Chapter 65: I Am Found

-VERTEX ONE: 15.556984-

Pizza Strada

Azabu-Juuban, Minato Ward, Tokyo

"Look at this crowd," muttered the waiter to the register clerk. "What's going to happen to our reputation if word gets around that we let these people in?"

The crowd in question was indeed as eclectic as they came. Everyone in Azabu-Juuban knew about the Sailor Senshi, of course, but some of the women in the party of thirty-plus people were like no Senshi the waiter had ever seen. One of them was so huge that there wouldn't be room for her inside the average Tokyo apartment, for God's sake. Then there was the tall, thin, silent one with all the tattoos, who wore a bird-like mask and gave him the creeps. He was dead certain he saw pointy definitely-not-human ears on another one. And they brought children and animals and heaven knew who and what else with them...

"You heard the new owners," said the clerk. "They specifically said to not ask questions and treat them like we'd treat any other valued customers. Is it worth your job to argue?"

"That's the other thing," the waiter grumbled. "The new owners? I was there three weeks ago when they became the new owners, I saw it all. There were no calls beforehand, not even a hint of interest. Those two just showed up out of nowhere on our doorstep and bought the restaurant from Taniguchi-tenchou in the space of an hour. No factfinding, no negotiations, no nothing. That's not how things are done in this country."

The clerk rolled her eyes. "They retained the entire staff, they doubled our wages, and they sent off Taniguchi-tenchou with more than enough money for an early retirement... and you're complaining. It's because they're foreigners, isn't it."

"Them being foreigners doesn't have anything to do with it, they're weird! Even if they are twins, a brother and sister shouldn't be that familiar with each other in public! Or anywhere else! And have you noticed the way they talk?! All that back-and-forth and finishing each other's sentences, it's like they're one mind in two bodies. I don't like it, it's murder on my nerves. And look," he said, gesturing to the block in general. "It's been less than a day since the invaders were driven out, and less than an hour since the typhoon. Yet they still called us in to work! Okay, so they're paying triple overtime, but!" He stopped to check his watch. "We shouldn't even be open at this hour, it's the middle of the night!"

The clerk, having evidently had enough, shoved a tray into his hands. "Table Four needs more drinks. Are you going to do your job, or stand there whining until you get fired?"

The waiter slumped his shoulders in defeat. "I'll do my job."

*****

The way that Minako Aino squirmed as she attempted to hold a seiza position before a girl five years her junior might have prompted a few laughs out of context... but no one around them found it funny. The circle of nearly three dozen people around them watched in quiet anticipation.

Sakura Kinomoto stood before her. One bandaged hand clutched the Star Rod, in the other was the VOICE Card. She needed Tomoyo Daidouji's assistance to hold the former, her brother Toya's for the latter, and Yukito Tsukishiro's from behind to remain standing. All three and Minako begged her to at least sit down, or wait until she recovered more of her energy, but she refused point blank. To make Minako wait even longer, she said, would be unthinkable.

Sakura's features tensed with effort. "Please," she recited. Her magic circle bloomed beneath them, painting the darkened street with swiling golden color. "Return what was stolen from Minako-san! VOICE!"

VOICE's pink, harpy-like form emerged from the Card, floated over to Minako, and breathed upon her neck, which glowed softly for a moment. VOICE smiled, nodded, and drifted back to her Card, but Minako didn't move...

"Well?" said Sakura, anxious. "Did it work?"

Artemis came forward and put a paw on Minako's knee. "Mina...?"

Slowly, Minako opened her eyes and smiled down at her feline companion. In a voice that creaked with disuse like a rusted hinge, she spoke her first words in months: "My pillow... smells... like fish."

"Huh?" Artemis could in no way disguise the panic that danced in his eyes. "Mina, are you okay?"

Confused, worried muttering came from the circle of onlookers.

"Th-that should..." said Sakura. "I don't understand, did VOICE—"

"I... can always... tell..." Minako said, each word careful and deliberate, "... when you've... been napping... on my favorite pillow... Artemis. No matter... how careful... you are about... not shedding on it. My pillow... smells... like fish..." Her lips spread wide, her blue eyes sparkled. "Because... you fart... in your sleep..."

Artemis's ears turned back, and his aghast cry of "MINA...!" went unheard beneath the tide of laughter that swept through the circle. Even Sakura couldn't help but giggle a bit. But he didn't resist when Minako swept him into her arms, hugged him tight, and kissed him on the forehead. Soon he was laughing too.

With happy tears in her eyes, Minako unclipped the eight-pointed brass star from her choker, brought it to her lips, and planted another kiss on its surface. "Thank you... Comeback Tour. For everything. Guess I gotta... reprogram you... for something else now... because there's no way... in Hell... I'm not keeping you... around."

Comeback Tour responded with a musical trill and the voice of one of Japan's most legendary idol singers: "[It's always my pleasure, Venus.]"

With a relieved exhalation of breath, Sakura fell back into the waiting arms of her loved ones, who all gathered around to help her back into a chair. "It's all right, everyone," she tried to protest. "You don't need to—"

"The job's done, now take five," said Toya, deadpan as ever. "Even monsters need their food and rest."

In direct contrast, Yukito completely failed to hide his happiness. "I'll have to back Toya up on this one, I'm afraid."

"Just relax, Sakura-chan. Sit here, I'll feed you some more pizza." And Tomoyo seemed elated by that prospect...

"Now," said Minako. She looked around in a facetious fashion. "There's somebody else... I need to talk to. Where's my girl?"

Rei Hino stepped forward from the circle hesitantly, her face glowing like the fiery streaks in her hair, which spat a constant rain of sparks. Oh, she made a heroic effort to keep herself composed, but there was no hiding the slight redness and puffiness around her eyes, or the trembling of her lips as she tried not to smile. "M-Minako...?"

"There you are! C'mere! I may not... be able to sing yet, but...!" And Minako lunged for her hand, pulled her into the circle's center, and began to... well, it wasn't a dance in the classical ballroom sense. That was far too much to ask of someone like Minako Aino. But it was some manner of dance, and despite how flustered Rei was at being watched by so many people, it was only a few moments before she gave up and attempted to match Minako's rhythm.

There was no music save for the regular rhythm of clapping hands from those watching... but that was more than enough.

*****

"Kinda like they're copying us, isn't it?" said Kirara Amanogawa with a playful sigh.

"Really, Kirara!" Delighted, Towa applauded along as she followed the couple's every move. "They are in love, and that should always be celebrated. You should be happy for them!"

"Oh, I am! I'm thrilled! Tired, but thrilled," she said, raising her glass of mango juice as Minako whirled by with Rei in tow. "I want only the best for Rei-nee and Mina-tan. I just thought it was funny."

The two of them sat at one of Pizza Strada's many outdoor tables, which was stacked with empty plates and silverware. Their table was toward the edge of the restaurant's patio, for privacy. "Did you get enough to eat?" Kirara asked.

"Oh yes," Towa nodded. "This world's pizza is quite delicious, is it not?"

"Mmm, I kinda liked Yumegahama's better. This one's good, but a bit too heavy on the muenster."

"Really?" Towa's head tilted to one side, and her apricot curls slid out of the way, partially exposing one of her elven ears. "Did you not enjoy it? You only had two slices."

"Guess it's a little rough on my stomach." Kirara leaned down to get another sip out of her straw. Not much juice left, she would need another refill in short order. "After so much replicated stuff, it's only natural, right?"

"I suppose. Have you not been enjoying the Arthra's food? Shall we speak to Admiral Lindy about it?"

Kirara didn't like where this line of questioning was headed, but with a pro model's skill she kept it from showing on her face. "It's fine, Towa-chi, it's fine!" she said, her tone casual. "I'll be back to normal in a few days, it's no big deal. You're the one to fret about." She leaned forward to brush back one of those lovely curls, and streetlight winked off the bands of silver suffusing it. "Look at you, going grey before your time. That's what stressing out does to you." That same skill let her suppress the needle stab of guilt and push it down to her core.

For a moment, Towa's eyes swam with mixed emotions. It was difficult to make out what she was thinking, and that alone was concerning, for Towa always wore her heart on her sleeve. She was sweet and naïve and always honest. The ugly, paranoid little voice in the back of Kirara's mind wondered if this was a sign, a sign of Nehelenia's corruption or Twilight re-emerging or some deeper problem—

Then the corners of Towa's mouth turned down into a polite little frown. "Kirara," she said. "Close your eyes and lean forward."

It wasn't like her to be so bold, either. "Really?" said Kirara, tensing up. "Here? In front of everybody?" Not that that wasn't an interesting idea, but...

"Please." Towa's tone indicated that she would brook no argument in the matter.

"If you say so, Princess." Kirara complied and puckered her lips...

What touched them a moment later was not Towa's lips, but it was almost as soft and sweet. That smell, that texture. No, it couldn't be. Impossible. Yet it was being pushed against her lips, and in a moment she would have to make a choice as to whether to allow it entry into her mouth or not. Towa wasn't pushing all that hard, but there was an intent of force behind it. "Mmmf?!" she mumbled around it. Her eyes opened...

