-5-
Usagi was on the same hill, or if not the same at least
very similar. Yet instead of the dawn, this time it was deep in the night. The
full moon shone down upon the land, its only illumination. Yet the moonlight was bright enough to see
everything. Usagi looked around her, but saw no one. Disappointed, but unable
to articulate to herself why, Usagi walked down the hillside. It soon became clear that, once again, she was at a
battle site, though this time it was in its aftermath. The bodies of the fallen, grotesquely twisted in death, were
nearly everywhere. It was obvious that fires once burned, but now not even smoke arose from the ashes of destroyed
buildings and trees, which were everywhere. Tokyo, if that was what it was, lay in ruins beyond ruin. No building was left standing beyond its exposed frames, and even those were cracked and soon to fall. Streets were crumbled into dust, the sewers beneath them mangled and filled with dried mud and filth. Debris was everywhere.
Choking with horror, Usagi searched for the meaning of the
things she was seeing. There had to be something beyond this destruction, something specific that Pluto wished for her
to see. But all was silent and still in this apocalyptic landscape. But wait,
no, there were voices, quiet sobs of a grief so great that no tears could ever expunge them. Usagi, walking quickly
towards the voices, soon came upon a scene of death and loss.
Two cats, one black and the other white, attended a woman
who was flat on her back underneath the full moon, raised up above the ground on a cairn built of fallen rubble. She
held something in her right hand, but it was hidden in the shadows of the cairn. She was calm, incredibly so for
someone in the middle of all this destruction, but there was also great sadness in her, sadness that came through with her voice.
"And the others?" she asked.
"Scattered," said the black cat, a golden
crescent shining on her brow. "We were able to save some, but it wasn't possible to hold them
together. I'm . . . sorry."
"No, I'm sorry, Luna," said the
woman. "Most of my allies lost in this silent world, my friends dead, my husband dead, and my son . . .
." And here the woman's face contorted in agony. The black cat placed
her head against the woman, obviously trying to comfort her. It succeeded, somewhat, as the woman slowly composed
herself.
The white cat, who had been the source of those quiet sobs
that had guided Usagi here, said, "What now?"
"I think you know," said the woman. "And I'm sorry. But my . . . the enemy will return and so must we. And so must everyone who has fallen. The world needs them."
The woman looked away from her friends. Her head, lolling slightly, turned until she stared at Usagi, their eyes meeting. Usagi,
frozen, could only watch as the woman smiled sweetly. "The future needs them."
"Please don't," said the black cat, as the
woman turned back to them. "Please. You'll die."
"And I'll be back.
I always come back," said the woman, still smiling. "But I won't remember. That's why you two will have to stay, to help me remember. Only this time, don't
forget what I look like."
"We won't," said the white cat. "We'll never forget."
"I know, I'm just teasing. I hope that I can do that the next time round." She raised her hand, bringing up a
staff topped with a crescent moon. Inside the curve of the crescent there was a great crystal, one with infinite facets
and a light of its own. It was a great struggle for her to bring up her arm, but she did it, if slowly. Tears ran down her face now and her voice cracked with pain and grief. "Oh, oh, I
wish I'd done a better job. I wish I'd been better."
"Please don't say that, Usagi-chan," said the
black cat. "You did everything right. Everything."
The woman looked down at the black cat and smiled, even
through her tears. "Thank you, Luna. Artemis." Then, she whispered, "Ginzuisho."
The light from the crystal pulsed, and the moonlight
brightened, blazing like the sun and covering the world, before dying. The cats rose into the air and they curled up,
just as they were enveloped by two clear capsules. The light of the crystal shone like a beacon in the suddenly
moonless night. Yet there were other lights as well, first one, then a hundred, then in uncountable millions and
billions, covering the night sky and swirling around the crystal's beacon like a galaxy. From out of the
coruscating light there came ten lights, all in different colors. They danced around the fallen woman, with a golden
light in particular staying close. The woman smiled and slowly dropped her arm, the light from the crystal fading away
even as the lights in the sky did the same.
Usagi went away from the world without a sound.
-6-
Finding herself once again before Pluto, Usagi broke down
in tears. Hugging her tightly, Pluto let her cry herself dry within her arms, comforting her as she could. Finally, Usagi dried her eyes and said, "That was just awful."
Pluto simply nodded, her own eyes bruised with unshed
tears.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Usagi calmed
herself. Weeping and mourning had its place, but now she had to take the situation as it was and face it as calmly as
she could. "What now?"
