Chapter updated: 04/Nov/2018.

Chapter 3: ファントム - Phantom

Hugo was silent as he and Ami they walked towards the card barriers. The security guard smiled and bid them both 'good night'; a friendly looking man whose smile indicated he had taken a liking to Ami. She kept her head down and tried not to make eye contact as she slammed her student ID card down against the scanner to slide through the turnstyle. Hugo was staring through the glass doors as heavy pellets of rain slammed against them.

'Looks like the weather's turned,' he observed, before reaching into his bag to produce a fold away umbrella. 'Good job I always come prepared. Did you bring one?'

Mortified, Ami realised she had not. She could picture it right there – leaning against the door post as she left that morning, thinking what a bother it would be to carry around that long, annoying thing, especially seeing as the weather report had said it would be nice all day. Yes, day. This was night time now.

Hugo tilted his head, seeming to read her expression perfectly. 'No matter,' he said pleasantly. 'Mine's big enough for two – come on!'

Ami was certain she was blushing as he strode into the foyer and began to unwind the umbrella. Did he have any idea what he was asking her? No, probably not. Maybe that superstition didn't exist in Britain? She supposed there was no reason why it would. It was an odd little myth. Besides, Londoners were not especially known for being a superstitious people, where spirits, demons and Yūrei were believed to live in lanterns and trees. Beware of ladders, counting magpies, and the odd haunted house was as far as it seemed to go. So, Hugo likely had no idea that sharing an umbrella was a symbol of romance and lovers. Glancing up at him, she realised that he literally had no clue at all; he had a confused look on his face.

'I won't bite, Ami, honest.'

Quite bizarrely, for no reason at all, she imagined him literally biting her. Not a painful bite, just a nibble on her index finger as she held the handle of his umbrella as if he were a cat. As embarrassing as it was to envision Hugo doing such a senseless thing, it was also mildly amusing. She couldn't help but smile.

Hugo noticed her little smirk and took it as approval. He held out the umbrella for her to step under, ensuring that not a drop of water would fall on her head. 'Come on then,' he said jovially, pulling the hood of his hoodie over his head, 'it's getting pretty heavy.'

Ami quickly jumped from the front step of the library to underneath the umbrella, brushing close to Hugo's chest as the weight of the books in her bags propelled her a little further than she had intended. He said nothing about it, barely even noticing it. That was a relief.

'Thank you, Hugo.'

He smiled, 'Let's get moving – I think my boots are starting to leak.'

They started their walk.

'Maybe it's time for some new ones?' she suggested, smiling politely. On closer inspection, they were old, even if they were nice and well-maintained.

'Are you kidding?!' Hugo said with a faux offence. 'These are a work of art! I found them while visiting my dad in Switzerland.'

Ami eyed them again, 'How long have you had them, anyway?'

'Like, two years or so…' he mumbled, thinking for a moment. 'I have them in rotation with four other pairs I got at the same time.'

'Four?!' she gasped. Her head snapped back up to look at him so quickly, it cracked her neck. It took all her willpower not to show her pain, 'W-who needs four pairs of lace-up boots?'

Hugo held his head high. 'If you want to make good things last, you need to rotate them with others equally and fairly. I swap the laces, colour-code them with my outfits. If they're reversible, the better. I have multiples of loads of things.' His words were so haughty and firm that she wasn't sure whether he was joking or not. The tiny smile in the corner of his mouth indicated that he at least had a sense of humour, but his tone was still deadly serious. 'There were four different colours that I liked – and would wear – so I splurged once and made them last.'

She stared at him.

'Well, what was I supposed to do?' he chuckled. 'Choose?'

This is such an odd conversation, Ami thought.

Still, she carried it on, 'What if you saw a fifth pair you wanted a little while after committing to those four you have?'

He scoffed playfully, 'Why would I be looking for boots when I don't need them?'

A fair question, one that Ami felt Minako was more suited to answer. She very rarely went shopping. The only time she would ever be found mooching around the shops was if she was looking for books – or maybe odds and ends that she needed for one reason or another. Most of what she wanted these days were easily obtainable from the internet, like music. The only time she ever willingly shelled out money was for a good coffee in a nice café while she did some solitary studying. Everything else was either bought for her or in the company of others. Clothes were Minako's thing and Ami found she only got the motivation to buy them when she was with her.

'I don't usually shop,' she finally confessed, randomly, 'unless it's for books… or something that I really need.'

