| Birth of the Daimakoujo | ||
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Usagi has... no idea, really, how long she's been sitting there, looking out the window at the large lake, thinking. Would Crystal Tokyo, as she would have done it, really been that bad? Some part of her's still fighting that concept, except... it dosen't matter. The time line's changed. Neo-Queen Serenity of that future had no demon blood in her... she, on the other hand, does. It's time to stop relying on that knowledge and start making her own future. Bad or not, here and now... that future is invalid, a false prophecy. "So, what now?" Hild-sama turns and looks over at you and smiles. "That depends on you really. Are you ready to move forward and learn about what else demons do besides maintain a balance with Order. And to start thinking about your choices for the future." she reaches over and shuts off her holographic terminal and leans her elbows on her desk. She smiles indulgently at you, "And Usagi... Just because your old vision of Crystal Tokyo can't be allowed to come to pass, doesn't mean that you have to forget about it entirely. Now that you know the truth, you have the option to try for a better vision of the future." Usagi taps her fingers against her cheek briefly, then nods. "Yes, I really need to start moving forward. I think... I had been relying on what I knew the future was going to be for far too long." No wonder all her enemies, before, when hit with the crystal either became 'good' or died... she really needs to work on that. "So, what do demons do?" Hild-sama smiles and stands up, walking around the desk, "To really understand, you'll have to follow me. Seeing this is the only way to truly understand it." Usagi nods, and steps away from the window, turning to follow Hild, a slight smile curving her lips as a thought strikes her. "Do you think afterwards... we could find a hair stylist? I want to keep the length, but... maybe it's time for a new do..." Hild-sama smiles, "Oh, I think something can be arranged dear." Hild-sama steps off the elevator and strides straight for the large wooden doors, which part and open before her without a touch. She leads you into the hall beyond, "Here we are..." Hild's Tower: Hall of Revealing This is a ver very long, but relatively narrow, stonework corridor... that really doesn't seem to lead anywhere except ever onward. There are no doors save the pair at the entrance or any windows. What there is, however, are what appear to be mirrors. Well, at first glance they are mirrors. However, behind the reflections are small blocks of ghostly movies playing where the reflection of the room should be but is not. Each 'mirror' shows a different scene, showing scenes of different lives and people. Some are recognizable, others are not. In one, a bald man in a dirty white martial arts gi is tying a young boy up with sausage from a box marked "Miyagi's Fish Market" next to a pit with a heavy metal lid. In another, a woman in a blue dress is kneeling before a man in an expensive suit, her face in his lap. Lives upon lives are reflected here, each one different than the others. Usagi looks around at the hall, curious at first, then appalled at some of the scenes the mirrors are revealing. "Is this a parade of man's inhumanity against Man?" she asks/ Hild-sama shakes her head, "No Usagi. Every life, good or bad, is reflected here. And while, yes, some people are more inhuman than we are, not all are like this." she steps up to the scene with the man in the gi and the boy being tied up by fish sausage, "This man, for instance, isn't truely evil despite what many think of him. And even with the things he did to his son, the young boy came through it stronger." she smiles, "In fact, I believe you've met the now not so childlike Ranma." she turns and walks over to another panel and places her hand on it, text scrolling across the screen for a moment. “… look closely at this man’s life and learn…" again she paused as several images of this man flashed by, some flashed with him beating a crying young woman, others of him “touching" boy-children as he held them down, and lastly all there was, was his grinning face, his madly glinting glasses, and the rapid flashes of a bloodied knife all passing soundlessly. “… that man is in fact a Priest, a supposed man of God… but his sinning actions are all too human…" she paused again, this time the glass showed an apparent trial in a courtroom, then obviously a not-guilty verdict as he jumped from his chair to hug his lawyer and rather