What Becomes Of Us
Chapter 10
"Welcome back." Serenity's smiling faces as she carried food to the dinner table warmed the hearts of the returning earth and moon generals.
"Serenityyyyyyyyyyy" Jayden, formally known as Jadeite screamed happily as he run by the princess and swung her around. Serenity laughed gleefully.
"mmm…something smells awfully good!" Ezekiel said as he approached Serenity and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Yes yes, come…go shower so we might eat something." She said laughingly and after pouting, Jayden placed her on the floor.
"Hey, welcome back." Nehelania said as she entered the spacious kitchen to take more food to the dinning area.
"Nehe, I am hungry but Angel said to take a shower first. I feel I might die!" Jayden complained.
"Yes and I quite agree with her. You smell like sweat!" she said and both women laughed.
"What is all the laughing about?" this was asked by Beryl who walked in with Kyle and Leoti behind her.
"Our sweat smelling friend won't take a shower before dinning with us." Nehelania said and Beryl gave Jayden a reproachful look.
"Why are you looking at me? It could be anyone one here!"
"Yeah but you are the only one who can smell food miles away and forget all about what you are doing." This drew laughter from the others and they all went to take a shower as the ladies whom were joined by Minerva prepared the dinning area. Soft music was playing at the background as the ladies chatted and sang with the music. The men joined them soon and after a grace session they began to eat.
"So what's the verdict?" Serenity asked.
"Just as you said Princess. Darien was attacked but we got there before any real harm could be done. We also prevented any of the civilians from dying though the force that acted on the apartment complex brought it totally down." Ezekiel, leader of the moon guards reported.
"Galaxia showed up but we left immediately and Darien was with a woman." Keagan, formally know as Kunzite of the earth guards, also finished the reporting. When he mentioned a woman, they all turned to look at Serenity who nodded.
"What woman?" Beryl asked with a taste of disgust.
"We don't know." Zarek, formally known as Zoicite, answered.
"She is his fiancée." Serenity answered simply.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!?" the four guards and Beryl screamed in unison and Nehelania bared his teeth.
"What do you mean his fiancé?!?!" Jayden asked.
"Like I said. Did you think he would live his life with no companion after Serena's disappearance for so long? It's normal that he would move on." Serenity said with a shrug.
"And you're ok with this?" Neil, the former Nephrite, asked worriedly.
"What do you mean?" Serenity asked perplexed.
"Are you just going to sit here and not go back to claim your man?" Beryl asked.
"Whatever for?" Serenity asked.
"What do you mean whatever for!?" Beryl screamed. She was upset. Because of him she had gone mad and accepted Matallia in her and destroyed a whole civilization because he had chosen Serenity over her. And now all that they had gone through was going to be a waste. Privately, a part of her still loved him but if knowing that he didn't belong to her, she wished he would at least be with Serenity and not anyone else!
"Sweetie, if I cared, I would do something but I don't. The problem you people don't see is that Endymion is dead, he is not Darien. And Darien was never fully Endymion anyway…he inherited two people. The one whom I choose is on his way to earth. Trust me; I know what I'm doing." She said and they sat eating quietly. After a few minutes, Beryl roused to her feet.
"I'm going to Tokyo." She announced.
"Why?!" Kyle asked s he gazed steadily at her.
"Because I feel I must."
"As you wish." Serenity said and continued eating with no care. They all watched her but Leoti just smiled under his breath.
"Oh no!" Serenity suddenly screamed and disappeared right before their astonished eyes.
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Darien had been cared for at the temple by Rei and Keri slept most of the day away. After Darien was treated, they sat and discussed what had happened, waiting for Galaxia who had returned to Elysian to instruct the two remaining Amazon Quartet on their task.
"I' can't believe something like this will happen. Just what are we dealing with?" Mina asked.
"What I'm more worried about is the figures that came out of no where to save Darien. Who are they and can they really be trusted?" Rei asked and they all pondered the idea.
