-Chapter 1-

"Oh, really? And the media is gonna be there?! We can be on TV!!!" Serena was thrilled. She was definitely going to that party!

"Okay! See you there, Serena! We're going to have tons of fun! Maybe you could bring Darien! Oh, and, Amy isn't going. She says studying is more important than boys and parties and things of that nature," Lita said.

Mina, Serena, Lita, and Rei cracked up.

"Anyways, get some rest! We're gonna need all our energy for tomorrow! Bye!" Lita said.

"Bye!" Mina, Rei, and Serena said.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE- CLICK!

"Luna, you really don't know how much I hate that clock!" Serena said.

"It's not my fault that it's the only thing that can compete with your sloth-like sleeping habits!" Luna replied.

Serena checked the time. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" she screamed. "I'm gonna be late!"

"Late to school, late to parties, late getting up, eternally late for studying, some things really don't ever change now do they?" Luna teased.

"Bye, Luna!" Serena said as she hurried out the door in a rush.

When Serena arrived at the party, the first thing she noticed was the numerous cameramen and reporters. 'I can't believe I'm gonna be on TV!' she thought.

There was some music playing and Darien was already there, as were Rei, Lita, and Mina.

"May I?" Darien asked while holding his hand out to Serena.

"In a minute! I ran all the way here and I'm soooooooooo thirsty!" Serena answered and ran off thru the thick crowd to get some nice punch.

"Strange girl… but, she's my strange girl!" Darien said to himself.

"She's strange? You do know you're talking to yourself, right?" Rei teased.

About an hour later, Serena came back.

"HEY!!! Darien!" she said in a loopy voice. She was stumbling across the room.

"Serena?" Darien was confused. "Why'd you come back one hour later?"

"Hey! YOU'RE the one that's late here!" she answered.

"Please… tell me you aren't drunk, Serena," Darien said.

"Okay. I'm not drunk! I just want to dance! So c'mon, BUDDY!" she answered.

"I can't believe it! She's TOTALLY drunk!" Lita said in disbelief.

"This isn't the first time you know, remember at that party? The one with the French group? She thought she drank juice! This time she must've thought it was punch…" Rei said.

"It's happening all over again!" Mina shrieked.

Serena was in the crowd, dancing crazily. It wasn't a slow-dance party, but…

"Serena? How many cups of punch did you have?!" Darien asked her. He had to yell for her to hear him over the music.

"I had… one!" she said.

'Yeah, right…' he thought.

"You know what?! I'm tired of… living two lives! Too many secrets!" Serena said.

Before Darien could figure out what she meant by that, she hopped on the nearest table she could find.

"ATTENTION!" she screamed. Everyone turned to her, and the music stopped. "I have something I would like to share with you all." She noticed Andrew was there, too. "You, too, Andrew! Boy, you guys… are going to be… I don't know!" she eyed the crowd, as if staring them down. The crowd, on the other hand, knew she was drunk by now.

"Have any of you heard of Sailor Moon?" she asked the crowd. Everyone, including Andrew, nodded.

"You ever wondered who she REALLY is?" Serena asked while trying her best to walk a straight line back and forth across the table. She fell off, but then got right back up on it as tho nothing had happened, then she giggled.

Darien saw where this was headed now. He climbed up on the table and tried pulling her off it. Serena slapped him in the face. 'Keep your cool! She's drunk, she has no clue what's going on, and you can't let her do anything she'll regret,' he thought to himself.

"Guess what?! I'M SAILOR MOON!" Serena screamed, making sure everyone could hear her. "Oh? Oh? Oh? You don't believe me? 'Cause! I'll SHOW you! I'm Sailor Moon! Champion of love and justice! Moon Prism Power!"

"SERENA!!!" Darien yelled at her. Too late, tho.

The crowd gasped as the young superheroine, Sailor Moon, stood before them, still drunk. "Now, who wants to dance with the champion of love and justice?!"

The crowd literally went wild. All, that is, except the Sailor Scouts and Darien. They couldn't believe what their eyes had just seen. Especially considering the cameras were all on her. Reporters were flooding in for an interview.

"Lets see… I'll pick… you!" she said to some random guy. Darien watched her go into the thick crowd, made thicker now by the reporters. He tried to follow her, but the crowd was so thick and packed so tightly, he couldn't get to the center. That was where Serena, or, Sailor Moon, was most likely to be.

In Serena's little 'circle of people', she ditched the guy and headed out towards the streets, without anyone noticing. So everyone stayed gathered around the guy, leading Darien and the other girls to believe Serena was still in the crowd.

Once on the street, she rounded a corner and someone grabbed her.

Darien waited until the crowd dispersed, then he realized Serena wasn't there. He went outside to look for her. As soon as he got out there, he noticed it was raining. He came only a few feet from a storm drain and saw what he thought looked like a pinkish dye getting washed into it. The dye got redder and redder, until it looked like blood. 'Not good!' he semiconsciously thought.

