Hotaru had had her eyes closed, chin resting against her chest, still recovering from her fright with the dog. She heaved a sigh and debated pushing herself away from the wooden door at her back. She was starting to feel quite tired and a good bit hungry. "It must be nearly breakfast," she murmured. She could almost smell eggs frying in the kitchen, hear Michiru moving around. Setsuna would be coming into her room any minute and the two of them would prattle over the day's outfit and brush each other's hair until they heard Haruka stumble into the bathroom, grumbling – always a sign that it was nearly time for breakfast with their family.

Hotaru bit her lip and gave a little nod. "I'd best move on." The faster she found Setsuna, the faster her vision would become a reality. She opened her eyes and gasped.

She was outside! The land was still vast, flat and barren, but there was an orange sky overhead, as if a giant sun had just set, lighting up the whole sky. She took a step forward and cried out. The door behind her had faded away as if it had never existed at all. No door, no rock wall, nothing but open air as far as the eye could see. The souls were all gone as well, off to wherever souls go when they die. Hotaru was alone again, but it was a peaceful feeling. She felt her hope renewed slightly.

She knelt down and opened the bookbag. As if by magic, the Garnet Orb floated out and hovered in front of her face. She gazed at it, a smile lighting up her pale face. "Are you going to help me now? Sibil-Sempai said you would."

The Orb flashed.

This was satisfactory to Hotaru. "If you lead, I'll follow. I think there's a path up ahead. Should we start there?" She pointed, as if the Garnet Orb were a living, breathing thing (although Hotaru was not so sure it wasn't).

The Orb started to float along and Hotaru followed, skipping from time to time from excitement. Now they were getting somewhere! This place was already nicer than the dark cavern. "Suna can't be far away now!"

~*~

Haruka and Michiru walked along, hand in hand, peering into the dark corners of the massive cavern they were walking through. Haruka had her sword in her hand at the ready, and Michiru clutched her mirror, hoping its energy would be an added deterrent. "You know, Ruka, it's times like this that makes me wish I had a sword too."

Haruka smiled through her nerves. "Do you want to carry it for awhile?"

Michiru laughed despite herself. "Maybe later. My mirror is plenty powerful too, though, you know." She gave her lover a nudge.

"Sure it is…" teased Haruka.

Michiru stomped her foot. "It is!" She broke into laughter.

Haruka suddenly brought down the Space Sword in front of them. "Shhh!" she commanded. A high-pitched laugh had joined Michiru's.

Michiru froze. "What is it?"

Haruka kept one hand on Michiru's arm and moved around in a circle, always keeping Michiru pressed to her side. "Who's there!"

"Michiiiiruuuuu! Come play with meeeee!"

Michiru stopped clutching onto Haruka as she heard the high, singsong voice. "Hotaru…" she murmured.

Haruka moved her sword around in a jerky motion, panic settling hard in her chest. They were so vulnerable. She knew there was something she was supposed to do to bring on extra strength…something she and Michiru could become, but she couldn't remember what it was. She swore she knew five minutes ago…but now she couldn't remember. She did know that that voice was not their little girl. "Michiru…don't listen to that. It's not Hotaru."

"Michiiiiruuuuu!" A child's giggles filled the red cavern.

Michiru stared blankly into the distance. "Hotaru."

Haruka gritted her teeth. "Michiru, no!" The hand that held the sword trembled. She wished there was something to slash at, but nothing appeared.

Michiru moved Haruka's hand from her arm with unnatural strength, strength that caused Haruka pain. Cradling her arm, she watched helplessly as Michiru walked, trancelike, ahead of her. "Who are you?" she whispered, confused, strangely defeated, and unable to see anything except for the person she loved walking away from her. 'Should I follow her?' she wondered. 'Could it really be Hotaru?'

Michiru suddenly broke into giggles and started to skip as a small child would, following something invisible. Haruka, still clutching her sword, followed behind, watching curiously. She couldn't seem to move her legs quickly, and though her brain told her to go and go fast, she followed slowly behind, watching Michiru in fascination.

