1472/Dimension Past: Please Do Not Stab Anyone

Dimension Past: Please Do Not Stab Anyone
Date of Scene:	29 April 2024
Location:	Golden Kingdom
Synopsis:	Some of our heroes come in on the aftermath of a fight, and after the initial kerfluffle, a quiet moment of encouragement in the face of oncoming doom.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Jadeite, Ami Mizuno, Naru Osaka, Kazuo Saitou, Usagi Tsukino
Tinyplot:	Operation: Past

---

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The royally-appointed townhouse was a lovely respite for Usagi, and a nice introduction for Kazuo, Naru, and Ami, but this isn't that townhouse.

This is the palace, an upper room in the outer fortress, looking down on squadrons of training soldiers in an enormous courtyard. The air itself is tense in this room, and Endymion stands by the window with his arms crossed, missing cape an armor, just wearing the jacket and trousers and boots-- his sword is on the big desk in its sheath, and there are papers everywhere, and ashes, and when our heroes walk in, there's the immediate echo of a slamming door and angry footsteps outside it.

It's daylight, at least. They're not training them at night, at least -- or, they're not at the moment.

He's Endymion, that's for sure: shorter than Mamoru, browner, with somewhat curlier hair-- the same impossibly blue eyes, the same smile, even if there's no smile in evidence now. Just a scowl.

The papers drift, the soldiers shout, there are cicadas in the distance, and the air is hot and humid, and Tamaki and Kazuo may in fact have eerie deja-vu: there was obviously a fight here. It obviously just ended. Given the troops outside, there are few things the fight could have been about.

Jadeite has posed:
Jadeite has been stressed, stressed and more stressed as he wanders the halls of the old palace, seeing long-forgotten faces and hearing long-gone voices. He doesn't remember this day - many of the memories he regained were fragmented, made worse by the veil of Beryl's influence -

So when he steps out of a portal and Kazuo leads Ami and Naru out of another, hours of stress vanish from his shoulders as he staggers forward, taking Kazuo's hands.

"Thank goodness you're here," he whispers. It's unlikely that this Endymion will hear them, but.... He's not risking it.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The short visit to the townhouse was at least enough to start to get bearings on this whole 'time portal' situation. Ami was fairly certain she could get communication to the outside world. She just needed a further point of reference. One or two more steps to different points in 'time' and she would have the data needed to triangulate a proper signal.

Decked out in Earth Court garb for now, Ami steps through the portal this time doing her best to keep hold of the others as she does to ensure they aren't seperated again.

Just in time to hear the slamming door, a sound which jars her nerves as soon as she steps foot into the palace. Usually slamming doors meant an argument between her and her mother. The sound sets her on edge a bit automatically.

"What... happened here?" Of course she could deduce there was a fight of some kind perhaps. That was obvious. It's the rest that has her a bit concerned as she steps further in toward that desk covered with ... Was that ash? From fire?

Jadeite's sudden appearance causes her to blink as well as she blurts out, "Tamaki are you okay?" Of course it's Kazuo he goes to, naturally. So her attention shifts to share a worried glance with Naru.

Naru Osaka has posed:
That worried glance goes from Ami, to Jadeite, to Kunzite, over to Endymion and then back to Ami. Naru has gotten herself dressed at least, in a bliaut with long hanging sleeves, because apparently one's desire for a pretty dress has momentarily outweighed practicality. Still.

Naru also takes in the room they've arrived in noting so very many things. "It feels like we're in a maze." She notes quietly.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Jadeite taking Kazuo's hands out of almost-nowhere merits a blink - and then Kazuo's hands tighten around his, a brief, light squeeze to confirm recognition. He's out of uniform, wearing casual blues and browns - that in and of itself is enough to make it nearly certain it is Kazuo. "We came looking," he murmurs back to Jadeite. "There should be a way to get communication, and then once we get everyone in touch, we can find a way to get back." A pause. "He's staying out, as anchor. He'll be all right." No questions about who the 'he' is.

