Subspace, 2067 AD (Serenity Year -925, 2818 Years after the
founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 22231, Federal Year -1917)
Months of dreams and nightmares ended in an instant when a
bright shining light cut through the void, which had been shaping
and reshaping itself around a small glass orb. A soul lay exhausted
within the sphere. It woke at the light's touch, and formed a body
for itself as the laboratory around it evaporated.
He had almost forgotten how to walk, although he wasn't sure
why. The light was blinding, and he had to squint. A woman hung
in the light. Or was it a man? He wasn't sure. Whatever it was, it
had six shining wings and spoke with the voice of a rushing wind.
{I HAVE COME FOR YOU.}
"I can't go yet! I've seen...I've seen what's happened. I have
to stop it. I have to fight her. I can't let Dr. Weissman destroy the
world like this!"
{THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF DR. WEISSMAN. HER MISTRESS
HAS DEVOURED HER. ONLY THE WINTER QUEEN REMAINS.} The
figure reached out a hand.
"It doesn't matter!" He held up the orb. "I can stop her with
this. If nothing else, at least I'll be able to see what she plans to
do." The orb flickered and they could both see the Winter Queen
preparing to send an army after some place called Shamballa. "I
have to go! To warn them. At least one place survived."
{YOUR BATTLE WAS NOT IN VAIN. BECAUSE THE GATE WAS
CLOSED, SOME PLACES SURVIVED.} The figure thrust out its hand
again. {BUT YOUR PART OF THAT BATTLE IS OVER.}
"I HAVE to go! I have to!"
{YOU ARE DEAD. IT IS NOT MEET FOR THE DEAD TO WALK
AMONG THE LIVING EXCEPT AT THE APPOINTED TIMES.}
"I'm not dead! I have a body! I can breathe!" He paused.
"I'm even getting hungry!"
{KALI DEVOURED YOUR BODY. WHAT YOU POSSESS IS MERELY
A SHADOW OF LIFE, TAINTED BY THE DARK POWER THAT REMAINS
WITHIN THE ORB.} The figure held out a hand once more. {THIS IS
THE LAST TIME I MAY ASK YOU. WILL YOU COME WITH ME TO
THE REST YOU HAVE EARNED OR WILL YOU WALK YOUR OWN
PATH?}
"If I left now, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Surely,
you can understand that."
{I ADMIRE YOUR SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND YOUR
DETERMINATION TO ATONE FOR WHAT YOU FEEL YOU HAVE DONE,
BUT I SAY TO YOU THAT YOU HAVE DONE MORE THAN ENOUGH.}
For a moment, he was silent. {I HAVE NEVER BEEN A GOOD
ARGUER. NORMALLY, IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO CONVINCE SOMEONE
THEY ARE DEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN ASKED THRICE AND YOU HAVE
REFUSED THRICE. I MUST DEPART.} The being turned to go.
"Wait, can you take a message for me?"
The figure nodded.
"Tell my brother I'm sorry we never got over that big fight we
had a few years ago. I don't think I've seen him in three years."
He sighed.
{I'M AFRAID I CAN'T DO THAT.}
"Why?"
The figure's head slumped. {WHEN I CAME FOR HIS SOUL, HE
INFORMED ME THAT I WAS MERELY A MYTH MADE FLESH BY THE
DELUSIONS OF HIS DYING MIND OR ELSE SOME KIND OF TRICK. HE
TOLD ME TO GO AWAY, SO I GAVE HIM WHAT HE WANTED.}
"So his soul is roaming the world as a ghost?"
{THE FORCES OF HELL REAPED A RICH HARVEST OF PEOPLE
WHO REFUSED TO GO WITH THOSE WHO CAME FOR THEM. IN THE
END, THEY HAD ONE LAST CHANCE, AND MANY OF THEM THREW IT
ALL AWAY BECAUSE THEY HAD DECIDED THAT SINCE SOME MYTHS
WERE UNTRUE, THEY ALL WERE, OR BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED ONLY
IN SOMETHING LIKE MONEY, WHICH COULD NOT SAVE THEM, OR
BECAUSE THEY SOUGHT A VENGEANCE THEY COULD NOT HAVE.}
The figure gave the soul it was confronting a pointed look, then
turned and began to dwindle. {I SUGGEST YOU FIND YOUR WAY
BACK TO THE PHYSICAL WORLD VERY QUICKLY. THEY CANNOT
COME FOR YOU AGAINST YOUR WILL THERE.} The dwindling
stopped, and a single tear fell from the figure's left eye, becoming a
tiny crystal as it fell onto the being's palm. {I AM SORRY ABOUT
YOUR BROTHER. TAKE THIS. MAYBE IT CAN HELP YOU.} It tossed
the tiny crystal to the orb-bearing soul.
"You let them take all those souls?" He was in shock.
{NO ONE CAN BE SAVED AGAINST THEIR WILL. IF YOU TOSS A
DROWNING MAN A LIFE PRESERVER AND HE ANNOUNCES IT IS A
DONUT AND EATS IT...THE DEMONS DID NOT COME UNTIL I
DEPARTED, BUT I COULD NOT STAY WITH THEM FOREVER. YET, IT
MAY NOT BE The end...} The voice faded as the light dwindled, or
perhaps drew further away. {i have never understood the need for
a last judgement when all are judged upon death. perhaps, there is
hope for those who refused this final call. there may yet be still
more room for mercy in the great plan.} The light grew even
fainter, and the shadows began to loom menacingly. {even such as i
only glimpse the mind of The Most High dimly...fare you well,
henry j. wise. i pray we meet again...}
The Wiseman clutched his orb and the crystal for a moment,
then took the being's advice and ran.
******************
Black Moon Rising
Chapter 4: My Dinner at Serenity's
By John Biles
******************
Winath System, Winath III, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the
founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
The commander took the note handed her by the outpost
Communications Officer, read it, screamed loudly, and ate it in a
burst of frustration.
Imra raised an eyebrow. "Bad news?"
"We can't send the news by subspace radio. The Khunds, the
Kzinti, the Dark Circle, the Alphatians, the Trantorians, the
Bgtzlians, the Omed, OMAC, QWERTY, and COBRA have all cracked
the latest code any of us three or anyone here at this outpost have
been briefed in. The only people who haven't cracked that code at
the Wined people of Epsilon Gamma III and that's probably only
because they're still in the Stone Age." She sighed. "Which means
we're going to have to courier this news back to Earth and pray
that there aren't any traitors in this outpost who have already sent
the news back to anyone they might be working for."
Moemi shrugged. "Well, I assumed we were heading back to
Earth anyway."
Imra said, "I'm a qualified space pilot as long as we take
something small."
"Good. You can drive," the commander said. "I'll go find the
outpost commander and see if he can find us something we can
take so we don't have to wait to be picked up."
***************
Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the
founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
Queen Serenity, Endymion, Mars, Mercury, Uranus, and
Neptune sat around a small round table in a conference room with
Keiko Morisato. "So some of the tour group is missing?" Mercury
asked.
"We lost about ten people. I'm sure most of them will show up
fairly quickly." Keiko sighed. "Luckily we didn't have any
casualties. I was able to take it down fairly quickly, especially
after Uranus and Neptune arrived."
"We ought to keep an eye on the people who scattered, if we
can find them. Some of them might be responsible," Uranus said.
"I want to know how the thing got past the wards."
"It turned into a gem when it died," Keiko said. "Probably
was carried in like that."
"Which means there could be more."
"I'll need the ash to run a computer scan," Mercury said. "We
can sweep the palace once the data comes in."
They found three gems once the search was complete, which
took less time than they expected. One was hidden in the chapel,
one in the library, and one in a statue in an upstairs hallway. All
three were disarmed and destroyed without any trouble. The
question of who planted them remained unresolved.
********************
"So then Mindi asked John, the big blue boomer, to take her to
the movies. She climbed up on his shoulder, and he flew across the
city." Uriel read another story from 'Curious John Helps Out' to
Ami-chan. She was sitting on his lap, reading along. She really
didn't need it to be read to her, but she liked it. Hermes was
sprawled out in a chair nearby, taking a nap.
The door opened and a blue haired woman walked in. Uriel
didn't even notice, until she said, "Hello?"
He looked up. "Hello. Are you Sailor Mercury?"
"Yes. And you are?"
"I am Raguel, a devotee of your cult. Your sacred child
commanded me to...uh...play with her." He didn't have to fake
embarrassment.
Ami pointed a finger at Ami-chan. "Now what did I tell you
about this?"
"No more making people do my bidding! No more telling
cultists to clean my room for me! No more making them bark like
dogs!" Ami-chan giggled.
"You're going to be grounded for a week for this!" She walked
over and picked up Ami-chan. "I'm really sorry about this. I keep
telling her not to...uh...anyway."
He bowed. "A pleasure to serve." He turned to the door. "I
suppose my friends will be wondering where I am. The light of
Serenity upon you, oh Sacred Mercury."
Ami rolled her eyes. "Have a nice day." Uriel departed and
Ami gave Ami-chan a proper chewing out.
******************
Winath System, Vicinity of Winath V, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years
after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -
926)
Moemi sat back and relaxed. She looked over at their
commander, who was visibly twitching. "Is the air conditioning too
strong?"
