the celestial one | YUMIKO

act twenty-one \ light in the shadow of doubt

"Oh, I caught it!"

More surprised then anyone as she didn't think her shorter hands would catch the Crystal, Miko looked down at the delicate lotus flower, her eyes shining in its light as her head leaned to the side with her father beside her.

"Maybe it's a sign." She looked up to the man, their cerulean eyes matching she softly nodded.

"Yeah, maybe it is. Maybe it's mama telling me to grow up and realize that I'm going to be holding the Legendary Silver Crystal as Queen. But what we have to do is find a way to get back Sailor Celeste and Tuxedo Mask. We don't know what's happening on Nemesis, but it could be bad."

"Wow, you sound mature--"

Cutting off Chibiusa's words as it responded to the Princess, Crystal Palace suddenly shone with brilliant light, catching everyone off-guard as a pure shockwave of silver and white light restored their fatigue.

Glowing even brighter as the Moon shone down on the Palace from a clearing in the sky, King Endymion rose from the ground as the group behind him looked up, his sole focus on where the light was shining as he let out a soft gasp.

"Wait, is it true? It has to be!"

Noticing the change in the King's expression, Sailor Mercury opened her mouth to ask a question, but her words were changed when the male suddenly ran off in a sprint, "K-King Endymion, what is going on?"

Not far from her father as the Sailor Senshi followed behind, Miko watched the colour begin to return to his skin, the steps he made in the ground leaving marks right before his white dress shoes made a sound on the crystal floor.

"Papa's shoes made a sound- wait for me!"

Watching the father-daughter duo race ahead of them, the group of nine were right on their trail as they rushed up the grand staircase that led to the uppermost sacred room. Feeling his heart race as they entered the darker hallway, the sound of an airy laugh was music to King Endymion's ears as he reached the double doors at the end of the hall, his gloved hands quickly opening to a bright light.

Fixing his gaze so that he could see clearly, the King's steps sped into the room before coming a slow stop, his cerulean eyes focused on the open crystalline in front of him as tears welled up and rolled down his cheeks.

"No, no, darling. You shouldn't be pulling mama's hair like that. I told you that before, but you must not be listening to me!" A deep giggle came from a small child as its nose was lightly poked, cheeks were squeezed and tummy was tickled.

"But mama's hair i-is soft." The child lifted a small hand to a woman's hair, her fingers interlocking with long white locks as her eyes stared into her mother's.

"And your hair is soft as well, so why don't you pull on your hair?" The girl pursed her lips together before gleefully laughing, the woman holding her let out the same harmonious sound before a loud sob cut through the laughs.

Turning towards the center of the room, the two females figures were illuminated in the crystal light as the older sat the younger in her lap.

Quickly slipping off his gloves and mask before dropping his cane as two pairs of eyes stared at him, Endymion covered his mouth to muffle his cry as the two matching, joyous smiles watched him.

"Papa!" The young girl lifted her arms in the air before directing them to the white-clad male, a toothy smile on her face as her black locks brushed her shoulders.

"That's right, Koko. There's papa. Do you want to give papa a big hug?" The black-haired male began to walk forward, up the steps and stopped in front of the open crystalline structure.