Chapter 13

'hikawa shrine'

Lita walked up to the cockpit, looking for Artemis and Luna. She found them both leaning over the radar screen. "What are you looking at?" she asked. "Is the tracking ship still there?"

Artemis leaned back in his seat and frowned over his shoulder at her. "No."

"Pardon?"

Luna turned around. "We're the only ship currently on the radar," she answered.

Lita's brows contracted in confusion and she glanced over at Artemis, who had returned his thoughtful gaze to the screen. "Artemis? What do you think that means?"

He rubbed a hand across his forehead before sighing. "I'm not sure," he said. "But I don't think it can be good. We're only a few hours out of Alintarouge. For the tracker to suddenly disappear now…" Artemis shook his head. "It doesn't bode well."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Luna added. "They're obviously planning something."

"Mum, Dad!" The three adults spun around to face the door on hearing Hotaru's excited voice. There was a bright grin on her young face.

"What is it sweetie?" Luna asked.

"You won't believe it! I just perfected that new move you've been trying to teach me, Mum."

Luna smiled softly and raised her eyebrows at her daughter. "You're right, I don't believe you." She winked, and then said, "You'll have to show me."

Luna glanced over her shoulder and shared a serious look with Artemis and Lita, before turning back to Hotaru and said, "Lead the way."

Hotaru looked past Luna to her father. "Dad, you have to come too. You've got to see this."

Artemis was about to object but Lita pulled him to his feet. "Go." She nodded towards the door. "I'll keep an eye on things here."

Hotaru grinned and skipped back out of the cockpit, Luna following slowly behind her. Lita stopped Artemis before he left as well. "A-man, could you tell everyone that we'll be landing soon? Also, tell them to meet me in the galley in half an hour. I need to prepare them for what might happen once we reach world-side." Lita sighed. "That tracker ship could very well be there already, just waiting for us to arrive in order to put their plan into motion."

Artemis nodded and then left. Sitting down in the seat Artemis had vacated, Lita lovingly ran her hands across the controls. "Well, old girl," she said to her ship, "let's just hope we all survive this in one piece."

Darien glanced around his bunk to make sure he hadn't left anything behind. His mobile was in his pocket, his wallet and various forms of identification were tucked away in his jacket. He hadn't brought anything else with him, except for the small back pack that contained a couple of extra shirts, and a clean pair of pants.

Ever since the incident with the pirates, Darien had mostly kept to his bunk in hopes that he could avoid angering Mina and Kunzite anymore than he already had. They were already too suspicious of him, and they certainly disliked him. He didn't need them poking around in his affairs, or learning anything about him they didn't need to know.

It had occurred to Darien just what a dangerous position he had fallen into since stepping aboard the Ice Chamber. He was almost positive that in Serena he had found what he had been searching for, over the last five years. And yet, since meeting her, he had only found more questions than answers.

Mina had come to see him in his bunk earlier, to inform him that they were almost at Alintarouge. She had hesitated after giving him the message, almost as if she had wanted to say something else. She had looked almost vulnerable in that moment. But then Mina had shaken her head and walked out without another word.

Darien let out a breath and lay down on the bed. He wasn't sure how exactly he was going to get off this ship. After everything that happened recently and everything he had seen, he didn't know how he was going to walk away and not look back. Especially since he knew who and what Serena was.

He groaned and rolled onto his side. Serena. There was his problem in a nutshell. There was something about her that drew Darien to her. The more he found out about her, the more he wanted to know. Whenever he looked in her eyes, Darien could see a whole other world there. It scared him a little, the way he had been feeling since meeting the strange, beautiful girl. He'd even started dreaming about her.

For kami's sake, he had been only moments away from kissing Serena the other day. If Kunzite hadn't interrupted them, then Darien would have kissed her.

Serena was the other reason why Darien had exiled himself to his bunk. He was afraid that if he spent anymore time with Serena, if he continued to let his feelings grow as they had been, then he wouldn't be able to leave. Darien was afraid that he wouldn't be able to walk away the way he would have to when they reached Alintarouge in just over an hour.

Darien sat up and tried to stop the flow of his thoughts as a tentative knock sounded against his door. "Come in," he called wearily.

He glanced up as the door slid open, and was stunned to see Serena standing there. "Um," Darien stammered, lost for words. He stood up and waved for Serena to come in.

