Through New Eyes
Chapter 8: The Tier - Part one
By: Silver Shadows
Usagi looked at the row of bottles lined up before her and bit her lip to keep a strangled sob from escaping her throat. Was this how every morning going to be for the rest of her short life? Waking up and taking all of those pills? 'It's not fair!' she mentally screamed as she mechanically swallowed pill after pill.
'Why do I even bother? I'm still going to die.' She halted as her fingers closed around the last bottle. Why indeed? Why prolong her suffering? Gripping the bottle tightly in her hand, Usagi clenched her teeth and tried to ignore the constant questions racing through her mind.
"Iie!" a short scream tore from her throat and she threw the bottle across the room. Usagi sank to her knees and put her head in her hands. "Iie," she moaned, "leave me alone! I do because I promised. I promised...I promised."
"Hai, you promised. Throwing away your medication is not keeping it." a voice said from the other side of the room. Moments later, the bottle was dropped before Usagi. "Finish taking your medication," the same voice growled, "don't make me have to watch you every morning." Having said so, the figure walked out the door.
Usagi stared at the figure's retreating back in shock. When had he gotten in? "Hiiro," she whispered, "why do you care?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Duo frowned as he looked at his breakfast. He poked the charred pancake and sighed, "Another failure." Dumping it into the trashcan, he once again studied the cookbook in front of him. "What on Earth could I be doing wrong?" A soft giggle made him look up. "Oi, Usagi, I see you woke up! How about helping me with breakfast?"
Usagi laughed and walked over to Duo's side. Eyes twinkling she answered, "Ohaiyo, Duo. Of course I'll help you." She glanced at the trashcan and raised an eyebrow as she looked at the mountain of ruined pancakes, "Looks like you need a lot of help."
Duo placed a hand behind his head and laughed nervously, "Ehehehe..." ::sweat drop::
{One hour later}
Trowa walked down the hallway, using one of Quatre's pink towels to dry his hair. On the contrary to what everyone thought, his hair wasn't gelled to stay over one eye. Instead, it just naturally fell over his eye. Stopping briefly by the laundry chute, he disposed of the towel before resuming his walk towards the kitchen. When he got there...it was a strange sight indeed.
"Duo!" Usagi shrieked, "We only need three eggs. Three! Not five!" Her golden hair was not almost a shade of white with all of that flour clinging on to it. The rest of the kitchen was also dyed a white color, Duo especially. Broken eggs littered the floor along with big puddles of milk. There was a stick of melting butter on the counter, and the appliances were in definite need of repair.
Trowa raised and eyebrow. Cautiously, he stood at the entrance of the kitchen, not daring to step in. Personally, he thought it was Duo that had created the mess. After all, Usagi had proven herself perfectly capable of handling the kitchen when she had made them that meal a few days ago. Duo however...
"Okay, okay. I'll just put the other two eggs back into the fridge. See, nothing---oops." Usagi whirled around at that fatal word just in time to see Duo slip in a puddle of milk and the two eggs in his hands fly across the room...right at Trowa.
"Trowa, look out!" she shouted. Trowa sighed and ducked, sending the eggs flying over his head. He listened for the splat they made as they hit something... he got more that just a splat.
SPLAT! "!!#&??^??$#?&?#@# KISAMA!! MAXWELL!!!!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Usagi hummed a song as she stood in the shower, letting the cool water cascade down her body. After the little incident in the kitchen, everyone had to go take a shower. Quatre had nearly gotten a heart attack when he walked into his kitchen. After a few moments of chaos, he ordered everyone to help clean up. Needless to say, no one was happy, and everyone was dirty.
She sighed and began washing her hair, trying to get all of the flour out of it. "Yuck!" she muttered and then giggled, "Poor Fei-chan. He has to get egg out of his hair." Rinsing the shampoo out, she turned off the water and grabbed two towels. Usagi wrapped one around her hair, and the other around her body.
She stepped out from behind the shower curtain and blinked. "Eh?" Looking around, she only saw stars. Stars and a blue planet? Usagi gasped and whispered to herself, "I-If I'm looking at the Earth...then I must be on...the Moon!"
