The Second Meditation Part Final | High Score Scramble Part 1
Lunaryon
Dual Aurora Wave
- Pronouns
- She/Her
This rendition of Ai! Laurië Lantar, written by J.R.R. Tolkien and attributed to the Lady Galadriel, sung in real life by (I gather) Signe Asmussen, is not 'recommended listening' as such for this update. Nothing about it is directly applicable. However, it was used as mood music while writing. While Ms. Asmussen is a mere mortal, it nevertheless served admirably to provide the general background sense of beautiful ethereal incomprehensible singing, as I (unsurprisingly) do not speak Quenya
For those among the audience who are, likewise, not fluent in Quenya… It might, conceivably, also serve reasonably well as mood music for you, if you like.
For those among the audience who are, likewise, not fluent in Quenya… It might, conceivably, also serve reasonably well as mood music for you, if you like.
And then you hear a faint grating sound of one loose stone shifting slightly atop another.
A beautiful woman with dark curly hair, richly tanned skin, and dark, expressive eyes steps out from behind a half-ruined wall. Her clothes are unfamiliar. Rather than wearing robes, trousers, or a skirt, she's dressed from shoulder to ankle in a few big probably-rectangular sheets. They're wrapped around her to provide very full, modest coverage and pinned together into place with jeweled brooches.
She's overdressed for the June seaside warmth, wearing a long cloak and a veil along with everything else. She looks at you through the veil's translucent cloth, and it utterly fails to hide the intensity of Her focus and attention. You feel as though to Her, in that moment, all the universe contains only you. You have never felt so much pure, concentrated attention from any one person. Or any hundred people. Then the moment passes. Her eyebrows rise slightly and her hand flies to her mouth. She dips slightly in a strange form of curtsey, then straightens. You sense that she isn't quite sure what to do either. Then she smiles and says, in halting, thickly accented High Lunar, 「Samothraceward jumpy-waves... Unto... Samothrace helloses?」
You stare at her blankly, feeling your shadowy not-quite-here self bob up and down by a millimeter or two on some unseen wind of magic. If she walked up to you through the woods, she's managed to do so without mussing her clean, freshly made-up looks…
「Uh, I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're trying to say.」
The woman's hand flies to her mouth. A mortified expression crosses her face… a strangely charming mortified expression. She looks at you, a hint of a blush coloring her cheeks as she takes her hand away from her mouth and takes a deep breath.
DC 21 (Fully Undo Awkward First Impression) + 4 (Aforesaid Foolish First Impression) - 2 (Usagi Empathic) - 2 (Usagi Forgiving) + 15 7 (It's Linear B to Me Goddess of Pantomime) = 28
??? Diplomacy: d10 + 45 + 5 (Sacred Song) + 5 (Divine Object) + 5 (Hymn of Propitiation and Supplication) = 68
??? FIVEFOLD SUCCESS!
??? Diplomacy: d10 + 45 + 5 (Sacred Song) + 5 (Divine Object) + 5 (Hymn of Propitiation and Supplication) = 68
??? FIVEFOLD SUCCESS!
And.
And.
This. This. This is amazing, this is… you haven't got the words for what it's like to just hear Her. Her song is so beautiful, even though you don't understand a word of it. She begins to dance, too, and Her movements are so graceful you almost start to weep.
Is this love? You have to ask, you can't not ask, not in your innocence. And somehow you know, surely, that this isn't love. No, even though it floods your heart and drives out almost every other thought in your mind. It's just… it's just…
This feeling isn't love. It's just so beautiful.
You're not… really helpless. There are definitely things you wouldn't do for Her, even if She asked nicely. You're… having real trouble concentrating on what they are, though, as you float on the sound of Her voice. Those are not pleasant thoughts. Those are worries and She obviously doesn't want you to worry. The song itself is so much warmer and nicer and prettier to think of.
And somehow, through Her song, through the sheer expressiveness of Her slightest gestures, you begin to get an idea. First, you realize that this, all this, this isn't some masterpiece product of a legendary composer. This isn't a planned performance. This is something She made up, just now, just for you. Your song, perhaps never to be sung again. Dedicated to you and you alone, about how She feels about you right now, in this moment.
<Spirit of the Moon, I come to you with light and cordial heart, to greet you with honor and courtesy.>
The impossible song flows on and on, washing through your heart and leaving you in perfect peace and joy. But then it plucks in your heart a few unhappy notes, and you remember… embarrassments…
You remember that there have been times when you felt so stupid, when people laughed at the silly false notes, the late arrivals, the times you used to fall on your face doing the simplest things. Normally all that schoolroom humiliation would be torture to remember, but She takes away even that pain in that instant. You see the feeling, embarrassment itself, as if stretched out before you in the diagram woven of Her voice and Her dance. An emotion frozen in amber, the pure expression of… Her heart…
How could She ever have anything to be ashamed of? You can't imagine such a thing… not now, not amid this…
<I have greeted you foolishly, making discordant nonsense of the graceful tongue that lived in the days before gods and men.>
Oh. Oh. She… She feels ashamed because she said 'hello' wrong? Because she has trouble with High Lunar? She shouldn't have to feel that way. Nobody should, but especially not Her. Not when… not when She can do this, you think to yourself as words you've never heard before and cannot understand wrap around your heart.
She spins and the last hints that anything in the world matter apart from you and Her fade into the background
<I would speak to you in the language of your choosing, cherished Sister.>
She reaches out her hands to you, imploring.
You stammer your yes.
And She. And She.
She gestures to you- grandly, but courteously- and She spreads the world at your feet.
The memories of a beautiful blue marble seen from above flood your mind.