distraught looking wife. Usagi's hand tightens to a fist at her side, unnoticed, as she watches the obvious injustice unfurl. She's always been a very big believer in justice, that sort of thing makes her want to bust out her tiara. But, she's always been too busy with the big bads to root out that kind of darkness... "That sort of thing is allowed to go unpunished?" she asks in a tone of voice that clearly implies, 'and you thought what I'd do for Crystal Tokyo bad when it'd stop that sort of thing?' Hild-sama says, "…there are sometimes when mortal justice fails, even under the face of horrendous crimes, this happens too many times to count, and then sometimes we intervene…" The man is obviously working late in his office. He looks up in fright as a swirling angry red glowing miasma starts to flow off the wall in a door shape, then there’s a form of a man in tattered grey robes showing the centuries of wear, the only distinguishing features are his bony hands with mere scraps of desiccated flesh hanging from the bone, and twin glowing red pools of hate for eyes as the figure approached the man. "… an Enforcer, a soul cursed by the Nidhogg system to wander in death to make penance for horrendous actions in life…" Hild mutters as now the man is blubbering and begging for his life, for mercy, and even though there is no sound in the image shown, you can tell that the robed walking horror is sneering and asking the man where was his compassion, where was his mercy for his victims of his crimes. And then with a negligent swipe of his bony hand the Enforcer violently pulls the mans soul from his body without so-much as a mark, leaving his now lifeless body to drop to the floor, as the Enforcer grabs the mans lifelessly colored soul, and drags him screaming in terror and begging through the doorway shape of red mist pouring from the wall, and then the man, the Enforcer, and the mist are all gone as if they never were there, all that remained was cooling corpse on the floor, a look on the dead mans face said it all, he was scared to death… and then the looking glass fades back into a hazed partial mirror. Usagi nods to herself upon seeing the man's fate. "It dosen't end with just removing him from where he's a threat to others, does it?" she asks. She's perfectly willing to leave it at that, with him no lnoger a threat, but... somehow... it feels way too short and easy an end... Hild-sama smiles, "Of course not. Death is only the beginning after all. Souls such as his... Are paid back 10 fold for what they've done. And then they may serve as an Enforcer, or other minion. We may not do the punishing ourselves, but we do see that justice is done." she rests a hand upon your shoulder, "Yes, Crystal Tokyo would have stopped things like that. But at the cost of free will. Every soul, by His decree, must have free will. In a way, what you would have done is a far worse crime than what this man did." she smiles, "But we've changed that future now haven't we?" Usagi nods. "I think in a case like that... making him relive everything from his victim's perspectives would be quite fair." Visiting evil upon evil, yes, but it might drive home the lesson. Then, realisation hits. The four sisters, Allen and Anne... "But, we haven't changed the past. Crystal Tokyo... isn't the first time. Just the first time I'd have done it knowingly." Hild-sama nods, "That is true. But the Moon Kingdom fell did it not? So too would have Crystal Tokyo eventually." she pats your shoulder gently, "Do you believe you can do this? Carry out this sort of justice? See that Justice is served when else none would be?" Usagi shakes her head. "No, not the Moon Kingdom, I, myself, have used the crystal on my enemies, only to see them... turn good afterwards... I always thought it was the purity that drove the darkness away and helped them make that choice, but... it wasn't, was it...?" Hild-sama smiles, "No dear, it wasn't. Though in those cases, they had made their choice to be evil. And in a way, you did serve justice by what you did." she shrugs. "We can't change the past in any case." Usagi has to swallow hard to keep from throwing up as a thought occurs to her. She used the crystal on Mamoru when he was brainwashed by Queen Beryl, but it wasn't until after that, that they became a viable couple. Dear gods... "No, we can't. We've just got to try and keep from making the same mistakes later, right?" Hild-sama nods, "Exactly. I take it that you won't be cleansing people with the crystal anymore?" she shrugs, "Depending on what you choose to do from