"Serenity!" a ghostly voice shouted. It wasn't a frightening voice. It was more like an...an echo.
Usagi whirled around and yelled, "Who's there!?!"
"Serenity!" the same voice shouted again.
"Who are you?" Usagi questioned.
"Serenity...mesume-chan..." a silverish purple light bloomed in front of Usagi, shaping itself into the silhouette of a small, fairy-like creature.
"Kaa-san?" Usagi whispered, tears welling up, "Kaa-san, is that you?"
The light nodded, "My Serenity, there is so much to say, in so little time."
"Kaa-san!" Usagi cried and tried to reach out and touch the light, only to find out that she went right through.
Queen Selenity shook her head sadly, "I'm not really here. This is a hologram from the Moon's main computer. Serenity, the Moon is dying. That's why the Ginzuishou disappeared."
"No..." Usagi whispered, shocked, "No!"
The Queen sighed, "Yes, Serenity, the Moon is dying. Already, the Main computer is starting to shut down. That is why you see me as I am now, just a light in the shape of myself. Hush now," Selenity said when Usagi opened her mouth to protest, "it is not the time to argue. The Moon is dying, that is something you can not change. When humans first migrated to space, they also came here. Mines were built and the Moon was invaded, violated, in a way. The damage has been done; we can do nothing about this. I am only here to guide you to the right pathway."
"Kaa-san. If...if what you say is true, then...then that means I'm powerless. I can't protect the Earth. Not---not that I can protect it. I couldn't even protect myself." Usagi whispered bitterly.
"Is that any way for my daughter to behave?" Selenity reprimanded, "You are a Queen now. A Queen! Stop wallowing in your self-pity and start acting like one! As a Queen, you have a duty, responsibilities! Those come before you!"
Usagi hung her head, somewhat ashamed, "Hai, Kaa-san."
"Good. Now that that's out of the way, lets move on to more important things. You must gather the Talismans."
"Demo, Kaa-san, I don't even know where they are!" Usagi cried out.
"Go to Pluto's castle. She'll have had this all arranged." Selenity said as she started to fade away, "Sayonara, Mesume-chan. The Main Computer's giving out. It was nice seeing you one last time."
"Kaa-san! Kaa-san, matte! I can't even get to Pluto! I can't teleport anymore!" Usagi reached out, as if trying to hold on to the fading Queen.
"Serenity," Selenity said in a calm voice, "the Ginzuishou was born from a Moon Queen's spirit to help her children. Now, it has returned to a Moon Queen." and then, she was gone.
"Kaa-san! KAA-SAN!!!!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"KAA-SAN!!!" Usagi cried and shot up in bed. 'How did I get here?' she thought, somewhat bewildered.
As if someone were reading her thoughts, a voice spoke, "We found you in the bathroom, unconscious."
Usagi shrieked before calming down, "Hiiro! Geeze, you could always let me know you're in the room before you suddenly start talking and scare the shit out of me." Then, she remembered that she had only been wearing a towel in the bathroom, but now she was wearing her pajamas.
"Hiiro," she slowly said, fighting to keep the blush out of her face, "who put this on me?"
"I did." was the clipped reply, "It was either me or Duo. If I didn't dry you off and get you into a warm set of clothes, you could have caught a cold. In your condition, a cold would have killed you."
"A-a-arigato." Usagi fidgeted with the blanket before asking, "A-anno, could you gather everyone? I want to talk to all of you."
Hiiro nodded and left the room. When she was certain that he was gone, Usagi sighed and put her head in her hands. "Why me?" she moaned. And then, her mother's voice came drifting back to her.
'You are a Queen now...as a Queen, you have duties, responsibilities...those come before yourself.'
"Hai, Kaa-san." Usagi mumbled. Sighing again, she started to twirl a strand of hair with her finger. Chewing her lip she asked herself, "But how am I going to get to Pluto?"
