1498/Days of our Outers Episode 1498: Dimension Past: Outer Aftermath

Days of our Outers Episode 1498: Dimension Past: Outer Aftermath
Date of Scene:	25 April 2024
Location:	Earth - Casa Del Outers
Synopsis:	The Outer Senshi (and Sunbreaker and Rashmi) make it out of Beryl's time portal. There's cuddling to be done.
Cast of Characters:	Setsuna Meiou, Hinoiri Kirara, Haruka Tenoh, Rashmi Terios, Michiru Kaiou, Chrono Harlaown, Hotaru Tomoe

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Setsuna Meiou has posed:
When Pluto, Uranus, and Sunbreaker had departed from the rest of those trapped in the echo of the past that Beryl had discovered and claimed, they travelled via the redhead's teleport to nearby.

Once they landed, however, Pluto turned and paid close attention to Uranus...whichever way she oriented would likely be where Neptune was...and when vision returned, she became fairly certain that her guess was correct...as Uranus immediately turned to look towards what looked to be a public bath. Finding a water-aligned Senshi near a large source of water sounded like a likelihood.

From there it was only a few minutes effort to find Neptune...AND the wayward Page-Mage, who had run into Neptune during the many disruptions of groups the portals caused...and had managed to stick with her until now.

Then all that was left was getting OUT.

Which of course became an argument between Pluto and Sunbreaker.

'Look, obviously I'll port us out! I'm MORE than powerful enough!'

'It's not about power, it's about timing and knowing where to go. Do you know where to target your teleport to get us out?'

'... I mean, I could figure it out... but I guess if you have a way to do it faster you can maybe do it more efficiently...'

'Then leave it to me.'

'And why the buck should I trust YOU?! What makes you think YOU know where to target when *I* don't?'

'Three reasons. One, I have an existing magical connection of significance to Sailor Moon...when she leaves, I can target that. More importantly, however are the facts that I'm ALSO connected to a powerful magical artefact on the other side...and while the hole Sailor Moon punches on her way out will be there for a few picoseconds at best...given the nature of myself and the artefact? That's LOADS of time.'

'Nngggg... fine. I'll let you do it this time. But only because my power might be needed to help keep us safe later.'

After that it was a mere few minutes of waiting for their moment...and then Pluto said, 'Everyone grab my staff and hold on tight. This is going to be sudden, so there won't be a warning.'

And then Pluto stood there, eyes closed as she waited...and finally Sailor Moon led her group through a Sailor Teleport and burst free of the trap...and in that moment, Pluto was able to feel the Gates once more...and using her connection to them, teleport Page Mage, Sunbreaker, Uranus, Neptune, and herself out.

From there it was a brief walk across the void at the Gates of Time to the circle Pluto kept prepared...and after spending a few seconds making adjustments, she teleported the whole group to a rooftop not far from the school.

Sunbreaker was thanked for her assistance and allowed to go on her way, a message was sent to Moon and Mercury, letting them know the Outers, Page-Mage, and even Sunbreaker escaped without injury...and finally Pluto sagged in place a little as she looked over at her youngest friend, "Rashmi...I imagine you've already called Chrono...but after all that..." She looks briefly at her housemates, "...I don't think any of us really should be alone tonight...so you're welcome to crash with us tonight." She blows out a huge sigh, "...hell, Chrono is, too...I'm sure he's been worried sick for the...two days, four hours, fifty-eight minutes and thirteen seconds we've been gone."

There's a brief pause as she remembers that Rashmi has another channel of communication, "...oh, and if you don't mind, can you have Nicomachea send a message to Luminous Titan to let Charon know we're back and on the way home?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker did hesitate for a moment, at least. She glanced back at the lot of them... before sighing. "Thanks, I guess. For not... turning on me the moment we were out. Like... I didn't turn on you and all, so I'd hope you'd show me the same courtesy, but I know how hard it can be for you girls to not go all... murdery. I know how hard that can be for all of you." Yes. Yes she was still a bit of a putz. But hey, she'd kept her word. But, once they were out, she did give a soft sigh.

