Story of the Future
Episode Eight
"A New Arrival"
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" The scream could be heard throughout the entire hospital. In the labor room, doctors crowded around Serena. Amy was one of the nurses aiding the obstetrician. Darien was at Serena's side, holding her hand.
"Okay, Serena, keep breathing. This one's over." Amy said, looking at the cotor. He nodded. "Okay, I need you to push hard on this next one, Serena. Can you do that?"
Serena was soaked with sweat. Her face was red, and she was exhausted. She could barely move her head to nod. Darien held her hand tightly.
Finally, Serena got the strength to look at her husband. "Remind me again why we didn't use the drugs." she said. Darien smiled. "Darien, do me a favor." she said, feeling the pain coming on.
"Anything darling," he said softly.
Serena braced herself. "DON'T EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!" she screamed out as the contraction hit her full force. She never heard Darien's cry of pain as she clamped down on his hand.
***
In the waiting room, Mina, Lita, and Melvin sat impatiently. They heard another howl coming from the hall. "That's got to be her 50th contraction! What is taking that baby?!" Lita asked imaptiently.
Mina smiled. "It's going to take a long time. It's Serena's first, she'll probably be there another four hours."
Raye and Scott came back, hand in hand. They had gone off to the cafetria to have a bite to eat. "Hey, how is she?" Raye asked, looking down the corridor.
A howl answered Raye's question. "Nevermind." Raye said, sitting down.
"Jeez, this is stupid! Why can't we be in there?! She's been with us through every tough time we've had! How come we can't be in there?" Lita said, standing up. Several visitors turned and stared at her. Mina smiled and yanked Lita back to her seat.
"Lita, she has Darien right next to her. And Amy's also there, helping out. We'd just be in the way." Mina said, trying to calm her friend down.
Raye glanced down the corridor. She felt the same way as Lita, though she didn't vocalize it. She hated waiting out here, she wanted to be right next to her best friend. She wanted to see every mriaculous moment. It just wasn't fair!
"Coming through!" a male voice boomed. The group looked up and saw Andrew walking into the waiting room holding two objects delicately.
"Andrew..." Lita murmured and put her hand to her head. She had enough emotional turmoil, she didn't need this.
Andrew came to the group. "Thanks for calling me, Raye. Didn't want to miss this. And look who I picked up!"
The two objects were two cats. "Luna! Artemis!" Mina called out and fiercely hugged both of them. Artmeis had come over to Earth with them, but had disappeared mysteriously after they had gotten to their hotel. As for Luna...
"Oh, you're suffocating me!" Luna cried out. Mina let go and smiled. Luna purred as she rubbed her head.
"Where have you been?" Raye asked, craddling Artemis.
"Well, I went to see Luna. She's been staying at the palace to deal with immediate problems." Artemis spoke up.
Raye looked surprised. "How come I didn't know this? I've beenw ondering where you were."
Luna sighed. "I've been in a top secret mission. There has been some activity by the" her voice lowered, "Imperium."
The girls nodded. They looked around. Although they could have transformed and been Scouts in all their glory (for the Sailor Scouts were now revered as mighty warriors), Serena had specifically said on the way over to the emergency room that she wanted to give birth as her normal self. She would present the pirncess at a later date. Being queen was hard enough on her, but having to deliver with a thousand eyes on her would have totally overwhelmed her. The Scouts respected her wishes, and as far as anyone knew, they were just close friends.
"You girls will learn all this information at a later date, but I might as well tell you now. The Imperium is going to strike Earth. I don't know when or how, but they have been preparing for it for about a year now." Luna said very quietly. The girls' eyes widened, but they said nothing. "Just be prepared." Luna said.
A scream interrupted them. "Serena! Is she okay?" Artemis asked, almost a little too loudly. Scott hushed him up.
"She's just having a baby, that's all." Mina said.
***
In the labor room, Serena was almost sobbing with pain. It had been two hours and she was still having contractions. Darien sat right next to her, very exhausted as well.
