1478/Dimension Past: Serenity's Earth Wardrobe

Dimension Past: Serenity's Earth Wardrobe
Date of Scene:	24 April 2024
Location:	The Golden Kingdom
Synopsis:	Our heroes are hungry and need new clothes. They find a kitchen, Endymion, and new dresses, in that order!
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Ami Mizuno, Madoka Kaname, Amanda Faust, Usagi Tsukino
Tinyplot:	Operation: Past

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Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's been an indeterminate length of time for the various people present -- some people were just in the moon gardens, other people were just in Endymion's office (or what passes for one in an old fortress tower), other people were... wherever they just came from. But now, portals open to a really beautifully appointed ground-floor hallway in a place that has gravel walks and manicured gardens out the enormous windows. Enormous by current standards, which involves a lot of plates of glass connected by lattices of fine leadwork, the corners decorated with grisaille painting.

The hallway itself has a marble floor and a high ceiling, with priceless works of art on display by artists who were dead thousands of years before Ancient Egypt, before Sumeria, before Gobekli Tepe was built...

Like the market square some of our heroes were in at the beginning of all this, there are people who are in various wealth-strata of dress-- unlike the marketplace, they seem to start at 'rich but plain' and go to 'rich' and 'ostentatious' and then 'so rich they don't have to be ostentatious' rather than starting at poor and going to rich.

This is either The Palace that was in the distance from the hill, in Earth's probable capital city, or it's someone's wild country estate. Either way, there are wide double doors ahead, smaller double doors behind, and some normal doors along the hallway itself, between big paintings and beautiful wall hangings and bone china with gold filigree...

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Another portal. Ami knew exactly how many she had gone through at this point but it was frustratign enough that she was reminded of novels that always had such lines as 'it had gone on so long she'd lost count' as a phrase. How silly. She could never lose count... but she could understand the frustration of being spat out somewhere unknown yet again without knowing if she would arrive seperated from her friends or with them once again.

At least the communicators had been given to a few the last time, and more were prepared to hand out should she run into others she'd yet passed them on to.

A slow steadying breath is drawn as she steps forward ignoring the first pang of nervousness at seeing such fancy dress here. They couldn't see her until she interacted. It didn't matter if she didn't match the horribly fancy attire.

Reaching up she taps her earring activating her communicator to try and ping others quietly, while also asking aloud, "Is everyone alright?"

She's already following after the flow of people since most seem to have somewhere they're going.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch is once again in henshin, wandering through yet another unknown locale. This doesn't seem like the Moon palace, because these don't look like the Moon people, so that basically leaves Earth right?

    Well, not necessarily. It could be from any other planet, but the clothes look like Earth clothes.

    Madoka is here, remaining silent for once. She doesn't want to get spotted here because she really doesn't want to deal with a mob. Sio is floating behind her, looking at everyone's clothes curiously. "I wonder... if we took one of those art pieces, would it reappear where it was? Would we have two sculptures or paintings or whatever? How much would it be worth?"

    "If nobody knows the value," reasons Hope Witch, "Probably not very much. Besides, it'd be an imitation."

    She overhears Ami asking if she's alright and she says, "Yeah, I'm fine... though I could probably use a change of clothes or something. I'm also trying to keep my food stocks up in case I get stuck somewhere." She doesn't quite have a communicator, though telepathy would be simple enough for her.

    Madoka isn't actually all that concerned about the works of art, but rather she's interested in peeking through the doors to see other rooms. She may as well get her bearings before something tries to kill or throw rocks at her, in any case. Madoka picks the wide double doors first, cracking it open just a bit, looking behind her to see if she's noticed, and then peeking inside for a moment.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy originally at least bothered with a cloak to try and blend in, then wore various fantasy outfits, and then days went by and she realized it kind of didn't really matter because people don't see her most of the time. Since she can conjure clothes anyway, she's started defaulting to sneakers and that soft comfy jersey-knit skirt with a T-shirt. At the moment it's approximating her usual color scheme with a red shirt and a very dark mottled grey skirt, and she's tied her hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her face.

    The latest portal has brought her to: Another palace. "Man. What is with all the palaces and fancy buildings and fancy clothes? Was everyone rich? There's gotta be a seedy underbelly somewhere where all the poor end up... what did they do with them?"

    With mostly NPCs around, she's started falling into the habit of talking out loud, since they don't care until addressed. "Guess I could ask..."

    And then she sees familiar faces! "Mizuno-san! Madoka-san!" She starts to wave, and then looks around to see if calling out was loud enough to break stealth. She's not entirely sure how that works yet. So she hangs back rather than rush forward, on the off-chance she drew attention and approaching the others would get them attention.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi, Ami, Naru, Tamaki, and Kazuo had been in Endymion's office, witnessing the aftermath of one of many arguments between the Shitennou and their prince, the struggle of then, the guilt of now. Now? She and Ami are still together, at least, and if Usagi is spotted, her clothes will let her fit in, but...

"This is getting seriously old, Ami-chan," she gripes quietly, sticking close to her friend. "But at least we have the communicators now, so we can keep track of Naru-chan, Kazuo-kun, and Tamaki-kun that way."

She's trying to put some pep in their step, even as she's rapidly gotten tired of this. Seeing Endymion as he had been nearer to the end, tired and losing some of his hope, but still believing he could get through to his closest companions...

What would she be doing, if it had been her, betrayed by her guardians instead?

She wasn't sure, but considering that Sunbreaker had nearly roasted her more than once, and still wasn't entirely on her shitlist... she doubted it would be any different from what Mamochan was doing.

"This is... the main Palace, of the Golden Kingdom," she says after a moment of squinting. "I think, probably, anyway. And - oh, Amy-chan, Madoka-chan, good, we found you!"

She's whisper-shouting, to avoid being heard juuuust in case they set someone off.

"There are poor people in town, but, well, not to be conceited, but a lot of this probably revolves around me, and Endychan, and Beryl, and most of us spent our time in palaces, you know?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
On the other side of the wide double doors is a bright, tall, open-plan Grand Room of some kind -- perhaps a ballroom or a great hall where feasts take place; there are wide staircases to either end (oops, someone's coming through the doors, around Madoka: a bustling man in what are probably servants' clothes, since they follow the color theme and cut of a few other people they've seen pass) and balconies and hidden staircases to higher balconies, and a painted ceiling that's lapis blue with gold leaf stars on it.

A short lady in a plain-ish (but still silk) light blue dress half-turns when Amy calls out, but very clearly shrugs it off and passes on by without looking further.

It's interesting how individual things are -- there's no clear overarching fashion, though there are certain trends which are probably based on whatever the royalty's wearing this season, or whatever. Obviously all the fibers are natural - cotton, linen, silk - and the dyes are also wildly bright and rich, and where there's embroidery or beadwork it's beautiful.

Ami and Usagi are both quiet enough and don't touch anything; they don't set anyone off.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka squeaks and backs away from the doors as the servant walks through, looking pale for a moment and holding perfectly still. It's only once she's relatively sure she's gone unnoticed that she lets out a deep breath. She grimaces and then decides to herself, "Honestly... I have Witch powers. I should just use them."

    Her Labyrinth portal appears behind her, and she backpedals into it. She leaves it cracked open just enough to remain visible to other mahou, in case they want to talk to or see her, but aside from that it should be a mostly intangible presence. Intangible enough for it to just pass through solid walls in any case.

    The Labyrinth starts following the servant around, hoping that this person will lead her to food or something.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno drops her hand away from her ear when she hears Madoka respond as one of the few she hadn't run into yet while in the past. A smile is offered over toward her about to respond when she hears Amy call out.

Looking over she gives a nod to the pair. "Ah, good. I was hoping we'd begin to run into one another. Here, I have communicators that should allow us to help locate one another," she explains breifly as she pulls out the Mercury Computer to offer one to Madoka, and to Amy. She's careful not to bump into anyone in the process. As soon as they're passed out she steps automatically back toward Usagi's side.

Without thinking much of it she takes hold of her friend's arm with her own sticking close by out of a need to feel some small bit of familiar comfort, whether she would admit it or not. Given the past events it was likely Usagi might need some too.

"We keep flipping back and forth between the Earth Kingdom and here. There were certainly more middle-class individuals out in the city when I first arrived as well."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy can envision the little stealth indicator in the middle of her HUD refilling as the pink lady turns away. "Yeah. Must have been a cat." She says, in that direction.