"... I'm happy Beryl didn't manage to kill any of you. The woman doesn't deserve to win a damn thing. When next we meet, we'll be enemies again, so don't get any ideas. Later." And then, in a puft of flame, she disappeared. Leaving them behind.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
Sailor Uranus staggers slightly out of the jump, the teleportation being somehow disorienting for the senshi of speed - maybe because she had no control over it, or maybe because it was less moving fast and more leaving somewhere to appear somewhere else. She'd been a little disoriented out of both the jump to the gate and the jump back out of it, and so she shakes her head to clear it and leans slightly on Sailor Neptune.

    She looks over to Sunbreaker. "Wouldn't dream of it, toasty. I'm thankful you helped find our allies, but if you don't stop doing boneheaded things and being on the same team as Queen Badly In Need Of A Manicure then we're gonna keep having problems with each other." she says. "So thanks, and stop being so ignorant."

    Sunbreaker poofs away and Uranus just shakes her head. "Yeah, lets all stick together for a while. That was a helluva trip. I haven't even started to process it yet, I was just trying to get us all back here."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Given the horrors and tragedies witnessed at the fall of the Silver Millennium, it was actually rather nice to just sit among the steam of the baths and try to squeeze the waking nightmares into a little box, and mark that box 'DO NOT OPEN UNTIL HOME.' Perhaps not the *healthiest* way of dealing with one's troubles, but technically -- yes, even in a public bath -- Rashmi is still in survival mode until they leave this never-sufficiently-becursed echo.

When Pluto and Uranus found them, she was overjoyed. Even if that meant Sunbreaker found them too. Y'know, whatever, a present face is a friendly face as far as she's concerned.

The hop-step-jump across dimensions both physical and temporal was... not pleasant. Less not-pleasant than outrunning a tactical nuclear Kunzite? Sure. But unpleasant all the same.

But when she finally, *finally* recognizes her surroundings, oh... Her brain goes into overdrive, because too many things need to be seen to before the dam breaks.

    To CHRONO -- << WE'RE HOME WE'RE OKAY, KIND OF. UNHARMED, MOSTLY. FOLLOW NICOMACHEA. >>

    To Chiyo -- << We're home, we're okay, mostly, but I'm gonna need to decompress before I'm okay to be around people. I'll be at Nurse Meiou's house, could you and Wako get my homework for me? Thanks, and sorry to worry you. >>

Blinking mental-command-space away for a moment at Pluto's question, she looks up, and nods once.

    To LUMINOUS TITAN -- << Hello Luminous Titan, if you could tell your Master that we're out, we're mostly okay, and we're heading back to you. Chrono and I will be staying over a couple days, too. >>

So busy was she sending messages and relays, she barely clocks Sunbreaker being Sunbreaker on her way out, and only an absent "Thanks" passes her lips, as she slowly lowers herself down to *sit* upon the roof.

Chrono will be here soon.

She can let the dam burst then.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
    After Titan Castle, Michiru had been separated, the portals carrying her from scene to scene. All of them eerily familiar to the seer who'd seen them all in a flash upon her arrival. The tragedy she'd not even borne witness to in her past life. Memories that were not hers, flooding her mind, pulling her through portal after portal until she found herself in the bath house. Alone, and nearly catatonic.

    Rashmi's arrival had pulled her out of it and brought her into the moment she was in, with the Page Mage. It was reassuring to have someone there who she knew was real. Who wasn't part of the memories she'd seen. And then the others arrived and she was relieved to see them, even Sunbreaker.

    She rushed to Uranus, and clung to her hand thru both jumps, leaning in to steady her when they stepped out on the rooftop. She just gives Sunbreaker a shake of her head and a roll of her eyes. The girl will never learn.

