Chapter 62

Touma watched the tiny white cat with fascination, unable to look away.

It was a talking cat.

A talking cat.

Fortunately, he could stare as much as he wanted, because the animal was the center of everyone's attention. The Senshi were all taking turns cuddling it and crying, overjoyed at being reunited with their cat. The Troopers were simply staring because it was a talking cat.

"How did you know I would be there?" Minako gushed, "On that bench?!"

"Some warning might have been nice," Ryo added, under his breath.

Touma chuckled, amused that it had been Ryo that ended up meeting the cat first. He could only imagine Rekka encountering a talking animal in public and wished fervently that he had been there to see it in person.

Just behind Minako, Seiji held himself stiffly, unsure of how to react. He'd placed his hands on her shoulders, clearly needing physical contact – trying to offer comfort, Touma assumed – but otherwise he'd been nearly a statue.

The cat had been giving him dirty looks, but hadn't said anything yet, so it was only a matter of time before Seiji got in an argument with a talking cat, and Touma kind of couldn't wait. Not that he wanted Seiji or Minako upset.

Just the idea of Seiji arguing with a cat was…amusing.

"Luna and I have been looking for you for weeks now. Almost as soon as we came out of kittenhood we immediately remembered everything. I don't know what happened, or how, but somehow we grew quickly and everything came back to us," it said. "Tracking you girls has been difficult without Lunar technology, but I could feel your presence nearby. I had no idea where you actually were of course. I was uh….resting on that bench when you just came up and sat down. It must be fate," the cat sighed happily.

Minako cuddled him close as Ami calmly stroked his small head. Rei was leaning on her elbow, chin in hand, smiling sweetly at him. Makoto was behind Minako, running her fingers along its back. They all looked incredibly happy, so Touma didn't care if it was a tap-dancing elephant, he was just glad they'd been reunited.

"And Luna?" Ami asked hesitantly. The white cat beamed at them. "Hopefully she's reunited or is close to reunited with Usagi right now."

Rei flashed him a rueful grin. "Or Luna's still trying to get her attention and she's going to give Shuu a heart attack instead," she laughed.

Ami sighed. "I'm so very happy to see you Artemis, but I'm worried about what this means for the Outer Senshi, or even Mamoru. We've been observing the planetary crystals and their growth has been accelerating. Mamoru, though…" here Ami trailed off, her expression distressed. "He's been getting weaker. The Golden Crystal…" she whispered.

"I don't want to alarm you all but the Golden Crystal's ties to the cauldron put his survival and the survival of Elysion in grave peril," the cat said. Touma felt his stomach sink again, and he couldn't help but voice the single, alarming flag that went up in his mind.

"And the Guardian Planetary Crystals?" he breathed. Ryo and Seiji shot him grateful looks.

The cat turned then, clearly forgetting that he and the other Troopers were still in the room. It regarded him with a dark look, the hostility in the expression unmistakable. Touma put his hands up, palms out, to convey that he was harmless, and then wondered how on earth everything in his life had converged to this single point. He was trying to convince a talking cat he was trustworthy.

It turned back to Minako.

"How much do they know?" it growled. Minako shrugged.

"Everything," she said, as if it were no big deal. The cat puffed up, arching its back, its tail suddenly huge.

"EVERYTHING?!" it yelled. "What on earth are you five doing going around telling perfect strangers about things like the planetary crystals?!"

Minako blinked at it and then sighed. "Calm down Arty. It isn't like we got here on our own. And anyways, they kind of have to know everything. They're the guardians of this dimension. They were the ones that suggested rebirthing the starseeds here in the first place. They've been working with us to figure out how to get everything established. And, you know, on everything else. Like how to beat a dimension-destroying monster before it strikes again."

It narrowed its eyes at her. "What do you mean rebirthed the starseeds here?" it asked. Minako gave the cat a look suggesting she thought it was dense.