"Now I make an explanation, of a sort, and a
request," said Pluto. "The explanation is this: with the help of an old friend, I was able to show you things
of the past to teach you something. What you learned, of course, depends on you."
"They were endings," said Usagi. "And . . . beginnings."
"As you will," said Pluto, smiling now with
pride. "In any case, by showing you and teaching you, I am hoping that you will be as forewarned as I can make
you. "
"All . . . right," said Usagi, puzzled but
willing to let her continue without interruption.
Pluto bit her lip, unsure of how to continue. "I am not omniscient."
"I know," replied Usagi simply.
"The Lands of the First Darkness, from which all of
Space and Time are as one, can see nearly everything. But just nearly. There
are places where death cannot take hold, and there are places where it has been shrouded even against the sight of one who can stand where I stand. Such a time and place is coming, and it is changing everything. I am able to see the
precursor waves of its coming, and so see the outlines of its nature."
"Huh?"
Pluto blew a bang out from her eyes and tried
again. "I know what I know, but what I don't know I don't know.
But I'm getting a sort of hint of what it is I don't know."
"Oh, okay."
"But these hints are very, very vague. And I am unable to say how it is I know some of these things, beyond induction, hope and intuition." Pluto gestured with her staff, and a large cloth screen appeared from the mist. A light
shone on it, showing a blurry picture that progressively became sharper, resolving into a picture of Usagi's mother, standing on a pedestal and holding a
torch aloft.
"Slide!" yelled Pluto, the picture now changing
into a picture of Crystal Tokyo, the many spires of the Crystal Palace rising up from the plains of Kanto underneath a clear blue sky. "The present, the year 3004 by the calendar of the Common Era.
"Slide!"
The picture changed again, showing a painting of Crystal Tokyo, only instead of blue skies it was dark, with streaks of blood red. The Crystal Palace itself was shattered, with many floating rocks hover over it.
Underneath the picture was a caption reading 'artist's interpretation.' "Crystal Tokyo, the year 3004
after nearly a decade of rule and ruin underneath the Death Phantom."
"Slide!"
Here there was a picture of the Earth, only it was broken apart into different pieces, like a jigsaw puzzle. "The
year 3003."
"That's . . . huh," said Usagi, suddenly
understanding. "Whatever is coming is breaking apart, what, causality?"
Fierce pride once again shone through Pluto's face,
though she smoothed it down quickly. "Yes. That was how I knew that
whatever is coming, is coming. It is as if there is a flaw in the structure of the universe, one that is breaking it
apart. Indeed, it is already doing so. Where and when those breakages come, I
cannot predict.
"And this, to me, shows there is a mind at work
here. An old and subtle mind."
Usagi nodded, "And stopping this is, what, up to
me?"
"Yes," said Pluto. "You have anticipated my request."
"All by myself?" said Usagi, her voice climbing
incredulously.
Pluto shrugged.
"Without my help, without the help of your parents and your guardians, yes. Others, perhaps, but as to who
I cannot say."
"You are kidding,"
"No," said Pluto, sadly.
Usagi stayed silent, her thoughts too jumbled and dark and
strange to be truly called thoughts. Finally, she burst out, "But I've got homework!"
Pluto stared at her in disbelief.
"And, and, and I haven't had a good night's
sleep in ages."
Pluto smiled gently at her once more. "You must be brave and strong, Small Lady, as I know that you are." She
paused. "Even in the face of missed schoolwork and lack of sleep."
Usagi sighed deeply.
A part of her had to admit that it was greatly attracted to this, this quest, as Honored Ancestor Ranma the Cutie put it. She hadn't had an adventure in so long, burying herself in school, with interruptions for state events. Her time as a heroine seemed so long ago. Boring was boring, even in utopia.
Yet so many fears and insecurities gripped her, filling her
with questions. Could she do it again? Wasn't this, really, a job for her
guardians? Shouldn't Mother and Father know about this end of the world business?
And, honestly, what about her homework?
Finally, she said, "Oh, all right. I'll do it."
Pluto nodded.
"Good, I knew that you would. Slide!"
The picture changed, this time showing an irregular rock in
space, lights crisscrossing its surface. "Nemesis, the rogue planet. This
is where you must go next on your journey. Where on Nemesis you must go, where you will go afterwards, what you will
learn, all mysteries."
"When?"
"Immediately." And with that, the dream ended.
