Notes: Episode 110, "Death of Uranus and Neptune! Talisman Appear". Or, "The one where the talismans appear". (Okay so it's the rare descriptive title.)

Episode 110

Okay so this probably wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done.

Usagi looked around at nothing.

Literally, nothing. She looked to the left, to the right, up where the sky should be, down where ground was very disconcertingly not. Nothing but wispish purple smoke.

DEFINITELY not the smartest thing she'd ever done.

Will you rescue them?

Please! If you know where I should go, tell me!

The tall woman – Setsuna, was it? – had kind of smiled and gestured for Usagi to turn around, and then there was a door.

Usagi was pretty sure there hadn't been a door there before.

She wasn't the most observant person in the world, but a door standing in the middle of a rooftop leading to nowhere? Warning bells, for sure.

Only there hadn't been any warning bells.

There was something about Setsuna, something that spoke to Usagi in words filled with trust and wisdom. She'd liked Setsuna instantly, no question, and when the woman said the way to help Haruka and Michiru was to go through the door, that's what Usagi had done.

Though she'd called Rei on the communicator first, and actually in retrospect THAT was way stupider than going through the door. She should've called Ami. Ami never yelled.

Rei had taken all this news about stolen lockets and mystery women and magic doors about as well as expected. Usagi had listened as Rei blustered and forbid Usagi to do anything but wait for them, but there wasn't TIME. "Just find me," Usagi had said before disconnecting, knowing her Senshi would, and hoping they wouldn't take too long.

She couldn't wait. Haruka and Michiru needed her, she knew it.

What she didn't know was just where the heck she WAS, exactly. And now she was here, everything felt strange. Usagi knew she had to hurry, but knew it intellectually, like knowing her name or where to get the best daifuku. The urgency of the situation was a distant thing that was lost in the smoke, and she moved through the nothingness with all the urgency of a casual stroll.

She kept moving forward. Forward seemed the best way to go. The figure that began to materialize in the distance suggested she'd made the right decision.

"Uranus!"

The short sandy hair and confident smirk would've been all the confirmation Usagi needed, but the certainty and recognition in her heart didn't hurt. But Uranus looked different. Older, certainly, and something else, something Usagi couldn't quite identify…

Then she noticed the fuku and burst into laughter.

Uranus cocked an eyebrow, trying to keep her faint amusement from becoming full-blown aggravation.

"What-!" Usagi began, and then had to stop for another round of giggles. "What happened to your shoulders?"

Uranus sniffed. "I don't know what you're talking about. Giant pink gumballs are flattering as hell."

That set Usagi off again, and Uranus shook her head. "You're in for some fun surprises," she said mostly to herself, then louder: "Hey, knock it off. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Yeah, yeah," Usagi agreed, wiping her streaming eyes. "I have to save … you." She frowned. "But not you? How are you here?"

"I don't really understand myself, best not to think about it too hard," Uranus said. "But Pluto owed me one. She owes me several, actually, but I think this might be the only one I get."

"Oh," said Usagi, understanding nothing.

Uranus tore herself away from distant reveries and debts and focused on Usagi. "I needed to say something. I needed to … to thank you."

Usagi smiled happily, but was completely confused. "You're welcome? I guess? I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything."

"You have. You will." Uranus ran a hand through her hair, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm wrong kind of a lot, as it turns out. Not all the time!" She said this with such vehemence that Usagi jumped. "In fact if you'd have listened to me we could've stopped—"

She broke off and cocked her head, seeming to listen to something only she could hear.

"Yeah, never mind. Anyway, I'm pretty much wrong all over the place here and I'm never gong to thank you for stuff. So thank you. For stuff."

"Uhmm, sure!" Usagi said brightly, also not entirely at ease. "You're welcome. For stuff."

"Okay then."

They stood in awkward silence for several moments then Uranus clapped her hands together. "So you better get going. I know for a fact the clock is ticking."

Usagi nodded, still a little unsettled by everything. She took several steps past Uranus before turning back.

"I won't remember this, will I?"

Uranus shook her head. "No. Part of the reason I wanted to do this here." Her grin was unapologetic, and she chuckled at Usagi's scowl.

The path before Usagi was transforming, becoming a bright light, and as her destination neared, already the journey was becoming as intangible as the mists that surrounded her.

"Hey, dumpling," someone called out from far away.

"Yeah?" Usagi replied. Her voice was thick, like she was just waking up.

"Keep your eyes on target. Aim for the center."

"What?"

Then she was there, didn't really understand how, but Eudial was about to shoot Haruka-san and Usagi was running. Eyes on target, aiming for the center.