C1 Dreams
Serena stood on the balcony gazing out at the city.
Tears started to fall down her face as she took in the lights, the starry night sky, below her a group of youngsters walked past, giggling at jokes and playfully nudging one another probably on their way home from a night out.
She felt arms wrap themselves around her waist and a kiss on her crown.
"What are you doing out here? It's three thirty in the morning" the angel's voice asked
She sniffed away the silent tears and shook her head.
Darien came around to her front, not letting her go "what's wrong?" he asked, concern filling his eyes.
She smiled up at him and said "nothing"
"There's clearly something bothering you" he prodded.
"It's just, I can't believe this is real! It's too perfect"
Question burned in his eyes and then was replaced by understanding.
Reaching up to brush away the tears he said "you really thought you'd lost everyone didn't you?"
She turned her face away, a small smile playing on her mouth but not touching her eyes, she shook her head gently.
"Of all the battles I've been in, the times I'd lost you guys, somehow in my heart, I always knew it would be alright in the end, but this time..
She trailed off, fresh tears forming in her eyes, he pulled her close but she needed to get it out.
"I watched them die, one by one" she said into his shirt, he froze and pulled away to look at her face, full of pain and fear.
He put his hand to her cheek and she leaned into it gratefully, then her sea blue eyes looked into his "I watched you die" confusion crossed his face, how could she have seen him die?
He died on the plane months before the battle.
"She showed me, Galaxia showed me" she said answering his question before he could ask.
"What?!" she turned to the balcony again and finished.
"After she took the girls, she showed me all the star seeds she had collected from the universe, honestly I didn't even know that that many souls existed in the universe, there were hundreds, and through the mass of colored lights I saw yours"
Darien's hands dropped to his sides in shock as he listened to how Galaxia had mentally tortured the woman he loved, his reason for existence, during their fight.
"She was impressed that I knew who it belonged to, she was proud to have it really, so she showed me how she got it" Serena turned to face the man she loved so dearly and smiled.
"even though I knew what it meant, and it made my blood run cold, and I knew that I would never see you again, that she was probably going to do to me what she had done to everyone else, I was just happy to see your face again, when you were on the plane smiling to yourself, I hadn't seen you in months, the loneliness was unbearable, but when I saw your face again, somehow through it all, it gave me more strength"
she kept her gaze on his, and took his hands in her own "that's how I remembered you, through the fight, with that careless grin on your face, it was the last thing in my mind before I made the final move, your smile kept me going, I never thought I'd see it again, but it kept me going" she said leaning her head into his chest again.
"When she was defeated, and before you all came back, I had never felt more alone in my life, I didn't know how I was going to live the rest of my life, I'm ashamed to say, part of me wished that the power of the crystal would have over loaded me again, like it did with Beryl"
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that all alone, but I swear to you, I will never leave you alone again" he felt her nod into his chest and pulled her tighter in his arms, they stayed like that until Darien felt her shiver from the cold night air.
"Let's get you back to bed" she looked up and smiled at him as he led her through the doors,
"I'll be right back" she gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked to the en-suite.
He was unsure how long it would take for her to get back to herself again, he knew she had been pretty traumatized by the battle and he hated seeing her so quiet.
His usual bubbly, cheery, carefree Serena was behaving very out of character, it made him wonder if she really was ok.
What if she was unsure of her success? That this new behavior was because she thought one day Galaxia might return and then she would have to re-live that hell? "Serena?" he called as she walked from the bathroom, he was sitting up in bed watching her carefully.
"hm?"
"Are you really ok? I'm scared you're not going to get past this, you've been so quiet lately, are you worried she might come back?" her eyes widened at the pain in his voice, she closed the space between them and climbed into the bed they now shared and wrapped her arms around him and looked him in the eye.
"She's not coming back to hurt us" she said with conviction and a smile.
"So then what has you so down?" he asked brushing her hair behind her ear.
"I've been having dreams" she said trying to shrug it off like nothing. He remembered, she was thrashing and moaning in her sleep quite a bit. It also explained why he woke up to her side of the bed being so cold and empty just a few minutes ago.
"I guess it's just going to take some time to get passed" she said burying herself into him deeper.
"How can I make it better" he asked painfully, he couldn't bear the thought of her being in pain.
she looked up at him "you already are, just by being back Darien, these past few days, us being together again after all of that, just waking up to you makes it all ok again"
He remembered the day they came back, she was floating in the air crying as they surrounded her.
