Even if the two of us are ever torn apart, I swear that I will change the world.

[waterfell]

It's chilly today. There's a cold bite in the air and the grass is starting to fade. Mercury goes out to the forest alone anyway, following unfrequented paths to some part of it that seems random. Her hair brushes her face in the slight breeze. She carries a pail of water and a broom in one hand, and a cluster of white flowers in the other.

Comments

[leaderofpetals]

This being she only her second trip through the nexus she still very unnerved by the random transporting. Through when she sees the serious scene she take a more serious composure.

[waterfell]

She can feel someone's presence, not in any spiritual way but simply that back-of-the-mind 'someone is looking at me' sixth sense everyone seems to possess. Mercury's eyes flutter open and as she looks sharply around, they fall on Ceres.

"You," she says, but the tone is wary even more than angry; guarded. "Sailor Ceres. The nexus brought you?"

[leaderofpetals]

"Yes. I am sorry to disturb you."

She walks closer to the small shrine, curiosity too strong. She gives a respectful bow and a small moment of silence she asks.

"Who is it that lays here Mercury-san? You don't have to answer me if you wish. I would leave but I'm not sure on how this 'Nexus' works"

[waterfell]

Why should she be ashamed of her affections? "My mentor," Mercury says, finally understanding and having the right word to name what he'd been to her.

"Kunzite."

[iceclouded]

Jadeite's nearby, quiet. He's good at staying out of the way, going unnoticed, would it be the same this time? Mercury was sharp, attentive. There were often times he couldn't keep his presence from her even if he wanted to. This time, he only hangs back to be polite.

Something like this...the forest, and that stone. The look on Mercury's face...Kunzite?

[waterfell]

She doesn't notice him until she's finally finished her prayers, or whatever meditation she'd been immersed in, and turns to go. The expression on her face suggests that whatever she'd been doing here, she's made some peace with it.

Mercury keeps walking anyway, until she comes within a few feet of Jadeite, almost as if she still hadn't noticed and might go on anyway. But she pauses there. "You were watching?"

[iceclouded]

"I didn't come on purpose this time," he says, a phrase that's become synonymous with "nexus". He turns just a bit, as if to escort her back to wherever it is she's returning to.

"This seems like a strange place for you to be," he comments after a moment, tone quiet, and he gives a glance back to that stone tablet.

[waterfell]

A phrase that still means he'd been watching, too, but that's fine. She seems mostly undisturbed. Perhaps it's being here; he'd always been able to calm her.

"Is it really strange?" she asks mildly. "Kunzite is here." Or rather, it's a place she can think about a few memories, and what conclusions to draw from the life she watched him life.

[waterfell]

The blue-haired woman - or maybe girl, since her face still seems no older than her mid or late teens - watches Usagi silently for several seconds.

"It's been awhile, Tsukino-san." Her lips curve upward in an ironic smile that holds no real friendliness.

"I don't feel like fighting in a sacred place like this, but you should be careful and not take it too easy, alright?"

[waterfell]

She loves that moment of realization, that crestfallen confusion. She can practically taste it on her tongue like something sensual. It only feeds that almost-manic energy and glint in her eye.

"That's the nature of our friendship," she says. She gives the last word a tiny emphasis that suggests she'll enjoy tearing down its true meaning and redefining it in her own image.

[tuning_venus]

It's a solemn scene. Venus knows that immediately as she silently stops a few feet behind the girl. Her uniform looks a lot like her own, but her Score is... Impossible. And yet Venus sees it. The silvery, dark blue notes are all in line, but some of the Notes were Viral. Despite that, they've fused, replaced some Notes and become one with the Score.

Venus makes her mind to warn her, but not now. It's improper.

Realizing what she's doing, Venus also folds her hands to pray. It's only proper, after all.

[waterfell]

This is her own way of living. She probably isn't even sure herself anymore what was a hidden side of herself and what was the nudging of the Dark Kingdom back then. It's all joined, meshed together; fused is a good word for it.

Whatever brought her here, Mercury seems to have made her peace with it by the time she opens her eyes, seconds after Venus' arrival. She always stays alert.

"Sailor Venus." The nexus must have brought her. "This is a sacred place, not for fighting. But don't think that means I'll treat you easily."

[tuning_venus]

"I have no intention to fight you," replies Venus as she lowers her hands, "And I'm not a 'sailor'. I'm from another universe. The deterioration of universe-separating walls has reached my own." The explanation is simple, to her. "If anything," she continues, "I've been brought here to give you a warning." She is calm, her voice even, her guard down.

[waterfell]

To 99% of the multiverse's population, that would sound utterly insane. The fact that Mercury does little more than nod suggests she'd already guessed. After all, there is no Venus that belongs to the world they are currently standing in. But it fades to a skeptical, humorous contempt at the other girl's serious tone.

"A warning for me?" she asks. This should be good.