Cosmic Apathy
T
After an eternity of living out her days alone, missing her friends and family, Sailor Cosmos refuses to fight for the realms. In an attempt to remind her of her humanity, she is dropped into a needy realm and forced to survive without the Silver Crystal [01xUsagi/Sailor Cosmos; 05xHotaru/Sailor Saturn]
000
Chapter Ten
000
"So the mission was a failure."
"Yes, my lord, it seems there has been more retaliation than we expected," she responded, bowing lowly, despite the fact that there was no one in front of her. It didn't matter—he was still watching her through the eyes of his large, mechanized body.
There was a sigh from the mech's body. It came out crackled and distorted through its speakers. "I had such high hopes for this realm."
"All of the heart crystals from those three servants have been reclaimed, even those that were damaged by the Altron Gundam. Forgive me, my lord, I should have anticipated that they would retaliate." The words were coming out of her mouth before she could stop them. Maybe she meant them. Maybe she didn't. It was hard to tell through the constant haze she seemed to be in these days.
"It is not the gundams I am concern about," the voice came out as almost a growl, "it seems there are cosmic warriors in this realm now—those annoying 'Sailor Senshi' who have done very well in keeping my brethren at bay. We must proceed carefully. As long as we continue to attack worldwide, we should be able to complete our plan before they can find us and close the portal."
"Do these senshi truly have enough power to do so? We've grown the portal so large already…"
"Not all. But those who are, are already here. Go, prepare the next wave of pods for launch."
She bowed one more time and disappeared from the room in a blink, leaving the red and black mobile suit alone in its unused hangar.
When she reappeared, she was one the bridge of her base, watching the Earth slowly rotate out of her window. She placed a hand on the thick, quadruple paned plexiglass that separated her from the coldness of space, and sighed. "So beautiful, when we're done with it all, it will be yours again, Treize."
After a few moments of silence, she turned and started down the dark hallway towards her room. She would need to report back to the Preventers soon to keep them from sending more men to check on her, and she would have to change before she did so. She may not have cared for the long black dress and crimson jacket she wore, but it was what her Master had dressed her in when he granted her the new abitities she now had. She couldn't very well offend him by not wearing the outfit—which was oddly strong and protective, as she discovered after a violent explosion wiped out half of her men and part of the landing bay on the Lunar Base.
Once she had changed back into her Preventers uniform, she sat down at her desk and called up the main base from her computer screen. Quatre answered quickly, though based upon the shakiness, she guess he was using his cell phone and was walking about.
"Une!" He greeted with a smile on his youthful face, "we've been starting to get nervous down here! So much has been happening, and we haven't been able to get in touch with you!"
She smiled and attempted to look somewhat apologetic. "The connection hasn't been great here, and I kept getting cut off each time I tried to call. Anyhow, tell me, what's been happening on Earth?"
"Honestly? I don't think you'll be able to believe me…"
000
Usagi's first chance to leave the Preventers headquarters came the following morning.
Hotaru had told the others that she was too exhausted from her frequent space-time hopping to transform again and return the heart crystals she had absorbed. It took a great deal of concentration and willpower to pull them from her body again and return them to the correct owners.
She agreed to traveling with the Preventers into the capitol city of the Sanc nation after a brief breakfast and spending the day helping those who had been victims of the heart snatcher. However, her primary condition was that Usagi be allowed to accompany them as well. It seemed like a simple request, but the Preventers still had to hold a small conference on the matter. Apparently, Usagi didn't have as much leverage as Hotaru when it came to making demands, and they weren't as eager to accommodate Usagi.
In the end, they agreed and Heero drove Quatre, Hotaru and Usagi at the head of their little procession. Duo and Wufei followed behind, though Wufei was hardly thrilled to be stuck sharing a car with the other Preventer who never seemed to shut up. Trowa opted to stay with Sally and Noin, in the event that an emergency alert came across their systems.
Throughout the car ride, Usagi ignored the steely glances Heero sent towards her and Hotaru through the rearview mirror and instead took in the scenery around her. They were definitely in Europe, or this realms version of Europe at least, based upon the architecture she saw. The area was absolutely gorgeous—they stuck to high roads that looked down upon a green countryside with very old homes littering the fields. Once they started to hit the 'capitol city', Usagi found it to be more like a very large town. It was nothing like the area she had grown up in, that was certain.