She flew to him, she collapsed in his arms and didn't wake up for a whole day, she was exhausted from the fight. He never left her side the whole time. She woke up to find him next to her, the first words out of her mouth was "it wasn't a dream" he held her as she cried for half an hour.
His heart broke at the memory.
He supposed it had only been a few days since it all ended, maybe it really was just a case of letting her have some time and space. And he would let her have all the time she needed, because now they had the time to spare.
He leant down to kiss her and hugged her tighter to him and they stayed that way for the rest of the night.
C2 - shame
Darien awoke the next morning once again to Serena's absence, but this time he smelt breakfast from the kitchen, as he smiled to himself and rose from his bed, a deafening crash came from the kitchen and he raced to see the cause.
Serena stood there frozen over god knows how many broken plates in the kitchen wide eyed with her hands to her chest.
"Are you ok?!" Darien said rushing to her side while side stepping the treacherous mosaic now on his floor.
She nodded "I'm sorry, I was just trying to set the table and they slipped"
"It's alright, your hand!" he exclaimed, he noticed now why she was clutching her hands to her chest, there was red running down her arms now.
"I tried to clean up and caught myself" he took her to the table and sat her down and fetched a first aid kit.
"Are you alright? Does it hurt much?" she shook her head
"I've had worse" he knew that all too well.
"Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt"
"I'm ok" Darien found this reaction to be something to worry about, there was no crying or wailing, she just sat there while he worked at her hand.
"It's not deep, I'll just change it twice a day, now how about I finish breakfast?" she smiled at him.
"Thank you"
As he dished out the breakfast Serena started he asked "so what would you like to do today?"
"Actually, I was going to see my mother, if you don't mind, she wants to do some shopping and I thought I'd help"
"Sure, I'll meet you at the arcade later?"
"Yeah" she smiled
Serena gave Darien a kiss before leaving with a smile "See you later" after he watched the elevator doors close he reached for his phone and dialled the familiar number.
"Hey Rei" he said after the third ring
"Hi Darien, what's up?"
"Um actually I was hoping to call a meeting at the arcade"
"Why? Please don't tell me you guys found another enemy!" she asked frantically.
"No, no, it's nothing like that, I'm actually worried about Serena, She's just not herself"
There was a slight pause on the line before she answered "I'll call the others, be there in an hour?"
"Will do, see ya"
"Bye"
He walked through the familiar doors to see Andrew at the counter talking to Mina and Lita.
Rei and Amy were claiming one of the larger booths in the dining area, a voice came from behind him "Hi there Darien!" he turned to find the other four girls, the outer sailor soldiers that were also part of their secret life. He hadn't thought that Rei would have called them too, but then again, what affected one of them affected the rest, especially if that one was the princess and future Queen they had all sworn to protect.
"Hey there you guys, it's good to see you all again" he said sincerely, while exchanging hugs, it had felt so long since he had seen any of them, since the end of the battle he had spent every free moment with Serena until today. "It's nice to see you back on your feet" Michelle smiled.
They walked to join the others "Hey guys" he said as they approached the counter, the girls all shared hugs and 'hellos'.
"Darien, feels like you're still in America, when are we going for your welcome home drink?" Andrew asked. Darien gave a quiet laugh and just said "Soon pal I promise" he ordered a drink as did the other girls "Serena coming?" Andrew asked, he nodded
"Yeah later, she's spending some time with her mother right now"
Andrew nodded and began making their drinks, the light conversation faded off as he and the girls took a seat together.
He saw a small group of young teenage boys entered the arcade, he spotted one boy staring at the table he was at with his mouth gaping open.
The boy saw Darien watching him and quickly turned his attention back to his friends, then they all turned to look, it then occurred to him how they probably envied him sitting smack in the middle of a group of eight young attractive girls like the scouts. He smiled slightly at himself because this wasn't the first time he had spied men giving him evils because he mostly hung out with these girls.
"Well I'll be honest" Amara said, cutting into his thoughts "A week ago, I was beginning to believe that we would all never be sitting here together again" their faces turned down in a flash of sorrow swept through the group.
Darien knew this look, it was the same one Serena had been wearing for days.
What happened while he was dead?!
