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Sue, meanwhile, had been safely asleep in his own bed, enjoying a completely unrelated dream that was completely lacking of old, familiar faces and the utter destruction of emotional barriers. Or at least, it had been. Because somewhere in the midst of a Hollywood-inspired dream of flying over the forest of an alien world, a voice began to cut in through the flimsy barrier of Sue's subconsciousness: Zue, help me....

The next few seconds blasted by like a freak storm, throwing around mental clutter as Sue simultaneously woke straight up from his dead sleep and instinctively reached for some mental controls he hadn't consciously known were there. It was like pushing into a dusty room in an old house, and watching all the sheets being ripped off of the previously indistinguishable shapes disguising the room's purpose; and, before he knew what was happening (or whether it was even his doing, or merely his reaction!), Sue found himself someplace very, very different from the dingy motel room he'd been calling home.

It would have been extremely awkward if, at this point, he should have discovered himself inside the Princess's room, wearing nothing but his boxers and maybe a bit of drool on his cheek. Luckily for him, this wasn't quite the case - or at least, half of it wasn't. Because it didn't take him more than a few seconds, eyes absorbing the sight of feminine decor through the darkness and mind picking out the familiar and all-important blip on his radar, to know that he was indeed in Serenade's room - but he, at least, had somehow found the dignity to dress himself in a more appropriate, albeit smaller, form in that instant of automatic reaction.

He heard his name being whimpered between sniffles, and his ears went flat. Without a word, the Guardian Cat launched himself up onto the bed where Serenade was curled up underneath the blanket, soaking the cloth through with her muffled tears.

Zue couldn't imagine what had happened to put her in such a state - but fortunately, it didn't matter. He trotted up to the head of the bed quickly, right up near Serenade's pillow, and lowered his head down to where she'd buried herself beneath the covers. He batted a paw at the blanket's hem, as though trying to dig her out to where he could reach her - "Princess...?"

"Light sleeper" was kind of light-handed in how poorly Elke slept. Elke slept really freaking lightly; light enough that she had opened her eyes when Serenade had started to cry, but since she never seemed to be able to fix anything, she had stayed quiet. She bit her lip, pressed her hands over her mouth, and listened. There wasn't anything else she could do, was there?

The Princess seemed to have summoned Zue; of course, she could do that! Still trying to feign sleep, she rolled over, opened her eyes and looked at the sad tableau.

She had been dreaming about Helios and Eon. Helios... the name was familiar, it rung bells with no answer, but Eon. She knew Eon. She always had known the Prince Cavalier of the Epoch... "Poor Princess." It was barely more than a breath, but Elke still startled herself. Thinking her deception was over, she sat up in the bed. "Princess? Are you okay?" She swung her legs over the side, prepared to go to Serenade's side if she was needed; she nodded to Zue, a Soldier Virgo nod, calm and efficient.

"I... I guess I will be." The green-haired girl murmured, sobs gradually residing as Zue nuzzled her cheek, giving her Guardian Cat a small tentative smile, trying to assure him that she was alright. She probably just needed to cry things out, but even so, her chest still felt hollow and empty within. It was silly to even remember that back in Barren Pines, she had not known what love was, but now, she herself was suffering the pain it could bring.

"Helios." She said finally, after taking a few deep breaths. "Eon... he asked Helios for a favor. Asked him...her..." There was a bit of gender confusion there, for briefly, she recalled the Priest of Elysion, with his short silver hair, but he looked different from when she met him again in her dream. Then again, Astraea had looked different from Luna before, hadn't she? And there was Kunzite..."Asked Helios to let him come to visit me."

"He told me to go to Helios if I wanted to see him again." She murmured. Eon had told her many more things really, to be strong, to go out there and fight, but this was the most important part she felt she needed to know the answer to. "But I don't know where Helios is. Who Helios is."

If Elke had been asking him, is it all right for me to cry, then Zue would have probably given her a disgusted look and reminded her that the Negaverse didn't hand out hankies and wait for people to finish drying their eyes on the battlefield. But when she asked if it was all right for the Princess to cry, well....

"Of course." It wasn't like Zue had ever made overtures of believing in a fair and just universe - not in this incarnation, anyway.

