Power Transcendent
Sailormoon fanfiction by Jessica
-------------------
Chapter 13
Minako woke the next day, missing Ami. She had dozed lightly for a short
time, but was forced to awaken when Ami had to go home. Ami had brought
her up a little food, and then left. Setsuna had called soon afterwards,
and Minako was able to thank her for her hospitality. After that, she
had taken a couple of painkillers and promptly gone back to sleep.
And now, as she lay in her sheets and looked up at the morning light
playing on her ceiling, she wished Ami were there again. A futile wish,
she realized as she glanced at her clock and realized it was nine
o'clock. Ami was surely at school by now.
She yawned ferociously, giving a little stretch and noting that the pain
in her ribcage was already lessened from what it was the previous night.
Her senshi-born powers of recovery must have been preoccupied with her
head injury before, and were now making up for lost time on her bones.
At this rate, she would be fully healed within a week or two.
Minako paused to listen intently for several minutes. There was dead
silence throughout the house. It appeared that her mother had already
left for the day, taking it for granted that her daughter had left for
school. No real surprise there. She folded her arms behind her head and
sighed deeply.
Melancholy. She'd be embarrassed if anyone ever found out she was
describing herself like that, but it was true. She was melancholy. And
what's more, she was actually enjoying it, in a way. There was something
to be said for a kind of sweet, languid sadness. All alone in this big
house, her love going to school so very far away...would they or
wouldn't they get together?
Her mind shied away from that issue, as it was likely to turn melancholy
into full-blown depression. Instead, she just concentrated on Ami and
how much she missed her presence here this morning. She'd gotten used to
company in the mornings, so her solitude was made even harder for that.
She rolled over onto her side, hugging a pillow to her chest and
imagining
soft, pale skin and silky blue hair. "Ami-chan..." She breathed.
"Minako?" The sudden voice made her shriek. She quickly let go of the
pillow and hid beneath the covers.
"Artemis!" She said loudly, trying to recover. Minako felt Artemis jump
onto her bed and pad softly to where she was cringing in embarrassment.
"Are you okay?" Artemis said, sounding a bit concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine, I'm totally great." She didn't dare reveal her face,
though. From the heat in her cheeks, it was obvious that she was beet-
red.
"Okay...anyway, it's nice to see you again."
"Hey...yeah!" Minako sat upright, her embarrassment forgotten for a
moment. "I was meaning to talk to you about that, cat." She said,
looming threateningly over the white feline. "It was really nice of you
to come visit me all of that one time. I'm so glad you were able to take
the time out of your busy schedule."
"Oh...yeah...um...." Artemis put a paw behind his head and closed his
eyes as he fumbled. "Sorry about that Minako...but you know how it is
with a new enemy...Luna and I had to talk strategy, and then Diana needs
attention, of course..." His voice was growing weaker and weaker. "And,
you know...it's kind of a long walk..."
"Yes, I do know. I walked it with a torso full of broken bones
yesterday!" She flopped melodramatically against the bed, her nose
turned loftily up in the air.
"Oh, come on Minako...I'm sorry I didn't visit...I really am." Artemis
hung his head mournfully. "I promise it won't happen again..."
Minako relented and gave a small chuckle. "I hope not...that would mean
that I got hurt that bad again, and I think I'd like to avoid that." She
sat up again. "So, what have you and Luna come up with?"
Artemis gave a little cat's shrug. "Not much...the ball is really in
their court. You know Setsuna doesn't think that they'll try to use the
wedges anymore."
"Right..." Minako nodded in agreement. The black pyramids that their
enemy had tried to use to tear the space of Tokyo apart were terribly
costly to produce...after losing three in one night, Setsuna had judged
that this Lord Hadron probably couldn't spare the resources to try
again. "So then what?"
"Well, it's always possible that they feel it's worth the cost, and
they'll keep trying, but we seem to have that pretty much under control.
If they don't, there's not a lot we can do other than to see what they
try next."
Minako thought for a moment. She *was* the leader of the Inner Senshi,
and it seemed like too long since she'd attended her duties. "What about
the one who tried to kidnap Hotaru? Muon, right?"
Artemis nodded. "We've thought about him...but again, other than keeping
watch over her, there's not much more we can do."
