Scene #2393: Radiant Infirmary Episode 2386: The ringing of the keys

Owner	Pose
Setsuna Meiou	Ah, the school infirmary. A staple of the high school experience...where students go to deal with the various cuts, scrapes, strains and the like common amongst a building full of 1000 or so hormone-soaked adolescents. Not to mention all the ones trying to scam the nurse to let them skive off of class. Generally, the infirmary's a fairly small office for the nurse and some equipment. At least, that's the general rule. Given the budget Radiant Heart boasts, the infirmary's a bit bigger and more well appointed than most. There are several beds (which are currently not in use) and to an eye familiar with the medical world, there's enough well-laid-out kit that it's quite likely that, in extremis, one could actually do surgery here. Still, most of the room is broken up with little rolling-wall medical dividers, with the bulk of the area set up for the kind of service one would need for a typical average assortment of students. Reasonably nice chairs, little triage areas, that kind of thing. The walls have various posters one might see in a doctor's office, though most of them are a bit more aimed at student-level things like common adolescent illnesses and the like. One particular poster, however, probably catches the eye: This one's photo surrounded by a black frame in the style of the common 'motivational' poster. The picture is of a woman in a maroon yoga suit who, from about the waist down is lying face down...but she's bent over comletely backwards so that her head is lying on the bed between her legs and her face and upper torso are face up with her arms lying next to her legs. There's a nurse behind her in the shot, and the text reads in large letters: 'GOOD NEWS' In smaller type underneath is added: "The Doctor found your problem' Nurse Meiou, for her part, is looking much more like normal. Oh, someone who knows her well can tell she's still not at her best, but she's FAR better than the 'near death warmed over' she was not long ago. The news Mamoru got to her seems to have helped a LOT. Still, when one arrives at the Infirmary, it will be to see the Nurse sitting at her desk, absently spinning some shiny piece of metal in her off hand while she absently scribbles...something onto a legal pad with the other.
Chibiusa Tsukino	Just a short while ago, Chibiusa's Time Key started vibrating like crazy. It clanked pretty loudly against the Ginzuishou for a few moments before Small Lady suddenly grasped it to quiet it down. As people turned to stare at her, she ducked her head and muttered, "Sorry..." but she didn't dare explain for even a second ''what'' the noise actually was. Not that she actually ''knew''. The Time Key was a tool that she only had a passing familiarity with. She wasn't used to... whatever it was doing. Sure she could, in theory, open gateways and portals with it to other timelines and dimensions, but it didn't even really ''respond'' to her most of the time. For it to suddenly vibrate like that, it had to ''mean something'', and Chibiusa only knew one person who would be able to give her even the vaguest semblance of an answer. Thus it is that during a break between classes that Chibiusa walks into the nurse's office, Time Key in hand, tiny red eyes immediately finding Setsuna. As she walks towards the school nurse, she glances around to see if the two of them are alone here. "Puu-chan? Can I ask you something? I think a weird thing just happened."
Setsuna Meiou	Nurse Meiou doesn't respond for a moment...apparently in the middle of scribbling something important down. She does, however, tilt her head slightly so that her voice will carry a bit more as she says, "Niti-chan...privacy mode, please." A moment later, a synthesized voice responds, "Of course, Nurse Meiou." Moments thereafter, the door audibly locks and all the blinds rotate to blackout mode. Nodding to herself as she puts down the pen, Setsuna looks over at Chibiusa and waves at one of the chairs, "...let me guess, your Key went absolutely nuts a little while ago?"
Chibiusa Tsukino	Chibiusa grips the Time Key in her hand, which has been taken off of her necklace so that she doesn't accidentally show off the Silver Crystal while messing with it, and gives Setsuna a concerned yet curious stare. Her eyes and head dart in every direction as 'privacy mode' is suddenly engaged, which at least tells Small Lady that Setsuna is aware of the nature of the situation. At Meiou's question, Chibiusa nods. "That's right. It started vibrating all of a sudden and it really surprised me. I know it's not ''exactly'' the same as your keys, but I'm hoping it's close enough. You're the only one I can really ask about this." Taking a step forward, she opens her hand to reveal her key to Setsuna. "Do you know what it means? Did your keys suddenly start vibrating too?"
