Fiducius ducked back down behind the rocky outcropping, hoping the weak shield he had put up around Tsaria would hold as he wondered how in the world they had gotten themselves into this mess. The battle had started well enough, with the puppetmaster Sailor Zinc Mantis bringing along five other senshi from defeated worlds, using them as pawns to protect herself. But then another five had arrived, and they now found themselves outnumbered, and so the battle plan had to change. And then another five, and things were starting to look bad.
Tynka and Imperatrix were in the midst of the battle, back to back as they dealt out damage all around them, the other senshi giving them a wide berth so not to be caught by Imperatrix's whip or Tynka's explosions. Gotho was currently with Thais and Apsyrtus, the large senshi binding nearby enemies and Thais crippling others so Apsyrtus could deal out damage with his bow, taking careful aim at each disabled senshi.
That left him and Tsaria along with Strenua, taking the rest of the enemy's attack. Fiducius had called out a few cards already, and fatigue was starting to set in; he wasn't used to calling multiple cards at one time in the middle of a battle situation. The chaos around him made it all the harder to focus on what kind of card he needed to pull from the deck for the proper situation. Tsaria, unable to use her vocal powers while Strenua and Fiducius were in hearing range, had been limited to using her flute as a blunt object, blocking attacks with it and healing when necessary. "How many more are they going to call down?" Fiducius said to Strenua as he looked up in the sky.
The alien turned from his distortion he had been creating, leaving half a senshi behind. "They appear to wish to overwhelm us by force."
"How are we supposed to defeat them? Do you have a plan?" Fiducius spun the knife in his hand, slicing at an enemy and hoping the card held up. "How many more can they have?"
"In theory...a lot. There are many worlds the Galaxia menace could have visited prior to coming here." Strenua glanced over at Zinc Mantis, who was moving to the edge of the battlefield, where another senshi had erected a ring, keeping them locked in the small valley. "We need to gain a better ground. If we can bottleneck them...." Strenua looked around.
"Can you use your distortions to create a bottleneck?"
"Possibly." He let out a whistled signal to Apsyrtus, the other senshi starting to move toward Strenua.
"Come closer and direct your attacks outward!" the other senshi yelled into his communicator at Tynka and Imperatrix. "We can't leave our backs open."
"Easier said than done," Imperatrix's irate voice came over the communicator.
Fiducius looked up at Zinc Mantis, who was watching them do battle with a cool expression, and a sudden chill went down his back. "Something's not right here," he mumbled.
"What do you mean?" Apsyrtus asked.
"Why isn't she attacking?"
"Who, Zinc Mantis? She probably doesn't want to put herself in danger," Apsyrtus said, and Fiducius could see the frown on his face although he was some distance away. "That's their standard operating procedure."
"There's something more to it than that." Fiducius put a hand on his cards, then kneeled. "Gaussia, Strenua, can you cover me?" Without waiting for a response, he began drawing cards.
"What, now?" Strenua frowned. "This is a poor place to do a reading."
"There aren't exactly any better places," Fiducius pointed out, setting three cards on the ground and scrutinizing them.
Apsyrtus sighed as he took a place next to Fiducius, firing off an arrow at an incoming puppet senshi. "If I get killed, I'm haunting you."
Fiducius didn't respond as he studied the cards, Tsaria standing by his other side. "There's a plan here," he murmured. "Something requiring time. She's buying time, for...." He trailed off as his finger moved to the top card in the triangle, the present card.
Strenua's ears twitched as he pushed an attacker back. "There's a strange pressure in the air."
"What kind?" Tynka asked him.
The alien responded with a blank look. "If I was aware of what it was, it wouldn't be strange. Gravity has shifted slightly."
"It's because there's a trap," Fiducius said quietly. "It's coming from...." He looked up. "Above. We need to go down."
"Above?" Apsyrtus looked up, then twisted to the side as a dart went whizzing past his ear. "There's nothing there. How are we supposed to get down?"
Fiducius shook his head, studying the cards again. "Let's see if we can find a pocket under the ground," Apsyrtus said. "A tunnel. Strenua, can you split the earth?"
