He hadn't had time to meditate or recover properly and in Crystal Tokyo, Sailor Jupiter came to him with another mission. A group of senshi was battling against Chaos and were en route to planet Leviathan where a seed of their natural enemy had to be destroyed. Oberon didn't even think twice and accepted to hurry and join them there to try and be of assistance. Chaos was a spreading cancer, rotting the very core of this universe and corrupting those who couldn't defend themselves.

He couldn't really refuse just because the last time he worked in a team it was already so long ago.

He transformed on Earth, then took off.



< Chaos' influence is spreading rapidly, they sent me to the current planet being defended from it as we speak. I thought you might want to know. >

He wasn't asking for permission. It wasn't simply about so diplomatic matters he didn't even see the importance of half the time, it wasn't about rescuing some person from any danger at all, it was about Chaos, about an entire planet, and even though he might not be the greatest warrior - though he wasn't a bad one either - lending a hand was a given.

Titania paced around the throne room, feeling nervous the more she heard reports about what was going on far from here on the other side of the universe. The Solar System and its surrounding area was under distress. The war that had broken out seemed to be reaching its peak, and she didn’t like the idea of Oberon being in the heart of it. He should be here, safe and sound with her, with his people. Not fighting for some other kingdom, some other planet, some other universe. Some other queen, the jealous part of her whispered, and she scowled.

She heard his voice then, as if on cue, and balled her fists. There was nothing about this situation that she particularly enjoyed.

There were a lot of things she wanted to say. Come back home where you belong. I only want to know when you’re heading here. Stop thinking that you owe them something.

But all she said was, < Be careful. Don’t… don’t invite Chaos back here. I heard that after a group of senshi answered a distress call five months ago and became trapped in a maze planet, Chaos retaliated by intentionally visiting each of their homes and plant its seed there. I know I’m here to stop that from happening, but still… >

Maybe that was why there was a pair of them. So that one of them could guard home while the other could fight. But Oberon was supposed to be the king and Titania the senshi. The way their roles had ended up being reversed was not something she liked. She was supposed to be his guardian. But how could she protect him when he was always so far away from home, and she was not allowed to be with him because the planet could not be left undefended?

How had he become the one who risked his life out there while she was the one who remained safe here? His life was worth more than hers—it had always been that way since before.

< I know you already know it, but I still have to say it. I don’t like this at all. >

< Chaos will not be brought near Oberon ever, but I would worry more about our neighboring solar systems it misfortune was to strike as our people is unlikely to fall so easily prey. >

He could feel insulted if he didn't know her worry weren't without causes. Oberians were neutral as much as a hero would fight for good, but despite their resistance, it was a possible threat. The King wasn't really concerned, however. His people would thrive, come storms and wars.

< Our traveling nomads are as much at risk as I am. >

He reminded her gently, flying through the universe with an ease that came after centuries of traveling the universe with the rest of the nomads that made most of their species. He loved space. A lot. He would miss home sometimes, miss nature and his home and his wife, but he wasn't one to stay idle while he could be useful somewhere else.

Where he could atone for past sins.

< I know. I will be careful, I promise. But I have to do this. >

Nobody knew why he had been given the powers of a senshi, after all, he was a King, not a warrior and his powers were already protection based, but since his transformation at Neo Queen Serenity's coronation, Oberon wasn't controllable anymore.

< Our people have you. >

< Yes, well, the traveling nomads can flee from it if necessary, unlike you who seems insistent on chasing it, > she chided, though without the usual fire behind her words. < I understand your noble intentions. I just don’t always like it. >

The Oberians weren’t particularly heroic people, after all. They were takers—of culture, of languages, of knowledge—and they preferred to stay detached from the rest of the world beyond studying it. But perhaps being a senshi had changed something in Oberon. Or maybe it was the nobility of his past life rearing its head again.

< I would rather our people have you, their true King. And for you to have me, your guardian. >

She sighed and tried to resist delving deeper into his mind to see what was happening at all times.

< At least tell me where you are and what it looks like, when you get there. It’ll comfort me for not being able to be there myself. >

He heard her. In a way, maybe he even understood, maybe he knew that what he was doing, chasing Chaos like this, throwing himself into missions after missions was incredibly stupid. But while he risked his life meaninglessly, the guilt that tore his insides apart decreased, faded. As if drowned by everything else. He felt himself for those short moments then. Like the fairy he was before, like the king Titania deserved.

Irony was, guilt followed him home where there were no risks to chase it.

