Chapter Two- Two kind souls are one. Ami and Rem?!
It wasn't too hard to find one alone; the robots did regular patrolling of the hallways, so all they had to do was wait. A robot rolled up to Usagi, and Vash hid behind the corner, gun aimed and ready.
"State your name and I.D. number," a brisk female voice said from the robot. "If you do not have an I.D. number with proper clearance for this area, you will be forcefully evicted." Vash tensed, and prepared to shoot, as Usagi stepped into the robot's sensors.
"We are Neo-Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo," she started in a regal voice. "And you will STAND DOWN!" At the last two words, her wings spread out behind her, and her desert wear was transformed into Cosmos's fuku, her staff in hand. The staff hit the ground with a clank.
"Serenity-sama?" the robot exclaimed, in a voice Vash thought was very familiar. A blue glow projected from the top of the heat sensor on the robot, and Vash prepared to push the trigger when a hand signal from Usagi stopped him.
'I sure hope you know what you are doing Usa-chan..' A figure formed at the end of the projection. 'Rem!!'
"My name is Rem," the hologram said. She had long black/brown hair, and warm honey brown eyes. "I am the reincarnation of Mizuno Ami, Senshi of Mercury."
"Ami-chan!" Usagi exclaimed. Rem shook her head, and Vash started walking toward the hologram.
"Not entirely; I am Rem in this life," Rem told Usagi. Looking behind Usagi, Rem saw a tearful adult Vash, in his red trench coat. "Vash! My, you have grown!"
"Rem. is your soul trapped here?" Vash asked fearfully, tears glistening on his cheeks, Again, Rem shook her head.
"Iie, my soul has been sent to heaven," she told him, a soft smile on her face. "But I left my memories here in a final prayer, to guard the people." Rem looked suddenly tired. "But I can only control a little bit at a time, and I'm being stretched to my limits with all these new robots that the plant took upon itself to make."
"Can you take us to the control room without any hassle?" Usagi asked Rem. Rem nodded, and sent a smile to the both of them, before heading down the hallway, the robot following behind. They all followed her down the dark hallway.
"Usagi-chan?" Rem asked, looking out of the side of her eyes. "Why are you Cosmos?" Usagi blushed, and went back to her desert clothes, wings and staff disappearing as well.
"Awwww. Usa-chan!" Vash whined. "You looked really pretty in that!" Usagi kicked Vash in the shins. "itee!"
"Pervert!" she muttered, before turning to the laughing Rem/Ami. "Oh shush you! The truth is, after Minna-chan and Mamo-chan died. I made a wish on the Ginzuishou. I wished that I would die, so I could be with Minna- chan. I didn't want to be immortal and alone forever. The next thing I know, I'm on this planet, and I'm Cosmos!"
"Ah," Rem remarked quietly, a sad look on her face. "You shouldn't have done that."
"Why not?!" Usagi snapped, turning to Rem with a glare. "You know something, don't you!?!"
"Hai," Rem whispered, before raising her voice for Usagi to hear. "You see, you wished on the Ginzuishou to die, and so Neo-Queen Serenity died. But the Ginzuishou, being a vital part of you, had a sense of self- preservation, and so it held onto your soul, giving you a rebirth of sorts. You are Cosmos."
"It makes sense," Usagi muttered bitterly, before flashing a sad smile to the confused and worried Vash. "Although this place isn't really that bad, and I'm met some wonderful people here." Vash smiled back, and then watched Rem.
"Rem, why didn't you ever tell me you were this "Ami" in your past life?" Vash inquired a bit sad she had never told him. Rem smiled at him.
"I wasn't quite sure what was going on," Rem replied. "I kept having dreams of this past life, but I didn't know they were more than vivid dreams. And huge pieces were missing from them as well. I thought I was going crazy for a little while. It wasn't until. I stopped the SEEDS ship by doing things inhumanly possible, that I realized it was all true. It all came rushing back."
Vash nodded slowly, absorbing the information.
"Usa-chan, I'd really appreciate it if you explain all of this when we get the chance," Vash murmured, leaning over by Usagi's ear. She nodded.
"I promise," she told him. "You are too far involved for me not to." Vash smiled down at her, and put his arm around her waist. Rem looked back over her shoulder, giving them a considering look, before smiling. 'You deserve someone as kind as Vash, Usagi-chan.'
"Mamoru was the only one of us that didn't jump right back into the line to be reincarnated," Rem stated, as she walked ahead of the (dare I say it?) couple. As expected, Usagi pulled away from Vash and rushed in front of Rem, blocking her way.
"Doushite?! Why?!!" Usagi cried, her heart breaking spreading in her chest.
