Ultimecia looked at Ghaleon as they walked into the courtyard of the strange
place they had made their headquarters.
"It's been a month since we were told to start controlling the minds of the others," she said, "And we haven't found any clue of the last Musia yet."
"It is frustrating, but have patience. Whoever it is, she'll reveal herself soon," he replied, "The others are coming along nicely...as soon as we capture the last one, we'll begin our conquest."
She nodded, looking out at the waves of blackish-blue that seemed to make up the sky.
"Any luck finding out which of the five here has the Ultimate Power?" Ghaleon asked after a short while.
"Not exactly, but I have suspicions on two of them...Elhaym and Eve."
Before either one could say another word, a bright red light emanated from a different room of the palace.
"What was that?" Ultimecia asked.
At that moment, the voice that had helped them entered their minds.
The Musia of Zenogias is awakening.
At that moment, Elly was floating a few inches from the ground, hair flying
about, glowing in a flame-red light. The other women looked at her with looks
ranging from understanding to concern to fright.
"What's happening to her?" Luna asked.
"I went through something like this right before I started a singing career," Julia replied, "It felt strange...but right after it happened, my voice improved a lot."
Eve tapped a long finger against her cheek, saying, "I did too...it happened when I awoke in Melissa Pearce...but I was not bathed in light like this."
Victoria walked from the door, saying, "They're coming."
A minute after the statement, Ghaleon and Ultimecia walked into the room, instantly seeing the situation.
"She is awakening as the Musia of Zenogias," the evil woman explained, "The rest of you leave the room now."
Pretending that they were under mind control, they complied.
***************
Aya looked at the small group of students in front of her, shaking her head in a wondering manner.
They all were at what had been the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island. Although the rest of the city had been undergoing renovation after the first mitochondria rebellion, the island and the ruins of the once proud, green symbol of freedom, as well as the sickening orange slime that covered the island were untouched.
"Almost hard to believe that it took a month to investigate this world and record what we found," Mary said in a quiet voice, trembling as she remembered the sight of Central park, covered with the slime that had been, at one time, a large audience of several hundred humans...
"It would have taken a lot longer if it wasn't for Officer Brea," Nate replied with a sniff.
"I asked you before. Call me Aya, and considering what's going on," the tall police officer cut in, "I'm glad to help. If Eve's alive and on the loose--"
"Keep in mind," Chris said, "The persons that saved her are keeping her captive...and must have enough means to keep her from escaping."
Ellen nodded and said, "This is the last place she was seen on Evolution. Maybe we'll find a trace of how she was taken here."
"Even thought I've heard what this world is called many times for the past month," their guide mused, "I still can't get used to the fact that it's not called Earth...but Evolution. This really is Eve's world...just as she said."
Mary turned to her and said, "That's not completely true! Sure, it may be Eve's domain, but animals have lived in the same environments as humans for centuries, even on Persona. I know the mitochondria can evolve and yet co-exist here peacefully with people!"
"I shouldn't say it," the taller woman replied with a sigh, "But I hope you're right. Thanks, Mary."
Mark grimaced as he and the others walked through the orange slime, saying, "Ugh! This stuff was a few hundred people...Man, this is big time gross!"
"This is a sample of the Voice Angel's power," Nate replied as if he were talking to an errant schoolchild, "And from what I understand about Victoria's powers, after awakening, they grew with time. I would say that when you fought her, Offi--I mean Aya, it was only around a third of her powers that were active...that you faced."
"Only a third?" Aya asked, her green eyes wide with shock.
"I'm afraid Nate is right," a grim voice called out from their left.
The group turned in that direction and they were all surprised at who the voice came from.
Standing on what was the head of the Statue of Liberty was a man in a gray tuxedo, wearing a familiar black and white mask.
"Philemon, what are you doing here?" Atlus called out to the strange man.
Aya asked, "You know him?"
The others nodded.
The strange man, to the wide stares of the group, floated down, landing in front of them and said, "Aya Brea. I am Philemon. I am a being between the worlds, though you may say I am from Persona. As Mark and the others would say, welcome to the team."
"What?" Nate asked, startled by the statement, "Are you saying what I think you're--"
The strange man said, "before I answer your question...I came here to help answer an unspoken question of Aya's...I believe you know what the question is."
