Serenity awoke amongst the trees, the wind rustling their branches to create a base for the chorus of singing tree-frogs, crickets, and the occasional bird. It was twilight, Theia's light having all but left the skies, stars twinkling into sight between the leafy branches above her. Someone was breathing softly to either side of her. Instinctively she knew who they were – the deeper breathing to her right was Hyperion, sleeping soundly and with reach. Moving her hand slowly as to not disturb Eos, who slept curled up on her side with her arm across Serenity's stomach, the silver-haired girl reached for and found Hyperion's hand. She placed hers under his and felt the smallest of pressures as his fingers grasped hers. Her lips found their way easily into a smile, his love evident in just one touch.

She turned her head to gaze at Eos, whose lips, too, were curled into the sweetest of smiles. The arm crossing over her tightened its grip, pulling Eos's small body closer to her until her blonde head was snuggled in against Serenity's shoulder. This was how it was supposed to be. They had fought in so many battles together to protect their planet; this era of peace was well-deserved. Her heart filled, she watched the stars above, waiting for her dear ones to awaken… but she must have fallen asleep.

It seemed that as soon as she opened her eyes the scene was completely different. She was transformed, running down a corridor in the palace and feeling a fear so great she almost cried out. Beside her, her boots pounding out a steady rhythm, ran Eos – no, Sailor Okeanos, her face a pale mask of fright and determination. All around them the walls trembled, before them was a mist of darkness.

"What's wrong?" she yelled to be heard above the din. "What's happened?" she felt confused, but knew she should know this. She had been here before, had seen this happen; her heart was filled with dread.

"Necroma." the golden-haired senshi's voice trembled, "He's got my mother, Sailor Theia." Tears broke free at the corners of her eyes, spilling down her cheeks as the girl fought back a sob.

The hall ended at the entrance to one of the great rooms and they both jumped, their wings pumping furiously as they took to the air. The great columns were falling around them as dust and rocky debris rained down on them from above. They wove around the obstacles, desperate to reach the exit.

"OKEANOS RAGING WATERS!" the blond senshi screamed, directing her attack at the wall before them. Water rushed from her outstretched hand, completely obliterating the surface and forming a huge hole that they both easily flew through. Outside the palace, chaos reigned. Smoke rose from multiple buildings, people screamed as phages hunted them down. Horrified, Theia turned and aimed her staff, but Okeanos doubled back and pulled her on, "My mother!"

They kept flying – Necroma was going to kill the queen in the open to destroy the spirits of the people, to weaken their resolve to fight his takeover. The people of Okeanos were brave, but, while their beloved senshi fought to protect them, their hearts and souls belonged to the Queen that they adored, Eos's mother. If she died, the people might just crumble and it would truly be left on their shoulders to save everyone.

They broke free of the buildings and came across the promised scene – there was Necromos, clad in darkness and terror. He stood over two stories tall, his face of rotting flesh smiling out at them all. The people of Okeanos were gathered around them, their weapons still raised to fight against his army of the dead, but they were all frozen, every face upturned to watch the scene taking place. Gripped in his hand at his eye level was their queen, her golden hair crusted with blood, her dress tattered and torn. She looked at him defiantly, but she was completely pinned, her arms pinned to her side by the creature of darkness and blood spilling freely from her back. Where were her wings?

Theia halted to observe the scene, but Okeanos went against their usual strategy and flew straight towards Necroma, her arm extended for another attack. "OKEANOS—"

Necroma laughed and swatted her aside like a fly. She fell to the ground and bounced with the force, screaming with pain. Phages approached her, but Theia was faster. With a burst of energy she shot forward and landed between her fallen friend and the monsters, her staff held defensively. The phages stopped, weary of the powers of a fully-capable senshi.

"Mother," Okeanos whimpered, coughing up blood as she pulled herself to her feet. She held her arm with one gloved hand, the white soon turning a bright shade of red. Her wounds must have reopened in the fall. Theia stuck her staff in the ground, summoning a protective shield to guard their backs, and she joined Okeanos, staring defiantly up at the skeletal face.

"Have you come to surrender, foolish senshi?" his voice boomed, the smell of rot and decay assaulting their senses. Theia felt nauseous, but stood tall and strong.

"Never!" They yelled in unison.

