AN: At long last, I have returned. Blame Macbeth, precalc, and the cursed third quarter of school, gah! I am so sorry to leave you all as I did. This fic is still alive and thriving, I just have had so little time to write recently.

Summary of Last Time: Boromir was killed, as you remember, and in desperation to console her fears, Celebithil looked into Galadriel's mirror, unaided. As Setsuna explained, this causes the Mirror to act like the palantir it was created from, and attracted the Eye of Sauron. Sauron saw her as a surprise trump card, holding the secret plans of his enemies and a strange hidden power. He brainwashed her and called her to him.

Riding her mother's unicorn, she was able to resist and found herself along the edges of Fangorn. She was eventually found by Haldir and his company of elves, off to fight at Helm's Deep.

Celebithil and the senshi were forbidden to fight, but after sitting helplessly in the caves with Eowyn, amidst the battle sounds, they broke their promise and ran out into their first battle.

Celebithil hadn't expected the emotional pain which battle can bring. She found Haldir but distracted him, and in a way, caused his death. Carried away, protesting, by Aragorn, everyone retreated to the Keep to find that Kemenuial (Hotaru) was dying from poison.

This chapter shows the view of these events from Setsuna's eyes. Hopefully it will explain things better. Gomen for my evilness haha! "..." is talking, '...' is thought, [...] is AN or definition, (...) is extra info but part of the fic, ... means trailed off, -- means interrupted.

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Ertirhiril, they call me, the Lonely Guardian. I am the Keeper of the Void, the Last Inviolable, the Harbinger of Time. I am the crown princess of Pluto in one life, Meiou Setsuna in another. Yet too I am the Eldest, the Solitary Warden, the Everlasting Mourner. [Thank you angelwings6117!]

I have watched the lives of every man, woman, and child of every species, as the live, struggle, and die. I have seen the trials of every being. I hold memories of Then, Now, and countless Futures which have not yet come to pass.

I am the child of Time, immortal and yet bound by the Laws. I watch and I protect, but I am always Alone, doomed to never meddle in the ways of Fate.

And so I must only watch the scene play over, as I have countless times before. I must stand, helpless, as I see the poisoned arrow leave the bow of a wretched orc, the arrow that I know will piece the flesh of little Kemenuial. I must try to be blind of its deadly arc and of the little firefly's ignorance to her doom.

For as Fate has decreed, so it must be.

I must wait as she turns slowly, just in time for the arrow to complete its arc, making contact with the flesh of her shoulder. I must wait as her expression changes from confusion to horror, as she feels the poison.

Now I may cry out, and I may run, calling for Neptune and Uranus-- Mirengaer and Menelsul, as they are called in this Time. I may fight off the uruks that threaten to destroy little Kemenuial's fallen body. And I may release my emotions, my pain, my tears.

Now at last, the call for retreat. Menelsul lifts Kemenuial's weak body, as Mirengaer and I cut our way through the thick crowd of uruks. We rush back to the Keep. But my heart is heavy, for I know what awaits me now.

Oh Fates, why must you afflict my Princess so? Has she not suffered enough to appease your will?

How I wish I could aid her with my wisdom. How I wish I could tell her that Kemenuial, the Twilight of Earth, must move on and become the Firefly.

Yet I am doomed to remain silent and watchful, as the ones I love suffer again and again before my weary eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~

And so I carry another body, another lifeless form.

For once, I am grateful to the Fates. I am grateful that they did not commit me to stand, helpless and silent, by my princess as her heart and her will break into a thousand shattered pieces. I am grateful that they did not doom me to watching her agony before my eyes. I would crave to aid and heal her, yet that is a role that another must play. Watching her so helpless and broke, and myself unable to do anything, is a pain that I do not know that I could bear.

I carry the little body of Kemenuial away from the battle, toward a forgotten window of the Keep, facing the Dawn. "This Life may have ended," I whisper to the silent, peaceful form, "yet your Soul is now free."

Looking up, I hold out her broken body, as the first ray of sunlight reaches out and bathes me in its golden light.

"To thee do I surrender this child, O Fates! Take her and do as you will!"

