And there is hope within despair
-Death Cab for Cutie, "Black Sun"
A presence. Something new, yet familiar. Yes.
The voice of before wouldn't let her forget who it was. As if she could, all too able to recall everything it had said to her before. Why would she forget, despite the part of her that wanted to, nearly more than anything. Of voices that could continually revisit her, this was not the one that she wanted.
But of choices that she had, the voice was a bit more merciful than the images that worked in conjunction.
Again, it was death and destruction, the same premonitions of slavery, oppression, domination and all the same things as it had been before. While they had not shown themselves since prior to the reveal of the King, prior to Phobos and Demos' transformation, prior to … really Minako herself. Whereas when she was in recovery they had dimmed, the respite was no more. They did not forget where exactly they had left off. Rather than continue on with the same theme, the visions were eerily just more of the same things that she had been shown before. Perhaps that was why, once she got used to it, it was easier to just distance herself from it to better look for clues.
The shapes became more distinctive now, countless as they were. By the time the voice stopped resonating within her mind, the shapes all turned their attention from what they had been at, focusing on her.
Your coming was foretold. The long circle is nearly complete.
Alarm instantly filled her, shapes amassing to surround her with speeds that seemed unfathomable to imagine even in the depths of this. Despite her intentions to remain impassive to better grasp, fear struck her, the familiar choking hold that left her immobile. The shapes leered, sneering and dripping their corruption. Snapping with razored teeth and equally wicked claws, the shuffling of their forms heralded the whispers that turned to howls.
Some part of her realized what it was, that fleeting essence of her that was still aware that she was meditating named it for what it was.
A calling. They were all calling to something. More shapes appeared on the horizon, certainly behind her if her spirit here could move instead of rigid with fear. These ones seemed different, far more vicious as if the shadows with teeth and claws were not deadly enough. No, these appeared by way of wings, their sound joining with the howling to a symphony that could only mean one thing. A frenzy was building, the shapes, the nightmares growling and snapping with bare restraint.
A call to feed.
Come, little ones. Savor your fear as we feast upon it!
With a start, her eyes snapped open.
Looking up from her, between her still form and that of the fire stood both Phobos and Deimos, their heads twitching back and forth as eyes that beheld far more intelligence than a mere raven could blinked in rapid succession before they seemed to relax. The breath that she hadn't been aware that she held was shakenly released, a hand rising to press to the side of her head.
The myriad of images, of emotions that felt like a lifetime ago for their occurence, the sensations… all of them seemed to vanish at the pain and the fact that she was being eaten alive. That was pain indescribable yet she couldn't pass from consciousness to escape until either raven had reacted. The images were not quick to depart, recalling all too well what had happened until she had been drawn from it. A slight twinge of pain caused her attention to turn from the inward recollection towards her other hand. There, a small circle of blood was welling.
She hadn't done something to cause it, until her gaze went back to Deimos who somehow managed to look guilty. It was a humorous look to see on a raven of all thing. Never had she seen Deimos, even before, look sheepish over anything and yet, here he was. She smiled though, nodding her thanks. The wound, small indeed, was enough to draw her from the vision. For that, she would gladly endure the trade off.
The fire roared, snapping and popping as it consumed the dry wood. A pine was her guess by the scent and quickness in which it was consumed. There were a few pieces of oak in the woodpile, promising in the least she would be able to meditate as she had more than needed to. While the blonde had suggested meditation more than once, it wasn't until she had shared her own motivations behind her apprehension towards Earth had she actually done so once Minako excused herself for a reason she couldn't even recall right now.
"Thanks…" She heard herself say, watching as either seemed to nod in their own fashion before taking their flight, once more settling on a perch that was somewhat haphazardly constructed. Makoto told her though, somewhere in that frame of time since she had arrived to the Moon and now that she would find something suitable for both, something far better than what was no more than just a glorified stand made of hangers. In that time that Minako was off living and breathing in her Commander mode, both the Mercurian and Jovian asked numerous questions involving the two ravens. While she had kept it somewhat vague of the man, the wizard, and Minako nearly bleeding out, upon describing that both had been loyal bodyguards and where transformed, it was Makoto who took a sudden interest.
