Hi, hi! Another chapter! Hooray!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.
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In the previous chapter, Endymion, Jedite, Zoicite, and Serenity returned to the inn in Alendoor. Serenity discovered that Linnaus' spirit was talking to her.
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Light of Love: Red Moon
Chapter 20: Rebellious Children
Princess Rei of Mars descended the marble wrap-around staircase that led to the lowest level of the Moon Castle. Her fingertips lightly skimmed the cold surface of the carved stone handrail on her right. The clicking of her heels on each rock step echoed in the cavernous stairwell. The Martian apprentice frowned at the loud noise her feet made. She paused and twisted her head to see if any of the palace guards had heard her. Satisfied that she was not being pursued, Rei turned her attention back to her descent.
She was uncertain as to exactly where the spiral staircase would lead her, but she still held her head high. Martians were known for always appearing confident, no matter what their venture. She may only be walking down to the basement, but Rei's proud demeanor suggested she was about to present herself to Queen Serenity.
The Martian's left eyelid twitched slightly when she thought of Moon Queen. Earlier that afternoon, Rei—hot with frustration regarding Serenity's disappearance to the Earth and her own inability to stop the Moon Princess, coupled with the fresh news that only two senshi had been sent to retrieve the girl—burst in on the Queen, her advisors, and Sailor Venus in the throne room. Her intent was to demand an immediate audience with Queen Serenity; however, Rei's presence was not as well received as the senshi apprentice might have anticipated. Rather than granting the Martian's request, the Queen summoned a guard to physically remove the young girl from the room.
Upon reflection, Rei realized she had possibly been too pushy in her attempt to consult Queen Serenity. The Martian's pale cheeks felt hot as she remembered how annoyed the Queen appeared when she ordered the guards to escort the—what did Serenity call her?
"Take this impertinent child to her room at once!" Queen Serenity ordered. Her grey eyes locked with Rei's violet orbs. The cold look in her gaze made the Martian cringe. "Carry her if it's necessary. Lock her in. I'll deal with you later, Rei."
Rei didn't resist. Her legs suddenly felt like lead; she almost wished the guards would carry her. Instead, her feet slid across the slick marble floor; her movements must have seemed defiant, because the Palace guards each took her by an arm and drug her to her bed chamber. The Martian, feeling defeated, didn't care if her red heels scuffed the pristine floor or if the floor scuffed her pristine heels. The only point when she cared about her predicament was when Minako, Ami, and Makoto spotted her in the corridor. The girls froze in the hall, their mouths agape with horror. Rei flashed her friends a dazzling, proud smile before being shoved gracelessly into her room. She heard the key turn in the door. She was locked in.
"This is great," she muttered beneath her breath. She tested the doorknob. It wouldn't budge. The Martian sighed with frustration. She tossed her raven black hair over her shoulder and spun around to face her empty bed chamber. She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Now I know how Princess Serenity felt," she said bitterly.
An echo in the stairwell caused the Martian apprentice to pause in her descent. She spun her head around and peered behind her. She strained to listen for any noise. Rei held her breath in; all sound seemed to bounce off the stone walls in the hollow stairwell.
Satisfied that no one was following her, Rei exhaled. She twisted her head around to face the descending stairs. She gasped.
In front of her, the staircase appeared to fade into total darkness.
The Martian again held her head high and continued her descent. Each step she took led her deeper into the castle's lower chamber; the bright light of the upper floors slowly filtered away. Eventually, the light was completely swallowed by pitch black. Rei's fingers found the end of the railing just as her left foot found the last step. The Martian princess stumbled ungracefully on the flat surface of the floor. The girl righted herself by clutching the wall with her right hand.
The Martian exhaled impatiently. Her eyes narrowed to peer through the thick, dense haze of the darkened corridor. She couldn't see anything in front of her, and she had failed to bring a torch or some other type of lighting implement with her. The senshi apprentice had heard that the lowest level of the palace was dark, but she never imagined it was pitch black.
Rei considered using one of her senshi attacks to help brighten up the place. A "Burning Mandala" would send a torrent of fire down the corridor which would illuminate the place quite nicely, she silently reasoned. The Martian retracted this consideration after she imagined charring precious wall hangings and furnishings that may, possibly, be kept in this particular hall. The girl frowned with annoyance. She would simply have to stumble her way to through the corridor.
Tucking a few stray locks of hair behind her ears, Rei stepped gracelessly forward.
Up until an hour ago, Rei, having been banished to her bedchamber by Queen Serenity, had spent most of the afternoon alone. She passed most of the time by laying on her back in the middle of her four-post bed and staring up at the at the intricately carved ceiling of her room. Initially, she tried to pass the time by taking a nap—something the senshi, Luna and Artemis, for reasons unknown and certainly not comprehended by Rei, disapproved of. The Martian apprentice felt terribly naughty for even considering sleeping in the middle of the afternoon.
The moment she shut her eyes, however, Rei experienced a series of gruesome, disturbing visions. Martians were psychic, so visions were not unusual. What was different about this particular image was its clarity. Rei's normal visions were often hazy and symbolic; she usually had to meditate to fully retract the meaning of the symbols she saw in her visions.
This time, the image that entered her mind was clear; she felt as though she were actually present in her vision and not just witnessing it from afar. Rei didn't recognize the landscape—a snow-covered wooded area illuminated by a sliver of moonlight—but she easily identified Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, and Princess Serenity. She heard the familiar voice of a girl, but it sounded like it was in her head, almost like she was the one who was speaking. Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter turned and faced Rei's position. Both unleashed attacks at her. Rei shielded her face with her arms. While she lowered her hands, Rei noted that the tops of her gloves were a different color. Her Martian costume was trimmed in red, but in her vision, the trim topping her gloves was gold.
