The Return

Chapter 11: Reawaken

by Richan

There was little panic as the doorbell continued to ring. Each senshi transformed quietly as the goddesses and gods there swiftly changed as well. The generals prepared themselves for the coming battle, almost knowing for certain that it was Beryl.

Endymion looked over at Sailor Moon. With her wings behind her, she looked like an angel. He went over to her, standing close behind her to her right. He could feel Vulcan stand to her right, with the senshi and generals surrounding them. On the outer guards were the others, standing proudly in their togas and sandals. A brief thought ran through his head, wondering if they ever got cold in those things, before he dismissed it. He had seen the senshi in their short skirts for almost longer than he could remember and had stopped thinking about it long ago. His attention was brought back to the present by a loud shout from in front.

Janus left the kitchen, going towards the front. He signaled to the others to leave out the back, so that they could go around and attack on the sides. Opening the door, he found a startled Beryl.

The former queen of the Dark Kingdom was surprised to find him there. She had been so wrapped up in her plan for revenge that she had forgotten her enemies had new allies. Looking at the god in the doorway, she pinned him with a stare. She was amazed when she found she had to look away first, defeated for what seemed the millionth time since she had began this campaign.

There was a noise on her right and she found the outer senshi, along with Demeter, Juno, and Minerva. Looking to her left, she found the rest watching her closely.

"Beryl," Sailor Moon said in a low voice. "Leave now."

Giving an evil cackle, Beryl shook her head. "There is no way that I will do that, Moon Princess," she spat the words out. She pointed behind them. "Not with this army, at least. Or do you think that you could win now?"

The senshi looked around, finding themselves surrounded by Beryl's troops. There were hundreds more than they had seen in previous battles.

Luna and Artemis looked over the scene, wishing that they could help. They had been forced to watch everything that had happened and not be able to participate. They almost felt forgotten, standing on the sidelines. As the senshi had found new friends, the two cats had been neglected.

The cats watched as the senshi were hit by immense waves of energy, extinguishing their own attacks as if they were candles in the wind. Even those that were immortal took heavy damage as they, too, seemed powerless against Beryl's army.

Luna looked up at the sky and saw the moon starting to rise in the evening light. 'Queen Serenity,' she prayed. 'Please help your daughter and her friends. Please let me help fight this battle!'

Artemis was praying himself, wishing that he could wield anything against this raging horde before them. As he did so, he, too, looked up at the moon.

On Sailor Moon's chest, the silver crystal reacted, sending out a bright light, blinding those in its path. Beryl's troops were temporarily stunned, leaving an opening for those around Sailor Moon to protect her.

In the dim recesses of her mind, Sailor Moon could hear the prayers of the two cats and another voice as well. She could faintly hear it, but couldn't quite recognize it. Closing her eyes, she felt her fuku melt away, revealing her queen's dress. She still the had wings of Eternal Sailor Moon on her back as she rose in the sky, holding the silver crystal in her hands.

On the ground, everybody stopped at the sight before him. Endymion could feel the golden crystal react to the power the silver crystal was emitting. It started to pulse in the ring on his hand, coming out and settling in front of his chest. He lifted off the ground, his armor becoming the clothing of King Endymion.

Beryl grunted in frustration. This wasn't supposed to happen. She looked over and saw the two cats on the ground, watching. The crescent moons on their foreheads were pulsing in time with the silver crystal. Those cats, they were the ones that had triggered this! Gathering a huge ball of energy, she shot it at them.

Luna and Artemis watched in horror as the energy shot at them. Cringing, they shut their eyes, waiting to get hit. When they didn't, they opened their eyes to see Minerva holding her shield in front of her as the energy continued to slam into it.

Fighting against the energy with the last of her strength, Minerva spoke to the two cats, "Move, now!"

Instinctively they ran in opposite directions as Minerva was blasted back against the house, landing motionless under one of the windows.

"Minerva!" Ceres howled in pain, determined to make her way over as the rest of the senshi and immortals gasped.

