[FFML] [Fanfic][SM/?] Terrible Things to Waste: Part 9

[Bastion]

C&C is greatly appreciated.

Previous chapters and fanart can be found here:
http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/24/

Dedication goes out to Orion Shadow because even though the guy isn't
a SM fan, he still likes this story.  So Orion this one is kinda for
you.  Kinda.  ;)

..:: Commence Arc II – Faust's Sword::..

---------------------------------------
Terrible Things to Waste
Part 9: Out There Somewhere
---------------------------------------

The crashing waves shook Amy from her slumber.  A breeze rustled
through her short blue hair, depositing more sand in the tangled
strands.  Sluggishly, she sat up, letting the coarse sand sticking to
her palms rub painfully against her skin.  Dark blue undulations of
the sea's surface jumped and played before her view.  She knew of no
ocean with such a deep, almost black hue.

Smacking her dried lips, a sour taste in the air immediately hit her
tongue.  "How surreal."

Her eyes followed the cliff face that crowded the shore threatening
to scratch the unblemished clear sky.  She followed the cliff's edge
all the way back down to the beach to where Michelle sat, staring
absently at the sun's rippling reflection.

"You're finally awake, Mercury."  The woman acknowledged still
staring at the sea as a warm gush of wind rustled her green curls.  "I
had no idea you were such a sound sleeper."

"Er, yes, well."  Amy colored.  She hated to admit she was a deep
sleeper.  It made her feel a little vulnerable and less like a Scout.
"How long have you been waiting there?"

"Long enough."

"I'm sorry abou-"

"Don't be."  A smile gently crested on Michelle's mouth, but 
her
emerald eyes remained distant.  "We have a long day ahead of us."

Nodding, Amy proceeded to activate the computer.  "Right.  I'll
figure out where exactly we are and then I'll see if I can track down
everyone else.  That's if that vortex in didn't warp my computer."

She watched anxiously as her small machine booted up and her palms
began to sweat with her gloves.  If her computer didn't work, what use
would she be in this strange world?   And even if it did, would she be
able to retrieve the archives from the Silver Millennium?   Amy cast a
nervous glance towards Michelle and noted her stoic expressionless
face and her hard emerald eyes boring into her.

*Ding*  "Hello Mercury."  The message scrolled across her visor and
the blue-haired youth exhaled in relief.

She smiled tentatively and waved.  "See, no problems."

Michelle, though, just sighed and returned to her distant gaze across
the lake.  Despite the unenthusiastic response, Amy decided to just
allow the roar of the waves serenade her while she worked.  It
appeared that the computer still had some of the lunar archive saved
in its memory but a decent portion of some of the older files prior to
the rule of old Queen Serenity (or as she liked to refer to as
Serenity I) were missing which she knew were on the servers at
Headquarters.  That meant that they were not in a time or place where
the Headquarters existed which meant they were in a different time or
alternate dimension where the Silver Millennium didn't exist or had
yet to exist.  Amy rubbed the bridge of her nose.  She definitely
needed to do more analysis before she could figure out just where or
when or what plane of existence they were.

"We're not on Earth."

The statement interrupted Amy's line of thinking.  "Huh?  What
evidence do you have to know that for certain?  We don't know where or
when we are."

"The sea is not calling to me.  This is not Earth."  Michelle answered
simply.

"So based on one piece of information, you've concluded that we
aren't on Earth?"  The blue-haired girl couldn't help but sound a
little incredulous.  Erroneous assumptions always irked her.

"Yes."  Michelle kept her hard gaze on the lake as her cold, even
tone broadcasted loudly that the issue was closed to debate.  "Can you
really track us with your computer?"

"Uh yes, I can."  Perking up, Amy decided to let the issue drop for
the sake of peace.  Plus, she didn't get very many opportunities to
discuss the workings of her computer.  She tried on several occasions
with the others, but they just never seemed interested.  "Each scout
gives off a specific aura of power that acts like beacon.  I have all
of auras calibrated on my computer."

Amy noticed that Michelle was now watching her from the corner of her
eye.  It took Amy a minute or two before she figured out what she
needed to do next.

"Ah!  Here, let me see if I can find any of them!"  Amy tapped a
button on her visor.

The information flashed in immediately, and, to Amy's dismay, only
one purple plip showed on her visor.