___________________________________________________________________
All right, this is not the whole chapter, but I'm leaving for Taiwan tomorrow and I thought that you would like to have something rather than nothing. An interesting turn of events, eh? Even I didn't know things would turn out like this. Anyways, REVIEW!!!!! ~Ja
Usagi looked at the row of bottles lined up before her and bit her lip to keep a strangled sob from escaping her throat. Was this how every morning going to be for the rest of her short life? Waking up and taking all of those pills? 'It's not fair!' she mentally screamed as she mechanically swallowed pill after pill.
'Why do I even bother? I'm still going to die.' She halted as her fingers closed around the last bottle. Why indeed? Why prolong her suffering? Gripping the bottle tightly in her hand, Usagi clenched her teeth and tried to ignore the constant questions racing through her mind.
"Iie!" a short scream tore from her throat and she threw the bottle across the room. Usagi sank to her knees and put her head in her hands. "Iie," she moaned, "leave me alone! I do because I promised. I promised...I promised."
"Hai, you promised. Throwing away your medication is not keeping it." a voice said from the other side of the room. Moments later, the bottle was dropped before Usagi. "Finish taking your medication," the same voice growled, "don't make me have to watch you every morning." Having said so, the figure walked out the door.
Usagi stared at the figure's retreating back in shock. When had he gotten in? "Hiiro," she whispered, "why do you care?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Duo frowned as he looked at his breakfast. He poked the charred pancake and sighed, "Another failure." Dumping it into the trashcan, he once again studied the cookbook in front of him. "What on Earth could I be doing wrong?" A soft giggle made him look up. "Oi, Usagi, I see you woke up! How about helping me with breakfast?"
Usagi laughed and walked over to Duo's side. Eyes twinkling she answered, "Ohaiyo, Duo. Of course I'll help you." She glanced at the trashcan and raised an eyebrow as she looked at the mountain of ruined pancakes, "Looks like you need a lot of help."
Duo placed a hand behind his head and laughed nervously, "Ehehehe..." ::sweat drop::
{One hour later}
Trowa walked down the hallway, using one of Quatre's pink towels to dry his hair. On the contrary to what everyone thought, his hair wasn't gelled to stay over one eye. Instead, it just naturally fell over his eye. Stopping briefly by the laundry chute, he disposed of the towel before resuming his walk towards the kitchen. When he got there...it was a strange sight indeed.
"Duo!" Usagi shrieked, "We only need three eggs. Three! Not five!" Her golden hair was not almost a shade of white with all of that flour clinging on to it. The rest of the kitchen was also dyed a white color, Duo especially. Broken eggs littered the floor along with big puddles of milk. There was a stick of melting butter on the counter, and the appliances were in definite need of repair.
Trowa raised and eyebrow. Cautiously, he stood at the entrance of the kitchen, not daring to step in. Personally, he thought it was Duo that had created the mess. After all, Usagi had proven herself perfectly capable of handling the kitchen when she had made them that meal a few days ago. Duo however...
"Okay, okay. I'll just put the other two eggs back into the fridge. See, nothing---oops." Usagi whirled around at that fatal word just in time to see Duo slip in a puddle of milk and the two eggs in his hands fly across the room...right at Trowa.
"Trowa, look out!" she shouted. Trowa sighed and ducked, sending the eggs flying over his head. He listened for the splat they made as they hit something... he got more that just a splat.
SPLAT! "!!#&??^??$#?&?#@# KISAMA!! MAXWELL!!!!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Usagi hummed a song as she stood in the shower, letting the cool water cascade down her body. After the little incident in the kitchen, everyone had to go take a shower. Quatre had nearly gotten a heart attack when he walked into his kitchen. After a few moments of chaos, he ordered everyone to help clean up. Needless to say, no one was happy, and everyone was dirty.
She sighed and began washing her hair, trying to get all of the flour out of it. "Yuck!" she muttered and then giggled, "Poor Fei-chan. He has to get egg out of his hair." Rinsing the shampoo out, she turned off the water and grabbed two towels. Usagi wrapped one around her hair, and the other around her body.
She stepped out from behind the shower curtain and blinked. "Eh?" Looking around, she only saw stars. Stars and a blue planet? Usagi gasped and whispered to herself, "I-If I'm looking at the Earth...then I must be on...the Moon!"