Darien rounded the corner and saw the source of the blood. A body lay collapsed on the sidewalk. He ran over to investigate.

The body he saw was Serena's, she was transformed back. She was bruised and cut up all over, and her skirt had lots of blood on the top part of it. Her eyes were closed, as though she was asleep. She was still breathing, but something terrible must've happened for her to even be out in this weather in the first place, let alone collapsed on the street all bloodied. He quickly scooped her up in his arms and ran to his apartment. He set her down, very gently, on the couch. She was soaked. The couch was turning pink from water and blood.

Darien searched for a shirt big enough for her, but couldn't find one. He did have, however, a big blanket. 'This'll keep her warm,' he thought.

Before he changed her, though, he called Andrew over. Andrew knew a lot more about medical things than he did, so he thought it best to let him help her as far as medical means.

DING-DONG! DING-DONG!

Darien opened the door and let Andrew in.

"Is Serena okay?!" was the first thing Andrew asked him.

"She got drunk and I found her like this," Darien told him.

"Alright! I'm going to need a washcloth and a change of clothes!" announced Andrew.

"I couldn't find a change of clothes, but just wrap her in that big blanket on the coffee table," Darien replied.

"This one?"

"Yeah, it was the only thing I had."

"Darien, I'm going to have to undress her to take care of her wounds. I hope you're okay with that. You know, you being her boyfriend and all that, I thought you'd want to know," Andrew said.

"Do whatever you need to heal her!" Darien replied almost immediately.

"Okay! Okay." Andrew took off her shirt, inspecting the wounds on her stomach.

"Get me a warm washcloth," he demanded, "And, do you have any aloe?"

"Here you go," Darien answered, worried about Serena. He decided it was a good idea to call the other girls over, in case Andrew needed help with anything. So that's just what he did.

DING-DONG!

Darien let all the girls in.

"What happened to Serena?! Is she okay?!" They all said at once. They ran over to the couch that Serena was laying on.

"Serena?" Amy said.

"Andrew, do you need help?" Lita asked.

"No, not right now," he answered.

"Well tell us if you need anything," Rei said.

"Will do," Andrew answered.

Darien took Serena's shirt and put it in the dryer, he'd dry it later.

Andrew rubbed aloe on the last wound on her upper body and put a bandage on it. Then he pulled off her skirt and was horrified by what he saw. Right above her knees were two big, black bruises. Her legs were covered in blood, so much that he couldn't tell where the injuries were. There was dirt and filth crusted around her feet and ankles, she looked like she'd been in a car crash with a truck carrying an oversized load of knives.

The girls shrieked when they saw her legs.

Andrew took the washcloth and began working on Serena's legs. He had to wash off all the blood so he could tell where her cuts were to treat them. It turned out, there were several, there had obviously been a struggle. The one thing that confused Andrew is why the blood kept coming. Even after he'd treated all the wounds and put bandaged on them, there was still a flow of blood coming from somewhere.

"Girls and Darien, I'm going to need you to get in another room and close the door," Andrew said.

"Why?" They all asked at once.

"I have an idea about where the blood might be coming from, but it's… a… uhh… well, it's an area that as few people as possible should see."

"It's in THAT area?! But, if it's bleeding this bad, that would mean…" Mina trailed off.

"Yeah, and I'm hoping it isn't that," Andrew said. "I'm hoping it's just a cut that happens to be 'nearby'."

The girls did as told and went into Darien's bedroom. Darien soon followed. "Let's hope it's a cut…" he said.

"Yeah…" they replied.

About twenty minutes later, Andrew told them they could come out. They did.

"It wasn't a cut…" Andrew told them.

They all looked over at Serena, who was wrapped in the blanket.

"When she wakes up, make sure you tell her not to go off saving people. And, tell her she needs to take a shower. There might have been some places I couldn't wash," he said. Then Andrew left.

The girls knew they had to get going, too.

"Take care of her, Darien!"

"Keep her away from parties!"

"Watch the bruise on her face and legs!"

"Keep us updated on how she's doing!"

Then they left.

In the middle of the night, Serena woke up.

THUD!

"YOW!" she screamed when she fell off the couch.

Darien came to her rescue. After he set her back on the couch, she said in a cracked and broken voice, "I'm thirsty." Darien brought her some water. She drank the whole glass in record time. He noticed she was crying.

"It's okay now, Serena," he said as he held her. "Can you stand up?"

She shook her head. "I'm too weak."

"You want me to help you up?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Over time Serena got better, and, as promised, Darien told the girls about how she was doing. She still couldn't walk, and the bruises hadn't healed, but she knew that wouldn't matter if her friends needed her help. She'd crawl out of here if she had to.

Darien was kept busy warding off reporters, who were flooding the apartment trying to get an interview with Serena about being Sailor Moon.

Darien told them she got badly hurt in a fight and was recovering. They had to go. He didn't like them, Serena didn't like them, and the girls didn't like them.

Once one of the reporters asked why Serena couldn't come out for an interview. Darien told this one the truth, "She's too weak to walk, and she needs rest. So if you will PLEASE! Leave!"

