Serena's Decision
The
following day, five females and two cats worriedly awaited the arrival of their
leader. Five minutes later, Serena
turned up the walk and saw her friends waiting for her. She took a deep breath and calmly approached
her fellow scouts.
"Hi
guys," she said with a forced smile on her face.
"Hi
Serena," they replied almost in unison.
"I'm
sure that you're all wondering why I ask you here today. I made an important decision a few days ago,
and I just wanted to tell each of you in person. I owe you guys that and more," Serena said with a proud smile.
"What
is it?" Rei almost choked out. Serena
approached the black-haired young woman, and Rei's face contorted
nervously. Relief came over her face
when she saw her meatball-headed friend give her a warm smile.
"Rei,
I need you to do me a favor," she stated.
"Um,
sure, what is it?" the keeper of Mars asked. Serena reached into her blouse and pulled out a familiar broche.
"Here…"
she answered and placed the locket into her friend's palm. Rei's jaw dropped open, and everyone else
gazed at Serena in shock. "…I want you
to take care of this, Rei, I want someone that I trust to have this."
"Serena…I…I…"
Rei gasped not knowing what to say. She
looked down at the locket in her hand; it was the same locket that contained
the Moon Crystal.
Serena
left a shocked Rei and went to her daughter.
"Reine,"
she said happily and knelt down next to her. Her daughter looked at her with tear-filled eyes.
"Serena,
you told me that Sailor Moon wasn't leaving!" the pink-haired girl
shouted. Her mother chuckled softly and
drew the little girl into her arms.
"Shh,
my little one, I promised you that there would still be a Sailor Moon, and that
Sailor Moon is you," Serena said firmly.
"Me?"
the little girl gasped just to make sure that she wasn't hearing things.
"Yes,
Reine, you are now Sailor Moon. You're
a little young, but you've logged just as many 'field hours' as the rest of us
so you're not ignorant." Serena lifted
her head and gazed at the other scouts. "Listen to these girls, Reine, each of them provides an important part
to the Sailor Scouts."
She
turned Reine towards Amy.
"Mercury
teaches you that you have to examine a situation and not be so 'gung-ho'!"
Serena quipped.
"Serena…"
Amy said as tears streamed down her cheeks. Then, Serena turned Reine towards Lita.
"Jupiter
will teach you that you can't always fly solo; you need to depend on your
friends as well," the blonde said with a smile.
"Oh
Serena…" Lita cried as her eyes watered over.
Next
came Mina…
"Venus
will teach that no matter how bad something appears, that dark cloud will
always have a silver lining," Serena stated as her own eyes began filling with
tears.
"Serena…"
Mina whimpered softly.
Finally,
it was Rei's turn…
"Reine,
Mars will probably be your best teacher; she will teach how to have an
unbreakable spirit," Serena finished. Rei's bottom lip quivered as she saw pure admiration and gratefulness
shining in her former teammate's eyes.
"Why
are you doing this?" the black beauty shouted. Serena touched her friend's shoulder.
"Because
my reason for being Sailor Moon no longer exists, therefore, my duties as
keeper of the moon crystal are finished." Serena took one final look at each of
her closest friends. "Guys, please help Reine through the beginning stages,
she's still young and needs lots of guidance." Luna came up and rubbed Serena's leg.
"Serena,
it won't be the same without you here," the cat cried as tears dripped from her
small eyes. The blonde sat down and
hugged her guardian.
Each
of the scouts came around her and gave Serena a big group hug. You could hear the crying and sniffling from
each person- both cat and human. Their
embrace lasted for no less than five minutes.
Serena
stepped back from the group and patted her daughter on her head.
"Well,
kiddo, you're the leader now. Remember,
let your heart guide your actions, and you will always find your way," she said
warmly. Reine hugged her mother's waist
and cried into her blouse. Serena was
about to comfort the little girl, when a familiar black motorcycle pulled up in
front of the temple.
"Hey
everyone, sorry I'm late," Darien called as he ran up the walk. Serena closed her eyes and tried to maintain
her composure; she had to be strong for Reine's sake as well as her own.
As
Darien approached the group, he noticed that everyone's eyes were bloodshot red
from crying, and Reine was hugging Serena like she was the little girl's
lifeline.
"Hey,
is something wrong?" Darien asked. Lita
wanted to jump up and pound him, but Serena's eyes stopped her from
moving. The longhaired blonde shot her
friend a look that said 'Let me handle him.'
When
Darien didn't get an answer, he approached Serena and put his hand on her
shoulder.