A tight gasp of air escaped from Rei's throat and her eyelids flew open. She held her gloved hands in front of her face. She mirrored the movements of her arms in her vision. She stared thoughtfully at the bright red trim at her elbow. She clamped her eyes shut and saw gold trim.
"Orleana!"
A hint of fright mingled with her triumphant tone as she said the Solarian's name. Her lids fluttered open.
She had witnessed the events from Orleana's point of view. Rei grimaced. Why was she subjected to Orleana's perspective?
She blinked as she tried to understand the meaning of her vision. It was so different from anything else she had ever experienced. The vision couldn't just be symbolic, she reasoned silently. It must be real.
Rei glanced at the panel of windows on the opposite side of her chamber. The afternoon moon glow filtered through the filmy ivory curtains. The Martian shifted her head so that she was again staring at the ceiling above her. Sucking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes.
In her vision, Rei was surrounded by darkness, barely lit by the glow of the moon. The Martian longed to look at the sky, but she could only witness the vision from Orleana's perspective; she had no control over the Solarian's body. Stubbornly, Rei still attempted to force Orleana to look up. After several moments of intense concentration, the Martian's efforts were rewarded. Orleana's eyes finally scanned the night sky; Rei shuddered when her gaze settled on the distant moon. The Martian confirmed that the setting of the vision, judging by the placement of the moon, took place on the Earth.
Rei allowed herself to linger in the vision longer. If this was a future event, she wanted to witness as much as she could. The images quickly unraveled in front of her; Rei watched, horrified, until her own fear forced her to open her eyes.
She was hyperventilating. She sat up. The girl held her head in her hands. She closed her eyes, but Orleana's perspective penetrated her mind with forced clarity. Rei opened her lids and stared, wide eyed, at the delicate fabric of her duvet.
The Martian shifted her attention to the closed door of her chamber. She stood and crossed the room. Rei attempted to open the door. The handle would not move. The Martian apprentice growled with frustration and collapsed, face first, onto her bed.
"Oof!" she grunted when her right knee hit something solid in the black corridor. Rei placed her left hand in front of her. Her fingers touched the solid, smooth surface of a table. The Martian muttered under her breath. She really wished she had brought a torch. Like always, she functioned on her instincts; Sailor Mars always criticized her for her spontaneity.
Remembering her most recent encounter with her mentor, Rei scowled. Both she and Sailor Mars may be from the same planet, but that seemed to be where their similarities ended.
After spending several solitary hours in her bed chamber, Rei heard the familiar sound of a key turning in the lock of her door. The light outside was nearly faded for the day; the Martian apprentice had watched the moon glow shift across the walls of her chamber as mid-day progressed into late afternoon. She dared not close her eyes for fear of seeing those confounded images.
The door handle squeaked as it was twisted by someone outside her room. Rei sprung from her position on her bed. She quickly found the red pumps of her senshi uniform and slipped them on. The Martian apprentice glanced quickly down at her fuku; she hastily straightened the bow at the center of her chest and smoothed the wrinkles from her short red skirt.
Sailor Mars entered the room. The markings of her fuku were identical to those on Rei's senshi uniform. Her black raven hair was pulled back in a single braid; stray strands had fallen from the normally tidy hairdo. Dark half-circles were visible beneath her eyes.
Rei, noting her mentor's weary appearance, felt a tug of concern in her chest. The apprentice realized that her earlier actions may have reflected poorly on Sailor Mars. She smiled kindly at the Martian warrior.
The senshi approached her apprentice. She stopped when she was a few paces in front of Rei. Both Martians faced each other with their feet placed in wide, strong stances. The pair of them silently stared at each other.
A cold chill sliced up Rei's back. Clearly, Sailor Mars had not come to pay her apprentice a cordial visit. Rei knew she was in trouble; she didn't have to be psychic to realize that. The younger Martian's expression quickly changed. Her smile faded. She felt her jaw clench.
In an act of assertion, Sailor Mars crossed her arms over her chest. Rei, in an act of defiance, mirrored her mentor. The elder Martian glared at her apprentice with a mixed expression of anger and exasperation.
Rei bit the inside of her lip and broke eye contact with Sailor Mars. Instead, she stared at the molding where the wall met the ceiling. She concentrated on the smooth edges and divots of the lightly carved stone. She pondered why stone molding was necessary; she thought wood or plaster trim was more practical.
Sailor Mars eyed her apprentice's actions. Evidently, she was not amused by Rei's cavalier response. She constantly told the younger Martian that she was too reactive; the tactic may be effective in battle, Sailor Mars admitted to Rei once during a training session, but it did the girl little good in the Moon court. Sailor Mars always appeared perplexed over how Rei behaved.
"You had no right to barge in on Queen Serenity during a private meeting like that!" the Senshi of Fire finally stated. "You're lucky you were just sent to your room. She could have banished you from the Moon altogether."
Rei nodded politely. She still kept her eyes averted. She acknowledged that her methods may not be conventional, but the Martian apprentice did not understand why she shouldn't be allowed to talk to the Queen and the other senshi if what she had to say was relevant and important. The Martian princess closed her eyes; the visions from earlier flashed in front of her. She blinked to strike the images from her mind.
She should tell Sailor Mars about the visions she had of the Earth. If Rei's suspicions were correct, and these images were of things that would happen in the near future, then the Senshi of Fire could help to prevent the events from happening. The apprentice shifted her attention away from the molding. She focused her violet gaze on Sailor Mars' furious glare.
Her heart sank. Here she was, thinking of the future, and there stood Sailor Mars, clearly intent on focusing on Rei's recent indiscretion in the Moon court. The apprentice realized that she must acknowledge that she was in the wrong; otherwise, the pair of them would spend the whole evening standing, as they did now, stubbornly staring at each other. The Martian princess sighed. Admitting wrongdoing was not something she normally did. She clenched her fists against her sides.
