6. Visions in fire





Rei paced angrily from one end of the room to the other and because the room was about one fifth of her bedroom back on the Moon, it took her only exactly eight steps to do that. Had the old wooden floor been covered in rugs, it would have been worn out anyway from the amount of pacing she had been doing for the past two weeks since reaching Mars. In this short amount of time, her emotions have gone through different kind of stages from anxiety, confusion to annoyance, impatience and now finally full steaming anger. Nor did it seem like her situation was about to change for the better anytime soon.

The moment she and Luna had arrived on the landings of Planetarian Docks, instead of being greeted by the Royal Guards as it should have been, Temple Guards had been there. No explanation was given to her why she was to stay at the Temple instead of the Palace. The only thing that she had managed to get after a lot of demands on her part was that her grandfather would give her all the answers she wanted. That was all well by her, except for one tiny factor. He was nowhere around the Temple. A month before Rei got back he left on a mission to Pluto with a group of other Elders and nobody knew when he was getting back. It was all frustrating enough for Rei to scream her head off.

As if that wasn't bad enough, her recent disgrace must have spread like a wildfire around the Temple. Though she was a priestess in training herself, Rei never really associated much with the other acolytes since her training had all been done at the palace and the simple temple there, the very same temple that her mother had used when she had been alive. The few times she had met the acolytes they had seemed to be half in awe and half in fear of her, because of her status as both Princess Heir of Mars and one of the five specially selected princesses to attend Queen Selenity's school. Now that she had fallen out of grace with the Queen of the Moon there was nothing for them to fear, after all even the king of Mars has to differ to her, and they made sure of it.

For the past two weeks she had been treated to everything from cool treatment to snide remarks. She could take the cool treatment as they usually entailed using her to do chores that were not part of her work, but the latter was harder, especially when it entailed not just her but her best friends. That usually ended up with her loosing her temper. She might not loose it often but she if there was one thing she had inherited from her father that was the infamous Mars temper. Of course unlike back in the palace the Elders here were not as indulgent with her when she did that, then again none of them were related to her as the one in the palace was either, Rei concluded reluctantly.

Maybe it was a good thing that this time it was Elder Hiro had been close by. She was one of those more lenient of the Elders, certainly had any of the other Elders caught an acolyte trying to drown another, half a days meditation in her room without food would not have been the punishment given to her.

The fact that she wasn't following her orders did nothing to improve her temper either. In fact it was just another fuel to add to the already ready to burst anger. That and the strange feeling that has been building since late yesterday and that she hadn't been able to shake off. What was it? Danger? Need? Urgency? She couldn't make out the feeling and it was driving her nuts. She had never felt this way before and to be honest she was scared. She didn't know what to do and there was no one to ask either. The only ones she had ever felt comfortable talking to about her abilities was the girls and she couldn't reach them. That was the first thing she had been told when she entered the plane with Luna, without the express permission of the Queen she was not to have any sort of contact with them.

The hell with it, she decided. Whirling around with force, her loose long hair, spreading out like a raven cape, Rei pulled up the sliding door of her room with force. The hallway outside was empty and darkly lit by small candles hanging by the walls, giving off a eerily kind of atmosphere that intensified the uncomfortable feelings she had. A gong was heard in the distant, announcing that it was the third hour of twilight. That at least explained why the hallway was empty. Everybody was at the Assembly Hall getting ready for the afternoon prayers.

Good then she might be able to find Elder Templar and finally get some answers. The Elder had been appointed her Guardian at least until her grandfather gets back from his mission and as such it was required of him to try and answer all the questions his acolyte had. As a clairvoyant himself, he might be able to help her find out what it was that she was feeling. Was one of her friends in trouble and calling to her? Had Usagi run into trouble on Earth? Did Lita's mother's condition turn for the worse? Or was it Amy or Mina? She was sure somebody was calling for her.