'True that,' Hugo snickered, his choice of words not quite registering with Ami. Then he echoed her thought process almost exactly, 'I tend to get everything I need from the web anyway. Even then I get used books - no point shelling out for new copies. I already have to spend all my new book money on textbooks for my studies.' Ami nodded at that; med students couldn't get away with used editions of anything as medicine and science seemed to move faster than journals could print the findings. Hugo flicked his long strands behind his ear, 'Fiction books I always buy used.'

'Absolutely,' said Ami keenly. 'I use those websites all the time. Provided the seller is dependable, I'd rather get several used books than one new book.' Then she blushed slightly as she admitted something else, 'I tend to only look in new bookshops to see what I might want to borrow from the library. Same with music.'

'Same with games and even films,' Hugo nodded. 'I have so many books that they take up too much space, so being able to borrow books or sell them on or, hell, even donate them to a used bookshop is better for me.' He looked down and winked at her, 'I basically live in a wardrobe.'

She raised her eyebrows.

He laughed, 'Not literally. I mean, space wise.'

'Oh, of course,' she nodded slowly. 'I agree completely though.'

'I guess you don't get much space in Halls, do you?'

He meant the Halls of Residence, the student accommodation where Ami was staying. Many of the students in her halls of residence were fellow overseas students. Despite having moved in since the end of August she had barely said anything to any of them. There were nine girls altogether and the only thing they shared was the kitchen. For less money, she could have lived in a smaller residence with shared a bathroom as well, but her mother had been adamant that Ami should have her own facilities.

'I have one of the bigger rooms,' Ami finally replied. 'But a very small bookshelf.'

'Bookshelf, eh? Classy,' he joked. 'I just have several towers of books: the oldest of which I have converted into a bedside table.'

'So, you read a lot?'

'Sometimes I feel it isn't enough,' Hugo confessed. 'Every time I start a book, all I can think about is writing my own… but I just never get around to it.'

That piqued Ami's interest, 'Really? What would you write about?'

He shrugged, 'I have too many ideas to count. I'll never have the time, though. If I'm going to become a doctor, I need to put all my energy into that.' A short pause past, then he added, 'But I write some things in my spare times. Weekends and what not.'

'That's interesting,' she said quietly.

'Nah, it's not,' he quickly said. 'Not really.'

A silence went by once again as Ami took in everything she had just learned. She had almost forgotten about the rain coming down or even what direction she was heading in. Speaking with Hugo was surprisingly easy. It was eerie how in tune he seemed to be with her. Another moment of doubt went through her head as she glanced up again at the face that looked so much like Zoisite. But he's not him, Ami told herself. If Hugo was the enemy, I would feel it! She barely knew him and yet her mind was crying innocence. She looked up again, focusing on the thin strand of fine, blond wavy hair that hung loosely around his face. He's very, very attractive, yes? Kris's words echoed in her mind. It forced her to look away as soon as she had remembered it.

'But have you ever wondered how we coped before the internet became a thing?' Hugo suddenly said, smiling.

Ami gave a nervous nod, 'Fan clubs and recycling shops, I suppose?'

'Good point. I actually know a couple of good ones here in London,' he agreed, looking back to her. 'That's probably the only time I ever physically buy anything. You can find so many first edition copies of great books tucked away in those places.'

'Really?' Ami asked keenly. Even she was surprised at how high her tone of voice was, how oddly excited it sounded.

It did not pass Hugo by either. 'I can tell you where they are if you're interested?'

He equally seemed keen to impart the wisdom he had about used bookshops in good ol' London town. It made her feel fired up inside. 'I… would like that very much, thank you.'

Hugo looked away wearing the happiest smile she had seen from him so far. It told of a young man who rarely got to share this with anyone. It drew her in even more… and then she remembered. What had he been doing out in that courtyard? Shouldn't she be more suspicious of him after that little coincidence? Whether she felt the evil energy now or not, Hugo had been there in the centre of where it had been strongest. She knew she should be more conscious of this man who for all his niceness could still just be Zoisite playing a long game.

He was about the only Shitennou who had the wherewithal to pull it off.

