2719/And Of Course They Were Proud

And Of Course They Were Proud
Date of Scene:	02 August 2025
Location:	Crystal Tokyo
Synopsis:	After 9 months of struggle and growth, Chibiusa has been reunited with her parents. She's got a lot to tell them, and she isn't sure how they'll react to everything that's happened, and everything she's done. Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion are her parents first and royalty second, though, so in spite of the surprises (blowing up a natural history museum? Wicked Lady? Going back to the 21st Century?!), there's really only one way they could ever respond.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Chibiusa Tsukino, Usagi Tsukino
Tinyplot:	Black Moon Clan
Tinyplot2:	BMC: Wicked Ride

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Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The doors of the palace are open wide, with the marble stairs that a thousand years of feet have worn comfortable grooves into, and the wider depressions in the marble sidewalks near the sides of the staircase where the televators are... but the Queen's awake and the King is no longer a ghost, and those who've run ahead get to meet them before they come out, before they have to acknowledge anyone else in the world.

And for their daughter, their daughter who saved the worlds, they can put those worlds on hold.

He always knows where she is. He's the worst for hide-and-seek. But it means that when the doors open and no one's looking yet, he's already even more emotional-- and then he's absolutely shocked. Chibiusa has been introduced to a meme that looks like that. Small Lady isn't so small.

"You were only gone a month!" he exclaims. "You're so tall-- wait you're a Senshi--"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Sailor Chibimoon almost doesn't want to face her parents again. It is, in a way, the reason why she ended up running from the palace and into Wiseman's arms to begin with. She was the reason why Neo Queen Serenity couldn't act in her full power when it was really important, and what's worse she couldn't even bring the Silver Crystal back by herself. It was Diana, actually, who was entrusted with that task.

    Yet it was different now. Even with all her insecurities, and all of her fear and self blame, at the very least she could say that she helped to clean up the problems that she helped make. More than that, she was a Senshi now, and as a Sailor Senshi she has a sense of Duty.

    So when she finally does approach King Endymion, it's with her head held high. Luna-P hovers behind her. The princess allows her father to see her in henshin for a moment or two before letting it all disperse in a shower of pink sparkles that, for a fleeting second, look almost like rose petals.

    Her height is commented on, as well as her status as a Senshi. "Well, I guess you could say I did a lot of growing up." She doesn't mention that after Wicked Lady, she also had some growing down. "... and for me it's been a bit longer than a month. More like... nine and a half, I think?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
For Neo Queen Serenity, it's been a bizarre expanse of moments: the horror of realizing the planet was under attack, the stupefying bewilderment of realizing the Silver Crystal was gone, the sheer terror of realizing that Small Lady was nowhere to be found, fleeing to the castle gates to search for her, and glaring at the enemy when she could not find her daughter -

And then nothing, for a span of time that was at once a mere blink and yet also a long nap, that lead to her waking at just the right moment.

Endymion has filled her in on sketches of the details - the Black Moon Clan's existence, the months of time that passed as the world slowly died, their daughter's absence, but he hadn't mentioned that -

"You've gotten so big!" It's the excited squeal of a relative who hasn't seen you in too long, but it's Small Lady's mother, it's royal composure full dropping in excitement, "Look at you! You're going to be as tall as your father, or maybe Jupiter, just look at you! Nine and a half months, and you've grown so much!"

There is no escaping a hug in Usagi Small Lady Serenity's future. In fact, with her henshin dropped, she definitely doesn't have the strength to break out of her mother's hug as the Neo Queen stoops down to hug her. "Oh, Small Lady!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
And Endymion is all the way up there, dying from lack of oxygen and also surfeit of cuteness, watching his wife (awake, alive!) hug their daughter (safe, GROWN!)-- he looks at the entrance, he looks around at the people already in the palace who are starting to gather around just at the edges of sight. He bends down and murmurs as he hugs both of them together, "They can do without us another ten minutes. Upstairs?"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Small Lady doesn't know what to expect. Yelling at her? Discipline? Rejection? She knows without a doubt that her parents love her, but after all this...

