Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Ascension Trilogy, Book 1: The Coming Ice Age ❯ Suspicious Minds ( Chapter 6 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

THE COMING ICE AGE,
Chapter 6: "Suspicious Minds"

By Bill K.

"Hi, Michiru," Usagi greeted the woman at her front door. "Come
in, please."

"I'm sorry if I'm intruding, Usagi," Michiru told her. She
noticed the paper fixed to the drawing board over in the corner. "Were
you working?"

"Yeah," Usagi said, scurrying into the kitchen to get some tea.
"I am SO behind on the next chapter of 'Fire Princess Rika' that my
editor is ready to murder me! Is Haruka with you?"

"No, she had other things to attend to. Perhaps I should come
back another . . .?"

"That's all right. If you don't mind my not looking at you, we
can talk while I draw. I've got the thumbnails done, so it won't take
that much concentration."

"And it isn't something frightfully complex, such as walking and
chewing gum," needled Luna, emerging from the bedroom. She executed a
feline stretch as she walked across the room. "Hello, Michiru. I
wasn't aware that you and Haruka were even back in Tokyo."

"We just got in a few days ago," Michiru said as Usagi popped out
of the kitchen and flipped water at Luna from her hand. The cat jumped
as the drops struck her and returned the gesture with an impatient
glare. Michiru hesitated delicately over her next question. "Has there
been any sign of trouble brewing around Tokyo?"

"Well, Artemis and I have been looking into the recent temperature
drop. It can't possibly be natural, you know. Tokyo's down twenty
degrees now and the mean temperature is down ten degrees worldwide."

"Perhaps that's what we sensed."

"What did you sense?" Usagi asked, entering with a cup of tea.
She handed it to Michiru.

"Nothing specific," Michiru said. "Just a premonition of danger.
But a global cooling would fit the bill. Have you found a cause?"

"No," scowled Luna. "And it's got Artemis quite peeved. He so
despises questions with no answers. Given the potential threat, it
doesn't reassure me either."

"Maybe everyone's worrying over nothing," Usagi said as she
sketched a figure onto the page on her board. "It's just a little cool
weather."

"It's not normal," Luna fussed. "And if the temperature keeps
going down, it'll become catastrophic. Perhaps this is the first sign
of another ice age. There's still no conclusive proof as to what caused
the first one, you know."

"Well, you'll find it, whatever it is," Usagi smiled. "I've got
confidence in Artemis. I've even got confidence in you."

"My, go away for a little while and so much changes," remarked
Michiru. "It seems to suddenly be a time for unusual occurrences. Have
you been to see Setsuna recently?"

"Yes! Did you meet Janus? Isn't he just so nice?"

"Setsuna certainly seems enamored with him." Michiru grew
cautious. "How much does she know about him?"

"She knows she likes him," shrugged Usagi. "She knows he likes
her."

"Does he? How does she know?"

"Well," Usagi said innocently, looking up from her page, "how do
you know Haruka loves you? How do I know Mamo-chan loves me? How does
Luna know Artemis loves . . .?"

"Leave Artemis and I out of this," Luna bristled. "Our feelings
are none of your affair."

"Oh, poo!" fussed Usagi. "Sometimes a girl just knows. And
sometimes she just has to trust."

"A naïve attitude like that can get a person hurt," Michiru
argued.

"Well, love is a gamble, Michiru. But you know as well as I do
how fantastic the rewards can be when you win."

"If it were just Setsuna's heart, it would be one thing. What if
it's more? What if the gamble had the safety of the world at stake?"

Usagi seemed puzzled by the question, but Luna stared at Michiru
aghast.

"Janus?" Luna asked.

"Huh?" Usagi said.

"When did this Janus show up?" Michiru asked, her neck and back
stiffening to defend her position, a trait the others recognized all too
well.

"I don't know. A little more than a month ago, I think," Usagi
said, still mystified.

"Right about the time the temperature began dropping."

"That's purely circumstantial!" huffed Luna.

"The wise person doesn't dismiss circumstantial evidence," Michiru
replied. "The wise person merely assigns it proper value and uses it to
direct her to the truth."

"Wait a minute!" Usagi gasped. "You think Janus is responsible
for all this?"

"Did you know he's not of this world?" Michiru asked. "That he's
from a mystical dimension?"

