THE PATH TO REDEMPTION
Chapter 6: "Moral Compass"
A Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
The apartment door opened and Ami Mizuno entered her solitary domicile. The room had an oppressive stillness to it that engaging the lights hadn't dispelled. It drew a sigh from Ami. There was a vague familiarity to the solitude. Thinking for a moment, Ami came up with the answer. It was the same feeling of solitude, of reclusiveness that she sensed whenever she visited her mother. Ami had been after her mother for years now to seek out friendship, not to live solely through her job.
"I'm not much better," Ami scowled, not liking the conclusion she'd reached.
Shunting it aside for other concerns, Ami put up her purse and loosened her jacket and blouse. It had been a melancholy conclusion, but then it had been a melancholy day. Most of the staff had heard by now of what had happened between her and Dr. Yamaguchi, and more than one of the staff had sided with him. The unspoken resentments were poisoning the working atmosphere on her floor and making work somewhat unpleasant. She knew some were watching her, waiting for her to make a mistake so they could pounce. They didn't put any more pressure on her to be perfect than she already did herself. That lesson had been drummed into her head by her mother for eighteen years. It just made things that much more undesirable.
Just as she was removing a microwave meal to prepare, her senshi communicator sounded. For a moment, Ami didn't want to answer. On top of everything else, the last thing she needed was a senshi emergency. But the strange senshi from space was still out there and this might be connected. Ami flipped open the watch face and engaged the communicator.
"Ami?" Luna gasped on the other end. Instantly Ami's anxiety shot up. "It's Usagi! That woman broke into the apartment! She's taken Usagi!"
"Which direction did she go?" Ami asked, her henshin stick appearing in her hand. Rei and Makoto could be seen in windows around Luna.
"She leaped across the street from the apartment!" Luna related. "Then she formed a transport bubble and took off into space!"
"Into space?" Minako gasped, now on-line as well.
"Luna, is this woman the alien entity we've been tracking?" Sailor Neptune asked. She and Sailor Uranus were on-line now, too. Ami took that moment to transform.
"It must have been," Sailor Mercury answered. Her computer was out and sitting on the counter next to her frozen meal, the screen up and active.
"Where was Mamoru?" Makoto asked anxiously. "I thought he was protecting her!"
"He tried," Luna explained. "She was too much for him. This woman is quite powerful. I sense she's at least as powerful as Princess Kakyuu was."
"Mercury, are you tracking her?" Rei demanded.
"I've got a faint signal," Mercury told them. Her computer's sensors were the most sophisticated on the planet, but they weren't all-powerful. "Tracking past Charon now at a high rate of speed."
"Where?" Rei demanded frantically.
"Destination unknown," Mercury related, her scientific demeanor a huge counterpoint to the agitation of everyone else. "Their plotted course doesn't intersect any known worlds and I don't have any points of reference beyond Andromeda."
"So what do we do?" Makoto asked.
"We go after them," Uranus responded resolutely.
"How?" Minako remarked. "Sailor Teleport? Don't we kind of have to have Sailor Moon to do that?"
"Aren't we enough?" Uranus argued. "I can dig up Pluto if we have to!"
"No, I'm afraid it's highly unlikely," Luna shook her head. "The energy required to teleport just isn't there without Sailor Moon."
"I can help," they all heard Mamoru in the background.
"It still wouldn't be enough," Artemis's voice entered the conference communication. "Even if you managed to leave Earth, you wouldn't be able to travel at enough speed. It might be months before you arrive at where Usagi's been taken, assuming you know where you're headed."
They all heard Rei whimper.
"Well we've got to do something!" Makoto exclaimed.
"They're off the screen," Mercury announced, some of the emotion she was holding back seeping into her voice. "They're beyond my computer's ability to track them."
"And you don't know where they're going?" Neptune asked softly.
"Not on that present course," Mercury confirmed. "And that's assuming they maintain that course. They could diverge into one of three hundred and sixty different directions and I have no way of knowing it."
Everyone was silent. It didn't seem possible that Usagi was gone and they had no way of aiding her. But the awful truth continued to stare them all in the face. Finally the images of Uranus and Neptune winked off the communicator screen.
"There's got to be a way," Makoto mumbled, stunned.
"I'll," Mercury offered weakly, "try to extrapolate a possible destination."
Rei's face winked off the screen.
"There's got to be a way," Makoto repeated, terrified by the prospect before her.
"Yeah," Minako agreed. "Fuzzy and me will - - try to think of something."
Mercury disconnected from the conference. She had to think. And remaining on-line was becoming far too painful.
It had taken a moment for Usagi to adjust. When she did, she could see the rings of Saturn pass by like road signs when her father took everyone to the hot springs and she and Shingo used to look out the window and take in the strange sights. In a way, it was like being in a car speeding past fences and light poles, trees and signs at sixty miles an hour. Only the markers were Neptune, Pluto and Charon, and they were traveling faster than sixty miles an hour.