"So Darien, why are we all sitting here together?" Michelle asked
"I'm worried about Serena, she's been really depressed since the war ended" he looked at each face as they listened with concern.
Andrew appeared with their drinks "Here ya' go guys!"
"Thanks Drew" Andrew paused
"Is everything ok? You all look serious"
"Were just having trouble planning Serena's birthday, we know it's like a month away but still, it just has to be perfect!" Mina cut in.
"Well hey, you can always have a party here if you like! Use the room in the back that's what it's for"
Andrew offered.
"Great idea, we'll keep it in mind" she smiled as he left the table again.
"Nice save, Mina" Lita said, Mina blew out a gust of air in relief.
"Maybe she just needs some time, I mean, it wasn't the best time of our lives, it's going to take some getting over" Amy offered.
"Well that's what I thought, but you guys seem just the way I remember you all when I left, Serena's just been so quiet and down, she's having nightmares, I'm really scared that she's been so traumatised that she won't get over it"
They all thought about what he said for a moment then Amara spoke.
"Has she told you what happened?"
"She told me parts, that she watched you all die, and Galaxia was sick enough to show her how I died but that's all" he shuddered at the memory of last night.
"Well that would be enough to give anyone nightmares, I regret to say that I think we were lucky"
Amy said.
"We failed her" Rei said and the girls gave a small nod in unison agreeing to the statement.
"You never failed me" Serena's voice appeared from behind them.
C3 - confession
The group turned to face Serena's shocked face.
"I thought you were with your mother for the day?" Darien asked
"She didn't want to go, I saw you all through the window when I was on my way back to the flat" she said. They were so wrapped up in their tense bubble no one noticed her walk in.
"How could you possibly think that you failed me?!" she questioned.
People from neighbouring booths started turning heads at them.
"Why don't we go for a walk?" Trista suggested.
"Alright, then you can fill me in" she said. They walked together in silence, Darien claimed Serena's hand but she seemed very upset and angry at them.
They arrived at the park around the corner from the arcade, once they sat in the grass in a circle Serena spoke "So why were you all having some secret meeting?"
"It wasn't a secret meeting Serena, I'm worried about you, and I thought these guys could fill me in on some things and maybe some way to help you get through this"
Serena sat in silence "so how did you get to the absurd notion on how you think you failed me?" she asked.
"Well we died and left you to fight alone" Rei interjected, they watched her face. It was stunned to shock.
"I can't believe that's how you see it" she finally said. They stayed silent.
"Alright, let's get one thing clear, you never once failed me, you are the reason I got that far, all of you, just like always, you were with me until the end" she said fiercely taking Rei's hand who was sitting on the other side of her.
"It's just, we can't believe that you killed her all by yourself, the battle must have been awful" Lita said.
Serena turned her head pursing her lips "I mean, we know the starlights were with you but still, they couldn't have stood much of a chance against Galaxia"
"They put up a good fight" she said "But in the end they just got too weak to keep fighting"
Just as they all thought, the Starlights were strong, they knew more about Galaxia than any of them but in the end it wasn't enough, she was the one to end it all.
"Serena, what happened?" Amara asked
"I guess you deserve to know" they all listened with intent.
"Wait" Darien said "Before you say anything, we just want to know because we want to try and help you, if you're not ready, that's ok"
She shook her head with a smile at him "No, you all deserve to know the truth too, you were all a part of it"
"So first of all, she's not dead, I didn't kill her, but she's not coming back to hurt us" the group was stunned
Nobody said anything, Darien's arms had tensed around her, and she rubbed her hand on his fore arm for reassurance. Since no one interrupted her with "Are you kidding?" or "Very funny" she spoke again.
"You see, she wasn't evil to begin with, she was originally, one of us, a soldier"
Now Amara was the first to pull herself together.
"Bullsh-"
"Let me finish!" Serena said and Amara stopped mid-sentence but continued to glare.
"The whole war, I mean, the Sailor Wars wasn't just them pretending to be one of us-
They were the original soldiers gone bad, majorly bad."
"Huh, you think?" Rei's sarcasm caused a flash of annoyance to run through her.
"You should have finished the job" Lita cut in, disapproval heavy in her words.
