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Mirrorspace could be a cold place. It was one of the few things Princess Ares had a hard time willing out of existence. Within the endless walls of her paradise, she could close her eyes and summon a table into being, two chairs, a smoking candle, a churning bouquet of flowers. But they would hold no color, no life. Just a creation of this place that could be moved by the minds connected to it.

That, and the cold.

Most days, it was a comfort to her. This was the place where she belonged. When Ares lingered in mirrorspace, there was no way for her to know whether she was in the White Kingdom or back home in the Black Kingdom with her lost family. Home. It was a word that still lacked meaning for the Princess of the Parallels, even as she clawed with bloody fingers to rebuild her lost and dying empire.

Supreme power did not make her infallible, or beyond emotion. No matter how strong she became, Ares would always have moments when her heart ached. It was simply crucial that she show this to no one.

Was it day? Was it night? Impossible to tell in this place. Ares stood in her full regalia, billowing fabric pooling at her feet, wings constantly ticking in the same churning motion that much of mirrorspace did. On every inch of wall space in her throne room hung mirrors. Some were empty, but most -- if not all -- were filled with civilians and even a few senshi at various stages of the energy draining process. Her staff remained in its holster at the base of her throne. Dark licks of black energy surged from the mirrors toward the floating crystal in the staff's chamber, imbuing it with so much power that it lit the room.

The power to transform. Ares was dependent on the donations of these unwilling guests to bring her court back to life. It was hard to do it without the strength of her lost parallels, but it got a little easier, day by day, as the new recruits joined.

It was with that thought in mind that the ruler of the new parallel kingdom crossed to the large black mirror on the back on her throne and called out a single name to join her:

"Leto."

Then Ares crossed back to her staff, placed one hand on the base of the glowing chamber and waited.

Princess Ares relaxed (a relative term for the rigid leader) when Super Sailor Leto entered her chamber. The past few weeks had been bizarre to say the least, but the parallel court had dealt with the odd quirks and bumps of Destiny City before. They simple had to overcome, no matter what.

A smile tugged at the corner of Ares' mouth before dissolving into the hard line of official business. "How are our new sailors? Adjusting? The ones who had to lose their identities -- have the acclimated themselves to it?" Ares didn't like surprises. She counted on Leto to make sure no one was confessing themselves to an old boyfriend or parent or what have you. Leto had to leave who she once was behind.

Sacrifices were just part of the job.

In the stillness of mirrorspace, the voices of the two girls carried through the chambers. The only music here was in your own head, or perhaps brought into the place on an iPod. Fallon had never used one, and Ares certainly didn't now. She thought that there was something to be learned from silence, something that she herself was still trying to figure out.

Leto's excitement was infectious, and Ares allowed a wide smile to break across her lips. Navi. The names were familiar to her, and she quickly paired it to a face in her head. Ares knew all of them. She just never dedicated 1-on-1 time. Maintaining an alliance with the Negaverse took up a large part of her time, the other saved for working with the mirrors in the chamber where they now stood. She was the only one who could manipulate the mirrors in this way. This was her post, one she stood by like Pluto might have at the Gates of Time. Pluto. One of the lost ones poisoned by the false leader of the senshi.

The mental checklist in Ares' head ratcheted off a few more marks as she moved to the other side of her staff. It slid out of its holster with a metallic snap, and she eased it into the palm of her left hand. "Training phase is over for them. I expect the same quota that you and Requiem brought in last month -- no exceptions for newness." The Dark Mirror was not a coddling court. They had a higher purpose, and even though it was tempting to let some weakness slide, Ares was determined to rise to power just as quickly as was senshi-ly possible.

"You should be proud, Leto," Ares said. "I'm proud of you for what you have accomplished with them, especially without me lending a hand as much as I would have liked to."

Her staff slid to the other hand. "There is another reason I called you here tonight," she said quietly.

