"Mercury Switch" by Devin de Gruyl (The whatever-whatever Kid) Part 5 --- The head continued to laugh, as if in triumph. "Excellent! I knew my hunch would turn out to be right!" "Who the hell are you!?" Rei demanded to know. "My name, since you asked so *nicely*, is Maiyra," the head said. "I've been studying you girls ever since the Sailor Senshi defeated Queen Metallia, trying to discover just who all of you REALLY were. I wasn't sure until I decided to try this experiment out, but now I know that you five girls are the so-called 'Sailor Scouts' that've been such a thorn in the side of evil!" Nobody said a word in response to that. I just happened to glance over at Serena. The girl I had at first written off as a scatterbrained space-case now appeared to be the most fearful of them all. the "Ami" part of my mind seemed to tell me. "And what experiment was THAT!" I heard Lita exclaim. Maiyra took on an expression of proud achievement. "Just a little trick I picked up from Queen Serenity - moving souls between bodies, like when the Seven Shadows were captured in the Silver Crystal. Only this time, instead of transfering a soul into an inanimate object like the Crystal, I did it on a body-to-body basis! Getting the picture yet... DARREN?" I hadn't been adressed by my real name in so long that it took me a second to realize that she was talking to me. It only took me one-tenth that to realize what she meant by that crack. "You mean... YOU'RE...?!! Then that dream..." "A tad melodramatic, I'll admit," she crowed, "but I've always had a soft spot for theatrics. Sue me." That tore it. "I'll do more than THAT, you...!!!" Without thinking, I charged the image... obviously forgetting that this Maiyra, whoever and *what*ever she was, wasn't there, but those searing-hot flames certianly WERE. Fortunately, Lita, Mina, and Rei grabbed me in time to keep me from becoming a charcoal briquette. Not that this kept me from shouting a few words her way that common sense dictates should not be repeated here. Serena, who had remained quiet throughout this exchange, now finally asked a question. Just one word. "Why?" Maiyra grunted. "Philistine. You have NO appreciation of the fine art behind what's happened here. Oh, very well... "After I started studying your battles, I picked up on something. No matter who you were fighting, there was always one of you who laid in the back, and planned strategy instead of fighting if at all possible. You --" and here she pointed to Serena, "-- you may be the leader of the team, but *she* was the real brains of the outfit, the one who collected all the tactical data on your enemies, and designed a battle plan around it." "Ami?" "Exactly! Once I figured that out... well, it's fairly obvious what I had to do - remove the 'brain', and the rest of the body can't survive for long." "So... THAT'S it," I growled. "And me - I'm *nothing*, right? Just a pawn in your little game, is that it!?" "Or, as you humans put it, you were simply 'in the wrong place at the right time'. Hey - maybe you should go out and buy a lottery ticket, the way your luck's running! Out of six billion people in the world... YOU were the lucky winner! Congratulations!" My response was short and to the point. Maiyra frowned slightly. "Interesting. I didn't think that was anatomically possible for humans.... must make a note of that." "Never mind the biology lesson!" This from Lita, who seemed every bit as furious at Maiyra's self-assured swagger as I was. "Is there some *reason* you just decided to barge in on us like that?" "Reason?" The image in the fire seemed to shrink, then dipped down almost out of sight, as if Maiyra were searching for something in front of her. "...reason... reason... I knew I had it here somewhere... damn these things, anyway..." I thought, "Ah! Here it is..." She came back into the picture, reading from a sheet of paper. "You girls threw me so far off my game with your insipid questions, I almost forgot it... There *is* a way for you to reverse what I did." I didn't even notice who was the first to ask "How?!". As soon as she said that, my full attention was focused solely on her. "The Silver Crystal is the only thing that can undo the soul- transference, and bring your friend back to you. But to do that, you'll need something more than what you've got..." She paused, then looked at us expectantly. "Come on, *guess!*" Someone - I think it may have been Serena - suggested, "Darren's body?" "Bingo! And... I'm almost ashamed to tell you this... *I've* got that body, right here!" "You WHAT!!?!" I said it so loud my own ears rung for several minutes afterward. "WHERE!!!?!" "You'll find it at an old abandoned warehouse on the south side of town... the old shipping district. Naturally, I won't tell you which one - that'd spoil the FUN!" "Naturally," I grumbled. Lita turned immediately suspicious - and I couldn't blame her. In my experience with comic books, super-villians practically *never* gave away their secrets without having an ace or three up their sleeve. "Why are you telling us this?", she asked. Rather than answering, Maiyra looked at me. "What time is it?" My rage melted away into confusion. "What *time*?" "You heard me - what time is it?!" "It's, ah..." I checked my wrist for a watch, and realized that there wasn't one there. "A little past six," Lita covered for me. "Just as I thought... then, it really doesn't matter if I tell you this or not, does it?" I threw up my hands in disgust. "Look, if SOMEbody doesn't start making SENSE here in about five seconds...!" "Well, in *that* case," Maiyra said, "...what if I told you that you only had about two hours left?" "Left?! Left until WHAT?!" "Until you're stuck in that body... *permanently!