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{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/12/20
|Location=Pikarigaoka - Seiyou Public School
|Synopsis=Sailor Mercury reveals that Mamoru Chiba isn't dead to his friends.
|Cast of Characters=54,40,58,27,62,116,78,23,42
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>It's evening on a Sunday. Finals are over, and school is out for Winter Break, and Seiyou Academy's observatory is well and truly out of the public eye.<br /><br />This is probably why Sailor Mercury picked this place to invite many of the magical girls (and boys) in the city.<br /><br />The Observatory's lights are on, but in a place designed for viewing the stars, they're very dim and do little more than cast shadows throughout the room. If it weren't so cloudy outside, this would probably be a stellar view.<br /><br />Sailor Mercury herself is leaning against a podium at the front of the observatory's small viewing area/lecture hall. The Senshi of Knowledge already has her visor in place, scanning the room while she waits for everyone to arrive.<br /><br />She looks tired. Despite taking the past day and a half to rest and recover, her sleep has been restless with nightmares, and her waking hours plagued with indecision and uncertainty.<br /><br />Nevertheles, Mercury is here well ahead of her own schedule, having sent word out to Mamoru Chiba's friends, asking them to come.

:'''{{#var:40|Minako Aino| (40)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Minako Aino/<span style="color:#5f87ff">Sailor</span> <span style="color:#cd0000">V</span> shows up early so she can make herself at home off to the side of the stage, legs stretched out and back against the wall. <br /><br />She's calm, but not particulary pleased or happy. A touch nervous.

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sailor Moon feels as well rested as she had all week. That nap on Mako-chan yesterday had done wonders!<br /><br />Well, she's still tired, but sleep deprivation has been beaten back once more!<br /><br />There's a modicum of weight lifted from her shoulders with the end of finals.<br /><br />And, since Mercury's been about as invested in her grades as Mamoru had been, well, why wouldn't bring pictures of her test scores? (They're not perfect or even in any top percentile, but the important thing is she's passed.)<br /><br />She reaches the observatory a bit early, perhaps, but she doesn't really mind. She would rather be around people than not.<br /><br />She sneaks in out of habit and spots Venus as she leaps down. She gives the girl a small smile and wave before joining Mercury.<br /><br />"Um, I know this doesn't have anything to do with the meeting, but um...here."<br /><br />She shoves her phone at her friend.

:'''{{#var:27|Hannah Sharpe| (27)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Hannah Sharpe looks like she hasn't slept in nearly a week. It's not too far from the truth as the magical girl all but stumbles in to the observatory. Her suit is rumpled, and a night's sleep with Gull-chan has only slightly made her better. Bags are heavy under her eyes. According to the school, Hannah has been horribly sick, and thus been exempted from exams until later. <br /><br /> Miss White is here, though. As Mercury would well know, her work on the 'resurrection project' has been all but non-stop. It can't be good for her health. <br /><br /> She collapses into an auditorium seat. If that door was locked? It's getting kicked open. Given it's her, likely right off the hinges. Sorry, Virtue~." <br /><br /> "...Hey." Comes Miss White to those assembled, her fire missing. There's nothing but frustration in her voice.

:'''{{#var:62|Tadase Hotori| (62)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tadase's been in the observatory dozens of times. In fact, it was here that he met with Hannah as they talked about Mamoru and considered thier options.<br /><br />So he's here early, seated in a chair, looking up at the observatory's celing. He's sitting relaxed in a chair, with Kiseki on his shoulder. Tadase's drinking a soda, and Kiseki is drinking his own, out of a tiny doll's cup.

:'''{{#var:116|Daisuke Hansuke| (116)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Asclepius hears there is a meeting. He comes to the meeting. He looks about as well as everyone else- meaning- not very good and tired. He arrives through the door instead of via some weird teleport magic today. He gives a soft wave, a kind nod, and that's all he can muster for now.<br /><br />His hair looks like a mess.<br /><br />He brushes it out. This help's a little.<br /><br />He sort of winces as he turns to look at the arriving and loud Miss White as he looks back toward's Mercury. What's this about?

