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schizoauthoressTitle: The House of Tomorrow
Author: D.L.SchizoAuthoress
Rating: G
Spoilers: post-Infinite Crisis at the very least, with reference to a flashback in the manga's Black Moon arc
Warnings: so I may have some background information from my monster unfinished Sailormoon story, "The Untold Eras", slotted in here... sorry.
Prompt/Fill: from Wrench Wench on Tumblr -- For the prompt fic, how about Sailor Pluto meets Booster Gold?
Word Count: 1251
Summary: When dealing with those who travel in time, questions like "when did you first meet?" have more than one answer.
Word of the Day: ataraxia, noun: A state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety; tranquility.
The House of Tomorrow
“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself...
You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.”
― Kahlil Gibran
When she first met him, he was unlike anyone she had ever seen before. The first thing she noticed was his height -- compared to most people she knew, he was incredibly tall, maybe even taller than someone from Mokusei. His skin was pale, like Queen Selenity's, but unlike the queen's, his hair was golden blond and his smile was broad and bright. With the golden and azure armor he wore, she was sure that he was a knight of some kind (and though he would deny it later when she asked, experience with him along her personal timeline taught her that her first impression was more correct than it wasn't.)
He appeared out of the mists of time surrounding the Space-Time Door, and Princess Plu-- no, Trainee Sailor Meiousei immediately went on the defensive, placing herself between him and the sacred portal. The words of challenge would not come to her mind, and Pluto felt small and silly as she called out, "You are not allowed here!"
He'd smiled then, and spoke, clearly not addressing her, "You're training them awfully young, aren't you?"
Her mother, senior soldier and the one currently holding the title of Sailor Meiousei, emerged from the mists with her rapier drawn. But she relaxed her guard when she saw who stood before the Space-Time Door. "My daughter is following her destiny, Mister Carter."
"Destiny..." Mister Carter said the word slowly, as if tasting it on his tongue. "I've found that a popular excuse for some of the worst tragedies..."
"Perhaps it is popular because it is true," Sailor Meiousei replied, tone still calm and even. Pluto marveled at that, for she had heard insult in the man's words, and her mother was not even reacting to it.
"I will hope that, in your daughter's case, it isn't." Mister Carter's smile widened a bit, and he bent at the waist in a slight bow to acknowledge Pluto, "The tragedy part, I mean."
Sailor Meiousei's mouth thinned (that, at least, was a familiar reaction, her mother's lack of patience with courtly airs) and she regarded the gold-clad man for a long moment before asking, "What is your business here, Time Master?"
"I've been following a wave of energy that's distorted time in my dimension," Mister Carter answered, his expression becoming more serious as he spoke. "It's warped a key timeline to the point that the past is as unstable as the future."
"Quite the grave situation," was Sailor Meiousei's quiet comment. Pluto didn't miss how the words made Mister Carter flinch, and she was sure her mother had seen the same.
"I believe it originates here, in this key timeline or one of its offshoots." Mister Carter raised a hand, as if he were expecting some sort of interruption. "I do not know who is responsible; I only want to know if the distortion can be neutralized."
Sailor Meiousei returned her weapon to its sheath. "Then, come. We will discover such things together, Time Master."
Mister Carter took a few steps closer to the Space-Time Door, then stopped. "Actually, I'd feel safer in my Time Sphere--"
"Don't you trust me?" Sailor Meiousei asked. Pluto thought perhaps she caught a mocking note in her mother's voice.
"I don't make a habit of trusting anyone but myself. Not anymore."
Those words made Pluto feel sad. She wasn't sure why. It was the sort of attitude her mother was trying to cultivate in her. To be a guardian of time was a lonely existence...
In contrast, Sailor Meiousei apparently approved of his words. "Then we shall go to your 'Time Sphere'. Trainee," she said sharply, addressing Pluto without turning to look at her, "you will let no one pass."
"Yes, ma'am!" Pluto replied crisply. The interaction made Mister Carter frown slightly, for just a moment, but he said nothing. Sailor Meiousei marched past him, back into the mists -- he lingered briefly.
"You'll be here a long time," he said softly, "A very long time. I'm sorry."
And then he was gone as well. Pluto shivered. Somehow, she knew that he didn't mean right now. He meant something bigger than that.
****
When he first met her, he was sure he had made a terrible impression. It couldn't get much worse, after all, than crashing one's Time Sphere. To make matters worse, Skeets had announced that internal self-repairs had been made necessary by the rough landing and his robotic sidekick had gone into a hibernation state. And when he got out of the Time Sphere -- flopped like a dead fish into the misty ground, more like -- his tongue promptly tied itself into a knot. She was gorgeous; she was regal; she was staring at him.
