Memories From the Future
Joe checked his watch again and nervously glanced up the street. Rei was probably just stuck in traffic or something… probably. That had to be why she was late meeting her friends at the Pacific Science Center. They needed her to complete their "triple IMAX date" as Zach had referred to it, though he regretted those words as Makoto's paranoia surfaced and he had to reassure her that this was not an elaborate scheme of Usagi's to get her and Nicholas alone in the dark. "It still sounds to me like you're sailing down a river in Egypt, Mako." Zach had been calling her that since discovering it was an acceptable nickname in addition to a type of shark.
"I'm not in denial!" she refuted.
He shrugged. "I'm just saying that maybe Usagi is on to something. You guys have so much in common that it's almost weird. You certainly have a lot of chemistry in the kitchen." He grinned at his awful joke while Makoto scoffed and rolled her eyes.
Her alleged love interest returned from the water science exhibit. "Rei still isn't here?"
"No, and I'm getting worried," Ami answered. "She hasn't replied to any of our calls or texts!"
"Why don't we just go pick her up?" Nicholas suggested.
"We could," Zach said, "except that nobody knows where she lives."
"For real? Haven't we been friends for, like, four months? I thought at least one of you had been to her place." Everyone shook their heads.
Joe sighed. "All I know is she lives near Bastyr, but that's a fifty-acre perimeter we'd have to search."
Nicholas groaned at how dense these supposedly intelligent people could be at times. "So let's check the student directory. If she's not listed we'll just go there and ask an admin where she lives. Ami can pretend to be a relative or something."
"Who would believe that? We don't look anything alike!" she protested. "Rei comes from a very respectable family with noble blood."
"So she's like royalty? That's cool." Zach got behind the wheel of his car while Nicholas claimed the passenger seat and the other three sat in the back. In lieu of taking two vehicles and despite its illegality, they planned to have two of the girls share a seat belt. If Zach hadn't offered to drive he would have arranged it so Ami sat on his lap.
"The Hinos aren't related to the emperor or anything. They've acted as spiritual advisors to the imperial family since the Tokugawa era," Makoto explained once they were on the highway. "Rei's grandpa is the last priest in the family, though. She said she was training to succeed him, but when her mom died her dad took her away from the shrine and sent her off to private school. It was because of her mom's family, the Asano, that her dad was even able to become a politician."
"What do they do?" Joe inquired. He hadn't known any of this about Rei.
"Hino Takashi is one of Japan's foreign relations officers to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation," Ami supplied. "He acts as a liaison between corporations and government officials."
Joe mulled the job description over for a minute, then pulled out his phone to start Googling. "How do you even know all this?" Zach asked. "Do they teach you about the aristocracy in school or something?"
Ami laughed. "I know because the hospital where my mother works is owned by the Asano's medical division. They funded it but another smaller company manages it."
"Japan sounds way too confusing," Nicholas remarked. "I don't think I could live there."
"You're a bit too big for Tokyo," Makoto agreed, "but I bet you'd like Kansai. Beautiful countryside, lots of hot springs."
Joe didn't hear the discussion about life in Japan going on around him. His search for "Takashi Hino APEC" turned up several articles about successful negotiations for a textiles company. He selected one at random and a chill went through him as he scrolled down the page. There was a picture of six smiling men in suits and hard hats, and behind them was, according to the caption, ten thousand acres of land that would soon be home to a vast cotton field. But all Joe saw was ten thousand acres of ravaged Indonesian rainforest.
It turned out that Rei was in fact listed in the student directory under the title of "Oriental medicine consultant", so they got her address and skirted campus to the apartment complex on the eastern side. "Wait here," Joe commanded, exiting the vehicle before Zach had even parked. He went upstairs to the second level, found Rei's door on the far end, and stood with clenched fists. His anger smoldered like embers beneath his skin. He wanted to yell and curse and break something, but he needed to talk to Rei in a calm, rational manner. Mostly he was angry that she hadn't told him anything about her family, assuming she had purposely withheld such information after getting to know him. She knew he was a steward of the land and hadn't thought to mention the fact that her family was cutting down trees, ruining ecosystems, killing off endangered species, and generally destroying the fucking planet in the name of corporate greed. Her father's latest despicable business deal paid for her tuition and the apartment, her car, clothes, food, everything…
He heard his name. His vision was so red with hate that he could hardly make out Rei's visage at the threshold. "Josef, you need to calm down. You can't control your aura, you'll hurt yourself," she was saying.