Most of the streets were not paved. Their cars bumped around a bit while they made their way on brick and cobblestone. Usagi noticed that many people were walking or riding bicycles. There wasn't as much motor vehicle traffic, though she supposed it was difficult with so many narrow streets. There were many old buildings that looked like they had been repaired over the years. Some had stone bases that merged with more modern brickwork. Based upon the way that clusters of homes looked as if they had been rebuilt at the same time, Usagi felt the city had seen a great deal of destruction.
They stopped when they reached a newer building. Usagi really thought it resembled a castle, though the Preventers referred to it as an academy.
"We're housing most of the patients from the attack here. Our friend Relena is the one who runs the Sanc nation, though she does a great deal of peace-keeping work on a national level," Quatre explained as he opened the door for Hotaru. Usagi was about to get her own door when Heero dutifully opened it for her as well.
Hotaru placed a hand to her chest and nodded. "The heart crystals know that their bodies are near. I will do my best to help everyone in an orderly manner. Would it be possible to put be in a location away from the infirmary and bring the patients to me, one by one? That would be the easiest way for me to make sure only one crystal gets out at a time. I wouldn't want someone to end up with the wrong crystal, since I don't have a way to pull it out of a body."
"I think we can manage that," Quatre responded and started up the pristine white steps. The steps were numerous, though they were particularly steep and lead to a large set of double doors. There were guards, though Usagi didn't think that either of the men standing watch were armed.
"Useless when they're needed," Usagi muttered to herself. Heero looked at her from the corner of his eye at her words, and she waved him off. "Oh, nothing, nothing."
When they entered the building, they found it was rather sparsely decorated, but gave off an air of elegance nonetheless. The interior was almost all white with a few accents of rose-gold. There were a few chairs and wall tables out of the way but providing a space for visitors to wait, if they wished. On each wall to their left and right, there as one large portrait—one appeared to be a family painting, restored based upon the different paint qualities—and the other was a building. Usagi couldn't be positive, but she suspected it was displaying the old castle that the academy replaced.
"If the Moon Kingdom had been a European Castle, I feel like it could have looked like this," Hotaru said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Maybe," Usagi sighed with a shrug, but didn't give the idea much thought. She hadn't given the old Moon Kingdom, her original birthplace, much thought in a very long time.
"Bell's going to ring soon," Heero said, interrupting the girls' conversation. "Pick up the pace."
Usagi looked at him in confusion for a few moments before she realized that some of the rooms they passed by were actually full of people. Girls and boys in uniform sat staring at white boards or talking to one another, proving that the castle was actually a school of some sort.
As directed, Quatre hurried his step and turned a corner. They had to take two flights of stairs, but they did reach the infirmary just as a soft chime echoed through the hallways. They missed the crowds by moments, though Hotaru wouldn't walk into the room.
"I'll wait out here until you can organize their single movement," she said, her hand once again returning to her chest, "it is better that I don't go in there."
Heero and Quatre looked at one another and Heero nodded. He stayed outside with Hotaru while Quatre took Usagi inside the infirmary.
It had been one thing for her to see just Hilde suffering from the heart snatcher attack. It was different for Usagi to see a room filled with 'heartless' people. With so much suffering in one area, it felt like she could hear their cries—their moans of pain and desperation, begging to have the light of their lives back within them. It was nearly unbearable. She swallowed hard and had to steady herself against the marble wall. She supposed this was something akin to a medium sensing tortured souls, or something like that.
"Are you okay, Miss Usagi?" Quatre asked, waving to one of the nurses.
"Just… just a bit dizzy, I'll be fine," Usagi replied and leaned back. She didn't trust herself not to fall on her face if she took a few steps away from the wall. "I'll just… stay here, if that's okay." She watched as he nodded and walked away.
Usagi tried not to look at the people lying motionless in their beds, but her eyes couldn't help but wander. There was a stabbing sensation that went moving through her as she saw the many children that had been affected. Well, they did say it was at festival, and children are the most likely candidates to have pure hearts…
She could hear another chime coming from the door next to her, but the sound didn't echo into the infirmary. Soon, the sound of footsteps in the hallways faded until she knew that it would be safe for them to exit again without getting lost in the crowds of students.
