Chapter Nine
Gloria
walked around outside the palace grounds. She'd gotten out of the chambers of
her family easily enough but there were two more things she needed. Her first
stop was Venus. She didn't know why but it was as if Annika had been trying to
reach her telepathically through her dreams.
Gloria took a deep breath
and crept towards the royal quarters. She walked past the King and Queen's
chambers and then down to the Princess'. She needed Rini's Luna pen. She didn't
know all where she'd have to go but no one could find out that she was the Princess
of Venus.
The trick was to get Rini
out of the room long enough for her to get the pen. But as she glanced in
through the door crack, she saw that the Princess was still wide-awake. She
needed to get the girl to either go to sleep or leave. Gloria sat in the hall
and waited. After a few hours she was relieved to find that she had fallen
asleep. Gloria slowly opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind
her.
Gloria crept to Rini's
bedside. Her sheets were tangled around her legs and her hair was down, out of
her odangos. She was sleeping lightly and as Gloria watched her face twisted
into an expression of horror. Panicking, the girl dove under the girl's bed.
Seconds, later, Rini jumped up, heart pounding.
Rini had seen the dream
again, Annika falling into a fiery pit, blood spilling. It had been mild at
first but now Rini could practically see it.
She grabbed her robe and
slippers and padded out of the room. Gloria watched her enter her parents'
chamber and then took her chance. She pried Rini's drawer opened, sorted
through her bras and emerged with the pen she needed. She removed Ariel's
computer as well and fixed what she needed.
She raced out the door and
hid behind a corner. She could see the queen and king and princess. Rini was in
the center of their bed and had her arms wrapped around the queen's neck. The
king was smoothing her bright pink hair. She wasn't afraid, just sad.
Gloria stared a moment more
and then took off towards the Mercury chambers.
* * *
Amy was sleeping, Ariel in between
her and Greg. Ariel wanted comfort. So her parents gave it.
Gloria
took a deep breath and crept over to the bedside table. She reached into the
drawer and removed Amy's minicomputer. She had already fixed Ariel's when she
went into Rini's room.
Slowly,
Gloria typed in 'Scout auras.'
A
list appeared and she scanned down to Sailor Chibi Venus.
This
was her job and no one else's.
Taking
a breath, she hit enter for 'yes.'
The
words flashed across the screen in bright blue colors:
'Scout
Aura Deleted.'
She
put the computer back and crept out.
There
was one more thing she needed,
"The
Pluto chambers."
*
* *
Setsuna
slept uneasily. She knew something was coming. But she didn't know what. Her
knowledge of the future was her strength. She didn't know what to do now that
the future was unknown. Would the Elysian and Crystal Scouts still be born?
Would Annika still be able to have Brooke? Would Ashley cease to exist because
Annika had been taken?
Then
there was also the possibility of losing her own future generations, both Rose
and Jasmine. Although Annika wasn't Maggie's best friend, she was still a
friend and the loss of a friend could affect people in more ways than most
people could usually see.
She
couldn't stand the thought of the future generations vanishing. She knew how
much their children would love their children. She pained at the thought of
losing her granddaughter and great granddaughter. But now she thought of the
others. Rini might lose Chelsea and Rayna. Ariel would lose Marina and Melody.
Daisy would lose Violet and Lily. There would be no Minako or Tiffany for Mina
and Gloria. Madelyn would be the last of the Saturn generations without Hannah
and Gisselle. Grace and Taylor wouldn't be and neither would be Chasity or
Sydney.
The thought made her sick. She didn't know
how she knew but she knew this event was significant to the future. She hoped
that it was for the better though. However, with this unexpected event she had
no way of seeing into the future to know.
Gloria
stared at her Aunt Setsuna. The woman was asleep so Gloria slipped along the
floor over to a cabinet. Maggie had told her and the others about it when they
were younger. Gloria gently opened it. Luckily because Setsuna trusted Maggie
it wasn't locked.
She
removed a single time key.
That
done, she snuck past her aunt and uncle, silent as the night breeze.
*
* *
Gloria
stood outside and stared at the key in her hand. She knew it could be used to
go through time but it could also be used to simply switch through places. It
was like her own Sailor Teleport. She gazed up and raised the key. The small
pink gem lit up.
"Open
wide the Gates, God Chronus. The Gates of Space. Venus! Take me to Venus!"
A
red mist surrounded her and then suddenly she was no longer on earth. She saw
it loom beneath her, a multicolored sphere.
A
new globe came into view, a golden ball of mists. Her home planet. She broke
the atmosphere and hurtled towards the ground. She heard a distant scream….her
own.
And then everything went black.
