Chapter 5: New Bonds, Renewed Ties

After leaving the site of the battle, the heroes powered down to their civilian attire, then they, Luna, and Artemis went to Hiramatsu, a restaurant owned by a friend of Cass's, Eiko Hiramatsu. Cass met Eiko when she was a young woman, and she was one of the few humans who knew who he really was. Now a lady in her 60s, Eiko's restaurant was a decent size and moderately successful, allowing her to provide for her family to where Eiko already had her children and grandchildren prepared to inherit the restaurant. After Cass and the others arrived, Eiko closed the restaurant to the public for the rest of the night. Eiko and her two sons took everyone's orders and began making their food.

"Boss, how do you know every restaurant owner on the planet?" Isidro asked.

"I only know a few," Cass locked the door behind everyone. "Eiko is a sweetheart, and one of my most trusted friends. Also, young Isidro, lest we forget… I'm rich."

"Yeah, that does help. With literally everything."

"You're sure we can trust the owner?" Haruka asked.

"I'd trust Eiko with my life, milady," Cass confirmed.

Victor admired the atmosphere and design of the restaurant but stopped when he turned toward Rei and realized she was staring at him, hesitantly.

Victor couldn't discern her gaze right away. He was worried she was angry, as he did just pop up out of nowhere with no warning. He sighed, "I'm sorry we didn't call first, Rei. We—"

Rei rushed forward and embraced Victor in a tight hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and even causing him to stumble slightly.

Victor's eyes, instantly, became wide as they could be, and he became short of breath. His concerns about her being angry disappeared immediately. Rei was hugging him. He had this dream hundreds of times.

This was real.

Victor looked at Cass, who already had a sly grin on his face. Usagi, Minako, Mamoru, Mako, Ami, Luna, and Artemis couldn't stop their smiles from spreading wider if they tried.

"You're here," Rei whispered, affectionately. After all this time, getting to hug Victor was even better than she dreamed it would be.

Victor exhaled and slowly wrapped his arms around her, "Y-Yeah. I'm back."

"Victor…" Rei hugged him even tighter. "It's really you. You're really here."

Victor didn't mind at all. He closed his eyes and sighed. After waiting years to feel this again, it was more than worth the wait. Even better than he remembered. "I missed you, Rei," Victor breathed.

"I missed you, too. Welcome back."

"So glad to be back."

Cass smiled at Victor and Rei, enjoying the calm, relieved expression on Victor's face. But he couldn't let this moment pass without some fun. Cass smirked and addressed Victor, "So, still wondering if they missed us?"

"Shut up!" Victor swiftly replied.

Mako smiled, "Welcome back, bro."

Victor grinned at her, "Thanks." Mako walked over and they shared a fist bump.

"So glad you guys are back!" Minako bounced a bit.

Rei and Victor broke the hug a bit, as he kept one arm around Rei and she kept her arms around Victor.

"Same, Minako," Cass nodded.

"I bet you guys have a ton of stories," Ami noted.

"One ton? Dearest Ami, if only it were that few. Most of them involve Victor nearly getting poor Isidro and Rokuro killed."

"You make it sound like I did that all the time!" Victor defended.

"Close enough," Rokuro, the Paladin Halcyon, shrugged.

"Like that time we nearly got eaten by that thing with a scorpion tail," Isidro, Paladin Resonance, reminded.

"The manticore."

"Okay, that was not my fault!" Victor argued. "I thought it was dead! How was I supposed to know it could keep moving without a heart!"

"That kind of incident is why I can't leave the three of them to themselves," Cass replied.

Victor groaned, throwing his head back.

"Just can't stay outta trouble, can you?" Usagi teased.

"Don't start with me, meatball head!"

"Watch it, emo kid!"

Cass chuckled, then he and Setsuna locked eyes and stopped.

"It is you," Cass whispered. He spoke a bit louder, "I thought so. Sailor Pluto."

"You're Cass," Setsuna whispered. "Cass Bellum. Ziel the Dragon. Champion of the Crimson Paladins. I've… seen you."

"And I, you."

"Setsuna, how do you know this guy?" Haruka asked, suspiciously.

"I've seen him through the Space-Time Door," Setsuna answered. "And more."

"Boss?" Victor asked Cass.

"I've seen visions of her," Cass added.

"You get visions?" Toshi inquired.