"He was perfectly content in heaven," Rem said. "That's all you need to know. You don't need to know his exact words."
"Nani!? I believe I do!" Usagi cried, literally glowing from being upset. Her hands were clenched into fist, and the hologram of Rem flickered from the energy. It took the calming presence of Vash behind her, and his warm hands on her shoulders, to calm her down.
She fell back onto his chest, and he supported her as she leveled a glare at Rem. Rem sighed.
"You won't like it, and you probably won't believe it, but I'll tell you," Rem said solemnly. "It was because he was your husband that he got into heaven, and he knew that if he was reincarnated, there was little chance he would get back in. All the better; in heaven they can keep an eye on him, but in Hell he could have become a demon." Usagi stood in stunned silence.
"I suppose that in good then," Vash commented. "He could have hurt Usa-chan!"
"Hai, and he would have done it in a second," Rem agreed. "No matter what you believed he was, Usagi-chan," she continued gently. "Mamoru was not a nice man. Think about it." She started walking again, walking around Usagi.
Usagi only followed because Vash was pulling her by the arm. In all reality, Usagi wasn't even there, instead, she was sifting through her memories trying to find the truth. The truth hurt.
The other robots had been avoiding them like the plague, and it didn't take too long before the dark hallway's opened up into a bright overpass. Below, was a giant light bulb-like plant, and a dome shaped control room. A huge factory was at the side, spitting out robot after robot.
"Vash, you know what you need to do," Rem told him, as she stopped, looking Vash in the eyes. His eyes grew sad, and he shook his head.
"You won't be able to survive without the plant," Vash said solemnly.
"I am only memories," Rem replied. "I was never alive in the first place; using Rem and Ami's knowledge of their every waking moment, I can react as if I were her, but I'm not. I died back on that SEEDS ship."
"Demo."
"And the plant and I are getting tired," Rem stated with a sign. "Its selfish to keep her working for a meaningless reason."
"..."
"Please, let me go," Rem begged. "Usagi needs you." Vash turned and looked at the comatose Usagi, then back to Rem, nodding. "Okay," Vash answered finally, jumping over the railing to the ground. He watched the loitering robots warily.
Rem walked toward Usagi, the robot rolling behind her.
"Usagi-chan. I'm so sorry," Rem said, wishing she could put her arms around Usagi and comfort the poor broken soul. "Please believe me, I didn't want to hurt you." Usagi lifted her head, and looked into Rem's soft chocolate brown eyes.
"I suppose I shall believe my most honest Senshi," Usagi whispered sadly. Rem could practically see the pain radiating off of Usagi.
"Usagi-chan, Its hurting Vash a lot to turn off this plant, and let me go," Rem told her. "Try to help him through this pain, even if you can't help yourself."
"Hai, I will," Usagi said, a determined light coming into her eyes. 'I will help Vash; he needs me.'
"You know, red in the language of flowers means determination," Rem told Usagi with a small smile. "That's why he wears it I suppose. He will be determined to help you as well. Take care of my little Vash." That's when the lights went out, the robots stopped, and the holograph faded away.
Usagi shivered in the darkness.
"Vash?" she cried out, disgusted by how small and afraid her voice sounded. 'All alone..without love or light. destiny is nothing but hurtful lies.' She fell to her knees, whimpering.
The plant darkened and with a sad sigh, Vash felt for a ladder along the wall. It really hurt to stop the plant, and to lose Rem all over again, this time because of something he did. But the poor plant was at the brink of collapse. Rem would have been lost when the plant exploded, and people could have been hurt. At least this way, the plant could enjoy its freedom once again. 'Rem.'
"Vash?" he heard the frightened voice of Usagi call from above him. He put his pain to the side; Usagi needed him. Finding the line of metal bars, he pulled himself up, grabbing the next bar along the line.
As he got to the top, pulling himself up, he heard soft whimpering coming from approximately ten feet in front of him. He crawled on his hands and knees toward the noise, praying that he wouldn't bump into anything hard.
Finally, his fingers bumped into the sole of Usagi's shoes. Her whimpering paused as she turned around quickly, grabbing Vash's hands. Vash sat up, and took the Usagi into his arms, hugging her tightly.
".all alone.all alone." she repeated under her breath, tears dripping down her cheeks. Vash closed his eyes sadly at the pain in her voice.
"You're not all alone," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "You have me." His tears fell into her hair as he remembered saying a similar thing to Rem.
"Iie," she said, shocking him. The next words calmed him though. "We have each other." They embraced each other, the tears they cried together healing them, as their hearts began to mend.
And that was how Millie, Meryl, and Wolfwood found them, a half-hour later; embraced with tears streaming down their faces.