Wincing, Minako remembered the Ryoujin, the three powerful daeva that
had accompanied Muon, one of whom were responsible for her injuries. "I
wish we had a better plan for him...he plays rough."
"Agreed." Artemis said with a sympathetic look. He yawned and stretched
before curling up on the bed and peering up at her. "And how are you,
anyway?"
"A lot better, thanks." Minako smiled.
"Not what I was talking about."
Minako looked surprised. "What?"
"I meant, how are things with you and Ami?" Minako suddenly blushed
deeply, looking at the white cat in shock. Artemis just smiled. "Come
on, Minako...you didn't really think I wouldn't notice? I probably
realized it before you did." He cleaned his paw and gave her a sly look.
"You know you talk in your sleep."
"Oh..." Minako's blush continued unabated. She supposed she shouldn't
really be surprised. There was nobody, absolutely nobody, who knew her
as well as Artemis. "I guess things are...okay." She bit her lip. "I
mean...I still don't know what I want to do...I know she has feelings
for me too...but..."
Artemis looked curious. "But what?"
Minako leaned back against her pillows with a long sigh. "I think I love
her too much...my feelings towards her are so strong I scare myself."
The snowy white feline sighed deeply. "I was afraid of that."
"Afraid of what?" Minako asked, blinking.
Artemis shook his head. "Never mind...so, she likes you too, huh? What
are you doing about it?"
"Nothing...I just told you I don't know what to do!" Minako snapped.
Then she sighed again. "I know I should do something, one way or
another. Ami's probably not going to do anything now...she'd be afraid
I'd think she was being pushy.
"But...I still don't know what I want. I'd like to be with her, but I'm
afraid of the idea, too." Now that she could admit that to herself, she
could admit it to Artemis.
"Well, I guess there's no reason to move too fast." Artemis said. He
chuckled a bit. "Unless you're afraid there's someone just waiting for a
chance to snatch Ami up while you're hesitating."
Mamoru's smiling face suddenly popped into Minako's head, along with a
stab of anger. "I don't know *what* you're talking about." She snapped
irritably, then winced in embarrassment.
Artemis just looked surprised. "I was only kidding...is there someone
else?"
"No..." Minako said tiredly. "It's nothing, really. Just...Ami and
Mamoru are pretty good friends, and I keep getting jealous every time I
see them together. I've been trying to get over it, but it's no good.
I've never really been the jealous type, so I don't get it."
Fortunately, she couldn't see Artemis roll his eyes at Minako's denial,
remembering several rather bitter clashes with Makoto over a series of
cute boys. Then Artemis did a double take.
"Wait...wait...you don't get it?" Minako looked over at the cat to see
him giving her an expression that asked how she managed to dress herself
in the morning. "You and the person you love have a mutual friend, and
he's closer to her than you, and they spend a lot of time together. And
you've been getting jealous of him. And you don't get it?"
"No..." Minako said slowly. "Why? Should I?"
Artemis groaned. "Minako...don't you think you might just be a *little*
extra-sensitive to the idea of the one you love falling in love with a
friend right under your nose?"
Minako continued to look puzzled. "I don't get..." Her eyes widened in
sudden understanding. "Alan and Katarina."
Artemis looked up as if asking the heavens for patience. "Alan and
Katarina." He confirmed. "You might remember them...you faked your own
death to avoid dealing the situation, and then cried about it for...two
weeks? Three?"
"I never really thought about it." Minako said, a shocked expression
still on her face. "But...I guess you're right. It's a lot alike, isn't
it?"
With a gentler expression, Artemis padded across the bed and curled up
warmly in Minako's lap. "Minako...I understand. Seeing how your parents
'raise' you, it's not hard to see why you'd have a problem trusting
anyone enough to really open up your heart to them. And as much as you
cared for him, you never really opened up to Alan."
Minako opened her mouth to protest, but ended up not saying anything.
Artemis continued. "You never told him about your parents, or how their
neglect hurt you when you were a small child, or how it still hurts you
now."
"I...I didn't want to bother him with any of it." She said softly.
"You were afraid that he'd leave you if he found out you had problems
like that." Artemis replied. "And he might have." He looked up at his
charge. "Anytime you leave yourself open, you risk getting hurt. Even
with Ami, you might end up with a broken heart all over again."
