Hey! So here is the second chapter. I'm quite proud of myself for posting it so soon. I'd also like to thank everyone who read and/or reviewed, it means so much to me that you guys are enjoying!
XXX
Tristan's heavy boots clacked loudly against the black marble floor as he rapidly made his way towards the throne room. He could not believe his luck! The event his people had been patiently awaiting was finally upon them. Smugly, he thought it fitting that he had been the one to make the discovery. Yes, he had always been Queen Aurelia's favourite, and now he would have one more reason to justify her attentions.
He burst through the eight foot tall oak doors and across the wide expanse of the dark and solemn room. As per usual, he tried to avert his gaze from the skulls and bones which made up the walls of the macabre throne room. Queen Aurelia, who had been stretching languidly on her throne, raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow to the intrusion, "What is the meaning of this, Tristan?", she drawled, idly twirling a strand of crimson hair around her elongated fingers.
Tristan, who was slightly panting from his recent exertion, straightened his back and lifted his chin with the pride he was infamous for, "I have found it."
Aurelia, whose chin was now resting upon her knuckles, urged him to go on with a wave of her arm, "The Silver Crystal, your Majesty. I have picked up traces of its power on the planet Earth located within a galaxy called the Milky Way.", he explained excitedly.
Aurelia's cinnabar coloured eyes widened and a wicked smile twisted her full lips, "How long?"
Tristan returned his beautiful Queen's expression, "If we set course immediately, we could reach the planet within a fortnight."
"Excellent.", Aurelia cackled, "Finally, we shall retrieve what is so rightfully ours!".
XXX
"You did what?", Serena had to hold the cell phone away from herself in order to save her ears from Mina's shriek.
Serena immediately regretted telling the exuberant blonde of the kiss she had shared with Andrew the previous night, "I didn't mean for it to happen! You know Andrew's always been like a brother to me. But, there he was, saying all those wonderful things about me, and I just couldn't help myself."
"I guess I can understand that.", Mina conceded in a thoughtful tone, " But, Serena, what about Darien."
Serena stopped dead in her tracks, much to the annoyance of the passersby who lined the sidewalks, and clutched the phone tighter to her ear, "What about Darien?"
Mina sounded hesitant, "You aren't going to try and get him back?"
Serena let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through her chin length locks, "If you're asking me if I've given up on him then no, no I haven't. I'm still going to try, but he's engaged Mina! I feel like I'm setting myself up for disaster."
"Alright then, but what about Andrew? You're just going to string him along in case things don't work out with Darien? That's not very nice Serena.", Mina chastised.
"Of course not! What happened with Andrew won't happen again. In fact, I'm on my way to the arcade right now to set things straight.", Serena assured and then flipped her cell phone shut. After spending the entire night tossing and turning, figuring out the right thing to do, she had resolved that the kiss was undoubtedly a mistake. It saddened her somewhat, seeing as how she had indeed felt something from the kiss. Nevertheless, Darien would always take up too much space in Serena's heart to let her get romantically involved with anyone else.
Crossing the arcade's threshold, Serena's heart sank as she laid her eyes upon the all too familiar sight of Darien sitting by the counter and sipping his coffee while talking to Andrew. The blond man's eyes brightened with her arrival and he beckoned her over to them. Inhaling a steadying breath and plastering a fake smile on her face, Serena complied.
"Hey guys.", she greeted in what she hoped sounded like a cheerful manner.
"Hey Serena. Why don't you sit down?", Andrew suggested signalling the free stool next to Darien, "How about a double chocolate milkshake? I'll even make it myself.", he offered with a grin. Serena nodded her acquiescence, and Andrew cheerfully set about his task.
Serena sat down and started twisting her hands in a nervous manner. Before she could think of anything suitable to say to Darien, he saved her from the trouble, "So, you and Andrew eh? Can't say I find it very surprising, seeing as you were always fawning all over him.", Darien grinned teasingly.
Serena's face flushed as she cursed Andrew's big mouth, "What do you mean?". Serena you idiot, you know exactly what he means!
Darien's eyebrow quirked, "Well I'm talking about last night's hot and heavy make out session of course! It's all he's been talking about all day."
Damn. Damn .Damn. Damn! Andrew reappeared from the kitchen and set down the frothy beverage before her, "Drew, may I have a word with you in private please?", judging by her rigid tone of voice, Andrew gathered that this was more an order than a request and led her to his office, leaving an amused Darien behind.
