Running. The sensation of feeling, fleeting memories etched into being. She couldn't breathe, she gasped, pulled away from the inky, unknown blackness. Coughing, trying to regain her bearings, and then scrambling up onto a precipice, overlooking the night below. She watched the city, silently. She waited. In the distance, there was a church, abandoned and cold, a lone, stone angel watching over the lost souls within. She moved toward it, and was repelled. Sounds of an otherworldly choir drifted against the wind, she shivered. Then, a violent rush of energy made her topple backwards, she fell off the crag, her head hit the side with a sickening thud, and blood made its way into her mouth. She was falling, falling into an endless sea of shadows... Somewhere, she heard familiar laughter. The choir continued. And then, nothing. ------------------------------------------------------------ ormus Ostende nobis Dominae(Show us, O Lady) Ostende nobis(Show us) Misericodiam tuam et(Thy mercy and) Salutare tuum da nobis(Grant us salvation) Haec dies(This is the day) Xenosaga, Ormus Mitsuki woke up with a start. She struggled out of her covers, coughed and wiped cold sweat from her brow. "What was that?" she whispered in the still night. Usagi's gentle snores and the soft, melodic purrs from Luna was all she received in return. She turned over, pulled her pillow close to her, and tried to get back to sleep. Then the alarm clock rang. She groaned and dragged herself to the bathroom. ------------------------------ "So, I had the best dream last night! There was candy everywhere, and the trees were made out of cookies, and the rivers were ice cream and soda...oh man, it was great." Usagi spared a look at Mitsuki and frowned. "You don't look like you slept well at all," she murmured concernedly. "I didn't," Mitsuki muttered sullenly, picking at her sandwich. "I had a terrible dream. And when I tried to go back to sleep, the alarm clock rang." She slumped her shoulders and leaned against the tree they were sitting under. She yawned. "Where are the others?" "They'll be here in a minute," Usagi said, seeing a familiar blue head of hair behind a book walking toward them. "Why don't you try to get some rest?" She didn't have to tell Mitsuki that however, as the girl had already drifted to sleep. Usagi patted her hand and waved Ami over. The blue haired girl looked up from her book, smiled and made her way toward them. She glanced briefly at Mitsuki and laughed softly to herself. "She didn't get much sleep?" "Nope." Usagi shrugged her shoulders. "She had a nightmare." "Oh, that's terrible. Did she tell you what it was about?" "Nope...she fell asleep too fast for me to ask." Usagi laughed. "Well," Ami frowned. "I did look around for some information on her." Usagi sweatdropped. "Ummm...how?" "Well...I used my mini-computer and tried to match her energy patterns to anything we've fought or encountered so far. There's nothing even relatively close...but..." "But what?" "But I did get some odd readings while I was trying to figure some things out. Something popped up on my computer, and I tried to open my visor to translate it, but nothing much happened. It seems to be in some sort of foreign language, or a code of some sort." "Wow. A secret language! I wonder if Mitsuki knows what it is. I mean, she might, right?" "It's worth a shot," Ami said. ------------------------------ Mitsuki frowned. She squinted her eyes, then frowned again. "I think it's Sirenid. But I...er...I never really paid much attention in my foreign language classes." She scratched her head; the others groaned. "Do you at least have an idea of what it says?" Rei asked. Mitsuki stared at the words on the screen, squinted again. "Um. Something that looks like, 'Hello.' Err...'Hello, I am...a...' I don't know that other word." "Way to go," Rei muttered. Usagi pouted. "Don't be mean, Rei. It's not her fault. Ummm. Ooo, ooo, I know! Ami, does it look anything like any languages here?" Ami blinked in surprise, as did the others. "That's very...smart, Usagi." The girl beamed proudly, and Ami clicked a few buttons on the device. "But I'm afraid not. Though...Mitsuki, do you know anyone who might have the technology to send a message on my mini-computer? I mean, not many people know of it, so the person that did this has to be, well, some sort of genius." Mitsuki glanced up. "I know exactly who." ------------------------------ "Bang bang boom! Wooot! Fear my strength, pathetic web scum! I am the greatest, the most magnificent! Yeah! I won, I won!" The girl leaned back against a strange, metallic chair, her glasses were askew, her hair tousled, but she looked pleased. "Nobody's a match for me." A young man with long, white-blue hair scowled at the controller in his hands. He seemed to frown all the time, and his light blue eyes contrasted with his tanned skin. "You are the victor, once again Nioko." He gave the tiny girl a slight smile. "How did you think of this game? It's quite good." "Wellll...it's all a matter of concocting a correct strategy game. The market nowadays doesn't know how to appeal to a wide range of gamers, so I have to make my own games. Anyways, what are you doing here, Suejirou?" "Er, well. Did you send the message? I mean, I know you're smart and all, but..." "Ahem. You doubt me, fine sir?" The brown-skinned girl frowned and pouted cutely, slipping a pair of goggles over her face. "I sent it. But...I might have to send it again." Blue eyes flickered, and she brushed her hair back into a messy bun. "I forgot they might not know my language." "So it's a warning," Suejirou muttered. "Right? They have to be ready Nioko, remember." "Yes, I remember. No worries, right? It's fine, it's fine. I'll try to translate my message into their language, and I'll send it again." She yawned. "Geez, you worry too much." "Err, Nioko?" "Yeah?" "Do you...know their language?" Nioko looked down at her computer. Then she groaned. ------------------------------ "Nioko is her name. She is an...agent of sorts for the Siren army. She's only about our age, but her knowledge of technology is almost infinite. She is...the best friend of the princess Nami. She's the only one that could have sent you that message." "Wow. All the way from your planet?" Usagi asked. "That's right. Maybe she's asking for help..." She remembered her dream and shivered. "I think something bad is going to happen." ------------------------------ "So, Nioko sent the warning." "Without my consent." Kazuki sighed in exasperation. "The girl is simply worried. You can't expect her to sit around and wait for something terrible to happen. It isn't in her nature, and besides...what if it is too large for them to handle? Telling them to seek refuge might be the best course of action." "That is the problem. They won't run away. Besides, for now, it has to be a secret, something unknown. They'll have to figure it out on their own. Tell Nioko to cancel the translation." "You've become awfully silly. What if they don't figure it out?" "They will. Have faith." "Why do you want them to figure it out on their own?" "I just...it's something that might be...hard to understand. If we rush in without telling them, or if they find out so abruptly, it might...it might bring more harm than help. We...have to let them choose." Kazuki sighed and shrugged. "Very well."
Back to Angel of Venus Index - Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction