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Reims, Knight of Ganymede

Reims scowled back at Cynthus, if only because he didn’t think he deserved to be frowned at. At least until her snark turned on someone else, to which he snorted quietly in amusement--

But quickly looked away and straightened out his expression when Rose scolded her, obviously not wanting to be scolded too.

“Do you think they didn’t hear her when she said she didn’t have much time to answer questions, or are they purposefully ignoring her?” he rolled his eyes as the adults and Mauvian decided to ask superfluous questions.

If there was a timer, and the fading light of the three orbs seemed to indicate that there was, he sincerely hoped that the projection or whatever of the Queen was sentient enough to pick through what was most important.

“There’s a big serpent that broke out of its cage and is headed for Earth,” he recounted on his fingers with each statement, as though to both refresh himself and the others, but also to show how easy it was to share simple information.

“We’ve got a couple fancy lighting spikes. We need six. We can’t trust the Negaverse to cooperate. Storms are showing up in random places that the serpent is trying to ‘break through.’”

He paused to start closing his fingers into his palm as he continued to count. “We need to know if we can get more spikes -- by making them or using old ones. We need to know how to use them. We need to know if there’s a way to isolate the serpent to trap it and or kill it. Uh… step four. Then profit,” he added as he lowered his last finger, then shrugged.

“What a waste of time for everything else,” he scoffed and crossed his arms defiantly. At this rate, they were all going to die.


Ephesus, Knight of the Moon

Ephesus gave Amarynthos a small, weak smile when he squeezed his hand. He was worried about so much. They needed to find a way to save the Earth, and the more time spent on other things meant less answers they would get about what they needed. He could feel his heart racing, barely hearing what his friends were saying. He was glad to see Alastor and Sessrumnir, but his heart was too heavy for more than a small, forced smile.

He stayed out of the way, of course. People with more experience than himself and his friends would surely be able to figure things out. He also was worried that he and Amarynthos and Cynthus would get in trouble for being Moon Knights. Nectaris, too.

Dering wasn’t saying anything, but Ephesus didn’t like that he seemed so far away from them, despite his close proximity.

So with another squeeze of Amarynthos’ hand, he let go to carefully move around them until he placed a gentle hand on Dering’s shoulder, hoping to coax him even closer to them. Once he was sure he wouldn’t startle him too horribly, Ephesus shifted his arm to wrap around Dering’s waist to give him a small side hug, but didn’t remove his arm after.

“I think people are just really curious about a lot of things,” he offered quietly to the others, understanding the urgency, but he was curious by nature, so he also understood wanting to know things.

Yes, getting answers would be good, but how many opportunities would they have to talk to someone who might know even more answers to mysteries so many had been wondering about?

Tempesti seemed uncomfortable, nervous, but the hologram of Queen Serenity allowed her lips to curl in a faint, kind smile. “I wish I could tell you, but I do not know such specifics. It depends on far too many variables, of which none of us seem to know. It would depend on how long it was trapped, how much energy it has lost, how much is available to it. We may not know until it is too late.”

When Queen Serenity looked at Murikabushi, she did not even pretend to understand some of what he said. “I am sorry,” she said briefly, “I will need you to speak plainly to me. I can see that much has changed since I was preserved, but I fear I will misunderstand your questions if you are too colorful with your wording. To be succinct, yes. There were reports of such things in the past but I do not know if they are connected to your current plight. The universe is full of a great many dangers, I would not assign them all to the Calamitous Hollow. There are other threats, managed and not. Please be careful of them all, and do not assume because you understand one threat, you might be able to apply the same logic. You must always be prepared to adapt. But,” she looked at the group briefly. “I think you are doing that already.”

Her eyes found Valhalla and she said, “You are correct. The items you have recovered are the replacements we made, the perfect versions. They have never been used. The original spikes were adequate but imperfect. We knew there was a risk they might fail so we did everything we could to prepare.”