Suddenly Rei stopped in her tracks and looked at her surrounding. She was standing in an inner garden but one that did not seem familiar to her. In the eyes of an outsider this inner garden didn't differ much from the other two dozens that were scattered around the Temple. It had the mixture of waist high bushes, bonsai trees, small creek, stone benches and ancient statues of Guardian Animals. But as a priestess in training, Rei could see the small spots of barks and leaves on the ground left by the vegetation that this garden was pretty unattended as if people rarely came by here to clean the place. She found that odd since she knew that the teachers were vigorous of clean places. Keep your mind clear by keeping your surrounding tidy was what the Elders always said before shoving a broom in the acolytes' hands. She should know considering the switching she got for refusing when she was told to do it the first time. Obviously her princess title had not impressed them as she had thought it would.

As Rei glanced around the inner garden, she noticed the worn lines around the benches and statues that told of the passage of time. It seemed she had been too engrossed in her own worries she hadn't realized where she was heading and so taken a wrong turn that had brought her to the old temple part; the part where no acolytes set foot in without permission.

The sudden sound of stone grating against stone gave her a start but thanks to her hard training as a senshi she moved without a thought and jumped behind the nearest bush. Once hidden behind the bushes, Rei couldn't help to sate her curiosity by peeking through the branch to see who the person was. Her eyes widened at the sight that greeted her.

At the center of the garden where a small pavilion had been raised surrounded by water, the stone table at the center had moved aside and light was shining from the opening. The top of a nearly bald head appeared from the hole that had been created from where the table had once stood. As the man came further up, his face was revealed and then his body. The small leaves obscured some of her view but even if she had not been able to see the man's face she would have recognized the small body dressed in the blue striped white robe anywhere. He was a very small man around four feet tall and there was only one Elder that had the kind of small stature; her grandfather!

Rei let out a involuntary gasp and quickly clasped a hand over her mouth. Thankfully her grandfather was talking to his companion so the sound she made was not heard.

"Did you get everything down, Yuichirou? First take the message to Elder Sarith and make sure that he reads it immediately. Then come back here and relieve Fujiro and bring more candles this time. I don't want to trip over in the darkness one more time."

The two of them walked down the path towards where Rei was hiding. While they walked, Rei's grandfather continued to list down the things he wanted Yuichirou to do and the young man kept on nodding his head, the long unkept dark hair whipping back and forth over his face. Rei couldn't help to roll her eyes at the things she heard her grandfather list out. Had it been her she would have long said no to those highly ridiculous and not to mention outrageous things, but this Yuichirou didn't seem very bright as he kept agreeing to all.

As they came nearer to where Rei was hidden, she instinctively tensed and kept herself absolutely still. Though her grandfather was good natured and fun-loving most of the time and even let her rant and rave at him during her temper tantrums, she wasn't so sure he wouldn't tan her hide if he found her now. After all that was personal while this was the temple rule.

"And this time make sure you don't sleep on your watch. Better yet bring a bucket of water and a cleaning cloth. The place could use a good clean up." The small man looked around the garden and when his eyes slid over the place she was hiding, Rei silently sent prayers to the spirits and higher powers above for aid. "While you're at it, clean up here as well. This place looks like a mess. If you want to keep your mind clear you have to first tidy up your surroundings."

"Yes Elder." Yuichirou agreed with a diffident voice.

"Of course I'm right. Now when you're finished with that you can……"

The sound of their voices drifted off as they left the garden and disappeared deeper inside the Temple. Rei let out a quiet sigh of relief and rose from her crouching position. For a moment there she debated over the fact of where she should go next. Obviously she couldn't go down the same hallway she came from since her grandfather just disappeared there and considering his somewhat unpredictable mood he might backtrack and she'll come smack face to face with him. Not that she wouldn't have minded hearing his explanation of why he was here instead of Pluto as he was supposed to be, but she doubted that she would be given the opportunity to ask. The old man was a crafty one when he wanted to be, especially when he had a hold on you.

So which path should she take instead to get to the Assembly Hall?