Serena slammed the door shut and sent a murderous glare in Andrew's direction, "What were you thinking telling Darien about what happened last night! You know how much I want him back! Now he thinks we're together. This is awful.", she curtailed her shouting into a rapid hiss, as to not be overheard by anyone outside.
Andrew simply stared at her, a smile slowly spreading across his face. Serena fought the urge to smack it right off, "Just what are you smiling for?", she demanded.
"You don't get it, do you Serena? I'm doing you a favour.", Andrew stated. Taking in the lithe blonde's bewildered stare, he went on, "We're going to make Darien jealous."
Serena rolled her azure eyes at the smug man, "He won't get jealous. He doesn't remember that there is anything to be jealous of!"
Andrew shook his head, "I think you're wrong. I think we'll be able to tap into some part of his brain that still remembers. Think about it; he'll start feeling all these feelings of envy which he won't understand. You know as well as I do that Darien thoroughly analyses everything. Then presto! He taps into his memories, and you two walk off into the sunset as if none of the past two years had ever happened."
Serena stood completely still, her eyes slightly widened. Andrew anxiously surveyed her features for signs of a reaction. Suddenly, she spun on her heel and was out the door. Andrew fallowed after her quickly, calling out her name. He mentally scolded himself; she obviously wasn't interest in his little plan.
But then, much to Andrew's surprise, she pressed herself against him and pulled his face towards hers. Right in full view of Darien. You'd better be right Andrew.
She pulled away and bit her lip, feeling strangely satisfied from the look of complete shock every person present sported.
"Pick me up at eight?"
XXX
Serena lay down on her bed and closed her eyes. She wondered when exactly she had become the type of person who would use another in such a selfish way. She wondered why fate was playing such a cruel prank on her. Serena simply didn't understand. She had dedicated her life to protecting a planet, putting her life at risk so many times that she had lost count, and this was what she got in return?
A week and a half had gone by and so far Serena's little charade had earned her quite a few reproving looks and chastisements from the other Scouts as well as Luna and Artemis. To each and every one of her friends, her response had been the same; Let's just see what happens.
But in truth, Serena didn't want to just let things be. This scheme just kept adding to the heartache. There was one thing Serena hadn't counted on when she had set things into motion with Andrew; the fact that he might develop feelings for her. She thought it a tad egotistical to think such things, but it couldn't be helped. Andrew had been so wonderful to her that it sometimes felt as if they were a real couple. She feared that it could only end in tears.
Her melancholic musings were disturbed by the vibrations emitting from her cell phone, signalling an incoming call. "Hello?", she bit out.
"Woah there, something wrong?", Andrew's voice sounded through the receiver.
Serena ran a hand through her hair, a gesture that a quickly become a habit for her. Serena attributed this to the fact that her hair had always been far too long to do so before. "I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind."
"Ah, I see. Well then, I apologize in advance for what I'm going to ask you.", he chuckled nervously.
Serena groaned, "What is it?"
"Darien has invited us out to dinner tonight. Pick you up at seven?", he spoke so quickly that Serena had a bit of difficulty understanding him. However, she got the gist of it.
Swallowing back the bile that had risen up into her throat, she answered, "Sure".
Flipping the phone shut, Serena dragged herself lazily out of bed and towards her closet. She began pulling out several dresses and tossing them aside just as quickly. She laughed self deprecatingly at the fact that she was trying to impress a man who had been hers for over a thousand years.
Serena pulled on the strapless white dress she had decided on and her eyes fell on a spot that seemed to glimmer on her desk. Approaching the furniture, she realised just what had been catching the sun. There, in the corner of the desk, amongst various other trinkets, lay the ring Darien had presented her with before his departure to the American university. Tears sprang to her eyes at the thoughts of what could have been. Hastily wiping them away with her thumb, she picked up the ring and slid it on her right hand. Maybe the symbolic piece of jewellery would give Darien's mind the extra push it needed? Serena shook her head and sighed, I'm so desperate.
XXX
Amy hurried down the halls of Tokyo University and towards the astrophysics department. One of her best friends, Ethan, had called her an hour before hand, catching right as she was finishing up her wok at the hospital for the day. He had detected an anomaly right outside their solar system and, knowing how interested Amy was in anything having to do with space, had immediately given her a call.
