Chapter 3: A ROYAL ARRIVAL
The blonde girl yelled at the record looking monster. His focus on the four girls disappeared along with their strange holdings.
Serena looked up in the air at the record nemeses. All of the sudden the situation caught up to her. What the heck was she thinking? Going after a monster like, three times her size...again. Seriously, she's going insane. Maybe a vacation or something would do her good. Sure it would put a damper on her debt situation for like the rest of her life, but...
"You again! What do you think you are doing?" The record-covered being snarled, breaking her thought process.
"That's a good question." Serena muttered. Hopelessly, she looked around to hide somewhere, but sighed noticing that she couldn't abandoned these girls
"Very well, it's time to end this," and just like the night before, Taperecord threw its head back to gather energy.
Serena, realizing the danger that she was in, screamed.
The red-clad warrior covered her ears. "What is the girl screaming about?"
That brought Serena back to reality. Not only was she in danger, but those girls were too. "Get out of here!" Serena waved her arms frantically.
The warriors looked blankly at her.
Serena's hand flew to her head in frustration. "Hide! Hurry!"
She started to run, but it was too late, the monster was all charged up.
"SCREECH ATTACK!" The monster let out that horrible scream. The same one that knocked down the glass jars the day before in the club, and was now breaking store windows.
The feeling of wanting to protect the four warriors was overwhelming. Serena's eyes filled with tears, feeling hopeless, waiting for the attack to hit. But then, as the day before, the white-hot feeling on her forehead grew. Serena stood there frozen as the white light surrounded her. It shot out in different directions.
"Luna, would you look at that." Artemis staring toward the spectacle.
"Artemis, we found her. After so long, we've finally found her." The black cat smiled weakly.
As the white light shot around the battle scene, the cats' wounds were healed. The cats arose to their feet and started to walk towards the scene to see their princess.
"Hey, everyone, what is that?" The warrior of Venus asked, referring to the light, while struggling to stand.
"I don't know. I'll scan it with my computer." Mercury whipped out her computer and started typing furiously.
As the others slowly recovered from their injuries, Jupiter noticed something. "Hey, Mercury, what are you wearing?"
Mercury froze. "You mean these?" She pointed to the goggles on her forehead. "I don't know, came with the costume, I suppose." She shrugged.
"Somehow, I feel that I got the bad end of the deal." Jupiter sighed, referring to her gadget-less state.
Venus stepped over to her teammate, "Don't worry. I just got this cool disguise gadget in my apartment. Artemis gave it to me!" She whipped out a ring-like devise (A. N. Like the one in the magna.)
Jupiter sweat-dropped. "Thanks...I think."
"Hey guys! I think I've got it!" Mercury exclaimed. The scouts, now fully recovered all gathered around her in interest. "The white light given off of the girl is the same as the moon energy. Which means..."
"She is using the moon as her source of power?"
"Is she an alien?"
"I've got it!" Venus jumped. "She is another scout like us!"
"Yes, maybe, and who knows. Or it could mean she is the princess we're looking for." Amy said gently.
"OR... She might be the princess!" Venus exclaimed excitedly.
Finally the light died down. Serena stood solidly there looking at the empty spot where the monster used to be. 'I think I need to remember something... Something important...'
Those insane girls were safe. Thank goddess.
Shaking her head, she yelled to the girls, "Hey, you guys!" The girls looked over. "Are you okay?" The girls stared blankly at her. "ARE YOU OKAY!" She yelled a little louder.
"Yes! Sheesh, you don't have to yell so loud." The red girl said while brushing off her skirt.
"Well SORRY!" Serena huffed, "I would not have been yelling so loud if SOME people didn't just decide to play hero in... what are you dressed as anyway?" Serena asked while looking the sailors up and down.
"Hey, the nerve! To think that we're suppose to protect this..." Raye was stopped with a firm hand on her shoulder thanks to Mercury.
Sailor Venus took the first step and bowed down to her unaware princess.
Followed by the others and a very reluctant Martian.
Serena took a step back a little confused. "Um..." Serena scratched her head. "What are you doing?" Serena had never looked more confused in her life. One minute their arguing, the next the girls were bowing down to her.
"Princess, this isn't the right place to discuss this. We ask that you come with us, and hopefully we can clear things up with you." The Venus warrior said while standing up, the others following her lead.
"Your highness." The two felines bowed to their mistress.
"WAH!" Serena screamed. "Did anyone else hear those cats talk, or was it just me?" Her eyes went wide staring at the two cats with a crescent-shaped bald spot on their foreheads.
"Come on, we have to go." Venus took the blondes' hand and they left the scene.
Across town stood Darien deep in thought.
"Serenity?" He whispered the name silently.
He had felt her power as clear as day. She was fighting, but apparently the fight has ended. He could also feel the power of the newly awakened scouts.
