2493/A Friendly Face, Like A Far Off Memory

A Friendly Face, Like A Far Off Memory
Date of Scene:	24 April 2025
Location:	Crystal Tokyo
Synopsis:	In 30th Century Crystal Tokyo, a group of those Mahoujin who have traveled to the future converge in what was once Chuo Ward, intending to replenish their snack supply (among other things). Instead, they find their first survivor.
Cast of Characters:	280, Laisa Samuiko, Usagi Tsukino, Jadeite, Zoisite, Veronica Perenna, Nephrite, Amanda Faust, Mamoru Chiba, Minako Aino
Tinyplot:	Black Moon Clan
Tinyplot2:	BMC: Dimension Future

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The Narrator (280) has posed:
Those who arrived in Crystal Tokyo observed the distant palace as they fell - and because of the sheer size of the pillars of crystal, may have thought the palace was far closer than it is. Or maybe they would have made significantly more progress, were they not being hounded by the hordes of Droids lurking the streets, stalking the roofs, roaming the underground subway tunnels.

They did not reach the Crystal Palace on their first day.

In groups scattered through the city - some underground, some above on the rooftops, some roaming the low level streets carefully, they found themselves places to bed down and sleep, and they survived the night, which was cold and damp, the thick layer of smog and ash in the air concentrating any moisture, the moonlight shutout from the surface, rendering the world a truly pitch darkness.

Those who had hoped to find familiar technology have been disappointed; while there are superficial similarities in items found in abandoned shops, homes, hospitals, subway stations, and the like, nothing is compatible with what's been brought from their own timeline.

It makes sense, of course - there's a millennia of technological advancement between this world and their own, and even beyond that, the branching point for this world was the year 2000, not the year 2025, and the peak of technology then was DSL internet, Sony's PlayStation 2, and the Nokia 3310 mobile phone. The beloved anime and card game Card Games on Motorcycles had just released and Yahoo was still the search engine of choice.

This world, now a wreck, is in so many ways, as incomprehensible to their modern minds as the world of the Silver Millennium and Golden Kingdom had been.

Morning of this second day dawned weakly, the sunlight scarcely able to penetrate the smog layer, the sky gone from pitch dark to burnt charcoal grey. In the distance, to the southeast, is the Crystal Palace. This is another chance to reach it, and close the gap. Mamoru had warned them that there were survivors, people who made it through - they didn't find them, the first day. This is another chance to do so.

The portion of Crystal Tokyo that they're going to cross paths in was once Chuo Ward, that historical commercial area, and the Crystal Tokyo is no less commercial, with many damaged buildings and crystal spires in sight, many of them obviously hotels and skyscrapers, their greenspaces and former gardens destroyed in the general destruction of the city. There's a shopping center, filled with signs for various grocery stores, and a large square, advertising the Farmer's Market that had been gathering the day everything went horribly wrong.

There are no people in sight. There are no droids, in sight.

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Laisa had spent the night in Sarek and she probably was not alone in that. She was most certainly not going to rest on a bathroom couch no matter how clean they were. The thought of trying to actually sleep in such a dangerous space as Future Crystal Tokyo was a bit too daunting.

    She's got a crystal tablet in her hands that is supposed to detail the subway system layout, but it's a bit rough because none of the trains seem to be running and it's random which tunnels are collapsed and which ones aren't, but if she does a bit of mental calculation then she can maybe extrapolate the other entrances to other subway stations.

    Now, as Mou Fubuki, she ice skated towards the palace, freezing the ground before her and leaving a trail of melting ice behind. Tiny icey wings sprouted out of her back, because she was only using a tiny amount of power to travel this way. Her cold blue eyes constantly scanned for any sign of motion. She wasn't planning on getting caught out of position by Droids again.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The bathroom couches of the future are something else, which is a sentence Sailor Moon never thought she would think. But when Tuxedo Kamen had come back for her and declared that they should sleep in a blocked off bathroom, because the couches were comfortable, the snacks were plentiful, and the door easily blocked off...

Well, let's just say their group had spent a relatively peaceful night on the bathroom couch.

Today, they've branched off from Chibiusa, leaving her safely in the care of Kunzite, as they search for a way to reach the Crystal Palace, which is somewhere -

"I can't believe we moved past Odaiba," Sailor Moon marvels to Tuxedo Kamen as they roam the rooftops carefully, looking out for Droids, friends, and survivors alike. "I've gotta know what we were thinking."

That's what she'd figured out, once they had access to a subway map - the Crystal Palace is so far away because it's out in what would be Tokyo Bay, in their own time, here, built up with yet more artificial islands and those enormous crystals. It's not the most pressing of her questions, but as she looks at the ruin of what had once, so, so long ago been a city like her own, and which more recently had been the city that is her own, for another her... she can't help but wonder.

And then, she spots someone, and grabs her wrist communicator, bringing it up to her lips quietly, "Hey, Fubuki-chan, is that you? Look to your um - right? And up!"

Jadeite has posed:
At least in the Golden Kingdom, Jadeite knew what to expect from half-exposed memories and history books. Here, everything is so different - the slight sheen of similarities only highlights what's not the same. Flat, black machines and glittering crystals.

At least the bathroom couches are safe? Safe and comfortable, which is better than some couches of the present he's slept on.

Right now, though, he's scouting a short distance away from Sailor Moon and the others, examining the farmer's market and what it has - including something that warms his heart, even a thousand years in the future.

"Guys!! There's a vending machine of canned food and snacks and it's still working! Who wants to help me raid it for lunch?"

Zoisite has posed:
Safety was a luxury, and one they fought hard to secure once the droids left them alone long enough. Wards and shields, sharing energy while they recharged with food and rest, the lower levels of a destroyed hotel was all they needed to keep safe. At least he was not responsible anymore for carrying Hotaru, and he was able to keep near Nephrite for idle chatter as sleep eluded him.

Once he felt it was dawn, he teleported outside the wards and check outside to make sure. Coast clear, and energy peaked, he warned the others before making his own way up. He wanted to make it to the Crystal Palace soon, with or without the group.

Thankfully he wouldn't be alone--Nephrite following a seemingly similar thought process to his own.

Once at Chuo Ward, Zoisite stopped a couple of times when he caught sight of certain vegetables and fruits that rotted but had seeds that seemed viable to be planted. And of course he was not going to let this opportunity pass in collecting them. Similar to he flora he found as well. Even if such vegetation seemed similar to the ones back home, it was still important to study in his mind.

"Hopefully these will bloom when I bring them home." Whispers.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica has been alternating on which form to use ever since she came up with Sonata Cheer. She might come up with some other one at a later time, if she decides so. Since her intention is to mislead Black Moon on their count, a plus one is really not that much, and having more than that is probably a necessity.

Still, she has been careful on when and how to let Sonata Cheer come out, since she really can't give it her best when she would have the same power as her actual mahou form, and give away her secret. So for any actual serious fight, she has been showing up as the Princess of Sarek.

Night in Sarek has been as pleasant as usual, though she could count the number of times she had slept in her island on the fingers of one hand before now (the first time was admittedly for the novelty of it). She had shown Laisa around and let her choose where she wanted to sleep first.

Now she walking around Chou Ward with Laisa, having picked up books, music, any sort of technology and stored it safely. In her hands she is holding a tablet of this future, and she is dabbling with it, reading anything she can figure out and understand.