    Hugging? Momma is hugging her and, while this most certainly isn't the first time, it's absolutely not the first reaction she was expecting. Tears well up in her eyes for a moment, and her tiny frame leans into the hug as she throws her (not as) tiny arms around the queen. "Momma... I was so worried."

    Lady clings to Queen Serenity as Luna-P hovers behind her. Her moistened red eyes look past the Queen at her papa and she nods her head. They... actually do need to talk. About a lot of things. She stays quiet, afraid that if she says anything she'll actually burst into tears, so she clings to her mother a bit longer, and then moves one arm to grip her father's jacket.

    She's fairly confident that her friends will understand, and if they need an explanation then Diana will likely provide them with one.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The people can do without them for more than ten minutes. The world has been - the world has been a ruin, and she understands that, she understands that the people need them, need the security of knowing that everything will again be well, but their daughter needs them.

Their daughter, who looks different for the first time in centuries, grown up more, taller and a little lankier, her baby fat deposited differently, her eyes more mature...

Neo Queen Serenity hugs Small Lady closely, and is glad that she still fits in her arms. Of course she does. She herself had always fit in her own mothers' arms.

"Yes," she says quietly, and swallows her own tears. "Yes, I think upstairs is just right."

When Small Lady separates from her, to grip at her father's jacket with one small (but not as small) hand, she stands herself, shifting her skirts so they fall a little more neatly.

"We're so proud of you, Small Lady." This, quiet, and just for the three (four, including Luna-P) of them, as they progress deeper into the castle so that they can make their way up.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
'So that they can make their way up' basically means that as soon as they're out of sight of everyone, King Endymion teleports them upstairs to Serenity's Castle, all the way at the very top of the Crystal Palace, above the wispy clouds. As ever, there's definitely an ear pop, significantly blunted by magic.

Then they're in the hallway outside Small Lady's room and the King is on a knee next to his daughter, reaching to pull her into his turn for a hug. "So proud my heart could burst. Look at you! Our Small Lady! Are you still?"

He leans back, and his mask is gone, and his gloves are gone, and his eyes are glistening, and he laughs and dashes at his eyes as traitorous tears fall. "Or are you Middling Lady now?" he asks, gently teasing as he sits back on his heels, now having to look up at her a little, and quite impressed. "Well! Definitely no more standing on your chair at the dinner table."

He looks up at Serenity, asking without words or touch whether now is the time, since Small Lady seems to be anxious.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Small Lady follows along with her mom and dad, quiet and anxious. Proud of her? Really? That's what they have to say to her? Luna-P catches the unspoken hint from the princess that four might be a crowd here, and so returns to her form as Chibiusa's hairpin. The teleport, honestly, is expected at this point. Walking all the way up would be... well, it'd be something that only actual immortals have time for.

    Of course King Endy also gets a hug, but Small Lady is silent in the face of his praise. She's teased about not being as short as she used to be, and it's well meaning and is taken as such, but Small Lady is still... bothered.

    "Are you really?" she asks, almost an accusation. Then she feels guilty. "I was the one who messed everything up. I took the Silver Crystal. I... Everyone suffered because I..."

    She falls silent. Looking at King Endymion's hand. There's really no better way to handle this. There's a lot to talk about, a lot to say, and a lot that Small Lady doesn't yet really know. After a moment of scowling at the ground, she offers the touch of her palm.

    Small Lady is angry, at herself, at a lot of things. Her gut is clenching as she braces for her parents' response to the truth she never had a chance to tell them.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
In the privacy of the upper floors, of their own chambers, Neo Queen Serenity looks from Small Lady with pride to her husband with - well, with immense love and also a sense of 'is now really the time for dad jokes, love?'

Nothing shaming, but, Middling Lady, really?

