Hey everybody!
Sorry it took me so long to update; I don't what's wrong with my computer but it won't let me upload documents to the document editor all of a sudden. So I had to wait until after the weekend to update. :-( But I'm back with chapter three!
Chapter 3: Fight and Flight
Beep, beep, beep! Serena awoke from her melancholy trance suddenly and grabbed her communicator. Ami's head appeared and said quickly,
"Serena, transform now! Zoicite's here with a youma!" Serena took no time in grasping her broach and shouting,
"Moon Prism Power!" And in a flash of bright colors and ribbons she was gone.
Bolting back into the ballroom, Serena was confronted with all the dancers collapsed on the floor, and Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter trying feebly to resist the encroaching youma. One by one, Serena watched horrified as each Sailor Scout fell to the floor in a faint. Serena's heart was still broken, but it was swelled with worry for her friends when she saw them and filled her chest with courage.
"Hold it there, you Nega-scum!" The youma turned around, stunned and confused.
"Leave my friends alone," Serena cried, "I'm sick of dealing with all this Nega-trash! Time to take out the garbage!" And with that, Serena threw her tiara with a flourish and a 'Moon Tiara Action!' It glanced off the youma, mildly injuring it, but alive and angry nonetheless. Serena began to panic as it advanced upon her, knowing she could not combat it alone. If all the other Sailor Scouts couldn't defeat it, she was for sure a goner. Her tiara was not enough to defeat such a powerful youma by itself. She backed away into a corner, and just as the youma aimed a fireball at her, she jumped away.
"Sailor Moon, you need to focus," she told herself, "There is no Tuxedo Mask to save you now." Tuxedo Mask. Tears welled up once again her eyes as memories from the last hour returned. Tuxedo Mask didn't love her…
She saw another fireball speeding in her direction, but she didn't care anymore. She closed her eyes, awaiting the blow—
But it didn't come. She opened her eyes to find herself in the arms of Tuxedo Mask. The man who had broken her heart. He swooped down and replaced her feet firmly on the ground, although he still held a firm grip around her waist, of which she was very aware. He threw a rose, slashing the youma across the face.
"Dust her, Sailor Moon! Now! You must believe in yourself!" he cried, still eying the youma.
"Right," she said breathlessly, trying to mentally shake herself; his arm that had wrapped itself around her waist was terribly distracting. And yet, at the same time, his arm also encouraged her in some way she couldn't explain…
"Moon Tiara Magic!" she said, her voice returning strongly. The next moment, the youma had fallen before them in a heap of sand.
Sailor Moon turned to look into the eyes of her rescuer. For a moment, her voice vanished again, but the next, her determination to understand brought it back.
"Why…why did you come to save me if……if you don't…" but she was spared the pain of uttering the last few words when he cut her off with his hand.
"Sailor Moon, I only came to help you because I sense that without your help, the Negaverse will triumph in the end. But my loyalty must lie with someone else. We can never be together. Good-bye."
His cape whipped around and the next moment, he was gone to the rooftops, and tears welled up in Sailor Moon's eyes yet again. She bent down and picked up the red rose that had struck the youma. One of its petals fell to the ground as she fingered it slowly, causing tears to slip down her face. How could he possibly hurt her so? Was her love really so unrequited? But her thoughts were redirected as she heard the other Sailor Scouts groaning and waking up. She pocketed the flower and quickly dried her eyes on the back of her hand, trying to smile as she walked over to help her friends. Once the five had de-transformed and Serena had insured they were all fine, Mina suggested they stay for the remainder of the ball, but Serena declined quietly, shaking her head with a slightly melancholy look.
"I'm tired guys. You all can stay and have fun, but I think I'm gonna head on home." Lita objected, but Serena gave a weak smile and told them to stay. "I'll see you guys at the temple tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay," they all said, although the worry was still written across their faces.
Serena left the ball through the front doors, walked out onto the front lawn, and made sure she was alone in the shadows before bursting into tears. She sobbed so hard and so loudly that she didn't even hear the rumbling of thunder announcing the arrival of dark clouds overhead.