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Chapter 51- Moving Forward
Beryl was furious. She watched her servants tremble in fear of her, and it delighted her. Metalia needed more energy, and yet Beryl desperately wanted to be Queen, not of D-point, but of all of Earth. She had already informed Diamond that his brother was dead. Weakling. Her plans kept falling apart, and she needed a new general, again.
She stormed through the halls and watched people skitter out of the way. She walked into the room that housed Metalia and bowed low. It rankled that she was forced to bend a knee to anyone. She reminded herself it was only until she was able to harness Metalia's power for herself. "I have good news. Diamond is going to send Rubeus to take Sapphire's place. He will be here soon. Our alliance still stands."
Metalia chuckled, "As long as they don't know we plan to double cross them, then this is good news."
Beryl held in her anger and tried to force a smile, "I didn't let on that we plan to double cross them. He still believes he has the upper hand. Wiseman still pulls his strings."
"Good. Keep it that way." Metalia demanded. "Now, go prepare for Rubeus. Make sure he doesn't discover our true plans for the Black Moon Clan."
Beryl bowed before her. Once she was out the door, she cracked her first smile in weeks. The Black Moon Clan wasn't all she planned on betraying. Now she just had to start to put the rest of her plan in motion.
Right before lunch, Darien's teacher called out to him and asked him to stay for a minute to talk about something. Darien was puzzled and hung back after all of his classmates left. He was puzzled over what the teacher needed from him. Nothing was due and he was the perfect student.
His teacher seemed nervous, which added to his confusion. He ran his fingers through his hair in a nervous gesture and then said to Darien, "Okay, so as your teacher, this is not really my place, exactly. I just wanted to say that I am glad you have Serena. I was worried about you. Don't get me wrong. Your grades were and are perfect. I just wondered if your perfect career path was going to actually make you happy. I am aware of what happened in your childhood. Well…" he sighed. "I just wanted to say that I am relieved that you have her. You are young to get married, but I don't think either of you made the wrong decision."
Darien relaxed as soon as he realized that his teacher was praising Serena. He replied, "She is amazing. You don't even fully know the extent of how incredible she is. You are right about me too. I would have been lonely, and all of my success would have felt empty. Thank you for worrying about me. I didn't have people who worried about me as I grew up. It matters."
His teacher smiled and said, "We aren't supposed to have favorite students, but of course we do. I always looked forward to watching what you made of yourself as a doctor. But, Serena has always been a favorite of mine. I am glad you value her the way you do."
Darien barked out laughing, "That's funny. She didn't do her homework when she was in your class."
"Yes, but you can't deny her kindness. As a teacher, I know about the homelife of my students. Anytime I knew I had a student that was going through something hard at home, I sat them by Serena. She would instantly notice them and invite them into her group in class. It was a relief to watch them smile. It's hard knowing what some of my students go home to."
Darien shook his head, "All the while, she was hiding what she was going home to."
His teacher looked horrified, "What are you talking about?"
"Originally, she moved in with Mina, and I had her brother move in with me. Their mother was emotionally abusive."
His teacher deflated, "I wish I had known."
"She hid it from everyone, including her friends. Don't worry. I have guardianship of her brother. They won't ever go back to that again. I won't let them." Darien stated.
"Well, that just makes her even more my favorite. I will let you head to lunch. I just wanted to say that I was glad that you both married."
Darien nodded at him, "Thank you. I appreciate that." He then headed to join Serena for lunch.
Darien arrived at lunch still laughing from his conversation with his teacher.
Kunzite noticed and asked, "What's so funny to you? Most people aren't laughing after a teacher asks to talk to them."
"It turned out that he wanted to talk about his favorite student... Serena." He chuckled, "There I was, thinking he was talking about me, and I find out he's talking about my wife." Darien laughed.
Mina shrugged, "That's hardly surprising. She's everyone's favorite student."
Serena nodded, "Yea, it has kept me out of detention in high school. I used to get it all the time in middle school."
"I remember that," Darien said. "I always wondered why you didn't just wake up earlier."
Serena rolled her eyes and said, "Because, I like to sleep. Duh."
"Is it strange that your argument is actually making sense to me now?" he asked her.
She leaned on his shoulder and said, "Yes, it really is."
That night, when it was dark, Darien and Serena stood out on their private balcony. She had already transformed into Eternal Sailor Moon inside their room to not draw attention to her transformation.
She flapped her wings and looked nervous, "What if I fall?"
Darien rolled his eyes, "I'll catch you, of course."
