“Stop talking nonsense! I never did anything!”
Rei pivoted on the spot and marched over to the computer controls, being oblivious to the fact that she was still holding Minako’s hand. As a result, she received quite the surprise when she tried to input the instructions into the machinery. Her hand seemed to be caught on something? Now Rei knew that clothing could sometimes get caught on the edges of machinery, but a HAND?
If the giggle behind her was any indication...
AHH! For-- Rei slapped her forehead with her free hand as a string of mental curses burst forth into the form of a dark thought cloud. She didn’t need to think twice about her next plan of action. Impulsively, with the blood rushing to her cheeks, she turned around and yanked her hand right out of Minako’s grasp! Or well, it had been a good attempt.
“Wha—Hey, let go!”
Minako cutely smiled back. “Let go of what?” She feigned a thoughtful expression. Her free hand came up to cup her chin like a detective would on a case. Rei was growing increasingly irritated by the way Minako would mutter, “Mhm mhm…” over an answer they both already knew. (Once or twice the idea of trying to pull from the blonde’s grasp flitted through the warrior’s mind, but the reddening mark on her wrist was clearing indicating that the ‘death grip’ was currently being in use).
“W-What are you, blind? This thing! My hand!” Rei pointed to their clasped limbs. She was becoming more and more self-conscious of their situation as time passed, and Minako noticed this. In fact, the blonde had a good enough mind to enjoy it.
“Your hand…?”
“Yes!”
“But what if I don’t want to let it go?”
Rei nearly fell over. “WHAT?” No! You have to!
“If you didn’t come around when you did, I would’ve been found out. So therefoooore, I should just stay with you ALL the time.” Minako almost snorted when she saw the look of absolute horror staring back at her. The terrifying warrior of fire, whose mere presence was enough to make grown men nearly piss their pants in fear, was caught speechless over the prospect of spending time with another woman. What was this world coming to?
I-It’s too much… Minako’s cerulean eyes began to tear up from laughter. She couldn’t help herself! Although it was probably a good idea to find a way to stop soon, because Rei was looking positively murderous— the flare of red aura around the dark haired woman was almost intimidating. Any sane person would have shut up instantly, and then fall to their knees and beseech the offended woman for some kind of mercy. The blonde might have if only the sight didn’t remind her of the bonfires they had back on Venus.
Wow, what a flamer. Where are the marshmallows when you need them? Minako broke into another fit of laughter.
“Min-a-ko…” Rei growled.
“Okay, okay! Chill! Truce!” Minako barely coughed out as the giggles subsided. “But seriously Rei, don’t think you’re getting off the hook that easily. There’s a price.”
“Eh?”
“Well yeah, just for touching someone as great as myself!” Rei sweat dropped as Minako stared into her face, trying to look very serious. In all honestly, the soldier couldn’t tell whether her companion was truly being serious or not. But she did know that this ditz wanted something, and it couldn’t be a good thing if it was Minako making the request.
How did we end up holding hands anyway? Her hand was becoming clammy and it was rather uncomfortable.
“Well, make it
quick, I have to prepare for our trip too! Jupiter isn’t an easy going place Princess.” The
Martian snapped, making sure to articulate the title ‘princess’.
This didn’t faze Minako
at all though.
First the blonde woman coughed delicately into her free hand as if to clear her throat, and then she took in a deep breath and then another after that. If she didn’t know better, Minako was prepping herself to do yoga or something peace-loving like that.
“Just get on with it!”
“Okay. TEACH-ME-HOW-TO-DO-THAT-SENSING-THING!”
It had been twice now that Rei had nearly fallen over.
“Wait, you mean that you can’t do that either?” She dropped all pretence of expecting anything and looked just positively disappointed. In turn Minako narrowed her eyes and squeezed her hand forcefully, earning an exclamation of surprise from her ‘prisoner’. “OuuuuuUUUCH! WhY yoooou… You know, and here I thought Goddesses could do anything,” Rei muttered sarcastically under her breath. If her nerves hadn’t been rendered numb in the last attack, she would’ve attempted a counter offensive.
Just talk a little louder Rei, and maybe I wouldn’t hear you. Minako squeezed Rei’s hand again.
Crunch!
“Gah!” Someday…! I’m going to get her, but good!
“But I’m serious Rei.”
“No.”
There was an awkward pause.
“No? But WHY NOOOOOOT?” Minako broke out the pleading puppy dog eyes. She was sure that this was Rei’s revenge for a split second ago. With enough pleading, the other woman would surely cave in.
Or not.
“Spare me the water works. The answer is still no,” Rei remarked. The expression in her eyes gave no room for relenting to the blonde’s request. “If you haven’t done it, even once, after all of these years... then don’t bother. Ami, Makoto and even myself, we were all taught the technique when we were children. Hey, stop it with the faces! I’m serious! Listen. If you waited this late to try it, especially when you have to deal with all sorts of responsibilities now, it’s just plain dangerous! How can I make it any clearer to you? The risks that are associated with learning the spell grows as you age!”
“They grow with time…? But—I’m not that old!” Minako protested.
“You don’t even know what you’re talking about!” Rei countered immediately. “Why in the name of Mars do you want to learn something like that now, anyway? If you don’t go noising into other people’s businesses in the first place, then you wouldn’t have to worry about being caught! It’s as simple as that! Just drop it already...”
The comment had hit its mark.
“T-That’s true… but that wasn’t the reason why I wanted to learn.” Minako admitted reluctantly. “When we lost Hotaru in the crowd earlier, you knew exactly where she was! You used that detecting technique right?”
“…So you want to be a better babysitter?” Rei crossed her one arm over her chest as best as she could.
“No! Argh…” Minako tried her best not to let her frustration show, but Rei was being extremely difficult. The blonde wondered how she could convey what was on her mind without being too emotional or blunt. It was just one of those rare times where she couldn’t be as straightforward as she would have liked to be.
I thought I got over this already! Minako scolded herself. For a moment she bit her bottom lip, and watched Rei raise an eyebrow at this. Why is everything so hard? It shouldn’t be like this! …Should it?
“That’s not what I’m saying at all. I-- I mean… if I lost yo—erm, I mean... what if we got separated somehow? How else would I be able to find you?”
What if I need you, but I can’t find you? Minako could almost see Rei’s form turning her back to her in her mind’s eye.