    Amy nods to Usagi, who's already talking to her, and mutters, "Yeah..." she then imitates the whisper-shout. "So who the F-- Who the heck is Beryl? I mean, yeah, Sunbreaker's boss-lady, tossed us in here, made a deal with a demon, but... who is she? How is she tied to any of this? Is she Sailor Black Hole or something? Or, is she related to one of you? Endymion's cousin or something? ...Oh dang that'd make sense, was she trying to take the throne? Wait, no, then why destroy the world... Unless it wasn't supposed to go that far?"

    Amy is then distracted by the offer of communicator. "Oh damn, really?! Sweet! How does that even work?" She takes the communicator and pokes at it, checking out whatever interface it has.

    "Say, speaking of how magic works, I had an idea: So I already asked where books are and they turned out to contain nothing! Like, barely any words like I'm in a damn videogame. But then I realized: If magic was known in this era, we might be able to talk to magic scientists and learn useful stuff about how magic works! Do you remember where we might find any?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi watches with wide eyes as Madoka disappears into a Labyrinth, which then starts following the servant around. That's so cool! Why can't she do anything like that?!

Okay, she had been able to save Mamoru when he almost died, and she wouldn't trade that for anything. But. She would really like to have that ability too. Just saying. Sticking close to Ami, she turns to Amy and waves her over, inviting her to stick close to them while they - follow Madoka. Might as well, right?

"Um, the only people I know for sure could use magic are Endymion, Nephrite, Kunzite, Jadeite, and Zoisite, and four of those guys are bad news right now, and Endychan doesn't need to be screwed around with unless we absolutely have to," she says, frank, "There's Beryl, too, but - look."

A grimace stretches over her features. "Beryl is the woman who ended the world. She's not Endymion's cousin, she's like, either a noble or a sage, I don't know because I'm not from Earth and most of what I heard about her I heard from Endymion, and she's a magic user, for sure. She wanted Endymion and she hated me for having his love, and when she couldn't have him, or like, the throne, because it's his, because Earth is his planet, she... I don't know how she did it. But what we saw in my home, that was her doing. The burning of Earth... that was her doing. Sunbreaker was saying she was going to find out more about her, and I think that's a good idea; I just hope she'll tell us what she finds."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Most magical girls run on calories, so looking for food or at least something is a very wise course of action. Madoka's labyrinth will drift after Bustling Man through the smaller double doors at the end, passing the other girls on the way; through them is a smaller corridor, well lit but taking a turn indoors, so there are only windows at the two ends of it. Candles in sconces on the walls, and mirrors behind them, make the place brighter than it would otherwise be.

The doors in this hallway are closed, but one of them opens to let someone out, and it looks like an apartment of some kind-- the lady coming out is also in some sort of uniform, and she catches at the gentleman's sleeve. "Leandros, will you tell--" she starts, and he shakes his head. "I'm spelling for Akakios in the kitchens and I'm late and Kunzite is bound to show up, it's that time of day," he says, pulling away, and she makes a face. "Good luck," she says, closing the door behind her. She goes the opposite way, and Leandros continues along to the end of the corridor and makes another turn, then goes down a short flight of stone stairs.

Oh there's the kitchen, and there in the middle of the hustle and bustle and busyness of the great kitchens of a palace, someone's small child is sitting on a cloth in on a counter, eating a hand pie and being very gently scolded by a woman who looks like she's had it up to here for a very long time. But gently. Everyone is comfortably dressed, and our friend Leandros crosses the room to take a list from another man, dressed more kitchenly, and start looking it over. The other man makes tracks out of there.

There are foods in the works everywhere, and there are pantries too -- and the larder -- but even just within sight, there are tarts and hand pies and trays of fruits and vegetables and meats and cheeses, little cakes...

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy slumps. "Wait, so... even without the veil, humans couldn't use magic? Not even lunarians? That's... why? Apparently humans can on other worlds..." She does follow the group. Her eyes widening as Beryl is explained. "...You're serious? She destroyed the world because she couldn't have your boyfriend?!"

    "...I like, don't have some clever retort for that. I mean if she'd failed it'd be a very funny story, but uh... Yeah."

    She gives a little gasp as food comes into view. A few food items that will keep are stuffed into her messenger bag that the player forgot to mention (it came back when she de-henshined) while she snags some bites of cake and fresh fruit at this opportunity, then meat if she's not interrupted. "Mmmh. Yess. Better than street vendor food...!"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch's hand reaches out of the tiny Labyrinth hole to take the offered communicator. From the other side of the gate, Madoka's voice calls out, "Thank you~!" with a slight echo effect. Some Witch Runes appear around the portal, repeating what Madoka said but in the Witch's weird indecipherable alphabet. Amy might recognize the 'a' character at least.

    "I think Sunbreaker will share as long as she thinks it's fair. Unless she feels some need to prove that she can beat Beryl on her own." Says Sio the businessfairy as she follows along. After a beat, she adds, "Is someone still looking after the construction workers? I know Doka-chan told them to stick with us but that's not really... always possible here."

    Hope Witch feels a little bit bad for the busy gentleman, but she keeps her sympathy to herself. No point in trying to engage with these people. Not right now. When they finally get to the kitchens...

    Food and treats. So many. Fresh from the kitchen...! If they could only nab a few...

    Storing them long term in the Labyrinth would be a bad idea, but Madoka's own personal world does in fact respect the five second rule. She can even extend it to five minutes if she doesn't break concentration! Her hand reaches out of the portal to grab bits and pieces of food, snatching and vanishing as soon as she can. Sio says, "I want some too!" and dives into the portal. Presumably she's snacking on the other side.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"It works like a regular blue-tooth earpiece. I made it to be as user-friendly as possible given we're all from different backgrounds," Ami explains to Amy simply in answer to the myriad questions. Usagi gets the rest, and she nods solemnly.

"Also this may not be the *actual* past. Before I came in after everyone Luna explained that it used to be an ability of the Moon Kingdom to create rooms with past events to show others. A historical memoir, or record of sorts. If that's the case, then that's why the books are blank. Their contents weren't part of the memory."

As they follow the floating labrynth toward the kitchens her own attention shifts to the man who had mentioned Kunzite. "We ought to be careful," she whispers while Amy starts to pilfer food here and there. "If Kunzite is on his way... He's the one that Endymion warned us most about, isn't he?" Something which made her stomach turn a bit as she recalls coming in with Kazuo. They all had been twisted and turned against one another but Kunzite was very powerful.

The smell of the food draws an audible grumble from her stomach that earns a powerful blush from her. She'd been very, very cautious about partaking in food while here and mostly been eating the onigiri she brought with her, however sparingly.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Huh? No, I'm not saying that!" Usagi laughs, then quickly stifles it, "I'm saying I'm from the Moon - was from the Moon - so I don't know anybody on Earth, but those few, and also Demeter, but I really don't think meeting her again is going to go over very well..."

And then she cocks her head, even as they follow along -

"My boyfriend is the Prince of the Golden Kingdom, heir apparent to the entire planet, and the Sailor Senshi for the Earth, y'know? I mean, we didn't know as much about that last part, but it's like, stupid obvious now, but - I mean, he's not just the nicest, handsomest, loveliest boy in the world, you know? Not that I can relate, because Beryl's crazy, but if I was going to destroy the world for a boy, it'd definitely be EndyMamochan......"

She trails off as food comes into view, standing absolutely stock still, and then -

And then she's going full solid snake, ducking around people, hiding under tables, stealthily grabbing hand pies, stuffing an entire miniature tart into her mouth, and then she sees the motherload - those cookies -

Usagi's entire face turns red, seeing those cookies, remembering exchanging sweet dream kisses, and then -

She reaches a hand up to steal a cookie. Or two. Maybe three.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
So long as they nick foodstuffs while people's backs are turned, they're not caught, and life goes on around them. As long as Amy, Usagi, and Madoka don't do that or bump into anyone, people just move around them as though they were furniture or, more likely, cats.

There are in fact two kitchen cats, and they actually know better than to go on counters or get underfoot, but... people also know how to move around cats. It's a delicate balance of who can be the bigger problem.

There is so much food and it all tastes really good: the scents, even, are amazing. Herbs and spices, rose, lavender, cardamom -- and the colors of the vegetables are all different, and it's not like the moon food, it's just that everything the girls are used to eating has been engineered over thousands of years to be different from what's here and now.

