1737/We Can Go After Them

We Can Go After Them
Date of Scene:	12 July 2024
Location:	Senshi Secret Base
Synopsis:	Three days after Mamoru's kidnapping, the Metallidar sends out a ping. When Ami and Usagi check it out, they find that at least one thing is finally going their way - because Metallia's lair has been found. This time, they'll be the ones to stage a surprise attack.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Ami Mizuno
Tinyplot:	Dark Kingdom Finale

---

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's been three days since Mamoru was kidnapped, and Usagi has been steadily growing crazy, because there's no sign of him anywhere. Riventon's confirmed Beryl is still gone from Obsidian, that there's been no sign of him there, and that means he could be anywhere, and she's cried, raged, cried again, raged again, and skipped school again - at least until her mother yelled at her to go back, and then she'd told her that Mamochan was missing, and then -

Well, to say that her mother had then gone to yell at administration on Usagi's behalf is undercutting how much righteous motherly concern had been put into the whole thing.

She's been searching and searching and hasn't found anything, but then - then the Metallidar app that Ami had put together for them pinged.

So here they are, descending from the arcade into the depths of their secret base.

"This ping, it's a good sign, right, do you think we'll find her?" And through her, Mamochan?

She's holding Ami's hand. Instead of using the slide entrance, they'd used the stairs.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno had done everything she could over the past several days herself. The radar she'd created was running full time, and she'd also been trying to glean any information from his room to see if she could somehow backtrack where the teleport had taken Mamoru. With no luck, sadly, but it was something to work at. It would be extremely helpful if she managed to work out a formula to allow them to track teleports.

The rest of the time was spent comforting Usagi as best she could, and even skipping her OWN class a time or two. Somehow the teachers were far more lenient letting her skip. Probably because they knew she was ahead of anyone else and if SHE was skipping it must be really important. Maybe she was sick. Maybe it was a family thing. They hadn't asked, simply accepted her need to be away as she dropped off her work regularily still.

Her hand squeezes Usagi's reassuringly in spite of her own anxiety over the moment. Her own worry. It was shared after all, so of course it didn't need to be expressed.

"It very well may," Ami agrees as she looks toward the array of the computer that she'd become familiar with rather recently. "We know she's up to something, certainly, and the energy signature is traceable. If it doesn't lead us to him directly it will at least lead us to her. Though, as fanatic as she is about Mamoru, it's likely she won't keep him far away."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The floating 'island' that is their secret base, surrounded by atmosphere - today, it's afternoon skies, blue and filled with fluffy white clouds, the moon peeking from the distance - is as well-lit as ever, this time with the program for the Metallia Radar filling half the screen, recording an enormous of energy expended, data coming in almost faster than it can record, numbers scrolling fast -

"...that can't be good," Usagi manages after a moment of staring, uncomprehending, at the mess that is all of that.

It's not good. What Ami will be able to tell, after a few moments of scanning, is that Metallia has just used a large amount of energy - as she had some weeks ago - and now -

Now, they've narrowed down her location.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno lifts her free hand to cover her mouth as the numbers scroll and her mind begins to interpret the data. It was a large amount. Far too large, and too much like the last burst that had allowed her to originally fine tune the Metaladar.

"It's not," she agrees quietly while the hand slowly peels away from her face to drop down her chin. "That amount of energy being used is..." No, she won't guess. She won't make judgements.

With a deep breath she states, firmly and confidently, "They're in Paris. It's one of the other cities on Earth that seems to have a high concentration of magic potential, like Tokyo. It's likely they went there to gain as much time as they can to complete whatever plan they have."

Reluctantly she drops hold of Usagi's hand to step forward, only to type on the computer while staring up at the screen. "I have a generalized location but can pin it down the closer we get."

Looking back over her shoulder at Usagi she tries a smile. Tries a joke. "I guess our next dates will be in Paris."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi is silent while Ami works, silent but practically vibrating with anticipation as Ami examines the data, analyzes it, gets to work figuring it all out and -

Because even she can tell this is a lot of energy, that went out, that got picked up, that got -

"Paris," she echoes, and thinks about the data Hinoiri had shoved in her hands one day, about leylines and places and the magic of the world, and - "PARIS?! Like in France?!"

