2819/Welcome Back, Molly

Welcome Back, Molly
Date of Scene:	22 October 2025
Location:	Cafe BAKE Neko
Synopsis:	Molly is taken to Mamoru's apartment, following the events of Devil's Gambit. Banana bread is had, the victory... mostly celebrated, and Molly's friends come together to welcome her back to where she belongs.
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Mamoru Chiba, Hinote Kagari, Souta Camero, Amanda Faust, Molly Skyline, Usagi Tsukino

---

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When it was decided that Molly would be taken to Mamoru's apartment, Rashmi didn't respond much; she modded, shifted direction, and summoned a bright golden Shield around herself and the wounded Devicer in her arms. In truth, she was sending mental text messages to everyone she knew who a) knew Molly, b) she had the number of, and c) wasn't already here.

And the very first person on her list was Hinote Kagari.

<< TXT from Rashmi Terios -- Hinote, Tracy; Molly's back. Seriss is *gone,* and Molly's back. We're going to Mamoru's apartment on top of the BAKE Neko. More than *anything* else, I need you to be able to close this case. I already owe you *so much* for everything you did. >>

When the group arrives, and is let into the penthouse, Rashmi takes the unconscioues Devicer to one of the couches. Barrier Jacket strength allows her to spread out a sheet before setting Molly down, then a fluffy blanket atop.

And all the while, Rashmi herself looks like she's waffling between bittersweet triumph, and only unable to cry because she ran out of tears along the way.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's not long after Rashmi finishes setting Molly out on one of the couches that Mamoru arrives, landing on his own balcony instead of teleporting, then vanishing into the kitchen. He comes out a moment later, hot water quietly but audibly on to boil, and he's carrying the promised banana bread, sliced neatly and put out on the table, two loaves. He's silent.

It's warm inside, in contrast to the chill out-of-doors, and the space -- even with lights on -- with the drapes all closed and the tapestries mirroring them, it's a cozy room instead of a cavernous one. The furniture breaks up the space and the acoustics. There's a privacy screen leaning against the wall next to the door with the stained glass window in it.

He goes back in the kitchen and brings out the tray of drinks and assorted other carbohydrates that Kazuo always has stocked and handy, and then the first thing he says, after Rashmi addresses Hinote, is, "Oh and, does anyone need to scream anything out in the rage room?"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari is dead asleep when he gets the message and he sort of reaches for his phone on the nightstand with that 'hand trying to find it thing' one does when their head is buried in a pillow and he pulls it under the covers and reads the message...

One hurried dressage later, a transformation, he is out the window and Pulp Noir is hopping across fire escapes and running rooftops and he arrives!----at the door like a normal person dropping henshin when he gets close enough and dusting himself off, Tracy adjusting his fedora and he arrives with the brush of his hair as he says. "Hey. I'm here." he says to Rashmi. "Sorry that took a moment." he says as he shakes off the remainders of sleep.

"Hey Mamoru. Nice place. Sorry this has to be the first time I'm seeing it. Is Molly going to be okay?" he asks with a more concerned tone.

"....Rage room?" asks Tracy.

Souta Camero has posed:
    Souta Camero wasn't even around when Molly was first lost. Yet at the same time this was the big case that the local TSAB was handling when he first arrived. It's only natural that he'd get involved. The lack of personal stakes in Molly's fate was irrelevant. The fact that he didn't know her was irrelevant. There was a job to do. Souta did his part, because he's a TSAB officer.

    Yet no one's truly an island, and whenever someone goes missing presumed dead there's often someone else intensely worried about them. There's a sort of decorum that an Inspector has to adopt when handling cases like these, a gentleness and sensitivity regarding the feelings of those who do have personal stakes.

    So Souta is hanging near Rashmi, being silently supportive, being there but out of the way. He lands on the balcony shortly after the rest of the group and walks in, standing at a distance with arms crossed as he watches Molly be placed on the couch. Souta frowns thoughtfully as he mentally goes over the case data with Paradise Spectrum. At the offer of the rage room, he simple holds up his hand to say, 'no thanks'. "Not for me, though I wouldn't pass judgement on anyone who would."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...You have a rage room?" Rashmi asks, head lifting up. "...Darnit that would have been *so handy* so many times..."

Shaking her head, she smiles her thanks as Mamoru puts out banana bread and starts tea, and Hinote and Tracy's arrival has her hurriedly flagging them over to the couch. "I mean, define 'okay,'" she says ruefully. "She's about as healthy as anyone who lost an arm can be, and Mamo-san's already done his best to keep it from getting worse. But there's also the whole 'everything that happened,' so... Honestly, your guess is as good as mine."