The menacing smile changed into one of sick glee and Theia feared the worst – he seemed happiest right before he summoned some insane plague of beasts. She braced herself, but nothing happened. No release of energy of any kind came from the giant. But why, then? Why was he –

"STOP IT!" Okeanos screamed, letting go of her injured arm to reach fruitlessly towards the beast. "LEAVE HER ALONE! STOP IT!" her shrieks echoed in the near silence of the field, tears streaming freely down her face. Theia looked up in horror to see that the Queen was grimacing, her arms squeezed tightly against her sides and her legs, extending past the hold of the monster's great hand, were pressed together unnaturally. Her bones? He was crushing her bones?

No, she didn't want to see this again. She wanted to wake up.

The queen tried to keep her composure, to keep her pain unknown, but nothing escaped the notice of her daughter, "STOP IT NOW!" she yelled, her voice breaking into a screech, "OKEANOS RAGING WATERS!" Water surged from her hand towards Necroma and hit him squarely on the leg. He collapsed onto one knee and his face turned from a twisted smile to an insane look of rage.

It was then that the queen screamed, as his grip intensified, crushing her past her limits. Blood spilled from her eyes, her nose, her mouth, and still she screamed horrifically. Theia turned, grabbing her staff and pointing it at the creature's wrist. "THEIA SHINING DUST!" she yelled, and a stream of glittering particles shot out of her weapon, each grain cutting deep into the creature's arm and exploding. His rotting flesh flew away from his wrist as it cut through muscles and tendons, but it did nothing to his grip. If anything, her screams peaked at an ear-shattering decibel, Okeanos's sobs and shrieks almost at the same level as she tried to summon forth another attack.

But it was too late.

The Queen's screams stopped and Necroma dropped her. "Reconsider, senshi, or you will end up the same," he bellowed, then he and his army disappeared in a foul-smelling cloud of gas.

Okeanos and Theia rushed forward to meet the pitiful form of the queen, but Theia already knew it was too late. Okeanos beat her there, and she fell beside her mother's head, reaching forward to touch her but not knowing where she could without causing more pain. Theia stood back, wanting to be there for her friend but not wanting to intrude on this, their last moments together. Theia started to cry, leaning on her staff for support.

"Mother," Okeanos sobbed, her purple eyes overflowing with tears, "Mother, I'm sorry. We didn't get here in time," she sobbed, unable to continue.

"E…os…" the queen breathed heavily, her words thick with blood and masked pain, "did… did you…"

"Yes, mother, we found it," Okeanos cried.

The queen sighed, some of the anxiety fading from her face, along with the pain. This was it. Okeanos seemed to realize this as well, as her sobs became even more frenzied. "S… save Oke…anos…"

"We will, mother. We will." Okeanos cried harder, "I love you."

"I love you… too… my –" she coughed, blood pouring from her mouth, but her eyes found her daughter at last, their pained blue orbs barely focusing as she slipped away, "Eos."

She screamed out, reaching again for her mother's body, her cries echoing the pain of her people. Her good arm cupped her mother's cheek as she looked desperate into the woman's eyes as if willing the soul to return. Theia couldn't look away, her closest friend's mourning wails cutting through her heart. Slowly, her legs like lead, Theia approached the pair. She knelt down beside them and put her arm around the survivor as she gently closed their Queen's eyes. Sailor Okeanos's sobs were coming so quickly that she was having trouble breathing; Theia gently pulled her away, tearing her frenzied gaze from the poor woman's broken, bleeding corpse and hugging her close. Eos cried into her collar, her fist curling desperately into the material below Theia's wings.

"Serenity?" a voice asked timidly.

She opened her eyes and found herself to be far, far away from that place, that time. Okeanos was gone, Eos with it. She looked through blurry eyes for the girl calling her name and saw Luna standing beside her bed. She blinked and tears, hot and heavy, roll down the side of her face. The girl's cat-like face collapsed in compassion and she fell onto the bed beside her, taking her hand and pulling her close. Serenity lay there in Luna's cool embrace for a long moment, her head still dislodging itself from that scene, fighting to bring herself away from the memory of Eos. She sat up, pushing the thoughts from her mind and returning Luna's hug.

"Thank you, Luna," she said into the girl's long purple hair, "I'm okay now, thank you."

She pulled back, staring at her with those bright blue eyes, "No you're not." Serenity nodded her head in an attempt to dismiss the compassionate woman's doubts, but she just shook her head in the negative, "If you were okay, you wouldn't be crying now." She reached up and brushed her cheek, her finger wet when she pulled away.

So she was still crying. She took a deep breath, willing the tears to stop, laughing at her inability to control her own body. Luna hugged her again; Serenity hugged her back. They stayed that way for a time, Serenity taking in all of the comfort that Luna was only too willing to give. A good while later, Luna pulled back with a tentative smile, "I came in to see if you wanted some dinner. Artemis left a little while ago, so it would be just the two of us. Well, the three of us," she amended with a small shrug.

