This was her home now.

It was a rather strange concept to think about, Super Sailor Canopus had to admit, and a completely foreign concept to her mind up until just recently as well, but it was a thought that not only solidified itself in her head, but ran rampant and took complete and utter control of her life. It was a small voice at first, but it had grown in volume and vigor until now it was basically playing trumpets in her ear.

No, perhaps not trumpets, but something louder, something more obnoxious and blaring, demanding her attention and blasting away any other thoughts that tried to emerge from her subconscious in a frail attempt to chase away the disturbing thought that clearly wanted to dominate her mind. Any attempts failed, of course, but still, she was willing to try for a moment. She was willing to pretend that it wasn’t there or that it wasn’t as terrifying of a problem as she thought it was, but then again, she would only be lying to herself and she knew it. No, the thought was there in her head, and it was there to stay, whether she liked it or not.

The thought was a terrifying one, though simple. Destiny City and Earth were her home. It was where she was born, it was where she was raised. It was where she wanted to live, it was where she felt the most comfortable and for the longest time and until recently, completely safe. Before she had accepted Prince Remarque’s offer, the most terrifying thought in her mind was the thought that something would happen and she’d have to leave this city. Now? It was still a terrifying thought, but it had managed to find a way to alter itself, enhance its potency, burrow deep within her psyche and completely distorting her view of what it was about the thought of leaving Destiny City that terrified her. She had thought that opportunities would whisk her away from her home and never did she think it would be the city itself that would have done the trick. No, not truly the city, but its inhabitants.

There was nothing wrong with Destiny City, she told herself. There was nothing wrong with its citizens, so long as they remained diligent and refused to believe their lies, so long as they had taken from those horrid visions of the future and knew to turn their backs on them and struck down their every attempt to take over. No, there was nothing wrong with the White Moon senshi and the knights that inhabited the city and protected its citizens… no, what was wrong was the Negaverse. The Negaverse was what was wrong, and though she knew that, it was still such a potent thing, this fear, this irrational fear that she would be driven from her home.

This was her home now. Now and forever… why should she have to leave?

((Word Count: 495))