The commander laughed and stopped twitching. "No. I just
don't like waiting." She turned to Imra. "How much longer until we
get out of the system so we can activated the Fold Drive without
risking landing inside a star?"
"In about three hours, we'll pass Winath VI, and then we'll be
able to make the jump. I've already done the calculations, so when
we get there, I'll just push the big blue button and we'll make the
jump." She pointed to a large blue button to her left labelled,
'Initiate Jump'.
Moemi pulled out a deck of cards. "How about a game of
cards, 'Katsuhiko'?"
The commander grinned. "Get ready to lose your shirt."
Imra half-watched the game. The ship would mostly pilot
itself, but she needed to be ready just in case something went
wrong. After the first hour, the commander had lost 3000
Serenitys to Moemi, and Imra was quite glad she had stayed out of
the game. "Good thing you fight better than you play cards, eh?"
To her surprise, she could actually hear the commander's
surface thoughts, although she was trying to NOT listen in on them.
{I can't believe she's seeing through my bluffs,} the commander
thought. Imra could tell she must be very agitated, because her
mental defenses were slipping.
"I'm just unlucky today," the commander said, staring at her
cards with a look of abject horror.
The scanners pinged loudly and dozens of tiny blips began to
appear in the small holoprojection which depicted space in about a
ten kilometer radius around the ship. Looking out the window also
showed the dozens of blue spaceships jumping into the system.
Each of them was marked with the yellow circle and red fist of the
Khund Imperium. "You got that right," Moemi said.
Imra said, "Should I make the usual pointless demand that
they leave Solar Space, or shall I go straight to running for our
lives?"
The commander gave a sigh of relief and tossed down her
cards. "Punch this thing up to maximum speed. They should take a
little while to reorient themselves after the jump."
Imra did so, and they bolted out of the circle of ships, which
began to gradually turn to give chase. Several of them headed off
towards Winath III. "Computer estimates they'll catch up with us
in about twenty minutes. They're hailing us."
"I don't suppose you could mindcontrol their commander over
a subspace link, could you?"
Imra laughed. "Despite what you see in holofilms, I'd have to
have a psiamplifier the size of a small house to do something like
that. I do have more range in deep space because there are fewer
minds to cause interference, but no, I'm afraid I can't. And if they
have any sense, at least their bridges will be psishielded."
Moemi said, "I can't believe they sent this many ships for just
us. This system doesn't take thirty Khundish warships to overrun,
either. Not unless they think the tigers have a hidden space fleet."
"Put them on. Maybe we'll at least find out why they're here."
"Then what?"
She grinned. "I have a plan."
Imra punched on communications. The front window turned
into a viewscreen. Four men and two women could be seen. Most
of them were scattered around the bridge, except for one of the
men, who stood front and center looking directly into his
viewscreen. They were all human, which was NOT normal for
Khundish warships. The black crescent moons on their foreheads
told the Commander all she needed to know. "Greetings, crew of
the Canton. Surrender now and you will not be harmed."
"You know, the Khunds aren't going to be very happy you
stole their warships," the Commander said. "When they catch you,
you're not going to like it."
"We bought them fairly. They're old and out of date, but
they'll serve their purpose. Now, surrender, or we will destroy
you."
"I'm honored that it was thought worth sending thirty
warships to catch one unarmed courier craft. How did we earn this
honor?" The Commander's voice was shifting, taking on a seductive
tone, which surprised Imra and Moemi. "Surely a clever
commander like yourself doesn't need this many warships to
capture just three of us?"
The Black Moon fleet commander smiled. "Well, it surprised
me as well when they ordered me to take this many ships.
Whatever you're carrying, it must be pretty important."
"So what's your name?" the Commander asked. "I'm Minki.
Minki Momo." She leaned over in such a way as to give the BM
commander a rather good look down her shirt.
He nosebled just the tiniest of bits and looked slightly
flushed. "My name is Ruby. Uh...nice to meet you."
The Commander fluttered her eyelids. "Well, I guess it's not
so bad surrendering to a handsome man like you, Commander
Ruby. Why don't you come over to us so we can dock?"
Moemi turned away from the screen and went to the back
compartment so she could laugh to her hearts content without
ruining what the Commander was trying.
Imra picked up a loud thought from the Commander. {Imra,
can you hear me?} [I hear you], Imra projected.
{On my command, hit the jump button.}
The BM commander smiled. "Very good. I always prefer to
avoid violence." He turned to one of the women on his bridge.
"Jade, bring us over to their ship."
"Yes, sir."
[If we jump inside the system, only God knows where we'll
end up due to all the gravitational effects! Plus, if he gets too close,
he might be pulled with us.]
{Or hurled off somewhere else. I can't fly a spaceship, but I
have studied space combat. Admiral Asagiri won the battle of
Deneb by moving her command ship in close to Lord Fyr's
command ship, then jumping, dragging him along and causing his
ship to rematerialize in the Altair system. By the time he got back,
the battle was over.}
[She nearly landed inside a star herself, or so I remember.]
The Commander giggled. "We'll be expecting you. Hopefully,
I'll have enough time to change into something a little
more...comfortable." She winked, and got up, bouncing more than
was really necessary. {You really want to be a captive of the Black
Moon Cult?}
Ruby nosebled a bit more, then looked very embarrassed.
"I'll..uh...take your time."
[YOU seem to enjoy the prospect. What are you DOING?]
{Making sure the idiot steps into my trap.} The commander
giggled again. "Don't keep me waiting." She flounced, then cut off
the viewscreen with a keystroke. "BLEAH!" Her whole body shook,
and for a moment, she looked ready to vomit. "Feh. Bleargh. Yuck.
Yuck. Yuck. I hate doing that." She sat down and shuddered.
Moemi stepped out of the back, laughing. "Nice performance,
Commander. You should be an actress."
"I was in acting for a while, although it was never really my
thing. But she dragged me into it," the Commander sighed.
"Actually, making the movies was kinda fun, but dealing with all
the whackos in the movie business."
Moemi blinked and looked hard at the Commander. "Wait,
you were in Labor Day Labor Massacre III! You were the army
commander who had trained in Tibet for two hundred years under
that ugly little martial arts guy."
The Commander laughed. "Actually, that 'ugly little guy' was a
woman. Not that anyone could tell most of the time. Yeah, that
was me."
"They had some great special effects. How did they do that
scene where you punched the hole in the labor's chest?"
"I used my fist." The Commander grinned. "Those things were
flimsier than some of the people I went to school with."
Moemi boggled. Imra said, "They're hailing us again. They've
moved within about a half kilometer."
"Punch it."
Imra took a deep breath and did so. Space turned funny
colors around them, the ship wrenched, and they all went flying
across the room, clonking themselves out in yet another
demonstration of why most spaceships would be condemned by
Consumer Reports.
********************
Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the
founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
Arcadia sat on her bed and tried to figure out which of her
new outfits to wear and where she was going to put them. She was
afraid that the magical wardrobe would make them vanish if she
used it. For that matter, why did I bother to buy clothing if I have
this? Well, I guess I can take it back with me.
She finally picked out an orange and blue dress that pleased
her, with long pleated sleeves, a skirt that went down to about
halfway down her calves, and a high embroidered neckline. She
got up and looked in the mirror. "Well, I think I look pretty good."
"Mommy says it's time to go eat!" Ami-chan stuck her head in
the door. "C'mon!" She was wearing a fancy blue dress with golden
trim.
"Okay." Arcadia came out and joined the rest of her little
group. Ryo was wearing a nice tuxedo, and Ami was wearing a long
blue dress with ankle length skirts, but which dipped low in front
and back and left her arms and shoulders bare. Arcadia concluded
that it had to be held up by magic or invisible straps, since it didn't
look very tight on top at all. Or glued on. Hermes was in his dwarf
form, wearing a nice red and black silk shirt, a black vest, and
black trousers.
"Do I get to sit by Small Lady?" Ami-chan asked.
"Small Lady?" Arcadia asked.
Hermes laughed. "The Queen's daughter, Usagi, is also
sometimes referred to as Small Lady Serenity or Small Lady of
Serenity or various variations on that."
Arcadia blinked. I was hanging out with the Queen's
DAUGHTER? That would explain a few things. She felt nervous
now. "Oh, right."
"Let's go," Ami said. "We'll be dining in private with the
Queen. Apparently, the formal dinner had to be cancelled after the
Zentraedi ambassador accidentally crushed his micronization
machine and no longer could fit into the palace." They walked
through the palace to a small dining chamber.
There was a long table, set for nine. The tablecloth was white
with gold geometric patterns, and the fine china was a simple white
with golden crescent moons. One of walls was full of windows
showed a thick forest, which rather confused Arcadia, and the other
three were covered with various portraits and paintings of pastoral
scenes. Two women, two men, and one child were already there. It
was easy to tell that one of them was the Queen. Arcadia
recognized her from the statues all over town and the palace, as
well as from historical records. Endymion was easy to place as
well, and it was easy to tell the little pink-haired girl was probably
the Queen's daughter. Arcadia was somewhat relieved that she
hadn't been complaining about hearing about the Queen to her own
daughter earlier. The Queen sat at the head of the table, with
Endymion to the right and her daughter to Endymion's right. The
other two, Arcadia didn't recognize. The woman had reddish-
brown hair tied back in a pony-tail. Her dress was similar to Ami's,
except a little higher in back and front, and cut so that it was
clearly being held on by elastic around the top, or something
similar. She wore a long gold necklace with an emerald mounted in
silver which nestled on the exposed portion of her cleavage. She
was very tall, and had a pleasant smile. The man was neither
handsome, nor ugly, but he dressed well and had a very confident
air to him. Short black hair complemented his grey eyes, and he
was dressed in a dark blue tuxedo. They were seated with the man
next to Serenity's daughter and the woman across from him,
leaving three empty spaces at the far end of the table and one
empty one to Serenity's left. Food occupied the middle of the table,
heaped on plates in far greater quantities than nine people would
normally need.
