Heritage
Chapter 2:
Beneath the Crown game center:
"That should do the trick," Ami said when she finished massaging Haruka's leg, "There will be a bit of discomfort as you recover completely though, so you better wait a while before going back into battle, Haruka-kun."
"I can't afford to wait, none of us can," the sand-blonde replied as she got up, "We have to get Hime-chan back as soon as possible."
"And Luna-chan," Artemis reminded loudly. The white cat had noticed his mate was missing immediately after his sight recovered. "Why in the world would they want to take her?"
"I have no idea, but we shouldn't be expecting the worst," Minako suggested, "The same weapons they were using to destroy cars simply stunned Usagi-chan and Hotaru-chan, and that golem could've easily crushed Michiru-san and I instead of just holding us. So it's safe to assume our friends will remain unharmed."
"Hai, that's true," Rei admitted, "Still, you two should've suspected that stranger the moment you saw that tablet."
"Rei-chan, my mouth still feels a little numb," the future queen complained, "so just pretend I'm sticking out my tongue at you." She crossed her arms and hummed. "There was something special about that drawing, if I could just put my finger on it, we might figure out what to do next."
"If only we had been able to communicate," Ami spoke up, "this mess never would've happened." She had brought along some of the items that had fallen out of Mekhet's backpack, and some circuitry she found in the remains of a golem. She discovered that the broken translators had been interfering with their crystals, which enabled the senshi to understand any alien language. That's the reason the Starlights and Princess Kakyu had no problem with the language barrier. The azure-haired girl was tapping her pencil against the table impatiently when her eyes went wide open. "Ara!"
"Any good news?" Michiru asked.
"Ie, terrible news! Come with me." They all went into the storage room, where the senshi kept all sorts of stuff from their adventures. "Do you remember what this is?" Everyone nodded.
"That's the box Tomoe-san used to create youma in," Artemis answered, "It even became one, as I recall."
"Hai, its mechanism intrigued me, so I kept it for further study." The shorthaired girl put her hand on the broken machine. "The golem's circuitry looked familiar, then I realized why, the basic design is the same as this one's." Setsuna gasped loudly upon hearing this.
"But that would mean they're from-"
"That's impossible!" Usagi exclaimed, "Saturn destroyed Pharaoh 90 totally. Her attack was immense, nothing could've survived it! I was barely able to bring her back."
"With a title like pharaoh we can assume he had plenty of followers," the mocha-skinned woman cleared out. She dropped against the wall and dragged her hands down her face. "No wonder they want her alive, it's probably so they can exact vengeance upon her." She shook her head vigorously. "Ie, I can't let my imagination wander. Minako-chan is right, those three had many opportunities to finish us. And Hime-chan has grown much stronger since that day, she won't be helpless."
"She's still captive, Setsuna-san," Her wavy-haired sister reminded, "Whatever situation she's in, we must get her back as quickly as possible."
"It won't be easy," Mamoru replied, "Pharaoh 90 came from another dimension, we can only teleport through distance."
"And the portal generator at Mugen Gauken was the only thing we couldn't salvage," Ami added. They tried to come up with a solution but nothing came to mind.
"Kashaku-san told me once that his kind is able to travel between dimensions freely," Artemis commented, "Phobos-chan and Deimos-chan might be willing to teach us how to do it."
"Unfortunately, they're still away on their mission at Coronis," the young maiden reminded.
"Then let's go for the source," Usagi suggested, "Coronis herself, I'm sure she won't deny us her help."
"Same problem," Rei insisted, "that planet is located in another dimension. Besides, the twins told me that it's forbidden for living beings to go there, unless invited by the queen herself." Apparently, there was no solution to this problem. The white cat swayed his tail about then hopped down to floor level.
"I'm going home to take a nap, call me if something comes up."
"A nap!?" his blue-eyed charge asked, "Artemis-kun, I thought you said you were worried about Luna-chan."
"I am, but I always think much more clearly after sleeping."