"Ami found out about Mom last night." Minako said, he voice still
hovering just above a whisper. "I broke down, and she stayed. She didn't
leave until I was okay again, and she had to go home."
"Then I guess she's a few steps ahead of Alan, isn't she?" Artemis said
with a small cat's smile. He yawned and laid his head over his paws.
"Look, I know you, Minako, but I'm not you. I can't tell you if you
really want to be with Ami, or if that would be the best thing for you.
But I know she makes you happy...really happy. And, in your case
especially, one of the most important things in life is finding someone
we can really, truly love, and who'll really, truly love up back."
Minako nodded, and then paused. "What do you mean, in my case
especially?" Artemis looked thoughtful, as if he was carefully choosing
his words. Before he had a chance to speak, however, the phone on
Minako's bedside table began ringing, and she picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Minako-chan!" Rei's voice sounded bright and cheerful. "How are you
feeling?"
"Um...hi Rei-chan...I'm fine." She glanced at the clock. "Rei, shouldn't
you be at school? It's not even eleven yet."
"Oh, I am at school." Rei replied. A rush of chattering noise in the
background confirmed this. "I have a little break between classes, so I
thought I'd give you a call and see how were you settling back in."
"I'm fine..." Minako looked around the room. "Thanks for calling Rei-
chan, it was nice of you."
"No problem..." A thought seemed to strike suddenly. "Say, Minako-chan,
do you want to go get something to eat after school?"
"Sure!" Minako said, but then she paused. "Wait...I can't really walk
around much...the walk home yesterday just about killed me."
"Don't worry about it. Haruka and Michiru are treating Makoto and I, so
they're giving me a ride. I'll just tell them to swing by your place on
the way there."
"That sounds great!" Minako said, smiling. Going out did sound
great...she'd been cooped up for far too long.
"Okay, just be ready around four, and we'll be there. See you then!" Rei
hung up, and Minako leaned back against her pillow, humming. She looked
down into her lap, where Artemis was still curled up.
"I'm sorry Artemis...you were about to tell me..." She frowned a bit.
"What were we talking about before she called?"
Whatever Artemis had been about to say, he had thought better of it. "I
can't remember either." He said with a grin. "Now, if you'll excuse me,
I need a nap."
-------------------
With slightly less difficulty than she'd had recently, Minako had gotten
herself cleaned and dressed and was ready to go. Four o'clock rolled
around, with no sign of anyone. After about ten minutes, Minako reached
for the phone to call to the Outers' house and see what was up. At that
moment, however, Haruka pulled up in front of the house on her
motorcycle.
Minako rushed downstairs to meet her. "Hi Haruka-kun." She smiled as
Haruka handed her a helmet.
"Hop on." Haruka said with a small smile, looking rather pensive about
something. She pulled up her jacket against the cold air, and Minako sat
behind her, latching her hands around the older girl's waist. They were
off, Haruka darting her bike gracefully through the traffic with the
control and speed of a true professional. Minako held on as tight as she
could without worrying about hurting the driver. Riding with Haruka was
always exhilarating, but Minako was never completely comfortable with
some of the risks she took.
So it was with a certain amount of relief that she hopped off the
motorcycle in front of a place she'd never been to before. It was an
extremely elegant Western-style teashop, with a wide outdoor courtyard
filled with tables. In the cold weather, this area was quite empty, all
the clientele ensconced in the much warmer and cozier interior.
Haruka ran her fingers through her short hair as she removed her helmet
and turned to look at Minako, who was shaking her hair out. "Look,
Minako-chan..." She sighed and shook her head, a smile on her lips that
was half-amused, half-rueful. "Just so you know, this wasn't my or
Michiru's idea...I think Makoto and Rei cooked it up this morning."
Minako blinked. "I don't understand."
Haruka laughed softly. "I guess not." Without offering any further
explanation, she headed inside, her helmet tucked under her arm. Not
seeing anything better to do, Minako followed suit.
The inside of the teashop was all gleaming dark wood and the heady
smells of good tea. The girl behind the counter gave Haruka a shy little
wave as she entered, and blushed as Haruka waved back. Minako chuckled
softly to herself.