"So was Helios," snapped Luna, "and he proved to be an ally."

"And hopefully Janus is as well," Michiru said. "But he has to
prove that to my satisfaction first before I begin to trust him."

"No!" Usagi said, in shock. "Michiru, you're wrong about him! I
know it! Janus couldn't do something like that! He couldn't be trying
to put the world in danger!"

"How do you know?"

"Because he loves Setsuna! I know! I've looked into his eyes and
I've seen it! He'd never put her into that kind of danger! Never!"

"I see nothing much has changed in you," sighed Michiru. "You're
still letting your optimism blind you to dangerous reality."

"And you're still as cynical as ever," scowled Luna.

"My cynicism has saved me on more than one occasion," Michiru
replied icily.

"And Usagi's optimism has saved us all, on numerous occasions!
That's a fact you still ignore when it seems to suit you!"

"I acknowledge all of Usagi's victories. I even acknowledge that
she was right and I was wrong on more than one occasion. But that
doesn't change the fact that she's gambling, trusting, just like in
love. And one day she's going to gamble and lose and there'll be Hell
to pay. I've never had the faith you others have. I'd still rather
trust my cynicism than her luck."

Michiru rose to go.

"I'm sorry this discussion got heated, Usagi. I hope your luck
holds out a little longer for Setsuna's sake. She's our friend even
more than she is yours. But Haruka and I are going to keep digging.
And if ultimately it comes down to a choice between Setsuna's heart and
the safety of the world," and Michiru got that cold-blooded look in her
eye that always scared Usagi down to the bottom of her feet, "we will
take him out."

"You are wrong, Michiru," Usagi said sadly as the woman headed for
the door.

"I'm not afraid to find out, Usagi," she said, pausing at the
door. "Are you?"

Luna looked up at Usagi sadly as the woman hung her head in gloom.
* * * *
"Of all the nerve!" Luna huffed as she tapped out commands on a
computer keyboard. "To come right out and accuse Janus of duplicity to
Usagi's face!"

"Well, Michiru's always been the suspicious type," Artemis said as
he adjusted his sensor sweep. "But she's got her good side, too. Once
she saw Hotaru was being used, she stepped up and practically adopted
the girl."

"How grand for her," sniffed Luna imperiously, "given that she
would have killed Hotaru given the chance. And she's as much threatened
to do the same to Janus."

"Mmm," mused Artemis. "Luna, what if she's right?"

"Come again?" Luna asked menacingly.

"Well, all this did start right about when he showed up."

Luna gave him a withering glare.

"It's worth checking," Artemis maintained. "Look, I don't want to
see Setsuna hurt anymore than you do. Probably anymore than Michiru
does. But we can't take the risk. Rei said it herself, this one could
be really bad."

Luna looked down. "I just - - Usagi says he's all right, and
she's been right too many times. And she is destined to be Queen
Serenity, you know, and she does have the Silver Crystal. Perhaps that
gives her insights into people that we don't have."

"True," nodded Artemis. "But she's also very trusting."

A flashing point on Luna's monitor interrupted the discussion.

"Artemis, I have something: 42 by 221 by 86."

"Let me see," Artemis said, pushing next to her. Once more the
feel of Artemis in proximity to her made Luna's heart flutter.
"Definite negative energy flow. It's so small, though."

"Is that what we're looking for?" Luna asked.

"Won't know until we check it." He turned to Luna and gave her a
jaunty smile. "Care for a walk in the park?"

Luna smirked in return. "Unescorted? My, aren't you the cheeky
one. Very well, just this once - - and only if you behave like a
gentleman."

"I wouldn't dare do anything else."
* * * *
"Michiru," Setsuna smiled. Then her smile dimmed. "Something
troubles you."

"Yes," Michiru admitted. "Can we talk out back? I don't want
Janus to hear this."

"Certainly," and Setsuna led her to the back yard. "Does this
involve senshi business?"

"In a way." Michiru hesitated. "I don't know how to tell you
this without hurting you, so I'm going to come right out and say it.
Setsuna, I think you should be careful around Janus."

"In what manner?" Setsuna asked, puzzled. Then she hardened.
"You are suspicious of him."