"Hmm, Hmm, lots of different things around here, right Mou-chan", she smiles at her girlfriend or almost girlfriend (they probably should clarify which of the two is it). Though it wouldn't change how she has been behaving, they would have put a name to it.

"We got a moon shining down on us", the disguised thief whispers to her once Sailor Moon shows herself, hiding the teasing smile.

Nephrite has posed:
Amongst the wreckage of what was once a hotel, abandoned luggage offered up several articles of interest. In one of them, Nephrite had found what looked incredibly like a good watch. And one did not pass by a good timekeeper. It's extra functionality was down, for lack of connection to whatever broader networks it was made to connect to, but its base purpose was sufficient.

Better yet, however, there appeared to be a fairly nasty in-built taser that released with a small switch on the side. It was a dart no bigger than a sewing needle sprung at enough force to strike something perhaps two or three meters away, crackling with surprising power.

This, he thought, made it worth keeping. Charming little thing that it was. He wasn't the only one picking up keepsakes, either.

His gaze shifted towards Zoisite with an arched brow, "You're incorrigible." Still, he didn't protest.

A finger lifted to his ear to respond to Jadeite. << I've had rotten luck with vending machines lately. I could go for kicking the front of one in. >>

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy had some tiny amount of hope there might be some kind of fallback backwards-compatible technology somewhere, but occasionally checking for wireless networks found nothing. Eventually someone points out that the point of divergence was 2000 and uh, when did wireless routers become a thing? She can't remember and she can't look it up because she has no internet. Note to self, check if any AI that can fit in her computer have half-decent general knowledge and potentially something like that to refer to, although there'd be no way to double-check it's not hallucinating. Wait, no, Wikipedia backups without media have to be an option, right? That's way smarter. Note to self, look into that for next time you go worldhopping. At least she has a crystal tablet to play with when they take breaks, but no software because the internet (or... whatever better internet replacement they have in the future, imagine how cool it is!) is down. Still, it's fascinating just to look at the settings and style and everything just to see what computers are like in the future. It's just like setting up your brand new Sega Saturn on Christmas and poking around the menu and settings screen and being like wow! It has a menu, and a settings screen, and a music player! Cool! Back before everything was online (Yahoo? Amy preferred Excite, although she does have to concede that AskJeeves had a certain classiness to it.)

    Anyway, in this crazy future, Amy finds that, somehow, 'camping in a bathroom' makes more sense than 'camping outside'. It's a little weird, but it doesn't smell as much as you'd expect, and she doesn't need a tent over her head, just a sleeping bag or something to use for blankets and a pillow.

    At least they could find a map they could understand, and realized just how far they have to go. It's a lot of roofrunning, and Amy's glad to take a break and look around. "Oh sweet, vending machine food! It's so fresh and tasty and probably super healthy for us!" Amy walks over that way to see what's on offer. "...I guess we can add that to 'the best place to sleep is in a bathroom' for 'stuff that sounds crazy in the 21st century'... I guess it's no more than a lot of stuff about our time would to people a thousand years ago, though..." She turns to Usagi. "Imagine telling someone from medieval times about your game streams." She blinks. "Wait, would people from now understand gaming streams? Maybe that seems just as crazy to them..."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Pretty soon we'll be at the edge of my useful range and I'll want to do another ground-check," Tuxedo Kamen says to Sailor Moon, but then she's stopping on the roof and calling down to Laisa via communicator, and he stops too. Then Jadeite's voice comes over the comm too, and Mamoru kisses the side of Usagi's head. "I'm gonna do that, you meet up with Jadeite and Laisa and I'll join you in a second."

That said, the tall youth soundlessly leaps off the side of the building and vanishes into the alley next to them, putting his hand on the ground--

He closes his eyes and gets himself past the kneejerk desire to lose the contents of his stomach, again, this world is dying, it's dying, it's rotting-- but he gets past that and into the details, finally, and doesn't just find voids underground, he finds life. He finds life and it's close.

<< There's a clutch of living beings in the... subway station that's... west of this area. West of Jadeite. >> Mamoru's devicer-telepathied voice is distant and surprisingly non-emotive, but that's not a surprise to anyone who's spoken to him when he's got his hands on the ground and his soul in the dirt.

It's a long moment because he has to pull himself all the way back out again, but when he does, and brushes his knees off, he goes to rejoin the others. << Do not kick the front of one in just because everything else is already broken. You don't even need money for these, Neph! You just open them... >>

And then he's there and Amy's-- "Why don't you ask Chibiusa-chan about whether or not she understands game streaming?"

Minako Aino has posed:
Sailor Venus had been the first to discover the luxuries of future bathrooms! The snack dispensers were amazing, fully closing and locking doors were great, no doubt little robots cleaned it or there was some other means of cleaning because it was spotless. And the couch. The comfy couches (which seemed equally clean) were actually rather nice to rest on all things considered.

Of course even with locking doors she'd taken up watch during part of the night because it was her job to protect the Princess and no one liked being snuck up on.

In the light of day she keeps pace along with the others while keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of the droids they'd faced already.

When talk of vending machines comes over the communicator her attention shifts toward Jadeite's location. A few jumps has her headed that way... When Mamoru's remark comes over as well.

<< Do we want to split up and check that out? Or maybe we should get the food first THEN go check so we have something to offer them. >> Yeah that was probably a better idea she reasons as she lands near another few Shittenou.

Venus' eyebrows raise at the sight of Zoisite going about gathering his seeds. "Are you digging in the trash?" She asks, horrified.

The Narrator (280) has posed:
This ruined area, once a shopping center and farmer's market, borders on lively, with so many mahoujin converging as they traverse the city. There's Snow Angel Mou Fubuki and Sonata Cheer making their way through the streets and collecting odds and ends, there's Zoisite and Nephrite traversing the streets from a different direction with Zoisite gathering seeds from plants and Nephrite meddling with his own found items, there's Tuxedo Kamen separating from Sailor Moon to converse with the Earth and Sailor Moon converging on the vending machine with Jadeite and Amy, and Sailor Venus in a the midst of it, an eye on her princess and her knightly comrade -

There's the news that there are survivors located, from Mamoru, shared through Devicer Telepathy, a lingering spell of Masquerade Lapine, used so that she, off in her own direction with the others, can learn of the survivors found.

And there is, another.

A man, approaching from a street to the west. Before they arrived, he had been making his way through the streets and towards the vending machine with all the stealth an average human could manage, but he had stopped, at the sight of Jadeite, and hid behind an overturned bus, hurriedly thinking through his options.

That's where he is now, struggling with what to do, the bag slung over his shoulder growing heavier the longer he waits. He's not a young man anymore, can't hold the bag forever, can't go running if that young man turns out to be yet another of the enemy's tricks, and the walking stick he's relied on as he's picked his way through what had been his beloved home will be no good as a weapon.