"Hardly," the alien replied, "but I can open up a hole."
"It wasn't meant literally."
Strenua gave a short whistle in reply, holding his hands down. "Whew," Tynka said, wiping at her forehead. "There is some sort of pressure out here."
With a crack of his whip, Imperatrix sert a line of daggers into the sky, his eyes widening as they all vanished. "There's something big up there! And close!"
"They're trying to crush us!" Thais yelped.
Apsyrtus opened his mouth to say something else, and then Strenua's hole completed itself, dropping them down into the darkness.
All around them, there was darkness. Above, they could see the light blocked out by the spaceship that had bee descending on their heads, the ground shaking as it impacted against the asteroid's surface. It wasn't big enough to do significant harm to the asteroid...but plenty large enough to do damage to them. Apsyrtus let out a sigh, wincing as he stood, one leg giving way beneath him. He put a hand down, and felt blood against his fingertips. "Everyone still alive?"
"I'm fine," Imperatrix spoke up, "no thanks to being dropped in a hole."
"I'm thinking you would have preferred to be crushed by the spaceship," Tynka snorted. "I'm here, not sure how many pieces I'm in. How did they keep a spaceship hidden til it was on us?"
"I'm not sure," Strenua spoke up. "In theory, a cloaking technology, but in practice, a working one has never been developed. Also, I am unharmed."
"I'm here," Gotho spoke up, "and I have Thais."
"Thanks for that," the artist mumbled weakly.
Fiducius felt himself over. It felt like he had avoided any broken bones by making up for it with bruises and pulled muscles. "I'm here. Sore, but I think I'm functional. Gaussia?"
"I think I hurt my arm," she said from nearby, "but that's it. I'm okay otherwise. I think I can stand."
"Good. We need to get back to the surface," Apsyrtus said. "Anyone got a light? Tynka?"
She held up a hand, the tips of two fingers glowing, and Fiducius could see the small cave they were in. It was little more than a natural pit made from what little geological forces there were on an asteroid. He looked up, but the hole that Strenua had opened up was already gone. "Apsyrtus, your leg," Fiducius said in alarm.
He shook his head slightly. "Strenua, can you sense any currents of air leading to the surface?"
The alien paused, ears vibrating as he listened to the air. Finally he pointed to a small tunnel nearby. "There. There's one there."
"How are we supposed to fit through there?" Imperatrix asked with a frown.
"Anywhere else?" Apsyrtus asked, but the gray-skinned man shook his head. "Then we'll have to make it work. Fiducius, can you fit through there?"
He looked over at the hole, frowning, then nodded. "I think so."
"You go through," Apsyrtus instructed, "and let us know where it leads. We'll follow you once we've opened up this hole some and made it wider."
The younger senshi nodded, stretching his arms and rotating his shoulders, trying to work the soreness out, if only temporary. Kneeling by the hole, he grasped the sides, pushing himself through. The path wasn't much more than a glorified crack in the wall, and Fiducius had to wriggle about to make progress, contorting himself around the walls.
"Are you okay?" Gaussia called in after he had disappeared from sight.
"It's pretty cramped," Fiducius replied. "If it doesn't open up, you'll have a hard time getting through." Pausing, he leaned against the wall to catch his breath, and was struck with a sudden realization of terror. If I get stuck in here, it'll be impossible to get out. I'll be stuck inside the belly of this asteroid until I die.
Feeling cramped, he let out a breath, then glanced back at the way he had come, barely able to see the light behind him. If I get stuck, they'll hack the rock out and come get me, he reassured himself, grabbing a handhold again.
Ahead of him, the path opened up abruptly, and Fiducius could tell by the echoes that it was a sizable cavern. Here, too, he could smell fresh air from somewhere, drifting down to him. "Hey, everyone!" he called down, putting his head and shoulders back into the hole. "It opens up further in."
"Great!" Apsyrtus called back. "How far in?"
"Bring the light closer and let me see." Tynka stuck her hand in the hole. "Not far. About ten feet in and about five up. Can you guys make it?"
