The Pulse

Part 2

Author: Nyneve

Hey, thankies every1 who reviewed me! I'm always really ticked when no one does, so I am saved the anger! Well, you asked for more, and I'm glad you like the couples. I was just really sick of Mina/Quatre, Raye/Wufei, you know. But, as you know I don't own any of this anime stuff (I wouldn't put fics on this site if I did). Oh, and to Myst Lady, I have no clue if I'll ever finish all of my fics. Bad habit, I know. But, I can't help it.

-Nyneve

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"Anyways, does Pluto know about the Crystals?"

"She knows about Thanatos, yes."

"And Bios?"

"She will learn. All of them will."

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"Now, before we teleport, you should know I'm taking you to deep space. This is the portion of the universe that is so secluded from everything that neither light nor sound can exist there. We will have to communicate telepathically. And Hotaru, I want you to stay here," Trista explained. The other girls nodded, and then each one began to glow.

Moments later, they reappeared in a dark space. It was deadly silent, and frightfully dark. But all the while, they could feel a distinct pulse.

It was made up of two beats. One that seemed to move the space in, somehow, and one that moved it out. The spacing between them wasn't evenly spaced; it seemed that only a few moments after the "in" pulse could be felt, you could feel the "out" pulse.

"What is that Pluto?" Amy pathed.

"You mean that pulse?" Pluto replied.

"What else is there?" Lita remarked.

"Nothing. But you see, what I did not mention in Crystal Tokyo was that there was one thing that could reach deep space. That is power. In this case, it is two powers, the powers of Life and Death. Feel them closely," Pluto instructed.

"I get it! The pulse that seems to move in is the Life pulse, and the one that seems to move out is the Death pulse," Raye said.

"Right. But do you notice how they aren't evenly spaced? That shouldn't be like that," Pluto stated.

"So, it means that the powers of Life and Death are coming closer together?" Mina asked, confused. "I don't understand, what will that do?"

"Let me help you think of it physically. The thing causing the Life pulse is the Silver Crystal. Now, this shows that the Silver Crystal is becoming weaker, and that the source of the Death pulse is becoming stronger," Pluto explained.

"But what is the cause of the Death pulse? The Black Crystal?" Lita guessed.

"No. The Black Crystal is evil, but evil is a part of Life. The Death pulse is not evil, but it is starting to override the Life pulse. This means that the Thanatos Crystal is getting stronger," said Pluto.

"Thanatos Crystal? Oh! Thanatos means Death, doesn't it?" Amy remarked. "But anyways, what can we do about it? Are we supposed to destroy it?"

"No!" Pluto's telepathic message emphasized the word. "If we were to destroy the Thanatos Crystal, we would throw off the balance of the universe permanently. No, what we must do is find the Thanatos crystal and weaken it, without destroying it. And if we don't Life and Death will become one and we will cease to exist."

"But how do we find the crystal? We don't even know where it is!" Mina said.

"You don't. But I do. I know that it lurks within a human body, just as the Silver Crystal lived within Serena's body. I've even narrowed down the possible bearers to five people, all boys. But let's go home now, and I'll explain the rest."

A few seconds later, the girls were back in the living room, where Hotaru was waiting anxiously.

"Are you guys okay? Most people don't last after visiting deep space," she said worriedly. Mina smiled.

"We're fine, Hotaru. But anyways Trista, you were saying something about possible crystal bearers?" she prompted.

"Right. What you should know though is that they live in a different time. The two crystals were separated so that they would not neutralize each other. Which means we can not ask the Queen to come with us," Trista said. She gently lifted the crystal ball off of the time staff. The girls looked into it, just as five figures appeared.

They were all boys, about the same age (physically) as the girls. One had wild brown hair and blue eyes. Another one with a braid was grinning mischievously. A boy with shiny black hair in a ponytail glared menacingly. A taller, more serious-looking one with hair covering half of his face stood quietly off to the side. And finally, a blond with a kind expression smiled sincerely.

"Well, whoever chose them sure picked cuties," Mina remarked. The other girls groaned.

"Be that as it may, Mina, one of them hold the power of death inside of him. It is up to us to figure out who," Trista said. "I won't force you to go on this mission, but I am asking you. Hotaru, I want you to stay with Neptune and Uranus. If the Queen finds out she'll get sick with worry."