< You are as much their true Monarch as I. > And since these were words ushered in their mental link, the genuine fondness and admiration he had for her leaked and curled around every syllable. < You... >

His voice stopped, but his mind was still present as Oberon's flight came to a halt, the king's eyes suddenly taken by the vision in front of him. The gas giant in front of him kept him in a small sense of awe as he barely noticed the group he was to join. Hydrogen, methane, water ices. A gigantic blue world flanked by moons, but where exactly were they supposed to go? Was there any surface? Gas giants shouldn't, or didn't, but no one was looking at the moons.

< This is interesting. >

Came his voice as physically he introduced himself to the group. A quick physical salute of his planet and his name later, they were all circling around Leviathan, Oberon slightly too distracted to keep reporting what he was seeing. They were trying to find anything that would indicate any semblance of life, but all there was down were bands of gas pushed by high-velocity winds, forming a perpetual storm that didn't look inviting.

< We have seen uncommon planets, but this one is both imposing and oddly charming. >

He easily opened more of his mind for her, sharing what his eyes saw with precise accuracy, details being shared without interferences between two minds who had been connected for centuries and centuries more.

Disclaimer:

She was immersing herself in the emotions he sent through the link when suddenly his train of thought halted. Immediately worried, she waited, tuned into his feelings for any sign of distress, but it seemed he had merely come across a surprising view.

When he spoke again, he showed her what he was seeing, and she paused, momentarily letting herself be almost one with him as she watched through his eyes, or rather, through his mind’s eye. The planet he was facing seemed to be intimidating and not at all welcoming.

< How would you even get in there? There doesn’t seem to be an obvious way in. >

She sat on the throne, trying to get used to the sensation of being in two places at once, and it was always easier when she wasn’t moving around herself.

Having her inside his mind was closer to having her beside him than anything from the past... months? years? How long since the last time he went back home? He tried to do so as many time as physically possible, but Oberians didn't exactly have a similar biological clock than many species. Time was a foreign concept, something that didn't exactly matter. Oberon knew how old he was, but it wasn't an important information.

He was just old, very old.

Oberon listened more than participated in the conversation that followed (silently agreeing with Titania concerning how impossible it seemed to reach the planet), everyone trying to grasp exactly how they would go through the storm, the clouds and where were the inhabitants. Where was there life? A small senshi's strange object was pointing right at the gas giant, not above or beyond or aside and thus it should be the correct location

Or so they all said. Oberon never quite saw such an object, even if he was aware of similar pieces of technology.

It was the arrival of a spaceship that finally settled the discussion, everyone soon moving to it.

There was some girl in the ship, trying to communicate with them in a language Oberon had yet to encounter. Before he could try and decipher it, or learn, the unknown woman tried another tactic, drawing stick figures that didn't help the King to understand what she was trying to do.

Not that anyone else seemed to have more success.

< What a strange girl. >

His eyes caught the starship making its way to the gas giant and Oberon followed without questioning their choice. Until some kind of force suddenly pulled them down. Oberon furled his wings against his back just in time, the delicate membranes disappearing from sight as they fell. Worry filled him, but not any fear in particular. It didn't feel extremely agreeable on this body, but it didn't exactly hurt either.

Then they broke the strange surface awaiting them passed the clouds and Oberon found himself swimming. Unbothered by water, he followed the others, satisfied by the momentum that allowed them to go through some quick meters, the setting of this planet becoming clearer.

Suspended in the exact center of the sphere of water around them was the only piece of solid rock, and it was like a flat coin. On one side was a beautiful city, crawling upwards with planned symmetry, seemingly ancient and graceful; on the other side sat a mass of black mountains, illuminated only by the light leaking out from the city above it.

It was impressive. His admiration for the place he could see with both eyes was easily felt through their bond.

Oberon and his companions joined with two other people, the fairy king expecting them to get to business as soon as possible, but instead slowly being surprised by the argument that broke between who he understood was called Sailor Enyalius, apparent leader of their group, a man and Sailor Leviathan, who apparently was the warrior of this planet.

His lips stretched thin.

< We hardly have time to bicker. > His mental voice didn't sound incredibly impressed. < How is it that creatures who have no time, no real eternity can waste so much of it for such trivial matters? >

And the young girl, Leviathan, he couldn't quite understand how she worked, why she seemed so strongly against their presence and why she insisted on some of them leaving. Her planet was in danger, was it not reason enough? The argument went on and finally they were granted the blessing of her planet and Oberon landed on the floor, naked feet probing the new environment.

