Chapter 22

Hotaru sat in her room, staring at her hands. She knew what she had to do. Even though Audiana had told her that she had a choice, deep down she knew that she didn't. She had been born a Sailor Scout and a princess of the planet Saturn. With those titles came along great responsibility, responsibility that could not be shrugged aside when she fell in love. She knew that Reenie would let her leave with Josiah if she asked her but she also knew that if she did that she would be neglecting her job and responsibilities as a Sailor Scout.

Hotaru sighed sadly and didn't bother to stop the tears from falling.

I'm sorry, Josiah, Hotaru said to herself. I'm so sorry, but I just can't leave.

Amia, Statel, and Miceff were still sitting in Amia's room and Audiana was standing behind Miceff with her hand on his shoulder, when Audiana's back suddenly stiffened and her hand tightened on Miceff's shoulder. Immediately, the three other Healers turned to look at Audiana.
"Hotaru and Josiah have decided?" Amia asked.

Miceff nodded, knowing that they had; he could sense it in Audiana.
"So, what's their decision?" Statel asked anxiously.

Audiana sighed. "Both of them are going to stay," the leader of the Healers replied, the sadness she felt at their decision showing in her voice and in her eyes.
"Are you sure?" Amia asked, hoping that Audiana would say no.

Audiana nodded. "Yes. Josiah's apologizing to us already for leaving. He's saying that he can live without the Healers, but he can't live without Hotaru."
"And Hotaru?" Amia asked, "Are you sure that her decision is final?"

Audiana sighed and nodded in reply. "Yes. She doesn't feel right leaving because of her being a Sailor Scout. I can understand that. /unlike us, she didn't have the right to choose to become a Sailor Scout. She was born with that title, just as she was born with the title of Princess of Saturn. She can't just shrug off those responsibilities, and while Josiah can't just shrug off his gift either, he can use it in other ways. Besides, there are about five other people on Iounda who have been born with the power to Heal."

Miceff nodded and stood up. "So," Miceff said, "I guess we have their decisions and that means that we can leave, right?"

Audiana nodded. "We just have to tell Queen Serena; and of course, Hotaru and Josiah before we leave."

Statel and Amia nodded in agreement.
"Then let's go tell them," Miceff said.

Audiana smiled and together, the four Healers left Amia's room.

Josiah sat in his room, saddened by his decision but also knowing that it was the right one to make. He would miss his friends and fellow Healers dearly, but not nearly as much as he would miss Hotaru if he left without her.

Josiah was just about to get out of his bed, when the door to his room suddenly opened. Josiah sighed sadly when he saw who was in the doorway of his room. "So, I take it you guys already know my decision?" he asked the others, knowing by the look on their faces that the answer to his question would be yes.

Not surprisingly, everyone nodded.
"I sensed it, Josiah," Audiana informed him. "I told the others. We are saddened by your decision to stay here on Earth, but contrary to what you may believe, we understand why you choose to stay."

Josiah nodded and looked at his friends. "You guys are going to be leaving now, aren't you?"

Audiana nodded in response to his question. "We have to. There are others in need of our help, and we must find another person who was born with the power to Heal."
"We just came to say good-bye, Josiah," Amia said in a voice that was just barely above a whisper.
"Good-bye, Josiah," Miceff and Statel said in unison.
"Good-bye, Jo," Audiana said going over and giving Josiah a good-bye hug. "We'll see you again."

Josiah nodded. "Bye," he said to Miceff, Statel, and Audiana; then he turned to look at Amia. Over the years that they had been Healers together, he had come to know her as a little sister and she had come to know him as an older brother.
"We'll wait for the two of you outside," Audiana said, understanding that they wanted to be alone for their good-bye.

Josiah smiled his thanks and watched as the three Healers left the room. Once the door had shut behind them, he turned to Amia.
"So," Amia began, "I guess this is good-bye."
"Not good-bye, exactly," Josiah said, feeling a little guilty. Amia was the youngest of all the Healers and she wasn't really too good of friends with any of the others.
"You know that it's going to be a long while before we see each other again, Josiah," Amia told him. "Stop pretending like it won't be. After all, once you're no longer part of the Healers, your entrance to the planet Iounda will be very limited. You know that, right?"

Josiah sighed. "Yeah, I know. But"
"But you can't live without Hotaru," Amia finished for him. "I know, and contrary to what you may believe, I am happy for the both of you."

Josiah smiled and nodded. "I know you are, Amia," he said, wrapping his arms around the only "little sister" he had ever had.

Struggling to hold back tears, Amia embraced her "older brother". "Come on, Josiah," Amia said, wiping a tear away from her eyes, "The others are waiting for us. I'm sure Hotaru is waiting to know your decision."

Josiah let go of Amia and nodded. "You're right," he said, "Let's go."

