Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from "CardCaptor Sakura". They are all owned by the ladies of CLAMP who are much more talented than I. (smile) I also do not own anyone from "Sailor Moon". They are all owned by Takeuchi Naoko whose vision will live eternally. (smile) (Much to Elflina's dismay...) All other characters are my own. Feel free to steal them.
I do not hold chapters ransom for reviews, but I sure appreciate compliments, constructive criticism, and grammatical corrections. So if you feel like it, please press that little review button, and let me know what you think.
Sorry, all, no time to acknowledge reviewers. I'll get you all next time, 'kay? Enjoy the nice long chapter and all the lovely revelations... (smile) - Raya
Moonlit Sakura
Chapter 27 – Unraveling Threads
"Yes!" Ami hissed as the central computer beeped and flashed a green light. "Got you!"
"Where?" Pallas asked eagerly, leaning forward with narrowed eyes to look at the screen.
"The jungles of western Brazil," the older woman replied, typing refinement commands rapidly into the computer. "Very close to some pinpoint power signatures left by Neptune and Uranus."
"Brazil...?" the younger girl repeated softly. "That wouldn't be the Amazon jungle in Brazil by any chance, would it?"
"Hmm?" Ami turned to look at her questioningly. "Yes… Why?"
"Vital-san said that that language was from a prehistoric kingdom that used to occupy the Amazon jungle…, including the section of Brazil where his grandmother was raised!" Pallas replied with shining eyes.
"Another link!" Ami said with a smile. Suddenly, she paused. "The Amazon… I wonder…" In her mind, an old, old memory resurfaced.
Four ghostly-yet-solid teenage senshi floated above their star seeds. "We were still supposed to be asleep deep in the Amazon…" Sailor Ceres, formerly known as CereCere of the Dead Moon Circus' Amazon Quartet, said softly as she closed her eyes sadly. "But Neherenia sensed the power of the stars. Her curse forced us awake . We were enslaved in the Dead Moon Nightmare..."(1)
"What?" Pallas asked curiously with a tilt of her head.
Abruptly, Ami shook her head. "Nothing important. Just another possible link that we won't be able to confirm any time soon." As the younger girl opened her mouth to question her further, Ami raised a hand and twitched a finger at her. "I won't tell, so give up now. You'll have to figure it out on your own."
Knowing her mentor's stubbornness, Pallas sat back with her arms crossed and pouted a little. "Can't you even give me a hint?" she begged.
Ami thought for a moment then smiled wickedly. "Somnial Cognition."
"Huh? What's somnial cognition?" Pallas asked relaxing out of her pout and tilting her head to one side curiously.
"That's your hint," Ami replied teasingly. "Stew over it in the back of your mind for now. We need to go speak with Vital-san and see if he has that curse translated for us yet," she added as she rose.
"Meanie…" Pallas said softly with a teasing glance as she stood up as well. "Somnial cognition… somnial cognition… Something to do with sleep and understanding… Understanding sleep? That can't be it…"
A few minutes later, the two remaining water senshi walked into the hall where Vital stood guard over the Doors of Time. They paused and smiled as they heard Bessa giving instructions in a strained, patient voice. Although they could see Vital clearly, all they could see of Bessa was her hair, the very top of her head, her legs, and her boots on the other side of Pegasus.
"No, no… Not like that! You have to lean into it a little. If you don't, you won't get anything more than the surface dust off. No! Not that hard," she yelped as Pegasus shifted away and turned to snap at Vital. "I said a little. A little! How would you like it if someone dug a brush hard into your shoulder? There, there, Pegasus," she crooned trying to calm down the restive unicorn. "It's all right. He'll get it eventually… Easy, boy…"
"Um… Excuse us…" Pallas called lightly. "Can we interrupt the lesson on The Care and Grooming of Mythical Flying Beasts for a few minutes?"
Bessa stood up on her tiptoes and peered over Pegasus' back with sparkling, apple red eyes. "If you must," she called in a teasing, grudging voice. Vital sighed softly with relief. "Pegasus could probably use the break anyway," she added with a teasing glance at him, causing him to wince.
"What can we do for you ladies?" he asked as he stepped around to stand by Pegasus' head. Absently, he reached up and began to stroke the winged unicorn's jaw. Pegasus' eyes began to close in pleasure. With secret amusement, Ami wondered if it was because of Vital's caress, or because Bessa had begun brushing him rhythmically and expertly.
"We were wondering if you had had a chance to translate that curse for us yet," Ami said with a smile. "I know it has only been a couple of hours, but we need to move quickly."
"Yeah, it's about time we were able to surprise him for a change," Bessa muttered with angry expectation. Pallas and Ami nodded in agreement.
