Finally I get back on track with the story. The last two rather distracted chapters were solely a product of a sugar high author's imagination. I promise I will never let them be that happy ever again. Also, I've sadly neglected our fearless villians and fellow senshi. From hence on the story will be a little war-centered but squeamish people can still read.
Chapter 8 - Do you believe in Fairytales?
Usagi snuggled into the warmth that seemed to be coming from underneath her. As she slowly shrugged off the last remnants of sleep she opened her eyes to see what her heat generator was. She smiled at seeing the tousled dark hair blanketing most of her body as well as that of an exhausted miko. Even in her sleep, sensing that she was being watched, the woman shifted slightly allowing her face to come into view. It had been 24 hours since that evening at the office. Hours where neither had gone out or bothered calling their friends. A day of sheer bliss. Usagi, not one for much retrospect, began to play with the mass of hair hiding Rei. Finally, unable to ignore the woman tickling her with her own hair, Rei lazily opened an eye.
"Usa" she said drowsily, "go back to sleep. We haven't had decent sleep since yesterday. I cant go anymore." Usagi giggled at the groan that Rei voiced when she ran her fingers along the fire senshi's stomach.
"What was that you were saying?" asked the princess with an innocent expression which would sell if only her blue eyes weren't twinkling with devilish pleasure. "C'mon we have to get up. I'm hungry. You have to feed me. You realize I haven't eaten anything since...well at least not anything that was on a plate." said Usagi, earning a smack on the arm from Rei. Usagi then managed to drag the sleepy woman out of bed and into the kitchen.
"Usa, you do realize that I'm stark naked don't you?"
"Hmm...I barely noticed." said Usagi, distracted by the swaying hips of the woman walking ahead of her. She immediately felt the urge to divest herself of Rei's oversized sleeping shirt but thought better of it when her stomach insisted on getting attention. Usagi watched Rei put on the robe lying on a chair and tried very hard not to think of what was underneath it. If this kept going on she'd starve.
"Hello? You in there?" said Rei tapping Usagi's forehead. She had apparently not heard a word of what Rei had said in the past five minutes. Rei muttered something along the lines of "sure...not distracted at all" Then she went about making pancakes to feed the giant never-ending pit that was Usagi's stomach. She worked and Usagi watched. She cooked and Usagi ate. She did the dishes and Usagi watched. Finally, unable to withstand the scrutiny, Rei asked the inevitable question.
"Is there something on my face?"
"Yes Rei. There are two beautiful eyes, a very regal nose and a decadent mouth."
"Is that why you're staring at me?"
"Oh no. I was merely thinking of how you use that decadent mouth"
Rei turned a red deeper than that of her robe. She almost dropped a plate but managed to save it in time. She cleared her throat a couple of times before speaking.
"You really are shameless Usa"
"Me? I was simply talking of how you talked the old stooges at the company into doing risky business" Usagi stretched the last two words into a drawl that made the sentence seem quite inappropriate for drawing room conversation. Rei finished her dishes without breaking anything thanks to senshi training. Now all she wanted to do was get back under the covers and do what they'd spent the last few hours doing. However, she knew they had to talk. She didn't want to but Usagi's nature wouldn't let her have a casual affair. She wasn't that type. It was all or nothing for her. 'Which is why I love her. No. I can't think like that now. This is just something we both needed to get out of our systems. Now things can go back to normal. Whatever normal is.'
"Rei, we need to talk" Rei almost groaned at the predictability of the situation. She checked herself quickly and managed to give a grave expression. "We need to talk but I'd rather we didn't" Rei almost fell of from her perch at the counter. Was this the same Usagi she knew? Or had some alien being replaced the normal "we need to talk" Usagi. "And don't worry I haven't been brainwashed or anything. I just don't want the real world intruding on us right now. I want you all to myself. I know we have difficulties we need to overcome but for now can we just pretend? Can we pretend that I'm not the princess and you are not my senshi? Can we pretend that my daughter might not be fading at this very moment? Can we pretend that we're just two very ordinary women who are having a very ordinary relationship?" Rei's eyes softened with understanding. Usagi's burden had been hers to share even before they became lovers. She did what she always did when the burden was too heavy for the princess. She enveloped Usagi in her arms and murmured soothing words into her ear. The gesture had been overly intimate even outside the bedroom but she'd done it before. In front of the others even and they had taken it as a matter of course. Only Michiru had given her a puzzled look before turning her attention back to the untethered Haruka.
