[FFML] [Fanfic][SM] Terrible Things to Waste Part 8

[Bastion]

Okay, FFML, time for another wondrous chapter of my story to hit my
fans.  Ah yeah, maybe that didn't come out right.  Anyway, I've built
up to this point, now it's time for the climax!  Can't wait?  Neither
can I!  So let's not stall any longer.

This is a rough draft, though I did put considerable amount of time
into editing this chapter, C&C would be greatly appreciated.

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

Dedications go out to Setsu-P for putting together some awesome
sketches for this story that I'll hopefully be able to post up on
Mediaminer soon.

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Terrible Things to Waste
Part 8: …Before It Gets Better
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Pluto was well aware of what eternity meant.  She'd lived a drab
existence guarding the Time Tunnel for what felt like eons watching
those little puffs of moisture lazily float by.  However, the minutes
she waited for her Queen to appear at the warehouse came close to
feeling just as long.  She could just feel the sands of time slipping
through her fingers.

The other girls were quietly murmuring to themselves.  At least
Neptune, Uranus, and Venus were.  Mars and Jupiter were oddly silent
as they waited a few blocks away from the Toke warehouse.

She understood Mars' melancholy, but Jupiter's silence bothered her
somewhat.  Typically, the brunette would be bristling with excitement
rather than listlessly standing around like she had lost her brain.
Next to Uranus and Neptune, Jupiter was the best fighter in the group
and she was going to need that in the inevitable battle.
Unfortunately, there were much larger problems looming for Pluto just
on the horizon.

The timeline had been compromised, that much was for certain.  The
question and the problem were, just how much?  She wouldn't know until
the Travellers left and assessed the damage.  Fixing their timeline
would be the next hurdle.

'That's if I can fix it.'  She thought, crestfallen.

Already, she could see a few things that had happened out of sequence.
   Raye's grandfather's death was by far the cruelest surprise she'd
experience since the Traveller's arrived.  She had hoped it wouldn't
affect Raye too much since he didn't have much time left on this
world.  Pluto's eyes flickered to Raye as she stood aloof from the
group.  She remembered how the priestess mechanically washed his
corpse and then methodically recited a ritual chant before finally
breaking down and cried.  Pluto briefly closed her eyes; the memory
left Pluto feeling cold inside.

This was all her fault.  She had failed to convince her Queen just how
much danger she was putting herself in.  If she'd only swallowed her
pride and revealed her disadvantage.  On the other hand, she wasn't
sure compromising herself in front of the Traveller would have been
all that bright of an idea either.  She'd thought she'd have enough of
advantage considering her experience and knowledge of the events of
this timeline.  She underestimated the Travellers' cunning and for
that she had failed in her duties.

For the first time in her very long life, she was at a loss on what to
do.  She found herself in unfamiliar waters and she felt like she was
flailing her arms desperately.  No, she wasn't, she determined.  A
Time Guardian would never allow herself to think like this.  There was
always a solution, she just needed to keep her mind clear and find it.

She could do that by focusing on her duties and responsibilities.  As
the Time Guardian everyone was going to depend on her to make sure the
peaceful future that had been envisioned by the first Queen Serenity
was ensured.  Despite everything as long as she kept on her mission
she knew she'd make it through this.

"Let me get this straight.  This Tracer guy fought Tuxedo Mask,
survived a direct World Shaking from you, and a fall down a few
flights of stairs?"  Venus said astonished.

"Yes, Venus."  Uranus replied, tucking her arms under her chest,
wearing a slight frown.

Venus backed away from the pair and grimaced.  "I wished you had
mentioned that sooner.  I think we need to go check out the warehouse
now."

"Why?"

"In case this Tracer guy gets there before we do.  I mean he all but
told everyone he 's here for the old man."

"No we are not, Venus."  Pluto said in most authoritative tone she
could muster.  "We stay back and wait for our Queen.  Besides I don't
want to give away our position to the Travellers."

To the Time Guardian's surprise, the blonde girl didn't seem at all affected.

"You're right, but maybe if some of us did a real quick patrol of the
surrounding area, we might be able to intercept him before he gets to
the warehouse."  Venus said with a shrug.

"And what do we do if we intercept him?"  Neptune asked leaving only a
hint of intrigue.

"Then we make him feel as unwelcomed as we can."  Pluto had to admit
the wide toothy smile Venus wore right then was down right disturbing.
 "I mean I doubt we could kill him at least if it was one on one, but
one of us could definitely distract him long enough while the rest
rescues Reenie."

Pluto was almost going to dismiss Venus' idea outright, but thought
better of it.  She had a point.  They hadn't actually seen the
Timelord leave.  He'd disappeared in a flash of light after Serenity
activated her Silver Crystal.  With the other Travellers in this
timeline she couldn't confirm whether or not he had left them behind
for good.  Somehow she had a feeling he was still out there.

