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Astrophyllite had not spent a terribly great amount of time in the rift, but between Avalon and Natron's instruction, she'd been there enough times that she could figure out where to go. This room was a good deal deeper than she'd ever been before - and she understood that they would be going even further. There were so many youma here, pressing themselves against the windows - or she supposed they must be youma. What else could they be? She didn't know what this place was. She'd never been here before.

She did not think the youma would harm her, but she held her club a little tighter and breathed a sigh of relieve when she sensed an approaching senshi. Ate was beautiful, her aura curling bright green at the edges and sizzling with energy, rolling like smoke, coating her path with a fine layer of ash and a hint of ozone that lingered long after she passed. Astrophyllite smiled at her, and resisted the urge to curtsey as one would to a princess... or a queen. There was only one queen, and that was Metallia.

And I am perfect and pure in her service, thought Astrophyllite desperately, clinging to the words she no longer found to be true. Surely Ate would sense her disloyalty.

"They're sad," said Astrophyllite, in response to Ate's proclamation. She'd had a long while to consider the creatures behind the glass, to try to understand them. It was like staring into the void, and yet... "They don't understand what's happened to them. They don't understand why either of us are here. You shouldn't be rude to them - this is their home, not ours."

Astrophyllite turned away from the windows, but she couldn't take her attention away from the unfortunate creatures beyond. How had they gotten that way, she wondered, and would the same thing happen to her if anyone found out what kind of terrible thoughts lurked in her head? If the wrong person overheard her desire to be purified, to be good? "They live here," she said quietly. "That makes it their place. Their home. Even if you wouldn't call it that."

But it did not usually pay to contradict those who outranked you, and she bit her tongue to keep from saying more. Eternally damned, thought Astrophyllite darkly. That's what they'll make you!

"I haven't told anyone," said Astrophyllite, allowing herself to be steered and grateful for the change of subject. At least she could stop pondering what kind of fate awaited traitors now! "Cross my heart and hope to die." And she went to Catholic school, so you could be sure she was serious.

Astrophyllite glanced around - was it just her imagination, or was the dim hall getting even darker? "So... can you tell me where we're going now?" she asked, trying to keep her tone bright.

Astrophyllite had a feeling that Ate wasn't being totally straight with her, because people weren't usually so happy about things that they had previously expressed utter contempt for. She knew that she had a marked weakness for sarcasm - but that didn't mean she wouldn't know it when it stared her down. "No," she said. "We should be careful. We're trespassing and if we don't respect them, they won't respect us."

That was just good manners, right?

They crossed into the Rift, and Astrophyllite felt a cool wind whoosh through her bones, and the turmoil inside her quieted. The darkness here called to her darkness, in the way she'd felt the first night she'd ever closed her eyes and reached with fumbling mental fingers to find and feel Bischofite. Kind called to kind.

"How deep do you think it will be?" she asked Ate, looking ahead. The path here was clear, and she had a sense that they should stick to it. If they went much further, though, surely it would become rougher and more dangerous.

She thought she could see youma moving just beyond the edges of the road. Ate had expressed much distaste for the creatures, but as far as Astrophyllite understood, they were supposed to obey officers. She wore a captain's medal of service, she reminded herself. They meant her no harm. "Why do you hate the youma so much?" she asked, following the senshi closely. She remembered Avalon's youma, how she'd been a girl Astrophyllite's age before she was a youma.

Where was Shay now, she wondered. "They deserve our pity, not our scorn."

Astrophyllite looked out towards the creature Ate indicated, brow crinkling in thought. "You could become a stone," she said, after a moment of trying to figure out how Ate could better devote herself to the Negaverse. "Avalon kept the name of her wonder, but Quartz gave his up. Your name sets you apart."

But there was more to it than that, wasn't there? And then... and then she had a thought, about something she could do to this not-very-nice senshi and it was cruel but it would be what Ate deserved, wouldn't it? "Avalon was going to give her Wonder over to Chaos," she continued, "Metalia was going to reward her for that, maybe even make her a General-Queen. You have a planet, don't you? Maybe... maybe you could give Metalia that."

Avalon's wonder had killed her, she thought. Maybe - maybe Ate's planet would do the same. She felt strangely at peace with this thought - it must have been the darkness of the rift.

They are stupid and serve only one purpose. They are glorified weapons to be used and then tossed away when they finish serving that purpose.

You're wrong though, thought Astrophyllite, but she turned away from the youma to follow Ate. She didn't think that she liked this senshi at all, but bit her tongue - playing the good little officer would win her freedom from suspicion until she could figure out how to make her escape.

But why would you ever want to leave here?

"No," she said, clenching her fists. "I haven't changed my mind. What are we looking for, so I'll know in case I find it?" (Why was it that she had a sneaking suspicion that even Ate didn't know?)