Serenity looked down, saddened by this, but knew why Minerva had done it. She watched as Luna and Artemis moved back to the goddess as time seemed to slow. She lifted the silver crystal until it was even with her lips. Kissing it, she raised it over her head to gather the energy within it.

"Princess, no!" Pluto shouted, trying to get away from Beryl's soldiers.

Endymion watched as the silver crystal pulsed quicker and quicker. He felt a warm feeling burst through him in response, but he somehow knew that this was not the time to unleash the power that was within his own crystal. He turned to watch as the silver crystal burst with light, blinding everyone.

Beryl cursed her luck. She didn't seem to be able to get close enough to her prey to unleash her greatest attack. She quickly ran through the portal, vanishing as the silver crystal swept over the land.

Next to Minerva, Ceres was sobbing quietly. She didn't seem to be able to find any signs of life. Luna and Artemis looked on, worried. This goddess had given her life for them? They looked at each other, then realized that Serenity had released the silver crystal's energy. "No! Serenity, don't," Luna cried.

Artemis went to step forward and found he couldn't move as the energy flashed through him.

There was a bright flash of light. Lessening, the light revealed the front lawn of the great house to be cleaned of the troops, Beryl nowhere in sight. Endymion knew that she had escaped once more, and vowed to beat her once and for all. As the light entirely faded, something caught his eye. Next to where Ceres sat next to Minerva were two people that he had never seen before. Somehow he knew that they were a part of the group, but the connection was fuzzy to him.

Next to him, he could feel Serenity waver as her energy dropped. Concentrating, he picked her up in his arms and floated back to the ground, laying her there as she became Usagi once more.

The others split into two groups, changing back to normal. Suru ran over to Minerva, who had yet to change back. Seiya sat next to her, holding one of her hands up to his cheek. Setsuna bent over and placed her hand on Minerva's forehead. As she did, Minerva suddenly became Kashikoi in a blindingly brief light that pulsed softly a couple of times before fading.

"She'll be ok," Setsuna said, relieved. She had thought that her sister would be taken from her before she ever really got to know her.

Seiya nodded jerkily before taking Kashikoi into his arms and carried her into the house.

Yaten looked over at him as he stood next to Minako, who was anxiously chattering to Usagi. He turned back when he heard Usagi say that all she wanted was a nap, then food, then another nap.

Those gathered around her sweat dropped as she drifted off to sleep.

The two strangers walked over, hovering nervously. The woman kept on smoothing down her yellow skirt while the man tugged at his white shirt. There was something about these two that was very familiar to the senshi, but none of them could put a finger on it. The white-haired man looked at the woman in surprise. "Luna?"

The woman nodded, watching her hair blow in the soft breeze. "Artemis?"

The others were shocked. They looked at the two closer.

"What...?" Mina looked at the two in surprise. It was the two cats' voices, but they were human. Dimly she could remember that they could change back and forth from human to cat in the past, but she hadn't realized that they could do so now. She pulled on Yaten's sleeve and stood up with him. She tugged on Luna and Artemis' arms, taking them inside the house behind Mamoru, who carried Usagi in his arms.

After Usagi was settled on the couch for the moment, the others looked at Luna and Artemis more closely. As they watched, Artemis let out a groan and shrank back into a cat, Luna following soon after. Stretching painfully, everybody in the living room watched in a kind of grotesque fascination as Luna and Artemis did so. They lost the clothing briefly, their bodies rapidly getting smaller and growing fur again.

"Ow," Artemis complained. "That hurts!"

Luna jumped onto the back of the couch and looked down at Usagi. "That took a lot out of her, poor thing. I wonder why she did that? I mean, I know that she would miss us, but why did the both of them risk their lives for Artemis and myself?"

Kunzite came over to stand next to Mamoru. "I think I know."

Everybody looked at him, wondering what it was.

"The silver crystal reacted to the pain in Sailor Moon's heart and decided that it would help in its own way. I'm not sure why Minerva would step in front of the blast."

