Fic: On Razor's Edge - Chapter 14
Title: On Razor’s Edge - Chapter 14
Summary: Crystal Tokyo has arrived. So has Ando Tanaka.
Warnings: All warnings apply.
A/N: As always, I am indebted to the brilliant Prof. Dr. Charlie Chaplin, who rocks all sorts of things, but especially being a good person.
The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard.
~ verse in the Katha-Upanishad
Dr. Mizuno exited the OR. Her patient would live to see another day, but the next one was surely already waiting. The hospital was at capacity, but the wounded kept coming, kept being found. Under rubble, under cars, spiked by crystals, by shrapnel, run over by tanks… it was a nightmare come true. But her scrub nurse had told them that the air assault had stopped, so that was something to be thankful for. In this moment of reprieve, she had to contact her sisters, had to reach Umino, had to find out whether she should stay here and save people the conventional way or whether there was something else that needed doing. She needed to know, for someone to tell her, whether it was Mercury or Mizuno that was needed now. And she needed to know before she was pulled into the next surgery.
“Ami.”
Ami whipped around and saw a familiar pair of dark blue eyes peeking from behind a door.
“Mamoru!”
Mamoru pulled his friend inside the utility closet. “Come with me.” She took the hand he offered, fully trusting his judgement, and so the journey was like flying with the wind in your back. Barely a second passed before they were no longer standing on hospital linoleum, dirty with blood, but on the soft green grass of Elysion. Birds twittered, and Ami had to blink. Minutes ago, she had been elbow deep in a patient, whose heart monitor had given off the warning sounds that came with multi-system organ failure.
“Ami!” Usagi crashed into her, holding her with all her might. “It’s okay, it’s all okay,” the doctor whispered, hoping that as it had always been, it would be true once more. Her patient had died on the table, but her words might still be true. Usagi could fix everything. Absolutely everything.
“Our latest news is over an hour old, Ami,” Hiro said softly, and Usagi let go, knowing that there was no time for cuddles and hellos when there might be so many farewells in their future. Hiro was standing next to a large tree, fully in bloom. The green leaves were as big as Ami’s hands, and there were tiny white flowers dangling from the branches. She swallowed. The moment reminded her of a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago, when Hiro had helped Aiko climb a tree in the park, watching the little girl’s every move with eagle eyes. “Can you tell us anything new?” the tall man went on, his voice gruff. He looked exactly like someone who was trying to be calm, but wasn’t. For Hiro, being calm and at peace meant moving all the time, be it tapping his foot or playing with his keys. Now he stood still, and it was the only artificial thing in this fully natural world.
Helplessly, Ami shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve been in the OR since it began. I know that the bombing stopped, but that’s it. I’m sorry.”
Mamoru nodded, more to himself than anything else. “I’ve got to go back now. I’ll get Umino and Rei next, they’ve been waiting for us far too long.”
Ami looked around, taking stock. Her heart plummeted. “Wait, what? Where is everyone else?”
While misty winds took Mamoru back into the world they’d left, Hiro put his hand on Ami’s shoulder, and began to explain.
***
The front door slammed open with a bang. In the kitchen, Takeshi instinctively shoved Minako behind him and blocked the doorframe with his own body. She snorted.
“This isn’t an enemy, Takeshi. An enemy would just throw a bomb and be done with it.”
He looked over his shoulder to meet her eyes. She arched a brow. “What? You know it’s true.”
As heavy steps (one set only, he noted, and wondered why Setsuna was so late and when she’d begun to stomp like that) moved towards them, he nevertheless focused electricity in his fingertips. Just a little, just to be safe, in case it wasn’t who he thought it was.
And indeed, he found himself surprised.
Haruka Tenoh burst into the kitchen and almost careened into him.
“Kindly explain to me what THE FUCK IS GOING ON!”
***
The crystal floors under his feet were no longer warm. Mamoru let out a breath he’d been very conscious of holding and slowly turned on the spot. The throne room looked untouched; the bombs hadn’t affected it at all. That was a good sign. But there was no sign of either Rei or Umino, and he’d been very clear that they were to assemble here and wait for him to pick them up. This could only mean one thing: something had gone wrong.
Since he couldn’t go into the dungeons and through every hidden door that lead into the fiery heart of the palace without burning to death (they’d tried, once, in the early days -- Usagi wanted to have a look, and when they opened the door, a small wave of lava trickled out, almost burning their shoes off their feet), Mamoru went past the throne, pushed the third wall panel to the left, and slipped into the secret pathway that would take him up to his and Usagi’s rooms.
He climbed the stairs in a hurry: there was no knowing what awaited him up there, and just because the bombs had stopped falling, didn’t mean they were safe. Arriving at his destination, more out of breath than a man his age had a right to be, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
What he found was like a punch to the gut.
