Author's note: Thank you SO much for all of your reviews. I realise it's been like two months since I last updated. Shame on me because I've had the remaining chapters planned out in all of this time! I've been really sick so it's been very hard to get this update out. I appreciate your reviews and support so much, so please do let me know what you think of the latest update. I'm excited to hear what you think of it. A lot happens in this chapter! I won't make promises for when I'll get the next (and planned last) chapter out. I have planned it out so I hope I can publish it soon. But know in the meantime that I hope you enjoy this chapter and your reviews are so wonderful while I feel unwell. Love - R
Chapter 34
Serena blinked, hardly daring to believe that Darien was stood in front of her. Venus flickered her eyes between Serena and Darien and giggled at the identical expressions of shock on their faces. She couldn't help herself.
"If neither of you bite, I will," she teased.
Serena looked at her fellow blonde in exasperation and a smile spread across her face in response. She shook her head.
"Well, I know this is all real because you haven't changed, V," she said.
"Nope," she laughed. "Come on. The suspense is killing me." She turned to Darien. "Stop standing there in this stupid fashion. You've wanted to know for weeks where she went. Well, here she is!"
"I'm sorry," he excused himself. "I just… I can't believe you're here. Or that," he nodded at Venus, "you girls are the sailor scouts." He turned back to Serena. "I can't believe that you're who I've been…" He trailed off, hesitating.
"Who you've been dreaming about," Serena finished, clasping her hands in front of her.
"Yeah," Darien breathed, his eyes flickering up and down her gowned form. "You're her."
Serena nodded slowly, pressing her lips together uncertainly.
"You look… different," he observed, struggling with his thoughts. "Serene somehow."
"Some might call her Serenity," Venus smiled.
Darien frowned, flicking his eyes between the two girls who were exchanging knowing looks.
"Did I miss a joke?"
"No," Serena sighed. "That's…" she hesitated, glancing at Venus. "That's my name. Serenity. It's my birth name."
"Oh," he responded, rolling his eyes at himself. "Of course. The guys talked about that."
"I was watching you all in the time I've been here," she said, almost apologetically. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could have told you." She laughed humourlessly. "But you wouldn't have believed me. It sounds insane that I'm the Moon Princess. You'd have thought I was out of my mind."
"Probably," he agreed.
Serena peered at him.
"Even though you're here, you look like you're having a hard time believing it," she stated.
"I am," he answered honestly. "This feels… strange. But at the same time, seeing you right now, it's like a feeling has gone away."
"What feeling?" Serena asked.
"The feeling that I'm lost," Darien confessed, a sadness in his eyes. "I didn't realise how much you filled my life until you left it. There was always something about you that just drove me crazy. You drove me crazy when we met but you drive me crazy now for different reasons. Seeing you here, as her, I just can't deny that the feelings are real. It's not something that I made up in my head, even though, all of this," he explained, waving his hand around him, gesturing to their surroundings, "feels like a fairy tale."
Serena pressed her lips together and looked at Venus, who was carefully watching their exchange.
"I guess it was," Serena replied. "But we bring it alive."
Silence reigned over them for a few moments. Venus said nothing and took the opportunity to discreetly leave them alone.
"We were really together," Darien said faintly, gazing at Serena.
She nodded minutely.
"I guess…" he paused, "I can believe that."
"Really?" Serena asked, her face brightening in surprise.
"Yes," he confirmed. "After the past few weeks, I can't deny that I have feelings for you. And seeing you, as her, I can't deny it. I feel like I should be surprised but I'm not. I've missed you."
"I've been waiting to hear you say that for months," Serena replied, biting her lip. She stepped towards him. "I just want you to remember your life. Remember me. I just want you to remember Serena. Serenity has always been there."
"Maybe she's been in my head this whole time while my mind has been closed to everything that's true, but you've still been a real presence that I could touch," he said, his stormy blue eyes softening.
Darien stepped forwards to meet her in the middle of her room and she followed suit to be near him. They reached up toward the other to take each other's hand, the anticipation palpable. Just being able to touch her would make it real for him. The moments felt like hours. Darien's hand came out to clasp Serena's, but he felt nothing. He looked down and saw a sight he never expected to see. Her hand was going through his own and no matter how much he tried to grasp her fingers, he couldn't. He frowned and looked into her face to see the devastation there. He'd almost forgotten that Venus had vacated the room only moments ago.