"Look, I didn't just spare her life, if it weren't for the fact that she still had a spark of good left in her"
Serena looked at her hands as she spoke. "I'm pretty positive she would have won"
Looking up at their still shocked and distressed faces. "I mean, it took everything and I mean everything to just make that final blow. It was like with Beryl and Metalia, when that last strike killed all three of us, I was sure it was going to happen again." She looked down again "And to be completely honest, part of me wanted that to happen again. The only thing I had left was my life, and at the time I didn't see any point to living it when the world was safe again" she continued
"She was stronger than me, I knew it, but it's not always the strongest that wins the battle, she didn't know my strategy until it was just that little too late. Her good side gave in."
She exhaled a large gust. Their faces looking like stunned cartoons again.
"Hold on! She gave up?!" Mina asked.
Serena shook her head.
"Sort of, her good side gave in, or fought back I should say and because of all the energy she had been consuming, it was feeding her good side too, with the help of the silver crystal, she was able to banish the dark energy from her body"
"I'm confused" Hotaru cut in
"You and the rest of us" her sister responded.
"So how exactly was she good?!" Amara pressed
"Alright" Serena started "You remember she was talking about the legendary soldier right?"
They nodded mechanically at once.
"Well you missed the second half, right after the Starlights weren't able to fight any more, she told me the whole story, probably not expecting me to live through it to tell anyone,
"Anyway, that soldier was her, there was this threat eons ago, that threatened to consume everything, and because she knew she was so strong, she sealed the darkness within herself, hoping that she could suppress it –
"But it didn't work" Trista stated.
Serena nodded.
"It was taking over her, but it was slow and painful, and she knew what was happening to her. So she sent away her own star seed as a light of hope to the soldiers of the future that would one day need it's help to stop her" she paused to breathe. As horrible as the memories were. It felt good to speak it all aloud. Though the others looked like they were about to faint from shock, Serena was slowly feeling liberated.
"And it reached us, very shortly after our first encounter with her. It wasn't until the end though that I finally realized what that light was"
A gasp from her stunned friends broke the silence, Darien still sat motionless with her now sitting upright In front of him. His arms almost protectively now, wrapped around her waist. Like he was going to run and take her with him, for fear that Galaxia was going to show up then and there.
"Chibi! She was the light of hope wasn't she!?"
More gasps of understanding followed Trista's statement.
"It's the only real explanation for how and why she showed up, and mysteriously saved us from time to time"
Serena's continuous nodding confirmed it all, then she looked down.
"She killed her though, she transformed into this weird sword to help me, and Galaxia shattered it, but the energy somehow made its way back into my body. You'd wonder how there's any room left in me for anything else" she added under her breath.
"And with all that, you healed her?" Mina asked.
"It wasn't easy, but in the end I suppose I did" she smiled.
"Alright so all I got from that was 'our biggest enemy is still alive'" Amara counteracted.
"Amara's right, I mean where is she now? And what happened to this evil energy she banished? Finding some other poor soul to convict? Trying to win her back?"
Michelle who was always so calm was clearly worried as she spoke.
"No, the dark energy is no longer one evil cloud, it's been scattered, gone back to the minds of everyone-
"So once more, it could -" Ami pushed in
"- No, because now she knows, she's not alone, and she doesn't have to fight by herself, there are people here that can help her if she needs it, I mean I had to find out the hard way that that's just not how you get things done, and the evil has been scattered so thin, you wouldn't find a trace of it.
"And as for Galaxia and her friends, they've all gone back to their original home, where they now watch over this Galaxy." She confirmed.
"I don't know who to kill first, her for putting us all through this, or you for letting her live!" Amara snapped.
"That's enough" Darien finally spoke. Serena's head snapped up to face him.
"Serena has told us that were in no danger, and I think that all of us by now should know better than to question her judgement"
He looked down at her with pride.
"No matter how reckless or stupid her choices may seem, they've always worked out in the past, if anything, it's her stupidest moves that have saved us all more than once, and I doubt that's a pattern that's likely to change any time soon"
"The prince is right" Hotaru agreed. "Her choice to save Galaxia not only saved the Universe, but brought every one of us back to life, and for that, I am eternally grateful."
"You're sure now, she's never coming back?" Rei asked, almost choking on her words.
"I promise"
And with that the discussion was over. All of them did know better than to question her decisions, after all it had, like Hotaru said, saved them all.
C4 - Broken
The group decided to stay after Serena's confession as it was the first time since the battle had begun that they had sat together peacefully and just enjoyed the day in each other's company.