It was a lumpy, misshapen thing, not the perfect toroidal shape she was used to. Bulges here and there where there shouldn't have been. The frosting was more or less evenly spread over it, but the cheery yellow drizzle wandered, as if the person who drizzled it had been a bit drunk. The taste, however, was unmistakable, and almost exactly flawless. Just a hair away from perfection, but somehow, maybe that was better. Tears welled in her eyes. Unable to help herself, she took a bite, and another. Marble Donuts' banana fudge creams. Her favorite. Just like the ones in Yumegahama... home.

"I am afraid I have kept a secret from you, for the sake of a surprise," said Towa. She straightened her back in her chair as Kirara took the donut from her hands like a precious treasure. "Omori-senpai has been giving me cooking instructions for the past few weeks. True, the ingredients are replicated, but if one cooks them by hand instead of simply replicating the final product... I think you will find it produces superior results, yes? Though I do apologize about the shape and decoration. I aim to improve them in the future."

"Towa-chi," said Kirara around a mouthful. "You—"

Her gaze turned steely. "Kirara. You have been sleeping in."

"Well, yeah, Towa-chi, what's there to wake up early for?! I don't have school or work anymore, you can't—"

"No, Kirara," said Towa patiently, "you have been sleeping in. And I have not seen you check your weight once in the last five days. Last week, you forgot to put on your make-up." Moving in for the kill, she dropped her voice low. "There are sweat pants in your wardrobe. With elastic waistbands."

"Towa-chi—"

One lovely eyebrow raised. "Did your mother not tell you that a model must always look her best, whether or not anyone is watching? You have been neglecting yourself, Kirara. You. You have been worrying over me to the point that it is affecting who you are. And while you have a right to be worried..." Towa took one of her silver-streaked curls between her fingers. Her brows knit together. "I must say, I am quite cross with you for your apparent ignorance or apathy to the fact that I have been equally as worried about you, if not moreso. Your lack of self-care is, dare I say it, ticking me off."

For Towa, that phrase was a profanity. In disbelief, Kirara stopped mid-bite to gape at her.

"So starting now," said Towa, "we are going to care for each other to the best of our abilities. I intend to explore more methods of self-control with Rei-san, and I will do my utmost to keep you and the doctors informed of any changes in my condition. And you will resume looking, acting, and feeling your best... which means a balanced diet, moderate exercise, proper hygiene, and a healthy sleep schedule." She leaned forward again, trenchant. "Because if you are not doing your best, I will find out. And I shall have to discipline you."

Tides of confused emotions washed over Kirara; it was all she could do to finish the last few bites of her precious donut without spraying crumbs everywhere. After the final swallow, the tides swept over her all at once: she broke into great shuddering sobs, squawked with outrage that wasn't entirely feigned, shivered head to toe... but also she laughed, really laughed, for the first time since before this rotten war began. Trying to do all of these things simultaneously was too much for even a professional multitasker of Kirara's caliber... in short, she was an unholy mess. Laughing won the struggle for dominance, and it only stopped once her lips were to Towa's and it couldn't escape anymore.

And she was awake, born anew. Towa was her dawn, clearing away all the clouds and darkness that had gathered around her these many months until everything felt right again. For this glorious moment, there was only here and now, a joy that pierced through all the fake smiles and reignited her heart with something real at last. Kirara wrapped her arms around her and pulled her so close that she could feel the elven girl's heartbeat. Her princess, her priceless treasure, her Towa.

"M-my," Towa sputtered once she finally came up for air, cheeks flushed. Carefully she licked her lips and cleaned them of a few specks of icing. "I... I have always been more partial to Marble's cinnamon donuts, but. I believe I am beginning to like the taste of the banana fudge creams as well..."

"Pffft!" Halfway through dabbing at herself with her napkin, Kirara expelled air and made the linen flutter. "Towa-chi... it feels like I don't deserve you. I've been so stupid. I love you so much. Can you ever forgive me?"

"You need not even ask." Towa patted her knee, then took her hand and clasped it tight in both of hers. "I love you too, Kirara. I always will." Her expression turned serious. Proud and severe, like some noble bird of prey. "And I give you my solemn vow, by my name as Hope Delight Towa, and by my honor as Princess of Hope Kingdom: I will not allow Twilight to harm a single hair upon your head. Never again. Strike the possibility from your mind."

"You're, uh, you're kinda crushing my hand there, Towa-chi..."

"Oh, goodness me!" Just like that, she was sweet, innocent, dorky Towa again. She released the hand in an instant. "Forgive me, Kirara, I—"

"Gotcha!" And in one smooth motion, Kirara pulled her back in and brushed her vivid curls back from her temple to reveal her prize: long and slender and tapering to a pleasantly rounded point, an irresistible target.

"Kirara, please!" Towa shrieked in not-quite-terror. "Not now! There are so many people here...!"

"Everybody's watching Mina-tan, you're not getting away that easily~." Kirara leaned down and parted her lips.

A sharp intake of breath. "B-but this is so improper, you cannot do this to meeeeeeeeee... ahhhn~..." As Kirara's front teeth gently closed onto the tip of her ear, her ultimate weak spot, Towa's protest rose sharply in pitch before trailing off into something quite the opposite. Color rushed to her cheeks, she swooned and went limp.

True, it wasn't the most inappropriate thing one could do with one's partner in public, but it was getting there.

*****

"Aw, you got all wet! Here," said Nagisa Momoe. She brandished a handful of napkins at the Chibi-Stranger, who sported a large, dark stain on the front of her tiny school uniform. Thank heaven it was only water that she spilled. "Let Nagisa help, just hold still."

It was an amusing sight, one small girl tutting over an even smaller girl in a motherly fashion. Perhaps, thought Mami Tomoe with more than a touch of self-gratification, she was rubbing off on her young charge.

The Chibi-Stranger cast her wide, astonishingly blue eyes up at Nagisa, shining with gratitude. Her lips spread into an adoring smile, the picture of innocence.

"Don't worry about it," said Nagisa. Blotting the wet spot with the napkins seemed to be working. "Nagisa's done that a bunch of times. When your hands are that small, it's tough to get them around tall glasses. We'll see if we can get you a straw." Her eyes wandered, as they were wont to do. "Hey, wow! Lookit what Kirara-san and Towa-sama are doing over there!"

Mami took a peek and— Oh dear. This was one of those times when a parental figure needed to step in. Mami gently took hold of Nagisa's head and steered her gaze back to the task at hand. "It's impolite to stare. Give them their privacy."

"Awww!" Out came the lower lip, one of Nagisa's favorite techniques. A moment of silent contemplation followed. Worrying. "If Gus shows up, I hope I can watch him then."

One of Mami's brows raised. "Gus?"

"From his tunnel."

There was a trap here, but Mami couldn't tell precisely what it was. "Nagisa..."

"You know!" Nagisa rolled her eyes, as if she couldn't believe anyone could be so dense. "When two girls are in love, Tunneling Gus comes out—"

"Nagisa!" Mami shrieked and turned almost as red as Kyoko's hair. "Where on earth did you hear that?!"

Nagisa beamed from ear to ear, radiant with joy. "Oh, so it is something naughty! Nagisa figured it was, but now she knows for sure! Thanks, Mami-nee! You're the greatest!" Small arms wrapped around Mami's waist and squeezed. Then, still flush with discovery, she took the Chibi-Stranger by the hand, helped her down from her high chair, and set off with her. "C'mon! Let's go find the bathroom and finish cleaning you up. If we hurry, maybe we can see Gus when we get back!"

A moan slipped from Mami as she pressed her burning face into her hands. How it was that Nagisa could be so mature one moment and so childish the next, she had no idea. She could only pray that Nagisa's short attention span would cause her to forget her new knowledge sooner rather than later.

"Kids, huh?" said a deep voice next to her. Someone pulled aside the chair to Mami's left and sat down, which prompted an ominous creaking from its legs. "You can never tell what they'll pick up."

Mortified, Mami launched into her apology before she could get a good look at her new neighbor. "Oh no, you heard that?! I'm so sorry for her, sometimes her behavior is simply appalling..."

"C'mon, you've got nothing to apologize for!" the voice interrupted. "I can tell you're doing a great job raising her. At your age, that's seriously impressive. My compliments."

No wonder it took Mami a moment to place it; before tonight, she had never heard it before. "You're—" she began, finally looking up. And up.

One could only imagine how much difficulty Makoto Kino's size must have caused her over the years. Standing or seated, she was at least a head taller than her friends, and she stood out without even trying. Mami had more than a few inklings of what that was like, given that she was blessed with abundant growth of a different, more specialized sort. But oh, how lovely Kino was in her largeness, she thought as she took a close look at her for the first time. Any feelings of intimidation melted away once she drew close, once she spoke to you. Kindness and honesty, iron toughness and great gentleness... there was quite simply a good feel to her presence, which put Mami at ease faster than she could register.

"Makoto Kino." She tossed off a small salute with her forefingers and took a sip from her champagne glass. "Sailor Jupiter. And you're Mami Tomoe, right? Madoka-chan told me a lot about you."

"I—" Calm, calm. A lady had to stay collected. Mami smiled politely and bowed her head, folding her hands in her lap. "Yes, that's right. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kino-san. I hope that what Kaname-san said about me was good."

"You don't need to be so formal, just 'Mako' is fine. And yeah, she thinks the world of you," said Kino. "From what I can tell, pretty much everybody does."

"I'm nothing special," deflected Mami with practiced ease. "I've simply had more experience than most Puellae Magi. I certainly don't measure up to a living concept, or the former Devil."