Together, the two of them left to go join the others, who were waiting outside for them so that they could all go and tell Hotaru of Josiah's decision.

"I wonder if everything worked out," Kristy said nervously, sitting on the couch in the middle of her and Melissa Austin's living room.
"I'm sure it did," Melissa replied, trying to hide how nervous she was about the others.
"You really think so?" Kristy asked, hoping that Melissa would repeat her previous response.

Melissa nodded. "Well, the cop cars are all gone," she informed Kristy, "And the dark clouds that came with the death of Queen Serenity are gone, also. So, I assume that Reenie and the others won."
"I'm just wondering if they're all okay," Kristy said nervously.
"You can stop wondering," an unfamiliar voice interrupted their conversation.

Surprised, the two women turned to look in the direction where the voice had come from. Standing in the balcony doorway was Sailor Uranus.
"Wha. . . what are you doing here?" Kristy asked.
"Her Majesty asked us to come and bring the two of you to the palace," a different voice said from the doorway as Sailor Uranus stepped inside the apartment.
"So, Neptune and I are here to pick the two of you up."
"Are the two of you ready to come to the palace?" Neptune asked.
"Are you sure that we're properly dressed for such an occasion?" Kristy asked.

Uranus rolled her eyes. Give me a break, she thought, while Neptune just nodded.
"I am sure that it won't matter," she replied. "Queen Serena just needs her friends' support right now."

Hearing this, Melissa immediately stood up and looked at the two Sailor Scouts, her reporter's instinct on red alert. "Why?" Melissa asked, with one eyebrow raised. "What happened?"

Neptune looked to Uranus, a questioning look in her eyes; should we tell them the truth? her eyes seemed to ask.

Uranus nodded in reply.
"Well," Neptune began, not quite sure how she should explain what had happened.
"We're not going to lie to you," Uranus interrupted her cousin. "During the battle against the Negamoon, Queen Serena was hurt. She had gotten hit by a strong blast of dark energy. This dark energy entered her. Because she controls the Silver Emperium Crystal, it was also killing her."

Kristy gasped, horrified.
"But Her Majesty's okay now," Neptune added, trying to comfort the two obviously surprised friends.

Uranus nodded. "Yes. Queen Serena's okay. The Healers came and helped her. But the energy that they had was not enough to heal Her Majesty completely. Because of that, the CT Scouts transformed and lent the Healers their energy to help save her."
"This left the CT Sailor Scouts feeling weak and drained," Neptune explained.
"Because they lent the Healers so much of their energy," Uranus began, "It's taken them a while to wake up. CT Mars gave the Healers the majority of her energy and because of this, she is struggling to wake up."
"Queen Serena asked for us to bring the two of you to the palace because she needs your support," Neptune repeated what the two Scouts had already said. "Now, after knowing all of this, do the two of you agree to come with us?"

Melissa and Kristy both nodded in unison. "Definitely," Kristy replied.
"Can I just ask you one question?" Melissa asked.

Uranus and Neptune both looked to Melissa, then to each other, and back to Melissa; Uranus nodded in reply. "Go ahead," Neptune said.
"Who was behind all of this?"
"The Negamoon," Uranus replied, surprised by this question.

Melissa shook her head in exasperation. "That's not what I meant. Who was the leader of the Negamoon? We all know that Prince Diamond couldn't have been the leader because Queen Serenity destroyed him. So, who was in charge of this attack on Crystal Tokyo?"
"That's a question that should wait for Queen Serena," Neptune replied, nervously.

Melissa looked at the Sailor Scout, curious because of her reply. "Why?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, curious of Neptune's reply.
"We have to get going to the palace," Uranus said wanting Neptune to slip up. "We're already late."
"Uh, just one more question," Kristy said.
"What?" Uranus sighed, trying hard not to roll her eyes; she was obviously annoyed by their delays.
"How are we going to get there? I mean, Melissa and I can't possibly keep up with the two of you."

Neptune smiled. "Queen Serena's limo is already awaiting your arrival downstairs. It'll take you to the palace. Sailor Pluto will meet the two of you on your arrival. She'll be the one to take you to go see Her Majesty."

Kristy nodded, and together, she and Melissa left their apartment and headed downstairs, where Reenie's limo was awaiting their arrival.
Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune waited until the door had shut behind Melissa and Kristy, then the two of them left the apartment the same way that they had came, running towards the palace at top speed.

Hotaru was still sitting in her room, saddened by her decision and yet knowing that it was the right one, when a knock sounded on her bedroom door. Surprised by this unexpected knock, Hotaru looked in the direction of the door. "Hello?" Hotaru said, wondering if she had imaged the sound.
"Hotaru," the familiar voice of Josiah Coglua began, "Is it okay if we enter?"
"Yes," Hotaru said, trying to hold back tears. She knew why they were coming to see her; they needed to know her decision. She sighed and prepared herself to tell Josiah her decision.

