Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing.
The Mystical Silver Crystal, arbitrarily named by its first contractor, had never been created. It had existed far beyond any length of time feasible to the human mind. For more than a billion lifetimes, it had remained an impartial spectator in all planes of existence. It had witnessed the Creation, the origin and demise of its gods, the rise and fall of a million kingdoms, the inevitable destruction of mankind, and his equally inevitable rebirth. It had drifted in and out of the vastness and infiniteness of space on every vector that each and every course of action gave birth to. It was here in this world the same time it was in there in that world.
But as content and predictable as space and time were, they were not meant to be perfect. Physics, in its most conventional terms, was only a method humans created to make sense of what they didn't know. Primordial space—the infinite extension of the dimensional region in which all matter exists—did not progress by the rules of physics. Every decision made and not made were affected by a decision made or not made, and in turn affected another decision to be made or not to be made.
If Ikuko and Kenji Tsukino had conceived their second child a day earlier or a day later, would their daughter have ever met the orphaned Mamoru Chiba?
If Usagi Tsukino had woken up five minutes early that fateful day she saved a small black cat, would she have become Sailor Moon?
If Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion had never crossed paths, would there still be an idealistic empire in the high heavens?
These alternate universes layered upon each other, up, up, up, down, down, down, stretching far and wide across space, linked irrevocably together by the merest gradations of choice, of time, and of human nature.
These living slabs touched each other like innumerable layers on a cake, isolated of one another by a thin smear of frosting, by a plane in space that had no thickness. But these worlds were subject to imperfections as well.
Occasionally, one layer would bear down on another with so much weight, that the fine line separating the two would blur into each other. Two worlds would cross and consolidate into one.
That was how the Negaverse had bypassed into the world of Serenity.
The initiation of such abnormality gave birth to utter chaos. The children of the Negaverse flooded through the vulnerable ruptures in the atmosphere and they reacted to this new world on the basest of animalistic instincts
They were parasites, had long ago drained their own planet dry of resources and had been living in their own decay. Metallia, then nothing but another undistinguished leech, saw the weakness of humankind and preyed on it. She feasted on the frailty of man's mind until her own powers ripened, and as they grew, she mutated. She transcended human form and became a shifting, uncontainable entity. With every person she exhausted, she gained strength, knowledge, and something completely foreign to her—emotion.
She rose rapidly to dominion amongst the anarchy the legions of parasites wallowed pleasurably in. Many who had followed in her footsteps had metamorphosed into grotesque imitations of the humans they fed on. She manipulated them, as she had learned from humans how to do, and they paid homage to her and made her their queen.
Metallia began to devour planets at a time, starting with the tiny, nearly uninhabited ones that circumvented the outer Milky Way. She worked her way forward, toward the enormous star in the center of the galaxy. When she came to Pluto, she gained a greater knowledge of human physics and time. But during that period, the most removed planet had been without its leader, and so fell much more quickly than the rest of the kingdom of Serenity anticipated.
Metallia then moved quickly onto Saturn. From Saturn, she went to Neptune, and from Neptune, she went to Uranus.
They fought passionately until they could fight no longer. Metallia had learned to turn their own people against them.
It had been the most egregious aberration in the history of the crystal's existence. The Negaverse, if left to its own devices, would devastate the regime of Serenity in all the power they had the potential to gain, and would offset a domino effect to all the worlds that had ever—and would ever—come to be.
The crystal could not allow such malignant deviance to occur. The opportunity to intervene had come.
It fell from where it had always lay dormant and plummeted into Mare Serenitatis, the Sea of Serenity. The Goddess Serenity, the first benevolent ruler of the Earth's moon, had seen it hurtle across the sky in a mimicry of a shooting star. She dove into the sea, faith set high on a good omen in the midst of war and bloodshed, and retrieved it.
Marvelously clear, like water, it filled her cupped palms with pulsating warmth. She set it in the Crystal Tower, the tower of prayer in the center of the Moon Castle. She called it a holy stone, the Mystical Silver Crystal because it responded to her innermost thoughts. It healed and protected when called at will, and with it, she was able to deter Metallia from invading the remaining inner planets.
The crystal grew accustomed to Serenity, became a part of her. They grew dependent on each other—she for its propitious powers, and it for the pure warmth of her soul.
