Imagine her surprise when Setsuna actually knew who she was talking about...she hadn't expected that in the slightest. As the two of them walked back through the passageway that lead to the Time Gates, Hotaru questioned if Setsuna knew of anyone called 'Hiei'...the woman paused for a moment as if to think it over and said finally that yes, someone with that name had been brought to her attention.
Setsuna informed of the situation with the Kekkai Barrier that kept the demons of Makai shut out from the human world, and yet, in the net, small holes had begun to form that allowed any old demon to slip by whenever they pleased. Koenma assured her that any and all threats that slipped through would be hurriedly dealt with by a special group they had created, the same group the so-called 'Spirit Detective' was a part of. Setsuna explained she didn't know how well this would work seeing as Hotaru had been the one to go off and fight the threat but continued on. She'd learned about this team from her inquiries saying that two humans with the ability to control spirit energy had been recruited to take on cases and stop powerful demons from meddling in humanity's affairs.
They took on a variety of "cases", mostly whatever Koenma said needed to be done and whatever was thrown their way like stopping an evil demon from acquiring a secret technique that could have destroyed the world, for example. Helping them were two demons who, as Koenma had so aptly put it, were chained down to the human world to have surveillance kept on them. The two had been pegged as thieves after stealing 3 of Reikai's most treasured artifacts with the help of another demon. The two living demons were called Hiei and Kurama.
Now the similarities were too great to dismiss. So...the demon boy who knew about the hiruseki stones, killed the demon creature in the park, and once stole a precious artifact from Reikai were one in the same.
"Hotaru," Setsuna began, "I think it would be best if you tried to avoid that boy...Hiei?"
"But Setsuna-mama...he knows about the hiruseki stones. What if he knows something about my dream?" What if he was the boy from her dream...they did seem similar but didn't quite look the same. The boy in her dream didn't wear a white headband and wore his cloak open...minor details really but they seemed like important factors. The aura was different feeling as well.
"He nearly broke your wrist, I highly doubt he has any interest in talking to you, Hotaru-chan. I just want you to be safe. Also, we need to think of a way to speed up the replacement of that kekkai net. I know you want to find out the meaning of that dream but maybe...maybe you're not meant to? Or rather, there's no point in learning about it because it doesn't mean anything. The stones and the kekkai net certainly aren't related."
"I understand..." Hotaru trailed off. She, like Michiru and Rei, never had an odd dream that didn't have a hidden meaning to it or would be a clue to something in their future. She hated the thought of going against Setsuna's wishes but...all of this had to mean something. It might even explain why she had the dream about her mother. The girl grimaced, realizing that she might encounter another dream of its kind tonight. It wasn't like she could skip out on sleeping, she would have to do it eventually, and staying up late wouldn't do her any good seeing as the dreams kept her as long they wished. She could only pray that tonight the dream would not turn into another nightmare.
"Alright talk. Who was that girl?" Hiei had no time to play games with the toddler-sized leader of the Reikai, right now, he needed answers. First, the human has the audacity to be asking around about hiruseki stones, then shows up later with Botan and a giant weapon in tow as well. Something didn't add up and he'd be damned if Koenma was going to try and hide something else from him. It hadn't been that long ago that Yukina...
"What girl are you talking about?!" Koenma exclaimed, not happy about the fire demon suddenly busting into his 'office'. He continued to rant although it fell on deaf ears as Hiei growled.
"Don't you dare play stupid with me. The girl that was with Botan yesterday...who she is?" he was itching to draw his sword and put the fool in his place but held back, knowing it was a waste of time to pick a fight with the junior ruler of Reikai.
"And why should I tell you?" Koenma was being unusually tight-lipped about it all, having made a pact of sorts to not tell anyone else about the two senshi's visit. "You and the others should be busy preparing for the Dark Tournament...there's only a few more weeks left before the boat departs!" Hiei growled again...he knew that, dammit. Still, it wasn't like he could just safely go about while that girl was still walking around freely. He had to find her and get rid of her, who cared about her intention? She knew about the hiruseki stones and that was enough to warrant her death...this could be another loose end of Tarukane's that needed to be tied up.
"Fine...I see." he replied rather smugly, standing down, "Maybe I can just ask some humans back in the human world and see if they can help me." He hoped Koenma noticed the emphasis on ask...if killing a few humans was what it took to get the information he so desired then so be it.