Leandros is now working swiftly with women and men who are taking trays of food out -- better not steal anything from those, it would be too easy to slip up -- and he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a watch, checking the time, then glances toward the big door out into the kitchen courtyard, then keeps delegating.

The child on the counter is now watching Usagi with interest. As soon as the woman is done scolding him, he nods, then slips off the counter and bundles himself under the table with her. "You're a fine lady," he whispers, "why do you have to steal cookies? Those are really good, aren't they?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"They're sooooo good," she agrees, and offers the little boy a cookie, then pauses, squinting at the boy, because whoops! Ahaha, got caught! "And, I'm sneaking them because I'm really not supposed to have them. They're so good, and my mother and tutors would be very disappointed in me for stuffing myself with sweets."

She sighs theatrically, "It's hard when you're a grown up, you know? But what about you? What did you do to get a scolding?"

She's hoping no one notices that the kiddo is talking to her, because she'll definitely get caught... but what's she going to do, ignore him?

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Well I can kinda understand tearing the world apart for a loved one," admits Hope Witch, "but not in this circumstance. If she's still pining after a dude who rejected her 14 thousand years ago then I kinda think that maybe she needs to learn to let things go."

    A tiny cake is snatched and grabbed. A moment later the Labyrinth window distorts and shakes for a moment. From beyond, they can hear Madoka's complaints. "Gretchen-chan don't just dehenshin with me! I can't control the Labyrinth like that."

    "Well I want snacks, too!" objects the Witch fairy.

    Madoka sighs, then hand feeds Gretchen and Sio a few bits of the grabbed food. None of them go after Leandros. Too high risk.

    Oh geeze. Usagi caught aggro! That little kid is something else. Madoka watches her from beyond the Labyrinth gateway to make sure things are alright.

    Over comms, Madoka whispers, <<Usa-chan, if you need to vanish, you can jump in here with me for a bit.>>

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "I mean it's not blue-tooth, and the form factor and user operation is independent of the protocol behind-- sorry." Amy realizes she's rambling and listens to the rest.

    "Right... I think someone said it was some kind of memory before, not actual time travel. My life is already like a manga, so sure, why shouldn't it now be like a Bethesda game? Gods I hope I don't get stuck in a boardgame when we get out of here..."

    She blinks. "We are... getting out, right? This isn't like... one of those things where we experience subjective years, decades, or more, of warped time and then wake up one day back in Tokyo?" She's a little concerned about that, but considers it low-probability at present or she wouldn't be so flippant.

    "You know, it took me three loops to get the good ending in Undertale, and yeah, it turned out loop 3 is when I start treating NPCs like NPCs, even the characters I like. And that's like. A two-hour game. I've been here for days. This is... really weird. I wonder if this is how Princes and Princesses of Amber see the people of Shadow..."

    Honestly, as hours and days go by, she's started to think about like. Finding a Toriel-like NPC to hang around for a few hours. Or even just. Hanging out with some other teenagers for a bit, doing... whatever teenagers do in this time for fun. It'd be weird, but geeze, she's getting kind of lonely in a strange world whenever she's separated from the others!

    "Uhh... huh? Kunzite? Sorry, I zoned out for a moment there... Hey, do you want some of this food? You gotta try this, Mizuno-san!"

    Amy blinks at Usagi. Mamoru is the Senshi of Earth?! "I thought you said Endymion was princess-you's dad's name? Or did I misremember? And why doesn't he have a matching--Huh, guess the guy Senshi uniform just looks like that? ...Interesting that none of you reincarnated differently... I wonder if that's the case for everyone?"

    Amy tries, briefly, to imagine destoying the world over someone, but can't. "Yeah. You didn't even try to destroy the world as Sailor Eclipse. Gods, that was a day. ...Wow, our lives are weird now."

    She looks at the little kid. "...We're not taking them because we're not supposed to have them, we're... like spirits? These are... like... offerings, that we take for, uh..." Okay, she didn't really think that through. "I'm sorry. We can't explain. We're just passing through and have nothing, and can't really... earn food, because of some weird things going on. So we have to steal some."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I never thought I would be the one to say this," Ami begins with a slight shake of her head. "But you're overthinking things, Faust-san." Still the talk of food has her stepping away from the doors. An eye is kept on the man who keeps looking that way though as she decides to step well aside from it.

With a quick look around she reaches for one of the hand pies opting for something portable and at least marginally sandwich resembling. Though another thing catches her attention. "Her *father*? Prince Endymion is her boyfriend."

A bite of the pie is taken just as she realizes the boy is talking to Usagi causing her eyes to widen. It's gulped down quickly, and she snags one of the drinks nearby to wash it down. "Usagi! Be careful if people see us talking... We are *not* spirits, don't scare the child," she lets out with a sigh. Honestly, herding cats.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The little boy, now under the table with Usagi, definitely only saw her because he was watching the cookies very, very specifically. He can easily be bought with one, in fact, and he gladly takes the stolen cookie. "It was unfair. My big sister chased me and I bumped into a table and broke a plate, but she got away so I got the scolding," he says with regret, with woe, and he nibbles the cookie. "That's terrible about your mother and tutors. They should let you eat sweets when you do well! My mother does."

He peeks out from under the table, then says to Amy, "Don't be silly. You don't look like a spirit of anything you just look like you're wearing weird clothes. And spirits don't need offerings, they just exist! Gods need offerings, except for the Moon goddess, who doesn't need offerings because she has a castle on the whoooole other side of the ocean where the Moon sets!"

"Theo, take the cat out to the courtyard, will you? These cookies don't eat themselves," says a younger woman with a big flour-y apron and her hair tied back with a cloth. She sounds mildly admonishing, but that's all.

Leandros checks his watch again, and the courtyard again, and this time he straightens up and goes over to the door with a big parcel of food that someone's just finished tying up.

And there's the man who killed an entire city -- a city that knew him -- in the outer doorway into the kitchen. He takes the parcel and inclines his head slightly, moves to one side to let Theo and the cat exit, exchanges a few words gravely with Leandros, then vanishes from the doorway.

Leandros waits a full ten seconds, then sags against the counter.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Hold on a second," Usagi says to the little boy, putting another cookie in his hand, before bringing up her communicator to whisper, "Thanks Madochan, I might do that if things get hot. Don't forget to try the cookies, they're really, really good!"

Pause.

"Also, she was probably dead too, so it probably doesn't feel like it was fourteen thousand years ago. Sometimes it feels like it was just last year." Sometimes it feels like it was last week. "We're definitely getting out. Mamochan is working on it, with Mercury-chan on our side and Riventon on that side, plus Luna, and probably other smartypants people too. We're not gonna be stuck, so don't worry!"

And then she stuffs half a hand pie into her mouth to not laugh about Endymion being her dad, and regrets it because her mouth needs juice now and she has no juice and she must cry...

"Like she said! He's my boyfriend, beloved, would have married each other, if we could. I don't think I ever got into detail about him though?" pause. "Did you meet Serenity?!" It's a very quiet little wail of what! what! what! but it sure is exactly that. Shakes head. "I'm not sure why he has a different costume, but, probably because I don't think he ever transformed in this time? I have a fuku because I know what the others looked like, I'm guessing, because there's not a Sailor Moon in this time, so, um, pro-tip, don't mention Sailor Moon."

And then Amy is telling the boy something that's decidedly untrue and she's glad he knows it, even if the mention of the Moon goddess makes her wince. "Go help with the cat, okay? Here, take a few more cookies to go -"

And she offers them to him, right as the door is open to reveal a certain man. Usagi freezes like a hare in a trap, waiting, breathless, and she sags against the table's legs as Kunzite vanishes.

"That was Kunzite."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Upon Usagi's recommendation, Madoka's Labyrinth portal sneaks over to the cookies and snatches a few. At least three, one each for herself, Gretchen and Sio.

    Madoka sees Kunzite, makes sure to hide fully within her Labyrinth, then sits inside frozen looking through the portal like its a peephole.

    "O-oh geeze. He isn't going to start draining everything, is he?"

    Gretchen's voice can be heard through the portal. "He better not. I'm not done snacking!"

    Once Kunzite leaves, the Labyrinth starts floating to other parts of the kitchen to grab something to drink.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Damn, the kid is smart and knows whatever the hell the local spirit lore is! "I'm sorry. The truth is more complicated than I know how to explain. But you're right that it's unfair. I hate when other people start things and you get in trouble. I hope things get better for you--" and then whatever other words she was going to add die in her throat as she remembers this child will die soon, with everyone else.