To Snowball and Hugbell, “The spikes will need to be within reasonable distance of each other to be used. They must be placed in a perimeter large enough to encircle the creature, but near enough to it that the spikes can harness its energy. Once activated, the spikes will show you where they need to be placed. They will resonate with the creature, that’s what they were made to do. If you can seal it again, these should hold it indefinitely.”

The Queen’s face fell into a plain expression when Lyndin was mentioned, like there wasn’t really any recognition. She considered Oberon’s words for a few seconds, weighing his suggestion. “I believe it to be too unpredictable, but if you could create a path somewhere to redirect the creature, it may buy you time. But if it creates another path for itself,” she shook her head. “You may not be able to do the same trick twice.” She looked from Oberon to Solaris. “Your ‘Commodore Lyndin’ seems to be quite informed of the situation. The original containment was made in great haste. We did the best we could but we had one chance to trap it. Once it was contained, we were able to recreate the spikes in better quality. We built the subchamber beneath the cage and stored six replacements there. You should not have been able to get to the subchamber unintentionally. I am not truly sure how you reached it at all. But I am glad that you did. And, no. I am not suggesting that there is more than one.” Her expression turned stoic. “I am telling you there are. The Calamitous Hollow is not the only Herald of the Dark Star. So be vigilant and learn from this, and hope you never encounter the others.”

When Ganymede asked if they could retrieve more, Queen Serenity contemplated briefly. “There were six replacements. We expected to need perhaps only one. I do not think there are any others to be recovered, certainly not within a short time frame. Crafting them would be impossible, the components are not available and I don’t believe you have an expert. If there are blueprints left, I do not know where to find them.”

Queen Serenity regarded Realta curiously, though there was something distant in her eyes. “All components were necessary. You would require any replacement spikes to be made in exactly the same way as the others to achieve success with them.”

“I can assume my Kingdom has fallen because you come on behalf of Earth and are speaking to a Hologram. If my Kingdom had not fallen, I would have received you myself. But, if my Kingdom had not fallen, we might have already intervened before the situation could become so dire. I wish I had the answers you seek, but there has been no war yet. I was recorded before any attack was launched. There is tension with Queen Beryl but she is still on Earth. We have had no direct confrontation as of the time of my recording. I do not know the status of the Negaverse, that is not an enemy I have yet to face. I cannot imagine how the Moon Kingdom could have fallen. We took great precautions to protect our Kingdom and our world. And yet,” her eyes traveled across the room, and she took a few seconds to observe each Knight that bore her symbol.

She did not seem angry, only sad.

“I am glad someone is here to protect the Moon. Though it was not my choice. We must have fallen recently if our starseeds have yet to return. But I will say no more of it.” On the pedestal across the room, the second crystal had dimmed. The third was flickering now.

Queen Serenity spoke faster. “I have perhaps a moment more. I thought the batteries would last longer. I may have something which can help you but I will need time to unlock it. I am working on it now,” she said, though the hologram did not appear to move. “If you have more questions, please ask them while I can answer.”

Princess Ganymede
Location: Reception

Ganymede began by speaking directly to Realta, sparing Serenity very little sympathy. She was a hologram. Any display of emotion was the result of magic or a machine, not a beating heart.

“If you’re interested in the old stories about the war, I heard one years ago from someone who claimed a familial link. I don’t know how much of it was accurate, but if we manage to come out of this alive, I can tell you what I’ve heard once all of this is over.”

Otherwise, Ganymede did not react to what Serenity said. Her hands didn’t curl. Her frown didn’t deepen. Her jaw, though already tense, didn’t clench any harder. Frustration rolled through her as it always did when given unsatisfactory answers, but it wasn’t as if she’d expected a miracle.

They had two of the spikes with no guarantee the Negaverse had the rest. There were no other replacements. They couldn’t create more—not on their own. Maybe not at all.

That wasn’t even the worst part.

I am not suggesting there is more than one. I am telling you there are.

This was not the first time Ganymede had heard warnings of the dangers to be found out in space.