"If we let Tynka do her work. Can you do it carefully?" he could hear Apsyrtus asking.
"Watch it, or you'll have *two* bum legs."
Fiducius smiled, looking around at what he could see in the dim light from below. From what he could tell, the cavern extended upwards for quite some distance above his head, jagged with sharp crystals, like the inside of a geode. He could make out the shimmering reflections in the dim light from below. "It looks like this is a crystal cavern," he told them, calling back down through the crack. "Should I find out how far it goes up?"
"Can you?" Apsyrtus called back as Tynka began carving out chunks of rock. "It's dark up there."
"Sure, I should be fine. There's plenty of handholds," Fiducius replied easily, swinging himself up into the crystals, clambering up like a spider up a waterspout. The thought that he might fall and be impaled on the crystals around him didn't bother him in the least, barely crossed his mind. Moving like this was something he was familiar with, something he could handle. Counting to himself to guess how high he had gone, he scaled the wall, finally coming across the ceiling. To his left, he could make out a ledge, and moved toward it, flattening himself. The ledge itself opened up into a small shaft, and from here he could see light from above, filtering down into the top of the shaft. Glancing around the shaft, he moved back out, dropping down the length of crystals swiftly. "I've found the exit. After we get to the top of this cavern, there's a little narrow space at the top, and then there's a shaft to climb up. The shaft leads directly to the surface. It should be easy enough to get to. Navigating this room is going to be the hard part, I think," he reported down. "How's it coming down there?"
"Great work, Fiducius," Apsyrtus replied warmly. "Tynka's making progress. We should be able to send Gaussia up first, if her arm's feeling okay."
"It's all bandaged up," she said cheerily, "it'll be fine."
Fiducius nodded, peering back down into the crack. "Here, if you can get over to this point I'll pull you up the rest of the way."
There was a little discussion, and then he could see Tsaria's golden curls, blue hat removed and left behind. Manuvering through the crack with a bit of difficulty, she got over to him, holding her arm up. He reached into the crack, anchoring his weight by laying down and using his legs, and caught her arm in both his hands. "Now use your back against the wall, and push your legs up."
"Like this?"
"No, lean against it," he instructed, "and then bring your feet up. Good, like that. Now use your feet to anchor yourself and I'll help you get your back further up the wall."
With his encouragement, she scooted up the rest of the way, taking a seat at the lip of the crack, peering down into it. "Whew, that was hard. I don't know how we're going to make it the rest of the way."
Fiducius looked up with a frown. "You have a point. Apsyrtus, do we have any rope?"
"No. The best we've got is Imperatrix's whip. How difficult is the climb?"
"For people with injured limbs, I'd say plenty difficult," Fiducius said with a frown. "Maybe we can use Imperatrix's whip to help people climb up. Would that be all right, Imperatrix?"
"We don't have much of a choice," the other man said, handing it to Thais. "Here, take this and toss it up to them."
Fiducius leaned in, catching the whip. Looking around the room relative to where the ledge was, he considered. "Let's try over here," he said to himself, tossing the coils around his neck loosely before ascending again with a smooth speed, working himself back onto the ledge. Fastening the handle of the whip and the first foot or so around a jutting crystal securely, he inspected his handiwork. "Give it a tug, Tsaria."
She did so, first gentle and then as hard as she could. "I think it's okay."
Fiducius crawled back out from the ledge, sliding down on it like a fireman down a pole. "Seems to be okay, at least for someone my weight. I hope Gotho can climb a little, however. If we can get a few people up there, at least, we may be able to haul the rest up by tying the rope around them and lifting them up. It's the best I have at the moment, unfortunately."
"I'm coming up," Strenua announced, pulling himself through the hole, ears twitching around. "I didn't know there were some of these old caves left on this world."
"It certainly is nice," Tsaria agreed, "what we can see of it, anyway. Are you all right, Strenua?"
He nodded. "I am a bit fatigued from dropping us all the way here. I had to search for a bit to find a pocket that was not solid rock. Are you still feeling well, Subamara?"