Not when he's also in this room, in a matter of speaking.

A deeper breath, and he glances to Ami, trying to take up as little space as he can, stay out of the way of the papers. "We fought a lot, as things got worse," he says. Still quietly.

Last time Endy didn't see them till they interacted. Maybe if he doesn't draw attention, he can ... he's not sure whether that's 'stay out of trouble' or 'stay a coward.'

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
He doesn't hear anyone, he can't possibly hear anyone, but Endymion turns and looks in the direction of first one closing portal, then the other, and his scowl turns into something considerably more cautious. After a moment of stillness, he starts moving slowly to pick up the papers, maintaining a high alert level.

He can't see them, but he knows something is there, which is different.

Putting a stack of papers down on the desk, he pulls a dagger from his boot and keeps it in hand, then goes to check the window and door frames, walking around the time-travellers as necessary to get to the door.

He seems to be double-checking markings on each surface, and keeps glancing over his shoulder in their direction, not quite nervously-- just like he expects to see something or someone there.

Jadeite has posed:
"We said some - very stupid things, in hindsight," Jadeite elaborates to Ami.

And to Kazuo- "thank goodness. He'll be able to get everyone out. I knew he'd be able to do it. The princess was safe last I saw her - she's in good hands with the others."

He would not fail his prince again. He would come back. He would help Usagi return.

"If there's ashes.... I wonder if that's from Zoisite. It looks like he's checking the wards against scrying and other forms of divintaion magic right now."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Fighting in the last days. A hint of recollection flickers in Ami's own eyes. The setting was different enough that she'd yet to actually have any of her old memories return as fully as it had for some of the others. A small blessing perhaps that she seemed to appear through portals in the Earth Kingdom at least.

"Right. Of course," she murmers accepting it easily.

While the unnerving sight of Endymion with a dagger in hand sends a shiver through her she instead tries to focus on her own task. The Mercury computer is withdrawn to get the current reading of this particular time. "One more, I think, and I should be able to..."

Her head jerks up immediately. "Wait. Wards against scrying?"

The tiny computer in her hand chimes with an alert.

Naru Osaka has posed:
It is all new to Naru. She has no memories to return and moving as a ghost through .. well.. everything really isn't so unusual for her. "Ashes are not terribly unusual in a world that doens't have hydro." She points out as she moves over towards the window, to be able to look out over the soldiers outside in unconscious mimic of the position that Endymion was in when they arrived.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Could be from Zoi. Could just be something turned over --" Ashes are indeed not terribly unusual, and Kazuo leaves what Naru said to stand. Because there's a chime from Mercury's computer, and he frees one hand from Jadeite's to reach and put it on her shoulder.

Multiplying the weirdness for Endymion isn't great. But it's a lot better than risking a prince who'd just been arguing with people about the Moon spying on them, catching the Moon spying on them.

That's a road he doesn't want even an alternate timeline to go down.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
And then a portal opens, right there in the room with them, rainbow light and sparkles and Usagi Tsukino steps through the portal, looking a little annoyed and a little flustered, and altogether very put out. She's muttering to herself. "Can't believe he's done this to me - can't believe he introduced me to those yummy cookies and now I can't find any, anywhere, and if I steal one, someone will probably notice, and - guys?"

She stops dead in her tracks, seeing her friends, eyes wide in surprise and hope.

She also stops, unfortunately, right as Endymion moves on to check the next marking, resulting in her forcing him to crash right into her.

Whoops.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Just a split second before the Mercury Computer dings, the markings on the windows and door light up red, and Endymion takes a step closer to the group, cautious look turning back into a scowl, and then into actual active anger. "Who's watching me!" he questions the air sharply, and then he stops, backing away, hands up, eyes wide. "Sailor Mercury--? What-- are you-- why are you here? It's--" he STARES. "Kunzite??"

And then he gets collided with, and hurriedly holds the dagger high overhead because he doesn't want to stab anyone unnecessarily, and it's a GOOD THING because, "Serenity?!"

