. "My eldest daughter came back about two days ago and she is very sick. Could you please take a look at her?"

Ami nodded and followed the distraught mother into the rather large home. She did not have to look around the place since she had been here several times already. "Mrs. Lowery, please tell me your daughter's symptoms," she said in a tone of voice that mean it was not a question.

"Well, Lita has been very sleepy of late and came down with a very high fever last night," the woman replied as she led the doctor up a flight of stairs. "She also keeps mumbling about something in her sleep. I don't know why she talked about silver crystals…but I think she was in a delirium."

The blue haired doctor almost froze when she heard the mention of silver crystals. 'Maybe…maybe this girl is a reincarnation of one of my friends,' she thought to herself as she followed the woman into a bedroom. It was decorated in a soft green color with light pink roses painted on the walls. She then saw a tall young woman around twenty years old lying in a large bed. Her hair was a rich brown color but Ami could not tell the color of the girl's eyes because they were closed at the moment.

'She…she looks almost exactly like Makoto,' she thought as she made her way to the girl's side. The blue haired doctor placed a hand on the girl's forehead.

"Your daughter does feel warmer than she should," Ami remarked as she set her bag down on the stand next to the bed. She took out a thermometer and glanced at the worried mother. "Mrs. Lowery, could you fetch a basin of cold water and some washcloths for me? I'm going to need them to help bring your daughter's fever down."

Mrs. Lowery nodded and left the room quickly, leaving Ami alone with the unconscious young woman. Ami glanced around to see if anyone was around and closed the door. She then shut the windows and closed the curtains before making her way back to the girl.

"I think I know who you were in a past life," the former senshi stated softly as she placed her hand on the young woman's forehead. "I need you to wake up…" A soft silvery-blue glow gently lit up the room and the energy transferred itself into the girl's body. A minute later, the glow disappeared and the symbol of Mercury appeared on Ami's forehead…then the symbol for Jupiter appeared on the girl's forehead.

"I found you, Jupiter," Ami whispered tiredly as the planetary symbols disappeared from their brows. That was when the girl opened her bright emerald eyes and gazed at the former senshi.

"Who…who are you?" the girl asked weakly as she pulled the bedcovers over her.

The blue haired doctor smiled gently at her as she left the girl's side and re-opened the windows and curtains. "I'm the doctor for the town," she answered as she pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and sat down. "I'm Doctor Ami Mizuno, but you can call me Ami. I take it that you are Lita Lowery?"

Lita nodded slowly as she sat up in the bed and observed the doctor. "Yeah, that's me…did my mom get you?" When Ami nodded, the brunette continued. "I don't like it when Mom gets someone to help me…I can take care of myself."

Ami chuckled softly and smiled warmly at the young woman. "Lita, your mother was just worried about you. By the way, your mother told me that you were talking in your sleep about silver crystals and the like. Would you mind terribly if you told me what you were dreaming?"

The young woman thought for a moment and then shrugged. "I don't see why not," she answered, her green eyes flashing slightly. "It was weird…I was dreaming about this city that was made with beautiful crystal. There was a cute little girl with pink hair and I had a lot of friends, but we were dressed really strange. I mean, in this dream, we were soldiers and guardians of a queen, her king and her daughter but how were we able to fight in those ridiculous short skirts? I really don't know. I did feel a lot of loyalty and love and friendship passing between us and the royal family. It…it almost felt like it really happened."

The blue haired doctor smiled even more and was about to say something when Mrs. Lowery re-entered the bedroom with the basin of cold water and some washcloths. The mother smiled in relief as she saw her daughter awake and was sitting up.

"Lita! I'm so happy that you are awake," Mrs. Lowery exclaimed as she went over to the young brunette and gave her a hug. "Doctor Mizuno, what was wrong with my daughter?"

Ami beamed at the happy parent. "Nothing much…she was just suffering from a cold," she answered succinctly as she lightly took the basin and washcloths. She took a washcloth, dipped into the cold water in the basin and then wrung it out. She then placed it on Lita's forehead. "I would, however, keep her in bed for the rest of the day. Don't feed her anything heavy…soups would be for the best for her. Also, make sure that Lita keeps cool with cold washcloths. I have some medicine in my bag that will help keep her fever down."

