She'd been at her juku, an ordinary Japanese teenager aside from her extraordinary intelligence. The school had been the target of one of Jaedite's energy-gathering operations, and like the rest, she'd fallen unconscious from the energy drain. It had taken somewhat longer than the rest, though, and she'd gotten up to try to fight the youma before she fell. Jadeite had recognized the potential in her, and had ordered the youma to collect her and bring her before Beryl.
She'd awoken confused, weakened, but in a comfortable bedroom. The decor was rather strange, composed primarily of odd geometric shapes and gemstones. (She had later learned that this was a common motif in the Dark Kingdom, with its immense mineral wealth and minimal plant life.) Some of the most humanlike of Beryl's youma servants had attended her every need. They'd bathed her and dressed her in fresh clothes, served her a fine breakfast. She'd never worn silk before that day, and found she rather liked the feel of it against her skin. Then had come the interview with Beryl, in the Queen's private quarters.
"I must apologize for our little mistake, my dear," the dark queen began. "One of my minions was - overzealous. You, of all people, should never have been placed in such a predicament."
Ami nodded. "Just what was that creature doing there? Everyone just suddenly got tired, and fell asleep..."
One of the servants who'd attended Ami brought in a tea tray, at that point, and served the two. Then Beryl continued: "It begins with an ancient kingdom of magic and high civilization, thousands of years ago, forgotten by humankind of today. It was ruled by a ruthless dynasty, who used their magical powers to erase any thought of rebellion from the minds of their subjects. The people were left as puppets, save for Serenity's favorites. Anyone with sufficient magical potential to resist the controls was either recruited for their 'senshi', or killed."
Ami shook with horror at the thought, but sipped her tea and politely listened as Beryl told her tale.
"It was a horrible time," Beryl continued, "But eventually, resistance did grow. An underground of the magically-powerful managed to liberate a town and conceal it, then they took surrounding towns and freed them as well. Within a few years they grew powerful enough to proclaim a free kingdom. Then disaster struck."
"They were discovered before they were ready?" Ami asked.
"No," was Beryl's answer. "Their leader, Prince Endymion, fell in love with Serenity's daughter, and sold them out in exchange for her hand in marriage."
Ami shivered. To have come so close, she mused, and yet to give it all up like that... what kind of fool was this Endymion?
"The Senshi struck carefully and quickly, asassainating several of Endymion's chief supporters, nobles and mages who could have continued the fight. Only I and his four chief generals survived the purge." She shivered, the memory still vivid after so many centuries. She noted Ami's gasp of surprise, and nodded. "Yes, I was one of those few. I will explain everything in time, if you will be patient." Ami nodded, and the Queen continued her tale, as the two enjoyed their tea.
"We knew, then, we had to work quickly. We had hundreds of students, apprentices, who'd been in training as mage-warriors. We could have gone underground again, we five, but the students would never have been able to resist Serenity's power. So we did what we could for them... we did what we had to." She closed her eyes, pausing for a moment.
"We had a partial copy - a fragment - of the ritual Serenity used to create her Senshi. We had hoped to use it to recreate the whole, to create our own mage-warriors, immune to the control spells. We had neither the time nor the resources to do so, though. So we used what we had. We worked the ritual on our students, and we led them in a lightning attack upon Serenity's palace.
"We arrived in the midst of Endymion's wedding celebration, ironically enough. Our warriors cut their way through the lesser Senshi who stood guard, and stormed the palace. We came so very close to victory... so very close."
Ami found herself leaning forward, listening closely, fascinated by the tale. Something about it rang a chord within her, as if it were a story she'd heard before, in her childhood. "What happened?" she asked, as Beryl paused.
"The battle was over," was the answer. "We had almost won -- we had won -- the leaders of the Senshi lay bleeding, dying, at our feet. Serenity herself was mortally wounded. But she too had made preparations. With the last of her power, she called upon the Ginzuishou, the crystal she used in creating the Senshi. She opened a gateway into a pocket universe, and banished us there... banished us here. And here we have remained, for centuries, sustained only by the magical radiation of this world's sun. And that sun is dying."
Ami nodded, shivering at the thought.
"And so we finally managed to open a gateway back to the real world, and found the world as it is today. Magic forgotten, technology filling many of its roles. Freedom cherished by a few, its name tarnished by many. You saw what the radiation has done to so many of us, mutated man of our children into monsters, made us dependant upon it for our very lives. And the only thing in your world that generates that energy is... human life."
"So -- you sent them through, to, to take it from people? Like at my school?"
Beryl reddened a little. "As I said, that one went a little overboard. We intended merely to take what you all radiated away as you worked, you should never have missed it. Instead... well, you saw the result. You have my word, the one responsible will be disciplined." She paused again, watching Ami shiver. "Your classmates have already recovered, my dear, have no fear for them. They will tire easily for a week or two, but aside from that they will suffer no ill effects."
"Thank the kamis for that," Ami whispered. "They all looked so pale.. the last thing I remembered was looking down at Mariko, and thinking how sad her parents would be..."
"Your concern for them shows you well, Mizuno-san," Beryl said, a little smile flirting across her lips. "Because I had a very specific reason for having you brought here."
"What reason might that be?" Ami asked.
"What we did not realize, at first, was a second effect of Serenity's final spell. She had other contingency plans, and one of them was to provide for the recreation of her Senshi. They - and perhaps even Serenity herself - have been reborn in this era, and unless we act quickly, they will be overpowered by the memories of their past lives, and begin working to recreate their kingdom. With no one in this world capable of opposing them..."
Ami shivered, horrified at the implications. "And you think I can do something to help stop them?"
"Oh, much more than that, my dear. Because you are one of them. You are the Countess Mercury, one of the four leaders of Serenity's personal guard. And I do not mean to let her have you again."
The blue-haired girl gasped, slumping back in her chair at the sudden revalation. "But I - I'm not - I'd never do anything like that!"
"I know that, my dear... but once Serenity's spell catches you, the person you are now will be wiped away, and only the sorceress will remain."
"No... no. I won't let it happen. Never!" Ami's eyes blazed with defiance. Despite her normal calm demeanor, she was terrified of the fate Beryl had revealed to her.
"I cannot break the spell," Beryl said, her voice gone quiet for a moment. Does she mean to kill me, then? Is this whole talk just her way of apologizing, explaining, it?
(Posted Fri, 23 Apr 2004 03:54)
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