"I don't want to be," pleaded Michiru. "I want to be happy for
you. You've been alone so long and now you've finally found someone and
I don't want to mess that up for you. But we've got a potential crisis
here - - you know that. You've foreseen it. And he's aroused my
suspicions. Setsuna, what do you truly know about him?"

"I know I love him. I know he cares for me."

"Does he?"

"Yes."

"Well - - that's one thing in his favor, I guess. But please
Setsuna, keep your eyes open. Don't let love blind you to the truth if
it appears. Don't start making excuses for behavior that's otherwise
suspicious in the name of love. I'm only saying this because I care
about you. I'm worried about the world, but I'm worried about you,
too."

"Intellectually, I acknowledge everything you say, Michiru,"
Setsuna said in a controlled, formal manner. "I even agree with much of
it. Emotionally, though, I find myself longing for the loyalty of an
old and dear friend."

"Setsuna, that's not fair," Michiru scowled.

"Life is not fair," Setsuna replied, coldly and emotionlessly.
"That fact is neither nice nor right nor just, it just is. The sooner
you accept this as so, the better off all will be."

Michiru winced at her own words, words she'd once hurled at Usagi,
being hurled back at her. She wanted to say more, but somehow sensed
that anything more she said would only make things worse. Head bowed,
she turned and exited the yard.

Setsuna walked up to the house, her mood dour but her emotions in
control. She closed the door behind her, not hearing it close. Michiru
had to be wrong. She was wrong for even considering Michiru's absurd
notions. Janus wasn't trying to plunge the world into a new ice age.
He was an injured man recuperating in her home. Even if Michiru were
right, how would he be doing it? Though he was a mystical creature, he
possessed nothing out of the ordinary except his wings.

And she found herself in the doorway to his room, looking at him.
After a moment he sensed her presence and looked up.

"Something troubles you," he said, his pale blue eyes a mirror of
concern.

"My - - comrade, Michiru," Setsuna said haltingly. "She - - what
abilities do you possess besides flight?"

"A strong back and a keen eye," he replied.

"Nothing along the lines of matter or energy conversion?"

"I know nothing of such things."

"How did you come to this world?" Setsuna asked earnestly.

Without hesitation, Janus put his hand in the loincloth he wore
and produced a stone. It was pale blue and seemed to shimmer in the low
light of the room.

"This stone was given to me by the vizier of my people," Janus
said. "I was to use it should I run across Surts in order to escape
them. It brought me here, though I know not how. It will also bring me
back to Knorr - - should I desire it."

"Is there something that holds you here?" Setsuna asked, her voice
heavy with emotion.

"Yes," he told her, surprised by her question. "It is a thing
suddenly more important to me than victory over the Surts. It is a
treasure I did not expect to find that is now more valuable to me than
anything I might name. And if I could not take her back with me to
Knorr, I do not believe I would return."

His hand sought her cheek. Upon his touch, she burst into tears.

"Setsuna, my love?" he asked sympathetically.

"Forgive me," Setsuna wept. "I - - Michiru is suspicious of you.
She tried to convince me of those suspicions and - - and I listened for
a moment. My head ignored what my heart told it was true. Forgive me."

"Of course," he smiled, caressing her cheek and wiping the tear
away with his thumb. "Do not blame yourself. I have not told you much
of my past. There is not much to tell. I ate. I slept. I warred with
the Surts. There you have my remarkable life. I did not know at the
time that there was so much more to be had. That one such as I could
inspire feelings within a remarkable woman such as you."

"Curse Michiru and her suspicious ways," Setsuna murmured.

"Do not blame your friend," Janus told her. "She is a warrior and
we are a suspicious breed because we must be. You live longer when you
trust nothing and no one. Were I in her place, I would think the same
things she thinks."

"How can one so divine as you be real?" Setsuna asked tearfully.

"If you wish proof of my reality," Janus smiled, "you need only
touch me."

Setsuna leaned in, her hands pressed to his chest.

"I would kiss you now," she whispered.

"I would not resist," he whispered back.
* * * *
Haruka noticed Michiru hurriedly close the door and flee into the
bedroom. Cautiously she was up and to the bedroom door. Her hand
closed around the handle, she listened and heard weeping inside.

"Michiru?" Haruka softly inquired after opening the door.

