Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. That credit goes to Naoko Takeuchi,
Kodansha, Bandai, DIC, and all the other companies (which I truly don't
know). Btw, I said this in the character list, but in case you've
forgotten, I also borrowed characters from Kaylienne and lady. The rest
are mine, as is this story line. Oh, look. I rhymed.
AN: Please r/r. are thoughts. Italics were time and place changes, but my comp. won't keep the italics when I upload so, *shrugs* oh well. Happy reading.
Chapter 2: Dinner with the "Parents"
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At the Silver Millennium - Noon
When Serena entered the large conference room on the twenty-ninth floor of the Silver Millennium, there was only one person there. Smiling, she said, "Justin, Rei missed you this morning at the temple." "Really? Well, I'll apologize for not being there tonight." Justin replied.
"Tonight? The two of you have plans?" Serena asked. Before Justin could answer the question, a new arrival said as he entered, "Who has plans for tonight?" Serena whirled around to face him as Justin said, "Rei and I are having dinner tonight, Darien." "Speaking of dinner, I kinda made plans for us, too, Darien." Serena said. "What kind of plans, Serena?" Darien questioned.
"Oh it's nothing, really. Just dinner at the Silver Millennium." Serena said. "Find by me." Darien replied, leaning down to kiss her. After a long, passionate kiss, Serena broke away and added, "With my surrogate family." "What?" Darien gulped, a worried look on his face. Justin laughed at this and said, "Now you two behave yourselves." "Yeah, no more making-out, children." the new voice made all three of them look up.
"Galen! We don't just make-out!" Serena exclaimed. "Well, as much as I like this small talk, lets start the meeting. I have to clean up, eat, and be at the school in time to pick up Hotaru." Drake said. It was then that Darien, Serena, and Justin noticed that the rest of the guys were behind Galen and Ashe.
After settling down in chairs, Logan asked, "So, Serena, why did you call this meeting?"
Serena explained while looking at all of her friends, "Well, I wanted to inform you all about the strange dreams I've been having since about the middle of January. These dreams aren't like the ones you guys had. I seem to be remembering what Luna, Artemis, and Mother taught me on the Moon. And I keep recalling three of Mother's close friends. In last night's dream, the third and final friend arrived. I think Mother told him I was 11. All in all, it's very strange."
"Why are telling us this now?" Zachary asked, bewildered. "Because, in last night's dream, Galen, Ashe, Logan, and Drake made their debut performances. They came running when a stranger named Tao-kun startled me in the gardens." Serena answered. "Always protecting her, huh, guys." Kenjo commented. "I don't get it. I mean, where was Darien during all this. From what I remember of the past, you two were inseparable." Nathan voiced. Darien answered this question. "Serena and I didn't meet until she was 16. You heard her just now. She said she was 11 in her last dream."
"Is that all you needed to tell us?" Drake asked. "About the dreams, yes." Serena said. "I think I know what Drake is asking. You two are acting just like you did on the Moon when you got engaged. I guess he's prodding to find out if you're engaged now." Zachary explained.
Serena blushed, aware that all eyes were on her and Darien. "Wow, Drake. You and Hotaru must be physic. She was the only one of the girls that noticed." "When did you two get engaged?" Galen asked. "We got engaged last night." Darien said.
After a chorus of congratulations, all the guys had to hug Serena and shake Darien's hand. Then, the meeting was adjourned, and everybody, except Darien and Serena, went back to their jobs. Once alone, Serena led Darien to her suite. From there, they ordered room service and began to talk about their fast approaching dinner.
"How do I act around them? Wait a minute. I thought I was meeting your real parents tonight. What happened, Serena?" Darien rambled. There was a knock on the door. "Saved by the door." Serena said as she opened the door and took the food. When the waiter left, Darien continued. "I'm serious, Serena. What happened at your parents this morning?"
Serena sighed and began to explain, "When I got to the house, my dad led me to the living room. He told me to sit down and watch a tape with the rest of the family. It was a tape from a security camera. A security camera from your hall. I didn't even know your building had security cameras, much less that they let just anybody have a copy. Anyway, it was last night's tape and I was on it. We were on it. I didn't have time to tell my parents about you. They found out by watching the tape."