Serena took a breath. "Darien, are you okay, dear?"
Darien looked up at his wife. "Yeah, I'm fine. How are you holding up?" he asked, wiping her face with a cloth.
"I've been better...but then again I've been worse too." she said, and she felt another contraction coming on. "Oh, another one." she gasped.
Suddenly she felt an extremely sharp pain go through her entire body. It was worse than anything she had felt before. She couldn't even scream, her body locked up, and instantly she went unconscious with the sensation.
Darien stood up instantly alarmed. "Omy god, what's happening?!" he asked.
Around him, nursesn instanly bustled. Amy was over reading charts when Serena had fainted. "What is it?" she asked the doctor. He looked very grave.
Darien tried to call his wife. "Serena! Serena, can you here me?!" he asked. [Serena!] he called to her, trying to telephathically contact her. All he got was silence.
"She's having difficulties, her cervix is too small." the doctor told Amy. Amy quickly went to Darien.
"Darien, she's having problems getting the baby through. I think we may have to do a Caesarian section. But first, we have to wake her." she said to him, calming him down.
"Is she going to die? Is Serena going to die?" he asked, strangely calm.
"Not if I can help it. Right now let's wake her up." Amy said, taking his hand.
***
Serena opened her eyes to a familar surrounding. She was standing on what appeared to be clouds. There was a bench that appeared behind her and she sat. It was at that point she realized she was dressed in her regal gowns.
"My darling daughter..." a gentle voice said.
"Momma?" she called out.
Instantly, her mother appeared, also wearing her regal gowns. "My lovely, sweet daughter."
Princess Serena stood up and ran to her mother. They hugged each other for a long time. "Am I dreaming?" Serena asked.
Her mother chuckled. "No, my dear, but you are far away from the hospital right now. You must listen to me."
"I'm giving birth! I'm delivering a baby! Why now? I should be...down there!" Serena said, pulling away.
"Don't worry, Serena. You'll be down there in time to go through all the wonderful labor pains. Listen to me." her mother said, a little forcefully.
Serena nodded and sat patiently.
"There are some things you don't know about me. Before I became queen, I was also a Sailor Scout. I was the original Sailor Moon."
Serena looked surprised. "You were a Sailor Scout?!" she asked.
Her mother smiled and sat next to her. "You're so surprised? Your mother was also quite a trouble maker, as well as not very lady-like. But I grew and matured, and became queen. Just like you have." Serena blushed. "But I wasn't the leader. Sailor Earth was."
Serena was shocked. "Sailor...Earth?"
"Yes. She led us all, and eventually brought the years of peace we had while you were raised. Me and Sailor Earth, Ariel being her royal name, were best friends. She was the one who introduced me to your father..." Queen Serenity got a faraway look for a moment, but then returned. "Anyway, one day Ariel just vanished. Disappeared and no one has heard from her since."
"What?" Serena asked.
"She left behind her crown, her planet, us, and her family."
"Darien?" Serena asked.
Queen Serenity nodded. "She left behind her two children."
"TWO?!" Serena asked.
"Don't interrupt me now, this isn't easy for me to admit. Ariel had two children, a girl and a boy. Darien was the younger of the two by about two years. The girl was to inherit the throne, become the next Sailor Earth, and lead us into the next millenium. She was a very close friend of all of the Scouts. But one day, she sat down with me and confessed something. She saw me as a second mother, and felt she could talk to me."
"What did she say?" Serena asked quietly.
Queen Serenity couldn't look at her daughter in the eye. "She said that Ariel had...met a strang woman named Metallia. Metallia had influenced Ariel with dark energy, and she had become incredibly evil. Darien and she had been able to force her away from them, but they wouldn't be able to hold her off. She was coming to me to aid her."
Serena wasn't following. Queen Serenity knew she would have to tell her straight out. "Serena, Ariel became Queen Beryl."