"It doesn't happen often. But when they happen, they are of some urgency." Cass stared at Setsuna, "Except in her case. 'Urgent' isn't the word I would use. She's… special."

"You, as well," Setsuna whispered. She offered her hand, "Setsuna Meiou. It's… an honor to meet you in person."

Cass shook her hand, "The honor is mine, Ms. Meiou."

"You… can call me 'Setsuna'."

"As you wish. Please, call me 'Cass'." Setsuna nodded as they released the handshake.

"Too many coincidences at once," Victor noted. "I'm starting to think us coming back to Tokyo was more fate than a feeling and a few visions, boss."

"Agreed," Cass nodded.

"So," Haruka folded her arms. "Crimson Paladins, huh?"

"Yes."

"Where have you guys been while we've been fighting monsters left, right, and sideways?"

"Probably fighting monsters all over the world," Usagi shrugged.

"He can answer for himself, Usagi," Haruka replied, coldly.

"Haruka!" Ami gasped.

"The princess speaks the truth, milady," Cass said.

"Easy with the honorifics," Haruka replied. "Not sure I trust you yet."

"I gathered."

"I can't lie," Michiru admitted, "it's concerning you're quite close to a Shadow Angel."

Victor chuckled, ruefully, and shook his head.

Rei's muscles tightened.

Kayla gasped, quietly. 'Shadow Angel?!'

"Victor is far more than trustworthy," Cass reassured. "That, I stake my life on. He's my second-in-command and the soldier who's been with me the longest. There are few in life I trust as much as I trust him."

"Crimson Paladin or not," Michiru replied, "Shadow Angels are notorious for being dangerous weapons."

"Alright, no!" Mako stepped forward.

"Victor's not a weapon!" Rei cried out, immediately, causing Haruka and Michiru to jerk their heads back.

"Haruka, Michiru," Minako said, "I get it when you two don't trust someone. I mean… you two overdo it… every single time, but I get it… sometimes. But this is the line. You're not doing that to Cass and Vic."

"Mina," Cass spoke up. "Everyone. It's alright. We had to earn your trust. We can earn theirs as well."

"Well, we liked you both the second we met you," Mako replied.

"Yeah, but the boss is right," Victor agreed. "Let 'em be suspicious. We're used to it. Rather earn the trust anyway. At this point, earning trust is something of a specialty of ours."

"I'd say you're really great at it," Rei smiled.

"I mean, they're not wrong about Vic being a jerk," Usagi sneered.

"Usagi, I'm confused," Victor smirked, "did you get shorter?"

"SHUT UP!"

"You two, I swear…" Cass exhaled. "But! No sense in being any ruder than we already have been. I believe further introductions are in order."

"You said, like, that exact same thing when we first met," Minako giggled.

Cass chuckled, "Apologies, Minako. I tend to repeat myself. I have to, since Victor never listens."

"How is you repeating yourself my fault?!" Victor cried out.

"I just explained how. Again, you don't listen."

Victor groaned.

"I'm so glad you guys never changed," Ami giggled, causing Victor and Cass to laugh.

"We seriously missed you!" Mako smiled, relievedly.

"The sentiment is greatly echoed," Cass replied. "Now, then, allow me to introduce the new Paladin Sentinels." He pointed to the first young man, "The Paladin of sound, Resonance, Mr. Isidro Aiza."

"Hey," Isidro waved. Isidro possessed an athletic build and was six inches shorter than Victor. Of Latino descent, he had light brown skin and black hair cut.

"We call him 'Izzy'," Victor added, causing Isidro to chuckle.

"And, our telekinetic Paladin, Halcyon, Mr. Rokuro Mori," Cass pointed to the other young man.

"Nice to meet you all," Rokuro nodded. Rokuro stood the same height as Isidro with a leaner, thinner build. He had dark blonde hair, cut at medium length, and his facial expressions remained mostly neutral. Both he and Isidro equal to Victor in age.

"Just call him 'Ro' for short," Victor smiled. "Even though he hates it. I need him to loosen up."

Rokuro rolled his eyes.

Minako blinked. "You guys traveled the world and met a Paladin who's Japanese?"

"Yeah, that shocked us, too," Victor replied. "Get this: he was a student in London."

"You're from London?" Ami asked.

"Yokohama, actually," Rokuro corrected. "I was raised in an orphanage and my exceptional scholastic skills made me eligible for a lot of programs. I took them."