here, you may eventually have far more power than that crystal at your fingertips." she rests an arm about your shoulders. "You could do wonderous things with it. Make a true utopia. One with Balance at it's heart." she smirks a bit. Usagi shakes her head. "Haven't even tried to use the Crystal since this change, so, I don't really know if I can or not, not yet." And now, she isn't sure if she wants to. "But, to your earlier question..." she swallows once, regaining mental equilibrium, "I think... it'd take a bit of desensitization, but... that I could oversee that kind of Justice." Hild-sama smiles, "Then that brings us to what to do with you. You have many choices at the moment. You can stay as you are, of demonic flesh, but with no real access to Niddhog. Many like that live here in Niflheim. You can enter my service as an agent, eventually earning a rank and class in the system. You'd be on the front lines of maintaining the Balance and seeing Justice served then. Or... " she smirks, "You can choose to follow in my footsteps as my Heir. A general behind the front lines. And, eventually, you'd take my place." Usagi thinks of her experiences, both as a senshi and as a princess. She's got the potential to go either way, but... "Somehow I don't see things going that smoothly if I took the agent route." If she's going to do this, might as well do it all the way, "I'd be honored to be your Heir, mother." That just seems ...right. Hild-sama smiles, "You're right Daughter. I would have to be harder on you than anyone else, to curb the rumors of favoritism. And even then, they'd abound." she pulls you into an embrace softly, "You will make a fine Heir. Like Urd, you are of both Chaos and Law. This isn't what I had intended, bringing you here. But Chaos had it's own say did it not?" she smiles, "There's no time like the present is there?" and darkness flows out from her, obscuring the hallway from view. When it fades, the pair are... somewhere else. Nifleheim: The Void A seemingly endless black void of nothingness. There is naught here except that which you bring with you... With the exception of a massive column of light a short distance away. It is simply breathtaking, every imaginable shade and color of light possible all in flowing twisting bands, interspersed with spinning reflective disk-like objects that either bend bands of colored light into new directions or have ropes of multi-hued neon light pass through the serrations in the disks to change colors and pitch. It has no bottom, it has no top, it has no definitive edge… it just –IS-. The sheer presense emited by this object is nearly overwhelming. Usagi returns the hug, and tries not to jump when they get teleported to... somewhere? She looks around at the void, then, at the swirling object. "Mom, what's this?" She asks, only past experiences keeping her relatively calm at being in a void... usually she's only in voids to fight the bigbads, not to become one! Hild-sama smiles, then speaks with pride in her voice, "This is the Yggdrassil/Nidhogg Systems Central Core Construct. This is what runs all of creation. Only 4 beings in all of existence can come here. Him and his Heir, and me and mine." She smiles as the red tinted figure appears to them, "Daughter, meet Lilith, the Nidhogg/Yggrdassil Central Systems Core A.I." Usagi bows shallowly as she's introduced. "Very pleased to meet you." she replies automaticly at being introduced, some training too strong to overcome. "It's... very lovely." Hild-sama nods, "That it is." And before she can say anything else, the named girl, Lilith, faces Hild, and with a voice lacking almost any inflection speaks resonantly, "I approve. Your command Hild-sama?" Hild smiles and with a glance at Usagi, looks at Lilith, "I knew you would… let’s see… execute capitol priority, Daimakoujo protocols, limited gradual access release to Usagi." To this, Lilith smirks a ghostly red tinged smirk, and says mechanically, "Compliance." as she fades away. Hild turns to Usagi, "Sing." Usagi swallows a tiny bit nervously at the command to sing, but, obeys, and starts singing the first thing that comes to mind. It's her favorite tune, and, ironicly, the one used as the theme song for the first part of the cartoon based off of her. "I'm sorry I am not honest, I can say that in my dreams, my heart is about to short circuit, I want to see you right now..." Okay, so the song's subject matter is a little inappropriate to the task, at least it's music! Hild-sama turns away from Usagi to face the Central Core, closes her eyes, draws a