Suhai stepped out of the kitchen, catching the tail end of Kunzite's theory. "It's because everybody in this group is important to what will happen next."

The others looked at him strangely: the senshi because they didn't quite believe why *he* would know; and the immortals because he was giving out information that really wasn't supposed to be known by those human.

Suhai looked at the immortals, who were frowning. "Stop that." Everybody was startled by the sharp tone of his voice. "They have a right to know. After all, they hold the power of the gods in them."

Taiki nodded slowly, looking at Ami out of the corner of his eye. "I agree with that." His eyes, however, sent a message to the others that they needed to speak soon.

Unazumi looked up at the ceiling, nodding her head, before she moved to stand by Makoto. "The first thing that I want everybody to know is..."

The others watched her carefully.

"...that I'm hungry." Everybody face faulted as Unazumi tugged on Makoto's arm. "Will you make me something?"

"Hai, hai," Makoto said, trying to pull her arm away as she was dragged into the kitchen.

Suru walked behind them shaking his head. "Almost as bad as Kashikoi," he muttered. "What have I gotten myself into?"

As the group straggled into the kitchen, they found Makoto fixing a couple of trays. Some sat down at the table, others helping Makoto make dinner. It was fasting approaching 9 pm and they were all starving from fighting.

Makoto grabbed a tray and handed it to Ami. "Here. Take this upstairs and give it to Seiya or Setsuna." She grabbed the other one and handed it to Shingo. "Give this to your sister."

Both looked down to find a bowl of water for bathing, a glass, and a pitcher of drinking water, along with a couple of towels.

"You expect me to give Usagi a bath?" Shingo was shaking his head.

Hotaru jumped up. "I'll help you, Shingo-kun."

Taiki came over and took the tray from Ami. "I'll carry this up for you," he said.

Ami's cheeks turned slightly pink as she nodded and went through the door.

******

Seiya lay Kashikoi gently down on the bed in Setsuna's room. He had brought her here, knowing that she wouldn't be disturbed.

"I would thank you," Setsuna said, entering the room. "But I know that you would have done this regardless."

Shaking his head, Seiya bent down and kissed Kashikoi on the cheek before standing. "Why...?"

Setsuna thought for a moment, her face showing no emotion. "I cannot see why. The future is cloudy."

Both of their heads swiveled as they heard someone enter the room. They saw Ami and Taiki bringing in a tray, trying not to touch each other in an obvious way. "This is for Kashikoi," Ami said. "This will help her get more comfortable."

A slight tinge of pink on his cheeks, Taiki nodded. He handed Setsuna some clothing.

Seiya suddenly understood what could make the other man so embarrassed and blushed lightly himself.

Setsuna stifled a sigh and shooed everyone out, but let Luna in when she refused to step from the doorway. Moving over to the bed, the senshi of time got her sister into more comfortable clothing and put a cool cloth on her head.

Luna jumped up on the bed, curling up next to her.

Setsuna looked at her questioningly.

"She saved me," Luna said softly. "This is the least I can do to help her recover."

Nodding, Setsuna left the room, turning off the lights. Through the window the moon glowed softly as it made its way across the night sky. Luna drifted off to sleep, cuddling next to Kashikoi.

As the house settled down for the night, there were strange dreams running through Luna's head. Each offered a tantalizing glimpse of the future, but never showed her in it.

Luna woke up from the dream, shaking her head. Sometimes knowing the future could really stink. The parts that she could remember from their trip into the future were vague, but the dream had brought them into the present.

She looked up at the moon, wondering why she had been so drawn to it lately. She was startled as Kashikoi moved her hand to pet her.

"Hi," came a sleepy voice. "I'm glad you're all right."

Luna looked at the young woman. This girl, really, who had risked her life for her. "Why?"

Kashikoi turned on her side so that she faced the window. She hugged Luna to her chest as she watched the moon. "Because you are important in the upcoming battle."