But she did not feel that way. All that hostility she had felt at different points throughout the day had melted away like ice exposed to the blistering summer sun. That was a good analogy too as Hugo seemed to radiate warmth. Like all people, he had an aura and Ami sensed nothing hostile at all. Even Zoisite couldn't have hidden the void that had been his soul, the coldness of his green-eyed glassy stare…

It seemed wrong to compare them at all. Hugo was not Zoisite. He just… looked like him. That was the only doubt that remained. Why did he look like Zoisite? An older, twenty-year-old version of the boy she had met but still - he looked like him! And what was he doing in the courtyard?

'Um,' Ami began, 'this may sound like an odd question…'

'"But what were you doing in the courtyard," right?' he finished for her.

He looked down at her with a face now completely tight and an eyebrow cocked. Ami couldn't help but smile at that little mannerism on display again. The sight of her smile seemed to soften him up a bit as it changed from a sceptical eyebrow cock to a mildly amused one.

'I was smoking,' he said simply.

'No, you weren't,' she challenged boldly, not even blinking as she did. He was clearly taken aback by it and it made Ami feel weirdly powerful. 'By which I mean,' she added, 'you weren't smoking when we bumped into each other.'

'Is that so, Penny Gadget?' Hugo quipped, making another reference that Ami did not get. 'Well, what were you waiting around for? The courtyard is a designated smoking area for students - and you don't smoke.'

'I asked you first.'

'And I answered. Now spill, babe.'

She blinked wordlessly at him.

His face melted into chuckles again. 'Nevermind, Ami. Look, here's the truth. I did go out to smoke. Then I heard some noise and went to see what it was. Then when I came back, there you were.'

'What sort of sound?'

'I don't know, a sound. An unusual one that didn't sound threatening but warranted a look around. Didn't find anything though.'

It had been completely silent when Ami had arrived on the scene - but he could have been telling the truth. After all, why would he lie? He had nothing to gain from it and could just as easily have stuck to the smoking story and she would have to take his word for it—

And come to think of it, that was another tick in the "Definitely Not Zoisite" column. Somehow, Ami couldn't picture that girlie, caramel haired sixteen-year-old nipping off for a cigarette during a mission for the Dark Kingdom.

—Either way, she had no reason to doubt him. Not really.

'Satisfied, Miss Gadget?'

'What is that a reference to?' she suddenly asked.

'An American cartoon about a smart-arse little girl who solves crimes for her idiotic robot uncle.'

'How odd!'

'That's funny considering the stuff they put on Japanese TV.' He had a point there - Ami supposed every culture seemed odd to an outsider. Then again, Hugo was British so this "Inspector Gadget" wasn't exactly his culture either. 'Your turn - why were you out there?'

Ami took a beat before answering. 'I wanted some fresh air.'

'See,' Hugo said, smirking.

'What?'

'If I was lying, that's what I would have said too.'

She might have made a verbal "eep" once he said that had it not been for the genuinely amicable look on his face. It assured her, again, that there was no malice in his words. He was just… teasing her.

'But I really did need some fresh air!' Liar, liar. He knows you're lying! 'I had been studying for such a long time, after all.'

He shrugged, 'Okay, okay. I "believe" you.'

Ami scowled, 'Why are you so determined to trip me up?'

'Ha, I could ask you the same question!' Hugo scoffed. 'All I've done is be nice to you and all I see is your face debating as to whether I'm being genuine or not!'

How did he know that?!

He rolled his eyes when he presumably saw the look on her face and answered as if he had read her mind, 'You really aren't good at hiding your thought patterns, Ami. You're clever as hell but God - you do not hide your feelings well.'

She genuinely felt a little ashamed.

'I'm… sorry.'

After a pause, Hugo offered her a faint smile. 'Don't be sorry for being cautious, Ami. I understand more than you think.'

She looked up at him. 'So, how… are you so good at reading people?'

He eyed her before looking straight ahead. 'It's just something I've always been good at. When I was a kid, people didn't pay much attention to me, so I spent all my time paying attention to them. Mum says I'd make a good psychiatrist, but I can't think of anything worse and my Dad would kill me.'

With that, he suddenly stopped in his path and turned to look at her. Again, for the first time in a while, Ami became aware of the rain beating down on them. 'I don't know what this guy I remind you of did to you or said to you but… you shouldn't turn yourself into a one-woman inquisition—' he stopped, realising that was probably a word she didn't know yet (but she did so he carried on) '—when you meet new people. Like I said earlier, I don't bite.'

She believed him.

'I'm sorry,' Ami said again.

'You don't need to say sorry all the time.'

'Still, I am,' she persisted, bowing her head in embarrassment. 'You must think me so petty.'