Usagi was on the same hill, or if not the same at least
very similar. Yet instead of the dawn, this time it was deep in the night. The
full moon shone down upon the land, its only illumination. Yet the moonlight was bright enough to see
everything. Usagi looked around her, but saw no one. Disappointed, but unable
to articulate to herself why, Usagi walked down the hillside. It soon became clear that, once again, she was at a
battle site, though this time it was in its aftermath. The bodies of the fallen, grotesquely twisted in death, were
nearly everywhere. It was obvious that fires once burned, but now not even smoke arose from the ashes of destroyed
buildings and trees, which were everywhere. Tokyo, if that was what it was, lay in ruins beyond ruin. No building was left standing beyond its exposed frames, and even those were cracked and soon to fall. Streets were crumbled into dust, the sewers beneath them mangled and filled with dried mud and filth. Debris was everywhere.
Choking with horror, Usagi searched for the meaning of the
things she was seeing. There had to be something beyond this destruction, something specific that Pluto wished for her
to see. But all was silent and still in this apocalyptic landscape. But wait,
no, there were voices, quiet sobs of a grief so great that no tears could ever expunge them. Usagi, walking quickly
towards the voices, soon came upon a scene of death and loss.
Two cats, one black and the other white, attended a woman
who was flat on her back underneath the full moon, raised up above the ground on a cairn built of fallen rubble. She
held something in her right hand, but it was hidden in the shadows of the cairn. She was calm, incredibly so for
someone in the middle of all this destruction, but there was also great sadness in her, sadness that came through with her voice.
"And the others?" she asked.
"Scattered," said the black cat, a golden
crescent shining on her brow. "We were able to save some, but it wasn't possible to hold them
together. I'm . . . sorry."
"No, I'm sorry, Luna," said the
woman. "Most of my allies lost in this silent world, my friends dead, my husband dead, and my son . . .
." And here the woman's face contorted in agony. The black cat placed
her head against the woman, obviously trying to comfort her. It succeeded, somewhat, as the woman slowly composed
herself.
The white cat, who had been the source of those quiet sobs
that had guided Usagi here, said, "What now?"
"I think you know," said the woman. "And I'm sorry. But my . . . the enemy will return and so must we. And so must everyone who has fallen. The world needs them."
The woman looked away from her friends. Her head, lolling slightly, turned until she stared at Usagi, their eyes meeting. Usagi,
frozen, could only watch as the woman smiled sweetly. "The future needs them."
"Please don't," said the black cat, as the
woman turned back to them. "Please. You'll die."
"And I'll be back.
I always come back," said the woman, still smiling. "But I won't remember. That's why you two will have to stay, to help me remember. Only this time, don't
forget what I look like."
"We won't," said the white cat. "We'll never forget."
"I know, I'm just teasing. I hope that I can do that the next time round." She raised her hand, bringing up a
staff topped with a crescent moon. Inside the curve of the crescent there was a great crystal, one with infinite facets
and a light of its own. It was a great struggle for her to bring up her arm, but she did it, if slowly. Tears ran down her face now and her voice cracked with pain and grief. "Oh, oh, I
wish I'd done a better job. I wish I'd been better."
"Please don't say that, Usagi-chan," said the
black cat. "You did everything right. Everything."
The woman looked down at the black cat and smiled, even
through her tears. "Thank you, Luna. Artemis." Then, she whispered, "Ginzuisho."
The light from the crystal pulsed, and the moonlight
brightened, blazing like the sun and covering the world, before dying. The cats rose into the air and they curled up,
just as they were enveloped by two clear capsules. The light of the crystal shone like a beacon in the suddenly
moonless night. Yet there were other lights as well, first one, then a hundred, then in uncountable millions and
billions, covering the night sky and swirling around the crystal's beacon like a galaxy. From out of the
coruscating light there came ten lights, all in different colors. They danced around the fallen woman, with a golden
light in particular staying close. The woman smiled and slowly dropped her arm, the light from the crystal fading away
even as the lights in the sky did the same.
Usagi went away from the world without a sound.
-6-
Finding herself once again before Pluto, Usagi broke down
in tears. Hugging her tightly, Pluto let her cry herself dry within her arms, comforting her as she could. Finally, Usagi dried her eyes and said, "That was just awful."
Pluto simply nodded, her own eyes bruised with unshed
tears.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Usagi calmed
herself. Weeping and mourning had its place, but now she had to take the situation as it was and face it as calmly as
she could. "What now?"
