Chapter 10: Tracing and Tracking
The neighborhood was quiet. A feeling of nervousness seemed to linger in the area and could be felt by all who neared Youma Square for the last two days. Yet for Eternal Sailor Mars, she counted herself lucky to be able to feel it. It made it easier to pick up on the different vibes in the area, so that she might be able to discern just what might have happened here in greater detail. Though from the destruction done to the surrounding area, it wasn't that difficult to divine – something had died here. Whether it was human or youma was something that had yet to be determined.
"Any luck, Venus?" she said into her wrist communicator, doing her best to keep her voice down yet she attract attention of the wrong sort.
"Nothing yet, Mars," came the reply on the other end, the voice kept just as low. "Just more of the same, abandoned buildings, wrecked cars, debris everywhere… whatever happened here, it must have been a pretty nasty fight."
"Agreed," said Mars. "Something serious went down here two days ago, and whatever happened, it left something behind… a feeling of… pain and anguish that lingers in the area…" Her eyes where closed now, following the feelings to a specific street in front of an abandoned building.
After several moments of aimless wandering, she opened her eyes.
"Venus, I think I found it," said Mars as she took in the scene around here. Here, the destruction took on a new light. Claw marks where gouged into the concrete and a couple of the surrounding cars where crunched up, as if something crashed into them. There where slash marks on the walls as well, and if she was looking at it correctly, they looked like they came from some sort of bladed weapon.
While she was surveying the scene, Venus arrived and took a look of her own. Her sharp eyes went from place to place until she spotted an anomaly.
"Mars, over here," she said as she headed towards the middle of the street. Mars soon joined her in staring at what she had found. A perfect circle of concrete had somehow been preserved in some kind of onslaught that had destroyed much of the surrounding area.
"Some kind of shielding, perhaps?" asked Venus as she stared at the spot.
"Maybe…" mumbled Mars, kneeling before the area and closing her eyes. "The lingering energy around this spot feels more natural than they chaotic energy that is ambient to the area. It seems like someone used pure planetary energy to form some kind of ward to hold off some kind of area-of-effect attack. If the destruction to the surrounding area is any indication, then the ward that was summoned here must have saved the life of whoever the summoner was."
"You think it might have been the new Senshi?" asked Venus, curiosity now edging at her mind. If the new Senshi was capable of shielding against destructive attacks, she could prove to be a worthy ally…
"That's what I'm thinking as well," said Mars. "The new Senshi must have confronted some sort of youma at this spot and fought it. I've not seen any evidence yet as to who won or lost, though from what I see and feel, I'm pretty sure the new Senshi won the fight."
"I kind of figured that," replied Venus in a rather dry tone. Leave it to Mars to point out the obvious. Then again, she tended to do that sometimes too…
"Let's record the scene and continue searching, we can have Mercury or Artemis look at the findings later. Right now I don't feel too comfortable here," she continued, a rather chilling feel creeping up her spine.
"I agree - something about this place doesn't feel right…" mumbled Mars, getting up from her kneeled position and dusting her off.
As they started walking off, however, Mars suddenly froze in place. Venus gave her a side-glance. "What's wrong Mars?"
"We aren't alone…" was the reply she gave.
Her head snapped to the left towards one of the alleys, only to find a figure leaning against the wall, staring at the two of them, their face and body hidden in a thick cloak of black with gold trim.
"Who are you?" snapped off Venus at the mystery person in the alley.
The stranger seemed to consider the answer before opening their mouth to answer.
0-0-0-0
Many believe that when one meditates, concentration is the key to doing it successfully. This is wrong. While concentration is important, it is focus that is the key to successful meditation. It's impossible to keep concentrating without the proper focus. To be able to acknowledge every single stray thought that ripples through your mind and brush it aside to study later, until your mind is completely blank, takes great focus to achieve.
This is how I was taught to meditate by Raina several years ago, and it has helped me maintain focus throughout my day as the years went by.
Now, I was putting this skill to great effect. Using this technique, I have been able to pull up and review the different memories I have acquired from the late Princess Usagi. So far, everything I have found had been quite useful. I not only had the memories and experiences of the princess growing up here in Crystal Tokyo, but I apparently had the memories and experiences of her adventures as a time traveler. Apparently she had a key that she used to open a doorway to the past. The time which I saw was more similar to what I had experienced growing up here in the thirtieth century; only the technology was a bit more primitive. It amused me to see the Neo-Queen in her youth, to see how much of an airhead she actually was, constantly tripping over herself, unable to so much as keep herself in check when confronted with junk food or manga. I also had the benefit of seeing Hotaru as a little kid; she was the cutest thing I had ever seen!