If Metallia is in Paris, could her Mamochan; be all the way in France? In Europe? How was she going to get to -

"Sailor Teleport," she blurts out, and looks down at Ami, eyes wide, "Do you have it enough, that we can teleport there?"

Her legs are shaking. They're probably going to give out.

Paris. Metallia is in Paris. They have a location. They have a -

"You did it, Ami-chan," it's barely above a whisper, and then she's lunging forward, grabbing Ami in the tightest hug possible. "Ami-chan, you did it! This is huge, this is - you found her!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno turns back to Usagi letting one hand linger on the console as if she were trying to quietly thank the computer itself. She always did have a strange affinity for the SilMil computers, including her own Mercury computer. Maybe she really was patting it to congratulate it for providing all this wonderful information.

"Yes, Paris, France," comes her easy agreement as Usagi takes in the information herself. The mention of the Sailor Teleport causes her to look again at the data scrolling by with a firm, confident nod. "Of course! I'll want to look up a physical image of the location but Woogle Maps Earth can provide that well enough for us to focus on--"

She doesn't even see the hug coming as Usagi swoops in. Her arms immediately go around her as she blinks rapidly. It takes a moment to sink in for HER as well. She'd been so focused on her concern for finding Mamoru that the significance didn't really matter until it was pointed out.

"I... I did. Yes, I did!" Laughing she tucks her head down against Usagi's shoulder squeezing her arms tight around her in return. "We don't have to just *wait* for them to act now, we can go after them! We'll defeat her this time for sure!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's not the greatest news in the world. That would be that Mamoru was home and had somehow managed to kill Beryl while he was out and also it was snowing ice cream in July.

But it's close, and it's Ami's accomplishment, and it's huge, it's huge, it means that they've gotten the intelligence, they've gotten the details, it means that -

"As soon as we have Mamochan back, we can take the fight to them," she breathes, as Ami's words settle.

It's their battle. It's their chance to pick the battlefield, to take the fight to them, to decide when it happens, instead of having to get picked off and picked on and -

"Ami-chan, I'm gonna kiss you now, okay?"

And then she does.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"We'll get him back. We've done it once before, we know what to expect now," Ami says with certainty even if she was already hoping, and worrying, that he wouldn't be as bad off as the Shittenou were when they saved them. It was a tough love saving.

She does grin though, so bright that she felt as if her cheeks were going to lock up from it. Pure elation at a problem solved. A step forward taken. Her eyes almost glisten with happy tears.

The threat of being kissed is met with a girlish giggle, and a whisper of, "Very okay."

It really was very okay as she returns the kiss with delight. A small happy moment, but one that she was going to enjoy.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
They had been through this before. With Hemachan, and with the Shitennou, and they'd gotten them all back, hadn't let Beryl keep anyone she'd stolen, but -

"We'll get him back," she says, and she's sure of that, even if she hates how long it's taking, even if she's sure they're hurting him, even if she's sure he's miserable and scared and alone -

But this is a good thing. This is a good thing.

Kissing Ami is good, too. It's not a long kiss, but it's passionate, it's sure, it's full of love and affection and -

She breathes when it's broken.

"Thank you."

It means as much to Ami as it does to her, to find Metallia, but, but, how else can she possibly get out even a scrap of the feeling in her chest.

One step closer to finishing all of this.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
It was a bit overwhelming, but it was Usagi. Someone she knew over the course of two lifetimes. Someone she trusted. Ami releases her hold only a little as she steps back to grasp hold of her hands instead.

"We will," she agrees again, nodding. "And then we'll finish this."

Here she pauses with a happy smile. A hopeful smile. Her hands squeeze Usagi's.

"There's so much I want to do once we don't have the shadow of Beryl and Metallia looming over us. "I want to ace my exams, go see some idol group concerts, take a nice little vacation on the beach. And no interruptions from them. We'll all have a happy future, I know it."