The light was bright…

So bright and shining, it was blinding… She threw up a hand, shielding her sea-blue eyes, squinting them as she tried to make out the source of the light. A flicker of golden hair, the glimmer a bright and blue-eyed gaze. A beautiful, yet haunting image of a girl, the flutter of colorful butterflies her backdrop. The light shone from the golden cup she held aloft, the tremor of her power like an earthquake. She could not help but to fall to her knees, hands held out, fingertips longing to touch her… Arms longing to embrace her. The warmth of her power was flooding her and for a moment, it was the past and she could only watch from a distance.

"Haruka…"

The haunting sound of her voice calling out to her… Uranus felt her spine stiffen, her hands clenching into fists at her sides, and she could see it in the distance… The dark cloud that hovered behind her, drowning out her light for only a moment. She turned around then, her back to her, and Uranus opened her mouth to call out, but found she could not speak. The blonde turned her magnificent head then, a sweet smile spreading over her lips; a smile as if to say everything was going to be just fine. And then she was gone, descending into the darkness without an ounce of fear in her eyes. She was a beacon of light, crusading through the night, striking down the evil as she descended further into the darkness. Rising up, the senshi could do nothing but watch in awe as the golden light was finally swallowed up.

"Haruka…"

She woke with a start, sweat dripping down her brow, her eyes peering up into another pair. "Bad dreams?" Michiru's soft, comforting vocals drew her away from the images of her dream, one that left her feeling anxious. Sitting up, she ran a hand over her forehead, leaning forwards slightly, silence Michiru's only answer. The aqua-marine haired young woman sighed softly and reached out, drawing Haruka down onto her lap. The soft pads of her fingers began to draw little circles against Haruka's temples, causing her to emit a long, heavy sigh, lids falling closed over her eyes. As always, Michiru would get what she wanted from her. "Tell me, Haruka."

"I dreamed of her."

That phrase was enough for Michiru to know who she spoke of; of course she knew, Michiru thought of their princess as often as Haruka did. Though perhaps in not the same exact way as Haruka. "She was wrapped in light… the Holy Grail… I saw it in her hands." Haruka's eyes fluttered open and Michiru met her gaze and knew they had seen the same thing, though she had seen it in her mirror. It had been only moments ago when she was awakened by something and knew she had to look into her mirror. When the sight was gone, she had gone to Haruka. "Could she truly be…?" The words died on her lips as Michiru took her by the hands, giving them a gentle squeeze. "The messiah?"

"She needs to be protected," Michiru said softly, not answering her question, but Haruka knew better than to force an answer from her lover. "She and the others… You know they can't handle what's to come." Michiru's gaze darkened and Haruka looked away, eyes falling closed. Michiru took her hand once more, clutching it until Haruka turned back to look at her. "This is our duty, Haruka." The blonde stared at her for several long moments until she sighed softly and nodded.

"Our duty is to the princess."

[ x x x ]

Everything was crumbling.

Pharaoh 90 groaned as its power was sucked away, Saturn's glaive like a vacuum as it drew out the massive energy. But in the process, the world was being destroyed. In the blink of an eye, everything they had fought for was lost to them. She looked across the way, to where the Inners lay scattered, all four pairs of eyes staring upwards at the soldier of silence. The little princess was kneeling not too far from them, wrapped in the cape of the tuxedo-clad man that was her father. Haruka could hear the whispers of her tears as she softly cried out her name. "Sailor Moon… Usagi… Mama…"

"I just… I just wanted to protect her with my own hands!" The anguished cry escaped the soldier as she fell to her knees, a gloved fist connecting with the cracked cement beneath her. The image of her flashed before her eyes, all sunny smiles as she cried out her name. Haruka! And then another one, her saddened eyes breaking her heart as she cupped a cheek into her palm… Uranus…

And then, a brilliant white light.

All eyes were turned then to the source of the light; she hovered in an orb of light, her hands raising up to trail her fingertips down her cheeks. . She opened her eyes and their beautiful gaze swept across the way, firstly upon her child and lover, then her guardians, and then… Their eyes met for the briefest of moments, before Super Sailor Moon drifted down to the broken pillar below her. As her knees touched down, her hands raised high into the air, her power softly flickering like a beacon in the storm. Pharaoh 90 seemed revived by the warmth of her power and he shifted, but Saturn was on the move, her glaive coming down hard upon him. "Hope and rebirth…" Saturn's strong vocals called out across the battlefield, her words echoing within them all. "Always with the end comes hope and rebirth." Indigo eyes had turned upon the lone soldier on the pillar below and her features softened, the familiar name dying on her lips… Serenity… But then she turned and was jumping high, high into the air as her glaive began to glow. This would be it, soon it would be all over.

"Hope and rebirth…" The soft echo of her words caught Saturn's ears just as her glaive came down, and she could not help but to smile. Her thoughts instead turned to the little pink-haired senshi far below her and then Saturn felt her own destruction swallow her whole.