    Did she meet Serenity? "Y-yeah. She was uh. Sheltered. Kino-san said not to tell her the truth."

    And then she notices Usagi is frozen, and looks over, and also freezes. When in Rome, right?

    "...Oh, right. Wasn't he on our side?" She didn't see him destroy a city.

    She does, however, make sure to try one of the cookies and stash away a few spares. And offer Usagi a sip from a PET bottle in her bag, refilled from wherever one gets clean water in these memory bubbles.

    "So, that... puts some things together, I guess. Endymion is Demeter's daugh--son, and instead of marrying the god of the Underworld, he was going to marry the princess of the moon... I guess I should stop looking for links to historical mythology ...Gods, or did I mix it up?" She scratches her head. "I never formally studied mythology, and it's not like I can check Wikipedia here if I got a name wrong... Anyway, love of the moon princess, and desired by a sage powerful enough to end the world... Endymion is the guy to know, apparently."

    She looks upwards. "Talk about a long-distance relationship. How do you -- past you I mean -- even know him? Do the royal families magic Zoom eachother on crystal scrying balls?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno holds her breath while holding very, very still as she watches Kunzite come to get his to-go order that was apparently arranged for him. Only once he's gone does she let out a sigh. "Yes that was him. He's very powerful and very dangerous." She hadn't even seen what he was capable of. Yet, seeing him here in this moment reminded her of... something.

A quick shake of her head comes. "This isn't mythology, Faust-san. This is our past lives, not fiction." Maybe it wasn't fiction either but she'd yet to meet any actual gods. She was a scientist!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Finally, after someone else claps Leandros on the back and says something to make the guy buck up a little bit, he checks his watch again and looks at the door on the other side of the kitchen, pursing his lips. He goes back to assigning people trays, and slowly, the prepared food leaves the room, and equally slowly, other trays come back, carrying unused food which starts getting packaged up.

Then there's a really familiar and terribly chipper voice from the outside kitchen door. Really familiar-- sounds like Mamoru, voice, calling out "Has Kunzite been here yet or not? Ooh, can I have a tart?"

"Y-yes? And yes Your Royal Highness of course--" says Leandros, clearly offbalance.

"Leandros, right? Aren't you usually up on the west side? Don't worry, I'm not supposed to be here, but they know exactly -- to within five inches probably -- where I am. Or can guess. Or can find me..." says Endymion, for it is he, and he is not in armor. He's wearing his colors in a mintan shirt and kaftan, navy blue bordered by gold and sky blue, and a pair of riding trousers and boots. He looks about fifteen.

"Go upstairs, Leandros," the had-it-up-to-here woman says to the man, not unkindly but definitely brusquely, and Leandros bows to Endymion who makes a vague gesture, and Leandros does absolutely leave.

"Hello, Ianthe," beams the Crown Prince.

"Hello, Prince," she says, and hands him a lemon tart. "He left not three minutes ago. You'll catch him if you try."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"That must have been a trip," Usagi says thinking about it, wondering what it would be like to see - herself - "And, yeah, when your mother is the powerful woman in the Sol System, and she's waited as long as she has to have a child... you end up with a very sheltered child. But then, who wants to tell their friend that they're going to die?"

She wouldn't want to. She had barely managed to witness Mars, and that was with Rei nearly begging for them to go.

"And... honestly the lore might be based on us? A little? I mean, I don't know how, but our names lasted."

She played Hades Game, she knows about Greek Mythology - and of course she had looked up the myth about her, and Endymion.

Even if it got most of it wrong.

"It's forbidden for the Earth and Moon to have contact... though, that might have changed by now. We met because I slipped away to Earth - it's such a beautiful world, with such natural weather, that does as it pleases. I fell in love with this world, and then, it's prince..." she doesn't notice, that she's slipped a little, memories aligned just right, Princess Serenity's slightly more formal dialogue, her wistful sigh. It slips free a moment later. "Besides, it's easier to hide on Earth than on Io, even if no one else glows. It's always so weird when I glow - I'm not used to not being human, I guess."

Which is weird in it's own right!

A shake of the head. "The Kunzite we know is not Kunzite. I mean... he is, but he's not. He's different. He's not... and Kunzite is dangerous in this time. Do not let him catch you, ever. He'd kill you, easy. Especially you, I think his powers would be really, really bad to a Puella."

This is perhaps, why it's crazy for her to say what she does:

"I think we should follow him."

But maybe it's not crazy, because there is Endymion, her Endymion, and he's after Kunzite too, so they'll have more than just her gut to follow him on.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "It's kindof interesting to wonder how much of this was passed down through legend," considers Madoka. "Though... from the way things looked when we got here, probably not much was passed down at all."

    She hasn't seen the dropping of the Silence Glaive yet. At least, not in this specific era.

    "Well, for what it's worth, I support your interplanetary love, Usagi-chan! I'm sorry your RL ship has haters," says the disembodied voice of Madoka. She maaaay be spending too much time in there.

    Speaking of love interests, the artist currently known as Prince has shown up, and apparently Madoka's fairies have had enough to eat for the moment because the portal shifts around and becomes slightly more focused, more precise... somehow just more even though it's still a tiny pinprick hole. Hope Witch is in henshin again.

    That tiny spark of Labyrinth starts following Endymion around. Quietly, not really interfering with anything, staying just as silent and hidden as any Witch would.

    "We saw past-Kunzite in another bubble. If you have to face that guy, don't use energy attacks. In fact, if you can, just run."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"None of us are who we originally were. We've lived entire lives that are different, not knowing about our past until recently. You can't expect to live another life and be the same person as you were originally," Ami adds in a bit philosophically. That was how she thought though considering she was going through the situation herself as well.

When that familiar voice pipes up she lets out a sigh. "Usagi-chan, don't trip this time," she offers with just a hint of teasing to her voice. "I know you can be more graceful. I've seen it."

Her gaze does follow after the prince though wondering what this snippet of memory might show them. Curious she follows stuffing the half-eaten meat pie into her mouth in one go without any issue.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Ooh, the food is getting packaged up? Amy tries to yoink some of the materials used for that to better contain her pilfered food!

    Who would tell their friend that they're going to die? "I would really rather not lie. You can tell me, I think I'm as mentally prepared for this scenario as much as anyone can get. Although if it's years-ago me... he's gonna scheme to escape a situation like this. Got a future to get to." She holds up her ring finger with her SOUL on it.

    She blinks at the ring. "'Not human'... if you ever wanna talk about that..."

    "...Wait, why did your mother have to wait so long? Even with like... moon-tech medical science? ...Does that mean your little brother isn't here?"

    At the mention of Kunzite's powers being bad for a Puella Magi, Amy shivers and nods a little. Noted. Follow him?! "Why?"

    And, here's the man of the hour himself, Endymion! Amy looks over him briefly, and keeps some distance from him so as not to break stealth. "Past Mamoru-san got a lot more sun."

    All this talk of past lives... Amy looks to Ami. "Hey, that's right... if reincarnation is real, does that mean... I'm somewhere here, too?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
And where Hope Witch follows Endymion? Back out the door -- with one lemon tart in his mouth and one as yet untouched in his other hand, he starts out in A Direction. He doesn't even pause: he must know where Kunzite was headed.

The courtyard has a giant goddamn rooster strutting around and a few hens glaring at anyone who comes too close to them, and Theo over there playing with the cat he'd scooped up, and there's a dog sleeping in the sun, and there's a woman bringing a pail of something over toward what looks like stables and probably is, and still Endymion walks, a bounce in his step.

He opens the courtyard gate with his free hand, closes it behind him, then finally takes a proper bite out of the tart in his mouth and takes the rest in that hand.

And he slows his steps, turning around very suddenly, frown knitting his brows.

He's looking directly at Madoka, but doesn't see her.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Oh shoot!

    Madoka squeaks as Endy suddenly turns around. She's very still, as if somehow Endymion is a Tyrannosaurus and can only track her by motion.

    The Labyrinth portal shrinks just a tiny bit more, nearly winking out of existence, but not closing completely because Madoka wants to watch him closely.

    "Maybe he smells the food we ate?" whispers Sio, sitting on Hope Witch's shoulder.

