Hello hello! I'm not even going to write a 'it's been ages' note…life is BUSY. BUT, I am so grateful for those who have stuck around, read and re-read, and left wonderful comments and messages. It means the world, and I am incredibly grateful for your ongoing support!
As always, make sure to check out the important notes from the Prologue if you haven't already. Enjoy!

Music rec – I've got two for this one, both highly recommended!

I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight (cover) by Hidden Citizens

No Man's Land from the Wonder Woman soundtrack

Chapter Twenty-Seven

She was back home, curled under her warm, starry covers, staring through the billowing curtains to a night-shadowed land that was cracked and undulating and wild and treacherous in a way that Earth never would be. Exhilarating in a way that tempted and terrified her.

Kinmoku.

She sat upright and peered through the window up to the monstrous star in the ruby sky. It blazed, lapping with flames, no longer eclipsed to a slithered ring. She felt safe beneath its beating heat; in this strange hybrid place that was surely not reality.

"Cosmos…"

She peeled back the covers and her bare feet hit cold ground, moving magnetically toward the sun before her. She grasped the drapes, to move out onto her balcony and into Seiya's rugged world, but as she pulled them open everything went dark.

"Come, Cosmos…"

Her eyes struggled to adjust to the new darkness, and she realised that she was once again surrounded by the sparks and flares of a distant edge of the universe—a place that was both deafeningly loud, and blissfully silent, all at once. Her balcony that overlooked the Tokyo skyline was gone; in its place, a crystalline precipice and the unimaginable vastness of space.

"Come home, Cosmos…"

Usagi placed one foot out onto the cool crystal, and then another, staring out to the tapered, jagged edge that fell away to a rainbow pool below. She knew this place was somehow both the beginning and the end, but she wasn't afraid. Far from it.

"Be free, Cosmos…"

She narrowed her eyes as, at the cliff's edge, the silhouette of a woman appeared; one that was familiar, unlike any other, with her wavy, purple hair and apron ribbon tied at the waist. "Mama…?"

Her own voice did not sound, and her mother did not even flinch. She simply remained, still and quiet, and suddenly Usagi felt that she was witnessing a memory. Something magical and nonsensical, in this strange corner of the universe that somehow felt like home.

A voice echoed from all around—one that caused a stir in the pit of her belly. "A mother like you is destined to have a powerful child—it is what you were born into this universe to do," it told the silhouette. "I can do this for you…I can make you a deal."

Usagi shook her head in confusion and grew closer, her eyes seeming to betray her as her mother's figure flickered and changed into another familiar form: one with long, silvery pigtails and a long, white dress. The darkness and the vivid lights that zapped about the surreal place distorted everything, and she couldn't know if what she was seeing were true, but these women—these mothers—stood and waited, on the edge, listening to a voice that came with an offering.

A voice that came with a price.

"I can make you a deal—all you have to do is take me with you."

Freedom.

She was no longer the senshi she once was.

She was commanding, wise, unshakable, and she felt all-seeing—in the light of her truth, she felt clear. No matter what was, or what was to be.

Timeless.

She walked Space Time like she never had before—the haze dissipated, and in every inch of what had been lonely darkness, she saw time. Any time, at her fingertips in a seamless stream that only she could grasp.

She was awake to who she truly was—to the gravity of her true duty. She had been deceived, beautifully deceived, and she knew who had derailed her path. She understood why, because she had felt it all herself.

Now it was no longer a question of where to, but instead when.

Mamoru. Earth.

Helios.

Could she have that now—stability, family, love? Now that she was truly free?

She swung her golden staff, her key, in front of her and watched the space burn and peel open before her—a hissing, glowing portal to another time and place; wherever she chose. She moved through, the sheer shimmer of her cloak settling at her sides as she stood in the brilliant sunlight of the place of dreams.

Elysion.

She was a voyeur there; a ghost amongst the aqua water and warm breeze and singing birds. A guest, unless she chose to be seen.

She looked out to the green mountains that met the sparkling lake dotted with white lilies, moved gently by the waterfall that cascaded from above. She looked past the flecked sunbeam that snuck through the trees, past all of the beauties that could have blinded her, and saw, at the water's edge, two vivid lights—one gold and one magenta.

There you are.

As she grew closer, the gold light morphed into a striking, white Pegasus, with amber eyes and a teardrop of garnet upon his forehead. A symbol of her Helios—their Helios.

One day.

His companion did not come forth, but she knew who it was, hiding behind the trees, amongst the waterfall's mist. A traveller lost in time and space.

"Come," she said, as she unveiled herself from beneath her glinting cloak and held out her hand. "Let me take you home."

"Wake up, Cosmos…"

That voice had been calling out to her, over and over, so familiar; eerily safe. She had heard it so frequently in those past weeks, and yet suddenly, somehow, she felt she had been hearing it her entire life.

Usagi leant against the sandstone palace wall, outside in the heavy air. She had snuck out before Rini could discover she was, once again, gone…she had been lucky that the young girl had been snoring soundly when she tip-toed back to their room. She sighed softly and let the heat of the stone sink into her flesh, staring in awe at the place that was so different to her home—red-stained and raw and alien. She felt wild—like every emotion that had been coiling up within her, every unfamiliar sensation, was buzzing under the surface of her skin, ready to burst from inside her.

She felt unhinged—on the edge of something.

Something great.

She squeezed her eyes closed as her mind clouded and bent with suppressed rage that made her reckless; hope that nearly choked her; lust that blinded her. Love that she couldn't grasp a hold of, as it flittered amongst these intense emotions, as though binding them together.

How could she trust herself like this?

Do you trust me, Odango?

The memory snatched the air from her lungs, and she drew her fingers to her lips, heart hammering. Never had she felt like she had under Seiya's touch—not once. Like she had been turned inside out; like the universe shifted around them. Because of them.

She was in love with him—that was clear, and she had known for a very, very long time, but denied it constantly. She was young, so young to know what love was, and she thought she had felt it before—but had she? Or was this something different—something inhuman; something beyond them?

Odango, she could hear, airy and urgent and perfect.

She could still feel him—lips against her neck, weight between her thighs, fingertips on her waist. She could still taste him; feel his cobalt power thrumming through her veins. She could have given in, easily, because she wanted it all—selfishly, greedily.

"What is this…?" She whispered to the near-dawn, ecstasy and peace and shame and mourning swirling within her.

She was known to be a little selfish—a cry-baby; a tad lazy. But that wasn't true, not really, and she knew that—it was her ability sacrifice for good that had saved them over and over again.

Is it so wrong that I want this now, when everything is falling apart?

She wanted was Seiya, entirely. To sneak him into her bedroom. To share secrets, and to bicker playfully. To tell her girlfriends about what it was like to be with him; with her. To please, and be pleased. To talk about their future, without it being set in stone. To live as she had always wanted, as a normal girl.

She wanted the luxury of those things—to live in a world where that could still happen.

Which was why she had to fight.

Be free, Cosmos…

She would honour this feeling. She would honour Helios, and Rafu, and Chibi Chibi. She would honour every feeling, because Seiya was right—there was no shame. Because life would be nothing without it.

In spite of the warm rock beneath her feet, Usagi knew she was really hovering on the edge of that icy precipice, looking down into murky, pearly unknowing. She was ready to fall.

You kissed me…you were the one who stopped me.

Of course, he dreamt of Odango that night.

He dreamt about her in exquisite detail; the way her azure eyes widened when she whispered the secret he had been keeping from her: that it had been him who had stopped her. He dreamt about her drawing so near to him that he felt paralysed, and speaking words that he never, ever thought he would hear.

