Welcome to Gaia! ::

When Kit received the text, he could hardly believe who his phone said it was from. It had been ages since he’d last heard from Cassie, either as a civilian or a fellow Dark Mirror Senshi, and he had begun to worry that something terrible had happened to her but had had no way of determining what. Thus, it was to his greatest joy and utmost relief when she chose to contact him. He didn’t even bother finishing his meal before taking up his phone to reply.

[Couldn’t forget you if I tried. Be there in a sec!]

Perhaps a ‘sec’ was not accurate, but it was a hell of a lot closer than it would have taken him as a normal person. As a super senshi, however, the trip seemed to take next to no time at all, especially while he was fueled by the strong yearning to see his friend again after so long. As it turned out, seeing her had no impact on his momentum other than to, if possible, increase.

Ptolemaeus barreled toward her with abandon, throwing out his arms in the last second to catch her in a full embrace - a tackling hug or a ‘glomp’, perhaps, if she did nothing to slow him - laughing heartily all the while.

It wasn't a second, but it wasn't long either before Cassie could hear the pound of feet on old boards as someone came racing down the pier. She was fairly certain who it'd be when she turned, but the bodily impact that struck her a moment later damn near knocked the wind out of her as Ptolemmarus barreled right into her and sent the both of them toppling over with a loud thud.

She didn't care though. There was going to be a bruise on her hip but she was laughing just as hard as he was as she wrapped herself around him. Arms around his neck and legs wrapped around his waist, she clung to him as a rush of emotion threatened to bring tears to her eyes.

It hadn't sunk in until she’d seen him again just how much it'd hurt to be away.

“I'm so happy to see you.” Happy enough to make her voice thick, and bright eyes were shiny as she drew her face back to look at him, to make sure he was alright.

And then she kissed him.

The tattooed sailor scout grinned wildly, a vague thought forming at the back of his mind. It must have been a testament to his glee to have risked tackling them off the pier and plunging them both into the cold, rushing seawater just to express his enthusiasm at her return. As it had also been a rather childish greeting, Kit realized with surprise that that made two things he detested. In his happiness of meeting her again, Cassie had caused him to forget his dislike both of getting wet and of childish behavior. Huh...weird. He was so used to lacking in passionate, emotional feeling since he had left his family and come to Destiny City - disassociation, he’d heard others suggest as the cause - that the astounding flood of joy nearly overwhelmed and alarmed him. Now, however, was not the time to analyze that. Cassie was back.

“Feeling’s mutual, sweetheart,” he managed to murmur, diving so deeply into the cerulean depths of her gaze that he wasn’t watching her lips. Instinct shut his eyes as he pressed forward to reciprocate, once more astonished by the emotion behind his response. His hand slipped behind her head to cradle the back of it, fingers tangling in her short-cropped hair until he broke the kiss to grant them both air. They probably could have gone at it indefinitely, he suspected, but there was so much he wanted to know and that he wanted her to know in turn. No one was going to get any information of the nature he had in mind if they kept that up.

“Cassie...where have you been?” His tone was mild and even hushed in volume, but the steep slopes of his brows suggested deep concern. “There was no way we could get a hold of you - not through phone numbers or compact mirrors. Well, I say ‘we’, but I lost contact with Clay around the same time I did with you, so...wasn’t sure if you two went off together without saying anything or what.” Kit’s trademark grin resumed with its usual gusto, but the worry in his eyes had not dissipated. Instead, they mingled with sorrow and loss. “I thought I’d never see you again; that you might have left without saying goodbye.”

His arms folded across the back of her neck and he pulled her close, nestling his head against hers as he held her tight. “I’m so glad you came back.”

There was so much of her life in Destiny City wrapped up in this one, singular individual. He wasn't just one of—if not at the top of the list—her best friends, but he transcended that civilian tie into her life as a member of the Dark Mirror Court. Important to her in a way that no one else had even come close to besides her mother and her twin. Being away, she’d been cut off from that.

Fingers sank into dark curls at the back of his neck as the kiss was returned, humming into the press of his lips as she let herself remember being this close to him.

It ended too soon, but the concern in his eyes kept her from protesting. “I'm sorry.” First and foremost. Cassie knew she'd made him worry, and until now there hadn't been anything she could do about it but hope he'd remember her and not lose faith that she'd come back. “It wasn't my choice.” I didn't want to go.