He's just decided that he should try to retreat, when he hears a voice, loud if only for all the silence of his home city, and sees that the young man in the strange almost militant attire has been joined by a young woman in a white cloak and red-and-white armored suit, and then by -

He stares, with all the awestruck wonder of one seeing a miracle, and his walking stick slides from his hand in his stupor, striking the ground with a distinct clunk. In normal times, it would be hardly noticeable. In these times, when there is not a soul wandering about and no natural noises - it is very loud, and those near the vending machine and likely even beyond definitely hear it. The old man winces, because what a way to reveal oneself... but he was mostly certainly going to have to reveal himself, because even if his eyes could have deceived him about seeing the Legendary Sailor Moon, there is no way he would have imagined Tuxedo Kamen as well. Sailor Venus, in the near distance, is so much more expected that he relaxes, a tad, and those with them, those who are visible, he doesn't recognize at all, but he cannot fathom that they could be droids.

"I apologize if I've frightened you," he calls quietly, and bends to retrieve his walking stick and shows himself. "But either the fumes have gotten to me, or the world has been granted a wonderful miracle. That vending machine, it's still full then?"

Nephrite has posed:
You can just 'open them', he says. << Where the hell is the fun in that? >> Nephrite's voice was a drawl of something almost bored, and he clicks his tongue.

With a hand at his hip he sighs, and turns towards Sailor Venus as she approaches. "It's compost. He's digging through rotten compost for viable seeds to sneak home, and I don't even get to break a vending machine in a trashed city."

The prospect of survivors has become a complex one. Moving them isn't fully advisable, with as far as they have to go. Marking their location after contact and getting help sent back is another matter entirely, but what would that rescue even look like, here? Would it be any better than the team they had on ground right now? Maybe they could teleport back and forth with a few, once they reached the palace... then again, maybe not. His mouth ticked.

Looking back in the direction of the vending machine however, sapphire eyes take in the sight of the elderly man emerging. "Zoisite--" he nods toward the other to get his attention.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Half-turning with his cape swirling behind him, Tuxedo Mask blinks at the approaching old man. "Oh, no, are you o-- stupid question. Better question: can we help you get to the palace? And your group? I found them back the way you came," he says uncertainly, taking a hesitant step forward. "Also, the vending machine is full, do you need help carrying stuff?"

He glances back at the others and he sort of explains, "There aren't many people alive, it makes it easier to find people who are. There's just... a lot of murk to look through to see exactly where..."

Then he smiles at the old man, taking his glove off and holding his hand out. "I'm Tuxedo Kamen, like it says on the tin. What should we call you, grandfather?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You check with the planet, I'll check with Jadeite," Sailor Moon confirms, and she takes a moment to kiss his cheek, too, before hopping from the rooftop (lightly, as quietly as she can) and joining the others. "I have no idea what people from the middle ages would think of my gaming streams, but I have to compliment future me for a city full of free snack machines."

Her tone is light, but when she looks at the vending machine - which is full of free options, canned fruit juices and sodas and coffees, packaged preserved treats, dried fruits, jerkies, snack cakes, familiar from her own time but decidedly not the same - she nods slowly. "We shouldn't empty it out, but we should definitely grab some things for food. We know there are other survivors here, someone else might come along -"

And then Mamoru's voice, through the telepathy, letting them know that some of the survivors he sensed before are nearby, and she brightens.

<<Maybe we can bring them some of what we've foun- oh!>>

Her surprise echoes through the connection, her mental voice more engaged than Mamoru's distant, earth-communing one, because she's heard the clunk of something falling, and turned, ready -

Only to see an old man. He's got a hooded jacket on, the hood up, obscuring his face, and Tuxedo Kamen is coming up with her, and even if he ends up being the most clever, sophisticated Droid possible, she won't assume the worst.

"We're so glad we found you," she enthuses, and steps slowly closer. "You're - you're the first person we've seen, even if we knew there were survivors."

She too knows better than to ask if he's alright, or okay. No one in this city is okay.

"I'm Sailor Moon, and these are my friends."

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Mou Fubuki glances towards Veronica as she hears the whisper (they really need to have the 'what are we?' convo at some point), and then smiles. It's only natural that the Princess of Sarek would be grabbing everything she could, and there was a lot of neat stuff to get. "It's neat. Maybe we'll have time to really look at it this evening," she whispers back, and naturally her whisper carries as far as she wants it to.

    Between the chatter over the comms and Veronica's close voice, Mou has two princesses informing her of Sailor Moon's presence. After looking up and finding Moon, she waves her arm widely and transmits, "Oh hey! I see you! How've you been holding up?"

    Another vending machine. Mou transmits, "I mean, we may as well. It's all cashless though, right? You should just be able to use it." After a thought, she adds, "Though I mean if there's any drinks I can chill them for you."

    Glancing to Veronica, she whispers, "Shall we--?"

    There's life nearby.

    Laisa clears her throat.

    There is actual life nearby. Actual survivors.

    "On second thought," she transmits, "I'm going to the subway. I think I know where--"

    That was a noise.

    Mou Fubuki is already leaping through the air in the direction of the clunk, and when she lands in a patch of snow she looks at the guy and says, "Huh... You real?"

    Mou Fubuki is pretty sure that she could handle one droid, though if there were more behind them it might be a problem. She glances in the direction of Tuxedo Kamen, who's already greeting the dude, and Sailor Moon who is doing likewise. "Snow Angel Mou Fubuki. I'm from... let's say we're from out of town."

    Mou Fubuki is a little on edge here, but it's hidden under her ice cold demeanor. She's waiting for things to be confirmed before she does anything.

    << You know, if the bathrooms are getting cleaned, we might need to consider the possibility of these vending machines getting restocked somehow. Like it's a long shot, but... >>

Zoisite has posed:
"Trash to one, treasures to another. So many flowers and vegetation are able to survive the worst conditions, even trees lost in dark canyons are able to grow tall only to seek a bit of sunlight. You, of all people, should know this, Venus. Hope is the last to die in a world so dire." Not him to wax some philosophy in the simple act he was doing, but his point remained. What he found were diamonds in the rough, and possibly valuable to their own research if they ever make it back home alive.

But his silence was claimed when Nephrite seemed to really want his attention. A pout and a glare, able to gather the last seed he'd wanted and securing them away in his pouch before giving the Star Seer his full attention. "I know I know, incorrigible. Whatever. What do you wa--"

Then he goes silent, locking eyes with where Nephrite was looking, and saw the elderly man. Jaw clenched, gloved fingers ready to snap if this was another droid.

"How do we know you're real?" Zoisite's voice cut through like a knife, now standing next to Nephrite with wild green eyes brimming with every intent of executing the elderly man if this was in fact a droid. "Droids don't bleed, so cut something of yourself."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    On the comment of vending machines being free, Amy comments << Yeah it's great! >> having already experienced this with the bathroom snack machines and the crystal tablets and coming into this knowing it was a 'post-scary-tee' utopia before shit went down, she was expecting stuff to be free but it's still wild to actually see it.

    Now, if they could only find a cornucopia machine... But then, what would a nanofabricator even look like, right? And maybe there's reasons they're not in public kiosks.

    After she has that thought she imagines dark energy creating magitech grey goo and decides it is for the best that there are not street-corner nanofabs.

    "Well, I mean she--" Amy replies to Tuxedo Mask, flustered at how crazy the sentence sounds. "Did she before she came to the past, is the question. But yeah, I'll ask later." She approaches the vending machine to help Jadeite raid it, and to check if the crystal tablet can interface with it in any way. "Imagine if we could find a library and bring some of that knowledge back to the past with us..."

    And then there's a sound.