It wasn't to say that Ami didn't care, but she was soon to find out that the tall brunette followed the path of druidism. To her culture, crows and ravens were revered as much as bears and deer, most believing that they were extensions of elder forces that was the Wild. They were not mere pets; she was smart enough not to suggest it, but to hear her talk of it, there was a bit of awe in Makoto's voice. Which is why she had promised she would fashion something worthy of them. Never mind that they weren't real ravens; or maybe they were it was likely a matter of perception, but to the woman, the one who spoke with an easy accent and enjoyed ribbing her anytime that Minako's mouth happened to leave a more telling mark, they were indeed primordial forces of nature and therefore, important.
She watched as they settled, watching over her until they deemed she was safe before returning to slumber. There was no time telling device; a fact she had discovered one late night while alone. How long she had been meditating she couldn't tell other than by the wood consumed in the fire. A few hours at most, the question was what time had she actually started. There was … what happened in the room, then they found out about an impending visit from the Terran Chancellor turned Queen, what Minako had said, then her meditation.
It was evening, at least, she had to guess.
Evening and far too many thoughts within her mind to even consider sleeping.
How it was she arrived at their sparring yard she had no idea, her coherent thoughts returning with another start. Her hands held a bow in one, an arrow in the other. Across from her the straw filled dummy beheld a multitude of arrows protruding from it, and a good score or two more on the ground. What she was doing here, how she got here… her eyes rose quickly as her senses told her she was hardly alone.
There on the benches sat the blonde, her form bundled under her cloak. The rather bulky shape could be attributed to the fact that her legs had been drawn to her chest, her head resting across her arms. No words passed from the blonde's mouth, further making no move to rise. If it wasn't for the fact that her eyes were open and watching her, she could have sworn she was asleep.
It was still a few moments of quietly looking at one another before the blonde choose to break the silence, her voice soft in the night and punctuated with slight pauses. "An archer as well. Who would have thought?"
"How long have you been sitting there."
The fact she hadn't phrased it as a question brought a thin sort of smile to the blonde's lips, finally moving though it was with slowness to her actions. There was just the light of the stars out, the Palace further back offered some light but how the training yard was situated, it was just a backdrop that provided little. It wasn't until the blonde drew closer to her; her cloak remaining tightly wrapped around her that wasn't registering all the way yet. Her fingers gently took her arm, ignoring the bow in her way to draw back her sleeve. There, against her pale skin she could see hues of purple forming along the inside of her arm.
Her fingers were blessedly cool against her skin. "We'll get you a guard, for next time." That was the only answer she received, outside of the gentle return of her sleeve back along her skin and her arm released.
"You didn't answer my question."
"Mm. A while. A few hours, if you really want to know."
A few … hours?
"There's three score arrows in the dummy, another two on the ground where you missed, and another score off behind it. Yes, a few hours." Minako yawned, blinking at her before she smiled. "I found you shortly after you started. Either you're a natural or…" she trailed off with a shrug. "I'm going to lean more towards that … something happened to you, on Mars, for you to be so skilled. You were not fooling me when I first tried to teach you the sword."
She found that there wasn't a lot she could say to that, looking to the arrow in her hand before back to the target dummy and its own collection. From there it went back to Minako, at a loss for what to say, what to do.
"You should … get some rest." It was only then that her mind registered why the blonde was so wrapped in her cloak. The shivers, her cool fingertips, and pauses in her speech; barely noticeable as they were, were from the fact that she was beyond tired and cold. The temperature hadn't made an impact to her, understanding now why it was more than just a simple brush of Minako's fingers against her bruised skin from the bowstring meeting with it. The blonde was freezing and was trying to draw warmth even under the guise of concern for her.