You were so much more than good enough, Seiya.

His dream was so real it was as though he were experiencing it all over again. The way she wound her hands into the hair at the nape of his neck and dragged him down to her, and the utter detonation that had coursed through him the moment their lips had touched. The way she climbed over him, the heat of her heavy on his lap and the velvet of her skin beneath his hands. Beneath his lips and his tongue. Beneath him where he could protect her, please her, love her like he had always wanted.

Oh, Odango…

He dreamt that the turmoil and pain around them ceased to exist, so they could explore each other and be together, without the grief and the duty. Without destiny.

Finally, wholly together. Powerfully together.

When his dream ended, Seiya woke with his heart thundering and his body wired—alert, aroused, alive. Somehow, even without his Starseed, very much alive.

He laid against the silk sheets as crimson light illuminated his bedroom and streamed across his tangled limbs. He let out a long breath and bit his lip, Odangostill there, against his skin. He smiled and drew a hand though his mussed hair, shaking his head.

So much more than good enough.

He never thought he would hear those words.

Had he made the right call, letting her kiss him? Should he have pushed her away—could he have? Should he have stopped her, given everything she had just endured?

Perhaps, had he not felt what she had—had he not known, certainly, that she wasn't going to be stopped. Perhaps, had he not felt how her heart burst open and the entire universe came to a grinding halt.

He sat upright and moved to the window, drawing the edge of the drapes. The burning ring encircling his star was angry in the Kinmokian sky, churning the wild ocean and darkening their twilight world to cherry red. Suddenly the reality of their circumstances, of Chaos, twisted in his gut, and he clenched his jaw.

You have a job to do, Kou.

Even if he they had finally found each other.

He readied himself for the day ahead, clean and clothed and his hair tied back with his mother's ribbon, and moved out. The halls were quiet, and as he looked out over the blustery, dry desert, marred by Chaos' invasion, he steeled himself. This was what he had to do—no matter what Usagi said, or Rini, or anyone. Each window framed the destruction that was unfolding out on their cracked land, and their horizon was black; the dark energy striking at Kakyuu's barrier over and over again. It wouldn't hold long.

Come, Aoi one.

He gripped his head and braced himself against the glass as pain split through him. Amongst the blackness of the desert, cobalt light pulsed, and he could feel his power being manipulated. He hissed as his vision skewed—he refused to let Chaos do this. He was alive for a reason.

You are weak, Aoi one. Like your precious pama.

He dropped to his knees, fury surging in him and tiny blue sparks racing across his skin. He could feel himself morphing, she could, without choice, as her body fought the onslaught. "You're wrong…"

Weak.

She gasped as Chaos released his grip on her, spluttering as she regained her strength. She could feel a presence nearby, and she knewwho it was. "Are you enjoying this?" She snarled, looking up at the surly senshi as she approached. "Watching my world suffer?"

Haruka stopped a few steps short of her, almost as though she would help her upright, but never coming close enough. "You don't know anything," she growled.

Seiya pushed to her feet, the anger she had supressed so she could just make the journey home resurfacing with a vengeance. "I know you're a fucking liar and a traitor—"

"You're wrong—"

"Oh, what—are you going to tell me your pure heart couldn't stand to see me sacrificed?" She spat, moving into her space. "Or maybe you just knew this would be a way to get rid of me and take Chaos out of your Galaxy?"

But why, Seiya—why would she almost have herself killed to get rid of you? Why go to that length? Why would she willingly follow you back to Kinmoku, when she could have turned her back on this battle?

It's something bigger than this, Kou—don't let your ego get in your way.

But Seiya wasn't listening to the voice within her.

Haruka's gaze darkened. "You have no idea why I did what I did—"

"I have a pretty good fucking idea," she retorted, in spite of her own voice of reason. "I watched you slay your friends—your own daughter. I watched you torment your princess—I watched you hit her." Her hands twitched at her side; she wanted to destroy her. "I will protect her, alright—from you." Something flashed across Haruka's features—something akin to shame, or pain, but she said nothing, stoic and hard. "I never should have trusted you."

"You're blind, Kou," Haruka replied after a moment, aloof. "And I never said anything about trust."

Seiya flinched, but before she could take a swing, Haruka inclined her head and her expression softened at something behind Seiya. "Kitten," she greeted.

"What's going on?" Usagi asked, her voice tight with suspicion. "Seiya?"

Seiya turned to her, and the pulse at the base of her throat jumped at the mere sight of her, memories rushing back faster than she could control. Her presence not only took her breath away, it calmed her. "Nothing, Odango," she said, smiling at her. "Everything's fine."

Usagi's eye moved away from Seiya's to Haruka, and to Seiya's surprise, she said: "I don't know what you were thinking, Haruka, when you jumped in front of Seiya, and I am beyond mad that you encouraged her to do it in the first place." Her gaze jumped back to Seiya, so briefly. "But in spite of that, I am thankful that you stopped her."

Haruka moved past Seiya toward the Moon princess, stopping before her as though she had something important to say. She opened her mouth and promptly closed it again, nodding sharply instead. "I am sorry, Princess," she murmured, and then slipped past her.

Usagi closed her eyes a moment, gathering herself, and when she reopened them, she looked over Seiya with a shallow breath. "Seiya, you're—"

"Female? Yeah," she said with a smirk. "Is that a problem?"

Seiya could see the flush of red that coloured the bridge of Usagi's nose. "You know it's not," Usagi replied. "I was worried it would weaken you to transform…"

"I'm just fine," Seiya told her. She moved toward her but her thoughts from earlier stopped her from drawing any nearer. She spoke quietly, sternly. "Usagi, last night…I never should have—"

She stopped short as Usagi moved close to her—so close that she could feel her stuttered breath on her collar bone, and the ghosted tingle of her palm over her hip. Stormy cerulean eyes looked up at her through long lashes and she could barely think. "Don't, Seiya." Her soft touch trailed up her belly and between her breasts, and she settled her palm flat on the space that was void of her Starseed. "Please don't."

Seiya swallowed, trying to gather her thoughts and ignore her proximity and the weight of her hand on her chest. She shook her head adamantly. "No, you were vulnerable—"

"And you weren't?" Usagi quipped. She looked up at her sharply, and Seiya could sense the tangle of her emotions, so complex it nearly crushed her. Unyielding hope and determination. Anger, desire. That sliver of madness, stronger than she had ever felt it. Her fingertips curled, nails against the skin of her chest.

Seiya's gaze did not stray from her, as she absorbed every feeling and every word, and fear ignited in her gut. Something's changing in her, she thought, something I don't know that I can stop. "Odango…" She warned weakly—against what, she wasn't sure.

Usagi's touch traced up her neck to her jaw. "Trust me, Seiya," she whispered, and she did, implicitly. "Trust me when I tell you I never wanted anything more."

"Usagi?"

Rei's voice echoed up the hall, and Seiya looked over her shoulder to the raven-haired senshi who was eying them suspiciously at a distance. Usagi pulled back, looking past Seiya to her fellow warrior. "Mm?"

"We're meeting with Princess Kakyuu and the Kinmokian warriors," she told them.

Usagi nodded. "We'll be right there."

Rei hesitated before receding down the hall. Seiya looked back to the woman before her—no longer nearly as close. There were words lingering between them, about Seiya's Starseed, about the night before, about everything, and Seiya knew there were no simple solutions. When it came to them, there never had been, and there likely never would be. So she swallowed them down, and instead told her: "I do—with everything I have."

"Rini?"