In an apartment building that was also known as Mina's home away from home, sat the five girls and the two cats around the coffee table.
After introductions, Luna quickly got everything to order.
"Serenity, as your advisor and guardian, I, Luna, welcome you, your highness." Luna bowed.
Serena stared at the cat in front of her, still trying to comprehend that the cat could talk.
"Yeah about that..." Serena started, "I'd appreciate it if everyone would call me Serena. Not just because, you know, it's my NAME, but I have no idea who this Serenity person is."
"Well you see, Serenity..." Luna was interrupted by the moon princess' glare. "Serena," she corrected, "once upon a time, there lived one kingdom for each planet. There was a planet for Mercury, Mars, and so on. Earth was different however. On Earth lived the selfish Terrans who wanted nothing to do with the Silver Alliance that united all of the other planets. But there was a group on Earth that disagreed with the Terrans. They believed that the Earth should be part of the Alliance. Meetings upon meetings between the Terrans and the Units, as they were called, occurred. Until, finally, fights broke loose and a bloody civil war began. The Units lost, for they were a smaller group then the Terrans. The Terran King, not knowing what to do with the rebels, exiled them to the moon, where they began their own civilization, forbidden to ever contact the Earth. Civilization progressed, but there was a fight for power, until finally, the goddess of the moon, Serene, put her foot down. She told them that they would live peacefully there if they all went under her leadership. The people of the moon eventually agreed, not that they had much choice, for the goddess was already owner and protector of the moon anyway."
Serena looked around in disbelief. Now that was quite a story. But she was still confused. "Uh... Luna, right? How do any of us fit into all of this?"
"I'm getting to that. " Luna replied, and then continued. "Anyway, now, the goddess only lives for only about one thousand years, humans only think that they are immortal because no one has actually lived to see one die. Serene, now Queen Serenity I, was nearing the end of her life. She gave birth to a daughter, who would eventually become Queen Serenity II, your mother. And like her mother before her, she was given a long life-span. Queen Serenity I gave her daughter the Silver Crystal that was the ancient rock that protected the moon lineage since the dawn of time. The new queen accepted it and its powers, and as her first act as queen, gave the gift of long life to the people of the moon.
"Eventually the Moon became the center of the Silver Alliance, with your mother, the Queen as head. Eventually you were born, and in that given the scouts as guardians on your fifth birthday. But not to just to be guardians, to be friends as well.
"As time went on, Earth began to grow. And as the growth of the Golden Kingdom happened, a lesser being also grew. Metalia, who fed off good energy and used it to turn people evil. The Moon wanted to stop it, but the stubborn king of Earth would not believe that there was evil on his planet.
"Eventually Metalia seized all of Earth, and the remaining Earthlings escaped to the Moon. When the Earth did attack, Serenity knew that she would be unable with her power to destroy the evil, and sent everyone to the future, where we could begin again. Obviously, times are repeating itself and somehow Metalia has followed us to the future. It is up to us to save Earth before it once again turned evil."
As Luna finished, the room became dead silent.
Everyone looked at each other, trying to decipher whether her story was true or not.
Serena bit her lip. No way was she a princess. There was just no way. It just didn't make sense. All of the sudden I wish I listened to the Greek mythology lessons.
She stood up. "Luna, that can not be true, I'm sorry, but look at me! I'm just an ordinary person who can barely afford the rent and keep a roof over her head!"
"Serenity, the proof is in you. That power that you used today, is the power of the Silver Crystal responding inside of you, what else could it be?"
"I-I-..." She didn't know what to say.
Artemis was the first to speak. "Okay everyone. Today has obviously been a very vexing day on all of us." He quickly did a double back flip and produced five similar looking watches. "These watches are also your communicators. Feel free to use it any time any of you are in danger."
Artemis then proceeded to show how the watches worked.
Lita exclaimed, "Finally! I get a cool gadget! Sweet!"
Mina looked down at her watch and frowned. Lita, noticing Mina's, frown asked her, "Are you alright, Mina?"
Mina looked up in eyes that were glistened in tears and held up her wrist. "Orange?" She sniffled. "Orange!" That time a little more together. "An ORANGE watch? Come on! Orange doesn't even go with anything!"
Lita tried to stifle a laugh but failed miserably.
"Oh! So you think this is funny do you? I am a leader in the fashion industry, even though I had taken off a few years; it's not the point! I have an image, I can't very well have a green suit on tomorrow and be wearing an ORANGE wristwatch now can I?" The blond seethed.
"All right, all right, I get your point, orange plus green equals bad." Lita was full out laughing now.
"OKAY! Everyone out of my apartment NOW! GOOD NIGHT!" She slammed the door once everyone left.
Raye blew a stray bang out of her face and stared at the door and then to Luna. Finally she whispered, "And SHE's our leader? What a drama queen!"