"I understand I was not acting within protocol," Rei admitted, her tone even.
Satisfaction filtered over Sailor Mars' face.
Rei licked her lips. She gritted her teeth together. She should be quiet now, she silently told herself. She should wait for Sailor Mars to speak before she tried to say anything else. She should just be patient.
Martians were never patient.
"But Serenity's gone, she's in terrible danger, and Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter will not be able to save her!" Rei loudly blurted.
Sailor Mars' expression changed considerably. She opened her mouth, but Rei continued to speak.
"Queen Serenity must dispatch the other senshi immediately to prevent any further damage. Sailor Mars, you must have seen in your own visions the terrible outcome…"
"How dare you presume to see the same as I!" the infuriated Martian warrior interrupted. "You and I are not equals, Rei. Your powers are still very new to you. You can't assume that every vision you see comes true."
The hint of mockery in Sailor Mars' last statement caused her apprentice to cringe. Rei frowned while she considered the meaning stacked behind her mentor's last words. The young Martian furiously shook her head of dark hair.
"But you're wrong," she said. "Queen Serenity is wrong. Tactically, the decision she made to send only Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury was negligent. I've seen their deaths—it's the result of the poor choice the Queen made, not some fantasy I've fabricated in my head! Why punish me for concerning myself with their fates?"
"Because it's none of your concern!" stated a female voice behind Rei.
The young Martian spun around. Luna, the Queen's feline advisor, stood in the open doorway of Rei's bed chamber. The black cat's eyes glowed. Luna's scornful look bore into Rei's violet gaze.
The Martian girl blinked. Even though Luna was just a cat, the black feline frightened the young apprentice. Rei prepared herself mentally to maintain her ground, just as she had been trained to do for any battle. She refused to back down from her position, least of all against a cat. The girl set her jaw and threw her shoulders back.
"I am a senshi in training," Rei proclaimed proudly. "The possible demise of my comrades is most definitely my concern!"
"Possible?" Luna repeated. "What does the Queen care about possibilities? She has far more important things to attend to at this late hour than the hallucinations of a child!"
Rei's mouth opened slightly. She clamped her jaw shut and glanced over to Sailor Mars. The Senshi of Fire, pleased to have an ally in Luna, smirked at her apprentice and shrugged her shoulders.
"Is that all we are to you?" Rei said. Her face flushed with anger. She dug her fingernails into her tightly clenched palms. "You see us simply as children who you can send away? I have news for you, Luna, and you can send this back to our precious Queen: her child saved the Moon from a hostile attack!"
"Yes, Rei, we are all aware of what Princess Serenity did," Luna dismissively muttered. "No need to bring that up again."
The Martian apprentice ignored the feline.
"Makoto, Minako, Ami and I lent our power to the princess," she stated with a flourish. "Five children saved the Moon. How do you explain that?"
"You were lucky," Sailor Mars interjected. "And you and Princess Serenity did not fend off the attack completely by yourselves. You know that."
Rei spun to face her mentor. She nodded. Smiling, she said pointedly, "Yes, I do know that. But do you know who provided the power?"
Luna sighed impatiently.
"Rei," the feline said. "This is not important. It's bad enough Princess Serenity violated Lunar Law to stop that attack…"
"She saved you!" Rei snapped. "She saved all of us! And you pushed her aside, and she left. Now she's in terrible danger. Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter will not stop it. Orleana is far more powerful than anyone ever realized…"
Both Luna and Sailor Mars frowned at the young girl.
"Did you say Orleana?" Luna questioned. She was suddenly more interested in what Rei had to say. "Orleana, the former Solarian apprentice?"
Rei swallowed and nodded. She felt a wash of relief flow over her skin. They believed her.
"I saw her, in my vision," she explained to the senshi and feline. "She's on the Earth, and she's on a bloody rampage. She has to be stopped."
Sailor Mars and Luna exchanged looks with each other. Luna stared at the floor.
"I'll tell the Queen," she stated, nodding thoughtfully. Laughing nervously, she added, "But Orleana is just a child. Her powers are not close to the level of Jupiter and Mercury. They should be able to easily restrain her."
Rei's violet eyes widened with disbelief. She shook her head.
"Have you not listened to anything I've told you?" she demanded. "Orleana is too strong to be stopped by just two senshi! You have to tell the Queen to send all of the senshi! Now!"
"Rei!" snapped Sailor Mars. "How dare you speak to one of your elders with such impertinence! Apologize to Luna at once."
Rei clenched her jaw and shook her head.
"I will not apologize," she stubbornly stated. "Not for being right."
The air between the two Martians and the cat crackled with silent tension. Luna loudly sighed and cleared her throat. She rubbed her right front paw across her forehead.
"Well, I'm off to consult with the Queen," announced the feline. She turned to leave the bed chamber. In the doorway, Luna paused and turned to face the two Martians. She scowled at the young apprentice. "You are too stubborn for your own good, Rei. I dread to think of the day when you become a senshi."
The feline twisted around and walked into the hall.
"Thanks to your poor judgment, that day may be sooner than you think!" Rei angrily hollered after the cat.
"Rei!" Sailor Mars shouted. She grabbed her apprentice by the arm and swung the girl around to face her. "Luna is right. You are too rash. You will never become a senshi if you don't learn to respect the rules."
Sailor Mars' words still echoed in Rei's head. The Martian apprentice looked down. She could see nothing in the pitch black of the corridor.