You blink, shivering as you come halfway out from your daze, and realize that there really is a map of the world on the ground in front of you, made out of light and magic. It… looks surprisingly like the one from social studies, only without the labels.
Such homely memories fade from you as She begins another verse. Her hands weave expressively, conveying caring, familiarity… uncertainty, searching. And again, you can tell exactly what she means.
<Pray tell, where is your home, honored one?>
Floating on the joy of the music, you smile dreamily and point to Japan.
And She sings another verse, and it is kind and grateful and warm and you know it's the last verse of this song and somehow that doesn't make you cry. You're perfectly sure by now that She could ruin all other music for you forever if She wanted to, but She doesn't want to and you're sure She would never…
<Thank you, oh Spirit of the Moon.>
…
...
...
...
There's nothing. There's nothingness where the impossibly beautiful song was.
If you were really comparing what you hear now to the memory of her voice, fairly, then there's nothing left to listen to except nasty saw-edged foul noise. Nothing that compares. Only leaves in the wind, and waves on the ocean, and birds pretending to do something like 'singing' and failing. It should hurt so much. It should hurt worse than having your side torn open by claws. Maybe even worse than having your arm shot through with the terrible power of a world's death. Your heart should be about to burst. You should be screaming and crying and begging her for another verse.
But it doesn't hurt, not even a little. Birds still sound pretty. Even though you're beginning to think that you'll remember this song in your dreams for the rest of your life, you don't want to beg her for an encore.
Not that you'd… mind… or anything… if she sang to you again.
The goddess nods to herself slowly, seeing where your hand still points to Japan on the map of the world. She smiles gently, and says something else in the totally incomprehensible language of the song. She closes her eyes, touches her hands palm to palm, takes a deep breath, and exhales sharply.
The world shudders. You feel yourself shudder. The shimmering not-shadow you occupy wobbles at the edges, feeling a force of magic not your own.
When she speaks again, you hear clear Japanese, out of synchrony with her lips.
"There. Is that better?"
"You… wait… that was… you sing so… so…" You trail off, weakly. You're not feeling very princessly at all, not after that.
Besides, there really aren't words.
Her smile brightens a little further. "Why, thank you! I've been practicing for a long time."
"Uh. Um. Er. Is there… something you'd like? Can I…?"
"I just wanted to apologize. It's… I was right, you actually do speak the ancient tongue of the planets, and I was… getting it all wrong." She slumps, embarrassed, and it almost breaks your heart then and there. "Forgive me, please?"
"Of course!"
"Oh! Thank you!"
"Was… was that all?" Part of you… really wishes you had a giant monster to beat up for her. Or… something. Anything, really. Anything at all.
She blinks. "Oh, how rude of me… I haven't even told you my name!"
Does she truly need a name? Who could she be mistaken for? She already has that… song…
"Your… name…? Oh! And I'm Sailor Moon, by the way!"
That just pops out, unprompted, from the whirls in your mind. You realize that you must be sounding very silly. But she gives absolutely no sign of noticing. Either that… or she gets this a lot. You imagine that she… she might get this a lot.
She nods slowly. "I'm Polyhymnia, spirit of sacred devotional music. One of the nine Muses. You may have heard of me?"
"Uh… I'm… I'm sorry…" This feels like forgetting the name of every celebrity ever and meeting them all at once.
But then she smiles at you again, so kindly, and you forget that embarrassment, too.
"Well, if you spend most of your time in Japan, I suppose it stands to reason. I'm from around here, after all"
"Uh. Where is… here?"
"Oh, Samothrace!"
You look blank.
"It's an island in the northern Aegean Sea."
'Aegean' rings a bell. But the last serious geography unit on oceans was… before you were really paying attention in school. You'd remember, if only-
"Off the coast of Greece."
"Ohhh. Now I feel silly…" You let out an unhappy huff, and once again her smile melts everything else and chases the feeling away.
"That's all right. It's very exciting to meet a new moon goddess! It's okay if some things are new to you."
She's calling you a goddess? You're not even feeling princessly, let alone… divine… But she carries on, warm and happy.
"Well, like I was trying to say, welcome to Samothrace. Urania felt it as you were about to arrive, and it was easy enough to slip to the old sacred stone up on the mountain. She wanted to come too, but... Well, she had something of a swoon at the last second." She shakes her head. "Couldn't make it."
What?. "She fainted? But I'm not famous... Well." You pause. "Not that kind of famous."
Do you have... fans... like that? And some of them are spirits? Powerful ones? Ones like her?
"Urania's a bit unusual that way. And she is goddess of astronomy. Things that aren't a million leagues away and carefully following an equation make her nervous sometimes. But she's been very excited lately, though she says she isn't sure what's going on. Now that I've met you, I think I understand." She nods thoughtfully, her expression so gentle- and curious! "You're not like the other moon goddesses, are you? You're more like Kóre."
"The other… goddesses?" You look down at yourself, feeling flustered again. "I'm… I'm really not…"
"That's okay. I've picked up a few things over the centuries, and some things you can just tell. We can talk about whether you're a goddess again in a few hundred years, if you like." She winks at you, like she's sharing some kind of a secret with you and it's sort of thrilling… "Is there anything you'd like to know? I suppose this place must seem strange."
You take a deep breath, then a second, then a third for good measure. You're finally sort of getting your composure back.
"What is this place? Do you know who put these statues here? They seem… familiar." You look to the statue of Serenity, and she follows your gaze.
"The natural question." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, centering herself. "Kóre's obviously one of the Firstborn, even if she's different. If you're like her, on top of what Urania said… I'm guessing you probably already know part of the story. About the high times before the world's peoples, and most of its… surviving gods."
