The Million Dollar Grant

by the7joker7

The Sailor Scouts are in the business of saving lives. They've always been repaid with nothing more than gratitude, until one of the lives they save feels they deserve more. So how do the scouts react to suddenly having their missions backed by more than willpower and love? [COMPLETE]

10. Tension

Chapter 10: Tension

"

Darien's Apartment, May 3rd, 6:04 PM

"MMMMMMMMMMMMPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH H!"

"Serena, sweetie, you need to stop before you tear your vocal chords!" Lita said, still holding the pillow firm over her face. "Come on, stop, please!"

Darien looked around at the five girls and two cats, mouth hanging open. "W-wait a minute." He pointed at Serena. "You're...you're...no, it can't be, it's impossible!"

Serena finally stopped screaming and Lita removed the pillow, revealing a sicky and zoned-out looking Serena. Amy quickly moved over to the door, grabbed a small garbage can, and handed it over to Serena as she sat up.

"What's that for?" Lita asked.

"Just a hunch," Amy replied. Serena suddenly stuck her face into the can and started vomiting, Lita quickly putting her palm against her back in sympathy.

Darien looked around at all the girls. "No, it's...you guys...you guys are—"

"Yeah," Mina said meekly. "Worlds collide, huh?"

"No," Darien said, shaking his head and backing towards the wall of his bedroom. "No no no no no no no no! This is not happening!"

Serena coughed a few times, a few more blobs of goop falling into the bucket.

"Lita, could you please go clean her up and settle her down?" Amy asked.

Lita patted Serena's back, then slowly helped her to her feet. "Alright Serena, everything's gonna be okay, you just keep your mouth over that bucket." Lita guided Serena over to the door, escorting her out into the living room. "Everything's gonna be fine."

"Okay...okay. Amy. It is vitally important that you set me straight here." Darien went over to Amy, reverting back into his bathrobe in a flash of colors. "I need you to tell me that Serena isn't Sailor Moon!"

"I could, but it would be a lie." Amy went over to the bedroom door and shut it. "Serena is, in fact, Sailor Moon. Her, me, Raye, Lita and Mina form the five Sailor Scouts. These are the facts, and they are indisputable."

Darien sat down on the foot his bed, shaking his head back and forth. "No no no. No! There's no...okay, maybe you, I can see." He pointed at Amy. "Lita, sure, I guess. Raye, maybe, whatever. And Mina...I don't even really know you, so why not, but there is no way that that obstinate, braindead brat is a superheroine!"

"Well, Darien, give it time and you'll come to terms with it," Mina said. "Now, how about you answer some of our questions?"

"I agree," Amy said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Care to explain why you've been going out of your way to help us fight the negaverse for the past seven months?"

Darien grimaced. "I...I don't know!"

"Then tell us what you do know," Amy insisted.

Darien sighed deeply. "Okay. About seven months back I started...blacking out all the time. Randomly. At first it was almost every night. I saw doctors, but they couldn't explain it, and nothing they did worked. Last few months it's slowed down, maybe once a week at most. Every time, I'd be out for at least an hour, maybe two, and it seemed like I was going out and doing something every time it happened. I tried everything to figure it out, nothing worked." He rubbed his temples. "That's all I knew until five minutes ago."

"And what happened five minutes ago?" Raye asked.

"I don't...I guess something clicked, and I...I can remember now. I can remember what I was doing when I blacked out. I'd put on that ridiculous outfit and go fight monsters. I'd...I'd become a completely different person." He squeezed his eyes shut. "My God, listen to me, I sound like a psychopath! T-this has to be some sort of dream or hallucination!"

"Hmmm," Amy said, closing her eyes in thought. "You can say that as many times as you'd like, Darien, but I'm afraid you're wasting your time. Your subconscious is already clearly convinced."

"What do you mean?" Darien asked.

"Some form of split personality disorder," Amy said, starting to pace back and forth. "Random blackouts awaken your other half, and the two halves remain unaware of each other, all this time, until now. And that whole time, you've been searching for answers. Anything that might solve the mystery of your blackouts."

"Yeah, of course," Darien said, shrugging.

"And you never found anything even remotely believable, until Serena filled in some of your information deficiencies, providing a reasonable explanation."

"Wait, wait," Darien interrupted. "Meatball Head's 'explanation' was just as unbelievable as anything else."

"Admittedly, her story was unlikely, but not impossible. And obviously, she was very wrong on one count, but she said enough truth to fill you in. Clearly you believed so, Darien. After all, hearing what she had to say seems to have triggered something significant within you. If not her words, then what else?"