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko has always been a loner- well, ever since she and Mami dissolved their ill-fated partnership in a hail of gunfire (quite literally, thanks Mami). But there are some problems you just can't handle alone, and this is something she's come to recognize more and more over the past six months or so. Plus, the way she figures it, she owes Mamoru- owes him not to screw up trying to help him by haring off on her own as she is so often wont to do.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So when she got Sailor Mercury's message, she decided to show. She wanted to at least hear what the girl had to say. She enters quietly, in henshin, through an open window at the back of the room. Kyouko doesn't trust doors, especially when people are around to see you go through them.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She drops lightly to the floor and walks with soft steps to a place at the back of the room. Red eyes scan the place, noting those here. They pause a moment on Miss White, and her brows tighten slightly. But she knows that Miss Whtie had connections to Mamoru as well.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For his sake, she'll behave.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Homura Akemi is just suddenly here. She's holding a laptop at her side. Hannah gets a wave. Sailor Moon gets a smile. Kyouko doesn't get anything.<br /><br />Homura feels very little need to justify why she's here. Matters have weighed heavily on her mind since the night of Mamoru's apparent death. She's been searching for the truth in her own way, knowing that others were searching for the same in theirs.<br /><br />For now, she keeps her peace. She may have told a few what her thoughts were, but for now she just wants to see if her thinking is the same as everyone else's.

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sailor Jupiter is here, and considering the condition she was in the last time half of the people here saw her, she's looking pretty good - no longer badly burned, in any case. But she's quiet, and her expression is grave and worried, even when Sailor Moon arrives. She's folded herself into a seat, glancing around now and then at the others, but she hasn't really said much.

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sailor Mercury looks up when Sailor Moon brings her the cell phone, then blinks in surprise. She takes the phone out of Sailor Moon's hand and scrolls through the pictures, then looks back to the blonde. "Great job," she whispers. "But you should take a seat. We can celebrate this later," she promises gently.<br /><br />She looks up at the assembled thoughtfully, then glances at a readout on her visor. After a moment, she nods her head and steps forward once, approaching the center of the podium. "Thank you all for coming. If you will please bear with me a moment while I take a few precautions on all of our behalf."<br /><br />Sailor Mercury reaches a hand forward and closes her eyes. There is a moment where nothing happens, and then a little bead of light forms in her hand. "Hyperspatial Sphere Generate," she declares confidently.<br /><br />The sphere expands outward, suddenly and immensely, enfolding the entire room and its occupants. For those who have witnessed a Barrier created by an Intelligent Device, the feeling is largely quite similar, except smoother, and without bringing along all of the extraneous decorations. Indeed, other than the podium and the chairs, there doesn't seem to be any furniture or features present at all within Mercury's Hyerspatial Sphere.<br /><br />Mercury begins scanning the perimiter briefly for signs of magical or electronic surveilance, then takes a deep breath.<br /><br />"I apologize for bringing you all here on such short notice," Mercury begins. "And for such drastic measures as a barrier to protect us against eavesdropping. I assure you, however, that what I have discovered this past week will be worth these inconveniences."<br /><br />Mercury continues, "As most of you are probably aware, by now, Sailor Moon--the Princess we have sought for months--has tasked me with recovering Mamoru Chiba. Initially, with the help of Ms. White, I attempted to research methods of resurrection to accomplish this goal. Neither of us has yet succeeded in unlocking this goal, although we have made some interesting strides in that direction." Here, she gives a brief nod to Hannah before continuing.<br /><br />"In addition, Sailor Venus has tasked me with chasing the other end of this problem," Mercury explains. "Determining just what happened to Mamoru Chiba in the first place, and how he could be taken from us so casually."<br /><br />"Today," Mercury says, "I will shed light on what happened to Mamoru Chiba, beginning with my findings, and followed by an analysis of those findings."<br /><br />And so she begins, laying out the Mercury computer on the Podium. "Friday, the Eleventh of December, when the Puella Magi Kyouko entered Ms. White's barrier, I detected random fluctuations in that barrier, as if some external source had manipulated it to their advantage. A few moments later, Sailor Jupiter was critically injured, and Tuxedo Mask--Mamoru Chiba--took her into an adjoining room for triage and protection.<br /><br />"What followed," Mercury continues, "was a sound akin to lightning trapped in a bottle. When he emerged from the room, Tuxedo Mask was injured but stable, although the source of his injuries was unclear. He soon begged an excuse to leave, and departed the scene.<br /><br />"Simultaneous to the Barrier being activated, Mamoru's cell phones--" plural, "--began transmitting a signal as if they were all over Tokyo. Everywhere and nowhere at once. This continued for an hour after the events at the orphanage, before one of his phones resumed normal operations. The other remained isolated by the dispersion effect.<br /><br />"Mamoru's activities, if we are to believe the normalized phone were indeed his activities, matched his typical patterns for a Saturday and a Sunday. Then, this same phone was used to transmit a text simultaneously to each of us in this room, plus several others."<br /><br />"Sunday, December the Thirteenth, we all came in time to see a Youma who looked like Chiba assault Sailor Moon." Mercury pauses to clear her throat. "Per our usual habit, we proceded to defeat the youma; however, unlike other youma which are made of people, this one did not revert. Mamoru Chiba's Youma disintegrated into ash and dust under the combined effort of our assaults."<br /><br />"However," Mercury says, "this is not the end of the story. As I mentioned, this Youma did not behave as other creatures converted to Youma do. Rather than reverting to human form, it became ash. The composition of ''human'' ashes is primarily calcium phosphate--bone matter. This Youma's ashes, however, consisted instead of alluminum silicate. Clay and spinel, and bits of blood, but no bone."<br /><br />As she speaks, Mercury begins to escalate her fervor and conviction, as if speaking the words aloud are giving her the confidence she needs to carry on, "Moon Healing Escalation, used on any other Dark Kingdom Infected, has always purified the target completely. I recently scanned Miss Sakura," she motions towards Kyouko, here, "and confirmed that there is no lingering trace of dark energy in her pattern whatsoever. Furthermore, the tip of her spear did still have dark energy from where she stabbed the general known as Kunzite, as if it were his lifeblood."<br /><br />Still, she continues, "According to Sailor Moon, when she kissed the Youma before realizing what was happening, he tasted of a coffee mug--not coffee, not pizza, not anything else, just an empty mug. Every person has a distinct flavor, based upon what they have eaten or done in their life. To taste of nothing would require a person to have never eaten. Ever."<br /><br />"Finally," Mercury says, "I can detect no change in the Princess's signature compared to how it looked prior to these events. She seems to have some form of bond with Mamoru Chiba, which draws the two of them together."<br /><br />"I believe that bond is still in tact," Mercury says, clearly stretching just a little into the territory of hypothesis, "because with all of this mounted evidence I am forced to conclude that Mamoru Chiba was not there at the homework exchange, and is still alive. I reiterate: Mamoru Chiba is alive, and in captivity of the Dark Kingdom. It falls to this body, then, to save him, if we dare."