Mrs. Lowery sighed in relief and gave the younger-looking woman a hug. "Thank you so much for your help," she thanked Ami profusely. "I'll deposit the payment for this visit in your bank account. And I will not take no for an answer." At that, the woman smiled and left the doctor in the room alone with her daughter.

Lita watched her mother leave the room and then looked at the blue haired woman. "You know, Ami, that you feel very familiar to me…It's almost like it's on the tip of my tongue but I can't get it out."

Ami nodded perceptively at the young woman and stood up. "I will tell you a story about the past. It may seem incredible and even totally outrageous to you. You might even question my sanity but what I am about to tell you is the truth. And if you do believe it to be true, I will help you remember why I seem familiar."

The young brunette thought for a moment and then shrugged. "I don't see why not," she replied as she moved the pillow on her bed so she could be comfortable while listening to the doctor.

The next hour was a long one for the senshi of Mercury. She told the young woman, Lita, everything starting from the beginning in the Silver Millennium. Ami began telling the story to Lita. "There was a beautiful princess of the Moon, Serenity, and her mother, Queen Serenity. The Queen was a kind and good ruler who ruled the Moon over three thousand years ago who loved the people she ruled over. Unfortunately, there was one woman, an evil woman named Queen Beryl. She was jealous of the princess because of the young girl's kindness and beauty and the fact that she had the love of the Prince of the Earth. She made the Prince's four Generals, Jedite, Kunzite, Nephrite and Zoicite betray the Prince. Queen Beryl then attacked the moon, killing everyone and causing the young princess to commit suicide when she witnessed the murder of her love, the Earth Prince Endymion, by the evil Queen.

"Consumed by grief, Queen Serenity used the Ginzuishou, the Silver Crystal, to banish the evil Queen and the evil force that gave Beryl power, Metallia. She also used the Crystal to send her daughter, the Princess Serenity, her court and Prince Endymion a thousand years into the future to be reborn and live out their lives as normally as possible. Unfortunately, the peace the princess and her court had was not to last. The evil Beryl managed to escape her banishment. That meant the Princess' court had to remember who they were in the past. They were the Sailor Senshi, warriors of the planets of the solar system, who had sworn to protect their princess with their lives, if need be.

"The first to come into her abilities was Sailor Moon…her civilian name was Usagi Tsukino. The next one to become a senshi was Sailor Mercury, and then others soon followed. Mars, Jupiter and then Venus appeared. They fought the minions of Beryl and Metallia. They also fought the traitorous Generals of the Prince and defeated them one by one. The first one to be defeated was not killed, however. Jedite was banished by Queen Beryl and imprisoned in crystal by her for all eternity.

"Anyway, Sailor Moon was actually the Moon Princess and the Silver Crystal reformed when she cried over the 'death' of Tuxedo Mask, who turned out to be Prince Endymion reborn. It was her grief that caused the powerful crystal to reappear and transform into the beautiful princess. In the end, she managed to defeat Beryl and Metallia with the help of her friends, the Sailor Senshi. They did die in the process but the last wish of Serenity was that they could live out their lives as normal kids. They were brought back to life by the Ginzuishou, but had no memories of what had just transpired.

"Yet again, this new peace did not last and they all regained their memories. More enemies appeared and the Sailor Senshi were able to defeat them all. The planet then went into a deep freeze for about a thousand years when Neo-Queen Serenity used her crystal to free the planet and the new Silver Millennium reign began. It was a time of peace and prosperity for Earth and its people. The Sailor Senshi rejoiced when their queen gave birth to the new princess, Princess Usagi Tsukino Chiba or Chibiusa for short. We also called her Small Lady because she was a lady despite her youth.

"Did you ever realize that times of peace were always shattered by times of darkness and destruction? Crystal Tokyo, the city where the Silver Millennium ruled from, was destroyed by an evil enemy. He wanted the power of the Ginzuishou to rule the galaxy. He was the General Jedite, a former minion of Queen Beryl and the traitor to the Prince Endymion who had become King of Crystal Tokyo. Somehow, during his thousand year incarceration in that crystal, Jedite managed to gain power. It was power enough to defeat Neo-Queen Serenity, King Endymion, and the Sailor Senshi…well, not all the senshi were killed. One actually survived the massacre of the palace.

