When Ami Mizuno came home, she was tired and exhausted.
Not only had today's exam be especially difficult, even for her genius-schoolgirl brain, but she also had volunteered to give younger students private lessons in the evening. And to top all of that, Artemis had given a Senshi emergency call because he had seen some unusual light hovering above Minako's house, but when the Senshi arrived, it was gone. Ami's computer hadn't been able to track even the slightest unusual energy, and Luna assumed that it had all been a childish prank of Artemis, no matter how much he swore that he had seen it. When asking Minako, the Senshi of Venus meekly admitted that she had been sleeping.
And after all that, Ami was looking forward to a nice soak in a warm bubble bath, followed by a good night's rest in her comfortable bed...
She walked past her mother, who was watching a thrilling late-night movie on TV.
"Did you have a hard day, dear?" Dr. Mizuno asked her daughter with concern.
"I'm gonna be fine, Mom..." Ami mumbled. "Just don't expect me to come down until 10 a.m. tomorrow morning."
"Okay... sleep tight, then."
Ami muttered something unintelligible, and Mizuno Sr. shook her head with a sigh while watching her shuffle upstairs.
'She's really straining herself with all that learning,' she thought. 'I know it's not easy, I took that path myself... but still, I hope she doesn't overstrain herself...'
In her room, Ami threw her school bag in one corner and plopped down on her bed. She was so tired that she didn't even know if she had the strength left to take a bath, or even to take off her sweaty clothes.
When she saw a soft light coming from her left, she wearily turned her head.
A young boy of perhaps 14 years was sitting on her bed, his hair the same azure blue as her own. He was dressed in some sort of pale blue tunic, with a golden trim at its edges. A white cape was hanging from his shoulders, and a golden circlet was on his head. He also wore a pair of archaic boots with leather straps on his feet. His whole appearance was illuminated by a soft, blue aura of light that surrounded his body. He sat there, on her blanket, cross-legged, as if his presence was the most natural thing in the world.
He smiled down at her.
"Hello, Mother!" he said.
Ami blinked. Then she blinked again. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she blinked some more.
"I apologize for intruding at such a late hour," the youngster continued. "But I know that we had to meet at this point in time."
Still dazzled, Ami managed to blurt out a short "Why?"
He smirked. "Because you told me you remember it to be this day, this time... or rather, you will tell me. Depends on how you look at it."
Trying to get a clear head, Ami slowly sat up and shook her head. "So... you're like Chibiusa? From the future?" Knowing that she would have a son was somehow a nice thought...
"Chibi... oh, I see! You mean Auntie Usa! Well, sort of. But I'm from a point in the future much, much later than Queen Serenity's reign."
That caught her attention. "But... isn't Usagi's... I mean, Queen Serenity's reign supposed to last forever?"
He sighed. "I see there's much I have to tell you. But first... I'd like to introduce myself. I am Nandus of Mercury!" He grinned. "Kind of weird to introduce yourself to your mother... even if you are a teenage version of her..."
Ami noticed how good-looking Nandus was, even at such a young age. A feeling of pride spread through her heart. She might not have given birth to him yet, but she somehow just KNEW that he was her future son. He also looked a lot like her.
"So... that means you are the prince of Mercury... or will be? Will the planets be populated in the far future? And if Queen serenity doesn't rule over Crystal Tokyo anymore, then who..."
She had to stop herself at that point, because a great yawn escaped her lips. "Excuse me..." she muttered with a blush. "I didn't expect any visitors, and I'm pretty tired..."
"No problem!" Nandus said. He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, all of Ami's weariness just disappeared. She felt like she just had a good night's rest, a refreshing shower and a strengthening breakfast... even though it was still late in the evening.
She was astonished. "How did you do that?" she wondered.
Nandus grinned. "Oh, that was nothing! Just a little demonstration of a godling's powers."
Ami wondered if she had heard him correct. "Godling?"
"Well, yeah, that's what we call demigods, in our time... and demigods, just in case you ask, are the children of the true gods."
Ami let out a startled gasp, which turned into a frightened yelp. "G-GODS?" She quickly covered her mouth with her hands.
"Ami-chan, is everything all right?" her mother asked. Before Ami could gather herself, she heard her coming upstairs.
Dr. Mizuno opened her daughter's door. "Ami, I heard your voice downstairs, that's kinda unusual. What's the matter, honey?"
Ami stared at the huge, stuffed bear that was sitting where, moments ago, her supposed son of the future had been sitting. Curiously enough, it had a short mop of ocean-blue hair...
"I'm... fine, Mom," she finally said. "I just lost my balance and nearly slid off my bed, that's all."