"Uh. Exactly what that sounds like. We rebirthed the starseeds. In this Universe," she replied, the duh evident in her tone. It flicked its ears, giving her more side-eye. The Senshi all stared at it.

"Artemis, how do you think you got here, exactly?" Makoto asked. The cat looked uncertain then.

"We didn't know. We realized this was a whole different dimension. It just…felt different. But we didn't know what happened…after….after everything," it said carefully. Minako ran a hand down its back absently, the gesture more about comforting herself than the animal.

"We got the starseeds while we were in our dimension and then sent them with Usagi. We didn't know where she'd end up. We just knew we needed to get her and them away from that monster. Usagi ended up here, with the Troopers. They came to rescue us and brought us back with them," she said, summing up what Touma viewed as a fraught and complicated series of events into a mere sentence or two. He couldn't tell if she was doing it on purpose. The cat's ears lowered then, and it gave her a hurt look.

"Where were you all? We needed you," it said. The Senshi collectively cringed, all of them wearing haunted, guilt-ridden expressions. Touma felt his ire begin to burn. Seiji's face went dark, but it was Ryo who spoke out first.

"With us, in the Underworld, fighting for their lives," he snarled, looking angry enough to punch a cat. "Don't you dare make this their fault." Ami put a hand on his knee.

"It's all right, Ryo," she said quietly. Ryo turned to her.

"The hell it is. It is not all right. None of this is all right. The five of you have been living through a waking nightmare and this cat wants to show up now, after you rebirthed it here and act like you could have done something to stop this?!" Rekka yelled, gesturing expressively. "Like the five of you weren't already traumatized enough?!"

He turned back to the cat, narrowing his eyes at it. "You have no idea what happened, so maybe you should try asking that question a different way," he growled at it. Minako shot him a dirty look, cradling the cat against her, but Ryo ignored her.

"Mina-chan," the cat began hesitantly in the suffocating silence that followed Ryo's outburst, "what is he talking about?"

Minako averted her gaze, as if she couldn't make eye contact, which put Touma's back up immediately. None of the Senshi were making eye contact with anyone now, and he clenched a fist, moving so he was standing beside Makoto. He worked to keep his temper in check, reminding himself that the cat obviously didn't know what had been going on during their separation.

"When we were on vacation, we got sucked into some kind of…underworld," she began.

"It was Izanami's realm," Rei added, her tone wooden. Touma reached out and gently put a hand on her shoulder. She flicked him a brief, weak smile and then turned away again. Minako nodded at her.

"We…ended up in some kind of battle with someone…he called himself Suzano-o, but I don't really know if he was actually Suzano-o. The Troopers were pulled there with us. That's where we met. They carry mystical armor, but couldn't access it there. Our Senshi transformations were blocked, but we managed to get to our powers. Just a bit."

She paused, swallowing, her gaze still nailed to the floor just beyond Artemis' head.

"We managed to beat…something. I don't know who or what it was, and after that final battle, we were pulled back home. But when we got there…" her voice broke, and she squeezed her eyes shut, lowering her head and hiding her eyes. Seiji squeezed her shoulders, moving fully into her space, his expression conveying he wanted to wrap her up and take her out of the room but knew he couldn't.

"Everything was…You were all gone," Rei whispered. "There was nothing."

"…Nothing?" Artemis whispered. Ami shook her head.

"When we arrived, everything had already been destroyed. I couldn't….couldn't even get anything from Elysion. There was no life, anywhere. And all of you…" she trailed off, turning her head toward Ryo. Gently, Rekka cupped her head and held it against his shoulder, caressing her cheek with his thumb. He gave Artemis a somber look.

"After everything that happened in the Underworld, we were separated, sent back to our own universes. Everything here was normal. We had no idea what was going on in your Universe. We didn't know until Usagi arrived," he rasped.

