-Chapter 11-

Serena turned around and walked off, knowing she'd fainted on Darien. That in itself was humiliating. But then she'd have to tell Seiya about the baby... That would be both intimidating and scary. She was a young girl and he hit her! Lord only knows what would happen when he found out about the child! And now she was a young girl, pregnant, and living with an abusive boyfriend... What a life this world had to offer...

But Darien was right, Seiya wouldn't like the idea of a child. She knew that. Even when he seemed happy, he would hurt her. He was her constant torturer, and now he'd knocked her up! He was to blame, not Serena. A tear threatened to fall. Realizing this, she vowed to keep herself strong. She had to practice anyway, because if she didn't, her child may not grow up in the happiest environment ever known. She would pretend that nothing was happening, that everything was fine, and that she was fine.


Darien was busy kicking a nearby lamp post in frustration when all the girls came by. Interrupting his abuse of the poor lamp post, they asked, "So, what exactly is Serena hiding from us?"

Darien almost fell over. "Oh! Geez, you guys surprised me..." Then he comprehended their question. Should he tell them? They were her best friends, so maybe she figured they weren't ready to know. His mind was made up. "What do you mean? She isn't hiding anything. Is she?" he said, trying to mask all the worry he felt for her.

"She didn't talk to you about anything?" Rei asked, also trying to mask the worry she felt.

"Nope, nothing really important. Why?" he said nonchalantly.

"Oh... We were just worried, that's all. But if you don't know, then it can't be helped..." Amy said, disheartened.

"Listen, Darien. We know you and Serena hate each other, but right now she really needs you. You already know she's living with an abusive boyfriend, Seiya, right? Well, Seiya did something to her that we think may have caused more damage than we first thought. He raped her... She explained it to us because she needed help. But we don't know what to do. We're at a loss. We can't call the police. She said if he found out, she'd be dead before they got there. So we need you to help us. We want our friend back. She's been different ever since the first week she started staying with Seiya. So we want you to help us bring her back to us, and to get her away from Seiya. Will you help us, Darien?" Mina both asked and explained.

Darien nodded without a second thought. He knew more than they did. He also knew she'd been acting very differently from her usual self. She didn't have as much energy, she wasn't as happy, and all she ever did was smile and bear the pain. It wasn't just killing her, it was killing everyone who knew her. All except Seiya, that is.


Serena hesitated. What would Seiya do to her? She was right at the door to his apartment. She'd have to tell him anyway, and she'd have to face his wrath alone. She wouldn't have wished this kind of punishment on her worst enemy! Her hand hovered in the same spot, completely unwilling to move. And she didn't blame it. Even her hand had had its fair share of pain and suffering.

But if she wasn't on time, her punishment would be much more severe. How many times had it been when she'd asked the universe why this had to happen? Why did she have to suffer so much? And when would this all end...? All these thought raced through her mind every day.

Serena began sweating from nervousness and tears fell furiously. It was almost as though she couldn't knock on his door. She was smart enough to know, and had experience to back it up, just how severe her punishment would be.

She dropped to her knees and held her head in her hands. "I didn't do anything at all! It was all that aweful demon's fault!" she sobbed.

Right then, the door opened and Seiya was right behind it. "Who were you saying was an aweful demon?" He grabbed her arm and yanked her inside, slamming the door behind him as he did.


Darien was safely at home, wishing Serena was there with him. Even if she hated him, she was too scared to go through with any plans they made. Or take any offers he made. Perhaps she wasn't being dumb, perhaps it was the complete opposite. Maybe she was actually being smart instead. Seiya was cruel to her, so it would have to be expected that she'd be scared to come with him. And he already figured out that she was, deep down, scared of him, too. He was a man, and so was Seiya. Since that linked them, maybe she thought he would hurt her as well. He knew he wouldn't, but the only problem was: did she know that?

Come to think of it, any sudden movements he made, she took as a threat and immediately cowered and tried to be as submissive as possible. He could only imagine what Seiya was doing to her right now. He imagined her crying for help, and no one there to help her. She would be suffering all alone, and then when it was all over, she could only suck it up and deal with it. Meanwhile, she wondered every day if she would get to see tomorrow.

On top of that, her usual cheery, light-hearted, bubbly nature was gone. Now she was entirely serious and never laughed. Whenever she did laugh, it was always a fake laugh, just an act to make people think she was okay. She never joked around anymore and could care less about shopping. Plus, her eating had gone down dramatically. True, she still ordered an occasional milkshake, but she never actually finished it like she used to.

Plus, there were her eyes. Those two gleaming angelic blue orbs of happiness that always used to shine with spirit. But now, they didn't shine at all. They were no longer the two gleaming angelic blue orbs of happiness everyone had come to love and appreciate. Instead, they were tainted with displeasure, suffering, and pain. Lots and lots of pain. There wasn't even so much as a glint of happiness in them.

Then there was the fact that she was almost lifeless. She wouldn't talk too much, unlike the way she used to talk. She was more secretive of nearly everything. She was more like a walking zombie than a human being. The undead. She never really had much energy anymore. She used to have too much energy. So this was a dramatic change of pace.

Her body was bruised, beaten, and worn. She used to be so healthy and full of love. Now she literally couldn't afford to care about anyone but herself. No longer was she healthy. No longer was she happy. No longer was she Serena.


The girls were worried just as much as Darien. They all slept at Rei's temple that night, chatting about what they were going to do with Serena.

"Well, I do have a sedative in my house." Amy implied.

"So you're thinking we could sedate her and bring her back?" Lita asked, just to be sure she understood properly.

Amy nodded in response.

"It might work, but I don't know if I really want to use a bunch of chemicals on Serena. For all we know, she's taking a different kind of medicine. Maybe something like a painkiller." Rei rebutted.

"That's a good point. I don't think it would be a good idea to use a sedative if she's already on a different medication. It might only hurt her." Amy groaned, straining for another answer.

"We could try using force." Lita suggested.

"As good of an idea as that sounds, she might try to struggle. We could all get hurt that way. That can be a last resort, Lita." Mina said, making sure her own opinion was heard.

Everyone looked at Rei, thinking she might be able to use some kind of priestess magic to paralyze Serena or something.

"Hey, woah! Don't look at me! All I can do is pray and tell people's fortunes!" she said, crushing everyone's hopes of that idea.

Everyone looked back down, then at Mina, the only one who hadn't given out an option yet.

"Er... Eh... Well, maybe we could try bringing her home when she's asleep!" she twittered, all proud of herself.

"Actually, I think it might just work! After all, Serena's beyond a sound sleeper!" Lita agreed.

"Yeah, I don't think it'll work, guys..." Amy said in dismay.

"I'm with Amy," Rei agreed, "Think about it. If Serena was a sound sleeper before, she won't be now."

"What do you mean, Rei?" Mina questioned, not wanting her option snubbed like the rest.

"Put yourselves in her shoes for a second. You're living with your abusive boyfriend, thinking there's no way out. You suffer at his hands every day. You know he hurts you and you know he'll most likely do it again. Eventually, you're going to grow more aware and alert, right? Well, that's why Serena won't be a sound sleeper. She's naturally grown too alert to be captured when she's sleeping. You see now?" Rei explained to the group of frustrated girls.

"You have a point, Rei... But I just wanna make a quick observation. I didn't like being in Serena's shoes." Mina said.

"Neither did I..." all the other girls said simultaneously.