hand to her chest and sings a haunting melody began, soon there is another voice, Lilith’s. Minutes pass, the trio of voices filling the void with the sounds of creation itself, dark and haunting, fast and meaningful. Then, slowly at first, a glowing ring of glyphs and text forms under you, and from this ring hundreds of double-helixes of scrolling text in an array of colors springs up almost like a cage around you. Next the song takes a new turn, as sound like drums and thunder, mixed with trumpets flare are in the mix making an even more dramatic cacophony as the cocoon of light and magical text is struck by a whip of blue lightning directly and continuously fed from the Nidhogg core. At this point, everything suddenly stops. No sound. No light. Nothing. Even the light of Nidhogg is gone. But slowly the column of light of the Nidhogg fads back into view… but its different… Now you're seeing the core as it really exists, it's 10 dimensional visage... Then the dark song slams back into you with a vengeance. Dozens of small spheres of light break away from the column of light to float lazily around you, then in the din there comes a whispering of voices, then again, louder, and louder, finally you could hear it say, "Usagi… Open your mind…" it keeps repeating that, a little louder each time, and with it the lights came closer… then the song reached a crescendo, and with banging thunder the voices slam into you, "OPEN YOUR MIND!", and seconds latter each sphere of light smashes into and through you. Each one coming like a punch to the gut. Usagi has a moment to wonder to herself that she just DID the coccoon thing, thankyouverymuch, but knows better than to fight something she just agreed too. She just wasn't expecting it to be like this! And... she didn't even know she could perceive that many dimensions! She dosen't know how to open her mind, that sort of thing's always been more Rei's baliwick than hers... She has to resist covering her ears as it gets louder, never noticing when her own voice, blending in with the others, went from familiar song to harmonizing vocalization... the last shout forces her mind open as the gut-punching light begins. Hild-sama smiles at you... Well, it’s Hild… but not Hild. It’s as if it was just an outline of Hild, a shape cut-out from reality, then filled with the night sky, as she was black and empty, save for small points of twinkling stars filling the outlined void of darkness in the shape of Hild… and the horrendous spinning red galaxies of her eyes boring into your soul… Hild smiles as the light stop slamming into you as the song comes to it's end, all of creation spinning around them. Now Usagi can finally see what her new mother really looks like, in the cosmic scheme of things. Horrendous? You're forgetting... this is Usagi. Sailor Moon. Entities that look like that aren't the norm, but, they aren't... well... unknown, either. It's just that she usually had to beat them up. And, it's also her new Mother. Usagi's not going to shy away, just because someone works on many levels. She floats in the silence after the song, head tilted to one side, studying her mother, oddly at peace in that moment, a child of love and light who's finally learning that dark dosen't mean bad, or evil. Hild-sama smiles again and reaches towards you. And as if it was the key, the simple act of her laying her hand on your arm triggers changes within yourself. Your skin fading out to transperancy as you too become an outline of yourself, only you are filled with coldly beautiful silver hellfire. If you could see your own eyes, they would mirror hers. Hild's voice now is even more melodious than before, if that's even possible. "Did I forget to mention that we exist in more than just 4 dimensions?" Usagi takes a moment to study her hands, then asks in a slightly stunned voice, "How many dimensions -do- we exist in?" she puts aside the question of weither or not this means she just gained any weight for later, though she's dying to ask THAT important question. Hild-sama smiles, the moment fading and Hild is once again plain old eccentric Hild, no longer appearing as a being full of stars, as the veil of normalcy once again falls down around them, leaving them back in the space before Niddhog and everything looking as it should. "10 actually. Instead of just existing within the universe, we're a part of it's very makeup." if Usagi were more culturally educated, she'd be resisting the urge to make a crack about Hild being 'full of stars'. "Ten?" Okay, things look a little bit normal now... "So... how