At once she dropped the bow and arrow, her arms wrapped around the Venusian tightly and drew her sharply against her body. The slight gasp and sudden alertness from the woman told her that she wasn't expecting it. "You should do the same. Gods Minako, it's well past midnight-" The other injected "Two actually…" "Gods above, it's two in the morning! What are you doing out?"
The blonde's forehead came to rest against her shoulder, having little shame to press up against the source of warmth for a few moments before she met her gaze to answer. "Do you remember … what I said to you?"
"What you said to me when."
"Mmm my Martian and her questions." It was such an endearing smile that for a moment, she could just forget the visions that even drove her out here apparently to take up archery to ignore. "From the start, when you were all sorts of glowering at me."
When hadn't she glowered at the blonde though, her lips twisting at the notion. "You said … to stop."
"And…?"
"That … you would protect me, defend me … and guide me. That … you wouldn't let death claim me on your watch." She recalled the words and the surprise that coursed through her when the blonde, so incredibly unknown, with absolutely no concern whatsoever for her own health and wellbeing, knelt before her and offered her sword. To recite a vow before turning into a near killing machine until meeting with a mace. All to protect her. She who had wanted her dead, killed lest the flames prove true. That the next person she met would change the very nature of her soul.
She wanted to scowl, to grimace, to do something more than just be holding the woman in her arms yet … yet that was what she wanted to do too. To care about someone that cared too much about everyone else. To look after someone that wouldn't look after herself.
"Don't you understand Rei?" The woman spoke, answering a question she hadn't realized she had even asked. "I won't let you suffer alone. I'm hardly a mystic as you are, hardly the intellectual as Ami or versed in druidism as Makoto … I swore though, to defend you. Even if it is from yourself."
"I … There was… I…"
The blonde shook her head, a solitary finger rising to press softly against her lips, halting her speech. "You had a vision from your meditation. I knew you were going to when … when I stopped by. The wood and the fact you are in your robes told me as much. I came by again, to check on you … to make sure you were alright but you were not in your room. It didn't take long to find you here, and so I waited, not wanting to interrupt you. Maybe it was therapeutic to restuff a straw dummy with arrows, but that wasn't it. You were thinking of something, processing whatever it was that you had seen."
"How … how do you know all of this?"
A soft smile was her answer. "I told you, at the temple. I'm prone to empathic tendencies at times."
The temple … where she had her visions, where she had struck Minako so hard in the side of the head that she couldn't be sure, days later, that she hadn't killed her. The same temple that Minako had kissed her, that she had slept alongside of her. A night of rest that hadn't been plagued further by nightmarish visions.
It was more than what she wanted to think about at the moment. Rather, it was easier to glower at the woman, her voice taking a turn for gruff. "You're freezing cold. You shouldn't be out here."
"It's actually warmer here than on Mars…" Was all the soft reply that she received, outside of the Venusian somehow managing to cuddle all the closer to her. She had dropped the guise that she was fine however, openly pressing to her in a greedy display to draw in warmth and heat.
She made a sound, some sort of cross between a growl and sigh, and shook her head. There was truth to it all though, it was simply far too early in the morning and far too cold to be standing out in the middle of the Moon, surrounded by target dummies, arrows, and a populace that regarded them as substandard barbarians. The growling noise transitioned into a better sigh, a feeling of despair following on its heels. She couldn't do this much longer, this back and forth. The images, the visions, and the Lunarian glares. Something had to give, ideally sooner than later and ideally without some cost to her sanity.
With another start she blinked, looking at Minako, seeing far too much concern within the depths of her eyes. Be it starlight, daylight … any sort of light … she really wondered why, at the beginning, she felt such an animosity towards her. Perhaps it was still what lingered even now. A fate she couldn't fight against, a destiny that wasn't hers to determine.
"Let's go inside, please." Her voice was soft, vulnerable. It wasn't a quality that she liked.