Ami said, "Queen Serenity, I present to you, Arcadia N'goya of
the Sixteenth Century. Arcadia, this is Queen Serenity, her husband
Endymion, her daughter, Usagi..." Usagi-chan waved. "The Lady
Jupiter and her husband, Lord Parias."
"A pleasure to meet you," Lord Parias said. "I hope you've
been enjoying your stay in our century."
Arcadia bowed nervously. "It's been...surprising."
Queen Serenity laughed. "I've been wanting to meet you, but
being a Queen keeps me quite busy." She pointed to the open seat
by her. "I would be grateful if you would sit by me."
Arcadia gulped. "Okay." She walked around the table and sat
down. I hope table manners haven't changed too much in 1500
years, or I'm going to be very embarrassed. When she noticed
everyone bowing their heads for no discernable reason, she
followed suit.
"If you would give us a blessing, Lord Parias," Serenity said.
Parias laughed faintly, then said, "Oh Lord of Heaven, we
thank you for the blessings we have recieved this day and the meal
we are about to eat. Guide us today and in the days to come.
Amen." He looked over at Serenity. "Should I throw in a prayer to
you as well?" He was grinning.
For a moment, Arcadia thought Serenity was going to pick up
her plate and hurl it at Parias. She certainly would have, in
Serenity's place. Finally, Serenity simply laughed. "I'll smite you
with divine wrath later."
Everyone started passing the plates of food around, serving
themselves, along with several mugs of a pleasant mint tea. There
was a bottle of wine as well, but Parias and Jupiter were the only
ones who took any of it. Arcadia would have, but she knew she got
drunk easily and it wasn't worth the risk. "I understand that Ryo
has been showing you around the city," Queen Serenity said.
Arcadia nodded, shoveling mashed potatoes onto her plate.
"Yeah. I wish I could take some stuff back with me. Dr. Anderson
would probably kill for the chance to see all this stuff."
"Feel free to take whatever you like with you," Serenity said.
"Well, you can't have my husband, but..." She winked.
Endymion laughed. "I suppose I shouldn't be getting out the
turban, then?"
Everyone except Arcadia and the two children laughed.
"I...Thank you for the...Well, I went shopping today, and I
discovered you'd given me an unlimited credit line. I...Thank you."
The Queen nodded. "Try not to buy any battleships, okay?"
She laughed and so did most of the others. "You are our
responsibility until we can get you back to your own time."
"So how long is it going to take the Junior Pluto? Shouldn't she
be back by now?" Arcadia asked.
"She will return when she's ready," Jupiter said. "Plutos are
like that. She can take you back to right after you left, anyway, so
it's no rush." She fell silent, plunging into her food.
"Should your stay be too prolonged, I will see to a tutor for
you," Parias said. "Or if you simply have an interest in studying on
your own, I will be happy to help you."
"Better be careful, or he'll put you to work teaching," Ryo said.
"Parias is the minister of education."
"Uncle Parias is a GENIUS!" Ami-chan announced.
Parias laughed. "If only that was true. So how do the schools
work in your century, Arcadia?"
Arcadia paused in shoveling steak and corn and potatoes into
her mouth. "Well, there's public schooling through fourteen grades,
although some people go to private schools. Generally, the private
schools are a waste of money until about the seventh grade, and
then there's a real quality difference after that. All fourteen grades
are theoretically obligatory, unless you turn twenty-one before you
get to the last one. We have a mixture of public and private
universities. The public ones are free for four years, and then you
have to pay if you can't graduate in time. Well, they're free if
you're from Sirius. That gets you a 'Standard Degree'. The next
steps are 'Advanced Degree' and 'Master's Degree', which you have
to go to Graduate school for." She shrugged. "School was boring as
hell, pretty much. My folks sent me to a private school, but it was
run by a bunch of apathetic numbskulls. I did most of my learning
at home with books and computer research." She took a break to
shovel down more food. "It's supposed to be more interesting in
the last few grades, but I had to run for my life before that
happened."
Parias nodded. "Run for your life?"
"Buncha fruitcakes from the Black Moon Cult think I have to
die." She shrugged and stuffed more food in her mouth, chewing
quickly. "They blew up a bunch of my friends and killed my
boyfriend."
"That's awful!" Jupiter said.
"Did he have purple hair too?" Usagi-chan asked.
"No, he had green hair." Arcadia said. "His name was Tony,
and we'd been going out forever." She sighed. "That was about
seven months ago. Now I live in what used to be your palace with
a bunch of scholars and merchants. They're really cool."
"Did mommy get kicked out?" Usagi-chan asked.
Arcadia laughed. "I'm from way, way in the future, kiddo."
"Do they have giant robots?" Ami-chan asked.
"Yeah. They use them in warfare a lot. Gundams, Veritechs,
Robeasts, Stygian Knights, Battlemechs, etc. A lot of them are
named after various legends."
"Have you ever driven one?" Usagi-chan asked.
"Yeah." Arcadia couldn't resist embroidering a bit. Okay, lying
like a maniac. "We start learning at your age, so we fight all the
giant monsters that rise out of the sea on Mondays."
Soon, everyone was laughing, except the two kids, who
listened attentively.
********************
Uriel sat down hard on his bed in the hotel room. "I got held
hostage by Mercury's daughter. She forced me to read her stories
and feed her ice cream."
Gabrielle laughed. "Robbing the cradle, dear?"
He stuck out his tongue at her. "I delivered the gem, then
stumbled into her."
"Well, we got in and got out alive, so now we celebrate,"
Michael said. "Let's go find somewhere, get drunk, and trash the
place."
"We have to stay here and wait for the droids to report in,"
Raphaelle said. "I'm not letting you get drunk until we're done."
************************
"So then, Endy-chan was talking to my father, and he got so
nervous he put soy sauce in his tea, and tried to drink it." The
dinner conversation had turned into a round of recounting
embarrassing moments.
Endymion laughed. "And then I almost spat it out on him.
I've faced monsters less frightening than your Dad was."
"Was your father a king too?" Arcadia asked.
Serenity laughed. "My father was a photographer. He'd
probably faint if he knew I had become a queen, even if he always
called me his little princess."
Arcadia couldn't really believe that. Serenity was very regal,
every inch a queen. Not that Arcadia had met many queens. "Did
he die in the Great Ice?"
"He died long before the Great Ice. My father was born nearly
a century before the Ice." She thought for a moment. "More than a
century. My mother died long ago as well, and my brother. He
died in the 2025 Kanto Quake. Mother cried for days." She sighed.
"Almost everyone I grew up with is dead, except for my Senshi. I
am very old, Arcadia, though I don't look it. I was born almost
ninety years before the Great Ice. I slept through that, but I've
been alive a hundred and fifty four years."
Arcadia paused from stuffing more mashed potatoes into her
mouth in order to focus on boggling. "You...you don't look that old."
She must use a lot of aganathic magic.
"Parias and Endymion are even older than that. The Silver
Crystal has greatly lengthened our life spans. I will likely live
several hundred more years. Everyone in our time has extended
lifespans, but we have the longest ones, for we are tied most closely
to the Silver Crystal."
"I'd like to see it." Arcadia said. "It's vanished in our time."
"We keep it locked away. The temptation to use it is too
strong and too dangerous for us now for me to carry it constantly
as I once did." She sighed. "It vanished?"
Arcadia nodded. "Serenity X used it to get pregnant so she
would have an heir, then after that, it disappeared."
"Are there still Senshi in your time?" Jupiter asked.
"I'd rather not discuss the future too much. It...It's not too
pretty." Arcadia sighed.
Ryo nodded. "I can appreciate that."
Jupiter looked around. "Time for dessert. I'll go get the cake."
She got up and left the room.
"So who cooked all this?" Arcadia asked.
"Jupiter did," Endymion said. "She's not just Serenity's
bodyguard, she's also the best cook in the castle."
This was proved to be true by the excellent chocolate cake.
Arcadia was soon in chocolate heaven.
***************
Jurai, Royal Palace, Juraiian Year 23224 (3060 AD, 3811 Years
after the founding of Rome, SY 68, Federal Year -926)
Celia sat at the computer and read through another intelligence
report. Being the Juraiian spymaster had its good and bad side.
The good side was knowing everything before anyone else, which
was an advantage Celia greatly appreciated. The bad side was that
no one in Jurai's intelligence service seemed to know how to write
clearly and to the point. Florid language was a national tradition,
and it drove her nuts at time. Still, the reports were accurate, if
agonizing.
