Back
at the temple, Darien staggered to his feet and stared at the other scouts.
"Could
someone…could someone please tell me what's going on?" he stuttered while
trying to stand up straight.
The
sailors looked at each other, and Rei decided to speak for them.
"Darien,
in a nutshell, Serena caught you cheating on her, and she dumped you," the
keeper of mars said flatly. Darien felt
the blood drain from his face.
"Cheating
on her! What are you talking
about? I'd never cheat on Serena; she
knows that!" he gasped.
"Well,
she told us that she found you and another woman 'getting it on' last Friday
night at your apartment. Serena let
herself in and found you and your mistress screwing in your bedroom," Rei
finished with a hint of disgust in her voice.
"You've
got to be joking! The only person I saw
last Friday night was Serena!" Darien nearly shouted. His eyes held pure despair and misery. Amy stepped forward.
"All
right, Darien, let's say you're telling the truth. What time did Serena show up at your place?" the blue-haired
young woman asked.
"Uh…I
think that it was about 7:00 in the evening," he answered.
"That's
doesn't make sense because Serena's mother told me that she was home at 7:10. Apparently, Serena had broken one of her
heels and gone home to change shoes," Amy stated. Everyone's eyes widened, and they stared directly at Amy.
"When
did you find this out?" Lita and Rei asked at the same time. Amy drew back a little at their demanding
looks.
"Just
this morning, I was planning to tell you guys when Serena got here, but she
kind of ran the show herself," the young woman answered.
"So,
if Serena was at home, who was the 'Serena' that was with Darien?" Mina
asked. All eyes turned towards the
black-haired young man, and Darien gave them a confused look.
Before
he could answer, a large explosion drew their attention.
"What
was that?" Reine gasped.
"I'm
sensing an evil force nearby," Rei confirmed.
"This
will have to wait. I'm sure that there
were people hurt in that explosion," Luna stated. "Now each of you, transform!"
"MOON
CRISIS POWER!"
"MERCURY
STAR POWER!"
"MARS
STAR POWER!"
"JUPITER
STAR POWER!"
"VENUS
STAR POWER!"
Each
of the girls became their respective counterparts, but Reine looked a little
solemn.
"It's
not the same," she murmured.
"Reine,
you must be strong for your sake and for Serena's," Luna ordered. The young girl nodded her head.
"You're
right, Luna, I'll do my best," Reine said firmly. Each of the girls smiled at her, and they headed off for the
battlefield.
"Well…well…well…"
The scouts were stopped in mid-stride.
"Who's
there?" Lita demanded. A figure
appeared from the shadows. He was tall
and thin with hair as black as tar. His
eyes were steely gray and sent shivers down the scouts' spines. His clothes were as black as his eyes and
made him look like a demon personified.
"So,
I finally meet the sailor snobs in person," he laughed.
"And
who are you?" Mina repeated.
"Ah,
my name is Mercite; how do you do?" he sneered.
"What
do you want?" Reine asked.
"Ah,
and you must be that blonde bimbo's little girl; tell me- how's your mommy?"
Mercite snickered.
"What
are you talking about?" Reine demanded.
"Oh,
my guess is that she's home crying over losing poor Darien…how sad…and how
pathetic!" he hissed. The scouts were
ready to fry this annoying jerk, but a tuxedo-clad young man leapt in front of
them.
"What
did you do to my Serena?" Darien roared and grabbed Mercite by the throat.
"Me? Why nothing, Darien, you're the one she
caught rolling in the hay? Tell him,
how's it feel to know that you're responsible for breaking a princess's heart?"
he sneered. Darien's anger was reaching
critical mass!
"Answer
my question or die!" he roared.
"Enough
games, Tuxedo Mask!" A black surge of energy flung Darien back, and he landed
hard on the pavement.
"That's
enough! SUPREME THUNDER SMASH!" Lita
commanded.
"MARS
FIRE IGNITE!" Rei added. The attacks
hit Mercite and disintegrated into thin air. He gave them a big, toothy grin.
"Such
weak attacks, surely you've got more than that. But, my queen demands quick results so I'll have to end this
little tussle sooner that I'd like to." Mercite opened his hand, and four black
lightning bolts exploded from his palm.
Each
one drilled one of the sailor scouts dead on. Lita was sent into a nearby garage door; Rei went through a shop's
window; Amy flew into a tree trunk; and Mina was smashed against a brick wall. The only one left unharmed was Reine, and
Mercite approached the little girl.
"You
big ugly piece of trash!" the little girl shouted as she staggered backwards.
"Oh,
such bad words from a young child, you'll have to be punished." Mercite appeared
next to her and sent a surge of black energy through her small body.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Reine screeched as the force of the energy knocked her unconscious.
"Leave
her alone!" Darien shouted as he jumped at his daughter's assailant.
"Away
with you!" Mercite shouted and swatted Tuxedo Mask away like he was fly. He picked up Sailor Mini-Moon and laughed
sadistically.