Unconsciously the Venusian finally released her grip on Rei, and allowed her own hands to fall limply to her sides. Rei, herself, almost didn’t notice her newly gained freedom either.
“…I’m sorry, but I still can’t teach you.” Rei finally replied. “It’s for your own good.”
She knew that the woman would be disappointed, but she hadn’t expected to see such a defeated, pained expression on her face. The Commander sought for something to say, but she was cut off when something unexpected demanded her utmost attention.
Minako was rigid. She could only watch as Rei’s back-turned image disappeared into the darkness, away from view, without her. She felt cold and distant somehow. Despite her companion’s considerate warnings, it didn’t deter her yearning to learn one bit.
So, I can’t learn because I’m too old...? It may have seemed like a minor detail to the Martian leader, but the comment had hit closer than she was aware.
But... if I were given the chance, I would be able to master it, right? Even for someone like me...
It felt like she was staring at a dead end. What could she do if she wasn’t even given the opportunity to learn?
Minako was startled when a warm hand suddenly rested upon her shoulder. Slowly she turned her head towards the warm glow of light. Pieces of Rei’s aura had spread away from her hand and seeped into Minako’s body. Almost instantly Minako felt warm again, ‘human’ almost. The term itself brought a twinge of what, bitter jealously? If she had held onto that, the blonde’s lips may have curled up into a weak, sad smile. However, as soon as she had felt it the sensation was gone. The red aura, no, Rei’s life-force, was melting away the cold.
It’s doing something to me… She vaguely realized. Deep inside, something was changing.
“Rei…? What are you doing?” She calmly asked her. When her cerulean eyes met amethyst, Minako saw that those mysterious, dark eyes conveyed no obvious emotion. There was no apparent anger or annoyance, but rather a strange thoughtfulness that made her shudder. She was suddenly afraid. What did Rei see?
“You really are too persistent for your own good.” Rei’s eyes seemed to glow for a split second, but as soon as Minako thought she’d seen it the light had already faded. The red aura from Rei’s hand then ceased to pulse. Even after she removed her hand, there was a strange, lingering sensation that still seemed to envelop her.
“Why don’t you try to have more confidence?”
“Confidence?” Minako mouthed as the other woman activated the controls to release Hotaru. “What do you mean? Do you mean in me or--”
Rei waited silently as Hotaru’s containment glass slide up. There was an immediate release of fog-like mist- it hung briefly in the air and emitted a dim, light blue glow from the sparkling, blue powder in its contents. The yellow coloured suspension fluid within the container gushed out onto the floor as the machine initiated the release of the second restraint. Gears began to rotate all around the trio. It started at one end of the room, before flying to the other side directly behind Rei. An odd series of lights had momentarily caught Minako’s eye, but Rei ignored it; the Martian was keeping a close eye on the results from the completed data analysis. There was a series of brightly flashing windows on her left, before the data compiled and downloaded into a file save. Only once the mechanical beast had released all of its restraints did the raven-haired woman move to pick up and cradle Hotaru in her arms. The spare sweater from Rei’s back was more than enough to cover up the child in her arms.
“Rei…?”
When their eyes finally met again, Minako suddenly understood.
Ah. Did you mean, to have more confidence in you?
“Ami and Makoto should be done their preparations shortly,” The Martian instructed as she crossed the room to the exit. Not once did she make eye contact with Minako. “Once they’re ready to go, we’ll depart. So try to take it easy until then. The trip may turn out to be much more difficult than you have ever experienced.”
“Eh? But w-why’s that?”
Rei merely ignored the question and walked out of the room, leaving Minako in suspense.
“Huh? Hey! Don’t ignore me!” Minako pouted. “Jeez, what was that about? A shuttle trip is the same no matter where you go, right? Sure it might be longer but--”
…Ping…
Huh?
Minako froze. Perhaps it had been her imagination, but she could’ve just sworn that she heard something.
(Outside of Hotaru’s Room, Upstairs in a main corridor)
When Rei arrived at the younger girl’s room, she found Ami and Makoto already waiting for her.
“The preparations are ready.” Makoto reported with a raised arm gesture. Ami nodded beside her.
“We are ready to depart whenever you are,” Mercury’s ruler informed. Briefly her eyes fell onto the sleeping girl in Rei’s arms. She didn’t want it to appear too obvious, but she was secretly relieved that her friend hadn’t messed up with the computer’s controls. From past experiences, sometimes the Martian was too much like Haruka—impulsive personalities destroy alike.
“Good. Then once Minako is ready, we’ll go.” Rei assured them both.
“...”
Umm...
Although the woman was just outside her destination, she didn’t make any attempt to enter it. She wasn’t fond of the hard, curious stares that she was receiving from her friends. Why were they giving her that look? Did she grow a second head, or did Hotaru just drool all over her and she didn’t notice?
“I’m fine!” Rei snapped when a portion of her aura flared out and clashed with Ami’s probing strand. “You really two really shouldn’t worry so much. I may be human, but I’m not a weakling.”
How many times do I have to tell them this? As nice as it was that they cared about her, it also served as an unneeded reminder of her own mortality.
The light in Ami’s azure eyes swirled slightly before she gave a tiny, reluctant sigh. Surprise tests really did seem to be the only way to check if Rei was all right.
“I apologize. I was just wondering if something was troubling you. Your power levels have decreased somewhat since we last saw you.”
“…”
So that’s what you did… Makoto quietly thought to herself. Her eyes carried a slightly distant expression to them.
Rei was unaware of this but Makoto’s aura had fallen through the floor towards the basement during that brief distraction from Ami. Because of this, the tall woman had easily located the blonde and had also discovered something else that had struck her as strange.
“So where’s Minako? You didn’t leave her by herself in the basement, did you?”
“You should already know the answer to that.” Rei countered crossly. Unfortunately for the ruler of Jupiter, Makoto hadn’t quite covered her spiritual trail fast enough to hide it from her friend. “And I’m sure you know all about it. You don’t have to pretend. Unlike us, we all learned how to use the ability when we were young. Forcing it to work now with someone like her could cause dire consequences. We still don’t know anything about her past.”
“You didn’t answer the question, Rei…”
“Well I can’t help her with everything. There are just some things that she needs to learn on her own. If you make choices, then you have to live with the consequences.”