"Don't sell yourself short! Everybody's got their own things they're good at, after all."

"Yes, I suppose so."

"I know it's gotta be hard." Kino lowered her voice. "Madoka-chan didn't really have time to go into much detail about your situation, but... Orphaned and living by yourself at a young age, plus going to school and being a magical girl? I think it's incredible that you can juggle it all, let alone take care of an adopted kid. I don't think I could have managed all of that at fifteen, to be honest."

"Nagisa is really more like my younger sister, and we've never... It wasn't exactly a formal adoption—"

"Doesn't matter." Kino grinned. "Still incredible. Take it from someone who knows, anyone who makes it through what you have intact has to be strong."

Mami's cheeks warmed again, she fought the urge to squirm. All this flattery wasn't exactly comfortable. "I suppose you're right. Thank you, Kino-san."

"Hey," she chided, "I told you. You can call me 'Mako', it's okay. Listen..." She leaned close, as if about to impart some great secret. "Madoka-chan also told me that you make a mean peach pie. If you don't mind my asking, could you give me a few pointers? Whenever I try to make it, the crusts come out too dry no matter what I do. They don't have that flaky, melt-in-your-mouth feel that they're supposed to."

Ah, now they were on more comfortable ground. Mami relaxed and slipped into cooking mode: "Well, I've found that if you gradually mix in small amounts of ice cold water when preparing it, the dough will be much more pliable."

"Yeah? For real?"

"Mmmhmm. And cutting small crumbs of butter into the mix instead of slices or cubes is key..."

*****

Much better. Now that the Chibi-Stranger was all dried off, Nagisa took hold of her hand again and pushed open the bathroom door for her. "C'mon," she said to her charge, "let's get back before Mami-nee worries about us. Did you see that they have Italian-style cheesecake on the menu?"

The Stranger beamed and bobbed her head up and down with excitement that Nagisa found quite familiar. Since they were once the same being, it figured that she would retain some of Nagisa's likes and dislikes. She wondered if that meant Ayumi Sakagami had a few new cravings, now that she was her own person again too. And on that note, Nagisa thought, maybe she herself was carrying bits and pieces of Ayumi, and Chibi-Chibi, and Alicia Testarossa... hmm. It was difficult to tell. She still felt like herself, and she was pretty sure all her memories were her own, but she wondered how one would be able to tell. As far as she knew, there wasn't anyone else in the multiverse with a relationship quite like the four of them had with each other...

The door swung open and the two made a beeline through the restaurant, which was now mostly empty because their tables and chairs were all outside on the patio, occupied by the Lights. Nagisa pushed the glass front door with her shoulder as she turned to face the Stranger again. "Of course," she said, keeping her voice low in case the staff heard, "their cheesecake probably won't be as good as Mami-nee's, but Mamoru-san's paying! And you know Nagisa never turns down cheesecake if it's free... huh?"

Halfway over the threshold, the Stranger stopped dead. Her tiny fingers tightened into a vice grip on her hand, her pupils were pinpricks as she stared past Nagisa, stricken.

"What's the matter? Are you okay?" All thoughts of dessert fled Nagisa's mind as she dropped to one knee and put her free hand on the toddler's shoulder. With everything they had shared, the Stranger couldn't help but feel closer than family to her, and anything that scared her enough to make her freeze like this was something Nagisa needed to protect her from at all costs. She followed the gaze of those blue eyes over her shoulder... Her stomach clenched into a knot, and her heart skipped a few beats.

"So it's you," said Sailor Galaxia. She looked bizarrely out of place, standing there in her golden armor in the shadow of the restaurant's awning, a setting far too mundane for someone of her reputation. Her good eye was fixed on the Stranger, her scarred face moments from a scowl by the look of it. "I confess, I doubted I would ever see you again."

Orange light enveloped Nagisa's body in a flash. As a living shield, she stood before the stranger, transformed and with her trumpet aimed at Galaxia's face. She felt the Stranger cower behind her, shaking like a leaf as she gripped her hand for dear life.

Abandoning the scowl, the left side of Galaxia's mouth curled into a cold smirk. Half a second later, the right side did likewise. "You seem to have me at a disadvantage, child... I don't believe we've met. But regardless of whatever you may have heard about me, we have an alliance now."

"I know, and I don't care," said Nagisa in a low, even tone. "And this isn't exactly the person you remember, but she has Chibi-Chibi's memories, and we shared minds. I saw enough of what both versions of you did to both her selves and to the Sailor Senshi. If you give me reason to think you're going to touch her, I'll blow off your head, alliance or no alliance."

Faint surprise registered across Galaxia's uneven features, followed by amusement. "Interesting. You aren't nearly as childish as you want the others to think."

"I've got my reasons. It's okay, everything's okay," she said to the Stranger without averting her eyes from her target for an instant. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you. Change into Alicia for now, and—"

The Stranger moved into Nagisa's field of vision just long enough to shake her head violently.

"No?" said Nagisa, perplexed. "You don't want to be Alicia? What's the matter?"

*hurt*

It had been some time since she felt the Stranger project an emotion, but as she squeezed her hand hard as she could, a sensation of overwhelming guilt drowned Nagisa's mind. Fangs of it tore at her insides, her vision blurred with tears. "I-it's okay," Nagisa choked through them and squeezed back. Whatever the source of that feeling was, she couldn't comprehend... but the important thing was calming her down. "Just take deep breaths. I'm right here."

"I didn't intend to cause her distress," Galaxia said, a bit testy. "I was curious at the sight of her, nothing more. One of her was a part of one of me, once." Something rumbled deep in her throat. "Damn these timelines."

A few blinks, and the tears were gone. "Yeah, well, I still don't like you and I still don't trust you," said Nagisa. "You're lucky Usagi-san's giving you the benefit of the doubt. What are you even here for, anyway? The pizza's for friends only."

Galaxia leaned against the restaurant's display window and crossed her arms. "What else? I need my next target."

*****

On the other side of the patio, an animated conversation was in progress, though in truth, perhaps "animated" wasn't a strong enough word. "Conversation" wasn't entirely appropriate either, since one person was doing the bulk of the talking.

"... and there was the final battle with Gooyan, the one where the whole planet got torn to pieces and Saki-senpai and Mai-senpai let the Kiryuu sisters have their powers as Cure Bright and Cure Windy, and the four of them hit Gooyan with an attack as strong as the Big Bang! The Spiral Heart Splash Star!" said Ayumi. Her arms were a blur of motion in her excitement, like an aircraft marshaller on far too much caffeine. Every so often, she would reach down for another slice of pizza without looking. No one was quite sure how any amount of pizza was sufficient to fuel all her fangirling. "And did I tell you guys all about the time Love-senpai and her team fought a Nakewameke that was a gigantic pet wig?"

"A... a pet wig?" Rikka Hishikawa, seated next to her, blinked a few times. "They've never mentioned that to me. Why on earth would anyone need a wig for their pet?"

Meilin Li spoke up from Rikka's right. "It's for when your dog is going bald and can't hide it with a combover anymore."

The tiny blue puppy lying on Rikka's shoulder let out a faint chuckle. "That was... supposed to be a secret, ~quel..." said Raquel, still weak and in recovery, but awake.

"Obviously I didn't mean you, Raquel! I'm almost positive you're not balding." Meilin's lips curled into a feline smirk as she brandished a fork in his direction. "Unless those diamond things on the tips of your ears are—"

"Noooo...!" Raquel moaned and hammed up as much mock-distress as he could in his weakened state. "They're spots, ~quel!"

"Bald spots?"

"Rikkaaaaaaaaa! Meilin's being mean to me!"

"Now now, Raquel," Rikka tutted and stroked his forehead with one finger. "She's probably only bullying you because she likes you. Why wouldn't she? You're so handsome."

"Oh yeah," said Meilin. The giggle in her voice betrayed her attempt to keep a straight face. "Lately I've discovered I'm really into boys who have blue fur, turn into smartphones, and are small enough to ride on my shoulder. What else could I want in a guy?"

"... and one time, a Negatone put Hibiki-senpai, Kanade-senpai, and Ellen-senpai in a quiz game..." Ayumi's latest recount came to a temporary halt thanks to a coughing fit. It seemed the latest swig of her sparkling lemonade went down the wrong pipe.

"Careful, Ayumi-chan, careful." Luckily, Michiru Kaioh was on hand to give her a thump on the back. "You really should choose to either eat and drink or talk. Trying to do both at once can be hazardous."

"S-sorry, Michiru-san!" said Ayumi once she could breathe again. "It's just..." There were so many sparkles in her eyes that it was like looking at a sequined gown. "I'm so glad I'm me again! I can finally talk to everybody, and tell you and all the other Lights about our adventures! It's been so long..."

Two tables away, Yui Nanase shook her head and grinned. "It's hard to believe she used to be shy, isn't it? She talks about Precure like you talk about... well, should I make a list?"

"Mmm~." Full, sleepy, and content, Yayoi Kise chuckled softly and leaned down to rest her cheek in the crook between Yui's neck and shoulder. Right now, that crook was heaven, or close to it. Food and companionship and an end to the fighting were all well and good. To be able to just rest in this spot, though, to have the time to enjoy the sensation of warm, drowsy fullness and inhale the spring-like scent of Yui's favorite body wash... bliss beyond words. "I know how she feels. She just had to find something she was passionate about, and people she could share it with. Same with me and Miyuki-chan and the others. I think it's sweet." Somehow, when she was with Yui... thinking about how much she missed Miyuki and the others didn't sting quite as much. Their absence was a problem to be solved, not an insurmountable obstacle. Miraculous, really.