Glancing over her shoulder at the attentive Souta, Rashmi can't help but smile crookedly... then hand the Inspector a plate with a slice of banana bread and a fork. "So you have something for your hands to do," she says, managing a chuckle.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru gives Souta an amused and faintly arch look, and he says, "Glad for that, Inspector-- after all, I have a rage room." He laughs, something bizarrely fragile about the way his voice sounds. Well.

Molly's arm.

He ducks his head and piles a couple of sliced of banana bread on a plate along with a couple of dango, then slides over a pineapple soda and a ginger beer and folds himself into one of the tavern chairs.

"Anyway yeah, sorry," he says, looking at Rashmi with a wry expression. "I think I mentioned it once and you were interested, and I forgot to follow up. It's small... it used to be the apartment's genkan. When you see how big it is you'll know why it makes a good small rage room. A genkan," finishes the boy, shaking his head: there's his line for something Too Ostentatious.

He looks over to the chara, then, and Hinote, and he grins. "Thanks for that. Welcome! And, a rage room in this sense is a room where you can take physical destructive loud embarrassing rage out without hurting anyone or breaking anything that matters. There's stuff in it to smash, or you can just scream it out... and nobody will be bothered by it."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    After the overwhelmingly urgent need to remove the danger of Seriss Nix and whatever she was summoning in order to tend to Molly, and then helping Mamoru make sure Molly wouldn't bleed out and was as stable as they could manage, the adrenaline can slowly begin to fade and Amy can think about less immediate things.

    (Like what does it mean that she could feel she had potential magic in that vague direction, but not that specifically, when she reached to counter Seriss's power? ...Okay, that's going to need a clearer head to think about another time. Amy's brain is still spinning in emergency mode, but there's no more emergency to handle -- Seriss neutralized, Molly stabilized, Setsuna notified, friends notified.

    Maybe it's a good thing she has to roofrun her way to the apartment -- her brain can focus on the moment-to-moment challenges of timing and positioning leaps and trying not to smash into walls, roofs, or pavement.

    She drops down to the balcony from the roof.

    She just stands there with a blank expression, blinking, when offered the rage room. She'd never considered that. "...I don't... know? I don't think so... I guess I kinda got it out at Seriss, at the end there..." she rubs the back of her neck and grimaces slightly as she recalls making sure that Seriss was reduced to a stain on the pavement. She just doesn't feel that same anger as she did minutes ago.

    "Now I just feel... mostly relieved, I guess. Kinda mad about the new problems Seriss left us with, perhaps, but not at screaming level yet."

    She doesn't inquire as to the specifics of the rage room or what a rage room is -- it just somehow fits, that someone would come up with the idea of a rage room and that Mamoru would have one in this apartment.

    She's left a bit listless -- without 'something for her hands to do' and it feels a little out of place to like, just read manga or something.

    It feels like the sort of moment where, if there were adults around, one of them would be making tea, and someone would ask how can you be making tea at a time like this, and they'd wisely explain about how it grounds them when they don't know what to do.

    ...She just ran-and-superjumped through a cold night, actually, some hot tea sounds nice.

    So she goes to the kitchen and starts making tea. Decaf. Black is fine, she might try herbal depending on what's available. "Anyone else want some?"

    Hearing Mamoru, her brain also starts trying to put together some sort of wordplay about his limit (genkai) being a genkan.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari nods at Souta, and has probably shared his notes by now he got by beating it out of various Obsidian folks and a rhino youma. Mainly that Molly was alive and go info on Starcrash being repurposed. Which led Rashmi to figuring out where she was... a bit too late but still!

What's important was Hinote's hunch and instincts we're mostly right and he didn't give up. He mutters. "Turn me into a master detective, Chara-change!" he calls out, a fedora magically popping into existence on his head as he draws it over his eyes with a stern expression. He reaches behind himself and magically produces a casefile folder labeled 'Molly' and opens it, examining it.

He produces a pen and starts writing into the casefile, the various updates to the case. Molly's condition... How's he's doing that? Detective magic.

"Something tells me you can't magically heal an arm into existence." he asks Mamoru, without looking up from the case file. He already knows the answer.

He's maybe hoping he'll be told he's wrong. That won't happen.

Souta Camero has posed:
    The Inspector is handed a plate of banana bread by Rashmi and says, "Thank you," before looking down at the bread. Does it really taste like banana? He's about to find out. He also nods to Hinote because he respects a fellow detective.

    Around that time Souta becomes vaguely aware that the way he phrased may have sounded a bit off, so he clears his throat and tries to think of a better way to say it. "I meant... more... it would be understandable..." Concerned that he might just be digging a deeper hole for himself, he just looks away and says, "... Sorry. Thanks for the offer."