Metallia cowered before the crystal, feared its hallowed light and retreated. She watched, from the deepest corner of the galaxy as the Goddess Serenity wielded its power and destroyed many of her followers. The power of it was intoxicating, even as her loyal cohorts died again and again. Her too-human mind began to desire it. She laid in wait for a favorable moment to capture the crystal for her own catastrophic exploits.
Before her reign came to an end, Serenity had managed to pressure the forces of Metallia near the blackhole from whence they had come. When she died, she bestowed the crystal to her daughter, Serenity, to keep it holy and to maintain the health of her kingdom.
But the use for the crystal waned when Serenity the Second ascended the throne. Her mother had hindered the Negaverse with such an impressive success that her daughter no longer had a need for it. She set it in the Crystal Tower on a high marble pedestal, and soon, it became forgotten.
For years, its languor increased, and the once vibrantly pellucid surface dimmed to a somber, opaque grey. It sat, waiting, as the replications of itself residing in other dimensions impatiently watched forward to the aspiring future.
The future came in the fiftieth year of Queen Serenity's sovereignty. It took the form of a child—a baby girl—with eyes like metallic mist and hair the color of liquid diamonds.
On the day of her birth, the crystal knew she was someone special. It rejoiced in the confines of its solitude as the people rejoiced across the Moon Kingdom and into her surrounding planets. The first step had been breached, and the crystal found it could bide its time a little easier as it watched over the child as she grew.
Princess Serenity, named after her mother and her mother's mother, was a manifestation of curiosity and mischief. On her sixth year while evading her vexed playmates, she stumbled into the vicinity of the Mystical Silver Crystal. She hadn't known what it was was then, but seeing it sit so forlornly in its moonsilk pillow, she granted upon it her full—and hard to earn—attention.
Despite knowing that she would be chastised if her mother were to ever find out, she touched daintily two smooth corners with her thumb and forefinger.
Immediately, the crystal expelled a great light, drenching the holy tower with deepest white. Princess Serenity clutched at it with all her might in the core of the transparent vortex. In blind fear, she closed both her hands over it in fruitless hopes of sheltering the burning light.
The Mystical Silver Crystal responded to her, cooling to a balmy simmer. When the inexperienced princess gained enough courage to pull her hands away, the colorless crystal had returned to its glorious luster.
But it was not simply a one-way influence. Princess Serenity was no longer the little silver creature she had been born to be. Her hair transmuted into gold, blazing like sunlight, and her eyes became as blue as the sea.
It had found its new contractor. Its own life would depend solely on Serenity the Third's. In return, it would devote a multitude of supernatural force to her and her bloodline.
In this way, it would exist.
In this way, the crystal was and the crystal forever would be.
- - - - - - - - - -
First, Artemis and Luna arched their backs to hiss shrilly. Then, the floor rolled beneath their feet.
Makoto and Ami grabbed hold of the table to keep it from shifting while Minako and Rei barely dodged the bookcase that crashed down in front of them. They anchored themselves to the floor and shared a wide-eyed look. The temple rocked again, more violently this time, but the majority of the damage had been done. The tremor crawled away into stillness.
The television screen flickered and fizzed into snow and then back on. The love drama they had been watching was interrupted by the news.
"Is everyone okay?" Artemis hopped over the fallen shelf and into the center of the room to survey the destruction. Several chairs had toppled over along with the shelf, and they sat now precariously over miscellaneous contents. He was glad to find that the girls were only startled and unhurt.
Usagi, who had keeled over during the initial shock, settled back onto her knees. "An earthquake?"
"I have a bad feeling about this," Luna whispered, keeping her ears and eyes tuned to the television set. It fizzed again as if to taunt her.
The reporter had a geologist on site, one who was looking rather nervous and clearly not because of stage fright. He was shuffling through a stack of papers and pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose every time he looked up into the camera. His face gleamed with perspiration.
". . .There will be more earthquakes in the weeks to come. The Ohotsuku tectonic plate that Japan sits on has been converging more with the Pacific plate since last Friday. Tokyo is especially affected because we sit on the junction of four active plates that are constantly shifting. We don't know why this is happening, but it is advised that everyone stay away from the beaches from now on. Most likely, there will be enormous tidal waves as a result of these earthquakes. . ."
"Well, it's not like we'd want to go to the beach anyway. The weather still hasn't lightened," Makoto sighed, stretching her arms above her head. She stood up to help with the overturned furniture. "It's strange."
Artemis pawed through the scattered collection of books broodingly. "Something big is going to happen. You feel it, don't you, Luna?"
She nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if we'll be struck by other natural disasters soon."
Above the noise of the television, the room gave into quiet contemplation. Usagi flicked her eyes over each person and strained a smile.
"We've been working hard. It's not the time to be looking down!" she announced doggedly, even giving her palm a firm pound with her fist.
They looked at her, acutely fatigued and mirrored her smile.
But there was an exchange of voluminous glances between them.
It didn't need to be vocalized. The rampant thoughts all narrowed down to one focal point.
It was like the world was coming to an end.
- - - - - - - - - -
Haruka checked the sheet of paper in her hand, again, and again, and again.
And again.
"Michiru, please tell me my eyes aren't belying me."
The most composed of the two women studied the address. "I'm afraid not, koi." She smiled in amusement at the look of pure bewilderment on her lover's face.
Of course, Haruka had reason to be confused as much as she was surprised. They had just arrived after hours and hours of anxiety-inducing space flight to one of the larger colony clusters in the existing Earth Sphere United Nations. The taxi cab driver had dropped them off in front of a large and gaudily decorated establishment, all the while claiming they would have a wonderful time at their destination. If Michiru recalled correctly, the knife act was supposedly one of the most riveting performances the business had to offer.
She plucked the piece of paper out of Haruka's hand as she took her arm in hers. "Shall we go?"
Haruka nodded dumbly before taking a deep breath.
Meiou Setsuna, formerly known as Sailor Pluto, the defender of the Time Gates, was working at a circus.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Minako-chan! You know Yui and Maxwell?!"
Minako winced as Rei brutally slammed her hands down on the table. She had been back for less than two weeks and was already waist deep in otherworldly phenomenon. The biggest concern she had right now were the number of earthquakes cropping up all over not only Tokyo like persistent weeds, but the rest of the world as well. They didn't limit themselves to areas that had faults, either. Countries that lacked fault lines that were continuously wracked with earthquakes were speedily becoming major headliners of frontpage news.
Artemis and Luna had decided to convene with Ami and Makoto to search for leads. It was going to be especially difficult since Ami's mini-computer had long since been out of commission. They were restricted to the internet and news, but that wasn't going to deter them. Their determination was truly admirable.
"Yes, yes, they're the two hot guys I met that time, the ones I tried to get you guys to meet," she sighed. Originally, this conversation had began with different tactic angles on the Usagi-as-bait idea, but had quickly spun out of control once it became clear that another loose end had emerged from the rapidly unraveling tapestry they were trying to restore.
Rei heaved out a breath. "This is the strangest coincidence. Usagi had met Yui first when she was. . .doing that ritual. Then she met both of them again at school."
"What were they doing at school?"
"I don't know, but I would guess they were asking the teachers about," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "the Sailor Senshi. Probably wanted to know why some of the students had gone berserk—the starseeds."
Minako sighed, cradling her chin in her hands and reminisced. "That was a great fight, wasn't it, Rei-chan?"
Rei looked startled. "I wouldn't say it was great. I've never been a fan of dying," she muttered sarcastically.
"But we protected them, didn't we? Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten. And Usagi-chan. . .Usagi-chan really grew up after that, didn't she?"
"We all grew up. Even you, Minako-chan."
The blonde responded by eloquently sticking out her tongue, though the teasing was short-lived. "I wonder what Hiiro and Duo want to know. Why do they want to dig up the past?"
"It has to be what's been happening with these people," Rei murmured. "With Relena Darlian and Usagi-chan. What is it that ties them together?"
"Except that they're both princesses?"
The brunette swallowed a mouthful of tea. "Chisa-san called Usagi 'princess.' It couldn't have been that she had mistakened her for Relena because she said that it had been born of Usagi's love. It must have something to do with Mamoru."
Minako licked her lips, eyes focused on a dirty little speck on the table. "You don't think it has to do with his death, do you? You don't think. . ." She paused, scrubbing at the gooseflesh on her arms. The temperature seemed to have dropped significantly in the space around her. "You don't think it might have possessed Mamoru-san?"
"Minako-chan. . ." Rei struggled for words to deny it. It couldn't have possessed Mamoru, she tried to say, and for the life of her, she couldn't. She couldn't, couldn't say anything to defend Mamoru because she knew it was true. He had been known to fall prey to malevolent and non-malevolent entities alike from Beryl to his dreams to Nepherenia and to Galaxia. He was a strong man, but his mind had become weak, and being so far apart from Usagi during that time had diluted his state of mentality. In the deepest part of her soul, she knew it was true.
