The water splashes as she runs, pleasantly warm; she's almost dismayed that it only reaches up to her knees, that she can't stop and bath in it, but she has the feeling that she has to keep going. And so, she runs, through the seemingly endless water; she's alone, and she has the feeling that this is wrong, that someone should be with her… and just when that thought hits her, all around her, the water begins to freeze.

She tries to avoid getting stuck, tries to step on the ice before it can form around her legs; it breaks beneath her feet, and then it closes around her, trapping her in place, uncharacteristic fear surging through her when she looks around and finds herself in an endless plane of ice, a cold wind coming up and making her shiver.

What you faced so far was nothing. The voice comes up out of nowhere, and seems to be all around her, echoing from God knows where; she nearly cries out, then glances around, eager to spot whoever is speaking, dismayed that the ice keeps her from turning around.

More danger awaits, the voice tells her, not reacting the slightest to her tries to find whoever it belongs to, but you must not let it deter you. Keep looking for the key, for the vault… and DON'T GO ALONE!

The volume shoots up to almost unbearable levels at the last few words, and then it keeps yelling at her not to go alone, impossibly growing louder and louder, until she has to cover her ears, until she screams in pain, screams she can't hear as the screaming goes on and on and on…

Michiru didn't cry out as she opened her eyes, the only sign for the nightmare she had suffered through being the sweat on her brow and her slightly quickened breath; and thanks to her self-control even so shortly after waking up, Haruka noticed nothing of her nightly terrors, the blonde still slumbering deeply right behind her, snuggled up against her back, the warmth of her naked body helping the sniper to calm down further.

She closed her eyes, taking in a few deep breaths, until her racing heart started calming down; focusing on the world around her, she told herself that this was real, that it had been a bad dream and nothing else, nothing to worry about.

Despite how often she told herself, she couldn't stop thinking of the voice, and how it had yelled at her that she shouldn't go alone; she wasn't planning to go anywhere on this planet alone, but she knew that Pandora was a dangerous place, and that her plans might be thwarted in the blink of an eye.

If your powers hadn't manifested, Haruka might be dead now, she remembered, shuddering at the thought; carefully, not wanting to wake her, she turned in her loose embrace and looked at her, studying the spot where a bullet wound had been mere hours ago, and perfectly fine skin was now, not even a scar left.

Unable to withstand the sudden urge she had to touch the blonde, she reached out, tenderly running her fingertips over the skin beneath the blonde's collar bone; this gentle touch apparently was enough to wake Haruka up, the taller woman letting out a low grunt before she opened her eyes, blinking sleepily a few times – before her gaze met Michiru's and she immediately smiled, the sniper smiling back at once.

"Hey", Haruka murmured, reaching up and grasping her hand, "slept well?"

For a second, Michiru was tempted to lie, to simply tell her that she had slumbered through the night like a stone; then, she decided that she wanted to be honest with Haruka, and shrugged instead, keeping her voice low as she replied, not sure if Ami and Makoto had woken up yet and not wanting to wake them in case they still were fast asleep.

"Mostly", she let the taller woman know, making her frown slightly, "I had… quite the strange dream. Perhaps nightmare is the better word for it…"

She recounted what her dream had contained, telling Haruka about the at first pleasantly warm water which then had turned to ice, and about the voice which had screamed at her to not go alone; Haruka listened intently, frowning the whole time, looking quite worried by the time Michiru was done.

"Huh", she let out, the look of concern on her face making Michiru worry, too, even though she so far never had been one to believe much in the truth of dreams, "perhaps it was just a dream, but that was oddly specific, don't you think? And, I mean, I don't know much about Sirens, but maybe your powers include prophetic dreams or something? Maybe we shouldn't just ignore it…"

"Well", Michiru gave back after thinking about this for a moment, having to admit that she hadn't thought of this possibility now, "I'm not planning to go anywhere alone on this planet. So, unless you decide that all of this is too dangerous…"

"I told you", Haruka gave back, moving one hand to tenderly rub her shoulder and upper arm, the touch sending shivers up and down her spine, "I've got your back. I'm going where you're going."