"My
queen has plans for you, little one…" he snickered and turned towards Reine's
friends, "…but for now, why don't all of you give my respects to Sailor Moon
and tell her how you lost her daughter!" With that, Mercite disappeared with an unconscious Reine.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!"
Darien screamed, but he was too late. Now, he'd lost both Serena and Reine in one day!
"Oh
Reine," the scouts said in unison.
"What
are we going to tell Serena?" Mina said sadly.
"Wait
a minute…this attack was a decoy; it was meant to draw us out so Mercite could
capture Reine but why?" Amy asked out loud. Darien collapsed to his knees and covered his face in shame.
"Dammit,
how could this happen?" he demanded.
"Darien!"
Rei shouted, and he lifted his head. "Listen to me, I want you to come back to the temple with us. I want you to try and remember the day that
Serena came to see you," she finished.
"What
for?" the disgruntled young man asked.
"It's
clear now that the person who you were with that night wasn't Serena, and we
need to know who it was. We're gonna
need Serena to get Reine back, and the only way she'll come back is if what she
saw you doing is false," Sailor Mars explained. Darien hated having to leave Reine in evil hands any longer than
necessary, but he knew that Rei was right. They were going to need Sailor Moon for this one- the real Sailor Moon.
Rei
sat in front of the sacred fire with Darien behind her. Amy, Lita, and Mina were standing off to the
side hoping that this would work. Chad
stood off to Rei's side. He knew from
experience that when Rei used her psychic abilities, it drained her energy very
quickly and many times she would faint afterwards.
"All
right, Darien, this may be painful, but I need you to try and focus on the
events of that night. Was there
anything that was unusual that happened? Did the Serena you saw do anything that might tell you who she really
is?" Rei stated. The keeper of mars
closed her eyes and tried to see Darien's memory.
Darien
closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. His mind focused on Friday evening and when Serena had shown up. Her greeting was the same as always; she
flung herself into arms and kissed him. The kiss had seemed a little different though; Serena had tasted
slightly different. Then, after they
had made love, he'd fallen asleep very quickly, which was quite unusual. He recalled a peculiar noise and
concentrated on it to try and recall the memory.
It
was laughter- cruel, sadistic laughter, and it was coming from the woman in his
bed. His eyes had barely been open, but
Darien remembered seeing a hazy image of a woman with long, blood red hair
standing by his bed.
"Ah!"
he gasped and snapped out of his trance. He was breathing hard and sweating bullets.
"Oh!"
Rei moaned and started to fall over slightly. Chad was at her side in an instant, and she leaned on him for
support. "Thanks," she said
softly. He smiled warmly at her.
"Anytime,"
he replied with a stupid grin. Rei
turned back to the matter at hand.
"What
did you see?" the scouts asked in unison.
"It
wasn't much, guys, all I saw was a blurry image of a woman with long, red hair,"
Darien stated.
"That's
all I saw too; I couldn't see her face," Rei added.
"I
don't get it. Who has an axe to grind
with Serena?" Lita asked out loud.
"Yeah,
it's not the girl has any enemies…except from Negaverse that is," Mina
stated. A light bulb went off in Amy's
mind.
"That's
it! Of course!" she nearly shouted.
"What?"
everyone asked at once.
"Darien,
think about it, who is someone that has long, red hair, hates Serena, and is
obsessed with owning you?" the keeper of mercury asked.
"I don't
know," the young man replied.
"Remember
Mercite said that his 'queen' demanded results…" Darien suddenly 'got it', and
Amy nodded her head.
"That
bitch!" Darien hissed.
"Who?"
Mina asked dumbly.
"There's
only one person who hates Serena enough to use me against her, and that person
is Queen Beryl," Darien stated.
"But
I thought that we banished her back to the Negaverse a long time ago," Lita
said in shock.
"What
is banished can always return, Lita," Luna said sadly.
"She's
right. You guys closed the door on the
Negaverse, but it doesn't mean that the door couldn't open again," Artemis
added.
"Damn
her!" Darien growled and clenched his fist. Rei put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Hey,
don't worry about it, Darien, we know the truth now and so will Serena," she
said with a smile.
"I'll
go with you," he stated.
"No,
I wouldn't recommend it. If you come
with, Serena might think that you talked us into believing you. We'll tell her first thing in the morning,"
Rei stated.
"But…"
Darien protested.
"Darien…it's
almost midnight; Serena's out like a light by now," the black-haired beauty
interjected.
"All
right, I'll wait," he conceded.
"Good. Now, why don't we all get some rest
okay? We'll need our strength
tomorrow," she advised.
"Rei
is right. We'll meet at Serena's house
tomorrow morning, agreed?" Luna asked.
"Agreed,"
the scouts answered.
Author's Notes: Finally, the culprit is revealed! Please review this and let me know what you think! If you'd like to send me a personalized message, send it to bigtrw@juno.com. Next chapter will be up soon!