Luna looked at her for a moment before asking, "Did Setsuna teach you tricks on how to be mysterious, yet offer a taste of the future?"

Giggling softly, Kashikoi snuggled into the covers. "No. I learned this all on m' own." She yawned, her mouth a huge cavern as she struggled to cover it. "S'rry. 'm tired."

"Go to sleep, Kashikoi-san."

Watching as the woman fell back asleep, Luna heard a scratch at the door. She saw Artemis come in, casually jumping onto the bed. He stopped when he saw the position Luna was in. A little jealous, he walked over to her and nuzzled her side.

Luna closed her eyes, trying to block all of the feelings that Artemis brought up to the surface. She knew, deep down inside, that they were meant to be. After all, there was Diana as proof of that. Drifting off to sleep, she purred lightly, weaving Artemis into sleep as well.

Luna woke up suddenly, startled by the shift in scenery. She knew that she was awake, but she was no longer in bed with Kashikoi. Next to her was Artemis looking around, confused. He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he was as clueless as her.

"Don't be alarmed," came a feminine voice from behind them.

They turned around to find an enchanting woman standing proudly with a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. Behind her was a pack of dogs, sitting neatly behind her. One dog sat next to her, its blue eyes bright. It smiled and went over to the two cats, sniffing softly before licking Luna. The dog nudged Artemis in the side before returning to the woman's side.

"I see that Mathias has deemed you worthy," the woman laughingly said. She reached down and patted the dog on his head. "Mathias has always been a good judge of those who have kind and noble hearts, and you, Luna, Artemis, have them."

"How...? Why are we here," Luna asked.

"I am Diana," the woman said. "I have come to grant you your power. I heard your prayers to help those you seek to protect, and I will heed them."

Diana bade them to follow her into the garden they stood outside of. A soft, white light permeated the air, heavy with the scent of flowers. Diana sat on a bench, indicating that they should seat themselves next to her.

"I would like to help your young charge, but I am afraid I will not be able to until her young man's champion is awakened."

Artemis looked at the woman. "Why have you chosen now to speak to us?"

"I could only do so because the silver crystal released some of its energy to me, enabling me to awaken fully. I have watched over the rulers of this moon since the beginning of Olympus, helping them to guide the moon into prosperity." Her face saddened at a thought.

"I was unable to protect its people when they were attacked, and I have regretted it ever since. In my slumber, I could only dream about the terror that plagued those that lived here on the moon."

"The moon?" Luna looked over at Artemis before returning her attention to Diana.

Nodding, Diana looked over the garden. "You should both recognize this place, having lived here before."

Both cats gazed about the garden, finding that she was right. This was the garden at the Moon Palace.

"I have been able to restore it to its glory tonight because of the energy that I have been given, this energy that I will now give to you."

Luna and Artemis felt themselves become human again, the crescent moons on their foreheads disappearing. They found themselves wearing new clothing, that of the togas the gods and goddesses wore in battle. Looking down, Luna saw that she had the same type of sandals they wore as well, the laces wrapping around her calf up to her knees. She saw that Artemis' laces went halfway up his calf, like the gods' sandals did.

She looked up at Diana, who smiled sweetly.

"I give you this energy, so that you will be able to give it back to the silver crystal when the time comes. Together, it and the golden crystal will then reawaken myself and the guardian of the golden crystal."

She reached out a finger to Luna's forehead, then to Artemis, sending them back to sleep.

Luna rolled over and bumped into something. She had had the craziest dream. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking into Artemis' eyes, but they were human! She rolled away and bumped into something else.

"Jeez, you two could wake the dead," came a tired voice. The two cats-turned-human turned and saw Kashikoi yawning and rubbing her cheeks. "Maybe you should go wake up Suru." There was a tired giggle as she tried to get out of bed.

Luna and Artemis looked on in concern as Kashikoi fell out of bed.

"Oops. Haven't got my sea legs back."

"More like you're punch-drunk," came a voice from the doorway. Setsuna rushed over and helped Kashikoi back onto the bed. "Sister, dear, ask for help, ne?"

