Lights flash around her, incessantly, and the only thing stronger than them are the string of questions being yelled from reporters' and passing spectators' mouths alike. Everyone wants a piece of her, and she knows why; of all her friends, she (and Chako, of course) are the only ones who aren't busy greeting family. Luna understands that the reporters don't want to interrupt heartfelt reunions, especially when they could add such an emotional quality to their stories. Despite this, she can't help but feel the bite of jealousy and long-buried grief at the corners of her mind. Now isn't the time. I'm way past this! I need to be happy, with everyone!

One of the reporters shoves a microphone closer to her face, pushing past the others. "Where were you all during these nine months, miss? Where did this spaceship come from?"

Another follows their lead. "This is not the first time you are involved in a major incident such as this, Miss Luna; care to comment?"

The room spins at the question, and the lights start multiplying before her eyes. She sucks a breath in, gripping Chako's legs more tightly.

Chako leans forward over her head. "Hey, now, can't the questions wait 'til later? We're tired, ya know!"

This, apparently, only spurs the journalists on, and they push towards her more, trying to get past the security guards, who push back against them, barking warnings.

A hand drops onto her shoulder. She turns, expecting one of her friends, but instead looks up to find that the person behind her is Menori's father. He gazes upon the reporters imperiously as Menori's stands on Luna's other side and links arms with her. Mr. Visconti holds his hand up; a noticeable hush falls over the crowd. "None of the children will be taking questions at this moment. They require medical attention, and the police will be speaking to them thereafter. No further comment."

He releases her shoulder, and Menori turns her away as the volume rises again in a large wave. "Don't worry; my father and Howard's will deal with the press. It can be overwhelming for the inexperienced."

Luna only nods mutely, one hand settling against her clenched stomach and another gripping Chako's leg, who pats her head in understanding. She leans down to mutter in her ear. "You know what to do, Luna. Deep breaths. Remember the blue sky."

Luna nods again just as they reach the large group of her friends and their family. Howard's father takes a step forward, demanding attention with his presence much like his son. "Okay, kids, we'll be taking you to the hospital now. You need to be assessed by doctors, even if you say you're all okay. It's just procedure; you've had a very traumatic time."

"We'll be going in the limo, everyone," Howard announces gleefully, raising a triumphant fist.

"Remember; don't say a thing to the journalists. They will try to bait you, but just smile and wave, and you'll be alright," Mr. Visconti adds. They nod, moving as a mass towards the doors, a path made for them by the security guards barring the enthusiastic spectators.

Luna takes deep breaths, arm tightening around Menori's. Kaoru falls into step next to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she replies breathlessly, nodding in what she hopes to be a reassuring way. Kaoru raises an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "I'm alright. It's just a bit much."

He opens his mouth to say something more, but seems to opt against it as his mother lays a hand on his shoulder and falls into step next to him, too. "Hello!"

"Oh, hello. I'm Luna!" she says cheerfully, releasing Chako to shake the woman's hand and taking a moment to marvel at her son's resemblance to her. "Nice to meet you."

"Wonderful to meet you too, sweetie. And you must be Menori?" Menori nods from Luna's other side, unable to reach for a handshake. "Well, wonderful to meet you both, and I'm so glad all of you are finally home. It has been quite- Oh, here we are."

They stop as the group arrives at the limousine, and the driver steps out to open the door for them. Howard moves to step in, then pauses and turns around, pointing demandingly. "I want Luna to sit at the front with me!"

Luna starts. "Me?"

"Yes, of course. You're the leader, after all. Come on! It'll be fun. There's food inside!" At the mention of food, a spark of energy seems to run through the friends. Luna releases Menori and nods at Kaoru, before making her way around the group. Howard holds his arm out dramatically, winking. "Ladies first!"

Luna only laughs, bending to step into the vehicle, Howard almost treading on her heels in his enthusiasm. He reaches immediately for the minibar.

"Howard, no!" snaps his mother behind him, tutting, an affectionate smile on her face. "I know you're hungry, darling, but you shouldn't eat before the doctors do their tests."

"No!" Howard wails, flopping into the seat next to Luna. "So close and yet so far…!"

"Don't worry, Howard," she says, patting his hand as the rest of the group files into the limousine. "We have plenty of time to catch up on everything we missed."