    Amy turns, her hands moving as if to take hold of an invisible weapon, and when she sees the old man she looks surprised, and for a split second, glad to have found a survivor...

    And then her eyes narrow, some kind of assault rifle-looking thing appearing in her hands, and she points it in the 'survivor' 's direction but keeps her finger off the trigger yet. "You think you can fool us with that?"

    And then Tuxedo Mask turns and talks to him like he's not a robot, and she dismisses her weapon, hands dropping to her sides. She turns to look to the future King, "Wait, he's real? But then why is he old? I thought you guys fixed that in the future..."

    And as she gets over her surprise, she realizes she's being incredibly rude. She turns back to the survivor and rubs the back of her neck awkwardly, "Uhh, yeah, we're here to help, actually! Sorry about that. Um..." Eyes widen with another realization. "Oh, damn, we don't even have to pretend not to be magic, people here know about that stuff..."

    Sailor Moon introduces herself. "And I'm-- huh. I dunno if you'd believe me... Um... what was it... Small Lady sent us."

Jadeite has posed:
Jadeite's been fiddling with the coin slot on the vending machine with an icicle, and after a few tries, he manages to pop it enough to make a few granola bars, a tin of preserved peaches, and what appears to be a kalaidescope version of a poptart fall out. He cheers quietly, then pulls them all out - and only then turns to the old man who's approaching them.

Half of his companions are on edge, and half are welocming, and Jadeite decides to split the difference by stepping forward and offering one of the granola bars to the old man.

"I think he could have been old when Sailor Moon fixed everything in the past and then stayed old?" he tells Amy thoughtfully.

"Sir, would you mind having a bite so we can double check that you're real?"

Minako Aino has posed:
"I have to say," Venus begins with a vague grin as she responds to Nephrite, "I'm rather surprised you're not taking the opportunity to tease him over this." When Zoisite also explains about hope and surviving, she holds up both her hands helplessly.

"Now that I know *what* you're doing it makes sense, but it looks--"

Wrong? Different? Whatever the thought may have been she doesn't get to complete it. Nephrite's call of attention snaps her gaze in the direction of the older survivor as well. A bright, cheery call of, "Ojiisama!" She at least is eagerly ready to accept that this man isn't a droid. The others certainly hadn't attempted to even appear human in their actions yet, at least not around her.

Springing forward in a light jog the perhaps very familiar figure of Sailor Venus approaches as the others make their own greetings with a firm, "Yes, we can help carry things! How have you managed so far to avoid their attention?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Her raiding of the vending machine is on the light side compared to what she has been taking from all the other places, and it mostly constitutes of drinks.

Though really, does she have a need to, with how much this city seems to have? Between the restrooms and these vending machines, her own resources have been dwindling much slower. She is not sure if she is ever going to hit the panic button of boiling sea water.

"Lots of food for a city in this situation", she remarks to Mou before agreeing to her invitation to move towards the others, and she leaps after her, after making sure that all the information she has gotten is appropriately stowed away.

"Hiiii there", she gives a much more cheerful response than normal, and she looks over the rest of the group. Looks like everyone is all right. "So, what do we have here?" she checks up before the noise of the staff brings to light the man's position.

Amy's warnings echo to her mind, and she eyes the old man warily, wondering if that's actually a legitimate survivor or if they have got a disguised droid in front of them. She agrees with Zoisite's question, but she doesn't say it.

"Hello, we are just passing through", she greets him. "Looking for food? We have just hit a vending machine, but we should have left a good bit, so help yourself." Yes, help yourself to your own city. Between them, he is technically the host, if real.

The Narrator (280) has posed:
Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon, as he lives and breathes.

Just the sight of those two figures, standing there, young and bright and whole, is enough to strike the little old man speechless (and he is best described as a little old man - stooped over his walking stick, he can't be more than five foot two inches tall, and if he were to straighten his spine, he would stand only five foot five inches. He doesn't straighten his back, though, his eyes instead going to the hand extended to him, bare and tan and wonderfully familiar, extended by a young man ever so slightly too short, just as the young woman offering her legendary name is ever so slightly smaller. "I'm glad to hear that it's full. This bag of mine, it was to restock if it was low; it's the least I can do, for thos I haven't found..."

What should we call you, the young hero who would become a king asks, and the old man smiles, reaching up cautiously to flip back his hood. "Why, I'm Nomura- oh dear."

This is because the young woman in the white cloak is pointing a gun at him, and why, he's not seen one of those in centuries. "Where in the Kingdom did you even find one of those, young miss? I can understand your caution, but -"

And then another young man is offering him a granola bar as a question of his truth, which truly is quite sweet, but he can solve this in just a moment, and the young woman with white hair and a parka is asking if he's real, and another young woman, with blond twintails and heart-shaped hair strands and pink ribbons, is offering him to help himself, and he can't help but laugh a little, bewildered and awed.

Ah, these poor young heroes, they have certainly encountered the enemy. But such heroes! And so young!

"Thank you, young man, young lady, but I assure you I am as well-fed as anyone can hope to be in this time."

It's another young man's voice that cuts through the brighter notes of this meeting like the sharpening of the executioner's blade. There's ferocity in his eyes, the sort that he's seen in so many of those still living.

"If it's all the same to you, young man, I'd rather take the young king's hand. His touch will prove my humanity far more than my words - or my blood - could hope too, as some of those unfortunate enough to be assimilated by the enemy most certainly can bleed. However, if the young king's word is not enough, after this, I will most certainly offer my blood."

And he takes Mamoru's hand in his own wrinkled and wizened one, patient and accepting and Mamoru can feel that beneath his calm there is so much awe and hope and awareness, because, well. Mamoru knows exactly who he is.

While that's happening though, he gets a question - well, no, the young king receives the question, but it's about him, and he turns to Amy and says, "While our beloved Queen and King have certainly extended the lives of their people greatly, the conquering of aging itself was never promised to us. I'm an old man, now, and I must say it's novel, after so many centuries of youth. But - did you say the future?"

That... that sounded like it could explain the young King and Queen, but...

When she says that she was sent, he rocks back, not quite escaping Mamoru's grasp and grips his walking stick for support.

"The Princess - you were sent by the Princess? Princess Small Lady Usagi Serenity, she lives?" There's a spasm of emotion over his face, a terrible hope and the ragged remnants of grief audible in his voice, and he looks at the ground for a long moment, drawing ragged breaths. When he lifts his head once more, it's to the bright voice of Sailor Venus, and he is shocked anew, by the sight of her. Less so than Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen, but...

"Through much luck, and a good deal of careful evasion, Sailor Venus," Nomura-san answers respectfully, dipping his head. "You all... you've come at the Princess' request? That girl - always so remarkable..."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Despite all the fuss around him, the wariness of his guardians and Venus, the wariness of all their friends, Mamoru's rooted to the ground, hand held out patiently until it's taken. Zoisite does get a look, but it's a mild one, appreciating him but trying to reassure--

--and then Nomura-san's handling the whole lot of them with grace, and Tuxedo Kamen's bare hand meets his, and he gasps. Mamoru does. But it's not horrified, it's not worried, it's just startled as hell. "Junichi-kun??" he gapes. "You guys it's the kid! That Koan tried to kill! That just got out of the hospital like three weeks ago!"