Rei looked around the small inner garden, while she tried to orientate herself with the mental map she had over the Temple structure. If she was in the Old Temple part then that would mean that she would have to head north and east to reach the Assembly Hall. But since that was the way where her Grandfather had just gone off it was not an option.

As she tried to figure out which exit to use and compare it to the mental map she had, Rei's eyes constantly kept on drifting towards the stone table by the pavilion. Just what was that place beneath there? She had never seen it in the maps drawn of the Temple. Maybe there was a secret exit there that few knew about. That would mean very little people knowing of it, which would in turn mean that the chances of bumping into someone and getting caught would be even less. Oh why the heck not? She might as well be honest with herself and admit that she was lost. Her otherwise normal good sense of direction had completely abandoned her and if she was going to roam around in these hallways she might as well try that one.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tetsuo walked down the empty temple hallways towards the High Elder's private quarters. His usual cheerful smile was gone and instead he wore a somber look that fit the heaviness in his heart. Feeling the way he felt he wanted to be alone, which was why had sent young Yuichirou away on fool's errands. The lad was a good one, not the brightest but with a good heart, a stout mind and an eagerness to please and do right by himself and others. Best of all he never asked questions and was loyal to his bone. That was the two most important qualities required of the acolytes serving Tetsuo and the other eight chosen Elders. But tonight, tonight Tetsuo needed to be alone.

In Temple standards he was not considered part of the oldest priests group, but he was not young either and tonight he was feeling every year of his age. He was tired, not just physically but mentally as well as emotionally. One would think that after so many years he should have gotten used to it by now, but every time it happened and he had to stand there and watch, unable to do anything but record the things he heard, he just felt so helpless and useless. There had been anger in the beginning too but that had slowly drained away, now all that was left was sorrow, weariness and fear. The fear he felt was not for himself, after all he was a man who had lived through most already. His was not the best nor was it the worst, but it was certainly rich. No the fear was for everyone else.

He had not been able to understand much of the gibberish that had been said tonight, his grasp of the Old Tongue never had been that good nor was he the best person when it came to solving riddles. But the little he had been able to distinguish had disturbed him a great deal, which was why he needed counsel.

Tetsuo stopped in front of a great sliding door and knocked softly on the doorframe. He waited for the accompanied signal to enter before pulling the door aside. Just as expected the other man was sitting behind the low study table with a scroll in front of him. At the sight of Tetsuo he gave a friendly fatherly smile. In another time that would have been comic since the man was half of Tetsuo's age but tonight it felt comforting.

"Ah Tetsuo, come in. Come in. I was just about to take a break from this transcript and pour myself a cup of tea. Why don't you join me? It's from the very gardens of the Royal Venusia. One of the best I was told."

Tetsuo sat down on the floor to the other side of the table. "Don't mind if I do." He cast a glance at the scroll that had been carefully set aside. It was in Older Plutonian. "Am I disturbing, High Elder?"

High Elder Marcus, the leader of the Priests of Fierey, waved away his comment with a negligent hand. "Just a translation that should have been done a century ago. Having waited that long I doubt that it would do any harm for it to wait a few more years." He gave off a grin that took ten years of his face and made him look like a man in his early thirties instead early forties. "Plutonian was never my strongest subject. Sometimes I suspect that my predecessor deliberately left this job for me because he knew how much I hated doing it."

Tetsuo smiled at that. It was no secret that the current High Elder and the deceased High Elder had a love/hate relationship. "Plutonian is not the strongest subject for any of us Priests of Fierey. Just ask around for voluntaries among our fellow brothers and sisters and you will hear many groans."

With a devilish glint in his eyes Marcus mused, "Maybe I ought to give it to Rei. She has an aptness for languages."

At the mention of his granddaughter, Tetsuo felt the strain leave his shoulder and an unconscious smile appeared on his lips and eyes. "Yes she does come by that naturally." He murmured with pride.