"We were able to pull together enough power at the time to send Usagi somewhere else with the starseeds. We knew it was dangerous, that we had no idea where she'd end up. But we also knew that if the monster ever got her, it would be the end of everything. We're so lucky she landed here," Minako murmured. Seiji squeezed her shoulders, a look of gratitude passing quickly across his stoic features.

"After Usagi landed here, the Troopers came for us and took us back with them," Ami finished. Despite her usual shyness, she moved closer to Ryo. Rekka responded by tucking her more securely against him.

"Once we were here, the Troopers suggested staying here and rebirthing the starseeds…so…we did," Minako concluded quietly. She'd laid a hand over Seiji's, drawing strength from his presence.

"How on earth did you manage to rebirth them here without a cauldron?" Artemis asked.

"I'm still not sure how we made it work. But there are forces in this Universe. Just as it has Guardians, it also has guiding forces, and we were able to call on those," Ami replied, smiling weakly. "Somehow, it all worked. Everyone seems to be doing fine. With exception to the Outer planetary crystals, and the Golden Crystal," she added.

"And the Guardian planetary crystals," Touma insisted. He scowled at Ami when she looked to him, a terrible finality in her expression. "No," he snarled, and she jolted at the tenacity in his tone. He felt a worm of guilt creep up, but he squashed it ruthlessly. This wasn't something he could compromise on. Ever.

"You're here, and you're staying. Don't ask me to ignore the problem because I refuse to. Don't ask me to just leave it alone if it means that you're all vulnerable. Your planetary crystals are connected to the cauldron, and that puts your safety and wellbeing at enormous risk. I'm not just going to pretend that's not an issue, like I don't know what's at stake," he continued, letting the finality ring through his voice.

The Senshi all stared at him mutely, and he met their stares with an even gaze, lingering finally on Makoto. She gave him a small smile, and something in her eyes softened.

"If you're really all still connected to the cauldron, that would mean that you alone are sustaining Elysion," Artemis broke in gravely. "And," he added, "In turn, Elysion would be helping to sustain the Golden Crystal. But the Crystal being connected to our realm, and all of you being connected to the Cauldron puts you in a very perilous state."

The Senshi all snapped their heads to him with wide eyes. "Oh," Ami replied in a tiny voice. "Of…course. That makes sense."

Yeah. Touma didn't like how logically the cat had laid that out. There were a series of delicate connections the Senshi were harboring, and he didn't like the idea of other crystals or entire places being sustained on the Senshis' energy alone.

"What is Elysion?" Seiji broke in. Touma shot him a grateful look.

"It was a realm at the heart of the Kingdom of Earth. The health and wellbeing of Earth is directly affected by Elysion and vice-versa. The Golden Crystal, which is carried by Mamoru, kept Elysion and Earth protected, but Elysion fueled the Crystal and helped to keep Earth protected from within. The fact that the Golden Crystal hasn't been completely corrupted and is still able to sustain Mamoru means that Elysion is still in-tact – but we won't know for how long."

"What do you mean the Senshi alone are sustaining this…inner realm?" Seiji asked, fixing an intense gaze on Artemis.

The cat, to its credit, met Seiji's gaze head on. "Elysion is like a realm of dreams – it's sustained by the sweet dreams of the humans who lived on Earth. The Senshi are the only five humans still connected to Earth – and possibly Mamoru I suppose – and so it is their dreams alone that nurture Elysion." It turned to Ami then. Touma tried to process the fact that there was an entire realm that was being sustained by his girlfriend's dreams.

Then again, the Youjakai had been sustained by negative human thoughts and feelings, and Kaosu had been the focal point of the positive energy given at the opposite end of that.

"The fact that your readings on Elysion are dead may just mean that Helios and the Maenads have managed to throw up some kind of defense. It could be that the core of Elysion has been isolated from everything else, which would explain why your readings might have missed it," he told her.

Ami activated her visor, gesturing her computer into existence. "That makes some kind of sense," Mercury agreed, tying furiously into the machine. The sound of keys clicking stopped, and then the computer made a game over noise that Touma recognized well now.