She nodded, face pale as she asked, "Are they telling the truth about Eve.... or did she die as I thought?"
He nodded and said, "This will be the last time during your mission that I will see or help you...Everyone, look in front of you and you'll see..."
As they turned from Philemon and towards a section a short distance away from the statue's head, they saw the scenery change slightly...instead of midday, it was the middle of the night.
Aya looked perplexed as she whispered, "How...?"
Mary asked in disbelief, "Is that Aya...?"
In front of them was a disheveled Aya in a white shirt, gripping a gun in her hands. Above them all flew a woman with dark brown hair; strange, blue marks all over her body; a blue, swirling spiral that surrounded her feet and large, brown wings on her bare back.
"What...I mean who is that?" Ellen asked, fascinated yet frightened by the sight.
"It's Eve," was the quiet reply beside them, "This is what happened...the final time I fought her."
The body in the sky suddenly twitched and the wings expanded fully for a few moments before shattering like a broken pane of glass.
Eve hovered in the air for three seconds before falling onto a mass of the slime. As the woman's green eyes changed to dark brown, there was a strange flash of light surrounding the body that had begun to melt.
"Oh...my..." the Aya that stood beside the students whispered as she watched Eve's form vanish and become replaced with something...not quite the same that melted and became part of the slime.
There was also an outline right beside the body of 'Eve'.
"Is that Eve's kidnapper?" Alana asked, having been silent up until that moment.
"The body that 'melted'...it's a fake," Ellen added, "That's how it was done..."
"Yes, indeed," Philemon stated, "In real time, the switch only took a second to perform...but I slowed the showing of this down so you would be able to see for yourselves."
The woman in the white shirt lowered her gun and said, "Some mitochondria...must have undergone a different type of evolution. Think about it, Eve."
The Aya of the past vanished and the sky changed from midnight to the middle of the day again.
"If I hadn't seen the evidence with my own eyes," she said, her face even more pale than it had been before, "I wouldn't have believed it. But...it's true. Eve's alive...and in the hands of someone that would easily use her to destroy everywhere on Ear--Evolution."
Atlus nodded and simply said, "Now you know."
"Yes. And now I understand what he meant by welcome."
Ellen looked at the policewoman closely and then asked, "Philemon...? Aya's...?
"Yes," they both replied at the same time and the woman added, "Eve's my responsibility. I'm going with everyone."
"Normally I would object," Atlus said to her, "But I trust Philemon's judgment. If he says you go with us, you're going with us."
"And I say so," Philemon agreed, "And you should go to the next world soon."
"Would you mind if I told Daniel goodbye first?" she asked.
"It would be wise to do so," the strange man agreed, "If you want, I can deliver you to Captain Dollis on my way out."
The others spoke for a moment before Atlus replied, "Of course."
At this, the entire group disappeared from Ellis Island in the blink of an eye.
***************
"My, it's been quite a change," Andrea said, drinking some tea.
In one section of the coffeehouse, Citan and Mitzi were preparing the band's equipment.
"It sure has," Dena agreed, drinking soda and sitting at Andrea's table, "It's been a month since Hyuga came and now nobody would think he came from another world. It's just our luck that the owners of the UFO gift store would be taking a month's vacation."
Although Citan still wore the outfit he came to Earth in on occasion, such as when on stage, he now looked like any other Earth native...except that he opted to not get a haircut.
"Who ever knew that the flute wasn't his only forte?" Carlo, who was also sitting at a table, asked, "He does the keyboard rather well, too. Hey, when is that sei.... seiry...oh what's the word again?"
Dena shook her head, replying, "Voice actress works fine. The original voice actress from Gundam Wing will be coming later tonight to sing with us."
Mitzi stopped, looked behind her and said, "Which voice was she?"
"That blond Arab," Carlo answered before anyone else could.
"Enough about that," Andrea replied, "We need to rehearse before she gets here."
Citan looked up and nodded, then asked, "Planning on starting with the opening number?"
Dena nodded, saying, "Sounds good...better yet, how about starting with 'My Only Love' from Sailor Moon?"
Right then, the coffeehouse owner came up to the serving table and said, "That was the owner of the UFO store. She said that she just got in, received the message and she's expecting all of you tomorrow."