Marcus chuckled. "With a grandmother who's Plutonian, who wouldn't? But that temper of hers is certainly Marsian. You know that she has been punished ten times in the past week? Mind you I know she did not instigate any of those, but nevertheless punishment needed to be dealt if not just to help her control her temper."

Yes Tetsuo had been aware of those fights that Rei had gotten herself into. Part of him was proud of the way she taught those people a lesson, at least the warrior part of him was. But the grandfather part of him was also saddened to hear of these incidents. Rei had always been a lonely child, her mother taken away from her young and her father for blaming her for it. Her clairvoyant abilities scared away most people and the princess title scared away the rest. As the girl's only relative he had tried to give as much love and support as he could, but his work often kept him away also. It was not until she had gone off to train at the Moon with the other princesses that she had learned the true meaning of friendship and happiness. Now that she was once again separated from them, this time indefinitely, Tetsuo was very much aware of just how much she was hurting inside.

Marcus seeming to have read his thoughts said quietly, "I just got a message from Shawna. They managed to hurry things up a bit so her ship will arrive in three days. Once she's here you can take Rei with you to the desert and start her training. I'll have Templar give her the message tonight."

Tetsuo looked up and met Marcus' eyes and he could read the understanding there and he was grateful for the offer. Not just because it would give him time to spend with his granddaughter but also because offered him relief to escape. Tetsuo was a man who always did things he wanted to and never bothered with what others thought. Others considered some of his acts shameful such as marrying a woman half his age or now chasing girls that were the age of his granddaughter, but Tetsuo never did. This however made him feel ashamed.

"Forgive me, High Elder."

"There's nothing to forgive, Tetsuo." Marcus said in sympathy. "You have given and done more than most people would. There's no one who would blame you for wanting to get away. We feel pain when we stand there, how much worse wouldn't it be for you?" There was a moment of silence and a slight hesitation before he spoke again, "I gather from the way you look that our bird had sung another tune?"

At those words Tetsuo closed his eyes in pain.

"Aye she did, High Elder Marcus."

"And is it as dire as before?" Marcus asked one raven black brow arched.

His face grim, Tetsuo started to tell him the little he had been able to distinguish and as Marcus listened his face grew troubled.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The narrow passage seemed to lead on forever. At least that is what it felt like to Rei as she stumbled on in the darkness. Her grandfather was right there weren't enough candles around. The little stub that she had found at the opening had burned out half an hour ago. At least that is what she thought it was. Down here it was hard to guess what time it was. She was beginning to fear that she would never find her way out again and more than once she debated over option of turning back. Her stubbornness had not allowed her to do that, once started she was determined to finish it off. Besides there was no telling when that Yuichirou guy would turn up again with his things and she did not want to get caught. So on she went.

She stubbed her foot over something on the ground and swore viciously as the pain shot up her toes and up her leg. She knew leaving her transformation pen back at the room was a mistake. If she had been Sailor Mars right now this would not have been a problem. She would have been able to call up a fire and aside from saving her bruised feet she would also be saving time. As it was now, she had to make it slowly down the passageway so she didn't accidentally run and fall down the stairs in the dark and break her neck. Of course the fact that as Sailor Mars, her attacks as well as defense was ten times stronger did appeal to her also.

Rei was not sure anymore if she was indeed that lucky that neither her grandfather or Yuichirou had discovered that the stone table had not fallen back exactly in its proper place, thus saving her the effort of finding the hidden mechanism herself. Ever since she entered this secret passage the strange feelings she's been having had doubled in intensity. It was crawling all over her body, making her skin tingle, her stomach roll and her head ache.

Another wave of sensation rolled over her and this time it was so strong that she nearly fell down to her knees. Rei reached out and dug her fingers into the walls in an effort to keep herself upright. Damn, this was really not turning into her day. How much time had passed since she left her room? She had to get back soon as someone was bound to check up on her after the gathering was over.

