The Darkest Secret

Act Three: Dark Days, Darker Nights

Serena spent the rest of the day debating with herself whether or not she should tell her friends what was going on. Her practical self told her that it would help her rather than hurt her to come clean. Her worried self asked her if she was insane; if Malos found out who she was associated with, it would be like strapping a target on all their backs and parading them in front of a madman with a bazooka. The blonde banged her head against her bedroom wall, and paced anxiously, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, she sat down, retrieved her notes from earlier, and reviewed them. What did she know about her situation?

One; Malos, an evil daemon from the darkest, hottest pits of Hell, had been haunting her family since God-alone–knew-when. Said daemon had tried to possess her cousin Adel the last time he'd shown up, and had destroyed her cousin's mind in the process. Two; Malos was hell-bent on killing them all. Three; the why was quite simple; her family had been locking him up and containing his evil for centuries, millennia even. As for how that had happened, Serena had absolutely no idea. No one would tell her. Four; Malos was not only evil, he was ambitious. His goal was to destroy the world, but to do that, he'd have to take a host with a vast amount of power, such as Pluto or herself, possibly Galaxia. Galaxia was unlikely; she was somewhere at the far reaches of the galaxy. Malos was here on Earth.

The blonde began to sketch a picture of Malos in his true daemonic form, as well as her own thoughts on the consequences should he succeed in causing the Doom of the Gods, or Ragnarok. These would remind her of what she had to lose. That still didn't answer one question; should she tell her friends? It seemed right, but she was afraid. She'd seen all but the Starlights die at Chaos' hand. Could she watch that a second time? No, she could not; but wasn't keeping the secret putting them in more danger? The girl frowned, wishing she knew what to do. Absently, she sketched another scene of devastation.

"That's a disturbing image, Serena. What on Earth have you been watching?" Luna was back. The purple cat was looking over her shoulder.

The blonde covered it with her hand. "Nothing; just practicing my drawing skills."

"Can't you draw something a little more pleasant to look at?"

"I'm better at drawing hellfire and crumbling rocks than I am at drawing plants." Serena sketched a fallen warrior into the scene.

"Serena…are you all right? You've been acting strange lately."

"I'm fine…considering my circumstances."

"It's over now, though."

'No, Luna, you're wrong. It's only just begun,' Serena thought. Out loud, she replied, "I know."

"Are you sure you're all right?"

"Fit as a fiddle."

Luna looked at the blonde searchingly. Serena's face was unreadable, filled with serenity. Her eyes, normally windows to her soul, revealed nothing. The cat looked at her sketch again. The drawing depicted a town being reduced to ash, and the bodies of military soldiers were scattered about. The picture was so lifelike that it seemed as though it would leave the paper and enter this world. It made the cat shudder. What could possibly prompt Serena to draw something so horrible?

"Have you been having nightmares?" Luna asked. Maybe Serena was suffering residual effects from the battle with Chaos.

"Yeah…" 'More like flashbacks and memories,' Serena thought.

"What are they about?"

"I'm running from something, and I'm a little kid. I'm scared to death, and I wake up just as the monsters catch up." That was the truth, but with many details omitted.

Luna thought for a moment. It sounded like your average nightmare…nothing to be concerned about. "Anything else?"

"No." That was true as well; those were her dreams for now.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. That's all. I guess I'm just a little shaken up." Serena put her notes and sketches away, and Luna once again wondered what Serena was writing about. Unfortunately, she could never find out, because Serena had disappeared quietly, and Luna had no idea where she'd put the documents.

That night, Serena lay down and took a deep breath. "Dreams can't hurt you," she told herself, and closed her eyes, sinking into her dreams.

She was eight again, and running for her life. Adel, five years her senior, pursued her, Malos' voice leaving her lips. The sharp edges of broken glass cut into her feet, but the small blonde kept running. If she kept going, Malos wouldn't catch up. If she found Aunt Lisa, she would be okay. If she could find Mommy, everything would be okay again. The small child continued to flee, crying from fear. Where was her aunt? Where was her mother? Sparks jumped from a fire near her, and she screamed. "MOMMY!"