The group was waiting at a table close to the corner. Michiru was
already there, along with Makoto and Rei. And, sitting next to Michiru
at the little round table, was Ami. Minako's heart gave a sharp little
flutter as she saw the blue-haired girl, and did a backflip when Ami
gave her a sweet smile of welcome.
"Hi Minako-chan!" Makoto waved enthusiastically, speaking a little
louder than necessary in the rather small room. "I ran into Ami-chan on
the way out of school, and I invited her to come along. Knew you
wouldn't mind."
A little warning bell went off in Minako's head. She looked over at Rei,
who was watching her reaction with entirely too much interest, and
whipped her head around the moment she realized she was being watching.
-So that's what Haruka was talking about.- Minako thought. -I smell a
setup.-
That theory was confirmed an instant later as she approached the table.
The round tables were not large, and clearly incapable of seating more
than four people. Rei glanced around. "Oh...I guess there's not enough
room." She looked into the corner, where a smaller table was set with
two chairs, just next the larger table. "Tell you what...why don't you
sit over there with Minako-chan, Ami-chan, and Haruka-kun can have your
seat."
"Sure." Ami smiled, blissfully unaware of any matchmaking attempts. With
a little shifting around, Minako found herself sitting in front of Ami
with what felt like hundreds of butterflies fluttering unmercifully in
her stomach. "Hi Mina-chan." Ami said happily. Minako felt her face
flush with pleasure at the affectionate nickname. From the side, she
heard a small sound and turned her head quickly, just in time to see
Makoto and Rei suddenly become very interested in the other side of the
room.
"Mina-chan?" Ami said curiously. "Is something wrong?" Minako looked
back at Ami and shook her head with a smile.
"No, nothing at all." A server approached and Minako glanced down at the
menu. She had been hungry before she had arrived, but her appetite had
utterly vanished. So she simply ordered a cup of herbal tea, and Ami did
the same.
"Are...are you feeling any better." Ami said softly. Minako looked into
her cool, blue eyes and saw the concern mirrored there, and knew she
wasn't talking about her injuries.
Minako had a bright smile ready for display, but stopped herself. -No.-
An inner voice told her. -With her, you should be honest. It'll be
okay.- So instead, she just gave into a small, sad smile and let her
eyes slide down to her hands. "I am feeling better." She said quietly.
Ami nodded a bit. "Good."
"Ami-chan..." Minako looked up at her. "Thanks for staying with me last
night. I really...needed it."
With a blush, Ami now turned her eyes downward. "It was nothing."
"Not to me." Minako said earnestly. "I...I..." She took a deep breath
and shook her head a little bit.
"You're welcome." Ami said in a very gentle tone, smiling. Minako looked
at her and had a sudden desire to run her fingers against her pale
cheek. It was so strong that she found her hand sliding across the table
before she could think to stop herself.
Just as she began to slide her hand back, however, Ami reached out and
laid her hand on top of Minako's. Minako immediately turned her hand
over and curled her fingers around the other girl's. They remained like
that just for a moment, just long enough for the warmth from their hands
to radiate into each other, and then they released, their fingers
closing gently as they did so.
Minako saw Rei and Makoto grinning at each other like idiots out of the
corner of her eye, but she was unable to feel even vaguely irritated. In
fact, she found herself feeling a bit grateful despite herself. She
smiled at Ami, opening her mouth to speak, but she stopped, a confused
expression on her face as she looked out the window over Ami's shoulder.
Ami tilted her head and looked at her. "Mina-chan?" Minako pointed at
the window and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
"What's going on out there?" All the senshi turned to look in the
direction she was indicating. Outside, in the empty courtyard, the air
was shimmering, as though there was a heat haze. That didn't seem
likely, as frost had begun forming at night. As they watched, however,
the haze began swirling around in a circle, looking more like a
whirlwind. Everyone slowly got to their feet. A few other customers were
looking out the window, but everyone else seemed fairly oblivious.
The strange phenomenon continued to change. The swirling slowed
gradually to a halt, and the shimmer in the air separated into five
pieces. Then, with a massive flash of green, there was an explosion that
sent the metal chairs and tables flying in all directions, including
into the wall and windows of the shop. That got everyone's attention,
and soon everyone but the Sailor Senshi in the corner were rushing
towards the opposite wall.
