Farewell by Amethyst Serenity
AN: Special thanks to AngelicMoonDJ (beta), Ichigo (for invaluable discussions) and Diane (your observations give me lots of ideas)! Thanks to Min Hee Ha, Saturnpyroprincess, JamieGirl, Maddy, Marni, ScorpioNightShadow, Angel, BenRG (interesting guess but no cigar for you), Sexykitten, Sidhe princess of death, Faith, Carolin Rocha, Sailor C, Deny, Sirkka and Tsukikage. I appreciate all your reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Sad but true.
Chapter 10- Recovery
In New York City, Serena woke with a start. Her dreams had been startlingly vivid, like her dreams of Queen Serenity. She had been Sailor Moon again and seen them… *him*. Strangely enough, Serena felt drained, as if she just fought a youma but that was impossible. They were a world, a lifetime, away from her. Wistfully, she recalled the dream-Mamoru's pleading. If he truly felt that way, she wouldn't have left Tokyo in the first place. Did he ever love *her* and not the moon princess? When they were together, she'd been in heaven and he seemed just as happy. Obviously, she was mistaken. *Something* had driven him away but what? There was a void in her heart where he had been, a sense of incompleteness. To be without him was simply *wrong*, like a summer without heat or a winter without snow. No matter what she did or where she went, Serena felt his absence, a shadow wounding her soul. Would the pain of his rejection ever go away? How could she bring herself to trust her heart after this? Tears stained her cheeks. Exhausted, she fell asleep again while curled around her pillow.
To Serena's surprise, she had little time to miss her old life in Japan, especially with Justin and his friends around. In a few short weeks, she couldn't imagine life without them. With unlimited patience and more than a little humor, Zack spent hours tutoring her in every subject. Never ridiculing her, he encouraged her by saying that she was intelligent but lacked confidence. Of course, Serena was able to study much harder now since she wasn't worn out from constantly fighting youma. Justin usually had to be tutored with Serena. Gravely, Zack told her that Justin's problem was a lack of anything resembling a brain combined with a short attention span. Being older, Keith and Neil were two grades above them and did not require Zack's help. Slowly, her grades rose until they were consistently above average.
Determined to improve herself, Serena enrolled in tae kwon do and self- defense clubs. Keith and Neil, black belts in other martial arts disciplines, helped her practice her moves until they became second nature to her. Justin tried to entice her onto the track and field team but she wasn't interested (the girls' track team was beyond awful). Gradually, she outgrew her clumsiness and became strikingly graceful. Bit by bit, Serena's self-esteem and confidence grew. Her uncle was amazed but supportive and proud of her progress. However, he worried because Serena could be too sad and serious, unlike her previous self. Despite his happiness about her accomplishments, Uncle Tenchi occasionally wished for the old happy-go-lucky, ditzy Usagi because he missed the extra sparkle in her eyes, the enthusiastic bounce in her step and even, God help him, her ability to wail like a banshee at the slightest opportunity. Sometimes, the melancholy in her haunted azure eyes could be unbearable.
When Serena became too depressed and solitary, her friends forcibly yanked her out of it with endless movie marathons, ice cream eating contests and video game tournaments. Ecstatic over finding a new partner in crime (who could fake innocence *very* well), Justin often conned Serena into pulling outrageous pranks at school. If he landed her into too much trouble, his sacred comic book collection paid the price (even though Uncle Tenchi was quite blasé about such things). In "payment" for countless hours of tutoring, Serena and Justin accompanied Zachary through every single museum in the city… more than once. Along with Keith and Neil, they also got sucked into his world of chatrooms, rping and networked Quake games. After losing a bet to Zack, Keith stoically endured ballroom dancing lessons with Serena. To lessen his suffering, she cheered for him at his next karate tournament and tolerated endless TV repeats of what he called "classic" Star Trek. Whenever Keith arched his eyebrow and intoned "fascinating", Serena and Justin targeted him with food missiles (or whatever was handy). If they ran out of things to do, Neil pestered Serena and the others to be models for his amateur photography. When he was too annoying, they would boycott his debates and threaten to expose his fondness for karaoke.
