A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone. You'll see some cameo appearances in this chapter... enjoy!

I had to say one thing about Otori. I didn't like his attitude, especially not the way he treated me and the Starlights. But man, did he ever act fast. Within a day of Seiya, Yaten and Taiki signing the contract (after Taiki had hired a lawyer to look it over, that is, on my suggestion) I noticed that there were signs appearing all over the town announcing a new concert for the Three Lights. The media picked up on it immediately and before two days had gone by all you could see on the news was talk about how the Three Lights weren't disbanding after all. It didn't surprise me to discover that a lot of people seemed to be divided on the idea: some people thought this was a publicity stunt taking advantage of the war, and others were just plain thrilled about it.

I fell squarely into the second category, of course, and Chibi-Chibi and I accompanied them to their first practice. I could tell that they were rusty and nervous because it had been so long since they had practiced. But I knew that they would pick it up again quickly. My every word to Yaten had been true. All three of them positively glowed when they sang and played their instruments. You could see how much they enjoyed making music and connecting with every person who had the opportunity to listen to them. I wouldn't have wanted any of them to give that up, not for anything. It might take them a little while but by the time the concert came around I had no doubt they would be better than ever.

"Hear that, Chibi-Chibi?" I murmured to her. She was staring through the glass with wide eyes and a pleased smile. She tilted her head back when I spoke and looked up at me and I crouched down next to her and closed my eyes, feeling like my heart would brim over from sheer joy. The voices of my friends were muffled because of the glass walls that kept outside sound from leaking in, but what little I could hear was comforting. I hadn't even realized how much I missed hearing Seiya, Yaten and Taiki sing until I got to hear it again.

"Chibi. Chi Chibi," Chibi-Chibi said. Normally that wouldn't have been a big deal but her voice sounded weird - kind of faint. I opened my eyes and looked down, expecting to see her standing beside me, but she was gone. I stood up quickly, my heart pounding, and glanced around. I was just in time to see the end of her odango as she turned the corner.

"Damn it," I hissed under my breath, shooting a longing look in the direction of the Starlights. I knew that they wouldn't be very happy if they noticed I was gone. But I couldn't let Chibi-Chibi wander around the studio by herself. Otogi had made it very clear that I was responsible for any trouble she got into while we were here. And Chibi-Chibi was excellent at finding trouble. I left the studio, hoping that I would be back before they even knew I was gone, and hurried down the hall to where Chibi-Chibi had been. The hallway was empty but the door at the very end hung open. I walked down the hall and peered into the room but it was so dark I couldn't hear anything. Softly, I called her name, stepping into the room and reaching for the switch.

Something - no, someone touched my hand. I swear to god I nearly had a heart attack. I didn't know how I kept myself from screaming except for that I didn't want to bring the whole building running. A startled squeak got out before I clapped a hand over my mouth, backtracking so fast I tripped and landed hard on my ass. I was practically hyperventilating and all I could think about was that I was going to be in so much trouble when Seiya got a hold of me. I tried to sound brave when I said, "Who... who's there?"

"Baka Usagi."

My heart stopped. Slowly, my hand fell from my locket. It was shaking. I couldn't have heard that right. That familiar voice… "W-what?"

"You heard me."

Somewhere in the room Chibi-Chibi giggled. It was a faint sound reminiscent of better times. Someone pulled aside the curtain that had been over the small window. Slowly, my eyes started to adjust and I squinted desperately, trying to make out who or what was standing in the room with me. And as the familiar forms of my best friends faded into view, a lump rose in my throat immediately and although I wanted to speak I couldn't. It took me several tries to choke out the words, "But how? I thought…"

"We're not really here," Pluto told me gently, correctly surmising what was going through my mind. "Well, we are, but we're not alive, Princess. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that but I didn't want you to get your hopes up. I'm afraid that we're still dead." And as I got a closer look at her I could tell she was being honest. Her body was – all of their bodies were - translucent. I could see the wall right through her. They were spirits and nothing more.

"And actually, we're about to be reborn," Uranus added. She had her arm tucked around Neptune's shoulders. Seeing that and remembering how my last view of them had been as they struggled across the roof towards each other made tears well up in my eyes. I tried to blink them away, not wanting to miss a single moment of their presence. "But there was something holding us back. We couldn't let the Galaxy Cauldron finish the process quite yet. We had to make sure that you were alright first."

My breath caught in my throat. "You... Have you been around me all this time?"

"Of course," said Neptune and then she smiled softly.