"That's also his way of bragging while not bragging," Victor said.

"Wow." Minako eyed Rokuro for a moment. 'A bit on the stuffy side… but super cute!'

"And you, Mr. Aiza?" Mamoru asked Isidro.

Isidro chuckled, "Please, 'Isidro' or 'Izzy'. No need for the 'mister.' I'm nowhere near as smart as Rokuro. Or any of the guys, for that matter. I'm originally from Laredo. Texas, in America. Kinda shuffled around south Texas my entire life. The guys found me while I was living on the street. Well… that's not exactly where they found me."

"He was locked in a detention center for trying to defend an old lady from some thugs," Victor explained.

"Reprehensible!" Cass groaned. "They tried to blame valiant Isidro for the crimes of those miscreants. Even the elderly woman defended him!"

"Why did they arrest you?" Michiru asked Isidro.

Isidro chuckled. "I don't know how it works here. But, in America, if the cops see a bunch people near an attack that look… similar? We all get arrested, just to be sure."

"Preach," Kayla grumbled in agreement.

"How'd you know they were Paladins, Cass?" Ami asked.

"Same way I discovered these fine gentlemen," Cass motioned Toshi and Shiro. He lifted up his medallion, "The Champion's Medallion revealed their calling to me." He lowered the Medallion, "Speaking of which…" He looked at them, "I've been rude again. Toshiaki and Shiro, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Toshi and Shiro nodded.

"This is so cool!" Mako declared.

"Absolutely," Ami smiled.

"My compliments, gentlemen!" Cass said to Shiro and Toshi. "You two handled yourselves brilliantly during the battle."

"Seriously!" Victor agreed. "Never seen first timers pick it up so fast. Even took Rokuro a week to figure things out."

Rokuro rolled his eyes.

"It took me three," Isidro reminded.

"To be fair, even we didn't know how the sound thing worked at first," Victor replied.

"Why do you excuse him and not me?" Rokuro asked.

"Because you're a smart-aleck who thinks he knows everything and needs to be brought down a peg or two."

"While you're throwing those stones, tell me about the view from your glasshouse, Victor," Cass teased.

"This coming from the grand lord of glasshouses!" Victor argued.

"And mine would still be smaller than yours."

Usagi, Mamoru, Mako, Minako, and Artemis laughed as Victor shook his head.

"We're still being rude." Cass turned to Kayla, "I've seen sparse visions of you, as well, young lady. I'm guessing you were told about us."

"Yes, sir," Kayla nodded. "I'm Kayla Shields. Sailor Terra. It-It's really an honor, sir."

"A pleasure, Ms. Shields. The honor is mine."

"Okay, now that the fight's over, you need to explain that," Haruka spoke up. "'Cause there is no Sailor Terra. Never has been."

"Yeah, that's what I was told," Kayla replied. "That's 'cause there wasn't one until my mission started. Long story short, I wasn't alive during the Moon Kingdom and Silver Millennium." She retrieved her Power Stick from her pocket, "The Terra Power Stick? I found it."

"Found it?" Michiru asked.

"Yeah. How I heard it, it was forged on the chance another Guardian was needed. It was created only to be used by someone worthy." Kayla shrugged, "Guess I am. Figure you could call me a… backup Sailor Guardian? Or a reinforcement, I guess? Ya know, 'in case of emergency, break glass'? Well, in this case, I'm the fire extinguisher."

"Hm," Haruka grunted. "So, you just meet the qualifications?"

Kayla shrugged again.

"Haruka!" Setsuna groaned. Hotaru rubbed her forehead.

"That's enough, Haruka," Ami defended. "Kayla's proven herself trustworthy."

"One fight," Haruka reminded.

"One fight where a demon general summoned monsters to kill her, specifically," Cass countered. "Considering the circumstances, I think that would gain her some measure of trust and respect."

"Plus, she's been fighting against the Agonia for years," Ami stated. "If that's not grounds to make her a worthy Guardian, then what is?"

Haruka just grunted again.

"I get you don't trust me yet," Kayla admitted. "If I was in your shoes, I probably wouldn't either. But just meeting the qualifications? Being the fire extinguisher? It may not be much… but I'll make it work. I have for this long."

Isidro shrugged, "I was all alone after my pops passed. Ended up living in San Antonio and everywhere in south Texas, homeless and on the streets, before all this. Call it what you want, but, if an emergency called me to be a sound-controlling superhero, count me in."