Astrophyllite had the distinct feeling that her suggestion had just backfired. Atë's wink and the surety in her voice just went to confirm it - Avalon's wonder might have killed her, but the senshi knew something that she didn't when it came to forking planets over to Chaos. Even if Atë sounded pleased with her, she had a feeling in her spine like listening to nails on a chalkboard. (She and Trixilite would be two of a kind, she thought uncomfortably.)

Before she could mull more over what mess her suggestion might have gotten her into, the senshi screamed from ahead of her. Astrophyllite's heart caught in her throat. Maybe - maybe she could arrive just a little too late. Maybe she could let the senshi be killed by a youma. It would serve her right! She didn't think that anyone knew what they were doing down here. Maybe... maybe they weren't even supposed to be doing it. Maybe she'd be rewarded for stopping Atë from carrying out whatever dastardly plan she'd been enlisted into!

But then her conscience won out, and she took off running towards the scream.

The youma was huge, only slightly taller than Astrophyllite but easily four times as wide as her. She couldn't place its features - maybe it was a little bearlike? But those horns were anything but bearlike, and those scales... She knew it had been a person once, most youma had been, but...

Avalon had been abundantly clear about what happened to Negaversers that dusted youma. Even here in the rift, the rules still applied. Maybe even especially here - you couldn't just walk into someone else's house and kill them. That was rude!

She stared the youma down, looking for any suggestion of human intelligence in its eyes. She didn't find one - but even alien things could be reasoned with. (Probably.) (She hoped.)

Swallowing hard, Astrophyllite said, "Excuse us, sir. We're sorry for getting in your way."

The Youma continued to growl. Astrophyllite bit her lip, then reached into the pocket of her coat, where she knew for certain she'd left an energy sphere. It was most of next week's quota - but she could always make it up later. She pulled some energy off of it as if it were cotton candy, balled it up, and held it out to the Youma. "Please," she said, "Take this. As compensation for your troubles."

The Youma quieted.

And then, peculiarly, it leaned out and ate the energy right out of Astrophyllite's hand. She smiled, amazed at her own boldness. "We'll just be on our way now, sir," she said, curtseying. "And you should be on yours."

The Youma turned and lumbered off. Astrophyllite offered a hand to Atë. "You surprised him," she said. "That was all. I couldn't dust him just for being surprised."

Astrophyllite stared at Atë, her back rigid, fighting the instinct to cower before her. You're not the boss of me, she thought, and it thrilled her because it was true. Atë outranked her, true, but she was not her commanding officer. Astrophyllite had not been requisitioned like some rented weapon. She was here of her own volition and, furthermore, they were out of bounds. Anything that happened here would fall squarely on Atë's shoulders - she could be sure of it. It would be so easy to say that the senshi had lead her astray.

"Of course," she said. "I'm sorry for my poor judgment. Let's keep going."

They resumed walking, and Astrophyllite couldn't help but sneak glances off the road, looking for the youma lurking there. She could befriend them, she thought. Control them, even - wasn't that the privilege of being a captain? Maybe she could be rid of this terrible senshi before they found whatever they were looking for and do everyone a favor.

Stop, she thought. That's terrible.

But so is she.

She could sense something huge and strange and powerful up ahead, darkness roiling like a bubbling cauldron, but beyond that Astrophyllite could scarcely make out any details. Perhaps - perhaps this was the object of Atë's quest. Maybe it would be like the ark of the covenant and burn her face off.

Resolving to walk behind the senshi, Astrophyllite paused and said, "I feel something." She pointed. "That way."

Astrophyllite watched Atë warily, half hoping the senshi would stray too far from the path and meet some terrible fate. Unfortunately, she spoke too soon, and she came rushing back, perhaps more manic for the announcement. Wait. Definitely more manic. She pointed again, a little bit more insistent. "Of course it's not right here. It's up ahead."

But reading body language was clearly not one of Atë's strong points, she thought disdainfully as the senshi pushed her along, nails clenched tight in her jacket. "It's not going anywhere!" said Astrophyllite, stepping a little quicker. Atë didn't even know what they were looking for, she thought. She was just using Astrophyllite as a dowsing rod, like she might lead her to gold, or treasure, or something.

She hoped, with every fiber of her being, that a horde of youma would appear out of the darkness and carry Atë away screaming, like Professor Umbridge with the centaurs.

Before that could happen (and she was sure it was about to), however, something loomed out of the darkness before them. There was no doubt in Astrophyllite's mind that this was the source of the roiling Chaos.



"It's a door," she said, perhaps obviously, although she wasn't completely certain that it actually was one. It had eyes. She was certain it was looking at them, that it could see them with some kind of great intelligence. She had a very bad feeling about what might happen if they tried to open it. "Someone chained it shut on purpose," she said, clenching her fists to keep from squirming too much. "We - we should respect that."

(She had a feeling that Atë was not going to respect that at all.)