"Oh, I see!" Her mother snickered. "Maybe you should go to bed instead of doing evening aerobic. Good night!"
"Um... good night, Mom!"
Before her mother closed the door, she threw a look at the stuffed bear that was sitting next to her daughter and frowned. 'Strange, I don't remember Ami having such a teddy bear...' she thought, before closing the door and heading back downstairs.
The moment the door got closed, the teddy bear turned back into Nandus, who gave his teenage mother a wink.
"How... how did you...?" she stuttered.
"I told you, I'm a godling. Meaning, my parent is a divine being."
"A... a god..." Ami murmured, remembering the reason for her startled gasp. For a moment, she couldn't quite believe his words... but then again, what he just did was more than just normal magic... wasn't it?
She quickly took her Mercury Computer out of her school bag and scanned the whole area surrounding her bed.
"That's astounding..." she whispered. "No anomalies, no energies left behind... and I also can't find any magical energies within your body either. But... I saw what you did with my own eyes. So how...?"
"That's partly my fault," Nandus explained. "I have put a suppression field around my body, that's why you can't detect any of my powers. Before I left, you told me to do it."
"But why?" Ami asked.
"You said your old Mercury Computer wouldn't be able to measure the amount of power a godling radiates," he said. "In the worst case, it would blow up."
Ami nearly swooned. If even Nandus had such amounts of energy in his body, how much power would his parents have?
Wait a minute...
His parents?
"N-nandus..." Ami stuttered. "When you said that your parent is a god... did you mean... that in the far future, I... I will marry a... a GOD??"
Nandus shook his head. "No, that's not what I was implying."
Ami felt a bit relieved by now. "Oh, okay... but what did you mean, then?"
"I meant that in the future, approximately 4000 years from now... you will be a goddess."
Silence.
Then an amused snicker. "Very funny..."
Nandus frowned. "Mother, I assure you, I am certainly not joking..."
"Oh, come on! Did I raise you to be such a prankster? I don't think so! Was it Chibiusa's influence? Or maybe Minako? Yeah, that must be it! Oh boy, that's too funny... I can imagine it: 'Kneel down, mortals! You are in the presence of the Goddess Ami! Worship me! Where are my sacrifices?'
Nandus blushed. "Please, mother... you shouldn't joke about that. Besides, you never demanded any sacrifices... only that your priests gather lore in your name..."
Ami giggled. "Oh, stop that? Usagi becoming queen was one thing, and it was already unbelievable enough. But don't you think the other Senshi would be envious if I would become a goddess, and they will simply stay a queen's elite guard?"
"I already told you..." Nandus muttered. "Crystal Tokyo will have a new ruler... besides, the other Senshi will become goddesses as well..."
Ami laughed out so loud that Nandus quickly blocked the sound of her voice from leaving this room. "Oh, that's rich! Minako, a goddess? The goddess of flirtation? The goddess of volleyball? And Rei is a Shinto priestess already. Imagine, a goddess worshipping other gods..."
"MOTHER!" Nandus shouted as he jumped to his feet. The volume of his voice surpassed even Ami's laughter, and they were both shocked by his sudden yell that they didn't say anything for a while.
Ashamed of his outburst, Nandus sat down again and blushed. "F-forgive me, Mother..." he stammered. "That won't happen again, I promise."
"You were serious about that, weren't you?" Ami asked him in a quiet voice. He nodded.
She shook her head. "But... but Nandus, that can't be true! Sailor Pluto, the guardian of time, told us herself, that Crystal Tokyo..."
"Crystal Tokyo still exists," Nandus said. "It just has a new king and queen... appointed by Queen Serenity herself after she resigned."
Ami was astonished. Usagi... RESIGN?
"And... isn't it Small Lady Chibiusa Serenity?" Ami asked.
Nandus shook his head. "No, she came along with her mother when all of you left for the new world. The new rulers will be Queen Naru and King Umino of Earth."
Under normal circumstances, this would have caused Ami to have a another fit of laughter. But Nandus was now speaking in such a serious voice, she didn't feel like laughing anymore.
"Leave... Crystal Tokyo?" she asked. "Why? Where will we go? Why didn't Sailor Pluto tell us anything about this?"
"There... won't be a Sailor Pluto in my time," Nandus said. "See, after 50 years of peace, Crystal Tokyo was ripe for a change. Ever since you became Senshi, you have been immortal... not completely immortal, mind you. You just won't die of old age... and your body will stop aging once it has reached a certain point..."
"I already know all of that," Ami remarked. "Setsuna told us and..."