"Now I make an explanation, of a sort, and a
request," said Pluto. "The explanation is this: with the help of an old friend, I was able to show you things
of the past to teach you something. What you learned, of course, depends on you."
"They were endings," said Usagi. "And . . . beginnings."
"As you will," said Pluto, smiling now with
pride. "In any case, by showing you and teaching you, I am hoping that you will be as forewarned as I can make
you. "
"All . . . right," said Usagi, puzzled but
willing to let her continue without interruption.
Pluto bit her lip, unsure of how to continue. "I am not omniscient."
"I know," replied Usagi simply.
"The Lands of the First Darkness, from which all of
Space and Time are as one, can see nearly everything. But just nearly. There
are places where death cannot take hold, and there are places where it has been shrouded even against the sight of one who can stand where I stand. Such a time and place is coming, and it is changing everything. I am able to see the
precursor waves of its coming, and so see the outlines of its nature."
"Huh?"
Pluto blew a bang out from her eyes and tried
again. "I know what I know, but what I don't know I don't know.
But I'm getting a sort of hint of what it is I don't know."
"Oh, okay."
"But these hints are very, very vague. And I am unable to say how it is I know some of these things, beyond induction, hope and intuition." Pluto gestured with her staff, and a large cloth screen appeared from the mist. A light
shone on it, showing a blurry picture that progressively became sharper, resolving into a picture of Usagi's mother, standing on a pedestal and holding a
torch aloft.
"Slide!" yelled Pluto, the picture now changing
into a picture of Crystal Tokyo, the many spires of the Crystal Palace rising up from the plains of Kanto underneath a clear blue sky. "The present, the year 3004 by the calendar of the Common Era.
"Slide!"
The picture changed again, showing a painting of Crystal Tokyo, only instead of blue skies it was dark, with streaks of blood red. The Crystal Palace itself was shattered, with many floating rocks hover over it.
Underneath the picture was a caption reading 'artist's interpretation.' "Crystal Tokyo, the year 3004
after nearly a decade of rule and ruin underneath the Death Phantom."
"Slide!"
Here there was a picture of the Earth, only it was broken apart into different pieces, like a jigsaw puzzle. "The
year 3003."
"That's . . . huh," said Usagi, suddenly
understanding. "Whatever is coming is breaking apart, what, causality?"
Fierce pride once again shone through Pluto's face,
though she smoothed it down quickly. "Yes. That was how I knew that
whatever is coming, is coming. It is as if there is a flaw in the structure of the universe, one that is breaking it
apart. Indeed, it is already doing so. Where and when those breakages come, I
cannot predict.
"And this, to me, shows there is a mind at work
here. An old and subtle mind."
Usagi nodded, "And stopping this is, what, up to
me?"
"Yes," said Pluto. "You have anticipated my request."
"All by myself?" said Usagi, her voice climbing
incredulously.
Pluto shrugged.
"Without my help, without the help of your parents and your guardians, yes. Others, perhaps, but as to who
I cannot say."
"You are kidding,"
"No," said Pluto, sadly.
Usagi stayed silent, her thoughts too jumbled and dark and
strange to be truly called thoughts. Finally, she burst out, "But I've got homework!"
Pluto stared at her in disbelief.
"And, and, and I haven't had a good night's
sleep in ages."
Pluto smiled gently at her once more. "You must be brave and strong, Small Lady, as I know that you are." She
paused. "Even in the face of missed schoolwork and lack of sleep."
Usagi sighed deeply.
A part of her had to admit that it was greatly attracted to this, this quest, as Honored Ancestor Ranma the Cutie put it. She hadn't had an adventure in so long, burying herself in school, with interruptions for state events. Her time as a heroine seemed so long ago. Boring was boring, even in utopia.
Yet so many fears and insecurities gripped her, filling her
with questions. Could she do it again? Wasn't this, really, a job for her
guardians? Shouldn't Mother and Father know about this end of the world business?
And, honestly, what about her homework?
Finally, she said, "Oh, all right. I'll do it."
Pluto nodded.
"Good, I knew that you would. Slide!"
The picture changed, this time showing an irregular rock in
space, lights crisscrossing its surface. "Nemesis, the rogue planet. This
is where you must go next on your journey. Where on Nemesis you must go, where you will go afterwards, what you will
learn, all mysteries."
"When?"
"Immediately." And with that, the dream ended.