She tripped over a fallen rock, and her ankles gave out, caving beneath her. She couldn't stand. Adel, no longer her sweet, gentle older cousin, stood over her. Serena whimpered. She was going to die. She curled into a ball, praying it wouldn't hurt. Roughly, Adel grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. Her ankles throbbed with pain. Sweetly, her cousin kissed her forehead. "Run, cousin," Adel told her. "I can't stop him for long. Go!"

Serena looked at her cousin. Her dark eyes were not soulless as they had been. Adel was back.

"GO!" Adel shoved her, and Serena obeyed. Malos' laughter began again, and Serena ran faster than she had thought possible.

Smoke filled her nostrils, the screams of those trapped inside terrible to hear. The small girl continued on. Where was her mother? Where was Aunt Lisa? Everything went dark.

When she opened her eyes again, she was trapped in a cave, with Adel by her side. Serena whimpered as she remembered what had happened. They'd been kidnapped by some of Malos' goons. They were trapped. The little girl shivered, and Adel wrapped her arms around her. She leaned into her older cousin. As long as she stayed close to Adel, she would be safe. Adel had promised that she would always protect her. Serena believed that with all her heart.

"Don't be scared, Dove," Adel whispered, using her pet name. Adel always gave people unique names based on their personalities. It was her way of showing affection. Her mother was called Lioness, because of the way she protected her children with such strength, and because of her fierce loyalty. Aunt Lisa was simply 'Mom'. Adel had told her that she was Dove because she was so little and sweet, and when she walked into a room, she made everyone feel peaceful.

"Why did those men take us?" Serena whimpered.

Adel's voice was soft. "I don't know, Dove. I don't know. But I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you."

"I know."

In another moment, a smoky black shadow with glowing red eyes was upon them. It had horrible bat wings, dripping with freshly spilled blood. Adel's eyes widened in terror, and she tightened her hold on Serena. "Malos," she whispered.

Serena whimpered. She knew about Malos. He was the reason Mommy and Aunt Lisa were so scared all the time. He was the reason they'd left Daddy and Sammy at home in England and gone to Alabama. To keep them safe, her mother had told her. She'd promised that they would come back. Malos was really bad. She clung to Adel.

The terrible apparition descended, and Adel thrust her away. Serena tried to go back, but she couldn't. Adel screamed, and Serena wailed her cousin's name.

The next instant, Serena was awake, gasping, sobbing, and screaming. She was being restrained by her mother. As her mind cleared, she realized that she was outside, and about to pitch herself off of her balcony. The girl stopped struggling, and looked at her mother. Ilene Tsukino's face was white, and she still kept a tight, nearly unbreakable grip on her daughter. Slowly, the woman released her, and Serena looked around in confusion. The dream had been a memory of the night Adel had been possessed. It had been so real.

"What happened?" the girl asked quietly.

"You mean you don't remember?"

"No, Mommy."

Ilene's eyes widened, but then softened. Clearly, the dream had truly shaken her daughter, and she needed to calm her. Her voice soft, she explained, "I've been trying to wake you for two hours. You started screaming, and I tried to wake you, but you sleep like a log. Then, you jumped up and ran out here, and almost went flying off the balcony. When I stopped you, you screamed even louder. Then, you started trying to fight me. That was ten minutes ago."

Serena realized that her throat ached. When she spoke again, she had almost no voice left. "It was so real," she whispered.

"What was it about?"

"Adel…the night she…"

Ilene wrapped her arms around her daughter. "I would have given anything for you not to have gone through that."

Serena sniffled and nodded. "I want to go back to bed."

"Okay. Do you want me to stay with you?"

"Yeah…I don't want to wake up on the balcony again."

Ilene gently tucked her daughter in, and stroked her shining blonde hair until she went to sleep. "I love you, Serena," she whispered. "Never forget that."