    "We're using some weird magic, so he might be picking up on that too," whispers back Madoka. She's... pretty sure she can't be seen. Mostly sure. Before Sio can say anything else, Madoka places her hand over the fairy's mouth and gets really quiet. Because, really, if anything is giving them away it's probably the talking.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Madoka-chan's Labyrinth is so cool," Usagi whispers again, as it starts following Endymion. She grabs a few more cookies (a lot more cookies) when backs are turned, and starts after the labyrinth, trying to avoid people. "I wont't trip again! But, if we catch him alone, it's a good chance for Amy-chan to ask all her questions to someone who will know the answers."

And then she glances side-long at Amy, and considers, visibly, "Mercury-chan is right. We're not who we were. I remember more, and Mamochan even more, and Mercury-chan not a lot. It's just... you know? How it is. But I don't know if every soul is from here, because you know, new souls get made too, alongside reincarnated ones. I learned about it from my grandma, when she wanted to make sure I was more Buddhist than Shintoist."

She says it casually, following after Endymion and the mobile Labyrinth, but then, she's believed in reincarnation all along. This isn't a big surprise to her - the surprise had been the magical girl part, and now she knows for sure, better and worse, that this was always going to be her responsibility.

"It's not really something I like, have to talk about, you know? It's just how it is. I was an alien, and now I'm a human, and... I mean, we've been seeing how that worked out." End of the world. "I don't know. I don't remember if we talked about it, but, I mean, Silver Millennium lasted a lot more than one millennium, I know that much, but I was only born near the end. Maybe she wanted to be sure everything was running okay before she had me?"

Maybe she can ask her, if the portals are kind, and she doesn't get spirited away before she can, but she kind of doubts it - and then she runs into Ami, instead of Endymion, and that's kind of an improvement, right?

Ami Mizuno has posed:
With the others following after Endymion (was that really a good idea if he's looking for Kunzite?), Ami finds herself trailing after too. Stepping out into the yard she grasps the edges of the long skirt she wore from the dress she'd borrowed a few jumps back so that it doesn't get too dusty as she walks.

This means quick glances up to watch her step, then back to the others to make sure they weren't getting left behind, lost, or tripping into yet another portal.

"Well yes, but I feel as if we just worry him all the more when we do such things," she responds aside to Usagi with a small sigh. Her gaze moves forward again to watch the tart-theiving prince (okay he asked) walk along.

"Hm. I can kind of see why they follow him so loyally. His shoulders look very reliable."

Then he's turning to stare at Madoka which also causes her to stop abruptly with eyes widening in fear of having been overheard with a reddening face. Which only lasts a moment when Usagi runs into her causing her to reach out to catch her friend as they both tumble to the ground with a squeak of surprise.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Madoka's Labyrinth is so cool, says Usagi. "...Why does one of her charas have Witch powers, again?" Amy wonders. "She's not a Puella Magi..." Oh wait, some people here don't know... well, Amy's got a zillion other things to think about right now, anyway.

    She nods at the comment about souls, although she still can't help wondering what another life would have been like. If she'd been born this way...

    The Puella Magi nods at the ex-alien.

    Talking to the group means following after them following after Madoka following after Endymion who is probably on an intercept course for Kunzite.

    His shoulders look reliable? Amy just kind of... cocks her head at Ami. There really is some attraction these girls feel she just doesn't understand, huh. Most of the time, anyway. Or maybe all of the time? Her mind wanders a bit as she sort of... thinks back to memories and queries her brain looking for any sign of understanding what the hell they're talking about. So distracted she nearly trips over the pair. "Uwaah!"

    She windmills her arms a bit unsteadily and then looks over at Endymion. Hopefully he didn't notice ay of this.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's obviously THE BEST idea if the tart-eating prince is looking for Kunzite! Okay maybe not. But maybe they can stop him!! They can probably sto--

--they definitely stop him. Endymion's in the process of squinting in Madoka's direction and then dismissing whatever it was and turning around (maybe he heard a cat) when Usagi and Ami fall over each other into the dirt, and his first kneejerk reaction is to take a half step back with his tarts held away from the tangle of skirt and dirt and girl.

And then he stares because there's also eight feet of hair on an under five foot girl and it's in buns and he blinks. Three girls (not four, he still doesn't see Hope Witch.)

"Serenity?" he half whispers, taking a step forward, and observing blue hair, and "Mercury..??" He glances up at Amy and blinks. "Are you a planet I haven't met yet? I'm sorry hello I'm Endymion!"

This is disastrous he only has a tart and a half.

He shoves them both in his mouth and dusts off his hands and comes over to offer the girls a hand up.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Well you see, Amy," starts Hope Witch, about to get into explanations, only to get interrupted by the sudden tripping girl pile. Now Endymion sees them all, especially the future incarnation of his forbidden love, and with Madoka being the only one still hidden she just feels... left out and weird.

    Her Labyrinth opens up large enough for Madoka to step out, and she clears her throat. She slowly makes her way over to the girls and offers a hand, which will probably get her spotted too. How is she going to introduce herself to him?

    Tell him you're a witch from Mercury! Tell him!

    No, Gretchen, I'm not gonna make a Gundam reference that he wont even get. Besides, Mercury's right there. It'd be weird.

    "H-hi," she says, awkwardly. "Sorry about this. We're just... dropping by! Eheh."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks. Fudge, spotted!

    Is she a planet? If she is it's one there will only be terrible anime about. Don't say that. "If I am, I'd really like to go there some time."

    Beat.

    Oh he's coming over. She takes a step back. "Well, you're pretty friendly for the prince of a whole planet. Not calling any guards for-- I guess 'cuz I'm with them, huh. I guess just call me... Red? It's nice to meet you."

    It's probably for the best that Madoka's not making anime references, then Amy wouldn't be able to resist doing it too.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"They're friends of mine," Usagi says sheepishly, making a mental note not to expect Amy to back up any kind of lie or roll with any opportunity handed out like candy. "We're doing a little bit of um..."

She accepts his hand without even thinking twice about it, full of sheepsih considerations and thoughts and trust, for him, and when she's standing and holding onto Mercury for support... She considers the situation, the possibilities, and then comes out with it, "Moon magic. It's why you're the only one who noticed us until I tripped. But not for spying!"

This is hurriedly added, remembering the suspicions of the time.

"It's... for time travel. We're visiting the past, which for you is the present, and you know, you're really handsome." E

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury gets up herself as best she can reaching out to steady Usagi with one hand while Endymion seems quite content to help with the rest. Of course he would though.

"This dress really is cumbersome. It's very pretty though, but cumbersome," she complains with a sigh.

"Thank you, Prince Endymion. I don't believe she's hurt past a bit of dust on her." A little smile is offered and she looks over to the others. "We're visiting yes."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Startling a little at yet a fourth girl, Endymion makes some muffled tart-obstructed word-sounds, then almost laughs, but instead makes one of those stupid 'sorry my mouth is full!!' :3 smiles at Madoka as they help the others up. He chews, and chews, and chews, and swallows, and chews some more, et cetera, that's a lot of tart...

He nods at Amy, making a gesture that seems to have the flavor of a thumbs-up... (chews some more, swallows AgAiN) and finally has use of his words. "You're with them," he agrees cheerfully, "and I'm in shouting distance of Kunzite and Zoisite, and Jadeite's just upstairs over there," he points, "and Nephrite's not far either. And we're right near the guards' houses. And outside the kitchen. Besides, don't you think I can take care of myself?" That last is in a very teasy voice, with a teasy face; he's in a really good mood.

"Dropping by out of the clear blue sky~," he laughs for Madoka, and then as he helps the other two girls up, Usagi and Ami can feel his touch and his offhanded seeking of familiar psychic contact, and things Change the minute that contact settles: he looks very, very worried, and is suddenly gripping their hands harder. "I don't understand," he says, and it's hesitant, uncertain. (Usagi and isn't Serenity. Ami is and isn't Mercury. Usagi is and isn't Serenity.) "You're Serenity though. But you look like you're from Earth-- and it's the way you really look-- and... okay, I trust you, if it's moon magic it's moon magic."

He squeezes Usagi's hand and proceeds to keep holding it. Then Ami is sighing and, "Oh no, if it's cumbersome, would you rather a different one? You two look about the same size-- and-- actually you four look about the same size, if Serenity's willing to share her Earth wardrobe and you two are willing to help me teleport us all, we can go to my house in the city...?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Eheh, yeah!" says Hope Witch. "Clear blue sky!" Oh geeze this is awkward. One minute she was floating along as a little spark of pseudo-Witch magic and now she's trying to explain her presence and realizing that she doesn't actually have one. She decides to leave the lying up to Usagi and Ami because if Madoka is left up to her own devices she'll make up details that don't add up and then... well...