"The Silver Millennium." You nod.
"So that was the true name. Some of the Firstborn used other names. Well, it ended- that was thousands of years before I was born. But after the end, there was a terrible time of famine, chaos, demons- not even the fun kind- and broken magic. Only a very few survived, anywhere on Earth, and most of them were in no condition to make fine arts or record the history of what had come before. There were very few exceptions- but one was our mother."
"Was her favorite name Pandora?"
"You- know?" Her hand flies to her mouth once again.
"If this is about her… I wish I knew more." You smile at the goddess, and she lowers her hand, smiling back.
"Of course. Of… of course. Well, if you know the name, you probably know a lot else besides. It was a while after the very worst times. The Egyptians were building their pyramids by then, and the land between the rivers had its brick cities, and I think it reminded the Firstborn of… well, something that was missing. And then- well, the war in India reminded them that there was still more to lose. Mother got very interested in rebuilding and re-creation, culture and art… and I guess that's why we were born." Polyhymnia shrugs charmingly. "And a little after that, she created a race of craftsmen. I remember their first generation well, though they never wanted to play with me. Proud, hardworking, eager to create and to hold the best things that could be. Me and my sisters- the nine of us- were just little girls then, and we stayed with Mother a lot, though sometimes we'd go with one of the older gods. Now, the first project she gave them, as they grew up, was to practice making sturdy buildings and recover some of the more durable arts. They've had a number of names in different places-" She pauses and you feel a flicker, as though she's testing her own translation magic- "You may have heard of them as… dwarves?"
"I've met dwarves." You nod eagerly. "They made buildings for Pandora?"
"Plenty of buildings, mostly not for her, and mostly on the mainland. But then she brought them out here. Their first generation's first really serious work was to make this shrine, and these statues. For the lost goddesses of the- Silver Millennium, you called it."
Many feelings stir in you, and you suddenly realize that this is as much of a memorial as what you raised in the gardens of the Moon. That Pandora, thousands of years ago, created an entire species… surely not only to make this place?
And that now the memorial stands alone and empty, in ruins.
Polyhymnia looks around sadly, and your heart skips a beat from your surge of compassion for her. "We should have maintained the place better than this, even with how long it's been." She closes her eyes and shakes her head. "But the Firstborn were always the ones who looked after it the most. I remember the thumping Ishtar gave Heracles when he accidentally knocked a pillar over. Poor fellow was bedridden for nearly a month. Walked with a limp for longer. When the Firstborn stopped coming around, most of us… gave up, I suppose."
Ishtar. That rings a bell, oddly, indirectly. "Hm. Did Ishtar have any… other names?"
"Well, of course! Everyone collects them sooner or later. You take a century or two to get properly settled in on one side of a mountain range, and the next thing you know they're pronouncing you differently on the other side of it." She shrugs again and you giggle before you even realize you're doing it. "After a while, most of us decide that spending the next three thousand years correcting people on your name is more trouble than it's worth. I'm lucky; Greek hasn't drifted as much over the years. But Ishtar… well, let's see. She had any number of names in one place or another; even I could never keep track of all of them perfectly. And some of them went out of style before I was born. But… off the top of my head, Ishtar, Inanna, just plain 'Queen of Heaven,' Astarte, Ninsianna but there's a long story there, Dali… she was as happy to go by Baltis as anything else, the last time I saw her. She was very tired by then. Not like when I was little, back when prying Athena and Artemis away from her took an avalanche or something. And that last time was nearly fifteen hundred years ago; I haven't seen her since then..." She shakes her head.
Now the bell is ringing harder for you.
"Did she have some sort of special armor?"
Polyhymnia's eyes widen and for a moment She regards you with that total, absolute capacity for focus that you remember from before.
"Why, goodness me, how did you know about that? I wouldn't have guessed you were over a hundred… Shows what I know. It's all right, but I'd like to know, if you don't mind?
Her smile returns, calming and smoothing everything. Everything's all right. So of course you can tell her. You nod and smile back. "I found one of the pieces of that armor, I think, if we're talking about the same person. There were… clues. She may be coming back."
"Ishtar?"
"I think so."
"You… you think she might be coming back? We always assumed she was one of the vanished." Polyhymnia looks genuinely excited, and you thrill to be able to tell her even a hint of good news.
"It's complicated."
"Oh! Well!" Polyhymnia looks around. "In that case we should definitely start sprucing the place up. Ah… yes. Yes we had better. I will… I will see who I can whistle up." She gulps. "Definitely. Thank you."
"So. About the shrine statues. Can I ask a question?" You hope she doesn't notice you shuffling your foot a little.
"Oh, of course!"
"Why is that one… um… different?" You point to the statue of Iúpatar.
"Oh? Well, Mother said that's Iúpatar. And… that statue's about fifteen hundred years younger, for starters. It was… some time after Mother died. Dionysus the Liberator- he was one of the Firstborn too- had always been especially sentimental about her memory." Polyhymnia leans closer to you, whispering conspiratorially. "I think they might have been lovers, once… Anyway, Dionysus was particularly involved, especially around the edges, in Greece twenty-five hundred years ago or so, and after a while he managed to find a particularly good sculptor, so he had that one commissioned. He always did used to complain that the old one wasn't as lifelike as it should be. I… hmm, I used to remember where he took the old one. I could probably remember if I thought about it for a while. I'm sure he made sure it'd be treated with respect, though. Dionysus would never have let anything of hers be mishandled. It's why he never got along with Zeus."