Makoto silently glanced down at Ami. Despite Rei’s philosophy of self survival, they both had an inkling that something else was up.
“But still… if her claimed heritage is true, then you cannot suppress it Rei.” Ami pointed out. Rei felt a jolt through her system at those words. Exactly how much did they know? “If she wishes for it to awaken badly enough, it will eventually emerge on its own.”
“I know that! You don’t have to remind me...” Rei sunk into a blank, expressionless state. Both of her friends knew the sign well.
“Are you worried about her?” Makoto gently asked. The taller woman tentatively placed a hand on Rei’s shoulder, feeling the muscles already tense.
She must be… Jupiter realized. Or why else did Rei donate a portion of her power to create that shield?
(Basement)
…Ping…
There it is again…
Vaguely she had been aware, aware of the moment when she had released Rei’s hand or when the dark haired woman had scowled at her while she was caught up in a giggling fit. Everything in the room slowly faded away in her vision and was being replaced by a series of images. The scenes seemed to move backwards in slow motion, yet move forward at the same time. Each and every time that Minako watched a scene replay itself she would notice something new. So rapt was her attention on the slides that nothing else really seemed to matter right then.
As the room faded, the Venusian’s sense of conscious was slowly drifting away from reality; a feeling of light headedness assaulted her mind, but she didn’t put up any resistance against it. Instead, she wholly embraced the giddy sensation.
Why DID I hold Rei’s hand for so long?
Does her right eyebrow really twitch like that whenever she’s angry?
For a moment there, I thought I saw the corner of her lips push up to smil—oh, wait, never mind. She’s yelling at me again…
Tup… tup… tup…
The images flickered briefly before a new one took its place. Minako was now staring at the point where she told Rei that things were going to be all right. Now that she had a better look at the paused picture of it, she could clearly make out the foreign expression in Rei’s eyes. There was such an infuriating anxiety in them, a confusion that almost pleaded,
‘How can you understand what it’s like?’
‘How can you be so accepting?’
The blonde had suspected just as much. The image had only confirmed her suspicion. While their hands were joined Minako had felt it-- surges of emotion from the other woman-- flickers of light that would suddenly flare up and then burn out.
How can I understand…?
Because...I just do.
Ping!
(Upstairs)
“The ability is not only used to detect a person or an object, but it can also awaken the ability to see premonitions. Whether these premonitions depict the past or the future... that is undecided by the inexperienced.” Ami slowly recalled. “Through the usage of the technique we can find one another by tracing the spiritual energy or spiritual trail. It is essentially extending one’s consciousness into a separate dimension that overlaps our very own. But... if the user’s spirit is clouded by unresolved issues, then that power…”
“…could very well swallow their very being.” Makoto continued.
“That it is why the technique should be mastered when one is still an innocent child.” Rei finished. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she held Hotaru tighter to her chest.
When I tried to find something to say to her, I suddenly felt it. This sort of power... It was deep down, and I couldn’t properly assess it, but it was definitely stirring. Even if she wanted to learn how to use it, I couldn’t show her. It’s too dangerous. The worst thing you can do is to provoke abilities into awakening in that state of mind. When you become too anxious, you become reckless. And it’s that sort of recklessness that can get you killed.
It’s not the tracking that worried me. It’s the premonitions.
They all knew that there wasn’t much else that any of them could do.
Now, we wait.
(Basement)
Minako blinked. When the slide in front of her should have swapped out for another, it flipped halfway before it froze. Before she could comprehend what was happening the film of images abruptly rewound and then burst out all at once. They snapped at the edges, becoming like loose playing cards that distorted and blurred into one another until they dissipated into nothing-- until only utter darkness remained.
Where am I? Wasn’t I in the basement? Where... is this place?
What’s happening?
For a split second, she thought she heard something in the distance. Minako strained to listen as the questions continued to bombard her mind. What was that? What’s going on…? Why is it so cold? She suppressed a squeak when a blast of cold air ripped through the darkness and hit her. If she wasn’t so busy hugging herself for warmth she would have clamped her hands tightly over her ears. The wind shrilled with an eerie, inhuman howl, like it was possessed. Nothing could have prepared Minako for this. She was forced to endure this nightmare alone as her entire body trembled against the prickling, slivers of ice.
Bam!
“AH!”
Her hand flew to her chest. Her heart- it was racing. Fast. So fast!
Lubb dubb. Lubb dubb. Lubb dubb! Lubb
dubb!
That sounded like a door slamming, and… Her heart caught itself
in her throat when her ears caught another series of sounds springing to life within the
dark void. It sounded like slithering-- a clacking of
metal.
Ping!
From the corner of her eye she thought she glimpsed some movement.“What?” What is…? The pupils of her eyes contracted when something shot past her face. In vain she tried to run away, to make distance between herself and the ‘thing’. But as she fumbled back in surprise, she was forced to reconsider her direction of choice. Something frustratingly quick had nicked the back of her heels.
“Ah!” Startled, Minako jumped back forward amongst the noise to reassess her situation. That was when everything else came into view.
Ah… ah…
Lubb dubb. Lubb dubb! Lubb dubb!
It suddenly dawned on her- a crushing realization, an absolute fact of truth that was enough to drive most people insane. She swallowed hard. Escape had never an option; she was always, completely and utterly surrounded by an enormous mass of chains. They slivered in circles around her, designating her as the untouched center of their rotating masses. Without even looking up, the woman could detect the metal entities up there as well; the sounds that they made were distinct, and she couldn’t possibly miss the occasional glint of light that lit the dark sky above every now and then. Minako knew that she was effectively cornered. She knew that she was trapped. And like the images in her memory, she was frozen. Frozen in fear.
DOOOOOOOM!
R-Rei… Minako tried to call out the woman’s name, yet the word would not leave her lips. It was as if the name refused to be uttered in an act of cowardice. W-What am I going to do? Am I going to…?
Already she could hear echoes of her own cruel words coming back to haunt her: ‘Goddesses can’t die’ Die from old age, never. But when she had realized Rei’s situation…
I never knew. I didn’t mean to, I just never knew... I-I never knew! She felt herself confess. Confess? But to who? In her disorientated state, Minako didn’t have time to pause and ask herself, ‘where had these emotions come from so suddenly?’ Somehow, inside, it felt like a switch had been turned on and the floodgates had been opened. Everything in her mind spun about. Images, all the ones of recent events and of her past came back in greater intensity than ever before. But how could it be? Didn’t she lock them away within herself?
