Welcome to Gaia! ::

She stood on the long dried remains of her blood, in the pavilion under its giant cheery banner (Welcome to Hestia!) and looked out at the vastness of space from her own small, fleeting place within it. The wisp, excited, flitted from pillar to pillar and then up to the banned, giving the little cartoon version of the senshi a few affectionate baps. Seeing it here, it seemed that it was different from the first one. Less of a ghostly echo, more like a living thing that simply followed her home. The quiet resentment she’d held toward it and the reminder of everything that had changed, relaxed and faded into a sort of acceptance. Why be mad at something choosing to stick around her? Even if this was, possibly, the lowest point in her life.

Turning to scan both the standing temples and altars and then the ruins that surrounded them, her eyes took in each and every single vessel that held a perpetual flame. The symbol that a visitor had been here. A thing that she had promised to tend to and protect. (Would you like to light a flame?)

But had she promised? It always felt like a promise, but the world had never taken her vow, nor any visitor. There were just explanations, descriptions of a time and tradition that had fallen a thousand years ago. She had just assumed, with her typical focus, solemn and sincere, that her existence and acceptance was a vow. One-sidedly.

It really was Miss Mindy all over again. Born to serve a purpose. Loyal and determined, but it was all just in her own head to be something they never asked nor wanted her to be.

She laughed, a rarity, but she felt like there must be a joke somewhere in this, and it was all on her.

“So what now?” She called out, voice choking with helpless frustration. “What comes next?”

Of course nothing. Of course.

After awhile, expression dull and sullen, she started walking toward the giant basin that held the All Flame, the same path taken two weeks ago. Standing in front of it, she pulled her henshin pen from subspace and reached back and back into that state of mind. Excited. Relieved. Uncertain. Two girls separated by a thousand years and tied together by a purpose neither were yet sure of.

“To serve.”

Who?

“To tend.”

But who?

“To clear the way.”

Hestia stared into the too-small flame, and let go of the question, falling into the vows.

“Let all burn cleanly.”

“Let all burn brightly.”

“Lead all to shine amongst the stars.”

If not Miss Mindy, if not the world of Hestia? She still would serve. She still would tend. She would clear the way. There was still that much. She still needed to be…herself, as she was.

Exhaling heavily, Hestia felt something loosen, just a little, that not everything so far was changed and made worthless. The focus just needed to shift. That was the only real question, wasn’t it?

Who?

Finally letting go for a moment, she silently began her normal ritual of cleaning the basins and urns of any collected soot and debris. It was, of course, symbolic, but it always felt good to take care of someone, even if it was just in the form of a gesture made lightyears away. Even if it was some a*****e captain that made her bleed out and liked it.

Maybe.

Her hands paused.

Especially.

Her jaw set.

Somebody like that.

There was another laugh because she was sure that was so unfunny to the point of being actually funny. This whole ordeal was really doing wonders for her sense of humor. Too bad the joke haunted the rest of her day. And then the next.

She was cleaning the blood in the gift shop when she heard it.

“You will be dying off world,” the voice of a senior Keeper, gently matter of fact, “but not before you’ve served with purpose. You’ve trained for this.” A large, reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You’re strong in the ways Sailor Hestia must be and you’ll be able to serve well.”

“The Light in the Darkness?” she heard her own voice, wavering at the sudden immensity of everything that was happening to her but still with that edge of hope.

“There will always be a Light in the Darkness, and there will always be Sailor Hestia to ensure that it burns clean and bright.”

“But..I can’t come back? Until I die?”

“When you die, you’ll return anew, and we’ll rejoice to have you back. Are you afraid?”

“Not of dying, just…”

The voices faded along with the hush-hush-swish of hundreds of brooms moving together against ancient marble paths.

The Light in the Darkness.

It was something. It was, in fact, everything she needed to know. Because there was only one real darkness that sprawled across Earth. And if she didn’t know what specific ‘Light’ she was meant to serve? She did know there was light within it. There were people like Graphite and Niter, who'd rather talk than fight. Like Frigoris, formerly Captain Retzian, always her friend. There was that eternal corrupt, strutting and running across the grass of the raceway, surrounded by senshi and knights and still embodying a joyous sort of power. There was the general at the bank, against a backdrop of fire and threats on all sides, still wanting to fight regardless of all else.

And, she supposed with a sudden, bone-deep certainty. There would also be her, too.