    Then he takes a bite of the bread, because banana bread tastes better than having his foot in his mouth.

    Considering how wild this planet is, he's not surprised that something like a 'rage room' exists here. If anything he's surprised it's never been mentioned to him before, or that it's not more common.

    "So... what can be done about the arm?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
'Without looking up' means that Hinote can't see Mamoru's expression, which is-- shuttering closed a little bit, and he glances away. "No, I can't. I could have reattached it, but I'm-- I can't just, I can't reset it. Sorry."

He puts banana bread in his mouth and chews for a moment, then glances back at the kitchen, and swallows, and he calls to Amy, "Hibiscus rose chamomile's the big one at the back of the counter. It's very calming and also smells nice."

His smile at Souta is small but warm. "I'm sorry. You're fine, I didn't think you meant it badly. It was just funny enough to call out. And you're welcome, of course." Then he looks down at his ginger beer and pops it open, and sips just enough to set his mouth pleasantly on fire. "It'll have to be a prosthetic. There are really cool, advanced ones these days, without even having to be magitech. She-- she had one in the dream. The dream of grown-up her."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Hey," Rashmi says as Mamoru apologizes for not following up. "If neither of us followed up, then it cancels out and everything's fine."

But then Mamoru retrets inward, and tries to *apologize for not being able to regrow limbs.* And she closes her eyes, taking a deep breath and shifting from her position to sit in front of Mamoru, clearly wishing to make eye contact but not forcing it. "Mamo-san," she says gently. "I know. One of us might have been able to grab it, if we were paying attention. Or maybe if Mado-chan was there a Benotafraid that could have kept it safe. There's a million, *million* ways it could have gone differently, for better or worse."

Looking up, she tries to go for maximum possible wattage on this smile. "And in this world? You helped get her back, and *you kept her from dying.* So... I'll take the miracle I got and be thankful for it, y'know?"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari shifts uncomfortably, even if he doesn't look up from the casefile. He seems to almost be hiding in it as he jots down notes. "I wasn't there. I could had nabbed it. I'm sorry. Too many...mysteries. Too many cases unsolved. Too many leads." he says as he squeezes the pen between fingers.

"As long as everyone made it back okay." he says as he breathes out. "-and in livable pieces. If not in one piece." he offers.

Tracy is making...coffee. and floats into the room with it and hands the mug to Hinote. "Coffee. Black. Black like the most stormiest of nights. Like whe---" pause. "Nevermind." he says with a blush as he sips the coffee and mutters.

He goes back to writing. "So what was the fight like?" he asks Rashmi.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy does reach to get tea from the indicated box, placing a packet on the counter near where she's boiling water.

    Souta asked a question. And Mamo feels guilty about not being able to solve a problem. To the latter, "What Rashmi said." She nods.

    In answer to the former, she looks to Souta. "I don't know what medical technology is like in your society. But missing an arm or a leg isn't unheard of on Earth."

    She sucks in air through her teeth, and her facial expression shows that awkwardness of talking about a very serious issue belied by her informative tone. "It's... obviously something people can learn to live with. Friends can help. Accomodations can help. Prostheses can help. But it's... never going to be the same as just having her arm back. Prostheses you can control as naturally, let alone feel the same sensation from, as a real arm are the stuff of science fiction, here."

    She takes a breath, crosses her arms, and leans back against the kitchen island (or just stands if there isn't one.)

    "...But she's got good friends, she's at Radiant Heart of all places, and we've got people with resources -- possibly even for some sort of magitech solution better than current technology, though perhaps still not the same as flesh" she notes, remembering Hotaru, "-- so the situation's about as good as it can be, for someone who's lost an arm, at least." She grimaces slightly again.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Since the fight, Molly has only briefly been conscious; just long enough to register that she is herself again, and she fought to stay awake long enough to say the all important three words to Rashmi. Since then she's been entirely passed out, and is now laying on the couch.

Behind the cracked lenses of her glasses, her sleeping expression is... calm, if not peaceful. There's a knot in her brow suggesting that peace eludes her.

Starcrash, likewise, is silent. Still in the greatsword form of Cygnus Lich, the magical squivalent of an artillery piece could easily be mistaken for a detailed bit of cosplay kit, as it is and has remained offline.

Eventually, as the conversation around her picks up, the purplenette begins to stir towards consciousness. Her legs stretch out, and she shifts her arm like she's going to roll onto her side. A quiet 'mmmmnnph' passes her lips.

