Shadows
of Psyche
~prelude
to disaster~
"Lethe....!"
"Mnemosyne....!"
Our
hands touched, one last time.
"Lethe!!
Mnemosyne!!"
Then,
that voice. That voice that called lesser and greater soldiers to
war. The one whom we were supposed to send to her oblivion.
The
voice of that woman is the last thing we heard....before our own
oblivion.....
~I
remember, sister. I remember.~
Do
you? In this state, it's hard to recall....
~I
remember everything. I remember you and me. We were born together,
cradled, just like this, at our mother's bosom. We were born
together, and we died together, just like we promised. Remember?~
.....Faintly.
~It
was so long ago, but.....the court of our mother...it was beautiful.
There were so many stars we could see as we lay on our backs as
counted them. I remember how I wanted to be like that, like those
distant stars.~
It's
hard to remember the good times, sister. We were just kids then,
babies even.
~Yes,
but we were always there for each other. I was sad when we had to
separate. Remember when mother told us of our assignments....?~
What
are you talking about? We were never that far apart. Our
worlds were very close to each other; they practically orbited one
another.
~But
it still felt so far away. It felt that way, because they were
nothing alike.....your world was cold and quiet. The people simply
walked in a daze, their minds wiped of no other motive in life but to
simply be. They were nothing but shells. The fields were bare of
vegetation and wildlife. The cities were nothing but steel beams and
shells. You yourself sat on an iron throne that was decaying at the
base. So stiff and silent, it was unbearable.~
Your
world was the one that was unbearable. Your people were so lively
that they almost drove each other insane, always talking over each
other. The gardens and forests were ill-kept and overgrown. Your
world was nothing but a jungle - it didn't even have cities. You
didn't even sit in a chair - you would just receive me sitting up in
an oak tree. What kind of world was it? An uncouth planet, that's
what. That's why I never visited.
~If
my world was so uncouth, then why did your people rise up and attack
it?~
Because
the ungrateful masses wanted their memories returned. My waters
carried no memories for them. Your waters did, and could make anyone
remember with clarity even the times they were in their mother's
womb.
~And
that is why we had to defend our world. Your people were so
savage....when one is without memories, they become desperate. I
would have willingly allowed them a drink from my waters.....~
It's
never that simple, sister.
~....Why
couldn't we stop it?~
I
don't know.
~I
wish we could have. But by the time we had settled our own
differences, it was too late. The wars had gone on for too long. The
damages couldn't be reversed. I couldn't bear it!~
How
do you think I felt? When Galaxia-sama came.....
~Galaxia-sama.....~
.......I'd
rather not remember that.
~She
was our only choice. But now, she won't bother us anymore, sister.
That's all we need to remember.~
Is
that a justification? Would our people forgive us so easily with
those words?
~.........~
Sister...?
~Huh....All
of a sudden....I heard something.~
What
does it say?
~
Calling me....!~
I...I
hear it too.
~Then,
it must mean......it must mean.....!~
It's
time. I suddenly feel faintly like myself.
~Yes,
and the light! Do you see it?~
I
see it....
~It's
beautiful. It's calling us back, and it's...so beautiful. It's
calling us home.~
......I'm
not sure I want to leave here, sister.
~Why
not?~
...I'm
afraid of what I will see when I go home..
~We
can't be afraid. Not now.~
I
can't help it. I think I should stay here.....
~No!
I couldn't bear never seeing you again. And this may be our only
chance to start over...!~
You...you
really want to....?
~Please,
Lethe. Please take my hand. Let's go back. I want to go back. I want
to make things right.~
.....Where
you go, Mnemosyne....I will follow. After all, we are sisters.
~Yes.
We are sisters. There it is......~
I......
feel warm.....
"Lethe!"
Her
eyes jolted open at the sound of her name being called. It hurt for a
moment to open them and look, for it felt as if her eyes had not been
used for a very long time, if at all. She had to quickly shut them to
lessen the pain.
"Lethe...."
The voice became clearer now. "....sister....you're alive!"
"....Mnemosyne..."
"I'm
so glad." Something suddenly dropped on Lethe's cheek, something
cold and wet. "I woke up, and I didn't see you....and then,
right up in the sky, I saw your light.....oh, sister....!"
"....Stop
crying, Mnemosyne."
Confirming
her sister's actions, Lethe heard Mnemosyne sniffle. Again, Lethe
decided to slowly open her eyes, and this time, it didn't hurt so
much to look. After all, it was dark, wherever they were, which Lethe
much preferred over it being sunny or light. Whether she had died or
lived, it would have hurt Lethe's eyes even more.
"I'm
all right." Slowly, stiffly, Lethe sat up. "As I see you
are. Now, where am I?"
"....Home....your
planet....."
Lethe's
eyes began to focus on Mnemosyne, whose eyes were still cloaked in
tears. Then she saw what was behind her sister, and this gave the
sailor soldier a start. Such a start, in fact, that she jumped up,
her eyes blinking to see if it was true.
There
was nothing.
There
were no ruins, no bodies, no cities or life, not even the hint of any
civilization that may have been there. The landscape was nothing but
cracked brown rock, jagged crags which loomed in the distant, craters
of all sizes littering the horizon, and unforgiving dust which choked
the air.
"What
is this!?" Lethe turned to Mnemosyne accusingly, her voice
shaking slightly. "This is not planet Lethe! This is....this is
a wasteland! A nightmare!"
"Lethe......I....I'm
so sorry...."
"How
can this be?!" Lethe stared at the sky. "This can't
be.....my planet....where's your planet then!? Mnemosyne
should be on the bottom right, near the horizon!"
"....It's
up there...."
"Up
where!?"
