Written by BHart
January 31, 2008

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Act LXXVIII
Inventions from the Pious Halls

They entered Ro' Maeve. Vasteel showed them around. "You'll need to be familiar with the area to help me deactivate traps guarding a hidden chest."

She showed them where they needed to go and what they needed to do. Everyone got into position.

Giant rose petals made of a dark-pink crystal material formed around them.

"What the hell is going on?" asked Vasteel.

They heard laughter. "Who is that?" asked Nami.

They couldn't get out.

A girl appeared, wearing a white and turquoise colored sailor senshi uniform. Her hair was medium-blue colored with white streaks in it. She was holding a dark pink colored crystal fragment.

"Looks like we've got a member from the council visiting us," noticed Feral Heart.

"Sailor Telesto?"

"I'm impressed you remember my name. I know your memory has been fuzzy."

"I remember everything now."

"You were following us earlier, weren't you? I thought I sensed someone or something following us," said Vasteel.

"I was testing you. You did quite well against the boggarts, considering there was a casualty."

"That was you? I swear, once I get out of here.."

"Now, now, no need to make empty threats," interrupted Sailor Telesto.

"Is that..part of the barazuishou crystal you're holding?" asked Kousagi.

"We've recovered all its parts that ended up in this world. We need you to retrieve the other parts from the world you came from."

"I don't know how any pieces from that ended up here, but I will not let you get anymore," replied Kousagi.

The incomplete barzuishou squirmed around in her hand. "This crystal is connected to you. It wants to be whole again," said Sailor Telesto.

"That's not going to happen. I won't let you get your way."

Sailor Telesto held the crystal fragment in front of her. "You won't have a choice. Its will is strong. It will force you to open up a portal to the world where its other shards remain."

Energy from it was extracting some of Kousagi's power.

"Soon this energy will form a portal, and the barazuishou will be complete," said Sailor Telesto.

They couldn't resist its power.

"No, I can't let this happen. I won't," said Kousagi, resisting the crystals will, as best she could.

A small hole opened, leading to the other world.

"No!" yelled Kousagi.

The giant rose petal crystals confining them shattered, releasing Kousagi and the others.

"The council will never have the barazuishou's power." A large, pink, lavender and white striped ray of light emanated from Kousagi's body, striking the crystal shard, destroying it completely.

"Impossible!" said Sailor Telesto, stunned.

"All of my memories brought with them a new power. It's time to get rid of you."

"Don't be so presumptuous, I'll kill you where you stand right now." She grabbed Kousagi by the neck, choking her. "I have a few surprises of my own," said Sailor Telesto.

A spear flying through the air struck Sailor Telesto in the side. She dropped Kousagi, falling to the ground.

Vasteel and the others had been setting off the booby traps. "There's more where that came from," threatened Nami.

Sailor Telesto disappeared before a hail of arrows landed on her.

"Are you okay?" asked Rie, rushing over to Kousagi.

"I'll be fine. She's stronger than she looks."

"I didn't think a fragment of the barazuishou could be destroyed," said Nami.

"Had it been whole, I probably would not have been able to destroy it."

"I'm glad to see you back to your old self again," said Mia.

"How did you get all your memories back? Did they just come rushing back on their own?" asked Feral Heart.

"I had some help from a friend."

"I wonder how Sailor Telesto avoided being tracked on my wide scan. It must've been the crystal shard she had," thought Vasteel.

After disabling all the booby traps, Vasteel pressed a switch on the wall, causing a coffer to rise up on top of a pillar.

She used her thief's tool to open it. "I need complete silence to concentrate. If I fail to open this, it will turn into a mimic and the treasure inside will be gone." It took a few minutes, but she managed to open it. Inside was a purple colored crystal.

"Isn't that a lightning crystal? That's what the treasure was?" asked Kousagi, confused.

"Not just any lightning crystal. This crystal is infused with a specific voltage of electrical energy. It will allow me to enter a secret room in the Hall of the Gods." Her enchanted thief's glove allowed her to carry the lightning crystal without being electrocuted.

They walked halfway down the Hall of the Gods when Vasteel turned right, setting the lightning crystal down. There were four small conduits on the ground, absorbing the electricity.

A secret door appeared. Inside was a nicely furnished room. There was a girl with green hair, sitting on a couch comfortably. "Tokamo?" said Kousagi.

"Kousagi? I thought you were gone for good."

"I guess you haven't kept up with current events," said Feral Heart.

"Not being cooped up in here for so long. I still have a few more years worth of food storage."

"What's all this stuff?" asked Rie. There were mechanical devices lying about.