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna reaches up and absently begins rubbing her temples, "OH, did they EVER." She continues for a few moments, then heaves a big sigh and shakes her head a little before scrunching her face up in pain as she gives a small wince, "Yeah, all of my Keys went nuts probably about the same time. Including the Garnet Rod, which is the Master Key...and happens to be tied to my SOUL..." The older woman leans back a little in her chair, then looks over at Chibi-usa and absently waves at the notepad, "SOMEONE did SOMETHING with Time just then...I was doing some calculations and trying to work out exactly what." She pulls the pad over and looks at it again, "...one of the few sensors still left on the Gates managed to get a bit of a reading...and it's KIND of like the reading that you made when you came here...but only a little..." Setsuna gives a small scowl...as if the math has personally offended her before she sighs again, "...I was pretty sure it wasn't you, though...so it's probably something those clan people did."
Chibiusa Tsukino	Small Lady listens as Setsuna speaks. Apparently the same thing happened to her. The smol pink lady isn't sure what all those calculations mean, and certainly can't help with any sensors, but the idea that it's a similar reading to her own. "It had to be them. They and I are the only ones from my time. I can't imagine it would be anyone else." She looks down at her own Time Key for a moment, considers it, and then starts adding it back onto her necklace so that it can go back to being hidden under her collar. "I'm pretty sure they aren't using a Time Key like I did, so that means they must have something else that lets them go to the future." She frowns and stares at the wall for a moment, before crossing her arms and looking back at Setsuna. "You know... they've lost the last of their four low-ranking dark generals recently. I bet if they're going through time then they're gonna get reinforcements or something." Can they even do that? As she mulls it over in her mind, a thought occurs. "Oh! They recently found out a whole bunch of mahoujin's secret identities, so maybe they went to do something mean in the 30th century?" The more she speculates, the more she realizes that she doesn't like where her mind is going, but anything is possible at this point.
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna shakes her head again, "No...they're not using anything as refined as the Keys. They're brute forcing it in some way...and I'm frankly a bit curious as to HOW." After another moment, she shrugs before blinking over at Chibi-usa, "Four? Really? Huh. That's...some fairly serious losses." She gets a pondering look and absently taps her lips with one finger, "...I wonder if it's us being more effective or them being particularly incompetent...?" A scowl, "...which means that whoever they bring back is PROBABLY going to be rather a step up in power." Setsuna sighs, "It's never easy..." When the pink haired girl mentions secret identities, though, Setsuna looks over, then gets a contemplative look, "...wait...you'd said in your timeline that there WEREN'T any other mahou other than the Senshi..." She trails off for a moment before going on, "...do...do you think they haven't realized they're in a parallel timeline? If so, there's very little chance they can do anything to their descendants in your time."
Chibiusa Tsukino	Brute force time travel. Small Lady doesn't really like the sound of that. It's probably a bit privileged of her, she realizes, to think that the only people who should be allowed to time travel are those who are politically aligned with her, but then... considering their primary opposition, she can't really say that's ''wrong''. She shakes her head and says, "They got really lucky in the 30th century. Their attack had perfect timing. Here... they're out of their element and there's a lot more resistance than I think they ever expected. They learned a few weeks ago that this wasn't really ''their'' past, but... that doesn't really stop them from doing something mean to the senshi who exist where I come from." Crossing her arms and scuffing her feet against the floor for a moment, she thinks. "I mean. They got Moon-chan's ID. They threatened to attack our families. Her relatives still exist in the future, last I was there." With a frown she says, "But... that's just a guess. They probably haven't even thought about something like that. I'm only making guesses because I don't really know what they're thinking. There's no chance that they just gave up and went back home."
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna frowns, "...yeah, they're too committed, I think...and they've got a somewhat unhealthy case of target fixation. Especially since it's quite likely that any of your families that exist a thousand years from now are either well protected or can take care of themselves." She gives a shrug, then goes on, "I think your guess about going for reinforcements is likely the right one..." She then looks over at her legal pad before running a finger across a line of rather complicated looking math, "...still, if that's what they've done, we'll likely have a brief reprieve from them for a short while..." Setsuna trails off, then shrugs and pushes the pad away, "...well, that's my GUESS, at least...still, I'd be willing to put money on it..." She then looks over at Chibiusa again, "...so how are you and Luminous Titan getting along?"