I can’t say that Earth is safe from any of the great shadows of the universe. They stretch closer every day, the strange thief merchant, Almadel, had said. Your Surrounding is broken in many pieces. It did nothing to keep me out, but then--I’m not something you have to worry about. There are bigger things, much bigger things, out there. I don’t know the extent of what you deal with here on Earth. But I know you are very much not alone. And if I were you, I’d keep my eyes to the stars, just in case.

Your Surrounding is falling apart, though. And it’s only a matter of time before something else creeps around, I think. I can only hope your world has defense enough to make it consider moving on without giving you any trouble, Lyndin had said, to her and to Valhalla, and later, in the heat of battle, Your Surrounding isn’t as durable as you think it is. And you have no idea what’s out there.

There were several prisons made that I know of, the Code had said only recently. Probably more that I don’t. Implying there had been a need for many such things in the past. Perhaps implying there may still be a need for such things today.

Now they faced the Calamitous Hollow. What else lurked out among the stars?

“The Surrounding is broken,” Ganymede said, her gaze once again fixed on Serenity. If the hologram knew nothing about the fall of her own Kingdom, then she knew even less about the state of things now. “As far as I’m aware, it’s beyond repair. Some of our worlds live, but in a nascent state. Earth is the only world truly thriving. We know, to some extent, there are other dangers out there, but we don’t know what they are or how to defend against them, or even if we can. So…” Ganymede licked her lips and swallowed her pride. Her mouth twitched into a strained smile. “Any advice?”

[x] Sailor Byakko - Reception Area.

Byakko hadn't been to the moon or her homeworld - but something crazy was up, she was seeing all the reports of strange lightning, people being struck. It was all so crazy and she was curious was what going on so when she got the message she decided to visit and see what was going on and what information she could gather.

Specially after Tea mentioned going onto her homeworld and having the same issue. Abnormally purple sky, lightning, the cat that Tea was friends with changing forms randomly. It was all very concerning so as she listened to others speak and Queen Serenity answer questions her brows furrowed.

There was some large creature that was the destroyer of worlds, consumes people. It could open up paths. That was crazy. The hologram of Queen Serenity didn't know how long it would take for this thing to reach it's full power, it was weak now. They needed to trap it sooner rather than later.

Not to mention the fact there were more world ending things that existed. Not all of them the same and the logic to beat one couldn't be used for the others. She wished her brother and sisters who had disappeared were still with them. She frowned heavily, she'd feel much better if the five of them were still a family unit.

Byakko looked at the spike that was mentioned and that there were more of them and they were the replacements. The Queen had admitted that the original versions were imperfect but did the job, and they knew there was a risk of failing. The information the that spikes needed to be a reasonable distance from each other, not too far or too close; didn't make her feel any better either. Though the spikes would tell them how they needed to be placed. Yet they didn't have all the needed spikes.

There was someone named Commodore Lyndin' and they seemed to know a lot of information but Queen Serenity was concerned that they got into the chamber since it shouldn't've been unintentional that there were people who entered.

The fact it also sounded like they couldn't make more spikes had her concerned and she looked not having them all since it sounded like they needed the 6 but not having them Byakko finally gathered the courage to ask a question that she hadn't heard; "Excuse me, Could we track the other spikes using the one we have??" She wasn't sure if anyone else had tried it but surely Queen Serenity would know.

She also looked pained at the fact the Queen assured them her kingdom has fallen. Had she lost her family too? Just because she was hologram didn't mean there wasn't some amount of feeling and the Senshi of the West knew what it felt like losing people close to you.

She knew that while this was just a hologram of the former Queen, Byakko wanted to let her know she knew how it was to lose almost everyone close to you, and talk to her to see if she knew a way to bring those lost back; but the Queen only had a moment or two so Byakko knew it was better not to bother the Queen with such a trivial issue when there were larger problems at hand. Like the fate of the whole Galaxy.

Amarynthos, Knight of the Moon and Dering, Knight of Lysithea
Quiet and listening like they are in class; with their friends but not speaking up

Queen Serenity had definitely looked at them. And she hadn’t tried to smite them, or glowered, or accused them of being abominations. Amarynthos wasn’t sure if that meant he felt better about any of this, but he was tentatively optimistic.