many pounds did that transition add?" Okay, so she IS asking the important question here for a girl who can't figure out what other really important questions need to be asked. Hild-sama chuckles, "That's a tricky question. One one hand, you now have infinite weight. On the other, you weigh no more than you wish to. Beings such as us, we look how we wish to. If you want to change your hair, you just will it how you want it. Same with your clothing." Usagi looks down at her outfit. "So, it's a mind before matter, there is no spoon kinda deal?" She never really got why people said there's no spoon, but, it seems to apply here. "I imagine that could be real embarassing to go out in public with before I get the hang of it..."
Usagi glances down briefly, just a little shyly. "Do you think... my new sister will like me?" Yeah, still uncertain there, but, hopeful. "And... Practice will help that, I hope." Able to change clothes as she wants without using her disguise pen will be nice. Hild-sama smiles, "Perhaps. As she is on the other side, things will be a bit strained I imagine. She and I don't get along well. Takes after her father and all that." she smiles and guides you through a suddenly appearing doorway, back into her office. "There's just one thing left to do though..." she grins, "Though perhaps you should have one of your 'subjects' there for it." Hild's Tower: Hild's Office This is the central office where the Daimakaicho Hild oversees all of Nifelheim’s operations. The walls here are also made of cherry wood, with large violet drapes hanging in various places. Some of the walls are covered in with large book cases, filled with volumes books, that just keep going up with no end in sight. There are several rolling ladders attached to the walls, for accessing the books, each leading to railed landing that circles around the room. More ladders and landing continue up the walls, one above the next. In the center of the room is a fountain where a female statue is pouring water into the pool below from a jar held in its hands. The pool’s water flows into the base of a large and beautiful tree. At the other end of the room, there is a massive bay of windows that looks out over the city and the lake beyond it. In front of the windows there is a large cherry desk with a lamp and phones on it. And several computers that look like holograms floating in mid-air above it. Behind the desk is a large high-backed leather chair. On the front of the desk is a simple nameplate that reads: Hild, Daimakaicho. Usagi follows Hild through the doorway, back into her office. "What's the last thing to do?" she asks curiously, linking her hands behind her back to keep them still rather than the nervous fluttering they seem to want to do at such a big step she's taken. Makoto has arrived. Hild-sama smiles at Usagi, "Why... All Princesses need a crown don't they?" then sends her Personal Assistant up to retrieve Makoto from upstairs. Usagi reaches up to lightly touch her forhead at the mention of a crown, remembering the tiara she wears as Sailor Moon... and, the string of pearls that was threaded into her hair as Princess for formal occasions on the moon. That and the tattoo on her forhead was all that was needed for an outward sign of her rank, really. "A tiara that's not linked to crime fighting?" Makoto smiles and waves to the two of you as she's led into the room. "Wow... you keep changing your look, Usagi-chan." Makoto's not looking very 'princessly' right now as she's changed into her jeans and is wearing her leather jacket. what she used to call her 'Faith' look before she actually met the slayer Hild-sama holds her hand out, palm up, flames tracing a pattern in it as a smaller version of her own crown, though colored to match Usagi's dress, forms floating above it. "Just in time Miss Kino. May I present to you, Usagi... Daimakoujo of Niflheim." as she settles the crown atop Usagi's head. Usagi ducks her head slightly as the crown gets settled in place, out of respect for the new title and again, because it feels like the right thing to do. She'd drop into a curtsey at the introduction, but, that's not what's right for a scenario like this. So instead, she takes a deep breath, and smiles. "Hey, Makoto." Makoto doesn't pretend to understand everything that's happening here, but she can see that usagi's happy and that's good enough for her. Any happiness around her is something to focus on and smile about. "You're piling on the titles, Usagi-chan. Eventually you'll probably rule the universe." she laughs