    Hope Witch is also not that much of a liar, either. Stealth, sure. Lies, no.

    It's not that bad. She got to eat snacks today. Sailor Moon said that her powers were cool. This is just a little bit of self-induced cringe.

    "Eheh..." nervous laughter. "Well, you sure caught onto us, so yeah you probably could. Handle yourself I mean. Though it seems like we caught you in the middle of something?" Oh, good idea. Change the subject before he asks too many pointed questions. "We noticed a lot of food being carried around. Looks like a big order came through. One of your close friends even took a bit of it with him."

    It's a good thing, Hope Witch thinks, that Endymion trusts Serenity so much.

    When the teleport is mentioned, Hope looks at the other three girls and then back to him. "Oh! Yeah. Sure. We aren't really prepared for this weather." Yes, because it's the weather that's the problem. "Do we just... um..." She offers him a hand, ready to give him energy or whatever it is he needs help with.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Obviously it's okay to tell Endymion about moon magic! He's the one in love with the moon princess, after all.

    She doesn't even parse his talking about bodyguards as a threat. He's too nice for that! He's just stating that logically, attacking him would be a silly move. Makes sense! She'd probably say the same in his position.

    Wait, did Usagi say... time travel? Amy turns her head, surprised. "Is it really okay to tell him that?"

    Beat.

    "About the time travel I mean, not that he's handsome. Not that you think he's handsome, I mean. Not that I'm saying he's not... uh... How do I... words..." Oh gods she has actually stumbled into a verbal misunderstanding out of a goddamn manga.

    Quick say anything else! "Uhh... her Earth wardrobe? Wouldn't all her stuff be on the moon...?"

    She absolutely does not pick up on an extremely subtle hint that her Earth (late 20th / early 21st century) clothes are Not Proper for Earth (120th century or so BC)

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury smooths a hand over her skirt as she explains breifly and totally not ignoring the more important question, "I'm just not used to long flowy skirts. It looks very pretty I think, though," she admits quietly before her attempt at distraction fades away. The grip on her hand was a bit too hard to dismiss.

"--We are from Earth. We're reincarnations of this life, and visiting via time travel. Though," she has to add with a thoughtful expression. "That part is due to Moon Magic." With a smile she skips over the 'how it all happened' to head directly to, "You should be happy to know that you to end up together in your future lives too, though. You two never *could* stay apart."

More seriously she considers the offer of teleporting by glancing to Usagi, as if asking HER if it were all right. "I can manage with this dress if it's a bother," she assures looking back to Endymion with a smile.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi sees Endymion's face change, his lighthearted attitude vanishing, his concern growing, and she squeezes his hand and thinks about love and confidence and surety, all of which she absolutely does feel.

"I am Serenity, and also Usagi," she says, with her usual absolute surety. "And I love you. And it's definitely moon magic, but if you could keep that a little secret... at least from people who aren't your mother and your guardians, that would be good."

And then Amy is looking at her in surprise and Usagi shrugs, "He hates lies, and I love him, so."

She says it easily, a little easier and more bluntly than she had as Serenity, but with all the usual sincerity.

"If you don't mind, it'd help. We kind of didn't prep for the trip, I forgot how different clothes are." Which is entirely true! "Most of my stuff is on the Moon. But Endymion has stuff for me here, on Earth, so I can blend in a little better when I visit."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I love you too," Endymion says immediately, then listens to the rest, and his face clears some more. "I see! And don't worry, silly, I'm not about to go around telling anyone that people from the moon can time travel, can you imagine...?" He laughs, then easily leans over to kiss Usagi with no warning.

Then, to Madoka, "Me..?" a little mystified, and then his expression resolves into understanding. "Oh! Kunzite! No, he's bringing groceries over to the house of one of the retired guards. His wife's really very pregnant, and he's disabled, and Kunzite caught their five year old trying to do the shopping, and well-- he always says if we don't look after our own, who will?"

Like that's not something Beryl could have twisted or anything.

"I was just going to annoy him when he was done~. So -- the weather, yes. There are some new things in there since..." he trails off, blinking at Ami. So, the time travel thing persists, it must actually be true. "Well, I imagine there's nothing new there since the last time YOU saw it, then," he laughs, "but there's weather-appropriate clothing. It's no bother, Mercury."

Then he winks at Amy. "I'm very handsome, and no, her Earth clothes are on Earth, of course."

He holds his other hand out. "It's the-- the Silver Millennials, here, group teleports can be rough for one person to handle, so if everyone carries their own weight and a little more, we can cover for people who don't usually teleport. So just make a circle, with our hands, here--"

--and once everyone does, there's a bright wind and everyone's in the grand royal townhouse in the city itself that has ROOMS and clothes and Endymion does not remember bringing them there before, does not remember them--

It's a beautiful house, royally appointed, and everything is solid wood, and there are embroidered cushions and colorful tapestries and windows that let in so much light... and he says, "Up the stairs to the right is clothes for Serenity and her guardians. Uh, including you, Mercury, obviously. There are light things, and things with shorter skirts -- disguises, too. Or if you'd rather dress like a boy, that's on the left, Zoisite might have some things that could fit you with some pinning."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka joins the circle of hands and just goes along with whatever it is that's happening. Are they really going to a different spot, she wonders, or is the world simply changing around them? If it were a Labyrinth, it could go either way.

    After deciding that it probably doesn't matter, Madoka smiles at Endymion and says, "Thank you." Then, to Amy, Ami and Usagi she says, "Well... shall we?"

    Hope Witch walks up the stairs, in henshin, going to where Endy said Serenity's clothes were. This may very well be the jackpot. She could even step inside Gretchen's labyrinth to change if she needed.

    Madoka isn't terribly picky about what she finds, but she almost seems curious about what kinds of things people wore back then. It's only after a moment that she becomes self conscious about digging through Usagi's stuff. Especially right in front of her. "Um... is this weird for you? I mean... are you okay with us snooping around here?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
After the teleport Ami steps back from the group that had just freshly teleported to glance around momentarily. This place at least was familiar, and in a way 'safe' compared to some of the places they had been popping in and out of.

"Thank you, that should be just fine for me. I'll see what might fit." With a quick smile she heads for the stairs to get lost in some closets.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods and smiles at the explanation that Usagi will tell the truth to her love. Awww! Their trust in eachother really is beautiful!

    "Ah, that makes sense. I guess it's normal for girls to leave some stuff at their boyfriend's house..." her voice lowers a bit as she rambles, "so I've heard, anyway... not that I ever... I mean, Hannah and I both live in the dorms..."

    She looks a bit stunned to hear that a royal retainer(?) is going to all this trouble for someone. "Were Earth's rulers... nice in the past...?"

    Amy receives: a bishie wink. What. That's just. So out of nowhere and unexpected she doesn't know how to respond except being awkwardly embarassed, which might be misread.

    "Ah, I see. She can't wear Moon clothes because the people are so..." she trails off. Awkward thing to bring up to the Prince of Earth. "...I wonder what Moon clothes are like, too?"

    She can't help but chuckle at 'Silver Millenials.', and takes hands for the group teleport.

    She blinks. "Oh damn, that was cool. I've never teleported before."

    Amy looks around in wonder at the royal home. As directed, she heads to the stairs, but hesitates nervously, looking left and right. Is it really okay...?

    She wants to go right though.

    She will eventually go right, but sort of hunches over and slinks nervously. They're going to, like. An actual Princess's room! Or something like that.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's a good thing this is not the first that Echodymion has kissed her, because Usagi does not shy away or anything, she just kisses him back, right there in front of Mercury, Godoka, and everyone else.

"It would be a disaster, if people knew," she agrees, a little smile on her face, and she lets go of his hand casually, so he doesn't feel her understanding, her horror, of exactly what a disaster it would be.

"That's sweet of him, taking care like that," she says, thinking of Kazuo-kun, and how it sounds exactly like something he would do, and thinking of how Kunzite is not something separate and evil, but just - him. It's a thought she doesn't like, but knows is true.

"Well, I can't exactly advertise that I'm a Silver Millennial - I'm not supposed to be here. I've got a closet full of clothes for him too, for when I sneak him up to my place."

She's very proud of that, because she's only just remembered, the little secret stashes of clothes and items just for Endymion (and his guardians) to blend in, the make up they'd tried to disastrous effect to see if he could glow.