Her skin was a soft brown (like light umber), her long hair was the dark green of old-growth pine needles, and her almond-shaped eyes had dark, garnet-colored irises. From his particular vantage point -- sprawled on the ground -- her legs seemed to go on forever. The uniform she was wearing was unfamiliar; Booster knew of no organization that had its members wearing a sleeveless white bodysuit decorated with dark brown bows and a black collar, white gloves, black boots, and a matching short, pleated skirt. But the long, silver-colored, asymmetrical staff she held in one hand was clearly a weapon, so her strange clothes must mark her as an official of some kind.
Her voice was a bit deep for a woman's, and she spoke in a serious tone. "You break an important taboo by being here."
"I... I do?" Booster asked. She stepped forward, and he scrambled upright, backing away from her in what was almost a crab-walk. "I didn't know! I swear I didn't know!"
She leaned down, and held out one gloved hand to him. "You're so young," she commented, a non sequiter to Booster. "I believe you. But you still should not be here, Mister Carter."
He accepted her hand, and she pulled him to his feet with surprising ease. She didn't appear nearly so tall now that he was on his feet; he estimated that he had about seventeen centimeteres on her. But she still scared him, for some reason. "I didn't even mean to come here. I was trying to get to the 20th century."
"Oh, really?" A small smile curved her mouth, and he would almost call the expression amused, but it didn't reach her eyes. "You must tell me what awaits you there, or this will be as far as you go. And--" she continued, when Booster opened his mouth, "you must be completely truthful with me, Mister Carter."
"You know my name..." Booster realized.
"I do." She studied him in silence for a moment. The next question she asked didn't make much sense. "That's not quite fair is it?"
"I... guess...?"
"Those who know of me," she replied, and somehow Booster knew that must be a short list, "call me Sailor Pluto."
Out of the mists, a door materialized. Just a plain sliding screen of black wood and white paper, as one might find in a Japanese home. As Booster blinked several times, expecting it to vanish, Sailor Pluto pulled it open with her free hand. A low table with tatami mats around it, a tea set sitting on top, was visible within.
"Let's talk."
"All right..." Booster agreed cautiously, not realizing how important this discussion was going to be, "We'll talk."
*-*-*-*
Author: D.L.SchizoAuthoress
Rating: G
Spoilers: post-Infinite Crisis at the very least, with reference to a flashback in the manga's Black Moon arc
Warnings: so I may have some background information from my monster unfinished Sailormoon story, "The Untold Eras", slotted in here... sorry.
Prompt/Fill: from Wrench Wench on Tumblr -- For the prompt fic, how about Sailor Pluto meets Booster Gold?
Word Count: 1251
Summary: When dealing with those who travel in time, questions like "when did you first meet?" have more than one answer.
Word of the Day: ataraxia, noun: A state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety; tranquility.
The House of Tomorrow
“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself...
You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.”
― Kahlil Gibran
When she first met him, he was unlike anyone she had ever seen before. The first thing she noticed was his height -- compared to most people she knew, he was incredibly tall, maybe even taller than someone from Mokusei. His skin was pale, like Queen Selenity's, but unlike the queen's, his hair was golden blond and his smile was broad and bright. With the golden and azure armor he wore, she was sure that he was a knight of some kind (and though he would deny it later when she asked, experience with him along her personal timeline taught her that her first impression was more correct than it wasn't.)
He appeared out of the mists of time surrounding the Space-Time Door, and Princess Plu-- no, Trainee Sailor Meiousei immediately went on the defensive, placing herself between him and the sacred portal. The words of challenge would not come to her mind, and Pluto felt small and silly as she called out, "You are not allowed here!"
He'd smiled then, and spoke, clearly not addressing her, "You're training them awfully young, aren't you?"
Her mother, senior soldier and the one currently holding the title of Sailor Meiousei, emerged from the mists with her rapier drawn. But she relaxed her guard when she saw who stood before the Space-Time Door. "My daughter is following her destiny, Mister Carter."
"Destiny..." Mister Carter said the word slowly, as if tasting it on his tongue. "I've found that a popular excuse for some of the worst tragedies..."
"Perhaps it is popular because it is true," Sailor Meiousei replied, tone still calm and even. Pluto marveled at that, for she had heard insult in the man's words, and her mother was not even reacting to it.
"I will hope that, in your daughter's case, it isn't." Mister Carter's smile widened a bit, and he bent at the waist in a slight bow to acknowledge Pluto, "The tragedy part, I mean."