Then he's holding Junichi Nomura's hand in both of his and he says fervently, "We're from a different past! The Black Moon Clan followed Small Lady to our universe and we kicked them a lot and now we've come here to help you kick them, because Small Lady is wonderful isn't she amazing--??"

Zoisite has posed:
Even if it was of Mamoru's desire to offer a hand to guarantee the older man was alive, even if a look was given to him, Zoisite's murderous gaze did not dim once as he approached like a looming beast, ready to strike if anything foul were to happen.

Thankfully, none of that was necessary as it became obvious that the old man was indeed human. Incredibly, the child miraculously saved by Mamoru and the rest when the Black Moon Clan struck earlier.

A quiet huff was given, a sign as Zoisite's bristles slowly smoothed down and the fire in his eyes turned into gentle embers--for now--and stepped away.

It's not the same boy, but I'm not here to correct the prince. "Oh good, so he'll be able to swallow Jadeite's granola." Crossing his arms, he just watches from his distanced perch.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Nomura-san, he says, and takes down his hood, and Sailor Moon's eyes are wide, wide, wide, because of course he doesn't look the same, he looks so different, he's so much older than she ever thought to imagine him, but that name, and sure it's somewhat common, but still -

And then he laughs as Jadeite offers him a granola bar and Veronica in her newest guise offers him to help himself, and she knows that smile, that laugh, even from a much older voice.

"Junichi-kun?!"

She asks it of him at the same moment that Mamoru confirms it, and her smile is bright and brilliant and amazed.

"Junichi-kun, you're alive! You're alive - and you were refilling the vending machines? Wait, is that bag because you're - oh, I'm so glad we didn't let anyone break it now."

Not that she's ever going to put a name to that suggestion, but, knowing that in the apocalypse someone is actually refilling the vending machines, she's glad they haven't yet broken one. "Yes, Small Lady brought us here to help save her Mama and Papa, and - have you seen them? Do you have anything you can tell us, for Small Lady's sake?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Jadeite has a worrying theory. He's been old since the world was saved? "For a thousand years?!" Amy looks at Jadeite in shock. "Can you imagine being old for a thousand years?!" She shakes her head, "No, no, they've got to have come up with medicine to, to stop people's bodies from breaking down, to, to repair the damage, they've had a thousand years to figure it out..."

    The man has an answer for that. They simply didn't, and after centuries of youth, it wears out.

    She makes a note to see that fixed if a nigh-immortal future happens, but... it couldn't be that people will ever be okay with getting old and dying, right? ...Considering that she is more okay with dying in the next few years than ever, perhaps feelings on that can change over centuries.

    She nods automatically at the question of Small Lady being alive, but then the thoughts she's lost in are pushed aside as Mamoru recognizes him. Red eyes go wide. "The one that fed the world?!"

    She stares at Nomura-san, and then at the vending machine. "...Are these vending machines how you did it...?" she wonders if they are far more amazing than they look...

    She turns to look back the old man up and down in wonder, as that also means... "You're from our time? Or, no, the 90's... Wait, if you were that old when all this happened in this time..." She breathes, "Then we were born only a few years apart..." Amy glances at the others and back to him. "I guess a lot of time stuff has happened."

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    "Alternate past, yeah," Mou Fubuki is quick to clarify. "Like... she wanted to go back to her past and wound up in an alternate dimension or something? I don't know how it works, sorry."

    Then she's watching Mamoru with a blank stare and a cold frown. She sure wishes her parents talked like that.

    Mild jealousy aside... Huh, so this was that kid she heard about. Laisa crosses her arms. "You must be pretty important if the Black Moon Clan tried to John Conner you. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Nomura-san, and a relief to know that you're the real deal. We're here to help fight the Black Moon Clan and maybe sort out some of this disaster. Sadly, our information's a little out of date. Maybe you can fill us in on some of the details we're missing?"

    She waves a finger in the air and says, "Mostly... we need to get to the Palace, and we want to protect and look out for as many survivors as we can."

    Also, she doesn't point out the fact that she was right about the vending machines being restocked. She knows she was and is silently smug about it, but she doesn't say it.

Nephrite has posed:
There's a very clear 'tch' and a crossing of arms, and Nephrite glances away. Oh, good. What a helpful old man-- who was also a young boy-- with a bleeding heart, leaving food in a vending machines just in case. It wasn't like tinned food would spoil. He hoped there was at least a note left on the good for whoever found them, to tell them where they could get to some semblance of safety with the other survivors in the interim-- or better yet, wherever this old geezer was getting the food.

"Where exactly are you getting your supplies from, old man? And do you know about other survivor groups?"

Minako Aino has posed:
Once the verification of whether or not this man was actually a human comes up positive, Venus smiles just a bit more relaxed. She was wary of course but seeing an actual survivor was a positive thing.

Breifly her gaze flits around at all the others realizing that there were precious few people right now that didn't have their attention on the older man. A quick decision is made, as she turns to walk further away.

"I'll stand guard," she offers helpfully.

Jadeite has posed:
"I guess it's like Future Trunks visiting the main timeline in Dragonball Z? Branching timeline stuff," Jadeite comments to Amy thoughtfully.

Then looks at the much older Junichi-san in amazement. IF he looks closely he can see the resemblance in the eyes, the smile lines around his mouth. "You must have lived a remarkable life, since the Black Moon Clan went after you in our time," he says, half admiring, half probing for information. "The you in our world is a good kid, rescues cats."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Oh, he is actually the real deal? Sonata Cheer breaths out in relief, and all the reservations are gone just like that, and with them comes a bit of sadness that this is the kid Koan almost killed, the one who would go on to play an important part in the alternative future?

"That's well, Nomura-san", she replies to lighthearted answer. He must be certainly made of sturdy stuff to survive here in this condition, and at his age. Are all Crystal Tokyo denizens like this, or is he just that good?

"We have heard about you, in our past, Nomura-san. Our worlds aren't exactly the same, but we know what you did here." Mostly. Sorta. The gist of it. "This is great news! I am glad Black Moon didn't kill you here either!"

At noticing Mou Fubuki's dissatisfied glare, Sonata Cheer gives her a look of concern. She can guess what is plaguing her. Those are rare words to hear. "I think you are amazing, much more than anything those people could have said. Not knowing it is their loss", she whispers to her so nobody else can hear, squeezing Laisa's hand.

The Narrator (280) has posed:
The young King gasps. The young Queen does too, and the little old man who is Junichi Nomura, who was once a nine year old boy that was babysat by Usagi Tsukino and has ever been the best of friends with one Shingo Tsukino, smiles at them, and he does have to blink back tears, because to him, they are a miracle delivered at the brink of the end.

"Yes, I am Junichi - tried to kill me?" He blinks in astonishment, pursing his lips as he tries to remember a thousand years back, and decides... no... he does not remember anyone personally trying to - ah. "Kamen-sama, Moon-sama, you truly are ever-present miracles. Crossing time itself to help us again..."

Sailor Moon asks a very prescient question, and Junichi winces, visibly, at the mention of Small Lady's Mama and Papa. "Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion are..."

He's actually grateful for the interruption, as the girl in the white cloak calls him -

"Ah, no, did - Small Lady must have told you about that name, didn't she," he's flushing a little, and he's certainly got a flash of the boy from his youth - "No, I didn't feed the world with vending machines. It was with farming, actually - when... the old world collapsed, there weren't enough of us who knew how to grow our own food, how to tend our own crops. I spread the skill in the wake of the Queen and King, and the Senshi."

