Searching, Tracking

[waterfell]

Set in a spacious room with high ceilings and sparse furnishings, a comfortable couch contains a girl with dark hair like Mizuno Ami, but dressed in the signature blue gown of Mercury's princess. She has a drink of some sort of chilled fruit juice in her hand, and is viewing a screen that takes up an entire wall. It shows some apparently random

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[senshi_of_venus]

Minako, for once, is completely quiet when she shows up in the main hall of Mariner Castle. It's definitely familiar, somehow, in a way she can't quite put her finger on. Of course, that leads her to the conclusion that it's a memory from the past life.

She walks slowly forward, clutching her henshin pen in her jacket pocket. She isn't sure if she's been taken to a place before or after the Silver Millenium at first. The fact that no one's around, though, suggests the latter.

And of course, it's just her luck that she gets transported here while still carrying her school stuff.

[waterfell]

Before another second passes, a few lights begin to flash. Mercury's head jerks upward and she stands up quickly, turning to face the intruder.

Venus. Mercury's lips quirk upward. "A sailor senshi shouldn't be able to enter here, so you must have come through the nexus," she remarks.

"Welcome to Mariner Castle, Sailorvenus." Or Aino Minako, apparently, as her eyes take in the school supplies.

[senshi_of_venus]

"Hi. Yeah, that's it." Minako gives Mercury a once-over, seemingly approving of the outfit. "Looking very sharp today, Mercury! I'm digging the dress. Simple but so very haute couture."

[waterfell]

Have a confused look for a second, then an outright laugh. Is she serious?

"What are you trying to pull?" Mercury asks with some amusement. It's safe to say she hadn't expected a compliment.

[nephenie]

Brooding has become quite a habit for Nephrite these days. He looks up from his mop, then turns towards the door. Sunlight - something he despises - ironically looks quite inviting now. It takes him but a moment to think about it, before putting his mop to rest behind the counter and removing his Crown apron.

"I'm stepping out." Whether the human turtle heard or not, it doesn't really matter. At least Nephrite had the decency to shout out a warning, eh?

The moment the sliding doors opens, Nephrite moves forward, only to have the nexus suck him into somewhere... cold, from the looks of it.

Ice? Why yes, upon a closer look, it is.

Nephrite frowns.

[waterfell]

A warning sound, quite loud, triggers at once since this is already the computer control room. It cuts itself off a moment later. Without even turning around, the woman on the couch greets him:

"Welcome, Nephrite." She's rather amused, thank you. And that voice is probably very, irritatingly familiar. She also happens to be even more elegantly groomed, to complement the gown.

[nephenie]

But it isn't cold. Why the hell--

At the sound of her voice, Nephrite turns, and sees --

Wait.

Muh?

[waterfell]

That surprise is gratifying. She'd almost forgotten Nephrite's problems remembering the past.

"Welcome to Mariner Castle," she specifies to his stunned silence, taking it for simple surprise at the surroundings.

"This is where I was born."

[thief_route_v]

"Ah, that's an impressive screen~!" Minako, though she doesn't really look like Minako right now, comes into view and peers at the screen, adjusting her glasses. "Sharp imagery, bold colors... I'd like one myself."

[waterfell]

An intruder senshi is noted immediately by the system, not identified as any Mercury already tolerates knows.

"Sailor senshi aren't allowed in this place," comes the voice of the girl who doesn't even turn around. "If you move, I'll kill you here." In fact, her hand is already only a short distance away from the controls to activate various force fields.

Then she stands up and turns around to scrutinize, "Sailor V."

[thief_route_v]

Minako sighs, taking off her glasses and tossing them aside. "I do hate it when I'm recognized," she murmured, a light glowing around her as she transforms, wordlessly, into Sailor V. She turns around to face the girl, though doesn't move from her spot. "And before you get hasty," she continues, "I'm not looking for a fight, nor anything to steal. I'm just here for some information."

[waterfell]

"I don't have any information for you. If you know how to get home, you should do it immediately. If you don't, you can stay there and be good until the nexus returns you."

This is her version of playing nice. After all, she's not hurting the other girl - and won't, as long as those directives are obeyed. But they're on her ground. She won't humor a sailor senshi.

[shadowedgold]

"Oooooooh!" Have a Venus leaning over Mercury's shoulder, her eyes wide as she stares at the many displays and controls. "This is neat! Mercury-chan would love it!"

[waterfell]

Venus' noisy arrival is made even louder by the glowing alarms as the computer informs Mercury of an intruder senshi, stationed from Venus, specifically...

Ah. This one. (She's already fed it the data from the senshi she's familiar with.) Well, it's not the computer's fault the nexus can deposit people right in the room. Over her shoulder. Inches away.

"Welcome to Mariner Castle, Venus!" she greets her guest with some amusement as she presses a few buttons that make the warnings stop. Mercury herself is not only garbed in her traditional gown, but her hair has been elaborately styled and curled, arranged precisely to bring out her best features.

[waterloved]

To say that she was confused would have been be a severe understatement. Sailor Mercury took a cautious step forward, her gaze ravenously taking in the sight of a castle she had not seen in this lifetime, but she was wary. She didn't know how she had gotten here, and the person sitting before the controls look suspiciously familiar. After a moment, she took another step, allowing the heel of her boot to ring against the floor.

[waterfell]

The warnings glow and sound again, this time presenting Mercury only with the information that an alternate has arrived, with a pure senshi energy signature. No one she's familiar with, either.

"Don't take another step or you'll be hurt," she says without even turning around as the room temperature drops even lower, well below freezing now. "Sailor senshi aren't permitted here." It's then that she finally stands up and turns around, revealing herself to be a duplicate of the other girl.

[waterloved]

The words were strange, coming from what looked to be a carbon copy of her own past self. Mercury remained still at the warning through, watching the other woman closely.

"Who are you?"

[waterfell]

The screen printout might be interesting. Or it might make very little sense. The message winks on, stays there for a moment, and then disappears.

Energy signature input definition accepted: 2312051812152254

"I'm the princess of this castle," the twin in the gown introduces herself, "Mercury."