A Moon Never Clasped

By:Danni Lynn

Chapter 11: Sweet Little Agony

~+!Ami!+~

Ami buried her face into Serena's shoulder, afraid to look at the perplexed sailor, of whom's agitated glare bore holes into the woman Ami held. Tension rose steadily into the air as Mina clenched and unclenched her fists, waiting. Yet, the petite woman was not at all fazed by Mina's exsperated stare. Serena wheezed a slow and steady sigh as she gently pushed Ami out of her embrace. Opting instead to stand up and walk across the room towards the only window the living room had. She pulled back the curtains so she could peer down into the street below. Serena was instantly splayed in a fading orange glow as the sun began to set.

Ami stared at Serena, awe struck by Serena's beauty as her hair was set aglow to a brilliant yellow due to the sun's rays. Her pale skin gleamed, shining dully in the light, appearing flawless. Yet, Ami grimaced as realization struck her. Serena, her loving and kind princess, was marred in battle wounds, injuries that would be fatal to a normal human, even to a sailor scout. Ami's mind began to run through theories on why Serena's body appeared somewhat immortal; why she couldn't die even when she sustained lethal afflictions. Yet, Ami didn't understand what power would give her the ability to heal from any wound and leave such ugly scars. She knew that if Serena was using the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal, she would show symptoms of complete exhaustion, her healed wounds wouldn't leave such gruesome scars and she would be able to die. The crystal doesn't make you immortal, just makes you a tough cookie to kill. Knowing all this, Ami just couldn't wrap her brain around Serena's outside power. Most of all that Ami couldn't understand was, why did Serena have to cut off her wings? Why didn't they just fade away like the uniform does when transforming back into her civilian ego?

Upon remembering the image of Serena sawing through tendons and bone, Ami mentally flinched, trying to shove the memory away. Yet, the harder she tried to rid the image from her head, the more lucid it became as Ami began to remember Serena's screams of agony. The blood spraying from her wound to the tile above the bathtub, crimson running down the white walls. And of Serena's frightened and sad stare as she screeched for Ami to leave the grotesque scene. Ami was miserable. She couldn't even fathom a fraction of the physical torture Serena must have gone through. She felt helpless to save her beloved princess. Serena just appeared so...empty. The only thing that let Ami know that Serena was even somewhat alive was the tiny sparkle Serena would sometimes get when she would quietly smile up at Ami when they spoke together.

Ami missed the old Serena, the one from her memories. The one that was so full of life and was literally the definition of light and love. Yet, as Ami watched Serena gaze into the street, Ami couldn't help but feel burdened with sadness. Serena seemed so frail, as if she would break at any moment. This Serena, was someone she didn't know, she barely held any traces of the old Serena. This one was so melancholy and so remorseful, every action and expression Serena made seemed laced with a hint of agony. Ami only wanted to see Serena smile again.

"What the hell! Are you even going to say anything to me, Tsukino-san?!" Mina roared as she defiantly folded her arms over her chest and kicked the nearest object available. Her boot connected with the glass and metal coffee table. The coffee table rattled and moved a few inches from the impact but stayed in tact but Mina shrieked in pain as she dropped to the ground nursing her foot. Ami gasped and rushed to Mina's side. "You silly dope! Calm down and let me take a look at your foot." Ami instructed as she knelt by Mina and waited patiently for the vexed blonde to ease her boot off. Upon inspection, Mina would be fine, just a little sore. Muttering phrases underneath her breath, Mina wedged her shoe back on as Ami headed back to the couch to sit.

Serena, upon hearing the ruckus Mina had caused in her fit, turned back towards the aqua and love sailors. "I'm sorry, Mina. It's just a lot for me to...process in a way you'd understand." Serena calmly explained, pausing only to find the right word. Mina's eyebrow went up in curiosity, as she recrossed her arms, waiting. Serena waved for Mina to take a seat in the empty spot on the couch next to Ami, which Mina begrudgingly did. Huffing as she sat down, Mina leaned back and crossed her legs, glaring up at Serena. Ami rolled her eyes at Mina's little dramatic display. "Knock it off, Mina. This is serious." Ami muttered to Mina, as she nudged the irritating blond with her elbow. "I am serious." Mina grunted in response.

Serena unexpectedly chuckled at Mina's exaggerated reactions which relieved some tension in Ami's body. The little laughter sounding a bit like the old Serena. Mina, on the other hand, immediately became offended and bounced to her feet. "Goddammit, I want a fucking answer!" Mina shrieked, as she stomped her foot into the ground. All traces of amusement left Serena's face, as she took on a dark expression. Ami cursed Mina silently in her head, as anxiety filled her at Serena's sudden change in attitude.

