The drive isn't short.

It isn't long either.

Instead, it's the perfect length for Yuri to doubt whether he has the entire way memorised (it doesn't help that the fields of gold all roll in the same direction. that the roads wind and the rivers keep their distance. that the sun shimmers a colourful spectrum on the windows along with a white that blinds). Though he's not sure whether it even matters when he might not make it back. Not because of something as pleasant as death, but because of the grasp of its caretaker. It's better to think he will though. The alternative will only plunge him into despair.

When the car stops, he follows Seira in getting out, hand in hers. She'd gotten sad the longer he'd sat alone and so he'd given up on his little pocket of isolation, reaching out for her hand with his eyes still on the scenery outside. Her mood had lifted. His had dug deeper into the bedrock, but he could continue on with the silence in relative peace so their intertwined hands on the soft fabric seat had been a willing sacrifice.

In front of them towers an observatory (for the stars. despite its size its quaint. maybe old would be the better word, or maybe he just finds it hard to take the glass dome designs of the past seriously. they're so easy to destroy. so filled with architectural choices built off of mistakes and misconceptions. in the end they only hurt more people when they fell) and yet Yuri can only focus on Rousare's form as he gets out as well. Now that they're both standing outside, he can see that the clips in his hair are flowers wrought silver. That and his clothes and his demeanour are what really make him distinctive. Though his features are pretty, and his eyes a gentle brown, they're still ordinary. Aside from his hair of course.

Rousare smiles gently, and Yuri suppresses a shiver- "I do apologise but I will be chaperoning your date. Just to keep an eye on Seira; I hope you understand."

It's a strange situation. On Seira? Not him? It seems like a lie and yet he knows the lowered eyes and blush on her face when he looks to her is genuine. He supposes he's grateful, even if he knows it's only meant to preserve him to be tortured for longer rather than having anything to do with looking out for his best interests. That's what's being done for Seira. Perhaps this is what it means to be a good father to these monsters.

"I don't mind," Yuri says, and he really doesn't which is a surprise because it's never good to remain in a General's presence for long. "Though-" his eyes flicker to the car windows despite knowing he won't see anything through them- "what about Philemon?"

"He will be watching over the car. Now do go ahead, both of you. Act as if I'm not even here and enjoy the experience."

Letting Seira tug him lightly towards the observatory, Yuri doubts he will. Even if he can't hear Rousare behind them (he can't feel his presence either. instead it's replaced with an even chillier wind on his spine. one that sneaks into every little vein and artery and diffuses through the walls into every cell of his body. why is he so adept at keeping quiet? at following, hidden? he isn't even the general they call the shadow), he can't forget he's there. Though he almost does when they're across the empty parking lot with only one other vehicle – a bicycle with a large basket in its front chained to a rack – and the automatic doors slide open.

Past the tinted glass doors is a dim hallway. A galaxy. As they walk through, he's reminded of the glow worm caves he visited with Bonerre and his daughter several years prior. There he'd thought he'd been transported into the night sky, even as the water had reached his waist at times. He feels much the same now. Even the wonder, though much subdued considering the company he's in.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Seira asks, and he finds her staring all around as well, eyes awestruck even though the rest of her face remains placid, "Lusar painted this all himself."

Paint? This was all just art of some sort by one person alone? It's hard to believe that, especially as the galaxy only widens the further they walk into the facility, and since the celestial nature reaches into every device, every furnishing, every little switch, he lays eyes on. How long did it take? Years? Decades? Had she even been born at the time? Had he?

More than just an observatory, this seems like a museum. No. An art installation itself. Countless parts that cohere into one large interconnected piece. It's a shame it's associated with the Empire because it means their people will never get to witness this marvel. If somehow they manage to get a hold of this place, wrangling it from the Empire's grasp, it will be locked down for investigation. Indefinitely. Most likely it won't see the light of day til generations later, when finally it loses all meaning, and when it will have lost its twinkle.

That's why- "It is-" is all he can muster in reply.

