Del had never been good at lying. Or rather, she wasn’t good at keeping the bluff up once someone started to suspect she was ******** with them. This was why she made it a point to never, ever lie to anyone within the Negaverse. The consequences should someone decide to be cranky were a little too frightening to consider. Even for her.

So the moment she realized that only a few hours had gone by in Destiny City while she’d been fighting to survive for three weeks in a nightmare world, she’d wisely decided to say nothing. Sure, some agent who’d been in the village would end up reporting and then she’d have to follow suit since feigning ignorance wasn’t an option. But until then, she could rest and try to forget everything that had happened. And to that end, she’d thrown herself whole heartedly into hedonism. Ill advised makeouts and furtive groping within the shadows of her favorite goth clubs had helped a little.

Except she couldn’t forget Saiph. She’d stalwartly defended a senshi that wasn’t corrupted. She didn’t know where Saiph lived or who she was when she wasn’t out trying to be a hero. And she was glad of that. If she was lucky she’d never see the kid again. Except.

Except, she wanted to. She wanted to know that Saiph was doing well and getting strong. And not for the purposes of a possible future corruption. Something in the kid’s earnest desire to simply help people had resonated deep inside of Del’s soul and it worried her. The Negaverse had given her a purpose of sorts when she’d been brought into the fold. She had a chance to make up for the sins of her far past. The Negaverse were supposed to be the good guys here! And yet, here was this kid who was on the wrong side. Who should have never been brought over in the first place given her age (that one still burned Del’s a**, truth be told). None of it made any sense and Del desperately needed it to.

But the sorts of questions she wanted to ask were very strictly forbidden by more officers. Which meant… what?

If she were honest with herself, she knew exactly what it meant and what she needed to do. The trouble would be finding those willing to talk who actually knew things.

“Ugh,” she muttered to herself. “What a ******** mess.”

Del was going to have to find herself a senshi or two and hope that they’d be willing to talk plainly. No attempts at persuading her to become turncoat. No propaganda. She wanted plain and simple information. And as much as she loathed the idea, she wanted Saiph there. In the weeks they’d spent together, she knew that Saiph had a child’s way of seeing and speaking plainly. If Del asked, Saiph would make sure any white moon friends of hers wouldn’t try to talk her into becoming a traitor. Saiph might not like it, but she had a child’s honesty and that honesty would never allow for attempted tricks.

Like it or not, Del was going to have to find Saiph and get her involved. All while trying to avoid the Negaverse.

Great.