"Artemis-kun has a point," Mamoru supported, "We're too tense and that obfuscates us. We'll net better results if we allow ourselves a little distraction then take a second look at this situation."
"I can't argue with a good idea," Haruka replied. She took out her car-keys and twirled them on her finger. "A couple of laps around the old track should blow away the steam." The rest agreed that it would be fun, so they got their things and went outside.
Michiru was about to get into the car when she heard someone call her name, it was Reiko.
"Ohayo, minna-san," the redhead greeted, "What's the rush? You're not trying to get rid of me, are you?"
"Of course not," the violinist replied, "We're on our way to the racetrack to watch Haruka. Would you like to come?"
"No thanks, I just came to give-Hey, where's Hotaru-chan?"
"Eto, she's umm… she-"
"Hime-chan wanted some time for herself, apparently she has something personal and important to take care of." Little white lies are hard for Michiru, Setsuna on the other hand, handles them easily.
"I understand, that girl's always keeping a lot on her mind." The ponytailed girl took a small box and a card out of her purse, "Make sure she gets these, okay? They're a little trinket and a ticket for a free movie and lunch at that Hollywood-theme restaurant."
"I'll make sure she gets them," the aqua-haired girl replied as she took the gifts. Reiko bowed and left, whistling a cheerful tune.
"What movie are they playing?" Usagi, who had come up, asked.
"Che, that stupid movie about some space tunnel found in Egypt. Reiko-chan's attentive, but her taste leaves a lot to be desired."
"Egypt!" the odango-headed girl exclaimed, snapping her fingers, "That's what was so special about that picture, it was styled like a hieroglyphic! Front of the torso, profile of the face."
"And that tunnel idea isn't so farfetched," the ruby-eyed woman added, "Crack open the sun-block, we're taking a trip."
*****
South of Nizah, Egypt:
At the bottom of a deep ravine, the senshi, sans Jupiter, were standing before a large wall covered by various runes. Mercury and Pluto were trying to decipher them while the rest chatted away.
"You know, Pluto, you really should consider writing down your memoirs," Uranus suggested, "It would be a lot more convenient than waiting for you to remember stuff randomly."
"I've tried to," the time senshi replied with a hint of annoyance, "The problem is, I can't recall my memories whenever I want to, only when the need arises. I guess it's a safety measure devised by Chronos to keep me from misusing the knowledge I would obtain as a result from watching the time stream."
"And there was no need for us to now about this place until now," Tuxedo Kamen pointed out.
"Exactly," Venus agreed, "Don't open the box of lures until you're ready to go fishing."
"That's can of worms," Mars corrected, "In the meantime, shouldn't we call Mako-chan? She'll have to know about this."
"I'd rather the one who stays behind tells her," Sailor Moon said. Some time ago, they decided that should a situation like this show up, at least two of them should stay on Earth. "I still feel guilty about her offer to stand by during her honeymoon," the blonde princess continued, "She should concentrate on having a good time."
"I think the chosen pair should be one inner and one outer," Neptune said, "and it will be best if I were to stay behind."
"Nani?" the wind senshi could hardly believe what she'd just heard, "How can that be for the best?"
"Pluto's knowledge of the past will be most useful, and you are unparalleled when it comes to finding your way through new terrain. All I would contribute is firepower, and frankly, that doesn't satisfy me."
"Neptune, you know you're much more-" The ocean senshi placed her finger on her lover's lips.
"I'm going to miss you too, but Hime-chan needs you the most. Plus," she added in a soft voice, "whenever we have to take separate trips, I always make it up to you, in a way you really enjoy."
"Okay, we've figured it out," the azure-haired senshi announced. She put away her computer and visor. "Get ready, judging by the size of these walls, we're in for quite a show." She and Pluto pressed the buttons on each side of the wall in a specific order and stood back. The whole place started shaking, so violently that the heroes were unable to keep balance and got on their knees. Soon it was over and the entrance was open.
"That's it!?" Mars asked. After such a tremor, one would expect a large portal, but the entrance was barely six feet tall and very narrow. "All that show for the pet door?"
