Chapter 10 - Blackmail
------------------------------
The knowledge hit him like a burst of flames. Things started to make sense again. This cave was familiar to him, he just didn't know how. He searched his memories, but the missing parts still didn't come back. Had the cave appeared in his dream? He wasn't sure about that either, he had never given a thought to his environment. He had only worried about Usagi and the strange darkness.
He walked around in the cave, desperatly searching for something familiar. Behind the barrier of rocks, there was probably another entrance, but it would take days to free it. And he didn't know how stable the cave was, anyway. Perhaps more rocks would break down. He wasn't keen on getting smashed.
Had these rocks killed Usagi? Perhaps it had been a trap set up by Metallia. She had lured Usagi down here, and let the rocks fall on her. It would make sense. No it wouldn't!
Carefully he approached the pit. The strange heat emerged from there. He lay flat on his belly, and looked down as far as the flashlight permitted it. The ravine was a long narrow rip in the earth, with rocks sticking out from the walls. It was impossible to see the bottom, since it didn't go straight down and seemed to become even narrower the further it went down. If you fell down there, you would probably get stuck at some point.
Had Usagi fallen down? He didn't want to think about it.
Probably the bottom of the pit was a flow of magma, that would be an explanation for the heat. The earthquake was supposed to have been caused by vulcanic activities. He turned of the flashlight, and still was able to see a kind of faint glow from down there.
He got up again, and wanted to walk around the pit. It wasn't easy, one side was ending in the wall. He had to jump over it at that point. It was some five or six foot, not a big problem. He just had be careful not to slip. The dangerous part was the passage right before it. It was a pity, he didn't have a rope.
He knew, the one thing he must not do now, was look down. But he couldn't help it, was glance wandered lower, and suddenly he felt dizzy. He slipped, one moment, it seemed like he was falling, and got caught between the rocks.
He didn't dare to move. If one little rock broke, he would just slide down into nothingness. Sweat was running down his cheeks, if it was the heat, or the thought of what was below him, he couldn't say. Where was the flashlight. His hand touched the cool metal, but he didn't dare to grab it. And without it he couldn't see.
He had to take the risk, and try to find ground for his feet. Of course it could break, but he had to start somewhere. And reaching for something in the dark, and trying to pull himself up, was even more dangerous.
Carefully, inch by inch, he let himself slide down, hoping the rocks would keep. Finally his feet reached a small edge, that carried him. Now the flashlight was out of reach for good. He had rely on his hands and feet.
It still did not seem a good idea to pull himself up. Now since he was standing on something solid, his mind stopped racing and he could grasp clear thoughts again. He pressed his left foot into one wall, and reached with the right one for the wall on the other side. The first time he slipped, landing on the edge again.
The second time it worked. Now he had to be even more careful. If he slipped again, he would hit the edge from a bigger distance, and maybe it was not strong enough to hold. So, he used his elbows, too. They got scratched as he pressed them into the walls, but the pain was not unbearable. His hand reached for something, it felt like a crumbled paper. How did it get here? It didn't matter, he needed to focus now.
He grabbed the paper with his teeth, careful not to move his elbow. He worked his way up, until he had to take the risk, of pulling himself up the edge of the pit. Exhausted he rolled over, on solid ground, and rested for a few minutes, until his pulse was close to normal again.
Mamoru took the flashlight and the paper and walked away from the pit. He didn't know, if the paper was important, but before he took a look at it, he had to get away from that pit. His curiousity won, before he had reached the iron rungs leading up, he stopped and unfolded it. It wasn't just a normal sheet of paper, it was the kind of rice paper used for calligraphy.
There where marks in black ink, and whoever had written them, had an even more delicate handwriting, than the person, who had send him that suicide letter two days ago. Only it wasn't a woman this time. It was a man's hand, and it had to be a man, who was very familiar with calligraphy.
The first three kanji read 'Shiroi', 'Tsuki', and 'Hime'. Princess of the White Moon! There was no doubt, it was a letter to Usagi. Someone had thrown it into the pit, so that it wouldn't be found. It was pure fortune, that it had gotten stuck between the rocks. Maybe this letter was the missing part of the puzzle.
"Princess of the White Moon! Prince Endymion is in my hands. His life is forfeit, unless you surrender the Holy Silver Crystal to me, immediatly. If you let anyone read this, or bring anybody with you, you seal his fate. The cat will show you the way."
Something making perfect sense, for a change. Metallia had kidnapped him and used him to lure Usagi into a trap. Had she really been after the Silver Crystal, or was it a plan to get rid of Usagi? Probably both!
What did she mean by cat? He doubted that the cat guardians of the Senshi were involved, so it had to be something different. He didn't even know, if she was talking about a living animal or some kind of youma, or droid.
Or was cat simply slang for person? He didn't think so. Probably Metallia had used a cat, because it couldn't tell the way to anyone else. Or maybe she hadn't been strong enough to control the mind of a human. But she couldn't have done it without human help. Someone had kidnapped him Saturday night. Someone had written that letter and given it to Usagi.
There still were many unanswered questions, but he had reached the bottom of the well. No earthquakes, no spaceships. Just an ancient nemesis and her plans.