One eye opens, and the other follows, just enough to register her as returning to wakefulness.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
When Rashmi angles for the eye contact, Mamoru looks up at her, knees up between him and the table, his heels on the seat, and he gives her a wry, very tired smile. At least it's not an apologetic one. "Guess I'm greedy," he says, and reaches over to briefly touch Rashmi's hand, fingertips to fingertips on the tabletop, and show her that he's predominantly just heartsick over it and can't shut it off-- but it's temporary. For him.

There's the memory of his burnt claw of a hand after Hinoiri-- and then his hand retreats swiftly, perfectly fine, scarless, and Mamoru shifts in his seat and puts the ginger beer down with his other hand. He leans sideways to get his banana bread and dango plate, then munches silently along as he listens to the other kids talk. He nods to Hinote and Tracy, and Rashmi and Ami. "That's the most important part, yeah. I'll--"

He drops off talking, and if he were a cat his ears would be swiveling to home in on Molly stirring. He stuffs his mouth full of dango.

Souta Camero has posed:
    Souta glances at Mamoru for a moment and decides that it's actually a good thing that the long-haired pretty boy has a mouth full of banana bread because it excuses him from responding, but as long as no one's actually upset about what he said he's not going to worry about it. Especially since there's something much more important to be upset about.

    There are regrets about the lost limb. Souta remains calm yet sympathetic. "There's always a way things could have gone better, and there's always something to learn, but once the present becomes the past you're stuck with what you got," he says, quoting something his instructor once told him.

    To Amy, he shrugs. "Prosthetics aren't unheard of, but you don't actually see a lot of cybernetics either. I have to admit, it's not my field of expertise."

    Molly stirs, and Souta turns his gaze towards her. "Looks like Princess Aurora has finally awoken. Welcome back."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"She was *offended we were still fighting her,*" Rashmi sighs at Hinote, nodding her understanding of Mamoru's smile. When the contact happens, all Mamoru can get from Rashmi is worry, gratitude, and if there's upset about the arm, well... there was a *lot* to be upset about, that evening, and most of it is of a piece.

"And it was just nothing but that; 'How dare you, do you know who I am, I'm not supposed to fail, weh weh weh--"

She's just about to go on, when Molly makes the noise and stirs, and while Rashmi has never shown any ability to *actually teleport,* well... it's a retty near thing, this time.

"Heyyyyy, Molly-chan," she says gently. "Good to see you again."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods at Rashmi's complaints about Seriss, then blinks at Souta. "You've been reading Earth fairy tales? ...Ah. Ironically, most Earthlings haven't actually read it. They'd just say 'Sleeping Beauty' when making such a reference."

    Then her head suddenly turns towards, "Wait, she's--?!"

    She takes a breath and then approaches, smiling down at her, glad to see Molly be Molly again, back in her body... and also still worried about how Molly's feeling after everything that's happened to her. "Good to see you."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Scribble, scribble scribble. Stop.

Tracy floats over first and takes his fedora off to display a tuft of short black hair. Hinote looks up and walks over , and finally closes the folder as Rashmi and Amy make their way over. They speak first. He hasn't earned that yet. He wasn't at the fight. When they've said hello. The pleasantries. He finally speaks.

No Heya Dollface.

No silly names.

"Molly-chan." he says. "Welcome back. It's good to see you." he says softly.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly blinks several times, and makes that 'mmmmnph' sound twice more, before she shakes her head and her eyelids retreat all the way. She looks up at the people around her, breath catching and eyes glistening.

And then she rolls onto her side, and for a moment it looks like she's about to get up. But she doesn't; she just kind of wiggles around for a moment, without success, and--

One of her arms doesn't do what it used to.

Understanding spreads across Molly's features, and she sucks in a deep breath before using her right arm to push herself upright, making sure she's stable before adjusting her spectacles.

Broken once again as they are.

"...h-hey," she mumbles, propping herself up with her right hand like she's afraid she might fall over. She swallows audibly, and looks up at everyone. "I'm... I'm here." She sucks in a breath. "Is... is everyhone okay? Everyone made it through?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"You're here," Rashmi echoes softly, bobbing her head. "And everyone made it through. You're back, Molly-chan... And you're safe."

There doesn't really feel like much else to say, and the Devicer rests a hand on the one Molly's using to hold herself upright. "You hungry? Thirsty, maybe?"

...Honestly with a practically brand new body, who can say how hungry she is?

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Everyone's back, Seriss Nyx is dead, nobody's told your moms yet," Mamoru says with his mouth full, from the table, hand in front to keep himself from accidentally dropping any food. "I would suggest sleeping first before going home. And also practicing getting really good at saying 'I don't remember'."