Kayla smiled. "Oh, trust, I'm not complaining. I wasn't doing much with my life. And no one missed me anyway."

"No one?" Hotaru leaned her head to the side.

"What about your family, Kayla?" Setsuna asked.

"Unless you count foster family, and I don't," Kayla replied, "I don't have any."

The room came to a stop. "You're an orphan, too?" Victor asked.

"Yeah." Kayla looked at everyone. "Sorry for just blurting it out."

"Nah, don't worry about it. This is the group-share portion of the night. Besides, you're not alone on the orphan side of things. It's kinda why we all get along. Even the ones who aren't orphans, we know we got each other to rely on."

"And you're a Sailor Guardian," Rei added. "We stick together."

"Most of the time," Minako gritted as she glared at Haruka and Michiru.

"We're just being cautious," Michiru defended.

"Yeah, like this is only time you two have been suspicious," Mako folded her arms.

"How many times have we said we're sorry?" Haruka groaned.

"Not enough!" Minako and Mako declared.

The Outer Guardians introduced themselves as well. Cass and Victor took note of Haruka's still prickly demeanor and Michiru's suspicious eye toward them but decided to pay them no mind. Haruka and Michiru's trust wasn't necessary for the Paladins to perform their duties.

Victor sneered and looked at Usagi, "So, what? We tell you we're getting a bigger crew and you just jack our idea?"

"Oh, please!" Usagi argued. "They found us! In your case, Cass needed to get some new Paladins! He had to get actual cool guys on the team! Not some mophead, rocker dude!"

"This coming from the blonde mini-waffle, over here!"

Usagi growled, "Are you calling me short?!"

Victor set his jaw. "Pretty sure I did that already, but, since you're a nitwit, I'll put it this way: get a booster chair for the baby. That blonde-haired, meatball-headed, whiny crybaby!"

"I'm not taking insults from a guy who still dresses like punk-rock, emo wannabe!" Usagi argued.

"Once again," Victor retorted, "that doesn't hurt coming from the makeshift-pathetic-attempt-manga-cosplay queen of Juban!"

"Big jerk!"

"Spoiled brat!"

"Ooh!" Minako said. "They're at it again!"

Luna and Artemis groaned. "Just when I thought Usagi was growing up…" Luna exhaled.

"Well, put her in a room with Victor and this was bound to happen," Artemis pointed out.

"Only took fifteen minutes," Ami shook her head.

"Fourteen minutes longer than I expected, honestly," Mamoru noted.

"I missed this show," Mako smiled.

"Spider hair!" Usagi shouted at Victor.

"Yapping shiba!" Victor retorted.

"Victor!" Cass gritted.

"You always yell at me when she started it!" Victor defended. "Again!"

"Did not!" Usagi argued.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

As Usagi and Victor growled at each other, Cass slapped his hand over his face while Mako, Ami, Rei, and Minako laughed. Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, and Setsuna stood in shock. The teasing between Usagi and Victor really seemed playful and familiar.

Michiru blinked then looked at the others, "Are they usually like this?"

"Only when they're within 10 miles of each other," Ami answered.

"Throw him 20 miles away!" Usagi growled.

"Happily, if it gets me away from your screeching, crybaby voice!" Victor fired back.

"My voice?! You sound like a broken car engine!"

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!"

"YOU HEARD ME!"

Usagi and Victor glared and bared their teeth at each other again.

"Wow," Kayla blinked. "You guys aren't exactly what I expected."

"We get that a lot," Mako admitted with a shrug.

Usagi and Victor held their glares but, soon, smiles emerged on their faces, and they erupted into laughter. Usagi and Victor hugged each other. "I'm so glad you guys are back!" Usagi declared, happily.

Victor chuckled, "Me, too, Usagi. Missed you all."

"Back at you." They broke the hug.

Michiru studied them in amazement. 'Wow. They really do get along.'

"So, Cass, how long are you guys here?" Ami asked.

"Well, that was the other thing," Cass replied. "We finalized the process of making the permanent move to Tokyo, just last night."

Rei let out a muffled squeak and blushed immediately. Victor tried not to smile.

"YOU GUYS ARE MOVING HERE?!" Minako jumped up and threw arms in the air, "YAY!"

"That's so awesome!" Mako threw a triumphant fist.