"Those had to be the rustiest hinges in history," Artemis quipped, "Let's hurry, I want to get a look at that transporter."
Tuxedo Kamen led the way in, ready to dart his rose at the first sign of a trap. They made it to a shadowy room, where the only light source was a rough-surfaced crystal.
"Stay back while I check it out," the Earth prince ordered. He approached the glowing item, it was placed on a stone platform and gave all indications of being a switch of some sort. There was a fair chance of it being a trap, and there was only one way to find out. Kamen manipulated the crystal and got ready for anything. There was a loud hum, the lights went on and everyone gasped in amazement. There it was, a large circular platform with four obelisks around it, the doorway to another dimension.
"Unbelievable!" Mercury exclaimed as she rushed forward. The command console was antique, yet quite modern in design. "All those theories about the pyramids and the sphinx being designed by aliens are actually real!" The water senshi was so excited she couldn't help laughing. She reactivated her visor. "Don't bother sitting down, I'll have this thing figured out in no time."
"Why don't we just read the instruction booklet?" Venus pointed at the wall, which was covered with hieroglyphics. Pluto came over, rubbing her chin.
"I don't think this is part of the original structure. For starters, unlike the runes outside, this is written in Egyptian. Also, it's some kind of journal."
"Really?" The love senshi moved along the wall, "If that's true, it means someone's been in-EEK!" Everyone rushed over the moment they heard the scream and made a frightful discovery. A human skeleton was lying at a corner, there was a worn-out knife in its hand and crude writing right beside it. Artemis approached cautiously.
"He drove the knife into his own neck! Why would he do that?"
"We'll find out." The ruby-eyed senshi read the wall, mouthing the words. "Ara! According to this, these people came to Earth thousands of years ago, and stayed for several generations, even while they kept their real identity secret from everyone else. This man was a direct descendant from the original colonizers." She kept on reading. "Now here's an interesting part."
"The invading army is brutish and primitive, but their leader, Julus, is dangerously intelligent and may learn how to use our technology. If that should come to pass, not only this one, both worlds will be finished."
"Who was Julus?" Uranus asked, "Never heard of him or his army."
"He probably meant to write Julius, as in Caesar," her ocean princess explained, "That means this cave was sealed during the Roman invasion of Egypt."
"Precisely!" Pluto seconded, "It was a massive exodus, hundreds of families had to leave for a world they never saw." Her face went somber. "Unfortunately, the send off procedure must be activated manually, someone had to stay behind, he volunteered." The senshi kept a minute of silence.
"There's one detail I don't understand," Mars pointed out, "If they were so advanced, why escape instead of fighting?"
"The answer to that is written here as well," Pluto responded, "They were allowed to apply and teach their technology for peaceful purposes only, warfare was forbidden, a rule our brave volunteer didn't quite agree with."
"But there were weapons on the other side," Tuxedo Kamen guessed, "which had to be kept away from the Romans at all cost."
"The message outside was encoded," the water senshi informed, looking up from her work, "At first glance it was a warning, mummy's curse and all that. It took Pluto and I a while to solve the riddle."
"That whole sphinxes and riddles stuff must've come from where we're going," the white cat deduced, "Anything else we should know, Pluto."
"Ie, nothing worthwhile, except for his final note:"
"My supplies have run out, I'm surprised my sanity hasn't done so before. Hope of my people coming for me has been the only thing that has kept me going, now I must face reality. I could go outside, surely the invasion is over by now, but I can't risk it, I know the consequences. There is no other choice but to face Osiris' judgment, may he deem me worthy. My only regret is that I will never see the fabled land of my ancestors, Kaeruh. If this chamber should be discovered in the future, near or distant, I pray it is by a wise and peace loving people."
"Peace loving people," Sailor Moon repeated. She walked up to the skeleton and knelt. "This man sacrificed everything for the sake of a world he never got a chance to see. Just like the Moon, that planet must have been a beautiful one before the arrival of Pharaoh 90." She rose again, the gleam in her eye was a determined one. "This might be asking for too much, but if the need arises, I want to help those people in any way I can." Everyone agreed and the princess felt grateful. "Now, please help me bury him, it's the least he deserves."