Her eyes moved hesitantly around the bunk before stepping inside. Darien backed up and leaned against the desk behind him, trying to put some extra room between himself and Serena. Was it just him, or did the bunk suddenly seem a lot smaller than it had been before?

Serena looked around at the bare room before turning her eyes to Tuxedo Mask. "You're leaving," she stated simply.

Darien nodded. Her face was expressionless so he couldn't guess at what she might be thinking. He thought her eyes looked a little sad though.

Serena tilted her head to the side, still gazing into Darien's eyes. It was as if she was analysing something, or perhaps trying to figure something out. She suddenly straightened her neck and nodded to herself, apparently having reached a decision. Serena stepped forward and, without giving Darien a chance to protest, she rose up onto her bare toes, placed her small hands on his shoulders and kissed him.

Her lips were soft and dry against his own. Darien clenched his fingers around the edge of the desk. 'Don't touch her,' he thought, even as his eyes slipped closed. 'If you do, you'll never let go.'

Darien felt the pressure from Serena's lips disappear and opened his eyes. She was watching him, waiting for a reaction. When Darien didn't say anything, her eyes dropped and she tried to move away. Serena had only moved back one step before Darien's fingers fell away from the table and his body followed hers.

Darien quickly slipped his hands around Serena's waist, holding her in place so she couldn't escape any further, and instantly lowered his lips to hers. Where their first kiss had been quiet and hesitant, this one was explosive. There were tongues and teeth and hands and lips everywhere, all in constant motion.

They both pulled away as their need for air increased. Darien gulped, his heart racing inside his chest, and pushed a strand of Serena's hair behind her ear. She was watching him with a small, satisfied smile stretched across her lips. Darien felt an answering smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He knew that he would never be able to leave Serena now. He would just have to find a way back onboard the ship once he had finished with things in Alintarouge.

Lita walked into the galley and was pleased to see that her entire crew was already assembled around the table. She moved to the head of it and sat down. She laced her fingers together on the table and studied them for a moment, hunched over, before raising her eyes to meet her crew's cautious gazes. Hotaru was biting a thumbnail, Reika was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, and Jed and Chad were both sitting back from the table, arms crossed and frowns marring their faces. Luna and Artemis, who already knew what was coming, were wearing matching expressions: worried and resigned, but determined at the same time.

The only one not looking back at Lita was Greg. He was staring thoughtfully down at the black crystal that he was absently twirling between his fingers. The same black crystal that had almost pulled Reika's Rainbow Crystal out of her. Lita wondered if he had had any success in figuring out its secrets.

She cleared her throat and began to speak. "There's something I haven't told you," Lita started off, "and perhaps I should have earlier. But either way, that doesn't really matter now." She closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath to prepare herself before continuing, "For the last couple of days the Makoto has been followed by an unknown ship. Always at a distance just outside of range so that we can't get a read on it."

There was an immediate shuffling around the table as Lita's crew reacted to her news. Before anyone could jump in to say anything, Lita raised a hand to calm them and said, "There's more. Only an hour ago, Artemis informed me that the ship has disappeared from our radar screen. And I'm going to be honest here: the fact that it's now gone worries me just as much as the fact that we were being tailed at all."

Chad immediately spoke up. "You said that you couldn't get a read on the ship. But I'm sure we're all thinking it." His eyes roved around the table. "It's government agents isn't it? That's the only thing it could be right?" Chad's gaze fell on Reika, who was staring down at the wood beneath her hands, still biting down on her lip. "Agents that are after Reika and Greg and Rhett."

Artemis nodded. "Yes, that's what we think the ship was."

Lita took over again. "I'm afraid that the disappearance means they've figured out where we're going, and they've already gone ahead to set a trap. All I hope is that they're not waiting at the docking yards, ready to grab us the very moment we hit land."

Lita glanced over at Greg. He was still lost in thought, and didn't appear to have heard anything that had been said so far. "Greg," she called to gain his attention. When he glanced up at her, Lita nodded her head towards the crystal in his hands. "How's it going with the crystal?"

With a huff, Greg dropped it to the table, shaking his head. "I had a vision the first time I stared into it," he confessed. "A young girl, trapped and being tortured."

"Tortured?" Luna questioned.