"If you weren't okay, we wouldn't want to leave you. It will be a long time before we get to see you again," Saturn explained. She looked impossibly young standing there. It broke my heart. "We'll always recognize you, Usagi-san, but our memories won't come back until we're old enough to deal with it. So you won't be able to really talk to us again for another fifteen or sixteen years."

"Well... that's not so long," I said after a moment. It was a complete lie. That felt like forever. But I knew it could have been much longer. They could have been taken from me permanently. I looked around, trying desperately to memorize their faces. The last memories I had of them was of watching while they faded away before my outstretched hands. I wanted to remember this instead, the good-bye they had come to give me even though it should have been impossible. I closed my eyes briefly to control my tears before I spoke again. "I'm sorry... I've been holding you back all this time."

"No you haven't," Jupiter said firmly, with that no-nonsense voice I had come to appreciate. "We're still your senshi, Usagi-chan. It's our job to make sure that you're okay, even if the Starlights are doing a pretty good job in our absence." She winked at me and I had to smile. Mako-chan had never believed that the Starlights could ever be anything but good. "Don't you think so, Uranus?"

"I guess they've been alright," Uranus muttered. Neptune elbowed her.

"Not as good as us," Mars said. She was the first one who had spoken to me and I turned towards her now, looking at the tears glistening on her cheeks. Oh god that was hard, seeing my beautiful friend. She stepped towards me and reached out like she would have touched my face but stopped, her hand hanging in the air before it dropped to her side. "You know, I was really worried about you for a while there. That's why I encouraged Mamoru-san to visit you. He didn't have the power to come to you like we did. But in the end it didn't really matter, did it? In fact, I think that way was even better." She looked at my no doubt clueless expression and sighed exaggeratedly, pointing to my belly.

"Oh. Oh!" I didn't know why it surprised me that they knew about the baby. From the sound of they had been watching over me ever since the final battle. I wondered briefly why I hadn't felt their presence before. "Yes. Do you know if it's…?"

"There's no way to be certain," said Pluto. It bothered her, I could tell. She who always knew what the future held didn't like being left in the dark.

"Usagi-san, will you find me when I'm born?" Saturn asked. "I want to grow up with Chibi-Usa-chan and you." She looked up at me, eyes bright, and I could practically read what she had left unsaid: you could be my mother if you wanted to. If the circumstances were right. My throat felt tight and I nodded wordlessly. I would find her, no matter what it took, to give her and Chibi-Usa that chance.

"And now," Mars continued like Pluto and Saturn and I hadn't spoken, "we really don't have to worry about you."

I frowned. "Why now?"

"I think you know." She was watching me with that knowing look in her eyes. I could have pretended that I had no idea what she was talking about. It was tempting. But these were my friends and if I couldn't be honest with them I wouldn't be able to admit it, ever. She was talking about Seiya.

"It's not… right," I said lamely. "You guys just… and it wasn't very long ago that Mamo-chan and I had a future together." She was about to argue and I rushed on, adding, "And besides I don't know if Seiya even feels that way for me anymore. Losing Princess Kakyuu was really traumatic for her. For all of them, Yaten and Taiki too. She's not given me any sign that she wants anything else between us other than what we already have." And there was no way I was going to push things without knowing for sure.

"She does. Anyone can see that," Mars said bluntly and everyone else, even Uranus, nodded in agreement. "Usagi-chan, I know you're in love with Seiya. You have been since the day you met her, pretty much. The only thing holding you back before was what you had with Mamoru-san. But you don't have that anymore and the only ties Seiya has here are to you. I don't want you to let her slip through your fingers just because you're scared. It's one thing to truly not be ready but it's something else entirely to let guilt hold you back."

"Rei-chan..." What she was saying made a lot of sense. I'd been wrestling with this at the oddest of moments and I knew it was probably a matter of time before someone else noticed. There was a spark in Seiya that drew me to her even when I was perfectly happy with Mamo-chan. It was terrifying to think about trying to make something happen between us, but it was even worse to think about her finding happiness with someone else.

"You gotta try," Venus said. It was the first time she'd spoken and I looked at her. She and Mercury were standing in a corner of the room. Venus stared back at me and her eyes were wide and wounded. "Please. I don't want… I can't be with Yaten anymore. Not for a long time. Maybe not ever." Fresh tears sparkled as they traveled down her cheeks. "I never got the chance… please don't make the mistake that I did."

A/N: Just to give you all advance warning so no one freaks out, there will not be an update next week as I'm going to be too busy with the holidays. In that respect, Merry Christmas (or happy holidays), Happy New Year, and I'll see you all in 2013!