"Net, vam budet bol'no."
"I can't understand what you're saying, I don't know any Russian. Please, you need to listen to me. Can you hear me?"
"Ya ne budu slushat'."
Rei's readings regarding overbearing auras told her to speak the person's name as often as possible so they would remember themselves and go back to normal, but she found that increasingly hard to do since the person on her doorstep seemed like a complete stranger. Joe's aura had transformed from gentle turquoise to violent, fiery red, and his desire to harm her was palpable. It almost felt like something tried to attack her through him, though possession was not a notion she typically entertained. "Why do you want to hurt me, Josef?"
"Ty solgal mne. Ty predal menya."
"If you calm down, we can discuss your anger. If I did something that hurt your feelings, I will apologize. Is that what you want, Josef?" Rei held her breath as he glowered at her. The effort of fending off this metaphysical attack was giving her a tremendous migraine but she couldn't show any signs of weakness. She didn't want to attempt to overpower him either and risk actual physical harm. Joe was still in there somewhere.
"Vashe izvineniye ne oznachayet nichego, predatel!"
The force in that last word sent Rei stumbling backward, yet as she did intense heat blossomed in her chest and filled her with rage. She glimpsed a memory of the person at her doorstep and despised him with every fiber of her being. She felt it throughout her entire soul, channeling the desire to annihilate him into her amulet, the ruby necklace. Passersby only saw two young adults glaring at one another, not their blazing auras clashing so intensely they caused the wooden door to begin splintering, the windows to vibrate, metal fixtures to creak and groan…
Pain lanced through Rei's chest and the aural pressure simply vanished. She gasped, shuddered, and screwed her eyes shut as the onslaught of her migraine made her reel, almost sending her to the floor. Luckily she recovered in time to realize that Joe was falling toward her, unconscious and nothing but dead weight for her arms to catch. She laid his head on her lap. "Josef, can you hear me?" she softly inquired.
His eyes fluttered open. They were their natural hue once more, blue as summer twilight. "Rei…" He was breathless. "What happened?"
"You fainted on my doorstep."
"I did? That's weird." Her thumbs made gentle circles on his temples and he closed his eyes to the sensation.
"Don't pass out on me again, Josef."
"I won't, I don't faint. It's not manly."
Rei gave a little tut. "That is the last thing you should be concerned with. You are the picture of stereotypical masculinity."
"Is that bad?" he wondered. She only quirked one corner of her lips. "How come you didn't meet us at the IMAX?"
She looked down at him, her countenance dim. "I'm very sorry about that. I was on the phone with my father which was why none of you could reach me. I hung up when I sensed someone at the door."
"Your father…" Joe breathed deeply, quelling the outrage that bubbled up this time. "Is Hino Takashi really your dad? How can you be related to such a—"
"Vile man?" Rei finished. "He didn't use to be a corporate puppet. Before my mother died he cared about nature. He cared about mankind's pursuit of spiritual harmony. He cared about achieving enlightenment, following the path of Buddha, and living in peace with all the world's creatures and people. I guess he did that for Mother, so when she died he no longer had a reason."
"He could've done it for you," Joe murmured.
She said nothing for a minute, then, "I should have told you. I knew you would come across an article about that textile company leveling the rainforest and make the connection, but I hoped, naïvely, that you would form an opinion of me independent of my family because I'm not like the rest of them."
"I know you're not," he said. "You're Rei and you're amazing." That earned a slight laugh. "Yet as comfortable as I feel right now, we should probably get back to our friends. They'll be mad if we miss the movie."