Not everything was a field of roses, however. I also had a lot of bad memories from that time. I was actually able to experience the Black Moon Invasion first-hand thanks to the memories of the late princess, in addition to the Mistress 9, Dark Moon Circus, and Sailor Galaxia incidents. I have only experienced fear like that a couple of times in my current life, and it was none too pleasant…
My thoughts were somewhat interrupted when I felt warmth surround me. I smiled, knowing what was happening. While I was not communing directly with the planet, I was able to 'feel' it with enough focus. I was able to touch upon it's emotions as if they where my own. I currently felt a lot of pain, but amidst it was contentment, for I could feel how proud Mother Terra was of herself for finally achieving her life-long goal ever since her conception, the birth of her own Sailor Senshi. I also felt the love that she had for me, the reason for which I saw her now as more than just my source of planetary power. It enveloped me like a warm blanket, soothing my aches and pains away while providing me with comfort the likes of which I had honestly never felt before. Sure, the girls cared for me, and of course Lina loved me like a sister, but I honestly have never had quite the mother figure like was experiencing with the spirit of my planet. Raina was the closest to a mother figure I have ever had, but even then, she just could not compare to her new Mother now. Not after what she had experienced ever since her soul was completed those weeks ago.
'Thank you, mother,' I thought, concentrating briefly on getting my message across. I felt the planet pulse beneath me, and knew that she had heard my heartfelt thanks.
Brushing aside my thoughts for the time being, I drew my focus back inward. Acknowledging everything I was thinking and setting it all aside for later, I quickly cleared my mind until there was nothing but blissful silence.
I can't honestly say how long I stayed in that position. When you disconnect yourself from the rest of the world and turn your focus inward, time tends to move at a different pace. What could in fact be hours could seem like mere minutes to you. Visa-versa, you can be in that state for five minutes while each second can feel like days at a time. The entire universe can come undone beneath your feet and you would be blissfully unaware of all the happenings surrounding you. It is as close to inner peace as any mortal can achieve, for however brief the moment may be.
The next time I opened my eyes, I could tell something was different. I glanced around and noticed it immediately: my laptop was acting on its own. Frowning, I get up out of my lotus position on my bed and walk over to the little table where the computer sat and looked to see what was going on. Apparently, someone had gotten passed my firewall and had remote access to my computer. The chat window to CIM was also open, the chat box displaying all I needed to know by the message typed in it: Your computer sucks…
I chuckled, finding the humor in the situation. Leave it to Lina to hack into my computer just to see what kind of hardware I was working with…
I sat down and typed up my reply. 'Well, I can't exactly go down to the local electronic store and buy the latest state-of-the-art technology you know. I work with what I have…'
I press the Enter key and the message gets sent. I wait a moment before the next reply pops up.
'There's a difference between 'working with what you have' and 'working with stone-aged technology' girl. For crying out loud, I haven't seen an 18-core processor in use outside of museums and scrap yards!'
'Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. You're lucky I managed to find this 'piece of computer history' to begin with, else I'd still be incommunicado, Miss 'I-use-the-latest-in-crystal-tech-hardware'…' I type up.
I pretty much expected the next reply. 'You can still do better.' There's no way I'm winning this argument, it seems.
'Is there any particular reason you decided to hack into my 'dinosaur of a computer', or where you just that bored…?' I typed out.
'A little of both, actually. I had nothing better to do so I decided to check in on you and see just what you where working with. Considering you scavenged it from an abandoned apartment unit is surprising, crystal technology has been around for hundreds of years already…'
'Maybe whoever owned it had it for a reason…'
'I'd probably say for privacy… I have to admit, for an old computer, it's isolated enough that even I had some difficulties finding it. Especially considering the connection you're using…'
I felt a chill go down my spine. Is she hinting at something here? 'Shit,' I cursed. 'Has she managed to pin-point where I'm at?'
This would complicate things… it was bad enough that I was involved in this now, I certainly didn't want to bring my sister into this…
I sighed and typed up the question that I was dreading the answer for. 'Where are you?'
I waited maybe ten seconds before she answered, and I groaned at what I read. According to your source signal, I'm about two kilometers east-northeast from your location. I managed to get by the first couple of energy barriers as they are computer-generated and managed to bring them down temporarily and get through before they were brought back up, but I hit a roadblock at the one I'm at, as it seems to be more of a natural barrier than a generated one…'
Damn, that means she's at one of my 'last resort' barriers further up the tunnels. 'I can't believe she actually footed it here. This really isn't like her at all…' 'Are you by yourself?'