Her imagination ran rampant.  She envisioned the devastation that
awaited them at the warehouse with the Timelord standing before them
holding the beaten and bloody corpse of Small Lady.  Now primed for
motivation, Pluto was about to put Venus' plan into action when a pair
of headlights rounded the corner.

Pluto felt anxious and jittery and it took a great deal of effort not
to involuntarily shake.  As her Queen and King emerged from the car,
the Time Guardian resisted tapping her foot.  Why was she getting
impatient?  Time Guardians don't get impatient.

A rush of guilt bloomed anew in Pluto when Serenity's somber face was
illuminated in the weak silvery moonlight.  Her cheeks were flush and
sparkled slightly where tears had run down them from puffy red rimmed
eyes.

The other girls had come to attention as Serenity, her fiancé
Endymion, and Mercury approached.

"About time you got here."  Mars spoke softly yet sharply.

Endymion appeared to speak but was cut off by Serenity's quiet
gesture.  Pluto watched as Mars and Serenity silently gazed at each
other.  Pluto knew that her Queen had her reasons nonetheless she'd
hoped she'd speed up the process.  It was her obligation as Time
Guardian to not get involved, but Small Lady was in danger.  Each
passing second was like a pair of synchronized chisels on her brain.

Fortunately for Pluto, Mars had a much shorter temper.  "Okay,
Meatball Head, what's this brilliant plan you have that we had to wait
twenty minutes in the cold for?"

"Uh," Serenity peered past Mars towards Pluto, "well, I just wanted
to
talk to Cindy and get her to release Reenie.  That's all I had
planned."

Behind her, Uranus exhaled loudly.  Mars on the other hand expressed
her displeasure more vocally.

"What!?"  Mars exploded.  "That's your plan!?"

Several of the group cringed.  Pluto allowed a frown to momentarily
appear.  The priestess would need to use more discretion if they
didn't want to alert the Travellers they had arrived.

Serenity, for her part however, hardly blinked.  Her deep blue eyes
glowed in the darkness of the alley and her response was barely a
whisper.  "Yes.  That's my plan."

"You hardly thought this through haven't you?"  Mars growled.  "What
you're doing doesn't make any sense!  Why are you giving Cindy another
chance to betray us!?  How many more people are you willing to
sacrifice because you don't want to admit you made a mistake!?"

"Raye, that's not what's going on her-"

"Shut up Amy!"

Pluto nearly stepped forward but thought better of it when she saw a
look of disapproval firmly placed on Jupiter's face.  Perhaps she
wouldn't need to get herself involved besides it was important that
the girls take care of these issues on their own rather than relying
on her.

"That's enough, Raye!"  The brunette bellowed as she strode toward
Mars and spun the priestess around to face her.  "Okay, it's terrible
you lost your grandfather, but you've got to settle down."

Mars narrowed her eyes and scowled.  "This isn't about him.  How dare
you think I would let something like that affect me!  You have no idea
what I'm-"

Jupiter's expression darkened considerably and clenched her fists.
"Don't finish that sentence Raye."

The admonishment wiped the scowl off Mars' face.  Her eyes widened in
surprise as if she'd just been slapped.  Slowly, Mars angry façade
retreated back to neutrality though a fire still flickered behind her
dark violet gaze.

Instantly, Venus had materialized between the girls and cheerfully
wrapped her arms around their shoulders oblivious to their smoldering
glares.  "That's enough of that!  I think it's time we buried the
shovel and rescue Reenie!"

Both Mercury and Endymion let out a soft sigh while Uranus grunted
loudly.  Pluto was just glad Venus found an effective way to diffuse
the situation.

Wearily, Serenity raised those blue eyes to Pluto and spoke louder
though with little energy.  "I'll be willing to compromise, Pluto.  If
I cannot sway Cindy and she refuses to hand over Reenie, I will let
you do what you must in order to save her."

Her Queen didn't need to say anything more.  If getting Small Lady
back meant resorting to violence then she wouldn't hesitate.

"As you wish my Queen."  Pluto bowed her head and then called to the
rest of the girls.  "The Queen, Uranus, Neptune, and I will go into
the warehouse while we negotiate with the Travellers.  Everyone else
will fan out and quickly patrol the area for any signs of intruders
before positioning yourselves around the warehouse.  I caution all of
you to be careful and stay on your guard."

In unison, all the girls nodded their heads and shot off into the
darkness.  Satisfied, Pluto turned to gather her Queen and two of her
guards when she heard a soft gasp.

"Vicky?"  Worried, Neptune rushed to the spooked small girl.  "What's
wrong?"