Serena met the guys' families, including Keith's bossy older sister Cathy, Neil's little sister Amanda, his older brother David and Justin's younger identical twin brothers. Cathy, Amanda and Serena went shopping all over the place, usually after ditching the blissfully grateful guys at Radio Shack or a convenient sporting goods store. Justin's brother Brandon bashfully sent her flowers while his twin Brendan tried to stick gum in her hair. After Justin and Serena reamed him out, Brendan never tried *that* prank again. Neil's brother David (and his roomy van) was occasionally shanghaied into serving as a chauffeur. The gang watched matinee Broadway shows, bowled at Chelsea Piers, threw popcorn at the animals in the Bronx Zoo, attended music concerts in Madison Square Garden and roller-bladed in Central Park.
Although she came to terms with her grief over her family, Serena's heartache stubbornly refused to disappear with time. Deep inside her, the most secret part of her heart would not let go of the dream, the dream of eternal love. Her cerulean eyes were shadowed by grief for what should have been, oddly granting her an untouchable dignity. As time passed, Serena wished for an attraction to another boy but none of them had silky raven-black hair, midnight sapphire eyes, a quirky half-smile or sweetness and vulnerability hidden behind years of coldness. None of them *needed* her like *he* did… or so she had believed. Sometimes, she would almost die of longing but she refused to cry for him any longer. And then, Serena would miss her old friends. Occasionally, Naru wrote to her, passing on news of the others. If they missed her, Naru was not close enough to see it. Serena wanted to show them how she had changed but seeing them still meant seeing *him*. At odd moments, images of her old friends mingled with her new ones: Ami studying in the library with Zack, Keith stuttering around a flirtatious Minako, Makoto posing for Neil's camera and Justin running from Rei after yet another prank. Serena dismissed them as idle fancies but she felt a nagging sense of familiarity to the fleeting images.
Surprisingly, Serena discovered that she liked art and music. Her art teacher talked about her "great potential" to Uncle Tenchi while her music teacher praised her singing voice endlessly. Serena marveled at the novelty of doing well in enjoyable classes. Today, she was excited since a trio of guest lecturers from Japan would be in charge of the music class during the teacher's unexpected absence. Around her, her classmates gossiped and speculated about their new teachers. A tall man, a willowy woman and a petite girl walked into the room. The class was instantly silenced at the sight of people who could have easily graced a Hollywood movie screen.
Charming in a pale pink, long sleeved shirt and a slate-gray skirt with pleats, the girl had straight, chin-length midnight hair, soulful, dark purple eyes and an unblemished alabaster complexion. She smiled sweetly and carried a well-worn flute case. Gracefully holding a violin and its bow, the woman was stunning with wavy, shoulder-length aqua-green tresses, luminous turquoise eyes and a simple but elegant ice-blue halter dress. The sandy-blonde haired man rested a hand on the piano, casually dressed in a navy blue blazer, a crisp white shirt and tan slacks. He calmly surveyed the room and looked straight at Serena. As his jade-green eyes locked with hers, Serena's heart inexplicably fluttered. On some level, she *recognized* them.
"I am Haruka Tenou. Michiru Kaiou, Hotaru Tomoe and I will be teaching your music class."
Interlude 5
Far away, the lady looked up from the crystal globe when the woman with the staff reappeared. In a smooth, elegant motion, the woman swept her knee- length hair behind her shoulder.
" She progresses. The others have awakened and arrived. How fares the future?"
"For now, I have blocked the enemy though they may be able to break through with a youma or two. They believe Sailor Moon destroyed with Esmeraude. There is time, not much but more than we had previously. The enemy is Other."
"Other? What do you mean?"
"They do not belong in this time, this future or even this reality."
"How can that be?"
"They come from the future of another darker reality. The enemy has pierced through barriers that have stood since time began. They are… dangerous."
Fingering her staff, she peered into the crystal globe. In its depths, Serena sang as Haruka, Hotaru and Michiru played. A wistful smile played on her scarlet lips.
"How can she stand against them?"
"They are all awakening and coming together. Soon, *I* will join them."
"Now? It's too early, *centuries* too soon!"
"This is the crucial lifetime. There can be no mistake. If it is to happen, the promised future arrives *now*."
