But there is no life on Earth.

[waterfell]

Near the north pole of planet Mercury, there are signs of life, all enclosed in a thin, transparent dome that still allows a clear view of the heavens. Inside, the air is clean and breathable, and even stirs itself in artificial breezes.

The entire city is a mass of blue crystal, luminous with the glow of thousands of solar trees both within and without, their blue cels attached to silvery branches and trunks. It makes a striking contrast, and the structures provide the city's energy, veritable solar power farms, bustling and thriving like the city itself. . Everywhere, the roads lead inward towards a palace, attention drawn to it by its height, taller than any nearby building.

The lush sound of splashing water comes from a clear, ornamental pool in the entryway. Tropical fish swim contentedly there, glimmers of golden koi amid and around the stems of water lilies. There is greenery, too, and flowers provide a seasoning of color. Overhead, the ceiling is dizzyingly high, adding to the sense of open space.

Seated at the edge of the pool, dressed in an elegant gown and with the sigil of her planet showing proudly on her forehead, is the Princess Mercury, now queen of her reborn kingdom. She plays a simple, longing melody on the harp she holds in her lap.

Comments

[one_one_se7en]

His suit reads oxygen on this planet. This world was never terraformed by humanity. His visor gives a quick glance at the sky before he focuses his sight on the ground. If someone colonized this world... then there may be a way back to Earth. The strange thing is that he did not see the body of the planet anywhere over the sky.

The civilization is distinct, as well. The entire enclosure reminds him of Forerunner architecture in terms of scale -it's so high it seems he's outside-, especially the colossal palace in the distance, but the design resembles more Deja's lessons about Ancient Greece. The water pools filled with koi remind him a little of the interiors of the military academies of Reach.

The Spartan takes a few steps forward upon hearing a harp someplace around the city, augmented ears listening and driving him to wherever it may be. His rifle is high only as a measure of caution, knowing anywhere he might venture in might have dangers as well.

He crosses over a massive column, watching over the pool behind it... and sees Ami.

Mercury. Queen Mercury.

After a moment, the Master Chief stands to listen, weapon low and visor looking at her, daring not to interrupt. Despite having stood in presence of royal figures, heads of state, and hierarchs both as an honor guest and as an assassin... She looks so regal. This is where she rules. This was her past life.

This is her home. This is where she longs for.

[waterfell]

It's clinging to the past, in the Grecian architecture that mimics the structures of tens of thousands of years ago; and it's longing for a future, when this kingdom can be great and beautiful - as it once was. It's a deep wish that she knows won't come cheaply or easily, but that she knows can come. She wants it, even if she's separated from it by a thousand years.

She has those years to wait.

Mercury rises after the last notes of the harp fade, lost into nothing as she stops them with her hand. Her gown slips smoothly down towards the floor, where it had been pooled in her lap a moment earlier. The fish gather by her, as though curious to see the interruption for themselves. There's a slightly distant, polite smile that lifts her lips. She knows this visitor.

"You are welcome here," she tells him. "In the palace of the Second Mercury Kingdom."

[one_one_se7en]

Save for his head, the Spartan stays as motionless as the statues around him, only betrayed by the coating of his armor and the golden plate of his head. In spite of his height, he looks up at Mercury rather than down to her when she's like this.

He gives a slow nod. In spite of his small manners, understanding of his position in here.

Taking a few steps forward, he continues to look at her. It's Ami, and at the same not. But she feels... Complete? True?

"This is who you are, isn't it."

[waterfell]

"This is not my kingdom from the past," Mercury specifies. It seems important to separate herself from that, from when this place was bound to a moon princess who never had its interests in mind but only her own. "This is the rebuilt future."

Something shadows her face as she says it, the regrets - perhaps - that she's had years to live with. This place exists because another place does not.

"There was a calamity on Earth. In its ruin, humanity came here, and terraformed the regions near the pole. It's capable of supporting life."

[repudiate]

[ This.. isn't Earth. She can notice that much from.. well, everything. She doesn't know if Luceti could ever have been on another planet, but aside from that doubt this is definitely the first time she had ever been outside of the planet into space, and just that realisation makes her pause in awe for a few moments as she peers at the surroundings. It seems so livable, even if it's not Earth, like artificially made living circumstances..

And then there's the palace. And the person sitting there.. even if it's slightly different, seeing her in that dress, she's still fairly recognizable.

For a moment she isn't sure what to do, but.. well, Ange wouldn't be Ange if she wouldn't just try to seem casual about it, and so she speaks up with her usual deadpan tone. ]

Nice place you've got here.

[waterfell]

[The music fades away as Mercury's hands stop, poised over the strings for just a moment before she puts the instrument up, standing it on the floor. She rises to meet Ange.]

