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“What were they,” Tanzanite corrected, frowning deeply at the thought. The memories that answered that question were not her own, but they had played in her mind in a near-constant loop ever since she'd been brought back. Since the Greater Youma that was now her more dominant half had been given free reign.

“Long ago, when Queen Serenity ruled the Moon Kingdom and Prince Endymion fell in love with her daughter,” she began, and there was no hiding the loathing in her voice for each of the names mentioned, “Their union threatened to enslave all of Earth. Every man, woman, and child on this planet would have become subjects of the young Serenity's rule, for the Prince meant to protect them was so blinded by his love for her. He would have signed away his throne, and more importantly, the freedom of his people. Every human would become a second class citizen, overshadowed by Serenity and her senshi. Slaves to a Queen they did not choose.”

With every word, those figures quieted, as though they too were listening. This was their story, after all. Their jaws fell slack and their hands froze against the glass.

“So they chose their own Queen, and they rose up beside her. They revolted against the Moon Kingdom, for they would not be ruled. Because humanity would not be enslaved because we lacked magic, would not be seen as lesser people because we did not possess the power to assist her in her endless quest for domination."

The walkway turned down, and began a tight spiral through that continuing corridor of dimly glowing stares and shifting silhouettes. It spiraled down and down, until there was no way to know just how deep they had gone. Tanzanite's voice carried back through the file, as she told the story of how this place and their Kingdom had come to be.

“Humans, side by side, fighting against powers they could never hope to match. They didn't have magic. They didn't have power. Crude weapons against senshi powers... you can imagine the slaughter. Back then, the senshi were not afraid to show their true nature, for what did they have to lose? Who could stand against them?"

Silence fell over her for a moment, as those memories flashed through her mind. Memories from the Black Phoenix, from the day it had been truly born, and the day it had died for the very first time. The memories were scattered, perhaps some of them were even false, but she could remember with clarity the day of that bloody revolution.

A failed revolution.

“Somehow, against all odds, they made it to the palace. To the very throne of their traitorous Prince. Their losses were great, but they were on the brink of victory. They stormed the palace, only to find Queen Serenity herself. Every sacrifice they'd made. Every life they had lost... all for nothing. The Moon Queen couldn't bear to lose her grip on Earth... to let people she saw as so weak, so inferior be free. She would rather die herself then let Earth rise from under the thumb of the Moon Kingdom.

Ahead, there was a light. It was a soft blue glow that reflected from the walls, and in the spaces between her words, there was the soft sound of rushing water. With it, the sound of snarling, scratching. The distinct feeling of a powerful energy presence, and for those who could sense them... youma.

Thousands of youma.

“She released her wicked power before the people could reclaim their city, their planet, for themselves. She destroyed the city, and their human bodies were so averse to her magic that they became twisted and broken. Their starseeds could not bear the taint of the Moon Queen's spell, and so they shattered. They became corrupted by Serenity's magic, and the first youma were created. Nobody in the city survived, save those Serenity chose to send forward, to preserve her tyrannical war and ensure that not even in the future could humanity be free. Children, women. It didn't matter.”

Tanzanite's voice grew bitter, “She didn't care... they were only human, after all.”

The walkway began to widen, opening up as the light grew brighter and brighter.

“But as you said, history is written by the victors, and those who survived on Earth could not see past the monstrous appearance of their fallen brethren. They were known as the Corrupted, and in time became little more than myth and legend. Their struggle was forgotten, as was the Moon Kingdom, and the world returned to normal."

The closer they got to the light, the more that strange power seemed to press in around them.

"Metallia found and saved them, in time. She could not undo Queen Serenity's spell; the magic was too ancient had had taken root too deeply. But she could give them a new life. A new purpose. She filled them with the energy of the Earth, the power of the Sun itself, and gave them a second chance. As she has given each of us.

A chance to fight.

We keep that name and bond with youma to honor them. To honor their memory. Your youma are not the monstrous things the senshi would have you believe. They are the very same ones who fought against Queen Serenity herself, and they paid the price for our freedom."

Suddenly, the cavern opened wide, and what lay before them was beyond words. It was a city, but somehow far more than that. It stretched out in every direction as far as they could see, and stabbed towards the shifting sky with broken towers and chunks of crystal that appeared to have pierced the stars until they bled a brilliant orange.

Earth's broken capital rose up before them; the very place where it all began.



“After thousands of years” Tanzanite's smiled, her pale features washed out by the brilliant glow. Her eyes were wide, lips slightly parted in an expression of reverent wonder, “We are home.”

There was a ton of things he wanted to ask, more than he could -count- really. The most pressing of which was just a simple why. Why...anything really. Sometimes this whole war made no sense (aside from the fact that they had to win), and the more he heard about the days of old the more he continued to wonder why. It was just too hard for Schee to grasp the concept of -so many- dying, fighting for a cause and then ultimately losing.

Though he did know they simply couldn't let history repeat itself.

