Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon
Rating: M+
ViolencexMild languagex Angstx Hurt/Comfort
Life or Death "Hold On Sailor Moon!"
Summary: Tuxedo Mask and the sailor scouts are fighting alongside each against a powerful heart snatcher who was yet again aiming to snatch another heart crystal for Dr. Tomoe, but Sailor Moon defeats her and returns the heart crystal to its owner, but the heart snatcher want be so easily defeated by the likes of Sailor Moon and starts attacking her mentally after Sailor moon falls ill. Will Tuxedo Mask and the other sailor scouts save their leader and friend, or will her will to live be extinguished for good?
Chapter 1: Attack of the mind
6:00 PM: Juban Market
"Sailor Moon, we leave it to you." Tuxedo Mask stated as he leapt away from the diamond heart snatcher, and landed behind the other sailor scouts.
"Right, here I go." Sailor Moon nodded as the purity chalice appeared, she closed her eyes and lifted it above her head and shouted "MOON CRISIS POWER!"
"Heh heh heh you can't stop me Sailor Scout, I will have that crystal!" Fetbaza yelled as she dropped into a running position; she was aiming for the heart crystal that floated in the air above a young athlete who had been out jogging that afternoon. "Hut, Hut." She called out as she started running, but as she drew closer to him Sailor Moon appeared and opened her eyes "Rainbow Moon Heart Attack!" She yelled as the attack hit Fetbaza straight on and sent her flying.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Fetbaza screamed as she disappeared.
"Good job Sailor Moon, you saved the day again." Tuxedo Mask exclaimed as he watched her kneel next to the athlete, and as he continued to watch her he heard her say something under her breath just as she began to stand up. "He'll be alright, he just needs some rest to regain his strength; he won't remember anything that happened tomorrow." She explained as she turned toward Tuxedo Mask and smiled up at him "Thank you for your help Tuxedo Mask, we couldn't haven't done it without you." Sailor Moon said as she was about to transform back, but just then she became nauseous and collapsed.
"SAILOR MOON, NO!" Everyone called out in alarm as Tuxedo Mask caught her in his arms. "Sailor Moon, are you alright? Open your eyes Sailor Moon!" He pleaded as he shook her shoulder but couldn't get her to respond. On a rooftop nearby Fetbaza watched as Tuxedo Mask tried to wake Sailor Moon up and smiled. "Got you Sailor scout, you won't be able to defeat me so easily this time, will you!?" She stated as she disappeared and entered Sailor Moon's thoughts undetected. Not so far from the Sailor Scouts position Sailor Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn watched the entire fight unfold before them.
"Sailor Moon is weak, she's pushed herself too far and it's caused her to finally collapse from exhaustion." Sailor Uranus stated as she rested her hand on her hip and watched as Tuxedo Mask stood up with Sailor Moon lying in his arms.
"Agreed, but now she's fighting for her own life because the heart snatcher has entered her thoughts and is doing everything in her power to destroy her." Sailor Saturn told Uranus as she closed her eyes and bowed her head deep in thoughts.
"Poor girl, I hope she'll be alright!" Sailor Neptune stated with concern ever-present in her voice, the other two nodded in agreement as they disappeared.
Back with Tuxedo Mask and the other Sailor scouts. Tuxedo Mask transformed back to Darien, and is carrying Serena in his arms as he and the other Sailor scouts head back to his apartment.
"Amy, have you found out what's wrong with Serena?" Lita asked her friend as she walked next to her.
"No not really. All I know is that she collapsed from exhaustion." Amy told Lita as she looked up from her laptop and watched Darien carry Serena is his arms. Hearing Amy, Darien tightened his hold on Serena and looked down at her. "Please Serena, open your eyes." He pleaded as he held her closer and prayed that she'd wake up soon.
Darien's Apartment: His Room 8:00 PM
Darien knelt next to his bed lying his hand on top of Serena's; he closed his eyes and fell asleep holding her hand.
Serena's thoughts: Dreaming
'Where am I? What happened to me?' Serena asked as she started looking around at her surroundings. Serena was at the market again and noticed that Darien and the other scouts were heading towards her, but when they didn't even look her way she grew uneasy and followed them. "Wait for me, where is everyone going!?" She asked as she caught up to them. They stopped and turned back to look at her, Darien glared and shoved her then he proceeded to tell her that they didn't want to see her anymore, and with that the others nodded in agreement. "You're too slow, and you're always late for the scout meetings Serena. We don't want you as our leader anymore!" Raye stated as she flicked her hair over her shoulder and glared at Serena mercilessly.
"Plus you're the stupidest person that we've ever met in our entire lives, go home and never show your face at school again, because it only annoys those who are actually trying to become successful in life!" Amy told Serena and went back to working on her laptop not paying attention to Serena one bit. Serena stood there and watched as her friends turned around heading their separate ways, and just as she thought the insults wouldn't get any worse Darien turned back around and slapped her. "We're over Serena, I hate you and I always will." He told her as he got in his car and drove away.
Reality: Darien's room 8:30 PM
Darien heard someone crying and opened his eyes to see that Serena was the one who was crying, he sat on the edge of the bed and held her in his arms. "Serena can you hear me, what's wrong?" He asked as he looks down at her with concern. Amy and the others ran into the room and saw Serena crying and asked Darien what happened.
"I don't know Amy; I woke up and saw her in this state." He told her as he held Serena closer to him and brushed the hair out of her face.
