Copyright: © 2012 Moonrise Inn Publications
Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction. Sailor Moon is property of Naoko Takeuchi.
Lyrics: 'Phobic' Plumb
Authors Note: English Version: Companion story to 'Broken'

Treasure
Author: Zorra Reed
~Story Two of Two~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched you sit alone
I watched you cry your eyes out
Now tell me what you've done
Is it so bad that
I would shut you out
And leave you here alone?

In the darkness of the moonless night I stood in the deep shadow of a Sakura tree watching the lone figure make her way slowly towards the lake; its surface glistening like thousands of tiny diamonds against the placid black that is its depth. Silently, I pressed closer to the trunk too better hide myself in the overlaying shadows as I circled the tree, my steps measured in time with her approach. My eyes carefully following her every movement as she traveled the length of the walkway out over the surface of the lake before stopping at its foot.

Easing off, first her shoes, followed by her socks, she sat them aside neatly out of the way and took a seat; pulling her skirt up to her thighs before dangling her legs over the two in-a-half foot drop to sink her feet into the cooling sun-warmed waters; kicking at the water in a lazy fashion to stir and shatter the diamond illusion into specks of dust, which dance in the water like fireflies. It wasn't necessary to draw closer for me to know it was Serena.

For endless nights now, she'd been secretly coming out here in an attempt to escape the disquieting thoughts and feelings that wrapped around her soul. Sometimes, she'd just sit by the lake and stare at the stars reflecting on the water's ever shifting surface. Other times, she would sit on the swing set, swaying back and forth with a melancholy air before dragging herself away, and follow the park trails through the woods canopy, wondering 'till all hours of the night. With each new nightmare I had, the shadow in my heart grew and I knew something was wrong with my princess. We had to protect her! It was our job to protect our princess, and to do that I needed to keep a close eye on her.

Yes, I saw what you did
I was right there with you
I won't let you sink
No, I forgive you

I had come out here tonight in hope of finding the dock empty of the pale maiden. I wanted the opportunity to sort out my own feelings and thoughts beneath the bliss of the stars, as Serena had. I worried for her as I worried for myself. Worried about the strain being a sailor scout was putting upon her, and the weight of everyone's expectations piling up on her shoulders as they constantly nagged and compared her to her other-self from a forgotten life; a past life that might be no more real to her than an imaginative game. I worried about her trust in me and my ability to protect her properly. On this, I said nothing to the other scouts, not wishing to involve them in our personal problems. During our battle at Tokyo Tower Serena had been overloaded with memories when the moon princess had surfaced, but I cannot help but ask myself if the memories were real or simply a stranger's visions from a far distant past, best left unremembered.

I have my memories of those days. I remember back on the moon, when she was alone, on the rare occasions when she felt she could be her true, unrestrained self. Serena was much as she is now. Not clumsy, or loud, nor a crybaby, no, none of those things, but free of reasonability, and filled with compassion and laughter. Only towards the end did fear and heartache become known to her; to all of us, really. I wondered if she remembered being the princess, and those moments of peace and pain that existed only within herself, and if that was perhaps the reason she acted (in this life) as she does now? Only Venus and myself had had the pleasure of knowing the real her. I sometimes wonder if Venus remembers our life back in the Moon Kingdom. She certainly gives one the impression that she knows more than she cares to let on.

I return my attention to Serena. She is standing on the peer now, no longer interested in submerging herself within the cooled water. Her elegant pigtails are curling about her damp knees as she overlooks the lake with an upturned face, her stance graceful and relaxed. For an instant, her eyes became visible as she sways into a patch of moonlight. I behold a strange, beautiful, frightening expression etched upon her features. It wasn't that expression that sent shivers down my spine; it was what that expression told me she was thinking about. I knew that look. I'd seen it in her eyes more repeatedly as our battles with the negaverse persisted. Mina has had the same look. Creatures of pure, blissful emotion the two are. It's tormenting how rudimentary these angels have become beneath the wretchedness of war. I shudder, knowing that as despondency ebbs away at them, they both are brash enough to do something stupid and irreversible.

Phobic
Don't be
Grace needs a little more freedom
Phobic
Don't be
Love needs room to breathe

An unsettling feeling had taken root and was growing in the pit of my stomach, so I turn my thoughts away from their dark happenings and focus my attention instead on the princess as she gathered herself, placing her shoes upon her feet again, ready to leave. I follow her from the park and into the city as she makes her way steadily through the thick crowds that loiter the streets, the hour is late, and soon the crowds will be thinning. Once or twice, I caught sight of her hesitating, slowing to look back over her shoulder, her keen eyes searching the crowd for the gaze she could sense upon her. For a moment, I was certain she'd seen me, knew I was the one following. No matter how quite I were to be, Serena's instincts were strong, she knew when something wasn't as it should be. But she, sensing no danger, continues on, allowing me the luxury of releasing my anxiety in a huffed breath; only for it to be caught again when she stops at the entry to Tokyo Tower. 'Of all the places to go…. Why here?' I didn't grace my thought with an answer, for I was sure I would not care for the reply.