"You'd better be careful, Yayoi-chan." Beneath their table, questing fingers slid over Yayoi's hand, seeking connection. "If you blow your nose too loud, she'll probably find out about it."

"Eww, no." Once more their hands linked together, and Yayoi sighed as Yui nuzzled against the top of her head. "Hey," she said, more to keep herself awake than anything. Tempted as she was to nod off right here, she felt she should at least make an effort to get back to their room first. "Do you think we should—"

"Slip out?" said Yui, finishing her thought for her. "Mmm, maybe. What would you like to do when we get back? You want to do a few more pages of Miracle Peace? I'll do the inking so you can focus on the pencils, like last time."

"I want to, but I'm so tired. I need a good night's sleep or three first to recharge my batteries."

"Of course. How about we watch more Utena?"

"No, that's a bit too heavy. Let's save it for later. Something light and fluffy sounds good."

"Hmm. Bloom into You, then? Or Sasameki Koto?"

"Getting warmer."

"You know," Yui leaned close and dropped her voice so only Yayoi could hear. "Not that I don't love geeking out with you, don't get me wrong, but... there are a couple other things we could do besides anime, manga, or games."

Now that got Yayoi's attention, enough to dispel some of her sleepiness. Through force of will, she lifted her head. "Yui-chan?"

It astonished her that Yui was capable of looking as flustered as she did then, given all the things she faced down without blinking. "I-I mean," she stammered, "only if you're okay with it, of course! I just thought—"

Yayoi blinked a few times. "Yui-chan...?" she said again.

"Never mind. It was probably a dumb idea," said Yui. Absently, she scratched her cheek with one fingernail as she turned away. The lenses of her glasses were fogged, and her cheeks burned pink. "Forget I said anything."

"... trapped inside a Cinderella book..." Two tables over, Ayumi told the others about yet another of her favorite Precure battles. Her voice was a pleasing buzz, one of many layers of background noise: clinking glasses and silverware, laughter, clapping, the electric hum of streetlamps, the droning song of a few summer cicadas. Lost in all those layers was the brief, startled noise Yui let out when Yayoi placed her free hand on her knee... and then moved it, just a little bit.

"Yayoi-chan, you—" said Yui.

"It's all right," Yayoi said with a smile, so full of love for her partner that she felt it might soon burst her heart from within. "Let's go back while nobody's looking, okay?"

Yui nodded. The steam gathered on her lenses did a decent job of hiding the flow of happy tears, but Yayoi knew they were there.

Thrilled and anxious in equal measure, Yayoi reached into her pocket for her AMP's comm button. "Kise to Arthra," she said. Then, relishing the opportunity: "Two to beam up."

"Energize," Yui laughed as the transport circle bloomed beneath them and they faded out.

*****

"Nuh—" Erika Kurumi felt her eyes must be as wide as the platter her table's latest pizza arrived on. Her mouth had been hanging open for some time, and one watching might be tempted to joke about attracting flies. Incapable of speech, she swiped the screen to the left... Somehow, her eyes bulged even wider. She sputtered and lifted the phone to show Hayate Yagami, who hovered over her shoulder with a similar if less exaggerated expression.

"Holy crap," said Hayate in hushed tones as she swiped a few more times. "No way. You're kiddin'. These can't be—"

Smiling happily, Tomoyo pressed a hand to her cheek. "Indeed, they're all my designs. Do you like them?"

One of Erika's lower eyelids did a spastic twitch on tic. "Like them?!" There had to be hundreds of stronger words than "like" to describe her reaction to the works of art on the screen, but at the moment her brain refused to process any of them. "Daidouji, there's no way you're human. You're a machine, some kind of costume-making android or something! No ordinary girl makes this many clothes that are all this gorgeous! And you started when you were nine?!"

"Ohoho, now you're just being silly," said Tomoyo. "And please, 'Tomoyo-chan' is fine."

Moaning, Hayate buried her face in her hands and peered out from between splayed fingers. "Erika-chan, she makes us look like amateurs! What do we do?!"

"What do we do?! We partner with her, of course!" Erika spun in her seat and clasped Tomoyo's free hand, then lowered her head in supplication. "Please, sensei. Yours is a gift from God. Come with us and share it with the world! You could headline Paris Fashion Week, easily!"

Tomoyo averted her eyes and flushed pink. "That's very kind of you to say, Erika-chan, but I'm afraid I must decline. This is just a hobby, something I enjoy. I don't have any interest in being famous, and I certainly have no need for money. Besides, my designs cater to a very exclusive clientele." Here she looked back at Sakura next to her, who was slumped against her brother Toya's arm, fast asleep.

Gears turned in Erika's head as she followed the older girl's gaze. Even someone like herself, whom her family and teammates gently called "a bit lacking in tact" and whom less polite people called "inept at reading the room", could tell that the kind of devotion on display here went far beyond the bounds of just being a best friend... but she had to be sure. "Tomoyo-chan, 'scuse me if this is rude to ask, but... You have a thing for Sakura, right?"

"Erika!" shrieked Hayate. At least Tsubomi wasn't here at the moment. That question would have sent her into a meltdown of secondhand embarrassment.

"I love Sakura-chan," Tomoyo answered with a contented smile. "I've loved her for a long time. I always will, no matter what happens. My only wish is for her happiness, and to stay by her side forever. Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah, I get what you mean." Okay, so maybe it wasn't the smartest question she'd ever asked, but at least Tomoyo took it in stride. "Damn, you've really got it all... looks, talent, money, and a muse you love for a best friend. But listen! The three of us have gotta collaborate on at least one outfit, okay? You're like the Michaelangelo of girls' fashion or something, and if I miss the chance to work with you, I know I'll regret it forever."

"Michelangelo, Erika-chan," Hayate corrected. "Michaelangelo's the Ninja Turtle."

"Whatever!"

"Of course, I'd be happy to!" Delighted, Tomoyo clapped her hands. "Sakura-chan will need a fitting costume for the final battle, after all, and any friends of hers are friends of mine. On that note..." Her soft voice grew softer as her eyes shifted to Erika's dummy leg. "Pardon me if this is untoward, but I couldn't help but notice your leg..."

"Oh, this?" A bit of melancholy dampened Erika's excitement. She rapped her knuckles on her plastic kneecap, a dull sound. "Don't worry about it, it's battle damage. I'm getting used to it."

Indigo eyes scanned the leg up and down. "That's wonderful to hear, but surely someone with such a well-developed fashion sense as yourself would prefer the exterior to be a bit less... plain?" Tomoyo said this with an abundance of the tact that Erika knew she lacked, and she couldn't help but feel a tiny twinge of envy. Admiration, too. "As long as the aesthetics don't inhibit its function, of course."

"W-well, yeah, obviously," said Erika, scratching her cheek in an attempt to appear casual. "I had the same thought. I'd have done it myself already, but the doctors said I should be ready for the real one inside of a month, maybe less if rehab keeps going well. Cyborg Erika's almost here, haha..."

"In that case," said Tomoyo brightly, "I would be happy to assist you with customizing it. That is, if you'll allow me, and if the doctors approve. It would be the least I could do for such a gifted fellow designer."

"Uh. Gah—" The speech centers of Erika's brain must have failed her then, for as much as she wanted to thank Tomoyo for such an amazing compliment, one of the best she had ever received in her life, nothing responded when she tried to move her lips and tongue. And why was her face getting so hot all of a sudden?

"I don't believe it," said Hayate from somewhere far away. "This is an event." And she called across the tables, much too loud: "Tsubomi-chan, get over here! Erika-chan's actually speechless! And blushing!"

"OI! Hayateeeee!" Erika sputtered, finding her voice at last as she rounded on her friend to put her in a chokehold.

*****

"It's just... Ninety five percent of the time, Tia's the most well-behaved kid you could ask for. She does well in school, copes with problems like a pro, looks after herself. But that other five percent... I came home from work one day and found out she broke the nose of a little boy in her class. It took me over an hour to get any details out of her. Even then, all she would say to explain herself was 'I don't like bullies.'"

Kyoko Sakura chuckled. "Kid's got fighting spirit, definitely. I feel sorry for whoever first tries hitting on her when she don't want it."

"Please, I'm not even remotely ready to think about that."

They were across the street from Pizza Strada and the rest of the party, their backs against the New New York Club, a shuttered place that apparently sold bagels and sandwiches. Neither of them had been able to figure out an explanation for the restaurant's repetitive name. For the first time that night, Kyoko was able to truly savor her food... it was good pizza, definitely, but it wasn't doing much to fill the void inside her. Like her insides were hollow, no stomach and no guts, and whatever she ate just disappeared after it went down her throat.

At least Tiida Lanster wasn't the worst company. Kinda strange and kinda socially clueless, but he was easy to talk to and he knew when not to pry. Kyoko's initial fears that he was some kind of creep were laid to rest. If anything, he was the opposite: wholesome to a nauseating degree, but in a way that endeared rather than annoyed most of the time. It was clear he thought the world of his little sister, to the point of fixation, because all topics seemed to drift back to her eventually, given enough time.