Looking up at him, she chuckled softly before a broad grin split her lips. “Maybe you should power down before someone gets curious and wanders out here.” As civilians they'd be left in peace, and they could catch up. News that he'd lost contact with Clay as well was a little alarming, but they'd get to that. They'd get to all of it.

”’Wasn’t your choice’?” Ptolemy repeated, his volume rising with his brows. At the reminder that he was still powered up, however, he caught her contagious grin and reluctantly pulled away. “Oh - right. Where are those phone booths to change in when you need them? Superman always seemed to have one handy…”

Pushing himself up and off her with a soft grunt, he held out a hand to help her up while he searched their surroundings with a cursory glance to find a good hiding place. There - a cluster of large beach boulders. That would do.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” Meeting her gaze once again, he pointed a finger at her and said, “Don’t go anywhere while I’m gone. I’d invite you along to keep you in my sights, but that might attract more attention if someone really was watching.” With a playful pat on her shoulder, he turned to dart over to the boulders. “No disappearing on me again!”

After crouching behind the boulders, he soon emerged wearing a baseball cap, a t-shirt with a paint-splatter design, jeans, and sneakers. “Inconspicuous enough?” he asked her, still beaming as he returned to her side.

“So I think it’s safe to say we have a lot to talk about,” Kit said, “but did you want to do it here out in the open air? Or were you hungry? We could go out to eat or head to my apartment. Unless you had somewhere else in mind.”

Her suggestion or not, a sound of protest followed Ptolemy drawing away from her to find a secluded place to power down, if only because she'd just expected him to do it. No disentangling required. The caution he showing was appreciated, but she wondered if it was misguided. If someone was watching them she didn't think it'd be that large a leap to guess that the man emerging from the rocks was the senshi that'd just walked behind them. Ah well.

She grinned innocently at him at the command to stay put. “Won't move a muscle, scouts honor.” Believe me, I don't want to disappear again, either. So he'd fine her exactly where he left her. Hands in the pockets of torn jeans, attention briefly turned to the waves before returning to him. Her wardrobe hasn't changed in any significant way in the year she'd been away, but her hair was considerably longer. Teal lengths reached down past one shoulder, curving around the back of her neck at a sharp angle in an asymmetrical bob. She grinned up at him as he wandered back over, hands coming up so he could help her back to her feet.

“I'd say so. I'm sure I missed a lot here, this place is always crazy.” The snort that followed was more amused than annoyed. “I don't care where we go, though.” Location didn't matter, not so long as the was with him. “A restaurant might not be a good place to talk though.” And she's already eaten. If Kit was hungry she didn't mind making a stop though. “Your place might be the safest, if that's fine with you.”

While it was true that going alone to the boulders to power down and then to return wasn’t the least conspicuous plan ever, Ptolemy had been thinking more about how it might have looked for a guy and girl to disappear together out of sight before reappearing with new clothes. Naturally he was in a different state of mind than Cassie, playfully attempting to tease regarding the insinuation, but the (perhaps unfortunate) truth of things was Ptolemaeus didn’t mind who knew of his true identity. He strongly doubted it could have been used against him all that effectively, couldn’t think of why someone would want to in the first place, and saw no other danger in people knowing.

“...Since when were you a scout?” he questioned upon returning, grinning more broadly than ever. “Unless you mean a sailor scout, I suppose. Alright, missy. My place it is.” The tattooed young man took a step forward and stopped.

“...s**t. It’s gonna take us a little longer than it took me to get here if we’re going on foot powered down, though.” His hand found hers and instinctively attempted to slip into it. “Not that you have to use it right this instant or anything, but if we run into any...unexpected company along the way, would you happen to have your own pen?”

“Never,” she snorted with a grin, amused at the very idea of her in the little green uniform. Sash. Merit badges. Merit. That want the sort of life she had subscribed to. “Senshi honor, I guess.” Which she supposed she had, to an extent. There was certainly a dedication and loyalty to the court, specific members within. That counted, right?

Her fingers parted for his automatically as he went to take her hand and she smiled warmly, squeezing gently. I'm here. I'm not leaving again. “I’m fine with a walk, it's beautiful out, and I missed the sounds from the city.” She could soak it in on their way to his place. “I do have my pen, if a need arises.” Which she honestly wouldn't have minded. One of the things Cassie has missed had been the thrill of energy collecting, it facing of against another powered soldier. It was the sort of danger she didn't see much in day to day Life and she'd gotten just a little addicted to it.

