It had started out like every other day. Nothing above average had happened. Sure, it was his birthday but he didn't get over excited about them. He did what he always did, hung out with his friends and played video games.

But now it was getting dark, and his friends had long since left for home and it was time for Derek to make his usual lap of the city before doing anything else. The blonde powered up, and instantly something felt... different. The blonde blinked slowly, feeling something... pulling him. Derek blinked, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He was just feeling off because of the day he had had.

Dionysus smiled lightly as he pulled out his senshi phone and began absently fiddling with the stupid thing. The young senshi let out a long, slow breath as he began to clear his mind. So far, the night had been quiet, so now was a good time to try and relax some. He needed to come off that adrenaline high. His birthday had been crazy.. Go figure, his mom had gone completely overboard with the whole thing… He shook his head again as he remembered the countless arguments he had had with his mother about not going over broad.

So much for that huh?

He opened his eyes to see the world shifting before it changed all together. The blonde senshi blinked down at his phone and realized he had hit a button he'd never once fooled with before.

He really needed to stop spacing when he played with things...

Dionysus blinked at the strange world before him. It almost looked like a version of Ancient Greece. Or what he assumed to be Greece. (History was his best subject, can you tell?) Slowly the tiny senshi began to traverse down the path before him. Was.. Was this his former planet or asteroid… or whatever Dionysus was. Despite having heard about it before, he had never really traveled to other planets, let alone his own. He would have to ask someone he realized. Though that was now a task in of itself… Dionysus wasn’t sure who he would talk to about this. But that was a subject for another time.

Back to the trail. Maybe he could find something of importance. Or just something in general. Anything to help him understand all this a little more. Eventually, the chibi came to an old house.. It was of decent size. It wasn’t large and spacious, but at the same time it wasn’t small and cramped either.. Some had fallen with age and time of course, but given what was left, Dionysus was impressed. Carefully he climbed over the rubble mound that had partially accumulated in front of the door. Dionysus didn’t need to get hurt now. Not only would that be incredibly awkward, but it could also be dangerous.

The senshi then began poking around the house, looking at the remains of what he could only guess was furniture, fixtures and the previous occupants belongings. Perhaps the thing that surprised him most was the sheer amount of pictures there were throughout the place. While some had been lost to time, others still stood strong, just with a good covering of dust and dirt. Though… That wasn’t the only that had taken over the frames. Dionysus blinked at what appeared to be vines and leaves covering the frame of one of the larger pictures. The picture in question, had what looked like two teenagers. One couldn’t be much older than him he figured.. Maybe a year or two. Was that him? The other… Dionysus stared at the art for a moment. The other looked like Persephone. They were talking, she was leaning on his leg, listening as he went off on some crazy tangent. And that’s when Dionysus realized this was his house. Or, rather, it use to be. He blinked, noticing a small bunch of green grapes hanging from a stem. Had those been there before? If they had, he had missed them in his little… zone out session.

Reaching up to touch them, he jumped in surprise when the stem came off in his hand.

To have loved and cared…

Again he jumped, spinning around -, and almost tripping over his own to feet in the process, to see who was there. His eyes darted around the room and he held his breath, looking, listening for any sign that he wasn't alone. After a few minutes he sighed quietly. Nothing… Nothing was there. So what was that? Who was that? Dionysus looked back down at the grapes, eyes narrowing, as if it would tell him something.

To have loved and cared… It came again.

Only this time, along with the voice, memories flashed before Dionysus’ eyes. The countless patrols he had taken with Persephone. The countless times he had to sit there and listen to her ramble on about this team she wanted and some tall, dark, and weird Negaverse guy that was playing tricks on her mind or something. He couldn't remember much of those conversations. Dionysus had chalked it up to Seph having a crush on the guy and began tuning them out. After those were done, he saw images of him and another chibi. Aludra. ...That’s right..Dionysus had wanted to make sure she was save. He told the others to do what they wanted, but Aludra was going with him. He had walked her home, after…

Dionysus shook his head. “What the...” He murmured, trying to ignore the feeling of his stomach flipping. Sighing, he stared at the grapes for a split second, wondering if he should leave them before he just took them with him.. Maybe it was pointless, but he had a feeling they were needed. He took more care to be slow as he climbed over the rubble this time. Having one hand full of grapes wasn't really the best for climbing over things…He cast a glance back at the house for a moment, he would have to remember where it was. Perhaps later he’d come back someday and look it over. But for now… Back to the path.

Soon enough, up a head, Dionysus saw what he thought was a clearing. Though as he drew closer he realized it was anything but. There were small markers sticking out of the dirt. Again some where still intact while others weren't. Some held names, while others had faded with time. There were a few that weren't even marked at all. Dionysus shifted his weight on his feet, rolling his shoulders awkwardly as he slowly walked past each marker. He reached out, letting his fingers brush against stone, stick and sometimes nothing. As much as he didn't want to be, the chibi knew he had to be here.. That there was a reason he had to be.

And he was right.

Eventually Dionysus came to a marker that was once again covered in vines and leaves. There was another small group of grapes hanging off the corner. Red in color. Dionysus didn't have to look at the marker. He had a funny feeling who it belonged too. Kneeling in front of the grave he reached out, only this time, Dionysus closed his eyes. It some how seemed appropriate here.