"Yes, really," Neo Queen Serenity says, without hesitation, and she kneels - Small Lady is taller now, a child so much more grown up, but she is still small enough that her mother must kneel to cup her face as she does now. "Our Small Lady, of course we're still proud of you. You made mistakes, but you learned from them, and so did we."

One lesson - keep the Silver Crystal on her.

"Do you think we never made mistakes? It isn't your fault that our lives are such that your mistakes can have terrible consequences. You didn't ask to be a princess, or a Sailor Senshi, but you rose to the occasion. How can we not be proud?"

Yes, there were grave consequences. People were hurt, people died. Their city was ruined, their family wounded, but it was a mistake, without malice, and for Small Lady to stand before them now, proves that she committed all of herself to repairing the damage.

Through her hand joined with the King's, through his empathy, Small Lady can see that her mother is being honest with her. She loves her so.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
King Endymion might have given his wife a slightly different look in response a few months ago-- yesterday, from her perspective-- but here and now it's just an affectionate 'well, you married me' shrug. He doesn't look affronted in the least by Small Lady's almost-accusation, just a little surprised, as if the idea of not being proud of her had never once been a blip on his radar.

When he clasps his daughter's hand, it's gently, and he's the same gentle with her in his heart and mind that he's been for nine hundred years, despite the love behind it being fierce. The pride in her is fierce too, it bares its teeth with eyes gleaming, this is our daughter, this is our heir, this is our precious child who's so brave it wants to shout from the top of the tallest spire of crystal. His heart is full.

Chibiusa can see in his active memory behind his usual light screen, if she wants it as proof, what he knew at every step of the way and how much he believed in her ability to arrange to thoroughly fix her mistake-- and in so doing, help fix a problem her parents couldn't solve. He's so pleased, he's so warm, he's so alive and Earth is so alive and it's because of Small Lady.

But oh goodness that's a second of excited dad mental noise before he clamps it down, which he's still doing when Serenity takes his other hand. Then, softly, "Show us what you think we'll be angry about?"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa's doubts, fear, guilt and... to some extent, incredulity... are all open and available for King Endymion to feel and, in turn Neo Queen Serenity. Standing in the presence of her mother would frankly be imposing if she weren't so loving, and Small Lady doubts she's the only one in this timeline who'd potentially be maybe a little bit intimidated by the most powerful woman in the world.

    It's true, though. Small Lady did want to fix the problem she caused, to clean up the mess, and to make it all right. Her main mistake was thinking that she had to, that she even could, fix it all by herself.

    Though... she can't help herself. For a moment, she thinks, Actually, I did kinda ask to be a Sailor Senshi. Even if she knows that's not quite what her mother meant.

    While words can always be misunderstood, the empathic link makes both the sincerity and the meaning perfectly clear. No one's saying that she did nothing wrong or that no one got hurt. No one is lying to her. They are simply loving her regardless, and Small Lady is finally in a place where she can accept that.

    Yet her father is asking her to show them, and while she's sure they were able to intuit a lot of it from context, it's different to get an actual confession. So Small Lady just uses the psychic link to restate what happened from her perspective. The people mocking her because they doubt her lineage, her insecurities about her lack of powers, and her choice to take the Silver Crystal out of some desperation to prove that she was in fact her mother's daughter... and the terrible timing of it all.

    She tries to bring up more, but... a lot of it... kind of seems silly to her now. Maybe she really did grow up, because thinking that her mother doesn't like her much, or any of the other things that once bothered her, just kind of seem silly.

    Yet even now, confronting her feelings, she still owes it to her mom and dad to be clear about the order of events leading to this disaster, from her point of view, and that's about all there is to it.

    ... There's also the matter of Wicked Lady but she actually doesn't feel guilty about that to the same degree. Destroying a museum while brainwashed doesn't carry the same level of shame as destroying the world while in your own right mind, relatively speaking.