The ride to the hospital is short, and predictable; most of them simply sit and talk to their families in quiet tones, shooting each other looks but ultimately distracted. Luna listens to their conversations - she doesn't mean to eavesdrop, but there really isn't much else to do as Chako had fallen asleep immediately upon sitting down. Most of them talk about how much they've missed each other, and how the group have changed; "Shingo, you're taller!", "Sharla, sweetie, you look so skinny, didn't you have food where you were?", and other such comments. Luna notes that they seem to avoid directly asking them about what happened while they were away.

They pull up at the hospital and are immediately whisked away into separate rooms for numerous tests; the doctors take all sorts of samples, measure their temperatures, their heights, their weights, and other such things, before collectively announcing that they should stay the night, all with IVs in their wrists full of vitamins and other fluids, after deciding that they were all a little underweight, as well as exhausted. Despite their protests, and Howard's loud whining, they put them in separate rooms, "to allow more time to rest".

"All of them?" Luna asks, surprise bleeding into her voice as the nurse checks her vitals again.

The nurse smiles kindly. "Yes, all your friends asked if they could see you specifically. Of course, they also wanted to see everyone else, but there was a little more enthusiasm attached to your name."

"Well, can I?"

"Yes. It's been a couple hours and you've all been resting, so the doctor said you could go around to the different rooms and visit them. Go ahead; just take the IV with you."

The nurse pats her knee then promptly leaves. Luna jumps from the bed, scrawling a note for Chako, who continues fast asleep, before leaving, dragging the drip stand with her.

"Luna! They let you come see me," Sharla squeals, clapping her hands which had been previously holding a tablet.

"Of course I came! I would've snuck out if they hadn't," she says with a wink, before giggling and sitting next to Sharla's legs. "How are you?"

"Very happy! It's so good to be home. I mean, it was scary earlier with all the reporters, and we still have to do lots before things sort of go back to normal, but I'm looking forward to it. Where's Chako?"

"She's been asleep this whole time! And she calls me lazy."

Sharla laughs. "Hey, Luna, can we really not tell them all about Planet Survive?"

Luna's expression falls. "Only a little. Since the gravity storm disappeared after we came through, they won't be able to get there, theoretically, but…"

"I guess Menori was right," Sharla sighs. "If we tell them all about it, all the scientists and politicians will bother us about it all the time, and they'll want to find it. Adam's people need time to settle and stuff."

"Yes. It's best we leave out anything related to alien species. I think the fact that it's another planet with life will keep them occupied, but scientists always thought there must be green planets like Earth somewhere, so it's not all that strange. I don't think they'll be able to find it. They might bug us a bit, but we won't have anything more to tell them other than that we had to go through a gravity storm to get there."

"Hm. Well, alright. And Menori says that someday she wants to be a politician and open trade with Survive, so we'll wait for that before spilling all the beans." Sharla sighs again, more dreamily this time, patting her laps rhythmically. "It's like we're guardian angels of a magical secret land."

Luna laughs. "I guess we are. But it's for the best. Like we said, Adam and his people need time to cultivate their relationship with nature, and us humans barging in on that won't help things in the slightest. But enough about that! What are you reading?"

Sharla reddens. "Oh, nothing much, just some of my old writing. I'd like to pick it up again. Planet Survive got the ideas flowing."

"Sharla, that's wonderful! You could be a famous author."

"Oh, nothing like that," Sharla mumbles, blushing further. "That would be lovely."

"You could! Say, let me read some."

Sharla holds the tablet close to her chest. "Haha, maybe another time…"

Luna's expression turns mischievous. "Sharla…"

"Ah, fine!" she relents, handing her the tablet. "But don't judge it too harshly! I was young when I wrote these."

"Oh, don't you worry; I'm sure I'll enjoy them immensely."

"My father has just gone to deal with the police, so that they hold off on their questions. Since we're safe now, the investigation will be closed, but they'll still want to ask us what happened and such," Menori says, in her 'official business' voice. Her posture relaxes as she smiles at Luna. "So don't you worry about that."

"Thank you. You really saved me with those reporters."

"Yes, they can be pushy. I don't often come into contact with them, but every now and then… Anyhow, are you sure you're alright? You looked upset back there."

"Oh, it was nothing!" she says, waving a hand at her. "Just, you know, all the lights, the noise… it was a bit much. And I guess the tension of these months has caught up with me, especially from these past few weeks. We can finally, truly, rest."

"That's true." Menori pauses, staring at her hands in thought before looking up at Luna again. "I miss Adam. It's only been a day."

Luna smiles weakly. "I know, I do too. I got so used to having him around, it's strangely quiet now."