To have have lost…

He didn't like these memories he decided. He was back at that warehouse. It was October again. He didn't want to see this again! But he had too. He watched as Mica ran Biela through. Watched as Persephone screamed and everyone, both Order and Chaos stopped and stared at the General and young girl. He watched as Persephone coddled the bleeding child in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. He watched Biela die. Again, like so many times before. How many times had he seen her die in his nightmares. A girl he had barely known, that he had spent the entire night yelling at and arguing with. Only for her to turn around and say she wished she had a brother like him on her dying breath.

Dionysus opened his eyes and you had asked him, he would swear he could smell something burning. “...I’m still mad at you for that…” He murmured, glancing at the grave. His hand disappeared into his tunic for a moment as he fished around for the other’s pen. “No one said you got to do something like that.” Dionysus said as he gave it a squeeze before releasing it. Adding the red grapes to the ones already nestled into the crook of his arm, he stood. But not before resting his hand on the grave and patting it. “...I’ll be back.” He said quietly. He wasn't sure when but he would try. “..I promise.” With one final pat, he left back for the trail again.

This time, it took a little longer to get to his next destination. It’s not that anything was in his way, it was just that Dionysus stopped to actually look around. He never ventured far from the trail but he wanted to see what was around him. The chibi had often rushed into things without looking at the things around him. Not this time. He knew to take it slow. He eventually came to the steps of an old Library. Slowly he mounted the steps one at a time before gingerly pushing open the old door. It creaked in protest but thankfully it did not break and turn to ash against his hand.

He wandered the halls for a while before eventually coming to the center of the library. A large, open area with rows upon rows of shelving. Every now and then, Dionysus would catch a glimpse of a piece of paper or a small cluster of scrolls or books sitting on the shelves but for the most part they were bare at this point. Dionysus soon found what he was looking for though.

In the center of the room stood a pedestal. Vines had overtaken the stone figure, growing in cracks and forming new ones as it grew. Across the center of the podium was a scroll. The teen blinked looking at the foreign writing. Go figure he wouldn't recognize his own planets writing. It made so much sense. But there up at the top, overtaking what appeared to be an old fashion lamp, was a small group of white grapes.

To have learned…

His first image was of Natron and Dionysus almost yelled in rage. If he ever saw that a*****e again, he would end him. He would never going to listen to him again. He should have never listened in the first place. He saw more images of the red headed General kicking down the warehouse door while others crashed through the giant skylight in the roof. s**t would go to hell, and there was no avoiding it. His next image was of Persephone, and once again Dionysus’ stomach started to do flips. The girl whom he had come to regard as almost a sister, had gone and corrupted. She had turn from the Order to become one of the Negaverse. He wasn't still entirely sure why… But he had heard stories from other members of the Order of other members joining the Negaverse, or in some cases the Dark Mirror Court. It was an answer to their problems. It was an answer he didn't understand, but an answer none the less.

Sighing, Dionysus plucked the white grapes and added them to the bunch he had. His arms were getting a little full, but he had a feeling he wasn't quite finished yet. Dionysus exited the Library, with one last look around before returning to the path.

Today had brought a whole new meaning to the term “Down the beaten path” for Dionysus. And next time he heard some wild and crazy story, about some even wilder and crazier thing happening? He’d believe it. With every fiber of his being.

His path finally lead him to a large building. Bigger in fact, than the Library he had just visited. He surmised that this was once some sort of Palace or Great Hall. It was only once he got inside did he realize he was right. This building was decorated far differently from the Library, or even the home he had visited earlier. While the stone at the Library and home had been rough and course, here it was smooth and polished. It was interesting to see the difference in comparison, but at the same time it made Dionysus frown. Things should be taken care of equally. Just because something was worth less than something else, didn’t mean it was any less special or precious.

There were a number of halls Dionysus could have traveled down, explored. But he stuck to the center hall. He had a feeling what he needed was this way. Besides… if on the off chance he got lost, it would be easier to walk straight back instead of winding some twisted maze of hallways. There were more pictures here, grander than the ones in the house. He of course, recognized none of the people in them of course. Some pictures had little name plates under the frames, but once again he couldn’t understand anything written in it. Some pictures even had large tables under them with random knick knacks.
Dionysus eventually came across a picture of that young teen again. The same one he had seen in the picture with Persephone. This time, the vines and leaves were the frame.. or at least the had covered enough of the surface to appear as such. Under the large picture was a table of course, and on that table was a bowl. And in the bowl?

Purple grapes.

He chuckled lightly as he looked at them. However, instead of picking them, like the ones before, Dionysus added his. Green, Red, White… and finally purple.

To live on…

This time there were no memories. Dionysus was doing just that. He had done everything before. To love, to lose.. to learn. And now he was learning to from those experiences and live on. To survive and be a better senshi. Dionysus even felt like a better senshi. Felt stronger then before. He didn’t know where his path would lead him farther down the road. But he knew that no matter what. That was his path and he had to follow it.

It had started out like every other day. Nothing above average had happened. But that didn’t mean it had ended that way.

WC: 2428