Jokes and laughter were shared and Darien even started to see Serena being her old self again, being silly with the girls and just enjoying the time spent with her closest friends, maybe getting her to talk was a good thing after all.
The sunny warm afternoon atmosphere suddenly shifted and Serena felt an icy chill go down her spine as four beaten, desperate soldiers approached her and her friends.
It was a good thing that they were in a secluded area of the park since they could have won first prize at a comic-con. But she knew better.
She knew that look, she had worn it herself for what felt like an eternity only two weeks ago.
The girls stood in unison as their company drew closer. They took position in front of Serena and Darien, ready to fight, Darien kept his position firmly in front of her
"You're Serenity, and you all must be the soldiers" it wasn't a question. Serena examined the woman that spoke, she looked Serena in the eyes through her wall of friends. Serena thought the woman looked aged for her years.
"Yes, and you are?" Serena asked
"Gabrielle, these are my friends" she gestured to the two men and woman on her flanks. They all stood as if ready to fight, and yet they looked exhausted.
Serena and the others stood still and silent, Gabrielle pressed to her matter.
"I've heard of you, we didn't even know if you were alive, but I had to find out"
"Why?" Amara asked.
"You're a legend on our planet, the Moon warriors that put Galaxia down for good" She paused and looked Serena in the eyes, her blood ran cold and her heart broke into a sprint before she heard the next words out of Gabrielle's mouth. She knew what was coming.
"We need your help" she begged
She couldn't speak, another fight? She only stared at the woman's pleading eyes. These soldiers looked beaten and tired, just like she had been. They were lost and alone. Just like she had been..
Images from that fateful day ran through her mind, the pain, the loneliness, it was deafening.
She couldn't hear the girls asking her what was wrong or Darien telling her it was ok and to calm down.
She was shaking her head, silent tears rolled down her face as she answered "No" her head continued shaking as were her hands that Darien was now trying to grasp "I'm sorry no"
Serena avoided her friends' shocked faces as she reached for her bag and ran from the park in any direction that would lead her away from where could lead to another war.
Darien ran after Serena but she was fast 'all those late mornings for school were paying off' he thought.
"Darien!" Rei shouted after him
"Leave him Rei, he'll take care of Serena, we have to take care of this" Amara said calmly, she took charge and turned to the newcomers.
"Where have you come from? And why do you need our help?"
Gabrielle looked thoroughly intimidated by Amara and the other Outer's stance, but tried to keep her composure.
"We come from beyond this Galaxy, a great threat has put our planet to sleep in the hopes of brainwashing its inhabitants to completely take it over, including our King and our best warriors, we are no match for them. They were too strong for us to fight alone"
The girls listened in silence to the rest of what Gabrielle had to say.
Serena managed to make it back to Darien's apartment before he caught up with her but she could still hear him shouting her name behind her. But she couldn't turn and face him, she just had to keep running. She reached the right floor and got to the door but started to struggle with the keys, her hands were shaking too much to open the door.
Darien saw the love of his life drop the keys and hit the door in frustration and fall to the floor sobbing. She was broken, he knew she hadn't been right since it ended, the smiles and promises of everything being alright were just a mask. A mask to cover this.
This image of his broken Serena would haunt him forever, but he was determined to heal her.
He ran to her and took her in his arms, she continued to cry and wet his shirt with her tears.
"I can't, not again" she managed between sobs. He stroked her hair, and kissed her head
"Shh, it's alright" he kept saying "Come on" he grabbed Serena's keys and took them both inside the apartment. He led her to the couch and curled her up on his lap where she continued to cry and he continued to comfort her until dusk fell.
C5 - Fight Again
The girls sat in Rei's temple, they thought it would be more convenient to talk there rather than in public.
"So how did you manage to escape if this threat is so much stronger than you?" Amara asked. She had been playing the role of interrogator since Serena and Darien had left. Michelle had scanned them with her mirror to make sure they we legitimate people who needed help, they seemed genuine.
"Our king, he gave us this, we were to guard his chambers while the war broke out but he was more concerned for our wellbeing than his own" Gabrielle held up an amulet, a simple gold frame surrounding a white stone. "He told us that this would take us away from the planet, to somewhere safe"
"And it brought you here?" Ami asked
"Not really, when we activated its power I was trying to think about someone who might possibly be able to help us, I remembered the war of the Moon Kingdom and the Queen who defeated the Negaverse"
All of the girls exchanged a confused look "But that war happened over a thousand years ago" Lita said.