The hallow expression on Victoria's face made Pluto's blood freeze as
the pale girl spoke.  "I'm being called.  Something is calling for
me."

"Vicky," Neptune knelt next to the child, her soothing voice laced
with panic.  "Who's calling you?"

Victoria's eyes searched the darkness like someone was whispering in
her ear.  "A tormented soul is calling for the silence."

Looking up to the surrounding girls, Victoria clutched her glaive
close to her chest.  "We must hurry!  I fear we will be too late to
save Reenie!"

Neptune brushed aside some of her wavy green hair and cast a look up
at Pluto.  The Time Guardian nodded and tapped her staff on the
concrete calling everyone into order.  They'd wasted enough time here.

"Quickly everyone."  Pluto called lifting her staff.  "Gather around
me.  We must make haste!"

The Garnet Orb attached to the top of Pluto's staff began to glow and
a renewed sense of purpose and duty roused in the woman.  Once again
she felt like a Time Guardian.  She would go to the warehouse,
retrieve Small Lady, defeat the Travellers, and restore the timeline.

'Afterall, that's what a Time Guardian does.'  She thought as crimson
light of the Garnet Orb absorbed them.  'And that's who I am.'

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The slight stale salty air caressed Halebit's skin.  The chorus of
Nihil's loud chuckling had died down to a faint murmur with the
distant sound of rolling tides crashing against the docks.  The
momentary interlude gave Halebit time to collect his thoughts and
prepare.

He'd just raided the last of his emergency supply of red crystals
leaving the office torn asunder in his desperate search.

Perhaps he'd been being too hasty.  The clock started to run the
moment he'd consumed that red powder and his window to use his powers
was shrinking.   Halebit took in a calming breath.  No, he hadn't been
hasty.  If Serenity wanted to see her daughter alive, she would be
here soon.  He had no reason to be concerned, he concluded.

With that resolved, Halebit reviewed his plans once more.  Once
Serenity traded her daughter for the Silver Crystal he would create
the portal and then he'd finally have his precious red crystals.  Of
course out of everything he was doing, this was the biggest risk that
gave him any real concern.

After obtaining the location of the red crystals from the old Nomad,
Halebit realized the dimension, to his great displeasure, was in a
rather remote time stream and there was little hope he'd reach that
dimension before his supplies ran out.  But he wasn't going to be
denied.  There had to be another way.

Halebit read voraciously and discovered an interesting theory.  It had
been postulated by other Travellers that a machine or conduit could
amplify and channel their energy to create a portal that would allow a
Traveller and anyone else for that matter to cross into another
dimension.  Usually a Traveller would have to 'phase' in and out from
one dimension to another which was both time consuming and draining.
However, the electrical power required to create one was astronomical.

One of the most prominent researchers had been Cindy's father.  In his
papers, Cindy's father chronicled case after case of attempts to
create portals with all kinds of conduits.  Unfortunately, those
Travellers had underestimated the energy required and the resulting
backlash had been... quite unpleasant to say the least.

Halebit hoped Cindy's father would be able to assist him in creating
him such a machine.  However, he hadn't counted on the Timelords
beating him to the punch, killing the Community's best scientific mind
leaving him down to his daughter.  To his great disappointment, the
girl didn't inherit any of her father's genius.  Forced to rely on the
few specifications he had obtained, it was obvious to Halebit the
exercise was futile.  The machine they created was a ticking time
bomb.  To complicate matters, his supply of red crystal was dwindling
and he still had no way of getting more.

Ironically, it had been Cindy who inspired him to a solution, albeit
indirectly.  During one of Cindy's 'performances' he noticed a silvery
object dangling between the valley of her breasts.  It was a necklace
that the Children of Serenity order wore, a religion that filled the
youth of the Community with silly promises of salvation and peace.
What mindless sheep, they'd be better off as foot soldiers at least
then they'd be useful as cannon fodder!  But as he gazed at the small
figurine of Serenity holding her Silver Crystal, it occurred to
Halebit that the crystal acted much like a conduit and it stood to
reason that in the hands of a Traveller it would be able to easily
create a portal.  Why rely on a machine when nature provided adequate
resources?

So he put together a plan.  The deathly contraption earned a new use
as a ruse.  He'd purposely 'leaked' information to the Counsule that
he'd developed some kind of war machine.  The bait worked like a
charm.

Halebit felt a little pride as he activated the machine, watching it
heat up and vibrate dangerously in the basement of his 'hideout' while
a majority of the Counsule's Timelords battled above.  Oh sure, he'd
been forced to sacrifice a few of his own soldiers in the process, but
then again most of them were soldiers he'd plan on weeding out
eventually.  There was some elegance in using trash efficiently.