    Then she turns to the others and nods. "I couldn't agree more."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown's arrival would be announced to Rashmi by Nicomachea warning of a high speed object moving at her.

Then a moment later, his arms were around her. And he was hugging. He'd have hugged all of them, but they weren't all in a bundle.

And he held onto her so tightly it likely felt like she might pop.

"You... did excellently... Rashmi," he said. His voice curt. Struggling. As if the words were physically painful for him to say. "I... I am so p-proud of you... you'll... make an e-excellent enforcer one d-day..."

But he wasn't letting go. And she'd feel something wet on her shoulder and it might be then that she realized he was crying. That... that was new. He'd never cried in front of any of them before. He may cringe, or groan, but he never cried.

... But now he was. "I... I knew you'd all make it out okay..." he whispered. Not going in after them had, honestly... been the hardest thing that he had ever done.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto stands there after everyone is back on Earth. As she does, she tilts her head back, eyes closed and taking slow, deep breaths and just...basks at being in the normal flow of Time once more.

It wasn't until she was away from the constant presence of the Gates of Time in the back of her head that she even noticed they were there...and after so long WITH them...that tiny, reassuring FEEL being GONE was just another thing to disturb and unnerve her about the past.

On TOP of having to see all of that again.

Still...she came out of the whole ordeal with quite a bit of important information...and...

...and as she examines her feelings, the Senshi of Time realizes that, on some deeper level than the immediate, she actually feels...different?

Everything was terrible, yes...and much of what she saw is going to be featuring in her nightmares...but just as she never noticed the Gates of Time's presence until it was gone...she had never felt the very weak tug of her associations with The Underworld before...and being able to lay the Inners, the Prince, and her Princess to rest...even if only virtually...well, it was business that she'd never thought she'd get to finish.

After taking another few deep breaths, she looks down at Chrono and Rashmi as the former glomps onto the latter and hugs for dear life.

She smiles softly and absently lays a hand on the young man's head...just to let him know on some level that she's here.

She knows why he's so focused, after all.

A look is given over at Uranus and Neptune before she finally sighs, "...okay...let's all get Home so that we can collapse properly."

She wipes a gloved hand over her face, "...if I sit down, I'm not getting back up for a while, and I'd rather do that at home."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
Sailor Uranus nods emphatically. "Also this is the longest I've ever been in henshin and..." she pauses. "Well, I mean, in this lifetime, I guess." she says.

    "I... have a lot to talk to you all about, all of you and... I don't wanna do it anywhere that isn't comfortable and safe." she admits. "So Home is the right place to be, yes."

    "And Chrono-kun? Thank you for staying behind, I know that must have been hard. But some people needed to make sure we still had a Tokyo to come back to, and look? Still Tokyo. Excellent job." she says, a half smile. She is exhausted and is only now letting herself feel it - letting herself feel emotions... remembering hugging poor Sailor Saturn...

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The moment Rashmi got the ping, her head snapped up.

And it's with arms open that Chrono collides into her, and if his embrace is strong enough to be painful, hers is likewise Barrier Jacket-enhanced, and equally as desperately relieved.

And when she registers his tears on her shoulder, well... now the dam can break.

And rather than reply, Rashmi is just ugly-crying on Chrono's shoulder. Over two days, she has collected a week and a half's worth of battlefield trauma, so little things like language processing are being shut down until 'safe' can also mean 'secure.'

Until she's gotten the last of her tears out, it's probably gonna be Nicomachea and Chrono who do all the 'having faculties' for her.

Floating behind Rashmi's right shoulder, the large circular gem in the middle of Nicomachea's cover flashes, once.