A few minutes later a simple grave had been made and Mars was done blessing it.
"Okay, I'm ready," Venus said, "How about you, Uranus?" The wind senshi hadn't let go of her beloved this whole time.
"Hai, I guess I am." She gave Neptune yet another squeeze and a kiss. "I'll be back as soon as possible, in the meantime, make sure you look after yourself."
"You've told me that already," the wavy-haired senshi chuckled, "By the kami, sometimes you're worse than the princess." One more kiss and she went over to Mercury. "Okay, what do I have to do?"
"Just push this blue triangle. Only one side needs to be operated at a time, the destination point is fixed, and I've confirmed the receiver transporter's functioning, so there's no risk of getting lost."
"Good to know," Artemis said, "I'd hate to end up stranded at some asteroid."
"Relax, Artemis-kun." Venus picked up her feline mentor. "Pretty soon you'll be all over Luna-chan… Eto, you know what I mean."
"Tell Mako-chan not to worry," the odango-headed blonde told Neptune, "We'll be back, with Hotaru-chan."
"I'll be counting the minutes," the ocean senshi replied, "Sayonara, minna-san, be careful out there." She pressed the button, electricity shot out between the tips of the obelisks, the ones standing inside the circle flickered a little, then disappeared completely. Neptune wasn't worried, she knew they were safe and needed no proof of it. Yet, she couldn't help taking a deep breath and shedding a tear. "Please be safe, Haruka, and bring back our Hime-chan."
*****
The planet Kaeruh:
The silence that had reigned there for ages vanished in a second. There was a bright flash and a young man, six girls and a white cat appeared.
"Did it work? Are we here?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Hai," the fire senshi responded, "This room's a lot larger and we're no longer in a cave. Check out the windows."
"Looks like the sun is setting," Venus noted as she took a step forward, "We better go outside before it gets too dark to-Whoop!" (Thud)
"Better use the steps on this side, Venus," Mercury suggested, "This platform's set a little higher than the other one."
"Che, so I noticed."
"Pipe down!" Uranus ordered, "Our arrival must've triggered every alarm in the place, so let's get out of here quickly."
"I doubt it," the dark-haired man replied, "Judging by the dust, I'd say no one's been here in years." He went over to the fallen doors and peered outside, there were a lot of small and ruined structures around. "It's some sort of base, a research station, considering what we've learnt."
"Abandoned, just like the other one," Pluto remarked, "Okay, let's split up and look for something that tells us where we are exactly." Everyone nodded and set out in groups of two and three. The senshi found many interesting things, old computers, weird gadgets and an old diary. Mercury, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen were at the top of a tower. The girls were looking out the windows towards opposite sides.
"We're in a desert," the blonde princess noted, "I expected this, dreaded actually. This means we're gonna have a much harder time getting around, not to mention getting sunburns and sand in our boots."
"Well, there's a city in that direction," the azure-haired one announced, pointing at the lights, "It's a direction to follow, and surely we'll get more information there."
"I agree," the Earth prince said, "Let's go down and tell the others."
"Matte," Sailor Moon called out, "Do you hear that?" The other two went silent and paid attention. Indeed, it was a deep moan, which sounded like an animal. "It's coming from… Over here!" She ran off, ignoring her husband's and friend's warnings. The blue-eyed senshi hurried through the old base and found the source. It was a large woolly beast, about the size of a hippo; it looked like a cross between a duckbilled dinosaur and a yak. The rest of the senshi arrived.
"What is that thing?" Venus asked.
"It's trapped," the Moon princess responded. The frightened creature had its reigns tangled around a heavy log, it tossed a bit when the blonde girl approached, but then caught sight of her caring gaze. "Calm down, big guy, we won't hurt you." She began petting the large animal and it let out a purring sound.