Her vision swam and through blurry eyes she squinted ahead of her. Was it her imagination or did she actually see lights up ahead? Shaking her head, she tried once again to see ahead and relief washed over her when she realized that it wasn't imaginary but that there really was light up ahead.

Pulling herself together, Rei started to head for the light with determination. Later on when Rei thought back to this very moment, she was never sure if she was the one heading towards the light or if it was calling to her and pulling her to it. All she knew was that the vision that greeted her when she rounded the corner was nothing that she had prepared for.

The room was circular and about the same size as the inner gardens of the Temples above. White candles was scattered over the room though most of them had burned out. A young acolyte was dozing on a chair, his chin resting against his chest. There were chairs beside him and scrolls and inks and feather pencils, showing signs of lots of scribing. Rei barely paid any attention to him however as her full gaze was caught on the person at the center of the room.

The person was a woman sitting on mediation position with her arms clasped together resting on her thighs. The thing that made Rei's jaw drop was not the woman but the fact that she was not sitting on anything but floating in the air. As far as she knew that was not possible. Signs of protection were written on the floor in a circle around the woman. The signs were giving off a strange kind of fire that surrounded the woman in a reddish tinge making her look blurry.

The moment Rei laid eyes on the woman she felt drawn towards her. She didn't even notice when she began walking, her feet moved on their own accord. Nor did she hesitate when she reached the fire and walked through it or hear the sound that went off the moment she passed through the barrier surrounding the woman and the acolyte's startled yell and his shouting. All her attention was focused on the woman who's face, now up close, was revealed to her.

She was beautiful in an ageless way. Her hair was midnight black, long and straight falling in silken tresses down her back and over her shoulder. She wore a simple white dress of a priestess. But it was her eyes that held Rei's attention the most. Violet eyes stared off into space and all the misery and pain of the world seemed to shine through them.

Rei felt her throat constrict and tears fill her eyes. Her heart thudded madly against her chest and her blood roared in her head. It might be hard to determine the woman's age just by looking at her, but Rei would have recognized her anyhow. She had seen the painting of this woman hanging over the fireplace of her father's study ever since she was a child.

"Mom?" She whispered with a broken voice even as the first tears spilled over and fell down her cheeks.

There was no reply. Her mother Queen Pythia of Mars stared into space her face still and emotionless and her eyes screaming with pain. She did not show any signs that she had heard her daughter.

Still unable to believe what she was seeing especially since she knew the truth, Rei reached out with a trembling hand towards her mother. The moment Rei's hand touched her mother's cheek, pain exploded in head and she let out a piercing scream.

Images flashed before her eyes, one replacing the other so fast that she was barely able to distinguish anything. Some were of people she knew and others she didn't. Some where of places she's been to and others she only recognized through pictures or descriptions from others. With each image it felt like a dagger was stabbing her in the head. The last image was of herself in her Sailor Mars form, kneeling over the dying body of a young man with long dark hair. Then the image disappeared and she was looking up at the same face she had seen her older self stare down at a moment ago. She was only able to register the worry in his eyes before darkness claimed her and she didn't feel anything at all.

The next time she opened her eyes again she was tucked away on the mattress back in her room. The first thing she noticed was the pain in her head. It cut through her like needles. The second thing she noticed was the furry creature lying against her side, warm dark body close to her cheek, the silky soft fur tickling her.

The room was dark but there was enough light coming through the shuttered window to tell her that it was day. How did she end up here? The last thing she remembered was –

Memories of her last moments of consciousness returned to her full force and Rei let out an involuntary gasp that quickly turned into a groan when the slight movement intensified the pain in her head. The sound she let out woke her companion as the package of fur started to move.

"Rei, you're awake. Thank goodness, child. I was so worried and so was Phobos and Demos. They made such a racket Templar had to tell the acolytes to chase them off. What happened?" Luna demanded as she sat back on her haunches.

Rei couldn't hold back the wince as the voice of her teacher and mentor cut through her sensitive ears. Staring through watery eyes she croaked out through dry throat, "Luna, what exactly happened?"