:'''{{#var:40|Minako Aino| (40)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Minako Aino/<span style="color:#5f87ff">Sailor</span> <span style="color:#cd0000">V</span> is two people, sequentially. First, she's blowing kisses at Jupiter and hinting to Moon that she scored 'a smidge better' on her own school tests before praising her for her studies. She pets her on the head, seeing how long she can get away with it before Moon complains or tries to protect her head. Pretends she's sending out dumb text messages on the phone Moon foolishly relinquished, stage whispering about theoretical inappropriate pictures on the phone.<br /><br />Dumb stuff.<br /><br />Then, a lecture. And she seems perturbed. She feels as if she needs to say something.<br /><br />"Like I said... don't waste time with 'resurrection'," she repeats, a little shake in her voice. "We don't need that. A waste of time. Impossible," she remarks. She tries to keep it casual and definite. She knows of ways, but all of them would be more trouble and more tragedy than it's worth. A risk to her mission or her friends. Her words are emotionally honest, but 'technically' dishonest.<br /><br />"And like I said, the only thing we need to figure out is how to prosecute a war against the Dark Kingdom. Nothing more. If we discover anything else good and lucky on the way, that's good. If not? Then we STILL need to be doing this. And not getting our hopes up. Or other peoples' hopes up," she stresses, pulling herself up to kneeling next to Sailor Moon.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko glances around as that barrier-like-thing goes up, but doesn't appear much concerned. She's familiar with the things, even if this one is a bit different than the others she's encountered. She crosses her arms over her chest as she listens to Mercury speak, a slight, thoughtful frown touching her face as she tries to process all the big words and stuff. Damn these nerds.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The message gets through though. It seems likely that the Youma that was killed on the rooftop was /not/ Mamoru. A wave of.. something goes through Kyouko. It's not quite relief. She had known. She had /known/, she had said at the time it wasn't him! This was not due to any special bond or anything like Sailor Moon apparently has, it's just because she's paranoid and never trusts anything at first glance. She had been convinced by Sailor Moon's reaction that she had been wrong and it was him, but apparently she had been right initially!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her not-quite-relief fades into a slight scowl. She had /cried/ for him, dammit. She, Kyouko 'Terror of Kazamino' Sakura had /cried/. Nevermind that only Sayaka had been there to see it. When she saw Mamoru again she was goin to slug him for that.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;/When/ she saw him again. She'll do whatever it takes, and glancing around the room, she can't help but think that the Dark Kingdom is in for a nasty surprise this time. This makes her smile again.