"It's obviously domesticated," the water senshi said as she released the leather bonds, "Probably came from that city I saw."
"Then it knows the way back," the loose-haired blonde deduced, "Mars and I found some beds earlier, we could improvise a sleigh and all of us can ride."
"That's a good idea," Pluto complimented, "but let's wait until tomorrow, it's too dark now."
"Hai," Uranus agreed, "The desert's probably filled with critters that might not be so friendly." She took a deep breath, this wasn't an easy choice. "Well, let's go to sleep so we can get an early start tomorrow. Venus, Mars, lead the way."
Luckily, the creature had saddlebags with some fruit inside, so the senshi were able to have a light supper before going to bed. Artemis offered to take first watch, his small size and speed would allow him to move about easily. They took up three barracks; Mercury, Mars and Venus took the first, the royal couple went into the second, and Uranus and Pluto had the last one. The racer tossed around, unable to get comfortable.
"You never could get used to a strange bed, ne?"
"Ie, it's not that," the sand-blonde replied, "it's just that I'm used to holding someone in my arms."
"Well I'll be glad to keep you company," her mocha-skinned sister offered, "but I'm staying on this bed." They both had a healthy laugh. "You felt her too, ne?"
"Hai, Hime-chan is here. I can't tell where she is, but I know we're on the right track."
"We'll find her, probably a lot sooner than we expect. And who knows, we may learn a lot of things in this new world we're visiting." The ruby-eyed senshi yawned. "Let's go to sleep now, like you said, we've got to get an early start tomorrow morning."
"Hai, sweet dreams, Pluto."
*****
The senshi had a quick breakfast and got on their way. Mars found a wagon in top condition, so they were able to leave a lot earlier than expected. The woolly animal moved pretty fast on the sand, it even seemed happy to do this favor. They all got off right before reaching the city's outskirts.
"Arigato, big guy," Sailor Moon said, "But it's time for you to go home now, they must really miss you back there."
"And we might attract a lot of attention if we go into town with something this big," Mars added, "Matte, how are we supposed to blend in with our fukus?"
"No problem," Pluto answered, "watch." She put her hand on her brooch and reverted, her clothes were now completely different to the ones she wore yesterday. Everyone was surprised at the change, including her.
"Umm, it's that what you were going for, Setsuna-san?" Mercury asked. The new outfit consisted in baggy pants, sash, a bikini top with an obsidian brooch in the middle, and a loose brown coat.
"Eto… well, there are risks in using the default setting. But you must admit it's functional, open at the front, the coat's both breezy and protects from the sun."
"Hai, too bad about the color, all that brown's pretty dull," was the love senshi's opinion, "and a navel ring would've made an excellent accessory. You better change too, Artemis-kun, you may already be a weird cat, but here you're likely to draw a crowd."
"Hai, that's a good idea." Look who's talking, you're likely to end up looking like a belly dancer. All of the girls ended up in similar outfits, except for Haruka. Her attire was like Mamoru's and Artemis'; sleeveless shirt, a cape draped over the shoulders, and the same baggy pants. The man from Mau had an added difference, he wore white while everyone else was clad in brown. "Let's go, we've been taking too long getting ready."
The bazaar the group went through when entering the city was a mixture of both old and modern life. Most people traveled by foot, some on motorcycles, the shops sold both crafts and weird-looking electric appliances, there were things that looked like payphones in every other corner, and every now and then they saw children playing with hand-held games. Overall, it looked like a middle-eastern market place, the main difference was that the women weren't forced to cover themselves under ridiculously heavy clothing. But the biggest surprised came when they saw those scaly weasels again, talking.
"Maybe this aroma is more to your liking." One of them was hanging from a post, trying to sell Mamoru some incense sticks. "Good for contemplation, or perhaps something to stimulate the artistic side."
"Arigato, but no," the dark-haired man repeated for the fifth time. Then they hurried away from there before it could throw another pitch. "By the kami, this is one danger I never foresaw."
