"Ouch!" Serena yelped painfully as a spark from the youma hit her. She
winced as she fingered the burn on her cheek from an earlier spark that she
had also failed to dodge.
"Flame Sniper!" Rei managed to hit the youma on the shoulder, but instead of damaging it, the youma only became more irritate and began charging after a now very flustered Sailor Mars.
*Dammit, Ami, you were right! We do need you here, probably more than you or we ever realized! We're sorry, all right! We NEED you! How could you leave us all alone when we need your help!?!* Sailor Mars thought furiously as she attempted to run in her four-inch heels.
"Moon Scepter Elimination!" In desparation, Sailor Moon shot one last attack at the monster. Finally, after an hour of fighting, the youma finally collapsed into the ground.
Breathing heavily, Sailor Mars limped over to Serena. Tuxedo Mask (AN: yeah, I know he wasn't there earlier, but I found a use for him in this chapter, so voila! here he is!) was already there, supporting Sailor Moon, who sported various cuts and scrapes. The other scouts also gathered around their leader, all of them sporting a motley mix of minor and some not-so- minor wounds.
"You guys, we need Ami." Sailor Jupiter's voice was quiet but firm. The other scouts nodded in assent, but then Sailor Mars burst out,
"How could she do this to us? She's part of our team, and how could she just run out on us like that?"
"Mars, you know that she only went to America after you guys railed and ranted and raved at her for being the weak senshi. I mean, she probably felt that she was underappreciated, and who wants to stick around with friends like that?" Tuxedo Mask asked, his voice neutral with a hint of chill in it as he held Sailor Moon.
"But we need her! And we were only railing and ranting at her because we were worried! She's our friend, and we just couldn't believe that she could come close to dying!" Minako cried.
"Yes, Venus, I realize that all of you were ranting at her in part because you were worried about her, but do you think she knew that? Did you tell her that you were yelling at her because you were worried for her? Even though Ami is an intellectual genius, she has a little trouble with emotions, and I suspect that she wouldn't have been as hurt if she'd realized that you were railing at her because you were concerned for her. " Tuxedo Mask's voice became gentler as he looked around at the scouts' stunned faces.
"I'm just trying to play devil's advocate. You can't shift all of the blame on Ami; in fact, there really is no blame at all. Just misunderstandings."
The scouts seemed to digest this, then Jupiter looked at her watch and said, "Three in the morning! My gosh, people, we're going to be so dead come tomorrow!" With a quick smile, Jupiter detransformed and Lita was gone in a flash. Venus and Mars powered down similarly and also rushed home in hopes of catching some sleep.
Sailor Moon stood quietly off to the side, staring at the moonlit lake. She detransformed quietly, and there stood Serena, gilded in moonlight, staring at the lake as if it held the answers to her life. Perhaps it did.
Serena had a pensive expression on her face, which was extremely unsual for her. Tuxedo Mask detransformed to, and then Darien came up quietly behind her and enfolded her in his arms.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Darien asked quietly.
Serena sighed, then turned her face away from the lake. "I don't know." said Serena, equally quietly. "It's just that, that everything that Ami said has been passing in my mind, and all of a sudden, I don't know if I can believe in who I am anymore. My friends protect me almost every day with their lives, but would I be willing to make an equal sacrifice for them? Friendship is a two-way street, and it seems like I'm not holding up my end of the bargain. Am I even worthy of that type of protection, that type of devotion? It's like their only duty, their only function in life is to protect me. They know that; Ami knew that, before she went to America, and she left because she felt that she was more than a guard. But I never really thought about it; my friends are my bodyguards, and sometimes they have to sacrifice their identity and their lives for me. One person. One girl. One adolescent girl. I don't understand it, Darien, I don't understand it at all." Serena buried her face in his chest.
Darien stared across the lake. "Serena, I love you, and I know that you're a worthy person. However, I will say that being a bodyguard is not an easy position. I mean, coming to the rescue of my one true love is easy for me," Darien smiled tenderly down at Serena's tear-stained face,
"But the rest of the scouts have their own lives, their own identites, and finding those identities can be hard when you're a scout, a bodyguard, have the memories from the Silver Millenium, and also have to act like an ordinary student. And about your worth as a person versus another scout, well," here, Darien heaved a sigh.
"All men are created equal. Ami recognized that truth, and realized that her position as bodyguard was false in the face of that truth. What can I say? The system of royalty sucks, but that's who you inherently are, Serena. You are the Moon Princess. Ami is the Mercurian Princess. Your rank is higher than hers; says nothing about who she is. Says nothing about who you are. There's not much we can do about it, but perhaps we should realize that each of the scouts are your equal. Not your inferior, not your superior. But your equal."
Serena looked across the lake once again, a small smile playing at her lips. "How did you get so wise, Muffin?"