She tapped a few keys and transferred the report to the battle
front commanders along with a few recommendations. The Khund
War wasn't any real threat, but the sooner they wrapped up this
farce, the better. If it provided an excuse for wiping out House
Flaem somehow, so much the better. She had reason to believe that
House Flaem was secretly aiding the Khunds, but she couldn't prove
it. I will break them, she thought, then laughed at herself. "I'm
going to start talking to myself next," she muttered.
"You already are," her mother-in-law said. It was Ryouko,
who had apparently worked out how to bypass all the NEW
security devices that Celia had installed since the last time she had
done this.
"Shouldn't you be at the Front with the Emperor?" Celia
asked, a little worried.
Ryouko handed Celia a data chip. "Had to deliver this. I'm the
best person to get to you unseen. Besides, Tenchi has an entire
battle fleet with him, plus Priss." She sat down on a nearby chair.
"Go ahead and read this thing. I'm curious to see what's on it."
"He didn't tell you?"
She laughed. "Aeka rigged it to explode if I tried to read it.
She is getting wiser." Ryouko laughed again. "I do know it's got
some captured Khund intelligence on it."
Celia slotted in the chip. The report came up on the screen. It
detailed the sale of thirty warships to a world known as 'Nemesis'.
Ryouko blinked. "They actually SOLD warships? The Khunds can't
build them fast enough to sell them. They use them all
themselves."
The report continued with details of something called a 'Planet
Smasher', whose location had been sold to them in return for the
warships. Ryouko paled. "Shit! I thought all those things were
destroyed!"
Celia shook her head. "Some unknown civilization built them
in another galaxy, and every once in a while, one turns up. I can't
see what good knowing where to find one would be, though.
There's no known means to control them, and very few to destroy
them, given they have solid neutronium hulls."
"I take it, I'm about to go do another mission, eh?"
"See if Wasyuu knows anything useful, then get on it. If you
want any backup, I'll supply it."
"They'd only slow me down." She stared into space for a
moment. "Anything else on that datchip?"
The rest was more military intelligence reports, which failed to
interest Ryouko, although they did interest Celia. "Looks like
nothing you need to worry about."
Ryouko got up and grinned. "I'm off to go see about that
Planet Smasher, then." She took off and Celia got down to the
business of deciding who should covertly follow Ryouko and bail
her out when the trouble started.
***************
Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the
founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
Rubeus frowned as he crept through the palace. Eight of the
best of Nemesis' warriors were with him, but he knew that if things
went wrong, they would all die horribly. He had to succeed or die.
Either of their objectives would suffice. They reached an
intersection and he dispatched four of them to Objective S, while he
headed on to Objective K. He sent the four he didn't like to S, for
the simple reason that he knew they were virtually guaranteed to
fail, but their failure would draw Serenity's fire, and if he was
lucky, he would make off with their other objective while those
four idiots died.
Rubeus had known things were going to go badly from the
moment that they had materialized under a damn bed instead of in
an open space. The Senshi had been supposed to find the one
under the bed and conclude the whole thing was an assault on their
little guest, but no, that was the one they DIDN'T find. At least no
one had been in the bed, or this would have swiftly turned into a
bloodbath.
The Wierd Sisters weren't a big improvement on the
cannonfodder brothers he had sent off to die, but despite being
superficial twits, they did have some intelligence on the rare
occasions they chose to use it. One of them had a crush on him,
which made her easy to manipulate, as well. I wish I'd gotten to
take my sister instead, he thought, but of course, Wiseman chooses
NOW to send her off on some secret mission. He sighed.
Catse said, "Is something wrong, Rubeus?"
"I think your rouge is smeared, Catse," he replied, then smiled
as she frantically tried to fix the problem without a mirror.
Birdy returned from scouting ahead. "Uranus and Neptune
are guarding the Great Vault."
Rubeus paled. Shit. Normally, there's only a few
troubleshooters guarding it. Serenity must be expecting an attempt
to steal the key. Or someone's sold us down the river. "Anyone
else?"
"Ranko Fujisawa, Sailor Saturn, Meiko Morisato and Dan Hibiki
were there, but they just headed out to search for trouble.
Morisato sensed evil in the area."
"But they're not coming right at us?"
"Dan insisted on going this way, but the others wouldn't listen,
so he tagged along after them."
"All right. Here's the plan. Catse, Avery, you two will circle
around and draw the Sailors fire. Birdy, you will circle around to
cut off the route that Saturn went down. In fact, freeze that
hallway solid. Prisma, you're with me. Our job is to blast open the
vault with this." He held up a gem. "Then we get the key and
anything else interesting, then RUN for our lives. Soon as we
rendevous, we head back to our ship and jump out of the system."
They nodded and fanned out.
***********
Among the lesser glories of the Royal Garden is a sandbox.
Arcadia sat on a bench nearby with Jupiter and Parias and watched
Ami-chan and Usagi-chan fight over who got to use the one shovel
they had thought to bring. She laughed. "You'd think a suuuper-
genius would have thought to bring her own shovel."
After dinner was over, Serenity and her husband had
retreated into seclusion with Ami and her husband to discuss some
business, while the others had ended up in the garden.
Parias laughed. "The real question is why Usagi-chan had
brought a shovel to dinner with her."
Smiling, Jupiter said, "Do you really have to ask?"
He blinked, then started laughing. "So where is YOUR shovel?"
They started tickling each other and generally acting
ridiculous, so Arcadia got up and went over to the sandbox. She
found a handy stick and started building a small sand-castle out of
the multi-colored sand. Her hometown had an old castle that had
supposedly been brought from Earth by some rich nutcase, so that
was her model. She drew upon her magic to keep the sand in its
shape, since she had no water with which to wet it down.
The bickering on one side and the terms of endearment on the
other blurred into the background as she worked. Tower by tower,
wall by wall, her castle grew. She could feel the power of the place
flowing through her as the image in her mind came to life.
Normally, she would have been straining to keep so much sand
together with her powers over Earth, but it was little more effort
than that needed to flex a finger here.
The outer bailey was complete, and she began work on the
inside wall and the keep. The bickering faded, as did the terms of
endearment, but she kept working. Somewhere along the line a
shovel got into her hands, although she wasn't sure how. So did a
scarf, which became the castle's banner. Finally, she shaped the
last few windows, tiny indentations in the keep, and stepped back.
She had taken over about two thirds of the sandbox.
Jupiter applauded. "Planning to go into architecture?"
Ami-chan said, "Is that your home back on your monster
world?"
Usagi-chan said, "Can I have my shovel back?"
Arcadia handed the little hand shovel back to Usagi-chan, still
not sure how she had gotten ahold of it. "Some rich nutcase owns
this thing near my hometown. It's a pretty castle, though."
"I take it you're good at Earth magic," Parias said.
Arcadia nodded. "I didn't realize I was this good, though. I
just wish I could keep it somehow." She sighed. "As soon as I
leave, it's going to fall apart."
Parias nodded. "Life is like that."
He was about to continue when there were several explosions
and shouts inside the palace. A few seconds later, a skimmer
roared into the garden, full of all too familiar maniacs with black
crescent moons on their foreheads.
For a moment, Arcadia flashed back, losing her grip on
reality, but the sound of music and a flash of light shook her out of
it. Jupiter had shifted to her battle garb, as had her husband, who
was now clad in grey armor and carrying a sword with strange
sigils along the blade.
Instead of opening fire, the skimmer crew started hurling
gems everywhere. Every gem struck a tree, which twisted into a
dark parody of itself, wrenching loose and beginning to close in on
the little group by the sandbox. Jupiter and Parias looked around
nervously. "Arcadia, get the kids behind us, and get them into the
palace as soon as you can!"
An ear-splitting scream cut through the night, as Usagi-chan
panicked and began to howl. Ami-chan fell down, clutching her
ears and beginning to cry. The skimmer nearly crashed into a tree
when the driver tried to cover his ears. Arcadia fell to her knees.
She couldn't think with that horrible screech. Parias and Jupiter
seized the chance to take the war to the trees instead of vice versa,
driving them back.
Usagi-chan coughed and her screaming broke off. Arcadia
jumped forward and picked them both up, which wasn't easy. She
was strong, but trying to carry one with one arm was hard. She
tried to break for the palace, but the skimmer had circled around
and was in the way.
"Give us the kids and we'll let you go. I don't know who you
are, but we have no quarrel with you." They all were carrying
various kinds of rods and wands, none of which looked very pretty.
It would have been tempting, except that Arcadia didn't trust
anyone with a black moon on their forehead any further than she
could have thrown Crystal Tokyo. They'll just toast me if I hadn
over the kids, she thought. "Unfortunately for you, I have a big
quarrel with you losers. I won't let you have them!" Ami-chan
was still crying, and Usagi-chan was trying to howl, but was
hyperventilating too much to scream.
He shrugged. "Have it your way." He gestured to his men and
women, and they raised their rods.
Before they could do anything, Arcadia had an idea. She
reached out with her power, drawing every drop she could pull out
of the air. In the fringes of her vision, she could see she was
glowing with power. Her power reached out and flowed into the
skimmer. It was metal and ceramics, the stuff of the Earth, and her
power was over the Earth. Back in her own time, she could have
put dings in the door at best. Here, her strength was multiplied
fifty-fold. The skimmer crunched up as if it was a little paper toy,
then fell to the ground. The wreckage flowed like water, wrapping
around the hapless goons, and she grinned. Three of them
managed to raise their wands, and she folded the wands back into
U shapes.