"You're not the only ones who survived the war that Metalia and Beryl brought on the universe" the other woman spoke. Now they were staggered, these people had lived through all of that over a thousand years ago. Only they weren't reincarnated like the girls had been, they had lived those thousand years like Trista had guarding the gates of time.
"I guess that never occurred to us" Ami mused.
"We were astonished that she was defeated" Gabrielle said
"How do you know it was us that stopped her?" Amara questioned.
"We could feel it, the energy healing the planet, we had felt it before from the Moon Kingdom, and since Queen Serenity sacrificed herself at the end of the silver millenium, we figured it could only be one person, her heir"
"I see" was all Amara said.
"That's why we were hoping you'd help, we aren't powerful enough, but we are certain that this would be an easy win for you since you are so much stronger than a few mere guards"
The girls sat in thought for a moment.
"Were not just asking you to help us, but your selves too, they won't stop with just our planet, they will come for yours too" Gabrielle said
"Well it sounds like were going to have to fight anyway" Rei said
They all exchanged a knowing look.
"Alright, we'll help you, as for our princess however I can't say" Amara said
The group fell silent.
"She's been through a pretty traumatic time"
Darien watched as Serena's sobs settled as she fell into sleep. 'How can I fix this?' he thought.
He carried her to the bedroom and settled her into the bed before he reached for his phone.
"Darien!" he heard after the first ring "How is she?" Rei asked.
He ran his free hand through his hair and sighed"she cried herself to sleep"
"Oh god, I guess you were right to worry, we should have seen this coming, poor Serena"
"It's not your fault Rei, I'm not sure what can be done plus she's been through more than anyone should have to go through, no matter how many lives she's lived"
"I know" was all she said
Serena felt the sudden cold that had replaced Darien's arms, she realised that she was in the bedroom and she could hear him talking on the phone in the next room.
Quietly she got up and walked to the door and listened. She heard Darien's voice, he sounded tired.
"So what's happening over there?"
"I won't let her fight again, not like this, I don't care if they think it's going to be easy for us"
He wasn't going to let her fight, she really didn't deserve him.
"I agree, so were not going to involve her, if they think it'll be that easy then we will go instead, they can make do without the princess"
Let them go and fight? Without her? How could he think she would let that happen? Did he honestly think she could bear the thought of them putting their lives at risk while she just sat on the side lines?
No, not again, she didn't care if they had sworn to protect her, she was their princess and future Queen. It was her duty to protect them. This was who she was.
They had paid the ultimate price for protecting her, and she wasn't going to let it happen again.
It was selfish of her to have ran away from someone who needed her help.
No, she wouldn't let them down again.
Darien was finishing up their meeting plans when he felt the phone being taken from his hand.
Serena spoke to Rei, though she didn't look as beaten as she just had before outside the apartment.
If anything she looked determined, strong again.
"We'll meet you at the temple, half an hour, be ready to leave" was all she said. She hung up the phone and gave it back to a stunned Darien.
"Come on, we have people to help" she said with a grin. As she turned back to the bedroom be grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Serena, if you're not ready to fight, you don't have to"
She smiled and took his hands in hers "Yes I do, I see that now" he was shaking his head to contradict her but before he spoke she put her hand to his mouth and led him to the couch.
"Look, the battle was awful, I'm not going to deny that, but I can't just sit by while you guys fight"
She shook her head almost laughing at herself "this is who I am, what kind of a queen runs away when people need her the most? And worse just let's all her dearest friends do the fighting"
"I will protect my kingdom, with my prince" she said with a smile.
He was stunned "You're incredible, that's the last time I underestimate you Serena, every time I think there's an obstacle you can't overcome. You always do"
"It's funny, I didn't think I'd want to fight again after Galaxia, but I want to help these people now, I have to"
He was shaking his head in disbelief and she got up from the couch, she reached her hand out for his
"So what are we waiting for?"
He took her hand and got up to kiss her "Let's go"
C6 – Another battle
Rei hung up the phone with a wide eye expression.
"What's wrong Rei? What did Darien say?" Amy asked
"That was Serena, she said to be ready to leave in half an hour" the girls stared at her in shock
"What?" Ami asked
"The princess is coming?" Gabrielle asked hopefully
"I guess so" Rei mused, the visitors looked hopeful, but the girls weren't convinced.