The door opened and Josiah entered, followed by Audiana Trinta and the other three Healers. Seeing Josiah, Hotaru couldn't help but smile. Then she was hit by a sudden pang of sadness as she realized that this might be the last time she ever saw him.
"Hotaru, what's the matter?" Josiah asked, going straight to her bedside.

Hotaru smiled at him sadly, knowing that she had to tell him her decision. "I can't go with you, Josiah," she whispered, unable to look him in the eye as she spoke. "I'm sorry but I just can't. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to Reenie and I wasn't here to help her. Do you understand?"

Josiah nodded, hiding his smile. "I understand, Hotaru," he said, cupping her cheeks in his hands and making sure that she was looking him in the eye. Smiling, Josiah continued, "You have nothing to be sorry for. That's your decision. Actually, I've always wondered what living on the Earth would be like."

Hotaru's eyes widened in surprise and joy. "You're joking?" she asked, as if she was unable to believe what he was saying. "You're going to stay here on Earth?"

Josiah smiled and nodded. "I can't live without you, Hotaru. I know that you feel the same, even though you were going to stay here. It's not mandatory for me to stay with the Healers. Another person on Iounda can take my place, no one can take yours."

Hotaru smiled, unable to believe everything Josiah was saying. It was almost too much for her to take in at once.
"That's why we have all come, Hotaru," Audiana Trinta said, stepping from the doorway and into Hotaru's room. "We must head back to Iounda and find another person to take Josiah's place as a member of the Healers."
"It's because of that that we have come to say good-bye," Miceff Loand said from the doorway of Hotaru's room. "We must be heading back to Iounda."

Hotaru nodded. "Are you guys at least going to go say good-bye to Queen Serena?"
Audiana smiled and nodded. "Of course. We just decided that you might like hearing Josiah's decision first, before we tell Queen Serena about Josiah choosing to stay here on Earth."
"Actually," Statel said from the hallway, "We should probably go in search of Queen Serena now."

Audiana nodded in agreement. "You're right, Statel," she agreed with her friend and fellow Healer. Turning to Hotaru, she said, "We'll see you around, Hotaru." Audiana Trinta was just turning to leave when she heard Hotaru call out her name and ask her to wait. Surprised, she turned her head so that she could see Hotaru. "Yes?"
"I'll go with you," Hotaru said getting out of bed. "I mean, today is going to be your last day here. I want to spend as much time as I can with you guys. And anyways, I have to talk to Queen Serena about something."

Audiana nodded. "Let's go, then," the leader of the Healers said, smiling. "Are you going to come along, too, Josiah?"
"Actually, I think I'll hang back a while. I'll meet up with you guys in a while, okay?"

Miceff nodded. "We'll see you later," he said.

Together, the Healers and Hotaru left Hotaru's room, leaving Josiah behind.

Reenie came out of her cousin's room, after fifteen minutes of talking with Kenneth and Terence. She had already visited everyone. Everyone that is, except for Kirstein. Reenie now stood outside of Kirstein's room, trying to get together the courage to go and see her friend.

Out of all of the CT Scouts, Reenie was the most afraid to see how Kirstein was doing. With one final deep breath, Reenie put her hand on the doorknob that led to Kirstein's bedroom and gently, pushed the door open. "Hey," Reenie said softly as she entered the room.

A tired Raye Hino smiled a sad smile back at her. Kirstein's mother still hadn't moved from the last time that Reenie had visited her friend. She still sat by Kirstein's bedside, holding her daughter's hand, hoping for some kind of response. "Hello, Your Majesty," she said. "How are you doing?"
"That's not important, Raye," Reenie said, smiling softly, "How's Kirstein?"
"A bit better, actually," Raye replied, turning her gaze to her daughter who lay in the bed.

To Reenie, it looked like nothing had changed since she last saw her friend.

"She's moaned and groaned a little. Considering that before that all I could hear was her breathing, I'd say she's doing better."

Reenie smiled, understandingly. Groans and moans are better then nothing, I guess, Reenie thought. "But she still hasn't woken up?" the new Queen of Crystal Tokyo asked.

Raye shook her head, sadly. "Not ye" Raye began, but stopped herself as she felt her daughter's grip suddenly take hold of her hand. Both Reenie and Raye looked to Kirstein. Neither of them had been expecting this sudden movement and it had taken the two of them by surprise.
"Kirstein?" Reenie asked excitedly, moving closer to her friend. "Kirstein?"
"Ughhhhh," came from the girl lying on the bed.

Raye sighed dejectedly, and turned to face Reenie.
"That's how she's been like for the past half hour. Moaning and groaning here and there, but not waking up."
"I'm sure she'll wake up soon," Reenie said, not sure at all but not wanting Raye to lose hope.