You blink hard… looking closely at that sculpture again. Very closely. The curve of that arm, somehow, is just… distracting.
"Who was the sculptor…?"
She walks a little closer to Iúpatar's statue, turning to speak over her shoulder. "Hm… wait, you must have done the cleaning just now, didn't you? Thank you! Let me see, it's Puh-something… On the tip of my tongue but the man would never have done this without an inscription… here, at the base." She leans over a little, peering at the plinth the statue rests upon. "Ah! Praxiteles of Athens! Oh, of course it was him! Anyway, that's all there is to it. Thank you again for coming here and cleaning things up a little. And, ah, mentioning about Ishtar."
That beautiful smile carries a certain strain for a moment, and you feel bad for worrying her in spite of what she says. It sounds like Ishtar could be… scary. "I think it'll be all right."
"Well, if she's not one of the vanished, somehow, then I for one would love to know how she escaped it… I think, yes, if we can get this place cleaned up before she gets back, it should be all right. Which, hm. Sailor Moon? If you come back here, well, it's so close to the old sites that I'm pretty sure Urania will notice again. My other sisters- we try to keep busy, aside from Urania herself fainting of course, but I'm sure they'd love to meet you if they can!" She beams. "Oh! Since you warned me about something, I should warn you too."
"...Yes?"
"Well, you're a different kind of moon goddess… I don't mean to be rude, forgive me-"
"Of course!"
"I don't think you even absorb magic… but I don't think… do you mind if I look at you closely?"
It never crosses your mind to say 'no.'
"Go ahead!"
And she looks at you and then She looks at you more closely and the world is nothing but you and Her again as something in Her nature lets Her pay you total attention, more than total, something so comprehensive and rapt that 'attention' barely begins to describe it. There's a quiet thrum of magic in the air between you, and then She begins. Polyhymnia's spell is only a few bars of Her song, short enough that you only partly lose yourself in the perfection of it before the moment passes again. And then she nods slowly, tapping her chin in thought.
"Mhm… At first I thought you were getting your magic from the Moon, but I think it's more of a case of… through the Moon. There's something else behind your, ah, moon aspect."
Your eyes widen. "Should I be worried?"
"I don't think so. I've never seen anything like it before. Something very strange… and very powerful. Fantastically complicated. Barely caught a glimpse. Though for all I know maybe Kóre's the same way; she… well, has her ways, even when you use your attribute around her. Besides, I don't know what's gotten into Clio these past, well, most of our lives really… But I don't plan on finding out. It doesn't seem to be bad for her, but I wouldn't want it to be contagious." She shrugs, tilting her head wryly. "Anyway, that warning. I don't know if you've actually gone to the moon yet…?"
"...Uh, yes. Yes, I have. Why?"
She nods. "Yes. Well, Urania used to keep pestering Artemis to take her up there."
You recognize the name of the Greek goddess of the moon- mostly because it's kind of close to the name of the white Mau you left behind at the Crystal Millennium building, who's probably still sifting through school documents or something even now.
Last week Ami asked Artemis about the similar names, and Minako joked about it, both poking at the coincidence in their own ways. But… now that you hear Polyhymnia pronounce the name of her fellow goddess in her own language, you realize that
Polyhymnia seems to have stopped for a moment herself, remembering something or putting her thoughts in order. Awkward silence. Fill! Awkward! Silence!
Part of your mind supplies a question that you worry will seem pointless, especially to her…
"Oh? When was that?"
She certainly doesn't act like it's pointless, like you'd worried. "This was, oh, about thirty-three hundred years ago. We were all grown up, but it was before the troubles. And those two did a lot of exploring. They even dragged me along once; it… well, it's not for me up there. It feels so very dead there, though Urania never saw it that way. No offense meant." She gives you that little smile and you instantly forgive her, because she obviously didn't mean anything bad by it and you more-than-know what she means. "Anyway, there's a patch you should… well, either avoid or look at, but be careful either way."
"Oh?"
"It's hard to explain… But well, it's not very nice there. First, as you get closer, it starts to feel just… wrong; Artemis especially didn't like it but Urania shrugged it off and they kept going. Then… things started getting weaker. First Artemis' bowstring snapped, which does happen once in a while if she's not careful, but then so did her spare. Then some swelling, aches, their eyes started feeling pretty uncomfortable. I'd have stopped by then, but… well, Artemis had her pride; she was always strong, probably why… she vanished. And… Urania's Urania. But then Urania cut her finger on a rock as they got to the top of a ridge, and there are some sharp rocks up there but that isn't normal. Even she was having second thoughts then, and when Artemis saw how bad it was she grabbed her and dragged her home. There's something at the heart of it, and Urania has her theories, but for me… I don't think anyone, or anything, is meant to be there." Polyhymnia shakes her head solemnly.
And these were goddesses, you think to yourself. "That sounds pretty bad."
"Yes."
"Where was it?"
"Hm… hard to explain. I'm not good at directions. Well, not that kind of directions. They're not metaphorical enough. I wish I had a decent map." She sighs.
"Like the one you showed me earlier?"
"Well yes, but we're on the Earth; it's trickier with nothing to start from, and the moon's not going to rise for hours. But… um. Well, I once did something with Artemis just for fun, and it might work with you too?"
"Oh?"
"If it works, then together I can sing us a map, and then I can show you better."
And for some reason you can't quite understand, you don't fall over yourself into an abject mess when she offers to sing for you again.
But you nod enthusiastically.
Polyhymnia holds out her hands at waist height, palms upwards, curling her fingers upwards slightly in invitation. And an unbidden instinct- nothing could seem more natural- floats your arms upwards in turn. Your faintly shimmering fingers barely touch hers- and this time you feel a back-pressure, as you didn't when you touched stone. As though you were really here, really touching her warm hands.