"Serena,
what is it? Did something happen?" he
asked with a confused expression. Now,
all four of the girls wanted to pound Darien's hide! Serena unhooked her arms from around Reine and ushered her over
to Amy and Lita. She took Darien's hand
in hers and forcibly removed from her arm.
"If
you would, please don't touch me," Serena said with her teeth gritted. All of the scouts watched Serena like a
hawk. Her fists were clenched so
tightly that her knuckles were turning white! Her body was starting to quiver, but she wasn't trying to stop from
crying. Instead, she was trying to
control her growing anger for the young man behind her; moreover, his complete
lack of remorse over what he'd done to her.
Darien
felt Serena tense and naturally thought that she felt bad about something; her
statement hadn't made any sense to him. Not heeding her words, he moved closer and wrapped his arms around her.
"Serena,
what is it?" he asked tenderly and kissed her hair. The final thread holding back Serena's growing anger snapped
violently.
She
drew her arm forward and with a force greater than she'd ever used in battle,
Serena drove her elbow straight back into Darien's stomach. The young man gagged and drew back holding
his abdomen in pain, gazing at his princess in utter shock.
The
girls sat there frozen with shock and apprehension. If Serena had ever hit a girl with that much force, she would've
broken the girl's ribs. Serena turned
around, and her eyes opened slowly.
"Darien,
I asked you not to touch me; since you didn't listen to me, I had no choice but
to make you release me," she stated flatly.
Darien
staggered up off the ground holding his stomach, which was throbbing in
pain. He'd never seen Serena hit
someone before, much less that strongly.
"Honey,
what did I do?" he asked sadly. His
eyes burned with regret over whatever it was his love was so angry about. He almost wanted to run under the fiery gaze
of her deadly, blue eyes.
Serena
wasn't falling for Darien's 'sorry face'. She knew his tactics too well and didn't buy it for one second. She raised her right hand and slapped Darien
across the face.
"Ouch!"
he gasped and lifted his hand to the painful red welt on his left cheek.
"Darien,
don't play the sorry little boy with me; it doesn't work! You made your choice, and now, you're going
to face the consequences!" Serena hissed. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out something that Darien
knew very well.
Serena
held up their Star Locket; the symbol that represented their love throughout
the eons of time. The young woman
dropped the token on the ground and raised her foot.
"Serena
don't!" the scouts shouted in protest. This was going too far, even if Darien deserved it.
"Serena,
don't do it please," Rei pleaded with her. The blonde conceded and retrieved the locket.
Darien
felt his heart start beating again when Serena had stopped her heinous
action. His former lover turned away
from him and approached their daughter.
"Reine,
I want you to keep this. I want you to
remember your parents and how happy they make you every time you see this
okay." Serena turned and scowled at her
ex-boyfriend. "Besides, its usefulness
to me is gone." It felt like a knife
had stabbed Darien in the heart. Serena
stood up and gazed at her friends.
"I'll
talk to you guys tomorrow, okay," she said trying to tone down her temper. They all merely nodded in agreement. The young woman turned and walked past
Darien.
Trying
one last time to find out what he'd done to her, Darien staggered to his feet
and grabbed Serena by the arm.
"Baby,
please, what's gotten into you?" he gasped. Serena snapped around, and Darien drew back at the pure rage seething in
her blue orbs.
"What's
gotten into me, Darien? It's more like
who you've gotten into to!" Without
warning, Serena booted him in the groin with a kick a World Cup soccer team
would have been jealous of. Darien
collapsed to the pavement, writhing in pain while Serena merely glared at him.
"Sorry,
Darien, but I guess that means that your red-headed bitch won't be riding you
anytime soon; that's too bad!" she sneered. "One last time, Darien, don't ever touch me or come near me or Reine
again! If you do, I swear, I'll have
you arrested for stalking!" Serena hissed and stalked away leaving her former
prince groaning in pain, as five tear-eyed sailors watched on in silent agony.
From
within her dark realm, the queen laughed sadistically as she watched the drama
unfold.
"My
queen, your plan worked perfectly!" one of her minions snickered. The queen's lips quirked into an evil grin.
"Yes,
everything is going exactly as I had hoped!" she stated.
"Shall
I begin the next phase, my queen?" the shadow asked. The queen raised her hands around her viewing globe, and the
image narrowed onto a young, pink-haired girl who was clutching a star locket
against her chest.
"Yes,
begin the next stage in the destruction of Sailor Moon," she cackled as the
image faded away into nothingness.
To
be continued…
Author's
Notes: Did this chapter surprise you a
little bit? Let me know what you
thought; please review!