417/Am I okay

Am I okay
Date of Scene:	14 September 2023
Location:	Obsidian Tower - Dark Laboratory
Synopsis:	Hugs are dangerous when you're a woobie working for Jerks, Inc.
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Takashi Agera

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Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly was, after finally arriving back at base, shaking. Clutching to his arm. "I don't... I don't know what happened. We... we were fighting and... and it was like... I mean, I swear I... I had a dream about her. I swore I'd seen her. I swore I knew who she was... then... then we were fighting and it was like... she... she used her mirror and I just knew. I knew how to move, how to avoid it. How to get close."

"Then she hugged me and she said I was... I was good. I didn't have to be... to do this and... and she called me Saturn and I felt... I just felt... I just felt so scared. I felt so terrified. It was like... It was like something inside me was so... It..."

She clutched him, holding on tight. "I-I don't know why it scared me so much, b-but it did and... and I don't... get it Oniisan. W-who was she? W-why did I dream about her? H-how did she know me? WHY did she know me? W-w-what does it mean? Why do I feel I know her? I-is she from Obsidian? Was she there during one of my episodes? WHY?" she screamed, the panic clear in her voice... while the tears started to fall, her panicked cries and feeble clutching a powerful reminder of jsut how delicate she could be.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi didn't hug Firefly but only because she said the other girl hugging her set her off. He did, kind of, gently pat her head. "It's okay, you're with me now." he said as he 'popped' out of his henshin and back into Takashi. "You don't have to be anything you don't want to be, Hotaru-chan." he said, softly. "Even if she called you something - even if that something is right, was right, in some far off place or world - it doesn't mean you have to do that now, or be that now." he added.

    "I think the other girl called herself Sailor Pluto. So if she's calling you Saturn, it's like saying she wants you to be on their team." he notes. "Or something, I guess. I don't know, I'm still figuring everything out. But this girl had the same kind of outfit." he said. "We can figure this out together, and figure out what to do about it, alright? Just relax. You did a good job holding yourself together out there, and now. The most important thing for you to do right now is not let the Darkness overwhelm you. So don't panic. Just stay with me. Alright?"

    "Dreaming about her doesn't mean much. I dream about pretty women all the time. Maybe you just like girls." he says, softly. Half joking and half not, but trying to lighten the mood a little bit.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly gave a small nod, not letting him go, even as he patted her team. Then... "Join... her team? But I'm already in a team," she mumbled. "I'm Firefly and part of team 'We're awesome and gonna save the world'," patent pending, "If she wants to be on our team she has to join US, I'm not joining anyone's team like this."

And yes, Firefly was pouting a little bit. Because she was upset and scared and she could feel that thing inside her wanting out and she had to hold it back. The dark energy was being suppressed again... but not to the level it had been before. Another small step towards... forward.

"I... I don't know what I like. I don't even know where to... start with that," she mumbled. "I-I'd look silly in an outfit like that, anyway. And she didn't have a blade or anything. She just had a mirror. Which she used to shoot water with. It was weird. I-I don't... like it..." she mumbled, giving another shake. "Am... am I okay?" she asked gently.

She was getting control. The darkness hadn't overtaken her and was, bit by bit, being contained.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "I don't know how sparkleskirts think." Takashi says with a shrug. "They're always talking about saving people - maybe that's what she's thinking. She can save you and make you one of them. Then you can hunt people like me with your awesome energy-glaive?" he considers.

    "I can't say if you're okay, Hotaru-chan. Only you can say if you're okay. And it's... alright to be not-okay for a little while. It's fine if something throws you off your game. I mean, that's what I try to do to them like all the time. Remember when you were worried because I was acting uncontrolled, it was scary, and it threw you off? Sometimes people try to do the same thing by acting nice, acting like your friend, pretending to care." he notes. "It's whatever it takes to win, right? And she was alone, so she probably had to try something." he suggests. "Fighting is as much psychological, in the mind... as it is physical, in the movement and blasting and stabbing."

    "If that girl comes near you again, it's okay to back away. You can have Luminous Titan call me, or you can just leave. It's fine. We have a whole city to gather energy from and they can't be everywhere at once." he notes. "Plus, it looks like you got a good bit while she was messing with your head?" he asked. "So even if you're not okay, even if you're off your game, even if she messed with you - you were still a helpful success for me, Hotaru-chan."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly nodded, letting his words sink in. Letting herself... believe them. Because she was. Deep down, she didn't. There was more to it. She saw her in her dreams. That woman. But she also terrified her. She was... tired. But she didn't want to sleep. She then... held onto him. Unsure of where to go.

"... Just an attack. Just a... it was just... a way to attack me," she whispered. "I-I don't have to fight her anymore. I don't have to fight her ever again. I can just... I can just run. T-that's okay. I... R-right. I can just... I can go..." she whispered. "I... I can't give you all the energy. Some of it has to go to pay for the egg I used. But... but I... don't... want to..."

"... Can... can we... stop working for the day? Can we just... got watch a movie together? Please?" she asked softly. "Or... or something like that? Oniisan?" Yes. Yes she chose that name SPECIFICALLY to get what she wanted. Because she was freaked out.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi nodded. He didn't entirely believe it himself, but it wouldn't be the first time he'd told her or himself a comforting lie to keep moving forward, anyways.

    Takashi nodded. "Yes. Let's... talk about this later, though. Okay, Hotaru-imouto?" he asks her, patting her head. "Once the shock is passed. We should spend some time on this. Because if it worked once, it might work again if we don't get to the core of it. But it doesn't have to be right now. And yes, do pay for the Daihmon, of course." he said, patting her on the head. "Here, let's go drop the energy off in the Depository, and then we'll go watch a movie. Or get milkshakes. Or the arcade. Or, heck, we can do all three if you like. Because even though it was hard, you did well today, Hotaru-Imouto." he said, using the little sister name like an honorific, the same way she called him older brother. Both of them kind of focusing on that bond to move them through this time of trouble.