lightly and offer a hug to her old friend. Hild-sama chuckles, "It's rather ironic that you say that. Usagi's accepted her place as my Heir. So yes, she'll eventually rule Niflheim as the Almighty's opposite." she smirks. Usagi giggles and reaches out to hug Makoto. "Still punishing the bad guys, just in a different way." she says with a twinkle in her eyes before stepping back. "And hey, isn't piling on titles traditional for royalty?" she asks with a teasing note in her voice. Makoto laughs and ruffles usagi's hair a little. "Maybe, But if I ever have to turn a page on invitation to your birthday party.." she winks and looks over to Hild. "Thank you for being so good to my friend.." Hild-sama smiles, "As if I could be anything but to my Daughter." she sits down on the edge of her desk. "Are you finding your room to your liking Miss Kino?" Makoto smiles brightly and nods. "Hai! it's ... huge." Usagi smiles from Hild to Makoto. "The rooms here really are done well, aren't they? I swear sometimes I just want to spend the entire day in my new bed!" Not that wanting to spend all day in bed is an entirely NEW thing for Usagi-chan.... Makoto grins widely. "Well I found that staying in bed all day can be fun sometimes." she winks and looks around for a spot to sit. "So I don't have to curtsey or anything when I see you now, do I?" Hild-sama smirks, "No more than you used to I suppose. Though Usagi has yet to tell me what she is going to do with the Senshi and all." Usagi shakes her head. "No curtseying needed. Friends first, remember?" At the mention of the other senshi, she sobers slightly. "As for the senshi... well, this is a rather large change. i'm not going to hold anyone to oaths from a past life who don't want to follow them..." as much as that thought hurts, it's the responsible one, and... somehow, she thinks Rei's going to have a complete and utter cow over this. "But, even if they don't want to follow me as I am now, I'm still going to protect them as best I can." Makoto smiles and laces her fingers behind her head. "I thought it was our job to take care of _you_, princeess. That hasn't changes as far as I'm concerned and I'm sure Ami would agree if she was here..." Hild-sama smiles gratefully to Makoto then nods to Usagi, "Several of your Senshi will follow you I believe. Though at least one I think will actively try to oppose you now. We should go see her sometime soon." and won't THAT be fun. "If Youma become an issue for you again, remember than you don't have to rely on only your Senshi now. I _do_ have a fairly large standing army of demons at my disposal." Usagi nods. "Rei." That name says it all. The Rei she knew before coming here, the one who... no, don't remember her death, dammit... she could count on that Rei. This one, however? Who yells and throws accusations deliberately hurtful and stalks off, who's had visions of her betrayal and will likely see this as confirmation of those? "And, I should still be able to change into Sailor Moon. Has there been any word on Ami's location yet?" Makoto shakes her head. "i can't believe anyone would violently oppese this, Hild-san. Usagi has the Senshi and doesn't need 'youma' of her own... that would just be creepy...." she trails off and listens intently as Ami's name comes up. Hild-sama shakes her head, "I've heard nothing yet. Which makes me think that one of the Hell Council has her." she smirks a bit, "Demons are not youma Miss Kino. Youma are below us as vermin are below you. Things to be crushed and destroyed at whim." then cocks her head, "I believe Miss Hino will react rather badly to it. Usagi is the Demon Princess now after all." Makoto blinks. "But if demons aren't evil... I've seen nothing here to make me think that... Why would Rei be opposed?" she pouts a little as she realizes that Rei even mistrusted hersel and even Ami after that mess with Metallia's energies. Usagi frowns. "Well, then we'll just have to find her..." and, rather than get sad and depressed at the thought of her friend in trouble and her being unable to help at the moment, she starts to get ANGRY. "The Hell Council, aren't they the ones who dropped that building in the first place? And, Makoto...Rei's been fed false visions since she arrived here, one of them that I know of... two words. Princess's betrayal." Makoto blinks. "Dropped... _my_ building?? My Ami?" The Manipulation of Rei doesn't even register after the first bit. She's instantly angry. Something that she's more succeptible with traces of Metallia's energy inside her that she doesn't think she'll ever