Pluto, Reenie thought to herself, you said she'd be fine, so when is she going to wake up?
"Re . . . Reenie?" a disoriented Kirstein mumbled from where she lay on the bed. Surprised, both Reenie and Raye turned to look at Kirstein.
"Kirstein?" Reenie asked, walking over so that she was on the other side of Kirstein's bedside.
"Hey," Kirstein said weakly as her eyes fluttered open.
"Kirstein, you're okay," Raye said, barely able to hold back her tears.
"Hey, mom," Kirstein said, turning her head to see her mother.
"How do you feel?" Reenie asked.
"Truthfully?" Kirstein asked, pushing herself up to a sitting position. "Ow. I feel like a truck ran me over."
"I'm sorry," Reenie said, knowing that it was her fault that Kirstein was injured.
"It's not your fault," Kirstein said, trying hard not to groan in pain as she tried to get comfortable. "It's our job as Sailor Scouts to protect you."
"Kirstein's right, Reenie," Raye said softly, not making eye contact with her daughter's friend. "As a Sailor Scout, it's our job to protect our leader and queen, no matter what the cost is to us. That does mean risking our lives, if that's what it comes down to."

Reenie nodded, not really liking what they were saying but knowing that they were telling the truth. But no matter what the two of them said, there was still one question that was bugging Reenie.
"Uh, mom," Kirstein said, looking at her mother.
"Yes?"
"Do you mind if Reenie and I have a few minutes to talk?"
"Sure," Raye said, standing up from the chair that she had occupied for the past several hours. "I'll be back later, honey," Raye said as she walked towards the door and left.
"Bye, mom," Kirstein said as Raye shut the door behind her. Almost immediately after she heard the little click of the door shutting, Kirstein turned to look at Reenie. "So, what do you want to know?"
"What?" Reenie said, standing up a bit straighter. She hadn't been expecting that.
"I can see it in your eyes, Reenie," Kirstein informed her new queen. "You have a question that you want to ask me, but for some reason, it's not one that you want my mom to hear. So, ask away."

Reenie smiled and shook her head, amazed at Kirstein's ability to see what Reenie wanted in her own eyes. "Kirstein, we've never really been the closest of friends," Reenie began, not quite sure how to ask the question that she wanted to ask.

Kirstein nodded, not bothering to argue with Reenie; especially since what Reenie was saying was the truth.

"Actually, there were times when I even wondered if you considered me to be your friend," Reenie continued, "So, I can't help but wonder. . . "
"Why I helped to save your life?" Kirstein finished for Reenie.

Reenie nodded, surprised that Kirstein had known was she was going to ask her.

Kirstein looked away from Reenie, and down at her hands. "It's very simple, actually," Kirstein said, quietly, so quietly, that Reenie almost had to lean in to hear her. Taking in a deep breath, Kirstein continued, "Reenie, I know that you're already the Queen of Crystal Tokyo, and I know that that's what you had already expected to become during your life. Maybe that's why you never tried your hardest: because you already knew what destiny had planned out for you. When I saw what you were doing, I became angry. I'm not going to bother to hide it. I was angry because you could be doing better then what you were doing. I knew it and I knew that you knew it, yet you didn't really seem to care. I never understood that. I wanted you to be everything that you could be, Reenie, and I was angry when you didn't try your hardest to do that. So I tried to push you to try harder. I guess I didn't have that much effect.

While we may never have been as close of friends as you and Lillian, don't ever think that I wasn't your friend. I was. When I helped the Healers by giving them so much of my own energy, I knew what I was doing. I know that you probably don't think that, but I did. Do you understand now why I helped to save your life, Reenie? While you may not think that I'm your friend, I am. I also consider you to be the best person to rule over Crystal Tokyo. You're one of the nicest and kindest people I've ever met, Reenie. Those are the reasons why I chose to help save your life."
"Oh," Reenie said, feeling like she should say something but not really sure what.

Kirstein smiled and nodded. "Yeah," the CT Sailor Scout said, trying not to laugh at Reenie's response.
"Um, I have to get going," Reenie said, knowing that Kristy and Melissa were going to arrive at the palace any second now.

Kirstein nodded. "I'll see you later, Reenie," she said.

Reenie nodded and was about to walk away, when she suddenly bent down and hugged her friend.

Surprised, it took Kirstein a few minutes to react and to hug Reenie back.
"Thank you," Reenie said, trying to hold back her tears but not succeeding. "Thank you for telling me the truth."

Kirstein nodded, trying to hold back tears of her own. "No problem."

The two friends let go and quietly, Reenie left Kirstein's room, closing the door behind her.

Once Reenie had left, Kirstein laid her head against the pillows and closed her eyes. No matter how much she tried to hide it from Reenie and her mother, she was incredibly sore and felt like she was almost dead.