"I can't tell you that information," Koenma spoke up in a hurried tone, trying not to sound too worried, "but I can tell you that she doesn't know anything about them. She's not after Yukina, Hiei. She has no idea that the two of you even exist...well, maybe not so much you since from what I understand the two of you have met already?"
So, she was in Reikai yesterday. She was easily discernible as a human and he knew just as well as anyone that human souls who had not passed on could only get through to Reikai with the help of a river Styx guide.
Hmph, that was easy, Hiei remarked, turning to leave without a word to the junior ruler. He'd just go ask Botan instead. Of course, right now, he had no idea where she could be but that was what his Jagan Eye was for.
"Talk, woman." Botan startled at the sound of the voice, nearly falling out of her seat at the table at which she sat. She had luckily clung onto the table's edge and so retained her balance. She turned to see who had barged into the lounge room, as the 'grim reapers' preferred to call it, and saw Hiei.
"Oh Hiei, you really shouldn't sneak up on a girl like that!" she proclaimed, turning in the chair with ease despite the look of her restricting pink kimono.
"I have no time for your antics. Tell me who she is, the girl you were with yesterday." he demanded, hands tucked carefully into his cloak, a scowl settled firmly in place.
Botan paused putting a hand to her chin in thought which only caused the boy's scowl to grow deeper. Why did they choose to play ignorant? He could see right this little ruse. "Listen to me woman, I've already threatened to kill you should you reveal who I am to Yukina...don't make me threaten your life twice in one month." Botan yelped, obviously frightened as she knew the apparition would do it, and slowly and painfully to boot.
"O-okay...no need to be so bossy." she tried to laugh it off, waving her hands at him in a manner of surrender. "I wasn't supposed to tell you-"
"And why not?" he interrupted, actually beginning to grow curious about this little game of concealing information from him. First they hide the fact that Yukina had come to the human world, and now they were trying to hide the identity of an upstart human who was seeking hiruseki stones...was this too supposed to be a part of his punishment for stealing that pathetic artifact? What a joke, he scoffed inwardly. They'd be best lucky he wasn't trying out his new technique on all of them...the dragon who had slowly begun to accept its new master was itching to be released.
"Well...I was just told not to tell by Lord Koenma. That's the truth, I promise!" she exclaimed as she saw him reach for his sword, "Anyways, her name is Hotaru Tomoe...she's an adorable little thing who fights with a polearm weapon."
"I've seen it." Hiei stated bluntly, unimpressed. The only interesting factor here was if the girl knew how to use it properly. "Why does she have an interest in hiruseki stones?"
"I...did she? She never mentioned it to me last night. Honest!" she proclaimed again. "That's all you're gonna get out of me and don't let Koenma know you heard it from me!" the blue-haired girl explained with a cross of her arms. Ayame also knew so maybe the blame wouldn't fall entirely on her if the truth came out. Opening her eyes from when she had closed them in frustration, she looked around...the room was empty. Botan sighed...there was only one place he could be headed.
Once back in the human world, he opened his Jagan Eye and began to scan the human world for the girl known as Hotaru Tomoe. It didn't matter if she was human, demon, or something else, for the simple fact of her knowing about the stones and possibly about Yukina made him feel no remorse at the idea of accosting her. Perhaps he had been more on edge lately due to Yukina's kidnapping but could anyone really blame him? Due to that whole mess now he, Kurama, the detective, and that orange-haired idiot had been ensnared in a trap by the Toguro brothers and Sakyo; fight and win at the Dark Tournament or watch as the world fell to ruin after the supposed winner received their one 'wish'.
He knew apparitions...he was a demon himself. The urge to destroy and cause chaos was always inside them, nagging at the back of their minds. It was simply how they were, had always been. Over the millenia, some demons had grown better at controlling their instincts and could even function normally in human society if they tried, a good example of that being Kurama but only because the kitsune had grown soft due in part to his human parents. All it boiled down to was that should a low-class demon win that tournament, then the human world was going to be destroyed. He honestly didn't much care for it. He preferred the lawless and wild nature of the Makai where no one adhered to a single ruler. However, Yukina had come to the human world looking for him...and he had to keep her safe at all costs...And if the Toguro brothers won the tournament, they and "everyone they knew" would be killed. It was a lose-lose situation unless they won that Tournament.