"I'm fine," he reassured, "just a bit sore still. Climbing around here actually helped, believe it or not. I guess my muscles are used to this sort of thi--"
Strenua held up a hand suddenly, ears vibrating. "We may have a situation," he said quietly.
"A situation?" Tsaria echoed. "What sort of situation?"
From above them, the sound of something moving on the rocks, slithering, could be heard, and then Fiducius was on the ground. He was completely unaware of the transition from standing to being pressed on the ground, only barely aware of the something that had latched its teeth into his hat, ripping it off his head and shaking it violently. Tsaria let out a shriek, backing away as Strenua attempted to deal a blow with his hands. "Colchis!" the alien senshi shouted down into the hole.
Apsyrtus looked up, and cursed. "Are you kidding me?" Pulling out his bow, he leveled it before cursing again. I can't get a clear shot. Thais, help me get up there."
Tsaria let out another cry, striking at the creature with her flute. "Aim for the nose," Strenua said, taking his own advice as he struck the creature across the snout. It let out a yelp, skittering back a few feet, and Fiducius was able to get to his feet, wiping a bit of blood off one cheek where it had been scored by a claw.
Now that he could see it, he could confirm what he had suspected: the creature was a cave salamander, frills raised as it regarded them with large, flat eyes. Fiducius had never come across one himself, but they were fairly common among the main belt asteroids, some on the uninhabited asteroids growing large enough over a long period of time to eat sailships whole. This one wasn't nearly to that age, still being fast and mobile, but like its older siblings, it was more than capable of eating anything that came into its path. Like errant senshi.
"What do we do?" Gaussia cried out.
"Keep your voice low," Strenua instructed. "You do not want to catch its attention. Subamara, can you strike at it?"
Fiducius put a hand to his cards. He could still feel the thrumming of the cards under his fingers, but it had dulled, and he knew that meant that he was starting to run on empty. There wasn't much of a guarantee that he could hold a weapon for very long. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.
"Distract it, for the moment. Apsyrtus, is the cave wide enough for you to get through?"
"I'm going to make it wide enough," the other senshi grunted, pushing his way through, "if I have to carve this rock out myself. Imperatrix, can you damage that thing without your whip?"
"I can damage it with my bare hands."
"Good. Follow me up if you can." Apsyrtus began crawling through the crack, pushing his way toward the cavern.
"I'm your backup," Strenua told him. "Let's go."
Fiducius nodded, drawing out a card with shaking fingers. It was the three of swords, not a powerful card by any stretch of the imagination, but he needed something with a small enough power required that he would be able to hold it. As it was, he wasn't so sure he would be able to have a long, drawn out battle. "Strenua, what kind of weaknesses do these things have?"
"The eyes and nose."
"So I need to aim for the face." The card became a knife in his hands, and he held it in one hand, the other hand forming a guard against the flat of the blade. "Any time you're ready, salamander."
It blinked the overly large eyes at him, then charged him again, slithering across the floor in a sidewinding pattern, almost like a snake. Fiducius backed up, lashing out with the knife. The creature squealed as the blade cut a thin line across the creature's nose, making it jerk back and lick at the wound. Deciding it was not much to worry about, the creature charged again, and Fiducius did the same.
The salamander looked at him, then hissed, darting forward. This time it moved to the side instead of straight on, the sidewinding obscuring its path. Mouth opening wide, it sank many small teeth into Fiducius's leg.
The senshi let out a cry and stumbled forward, feeling a wave of tiredness run over him. Oh yeah... the salamander's poison. I almost forgot that it contains lactic acid. That stuff makes you tired, he thought, feeling as if his head was in a fog. He wasn't sure if that was from the bite, or just his general state of mind.
A rock jutted out suddenly into its stomach as Strenua distended the space underneath the salamander, making it let go and charge toward Strenua instead. Gaussia leapt to his aid, striking the creature a blow to the eye with her flute. That caused it to squeal again, skittering back several feet.
Fiducius shook his head to clear it, and muttered a curse as he disocvered his knife had already vanished, becoming a card again and returning to his deck. He considered his options. There was no way he was going to be able to sustain another card, and that left fighting the creature hand to hand. Not something he looked forward to.