She sighed.  She hated being the bearer of bad news.  So in her best
professional voice, Amy relayed her findings.  "My scanner can only
find Sailor Saturn's signature in this place."

In a flash, Michelle stood over Amy, leaving the younger scout
drowning in her shadow.  "Where is she?"

A gust of wind flared Michelle's green pleated skirt of her scout
uniform, making Amy immediately conscious of the constricting bodice
of her own uniform wrapped around her abdomen.  Staring up into
Michelle's narrowing emerald eyes, Amy's stomach folded and refolded
itself.  It reminded her of the time when her mother interrogated when
she returned home late one night after one of her study sessions with
Greg.

"Twenty miles to the northeast."  Amy said, indicating a ledge just
behind them.

Michelle stared at the tall rocky ledge and her stoic face contorted
with a mixture of concern and apprehension.  It was then that it
occurred to Amy that Victoria was alone in what appeared to be a
hostile environment.  Could Victoria be strong enough not to crack
under the strain of her fears alone, she wondered.  Now Amy could
understand Michelle's concern as well as her apprehension.  If a
scared Victoria was forced to defend herself as Sailor Saturn, she
couldn't fathom the devastation she could inflict upon this world.

"We shouldn't waste any more time."  Stepping away from Amy, Michelle
started down the beach and motioned to her stationary companion.
"Let's go."

As Amy moved to stand, something else caught on her visor caught her
attention.  "Um, Neptune.  I'm picking up another signal."

"I thought Saturn was the only one here?"  There was an edge to
Michelle's voice.

Her stomach now felt it was ringing itself like a wet towel.  "It's
similar to the signals I scanned from Cindy and that Timelord."  Amy
swallowed.  "But it doesn't match either of them."

Michelle and Amy looked at each other.  Amy knew she didn't need to
say it, there was only one other Traveller present when they got
sucked into that temporal void and the prospects of having to deal
with him again wasn't a pleasant one.  At least it wasn't to Amy.

The stiff wind blew hard at that moment, holding back Michelle's wavy
green curls exposing her face.  The expression on it was hard to read.
 "Then we have to expect anything when the time comes to confront
whatever it is.  Come on."

--------------------------------------------------------------

Never in her old age had she seen such unusual attire such as this
child's.   The outfit was very cute in its own unique style, but it
hardly ... protected her.   She didn't recognize the clothing from any
of the surrounding kingdoms.  She must have come from one very far
away from the look of it and she did so on foot which amazed her.
Little wonder the child was unconscious when she discovered her at the
outskirts of the village.

Pulling off one of her coarse leather gloves she reached down and
removed a few strands of the girl's black hair and admired her
unblemished skin.  She was a beautiful child, but there were so many
questions.  How was this frail child able to make through so many
miles of the Sea of Corruption without a single scratch?

The poisonous forest surrounded the valley and it would have been
impossible for her to get here without walking through a good portion
of it.  The trek was perilous considering the giant insects and
poisonous miasma and this child was able to do it *without* a mask or
armor.

She then turned to the child's bladed staff relaxing against her
father's tarnished armor.  Staring into its wide edge, her worn face
and long grey hair reflected brightly in the setting sun.   No blade
made of an Ohmu's shell could match the quality and sharpness of this
weapon.  She wondered if that was how the child was able to navigate
the Sea of Corruption but how did she keep from breathing in the fatal
spores?

A rustling of the thick blankets drew her attention.  The child
rubbed her eyes mumbling something she couldn't decipher.  When the
child's eyes opened and fixed on her, her limbs stiffened, paralyzed.
Then she squeaked and tried to retreat back underneath the covers.

She tried greeting the girl in several dialects she knew but the
child didn't respond choosing to remain underneath the blanket.  She
spoke as softly and tried to sound reassuring, but the child was still
terrified.  With no other options available to her, she reluctantly
reached with her mind.

  'Please don't be scared.'

The blanket ceased its shivering and a pair of violet eyes peaked
over the edge.  Eventually, the girl's entire head emerged, surprised
and awed.  She said something that sounded like a question but she
still couldn't understand her.  This wouldn't do at all if she wanted
to communicate with the child.  The woman's heart squeezed, the child
looked so lost and confused.

'Please.  I can't understand what you're saying.'  The woman nodded,
encouraging the girl to cooperate.

Wrinkling her face in concentration, the child's voice could be
clearly heard in her mind.  'How are you doing this?'