Finally he felt a surge of energy, shifting the eye's power in that direction. She was housed in a neighborhood not too far from here but it was still normally farther than he usually ventured. He didn't see too much reason to stray far from Kurama's human accommodations since the kitsune was the only person who didn't get on his nerves after awhile.
With his speed, it would only take him a few minutes to reach her, and luckily for him, she was already headed on her way out.
Hotaru opened the front door, planning to head out to town to grab a few things per Setsuna's request. She quietly closed the door behind her and locked it, not giving the task a second thought as she'd done it countless times. Turning around, she froze...the black-clad boy was right in front of her, blocking her path.
"Are you Hotaru Tomoe?"
"And if I am...?" she asked meek, hands brought up to her chest in a protective stance.
"Then draw your weapon," in a flash he had brandished his sword, "I don't fancy killing weaklings or those who can't defend themselves but that's not the case with you, now is it? Draw the weapon you used last night." he demanded, swiping his sword, cutting through the air with an audible 'whoosh'.
Hotaru paled, sweat beading along her forehead. How did he...oh no, he must have seen her de-henshin last night. And, to top things off, he even knew her name. What should she do? Should she run...should she fight...should play ignorant and beg him to stop?
"L-look, what will fighting accomplish? What do you gain from all of this? You know about the hiruseki stones, right? If that's why you're here, then look...I don't want them because of rare they are or how much they sell for. I don't even know what purpose they serve other that!" Hotaru explained, trying to be as thorough as possible in her explanation...she really did not want to fight him. If he was a demon, then he definitely had powers...the only difference was that he certainly wouldn't be afraid to show them or use them.
He paused, seeming to think it over as Hotaru noticed as his sword relaxed ever so slightly. It was strange the way he was just standing there, staring at her, her hands still brought up to her chest in a defensive yet uncertain way. With a precise swipe, he sheathed his sword...he was obviously very skilled with it and Hotaru was glad that she hadn't had to face him. If the way he had disappeared the other day was any indication of his powers and speed, she might not have been able to keep up with him and lose their battle, possibly losing her life in the process. "So be it." he replied softly, and with a turn on his heel, calmly walked down the walkway that lead to the Outers Mansion. It was almost as if he had been to read her mind...
Hotaru watched with mouth agape until a shock-wave of realization ran over here and forced her body into moving. "Hey! Wait just a minute! You're Hiei, right? Please..." he hadn't even so much as slowed down by the time they reached the sidewalk, "Please," she tried to reason again, "I need to know what those stones are about. It's really hard to explain but sometimes I have these dreams and they usually mean something bad is about to happen. They've never been this vague before though so please-"
"..." Hiei stopped finally, his sudden halt stopping her speech, "...you said you dreamt about them...what was it exactly?" He figured he may as well entertain her curiosity, his own just nearly peaked.
"Well, actually I-"
"There you are, Hiei. I was beginning to get worried when I hadn't seen you for a few days." Hotaru turned in the direction of the new voice, once again being interrupted before she could say what she wanted. The newcomer was a boy with blazing red-hair and deep emerald green eyes...she was sure the Inner senshi would have had a field day "fangirl-ing" over him. He spoke very calmly, telling a lot about his person...it wasn't until she folded her hands across in front of her that he noticed, "Oh, I don't believe we've met...is she a friend of yours, Hiei?"
"Friend is not the word." Hiei shot back sharply, his red eyes holding no amusement at the joke that had gone on far too long between them.
"M-my name is Hotaru Tomoe." she meekly piped up, doing a quick bow just to be polite. He hadn't asked for it but it was simply manners to introduce yourself. He returned her gesture with a simple nod and what looked to be a knowing smile.
"Did you want something Kurama?" the black-clad boy asked, forgetting the petite girl that stood behind him.
"Actually yes, but it's something we must discuss in private. I'm afraid here isn't the best choice...it concerns the Tournament." Although he was whispering, and in a dark tone that didn't fit him at all, Hotaru could tell that it was something important. And after the way Kurama cut those green eyes over to her when he'd said 'in private'...Hotaru could tell she was not wanted here. Wait just a minute...Hiei...and Kurama...
"Hiei and Kurama..." she said aloud, testing their names out which brought both boy's attention to her, "then that must mean you're the two thieves from Reikai!" Suddenly a lot more things were making sense...she just hoped she'd be getting more answers than questions in the long run.