"I ran into my super this morning. He told me that a series of robberies have been taking place in the building. The government has put the security cameras up in hopes to discover who the thieves are. The super said the government has acquired a photographer named Frank to help them with the investigation." Darien stopped, noticing Serena's shock as he mentioned the photographer. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Serena looked at him and simply said, "The photographer is my dad." Darien's mouth formed a slight 'o'. He quickly regained himself, and asked, "When your father found out about us, what did he do?" Serena looked down guiltily. "We kinda yelled at each other. I guess you could say we had a fight. A fight that ended when I stormed out and slammed the front door behind me." She smiled ruefully at that.
Darien cupped her face in his hands and lifted her face up to look in her eyes. "You'll have to go back and explain everything to them rationally." he told her. "I know. I think I'll wait for all of us to cool down a little first, though. At least now I know how Dad got a copy of that tape." Serena said. "Now, lets eat up before our food gets cold. I'll tell answer any questions you have about my surrogate family and tonight's dinner.
"That'd be great. Lets see. How should I …" Their afternoon continued this way. Serena spent most of the time laughing at Darien's nervousness and answering his questions with apparent ease. Around 6:ooP.M. Darien left for his apartment to change for dinner, with specific orders from Serena to be in the lobby at 6:45 P.M.
The lobby of the Silver Millennium – 6:55P.M.
A nervous Darien stood next to Serena, who was wearing a black, spaghetti strap dress that stopped just above her knees and tall, black boots. The dress had dark red rose blossoms scattered all over it, and to keep warm, she was wearing a black leather jacket. Seeing Darien looking at her, Serena said, "What?" Darien smiled and replied, "Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?"
Serena laughed and said, "Only about 500 times. You look great yourself." And he did. Darien was wearing slacks, a polo shirt, and a sports coat that matched his slacks.
Just then, a young man called out to them, "Serena!" They both looked up and saw three people walking towards them. When they reached Serena and Darien, the woman said, "Oh, Serena, it's been so long. You look fabulous. I can't believe you're engaged now." Then, the two women hugged. Serena, who was the first to pull away, said to the three newcomers, "Robin, Victor, Joe, this is my fiancée, Darien. Darien, this is Robin, Victor, and Joe."
Darien shook all of their hands and said, "It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you." "That's funny. We'd never even heard of you until today." Joe said huskily. His comment rewarded him with a stern look from his mother and slap on the arm from Serena. "Hey!" he yelped. The others just laughed.
"Why don't we go up to the restaurant, get a table, and then continue our talk? Okay?" Victor suggested. "Good idea, sir." Darien replied. Moving as a group, the five adults walked to the elevator. Soon, they were on the 30th floor, standing in a long line of customers waiting for tables. After about five minutes, they were the only people left at the doors of the restaurant. "When did you say our reservations were for?" Robin asked Serena. "What reservations?" Before anyone could respond, Darien saw Rei and Justin step off the elevator.
"Look who just showed up, Serena." Darien said. Following his gaze, Serena saw their friends walking towards them with smiles on their faces. It looks like they haven't seen us yet. This ought to be fun. Serena thought with a wry smile on her face. "Oh. Look at the nice couple." Joe said, having seen Rei and Justin.
Feeling eyes on her, Rei looked up and was surprised to see Serena and Darien. "Hi, what are you doing here?" she asked. "What do you think we're doing here?" Joe answered sarcastically, costing him another slap from Serena, who said, "Be nice, Joe." Then, to Justin, she said, "You didn't tell us you were coming here."
Robin looked at Serena quizzically, "You know these people, Serena?" "Oh, where are my manners? I'm sorry. Robin, Victor, Joe, this is Rei and Justin. They're two of my rather large group of best friends. Rei, Justin, this is Robin, Victor, and Joe. They're the family that took me in while I was in Canada." Serena said.
"It's nice to meet you. Sorry about the sarcasm." Joe said to Rei. "It's nice to meet you, too. I didn't mind the sarcasm. I realize I asked a stupid question." Rei replied.
"What did you mean by 'what are you doing here'?" Darien asked his friends. Justin answered for Rei, "I forgot to tell her where you two were dining tonight. We invited the whole group to eat with us, except you guys of course since I already knew about your plans."
A sudden noise made everybody turn to look at the elevator. A group of 11 had just stepped off the elevator and was now walking towards the restaurant loudly. "Well, there's the rest of our party. Fashionably late." Rei said. Galen, walking at the front of the large group with Amara, saw Serena and said, "Serena, why don't you, Darien, and your friends join us. The more the merrier."