Greg shook his head slightly, feeling frustrated that he wasn't explaining this properly. "Well, not in the sense you would normally expect. She was trapped in a room with no windows or doors, and she had her hands pressed against her head, screaming out the words 'help me'. But it was more than that. When you're inside a vision you can feels things and understand things you normally wouldn't be able to. And so I was able to feel the way someone had tortured her brain. Her mind had been played with."

He paused to take a sip of his drink. No one said anything as they waited for Greg to continue. They all felt, though they could not have said why, that the vision Greg was describing to them was in some way very important. Greg tapped his fingers against the table, collecting his thoughts, and then continued, "There's something else to it as well. Before the vision actually started, when I was just looking at the crystal, the girl's image appeared inside the crystal. She had a finger against her lips, telling me to keep quiet." He paused and glanced around the table. "I think she somehow sent that vision to me." Greg cleared his throat and then finished with, "But as for the crystal itself… I have no idea. I can't work it out; no matter how much time I spend examining it. And I keep hoping for another vision that might help to explain it, but I've had nothing."

"Who was she?" asked Jed.

Greg shrugged. "No idea. She was blonde, short hair, with blue eyes, but that's all I know."

Lita was thinking quickly. She didn't understand Greg's vision, and it was no doubt important, but they had more pressing matters as well. "We can try to analyse Greg's vision later. Right now we need to talk about what we're going to do when we land."

Reika raised her head at this point, her normally happy face now filled with anxiety. "I think you should all come speak to Andrew, my fiancé. He wouldn't explain anything to me over our mobiles, said it was too dangerous, but he knows something about what's going on. Andrew's heard of the Rainbow Crystals, I know that much. Maybe he can help us."

"Okay, that's a start," Lita nodded. "When he could he meet with us?"

Reika scratched her neck absently as she thought about it. "He'd be at work today," she began slowly. "But I could call him as soon as we're finished here, to let him know we're about to arrive in Alintarouge. We probably wouldn't be able to see him though until after he finished work for the day. It would look too suspicious for him if he were to just leave in the middle of the day to come meet us as soon as we landed."

"So we need to discuss what we are going to do as soon as we hit world-side," Luna commented. "If we're lucky, those agents won't be waiting for us at the docks. I think," she paused, glancing around at her crew mates, "and this will probably be an unpopular opinion, but I think we should split up once we reach Alintarouge."

"Mum, no!" Hotaru immediately shouted in protest. Every one else followed the teenager in voicing their concerns, but as they all spoke at once nothing could be discerned from what they said. Only Lita refrained from saying anything. She didn't like the idea, but she could see the benefits of it.

Luna stood up and slammed a hand down against the table. The galley immediately fell silent again. "Thank you," Luna said as she resumed her seat. "I know I just suggested it but I don't like the idea of splitting up anymore than you do. I believe it will be the safest way though. We have three of these Rainbow Crystals on board the ship. We break up into three groups and gradually make our way to a specified meeting place, preferably somewhere known to be safe." Luna looked at Reika, "Perhaps Andrew could suggest somewhere?"

Reika nodded.

Lita leaned forward. "Right then, three groups. Luna, you'll take Rhett Butler along with Hotaru. Artemis, you'll be with Reika and Chad. Greg will come with me and Jed. And I want everyone to be armed." Before Reika could object, Lita added, "Yes Reika that includes you. I know you don't believe in violence and so on, but we are all in danger here. Especially you. You will need to be able to defend yourself. Okay?"

The others all murmured their agreements. Jed looked over at their pilot. "Artie, how long until we land?" he asked.

Artemis glanced at his watch and did the calculations. "Two hours," he replied.

Lita decided to wrap the meeting up. They had things to prepare, plus Reika would need time to get in contact with her fiancé. "So we all know the groups. Hotaru, Luna, once we reach Alintarouge you two go shopping. At least, you'll be in a crowded area. Chad, Artie and Reika, you guys go collect any supplies we need, and the rest of us will go collect our pay for the cargo. We'll make it look like we're just going about our everyday business, as if we didn't know there were agents waiting to attack. And hopefully with a bit of luck, we'll all be able to make it to the meeting place with no trouble."

Lita stood up and smiled. "Now let's get back to work."

Zachary glanced down at the woman in his arms as he climbed the steps of the Hikawa Shrine. She had gradually started to come around the further away they travelled from the city centre. Rei had managed to rouse herself as they reached the actual shrine, long enough to tell him to take her to the room containing the Great Fire. She had also tried to insist that she was capable of walking up all the steps by herself, but two steps later and Zachary had had to grab her before she collapsed again.