    She doesn't really have a strong conclusion for her feelings. So she just says, "I mean... it's my fault all this happened. I took the Silver Crystal when I really shouldn't have. You know that by now."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Endymion's love, his pride, are radiant and boastful and loud, and Serenity's is no less warm and true, filled with the giddy pride of her daughter coming into her own. Yes, there's a sense of conflict - not that Small Lady has to fight, she has long accepted that her little girl is their heir in more ways than one - but it's not out of a lack of pride, only a bit of sorrow that the lessons have been so hard.

Small Lady is not as young as she looks, nor as young as she once looked, but she is still young. It always hurts to see the young grow, even as she's proud of it.

She shares Endymion's mild challenge, though. What is there for them to be ashamed of, angry over?

And Small Lady shares with them her story - her experience - her woes.

The taunting of other children who doubted her parentage (Small Lady will feel her mother fluff up like an angry bird over that, a part of her resisting the urge to demand those children lay out THEIR proof of lineage if they're going to be so mean to her baby girl-), the desire to prove herself that lead to claiming the Silver Crystal, the disastrous result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time making the wrong choice -

But there's nothing in those memories that gives cause for shame. There's nothing in those memories that gives cause for real anger, either, not towards Small Lady.

There is some bewilderment at Wicked Lady, some horror at what had been done to their daughter, some 'I wonder if that's a real snapshot of what you'll look like all grown up', but mostly?

"Well, we can pay for the museum. It wasn't really your fault, but we can still compensate those poor people. And... you took the Silver Crystal, yes. And if we take that back a step further, I left the Silver Crystal in a place you could reach it. And if we take it further, your father and I, your aunties, we all lost sight of the Black Moon Clan. And if we take it further, Wiseman could have decided against his mad schemes for death and destruction and taken up gardening, or sculpting."

In her feelings, it's clear - it's not reasonable to blame this all on Small Lady, not when the consequences of her actions were only so terrible due to the consequences of many other people's actions, all stacked like dominos ready to fall.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Okay, he didn't know about the museum. There's a twinge of horror in Endymion's history -- natural history -- oh god fossils?! -- loving soul, but he valiantly stifles it, even if he looks incredulously at his wife for a split second at 'we can pay for the museum'. He is entirely mentally constructed of the word 'how?!'. But after that, in the background are his settling emotions as he listens to the rest, and he nods in agreement at the end.

Then, as he shifts position to sit crosslegged, he says lovingly and earnestly, "Please don't let guilt eat at you. Even if you hadn't been able to gather enough help to fix it, even if you tried and failed, as long as you're alive there's hope to build something new or finish something old. But you were able to get help, baby girl, and you did bring the Ginzuishou back, and you did win, and in the end, our civilization was saved, and you're going to be Sailor Moon. You will have way too much work to do to waste time with dragging around a heavy heart."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity takes a moment to consider the mental image of Wiseman being a kindly old gardener. Not some alternate version of him who is whole and healthy, but full on robe and bones dude using his crystal ball to predict the weather. She spares neither of them this mental image.

    "I mean... you're not wrong." Lady scowls again for a moment regarding the Silver Crystal, then says, "I mean that's kinda like saying it was wrong for you to trust me, but also... yeah that might actually be a good idea. The only time I felt the Silver Crystal was safe was when someone was watching over it. Whether it was me, or Luna-P, or Sailor Venus..." Maybe childproofing your world-saving magical artifact is just intrinsically a good idea.

    Then she considers the number of times Mamoru Chiba had to pay someone in order to clean up after a mess that New Moon and Wicked Lady made. She, too, takes a moment to mourn the loss of dinosaur fossils. It, again, is something hard to be guilty over because it's not really a choice she made but something that happened while she was being enthralled, but it is a loss of something that can't really be replaced with money alone.