Laughing softly, the elder woman replied.  'I suppose it's a gift I have.'

'Where am I?'  Glancing out the window, the girl had an unobstructed
view of the entire valley as the sun fell below the surface of the
lake on the horizon.

'This is the village I grew up in.'

The wonder on the girl's face pleased the old woman and warmed her
heart.  Ah, the innocence of youth.  It had been a shame that she
never had children of her own, but in the end it she had taken care of
her people and protected their future.  That was enough for her.

But that was neither here nor there; the poor child was still scared.
 It was obvious she needed some comfort.  'I see this place still has
retained some of its old beauty.'

The child's large violet eyes grew big and then narrowed slightly,
suspicious.  The old woman wondered for a moment perhaps she'd
underestimated this girl's potential as a threat.  'Who are you?'

Despite her wariness, she smiled hoping to make the child realize she
wasn't dangerous.  'My name is Nausicaa and this is the Valley of the
Wind.'

----------------------------------------------------------

A bristly ball floated past his head as he stumbled through this
spore-ridden forest.  A large insect ocean squirmed down worn trails
around the thick trunks of parasitic trees.

Halebit wandered further through the forest while the pain in his
body tested his resolve with each step.  His throat constricted
tightly for every breath he took, forcing the old man to inhale more
of the dust clogged air.

The violent fit of coughing overwhelmed the General, as if his lungs
wanted to escape his rotting body.  As he fell to his knees, a thick
substance bubbled its way out of his mouth.  It pooled beneath him,
black as pitch and thick as tar.  He needed that Crystal now.

With sickening horror, the old man lurched to his feet, letting the
black ooze hang from his lower lip.  He didn't dare stop and rest a
minute more; he needed to find the Silver Crystal.  He needed its
healing light to counteract the effect this poisonous world had on
him.  Ah, the power he had held in his hands.  What he wouldn't do
just to get it back and hear its melody once more.

"It's the spores, you know."  An all too familiar voice declared,
its
echoes emanating through the forest.

'Echoes?'  The General spun around, disorientation seizing him.

Through the last remnants of his dry cough, he croaked, "Nihil!  What
is your game this time?"  Halebit didn't know what to expect while he
turned about face -- Nihil was nothing more than a voice -- but he
didn't expect this.

Before him stood a youthful soldier who Halebit had tried all his
life to forget.  The soldier's wrinkle-free uniform prominently
displayed his stripes across his upper arm, signifying his status of
general, and many glittering war medals that showcased his valor.  His
short black hair and stout posture matched his uniform in
flawlessness.  Halebit couldn't look into the soldier's face with his
usual calmness; anger seethed in him and he clenched his fist.

"How dare you, Nihil, to choose his image."  Halebit hissed.  "What
do you think you're accomplishing by doing that?"

Nihil smiled the soldier's perfect smile and leaned toward the old
man using a flat, smooth, authoritative tone.  Halebit hated that
voice.  "I thought you'd take me seriously if I took the form of
someone you respected."

Halebit avoided Nihil's stare.  "That disreputable pariah?  Ha. He
was hardly anyone I would respect."

The soldier gazed at him curious.  "You'd go so far as to deny
yourself the truth?  Hmph.  Your jealousy astounds me, Halebit."

"I was not jealous of that intolerable heathen!"  Halebit snarled at
his dementia's creation.  "The only reason I befriended him was to
find out his secret-"

Halebit's mouth hung on that last word as Nihil's perfect smile grew wider.

"You wanted to know his secret?  You wanted to know why he was better
than you?  Didn't you?"

Halebit once more diverted his eyes from Nihil.  'I can't let him
defeat me.  I'm the one who has control.'

"He was never better than me.  He depended on that wretched sword to
get him out of the predicaments he would recklessly wander into."
Halebit swallowed down some of the black mucus that crept up his
throat.  "He had no control.  Just like his-"

Nihil raised a conspicuous eyebrow and leaned forward once more,
making eye contact unavoidable.  "His son?  Please Hally, Trekker was
nothing like Tracer.  Trekker was calculating, calm, and above all
devastating in battle.  He hardly ever used Faust's Sword until he had
to fight Aste.  If you remember correctly, you couldn't even lay a
finger on him in hand to hand combat.  At least until you started
taking those red-"

"Shut your mouth!"  Halebit screamed and then coughed furiously.  "I
AM BETTER THAN HIM!  HE'S NOTHING MORE THAN A GHOST NOW!"