'Ha! You're being too harsh on yourself,' Hugo scoffed, trying to make light of the somewhat tense conversation they had been having. 'We've only known each other a day! But, if it makes you feel better… let's just start from scratch here on out.'

Ami bit her lip hard. She could do that. She would prefer that. It was time to forget about Zoisite, the Shitennou and the Dark Kingdom. They were gone. That was the old world, and this was the new one.

She nodded, 'Thank you.'

They turned to walk on.

He smiled again, 'We all have our luggage, Ami.'

Yet another term she did not quite understand but she appreciated the sentiment, whatever it was.

The sky was gleaming blue and the wind felt cool against her skin.

Sailor Mercury had never appreciated the beauty of planet Earth while staring down at it from the Moon Palace. Princess Serenity would gaze curiously at it from her balcony every night as its reflective light filled the night sky. Yet to Sailor Mercury it had looked like nothing more than a pretty, swirling blue marble. She had no concept of the natural beauty it contained, hiding beneath the clouds. Back then, Mercury had little interest in the beauty itself but more what it told her about the past of her own planet.

Her civilisation was the oldest in the Solar System, older than Queen Serenity's Moon Kingdom, or even the Jovian Empire by as much as four hundred million years. Yet it had also been at least one hundred million years ago since the surface of Mercury had been safe and habitable. Ever since the Comet of Dis hit them and shred away half the planet's mass and its ability to maintain its atmosphere properly, ending the Golden Age of the planet. Even in its heyday, though, it had never been like Earth. Much of the surface had been uninhabitable desert, especially around the equator. The first Mercurials had appeared around the coasts in the north, living purely off the lakes and rivers. It was not until thousands of years later that they finally developed the technology that allowed them to colonise the south pole. Even that had been down to the aid of the first true Guardian of the Planet to harness the power of her Sailor Crystal, Tethys – the First Sailor Mercury.

Resistance to radiation was a Mercurial's strong point, yet even that could not protect them the parts of the planet where the Sun's rays were heavily concentrated on the surface. Due to Mercury's slow-moving days, it took the best part of a year for the Sun to move across the sky, and just as much time for it to rise again. During what the Ancients called "A Year of Sun", the Mercurial people would flee to the depths of the underground, carrying water with them. Their ability to master water was ultimately how Tethys and her successor Senshi became associated with the power. Even during the Silver Millennium, the legend of the Guardian Mercury as the "Bringer of Water" or the "Champion of Ice" was a deep-rooted myth to those Mercurials who remained in the Solar System. Yes, remained. They were by Earth standards an "endangered species."

Earth was a very different place. Its days were very, very short. They were short enough for night and day to be a frequent mundanity. On Mercury, the days were closely tied to the years and thus they were the only two seasons they knew of. The Day and the Night. Once technology became heightened enough, the Mercurial people were able to create artificial daylight during "A Year of Stars" - a year in which Mercury was left in complete darkness. A few centuries later, they would be called upon by the Silver Empress of Civilisations, Queen Serenity, to implement this technology on the Moon for the sake of the child-like Princess. To a true born Mercurial, however, the swift day-night patterns would have been deathly. Fortunately for Sailor Mercury, she had lived on the Moon or at Mariner Castle since her birth, both of which worked on Standard Lunarian Time - slower than Earth but miles faster than Mercury.

'Apparently, humans cannot go more than eleven days without sleep,' Sailor Mercury muttered, regarding her supercomputer. 'Some can go no more than three before experiencing mental collapse, severe illness or even slipping into a coma. How counterproductive!'

Technology on Mercury had sped ahead every other civilisation due to their lack of need for sleep and the Hyper-Spatial Sphere all home-born Mercurials had lived in for millions of years, which also allowed time to move slower for them. Every other planet relied first and foremost on magic, but they had mastered both; Earth it seemed had mastered neither. At least, not on a massive scale. They had magic but very little else. Most lay humans could barely comprehend that their planet was spherical.

Venus grabbed the supercomputer from Mercury's hands and snapped it shut. Her eyes rolled, 'Will you please focus on the matter at hand? We aren't even supposed to be here! This is violating every rule in the book. We have to scout out the Princess!'

'I apologise,' Mercury responded with a sigh, slowly opening her computer again nonetheless. 'But these humans are fascinating, don't you think?'

'They are just primitive versions of ourselves,' Venus shrugged. 'Another few hundred years or so and they might be ready to join our civilised empire.'