The girl startled, distracted as she leant on the balcony adjoining her room, overlooking the crazed, hot ocean and the soft magenta veil that was draped over the world that stirred up such emotion in her. She shot Hotaru a smile as she approached. "I was going to ask if you were okay," Hotaru said quietly, coming to stand beside her, "but I already know the answer."

Rini let out a long breath and grasped at her brooch, nestled against her chest. Sometimes, especially there on Kinmokian soil, it felt as though it were growing roots that penetrated her skin, locking it tightly against her. "Why does that not surprise me…"

Hotaru said nothing, and instead joined her in gazing out over the water and to the obscured star above them. "Usagi?" She asked.

"She was gone when I woke," Rini told her, the remaining details caught on her tongue. She had no proof, but somehow, she knew where her future mother had gone.

Hotaru hummed knowingly, and Rini realised she wasn't alone in her suspicion. There were a few moments of silence between them—comforting, calm silence—and Rini felt her body relent, slumping heavier against the stone beneath her forearms. She glanced at her friend, whose gaze had turned distant, and her mind drifted to Setsuna. "She never should have done that," she said aloud, not intending the words to slip out of her. They often did in Hotaru's presence, and of all things, she wishedit weren't the worry about her adoptive mother that she couldn't contain. "I can't stop thinking that she made that choice because of what happened to Helios…"

"Rini," Hotaru said, "Setsuna-mama made her choice—it's not for us to question why." She paused, in thought. "Though I think you are right, and I do understand."

Rini did, too—she understood painfully well. If she could have gone back, sacrificed herself, done something differently to save Helios, she would have in a heartbeat. "Hotaru," she tried, voice strangled by the burn in her throat and behind her eyes. She squeezed them closed. "Hotaru, I should have—I should have…"

She broke, the sob wracking her uncontrollably. She was so determined, so desperate to push forward and not lose anyone else—to get Seiya's Starseed back because she couldn't handle losing him, too—that she had shoved down everythingelse. Suddenly all she could see was crimson blood blossoming on white.

"Oh, Rini…"

Hotaru's arms wound around her, tugging her upright and into her embrace. "It wasn't your fault," she whispered against her hair. "And Helios knew—I know he did. He knew more than he ever let on to anyone, even you."

She couldn't stop herself, then, as everything tumbled out of her. "But I watched him die—I watched that dagger go right through him and there was so much blood and I just did nothing, I was just frozen, when I could have tried to transform—I-I could have done more, I could have—"

"Rini," Hotaru insisted, assuring her, calming her. "No one could have known the power he had within him, and he was never going to let you stop him." She pulled back from the embrace, her forehead rested against Rini's. "All he wanted was to protect you."

Rini's breath in was jagged, catching in her throat as she tried to collect herself. She had promised herself she wouldn't fall apart; that she would be okay, continue on like he had wanted.

Hotaru caught her eye. "And I will do the same, no matter what." She wiped a tear from her cheek, studying her face with a warm smile. "I'll be there for you, just like he was."

"Thank you," Rini whispered. She could feel the hum between them—the same she had felt from the moment she had met Hotaru. It reminded her, somehow, of the spark she felt with Helios. "Same for you, you know?"

Hotaru smiled brightly, pulling away but holding onto her hand. "You always have been."

Rini was quiet a moment before she spoke again, her eye on the darkness on the horizon. "Chaos," she murmured, and then shook her head. "It feels like we're doing the same thing, over and over—making the same choices, and he beats us every time. We aren't strong enough, especially not now."

Alongside her, Hotaru was still and silent, deep in thought, and Rini knew where her mind had wandered. "And you can't risk your life again—you know what happened last time." She didn't give the soldier a chance to reply—to say it's my duty, or perhaps, I cannot be there for you as I promised, if I sacrifice myself. Rini couldn't give it thought; it simply wasn't an option. "I just feel like we need a new plan—think of the destruction to Kinmoku, again, if we just run out there and fight…"

"That's true," Hotaru agreed. "What do you suggest, Rini?"

She chewed her lip. One day, she hoped to be a true warrior like her mother. Like her fellow senshi, and those she had met along the way. Like Seiya. "Maybe we let Seiya try," she said, "maybe we let Chaos think he's going to win."

"We don't have any other choice, Princess—we go out there and we fight for our planet!"

Usagi leant back against the cool, cracked marble, watching quietly as the warriors debated their next move. She folded her arms over her chest and exchanged a brief glance with Seiya, who was dutifully standing at her princess' side, exasperated and impatient. The Starlights and their newly trained Kinmokian soldiers had come together with the recovering Sol senshi in the grand hall of the palace, and since their meeting had begun, it had been nothing but tense. "Healer," Princess Kakyuu replied gently, "fighting for our planet—for the universe—is exactly what we will do, but first we must have a plan."

"I agree with Healer," the lavender-haired warrior—their commander—spoke roughly. She had been by Kakyuu's side since their arrival, a breath away, but for the first time, she turned away from her to stand by Yaten. Her stony expression faltered when she looked to the princess. "I'm sorry, Kakyuu—I just don't think we can take the risk wasting time—"

"And what of the rest of our soldiers, our people, Lira?" Taiki challenged.

"You won't have any people left to save if you don't do something," Haruka muttered.

"Haruka—"

The Uranian senshi glared at Makoto, who had hissed at her in warning, and folded her arms over her chest, neck inclined stubbornly. "It's true, and they've seen what can go wrong if you wait too long—"

Seiya took a step forward, infuriated. "If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened!"

There was a shift in demeanour from the Kinmokian soldiers, and a young male spoke tightly to the Starlights and his princess. "'If it weren't for you?' You told us they were our allies, here to help us—"

"They are," Princess Kakyuu calmed. "No matter the alliance, mistakes can be made, and it is not our place to assume the circumstances. We must trust in the Sol senshi and we must focus on the task at hand."

Yaten shook her head, pacing. "I trust the Sol senshi but I do not trust her," she growled, glowering at Haruka. She spun to Kakyuu. "I'm not risking your life, or this planet—not because of that—"

"Please, Yaten, this isn't helpful," Minako said desperately, grabbing her arm. "You heard Princess Kakyuu—no matter what happened, we're here now, to help you—"

Yaten tugged her arm away. "And you think you're not going to slow us down? You're weak as you are!"

Rei bristled, rising to her feet. "We are not weak—"

The argumentative voices seemed to shriek at her, and Usagi pressed her fingers into her forehead sharply. That familiar sense of disarray, of enticing madness, was stronger than she had ever felt before, since the night before—since she had crossed time, stopped by the stony remnants of the Moon, soared in a vivid sphere of energy with Seiya at her side; since she had kissed her. Her focus felt skewed, her mind spun, and as she stared up to the burnished, domed ceiling where spindly energy bounced and clashed, she felt that coil within her wind tighter.

Be free, Cosmos.

"Stop," she said, before she could control the words—a whisper, a crack. "Just stop."

The room instantly grew deathly silent, and for a split second, her world seemed slow and thick all around her. The arched ruby light flooding through the windows wavered, dark and sombre in a space that she knew should have been filled with nothing but joy and celebration. For a split second, everything was once again in exquisite, painful definition—like she existed in a whole other world.

You know what you have to do, Cosmos…

Her hands fluttered as she did, her breath shallow, and she waved Seiya off as she made to move toward her. "Odango—"

"I'm fine," she told her. "This fighting is senseless—it doesn't unite us. It doesn't help us destroy Chaos." She looked around at the warriors, vision clearing and body settling. "It brings us to his level."

Rini stood upright nearby, Hotaru close at her side. "Seiya, you told me last night that you were still going to do this, but you promised me you'd let us help you," she said to the Starlight. "Go to him—make him think you'll give him exactly what he wants, and we'll be waiting to take him down before he has the chance."