"They can be trusted." Galaxia said as she reappeared before them.
"Why is that Galaxia? Do you know them?" Amy who had been called to bring medicine for Darien asked.
"I don't know them, however their energy signal was a mixture of the moon and Earth, there was no darkness within." She explained.
"Oh." Amy filed the information away for later use.
"There were 8 figures in all who had come to Darien's rescue." She said.
"8? But I thought Darien said only four!" Amara said.
"I felt 8 presences. Maybe four had attended Darien and the other four had helped the other residence of the apartment. Otherwise there would be no way possible for the civilians to have survived scarcely unscathed" Galaxia explained and they nodded.
"So what was up with the attack? Why did they target Darien? And who exactly is doing the attacking?" Hotaru asked.
"Well the attack is from those who are targeting the Earth of course. The attack wasn't to kill Darien but to brain wash him but they had to break down the protective walls the Earth has put around his mind."
"What do you mean by protective walls around my mind?" Darien asked.
"As prince of the earth, it's not just up to you to protect the earth. It also protects its heir. Before they can brainwash you, they need to break the earth's control, once they do that and take control over you, they can practically control the earth itself." Galaxia explained.
"So this attack will happen again." Setsuna stated.
"Yes, very likely so." They lapsed into silence again.
"Wait a minute…did you say its heir?" Setsuna asked with wide eyes.
"Yes." Galaxia was puzzled. Setsuna bolted up right.
"Rini!" she screamed before dashing out of the sacred room and out on the street racing for the Tsukino residence. After her out burst, it dawned on the others that Rini will most likely also be in danger for she too was the earth's heir. They all rouse to their feet and dashed after her.
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After Darien had been safely escorted to the temple, Rini had decided to go to her grandparent's house. She feared their reaction, would they blame her and if so then they had every right. But she hoped that they would allow her to spend a few minutes in Serena's room if only to catch a glimpse of the mother that she had so jealously betrayed and led to her death. When she reached the front door, she noticed something was not quite right. The housed seemed lonely and empty though she did hear whispers of voices in the house. Even surrounded by the other houses, the Tsukino residence felt foreign and empty as if someone had just moved in instead of lived in for over 20 years. This scared her a little but it was not enough to push away her resolve. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.
She heard banging as if people were running down the stairs to open the door and when it was opened, the wide eyes of her grandmother meet her before it dropped for a second before it lit up again with recognition and warmth.
"Rini?" she whispered lightly as if wishing her into existence. Rini noticed the wild almost mad look in her eyes, saw her draw out features and skinny shaking frame, saw the pale hair that had one time been a lush deep blue and started to cry. She threw herself into her grandmother's arms and the woman in turn gathered her up to her breast and held her tightly, feeling the nostalgia of such a familiar position though with a certain other blond hair and blue eyes angel. She took Rini inside and sat on the couch still holding the sobbing child and gently massaged her back to calm her down. Kenji Tsukino who had had the day off stood besides his son and watched the tearful reunion of his grand daughter and wife. A hope stared in all their hearts that maybe Rini's reappearance meant Serena is actually alive and would come back to wed Darien in other to produce Rini. The two men of the house approached the females on the couch and crouched around them and waited for Rini to calm down. Rini finally lifted up her eyes to look at her grandfather and uncle and blinked with surprise. Of course Sammy would be taller and grown, it been eight years since they last saw each other.
"Hi grandpa and Uncle Sammy." She said shyly and they smiled tentatively at her. She noticed that in all their eyes there laid a boundless sadness and loneliness that could only be caused by their daughter's absence and once again the guilt nearly swallowed her whole. After she had made her confession to Hotaru, her best friend had not spoken to her since and avoided her like the plague. She feared the same reaction from her grandparents though they more than anyone had the right to reject her. Looking at their faces, she also noticed what she had not noticed before though Darien had mentioned, they had an expectation that Serena might return because she lived. The thought that she had to break this sad news to them tore at her heart. How can she cause them more pain than she already had? Yet she knew that the more they waited and their expectation is not fulfilled, they would die of an extreme case of a broken heart. Serena's effect on all their lives, she realized now, was as profound and needful as people needing air. She was their air, without her the only way they could survive was wearing oxygen masks and that masks would only last so long. Nothing can truly ever replace the original! She could never replace Serena.
