Being up on Albireo again was strangely liberating. The sheer relief that she felt when she returned to her Homeworld was almost staggering. It was one of the most fantastic places she had ever been, and now that she was looking around once more, she couldn’t quite believe that she had ever hated this place. Ever been afraid of it like she had been.

The idea of burying the dead had been somewhat of a joke. One shared with herself and the Castor Squire but…she had come prepared with a shovel. If she could bring some beauty to her world, she would, and if it meant digging graves for those who had been lost…then that simply meant she would be a grave digger for a little while.

Albireo had packed rations, some food and two cases of water were brought with her, and by her reckoning…she could stay up here for at least a few days, if not a week.

The only downside to that was the fact she hadn’t…told Siegfried…or Cybele for that matter. She knew that Sieg was going to be talking to Cybele and…she couldn’t quite face it. The idea of her friend being angry with her for being a fool. Not again.

She sighed heavily and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. Honestly, she wasn’t sure why Siegfried had thought he needed to tell Cybele but…oh well. What was done was going to be done so. All she could do was deal with the fallout.

Later.

For now…she had a job to do.

Slowly, Albireo began to dig, finding the action difficult at first, her arms not used to the work, her muscles screaming in pain from the unknown movements. She was pleased that she had gloves, but even with them, after burying the second body, her palms and fingers were aching from blisters but…

Already, things were looking better.

It was strange, and it might have been all in her mind, but it seemed like every time she finished with a grave, filling it in and moving a bunch of the strange, pale blue flowers on top, it seemed as though more fireflies came out to play.

Roy had come to visit, of course, and even now he sat on her shoulder, his blue glow comforting as she worked.

The first day she had managed to buy five different skeletons, and it truly must have been in her mind, but the air itself seemed lighter. Something was different.

When Albireo woke the next morning to a lovely white feathered butterfly on her nose, elegant wings opening and closing, she gasped, scaring the poor thing away.

Butterflies. There were no butterflies up on Albireo…and that…

Wow.

It took a full four days to clear the battlefield of skeletons, but they were all buried. All snug in the ground, bedecked with flowers and laid to rest.

She was tired, but pleased. Everything hurt, but…that was okay. She had done what she had come to do and tomorrow she could go home and face the worry of her husband and friend. Obviously they were going to be out of their minds with worry…she had been gone for days and hadn’t told anyone where she was going but…

That was okay. They would understand. They would be worried, but they would understand, she was sure of it.

As Albireo stretched out on her sleeping bag, she softly patted Roy, her faithful companion over all of these days. His light had kept her spirits up while she worked, and truly, she felt that they were actual friends...even if he was just a bug. He was her bug, and she loved him.

The field was filled with the fireflies now, what had been dozens had turned into hundreds, and they all seemed to like her, even now, they were lazily swarming around her, their rainbow lights blinking like a Christmas tree. It was such a pleasant thing to see while she was going to sleep.

Her dreams that night were…rather wonderful. There was a black haired girl who spoke to her, though she couldn’t tell what she was saying, it almost seemed to be words of thanks, or at least that was what she imagined. And when she was hugged by the girl…who wore an outfit that looked somewhat near to her own, Albireo felt so warm inside. It was strange. The dreams on the previous nights had all been of fighting. Of pain and of death but it perhaps she had simply gotten rid of the ghosts when she had buried those who had been long dead.

Whatever the reason, Albireo was quite pleased with the good sleep, and in the morning, there was a soft glow all over her skin, and she chuckled softly, assuming that it was more of the fireflies, jealous of how much Roy and her cuddled, but…when she gently shook her arm to knock the bugs off, the glow remained, and nothing went flying into the sky with the movement.

Pausing, the senshi sat up and blinked swiftly. No…no, there were no fireflies on her, but…she was glowing, and there were the images of fireflies on her skin. Fireflies and swirls and…oh.

Oh now she was like Kerberos. And Encke and almost all of those that she had spent time with. It was something with her…Homeworld wasn’t it? She would have to find out but…the fact that she had gotten such a gift from a place she had been so afraid of, so utterly, desperately afraid of…

It was astounding.

Albireo’s vision began swimming as her eyes filled with sudden, hot tears and she swallowed, wiping them away as swiftly as she could. She wasn’t upset, but she was terribly proud. Terribly pleased that this had happened. That she had…truly bonded with her most favorite place in the Universe.

Quietly, she ran her fingers over one of the flowers that had sprung up near her bed roll and gave a soft, pleased, “Thank you. I’ll be back soon.”

And then, she went back to Earth. She had a husband and a best friend to talk to…and perhaps this would help them not to be too angry with her.