Haruka shook her head. "He's smarter than that, Small Lady, he'll know—"

As though Haruka hadn't spoken, Seiya spoke abruptly, eyes narrowed at Rini. "The only waythis is going to work is if I let him have me, and then I destroy him, kid." She gave her a tight smile, glancing to both Usagi and Kakyuu. "Regardless of what you choose to do, I'm going to do this."

"And what makes you think you even can?" Rini cried, fiery and emotional. "Without your Starseed—if Chaos gets to you first—I know how strong you are, Seiya, but what if…"

Rini trailed off and Usagi watched the Starlight closely, as her jaw tightened and her eyes hardened. She understood Rini's suggestion; she agreed that running straight into battle in the hopes of simply destroying Chaos was near pointless, after the time and time again they had tried and failed. She thought back to their final battle with Galaxia—the pain they had experienced, the death and destruction and devastation. She thought back to that time and remembered the one thing that saved them all, in the end: her.

Come home, Cosmos.

Could she do it, without her powers? With that unrelenting hope feeling so far from her?

Rini pressed Seiya as she said nothing. "What makes you think it won't kill you in the process?"

"It's a risk I have to take, Rini," Seiya replied softly, and her eye moved to Usagi. "I have to."

Usagi stared straight back. "No, you don't," she said. "We have beaten Chaos before, we will do it again—"

"But not for good—"

"So?" Yaten burst. "So we kick his ass off our planet and we all live to fight another day—who cares, so long as our planets are safe?"

Seiya's temper flared. "For how long, Yaten? We need this to be over—"

"You think this fight will be over? It's never going to be over!" Yaten shook her head angrily. "You know, just like I do!" She indicated to Rei, Michiru, Hotaru, and finally to her princess—the senshi amongst them with foresight and deep intuition. "It won't end with Chaos—there will always be evil, that's how it works. It's in beings now, it's not one single entity tainting the whole universe. If you believe that you're crazy."

Usagi moved from her spot by the windows to stand with Healer, placing a hand on her shoulder. Once, she would have vehemently disagreed with her—she would have said that all of the bad in the universe was influenced by something larger than them; that everyone was fundamentally pure good, just led astray. "Healer…"

"What? Let me guess—if we just have faith and hope we will triumph?"

Seiya scowled at her. "Yaten—"

"No, Healer, I agree with you," Usagi told her. "And that's exactly why we have to continue to fight—because if there's evil in us, I believe there's good, too." She turned to Seiya, remembering Kakyuu's words about the stubborn senshi, remembering her own strength, and the trust Seiya had asked of her. She hoped, desperately, that Seiya could feel that trust, hotwired between them. "Do what you have to," she said, the words like razors. "And we will, too."

Seiya hung back as their soldiers and her fellow Starlights led the Sol senshi from the main chambers of their palace out into the heat and toward the stone bridge that connected nearby ruins, pointed and crumbling in their semi-restored state. She looked up to the crimson ring of her star, over the water to the east and their city to the west, and beyond to the harsh desert where Chaos waited. Shadows and mist settled in the canyons and peaks that split the land, and what was usually a pinkish skyline was bloody and dark. This was far from her dusky, chaotically calm world—it was the beginning of a war she had seen before.

I cannot lose this place again.

She clenched her jaw and pushed forward, watching the Sol senshi as they gazed around in awe of the surroundings that were so vastly different from Earth. Usagi stepped up to the edge of the bridge, hands clutched at the rock as she looked out to the city and arid mountains beyond it; where the reddish light caught the wrinkles of erosion in the cliff faces and her star consumed much of the sky above them. "I feel like this isn't real…" Usagi whispered, as hot wind whipped strands of hair about her face.

Seiya stepped closer to her, chest tight. "I wanted to show you this place for so long," she said, "but not like this…"

Usagi frowned at her. "Even like this, it's still so beautiful."

Even like this.

She smiled at her and ushered her onward. "Come on, Odango."

They crossed the bridge to the structure that was once a part of their palace, carved from the peak itself. It was how the small inhabited portion of their planet was: created from what was at their disposal; grand and yet primitive. A set of high, iron doors, imprinted with the swishes and swirls of Kinmokian word, guarded the entry, and as Taiki swung them open, Seiya was reminded of the very first day she had gone there with her pama.

"The palace is your home," her pama had told her, "but this will be your refuge."

The Kinmokian warriors led them inside to the cavernous space, lit by the crack of burnished light sneaking through cave openings that dotted the peak. The stony ground had worn into stairs across the years, curling down from where they entered toward a grotto that swelled when the tide rose from below them. It was where their castle met the sea against the sharp cliff face—a place where they healed and huddled and hid. Where they took refuge, learned to fight and learned to protect.

"What is this place?" Rini breathed from beside her.

"Naoru," Taiki replied, as she grasped a flame-lit torch to guide them onward. "This is the place where, for thousands of our years, we have come to draw strength, heal from our injuries, rest…whatever we have needed."

The space was cooler, unlike anywhere else in Kinmoku, the air clear and the atmosphere intoxicatingly calming. A brilliant, coral glow glittered and bounced from the pools below, casting pinks and oranges along the pointed stalactites and the spindly energy that hovered above them. The water was vivid, and it was Kinmoku's rarest gift.

The Sol senshi were captivated. "Wow…"

Ami pressed the stud of her earring and her blue visor appeared across her eyes. She shook her head, looking at Taiki in disbelief. "It's not the water…it's something in the rock," she said. "It's a substance not found on the periodic table…"

She laughed. "Earth can only name what it has seen with its own eyes—naoru is something else entirely."

"What does it do?" Haruka asked.

Lira beckoned them onward. "It gives strength, heals, calms the nervous system…for some, it can have a variety of effects."

"Like…?"

"Cognitive enhancement, detailed memory recall, faster reflexes, heightened foresight, increased arousal," Taiki explained. "It depends entirely on the individual—some notice no additional benefits."

Makoto huffed a laugh. "We have substances like that on Earth, too."

"Not like this," Seiya said. She looked around at the Sol senshi. "This will give you your strength back, and some."

"The caves of Naoru weave along the coastline, beneath us and the palace," Lira explained. "The pools you see below flood, while others are permanent—but it's the minerals of the Kinmokian water reacting with naoru that create its magic." She waved them on. "You must heal before we go on to Chaos—take these next few hours to bathe, rest, ready yourselves, before we move out. We have armour and weaponry—anything you need…"

The group proceeded downward, and as Seiya cast a glance back to Odango, she was unsurprised to find her mesmerised by something higher up above them—a small opening in the stone that beamed soft, rosy light. "Let me show you," she whispered, taking her hand and guiding her.

They quietly climbed up the rock wall and ducked through the cracked opening, Seiya helping her as she fumbled. She grinned. "Still the clumsy girl who ran into me in the streets of Tokyo…"

"Shut up," she growled, but as she righted herself and looked around, she gasped. "Whoa…"

The cliff face cut away to reveal a large, flat plane of stone, a natural balcony, and carved into the rock was a pool of sparkling magenta, dotted with orange blossoms. The water lapped at the sheer edge and overflowed to the Kinmokian ocean far below, crashing against the rugged shore. A delicate, thin-branched tree reached out over the rockpool, green with leaves and fiery with the sunset flowers that fell to the surface of the water, leaving behind a sweet, heady scent. The crimson light from his star caught the ripples on the water, and in spite of the deep violet sky, it was as serene. "Seiya, this is…"

She understood—she had stood in her shoes, spellbound. She shifted her palm in Usagi's, interlacing their fingers together, and drew her closer to the rockpool. "I remember, in our winters, we would come here and float in the water and wait for the rain—it never rains here, and we celebrate it with ritual." She looked up to the sun, imagining the leaping flames burning her skin. "Proxima would disappear behind these deep purple clouds, and its rays would dim, just enough that it became a glowing ball of hot pink and yellow. We would sing and dance and just be." She remembered swimming up to the edge, chin resting on folded arms lazily, the voices of her family behind her. Now, the view was vastly different—mottled and bruised; ominously beautiful. "This was our sanctuary."