By some way or form, the idea seemed to jump from her mind and out of Minako's mouth. "It possessed him and it was trying to kill Usagi. That's why—!" She shot to her feet, agitating the tiny table and sending her teacup rolling to the ground. "That's why Mamoru-san took his life! Because he couldn't let himself kill her! Oh, God!"
"Minako!"
She had fallen to her knees, hugging herself around the waist as if to keep her insides from spilling out. It was intensely cold around her, as cold as Sailor Mercury's fog. Ice ran through her veins; she felt like she was trapped inside a tiny bubble made of sharp, vindictive frost. The air she drew into her lungs was not air, but cold like death.
Dimly, she heard a voice calling for her outside of the little bubble, muffled, increasing in volume every time.
The chill snaked up around her legs, circled her neck, and squeezed. She forced her arms to move, but something seemed to hold them tightly to either side of her.
She couldn't breathe. Minako coughed and gasped, struggling with her invisible bonds until she was too fatigued to even lift her head. There was gravity on all sides of her, pushing onto her and into her. Even though she couldn't see her crumpled body, she could feel it bleeding. She clenched her teeth and squeezed shut her eyes—there was no way to fight it, but she would not cry or scream. She would die, and she would die with her honor.
The voice that was screaming her name droned out of her ears. It was intensely cold, and the cold was reminiscent of a distant, foggy memory. The coffin of ice was familiar to her, painfully so. She had died once in a spacious terrain of snow along with all her friends. Back then, she had sacrificed herself for a greater good to propel Sailor Moon into what they had all thought would have been the final battle. Back then, she had the unnatural literally at her fingertips.
She convulsed. Would she die again, here, helpless and without meaning?
Would she die an empty death?
The air around her shivered, and laughed.
- - - - - - - - - -
It was a busy day at the Tsukino residence. Hotaru had been placed into the care of Usagi and her family two days ago since both Haruka and Michiru had some 'business' to take care of. The couple had been very vague about their intended whereabouts, but Usagi was over and beyond inquiring about their private affairs. The Tsukino family had openly welcomed Hotaru for the first time, although they could swear they had met her before years ago as a friend of a relative of theirs. Who this relative was, they didn't know. It was puzzling to them, but at Usagi's insistence, they had finally put it aside.
As it was, the household was asunder with yelling and nasty laughing and Usagi trying to snatch back certain articles of clothing from her brother's less-than-pleasant friends with a red face. Their parents had left an hour earlier to attend a company dinner at her father's magazine office and had decided to give their daughter the responsibility of sibing-watching. Unfortunately, at the same time, Shingo had decided to invite his friends over for dinner and 'games.'
Hotaru was mostly making an attempt to stay out of the way, literally speaking. Usagi had already tripped twice over the poor girl as she came storming around the corner on the tail of one of the little demons (one she was sure had a budding adolescent crush on her current caretaker). Luna had been smart and taken the night off for 'research.'
But as loud and as demanding the home was, however, Hotaru was enjoying herself. It was a much needed drastic change from the orthodox calm that was forever weighing in the lavish apartment complex she shared with her surrogate father and mother. She smiled faintly and took a seat on the lower half of the stairwell that led upstairs.
"Shingo! Tell your friends to stay out of my room!"
The raging blonde came spinning around the corner like a tornado. Hotaru even had to put up a hand to straighten back her hair from the breeze her caretaker had wildly conjured.
"I'm so sorry, Hotaru-chan, but could you get the door?" she called out as she dashed past her.
The brunette gave her blurring back a puzzled look. "The door?"
"There's someone there."
She hadn't heard the doorbell ring, and it was unlikely that Usagi in such a distracted state had heard it ring, either. Hotaru, with a slight frown, walked up to the door and peered out of the viewing hole. There was no one. "Usagi-san, there's no one out there."
Usagi paused in her steps, her face gone blank. "Are you sure?"
Tentatively, she whispered, "Usagi-san?"
"I suddenly feel cold."
Goosebumps rose all over the surface of her arms to the back of her neck. The fine hair all across the surface of her skin was standing on end. Hotaru breathed, and the breath came out of her mouth in white clouds.
"U-Usagi-san—" she prompted again, confusion spinning chaotically into horror. Her teeth were chattering rapidly in her mouth, threatening to break her jaw in half. Ice ran through her veins, making her movements stubborn and difficult. Each breath she sucked in froze the tender membranes of her throat and lungs.
