Welcome to Gaia! ::

It seemed like half the time when Cybele powered up there was already Chaos of some sort on the edges of her senses, but this was different. It took a few seconds of her squinting in the direction of he sensation before she sorted out what it was. Dark Mirror.

It had been a while now since she'd last run into one of their kind. Had it been since she'd purified? Perhaps. Something like that.

Of course she moved to approach the source of the aura, but it was as much out of curiosity as it was because of the fact that it went against her instincts to leave Chaos unchecked. She walked at a normal pace down the sidewalk, her hands by her sides. She wasn't hunting.

"Oh," she breathed when the senshi in question came into view. She recognized him.

"You're Remarque, aren't you?"

Now this was slightly awkward. She remembered clearly the last time she'd seen him. She'd been in black, pulling starseeds and asking about alliances between the Dark Mirror and the Negaverse.

She didn't even want to think about any of that.

"I'm Cybele," she said, although she was sure he could tell that much, "Although thankfully I'm Cybele in a much better place than I was before."

That was probably the best place to start with this, all things considered.

"No, we don't have to do the introductions," said Cybele with a small smile, although it was a smile she was mostly wearing out of politeness. She still seemed a bit cautious. "I remember you. The second time around was easier on my memories."

At least, she remembered on conversation they'd had. Whatever history came before that was still gone. All she remembered was that he'd seemed interested in trying to keep up a relationship with the Negaverse, and that she'd offered to help and then purified instead, which was why she was hesitant now.

Also, a bit confused by his words.

"You're not upset that I left, are you?" It didn't sound like it, but it was hard to be sure, especially because they were wearing opposite colors now, which so often wasn't a good sign. "It's been more than a year now since I got out. Going on two. I really didn't stay that long. I was miserable. It just took my friends getting through some of the brainwashing for me to see it."

A moment passed, and she squinted at him. "Do you really want me to join your Court?"

She had to ask.

She hadn't been worried about him trying to bring her over by force, for some reason, but to hear him confirm it was comforting all the same.

"I found a family for myself," she told him. "I fell in love, twice." She'd been a bit stony, a bit overly formal, but something in her softened as she talked about her loved ones. "I've been fighting the Negaverse tooth and nail for what they did to me, but I'm also trying to carve out something of a life for myself, to be something more than only a weapon."

These were somewhat deep things to admit. They were not secrets, exactly, but there was an ease to the way she found herself talking about her personal life with this man that had her wondering about what their before had been.

She even had to remind herself that he was wearing black, still, that she shouldn't say too much.

"If it's not my full potential yet, I'd say I'm working towards it. Why?"

She looked over, tilting her head slightly. "What do you do?"

Last time they'd talked, Remarque was offing to make a stronger alliance with the Negaverse if Cybele could advocate for it on his behalf. Now, he was offering to try to oppose the Negaverse, at least in some subtle way that would keep them off her back.

She wasn't sure what to make of this man, and she shook her head at him, an eyebrow ticked up in easy amusement.

"I'm trying to learn to be careful. I'd really prefer not to end up corrupted again." Her tone was casual, matching his, but there was a hint of fear somewhere deep in her eyes at the thought. "I'm trying to bond with my planet for the same reason. I heard it can offer some protection. I can't say I know much about Mirrospace, but if it's a place to get away from the state of this world, I support whatever you're doing there."

As for her, Cybele would rather fix this city than escape it.

"But, there's things here that I can't stand by for. There's things I have to fight." Her smile was light as she added, "I apologize in advance if that means I end up dead."

Cybele wasn't going to make anyone any promises about whether or not she was going to survive, so she turned her thoughts to the rest of what Remarque was talking about instead.

He seemed so excited about Mirrospace showing him a sky, and that seemed strange to Cybele.

"Cybele's sky is beautiful," she told him.

Ganymede had told her about it, even back when she'd been corrupted. They had been one of the first things that she'd looked for the first time that she'd gone up to her asteroid, and even back then, when the plant life had been minimal and the butterflies had yet to appear, the soft, twilight-violet hues of the sky had spoken to something in her heart.

Then she'd ignored it and gotten angry at her world, but that was a story for another time. At least she didn't have to beg for a sky, to see something that only showed up sometimes.

"Next time we meet, all right? We'll go. I'll show you."

Her smile shifted into something almost teasing. "Then, after that, you can show me this Mirrorspace. We can see if it's need to please is enough to pique my interest."

On one hand, a magical world of untapped potential did sound fascinating. On the other hand, Cybele was very ready to pass it up. Very ready.

She'd look, though. That seemed the diplomatic thing to do.

"All right," she told him. "I think we have a deal."

Then she was walking away, around the corner and out of sight.