Luna stared at her with incredulous eyes. "You're asking me what happened? I'm the one asking you what happened. I leave you for a few hours and the next thing I know you ended up in another fight, I mean really child what is it the fifth this week? And then you sneak off to Lady knows where without permission. And then all of a sudden your two pets starts making rackets scaring the living daylights out of everyone. The next thing I know a young acolytes is running down the hallways carrying you in his arms and shouting for a physician. What the Hell have you been up to?"

Young acolyte? Could it be the same person she had seen right before she lost consciousness, the same acolyte that had followed her grandfather around? What had he called him, Yusho, no Yuichirou. Yes that was it. If that was true then maybe all the others were true too.

Excited Rei reached out and grabbed hold of Luna's paw, the pain in her head all forgotten. "Luna did he say anything around you? Did he tell you where he found me? Did he talk about the lady in the room?"

"Lady? What lady?"

"The one in the room at the secret passageway that I found by the Old Temple. The one –"

"Ah I see that you've finally awaken, child." A new voice interrupted her before she had the chance to tell Luna all about the circular room and the woman inside the protective fire sigil. The woman whom Rei was sure was her mother. The same woman whom they claimed had died when she was an infant.

Both heads turned towards the door and their new visitor or more like visitors. One was a tall slender man with short cropped black hair and a solemn face. Luna's jaws dropped when she recognized the High Elder of Fierey. Rei however didn't pay him any mind at all since she was more interested in his short companion. Her face lit up like sunshine, "Grandpa!" She said with delight.

"Hello kitten. I heard you've been really busy while I was gone." Tetsuo said with a grin and came forward to wrap his arms around his granddaughter slender body. He held her tight and gave a silent prayer of thanks that she was safe. When he had seen her unconscious form in Yuichirou's arms and found out where she had been it had taken off twenty years of his life.

Rei closed her eyes and inhaled the familiar scent that was her grandfather: mint and pinewood. She didn't mind the fact that he was holding her tight enough to make it hard for her to breath. It had been a long time since she had been held and she had forgotten how wonderful it could be. She was safe. She was loved. She was home.

"I missed you grandpa."

"I missed you too, kitten." Tetsuo whispered back softly into her hair. Then he entangled himself and fixed her with a steely look. "If you pull a stunt like that again, young lady, I will personally give you the tanning of your life."

Rei looked at him with surprise. In all her life he had never used that kind of tone with her before and then she realized the reason behind it and her eyes softened. Her grandfather might act like a carefree old geezer that is not interesting in anything but chasing young skirts and though many caught his fancy there were only three females who had ever held his heart: his wife, his daughter and his granddaughter. Family had always meant the world to him.

Suddenly Rei remembered the incredible news she had for him and her eyes lit up with happiness. "Grandpa you wouldn't believe what I just found out. I –"

"All in good time, child. First we need to check up on again and make sure that you're really okay." Tetsuo cut her off. "Since High Elder Marcus is our best physician I've asked him as a personal favor for me to do that. Now Luna, I don't want to be rude but would you give us a moment alone?"

Luna looked from one face to another and finally she said to Rei, "I'll go to the kitchen and see if they caught some fresh fish from the river. If you need me just send someone down there." Then without a word she gracefully got to up and slinked out the room.

Marcus slid the door shut behind the cat. He shared a look with Tetsuo and then cleared his throat, "Now Rei I –"

"You knew all along didn't you?" Rei cut him off, staring accusingly at her grandfather, unmindful of the fact that she had just broken a severe law. When the High Elder spoke nobody interrupted since he or she is considered to speak for Fierey. She was far more interested in finding out something else. She had not missed the looks they had shared and unlike what they had intended she had seen a lot deeper. When Tetsuo refused to meet her eyes, she knew she was right. "All this time you let me believe she was dead. Why? Why in the name of the Elements? Why? How could you take her away from me like that?"