Unnoticed, the castle she had made quietly crumbled, for her
power had been withdrawn from it. She laughed, enjoying her
revenge. "You bastards! You're all going to pay! ALL of you!"
Ami-chan cried some more. Usagi-chan stared. "Did you do
that?"
The commander staggered out of the wreckage and levelled
his rod. "You bitch!"
Arcadia pointed. "Your engine block is exposed. Ever seen
what happens when you compress a skimmer engine? How many
different pieces do you want to bet you'll end up in?" She grinned
and hoped he wouldn't surrender. The idea of blowing them all to
tiny bits was very appealing.
The man glanced at the block. "You're bluffing."
She grinned ferally. "I'm going to bet you're in at least four
pieces when I'm done with you."
He gulped and dropped his rod. "Okay, you win. "
Arcadia looked over. Jupiter and Parias were about to knock
out the last tree. Trees were scattered everywhere, lying on their
sides. The gardener is going to be pissed, she thought.
**********************
"They found WHAT?" Arcadia boggled.
"A teleportation foci under your bed. That's how they got into
the palace." Ryo sighed. "They're going to be up all night
discussing what to do next. The Time Key is gone too."
"What, the one that brought me here?"
Ryo nodded. "Uranus and Neptune beat up the thieves, but
they managed to break into the vault, get the key, and teleported
away. They might be dead, though."
"Why?"
"It's about eighty percent likely they teleported to a cloaked
ship that gave itself away by activating its jump drives inside the
atmosphere."
Arcadia boggled. "They WHAT?"
Ami-chan, who was putting on her pajamas nearby, said, "Is
that bad?"
"It's virtual suicide! Seven times out of ten, you'll end up in
the bleeding core if you jump that close to a planet, and most of the
other times, you'll probably be ripped apart."
Ryo nodded. "Can you read Ami-chan a bedtime story,
Arcadia? I have to go talk to Ranko and Dan. They'll be guarding
the suite tonight, so if you need them, they'll be in the living room."
Arcadia heard a burst of very loud male laughter in the living
room, followed by an angry woman shouting. "Right. I hope they
won't be that loud all night."
He sighed. "Dan is an idiot, but that's why he gets guard duty
instead of being out searching." He bent down and kissed Ami-
chan on the head. "Good night, Ami-chan."
"Mommy's okay, isn't she, daddy?" Ami-chan asked
nervously.
"Mommy is fine. She helped stop the bad people from stealing
the Silver Crystal, and now she's going to find them with her
computer so we can get the stuff that was stolen back." He hugged
her. "Now, you be good and obey your big sister Arcadia, okay?"
"Okay."
Ryo said quietly to Arcadia, "She's going to wake up around 3
am and beg you to let her go have some cookies. Don't let her,
okay?"
Arcadia laughed. "Okay."
Ryo left and Ami-chan ran over to her bookshelf. She pulled
'Ethel the Aardvaark goes Quantity Surveying' off the shelf. "Here,
read me this one!"
Arcadia stared. What kinda weird children's book is this?
She read it to Ami-chan anyway. Ami-chan sat in her lap and read
along silently.
Finally, she was done, and she got up to go. "Goodnight, Ami-
chan."
"Can I sleep with you? I'm scared the bad people will come
back."
Arcadia stared at her for a moment, then smiled. "You're not
afraid I'm going to eat you?"
Ami-chan shook her head. "You saved me from the bad
people. Please, oneechan?"
"C'mon, then." They went back to Arcadia's room. Arcadia
looked under the bed, but there weren't any gems or black
mooners, so she relaxed, got some pajamas from the wardrobe, and
clambered into bed. Ami-chan crawled into the bed as well. They
had to snuggle up fairly closely, since the bed was really only
designed for one person.
"Do they have monsters in your century?" Ami-chan asked.
"Only human ones, except on really high magic worlds." She
sighed. "The human ones are worse than the ones that look like
monsters. They trick you into trusting them, and then they turn on
you." She sighed.
"I guess that happened to you?"
Arcadia nodded. "Too many times. They killed my old
boyfriend, Tony."
Ami-chan's eyes got big. "They killed your boyfriend?"
"They tried to kill me too, but I got away."
Ami-chan started to cry and hugged Arcadia. "I'm sorry."
Arcadia laughed faintly. "Not as sorry as I am. You want
some advice, Ami-chan?"
"Sure."
"Don't ever grow up. It sucks. I wish I was little like you
again and didn't have to worry about the world."
The sound of Dan laughing cut through the walls, followed by
the sound of another argument. Arcadia sighed. Ami-chan said, "I
want to be like you when I get big. You're so strong and brave. All
I could do was cry when the bad people came."
"You're too little to have to fight them. Don't worry. I'll
protect you." I wish I'd been able to do that when they attacked
my party, Arcadia thought. Then maybe Tony and everyone else
would still be alive. "And your mommy and daddy will protect you
too."
Ami-chan yawned. "I'm gonna be Sailor Mercury when I get
big. I gotta learn to..." Another yawn. "Be brave and strong and..."
She yawned again. "sleepy." Thunk. Her eyes closed and her
breathing changed to the steady rythym of a sleeper.
Arcadia closed her eyes and let the steady breathing lull her
to sleep as well.
******************
"I think she's a plant," Sailor Uranus said. "How else did the
bleeding teleporter thing get under her bed?"
The Senshi and miscellaneous others were all crammed
around a large oval table, arguing over what had happened and
what to do next.
Mercury shook her head. "Why would they bother to give us
the Time Key, then steal it back?"
"They didn't just take the key. They carried off several other
items as well," Neptune pointed out. "And stealing the key could
be a bluff to make us trust her."
Serenity shook her head. "I could sense no evil in my time
with her. If she is one of them, she hides it very well."
Mercury sighed. "I think one of them bluffed their way into
our chambers somehow, disguised as one of...those
who...uh...worship me." She blushed. "Although he did seem
harmless."
Uranus frowned. "That was brilliant."
"This sort of idiocy happens all the time! Ami-chan really
takes advantage of those people."
"Well, she could still be a plant."
"You don't hide your spy status by planting a teleporter under
your bed," Venus pointed out.
"I have a better reason for trusting in her," Jupiter said.
"And that is?" Neptune asked.
"She fought the Black Moon agents with us in the garden." She
replied.
"That could be a trick too," Uranus said.
"And the sign of..." She turned to face Uranus. "Uranus
blazoned itself upon her brow as she fought."
Uranus boggled. "She WHAT?"
Mercury blinked. "Hmm, but Titania should be the next..."
Pluto said, "She is from the distant future. It is quite possible
that she could be the Uranus of her time."
Neptune smiled. "Earth magic and speed. Sounds like your
abilities, Uranus."
"Did you tell her?" Serenity asked.
"I wasn't sure if she'd believe me," Jupiter said. "So I waited
to talk to all of you first."
Serenity nodded. "Uranus, it will be up to you to train her."
"I'll want to see this sign for myself first."
"As you wish." The conversation then turned to other
matters.
******************
Earth, ?, ? Years after the founding of Rome, (? AD, SY -?, Juraiian
Year ?, Federal Year -?)
When Imra, Moemi, and the Commander snapped out of the
Jump induced fugue, their ship had become a tangled mess and was
dropping towards the surface of a planet. Bits of wreckage from
the other ship was plummeting around them as well. The
Commander said, "Do you think you can land us?"
They were somewhere near a coastline, where a river ran
down from a mountain range across a small hilly zone to the sea.
There was a small city by the shore of the river, inland from the
sea somewhat, and a large town at the mouth of the river. Many
other villages and towns dotted the plain. "They're not answering
on any of the radio frequencies." Imra frowned.
"I don't think we're going to make it to an airport, anyway."
An escape pod zoomed by, rocketing towards the hills. Some
of the Black Moon Cultists would survive, it seemed. Moemi
examined the ship sensors. "Well, the atmosphere is breathable,
but we could tell that from the towns. Gravity is Earth-standard."
Imra found a likely looking field and headed for it. A gang of
men working in the fields screamed and fled, leaving their overseer
behind at first, until he realized, almost too late, what was coming
at him.
"Hmm." The commander pointed at the horizon. "Looks like
Earth's moon."
"This can't be Earth...unless maybe our radio is actually out."
Imra said. "Those towns look pretty primitive."
They landed with a heavy thunk, and a scream from the
overseer, who had gotten out of the way just in time. After
breathing a sigh of relief, they all scrambled to their feet and got
ready to see where they were. Imra lightly scanned the nearest
mind and paled. "We're about five miles from Rome."
"New Rome?" Moemi asked.
Imra shook her head. "ROME. The year is 815 years after its
founding."
"What's that in Serenity Years?"
"I couldn't even begin to pretend to tell you."
"Hundreds of years before I was born," the Commander said.
"Probably, anyway."
"In other words, we've taken being screwed to a new level of
excitement," Moemi said.
The Commander leaned against the wall. "That about sums it
up. Ideally, Pluto will find us. Otherwise...I guess it's time to learn
Latin."