Kurama glared her way obviously unsure of how she was aware of this fact, but Hiei kept his usual scowling face, back turned. "She was in Reikai yesterday with Botan." he explained simply, leaving the details about the stones out. He didn't feel the need to involve Kurama when he himself wasn't sure if the girl was trustworthy. The glare on her softened being replaced with more of a look of confusion than anything else. "So then...does that mean you are-"
Hotaru decided she would be the interrupter for once, "I'm just a human, that's all. I know it seems unlikely from what I know but it's the truth, honest. There's just...some things I can't talk about." Hotaru averted her eyes diagonally to the ground, knowing that she sounded totally suspicious right now. It would be a miracle if either of them decided to trust her. She couldn't tell the two demons exactly why she had been Reikai or how she knew about the two of them...Setsuna had sworn her to silence about it.
"Koenma made her swear not to tell." Was Hiei...lying for her? Why on Earth would he do that...? She pondered this in silence as the two boys made plans to reconvene at a location she didn't hear, Kurama breaking away from their group on the sidewalk in front of the Outer's Mansion still. Hotaru assumed he must be headed back home, probably only here because he sensed Hiei's energy.
"Thank you." she murmured, his back still turned to her.
"I didn't lie for you, human, don't get the wrong idea." Hiei turned here, locking his red eyes onto her person, "I still haven't made up my mind about you, whether you can be trusted or not. I'm still not sure I shouldn't skewer you with my sword. It's not your place to be inquiring about those stones, they hold no power and won't cause any kind of catastrophe other than the greed of your kind. There, is that what you wanted to know?" He was fairly certain that the dream deal had been a lie...she had to have found out about them somehow. He was rather tempted to find that out too, his theory laying with Tarukane or some strange plot with the Reikai. The girl didn't seem the sort to be hanging around with gangsters, but humans, like some demons, were excellent tricksters. Her innocence could be a mere disguise and he wouldn't fall for it.
"That does help a little bit..." she trailed off, eyes averting back to the pavement. It was nice to know that the stones held no power, could cause no great calamity within their realm should they fall into the wrong hands. So...they were just center pieces and decorations for greedy humans to ogle? There had to be more to it than that, there just had to be...Hiei was keeping something from her. It might have been within good reason as there was no trust between but still...she might as well press her luck and see what exactly she could get out of him. "It still doesn't add up to me though...if they have no powers like you say, then...why were you so adverse to me finding out about them in the first place? I don't want them for money, I don't even necessarily want one...I just want to know what they are and why I was dreaming about them."
They were both silent for a moment, Hotaru releasing a nervous laugh as the result, "Well, I guess to understand why you'd need to know more about me so it's okay if you don't understand what I mean."
"I've told you all you need to be concerned with." Was that his ultimatum? Apparently it was as the demon boy vanished again, Hotaru gasping with an outstretched hand as if she could catch him.
"Oh..." she groaned, withdrawing her hand back. Suddenly, she didn't feel like going to the store so much anymore. She knew she had promised Setsuna but still...this feeling was so overwhelming. Her mind was on fire and she felt dizzy. It was all she could do to grab onto the brick wall and stop her self from falling. The world was spinning...she wasn't gonna make it, she repeatedly told herself as she hobbled back in the direction of the house. She stumbled for the key that was inside her leather bag, dropped it a few times, missed the keyhole entirely a few times more but finally slid it into the lock. The tumblers fell and she gained access.
She practically crawled up the stairs, alternating between clutching at her head and her stomach...this was like...it was just like...back when she used to have those seizures.
Hotaru hadn't experienced one of these since her days of being possessed by Mistress 9. Why all of a sudden was it...? Did she eat something bad? Stressed out maybe? Influenced by the events that had just happened in some way...it just didn't make sense.
She pulled off her shoes and crawled into bed fully dressed, drawing her dark covers up over her head to block out the light streaming in from her windows. Her ears were ringing now and the room was spinning faster...if she didn't get off this "merry-go-round ride" soon, she was surely going to vomit. All she could do was force herself to go to sleep.
Go to sleep...go to sleep...go to sleep...
She chanted it like a mantra until she finally got what she wanted and needed.