"Don't be afraid," the strange, alien senshi said. "I'm not going to hurt you. You're not the one I'm after."
Usagi examined this strange woman with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity. There was a commanding presence to her. She was used to fighting, used to leading. There was a strength to every part of her. In a way, the woman reminded her of Haruka: strong, stoic, confident - - and concealing a wound that she would never recover from.
"May I know your name?" Usagi ventured tentatively.
The alien senshi glanced at her as their transport bubble rocketed through space. The question took her by surprise. So did the manner in which Usagi posed it. So, frankly, did Usagi. There was something about this woman that was different from anyone else she'd ever met. After a moment, the senshi's expression softened.
"Forgive my rudeness," she replied. "I've been known by several names over my life. I suppose the one that fits now is an old one. You may refer to me as Sailor Valiant."
"I'm Usagi," the moon princess offered. "Or Sailor Moon, if I'm transformed. So where are you from?"
"Sarhari," Sailor Valiant said, speaking the name softly as if the very mention of the name brought ghosts to life.
"I don't know it," Usagi admitted. "Sorry."
"How many winters have you seen?" Sailor Valiant asked.
"Winters?" Usagi inquired, confused. Then the meaning dawned on her. "Oh. How old am I? Twenty-eight."
"You're too young," the senshi said and a melancholy smirk crossed her lips. "I doubt you were even a senshi when Sarhari existed." Sailor Valiant turned to look ahead of them, emotion clouding her face. "It's been eighteen winters since Sarhari last lived. But it seems like yesterday."
"I'm sorry," Usagi told her. Sailor Valiant looked back at her. It was clear she meant what she said and Sailor Valiant was able to draw some comfort from it. "What happened - - if it's not too painful?"
"She happened," Sailor Valiant answered. The comfort was gone, replaced by the under rumblings of anger.
"She?"
"Galaxia."
"Oh," Usagi whispered. Her face was an open text for Sailor Valiant to read.
"You know of Galaxia," Valiant said, not expecting confirmation. "Your life has been touched by Galaxia's hand. That's what drew me to you. I sense Galaxia's presence in the universe, but I couldn't sense where she was. But you're connected with her. I can find her through you."
"I don't know where she is," Usagi pleaded.
"Not consciously," Valiant replied. "But there is a connection between the two of you and through that connection I will find her."
"And kill her?" Usagi asked anxiously.
"Of course," Valiant answered. The question surprised her.
"What will that accomplish?"
Sailor Valiant's eyes popped. "It will put an end to the greatest scourge in the universe!"
"She's already stopped," Usagi told her. "Sailor Galaxia came to Earth. She tried to destroy it, but I was - - was able to make her see how wrong she was. I was able to free her from the madness she was under and get her to stop."
"If you killed her," Valiant asked, confused, "how am I still able to sense her presence in the universe?"
"I didn't kill her!" gasped Usagi. "I freed her from the madness that drove her to do what she did. Sailor Valiant, she's no longer a threat to anyone."
"As long as she breathes, Galaxia is a threat," scowled Valiant. "And even if she has somehow renounced her murderous ways, there are still bodies piled a billion deep, their blood on her hands. There are still a hundred worlds dead by her hand, stripped of everything that might have sustained life. What of them, Usagi?"
"It's terrible, yes," nodded Usagi. "But vengeance solves nothing. It gives no comfort to the dead and only brings false comfort to the living, a false comfort that quickly turns into more hatred and violence." Usagi reached up and clasped Sailor Valiant's shoulders. "I mourn for your world. I feel your desire for your friends and your people. I wish there was some way to bring them back. This won't. It will only cause more bitterness and destruction."
Sailor Valiant looked Usagi straight in the eye. "It's all I have left to me," she said, then looked straight ahead to direct the transport bubble's course. Any further conversation was cut off and nothing Usagi said could change it.
Toshihiro looked in on Minako and Artemis. The pair were in the kitchen, furiously working on how they might be able to transport themselves to where Usagi was and rescue her. He wanted to help somehow. He liked Usagi. It was hard to find someone who didn't like Usagi. And he could see the anxiety and stress it was causing Minako, even though she kept a choke hold on it in order to function. But he just directed comedies on television. That wouldn't be much help here. Instead he came over softly and slid a cup of tea into Minako's reach. She glanced up at him and blew him a grateful kiss.
"The energy quotient is just not there," Artemis shook his head after his latest computer simulation ended. "It can't be done."
"Don't say 'can't'! That's defeatist!" barked Minako.
"It's also realistic. That's another term you aren't familiar with," grumbled the white cat.
"Artemis, there's got to be a way!" Minako howled. "Usagi could be in deep trouble right now! She probably needs us! And if we can't get to her, what good are we?"
"Everything you say is right, but you're ignoring the whole picture. Remember when Dimando had Usagi captive on his ship? Remember how hard it was to get to her then? Well multiply that times about a billion and you've got our situation now." The cat let out a frustrated breath. "We'd need a space ship just to have any hope of even getting to her. THEN we'd have to figure out where she is."