Sorrowfully,
Lethe's mauve-clad partner looked up toward the right of the sky, and
Lethe followed her gaze. Visible to her eye were several thousand
large, satellite-sized red and green-tinted rocks which blotted out
the stars and were dotted throughout the horizon. Several were
obviously far away from the planet, but some of the larger ones
loomed dangerously close.
".......My
god....."
"I....."
Mnemosyne's voice was shaking. "I couldn't go back to my
planet."
"What....what
have we done?" Lethe looked down at Mnemosyne, whose tears had
begun to flow again. "How....how can we...."
"Sister......"
Suddenly,
the ground began to shake slightly. It was not something that either
girl could feel, but judging by the fact that some of the tinier
rocks were starting to shake, Lethe could tell that something was
happening.
"A
quake....!" Lethe dropped to her knees. "This....this is
all impossible. My planet....lifeless.....your planet gone....and
now, quakes....!"
"Those
aren't quakes, sister."
"What?"
"Those
are meteors." Mnemosyne's voice was more morose than Lethe had
ever heard before. "The remains of my planet.....they've been
pulled in by your world's stronger gravity, or...what's left of
it...like meteors. It's been like this for several days, since I
landed here....."
"The
red......but the green...."
"Those
pieces broke off your planet when the meteors hit." Lethe looked
up towards the sky in shock. "We....we don't have much time. The
remnants of my planets are....are going to hit this world.....and
then...."
Mnemosyne's
voice trailed off. There wasn't much that she could say, that Lethe
couldn't figure out on her own.
"And
that's it?" Lethe looked back down at the ground of what was
left of her keep. "We were sent back here to die on a dead
planet? Is this our punishment for going with Galaxia-sama?"
There
was silence as Mnemosyne looked down at Lethe, unable to comfort,
unable to respond in any way. She felt the same way as Lethe did, or
at least she hoped she did that time. Lethe had tended to drink the
hopelessness of her subjects - later her victims - like wine.
Younger, Lethe had been much less cynical, but she had become as
morose as the waters which took her name, from the moment she had
become protector of Lethe. In earlier times, Mnemosyne would wonder
if Lethe was truly upset, or simply masking her glee with a show of
sadness.
But
this....this was her world...how could she not be sad....why would I
think such a thing...?
"....No."
Mnemosyne suddenly heard Lethe's resolve return. "I won't let
that happen."
"Sister...."
"I
won't sit here and wait to die." Slowly, Lethe stood up. "I'm
not going to do what I did with Galaxia-sama - let something take
control of my fate again!"
"Lethe..?!"
"I'm
going to go another way." A cold wind blew around the two as
Lethe spoke. "I'm going to open the door."
"The....!!!"
At
this, Mnemosyne gave a gasp. Her eyes widened, and she stepped back
from Lethe, as if Lethe had sprouted another head.
"You
wouldn't dare!"
"What?"
Lethe turned away. "Would you stop me if I tried, even now?"
"Lethe.....mother
told us....never to open it!" Mnemosyne reached out to touch
Lethe. "We made a promise to mother when she charged us, don't
you remember?! No matter what, we would never seek, find, or open the
door! Tell me you remember!!"
"Mother
is dead." Lethe's tone of calmness shocked her sister to
silence. "Mother is dead, and everyone else is dead. I don't see
what could stop us now. Unless you want to die like a dog."
There
was a moment of silence at this. Mnemosyne stared at her sister,
unwilling to believe that her sister would break a taboo. Lethe
looked out to the distance, as if to concentrate, to look for the
door at that moment. The wind picked up around them, colder than
ever.
"...It
wouldn't matter, whether she was dead, or alive...." Lethe spoke
again. "Because....one day, before Galaxia-sama arrived....I
found the door."
"Lethe....!"
"It
was quite by accident, really." Lethe closed her eyes. "It
was during a skirmish, when your people had attacked one of my
cities....and as I retreated with the survivors through a valley I
was not very familiar with.....I came upon a river hidden in fog."
"Lethe...."
"I
had never seen a river, besides the river of Oblivion that ran under
my throne, on Lethe. And since it was the only place to retreat, I
did so, with my followers. Once we crossed, however, we were shocked
to find a second river. We crossed this one as well, and when we did,
the fog lifted, and we found ourselves in a grove...the only spot of
grass, with the only tree, that I had ever seen on Lethe. And under
the tree....."
Lethe
stopped at this. Mnemosyne could only stare at her sister as she
began to walk off.
"I
turned back that time, when I realized what it was....I was fearful
then." Lethe's voice began to fade as she walked away. "Perhaps
that was the reason all of this happened. But now that the world is
gone, I have nothing to lose. I may as well open the door this
time....with or without you."
Mnemosyne
did not respond as Lethe began to disappear from sight. She was too
stunned to speak, unable to understand why her sister would dare do
such a thing. In her mind, there was still a way to perhaps rebuild
it all, and maybe return to the way it used to be.
.....No.
The
hope died as soon as it came. Mnemosyne only had to look up into the
sky and see the ruins of her own planet to see that there was no
returning to the way it had been before. There was no one left, no
cities, no vegetation, nothing. With nothing, there was nothing left
to lose.
The
ground shook again as Mnemosyne suddenly ran after her sister.
"Lethe!!
Wait!!!!"
The
green-clad girl stopped as Mnemosyne caught up to her, breathless.
She was suddenly hugged tightly from behind by two arms, which she
clasped.
"Mnemosyne."
"I'll
go." Mnemosyne buried her head deep into Lethe's back. "I
don't care. I'll stay with you no matter what!"
"....my
sister....."
With
that, Lethe gently unclasped Mnemosyne from her, and brought her
forward. The two of them looked into each other eyes, with all the
fear and uncertainty that came with it. They were alone, with only
one another to depend on.
"We'll
go together." The wind died down. "We'll do together to the
door. The door of our oblivion."