Between the two women, there were only about two long paces. Ares held the distance. It seemed a respectable space, even though there was a part of her that, in her own way, wanted to give Leto some sign of appreciation. Hugging was beyond Ares, unfortunately, and her awkward shoulder pats were not something to write home about. Ares wanted to show Leto her gratitude, and so she would do it in her own way, just as she had forged this new path for the parallel kingdom in her own way.

"I have been distant with the new recruits, and that is not a predicament that I see changing any time soon," Ares began. One clawed hand gestured to the myriad of bodies hanging in various stages of cognitive function in the mirrors all over the walls. "This takes time. To make mirror wraiths, I have to have energy. To save our senshi comrades, I have to have energy. The work that you do helps me, but the most energy I get is from here--" Again, she gestured to the mirrors. "And my crystal cannot absorb the added boost unless it is in this room, in this holster. I am bound by obligation to this post."

Leto no doubt understood bits and pieces of how Ares was able to turn a White Moon senshi into a parallel, how she summoned energy, how she wielded her sphere, but no one knew the exact details of it. No one properly understood how deeply dependent Ares was on the flow of energy into her crystal. Without it, she was a typical princess with no greater ability to create parallel existence.

This was something she needed Leto to understand. She needed to bring Leto into the secret of the parallel court: that their ruler was bound to her staff and this room. There would be no parading through the streets on a daily basis for her, no showing up at the drop of a hat. Leaving this place meant creating a dip in the energy flow of their court. It meant the chance of not having enough energy to convert new members, not having enough energy to build the mirrorwraiths, not enough to win this war. Ares was a prisoner to her power.

She needed an ally.

"I cannot come and go as I would like to. I can't be in the field training the recruits everyday. Every moment I am away from this place is a moment that we are not stockpiling energy to reach our goal. My presence will be... well, upon request or in dire circumstances." It hurt to say the words. "My primary goal is to facilitate the restoration of our Court, and to keep our tie with the Negaverse strong. Leto..." Her voice trailed off. "I may be the figurehead of this Court, but I cannot be the leader that I want to be, not when I am the only one capable of holding this post."

It was a position of complacency, and that, perhaps more than anything, was what hurt Ares. She was a soldier, a warrior. She believed in charging into battle alongside those who followed her. She believed in bleeding twice as much for every wound they suffered. But her ability to possess the energy made her different, separate. As a strategist, she had to sacrifice what she wanted for what she had to do.

Stay in this place. With her mirrors.

The staff clicked on the ground as Ares rested its point on the smooth, moving floor. "You have gone above and beyond -- well exceeded my hopes and, despite my faith in you, my highest expectations. The way you are with the new recruits, the way you held our ground in the Surrounding before I could arrive... that is not the work of an average senshi. That is the promise of a great leader in the making." Though Ares truly cared for the other parallels, she was not often vocal about it. This was a special moment.

"Leto, because of how you have proven yourself and because of how our court needs you right now, I am asking you to be the Vice Captain of the Parallel Court. You will be tasked with managing all of our new members, ensuring they are meeting energy quotas and training for battle, and seeing to their mental health. I will not see a soul lost, not when we have only just begun. In addition, I need you to actively scout for White Moon senshi who we should target for early recruitment. If there are any who we have already shown the truth to, then tell me, and they will join us tomorrow if need be." Ares lowered her gray eyes to the Senshi of Camouflage. "We need you, Leto. But I am asking."

Her staff moved slightly, and an inky black mirror hovered to the right of the two women. "If you will have the role..." Her clawed hand raised to gesture at the floating surface. It looked exactly like the mirror that Leto had been thrown through when she first joined the parallel.

There had been no doubt for Ares that Leto would step through the mirror, her powers having been identified by a corrupt cat as brimming into eternal previously. It still pleased the princess to no end to see such a fine soldier with such a radiant energy signature. "I will make an official announcement through the communicators. Leto, you'll need to come see me here daily. When I cannot deliver a message, you will have to do it in my place." Slowly, Princess Ares lifted a hand out to the other parallel.

"Tonight, the future of our universe is bright, Eternal Sailor Leto."