"I need coffee!"

"Oh," came three voices in unison. Luna and Artemis shook their heads at each other as Setsuna sighed and help Kashikoi get dressed.

******

Usagi woke up slowly, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Sitting up, she saw that she was alone on the bed, but Mamoru and Shingo were on the floor. Looking around the room she saw her court on the other two beds.

There was a soft tap on the door as it opened. Hotaru crept in when she saw that Usagi was awake, but not the others. She climbed onto the bed and sat next to Usagi.

"Sleep well?" she whispered.

Nodding, Usagi held her stomach as it grumbled softly. "I'm hungry now."

The two left the room quietly, leaving the others behind sleeping soundly.

When they reached the kitchen, they saw the generals making breakfast, trying to avoid each other as they scrambled to get the food ready. The turned back to the door as they heard a groan.

"Ugh," Kashikoi said as Setsuna helped her into the kitchen. "This is too early for me. Coffee, now, please." Sitting in a chair, she gratefully accepted the cup of coffee that Zoicite gave to her. Everybody watched in a sort of fascination as she put one cream and four sugars in it and took a sip[1]. "Ahh, much better."

The ThreeLights stumbled through the door, enticed by the smell of the food. All of them did a double take when they saw Kashikoi nursing a cup of coffee, Setsuna hovering behind her.

"Excuse me," Luna said behind them. They moved their legs, expecting the cat to walk between their legs like she normally did. She laughed and they turned.

All jaws, except Setsuna's and Kashikoi's, dropped in amazement. Luna had become a human again, her black hair waving around her t-shirt clad shoulders. She giggled and moved into the kitchen, grabbing a cup of coffee out of Kunzite's hands before it fell on the floor.

"Jeez," Kashikoi complained. "Do the showy entrance thing, will you?"

Setsuna face faulted, but the others just stared as Artemis walked in through the door leading from outside.

"Ohayo!" He moved over to pour some coffee and reached over the stove, flipping the bacon that was starting to burn. "Better watch the food, Nephrite, or there won't be anything to eat!"

Luna and Artemis sat at the table next to Kashikoi, who drained her cup.

"More," she said. She got up and gathered more supplies, starting on her second cup.

Usagi went over to sit next to Luna. "When did you get to be human? I know that the silver crystal changed you yesterday, but how...?"

Artemis shook his head, his white hair swaying against his back. "Don't worry, Usagi-chan. We will tell you as soon as we've eaten. After all, we had a very long trip last night." Luna laughed and Artemis joined in.

Jadeite wondered what had happened, but he wasn't going to question it too much until he got breakfast. His thoughts stopped as he saw Makoto wander into the kitchen. Her hair was a little flyaway from sleeping. She looked adorable, her green eyes tiredly looking around the kitchen. He grabbed a coffee cup from Zoicite and took it over to Makoto as she sat in the middle of the table. "Here."

"Um, arigato," Makoto said. Taking a sip, she leaned back against the chair. "Good way to start the morning."

Zoicite looked at his hand, at Jadeite, then at his hand as a cup was put in it. Kunzite's eyes smiled down at him. "Don't worry about it. We can get him back later," he said, chuckling softly. Nodding, Zoicite smiled before taking a drink.

Yaten looked over at the doorway as Minako stumbled through it. "Mina," he said softly to her. "Sleep well?"

She nodded, hiding a huge yawn behind her hand. "Too late of a night for me, I guess."

Yaten set her down in a chair and grabbed a plate as Nephrite dished up the food on the stove. Grabbing some juice, he brought it and a full plate and put them in front of Minako, who smiled her thanks at him as she dug in.

"Hey, where's mine," Haruka wanted to know as she came in from outside. There was a sheen of sweat on her face, her hair messy from the wind. It was obvious that she had been exercising.

"Right here," Jadeite said, teasing her by rubbing his belly. "And it was good!"