He's folded up so much in that chair, making his tall self as small as possible without even realizing it. "There's fresh banana bread."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy still looks worried, but her smile widens when she hears Molly's voice again. It's been so long, outside of dreams. She nods. "Yup! Seriss didn't get us."

Souta Camero has posed:
    "All good," says Souta, after everyone else has spoken. "Well, as much as it can be."

    Does Molly remember the dream? She seems to. He winces sympathetically at her reaction to the lack of arm, but he doesn't comment on it.

    That has to be a rough way to wake up, he thinks. Even if they might count her lucky to wake up at all.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari winces when Molly tries to get up on an arm that isn't there. He goes, and gets some banana bread, some tea quick, and returns. He offers the bread and tea, but not both at once, because... you know. One arm.

He says. "I'm glad to see you, you know. I don't feel... I should go into the details. Not yet. But. Glad." he says. He notices Mamoru is shrinking into the chair.

He can only make inferences. This is probably a big deal in his apartment. He makes a note to do something later.

Tracy puts his hat back on. "When everyone thought you might had died, Hinote and I beat the living bejeebus out of everyone until they spoke and we fought a big youma and brought back information about you a while ago! We're basically the best detectives in the world, dollface!" he says, speaking his tiny hands out.

Hinote slaps a hand across his eyes. "I specifically said I shouldn't go into the details." he mutters. Charas. It's like you can't have an internal voice anymore!

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi had taken longer to get back to Mamoru's apartment than the others for a simple reason: after the fight and everything that happened, after Molly lost her arm and was healed, after Seriss Nyx was finally vanquished from their world and her enormous boss banished back through his portal in space once more, there was still - Hotaru.

Hotaru, who wasn't looking well, and who'd seen worse than a girl losing her arm, maybe, but was still young, and had ended up fighting the back-up they hadn't even realized Seriss Nyx had alone.

She said she was fine, but Usagi didn't believe that - none of them were fine. So she'd gotten her home, to Haruka and Michiru, and now she'd made it back to Mamochan's home, and she can hear enough conversation to know Molly is awake, and slips in through the balcony as her usual self instead of Sailor Moon.

"It's good to see you awake, Molly-chan," she greets her friend as she takes a seat by Mamoru's side.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"I... I know," Molly murmurs, looking up at Hinote and Tracy. "Seriss knew about you poking into stuff. She thought you were really annoying which meant you were doing an excellent job." Molly manages a thing smiles as she accepts the offered tea -- of course the Brit goes for the tea first -- and has just a small sip. "Hey, Usagi-Chan," she adds, as the one they call Sailor Moon arrives.

She looks up at Rashmi, trying to find a smile; palpably, trying really hard. She casts a very grateful look to Momaru. Her gaze travels to Amy, and Souta, who both fought so hard for her; one who knew her and one who didn't. "I... I..."

I did die, she wants to say. She remembers doing it. But she's alive again now. She's alive, and Seriss is gone, and her friends are here. A tear rolls out of each eye, and she has to think for a moment, putting down the tea so she her fingertips can banish them.

"I'm..." She trails off, struggling for words. What do you say, after something like this?

"I'm sorry," she blurts out at last, fresh tears accompanying the words out of her mouth, and her shoulders shake as she drops her forehead into her hands. "For everything. Everything. I'm so sorry. I told... Rashmi-chan I wanted to be there for the next big fight, I didn't... I never wanted to BE the next big fight, I'm, I..."

Words fail, as the purplenette chokes up on her own sorrow and her emotions all collapse inwards around her.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"...let's," says Mamoru softly, his banana-bread-free hand seeking Usagi's out, "found a new team, Molly-san. The Sumimasentai Squad. I just got told off for apologizing. I think 'i'm sorry a demonic horror from another star system's dusk zone or whatever possessed my body and tried to kill you' is a little silly. Also, everyone wants to help, no one likes to stay home. Also, I was told firmly not to beat myself up when there are plenty of others to do the job for me."

He glances at Rashmi for the last, faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Usagi's arrival is met with a grateful smile, but when Molly starts speaking, well... This entire year has been wrapped up in seeing the purplenette safe and sound. But when the tears come, Rashmi's own face crumples, and she lunges forward to wrap Molly up in a fierce hug.

At Mamoru's suggestion of the Sumimasentai Squad, she can't help but laugh wetly, and pull back to look into her friend's face. "While we're all apologizing for stuff we shouldn't... I'm sorry I didn't actually kill Viluy the first time she hurt you, so none of this would have even happened."

She tries to keep her voice light, but... oh, there is a roughness underneath, a hint of 'kidding ha ha but am I ha ha no I'm kidding unless...'