Seira giggles as they stop before a console in the glass dome and he spots her fleeting smile before she speaks, "I'll show you something even more beautiful."

Unable to even ponder over her words, Yuri pales as the buttons she presses make his vision blur. He stumbles at the heavy wave of drowsiness accompanying it, steadied by Seira reaching for him concerned. Even with hating how she feels against him, he lets her hold him. Lets her keep him on his feet instead of falling to the floor. Lets her caress his cheek, careful, as she looks at him, a blurry frown visible though he can't read what minute details accompany it.

"I'm sorry, I forgot you wouldn't be used to this," she said, her hand lowering from his cheek so she could hold him tight, her head coming to rest on his shoulder, "It'll be over soon."

"What's even happening?" the words spill out of him before he can think them over and Yuri's grateful they aren't anything regrettable.

As every moment passes, the question only grows. The entire place feels like it's shaking (trembling. like a child sobbing in their parent's arms or like the blades of grass and stems of plants and leaves of trees in the wind. is it afraid to be caught? is it like him? or is it like them? does this make him less afraid? or more? he doesn't know. partly because how could anyone normal know, and partly because this place is loved and treasured and cared for dearly. but it's alone). Like it's moving up higher and higher. And even as he wishes he's questioning how that's possible or denying it entirely due to how unplausible it is since that would have to make the observatory some sort of shuttle, he's just wondering why. Why are they going up? Why would they even want to go high up into the sky? Why is even his inner spiel so calm? The last one is easy to answer. He's so freaked out that he's circled back to pure rationality.

"There's nothing to worry about. You'll see in a moment," Seira says, letting go of him and stepping back.

It's not the answer he wants, but she is right about it only being a moment, and he does like his space being returned to him. His head clears, getting lighter, with his vision. The clutter that assaults it almost makes Yuri wish it didn't. Where did the deep blues and silvers and gold of the dome disappear to? This definitely isn't the same room from how ordinary it looks, to the vastly differing equipment, though the prevalence of glass to see through remains.

This time he really wishes his vision hadn't cleared.

He stares, and stares, and looks in every direction around him so that he can be sure it's not just a projection by one side. Rousare's still there, hanging back by a door, watching with a smile. Yuri doesn't care though. Weaving through the room and walking up to the glass, he studies it, a palm against it revealing it to be cool like he assumed it'd be. If this is a projection of some sort, it's uniquely of the Empire because it feels absurdly real to him.

Blankly, even as he stares through the glass, he asks Seira who's standing beside him, "Is that our Earth?" his voice echoing slightly.

Her- "Yes-" is all he needs for the awe to rush over him.

It's terrifying. Of course it's terrifying. All around them is the vast black of space. It's deeper, more encompassing, than he'd ever thought possible from pictures and simulations, but it does remind him of someone. Of some heroes from long ago with hair as seemingly of the void whose pictures lay buried in records and textbooks, and of the woman whose portrait still hangs in the halls of justice. She comes to mind especially as the dark cradles the Earth. It must be night in the portions they see because bright lights glimmer blue and green in the grey-black.

"Are we on our moon?"

"We are," Seira confirms again.

Yuri can't even bring himself to care about anything as he continues to stare. Not about Seira, or if she might come closer. Not about Rousare, even though he's a General lurking about him. Not about what he's meant to be doing, and whether the Empire's technology renders them invincible. How can he? Only after a long while does a thought surface that he cares to question.

"How did we get here so quickly?"

Seira glances behind her first, asking for permission from Rousare, he assumes- "You'd best understand it as teleportation. I used the console to transfer us here."

That makes sense, though he can't bring himself to think too deeply on it. But it does confirm his suspicion. So the Empire can't be dealt with after all. They play with them like cats do. Not because they're prey, but simply because they feel like it. For simple amusement. If he was anywhere else, if this was any other moment, he'd already be plunged deep into despair. Instead, he just continues to look out to their Earth.