This is the palace of the new Mercury Kingdom. [And, with a note of pride to the words:] Life on this planet has been revived.

[She does not speak of the planet where life died, the Earth that no longer houses any life at all, much less this aura of plenty.]

[repudiate]

Mercury.. [ A nod. The planet closest to the sun, then yes, this really was outer space. And there's life possible here.. she didn't really ever think of it to be something that's possible, really, even with the magic back in her own world.. It seemed too unrealistic. ]

And.. you rule here?

[waterfell]

[Even in Ami's natural time, there's talk of the possibility of terraforming Mercury near its poles, where the extremes are less. Of course, it would take a lot of effort, and is unlikely to happen.

Here, however...]

It was always my birthright. I've finally made it happen.

[isomorphology]

Quorra finds herself in a place she's never been in. She's dressed as a User wold be - leggings, boots, a black t-shirt and a leather jacket. The User World is still new to her, with all the things she could learn. But even then, the place she finds herself in seems even more alien than that. She makes a slow circle in place, taking everything in.

[waterfell]

She recognizes Quorra at once. There's a slight defensiveness to her posture before she realizes which Quorra it must be. Mercury's hand stops the strings, and she stands up to greet the new arrival.

"This is the Mercury Kingdom," she explains briefly. "Welcome!"

[isomorphology]

"Mercury... Kingdom." Quorra repeats it slowly, trying to remember if it'd be familiar at all. Except it doesn't. Not one bit. "Where are we?"

[waterfell]

There is really only one place the Mercury Kingdom would be.

"We're on planet Mercury, near the polar regions. The extremes of the planet's temperatures are mediated here, making it easier to support the life we brought here."

[mooneternal]

It's difficult for Usagi to determine where exactly she is at first. It's certainly no where familiar, that much is evident by the cold dark space that looms outside from one point of view -- and the closeness of the Sun from another.

As she looks down, the unmistakable gown of her past stares back at her... Is this a memory? But this place still doesn't seem like anywhere she can remember. As the soft music from a harp is heard in the distance... she finds herself tip-toeing towards it, drawn somehow...

[waterfell]

Once Usagi's close enough, the identity of the harpist becomes all too clear: the planetary sigil marking her forehead cannot be faked. She looks different, with the dark hair, but it's so clearly her.

Mercury.

As soon as she realizes someone has approached without announcing themselves, the music stops and Mercury stiffens. Her eyes seek out any movement, her ears strain for sounds.

"Who's there?"

And that's when she sees Usagi - no, the princess. She's on her feet, posture defensive, the harp no longer pretty music but a potential weapon in her hand.

"What have you come here for?"

[mooneternal]

Her eyes widen as the girl before her comes into view. "Mercury..." she says softly, the gears in her head beginning to turn -- "then that means! This place must be -- !" Her planetary home, the origin of her powers... The princess standing there now, however, doesn't seem to realize the ominous sign her presence brings, as she simply gazes at the other fondly. "Mercury itself..."

[waterfell]

"This is planet Mercury," she says, each word firm and clear, as if she was never once the shy girl who would have softly given her visitor a warm welcome.

"I have no intention of ceding even one bit of authority to you." The cold warning is more than pride. It's a clear message that something is very wrong here, that the princess is not welcome here, but tolerated at best.

"However," the whim turns up the corners of her mouth, "As long as you obey me, you can stay without us fighting yet. Alright?"

[histrionic]

In a way, this planet reminds him of Terra, if only slightly: the luminous trees, the cool colors. But that had been a dying, fading planet (all but reduced to ashes now), and this one seems more lively, more alive.

The planet as a whole is not as interesting to him as the sweet sound of music that he hears, and and so he moves toward it, drawn to the melody, paying far less attention to the scenery than he might otherwise. He pauses only when he stands before her, listening, for once not speaking, waiting for her to finish her song.

Unlike most things, beautiful music deserves his undivided attention.

[waterfell]

As he doesn't interrupt, Mercury doesn't stop her harp. She plays instead as if no one is watching; if the scrutiny makes her as self-conscious as it would have years ago, there's no outward sign of it. She's composed, and self-contained. Only when the piece ends, strains of music fading with the quiet breeze, does she look up to greet Kuja, who she knows.

"Welcome to the new birth of the Mercury Kingdom." There is no small pride in those words.

[histrionic]

When she's finished, Kuja touches his hands together in appreciation--nothing so loud or long as clapping, and he gives a bow of his head in appreciation of her playing. "A beautiful song." He'd enjoyed the notes of sorrow in the tune.