And she speaks, after a contemplative moment. "Hm… oh, that is a different connection. Maybe part of it is that you're… hm, still in Japan, aren't you? All right, just a moment while I change the lyrics. Just relax; I'll take care of everything."
She closes her eyes and bows her head slightly. This time, when She begins to sing, there is no dancing. But the world whirls around you, fading from your attention and entirely excluded from Hers. And once again you can tell that this isn't love, but once again you have to ask yourself.
You feel a tug, like someone trying invisibly to get the attention of you-as-Sailor-Moon, a gentle, insistent pull. It reaches you, and You answer, because she is not Polyhymnia and you are not Usagi, but rather She is Prayer and You are the Moon. The daylight fades for as far around You as You can be bothered to look with Her attention on you. It's not like the nightmares You remember from Serenity's time. The noonday sun just quietly goes dark. Unceremoniously, almost, except that nothing about this, in Her presence, at Her touch, can be anything other than sacred ceremony now. It would be uncouth for the blinding fire to intrude on You right now, so it doesn't.
And then She sings the stars from the sky for You, and the little flecks of ghostlight swirl between Her and You, gathering into a silvery mass the size of an egg. And She ends the song, and again by some mystery it does not break Your heart, and she pulls her hands away and steps back and back again. The light grows and spreads into something broad and pockmarked and colored in blacks and grays.
She's the first to speak.
"Oh, that's nicer than I remember! Let's see… Urania said it was over here, I think…"
Polyhymnia steps around the glowing sphere, now just over a meter across. Her pointing finger slightly dimples the surface of light before she judiciously pulls it back. "This whole area, here. Leagues and leagues across; they weren't sure how many. That's where they were headed when things got… strange."
And a ghost's mostly-metaphorical eyes widen in recognition. Because that's the place that Ami pointed out to you on a map. The place you've been. The place modern Earth-dwellers call 'Posidonius Crater,' and that your past life called 'home.'
You reel in surprise and sudden understanding, and the sunlight comes back all at once in a sudden whiteout flare.
You and the Muse said your farewells, then, only a few minutes after. All together you'd taken one shock too many. Your reflection, cast upon that distant land, was starting to come apart, daylight shining between the cracks in that distant image of you. Maybe someday you'll know how to weave the bits back together, but not today.
You didn't quite explain to her what it was that you already know about that part of the moon, or why it struck you so. For her part, Polyhymnia doesn't press the matter, because of course she doesn't. How she could ever be anything other than kind and gracious, you cannot imagine.
And at last you lay yourself down to rest, wondering what the difference is between dreaming slumber and meditation. And why you feel so giddy from it all.
When the dreams come and the all-too-beautiful statue of Iúpatar steps off her plinth and comes to life and all-too-familiar color and speaks to you in a language you don't understand a word of, in the all-too-perfect voice of a goddess of song, and you are lost, you may perhaps begin to find the clues to one answer. At least for a moment and a night...
The library door softly creaks open under a gentle puff of magical force. Artemis pads into the room, quickly glancing around to get a look at everyone here.
"Sailor Moon, there's a call for you over on line two." Artemis says. "Someone was expecting you not too long ago." Usagi perks up, a slightly confused look on her face. Then the princess glances over towards the clock on the wall.
"Ah... Thank you." Usagi says, sounding guilty. She pops to her feet. Rei frowns slightly, wondering what the matter could be. As the girl moves to leave the room, with Artemis following, Setsuna pops up to her feet and follows after.
"Uhh, Miss Moon?" The younger girl says, "Do you know where the bathrooms are?" She asks, and Usagi gives a soft chuckle.
"Yeah, they're on the way down to the lobby, so I'll show you on my way." The girl says, before leading Setsuna and Artemis out of the room. Rei quietly frowns. There is something about how Setsuna is acting today, and for all that the Senshi of fire wants to figure it out, there are other things that she needs to focus on at the moment.
As Usagi steps out of the meeting room that the rest of the Senshi and two of their new guests are still in, the blonde haired Senshi gives a soft smile. There are a lot of things that need to be handled over the next few weeks, and Usagi is already starting to try and put together a plan in her head, even as she knows that her life has just reached the point where everything is always happening all the time forever.
It is really hard to try and plan a way to deal with anything at this rate, and the girl wishes that she just had some way to have more time. Then again, if Usagi is going to be honest with herself, having more time likely wouldn't actually change all that much about how the Senshi handle things. There are just so many things, and if there was more time then there would be more things to fit in that time, and in the end it would feel just as hectic and confused as she does about all of this anyways.
Case in point. Usagi does her best to try and give Setsuna the best smile that she can. "So..." Usagi starts to say, "There's something that you were wanting to talk to me about privately?" Sailor Moon says as she looks over her shoulder towards the young girl.
Setsuna doesn't even bother asking how Sailor Moon might have realized that, instead just nodding even as she blushes a little. "I... yes ma'am." Setsuna says softly, all of a sudden seeming a lot more nervous than she has been up until this point. Usagi just raises an eyebrow...
But that might not have been the right thing to do in the moment as the girl's face goes even redder. "I... I mean, Sorry my princess."
That one sentence on it's own is enough to raise a lot of questions, even though Usagi knows that the answers to a lot of those questions is going to be Kore, which is not exactly an answer that really answers anything. "I wasn't offended, Setsuna." Sailor Moon tells the girl softly, pausing for a moment to kneel down to match the girl's own height. "There's no reason for you to kowtow to me." She says. "I might have magic, but that doesn't make me any more important than anyone else is." She says firmly, hoping that Setsuna understands what she is trying to tell her.