And then they teleport, together, energy flowing, in a circle, and she remembers this feeling, and thinks -

But then they're there, and she looks around at the lovely house that she's visited at least twice in her stays in these echoes, and she grins, "Of course it's okay! We all need proper clothes to fit in, and we're both giving permission, so - go! Find anything you like."

A pause. She shouldn't. She really shouldn't.

"Do you want to help me pick out something, Endymion?"

She did.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
From Endymion, Madoka gets one of those little n.n head-tilt smiles of restored-good-cheer as a 'you're welcome'-- and then she's going up the stairs, and Endymion clasps his hands behind his head for a second, rocking back on his heels and thinking about Amy's question, still. Well, two of her questions, one of which Usagi more or less answers.

"Earth's rulers... it's complicated. But I'm not in charge, so I can be as kind as I want, is that what you mean? And there's not supposed to be much, if any, contact between the Earth and the Moon. Honestly *I* thought Serenity was a goddess, or a sylph or something, when I first saw her~"

He's grinning sidelong at Usagi when he says this. "Of course, now I *know* she's a goddess--"

He definitely ducks away, laughing and nodding cheerfully to Mercury as the blue-haired girl goes up the stairs too. And then Amy slinks up the stairs as Usagi's asking about whether he wants to help her pick out something, and he blinks at her. WIDE grin. "Is that a trick question? Lead on!"

He leans in and murmurs, "I'd offer to help you put it on, too, but I fear Mercury would have my head..."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Roughly half a year ago, an unpowered Madoka was looking at people like Sailor Moon fighting youma and going, 'I wish that were me'. Now she's borrowing clothes from an illusory version of Moon's past life. Life goes in weird directions sometimes.

    Well, this is her life now. Madoka goes digging through the wardrobe, picking out various garments and holding them over her body to see how they look on her. If there's a convenient mirror nearby, she'll use that too.

    The chances that she'll need to ride on horseback sometime soon are low, so she's not really looking for that. Instead, she's looking for something that will blend in and be normal for this era, whatever that means.

    Madoka smiles as she overhears Endymion call Serenity a goddess, because their love is cute, but then Gretchen decides to chime in.

    You know, between you, Usagi-chan, and Hinoiri, every goddess or goddess-potential we know is kindof a goofball, huh?

    Gee. Thanks, Gretchen. Now she's rolling her eyes and being miffed for what would seem like no reason to anyone else. She takes this chance to dehenshin, revealing her school uniform which... honestly looks surprisingly clean for how long she's been wearing it. They've been washed, for sure, but... in something weird. They just look like they've been stained a tone darker than they should.

    It's a good thing that her Labyrinth doesn't affect clothes the same way it does food.

    Gretchen, who is now floating in the middle of the room, whines. "It wasn't that bad of a comment, was it? Come on, Doka-chan..." The Chara Bearer ignores her while digging around and looking.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    'Of course now I know she's a goddess' oh my gods these two are so sweet. Amy can't help smiling seeing them with eachother.

    She still snrks a little every time someone says 'Silver Millenial', though. But nods at the explanation that obviously Serenity had clothes for him and his guardians too. "Makes sense... wait, do the moon people-- err, Lunarians care so much?"

    She walks into the room and Endymion and Usagi continue to be... she glances back at them for a moment. "This is younger Mercury, though. ...Well, I won't rain on your parade, at least."

    And then Amy is faced with closets. Full of clothes. (she set her messenger bag full of pilfered food by the door.)

    Huh, it's convenient that she and Usagi are the same height and have somewhat similar body types, huh. She reaches out to push some to the side along the rack so she can get a clearer look at them one at a time.

    But these are an actual literal Princess's clothes. She draws her hand back. Quietly muttering, "Is this really okay?"

    Princess Serenity is so kind and sweet and pure, and "Amanda"...

    She looks away from the others. "These are a Princess's clothes. We're... playing dress-up with an actual princess's clothes. This is, like, every little girl's dream or something, right? But I missed the chance for those dreams..."

    She shakes her head, long red hair swaying back and forth. "Sorry for always making it weird." She reaches her hand towards the closet, looking at the array of clothes. "But uh. Like. In this unfamiliar dream I'm not used to... I don't know what looks good..." She glances over at the things Madoka has picked out, trying to identify a pattern... style? And whether any elements of it draw her, maybe.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Oh, they definitely care. The people of Earth and the Silver Millennium are not supposed to mix, by my mother's decree."

And boy does it show in her voice, exactly how little she cares for it.

"She means well, and she loves me dearly, but if I showed up with an entourage of humans, I would be in so much trouble." Which is why they don't get caught, it's as simple as that. Hiding one, two, sometimes three, people in an empire as vast as Silver Millennium is feasible, even if you are the highly recognizable daughter of a queen half recognized as a goddess.

And then Endymion is flattering her, and she blushes pink and laughs, and says, "As if you're not practically a hero from myth yourself!"

And it's a good thing he dodged, because she does reach out to shove him, and she does pout when she misses.

"Oh, Mercury-chan definitely wouldn't approve of that. But don't worry -" she almost says he can look but not touch, but that's definitely not the kind of thing to say in front of so many friends, even if it's the sort of tease that Serenity had begun to feel comfortable with and boy is she aflusterflusterfluster, "No trick question. Now let's see what we have!"

Run awaaaaaaaaaay from the thoughts, to the clothes she goes! Pushing a few things aside, she trails her hands over fabrics, tiny flashes of memory sparking.

"You're not making it weird. It's always different, to wear someone else's clothes. Look for colors and fabrics first, there are different materials and you might not like all of them. The more formal attire is on the west, the more casual on the east." This is the best advice she can give Amy, looking over the clothes, seeing them, remembering - not each and every one, but the generality of it, the trips to buy things, or the visits to try on items purchased in her absence.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"... pink," Endymion says suddenly, surveying the clothes Usagi is running her fingers over. "Your Earth-complexion -- and the yellow in your hair -- while I'd love to see you in any color, ... look at these--? I wasn't sure of them because some shades aren't the best they could be, just for contrast reasons, but... I'm not a tailor. If you have time we can always get new made for you, but..."

And Endymion goes to the end of the row toward the east and ... there's something in what's a slightly more light-red variant of Usagi's legitimate favorite pink, with embroidery in magenta and gold and near-white pink, that comes down to about ankle-length and has a full skirt; it's made of linen, so for all it's not what one might think of as summer-wear in the modern day, it's incredibly light and airy.

Then he pipes up helpfully to the other girls, "You'll probably want linen or cotton instead of silk, the silk will stick. If you go with white or light colors, definitely wear some kind of underdress as well, so it will wick..."

He squints at Gretchen. "There's a toy shop down the street a little ways, and tailors will frequently make small versions of clothing for dolls to show them off. If you're interested, Miss...?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    ENDYMION HAS STARTLED THE WITCH!!

    Which is to say that Gretchen did not expect to get spotted. She should have, because Endy is sharp, but it's really taking her off guard. Instinctively she pulls down her mask to hide, only to feel silly about it because that's not actually going to help in this situation.

    "My name is Gretchen. Most people can't see me, and well..." The two halves of her X-Egg appear above and below her, close shut around her, and when she hatches again her outfit is completely different and a lot more suited to the area. "... I can make my own clothes. Kinda. As long as they're in my size."

    The tiny fairy does not want to deal with everyone who'd gawk at a floating set of doll's clothes. She does not want ghost hunters to start stalking her.

    Madoka tilts her head at Amy. "Oh, huh. Well, Usa-- Serenity has the right of it. If Lydian were here she'd have more to say actually, but she'd be drawing from art theory more than fashion."

    Gretchen crosses her arms and adds, "Yeah, well. Really, there's no better advice than to simply try something on and then see how it looks in the mirror. You'll have to develop your own fashion sense based upon your own feelings."

    Madoka chimes in and says, "... but that doesn't mean we wont help!"

    After Usagi points out how the clothes are sorted, Madoka decides at first to pick clothes from the east, but.. well, while she's here, maybe she'll look at the more formal things instead. She may never have a chance to sample the wardrobe of an ancient princess again.

    At some point she pulls out a light pink and white kaftan with gold embroidery. Holding it over herself she looks and wonders out loud, "Huh... does gold look good on me?"