With this realization she realized for the first time the truth behind her affections for Darien. True she had loved Darien too much but what had pushed at her affections was Serena's own love for Darien. She had not really wanted Darien all to herself; she had wanted most of all Serena's absolute love and devotion. It had been Serena's loving heart and gentle smile she had wanted to claim. She had watched Serena make friends with total strangers, watched her cheer kids up just by smiling, watched her welcome everybody with open arms and because of that she had felt that she was an insignificant part of Serena's heart and so she sort to make Darien's heart full of her because for Darien to love her was the same as Serena loving her. Now she realized what a true fool she had been. Why hadn't she just told Serena her doubts and concerns? Why hadn't she just sought confirmation and assurance? Instead she had stupped so low as to tear her parents apart by helping someone whose heart was even blacker than her own!
"I am so sorry." She cried silently, covering her face to hide her bitter tears.
"Sorry for what Rini?" Mrs. Tsukino asked in concern. She had seen the emotions that had flashed on her granddaughters face as she had been contemplating and she hadn't liked what she had seen. Those bottomless red eyes that had held so much spark in the past now held pain, loneliness and an excruciating amount of guilt that no one, child or adult, must ever feel and she wondered what Rini had endured all this time they had mourned her absence as well as their daughter.
"Serena is not coming back. She is dead and I am already born." She cried more and the family gasped before tears streamed down their faces. Sammy got up in a rush and run out of the house with tears streaking his cheeks. With Rin's words all his hope, the tiny hope he had held on to for all these years finally crumbled like bricks and his heart fell out of his chest. He needed to feel love and certainty, he wanted to be around something that was real and strong and firm that would not elude his grasp. He needed his girlfriend Mika.
"Why?" Mrs. Tsukino asked helplessly and her eyes turned blanked. Mr. Tsukino just seemed to be in shock to react and Rini ripped herself out of the hands of Mrs. Tsukino and ran upstairs heading for Serena's room. When she reached it, she noticed it was slightly and pushed it open completely. In her frantic state, she didn't realize that the sleeping form under the covers was far too small to be Serena. She hurried to the side of the bed and with force yanked the bed sheet, what greeted her was the sight of a sleeping little girl with deep pink hair almost read sleeping with her right thumb in her mouth. Rini started to laugh madly. It was as if she were seeing things and the whole world had suddenly turned dark. Chibi-Chibi on the bed stared and sat up rubbing her eyes before watching the crazy laughing girl.
"Chibi?" Chibi-Chibi's tiny voice said before she stretched out her hand and took Rini's and immediately Rini's hysterical laughter seized. She turned surprised eyes on the child and fell to her knees, burying her face in Chibi's small arms as she cried yet again. Chibi-Chibi had the same warmth as Serena and it was addicting!
Suddenly the foundation of the house shook with great force. Rini and Chibi let out screams before they held on to each other tightly. The house continued to shook as if earth quake acted upon it but Chibi heard the frantic voice down stairs and her dark blue eyes turned red. A light of red hue roused around her and she floated up and headed outside the room. Rini, feeling Chibi move away from her looked up and saw the girl floating to the door.