*" THAT shut me up. "You see, this soul-transfer thing... it's a wonderful process, but hardly a *perfected* one," Maiyra explained. "It doesn't become permanent until about 24 hours after the initial insertion, during which time, it can be reversed. The body's original soul can even have some limited communication with the new 'tenant'. But, *after* that..." She started laughing again; I'll never forget the sound as long as I live. Low, mocking, and downright evil... almost like Ted DiBiase on estrogen. Serena spoke up again. "And what about Ami? What happens to *her* after that time?" "What happens to her..." Maiyra nonchalantly snapped her fingers. "...is, *poof!* She'll be gone... forever!" Serena drew back and gasped. So did I, for that matter. "And, of *your* 24 hours, you only have about two left," Maiyra cooed in a condescending tone. "And even if you *did* find me in that time, there's a teensy-weensy little surprise waiting for you here. Oh my... I really don't think this looks *good* for you, now does it?" I glared at her. "Two hours, ladies - I'd use them *well*, if I were you!" And then, with another round of evil-sounding laughter, she was gone. It was several minutes before anyone spoke. It was Mina who finally broke the silence. "Why is it... *everybody* we go up against... *has* to have an annoying laugh like that?" I guess she was trying to break the tension, but nobody seemed to think it was funny... least of all Yours Truly. Besides, I'd already decided what my next move had to be. I stood up and headed for the door. "Where's that warehouse - I'm going!" "Pardon the expression, but are you OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" Rei shouted, grabbing my arm. "You can't just waltz in there by yourself - it's gotta be a trap!" I shoved her out of my way. "Try and stop me." "But your powers..." said Serena, who was also on her feet now. "...they're not... uh..." She was fumbling, searching for the right word. My patience was at an all-time low, however, so I barked, "They're *what*!?" "Um..." "SAY IT!" "Powerful," she managed to get out. "They're not... powerful." "And just *what*," I demanded, "is THAT supposed to mean!?!" Lita broke in. "I think what she's trying to say is that your - Ami's - powers aren't quite as effective as the rest of ours." "It's true," Mina added. "Her powers are mainly for defense... she has, maybe, *one* good attack move, but it's nowhere near as strong as the ones the rest of us use..." (Although she didn't say it, her bright eyes fairly screamed "Like mine!") "And besides, we don't know what effect your consciousness here might have on the transformation," Rei said. "It may not even work at all, and you'd be *completely* defenseless then." I stopped for a moment to process this info, then turned back to Serena. "Is this true?" She nodded. "So what am I supposed to do, *nothing*?!" I moved away from the girls, and started pacing in a circle across the room - oh, I was on a roll now. "Just sit back and take it easy while some two-bit... whatever she was... plays 'Musical Chairs' with my body and my life?! Just because 'I' don't happen to be STRONG enough!!?! Maybe that's the way *you* do things, but where *I* come from, when someone takes something valuable from us, we stop at *nothing* to get it back - the hell with being 'strong enough'!!" I got in Lita's face here. "Put yourself in my position; would YOU lay back?" Turned to Mina - "Would you?" - and to Rei and Serena - "Or either of you?" I got no answer from any of them. "Then, how can you deny me that opportunity?!" Serena finally found her voice. "But, wait! ...At least let us go with you." "I can handle this by myself! I'll be fine --" I cut myself off. There was something about those words, and my saying them to Serena... the 'Ami' part of me was sending icy feelings up my spine. It was a really bad flavor of deja vu, the kind you get when you *really* don't want to remember where you've done this before. "I'll be fine," I repeated quickly, trying to cover for myself. "No." And I was amazed at the sudden transformation of Serena - from ditzy schoolgirl to caring friend, to now a firm leader, all within the span of five minutes or so. Clearly, this was someone with many different facets to her personality. "I'm not letting you do this alone, Ami. Not *this* time." "But I'm not Ami," I reminded her. (I did not miss her comment about "Not *this* time," but the reaction I got from within when I parsed that sentence convinced me to let it slide.) "Doesn't matter," she said. "Even if you aren't, somewhere deep inside you is one of my closest and dearest friends... and I *can't* let anything happen to her, not when I can do something about it." "And she's our friend too," Rei added. "And we all feel the same way about her as Serena does." Lita grinned. "So, basically, you're not shaking us. Not till this is over." "Yeah!" Mina agreed. "Besides, you know what they say - 'Numbers are stronger when they're bigger!'" If looks could kill, Mina would have been a ghost three times over, based on the stares