Sailor Meiousei's mouth thinned (that, at least, was a familiar reaction, her mother's lack of patience with courtly airs) and she regarded the gold-clad man for a long moment before asking, "What is your business here, Time Master?"
"I've been following a wave of energy that's distorted time in my dimension," Mister Carter answered, his expression becoming more serious as he spoke. "It's warped a key timeline to the point that the past is as unstable as the future."
"Quite the grave situation," was Sailor Meiousei's quiet comment. Pluto didn't miss how the words made Mister Carter flinch, and she was sure her mother had seen the same.
"I believe it originates here, in this key timeline or one of its offshoots." Mister Carter raised a hand, as if he were expecting some sort of interruption. "I do not know who is responsible; I only want to know if the distortion can be neutralized."
Sailor Meiousei returned her weapon to its sheath. "Then, come. We will discover such things together, Time Master."
Mister Carter took a few steps closer to the Space-Time Door, then stopped. "Actually, I'd feel safer in my Time Sphere--"
"Don't you trust me?" Sailor Meiousei asked. Pluto thought perhaps she caught a mocking note in her mother's voice.
"I don't make a habit of trusting anyone but myself. Not anymore."
Those words made Pluto feel sad. She wasn't sure why. It was the sort of attitude her mother was trying to cultivate in her. To be a guardian of time was a lonely existence...
In contrast, Sailor Meiousei apparently approved of his words. "Then we shall go to your 'Time Sphere'. Trainee," she said sharply, addressing Pluto without turning to look at her, "you will let no one pass."
"Yes, ma'am!" Pluto replied crisply. The interaction made Mister Carter frown slightly, for just a moment, but he said nothing. Sailor Meiousei marched past him, back into the mists -- he lingered briefly.
"You'll be here a long time," he said softly, "A very long time. I'm sorry."
And then he was gone as well. Pluto shivered. Somehow, she knew that he didn't mean right now. He meant something bigger than that.
****
When he first met her, he was sure he had made a terrible impression. It couldn't get much worse, after all, than crashing one's Time Sphere. To make matters worse, Skeets had announced that internal self-repairs had been made necessary by the rough landing and his robotic sidekick had gone into a hibernation state. And when he got out of the Time Sphere -- flopped like a dead fish into the misty ground, more like -- his tongue promptly tied itself into a knot. She was gorgeous; she was regal; she was staring at him.
Her skin was a soft brown (like light umber), her long hair was the dark green of old-growth pine needles, and her almond-shaped eyes had dark, garnet-colored irises. From his particular vantage point -- sprawled on the ground -- her legs seemed to go on forever. The uniform she was wearing was unfamiliar; Booster knew of no organization that had its members wearing a sleeveless white bodysuit decorated with dark brown bows and a black collar, white gloves, black boots, and a matching short, pleated skirt. But the long, silver-colored, asymmetrical staff she held in one hand was clearly a weapon, so her strange clothes must mark her as an official of some kind.
Her voice was a bit deep for a woman's, and she spoke in a serious tone. "You break an important taboo by being here."
"I... I do?" Booster asked. She stepped forward, and he scrambled upright, backing away from her in what was almost a crab-walk. "I didn't know! I swear I didn't know!"
She leaned down, and held out one gloved hand to him. "You're so young," she commented, a non sequiter to Booster. "I believe you. But you still should not be here, Mister Carter."
He accepted her hand, and she pulled him to his feet with surprising ease. She didn't appear nearly so tall now that he was on his feet; he estimated that he had about seventeen centimeteres on her. But she still scared him, for some reason. "I didn't even mean to come here. I was trying to get to the 20th century."
"Oh, really?" A small smile curved her mouth, and he would almost call the expression amused, but it didn't reach her eyes. "You must tell me what awaits you there, or this will be as far as you go. And--" she continued, when Booster opened his mouth, "you must be completely truthful with me, Mister Carter."
"You know my name..." Booster realized.
"I do." She studied him in silence for a moment. The next question she asked didn't make much sense. "That's not quite fair is it?"
"I... guess...?"
"Those who know of me," she replied, and somehow Booster knew that must be a short list, "call me Sailor Pluto."
Out of the mists, a door materialized. Just a plain sliding screen of black wood and white paper, as one might find in a Japanese home. As Booster blinked several times, expecting it to vanish, Sailor Pluto pulled it open with her free hand. A low table with tatami mats around it, a tea set sitting on top, was visible within.
"Let's talk."
"All right..." Booster agreed cautiously, not realizing how important this discussion was going to be, "We'll talk."
*-*-*-*