"Good to know", the sniper smiled, then leaned in for a good morning kiss; it was a mere innocent, brief touching of their lips, but it made her heart flutter, and she asked herself again if this was a mistake, if she was feeling too strongly for the blonde already, and if these feelings might end up endangering her quest sooner or later.

Then, she thought of the dream again, and of what Haruka had said; and she forced her concerns aside, smiling and nodding when the taller woman asked if she was ready to get up.

"I wonder if our hosts are up already", she commented as she got out of bed, smiling as she noticed how Haruka eyed her naked form quite unabashedly; it wasn't the first time she had slept with another woman, far from it, but it was the first time that she had woken up next to said woman, and from the way the blonde was looking at her, there would be a repeat performance later that day, and this would be a first – her one night stands so far had been just that, a fling for one night to take care of her needs, never more.

Who would have thought, she pondered as she moved to her pack of supplies, finding fresh clothes, hearing how Haruka got out of bed behind her, and taking the chance given to get a good look at her, as well, you had to come to a dump like Pandora to find… well, whatever this is. A relationship? Business partners with benefits? Who knows.

Deciding that for now, what to call this didn't matter, she got dressed, then watched Haruka do the same; to her amusement, the blonde had brought a shirt and vest identical to the ones she had been wearing when she had been shot, making her wonder if she had any different outfits or just a few of the same kind.

"I usually wear stuff like that", the blonde answered the unasked question, smirking slightly, "Minako keeps teasing me about how she never knows if my clothes are actually fresh or if I've been wearing the same one for a week."

"Well, I can now at least reassure her that you put on a fresh one after you got shot", Michiru pointed out, earning a low chuckle from the blonde, "even though she might want to know where the wound is then, so, at second thought, we should keep this to ourselves."

Nodding her agreement, Haruka finished dressing by pulling on her boots; Michiru took the time for another brief kiss, then they left the guestroom together, noises from the kitchen telling them that at least one of their hosts was up already.

"Morning", they quickly found out that it was Makoto, the brunette moving back and forth in the small kitchen area as she prepared breakfast, the smell of freshly brewed coffee making Michiru realize how much she wanted some of it, "I hope you had a good night and are hungry, breakfast is almost done. Coffee, bacon, cheese and bread."

"Sounds good to me", Haruka commented, then asked if she could help; Makoto shook her head, letting her know that she was almost done, anyway, and telling her to sit down instead, asking her if she wanted some coffee.

"We don't have milk, I'm afraid", the brunette let them know as she filled two cups with coffee, then put them down in front of the two women, "but there's sugar, just don't use it all up or Ami will have your head. I need sugar to make cookies and cakes, and she loves my cookies and cakes."

"We don't want to risk her wrath, then", Michiru smiled, making sure to just use half a spoonful of sugar, "where is Ami, by the way, still asleep?"

"Nah, she's been up for hours", Makoto let her know, making her raise an eyebrow, "she usually gets up before dawn, to work. Some days, I have to drag her in here by her hair so she'll have breakfast with me."

She checked the bacon sizzling in the pan once more, then let them know that now, it was time to drag Ami in for breakfast; she left the room after supplying them with food, and the second they were alone, Haruka leaned closer to Michiru for a quick, but tender kiss, smirking when she picked up her mug afterwards, asking the sniper if she wanted to move on right after breakfast.

"Yes", Michiru gave back, lips still tingling from the brief kiss, secretly yearning for more, "I want to get to the Trash Coast as fast as possible. How long do you think it will take us to reach it?"

"Two or three days", Haruka let her know, shrugging when she raised an eyebrow, "it's quite the distance. So let's hope Ami's research turns out to be right, it'd be a shame if we go there for nothing."

Michiru simply nodded her agreement to that, not letting the treacherous thought which flashed through her mind show through her features – namely that, if it would turn out to be wrong and they wouldn't find anything there, it'd be an excuse to stay longer on Pandora, be with Haruka for longer, the thought that, once the key had been completed and the vault had been opened, she'd have to go back home, all at once heavy on her heart, once more making her wonder if this was a mistake after all.