It wasn't too hard to find one alone; the robots did regular patrolling of the hallways, so all they had to do was wait. A robot rolled up to Usagi, and Vash hid behind the corner, gun aimed and ready.
"State your name and I.D. number," a brisk female voice said from the robot. "If you do not have an I.D. number with proper clearance for this area, you will be forcefully evicted." Vash tensed, and prepared to shoot, as Usagi stepped into the robot's sensors.
"We are Neo-Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo," she started in a regal voice. "And you will STAND DOWN!" At the last two words, her wings spread out behind her, and her desert wear was transformed into Cosmos's fuku, her staff in hand. The staff hit the ground with a clank.
"Serenity-sama?" the robot exclaimed, in a voice Vash thought was very familiar. A blue glow projected from the top of the heat sensor on the robot, and Vash prepared to push the trigger when a hand signal from Usagi stopped him.
'I sure hope you know what you are doing Usa-chan..' A figure formed at the end of the projection. 'Rem!!'
"My name is Rem," the hologram said. She had long black/brown hair, and warm honey brown eyes. "I am the reincarnation of Mizuno Ami, Senshi of Mercury."
"Ami-chan!" Usagi exclaimed. Rem shook her head, and Vash started walking toward the hologram.
"Not entirely; I am Rem in this life," Rem told Usagi. Looking behind Usagi, Rem saw a tearful adult Vash, in his red trench coat. "Vash! My, you have grown!"
"Rem. is your soul trapped here?" Vash asked fearfully, tears glistening on his cheeks, Again, Rem shook her head.
"Iie, my soul has been sent to heaven," she told him, a soft smile on her face. "But I left my memories here in a final prayer, to guard the people." Rem looked suddenly tired. "But I can only control a little bit at a time, and I'm being stretched to my limits with all these new robots that the plant took upon itself to make."
"Can you take us to the control room without any hassle?" Usagi asked Rem. Rem nodded, and sent a smile to the both of them, before heading down the hallway, the robot following behind. They all followed her down the dark hallway.
"Usagi-chan?" Rem asked, looking out of the side of her eyes. "Why are you Cosmos?" Usagi blushed, and went back to her desert clothes, wings and staff disappearing as well.
"Awwww. Usa-chan!" Vash whined. "You looked really pretty in that!" Usagi kicked Vash in the shins. "itee!"
"Pervert!" she muttered, before turning to the laughing Rem/Ami. "Oh shush you! The truth is, after Minna-chan and Mamo-chan died. I made a wish on the Ginzuishou. I wished that I would die, so I could be with Minna- chan. I didn't want to be immortal and alone forever. The next thing I know, I'm on this planet, and I'm Cosmos!"
"Ah," Rem remarked quietly, a sad look on her face. "You shouldn't have done that."
"Why not?!" Usagi snapped, turning to Rem with a glare. "You know something, don't you!?!"
"Hai," Rem whispered, before raising her voice for Usagi to hear. "You see, you wished on the Ginzuishou to die, and so Neo-Queen Serenity died. But the Ginzuishou, being a vital part of you, had a sense of self- preservation, and so it held onto your soul, giving you a rebirth of sorts. You are Cosmos."
"It makes sense," Usagi muttered bitterly, before flashing a sad smile to the confused and worried Vash. "Although this place isn't really that bad, and I'm met some wonderful people here." Vash smiled back, and then watched Rem.
"Rem, why didn't you ever tell me you were this "Ami" in your past life?" Vash inquired a bit sad she had never told him. Rem smiled at him.
"I wasn't quite sure what was going on," Rem replied. "I kept having dreams of this past life, but I didn't know they were more than vivid dreams. And huge pieces were missing from them as well. I thought I was going crazy for a little while. It wasn't until. I stopped the SEEDS ship by doing things inhumanly possible, that I realized it was all true. It all came rushing back."
Vash nodded slowly, absorbing the information.
"Usa-chan, I'd really appreciate it if you explain all of this when we get the chance," Vash murmured, leaning over by Usagi's ear. She nodded.
"I promise," she told him. "You are too far involved for me not to." Vash smiled down at her, and put his arm around her waist. Rem looked back over her shoulder, giving them a considering look, before smiling. 'You deserve someone as kind as Vash, Usagi-chan.'
"Mamoru was the only one of us that didn't jump right back into the line to be reincarnated," Rem stated, as she walked ahead of the (dare I say it?) couple. As expected, Usagi pulled away from Vash and rushed in front of Rem, blocking her way.
"Doushite?! Why?!!" Usagi cried, her heart breaking spreading in her chest.