Serena's jaw dropped. The former Sailor Earth was also Beryl?! Darien's mother! She was having difficulty accepting that not only did Darien have a sister, but his mother was Beryl.
"I know this is a shock for you. But you must know this now, because there are things up ahead you must be prepared for."
[[It all makes so much sense.]] Serena thought. It explained why Darien got defensive about his mother, and why he never mentioned his Negaverse days. It also explained why he was so easily brain-washed by the Negaforce, and why he didn't seem to want to leave. He loved his mother very much. He didn't want to leave her.
"Serena, there's more." her mother's voice brought her out of her thoughts.
Serena took a breath. "I don't know if I can handle more."
"Darien's sister told me she didn't want to fight against her mother, that there must be a peaceful way to bring her back. We tried everyway possible, but nothing could bring back Ariel. Finally, Darien confronted his older sister and told her the only way they could keep peace would be to defeat Beryl. For two days the siblings argued about it, Darien wanting to fight Beryl, his sister not wanting to harm their mother. Finally, Darien told his sister that either she would help him in the fight or she would be forced into exile. His sister left an hour later and was never seen again. It broke your husband's heart, he loved his sister so much. He took the throne and trained as a protector of the Scouts, since only females can become Sailor Scouts."
Serena looked at her mother. "And that's where I met him. When we were both in training. He seemed so determined to fight, so angry, yet completely gentle. He could've broken any neck he wanted to with those hands. But he never did. He never laid a hand on anyone unless he was forced to. And he must have always felt horrible for fighting against his mother...and his sister."
Queen Serenity nodded. "You understand. Now, you must return...there are people waiting for you..."
Serena hugged her mother one last time. "Goodbye, Momma."
"I'm so proud of you, my dear. You are a fine queen, and will be a wonderful mother." Then, the world faded to darkness.
***
"Wait, a minute! She's waking!" Darien called out. The whole group was in the room now, and no one dared tell them to leave.
"Serena! Can you hear us?" Raye called out.
Serena moaned. "I hurt...." she said as she opened her eyes.
"I know dearest. You're going to have a C-section, your too small to deliver and it might injure you." Amy said, taking her friend's hand.
"Oh my goodness, I don't believe this." the doctor. "Her cervix has just expanded another 3 centimeters. Out of the blue. I think this girl will be able to deliver with no problem now."
Serena smiled weakly. "I love all of you guys."
Darien held his wife's hand and smiled, tears coming to his eyes. So many emotions were going through him at once. He wanted to stop all the pain for his wife, but he was helpless. He was also a little jealous, because he knew the baby would hurt her more than she'd ever been hurt and in the end she would hold it and love it unconditionally. But he was also very excited, for his baby was coming. It was just as much a part of him as it was her. A baby that the two had made with their never-ending love was about to see their world.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" she cried as she pushed out. Raye started coaching her, telling her to breathe. Amy went down to aid the doctor. Lita and Mina stood, holding hands, smiling. Darien was only able to hold his wife's hand and marvel at the miracle of birth.
"Come on Serena, one more push!" Raye cried out, holding onto her best friend's other hand.
"I can see it's head!" Amy called out. Mina and Lita squeled. Tears rimmed Darien's eyes. He couldn't even describe what he was feeling.
"One, two, three, push!" Raye said.
Serena bore down as hard as she could. She could feel all her muscles straining as she felt the baby being pushed through her body. She also felt the power of her mother helping her. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed loudly as the baby exited her body.
"She's out! It's a girl!" Amy said.
Both Mina and Lita jumped for joy. Serena began sobbing in happiness, the tears coming down her face. Neither Darien nor Raye could keep their tears back any longer. They all hugged each other tightly. Then Dairen kissed his crying wife deeply. They had a baby.
"Do you have a name yet?" Amy asked.
Serena opened her eyes, and slowly calmed down. "Yes." she looked to her husband. "Serenity. We'll call her Rini."