It's been an awful, awful year for all of us, Molly-chan, but you're *back.* And when the next time comes, you are *so* gonna be there with us."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi reaches out without looking, lacing her fingers with Mamoru's. When he suggests the Suminasentai, there's the comforting warmth of her amusement and her agreement.

"Mamochan's right. There are some things that aren't yours to apologize for. So... however else you need to feel, all the other mourning you should get to do, just - the last thing you need to do is apologize."

Other than that? She leans into her husband, quiet. She and Molly were friends, but not the closest, bestest, of friends, which is what Rashmi is, and she's not getting in the middle of that hug.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari frowns suddenly, and crosses his arms, but this time. It's at Molly. He draws his fedora off his head. "First off." he says. "Seriss was the perp. You. Are the victim. And Victims in this case don't apologize for being perpetuated against." he says, gruffly, before he places the fedora, square on Molly's head, and draws it down over her eyes so she can cry, in peace, if she needs, with eyes hidden.

"-and that perp was summarily punished. Proved guilty with this evidence here. See?" he says, motioning to the case file, in his hands. "And you. Are rescued, and saved which means..." he tosses it into the air and with a little spin in mid air... there's a sudden thud, and it comes down into his hand with a big 'Case Closed' stamp on it. The case is sealed, and Hinote hides it behind his back because he's still technically Chara-changed and these things work on wacky cartoon physics for some reason. Detective Magic, okay.

He also does all that without getting in the way of the hug.

Souta Camero has posed:
    Souta is still watching the reunion from a comfortable distance. When Usagi arrives he waves his bread-holding hand at her and gives her a slight smile before turning his attention back to Molly and the group. "You have nothing to apologize for. You did what you could."

    Then he watches as Hinote declares the case closed, and tries not to chuckle when Paradise Spectrum telepathically tells him she wishes she had a stamp.

    "Besides. Out of all of us, you're the one who had the worst time of it," he says to Molly. "No one could hold all of that against you."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods at Tracy, smiling at him. "It's true. He kept looking when we mourned you, and he found evidence of what Obsidian was doing with you and Starcrash."

    She wants to say something like 'we should have all had that attitude' but... isn't sure that's quite right, and isn't sure what to say.

    And then Molly says she's sorry. For--

    Amy will go for a hug, if possible. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It's not your fault, what your body and Device were used for, and I know saying that won't make the feeling go away, but..." She glances at the others and then back to Molly.

    "Maybe if all your friends keep telling you that for a couple of years, it'll start to sink in and the... the misplaced-but-no-less-painful-for-it-guilt will lessen."

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly finds herself hugged from both sides as Rashmi and Amy both pile in, and Hinote plops his fedora on top of her head. And for several minutes she sobs so desperately that she couldn't possibly talk even if she wanted to. And, afterall, she's been waiting for nearly a year to get this tearful catharsis.

It is, finally, over.

"...Thank you," she whispers at last, once she can choke out the words. "Thank you, all of you, for... for saving me. For not giving up. For not just... killing Seriss, even when I said that you should. For getting my life back." She pauses, and looks up at Rashmi, "For being there... on the phone at two o'clock in the morning when I somehow woke up without her, those... those two times."

There's banana bread. Molly can't deny that she's hungry. Really hungry, which signals that she's out of mana, not that she needs mana for anything right now but...

She picks up a nearby slice of banana bread, and manages to nibble a little peice off of the corner.

"Yeah, Mamoru-San. And... I know I didn't... need to apologize but... I did. I don't know how to... I... I just did."

The purplenette looks down, and finally, her eyes turn to look at her arm. Her left arm. The one that's now much shorter than it was before, and she sucks in a breath.

"How do I explain this to my Moms?" she whispers.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You don't," Usagi says, her voice sympathetic but honest. "You can't. Nothing you say will make sense, and it's - it's never going to be the same. There's nothing you can say. You don't remember. You remember being scared and you wanted to go home, but you can't remember where you were."

It's the only thing that can be said. There's no world in which Molly can explain to her parents what happened, and they'll believe her. Magic doesn't 'exist' after all, and there's no way to prove to them that it does.

There's no way to tell them why Molly really disappeared, or why she looks exactly the same as she did the day she disappeared, except for the arm and the horror in her eyes. There's just -

"I don't remember is about all you can say that they'll even kinda understand."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Every time Souta speaks up, Mamoru remembers he's earnest and sensible and pretty and looks good in uniform and has a sword. And has long hair.

Honestly that's why Jadeite never really stood a chance, short hair.