"Drat," Mercury muttered, resuming her rapid typing.

A heavy silence fell as she typed, the Senshi clearly anxious to see what might turn up. Touma still didn't understand the significance of Elysion or what it meant for the Senshi, but he found himself nearly holding his breath just the same.

After a moment, the machine chimed cheerfully, and Ami gasped straightening.

"I've got it! It's faint – it's not really a good way to see into the core, but I have a faint trace of pure energy," she breathed, her face a mix of awe and relief.

The Senshi collectively reached a breath. Minako sighed, leaning back, and beside him, he felt some of the tension leave Makoto's body. Artemis hopped from Minako's lap to Ami's, giving Ryo a quick side-eye that made Rekka curl his lip in irritation before focusing on the screen.

It furrowed its brow, reading whatever data lay there. Touma knew he should be over there too, trying to see what Ami was looking at, but he found himself extremely hesitant to leave Makoto's side at the moment. Reaching down, he curled his fingers around her own supportively, and she gave him another small smile before focusing on Ami.

The cat looked up again after a moment, taking them all in.

"It would seem that you all are sustaining Elysion…and Elysion is keeping your planetary crystals safe…for the moment. It seems incredibly weak, however so it's uncertain how long the protection will last," the cat said.

Touma felt a small wash of relief move through him. They were safe – for now.

"What do we do now?" Minako asked, looking incredibly uncertain.

"We have to figure out how to free Elysion and the Golden Crystal," Artemis answered her.

"Oh," Rei muttered, "is that all?" her face was shuttered, her expression dark, and Touma wished that Shin were here. He could practically see Mars withdrawing at the overwhelming prospect of rescuing an entire realm from the monster that had ended their world.

But they had no choice.

Touma wasn't willing to leave Makoto's wellbeing to a tiny realm on the edge of destruction. And he doubted any of the Senshi would be willing to abandon Elysion if there were even a chance that it could be saved.

So they were already committed before they even knew what that meant. Now they needed to move forward.

Touma frowned, breaking the silence. "It appears that this monster is using some kind of rift in a realm adjacent to ours to break into this dimension," he said to the room at large. "We're trying to get as much information as we can, but we have no idea how long we have until this thing is fully here. So far, it's been able to come after us, but only in small skirmishes. I'm not sure how long that will last."

The cat nodded.

"Probably not much longer. According to Luna and my calculations, their energy seems to be getting stronger every day. We've desperately been searching for the Senshi." Here he paused, sliding Touma and Ryo an indecipherable look.

"We were very interested to discover that this realm had its own guardians," he said in a strangely neutral voice. Touma scowled at it.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ryo growled.

The cat sat up straighter, giving them both a laser-eyed stare. It regarded the way Ryo was holding Ami in such an obvious way, Rekka pulled the girl tighter against him. Ami squeaked, but didn't try to extricate herself.

"Who are you, and how are you so connected to the Senshi?" Artemis boomed in a firm voice. Minako sighed, rolling her eyes, and Makoto chuckled.

"Artemissssssss," Venus groaned.

The cat turned, giving her a dirty look. "This is serious. How do you know they aren't with the enemy?" he snapped. Minako jerked upright, blinking, and beside Touma, Makoto twitched. Touma put an arm around her shoulders and tucked her closer against him, pleased and relieved when she leaned into the embrace. Ami put her face in her hands, and Rei scowled at the cat.

And then Minako burst out laughing. "Oh my goodness Arty, you're way off course," she snorted between giggles. Rei tossed her hair, still looking irritated, and Makoto seemed to relax deeper into his embrace. Ami still looked completely embarrassed for some reason. The cat scowled at Minako, sniffing, and straightening its posture.

"How do you know I'm off? What do you even know about these young men? You've trusted others before and that didn't exactly turn out well," he snarled, looking as though he felt out of place. Behind Minako, Seiji stiffened, visibly restraining himself, and Ryo snarled, visibly bristling.