    Yet at the same time she feels the love of her parents, and their reassurance, and even their pride. Some of that stuff has always been there. Maybe even all of it, regardless of what her insecurities told her, but it hits different now. Small Lady doesn't see herself as a victim anymore, and the way she receives the love she's being offered makes that clear to her.

    For the first time, Small Lady is starting to fully realize that she's not the same little girl who fled this world over 9 months ago. Or over a month ago. Time is weird.

    "Okay well... I guess... Mom fixed everything so it's okay now." She's still not sure how they're going to pay for a museum without currency, but she's reasonably sure that all four of her parents could figure out something.

    Small Lady then squeezes King Endymion's hand, and also squeezes Neo Queen Serenity's for a moment. The smallest Usagi takes a moment to consider what it is she actually wants to say. "So... now that I'm a Sailor Senshi... there's not really a good place for me to get experience here. Don't get me wrong, it's good that this world is at peace, and I'm grateful that we don't have the problems the other universe has, but I also think that something bad can hit us at any time and I think it'd be better if I was strong enough to help..."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Neo Queen Serenity is unrepentant under that incredulous look, and there's the strong impression of 'we're the king and queen of the whole system, we HAVE wealth!' Diamond rain on Neptune is a thing, there's plenty of wealth from old forgotten kingdoms, there's all the magic crystals everywhere, they will figure it out.

They probably should, anyway - it's not that museum's fault anymore than it's Small Lady's fault that her corrupted self went to the Museeum for entertainment and destroyed much of it, but that Museum has to deal with the consequences. They can't fix it, but maybe they can send along some money to fix it.

Much more importantly is that:

"Small Lady, you're our child, and we love you. That doesn't mean we should have let you reach the world's single greatest weapon and defense. I don't like it when you handle your own kitchen knives, either," this is dry. She can admit it, having seen how terrible it turned out. "The peace we've lived in was hard won, but that doesn't mean we might not have taken it for granted. I wouldn't have left it out of my sight, in ages past."

And she will be keeping a better eye on it in the future. It's not that she can't trust her daughter, but that no small child shold be in that position. Especially her own small child.

"That's right. I fixed everything, and your father held everything together, and now we'll handle it for you."

As it should be!

...Still, though, there's more to be said. There's their little girl making a proposal of her own, because she had wanted to be Sailor Moon and now she is Sailor Moon and their world is safe... and everything that could threaten them is more than one small Sailor Moon can handle.

"..."

There is a significant glance shared with King Endymion.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
That significant glance is joined, on King Endymion's part, by a faint wryness and a breathtaking heart-wrench of worry and missing Small Lady in advance, and then he gently closes the door on his wild roiling emotions and doesn't let them interfere with an actual assessment, or with the conversation. He looks back from Neo Queen Serenity to Small Lady and regards her quite seriously. "From what I understand, it's not safe at all to travel between dimensions if you want to... to go away to school. So--"

He takes a breath and physically makes himself relax. "I'd like it if you don't do it alone again unless and until Sailor Pluto gives the go-ahead." Then Small Lady's papa lets go their hands to rub his face. "I'd like it if we at least got to have you a little longer... but if you're asking to go, then the safest you could be would be to go with all the rest of them."

He's got the 'but you're *our* baby' out of his system by the time he takes their hands again.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Small Lady listens to the conversation about the wealth and the museum. No, they can't fix things, but they can still help somehow. Throwing wealth at the problem is certainly a solution, though Small Lady doesn't quite understand the particulars.

    The comment about letting Lady reach the world's single most powerful magical gem is met with... mixed humor. Lady can't argue with it, and really she probably shouldn't be playing with kitchen knives either. It's a fair argument, it's not really a punishment, it would have prevented things, and yeah it's a sketchy situation.

    Instead of arguing or debating, Small Lady just says, "You're right. We shouldn't be careless with the fate of the world." She leaves it at that because there's actually no sane reason to object.