"Hey!" he shouted as the creature darted toward Strenua. "I'm the one you want, right? You already took a bite out of me. Finish what you start." Fiducius picked up a piece of rock, bouncing it off the salamander's head. Obligingly, it turned around, moving for him.
"Fiducius!" Apsyrtus yelled from below. "Jump over the crack!"
Without hesitation, Fiducius ran for the crack, the creature following and gaining with every foot. Fiducius leapt, and the salamander followed, only to be pierced by a well-placed arrow, falling over the crack. Imperatrix pushed it out of the way, inspecting it over. "Nice shot," he admitted grudingly to Apsyrtus."
"Don't mention it." With some difficulty, Apsyrtus hauled himself out of the hole, looking around at Tsaria and Strenua before going over to Fiducius. "Hey, good job. You feeling okay?"
"Tired," Fiducius mumbled. "Can I take a nap?"
"Sure. Take all the time you need."
Tynka had been exhausted by the time they had gotten everyone through the crack, taking a rest while Thais, Strenua and Imperatrix crossed up the makeshift rope. Gotho, it turned out, actually was an excellent climber, and scaled the wall on his own, disappearing over the ledge into the shaft. Once up, Fiducius stirred and went up the wall, no less graceful and skilled for his tiredness, and then Tynka followed on the rope. That left Apsyrtus and Tsaria to be hauled up. Tsaria went first, the lighter girl coming up easily thanks to the combined strength of the other senshi, but the heavier Apsyrtus proved to be more challenging. The shaft was fairly easier to negotiate, Fiducius demonstrating how to chimney walk the height of the shaft. Tsaria's injured arm didn't prevent her from climbing up, although she was lassoed with Imperatrix's whip to ensure she didn't fall when she stumbled. Apsyrtus had to be hauled up, using his uninjured leg where he could.
From there, it had been a matter of time to meet up with the sail ship which was rapidly becoming home. "Look, there it is," Tsaria pointed out to Fiducius. "That's the ship that nearly crushed us."
"And it did crush a good many of their puppet soldiers, I imagine," Fiducius said with a frown. "I feel sorry for them."
"I wonder why she did it. Would they really waste all their soldiers to kill us like that?"
"Probably. If they can revive them from the dead once, who's to say they can't do it again?" Fiducius shook his head. "They're starting to get smart. We're losing the advantage. We need to be more careful."
She looked at him, patting him on the shoulder. "You always take things so seriously. Don't worry. It'll be all right as long as we have each other. Wasn't that what your cards said?"
It wasn't, but he didn't want to argue with her. "I'm going to check on Apsyrtus," he said. "He was injured, after all."
"I'll come with you," she told him.
He shook his head. "No offense, but I'd rather go by myself. Apsyrtus is a good friend of mine and I'd like to talk to him alone."
"Of course, I understand," she reassured with a smile. "Go ahead and take care of him."
Fiducius smiled at her before making his way down to the infirmary. As he neared, he could hear shouting, and he paused outside the door. "And a fat lot of good your planning did us," he could hear Imperatrix's voice. "Tell me, where in the memo did it mention getting dropped into a hole so we could do battle with a cave salamander and come crawling out of the ground half-dead?"
"Battle plans have to change sometimes, Imperatrix." Apsyrtus's voice sounded tired. "No one exactly plans for a contingency plan in case of having a spaceship dropped on them. What would you have done differently?"
"Taken out the circle," Imperatrix replied promptly. "There's no reason we couldn't have, but instead you decided to listen to the fortune-teller," Fiducius started, "and drop us into a hole in the ground."
"Imperatrix, are you saying that you have an issue with my authority, then? My decision-making, my leadership?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Colchis. I think you need some help in finding real plans, and I don't mean those little strategic manuvers of the alien's that look nice on paper. I've had experience with war, Colchis. I could run this place better with one hand tied behind my back."
"I'll discuss it in private with the others and see what they think," Apsyrtus stated, "but I am not going to publicly talk about changing leadership midway through a war. It's not a good idea to divide our ranks now, Imperatrix. With your background in war, I'm sure you understand that."