"I may have to change my 'Death Scream' attack to 'We don't want any'," Setsuna quipped, "Let's split up and look around, if our luck keeps up the way it's been so far, we'll find something else that will take us closer to Hime-chan."
"Agreed," Ami said, "we'll meet in an hour under this statue." She looked up and noticed it was a young woman with a lance.
They set out in pairs. Rei and Usagi headed for what seemed to be the most expensive part of town, and all they found were bargains for cloth and dresses.
"I'm telling you, Rei-chan, it's taking all of my willpower not to accept these offers."
"It's hard for me as well," the maiden confessed, "those models at the corner looked gorgeous. (sigh) Why bother daydreaming? Even if we find time after rescuing Hotaru-chan, we won't be able to buy anything."
"Didn't you check your purse?" the blue-eyed girl asked, "Our currency's changed as well." Rei looked inside. Indeed, instead of paper bills she now carried silver coins.
"Ara, we must've had a lot of diplomatic missions in the past in order to have these advantages." She was distracted and nearly crashed into a girl going the opposite way."
"Hey! Watch where you're going, stupid."
"There's no need to be rude," Usagi scolded.
"You're right, my apologies." The girl took a deep breath. "It's just that I'm so mad. I blew my whole allowance on that stupid wheel and didn't even win a consolation prize." The other two turned to look.
"That's quite a crowd," the raven-haired one noted, "What's the prize?"
"A trip to the capital, via the river in one of the most luxurious ferries in the land of Kaeruh."
"Tempting," the odango-headed blonde said, "I think we'll buy a couple of tickets."
"It's your money." The girl shrugged and left while Usagi dragged Rei over to the contest.
"Usagi, where has your head run off to? We don't have time for these games."
"This game will save us time," the future queen countered. "Think about it, Hotaru-chan, or rather, Sailor Saturn, must be being held prisoner by the leader of this world."
"And leaders live in capitals," Rei completed, "Alright, stand back and get ready to be amazed!"
Thirty minutes later, the group was at the riverside.
"Too bad the ticket's only good enough for four people," Ami sighed, "and that the trip is for women only."
"Don't worry minna-san, Mina-P will do a great job looking after the boys," the loose-haired blonde offered, clinging to Mamoru's shoulder.
"Behave yourself, Mina-chan," Usagi warned jokingly, "you don't want to face my jealousy."
"Wait for us once you reach the capital," Artemis reminded, "Good luck, and keep your eyes and ears open."
"We will," the short-haired girl replied, "Sayonara, see you in two days." Ami, Usagi, Rei and Setsuna boarded the ferry, the others watched it leave until it was out of sight.
"And how do you suggest we get there, Artemis-kun?" Haruka questioned.
"That boat can't be the only way into the capital, all we have to do is look for an agency and pool our cash."
"'Our cash'?" Mamoru chuckled, "And how much are you planning to contribute?"
"I'm coming up with ideas, aren't I?"
"Quiet guys, I think I found our ticket." Minako was leaning against a wall, peeking around the corner. The others mimicked and heard the following bit of conversation.
"Hurry up with those damn packages!" a man with a long brown beard ordered, "We should be halfway to the capital by now!" The sand-blonde knew what her friend was planning and slapped herself.
"Mina-chan, it's one thing to sneak into the front row of a concert. But, stowaways?"
"It wouldn't be the first time we bend the rules," the dark-haired man pointed out, "We'll make it up to them later. Let's hurry, looks like they're about to leave." They sneaked into a large trailer. It was being pulled by two of the animals they found at the ruins, except these ones had cybernetic hind legs.
"Any idea what they're carrying?" the white-clad man asked.
"I don't know, but we're not peeking," Haruka said sternly, "And why should it matter? All we need to know is that it's an effective (and cheap) way to reach Hime-chan." They heard someone approach and hid behind the crates.
"This one's full, sir," one of the workers said as he closed the doors to the vehicle.
"Good. Are you sure the cargo will be safe during the journey?"
"Very sure, I double checked the shock absorbers an hour ago. Believe me, nothing will blow up until you press the detonator."