His fingers lace more tightly with Usagi's and possibly perversely, he's in a better mood now. He lets his legs down off the seat of his chair and finishes his second piece of banana bread. He's thinking of:

Practically, the privacy screens and one of the guest pillows instead of couch cushions. Directions to the bathroom... breakfast items, where to get Molly set up to go to call her parents for a ride maybe... if there's anything they need to CYA over to make sure none of Molly's friends get implicated in her disappearance or return. He's also thinking:

If Molly stays over tonight Rashmi should too.

"Molly-san, Rashmi-nokimi~, do you want to sleep here tonight? It is like two in the morning. There are privacy screens and we can slide the other couch closer and set it up as a bed too."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi nods along with Usagi's advice -- heartbreaking though it is, it's also the only thing she could ever think of -- and Amy's... though she looks faintly surprised at *most* of the Puella's incisive and honest advice, but pleasantly so.

'Rashmi-no-kimi' gets a turned head, and a moment where her face is practically shouting 'wait, is he serious?' But then she detects the presence of Trollmaru, and narrows her eyes with a smirk. "Ast thou wishest, Mamoru-sama. Vertily, 'twould be the highest honor one could bestow upon this insignificant worm."

Hey if you wanna get old-school, Rashmi can *go* old-school.

"But yeah... Since you're offering, I think I'd really like that, Mamo-san. Thanks."

It's more difficult than it feels like it ought to be, to disentangle herself from her hug with Molly... but she has not had a single banana bread, and there is a melon soda calling her name damnit.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy hugs -- and finally dehenshins as the chestpiece of her costume makes that a bit uncomfortable -- she hugs for awhile. Although eventually she remembers she has to go stop boiling that water so as not to burn the pot, and starts the tea steeping.

    It smells nice.

    She returns to discussion of Molly's parents, and her face falls. Usagi puts it well.

    "I think... I hope... that their first concern, their foremost concern, will be about you and that you're... how you're doing. Hopefully they can stay more focused on that, then on finding something that can't be explained."

    Can they really, though? When there might be a danger to their child out there.

    "...Who knows? If we can stop the Fade... maybe there's a way to let some people know about magic."

    Beat.

    "...What if you ask Santa? It's almost Christmas. Maybe you can... get a moment to talk to them, and even if they don't remember it after, maybe they'll... Maybe the feeling of not needing to worry about it as much will persist."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
In the midst of these very heartfelt sentiment, Usagi sends Mamoru a single thought: what the fuck is she talking about?

What does Santa Claus have to do with this?? Is it about the Santa run??? How are fried chicken and romance going to help Molly's parents break the veil???

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru's eyes are wide.

Amy believes in Santa Claus.

He turns to stare at Usagi, then hazards, "Is that like wishing on a star? I think I'd rather wish on a star. Less coca-cola."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"How I'm doing with my arm, you mean?" Molly asks gently, looking up at Amy. "You can... you can say it. It's not like I can forget about it, it's not..." She sighs, "I's not like it's coming back and I get reminded every four seconds that it's gone when I try to do literally anything that I would have done with my left hand, like try to pick up my tea and guess what the tea stays right there on the table."

"I know I can't tell my Moms what happened I just... wish Icould tell them something more satisfying than 'I can't remember'. How are they ever supposed to make peace with that? I love them, I don't want to..."

Cause them pain, she almost says. Almost.

"I know they'll be glad to see me back, but... I don't think we should call them here. That'll just... There'll be questions. Rashmi-chan, can you, please, take me home tomorrow? I know it'll be weird for them for me to just show up again with only one arm but like... I don't know what else to do."

She pauses, and sucks in a deep breath. "And I want my Moms back," she whispers.

The purplenette stews in her thoughts, and finally manages to pick up the tea for a long sip. The banana bread is next, a whole peace finally getting devoured. And it's good to do these simple things for herself.

"I know I've got some really hard things in front of me, but I've got my friends. And I've got my body back. So at least I've got a chance, right?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I mean... what would be more satisfying? Really, I mean. If you could tell them anything of what really happened, they'd probably ground you from fighting ever again, and then you'd have to sneak out and lie to them and be right back at the beginning."

It's apologetic, but practical.

Molly is going through something terrible, has been through something terrible, but Usagi hadn't been able to give any kind of reasonable explanation for why her house was partially demolished, or why her brother's best friend had his throat crushed, or why her then boyfriend now husband was kidnapped and tortured.

The truth is, that being who they are means lying to people they love, because there's nothing they can do to help.

She's a little glad Molly wants Rashmi to take her home, too, if only because - she can only think of how bad it would look, for Molly to just be here, with her now healed up stump that almost looks like an ages old injury just from how well it's been healed...

