The Darkest Secret

Act Eleven: Abandoned

Serena: You're insane.

Starlily11: Did you only just now figure that out?

Serena: Seiya, you can come rescue me any time now…

It had been three days since Serena had disappeared without a trace. There was no sign of her, and the Time Gate was still useless. As far as anyone knew, the blonde was still alive. There was no evidence to indicate otherwise. That was Seiya's sole comfort. His Odango's shine had not faded or gone out, so she was alive. But where was she? They had searched everywhere in the city and the suburbs, but there was no sign of the lively blonde. What if she was slowly bleeding out in a ditch somewhere, scared and in pain? What if she was in the hands of a sadistic, homicidal maniac? What if she was in a hellish dimension, going through unimaginable horrors? These were only a few of the horrible images that seared into his mind during the day, but the ones that came at night were the worst.

None of them had really slept since Serena had disappeared. Seiya couldn't sleep for the worry, and Taiki was either trying to keep Amy from going insane or trying to keep Seiya from going insane. Between the two of them, sleep was impossible. Yaten was at Mina's 24/7, trying to keep her over-active imagination from consuming her. She'd been known for needing to be hospitalized when she had panic attacks. Lita was obsessively baking as if her life depended on it, hoping Serena would come running in and ask what the wonderful smell was. Rae was on her knees before the fire, searching for some sign. But it could not answer. Amara was half-insane already. She was constantly berating herself for not having her communicator. If she had, her Koneko wouldn't be missing. She'd be safe and at home, where she belonged. Trista had barely been seen, so intently was she watching the time gate, searching for a sign. Michelle was alternating between looking after Hotaru and trying to keep her lover from going completely and hopelessly nuts. All of them, however, were praying that Serena would be found.

The days passed, and turned into weeks. A month passed, and Serena was still nowhere to be found. School started, and that only served to bring more stress. The guys had to deal with screaming fan girls and members of their fan club who fawned all over them. It was all Seiya could do to plaster a smile on his face and not scream at them to leave him alone. Amy worked hard as she always did, but she found that she was unable to focus. All she could do was wonder when her dear friend would be found, and pray that there would be no police report about her body being found in a trash bag, and that she was all right. Mina didn't have the energy to go shopping; what was the point if her dearest friend wasn't around to go with her? Lita started fighting at school again, but for a decent reason. Some vicious rumors about the blonde were going around, and the brunette punched anyone who mentioned them within her earshot. It was lucky no one talked about it around Seiya; all hell would have broken loose. Rae spent every spare moment she had in front of the fire, asking it for guidance and a clue as to where Serena was. Amara went off on anyone who so much as looked at her the wrong way. Michelle was quiet, and her air of serenity was pretty much shot. Hotaru sensed the tension, and made herself as un-intrusive as possible. Trista was practically glued to the Time Gate, which continued to reveal nothing.

Weeks turned into four months, and autumn came. Serena's shine remained bright and strong, and everyone had a suspicion that they were too frightened to mention to one another. What if she'd walked out on them? At first, they pushed the thought away; Serena would never do that to them. She'd never abandoned them in the past, why would she start now? Still, as far as they knew, she was fine. Why hadn't she come home? After a while, though, they had to stop and consider it. It seemed to be the most logical explanation, and it was certainly less dreadful than the horrible suggestions their imaginations conjured up. Perhaps Serena had decided she was tired of all the fighting and had decided to simply leave. Finally, on one cool afternoon, Rae gained enough courage to suggest that possibility out loud.

Seiya hotly insisted that it wasn't true or possible, but he eventually admitted that the thought had crossed his mind. Her face stony, Amara admitted the same. One by one, all of them revealed their growing doubt. What other explanation could they conceive of besides the ones that made sure she couldn't possibly still be alive? Was it possible that Serena had betrayed them and left them all behind? No one wanted to think that, but it was certainly beginning to appear that way. Furthermore, they'd been fighting Malos' minions, and even Serena's own mother knew nothing. It seemed as though she'd abandoned them all without a word.

ѢѢѢѢѢѢ

Serena lay listlessly on the chaise lounge that she had been sleeping in for almost five months. School had started, and for once in her life, the blonde missed it. She missed sitting through dull classes and taking gruesomely hard tests. She'd been locked in Uziel's attic for so long that she'd forgotten the shade of blue the sky was when the weather was perfect. She'd forgotten the feel of the sun on her face. Worst of all, she could barely remember the touch of Seiya's hand, the feel of his lips on hers. Each day felt like an eternity. Uziel was rarely around; only during mealtimes. The rest of the time, she was alone. Some days, Serena fantasized about breaking the mirror and slicing her throat clean open with a shard of the broken glass just to end her imprisonment. But no…she couldn't ever bring herself to do it. She knew that Seiya would feel it the instant she died. She could never let go of the hope that someday, he would find her.

She'd stopped pinning her hair up in her customary style; she'd run out of hairpins long ago. She'd begun letting it flow loose and falling down her back almost to her heels. Her clothing had started to smell after a few days, and Uziel had supplied her with a wardrobe that consisted of clean, well-made clothing, everything backless for reasons unknown. The blonde still hadn't gotten over her fear that he would try something, but he never did. He'd also given her a thick sketchpad and a large box of drawing pencils. When she wasn't pacing or sleeping, or just wishing she could die, she was drawing. Portraits of her friends came to life on the blank pages of her sketchpad, and scenes of the Moon Kingdom could be seen as well. Even so, nothing could alleviate the feelings of loneliness and abandonment that plagued her. Where were her friends? Were they all right? Why hadn't they come for her? Did they no longer care?

Another month passed, and winter began. She was provided with a warm blanket, but she was just as lonely as before. Serena began to wonder if her friends or Seiya cared anything at all for her anymore. Why had they abandoned her? Why had they left her here to go mad from loneliness and despair? The girl lay back, trying to stop the tears she'd been fighting back for months. But her will had almost been completely broken, and it was no match for the emotions that were slowly closing in on her, threatening to drown her. The tears spilled from her cerulean eyes, and she closed them, tears still pouring out from behind the closed lids. Seiya's face shone bright as a star in her mind. "Why, Seiya?" she asked. "Why did you abandon me?" Her voice broke on his name, and the rest of the words came out in between her interminable sobs. "Why?" she whispered. "Why?"