More questions bubbled in his mind, but by the time he managed to open his mouth the only thing that came out of it was....silence. For Scheelite? That was a miracle all in itself.

For the longest moment the General simply stood there, mouth open and eyes darting around to take in all the sights. But, eventually, the clearly obvious answer tumbled out of his mouth.

"...Our home is so...glowy."

And for -once- he honestly felt like he fit right in.

There was a lurch in his gut, a twist because what else had he thought of the pawing and sweeping hands but... Yoma. His mouth tightened into a fine line behind the fabric of his mask which, for a moment felt smothering, claustrophobic. He fought the urge to pull it down, he wouldn't expose himself... not here, not now when he should be strong... calm.

The feeling though, the sight, it was awe... he felt rage for them, anger for what had gone before but that this precious place had been held in secret for so long...so very long.

"Magnificent...." his voice barely a whisper. "The... Sun...the power of the sun?" He blinked at the words, they felt curious, more so knowing that they fought the moon queen. The sun which the world reveled in by day, and feared the night. Missing pieces though, it felt like missing pieces and he could almost touch them but not quite. Could there have been a greater frustration?

"Why were we never brought here before?" He asked suddenly with a frown. He wanted to ask...why had Beryl not brought them, did Charonite know of it?... what more secrets waited to be uncovered, what further legacy was theirs to reclaim.

They sought answers .. and there, answers were given. Serandite's steps slowed behind Tobernite, pushing them at a much slower pace .. Watching the walls and spiraling path .. Listening to Tanzanite's story telling. The General Queen could deny it all she wanted but Serandite thought she was fully capable of bedtime stories for the entire negaverse. The entire history revealed to them-- Serandite beamed. That meant .. each youma had it's own indistinct personality .. Each youma was it's own life form.

So Belphegor wasn't mindless as one implied after all!

"Home.. Cozy." Serandite remarked, linking her fingers together cheerfully. Surely, as a General, she couldnt have missed the amounts of immensive and unthinkable numbers of youma within the city. But judging from her smile, you could .. probably accurately guess that Serandite intended to think of all of them as something friendly. Until proven otherwise. She might have thought they were fellow bunnies, judging from her gleeful expression.

Everything started .. with this place. Now, finally, they had come back. Never had Serandite dreamed this could happen .. This place, this history, this end .. and this new beginning.

"Tobernite, there's shinies here. Isn't that just your style?" She tried to suggest to the frozen captain, indicating to the purple glows in the area.

Torbernite had just stopped staring at his feet long enough to hear the word home. Those around them were cheering, excited, wondered, in awe - he just could not understand - what were they so excited about? The monolithic expanse in front of them, full of shadows, unwelcoming at best screamed anything but-

-home.

It was not the substance itself but the simply the concept. This was what Charonite had neglected, what even Beryl prior had possibly forgotten about. Tanzanite had not brought them here to kill them, betray them, or thousands of other teenage-fueled horrors. She had boldly walked them through the abyss and claimed it to be one word: their home, as if it welcomed them and was a piece of them.

And for someone who had wandered as a part-time stray, this was possibly the strangest feeling he had encountered his entire time. Those he had feared and avoided was giving him the one thing he wanted the most: to belong.

Survival was after all, some thing that strays did as they searched meaninglessly for the lost pieces to their puzzle.

"Shinies." Torbernite mindlessly repeated Serandite's words as he stared at the more luminescent sections of their home. It was still far from cozy but... "Yes, I guess there are." A pause, as he felt slowly some of his wit catch up to him. "And I guess there will need to be someone here to take good care of them."

...These things were once them? Looking around, wide eyed, before they left the hall she examined the shadows. Green eyes flicked around at them as she felt...pity? They had done this.... people like she. The senshi?

This was all... their fault? Her own legacy, or at least thos close to her. She could not help but feel pity. It was her doing too, maybe before she was reborn...she helped them?

"Im sorry..." She muttered, softly, only those around her would probably hear her. She felt sorry for what she had done to these poor people....

But one thing was sure, she intended to help set it right. Lyra stared for a moment or two, looking deeper at the castle they had just found. She heard Scheelite mention glowy.. it was still a bit dark, but the youma walking around is what caught her attention more. All different types, sizes shapes.. power levels. It was truly outstanding.

But she would never be able to look at a youma the same way again.

In her enthusiasm to look around the place, Painite's eyes fell on the senshi looking around the place as well. They didn't look half as enthusiastic, though, for the most part.

Instinctively she looked for Alunite. She spotted him looking down at the floor. Of course he wasn't as happy in this new home as they were: it wasn't his home. He was a senshi, on their side now or not, and this place didn't hold the same meaning to him.

Quite the opposite, she imagined.

Frowning, she moved over to him, taking his hand and hoping to draw his eyes up from the ground.

"Hey," she said softly, just for him to hear her, a clear look of worry on her face. "You okay?" She gripped his hand at the question, as if to silently reassure him that he was, in fact, okay.