"Oh, don't worry about that; Howard will surely cover for him." She laughs wryly. "But it's good for you, in a way. Although we'll miss him, you were like a mother to him, really, and that's not a burden a fourteen-year-old girl should have to bear."

"I suppose not."

"Have you tried contacting him?"

Luna blinks. "Oh, no. I haven't been alone at all, so I couldn't. Let me try…" She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, reaching for the connection, which feels almost like a loose slip of paper in the corner of her mind. She grips the corner, and tugs experimentally, then sighs and open her eyes. "Nothing. Maybe I'm too far away."

"Maybe. Or maybe you're just tired. You can try again another time."

Luna nods, then immediately perks up again. "Oh, you know what I'm looking forward to? Wearing different clothes. The shirt and skirt are going straight in the bin, though I might keep the jacket…"

"I think I'll keep the little brooch at the collar; you know, the heart-shaped one? I've always loved that one."

"Oh, I love that brooch! It's so sweet."

"Agh, this hospital gown is the worst," Howard moans, tugging on the front before poking at the IV tube. "And this thing is annoying."

"I know, but let's bear it a little longer." Luna looks around the room, noting the numerous jugs of flowers. "Have you had visitors?"

"What? Oh, no, just my Papa's associates sending flowers. Mama went to find flowers with the other mums too, I think, for everyone else."

"Yes, they were in Sharla's and Menori's rooms. They're very pretty. Reminds me of Planet Survive," she adds, somewhat wistfully.

"You know," Howard begins, fiddling with his gown again, "I'm actually going to miss it. Not the stupid creatures or how we had to look for food all day or the danger or the weird computers or-" he stops when Luna raises an eyebrow. "Well, you get it. But I'll miss the fun bits. And Adam. And it was nice being with everyone all the time. We had some adventures." He pauses, before crossing his arms and lifting his chin haughtily. "Don't you tell anyone I said that, or I'll deny it!"

Luna laughs. "I won't, but I think we all feel the same way. We did say that it's our second homeworld, after all."

"Maybe we'll be able to visit someday. With a better spaceship! Not getting stuck there again."

"We've heard a lot about you, Luna," Bell's father says, giving her his seat and sitting next to Bell's legs on the bed. "Bell tells me that your father also worked in planetary settlement."

"Oh! Yes. It's my dream to follow in his footsteps, and keep cultivating the tree of life." She covers her mouth with her hand, reddening somewhat.

"What a wonderful phrase," Bell's mother comments, smiling at her kindly. "Well, since Bell has company, we'll just pop out for a snack and some coffee while you two chat, alright?"

"Thanks Mum, Dad," Bell says, waving as they leave. "Luna. How are you?"

"I'm alright. You?"

"Tired, but good. It's good to be home."

"Yes…" Luna replies, her expression momentarily twisting into something a little more sombre before returning to its usual cheer. "Your parents are wonderful."

"Oh, yes, I love them." Bell pauses, seemingly measuring his next words. "Are you sure you're holding up alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine!" she says, waving him off. She reaches forward to pat his blanket-covered foot. "I know why you're asking, and don't you worry. I'm just fine."

Bell hums, apparently unconvinced but allowing the matter to slide. "Well, remember that you can tell us anything. We're your friends. We can support you like you've always supported us."

"Well, if you're going to throw a party every time I get a bit sad maybe I'll be sad every day!" she jokes, laughing. Bell joins her. "And you'd better tell your parents about all the brave, strong things you did. None of that lack of confidence from before, okay?" she says in a mock-lecturing voice, wagging her finger at him.

He laughs again, warmly. "I will!"

Luna almost tumbles as Shingo's siblings barrel into her. She puts a hand on each of their heads, marvelling at how much they remind her of Adam as they babble questions.

"Now, now, careful! You'll knock her drip over," Shingo's father says good-naturedly.

"Hey, guys, come on! Let her breathe!" Shingo adds.

His mother laughs. "Come on, now."

"Is it true that Shingo fixed the spaceship that you flew here in?" the sister asks, hugging Luna's leg.

"Oh, yes," she says, kneeling down in front of them. They grin with delight. "We never could have done it without your big brother."

"We never could've done it without you too, Luna!" Shingo yells over his siblings' excited shouts.

Luna laughs. "Right. We all did it together."

"Yeah!"

"Shingo, you've grown up so much!" his father exclaims, patting him on the back. "Well done, son."