'That's why they are so interesting! Looking at them gives us a great picture of what our ancestors were like before we learned to keep records. Haven't you ever wondered about the evolution of your planet?'

Venus folded her arms. 'Not really. We used to be like twinned souls, Earth and Venus, but no longer. Venusians are… quite different from Terrians these days.'

There was no denying that. Venus was a female-dominated society in which sex was for recreation rather than procreation, most lay folks were clones of each other and their princesses were born by throwing their queens' blood into the Niobe Ocean. Yes, Venusians were very different from the people of Earth… or Mercury for that matter. From Sailor Mercury's understanding, there hadn't been a pregnancy on Planet Venus for over two million years now. Nonetheless, females were born with uteruses like humans were born with appendices. Odd.

'Humans still gestate their own children, don't they?' Mercury noted.

'They haven't figured out a more practical way of doing it yet,' Venus chuckled. They wandered over the green hills that stretched as far as the horizon; only one little black spot to the north indicated any sign of civilisation. Venus scowled as she looked about, 'Where the heck are we, Mer?'

Mercury went to open her computer again but did not get a chance to check.

'I'm going to scout the area,' Venus suddenly declared. 'You stay there.'

'But, how will you know where you're going?' Mercury spluttered.

'Ha! Don't worry I'll use my "Serenity-sense" to track her down,'

She could hardly argue with her commander. The golden-haired beauty wandered off towards nowhere in particular. Nonetheless, she seemed to know where she was going. She got a few yards away from Mercury before she spun around and pointed towards a large green object that had caught her eye earlier. Mercury knew what that was — a tree!

'Wait by that thing,' Venus ordered her. 'I'll be back!'

Ha! Well, Venus would struggle to recognise plant-life seeing as no Venusian has seen the surface of their planet for nine-hundred-and-fifty thousand years. They all lived on an elevated platform and floating balloon cities. Venus didn't even live in that; if she ever went home at all, she never left Magellan Castle.

The Mercurial Princess did as she was told. As she walked towards the tree in question, she looked around the scenery. The ground was covered in a lush green moss-like entity that she had never seen before. She bounced on it to hear it crush beneath her boots. She smiled curiously, they didn't have such things on her planet or on the Moon. Then she knelt to run her hands over "it"; it felt crunchy even through her gloved hand. On closer inspection, it had little dry yellow strands mixed up with the ten shades of green. Mercury took a picture with the supercomputer. That was one for the records!

'It's called "grass",' came an amused, youthful, and well-spoken man's voice. 'And a bug is liable to fly up your nose if you stay like that for too long.'

Mercury quickly got up, feeling a little silly for having been on her hands and knees with her face close to this land moss. She spun around to face him.

'Hugo?!' Ami said, confused.

The young man - indeed, Hugo dressed in the same outfit as last night, right down to his well-loved boots - looked confused too.

'Ami?!'

…

Ami awoke with a jolt to find herself wrapped up tightly in her bed sheets, the world was still dark outside her window but for the street lamp in the courtyard of her halls of residence. It took her a moment to remember how she had even got home. It had been another late night at the library, she had seen Hugo and she had fallen into bed almost as soon as she got home.

'Odd dream,' she muttered to herself. It was not the first time her current life mixed up with glints of the Silver Millennium.

She forced her eyes open long enough to looked over at the window. The rain had stopped but it was still the middle of the night. Double checking her phone alarm was set for the right time, she settled down again and closed her eyes. Feeling calm, cosy and cushioned she could feel herself be lulled back into sleep, back into another dream…

A loud, unusual bong crashed through Ami's slumber.

This time she sat straight up, shaken to her very core. What was that? she thought nervously, too startled to even move. She couldn't speak. She wanted to be completely still and silent in case it happened again. Had she dreamed it?

Then she felt it again, that aura of wickedness. Dread was flowing through her veins. Before she could cry her transformation spell, she was once again frightened by a loud noise; the supercomputer's warning bell. She grabbed it from her bedside table and looked at it. Immediately the map came up, showing her where the danger was.

The library, again.

No longer feeling tired, she pulled herself out of bed and walked over to the window. Swiftly she pulled it up, locking it in place. While it was more practical for Ami to just go out the front door of the accommodation building, it would be quicker for Sailor Mercury to hop over the rooftops. She threw her hand into the air to call upon the power of the Mercury Crystal and cried her words:

'Mercury Eternal Power, Make Up!'