Usagi was quiet, but she could feel her gaze on her. She slipped her hand from Seiya's and moved toward the pool, kicking her shoes off and dipping a toe to the water. She gasped lightly as the tiniest wisps of pinkish energy charged along her skin and faded rapidly. She looked back at Seiya in awe, her brows drawn with questions. "What…?"

She placed both feet into the water, the energy dancing across her, and knelt down low, reaching out a hand to cup a flower as it floated by. She looked up to the tree. "Kinmokusei," she said softly. "Just like home…"

"The very same," Seiya replied, moving a touch closer. "It's the only thing that has grown here without assistance since Chaos destroyed our planet…"

Usagi raised it to her nose and inhaled, before tenderly placing it back on the water. In one swift motion, she grasped the hem of her blouse and tugged it over her head to toss aside, and then shimmied her skirt over her hips, leaving her in nothing more than a bra and panties. Seiya felt her cheeks flush. "Usagi…"

She ignored her, wading into the water with a long breath, as the effect of the glistening water absorbed through her pores. Seiya tried to pull her eye away from the slope of her waist and the roundness of her fair thighs, looking out at the lightning bolts striking the ocean's surface, but Usagi glanced back over her shoulder to catch her eye. "You've seen far more than this before, Seiya..."

Seiya huffed a light laugh. "True," she replied. She watched as Usagi submerged herself in the water, and as she turned to face her, the silvery scars framing her shoulder blades caught the light. Anger simmered in the pit of her belly.

I'll succeed—I'll destroy him for what he has done to you.

"Seiya," Usagi said, watching her closely, "they're only scars."

"Scars that shouldn't be there," she seethed. She dragged a hand through her hair, nails scraping against her scalp, and then looked back at Usagi—set on telling her, again, that she would follow through with her plan, but as she saw her, floating peacefully on the surface with the shimmer of pink lapping across her belly and her pigtails tangling amongst the blossoms, her words became stuck in her throat.

Let the water heal you, she could hear her mother saying, bathing a wound she had incurred in her very first battle. Honour it with your time, your faith, and your emotion.

Her mother was right—and she knew, certainly, that those who rushed into battle never succeeded. "How do you feel, Odango?"

Usagi hummed. "Like my body is singing," she mumbled, and Seiya couldn't help but smirk at the impact the pools could have on an unfamiliar being. "I feel…whole." Usagi opened her eyes and shifted upright, extending a hand. "Join me?"

Seiya hesitated at her request, before pushing her boots down her thighs and off, and tugging her gloves from her arms. She moved to the edge, sitting down against the eroded rock and dropping her legs into the water. It felt thick, prickling her skin as it bled into her.

Tranquillity.

Usagi drew closer, stopping between her floating legs, and Seiya could see her pupils were wide and black, her cheeks stained red. She placed one hand over Seiya's thigh, her thumb brushing the skin of her inner knee. She cocked a brow at her. "See—told you that it was you I had to be worried about…"

"Huh?"

Seiya grinned. "Keeping your hands off me…"

She expected a retort, but Usagi's blush deepened and she drifted the other hand to join on her opposing thigh. "Taiki said that naoru can have all kinds of effects on different people," she said, locking eyes with her, "what effect does it have on you?"

She chewed her lip as Odango's touch crept higher, bringing her closer. "I remember coming here alone years ago, to just give in to the water without anyone else around," she said, voice husky. "Taiki and Yaten always talked about the individual effects they felt—strength, agility, cognition, memory…I didn't have the heart to tell them I felt, well, everything…"

"Everything?"

She nodded slowly. "Like every nerve was alight…like a fraction of how I feel when I let my power go. Whole, just like you said." She cast her gaze across Usagi—sheer bra hiding little, slender fingers hovering near the apex of her thighs, droplets sparkling on her skin. "Regardless, the power of naoru's properties depend on the being's needs at that moment in time."

Usagi gave her a tight-lipped smile. "I guess that doesn't include returning a Starseed to its rightful place," she said lightly, earning a smile from Seiya. She splayed her fingers across her skin, shooting chills through her. "But what about right in this moment in time…what do you need, Seiya?"

For this war to be over. To survive through this next mission. For you to be safe. To have not a care in the world. To whisk you away.

Just you, Odango.

She put her thoughts aside, because moments like those were limited in what might have been her final hours should she fail—and she didn't want to miss a beat. She smiled mischievously back at her, voice low. "Is there something you're suggesting, Odango?"

"And so what if I was…?" Usagi replied, echoing words Seiya had spoken to her in the weeks prior when she had admitted to desiring her.

Seiya chuckled and reached out to brush a clump of wet blonde hair from where it was stuck to her neck, lingering on her pulse point and willing the little energy she possessed through to the very tips of her fingers. Usagi inhaled sharply as a tiny zap of power sent her heart thundering. "What I need, Odango," she murmured, "is you."

The blush tinging Usagi's cheeks deepened, and she visibly swallowed. Her expression shifted, brow furrowed suddenly. "Seiya, when I…" She trailed off, considering her words. "When I lost control in Tokyo…how did you know how to stop me?"

"By kissing you?" She asked with a grin. "I've told you before: I have that effect…"

"Seiya…"

She drew in a long breath. "I was there—that day at the airport, when Mamoru was leaving for America," she told her. "I passed right by you, and the moment we crossed paths, my whole world stopped, and I sensed you from that moment on." She thought of her mother. "When I was younger my Mama told me the universe only ever stopped when a kokoro had led you to where you were supposed to be. I know she was with me then—bringing me to you." She met her eye. "I may have told you I fell in love with you without realising it, but that was a lie—I knew all along."

Usagi looked like she was holding her breath—watching her eyes, her lips. Listening like she had never heard words like those before.

Seiya smiled at her. "I knew the moment my world stopped that day at the airport that I could stop your world, too."

In spite of 'destiny'—the queen you had been told you would become, the marriage you would fall into, the child you would bear. In spite of all that.

Without hesitation, Usagi's touch moved from where it loitered on Seiya's thighs to her jaw, threading around her neck and into her hair to pull her lips down against hers.

God, Odango…

Nothing felt like kissing her—no power, no emotion, nothing.

She moved so sweetly with her, wet skin of her torso pressing flush against the dry of Seiya's and eliciting a moan from the base of her throat. She wound her arms around her waist and slid gently into the pool with her, heart thundering and mind clouding as the kiss grew deeper; more urgent with their reality toying at the back of their minds. As she began to lose herself, power surging between them, she broke away, head rested against Usagi's as she breathed heavily. She opened her eyes, meeting a half-lidded gaze and swollen lips. "Usagi, you know I'm still going to do this," she whispered.

"I know," Usagi replied, tracing the line of her jaw, down to the choker and collar of her fuku. "And I know I can't stop you…but I will be right there, just like you have been for me."

As the crackle and rumble of a storm neared them, flashing over the ocean and illuminating the water that nourished them, Seiya noticed a slither of crystal flicker across the young woman's skin. She cupped her cheek, hypnotised, and leant in to kiss her once more, when the echo of footsteps from within the cavern stopped her short.

