Struggling To Survive

Darien and Serena were together a week after the starlights left to rebuild Kinmoku. Darien was accepted back to Harvard and he felt that he didn't want to be "attached" to anyone while he was there. It was a month after they broke up when Serena started to have shooting abdominal pain. The pain lasted a week before she started vomiting. Her roommate, Mina Aino, suspected that Serena was pregnant, but that diagnosis was shot down when she heard her young friend coughing profusely in the middle of the night. With a yawn the young blonde got out of bed to see if the petite girl was okay, but when she opened the door and turned on the lights she noticed that there were specs of blood on the bed. When she got closer she found out that Serena was coughing blood; instantly she went into panic mode.

"Sere, do you think you could make it to the car if I helped you?"

"I…think..so…Mina."

Mina helped Serena out of bed with shaking hands, but once out of bed Serena's knees buckled beneath her. Mina's body began to shake as she felt helpless as she watched her best friend hold her sides in pain and cough up more blood. Tears rolled down her face not able to get the other girls' help since they were all out of town for awhile.

"Mina…call…an…ambulance."

She raced out of the bedroom and grabbed her cell phone dialing the number as she ran back to her friend lying on the floor in pain. The sirens from the ambulance roared throughout the city's streets until it came upon the apartment of the two girls. Three paramedics raced up the stairs to the third floor where Mina already had the door open for them.

"Miss!?"

"Down here!"

The paramedics arrived quickly to the room and two of the medics started to check her pulse before placing her on the stretcher, while the other one asked some questions about Serena's condition to Mina. To Serena it seemed like hours had passed before they left her room with Mina still talking to the other medic.

"Has Miss Tsukino been in any fights or accidents lately?"

"Yes she was, but so was myself and our other friends. We were in the same battle."

"How long ago was that would you say?"

"A month month an a half maybe."

"Do you know of any diseases that run in her family?"

"There aren't any that I know of."

The questions went on for an hour until the medic finally left so that she could change and rush to the hospital, where she was told that she could not go in to see Serena until the next afternoon. She sat in the waiting room until she saw a doctor come out of her room.

"Excuse me doctor, but can you tell me what's wrong with Serena or at least how she is?"

"We're thinking she has some internal bleeding form whatever battle she was in last month."

"That can't be possible there were twelve of us in that battle. Wouldn't we all have some kind of internal bleeding?"

"Look Miss…"

"Aino…Mina Aino."

"Miss Aino, I don't know what you guys were battling against but Miss Tsukino got it the worst. So why don't you just go to your studio and make a new cd huh."

Peeved Mina stormed out of the hospital and headed for the empty apartment where she sat down on Serena's bed and cried. Her cat, Artemis, found her there later that night with fresh tears running down her face. When he jumped up onto the bed she didn't even notice him.

"Mina? What's wrong? Where's Serena?"

"She's at the hospital where they claim she has internal bleeding from the battle last month."

"Wouldn't you or the other's have it too then?"

"That's what I said to that damn doctor, but he told me to go to the studio and make a new cd!"

"Have you told the others?"

The young blonde shook her head knowing that Artemis would tell her she should, but he also knew that she had no way of reaching them. The white haired feline left the blonde and made his way over to the Tsukino residence where Luna was. He found the purple feline curled up on Serena's old bed fast asleep.

"Luna…Luna…Wake up!"

"Artemis…What are you doing here?"

"Serena's in the hospital. The doctor thinks she may have internal bleeding from the battle the scouts were in last month."

"Wouldn't some of the others have it?"

"Mina asked the doctor that, but the ass told her to go to the studio and make a new cd. She needs to tell the others Luna, but she has no way of reaching them."

"I think I could solve that problem."

Luna stood up and did a back flip in the air like she did many times before years ago. On the bed dropped an orange crescent moon with Venus' planetary symbol on it.

"Take this to her Artemis and tell her she can reach anyone on it no matter where they are."

"You know who she is going to call first right if I tell her that."

"I know Artemis; just go."