"Mm…," Vital said, shifting a little uneasily. "Well, I can translate what I've heard, but I haven't done the whole thing yet. Pallas-chan didn't leave the disc or headphones for me, and then Bessa-san started in on how to care for Pegasus, and…" He trailed off with a shrug.
Pallas blinked in shock then hung her head sheepishly as her face flushed with embarrassment. "I… I didn't, did I? I'm sorry."
Ami gave a very soft sigh then shook her head. "It's all right, Pallas-chan. We were both distracted by getting to the main computer as quickly as we could to confirm the trace. Do you have it now?"
"Yes," the powder-blue haired girl said, quickly taking off her portable head set. She unplugged the headphones from the jack then pressed play. As the melodic, yet strangely harsh syllables sounded in the hall, Pegasus jerked his head up, flared his wings, and backed away snorting. Bessa yelped as she was hit by one of the wings and sent flying into the Doors.
"Whoa! Whoa, boy!" Vital called out, trying to calm his new partner.
"Bessa-chan? Bessa-chan, are you all right?" Pallas cried out worriedly as she tried to skirt gingerly around the shifting unicorn.
As the disc continued to play, Pegasus became even more agitated. He began to dance in place, waving his wings, and occasionally rearing just a little to kick out with his two front hooves. He continued to snort, and grumble, obviously upset by something. Pallas shivered a little as she felt his anger begin to roll off of him in waves. He kept his eyes fixed on her which unnerved her even more.
Ami quickly turned to the main doorway into the hall and began to scan the area looking for intruders. Warily, she kept one eye on Pegasus as the computer ran through its surveillance modes.
By the Doors, Bessa huddled down and tried to avoid Pegasus' sharp hooves. "I'm all right," she called reassuringly to her friend. "Hey, he doesn't seem to like you or something. Back off a bit," she called again as she narrowly jerked her ankle out from under Pegasus' back hoof.
"But, but why?" Pallas asked, puzzled and a little hurt. Trusting her friend's instincts, however, she backed off towards the hall door. Pegasus turned with her, moving away from Bessa. Pallas frowned as she realized this, and shivered again. "He liked me fine earlier," she said plaintively.
"I don't know," Bessa replied as she gingerly stood up with the help of the Doors. "Maybe it's your scent or something."
"No…" Vital said suddenly, looking towards Pallas. "Turn off the disc."
"What?" she asked looking at him blankly.
"The disc. Turn it off. He didn't start this until that started playing," Vital responded urgently, trying once more to get close to Pegasus without getting stepped on or slapped by a powerful wing.
"Worth a shot, I suppose," she replied uncertainly as she turned off the player. Almost immediately, Pegasus began to calm down. He still glared at her, but he began to still and let Vital stroke his neck. Pallas looked at them in surprise, and then down at her disc player again. "I don't believe it… It worked… But why?"
"Maybe it gives off some frequency that hurts his ears," Bessa suggested as she cautiously made her way around the Doors' temporary guardians. Moving smoothly and slowly to avoid startling him again, she came around to stand beside Pallas.
Ami shook her head slowly. "No…, I don't think that's it," she said as she closed her computer and studied the winged unicorn. "Vital-san, watch out. Pallas-chan, Bessa-chan, be on your toes. Pallas-chan, turn the disc back on."
Giving Ami a curious look, Pallas waited for Vital to move out of the way then hit play once more. Immediate, the angry fire in Pegasus' eyes flared up, and he mantled his wings. She turned it off again quickly.
"See," Bessa said with more than a trace of triumph in her voice. It wasn't often that she was right and Ami or Pallas was wrong. "It's something about the player." She started as Pegasus snorted and shook his head.
Ami smiled. "No, it's not. Is it Pegasus? It's not the player…" Pegasus shook his head rapidly again. "It's what's on the disc." As the three observers watched incredulously, Pegasus nodded his big, white head up and down.
"You… You mean, he can understand it, too?" Pallas asked in a disbelieving voice.
Ami nodded as Pegasus snorted again. "Here," she said as she re-opened her computer and typed a few commands. "Here's your proof. You notice he hasn't reacted at all to my computer's operation. But, when I play back one of the captured tracks…" King Necro's voice began to issue from her micro-computer, and Pegasus began to snort and dance angrily once more. Ami stopped the playback.
"He does," Vital said, convinced. "Incredible…"
Quickly, Pallas put her player down on the ground, took two steps closer to Pegasus, and bowed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," she said as her listeners looked on with varying degrees of amusement and surprise. "It's not me," she added. "I'm not trying to curse anyone. We are just trying to get Vital-san to translate it for us so we can rescue our friends." She looked into Pegasus' dark indigo eyes with all the sincerity she could project. "Please, we have to play it."