About two minutes after that one left, another one came in. But instead of being held back by Darien, she slipped past him unnoticed. It was only because Darien was so busy with the other reporters that wanted a picture or an interview. This reporter wanted both.

"So, tell me, what do you say to transform?"

"Moon Prism Power." Serena transformed into Sailor Moon, then transformed back. "Can I please sleep now?"

"I only have a few more questions. Is it true that you got hurt in a fight and are here recovering from your injuries?"

"Yeah."

"Is it true that guy out there is your boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Are you coming back into the superhero business after you recover?"

"Please go."

"Is it true?"

"DARIEN!!! WE HAVE A PROBLEM IN HERE!!!"

"Ma'am I'm going to ask you to leave. Serena really does need rest and you're being quite a problem. Now, please allow her some time to recover. All your questions will be answered, but for now, we can't expose her secrets to the enemy," Darien was really trying, but this one was too persistent.

"Oh! An enemy! Who exactly is this enemy?"

"Please! Go! Now! Nobody likes you!" Serena was getting fed up. Even tho Darien held most of them off, there were always a few of these little rats that somehow slipped in.

"Please, miss! I need you to leave. Serena can't get any rest when you're asking a bunch of questions and making al this ruckus. The door is this way," Darien shoved her out the door.

Another reporter slipped in the same way when Darien went back to handling the rest of the colony of reporters and cameramen.

"Can you tell me who the other Sailor girls are?"

"We're the Sailor Scouts, not Sailor girls, and no, I won't tell you."

"Why won't you tell?"

"Ever heard of 'secret' identities?"

"Do you know their identities?"

"Of course I do."

"Then why can't you say?"

"It isn't your business to know, that's why!"

"But don't you agree the public has a right to know?"

"No, I don't agree! What part of that do you not understand, lady?"

"Are you always this rude?"

"No! I'm just sick of you reporters! You never let me have any rest! If I'm not fully recovered and you get in trouble, you guys are goners!"

"Don't worry, the police will handle it."

Serena was laughing now. "You guys really don't know what you're dealing with, do you? You think the police would stand a chance against all I've been up against? Me? Sailor Moon? I highly doubt it. Unless one of the police was a Sailor Scout, the police are as useful as a butterfly!"

"Does this mean you're planning on joining the police force?"

"Absolutely not! Now, go! You've heard enough!"

"I just need to know! Who's the leader of the Sailor Scouts? I mean if there is a leader…"

"I'm the leader! Now will you please let me sleep?!"

"Sure, but I'll be back tomorrow!"

"Oh, no you won't!"

The reporter left with a smile, happy that she got a semi-full interview.

Serena felt something all of a sudden. She somehow sensed the Sailor Scouts were in trouble.

"Darien!"

"Yeah, Serena?"

"Get me out of this apartment! We need to find the Sailor Scouts! They need me!"

"Serena, you aren't fully healed yet."

"If you don't do as I say, I'll crawl out of here if I have to!"

"Okay! Okay!" The last thing Darien wanted was for her to get hurt further, but he didn't have much of a choice.

"Moon Prism Power!"

All the reporters heard this and went wild.

Darien transformed and scooped Sailor Moon up in his arms. Out the window they went.

Eventually, they found the Sailor Scouts, but the battle was already over. None of them were badly injured, and when they saw Serena, they were happy.

"Serena! You're okay!" Sailor Mars said.

"You're okay! I'm so glad you guys didn't get hurt!" Serena responded.

"Ditto!" Sailor Mercury said.

The reporters, some of which saw Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon running off, followed them and had just caught up with them. Now they wanted to interview the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask.

"Oh, no! Quick, girls! Save yourselves!" Serena said as a group of pests charged at them, cameras flashing and all. The Sailor Scouts made a hasty exit.

"GoGoGo!" she said to Tuxedo Mask.

But before he could go, the reporters were already surrounding him.

"Why is the leader of the Sailor Scouts you? You're too weak!"

"I'm not weak! Watch!" Serena said. She tried to stand up on her own, but fell. It was Tuxedo Mask who scooped her back up. "Well, the arrangement was already made! I didn't choose to be leader!"

"They chose you?"

"No… It's complicated, okay?!"

"Can you explain to us?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"

The Sailor Scouts heard her and pushed past the crowd and put themselves in front of Serena. This made the reporters go nuts.

"Is it true that Sailor Moon is your leader?"

"Yes."

Sailor Venus winked at Serena. Serena knew what this meant. It meant they'd take the 'attacks' for her while she and Tuxedo Mask made their escape.

"Can you show us all your attacks?"

The Sailor Scouts nodded.

"Mercury Bubbles! Blast!"

Sailor Mercury did that because she knew Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask could escape, as well as themselves. They all disappeared into the fog.

The moon was full tonight. Serena glowed multiple colors and was fully healed within a minute or so. All except one injury that is, the one that, once made, could never again be healed.