Cass laughed. "Glad to see the decision is met with such joy. I actually already purchased land and had a house built in Takanawa."

"You did what?" Michiru asked.

"You can do that?" Haruka asked.

"Yeah, he can!" Usagi, Rei, Mako, and Minako laughed.

"When did you do that?" Mamoru asked.

"About six months ago," Cass shrugged. "We had to settle a few matters before we could even begin to think about coming back to Japan, but I wanted the house built, just in case. Once we cleared those matters up, we settled our plans to move here. The house was finished a week and a half ago. Lovely piece of land."

"Oh, yeah?" Usagi smiled, snidely. "Well! That's good news! Right, Rei?"

Rei growled. "Usagi, shut up!"

Victor smiled. "I mean… I think it's good news. After all… I wanted to come back."

"Oh!" Rei blushed again. "Oh." A coy smile came across her face. "Well… that's okay then."

"Sure!" Usagi grumbled. "He says it, it's fine. I say it, I'm the Wicked Witch of the East."

"Nah," Victor sneered. "The Wicked Witch has more style than you!"

"I'M GONNA SLUG YOU ACROSS THE FACE!"

"Bring it, jabroni!"

"Vic, why do you keep annoying her?!" Isidro asked.

"Dude, it's so fun!" Victor declared, gleefully. "You should totally try it!"

"I will not! She's Sailor Moon!"

"So?!"

Isidro stared at Victor, indignantly. "So! She's Sailor Moon! One of the greatest heroes ever?! Maybe you should, I don't know, off the top of my head, not keep getting on her nerves!"

"Thank you, Izzy!" Usagi nodded. "I can already tell how much smarter you are than Vic!"

"That?!" Victor pointed at Usagi. "You want me to be nice to that?!"

Usagi poked her tongue at Victor.

"You keep bugging her!" Isidro reminded.

Victor scoffed. "Oh, c'mon! It's just Usagi! It's not like you can hurt her feelings. She doesn't have any!"

"I DO, TOO, YOU JERK!" Usagi yelled. Victor laughed in response.

"Sorry, but I really like Victor," Hotaru smiled.

"Us, too," Minako joked, causing Usagi to growl.

"You really think it's a good idea to keep irritating the Moon Princess?" Rokuro asked Victor.

"Man, one of the things I look forward to the most is getting on her nerves," Victor smiled, snidely.

"Yet, besides Cass, you're still the strongest of us," Rokuro rubbed his temple. "How?!"

"It's 'cause his real power is the power of irritation!" Usagi declared. "He's probably stronger than the Silver Crystal!

"And your power is the power of whining!" Victor countered. "At this point, you keep the sun going for another million years!"

"Vic's not too far off with that," Luna mused, quietly.

"I cannot believe I missed you!" Usagi chided at Victor.

"Oh, please!" Victor retorted. "Like you would have a life if I wasn't here!"

"I HAVE A LIFE JUST FINE WITHOUT YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

"SPENDING ALL YOUR TIME KISSING MAMORU AND SCARING SMALL CHILDREN AREN'T HOBBIES!"

Usagi growled, "YOU KNOW WHAT?!"

"What?!" Victor replied.

Usagi held her scowl until she sniffed and tears fell. She rushed at Victor and hugged him, crying, "I'm so glad you guys are okay! I was so scared you guys were hurt somewhere or that you wouldn't come back!"

Victor chuckled as he hugged Usagi, "Told ya we'd be back. Couldn't get rid of us that easy." He patted her back and they separated.

Usagi wiped her eyes, "Of course not. You're too much of a jerk to get rid of."

"So, why come back to Tokyo?" Mamoru asked Cass.

"Among other reasons," Cass began, "I felt our presence was going to be needed here."

"Another vision?" Ami asked.

"Partially. I saw us all fighting together again, but not necessarily us moving to Tokyo. That was my call."

"Good call," Minako smiled.

"I thought so."

Kayla suddenly perked up. She looked at Isidro, catching a glimpse of his profile from the side. She blinked. "Wait a minute." Everyone turned to Kayla as she studied Isidro. "You… said 'San Antonio' earlier, right?"

"Yeah," Isidro nodded.

"Texas?"

"Yeah."

Kayla stared at him for a moment longer then gasped. "Downtown. Alamo Plaza. Like… a long time ago. I saw you! You were that kid with the lucha mask shirt!"

