Chapter 4 – The World Stands Still
People, gone, animals, gone, pollution, gone, burgers, pies and pudding, gone. The last human on earth was Dean Winchester and his Impala. It took Dean three days of searching for people to realize he was the last human on earth.
Now Dean stands in the middle of Los Angeles' empty streets, alone. He dropped to his knees and cried to the sky.
"What have you done, God!" he cursed.
No response from the Heavens.
"Answer me, god-dam-it!" he continued to curse.
Wings fluttered in the air, and Castiel appeared before Dean.
"God has put this earth on pause," Castiel informed Dean.
"What do you mean by that? Pause. This isn't some friggin movie," Dean jumped to his feet, yelling at Castiel.
"Without Sam, this earth doesn't stand a chance, so God thought it would be wise to stop the world," Castiel tried again, trying to calm Dean down, but it wasn't working.
Dean's eyes blazed into Castiel's chocolate ones, his nose flared, and his lips turned up into a sneer.
"Then how come I'm not paused," He gritted his teeth as he spoke.
"I can't answer that," Castiel informed, "God has put me on a need to know basis."
"I don't give a damn about God, I just want Sammy back, take me to him," It was a demand, not a request.
"I cannot," Castiel sighed, "only monsters can go to purgatory."
"Get me a monster!" Dean's getting tired of Castiel and his useless words.
"I cannot," he repeated himself, "God has them tucked away, and not on earth."
"Then what am I supposed to do; wait here!" Dean cursed, raising his hands in the air dramatically.
"Yes."
Castiel wasn't getting Dean's frustration.
"You have the earth all to yourself, thanks to God," Castiel states, "Stop complaining."
Dean narrowed his eyes, and swang at Castiel, hitting his left cheek. Castiel took the punch; he didn't flinch or register pain.
"I can see you need some time alone to sort things out," Castiel voiced before flying away.
"No! Come back!" Dean cursed, "I hate angels."
Dean kicked the dirt ready to leave when he spotted something out of the corner of his eyes, running away from him.
"What the hell?!" Dean sprinted after it, chasing it down an alley and into an IHOP restaurant.
A lone figure, shrouded in a dark green cloak, sat at the back table. Dean inched forward with caution.
"Who are you?" Dean's voice growled.
The figure said nothing.
Dean slowly approached the table, taking his gun out, pointing it at the figure.
"Tell me who the damn are you? Or I'm going to pump you full of led," Dean warned.
"My boy, no need for violence. I'm here to help," the voice cooed.
"Let me see your face," Dean cocked his gun.
The figure held up its hands before flipping back the hood. Red hair spilled out over the cloak, and searing green eyes stared at Dean, porcelain white skin glowed in the afternoon sun, a sly half-smile graced her lips.
"Dean, it's nice to see you again," Rowena chuckled lightly.
"Who the hell are you, and how do you know my name?!" Dean cursed.
Rowena sighed, looking down at her tea, twirling the tea bag within the cup, "We haven't met… yet, but I can help you get your brother back."
Her words shocked Dean, and he lowered his gun, he took a seat across from Rowena, staring at her in disbelief.
"Who are you?" Dean asked again.
"My name is Rowena. I'm the witch who has messed up the timeline. I'm the one who helped Crowley bring Serena to your world. Something I regret." Rowena sighed, its no fun having powers when there's nothing to do on earth.
"How are you not gone, like the others?" Dean questioned.
"I'm a witch," Rowena rolled her eyes, "The most powerful witch in the world, do you think God can just get rid of me that easily," Rowena voiced, even though it was Gabriel who protected her from disappearing like the rest of the world, but Dean doesn't need to know that.
"So, you can take me to purgatory?" Dean asked.
He didn't trust this Rowena chick, but she was the last supernatural being on earth, and he needed her help.
"No, but I can take you to Sailor Moon's universe. The other Serena is there, and she can help you," Rowena explained.
"How is that going to help me! I need to get to purgatory, not Serena's world!" Dean smashed his gun on the table, making a loud booming noise.
"Luckily, no one is here to see you act like a wee little man," Rowena chided, "take my offer or be done with me, and I'll leave you alone on his sad excuse of earth."
Dean thought about shooting Rowena with his gun, but he had read up on witches, regular bullets won't kill them. No, he needed her, and since she only had one option for him, Dean has no choice but to take it, as long as he gets Sammy back in the end.
"Deal, where do we start," Dean grumbled.
Rowena's lips widen in a huge smile, and she taps her fingers together, quirking her eyebrows.
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Serena jerked awake, sweat pouring down her back as another nightmare plagued her dreams. She wiped the sweat from her brow, as a chill covered her body. She glanced over at Rini, who had snuck into her bed again, but that wasn't the reason Serena felt a chill. No, there was an eerie pink glow coming from her mirror. Serena slowly drew back the covers, the moon peeking into her room as she placed her feet on the cold floor. She slowly stepped over to the mirror and almost screamed. She clamped her mouth shut, but her legs turned to jelly, and she sat on a chair by her mirror.
There was a woman on the other side of her mirror, she was beautiful, but reminded Serena of Queen Beryl with her red hair and deceitful eyes.