Serena lingers by the doors only a short while then slips into the shadows of the ally. I hesitate on the street, my eyes locked upon her silhouette from a distance. I watch her place her hand upon the brooch at her chest, imagine hearing her speak the magical command that initiates the transform into Sailor Moon, and watch as she's encompassed by blue-white light, lasting less then a heartbeat, before emerging as the defender of the Earth. Not bothering to glance about, knowing from experience that the magic goes unseen by the humans, I hurry into the ally after Sailor Moon, initiating my own transformation in order to follow her as she ping-pongs off the buildings, gradually making her way to the top of the tower.

Once I reach the top of the tower I easily slip into the shadows, choosing to remain in my sailor form; I'd need it to get back down to street level since the tower had already closed to public access, or worse, to stop Serena, which ever came first. Serena, however, detransformed, Sailor Moon's purpose served. To my dismay, she climbed up a ladder and onto a narrow ledge, spreading her arms wide as if to catch the breeze and fly away.

I have watched you grow
And I've stood in your shadow
I've never walked away
I hung the stars and
I hold your heart
So, don't ever be afraid

I bite my lower lip to keep from crying out, my heart racing a mile a minute as I watch her lean forward into the breeze. Would I be able to reach her in time if she were to be carried away? I would leap off the building after her and take what I could of the impact if it meant it would spare her life. Only as I tensed, and made ready to launch myself towards her, did I notice that her feet were firmly planted on the ledge. She had no real intention of jumping. …Had she?

I relaxed marginally, still on my guard as I crept from my hiding space to inch closer to the ledge, needing to be within easy reach should she fall. Perhaps I was to close…because I suddenly found myself overwhelmed by emotions not my own, the onset stirring my curiosity. So strong were they that I could almost hear what Serena was thinking. Summing the encounter up to the fact that I was still in my sailor form, my sensitivities heightened as a result, and because Serena's guard was down she was more open with her emotions at the moment. Still, I wondered now moreso then I had in the past, if Serena possessed on some level, psychic abilities.

Letting myself connect with her, I felt her thoughts swept away, and her longing to fly. I knew she wondered if angels would catch her and carry her off to a better place; or if she'd fall to her ultimate doom…many…many…stories below. It was like she was acting out some non-existent fairy tale in her mind. She was certain that no one would be able to stop her. No one would save her this time. No one could save her from herself.

Yes, I know when you breathe
And I feel when you need
I won't let you sink
No, I forgive you

A darkness that dwells inside of her is what urged her to jump. It begged for release. Tempting her with the promise of unforgettable sensations and heart pounding thrills as she touched the sky for the briefest of moments, a moment for her - that was frozen in time - released in a single breath to reach forward with open arms to embrace the ever nearing ground below. The pain she would rival in as her body broke and tore under the pressure of the impact bringing with it a sensation, the pulling feel of her blood as the substance rushed from her body, leaving her limbs numb and useless, she craved it. Such agony…. She thrived off agony. It was a drug that she kept hidden from all, only to be let out in moments such as these when she was truly weak.

You can be healed
You can be free
You can know peace
Never be afraid again

Her thoughts cut off as she launched herself into the air, severing the connection we held. I launched myself forward after her, my steps feeling heavy and far between as they worked against my desire to reach her in time. "SERENA!" I cried out with all my heart and soul, utterly panicked that this could…would be the last time I saw her. She heard me, how could she have not? ...I daresay she even knew I'd been there the whole time, watching her. She flung her body back at the last moment, twisting midway to land on the safety of the roof below the ledge rather then to soar beyond it. She only fell a few feet, but the thudding sound of her body followed swiftly by the cracking of her head as she struck the unyielding payment, caused me to grimace.

She lay there, allowing the pain to sore through her before she pushed it into a small ball and stored it away for another day. I waited until the moment passed before I took the two remaining steps to her, kneeling down beside her. She'd been here before, it was written in her eyes. She'd done this very thing over and over. Never satisfying the darkness inside or getting any closer to a decision. Serena, I realized with a start, wasn't sure if she wanted to be suicidal or not. She wasn't looking to die, just hurt. A deep hurt that would transfix itself to her soul and slowly eat away at her will. She was struggling with an internal battle that could never be fully won or lost.

"Oh Serena," I whispered, embracing her, tears spilling down my checks, unchecked.

She was upset. She was angry with me for butting in and angry with herself for being found out. Most of all she was angry with her indecision to chose a path - life or death. In a way, I could tell she thought of me as her guardian angel. I smiled at that, Me, the Warrior of Mars, the one person (aside from Darien) that causes her more grief then any of her other friends. Ironic that I'm the one she turns to in her times of need, even if it's sometimes only in her thoughts and not her actions. I'll protect you, my sweet princess.

Never be afraid
Never be afraid
I'm here

Ja'Ne