"Always the fool" Lita said
"What do you mean?" Gabrielle asked "Were sure that this will be easy for you all, especially with us there to guide you"
"That's not what I mean" Lita shook her head "She's coming because we said we'd leave her out of it and go alone"
The others soon understood what Lita meant.
"She's right" Ami smiled "Serena's not the type to let her friends do the dirty work for her, no matter how badly she may be hurting, she'll always put everyone else first"
Lita nodded at how well they all knew her.
The party heard Darien's bike outside the temple and walked to greet them.
"Hey, are you sure about this?" Ami asked Serena
"Yes" she turned to the warriors "I'm sorry I ran off before, it won't happen again, so are we ready?"
"If you're sure" Amara said
"I am" She said
"Alright then" Gabrielle said "Just follow us" the group of four pooled their energy and disappeared into space.
Serena took her broach to transform, and the girls and Dairen followed suit. When the lights had faded all of her friends stood gaping at her. "What?" she asked, Venus pointed at Serena. She looked down at herself and gasped. She wasn't wearing her usual outfit, instead of changing into Sailor Moon, her transformation changed her into the princess, but her cepter was already in her hands even though she hadn't summoned it.
"I don't understand" she said touching her dress. Suddenly she looked up and realised she wasn't the only one wearing a different garment, Darien wasn't wearing his usual outfit either.
Instead he wore his Prince's armour from the Moon Kingdom.
"What does this mean?" Darien asked
"It's coming" Saturn suddenly spoke. Her voice was frightened.
The group turned to look at her, her eyes were far away, looking at something the others could not.
Neptune took her hand and asked "What's coming?"
"The darkness" Pluto finished for her.
Darien walked over to his princess and held her close to him protectively, the girls were silent, afraid of what was coming next "The darkness? But I thought we had already beat Galaxia" Mercury said.
"I don't think it's Galaxia Aims" Mars said "It feels different, I can sense it now too, it's cold"
"The day has come, something has changed, I thought we had more time" Pluto said, concern her words.
"Wait, what day has come? What's changed" Serena asked, though part of her thought she knew what they were talking about.
"The time for silence has come" Saturn said, suddenly the veil across her eyes lifted and she looked the princess in the eye.
"I'm sorry princess, once more the burden falls on you"
"Wait, what burden?" Darien asked clutching her tighter in his arms
"She's the only one that will be able to save us all from this" Saturn said
"From what?" Jupiter said with urgency
"The disaster" Serena finished, she knew, the disaster that the future Darien had told them about that would eventually and surely come to put the world to sleep. Suddenly she realised that she had a dream just like this. Serena, Darien and the girls were all at the temple and suddenly the world went cold and quiet. It was why she couldn't sleep well anymore, she thought it was because of Galaxia, because she had dreamt about her too, but she suddenly realised that this one was different to those dreams, this one wasn't a memory. It was a prophecy.
"The disaster that will eventually lead to Crystal Tokyo is coming" she said. But she wasn't afraid, If she had to save them again, then that's what she would do.
"What!?" the girls shouted together. But before more questions could come the four new soldiers suddenly appeared again in front of them.
"Get ready!" Gabrielle shouted, they were all panting, weapons drawn, the two men had bruises on their faces.
"What's going on!?" Uranus shouted.
"They heard us talking, they knew you were coming to help us stop them, they're coming here" she said breathless.
"Gabrielle" Serena said "How did this enemy of yours put your planet to sleep?" the group looked at their leader, surprised at how calm she seemed to be.
"Well, umm, I'm not entirely sure, they wanted to take over the planet, first they tried force, but our warriors were stronger than they, we thought they had driven them away, when later that day after the battle everything just started to go cold" her breathing started to slow now as she finished "We were on guard at the King's door, but he has a certain ability to see things, he knew what was happening, he called us and told us, gave us this amulet I showed you all earlier and sent us away to safety"
As Gabrielle's story ended Serena started to feel a certain chill come about.
"I see, they're doing it to us now too" Pluto said "If they're coming here then they know that we can stop them, they'll try the same method that seems to be working so well your planet" she stated.
"She's right" Saturn said "After all, how tough is your opponent when he's sleeping?"