"She was Sailor Mercury, also known as Lady Mercury at that time. She was in her office doing research into the disappearance of the little princess when a fierce attack came. When she came to, Mercury rushed throughout the destroyed palace only to find the broken bodies of her friends. She would have cried for them but she did not have the time to wallow in that luxury. She went into the throne room of the palace to see that her Queen was dying. Neo-Queen Serenity gave the Silver Crystal to Mercury, and by doing so, giving the last senshi a mission. She was to find a place that needed the power of the crystal and also to find the reincarnations of the senshi and the queen."

Ami took in a deep breath and watched the expressions on Lita's face. During the story, the young woman did not stray and had an enthralled look. She appeared to be drawn into the drama that was the life of people from another dimension.

"Ami…how long ago did that happen?" Lita asked slowly as if something clicked in her mind.

The doctor thought for a moment before replying. "If I remember correctly, the destruction of Crystal Tokyo was about a thousand years ago."

The brunette's emerald eyes widened for a moment. "Wow…so that means if Lady Mercury does exist, she would actually be two thousand years old."

The former senshi nodded her head tiredly, her sapphire eyes never leaving Lita. "That would be about right, Lita."

"Wow…" the young woman remarked as she struggled for words. "I…you never told me the civilian names of the other senshi, just Sailor Moon's name. And I'd like to know Mercury's name."

"Oh," Ami remarked quietly as she glanced down at the bed. "I…her name…was Ami Mizuno."

Lita's eyes went wide and sat straight in the bed. She stared at the woman in front of her for a couple of minutes. "If…if her name was Ami Mizuno and that is your name as well…that would…that would mean…it would mean that you are Lady Mercury!" the brunette exclaimed. "Wow…have…have you found any of the senshi reborn yet?"

The doctor stared at the young woman for a moment and then nodded slowly. "Yes, Lita, I have found one of them. And she is you."

"What?" Lita exclaimed. "I don't believe this…"

"If you want, I can try and make you remember," Ami offered. "One of the very few things I can do with the Silver Crystal is making forgotten memories come to light. The only problem is that using the crystal drains me of my energy and I'm already weak in using some of my power to heal you and…and show someone else something."

The young woman stared into the doctor's eyes. "Do it, Ami…I really want to know."

Ami nodded as she placed a hand on Lita's forehead. Both of them closed their eyes as the Ginzuishou appeared in front of the blue haired senshi and cast a silvery-blue light upon the both of them. This lasted for a few minutes as they both relieved events from thousands of years in the past. When the light finally died down and the crystal went back into Ami's body, both of them had the symbols of their respective planets on their foreheads. Before either of them could say anything, there was a sound of something hitting the floor.

Lita looked down and had a strange look on her face as she looked questioningly at the doctor. Ami tilted her head in confusion before glancing at the spot the young woman was stared at before. On the floor was a rather tall man with spiky golden blonde hair and was wearing a red trench coat and yellow glasses.

"Um…who is that?" Lita asked the older woman.

Ami sweatdropped as she shook her head at the Humanoid Typhoon on the floor before looked back at Lita. "That's…a friend of mine," she answered as she bent over to wake Vash up. She slapped the plant on the face, making him wince at the stinging sensation and then whined like a small child.

"Doctor Lady, why did you slap me?" he whined, giving both Ami and Lita a puppy-dog look.

The doctor sighed in exasperation before helping the outlaw stand up. "You fainted, Vash, and I don't need to carry someone as big as you back to the house."

Vash grinned sheepishly for a moment and then had a solemn appearance. "Wolfwood sent me to get you and ask if you wanted to meet us for lunch at the bar. Mrs. Lowery told me that you were here taking care of her daughter so I came here. I…I heard the whole story you told Miss Lowery. And…and I just saw that silvery-blue glow thing and that crystal come out of you."

Ami was shocked. She did not know how to deal with this unexpected news. She knew that she was not prepared to tell her friends this story and yet one of them did find out, albeit by accident. She then had a defeated look on her face as she looked deeply into Vash's turquoise eyes.

"Look, I'll tell everyone everything tomorrow, okay? Reason is that I want Lita Lowery to be present at the discussion," she stated, her tone of voice not leaving any room for Vash to object.