    Gretchen comments, "I mean you already have cream-color in your Blossom henshin, so that's almost close. I'd say it's situational?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy reflexively scoffs at the mention of anti-miscegenatory opinions. "Right, I guess the past has its own problems."

    And she smiles at Usagi's reassurance. Though it's a slight smile as her issue is dodged. Still, the encouragement is heartening. She starts to reach towards the casual but then hesitates. Her festival yukata and Prince And Princess Prom dress were so... nice. Maybe... Maybe just one.

    A lot of the kaftans etc don't feel like the right style, though they might be an alright costume. Eventually she gets to some dresses that have a more modern style; that is, 'modern' in the sense that they wouldn't look out of place in medieval european courts, or at least, 20th-century depictions of such.

    She pulls a couple of blue-and-gold dresses off the rack; one blue with thick embroidered gold trim that also runs down the front of the outer layer that looks like it could be called a 'princess dress' (!http s://i.etsystatic.com/27583343/r/il/78fc71/2860145830/il_1588xN.2860145830_l1qt.jpg) and one blue with intricate gold designs running down it in lines (!http s://i.etsystatic.com/30484374/r/il/74f197/3160204278/il_fullxfull.3160204278_4r0c.jpg). "Umm, where can I..."

    Once told where to change, she goes to do that. Hopefully they don't have some weird complex fastenings or need servants to help the wearer put them on or something.

    She comes out and walks in front of the full-length mirror that must be in this room somewhere, and for a split second, a nervous young princess looks back at her--

    --And then it clicks into place in her brain as her reflection again, and--

    --Oh gods. It looks... good? She looks... pretty? Her cheeks redden as she lifts her hands to them. I look like a princess, almost... Feelings well up inside her some of which she can identify and some she can't. There's a little bit of it every time she sees her reflection, but it's strongest when she sees herself in either something really feminine like this, or nothing. Not now. She lets out sort of a nervous giggle.

    And there's a new feeling, now that this time she's presented with a bunch of choices and has seen how well one works: Are there other clothes that would look good on me here? I want to see! I want to find out!

    Endymion provides advice. "Y-yeah, I know to wear something under white clothes. Th-that was obvious..."

    As he speaks to Gretchen though, she seems to mishear something and turns around quickly in confusion, only to get distracted by the dress flaring out. Another nervous giggle. "Ahahahahehe oh my gods..."

    She spins a few more times to repeat the effect, grinning all the while.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Oooh, it's perfect."

She reaches for the dress, and then pauses - a thought occuring for the first time. "Do you like me like this?"

Of course he does. She knows he does. But Endymion knows her as Serenity first, unlike her Mamochan, and a part of her is just so curious, that she has to ask. She really does want to invite him to help her put it on - but again, she knows better.

So instead, she takes the dress and changes into it by herself, hands nimble and careful, somehow familiar with the unfamiliar dress, and when she comes out, in time for Madoka to ask, she says -

"Oh, that's going to look lovely on you! The colors will all bring out the color in your hair and eyes, just watch."

And then Gretchen mentions it and she pauses and says -

"Actually, that's probably a good thing, because everyone would be able to see you. There's not a Veil."

Because she's realizing... she's realizing that of course she knew that. But would anyone who wasn't partially from this time be able to figure that out?

"Oh, and Amy-chan, you look so cute! You can try something else on too, but that one's really nice!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Gretchen!" repeats Endymion cheerfully. "Sorry to spook you. That's a very handy trick," he tells her, "and a very pretty result."

Then Madoka pulls out a pink and white and gold kaftan and he looks delighted. "That does look lovely, you should try it, yes--"

--and Endymion gets a wry look as Amy picks out his favorite color combination, and heavily embroidered too. "That's beautiful. It's going to make you hot and tired before long if you're trekking about the city, but if you're staying in one place or if you don't mind taking your time, you'll do fine in it-- and it looks very pretty on you."

All these compliments for other girls, and then Usagi asks him that and he's actually startled. "What? Of course!" A beat. "Is that not enough of an answer...?" he asks, looking a little nervously sheepish. "Ah-- and are you looking for veils? Because there are some, for keeping the sun off, remember?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Honestly, Usa-chi," admits Gretchen, "I've been merged with Madoka so much that it hasn't really come up. That's a good point, though. I'm just as visible as anyone else."

    Which of course means that she can also break stealth. It makes perfect sense now that it's pointed out to her, at least. She wonders if she can exploit this newfound visibility for shenanigans?

    Madoka starts to get worried as Gretchen starts thinking along those lines. She doesn't have anything like a psychic link with her right now, but she doesn't really need one. Raw intuition and familiarity with Gretchen's body language tells her everything. Once she decides that it probably doesn't really matter and that her X-Chara deserves to have some fun too, she sighs and says, "Just don't upset anyone we care about, okay?"

    "I won't." promises Gretchen with a smug grin.

    "And don't do something that will get you hurt."

    "I wont!"

    "Also let me go inside for a bit," asks the pinkette. The Labyrinth gateway opens near Gretchen and Madoka steps though. A moment later she steps out and she's changed. She turns around and asks, "Well? How about it? Do I look like a respectable citizen of current era Earth?"

    Madoka smiles brightly at Endymion. "Are veils common around here? I have to admit I haven't tried one."

    Yeah, it's a topic change based upon a misunderstanding, but she may as well roll with it.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"That's a perfect answer," she says brightly, delighted, and leans in to kiss him on the cheek. She stays leaning, putting some of her weight on him, staying close. He's not her Mamochan, but for the ways that he is, and she misses him. And he likes her, which is what she wanted to hear.

"Usa-chi? That's so cute... I like it! Thanks, Gretchen-chan!" What an adorable little nickname! That's so sweet...

And then, with a quick entrance and exit of the Labyrinth, Madoka has changed, leaving them all in fresh, new clothes, suited for the planet. It won't help if they end up on the Moon again, but as long as they're here on Earth, they'll be able to fit in, and do it looking wealthy, respectable young ladies.

"We all look perfect. Thank you, Endymion, for sharing your home with us."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Usagi's compliment gets a sort of happy squeak out of a grinning Amy. Oh she is definitely keeping this. Endymion, too... she's not sure how she should feel about compliments from a boy, but ahahahaha ehehehe oh gosh.

    She might get. A little greedy. It's all gonna reset anyway, right? So it's all free! She may need to get another bag to carry things in. She's keeping both of the two dresses she first picked out, or trying to.

    Also tried is a red-and-gold number similar to the blue-and-golds, but she doesn't want to be too greedy, and another blue-and-gold with really wide sleeves -- "I look like a sorceress..." -- which is, again, way more additional formal clothes than she needs, so she won't overdo it.

    She does heed Endymion's advice though. For casual, and for keeps, she finds a white-with-blue-designs-on-it (!http s://i.etsystatic.com/17479552/r/il/119385/2214571879/il_794xN.2214571879_ryva.jpg) shorter kaftan, and a simpler, plain white kaftan with embroidered trim and matching shoes. It's casual clothes here and may be a useful costume item in the future!

    She'll cycle through these as they talk, trying things on once she's amused herself with Dress Go Spinny.

    "Thank you, all of you, for the advice. Ooh, I think that looks good, Madoka! You too, Usagi!"

    She's just... she's never really gotten to do something like this, and she's enjoying it, and seeing the others, commenting on the outfits, getting advice, all of it!

    It's nice.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Endymion watches the interplay between Gretchen and Madoka with interest and curiosity, but he's polite about it, not asking the burning questions about 'moon magic' he so clearly wants to-- and then he watches Madoka disappear into a whatever that is and his eyes are a little wide when she comes back out. "Yes, that's perfect..." he says, unconsciously echoing Usagi, then chuffs out a little laugh. "They're not a rule or anything, but they're common enough in the summer."

He smiles at Usagi with so much fondness. "Bunbun?" he asks after they Gretchen says 'Usa-chi' and Usagi repeats it, and he grins. "That really is the cutest possible name--!" He holds Usagi close and warm for a moment, for as long as she wants after the little kiss on the cheek, and when she thanks him, he smiles again. "Of course." And he leans down and murmurs, "And if what they've said is true, someday it might be your home too." Tiny cheek kiss in return.

"You're very welcome," he tells Amy warmly, and then he regretfully lets go of Usagi. "I need to check in with Kunzite, I didn't tell anyone where I was going. I'll be back in a bit!"

He won't be back in a bit. He'll forget he was ever there, and Kunzite will forget he was ever gone...

He teleports out in a quick soft golden flash.