"Please, take a seat Mina. Refrain yourself from another outburst. They are...detrimental to my hearing." Serena, composed and serious, politely said to Mina. Mina immediately complied. Once Mina was seated, Serena fixed the jarred coffee table and then placed a single item on it. Ami instantly recognized the object as Mina gasped and searched her pockets. "When the hell did you swipe that?!" Mina exclaimed as she shot an accusing glare at Serena. Upon the coffee table, laid Mina's transformation pen, a small pen with the symbol for Venus etched into it and placed onto the cap. Mina heaved a sigh of annoyance, as she leaned forward to retrieve the pen but her hand was stopped, gripped tightly by Serena.

Serena shoved Mina's hand away and took a step back. "Don't pick that up. Listen to what I have to say." Serena stated. Mina released a slow breath of air, and calmed down. She settled herself comfortably back into the couch and motioned for Serena to continue. Ami watched on, taking note that she was witnessing an important event. "You have forgotten something, Mina. Something that was once every dear to you. You would've died for this thing you have forgotten." Serena paused, allowing for her words to settle in Mina's mind. Mina's eyebrows shot up and furrowed together in surprise. As she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Serena, suddenly very, very wary of what the blond might say next. "Now, I want you to understand this Mina. If you pick up that pen, you will regain everything you've forgotten, but it will be for a very high price." Serena once more let this settle in Mina's mind, allowing the sailor of love to articulate and comprehend the magnitude of this proposition.

Ami watched as Mina's expression became very dark, her eyes showing her conflicting emotions on what to do. Ami could only look on with sympathy. Even though she wanted her friend to remember their princess, she didn't want the weight of the reality to break her friend. They had failed their princess, they had forgotten her. That would've been treason back in the era of the moon kingdom. Ami knew that if Mina remembered Serena, that she would forever be saddled with the reality that they had failed their princess, forgotten her, and left her alone to become this...hollow shell. A shell that showed evidence of pure torture. Mina would blame herself for Serena's condition. Ami, too, felt responsible for Serena's miserable state.

The silence felt like it stretched on for eons as Mina's face showed more and more signs of anxiety. Mina's decision making process by far exceeded the time it took Ami to contemplate. Yet, Ami was on the verge of death when she was deciding and really didn't have time to waste to think through a thorough decision. Ami didn't regret remembering her best friend. She regretted forgetting her. "Never mind, Mina. This was too much for you right now. Your not ready for this." Serena sighed as she bent down and picked up the pen. Mina, startled, glanced up at Serena. She suddenly frowned and her eyes took on a kind of determination, Ami hadn't seen in along time. "Goddammit, who are you to say I'm not ready?!" She roared, her face contorting in rage as she jumped to her feet and snatched the pen out of Serena's hand.

Suddenly, Mina stood stock still as her eyes widened. Her body began to tremble as tears burst forth from her eyes, pouring down her cheeks in cascades. Not a single sound passed through Mina's lips as her body shook. Her veins began popping out from the strain of her muscles tensing. Ami felt her blood turn ice cold, as fear began coursing through her, Mina's reaction not at all like she had expected. Then, without warning, Mina's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she crumbled to the ground in a heap, her body beginning to go into spasms. Ami shrieked as Mina's head bashed into the side of the coffee table on the way down. She received a deep gash across her forehead, as her body writhed in convulsions. Ami rushed to Mina's side, and tried prying the transformation pen out of Mina's hand, but the pen was held in a vised grip. "Serena! Do something!" Ami screeched, but Serena only frowned and knelt by Ami. "Just give it a few more moments, not everybody reacts the same way and if you remove that pen, you could make the damage worse." Serena cautioned Ami.

Ami gritted her teeth and watched on in horror. She felt as if Mina was dying and she couldn't save her. Then, suddenly, just as quickly it had started, Mina's convulsions stopped and she relaxed. After a few seconds had passed, Mina's eyes began to flutter open, Ami smiled in relief. "Oh thank goodness! Mina, you scared th-" Ami was immediately cut off as Mina's eyes immediately snapped open and her pupils constricted. Mina's body arched off the ground as a animalistic shriek erupted from the spasmodic blond. "What's happening to her?!" Ami yelled as she tried to force Mina to calm down, but the sailor began to roll around of the floor, swatting her hands all over her body, screaming incoherently. Serena's frown deepened as she clucked her tongue in concern. "I was afraid this would happen." Serena muttered. Ami watched, perplexed, as Serena gently took Mina's head into her lap and lowered her lips to Mina's ear. "Mina, it's okay. Calm down, Mina. I'm right here. Shhh." Serena whispered as she took her right index finger and traced a symbol onto Mina's forehead. The symbol showed up in blood because of the gash on Mina's forehead. The symbol began to glow a bright orange, which spread out through Mina's entire body.