"Usagi? Hotaru-san?"
She tipped her head up. Shingo was standing awkwardly in the doorway. His friends hovered behind him like bewildered ghosts.
"Are you okay?"
Hotaru shook her head, wincing—her hair felt like slivers of wet icicles against her cheeks. "A blanket, g-get a b-blanket!"
Confused, Shingo turned and hurried up the stairs. The three boys gave them fleeting, panicked glances.
Her eyes darkened to pitch black. "Leave."
Stumbling over each other, they retreated out the door, not bothering to close it. A chilly wind rushed to grab the invitation and snaked sinisterly through the two women.
Die.
She hissed, "Get away from her!" although she didn't know who she was speaking to or if there was someone there at all. She was quaking so hard that her muscles were beginning to ache in the frozen shell of her skin. Her feet scraped along the carpet until she could touch Usagi with both hands. "Usagi-san, a-answer me!"
The pupils of Usagi's eyes had constricted to tiny black points as if she was looking at something intensely bright. Hotaru squeezed her arm desperately, leaving red marks that would inevitably fade to a bright purple stain.
Shingo came back, a thick comforter grasped in his taut hands. "Hotaru-san—"
"Listen to me; go upstairs." She reached for the comforter, and all his eyes could see was how badly her arm was shaking.
"What's going on?" he retorted stubbornly, throwing the blanket around Usagi's shoulders. "She's my sister. I have a right to know."
The air shifted. Hotaru squeezed her eyes shut and screamed, "Just do it!"
He faltered at the outburst, but glared at her, wheeling around to face his immobile sister. "Usagi!"
"Shingo-k-kun, please," she gasped. The air was beginning to thin. "There's n-nothing you can d-do."
When he refused to move, she smiled faintly to acknowledge his courage, and touched his warm cheek with her blue hand.
His eyes widened, mouth opening.
"If you want to save her, leave."
There was a fleeting moment of hesitation where he was torn between staying and fleeing. Usagi was standing straight and tall like a statue of ice, staring at some point he hadn't the ability or desire to see. Her lips had turned a sickening shade of indigo. He swallowed shakily.
"You'll take care of her?"
"I promise."
He rounded and flew up the stairs. Hotaru wilted, catching her breath. The options laid before her were at a minimum. There was no way she could heal Usagi—whatever consequences this thing had incurred were resistant to the amount of powers she had left. Her mind churned halfway into dangerous waters of defeat and then reversed. The most complicated part was admitting to herself that she wasn't sure she would be able to survive this.
She looked up as Usagi's pallid face contorted into desolate agony. Nostalgia rushed through the skin where her hands met Usagi's, tangible nostalgia suspended in a delicate web of subconsciousness. The experiences were innumerable; they flooded every crevice of vacant space, melted into one another and separated again like oil on water.
"They all died," Usagi said so softly that Hotaru had to strain her ears to hear her. "And when I was all alone, I wondered if it was all worth it. It's coldest when you're alone."
The memory of the first of the many battles of the end came spilling like molten lava into Hotaru's mind. And somehow, they weren't just memories, but events where she was a live spectator.
The hands of the clock of creation fell backwards, round and round. Her spirit flew through and into time, became one being with it. In a distant corner, covered head to toe in ice and snow, she watched five girls walk into their fate.
Sailor Jupiter had been the first to go, and then Sailor Mercury. Sailor Moon had cried, had offered to give Beryl the crystal. Then Sailor Venus had disappeared into the void and following her was Sailor Mars.
Life is invaluable. Was it worth the price they paid?
The clock repeated the memory of Sailor Venus, and stuck at it like a broken record. Over and over again, Hotaru watched her body explode to the top of the white mountain.
It was insanity. She tried to close her eyes, but it seemed her nerves had finally stopped firing. They stayed riveted to the movie of death.
Yellow hair glared on frost.
"Crescent Beam!"
Explosion.
Yellow hair glared on frost.
"Crescent Beam!"
Explosion.
Yellow hair glared on frost.
Stop it, stop it!
Hotaru screamed with all the strength she had left in her chest, and though she heard herself deeply and echoing in her head, she could not hear herself otherwise. Her stomach lurched upward and quickly back down, bringing nauseating tears to her eyes. They blurred her vision, but they wouldn't obscure the sound.