Tucking her other have into the crook of his elbow, she leaned into his side. “Lead the way, Kit.” Somehow she'd never paid his place a visit, but then they did tend to spend their time together out and about.

By the time they got to his apartment, it was already pretty late and it occurred to Kit that Cassie might have had others who might have been worried about her since he’d kept her so long. It had been nice to just walk with her through the evening city, but perhaps it would have been faster if they’d simply both powered up to reach their destination so they could talk in private.

Then again, the stroll had also given him some time to settle down his rampant emotions and organize his thoughts. So much had happened since he’d last heard from Cass and he didn’t want to overwhelm her with too much all at once. He had to focus on the main points and changes that had occured in the city and for their court. Regardless of how he summarized the events, however, Kit figured they would take quite some time to tell if he wanted them to make a decent amount of sense and he didn’t know how much time they had.

“Hey, Cass...do you have anyone waiting for you at home?” he asked, unlocking his door and opening it to allow her in. “Are they going to be expecting you back at a certain time?” While she was a grown woman who could make her own decisions and take responsibility for her own actions, he still thought it might have been a good idea to make certain her loved ones knew she was safe.

The walk back to Kit’s apartment had been perfect as far as Cassie was concerned. Just a little bit of time to settle back into the city, and into herself, before diving into the no doubt complicated occurrences that had gone on in her absence. She didn't mind the excitement, she really didn't, but it's been so long since she's had anything even bordering on normal, and was content to cling to that as they'd been walking.

And to him.

She blinked when he asked her a question, snapping out of the peace and back into the knowledge that there's was a lot to talk about now that they were here, and not just about the city or their court, but where she'd been as well. She owed him an explanation.

“Waiting for me? Naw. Mom doesn't wait up, and Cas doesn't live there anymore.” She shrugged. “I'd been thinking it was probably time for me to move out too, actually. Find an apartment, roommates, something.” Establish a little distance between her mother and the courts, just in case. “But yeah, we've got all night.” She flashed him a grin as she stepped part him and into his apartment.

Nodding his acknowledgment, the tattooed young man returned her grin, if a little distractedly. He flipped on the lights of his two-bedroom apartment, thinking about how he’d been barely keeping up the rent with his part time job after school at Sovereign Heights. Aside from being expensive, it was lonely; especially in comparison to the noisy dorms of Hillworth where he’d lived last. And what had he been paying for this place all this time for? A sister he wasn’t even sure would come? Even if she actually managed to leave home and decided to come to Destiny City to find him, who said she would have wanted to live with him?

It had already been a couple of years. And once he graduated with an associates degree from Sovereign Heights soon, he was pretty sure classes at Destiny City University would be much more costly. He had to save all the money he could and it wouldn’t have been bad to have a roommate, he figured. Especially if it was someone he felt he got along with as well as Cassie. But would she want to room with him?

Kit rubbed his temples and turned toward the kitchen. He could ask her later. Right now, they had more important matters discuss. Gotta get my priorities in order… “I get us some water. Unless you’d like something else to drink.” With a find smile, he gestured toward the couch in front of his television set. “Please, make yourself at home. No one else lives here, so no one will mind.” Pausing, he recalled Xi-Wang’s occasional surprise visit via mirrorwalk as Sailor Kiuchi. “Well...sometimes I get unexpected guests, but I doubt we’ll be interrupted tonight.”

Absent hands found his cabinet door and retrieved a pair of drinking glasses. “Sorry to have to ask a question before I start giving answers, but I’m trying to figure out where to start,” he explained, going over to the water dispensers built into his fridge. “Cass… Around what point in time did you actually leave? Do you remember the date?” Peering over at her from the kitchen, his features once more suggested hints of concern.

"Water it is, then," he answered, pressing one glass against the trigger for the water dispenser. As the clear stream collected in the first container and then the second, his dark eyes followed the liquid, reminding him how it was water that had brought them together to begin with.

Casual steps carried him out of the kitchen toward his guest to hand her the drink. "Of course," he chuckled softly, the feathery fingers of nostalgia combing through his memories. "That was when you, Clay, and I all found out we were in the same court. Hmm...I guess that was in...November of 2016?" A sip of water refreshed his dry mouth as he gazed up at the ceiling in thought. "Oh, boy. Okay, let me try to give a quick rundown of what I know, but if you want me to elaborate on anything, just ask."