Darien looked down at the floor, jaw clenched in determination.

"Now, you claim you have all your memories back, the two personalities merging into one, which would only happen if you truly believed in all this. So you may feign to believe you are hallucinating, but deep down, you know that this is reality." Amy nodded with finality.

"You're full of it," Darien grunted, standing up. "There's nothing even close to believable about any of this, least of all anything that came out of Serena's stupid mouth."

"Then there's only one alternative," Amy said. "You've completely lost your mind and can't trust any of your senses. Pick one."

Darien massaged his head with his large hands, grimacing. "Okay. Let's say I believe your explanation, and I'm not saying I do. Why?"

"Why what?" Mina asked.

"Why am I Tuxedo Mask, why can I do the things I can do, why am I...compelled to go help you guys, why everything?!" He wiped his face.

"How should we know?" Raye shrugged.

"Because I sure as hell didn't want any of this!" Darien said bitterly. "Do you have any idea how much of a burden this has been on me this last half-year?! What about you guys, why are you guys...Sailor Scouts or whatever?"

Amy pursed her lips. "I don't know. We don't know. We just are."

"Well, I'm gonna need a better answer than that from somewhere!" Darien pushed his fingers through his hair.

"

Lita handed Serena the mug of tea, softly patting her back. The two were seated on the couch in the primary room of the apartment, Serena staring off into space. Serena slowly took the mug.

"You're gonna be okay, honey," Lita said quietly. "You just let those bad feelings wash right past you."

Serena said nothing, slowly lifting the mug to her lips and sipping.

"You know, obviously this was all pretty shocking and stressful, but honestly I think it's worked out pretty well!" Lita said, wrapping her arm around the back of Serena's shoulders. "I mean, you didn't kill Darien, Darien's still alive, Tuxedo Mask is still alive...all things considered, this really ended up on the positive side for us! You know?"

Serena closed her eyes.

"Think about it! You don't have to move out of the country, we've still got our caped savior alive and well, and heck, now you even know his true identity! So—"

The tea mug shattered in Serena's hands, shards of plastic and the tea falling to the carpet. Serena clenched both of her hands into small fists, knuckles white, body starting to shake.

"Uh...Serena?" Lita said quietly, edging away from her.

Slowly, Serena's nostrils started to flare and her mouth curved down into a frown. She started to shake, then slowly stood up.

"Serena, you just lost a lot of body fluid, so I think you should sit down!" Lita got up and tried to push her back down to the couch.

And then, in a flash of colors, Serena had morphed into her Sailor Moon form. She was still scowling deeply, body still quivering uncontrollably. She turned towards the bedroom door, eyes narrowing into slits.

Lita quickly jumped up and stepped between Serena and the door, arms out wide. "Serena, I really have to advise against this! I understand you're emotional right now, but—"

"Lita." Serena's voice was barely recognizable under layers of baritone. "Out. Of. My. Way."

Ordinarily, Lita wouldn't have even flinched under such an order. She would need only a second to turn into her own superheroine form, and would need only perhaps ten seconds more to incapacitate Serena with any one of five finishers, backed by her far superior strength. She didn't want to fight her friend, sure, but extreme circumstances called for extreme measures, and she was confident she could avoid actually hurting her.

But the unabashed fury that was clearly coursing through Serena's entire body did something that almost never happened. It intimidated Lita, to the point where she wasn't sure if it was wise for her to try to physically engage her. She really did seem that angry. Quickly, Lita's expression of determination melted away, as she also began to realize that, more than anything, Serena needed to have this one.

Slowly, she shuffled out of the way, meekly putting her hands behind her back.

"M-my mistake, Serena."

Serena stomped over to the bedroom door, stopping right in front of it and slowly picking her right foot up.

"Well, I'm gonna need a better answer than that from somewhere!"

CRACK!

Serena lashed her foot out right into the door, heel connecting with the wood right in the center. The force of her blow was so fierce, it knocked the door right off it's hinges and sent it flying across the room.

All four humans and both cats in the room looked at Serena in shock. Serena slowly advanced on Darien, each of her deliberate steps shaking the room.

"My God," Darien uttered. "She...she really is Sailor Moon."

"Darien. Dickhead. Shields." Serena raised her fists up in front of her.

Darien had no quick retort ready, no counter. His jaw hung slack, mind forced to accept the indisputable reality that Serena Tsukino, girl of the failing grade, bottomless stomach, and video game addiction, was Sailor Moon.

"Wait. Is your middle name actually dickhead?"