"Serenity!" a ghostly voice shouted. It wasn't a frightening voice. It was more like an...an echo.
Usagi whirled around and yelled, "Who's there!?!"
"Serenity!" the same voice shouted again.
"Who are you?" Usagi questioned.
"Serenity...mesume-chan..." a silverish purple light bloomed in front of Usagi, shaping itself into the silhouette of a small, fairy-like creature.
"Kaa-san?" Usagi whispered, tears welling up, "Kaa-san, is that you?"
The light nodded, "My Serenity, there is so much to say, in so little time."
"Kaa-san!" Usagi cried and tried to reach out and touch the light, only to find out that she went right through.
Queen Selenity shook her head sadly, "I'm not really here. This is a hologram from the Moon's main computer. Serenity, the Moon is dying. That's why the Ginzuishou disappeared."
"No..." Usagi whispered, shocked, "No!"
The Queen sighed, "Yes, Serenity, the Moon is dying. Already, the Main computer is starting to shut down. That is why you see me as I am now, just a light in the shape of myself. Hush now," Selenity said when Usagi opened her mouth to protest, "it is not the time to argue. The Moon is dying, that is something you can not change. When humans first migrated to space, they also came here. Mines were built and the Moon was invaded, violated, in a way. The damage has been done; we can do nothing about this. I am only here to guide you to the right pathway."
"Kaa-san. If...if what you say is true, then...then that means I'm powerless. I can't protect the Earth. Not---not that I can protect it. I couldn't even protect myself." Usagi whispered bitterly.
"Is that any way for my daughter to behave?" Selenity reprimanded, "You are a Queen now. A Queen! Stop wallowing in your self-pity and start acting like one! As a Queen, you have a duty, responsibilities! Those come before you!"
Usagi hung her head, somewhat ashamed, "Hai, Kaa-san."
"Good. Now that that's out of the way, lets move on to more important things. You must gather the Talismans."
"Demo, Kaa-san, I don't even know where they are!" Usagi cried out.
"Go to Pluto's castle. She'll have had this all arranged." Selenity said as she started to fade away, "Sayonara, Mesume-chan. The Main Computer's giving out. It was nice seeing you one last time."
"Kaa-san! Kaa-san, matte! I can't even get to Pluto! I can't teleport anymore!" Usagi reached out, as if trying to hold on to the fading Queen.
"Serenity," Selenity said in a calm voice, "the Ginzuishou was born from a Moon Queen's spirit to help her children. Now, it has returned to a Moon Queen." and then, she was gone.
"Kaa-san! KAA-SAN!!!!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"KAA-SAN!!!" Usagi cried and shot up in bed. 'How did I get here?' she thought, somewhat bewildered.
As if someone were reading her thoughts, a voice spoke, "We found you in the bathroom, unconscious."
Usagi shrieked before calming down, "Hiiro! Geeze, you could always let me know you're in the room before you suddenly start talking and scare the shit out of me." Then, she remembered that she had only been wearing a towel in the bathroom, but now she was wearing her pajamas.
"Hiiro," she slowly said, fighting to keep the blush out of her face, "who put this on me?"
"I did." was the clipped reply, "It was either me or Duo. If I didn't dry you off and get you into a warm set of clothes, you could have caught a cold. In your condition, a cold would have killed you."
"A-a-arigato." Usagi fidgeted with the blanket before asking, "A-anno, could you gather everyone? I want to talk to all of you."
Hiiro nodded and left the room. When she was certain that he was gone, Usagi sighed and put her head in her hands. "Why me?" she moaned. And then, her mother's voice came drifting back to her.
'You are a Queen now...as a Queen, you have duties, responsibilities...those come before yourself.'
"Hai, Kaa-san." Usagi mumbled. Sighing again, she started to twirl a strand of hair with her finger. Chewing her lip she asked herself, "But how am I going to get to Pluto?"
___________________________________________________________________
All right, this is not the whole chapter, but I'm leaving for Taiwan tomorrow and I thought that you would like to have something rather than nothing. An interesting turn of events, eh? Even I didn't know things would turn out like this. Anyways, REVIEW!!!!! ~Ja