"Those are some inventions I was tinkering with while rotting away here. This flips the pages of sheet music." She held up a small, mechanical hand attached to a plug and button.

Tokamo pulled Rie aside to show her something. "I made this with you in mind." She handed her a vibrating dildo. Rie blushed.

"No need to be embarrassed. I know the flames of passion burn strongly within you. Using this will help quell those passions deep inside that drive you wild."

"Thank you. It will definitely come in handy."

"This dildo is special. It is powered by thermal energy. Whenever its power gets low, just charge up the fire crystal inside it with flames, and it will be recharged, good as new."

"You could sell these in bulk and make a ton of money," suggested Rie.

"We should get going now. We've got a long journey ahead of us; especially since we lost our transportation," said Vasteel.

"I might have something to remedy that," replied Tokamo.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll show you."

To the side of the room were some devices resembling wheel-less skateboards. "We could try using these hover boards. They have a higher top speed than chocobos. Theoretically, anyway. I haven't had a chance to test them out."

"How does it work?" asked Vasteel.

"They run on crystal technology, mainly lightning and fire crystals. I find that those are the most productive," explained Tokamo.

"We might get caught riding those things," mentioned Rie.

"They are very fast and quiet, so they won't gather too much attention as long as we lie low. No one will be fast enough to follow us if we're spotted."

"I suppose we could test them out first. How many are there?" asked Vasteel.

"I've got ten in stock."

"Perfect. That's more than we need."

They went to the Sanctuary of Zi'tah to practice using them.

"Gradually build up speed."

"Don't run into that tree over there!"

"Watch out!"

"Strap your feet in to the board tighter so you don't fall off!"

"It's hard to keep balance," said Nami.

"I'm going to injure myself on this thing," said Mia.

"Perhaps we should go to a more open area," suggested Vasteel.

They began practicing at the Meriphataud mountains. It was much easier for everyone in a wide, open space.

Rie ran into Drogaroga's spine, knocking off some small pieces of bone. She got angry and began cursing.

"Just give it more time. You will have this down before you know it," assured Tokamo.

"I don't know how many more scrapes and bruises I can endure," complained Rie.

"Excuse me ladies; could you be more quiet? I'm watching over my pupils' wyvern eggs," said a dragoon, walking towards them.

"Sorry, we'll move so we don't disturb the eggs," said Tokamo.

"Steven Samuel Jones? Is that you?" asked Vasteel.

"Vasteel? How have you been?" They chatted for a while.

"How do you know each other?"

"We worked on a team together to protect the natural habitat of wyverns," explained Vasteel.

"That figures," said Rie.

"We dragoons rely on wyverns in battle."

"What is that in the sky?" asked Tokamo. A dragoon was riding a giant wyvern. It was coming at them.

"That looks like a traliz warrior," stated Steve.

"I think you're right. And I think I know who sent it after us," said Vasteel.

"Sailor Telesto," added Rie.

Steve threw his spear up at the dragoon. The dragoon caught the spear in his hands and threw it back. Steve barely missed getting hit.

"Whoever he is, he's very skilled," said Steve.

"Should we duck for cover?" asked Rie.

"It wouldn't do any good. If he has been ordered to kill us like Vasteel said, he'd just go on foot and look for us," said Steve.

"Do you have a plan?" asked Vasteel.

"If there were someway he couldn't see me, I'd get the jump on him," replied Steve.

"There's got to be a way to hide ourselves. Rie, could you catch that dry timber over there on fire?" asked Vasteel.

"Yeah."

"If we get enough smoke in the air, he won't see us."

There was smoke filling the air, limiting the dragoon's vision.

When Steve could see him, he leaped up with his spear, stabbing the dragoon in the side. He fell off the wyvern to his death.

Steve landed the beast to lower ground, where it was safe to jump.

"Did you know this guy?" asked Mia.

"No. I've never seen him before."

Nami found a small, pearl shaped object. "I found a link shell on him."

"Oh, give me that," said Tokamo. She attached a crystal powered invention of hers to the link shell.

"What are you doing?" asked Kousagi.

"This device will read and decrypt any messages on a link shell. We'll find out who he is and who hired him if it's on here."

The device displayed information to them. "This guy's name was Mike J. Easton. We were right; he was hired by the council. He apparently became a Traliz warrior only a couple of hours ago when they offered him a huge sum of gil to kill us," explained Tokamo.

"They'll have to do a lot better than that," said Rie.

"Thank you for your help back there. But we need to leave now," said Vasteel.

"I understand. Fare thee well," said Steve.

They headed west on their hover boards.

..to be continued..