The Blind Eternities. The Bastard Plane. Limbo. There are many names for the space between worlds, but they all describe the same thing, an endlessly roiling chaos of magical and physical energy which fills the space between the planes like dough between chocolate chips in the cookie of the multiverse. Any matter brought into this realm will be twisted through a brief round of morphological free-association before dissolving into raw energy. Any matter, that is, except that of a planeswalker.
Usagi floated in the void, unconscious. How long she floated cannot be said, for time was as meaningless as anything else between worlds. Eventually, another who was gifted as she as found her. Instead of taking advantage of her defenseless state, he showed mercy uncharacteristic of a ‘walker. Stroking her brow brought her to awareness.
She slowly awoke, eyes fluttering. They widened as she recalled what happened the moments prior to her awakening. She opened her mouth, but without air, no sound came. The girl began to panic as she realized that no air meant no oxygen.
Her savior was rather amused by her antics. ‘Relax,’ he sent, mind to mind. ‘Breathing is no longer necessary.’
Usagi relaxed a bit. The other could tell from her expression that she was still skeptical, or at least confused. ‘To communicate, face me and press the A Button.’ Her confusion increased. ‘Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Simply direct your thoughts at me.’ A stream of barely coherent light and sound crashed briefly and bullishly through the china shop of his mind. ‘Please form said thoughts into words first,’ came the amendment.
‘Sorry.’
‘Not a problem.’ He looked at her sympathetically. Tattered clothing, looked rather like a certain kind of Japanese school uniform. Well, except the gloves, high heeled boots, and tiara. Seemed familiar… Still, likely from a low-magic universe. ‘You likely have a number of questions.’
Usagi nodded furiously. The floodgates opened. ‘Where am I? What happened? Where are my friends? Mamoru? Beryl? Why are you a penguin?’
Pen-Pen gave an avian smirk. ‘In order: Between worlds, your spark became active, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, and I was born this way.’
‘“Awoke?” “Spark?”’
Pen-Pen sighed. As he suspected, she was new at this. ‘You have ascended, my dear. You are now among the truly elite, the mightiest of the mighty, those who flitter between universes like butterflies amongst blossoms. You are a planeswalker.’
‘Huh?’
The penguin paused for a moment. ‘Later. Why don’t you tell me what you last remember.’
As Usagi gradually recalled her story, Pen-Pen was able to place where he’d seen her before. He had a degree of familiarity with Sailor Moon. Indeed, once he’d learned of the true origins of his home plane, he’d made it a policy to gather as many fictional stories as he could, on the off chance any should prove to be factual somewhere. Apparently the same blast that had catapulted the girl out of her home universe had burnt off her odangoes, making her appear further off her in-manga appearance and delaying the penguin’s recognition.
At last, the two managed to piece together the whole story, and Pen-Pen nodded to himself. ‘I cannot say for certain, but I have a theory regarding what happened to those around you. We need to return to the site of the battle to confirm it. Come with me.’
Usagi had left a trail of disrupted spacetime that even an amateur could track. For Pen-Pen, it was almost effortless. Soon enough, they were hovering over the remains of D-Point. (“Don’t think about how you’re flying,” advised the waterfowl. “Just believe that gravity needn’t concern itself with you.”)
The flash had drawn attention from every country near the Artic Circle. The Americans and Russians were squabbling over some ultimately unimportant bit of international bylaw, so the Canadians and Scandinavians were doing the actual work.
Made invisible and intangible by her mentor, Usagi was free to gape at the destruction she had wrought. The blast crater was still bare earth, defrosted permafrost that the minimal Artic snowfall had yet to cover. The two examined the series of literal death traps that the DD Girls had used to defeat each other Senshi and found nothing, not even a scrap of ribbon or pinch of youma dust. The now collapsed tunnels where Endymion broke Beryl’s mental hold were similarly barren.
“I don’t understand,” Usagi said, distraught. “Where are they all? They couldn’t have just disappeared…”
“Actually, they may have done just that.” Pen-Pen sighed as he met his student’s expression of astonished disbelief. “I once heard of a madman who sought the power of a planeswalker for himself. He gathered every soul of his world and fed them through the core of the planet. He succeeded in transferring and igniting another’s spark, though it did not go to him.” The penguin shook his head. “I had thought it naught but a story, but now…”
The girl gasped in horror. “You mean…?”
“Yes. You said your last memory was a wish on the Ginzuishou. The crystal may have drawn on all the energy that was available, and there are few things that are more energetic than a recently deceased soul.”
“No. NO!” Tears began to flow. “That can’t be! The crystal is good. It wouldn’t just…just eat my friends like that!”
Pen-Pen patted her shoulder as comfortingly as he could. “I’m sorry, Usagi, but it’s the only explanation.”
The girl turned away. Though she was crying in earnest now, her face was a mask of rage. “NO! I didn’t ask for this! I never wanted this! I just wanted my friends back! Do you hear me, you stupid crystal? Bring them back! NOW!” Her voice shook the land. The various researchers retreated, even the two arguing over paragraph 4, page 172 of the Russo-American Artic Salvage Pact.