Episode Eight
"A New Arrival"
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" The scream could be heard throughout the entire hospital. In the labor room, doctors crowded around Serena. Amy was one of the nurses aiding the obstetrician. Darien was at Serena's side, holding her hand.
"Okay, Serena, keep breathing. This one's over." Amy said, looking at the cotor. He nodded. "Okay, I need you to push hard on this next one, Serena. Can you do that?"
Serena was soaked with sweat. Her face was red, and she was exhausted. She could barely move her head to nod. Darien held her hand tightly.
Finally, Serena got the strength to look at her husband. "Remind me again why we didn't use the drugs." she said. Darien smiled. "Darien, do me a favor." she said, feeling the pain coming on.
"Anything darling," he said softly.
Serena braced herself. "DON'T EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!" she screamed out as the contraction hit her full force. She never heard Darien's cry of pain as she clamped down on his hand.
***
In the waiting room, Mina, Lita, and Melvin sat impatiently. They heard another howl coming from the hall. "That's got to be her 50th contraction! What is taking that baby?!" Lita asked imaptiently.
Mina smiled. "It's going to take a long time. It's Serena's first, she'll probably be there another four hours."
Raye and Scott came back, hand in hand. They had gone off to the cafetria to have a bite to eat. "Hey, how is she?" Raye asked, looking down the corridor.
A howl answered Raye's question. "Nevermind." Raye said, sitting down.
"Jeez, this is stupid! Why can't we be in there?! She's been with us through every tough time we've had! How come we can't be in there?" Lita said, standing up. Several visitors turned and stared at her. Mina smiled and yanked Lita back to her seat.
"Lita, she has Darien right next to her. And Amy's also there, helping out. We'd just be in the way." Mina said, trying to calm her friend down.
Raye glanced down the corridor. She felt the same way as Lita, though she didn't vocalize it. She hated waiting out here, she wanted to be right next to her best friend. She wanted to see every mriaculous moment. It just wasn't fair!
"Coming through!" a male voice boomed. The group looked up and saw Andrew walking into the waiting room holding two objects delicately.
"Andrew..." Lita murmured and put her hand to her head. She had enough emotional turmoil, she didn't need this.
Andrew came to the group. "Thanks for calling me, Raye. Didn't want to miss this. And look who I picked up!"
The two objects were two cats. "Luna! Artemis!" Mina called out and fiercely hugged both of them. Artmeis had come over to Earth with them, but had disappeared mysteriously after they had gotten to their hotel. As for Luna...
"Oh, you're suffocating me!" Luna cried out. Mina let go and smiled. Luna purred as she rubbed her head.
"Where have you been?" Raye asked, craddling Artemis.
"Well, I went to see Luna. She's been staying at the palace to deal with immediate problems." Artemis spoke up.
Raye looked surprised. "How come I didn't know this? I've beenw ondering where you were."
Luna sighed. "I've been in a top secret mission. There has been some activity by the" her voice lowered, "Imperium."
The girls nodded. They looked around. Although they could have transformed and been Scouts in all their glory (for the Sailor Scouts were now revered as mighty warriors), Serena had specifically said on the way over to the emergency room that she wanted to give birth as her normal self. She would present the pirncess at a later date. Being queen was hard enough on her, but having to deliver with a thousand eyes on her would have totally overwhelmed her. The Scouts respected her wishes, and as far as anyone knew, they were just close friends.
"You girls will learn all this information at a later date, but I might as well tell you now. The Imperium is going to strike Earth. I don't know when or how, but they have been preparing for it for about a year now." Luna said very quietly. The girls' eyes widened, but they said nothing. "Just be prepared." Luna said.
A scream interrupted them. "Serena! Is she okay?" Artemis asked, almost a little too loudly. Scott hushed him up.
"She's just having a baby, that's all." Mina said.
***
In the labor room, Serena was almost sobbing with pain. It had been two hours and she was still having contractions. Darien sat right next to her, very exhausted as well.