There's a question from a handsome young man with more hair than Junichi would ever know what to do with, unfamiliar, and Junichi Nomura squints at him, in the way that old people do when they're trying to see if they recognize someone, before he shakes his head. "I received my supplies from the same place that the young lady - and the young queen - was asking about."

It's a cryptic answer, but he follows it up by turning, and looking to the pillar of crystals in the southeast.

"The Crystal Palace. Until a couple of weeks ago, it was the only safe place in all the city - I fear, in all the planet. Seeing as you've crossed time itself to come to our aid, I'm afraid I can't say how long it's been, for Small Lady, but for us, this - Black Moon Clan, struck a month ago, with their cursed obelisk, and the city - the very planet - began to die. Not everyone could reach safety, so I and an assortment of others began to look for survivors, to bring back to the palace."

His mouth twists, concerned, bitter.

"And then, the Droids came, and returning to the palace was no longer possible. There's a good to the West that I've been tending to, but I'm certain there must be more."

...and then, with a quiet little, ahh, of remembrance,, he does accept Jadeite's granola bar, and does indeed take a small bite, to satisfy the request of the young man with the fierce eyes and neat ponytail.

"I too, am glad to have lived, and that you all live."

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Sonata correctly guesses at the source of Mou's pain and the squeeze of her hand makes the snow angel blush. "A-ah... sorry... I just..." she clears her throat, then squeezes Sonata's hand in return. Whispering back she says, "Thank you. You're sweet."

    Even with her insecurity being met with kindness and acceptance, Laisa feels a little embarrassed and a bit ridiculous. Like, what? Could she really be mad at Mamoru for being a good dad? For loving his kid? Nah, she just has some unresolved angst to deal with.

    She turns her attention to Sonata with a glint in her eyes and a smile. If anyone was keeping score, Veronica certainly earned points with Laisa with that one.

    Mou listens to Junichi and considers. So there are survivors. She looks around at the mahoujin around her and says, "Theoretically speaking. If we could get you to the Palace, is that something you'd want?" She holds up her hands as if to say 'let's not get ahead of ourselves' motion. "Just like... I don't have a plan right now, but if we came up with one, would that be worth pursuing? We're headed there."

Zoisite has posed:
A well shaped eyebrow lifts at the elderly man's answer, not really clarifying anything to himself or, he assumed, Nephrite. It felt like a strange lump for him, how so many were so willingly open to accept a stranger.

Perhaps this was something he would never understand.

"So you get your supplies from the Palace? Is that what you're saying?" Zoisite watched the man eat. Despite the fire and sharpness having smoothed, his guarded manners did not lower.

"This means you'd know a safe way to the palace if an elderly man can carry so many cans to these rather generous vending machines."

Nephrite has posed:
Nodded, in some agreement with that observation from Zoisite.

"I suppose it makes sense, that you might volunteer to go. You've already enjoyed a long life if the worst should happen." His gaze flickers over the elderly Nomura. Blunt, perhaps, but this made sense to him in the grievous situation.

"Is there any way we could get survivors out here safely escorted to the palace, by your lead?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy listens attentively as Junichi explains. "Returning to the palace is no longer--? Oh. Because they're in the way and there's no way to fight them?" Amy considers this. "I'm surprised the JSDF doesn't have magitech guns..." she shakes her head. "Well, no matter. You've got us now. We can fight them, to get the survivors to safety."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Moon-sama? No, no, please, you don't have to call me, that, Junichi-kun!" Sailor Moon's face goes red at that respectful title, especially from someone so much older than her, especially from someone who's the adult version of her little brother's best friend - "Sailor Moon is fine, surely?"

It's a welcome moment of levity, at least for herself, before she grows serious.

So the Crystal Palace was safe, but now it's not. Or at least, getting back to it, is not. Sailor Moon bites at her lip, knowing that bodes ill for her future self, for Mamoru's future self, for the future selves of her guardians...

And that's why she doesn't shoot Nephrite a dirty look, for so bluntly making it clear that Junichi being old is a reason to risk his life, in his eyes, because - it's not cruelly meant. But it does hurt a bit, to think about.

"That's right. Our goal is to get to the Crystal Palace, and then to kick the Black Moon Clan off this world, and make everything right again. Please, Junichi-kun, you'll let us help, won't you?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"No, from the--" Mamoru starts toward Zoisite, squeezing Junichi's hand, then squinting at Nephrite after that 'old man' comment, then looking back at Zoisite. "From the public restrooms in the subway," he leans over and whispers. "Because the subway restrooms are awesome, we slept in one last night."

Poor Nomura-san.

"I mean they have clean comfy couches, they're really clean, they have free snack machines like this one..."

Until Tuxedo Kamen lets go of the old man's hand, there's unfiltered vibes coming from him -- faint frustration at certain things in passing, the joy that Junichi is here and a thousand, the bubbling happiness when he talks about Small Lady, the deep overwhelming all-consuming awareness of how bad the actual planet is actually fucked up right now, affection at varying levels of varying types for everyone there, the astonishingly complete trust he has that Sailor Moon will save them if they need it...

But then his hands are busy gesturing toward the west. "Let's get to the others first. Is everyone well, Jii-chan~? Or does anyone need healing?" And he moves to pick up Junichi's sack of food.

Apparently that's how he's choosing to respond to Kamen-sama.

Jadeite has posed:
Jadeite nods, satisfied by both the answers and by Junichi proving he's human by eating. (...double proving. It was already proved. But still!)

"I presume that the water filtration systems of the future are good, but if you are having trouble getting enough clean water, we can help with that in a pinch," Jadeite offers. "You'll need time or fire to melt it but I can summon pure ice if need be. We may not be royalty," yet, he thinks but does not say, because he knows Usagi would be frustrated by it, "but we've got plenty of skills to help out in this world!"

Zoisite has posed:
Restrooms? They slept in a bloody restroom? Face contorts in disgust as Taxedo Kamen approaches, explaining. Besides the phobia of rats and roaches, Zoisite was not fond of public washrooms or restrooms. Something about them, even in the Academy, had his skin itch in ways he couldn't describe comfortably.

Which is why he stepped back, incredulous expression very clear to see as it was a thought he didn't want living in his mind. Couches and snacks in a public restroom. It didn't matter how futuristic or clean it boasted to be, Zoisite would never--

He shakes his head. "I'm glad you found comfort where I wouldn't, your highness." It was all he could manage before turning away. Again, impatient to get moving and headed towards the Crystal Palace. He had questions.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
She understands what's going on and to her, there is nothing to say sorry about. She cannot say that Mamoru would think the same way, that is up to him, but Veronica is glad to see her smile, and looks back at her happily. And he certainly doesn't seem to have noticed that event happening in the background.

If what she did was enough to push back against the shadow hovering over Laisa's heart, she is feeling much more energized by getting that sweet look in return. "Anytime you need it. It's the truth", she winks at her.

"Do you need a moment of respite before then, when you don't have to worry about the droids?", the disguised thief offers when directions are asked of him. "We are already keeping guard against them. A month is a long time to be on your guard."