Bam!
The sound of the slamming door echoed throughout the darkness once again, heightening her pains of anxiety. Above in the darkness, a flash of light broke through momentarily. In response to this, the chains clacked harder and sped up within their orbits.
I see. My words must have really hurt her... That sort of pain, she clutched the cloth of her shirt directly over her heart as though she felt the pain herself.
“Agh!” Minako gasped when her head suddenly throbbed. She almost swore that the chains were creeping in on her.
Ping!
Rmm…rmm…rmm…
The chains… they’re glowing? In a brilliant flash of golden light, a scream louder than Minako’s own took center stage.
“MOTHER!”
“EYAAAAAAAAAAH!”
FLARE!
A wall of blue fire obscured Minako’s vision. Through her squinted eyes, the blonde could barely make out two figures inside that wall. There was no time to ponder who they were or what they were doing though- her body had decided on its own to find out first hand.
By the magnetic force that seemed to beckon her, Minako felt her body being pulled closer and closer towards the fire. The entity danced and spat rudely, portraying itself to be real, yet it was only an illusion wasn’t it? But as the intensity of the heat increased with the closing distance, Minako’s hollow eyes lost their glassy expression-- the dangerous heat had stirred her senses back to life and, in turn, had also awakened her sense of logical reasoning.
It’s so hot! She gasped, finding herself in a very undesirable location, and tried to struggle against the invisible force.
I-- I can’t stop! Somebody, help!
She was within an arm reach and nearly tripped into the fire when there was an eruption of crimson light. Red threads flashed across her path, drawing horizontally and vertically until they all connected and formed a barrier type net.
That aura!
“AHHHHHHH!!!!!!”
Lubb dubb… lubb dubb… lubb dubb…
Minako’s eyes fluttered open, finding her vision blurred and unfocused. Vaguely the woman knew that she was back in the mechanical room, lying sprawled on the hard, tiled floor.
It’s gone. Despite her heavy breaths, she managed to spare enough energy to sigh in extreme relief. Everything was gone, everything except the lingering traces of the emotions she had felt. She doubted if she could ever rid herself of them completely, especially the sound of a slamming door and those screams.
“A blue wall of fire…” Minako muttered to herself. At the mention of the words, her eyes took on a darker shade. She recalled seeing people within the flames, and she couldn’t help but thought that they looked familiar. Even stranger, she was feeling oddly detached from things. Was she simply feeling cold? No, that wasn’t quite it. It was as if she partially watching her body from the outside looking in, as if she wasn’t entirely there. Oh, what did it matter? Somewhere she knew that she had to find Rei. They were all going to go on a trip soon, weren’t they?
The others must be waiting for me...
With that, the woman gathered up with what little strength she could muster and pushed herself to her feet. As she did so, she continued to whisper in short breaths as she made her way towards the stairs.
“Screams… fire… blue…” Nope, none of it was clicking. The words continued to spiral into a continuous cycle of confusion. “Chains… darkness… door… Door? Slamming… slamming…”
Ah, there we go. Something clicked. The phrase caught itself within her mind.
When Minako finally made it upstairs and reached her room, she never realized that someone had been waiting for her. With a serious expression, the Martian Commander patiently waited for the blonde to reach her. The lack of surprise in her amethyst eyes betrayed her lack of ignorance to the issue. She knew what had happened, and had expected it. Now all that was left was to fix the problem at hand.
“Door… slamming…
cold…”
Rei carefully approached Minako and then with both hands, reached
around the other woman’s head and drew them close until their foreheads touched. Minako
didn’t respond but continued on muttering the useless cycle of words.
“Just give me a minute.” Rei whispered. She wasn’t sure if she was saying this for her own sake or for Minako’s, but it had a soothing effect.
Rei then took a deep breath and cleared her mind, focusing only on Minako. She needed to find that entry point, that one wavelength or link between them. Only then could she enter her companion’s mind without risking harm to either herself or Minako.
Not long after Rei closed her eyes in concentration, she had found it. It was a red thread, a left over portion from the power she had initially stored within the woman. Although it appeared to be useless now, having done its task, she kept to it. It was a trail that led back inside.
The Martian then released a newer portion of her power as she had earlier and allowed it to seep into the woman before her, following the lighted pathway.
At first, as Rei allowed her consciousness to tract through the new threads until all she could see was darkness. But as she ventured further she immediately encountered what she was looking for; the remains of her barrier. The shattered pieces of threads were floating randomly in the void of space, showing blunt evidence that it had been pierced by some great force. Whatever that force may be, however, Rei couldn’t say. This was no time for pondering anyhow. The dark-haired warrior chose to focus on the task at hand rather than wrestling with the ‘what ifs’. She could sense Minako’s presence was further inside, beyond the barrier. It was possible that her consciousness may have been tangled up in a few of the loose strands when she tried to return to her body.
Carefully, Rei then plucked the closest strands beside her. At first contact the thing sparked, but Rei showed no signs of discomfort. The woman instead wrapped the thread into a loop around her hand, and with that hand she held it up into the air. For a moment nothing happened. But as soon as Rei injected another shot of her aura back into the faded piece, the strand began to glow again. Like wildfire, the other disconnected threads in the space resonated with the leader and burnt like a brilliant fire once more before they all promptly converged towards the held strand. An explosion of color erupted in the space and then they all disappeared back into their owner.
I’ll need to re-make this barrier later… Rei noted to herself as she felt her power return to her.
Only once the process was complete did she feel her consciousness begin to pull away. The reaction was instantaneous. Outside where their physical bodies were, Minako was beginning to stir slightly. But that was fine. She wasn’t interested in lingering in this place longer than necessary.
“There’s no need to hurry,” Rei assured the unconscious woman, her own voice echoing as she exited. “I’ll be here when you wake up…”
(Minako…)
“I’ll be here when you wake up…”
Minako could vaguely remember hearing a voice calling to her as she slept. She wasn’t quite sure where she was now, but it wasn’t cold or scary. It was dark but there was also great warmth in it unlike earlier. As she listened, she made out the distinct sounds of a heartbeat. Now that she thought about it, there was more than one. Four others perhaps...? If the woman could, she would have been frowning right now. There was a red light, a green light, and a blue light, but there were more in the distance. She tried to hone onto the presences but there was a lot of background noise interrupting her concentration.