"Who are you?" Serena choked out, fearing it was the negaverse, and they found out who she really was.
"I'm Rowena, child, and I need your help," the mirror spoke.
"Are you from the negaverse? A monster?" Serena didn't trust this woman.
"None of the above, just a witch trying to get a boy back from purgatory," Rowena informed.
Serena gulped, hearing the word purgatory, Serena's mind wandered back to her dream of following a red snake into a hole and meeting a statue of a woman, but she wasn't a statue at all, she could talk, and asked for help. It was a weird dream.
Serena shook the dream away; it was a stupid dream created by overeating on her favourite sweets.
"Lay off the junk Serena," She scolded herself.
"This is not a dream, Serena!" Rowena shouted, "a part of you is in another world. Feel your inner body, isn't there something missing?"
Rowena's words took Serena by surprise. She hasn't told anyone about the gaping hole inside of her body, or about her dreams.
"So, I'm right, a part of me is missing," Serena said, assuring herself that it wasn't teenage hormones.
"Don't you want your other half back?" Rowena asked.
Serena nodded, too numb to speak.
"Then come to the starlight tower at midnight and greet me," Rowena said before her image vanished from the mirror.
Serena scratched her head, before stumbling back over to her bed, hiding under the covers. She wasn't sure if she could trust this woman; there was something about her eyes that Serena didn't like. Something evil, but she knew about Serena's emptiness, maybe this redheaded woman can help her become whole again.
Serena was out the door at first light; she was unable to sleep after Rowena's visit. She thought about telling the girls and Darien what happened last night, but something deep in her heart told her not to, that it will kill them if they found out. She left her communicator home with Rini, but she took her brooch just in case she needed to become Sailor Moon.
Now she had all day to wait; her stomach knotted at the thought. If there was one thing Serena hated most, is waiting!
She avoided the arcade and the mall, just in case she bumped into the girls or Darien. She also avoided the library, due to Ami harping on them about the exams for class.
"But where can I go?" Serena thought to herself.
Thoughts of going to the park were out of the question, so she hopped on the bus with no actual destination, but she ended up getting off at the grocery store.
"Now what?" Serena groaned.
But her groaning didn't stop her feet from entering the store and picking up loads of fresh fruit and junk food. After her little shopping spree, Serena's feet took her to the starlight tower.
Serena didn't mean to come here this early, but it was the only place that crowded her mind. She entered the building and walked up all the stairs until she got to the roof. She sat down and unpacked her food, deciding she'd have a picnic on the roof and wait for Rowena to make her appearance.
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Rei and the girls are sitting in a red booth inside the arcade, waiting for Serena. Today's the day to kidnap Serena and take her to the spa. The girls knew Serena's schedule like the back of their hands, and Serena always got a milkshake at noon on Sunday, but noon had come and gone, and there was no Serena.
Suddenly, the bells chimed over the door, and Rini came bounding in, she saw the girls and her smile grew as she waved to them. Rini rushed to their table, jumping into Ami's arms.
"Morning girls," Rini cried excitedly.
"Hey, Rini!" the girls choired
"Rini, have you seen Serena?" Lita asked as a server came to their table.
Rini ordered a double chocolate milkshake with two cherries and sprinkles. The girls had sweat drops over their heads, confirming that Rini is Serena's daughter, both girls had the same apatite.
"No," Rini said as she gulped her drink, "It's bizarre, she was gone before I woke up."
The girls gave each other a look of concern.
"Did she leave a note?" Ami asked.
Rini shook her head.
"Where could she be?" Mina squeaked, "It's not like Serena to wander off without telling anyone."
"I got a bad feeling, guys," Rei grumbled, her psychic powers have been itching her all day, telling her something is wrong. "We should find Serena."
The girls agreed. Lita paid for Rini shake, and they split up to search for Serena. Rei and Mina are checking the north side of town, Ami to the west and Lita and Rini to the east.
Ami tried her communicator to contact Serena, but it kept beeping.
"Where are you, Serena?" Ami groaned.
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Lita and Rini searched the park and was surprised to see Darien there.
"Hey, Dare! Have you seen Serena?" Lita jogged up to him as Rini jumped into his arms.
Darien shook his head, "No, I thought she was with you girls, aren't you supposed to be at the spa?"
"Serena never showed, and we're worried that something's up," Lita choked out.
"The Dark Moon Clan is defeated; there's no threat, is there?"
Lita's tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth; she didn't know what to say. They've had peace for over a month, maybe they were over-worrying about Serena, but her gut tells her otherwise.
"I don't know, but it's not like Serena to just disappear without telling anyone," Lita bit out.
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The moon hung high as midnight approached, the time was near, and it eased Serena's stomach. She couldn't believe she waited here all day; she even took a nap around supper time. Her food was gone hours ago, and hunger knotted her belly, but she refused to leave the roof of the tower.
She checked her watch as the hands met, and it dinged midnight. The air stilled around her as she waited. Another minute passed by, then another. After five minutes, Serena sighed.
"It must have been a dream…"
But she never got to finish her sentence as a green whirlwind opened up before her, it looked like a miniature tornado, and within seconds, it vomited up a human. The tornado dissipated, leaving a lump of a man lying unconscious in front of her.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Serena screamed.