"Heck, I'm in! I wanna get to know these guys!" Mina cried.

"I'll do it. The balance needs to be restored," Raye said solemnly.

"Well, under normal circumstances I'd say we should uphold our duty and protect the Queen, but I think this may be the only way to protect her. You can count me in," Lita added.

"I'm not sure. This whole thing about the balance of the universe doesn't seem right. But I'll go along to learn," Amy finished. Trista smiled.

"I will be joining you as well. We shall leave in a few minutes," she said.

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"Oh my…"

"Well, this certainly plays into our hands, doesn't it Alecto?"

"Yes, it does. But those girls really think that the Silver Crystal is the source of the Life pulse? Puh-leez. That thing couldn't even scratch glass."

"You're always so cynical Tisiphone. But anyways, this'll make it easier to retrieve the Bios. After all, what with Thanatos's magnified power…"

"Yes, but we can't retrieve it if we sit here talking, can we? GET OUT THERE AND BRING ME THOSE CRYSTALS!"

"Yes Ma'am."

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"Who was she?" Trowa asked, looking toward the area where the strange woman had been.

"I have no idea. Did you see her outfit? Man, it was like she was off of Xena or something," Duo commented.

"You okay Heero?" Quatre asked, helping his friend up. Heero nodded.

"What did she do to you anyways?" Duo asked, glancing at Heero. There were no physical wounds, but what could've knocked him down like that?

"I don't know. She didn't do anything but take her gauntlets off. After that, I just don't know," he said. Suddenly, Wufei whipped around and faced the bushes nearby. He narrowed his eyes.

"Did you hear that?" he asked suspiciously.

"Hear what?" Trowa asked. The five boys listened intently. Silence. That, until a female voice asked, "Are they still there?"

"Shut up Mina! If they are, you just blew our cover!"

"Well if I didn't, you just did!"

Wufei carefully crept closer to the bushes, then jabbed his katana in. Four screams rose from the bush, and five girls stood up.

"Look Mina! They were still there!" Raye said through clenched teeth, trying not to hit the blond.

"Sorry!" she said.

"Guys…" Lita muttered, indicating that the boys were staring at them.

"Who are you?" Quatre asked.

"Uh…" Amy tried to telepathically contact Trista, but the Guardian of Time already had an excuse.

"We're camping nearby. We heard a yell, and we decided to investigate. I'm sorry if we disturbed you," she said calmly. Duo smiled.

"Not at all. Actually, a pretty girl every now and then is a nice surprise. Of course," he paused, "five pretty girls is more than welcome."

Wufei groaned. "Maxwell, you will forever succumb to women."

"Anyways, we should be going," Lita said.

"I wouldn't camp around here if I were you. It's unsafe for civilians," Trowa remarked.

"We were just thinking that," Amy said, thinking up a lie. "Except uh, we don't really have a ride home. Our tour bus won't be back for a few more days."

"There's a road up that way. If you're not afraid to hitchhike…" Trowa began.

"We're not," Lita said confidently.

"Still, we'd better walk you there. I mean, you always hear about rapists and serial killers hanging around in the woods," Duo remarked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amy pale. He winked.

"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you uh, what is your name anyways?" he asked Amy.

"Oh, my name's Amy Mizuno. And this is Raye Hino, Lita Kino, Mina Aino, and Trista Meioh," Amy introduced.

"Duo Maxwell. The scary-looking guy is Heero Yuy, the bang-boy is Trowa Barton, the guy with the katana is Chang Wufei, and the blond who's been eyeing your friend Raye for the last ten minutes is Quatre Raberba Winner," Duo said, glancing at the blushing Quatre.

"Nice that all of you got to meet each other before you die," said a cruel voice.

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"Well, Night's after them. Think they can handle it Kairos?"

"Of course. You know the Sailors aren't girls to be trifled with, and the Gundam pilots aren't a laughing matter either."

"I hope so. Night and her little girls have always been pretty nasty."

"Chronos, Nemesis is the goddess of revenge, and then there's the Furies. Of course they're going to be nasty."

"Good point."

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That's it for now. R+R!