It appeared to Ami, just for a moment, that Mina's body was levitating a few inches off the ground. Once Mina's entire body was swathed in a thick glow of orange, she became very, very calm. Her breathing steadied and her forehead stopped bleeding. Ami took a sigh in relief. Then, suddenly, Ami's eyes widen as she noticed Serena bathed in a pure white light, a crescent moon appearing on her forehead. Serena, still holding a now calm Mina's head in her lap, bent down and touched foreheads with her, their symbols meshing together. Serena faintly said something that Ami didn't catch, but once Serena was done talking, there was a bright and blinding flash. Ami shielded her face from the bright light, but when she did, she felt a strange warmth spread through out her body and an odd peace null the worries in her heart.

When Ami opened her eyes again, she saw Mina staring up at the ceiling, tears still pouring out of her eyes. Yet, when she looked over to Serena, and saw her in a crouched, fetal position, Ami felt a sense of dread fill her, pushing away the peace she had felt moments ago. Ami crawled over to Serena and only to see something that her gape in shock. All sorts of wounds were opened all over Serena's body, but they weren't from the normal scars that already marred her body. Ami looked in a sick fascination as she saw those nasty afflictions close to make new, pink scars that criss-crossed over her older scars. Ami's eyes widen as a thought dawned upon her.

Before Ami can utter a word, Mina had already crawled over to Serena and enveloped her into a hug. Sobbing, Mina rocked Serena's trembling body back and forth, muttering a tangent of, "I'm so sorry. So sorry." Ami left the pair on the floor and stumbled to the bathroom, wishing that the realization would only be a lie. Glancing at herself in the mirror, Ami bit her lip as worry began to knot her stomach and a lump filled her throat. Ami quickly stripped out of her shirt, a strangled cry ripping from her throat. All Ami could see was pale, flawless flesh all across her torso. Tears escaped her eyes and she silently sobbed, not finding a single scar on her skin. All her scars from her past battles, were gone.

Serena had healed Ami and Mina's scars, but at the price for taking them on as her own.

~+!Serena!+~

Mind numbing pain was all Serena could feel through out her entire body, she felt as if someone had burned her alive. She rocked back in forth, muttering incoherent whimpers, begging for the agony to go away. Even when Galaxia tortured her, it was nothing compared to this. Galaxia favored whips and knives which meant stabbing and slashing, which was unbearable in of itself, but this... this would be the equivalence of having all your skinned flayed off and then being drenched in bleach, and then being lit on fire. Serena prayed for death. All rational thought having gone out the window, leaving Serena a shamble of raw nerves writhing in torment.

"Oh goddess, Serena. My princess, I'm so, so sorry." A voice broke through the pain, the moment a splash of coolness landed on Serena's cheek. Serena cracked open an eye, as she gritted her teeth, attempting to rope herself back into reality. Peering through narrow slits, Serena looked up at a sobbing Mina, of whom had wrapped Serena into a tight embrace. Shoving the agony to the back of her mind, Serena gave Mina a weak smile. "Shh, Mina. Its alright, I'm right here." Serena whispered, as she pulled herself out of Mina's arms.

Mina's sobs died down to sniffles as she helped Serena to her feet. Once they were both standing, Serena rested her forehead against Mina and stared into Mina's cerulean eyes. "Shh, stop crying Mina, you are a leader. Leaders need to be strong." Serena comforted Mina, wiping away her tears. Mina's tears stopped and she met Serena's eyes with a look of warmth and joy. Mina took a deep breath and smiled as she exhaled. "Serena, I remember everything. Now that Ami and I have our memories back, we need to get the other scouts their memories too!" Mina excitedly exclaimed, her eyes beaming with happiness. Serena only frowned back in response.

Taking a step back, Serena shook her head. "No, Mina. Each scout must choose to get their memories back in their own way. Just give it a little time." Serena calmly explained, her voice taking on a tone of seriousness and caution. Mina sighed and shifted her eyes to the floor, a frown tugging at the edges of her lips. "I understand, princess. I'm just so happy that your here and that I remember. Without you, life felt...so empty." Mina dejectedly said, as she fidgeted her fingers together. She was very nervous because of Serena's intimidating expression. Mina had never been afraid of Serena before, but now, she felt very small and very childish. Serena just felt so much older now, even though Mina was pretty sure she was older than Serena.

Serena noticed Mina's apprehensive demeanor and mentally cursed at herself for making Mina become uncomfortable. Deciding to change the pensive atmosphere, Serena placed both her hands on Mina's shoulders to get the love senshi's attention. Taking note of Mina tensing at Serena's touch, Serena flashed Mina a loving grin. "Hey, Mina. I know you mean well. It makes me ecstatic for you to remember me. I wish we had more time to catch up, but you need to take Ami back to the other scouts. I'm pretty sure their frantic at your and her's sudden disappearance." Serena laughed as she gave Mina a quick hug. Mina's face reddened in realization. "Oh goddess! They probably think Ami is dead and that I went on some suicide mission to get her back from Cosmos' clutches! Shoot!" Mina babbled as she returned Serena's hug before calling after Ami, who had disappeared somewhere.

