Note on Planet Names: Ten'ousei=Uranus; Kaiousei=Neptune; Meiousei=Pluto; Dosei=Saturn; Kasei=Mars; Suisei=Mercury; Mokusei=Jupiter; Kinsei=Venus ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 'It's all my fault! I should have paid more attention. She must have been weak earlier and I didn't see it.' Michiru stared into the darkness, desperately seeking her lover. "Haruka! Where are you? I can hear you but I can't see you. Help me." 'Michiru? Are you waking up? Can you hear me? Please wake up, Michiru.' Michiru fell to the ground, staring up into the black sky. "Where are you, Haruka?" She saw a golden flash, very far away, and she reached for it, desperately trying to return to her beloved. 'Not yet. Wait.' "Who are you?" 'Watch.' A purple light appeared right in front of Michiru, forming a symbol she knew all too well. "Saturn," she whispered. "It can't be. Saturn hasn't awakened in generations." The symbol showed the face of a young girl, the Princess of Dosei, in the fuku of Sailor Saturn, the Silence Glaive in her hands. She swung it down, and the world went dark. "She can't! I can't let Hotaru-chan awaken as Sailor Saturn. She would destroy everything! Who is this enemy that the Sailor Senshi can't defeat without the help of the Sailor of Destruction?" 'You must stop the darkness. It's coming; no one will survive.' Michiru waved her hand, erasing the vision. "We can. We will." Standing up, dressed in her Sailor fuku, Neptune reached for the light in the sky that she knew would lead to her beloved. She jumped into the air, flying on Haruka's power, calling. "Haruka." "Michiru?" Michiru opened her eyes, smiling when she recognized her lover. "Haruka. I heard you calling me. Thank you for leading me home." Haruka pulled the aqua-haired princess into her arms and held her, desperate not to cry. "I was so scared." "It was the mirror, Haruka. It came to me to show me what is coming. Saturn is awakening." "What? Masaka!" Michiru pulled away, reaching for the mirror on the table beside her bed. "It showed me Sailor Saturn and the end of our world, but it cannot tell me what is awakening the young Princess of Dosei. We have to stop her and the coming evil, or we are all doomed." "Is this our fault? Setsuna-san said that the combination of two Outer Senshi would destroy the world; is this what she meant?" "No, my love. This has been building for quite some time, since before we even met. Only now is the spirit of Saturn stirring. Only together can we six, the newest of the Sailor Senshi, stop the coming silence. We can do this, though." "Should we really involve them? They are supposed to protect the princess specifically while we are to guard the kingdom. Shouldn't the Outer Senshi band together to stop Saturn?" Haruka looked at Michiru's mirror, thinking of her own destiny. "We shouldn't make Queen Serenity awaken her daughter as Sailor Moon prematurely." "Haruka, if I had a dream, Rei-chan at least had a premonition. She knows that the end is fast approaching and she deserves to be allowed to fight it with us. We don't have to tell the queen if you are afraid for young Serenity-san." Haruka nodded, looking at the door to the next room where she knew the other Senshi were waiting. "I really don't know what we can do. For now, we ought to tell the others to keep an eye out for new enemies and return home. Your birthday is fast approaching and we need to return your henshin stick and mirror before your mother realizes that they are missing. She's not attuned to the Aqua Mirror anymore and may not know yet." "It won't take her long to figure out what we've done once we return," Michiru whispered. "I've never disobeyed her before." Haruka kissed Michiru's forehead gently. "You're not alone anymore. I'll protect you." *~*~*~*~*~*~* "But what are we supposed to be watching for? We Inners don't know how to sense evil from outside our Solar System." "It may not be from the outside, Rei-chan," Haruka warned. "It may be from one of our planets, or even Earth. We just don't know. Maybe you'll know in your dream." Rei glanced at Minako, waiting patiently by their luggage, and stepped closer to the pair of Outer Senshi. "I don't want her to get hurt. She's not as powerful as I am, and Inner Senshi aren't nearly as strong as Outers. If she gets hurt . . ." "I know," Haruka whispered. "It's the Outers' job to protect the kingdom and the Inners' job to protect the princess. We'll know what's coming first and you'll have time to protect your girl." The tall blonde kissed Rei's cheek in a sisterly fashion, smiling as she pushed the Princes of Kasei to her lover's side. "Good luck on Kinsei." Kiyoshi, who had decided to briefly visit the second planet in order to "broaden my horizons" had already left the normal way and would transport to Mokusei when he was done. Rei and Minako touched their henshin sticks and vanished with their bags, leaving Makoto, Ami, Haruka, and Michiru alone. Makoto turned to Haruka, emerald eyes locked on emerald. "Are you two coming to Mokusei with us?" Michiru nodded, fingers tightly clenching the handle of her mirror. "Then we have to return to Kaiousei for my birthday so my mother can give me this." She stared at the mirror, thinking about her dream, and she shivered. "I don't want it." Haruka wrapped her arm around Michiru's waist as the four Senshi vanished. *~*~*~*~*~*~* Haruka watched as Jupiter set below Io's horizon, painting the landscape in golds and greens she wasn't used to on Miranda. For the first time since she left home, Ten'ou Haruka yearned for the familiarity of Uranus. She was homesick. "Homesick? I didn't know you could feel homesick." Haruka turned away from the window, smiling at her lover. Michiru was lying in their double bed, propped up on one elbow as she watched Haruka at the window. "I am, Michiru. I miss my planet and my people and even my father. I wonder how much he misses me." "A lot, I imagine. You're all he has left of the only woman he ever really loved, and you're his only heir. He's probably angry at himself for keeping you cooped up in Miranda castle for so long and wishes that he had let you explore the Solar System earlier. The news report said that you were kidnapped." "Kidnapped? He doesn't think that I ran away?" "He doesn't want the rest of the Silver Millennium to know that you were so unhappy with him and with Ten'ousei that you would leave. My mother believes that you ran away because you miss your mother." "I do miss her, but that's not why I left." "Why did you leave, Haruka?" The blonde blushed and turned back to the window. "No reason." Chuckling, Michiru slipped out of bed and padded over to Haruka's side, silky blue bed dress sighing as it passed over the soft carpet. "Why, Haruka?" The Princess of Ten'ousei looked down at her wife and pulled her into her arms. "I wanted to meet you. I remember seeing you when we were very young, and I wanted to meet you." "That was it?" "Basically, yes. Setsuna-san came to my hideout and told me that it did no good to obey my father if I never learned how to protect my kingdom. She suggested that I disguise myself and go to Kasei and Mokusei to meet my partners and to practice for my visit to your home for your party. She never expected for destiny to push us together so quickly." "Maybe destiny was making up for our mothers," Michiru suggested softly. "Maybe she needs a partnership between Ten'ousei and Kaiousei." "Whatever for? Our love is strong but it can't change the world." "Maybe it can," Michiru whispered. Silently, the Senshi watched Jupiter disappear.
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