“You mustn’t use that power! Think about what you’re doing!”
“… If only there was a way that I could repent for my sins…”
Someone’s sad. Minako realized. Their words, their sad emotions, they echoed with such clarity and yet, at the same time, they felt so very distant.
The Princess of Venus felt herself drifting for what seemed like an eternity until she encountered another presence. Someone else was here.
“Oh, why hello there...” A gentle voice called out to her. To Minako it sounded like the voice belonged to a young woman like herself, though the owner seemed to possess a higher degree of maturity. The diplomat felt her thoughts abruptly cut off when the new warmth wrapped itself around her. The emotion in it was curious. “Are you lost little one?”
Minako wasn’t sure if she was nodding, but she answered as best as she could.
“I-I think so…? Who are you?”
The mysterious voice giggled. Are they laughing at me? Minako thought wearily. If this was a dream then she was going to be even more tired when she woke up.
Should I trust them? I don’t know who they are, but...something inside is telling me that it’s all right. It’s strange, isn’t it?
“Who are you?” Minako asked again.
“Do not worry… we will meet sooner than you think.” Minako blinked when a flash of aquamarine aura blinded her vision.
Flash!
“That way, do you see it? They are waiting for you.” Along with the new aura, Minako could suddenly detect the other lights now. They almost all formed a bright road, creating a pathway to safety.
“Yes. Yes, I do! Thank you!”
Minako remembered hearing the voice giggle again before a bright light broke through the area and she awoke.
FLASH!
(Much later…)
Minako awoke with a start. She had remembered a blinding flash of light before she finally made it out of the darkness, but the only bright light she could see now was the sunlight flooding in through the windows.
Wait, windows?
The blonde was taken aback at her new surroundings. All around her was an odd looking material. She held her hand out to touch the wall closest to her. Unlike the marble that made up the palaces, or the cement that built the Martian homes, or even the mechanical structure that helped build Mercury’s cities, this material was long, dry and somewhat brittle; it would easily snap in her hands if she were to bend it. And what a strange color it was! It was pale yellow.
Minako then noticed that this material covered nearly the entire shelter. It rose from the dirt-covered floor to the ceiling above. But other than that, there was little else in terms of decoration pardon for a coconut rug or the small desk in the far corner across from where she sat.
“Where am I?” She asked herself. If she died, this wasn’t what she would exactly call ‘Heaven’.
The woman hadn’t to wait long before Rei entered the hut. Finally! A familiar face!
“It’s called straw,” She informed her.
Well all right, maybe not the most sensitive person to meet as soon as you wake up in an unfamiliar territory but Minako wasn’t about to complain.
“It’s you!” Minako cried out. She quickly coughed in an attempt to conceal her excitement. “Ahem. Where have you been? And where are we?” She wildly gestured with her arms.
“We’re on Jupiter.”
“Oh. WHAT? Already?”
Slow reaction much? “You’ve been out for awhile.” Rei shrugged. “I warned you that using that technique might have some consequences.” But noooo, you didn’t want to listen. “You were lucky that you were only knocked out.”
“Huh?” Minako gave Rei the dumb ‘what the hell are you talking about look’.
“Are you really that clueless? Okay, it’s like this. You ‘wished’ to awaken that stupid power and it happened. But you barely got out of it alive,” Rei stressed the last part. She didn’t need Minako going off and trying that stunt again anytime soon. Whatever had broken her barrier still pricked at the back of the woman’s mind; either the opposing force was incredibly burdening or it resonated with the barrier itself and shattered it.
“Oh, don’t you worry! I won’t be doing that again anytime soon.” Minako quickly assured her. “I think... I should have done what you advised me to do. I should’ve just trusted Rei-bear. You’ll always be here for me, right?”
Rei’s face went slightly red upon hearing Minako call her ‘Rei-bear’; when was it the last time the woman had called her that?
“I told you to stop saying weird stuff!” Rei protested.
The blonde had to giggle at that. How predictable Rei could sometimes be. It was still cute though.
I think she’s starting to like me. Already she could hear Rei screaming, ‘IN YOUR DREAMS!”
“So… umm, where’s everyone else?”
“Well, we’ve dropped Nozomi and Hotaru off on Mars on our way here, and Ami and Makoto are just outside. Apparently the place that Makoto wants to investigate is beyond the outskirts of this town—it’s in the jungle, so they’re just gathering some supplies. All of us agreed that carrying children around for something like this was too dangerous.”
“That makes sense, but… the jungle?”
“Yes, the jungle,” Rei replied stiffly. “Most people have the impression that Jupiter is covered in nothing but tall vegetation, but that’s wrong. Because of past storms, the landscape here is actually covered in more desert than jungle—it’s very similar to Mars, except we have red sand. Here, they have yellowish, golden sand.”
Is it really that important? Minako wondered if there really was a big deal about the different sand colors. But never the less, she allowed Rei to continue on without being interrupted.
“The expanding deserts used to be a big problem for Makoto’s people, but with help from Mercury, as you eavesdropped from earlier, Jupiter has been able to control the storms. With help from Mars, we’ve been able to teach the people here how to grow crops even in the most barren areas. And because Jupiter is a neutral planet, Makoto has also received some help from Uranus as well. With Uranus’s help, they’ve learnt how to convert the wind into electricity to power the smaller towns. The towns like the one we’re in now are fairly common around these parts, and are pretty primitive from what you’re used to. But the capital city here is nothing less than anywhere else.”
“Uhh… question?”
“What?”
“What’s a… jungle?”
Thud.
This time Rei actually fell over.
After more in-depth explanation, Rei finally allowed Minako to leave the hut. Together they both searched for Ami and Makoto, who were busy finishing a transaction at the town entrance.
“No, no your majesty! This is all free! Please, there is no need to pay!” The small elderly merchant insisted. His weak palm tried to force away Makoto’s strong one, which happened to contain some currency.
“But I can’t just take it from you.” Makoto tried to argue back. “Please, at least let me pay for half of the goods. You would shame me otherwise.” She quickly pointed out when the man tried to open his mouth.
“Is that so…?” He looked down quietly. There was little doubt that he had vision problems based on the way he constantly squinted.