Bessa shook her head. "Pallas-chan, he may recognize the sounds, but he's just a flying horse with a horn. He can't really understand you…" She broke off suddenly, and Pegasus swung to look at her with his intelligent eyes. He tossed his head and danced towards her, his entire stance showing his indignation. Her eyes got wider, and she quickly held up her hands as she backed up a few steps. "Sorry! Sorry! I guess you are intelligent after all. Forget I said anything!"
Pegasus tossed his head, as if to say "So there," and then backed up to stand by Vital once more. He turned to look at Pallas again, studied her a moment, and then nodded his head deliberately.
"Thank you," she said with a small smile. She turned around, picked up her disc player then turned to face Vital and Pegasus again. "Okay, I've reset it back to the beginning. Here we go."
Once again, the strange, harsh, yet melodic words began to sound in the hall. Pegasus shifted irritably and tossed his head, but stayed relatively calm over all. Vital grimaced and began to translate.
"Like the Sun and Moon / By eternal darkness swallowed / Be gone/ May all knowledge be lost. / May all beauty flow away. / Life be gone. / Passion die. / Illusions fade. / May weakness enter in/ And memories vanish like fog. / No attraction remain/ Nor repulsion. / All cycles ceasing / As Night triumphs. / May your soul be wiped from this plane/ and all traces vanish. / Be gone!" He paused a minute, listening intently, and then spoke again. "It just seems to repeat after that. Nothing new."
Bessa and Pallas shivered a little as he recited the death spell. Ami looked serious as she typed the translation into her computer.
"How horrible."
Everyone in the hall started, and looked towards the far door. Lady stood there, dressed in a dark pink corduroy jumper over a printed white tee shirt. The darkness of the dress emphasized the light pink of her hair and the unnatural paleness of her face. In her arms, she cradled the still unconscious Diana. "To be so thoroughly removed," she added looking a little sick. "All traces,... even memories…" Behind her, June and Celeste looked disturbed as well.
"It didn't work," Ami said quickly in a reassuring tone. "We still remember them. And not just us, the whole world still remembers. Other traces haven't vanished either." She chewed on her lower lip, studying her princess who didn't look very reassured.
"That's because… it's not… complete," Celeste said haltingly, looking uncertain.
"What?" Ami asked immediately turning to look at the leader of younger senshi. "Not complete?" she added in a gentler voice as she saw the younger girl start. "Why do you say that?"
"It just feels… incomplete. Like there's supposed to be something more… I don't know!" Celeste said abruptly, shaking it off. "I can't explain it any better," she added apologetically.
"She's right," Pallas said a little tentatively. "There's supposed to be something more. Something… gentle? Like mist?"
"Warm...? Like a campfire...?" Bessa added looking thoughtful.
"Reassuring? Like a strong arm...?" June tossed in very tentatively, thrown off by the stark contrast between what she felt came next and what she had heard.
"Bright? Like a hope?" Celeste asked, looking at Lady.
The princess just shook her head blankly. "I don't know. It doesn't sound familiar to me. It's so dark and hurtful, though. How can what comes next be nice?" Across the room, Vital nodded in agreement as he stood stroking Pegasus once more. Ami scanned the words she had just typed.
Pallas shrugged helplessly as Bessa held her hands up in an 'I don't know' gesture. "I don't know. I... I don't think it was originally meant to be so... cold or evil," Pallas said in a confused voice. "Maybe that's what was throwing me off... As Vital-san translated it, I understood every word. I don't know how, but I did."
Ami turned to look at her in surprise, and then suspicion. "Bessa-chan, did you?" she asked interrupting the younger senshi before she could continue. Bessa turned to look at her in surprise.
"No, not really, but it sounded right," she responded. June and Celeste nodded as Ami turned inquiring glances on them.
"I recognized some of the words," Celeste added, "but not all of them."
"To be honest," Vital said as the girls looked at Ami in inquiring silence. "To be honest, some of that just came to me. My grandmother didn't know nearly that much. Only the last part: May your soul be wiped from this plane, and all traces vanish. Be gone."
"It was right, though," Pallas said as she looked at Ami. "Every word was translated pretty well. I think... I think it's the evil and malice in his voice that makes it sound so bad."
Lady gave her a disbelieving look. "How can you say that? It specifically curses everything! All thought, all memory, all love..." she said disagreeing.
Pallas just shook her head helplessly in return. "That's just what I feel! Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the impression that comes to me."
"Easy, Pallas-chan," Celeste said soothingly. "We know that you can't explain it better than that sometimes. If you feel it that strongly, we have to believe you." Ami put a gentle hand on Pallas' shoulder and nodded agreement. Lady shifted, still not convinced, but bit her tongue before she upset Pallas more.
