Watching someone fall apart is already a discombobulating experience. Witnessing someone who seems to be impervious to crumbling under emotional strain actually shatter before your very eyes…

Distantly, Rei recognizes how her sudden reappearance and consequential behavior is currently putting her fellow Senshi in their own amount of hysterics. But it doesn't stop the tears. It doesn't keep the sobs from wracking her body and the howls of anguish from leaving her lips. When she feels the Moon Child's arms surround her, it only breaks her further. The echo of her punishments being voiced reverberates in her head in an endless loop, leaving her in a mucus drooling mess of tears. Her ceaseless wails leave her gasping for her depleted breath, and her body is shaking so badly she can't even properly hold herself upright. The only thing keeping her steady are the arms around her and her iron grip on Serenity's dress.

It takes an undetermined amount of time before the raven haired woman finally hears the consoling voices. It's even longer that she allows the words to breach her consciousness and slow her sobbing.

When she finally has the strength to pull away, her watery red eyes rise to meet a pair of pure blue. Rei has to bite her lip to still its trembling.

Soft cool fingertips brush the bangs from her eyes and gently stroke her cheek.

"Are you alright?" Serenity's voice is barely a whisper.

Rei's chest heaves as she tries to smother the new wash of tears that threaten to overwhelm her. She can taste blood, having bit her lip too hard in her attempts to restrain any further choked sobs. She has to close her eyes again, to blind herself of the tender visage looking at her with such deep concern.

She remains rigid and silent as she fights to regain some sort of emotional equilibrium. There are some murmurs from around her, but she doesn't dare open her eyes until she can almost be certain she won't continue her hysterics.

When she feels reasonably sure she can speak again, she exhales slowly. She licks her lips, a nervous tick to prepare herself for the conversation to come. She winces at the fresh taste of coppery blood that coats her tongue before inhaling sharply and opening her eyes.

Serenity hasn't moved. She's still hovering in front of Rei protectively, blue gaze probing Rei's amethyst. Her hand slides along Rei's cheek until she is cupping Rei's jaw. "What happened?"

Rei's breath stutters. When she opens her mouth, no sound comes out.

Aequus moves to hover just over Serenity's shoulder. "What did They decide?" Her face is uncommonly solemn, deep blue eyes full of quiet concern.

A strangled chuckle escapes Rei's lips, her amethyst eyes darting away with a hint of hysteria. "More, and yet less, than what I expected," she finally answers, voice high and fragile.

Rei struggles to gather her thoughts, mind whirling over the whole ordeal she had just undergone. She doesn't want to focus on it. She doesn't want to relive it. She doesn't want to have to say it. Speaking them aloud would make them real, solid. It would put the full scale of the punishments squarely on her shoulders, and… if she was honest, she isn't sure she can handle it. Telling them, the judgement, the consequences of that and what the gods had chosen to do with her… She can already feel bile threatening to crawl up her throat.

"...- Everyone! Transform!" calls Luna's voice.

Rei jerks violently, eyes leaping up and growing large.

Their surrounds had changed once more. They were sitting right smack dab in the middle of a battle from their earlier days, days before the Outer Senshi. It wasn't pretty. Rei winces as Jupiter got smacked backwards harshly, and found herself bemused at how young they were back then. Just as the fight was starting to look desperate, the scene shifted to another battle, one with Tuxedo Kamen flinging his customary rose. Rei almost snorts at the pathetic showing, especially after watching the Prince quite expertly wield a sword and the magic they'd lent him.

The others around her began murmuring in confusion, all but Hotaru and Aequus. The others, their heads snap and turn to take in everything going on, pointing out their seeming clones as they battled.

"What is this?" demands Ventus, eyes on Tuxedo Kamen with an air of contempt.

And that's when Rei realizes exactly what is happening. "No…" She struggles to get to her feet, eyes darting about wildly as the scene changes yet again, this time to include the Outer Senshi. "No!" Rei's eyes dart about, panicked, realizing the gods are already making her punishment harsher. She knows, instinctively, that this will not turn out in her favor. It is clear they are building up to something, and it is also very clear that they are leaving out the majority of the information that is needed to make sense of everything.

Flashes of more battles, flickers of winning, of nearly losing, until at last, they are all standing in a group to see off the Three Lights.

"That's not how things went!" roars Rei.

The others are not really paying her any mind. Even Hotaru and Aequus are now drawn into the flux of images and the dancing scenery.

The last image flickers, a nice peaceful glow, to fade into the their last gathering in that dead future. There, sitting around at the Temple, minus Mamoru, who had gone back to America, is a resplendent scene of the Senshi. It was homey, nostalgic, even for those who had no memory of it. Rei froze in horror, watching as the scene shred into her dramatic entrance into Setsuna's sanctuary just outside the Gates.

A/N: So, I received a negative review about having the Greek Gods involved in this story. I understand the differing point of view and don't begrudge anyone for that opinion, but I felt I should make my own view clear.

So, short and simple, I like keeping the Senshi human. Being human is a messy, oft confusing, chaotic whirlwind. It has its extreme highs and lows, an emotional rollercoaster that Gods (in my opinion) cannot fathom because gods don't suffer consequences the same way humans do. There are cases humans reach the level of godhood, but I always felt that in doing so they lost their understanding of the humanity that they left behind. I don't want the Senshi to suffer this consequence, hence, they won't, in my story, become gods.

I hope that explains my reasoning.

In any case, thank you for reading what you have and following this as it grew in ways I hadn't expected. I do appreciate reviews, (I don't count flames as reviews, and no, the review I'm talking about is not a flame), and encourage readers to send them when they desire. They do help keep me on task when I have lost traction or inspiration.

Enjoy~

UR

PS! Sorry, had this written forever. Forgot I had this one done because I was trying to get the next chapter out with it. But, realizing how long it's been, I decided to post it ASAP and worry about the next one as it comes (I even have a good start for chapter 7. chapter 6 is challenging because of the confrontation about to occur and those types of emotional outburts are hard to write because I'm so involved in the story it hurts to write).