A full two months had passed since then, not a single dream coming to her in all that time. Hotaru thought that the danger must have somehow past, perhaps talking with the demon Hiei had helped to quell her fears in some manner. A full two months later and she had fully forgotten about the hiruseki stones, not catching a single glimpse of Hiei, Kurama, or even her two new friends Yusuke and Kayko. She had simply been going about her life as she normally had once the Sailor Wars had ended. She got up in the mornings, went to school, came home, studied and read to amuse herself (although the studying was purely optional), and then talk to Setsuna if the woman was home from the Time Gates, then repeat the process over daily. Haruka and Michiru had chosen to extend their tour and move on to America meaning the two would be gone for quite some time still; Hotaru only hoped that they would be safe as they went.
It was on one particular night that things began to turn sour.
Hotaru gritted her teeth as she tossed in her sleep...memories were flooding back to her again although her subconscious fought to keep them at bay.
It was...coming back to her now...
Hotaru lay on the floor, panting, a hand to her chest as she tried to catch a breathe. Her whole body shivered in pain as she moaned, "Not again..."she whimpered, hoping that this was all just a big mistake, that she would blink and it would all my over. Her other pale hand clutched familiar carpet, Tomoe mansion a rather familiar sight.
"Hotaru? Hotaru! Is it happening again?" It was her father...his hands were warm and comforting as he lifted her into his arms and cradled her. "It's the seizures again, isn't it?" She couldn't confirm or deny it as she could not answer or even make a movement to gesture as such. He lifted her onto the couch,
"Hotaru, just try to lay still and I'll bring you something for it. It should make you all better." And with that he was gone, racing down the hallway like any concerned parents would be. About halfway down, he paused, a dark shadow covering his features until the light glinting in from the windows reflected off his glasses. Souichi Tomoe did not exist right now, only Germatoid.
"Oh, I'll get you something alright, my great Sovereign of Silence. You need only bear with this pain for a little while longer."
The Hotaru who watched the dream would have curled her hands into fists had she not been sleeping...she hated seeing her Father like this. So this...this was what he was going through at the time of her own possession. The man himself had also been possessed by an alien from the Tau Star System.
The possessed man slowly walked down towards the end of the hall, hitting a secret switch once he got to the very end which opened a hidden paneling in the wall. Walking into the secret room, he immediately went towards an ominous-looking crystal globe. Inside, it held a portal back to their homeland of Tau and once it had become powerful enough, he would move it down to the laboratory to hook up with another machine. This particular machine once combined with the globe would open up a rift in time and space and allow their great master Pharaoh 90 to pass through unhindered. The thought alone was almost enough to make him laugh maniacally, but he managed to stop himself, knowing there was a task at hand.
Holding a pale-hand over the top of the globe, which had a small circular opening, an intricately-shaped crystal rose from within. The Taioron Crystal, the power source to all the Deathbusters. Years ago, they had sent the power source to Earth in hopes of it finding a new host...it was a risky move, they knew, for if it was shattered and destroyed then they had no hope of survival. Luckily, someone had found it. The fool of a man whom he now possessed had given their precious power source to his wife as a gift.
As they had been weak, they could not fight back physically, but they could certainly incite fear and suffering. The more the woman wore the crystal as a necklace, the more they filled her with hate, fear, doubt, and plenty of other negative emotions so that when they swelled, her pain and torment would return two-fold (if not more) back into the crystal. The power source fed on the suffering of others. As the Tau Star System was not so inhabitable, they had come to a new star system, a new galaxy, in search of victims to terrorize and feed off of. Earth had been the obvious choice as all the other planets appeared to be uninhabited, some littered with only remnants of what had once been.
It was on their way to Earth that they learned of the Purity Chalice, a mythical chalice that supposedly held the power of immortality. Imagine if they could have given that to their Sovereign! She would be so pleased with them!
The woman who'd worn the crystal, her name gone unremembered by the Tau creatures, had been more of a technicality when she died. She had filled the crystal with enough suffering to resurrect some kind of power, the Taioran Crystal quite satisfied with its new host. However, the woman had died in a fire...burning to death alone and unconscious in her house as she searched for her daughter. This little act would probably have filled the crystal with more energy than was needed but of course she had taken it off the night before so it lay untouched in the jewelry box upstairs.
A familiar set of events occurred after that. Hotaru had been rescued by her father who was still un-possessed at the time, the man having made sure his child was safe first. She had unfortunately received some burns, most of which appeared to be fatal. When the man tried to re-enter the house, the ferocity of the flames caused the windows to burst forth and blew him back. The police and firemen there had to hold the man back all the while as he screamed, "My wife is still in there!"
