There was the by-now familiar instant of nothingness, then the main room of Nephrite's house took shape around the group. As soon as they were reoriented, Yumemi handed Usagi's scepter back to her and walked over to where she had left the painting. She brought it back to the group and laid it down on the floor. "What I'd like to do, instead of the usual procedure, is try to force open a safe passage through the Seeing with the Silver Crystal," she said. "If we succeed, I'll need some volunteers to go in."

"We'll go," Rei said, volunteering herself and Minako. Minako nodded agreement. "We've met Pegasus - Helios - so that might help us find him." They transformed into Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus.

Following Yumemi's instructions, Usagi raised the staff with the Silver Crystal mounted on top of it. "Concentrate on what you want the Crystal to do, and command it to do it," Yumemi told her.

"Don't I need to transform first?" Usagi asked.

"You can if you would feel more confident, but it really isn't necessary," Yumemi replied.

"I think I'd rather," Usagi said. She called out her transformation spell; there was a brief twisting of rainbow-colored lights, then she stood transformed into Sailor Moon. She raised the scepter again and closed her eyes hard in concentration. Then she snapped them open and shouted, "Find Helios!"

White light slightly tinged with yellow burst out from the Crystal. The painting flared with light, which glowed brighter and then ripped apart. Diseased-looking blackish-green light pulsed out from the opening in the painting.

"Wait!" Yumemi cried to Rei and Minako as a darker shadow appeared in the opening.

* * * * * * * *

Kunzite tightened his grip on Pegasus's hind legs. "Okay, ready?" He stood, lifting the back half of the unicorn's body, while Zoisite followed, lifting the head and front half. Though the beast lay still in their arms, he was tense and trembling. Kunzite didn't care to lay odds on how long Pegasus would continue to cooperate. They walked back out of the stand of trees the way they had gone in, and surveyed the landscape, picking out their markers. "That way," Kunzite said after a moment. "That's the hill we were standing on when we spotted the temple."

Awkwardly, because holding on to the animal made them have to adjust their pace to each other, they started off towards the hill. From there they found their way back to the compass-points of trees that circled their original starting point. The atmosphere seemed increasingly oppressive; the air was foul and heavy, and the two men were dripping with sweat in addition to being hungry, thirsty, and shaking with fatigue. How long had it been? Kunzite wondered. It could have only been a few hours, or half a day or so... or weeks or months. The sun didn't move; time didn't seem to pass here. He was starting to wish he had left his sweater behind after all. It would be nice to be cold after the heat and humidity of this place.

They didn't dare stop to rest, in case Pegasus tried to take advantage of the change in activity and somehow manage to escape. Kunzite didn't think the thin silk ropes hastily made from his torn shirt would hold up against the beast's enraged struggles for long. There was no way to tell how long they walked or how far; the distorted landscape and odd-colored light made it impossible to judge distances. But eventually they reached their compass-point trees and entered the area where they had begun their search.

They took another moment to orient themselves again, then started towards the place where they figured they had probably entered Elysion. At that moment a white light flared a short distance away.

"The portal!" Zoisite gasped, breathless from the effort of carrying the unicorn the long distance in the miserable, sticky heat.

"We'd better make a run for it," Kunzite said. "Who knows how long it'll be there?"

Gasping for air, trying to keep their mismatched strides and their increasingly-agitated burden from making them stumble, they ran towards the light. Closer and closer... Kunzite found himself pleading under his breath with the light to stay there, just stay there, just a little longer, wait for us...

The light surrounded them, and they were through, and found themselves collapsing onto a wooden floor in a cold room.

* * * * * * * *

The dark shadow spilled into the room and resolved into Kunzite and Zoisite, both of them holding onto a dark, bruised-looking, horselike animal with a single long needle-sharp horn.

"It's about time," Zoisite said. He spotted Sailor Moon and made a face. "Her. Well, I suppose I should be grateful she helped us get out of there."

Sailor Moon lowered her staff. "Pegasus!" she cried out, and ran to the creature. "What's wrong with him?"

"The Golden Crystal seems to have embedded itself in him," Kunzite said. "We finally managed to capture him and get him more or less under control, but we aren't sure how to get the Crystal out without killing him."

"Poor thing," Sailor Moon cooed. She knelt down beside where Kunzite and Zoisite were holding onto Pegasus. She reached out a hands towards him, but had to jump back as the sharp horn came dangerously near her face and the wolf-like fangs snapped at her. Kunzite tightened his grip around Pegasus's neck. "Maybe you guys should help," she said, looking at Naru, Yumemi, and Thetis. "Because you're in the whatever-it-is order. You can control both of the Crystals, right?"

The other three women knelt next to Usagi. Kunzite and Zoisite got Pegasus into a headlock, being careful to avoid the horn and jaws. Then Usagi, Naru, Yumemi, and Thetis put their hands over where the unicorn's heart would be. In response to the power pouring from their hands, a blackish-green cloud began to rise from Pegasus's chest. The darkness concentrated and deepened into an opening in the creature's body. Pegasus screamed, a noise both animal and human and neither. A stone the color of the blackish-green light rose out from the opening. Pegasus went limp, and Kunzite and Zoisite were able to release their grip on him. Naru grabbed the Crystal, then turned to the other members of the Order. "Ready?"

Nephrite, Jadeite, Yumemi, and Thetis gathered around her. As they had done with the Silver Crystal, they put their hands on the Golden Crystal and fed power into it. Finally, after a flash of greenish-yellow light, the dark, bruised color cleared and the Crystal shone gold with just a slight greenish tinge.

They looked at where the unicorn lay on the floor. He had turned white with a blue mane and a gold horn slightly tinted with green, and he now had white wings. As they watched, the unicorn shape faded away into that of a slender man with white hair.