Awkward as he felt around all this touchy-feely stuff, unsure if he had any tangible way of helping the Princess but anxious to find one, Zue felt almost grateful when neither Serenade nor Elke seemed to have any clue. Finally, something he could really contribute! (Providing free snuggles, to his mind, was not actually helping - it didn't solve the problem, after all, only treated the symptom.)

"Helios is the Priest of Elysion," he commented, for the benefit of those without any memories jangling in their heads. It was one of the few, rare times in memory, that Zue thought he might have information to share about this type of stuff - it was bizarre, actually, and gratifying. Propping himself against the Princess's shoulders so that he could look her directly in the face, he suggested - "If we could find our way there, we might find him. Or else if he knows you are looking for him, he might come to us."

The underlying implication: Yes, Princess, they would find him. For whatever good it would do her grieving heart.

She had worried that Zue would not be comforting at all. In her memories, he was a killjoy (a killjoy she liked, but still a killjoy) who was always bluntly realistic. That was valued, because it pushed her further and harder and--she had still failed in the end, but he had tried, and she'd respected him for that. Still did, in a way. "Don't be sorry, Princess," said Elke; "You never have to be sorry."

A girl Helios? That was weird, but then, it was no weirder than a girl Captain. The Priest of Elysion, she vaguely remembered, hadn't been that masculine anyway.

"I'll ask all the senshi I meet," she said firmly. "All of them!" Finding Helios would be her Number One Priority. She would even ask the Captain, just in case, and also Captain Kunzite.

Just so all her bases were covered. "We'll find her, Princess," promised Elke.

"And not patrol alone." Serenade admonished her lightly as a reminder. She had told Ally about what had happened to Elke, and he had seemed worried too. But really, it was a part of Elke's powers; getting hurt. And it really sucked like that.

"I hope so." She said, fiddling with a corner of her sheets. "Astraea's really hard to find though; probably planning the meeting she was talking about." The last time she had seen Astraea was at the hospital, and Astraea had only mentioned Kunzite, but not Helios. Did that mean Helios was not here yet? Was he... or she still hiding? It was puzzling.

Zue's sudden question made her fix her gaze on him in curiosity and she closed her eyes slightly. She herself didn't really remember everything in the past, though it had been coming back to her slowly as days passed. "I... think I can remember it. Hold on." Eyes snapped open and she slipped out of bed, searching in her wardrobe for something. When she turned, they both noticed the electronic keyboard balanced carefully in her hands. Serenade didn't play it much; she much preferred to play at the grand piano in Crystal Academy because it had much a larger range, but this keyboard was good for simple tunes she just wanted to play to cheer her up. Besides, if she recalled correctly, that song was pretty simple and basic, with no difficult chords.

The keyboard was brought over and set carefully on her bed and she switched it on, taking a while to fiddle with the volume knob and testing if it was just soft enough for them to hear. When she was satisfied, Serenade set her hands on the keys and played, letting her fingers remember it for her. It was indeed simple, but cheery, played at a moderate speed. Serenade Soriano did not manage to place the song as anything she had ever heard before, any score that had been composed by a famous musician or something like that, but Chronos remembered and smiled as she played.

Did Zue give Elke permission to pat him? No, he was pretty sure he hadn't. He made a grumpy face at the girl (though it was rather indistinguishable from his normal cat face, honestly), harumphing under his breath. She wouldn't try something like that if he were in human form, so why did she think it was all right in cat form?

... Of course. Zue wouldn't go snuggling up to the Princess in human form, either. Or be lounging around in her room at night, angling for the best spot on the bed to perch while she adjusted the settings on her keyboard. So maybe he was being a bit of a hypocrite - not that he'd admit it, of course.

He was glad to find that she remembered that song - better than he had, sure enough, to be able to play it so easily. His ears tilted to catch as much of the music as they could, while Zue seemed to sink into the mattress, relaxing. He really had suggested the song for the Princess's sake, make no mistake, but that didn't mean it didn't have an effect on him either.

"You still play very well, Princess," the cat sighed - did he seem a little less grouchy now than before? Was there maybe a bit of gravel in his throat, the slightest hint of a purr? Surely not! Not with one of the Zodiacs there. What would Zue do, if it got out that he was really just a big softie around his Princess?