:'''{{#var:27|Hannah Sharpe| (27)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Hannah peers over at Kyouko in particular as she arrives. No, she can't offer any aggression, any annoyance. Eyes close. She raises a hand in a wave. Miss White looks /tired/. It's almost pathetic. <br /><br /> Similarly, Homura gets a wave and a smile. Having friends here helps. Thank goodness! <br /><br /> Ami gets a bit of a sour look from Hannah. "Just advertise it to everyone, why don't you?" It's not malicious at her, but just generally salty and annoyed at her lack of progress. <br /><br /> But then she listens, and brings up what information her Device might swipe from the Mercury Computer on all of this, running against their previous experiments on that ash. Cue one long, long pause, and Hannah running through data. Her sightless eyes go utterly wide. <br /><br /> She tries to sound stoic, but her voice cracks. "H...hey. Moon. That true?" Gulp. <br /><br /> "Do you really feel...the same?" She can't wonder too much on Ami's analysis. No, she's turning to Sailor Moon as if her entire world is hanging on a single string that's right in Usagi's hands. <br /><br /> V speaks up. Is she dropping that whole resurrection thing? No chance. After all, if that thing is a fake, it could come in handy if she could reverse-engineer the process. But for now, a war with the Dark Kingdom is paramount. She actually nods to the blonde. <br /><br /> Then she's peering at Ami. A convenient target. POINT! <br /><br /> "IDIOT! SO THAT'S ALL WHAT YOU WERE DOING WHILE I WAS HALF-KILLING MYSELF TRYING TO WORK ON THAT PROJECT! YOU COULD'VE TOLD ME OR SOMETHING!" Oh yeah. Angry Hannah. Armcross. Being angry feels better than the crushing despair she's been fighting thus far.

:'''{{#var:62|Tadase Hotori| (62)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tadase jumps out of his seat, and Kiseki jumps off his shoulder. Tadase is far less calm than Venus was. "You mean Mamoru-sempai might... might not have been the thing we killed. So he must be alive!!" he says, and he's up and walking across the dimensional space.<br /><br />"Well, if he's alive we have to save him. There's no talking about that." he says, folding his arms, despite being the most junior person here, still acting like he's in charge and going to call the shots. "Do we know where he might be?"<br /><br />He turns to Kyouko. "Do you remember anything?" he asks, sharply. He's far too excited, to caught up, TOO RELIEVED.

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Arms folded over her chest, Sailor Jupiter listens closely to what Mercury has to say, and remains silent. Processing.<br /><br />As Venus speaks, she draws in a long, slow breath, lets it out again. And shakes her head.<br /><br />"No offense," she says quietly. "I know you've been doing this longer, but... I don't think that's right, V. Maybe for you it is, but if you tell everyone not to get our hopes up--" As she says 'everyone' her eyes flick towards Sailor Moon for a split second, before she looks back toward Venus again, very serious. "--how are we supposed to fight? Right now, it seems to me like hope is something we ''need''."