Serena took a breath. "Darien, are you okay, dear?"
Darien looked up at his wife. "Yeah, I'm fine. How are you holding up?" he asked, wiping her face with a cloth.
"I've been better...but then again I've been worse too." she said, and she felt another contraction coming on. "Oh, another one." she gasped.
Suddenly she felt an extremely sharp pain go through her entire body. It was worse than anything she had felt before. She couldn't even scream, her body locked up, and instantly she went unconscious with the sensation.
Darien stood up instantly alarmed. "Omy god, what's happening?!" he asked.
Around him, nursesn instanly bustled. Amy was over reading charts when Serena had fainted. "What is it?" she asked the doctor. He looked very grave.
Darien tried to call his wife. "Serena! Serena, can you here me?!" he asked. [Serena!] he called to her, trying to telephathically contact her. All he got was silence.
"She's having difficulties, her cervix is too small." the doctor told Amy. Amy quickly went to Darien.
"Darien, she's having problems getting the baby through. I think we may have to do a Caesarian section. But first, we have to wake her." she said to him, calming him down.
"Is she going to die? Is Serena going to die?" he asked, strangely calm.
"Not if I can help it. Right now let's wake her up." Amy said, taking his hand.
***
Serena opened her eyes to a familar surrounding. She was standing on what appeared to be clouds. There was a bench that appeared behind her and she sat. It was at that point she realized she was dressed in her regal gowns.
"My darling daughter..." a gentle voice said.
"Momma?" she called out.
Instantly, her mother appeared, also wearing her regal gowns. "My lovely, sweet daughter."
Princess Serena stood up and ran to her mother. They hugged each other for a long time. "Am I dreaming?" Serena asked.
Her mother chuckled. "No, my dear, but you are far away from the hospital right now. You must listen to me."
"I'm giving birth! I'm delivering a baby! Why now? I should be...down there!" Serena said, pulling away.
"Don't worry, Serena. You'll be down there in time to go through all the wonderful labor pains. Listen to me." her mother said, a little forcefully.
Serena nodded and sat patiently.
"There are some things you don't know about me. Before I became queen, I was also a Sailor Scout. I was the original Sailor Moon."
Serena looked surprised. "You were a Sailor Scout?!" she asked.
Her mother smiled and sat next to her. "You're so surprised? Your mother was also quite a trouble maker, as well as not very lady-like. But I grew and matured, and became queen. Just like you have." Serena blushed. "But I wasn't the leader. Sailor Earth was."
Serena was shocked. "Sailor...Earth?"
"Yes. She led us all, and eventually brought the years of peace we had while you were raised. Me and Sailor Earth, Ariel being her royal name, were best friends. She was the one who introduced me to your father..." Queen Serenity got a faraway look for a moment, but then returned. "Anyway, one day Ariel just vanished. Disappeared and no one has heard from her since."
"What?" Serena asked.
"She left behind her crown, her planet, us, and her family."
"Darien?" Serena asked.
Queen Serenity nodded. "She left behind her two children."
"TWO?!" Serena asked.
"Don't interrupt me now, this isn't easy for me to admit. Ariel had two children, a girl and a boy. Darien was the younger of the two by about two years. The girl was to inherit the throne, become the next Sailor Earth, and lead us into the next millenium. She was a very close friend of all of the Scouts. But one day, she sat down with me and confessed something. She saw me as a second mother, and felt she could talk to me."
"What did she say?" Serena asked quietly.
Queen Serenity couldn't look at her daughter in the eye. "She said that Ariel had...met a strang woman named Metallia. Metallia had influenced Ariel with dark energy, and she had become incredibly evil. Darien and she had been able to force her away from them, but they wouldn't be able to hold her off. She was coming to me to aid her."
Serena wasn't following. Queen Serenity knew she would have to tell her straight out. "Serena, Ariel became Queen Beryl."