"Yaten, wait—"

They stilled, listening to Yaten as she growled in annoyance. "Just leave me alone, Minako—"

Minako's voice rang out, torn. "I don't understand, Yaten—what are you ashamed of—what difference does your sexuality make—"

"The shame doesn't lie with my sexuality!" Yaten cried. "Here on Kinmoku, we all fall for the person, not their sex—I have no shame about that." She was quiet a moment before she spoke again, tightly. "My shame lies in my discomfort with my gift—something I should be so proud of, but I don't want it…I don't want my male form."

"But that doesn't matter—"

"Doesn't it?" Yaten cut in. "In spite of me trying to keep you at a goddamn arm's length you have weaselled your way in, and I know you now. I know you're not sure what you want—not yet—and I'm not going to dictate that to you because of what I am—"

"Don't say it like that—it's not what you are, it's who—"

"But I'm right, aren't I?" Yaten quipped. "Tell me right now you want to be with a woman—that you're sure."

Minako faltered, stumbling on her words. "I-I—"

"Exactly," Yaten threw back at her harshly. "I can't be what you want, it's not who I am."

There was silence, and then after a moment, she could hear Minako's soft cries and Yaten released a loud sigh. "Please don't cry…"

The sound of Minako's cries became muffled, as though she were being held in an embrace. "Mina," Yaten said after a moment, "I don't want to hurt you—I don't want this, us, to hurt you…and I don't want to get hurt, either."

Minako sniffled. "Can't it stay like this? You're my friend—I don't want to lose that, can't it stay this way, just until…"

Just until.

Yaten's voice was tight. "Yeah," she managed, "yeah, sure it can."

After a few moments of silence the sound of their friends' footsteps rescinded once more. "Just until," Usagi repeated. Suddenly the shadow of sadness that had painted her features shifted to determination, and she shook her head. "We're going to win this—I'll make sure of it."

Seiya could feel the senshi's body humming with power against her, and crystal glinted through her—too quick to catch, but there nonetheless. She had no doubt Usagi could win the war—but she didn't wanther to have to. For once, she wanted to take the responsibility from the young woman who had already known so much—too much—duty. "Odango…"

"And when this is over," Usagi interrupted, cupping her cheeks, "you'll bring me back here and we'll give in to the water and watch the rain, together." Her voice was resolute. "Promise me."

Seiya nodded. "I promise," she said.

She only hoped she could keep her promise.

"Ruka?"

The soft tone of her girlfriend's voice pulled her back from where she was distracted, inspecting the cavern that encased them and marvelling the hum that pulsed up her arm after touching her fingertips to the coral water. She pulled her glove back over her hand and looked at Michiru. "Hm?"

Michiru was poised on the ledge of one of the rockpools, wrapped in a towel and squeezing water from her hair. "You really should—"

"Let me see," she interrupted, not wanting to hear it. She knelt beside her and tugged the towel down slightly at the side of her ribs, revealing fair skin that had been previously marred with a wound. She placed her palm to the skin—unmarked. She met her eye. "How do you feel?"

"The clearest I have felt in a long time," she said. Haruka knew she wasn't escaping that look. "If you want to defend our princess, Haruka, you need your strength."

"I am strong," she replied, getting to her feet. She eyed the tunnel-like entry that they had weaved through, unable to see anything but the shimmering reflection of water on rock and the ruby light from the world above them. Usagi had not followed them, and neither had Seiya. "I will fight as I am."

"And try to get yourself killed again?" Michiru said.

She ignored her. It had been just the two of them, for so long—partners in every conceivable way—that she knew what she had done without Michiru's knowledge had caused a rift between them. What she also knew was that when Michiru looked at her, she understood why she had done what she had—both to risk Seiya's life, and to save it.

There was an eerie gentleness and calm amongst the space, and the murmur of her fellow scouts ricocheted softly from nearby corners as they bathed and healed. She felt unsettled, right down to the pit of her belly—by what, she couldn't quite put her finger on. Perhaps it was impending battle, perhaps it was what she knew.

Perhaps it was what she had done.

She shook off the thought and busied herself with the armour hanging from the stony walls. Each piece was a solid, copper-like metal; a bodice that had been hand-moulded to the shape of a humanoid chest with capped shoulders and intricate, swirled markings unlike anything she had ever seen. It flared to a skirt of panelled shards, and hanging alongside it were similarly sculped arm and leg guards. Haruka was sceptical—they looked almost primitive; too thin to form a true protective barrier. "Useless," she muttered under her breath. "We're safer without it."

Michiru appeared beside her, towel gone and fully transformed to her fuku. She reached for the armour, ignoring Haruka entirely—payback, she was sure. "Taiki said to place it into the water before putting it on," she said, and brought it to the water, letting it slip beneath the pink and bob back to the surface. "There…"

She pulled it out, and Haruka helped her manoeuvre it over her head and settle it into place around her torso. It looked no different—simply sat off Michiru's slight frame just as it had against the cave wall. Haruka huffed. "I don't see how this will—"

Michiru gasped as the fine markings scrawled across the metal glowed vibrantly and suddenly it began to sink against her, moulding to her as the brassy tones bled into the fabric of her fuku. It shrunk rapidly to fit against her, and within seconds, her own fuku was woven with hard metal, solid but malleable and flecked with bronze. Haruka placed her hands to her waist, the garment hard beneath her touch—armour perfectly tailored to the soldier.

"Bet your shitty Earth water can't do that, huh?"

Yaten was leant against the rock nearby, arms folded over her chest as she watched on with a smirk. Minako appeared alongside her—her own fuku the very same; speckled with gold, her arms and legs shielded. Haruka pursed her lips. If it would help to protect them, then it was for the best.

"Put it on, Haruka," Michiru said sternly. "Usagi can only heal you so many times."

She would consider it.

Minako spoke up, touching Yaten's arm lightly. "You disappeared—Lira is asking for you, she wants to know what form—"

"Tell her it's none of her business," she snapped, tugging away from her and storming onward toward the winding staircase that led them below.

Minako reeled, and promptly tore off after the moody senshi. "Yaten—"

Michiru reached up for Haruka's jaw as she watched the two go, distracted. Her mind felt turbulent with emotions she just wanted to push down—there was no time for that. "Consider it," Michiru said, as though she had read her mind. "If not for me, for the things that are yet to come."

Usagi, you know I'm still going to do this.

She was—for Odango, she would do anything.

Seiya tore across the desert, grazing down the mountain in a cloud of red dust, the electricity of Usagi's energy and naoru still charging through her veins. Even without her Starseed, even incomplete, she was fierce. Whatever was left—whatever was keeping her alive—that was the warrior within her.

The landscape was sharp and violent, and with her strength depleted, she focused on every thump her feet took against the ground; every leap and skid. As she broke through Kakyuu's barrier, their hot world plunged into madness— broken even more than it had been before. As she ran, memories tugged at her—of racing home; of trying to return in the hot rain; of crushing every dark beast that crossed her path; of hearing the silence of her mother's chambers. Of knowing what had happened—what she had let happen.

"Never again," she breathed ruggedly, and launched herself across the clouded canyon that separated their queendom from the barren land where Chaos lay waiting. She landed rough on her haunches, lungs burning and limbs aching; body screaming to stop but she refused.

I refuse.

The angry wind bit at her skin, and out in the dry planes of the desert it was dark—violet and crimson clouds hung low, shadowed like night. There was movement amongst the darkness; the glint of weapons and the blink of reddened eyes—his army, watching her. She glanced back to the palace—dimly lit across the huge ravine. There was no trace of movement—no suggestion that anyone was following behind her.