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sailor Moon nods at Mercury, and 'suffers' through Venus' praise. She nods and waves to those who enter before hopping off to sit next to Jupiter.<br /><br />Then she's listening to Mercury speak, shifting a bit in discomfort, blushing at the mention of the kiss they'd all seen anyway, and then jerking her head up at the mention of the bond. <br /><br />It's there? It's real? But it...<br /><br />She makes a noise in the back of her throat.<br /><br />It's actually possible? Is it true?<br /><br />She...doesn't know what to feel.<br /><br />Poor Jupiter's knee is probably going to have a bruise.<br /><br />Then Venus is speaking, and Moon's face flushes a little in anger.<br /><br />"That's why we have to get him back, Venus. Even if you disregard what he means to ''anyone,'' he's stronger than he knows. Miss White can attest to that."<br /><br />Moon is called, and she turns to White. "Um, don't know? Possibly? I haven't been dealing well, but I'll let you know in a couple of days."<br /><br />And then Miss White is snapping at Mercury. "Don't talk to her like that! She was following ''my'' orders, no one elses. If you're going to be angry at ''anyone,'' it should be me!"<br /><br /><br /><br />She leans against Jupiter, smiling softly. "Hope is a good thing, no matter how small it is."

:'''{{#var:116|Daisuke Hansuke| (116)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Asclepius blinks as some sort of weird barrier encompasses them, then it's explained. Okay, so it's like some sort of magical countermeasure, okay. That seems reasonable. That means no one outside this can sense them or see them he imagines. He closes his eyes and listens to Mercury's report, then opens his eyes and blinks.<br /><br />"He's alive....?"<br /><br />The questioning tone seems to be filled with something that isn't disbelief but confusion.<br /><br />"Why? What would they even want him for? A hostage?" he shakes his head. He sort of sighs and seems to think for a moment. Nope. His tired brain isn't coming up with anything.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Homura's face changes subtly as Mercury speaks. It's hard to read her cold-stone gaze, but regardless of what that reaction meant, it ''did'' stir a reaction.<br /><br />After waiting for Mercury to finish, and for waiting for reactions from many of the others, Homura speaks up.<br /><br />"I've reached similar conclusions, actually. The Mamoru Chiba we saw that night did ''not'' have the same personality as the Mamoru Chiba I've known. Even if he had been turned into a youma, typically that's only done by drawing out dark feelings that already exist in a person. Mamoru-fake displayed feelings that night that ''could not'' have come from him. Simply put."<br /><br />Homura leans back, saying, "I don't know how many of you he told this to, maybe several, but he mentioned that the other members of the Dark Kingdom saw him as a brother. He told me that they wanted him to join. Actually, to put it more precisely, They said that he 'belonged' with him."<br /><br />"If that's the case, there's very little motive for killing him, or leading him into a situation where he might easily be killed. Hearing you reach a similar conclusion... I think it's pretty obvious that what we saw that night was a performance, right?"<br /><br />No, her expression didn't change once during all of that. Her tone is a bit tense, though.

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mercury bares Hannah's anger without so much as a flinch. She simply accepts it as a matter of course, though she does smile a bit fondly at Sailor Moon's defense of her.<br /><br />She hastily taps a message on the Mercury Computer and sends it--bundled with all of her research notes from the past week--to Raging Tempest: ''Please inform Ms. White that I will make this up to her, later. I am in her debt for assisting me this week - Ms. Snowe''<br /><br />Then, she takes her tablet up and begins to cede the podium entirely. But questions are being flung at her, and so she stops, caught for a moment in uncertainty. <br /><br />"That seems to be correct," Mercury says to Homura with a nod. Then she turns to Daisuke and explains, "Because he is the ... Leader," she chooses her words carefully with Tadase in the room, "of Earth," Mercury explains to Asclepius honesetly. "And the Dark Kingdom wishes to rule this Earth, and defeat the Moon Kingdom entirely. They are, even now, seeking our Princess," she motions to Sailor Moon. "And they wish to use his bond to find her. <br /><br />"It is likely," Sailor Mercury continues, "that when we find Mamoru Chiba, he will not recognize us. He is likely being influenced by their propoganda, although whether they will use magical, mundane, or multiple means of influencing him I cannot say. I have, as yet, insufficient data on their methods."