"It's not because she's not really here," the Lunarian Queen interrupted. "You just don't believe it in your heart, do you? That all of this is real."
They both turned to Queen Serenity in the doorway, Venus at her side. The sailor guardian of love had her eyes fixated on their hands, her face neutral. Darien looked back at Serena, dropping his hands from their feeble attempt to touch.
"Darien," Serena said, stepping back from him. "Meet my mother. Queen Serenity."
He focused his attentions on the queen and stepped forward, briefly bowing his head to her. He didn't know why he did it, but it felt right. Normal.
"Prince Endymion," Serenity greeted him. "I'm glad to have you join us."
Prince Endymion. A name that haunted him. He knew it was his name, but it felt like a different person. He knew that the queen could sense his resistance to his title, his name, but he was confident it didn't show on his face.
"Your majesty," he nodded. "Can you help us? What's happening?"
"Alrighty then," Jupiter announced, strolling into the sailor soldier's headquarters with Nephrite in tow. "We're here."
Mercury and Zoisite looked up at their entrance and Mercury frowned.
"Where's Mars and Jadeite? And Kunzite for that matter?"
"Well, Raye is still resting. Jack is with her. Killian is watching over Serena while we are all otherwise engaged," Jupiter told her.
"Ah," Mercury responded with a nod. "What if we need Mars?"
"She's okay," she replied. "She told me it looks worse than it feels but I suspect her super healing is kicking in. We can do this."
"Speaking of," Nephrite said, "how does this work? We've never done it before. I mean even as a group, the Shitennou never combined powers like this before."
"It'll be similar to how each of us perform the sailor planet attack," Mercury replied. "Calling on your power source and combining our essence. I suppose it's a little like feeling each other's aura and finding a serenity with our powers."
"Pun intended?"
Mercury looked at Nephrite, unimpressed.
"Anyway, we should probably start now as I don't know how this will work," she pressed.
Jupiter walked up to the control panel and watched the Croatoan, standing perfectly still as if not even the strongest hurricane could move it.
"It's unnerving, isn't it?" Zoisite commented, his eyes following Jupiter's gaze.
"You could say that," she agreed. "It's just scary. We've never come across a monster we can't destroy before. It's so different. So… passive."
"That's the thing though," Mercury shrugged. "You can't destroy the truth and that's what the Croatoan is all about. It's just to right the wrongs of the world."
"And on that note, let's help you," Zoisite urged, noting the beads of sweat on Mercury's brow.
She nodded and gestured for Jupiter and Nephrite to join them. They took hold of each other's hands and she glanced at each of them in turn. She inhaled and raised her face upwards.
"Mercury crystal power!"
A beam of blue light shot from her form and illuminated her in a column of light up to the heavens. Jupiter pressed her lips together and followed her example.
"Jupiter crystal power!"
A green light shone from her tall physique and formed a similar pillar of light. The guys looked at each other, seeing a similar look of uncertainty in the other's face and Nephrite shrugged as if to say, 'what have we got to lose?'
"I call upon the power of Zoisite, the knight of purification and healing!"
He was surprised by the power he felt go through him and the beam of green light that shot up towards the sky, just like the girls. Nephrite raised his eyebrows and followed suit.
"I call upon the power of Nephrite, the knight of intelligence and comfort!"
He inhaled sharply as he felt the tremendous power go through him and felt the energy take the form of a red beam of light, joining the others. He could feel their energy and it was thrilling.
Zoisite gripped Mercury's hands tighter in his grasp and held on, feeling her wavering. He could feel the shake in her energy, the wavering belief that she can continue to hold on. So, he pushed harder, letting his power flow through him and into the waiting hands of the water guardian. He recalled all that Jadeite had told him about the discipline, will and control that was practiced at the Cherry Hill Temple, and how Raye used her skills to hone her sailor guardian abilities. He closed his eyes and focused his mind to focus only on her. He felt her energy. It was like a pebble hitting the surface of a pond and the ripples flowed along the water's surface.