Kemenuial seems to glow in the golden light. "May your new life be filled with the freedom, joy, and love that you truly deserve," I say more softly to the child. Kissing her forehead one last time, the Light dissolves her physical form.

Dark sparkles float away through the window towards the sunrise, glittering softly like fireflies in the night.

A single tear slides down my weary cheek.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Now is my Time.

I arrive slowly, just as I see the senshi rise is alarm and Menelsul rush outside to save the princess from her madness.

I step onto the rampart as I see Menelsul gently lift the unconscious Celebithil. I touch my princess' fevered forehead as Menelsul looks at me, worry written across her face. "May your sleep be deep and fulfilling," I whisper softly. Then Menelsul moves away, to return Celebithil to the safety of the Keep.

Looking up, I see Gandalf and the horsemen already pouring down the ridge into the Deep, his brilliant white light leading them on. In response to his leading light, I slam my staff into the solid rock of the high road, and a great deep red light erupts from the garnet orb-- a light to urge Aragorn's riders onward, a light to warn Gandalf of the urgency, and a light to guide his white light through the battle to the one who needs him.

Uruks fall, helpless and confused, between the two great lights and the mass of warriors on both sides. Men shout with renewed hope of the two Istari that have come to save the battle. Many uruks flee, running up the ridge toward the threatening forest. Men cheer as their victory seems assured. Satisfied that the battle is under control, Gandalf reins in and hurries towards the Keep.

Hold on, princess, it will not be long now.

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AN: Well, I hope this provided a better perspective on what happened last time. Gomen nasi again for having to kill two characters in one chapter. ::cowers::

And funny how this turned out. Originally I intended this chapter to only have Setsuna's point of view in the beginning... but it worked better this way. Hope you enjoyed it. Now, Review Responses:

Eyes_of_Pearl- Thank you so much! ::flattered:: I dunno, I think the general interest in LotR/SM fics is slowly declining, but I still love writing them. And though everyone wants Usa/Leggy, I personally like the different ones, such as Boromir pairings, that fit better. ;D

Alexei- Yah, in Quenya, 'moon' is 'isil'. "Celebithil" is Sindarin for "Silver moon". In Quenya, it would be "Telepisil". Usa's birth-given name, Eldasil, is in Quenya. But Celebithil is more of an affectionate nickname everyone calls her, so I thought it would be more appropriate to use Sindarin. And what do you mean by "c/k etc"? ::confused::

Amyranth- Thank you! sorry for the delay haha

Black Aura-Sama- yeah, I'm a huge fan of the books, and I like how there's so much more character development in the books. In the movies, it seems like Boromir is a selfish idiot, until he redeems himself by saving Merry and Pip. But really he is a model of noble behavior and such a great guy! And yah, sorry I had to be evil and kill people off like that. It's for the plot, I promise!

LiLSeReNiTiE- ::sniff:: ::hands a tissue:: Gah, I'm so sorry! ::bawls:: I'm not usually so evil, but it had to be this way. ::sob:: And thank you!

Kitoky- Heh, romance's coming, I promise. But it might take awhile haha. DIE DENETHOR DIE! Lol

AngelQueen- I am feeling incredibly guilty for making so many people cry, haha. But it is for the best, I promise. Hopefully this chapter helped console you. ^_^"

Chibi-Cola- YEAH! Haldir, another instance of injustice done by the movie. But unfortunately, to get Celebithil to Rohan and continue the plot, I had to follow the movie's tale of his death. ::sob:: SUPPORT HALDIR!!!! ::brandishes a button:: And yes, Hotaru will be back, haha! And CHEERS FOR THE SILMARILLION!!!!!!

As long as school doesn't try to murder me again, I hope to have more soon. I think I have almost the entire plot for this fic planned out, it's just a matter of writing it. And then of course there's all the other fics that I've neglected for months upon months, that I've promised to update. xP Gah. I think I'll go insane now.

Until next time, Ja ne!

~Calli-chan

P.S. Come check out Senshi of Starlight, a messageboard for fans and authors of LotR/SM fanfiction. There's a yahoo group too, but the messageboard seems to do more. Link on my profile. Bai!