:'''{{#var:27|Hannah Sharpe| (27)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Miss White's jaw tightens, she stands up, and /glares/ at Moon. She seems about to yell even more, all the tension and pain from the last few days too much. But then exhaustion kicks in, and she just thuds back into her seat. <br /><br /> "...I'll have a chat with you later." She growls, before Homura catches her attention. <br /><br /> Raging Tempest pings right back apologetically, and mentally tries to soothe her master's anger. There's a little apology from RT! Hannah's easily angered at the best of times, nevermind right now! The notes are filed away greedily. <br /><br /> A hand runs down her face. "...They played us for idiots. Damnit, why didn't I notice!?" Right, she was too busy thinking one of her best friends was being destroyed and/or turned. <br /><br /> A moment of silence, and then she's grinning to the Puella in the room. <br /><br /> "Hey. What do you guys think about capturing one of these Dark Kingdom guys and beating the answers out of them? That should help us out!" There's way too much bloodthirst in that grin. Someone has gone straight from despair to pure vengeance. It might be a coping mechanism, as that shock is well lingering in her eyes.

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"We don't need hope." Kyouko says suddenly, her voice cutting across the room, her eyes locked on Jupiter. "Hope suggests there's more than one possible outcome. I don't need to hope, because I /know/. I know we'll get him back. And we'll make everyone of those sonsofbitches pay for what they put him through. What they put all of us through."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She shifts her gaze to Mercurcy, steady and clear. She is not tired, or upset, or full of relief. She is determined, and ready. "You just tell me when, and where. I'll be there."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her eyes then skip to Tadase at his question. After a moment, she shakes her head. "I was always taken in or out by teleporting. I don't know where they actually are, in a physical sense."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she hears Miss White speak, and takes a long moment to look at her, expressionless. And then she slowly nods.

:'''{{#var:40|Minako Aino| (40)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Minako Aino/<span style="color:#5f87ff">Sailor</span> <span style="color:#cd0000">V</span> starts to burn up, hot enough she nearly catches fire. She expresses it as an easy quip: "Yeah, Merc, we really need to go over these notes before meetings." <br /><br />Still, she figures she should answer the questions posed to her.<br /><br />"Hope! Right. My bad. Keep your hopes up. Obviously. <span class="underline fg_n bg_n ++ u">Obviously</span>. I meant do not get your 'irrational, easily manipulated fantasies' up. The Dark Kingdom preys on those. In case you don't remember, they murdered our friend in front of all of you and almost assassinated my princess. They gave up the ability to DEFINITELY murder her, just to mess with your guys' *hopes*. How far ahead of us must they be to do that? He wouldn't do a nasty plan like that if he wasn't very confident he was ahead," she stresses.<br /><br />"EITHER WAY - our plan is to find a way to attack the Dark Kingdom. If Tuxedo Kamen is OK, we'll rescue him as a natural consequence of our victory," she concludes.<br /><br /><br />There's a moment where she thinks about her words and how they upset others. She does some unpleasant mental evaluation to weigh the pros and cons of revealing her worries versus how badly everybody will take it. She decides to double-down on being the 'bad guy'.<br /><br />"I have lots of 'data' on their methods, Mercury. If any of us see him again before we kill the Dark Kingdom, he isn't a 'hostage' - he's an assassin. Don't be fooled by the same trick again. We nearly lost Moon once. It CANNOT happen again. Keep your 'hope', but guard it jealously in the back of your hearts, else they'll just steal it and attack us the SAME WAY they got us before."

:'''{{#var:62|Tadase Hotori| (62)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tadase looks over. "Well, it's not the first time I've heard about this sort of thing. I mean, if they've got him, it's like you said. They're probably gonna try to corrupt him. I mean... that's what they do. We've got files. Not just the Dark Kingdom, either. It's just a really common way they operate."<br /><br />"But... Chiba-sempai has so many friends, allies, loves. I think if we hit them with Moon's specialty he'll be fine."<br /><br />Tadase frowns at Sailor V. "I mean... you're not right, but... we can protect her. And she can protect him. I don't... want to think of chiba-sempai as an enemy, but I understand someone close to you can... be in a position where they are."<br /><br />"But that doesn't mean you stop trying to help them. Hope... don't make light of it." Tadase's eyes are bold and bright. He's taken, to some degree, Venus as the bad guy.