Vash nodded as he stood up from the bedroom floor and left the room, calling out to the doctor that he will bring something from the restaurant for her to eat for lunch. When the tall outlaw left, Ami glanced over at the tall young woman.

"Lita, I already know that you will be fine to do anything by this evening, but I needed the time so your mother will be happy," she explained. "Remember, now that you remember who you were in the past, you are no longer human. By your birthright and abilities, you are Jupiterian. The princess of Jupiter is who you were before."

Lita smiled at the blue haired woman as she nodded. "I understand that, Ami. Even though you are physically older than I am, you are still my friend."

Ami smiled warmly and gratefully at the brunette and embraced her warmly. "I have been without my friends for so long, I almost forgot what it felt like to be around you. Soon, I hope, we will have the others here as well." She made her way to the bedroom door and glanced back at her newfound friend. "I'll see you tomorrow evening at dinnertime, Lita. My house is the one with the trailer in front of it." At that, she opened the door and left the room.

Knives was sitting in the chair on the balcony, watching the people below him go about their daily lives. He watched his idiotic brother go to various stores with the two female spiders and the pink spore. Chapel was with them as well and the blonde Plant narrowed his eyes at the traitor. He still could not believe that Wolfwood was willing to give his life for something that Knives himself did not believe in.

He then noticed the petite body of the Mercurian doctor and glowered at her. He hated the way she confused him and the disconcerting sensations that would flow through his body whenever she had touched him. Those touches were innocent because she was only helping the Plant heal from his wounds, but they disturbed him anyway. His hands gripped the armrests tightly as he had the urge to drive a dagger into the woman's chest and hear her breathe her last breath.

There was something about the blue haired woman that made the Plant want to kill her one moment and then the next moment, he wanted to know all about her. She was so much like Rem, the woman he loved back when he was younger and on the S.E.E.D.S spaceship. However, Ami was also different from his mentor in many way as well. One of them was the fact that she was not human. Another was that she lived outside of time just like him and his twin brother, Vash. He knew that she was also hiding something else from them. How he knew that, Knives could not even begin to tell. It all started when he had that dream where Rem had appeared to him. Somehow, he had begun to forge a connection to the senshi of Mercury.

That was why his attention turned to the Lowery house across the street. Knives knew that something was going on as soon as the doctor entered the building. He watched the windows closely and figured out which room that Ami was in. A few minutes later, he saw a flash of silvery-blue light come through some of the cracks through the closed windows and wondering what happened. He was contemplating getting up and walking over to that house when he observed his brother enter the dwelling. A little while later, Vash had left the house with a dazed and confused expression on his face. Normally, the Plant would have ignored his twin but those looks on his face, which were usually normal for the outlaw, did not seem right.

Knives decided that he must have seen or heard something that shocked Vash to the point where he would be speechless. He decided to try and force the doctor to tell him what happened when he saw the woman leave the house. He noted that she was walking very slowly and appeared to be quite weak. She leaned on a post for a moment before walking across the street back to her house. The blonde man could almost feel how weak Ami was as she leaned on her trailer for support when she finally managed to cross the street. When she disappeared from view, Knives expected to hear the front door open.

A few minutes went by and there were no new sounds in the house. The tall Plant started to wonder what had happened to the doctor and finally got off the chair. He retied the robe and left the balcony for the hallway stairs. He slowly went downstairs and then opened the front door. He looked around for a moment before glancing at the ground.

Ami had collapsed onto the porch, nearly unconscious. The fact that she had transformed into Lady Mercury earlier in the day, had used her own ability to heal Lita, and then had used the Ginzuishou to revive the memories of the past within Lita depleted the doctor's energy completely. She then felt someone pick her up gently and carry her inside the house. In her delirium, the former senshi imagined a big, beautiful butterfly tenderly carrying her and tenderly placing her on a soft surface. She reached out to touch the face of the butterfly and its eyes blinked in confusion.

"You're a beautiful butterfly," she whispered softly before going unconscious completely.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

AN: Whoa…I think I liked how I ended this chapter…tee hee…^_^ and I'm amazed…there are over four thousand words in the chapter…O.o I think that my muses really came in for me today…*giggles* And yes, the reincarnations of the senshi will start appearing now that Jupiter has been found. I'm going to be using the dub names for the reincarnations because I don't think that they would have the same name each time that they are reborn…but that's my opinion…^_^