< We are going to see dragons. >

Wasn't the most important information learned in more wasted words, but the rest was strategy and he simply needed to keep it in his memory, no need to share or dwell on it.

Disclaimer:

Titania felt like she was participating in the adventure, at least. She could almost feel the exact same feeling Oberon did when he practically plunged into the gas giant after a spaceship, her own heart squeezing in fear and panic as it seemed as if they might fall to their deaths. He managed to stop the fall in time and she breathed, wondering for the first time what she would do if he were to die so far away from her. Sure, she thought it in passing sometimes, but knew she would always feel it when it happened, so she couldn’t have missed it… But to witness it? To be a part of it in more ways than one?

She didn’t think she could survive it. No, she knew she wouldn’t, because the kind of bond she and Oberon had was rare in their people, and it was the kind that would unite them both in life and in death, whether for better or for worse.

The planet he’d visited seemed to be submerged, as soon they were under water. Titania wasn’t particularly fond of water herself, so she was glad for once she wasn’t actually there, though the beauty of the scenery soon distracted her.

The people did not impress her as much.

Especially when she saw the soldier of the planet, who seemed insistent in refusing their help. She was tempted to tell Oberon to go home since this senshi clearly did not want or need their help.

< That’s the irony of time, isn’t it? > she commented on his observation. Despite having all the time in the world, she had found that a big part of immortality was boredom and never enough excitement to fill all of it. Living forever had made them content and emotionless, seeing everything as trivial or fleeting, no longer able to savor each moment or appreciate it as fully as those with shorter life spans could.

There was beauty in mortality. Everything was enhanced and precious because they were temporary.

When he announced that they were seeing dragons, Titania felt envy shooting through her.

< I hope you get to ride one. And maybe bring one back for me as a gift, > she added, only half-jokingly.

Time. Something none of those people seem to have. He lived long enough to sometimes forget it even existed, but on that planet, knowing how quickly Chaos could spread, he was strongly aware of its existence. They were indeed running out of time, but no one seemed to really care. Bickering and rambling on seemed to have more importance than the matter at hand.

He did smile at her demand for dragons however.

Oberon's line of philosophical thoughts about time and mortal beings versus immortal ones was brutally interrupted by the apparition of an old woman (or what physically resembled one). His unworried mind shifted to something more distrustful. He was a trickster and appearances were never to trust from the experience he had gained. Though he generally could give the benefit of the doubts (and considering that most of his teammates seemed to know her), he wasn't able to trust right away. He didn't know why. Maybe because powerful things were often dangerous and she seemed the kind of creature seemingly weak, only to be able to crush you the moment you looked away.

The feeling increased when her eyes pierced through the disguise and saw right through him. He bristled at her touch, feeling both creeped out and a fraud. He never asked to become a senshi, so it wasn't his fault if he was one. Looking down to a pill (sole thing he had inherited from this being), he wonder about the pressure. Was it the pressure of the water? Or, as his mind went there, Oberon unable to stop it, the pressure of a soldier who cracks in the middle of a fight? He breathed in sharply, hiding his discomfort from his new acquaintances quite easily.

They needed to leave and yet, Oberon couldn't push any words out of his mouth. It had been so long since the last time he had worked with so many people...

< How can trust be found in skewed morals. > It wasn't exactly for Titania, more of a profound thought that had assaulted him when it was revealed someone in their group had ties with evil. But then an earthquake finally interrupted the unending conversation, Oberon starting to swim right away. Apparently, an earthquake was what he needed to impose himself in the discussion. Screams followed soon after and Oberon barely made any time for Titania < There will be interference. > before connecting ten minds to his own, quickly blocking both existing links so Titania wasn't invaded by strangers (though she could still hear them as she was already able to during spoken conversation) and so that his group wouldn't be able to hear her. It made the whole experience more complicated, making him stagger backward under the mental burden, but he resisted.

And learned that his companions were ignorant of telepathy enough for the situation to be uncomfortable, but they didn't have time for that. Dots appeared in his mind, representing each of them, their emotions and where they were. It was strategically sound, so he didn't or hadn't expected resistance. The diversity of reactions would have been amusing to the fairy king if they weren't so pushed by time.

Something bit Enyalius hard and he rerouted the pain so nobody, including Titania felt it, relieved when the threat was finally dealt with, leaving him time to deal with Ribbon's reaction. He hoped Titania would stay relatively serious, but her commentaries had the bad habit to be deeply amusing to him in their cynism and sarcasm... it wasn't quite the time to smile outwardly. He didn't quite feel like it either. Ribbon's voice panicking in his head had put him on edge and he hoped things would settle down quickly enough. He retracted himself from the global conversation, however, unwilling to entirely be a part of this, except to obey. Neo Queen Serenity had sent him there and he would do his duty, nothing else.