The palace was rather silent, be it something that she expected or not. Maybe at this hour she thought there would be servants about, able to move about freely to handle their duties without the presence of everyone else. It sounded entirely logical to her, a legit thought that had her looking every so often for them.
"They already were here. This is where they start at, moving in a steady line that … well, I would say obliterates everything in its path save that … they clean instead." Since coming back inside, or maybe it was being pressed to her side, the pauses in Minako's speech were now from being tired and less from being chilled. It was still eerie regardless that she had known that was what she was looking for, unable to help the look.
"Was a guess." A tired Minako, she found out, meant a less inclined to speak in full sentences Minako.
"It's true though." She herself was tired but her mind said she wouldn't sleep, not anytime soon. She should get some rest though; there was no telling what awaited them today. Wasn't the Chancellor's ship due in soon anyway? Not to mention the Queen had only mentioned one day off, not two in a row. Though really, a week off would do them all good. Minako never did take that time off that Artemis had told her to do so once they had arrived here. Oh the blonde had made a few attempts here and there, but it was only because she had personally gotten involved.
That weighed on her mind as well.
Silence passed between them outside of the sound of their walking as they made their way to the private sanctuary that promised them at least a few hours of uninterrupted time before anyone could theoretically expect them. It was the blonde who opened one of the heavy white oak doors that officially marked their privacy, stepping inside with her to see both Ami and Makoto looking up from the table that they typically took meals at.
It seems that everyone was going to be awake at this Gods-forsaken hour.
The soft, blue light that bathed their companion's faces in a glow highlighted their far beyond tired features. A few candles had been lit, but otherwise there was no other sources of light.
Makoto waited until Minako had closed the door before speaking. "We had a feelin' that you'd be back. Went lookin' for you both and didn't find ya." A yawn brought a long pause to her words. "Sorry, if it wasn't urgent wouldn't be lookin' for ya."
"What is it?" The tiredness that clung to the blonde in ways that she was a bit ashamed to admit that she would rather do fought a long hard battle with her Commander persona. Sheer stubbornness told her that the Commander would always win out, another thing to grate on her nerves. It wasn't fair, not even remotely so, and it was doing everything for pissing her off all the more.
"Do you remember what you had asked me to, shortly before you had left for Jupiter?" Ami answered, looking up from the small computer screen, her hand holding a steaming mug that she sipped from with a grimace. At Minako's hurried nod, not to mention her sudden burst of speed that left her at the table with a drawn up chair so she could see the screen. Left with no other choice she followed, an equally unsure look passed between her and Makoto.
"I finally cracked them." Ami took another sip from the mug before setting it aside, Minako taking the opportunity to enlighten them all as to what the nature of the cryptic words were. Even still, it was a few minutes before she finally spoke.
"We aren't told anything, I'm sure you all know that. I've pressed for answers since I arrived, at every opportunity. Even if it wasn't one, I made it into one. It's meant that I've … butted heads with Artemis and Luna more than once. I'm loyal to the Queen as my honor dictates that I am; I gave my word that I would protect her daughter at the cost of my life. I … do not follow blindly however, and I want to know why I am willingly giving my life for another. It goes against my principles as a Venusian; we would fight and kill for our lovers yes, but the Princess isn't mine obviously enough."
The thin, but meant smile given in Rei's direction caused a flush of heat to her features, but for once Makoto didn't start hooting about it. Instead, the Jovian had returned with three mugs of the same steaming contents that the Mercurian was drinking. Hesitantly she took the mug, sniffing at its dark contents before taking a tentative sip. It wasn't bad, actually rather good and she felt herself become more alert.
"I asked Ami if there was anything she could find out. What exactly was meant by the Call, why we, ultimately, were necessary. Even why the Queen of Mars had come to the Moon. I wanted information and since no one was going to provide it…"
"The Queen of- my mother?" Whatever it was she was drinking was making her alert, but the statement about her mother completely lifted the shroud around her. "You said on the way here that, that no one knew. Even Artemis admitted to it." Her gaze narrowed, "Why would you ask about that."