    << *BONG!* >> << ACKNOWLEDGED, GUEST USER 'Pluto.' SUBJECT 'Luminous Titan' REGISTERS A LARGE AMOUNT OF HIGH-FREQUENCY EMISSIONS FROM HIS MASTER. IT IS TO BE EXPECTED THAT YOUR HOMECOMING WILL BE A WARM ONE. >>

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
    For as much as she struggled inside the nightmare portal, Neptune seemed her usual, aloof and together self. But a small smile crept onto her face as she watched Chrono hug Rashmi. She stepped closer into Uranus, her arm sliding around the taller girl's waist, and her head resting against a shoulder.
    She has a few deep breaths of her own, her eyes lidding and showing her nothing for the first time in days. No terrible visions. No onslaught of horror. It was over. She finally let out her last one as a long, audible sigh.
    "I need junk food, bad television, and I need it yesterday," she declares.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown received a headpat. He... normally would be annoyed. But Pluto was family, he'd let it slide. He'd have let them hitting her with a car slide at this point, though, so that wasn't a big ask.

"Yes, home sounds wonderful. And... yes. Tokyo is fine. Sometimes... sometimes an operative has to stay behind while the rest of the team goes into danger. And that is the best course of action in those situations. No matter... how difficult it can be."

He gave Haruka a small nod. Yeah... If anyone understood, it was likely this lot.

Feeling Rashmi cry on him, though, it made him hold her even tighter, hands moving up to gently cup the back of her head.

She was home. She was home and he hoped he never had to go through that again. "I think... I think all of that sounds wonderful. Anything you all desire, should be yours..." Please. Please never do that to me again. Though he didn't say that, he definitely gave off that feeling...

Luckily, back home, on the ranch as it were? Hotaru was tidying up and so excited to have everyone home again! Yay!

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto chuckles a bit, "Thank you, Nicomachea." She taps her lips with a fingertip as she muses, "...well, if Charon is squeeing about us returning, that means she probably didn't break anything TOO important."

Stretching a little, the greenhaired woman looks around, then nods, "Seconded, Neptune. Fortunately, I've got a stash of cookies, chips, and soda for just this kind of occasion...and unless she's changed her habits in the last two days, Charon should have left us plenty of Ramune in the fridge to tide us over until the ones in the pantry get cool."

She finally dismisses the Garnet Rod, then rolls her shoulders, "Okay, if we push it, we can probably make the roof run home in about fifteen minutes. Unless Nicomachea and Chrono can get the lot of us airborne and fly us home?"

She's not even going to ASK Rashmi to try to do spell math right now. She knows if she didn't have her bindings enhancing her physically, she'd likely be in a similar state.

Once the arrangements are made, she heads with the others home...moving at best speed across town out to Pikarigaoka Ward where the 'Casa Del Outers' is...and she lands in the secluded spot in the backyard that conceals those arriving from above from being easily spotted...then walks over to the house and opens the back door...expecting to get hit by a certain young woman who, while distressingly light, she suspects will be moving at a VERY high rate of speed.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Pluto... was not disappointed. Because barely in time was the door opened before something small, fierce and with black hair nearly took her and the rest of the outers out. Slamming into them with the full force of....

Okay, admittedly even one of them alone wouldn't have been knocked over by her. The fact she ran and tackle hugged all of them, at once? She'd be lucky if they even moved. "I KNEW Riventon would figure it out!" And that was likely NOT what they wanted to hear. But you know what? It worked.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi is indeed in no shape to do spellmath. But, the upside of a *lot* of subjective time in a magical ghost dimension, is the fact that there was enough downtime between panicked bursts of activity, that Rashmi's Linker Core was pretty well topped-up by the time they all returned. Thus, Nicomachea obliges, attaching a Flier Fin spell to the ankles of all present. Following a quick tutorial on how to actually fly, rather than jump, Rashmi simply curls up against Chrono and lets him carry her along.

Wherever they go, she's safe now, and that's all that matters.