------------------------------
The knowledge hit him like a burst of flames. Things started to make sense again. This cave was familiar to him, he just didn't know how. He searched his memories, but the missing parts still didn't come back. Had the cave appeared in his dream? He wasn't sure about that either, he had never given a thought to his environment. He had only worried about Usagi and the strange darkness.
He walked around in the cave, desperatly searching for something familiar. Behind the barrier of rocks, there was probably another entrance, but it would take days to free it. And he didn't know how stable the cave was, anyway. Perhaps more rocks would break down. He wasn't keen on getting smashed.
Had these rocks killed Usagi? Perhaps it had been a trap set up by Metallia. She had lured Usagi down here, and let the rocks fall on her. It would make sense. No it wouldn't!
Carefully he approached the pit. The strange heat emerged from there. He lay flat on his belly, and looked down as far as the flashlight permitted it. The ravine was a long narrow rip in the earth, with rocks sticking out from the walls. It was impossible to see the bottom, since it didn't go straight down and seemed to become even narrower the further it went down. If you fell down there, you would probably get stuck at some point.
Had Usagi fallen down? He didn't want to think about it.
Probably the bottom of the pit was a flow of magma, that would be an explanation for the heat. The earthquake was supposed to have been caused by vulcanic activities. He turned of the flashlight, and still was able to see a kind of faint glow from down there.
He got up again, and wanted to walk around the pit. It wasn't easy, one side was ending in the wall. He had to jump over it at that point. It was some five or six foot, not a big problem. He just had be careful not to slip. The dangerous part was the passage right before it. It was a pity, he didn't have a rope.
He knew, the one thing he must not do now, was look down. But he couldn't help it, was glance wandered lower, and suddenly he felt dizzy. He slipped, one moment, it seemed like he was falling, and got caught between the rocks.
He didn't dare to move. If one little rock broke, he would just slide down into nothingness. Sweat was running down his cheeks, if it was the heat, or the thought of what was below him, he couldn't say. Where was the flashlight. His hand touched the cool metal, but he didn't dare to grab it. And without it he couldn't see.
He had to take the risk, and try to find ground for his feet. Of course it could break, but he had to start somewhere. And reaching for something in the dark, and trying to pull himself up, was even more dangerous.
Carefully, inch by inch, he let himself slide down, hoping the rocks would keep. Finally his feet reached a small edge, that carried him. Now the flashlight was out of reach for good. He had rely on his hands and feet.
It still did not seem a good idea to pull himself up. Now since he was standing on something solid, his mind stopped racing and he could grasp clear thoughts again. He pressed his left foot into one wall, and reached with the right one for the wall on the other side. The first time he slipped, landing on the edge again.
The second time it worked. Now he had to be even more careful. If he slipped again, he would hit the edge from a bigger distance, and maybe it was not strong enough to hold. So, he used his elbows, too. They got scratched as he pressed them into the walls, but the pain was not unbearable. His hand reached for something, it felt like a crumbled paper. How did it get here? It didn't matter, he needed to focus now.
He grabbed the paper with his teeth, careful not to move his elbow. He worked his way up, until he had to take the risk, of pulling himself up the edge of the pit. Exhausted he rolled over, on solid ground, and rested for a few minutes, until his pulse was close to normal again.
Mamoru took the flashlight and the paper and walked away from the pit. He didn't know, if the paper was important, but before he took a look at it, he had to get away from that pit. His curiousity won, before he had reached the iron rungs leading up, he stopped and unfolded it. It wasn't just a normal sheet of paper, it was the kind of rice paper used for calligraphy.
There where marks in black ink, and whoever had written them, had an even more delicate handwriting, than the person, who had send him that suicide letter two days ago. Only it wasn't a woman this time. It was a man's hand, and it had to be a man, who was very familiar with calligraphy.
The first three kanji read 'Shiroi', 'Tsuki', and 'Hime'. Princess of the White Moon! There was no doubt, it was a letter to Usagi. Someone had thrown it into the pit, so that it wouldn't be found. It was pure fortune, that it had gotten stuck between the rocks. Maybe this letter was the missing part of the puzzle.
"Princess of the White Moon! Prince Endymion is in my hands. His life is forfeit, unless you surrender the Holy Silver Crystal to me, immediatly. If you let anyone read this, or bring anybody with you, you seal his fate. The cat will show you the way."
Something making perfect sense, for a change. Metallia had kidnapped him and used him to lure Usagi into a trap. Had she really been after the Silver Crystal, or was it a plan to get rid of Usagi? Probably both!
What did she mean by cat? He doubted that the cat guardians of the Senshi were involved, so it had to be something different. He didn't even know, if she was talking about a living animal or some kind of youma, or droid.
Or was cat simply slang for person? He didn't think so. Probably Metallia had used a cat, because it couldn't tell the way to anyone else. Or maybe she hadn't been strong enough to control the mind of a human. But she couldn't have done it without human help. Someone had kidnapped him Saturday night. Someone had written that letter and given it to Usagi.
There still were many unanswered questions, but he had reached the bottom of the well. No earthquakes, no spaceships. Just an ancient nemesis and her plans.