Serena chuckled at Mina's adorableness, finding out that Mina being flustered was absolutely cute. Serena grinned as Mina and Ami turned to look at her before they left. Serena gave Ami a quick hug goodbye, upon which she noticed Ami's blanched appearance. Deciding on keeping quite about Ami's pale complexion, Serena turned to Mina and slapped her on the back. "Get going you two!" Serena laughed as she watched the pair head for the door. Mina looked over her shoulder and flashed Serena a grin, "It's great to have you back princess." Mina said before she and Ami walked out the door.

The moment the door shut behind the pair, Serena took a deep breath. Feeling all her muscles protest in pain as she stretched her tense body. Feeling fatigue rake through her, Serena grimaced. She was heavily exhausted for healing both scouts within the same 24 hours. Her insides felt like fire and her nerves felt fried. She absorbed extreme internal and external injuries from both the scouts. Ami had been on death's door and Mina had obviously gone through severe battle wounds in the past. Even though the pain wasn't quite so intense anymore, it was still resonating through her with a low and dull ache. She felt like was 90 years old.

She lifted up her shirt to study her fresh new scars, but upon looking at her grotesque appearance, she let her shirt fall back down around her body. Not being able to bear the horrific sight her body now displayed. Scars, big and small, intervened with each other, leaving not an inch on her torso of a clean, patch of flesh. Serena couldn't even imagine what it would be like when she absorbed the rest of the scouts injuries. She knew that each sailor had deep afflictions upon their body, it came with the job. "Two down, six more to go." Serena darkly muttered to herself, feeling a sense of exhaustion filter through her thoughts. She was so tired, she wanted to give up and rest.

She had fought and bled so many times, for her freedom, for their freedom. For her sanity. All the threads were so now deeply interwoven together, that she didn't care what was real and what wasn't anymore. She felt like was never going to win against Galaxia.

Upon walking into her bedroom to get some well-earned sleep, did she come across the pinnacle of her hatred. Gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, Serena knelt down on one knee and hung her head. " Hello, mistress." Serena greeted, making no move to stand back up. Deep down, she was not at all surprised to see Galaxia at such a...coincidental time. There came a barking roar of laughter from Galaxia as she clapped her hands in malevolent glee. "Quite a show you played out there, Serena!" Galaxia exclaimed as she bounced to her feet. Serena held firm in her respective bow, not daring to move an inch.

Serena, with her head bowed, followed Galaxia's shining boots with her eyes, as she paced around the room. Galaxia studied the various objects that was displayed around Serena's rather bland bedroom. Stopping to look at a picture of all the scouts, Galaxia picked up the framed photo and smiled. "So, two scouts have recovered their memory. You are aware this violates our agreement, don't you?" Galaxia nonchalantly stated as she watched Serena immediately tense out of the corner of her eye.

Serena felt her heart fill with a sense of dread as her pulse quickened in fear. Deepening her shallow bow into a more respectful and formal one. "Please do not hurt them Galaxia. Do whatever you want with me in place for them, I do not care what you do to me. Just don't hurt them." Serena pleaded, her voice taking on a tone of desperation. Galaxia's eyebrow went up with amusement as she watched Serena tremble in a mix of fear and anger. Galaxia only laughed, finding Serena to be truly pathetic.

"But oh, sweet, little, pitiful Serena I want you to care." Galaxia sweetly replies, her twisted grin becoming more and more malevolent. Serena's head snapped up to glare up at Galaxia, rage broiling forth in her mind. Galaxia detected the glint of fear in Serena's eyes as she watched the petite girl tremble in rage. "What have you done?" Serena demanded as she slowly got to her feet, her fists shaking at her sides. Gritting her teeth and boring holes into Galaxia, Serena fought to stay calm. Galaxia erupted into a fit of laughter, no longer able to hide the joy of watching Serena lose it.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, YOU BENEDICTIVE BITCH?!" Serena roared, no longer able to hold herself back. Galaxia immediately stopped laughing and frowned, her face taking on a serious expression. There was a flick of light before Serena was hit square in the face with something. There was a distinct sound of glass breaking as a shocked Serena brought her hands to face. Examining the warm liquid that was flowing from her nose, Serena stared blankly at the blood on her hands.

"Always the rash one." Galaxia flatly stated, having lost all amusement. There was a sound of heels clicking against the floor as Galaxia got real close to Serena. Serena could smell the scent of decay clinging to Galaxia, as it rolled off her. Galaxia's lips brushed Serena's ear. "You have to be punished Serena and their going to pay for it."

Wow! It's been so long since I've updated! I miss writing so much. I really want to finish this story. Review and tell me what you think!

-Danni