Her right leg smarted with pain. Rei leaned forward and rubbed the injured knee with her left hand. She clamped her eyes shut to try to will the pain away. Instead of seeing the vision again, she saw through the darkness of the corridor. She nearly fell on her backside when she realized she could see shapes in the hallway through her closed lids. Panic spread through her body as she contemplated how it was possible for her to see with her eyes closed.
"Get a grip, Rei," she whispered sarcastically to herself.
She remembered, with a bit of embarrassment, that all Martians, if they concentrated, could see through their shut eyes. Rei used to use this trick to sneak around the Martian castle when she was a small child. She was presently so accustomed to utilizing her powers in other, more challenging ways, that she had forgotten this basic Martian skill. Much time had passed since she last needed to see through the pitch dark.
The princess of Mars took in a deep breath to calm herself. She exhaled. She felt her pulse slow.
To confirm that she wasn't hallucinating, the Martian again opened her lids; indeed, her violet eyes only saw blackness. She clamped her lids shut; like before, she saw crude shapes of the furnishings in the hall, including the table directly in front of her, a chest of drawers just beyond that, and a high-backed chair resting against the opposite wall.
Rei straightened. She confidently stepped away from the wall and the table. She focused her attention on the stretch of corridor in front of her. The long passage seemed to stretch on forever. The Martian walked through the hall for a long time, and still there seemed no end in sight.
The senshi apprentice impatiently sighed. She stopped for a moment to gauge her progress. Twisting her head around, Rei peered back at the portion of hall she had just traversed. She gasped. The bottom of the staircase was no longer visible. The Martian princess looked at the walls on each side of her; she wondered if, in her haste to seek the end of the hall, she had possibly overlooked a door or two. A quick glance confirmed that she had not; the smooth marble paneling stretched on forever without even a stray tapestry or portrait to break the monotony.
Rei, never known for her patience, crossed her arms over her chest and pivoted in a full circle in the center of the corridor. She contemplated going back upstairs; she wondered if she has been gone long enough for one of her friends to have noticed her absence. The Martian frowned as she thought of Princess Serenity; her Lunarian friend had been gone for a full day before anyone had realized it. Taking this into consideration, Rei doubted that anyone in the Moon castle would notice that a senshi apprentice was not present upstairs.
Filled with new determination, Rei turned around and faced the patch of hall before her. This time, instead of looking like it stretched on forever, the corridor appeared to have a definite end. A door was visible in front of her. Rei smiled and stepped forward. Her heart quickened. She unfolded her arms and dropped her hands to her sides.
She realized, as she neared end of the hall, that she could see straight through the massive double doors. She still saw the doors' shape and paneling, but she also saw what was beyond the barrier.
Located past the doors was a vast, open space. Tiny pricks of light broke through the otherwise black atmosphere. A haze clung to the bottom half of the area. Suspended in the middle of the space was a large, ornately carved archway. Located to the left of the stone arch was a long, twisted cord. Standing between the cord and the arch was a human figure. Like the objects in the hall, Rei was only able to see a crude silhouette of a woman. The Martian princess deduced, based on the woman's short skirt, that she was senshi. The solitary warrior held a long, key-shaped scepter in one hand; the ruby-colored orb on the top of the staff pulsed with light.
"Sailor Pluto," Rei whispered. Her heart felt like it quickened in her chest.
For years, the Martian princess had heard rumors about a solitary senshi who was banished to dwell in the basement of the Moon castle. The servants gossiped about the beautiful woman who lived beyond the wooden door at the end of the last hall; they said that people who disturbed the mysterious warrior were cursed with bad luck for the rest of their lives. The senshi apprentices and Princess Serenity spun their own stories about the solitary soldier; they speculated where she came from and how she came to live in the basement.
"She betrayed Queen Serenity for a man and now she's shackled to the wall of the dungeon!" Makoto sighed dreamily.
"And the Queen condemned the senshi to never see him again," Minako gleefully added.
"But she refused, and so the Queen locked her in the basement," Rei suggested.
"Wait, why would my mother put someone in the dungeon for falling in love?" the Moon princess demanded.
Minako's eyes widened. She giggled as she said, "Because the senshi was in love with your father!"
"What?" Princess Serenity gasped. "Why does this have to involve my parents? Maybe she was just bad and so the other senshi imprisoned her in the dungeon."
"The Moon Palace doesn't have a dungeon," Ami factually stated.
The four other girls laughed. Ami blankly stared at them.
"We're just kidding around, Ami!" Minako responded.
"I know that," Ami said defensively. "I just thought I should point out to you that the castle is not equipped with a prison. Lunarians don't even believe in incarceration. It's barbaric."
"How do you know it doesn't have a dungeon?" Rei pondered. "We've never even been down there. Perhaps that's the big secret. Maybe that's why people are cursed if they dare to approach the wooden door."
"There isn't a dungeon!" Ami persisted. "Sailor Mercury has a copy of the palace blueprints on file in her lab and there is nothing behind the wooden door. I can show you if you don't believe me."
The girls were silent.
"How can there be nothing?" Princess Serenity questioned. "I mean, if there is a door, there has to be something beyond it."
Ami shrugged. "According to the blueprints, nothing exists past that door."
"Oh! That's even more promising!" Makoto gushed. "A door that leads to nothing. How mysterious!"
Soon after, the girls created a game to see which of them could make it to the wooden door first. Over the years, no one had ever even made it to the corridor, much less all the way to the door. Inevitably, when they weren't even halfway down the stairs, Minako or Serenity would shriek, frightening the entire group of girls into sprinting back up the stairs to the warm light of the upper floors. To the dismay of nearby servants, the girls screamed all the way back up the stairwell.