:'''{{#var:116|Daisuke Hansuke| (116)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Asclepius listens and looks to Homura.<br /><br />'He belonged to them'. He remembers something like this being brought up before- then he looks over to Mercury and closes his eyes. Ugh, this is sickening to think about. If ... all these 'Earth Kingdom' folk are over there, what does that make him? Traitor? Wrong? Right? More confusion. This isn't good.<br /><br />He just takes a deep breath. Deep breath. He doesn't need to panic right now because he'd proabably just collapse from exhaustion right now. Maybe he'll acutually be able to sleep tonight though.<br /><br />"I don't know how I can help, but I'll do my best." is all he can say to a situation like this. He keeps his own internal thoughts to himself for now.

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sailor Moon chews her lip. "But...Mercury? What was the point of that fight, then? If they wanted us to think he was...gone, they could have done it in a much more simple way. The way...it was too good a copy to have just been...pulled out of air."<br /><br />She sighs. And she's returning White's glare. "If by 'chat' you mean a 'rematch'..." After a moment, she sighs, shoulders slumping. "Sure. Whatever." She wonders if fighting just for the sake of fighting would help anything. She's never really given it a shot before.<br /><br />And then ''Venus'' is snapping! And and and...<br /><br />"He is not just some ''consequence!''"<br /><br />She sighs, stands up, and hops over to Venus, voice low. "What's the matter? Are you okay?" And then she's chewing her lip.<br /><br />"Do you really think...I'd do something stupid if it's true? That I can't handle it if it isn't?"<br /><br />And then, irrational or not, a fear sweeps through her and she's crushing the other girl in a tight, desperate hug. "Please stop trying to pull away like this. I ''can't'' lose you, too. Please?"

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Homura frowns as she hears that they don't have much information on the methods used. She glances towards Kyouko, trying hard not to make it a glare, but let's face it: Homura looks like she's always glaring.<br /><br />"So they have the 'leader' of Earth." Homura doesn't know why they aren't using the term 'prince' but whatever. "So this is a conflict between the Moon and brainwashed... 'leaders' of Earth?"<br /><br />Homura's eyes move towards Hannah, and she adds, "We didn't notice because that ''youma'' had apparently stolen Mamoru's memories. Somehow he knew in-jokes and other events that Mamoru would know. It was a very clever copy, and it fooled us in the short term, even if it didn't stand up to careful scrutiny."<br /><br />Hannah's suggestion gets a raised eyebrow. "Well. We capture him, get answers, then get Moon-san here to Escalate him. It's important that it happens in that order, because if Kyouko-san is any indication they wont be able to tell us anything useful after the fact."<br /><br />Talk about Hope abounds. Homura listens to it and shrugs. "'Hope', in a very literal sense, is the difference between life and death for me. Which is to say that if I ever fully lost hope I would literally fall down dead in front of you." Not quite the truth, but as close to it as Homura is willing to get. "So. I think I'll hold onto it. Even if I do have to flavor it with a bit of..." Homura pauses to consider her word choice, "...practicality."

:'''{{#var:54|Ami Mizuno| (54)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Because of you," Mercury replies to Sailor Moon honestly. "They wanted you to doubt in your link to him. So that you could not find him. So that you could not save him." She's conjecturing, but it seems reasonable enough. Besides, 'hope' is, in her estimation, the thing Sailor Moon needs most.<br /><br />But Moon is busy hugging Venus, and perhaps Mercury's words are missed. Either way, she takes this moment to address the room at large, "We do need to make plans, but this group is too large to make them as one. I suggest we depart and think of our ideas, then share them amongst ourselves as we can. Whatever the case, please do not act independently," here she seems to look at Kyouko. "Tipping our hand prematurely may cause us to lose everything."<br /><br />With these final warnings, Mercury departs the podium, and moves to claim a seat alone, away from the gathered crowd, where she might listen, but also be alone with her thoughts.