Of course, Hotaru's exuberance is the first thing to actually be *able* to pierce through the fog of her tears, and she lifts her -- tear-and-snot-streaked, puffy-eyed, absolutely miserable-looking -- head up off Chrono's shoulder, doing her absolute best to smile wide enough to show how glad she is to see the adorable little cinnamon roll.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    With Flier Fin on top of just being her, Sailor Uranus is the first one home. And, the moment they're all in their own yard, Sailor Uranus' henshin pops with a burst of rose petals into her civilian clotthes and she is immediately attacked by a flying Hotaru. She was in the company of friends and allies - and only friends and allies. So she was able to laugh, reach over, ruffle Hotaru's hair a bit - and that action, the movement, showed her how super-exhausted she was.

    "Hey there, how's my favorite lil moon?" After all Usagi was actually taller than Hotaru. Slightly. So she was the big moon to Hotaru's little moon. "We're all okay. Physically, anyways. And... Missed you."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
    As so often happened, Michiru arrived just a few steps behind her prince. She did not drop her henshin right away. The run across the rooftops on the heels of their time in the portal had left her feeling quite weakened, and she feared she'd collapse if she released the magics keeping her going. They stepped thru the door, and Hotaru hug-tacked them all and the senshi just absolutely loses it, her henshin sliding off her like so much water as her knees gave out and she just dropped straight down to the floor.
    "I'm okay!" She almost immediately says, as she pushes back up to sitting, curling her legs in under her butt. She reaches out a hand to rest on Hotaru's shoulder and smiles. "It is so good to see you, Hotaru-chan."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown just kept holding and stroking Rashmi's head. His family, his new, found family, was okay. They had all survived. They were all safe. That ws all he needed. It was what he DESPERATELY needed. And what he'd been more or less praying for, for the last few days.

The trip back home had been a good one... but watching the girl's henshins start to drop, one by one? He merely smiled. "How about all of you just go and relax, I'll gather snacks and bring them out in a moment."

He would pause... then give Rashmi a little kiss on her forehead. Yes, he did, in fact, fly up high enough he could do that. "You all deserve a break after that."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto spends a few long moments just hugging Hotaru, eyes closed as she silently lets the young woman know she was missed...and loved.

After a time that feels all to brief, Pluto lets the shortest resident of her house go and leads everyone inside.

She knows she's on a clock here...for while her henshin will keep her going for a FAR longer period of time if needed, mentally, she's very nearly clocked out.

And it merely takes a glance around at the others to show that all of them are pretty close in state to same.

As she passes through the kitchen, she starts to turn to duck into the pantry...and then Chrono offers to get snacks.

Sailor Pluto pauses...then smiles and nods, then points first at the pantry, then the fridge, "Okay, Chrono. There should be a bunch chips, crackers and cookies in the pantry over there, as well as some cases of ramune and soda. If you don't mind getting those and putting the drinks in the fridge to cool, and there should be some cold ones already in the fridge." There's a beat, then she snaps her fingers and points at one of the cabinets, "If you want to make some popcorn, it's in there and the bowls are in the cabinet next to them."

Directions to the snacks given, Sailor Pluto then leads the rest into the entertainment room...where she looks at all present and grins, "I've been waiting for an excuse to do this."

At which point she walks over to the nearby bookcase, pulls out a few books in one corner and taps a control they had been concealing...

...and with a soft but audible <BEEP> the two paired sectional couches to either side of the room and the matching ottomans...start rearranging themselves. On their own, they shift, pull together, and the ottomans all arrange themselves within the contained space until it makes a huge cushioned 'bed' with a ridge of couch backs surrounding it on three sides.

Nodding as everything stops moving, Sailor Pluto sits down on the couch back, then rolls over and onto the main couch area...and midway through, she expodes into a burse of cosmic nonsense and the impression of ribbons...which leaves behind Setsuna Meiou wearing a ridiculously oversized t-shirt whose legend reads 'The Many Faces of Vader' and has nine pictures of the villain from Star Wars: Angry, Happy, Sad, Sleepy, Confused, Cheerful, Frustrated, Excited, and Proud. (they're all the same picture).