"Helios," Yumemi whispered, her voice suddenly choked with tears. She hurried to his side and knelt beside him, taking him into her arms.

Naru’s legs wouldn't hold her up any more; she collapsed onto the floor, not caring about the dust that puffed up around her, settling on her clothes and getting in her nose.

Nephrite turned to Mamoru, who had stood off to the side the whole time, and handed him the Crystal. "I suppose you should keep this for the moment, my Prince. Until we know Helios is well enough to handle it."

"Actually," Mamoru said, looking at the not-quite-gold crystal with distaste, "I'd prefer it if you kept it for now." Nephrite took the Crystal back and set it carefully on his work table.

The rest of the group split apart, some of them sitting down on the floor or on the blankets, or heading into the kitchen to find some food. Jadeite and Thetis retreated to a dark corner of the room and stood close together, seeming to be intently involved in conversation. Then the hushed talking ended, their arms went around each other, their heads drew close together as they kissed.

Naru smiled, watching them, then turned to look at Yumemi and Helios. Yumemi held the white-haired priest close, talking softly to him; Helios raised a hand to her face.

"What do we do now?" Usagi asked, sitting down next to Naru, a styrofoam cup of instant noodle soup in her hands. "Should we put the Crystals back together now?"

"I don't think I can," Naru said. "I don't think I've got any power left. I'm so tired."

"I think we're all tired," Yumemi said from where she sat with Helios. "Besides, it will work best if we have all the Senshi with us so that the entire Order of the Celestial Crystal is present. Let's wait till tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Thetis asked. She and Jadeite emerged from their corner, arms around each other's waists. "It keeps getting colder outside."

"I don't think it'll get so cold by tomorrow morning that the Celestial Crystal can't reverse it. We have a little more time."

"Let's split up for the night, then, and get some rest," Nephrite suggested.

"Of course, the guy who just got married today is going to rest tonight," Jadeite said.

Nephrite pointedly ignored him. "Can everyone teleport or be teleported to a safe place? We'd probably better assume that any of us who shows our face in public will be arrested right away. Except the Senshi, of course."

"Sorry about that," Usagi said sheepishly.

Jadeite and Thetis could teleport on their own, as could Zoisite and Kunzite. Yumemi and Helios didn't have teleportation powers; Jadeite and Thetis offered to get them to Yumemi's apartment, which Thetis had visited frequently. The group agreed on a meeting time early in the morning, then everyone left except for Usagi and Mamoru. Usagi was still holding the staff with the Silver Crystal on it. She walked over to Naru and held it out to her. "I, um, I think you'd better keep this tonight. I'm afraid of what it might do to me. I don't want what happened to happen again. It isn't fixed all the way, and it scares me."

Naru reached out and took hold of the staff. Usagi's eyes darkened and for a brief moment she held on to the staff more tightly.

"It's okay," Naru said. "I'll take good care of it and tomorrow we'll make everything right, the way it's supposed to be."

Usagi's eyes cleared. She smiled and let Naru take the scepter. "Thanks, Naru-chan. See you tomorrow." Holding on to Mamoru, she teleported, and then Nephrite and Naru were finally alone.

Nephrite turned to Naru. She smiled up at him. "I can stay, this time." He put his arms around her and they kissed for a long time. Finally they pulled apart and Nephrite led Naru by the hand up the stairs to the bedroom.

"I'd like to wash up first, if that's ok," Naru said. Despite the cold and snow, she was dirty and sweaty from her fight for the Silver Crystal.

"Okay. Don't take too long." Nephrite kissed her, then sat on the edge of the bed to wait for her.

The bathroom was plain and strictly functional. The basics were available: soap, a few washcloths, a towel; he could afford to live much more comfortably than he did, Naru thought. It looked like everything was just a prop for his role as Sanjouin Masato, nothing was there for his own enjoyment or comfort. She would have to work on getting him to change that, she thought.

She washed her face. At some point she had gotten a deep scratch across her cheek. It might leave a scar, but, all things considered, one little scar was a small price to pay for what they had accomplished today.

She was a little nervous about what was to come but also eager. For years she had assumed that she would be sleeping with Umino eventually; she had never cared to dwell on the details. But now, the same details that her mind had shied away from in the past came into her mind and made her start to feel warm and weak. She took a few deep breaths and composed herself, then emerged from the bathroom.

Nephrite was lying down on the same place on the bed where he had been sitting a few minutes before. Naru went over to him; he was asleep, as though he had simply collapsed right where he sat. She brushed his hair away from his face. He didn't stir, but just kept breathing slowly and deeply. All that teleporting around the country today must have worn him out. And taking her and Yumemi, along with him - it must have been like carrying two people around with him, except the effort was with his mind and his magical powers instead of his body. As Naru well knew by now, intense psychic exertion took a toll on the body just as physical exertion did. Seeing him asleep made her aware of just how desperately tired she was; all of a sudden it hurt to try to stay upright any longer. She lay down beside Nephrite and tugged the blankets and bedspread around to cover them, and fell asleep.

* * * * * * * *

Every time he woke up, he had trouble remembering where he was, or when, or even who. He never knew if he was in the Dark Kingdom, the mansion that was not quite entirely on Earth, the place in between life and death where he had lingered for so long, unable to move forward or go back, or even, sometimes, places that lay just beyond his memory. But one thing was always the same - no matter where or when he woke up he was always alone.

But something was different this time. He reached out a hand, encountered smooth skin where the hem of a sweater had ridden up, a feminine curve of jean-clad hip.

Naru. His. Finally.

He grasped her hip and pulled her close against him. She stirred, and in the faintly star-lit darkness of the bedroom he could see her eyes gazing into his, her welcoming smile. He pressed his mouth against hers, and they forgot everything else in the world.