Nihil smirked which looked out of place on Trekker's face.
"Unfortunately, that ghost has come back to haunt you, Hally."

Instantly, in front of Halebit, materialized a child holding one of
the bamboo sticks he used in training Timelords back before he had
taken over the floundering Society.  It was obvious the child was
trying to appear older by standing with chest out and chin held high
and breathing really hard like he had run a great distance.  Halebit
was amused by his disheveled appearance; a tangled mass of black hair,
red-rimmed eyes, dirt smudged cheeks, and soiled clothing.    He was
hardly befitting a protégé of Halebit's stature.  Such a haughty child
of privilege, he wondered why they allowed him to run about like a
pig.

The child offered up the stick to the old man and tried to speak to
him firmly but his voice faltered.  "I wanna train under you… to be a
great soldier… like Father."

"And do you remember the first thing you told him, you told him he
was never going to amount to anything like his father."  Halebit could
have sworn that he felt Nihil breath down his neck.  "Thus you fought
to break his spirit throughout the rest of his training in order to
claim your final victory over Trekker allowing him to become wild and
undisciplined.  He was the only mark against you on an otherwise
spotless record.  Do you see how your petty jealousy controls you
Halebit?"

A grunt escaped Halebit's lips as he stared intently into Nihil's
black eyes.  "I merely told the child the truth.  Anyway, Tracer is
nothing more than a beast.  There was hardly anything I could have
done to turn him into a soldier up to my standards.  He's as wild and
untamed as-"

"You?"  Nihil arched one of his eyebrows quizzically and smirked.
Having Trekker's visage arrogantly regarding him made Halebit's ire
rise.  "You were just as wild and untamed at his age.  Probably more
so."

Fingernails bore into Halebit's palms, his voice approaching a low
growl.  "I was very different then.  I've learned to administer
control over myself.  Unlike that untamed child, Tracer, I learned to
quell my urges."

"True, but you never could vanquish them."  Nihil walked over to the
child and knelt next to him.  "You left it to boil deep within
yourself, and now they are ready to explode.  Eventually, they will be
released."

Both the child and Nihil gazed at Halebit with their piercing black
pupils.  "You can't hold me back forever."



***

Falling further and further into nothingness, she held on tight to
Darien.  It took all her strength but she was able to hold on.  They
continued falling until the darkness overwhelmed her.

"Hey, wake up sleepyhead."

"Huh?"  Slowly, Serena's eyes fluttered open.  "Mina?"

Mina grinned down at her friend, some of her long blonde hair
tickling Serena's nose as it swung in an arid breeze.  "Geez, me and
Darien thought you'd never wake up."

"Darien!"  Without warning, Serena's upper body catapulted forward,
and Mina sprang back, narrowly avoiding a stray ball of hair.  Looking
one way and another, Serena's eyes shot around the immediate vicinity.
 "Where's-?"

"Whoa, Serena."  Mina rested her hand on her friend's shoulders and
glanced at Serena's two balls of hair.  "You could kill someone with
those things."  That comment had elicited a smile.  "Darien's over
there, keeping an eye on that creepy Timelord guy."

Following Mina's gaze, she saw Darien, still dressed in his tuxedo,
looking down at the gruff Traveller laid out on the sand, both
situated in the shadow of large white wall.

The wall itself towered over all of them and it looked to extend to
forever and back on either side.  Serena couldn't see any lines of
concrete or any rough texture on its surface and she had to crane her
neck to see where it curved out of sight.   In complete awe, Serena
eased herself to her feet, oblivious of Mina dusting some unsightly
sand that collected on the posterior of her dress.

"This is so weird."  The words escaped Serena's lips as she brushed
her fingertips on the wall's smooth face.

"Yeah, that's the same thing I said."  Mina agreed.

When Serena returned her eyes to Darien, he was staring at her and
his face blossomed into a smile when he noticed her watching.

Relieved, Serena smiled back before tearing her eyes away from her
dark-haired lover and gazing out across the great expanse of desert
the wall didn't enclose.  Except for the occasional breeze, nothing
seemed to disturb its flat, barren geography.

Turning to the brilliant wall, Serena pondered aloud.  "Is there any way in?"

 "I couldn't find any sort of entrance within a mile either way."
Serena's head snapped toward the gruff voice.  There Erica stood
confident, her short blonde hair and blue skirt wavering in the
breeze.

