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It had been almost a week since that fateful encounter, and Gwendolyn Caspian had decided that she had spent enough time pitying herself and moping. With some encouragement from her sister and perhaps becoming a year older had given Gwen the boost of confidence she needed to venture out of her apartment as Sailor Tsui once more. And like before, it was easy to sneak out of her complex without being seen, and her transformation in the tool shack seemed natural, almost as if nothing had changed. This wasn't the first time she had donned her Sailor fuku since the encounter, but it was the first time that it felt right.

It was as if nothing had changed, and Sailor Tsui didn't appreciate the feeling of normality that came with it. Something had changed. Her entire perspective and understanding as a Senshi had changed in one fateful night... this should not have been coming off as 'normal' after such an event, and Tsui couldn't understand why. Maybe she had gone through all the necessary steps of mourning and she simply hadn't thought about it?

Now wasn't the time to dwell on such things, Tsui told herself, moving around the area that she called her own and finding her way on top of a familiar building. This was where she and Eternal Sailor Kallichore had trained and talked that night... and the mere thought of that moment made her realize that she had been hiding long enough from her. She fought along side during the ambush and had been separated, and she blew her chance to talk to her at the Moon City, all because her pride wouldn't allow her to do so. 'Screw my pride... I want to talk to Kallichore. I need to talk to Kallichore.'

She summoned her phone from whatever dimension it hid when she transformed, and her text message was simple, quick, and to the point.

"Tsui here. Want to talk. Meet me on the building we trained at."

So now, Tsui took a seat and waited eagerly for a response, either through her phone or her arrival. She hid from Kallichore long enough...

Sailor Tsui was getting rather anxious waiting for Kallichore to either respond or appear, and the times that Tsui was worried to the point that her stomach hurt could be counted on a single hand. This was one of those moments. Immediately she understood how her sister must have felt every time she didn't answer a text or wasn't in her room when she came to check on her. Of course, the time that karma was coming back to bite her was when she wasn't emotionally stable for it, but she help back her fear and the tears that threatened to come up as she stared down at her phone.

'Should I call her again?' Tsui glared at her own reflection on the screen, trying to hide the concern that was showing in her eyes and finally flipping the phone shut, just as she heard the sound of footsteps landing close by. She kept to her feet in an instant and looked at Kallichore, and any form of self control was gone the moment Kallichore spoke to her. On the moon, she went out of her way to avoid seeing her, but now? There was nothing that she could do to stop herself from approaching the Eternal Senshi of Madness and hugging onto her. She knew it was immature of her and she hated herself for showing such weakness, but after what had happened in the battle, and even before that, Tsui simply needed the gesture.

"I'm sorry." Tsui said, preparing herself for if Kallichore pulled her away, and she barely kept the tears back so that she could talk. "I saw you on the moon, but... I didn't approach you. When I should have. I'm sorry."

Tsui was eternally grateful to not be turned away, as it had already taken much for her to overcome her own pride to call her. She tried to control her tears, and Kallichore was doing a great job in helping her overcome them. Kallichore was so much like Maddy that Tsui wondered for a second if, maybe, she WAS her older sister in disguise, but the thought was gone from her mind in an instant. She couldn't be. And if so, it wasn't important.

She was able to breathe better once Kallichore pulled her away, and she wiped the tears away as best as she could. She shouldn't be crying like this; she was a Senshi, a warrior... warriors didn't cry. Not openly like she was, anyway.

"Still... I didn't have the courage to approach you, or anyone on the moon... because I didn't want to openly admit that I was wrong," Tsui said, fighting down the urge to sob and instead giving herself hiccups. "And... because I hit Valhalla because he got in the way. During the fight, I just... got so angry that I wanted to hurt Remarque, or really ANYONE on the Chaos side. Maybe even kill them..."

Yes, definitely kill, as ashamed as she was to admit that the notion had crossed her mind and lingered for a good while. She never had that feeling before. Never.

"I wanted to hurt them, really hurt them... when before that I was willing to work for peace with the other Jovians," Tsui admitted, and her words were laced with anger, but all of it was towards herself, not towards them. "I still want to hurt them for what they've done. They've killed so many... do you really think there CAN be peace now?"

"What were you wrong about, Tsui?"

"What was I wrong about?" Tsui parroted, trying not to allow her frustration to bubble up in fear of Kallichore thinking that she was lashing out at her. More like the situation in general, as well as herself. "I was wrong about a lot of things, like thinking I could believe Benitoite or others that they were just trying to have a peaceful coexistence with us. Wrong about us just finding our own planets and staying there. And I was wrong to think that I wouldn't want to just attack them once they appeared."

But she thought about it, and a bit of her old vigor returned. "But I don't regret it. Even if we would have sat there and not raised our fists to attack, they would have done exactly what they're done. There were some who tried to flee or just hide, but... they were either killed or corrupted. So... I don't regret fighting back now."

When Kallichore had mentioned Valhalla, Tsui's guilt-ridden conscious sapped away that vigor once more, but it was replaced with some feeling of hope. "Well, it wasn't just the punch I'm sorry for. I'm sorry for being a hypocrit, standing with him during the meeting on his stance but then once the attack started, I didn't even think TWICE before I lashed out. I'll apologize to him soon, if I know how to find him. I... might take you up on that offer."

All she had to do was gather the courage to apologize, but for Tsui, courage was never in short abundance for her. It was admitting that she was in the wrong and being humbled by it that was the problem... but she would cross that bridge when she got there. For now, she felt safe with Kallichore. And she was grateful to hear her thoughts about the subject of possible peace, and that last part brought a crocked smile onto Tsui's face, highlighting her striped cheeks all the more. "Oh, trust me... after what happened at the meeting, I think a lot of us are going to be more suspicious and on our toes. Me? I'm going to widen my patrol turf, and I'll give whatever Nega or DMC just enough time to leave the premises before I show them to the door with my boot in their face."