“Umino!”
The youngest shitennou lay sprawled on the floor, blood trickling from his nose and pooling on the crystal. Never one to tan, Umino was naturally pale, even in the midst of summer. Now, in the last days of March, not only was he elfin, he looked half dead. His skin had a tinge of blue, like the sky in an impressionist painting. His lack of colour stood in stark contrast to the walls: they were charred black, covered from floor to ceiling in soot and grime. Only the floors were their pristine, crystalline self.
“Umino, wake up!”
There was still a pulse. Slow, but it was there, and that was all that mattered now. Calling for the powers of the golden crystal, Mamoru held his friend’s hand and concentrated on letting some of the eternal life that was graciously given to him flow into his wounded friend.
“E-- enough,” Umino whispered and tried to take his hand away.
“What happened?”
Mamoru helped the younger one in a sitting position. The front of Umino’s t-shirt, faded and frayed at the seams, not that this owner cared, was covered in blood.
Umino coughed, wheezing. Mamoru had heard that kind of cough before; a ninety-one year old patient who’d died of pneumonia the same night he’d been admitted to the hospital. Resolutely, he send another stream of energy into Umino’s hands, which turned a little pink. Soon, the colour crept up above his neck, settling in his cheeks. Better. Much better.
“Rei?” Mamoru asked, but Umino shook his head.
“Didn’t come back up. I think I passed out because I was trying to contain the fire in the dungeons, and not let that explosion outside tear the West Wing down. For a moment, it was just---” He fell silent, searching for the right words. Outside, the sky was a beautiful blue, and the sun had finally risen. “The world was fire, Mamoru. Their fire, but also ours. It was them and us I was battling there, and I have no idea what that means or why it happened and what’s going on with Rei.”
“We can’t go down there to get her, can we?”
Umino opened his mouth and closed it again. He couldn’t answer, he couldn’t do that to Ando. And he couldn’t do that to Rei because if he knew one thing, it was that Rei Hino belonged in the fire, even if it killed her. She was a woman who understood and embraced destiny and her destiny was and always had been the raging, destructive, monstrous beauty of the flames.
“What happens if we leave?” Mamoru asked. “What happens if you leave?”
Umino closed his eyes.
“Depends on what they throw at the palace. My wards might hold, but I can’t promise it. The building might be destroyed. But judging from what happened… I think it also might self-destruct.”
Thinking of Rei in the fire underneath, Mamoru felt his insides go cold. Would she be the first of them to die? Could he leave her behind? Proud Rei Hino, his wife’s fiercest friend. The one who had taken the longest to forgive his brothers, but who had given insufferable Ando the second chance he so desperately craved. Rei Hino, former miko, formidable senshi. He couldn’t do this. Not after all these years. But then he thought of Makoto and her children, and of Setsuna, and of all the others still waiting to be rescued. The ones not past saving. Wiping at his eyes, he got up. There was only one logical resolution. Only one.
“Let’s go.”
***
Haruka was still screaming bloody murder when the door banged open once more and Mamoru Chiba hurried in. She was still shouting herself raw when they’d arrived in Elysion and only stopped when Usagi took her hand and whispered things no one else heard.
***
Takeshi barely batted an eyelash, neither did Minako.
Both were only too aware of the ones missing from their ranks.
Rei. Ando. Makoto. Her children. Setsuna. Michiru.
***
It was silent in the flat Setsuna Meioh and Takeshi Nakamura shared. The bullet-proof windows kept most of the outside sounds at bay. You could barely hear the sirens up here, and the bombs, well, the air assault had stopped about an hour ago. The quiet was blissful.
The flat’s inhabitant sat in front of the TV, which she’d placed on mute. There was no need to hear what she’d seen a thousand times before.
Jadeite in a sea of flames.
The fool.
He’d been knocked out by the backlash of his own powers. Throwing a house-sized ball of fire at Wiseman, never sparing a thought, not for one second, that if Wiseman was hiding behind the news van, the people inside the news van would die, too. And the news van would blow up. And take out Wiseman, yes, well done, but also all the ambulances arriving on the scene.
Oh, it was so clear how it would go on from here.
So, so clear.
She could have told them all, even without her powers to aid her. Even without having seen it happen before. But the way the world turned was her secret burden, and she wasn’t allowed to share. There was no reason to. The Queen was safe, and the price was almost paid. She had gone to the future more than once, never telling anyone, gliding in and out of the mists of time. She’d observed from the sidelines and returned home to continue to do nothing, nothing at all.
No, Ando Tanaka’s brave act of foolery hadn’t shocked her.
Her boyfriend’s selection of a safe place however had.
She turned the TV off just as the newscasters reported that the Queen’s head of PR had been arrested on the charges of terrorism, treason, cold blooded murder and--- magic.