Well, as much as anyone could be when in a conversation about world eating monsters.

He didn’t mind when Ephesus stepped away briefly to get Dering; there was a lot going on and he appreciated how considerate and kind Effie was in the face of that.

Amarynthos had questions–a lot of them. But, when faced with a rapidly shrinking timer, he had to weigh his options. Ask a question that might be pointless and take away from someone else’s time? Draw attention to the Moon Knights and offend her with a bad question? Ask something and get an answer that scared Ephesus?

Briefly, his eyes found Alastor’s, and Sessrumnir’s just afterwards. They didn’t look alarmed but they were both good liars. He didn’t think he could come up with a question they couldn’t, so he held back for a moment and let himself soak in the answers they did have.

Dering was less successful in taking it all in but he was trying, sort of. He’d startled when Ephesus’ hand found his shoulder but he flashed a quick smile afterwards and allowed himself to be led to the group. He held his lute close, as always, like he could just hide behind it. He felt dizzy with the amount of information overload. He wasn’t even sure what he was hearing anymore.

He was trying to pay attention! He wasn’t the smartest or the bravest or the most creative in the group so he was certain they already had everything they needed covered. He didn’t really see what he could add to things right now. It would have been easier to have someone who knew what was going on just tell him what he needed to do so he could do it. But, that was probably a lot of pressure on them, and he immediately felt bad for letting himself zone out. He didn’t say anything, but he was glad for Ephesus’ closeness and put his best effort into paying attention.

Cynthus, Squire of the Moon, Rose, Page of Lysithea, and Yvoire, Squire of Ganymede
Location: Reception
Rambling and gossiping. Please ignore them.

“It’s not every day we get to talk to a dead Queen,” Cynthus countered Reims. “The closest we’ve got is Ganymede and all the other Princesses—” She pushed herself up on her tiptoes, using Amarynthos for balance as she looked around like she was trying to find the others, but as far as Cynthus could tell it was just Ganymede there in her big, obnoxious dress acting all cool and impassive like Cynthus didn’t know she could be a raving b***h when she wanted to be. “—but it’s not like any of them even know anything, otherwise we wouldn’t be here at all.”

Yvoire tried to pay more attention to the hologram than to Cynthus’ rambling, but the second someone brought up blood in one of the spikes he decided he’d get the tl;dr version later. His thoughts threatened to take him back to the stained stone slab in the ethereal grove beneath Reims’ wonder.

“How did you even get Ganymede to tell you about this stuff?” he asked Cynthus.

Ganymede hadn’t ever talked about the moon with him. She talked about Ganymede sometimes, and what the past had been like there, but most of it she left him to discover on his own. She said it was better that way.

“After I became a knight,” Cynthus said. “Or a page or whatever. Or maybe it was after Dad did. I don’t know, did Sess know about me before I knew about Dad? Whatever. Obviously it doesn’t matter. Anyway, Ganymede got a weird smile on her face when we were talking about the moon.”

“Like that?” Rose asked, gesturing toward Ganymede and the stiff curve of her lips.

Rose was not as familiar with Senshi royalty as some of the others seemed to be. She only knew a little about the ones who showed up from time to time, like that Ganymede had been around for a long time and Cybele hosted games on her world last year where Reims got beat at arm wrestling by a little kid, and Lysithea was the Princess of the world Rose served. Other than that, they seemed like distant figures.

Cynthus turned at Rose’s gesture. “Oh, yeah, that’s the smile. Like, sort of constipated looking. So I figured she had something against the moon because she only ever smiles like that when she’s thinking mean things and she’s trying real hard not to let anyone know. And at first she said it wasn’t important, but do I look like the type of person to let things go?”

Rose shook her head, smiling amiably.

Aside from reminding Cynthus to be nice, Rose didn’t make a habit of contradicting her. Cynthus meant well even if she could be a little dramatic at times. Kind of like Reims. They both behaved in a manner that could rub people the wrong way, but neither of them were inherently bad people. Then again, Rose could get along with anyone. She was used to being a team player and working as a group, even when it involved people she normally wouldn’t hang around. Not that anyone here was like that. Rose liked the friends she’d made since becoming a Page. She’d yet to meet anyone who made her question her place. They were all doing their best. Everyone’s best was different, but that didn’t make them any more or less than anyone else.