There is a moment where the girl opens her mouth, about to say something before she flushes red and glances away, one foot lighting kicking at the ground. "Okay." She says, even if she isn't willing to meet Usagi's gaze at the moment. "But you are important." Setsuna argues back. "You're Sailor Moon, and it is my job to make sure that you are safe."
"You job?" Usagi asks, and Setsuna slowly, stiffly nods. "I... I told Luna that I was told to come here today with Nanoha by Mrs. Kore." She says, which is exactly what she was wanting to know more about.
"I know, Luna made sure to tell me." Usagi confirms, and the girl takes a breath.
"It... It's more than that. I... I am Mrs. Kore, but I'm not." The girl says. Funnily enough, for all that the girl says that, Usagi understands what she means immediately.
"Oh. You're Kore's reincarnation?" Usagi asks, and the girl slowly nods. After a moment, she reaches into a pocket, and slowly pulls out a small black pen, topped with something familiar.
Something that Usagi has seen plenty of times before, even if this one is ever so slightly different from the others.
There is a part of Usagi that almost feels panicked as she realizes that the girl is able to see through her glamour, but at the same time... If this is another of her Senshi... And in particular if this is the reincarnation of Sailor Pluto, then it makes sense that she might have knowledge that she isn't exactly supposed to. Still... Usagi smiles, and ruffles the girl's hair. "Of course we'll help." Usagi says with a smile. "Especially if that means that we can get a spell to create candy." From off to one side Artemis sighs, a bone weary sound.
"You're going to ruin not only your teeth, Princess, but Setsuna and Mina's teeth too." Artemis complains, shaking his head.
From there, it only takes a minute or so to get back down to the ground floor. Heading into the office back behind the front desk, Sailor Moon picks up the receiver. "Hello? This is Sailor Moon speaking."
"Usagi, it's nearly six." The girl's mother says from the other side of the line. All at once, all the strain and the worry falls away from the Senshi's shoulders as she realizes just who it was on the other side of the line.
"Oh! Sorry Mom, right when we were packing up, someone came by asking for some advice..." The girl explains. "It kind of exploded into a whole discussion, and I guess we lost track of time. On the plus side, I think I might have found another new teacher for our magic classes." the girl explain cheerfully. As her mother sighs fondly, Usagi can't help but chuckle. "Moooom~" the girl complains. "I'm sorry for not checking in. I'll make sure to remember to call any time in the future that people come by and want to talk."
"That's all I'm asking." Ikuko says simply. "Come home soon, okay?"
Saturday, June 13th, 1992
Crown Game Center
There is a moment, as Usagi walks along the streets of Tokyo, where the young girl wonders if she might be missing something with the way that she uses teleportation so often these days. Well, either that or transforming and running along the rooftops. The streets of Tokyo seem so much more dense and packed now than they did before she changed the way that she traveled... If she is entirely honest with herself, Usagi isn't sure if the streets are fuller now that the city is starting to warm up, or if she has just gotten used to being all on her own, with no one around for dozens of meters as she throws herself through the skies.
Which isn't to say that the blonde doesn't enjoy the feeling of people all around her, the hustle and the bustle of a living city doing a lot to remind Usagi of everything that she and the rest of Tokyo's protectors are fighting far. Amusingly, it is that same realization that the Senshi have been fighting so much which is one of the major reasons that she is doing this.
In a way... It feels to Usagi like the Senshi haven't had the chance to really sit back and just relax for far too long. Not having that ability to relax and let go of everything is honestly not a good thing. Too much stress from working for hours upon hours isn't good for you, and if there is one thing that Usagi has really come to understand in the time that she has gotten her magic it would be that stress is bad for you.
That might sound exceedingly obvious, but that it doesn't make it less true. And thankfully for all the Senshi, that isn't the only thing that Usagi has learned. Since becoming Sailor Moon the girl has learned a lot, and she doesn't plan on stopping that any time soon. Which comes around to today, and the perfect adage that she knows for the situation.
Work hard. Play harder.
As the girl casually dances through the crowd, flowing around people like water around the stones in the river, Usagi glances back and gives Makoto a kind smile. The taller girl doesn't seem nearly as comfortable in the midst of all these people as Usagi is, and the blonde girl wishes that there was something that she could say, something that she could do to try and help Makoto relax. Thankfully, even from here the girl can see where the two of them are heaving, so surely Makoto will feel more comfortable once they get to the arcade.
Now if only Minako had been willing to come as well. Mina honestly seems to be a lot more stressed than Makoto, and the last few days seem to be reaching some kind of breaking point. Usagi hasn't pressed, at least not now, if only because Minako says that she is handling it, but if the other blonde doesn't find some way to relax in the next day or so, then Usagi is going to have to do something drastic. Honestly, at this point she is already thinking of doing something drastic.
[ ][Drastic] Do something drastic
- Tomorrow is Sunday. Go and see the Aino household tomorrow.
-- Pushes Facing your Fears up to the next event, instead of being after 90% off.
[ ][Drastic] Trust Minako for the moment
- You've already decided that you are going to see her family on Wednesday, so you can be patient... For now.
-- Do not reorder the turn events
And the Crown Center isn't only an arcade either, Usagi notes to herself as she comes to a stop in front of the doors of the building while waiting for Makoto to catch up. There is also that cafe that Endymion... That Mamoru likes to hang out at. Usagi has to actually remind herself what her friend's new body's original name actually is, having not thought it in some time now.