:'''{{#var:27|Hannah Sharpe| (27)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> She can always count on Kyouko. The young woman gets a thumbs-up! <br /><br /> And then V is speaking, and Hannah very nearly decides to walk over and punch the woman in the face. Her advice has some bit of sense to it, but the thought of just shoving away her hope that Mamoru can be returned, whole and clean, to them is utterly abhorrent. She spent the last few days riding on that single hope. It feels like the magical girl is spitting on her. <br /><br /> But then Moon gets in the way. "You got it!" Grrrrr! Somehow, she almost looks more excited than hostile to the girl at this point. Especially as she's over there and hugging V. All of that rage is balled back up. <br /><br /> "...Too nice for your own good, Moon." She mutters. <br /><br /> A sigh. Still. "I told him something like that once. 'You'd be really dangerous if you learned to use that stealth of yours'. Don't worry. He starts acting like an assassin, well, I'll just have to see how right I was!" Grin! Confident and easy as she crosses her arms. She almost looks eager. <br /><br /> A glance to Homura. "Well, I meant more one of the other guys. Not Mamoru. But hey, I'll feed him fried chicken and stew until he confesses if I have to." That's clearly a joke by the way she winks. A deep breath. <br /><br /> "Bluebie over there has a point though. We need to work together, people. One team, or we're all screwed."

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Well... yeah..." says Homura, to Hannah. "That's what I thought you meant. I just used 'him' because... as far as I can tell they're all boys."

:'''{{#var:27|Hannah Sharpe| (27)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span> Hannah rubs her head and eyes. "...Give me a break, I've had three hours sleep the last few days, tops! ...Ugh let's get some coffee after this Homu-chan."

:'''{{#var:78|Kyouko Sakura| (78)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyouko gives Homura 'the look'. The one that says 'I'll cooperate with you if I have to for Mamoru's sake, but once this is done you and I are going to have a chat. A chat with sharp objects and other objects that go 'blam blam'.' This is a lot for a look to convey but Kyouko manages it with some skillful manuvering of the brows.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she rolls her eyes at Mercury. "Nobody appreciates me." She mutters, before turning her back on the group to return to the window she entered through. Screw 'em all then, she'll let the eggheads come up with some kind of plan. She'll work on instinct, like she always has.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But she'll still come if they call. For revenge. And for Mamoru.

:'''{{#var:62|Tadase Hotori| (62)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tadase looks really determined. He's very fired up. This might be in distinct contrast to a lot of the other people here - who are varying degrees of exhausted, tired, fearful, concerned or stern in large part.<br /><br />This is intentional, because in a group like this and a time like this, someone needs to radiate positive energy like a beacon, Tadase has figured - and the boy who's second name is Platinum has taken that role, as he has many other places.<br /><br />"I'm ready to help in any way that I can, and I'm sure Virtue as a whole is too. I know a lot of you are tired and worried... but this is good news, not bad. We're on the way to getting Mamoru Chiba back."

:'''{{#var:116|Daisuke Hansuke| (116)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Asclepius looks at Tadase and then over at Mercury. Think of a plan? He looks down and just shakes his head. "Later, I'll try to think of some things." he says. "I need some better rest. That should come now I think." he mutters.<br /><br />He still seems to think, keeping his hands on his lap.<br /><br />"Starting to feel I might be some sort of liability though, now." he admits. "Probably just the tiredness and stress talking though." he says. "..and caffine."

:'''{{#var:40|Minako Aino| (40)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Minako Aino/<span style="color:#5f87ff">Sailor</span> <span style="color:#cd0000">V</span> gets all weird and wiggly in Moon's arms/hugs. "I'm not pulling away. Don't worry about it. You won't lose me," she insists, quietly but confidently.<br /><br />"And I don't mean 'consequence' in a bad way. I mean, when we beat them, it's something that'll happen as a result of the victory. We don't need any extra plan for that," she explains, nice and calm and trying to reassure her as best as she can.

:'''{{#var:23|Homura Akemi| (23)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Homura reacts to Kyouko's facial expression with a stuck-out tongue. True Hate never dies.<br /><br />To Venus, she shrugs and says, "Yeah, that's true. We take out their main base, wherever that is, an dhe'll likely just be there. Even if he isn't, well... tracking him down might be easier when he has nowhere to run."

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>She did hear Mercury. And it's...upsetting. So, basically, they just wanted to make sure there was no way to track him. (But what if the youma had succeeded in killing her? What good would that have done, given the complexity of that plan? She couldn't think of a reason!)<br /><br />Now she's with Venus, but despite the words, it still feels as though something's off.<br /><br />Is Venus dissapointed she's the princess? Heck, Usagi would be if she were someone else.<br /><br />After a moment, she pulls away, gives Venus a tight smile, and just flits to the outside of the brain thinkers.
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