He navigated his way to the front of the couch, flopping himself onto its cushions without ceremony, but mildly enough that his water wouldn't spill. "Let's see...there was a giant vampire bat attack during the Fall Festival that year, but that was on the whole city and no one found out who was behind that as far as I know, but probably the Negaverse. One of those general 'Destiny City is dangerous' things. I thought you might have actually been around for that, but I don't know what date you left, exactly.

"Then there was the attack of the poinsettias during the Holiday Extravaganza that December, which was another of those...oh. Yeah, you were definitely around for that because I remember we gathered up those crystal snowflakes." Setting down his glass, Kit pushed himself back up onto his feet to take a few strides toward a shelf against a wall and pick up a jar. Holding it up to show her, its contents glittered with the refracted indoor light. "Remember these?"

He carried them back over and seated himself once more, trading them for the glass he'd left on the table and leaving them there in case Cassie chose to have a better look. "After that...things were quiet for a bit. Maybe that was around the time you left. In April 2017, I heard after the fact that some giant, rogue wraith from Mirrorspace had appeared in one of Destiny City's parks and a bunch of people showed up to get it under control."

His hand absently flew to the back of his neck where he rubbed it in an embarrassed manner, staring at his glass. "I heard it was a big deal, since both our royals, Prince Remarque and Princess Leto showed up. But I had been too caught up with school and work and everything at the time to realize what had happened until it was over. I only heard about it from others, so maybe you might be better getting a first-hand account from them. I know one of the eternals, Acubens, was there and would probably be happy to tell you."

Kit took a deep gulp of water, exhaling with a sigh. "Yeah, but they must have taken care of it because everything seemed fine after. Like a bad dream." Conscious of her comment on his serious expression, he attempted another small smile. "I guess this city has become exceptionally good at recovering from freak attacks like that since it seems to have them so often."

He did his best to always grin regardless of the situation, attempting to remind himself to keep a positive outlook, but the past was often painful for him to recount. He still felt terrible about not having participated or even known about that trial involving his court until long after it'd been over. But now was not the time to sulk. It wasn't as though he could do anything about past regrets at the moment, so he had to focus on what he could do - catching Cassie up to what had happened since.

"Hm...there was a large battle over the fate of someone I highly respected and cared about. A Saturn knight by the name of Scholomance. That didn't really involve our court since we don't have much to do with knights, but the Negaverse were going to corrupt him and the White Moon wanted to get him out of their clutches once and for all. I'd heard he'd been under their thumb for a while, so I did what I could to help.

"Order won that day and one of the White Moon even helped heal me, but ironically it was a Negaverse officer who brought me back to his team's base to recuperate. That was probably the toughest battle I'd ever been in as a senshi. Didn't expect the sort of attacks I'd encounter." That Senshi of Moods, for one, was not someone he ever hoped to fight again.

"It continues to fascinate me how we can befriend and make enemies out of both other factions," he mused. "But just when I began to think our court had no real reason to fight anyone, more weird s**t began to happen and I was reminded there are other forces out there we need to be on guard against."

The tattooed young man sat up and leaned forward, placing his glass down and resting his elbows on his knees. His fingers interlocked loosely between them and Kit was unaware that his smile had once again faded. "Mirrorspace's common room began to show cracks in it. We all gathered there in a meeting to investigate when one of the walls cracked enough to create a crawlspace. We found a corridor similar to any other room in Mirrorspace, covered in mirrors, but this one had a special, ornate, silver-framed one at the far end."

Pausing for a moment, he took another drink. It wouldn't be worth Cassie's time to recount everything that had happened on that occasion; not when events far more impactful had followed soon after. Summaries weren't his forte, but if he gave her quick outline of everything, she could ask him to fill her in on the parts she was most curious about.

"Long story short, Mirrorspace made us go through an obstacle course, but at the end, a bunch of us found some colorful crystals that each had different properties. None of us knew what they could do or what they were for then, so we just kept them." Kit glanced over at his guest, concerned he might have been talking too much about things she may not have considered relevant to her. He was also still eager to learn her side of what had occured over the past few months, so he wanted to be done flapping his gums as soon as possible.