"Well, we have a translation. Now all we have to do is find a way to trace where our friends have gone," Ami said, trying to change the subject. "Oh, and come up with some way to get them back," she added.
"Did you confirm your trace?" Celeste asked, cautiously taking charge.
Ami nodded. "Yes, we know where he is hiding. Haruka-san and Michiru-san almost had him, or so it seems. And since there's no trace of the woman, I think they managed to get her at least. I can't confirm that, though. There are some other anomalies there: traces of energy that I can't explain," she added in a cautioning tone as Celeste nodded her acknowledgment. Celeste nodded again.
"Okay. I don't think he'll be moving soon," Celeste said looking around the group. "He's been safe there so far, and I think Pluto-san managed to get in a strong blow on that boy. So, we have time to try and trace the others."
"Besides," June said with a cold smile. "If we find and rescue them... Just imagine the look on his face." Bessa nodded with a similar smile, while Pallas looked a little intrigued. Lady just looked at Ami with a steady gaze and gently stroked the top of Diana's head.
"It won't be quite that easy," Ami said with a shake of her head. "It never is. And if it is, then it's a trap."
"May your soul be wiped from this plane…" Lady whispered with a shiver, still looking to Ami for reassurance. "What plane? Where are the other planes? How can we search them?"
"This physical plane," Vital said walking across the room to stand close to her. As he moved, her eyes shifted to follow him. "The earth. The solar system."
"The universe," Ami added seriously. "This universe, at any rate. There are no traces on the spiritual or psychic planes, either." As Lady's eyes snapped back to her full of fear and uncertainty, she smiled reassuringly. "But, there are other universes, each with their own planes."
Lady looked reassured, but June and Bessa looked more confused. "Other universes? There's only one universe," June said scrunching her forehead in thought.
"No," Pallas said before Ami could explain. "There are many universes. It's an old theory. Maybe you've heard about it? Like, somewhere out there is a universe where someone else won a particular war. There's another world out there somewhere where things are completely different because the Silver Millennium did not fall." Bessa, June, and Lady looked at her with wide eyes.
"But... But that would mean there are hundreds..., no, thousands of possibilities," Celeste said looking discouraged.
Ami snorted softly. "Try trillions and quadrillions and more," she said. "That's why I say it won't be so easy. And if there is a Guardian between the universes, it may be even harder."
"A Guardian?" Lady asked shifting a little closer to Vital. "Another senshi? But who?"
Ami shook her head. "I don't know. I don't even know if there is one. Pluto might know, but that is not information that she would share with us. But if there is one, she is probably even more secretive and taboo-bound than Pluto. She would not appreciate us attempting to travel between the universes, even if it is to rescue our friends."
"Then, how..." Celeste trailed off, overwhelmed by the task in front of them.
"A girl with pink cards," Ami said looking at her computer.
"Huh?" the girls around her chorused.
"That was Rei-chan's clue. Somewhere out there, there is a girl with pink cards that is tied to this somehow. We have to find her."
"That's even more impossible than finding Neo-Queen Serenity-sama and the others," Celeste said with discouraged exasperation. "At least with them, we know who we're looking for!"
Ami swallowed, took a deep breath, and looked up. "No. I can find them all," she said quietly. As Vital and the Quartet looked at her with puzzled expressions, Lady paled and began to shake her head violently.
"No! You can't! I won't let you!" she cried in a tremulous voice. In her arms, Diana began to stir. She lifted her face, eyes still closed, towards Lady's as the princess continued almost desperately, beginning to sob. "We'll find another way! No more! I can't loose any more! No!" With a concerned look, Vital closed the gap between them and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"Lady-chan?" Celeste asked, still looking lost but a little more concerned.
Ami looked gently at her distraught princess as she confirmed what the girl had suspected. "I'll make him banish me. And then, you can trace which universe I go to." As Lady continued to sob and shake her head in denial, her friends looked at Ami in shock. Diana let out a pitiful mew, and began to gingerly rub her head on Lady's chest in an instinctive effort to comfort her. "I might even be able to lead everyone back," she added thoughtfully.
"No. I agree with Lady-chan. I won't let you do this," Celeste said firmly. "It's too risky. We'll come up with some sort of shield against that curse, defeat him, and then spend as much time as we need to find the others." Her friends nodded in agreement as Lady looked desperately towards Ami.
Gently, Ami shook her head. "This is the best way. Don't worry. You six are strong enough. You can protect the Princess and help her bring us back." She looked directly into Lady's dark pink eyes. "You are strong enough to bring us all back on your own if you need to." She smiled encouragingly. "Just shine. Shine with all the brightness of the Moon, Earth, and Sun when the time is right, and be a beacon of love and hope for us."
(1) Written by Takeuchi Naoko and used without permission.