**************
Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the
founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926)
The living room was a disaster zone when Arcadia and Ami-
chan emerged to eat breakfast. Dan Hibiki was sprawled out on the
floor with a couch physically wrapped around him. Arcadia stared
in awe. How do you bend wood like that without breaking it?
Ranko Fujisawa, who was tall with long blue hair and a muscular
figure, was sitting on one of the few still intact chairs, watching
him.
Ami-chan ran over and tugged Dan's moustache. "Good
Morning, Uncle Dan!"
Dan muttered, "Good morning, Ami-chan. I don't suppose you
could get this couch off me, could you?"
Ranko said, "Don't do it, Ami-chan. He's been bad."
"I'm not strong enough, Uncle Dan, but I bet oneechan could do
it."
Arcadia said, "I have to make breakfast." She went into the
kitchen and started trying to figure out what to make for breakfast.
Dan snarled. "Ranko! I will not rest until you understand the
true terror of the wrath of DAN HIBIKI!"
Ranko twirled a finger in the air. "I howl in terror."
"So you're the legendary Dan Hibiki?" Arcadia asked.
Dan nodded and grinned. "In the flesh!"
"Did you really fake your own death to avoid facing Ken in
the Great Tournament of Mount Ichiro?"
"That was some other Dan." Dan said confidently. "Why, if
Ken was here, I'd CRUSH him even with this couch wrapped around
me!"
"Did you really run away from a ten year old in your first
tournament?"
"He only LOOKED like a ten year old! That was actually
Kachagor, the Demon Prince!" Dan pronounced.
Ranko laughed. "I think Dad has the whole thing on tape,
Arcadia, if you're curious. If we can find something to play an old
videotape, anyway. Uncle Soun was really humiliated when Dan
ran away like that."
"You're cousins?" Arcadia asked as she started mixing
pancake batter.
"Well, actually, Uncle Soun is my husband's grand-uncle-in-
law. Frank's grandfather, Orlando, married Moemi Tendo. Moemi
was Soun Hibiki's older sister. Soun married Yawara Kousaku II,
and Dan is his child. Well, one of his kids. So technically, Dan is my
Uncle once removed, I think. Something like that." Ranko was
busily moving her arms around as if she was trying to point to a
chart that only she could see. "But he's only four years older than
me, so I usually think of him as an idiot older brother though."
Dan fumed. "Hey!"
Ranko said, "Oh, Arcadia, Haruka came by and wanted to
know if you wanted to go jogging."
"Yeah, that'd be great. I don't have any real plans for today."
*******************
Haruka's definition of jogging was most people's definition of
running full tilt. Arcadia didn't mind. She liked running. "You're a
pretty good runner," Arcadia said.
Haruka's lips quirked in a smile. "You too. So how fast CAN
you go?"
Arcadia grinned. "Faster than your motorcycle."
"Shall we race?"
"Yes." Arcadia was starting to really like her newfound
speed, and she had always enjoyed showing off. She took off,
pushing herself as hard as she could. The park became a blur.
She wasn't alone. Haruka was fast too. They blurred past
dozens of people who probably couldn't even tell what had just
happened, except for a wind and a thunderclap.
"Not bad," Haruka said.
Arcadia laughed. "Yeah, you're not bad."
Haruka grinned. "Match this, kid." Arcadia blinked as
Haruka 'shifted up a gear', pullling ahead. She gritted her teeth and
sped up, keeping up with Haruka, though it wasn't easy. Faster and
faster they ran, the world a streak of colors around them.
Haruka looked odd, Arcadia realized, but she wasn't sure
why. There was something subtly different about him, almost like
she was looking at a double. His features were a little more fine,
his figure a little more slender, his body a little shorter. I must be
imagining things, she thought. The city was blurring away, and
now they were zooming across the countryside.
*********
Michael moaned, waking up with a throbbing in his head, like
a bongo drummer who just didn't know when to quit. He moaned
loudly. "Pain..."
"Not as much as you will feel if you mess this up." He
recognized the voice. It was Jade, one of Prince Demand's cousins,
who was ugly with green hair. She was also a skillful assassin, a
common messenger, and a general pain in the posterior.
"Hey, we SUCCEEDED in our part of the mission! I can't help it
if Rubeus messed up and we didn't get the crystal."
She smiled at him as if he was five and patted him on the
head. "That's why you're still alive. Now, take this," she handed
him a small green gem, " and go to Rinku. Go to the Ramen shop
and buy a shrimp ramen. Leave it in the bowl after you eat half,
then leave."
He stared at the gem. "So I'm going to sabotage a ramen shop
in the middle of nowhere?"
She smiled. "Do as you are told, boy."
He grumbled. "I suppose you have stupid missions for
everyone?"
"I have missions for everyone, yes."
*********
Arcadia was starting to get tired now, but she wouldn't let him
beat her. Haruka was grinning. "Wearing out?"
"Not a chance, old man." Arcadia said. I'm going to win this if
it kills me. That seemed a little too possible, now. She could feel
power surging through her, feel strange vibrations. She wanted to
run faster, further, harder, but at the same time, it was worrying
her. Her stomach rumbled suddenly.
It was her cue to begin to wear out. Exhaustion had been a
lurking threat, now it was turning into reality. Haruka looked fresh
as the day he was born, but he didn't pull ahead. She hoped that
meant he was bluffing.
He wasn't. Gradually, she had to slow down, dropping down
to more normal running speeds. They were in the mountains by
now. A cow blinked as they ran by it. Haruka gradually slowed
down, still showing little sign of being tired. Only when she finally
gave up and stopped, sitting on a rock, did he suddenly start
breathing hard and showing at least some signs of being tired, if
not exhausted.
Haruka sat down on a nearby rock. "I hear you got caught in
the fighting at the palace."
Arcadia nodded. "It was kinda reassuring in a bad way."
Haruka cocked his head, looking confused. "Huh?"
"It was reassuring to see that this place wasn't utterly perfect.
Nice to see I'm not the only person who isn't shiny happy all the
time." She stretched. "And even better to see I could take care of
myself for once." Her voice softened a bit. "And I'm glad Ami-chan
and her royal munchkiness didn't get hurt."
"I heard you took out an entire skimmer by yourself." The
voice expressed a mild skepticism.
"There's so much magic in this time...I can hardly believe it. If
we had this much magic in my time...Well, it'd probably mostly get
used to blow people up, but it would help a lot of people." Arcadia
sighed. "If wishes were skimmers, beggars would ride."
Haruka laughed. "Wishes are skimmers sometimes." He put
his arms behind his head and stretched. For a moment, he looked
like a woman, though a rather flat-chested one. Grinning for no
apparent reason, he said, "So you know a thing or two about
fighting with magic?"
"I've studied a couple of martial arts, but mastered none.
Anything I've learned about fighting with magic, though, I picked
up here." Arcadia picked up a small rock and concentrated. It
flowed like water, and formed into a small disc, then into a little
face that looked like Michiru. She tossed it to Haruka. "Here, you
can give this to your wife." Stretching again, she smiled and picked
up a second rock, squeezing and shaping it into a little Marcus face.
The trick came easily to her.
Haruka looked over at the second head. "Who is that?"
"A friend." Arcadia fought to keep her voice under control. I
will not gush. "I...I hope he's okay."
"Why wouldn't he be okay?" Haruka's voice was light and
unconcerned.
"The people who were after me might do something to him."
Arcadia frowned. "Dammit, the mistress of Time shouldn't take this
long to go run an errand."
"You sent Pluto on an errand?" Haruka sounded genuinely
surprised.
Arcadia laughed. "She was trying to figure out why she didn't
know there was a Sailor Saturn in my time."
Haruka frowned. "She didn't know?"
With just a touch of irritation, Arcadia said, "Yeah, she didn't
know. I didn't think there were any Sailor Senshi anymore in my
time either."
"What happened to them?"
"They died. Demand II killed most of them, and the last few
got finished off by the Black Moon Cult after they blew up Nemesis
with an N5 bomb. I think Mercury and Uranus were the last to go.
They were lovers, or something." Arcadia scrunched her forehead,
thinking hard.
Haruka began to laugh and laugh and laugh. He fell off his
rock and rolled around on the ground, getting dirt all over himself.
for a moment, Arcadia thought he was having an epileptic fit. She
stared, having rarely seen anyone laugh so hard. Finally, Haruka
sat up, then stared down at himself, then began laughing again. If
Arcadia hadn't known better, she would have definitely thought
Haruka was female at this point. No man could have such a high
pitched laugh. Finally, Haruka muttered something about self-
control and his voice deepened again. The whole thing was rather
surreal.
"Are you okay?" Arcadia finally asked.
"I'm fine." Haruka said. "Just...the mental image of kissing
Mercury..." More laughter. "She would die. She'd explode. Then..."
Arcadia blinked. "It's not that funny, but she does seem
pretty devoted to her husband."
"Oh yeah, you're living with her, aren't you?" Haruka grinned
one of those annoying male, 'I know something you don't' grins.
Arcadia nodded. Haruka smiled. "Ask her about Athena sometime.
Film it for me if you can." He winked.
"Athena?"
"To say more would spoil the fun." Haruka grinned even more
broadly. He got up and stretched. "Ready to run back?"
Arcadia's stomach rumbled loudly. "I need food. Badly."
"Purple jogger shot the food," Haruka whispered to himself,
then grinned again. "Shots do not hurt other players...yet." He
stretched. "I know a little village we can stop in." He turned and
started down the road...away from the city.