Shingo smiles bashfully, eyeing his family and then Luna. "Ha, thank you…"

Luna winks at him, distracting his siblings while his parents fawn over him, as his face turns steadily redder and redder.

She takes a deep breath, before rapping on the door.

"Come in."

She pushes it open, stopping in the doorway when she notices that his parents are here just as she had in the previous rooms. She hangs about the door. "Uh, sorry, I can come back later…?"

"No, stay," Kaoru assures, beckoning her in. His mother smiles at her as Luna pulls the IV behind her. Kaoru shimmies sideways on the bed, patting the space next to him. "Come sit."

She nods, sliding onto the bed and leaning back against the upright pillows while adjusting the drip stand next to her.

"Nice to see you again," his mother begins.

"Oh! Yes," Luna says, a little rigid as she nods pleasantly.

"We haven't met," his father adds, leaning forward to shake her hand. "Kaoru was just telling us about his friends. You must be Luna."

"That's me," she replies somewhat awkwardly. "Wait, what did you say?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Kaoru only smiles a little. "That you're the leader, mostly."

"Oh, right. You know, I keep forgetting that."

Kaoru's mother laughs. "Well, you seem to make a very good one. All the kids love you."

Luna grins. "Well, I love everyone too!"

"Where's Chako?"

"Oh, asleep. She'll want to recharge as soon as she wakes up," Luna huffs, tutting. "And, I repeat, she calls me lazy."

Kaoru's parents laugh, and she hears his quiet chuckles next to her. She smiles at him just as his mother gets up. "Well, sweetie, we'll go get a coffee or something while you kids chat."

"All the parents keep saying that," Luna notes when they leave the room, relaxing into the pillows. "Bell's did too."

"Have you seen everyone else already?"

"Yes, they're all fine. I went room by room. Yours is the farthest; very inconvenient. How am I supposed to discreetly come visit you without the nurses noticing after hours? Tut, tut."

He laughs, a little more loudly this time. "Maybe I'll go to you. I've always been the quietest."

"That you have." She sighs, leaning her head back to stare at the point where the wall meets the ceiling across the room.

She can feel Kaoru observing her. "Tell me what's bothering you." It is almost phrased like a command, but she knows by now that this is how they communicate; no questions or accepting of appearances, but straight to the point. More… honest, and she almost feels guilty for thinking it, for thinking that she is somehow dishonest towards her other friends. I'm not, but… well, me and Kaoru have a different kind of relationship. We have shared experiences. Death, and "Live!".

"Is it bad that I'm kind of glad we ended up on Planet Survive?" she asks abruptly. He frowns a little, and she scrambles to explain what she means. "Obviously, all the bad things we could have done without, but I feel like… I can't help but be grateful for the positive things we got from it. How we've all grown, and the friends we've made, and how we all share the same desire to… well, survive, for lack of a better word. And…" she pauses, looking up at him through her eyelashes, "I can't help but wonder if we'd ever have been such good friends if Howard had never pressed that button."

Kaoru says nothing, watching her, assessing her in that way that he seems to assess everyone when he ponders how best to respond. "It's not bad of you to be happy about the good things we got from it. If anything, it's good that you're focusing on that." He drums his fingers on his lap, quirking his head a bit. "But I think you're wrong about us all not being friends if we hadn't gone. I think we would have; there was already tension ever since you first arrived. Being stranded only forced us into close quarters in a more dramatic way, but I think it would have been the same if the trip had gone smoothly. It might have taken longer, and maybe we wouldn't have grown as people in quite the same way without everything that's happened, but we would have all still ended up as friends. The catalyst was never Planet Survive; it was always you."

Luna blinks up at him. "Me?"

"Yes. You were the first to stand up to Howard; I didn't really care enough to pay attention to him until that basketball game. And you became friends with Sharla, and then Shingo, and you reached out to Bell, and you would've eventually talked to Menori more as well. And you tried to talk to me, too, even if I ignored you," he adds, and his tone almost sounds regretful.

"You were staring into space that day on the ship, literally. I guess I know why now."

"Yes." He stares down at the sheets. "I do that a lot. I still do, at night sometimes when we were back on Survive, but it's not as bad anymore."

"I'm glad," Luna sighs. Her hand drops into the gap between them. "I'm glad we're all friends, and I'm glad we went to Planet Survive, and I'm glad we're back."

His hand follows hers, resting next to it in the gap as he leans his head back and turns to her. "Yes. We're home."

She hums, a tight smile on her face "We're home."