*** End of Chapter 14 ***
Summary: Crystal Tokyo has arrived. So has Ando Tanaka.
Warnings: All warnings apply.
A/N: As always, I am indebted to the brilliant Prof. Dr. Charlie Chaplin, who rocks all sorts of things, but especially being a good person.
The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard.
~ verse in the Katha-Upanishad
Dr. Mizuno exited the OR. Her patient would live to see another day, but the next one was surely already waiting. The hospital was at capacity, but the wounded kept coming, kept being found. Under rubble, under cars, spiked by crystals, by shrapnel, run over by tanks… it was a nightmare come true. But her scrub nurse had told them that the air assault had stopped, so that was something to be thankful for. In this moment of reprieve, she had to contact her sisters, had to reach Umino, had to find out whether she should stay here and save people the conventional way or whether there was something else that needed doing. She needed to know, for someone to tell her, whether it was Mercury or Mizuno that was needed now. And she needed to know before she was pulled into the next surgery.
“Ami.”
Ami whipped around and saw a familiar pair of dark blue eyes peeking from behind a door.
“Mamoru!”
Mamoru pulled his friend inside the utility closet. “Come with me.” She took the hand he offered, fully trusting his judgement, and so the journey was like flying with the wind in your back. Barely a second passed before they were no longer standing on hospital linoleum, dirty with blood, but on the soft green grass of Elysion. Birds twittered, and Ami had to blink. Minutes ago, she had been elbow deep in a patient, whose heart monitor had given off the warning sounds that came with multi-system organ failure.
“Ami!” Usagi crashed into her, holding her with all her might. “It’s okay, it’s all okay,” the doctor whispered, hoping that as it had always been, it would be true once more. Her patient had died on the table, but her words might still be true. Usagi could fix everything. Absolutely everything.
“Our latest news is over an hour old, Ami,” Hiro said softly, and Usagi let go, knowing that there was no time for cuddles and hellos when there might be so many farewells in their future. Hiro was standing next to a large tree, fully in bloom. The green leaves were as big as Ami’s hands, and there were tiny white flowers dangling from the branches. She swallowed. The moment reminded her of a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago, when Hiro had helped Aiko climb a tree in the park, watching the little girl’s every move with eagle eyes. “Can you tell us anything new?” the tall man went on, his voice gruff. He looked exactly like someone who was trying to be calm, but wasn’t. For Hiro, being calm and at peace meant moving all the time, be it tapping his foot or playing with his keys. Now he stood still, and it was the only artificial thing in this fully natural world.
Helplessly, Ami shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve been in the OR since it began. I know that the bombing stopped, but that’s it. I’m sorry.”
Mamoru nodded, more to himself than anything else. “I’ve got to go back now. I’ll get Umino and Rei next, they’ve been waiting for us far too long.”
Ami looked around, taking stock. Her heart plummeted. “Wait, what? Where is everyone else?”
While misty winds took Mamoru back into the world they’d left, Hiro put his hand on Ami’s shoulder, and began to explain.
***
The front door slammed open with a bang. In the kitchen, Takeshi instinctively shoved Minako behind him and blocked the doorframe with his own body. She snorted.
“This isn’t an enemy, Takeshi. An enemy would just throw a bomb and be done with it.”
He looked over his shoulder to meet her eyes. She arched a brow. “What? You know it’s true.”
As heavy steps (one set only, he noted, and wondered why Setsuna was so late and when she’d begun to stomp like that) moved towards them, he nevertheless focused electricity in his fingertips. Just a little, just to be safe, in case it wasn’t who he thought it was.
And indeed, he found himself surprised.
Haruka Tenoh burst into the kitchen and almost careened into him.
“Kindly explain to me what THE FUCK IS GOING ON!”
***
The crystal floors under his feet were no longer warm. Mamoru let out a breath he’d been very conscious of holding and slowly turned on the spot. The throne room looked untouched; the bombs hadn’t affected it at all. That was a good sign. But there was no sign of either Rei or Umino, and he’d been very clear that they were to assemble here and wait for him to pick them up. This could only mean one thing: something had gone wrong.
Since he couldn’t go into the dungeons and through every hidden door that lead into the fiery heart of the palace without burning to death (they’d tried, once, in the early days -- Usagi wanted to have a look, and when they opened the door, a small wave of lava trickled out, almost burning their shoes off their feet), Mamoru went past the throne, pushed the third wall panel to the left, and slipped into the secret pathway that would take him up to his and Usagi’s rooms.
He climbed the stairs in a hurry: there was no knowing what awaited him up there, and just because the bombs had stopped falling, didn’t mean they were safe. Arriving at his destination, more out of breath than a man his age had a right to be, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
What he found was like a punch to the gut.
“Umino!”