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe reveled in the attention and, more importantly, the small bit of praise. "I kept the city safe while you were gone," she said proudly. Granted, she really... didn't do much. Or anything, really. But she was taking credit, dang it! She went on a patrol and everything, even if she didn't run into any trouble!

She was entirely unaware of just how the outers would feel, though... how much they'd been through.

How they'd seen what she'd been through, even if she didn't recollect any of it yet.

"I want to hear all about the best parts of your adventure!" she said happily.

The best parts. Just the best parts. She knew, and understood, there were likely things they didn't want to think about...

But the ones they did? She so wanted to hear.

Of course, even those thoughts faded as she watched the front room re-arrange itself. Her eyes wide and shimmering. "So... awesome..." she whispered. "They aren't even youma..."

And then she jumped on the newly de-hensioned Setsuna. More or less doing the Hotaru Belly Flop huggle, then motioning the others to follow!

CUDDLE PILE!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
There was a little noise from the back of Rashmi's throat, as Chrono extricated himself from her arms, and for a moment she looked *terribly* worried. But the worry passed, the moment the Enforcer took to the air, just to give her a kiss on the forehead. Sighing, she allows herself to be led into the entertainment room... and blinks, sharply, as Setsuna looks about to unveil some new wonder.

*BEEP*

"....Okay that *is* seriously cool," she says, removing her glasses to scrub at them... then pauses, looks down at herself, and sighs. Then her Barrier Jacket explodes.

Harmlessly, at least, into quickly-disintegrating shards of golden light, and leaving her in her street-clothes of two days ago; a tight black tank-top over a puffy-sleeved red blouse, long gray skirt, and utterly sensible shoes.

All of which serve to make her I-give-up-on-everything belly-flop onto the robo-couchbed a lot more comfortable than it might otherwise be.

Wriggling her way closer to Hotaru, she spends a few moments, thinking very carefully about any upsides to their adventure.

"Hotaru-chan... Did you know that on the Moon, they had brussels-sprouts that tasted like ice cream?"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
"Wait, what?" Haruka exclaims, first to the room rearranging, and then a second time to Rashmi's comment. "Okay, now we really have to figure out a way for me to punch that witch and have it connect. We could have Brussel Sprouts that taste like ice cream? Instead we live in the world where I'm sure someone in Obsidian has made brussel sprout flavored ice cream." she pouts, a bit. But she needs a silly pout, a sort of lead up to what's coming. She turns around and just falls, back first, into the same sort of people-pile as the others.

    "Honestly, there was some good, and a lot of bad, but mostly I'm tired right now. I've seen so much and... I don't think I've slept the whole time, either."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
    Michiru Kaiou was not, in fact, okay. It takes her some time to get back up onto her feet under her own power. There was a reason she'd collapsed. But she does, finally, make it into the living room. She stumbles over to the couches where the rest of them already are gathered, and collapses again right by the edge, sliding down to the floor. She didn't quite make it to the cuddle pile, but she got quite close.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown didn't take too long... and may have used a bit of magic to, ahem, accelerate the process. But you know what? Who cared. He followed the TSAB protocals all the time, if he didn't this ONE time, who cared? And things were stuffed into his device, one by one, as ramune was put in the fridge, snacks were gathered, bowls and plates were stored...

And then he made it back into the room, paused... Walked over, picked up Michiru with an ease the really belied the fact he was almost literally HALF of her, dropped her (quite gently) onto her prince's lap, then slid into his position besides HIS princess...

And then started pulling out things with his device, popcorn, treats, cookies, chips, all of it...

"Some fresh, actual food will be here within the hour," Chrono said matter of factly. And it was only then that he let his henshin drop and leaned against Rashmi.

... It felt good to finally be able to do something. To help them. To not have to stand by and wait... he... he didn't know if he was strong enough to do that again.

But now? His family was safe. His family was home. And everything, once again, was okay on this weird little planet in its own pocket of dimensional space.