truly be free of... Hild-sama smirks, "Don't worry. I already have an idea for dealing with them. The easiest way is to take a seat on the council myself. And the way to do that is to... remove one of the current members. Usually in a one on one duel." she smirks then nods, "Yes, that was them dear." Hild could purge the energies from Makoto... And replace them with her own. "Yes, one of their number caused the building to collapse." Usagi nods grimly. "They're not very nice people, as their name attests." A one on one duel... the thought has her wanting to crack her knuckles in a very unladylike manner to prep her hands for hitting something repeatedly. "So, step one is to get on the council, step two is to check to see who's energy has recently come into contact with Ami's, step three dramatic rescue?" Makoto's fists clench. She'd normally be able to hold herself in check, but this is probably the touchiest subject there could possibly be in her life and she's spent several weeks seething inside over it. To learn that it wasn't an accident. Someone did it on purpose.... "They took my Ami away, Usagi...." It's not a request, or a statement... it allmost feels like there's a vow behind it. Hild-sama smiles, "If it comes to that. Once on the council, I should be able to easily find her. And perhaps retrieve her without any fuss. If there is fuss." she shrugs, "We'll deal with it." Usagi walks over to place one hand over Makoto's, offering her support. "They took Ami... and we'll get her back." she's just as serious, as determined, as Makoto. "It may take a while, but, we'll get her back." At her mother's words, Usagi nods firmly. "If there's fuss... we'll deal with it." she echoes the words, her tone of voice almost like she WANTS there to be a fuss so she can deal with it in as violent a manner as possible. Makoto squeezes Usagi's hand and nods softly, not really wanting to say anything as her voice might crack at the moment. "Thanks, Usagi-chan.." she finally whispers. "You too, Hild... I'll help if I can." Hild-sama says, "Leave this one to us." she smiles for a moment then sobers, "Though you realize that if she was in the building when it went down and died, she's only a spirit now. Without some form of intervention, she'd never be able to return to the mortal plane." Makoto bites her lip. "As long... as she's safe and happy..." her jaw clenches and she squeezes Usagi's hand tightly, probably enough to draw a squeak from blonde a few years ago Usagi reaches up to lightly rest one hand over her heart. "My senshi and I have all died before... and returned. Death's a more transitory state for us than for many people." She returns Makoto's squeeze. "If nothing else, I'll bust out the crystal and see if I can't revive her with that." Hild-sama smiles, "Usagi. What did you learn about the crystal earlier?" she shrugs, "There's a simpler solution. While I can't give her back her mortal life, that isn't to say I can't give her life. If certain conditions are met." Makoto smiles a little. "Yeah... I remember when Beryls youma got me... I wasn't completely out.. I saw you all heading off.... And AMi-chan stayed with me..." she shudders and reaches up to dry her eyes, forcing herself to regain her composure. "It'll all work out, Usagi.. it allways does, ne?" Usagi nods. "Yeah, it does... mostly because we as a group are way too stubborn to just lay down and die without taking most of them with us." She smiles at Makoto, then, looks over at Hild, at first curious, then realisation setting in. Ami could become like them. That'd work. "Crystal's also raw power and tied into my soul, with practice and will I'm pretty sure I can excise that part of it." Hild-sama smiles, "I think you need to do a load of practice with that first Usagi." she looks to Makoto, "We can revive her as a demon, if she agrees. But there's always a price for wishes granted by demons. Even Usagi's wish had a price, though I'm not sure she realized just what it was." Makoto blinks "As a demon? How would that work?" Makoto looks concerned suddenly Usagi isn't quite that oblivious. Some of the things she's found out since becoming like this... the cost was her old life, the 'death' as it were of one of the champions of order and light, and worse, knowledge and understanding, both of what she's done in the past and what she would have done had she remained on that path. And, most likely, one if not many of her senshi. She stays silent, though, listening to her mother. Hild-sama smiles, "There's nothing to be concerned about. Offering a soul