"Mina, not now!" Amy warned.

Darien snapped out of his shock, cocksure personality jumpstarted by Mina managing to break the tension. He glared at Serena.

"What's your problem, Meatball Head?!" he growled.

"I am going to peel all the skin off your body, sew it into a throw rug, AND THEN SET THAT THROW RUG ON FIRE!" Serena seethed.

In a flash, Darien turned back into Tuxedo Mask, giving his cane shaft a twist to reveal the short blade. He pointed it at Serena.

"Oh, I would love to see you try," he menaced. "And you owe me a new bedroom door, by the way. Maybe I'll use the money I make selling your organs after I'm through with you."

"NO!" Amy ordered, jumping between the two and holding her palms out towards either. "No, this is not happening! You both need to calm down, right now!"

"I'm plenty calm," Darien said. "But if she tries to so much as lay a finger on me, then I will reply in kind."

Amy turned to Serena, palms held out. "Serena, listen to me. I know you're upset. And that's okay. But you can't do this."

"Amy—"

"You are going to transform back. Darien is going to transform back. And then, we will resolve this situation using words. Okay? Words. Can you do that for me, Serena?" Amy stared her friend down, panting under the stress.

Serena stood there, chest heaving, for several seconds.

"Allow me to be the mature one," Darien said begrudgingly. There was a flash of light, and he was wearing his bathrobe again, back to being an ordinary human being.

Slowly, Serena dropped her arms to her sides.

"Calm. Calm." Amy slowly brought her hands down. Serena turned back into her own regular form, donning her schoolgirl uniform.

"Good." Amy went up to Serena, a comforting smile on her face. "Now. We are going to sit down and quietly discuss all of this, and through that discussion, we will all come to understand exactly what has happened, and what is going to—"

Serena stepped around Amy, almost pushing her to the ground as she went past her, rounding on Darien with a fierce glare. "YOU TWO-FACED, LYING LITTLE PERVERT!"

Amy spun around. "Serena, no! That's not quietly discussing this!" She was about to go and try to grab her, but before she could, Lita gripped her should from behind and spun her back around.

"Amy. Let her have this one," Lita said seriously. "She's beyond reason."

"B-but—"

"I know, Amy, I know. But you can't put out an oil fire. You just have to let it burn itself out." Lita patted Amy on the shoulder. "Water will only make it worse."

"W-wait, pervert?!" Darien repeated, so confused by her choice of insult that he was again taken off his game. "How am I a—"

"Oh, don't even try! Stalking us all around town, waiting for us to fall into peril, swinging in at the last moment to save us, DON'T THINK I DON'T GET YOUR GAME!" Serena pointed an accusing finger right into Darien's face.

"Serena, you've got it all wrong, I—"

"What was the next step in your master plan, Darien?! When were you planning to try to lure us here?! Get us all enamored with you, trick us into coming here, have your way with us, I know exactly what you have kicking around inside that sick little head of yours!"

"N-no! Serena, I didn't even know—"

"Well guess what, Darien?! Operation White Knight has failed! OPERATION! WHITE KNIGHT! HAS FAILED!" She was just a couple inches away from him now.

Amy opened her mouth to say something, but Lita quickly clamped her hand over her mouth. "Remember, Amy. Oil fire."

"I knew you were a jerk, Darien, but even I didn't think you'd stoop this low!"

"Serena, listen to me, I didn't even know I was Tuxedo Mask until just now!" Darien insisted, holding his hands out defensively.

"Oh, yeah, I sooooooooooo believe that!" Serena said. "Give me a break, Darien!"

"No, really!" Darien backed a step away from her. "Serena, if you won't listen to me, listen to Amy!" He pointed over at Amy. "I wasn't trying to trick anybody, it was a...a split personality or something!"

Amy roughly pushed Lita's hand off of her mouth. "Serena, he's telling the truth!"

Serena looked over at Amy, still simmering with loathing and hatred.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it...it makes sense. It's complicated and strange, but...I think he's being honest."

Serena fell silent, glancing around the dark room, cogs slowly cranking away in her mind. Everyone was afraid to move or make a sound.

Finally, she looked back over to Darien, still glowering. Darien took the opportunity to go on the offensive.

"That's right, Meatball Head!" he shouted. "As a matter of fact, you should be on your hands and knees, thanking me!"

Serena grimaced.

"I've saved your pathetic life about fifty separate times! So next time you think about insulting me, just think about where you'd be right now without me instead!" Darien pointed his right hand thumb at himself. "Serena, Sailor Moon, it doesn't matter who you are, you always find yourself needing me to bail you out!"

