Serena woke up the next morning to her head feeling like it was about to explode. She touched her face and grimaced. Her head felt like it had swollen to twice the normal size, making her neck and shoulders tense. She sighed and climbed gingerly out of bed. Every movement seemed to create a new pain in her body. Her knees and arm were also swollen and angry.
She sighed and went to the adjoining bathroom to take a shower. Washing her hair was the worst part of the whole shower, and that was saying something, since the warm water made every cut and scrape burn. Her hair had been caked with blood, dirt and foliage, and it had all hardened. It took and entire bottle of shampoo to clean the mess out, then half a bottle of conditioner to make it brushable.
When she finally climbed out of the bath, she sat in front of her vanity and began to brush her hair. The writhing masses easily swept into her customary pigtails and she tied them off, thankful to whoever invented conditioner.
She had told the girls everything when she had woken up when she and Darien got back from their adventure. The only thing she didn't tell them was about the strange power that had roared through her when Jesse and Damin had touched her. Instead, she told the girls about a fight where she was loosing, then her klutziness saved her. She knew that they would believe that, due to her more common way of defeating the bad guys because she klutzed out.
There was a soft tap on Serena's bedroom door, bringing her from her reverie.
"Come in," she called, tossing a light pink t-shirt over her head, which matched her white pants. Amy walked into the room, looking slightly uncomfortable. She was wearing a light blue pants suit and a white head-band. "Hi Ames." Serena smiled, tugging her shirt into place.
"Hi Serena." She shifted on her feet. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" Serena smiled and nodded. " Well, I noticed some inconsistencies in your story about last night. So did Raye."
Serena felt her stomach jerk. "I was tired, Ames. I probably got some of it all confused anyway, it happened so fast."
Amy nodded. "Of course. That's what I thought. But Raye thinks you're hiding something that might be important."
"Are you Raye's message girl, now?" Serena asked, feeling her temper rise. She bit her tongue. "Sorry, Ames. Raye shouldn't use you as a message service. Why didn't she come here herself?"
"I don't know." Amy shrugged.
"You guys don't have to be so uncomfortable around me." Serena frowned.
Amy sighed. "We don't trust you, Serena. I'm sorry if you feel guilty. But you pulled it on yourself." She sighed. "I'll tell Raye to come and talk to you." She turned and left the room before Serena could reply.
"Oh well." Serena muttered to the empty room. Cammie leapt into her lap, and Serena absentmindedly started petting her. "At least you aren't uncomfortable around me."
She picked up the kitten, went to the boxes of her stuff, and pulled out some cat toys, deciding to spend some time with the black fur-ball.
Darien frowned, staring at Raye. He was sitting in the study, a small nondescript room with a couple overstuffed chairs and a wall of various books. Magazines littered every table. A tiny bookshelf sat next to the door, holding the mangas that Serena had left behind. A large overstuffed chair sat next to it.
Raye was pacing back and forth in front of him. She had tied her hair back, showing her pale face to advantage and highlighting her dark brown eyes. She wore a bright red dress shirt, which was untucked and half opened, revealing a black tank top underneath. Black slacks and dress shoes finished the outfit. Darien admired her taste in clothes.
He sighed, turning his thoughts back to the matter at hand. "What do you mean, you think Serena's hiding something about last night?"
Raye nodded, looking serious. "I'm sure of it."
Darien shook his head. "No, I believe Serena. She wouldn't hide anything when its this important." He looked at Raye. "Unless you want us to keep doubting her. You are the only one that didn't want her to be princess, or Sailor Moon."
"No! It's not like that, Darien!" Raye replied, outraged. Darien sighed.
"Look, Raye, I know that you don't trust her. Remember she abandoned all of us, when she left. But I think we need to rethink the whole thing. From what you guys and she told me about the other night, she was amazing. I only wished that I had been there to see it. We need her, Raye. We need her to come home."
Raye frowned. "Darien, its not whether I trust her or not. I just know she's hiding something."
At that moment, a tiny black streak erupted into the room, chasing after a jangling ball. Darien watched it, interestedly. It swatted the ball at his feet, and then charged after it. But before it got to the ball, it skidded to a halt, leapt about three feet into the air, turned, landed and bolted under a couch. Raye laughed and went down on her hands and knees to coax the little kitten out from under the couch. Darien grinned watching as the kitten kept swatting at Raye's outstretched hands.
A movement pulled his attention back to the door. Serena stood gaping at Raye. A small smile twitched her lips as she watched Raye, who didn't know Serena was staring at her.
Serena had pulled her hair into her usual pigtails. She wore a pink t-shirt lined with white and white slacks. A small black belt was threaded through the belt loops on the slacks. A pair of pale blue tennis shoes peeked out from underneath the hems of the slacks. A hint of amusement lightened her face, causing her eyes to sparkle.
Raye suddenly emerged from the kittens attack, with the small bundle in her arms, and tiny cuts marring her arms, where blood seeped slowly. Darien chuckled. Raye flashed him a grin, then saw Serena, and her grin faltered. Serena smiled.