    Her parents share a look. Endymion points out that travelling between worlds is actually super dangerous. Lady reaches up to grip the Time Key around her neck and nods. "I mean, each time I went through the timestream something bad happened. I don't think bringing a small army with me each time is a great idea either, but... I don't mind taking a few people with me if I have to go, or waiting for Sailor Pluto to say it's safe."

    She smiles up at her dad and says, "Thanks, papa! I won't be gone forever," she promises.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Let it not be misunderstood - Neo Queen Serenity isn't thrilled with the thought of sending her little girl off to a place where she'll be fighting great dangers, or about sending her off to travel through time, when it's always been a taboo - even since her own Moon Mother's era.

But she likes the idea of Small Lady staying here, either stagnant as Sailor Moon or crushed under enemies far too powerful for her, even less. She had survived being Sailor Moon because of her friends, and Small Lady has her aunties, but an aunty is a very different creature from a friend.

It's in the other time that she's found and made friends, people she can fight alongside and grow with, and do good, all the while.

"...We'll miss you," she says quietly, but they both know that this is a yes. "And even if you can't send the letters, you'd better write to us! I want to hear all about the adventures our Small Lady had as Sailor Moon in another time."

Her little girl is growing up. Their little girl is growing up. How sad is it? How wonderful is it?

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Who are the adults responsible for you? I mean in practice, I expect that the younger versions of us have been looking after you-- I know they have--" incredibly dry, that one, "but is it your grandparents? We should send gifts," King Endymion says, unfolding himself from the floor like he's twenty-five and fit, magically unwrinkled cape unpooling as he stands. He offers his hands to his wife to help her un-kneel in that dress. "Ohhhh we should send a couple of bottles of that stuff your parents have loved for the past hundred years or so-- that new strain of wine rice, I can't remember what it's called."

He lets Serenity see, of course, that his feelings unsurprisingly match hers.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Small Lady can sense the hesitation and apprehension of her parents. She doesn't need to be a psychic in order to read the room. It has to be scary for them, but Lady isn't asking for no reason and she also isn't asking out of selfishness. The only threats that could face this kingdom are the kinds of threats they could never see coming, and an inexperienced Sailor Chibimoon couldn't possibly handle that.

    Even though they've both said yes, she feels the need to justify it, or reassure them. When her papa asks who the 'responsible adults' are, her mind flashes quickly through the denizens of Mamoru's apartment and places an X over... not all of them, but most. "Well, I'll probably be spending half the time in a dorm with my alt-mom and alt-Luna, and the other half of the time with alt-dad and his boys. There generally isn't a reason to involve any adults, but for practical purposes my grandparents would probably handle anything that needs a full grown up."

    That might not actually reassure either of her parents at all, the more she thinks about it. She's not going to be dishonest about it either, though.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The adults looking after their little girl have got to be her younger self's parents, right? Aside from their younger selves. After all, she had lived at home until she moved in with Mamoru after high school -

"In her dorm? As in dormitory? She doesn't live at home?"

Oh the Neo Queen has so, so many questions, and their ten minutes of reunion and debriefing are rapidly coming to an end. They don't have time to get the answer to every question now, but...

"You'll all stay for dinner. If we're sending you back, then you're staying for dinner, and you're letting us help you pack, and you're going to tell us all about your life with them, and this dorm, alright?"

Small Lady is given another hug, warm and tight, from both parents, and then it's with a regretful sigh that she straightens, taking Small Lady's hand.

"Let's take the long way down, and we can plan out how you want to greet everyone, now that you're back. It's not every day that our people get to meet the new Sailor Moon, after all."

Royal business isn't what she - or Endymion - want to focus on, but they could spend hours listening to their daughter's trials and tribulations, her adventures and shenanigans. They'll have those hours, later. For now, the world doesn't just need it's Queen and King; the world needs its princess, and the power that only she can reassure them she possesses.

This is the very first time that Princess Small Lady Usagi Serenity will be introduced as a power in the royal family, but it won't be the last.