She found him in one of the labs, typing furiously at one of the dozen or so computers, "Ethan?"
He turned around and smiled, waving her over, "You aren't going to believe this Ames!", he said excitedly.
She raised an eyebrow, "You'd be surprised at what I'd believe, but please, go on."
Ethan brought up a map of the solar system onto the screen and pointed at a small blinking dot. It was between Pluto and Neptune. Amy shook her head, "I thought you said the anomaly was outside our solar system."
Ethan nodded enthusiastically, "It was! ", he turned to her, "Amy, its moving."
Amy's ocean blue eyes widened in shock. As much as Ethan was overjoyed, thinking that this discovery would make his career, Amy on the other hand knew that this meant trouble.
She spun around and headed towards the exit, ignoring Ethan's confused shouts of "Amy?!". Hiding herself in the most secluded spot she knew of, a stall in the 5th floor engineering department's women's bathroom, she whipped out her Mercury computer. Effortlessly, she hacked into various telescopes and satellites. Pretty soon, Amy was looking at the same image she had been viewing on Ethan's computer, but she had managed to magnify it about a hundred fold. She gasped as she studied the mass' strange shape; it was almost shaped like a castle...
Amy brought up the scientific calculator on her minicomputer. Typing rapidly, she imputed the size and speed of the object in an effort to calculate when the object would eventually arrive within their atmosphere.
Amy frowned at the outcome and redid the calculations, "This can't be right...", she whispered. Her frown deepened when the same answer came up. Once, twice, again. There was no arguing with the Mercury computer. The castle-like mass would be reaching their atmosphere in three days.
She had to tell Luna.
XXX
For what seemed like the millionth time in the past half hour, Serena asked herself just what the heck she was doing in a fancy Italian restaurant, sitting across Darien and Madeleine. It seemed like the most perverse torture. Every touch, every kiss, every look between the pair sent her brain into overdrive. Jealously, Serena couldn't help but notice that they seemed a lot more intimate than Darien had ever been with her. Quickly, she pushed those niggling thoughts to the back of her mind, You were only fourteen! But still, all logic aside, it hurt. Serena had barely said a word the entire night, simply answering every one of Madeleine's friendly questions with a nod of smile. Ugh, she must think I'm an idiot!, she thought as she continued to nervously twirl the diamond ring around her finger.
Sensing her discomfort, Andrew picked up one of her hands, effectively stopping her fidgeting. Madeleine smiled warmly at the sight, "You two are so cute together!", she gushed and turned to Darien, "Don't you think so darling?". He shrugged noncommittally. Serena noticed that, strangely enough, Darien had been almost as silent as she had.
Madeleine raised one of her dark eyebrows, "Propose already, Andrew?", she questioned teasingly. Darien's eyes snapped up from his soup as Andrew started choking on his.
Feeling flushed, Serena covered, "Of course not, I've had this ring for years.", she laughed nervously. It was then that a loud noise made itself heard over the din of the restaurant. Serena's eyes widened in shock as her mind registered what the sound was. One she had not heard in years.
Bolting up from her seat, she excused herself politely then abruptly left the table, effectively earning confused stares from her dinner companions. Silently cursing the high heels she had chosen to wear, she scrambled towards the nearest exit. Unfortunately, this left her out in a dirty alley full of the restaurant's garbage. Fighting her gag reflex and straining to hold her breath, Serena surveyed her surrounding to make sure that she was alone and away from any pesky eavesdroppers. Just like old times, she summoned the tiny pink communicator from her subspace pocket. With the press of a button, Luna's face appeared in the miniscule screen.
"Emergency Scout meeting at Reye's temple, fifteen minutes."
Serena was a bit taken aback at the severity of Luna's tone, but she refrained from asking any questions; there would be time for that at Reye's. Serena rapidly nodded her understanding and shut off the communicator.
She slipped back into the restaurant, gasping for air as soon as she was safely inside and away from the overpowering stench of trash. Serena rushed back over to her table, once again cursing her damnable shoes.
Darien scrunched up his nose in disgust, "Does anyone smell that?"
Serena laughed nervously as she slipped on her coat, "Smell? What smell? Haha..."
Andrew sat up and helped Serena gather her things, "Are we leaving?", he chuckled.
Serena nodded apologetically, "I am. You feel free to stay.", she pushed Andrew back into his seat and gave him a peck on the cheek. Then, turning to Madeleine and Darien, "It's been lovely, see you both soon I hope?", and she was gone.