The Narrator (280) has posed:
"A combination of the supply machines in the subways, as the young king says, but also, a number of supplies from the Palace," Junichi clarifies, looking to the sharp-eyed, sharp-tongued young man. "I'm afraid I haven't returned, since the Droids came. I made the attempt, but - I'm not a young man anymore. I can't outrun them, only attempt to outsmart them. Still, with that said - I would be more than happy to guide you to the palace."

The young man with the thick, long hair is very blunt, but he's certainly honest, and Junich laughs a little, an edge of gallows humor "Well, yes, exactly. I've lived a very long life, and it's all thanks to Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion. What sort of person would I be, to not give all I have to making sure others can have the long lives they deserve?"

A shadow passes over his expression, and his brief mirth dies.

"There are so many lost. It is the responsibility of we, who know what it's like, to live through the end, to make sure that the young have happier times. I know that given time - given support - Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion will save us."

And he looks right at Sailor Moon, for a moment, looking at her fluster over being named Moon-sama, and bows his head. "You've never liked being called Moon-sama, young queen, but just as you will always offer to help those in need, I will ever give you and the young king the titles you deserve. Moon-sama, Kamen-sama, we of Crystal Tokyo would ever be grateful for your aid."

He looks at all of them, then.

"For all of your aid, though I'm afraid that other than Venus-sama, I don't recognize you..."

His tone is very apologetic.

The young blond boy in the military uniform that matches the two long-haired young men is given a smile, then.

"We appreciate that. The water filtration systems are very sophisticated, but - with the damage the planet has taken, they've been failing. Ice - fresh water - would be very welcome."

Ji-chan. There's a look on his face that screams 'yeah ok I knew that was coming', and then he smiles a little as his bag is hefted.

"I can show you the way that I used to take, to the palace, after that blasted black crystal struck. The people I've found are in stable condition, though we have had injuries. You're here for the Princess. For the Queen and King. I can show you the way now."

He doesn't think the king will actually turn away from getting to the other survivors, but he will show them the way, if Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen desire it.

"A month..." and Junichi looks at the kind-hearted girl with the twintails that are so well-loved here, and smiles faintly. "You know, a month ago, I would have said that a month really is nothing. But this month, has most certainly felt like a flashback to worse times. Thank you, young miss, for your kindness."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy listens. The snack machines are self-replenishing? She wonders how that works, but now is not the time.

    "Our responsibility, huh?" She rubs her head and mutters, "You're stronger than me. Or maybe that's the hope of someone who's seen the world change so much."

    He doesn't recognize them. Well, time for an introduction then! She spins and poses dramatically with her left hand on her waist, and her right hand holding the foregrip -- aimed upward -- of a recoiless rifle over her shoulder. "I am Magical Rocket Girl Red!"

    She smiles and dismisses the weapon, holding out her hand with a fluorish, as she adds on to the introduction to fit the style of the only magical girls this world has ever known:

    "Guardian of the freedom to live as your true self!"

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Mou Fubuki still feels a bit tingly and light from being treated so gently. Veronica really is a nice person.

    Jadeite makes his offer, and Mou says, "I can help with that. The ice I make is naturally pure. Most of it is magic and will vanish after a while, but a certain percentage of it is made out of real air humidity and moisture. I can absolutely use it to purify water, if you don't mind distilled." Nodding to Jadeite, she adds, "Though I imagine your technique is pretty similar?"

    She reaches into her pouch for a moment to produce her ziploc bag full of ice cubes. "I've actually been using them a bit. To keep myself hydrated. It wouldn't be much trouble to replenish your supplies."

Jadeite has posed:
...Jadeite realizes in a moment of clarity that he's been waiting for this moment. Waiting for it ever sicne that night they'd all fought Koan at the fire station. Usagi and Mamoru may not be excited to be king and queen, and that is fair enough for them, but Jadeite and th eothers...

"We're all glad to help. We came here to save Small Lady's world, and that's as much ensuring you all can eat and drink as defeating the enemy. And as for us - I am Jadeite, and I am Tuxedo Kamen's butler. The three of us in uniform are his henchmen - which you can probably tell, since those two are ready to throw down at a moment's notice if he is threatened."

Nephrite has posed:
There's an immediate pause in stride as Nephrite turns his head to eye Jadeite with a pointed stare. There's needles in it, and something like a secret whisper of a promise to punch him later.

"We're not *Henchmen*," he states very clearly, and inclines his head towards the elderly man, "But if we were, Ojiisan, know that I outrank that guy."

Zoisite has posed:
The admission that the elderly man did not recognize either him or the other Shitennou was a strange confession Zoisite had to take in. When he had talked to Saphir, he had wondered what it was that his alternate self and knights were doing in the future. But with the Small Lady's explanation, now with an in time confirmation, it was finally clicking in his mind that they... weren't here.

It made him want to get to the Crystal Palace faster.

Jaws clenched.

"That's right. You wouldn't know of the Shitennou." Cold. "We were King Endymion's Elite in our past lives and current. Personal Knights of his highness. However... We strangely do not exist here in this version of the future. Strikes me curious indeed." Still guarded, no warmth given unless it was to cause blisters. "I am Zoisite, the youngest of the Shitennou. I was known as the Knight of Healing and Purification, but I'm sure such a title is now quite questionable. If you dare threaten the life of our prince, I will not hesitate to make your skin bubble with my fire."

His green eyes shift over to the taller Shitennou, nodding with some form of respect. "He's Nephrite. He consults the stars and has some sense about him. As for that one," Gaze slithers to Jadeite, a small streak of cruelty in his gaze. "Jadeite is of the same rank as myself. But his obsessions are far more questionable than my dislike towards strangers. He's quite talented in ice sculptures however. I'm sure he'll quench any thirst your survivors will have."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Knights," Tuxedo Kamen corrects, SIGHING, PUT UPON, and giving Jadeite a look. It is a much worse look than the one Zoisite got earlier. It's a 'you are embarrassing me' look. And then Nephrite weighs in, and Mamoru just starts laughing--

And then Zoisite speaks up and Mamoru's clearly sorry he didn't get to it first. He gives him a strange look for choosing now to start wilding, but then he sighs. "Please, Zoisite. Don't bite Jadeite in public like that."

Then he turns back to Junichi and says with a faintly strained smile. "I say 'princes do what they want' when I do what I want, but they sure do what they want, too. They're three of my knights. Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite... the one who's with Small Lady right now is Kunzite. Red is as she said, and those two are Snow Angel Mou Fubuki and..."

He's abruptly not sure what to call Veronica. "Sonnet Cheer?" he checks. "But yes, we all-- and a bunch of others of us-- all came here because Small Lady basically gathered an army of friends and found us a way here. So --"

He holds out his hand to Junichi again, and the other out to whoever wants to take it, and he says, "Show us, yes please, Junichi-kun. I can pass it on, I just-- there've been injuries, and I have to, first, before I go," he says and it's mostly at the boys, it's, it's mostly at Zoisite, and it's almost a plea. A plea for forgiveness, maybe, because it's certainly not asking permission. "He can show me, I can show you, you can get on the road again and I and whoever stays with me will catch up."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
A confident smile is given to Mou Fubuki when she offers to help out herself. That is the person she is, and the one Veronica is glad to have met. Both of them are who they are in spite of their families, and if Veronica is sweet, then she is all the more so.