Until three days ago, Rei had never spent much time speculating whether there really was a senshi who lived in the basement or what was on the other side of the wooden door. She had fun daydreaming with her friends about it, but she didn't care to find out the truth. Her opinion changed drastically during one of her last conversations with Princess Serenity; it took place on the same day as the attack on the Moon Castle, just prior to Serenity's transformation into Sailor Moon. The two girls were seated on the front steps of the palace.
"You know the wooden door?" Serenity asked casually. "The one that leads to nothing?"
Rei smirked. "I thought you wouldn't have any time to think about things like that with all of the work Sailor Mercury loads on you."
"Yeah, well," Serenity responded, shrugging, "I can't spend all of my time regurgitating useless dates of past battles and coronations. About the wooden door…have you ever wondered what is beyond it?"
Rei squinted and stared at palace garden in front of them. She focused her violet gaze on the perfectly squared-off hedges; the blunt edges of the freshly cut leafs left slivers of blue contrast against the silver foliage. The Martian frowned as she contemplated her answer.
"Not really," Rei admitted. She glanced at Serenity. The Moon Princess' smile faded. She dipped her head down to stare at the neatly folded hands in her lap. Rei tried to lighten her friend's spirits by saying, "There's probably an ugly old troll living down there or something."
"My mother goes down there," the Moon princess said. She lifted her head and twisted to face the Martian. She held a hand to her forehead to block the bright glow of the afternoon light. "I've followed her down before. She goes past the door, though."
Rei laughed. "I'm surprised you had the nerve to follow her," she stated. Smiling at Serenity's inquisitive stare, Rei continued, "When we used to go down there, you and Minako barely made it down four steps before you screamed your way back up."
Serenity rolled her crystal blue eyes and playfully pushed the Martian's shoulder.
"Give me a break, Rei!" the blonde muttered, giggling. "That was so many years ago!"
Rei leaned toward Serenity, a knowing look on her face. The Martian often teased the Moon princess for being a crybaby. She doubted that Serenity made it all the way down the basement without a peep or whimper.
The Moon princess sighed with defeat over her friend's stare. "Oh okay, I'll admit it!" she said. "I was scared to death, but…" she held her forefinger up to emphasize her point "...I didn't cry or squeal or anything. I held it all in."
"You?" Rei laughed. Serenity nodded proudly. The Martian rubbed her eyes and again focused her attention to the garden. "Well, that's impressive. If only we could teach Minako to keep calm. It's sort of embarrassing, her being the future leader of the Senshi, when she wails like a baby during practice battles."
Serenity giggled. She twisted her head to stare at the neatly cut lawn in the garden.
The two girls were silent for several minutes before the princess again mentioned the wooden door.
"I know what's on the other side," she whispered to Rei, "Beyond the door."
Rei shifted to stare at her friend. She observed Serenity's profile. The princess' skin glowed in the light; she was ethereal. The princess turned her attention away from the garden and locked eyes with the Martian apprentice. Serenity's bright blue eyes sparkled with a mixture of confidence and wisdom. Rei felt a wave of emotion pass through her. The Martian often regarded the Moon princess as a peer or a younger sister, but at that moment, Rei sensed the power of Selene flowing through her friend's body.
"And?" prompted the Martian.
Serenity grinned. "Ami is right," she laughed. "Well, she's sort of right. There is nothing beyond it…just…space. But for being nothing, it's pretty vast and impressive."
Rei's eyebrows lifted and she nodded. "Huh," she grunted. "Ami was actually right. Well, so much for the rumor of the cast-off senshi."
"No, that's true, too," Serenity countered. "There is a senshi down there. She's the Guardian of Time."
Rei was speechless. She didn't know what to say. She stared at the princess. Her mouth fell open.
"Why does this senshi of Time live in the basement?" Rei finally questioned.
"I didn't ask her that," the princess admitted, shrugging. She looked up at the sky. "We didn't really talk about her. I asked her a couple of questions, which she more or less answered. I don't think she likes to talk about herself, now that I think about it. She just watches the Time Gate."
Rei shuddered. "That sounds solitary and boring," she muttered. "Did you catch what planet she is from?"
Serenity cleared her throat. "Yeah, she's from Pluto," the princess muttered. "I mean, she's Sailor Pluto."
"Pluto?" Rei echoed loudly.
"Shhh!" the Moon princess responded. She placed her finger to her lips.
The Lunarian princess glanced over her shoulder to make sure the palace guards weren't within earshot.
"Pluto?" Rei repeated, this time in a softer tone.
Serenity nodded eagerly; the pair of gold buns on the top of her head bobbled. She smiled.
"She's beautiful and very wise," Serenity told the Martian. "She has the most amazing dark green hair and stunning bronze skin."
"Bronze?" Rei snickered. "Are you sure you didn't see a statue?"
Serenity ignored the Martian's playful comment. She hugged her legs to her chest and rested her chin on the top of her right knee. She again stared at the garden's foliage.
"She looks lonely, though," the princess whispered.
"Well, if she's the Guardian of Time, she's probably too busy," Rei offered. "That seems like a big job. Or, maybe she doesn't like people."
Princess Serenity shrugged. She sighed loudly. "It's too bad."
Rei nodded and stared up at the sky. She squinted to block the brightness of the afternoon light. She smirked devilishly and glanced at Serenity. The princess still gazed at the garden.
"So," Rei said, straightening her posture. "You gonna tell me why you went to see her?"
Serenity smiled and shook her blonde head. "No way."
"Then why tell me about it?" Rei questioned. "Why even mention it?"
"I'm not sure," Serenity admitted. She faced the Martian. Both girls stared at each other. "I felt like telling someone. And now two of us know what is past the door. The corridor to get to Sailor Pluto is pretty cold and scary, but once you are beyond that door, you feel…" Serenity sat up and stretched her arms "…safe."