Nia recovered and requested food items that were not available for immediate consumption. She wanted cans of smoked clams and oysters, earning funny looks from Kaelan, Mamoru, and Usagi. "They contain large doses of iron," she started to explain, "and as I just suffered a hemorrhagic fever—"
"Got it," Kaelan cut in. He wasn't squeamish about blood having gutted and filleted fish for over a year, but he was fairly certain that most people infected with the Ebola virus didn't bounce back from it so easily, although Nia said she was immune and had been poisoned. He was no doctor, of course, and just grabbed his coat and keys before asking questions he wouldn't understand the answers to.
She stood at the island drinking a vitamin-rich smoothie, sipping serenely and ignoring the stares from Usagi and Mamoru. Kaelan had burned her bloody clothes in the outdoor fire pit; Nia now wore one of his silk bathrobes since nothing else fit her. She also had a thing about natural fabrics and avoiding detergents, so she would have spurned any other clothing offers. "Will you tell us what's going on?" Mamoru finally asked. "Not just how you were attacked but about the talismans and guardians as well. I think you owe us some explanations."
"Do I?" Nia challenged, fixating him with her dark eyes.
He met her gaze, unflinching. "Yes, you do. I was the one who found the compact with the amulets, after all."
"It would have made its way into Usagi's hands eventually."
The blonde tilted her head. "You say that like it has a will of its own."
Nia smiled surreptitiously before opening her compact and arranging her peridot necklace around the center cabochon. "Do the same with yours and the one I gave you," she instructed.
Usagi mimicked the action, hesitating for a second before placing the sunstone amulet around the diamond. It wasn't hers to touch, it felt wrong. "Who is the guardian this belongs to?" she asked. "What happened to her?"
"Her name is, or was, Alectrona, the very first guardian to exist in our solar system," Nia explained. "The moment you gave Pluto and Saturn their amulets, a beacon was released that helped the dark ones hone in on her location, and they captured her mere minutes before I arrived. But because she left me her talisman and you had her amulet, the three of us can unlock her memories together. We can witness her memories as dreams and finally piece together our own."
"W-wait…" Usagi stammered, "Pluto? Saturn? Are we guardians of the planets?" Nia ducked her chin as Mamoru grinned triumphantly.
"I knew it," he breathed. "I figured it out on the way back from Laurelhurst, but I wanted to be positive." He faced Usagi. "It's so obvious, Usako– you're the guardian of the Moon!" This information seemed to stun her. "The amulets correspond perfectly to each planet. Emerald for Mercury, sapphire for Saturn, aquamarine for Neptune…" He laughed, giddy at having solved the mystery… mostly. "It does make sense, Usako. It makes perfect sense!"
Nia reached for him. "Calm yourself, Mamoru. We must scry the talismans. There is still much we do not know."
He composed himself, excitement still visible in the way he fidgeted. After Kaelan told him Nibiru didn't count as a planet, he postulated that the Sun and Moon were indicated by the two additional amulets. He understood why there would be a representative of the Sun but he couldn't deduce what was so special about the Moon; Earth's moon was quite boring by astronomical standards. Nia was clearly the guardian of Earth since the gems in her talisman corresponded to the four classical elements of earth, wind, fire and water, and jade had heavenly associations the world over.
Mamoru realized that Usagi and Nia were waiting on him so he cleared his head and focused on the golden talisman. He didn't see anything at first, then a hazy image appeared in the lid of the compact, a portrait formed by all three of their faces. Except it didn't resemble them in the least; there were three completely different people staring back. 'Is this what I used to look like?' the trio wondered at the same time. Mamoru wanted to glance up and make sure he hadn't just imagined Usagi and Nia's voices in his head, but he could feel himself tumbling into a void so blissfully dark and enveloping he wasn't sure he could escape.
His eyes were assaulted by the night sky when they opened. There were more stars than he'd ever seen before, so densely packed he couldn't even find the constellations. After taking a few minutes to adjust to the sight, he noticed that some stars shone very brightly like Venus at dawn or dusk during the summer, and others appeared quite large as if close by. He identified a great red sphere as Mars, and when he turned around, he could see a faint line going through a bright star he realized was the planet Saturn, its icy rings reflecting light at him. Mamoru knew he should not be able to see Saturn with his naked eye.