Tsui clenched her fists, her anger not animalistic or wild, but cold, harden, and surprisingly controlled considering the rage she fell into during the fight. "I already didn't trust the DMC, but I was willing to talk with the Negaverse lieutenants and the senshi they corrupted... but after seeing what Benitoite did..." Now she did growl, but she suppressed it. "No, I don't trust a single one now. They may think they're right and that they were doing us a favor at the meeting, but that doesn't excuse outright murder. Or forcing corruption upon others."

She refused to use the world 'saved'. From what she had seen, that was no salvation. That was brainwashing at its best.

Tsui shook her head and her smile was genuine. No, she didn't feel like Kallichore was mothering her at all, and Tsui wasn't afraid to point this out. "It's okay. You're nothing like my sister... if she knew HALF the things I snuck out the house for, she'd likely chain me to my bed, maybe with a bible in one hand and throwing holy water at me with the other."

The thought made her laugh, but it run a bit hollow, even for her. She didn't dwell on it, though, as she was certain she'd be back to her old self in no time. With the knowledge that one of her friends was not only safe but not angry at her, Tsui felt that she had managed to get far in the road to recovery from this event. Besides, her problems seemed like nothing compared to Kallichore's, and she couldn't imagine how that must have felt.

"You know, it's not your fault for every person she corrupts, you know that, right? It's not your sole duty to stop her, and if it is, then it shouldn't be," Tsui said, standing back to her full height once more, as though a bit of her considerable pride had returned. "Because you have the Jovians to help you. You have Princess Polaris, and that second princess, and all of the ones that survived that fight that have seen Chaos' true colors. It should be all of our responsibility to stop Ares from corrupting more, as well as the Negaverse! So, don't blame yourself..."

Now she sounded like a nagging adult, but Tsui didn't apologize for it. She was concerned for her friend and she couldn't bear the thought of her being in such pain. "Easier said than done, I think, but it's not your sole duty anymore. I'll help you stop Ares somehow. Trust me, now that I've seen her and her Negaverse allies for the monsters they really are, there's not a snowball's chance in hell that I'll ever allow myself to fall so low to be corrupted."

In truth, Tsui wanted to be proud of herself. In a fight for her life, she had done considerably well; she faced off against members of the Negaverse and the DMC, many several ranks higher than her, had managed to kill a youma and even German suplexed another, a feat that she still had no idea how she managed to do. All the while, defending as many Senshi as she could. "Yeah, of course I kicked a**. You helped me trained, and not to mention I'm Chibi Lenka's padawan... there was no way I couldn't kick a**!"

Though, as much as she wanted her pride to swell, she couldn't help but think of the page she couldn't save, of the ones that were corrupted or killed. It was enough to cause whatever pride she had gathered to dissipate, but her words were sullen, but not of one defeated. Merely determined. "But... I didn't kick enough a**. Not nearly enough, but... that's okay. Because I'm not going to allow it to happen again. The Negaverse and their turncoat allies won't catch this tiger by the tail again."

And just like that, she couldn't hold back a laugh, and she was certain that it came out strained. "Get it? I'm a tiger? Oh, whatever... I'm glad you're proud of me, and I want to keep doing good, not just for you, but my allies and the Jovians as well. I saw Draconis there at the meeting, so maybe I should get back in contact with her and see if we can round up the Zoo. Having another group on patrols would definitely be useful and I'm sure that the rest of them would love to help the Jovians and other White Court members out."

It was definitely on her to do list, as well as check on Sutai. She tried not to think too much about it, but it was impossible. They were killing pages left and right, and someone like Sutai would have been a target. But, Tsui was certain that Sutai had survived the ordeal; she was far too strong willed and energetic to allow herself to be killed or corrupted. Tsui was certain of it.

And another regret had made it's way into her mind, as she glanced up at the moon. "You know, I'm kind of glad you didn't see me on the Moon, Kalli. All I did up there was cry, like a child... in fact, I don't think I ever cried so much in all my life. I cried so much that I never really looked around, or ventured into the castle, or anything. And now I doubt I'll get to go up there again..."

She scoffed aloud. "To think, all this time I wanted to go into space, and the one time I do, I don't take the opportunity to explore. But I'll find my way up there again, even if I need ladders. Lots, and lots of ladders."

Now Tsui's smile had stuck, and she felt that it was finally time to just let go of the past. Or, rather, simply accept it as a harsh lesson to learn and carry on for the sake of the fallen and corrupted. The wise quote of what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger has never been so true, and that, along with Kallichore's words, were enough for Tsui to stand once more.

It also helped that Kallichore had mentioned space travel and her own moon; it was easy to overcome her own problems when such an interesting topic was brought up. She had to admit that the thought of visiting Tsui interested her, but at the same time, it frightened her. And Tsui wasn't afraid to admit this to Kallichore when she mentioned going to her home. "Well, I've done some research and it's a constellation... within a bigger constellation. Meaning it's a star... not sure about you, but I don't know if we're badass enough dudettes to walk on either of the three stars that make up with it. But... eventually. Let me do more research and then we can go dancing all over Tsui."

As hesitant as she was to go to her own home, she was more than willing to go to Kallichore's home, and she did nothing to hide this enthusiasm from her friend. "But I'd love to see your home, if you don't mind me tagging along. I figured with recent events and all the other Senshi and knights on high alert that the two of us can afford a little vacation, right?"