Blueeyeddevil06, thank you for being my beta!

Amy stared at the computer screen as she opened up document after document written by Takashi/Elis. She could tell his tone changed as he was infected with dark energy. It went from overconfident and gloating to anger and domination. It gave her the chills to read his entries toward the end before he was healed.

It was almost like he was writing a memoir so that he could tell people how he was brilliant and came to power. She gagged over his description of killing Beryl. That was too much information.

She smiled and blushed when she heard Zoisite on the phone with Darien. He was saying, "My girl is brilliant! She figured it out. She has the files all decrypted."

She knew he was selling himself short. Really, it was a team effort. She also knew her being brainy and doing things like that turned him on. That was some of their sex games that she didn't tell them about. Once the files were sent over to Darien, the real fun would begin. She'd pop on some fake glasses, and he'd tell her how smart she was. She knew what he really wanted was for her to explain how the files were decrypted as he stripped her naked, the glasses stayed on though. Then she'd use her smart mouth to drive him wild while she was on her knees in front of him. He got so hard and hot when she used her brain. The night would be full of sex and pleasure. She was excited.

She sent the last file to Darien. The others could do the work from there.

She pulled out a pair of glasses from the drawer and gave him a sultry look. "So, do you want me to explain to you how it's done?"

"Fuck, yes!"

Darien sent a group text minus Amy and Zoisite. He didn't know what their evening plans were, but they'd been working on the files for days and they deserved a break. The text alerted them all to come over to piece together what Takashi had left for them. He pulled the file Amy marked to warn him about. He groaned out and set it aside. Raye would not be made aware of that one.

Lita and Nephrite were the first ones there. While Lita sat down, Nephrite walked to the other side of the room. Serena asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Why did you ask Raye to come?" He asked.

"Nephrite, you jackass. I told you I was just wondering, and it wasn't a big deal!"

"I'm over here because I knew she would want to hit me for mentioning her worry."

Serena smiled, "You did the right thing." In a playful voice, she said, "Lita, I order you not to hit him. Well, for now."

She then sat by her friend, took her hand, and said, "This is the first time in Takashi's life he's done something that would help her in her goals. We all want to stop Metalia. I believe she needs to be part of this." She then looked over at Nephrite and added, "I checked with Jadeite just like I would have with you if Lita were in this position."

"That's why I asked," he replied. "She never wants to question you, but I want her to see that it's safe to do just that. That and I believed you had a good reason. We just really didn't understand what it was until now."

Darien cleared his throat and added, "Plus, you know her sense of loyalty. If we didn't include her, she'd have felt sidelined. It might be hard now, but she needs to be a part of us all. Serena mentioned that she didn't have friends for eighteen years."

Lita cast her eyes to the floor, "That's hard to fathom. I remember how awful it was before I met Serena. I hate it for her that she had to wait so long."

Serena blushed. "She has all of us, and I think my friends are amazing! And the hard times just make us appreciate the good ones even more. Look at when Darien and I got together. I started the conversation by slapping him."

"And then I got you in my bed," he said, giving her a heated look. "It was so worth getting hit."

"Well, you were an ass."

"I really was."

"Lucky for you, I'm so forgiving," she said, teasing.

He got a very serious look on his face and said, "I will spend the rest of my life being grateful for that."

Once everyone left, Darien pulled Serena into his arms, held her tight, and kissed the top of her head. "Together," he vowed. "We do this together. I understand why you want to try to heal her. I believe I already told you I know you rescued orphans when I found Luna. As vile as Metalia is, I can't fathom being alone for that long."

She looked up at him and placed her hand on his face. She then concentrated on the Silver Crystal inside of her, she shimmered, and she appeared as Serenity. "I would never risk our future, my love. We spent too much time trying to get back to each other."

"When I asked you to move in with me so fast, I had no idea of our past. All I knew was I couldn't live without you. When you were near me, it was the first time in my life I didn't feel alone. I'm glad I didn't know the full scope of us then. It was my current self that chose you fully."

Serena teared up, and she shimmered and went back to looking like herself. "Darien, when you talk about your love for me, it overwhelms me. I'm terrified I can't be everything you need me to be."

"I don't need you to be anything other than what you already are. You aren't on a pedestal for me. I only want you to be you. The woman who loves me."

"Gosh, you're easy to love."

"My history says that's not true."

"Your present and your future say you are." She kissed his chin.

"I know you were mad that I jumped in front of you and almost died, but I can't live without you."

"History says the same thing about me. Together or not at all."

"Shit. You're going to try to heal her."

"Only if you agree."

"She'd be a fraction of herself."

"She'd live and not be lonely."

He pressed his forehead to hers. "Together."

"Together."