“Yes.”
“She’s right,” Ami pitched in. “It would be rude to refuse someone’s goodwill, especially when they have gone out of their way to offer it.”
“I-I see… I didn’t mean to--”
“It’s all right, no need to apologize,” Makoto assured him. She quickly put the currency into his feeble hand and sped walked away with Ami at her side.
Having just witnessed the scene, Rei called out to the pair. “Ami! Makoto!”
“Oh, hey there!” The taller of the two replied cheerfully. “It’s good to see that you’re feeling better Minako,” Makoto addressed the blonde more formally as she drew nearer to where they stood. “We were worried about you when you weren’t waking up, but Ami said you were going to be fine. So I guess… ahh, never mind. Just forget about it. I’m not so great with words.”
“No, really! Thanks for worrying about me.” Minako gave a quick bow. She also bowed to Ami as well. “And thank you for taking care of me.”
“It wasn’t a problem at all.” Ami smiled. It was nice that her efforts weren’t being rebuffed like with a certain someone.
Catching this thought, Rei quickly pretended to cough. “So, anyway, are we all set to go?”
“Yup.” Jupiter’s ruler chuckled. “And don’t worry... there aren’t any poisonous snakes in THIS jungle.”
As the group began to move out into the jungle portion of the land, Minako had to ask,
“Why? Is Rei afraid of snakes or something?”
“Hm? Oh, well actually when she was a kid…”
“MAKOTO DON’T YOU DARE!” Rei warned. Her eyes were wide and apprehensive. “Besides, back there with that old man… you gave him triple the currency that anyone else would have paid, didn’t you?” She accused.
Makoto caught herself before she made an ‘eep’. “Uhh… well…”
“Oh wow Makoto, really?!” Minako exclaimed. Her attention had been totally diverted, allowing Rei to breathe a sigh of relief. “But why so much...?”
“Well, I don’t really need it...” The taller woman lightly scratched her cheek. “On every planet, currency is what keeps the economy going, right? Since I live in the palace, what am I going to buy? I have shelter, clothes, enough food and water… and there are a lot of people who insist on serving me. It’s a little excessive as it is!” She chuckled, slightly embarrassed. “I just don’t need that much, so… why can’t I give more to my people? They can use it more than I can.”
“Wow…”
“That’s the kind of person Makoto is.” Ami smiled over her shoulder at the two other women. Her blue eyes were dancing happily as Minako continued to look impressed at her new ‘idol’.
For the next while, the group continued on through the vegetation in relative silence. There were a few areas where the plant and bushes become almost too dense to walk through, but with Makoto’s spear and Rei’s sword the group managed to pass through the jungle paths relatively unscathed. Uphill and downhill, everything seemed to go in a predictable pattern. Though it wasn’t as boring as one would expect-- Minako’s sudden bursts of curiosity usually supplied enough entertainment to keep them all amused.
“Hey, what are those?”
“Berries, Minako.” Rei yawned.
“W-H-A-T! Oh! So-so-so they grow on trees?”
“Bushes.” Makoto gently corrected the smaller woman. “Those ones anyway, but yeah, they can grow on trees as well.”
“Can I eat this kind?”
“The yellow ones…? Uhh… I wouldn’t suggest it.”
“Bleh!”
All three friends then thought, ‘too late’.
“Yuuuuuuck!” Minako’s face turned a pretty shade of green. “Those weren’t very good,” She complained.
“Well, Makoto warned you, but you didn’t listen!” Rei jabbed her companion in the side.
“But they smelled good...” The blonde pouted. Her hands moved to massage the ‘injured’ area.
“How stupid are you? That doesn’t mean anything in the wilderness!”
“Well how am I supposed to know? If you were starving and out in the middle of nowhere, anything would look good wouldn’t it?”
“Well, maybe if you listened a little more to what other people say—What?”
Minako had her eyes narrowed in a mischievous way. She was up to something.
“What?” Rei almost demanded.
“Snake.”
“WHERE?” Rei nearly jumped away from the direction where Minako had pointed.
“Nope, that’s not a snake Minako,” Makoto laughed. Rei’s reaction had been priceless. “So I guess you are still scared of snakes?”
“No, I’m not!”
“So Rei IS afraid of snakes,” Minako gave a sly grin. Her blue eyes narrowed at Rei in accusation as if she had discovered the other woman’s greatest weakness.
“G-Get that look off your face! I am not afraid of snakes!”
“Then why did you act that way?”
“There, there Rei. Childhood trauma can do that to a person,” Ami tried to sooth the fiery, indignant soul.
“So what happened exactly? Huh? Huh?” Minako prodded Makoto again. She hadn’t gotten her answer before, and she was now dying of curiosity.
“Oh nothing much…” The taller woman replied in a tired voice. “I think the last time Rei was here, a friend of ours thought it would be funny to pull a trick on her. She hid a fake, rubber snake beside where Rei was sitting and then told her stories about poisonous snakes on Jupiter, what they looked like and etc. You get the idea. So when she pointed the toy out to Rei, Rei freaked! I think the fake snake ended up being burned to a crisp and our friend didn’t exactly go unscathed either! The Princess of Neptune had to tend to our friend’s burns for awhile after that.”
Both Ami and Rei felt their hearts skip a beat; did Makoto let that slip by accident?
“The Princess of Neptune?” Minako gave a confused look. “Was she here too?”
“That’s right.”
Makoto, what are you doing! Rei threw quick glances over to the tall woman. Was she planning on asking Minako about…?
She was.
“Minako, I’m just curious, but have you ever heard of the Planetary Meetings…?” The ruler of Jupiter finally asked.
“Planetary Meetings…? Hmm…No, I can’t say that I have. Why? What are they exactly? Are they some sort of party for grown-ups?”
“So you haven’t heard of them…”
“What?” Minako felt suddenly self-conscious from all the odd stares she was getting from the group. “Umm...Should I know what they are?”
No one said a word for awhile until Makoto suddenly halted in her tracks.
“We’re here.” She informed them.
“This is it?” Rei questioned suspiciously. “But there’s a straight path in right front of you Makoto.”
Why is everyone…ignoring me? Minako wondered to herself. Did I say something wrong? What are these Planetary Meetings anyway?
