The Caves (5) : To any explorers visiting the new Reservoir, they may find that just a bit away from the sandy water are a set of caves. Some of these connect back to the lake, but others rapidly plunge into darkness. It wouldn't be hard to get lost in here, but thankfully there are some very odd lights to help guide you out. If you turn off your light down some of these dark paths, you may find yourself surrounded by glowing pastel lights. A closer inspection reveals that you seem to be looking at some sort of glowing caterpillars. An internet search will reveal that Destiny City scientists have been researching the strange, unnamed creatures, but the articles are very limited. If you take them out of the cave they seem to shrivel up almost immediately. They're neat, but clearly meant to be stay in their natural habitat.
She had made excuses: to her general, to her team, heck, even to herself. But there was just no explanation that was savvy enough for Hylonome to utilise when it came to what she truly needed peace and quiet to do. She was pretty sure that stating the truth would not have gone over very well with anyone that was associated with Prehnite's team. Hylonome had a secret: a very large secret that had come to her on one of the coldest days of the year. It was a secret that she had decided to keep the moment that she had decided to hide the evidence of something strange happening to her when she was not even powered up. No one would have believed her and the ramifications of what could happen to her if she was found out had kept her lips sealed tight.
Hidden away in the deepest recesses of her little pocket of subspace sat an innocuous trinket that had found its way to her over winter. Pushing back a strand of her brown locks away from her face did the Edelweiss senshi huff a frustrated sigh at what was clearly still a crowded looking beach even at this late hour. She had hoped to find a desolate stretch of reservoir beach in order to simply sit and brood over the decision that had been at the forefront of her mind ever since the day that she had opened the mysterious parcel that had been unceremoniously left at Reed's doorstep. Turning away from the sight of humanity that was definitely apparent the corrupt senshi let her feet carry her away from the hooting and hollering and all around party atmosphere. She needed peace and quiet ... just some good old fashioned solitude. Thinking on the item in question Hylonome held out her hands and watched as the little compact appeared with a mixture of awe and uncertainty. The catch on the side, designed like a crescent moon, had intrigued her every time that she had brought the item out to look it over. After the encounter with Lourdes, a Venus squire, Hylonome had felt her resolve to get to the bottom of everything fall to a gentle simmer. If Lourdes had been in the Negaverse for as long as she had before leaving ... what did she have to gain by rushing? For the remainder of winter and the entirety of spring ... Hylonome had kept her head down. She made her quota and did what needed to be done but all the time there was a spark of genuine interest in the object that was figuratively burning a hole in her subspace pocket. Tonight was the night though that she would finally take the plunge to find out what mystery lay inside. Taking a sharp turn did the young woman find herself approaching the caves that were often overlooked by those that made the trip out to the reservoir.
Pulling out one other item that she had packed with her did Hylonome's left hand clutch tightly to the compact while she powered on the flashlight that she had thought to bring with her that evening. Preparation had been the key.
As the beam's arc of light swept over the entrance to the cavernous system Hylonome felt the first wave of apprehension wash over her. The planning; the preparation; everything had led to this exact moment and with the time finally resting on her frail shoulders did Hylonome allow the darkness of the cave to overwhelm her as she stepped inside. The second wave of apprehension came only a few seconds later when it turned out that the flashlight was not the only source of light within the dark interior. Moving closer to the walls did Hylonome allow herself the luxury of openly inspecting the moving creature adhered to the granite texture before simply killing her own generated light. The ambient light generated by the insect would not be sufficient on its own but further down the tunnel there were more specks of glowing light. Even as she wanted to further inspect the unknown critters, her fingers curled around the object still sitting in her left hand before she took the first branching tunnel off the main path. She just needed to be out of sight of anyone that would be either entering or exiting the caves in order to do what she had come here to do.
There was not going to be any reason to sugar-coat what was going to happen next. The next few minutes were going to be interesting to say the least and it was with that thought in mind that Hylonome found a small section of bare earth that was free of debris before seating herself down on the ground. Her attention fell to the item in her hand before she placed her flashlight down on the ground to her right before she allowed all of her fingers to gently trace over the objects outline one final time before they stopped on the smallest imperfection on the side. Seconds ticked by and before she could get frustrated; one little motion had the catch releasing its hold for the first time and the upper shell fully extending upward.
Whatever she had been expecting next Hylonome had not been quite sure but it definitely was a surprise to see what she could only describe as a narrow beam of light coalesce into a figure that, for all intents and purposes, could only be described as royalty. There seemed to be no innate sense of recognition even as the senshi brought the device closer to her face so that she could try to pick up on any details that she could observe. The device was almost dropped with her shock when a thin, warbling, sound reached her ears before Hylonome realized that whatever was happening ... it would not be able to harm her. Her attention refocused, lazer-like, on what it was that she appeared to be observing; her face giving nothing away as the message began to play in its entirety.
The hologram picked up halfway through a sentence; her mouth moved with silence, and then the words synced up.