Mitzi said, "Thanks. Everything's ready, guys. Uh, Dena, are you finally gonna let us rehearse Femmes Fatales?"
Her head snapped up as she said, "Certainly not. I told you before, some nasty things could happen if we put that into our repertoire."
"Oh?" Citan asked, suddenly curious.
Dena replied, knowing of his unspoken question, "I hope none of us ever have to find out. Positions, everyone."
As she and Citan walked to their positions, he saw something rather odd.
Her form was shifting for a split second.
"Dena?" he asked, concerned all of a sudden.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, "You sound worried."
"No....it is nothing."
**********
Ultimecia looked up from Elly, who was now lying on the floor in a crumpled heap.
For a moment, she had felt something in the far distance...like someone awakening from a long sleep.
It felt like a resonance, she thought.
"Ultimecia," Ghaleon asked, "Did you feel that just now?"
The sensation repeated, going through both of them.
"There it is again," she said, "But this one is a bit different. Can it be...the last Musia?"
"There's another person with her...but this one's familiar," he agreed, and then growled after a moment, "That Zenogias native!"
"I can't tell where the last Musia is," she replied.
"But I know now where the native arrived.... a world called Earth."
That is correct, the voice said to both of them, The Musia of Earth is starting to awaken. The other person with her poses a strong threat to our plans and us.
Outside, Eve and the others were listening at the door as the strange voice
continued, wait until the Earth Musia fully awakens...then when you take
capture the last one, take Eve with you and have her kill the Zenogias
native.
Luna gasped as she heard the order be given.
"How are we going to interfere with that?" Julia asked, "If they get the last Musia, we're all doomed."
Eve pointed at a nearby room to the left and floated into it.
Victoria and the others nodded and went in, Luna closing the door behind them.
"What is it, Eve?" Luna asked, seeing the strange woman tapping her chin again.
"Earlier today," she said, "I was sent to another world for a few minutes. In that time, I had almost no control over myself...even my thoughts were not truly mine."
"Are you saying that the mind control actually took hold?" Victoria asked, suddenly worried, "Outside this place?"
"Precisely. When I am sent to this Earth, I won't have a choice but to do as I'm told...but I can tweak things a little."
"Oh? How?"
"Leave that to me, Victoria. After all, I'm what they call the Musia of Evolution. I might be able to do something if I start right now, while I'm here."
"I hope you know what you're doing," Julia said with a shudder, "One wrong move and this Citan would wind up dead."
***************
Atlus, Aya and the others stood in front of the desk in Daniel's office. It had taken about two hours to not just convince the police captain to let Aya go with the students, but to also prepare items for her to take with her, such as a club, a protective vest, some food as well as medicine and other items.
Alanna looked at the large backpack on the officer's back and said, "You had to pack almost as much as we did!"
"Well, considering where we're going, we have no idea what we'll be up against," she replied, patting her side where a freshly reloaded gun was concealed.
"If it hadn't been for how you appeared in front of me and the other officers," Daniel said, "I'd say the whole thing was a bad dream...Eve alive, more than our world being in danger...you take care of Aya. You hear me, Atlus?"
"Of course, sir," was the quiet reply.
"Which world do we go to now?" Nate asked.
Atlus tapped a few buttons on the strange plastic slab and replied, "Choices are Gardenia, Lunar and Zenogias."
Ellen thought for a moment then asked, "How are we going to choose the world? Philemon said we should leave soon which means something's going to happen or has happened..."
Chris snorted and said, "It's simple. Let Aya choose."
Atlus looked at him closely and then nodded.
Aya walked over, looked at the slab and the names on the screen.
Gardenia, Lunar, Zenogias.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and after a moment, touched the strange pad with her index finger.
"Zenogias...?" Mary asked.
Aya opened her eyes and looked at the word beside her finger.
"That's what it says," Brad replied, "That's where we go next."
"Guess this is goodbye," the large police captain grumbled.
"Don't worry, Daniel. I'll be back when this mess is done with," she replied.
"Everyone, stand close together now," Atlus said.
After this was done, Mary called out, "Open the way to Zenogias!"
Daniel's eyes widened as the wind picked up in the room, which had the windows, closed and a bright light surrounded the group.
