Later, the five went to a restaurant to celebrate their reunion.
True to what Lita said at the bus stop, Serena still ate like a starved dog like she used to, though it was in a more controlled manner than when she had first met the blond Moon girl.
Everyone had something to talk about. What kind of classes they were taking, what they planned to do once they were out of collage, and most importantly: what kind of guys they were dating.
Rei, who had gone out with Chad for a while before he decided to return to the band he had been a part with before he stayed with Rei, had been keeping herself boyfriend-less. Though she would never admit whether it was to take a break from dating or to wait for Chad to come back, Luna guessed it was the latter and not the former.
Mina had kept quiet on the subject, since she was trying to be a model, she got many dates but none of them were serious enough for her to consider long term. Ami too kept quiet, saying she was more interested in her studies. No surprise.
Lita was the only one who appeared to have someone of interest, saying she was going out with a chef from a popular restaurant in Nagasaki. She was only one who had shown interest in a subject like that.
Luna noticed Serena, while she ate most of the time, she was gloomy, "Something wrong Serena?"
Serena looked at Luna, "I was wondering when Darien was going to show up…"
I was afraid of this… "Serena…Mina and I have tried to get a hold of him, but he's failed to return our letters…"
"But…he'll be here, right? He's got to be," Serena replied.
Ami put her milkshake down, "Serena, there's a saying that goes like this: Love grows when the two are apart. In the end, their love only gets stronger.
Everyone nodded in approval at wise Ami's words.
Rei spoke, "I'm sure he's fine, Serena, we'll all be happy to see him when he does arrive."
"And if he doesn't, we'll hunt him down for you," Lita said with a smile, and everyone giggled.
And while she smiled as well, Serena certainly hoped her prince would arrive.
As the day gave way to night, Jedite stood on the balcony of the famous Tokyo Tower tourist spot overlooking the city with eyes that were bright.
"My plan is set…"
He had used whatever spare Negaforce he had to engulf the ground around the tower. Anyone caught in the tower's vicinity would slowly be drained of energy until they dropped. It wasn't a sneaky plan, but that was the way Jedite had planned it.
For when the humans are threatened, the Scouts will always appear. They did whenever he had tried to gather energy for Queen Beryl. It was because of rotten timing on his part that he had failed so miserably, and that was put to a head when Moon, Mercury, and Mars put a stop to him at Tokyo Airport. It had been after that that Beryl banished him into the darkness for eternity.
And that was the reason he was here. Revenge.
Now, once enough energy is gathered, it will be drained from the humans and enter Jedite himself, filling his own power to the point where nothing would stand in his way! Once the midnight hour started, the drain would continue up until the sun came up.
And with the thought of the scouts lying ay his feet in defeat made Jedite chuckle in delight.
It wasn't until around ten o'clock that Serena and the others arrived at Rei's temple home. Things were hectic, everyone was full from the dinner they had, and some of them were tired. Ami, however, was studying. Lita and Mina were still talking, and Rei was checking on her still goofy grandfather.
All the while Serena was sitting outside, under the cherry trees, looking up at the starlight sky. Where are you, Darien? I miss you…
He was the one she had been looking forward to seeing the most. He had been sending her letters and calling her every once in a while (she tried to contact him at least ten times a day, but eventually her phone privileges had been taken away), and she had been expecting him to appear with the others at her stop.
When he hadn't, Serena could barely contain herself, but her friends cheered her up as the day went by. And though they tried, and she did as well, Serena could not shake Darien from her mind. Her future husband.
She had seen that with her own eyes.
Serena would eventually become Neo-Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo, ruling a realm of eternal peace alongside her King Endymion, and the other Scouts as her guardians…she'd even have a daughter named Rini.
All this she would eventually come to know. But as many people would know, what happens in the future is not foregone in conclusion and it can be changed even with the simplest action.
All she could do was hope. Hope for the best and pray for her lover's return. All those who know her would know that she could not live without her love. Ami had told her that: When the two lovers are parted for a certain amount of time, their love only grows stronger. She only hoped that was the case.
And since he had said he would meet her at her stop, Serena decided to do what was natural to her, "You want something, go get it yourself.". Without telling the others, she got up and started to run into the city.
"So, I wonder where Darien is," Rei said as Mina and Lita listened.
"Well, it was supposed to be a big surprise. He's supposed to be waiting for her at some special place. His letter said the place would be Bright, and would hold a special place in our hearts…" Mina said, revealing the whole plan to everyone in the room.
Luna had not been told of this plan, "So, you all were in on this whole thing? And Serena has been worried sick because of it!"
Ami spoke, "Well, Luna it was a surprise, and we never would have thought that Darien would not show up. Where ever he is, I hope he's alright…"
Rei couldn't help but notice how vague the description from Darien's letter was. I mean, in a city as big as Tokyo, there were many places considered bright, but if it was a place special to Serena and Darien, that made it all the more vague.