Jupiter and Nephrite felt these ripples in the energy vibrations they were all sharing. They had no idea how much the Croatoan had been draining Mercury's energy, nor how little affect their powers had on the Croatoan. They could feel it fighting against Mercury's hyperspatial sphere shield and it was strong. It was like it was draining energy, little by little, waiting for an opening.
Raye's eyes shot open, and she abruptly sat upright in bed, much to Jackson's shock. He stared at her, dumbfounded at her startled expression. She had drifted off to sleep after they'd shared a conversation and he'd found himself unable to leave her. So, he had stayed and watched over her. He made to open his mouth to ask what was wrong, but she reacted before he had the chance. Her next words made him forget the worry that she was going to yell at him for being there.
"We need to get to headquarters," she said, her violet eyes wide, her face ashen. "Now."
"You can't go anywhere," he immediately objected.
"You can't stop me," she challenged. "If we don't go now, Amy, Jupiter, Zane and Neal will be in danger."
"Did you have a premonition?" he asked, sitting up in his chair straighter.
She swung her legs out from under the covers and nodded.
"The Croatoan is stronger now," she said. "With each truth collected, its strength grows. And the number of victims has been growing in the city, even before we knew what was going on. Mercury's power won't be able to hold it much longer."
"But isn't that why Lita and Neal went over there? To lend their powers to help?"
"It won't be enough," Raye stressed.
She got to her feet and felt herself falling but it wasn't the floor that her face met. It was Jackson's chest, his arms having caught her before she could make it there.
"Raye, you barely have the energy to stand," he stated the obvious.
Ignoring the butterflies in her stomach at being in his arms, she righted herself, trying her best to focus on anything else but Jackson's arms, his eyes, his body, the dull ache in her bones, the weakness she was feeling… physically and emotionally. Damn him.
"I will if you allow me access to your power source," she murmured.
Jackson frowned, not following.
"Do you have your jadeite stone on you?" she asked.
"Always," he answered, pulling it out of his pocket, revealing the blue mineral. "Why?"
"There's a reason Mercury is the smart one," she mused. "Because of the bond we all share, it is possible for us to share energy like the sailor soldiers can. If you allow me to tap into your power source, it will revitalise my energy. If you're okay with…"
"Take it," he interrupted. "It's yours."
Raye looked up at him from within the protective cage of his arms and she didn't need to be psychic to know that he would do anything for her. She put her hand over his hand offering his stone and she gave him an appreciative smile. She felt stronger already.
"I am not the answer to your problems," Serenity replied to Darien's plea. "It is not merely a question of using our collective powers to blast the evils of the world away because it is not an evil that you are fighting. It is the disruption in the intended nature and destiny of the universe that needs to be preserved. The guardians of the solar system maintain and protect that grand design and the Earth is the missing piece to preserving it due to the tremendous influence of the Silver Crystal."
All eyes turned to Serena and she pressed her lips together with a small shrug.
"And I… I'm that missing piece?" Darien hedged.
"You're the guardian of the blue planet," Serenity nodded. "The inner planet guardians have a power that come from their own legacy, but they can't live up to yours as well. It needs you."
"I don't know how to be that person," he admitted.
"You just need to remember."
"How?"
Venus looked between Serenity and Darien and pursed her lips, stepping forward.
"The visions aren't enough," she said. "How about a trigger?"
"What about me?" Serena asked.
Daren looked at her curiously.
"Hearing the truth with your ears is different than feeling it in your heart," Venus smiled kindly.
"What other connection to his memory could be strong enough then?"
"That's it!" Venus exclaimed, reaching forward and grabbing Darien by the wrist. "Follow me!"
Serenity looked at her daughter with a small smile teasing at the corners of her lips and nodded for them to follow the goddess of love. They made their way out of the Moon Castle and into the royal gardens. Serena frowned, dumbfounded. She peered around them, unsure where Venus was going with this.
"Alright," Venus sang. "Maybe this will help."
She made a grand gesture with her hands that reminded Serena horribly of the jazz dance classes that Mina once dragged her to. Her eyes followed Venus' hands and she raised her eyebrows at the rose garden in front of them.