The phantom thief laughs with a crystalline timbre at Junichi wanting to know who they are. She would be surprised if he would recognise them. Had she donned her Mars disguise before they met, his reaction would likely be much different, but now she is glad she didn't do that so casually. Her disguises are meant to trick her enemies, not her allies.

Something could be said about the fact she is still tricking him anyway right now, but at least she is not faking to be one of the man's heroes. Her eyes dart around, checking her surroundings for any that would compromise her. None. Nomura-san deserves to know the truth if he is pressed about who they are.

"Well, I have been messing around so Black Moon doesn't know how many of us are here. Sorry for the unintentional deceit", she bows her head to the hold man, and then moonlight disperses from her, returning her to her proper henshin. "This is my true form. Pleasure to make your acquaintance for real, Nomura-san", she bows forward with a smile and brings her hand to her upper body.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She doesn't like being called young queen either, but she'll take that over Moon-sama. She has a feeling she'll have to accept both, in the end, but for the moment - not looking at Jadeite, who is far too willing to take this, not looking at Nephrite (mostly because he is being funny and she will laugh), and not looking at Zoisite because he's twisting the knife.

She feels, for a moment, intensely bad for Mamoru, if only because her girls are definitely not this much of a comedy act.

Instead of looking at any of them, while Mamoru calls for order among his boys, she smiles at Snow Angel Mou Fubuki, because of course the other girl would offer to help - Usagi doesn't know her well, but she's never seen her be anything less than utterly heroic and true.

Then she straightens her shoulders and backs up her husband to be.

"Like Mamochan said, we have plenty more friends with us - my girls are here, and even more, our good friends, our precious allies. We've fought terrible evils, and we've handled... probably half, of these enemies. We'll keep handling them, if that's what it takes to reunite Chibiusa-chan with her Mama and Papa."

She hasn't missed the way he's refused to tell them the condition of the Queen and King, even when she asked - but she's sure that if they were dead, he would say something. Surely, no one who loved Chibiusa would leave her in suspense about that. So they're going to be fine, and she's going to make sure of it, with her own two hands and the sparkling crystal in her compact.

The Narrator (280) has posed:
"Perhaps it could be dubbed strength, but I'm truly nothing special, young miss. I'm doing only what's natural, when you think about it. We protect the young, and we who are older take it on our shoulders to help those who come after us. That's the way of the world. That is the essence of the Crystal Millennium."

And he's proud of it, this world he lives in, the Queen and King who rule it.

There's a pose, and the young woman with the cloak gives her name, and he applauds her - quietly! "Magical Rocket Girl Red, it is my honor to make your acquaintance. I have to admit, your weaponry - though positively ancient - is certainly stylish."

This audacious and inspiring introduction is followed up by an even more bold introduction - at least in Junichi's eyes.

Butler. He called himself Tuxedo Kamen's butler.

Junichi's eyes widen a touch when that's uttered, and so proudly at that, and he looks at the young blond man - Jadeite - for a long moment, and then looks at the other two men, clad in similar uniforms, handsome and strong and each fierce in their own way, and then he looks at the young king, and decides that that's just none of his business.

It's the end of the world, again, and even the king was young once. The young king standing before him is only proof of that.

The interruption from the young man with the deeply impressive hair is welcomed, if only because it gives Junichi a reason to snicker.

"Of course, of course. I have no cause to doubt your ranking..."

And then there's the sharp-tongued, fierce-eyed young man speaking up, jaw clenched, words cold.

"Ah, that would explain your uniforms. A form of King's Guard..."

He contemplates this for a moment. "Why would your title be questionable? Is it not the nature of a scalpel to be sharp?"

The only reason he can think of as to why the title might be dubbed questionable is the cruelty in his words, the coldness with which he speaks. And well - while Crystal Tokyo is a peaceful place... Junichi Nomura has lived through hell. He has seen worse than the eyes of angry young man.

The young king is embarrassed, but not angry, and despite what he says, Junichi doesn't mind.

"Kamen-sama, it does my old heart good to see you surrounded by another cohort. You and the Queen have ever been protected by the Guardian Senshi, but for you to have your own King's Guard... it truly is remarkable."

His head is held high, his aged voice steady.

"Moon-sama. Kamen-sama. Magical Rocket Girl Red, Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, Sonata Cheer, Snow Angel Mou Fubuki... It is my pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for coming to our Princess' aid when she needed it most."

Sonata Cheer's form transforms, becoming an altogether different, but still charming young woman, and he adjusts, still bowing to them all in respect, even if his old man back protests a twinge.

When he stands, he offers the young king his hand, even as he looks the young queen in the eye.

"Moon-sama, I have not lived this long by doubting you. I have no doubt in my mind that you will set this to rights."

And Mamoru, having taken his hand, will see the truth of that - and will also be given the direcctions he seeks - the path to the palace, the path to the sheltered survivors.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Red eyes look up at Junichi with a deeply serious expression. "Aren't you tired...?"

    'Rocket Girl Red' seems to come to a conclusion, clenching her fists and looking at him, determined. "Then we'll save you, too. If your duty is to see us through this, then... You've got a place in the world after, too."

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Mou Fubuki hears Junichi's words and snorts out of her nose before crossing her arms, still holding the bag of ice in her hands. "If more people were like you, I'd have more respect for my elders."

    After a pause, she leans against Veronica and says, "I don't mind helping out, though. We all gotta stick together, to do our part to make things better. Even in the face of people who want to make things worse. If someone is so desperate to travel time and space to seek out help, well, how could we ignore a plea like that?"

    Laisa, for better or worse, seems to be missing context on the butler situation.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Sonata Cheer, but Sonnet Cheer is a good name as well. I act as a rather hands-on idol in that form.", she replies to Mamoru with a mirthful smile. One musical reference for another isn't that big of a change. It's not like there is a naming scheme she has to adhere to. She is not a Sailor Senshi, a Pretty Cure, or any of the more organised mahou groups.

Sometimes she wonders what that would be like, being part of a mahou mini-society, knowing that as soon as someone calls themselves a Sailor Senshi, you have got things in common with them. Certainly takes a bit of the pressure off of finding allies.

"I absolutely agree", she hugs her lovely angel, kissing her cheek. Surely Nomura-san doesn't mind if they act affectionate in front of him, right? "We are here to set things right, and Nomura's guidance will be of help."

The Narrator (280) has posed:
Brown eyes meet serious red ones, and Junichi Nomura, a little old man who's lived nearly a thousand years, through hell and heaven alike, smiles.

"Of course I'm tired, young miss. I'm an old man. I've had a fortunate life, touched by the kindness of so many. And now, I'm even fortunate enough to receive your kindness. I may be tired, but so long as I know such wonderful people, how can I not find more to give?"

Snow Angel Mou Fubuki is regarded next, and he can only nod, a faint smile on his face. "I can respect that, Snow Angel Mou Fubuki-san. I'm sorry to hear that you have not been given the elders you deserve in life. Thank you, for coming to our aid anyway. Thank you all. That you see it as the natural thing, only makes me more grateful to you."

Does he mind the two girls being affectionate? No, though he kindly averts his eyes to give them their privacy. It would be hard for any citizen of Crystal Tokyo to judge a public display of affection with their queen and king, but especially one personally acquainted with the royal couple.