She tried to force her hands to her ears. They remained limp by her sides. The sensation of being disembodied clung to her skin.
A voice whistled through her head, familiar and unusual at the same time. She turned in a cold sweat to the origin and watched as the young Usagi morphed through every stage of Sailor Moon, and then into one she did not know.
Her hair became diamond-white, and although this Sailor Moon wore it in the same style, the buns were heart-shaped and laced with gold filigree. A golden eight-pointed star blazed like the sun on her forehead. From the fluid cape to the rainbow swatch clipped at the front of her skirt, her pristine uniform was unlike any of theirs. In one slender hand, she held a tall, white staff with a glittering star point atop a winged garnet, and it was this she was speaking to.
"I call upon our contract. Release those closest to the me of that time."
The you of that time still does not have the heart to sustain me. Her spirit has not healed.
The woman, a Sailor Senshi she did not know, frowned thoughtfully. Her eyes were grey, like hazy ebony, and they rested on her. Hotaru froze.
"Hotaru-chan, will you do me a favor?" She smiled the way Usagi would smile. In this strange place with this strange person, it was all that she recognized.
"You are. . ." She jumped at the sound of her own voice, at the sudden ability to move again.
"Oh, it doesn't matter who I am. Take her to the cemetery tomorrow, to Mamoru-san's gravesite. Tell her 'in rose.'* When roses grow on a person's grave, it means his or her soul is ready to be reborn." She dipped her head forward, lips curving into a reflective smile. "I learned it from a friend."
Hotaru shook her head. "I don't understand."
"We are all connected, Sailor Saturn. She will learn to let go; the ginzuishou will no longer need to depend on your lifeforces. We'll meet again one day," she answered quietly, raising the elegant staff. "Let's go back to the way we were."
The crystal at the top caught the light and augmented it into a blinding luminosity. Hotaru raised her arms to shield her eyes. A wind took her up and sent her plummeting forward through space. She tumbled blindly to the end of the ever-twisting continuum, finally collapsing to the soft carpet of the Tsukino household.
She tested her hands on the floor, rising cautiously. Her arms protested gently.
But she couldn't feel anything save the rippling violet energy singing up and down her body. Each glorious strand of vigor congregated at the center of her chest, pulsing in concordance with the beating of her heart.
A sob rose to her throat. The spirit of Sailor Saturn embraced her and she opened her arms wide to welcome her home.
"Hotaru-chan?"
Usagi was lying down with the side of her face pressed into the floor. Her eyes were heavily-lidded.
"What happened?" she asked meekly, forcing herself up.
The brunette stared forward, momentarily forgetting about her long-awaited return. "You don't remember?"
Usagi shook her head, agitating her pounding headache. Her entire body felt so weak, so drained of energy. She closed her eyes and even that was painful. "I remember Minako-chan calling to me."
Her teeth caught her lower lip. "Minako-chan?" she echoed.
Yellow hair against frost.
Hotaru sucked in a breath. No more. "Usagi-san, tomorrow, let's go pay respect to Mamoru-san."
There was oppressing stillness. The blonde still crouched on the floor gave her a puzzling look that almost bordered on treason. Visitation had been solely reserved for Usagi. As unfair as it was, it had been an unspoken law and no one had dared encroach upon it.
Her eyelids drooped. "Why?"
"You've always blamed yourself. It's not just your burden, Usagi-san."
"It's so hard," she whispered, curling into herself.
"Trust me, Usagi-san, like how you've always trusted in me."
Hesitantly, she glanced up, smiling as that mysterious woman had. Hotaru's heart warmed.
"Thank you, Hotaru-chan."
- - - - - - - - - -
"Minako-chan."
"Yeah, Rei-chan."
"Did you feel that?"
The blonde took a deep, invigorating breath, leaving her feeling lightheaded and completely elated. She spread her arms out to each side of her and stared at the intricate beams of the shrine ceiling. "If you meant 'that' as in getting our powers back, then, yeah."
"I'm afraid."
Minako turned her head. The lovely atmosphere had successfully fizzled away into a sour taste at the back of her mouth. "Why? You should be as happy as I am!"
"Because," she muttered, "it's like a reawakening."
"So? Isn't that a good thing?"
"So, the Sailor Senshi always awaken when they are most needed." Rei touched her forehead. "I'm worried about Usagi."
"You felt her, too, didn't you? It was like she was here." Minako rose to a sitting position, and with a schooled face, said, "Should we get your whistle ready?"**
Rei scowled, turning a lighter shade of red. "Just let everyone know we'll be holding a meeting tomorrow, will you?"