"Lets pretend Usa. Do lets. I really do want to pretend"
Minako's place
Crash! Setsuna looked down at the pieces of the cup that had just slipped out of her hand. She had been sipping tea, quite calmly, when the vision hit her. Minako was immediately by her side.
"What is it Setsuna?" said Minako is a tight voice, not bothering to conceal her anxiety.
"Setsuna?" asked the bewildered older woman. Minako's cheeks tinged with the beginnings of a blush but she quickly recovered. "Setsuna-san what is it?"
"Something huge just passed by the timeline. It didn't disturb it but it passed by nonetheless. Things don't just pass by without causing damage to themselves or the timeline" said Setsuna knitting her eyebrows. "Also Pluto and Venus are no longer here."
"You mean they went back? Without telling us?"
"No. They're still in this time. They're just not in Japan. They're in-" she closed her eyes for a moment and replied, "a place I cannot discern. It was most likely an emergency. Whatever it is we have to be on alert. Now more than ever." Here the older woman hesitated. She felt a little foolish for the earlier correction of her name. Minako and she had discussed this. They were taking things slow. However Minako had told her to be more forthcoming with her thoughts. "I'm worried" That was as forthcoming as the guardian of time could be. Realizing this Minako smiled. She wove her hand through the senshi's hand and grasped it.
"I'm worried too. You were right, about Rei-chan and Usagi. I can't believe she was callous enough to forget her own daughter. Perhaps its the enemy" said Minako playing with the ring on Setsuna's little finger.
"It wasn't. You know it, I know it, even Hino-san knows it. She did this of her own free will. I'm afraid she'll regret it." said Setsuna shaking her head.
"You're right about that too aren't you? I noticed yesterday. It was a new moon"
Thessaloniki, Greece
The figure of a woman was highlighted by the lights reflecting off the water into which she was peering intently. She drew the collar of her coat more tightly around her. It was getting chilly. Taking another drag from her cigarette she looked out to the harbour watching the last of the ships dock. It was late and people were hurrying home. Hearing a movement behind her she looked up to see the face of her disgruntled companion.
"You're here." frowned Pluto. "I've been looking all over. Please don't do that in my presence."
Venus
hurriedly stubbed her cigarette using the railing as an ashtray and the
sea a trash can. "Good. Now, I've managed to locate their base. Its
unoccupied right now but heavily guarded. I guess they didn't count on
us coming here from the future. I thought Sierra knew better than that"
"Perhaps she does" murmured Venus the continued more audibly "maybe its a trap"
"We'll just have to find out then"
The city lights illuminated the place and no one seemed to notice the clear sky.
Crystal Tokyo - Outskirts of Jupiter
The screams resounded through the plains and people scampered towards safety shelters but never quite made it. Three days ago a massive force had hit the largest planet in the solar system. The legend of the Epouser was coming to life. The thousands fortunate enough to be cramped in an overcrowded shelter cowered with fear. An infant cried but no one heeded it. A young boy lay restless in his grandmother's lap.
"Gradmama? What's happening? Is Jupiter going to die?" His questions caused a ripple of fear to pass through the room.
"Now Now son don't be silly. Our senshi haven't let us down before."
A young woman looked out the window and voiced her thoughts , "What in the world is going on? What the hell is that?" A few people who were close by looked and gasped.
"Its true! The legends are true! 'the moon shall be cast out and another era will begin' That's what the legend said. Neo-Queen will die. We'll all die!" panicked a local merchant. He was balding heavily and had no possesions on his person. A young man lounged near the exit and let out an irritated sigh.
"Foolish man. Nothing will happen. Pluto-sama and Venus-sama will nip this in the bud. Besides, who believes in such nonsensical old legends anyway" The young boy who had remained quiet like he had been taught to be after the elders had begun to speak but couldn't contain himself and blurted,
"What is the legend grandma?"
Most people had heard the legend and groaned at the inevitable long discourse that always followed the question. The legend, according to ancient writings, went something like this:
There will be a time of greatness and peace. The ruler of the kingdom shall be
wise, noble, and kind. The people shall be happy and the society shall flourish.