"You'd better know where you're going," Arcadia said,
running after him.
Arcadia and Haruka jogged over the next ridge, then down
into a valley. Skimmers zoomed past them on the road, which was
a large highway. A little off the highway, at the bottom of the
valley, sat a small village of a few hundred houses and shops.
Haruka led Arcadia to a small ramen shop, run by a smiling old
lady, who had wrinkles on her wrinkles, and steel gray hair. Old
mother Courage greeted Haruka hello and said, "The usual table for
two?"
Haruka nodded. They soon took a seat and looked at the
menu, which of course, offered varieties of ramen. "Some of the
best ramen on Earth here."
There weren't too many people in the shop, but the customers
all looked quite cheerful. Mother Courage knew them all by name.
Arcadia noticed she was a lot more spry than most people her age.
"You come here often?"
"About once a month. Mother Courage has eidetic memory.
She never forgets. She has some great stories about her youth, but
I think they're all lies." Haruka laughed. "Unless she really grew
up in a village cut off from the world by trolls."
*********
Michael sat and quietly ate his shrimp ramen. Sweat was
running down his forehead in a sheet. He'd already seen two
senshi in this town, and where there were two, there would be
more. The green-haired woman at the rug store with a scarf
around her hair dressed in an odd blue and yellow dress that
evoked earlier times in a vague sort of way probably thought her
sunglasses made her unrecognizable, but Michael didn't have to see
her eyes to feel her power. It was his knack, to find even the most
hidden beings of power.
He'd spotted the black haired girl dressed as a boy as well.
She was probably twice as infatuated with her own cunning,
although she might have realized that the trenchcoat in summer
would likely attract more people's attention than it would fool
anyone. She had the 'magic glasses of disguise' too. Ridiculous
people, he thought.
At least the owner of the ramen shop wasn't a Senshi, which
he had suspected would be the case, given his orders. He had
almost gotten to the halfway point and was palming the gem when
he spotted two more beings of power eating lunch.
How did Jade know they would be here? Unless...maybe she's
selling me out. More sweat. He gulped his tea, starting to feel
dehydrated and terrified at the same time. The gem felt like a lead
weight in his hand. Neither of them was looking at him, but either
one could look up and see him. They might just see an initiate of
the cult of Serenity...or they might transform and blow his head off.
He recognized one of them now, from the descriptions he'd
been given. The time traveller. Wiseman had emphasized that she
should not be killed, that if she was even scratched, Michael and his
friends would suffer endlessly.
Is this a trap for me? Or are Demand and Wiseman playing
two different games? He frowned. If I don't do this, Jade will have
my head. If I do and she gets hurt...feh. He had no choice and
usually didn't, so this wasn't a new experience. He slipped the gem
into his food, took a last tasty slurp, got up, and walked out.
*********
Lunch was excellent, well-spiced pork ramen for Arcadia and
beef ramen for Haruka. Not a high class meal, but quite filling. A
little blue-haired boy ran up to the table. "I'm looking for Mrs.
Haruka! Are either of you her?"
Arcadia laughed. "Can't you recognize a boy when you see
one?"
The boy stared at her. "You don't look like a boy."
"I meant Haruka."
"That's a girl." The boy said.
Arcadia blinked. Haruka laughed and said, "You're a clever
one. So what's the message?"
"Your wife said to pick up milk on the way home. She said
you'd give me a cookie."
Haruka laughed and waved to Mother Courage to bring the
boy a fortune cookie. She dragged the boy off, telling him a story
about how she found a cow that gave chocolate milk.
"What a weird little boy," Arcadia said.
"I like him." Haruka cracked open her own fortune cookie,
which said, 'A green-haired girl is thinking of you.'
Arcadia did likewise. Hers said, 'You will be attacked by a
demon today.' "Geez, what a lousy fortune."
A few seconds later, an abandoned bowl of ramen erupted in
a spray of green and purple light, a whirlwind of ramen swiftly
spinning, then collapsing to reveal a remarkably ridiculous looking
humanoid female clad in multi-colored noodles with strange
pulsing purple shrimp in her hands. "RAMEN!" the woman shouted.
Haruka stared mindlessly for a second, then started to laugh,
falling down. Arcadia stared at her fortune cookie, then hopped
over the table to Haruka, helping him up. Haruka was still
laughing. "I'd think Minako was responsible if I didn't know
better," Haruka said.
"Run! I'll try and slow the thing down. Get help! Go find a
wandering Senshi or something." Arcadia turned to the monster,
which she now noticed had a green gem in its forehead. A
weakpoint, she hoped. It was hurling exploding shrimp
everywhere, sending customers running.
Haruka stared at Arcadia for a moment, his face a blank mask,
then nodded and ran out the door. She turned to face the creature.
Anger was welling up in her. She was getting sick of this. "Damn
you people! I AM TIRED OF YOUR STUPID ATTACKS!"
The monster turned, then gestured and five shrimp appeared
in its hand. It hurled them too late. Arcadia was already halfway
across the room. The speed magic was coming easier and easier to
her, she realized. A chair fit her hands well, but shattered
harmlessly over the creature's head. It got her attention, though.
"RAMEN!" She lept at Arcadia, sprouting claws.
Arcadia sidestepped, hefted the table, and smacked 'RAMEN'
with it as she went by. She couldn't hurt the monster too much,
but it couldn't hit her. The world seemed to slow down, luckily
including the monster, as Arcadia blurred about. Her stomach was
starting to rumble again, though. I needed to finish lunch before I
fight monsters, she thought, then laughed. An idea struck her. She
grabbed RAMEN's hand as she went by and started pushing her
speed, simply letting RAMEN trail out behind her on the ground,
bouncing off the ground.
Soon, they were out of the town and amidst the boulders that
littered the countryside. She smacked RAMEN into one of them and
let go. RAMEN staggered to her feet and screamed, "RAMEN!"
Arcadia screamed, "DIE!" and pumped every ounce of power
she could grab into exploding all the boulders. Light exploded in
front of Arcadia, nearly blinding her. Fragments of rock battered
the confused droid, which fell down, howling, then got back up,
hurling more exploding shrimp. Arcadia barely dodged the shrimp.
She was too exhausted to fight much more. Exhaustion was a pair
of icy hands dragging her down.
The droid charged her and she managed to roll and flip it,
slamming it into four people she hadn't noticed before. She yelled
at them to run, then realized who they were. Pluto, Saturn, Uranus,
and Neptune. The droid knew it was outmatched, but it gamely
raised its hand, summoning more exploding shrimp.
Uranus smiled and raised her sword in a salute, then shouted,
"EARTH ENVELOPMENT!" The ground ripped open and swallowed
up the droid, closing with a crunch. A howl faintly rose from the
buried droid, then silence.
Arcadia slumped to the ground. "I don't see how you people
can fight monsters all day. I'm worn out and I didn't even win."
"You did better than most people," Saturn said. "Very clever
use of your abilities. With a little more training and practice, you
would have won, I think."
Uranus turned to Neptune, "Okay, now I'm convinced."
Neptune smiled silently. They both looked familiar to Arcadia,
who was then reminded of... "Did Haruka find you people? How'd
you get here so fast?"
"We can teleport," Saturn said.
Uranus grinned. "Haruka didn't have any trouble finding me,
and how could I resist a request from such a handsome fellow?"
Saturn made gagging noises, and Pluto laughed. Neptune said,
"Indeed. A handsome fellow. You'd best be careful he doesn't steal
me away from you. I find him a likely lad." Her voice was teasing
in a very playful way.
Arcadia laughed. "He's married."
Neptune purred. "That won't stop a sufficiently determined
woman. I'm sure she won't mind, her husband with a Senshi."
Arcadia blinked. I wonder if she uses that line often? They're
probably just teasing me. "What were you guys doing out in this
sleepy little town?"
"They used the bat-signal," Saturn said, laughing.
"The what?"
"I foresaw the droid attack," Pluto said. "So we came out to
be ready for it." She turned and looked at Uranus. "And someone
else apparently decided to test something."
"Hey, I didn't think it would happen until later! You told me
you didn't see her being around when it happened!"
"I also saw you destroying it in the Ramen store." Pluto
frowned and looked at Arcadia. "My future sight cannot see you.
Now we have seen that you can change what would be as well."
"I WHAT?" Arcadia couldn't believe it.
"The train of fate jumps off the rails in your presence.
Perhaps not in major ways, but it means that changes are possible.
Changes I cannot forsee. Now I understand certain things I was
taught long ago." She sighed. "I am sorry for you, child. If our
enemies know of this, it will become dangerous for you, though not
as dangerous as it would be for some people."
Arcadia frowned. "Why not for me?"
Uranus said, "You are one of us, part of my line. You are the
Senshi of Uranus of your time."
Arcadia shook her head. "No way! The Senshi are dead in my
time!"
"There have been many to wield the power, those before me
and those after," Uranus said. "Titania will wield this power one
day, and you are its bearer in your time, though you had not
awakened to your power."
"No way!" Me...a Senshi? Arcadia denied it. It couldn't be.
"Just because I fought that thing doesn't..." she began.
"We all saw the sigil of Uranus upon your brow," Pluto said.