The youngest shitennou lay sprawled on the floor, blood trickling from his nose and pooling on the crystal. Never one to tan, Umino was naturally pale, even in the midst of summer. Now, in the last days of March, not only was he elfin, he looked half dead. His skin had a tinge of blue, like the sky in an impressionist painting. His lack of colour stood in stark contrast to the walls: they were charred black, covered from floor to ceiling in soot and grime. Only the floors were their pristine, crystalline self.
“Umino, wake up!”
There was still a pulse. Slow, but it was there, and that was all that mattered now. Calling for the powers of the golden crystal, Mamoru held his friend’s hand and concentrated on letting some of the eternal life that was graciously given to him flow into his wounded friend.
“E-- enough,” Umino whispered and tried to take his hand away.
“What happened?”
Mamoru helped the younger one in a sitting position. The front of Umino’s t-shirt, faded and frayed at the seams, not that this owner cared, was covered in blood.
Umino coughed, wheezing. Mamoru had heard that kind of cough before; a ninety-one year old patient who’d died of pneumonia the same night he’d been admitted to the hospital. Resolutely, he send another stream of energy into Umino’s hands, which turned a little pink. Soon, the colour crept up above his neck, settling in his cheeks. Better. Much better.
“Rei?” Mamoru asked, but Umino shook his head.
“Didn’t come back up. I think I passed out because I was trying to contain the fire in the dungeons, and not let that explosion outside tear the West Wing down. For a moment, it was just---” He fell silent, searching for the right words. Outside, the sky was a beautiful blue, and the sun had finally risen. “The world was fire, Mamoru. Their fire, but also ours. It was them and us I was battling there, and I have no idea what that means or why it happened and what’s going on with Rei.”
“We can’t go down there to get her, can we?”
Umino opened his mouth and closed it again. He couldn’t answer, he couldn’t do that to Ando. And he couldn’t do that to Rei because if he knew one thing, it was that Rei Hino belonged in the fire, even if it killed her. She was a woman who understood and embraced destiny and her destiny was and always had been the raging, destructive, monstrous beauty of the flames.
“What happens if we leave?” Mamoru asked. “What happens if you leave?”
Umino closed his eyes.
“Depends on what they throw at the palace. My wards might hold, but I can’t promise it. The building might be destroyed. But judging from what happened… I think it also might self-destruct.”
Thinking of Rei in the fire underneath, Mamoru felt his insides go cold. Would she be the first of them to die? Could he leave her behind? Proud Rei Hino, his wife’s fiercest friend. The one who had taken the longest to forgive his brothers, but who had given insufferable Ando the second chance he so desperately craved. Rei Hino, former miko, formidable senshi. He couldn’t do this. Not after all these years. But then he thought of Makoto and her children, and of Setsuna, and of all the others still waiting to be rescued. The ones not past saving. Wiping at his eyes, he got up. There was only one logical resolution. Only one.
“Let’s go.”
***
Haruka was still screaming bloody murder when the door banged open once more and Mamoru Chiba hurried in. She was still shouting herself raw when they’d arrived in Elysion and only stopped when Usagi took her hand and whispered things no one else heard.
***
Takeshi barely batted an eyelash, neither did Minako.
Both were only too aware of the ones missing from their ranks.
Rei. Ando. Makoto. Her children. Setsuna. Michiru.
***
It was silent in the flat Setsuna Meioh and Takeshi Nakamura shared. The bullet-proof windows kept most of the outside sounds at bay. You could barely hear the sirens up here, and the bombs, well, the air assault had stopped about an hour ago. The quiet was blissful.
The flat’s inhabitant sat in front of the TV, which she’d placed on mute. There was no need to hear what she’d seen a thousand times before.
Jadeite in a sea of flames.
The fool.
He’d been knocked out by the backlash of his own powers. Throwing a house-sized ball of fire at Wiseman, never sparing a thought, not for one second, that if Wiseman was hiding behind the news van, the people inside the news van would die, too. And the news van would blow up. And take out Wiseman, yes, well done, but also all the ambulances arriving on the scene.
Oh, it was so clear how it would go on from here.
So, so clear.
She could have told them all, even without her powers to aid her. Even without having seen it happen before. But the way the world turned was her secret burden, and she wasn’t allowed to share. There was no reason to. The Queen was safe, and the price was almost paid. She had gone to the future more than once, never telling anyone, gliding in and out of the mists of time. She’d observed from the sidelines and returned home to continue to do nothing, nothing at all.
No, Ando Tanaka’s brave act of foolery hadn’t shocked her.
Her boyfriend’s selection of a safe place however had.
She turned the TV off just as the newscasters reported that the Queen’s head of PR had been arrested on the charges of terrorism, treason, cold blooded murder and--- magic.
*** End of Chapter 14 ***