Then the Ikhtari shall occur. The moon shall be cast out and another era will begin
The screams of the dead shall be heard over the land.
The ones who were wronged shall demand to be righted. The dead will live and the
living shall die. They shall be called - Epousers. The ones who will destroy utopia.
The ruler shall see the rise and fall of the kingdom standing helpless at a distance.
They are to be blamed. The one who turned the leader to the darkness. The one who
strayed from the path of duty. The one who will betray an entire world.
Death will be a solace.
Crystal Tokyo - Royal Senshi Headquarters
A woman sat typing away at the nine screens in front of her. She brushed a few blue hair out of her eyes and looked at the data collected. Tapping a device on her wrist she began to speak,
"Mercury to all standing units. Respond." After making sure most all units had switched their communication on she continued,
"We have new information. The attack on Jupiter is a diversion. No more units to sortie to Jupiter. I repeat. No more units should be dispatched to Jupiter." The command was accepted as soon as the woman issued the coding in the language commonly used by Mercury and Jupiter. Moving from her seat, the woman stretched her arms over her head. Her eyes had circles underneath them and around the room lay coffee cups at various stages of heat. Picking one up she sipped it. Tapping her wrist device again she voiced a long coding sequence in the language of the Moon. After a few seconds she began to speak,
"Mercury to Jupiter. Respond."
A groggy voice responded, "Jupiter here"
"Mako!" said the voice in relief. "I thought one of your generals would answer the communication again. It was very embarrassing last time." Mercury felt a certain amount of comfort hearing the laughter bubbling on the other side.
"Well Ami-chan, he still thinks you're 'waiting in nothing but lace' for him" said Jupiter in a laughing voice. "Jokes aside, the last dispatch said no more forces to be given here. What's going on?"
"I've been trying to get in touch with you for the past hour to tell you that its a ruse. They're trying to deflect our main troops over to Jupiter so that the inner planets are left vulnerable. The best thing to do right now would be to keep the forces close to home."
"Hm...I share your opinion. There was something wrong with the attack from the start. I'll hold off troops until absolutely necessary. So far all its been is a few hundred youma. Have you got any information on them yet?"
"As a matter of fact I have. They're made of a phosphoric base but-" realizing that she wouldn't get anywhere by blurting technical detail she summarized the mammoth facts in her head and said, "They're a good match for the senshi. I'd say about 1 of us to a thousand of them. For a youma its pretty good. We're not the girls we were anymore. We can handle double that in a tight spot I suppose."
"Yes I suppose we could but I have a bad feeling about this. Dammit I shouldn't even be here!" replied Jupiter. She was tired and sleepy. Going without food for three days had made her cranky and she had snapped at people all day. It didn't help that she was cooped up in a tent charting attacks instead of being out there fighting with her men.
"Mako, be patient. Its not good to rush into fights. Don't cause yourself more harm. Be safe. For me. For the baby." Mercury whispered the last sentence so that Jupiter had to strain to hear her but hear her she did. Immediately shameful of her actions Jupiter sought to make amends.
"I promise Ami-chan, I won't do anything stupid. I can't just think about myself anymore. I have to think of the baby too. I promise you when I come home, this time we'll take a vacation. A real one. This might sound crazy but I don't care about what happens to your practice or our hotel. The dojo could burn to the ground for all I care. Once, once in so many years all I want is to be with you. To be a family without having to rush off to some meeting or other."
Jupiter paused to take a breather and waited for Mercury's response. The line was silent for a few seconds and then the doctor's voice came through, hoarse and heavy, "I want that too Mako. Very much so. I miss the old days when we could go out on a date or simply watch a movie and eat popcorn. I miss being together. I want our baby to know us as we were before, madly in love and not as we are now, two women who, before going to bed, think of nothing but what task was left unfinished in the day. I really want the baby to know-"
The line cackled and no voice could be heard through it. Jupiter looked outside lifting the flap of the tent. A storm had hit the plains cutting communications effectively.
A figure sat by a fountain, bathed in the moonlight. She seemed to be humming a tune that appeased her. Running her hand along the edge of the fountain, she suddenly dipped her finger in the water. The motion of her hand caused the reflection of the moon in the water to disperse in a thousand ripples.
