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It had taken some time for Prince Avior to get his children to sleep.. They all worried about him, about how he seemed to haver actually sleep himself, about how people seemed to come and go from his room at night like shadows dancing on the walls. They knew that the leader of their orphanage was tensed up,and worried, but what could they do but behave. When he had asked the oldest to watch the younger ones for the evening, she silently nodded and retreated out of his room, closing the door behind her.

It wasn't unknown to the Negaverse that Nischal was who he was. He told them, he let them know that he was someone that could be trusted, that they had the right to come and inspect this place, that there would be no resistance as long as he and his children could be at peace otherwise. And they agreed. On the outskirts of town, on the shores of a lake, this land was his own. Perhaps only one small shred of beauty left in this world, one where everyone was welcomed, where children still laughed and grew up as normally as he could. He never knew what he was going to do with the money he had stolen as a child, but he was glad he did, for this dream of a peaceful place was able to be realized as soon as the time called for it.

At this moment, he wasn't stressed at all. Yes, some of the kids were being brats, and somewhere deep in the back of his mind he knew that this peace and happiness wouldn't last very long at all especially when his people were calling a meeting, but still, he refused to let it overwhelm him. These children needed someone who atleast had a mind to think about them only. Either way, his people DID call, and he answered. Truth be told, he missed some of their faces.

As he was running a bit late, he more stumbled through the mirror than walked, having still not gained any grace from when he first became a Dark Mirror. When he came in, everything seemed so.. Heavy. He knew the status of the Mirrorverse, he knew how it crumbled and broke and cracked, but to see these people as broken and cracked as well when his own heart was light, it just seemed wrong, like he didn't belong here.

"Hello everyone.. I'm sorry I'm late, the kids, they wouldn't sleep... I must have stumbled in on something sensitive, I'm sorry.. " He didn't take a moment to be cheerful, or to greet some of those he had seen in the past, instead, he hurried to a seat, sitting down to listen to them speak.

Remarque had to fight the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose; he was not angry, but he was stressed. And there was just so much still that needed to be done. He was grateful to see a few more friendly faces, though he had slipped into business mode, and that meant that greeting and chatter was going to have to wait until after the meeting—and he already had a steadily growing list of people and topics he needed to broach after all this official business was tended to.

He drew in a breath and tried to relax; even though he considered himself among friends, it always felt like someone was watching. Spying. But the Negaverse couldn't have bugged Mirrorspace...and no one here would betray the rest of the Court.

Or so he hoped. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure where everyone's alliances lie.

But now seemed like a good time to find out.

"I think we're all just a little stressed out. Things are going on that feel a little out of our control. I know we've all got people we're worried about. We've all got people we've lost. And I think we're at the end of our ropes. The Negaverse is buckling down and it's putting pressure on all of us. So, I think it's gotten to the point where we need to figure out what we're going to do."

He looked around, taking a second to look at each face.

There used to be so many more.

Every time he met up with someone, he wondered if it was the last time he'd see them. It was a grim reality they lived in, and it was one Remarque would have given anything to change.

"You've all got friends. So I want to know which side they're on. Who is trustworthy, who is looking out for us? Who can we rely on? Who should we watch out for?" He paused, and then added the most serious question: "If it comes down to it, who are you fighting with?"

[[Content warning for eye horror]]

Tantalus exhaled. Of course Damocles would end up leaving at least some of the onus on him. He wasn't sure how much he could reveal about Order, and its people, but...he could certainly say a little.

"I've been associating primarily with Order leaders. I don't know if they'd appreciate me saying how much," there was a lightness in his voice perhaps out of place, psrticularly since he was holding Damocles's arm, steeling himself for what he wanted to do. "But I do know that I stand against the Negaverse. If it comes to a final battle, I will stand with Order."

He took a breath, and then let go of his grip on Damocles's arm, reaching up to undo his blindfold. The cloth fluttered to the ground, landing at his feet, and revealing the true extent of the damage underneath.

While it as no longer as terrible as it had once been, there was still a certain horror in scarred skin covering where his eyes ought to be.

"This is what the Negaverse does. This is what they condone, what they allow their Generals to do for naught more than a petty personal vendetta. I cannot stand with them. I should hope none of the rest of you would want to, either."

If there was no choice... Chariklo practically shuddered as she fought to swallow her anger. There wasn't any choice, she wanted to scream. But she managed to stay silent, her suddenly pale lips the only sign of her inner agitation.

Closing her eyes and then re-opening them to watch Tantalus, to once again study his scarred face minutely, a strangled sob inadvertently escaped her throat as she sought Damocles' eyes. They all owed the Negaverse some serious payback for the atrocities they'd commited.

And when she got herself under enough control to speak, the icy rage and grief in her voice could have sunk a fleet of Titanics.

"You have to ask, Remarque? I side with my family and with the Resistance. I will do everything in my power to save and protect as many lives as possible. Dark Mirror, Order, civilian, it doesn't matter. I'll go down fighting as long as I get to take some of theirs with me."

Pausing, she considered her next words. No matter what, she was damned either way.