Chibiusa Tsukino	Small Lady thinks about what kinds of protections they should have in the future. Sure, things looked bad when she fled, but... surely their attack wasn't nearly as successful as the Black Moon Clan liked to claim. If it was, then why keep bothering with the alt-past? It's not going to affect them aside from getting them killed over and over. Unless they really, really need to get their hands on a crystal that she bets none of them can even use. As the topic shifts Luminous Titan, Chibiusa reaches up and touches the ''third'' item of power on her necklace. "It's been going well. I still need more training I think. It feels a little strange to me because it's not the kind of magic I was expecting to end up with, but it works for now." With a frown, she adds, "I wonder if, after we get Hotaru-chan back, Lumie will want to go back to her. I guess we wont really know until she's safe and sound again."
Setsuna Meiou	As Hotaru is mentioned by name, Setsuna closes her eyes and takes a deep, centering breath... It's only a moment, but it's obvious that she too is missing Hotaru a great deal, "...ultimately, it's his choice. We'll just have to see how things stand whenever that occurs." There's another little pause as she takes another moment to center herself, then she goes on, "...and...yes...from what I gather, being a Device User is rather different from being a Senshi. We get quite a few little package benefits from our transformations that Device Users don't..." She then looks a bit mock grumpy, "...then again, most Devices let their Users fly pretty early on." Setsuna then shrugs, "...either way, it'll be useful for you to get a feel for how they work..." She pauses once more, then tilts her head and gives Chibiusa a bit of a look, a soft smile on her face, "...so did other me tell you our nickname, or did you stumble on it by yourself?"
Chibiusa Tsukino	Chibiusa notices Setsuna's reaction and starts to feel a little bit bad for the reminder, but any conversation about Luminous Titan will eventually bring up its rightful user. The one he was made for. She's not unaware of the fact that if Mistress Nine hadn't awoken, this Device would still be with Hotaru, and honestly Small Lady would've preferred it that way. "It's a little funny, though. I never thought I'd be the kind of magical heroine who wears a cape and flies around. I guess even being from the future doesn't really mean you get to know what's going to happen in life." Then the nickname is brought up, and Chibiusa actually has to think about it. She places a finger on the side of her chin and looks up to the ceiling. "Ummm... I'm not sure I remember. Like... I've known the other you for longer than the actual adults here have been alive." After a pause, she says, "I think I heard my mom call the other you that? I just kinda thought it was your name at first."
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna snorts, "Most people don't have the gumption to call me that to my face. Your grandmother was about the only person who would." She waves a hand, "Back when I was six...ACTUAL six...they told me about my duty...and of course, me being all of six, I stumbled over the word 'Pluto' and said 'Puu' instead." She shakes her head, "Queen Serenity heard about it and thought it was HILARIOUS...so she'd call me that whenever we weren't in public. I'm FAIRLY certain Luna overheard it and let it slip to Usagi at some point, but who knows?" Setsuna then focuses back on Chibi-usa, "...to be clear, I don't mind YOU calling me that...so don't feel you have to. If other me was cool with it, I see no reason to do any less."
Chibiusa Tsukino	Small Lady smiles up at Setsuna for a moment, and then actually giggles at the assertion that most would not call her by a cutesy nickname. "Most people aren't Princesses... though, I guess I can't really say that in this timeline." Chibiusa's hairpin pings at her, and she suddenly looks up at the wall clock. "Oh! I um... I should be heading back to class." The smol pink starts heading for the door, but she stops at the threshold and looks back to the school nurse with a smile. "I'll let you know if the time key does anything else weird. See you around!"
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna nods, then tilts her head a little again, "Niti-chan, please disengage privacy mode." Once more, the synthesized voice responds, "Of course, Nurse Meiou." And with that, the doors audibly unlock and the blinds go back to normal. Nurse Meiou then smiles at Chibi-usa and grabs a small pad before scribbling on it before handing the slip of paper to the younger woman, "Here you go. Hall pass. That way you don't have to run." She then sits back, "And feel free to come see me anytime. Once you've got flight down, Luminous Titan can help you navigate to my house if you want to come visit again." She waves, "Take care of yourself, now head on off to class."
Chibiusa Tsukino	With the office doors now unlocked, Chibiusa happily accepts the hall pass and says, "Thanks! I will. You, too!" Waving at Puu with the hand holding the paper, she walks out the door and starts heading back. On the way there, she pulls out the time key once more and examines it, wondering if it's going to do anything else weird anytime soon.