"I must have picked it up from my girlfriend, Bunny." Darien smiled at her. They stood there, content for a few more moments of tranquillity.
"Flame Sniper!" Rei managed to hit the youma on the shoulder, but instead of damaging it, the youma only became more irritate and began charging after a now very flustered Sailor Mars.
*Dammit, Ami, you were right! We do need you here, probably more than you or we ever realized! We're sorry, all right! We NEED you! How could you leave us all alone when we need your help!?!* Sailor Mars thought furiously as she attempted to run in her four-inch heels.
"Moon Scepter Elimination!" In desparation, Sailor Moon shot one last attack at the monster. Finally, after an hour of fighting, the youma finally collapsed into the ground.
Breathing heavily, Sailor Mars limped over to Serena. Tuxedo Mask (AN: yeah, I know he wasn't there earlier, but I found a use for him in this chapter, so voila! here he is!) was already there, supporting Sailor Moon, who sported various cuts and scrapes. The other scouts also gathered around their leader, all of them sporting a motley mix of minor and some not-so- minor wounds.
"You guys, we need Ami." Sailor Jupiter's voice was quiet but firm. The other scouts nodded in assent, but then Sailor Mars burst out,
"How could she do this to us? She's part of our team, and how could she just run out on us like that?"
"Mars, you know that she only went to America after you guys railed and ranted and raved at her for being the weak senshi. I mean, she probably felt that she was underappreciated, and who wants to stick around with friends like that?" Tuxedo Mask asked, his voice neutral with a hint of chill in it as he held Sailor Moon.
"But we need her! And we were only railing and ranting at her because we were worried! She's our friend, and we just couldn't believe that she could come close to dying!" Minako cried.
"Yes, Venus, I realize that all of you were ranting at her in part because you were worried about her, but do you think she knew that? Did you tell her that you were yelling at her because you were worried for her? Even though Ami is an intellectual genius, she has a little trouble with emotions, and I suspect that she wouldn't have been as hurt if she'd realized that you were railing at her because you were concerned for her. " Tuxedo Mask's voice became gentler as he looked around at the scouts' stunned faces.
"I'm just trying to play devil's advocate. You can't shift all of the blame on Ami; in fact, there really is no blame at all. Just misunderstandings."
The scouts seemed to digest this, then Jupiter looked at her watch and said, "Three in the morning! My gosh, people, we're going to be so dead come tomorrow!" With a quick smile, Jupiter detransformed and Lita was gone in a flash. Venus and Mars powered down similarly and also rushed home in hopes of catching some sleep.
Sailor Moon stood quietly off to the side, staring at the moonlit lake. She detransformed quietly, and there stood Serena, gilded in moonlight, staring at the lake as if it held the answers to her life. Perhaps it did.
Serena had a pensive expression on her face, which was extremely unsual for her. Tuxedo Mask detransformed to, and then Darien came up quietly behind her and enfolded her in his arms.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Darien asked quietly.
Serena sighed, then turned her face away from the lake. "I don't know." said Serena, equally quietly. "It's just that, that everything that Ami said has been passing in my mind, and all of a sudden, I don't know if I can believe in who I am anymore. My friends protect me almost every day with their lives, but would I be willing to make an equal sacrifice for them? Friendship is a two-way street, and it seems like I'm not holding up my end of the bargain. Am I even worthy of that type of protection, that type of devotion? It's like their only duty, their only function in life is to protect me. They know that; Ami knew that, before she went to America, and she left because she felt that she was more than a guard. But I never really thought about it; my friends are my bodyguards, and sometimes they have to sacrifice their identity and their lives for me. One person. One girl. One adolescent girl. I don't understand it, Darien, I don't understand it at all." Serena buried her face in his chest.
Darien stared across the lake. "Serena, I love you, and I know that you're a worthy person. However, I will say that being a bodyguard is not an easy position. I mean, coming to the rescue of my one true love is easy for me," Darien smiled tenderly down at Serena's tear-stained face,
"But the rest of the scouts have their own lives, their own identites, and finding those identities can be hard when you're a scout, a bodyguard, have the memories from the Silver Millenium, and also have to act like an ordinary student. And about your worth as a person versus another scout, well," here, Darien heaved a sigh.
"All men are created equal. Ami recognized that truth, and realized that her position as bodyguard was false in the face of that truth. What can I say? The system of royalty sucks, but that's who you inherently are, Serena. You are the Moon Princess. Ami is the Mercurian Princess. Your rank is higher than hers; says nothing about who she is. Says nothing about who you are. There's not much we can do about it, but perhaps we should realize that each of the scouts are your equal. Not your inferior, not your superior. But your equal."
Serena looked across the lake once again, a small smile playing at her lips. "How did you get so wise, Muffin?"
"I must have picked it up from my girlfriend, Bunny." Darien smiled at her. They stood there, content for a few more moments of tranquillity.