And that was cute... but it also made her ache, to be honest. Over and over again in her memories of the other timelines, she had a little sister whom she loved just as much if not more. Over and over again she lost Momo, along with her mother, her father, and her home. Her fault, for making a wish. Now they were all returned to her, or at least they were when last she left them in Kazamino, before Joker froze their universe in time. The question was, when and if they fixed everything, would they stay returned? And would she deserve to keep them this time?

No, she decided as she mentally stomped those thoughts into submission. She wasn't going to think about that. Just like all the other things that darkened her Soul Gem if she dwelled on them too much, she pushed them down and buried them.

Upon seeing her expression, Lanster sighed and rubbed his brow. "I did it again, didn't I? Damn... you must think I'm insensitive."

"No," said Kyoko around a mouthful. "I think you're kind of a dick." But she smiled, a touch ruefully, to let him know she wasn't serious. He probably needed the hint. "A dick with a sister complex. I get it, though. She's all you've got. No wonder she can walk all over you."

Lanster frowned at her, suddenly indignant. "She doesn't walk all over—"

"Lanster, I've never even met her and I know: all that girl has to do is give you the pout and you fold like a soft taco shell. If you haven't spoiled her rotten by now, she must be like a saint."

Sheepish in his defeat, Lanster hung his head. "Yeah. I'm doing my best."

"Quit bitching, you're doing great."

"I just hope she's all right. All these months I've been away from home... I wasn't even supposed to serve on the Arthra, you know. I was only aboard for a transfer when all this started. She knows where to go and who to call in case the worst happens to me, of course, but." His face fell into shadow. "She doesn't even know I'm still alive. And as much as I want to call her and tell her I'm okay, that she doesn't need to worry..."

"Yeah," said Kyoko, "the gag order from Fantine and Lindy." At least it was a comfort to know that there were other people she could suffer with. After a moment of consideration, she reached up to pat his shoulder. "This is part of why cops suck, you know. Regular cops or space cops, they pump you full of that rules-and-regulation bullshit until you'd rather slit your wrists than disobey orders. I say fuck all that noise. If they won't let you talk to her, you should quit. Go home and spend all day spoiling her." Her smile became genuine, if snarky. "Hell, you'd be doing all your space cop buddies a favor. I've seen your aim, if that's what you call it."

"Hey...!" And the wounded puppy dog expression on Lanster's face was so stupidly earnest that Kyoko couldn't help but start to laugh. After a few seconds, he joined in with her.

Strange, to be able to laugh at all. Aside from being orphaned older siblings, they were almost nothing alike: a cynical street rat and a naïve, dorky space cop, night and day. And if you really thought about it, there wasn't anything particularly funny about it. It was a weak jab at best, Kyoko would be the first to admit that she barely tried with it. But for some reason, it was that very lack of effort, coupled with that expression on Lanster's face, as if he had been slapped... it struck them both as the height of absurdity. And when faced with something that absurd, well, you had to laugh.

"Uh, wow. I-I guess I caught you in a good mood, huh?"

That voice, however, killed any beginnings of a good mood stone dead. A jagged spear of red light sprung from her Soul Gem's ring form in an instant and hovered like a snake ready to strike...

Standing beneath the halo of a street lamp a few paces away, Sayaka Miki raised a hand in supplication. The other hand was behind her back. "Whoa, whoa!" she pleaded. The spear's point was right between her eyes, millimeters from her skin. "Please, at least let me talk! I'll make it fast, I promise!"

Wasn't this a contrast, Kyoko thought. Lanster's puppy face made her laugh, and this one's puppy face put her seconds away from justified murder. She was always stupid, that was obvious from the beginning, but Kyoko never dreamed she would be stupid enough to approach her like this, not after the shit she pulled. Fury boiled up from the marrow in her bones, her vision was tinged red. Only the presence of multiple witnesses was saving this girl's life... for the moment. "So talk," she said through clenched teeth.

"I..." said Sayaka. "Look, I know. You're right to hate me, Kyoko. I'd hate me too if I were you. I did horrible things to everyone, to you especially, and I shouldn't be forgiven. All I can do is try to make up for what I've done." She sniffled and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, which came away wet. "I'm doing my best, okay? If I can't at least try to fix what I broke, I might as well have them throw me in prison. You're hurt, and you're angry, and those feelings aren't going away. I get it. Be angry if you want, you should be angry. But for your own sake, just try not to be miserable, okay?" Here she folded her hand over her heart. "We both know what misery does to magical girls like us. All the Grief Seeds in the world won't stop it forever, and I don't..." A trembling sob. Tears spilled freely down her face. "You were there for me at the end, so many times. Even though I lashed out at you, even though I hated you and didn't listen to you and treated you so badly... over and over again, you were there when I had lost everything. I don't want you to go through that, not ever. Because I still care about you, Kyoko. I never stopped caring about you, all the time I was with them. You may not believe me, but it's the truth.

"So here," she said as she drew a small red carton from behind her back in her other hand. "I know it's not much, and I'm not dumb enough to think it'll fix everything... but can this be Step One, maybe?"

Kyoko glanced down. It was a carton of chocolate pocky, her favorite brand.

"It's... it's a p-peace offering," said Sayaka through fresh tears. "Come on, Kyoko, say something."

"Eat 'em yourself," said Kyoko as she withdrew her spear. "I lost my appetite. If you don't want 'em, give 'em to Homura. She's really been pulling through for us." As she said this, her insides squeezed tight. Only for a second, though, and it never showed on her face. She turned a one-eighty on her heel and slapped Psalm 23, on its chain beneath her hoodie. "Arthra? Apples. Send me back to the Lighthouse, I'm done here."

The transport circle shone under her feet and took her away.

*****

All this activity with this many people, but for the moment almost everything was peaceful. That qualified as a small miracle in Usagi Tsukino's eyes. Sure, not everything was sunshine and roses... Here she cast a melancholy glance at Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi, who had been deep in hushed conversation with each other for over an hour. How Homura was feeling was a mystery to her, but Madoka's face was an open book: sadness, frustration, regret, and guilt, cycling rapidly from one to the other and through several of them at once on occasion.

As she watched, things seemed to hit a breaking point. Homura stood up from her seat and flipped back her hair. Her soft, flat voice was hard to hear over the many other conversations, but Usagi picked up snatches: "I'm sorry... can't do this anymore right now... we keep going in circles... too many problems to be resolved with one conversation... once we're back at the Lighthouse."

Madoka reached out a hand: "Homura-chan, wait...!" That much was perfectly audible.

It was no use. Homura transformed, turned over her shield, and vanished.

Defeated, Madoka slumped in her seat, and her arm fell limp back to her side. Poor thing. Usagi shifted her hips to rise from her chair, but Chibi-Usa and Hotaru were already on it faster than she could try. They embraced her from either side, and Madoka's cheeks glowed... Usagi found the wounded "I'm all right" smile she put on as she reassured them both to be quite familiar indeed.

Mamoru Chiba, seated next to her and with his arm around her shoulder, spoke her thoughts aloud. That was another of his many talents. "Madoka's a good girl," he said. "So is Homura, beneath all the ice. And they love each other... so it shouldn't be so hard to make their relationship work. Something like that, right?"

"Mmm." Usagi nodded. "It's like every power in the universe is determined to keep them apart." It was hard to blame Homura for being upset. After all they had been through, all the effort to repair their relationship, she had been minutes if not seconds from losing Madoka all over again. Were it not for Galaxia... Usagi shuddered. Being in Galaxia's debt wasn't an idea she relished.

"I seem to recall that happening to the two of us more than a few times," said Mamoru.

"No, they've got it way worse than we ever did, I think. The stories Madoka-chan's told me... At least we're adults, and we can drink to forget our problems when stuff like this happens. Huh? Hey...!"

Mamoru had just moved a glass of Charles Mignon Grand Cru out of her reach. "Sorry," he said as he tipped the contents into his mouth. "From what I understand, you already got hammered once tonight."

"Oh, come on!" Usagi stuck out her lip as a show of defiance. "Don't make me be a responsible adult now. It's our victory party! We're celebrating!"

"Yes, but I have a surprise for you." A dazzling wink. "One you'll definitely want to be sober for."

Suspicious... "In that case, why are you drinking?"

"Because the surprise isn't for me, obviously."

Usagi's rebuttal was interrupted by a commotion from a nearby table: a booming voice saying "Whoa there! Where'd you pop up from?" She swiveled to look.

The chair to the left of Sailor Makemake, which had been sitting unoccupied for some time while she ate in stony silence, was now pulled aside, and the upper half of a small, snowy-white head with large round ears peeked over the edge of the table. Makemake seemed to take no notice of her new guest whatsoever; without moving from her spot, she stretched out a spindly, tattooed arm to take another slice of pizza. No one was quite sure how she could eat without removing her birdlike mask. Each slice shrank and developed a ragged, toothmarked edge as she brought it close to the part of it that covered her mouth, and they could make out faint up-and-down motions of her jaw behind it that were consistent with chewing, but neither of her teammates would explain the mechanics of how that process worked. Clearly it had no effect on her appetite, as evidenced by the stack of four empty plates at her side. All of Makemake's slices thus far, Usagi noted, had been covered in generous helpings of little red squiggly things, which she provided herself from a drawstring pouch and kept close at hand in a finger bowl.