He doesn't even question Seira walking away, suspicious as it is. But then, specks of light start to blink out, one after the other, and he flinches, stumbling back a step. There's some sort of floral pattern to it (like lilies and roses and sunflowers. like mangoes plucked from trees and potatoes dug out from the ground and wheat reaped and tied into sheafs. like a garden of delight. of plenty. of Eden), but it only freaks him out more. All his awe metamorphosises to terror as their Earth goes completely dark.

Slowly turning around from the urgency forced onto him, his voice breaks out sharp compared to the lilting lullaby that had been far removed from his body before- "What did you do?" and yet he still sounds like he's in a daydream, the way all their voices ring out in the large emptiness only amplifying it.

Seira's eyes widen with realisation as she looks up from the console at him, so it's clear she understands though- "I should have warned you, but it's nothing to worry about. I was just applying our cloaking technology to the system so it activated the light hiding mechanism too."

"…The what?" Yuri asks even as Rousare chuckles in the back. He's glad he can't hear him since he's sure it would have annoyed him even more.

"It was commissioned by the previous Emperor," Seira explains, her fingertips brushing over the chair beside her, "None of your countries had managed to figure out how to rid the sky of every last bit of light just yet at the time, even if they'd improved it tremendously and cleared a good part of the sky's murk. So the scientists working on this back then were given hints."

Yuri approaches her cautiously, aware of her clear invitation, as her soft voice goes on, "That wasn't enough for him though. He wanted his lover to be able to see the night sky she was curious of and he wanted it sooner rather than decades or centuries later. So a barrier was created to prevent light from entering into the atmosphere at all. It isn't used often anymore since all the lights now pass through without being retained, but when it is you can't see them from out here."

As crazy as the story is, Yuri can't deny that it is romantic. To make the stars visible for the sake of the one you love? That's more than just a little trouble. It's like the meadows and forests planted alone by the people of the past for the same reason (for love. for obsession. why else would you tend to a field of flowers just so your lover could take in its sweet scent when you could simply get a bouquet or keep a vase full? why do alone what others would gladly help out with unless it's not for the sake of the world and rather for just a person). A scope that leaves you wondering at the insanity threaded within their determination. Still, that leaves him with more questions.

"Why are you activating it then?"

"Oh. I-" Seira blushes and looks back to the console, away from him- "wanted to try and call my family. The mechanism is part of the cloaking technology since it blocks most signals too and that's necessary to prevent noise or interference."

Yuri restrains himself from asking, 'What?' again because he doubts the answer will explain anything this time. How could it? She wants to contact the freaks who faked their deaths and abandoned the rest of their family while they left to explore space? Whether it was the aspect of them specifically wanting to colonise planets, or the doubts he had on the possibility of it even being true, he didn't want to get deeper into the delusion. He can't stop his incredulity from morphing his expression though, and he's not quite sure if he cares either.

Neither does she considering that she continues to tap away at the console, only stopping when it starts to ring out. The ringtone is old. The sort that was common in the past but isn't anymore, and Yuri understands why by just the second ring. The shrill grating tune pulls at his nerves like a baby pulls at hair. It's annoying. Maddening. Yet he suffers through it as it loops over and over and over.

Just as he's about to pull out his own hair, it stops with a click. It's not Seira who does it. It can't be because he's been right beside her watching the console the entire time and she hasn't moved an inch (not even to breathe. at least that's what it seems like. it's not like anyone can argue that it's impossible since all humans need to breathe since she had been perfectly fine even when she'd had a gaping wound where her heart was meant to be). As the hologram of a boy, a man, he reminds himself, with similar features to Seira pops up, his expression contorts.

Did her brother actually pick up? Their deaths really had been faked? How could one even survive a nuclear explosion? Wait, there's no guarantee this is her brother. Maybe it's one of her fathers?

"Aaaa! Seiraaaaa! I've missed you!" the man exclaims with more delight than Yuri knew could be possible, "I haven't seen you since uhhh, since dad said not talk to anyone back home! Oh, but you're the one who called so that doesn't count, right? You've gotten so much taller!"