When Tetsuo would not answer her, Rei turned away from him with disappointment and in thus missed the pain that flashed through his eyes. Marcus however did not and his voice turning steely, he said, "Rei, listen to me. Do not blame your grandfather. He didn't have a choice."

Rei glared at the priest. "Of course he had a choice. He could have just opened his mouth and told me that my mother was still alive. But instead he lied to me, you all did!"

"Things are not as simple as that. If you would only hear us out."

"No, Elder!" The sharp command came from Tetsuo and it startled her enough to make her look back at him and she was surprised when she saw the small man looking steely at his superior.

Marcus sighed. "I know how you feel but she has a right to know the truth. She already knows too much and if we don't tell her the rest she might jeopardize everything. Are you willing to risk that?"

"She does not need to know." Came the biting reply.

"Know what?" Rei demanded with confusion and anger. She hated when people talked over her head as if she wasn't there.

"Yes she does and you and I both know its true. You saw what happened down there. And if what Yuichirou and Fujiro said is true this might be what we have been missing from the very beginning."

"No I will not put her at risk. She is too young and she's not trained for it."

"What she doesn't know she can learn. Tetsuo, time is running out."

Rei stared from one man to the other and then suddenly her patient ran out. "WILL SOMEBODY TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?"

Both men stopped in the middle of their argument and looked at her with the same disapproving look. In any other time Rei would have squirmed under that stare but not today. She was too angry and too tensed to do that. Somehow she knew that whatever it was that they were talking about was going to infect on her life in a profound way. She didn't know what but just like the night when she discovered the hidden passageway and her mother, she could feel the same kind of sensation surrounding her as if the movements in the very universe was drawing her. So she looked at them and she waited and finally Tetsuo turned his back on the room in general, signaling his defeat.

Marcus looked at him with sympathetic eyes before he turned his attention to Rei. Clearing his throat he began his story or more to the point her mother's story. As Rei listened she felt dread creep up and clutch at her heart, squeezing it tight. A hard knot seemed to gather and build in the pit of her stomach. She felt like she was going to throw up.

"Would you mind leaving me alone please?" She asked softly when Marcus was finally finished with his story. She did not look at either man but kept her eyes stubbornly on the floor.

There was a brief hesitation then Marcus said smoothly, ''Certainly child." There was a sound of door sliding and a gentle breeze followed that caressed her softly like a mother's hand on a child. Rei closed her eyes at the pain that analogy brought her. Her mother and yet not her mother. A woman that was alive and yet not.

"Rei." Tetsuo called out softly.

"Please grandpa."

Tetsuo sighed and walked towards door. At the doorframe he stopped and looked back. "While you think, please remember this. You do not have to do everything. No body expects that of you, least of all, your mother. Being true to yourself is what's important. You already have a path to walk down on there's not need to choose another one."

With those parting words he left.

Rei might not indicate in any way that she had heard what he had said but she had. She had heard everything both of them had said, what's more she had understood far more than they did. Suddenly the images she had when she came in contact with the being that was her mother, started to make sense.

She did not remember everything she saw. Most of them were just a blur now. There were however some images that had been clear in her head. One was of herself staring down at a young dying priest. The other was the Crystal Castle set in flames while the lake shone red with blood. A battle was coming and it will bring death and destruction with it. That is if they didn't find a way to stop it.

Several hours afterwards Rei rose gracefully to her feet. She tidied herself up and then went in search of a person. Her steps were not hurried nor were they deliberately slowed, she walked with the even steps of a person who know where she was headed. On her way she met up with several priests though several cast questioning looks towards her none approached her or stopped her.

Finally she reached a pair of large sliding door and knocked softly. There was a reply to enter.

For a brief moment Rei hesitated. She thought about her friends, especially Usagi of whom she had sworn to protect. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath letting it out slowly. With her back straight, she reached out and opened the door.

High Elder Marcus was sitting behind his working table and he looked up at her with unreadable expression. Rei met his eyes and it felt like she was staring down a lion.

"Tell me what I need to do."