"All of this doesn't add up..." Rei murmured. "I mean, it's pretty obvious that Ash... or at least someone he knows... is responsible for what happened at the construction site. But what do they have against it? Is it just because they want to protect nature? And what about that labyrinth? You'd think people living around here would know if there's a hidden maze underneath the ruined castle and strange creatures living around."
"Yeah, I get what you mean," Usagi nodded. "Auntie wouldn't have allowed us to stay at her summer residence if she knew about those creatures. And she and her family visit this place very often... I bet she would have noticed by now."
"We have to go back to the ruin tomorrow," Rei decided. "We have to find out what's going on here. There are human lives at stake here."
Usagi sighed. "I wish the others were here... but someone has to look for Luna. I'd still prefer to go and search for her, but as we're here now..."
"Right," Rei nodded. "We have to make most of this situation. Maybe tomorrow we'll find out more."
----
And just like they planned, they once again left early in the morning the following day, after a short breakfast.
Ikuko looked after her daughter and her friend in confusion. "Strange! Since when did Usagi turn into such a nature lover? She has always been a city child, if you know what I mean."
Her husband Kenji chuckled. "Well, maybe sitting in the house all time is getting way too boring for her tastes."
"That might be it," Ikuko nodded. She then threw an angry glare towards her son, whose fingers were busy with his Gameboy. "If only other children of mine would do the same."
"Quiet, you're breaking my concentration," Shingo mumbled. Ikuko simply shook her head.
----
The ruin looked just as it did the day before. Usagi looked around before going in. "No dirty kid or strange animal around," she finally said. "Shall we take a look around?"
"In a minute," her black-haired friend replied. "I just wanna check up something..." And she walked around the pile of rubble behind which she knew the entrance to the labyrinth to be.
"You wanna go down there again?" Usagi gasped. "I think I saw enough the last time."
"No," Rei said. "I just wanna see if Ash and Co. might already be down there... Um... wait a second... WHAT?"
"What, what's up?" Usagi asked as she followed her friend around the rubble.
Rei gestured down to the hole. "Look at this! It's gone! All gone!"
"What do you mean?" Usagi came closer and looked down the rectangular hole. Then she gasped.
As there was no shaft leading down into some ancient cave, but only a very shallow hole that was ending abruptly in solid rock. When Rei climbed down into the hole, her waist was still above ground level.
"That can't be," she grumbled in irritation. "There has to be an entrance somewhere around here. We didn't just imagine walking around for hours in that labyrinth, did we?"
Usagi wanted to say something, but then her gaze wandered off to the left, by chance. She whispered: "Rei, come out of there and look at this! But be quiet!"
Rei did as she was told and carefully peered around the pile of rubble. And blinked when she looked at who had appeared in the ruined courtyard.
It was a rider. But not some normal villager who was out for a morning ride. This guy looked like some kind of ancient warrior, clothed in a leathery breast plate and grasping the hilt of an impressive sword, whose sheath was hanging at his side. The brown-haired guy looked as if he was only slightly older than Ash. But his steely gaze and his posture made him look mature.
Even stranger than the rider was the horse on which he was riding. It wasn't really a horse, but something resembling a unicorn... the two girls could see the white horn adorning the animal's forehead! But most impressive were the blazing flames that were burning around the steed's neck and backside, as if they would be forming its mane and tail. Strangely enough, the rider didn't seem to be fazed by the fire at all.
Luckily, he didn't seem to see them. Instead, his gaze was aimed at a certain young boy who had just entered the ruin: Ash! And his strange, yellow-furred companion was with him as well.
Rei and Usagi ducked down behind the rubble. "This looks like a downright conspiracy," Usagi whispered. "And Ash is not the only human who's in league with those weird animals."
"I wonder why he is clothed so... archaically," Rei pondered. "Let's listen to them, maybe we can find out more about what they are planning."
Meanwhile, the rider rose his right hand and greeted Ash and his companion. Ash replied something they couldn't understand. They were once again talking in that weird language. After some time, Ash made a waving gesture with his arm and left the ruin. The mounted warrior and the yellow creature were following him.
"Let's follow them," Rei whispered, and Usagi nodded. They followed the strange threesome down the hill, into the forest, to a big clearing.
And right to an assembly of the weirdest creatures the two Senshi had ever seen in their life.