Haruka lifted a hand and punched his arm lightly. "Alright, wise guy. Show me the real food."

The rest of the group straggled in as breakfast progressed. When they finished eating, they all went into the living room to find seats.

Kashikoi hurried over to one of the big, comfy chairs and settled in. Setsuna sighed and went over to sit by Motoki, who was watching Suru like a hawk. Rei shyly sat next to Suhai, who was talking with Nephrite about what happened yesterday. Suhai turned his head and winked at Rei, who blushed as turned to look around the room.

Usagi and Mamoru were cuddled up on one end of the couch, Kunzite and Zoicite on the other. Ami and Taiki were seated close to each other, both of them trying not to watch the other. 'Those two really need a push to get together,' Rei thought. 'Even facing Tisiphone wasn't quite enough.' An idea popped into her head as she smirked.

Minako saw Rei with a weird smile on her face. She went over to sit by her, dragging Yaten over with her. He tried not to listen to Minako and Rei talk about getting Ami and Taiki together, as he sat with a pained expression on his face.

Suru and Unazumi were sitting next to Makoto and Jadeite as they waited for Luna and Artemis to begin speaking. Suru saw Haruka and Michiru pick the middle of the floor and sit down, intending to stay there for a while as Hotaru and Shingo stood on either side of the doorway. Seiya walked over to the room to sit beside the chair Kashikoi was sitting on, not saying a word to anybody.

Luna saw that everyone was seated and nodded over to Artemis.

"We need to tell you a story," she began. "Both Artemis and I had a dream last night, in which we were taken to the moon. There, we met Diana, who guards it."

Kashikoi and Setsuna were nodding their heads while Suhai got a dreamy look on his face that didn't go unnoticed by Rei. She poked him in the ribs, getting his attention.

Artemis sighed at the little exchange and continued. "She told us both that we held power, and that we would give it back to the silver crystal when the time came to awaken its guardian and the guardian of the golden crystal."

"She also told us..."

The Night Before...

Diana looked at the garden wistfully. "Someday, this and the Earth shall become one. Until that time, I will sleep here."

She glanced at Luna and Artemis with a hopeful look in her eyes. "Then I will be free once more from the one who placed me here. I will be free to roam with these dogs as I once did."

Mathias whined as he sat by her feet, his head resting on her knee. She pet his head softly, rubbing his ears.

"Please, tell your charge that they will have to find the hammer that will join the Earth and the Moon forevermore. It lies deep within one who burns as the core of the planet does, but it does not belong to them. The hammer is what created human life, and only that can create a new civilization such as the world needs."

In the Present...

"When I woke up," Luna said, "I only thought that it was a dream. Then I realized that I was human, like I was before I went into service for Queen Serenity. Both Artemis and I had been groomed to be the Royal Advisors to her since we were born."

Artemis nodded. "Being so chosen, we were given names to honor the goddess that had given the moon into the hands of the people that lived on the Moon."

"The hammer," Rei muttered to herself. She looked over at the former cats standing on one side of the room. "What about the hammer," she said to everybody. "I have the feeling that it's connected to me, but I don't know how."

"That's because it is," Motoki said, leaning forward. "The flames of Mars were forged into fire for humans, wielded by a great master of iron."

Suru nodded. "The oracle at Delphi told many stories about how fire was stolen from the gods and given to humans. One of the most told is that of the one who creates fire with a great hammer, sending sparks to those the gods had created."

"The oracle also told of the punishment of the one that had stolen the fire," Unazumi continued the story. "The hammer was taken back, and the fire thief was sent to Earth to live immortally among the humans, having no power over fire."

Mamoru watched them carefully. Those that were able to become the gods looked as if they were puppets. Their eyes were glazed, and the voices were monotonous, not like how they normally talked.

"I think we have a problem," he said, jumping up off the couch.

Usagi looked up at him strangely. Suddenly she felt a strange vibe flowing through the room, engulfing the others. "Mamo-chan," she whispered, launching herself into his arms.