she got for that line. "What? *That* was right, wasn't it?" In spite of it all, I couldn't help but laugh. "Actually, I think the saying is, 'There's strength in numbers.'" Mina looked at me sheepishly. "Well... yeah, I guess that works too..." After everyone had stopped groaning (and, in Rei's case, mumbling about buying Mina a quote dictionary for her birthday), I looked back at Serena. Her eyes were swimming. "Please?" I sighed, already resigned to it. "There's no graceful way I can say 'no', is there?" "Not really." My last thought before giving in and allowing them to help me was those famous last words: --- End of part 5. Author's notes: Thanks to everyone who has given me comments and constructive C&C on "Mercury Switch". While it's impossible for me to name everyone, the help has been immeasurably useful in refining certain aspects of this story. Even if you just sent me moral support, it's been greatly appreciated. Now, I can address a few issues that people have been asking: * Why is Darren so articulate when he's only 14, and a problem child at that? - Well... because Darren's character is semi-autobiographical, he picks up a lot - and I mean a LOT - of my own personality at that age. When I was 14, I tended to do quite a bit of reading, and kept to myself a lot. (Much like Ami herself, in fact.) As a result, my absorbed a lot of the words in the books I read. My vocabulary was always enormous for a child my age (I was, among other things, the class spelling-bee and "Password" champion). But since so many people have wondered about this, I'm going to write an explanation into the story. Bear in mind, it's ostensibly being written by Darren *after the fact*... * Did you REALLY dream all this? - Yes and no. The basic premise of the story - my being trapped in Ami's body - was indeed taken from a dream, as are several of the set pieces. On the other hand, the character of Maiyra, the entire comic-book store scene, and the forthcoming battle are all creations of my *conscious*, not unconscious, mind. * Which set pieces, exactly? To wit: - Darren waking up in Ami's body. - Darren fumbling his way through a conversation with Ami's mom. - Darren being threatened on the way to school, and being saved by Lita. - Lita becoming suspicious when "Ami" isn't acting normally. - Darren beating up his earlier assailant at lunch. - Lita turning white when "Ami" doesn't know about the Sailors. - Darren fainting on first meeting Luna and Artemis. - Lita threatening to kill Darren if he doesn't tell what happened to Ami. - Lita being the first to believe Darren's story. (Actually, that's different too; in the dream, Lita was the ONLY one who believed me when I told her.) * I've noticed that, every time somebody mentions anything having to do with death around Darren, you write that he grows cold on the inside. Is this something I should know about? - Indeed it is! You've just stumbled upon the REAL intent of this story... as you'll soon discover, this story is equally as much about Ami as it is about the guy who's telling it... if not more so! That is, however, all I'm going to say about it for now... you'll just have to wait and see. * Is it me, or are you writing Lita as being hyper-protective of Ami? - It's not you. I've always felt that about Lita/Makoto's character, and so I write her that way. There's definitely something special going on between those two personalities that are, outwardly, totally opposite one another, and for as long as I've been a fan, I've been facinated by this dynamic more than any other. * So, are you saying that Ami and Lita are lov-- - NO!!! Get your mind out of the gutter, please. Just because two young women are very close friends, that doesn't make them lesbians! Not that I'm against homosexuality - I'm not - but IMO, we already have Haruka and Michiru, and that's plenty for that score. * Will Tuxedo Mask be seen in this story? - At this point, I haven't planned to use Darien/Mamoru in any of my stories; not because I don't like him, but because I doubt I could write him well. * "Any" of your stories? You mean there's MORE? - Yep. A few more ideas, actually... the strongest probably being "Route Venus," which is a deadly-serious story wherein I hope to parallel my own experiences with anime fandom. It features no transformations and no evil forces of any kind... instead, the enemy is far more subversive, and hurts Team Sailor in a manner far more personal than they ever dreamed possible. I also have a title in search of a story ("The Unsinkable Molly Baker"), a story in search of a title (a defense of the amalgamated name "Serena Usagi Tsukino," chiefly about her mother when she was a college student), and a premise in search of both (an idea to tell a story entirely through journal entries, scrapbook clippings, etc.). That's all for now. Part 6 will come... soon. When, I can't honestly say. Legal Eagles Take Note: Sailor Moon is TM and Copyright (C) 1992 Naoko Takeuchi / Kodansha / Toei Animation / Bandai. English Language Adaptation is Copyright (C) 1997 DIC Productions, L.P. Any product names mentioned herein are TM and Copyright (C) their respective owners. All rights reserved. No claim of ownership, expressed or implied, is made in the use of these trademarked names, characters, and likenesses. The character of Darren McCormick and this story, however, are my creations. - Devin de Gruyl November 1998