"Out of line," Touma growled at him, anger replacing irritation. The cat gave him a dirty look and Touma returned the stare down over Minako's head.

"Artemis. Do you really think we'd be so casual with them if they were the enemy? Lighten up. Besides - the Troopers are the ones who rescued us, remember? We all got pulled into the Underworld together. Once we'd been pulled back, we used everything we had left to get Usagi and the Starseeds to safety. We had nothing left. If the Troopers hadn't come to find us, we probably wouldn't be around right now," Minako admonished the cat, her voice too bright and trying to be too friendly.

Honestly, he didn't think she should keep the emotion from her tone. This animal should know how bad things were. Touma tried not to think about the fact that the Senshi had not been waiting for rescue – that they'd expected to simply fight hard until they perished. Every time he remembered, it made his heart pound a bit too hard, a strange and frightening pressure filling his chest.

The cat sighed. "I don't like this. I don't...know anything. I don't know if these men can be trusted," it said, leveling Ryo, Seiji, and Touma with an intense stare. Touma met the cat's gaze evenly, not bothering to hide his own hostile feelings. Minako sighed, looking away for a moment.

"Artemis," she murmured, turning back. "You'll have to trust us. Trust me. ...Do you? Can you trust me?"

Touma held his breath. If that animal said anything but yes, of course, he was going to end up going to war with a stupid cat.

"Of course I do, Mina-chan. But your safety is my first priority. Luna and I are duty-bound to protect you. We're supposed to guide you and advise you. You went missing. No one knew what had happened to all of you, and then we were all battling for the fate of the world. We lost that battle. Lost you. Now we're here in a completely different realm, and we don't know anything about where we are or what's been happening. We feel…lost." The small cat looked down at its paws then. Minako smiled at it sweetly and ran a hand along its back. After a moment the cat lifted its head and continued.

"We had a hint you might be here – Luna believed that only the Silver Crystal could have saved us, and we have an innate ability to track the Crystal. Everything else was luck, honestly. We could get close, but couldn't get your exact locations. We've been covering a lot of ground, trying to find all of you. When we found you with these…young men"

The way the cat said young men and then trailed off made his view on the Troopers very clear. Minako laughed a bit, putting her fingers against the cat's mouth.

"I know. I get it. I understand Arty, but this time, you are just going to have to trust us...okay?" she pleaded.

Artemis sighed again, looking incredibly reluctant and put out. He flashed another suspicious glance over the Troopers present, and Touma tried not to take it personally. It was incredibly difficult not to. He didn't know this cat, and this cat didn't know him.

It didn't know that he'd die before he hurt Makoto - or any of the Senshi. The idea that he could be capable of doing something so awful felt like a giant insult to his honor. Going by the wild anger flickering in Ryo's eyes, Rekka was having an even harder time swallowing the insult. Seiji's face was…dangerously unreadable.

"Artemis," Ami said quietly. "I understand your reluctance, but the Samurai Troopers would never harm us. They've done everything they can to keep us safe and help us adapt - and get the Star Seeds reborn here. They're...like our equivalent in this Universe. They're more than our allies. They're our partners."

Artemis gave her an arch look and Ryo scowled at him.

"I don't know what kind of people you're used to dealing with, but I would never hurt the Senshi. And I'll wreck anything that comes near them, Monster or otherwise. I get that you don't know us, but the Troopers would never harm an innocent. We protect them," Rekka growled.

Artemis seemed to droop again.

"Okay," he said with great reluctance. "Okay. If the Senshi trust you, then I will too." he agreed.

"For now," he added under his breath. Touma sighed, wondering how he'd ended up in the position of having to convince a talking cat of his integrity in the first place. Zombies, inter-dimensional world consuming monsters, and now talking cats.

Why was everything around the Senshi so weird?