AN2: Did I actually say that Serena was in Tokyo in Chapter 9? ::evil smirk:: Don't you just *hate* me now? ^_~
AN: Special thanks to AngelicMoonDJ (beta), Ichigo (for invaluable discussions) and Diane (your observations give me lots of ideas)! Thanks to Min Hee Ha, Saturnpyroprincess, JamieGirl, Maddy, Marni, ScorpioNightShadow, Angel, BenRG (interesting guess but no cigar for you), Sexykitten, Sidhe princess of death, Faith, Carolin Rocha, Sailor C, Deny, Sirkka and Tsukikage. I appreciate all your reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Sad but true.
Chapter 10- Recovery
In New York City, Serena woke with a start. Her dreams had been startlingly vivid, like her dreams of Queen Serenity. She had been Sailor Moon again and seen them… *him*. Strangely enough, Serena felt drained, as if she just fought a youma but that was impossible. They were a world, a lifetime, away from her. Wistfully, she recalled the dream-Mamoru's pleading. If he truly felt that way, she wouldn't have left Tokyo in the first place. Did he ever love *her* and not the moon princess? When they were together, she'd been in heaven and he seemed just as happy. Obviously, she was mistaken. *Something* had driven him away but what? There was a void in her heart where he had been, a sense of incompleteness. To be without him was simply *wrong*, like a summer without heat or a winter without snow. No matter what she did or where she went, Serena felt his absence, a shadow wounding her soul. Would the pain of his rejection ever go away? How could she bring herself to trust her heart after this? Tears stained her cheeks. Exhausted, she fell asleep again while curled around her pillow.
To Serena's surprise, she had little time to miss her old life in Japan, especially with Justin and his friends around. In a few short weeks, she couldn't imagine life without them. With unlimited patience and more than a little humor, Zack spent hours tutoring her in every subject. Never ridiculing her, he encouraged her by saying that she was intelligent but lacked confidence. Of course, Serena was able to study much harder now since she wasn't worn out from constantly fighting youma. Justin usually had to be tutored with Serena. Gravely, Zack told her that Justin's problem was a lack of anything resembling a brain combined with a short attention span. Being older, Keith and Neil were two grades above them and did not require Zack's help. Slowly, her grades rose until they were consistently above average.
Determined to improve herself, Serena enrolled in tae kwon do and self- defense clubs. Keith and Neil, black belts in other martial arts disciplines, helped her practice her moves until they became second nature to her. Justin tried to entice her onto the track and field team but she wasn't interested (the girls' track team was beyond awful). Gradually, she outgrew her clumsiness and became strikingly graceful. Bit by bit, Serena's self-esteem and confidence grew. Her uncle was amazed but supportive and proud of her progress. However, he worried because Serena could be too sad and serious, unlike her previous self. Despite his happiness about her accomplishments, Uncle Tenchi occasionally wished for the old happy-go-lucky, ditzy Usagi because he missed the extra sparkle in her eyes, the enthusiastic bounce in her step and even, God help him, her ability to wail like a banshee at the slightest opportunity. Sometimes, the melancholy in her haunted azure eyes could be unbearable.
When Serena became too depressed and solitary, her friends forcibly yanked her out of it with endless movie marathons, ice cream eating contests and video game tournaments. Ecstatic over finding a new partner in crime (who could fake innocence *very* well), Justin often conned Serena into pulling outrageous pranks at school. If he landed her into too much trouble, his sacred comic book collection paid the price (even though Uncle Tenchi was quite blasé about such things). In "payment" for countless hours of tutoring, Serena and Justin accompanied Zachary through every single museum in the city… more than once. Along with Keith and Neil, they also got sucked into his world of chatrooms, rping and networked Quake games. After losing a bet to Zack, Keith stoically endured ballroom dancing lessons with Serena. To lessen his suffering, she cheered for him at his next karate tournament and tolerated endless TV repeats of what he called "classic" Star Trek. Whenever Keith arched his eyebrow and intoned "fascinating", Serena and Justin targeted him with food missiles (or whatever was handy). If they ran out of things to do, Neil pestered Serena and the others to be models for his amateur photography. When he was too annoying, they would boycott his debates and threaten to expose his fondness for karaoke.