"Hey you wait! It's dangerous." But it was if her voice bounced of wall and Chibi kept on floating and out the door. Rini crawled on her knees until she reached the wall and held on to the wall to maneuver her way out of the room. As she went closer down stairs, she heard frantic screaming coming from Mr. Tsukino and she rushed the rest of the way to find Mrs. Tsukino suspended in mid air with one raised hand and a ball of light and dark blue flame forming at her hand. Rini looked around and saw Mr. Tsukino with wide eyes frantically scrambling back and there were holes on the walls. Then suddenly Mrs. Tsukino launched the fire ball at her as she screamed "Give me back my daughter!" Rini, unable to move because of the shaking of the house closed her eyes for the impact but it never hit her. Standing before her was Darius…the boy she had met in Elysian. He gathered a fire ball of silver light in his hands, ready to launch at the attacker.
"No don't hurt grandmother!" Rini screamed.
"That is not your grandmother. There is an evil spirit controlling her."
"Yeah but that is grandmothers body!"
"What do you expect me to do?! Let her got shots at us? No freaking way!" He shouted back and launched his own attacks which bounced off a wall.
"Are you crazy?! That is Serena's mother!" Rini screamed angrily.
"I am aware of that. My attacks aren't meant to hurt her but trap the evilness within her." He said and launched several more attacks. One hit Mrs. Tsukino, sending her flying but she seemed to catch herself before hitting anything and turned a raging anger on the boy.
"Give me back my daughter!" she screamed again as tears fell from her eyes and series of attacks was launched at those in the room. Rini was swept into Derek's arms.
"Don't worry, we will save her." He whispered to Rini as he dodged on coming attacks. From the corners of her eyes, she saw the rest of the kids surround Mrs. Tsukino and raised their arms up, their eyes turned bright silver and they began to glow. The glow was warm as she could feel it emanating from the arms of the boy that held her and in sync the children initiated a soft silver glow which was joined in by a red glow from Chibi-Chibi whom Rini noticed now was floating at the top of Mrs. Tsukino's head. The silver light and red glow shifted into moving lights and encircled the older woman whose eyes widened and it griped her like a rope, tightening its hold around her body before her eyes snapped shut. Rini could see a dark shadowy light evaporate from her body and the woman fell, caught in the arms of Mr. Tsukino. But the shaking of the house still did not stop. Suddenly, 5 beasts appeared and Rini stared at them aghast. The beasts were all different. One had the upper body of a horse but the rear of human; another had a lions up body and a goat's lower half. The third was an unidentified ugly monster and the fought was a black wolf. The creatures were as huge as full grown horses and they crowded the hall. But the last one was a beautiful human seeming woman with red eyes and sharp teethes. Only the fangs at the end gave way to her true self and Rini shuddered in revulsion. It was one thing to love vampires in books but when one stands in front of you with their inhuman beauty, you just want to run away.
"So it's you runts that are messing up our show mmm?" the vampires soft sensationous voice said amusedly and Rini wished she would speak more, her voice though cold and empty had an underline of gentle breeze on a warm spring day. The other kids did not reply though Rini saw that they were unaffected at all by the monsters of the vampire lady Rini found so fascinating.
"Answer me children." The vampire's voice held an edge yet that spring illusion was still present.
"What is your purpose here creatures of the night?" Darius asked, gazing at the sight of the five intruders with a sturdy and assured gaze that showed no fear but defiant and somewhat bored.
"Oh, we go where we please boy." The vampire said with a chuckle.
"I'm afraid this house is off limit to you." Darien, the little boy with black hair and blue highlights with golden endings spoke up.
"Oh? Why is that boy?" this came from the wolf.
"Because this is our mother's home and while she is not here we have to keep it safe so when she returns, she will have a place to lay her head." Selene answered smoothly and they chuckled. Rini thought the kids had gown crazy, being so at ease in front of monsters who were about to have them for dinner if they didn't get out of the house.
"Hand over that pinked haired girl you're holding and we will leave." The vampire woman said as her eyes bored into Rini's.
"Who this girl? Nah, we don't hand our little sisters out like that." Derek said with a chuckle.