"I bet Mamoru could find her if push came to shove," Minako replied. "All he'd have to do is home in on their red string." Just then Minako's eyes widened. "Hey! Didn't you tell me you knew rocket engineering and stuff?"
"Yeah," Artemis began, uncertain of Minako's train of thought. "I was the pilot of the shuttle from Mau to the Crystal Kingdom." He glanced at Toshihiro, who was looking at the cat in surprise. "I was the chief engineer, too. It was a small crew - - me and Luna."
"I see what you're getting at, Mina," Toshihiro exclaimed. "Artemis could build a shuttle to get into space."
Artemis laughed incredulously.
"Don't tell me you can't. I have every confidence in you," Minako proclaimed.
"Oh, sure!" the cat scowled. "I'll start right now. And after three months, I'll have the hull constructed. Then I can start in on programming the guidance system. That should take another month if I don't sleep. Then I'll need another six weeks to construct the booster rocket to get the shuttle into orbit. Oh, and I'll need to get some money from you to buy raw material for the hull, have it shaped and welded, computer equipment, oxygen for life support and something to use for propulsion. Magnetic would be best, but with the current level of scientific progress, I'd probably have to use nuclear fusion for a trip of that distance. Conservatively, it should cost you about six hundred trillion yen!"
"You are such a wet blanket," frowned Minako.
Everybody went silent. The prospect of their defeat stared them into a hush.
"Minako, maybe you'd better knock off and go to bed," Artemis suggested quietly. "I'll keep trying."
"Hell no," Minako grunted.
"You've got that interview tomorrow," the cat reminded her.
"I don't care about that! Usagi's in trouble!"
"Well unless Ami or I find a way to get to her, there's not much you can do for her," Artemis said. "Go. You'll need your wits about you if you're going to face the press."
"How," Minako began, but her voice cracked. Artemis and Toshihiro could see the mask of the invincible senshi cracking, too. "How am I supposed to sleep when my best friend could be facing - - well, who knows what?"
She felt hands close around her arms. Minako looked up and saw Toshihiro bending over her, gently urging her up.
"Come on," Toshihiro said softly. "I'll help you get to sleep."
"I don't want to sleep!" Minako fussed, tears welling. But she didn't resist when Toshihiro guided her to their bedroom. Artemis watched them disappear out the door, then turned back to his impossible task.
"Maybe Luna has some ideas," Artemis murmured, pressing a key on his computer to connect with her in real time video. "Even if she doesn't, I think I need to hear her voice right now."
The transport bubble came up fast on its destination, so fast that for a fleeting moment Usagi thought they were going to crash. But the bubble set down effortlessly on the terrain and dissipated. Looking up from where she'd been cringing, Usagi surveyed their landing place.
"Ooooh!" she gasped in astonishment. "It's so pretty!"
The place they had landed was lush with plant life. Green and blue leaves were everywhere, growing from sturdy trunks of brown and beige. Flowers budded everywhere in every color of the spectrum and every shade of each color. The fragrance of the air was sweet with pollen and nectar. On the ground, soft lush grasses covered the terrain in varying hues of green. It was if they had landed in Eden itself. Usagi looked up as a gentle breeze played with her trails of golden hair. This world's sun shone vaguely orange in the blue-green sky, but it warmed everything and the plant life reached up hungrily toward it. As she looked, Usagi spotted a squadron of butterfly-like insects efficiently scouring the flowers in the upper limbs of giant green bush-tree hybrids for nectar to nourish them. It was all absolutely fantastic to her. Usagi found herself wishing Mamoru and the gang were here so they could enjoy the scene as well.
"Oh Sailor Valiant, isn't it just wonderful?" Usagi exclaimed, turning to her traveling companion. That was when she noticed the senshi surveying the land with a determined eye and a cold demeanor. Usagi's spirits fell. "Who are you looking for? Sailor Galaxia?"
"Yes," Sailor Valiant murmured. "She's here, too. I can sense her now. I can sense her aura. It's still as powerful as I remember."
"Can't you let this go?" Usagi ventured.
"No," Sailor Valiant said, looking Usagi directly in the eye. "When we find her, I suggest you seek cover. You're not at a level that can stand up to the energies that might exchange and you might get hurt." Valiant looked away, ostensibly to search for Galaxia. "Don't worry. I'll take you home after . . ."
Just then, they both heard the foliage rustling. Sailor Valiant whirled and crouched at battle ready. Usagi merely turned to the sound inquisitively. They could see a figure in the brush coming toward them, but it wasn't a charge or a belligerent motion. Still Sailor Valiant stood at the ready. Finally enough brush parted so the stranger's face could be seen.
"Sailor Moon!" Sailor Galaxia exclaimed with happy surprise. "You're the last person I expected to see here! Oh, but it's certainly good to see you again!"
Continued in Chapter 7