"Mina, where are you going with this?" she asked warily.
"Well, this was kind of his signature, right?" Venus said proudly.
"How will this help?" Darien wondered.
Serena, Darien and Venus turned to look at Serenity who merely gave them a nod.
"Passion, true love, romance, desire," she said. "The meaning of the red rose. It sounds like Prince Endymion, doesn't it? Everything that makes him the perfect other half of Princess Serenity and the protector of the Earth. It can't hurt to be reminded of that."
She gestured to Darien and hesitantly, he stepped forward toward the roses and glanced at Serena before taking a thorned rose from the bush. The three women watched Darien hopefully as Darien held it in his hand, staring into the depths of the red, red rose. He felt the surge of power from deep within his chest, a warmth that felt familiar, similar to how he felt around Serena, but it was more familial to him. Serena's blue eyes shot to his face and his gaze lifted from the rose to her face. He knew she'd felt that power awaken in him, but she knew that his memories continued to elude him.
Sailor Mars and Jadeite burst into the headquarters to see Mercury, Jupiter, Zoisite and Nephrite standing in a circle, hands intertwined, the energy of their powers emanating from them in beams of their signature colours. Mars immediately turned in the direction of the Croatoan where Mercury had kept it contained and her keen senses saw the problem that was invisible to everyone else.
"Guys," Jadeite said urgently, quickly stepping up to them. "Guys?"
Jupiter opened her eyes and looked at him inquisitively. Her eyes glancing either side of her at Zoisite and Nephrite who had their eyes closed in concentration.
"It's not enough!" Mars exclaimed, prompting Mercury's eyes to open in shock.
At that moment, Mars felt something wrap around her ankle and she looked down, her eyes wide as a Croatoan tentacle yanked her feet from under her, dragging her towards it where she could see a hole had been punctured in Mercury's hyperspatial sphere. The beams of light died, and all five soldiers turned their attentions in horror at Mars being pulled towards the Croatoan.
"Raye!" Jadeite yelled.
He looked around the headquarters quickly and spotted four amethyst crystals. He raised his hands and brought them to him. He turned, and with the power of his mind, sent the crystals to encircle the Croatoan in a protective cage. He watched the energy surround it, cutting off its connection with Mars. Mars pulled her legs back and scurried to get up, her eyes not leaving the protective cage.
"What was that?" Nephrite asked.
"It's not enough anymore," Mars told him. "The Earth needs Darien, now."
"What do you…" Zoisite started to ask before an amethyst crystal narrowly missed his head.
They all turned back to the Croatoan to find it advancing towards them. Without hesitation, Mercury twirled round on the spot, shouting, "shine snow illusion!" A powerful, freezing storm filled the headquarters and she blasted the Croatoan with flurries of snow, immediately slowing it down. She held her hands up in front of her face, wrists crossed and cried, "Mercury ice bubbles freeze!"
She frowned, caught short when she realised that the attack barely phased the Croatoan at all. A few of its tentacles had frozen into long icicles but it remained unbothered. It merely brought its hand towards its frozen tentacles and snapped the shards of ice off, turning to then throw the deadly weapons at each of them. Mercury dived out of the way, Nephrite pulled Jupiter with him as he leaped over the control panel and Zoisite ducked. Jadeite teleported, leaving thin air in his wake, appearing a split second later to watch the ice shard slice through the space that he once occupied. Mars, however, shot her hand out, the mark of Mars glowing in her palm, flames coming to life spreading up her arm until the Mars Arrow materialised against her flattened hand pointing towards the stationary Croatoan.
"Mars flame sniper!" she cried, releasing the fiery arrow which hit the Croatoan in the chest.
She watched in shock as it looked down and pulled the flaming arrow out of its chest cavity, bringing its fingers into a fist, the flames dying into flickering embers in the air. Zoisite shot his hands in front of him, launching powerful green energy blasts but it went right through the Croatoan as if it were made of thin air, though Mars knew it held a physical form just as any of them does. Jupiter brought her hands together, as the antenna in her tiara collected the electricity that sizzled in the air, she pulled her hands apart, a disc of white lightning appearing in her grasp.