“Exactly. So I finally wore her down and she told me the stupid love story, and I kind of wish I hadn’t heard it because it makes all this seem really dumb. Not the world eating monster. That’s scary. And it probably doesn’t have anything to do with love affairs and oedipus complexes or whatever. But the rest of it, with the Negaverse and stuff. It’s stupid. That Prince Endy-whatever probably wasn’t even worth it. I bet he was either a total douchebag or the most boring guy on the face of the Earth.”

Valhalla, Transcended Knight of Jupiter

Valhalla frowned, unhappy with how dire things sounded, but as equally unhappy about how casual some were about it. Like it was just another day. Like the fate of Earth didn’t matter, or wasn’t something they were going to worry about because they already gave up. His heart hurt to think about. Just as it hurt every time he brought more supplies up to Jupiter and Ganymede. If the others weren’t willing to help protect Earth, then he was going to at least make sure to protect his family.

The Surrounding had been broken for a long time, as Ganymede had shared. Protecting Earth however they could was the most important thing right then.

“I think we need to find a way to get back to that prison,” he frowned. “We need to find out if there’s anything we can salvage, since we can’t create more. The sixth spike. Or any of the older components that were used. Queen Serenity, do you know how we can get back to the subchamber? If it wasn’t supposed to be accessed unintentionally, then there must have been something or someone that brought those ten people there.”

If there was a way to track the prison and subchamber using the spike they had, as the Senshi (Byakko) suggested, then maybe they could isolate it quicker.




Sessrumnir, Knight of Jupiter

“It was the lightning that sent you to the subchamber, wasn’t it?” Sessrumnir asked, turning to Solaris, Kerberos, and Murikabushi. “Solaris told us about it. How when it was striking in quick succession, you were suddenly there?”

He shook his head. It made no sense. Who or what could have brought them to a place no one was supposed to unintentionally access?

“So it wasn’t unintentional. You were brought there to find the replacement parts,” he surmised, looking over at Alastor to see if he had any thoughts on the matter. “A warning, maybe? I don’t want to suggest standing out in the storm to see if it can happen again. Not with people getting injured,” he nodded to Tempesti, glad that she was as okay as she could be. Especially not if it could be getting worse as the creature regains more power.

A Chibi (Saiph) also announced that she was hit by lightning, but a temporary increase in energy likely wasn’t sustainable enough for them to all go out and get hit by potentially life threatening lightning.

While it was kind that the young Lysithea Knight (Halle) asked about last requests, Sessrumnir decided not to point out that this figment was likely not a ghost, but a computer algorithm on a dying battery. The Ganymede Squire (Santa Maria Novella) also asked about recharging the battery, but Sessrumnir doubted that would work. Simple solutions like that rarely presented themselves.

However, with his connection to his own Wonder, the desire to make sure those passing were at rest was very ingrained in Sessrumnir. If there were last requests, he would offer to help fulfill them.

So he nodded to the Knight (Halle) in agreement, when he thought he caught his eye, that his question was valid and kind, hoping he’d know from that gesture that he’d have help.







Eternal Sailor Oberon of Adventure

“Did Cosmos know about these prisons being made? Could she have been involved in sending those people there?” Oberon asked. He couldn’t think of anyone who could have had access to an otherwise inaccessible location other than Cosmos.

But then why the Negaverse? Was it a mistake that they were sent? Did she really think that Chaos could work together with them?

What if it wasn’t Cosmos…

Maybe he should keep his mouth shut… but if Lyndin didn’t know how to get in touch with them…

“I heard a story about hunters -- soldiers who could create artificial holes in space with science and magic,” he said. He spoke loud enough for Serenity and those around her, but it was clear that some were in their own little worlds and likely not paying attention anyway. That worked better for him.