"This was the view from Oceania during the beginning of the Golden Era," said a voice he didn't recognize. It sounded vaguely feminine; moreover, it was omniscient, every word an absolute truth. "The solar system was not young yet not as old as the one you know. The planets were closer together and the asteroid belt was nothing more than its largest specimens. Look around yourself."
Mamoru turned in a circle, realizing he stood atop a pyramid on a small island. He saw nothing but a calm ocean on the horizon. No moon was visible but he could discern vegetation and dwellings due to the abundance of starlight. "This is the work of the Ancients, the First People, who built this pyramid to be closer to the heavens. Even though they were new to this planet and had barely explored it, they desired to learn what lay beyond, to travel to the bright islands in the sea above them."
He experienced a brief dizzying sensation, then he found himself on a more ornate pyramid flanked by glass and stone buildings. Tall evergreen trees now dominated the skyline. "The years brought profound change. As the Sun expanded it warmed the core of the planet, now called Terra, causing the oceans to recede and continents to form. The Ancients utilized volcanic heat to make glass, and with glass they invented devices that let them see farther into the heavens. They recognized the Sun for what it was, a ball of intense flame and not a place they could venture, but then…"
Night again veiled Mamoru but he couldn't see the stars as well since a light source polluted the view. He rotated to find the Moon hanging in the sky above, half-lit, its visible craters like dry lakebeds. "Terra managed to capture one of the asteroids in its orbit. Mars caught some also, but Venus and Mercury were too close to the swelling Sun. Terrans watched their atmospheres change and become inhospitable, and Mars drew farther away, but Luna was right there, tidally locked, allowing the Terrans to plan their journey into space. Utilizing heat and pressure, they launched a ship to the region deemed most accommodating. Terrans successfully colonized Luna at the end of the Golden Era, naming their new land Mar Serenitatis."
"The Sea of Serenity…" Mamoru uttered. He wasn't aware he possessed a voice and gasped at the sound of it, making the omniscient being laugh. It was a gentle sound, the kind a mother gave when amused by their child.
"During the Silver Era –as it came to be called, for it was less grand than the Golden Era– Terrans developed wonderful technology, thrived as a society, and realized their limits. They could not travel beyond the solar system, but there were several other planets and moons to explore. They mapped Terra, saw how Luna made the ocean's movements predictable, and the population soon spread everywhere but the frozen poles." Mamoru experienced a slight lurch as the world whirled around him yet again. His pyramid remained the same but now he faced familiar architecture of Greek, Mesopotamian, and Mesoamerican varieties. Everything held vivid color, so bright it almost hurt to look at, and he could smell hundreds of different plants and flowers, minerals in the dirt, and moisture in the air.
"The Silver Era lasted longer than any other. Although they continued to make advancements, humankind reached a stasis. They repeated the process of studying and colonizing each planet, even managing to bear the heat of the Sun and the chill of the Outer Limits, until realizing that life was not quite the same as it had been on Terra. The Martians, for instance, needed water if they were to survive, as their planet had very little of it. Luckily Mars was iron-rich and they could trade weapons to Terra for ice, and Venus followed suit with precious metals and jewels. Mercurians became great inventors of technology and devised the portals that allowed people to travel between colonies. Jovians harnessed the power of its violent storms, mastering lightning and wind energy. Everyone shared their discoveries with Terra in exchange for the materials they needed to prosper. Unfortunately, humankind forgot this over time. Once the planets were self-sufficient, they established their own monarchies and fiercely guarded their resources."
Mamoru had been listening and watching in a comfortable trance, so he was slightly annoyed when he had to stand on his own feet in the middle of a plain white room. "Where am I?" he asked, cringing as his voice echoed.
"The private chamber of King Hyperion is situated deep in a crater on the dark side of Luna, away from prying eyes."
"What's he got to hide?" An opening door answered him. He froze when the king looked right at him and strode into the room, but he passed through Mamoru as if he were nothing more than air. "Am I invisible? Ethereal?" His hand looked solid enough.