Lita had a suggestion, "What if it was a place where something really important happened? Like where they first met?"
Luna shook her head, "According to my memory, Darien and Serena first met in front of Molly's jewelry store, but Artemis was just there. No one outside the door."
As Lita and Mina started naming off places, Ami noticed something once she looked outside, "Where you going Luna?"
The female cat had not gotten far before she stopped, "I'm going for a walk, while I try to think of a way to break the news to Serena of your 'surprise'."
Ami shook her head, "If that's the case, I'll tag along, too."
"What are you two talking about?"
Rei and Mina popped out of nowhere, as did Lita, interest piquing their faces.
Luna conceded defeat, "Alright, and you must explain it to her as well."
Artemis, who happened to be on Mina's shoulder, said, "If we're lucky, maybe Darien will run into us."
Luna took a deep sigh, if pigs could fly and cats could really talk, Artemis…
The drain would start any minute now, and Jedite could not wait. Once he started to gather energy, he'd be receiving until he had sucked dry every human in the vicinity. Then, he knew the scouts would definitely be there to try and stop him.
All he had to do was wait another 5 minutes…
The girls started to look for Serna first by checking her favorite hang outs, such as the arcade and the mall. When she didn't appear there, they decided to go about looking at Tokyo Tower.
And Mina and Lita couldn't stop talking about Darien's letter. "Wish he would have made it a little clearer, right?" Mina said to her friend.
Lita agreed, "guess we should have made sure about that detail before setting up this surprise, huh?"
Rei stopped, looking around.
Luna guessed she was looking for Serena, but asked anyway, "What's wrong Rei?"
"I've got…a bad feeling nearby," she said, her voice a little shaky.
The scouts readied themselves, putting up their guards, because they knew whenever Rei said that, the scouts knew trouble was always lurking nearby.
And Mina proved her correct as they saw people lying around the base of the tower.
"Good gracious…" Ami said.
"Who could have done this?" Lita retorted.
Artemis went over to one of the victims. No visible wounds, and he noticed a similarity between it and the others. "Seems their energy has been stolen."
"Stolen?"
Artemis nodded, "Definitely the work of our old foes."
Luna spoke up, "If it's the Negaverse, who would be left? Their Queen has been defeated—"
"That would be me."
Luna and Artemis looked in the direction the voice had come from, and Luna saw who it was and gasped, "Jedite!"
Ami and Rei gasped next, each with shock. Rei's anger went up then, "Guess we didn't finish you off good enough last time!"
"I know its been years since we last met, but Mercury and Mars, but this will end differently than last time," he said, memories of their last fight flashing through his mind.
Mina and Lita stepped forward. Lita put her fists up, "You'll have to deal with us too, creep!"
Mina was also ready to fight, a surge of energy she had not felt in quite some time. Luna saw this. Even though the girls had not fought anything since the defeat of Galaxia, they were still willing to put their lives on the line to fight for Earth.
Jedite was unimpressed, "You are all going to taste a revenge that has been building ever since I was humiliated by you Sailor Scouts! Too bad Sailor Moon isn't here, otherwise I'd have a special dose, just for her!"
Artemis whispered to Luna, "I can…sense his energy rising even as we speak. You feel it too, Luna?"
The female cat nodded, "I can…I'll find Sailor Moon, Artemis. Stay here and help the Scouts!" And with that the cat ran off.
"Just hurry back!" Artemis turned to the other girls, "Hope you all remember how to transform!"
Rei raised her hand, "It may have been years, but I can still fire it up!" Rei held her right hand up, shouting, "Mars Power!" Fire sprouted from the Mars wand and engulfed Rei, changing her nightclothes into the red outfit of the warrior of Mars.
Not to be outdone, Lita put up her hand in the same manner as Rei had, "Time for some physical therapy! Jupiter Power!" Electricity flowed from the Jupiter wand and out of the shocking transformation, Sailor Jupiter emerged, ready to fight.
Closely behind, Ami held up her hand, "This time we'll finish you off for good! Mercury Power!" Water and ice came from the Mercury wand in Ami's outstretched hand and where the mist cleared, Sailor Mercury came from it.
Finally, Mina put her hand up, "Just like old times, Venus Power!" Bright yellow stars whirled around the girl and once they disappeared, Sailor Venus beautifully appeared.
All the girls took a quick look at themselves, taking in the familiar feeling of being Sailor Scouts for the first time in years. Excitement and a large morale boost went into each of them, as well as determination to see Jedite defeated.
Jedite snickered, his revenge was finally starting. "Hope you're ready to be destroyed, Sailor Scouts!"