"I've been here the whole time," said Sailor Iron Mouse in response to Sailor Haumea's question. The tiny false Senshi only spared a brief glance up at Makemake next to her, then her watery grey eyes settled back on the pizza laid out on the table. "It's here, it's free, and I'm making my own choices, so I choose to eat fresh-cooked Terran food while I can. Not the cheese, though! Cheese is disgusting, and I won't eat it no matter what you say." Quick as a whip, her hand darted across the table and nabbed a slice of her own.

"'Attagirl, there you go!" Haumea raised a barrel-sized glass of something that was more fruit than liquid by volume from her much larger table, where she was seated alone out of necessity. Non-alcoholic, she had insisted. "The only way to find something you like is to try lots of new things! That's what I tell my little ones all the time. If you like it, just ask the waiter for an olive special. Or the marinara!"

"Huh. Okay..." Iron Mouse ducked out of sight, but her voice was still audible: "Ugh, it's all gooey. Is this stuff really that popular? Gotta scrape it off." One of her hands made another brief appearance from the edge and fumbled around, searching blindly.

Only then did Makemake shift from her position, if only to nudge a table knife toward Iron Mouse's questing fingers with her elbow.

"Wow, thanks," said Iron Mouse once she had hold of it. After a moment: "There we go! Much better. Here goes, I guess..." She fell silent, but the uppermost curves of her ears were just visible over the table's edge, bobbing up and down. "Hompf. It still sorta tastes like cheese, but I don't hate it. It's way better than the replicated stuff they give me in the brig. Still kinda bland, though." Out came her head—or the upper half of it—once more, and this time she scanned the table carefully. "Hey, these thin red things in the bowl... are these fruits?"

An expression of alarm crossed Haumea's face. "Makemake, stop her!"

Makemake's head swiveled on her deerlike neck and tilted downward. "Um," she mumbled from behind the mask. "Thuh-those... those are... th-those... c-careful..."

Out of sight once more, Iron Mouse spoke around a mouthful. "That's a little better, but it could still use something else, I think. Meat would be good, or some—" Her voice trailed off, then scaled up sharply in pitch and volume: "Oh stars, it burns! Hehp me, my mouff's od fiuh! MY MOUFF'S OD FIUH! WADUH! WADUH! EEEYAAAAAAGH...!" And with that, a fuzzy white blur shot away from the table as if launched out of a cannon, screeching muffled blue murder.

"OI! Mouse!" Bellowing after her, Haumea's voice drowned out everything else for a few seconds, even Iron Mouse's squealing. "Don't drink water, that'll make it worse! Drink milk, or eat some bread!"

"Whoa, Mouse...!" Her flight nearly bowled over Nagisa Misumi, Cure Black, who was passing by balancing several more platters of pizza. Black stared after her, mystified. "What were those things, anyway?"

Sailor Eris, just now approaching from the north by way of Zoshiki Street, groaned and put a hand to her forehead. "Oh no, not again. Those stupid peppers...!"

It didn't matter that the mask was still on; they could all feel the blush rising to Makemake's cheeks. "A-Aji... A-Aji Cr-Cristal, ca-capcisum ba-baccatum. Thu... thirty to fuh-fifty thousand Scoville units. S-six times hot... h-hotter than—"

"... than an average jalapeño," Eris finished in a tone that suggested she'd heard that factoid many times before. It was difficult to tell through her dark visor, especially at a distance, but Usagi guessed she was rolling her eyes. Upon seeing Black's curious look, she explained further: "Makemake grew up eating those things, she puts them on everything. It's a wonder she has any taste buds left. Or a tongue, for that matter."

"I don't believe it!" Black made a horrible face. "People enjoy stuff like that?! Wasabi's bad enough."

"It helps if you have a stomach made of cast iron," said Haumea. "So, Black! Any of those for me?"

"I think so!" said Black. She took a facetious look over her trays and smirked. "Ham and pineapple, right?"

Everyone in the immediate area fell silent. Haumea said nothing, she only raised one large and bushy eyebrow.

An interminable few seconds later, Black's smile dropped from her face. The trays nearly did likewise from their platters. "Oh god. I'm so sorry, Haumea, it just slipped out! I'm such an idiot! I—"

One enormous hand reached out to steady her and right the trays. "It's okay," Haumea said with surprising gentleness, even a soft chuckle. "I know you didn't mean any harm. Everyone says stupid things now and again, what matters is that you apologized and you don't make a habit of it. But just so you know, I can't stand pineapple, the stuff makes me sick. And for future reference: I don't own a surfboard, I can't play a ukulele to save my life, and I don't know how to dance the hula either... I did take a ha'a lesson, just once. They kicked me out because I broke their floors." Over the last few sentences, her broad smile slowly reasserted itself, and now it was back in force as a full-fledged grin. "So no hard feelings. We good?"

"W-we're good!" said Black, sheepish but with regained composure. "Anyway, come get your pizza while it's hot..."

"Hell yeah! Bring it on, little sister!"

Apropos of nothing, a thought occurred to Usagi at that moment. A happy thought, a hopeful one that she couldn't believe she hadn't considered before. She fairly trembled with the effort to contain her excitement as rose from her chair and gave Mamoru a pat on the shoulder when he looked at her with a quizzical expression.

After waiting for Black to finish her rounds, she crossed the patio to where Haumea sat in her oversized chair at her oversized table, helping herself to a pizza or three. "Haumea-san," she said. "I want to ask you something."

Haumea turned her radiant smile on her, which made her heart flutter. "Of course, Your Majesty! Ask away!"

Usagi drew a breath to steady herself and dug her nails into her palm. "The three of you are from our future. And that means... that means there is a future, doesn't it? Which means that we stop Joker in the end. Right...?"

The wattage of Haumea's smile turned down, dimmed by notes of sadness and sympathy. "Ah. I'm afraid it doesn't work like that, Your Majesty, I'm sorry." One of her fingers descended to stroke Usagi's head, right between her odango. "I'm not the best person to ask. Pluto could probably explain it, but... well." Did she spare a sorrowful look over at Chibi-Usa then, or was it Usagi's imagination? "When someone or something changes time, the effects are seldom easy to understand. One thing doesn't necessarily lead to another, and restoring the proper order of events doesn't always snap everything back to the way it should be, like in science fiction. Whether we're from the future or a future is up in the air, and the details of when we're from are... hmmm."

As somber as Usagi had ever seen her, she continued. "In the era we come from, I know Lady Serenity is Queen of Crystal Tokyo, that much is immutable. But I can't tell you who her king is, if there even is one. She could have a royal consort, she could have a daughter, she could be ruling alone and childless. I should know, and maybe at one point I did know... but now when I try to think of who those people are, if they're even real, they're all like smears of color in my mind." Her hand came to rest on her round belly, and her tone grew wistful. "When and if we return to our own future, if it even exists, there's a good chance that it won't be the future we left. This little one's parent may be someone entirely different from the person I conceived her with. And if that happens, I may not remember that original person at all. I'd just see whoever's waiting for me as the one I was always with."

"What I'm saying, Your Majesty, is that time is fluid, and precious little is certain. Especially with the damage Joker's been doing, not just to what we call our 'correct' timeline, but to the way time itself works." Here she cast a melancholy glance up at the Tower of Geddon, visible over top of the high buildings that surrounded them... a gigantic, twisted construct made of Juuban and everything in it, tightly coiled like a rope and reaching for the skies. "I hope that makes sense."

Horrified, Usagi began the motions to reach out for a hug... but hugging someone of Haumea's size would be impossible, she realized. Instead she laid her cheek against the side of her belly, after a nod from above confirmed that it was okay. The implications of what she said made her feel ill. "That's so awful," she said. "How can you stand it? How can you risk helping us if you know you could lose the people who are precious to you because of it?"

"I think you already know the answer. It's not easy. It never is, even in the far future," said Haumea gently. "But all three of us are here because we pledged to aid you, and because it's the right thing to do. We're Sailor Senshi, Your Majesty. We exist to carry on the fight for love and justice. No regrets."

Usagi closed her eyes, and for a few moments she laid there and let the warmth of Haumea's mighty body sink into her, and listened to the steady, resounding boom of her heartbeat. "Do you..." she said after a while. "Do you know if—"

Umber curls shook back and forth as she smiled down at herself. "Not yet. Who they are and the person they'll be, that's for them to decide. Their future, whatever it is, is still unwritten. That's worth fighting for... so just point us in the right direction and we'll do whatever you ask. We'll help each other."

And though she couldn't explain why it came to her at that moment, it was then that Usagi knew what she needed Haumea and her team to do.

*****

Even the waiter's mask of professionalism couldn't hide how pleased he wasn't that Black insisted on doing his job for him. She wasn't that clueless, she could see the spark of irritation in his eyes whenever she picked up platters or came back with another tray of dishes and silverware. Far be it from her to impose, it just felt better to be doing something useful than to just sit there stuffing her face. Of course it was a victory party and it was a long time coming, but ever since Galaxia arrived and concluded their hard-fought battle, Black had been more restless than celebratory.

The reason why was obvious: for a scant minute or two, she really thought Honoka had returned to her at last. In hindsight it was obvious that it wasn't her, but still...!