Minako grinned and nodded, standing up.
"But, I have to admit," the priestess interrupted quietly. The hard expression of duty wore thin for once. "It is good to be back."
- - - - - - - - - -
The long-awaited reunion had been short-lived. Before their shuttle had even touched L4's airspace, the gundam customs of Sandrock, Altron, and Heavyarms had been seen cruising through a battlefield of mobile dolls. Duo and Hiiro had been welcomed very concisely by the Maganacs and briefed of the sudden threat to peace. Apparently, the unmanned mobile suits had been in hibernation for some time. The Preventers had been unable to locate all the factories, effectually giving way to the ongoing battle. They were ushered into the hangar as if the devil were on their heels. Time had been squeezed exceedingly short; within minutes that felt like nanoseconds, they were up and off.
There were fuzzy commands filtering through the transmissions. Quatre was telling everyone to spread out as the second wave of mobile dolls came shooting forward. Wufei rushed forward, slashing right and left, and sustaining very few injuries.
In fact, none of them had been attacked brutally enough to be called damaged in any way. The dolls were peculiarly organized into one pattern, and that was to blindly attack. The orderly computer system that was meant to control and guide the dolls seemed to have implemented a poorly created program. As Hiiro sliced his beam sabre through another suit, a combination of dread and suspicion filled him.
It was very possible that they were being distracted from an event that held much more significance. The first probable scenario was that a set of suits had been dispatched to Relena's current location. Due to the escalating outbreaks in the last week, the ESUN raised the alert to code red and had sent her into a clandestine spot under heavy surveillance. Lady Une had ordered both Wufei and Trowa away to aid Quatre, which meant she was left in the hands of the four women all of them were reluctant to trust.
What didn't make sense about that situation was the blatant protective ways they had over Relena. From Wufei's and Trowa's descriptions, however biased as they may have been, it seemed the Vice Foreign Minister was in good hands. But were they good enough to protect her from an entourage of humanoid machines?
Unlikely.
He pushed forward on the controls, heading out of the battle.
"Hiiro? Where are you going?" Duo demanded over the link.
"They're distracting us."
Wufei growled. "We know that, but that doesn't mean you can leave in the middle of a fight!"
He glared at the flickering image of Wufei on his screen. "Relena is in trouble."
"No, she's not."
Without stopping, Hiiro turned his attentions to the icon of Lady Une.
"They're not headed for Relena, Hiiro. We have a prevention team tracking their locations at all times. Sally Po, Noin, and Milliardo are on the job and stationed at all possible intended positions."
His electric eyes narrowed. "Where are they going?"
"Eastern hemisphere of Earth. They were released at 0200 hours and won't reach their destinations until the day after tomorrow."
"I'm going to stop them."
Une shook her head. "There's no way you'll be able to stop them. There are over two thousand of them and they're splitting into different courses on the way. It's likely that they'll be everywhere once they breach Earth's atmosphere."
Hiiro growled, tightening his fist on the control. A feeling of helplessness threatened to engulf him; how was it possible that there were so many mobile dolls? But even so, any amount of forces Lady Une sent off wouldn't be enough to hold them back. "Where are the majority headed to?"
"Seems that the targets are major cities—Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Seoul—"
"I can make it to Hong Kong if I get a ballute—"
"—But the largest group—"
A cold hand clawed at his heart. Lady Une had stopped mid-sentence to look over the analytic results of the courses. It wasn't just the anticipation; it was a feeling of trepidation that went beyond the human senses.
"Tokyo," she finally answered, looking up with penetrating coffee-colored eyes. He saw her mouth move and form a word that had recently become too familiar with him.
They were headed to Tokyo, Japan.
They were headed to Juuban.
* "in rose" is pretty much taken directly from the Ground Zero manga. ^^;; Full credit to Reku Fuyunagi!
** Slight spoiler from Stars. Senshi had decided to guard Usagi very closely and amongst the instruments they were using to do so, there was a silent whistle which would call Rei from wherever she was. Very funny scene! ^^
AN: OMG, this was one crazy long chapter! I'm hoping for some reviews to let me know if I'm okay and or just totally going in the wrong direction. I think the 'introduction' of the crystal was confusing, but I hope you guys sort of understand what I'm saying. Basically, I'm experimenting with personification. We all know the crystal is inanimate, but I've decided to utilize my creative license and expand on possibilities. ^^ Let me know if it's not completely clear, but there will be a few further explanations on it in the next chapters or so.