Serena met the guys' families, including Keith's bossy older sister Cathy, Neil's little sister Amanda, his older brother David and Justin's younger identical twin brothers. Cathy, Amanda and Serena went shopping all over the place, usually after ditching the blissfully grateful guys at Radio Shack or a convenient sporting goods store. Justin's brother Brandon bashfully sent her flowers while his twin Brendan tried to stick gum in her hair. After Justin and Serena reamed him out, Brendan never tried *that* prank again. Neil's brother David (and his roomy van) was occasionally shanghaied into serving as a chauffeur. The gang watched matinee Broadway shows, bowled at Chelsea Piers, threw popcorn at the animals in the Bronx Zoo, attended music concerts in Madison Square Garden and roller-bladed in Central Park.
Although she came to terms with her grief over her family, Serena's heartache stubbornly refused to disappear with time. Deep inside her, the most secret part of her heart would not let go of the dream, the dream of eternal love. Her cerulean eyes were shadowed by grief for what should have been, oddly granting her an untouchable dignity. As time passed, Serena wished for an attraction to another boy but none of them had silky raven-black hair, midnight sapphire eyes, a quirky half-smile or sweetness and vulnerability hidden behind years of coldness. None of them *needed* her like *he* did… or so she had believed. Sometimes, she would almost die of longing but she refused to cry for him any longer. And then, Serena would miss her old friends. Occasionally, Naru wrote to her, passing on news of the others. If they missed her, Naru was not close enough to see it. Serena wanted to show them how she had changed but seeing them still meant seeing *him*. At odd moments, images of her old friends mingled with her new ones: Ami studying in the library with Zack, Keith stuttering around a flirtatious Minako, Makoto posing for Neil's camera and Justin running from Rei after yet another prank. Serena dismissed them as idle fancies but she felt a nagging sense of familiarity to the fleeting images.
Surprisingly, Serena discovered that she liked art and music. Her art teacher talked about her "great potential" to Uncle Tenchi while her music teacher praised her singing voice endlessly. Serena marveled at the novelty of doing well in enjoyable classes. Today, she was excited since a trio of guest lecturers from Japan would be in charge of the music class during the teacher's unexpected absence. Around her, her classmates gossiped and speculated about their new teachers. A tall man, a willowy woman and a petite girl walked into the room. The class was instantly silenced at the sight of people who could have easily graced a Hollywood movie screen.
Charming in a pale pink, long sleeved shirt and a slate-gray skirt with pleats, the girl had straight, chin-length midnight hair, soulful, dark purple eyes and an unblemished alabaster complexion. She smiled sweetly and carried a well-worn flute case. Gracefully holding a violin and its bow, the woman was stunning with wavy, shoulder-length aqua-green tresses, luminous turquoise eyes and a simple but elegant ice-blue halter dress. The sandy-blonde haired man rested a hand on the piano, casually dressed in a navy blue blazer, a crisp white shirt and tan slacks. He calmly surveyed the room and looked straight at Serena. As his jade-green eyes locked with hers, Serena's heart inexplicably fluttered. On some level, she *recognized* them.
"I am Haruka Tenou. Michiru Kaiou, Hotaru Tomoe and I will be teaching your music class."
Interlude 5
Far away, the lady looked up from the crystal globe when the woman with the staff reappeared. In a smooth, elegant motion, the woman swept her knee- length hair behind her shoulder.
" She progresses. The others have awakened and arrived. How fares the future?"
"For now, I have blocked the enemy though they may be able to break through with a youma or two. They believe Sailor Moon destroyed with Esmeraude. There is time, not much but more than we had previously. The enemy is Other."
"Other? What do you mean?"
"They do not belong in this time, this future or even this reality."
"How can that be?"
"They come from the future of another darker reality. The enemy has pierced through barriers that have stood since time began. They are… dangerous."
Fingering her staff, she peered into the crystal globe. In its depths, Serena sang as Haruka, Hotaru and Michiru played. A wistful smile played on her scarlet lips.
"How can she stand against them?"
"They are all awakening and coming together. Soon, *I* will join them."
"Now? It's too early, *centuries* too soon!"
"This is the crucial lifetime. There can be no mistake. If it is to happen, the promised future arrives *now*."
AN2: Did I actually say that Serena was in Tokyo in Chapter 9? ::evil smirk:: Don't you just *hate* me now? ^_~