In just a few seconds, the 2nd half of the floor collapsed and the house collapsed in on itself. The man watched in horror and fell to his knees in disbelief, his upper body still being held by the just as surprised servicemen. Wordlessly, the men released him and backed off. There were screams and the sound of whirring sirens in the air as the firemen tried to quickly douse the fire. A lightning bolt that had struck the house at an odd angle was the verdict...all of this had been nothing more than a bad accident.
Souichi had stopped and looked at his hand, a burn-mark on the palm of his pale flesh. He had tried to force the door to Keiko's room, the guest room, open and had burnt his hand in the process. It would heal with time and ointment, but...
Germatoid grabbed the crystal from the container and made his way back to the human host who held the spirit of their sovereign within her...he didn't have to reminisce on the past when their future was sure to be a bright one.
"Here Hotaru, here..." he adopted Souichi's light-hearted, fatherly tone and knelt down beside her, "Try to sit up and put this on...it will ease your pains." If it had worked on the child's mother then surely it would have the same effect on her, all they needed was time to see.
Of course it didn't take long for the Deathbusters to discover that pure energy, like that in the shape of heart crystals, was plenty more powerful than the feeling of suffering. It was after this that Hotaru had met with the Sailor Senshi and realized her true destiny as Saturn.
Hotaru was surprised, normally she would have awoken at the ending of a dream but almost as quickly another one began to play in her head.
It was strange though, this one didn't seem like a memory from the past.
It was dark, the place just barely lit by fiery torches that stood speared into the ground. It looked to be like some kind of forest...but where? There were plenty of people standing around though as if they were waiting on something...wait a second, not people, demons and other creatures.
Her dream's eye fell finally on the only normal-looking ones there. It was Hiei! And Kurama was there too...and Yusuke? This was getting stranger by the minute. Perhaps this was just one of those random dreams that you got every night and not one of her special dreams? She also saw an orange-haired boy she didn't recognize as well as a much shorter fighter with their entire face covered by a mask. They certainly didn't look to happy about their lot in all this, their faces shadowed with a glare.
As they were the only one with humans in their team, they obviously stood out as targets.
That's when she awoke, normally, for once.
Something was pulling her, calling out to her...she looked around for her henshin stick, grabbing the wand from her side table. It was pulsating, almost like the thing had a tiny heartbeat...something was going on. Saturn's power was stirring from within it, the vibrations that traveled from her fingertips to her arms and all the way around her body told her one thing and one thing only: She had to find them wherever they where. Sitting up in bed her free hand landed on something sharp, she jerked it back wordlessly and cradled her hurt hand, hitting the desk lamp beside her to see better. It was a crystal...the Taioron Crystal.
Hotaru yelped and threw it against the wall in a frenzy...what in the name of the seven hells was that thing doing here? She felt no power coming from it, it was lifeless...for now. Damn thing, she growled, thinking to find a hammer or something heavy and smash the crystal into shards. But...the wand was still telling her to go and find the group, was still pulling her along.
She couldn't just ignore that thing though...
As she carefully got dressed and packed some necessities into a knapsack, her purple eyes never once left the crystal. She knew she should keep it with her if only to keep it out of the hands of an unsuspecting person but she definitely didn't want it anywhere near her. There were too many ugly memories.
The crystal lay harmless across from her on the floor, gleaming in the light of the room. She carefully approached it, wrapping it up inside of a blanket which she then locked into a small chest that was located inside her closet. For extra measure she grabbed the chair from her desk and propped it up again the door...the only thing left missing was police tape saying 'DO NOT OPEN'.
Setsuna would be gone for sometime due to her duties and other things that she vaguely explained to Hotaru about so the woman wouldn't be entering her room for sometime. She only locked the door as she left to make herself feel better about leaving the crystal behind...if she had actually had a hammer on hand she would have smashed it to bits right then and there. She hadn't even so much as cracked it when she tossed it against the wall.
Hotaru retrieved her henshin stick from her bag once she was outside...it would tell her where to go. The signals were faint but there, the more she ran, and it would be a long way, she estimated she could make it there before sunrise. Why she was senselessly following Saturn's command, she wasn't sure...Saturn was her protector and had never lead her wrong before though. What if...what if the boys were in trouble? She'd find out if she kept running.