Rei recalled the princess' words with surprising clarity. The Martian continued walking down the corridor until she was standing just outside the room that led to nothing. The Martian hesitated briefly before she reached her hand out to grasp the large knob of the right door. The aged metal groaned in protest when she twisted the knob; the door creaked loudly as it was forced open.
Rei only opened the door part way. She poked her head through the gap and opened her eyes. The room, if it could even be called a room, stretched on forever. The pinholes of light she had seen earlier when she looked through the wooden door were actually distant stars. Princess Serenity's description of the area as a vast, open space was accurate; Rei felt as though the area was plucked from the very center of the galaxy.
The Martian pushed the door open further. She sucked in a deep breath of courage and hesitantly stepped into the vacant space.
The large wooden door slammed shut behind her. Rei jumped. The Martian spun around to look at the huge wooden panel. The door was so tall that she couldn't see its top.
"You shouldn't have come here," a commanding voice said behind the girl.
Rei pivoted around. The mist had kicked up; Rei couldn't see anything in front of her. She glanced wearily to her legs. She did not see a floor, but yet, her feet felt firmly planted on something. Rei, confident that she wasn't going to slip into space, took one step forward. She paused when she noticed that the mist was too thick to see through.
A red, pulsing light caught Rei's attention. The Martian focused her violet eyes on glowing object. It appeared to be coming toward her. Rei heard the familiar the sound of jingling keys; the noise grew louder.
"Sailor Pluto?" the Martian asked.
The mist parted, revealing a tall, slender woman dressed in a sleeveless senshi costume trimmed in dark navy. She held in her right hand a large key-shaped staff; the glowing plum-red orb Rei had spotted in the mist was actually nestled in the key's heart-shaped crown. The woman's ruby eyes matched the color of the orb, as well as the button at the center of her fuku, the spherical pendant dangling from the choker at her neck, and the flat notched earrings hanging from her earlobes. The woman's skin was dark bronze, just as Princess Serenity had described, and her long flowing hair was dark shiny emerald. From the belt tied loosely around her waist dangled half a dozen ornately-shaped keys. The senshi towered above Rei in white knee-high heeled boots trimmed with dark navy.
"Are you Sailor Pluto?" Rei asked again.
The Guardian of Time nodded her head once. The way she stared at the Martian made Rei feel like she was being appraised. She took a step back. Perhaps she shouldn't have come here, she thought to herself.
Sailor Pluto cleared her throat.
"I was expecting you," she said placidly. She smiled, but Rei recognized a lack of emotional sincerity in Pluto's jovial expression.
The Guardian of Time turned and motioned for Rei to follow her. The Martian apprentice obediently obliged. The pair stopped in the open area between the white stone archway and the long, wide flapping cord Rei had spotted earlier through the door.
"What have you come to ask me?" the Guardian of Time demanded in an even tone. The statement seemed rehearsed, as though Sailor Pluto asked this of all of her visitors.
Rei felt a little disappointed. The Martian Princess skeptically eyed the older woman. Wouldn't Pluto, as the keeper of time, already know why she had been sought out? The senshi apprentice frowned and dropped her gaze. She attempted to focus on her shoes, but the mist was too thick. Rei bit the inside of her lip.
The Martian wondered if she had been too hasty in coming down here. She didn't know why felt compelled to seek out Sailor Pluto's counsel. She pondered why she felt it necessary to visit the Time Gate when she had already made decisions on her own. Was she seeking Sailor Pluto's approval?
Rei's violet eyes drifted from the haze swirling around her legs to the fat, multi-colored cord flowing next to her. Her gaze followed the long, wide collection of strands to its abrupt end. Her heart leapt into her throat as she stared at it; her mind buzzed with awareness. She didn't understand exactly how she knew, but Rei realized that the frayed end of the cord was a very bad omen.
Rei's violet eyes snapped back to lock with Sailor Pluto's calm ruby gaze. The Guardian of Time attempted to mask her emotion, but the Martian's psychic power ripped through her façade.
"Is this…" Rei motioned to the cord of time. "Is this our fate?"
Sailor Pluto swallowed. She blinked. The simple question seemed to adversely affect the senshi. She broke eye contact with Rei. Her gaze drifted over to the frayed end of the cord. She stared at it for a moment; sadness lined her face while she gazed at the strands. Rei detected her sorrow.
"Time is a complicated entity," Sailor Pluto finally stated. She shifted and stared at the Martian. Her eyes were cold and distant. "It could be the end, or it could signify the beginning. Nothing is definite."
Rei frowned at the woman's reply. She was tired of cryptic, insincere answers. The words frustrated her, not because she didn't understand them, but because they meant nothing to her. Her eyes narrowed. She placed her hands on her hips.
"Fate is most definite," Rei announced confidently. "You, of all people, should know that."
"If you have all of the answers, Princess Rei," Sailor Pluto defensively replied, "then why did you come all the way down here?"
"Because I had a vision!" the Martian stated. She blinked; the images from earlier flashed in her mind. Rei opened her eyes. She felt the tears threaten to spill down her face. She cupped her right hand and held it to her forehead. She sucked in a deep breath before continuing. "Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury were in it. They were dying."
She glanced at Sailor Pluto. The Guardian of Time stood rigidly still, but the Martian noted the senshi flinch slightly over her last statement. Pluto again looked away from Rei. This time, she focused her attention on the glowing orb of her key-shaped staff. Rei noticed Sailor Pluto's ruby eyes glaze over with tears. She blinked them away before she spoke.
"What did your mentor say about it?" Sailor Pluto demanded in an unconcerned, business-like tone.
Rei laughed sardonically. She thought briefly of her earlier encounter with the Senshi of Fire.