Later that evening, Serena was returning home with the black cat, Luna she later recalled, trailing behind her. Serena stopped suddenly and whipped around facing the talkative feline. Serena stared at her a second before saying to the cat, "Don't you have anything better to do?"
Luna looked startled for a minute and then regained her regal I-know-more-than-you-so-you-better-listen-to-me attitude that she seemed to carry with her at all times.
"Serenity, you are a princess, I am your advisor. I will now advise you to let me stay with you so I can keep an eye on you." Luna said with much authority reigning over her voice.
"My name is.. Oh, for heaven's sake. Forget it! I'm too tired and worn out!" Serena threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine. Come with me. But I don't want any of your comments when we get there." Serena pointed her finger at the cat.
"Um, you do realize that you are talking to a cat, correct?" A vaguely familiar voice floated behind her sending her heart racing.
Serena whipped around to face the person who dared to talk to her at this moment of her very complicated life.
Her glare landed on the coming-to-be familiar gaze of the handsome man whom she seemed to be seeing a lot lately.
"Dr. Shields." Serena stated.
"Please call me Darien." He smiled. Her heart beat just a little faster.
"I see I have the pleasure of crossing paths with you again." A sarcastic remark. Her arm folded across her chest, hugging the blue sweater matched with black sweat pants she had on.
"Not as much as I." Darien walked turned around so he would be walking in the same direction as she was. "Tell me, Serena, why were you talking to your cat?"
Serena blushed bright red. 'Yeah, about that... Well, Darien. First off I'm a princess...er... was a princess and have been reincarnated. Now this cat is my supposed advisor and she was just telling me that I needed to be watched out for because, heaven forbid, the day I can't walk down the street without someone there to keep me from killing myself in my famous klutz attack.'
Yeah that will go over well with a doctor. Heck she barely believed it herself. Correction, she didn't believe it herself.
"Uh, Serena? Earth to Serena, do you copy?" Darien waved a hand in her face.
Oh crap she was just thinking all that time. Great, he probably thinks that she's some kind of mental person.
"Huh? Oh. Hee hee hee..." Great now she was giggling like some kind of noisy schoolgirl.
Darien stared at her.
'Brain to Serena, Brain to Serena, say something intelligent! Fast!'
"Well, first off this isn't MY cat... it's... ah... a friend's!" She quickly recovered. "And I was simply talking to her, is there something wrong with that? People can talk to pets. It's normal!" Exactly who was she trying to convince?
Darien blinked and shook his head slowly, "I suppose." He ran a hand through his hair and Serena gawked about how silkily it dropped back into place 'ACK! Serena, don't think about it. Now stop gawking and look away. Look far away.'
Serena stared at her feet.
She then looked up ahead and realized that the place seemed to be unfamiliar to her.
"Aw, crap!" She muttered.
"What?"
Serena sighed, knowing that she was probably already on the list for the next insane asylum.
"I passed my street." She said quickly and turned around. Luna, who was behind her, looked as if she was trying to hold in a laugh.
Serena noticed this. But she ignored it.
Darien turned around also and was walking with her again.
Suddenly Serena stopped.
"Darien, don't you have anything better to do then follow me around?" She asked.
"No." He shrugged and kept walking, this time leaving Serena to catch up with him.
"Um… aren't you a doctor… as in a man who has sold his soul to his job and should probably BE somewhere right now?"
"Um… no."
Serena rolled her eyes.
Finally they were at her apartment building.
Both Darien and Luna shared an equal look of surprise. Their princess has been living in THIS dump this entire time?
Serena looked at Darien, realizing it would be a little weird to talk to the cat also, as if she was another person and said to him instead, "Well, I know it's not much, but its home."
Darien still didn't say anything.
"Well, I didn't ask you to come along DOCTOR Shields." She spat out and walked up the steps to inside the building, but before she could get in, Darien recovered and reached out to stop her.
"Wait. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"I know." She said softly. "Well goodbye, Darien."
Serena turned to leave and was stopped.
"Wait!" Darien cried out.
"What?" She asked.
When she turned around she realized that their faces were barely touching. She sucked in a breath when their lips made contact. The sweet chocolate taste of his lips was intoxicating. He felt like a drug.
But as fast as everything happened, the feeling stopped and the connection was lost.
"Darien?" She breathed out like a whisper.
"Goodbye, Serenity." With that he left.
It took her a few minutes to realize what he just said, but by that time he was already gone.
"Wait a minute, Luna, did you hear what he just said?" Serena looked into the cat's eyes.
"Yes. He called you Serenity. That's odd." Luna looked after him for a minute before finally looking at Serena. "Serena, hear me now. That man, you must be wary of. If he knew your name, obviously, he must know about the past. Keep your guard up around him. He could be the enemy."
Darien? Sweet chocolate-tasting Darien? An enemy? Something felt so wrong about it.
No. He can't be the enemy. He just can't.