"Whatever," Serena grumbled through gritted teeth, turning around and stomping out of the bedroom. "WHATEVER!"

"That doesn't sound like gratitude to me, Meatball Head!" Darien followed her out into the living room, the four girls cautiously following him.

"Kiss my ass!" Serena spun around violently. "First of all, you didn't even know you were doing it, SO IT DOESN'T COUNT!"

"Yes it does," Darien retorted, crossing his arms over his chest and smirking, which only incensed Serena further. "You're alive, and without me, you'd be dead, end of story."

"SECOND of all," Serena continued, "me and my friends spend countless hours every single day fighting the negaverse, and you think you can just swoop in when it's convenient for you and take credit?! Well, you've got another thing coming!"

"Well, I guess it's good that you're already thinking like that, because—"

"THIRD of all, Darien, before you use this to inflate your already oversized ego, me and my friends NEVER NEEDED YOUR STUPID HELP IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Serena shrieked.

"That's good, Meatball Head." Darien walked into the kitchen. "Because I'm done with all of this! I have a life to live, and from this day forward, that life will no longer involve any of this garbage! So you girls are on your own from here on out, because I am officially re—"

Darien's voice caught in his throat, unable to say the final two syllables of the word. Serena didn't notice, but the other four girls looked at him. Darien's mouth was open, but nothing was coming out. Darien reached up with both of his hands and grabbed his throat, rubbing it. Then, slowly, his arm hairs started to stand up.

And then, he screamed in agonizing pain, reaching up to grab his head and squeezing his eyes shut. Everyone in the room jumped. Darien brought his forehead violently down onto the counter, smashing right into the marble cutting board, breaking it in two pieces. He fell to the floor in a heap, panting.

"DARIEN!" Amy yelped, running over and bending down next to him. "Are you okay?!"

"NO, I'M NOT!" Darien roared, jumping to his feet and looking around the room with wild, feral eyes. "WHO DID THAT?!"

"N-nobody did that!" Amy insisted, holding her palms out at Darien. "Nobody!"

"Serena..." Darien turned his gaze onto the blonde girl. "Words are one thing, but if you—"

"I didn't do anything!" Serena stuck her nose up in the air. "But it serves you right!"

Lita looked at the cracked marble sheet. "H-how are you not dead?!"

"Okay, that's it, everyone get out!" Darien pointed at the front door. "EVERYONE! I've had enough of this, everyone out!"

"Don't need to ask me twice, you pig!" Serena replied, marching for the door and beckoning her friends to join her. "Come on, ladies! All ashore from El Casa De La Date Rape!"

Mina failed to supress a small chuckle, which immediately earned a withering glare from Amy.

"Seriously, Mina?!" Amy snapped. Mina shrunk down under the gaze, looking down at the ground.

"Ahem," she said uneasily. "Wildly inappropriate."

"Yeah, you think?" Darien growled.

"Whatever you say, Tyler Durden," Mina countered, quickly following Serena out of the apartment, Darien's burning gaze on her back. Raye and Lita dashed into the bedroom, picking up Luna and Artemis respectively, and then beat a hasty retreat out of the apartment.

Slowly, Amy turned to Darien, a hopeful smile on her face. "Soooo, obviously, today was a very...emotional experience, and tensions are running high. But I hope that, once we all get a chance to calm down, we can—"

"Get out!" Darien pointed at the open doorway. Amy spun around and hightailed it out into the hallway.

"

Serena's Bedroom, May 3rd, 10:51 PM

"Oooooh, can you believe the nerve of that guy?!" Serena said. She was sitting up in her bed, hands at her sides and squeezed into fists.

"Yes, Serena. The nerve of that guy, saving your life all those times," Luna replied, sitting on Serena's nightstand. "I really wish you could have controlled yourself better today, the Sailor Scouts's job just got quite a bit more difficult."

Serena put Luna under a baking glare. "Luna, you're already on thin ice." She held her right hand out, thumb and index finger just a couple millimeters apart. "I am this close to making you sleep outside tonight."

Luna turned her head to look out the window, a vicious rainstorm battering everything that wasn't covered. She bowed her head, turning back to Serena. "I'll be good."

"Good," Serena growled. "I swear, if I never see Darien Shields again, it'll be too soon!"

"I have a feeling you won't need to worry about seeing him," Luna said.

"Here's hoping."

Luna swallowed. "And I'm sorry. About today."