There was a crowd of orderlies gathering around Quatre as he explained their task. Some seemed absolutely appalled by the thought that he had a way to save the patients, but that the orderlies couldn't be in the room when it happened. Some had apparently learned not to question the gundam pilots-turned Preventers. Quatre returned to Usagi's side and led her out of the room to Heero and Hotaru.
"We'll use the lounge down the hallway. The orderlies aren't happy about having to wheel every patient over there, but they'll do it if it will help them recover. Will that be enough distance away from everyone, Miss Hotaru?" Quatre asked and held out his arm to indicate the direction they would be walking.
Hotaru nodded and smiled slightly. "Yes, I should manage. Thank you."
The group walked down the empty coordidor to the lounge. It was more like a recreation room, since it was so large and had so much space. Its double doors were particularly nice, since it allowed for the gurneys to be rolled in easily. Once they were settled in, Quatre closed the door so that Hotaru could transform.
The men were clearly a bit surprised by the flashy scene—not that they could see much. Unlike her detransformation, where she shimmered into her normal clothing, she pulled a wand from no where and quickly turned in a circle, the wand facing downwards. There as a blinding flash of purple light that came from the circle she 'drew', and when it faded, she was in her Saturn attire. Usagi couldn't help but snort a bit at the men's expressions (Quatre was slack jawed and Heero was… Heero, though his eyes looked a bit larger than usual.)
"Before we begin, is your friend in the infirmary, or is she kept elsewhere?" Saturn asked.
Heero shook his head. "She's in her bedroom."
"I suspected so. Usagi, I would like to give you her heart crystal. I'm almost positive the bright one is hers. It did not react to the infirmary patients like the others did. Perhaps you can take it to her while I work?" Saturn placed her hands just above her chest and closed her eyes, willing the heart crystal to come forward. It did not take much nudging since it was powerful and wanted to get back to its host body.
Usagi sighed loudly but stepped forward to take the glowing crystal. As she reached out to take it, Heero stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.
"I'll take it," he said.
"I am more experienced in dealing with the heart crystals," Usagi said, trying to pull her hand from his grasp. His grip only tightened.
"I don't trust you with it."
Usagi struggled again but then fell still, looking up at Heero's eyes. Though he was doing well to mask his emotions, she felt that somewhere in his blue eyes she saw concern—even fear, perhaps. "They're very delicate. They sort of hover without touching anything. I know how to move them and will them into a body. I promise, I will be as careful with it as if were my own child's."
The pair stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity before Heero ultimately released Usagi and stepped back. She gave him a small nod and Saturn extended the crystal to her. Usagi gentled moved it close to her body and walked to the door, feeling its power warm her cosmic core.
"Lead the way."
000
Author's Notes: And the villain is introduced! Mostly. I love Lady Une, I really do. So by making her a villain again, it's because I love her. And she would look killer in a Mistress 9-esque outfit (WHO CAN DO FAN ART?! SOMEONE MAKE THIS EXIST FOR ME! LONG FLOWING MISTRESS 9 HAIR AND EVERYTHING.) We will be exploring more of how that all came to be as the story continues, but we won't see as much until the youma attacks start resuming in true Sailor Moon fashion. Speaking of which…
"Next time on Cosmic Apathy! Usagi meets the famous and well loved Relena Peacecraft! Will we discover more of Heero's current involvement with her? Will the heart crystal even survive its journey just across the academy! Find out next time!"
… I'm a little tired.
Anyhow, thank you to my great reviewers as always!
Ladybugs: oh my goodness your review made me chuckle! You know, the first time I watched season 5, I didn't really like Seiya, but I think the fandom made me like him more. Mamoru is just such a joke! Though I do like him a lot better in Crystal than the original series. He was always such a damsel in distress…
JennyftBlock: I am mostly a casual cosplayer, not super advanced (I do have a facebook page under the same penname, but I'm not trying to pimp my page, hahaha!) I am so glad you are connecting my attempts at 'realism.' It sometimes means it takes longer to get 'point a' to 'point b', but I feel better knowing that I at least tried to show something that fits in the 'real' world! Thank you as always for your wonderful review!
Saris Yui; I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Thank you for your review!
For the next chapter, I do plan a bit more action. I mean, really, you can't expect that Relena just gets her heart crystal back without much of a fight right?
Until next time!
Ever Your Servant,
A.F