Ami was the first to recover from the flash and lowered her arm from her
face, squinting to see through the cracked window. "Look!" She gasped.
In the now empty courtyard, five object were hovering about a meter off
the ground, five black, smooth objects that looked like upside down
teardrops. They were about a meter and a half long, and seemed to be
spinning slowly, though they were so uniform it was hard to tell.
They had arranged themselves in a circle, and in the center of that
circle stood..."Gluon!" Makoto shouted. Sure enough, it was the general,
his green hair looking somewhat disheveled as it fell around his
shoulders. His arms were crossed, and he appeared to be waiting.
"That's enough." Haruka said, placing a hand on Michiru's shoulder.
"Let's go." The two immediately ran into a door behind the counter, and
the three Inner Senshi followed suit. They pelted down a hallway, rudely
shoving several employees out of the way on the way. They ran up a
narrow staircase and came to a locked door.
Everyone stopped at the lock. It looked rather substantial. Makoto
shouldered her way to the front. "Stand aside." Everyone backed away as
far as they could in the tiny stairwell. With a cry, Makoto slammed her
fist against the lock. Not only was it badly damaged, but the door
opened with a resounding crash, bouncing back when it hit it's maximum.
Makoto caught it with her other hand, shaking the other painfully.
"Nice, Mako-chan!" Minako cheered. Makoto just grinned and rubbed the
back of her head.
"Gotta be direct sometimes." The Senshi went through the door and found
themselves on the roof, a chill breeze whipping around them under the
slate-gray sky. They all looked at each other and nodded.
"VENUS CRYSTAL POWER!"
"MERCURY CRYSTAL POWER!"
"JUPITER CRYSTAL POWER!"
"MARS CRYSTAL POWER!"
"URANUS PLANET POWER!"
"NEPTUNE PLANET POWER!"
"MAKE UP!!"
Transformed, they ran to the edge of the building. Below, Gluon with
exactly where he was before, arms still crossed. However, he was staring
right back at them. His eyes seemed unnaturally wide, and the grin he
flashed at them seemed just a bit cracked. "Well, I see Tachyon is as
reliable as ever." He laughed, a harsh sound with no humor. "Farewell,
Sailor Senshi!"
Without warning, the five teardrops had changed orientation, their blunt
ends pointed directly at the group on the roof. The next instant, they
were speeding right at them, moving so fast they blurred in the air. The
Senshi barely had time to leap away before they smashed into the brick
of the shop's wall with a resounding crash. Screams filtered up from the
shop below, along with the sound of people fleeing the premises.
The six of them landed in the courtyard below. As Venus hit the ground,
her knees buckled and she fell forward, clutching her sides in pain. She
felt hands on her shoulders and looked up to find Mercury kneeling in
front of her, the others looking at her worriedly. "I'm fine." She
gasped. Mercury helped her to her feet. "Where's Gluon?"
Uranus was looking up at the roof. Gluon was there, near the spot they
had vacated seconds earlier. The black teardrops were once again
surrounding him, though now they were revolving in a circle around him.
He smirked down at them. "I *am* sorry. But this is a much better
vantage point, don't you think?"
"I've had enough of this!" Mars said, stepping forward. "FIRE SOUL
BIRD!" The flaming bird streaked towards gluon, shrieking defiantly.
Before it could reach him, however, one of the objects interposed itself
in the path of the attack. The flames seeped into the black surface, and
lines of red energy danced from teardrop to teardrop. Mars looked
shocked.
"Mercury..." Venus said out of the corner of her mouth. "What are
those?" Mercury's computer was already out, images flashing in her visor
as she furiously punched keys.
"They're taking the energy right from Mars' attack and bouncing it
around. I think we could probably..." Her eyes widened. "Mars, WATCH
OUT!" All five teardrops suddenly burst into red light and pointed their
sharp ends downwards. A beam of red energy came from each of them and
headed directly towards Mars.
Jupiter was moving the second Ami began speaking. Just as the beams made
contact, she slammed into Mars from the side, knocking them both away.
The beams still glanced off them, and they were surrounded by a flaming
red aura. Both cried out in pain, but shakily pulled themselves to their
feet.
"What happened?" Jupiter asked.