"I mean, God, Luna, I'm standing there begging for someone to back me up, to defend me, and you just join right in with the rest of them!" Serena folded her arms over her chest. "I know it looked bad, but after everything we've been through together you'd think I'd get at least a little bit of the benefit of the doubt from at least one of you!"

"I'm sorry." Luna looked down at the carpet. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Serena gave a little grunt, closing her eyes and leaning back against her pillow.

"And I'm also sorry about Darien," Luna added. "I know you really liked Tuxedo Mask, and today was...well, I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Serena replied quietly. "Me too."

"

Warehouse Complex, May 4th, 3:51 PM

"This is going to be really tricky."

Amy, Raye, Lita and Mina were seated on a bench right outside the gates that opened up to the rows of warehouses.

"I'm sorry, Amy. There's no way you could have expected this would happen." Lita patted her back.

"I did make some backup plans incase we had a falling out with Darien. I always knew it was possible." Amy reached up and rubbed her forehead. "But we have an awful lot of things tied to Darien's name, and a very small window to change all that. Nothing's guaranteed."

Raye sighed. "I'm still tired from yesterday. God, was that exhausting, all the yelling and...well, pretty much just the yelling."

"I never thought I'd say this, but I kind of miss the Serena who would just start crying whenever something bad happened," Lita mused.

"Yeah, it's at least a debate," Raye agreed.

"Guys, when Serena gets here, remember to be supporting and positive," Amy said. "She's calmed down from last night I'm sure, but she's still in a delicate place, and I wouldn't blame her if she was still a little upset at us."

"Yeah, of course," Mina said. "You don't think...maybe we could talk Darien into changing his mind?"

"I highly doubt it," Amy said, then turning a stony gaze at Mina. "And you didn't exactly help matters yesterday with your smart mouth, Mina."

"I'm sorry!" Mina threw her hands up in the air. "I was trying to defuse a dangerous situation with a little bit of humor! It's what I do!"

"Well, next time, don't," Amy said coolly. "Anyway, we need to find someone else to handle finances for us. But there's no replacing Tuxedo Mask, and that's what I'm really afraid of. We're in a lot of trouble." She bowed her head. "I...really wish I had a second chance on yesterday. I think I...I think I could have talked her down. I have no idea what we're going to do."

"We'll find a way," Lita said. "We weren't completely dependent on him."

"He was an invaluable asset," Amy said. "Losing him weakens us dramatically, and there's no real way to make up the difference. I'm really worried that we can't win without him." She looked up the street and saw Serena approaching down the sidewalk. "But let's not talk about that around Serena for now. Remember, supporting and positive!"

A half-minute later, Serena was at the gate, and her four friends got up to join her.

"Hey," she said quickly, signalling the gate guard to open up.

"Hello, Serena," Amy said warmly, patting her on the back. "You doing okay?"

"Oh, just peachy," Serena grumbled.

"So listen," Amy said as the five girls moved through the gated area. "We all feel really rotten about yesterday. That's not what being friends is all about, and we made a big mistake."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Serena replied, sticking her hands in her pockets. "I mean, I guess we all make mistakes, right?"

"Right. But, to make it up to you, we all pitched in and got you something." Amy pulled a folded up piece of paper out of a side pocket of her bag, presenting it to her. Serena took it and unfolded it, revealing a gift certificate for an all-day pass at the spa.

"Well, that's sweet of you guys," Serena said, a tiny smile appearing on her face. "Thanks a lot."

"Every last penny came out of our pockets," Lita added, patting her on the shoulder. "Didn't touch the operations account. Because you're worth it!"

"Really?" Serena looked over at Raye. "Even Raye?"

Raye grumbled something to herself, eyes darting away from Serena.

Lita put her lips next to Serena's ear. "The spa was Raye's idea," she whispered. Serena smirked.

"I don't see why we had to pitch in," Raye said bitterly. "It was all Mina's stupid fault."

"Hey!" Mina protested.

"You got there first and you told us that she killed him!" Raye put her hands on her hips. "You planted the idea in our heads! If you didn't say anything, we probably wouldn't have thought that!"

"Raye!" Amy said warningly.

Raye grimaced, then sighed, but nevertheless took the harshness out of her voice. "I'm sorry, Serena. I messed up. Enjoy the spa."

The gang got close enough to see their warehouse, and saw a truly surprising sight that caused them all to freeze. None other than Darien Shields was standing by the warehouse door, arms folded, looking rather unhappy, but present all the same.

It took Serena maybe a second and a half to react, but she was quick to narrow her eyes into fiery slits and start a quick march towards him.