He reached the top of the stairs and looked across the cleared area to the temple. Zachary could see an elderly man with a broom sweeping around the entrance to the temple itself. From the robes he was wearing, Zachary assumed the man was the priest of the temple. The man looked up without Zachary needing to call out anything. He dropped his broom in shock when he saw Rei lying lifelessly in Zachary's arms, and instantly hurried across the distance between them.

"Rei," the priest said as he reached Zachary.

Rei's eyes fluttered open. "Hi Grandpa," she murmured before closing her eyes again.

The priest frowned. "Follow me," he stated to Zachary. "We need to get her inside."

Zachary followed the man inside, and then through a winding maze towards the centre of the temple. Zachary could feel the heat coming from the room in front of them before he had even stepped inside it. The priest indicated that he should follow him inside. Zachary stepped through and was confronted with the sight of a large fire burning furiously in the middle of the room.

While Zachary stared at the fire, the priest was busy arranging a mat on the floor. He straightened and then commanded, "Lay Rei down here." Zachary, following instructions, carefully placed Rei on the floor before the fire. He found it odd though. Surely she would be more comfortable in her own room, where there was likely a soft bed for her to rest in.

Her grandfather obviously saw the question written on Zachary's face, for once Zachary stepped back from Rei's body, he said, "The Great Fire will help Rei to heal quicker from the psychic blows she has suffered." He smiled down at his granddaughter. He could see that already she was breathing easier.

The priest turned to the stranger who had brought his granddaughter home. "Thank you," he said and bowed low to the blond man.

Zachary blinked, feeling uncomfortable with the gratitude. "Sorry?" he spluttered.

"Not many people would have cared enough about an unknown girl in trouble to help her and bring her home. So thank you, young man."

Zachary held out his hand to Rei's grandfather. "My name's Zachary Dickenson," he introduced himself. "I'm just glad I was there and was able to help."

The priest smiled kindly at him. "I am Jiji Hino. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." The two men shook hands before Jiji Hino indicated the door. "May I offer you some refreshments? Perhaps, you can provide me with the details of what happened over a cup of tea?"

Zachary nodded, though he was wondering just how much he should tell the spiritual man before him. They were just about to leave the room when they both felt the shift in the air, as Rei's body suddenly jerked on the floor. They looked back to her just in time to see her eyes slowly open.

Zachary's eyes widened in shock as he got a clear look at Rei's. They were glazed over in a mixture of reds, oranges and yellows, constantly flickering and shifting like the flames of the Great Fire next to her. Slowly she lifted herself to a kneeling position, gazing into the Great Fire.

Jiji and Zachary moved behind Rei and also dropped to their knees. Zachary glanced at the priest out of the corner of his eye. He had his head bent, and his hands together, appearing to be praying. Rei's grandfather didn't seem to be worried about the colour of his granddaughter's eyes, or the trance she seemed to be in. But perhaps he had seen this all before, perhaps it was a regular occurrence, and there was nothing to be worried about.

Mr. Hino only looked up once Rei began to speak. She said only three words, "They're coming here."

Rei turned to face the two men, blinked her eyes, and suddenly she had returned to herself. Feeling exhausted Rei lay back down on the mat, watching the men still kneeling in front of her.

"Who is coming here Rei?" Mr. Hino asked quietly.

"Everyone," she replied. Her answer was still cryptic, but Rei didn't know how to explain it any better, especially as almost all of the people she had seen in the Great Fire were strangers to her. One though had been familiar. Rei smiled softly as she stared into her grandfather's eyes. "Darien's coming home."

Zachary wasn't sure, but he almost thought that the twinge he felt on hearing those words and seeing Rei's pleasure about them might have been jealousy. But, he rationalised to himself, it probably wasn't. He was probably just hungry.

Darien could feel the heat of Mina's glare burning into the back of him. Actually, most of the people currently standing in the cargo hold were glaring at him. Ami wasn't, but she was still staring at him in confusion. Serena wasn't either, but then it was because Darien was holding her hand while she rested her head against his shoulder that everyone was watching them so intently. Darien glanced at the young woman beside him as she suddenly sat up straight and released her grip on his hand.