"These events can only be witnessed," the being not-very-helpfully replied. She materialized beside him, a vaguely humanoid mass of energies both mesmerizing and terrifying. Mamoru examined himself to discover he wore a dark blue tunic with gold trim, plain trousers, and knee-high boots. He reached up to his head and traced some kind of crown, and there was a compass rose hanging from his shirt collar. He felt comfortable in the outfit.
Hyperion seemed to be the perpetually-scowling type, for there were lines around his lips and brow. He didn't look very old but he had grey hair and silver eyes. His jaw was square and he had a Roman nose, a jewel from his circlet touching the bridge. The king's attire was mostly black with silver trim, though he also wore shimmering sets of white greaves and bracers with a matching breastplate. 'Ceramic armor,' Mamoru thought. 'How do I know that?' The man bent to place his hand flat on the floor, then a hidden plinth rose with him. On it was a softball-sized sphere containing cloud fluff. Hyperion gazed into it, unmoving and unspeaking for a full minute, before smirking and turning on his heel, the pedestal descending as he left the room.
"What is—" Mamoru began to ask, but the being raised a hand for silence. Eventually, the door opened again. It was not Hyperion who entered but a young man who cut a roguish figure. He circled the room a few times, brushing the marble bricks. He knelt where Hyperion had, but instead of putting his palm on the biometric scanner, he placed a screen over it first. The plinth came up, the man grabbed the orb and put it in a large pouch on his belt, and then he was gone. Mamoru faced the energy woman.
"King Pheletes is the leader of the Mercurial Kingdom and is commonly known as the King of Thieves. He has just stolen an artifact of infinite value." Mamoru's brow furrowed. Where had he seen that orb before?
The omniscient being faced him fully. Mamoru watched, mystified, as the energies coalesced into a solid form. Alabaster skin coated her arms and legs, sleek hair cascaded down her back, facial features became discernible, and metallic conduits grew out of her veins, linking her bodily systems together to supply them with whatever force gave her life. The woman opened her eyes. She only had one and it was the color of a pale sun. A mirror occupied the other socket, and Mamoru became paralyzed when he saw his reflection in it. Images began cycling through his mind at an alarming rate, pushing him to the brink of insanity until the being mercifully closed it, gazing down on him without any trace of emotion as he crumpled. "What… Who…" he attempted to ask, but he could barely breathe.
"I am Cometa, the Aspect of Fate." Mamoru forced himself to look up at that. "My purpose is to lay down paths of Destiny that will lead to the ultimate Fate."
"You can lead me to my fate?" He managed to rise to his feet, steeling himself against the pressure of simply being in the Aspect's presence.
Cometa shook her head once. "I cannot guide, I can only watch. It is impossible for me to interfere in the lives of sapient beings." She gestured to the scene behind her, like a movie backdrop. Mamoru realized he was floating in empty space. "The artifact King Pheletes removed from King Hyperion's possession is called the Eye of the Universe. Pheletes gave it to his daughter Pronoia, Princess of Mercury."
With every word she spoke, memories danced through Mamoru's mind. He was starting to recall who he had been during the Silver Era, the images fast-forwarding to his present life. "Pronoia is Ami," he said slowly. "She had the Eye of the Universe when I… when Endymion died." God, he could see it all so clearly. Everyone he had cared about ceased to exist in mere seconds; it hadn't been fair for him to continue living. Dismissing the regret that welled up, Mamoru focused on the Aspect. "What power does the Eye have?"
As an answer, Cometa tapped the lid on her mirror. "It is my gift to humankind. All I may see is revealed within."
Mamoru closed his eyes to make his thoughts coherent. "The Eye reveals our destinies, each potential path leading to our ultimate fate. So Pronoia… Pronoia saw what would happen to us all in Elysium, and she let it happen anyway." This was a very soul-crushing revelation. "But Hyperion must have seen it too, right? I remember him being desperate to rule Terra. He would have done anything to achieve that goal, even—"
"Kill me," Usagi finished. Mamoru spun so quickly that he almost gave himself whiplash. She hovered beside him wearing one of the beautiful silver gowns owned by Selene; it was surreal to see the two of them fused like that. Usagi took hold of his hand and smiled sadly. "Hyperion was the one who asked the priestess Beryl to kill me." Mamoru could do nothing to stop his tears as he drew her into a tight embrace. He didn't know if he was still Mamoru or had regressed to Endymion. He cared for her all the same and would find her no matter her incarnation. He knew that now. Setsuna herself said they were soul mates. They belonged together.