"Sparkling wide pressure!" she yelled, hurling the ball of electricity at the Croatoan.
It raised its hands in response, catching the disc of electric energy and sent it back to her with such force that no one was prepared. Jupiter was flung across the length of the headquarters large room and crashed against the powerful shield that made it undetectable to outsiders. She fell to the floor with a thud, and she didn't move again.
"Lita!" Nephrite cried out, immediately turning back to the Croatoan as Mercury shot to Jupiter's side. He crossed his arms across each other in front of his chest, forming multiple balls of light to form around him which then orbited in circles like a planetary rotation. The energy built up in the starlight attack, firing them like missiles at the Croatoan. He watched as the Croatoan used its tentacles to hit back each energy ball which rebounded around the room. "Seriously?" he exclaimed in frustration, turning back to Mercury to see her pale face as she sat at Jupiter's side.
"Nephrite, get down!" Mars screamed, right as his rebounded attack hit him in the side, throwing him some length across the room. "No!" She summoned a fire with her gloved hands and surrounded herself with it, then she held out her other hand to absorb it and threw the fire from her palm. "Mars snake fire!" she cried, the fire shooting at the Croatoan taking the form of a snake. It opened its large mouth, the fangs long and piercing, and it bit down on the Croatoan's hand, but it was unable to do any damage.
The Croatoan reached over with its free hand and took the fiery snake form in it hand and threw it on the ground, forming four snakes that slithered, hissed and angrily spat at the remaining four soldiers.
"Damn," Mars snarled, summoning an ofuda in between her fingers. "Akuryo taisan," she murmured, throwing it onto the fiery snake that was turned against her. She watched in satisfaction when that immobilised it and she turned to the others to find Mercury and Zoisite freezing the snakes coming towards them, but Jadeite was nowhere to be found. "Jadeite?" she called.
Jadeite materialised behind the Croatoan, but he wasn't counting on the Croatoan's foresight. It turned around in sudden movement and took hold of Jadeite round the throat. Mars watched helplessly as Jadeite just as suddenly went motionless and he fell to the floor. It turned back to face Mars as screams echoed round headquarters from Mercury and Zoisite. She turned to see the shards of ice sticking upwards from under where their ribcage is and through to their hearts. Mercury said something to Mars but there was no voice before she fell to the floor. Mars turned back to the Croatoan, shaking her head in horror as the Croatoan raised its hand and the zoisite, jadeite and nephrite stones flew into its grasp. Then it advanced on her.
She brought her hands together with her two index fingers pointing upwards. A fireball formed at the tips of her index fingers as she concentrated. "Fire soul!" she exclaimed, the fire ball shooting forward, engulfing it as it strode towards her with careful steps.
"Mars!" Kunzite's voice alerted her from the entrance of headquarters.
It was enough to distract her as the Croatoan walked through the fire and caught her in its tentacles, sucking the energy from her. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was blades of dark energy slicing the tentacles but the Croatoan had no need to hold her anymore. Its job was done.
It wasn't long until the Croatoan had the fourth and final Shitennou stone.
Serena sat alone in the royal gardens, her eyes transfixed on the blue planet. She mused to herself words that Sailor Mars had said to herself on numerous occasions: everything happens for a reason. Perhaps the reason Darien couldn't recall his memories was because he wasn't meant to. She wasn't sure if it was sadness that pulled her shoulders down and her heart even lower or if it was some other unnamed emotion. She twirled the red rose between her fingers. The memories of her, the memories of who he was and is, they weren't enough to trigger the memory in his heart and awaken him as a solar system guardian. It was so frustrating.
Sailor Moon.
It was weird. She was hearing voices now. That sounded like Sailor Jupiter's voice.
She sighed. She longed for what passed as normal for her. For tragedy and heartbreak to take a backseat for once, to allow her to live her life: to go to school, maybe have a detention or two, fail a few classes, have study buddies with the girls, go shopping, play video games.
Sailor Moon.
She raised her head.
"Amy?" she whispered.