“I also--”

He paused again, thinking if he was just going to put everyone on the wrong path, or to give them false hope or anything of that nature.

“Is it possible that this world eater may be a bit of an exaggeration? Maybe once, at its full strength in the past it could consume entire worlds, but if it’s just waking up with lessened energy…” he frowned thoughtfully and looked up at the image of the Queen again. The mural itself, and what the others shared they’d witnessed in the subchamber suggested that the creature might only be as large as that room.

Metis was also asking about what they were facing, so Oberon clarified further.

“How big is the creature? And… it is a serpent… right? Or is this Calamitous Hollow something else?” he asked, because he couldn’t recall Serenity using any specific words to verify what exactly they were facing.





Lucien - Cat Form

“And whose blood was used to create those spikes?” Lucien spoke up. He’d been lingering nearby, but observing more than joining in the conversation. But when Realta’s question was glossed over as just… all components were necessary, he couldn’t help but speak up.

Large tail brushed against the legs of the teenagers. Ephesus and Dering, Yvoire and Amarynthos and Cynthus, as he made his way over to where Alastor was standing with Sessrumnir. Knowing exactly where he could sink his claws in so as to not injure his bonded, Lucien took a leap from behind Alastor to claw his way onto his shoulders. Thankfully, the collar of his outfit was as protective and good for sinking claws into.


Super Sailor Surtur of Desolation

“Almadel has been kind enough to offer us a blueprint that he used to create the shield around his museum,” Surtur spoke up when the young woman (Solaris) asked about finding a way to stop the creature from ripping through space. “It is unlikely we would have enough resources, including time, available to create enough to protect all of earth, but perhaps a little bit at a time.”

It was a long shot, and a lot of it was hypothetical.

“I do hope you will all consider offering him some treasures from your worlds should his gift to us turn out to be useful,” he smiled at the others around them. He had already offered whatever Almadel could want from his world, but surely he would be bored of the same things after a while.




Sailor Chibi Eupheme, Senshi of Weightlessness

Eupheme waved cheerily up at Hugbell when she introduced herself, but she kept her phone as steady as possible to pick up whatever she could of the conversation that was happening with the Queen.

Oh!

“Nice to meet you too! Hold on I’ll be right back,” she promised the others, and quickly moved closer to the larger group. She gave the other chibi there (Saiph) a smile and a little wave, before she held up the locked notebook she found in the library to show the ghost Queen.

“Ms. Queen? Is this yours? Do you know how to unlock it? Can I have it, please?” she asked, because while she couldn’t get into the old notebook while it was locked, it must have been important. At least at some point. Or maybe it was someone’s diary. Oooh, maybe she could use it to fill in some more answers about the history of the moon with it.

Squire Antisana of Pluto

For all that Antisana had the means and intention to go to the Moon of his own volition, he had only ever visited once. And the situation had not really been so much as a visit as it had been a quick debriefing from the Code, and that was it. The circumstance had not lent itself to much exploration, so he'd never seen... literally anything of the Moon's noteworthy locations. This area did not look familiar to him.

The woman they'd summoned- or some bit of consciousness of a woman- equally did not look familiar to him. But she said she was important, and as far as he could glean from literally everyone in the room, the information she provided was trusted to be accurate.

Was he supposed to know this hologram woman?

Antisana glanced back at the Senshi of heat with him, her fingers curled around his arm so they would not have chance to be separated in the crowd. Ele would be more knowledgeable than him. She'd been doing this for longer, and would surely be more familiar with the Senshi side of the business. But... a look to her did not make him confident that she knew much more about this particular situation than he did.

His attention grazed over the gathering. Some he'd seen before at other gatherings or on other planets, but there was really only a very small scattering of names he would know off the top of his head. His eyes landed on a head of silvery blue hair, and at once Antisana decided that would be where he would go. "Come on, Ele." He folded his fingers over hers, clasped to her arm, and tugged them toward the other Senshi.

"Acrucis." They'd seen each other very recently on Asmodeus but had had little time for conversation. "Did you come to see if you could learn about anything happening on your world?"

Shanyume