Serena's Thoughts: Dreaming
Serena wiped away the tears and stood up; she clutched her chest and closed her eyes as she thought about what had just transpired a moment ago. 'Poor Sailor Moon, your friends have betrayed you, and there's nothing you can do to about it.' She heard someone whisper in her ear, but when she turned around there was no one there and she wrapped her arms around herself. 'Why did they betray me?' Serena thought as she laid her head in her hands as she began to cry again. Twenty minutes have passed and Serena's back at her house lying in her bed, she rolled over and lifted a picture of Darien and her at the park off her bedside table tracing the outline of his face.
"Darien, what did I do wrong to make you hate me so much?" She asked herself as she sat the picture back down falling asleep.
Tsukino Residence: The next morning 7:00 AM
RIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG sounded her alarm as it blared in Serena's ears. "Alright, Alright I'm up already!" Came a groggy voice as Serena slowly sat up in bed and stretched; she stood up and headed to the bathroom to take a shower, when she stepped out ten minutes later she saw what time it was and rushed out of her room. Downstairs her family was already sitting at the dining table eating breakfast, but something seemed off about them today and she became uneasy again. "What's for breakfast mom, it smells good!?" Serena asked as she sat down next to her brother Sammy, who doesn't even acknowledge her presence. Serena laid her hand on his shoulder only to have it shoved off, "Don't touch me, you may live here, but you're no sister of mine Serena!" Sammy stated rather rudely as he looked up glaring at her menacingly; taken by surprise Serena starts laughing and asked if he was only joking, but when he didn't respond she looked at him and then at her parents who kept eating as is nothing was wrong. "Mom, Dad what's going on here?" She asked as she glanced up at them only to see that their eyes were glazed over, and that they just stared back at her.
"There's nothing wrong Serena, you know Sammy's only joking around with you like he always does." Serena's mom told her as she went back to eating her breakfast.
"Your mother's right Serena. Hurry and finish your breakfast, and make sure you're not late to school again." Her dad explained as he followed his wife's example and went back to eating his own breakfast.
'They're not the parents I know, they seem different!' Serena thought as she started eating her breakfast. Looking down at her watch Serena's eyes widened as she pushed away from the table, "I'M GOING TO BE LATE!" She yelled as she grabbed her book bag and ran out the door.
Crossroads Junior High: In Mrs. Haruna's class an hour later
"You're late Miss Tsukino, detention after school today and I don't want to hear any more of your childish excuses!" Mrs. Haruna told Serena as she stood in front of her teacher's desk. "Mrs. Haruna I'm sorry, I won't be late to your class ever again!" Serena apologized as she clutched her book bag closer to herself. "NOT ANOTHER WORD TSUKINO, SERENA GO TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE THIS INSTANT!" Her teacher yelled as she pointed toward the door, Serena bowed her head and walked towards the door just as the class began to laugh at her, and mock her as she walked past their desk.
"You're such an idiot Serena; you'll never make it in life the way you are now." One of the guys that used to like her started to chastise her as soon as she reached his desk.
"You don't belong here, and you never will Serena." Melvin and Molly told her as she reached the door; Serena opened it and ran out of the room just as something made contact with the back over her head and caused her lose her footing. "WHY, WHY DO THEY HATE ME?" She cried out as she brought her legs up to her chest crying again the second time that day.
'How does it feel to have all your friends betray you?' Serena heard the same voice ask as she continued to cry. "Who are you, and why are you doing this to me!?" She asked as she looked up to see that she wasn't at her school anymore, but at the park sitting on a bench that looked out over the lake. 'Because you're weak Sailor Scout and you know it!' the voice told her, Serena clenched her hands into fists and closed her eyes. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" She screamed as she punched the ground repeatedly until I her hands started to bleed.
Reality: Darien's room 10:00 PM
Darien stood up and looked down at Serena, it's been four hours since their fight with the heart snatcher and Serena still hasn't woken up. He laid his hand on her forehead and pulled it away because she was burning up with fever. "Amy, can you get some cold water and a washcloth for me, Serena's burning up with fever and she still hasn't woken up, and I'm starting to worry about her!?" Darien said as he walked into the living room where the others were holding a scout meeting.
"Alright Darien, I'll be right back." Amy told him as she stood up and headed to the bathroom.
"How is she, I'm worried about her too!?" Lita asked as she looked over at Darien and watched as he sat down across from her and Raye.
"There's no change, she hasn't woken up and now she's burning up with fever!" Darien explained as he closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. Raye and Lita nodded and watched as Amy returned holding a basin of water with a washcloth soaking in it.
"I'll watch over her Darien, you can rest assured that she's in good hands with me around." She smiled at him before heading to his room to take care of Serena. "Thank you Amy, you're a good friend!" She heard Darien say as she walked into the room and closed the doors behind her. Mina and Artemis were talking to Luna and the remaining Sailor scouts who were in the living room.
"We don't know what's going on, there's no sign of the heart snatcher and Serena's in no condition to do anything." Luna explained as she sat up and stretched, Artemis nodded his head in agreement.
"Sailor scouts, we have to tell you something and we need you to listen to what we're about to tell you." Sailor Pluto explained as she and the other scouts appeared next to her.
"What do you mean Sailor Pluto?" Darien asked as he stood up and looked her straight in the eyes.
"What Pluto means is, is that the heart snatcher has somehow entered Tsukino's thoughts and is mentally attacking her in attempts to destroy her once in for all!" Uranus explained as she rested her hand on her hip and looked around at everyone in the living room.
"We're as worried as you are, but we shouldn't be worrying about that at the moment what we need to focus on now is saving Sailor Moon." Neptune told Darien as she laid her hand on his shoulder, the others nodded and waited for Darien to agree with what Neptune just told them.
"Ok, what do we need to do Sailor Neptune?" Darien asked with determination. Sailor Pluto and the others sat down and began to discuss with the others about what they were going to do.