"And just what do you think you're doing?!" she hissed. Amy dashed in front of her, holding her hands out, an uneasy smile on her face.

"Serena, Serena, listen to me!" she begged. "I-I understand your anger, I understand it completely, but I need you to do me a big favor and let me talk to him first, okay?"

Serena glanced around, feeling her other three partners come up behind her. After several tense seconds, she gave a curt nod, and Amy turned to sprint over to Darien.

"Darien!" she said, trying to sound upbeat. "I must admit, I didn't expect to see you—"

"Yeah, well, I didn't expect to be drafted into babysitting a bunch of junior high girls," Darien said harshly. "But life sucks."

"So you've changed your mind?" Amy asked hopefully. The other four scouts came up to listen to the conversation, standing behind Amy. Lita stood behind Serena, ready to grab her in case she tried something.

Darien sighed. "There isn't a single fiber of my being that wants to do this. But I've decided that there's no way I'm leaving the fate of the planet up to five fourteen-year-old girls." He turned his hot gaze to Serena. "Especially when one of them is Meatball Head." He looked back to Amy. "Planet wouldn't last another week, and as much as I sometimes wish I didn't...I live here."

Amy nodded, smiling cheerfully.

"So, from this moment on, you girls are to include me in every stage of all your operations in fighting the negaverse, and grant me executive power to alter any and all plans as I see fit." Darien knocked his knuckles against the wall of the warehouse behind him.

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Serena roared, moving to advance on Darien. Lita quickly grabbed her wrists and yanked her back, wrapping her arms around her chest to keep her back.

"I'm sure we can come up with an arrangement that pleases everyone," Amy said, bowing her head slightly at Darien.

"Maybe one that involves her dead body?" Darien pointed at Serena as she struggled to break away from Lita.

Amy turned to look at Serena. "I'll...smooth things over." She stepped forward and unlocked the warehouse door, guiding Darien in. The girls all followed, Serena trying to get away from Lita and yelling.

"Amy, don't you dare think for a second that I'm going to go along with this!"

Amy gestured towards the inner door, and Lita dragged Serena through it and through the tarp on the other side. Raye and Mina followed. Darien went to enter the main room as well, but Amy put her hand up in front of him.

"Actually, Darien, could we...have a moment to talk with Serena, privately?" she asked.

Darien shrugged, then went over to the desk chair and plopped down. "Take your time, I'm hourly." He put his feet up on the edge of the desk and leaned back, hands up behind his head.

Amy dashed through the doorway and locked it behind her, pushing through the tarp to find Lita trying to force Serena down onto the couch.

"Lita, it's okay, let her go!" Amy commanded. Lita complied, allowing Serena to spring up and round on Amy.

"Okay, Amy, you listen to me! I work really hard at this whole Sailor Scout thing, and I sacrifice a lot, but there are some lines I can not cross!" She put her face right up to Amy's. "And this right here is one of them! Now, I am going through that door, and I am going to tell Darien to screw off, right now. The decision you need to make is who you're going to side with!"

She tried to shove past Amy, but Amy jumped in front of her.

"Serena, please, wait," she pleaded. "B-before you do that, let's talk about this! Can we do that? Talk?"

Lita came up behind her, putting her hands up to grab her. "I'll hold her down," she offered.

"No!" Amy yelled, throwing her palms out at Lita. "No, you're not going to hold her down. Nobody's going to touch Serena, because this is a discussion." She looked into Serena's glowing eyes, trying to calm her with a comforting gaze. "We're just talking, there's nothing physical, nothing threatening, none of that. Just us, talking. We are talking to you about what you are going to do next, before you do it, so you can understand what you are doing. Is that okay, Serena?"

Serena snorted out a blast of hot air from her nostrils. Lita shrunk back slightly.

"Talk," she finally relented.

"Now, Serena, I know you don't get along with Darien—"

"Wrong!" Serena interrupted, leaning in even closer to Amy. "I didn't get along with him before yesterday! Now, after yesterday, I despise him with the passion of a thousand suns!"

Lita stepped back to join Mina and Raye, all of them watching the 'discussion' with bated breath.

"I hate him more than I have ever hated anything, ever!" Serena backed off from Amy slightly, fingers clenching in and out.

"B-but, Serena, he didn't know!" Amy protested. "He had no idea he was Tuxedo Mask, he wasn't trying to trick you—"

"It doesn't matter what he was trying to do, Amy!" Serena screeched. "It only matters what he did!" She looked away for a second, uncontained hatred momentarily replaced by genuine hurt on her face. "And he did trick me. He had me...falling all over myself for him. I was nuts about Tuxedo Mask! Crazy about him. He...he had me head over heels with a fiction! Madly in love with something that wasn't real!"