"The New Mercury Kingdom," he says, testing the words. "What became of the old kingdom?" He's never heard of it before, but in one of these dreams, it's hardly surprising that there should be worlds and kingdoms unknown to him. "And do you rule here, fair and just?"

drive by but had to finally get him in here

[findmyownreason]

It's hard not to gawk but Cloud's had practice at seeing amazing things and looking unimpressed. He's a little older now and just the smallest bit wiser though - or he hopes he is - and so when his blue eyes lift to take in the world around him they're not jaded but instead they're wide and taking in this new world, holding just the hint perhaps of youthful awe. It's elegant and it's beautiful and somehow when he follows the sound of the harp he's not surprised to see who's there.

Something's off though and even if his mind is trying to patch together the last time he saw her near a pool of water in a strange floating castle and here, he's left a little unsure. Heavy boot tread, black and worn, scuffs against the floor as he shifts. There's a question in his greeting.

"Ami?"

*squee!* She'll wait forever for you, Onii-san!

[waterfell]

Not Ami, but Mercury, in this gown and with this symbol; but she doesn't correct him. She doesn't object to the treatment the floor receives, whether out of respect for the visitor or because it's simply easily replaced. Mercury rises, stopping the music with a hand against the strings of the harp.

"You are welcome here," she tells Cloud, "To the renewed Mercury Kingdom."

"You are now on planet Mercury, where I was born in the distant past."

\o/ and he'll always come. Late. But he'll come ;)

[findmyownreason]

He sees the mark on her forehead when she turns but she doesn't seem puzzled by the name he called her this time and so he thinks, he hopes, that he's talking to the Ami he knows. He'll only confuse her if she's the princess from the past he once met. And the place is unsettling enough that he wants his Ami, not a different incarnation of her. He does look around at her explanation though, taking in the ceiling, the stars farther above.

"I remember. You were a princess once when you told me. It was different the last time I was here." His eyes drift back down to focus on her. "You were different. What's happened?"

[promotedpawn]

[A red cicada, sparkling and bright, flies by near the princess. It's the only warning she gets, a courtesy.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

The sound of clapping, loud, clear and slow, fills the room as the cicada flies until it suddenly bursts into thousand of other red cicadas that shine and sparkle in a typhoon before they vanish. Primo stands where the cicada typhoon happened, looking at Mercury with a very amused smile on his lips, a mocking gleam in his eyes.]

Congratulations. All your hard work has paid off well to you, your wishes have been fulfilled thanks to that.

[He may very well be sincerely congratulating her for the resurface of the Mercury Kingdom. Or he may very well be mocking her because the resurface of this place is indebted to the destruction of that planet she worked so hard to keep safe. Mercury's own wishes resulted in a destroyed planet, just like the wishes of that princess she hates so much and vowed to kill once because she dared to be too busy to pay her attention. The tone is neutral and friendly enough and he looks both towards the planet's landscape and towards the space, directly at the point where Earth should have been shining as a distant dot. He looks at her again, giving no hint as to what he's doing, but knowing him the answer is probably that he's doing both things at once.]

[waterfell]

[It was not her wish for the natural disasters that devastated Earth to occur. It was not her wish for any harm to it. It was not her wish for so many people to be lost, dead in the chaos of those times. It was not her wish for Earth to be darkness and silence, like the Moon.

It was only her wish to have her kingdom again - and why shouldn't she? What's wrong with wanting what was hers by right, what was taken away from her? Kunzite has taught her to be grasping of what she considers her own.

Her fingers stop, and her hand silences the strings of the harp as the cicadas explode, an incongruous fireworks display. Her head turns quickly to locate the source, and Primo is there. Mercury rises gracefully.]

This is the Mercury Kingdom, as it should be.

[promotedpawn]

[What's the difference between wanting a kingdom again and wanting a person besides her again? The person that belonged to her side, the person that gave meaning and sense to her life. Is a kingdom more valuable than that? At the very least, neither are worth the destruction of a planet, but that's the price to pay for those wishes.]

The Mercury Kingdom?

[There's surprise in his voice and expression, but one can only wonder if it's sincere.]

I thought it was just a futuristic Earth, safe and sound, walking the path of brilliance and greatness under your care.

[He pauses, his words sound sincere. But with Primo one never knows, and Ami, Mercury, should know him enough to know that. He looks at her again an innocent smile on his lips.]

So you abandoned the Earth to move here to rebuild your kingdom? You put much more work on this than I thought at first, I apologize. I guess I should congratulate you again, this time taking into account your real efforts to make it worth.

[He smiles, happily, friendly, innocently and sincerely. It's a smile she probably knows well, it's the same fake smile she has put up for the princess she hates, a smile so happy, friendly, innocent and sincere that it just feels as the complete opposite of those things.]