She could feel their bewildered stares burning a hole in the back of her head, but it didn't matter. Serena had Scout business to attend to.
The sky darkened with storm clouds as Serena dashed through the dimly lit streets, narrowly avoiding various puddles. She held her coat over her head and scolded herself for leaving her umbrella at the restaurant.
Unfortunately, the coat greatly limited her vision. Serena groaned softly as her head made contact with someone's shoulder.
"Ugh, guess you're still the klutz queen, eh Serena?", Serena looked up and discovered that she had bumped into Lita.
Lita's eyes sparkled with laughter, "Come on, let's walk together.", she pulled Serena closer so that she'd be covered by the umbrella.
"Are you sure we shouldn't be going faster? Luna made it sound as if this were a very urgent meeting.", Serena said.
Lita chuckled, "Now you're just starting to sound like Amy!"
Serena blushed, "Would that be such a bad thing?"
"No, but I'd like it better if you stayed you.", Serena smiled at the brunette's kind words. Lita looked up towards the sky, "Have I mentioned how happy I am to have you back?".
"Once or twice, yeah.", Serena smiled.
Lita suddenly stopped walking and turned to Serena, she placed the hand that wasn't holding onto the umbrella upon Serena's shoulder, "I'm serious. We were completely lost without you. And now, well, you probably suspect as I do that there is going to be a new threat upon us.", Serena was taken aback by the tears that suddenly appeared in the usually stoic girl's brown eyes, "Just promise me that we won't lose you again."
Serena's heart broke at Lita's words and she threw herself in the taller girl's arms, "As long as you promise me that I won't lose you guys.", she whispered.
XXX
"A space travelling castle.", Mina deadpanned, "I think you've been working too hard Ames.". The bluenette blushed and nodded.
Luna rose to the young woman's defence, "Amy's findings are 100% valid. I checked it all out myself."
Mina shrugged, "It just sounds a little ridiculous to me, that's all. Am I right?", she enquired, turning towards the other Scouts who were sitting around her on the temple's front porch, the awning providing them with sufficient cover from the rain.
"Ridiculous or not, you girls are going to have to be on guard. There's no telling who or what is heading towards us. It's your duty as Sailor Scouts to protect the Earth.", Artemis spoke, reminding them of their duty. As if any one of us could possibly forget, Serena thought to herself.
Serena had been listening to the entire exchange with half an ear, focusing on the pitter patter of the falling rain against the ground. While walking to the temple, a disturbing thought had entered her brain. She had been informed, upon waking from her coma, that the Silver Crystal had been absorbed within her.
Could she still transform into Sailor Moon?
Serena's transformation had always involved her commanding the crystal, through a key phrase, to do so. Now that it was inside of her, could she still command it?
"Serena? You in there?", Reye tapped her head exasperatedly, earning a glare from the small blonde.
"What is it?", Serena demanded. Reye turned her violet gaze skywards, "Have you been listening at all?"
Serena shrugged, "Yeah, yeah. Approaching castle traveling through space. Be on the lookout. Got it."
Reye blinked and the other girls laughed. Her face turning as red as her fiery attacks, she spoke, "That's right..."
Amy frowned, "Are you alright Serena?"
Lita nodded, "You've been awfully quiet."
Serena forced a smile, "I've just been thinking, that's all."
Mina raised an eyebrow, "What about?"
Serena sighed, "Am I still even able to transform?"
Luna cocked her head to the side, "I don't see why not. The power of the crystal is still there after all. I don't see how the crystal being inside of you could hinder your transformation."
"Why don't you give it a try right now?", Reye suggested.
Nodding slowly, Serena stood up. She closed her eyes and spoke the same words that had always triggered her transformation into the famed super heroine.
"Moon Crystal Power!"
Serena waited for the usual rush of power to commence, but it never did. She felt nauseated as her fears were confirmed. Opening her eyes, she was met with the shock of her Scouts and Guardians.
Luna gasped, "But...This can't be! The power is still present!"
Serena fell to the ground and burst into tears, "I'm useless to you all!", she cried while pounding a fist to the ground.
She knew she was being overdramatic, really she did. Serena just couldn't handle it all. Ever since she had woken up, it had been one unfortunate even after another.
Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't woken up.