Uranus reached behind herself and pulled out a short rod with
a bright yellow star in a circle on it, with the sigil of Uranus
emblazoned in silver on the star. "Take this and say, Uranus Planet
Power, Make up." She handed it to Arcadia who stared at it.
That sounds ridiculous, Arcadia thought, but if it'll convince
them they've screwed up. "URANUS PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"
she shouted. To her mind it was silly, but in her heart, the words
struck a chord of power. Her whole body quivered, and she felt
energy rushing into herself. Power took her and for a moment, she
blanked out, revelling in the rush of energy. Light and matter
whipped about, as clothing became a uniform, a headband a tiara,
running shoes became boots.
Neptune handed Arcadia a mirror and she looked at herself.
She had become Sailor Uranus. She fainted, of course.
**************
Nemesis, Royal Palace, DY (Demand Year 305)
The Wiseman sat in his chamber and gazed into his crystal ball.
All was going well. Pluto would be too busy worrying about the
girl to notice anything until it was too late. All that remained was
to put the last few diversions in place, and then...they could strike.
He had regrets of course. There were others who must suffer
beyond that wretched, interfering Serenity and her warriors, but
once she was disposed of, the weaklings of Jurai would be easily
dealt with. A tiny voice howled in his mind, condemning his
actions, telling him he was a fool, but he shoved it aside. He had
not been able to destroy Wise, although he was not sure why. No
matter what he did, the tiny voice always survived. Even the Orb
could only silence him. Still, Wise had not been able to destroy him
either, when he had held the upper hand. He had been far more
subtle than Wise, a serpent in his ear, rather than a lecturing
moralist, and far more effective.
The Wiseman wasn't sure where he came from, or how long
he and Wise had been bound together as one. They had struggled
for longer than he remembered, and for most of that time, Wise
had the upper hand, though not by much. Wise's guilt had driven
him on and given him strength, but it had proved his undoing as
well. The fall of Shamballa had been the key.
**************
Earth, Shamballa, <Insert date>
The Winter Queen's armies stormed through Shamballa,
burning and looting. Once, the gates of Shamballa had repelled
every assault, but the coming of the refugees, mother and child,
five years ago, had destroyed those gates, and the hidden realm lay
bare. Its armies were strong, but the Winter Queen's armies were
stronger.
A voice was laughing in the Wiseman's head. It was growing
stronger as the years passed, but it had long haunted him. He had
been trying to defend Seafor from another attack, one he had
foreseen in his orb, when he recieved the call for help from the
Mistress of Shamballa, the Sorceress Supreme, who had retreated to
that hidden realm centuries ago, when they had made their plans.
As he stalked through the wreckage and slew whatever still
living monsters he found, the voice mocked him. Your chosen one
has fallen, it said. Not only is he dead, but your ancient ally has
fallen as well. Look upon your work and despair. Because you sent
him here, all have died together.
Only a lack of tear glands kept him from crying and mourning
the dead. It had been centuries since he walked these halls, for all
had been denied entrance since the day he himself had helped to
seal the gates. Yet, it was for this that they had made Shamballa.
Here, the boy for whom they had waited could be raised safely to
maturity. Here the ancient wisdom could be preserved that he
would need. It was to be the seed corn from which he could sow
his crop when the new spring came. Now the birds had stolen the
corn.
He stalked and he slew, crushing the monsters with their own
dark power. The voice mocked him, telling him he was closing the
barn door after the horses had escaped. Deeper into the complex
he went, crying inside, for his body, such as it was, could not cry on
the outside. He tired of his mockery of human form. Sometimes,
increasingly, he wished he had taken the angel's offer.
He reached one of his objectives. It was a great vaulted
chamber with a fountain. Once, it had been used by the Mistress of
Shamballa to grant audience. Now, she was about to grant her last
audience. She lay at the foot of her throne, atop a pile of dead,
twistd beasts. Her eyes still shone and her chest rose and fell,
though she was not long for this world. A hand feebly called the
Wiseman hither.
He knelt by her side. "Catherine!"
She laughed faintly, her hair, still green with yellow and
orange streaks despite centuries of life, bobbing as she laughed.
"Not even my husband calls me that anymore, Henry." She
emphasized the name as best she could with her rasping breath.
"The children...they got away. We saw the army coming, and I
managed to send them with a few guardians to Logres. The Fisher-
King will watch over them. I hope."
He took her hand. "Let me help you, Catherine. You must go
to join them."
"It...It's too dangerous, Henry. The danger I warned you of so
long ago...it grows closer, Henry. You are shadowed, and it grows
stronger the more you use its power."
His hand snaked into his pocket and he drew forth a small
crystal, shaped like a tear and placed it in her hand. "I do not
know what power it may bear, but I think it can help you." He
closed her hand around it. "An angel gave it to me."
"I...I can't take this."
"Take it." He looked around. "This was my fault."
"It was not your fault, Henry! I knew the risk when this place
was created. You're not God. You can't try to carry all the weight
of mankind on your shoulders. It will only break you." She tried to
hand back the tear, but he wouldn't take it.
He held up his orb. "Invoke the tear, and then I'll use this to
send you to Logres."
To his suprise, the orb suddenly flickered to life. He saw the
future, but it was not the future he had always seen within the orb.
It was a different future, in which salvation came from a mountain
of crystal. Warriors came from the mountain and drove back the
darkness. The queen of light for whom the boy was destined...but
she already had a king. Bitter, he sought to destroy the king, to
cast him down and take his place, and in his efforts, he destroyed
all they had built. The boy he had raised up would cast all down
that he sought to save.
He cast back his head and howled with despair. All had been
for nothing, his centuries of effort futile. His will, his purpose,
which had driven him forward slipped, and his shadow surged
forward. It had mastered the orb long ago, deceiving him, luring
him on, inch by inch.
The shadow surged forward, his body-sharing brother who he
had once defeated and cast down hundreds of years ago. It seized
the heights of power, and threw him down into the abyss within
which he had trapped it. It laughed with his throat now, and
played its hand just a moment too soon.
Catherine had feared this would happen, and while Henry's
face had been taken first by horror, then by evil, she had cocked
back her arm. With the last of her power, she hurled the angel's
tear at the Wiseman, and it struck him full in the brow.
It could not slay him, but it stunned him, and flowed into him,
descending into the abyss, where it found Dr. Wise, screaming and
tumbling in despair. It shone with the light of hope. All was not
yet doomed. The vision of the future had held much truth, but it
was not all there was. The many paths the future could hold
opened unto him, and for the first time in nearly a millenia, Dr.
Wise saw the truth.
He clung to the tear, and it gave him strength, strength to
wait, to survive, to prepare for the day when perhaps he could do
unto the Wiseman as had been done unto him. The road to the day
of Decision would be long and hard, but he was used to long, hard
roads.
Time passed, and so did the Sorceress Supreme. The Wiseman
stalked the hallways when he rose, slaying all life and revelling in
his freedom. Having satiated his instincts, he set out to lay the
groundwork for his vision. Serenity would bring only a false
Spring, followed by a Winter without end for a dead world.
**************
Earth, Italy, 815 Years after the founding of Rome, (64 AD, SY -
2925, Juraiian Year 21228, Federal Year -3918)
The Commander sat and stared intently at the battered old tea
kettle, which was taking forever to warm up, for no particular
reason except perhaps an old proverb. Imra sighed and ran over
her exercises for keeping control in large cities. "Are you sure that
going to Rome is the best idea?"
"If I'm going to be stuck in ancient Italy, at least I'm going
where we can get free food," she pronounced. "They have daily
handouts."
"Oh joy," Moemi said. "Mouldy bread and watered down
wine."
"Unless you propose banditry...Once we've had a little time, we
can invent a few things and pose as wizards or something," the
Commander said.
"Three women roaming around unmarried are going to have
problems in this time and place," Imra pointed out.
"You'll be my wife, Moemi, and you, Imra, will be our
daughter." The commander thought for a moment. "Does Ryogacus
sound Roman enough? I'm not much on Roman names."
Moemi laughed. "YOU? Pass as a man? I could pass as a man
much better than you."
"I doubt it."
"Unless you're going to dress to be grossly fat and shave your
hair..."
She laughed, grabbed the kettle, and poured it over herself.
Moemi stared in shock as the Commander grew taller and even
more strongly built than before. Her figure shifted, her feminine
features melting away. Her hair evaporated away, becoming
transparent, then vanishing, leaving only neatly combed short
black hair tied into a short braided pig-tail in back. His loose
clothing subtly changed as well, reshaping to fit his altered form.
He stretched. "I should have had you bet on this." Smiling, he said,
"Now we just have to think of some good names."
Moemi wasn't the fainting type, so she refrained, and simply
boggled instead.
John Walter Biles : MA-History, Ph.D Wannabe at U. Kansas
ranma@falcon.cc.ukans.edu
rhea@tass.org http://www.tass.org/~rhea/falcon.html
rhea@maison-otaku.net http://www.maison-otaku.net/~rhea/
"Authorities blame Nani? tribesmen for the shocking murders.
Remains of at least two dozen expedition members and bearers
were artistically arranged to form a diorama exploring the
pathos of life and the merits of a pure orientation towards
philosphy as expressed in the Sha'na'na (The Book of Enlight-
enment Through Creative Killing)."