Serenity nodded, her stomach twanging with hunger. She wondered if there was any real way to go back to depending solely on the crystal for energy after this – her daughter, it seemed, had liked the experience of sharing real meals. She got to her feet, choosing not to put her heels on again, and followed Luna to her bright and cozy kitchen, where they talked of lighter things while Luna started throwing together a hearty meal. She gave Serenity a cup of hot chocolate to start, smiling. "For her sweet tooth," she explained.

They had fish for dinner – Serenity smiled as Luna gave her a portion that looked like a child's cutout of a fish – with mashed sweet potatoes and asparagus for a heaping portion of vitamins. For dessert they chatted over cold fruit with a dollop of sweet cream, Serenity learning even more about the planet Mau. Daily life here seemed similar to that on her own world, but they had very festive celebrations and a rich cultural history all based on, predictably, cats. They kept the traditions of their elders as they moved forward towards the future, keeping such things as Rites of Passage and their coming-of-age ceremony, where young Mauans had to perform three tasks set forth by their elders during their fourteenth year. Some of the tasks had evolved with the age, but for young males there remained at least one quest that revolved around hunting in the plains. Sometimes they completed the task in groups, sometimes alone. These quests often tested a young Mauan's bravery, intelligence and strength, but the degree of each varied with the young person at hand. A lot of required them to be in their transformed state to complete.

"What were your tests?" Serenity asked as they sat curled up facing each other in Luna's living room.

"I was sent to the next town over and charged with dissolving an illegal trade that was going on," Luna replied, straight-faced.

"At fourteen?" Serenity was shocked.

Luna smiled, "It was more tactical than anything, and I was passing in a group. Besides, when did you awaken as a senshi?"

Serenity thought back, "I think I always was one."

"But your first major battle happened when you were…?"

"Twelve, I suppose… But I have powers to aide me," Serenity qualified, "You were just a bunch of teenagers!"

"We can take care of ourselves," Luna said with a wink, "and the elders occasionally keep an eye on us with missions like that."

"Does every Mauan get charged with doing that kind of quest?"

"Well, not really," Luna said, looking modest, "but I was in an advanced group, so instead of being charged with hunting one of the great beasts, they thought they'd test our intelligence and teamwork. A lot of those in my class currently work in top agencies, even though we're not yet twenty."

"Do you work in a 'top agency'?" Serenity asked, not having considered before that Luna had a day-job.

"Of sorts," Luna replied, "I'm on a city council defensive planning committee."

"That's really impressive," Serenity complimented.

Luna smiled, "thank you."

"What about your other tests?"

Luna shrugged, "those weren't nearly as hard; I completed them during the other mission. I had to steal an object and leave no trace of it – that was done several times. When we were sent over they didn't give us anything but the clothes on our backs. We had to find our own hideout and find a way to support ourselves, which started off with a little bit of food-nicking," Luna smiled largely, "Don't look so appalled! It's commonplace around here – whenever things go missing it's just assumed that a fourteenth-year has been through. As for larger objects, well, some others coming-of-age are charged with watching out and preventing theft by older people, so things usually work out just fine."

Mau… was strange. But Serenity liked it. "What if the kid is unsuccessful? For example, if they got caught?"

"They just had to try again. If they didn't successfully complete their tasks by the Coming-of-Age festival, they had to try again the next year."

They continued this discussion for quite some time, until both Serenity and Luna were yawning.

"We should probably head to bed," Luna announced at last, "your meeting with the King and Sailor Mau is before noontime tomorrow."

As Serenity returned to the guest room, Luna popped into another room, but joined the silver-haired girl minutes later with a pile of clothing and blankets. "Would you mind too much if I slept in here with you?"

Serenity was touched – though she had phrased it so it sounded like Serenity would be doing her a favor by letting her sleep in here, she knew that Luna was only offering because of what happened earlier. She smiled and nodded, "I wouldn't mind at all."

Luna had also brought Serenity some loose pajamas to replace her formalwear - "I'll wash that for you tomorrow morning," Luna offered about the dress through the door as Serenity changed. Luna set up her make-shift bed as Serenity let down her long hair, scratching her head thoroughly to dispel the tight feeling the hairstyle left behind. Though they started out with Serenity in the middle of the queen-sized bed and Luna on the floor, by the time they fell asleep Luna had crawled up onto the bed with Serenity and the two fell asleep facing each other.

This time, her sleep was left undisturbed.