"I told you that."  Mina loudly added earning herself an indignant
sniff from the tomboy.

"Anyway."  Serena unsuccessfully suppressed a chuckle and Erica
frowned slightly a tinge of blush blossomed on her cheeks as she
continued.  "We need to move and find some water, or else you will die
of dehydration in a few days."

Serena grew concerned.  "What about the rest of you?"

Erica crossed her arms and pursed her lips.  "We'll probably last
longer since Venus, Tuxedo Mask, and I are all transformed.  But, we
must move or else none of us will have a chance of surviving."

Suddenly Serena became conscious that she now was wearing her white
dress that she had worn the night before.  That's right, she wasn't
Sailor Moon anymore.  She had given it to the old man in exchange for
Reenie.  She hoped that the others were safe wherever they were.

Then Serena glanced towards the slumbering Timelord.  "What about him?"

"He can stay there for all I care."  Darien spat.

  Serena stiffened at the exclamation and then relaxed.  There needed
to be peace between everyone if they were ever going to get back home.
 So with the grace of an angel, Serena spun around to face her lover.
"Why?"

Darien kept his back turned, his black cape acting like a wall.
Serena held in a sigh, she hated when he acted like this.  "He called
you things.  Horrible, hurtful things.  That's why.  We know he's not
going to help us, so why help him?  All he's going to do is hurt you
more, Serena.  I ... I don't want that."

Serena rested her head on Darien's shoulder, joining him in his vigil
over the unconscious man.  "I know you care, but please understand,"
Serena gazed at Tracer, his face still and serene, "we don't have a
choice.  We're probably far away from home and he might be our only
chance of getting back there.  Maybe if we kill him with kindness?"

Darien swiveled his head and Serena could see his hardened expression.

"I can think of more efficient ways to kill him."  He said humorlessly.

"Darien."  She admonished.  "That isn't who we are.  We aren't
ruthless killers.  We fight for love and justice and leaving him to
die in the desert isn't our way."

Abruptly Darien rose to his feet sending to stumble on hers.  He
looked down at her finally coming face to face with her.  "You're
kidding, right?"

Serena captured his blue eyes with hers and tried to appear as serious
and mature as she ever had in her entire life.  "No I'm not."

She could see Darien was struggling, but finally he relaxed and his
expression soften just a tad.  "Okay, Serena.  We'll help him, but we
need to be careful."

"Oh God yes."  Serena agreed giving the Timelord another glance.  He
looked deceivingly peaceful asleep but they all knew what he was
capable of.  "I said we should be nice to him not entrust him with our
first born."

Darien smiled in reply and Serena's heart fluttered.  God she loved
it when he smiled like that.

Finding the need to fight urge to kiss him, Serena asked him a
question.  "So where are we?  Are we dead?"

Quirking an eyebrow, the dark-haired man shrugged looking out at the
expanse of sand.  "Can't really say.  If it is, the afterlife is an
odd place indeed."

Serena became thoughtful.  "It might not be that far-fetched ya know.
 There was this one manga I was reading not that long ago about-"

It was then that Erica's raspy voice sent Serena's fragile chandelier
of thought crashing down.  "I hardly think that will work Venus."

"Of course it will work," Mina said.  "I mean we all can jump great
distances, and we can use Darien's cane and your sword.  Think of it
as a fun day of mountain climbing."

"I don't think so."  Erica crossed her arms.

Mina crinkled her nose and tapped her upper lip thoughtfully.  "We
can always knock."

"Do you want me to say open-sesame or do you?"

Without warning, the large wall wailed and rattled.  From underneath
the sand, two lines carved up its face and converged to a point.  The
enclosed area then jolted from its confines and slid into obscurity
behind the simplistic sheet of white.  Both Mina and Erica stepped
away, both tensed and prepared to defend against whoever was on the
other side of that wall.

As the rattle died away, a cloaked figure emerged from the newly
created archway.  His darkened mask darted one way then another.  With
efficiency the masked mystery person studied each of them, halting
when its view passed over Serena, making her nervous.  Then the masked
individual spent just as long looking at the Timelord lying in the
sand.

"It can't be." Serena could hear the masked person, unmistakably
male, say and turned towards the entrance yelling back at someone
unseen.  "The Temporal Net was correct.  It's him."