He snorted, and Fiducius could hear the footsteps near the door. Flattening himself against the wall as Imperatrix came out, he tried to look like he hadn't been eavesdropping. Imperatrix gave him a scornful look, but it was no different than his usual scornful looks, and then he was gone.
Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, Fiducius peered in. Apsyrtus was propped up on the bed with pillows, leg heavily bandaged. "Hey, Apsyrtus," Fiducius greeted slowly. "How is your leg feeling?"
Apsyrtus looked surprised at the voice, smiling as he saw Fiducius. "Come on in. The leg will be good as new in a week or so. Hopefully they won't pull another stunt like that soon."
"I'm sorry," Fiducius apologized. "It's my fault you were injured."
Apsyrtus waved that off. "It's nobody's fault, Fiducius, unless you count the lunatics that tried to drop a spaceship on us. Then again, I guess that means they consider us a real threat. We're moving up in the world, universe's greatest gunner."
Fiducius smiled slightly at that. "Still, it was my fault you were injured. I'm the one that suggested we go down. I was the one doing a reading in the middle of a battle."
"I trust your readings with my life," he said with a shrug. "Already have once before this. I'm sure tthe others will come to feel the same way once they've seen you power at work. Imperatrix is a bit difficult to deal with, that's all. Are you going to have a seat?"
Fiducius sat obediently. "Is he giving you problems?"
"I wouldn't say problems," Apsyrtus said with a shrug. "Imperatrix is just one of those people that can be difficult to deal with sometimes. He's used to doing things his own way, perhaps too used to it. From my understanding, the world of Imperatrix is pretty warlike. The senshi of Imperatrix is expected to be a leader himself, do things for himself in battle. Having to come work with other people who are his equals, it's probably something he's never done before. All things considered, I think he's making a good effort to try and cooperate."
Fiducius frowned. "Still, he didn't have to talk back to you like that. You're our leader, Apsyrtus."
"Only by default, " the Grecian senshi said with a shrug. "Since Strenua and Tynka and I are the center of this alliance. I've always been the leader between the three of us, so it just extended from there. I don't think I'm any more or less qualified to go sending us charging in to battle, perhaps off to die. I just happened to be here and I didn't say no."
"You're doing well," Fiducius encouraged. "I trust you and I think you'll do fine. I've never believed you're sending us off to die."
"Perhaps not, but it doesn't ignore the possibility that it's there. I doubt there are few leaders that actually mean to send people off to die. It just happens."
"Those enemy senshi did," the younger man pointed out. "What do you think they are? Do you really think they're senshi?"
"I don't know, to be honest. Strenua hasn't made any further progress on those bracelets. It's pretty much a given that we're fighting our old would-be allies, though." Apsyrtus put a hand to his face. "I've seen a lot of people I knew. It's terrible that they should be forced to do this after they've died. I think...if one of us should fall in battle, we would do well to burn the bodies."
Fiducius shuddered at that. "Are you feeling all right, Apsyrtus? You just seem down. You're always so confident."
"I'm not confident in the least," he said with a shake of his head. "I just have training not to show it. I'm scared to death that we may all be killed and our homeworlds destroyed. But I probably shouldn't be telling you that. It's not good for morale."
"You are a good leader," Fiducius said after a moment. "Everything you do, you're always thinking about other people. Apsyrtus...." He looked down at the ground.
The other man sat up in bed. "Yeah, Fiducius? Out with it, no sense hiding," he said with a slight smile and a wave of his hand.
"Apsyrtus, I...like you very much. I want you to be my friend," Fiducius said. "Even after we've won and gone back home, I want you to be my friend forever."
"It's funny," Apsyrtus said with a slight smile. "I've not known you for very long, and yet I feel so close to you. Like I've known you forever, like Tynka and Strenua. I am your friend, Fiducius. I promise I'll always be there for you." He held out a hand. "So let's shake on it."
Fiducius smiled, taking the other's hand in both of his and squeezing it. "Thank you, Apsyrtus."