"Michiiiiruuuu! Follow meeeee!"

Michiru clapped her hands with glee. She was skipping through the park on a sunny day, following Hotaru, who was still a very small girl of about eight. She was so fast! Michiru just couldn't seem to keep up. Now Hotaru was climbing up the jungle gym so fast it made Michiru's head spin. She looked down to discover that she was just the same size as Hotaru and she, Michiru, was expected to follow. She laughed, holding her sides, and started to scramble up towards the sunshine, following the little dark-haired girl who beckoned in a singsong voice.

Haruka stopped completely, too exhausted to continue. She could hardly keep her eyes open, and her head swam. She dropped to her knees and watched Michiru through bleary eyes. "Michi…come…back…not Hotaru…I love…you." Her mouth fell open and her eyes rolled with exhaustion, and she reached a hand out towards Michiru, who was climbing up a huge stalagmite.

Michiru climbed and climbed, all the time following Hotaru who was still a good deal ahead of her. When she finally reached the top of the jungle gym, she laughed in triumph. "I made it!" she proclaimed and teetered unsteadily on her feet. She was frightened for a moment, but Hotaru's gleeful face reassured her.

"I can fly, Michiiiiruuu. Can you flyyyyyy?"

Haruka tried to keep her eyes open and she crawled weakly across the rocky ground. "Can't…fly…come…down…" She could vaguely see Michiru at the very top of the stalagmite, her arms spread apart, a look of exhilaration upon her face.

Michiru watched as Hotaru jumped from the top of the jungle gym. She flew weightlessly through the air. "Come and tryyyy, Michiiiiruuuu!"

Michiru laughed with delight and crouched to spring off.

Haruka's eyes opened wide and she yelled out. "NO!"

Michiru jumped.

Haruka screamed and covered her eyes.

There was silence.

Haruka parted her fingers slightly and peered out from behind them. She immediately pressed her hands over her eyes as hard as she could, her teeth gritted so hard they ached. Michiru was impaled on a sharp rock that stuck up out of the ground. She was dead, blood dripping from her mouth. Her eyes were closed, but her lips held a smile.

Haruka couldn't bear to look. She started to cry hysterically, wracked by helpless, rage filled sobs, rocking herself back and forth. She tore at her hair and her clothes, but she couldn't make the image disappear from her head. She and Michiru had faced death many times in the past, and had even been killed, but she had never faced life alone without Michiru. She had always been right behind her love, barely even given the time to think about what death meant. But when she saw her life, her Michiru, lying broken on the ground, her heart broke into a million shards.

Grasping her Space Sword, her immediate thought was to kill herself. Then she would be with Michiru and Setsuna again, and the pain would stop. But she remembered Hotaru and realized she couldn't leave her here alone. Hotaru needed her.

Haruka picked herself up and glanced at Michiru's body, but a flood of hot tears made her shut her eyes tightly. She couldn't bear to go near. She did reach down to pick up the Aqua Mirror from where it had fallen. It had a crack down the center, but Haruka's tear-stained face was still visible in the glass. "And to think I teased her about having a mirror for a Talisman," Haruka choked, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She then turned her back on Michiru's body and continued her wandering through the cavern, head bent low and shoulders hunched in grief.

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Author's Note: Hi all! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! But poor Michiru! *sniffle* What will happen next?

I just wanted to drop you all a note to let you know that I now have an official notifylist specifically for fanfiction updates. You can join it by going to my drawing site link which can be found on my profile. Just click on my name up there at the top of the page. If you've joined my original notifylist, the one for my art updates, you may want to unsubscribe from that one if you're only interested in fanfiction updates. The fanfiction list will go out the night new chapters are posted, but the art list only goes out when there are new drawings on my site. Fanfiction is still to be included in it, but you have to wait a heck of a lot longer. So please feel free to join the fanfiction list if you want immediate fiction updates!