"I see you found her. I was trying to keep up, but she got away from me."
"You should keep her in your room. I don't think Luna met her yet." Raye told Serena, as she handed the kitten to her. Serena's smile vanished.
"You don't have to tell me what to do, Raye."
"She was making a suggestion." Darien said. Serena turned to face him, her eyes widening. She hadn't realized he was there. Darien sighed, knowing that Serena would most likely make the worst of it.
"Oh. I'm sorry Cammie and I interrupted." She turned and strode from the room. Yep, she made the worst of it. Darien stood to follow her, but Raye stopped him.
"Let me." She growled, storming after Serena. Darien shook his head. From bad to worse. He followed both girls quickly. After a few minutes, he found them in the hall to Serena's room.
"You are a selfish little ingrate, Serena!" Raye snapped.
"And you are a control freak!" Serena snarled.
"You shouldn't have run away like a little child!" Raye shouted. "You left us all hanging, we needed you and you ran!"
"If you guys had all accepted me, then-"
"You should try to accept yourself, instead of trying to prove something to us, or blaming it all on us. You were the one that ran away when you klutzed out. You were the one that didn't take responsibility. You are the one that shut us all out. That was all you Serena. None of us told you to leave. None of us told you to freak out."
"But-"
"Shut up, Serena! Just shut up. We all have problems. None of us ran away from them. Do you think I wanted to be Sailor Mars?" Raye looked up for a second. Her voice softened as she spoke again, and Darien thought she was on the verge of crying. "I wanted and want a normal life, Serena. But it's not our destiny. We were meant to save the world, we were meant to protect it from all evil." She took a deep breath. "You need to stop thinking only of yourself." Then she turned and stormed to her room, slamming the door behind her as she escaped inside. Serena stood alone in the hall. Darien saw the tears falling down her face just before she turned toward him.
He quickly melted into the shadows, hoping Serena hadn't seen him. Raye was right. Serena needed to learn it. He couldn't let her use him to wipe it all away and act like it didn't happen.
Serena stared down the hall where he stood, not looking at him, but past him. Then she turned and went to her room.
A soft click echoed in the hall.
Serena didn't leave her room until after noon. During which time, she purposely did not think about what Raye said. She played with Cammie until the kitten passed out on the bed, then read some of her manga. She had to search through her box for a specific manga and once she found it, read it through twice. The manga had been about vampires, and she hoped that it was true information; otherwise she was in trouble.
After she left her room, she went to the kitchens got a snack then went to the library to look for any books on the subject. The library had shelves of books from floor to ceiling. It was also the dimmest and quietest room in the palace. Dark green velvet drapes hang on either side of the huge windows that looked out to the gardens. One window had a French door placed into it, leading to a small balcony, whose stairs lead to the main part of the garden. Why does everyone get so quiet in a library? Even when they own it? Serena wondered, trying to walk quietly.
Amy and Lita were there, apparently deep in discussion. Lita was dressed casually, short white shorts and a green tank top with a white sports bra underneath. Amy was dressed the same as she had been when she came to Serena's room. As soon as they noticed Serena, they stopped talking.
"Don't let me interrupt. I'm just looking something up." Serena smiled, going to the computer that Amy had set up with cross-references about the subject, title, and author of the books in the library.
Amy moved to look over her shoulder. "What are you looking for?"
"Information." Serena said as she scanned through each of the titles on the computer screen. Most of the books that the computer had pulled up were romances concerning vampires, and those were very few. One book was an encyclopedia that had references to vampires. Another book was on mythology. She clicked on the title and read the summary of the book, then shook her head as she clicked the back button.
"We have one book on vampires. It's also a mythological book, but it has some useful information." Amy said peering at the screen. She walked to one of the bookcases and pulled a thick black book down. "I've already read it." She put it on the computer table next to the monitor.
"Anything useful in it?" Serena asked, staring at the book like it was her worst enemy. It was huge. Had to be around five hundred pages. She sighed, opening the book and glancing at the pages.
"Not really." Amy sat down next to Serena. "Lita and I were just discussing it."
"Yeah. It talks about how to kill a vampire, and various other things. But it was written in the 1500s. We don't know how useful it will be against these guys. We don't even know if that is all fiction or not." Lita said, moving to sit on the other side of Serena. She pulled the book into her lap and flipped some pages over, then handed it back to Serena. "That describes what to do to kill one, and to protect yourself from one."
"A glove of garlic?" Serena glanced up at the two girls with a slight frown. "We're supposed to wear garlic?" In her mind's eye, she saw herself going to another dinner with the delegates wearing a necklace of clover. In the image, the delegates stayed clear away from her and wondered about her mental state. She sighed, looking at the book again. "You've got to be kidding."
"We have to come up with a plan for tonight, just in case they come after you and Darien again." Lita said. Serena closed the book with a thud.
"Well, Raye's fire seems to work really well, maybe we should just lure them up and have her fire them." Serena stated quickly.