She knew they were there—she only hoped Chaos somehow did not.

Wishful thinking.

It didn't matter, in any case—she would still complete her mission.

"Come on, then!" She cried, walking with her head high, arms spread. It was only then that she realised there had been tears on her cheeks—damp as the wind whipped at her. Tears for her mother, for her pama, for her people and her home that still hadn't fully recovered. "This is what you wanted, isn't it?!"

She could hear the words from her mother, her aunt, Kakyuu—all speaking words of her fate; that she was the only one who could do this. The only one with the power to take on the evil that Chaos created. She wondered how they could have been so sure—she wondered whether her mother had truly known it, all along.

She is different.

"Come on!" She screamed again, grunting as she launched herself over a deep crack in the rock. She let out a laugh. "Or are you afraid?"

She felt it before she saw it: the spear of pain through her back, and the hot bloom of blood as she was driven to her knees.

Seiya! She heard, a dull cry in the back of her mind. Through the pain, she felt Odango's sheer panic, their line to one another hotwired.

It's alright, Odango, she willed, I'm alright—don't worry.

Usagi's despair lingered with her, and she could nearly imagine the others—so nearby, but hidden thanks to naoru's magic—holding her back. The pain blurred her vision, but she knew the blow wasn't fatal—not yet. "Only cowards stab their opponent in the back," she spluttered through clenched teeth.

The blade was wrenched from her and she hissed, bracing herself against the dust. Round droplets of blood dripped from her mouth, staining the ground beneath her—perhaps the injury was worse than she had believed. She pressed one hand hard to her stomach, growling in pain, hoping to slow the bleeding.

Chaos' shadowy figure skulked past her. "Only the weak bring reinforcements," he countered. "You think I didn't know you wouldn't come alone?" He hummed, the trace of a laugh in his voice. "Or perhaps you did—perhaps you wished for an audience, Aoi one."

Seiya looked straight into the black eyes of the ghostof Chaos before her—a piece of the evil that she had seen take form, time and time again. She knew that it didn't matter—even without a host, Chaos was too clever, and far too strong. "You know that doesn't matter to me," she managed. "I want only one thing."

The slit of a smile morphed across Chaos' face and he tilted his head. "Oh, yes," he replied. "I know what you want—you want this power; a chance to destroy me…perhaps destroy yourself in the process, for what you allowed to happen. How could you possibly forgive yourself?"

She growled, furious—of course he knew her deepest secrets and feelings, tucked away in the back of her mind. Of course he would torment her with that knowledge.

Chaos sighed, holding out a wispy hand and suddenly, the sapphire of her Starseed blinked to life. The spiked edges of the blue gem glinted in the cherry light as he held it up to her eclipsed star. "She struggles, as your energy dies," he mused, indicating to Proxima. "One curl of my fist and I could destroy not only you, but the star that holds this planet in place."

Seiya's breathing grew shallow, caught in her chest. She could feel Usagi trying to go to her—to fight for her, begging to come to her. She couldn't—at least, not yet.

Chaos circled her, as though she were being hunted. "But I have waited too long, for an evolved being like you," he told her. "Together, we will complete my eternal duty. Together, we will make me whole once more."

Seiya could feel herself fading; what little life she had left dwindling away. "Then let's do this," she ground out. "What are you waiting for?"

She could hear Odango again, then. I'm here, Seiya, she cried, I'm not leaving your side through this.

And finally, I will save you, I promise.

Chaos laughed. "An utter fool, to think you can destroy me." His form flickered closer, eye-to-eye with her against the hot earth—head cocked, dark hair obscuring his bruised eyes. He took her hand, opening her palm to the raging sky, and her Starseed appeared—tremoring with the energy of her star.

All life in this universe has a shining star within it.

Chaos smiled, twisted. "But…we must destroy to create."

His energy before her bent and warped, and before she could draw another breath he jerked toward her, hitting her with a thud of impact so intense that she felt like her body was fracturing—like she was falling to the ocean once again, cracking through the water's surface and breaking.

Evolving, all over again.

Terror. Rage. Hatred. Agony.

Paralysing sadness.

Power.

Chaos.

She felt her heart clenching to a near stop, the energy rupturing through her. Her body convulsed and fought, pain of her mind and body unlike she had ever felt. Torturous, agonising pain that broke her as she gasped for air.

She felt it all, until suddenly, she couldn't feel anything at all.

"Usagi you can't, not yet—"

Rini watched as Haruka held Usagi back, and the young girl grasped her future mother's hand, trying to help calm her, somehow. They were there with Seiya: invisible at the sloping lip of the valley that opened out into the no man's land before them. Soldiers tucked against the rock, where they could hide in waiting.

Seiya walked the land tall and strong—teasing Chaos; challenging him. Her courage and fearlessness, with each stride and tight fist, created a knot in Rini's throat. She would be like her, she promised herself that.

Alongside her, Usagi struggled against Haruka's hold. "I have to go, Haruka—"

"I know—I understand," Haruka replied urgently. "But you have to let her do this—we will step in when the time is right."

An aura of white gold began to hum around Usagi as she eyed Seiya over the ledge, and she shook. "No—this was a mistake—I have to go to her—"

It was then that Rini realised Usagi was as torn as she felt: she trusted Seiya; trusted she could do this, and she didn't want to stand in the Starlight's way, but she was terrified of losing her, too.

"Usagi," Princess Kakyuu spoke softly, sitting against the rock with Yaten and Taiki flanking her. She met Usagi's eye. "Trust her."

The brooch tucked into Rini's metallic armour felt hot against her breastbone and she placed a hand to her heart space, where it thumped in fear. Princess Kakyuu's words spoke not only to Usagi, but to her, too. She couldn't lose Seiya—she simply couldn't.

"Come on!" Seiya cried with a laugh. "Or are you afraid?"

In a heartbeat, there was a sickening wave of energy all around them and suddenly she heard Seiya gasp in pain.

No.

"Seiya!"

Usagi's scream bounced around them, hidden from their enemy in the protective dome that surrounded them. Rini watched on in horror through the low cloud as Seiya fell to her knees, the gleam of a black crystalline blade piercing through her back.

No.

She felt herself start to choke with panic—memories of Helios fresh in her mind. No no no…

"Let me go!" Usagi shoved at Haruka, eyes wide and body alight, slithers of crystal jagged along her skin. She wrenched away from Haruka but stopped abruptly, expression scrunched with conflict—she could hear Seiya, Rini was sure of it. "Seiya…"

Chaos' form appeared alongside the Starlight, and he wrenched the knife from her, letting it clatter to the ground at her side, blood slick. Rini watched her slump and grasp her abdomen, and as Chaos moved to kneel in front of her, spots began to haze her vision, their voices blurring away to nothing.

"No, Seiya…" She whispered, throat constricting and breath trapped inside her.

She could hear the others around her; Princess Kakyuu telling Taiki and Yaten to stand down; commanding her soldiers to do the same. She could hear the voices of the inner senshi supporting Usagi, fearing for their friend.

She could hear it all, but it felt like she was being dragged under water.

"Small Lady," Haruka said, and suddenly she realised that since Usagi had pulled away from her grasp, Haruka and Hotaru had not left her side. Haruka caught her eye, grasping her shoulders tightly. "Breathe."

She sucked in a breath, sensing Hotaru's cool palm slipping against her own. "It's alright, Rini," Hotaru told her.

It's far from alright, she thought, again I am defenceless—again I have failed to help save those I love…

Haruka squeezed her firmly. "She can do this."

Rini peered up over the rock, vision swimming, and through the mess saw the cobalt blue of Seiya's Starseed between them, vivid. She saw Chaos whisper to her, and she saw her body jerk as his form lurched forward into her.