However, as Makoto finally frees herself from the press of Tokyo, Usagi finally realizes something... Well it isn't entirely odd, but...
But there is just a moment as Usagi's hands clench tight for a moment. It's been barely more than two weeks since the last time that she was here, and the old awning with the arcade's logo is gone. Instead there is a larger sign that is built directly over the door on the wall that is a completely new and different logo.
The same new logo that is on the door now.
A tiny voice that is almost scared to see what else has changed, what else is different.
"Oh... New logo." Makoto says, idly nudging Usagi with an elbow as the taller girl looks down towards her princess. "I think it looks good."
Right.
Right. This is the whole point of doing all of this. Holding onto things as they were before would just stress her out, and she isn't here to get stressed out. She's hear to have fun. To make sure that Makoto has a chance to relax and have fun too. Even if she isn't going to be taking any kind of drastic measures, Usagi knows that she needs to have a chance to make Minako relax as well, even if there are just so many things going on, and there are times when Usagi feels like she is just drowning under everything that is happening to her and her senshi. New threats, new dangers, new complications building higher and higher even as they slowly start to clear threats away.
"You know..." Usagi says softly, after intentionally blinking so that she can look at the logo with fresh eyes. "I agree. I like it. Not sure I like the sign though." Usagi admits. "It was nice to stand under the awning and listen to the rain."
The girl is trying to hide how the sudden changes are making Usagi a little nervous, but from the way that her Thunder Guardian furrows her brow makes it clear that it isn't entirely working. Then, all at once, Usagi is reminded of the dream that she had the night before, and with a chuckle that is just maybe a little too sheer, and a face that is certainly turning red, Usagi presses on and into the arcade. "I hope that jerk isn't around again." Usagi says, trying to distract herself for the moment.
Funnily enough, once the girl actually gets a look inside, it is clear that there have been some changes, and that doesn't bother her at all. For all that she was afraid of the changes while outside, seeing them herself just... took the mystique out of it. Most of the machines are the same, even if they have been rearranged, but there are also a handful of new machines that Usagi hasn't had a chance to try out yet, along with a handful of others that the girl hasn't had a chance to play in a couple of months.
"Ah, Usagi! Makoto! Hello hello." The familiar voice of Motoki calls out from the counter, where the blonde haired boy leans against the counter, a soft grin on his face.
Huh.
Usagi blinks, taking a moment to really look at the guy that she used to get all flustered and panicked around... but there isn't anything like that now. He's certainly still cute, that much is true... but when Usagi tries to imagine what would really get her heart pumping...
Images flash through Usagi's head, almost faster than she can keep track of. A flicker of long dark hair and a swish of red. Striking red hair framing eyes of green. The sensation of looking up as the kindest smile matches her own, a snicker of blonde as someone rests against her back. The smell of books and sakura trees.
Each of those move through her head faster than she can put the images together, and all that Usagi knows at the moment is that her face is a bright red, even as she fails to understand just what each of those images are. They are familiar, almost achingly so, and yet the girl doesn't have the slightest idea of what they are supposed to be.
Trying to shake the images from her head, Usagi looks back over at Motoki, and wonders if she just isn't interested in him anymore. There is something almost melancholy about realizing it, but at the same time it is like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders, and she just bounds over towards the register. "Hey there Motoki, how have you been?"
"Stressed, but good." Motoki says with a chuckle. "You've seen a bit of the renovations outside, right?" He asks.
"The new sign?" Makoto asks, grinning. "I like the new logo."
"Yeah. Mom and Pop are out of the country, so it was all on me to handle talking with the construction people and ordering the new merchandise and handling the changes upstairs. One good thing is that with the new expansion I had to pick up a couple of new hires too."
"I can't exactly say 'Same'." Usagi says as she finds herself relaxing back into the way that things were before, back in the days when all her life was so much simpler. "I have just been so much busier than normal. Classes are getting harder, so I have had to do a lot more studying." Usagi explains. "Then there is the new part time job that I got." The girl motions over to Makoto. "Mako-chan got a job there too, so it's been great having friends as coworkers but it really is different than being friends at school."
Glancing over at Makoto, Usagi blinks. Makoto is... blushing? Not a lot, but there is definitely a blush on her face as she smiles at the man. Was she like that the last time that they were here? Usagi doesn't remember that, but at the same time she can't say that she remembers too much about the last time that they were here. There was a moment, right as the girl entered into the building where a part of her wondered if she'd shown the arcade to Makoto before. Usagi was all but ready to introduce Makoto to Motoki, before she remembered that this wasn't the first time.
Man, that would have been embarrassing, acting like that.
Makoto is blushing. Not a lot, but that is still definitely a blush as she smiles at the man. "It's nice to meet you..." Makoto starts to say, before glancing over towards Usagi.
"Oh, Usagi. Makoto." Another voice calls out as Endy- As Mamoru steps up from behind the two, idly sliding into one of the seats at the front of the cafe. "Good to see the two of you. Here to relax? Or have you some kind of business."
All at once the words just fall out of your mouth, without even thinking about them. "Video Games are serious business."
Motoki just nods along, as if you said something truly wise. "See, she gets it. Both business and pleasure. Unlike some layabouts just waiting for people to make drinks for them." Motoki says, already moving to start to make Mamoru's drink without even thinking about it.
"And yet..." Mamoru grins, looking at the nearly finished drink in Motoki's hands.
"How dare." Motoki says with a grin, even as he overexaggeratedly narrows his eyes. "Just for that, I think I'll pour this drink out, right onto the floor."