Makoto brought up her hand and hesitatingly touched the air in front of her. Immediately a purple barrier sprung to life and shocked her hand away, causing her to shrink back from the burn.
“I’m sure.” She grimaced. “T-This is what happened last time. Look.” When she pulled up her arm sleeve, multiple burns marks could be seen trailing all the way down her arm. “When I said I tried just about everything, I meant it.”
Silently, Mercury whipped out her hand held computer and began an area-wide scan. A small beam of light shot out from the top of the device and into the foreign field. Surprisingly, the light passed through the field without any sort of deflection—it was as if there was nothing there at all. In a few more seconds other areas began to light up on Ami’s computer screen. Using her head visor she feverishly typed at the controls in an attempt to locate the barrier’s source. Yet each and every time when she thought she had a lead the trail suddenly died. There was no explanation for it.
“I don’t understand this.” Ami muttered half to herself, half to the group. “The computer is saying that there’s nothing there at all.”
“Well your computer is wrong. Just look at Makoto’s arm!” Rei crossed her arms in a deep frown.
“I know, I know…”
…ping…
The back of Rei’s hair began to stand on end. Where was this bad feeling coming from?
“Mm… Here! Let me try!” The Martian restlessly marched past Ami and Makoto, and threw a punch towards the barrier as hard as she could.
“Rei, don’t!” Makoto and Ami cried out. However, both Goddesses blinked in shock when Rei passed through the shield without any resistance or injury.
“What the…?” Everyone could hear Minako ask. It was an answer they’d all liked to know-even Rei herself was surprised with the result. She had expected to be repelled, much like Makoto.
Bleep, bleep… bleep! Bleep! Bleep! BLEEP!
Ami’s computer screen began lighting up like crazy.
“It’s found something!” Mercury exclaimed. Her head visor gave the exact coordinates of the information to an area right behind Rei. “There’s a power source straight ahead of you Rei. It appears that it is near the storm system. Do you think you can take care of it?” Ami lifted her hand up to the purple barrier and felt the extreme heat begin to blister her delicate skin. If she were to touch it, she would surely be burnt like Makoto. “I-I don’t think Makoto or myself can do anything until this barrier is gone.” She finally admitted.
“Yeah, I can take care of this myself!” Rei nodded confidently. “Just stay there, I’ll be back as soon as I destroy this thing!”
“Rei! Wait up!” Minako tried calling out. She tried to pass through the barrier as well, only to be thrown back to the ground violently.
BOOF!
“Ah!” The blonde had landed on her rear end. Almost immediately she scrambled back onto her feet, indicating that she received minimum injury.
“Are you all right?” Makoto offered out her hand.
“Ow… yeah… B-But why can Rei go through and we can’t?” She complained as she tentatively stood and patted the dust off her garments. “What makes her so special?”
“Or perhaps, we’re too special…” Ami answered her darkly and closed the lid of her computer. Her head visor receded back into a mist of blue as her blue eyes met both of Makoto and Minako’s. “What separates Rei from us is…”
“She’s not a Goddess!” Minako realized. How could she ever forget such a fact?
“It’s been bothering me for awhile now but… Now that I think about it,” Makoto began. “Doesn’t this place look familiar from somewhere?”
Ami nodded gravely.
While farther inside the area, Rei finally encountered the large storm-controlling device. It was sheltered in the form of a temple, but inside of the structure the main machinery lay dormant-- wrongfully dormant. The place was supposed to be alive with the creaking of mechanical gears as in the earlier days.
After some investigation, it didn’t take Rei long to find the source of the problem. There, sitting on the main generator was a strange glowing seal.
Huh? Where did that come from?
Immediately she focused her power into deteriorating its barriers.
“Huh? What do you guys mean? I’ve never seen any place like this before.” The Princess of Venus inquired nervously. The tension around Ami and Makoto was almost as bad as when everyone was ignoring her earlier. They weren’t ignoring her anymore, but this was hardly much better.
“The Planetary Meetings, Minako…” Makoto began slowly. Now that we know that she’s a Goddess… “Was a special gathering for the heirs of the planets. Each year we gathered together, with a different planet hosting the event than the last. It was intended to help build relations among all of us for the future. Did you know that Venus never attended?”
“What?” Minako’s blue eyes widened in surprise.
“Supposedly it was a time of peace.” Jupiter’s ruler continued on with sad eyes. “But even back then, there were still problems. Periods at a time, Gods would go missing. Two planet rulers at a time, yet only one would return to the circle.”
“I don’t understand what you’re getting at. You’re saying… that Gods actually went missing?”
But that can’t be possible! No one can be stronger than a God! She makes it sound like they were kidnapped.
“That’s right, in pairs. And when one of them would reappear, they would have no recollection of what happened while they were missing. No one ever knew what happened to the other God or Goddess. They just seemed to disappear into thin air. Sure, there would be search parties, but usually nothing could be done. So the heir was forced to ascend to the throne.”
“That’s crazy! How could anyone not know?”
“We think we might know.” Ami corrected Minako in a soft voice. “According to a story that Makoto, Rei and myself have heard about from our predecessors, it depicts a strikingly similar situation as to what’s happening now.”
“I-It’s still happening?” Minako squeaked nervously.
Unknown to the group, Rei had weakened half of the seal out back.
Ami took a deep breath as if to steady herself. “In the story fragments, it tells that the Sun King Apollo took pleasure in watching ‘fight to the death matches’. He would randomly choose the leaders of two planets and set them against each other in specially designed arenas. There was one arena per planet.” Ami paused. “It could be against your best friend, or a God against a Goddess. It made no difference to him. He viewed his subjects as mere toys to be abused.”
“How horrible…”
“We all saw it eight years ago.” Makoto hissed through clenched teeth. Her green eyes were swirling with emotion now. Minako could barely squeak out her question when she saw Jupiter’s aura beginning to show.
“…Saw what?”
“This might not just be some ordinary story after all.” The tall woman tried to elaborate calmly. “When these problems began to arise, it was kept a secret from the heirs. None of us were the wiser. Yet back eight years ago, during one of the Planetary Meetings, all of us saw it. In the basement of the palace of Neptune, there was an arena surrounded by walls of blue fire. And in it, we saw Ares murder the current ruler of Neptune!”
FLASH!
RUMBLE!
“What the--!”