Serena's jaw dropped. The former Sailor Earth was also Beryl?! Darien's mother! She was having difficulty accepting that not only did Darien have a sister, but his mother was Beryl.
"I know this is a shock for you. But you must know this now, because there are things up ahead you must be prepared for."
[[It all makes so much sense.]] Serena thought. It explained why Darien got defensive about his mother, and why he never mentioned his Negaverse days. It also explained why he was so easily brain-washed by the Negaforce, and why he didn't seem to want to leave. He loved his mother very much. He didn't want to leave her.
"Serena, there's more." her mother's voice brought her out of her thoughts.
Serena took a breath. "I don't know if I can handle more."
"Darien's sister told me she didn't want to fight against her mother, that there must be a peaceful way to bring her back. We tried everyway possible, but nothing could bring back Ariel. Finally, Darien confronted his older sister and told her the only way they could keep peace would be to defeat Beryl. For two days the siblings argued about it, Darien wanting to fight Beryl, his sister not wanting to harm their mother. Finally, Darien told his sister that either she would help him in the fight or she would be forced into exile. His sister left an hour later and was never seen again. It broke your husband's heart, he loved his sister so much. He took the throne and trained as a protector of the Scouts, since only females can become Sailor Scouts."
Serena looked at her mother. "And that's where I met him. When we were both in training. He seemed so determined to fight, so angry, yet completely gentle. He could've broken any neck he wanted to with those hands. But he never did. He never laid a hand on anyone unless he was forced to. And he must have always felt horrible for fighting against his mother...and his sister."
Queen Serenity nodded. "You understand. Now, you must return...there are people waiting for you..."
Serena hugged her mother one last time. "Goodbye, Momma."
"I'm so proud of you, my dear. You are a fine queen, and will be a wonderful mother." Then, the world faded to darkness.
***
"Wait, a minute! She's waking!" Darien called out. The whole group was in the room now, and no one dared tell them to leave.
"Serena! Can you hear us?" Raye called out.
Serena moaned. "I hurt...." she said as she opened her eyes.
"I know dearest. You're going to have a C-section, your too small to deliver and it might injure you." Amy said, taking her friend's hand.
"Oh my goodness, I don't believe this." the doctor. "Her cervix has just expanded another 3 centimeters. Out of the blue. I think this girl will be able to deliver with no problem now."
Serena smiled weakly. "I love all of you guys."
Darien held his wife's hand and smiled, tears coming to his eyes. So many emotions were going through him at once. He wanted to stop all the pain for his wife, but he was helpless. He was also a little jealous, because he knew the baby would hurt her more than she'd ever been hurt and in the end she would hold it and love it unconditionally. But he was also very excited, for his baby was coming. It was just as much a part of him as it was her. A baby that the two had made with their never-ending love was about to see their world.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" she cried as she pushed out. Raye started coaching her, telling her to breathe. Amy went down to aid the doctor. Lita and Mina stood, holding hands, smiling. Darien was only able to hold his wife's hand and marvel at the miracle of birth.
"Come on Serena, one more push!" Raye cried out, holding onto her best friend's other hand.
"I can see it's head!" Amy called out. Mina and Lita squeled. Tears rimmed Darien's eyes. He couldn't even describe what he was feeling.
"One, two, three, push!" Raye said.
Serena bore down as hard as she could. She could feel all her muscles straining as she felt the baby being pushed through her body. She also felt the power of her mother helping her. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed loudly as the baby exited her body.
"She's out! It's a girl!" Amy said.
Both Mina and Lita jumped for joy. Serena began sobbing in happiness, the tears coming down her face. Neither Darien nor Raye could keep their tears back any longer. They all hugged each other tightly. Then Dairen kissed his crying wife deeply. They had a baby.
"Do you have a name yet?" Amy asked.
Serena opened her eyes, and slowly calmed down. "Yes." she looked to her husband. "Serenity. We'll call her Rini."