He sat back with a little sigh, wincing as he jolted his leg. "Damn this bum leg. I'll be glad when it's healed. So, how are things going with you and Gaussia?"
"How are things going...? With Gaussia?"
"Oh, don't play shy," Apsyrtus chuckled, "I've seen the way you look at her."
"The way I...?"
"Come on, Fiducius," he encouraged. "What do you think of her?"
Fiducius frowned to himself, considering. "Tsaria is...kind. I feel warm every time I'm near her, like her very presence is a close, gentle sun. She always makes me smile. She's very beautiful as well. I...."
"Yes?"
"I was thinking that if we weren't in this war, I would like to have gotten to know her better. To talk about things. It doesn't really matter what kind of things," he said. "Anything would be fine. We would talk, and then look at the stars on the shadow side of Subamara together."
Apsyrtus gave him a serious look. "If you want to get to know her better, talk to her now. Don't wait until we're done with this war. For all I know, it could never happen. We could be locked in battle for years."
"But what about you and Tynka? You said you were going to wait to marry her."
"I did. I've already told her I love her," he replied. "Many times. It's just not practical to start a family right now. We can't afford to lose her as a senshi so she can have a child. It doesn't stop what I feel or my telling her what I feel."
Fiducius frowned to himself. "I don't know that I have the courage to do what you do, Apsyrtus."
"What, telling a girl you love them? It's three little words. Just say them honestly," the other senshi told him. "Say them from the heart. No matter what, if you're honest about your feelings, I'm sure she'll understand. You might be unlucky, and she may not return them. It doesn't mean she won't be affected by them. It's a great thing to be loved, I think." Apsyrtus rested his chin on a hand. "You know, they have a legend about love on Colchis. The senshi that came before me never found love. They were betrayed and killed, or rejected, or their loves died or married someone else. There was always a reason why that senshi could never obtain true love."
"That's terrible," Fiducius said softly. "Do you think it's fate?"
"I don't believe in fate," he said with a shrug, "at least not that it's already determined and you can't change it. I believe in making my way with my own two hands. Fate is something you carve out for yourself."
Fiducius smiled slightly. "Well, enough out of me," Apsyrtus said with a shake of his head. "Go talk to Gaussia."
"What? Now?"
"Of course now, when did you think I meant? Go and let me have some rest," he said with a motion of his hand. "There's no time like the present."
"Y-yes. Yes. I will," Fiducius said, more to himself than to Apsyrtus as he got up, leaving the room with a determined look on his face.
After he had left, Strenua appeared at the door, ears perked up. "He seems to have taken to you quite well, Apsyrtus," the alien said softly.
"And I to him. Do you think that's strange?" Apsyrtus asked with a low chuckle.
"No. You have always made friendships easily. I am just mildly surprised that of the senshi here, it is him who you have bonded with."
"He is the one I brought here," Apsyrtus pointed out, "and also, he's the universe's greatest gunner. I needed someone to go with the universe's greatest pilot."
The alien's ears twitched in a gesture of amusement. "That boy...is still pure," Apsyrtus mumbled as Strenua took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Even after the fighting, he's still got that wide-eyed idealistic innocence about him. I feel like a grumpy, tired old man next to him."
"What would that make me?"
Apsyrtus grinned, then whistled the first few notes of the alien's true name. "That's what. You'll always be you, you dork."
"Now I am a 'dork'?"
Apsyrtus sat back. "We almost bit the big one today, Strenua. Who knew that they were that desperate that they'd drop a ship on us. That kid saved us today, Strenua."
"Yes, he did. It seems to be a handy thing, to be able to read the future."
"That's the only thing that gives me hope right now, I think," the Colchis senshi sighed. "That someone that reads the future can still be so hopeful about it. Maybe this will turn out all right, Strenua. Maybe I'm just trying to be close to him so I can preserve some of that sense of hope for myself. I can be a very selfish person sometimes, you know."
"I don't believe that. On the contrary, your thoughts are always with others and not yourself," Strenua stated, reaching over and putting his hand on Apsyrtus's head in a firm gesture. "That is why you think you are greedy or selfish when you think of yourself. You are not accustomed to doing it."