"He was perfectly content in heaven," Rem said. "That's all you need to know. You don't need to know his exact words."
"Nani!? I believe I do!" Usagi cried, literally glowing from being upset. Her hands were clenched into fist, and the hologram of Rem flickered from the energy. It took the calming presence of Vash behind her, and his warm hands on her shoulders, to calm her down.
She fell back onto his chest, and he supported her as she leveled a glare at Rem. Rem sighed.
"You won't like it, and you probably won't believe it, but I'll tell you," Rem said solemnly. "It was because he was your husband that he got into heaven, and he knew that if he was reincarnated, there was little chance he would get back in. All the better; in heaven they can keep an eye on him, but in Hell he could have become a demon." Usagi stood in stunned silence.
"I suppose that in good then," Vash commented. "He could have hurt Usa-chan!"
"Hai, and he would have done it in a second," Rem agreed. "No matter what you believed he was, Usagi-chan," she continued gently. "Mamoru was not a nice man. Think about it." She started walking again, walking around Usagi.
Usagi only followed because Vash was pulling her by the arm. In all reality, Usagi wasn't even there, instead, she was sifting through her memories trying to find the truth. The truth hurt.
The other robots had been avoiding them like the plague, and it didn't take too long before the dark hallway's opened up into a bright overpass. Below, was a giant light bulb-like plant, and a dome shaped control room. A huge factory was at the side, spitting out robot after robot.
"Vash, you know what you need to do," Rem told him, as she stopped, looking Vash in the eyes. His eyes grew sad, and he shook his head.
"You won't be able to survive without the plant," Vash said solemnly.
"I am only memories," Rem replied. "I was never alive in the first place; using Rem and Ami's knowledge of their every waking moment, I can react as if I were her, but I'm not. I died back on that SEEDS ship."
"Demo."
"And the plant and I are getting tired," Rem stated with a sign. "Its selfish to keep her working for a meaningless reason."
"..."
"Please, let me go," Rem begged. "Usagi needs you." Vash turned and looked at the comatose Usagi, then back to Rem, nodding. "Okay," Vash answered finally, jumping over the railing to the ground. He watched the loitering robots warily.
Rem walked toward Usagi, the robot rolling behind her.
"Usagi-chan. I'm so sorry," Rem said, wishing she could put her arms around Usagi and comfort the poor broken soul. "Please believe me, I didn't want to hurt you." Usagi lifted her head, and looked into Rem's soft chocolate brown eyes.
"I suppose I shall believe my most honest Senshi," Usagi whispered sadly. Rem could practically see the pain radiating off of Usagi.
"Usagi-chan, Its hurting Vash a lot to turn off this plant, and let me go," Rem told her. "Try to help him through this pain, even if you can't help yourself."
"Hai, I will," Usagi said, a determined light coming into her eyes. 'I will help Vash; he needs me.'
"You know, red in the language of flowers means determination," Rem told Usagi with a small smile. "That's why he wears it I suppose. He will be determined to help you as well. Take care of my little Vash." That's when the lights went out, the robots stopped, and the holograph faded away.
Usagi shivered in the darkness.
"Vash?" she cried out, disgusted by how small and afraid her voice sounded. 'All alone..without love or light. destiny is nothing but hurtful lies.' She fell to her knees, whimpering.
The plant darkened and with a sad sigh, Vash felt for a ladder along the wall. It really hurt to stop the plant, and to lose Rem all over again, this time because of something he did. But the poor plant was at the brink of collapse. Rem would have been lost when the plant exploded, and people could have been hurt. At least this way, the plant could enjoy its freedom once again. 'Rem.'
"Vash?" he heard the frightened voice of Usagi call from above him. He put his pain to the side; Usagi needed him. Finding the line of metal bars, he pulled himself up, grabbing the next bar along the line.
As he got to the top, pulling himself up, he heard soft whimpering coming from approximately ten feet in front of him. He crawled on his hands and knees toward the noise, praying that he wouldn't bump into anything hard.
Finally, his fingers bumped into the sole of Usagi's shoes. Her whimpering paused as she turned around quickly, grabbing Vash's hands. Vash sat up, and took the Usagi into his arms, hugging her tightly.
".all alone.all alone." she repeated under her breath, tears dripping down her cheeks. Vash closed his eyes sadly at the pain in her voice.
"You're not all alone," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "You have me." His tears fell into her hair as he remembered saying a similar thing to Rem.
"Iie," she said, shocking him. The next words calmed him though. "We have each other." They embraced each other, the tears they cried together healing them, as their hearts began to mend.
And that was how Millie, Meryl, and Wolfwood found them, a half-hour later; embraced with tears streaming down their faces.