"Serena, he didn't mean it—"

"But he did it!" Serena looked back at Amy, hatred back in full force. "And for that, I can never, ever forgive him, and I will never, ever work with him!"

"Serena, it's okay to be angry with him, really," Amy said, trying desperately to calm her down. "I'm not asking you to like him, I'm not even asking you to not hate him! I just...I just need you to tolerate being around him for a little while."

"Can't do it!" Serena proclaimed loudly.

"Serena, I need you to do something for me, okay?" Amy asked. "I need you to reach down, deep into yourself, and find the part of you that's Sailor Moon. Okay? Can you do that?"

Serena stood there, scowling, eyes flicking to the tarp-covered door.

"N-now, Serena, I want you to listen to that part of you. Listen to what it tells you. Because deep down, in that part of you that wants nothing more to protect the earth and defeat the negaverse, you know that we need Darien as an ally!"

"Forget it!" Serena snarled, trying to step past Amy. Amy shuffled back to stay in front of her, careful not to touch her. "We don't need that creep!"

"Yes, we do. Serena, we really do. We need Darien, and we really need Tuxedo Mask. If you do this, you've weakened our capabilities to fight the negaverse considerably, is that what you want? Think about this!"

"Well, I don't care!" Serena stopped trying to get past Amy, rooting her feet down on the concrete. "I don't care how much we need him, I'm not going to work with him. Amy, I'm scout leader, and I am putting my foot down, this is not an option!"

"Serena, please, be reasonable!" Amy begged. "Y-yes, you are leader, nobody is disputing that! But even if you tell him you don't want to work with him, he's not going to just leave, you heard what he said!"

Serena stormed past Amy. "Which is why, after today, we are going to find another location for meetings and research! Some place he won't know!"

Amy turned around, watching Serena advance on the door with horror. "Serena, I—"

"Maybe I'm not making myself clear, Amy." Serena turned around, hands on her hips, almost snarling. "So let me make this as simple for you as I can. Either he goes, or I go."

Mina winced, and reached over to grab Raye's hand. She gave it a tight squeeze, trying to calm herself. Raye returned the squeeze, feeling a similar bubbling sensation in her stomach.

Amy cowered back slightly. "Serena, you c-can't—"

"So, Amy, what's it going to be? Who's more important to the scouts? Me, or him?" She raised an eyebrow at Amy.

Amy looked away from Serena, mouth open slightly, shaking a little bit. "Please, listen—"

"Answer the question, Amy!" Serena ordered, advancing back on her menacingly. "Who do you need more?!"

"Y-you, Serena, of course!" Amy's face was become slick with sweat. "B-b-but we need Darien too!"

Serena scoffed, stopping just in front of Amy. "Just like you, Amy, to give an answer like that!" She pushed her hands out into Amy's chest roughly, knocking her to the ground, drawing a gasp from the three observers.

"Hey, Serena—" Raye started, taking a step towards the argument.

Immediately, Amy threw her hand out towards Raye. "Raye, stay out of this!" Running out of options, she got to her knees and put her hands together in front of her chest. "Serena, please, look, I'm begging you!" Her eyes were starting to water. "We really, really need him on our side, I'm just asking you to tolerate him, that's all! D-do it for me!" Her voice was starting to shake.

Serena rolled her eyes, giving a cruel smile. "Do it for you?! You, who won't even believe me when I say I didn't kill someone?!" She turned around, heading back for the door. "Why should I have your back when you don't have mine?"

"S-Serena, wait!" Amy called out. "Then do it for...then..." she winced. "How much money do you want?!"

Raye, Lita and Mina stared at Amy in shock.

"Oh, please!" Serena snapped, approaching the door. "You wouldn't even let me spend it on things I want, so what's the point?!"

"Serena, you know why I can't!" Amy said, pushing herself back up to her feet. "B-but you can spend it at the arcade all you want, all the candy you want, as long as you—"

"Not worth it!" Serena said, just a half dozen steps from the tarp. "Sorry, Amy, but this is happening, so pick your side!"

Amy squeezed her eyes shut, putting her hands up to her temples.

"C'mon, Amy! Think! Thinkthinkthink!" she said under her breath. Suddenly, her eyes flew open, just as Serena was pushing the tarp to the side. "SERENA! I'll...I will do ALL your homework for the rest of the school year!"