Within the blink of an eye she was adorned with the uniform and power of a galactic warrior, done were her oversized pyjamas and they were replaced with the fuku that marked the Solar System Sailor Senshi.

No second thoughts in her mind, she jumped from the window and onto the flat roof of the security guard's post. She briefly wondered if he heard her land, whether he would get up and look before she jumped again and ended up balancing on the fence, then another leap took her to the top of a small block of flats. A few more blocks and she would be in the same street as the campus and the library.

She landed in the carpark. The gates were closed but due to the open plan of the campus, she was able to run straight towards a garden area where the front of the library was located. Trouble was that she needed to get to the small courtyard on the other side of the building. Looking up, she realised she would have to hop over. Thank goodness adrenaline always kicked in when she was on a Sailor mission. Finding a location that could help propel her, she made her way up.

The wicked power was so potent it felt like it had kicked her in the stomach. Swallowing hard she jumped up and up and up. Finally, she reached the roof, and she ran across to the other side to look over the edge to the courtyard. She looked down and saw—

Nothing.

She swiftly brought up her Mercury goggles to properly scan the area. Unlike before when the sense of evil had disappeared as soon as she arrived, it was now lingering. She knew there had to be a source somewhere. It allowed her to locate something tiny and dimly-lit sitting in one of the public cigarette bins. Taking one last careful look around, she made her way down into the courtyard. Landing with the grace of a cat, she approached the offending object. Removing her goggles, she was able to see properly what it really was.

She picked it up.

"Sailor Mercury… I was wondering if you would make an appearance."

Startled, she spun around and looked up. There on the rooftop from where she had just jumped, a masculine figure stood. He was wearing a long, billowing cloak and hood that covered his face. He was slender and tall — not a part of him as visible aside from the white glasses he was wearing, not unlike Tuxedo Karman's.

Pocketing the object, she had found, she scowled.

'Are you responsible for this dark energy?'

"After earlier this evening I felt it important I introduce myself properly," the man replied, his voice a hollow echo. He made no attempt to move down and meet her. "The moment I saw you, I knew who you were. I could recognise your power — so, I just had to lure you out. So, go ahead! Do your little piece."

She raised her hand.

'I am Sailor Mercury, protected by the planet of Water and guardian of intelligence,' said the speech she knew so well. 'Dose yourself in water and repent!'

A brazen laugh rose from the man's chest. "Ha, ha! It has been many, many years since I heard those words. What would it be? At least ten millennia, I'm guessing?"

Her heart sank. 'Do I… know you?'

He said nothing and instead raised his hand as if to attack. She poised herself. Perhaps an Aqua Rhapsody would cool him off…? But, instead of calling on an attack, the young man pointed to the item she had picked up. She could practically hear his smirk. "I only lured you out here to tell you this: do not interfere with my work no matter how tempted you may be. It does not concern you. Now, consider that stone to be my calling card. I've done all I sought to do tonight."

Without another word, he spun around to leave. Mercury could not let him go so easy, 'Stop there, villain!' she shouted.

She began the chase.

Making it onto the roof again, she saw the man fleeing further on. His agility of being able to jump over the rooftops as she had done told her immediately that this was no ordinary human being, but someone with great power just like herself. The thought of it made her sick to her stomach. She couldn't see who the man was… but she didn't want to contemplate the possibility that it was who she thought it was.

'Stop or I will attack!' she threatened.

The man hopped a little further on, then stopped to balance on a chimney. "You need to be more careful, Sailor Mercury. That crystal I left you is just a warning of what is to come if you pursue me further."

'Who are you?!'

A long pause before he answered. "I suppose you can call me… 'The Phantom'. I am searching for something and you would do well not to get in my way. Don't think of following me."

With that, he threw his cloak over his shoulder and continued. For some reason, she obeyed him. Staying still she watched him disappear into the distance. Then, she brought out the item she had collected to see it more closely. It was indeed a crystal: a pretty, clouded and clear white tumbled gemstone. Even now it radiated the dark energy that had drawn her attention, yet it seemed to be basically inactive now. She realised then that this had been nothing more than a flare, a way to get her attention. Bringing out the supercomputer, she deactivated it. Now it was just an ordinary tumbled crystal.

She looked up again, eyed poised on the horizon.

Phantom, she wondered. Why did you want to get my attention just to warn me off?