Natalia was there, standing at the gate to Leo Outpost looking between the bars at the rainbow road and the vast expanse of space beyond.

There were rumors spreading among the Outposts that two of their own had been out on that road and were attacked, and now lay in coma. Of course, the stories she was hearing were varied here and there, but the main points remained the same. Coma. Like Sailor Cancer. Natalia could just vaguely remember seeing the senshi in the belly of that space whale. Alive. Fighting. She'd struck something, and then from there it was pretty blank for her. No doubt her concussion attained shortly after was to blame. The next thing Natalia remembered was arrival at an outpost and recovering.

Somewhere out there, there was danger. Somewhere out there, there were monsters. Like the whale. Would she encounter one the next time she was going with others to help distribute food? She must have been quite lucky thus far. Either that or the large groups were too intimidating for the monsters. Then again, the space whale had gone after more than 60 of them! Hmm...maybe the smaller monsters then? Just what all lurked out there, waiting? Should she stick to the relative safety of the kitchens, or scrubbing the floors, a prisoner in the Leo Outpost forever?

Natalia had never thought of herself as a coward. Then again, she'd never faced anything like she was facing now. She'd be lieing is she didn't admit that she was scared. She was. Natalia was so far from home, away from everything she knew... Her parents must have been worried. They had enough to worry about with her brother. They didn't need to worry about her too... Who knew? Maybe this would actually get her brother to wake up and clean up his life? Maybe when she got home - if she got home - she'd return to a happy family again. Not the family she had now - torn and fighting, sad, worried... Or maybe she wouldn't even make it home at all.

What would happen to her if she died out here? Her parents would never know, and there would be no way for them to ever find closure. She'd never get to do the things she wanted to do with life. Sure, she didn't know what career she wanted to pursue, but she wanted to graduate! She wanted to have all the life experiences that still awaited her!

That was it! She was determined now. Determined to live. To make it through this. To go home and straighten out her family. Straighten out her brother and just...make things right again. And once Natalia Tsaritsa makes her mind up, come hell or high water, there is no changing it.

But somewhere, over the rainbow, one's mind didn't really matter, and her life was not in her hands. But don't tell her that.