It was strange that she could feel one thing and a million things all at once. Just as she was her own person, she felt connected to billions of other people and she felt it all. There was a great emptiness somewhere and she couldn't understand where it came from. It was like someone important was missing from the world.
Sailor Moon.
"Raye?" she wondered aloud.
"No, it's me," Venus interrupted her, looking harried. "Serena, something happened."
"The girls," Serena murmured, gazing at the Earth. "They're gone, aren't they?"
The realisation hit her hard and there was no denying it. She didn't just know it in that moment, she felt it. She was connected to her sailor guardians in ways that she wasn't with everyone else who lived and breathed on the blue planet.
"Yes," Venus said forlornly. "But that's not all."
A dark shadow appeared before them before a sliver of light cut down the middle to open a dimensional door, revealing a hard black boot to step onto the grounds of the moon. Venus didn't hesitate. She turned to Serena, bringing her arms around her waist and leaped out of the immediate vicinity as the Croatoan now stood before them.
"Attack!" Luna's voice yelled. "We're under attack!"
Artemis ran behind her with Darien in tow. Venus looked at them and held her hand up.
"All of you, stay back!" she urged. "Venus!" she cried, a dark coloured heart forming in her hand, spinning it rapidly, directing it straight at the Croatoan with the heart forming vibration-like patterns as it propelled forward. "Rolling heart vibration!"
The Croatoan swiped the attack away with its hand and Venus watched amazed as it rebounded off a nearby fountain, spraying water in every which way direction.
"Venus!" she cried, winking to form a bright yellow heart which blew round her to land in her outstretched hand to transform into the holy moon sword. She moved it around her body until it extended to transform into multiple Venus chains. "Wink chain sword!" The chains wrapped around the Croatoan in a tight hold, and she flicked her wrist to release the sword from her grasp which flew into the torso of the Croatoan. Venus turned to Serena, who was frowning at the spectacle in front of them. "Serena, now!"
Serena glanced at Luna who nodded in encouragement. She brought her hands up into the lotus mudra as she'd practiced and concentrated on the flow of energy that was embedded in every fibre of her being. She recalled how her mother acted on instinct and she concentrated to channel that same instinct. She felt the warmth in her palms and blasted moonlight at the Croatoan who at first stood in front of her, staring at her with unseeing eyes, stationary. Then it was thrown across the gardens. Serena dropped her hands and looked at Darien who had an unreadable expression on his face. But that all changed.
"Ah!" Venus groaned. She looked down at herself, seeing the red spread from the sword in her middle and she looked over her shoulder to see the Croatoan staring back at her. "Oh no."
She fell to the floor with her last breath. Serena's mouth fell open in horror, but no tears fell. Yet. She held her hand out and summoned the moon stick. She gripped it hard in her hands.
"Moon crystal power!" she shouted.
She watched as the light hit the Croatoan and she could feel her light energy hitting its energy, but it wasn't dark energy and that surprised her.
Remember, the Croatoan exists only to restore balance to the world. It is neither good, nor evil. No magic can harm it as it has a job to do. It won't stop until it achieves its goal.
Serenity's words rang in her ears but nevertheless, she pressed on. Good or evil, her friends were gone, and she didn't know what to do with that. It may have a job to do but so did she. The Croatoan stepped out of the line of the moonlight and swiftly moved around her, almost ghostlike.
"Hey!" she hissed. "I'm not done with you yet!"
It turned back to her, its hollow eyes boring into her. It raised its hand, and she was shocked to see moonlight shooting from its palm, knocking her off her feet. It absorbed everything she'd been throwing at it. She watched helplessly as it advanced on Darien and the lunar cats hissed angrily, their fur standing on end, making them appear twice their normal size.
"Darien, you should go!" Luna suggested.
"No, I can't," Darien disagreed.
With the final syllable of his words, a beam of golden light erupted from his body and shot into the heavens. Serena felt the power go through him and she felt every pain, every loss, every heartache of the world, including her own. She couldn't hold it in any longer. Thanks to the power of the Earth, she felt it all. She screamed, releasing the full potential of her power as the Moon Princess, the moonlight shooting out from her form, covering the immediate area and lighting up the planets. She could feel Darien engulfed in the blinding light and she allowed herself to let it all go.