"But... she didn't tell you this: When an immortal human, such as you, keeps on living for more than 2000 years... they will truly become immortal. Meaning, your body can't be pierced, slain, burnt, smashed or torn apart. You can't drown or suffocate. You survive any fall from any height. You are, truly, immortal. And that's just what gods are: Immortals!"
"That... that can't be all there is to it," Ami protested. "If gods exist, they must have powers beyond human imagination. The only powers we ever had were our Senshi magics, and the power of the Silver Crystal..."
"The Silver Crystal was what made you immortal," Nandus explained. "But its powers were just a fragment of what you all are capable of right now. Mind that not all Immortals are powerful, but most of them, especially if they could use powerful magic in their human lives, will develop a godly essence within their bodies, allowing them to do anything possible... anything that falls under their own aspects, that is."
"Aspects?" Ami asked. "What is that?"
"Basically, it is what you are a goddess of. You, for example, are the Goddess of Magic, of Science and of Knowledge. That's three aspects at once."
Another moment of silence.
"You still haven't told me anything about this new 'world' you mentioned," Ami reminded the young godling.
"That's right," Nandus nodded. "I was getting to that. You see, after you ascended to godhood, you were contacted by the higher god of a new world... a world that was in the need of gods. The humans and other creatures living on that world had nobody who could lead them, nobody who could turn their world in a place as wonderful as Crystal Tokyo. After making sure that Crystal Tokyo was in good, capable hands, Serenity - Aunt Usagi - agreed. She didn't speak for her Senshi, though, but since neither of you could imagine an immortal life without her, you all agreed as well. And thus, you became the new gods of Aurius..."
Ami blinked. "Aurius..."
"The name of the new world. It needed twelve gods to protect its human inhabitants, and you, along with most of the former Senshi, became part of that new pantheon."
Ami didn't doubt his words any longer. She realized that he was using his powers to convince her, but it was no brainwashing. It was the simple truth.
"Why... why did you come, then?" she asked him softly. "Why tell me all of this? Wouldn't it mess with the timeline if I knew of such a... such a profound truth?"
Nandus smiled. "We don't mess with the timeline... because we know it will happen like this. No matter if we told you or not. If you tell anybody else is up to you..."
"And what about Setsuna?" Ami asked.
The very same second she asked that, the Senshi of Time appeared in her room, in her fuku, carrying the Garnet Rod.
"Ami!" she gasped. "I've just felt that something is about to change the timelines immensely, and that the source of this change is in your..." She gasped when she saw the blue-haired boy sitting on Ami's bed. "Who... who is that?"
Ami smiled. "Setsuna, meet my future son, Nandus."
Nandus nodded. "It's an honor, Sailor Pluto!"
"Th-that can't be!" Pluto stuttered. "I've never seen any past where you will have any children. Ami, clearly this is an impostor. Stand back, and I will..."
A sudden flash of light, and Setsuna the Senshi was no more. Instead, Ami saw Setsuna the hamster, running around in a running wheel in her cage, which strangely looked like it was made out of her Garnet Rod.
"Don't worry, she won't stay like this for long," Nandus chuckled. "I just want to make sure that she doesn't cause any unnecessary trouble. She can't predict your future as gods, since her current powers are not sufficient to grasp the true concept of mortality. Same goes for the Gates of Time... she can use them to see anything that will happen in the future... but only until shortly before you ascend to your new pantheon. In her eyes, the image of an immortal Queen Serenity goes off into the far, distant future, until the end of times... but that's nonsense, of course! Everyone know that anything must come to an end."
"Will she remember any of this?" Ami asked as she watched how the adorable, green-furred, little hamster was running around in her wheel.
"She will," Nandus nodded. "But she won't be able to tell anyone. I think I will give her a back story for why you'll be gone... she will tell the other Senshi that you need some vacation on your own." He knelt down in front of the Garnet Hamster Cage and raised his finger. A soft glow surrounded both its tip and Setsuna-hamster, then it was gone.
"Wait a minute..." Ami protested. "Go where? I can't just go! I have exams... and the Senshi need me. No matter what, I'm not a goddess yet. I have some duties here."
"You will only be gone for the weekend," Nandus smiled. "Even though you will stay in Alveran for a whole year."
"Alveran?" Ami wondered. "What's Alveran?"
"That is the citadel of the gods floating above Aurius. All of the twelve goddesses have their own palaces in Alveran. You will stay with us, of course."
"Us? Who is us? Who do you mean, Nandus?"
Nandus grinned. "And that brings me to the true reason of my visit: On behalf of my mother, I hereby invite you to stay with us in Alveran, to learn as much about our new world and our work as gods as you can. We want you to know all of this in advance... because, as mother told me: She remembers how she was being taught... by herself."
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(Posted Wed, 14 May 2008 20:13)
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