Yeah that dagger gets tucked back in his boot really fast. "Somebody tell me what's going on! You didn't-- no! Someone is spying on this room and it had better be you, Sailor Mercury, or someone else is watching all of this-- Kunzite, I swear to all the gods--"

He leaves that off because you know what, if Kunzite caught them, what can he say?

He doesn't see Jadeite or Naru yet.

Jadeite has posed:
Jadeite will just. Tap Kazuo's shoulder and allow himself to be seen as well. "It is Sailor Mercury, my prince," he says apologetically, "And also us, but we're with her this time. Since we're -not from, this time. Which, I know time travel sounds unbelievable but Kunzite and I are not the raging jerks of this time period which hopefully proves something?"

Please Do Not Stab Ami She's Doing Her Job! Please Do Not Stab Anyone!

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury sucks in a sharp breath when Kunzite's hand descends on her shoulder. It's reassuring in it's warmth, moreso when the wards light up and Endymion starts to go on the offensive. Her breath hitches another notch when another portal opens spitting out Usagi *right at the armed Prince*.

"I'm sorry!" She blurts out immediately followed by, "Don't hurt her!" It wasn't that she ever thought he would hurt her, but accidents did tend to happen. Like tripping into an armed man right through a portal while, apparently, looking for cookies.

Jadeite joining in earns a glance over her shoulder at the two shittenou looking quite grateful.

"I was running a scan, I didn't know you had wards up."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru just leans back a little as the window frame lights up red, beause that feels like a Bad Thing. She turns to watch the collision course that Usagi's on and she winces as she spots a dagger and Usagi and .. she relaxes as not only does Jadeite intervene, but Endymion is not in a rush to stab his best beloved. Ideally not any of the rest of them either.

Trying to explain Naru is a little more challenging, so she just stays quiet.. watching the group and the interactions. There's a little thoughtful frown as she watches.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"The wards reacted in time with Sailor Mercury's scan," Kazuo confirms. "No evidence of anyone else scrying, unless they had extremely coincidental timing. Our apologies for intruding on you. We didn't have control over the location of our arrival."

... somehow, out of everything, it's that last sentence out of his own mouth that unnerves Kazuo. That's not how he would have said it. Not how Kazuo would have.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Dressed in a fine gown, fitted to this time period - much like Naru is - Usagi Tsukino does look like an exceptionally well-disguised Serenity, in this moment. Of course, when doesn't she? Still, seeing Endymion, even with a knife (very sharp, much danger) in his hand, Usagi can't help but smile. There's no fear in her heart at the idea of being hurt. Endymion would never. Honestly, the fact that she's found her friends and Jadeite again means that her day is looking up. It helps that Kazuo isn't in henshin, too.

She can't help that her eyes keep a very steady focus on him, returning often, even when she checks over the others. There's Naru, staying in the background. There's Sailor Mercury, her Sailor Mercury, with her Mercury Computer once more, and there's Jadeite - just spilling all the beans, as an American like him would say it.

Her lips quirk in a little smile.

"Tama-cha - no, Jadeite, is right. We're not entirely the people you knew, Endychan."

And that's a new nickname, in a familiar, loving tone.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
He would never.

Endymion startles again when Jadeite shows up out of nowhere, and the wards on the windows and door dim and go out, and he's trying not to be completely captivated by Usagi, because time travel? Not the people he knew?

"Endychan...?" he echoes, and all of a sudden he lets go of Usagi and his hands go to his face. "This is a bad time to visit, wherever you've come from. My-- my shitennou--" he starts, and then his hands drop to his sides and he just looks tired, then looks at Kazuo and Jadeite. "I guess you do look awfully young."

He doesn't remember Kazuo from before. He does look a bit older than he did, taller and a little more muscular than he was at the townhouse. He looks generally unhappier, too, but that's to be expected.

"I take it you did hear the fight, if you're calling them raging jerks. It's not all on them, I yelled too. The awful point of view is all them, though, I just don't understand--"

He says he doesn't understand, but he also glances at the Mercury Computer, then shakes his head, closing his eyes for a second.