"What do we do?" Venus asked panicked
Serena didn't think, she just did. She could feel the temperature dropping. She saw that the others could too, and they were afraid, but for once, she was the only one that wasn't.
The familiar warm tingling on her forehead started to grow, and she felt the warmth in her chest.
She summoned the power of the Silver crystal to the surface, the girls let out gasps as they saw what she was doing.
"Serena what are you doing?" Darien asked, he still had his arms around her and he could feel the warmth coming from her, with the light of the Silver crystal now shining from her, she looked exactly like an angel.
"Don't worry" she said smiling at them "I won't let them take away our future" Darkness started fall quickly as the cold spread, the pressure of the evil was getting heavier on them. Ice was spreading all across the world and putting its inhabitants to sleep.
Serena could see her friends and the soldiers getting weaker, suddenly she let out the power of the crystal and encased them all within a dome, she shot out her power as far as it would go, lighting up the darkness and banishing the evil from the planet. The threat was gone, but the damage already done.
She knew from what the king had told them that this would happen. But she wouldn't let her friends be put to sleep by an evil power, so she used the power inside herself to let them fall asleep peacefully. They gradually lost their strength and fell to the ground where she knew they would lay until the time was right.
"What's happening?" Darien asked, they were the only people left awake on the planet, he could feel it, since he was tied to the planet, he could sense that everyone except for him and the angel in front of him was now in a deep slumber.
"It's really a beautiful place to sleep for the next thousand years isn't it? She said smiling up at him.
They looked around at the garden in the temple, the soft green grass surrounded by the cherry trees and flower gardens.
She took his hand and pulled him to sit down with her and he did. She pushed him into the grass to lie down "This will take some time to heal" she said, the power was still radiating from her, she lay down with him mentally praying on the crystal to heal the planet and finally they both joined the rest of the sleeping planet.
The time had come for the planet Earth to wake from its dormancy, the Silver Crystal had done what its princess had asked and healed the planet from the devastating darkness that threatened to consume it.
Serena felt a peace like no other as she woke, she sat up. The love of her life lay next to her and her friends lay scattered around her sleeping peacefully. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun shone brightly down on them.
'It's time to wake up' she thought smiling down at Darien. Once more she summoned the power of the crystal and slowly she could feel the life around her starting to wake and bustle again. Serena had never felt so attuned to the planet before, she felt so alive and happy. All of the pain from the memories of her fights were forgotten.
She knelt over Darien as his eyes started to flutter open, he gave a big yawn "morning" he said sleepily. She laughed and kissed him and said "Good morning" suddenly reality dawned on him and he shot up, "the darkness" he said, but Serena continued to smile at him "What darkness?" she asked playfully as she got up from the grass and watched as her friends started to wake up.
"Wake up sleepy heads" she sang around them, one by one they woke and rose to their feet.
"Ugh, just five more minutes" Venus said groggily, but then realised where she was and quickly got up too. The girls laughed at her.
"Is it over?" Mars asked
"It's over" Serena said smiling "Finally our time for peace has come" her voice rang sure.
The group jumped in glee and hugged and laughed together as their leader said this.
Darien walked over to Serena and pulled her into a passionate kiss and lifted her from her feet.
He was so happy, finally he could be with his princess without fear of her being taken away, this was their time, and sure enough, they would have their little girl one day soon.
"I love you" He said touching his fore head to hers " I love you too" she said back, but then Serena gasped as she saw that they were no longer in Rei's temple garden.
Darien and the others followed her gaze and gasped too.
Instead of the little temple in front of them, there now stood an enormous glass building, like giant icicles spiking from the ground. The familiar structure was more beautiful than she remembered seeing it when she went to the future before.
It was no longer dark and cold, the palace no longer broken and cracked, it was smooth as glass and glowed in the sunlight.
"The crystal palace" Pluto gaped, Serena ran from the garden, to where the steps to the street should have been in the temple, the girls ran behind her, but instead of the steps, the found themselves on a mountain top overlooking the city, the sight was something that would never lose its beauty.
The city had been transformed into the beautiful glittering kingdom they had saw before, the glass structures shone in the sunlight like diamonds.
"The Silver crystal must have done this when I asked it to heal the planet" Serena said, she turned to her friends, and the four soldiers she had only known for a short time. She took Darien's hand and said with a huge smile "Welcome to Crystal Tokyo"