"But…we must destroy to create."

She sobbed as she watched Seiya fight it: curling forward and clutching the dirt; gasping for air; convulsing as Chaos' power surged through her like poison. Her body flickered with blue and black energy, Starseed hovering and quaking in the air before her—battling, like she was—and when she cried out in pain, the eclipsed sun in the Kinmokian sky lost the ruby ring it clung to, burning out to blackness.

And in that moment, Seiya's Starseed shattered to sapphire dust.

The last thing she saw, before collapsing back into Hotaru's hold, was Usagi leaping from their rocky trench and splintering the ground with crystal with every step.

We must destroy to create.

It began with cobalt blue.

She struck the red earth with each fierce stride, the dirt cracking beneath her and fissuring with her silvery crystal.

She felt no fear—only certainty. Only confidence that this was what she was born to do.

"I am every dream you have ever wanted, and every dream you are yet to wish for."

She deflected every shot of energy, every blow and dagger that his minions dealt her, as they drew out from the shadows and charged toward her. Decimated every strike against the armour of her skin.

She allowed the white gold light to break open upon her forehead; relented to the eight-pointed star she had fought. She felt the icy energy burst within her and shoot through her veins—she let it surge through her willingly. Welcomingly.

She let it become her.

She remained steady through the tremor that rocked the garnet world, as the closest star, their anchor, smouldered to blackness. She held out her glinting hands, magnetic, and commandedthe planet stabilise; demanded its strength, even in its moment of peril.

She never took her eye off Seiya, as she lay writhing and fighting. Not once.

"I embody everything you love, and everything you desire."

She did not utter a cry, when the crystal infused with her bones; splitting through her ribcage. She did not flinch as her wings sliced through her flesh and broke out from between her shoulder blades; as the crystal remiges, once soft feather, tore through the scars that Chaos had given her.

Be free, Cosmos.

It began with cobalt blue, that glowed out brilliantly from her Starseed. It began with her truest love, and the fragment of her she held within her.

It's as though your crystal has absorbed some of Fighter's power…

"I am," she began, as she had so many times before, and she laughed, at how beautiful it was to finally speak these words, "I am Cosmos, and without me, there is no you."

Cosmos.

All of the moments when she had existed on the brink of Cosmos flooded back to her; a reel of memories. When she had nearly killed Haruka, laced with Chaos' truths. When she had spoken her prophecy of the woman she was destined to be but had really been all along. When she had let rage consume her in the moments after losing Helios and Chibi Chibi—when they had learned she was the true threat to Earth. When she had unleashed her buried resentment on the pearly rock of the Moon. When she had voyaged Space Time with Seiya at her side. When she had dreamt of the frozen ledge that overlooked the whole universe, suspended above the swirling, rainbow pool that called to her.

The cauldron.

She could hear Cosmos' voice, then, whispering to her: I wanted to be free—I wanted to live the life of the mortals I created. I wanted to feel, and I wanted to be. I wanted to escape—I had to.

And so, I became you.

Her wings flared wide and sharp, her glistening hair whipping around her madly and sheer fuku gracing her hybrid crystalline skin. She opened one hand as she moved, unstoppable, and her sceptre appeared, a rainbow orb framed by white wings at its tip.

I became you.

One wave of power, one beat of her wings, and she launched herself high into the thick Kinmokian air, the boom of energy flattening the battlefield and turning the enemies that her warriors tirelessly battled to frosty crystal. She landed, knee and fist down hard to the rock, leaving a crater in her wake.

I am you.

She rose up to the sapphire dust of Seiya's Starseed just feet away, suspended around the Starlight like glitter in the air. "Odango," she heard her murmur weakly, "beautiful Odango…"

Beautiful Cosmos.

Usagi pressed her palm to her sternum, and as she pulled it away, gemstone flecks followed in a wispy tendril, fusing together to form a cobalt fragment. Seiya pushed to shaky feet, and through the storm of blue shimmer that encased her, she could see the dark poison bleeding beneath her skin. "Incomplete," she breathed.

"Yes," Usagi said, her voice round and calm, "because I held a part of you with me."

And now I must give it back to save your life.

She thrust her sceptre high above her and the midnight sky cracked with violet and pink flares and white lightening; a rainbow nebula weaved into the fabric of the universe. A single bolt raced down to greet her orb, travelling the sceptre to reach her and explode throughout her entire being.

Power.

She held out the cobalt fragment in her outstretched hand as she walked toward her, and without request, without effort, she drew the blue matter that created Seiya's lifeforce back to her, the glittering pieces gathering into the spiked blue crystal that was her Starseed. Breathtakingly azure, speckled with gold and purple.

Aoi one.

The roar of Proxima shook the ground they stood upon as it burst back to life—an eruption of molten energy and leaping flames that swamped the planet in bright light and unfathomable heat.

"Usagi…" Seiya's voice—Chaos' voice—rasped in pain. "I can't…"

She felt unshakable, even as Seiya's lovely body was overtaken by Chaos, the damage to her exposed in the brilliant amber daylight of her star. The senshi crashed back down to her knees, shaking, and Usagi stopped before her, swinging the pointed end of her sceptre to the hollow of her neck. She drew her head up with the weapon to look into her eyes, speaking only to Chaos. "You will leave, Chaos," she said, "and you will not return."

Long lashes blinked up at her, framing eyes that were entirely black, but glassy with tears. Her mouth tugged into a smile—sad and twisted and relieved and a thousand things in between. "I have missed you, Cosmos."

Seiya gasped and the energy tore from her body, unleashing into the sky and leaving her to collapse to the rubble.

Without me, there is no you.

"Seiya," she breathed, diving for her and bundling her into her embrace. She was cold and limp, and as Usagi's glimmering form met with hers, blue and crystal currents shot across her skin. She held out the sapphire Starseed over her chest, where it hung, as still as she was.

No.

She brushed the hair from her face, the blood from the corner of her mouth. She felt the presence of her senshi around her, silent.

"Fighter," she called to her gently. She threaded her fingers between her own, and she cradled her, like Seiya had done for her so many times before. Her voice cracked as she spoke again. "You made me a promise…"

All that is, all that was, and all that ever will be.

The lovely swirl and whispers of the cauldron blossomed in the forefront of her mind, and instinctively she bent her lips to brush Seiya's, feeling the warm hum of life flow from her. She broke away and smiled as the Starseed shone with light and dissipated through Seiya's sternum, waves of blue coursing through her and morphing her to the stunning aoi form that illuminated her from the inside out.

Seiya's eyes opened, electric once more, and she gazed up at her with a quirked smile. "Odango," she whispered, reaching a weak hand to cup her cheek. She shook her head. "Cosmos…"

Cosmos.

She looked back up to the rusted sky, the remnants of evil leaving behind a snaking aurora of red and green and yellow, eerie in the soft beauty that whirled slowly above them. A zap of dark energy caught her eye, darting off into the universe, and in spite of all she knew then, and how calm it was, she knew something wasn't right. Something was missing.

"Hey," Seiya said, and she returned her attention to her, pulling her closer. She felt eyes on her; uncertain, wary. She felt the transformation slip away, but sensed the crystal still encasing her bones—still rushing through her veins. Seiya brushed her thumb across her lower lip. "It's alright, Odango."

Incomplete.

From the thin veil of Space Time, she watched on with her young companion at her side. She watched her princess become who she truly was, and she watched Chaos escape through the tears in the fabric of Space Time.

She watched, she waited, until it was time to show herself again—after the fight, but before it was truly over.

So she could help Cosmos, one last time.