There were human-sized creatures with blue skin and enormous muscles. There were colorful butterflies fluttering through the air, as big as a human child. There were four-legged animals with green skin and strange plants growing from their backs. And there were also several humans among the weird gathering, some of them riding on other creatures.
Ash repeated his greeting, and some of the other beings and humans returned the gesture.
Ash and his companions then started talking with each other. As before, Rei and Usagi couldn't understand a single word, but they all seemed very agitated.
"This is somehow amazing..." Rei murmured. "How could all of those beings hide from the humans living nearby, if there are so many of them?"
"Well, there are some humans with them, right?" Usagi whispered back. "Maybe they helped them out."
That was a logical explanation, but somehow Rei doubted that this was the truth. Those humans over there didn't look like they would be locals. They made the impression as if they just came out of a fantasy novel, the way they acted and were clothed.
Rei didn't know if they could fight with all of those creatures at once, even if she would know what kind of powers they might have. Still, if all of them would attack the construction site...
But then something happened that made her worry about their own lives... Usagi didn't notice how her upper body had slowly tilted over as she was looking down at the assembled creatures, and then she tripped over a thick branch, lost her balance and rolled down the small slope, right into the clearing.
Rei groaned.
Usagi shook her head. "Oof, clumsy me..." She then looked up... and right at the tip of a sharp sword that was pointed directly at her face.
The brown-haired boy had dismounted from the unicorn and was now threatening her. He said a few harsh words in his language. In the corner of her eyes, Usagi could see that the others were as angry as he was. Many of the creatures were growling at her, and one or two of the other humans also drew their weapons.
The brown-haired boy's sword slightly moved backwards, as if he was getting ready to strike.
'Oh no!' Rei thought frantically. 'Usagi!'
"Gary!" The voice was hard and firm, and neither Usagi nor Rei didn't know what it meant... only much, much later would they learn that is was the name of the armed boy.
But the unicorn rider did not move at first, Ash had to repeat the word before he sheathed his weapon. But he and the others still threw glares of hatred towards the blonde girl.
Ash said a few sentences that sounded like commands and gestured to his right. There were some complaints and grumbling, but they all obeyed, even the brown-haired boy, as he mounted his steed and followed the others. Only the yellow-furred animal stayed behind and looked at Ash questioningly. Ash said a few calm words and repeated his gesture. Finally, the creature seemed to sigh, nodded and followed the others.
In the end, he and Usagi were the only two remaining.
The black-haired boy looked up to where Rei was standing. "You can come out! Only Pikachu saw you, and he won't tell."
Suspiciously, but still glad that Ash seemed to have saved her friend, Rei came down into the clearing.
"What's going on here?" she demanded to know, after she helped her friend up. "And why did you help us?"
"What's the matter with you two?" the boy snapped back. "Are you crazy? You're lucky that you're still alive! Not all of them obey me like that, you know?"
"But who are they?" Usagi asked. She had calmed down a little bit. "Where did they come from? And what do you plan to do with the workers at the construction site?"
Ash glared back at them. "It's for your own good if you don't know. Now leave! Go home and don't tell anyone about this! This doesn't concern you!"
"Well, it does concern us if you and your crazy bunch are about to attack helpless humans," Rei angrily replied. "Why are you doing this? The explosion yesterday... that was one of your friends, right? So, what's the big idea?"
"You don't understand anything," Ash grumbled. "They... they're destroying the Alph Passage with their so-called 'construction'. And that's something that I cannot allow! We must stop them! With force, if necessary!"
"But what IS the Alph Passage?" Usagi asked. "Is it the labyrinth we've been in?"
"I've already said enough," Ash muttered. "Now, as I said: Go! I won't be able to save you a second time!" And then he turned around and ran away.
Usagi looked at her friend. "I wonder... if he's really a bad guy, you know? He did save me from those others, after all. And perhaps they have a good reason for all of this..."
"Even so," Rei grumbled. "We can't let them simply hurt innocent people. There has to be another solution to this. Now let's hurry and follow him! We have to stop him and the others!"
They raised their transformation items.
"MOON CRISIS, MAKE UP!"
"MARS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!"
Transformed, the two Sailor Senshi hurried after the footsteps of the boy, clearly visible in the soft soil of the forest.
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(Posted Fri, 09 Feb 2007 21:32)
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