Opening her eyes, she was met with a pair of shoes. Her gaze rose up the leg and finally to lock with a pair of tear filled violet eyes.
"Stop it!", Reye commanded, "You are not useless, don't even think that Serena!". She wiped the tears from her eyes, "Sure, you're a crybaby and a klutz, but you're still the most courageous person I know."
Serena was taken aback by the usually distant girl's declarations, "You really think so?". Reye nodded.
"She's right Serena. Don't worry, we'll figure this out.", Luna soothed while rubbing up against Serena's legs.
I hope so.
XXX
The next morning, the sky was just as dark and gloomy as it had been before. Serena sat up and stared listlessly out her window, tracing the patters the rain drops made against the glass panes. It was then that something caught her eye. A figure, distorted from the rain, was heading towards her front door. Sure enough, the bell rang. Serena lay back and waited for her mom to get the door. The bell rang again and Serena frowned, "Mom?"
When she received no answer, she realised that her family had gone to some school function for Shingo and would be gone for most of the day. The doorbell sounded again, and Serena got out of bed and bolted for the door, hoping to catch the visitor before he or she left. Surprisingly, when she opened the door, Darien stood on the other side. He smirked as he stepped inside, "It's noon, don't tell me I woke you up?"
Serena blushed and turned her head away, "Of course not!"
He laughed, "Well, I just came by to bring you the umbrella you forgot last night. Andrew said he'd take care of it, but I had some free time so I just thought..", he trailed off.
"Oh, yeah. Thanks, but you really didn't have to,,,"
"Its fine, I wanted to.", they both stood in Serena's doorway, unsure of what to say. Suddenly Serena became very aware of the fact that she was wearing nothing but a pair of pink boyshort underwear and a t-shirt, her usual sleeping attire. This only served to intensify her blush a thousand fold.
Realising the source of Serena's embarrassment, Darien became quite flustered. He hadn't noticed her attire until that point. Serena laughed nervously, "Uhh, could you give me a second? I think this conversation would be a lot easier if I were wearing...well...pants."
Serena dashed upstairs and threw on the first pair of jeans she came across. Coming back downstairs, she realised that Darien had moved to her living room. He picked up a photo of her as a six-year-old, "You were a cute kid.", he remarked.
Serena looked at the photo he had picked up. It was of her first day of kindergarten, she could tell by the deep blue school uniform. She scoffed, "I remember this, I got picked on the entire day because of my hair. Kids are so mean!"
Darien grinned, "Well, I can see why! Each Meatball is practically as big as your entire head."
Serena laughed and punched him playfully on the arm, "Shut up."
He then reached over and ran a hand through Serena's hair, "Have I told you I liked your new haircut? It suits you. Sort of makes you look older too."
Serena, although practically rendered speechless by Darien's proximity, managed to choke out, "But, I am older."
He looked into her eyes, "That you are...", he said, barely audibly. Shivers went down her spine as she realised what was about to happen. In any romance movie worthy of a five-star rating, Darien would, any second now, scoop her into his arms and kiss the living daylights out of her.
"Hey, is that Halo 3?", and just like that, the magic was gone, leaving Serena to curse reality.
She composed herself quickly, "Yeah, you play?"
He scoffed, "Do I play? Please! I am Master Chief"
And just like that, Serena forgot that he was Darien was Darien and a three hour Halo run was started.
XXX
"And that is why I am the Halo 3 master!", Serena jumped up and exclaimed after a particularly fun match in which Serena had dominated.
Darien rolled his eyes, but grinned at her antics nonetheless, "Sure, Serena, whatever you say."
She laughed and stuck her tongue out at him, sitting back down onto the couch. Darien took the controller away from her, "Maybe you should give this up for a while, we could order some pizza?"
Serena tried to snatch her controller back, "No! One more game! I'm on a roll!", she protested as she climbed over Darien who was holding the piece of machinery at arm's length.
Suddenly, Serena realised how close the two of the, were. Everything went still. Serena stared at him, slightly wide eyed and he stared back at her with an intensity she was all too familiar with. Before the inevitable could happen, Darien disentangled himself from her and sat up, "I think I should go.", and with that he was gone.
Serena sat on her couch, completely stunned. It wasn't supposed to go like this! He was supposed to kiss her and then suddenly remember everything! So had been the scenario Serena had naively envisioned.
What now?
XXX
And so ends the second chapter!! Please leave me a nice little review =P