Mercury was frowning. "Those beams...they used Mars' energy, but on an
opposite plane. If they had hit her alone, they probably would have
drained her power down to nothing! They got scrambled when they hit you
too, Jupiter."
"Exactly." Gluon gloated. "These are Death's Tears. Your attacks cannot
destroy them." One of them streaked downwards and slammed into the
ground just as Sailor Neptune jumped out of the way. Gluon laughed. "You
have been more of an irritant than Lord Hadron anticipated, but now,
it's all over." He raised his hands, and the Tears began hammering down
at the Sailor Senshi again and again, making them scramble to find
cover. All the while, Gluon's cracked laughter echoed above them.
Uranus found herself back to back with Mercury. "Maybe they can't handle
two attacks at once." Mercury panted.
"Sounds good." Uranus agreed. They each squared off against the Tears
speeding towards them. "WORLD SHAKING!"
"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!" The attacks hit dead on, but the two Tears
flashed yellow and blue and spun around, sending a beam of identically
colored energy at them. They hit at the same time, making the two of
them cry out and slump to the ground. As they were touching at the time,
however, they remained largely unharmed.
"We can't...keep this up..." Uranus said through clenched teeth.
"I know...but if one of those beams catch us alone, we're done." Mercury
said.
"Any ideas?"
"I'll let you know." They leapt out of the way as another Tear flung
itself at them.
-------------------
A couple of blocks away, Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi-Moon had been
having an argument with Sailor Saturn.
"I don't care. I'm coming." The dark haired girl said softly, but
stubbornly.
"Haruka and Michiru told me to protect you!" Sailor Moon cried. "You
can't fight with us."
"I won't be in any more danger than the rest of you. I might be in
less...they don't want to kill me."
"Please Saturn..." Chibi-Moon said, desperately. "This whole thing might
just be a trap to get to you..." She sniffed, and tears appeared in her
eyes. "I don't know...w-what I'd do without you."
Saturn hesitated for a moment, then smiled. She placed her hand against
the shorter girl's cheek. "Then you can protect me." She said softly.
"And I'll protect you." She looked over at Sailor Moon. "Isn't that how
it should be? Sailor Senshi protect each other. I'll be safer with the
rest of you than I will be alone."
Sailor Moon continued to look torn about the issue, glancing up the
street, and then back at the younger warriors. Finally she exhaled
heavily, her cheeks puffing outward. "Fine...you can come." She smiled
brashly. "Well, let's go!"
They ran down the street as quickly as they could, arriving at the scene
of the battle just moments after Uranus and Mercury launched their dual
attacks. They leapt over the small brick wall surrounding the courtyard,
ready to join the battle.
But the instant Saturn touched the surface of the courtyard, a blue glow
appeared in the center of the area. The Tears stopped their relentless
assaults, and everyone turned to look at the disturbance.
Muon stepped out of the glow. His eyes were fixed firmly on Sailor
Saturn. "Excellent." He said in his dead voice. He turned to look at
Gluon. "Dispose of the others, but leave Saturn to me." He was about to
turn around, but Gluon began laughing.
Everyone, Muon and Senshi alike, stared at Gluon as he laughed. He
laughed so hard that he fell backwards, his head tilted upwards as tears
slid down his face. "I never imagined it would be so easy! I knew you
would come, but you...you!"
He pulled himself to his feet, hunching over slightly as his fists
clenched so tightly his arms shook, sniggering insanely. "Dead...you're
all dead!" He threw his arms upwards, and the Tears rose high into the
sky. He let his arms drop, and they fell point first, embedding
themselves more than halfway into the concrete with an impact that make
the ground shake. An unpleasant, high-pitched whine filled the air, and
bright green lightning began to crackle around each Tear.
Muon looked at the Tears, and then back up at Gluon. "So...this is your
plan." He said absently. "Interesting."
-------------------
AUTHOR'S NOTE: ::A blackboard. Sailor Mercury and Venus step out,
wearing lab coats over their fukus. Mercury is wearing her glasses and
holding a pointer.::
Mercury- ::bowing:: Hello everyone, I'm Sailor Mercury.
Venus- ::striking a pose:: And I'm Sailor Venus!
Mercury- Jessica was kind enough to give us this expanded edition of
Author's Notes to add a little educational content to the story. By the
way, we hope you're enjoying the story so far!