A planeswalker’s will is a mighty thing. Like a Green Lantern, a ‘walker can cause a number of things to happen just by wanting them enough. Creatures can be dragged through the æther. Laws of reality can be briefly rewritten. The elements can be bent to one’s desires. And, yes, souls can be called from the afterlife.
Of course, no one said it always works out in the manner one intended.
Another bright flash bathed the area in a swirling rainbow of colors. It was as though the lamp that projected the aurora had been dragged down from the heavens and was turned up to eleven. As the light faded, Usagi floated several hundred feet above the ground, in the fetal position. Surrounding her were five vaguely humanoid forms. Each was monochromatic, and Pen-Pen recognized the five colors instantly. White, blue, black, red, and green. The colors of magic.
He approached, but the white form, the one to which he was closest, turned and glared at him. It was a very good glare, especially since the eyes had all the definition and form the body lacked. Wisely, the penguin backed off and tried to look as non-threatening as possible. Fortunately, penguins excel at this.
The five looked at the figure that had created them. Four of the five wore expressions of affection and worry. The black entity seemed resentful, but not truly malicious. Slowly, Usagi awoke. The expression of each figure brightened, as did the light emanating off each. (The black being simply transitioned from anti-light to its absence.)
The girl looked at each and smiled. Though their forms were hazy, nebulous things, she recognized their souls. “You guys…”
It was easily a contender for one of the top ten strangest group hugs in history.
Afterwards, Usagi nodded at the black figure. “Beryl.”
The shade narrowed its eyes, but returned the nod.
Exuberantly, the girl flew to her mentor. “Pen-Pen-sensei! They’re back! They’re all—” She realized there was one missing. “Mamoru…”
I’m here, Usako.
“Mamo-chan?”
I’ll always be with you. We’re one now.
“…I don’t understand.”
We have always been soulmates, Usako. Now our souls are one.
“But… I want to see you. To be held in your arms.”
I know. I wish I could. But we’re even closer now. We are each other. Goodbye, Usako.
“Goodbye? But, but I just got you back!”
I can’t stay apart from your soul for much longer. I wish you could see what I’m seeing, Usako. You are so beautiful. The others weren’t as close to your light as I am. I can’t leave it.
“Please, stay away from the light! For me, Mamo-chan!”
But that’s the thing, Usako. The light is you. Everything about you. Everything I love is right there. How can I stay away?
“Mamo-chan?” Even in her mind, the voice was fading. “Mamo-chan, stay with me!”
I am with you, Usako. I always will be. I love you, my Usagi. My Serenity. I will forever be with you.
“Mamo-chan?” Nothing. Not even a whisper in her mind. “No…” She leaned on the others, sinking a bit into their not-quite-solid forms. “He’s gone.”
“Usagi?” It was Pen-Pen, flipper on her shoulder. “What was that?”
“Didn’t you hear him?”
The penguin shook his head. “Just you muttering to yourself. I had to convince these summonings of yours that I meant you no harm.”
“They aren’t summonings. They’re my friends.” She was on the verge of tears. “And…and my love was supposed to come with them.”
The bird was speechless for a time. These were souls that the girl had dragged out of her stabilizing body before her spark could fully assimilate them. They had likely been in the process of being subsumed, which would explain their blurry forms and muteness. But a significant other? “What did your love say?”
“That he couldn’t leave. That he’d always be with me.”
“I…see.” The soul was completely assimilated, then. Pen-Pen was uncertain if the man still existed. His AT Field would have completely collapsed, incorporating itself into her own. In any case, not even a ‘walker could extract him now. But the expression of the girl, the pure unfiltered misery, kept the penguin from reporting this. Besides, he wasn’t completely certain. “There is still hope.”
Usagi sniffed. “There is?”
Pen-Pen nodded hesitantly. “His soul is a part of you now, but you may be able to recover him. I know not of the magic needed to perform such an action, but I will teach you what I know.” He gestured at the five spirits surrounding them. “Your friends will likely be able to help you in this. Forgive me for the terminology, but I think you might have recreated them as interfaces.”
“‘Interfaces?’”
“Yes. Through them you can more easily access the magics that we ‘walkers can channel.”
Usagi looked at each blank face in worry. “So…they aren’t really my friends? Not anymore?” All but Beryl embraced her.
“No, they are who they were. Just repurposed. They still have their personalities, but they are now extensions of you. As you grow in power, they should recover speech and solidity. Think of them as…advisors.”
The girl smiled at her friends and nodded again. “I’ll think of them as friends. Even Beryl.” The dark figure rolled her eyes. “So, could I really turn them back? Restore their bodies?”
“In theory, anything is possible with our level of power. Well, except trying to go back in time. That just leads to all kinds of trouble.” The bird sighed. “Still, the magic needed to return your friends to physical form is beyond my knowledge. Hopefully, it will act as a springboard for you, but you will need to search and experiment yourself.” He rubbed his flippers together. “In any case, let us begin.”
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(Posted Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:10)
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