"Someone actually could tell I was here," an eerie voice said. The others looked to see Suhai's lips moving stiffly. "Ugh, how boring," the voice continued, "This is just so pointless I think that I'll stop wasting my energy."

The immortals fell to the floor, lifeless. The senshi were stunned, shocked by the surprise attack.

"Alecto," Setsuna whispered as she checked over Motoki and Kashikoi. "One whose anger is unceasing."

"You got that right, sister," the Fury sneered as she appeared over Suhai. She kicked him in the side. "This one was just too easy to control. Anger is such a good weapon."

Rei watched in horror as Alecto kicked Suhai again. "Stop that," she screeched at the woman.

Alecto turned to find nothing more than a pest at her side. "Go away," she said, lifting a finger at Rei. The senshi watched in horror as she passed out, lifeless, onto the floor.

"Ah, the more anger they have, the more fun it is to do that," Alecto said, rubbing her hands together. She looked over at the appreciative crowd before her and mentally cackled before calming herself down. "Time to get to business."

******

Rei found herself in a room. She could tell that this was her astral body and not her physical one. This felt different from that, but she was familiar with it. Sitting in front of the sacred fire freed her astral body in times of great importance. She noticed that there were no doors or windows. No route of escape, anywhere.

Sighing, she sat down in the exact middle of the room. Closing her eyes, she imagined she was sitting in front of the sacred fire once more. She could hear Grandpa chasing Yuuichiro around the grounds with his broom, stopping to show off for some school girls.

Focusing on the fire behind her lids, she gradually became aware of an actual fire burning before her. It grew larger and larger, reaching out to her as she moved back from it. Soon the fire overpowered the room, engulfing it in flames.

Rei stood plastered to a wall, frantically searching for any crack to get free.

She stopped suddenly, the thought crossing her mind that she had imagined the fire, so she must have made it exist. Closing her eyes again, she mentally willed the fire to become that of a candle flame, small and dancing in a light breeze. The room chilled rapidly, no longer warmed by the intense heat of the fire.

Opening her eyes to reveal a small candle, she went over and picked it up, imagining a door opening. Before stepping through it, she willed it to lead her to her friends.

Stepping through, Rei found herself in a large room, stark white. The only bits of color in it was that of blond hair resting against a pillow. There was only one person here, and she had wanted to find everybody. She looked closer at the man laying in the middle of the white room. It was Suhai, his eyes closed. She went over to him and bent down, putting her finger on his neck.

There was no pulse. Looking even closer, Rei saw that he wasn't breathing.

"Breathe," she whispered into his ear.

There was no response.

"Dammit, breathe," Rei shouted at him. There was a loud noise as Suhai's chest rose, taking in air.

Rei took a breath as well, trying to calm down. She closed her eyes and thought about what had happened. The room with no escape, the fire, the candle, this room...so many things to think about. All of that came about with the power of her mind. Was Suhai a figment of her imagination as well? Was he reality or what she thought of it as? If this was reality, she didn't know where the rest of them were.

"Rei," Suhai whispered. "Please, open your eyes..."

Opening them, Rei found herself looking in Suhai's dark eyes.

"Hi," he said. He touched his hand to her cheek, cupping it softly. Rei's eyes grew larger, startled at this show of affection. Then she made herself smarter by remembering that this person was actually the god of love and lust.

"Nani?" Rei looked around the room, the white slowly dissipating into other colors. The room began to look like the living room of the house they were staying at, except it was still empty but for the two of them. "Where is everybody?"

Suhai shook his head. "I think that we have to go look for them, and for myself."

"What?!"

"I am here, but also not here," he said. "I am connected to you because I have feelings for you, so I was able to at least find you this way. I have the feeling, though, that finding *me* and the others will be difficult. Alecto has a nasty touch about her in the astral world."

Rei nodded and stood up, followed by Suhai. "Well...shall we?"

******

[1] That's the only way to drink coffee. Make it thick as mud and sweeten. Mmmm ^_^

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