"Nah. She can only do that a couple times in a certain space of time. Besides she would have to concentrate on one at a time. What if they come with an army?" Lita asked, leaning her back in the chair. She pulled her leg up, setting her foot on the edge of the seat, and wrapped her arms around it. The movement showed her long legs to advantage, and she knew it. She smiled at Serena.
"Well, then we need lots of fire." Serena stated.
"Usually, if you want fire, you are talking about me." Raye complained from the doorway.
"Hi guys, we were looking all over for you." Mina said coming into the room behind Raye. She was wearing an orange skirt and white tank top She smiled and approached the computer table, pulled out a chair, and sat down on it. "Making a plan yet?"
"Yeah." Lita said, grinning at Mina. "Serena already tried to volunteer Raye for toasting duty."
"I think not!" Raye snapped, glaring at Serena. Serena tried to force her face to a blank expression as she looked at Raye. .
"We decided not to use you." She said. Raye looked like she was getting madder.
"You shouldn't just volunteer people without their knowledge. I thought you grew up some!" Raye snarled. Serena felt her temper flare.
"You shouldn't be a bossy know-it-all!"
"Quit being such a whiner!"
"Stop being so snobby!"
"Well, you can tell Serena's back." Serena heard Lita mutter to Amy.
They all began looking over the book, though Amy commentated. Then began to make plans as to what to do if Nikolai came to call that night.
Serena glanced over her shoulder at the palace as she climbed into Raye's car. The jeep matched Raye's personality, fiery red. Serena buckled herself into her seat and glanced at Raye, who looked aggravated.
"What?" Serena asked.
"I don't think this is going to work." Raye mumbled as she shifted into gear and pulled out onto the main road.
"Why?" Serena asked. Raye glanced at her, her eyes looked black in the darkness.
"Because, I just have a feeling."
Serena shrugged, looking out her window. "It won't matter. If it works it works and we nail the bad guys, again. If it doesn't then it wont and we will come up with Plan B."
"How can you be so calm about it? You're bait."
"Because, there isn't much use in me complaining about it. I mean, weren't you always telling me to suck it up and deal with it." Serena turned slightly in her seat so she was slightly facing Raye.
"Yeah. But I never thought it would actually happen."
Serena glanced out the back of the window. "Well, I thought that you all thought I had changed." A pair of headlights caught her attention. The car was driving very carefully a few cars behind Raye's jeep. "We have company."
"I know. They've been behind us since we left the palace. I didn't think they would even try to follow us until full dark. I don't think the others are ready. Let's make sure they are following us." Raye cut across to an inner turning lane, cutting off a black suburban who angrily honked at Raye's driving. Serena wondered if she should flip them the bird, but decided that since Raye had done it on purpose it would be rude.
Glancing back through the rearview window, Serena saw the car go straight. "Nope. They went straight."
"Well, lets wait a moment, I did that hurriedly, and maybe they are a little more careful. Can you tell what kind of car it was?" She glanced at Serena, who looked at her thoughtfully.
"Economy car. I think it was silver, it looked brown though."
"Economy car? You'd think they would be like the vampires in the movies; loaded." Raye said. Serena grinned.
"It would be nice to have a steady supply of money."
"You do." Raye frowned.
"Oh, yeah." Serena giggled. She was beginning to feel nervous butterflies in her stomach. "Oh, Darien wants me to get some new gowns tomorrow. He called a seamstress to come to the Palace."
"That should be interesting." Raye sounded bored.
"How come it had to be you?" Serena asked, starting to get frustrated. "You aren't into fashion, like Mina, and you are so totally not into gossip, like Lita."
"Well, because unlike Mina or Lita, it seems my powers have a definite impact on your friends."
"They aren't my friends!" Serena snapped. "Besides, we haven't tried Mina or Lita's power on them."
"It wasn't a good idea to test the theory that one of their powers could work or not on vampires in this mission, Serena."
Serena frowned and leaned back into the seat. She crossed her arms over her chest, then remembered that she was supposed to be watching thought the back window for the car. She moved slightly so she could look back. The car was back. This time not hiding the fact that they were following Raye's jeep. She told Raye, who sighed.
"This isn't good."
"What?"
"The car next to us has also been moving with us since the palace. I think they are going to change our plans."
Serena's pulse jumped.
"What do you mean?"
"I think we are going to be forced to do things their way."
Serena glanced out her window just as the car next to them swerved toward them. Apparently, it was trying to force Raye to turn.
"Hold on!" Raye bit her lip, and floored the gas petal. The little jeep leapt forward, but not fast enough. The car that was beside them smashed into the back bumper, throwing the jeep into a roll. Serena's heart was jammed into her throat and her head felt light as Raye hit the brakes, swinging the car around to face the opposite direction they had been going.
For the first time, Serena realized that they had managed to drive right out of town. Trees were on either side of the road. The only lights came from Raye's jeep and the two cars that had been following Serena and Raye. One of which had flipped completely over and was sitting on its hood.
"Crap! Are you alright?" Raye asked, looking at Serena.
"Yeah, I think so."
"This isn't good, Serena." She shifted gears. "We can't follow your plan." The jeep began to accelerate.
Suddenly, a little girl appeared in the headlights of the jeep.