…Her brother doesn't seem particularly bright. It isn't just because of how he's talking or what he says. The incriminating evidence is how he keeps leaning forward and then jolting back with a small yelp every few moments. It's plainly obvious that he keeps hitting his head against whatever he's using but he doesn't seem to learn his lesson at all.

"Of course it counts," a soft voice that embodies annoyance scolds, and the bespectacled man it belongs to appears behind him in the hologram, "How many times have I told you not to touch anything? Especially not something with a screen. You can't lose any more braincells, not when you're already missing too many."

Though his words are aggressive, the way he embraces the man Yuri assumes to be Lusar from behind is gentle. He rests his head on Lusar's poofy hair as he holds him back, preventing him from hurting himself.

"There's no need to be mean," says another man, soothing, as he steps in, "Lusar can't help that he was born lacking. Rather… Seira, darling, I'm sorry. We must have made you cry."

Seira's eyes are pinker than usual as she clenches Yuri's hand tight in hers. It's not like he'd ever say anything about it, but especially now, he can only feel sorry for her. She may be a monster, someone who's going to be hurting others for her entire life, but she's also just a girl who's missed her family for three years.

"You did," she says making all three of them frown, "It's okay, though. That's not what's important. I wanted to introduce my fiancé to you."

"Fiancé?"

Both Yuri and her colder father ask that. He, with his growing horror, and her father with a dawning realisation as they all look to him. Like a lab rat, he wants to squirm under their intense gazes as they study him.

"I wasn't planning on it so soon but since you're all here…" Seira's blushing even as she speaks with her head high, "I decided it'd be best to get married sooner."

Inwardly, Yuri curses Lusar out as the man congratulates her, "That's wonderful, Seira! Being married is the best! I mean you get to- Ahhhhhh! I completely forgot to call him since we left too!"

His father lets go of him and Lusar runs off, out of the hologram and presumably whatever room they're in if the loud slam that reverberates even through the console and to them is any indication.

Sighing, Seira's colder father adjusts his glasses- "It doesn't matter now, I suppose."

"No," the calmer one agrees, and smiles at them, "We'll come back soon to help you prepare but we can't talk more now. We'll call you soon, okay, darling?"

Seira just nods, her smile shy. It's actually cute and makes her look even more like the child that she is, Yuri notes for a moment, before trashing the thought. What if it is? His freedom, his happiness, his life, has been ruined by what's nothing more than one of her whims. Maybe a fool would think he could go on as usual after this, but Yuri knows he won't be going home today. Or ever again.

"...It was good to see you too, Rousare," the colder father says, the softness of his tone matching his voice for once.

"Yes, my heart reflects much the same," Rousare murmurs from behind him, making Yuri flinch.

He hadn't noticed him approaching, and falls silent at the expression he's met with when he turns to say as much. It's filled with genuine tenderness. There's none of the playful amusement of a predator characteristic to him in this moment.

The quiet weighs heavily on Yuri as the calmer father gives a wave and the holograms fade away, the call ending. What is he meant to say? He feels like an outsider, is an outsider, and yet he's being dragged into this. And because he had dared to hold the hope that maybe he could help (his people, his country, his world) somehow by playing along, he didn't even resist. Now he's stuck here. Reduced to a spectator.

He doesn't even feel that much worse as they return to the dome of the observatory.

It's Seira who snaps him out of his reverie- "It was nice, wasn't it? We'll show you our home now, but I can't wait for you to see all the other dates I've planned."

The other dates… Yuri can't even process this one with everything that has happened so far, much less envision the idea of more. What else can there possibly be? Will they all be as mind-numbing as this one? Is it even possible to have something as horrific, much less something worse?

With the questions tangling his mind, he gives a blank- "I'm looking forward to it-" and lets her lead him back outside.

Rousare is the one who hammers in the final nail in the coffin- "You both should be even happier. Since you're Seira's fiancé, I won't chaperone you two from now on."