"Because it made no sense. Why would the Queen of Mars travel to the Moon? What was so important that it couldn't be left to a courier? It made little sense for it to be documented in the first place. Transport logs showed that she had arrived, she met with the Queen for some time, but then someone had gone through and tried to cover it all up."
"How did you know."
The blonde sighed but it was Ami that answered in her stead. "Just as when you erase pencil from paper, there is still a faint trace of the message that remains. You can erase all that you want, eventually you will ruin the paper, it will never be the same. The same thing exists for the recorded logs here. Someone had gone through and placed them all behind a password, as well as other things of importance."
It did made sense, she had to admit with another sip of whatever goodness it was poured to the mug. She noticed that Minako, much like Ami, sipped sparingly from it. Whereas Makoto and her seemed to have no issue with whatever it was.
"When Minako left first for Makoto and then later for you, I spent time trying to find out just what was going on. My parents were concerned about why all of a sudden I was so vital to the Queen's court, alliance or not. I'm sure Minako has told you that the Alliance has not existed for very long, a generation at best depending on who you ask. We are allied with each planet of the system, outside of Terra for numerous reasons. Prior to that, we were not exactly at war with them but there was a degree of hostility. You saw planets allying with their closet neighbors, such as Venus and my own. Even then, alliances only go so far. The monarchy of Venus would be welcomed at any time to Mercury, but the Council would question all the same why they arrived for there is no such thing as social calls among anyone. Call it spying if you want, but-"
"You want to learn who your new friends are." She declared, cutting off the Mercurian who nodded in response.
"Exactly. There have also been some inconsistencies, such as treaties that seemed to have, pardon the expression, magically changed when attempted to be collected. Being one of the most, if not singular, technologically advanced planets, Mercury helped many planets out towards updating systems. Such things are not free, and there are things that we need from each planet. It's a bartering system, a give and take, and we have no problem paying for our luxuries and necessities through this or coins. But Mercury, like Venus and Jupiter, not to mention even the outer planets of Neptune and Uranus, began noticing that the standards of our trade were rapidly changing towards the Moon's favor."
It was still far too early in the morning for such discussions of political economies and trade negotiations. She went to take another drink only to find the mug empty. A look up at Makoto saw her already out of her seat, bringing the kettle with her.
"Anyway," Drawn back in from what was sure to be a lecture, Ami continued. "The files were locked behind a password. I had tried every form of cryptology that I knew of in attempts to crack it but to little avail. For awhile, I put it aside to work on other more pressing matters, such as ensuring we have utter privacy within here. Outside of sorcery or magic, no one can eavesdrop on us. And yes, I am aware of how much of an oxymoron it seems that I am trying to break into someone else's privacy while demanding my own. Just like Minako stated though, I gave my word when I arrived that I would protect the Princess no matter the cost. I want to know what this ominous danger is that seemingly sprung up from nowhere."
"You mentioned that you cracked the files…?" Minako softly said, her own mug long since forgotten.
"Yes." For as animated as Ami had seen, it all didn't seem like it mattered. She slumped back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. "After Artemis and Luna had left, and after both of you had gone, something told me to try again. The password was a name; I had exhausted all the ones I knew, from the Princess' name to even that of the Mau, to various planets and landmarks. On a whim I tried a different name and…" her voice trailed off for a moment.
Three pairs of eyes fixated on the Mercurian.
"It's Beryl."
A/N: Hey so, if you're curious about an update, check out my profile. Since my writing is turning a bit (lol ok a lot) sporadic for when it happens, I've taken to updating my profile with what and where I'm at. I have a lot plotted out, it's just the actual sitting down to type. But that should be improving in the coming days/weeks/months, so yeah. Any questions, feel free to drop me a PM.