Michiru looked up at her in shame, her eyes tear-stained. Haruka
knew her love was not one to weep at all and even less so in the company
of another - - not even her. Summoning her tender side from deep within
her because her life-mate needed it, Haruka came over and placed her
arms around the woman she loved. Michiru collapsed against Haruka's
chest.

"Oh, Haruka," Michiru sobbed. "It was awful. That look of
betrayal in Setsuna's eyes - - oh what I wouldn't give to be normal and
not have to do this! I'm so sick of being the cold hard senshi!"

"I know," Haruka whispered, rubbing her lover's arms. "Sometimes
I wish we didn't have a destiny, too."

"And Usagi - - she's so blissfully trusting of everything and
everyone. Why can't I have her faith? Why can't I just accept things
at face value? Look at her! She's happy, she's surrounded by friends
and family who adore her! All I have is . . .!"

"Me," Haruka said.

"Oh, Haruka, I didn't mean it to sound like that!" Michiru gasped
in horror.

"I know," Haruka smiled gently. "Hey, all I've got is racing, and
you. Turns out that's all I need."

Michiru's mouth jumped to Haruka's. She crushed her lips to her
mate's as her arm bent around Haruka's neck. She kissed Haruka long and
hard, drawing some of the woman's strength to replace her own ebbing
reservoir. Haruka was only too happy to give. Their lips parted and
Michiru brushed hers against Haruka's, that little signature of hers
that Haruka knew so well.

"You done feeling sorry for yourself now?" Haruka gently prodded.

"All done," Michiru smiled sheepishly. "I still hope I'm wrong
about Janus. I've got a nice big apology for Setsuna all written up in
my head."

"I hope you're wrong, too. I'd love to hear it. You don't
apologize nearly enough for my tastes." Michiru peevishly elbowed
Haruka in the ribs.
* * * *
Luna and Artemis scampered through the park. Around the white
cat's neck was a collar with a miniaturized sensor dish an inch wide
affixed to it. An earpiece led up to his right ear so he could listen
to the tracking ping. Luna had on a visor similar to Sailor Mercury's
that received projected telemetry data from the mainframe computer they
had established under the Crown Game Center.

"A moment, Artemis!" Luna called out. Artemis stopped and
whirled.

"Have you got something?" he asked.

"Not on what we're tracking," Luna gasped out between licks of her
right haunch. She gave the area several more meticulous strokes with
her tongue. "I'm sorry. I simply HAD to tend to that." She noticed
Artemis smirking at her. "And none of your smart-aleck remarks, either!
You know how much I detest matted fur!"

"I'll tell the Ice Age to wait ten minutes," he teased.

"Slovenly beast," she muttered and they were off again.

The signal led them through the park to the pond. Circling the
pond, they followed the signal for several hundred yards.

"We're getting closer," Artemis said.

"Yes, telemetry readings are indicating strange energy
fluctuations. And Artemis, have you noticed how much colder it is
around the pond?"

"Yeah," he grunted. "Take a look at the edge of the pond."

Luna complied. She saw a thin layer of ice edging the pond where
it met the rocks of the bank.

The two felines continued running until they came to the rowboat
dock. Artemis stopped just short of the dock. Luna looked to him for
cues.

"This is it," Artemis proclaimed. "What's the telemetry readings
of the area? See anything that could be a rift or portal?"

"Yes," Luna replied. "Measuring eight point three meters above
the end of the dock. The energy output is nearly zero. Dimensions are
- - ninety-eight centimeters long and two centimeters wide? Hardly big
enough for a man with the wingspan Janus has to pass through."

"What's the temperature around this rift?" Artemis asked.

"Showing minus 15 degrees centigrade in the immediate vicinity of
the rift," reported Luna. "Temperature rises approximately ten degrees
approximately every sixty-six centimeters further from the rift. Energy
outputs are comparable."

"So it's some sort of - - dimensional hole that's leaking heat
energy out of our reality and into the other reality," Artemis surmised.
"The immediate question is how to close it. We can figure out how it
got here after that."

"Artemis," Luna remarked suddenly. "This is the spot where
Chibi-Usa would always appear when she came back from the future. Do
you suppose there's some sort of connection?"

"You're right," frowned Artemis. "I don't know if there is. But
we'll have to worry about that AFTER we get this closed."

Continued in Chapter 7