"Sailor Mars is a fool," she announced boldly. She knew it was not her place to speak ill of her mentor to the other senshi, but Rei didn't care. The apprentice was more concerned about Serenity's safe return and saving Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury. Sailor Mars seemed concerned with manners and decorum. "She no longer follows her instincts. She no longer listens to what her heart tells her."
Sailor Pluto regarded the girl in front of her. The Guardian of Time smiled; this time, Rei detected a hint of warmth behind the expression.
"It's easy, for an apprentice, to say such things," Pluto wisely stated. "When you become a senshi, you will understand why Sailor Mars is cautious. When you protect a queen, your loss is greater if your instincts are wrong."
Rei's face crimsoned. She broke eye contact with the Senshi. She absently fumbled with a few stray strands of her raven hair. The Martian bristled when she caught herself; she had acquired Princess Serenity's nervous habit of playing with her hair. She let the strands fall from her fingers. She smoothed the front of her fuku before again raising her eyes to face Sailor Pluto.
"What of my vision?" Rei demanded.
"What of it?" The Guardian of Time questioned.
"Are Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury going to die?"
"Not all of your visions have promised outcomes," Sailor Pluto gently whispered.
Rei pinched her lips together as she frowned. She clenched her hands into fists at her sides. She exhaled loudly through her nose. More persistently, she demanded, "Will Jupiter and Mercury die tonight?"
Sailor Pluto rubbed the bridge of her nose with her left forefinger and thumb. She tossed her long emerald hair over her shoulder. Her eyes trailed over to the long tangled cord beside her. She stared for a moment; Rei suspected the senshi was reading the strands. Pluto then shifted her ruby gaze away from the threads. Her eyes trailed to the end of cord.
"They will die," Sailor Pluto finally stated. Her voice was small; Rei barely heard her.
The Guardian of Time dropped her face shamefully to the ground. She brushed the bangs from her eyes and sighed. She looked up at Rei's horrified expression and shook her head. "I shouldn't have told you that. But you already knew. You witnessed it, just as I have."
Rei's chest tightened upon hearing Sailor Pluto's confirmation. She clenched her jaw. The tears that had threatened to fall earlier now flowed freely down her delicate porcelain cheeks. Worry lined her face.
"They don't save her, do they?" Rei choked.
Sailor Pluto shrugged with defeat. She blinked and stared at the low-creeping mist.
"They do, to a degree," the Guardian of Time confessed. "But their efforts are not enough. Not against the darkness. Serenity will face that alone. Nothing can be done to stop that."
"Yes it can!" Rei shouted angrily. She turned and faced the multi-colored cord next to her. She glared at the individual strands with contempt. She wanted to douse the entire thing with fire. She spun on the toe of her foot to face Sailor Pluto. Her face shined with tears.
"Tell the Queen what will happen!" Rei desperately cried. Her words stuck in her throat. "I tried to tell her, but she wouldn't listen to me. She'll listen to you!"
Sailor Pluto stepped back. Her ruby eyes widened with surprise. Her scepter nearly slipped from her hand.
"I can not do that Rei!" she responded. "As much as I would like to, I can not! I shouldn't have even confirmed what you asked of me. I'm sorry, but I can't tell Queen Serenity."
Fresh tears of frustration flowed in a torrent down Rei's face. She wiped them away with the back of her gloved left hand. She noted the remorse in Pluto's strained face; the Senshi of Time was sincere in her apology, but Rei didn't care. Sailor Pluto's adherence to the rules made the Martian ill with contempt; like Luna and Sailor Mars, Pluto was more concerned with following protocol than she was about saving lives. The Guardian of Time preferred to witness the death of two comrades in lieu of breaking a taboo. Rei was disgusted at the thought of such a lacking of compassion. She stared at Sailor Pluto through narrowed, hateful eyes.
"You won't inform the Queen that Mercury and Jupiter will die?" Rei confirmed.
Sailor Pluto stared at the glowing ruby garnet orb in her scepter. Without looking at the Princess of Mars, she shook her head with conviction.
"No," Pluto uttered.
"Do you know what I am going to do?" Rei questioned.
The Guardian of Time clamped her eyes shut. She shifted her head to face the Martian. She opened her ruby eyes and stared directly into Rei's determined violet gaze.
"I do," Sailor Pluto replied.
"You won't tell the Queen, though, will you?" Rei demanded, crossing her arms. "Just like you couldn't warn her about the attack on the Moon, or about Princess Serenity's departure, or even about what happened to Linnaus. You will never tell her what I'm going to do?"
"Your words cut me to the core, Rei," the Guardian of Time admitted. Sailor Pluto cynically smiled at the Martian apprentice. The earlier sheen in her ruby eyes had faded considerably. She blinked. "But you are right. I can't tell anyone."
Rei observed the senshi through slanted violet eyes. She smiled wickedly.
"Good," she declared. "Then you can't stop me!"
Rei felt empowered by the conviction in her own voice. She no longer slouched with worry or defeat. She stood tall; she held her head high and threw her shoulders back. She was shorter than Sailor Pluto, but the Martian now felt like she towered over the elder woman. Restored with new confidence, Rei spun around on her heel and left Sailor Pluto's domain. She didn't even bat an eyelash when the large pair of wooden doors parted magically to let her out.
Her concerns from earlier washed away. She knew what she had to do. She just hoped that her words would not fall on another pair of deaf ears.
She was so focused on her mission that she didn't initially notice the journey she had taken from the basement to the west wing of the palace. Rei found herself standing outside of Minako's bedchamber. She knocked on the Venetian's door.
The door opened partway. Minako's penetrating blue eyes peered at Rei from the gap. Her gaze fell to Martian's fuku. The Venetian frowned at the uniform.
"Why do I have the feeling that I'm not gonna get any sleep if I let you in?" Minako muttered.