Venus- ::grins:: Ami-chan didn't like the idea of sharing it with
everyone at first...::winks:: But I can be VERY persuasive.
Mercury- ::coughs and blushes:: Right. Anyway...::turns the blackboard
over:: Welcome to Mercury and Venus' Guide to the Subatomic World!
Venus- That's right! You might not know it...I sure didn't...but all of
the nasty villains we've been fighting so far have been named after
teeny tiny little particles, even smaller than atoms.
Mercury- Right Venus...to start with...::points at the appropriate
diagrams on the board as she speaks:: Hadrons. Hadrons are those
particles made up of other particles called quarks. There are two kinds
of Hadrons...Baryons, which are made up of three quarks, and the other
variety, with a name you might recognize...Mesons!
Venus- ::folds her arms:: And that's where all the French particles
live!
Mecrury- ::sweatdrops:: Excuse me?
Venus- Maisons...homes for all the little French particles! They must be
so cute...
Mercury- ::pinches the top of her nose, as if fighting off a headache::
That's not quite right, Venus...a meson is actually a particle made up
of a quark and an anti-quark. ::smiles:: But moving on...next there are
Gluons. There are only four forces in nature...and the most powerful of
those, the strong nuclear force, is transmitted through particles called
gluons...because they 'glue' particles together. These little particles
hold the quarks together in baryons like protons and neutrons.
Venus- Hey, Mercury, isn't there a weak nuclear force, too?
Mercury- ::smiles in surprise:: Why, that's right Venus, there is!
Venus- ::thinks a moment:: So...since glue is strong...I guess that the
weak force would be carried by pastons! Because paste is way, way weaker
than glue.
Mercury- ::gives a pained smile:: Actually...the weak nuclear force is
carried by a class of particles usually called the weak bosons...but
that's another story. Let's move on to muons. Muons are fairly simple to
explain...everyone probably knows what an electron is...a very, very
tiny particle that carries a single negative charge...they orbit atomic
nuclei and are the polar opposites of protons. Well, muons carry a
single negative charge as well, but they're much, much more massive.
Also unlike electrons, muons are solitary particles, never helping to
form any larger particles...they're sort of lonely and mysterious, don't
you think?
Venus- ::leans against the side of the blackboard and snores until
Mercury pokes her sharply in the stomach with her pointer::
Mercury- Finally, we come to the tachyon! Tachyons are hypothetical
particles...nobody has ever actually found any evidence of one. But
they're really interesting anyway. Tachyons, if they're real, are
particles...
Venus- ::makes a face:: That have no taste at all.
Mercury- ::blinks:: What?
Venus- ::continues to make a face:: Tacky little particles...I bet they
never get invited to the good parties.
::Mercury yanks Venus behind the blackboard. There are some muffled
sounds, a few of which sound suspiciously like moans. Both look a little
disheveled when they emerge, and Venus looks extremely dazed.::
Mercury- ::cleaning her glasses:: Okay, that should prevent any further
interruptions.
Venus- ::nods enthusiastically::
Mercury- Tachyons are particles that would travel faster than
light...that has some fascinating ramifications. First, they'd travel
backwards through time! That's one thing that makes them hard to
detect...you have to look for them BEFORE they're created. Second,
they'd have imaginary mass! What's imaginary mass? That's a concept WAY
too complicated to get into now, but it would look like regular mass
from our point of view. Like I said, so far, nobody has detected a
tachyon, but that doesn't mean they don't exist! Human technology and
science is improving all the time, so it might be just a matter of time
before we track them down. Or they might not be real at all. ::winks::
Venus- ::looks at Mercury with a calculating expression on her face::
Mercury- ::smiles conspiratorially:: Now...Jessica might not like this,
but sometime in the future there'll be another particle that you might
all be interested in, so I don't think it would be a bad idea to tell
them a little bit about them right now...of course, I'm talking abou...
Venus- ::leans over and whispers something into Mercury's ear::
Mercury- ::flushes deeply and looks at Venus with a breathless
expression. Venus grins and nods. Mercury stares at her for a moment,
then looks back:: And that's all for the Special Expanded Author's
Notes! Stay tuned for the next chapter!
::Mercury runs off camera, pulling Venus after her. Fade out.::
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