Whatever the reasons, doing simple and repetitive things like waiting and busing tables helped distract her. "Here you go!" she said as she dropped the latest load off in the kitchen. "Let me know if you need help washing them. I, uh, probably won't be able to handle the really delicate stuff, but—" A small collection of mangled forks in the corner could attest to that. Whoever it was in the Garden of Light who first designed her Cure form didn't give a thought to the difficulties she might have with fine dining while transformed.

One of the kitchen staff, who appreciated her help a lot more than the waiter did, smiled at her. "Black-san, you really don't have to do all this!"

"It's no problem!" Black flashed her a thumbs-up. "Besides, even us magical girls need to keep in shape, and all this back-and-forth is good exercise. I've been cooped up too long, so I need all I can get."

The unexpected happened as she made her way out the front doors: a halting, squeaky little voice floated up from her hip pouch. "I'll say you need it... You're gonna start... bursting out of your uniform... before too long, ~mepo..."

So glad was she to hear his voice that she decided to forgive the crack about her weight... temporarily. "Mepple!" she said, all her focus on him. "It's been forever, how are you holding up?"

"I'm okay," said Mepple. "A little less tired, I think. You did... amazing work tonight, Nagisa. I'm proud of you. I just wish... I could have helped more..."

"Hey." She gave the pouch a supportive little pat. "You kept me going, so you helped plenty. Go back to sleep if you need to, buddy. We've earned a little rest."

"Thanks... Talk to you soon, ~mepo..."

More lonely and restless than ever, Black looked up and found that she had wandered away from the patio in her distraction. She would have returned immediately had she not caught sight of someone very small, huddled up with her back to a marble garden fixture housing a line of green shrubs. "Uh, Iron Mouse?" Black blinked, not sure of what to make of the scene before her.

Iron Mouse was surrounded by at least half a dozen empty milk cartons, another four that were unpoened... and strangely, a single empty juice can. Her watery grey eyes were gummy and swollen red. "Oh, it's you," she said in a weak voice.

"You okay? You look like you've been crying," said Black as she knelt down to her level. Crying a lot, by the look of it.

"No, it's those stupid red squiggly things!" Iron Mouse groused as she tore open a carton and chugged the contents. "My poor tongue's never gonna be the same... How is that lunatic still alive after eating those?!"

Ah, right. "The peppers," said Black. "Geez, you really must have a cat's tongue."

"Don't say that! I hate cats!"

"It's just an expression, it means you can't handle hot or spicy stuff."

"Oh. Yeah," said Iron Mouse. She sunk deeper into her little ball and wrapped her tail around herself. "I guess I shouldn't have just grabbed them like that without knowing what they were, but hey." Her lips curled into a tiny smile. "I learned something, at least. And I did try fresh-cooked Earth pizza, for whatever it's worth. Just a little bit, but... it tasted good. I liked it."

"There you go, see?!" Black made to clap her on the shoulder, then thought better of it. "Come on, let's pick up this stuff and throw it out before we head back. We can get you one of those marinara specials without the cheese if you want." As she spoke, she picked up and flattened one empty carton after another. Then she reached for the lone juice can to do the same...

"Don't touch that!" A shriek of something like outrage burst from Iron Mouse's lips. In a blur of motion, she snatched it away. "That's mine!"

Okay, now she was confused. Was this an alien thing? "Uh, Mouse," said Black, "that's just a piece of trash. And it's empty, isn't it?"

Iron Mouse cradled the can like a baby as she held it out of Black's reach. "It's mine," she repeated. "It's not trash. That girl with the short brown hair and the accent, Kamiya or something... she gave it to me after I..." She swallowed and trembled. "After I said those things to Ma— to Joker. It was the first time someone ever gave me something I didn't ask for. After I figured out how to open it, it tasted good. It made me happy. So it's not trash! I'm keeping it." She set her lip and raised a tiny fist. "And if you try to take it anyway, I'll fight you for it."

It took almost everything Black had in her to not burst out laughing, but somehow she managed. Divorced from context, the image of her being willing to fight over an empty juice can was absurd. With context, though, it was really sweet. Not at all what she or any of the other Lights would have expected, sure... but Iron Mouse had surprised them all more than once. "Got it," she said. "In that case, you want to be sure to wash it out, so it doesn't start to smell. Is it okay to throw the rest away?"

Iron Mouse scanned over the cartons, then nodded.

Once those were disposed of in a nearby trash can, Black extended her hand. "C'mon. Let's get you a pizza of your own this time."

Watery grey eyes traveled from Black's face to her outstretched hand and back again. "No poopers?"

"No poopers," Black assured her. She really hoped Iron Mouse couldn't see her biting the inside of her cheek.

*****

The three Distant Star Senshi knelt before them, and Galaxia stood behind Eris with her arms crossed. Usagi didn't think she'd ever get used to the idea of Sailor Galaxia being willing to follow orders, but... She swallowed. If Galaxia wanted to kill things, well, she was about to get her wish.

One hand squeezed Madoka's. "Ready, Madoka-chan?"

Madoka bit her lip and nodded. Poor kid... it wasn't Usagi's intention to pull her back into things this soon, especially not after things with Homura broke down. However, she was the best person to explain the task, the ultimate authority on the subject.

"Everyone," Usagi said. "Obviously, your first job is to keep Earth safe while we're gone. It'll be hard, I know, but we're all going to make it as easy on you as we can. Before we leave, I'm going to go up to the Silver Millennium ruins on the moon and repair the planetary shields from there. That should keep anyone else from Dead End from invading from space." Hopefully, she didn't say out loud.

"We're also giving you Storage Devices, magitech from Nanoha-chan's world," said Madoka. "They'll boost your power, keep you safer, and let us keep in touch with you. Once we have more AMPs made for you, we can swap them out." Her cheeks pinkened. "They, uh, may be a little primitive compared to what you're used to, but..."

"Any extra help we can provide." Nanoha Takamachi, who was standing nearby, passed three Devices to Makemake, who took one and stretched her stick-like arm upward to push the other two into Haumea's hand.

"Um," said Haumea. In the palm of her hand, the Devices, mass-produced bracelet-type models, looked more like a tiny pair of hoop earrings than anything that could wrap around her wrist. With visible hesitation, she took one gingerly between her fingertips and passed it down to Eris before she turned back to her own.

"It's okay, Haumea-san," said Nanoha from below. "We thought of that."

"Please, allow me." At her side, Fate Testarossa Harlown transformed in a golden flash and floated up to Haumea's arm. She tapped the surface of Haumea's Device, bringing up a few stacked holo screens which she swiped through in rapid succession. Golden light flared briefly, and the Device ballooned to double, triple, quadruple its size until it was appropriately scaled to Haumea's size.

"Well, that's all right, then!" One of her signature broad smiles broke across Haumea's face as she strapped the Device on.

Eris smiled at hers fondly, an almost nostalgic expression. "Kinda like one of our older pieces from Osa—" But she stopped in mid-sentence when Usagi looked her way.

Galaxia took hers from Nanoha with an expression of distaste, as if it was a piece of garbage. "If I must. I don't care to rely on machines or technology. My own power is enough."

Usagi saw Madoka tremble a bit before she addressed her. "Um, you might want to reconsider. You all won't just be defending Earth from outside threats. We'll need the four of you to go hunting for us."

And she launched into the long, strange, tragic story of her Vertex's history: the Puellae Magi, the Witches, the Incubators, all of it. As she spoke, the faces of the three Distant Stars went slack with horror... Galaxia's only reaction was a slow narrowing of her eyes as the explanation went on.

"... So in order to keep fighting, we need a supply of Grief Seeds. Sayaka-chan's supply won't last us forever," Madoka finished. She clutched at her skirt and fidgeted on the spot. "As for what we do with them when they're used up... I guess we'll have to ask the Incubators."

"Bastards." said Makemake, putting more intense emotion into that single word than Usagi had ever heard from her. Behind the mask, her dark eyes surged with fury.

"You bargained with these repulsive creatures?" said Galaxia with deep disgust. "Are you truly so foolish as to trust their word, after all they've done?"

"I know," Madoka sighed and closed her eyes. "Believe me, I know. But you have to understand how they think. As bad as they are, they're pragmatic. I don't think they'll betray us if they believe we can give them a system that's better than what they came up with. It's a huge risk, but it's better than being enemies with them or having them on Joker's side."

"It makes sense to me. So since killing them is off the table... We vent our frustrations on the Witches, right?" said Eris, who pounded a fist into one palm for emphasis. Above their heads—but not above Haumea's—a light bulb burst within one of the nearby street lamps at the moment of impact. Glass shards fell in a musical rain within its housing. "Dammit." Eris's shoulders slumped. "Not again..."

"It's just a light bulb, Eris, no need to fret."

Turning away from them all, Galaxia crossed her arms... but she nodded. "It may or may not be a challenge, but at least it should be novel for a while. Very well, I will kill Witches."

Madoka bowed in her direction. "Thank you. Now all we need to do is take you four to a Labyrinth and show you how to—"

"I think I can help with that," said a husky voice.

*****

Before the war started, Madoka took it as a rule that Sayaka always wore her heart on her sleeve. Her dear friend was many things, but when it came to keeping secrets or suppressing her emotions, Sayaka was almost as bad as Madoka herself was. Knowing and accepting her infiltration into Dead End and the reasons behind it rattled her perception of Sayaka, but she hadn't yet had time to process what that truly meant. Honest, painfully earnest Sayaka had developed a new set of skills, she knew how to do things Madoka never dreamed she would be capable of: controlling her feelings, keeping her temper under control, hiding things from even her friends.