Serena slipped to the floor and began drawing with the marker that had suddenly materialised in her hand. Darien could feel the tension ease somewhat now that Serena had moved away from him, but it wasn't gone completely. He chanced a look at Mina and though her glare was now gone, Darien could still feel the tension simmering underneath the surface of Mina's face. He averted his gaze before he could completely raise her ire again and looked down at what Serena was sketching on the floor. Darien frowned but wasn't given the chance to comment on it.

They all felt the jolt go through their bodies as Neph, up in the cockpit, brought the Ice Chamber to a stop. They had landed. They were in Alintarouge.

Kunzite and Mina were both visibly relieved. Darien didn't blame them. The captain and his girlfriend thought they were getting rid of him for good. Neph's voice came over the sound system, "That's it folks, we're world-side. Welcome to Alintarouge."

Kunzite smirked as he walked over to the wall, preparing to open the ramp. "Well, guess that's the end of the line for you Hino," he said.

Serena looked up from the large drawing she had just finished. "We need to go here," she stated, pointing down at the drawing.

Ami was shaking her head. "Serena, we're only staying here long enough for Darien to disembark, and for the ship to be refuelled. Then we're leaving."

Kunzite was ignoring the girls behind him. He slammed his hand against the button to lower the ramp, but seeing what he was doing Serena waved her hand, and nothing happened. "What in the 'verse?" Kunzite muttered as he tried again to lower the ramp.

Darien and Mina were both staring at Serena as she used her power to keep them all trapped in the cargo hold. Serena smiled slightly as she felt Neph finally arrive in the hold to see what was going. She looked to Mina and again pointed to her drawing. "We need to go here," Serena repeated.

Mina finally looked at Serena's drawing and frowned slightly. "You drew that the other day as well," she said. "What is it?"

"It's Hikawa Shrine." Everyone looked to Darien as he answered Mina's question. He took a deep breath and then added, "It's my home."

That really decided it for Mina. She wasn't taking Serena anywhere near Hino's home. Mina crossed her arms stubbornly as Serena continued to stare at her, an annoyed expression beginning to cross her younger cousin's face.

"We need to go here," Serena said for a third time, "all of us. Captain, Pilot, Mina, Shingo, Ami, Tuxedo Mask, Serena. All of us at Hikawa Shrine." She pointed to her head. "It told me so," Serena added, almost plaintively.

Everyone looked surprised to see Serena referring to her own powers. Darien had only ever seen her do it once before, after she fought those coppers on Station 5 and then called herself Sailor Moon. As he saw the shock on everyone else's faces, Darien realised that no one had actually heard Serena herself mention her powers. They all knew they existed, they all talked about it between them, and they had all seen the proof of Serena's powers. But they had never bothered to get Serena to actually discuss her abilities with them.

The first to react was Shingo. The young teenager dropped to his knees next to his older sister, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Serena turned to look at him. "Okay," Shingo told her calmly. "We'll go to the shrine, okay?"

"Shingo!" Mina exclaimed sharply.

Shingo turned to his cousin, still keeping his hand on Serena's shoulder. Mina sucked in a breath in shock at the sight of Shingo's eyes. She hadn't seen them look so filled with sadness since the day she had found him, dirty and scared and hungry and hardened, in the streets of Canberranoire. "Mina, we have to go," Shingo replied, still using that same calm voice. "You said yourself that you've seen Serena draw this place before. And for it to turn out to be where Darien lives? This is obviously important." Shingo paused for a moment, glancing at Serena from the corner of his eye, before finishing quietly, "Serena wouldn't keep insisting like this if it wasn't."

Mina swallowed, trying to keep down the emotions she had spent so long burying deep inside her. She blinked away the tears she could feel building at the backs of her eyes, and cleared her throat. "Okay," Mina softly agreed, before immediately turning away from the group. She didn't want anyone to see the fear she was certain was pouring from her eyes.

Serena shifted to her feet and with another wave of her hand the ramp finally began to lower. With a heavy thump, the ramp hit the ground and the crew of the Ice Chamber walked out into Alintarouge. Serena slipped her hand back into Darien's as they descended the ramp.

Once they were all assembled on the ground, Kunzite moved to a spot beside the ship and pushed something – obviously the outside release button, as the ramp began to fold back up and close the entrance to the ship once more. Darien pulled up the hood of his jacket and slipped on a pair of sunglasses. He was now back on his home-world, in his home-city. He had more chance of being recognised by the authorities here than anywhere else.

He was already trying to figure out just how they were all going to get through customs without immediately being caught.