As soon as those words left Makoto’s mouth, the seal in the back had been destroyed. Instantly the purple barrier had dissipated, and the ground beneath the three Goddesses feet sprung to life. Where the dirt had been there rose up a decorated, golden platform. The planet itself seemed to roar out- cracks and crevices divided along old trails and trees fell. It was like a miniature earthquake- everything was sent into chaos!
Before Minako could even voice her concerns she felt herself being knocked to the side and out of the way as a wall of blue fire separated her from Ami and Makoto.
“Oof!” The blonde hit the floor and tried to scramble to her feet. “What’s going on---” –Ping-- Ah! That was when a horrifying realization dawned over her.
What I saw back in that wall of fire I knew that I’ve seen those people before! She gasped. It was Ami and Makoto!
Crash!
“RAAAAAAH!”
Swup! Clash! Clash!
Minako barely turned her head when she saw Rei bringing her sword down against the wall of flames. However, it appeared unaffected by the Martian’s blade. Instead the barricade seemed to mock the soldier, hissing and crackling almost evilly.
“Ami! Makoto! Get out of there!” Rei cried at the top of her lungs. There was a mix of fear and anger flickering in her amethyst eyes. “Shit! Shit! SHIT!”She swung down her blade again.
TZING!
“Ami, are you all right?!” Makoto mouthed. She was vaguely aware that they were both surrounded by the inferno. Since that day all those years ago, had the haunting nightmare finally become real? She could already feel thoughts of when she lost her father float back from the deep recesses of her mind. Back when he suddenly disappeared, how she worried for days but he never came back and being thrust onto the throne as the new ruler when she was still a child…
Was it like this? Was this the way he met his end...?
She remembered seeing Ami’s father hospitalized being interrogated. The God had no recollection of his disappearance to answer any of their questions. Why did he have to leave? The time they had spent together, why did it have to end? Her green eyes began to tear up.
“No, this is no time for that!” She viciously shook her head. Î can’t cry now! “Hang on Ami, I’ll get us out!” Makoto immediately summoned her planet’s guardian spear, and began to assault the barrier walls directly across from Rei. Both fighters threw all their power into breaking the wall, but their efforts were proving to be futile.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no!” Minako worried from the side. “I-I need to do something! But what?” That was when she noticed something odd about Ami; the woman was grasping her head in her hands as though she were in pain.
Ami? “Makoto, what’s happening to Ami?”
Makoto had barely caught Minako’s words. “Ami—AH!” She cried out when she felt a piercing force tore through her shoulder. Droplets of blood flew across in front of her face and splattered onto the ground, staining it red. Its color was bright. The pain was real. THIS was real.
Turning on the spot, she saw that the blue-haired woman had drawn her weapon; a gun that moved its aim from her injured shoulder, down in line with her heart. “Ami! What are you doing?” Makoto gasped out. But all Ami did was glare up at the taller girl with dark, clouded eyes. A black mist seemed to have taken residence in them.
Bam!
Makoto narrowly missed the next strike and then the next. As she evaded, she never noticed how deeply her footsteps sunk into the ground as she moved. But Rei did.
The ground?! With suddeninspiration, Rei re-directed her attacks at the base of the fire. If Makoto would just keep moving around, then maybe… please! Let me make it in time!
Clash!
“Ami! Snap out of it!” Makoto pleaded again. She was becoming desperate.
“Makoto, you’re just going to have to take her out!” Rei shouted as she brought her sword down again. Her hands were becoming increasingly bloodied from the recoils of each blow she dealt. It was amazing that she could even spare the strength to ‘chat’; the Martian’s breathing rate was nearing hyperventilation, coming out in short, pained pants that rose with her rising exhaustion. However, her efforts weren’t being wasted. Slowly but surely, the base was beginning to crack.
“You don’t have any other choice!”
Tzing! Tzing! Swup!
Again, pieces of the ground crumbled once more.
Makoto knew what Rei was implying but she couldn’t do it. To knock Ami out would mean striking her down.
I-I can’t hurt her! I--Ah!
Makoto had been distracted long enough for Ami to take advantage of her position. The blue-haired woman had slipped underneath her, kneeling down on one knee with her gun already posed upwards for the finishing blow.
She’s--I can’t move…! Jupiter realized. She saw the trigger being slowly pulled.
“MAKOTO!” Rei and Minako screamed.
Rei’s sword came down again.
C-R-A-S-H!
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The ground shook once more-- cracking and crumbling as the platform folded into itself and broke apart. It was enough to send Mercury off balance and Makoto out of harm’s way, but more importantly the arena wall had suddenly vanished. The entire structure had lost its ability to hold itself together. Stone and debris flew everywhere. To the side, Rei tackled Minako out of the way of flying rock while Makoto braced herself over Ami and shielded her from flying cement pieces.
Rumble… rumble… rumble….shhhhhhhhhhhhhh…
“…Ami?” Makoto carefully asked once she felt the movement stop. From her peripheral vision she could see the dust clouds beginning the settle. She noticed that their other two friends appeared to relatively unhurt.
Thank Goddess. She felt relieved. Dizziness began to assault the tall woman’s mind, but not before she saw the person beneath her slowly open her eyes. They were clear again. A beautiful, clear, azure...
“Makoto?” Ami quickly blinked in disorientation. She glanced to both sides to her and then back up her injured friend. The sight of Makoto’s torn, bleeding shoulder brought her to gasp, “Makoto, what happened?! You’re hurt!”
“It’s nothing…” The taller woman forced a smile, and her eyes softened. She’s okay again. “Everything is fine… if you’re okay… Geh…” Her strong body shuddered with a pained inhale of breathe, just split seconds before her body suddenly collapsed. Even as she fell, Makoto made sure to fall to the side of Ami and spare the woman her weight.
“Makoto!”
“Makoto!” Rei ran to Makoto’s side and flipped the woman onto her back, making a quick assessment of the damage. It didn’t take a genius to say that Makoto needed help and fast! “We’ve got to get out of here and treat her injuries right away!”
Minako could only watch as the scene played out in front of her as she re-thought what she had just learned minutes before accident.
Gods fighting Gods…? Arenas, meetings, stories, what part of it is real? I don’t understand any of this… She narrowed her eyes and felt a dull pain within her chest.
“Minako! Can you help us?” Rei called to her, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“Ah! Yes, I’m coming! What should I do?”
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