"You've definitely got a chance. You made it through Seriss Nyx - you can handle anything."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy just nods when Molly points out that she's not going to forget about the arm. "...I actually meant the situation in general, recovering from... the disappearance, minus an arm, but... yeah. That sucks." She's not sure what else to say on the matter.

    It'll get easier, you'll get used to it, true perhaps but hollow coming from her.

    Amy's eyes go wide when she hears Mamoru and she realizes how she just sounded.

    She stammers, "Buh, buh, but he's real! We saved Christmas! Twice! There was Toymajin, and, and the Misers were messing things up... we flew in the sleigh..."

    She covers her reddening face. Oh my god.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I... uh--" When Molly asks Rashmi to be the one to just take her home tomorrow, the redhead freezes, eyes wide. "I mean if that's what you want Molly-chan then absolutely, but like... how did I find you? And note that I'm about as good at lying as Usagi-chan is at competitive-grade Dance Dance Revolution?"

Usagi's clumsiness is, after all, the stuff of legend, and if she *hasn't* been seen trying out the dance machines at the Game Crown... well, it'd be easy to guess why.

And Amy invokes *Santa Claus* of all people, and while Usagi and Mamoru respond with a hearty 'what' and Amy starts falling into an Embarrassment Spiral, Rashmi just reaches out and pats her fellow redhead's shoulder. "Hotaru-chan's mentioned that a couple times, Amy-chan," she says gently. "And given this year also involved alternate timelines and a wedding on the moon... I believe it."

However, she has to circle back to Molly, and sighs. "Just let me know when you're ready to go back, Molly-chan, and I'll go with you. Trust me... I *really understand.*"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"The awful thing," Mamoru murmurs more to himself than to Amy, but at a pitch Amy can hear, "is that that could be true, so probably is, because you don't lie." He pinches the bridge of his nose when Rashmi confirms it. "I don't want to think about the mechanics of that. At all. I have so much sympathy for Chrono-kun and for you, sometimes," he gives Souta a woeful look, and then he turns back to Molly, to Rashmi, to the topic at hand.

He doesn't know what to say, and he's so tired, and he smiles a little crookedly then squeezes Usagi's hand: he's going to set the screens and the other couch up; he wonders if Molly might like to borrow some Usagi pajamas, leaves it as a suggestion as his fingers trail off of hers and he gets up.

He pads silently in sock feet across the huge living room, going past Molly's couch to get the privacy screens from where they're leaning against the wall near the hall to the bathroom, then starts standing them up in easy reach for Rashmi to move at will. "Think of a lie in the morning before you leave. I'll help. I was a villain for a long time, I got pretty good at it. Not worth trying to do it now, you're exhausted."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"I- I won't ask you to do anything that involves lieing," Molly replies quickly to reassure Rashmi. "I just... I want to get home, that's all. When my Moms come you can be out of sight if you want, or... I mean you could just say you found me at the park, that's... more or less true, really."

"But, I need a lie, and that's true." She shoots Mamoru a grateful look, and bobs her head. "Before we leave in the morning," she promises. "I hope I don't wake anyone up in the night, I... this is my first night sleeping, like, normally again and I'm..." She sucks in a breath, "I'm scared I'll wake up and all of yo urescuing me was just a dream and Seriss is still in control. Or..."

Molly trails off, and looks at her tea. And once again, she just stares at it, like she's willing it to fly up to her mouth, until she blushes and dips her head. "...Right," she mumbles, before reaching for it with her right hand.

"Look, I--" She glances at Amy, with her stories about Christmas, and then Usagi, with her sage advice, and shakes her head. "I'm scared, and I'm... afraid of what this means," she glances at her arm, "And I'm... tired. But you all fought really hard to save me and... there's gotta be stuff that's good, going on. Tell me about stuff that I missed?" She smiles, albeit weakly, and reaches up to brush another tear away from under her eye. "What all has happened that I missed?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Well Usagi-chan and Mamo-san have a kid," Rashmi begins, then blinks. "...No wait you already met her. But that whole thing is done now, alternate-timeline travel was involved and it was pretty rough. These two," she says, nodding at Usagi and the departing Mamoru, "also got married on the moon! I'll show you pictures of everything, don't worry--"

And as it turns out, the last ten months covered a *lot* of ground. Rashmi's still talking when Souta and Amy bow out, when she's setting up the privacy screens and the other couch, when she's stowing Starcrash's mangled form... *All of it* is papered over in every detail of the last year that had nothing at all to do with Seriss Nyx.

And when it's time to actually go to sleep, Rashmi makes sure that before she falls under, she has Molly's hand on top of hers.

Because *absolutely nothing* will banish that fear of waking up to find it all gone, than waking up to a reality the nightmare could never contain.