Rei impatiently sighed. She attempted to smile, but her annoyance from earlier remained and her facial expression turned into a scowl.
"Please let me in, Minako," Rei said.
The Venetian apprentice's eyes narrowed. Her right brow arched.
"You look angry," she observed. "Is that the whole Martian-temper-fire thing, or are you really mad?"
"Minako!"
"I'm kidding!" the blonde announced lightly. She opened the door wider and stepped aside. She motioned for Rei to enter.
"We were pretty freaked earlier, when we saw you being hauled off by the guards," the Venetian mentioned.
The Martian ignored the comment and stormed into the room. She stopped at the foot of Minako's bed. Rei stared at the lace-trimmed canopy and the heart-shaped throw pillows strewn across the fluffy purple duvet. Her eyes drifted to the scallop-edged doily covering Minako's dressing table.
Rei inhaled deeply. She grimaced and covered her nose.
"What is that horrid smell?" she said through a muffled hand.
"It's lavender oil," the Venetian explained. Minako shut her chamber door. She pivoted and approached Rei. "It's a soothing scent. It helps me fall asleep."
Rei's eyes drifted to the girl's clothes. The Martian hadn't realized that her friend was wearing pajamas.
"It's already night?" She gasped. A quiver of worry strummed in her lower abdomen. Was it too late? Were Sailor Mercury and Jupiter already dead?
The Martian's gaze darted to the windows; the curtains were drawn. Rei crossed the room and threw back the pink drapery. Her eyes widened. Outside, the glow of the afternoon had faded considerably.
"It's still early," Minako answered. "I'm so wiped out from the clean-up at Cuspa that I decided to go to bed early. Ami and Makoto are still working, I think." Smiling knowingly, she added, "You certainly had an involved day, from what I hear."
Rei grinned. She shrugged. She turned away from the window and faced the Venetian. "Well, it has remained involved, 22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222boring and frustrating."
Minako nodded thoughtfully. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head.
"Artemis told me a little about your woes," she stated. "Luna was furious with you and took her rage out on him, poor guy. I really don't know see what the attraction is…"
"Attraction between…?"
The Venetian giggled. "Sorry, I forget that you and the others don't pick up on that stuff naturally," Minako explained. "Um, there's a thing." She motioned her right hand in a circle. "Between Artemis and Luna. A love thing. It's a special bond—a love bond—but only Artemis is fully aware of it. Luna is almost completely oblivious. Makes things hard, when only one person in a spirit bond notices. Hard for the one aware of it, I mean."
"I thought you called it a 'love bond'," Rei said, frowning.
"Oh, it is," answered Minako. "It's a whole, love-spirit thing. It's complicated. Only Venetians fully comprehend the bond. It's powerful." A little too eagerly, she added, "It makes us want to vomit."
"Vomit?" the Martian repeated. She was suddenly relieved not to be Venetian.
"Well, the really strong ones," the blonde stammered. "I'm told that, at least. Those ones are pretty rare. But can you imagine the power? Something so strong it makes you physically sick?"
Rei shook her head. She tossed her raven hair over her shoulder.
"It sounds delightful," she began, "But I am not here to discuss Artemis and Luna's love life. I've had some pretty powerful visions."
Minako nodded her head. She grinned.
"Oh, I heard about that," she stated, "from Artemis. He didn't tell me what you saw, but he warned me that you may come to see me eventually."
Rei stared at the floor. She clenched her jaw. She dug her fingernails into her palms.
"It's the future, Minako," she whispered. "And it's bad. The remaining Senshi are content to leave things as they are, at the sacrifice of their comrades. Princess Serenity's life is in danger, and Mercury and Jupiter will not save her." Rei's eyes locked with Minako's. "I know we aren't full-fledged Senshi, but…"
"Princess Serenity's safety is our responsibility," Minako finished.
Rei stared at the Venetian. The pair shared the same determination. Rei finally felt understood; her frustration filtered away. For the first time all day, the Martian was filled with renewed hope. "You believe in my visions?"
Minako reached out and squeezed Rei's shoulder. The Venetian grinned. "You're Martian. You're psychic. Who else has the ability to see future events?"
"Thank-you, Minako," Rei earnestly said. She frowned as she reflected back on the afternoon. "Earlier, Luna and Sailor Mars accused me of being too impulsive."
"Again," the Venetian pointedly stated, "That's your job. And what does Luna know, anyway? She's a cat! Not a very bright cat, if she's too dense to notice how much Artemis loves her…and Sailor Mars is old and boring."
Rei laughed.
"We don't have time to talk about that, though," Minako announced, her tone and demeanor suddenly more sobering and authoritative. "We must rescue Serenity. Tonight. All of us. Together."
The Martian apprentice nodded and grinned.
"I hoped you would say that," she answered.
She instantly understood why she had sought out Minako after her encounter with Sailor Pluto. Unlike the senshi, the Venetian princess was willing to both listen and act. Like Rei, Minako knew that some rules were meant to be broken.
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End of Chapter 20
Chapter 20?!?!?! Crazy…
omystrs: Zoicite loves Usa. I swear! He would never try to hurt her.
Infinite: blushes thank you! I'm glad you like the story. I hope you liked this chappie.
Whitemoongirl: thanks for the sweet review! I try not to be one of those people who never updates, but sometimes I can't help it. I'm trying to be better. I do intend to finish it, so I hope you keep checking for new chapters.
Kuni-chan: Your reviews alone are enough to motivate me to keep going on this crazy long thing. You picked up on everything I hoped. Thanks for confirming the flow-factor…hmm, why do I feel like that sounds like a tampon commercial? You know what I'm talking about!
this is s e x: I'm glad you're enjoying the fic. Thanks for reading!
Well, I'm off to start on the next chapter…
Hollie