Silence. Dead silence. Serena froze, hand maybe two feet from the doorknob. Raye, Lita, and Mina had their mouths hanging wide open, eyes bugged out, staring at Amy, trying to get themselves to believe that Amy had just said what they thought she just said. Amy stood there, afraid to move, a helpless grimace on her face.

Slowly, Serena turned her head around to look back at Amy. She was still scowling, but her expression seemed a little more conflicted.

"You're...you're bluffing," Serena said.

"No, Serena." Amy stood up straight. "I'm not. You heard me. I'll do all of it. Every last bit of it. Just...come over here."

Slowly, Serena peeled herself away from underneath the tarp and approached Amy. "You...you could never bring yourself to do that."

"Serena, look at me," Amy asked. Serena complied. "I'm not lying. Cross my heart and hope to die, I'll do it."

Serena exhaled deeply. "Amy. W-when you say...do my homework...do you actually mean you'll just help me do it or you'll...remind me to do it—"

"No, no," Amy said in a hushed voice. "You'll barely have to look at it. You give it to me, I'll do it, I'll give it back to you, you look at it enough to answer questions about it, you turn it in. I can do that."

Serena glanced over at the other three scouts, who were still frozen in abject shock. "T-this is a trick, or some...some kind of test! You're testing my...my ethical code, or something."

"No, Serena, no. I swear on my mother's life." Amy shook her head.

"You're gonna...gonna use this to try to teach me some kind of lesson about the value of hard work—"

"All of your homework will get scores between eighty-two and ninety-one," Amy said. "No one will suspect a thing, I'll make sure of it. All you'll have to worry about is in-class assignments and tests. I'll set you up with good homework scores, you shouldn't have a problem passing your classes."

Serena closed her eyes, going into deep thought.

"Think about how much you hate homework," Amy continued cautiously. "Think about five weeks without any homework. Think about only needing a fifty-five on your math final to pass."

Serena tapped her foot on the concrete a couple times.

"Think about...think about how upset your parents will be if you have to repeat junior high," Amy added. "Think about them raising your allowance as a reward. Serena, please." She folded her hands together in front of her again. "We really, really need this."

Serena opened her eyes. "You had better be on the level."

"I am. You can trust me." Amy's voice was still shaking a little bit.

"Can I?" Serena questioned. Slowly, she extended her right hand out towards Amy. With no small amount of trepidation, Amy reached her own arm out and shook it.

"Okay, let's...take ten minutes before we go talk to Darien, compose ourselves," Amy said, weakly walking over towards Raye, Lita and Mina. Serena went over to the couch in the corner and sat down, closing her eyes.

Amy practically collapsed into the waiting arms of Lita, moaning quietly and nearly crying. Lita patted the back of her head.

"Oh you poor thing!" Mina said quietly. The four edged away from where Serena was sitting. "I'm so sorry you had to do that!"

Amy buried her face into Lita's chest. "I can't believe I just agreed to that."

"Neither can I," Raye said, rubbing her left shoulder. "You're not actually going to...do that, are you?"

"I have to," Amy groaned, keeping her voice low. "You heard what I said, I don't have a choice!"

"But...Amy—" Mina started.

"You think I want to do it?" she whispered. "Of course not, it...it goes against everything I believe in, it's the very definition of academic dishonesty, we'll both get a ton of trouble if I'm not extremely careful...but I had to do it!"

Lita brought her in close, hugging her tightly. "This is so unfair for you, sweetie, really, if you backed out I wouldn't blame you one bit."

"If I back out, we lose Serena or Darien," Amy said. "And we need both of them to beat the negaverse! So I...I did what I had to do, and I'll do what I have to do to protect the planet. I got a mulligan on what happened yesterday, I had to do whatever it took to make it right."

"This isn't right," Raye said, looking at Serena out of the corner of her eye.

"We're going to need them both," Amy said. "We will. If we lose one of them, there will come a time where we won't be able to hold out, I promise that. The whole planet hangs in the balance, so whatever we have to do to hold all of us together, we do it."

"Yeah. I wish certain so-called leaders could feel the same way," Raye snorted, glancing at Serena again.

"Maybe I'm naive but...I kinda can't believe she actually made you agree to that." Mina looked at the back of Serena's head. "I mean..."

"Yeah, this is...this is bad, isn't it?" Lita looked down at Amy, then back to Serena.

"It's...uh, it's not good." Amy grimaced.

"

I got on a nice writing roll and finished this much sooner than I expect, so I figured what the hey. We'll see how that roll continues going forward.