demonhood is fairly routine. Traditionally, a deal was made with a mortal that after they died they would become a demon, as it's easiest to do after death. The price varied by the person. Sometimes them becoming a demon and serving me was the price, if they wanted great wealth or something in life. But I think there's something more specific you want to be asking is there not?" Makoto bites her lip nervously. "What would it mean for Ami-chan? What would she be then? How would she change?" Hild-sama looks at Makoto, "She'd be a demon. Like Usagi and I. " she ponders for a moment, "Usagi will need her own servants after all. I think perhaps Ami would be a wonderful fit for that role. In that sense, not much would change for her." Usagi reaches out to hug Makoto briefly in support. "She'd still be Ami," Usagi reassures. Makoto nodnods softly and hugs usagi. "Let her choose... but don't leave her in hell.... it.... It's not right...." Hild-sama smirks, "It has to be her choice. Free will. Don't worry, I had no intention of leaving her there." Makoto looks up to Hild. "If you need anything from me to save her... I'll do _anything_ you need" A dangerous offer Makoto just made, and it'd be even more dangerous if she wasn't Usagi's friend. "Too bad its unlikely she has her senshi communicator... it'd be nice to be able to tell her to hold on, that we're finding a way to come for her." Hild-sama smiles, "And Miss Kino. Just because it's easiest to make a soul into a demon doesn't mean it can't be done to a mortal. As Usagi-chan proved. Perhaps that is something you should think about." Makoto nods softly. "I'll think about it. But I haven't had much luck with power that wasn't my own lately. I like being the goddess of lightning, after all." she winks. She figures there's no need for secrecy around Hild if usagi trusts her this much. Hild-sama smiles, "The power would still essentially be your own, as much as any power belongs to anyone." then she's distracted by a beeping from her computer terminal and she moves to check it out. Usagi links her hands behind her back. "Whatever you're comfortable with, Mako-chan, no pressure." She offers her friend a smile. "We are what we are, and it's up to you to decide weither or not you want to change that, but no matter what, our friendship won't change." She returns Makoto's wink. Hild-sama frowns a bit as she reads what just came in, "I think you two better see this." and keys up a large display screen on the wall. A recording starts playing of a demon with a deep chest slash from his lower torso up to his right shoulder... But instead of bleeding, the wound is frozen over. In the background you can see a plain covered in the remnants of hoarfrost, demon parts littering the area... many looking like they've been frozen and shattered. The demon speaks in a halting gurgling voice, obviously near death himself. He speaks of a pair of cold icy blue eyes and a blue haired young girl being taken by force to the lower planes. And something about the Hell Council. Makoto nods at Usagi's reassurance. But at Hild's words she checks out the video, shivering at the implication. "She's fighting back... Ami-chan's fighting back! I've gotta go help her!..." she trails off a little as she realizes how silly that must sound given the circumstances. Usagi's hand tightens into a fist. "It's AMI. Of COURSE she's fighting back. She'll fight with every ounce of strength in her body..." A small smile of pride curves her lips even at Mako's words. "If she's still fighting, then... at some level, even there... she's okay. She's unbroken. We need to get her as soon as possible, but... she's okay enough to fight..." Hild-sama smiles, "We've found a lead at least. If she's being taken to lower planes, there'll be a trail. Though I admit I never thought I'd be riding in to rescue someone from Hell..." Even indirectly, news of Ami is giving Makoto a lot of hope and she grins. "We'regoing to get some revenge. Ami is a lot more powerful than you think. If she really wanted to break out i bet she'll find a way." Usagi nods. "She'll freeze the whole plane over if she has to." She says in agreement. "Ami... " She smiles warmly, and reaches over to hug Makoto, relief at just this news flooding her. "And, it's all in the motivation, Mom. This is someone that should properly be here, with us, so we're really correcting an imbalance." Hild-sama nods, "We'll get her. As long as she keeps leaving messes like that, she'll be easy enough to follow." | |
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