“--unfortunate decision, but the people have asked for help, and I cannot deny them. A world without a Senshi is a world waiting to be pillaged by Chaos. I can only imagine what would inspire any senshi to abandon their homeworld like that. In my heart, I can find no good reason, but I can only hope that one exists. People trust them, you know. Being a ‘Senshi’ isn’t just an honorary title.”
She sighed softly, and her eyes were far away, as though this were a topic she had given much thought to.
“To be a Senshi is a burden, but it is a blessing all the same. Our worlds choose those most suited to protect it. I don’t think it’s random chance that just anyone is chosen to be a Senshi. It’s never been about power. Being a Senshi isn’t so simple. They are chosen as a whole, to represent their people and protect them as much as the world that gives them their power. You can’t just give away the title, either. It’s a sad thing, I think, if a Senshi looks in the mirror and thinks only of themselves. The power they’ve been given aren’t meant to serve just them. The powers they’ve been given are for them, certainly--but for the people who believe in them, and for the planet they are bound to.”
She fell quiet and tapped long fingers on the desk in front of her.
“Of course, I suppose, no one is given the choice, and it isn’t a choice everyone would have made for themselves. But we cannot always understand destiny or fate. But it is important to embrace that part of yourself, I think. The Senshi I know can do so many amazing, wonderful things. They believe in themselves, and their people believe in them--and I believe in them, too.”
She smiled, and though she seemed a little sad, there was love and hope in her voice.
“We may not all be Senshi, but we should all fight for the greater good. There are people out there who need you, and maybe you don’t see it if you forget that you are their Senshi. They channel so much into you. I can only imagine the pain this world feels, knowing that their Senshi so willfully discarded them and their world.” A mournful sigh, but the smile returned to her face and her eyes returned to whatever she had been recording herself in. “I believe in you, though. I know you can do this.”
She did not speak a name, and yet somehow it seemed like she was talking intimately to whoever viewed this. It may have been a message intended for someone else, but it was so pure and honest.
“Do your best. And don’t give up. I know things can be hard, but don’t forget how important you are. You can do this.”
Her image flickered; Queen Serenity was saying something, but the sound was gone, and a moment later she glitched out of existence. The hologram faded and shut off.
“--unfortunate decision, but the people have asked for help, and I cannot deny them. A world without a Senshi is a world waiting to be pillaged by Chaos. I can only imagine what would inspire any senshi to abandon their homeworld like that. In my heart, I can find no good reason, but I can only hope that one exists. People trust them, you know. Being a ‘Senshi’ isn’t just an honorary title.”
She sighed softly, and her eyes were far away, as though this were a topic she had given much thought to.
“To be a Senshi is a burden, but it is a blessing all the same. Our worlds choose those most suited to protect it. I don’t think it’s random chance that just anyone is chosen to be a Senshi. It’s never been about power. Being a Senshi isn’t so simple. They are chosen as a whole, to represent their people and protect them as much as the world that gives them their power. You can’t just give away the title, either. It’s a sad thing, I think, if a Senshi looks in the mirror and thinks only of themselves. The power they’ve been given aren’t meant to serve just them. The powers they’ve been given are for them, certainly--but for the people who believe in them, and for the planet they are bound to.”
She fell quiet and tapped long fingers on the desk in front of her.
“Of course, I suppose, no one is given the choice, and it isn’t a choice everyone would have made for themselves. But we cannot always understand destiny or fate. But it is important to embrace that part of yourself, I think. The Senshi I know can do so many amazing, wonderful things. They believe in themselves, and their people believe in them--and I believe in them, too.”
She smiled, and though she seemed a little sad, there was love and hope in her voice.
“We may not all be Senshi, but we should all fight for the greater good. There are people out there who need you, and maybe you don’t see it if you forget that you are their Senshi. They channel so much into you. I can only imagine the pain this world feels, knowing that their Senshi so willfully discarded them and their world.” A mournful sigh, but the smile returned to her face and her eyes returned to whatever she had been recording herself in. “I believe in you, though. I know you can do this.”
She did not speak a name, and yet somehow it seemed like she was talking intimately to whoever viewed this. It may have been a message intended for someone else, but it was so pure and honest.
“Do your best. And don’t give up. I know things can be hard, but don’t forget how important you are. You can do this.”
Her image flickered; Queen Serenity was saying something, but the sound was gone, and a moment later she glitched out of existence. The hologram faded and shut off.
The compact's little light show had ended and Hylonome could not begin to describe the emotions that had run through her mind with each passing moment as the message continued to play. Guilt was amongst the forefront before it was replaced with confusion. Just who exactly had been speaking? There seemed to be a lot more questions bubbling up in her mind even as time began to slip away from her. Having now cracked the mystery of the compact Hylonome had hoped for a cessation of the thoughts plaguing her brain but, as it often did, one question had been answered only to leave countless others in its wake.