"The Negaverse doesn't care about us. They dropped any pretense of an alliance long ago. They further proved how very little we matter by turning Orcus into a ******** dissection experiment. They murdered Namaka and Iapetus. They let their officers go around murdering kids! You can't tell me that's right. They won't stop until there's nothing left but youma feasting on all our carcasses. And since I'd really rather not see that come to pass, I'll fight them. Whether or not the Court agrees with me, I will fight them. I've seen first hand what they're willing to do to people. I've seen the scars, the mourning families, the graves. I don't want to see it go on any longer. I'm fighting."

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Smiling sweetly, Cruithne moved to allow Damocles stand beside Tantalus. Crinkling her nose impudently at him, she nodded to acknowledge she'd heard him. Though not necessarily that she'd obey. She knew how he worried. And she was careful, only using her pet names where it was absolutely safe. But he knew that, so it would be silly to bring it up again.

Instead, she focused on the talk around her, letting it wash through as she mentally applauded Tantalus and Chariklo. May as well make it three, she thought. Three was a powerful number.

"It really shouldn't come as any surprise that I'm with Tantalus and Chariklo," she said clearly, with no hint of the stutter that had once plagued her so mercilessly. "I'm hardly a fighter, but I can heal. I know first aid and some field surgery. And I suspect that in the event of seeing a patient threatened, I'll more than likely end up fighting like a crazed cat to keep them safe. I've already volunteered my services to the field hospital run by the Resistance."

Having said her say, Cruithne stood back politely, her face a perfect mask of serenity.

"Who's looking out for us?"

Leto laughed. A loud, genuine, awful laugh. Because there was not a single person in the world that was looking out for the Dark Mirror Court besides the Dark Mirror Court.

"Is that really a serious question? There is no one looking out for us. You may think you're friends with the White Moon Senshi but at the end of the day they would leave us all behind if it came down to it. Because we are not one of them. Negaverse or White Moon, it doesn't matter. As long as we remain Dark Mirror Senshi... As long as we aren't one of them, on either side..."

Red eyes settled on the scarred face of one of the two Senshi she first awakened. She brought them into this war, and she very very deeply considered all of their pain and suffering her fault.

She shook her head and sighed. "At this point, it's about doing whatever you have to do to survive. For me, that's remaining in MirrorSpace without any alliance. And I'm sure it's no secret that I have a very close relationship with Sailor Persephone as I've never tried to hide my ties to the Negaverse. I don't doubt for a second that those ties force some of you to lack any sort of trust in me. I won't stand by their side in a fight to the death, but I don't consider them my enemy as a whole."

Leto glanced down at her prosthetic before looking back up at the group. "There is a lot of White Moon blood on my hands and there are plenty others on their side that I am on a hunt for. I won't rest until Wolframite's head is on a spike, regardless of him abandoning the Negaverse. I haven't made things easy for you guys and I know that. I'm sure that everything I do is causing more harm than good. But I can't side with them. I can't fight with the Senshi that I used to, I just can't. And I can't turn my back on Persephone, I owe her my life. I would die for every last one of you, but I won't choose a side."

When Remarque locked eyes with Leto, all she could do was nod. She couldn't disagree with him. If they didn't choose a side and got left in the middle, they would die. That's not to say they wouldn't if they chose, but there was a much higher chance of survival that way. But siding with those people... It was different for most of them. Most of the Senshi that surrounded her in MirrorSpace started off as Dark Mirror Senshi. Or if they had been White Moon and decided to join the ranks of the DMC, they had done so for very different reasons than she had.

To Leto, the White Moon Senshi were inherently evil. They were no better than the Negaverse, she had seen that first hand. In fact, she lived that reality herself. And what would Ares think of that? Leto's nose wrinkled in disgust. At the end of the day, she couldn't go against her Queen. Until Ares came back and told her to fight along side Order, she wouldn't do it. She couldn't. She had declared herself so fiercely against the White Moon Court that there was no turning back for her.

"I..." Leto sighed and sucked up her pride, "I support you." Never in her life did she think that she would say such a thing to Remarque. "I won't argue if you side with Order. But I hope that it is understood that if a single hair on Persephone's head is put in harm's way..."

Wincing as her leg began to ache, Leto summoned a chair and practically crumpled into it. She was exhausted and she desperately wanted all of this to be over. "If you need to declare me as an enemy of the Dark Mirror Court to the White Moon to have them as allies, then do it. I don't think that they would trust the Court as a whole with me in the picture, and your survival is at stake here. Say whatever you have to say and do whatever you have to do to make it work, okay?"

Her right hand ran through her long hair, her fingertips aggressively pulling through the tangles. Red eyes closed for a brief moment. "I put myself in the position that I'm in and I've dragged the Court through the mud for long enough. I can't fight beside Order when Persephone is my only family, particularly outside of uniform. I know that I'm the crazy Princess living in a mirror to most people both in and out of this Court. I get that. I couldn't possibly give a ******** less about anything anymore and I'm sure that's become abundantly clear- but her? I've disappointed her enough over the last 5 years. I won't let her die in this war, regardless of what side she is on. Me fighting with you along side the White Moon... That makes the Court weak. Because if I am put against her in any way, shape, or form..." She shook her head. "I can't. I can't be weak and I can't be the weak link in your fight for survival."

She opened her eyes to regard the people that she was once closest to. The people that she once confided in. The people that were once able to get through to her. "I'll do what I can to help you, but I won't fight with the White Moon in the end. Nothing will change the fact that they are my enemy."