Once Hotaru was well into the garden, she stopped and looked around. There were vast fields of nothing but grass and flowers, and some small trees scattered here and there. There might have been forests in the distance, but here there were mostly rolling hills and plains where souls clad in white drifted. These souls seemed very different from the others she had encountered. They seemed solid, and very much as they must have looked in life. They were obviously at peace, and played together in the grass and splashed in the wide river that ran nearby. It was this river that Hotaru was drawn to.
By then, Cronus had caught up to the girl, and he stood nearby, watching somberly. "Please turn back, child of the stars. This will only end in pain for all."
Hotaru didn't look at him, but instead surveyed the river. The Garnet Orb was now moving steadily towards it, and Hotaru instinctively followed. Cronus did nothing, but bowed his head slightly.
Hotaru followed the orb. "What are we-?" She stopped dead in her tracks.
A figure was sitting by the river, her hands in her lap. She wore the same white dress as the other female souls and her hair was free flowing, and wafted slightly in the breeze. The Garnet Orb was drawn to her like a magnet, as was Hotaru.
"SETSUNA!" the little girl screamed, and took off at a run. Brimming with joy and tears, she threw herself at her idol and clung to her. "It's me, I've come! I've found you! We'll go home now and you won't have to be here by yourself ever again! Oh, Suna…" Hotaru couldn't decide whether to laugh or sob. Instead, she looked up into Setsuna's face. "Aren't you glad I'm here?" Hotaru suddenly frowned. "Suna?"
Setsuna just sat with a little half smile on her face. Her eyes were empty and she made no move to embrace Hotaru. She stared at nothing.
Hotaru, panicked, rose onto her knees so she could look into Setsuna's eyes. She found nothing there. "Suna, it's me! Don't you know me?"
Nothing.
Hotaru's face crumpled and her voice was nearly a scream. "It's me! It's your Hotaru! Answer me!" She started to shake Setsuna by her shoulders in frustration. "PLEASE!"
Setsuna's expression remained empty and she made no acknowledgment of Hotaru's pleas. Meanwhile, Hotaru, realizing she couldn't shake Setsuna out of the state she was in, crumpled against her and sobbed. "Why? What's wrong with her?" She lifted her head slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked at the owner of the hand – Cronus. "What's wrong with her?" Hotaru asked again.
"She, like the other souls, have drunk from the river of forgetfulness. She is now in her own world and can no longer see or hear you. The only way she would ever awake again is if she drank from the river of memory," he gestured to a small stream across the large field that Hotaru had not yet noticed, "and she will never do that. She has not the desire, nor the means. She does not know it exists."
Hotaru screwed up her face and shook her head. "It's not fair."
"I am sorry," said Cronus. "But you will never wake her. It would be in good interest for you to leave now and head back to the surface where you belong."
Hotaru shook her head again, a defiant look on her face. "I won't! I won't leave her and there's nothing you can do to change my mind!"
Cronus backed away from Hotaru and shook his head sadly. "I hoped I would not have to show you this, but as you insist on being difficult, I shall have to."
Hotaru swallowed. "What do you mean?"
"You must understand that no one may leave the Underworld once they are dead. However, as I am the ruler of one of the branches of this domain, I am able to make one exception, and I would like to do that for you as you've been very brave."
Hotaru brightened. "Then-
"Wait! Choose carefully, for there is a choice to make. Behold, Saturn!" He made a gesture with his hand, and what appeared to be a glass box appeared on the riverbank. Hotaru let go of Setsuna and cried out.
Haruka and Michiru were encased in the box behind the glass. They didn't seem able to move and they were as pale as ghosts, but their eyes gazed sadly at Hotaru.
Hotaru ran at the glass and started to strike it with her fists. "Let them out!" she screamed.
"They are dead," Cronus said gravely. "They died searching for you."
"But why?" Hotaru's eyes filled with anguished tears and she helplessly pushed at the glass. "What did they do?"
"They entered the Underworld in their Sailor forms, when they should have approached as they were, as you did, as innocents and not as soldiers. They angered the spirits that dwell here, and were sent to Tartarus. There they were tormented and killed by an evil demon."
Hotaru, exhausted from pounding on the glass, collapsed in front of Setsuna and buried her face in her hands. "How can I choose?" she whispered. "How can I choose between my parents?"
"Hurry, child. The hour grows late. I can not keep the other two here for long. They will be sent back to Tartarus if you do not choose them."
Hotaru was horrified by this idea. "I won't let that happen." She slowly turned to look at Haruka and Michiru, who looked back at her helplessly. "It's my fault they died. They came looking for me. If we'd all come together, maybe they would still be alive. It's all my fault."
"Have you made your choice?" asked Cronus.
Hotaru looked at Setsuna once more through her tears, and then back at Haruka and Michiru. "Yes, I've made my choice. Please release Haruka and Michiru."
Hello kids! As you can see, I've been working on this again, and I think I can finally finish it! Hope you enjoy the next couple of chapters!Also, I recently did another cover drawing for this story. Here's the link (cut, paste, take out the spaces): www . angelfire . com / art2 / griddlebone / images / hotaruelysianfields.jpg . The quote is from an R.E.M. song that always makes me think of this story.