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"Maybe the air con's broken and this is their way of hoping we don't notice?" Ari idly suggested back while waiting for the waitress to definitely be gone. It was warm in here, though perhaps that was just because they were tucked away in the corner.

Ari took Jada's warning to heart. But she needed to make it clear that she wasn't after a 'friend in high places' or some kind of automatic back-up if things went pear-shaped. "There need to be checks and balances for this to work. My first mission didn't go over so well. Yeah, I'm more than a little worried about what else will go wrong if I try to be in charge of more - of the whole damn Court. Hell yes, I want people around me who'll tell me if I'm about to do something stupid."

That had been the main problem with Ares' methods, towards the end. She listened to the ISS, but went straight ahead and did whatever she wanted anyway. Even with all of them against a second giant strike so soon after Operation Rota, Ares had turned all of their concerns aside and run the Court like a dictator. Or a monarchy, Ari amended. Getting in practice for her new role as a Princess.

"I can do this," she told Jada, eyeing her seriously from across the plastic tabletop. "I truly believe that I can do this. But I'm going to need help, and not of the 'automatically on my side' kind. I've never thought that was a real kind of friend, anyway," she added in an aside. If your friends wouldn't tell you when you were acting like an a**, then who would?

Jada's offer of an explanation earned a quirk of Ari's lips that was almost a smile. Definitely an improvement over how the night had started. "That would probably be for the best. People will ask." Especially with Scylla in the ISS - they would want to know why, and where she'd been when she was needed. Ari didn't blame them since she'd come here demanding to know the same. Knowing now meant she could n** some of it in the bud when they reformed the Court. "You mentioned being nearly dead?"

That was a terrible habit. Ari would have to tell Jada to cut that out.

Ari quirked a smile at the mention of the cloaks. "If you like," she couldn't help but chuckle. "Personally, I just found them annoying but I guess image is important. Maybe we'll make them optional, so people can choose if they like them or not."

She leaned back in her seat, unable to stop smiling. Ari was almost dizzy with relief that Jada had agreed to help. She had a plan. A plan that at least one other person didn't think was stupid or impossible. They could make this work, be a proper, functioning Court again. Kick some damn Negaverse a** and remind them that Blood Moon Court was something to fear. Forget the Negaverse and their monsters, the real danger in town wore short skirts and red crescent brands.

The good mood broken when Jada lifted up her shirt. Ari's lips compressed into a hard line as she stared at the shattered spider-webbing of scars. Her recent determination flared again. "We need to keep in better touch," she muttered. "This sort of thing shouldn't happen. No one in our Court should be able to fall off the radar like that - we should be looking out for each other, helping each other."

'If we don't, who will?' was the unspoken question.

"You would," Ari laughed. It was easy to picture it, Scylla posing over a defeated youma, city skyline in the background. "A dark-haired Supergirl."

Her laugh faded as Jada spoke of the last meeting. Jada wasn't the only one who wondered 'what if' - there were plenty of things Ari now second-guessed herself for. "I don't think playing that game will work out well for anyone," she eventually said, gently. "Even if things had been delayed, Fallon chose her path alone and would more than likely still choose it even if things had been different. She was corrupted before that meeting began. Others chose to follow her of their own free will. Even if we'd interfered, they would have found her later."

Requiem was the only one taken against her will. So far, Ari had to remind herself. Soon there might be more forced recruits, which was where they needed to focus their attention - prevention and removal - rather than on regrets.

"We will stop them," Ari said. "One way or another; we won't let our friends live like that." Corruption was a half-life at best. 'Better dead than corrupted' had been one of the unofficial BMC mottos - started by Lyra of all people, so yeah, fate was a b***h. But that wouldn't stop the remaining BMC from carrying that out for the memory of their former sisters.

A snort. Ari could picture a blonde Jada and it looked about as good as a bleached-blond, orange-fake-tanned Asian. Why anyone thought something about Jada needed changing, Ari didn't know. The woman was making her living as a model for a reason, and it wasn't for being one of those weird-looking anorexic New Top Models or whatever they were.