He faintly heard Aya say something before they all vanished.
***************
An hour into the rehearsal, Citan turned his attention partially from the keyboard and the tune they were in the middle of performing, the duet piece.
In front of him, Dena, who stood beside the Japanese woman, was changing.
As the duo sang, she began to glow and she changed...into a person that was a bit shorter with very short blonde hair, wearing a shirt, vest and pants.
The waitress gaped, watching the strange scene and she whispered, "Quatre...?"
The other band members continued to play, yet watched with wide eyes as Dena changed again, this time to a teenager with two long, blonde ponytails...with meatball-style at the top of her head.
"Serena?" Carlo mouthed.
A minute later, her form changed again...into a strange haired man that the Zenogias native recognized.
"Krelian," he whispered as he kept playing his parts.
As the tune ended, Dena's form changed back into her own, although she looked a bit pale as she staggered for a moment.
"I-I'm fine," she said, "Just a bit...a bit...drained. Okay, guys, take 5."
They nodded and Citan walked over to Carlo and Mitzi, who were walking over to the waitress behind the counter.
"What happened?" he asked them in a low voice.
"According to the story our parents told us about Roswell Night...when she was found in her spaceship...her form changed several times as she regained consciousness...some of the images they saw they didn't recognize, some they did. The woman explained that she was the leader of some strange tribe...Moo...moos--"
"Musia?" the doctor asked.
"Yes!" Mitzi replied, excited, "Musia!"
Carlo asked, "Who did you first see?"
The waitress replied, "I saw Quatre, then Serena...and then some strange man I had never seen before."
"I have," Citan replied, "His name was Krelian..."
Carlo nodded and gestured for Mitzi and the Zenogias native to sit at a table near the window.
"I think I know what's happened to Dena," he continued.
"Dena...is the last Musia. The Musia of Earth," Citan stated.
"Yes, as well as something else. Mitzi, what do Quatre and Serena--I mean, Sailor Moon, have in common?"
"Hmm....I know Serena's the leader of the good team on the Anime show...and Quatre's the leader of the Gundam team on that show, Gundam Wing," she replied.
"And Hyuga...who is Krelian?"
"He was considered the true leader of Solaris--are you saying that Deindra--"
Carlo nodded and said, "Exactly. Not only is Dena the Musia of Earth...she's destined to become their leader."
Citan nodded and said, "And the one that kidnapped Elhaym will come after her any time now."
***************
Just outside a small, newly rebuilt village, some people were walking on the path between the village and a nearby mountain when all of a sudden, the wind picked up, blowing hard and whistling loudly.
"What is going on?" one of the people, a young man with long, brown hair, "First doc disappears and now this!"
In front of him, a large circle of light appeared, followed by a medium sized group of people.
A majority of this group looked like teenagers and they wore rather unusual, white uniforms.
The other person was a bit taller than the others and wore a white blouse, a black jacket and blue pants.
"Well, we're here...wherever here is," one of the teenagers, a girl with curly blonde hair said.
"How's your first journey between worlds?" an auburn haired girl asked, turning to the taller person.
"I'm a little dizzy...but it wasn't bad," was the reply, "Where exactly are we, Atlus?"
A tall red haired boy, Atlus, took out a glowing slab of plastic, tapped on it and then frowned.
"According to this...we're on the outskirts of a village on the largest continent. This world is nothing like Persona or Evolution. Also--oh, no."
"What is it?" the strangely dressed woman asked.
"Two people, not one, disappeared from here at about the same time," the one called Atlus replied.
"Hey Mary," one of the teenagers, a boy with extremely dark skin, "We've got a welcome wagon. Again."
Atlus and the girl with auburn hair, Mary, looked up and saw the young man just to their left. Behind the young man, a small, pink creature bounced up to the group.
"Uh...I know this all looks kind of strange," the taller woman said, "But we can explain."
The pink creature smiled and said, "I know chu! I was told chu expect chu!"
The young man turned and said, "Chu-Chu, what's going on?"
Chu-Chu smiled again and said, "I'm Chu-Chu! He's Fei! Midori said chu are good guys, yes she did!"
"I'm Atlus," the red haired man said, beginning the introductions for the others in the group.