"I have wards up because Beryl is a seer, among all the other things she apparently does now, like fomenting rebellion and spreading vicious rumours," he says with a sigh. "And she has enough people that listen to her now that she could even delegate the job to a minion. *I* don't know."

Finally, one hand lifts to almost-touch Usagi, then drops again. Not the people you knew.

"So what kind of time travel? Past? Future? If you're from the past, good gods let me tell you the future so you can prevent this..."

Jadeite has posed:
"From the future," Jadeite says gravely. "We didn't hear the fight, but we didn't have to. We - I remember this time. Beryl's rumors are getting to the four of us as well, hence the kind of awful opinions we must be spewing."

He is being a coward right now, but he can't bring himself to tell Endymion he's been comprimised. Not to his face. Not when it won't stick.

(Not when he's seeing him again, so different, completely the same, and his heart feels like it will beat out of his chest.)

"We haven't been able to control where or when we appear so far... I'm sorry, my prince."

He means to say he's sorry that he can't do more, but the look on his face, the way his voice cracks - he's sorry for so much more than that.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"We only heard the door slam as they left." The soft remark comes from Ami as she tries to reassure him that at least that hadn't been seen by them, or heard by them. "I only know the story of what happened, vaguely." The others? Kazuo, Tamaki? They likely knew more.

Poor Naru over there gets a soft look of apology from her as she moves to walk toward her. "Naru-chan, you're the only one of us that isn't reincarnated. I think you might be a bit of an anchor to Japan as well." A small item is withdrawn from the side of the Mercury Computer to offer toward her. "Here, an updated communicator. I'll get some to us all," she adds looking around, "But many of us are distracted with... Everything. There has to be someone that can focus and listen for when we get a signal out. And," she adds with a sigh, "If we keep losing track of one another we really need to get organized right now."

Another few communicators are pulled from the computer to begin handing them out to Jadeite, and Kazuo. And then she pauses regarding Usagi and Endymion with lips pursed together. "What kind of rumors is she spreading? Beryl is definitely all of our enemy."

Naru Osaka has posed:
And so, Naru is pulled into the conversation as Ami moves over towards her. She turns away from the window and nods as she takes a fresh communicator. "I am curious, but I dont have the same emotional minefield that the rest of you are struggling with. Other than watching all of my friends struggle."

Naru quirks her head at the comments about fights, and all of the awful of Beryl, here and future. That tiger's stripes don't change.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"That the Moon can't be trusted," Kazuo says quietly. "That her people are spying on us, preparing for war. That the Prince has been deceived about their true purpose; that they want the Earth." He grimaces. "Never mind that if any of that had at any point remotely been true, it would have been acted on generations earlier. The thing she's tapped into has a method of giving people power, or at least the sense of power, that also heightens their fears and angers, and leaves them unable to think straight - and thinking they are thinking straight. So the Prince's guardians are arguing with him. Because they did something they thought would help protect him, and now they literally can't think past their fears for him."

They. We. Something like that. Kazuo clings to his grammatical contractions for dear life. He does not quite cling to the communicator for dear life, but there's a temptation.

And like Jadeite, he says quietly to Endymion, "I'm sorry."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It's like they said," Usagi says, soft, "We're from the future."

And she stops there. Because unlike the Shitennou, she does not have apologies for Endymion - only regrets. An endless tide of regrets, because he is young, as she is, as Serenity was, and because he will not grow much older.

Because he is dead, and she can't change that. Because Endymion is part of her Mamochan, now, but her Mamochan is not Endymion.

She doesn't want to tell him that there's failure coming, so she says, instead, "We're here a little bit by accident, but we're going to figure out ending this whole thing, you know? The time travel. You don't have to worry. Your Shitennou won't see us. Neither will Beryl. No one but you, will see us."