'Yes.'
I sighed. 'Well, at least I only have to deal with her for now… but how long will it be before I have to face the others?'
'You're crazy. I thought Rikku was the one who was insane in our circle of sisters, but you are certifiable loony. What direction did you come from?' I typed out.
'I took some of the restricted access tunnels from Central Tokyo. I've been following the old tunnel lines towards your location. I'm in what looks like one of the old maintenance tunnels.'
'Don't move,' I typed out before getting up. I quickly threw on one of the sweatpants and t-shirts from the Princess's bag, put my socks and shoes on, and quickly tied my hair into a loose ponytail before running out to the main tunnel. I got on my motorcycle, revved it to life, and quickly started riding east towards her direction. It took all of three minutes before I hit the barrier I had created on this side. Approaching it, I slowed down and came to a stop. I could see her on the other side, dark blue long-sleeved shirt and black jeans-clad, sitting down on the ground, laptop in her lap, typing furiously. She was probably still trying to get through to me. Seems like the barrier that was up was blocking all sound from my end too, as she had yet to notice my arrival.
I grinned, knowing what was going to happen. I reached out with the limited control that I had in my base form and brought down the barrier.
She jumped sky-high as the rumbling sounds of my motorcycle hit her all in one go, the barrier separating us now gone and the headlight shining brightly before her. She stared at me, looking at me as if I were some kind of ghost.
"Get on," was all I told her. She quickly closed her laptop, throwing it into standby mode, put it in its bag, and scrambled over to where I was. She sat down beside me and wrapped her arms around my midsection, hugging me tightly.
"Remember to lean in whatever direction I lean in, otherwise the ride's going to be uncomfortable," I said as I turned the bike around. The barrier behind us sprang back to life as I let my hold on it go.
Looking back as I rode back down the tunnel towards my sanctuary, I thought back. Why the hell did she come down here by herself? It didn't make sense, if she was going to come down here she would have either gotten one of the other girls to escort her or she would have informed me in advance so I could meet her somewhere and escort her down. To come down here on her own was so out of character for her, considering that she never went anywhere remotely dangerous without me or one of the girls…
Wait… that must be it…
'Guess she didn't want to risk my turning her down, and if she would have brought one, the others would have wanted to come… she must have sneaked out on her own! Well played, sis…'
0-0-0-0
Many believe that when one meditates, concentration is the key to doing it successfully. This is wrong. While concentration is important, it is focus that is the key to successful meditation. It's impossible to keep concentrating without the proper focus. To be able to acknowledge every single stray thought that ripples through your mind and brush it aside to study later, until your mind is completely blank, takes great focus to achieve.
This was how he was taught to meditate thousands of years ago, and the skill had served him well throughout his life. It allowed him to maintain his focus in his day-to-day life, and helped when he needed to organize his thoughts.
It also allowed him to enter the state of mind he needed to channel the powers of his planet. This is how we currently find Endymion, Neo-King of Crystal Tokyo. He sat in a lotus position on his meditation cushion, his figure surrounded by the different flora under his care. He often used his private gardens as a place to meditate, find inner peace, and commune with the planet as needed. While quite powerful in his own right, the unfortunate downside of being born male meant that his connection with the planet was not as powerful as it should be. While his power easily surpassed even the strongest of the High Priests of Elysion, his level of power was nowhere near what his wife or her Senshi where capable of…
As soon as he realized where his thoughts were taking him, he reigned them in, acknowledged them, and swept them aside for later study. This wasn't the time to think on this. Now was a time for healing.
He was currently channeling his planetary power through the Golden Crystal, using it as a conduit. Directing the power through the ley-lines of the planet, he strained slightly as he tried to fuel his planet with the energy it needed to heal more of the damage it had sustained throughout its lifetime.
He sat there for what seemed like minutes but was in actuality over five hours just channeling golden power into the planet, trying his best to revitalize it so that it might continue its healing. Finally, approaching the sixth hour, he let the power go and broke the circuit, slumping forward and catching the Golden Crystal before it fell on the grass. He gasped for air; his energy spent trying to maintain the effort for as long as possible. He took the moment to catch his breath, before sitting back up, straightening his back and going back into his meditative trance. He felt for the planet beneath him and felt it respond to his touch. What he found disturbed him.