"We found the crystals in June of 2017. Things were pretty quiet until August, when all us DMS sensed the mirrors in Destiny City call to us. We went in and Mirrorspace all but crumbled in on us when someone pulled us through to another place. Queen Altea, she called herself, and invited us to stay in her crystal palace until we found out how to get back.

"We stayed in that palace for a couple of weeks, doing our best to find our way back. In the meantime, I hear others from Destiny City, White Moon and Negaverse alike, were drawn into mirrors and trapped in Mirrorspace. I haven't gotten to talk to any of them personally about what happened, but it seemed to be pretty tramatic for them, especially since some were stuck with enemies. I think Mirrorspace might have been sapping their energy, too."

Warmed by the heat of Cassie's body against his, he smiled again. He'd missed this a great deal. Appreciative of her touch, he lightly placed his other hand atop the one she had on his arm and stroked the back of it affectionately.

"Not everyone found crystals, but a good number of us did. At least on that occasion. We learned they were easier to find later, but at that time we didn't know where to get more or what they were for or anything." He would have taken out his own, but they were with his compact mirror stowed wherever the rest of his senshi uniform was when he wasn't wearing it.

"I'll tell you about those more and show you them later. But I guess they had nothing to do with any of the crystals in the crystal palace of Queen Altea, because she said she'd never seen them before and they weren't from her place."

When he felt her grip increase, Kit glanced over to regard his friend with some concern. He gently moved her hand off of his arm to slip it about her shoulders if she would let him, scooting in closer to rest his head against hers.

"There were crystals growing everywhere inside the palace - on doors, paintings, mirrors - and the only other people around were these crystal servants who said nothing and only did Altea's bidding. We searched everywhere to try to find a way out, but the mirrors weren't working. Altea said she had been able to mirrorwalk once before and the mirrorwraiths weren't draining anyone, so we thought she was one of us. Her energy signature was entirely different, though, so we couldn't figure it out."

A sorry sigh left his lips. "All that we had to eat there were these tasteless crystals, so some preferred to try to starve themselves rather than trust Altea, but going two weeks without any nutrients gets to be pretty bad. We searched long and hard for a way out of her world, but we got more desperate when nearly everyone started growing crystals on them. The ones who had eaten the crystals started growing them first, but then everyone did. When we asked the queen what was going on, though, she said it was nothing to worry about." Kit's features hardened into a cold neutrality, then. He didn't hate Altea for what she had almost done to them, for he felt she had been as much a victim of fate as they had, but it still chilled him to think what might have happened if they had trusted her more.

"Eventually, someone found an iron door without any crystals on it. Rust had weakened the metal so much that we were able to open it, so we gathered everyone and went inside. Turned out a man was imprisoned there. Went by the name of Taran. Said he was once Altea's fiance and that she eventually became corrupted by something so she was no longer the woman he knew. Not sure why she had kept him there all those years - maybe loneliness - but he seemed like he was on his way out."

Feeling a bit restless and wanting to lighten the mood, the tattooed young man removed the jar from Cassie's lap and placed it on the table beside his glass. Then he draped himself atop her like a tossed blanket, arms out with more of his weight on her than would probably have been comfortable.

"So Altea found us in there and got mad because we started questioning her about what Taran told us. We fought her a bit, but she fled and locked us in the dungeon. Taran told us how to get out through a secret passage, but he couldn't go with us because he was bound to the place with crystals and he didn't seem to have the strength or will to leave. He just made us promise to end her.

"So we did. We found her, she revealed her true self with a huge chaotic aura, and we all worked together to defeat her. It was tough, but with so many court members and so many of us desperate and eager to get home, we managed to win that fight. All that was left of her in the end was the chaos seed that corrupted her. It ended up at the top of this weird citadel. But a giant, ornate mirror appeared, so we went through and found ourselves back in the Mirrorspace common room."

He lazily flicked a finger to gesture. "It's still there, so we can check it out another time if you want. They call it the Mirrorscape and there are lots of little floating islands that many members of the court have claimed. You can have one, too." Kissing whatever part of her he could reach when he turned his head, he added, "The colorful crystals we found before turned out to be useful in altering the islands in different ways. Blue crystals create water, for example, and green crystals sprout plants.

"When a senshi claims an island, seems like they can also find special crystals unique to their space and theirs alone. But they can give them to other senshi to use on their islands if they like."