Right now, though, there was no hiding anything. Madoka could tell at a glance: Sayaka had been crying, really crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, there were tear marks on her cheeks. Anxiety gripped Madoka's heart as she looked around the patio and the surrounding area... there was no sign of Kyoko or the TSAB officer she was last seen with. It wasn't hard to guess what had happened. "Oh, Sayaka-chan..."

In a pointless gesture so familiar that it made her ache, Sayaka laughed and put her hand behind her head. The laugh trembled, it was in no way believable or authentic. "I-I'll be fine," she lied. "Look, if you need someone to show them the ropes, I'll do it. Nobody wants me around anyway, hahaha..."

That sentence stung Madoka as if she had been slapped. "That's...!"

To her surprise, Nanoha spoke up before she could say anything further. Cool and calm, but unfailingly polite. "That's not true, Miki-san, so don't you dare believe it about yourself. Not only are you Madoka-chan's precious friend, you're now an irreplaceable resource in our fight against Joker. This is not the time for self-pity, no matter what your personal issues may be."

Indignant, Sayaka furrowed her brows. "I'm not...!"

Fate, who was back at Nanoha's side, stepped forward and took Sayaka's hand. "Don't focus on what you aren't. Focus on what you are. You're someone who put herself in incalculable danger to help us and bring us vital intelligence. You made that decision, and now is the time to own it."

"There will be repercussions for you," said Nanoha, who took the other. "That's unavoidable. Trials, legal processes, probably a temporary stay in protective custody... but no sentence, and that includes the self-inflicted kind. You can feel sorry for yourself after your work is done... but only with your friends by your side to love and support you. You're forbidden from shouldering everything by yourself, and that's an order. Are we clear?"

Gobsmacked, Sayaka looked back and forth from Nanoha to Fate to Madoka. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. She swallowed and tried again. "... Can you even make that call?"

Nanoha smiled, warm and compassionate. "I'm pretty sure I outrank you, so yes. If you want to lead the team into a Labyrinth, let's prepare for it properly, so we can be sure you'll come back."

"Sayaka-chan...!" Unable to help herself, Madoka threw her arms around her friend and held her tight. Wetness stung in her eyes. "It'll be all right, Sayaka-chan. You're not alone anymore. Whatever it is, whatever troubles we're both going through, we'll face them together, okay?"

Sayaka buried her face in her shoulder. She let out one tiny sob, and that was all. "Okay."

*****

"Usako... Usako, wake up."

The words and a gentle shake of the shoulder roused Usagi out of a much-needed nap. "Nnngh," she said. "Don't wanna."

But Mamoru wouldn't let up. "C'mon, Usako. Your surprise is almost here. Make yourself look... well, you're always beautiful, so just wipe your face and fix your hair a bit. Here." A strong hand pressed a comb into hers.

No getting back to that nap now. Usagi rubbed away a thread of drool from her lip with the back of her hand and glared at her fiancé, on high alert. "What are you doing?"

All of Mamoru's smiles were heart-stopping, but there was mischief in this one that she wasn't all sure she liked. "Something nice for my beloved Bun-Head to welcome her home, of course."

"Is it food? Or a bed I can sleep on?"

Mamoru didn't answer. He cast his eyes skyward, and his smile grew wider.

Usagi followed his eyes. Circling slowly beneath the ceiling of pre-dawn clouds, a brilliant white pegasus with a sparkling golden horn drifted down from above, its wings beating the air...

"Helios?" she said as he dropped closer. "I don't get it. Mamo-chan, what's he doing? Last I saw him was during the battle."

"I told him to make a special pickup from Elysion once the coast was clear," said Mamoru. "Now shhh. Just watch."

Helios's descent did not go unnoticed. There was a chorus of ooohs and ahhhs behind her from those who had never seen him before. It was, she had to admit, romantic as hell to see it happen. One of those voices was Chibi-Usa's, Usagi heard tears in it. The two of them hadn't had time to speak face to face in so long... Sure, he came to their aid when they fought Walpurgisnacht, but that was hardly the right occasion for a heart-to-heart. She found herself smiling at the thought of the reunion.

And as Helios's hooves touched down on the crosswalk before the restaurant with a soft click, Usagi noticed that the pegasus wasn't alone. He had passengers, three of them, and—

Her stomach dropped like a stone.

"U-SA-GI...!" The woman who dismounted first and barked out each individual syllable of her name had a wavy mane of lavender hair with a number of grey lines in it, she wore a faded old apron. The expression on her face was one Usagi hadn't seen since she moved out... it was similar to the ones she remembered from when she brought home all those tests with scores of 30 and below, but she didn't think she'd ever seen the woman's eyes go quite that wide before, she could see the entire circle of each iris, ringed by white.

A greying man in thick-rimmed glasses was next off. He put a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Dear, we've had a long flight, let's stay calm..."

And last was a seventeen-year-old boy with sandy, spiky hair, who goggled at the strange, eclectic, and majority female crowd that was staring back at them. Blood rushed to his cheeks. "Um... hi?"

"U... SA... GI...!" Ikuko Tsukino bellowed.

And the mighty Sailor Moon, savior of the universe many times over, future queen of the Silver Millennium, shrieked and hid behind her fiancé's legs in a quaking ball of terror.

Looking more like an angry tyrannosaur than a middle-aged housewife, her mother stormed across the street to where they stood, hauled Usagi from her hiding place by the ear, and growled, "The moment we're out of earshot of all these people, I am going to have words with you, young lady! Hello there, Mamoru-kun," she said, switching her tone to smile sweetly up at him. "Please excuse me for borrowing Usagi... and give Chibi-Usa my apologies for missing her, wherever she's gone off to. I intend to make up for it as soon as I get back. Now go get something to eat while you wait! You look thin."

Mamoru Chiba was no fool. He nodded. "Got it, Ikuko-san. Try to go easy on Usako, please, she worked overtime tonight."

"Oh don't be silly, dear, I've told you a thousand times! It's perfectly all right to call me 'Mom' before the wedding. It isn't as if anything will change between now and then, and besides, you need a mother in your life."

"Yes, Mom."

Her gaze snapped back to Usagi. "Now as for you...! Disappearing to heaven-knows-where for months without a word! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?!"

"Mamo-chan, you traitor!" Usagi bawled as she was led off by the ear. "This is the worst surprise ever! Help meeeee...!"

Once they were a block away and up against the wall of an orthopedic center, her mother took a few long glances to be sure no one else was listening and whirled on her, her eyes ablaze. "Seven years!" The words burst out of her like the world's angriest balloon exploding. "Seven years you've kept this from me! All those scrapes and cuts and bruises and bloodstains that you thought I never noticed! All those times you snuck out of the house at night! All those times you went missing during all those awful incidents! All this time, you were Sailor Moon! I should have known all along! My daughter is Sailor Moon...! Why didn't I see it before?!" She took two handfuls of her hair and pulled, hard.

"M-Mama," Usagi stammered. "It's not something I planned on, you gotta believe me!"

Her mother's anger subsided and was replaced by something far worse: tears. "You never told me," she said, much quieter. "You never said a word. I had to hear it from Mamoru-kun instead of you!"

So this was what pond scum felt like. Usagi sniffled and felt her own waterworks come on. "Mama, I wanted to tell you, honest!"

"And Chibi-Usa! I had to hear from him that she's not my daughter, she's yours! I'm a grandmother at forty-three!"

"Um, well, that one's really complicated to explain..."

Her mother buried her face in her hands. "You had to fight, you and Chibi-Usa and your friends and Mamoru-kun. Time after time against monsters that tried to kill you. That did kill you. Over and over again, when you were just children! What kind of cruel, twisted joke is that? How is that fair? And you never told me how much it hurt you... you never told me anything..." A realization. She lifted her head again. "Your therapist. Doctor Koishi. That's why you're seeing him, isn't it? It all makes sense now..."

A thick lump grew in Usagi's throat. "Mama, I'm sorry..."

And she was caught utterly off guard by her mother throwing her arms around her. Tears soaked into the shoulder of her blouse. "And he told me you saved us," her mother whispered. "Not just me and your father, and not just Shingo and Chibi-Usa. You saved the world, the universe, over and over again. Even when it cost you everything. Even when you had to sacrifice your normal life for it. You saved us all, and I never knew."

Baffled, Usagi returned the hug. A tiny part of her still expected that this was a trap, but she told it to keep its little mouth shut. "Mama...?"

Her mother pulled away to face her directly, her eyes shining. "Usagi," she said, smiling through them, "my beautiful baby. You deserved to hear me say it long before now, but... I'm so proud of you. I always have been. And I'd still be proud of you even if you weren't Sailor Moon. I've made so many mistakes over the years, treated you horribly so many times when you were suffering for all of us... Thank you for putting up with me, and for everything you've done. Can you ever forgive your foolish old mother?"

No stopping the tears now. Usagi squeezed her as hard as she could. "Of course, Mama. Of course I forgive you. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Usagi."

"Can we go home now? Just for a while before I have to leave again?"

"I suppose." Her tone grew harsh. "But when this is all over and you come back for good—and you will come back—that's when I'll give you a proper 'welcome home'. And not before. Understand?"

"Yes, Mama."

END OF CHAPTER 65

CONTINUED ON AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/users/BHS