Isidro's eyes slowly widened. "You were the girl the braids! With that yelling jackass!"

"My old foster dad, yeah. He was the last one I had."

Cass and Victor looked at each other. "Alamo Plaza…" Victor whispered. He looked at them, "Hey, this wasn't seven years ago, was it?"

Kayla and Isidro looked at Victor in shock.

"Yeah!" Kayla said in wonder.

"You were there, Vic?" Isidro asked.

"We both were," Victor motioned to Cass.

"Seven years ago," Cass reminisced. "We tracked a demon there. A corrupted Chaneque, warped by evil and blood magic. We fought it that night."

"Yeah, I remember! Put the whole town to sleep! Tried to snatch everyone's souls, right?"

"Right."

"Blood magic?" Mamoru asked.

"What's a Chaneque?" Minako leaned her head to the side.

"Put the town to sleep?" Ami pressed her finger to her chin.

"It must've been powerful," Artemis mused.

"A Chaneque is a myth," Isidro answered. "My dad told me my grandma used to try to scare him with stories about them."

"You know, good and well, something being a 'myth' is a suggestion, in our line of work," Victor said.

"Yeah, you're right."

"To clarify, it wasn't able to put the city to sleep all at once," Cass answered. "More like… subtly pushed everyone into unconsciousness. Once they were sleep, it began to steal the lifeforce of the entire city."

Toshi and Shiro stopped. "Weren't we there that day?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah," Toshi answered. "It was… a school trip to America."

Rokuro's eyes widened. "I was there, too." He blinked and looked at Shiro and Toshi. "Wait… we've… we've met before!"

"Rokuro!" Toshi recalled. "That's right! Yeah, yeah! You were always reading a book!"

"That was you?!" Shiro studied Rokuro further. "It was. We were there."

"We were all there!" Isidro declared.

"That same night?" Artemis asked.

"That's more than a coincidence," Cass mused.

Victor's mouth fell open. "Hold on. Does that mean you guys saw what happened after we beat the Chaneque?!"

"That super creepy green cloud that was screaming?!" Kayla stepped back. "I… I thought I made that up."

"Me, too," Isidro said.

"Same," Shiro spoke up.

"You guys weren't effected by its power!" Victor realized.

"They were able to resist it," Ami deduced further.

Cass looked off. "All of us were in San Antonio. The same day. The same night."

Victor exhaled, "Alright, it's not a coincidence anymore, boss. This was meant to happen."

"Yes, I absolutely agree."

"How have we not talked about this before?" Rokuro asked.

Isidro shrugged, "I mean, we don't talk about our pasts a lot. We always avoid that subject."

"True."

"But now we know." Cass looked at Kayla, "It would seem you are of the utmost importance, Lady Kayla."

"I dunno about 'utmost'," Kayla admitted. "The mission is important. Me, not so much."

"But you've been working to carry out your mission. Your mission's success is because of you. You made it here, on your own."

"Well, I guess."

"Don't sell yourself short, sister," Victor spoke up. "I mean… even if you are a 'backup' Sailor Guardian, which I'm gonna call an audible on 'cause you fight like a pro, you survived these guys hunting you. Sounds to me like you're a warrior, through and through."

Cass smiled, "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Setsuna smiled while a pleasant expression came over Michiru's face. Haruka just folded her arms.

"You can trust them, Kay!" Usagi said. "A good word from Cass is worth a ton!" She sneered. "Though you should worry if Vic says something nice about you."

"Aww, that was cute," Victor smiled, mockingly. "You keep trying to insult me like you have you have any comedic ability at all."

"I'm funnier than you!"

"You said 'funnier looking' wrong."

"Victor!" Cass raised an eyebrow, causing Victor to throw his hands up in defense. Cass looked toward the kitchen and saw Eiko and her crew bringing the food out. "Dinner time," Cass said. "Let's eat. We can discuss things further afterwards."

A/N: This is one of my favorite chapters to write. The next chapter, as well. I enjoyed how the dialogue came out. Cass and Setsuna finally getting to meet in person was something I had alluded to in "Rise of the Crimson", and, originally, I thought I might make it happen in that story. But it made way more sense to happen here. The night where the Paladins and Kayla were in San Antonio was inspired by Digimon when the DigiDestined all witnessed an event the same night. I always liked the idea of a moment like that tying many fates together.