She nodded and took flight. She soared out over the city, high in the sky, using the New Moon to help disguise her. When she landed, she was wide eyed, "It was so beautiful from up there!"
Darien pulled her into his arms, "You are magnificent." He began kissing down her neck.
She chuckled and said, "You can't resist me in this transformation, can you?"
He shook his head, "Hell, no."
This time she de-transformed before they fell into bed together in their temporary bed.
Tuesday, Beryl was in a better mood. Rubeus was almost there, and her plan to gain all of Metalia's power was on schedule. She would be Queen of Earth. She only needed to locate the reincarnation of Endymion to get everything she wanted.
As much as she hated Molly, she decided that her personal vendetta could wait. Sapphire's death had sharpened her focus. She needed to stay on task to achieve her goals. Molly could always be killed later. In fact, she could get the pleasure of killing her herself. She liked that idea.
Beryl's next step in her plan was to syphon off some of the energy collected for Metalia and bestow it on herself. She needed more power to stay one step ahead of such other powerful beings. She just had to be careful not to get caught.
Maintaining her alliance with Diamond went a long way towards her plan. She was relieved when he didn't seem upset over his brother's death. He didn't even seem to mind that she couldn't produce his body. Her word had been enough.
Sapphire was going stir crazy in the penthouse. Rui was at school along with everyone else. He finally decided to leave and go shopping. Serena had shown him how, and Darien had handed him money. He assured him that he was glad to do it since the information he gave them would help keep Serena safe. He also had helped Serena achieve a new transformation and more power.
Once he left the building, he headed towards the grocery store. He decided he would try and make something for Rui for dinner. She had planned on coming over that evening. He wanted to surprise her. He still felt like he wasn't able to convey to her now much she meant to him.
He gathered the ingredients at the store, paid for them, and went back to the penthouse. The doorman greeted him. It amused him that the man had no idea that he was, in fact, an alien. He chuckled.
The look on Rui's face when she saw that he had cooked for her made everything worth it. She immediately leaned in and kissed him. It was a very good night for Sapphire.
Wednesday was an exciting day for Beryl. Rubeus arrived and immediately bowed to her. She was glad he was submitting to her right away. One more thing that was going right for her.
She immediately got him up to date on what was going on, and she informed him about the group that killed Diamond's brother. She also let him know that his top priority was the Legendary Silver Crystal. If he happened to kill Molly in the process, that was just a bonus.
He smiled, bowed, once he was dismissed, and left the room. He had Diamond's orders to discover if Sapphire was really dead. He was told that if he wasn't, to ensure that he finished the job. Diamond had wanted him dead, and now he had the perfect cover to make sure it was true, if Beryl was wrong.
Now Rubeus had to ensure he was seen following the orders from both Beryl and Diamond. That was quite a tall task, but it was the only way he could assure he stayed alive. Luckily for him, he was good at surviving.
Serena was laughing and dancing around their room, and Darien was smiling at her. He loved how full of life she always was. The music changed into something slower, and he stood up and stepped close to her. "May I have this dance?" He pulled her close and danced with her. She beamed up at him. He loved how he could make her smile.
Sammy was hanging out in Ryan's room. They had just finished studying and were about to play a video game. Ryan asked, "So, your brother-in-law is now your guardian?"
"Yea, it's kinda awesome. He still watches me like a hawk, but it's because he cares."
"And, you get to live in that penthouse." Ryan pointed out. "Hey, so have you heard of the Sailor Scouts?"
Sammy's hands grew clammy, "Yea, I have. Why?"
Ryan rolled his eyes, "Because they're hot! Duh. Which one is your favorite?"
Sammy knew this was heading in a bad direction for him. What could he possibly say? He absolutely couldn't say his sister. And, if he said any of the other girls, the guys would kick his ass. He panicked, and said, "Sailor Mercury." He always thought Zoisite was the calmest and the most easy going of them all. He hoped he was right, if he ever found out.
"I think Sailor Moon is so sexy!" Ryan announced. "I don't get how she isn't your favorite."
Sammy turned red. He just knew this was going to be bad. Then he had a thought, "Well, she's obviously with Tuxedo Mask, so good luck with that."
Ryan sighed, "Yea, but he's kind of a sissy. He just throws roses and moves her out of the way of attacks. I could do that."
Sammy almost couldn't breath. He was laughing so hard tears started to come to his eyes. "I would love to see you say that to his face! Plus, she seems to think he has a lot to offer. I heard she can't keep her eyes off of him."
Ryan shrugged, "It's not like I will really ever get to meet them. It is fun to fantasize about her though."
Sammy was instantly sick to his stomach.