"Fine, I get it," the man chuckled, brushing the hand away. "Since I'm going to be greedy and selfish...where's Tynka?"
"I will go find her for you."
Fiducius paced around the observation deck of the sail ship, scowling to himself as he considered what to say to Tsaria. What could he say? I like you, I like you a lot. I want you to come visit my world, and then I want to visit yours. I want to talk about nothing for hours on end. I want you to teach me more about your love. Fiducius shook his head at the words. Nothing came out right, nothing felt proper. Facing the enemy was nothing compared to this, he added to himself, thoughts holding a dry tone.
The door opening behind him made him turn, and Tsaria blinked in surprise before smiling. "Oh, hello, Fiducius! We seem to run into each other in the most unusual of places! "
"The observation deck isn't that unusual," he said with a slight smile. "What brings you up here?"
"I like looking at the stars. Did you know they say there's a senshi for every star out there?" she said, going over to the large window and resting her elbows on the rail going across in front of it. "Isn't that a cheery thought? There must be millions and millions of people out there like us."
"It is," he agreed softly, and meant it.
"So what brings you up here?" she asked.
"I was just doing some thinking," he deflected carefully. And it's inbetween the infirmary and your room.
"What were you thinking of?" she asked with a smile.
He looked at her for a long moment. "I was thinking about you, Tsaria."
She laughed, waving a hand. "You're such a flatterer, Fiducius."
"I mean it," he said, stepping in and meeting her eyes squarely. "Tsaria, I...."
"Fiducius?" she questioned, looking away nervously as he took her hand.
"Tsaria...I want to explore a future with you."
" A future with me?"
He nodded. "Tsaria, I've never met anyone like you. I think about you when we're apart, and what you might be thinking, what we might be talking about when you're there. I think about the things we could do together. When I think about not being with you, I become sad, sadder than I've ever been in my life before." He straightened up his back, meeting her eyes again. "Tsaria, I think I'm in love with you."
Redness rose to her cheeks, and then she looked at the ground, stammering. "Oh, Fiducius, this is-- I mean, are you sure? It can't-- I'm not--"
Fiducius decided that words weren't working, and took her in his arms, enfolding her gently. "Tsaria," he murmured into his ear, enjoying the sense of her warmth and her clean, lightly fragrant scent. "Tsaria. I've never been more sure in my life. When I was at home on Subamara, I thought I was alone, that no one there could understand me and I couldn't understand them. I was the only senshi I knew. But then I came here, and I met all of you, and I feel things. I think I do feel the love you speak of. I don't ever want it to end. When this is over...." He ran a hand through her thick hair, committing the feel of the smooth strands to memory. "I want you to consider coming back to my home with me, Tsaria. I want you to see my world. And then I want to see yours. I want to know everything about you, your favorite things, your hobbies, your little habits, the faults you think you have. I want to know it all."
"Fiducius," she mumbled, leaning her head against his shoulder, tightening her grip on his sleeves. "No one's told me that before. It scares me a little. I love everything, and people have loved me, but not in the way you talk about. I don't have a future with anyone, Fiducius. You're the first."
"I'm glad," he said with a smile. "I don't know what I'd do if you had someone else. Do you think it would be possible?"
"I don't know. But I want it to be." She clung to his shirt, burying her face in his chest. "I want to be loved like that."
"You are," he reassured. Without thinking about it, he lowered his face, brushing her lips against her eyes, wiping away the tears that had popped up. "Did I make you cry? I'm sorry."
"Yes, you did. But I'm not sad. I'm more happy than I've ever been." She looked up at him with her large green eyes, and then shut them, leaning forward. Taking the unspoken permission, he pressed his lips against hers, praying he was doing it right. Her lips were soft, the touch light, and he could feel her breath on his face, filling him with more warmth than he thought possible. Putting his hand in her hair, he kissed her again, this time with more passion, and she responded, putting her arms around his waist and pulling him close. After he released her, both panting from exertion and lack of breath, she kissed him again, and they stayed that way for a while.