She will make certain of that, because she's had to run for her life from Kunzite once, and she isn't keen to do it again.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"How can you be from the future when you're younger?" Endymion asks plaintively, helplessly. Then he waves a hand around. "You're right. But we grew up together-- how could you be so different, so quickly? Why believe such things when you know they're not true?"

His attention turns to Ami, then, and he shakes his head.

Then Kazuo's adding to it, and he's silent, listening. Nodding. "Things like... that the Moon Kingdom is going to invade. Or is planning to take our resources, our water and farmland and metals, our trees... our children, there's even a rumor that the Moon wants our children. The latest one I've had reported to me is that I'm under some kind of spell, compromised, ensorcelled by Serenity or her mother..."

Then he does a doubletake at Kazuo. "She's tapped into something? And she's used it on you-- on them? Is it something I can counteract? Can I get them back?"

And then it's Ami's comment to Naru, along with Naru's appearance, that gives him pause. "Reincarnated?" he asks, his face going slowly ashen. "You died?" He looks at Jadeite and Kazuo, then Ami, and at Naru who didn't apparently die, and then at Usagi. Now he does reach to touch her, one hand lightly to her arm.

"We collided because I couldn't see you, but then I could," he can't help but point out, and there's at least the ghost of amusement there. "Accidents happen."

His hand, on her arm, and it's warm and solid and real, and there's the golden connectedness of his touch, and the world in some ways feels so much bigger and in others so much smaller, just through that contact.

Jadeite has posed:
"We died and we were reborn," Jadeite admits. "It's the nature of life and death. Since we were all reborn around the same time, we started to remember..."

He doesn't need to know that they all died around the same time.

"That last rumor is the one that the present me is operating under. He's..." and his face twists in distaste, "envious that you're spending so much time away from Earth and away from the four of us. And he's afraid he's going to lose you. As your friend and as your bodyguard, that's something he's terrified of letting happen."

He takes the communicator gratefully, smiling at Ami. "Thank you. It seems like we've been having th worst luck staying together."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"It is a bit distracting. I'm... grateful my memories haven't yet been triggered, much." Ami pauses to finally extend her hand to Usagi to offer the communicator to her. No doubt she would want to comfort Endymion. All the more reason to give it to her now. "Here, I can find us all with the signals from these as well."

"Prince Endymion," she then states turning to look at him seriously. "That is how far in the future we are from now. We're reborn in Earth, and people from Earth visit the moon frequently." As reassuring a smile as she can muster is given. "We can't change the past unfortunately."

Tamaki's thanks earns a solemn nod. "Of course. This will help. Perhaps I should give some extras to everyone in case we split again, but you find more of our group." Hm. Some more typing occurs to her computer.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Well. People from Earth visit the Moon frequently compared to all the intervening time, anyway. It's not a lie. And they can't change the past, but...

"It's not something you can counteract directly," Kazuo says quietly to Endymion. "But if you can get them to reject it - after that, it becomes something you can help with." It's only that the way to get them to reject it is horrific. Unthinkable. But --

Jadeite has been dealing with this for how long, now? No telling. He's amazed Jadeite's as stable as he is right now.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A wince, as Ami trips into revealing what she did not want revealed, but - maybe it's for the best. Maybe Kazuo and Tamaki can get some of it off their chest, confessing to an Endymion who hurts in a way very different from how Mamochan hurts. He can't give them absolution. He doesn't know what they're going to do to him. But maybe, this can soften the blow of what's coming.

(Because she does not think that brief horror, that hell of the Moon falling, is the only time they'll see that place.)

She takes the new communicator, fashioning it to her wrist with a little nod and a squeeze of Ami's hand, before she hugs Endymion, with all the tight, straightforward affection that she would give Mamoru. It's improper, not entirely in character for Serenity, but that's the point.

"Endymion," she says quietly, in his ear. "You did nothing wrong. What's happening here, is no more your fault, than it is is your fault the summer is hot, or the winter cold. You can't make their choices for them - all you can do is be yourself."