"Most of us are from a world called Persona," The one called Nate explained afterwards, "But Aya is from Evolution."
"We're here to investigate a series of kidnappings that have occurred in the past two months on several worlds," Aya added, "And according to that...Atlus calls it a data pad, there were two kidnappings here."
Fei walked over to Atlus as the younger man called up the names.
"Two kidnappings? You mean Elly wasn't the only one?"
"Elly?" Ellen asked.
The names appeared on the strange slab:
Elhaym Van Houten
Citan Uzuki, a.k.a Hyuga Ricdeau
"Maybe we should go somewhere quiet to talk," Chu-Chu said, "We don't want
chu cause a scene, chu we?"
"That's a good idea. Let's go get Midori and then go to doc's house," Fei agreed.
A few minutes later, the group had arrived on the mountain where a vacant,
large house stood.
"It's.... quite large," Atlus said after a moment of shocked silence.
"Citan lived here...up until about a month ago," Fei explained, "When Elly was kidnapped."
"What happened?" Aya asked.
Fei nodded and explained everything that happened on the day that Ghaleon had appeared.
"So that's what happened," Mary said after they finished, "Citan wasn't kidnapped...not right then. Who knows if that's still the case."
"I still remember when he shouted, 'Oh no you don't!' and ran into that portal," Fei added, shaking his head, "We haven't seen him since. The people in New Lahan think he's...dead."
The newcomer group nodded and then saw the small, light brown haired child that had come with them gasp and suddenly stand up.
"Midori?" Chu-chu asked, "What's wrong?"
"Musia?" Atlus asked, confused.
"We're looking for Voice Angels," Aya said, "What are Musias?"
Midori looked up and said, "Persona calls them Voice Angels. Other worlds, including this Zenogias, call them Musias."
Fei turned to her and asked, "Zenogias? Is that what this world is called?"
Chu-chu then asked, "Midori...how long until the evil ones know?"
The child shook her head.
"They already know?!" the pink creature asked, shivering rather suddenly.
She nodded.
"They need to leave tomorrow morning," the little girl continued, "It's sunset now."
"Yeah, you're right, Midori. And my place won't be big enough for everyone," Fei replied, "I don't think doc would mind if we stayed here for the night."
"Is there a hotel we can stay at in the village?" Atlus asked, "We can pay--"
"Uh-uh. I don't think they would take your currency. We'll pay for it," the young man replied, shaking his head.
"Okay," The others agreed.
***************
The next morning, the group, plus the three natives gathered just outside of the village.
"Aw, man! I never thought that food that good would come from outside our world!" Mark commented, a wide grin on his face.
"Yes, the bearcow's milk was actually pretty good and so was dinner," Aya agreed.
"And some of those cheeses...How do they make them so yummy!" Alanna exclaimed with a goofy smile.
"Heh, Not bad," Brad replied and gave a rather conceited grin, "But I'll bet the next world will have even better grub! After all, the mighty leader's coming!"
Chu-chu asked, "Is he always like that or just to chu, Atlus?"
"Not just to us, Chu-chu," was the reply as he checked the pad on the next destination.
Instead of Lunar being listed, a new, singular name flashed on the screen.
Earth.
"According to this," he said, a bit pale, "The next destination is Earth."
"Earth? You mean, the real Earth? Not what we thought was--" Ellen asked.
"Exactly. The actual world called Earth."
Chu-Chu and Midori looked at each other and nodded, inching slowly towards the group.
After they reached a point, the furry being said, "It's time to go..."
"Thanks.... for everything," Atlus said to them, "If we can...we'll return. Ellen..."
Ellen nodded and turned to the others, asking, "Is everyone ready?"
The others nodded and walked towards her, their backs turned to the trio of natives.
Midori nodded to Chu-Chu, who whispered a single command.
"Now!"
As Fei heard the one named Ellen call out, "Open the way to Earth!" he had
the sudden impulse to join the group, which he fought back.
After all, if they're right, I have to gather the others to protect Zenogias...oh boy, they are going to have a time with this tale!
He sighed as the ring of light surrounded his new friends...and then his jaw dropped as he saw something rather shocking.
"Midori! Chu-Chu!"
Midori and Chu-chu were inside the light, waving goodbye to Fei just as they all disappeared.