Let's see, what else. . .well, I had a huge amount of trouble writing this chapter, and although I've probably read through this a billion times, I am human and thus prone to errors. :P Let me know if something is wrong or if something can be improved. ^_^
datajana: Yep, yep! And especially since now everything is going back to Tokyo. Hehe! ^^
Sailor Grape: Lol, your reviews are just so fun to read. ^^ They're very perky and full of questions! Um, I hope this chapter answered some more questions? Haha, and I hope I continue to answer those questions in the next chapter? X_X *glomps* I love you, too! XD
Black Aura-Sama: I luff J00, too! xD I feel so l33t. _;; Minor Quatre moment here, but I promise there will be a nice chapter where he's almost the main character. :P And Ami is super smart. x_x I am jealous. *stabs something with a fork*
Krista Hopes: Thanks for the review and the enthusiasm! Hehe ^^
the Desert Fox: Lovin' Spoonful? John Sebastian?! What?! Lol, I have no idea who they are. I don't really think Haruka could truly carry out her threat, but I'm sure she'd sure as hell try. Erk, I think I decided to stick to the custom gundams because they were the last that I've seen. Good thing you gave me the names xD 'cause I kept thinking Wufei's gundam had never changed from Shenlong. Just something about the name 'Altron' that I don't like. You're a Darien-hater!! *gasps* Haha, I don't hate him, but despite that, I didn't want this fic to deviate too much from the original storylines. And sorry about the Johnny thing—I think I was just confused o_O Thanks again for all the info! ^^
Usagi Asia Maxwell: *sniffles* Thank you for your continued support! ^^ I feel my ego inflating, haha. x.X
LunarPrincess: Wai, thank you. . .and then suddenly the Senshi regained their powers. O_O
Chiichobi: Um, I hope you haven't spontaneously combusted yet! x_x I really did try to get this out ASAHP!! I swear!! I had all these obstacles like school and midterms and papers, so I sat down for two days straight without eating or sleeping or showering and wrote this chapter!! Enjoy! :P
Tiger Tiger2: It's WEIRD! I didn't really like Duo's voice when I first heard it because it seemed to deep for him. I like Piccolo's voice, though. It fits him real nice. ^^ But it's still weird as hell! Can you imagine Duo as a green alien? AHH!! *runs for her life*
Erinamation-limited2-nothing: Wow X_X thank you! Lol!
CrystalBlueSeraph: Ahh, thank you!! I love psychology! I'm studying it now, actually. Perception was one of the best courses I've taken so far. Next quarter, I'm taking abnormal psychology, and I can only imagine what loads of fun it'll be! ^^
Samantha3: Thank you ;_; I really have to catch up on your fic! You update so quickly and I'm so behind. ^^ I can't to see what you've got planned!
Liquid Ice: GIMME DUH! o.o;; You've suddenly become quite elusive, LI-san! Where arreee yoouu? Star Wars. . .would you believe it if I told you I've never seen Star Wars? I mean, I've seen parts of it, but never the whole thing all the way through. Any of them. Lol, how sad. XD It's on my list of what to watch along with ET and The Godfather. ^^ What you said about the enemy loving Usagi so much that it hates her reminds me of Magic Knights Rayearth. ^__^ I 3 MKR! I thought Nova was such a cool/evil entity. MWAHAHAHA!
themoonmaiden: tmm-chan, you're so perceptive! Yep, she's ascending. . .in a way. Uh, good think you asked all those questions about the Tsukinos!! XD I decided to sort of allude to them in this chapter. Rofl! And where were Luna and Artemis. . .uhhh, I forgot about them in the last chapter. T_T I know! I can't believe I forget them, too. But they're here again now!! AHH! I heard rumors you were starting another FB/SM!! Is it true?!
Suki-san: Daisuki desu! The title is a lyric from a song: Duvet by Boa from the opening of Serial Experiments Lain. I love that song. It's beautiful. @_@ Wow, I don't think I realized that about my villain. It's very flexible, isn't it?
Heero's Bunny: Noooo, grounded? X_x I don't think I've ever been grounded, though I've deserved it many times. Lol, I think my parents were afraid I'd totally rebel. Yes, I was a bad little girl with a nasty temper. XD But thank you so much for coming back and reviewing!! You're so sweet!