A single tear trailed the curve of her cheek and Usagi felt something inside of her breaking; a flash of light and gone was her fuku, replaced instead with a soft satin gown. Her scepter came to her hand and it's rod extended, it's length nearly that of her own body now. With her power swirling around her, she raised her staff high over her head and offered up a little prayer to the universe. The faces of her loved ones flashed before her eyes and she knew that she had to protect them and the world they lived in. And just like that, the destruction was reversed, the people were revived, and the world was saved.

The messiah had saved them all.

[ x x x ]

The dream was always the same; those piercing blue eyes, the billowing golden strands of hair, the soft white glow of her power… Haruka would often wake from it, wondering why it continued to plague her when the world had already been saved. The girl was never far from her mind, haunting her like a ghost of someone lost. And she more or less was… It had been weeks since she'd last looked upon her lovely features, had been weeks since she'd last seen her radiant smile or witnessed a display of her awe-inspiring powers. She missed her… She missed her terribly.

Despite the warmth of the sun, Haruka shivered, the chills racing down the length of her spine. Her life had

changed quite suddenly after the ending of the battle, as had Michiru and Setsuna's. In atonement for what

they had tried to do, they were raising the newly reborn Hotaru. They had been given a second chance to do

the right thing and they would do it this time around; they were already besotted with the baby, who brightened their lives considerably. The four of them had moved far from Tokyo and in turn had moved far from Usagi and her four guardians. They had left them behind because this was something that they needed to do on their own. But, they missed them… All of them. Haruka knew Setsuna's heart ached for the little pink-haired princess who had been her very first friend. Like her, Michiru missed their princess, who's image often appeared to her in her mirror.

Their lives, though bright with a new hope for their life with little Hotaru, it still felt empty without her smiling face.

And so, maybe that was what made Haruka get into the car that morning and drive. She drove for hours, watching the sun rising from the horizon through her windshield, not even once stopping to eat or even to

use the bathroom. She just drove and drove until the familiar cityscape was in her line of vision. It was almost as if she were calling her there. If she could only just see her one last time… Then maybe… Maybe she could be happy. Then maybe she could live her life with the others, raising Hotaru, until the time came that they were needed as soldiers once again.

Driving into the city, Haruka slung her car into a public parking area and for the first time since early that morning, she climbed from the car and stretched her limbs. The sun was shining brightly that morning, telling the world that summer was in full effect. Despite the early hours, the city was already alive with people walking their dogs or driving to work or merely taking a stroll down the park's walkways. Haruka stepped out onto the street and glanced left and then right, wondering for a moment where she might go first; but then the glimpse of a building caught her eye and she recognized it at once as being Mamoru's apartment building. Trusting her gut, Haruka crossed the road and walked along the sidewalk, coming up towards the building as its sliding doors opened and out came a twin-tailed blonde, yawning as she came down the front few steps. Haruka stopped where she stood and watched her as she stepped down onto the second to last step and her gaze traveled to meet hers.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop spinning; Usagi blinked twice and then lifted a hand, rubbing her eyes, half-expecting Haruka to have disappeared when she looked again. It wouldn't have been the first time she'd thought she'd seen the blonde, anyways. But, when she looked back, Haruka was still standing there as if she had never once left. Taking the last few steps, Usagi stepped out onto the sidewalk, standing there across the way from her, staring at the older woman as if she hardly dared to believe she was there. It had been weeks, no months really, since the Outers had more or less vanished from her life. She missed them, especially Haruka. Usagi understood they had a new life, a new mission, but it did not stop it from hurting any less. Especially when they'd only just begun to see eye-to-eye.

But nothing else suddenly mattered- all that mattered was she was there then. Usagi flung herself into Haruka's arms, her warmth and her scent still yet familiar. Haruka's arms wound around her and Usagi could not stop the tears from filling her eyes as she pulled back, a smile teetering on her wobbling lips. "I can't believe you're here," the blonde sniffed, returning to the embrace with full force, her face buried into Haruka's shoulder. "I've missed you so much."

Having her there in her arms, that was what Haruka had been missing, seeing her smile… That was what she had longed to see. Her life, she realized then, meant nothing if she had nothing to protect and nothing to care about. This girl… Her princess was, with the exception of Michiru and the others, the only important thing in her life. Her life meant nothing without them. Without any one of them. "I missed you too, odango," Haruka murmured, the pet name for the girl slipping from her lips without any thought at all. She put her hands onto her shoulders and held her at arms length, inspecting her face; those same blue eyes, that same radiant smile, the same soft glow of power… It was all the same. It was never changing. A memory took hold then, a memory from her past life, and Haruka could remember that same feeling when she'd first

laid eyes upon the princess from the moon, the one she had swore to protect with her life. The girl was speaking then, asking her why she'd come, fearful that something had happened to one of the others. Haruka was smiling then, shaking her head slightly, giving her shoulders a tender squeeze. "Everyone is fine, I just…" She trailed off, a sheepish smile appearing as the young woman peered up at her with a wide-eyed gaze. "I just needed to see you."

Usagi felt her heart turnover and a smile spread across her features, brightening her from within like a flame. Their meeting would be brief and though Haruka would walk away within the hour, Usagi was left feeling whole once more. And as Haruka climbed back into her car to drive back home, she knew it would be the last time they met. Their destinies as soldiers would always bring them together again.