And then she releases him, because she shouldn't monopologize him too much, when there are so many shocks already.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
'We died and were reborn, it's the nature of life and death,' says Jadeite, and-- that makes enough sense that Endymion's shoulders relax a little. And then he talks about the rumor that Endymion's own Jadeite is operating off of, and his eyes widen. "You-- he-- really believes that? But one of you comes with me every time I go, and-- ahh," he deflates, "there's something that's got its claws in you all..."

He looks to Kazuo and Ami, and his chin lifts. "It's not the past to me," he points out. "I will. I'll do it. I'll get them to reject it, and I'll get you all back, don't worry. You're too important to me to abandon you to that witch." Echoes and echoes, intents and promises and unavoidable eventualities. He'll forget all of this, but the important things are the ones that were there already.

All of a sudden, he has this slip of a reborn Serenity hugging him like she was raised on Earth, like she has all the strength of training, of Earth's gravity, of fighting for what she wants-- and he hugs her back tightly, enfolding her in his arms and his height and his warmth and solidity.

She's the only one who can percieve the shiver, and it's by feel alone. Like someone walked over his grave, when she says what she says.

What if being himself really isn't enough?

And what he doesn't see now is the shimmering rainbow light that expands into a circle, impossible to see through, in the outside corner of the room behind Naru. Usagi lets go and steps back, and he laughs a little, trying to rally. "I miss you all the time you're not here," he tells her, not wanting to have let go but smiling anyway, "and I hope you get your cookies, Serenity-of-the-future."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno finishes distributing the communicators, and micro-printing off a few more. The fact it all could be done on the compact Mercury computer really was a blessing. Extras are handed out just as the rainbow shimmer of another portal draws her attention away to stare at it quietly.

Looking back toward the others she regards the guilty tension from Kazuo and Tamaki with a small ache in her heart. How would she ever feel if she'd gone against her friends in such a way? And the way Endymion looked at Usagi at this moment... She can only let out a small sigh quickly covered by a forced smile.

"We'll get through this all, together, somehow." Is she reassuring the ghosts of the past or her current friends? It's hard to tell.

"I believe it's time for us to go again unfortunately. I'll make sure she gets all the cookies she wants. Provided she finishes her homework first," she adds with a little tease to try and lighten the situation.

Jadeite has posed:
Endymion looks at Usagi like she's his entire world, and more. He never did have a chance, did he?

Well. Good! They would be happy together! And he would - cope! Deal! Or something! And yet -

When Usagi lets him go, Jadeite goes to his side and hugs Endymion. "If I could relive all this, I'd make sure I didn't do so many foolish things. I know you can do it. If anyone can, it's you."

It's a lie. He wants it to be true. He wants this Endymion, here and now, to have that hope before they all leave again.

"We'll meet again in the future."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo risks waiting. Waiting for Usagi to step back. Waiting for Jadeite to step forward. Waiting till Jadeite lets go and steps away, however reluctantly ... and as he does, Kazuo takes his place, letting Endymion slide smoothly from one embrace to another. "They love you," he says quietly. "They're doing the wrong things, for the wrong reasons, and they're blind to that and to how they're being used. They're forgetting what to do about that love, in all the ways that matter. But even when the wrongness and the anger are in charge - beneath those, they love you. That doesn't help anything now, no more than it does with anyone being foul to someone they love. It doesn't matter that their hearts are yours, when their heads and their hands are at odds with you. But if and when they break out of that ... the one thing that will have been true in them, all along, is that they love you."

He folds Endymion in for a moment, bending his head against Endymion's darker hair, and then releases him and steps back in turn.

Naru Osaka has posed:
There's a glance to the rainbow shimmering portal behind her, and Naru even steps away from it briefly. She's not quite ready to jump through to get another piece of the puzzle found in the here and now. There's no front of the box hint to putting this puzzle together, but the general shapes and colours and outlines are becoming much more clear.

"Be well, Endymion." Naru's voice is quiet, gentle even. "I know everything seems oh so hard, but you mean so much to so many."

And then, she takes the first step of the visitors, to head through the next portal and away again.