< I hate this attire. > said his voice when Shadow started speaking with him, the King swimming in mini skirt and glove underwater. Why. He hated those clothes. They could be elegant most of the time, but underwater was ridiculous.

He secretly appreciated Shadow's attitude, satisfied with the formality and the order in the man's thoughts. Almost military-like. His mind sidetracked a bit before a growl brought him back to the problem ahead, Oberon calling upon his double blades, not even flinching as 'Le Fay, Hear my Command' left his mouth.

Dragons. And Leviathan insulting everyone in a manner that not only made his respect decrease, but that was entirely uncalled for. At her order, though, he could obey, because she was the senshi of this planet and knew better. He had to remind himself that Leviathan was a child. A panicked and young soldier whose planet could be corrupted entirely in the next seven hours if they felt. He wondered if every fish person was like her, or if Leviathan was one of a kind even on her own planet...

He needed to breathe.

She was young, desperate, probably afraid, under pressure and with her friends probably in danger. He was too old to get offended over this. So he obeyed, his posture less one of attack, more one of military discipline and waited, but he didn't make his swords disappear. His caution over being in an unknown land was way stronger than his obedience. He stayed attentive to the conversation with the dragon, but mostly silently admired the Dragon instead. They were once again stuck and Oberon wasn't sure how to react to the amount of insanity going on right and left. Then Shadow further aggravated the dragon, making him wince inwardly.

The creature's attack didn't reach him, but Oberon mentally reeled.

< ... > was probably a clear enough comment to illustrate his current opinion.

Titania’s interest was perked when the old woman appeared; she had never seen her before. The way she carried herself spoke of something achingly familiar. She was another person who had lived long enough to know more than they cared to know, and her bright, knowing eyes showed that clearly. This was a serious outside force that had powers beyond what she appeared, but at the same time, if she were so powerful, why would she not help them more directly?

She tensed as the woman looked straight into Oberon’s eyes—and by extension into hers as if she could see Titania’s mind there as well. She wanted to ask what exactly the woman had done to him, but had the sense Oberon probably didn’t know himself.

They had seven hours to save the planet, and for some reason it took an earthquake before they actually moved. Titania shook her head in disbelief. She flinched as Oberon connected his mind with the rest of his team, though her link to theirs was wisely blocked. That was probably just as well, otherwise she’d be snarking in everyone’s heads as she told each of them exactly what she thought about them.

She watched in almost boredom as the newbies freaked out about the mental link, and then an attack happened. It was a minor one that was quickly taken care of, so she wasn’t really worried. Giggling when Oberon complained about his outfit, she commented, < It must be the planet’s way of teaching you a lesson for leaving your duty. >

Even after all this time, she still felt amused when Oberon’s way of calling his swords sounded like he was calling for her. Or commanding her. Which was just a thing that he was never going to be able to actually do. She was soon more fascinated by the dragon, however. So this was the creature they spoke of. It was certainly magnificent, and a prideful creature too, from the sound of it. Probably old as well. She would certainly like to have one of these in Oberon. She must work on that...

< That so-called senshi of the planet has deplorable manners, > she commented drily of Leviathan. < I don’t even know why this lot is helping her. >

If someone had insulted her like that, they’d be lucky if all she did was leave their planet to succumb to whatever danger it faced, especially with all the resistance she’d already put up earlier.

Maybe that was why it was Oberon going on these missions, not her. When Titania fought Chaos, she preferred to do it alone.

And then one of them, the male one, suddenly exploded into a tantrum. Titania could scarcely believe it, that at first she actually thought her mind was conjuring the illusion on auto-pilot in order to spruce up the boring scene of endless talking. (She did that sometimes. After all, she preferred her drama.) But then she realized it was actually happening.

She was torn between laughing uncontrollably and keep looking on in disbelief. Horrified and unable to turn away from the trainwreck at the same time. < Who’s the guy dumb enough to insult an ancient creature that is at least ten times bigger than him? Also, does he have self-esteem issues? Because he sounds like a thirteen year old going through puberty being turned down by the person he has a crush on and grounded by his parents. For our planet’s sake, love, do get out of there. >

As the dragon attacked Shadow, Titania chuckled.

< Good dragon. >

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