"Then please prepare to die." As soon as the vampire said this the huge wolf launched himself toward Derek who only smirked. The wolf slammed to the floor and lay there as if dead. The vampire's eyes widened and saw that Darius stood before Derek. When the wolf had launched himself, Darius had jumped in his way and kicked him with a force that had slammed the wolf back to the floor. Afterwards the other monsters attacked and the rest of the children went into battle, calling on ancient powers Rini had never known yet the vampire recognized with fear. These kids were not normal children, they possessed supreme powers that outstanded the vampire woman. The girls took the enemy with the horse head. Darien Jr. took on the lion head monster and Daniel who had yet spoken took on the unidentifiable third monster. The sisters kicked and punched, each attack of theirs mixed with magic and a powerful force in their every blow. They moved in sync as if they shared one body and mind. One attack would follow by the other, and they activated shields when they were attack back by the monster. Darien and Daniel played a sort of tag games with their monsters before rounding up their enemy on a heap on the already collapsed wolf, the girls' opponent joined in on the heap a few seconds later. They didn't break a sweat and the shaking of the house stopped. The vampire looked at her companions and at the kids. In a blink of an eye the kids surrounded Rini and Derek, forming a formidable shield.
The door of the house burst open as Setsuna and the rest ran in out of breath. The new arrivals looked around at the messy room and the pile of defeated monsters and the children that surrounded Rini and blinked.
"Nice work!" Jun-jun whistled. Chibi dropped down and touched the pile of bodies and they caught on fire, second later they evaporated into ashes and she fell down in a sleep. Galaxia reached her and picked her up into her arms.
"What are you doing here huh my little one?" she said softly as she caressed the child's cheek and looked up at the enemy.
"Dylia, I'm surprise to see you here." Galaxia smirked at the vampire.
"You Bitch, so this is where you were hiding." The vampire bared her teeth at Galaxia who nether blinked or bulked, she drew her full height near the vampire and smacked her across the check to turn the vampire's head 150 degrees.
"That was for the slap you gave me before." Galaxia said. The vampire made to retaliate but instead, she vanished and reappeared seconds later before Darius in full force with one leg coming to kick him. Darius who had not expected this was momentarily taken aback and was unready to defend himself. Before the attack made contact, a silver figure appeared just before Darius and caught the offending leg of the vampire and squeezed it until every could hear the shattering of the bone. The silver caped figure then smacked an elbow into the back of the vampire cracking more bones to which those present winced as if this was happening to them. Then the figure put a hand on the vampire's face and lifted her up like she nothing and the had blazed with power. A few seconds later the vampire was noting but a pile of dust, blown away by a wind stared by the figure. The after silence was so thick that you could cut it with butter knife. Bending down gently, the figure's lips brushed on Darius checks and she whispered, "Good work. Serena may be dead but Serenity still lives. You will meet soon but until then be good and protect Elysian."
The figure vanished as soon as the message was delivered to Darius but then in the figures place alight blazed and standing before them was none other than a not too happy Sailor Star Fighter.
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"Oh jeez Serenity, you might as well have told the boy that you were his mother!" Leoti said as soon as Serenity reappeared in the dinning area. Serenity bent over her chair, her heart heaving heavy breaths.
"Be glad I didn't. So close to them, I wanted so badly to hold them. I miss them so much." She sobbed.
"Then why didn't you?" Minerva asked.
"I couldn't….I just couldn't bring myself to." Serenity said miserably.
"But you said you will see them soon." Kyle reminded her gently.
"I couldn't help it. It slipped out before I could take it back!"
"But Serenity, those kids need their mother." Merlin said softly.
"What…what if I'm not good enough? How can they be happy with me? I'm not the same person I used to be! They won't be happy with me." She said brokenly. They all looked at her with worry.
"You know Sere; it's not that you're not good enough for them. The reason you don't want to be near them is because you fear the will turn out to be like Rini and betray you. You fear they will reject you and hurt you like the others did. That is why you don't want to face them." Minerva said and to this Serenity had no more complaint.
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My hand still hurt from the burn but i will do my best to keep up with the update! Thank you for your well wishes^^