'Nothing… all that time and energy, and it didn't even help one bit…' he thought. Before, his efforts where somewhat rewarded, as he felt the energy at least sooth over some of the damage it had sustained over the last two thousand years, between the damage caused by humans, youma, and the Great Freeze. Now, however, the energy he supplied to the planet was no longer having any effect. 'Either the planet is storing the energy I'm supplying it, or it's just no longer affecting it. Has the extent of the damage gone so far that it can't even receive its own Golden energy?'
His head pulsed; he could feel the beginnings of a headache coming up. He sighed and shook his head. 'This situation is getting worse and worse by the day…'
His thoughts were interrupted as he felt arms snake around his torso. He smiled as he felt lips briefly graze the back of his neck before he felt her head on his right shoulder. "You look stressed dear," she whispered. Leave it to her to call him out on something so obvious. While stress was nothing new to the both of them, they always bore it well. For her to call him out on that, it must have really been showing. 'I must have spent more energy than I originally thought I did…'
"I am," was his short reply. He felt her nod, though she made no move to back up. He leaned into her embrace, savoring the warmth that she provided him. They both remained that way, silently enjoying the comfort provided by the other's presence, before she spoke. "I visited Elysion earlier today. Helios told me what was going on with the planet."
I nodded. "It was only a matter of time before you noticed it. I have been doing everything I could ever since the Great Freeze to provide the planet with Golden energy so that it might heal. It has worked for the most part, but recently the energy I have been providing it has not been having any effect."
"Helios said the planet is dying," she whispered.
"He speaks the truth. If this trend continues, it will be a few short years before the planet succumbs to a complete ice age. Life as we know it will be unsustainable, and we'd have to go underground to try to survive. Without vegetation, oxygen would be non-existent. The human race would be facing extinction within two to three generations."
She nodded. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Maybe, but I don't want to risk it unless it's an absolute last resort."
"Why not?"
"If this planet is not reacting to its own Golden energy, I cannot even begin to predict how it would react to Silver energy. While it might help, it might also finish it off should something go wrong. Not only that, but you would have to use the Golden Crystal as a conduit for the power of your Silver Crystal, and that act alone could very well destroy the two. The results of the sudden destruction of two objects of such immense power would not only destroy the planet, but it would wipe this whole system out of existence."
She nodded in understanding. She more than anyone knew of the potential volatility that lay behind the power that her Crystal was able to summon. It had been responsible for one of her three deaths already; she did not wish to die a fourth time. She sighed into him as she hugged him tighter. "Whatever happens, we'll get through it together…"
They stayed that way for several more moments before she finally let him go so he could stand up. Immediately she was at his side, an arm around his waist as they walked out of his private gardens and towards the palace. They were met at the door by two guards, both looking anxious.
"Your Majesty, your Highness, we have news of your Scouts."
The two Royals looked at each other before they stared at the two guards. "Speak," they both said.
"Sailor Mars and Venus have returned, your Highness," they started. "They in the medical wing right now receiving treatment."
"Are they hurt?" asked Serenity.
"I'm afraid they are, your Highness. Both sustained severe injuries, though last I heard it was not life threatening."
There was a moment of silence before the Neo-Queen responded. "Very well then, I will make my way to them right now. Thank you, for bringing this to my attention,"
The two guards bowed and stepped aside for the two Royals. Neither of them spoke, but it seemed that, in that tense silence, they found themselves in an agreement of some kind. Between the release of energy two weeks ago, the anomaly at West Tokyo's Starlight District, the revelation that the planet was not receiving the healing energy that had sustained it over the last one thousand years, and now the news that two of the Senshi were injured, one could only come to one conclusion…
They were facing a new threat, and whatever was the cause of this, they were a force to be reckoned with…
To Be Continued…
Author's Notes: So yeah, not as long as the majority of the other chapters, but I felt this was a good place to leave it. So now Rini has Lina to deal with. What will be revealed and what will remain secret? Well, that's something you'll have to wait for next update! =P
A little unusual, I realized, me updating back-to-back like this. Two chapters within two weeks is a bit out there for me, the second one being a wee bit on the short side, but honestly, I really wanted to get this chapter out there as it moves the story along in the direction I need for my next update. Lina disappearing on her own and finding Rini is going to keep things fresh for a while. She'll be playing more of a role from now on.
A little teaser for next chapter: Lina breaks her vow of silence!
Till next time, keep reading and reviewing, and until next time, I'll be watching you…