Of course, Mamoru then flinches back in just as exaggerated a way, putting a hand over his heart and almost pretending to faint, like he'd been struck right int he heart. "How dare?" He says back, and after a moment both boys laugh.
"Yeah, yeah. Wouldn't want you siccing your new boyfriend on me." Motoki says, grinning at his best friend.
"He's not my boyfriend." Mamoru argues back, but there is a distinct lack of heat in his words. More just exasperation.
Before anyone can say anything, there is a soft melodic laugh as a waitress steps out through the freely swinging door into the back of the cafe. "Right." A red haired woman stepping through the door says, sounding sarcastic enough that Usagi is surprised the paint isn't peeling off the walls. She's taller than Usagi, with eyes the color of the sunset, and hair that just reaches her shoulders. "Not boyfriends." The girl says. "Never boyfriends."
Motoki grins as the girl steps out, and he opens his mouth to introduce her, before another waitress steps out of the back, this one carrying a tray in one hand, with different syrups and toppings and several bowls. That isn't the most striking thing about the woman however, that would be her pale skin, golden eyes and white hair. Features that Usagi would recognize anywhere. "I mean," The Yuki-Onna says, her voice chilly and not quite emotionless, even as she grins. "They've only adopted a beautiful little girl together who calls Mamoru Papa, and Mister Jadeite Daddy. I'm pretty sure that is closer to being married than dating." The ice spirit says. "Then you went and leveraged your connections to get me this job."
"Oi!" Motoki calls out with a smile on his face, not seeming all that upset. "No talking about nepotism in front of the customers. Some of them get upset about that kind of thing." He shakes his head as the Yuki-Onna laughs. "Anyways, introductions. Usagi, Makoto, this is Reika." Motoki says with the sappiest smile that you have ever seen him have as he leans against the red haired girl, putting an arm around her shoulders. "My girlfriend."
Oh. Wow. Motoki is a very lucky guy, having found a girlfriend so beautiful.
"And I am Kōsetsu." The Yuki-Onna says, before holding the tray out with one hand, and holding her other hand out over one of the bowls. "Would you like some shaved ice? We have many different flavors." She says, and there is a part of Usagi that really wants to accept, but at the same time... She really wants to get to gaming first, and then to a snack once she has played her fill.
"Hmmm..." You are quiet for a moment, before shaking your head. "Nah, I'd rather not have sticky fingers while gaming. Maybe once I've had my fun." You say, before glancing over towards Makoto.
The other girl has been quiet, oddly so... But now Usagi has an idea of why that might be. It probably has something to do with the bright blush on the Thunder Guardian's face. The girl can barely manage to look at any of the three people behind the bar, her eyes flicking back and forth like she isn't sure where she should be looking, and it is only as Makoto's gaze finally slides back to her Princess that Makoto freezes. Her face goes even redder as Usagi raises an eyebrow and grins at her friend.
"You want anything Makoto?" Usagi asks, and there is a soft stuttering choke that breaks free of Makoto's lips as the girl jerkily shakes her head. "Well, if that is the case, then I'm gonna go drag Makoto over to some of the new games. See you guys once we've had our fun."
"Yeah, yeah." Mamoru says with a grin. "It was nice to meet you, Miss Makoto. Go ahead and run away and leave me to my bullying." Of course, despite the words that the man is saying, his smile is wide, and he's chuckling.
As the two girls start to walk away, there is a short moment of silence, before Makoto softly elbows Usagi. "Hey, 'Sagi, that was... Endymion... Wasn't it?" She asks, and the blonde girl nods.
"Yeah, it's a whole complicated thing." Usagi admits with a huff. "I'm pretty sure Motoki doesn't know about the ancient Prince thing, but they've been friends for years and years now. Anyways. That's enough of that. We're here to have-" Usagi's words trail off, the girl's eyes locking onto a single machine in front of the two, and all at once Usagi bolts forward. "NO!" She all but snarls, staring at the screen.
Or perhaps, more accurately at the name across the top of the screen, sitting there in the top ranked spot on the game.
MSTR5
"He's taken my spot again!" Usagi moans out, leaving Makoto to laugh as her blush finally starts to fade.
"I don't get this rivalry of yours..." Makoto says simply, "Master Fives seemed perfectly nice the last time I was here."
"He's a scoundrel." Usagi says fiercely. "I was reining champ for like... A year before he came back. The undefeated master of the arcade, but it seems like every time I come back he's stolen more of my high scores."
Makoto can't help but find something distinctly amusing about the fact that the greatest defender of the earth is more upset that she's been unseated at video games then she is about losing a spar or failing a test. It is... odd, and yet so intrinsically Usagi.
Of course, that means that Usagi has a new goal for the outing. She's going to want to recover as many high scores as she can, Makoto notes with a level of amusement. Now the real question is where should they start.
CHOOSE TWO:
[ ][Arcade] Coin Eater Games
- Donkey Kong, Pac-man, all the famous coin eater games.
-- Primary Stat: Diplomacy
[ ][Arcade] Fighting Games
- Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, all the famous fighting games
-- Primary Stat: Martial
[ ][Arcade] Light gun Games
- Games like house of the dead, time crisis and other Light Gun based games.
-- Primary Stat : Stewardship
[ ][Arcade] Racing Games
- Racing games, enough said
-- Primary Stat: Intrigue
[ ][Arcade] Puzzle Games
- Puzzle games
-- Primary Stat: Learning
Each option will have a handful of rolls to see if Usagi can unseat Master Five's scores, starting from the option that has the highest number of votes, down to the one that has the lowest number of votes. However, there is an additional roll that will be done to see how long it is before Master Fives comes in to meddle in the event.