"Why are we here, Cometa?" Mamoru and Usagi both looked up in mild surprise to see Nia floating to his left. "You determine our fate, yes? So what is it? What are we meant to do as guardians?"
The Aspect remained straight-faced. "The balance of the universe has begun to shift. It must be rectified." She waved her arm and the whole scene became something entirely different. It was the end of the Silver Era after the wars had ceased and humanity nearly extinguished itself. Those from the remaining planetary kingdoms gathered on Terra to rebuild and made significant progress when a ripple appeared in space, a massive dark planet tearing through it a moment later. The sense of dread was overwhelming.
"Is that Nibiru?" Usagi asked, half in awe.
"This is Tartarus. It comes from the Dark Cloud, the area beyond the Outer Limits of Mar Serenitatis." The three Earthlings knew that had been the name of the solar system during the Silver Era, not just a crater on the Moon. "Tartarus is home to those who were born in darkness and desire light more than anything else. They came to Mar Serenitatis to steal Helios."
"That is the celestial body Alectrona rules!" Nia said in dismay. "If Tartarus had taken the Sun, she would not have been reincarnated along with us!"
Cometa only gestured for them to watch. Another ripple in space appeared, this one distinctly circular and swirling with non-malignant energy. "Is that a wormhole? " Mamoru gaped. The Aspect didn't answer, but she didn't have to. Whatever Tartarus had been hoping to use to transport the Sun collapsed on itself and sucked the dark planet in as well, the intrusion winking out of existence just like that.
"Tartarus has been attempting to steal sources of light for a long time. Every black hole in the universe is an indication of their failure– their portal technology is not stable enough. At the end of the Silver Era they felt confident enough to attack Helios directly, and because of the knowledge they acquired from Plutonian Soul Seers, they passed through an alternate dimension to make themselves impervious in Mar Serenitatis. But Tartarus was not expecting there to be celestial warriors in the dimension they crossed. Those guardians successfully fended them off, banishing them to the Dark Cloud."
The trio took a few minutes to ruminate over all they had seen and learned, Nia finishing first. "Tartarus is active again, yes? They want to try capturing the Sun again and began targeting reborn guardians from the Silver Era. Why would they do that if we are not the ones who defeated them the first time around?"
Cometa stared into the distance for a long while, then she shuddered and appeared more tangible like they could reach out and touch her now. "Celestial guardians, I have been waiting for you to receive the knowledge I already passed on to Alectrona's reincarnation." Usagi, Mamoru, and Nia wore the same confused expression. Had she not been addressing them all this time? "Tartarus has acquired the Eye of the Universe and now follows the path to its goal." She nodded at Nia. "It is as you say, Khamyne– the denizens of Tartarus have begun hunting you so you cannot hinder their progress. Alectrona is in their possession."
"How do we save her?" Usagi asked, but Mamoru and Nia already knew the answer.
"It is good that you have been reunited with your amulets– they will give you the strength necessary to protect yourselves. But as long as Alectrona is held captive, Mar Serenitatis will not be able to fend off another intrusion from Tartarus. They have only been growing more powerful throughout the millennia you remained asleep." Cometa's intact eye traveled in a slow arc as if seeking something above their heads, but all they saw was void. She closed it and began to fade away. "My purpose is to create paths of Destiny leading to the ultimate Fate, yet the choice to walk it is your own. I beseech you, guardians… Choose the path that will lead to the shining future."
Mamoru, Usagi, and Nia were startled when she winked out of existence, a gasp of pain lingering in the space she had just occupied. "Wh-what was that?" Usagi stuttered.
"She just committed a taboo by hinting at the fate she would like to see fulfilled," Nia answered, looking upward. "In one of my dreams, I learned there are additional Aspects… I believe one of them pulled Cometa away so she would say nothing more to us." She reached toward a tiny light that began to grow overhead. "We now know the truth of our ordeal. It is time to wake up."