The idea of Jada - or Scylla, rather - forced over to the DMC made her pause. Ari tilted her head to one side, considering. Eventually, she gave a definitive shake, saying "Naaaah. Ares had trouble taking on Nemesis, I doubt she'd have done much better versus your tentacles."

Each corruption seemed to have drained Ares further. An Eternal likely would have been too much for Ares after two volunteers, Requiem an easier target by comparison (but still powerful enough to be of more strategic value than one of the fresh cadets).

"We'll need to investigate that, further than just rumour," Ari mused. She'd need to make a note after this so that she'd remember to address it to the BMC - or to the new ISS first. If the Negaverse could be purified, the BMC needed to know about it. How it was done. And then decide who was worth saving and who to just remove from the picture before some safe amnesty was reached with the weaker White Moon senshi.

Jada had valid concerns. "Honestly, I've been thinking I'd be safer away from my parents for a while now. Well, them, too. Safer all 'round, I mean." She thought back to her 'meeting' with Ares. "Ares never said anything to indicate that she still knew my civilian identity. But I didn't think to press it to be sure, either." Besides Ares could have lied either way. Another thing to look into.

"You should be fine because your family is out of the city, and you're in a new place. Most of the time I'm staying with someone else, so Ares can't track me where she might think to..." But despite the problems she occasionally had with them, Ari didn't want anyone going after her parents, either. She sighed. "Another thing to chase up. Maybe get our more experienced senshi to test what Leto, Gaia or Requiem know, if they're spotted. Ares is best not pressed, I think." And maybe the more junior of the formerly-BMC Dark Moon Court would be less able to hide the truth, like Ares surely could.

That had Ari interested. Despite the Blood Moon Court's modus operandus of 'kill all the Negas, let God [or dead moon royalty] sort 'em out', she had wondered on occasion of there was anything they could offer the fallen senshi, like Lyra, other than a fist through the gaping wound in their chests. Unfortunately, details were the one thing they would need in order to decide if it was worth pursuing or not.

"Do we know anyone who might have those details?" Ari asked Jada. Obviously, the purified one herself. Perhaps Castor, who rumor linked with the girl. But the royal was hard to pin down at the best of times, and this line of questioning might not get them further than a slap in the face - or a rain of sharp, icy projectiles. If someone else, perhaps less emotionally invested, had more information, it might be better to start there.

Ari nodded along. Jada having somewhere safer to live than her current neighborhood would be a weight off Ari's mind. If the BMC were able to train there once again, all the better. Most important of all, however, was to discover if they were safe in their own homes and using their own names.

"First order of business, for sure," she said, eyes narrowing slightly. "I mean, apart from letting people know we're back in business and getting them all in one place again."

"New ground, then," Ari agreed. No one would be willing to risk an old meeting place, just in case Ares had her new minions staking out all their previously known locations. They knew from the debacle with the Zodiacs and civilians that Ares had been recruiting - who knew what her numbers were by now?

"We invite those we know aren't corrupted. People can pass the message on to others, but for now, only to those they're willing to personally vouch for." They didn't need any surprises on their first attempt to regroup. No spies, no gate crashers, no surprise Ares. "Once we have our solid base again, then we recruit."

They'd need to discuss the best way to do that, as a group. Ari had some vague ideas forming, but they'd need refining, not to mention approval. They had a fine line to walk: to present themselves as less objectionable than Ares' former rule, while not misrepresenting themselves as some fluffy, hugable mutation of the BMC.

"I'll find a location and let you know. We can scope it out, make sure it's safe."

They exchanged their civilian numbers. It felt strange, to realise that this was an afterthought, after having each other on senshi-phone for over a year and only now swapping 'real' numbers (though to be perfectly honest, Ari had often felt as though Birhan was the 'real' life, the real purpose, and 'Ariana Knight' just the fake cover she hid behind).

She exchanged smiles with Jada, anticipatory glee creeping in around the edges. "I guess we're back in business, then," she said. Or were about to be.

It was a good feeling. One long overdue.