Serena looked at Darien and the others, "What do you say? Do you want get to know just Darien or all of my friends?" "Why don't we join them. That is, if there is a table big enough for 18 people," Victor said. After introducing everybody to her surrogate family, Serena asked, "Where's Nathan, Hotaru, and Drake? And Luna and Artemis, too?"
"Luna and Artemis are at my place. Nathan had a few loose ends to tie up before he could join us. He said he'd be a little late. We don't know where the others are." Lita said. Before anything else could said, the maitre 'd appeared. Without looking up, he said, "Name, please." "We don't have a reservation, sir." Robin told him. Still not looking up, he laughed and said, "No reservation, no table. Goodbye." Lita, recognizing the man, said, "Hayashi-san, look up, please. Your boss will not be happy if I tell him you refused to even talk to us." The startled maitre 'd looked up. He was immediately sorry for all he had said.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Lita. We have no more tables, though, except the reserved ones," the maitre 'd said. "Why did he call you Ms. Lita?" Robin asked. "We'll explain it later. Can you lead us to the owners' private room?" Galen queried. "Of course, sir. Follow me, everybody," the maitre 'd said.
A short time later, the large group was seated in the private room. Before the maitre 'd could leave, Lita asked, "Hayashi-san, would you tell Nathan, Hotaru, and Drake where we are?" "Of course," he said and then he left. The group was alone. "Alright. Now, why did that man call her Ms. Lita? Why are we in the owner's private room? And how does he know this Nathan?" Robin questioned.
Looking back between Robin, Victor and Joe, Serena explained, "Um…Well, he knows Lita because she's a chef here. This room is usually used for owner meetings. Not owners of the restaurant, but owners of the skyscraper. There are seven owners all together. They are Galen, Ashe, Zachary, Justin, Kenjo, Nathan, and myself. That is why the maitre 'd listened to Galen and how he knows Nathan, who is also the owner of the restaurant."
Just then, Nathan walked in, went over to Lita, and gave her a quick kiss. "Sorry I'm late." he said. "That's okay. We were just talking about you." Lita replied. After that, he sat down in the empty seat next to her. Aware of eyes on him, he looked around as he said, "What?" "Nothing," came the unanimous answer. Suddenly, the door opened and Hotaru and Drake appeared. "Sorry we're late. Have you already ordered?" Drake asked. "No. We just got seated," Trista answered.
"Hotaru Tomoe, is that you? What are you doing here? How do you know Serena?" Victor asked. Hotaru, looking shocked, answered, "Dr. Williams. It's nice to see you. Serena and I go way back." Serena, smiling at Hotaru's questioning look, said, "Victor, this is Drake. I assume you know Hotaru from school. We met through my younger cousin. They became fast friends when she visited us one year."
After they ordered and received their food, Serena's surrogate parents got to know all of Serena's friends. Then Drake looked at his watch. "I'd better get you back to your house, Hotaru. It's 9:30," he said. "I guess you're right." Hotaru said. Standing up, the two of them said their goodbyes and left. After that, people left couple by couple.
First, Mina and Kenjo departed. Five minutes later, Lita and Nathan. Then, Rei and Justin. After them, Ami and Zachary left. Michelle and Ashe and Amara and Galen left together since the girls had come in the same car. Shortly after them, Trista and Logan left. Soon, Serena, Darien, Robin, Victor, and Joe were the only ones remaining.
"I think your friends have the right idea, Serena. We'd better go. I've got a class to teach tomorrow. It was nice to meet you, Darien." Victor said. "It was nice to meet you too, sir." Darien replied. "Please, call me Victor. It was nice to meet all of your friends, Serena. We'll see you soon, I hope. Don't be strangers, you hear." Victor said to them.
With that, Serena's surrogate family left, leaving Serena and Darien alone. "That went well, I think." Serena commented. "Yeah. It's getting late and you and I both have to work tomorrow. Why don't I walk you to your suite? Then, I'll go back to my apartment." Darien said. Hand-in- hand, the couple walked to Serena's suite. Once there, Darien gave her a goodbye kiss and they parted. Going into her suite, Serena glanced at her clock. 10 o'clock. I'll be well rested for work tomorrow. Then she put on her pajamas and got ready for bed. Turning off the lights, she got in her bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Serena blinked awake suddenly. No, it can't be. Can it? No, Rini's in the future. Why do I feel her energy here, then? I'll have to talk to Darien first thing in the morning. If I felt her presence, then he definitely did. Looking at her alarm clock, Serena groaned. 2 in the morning. It feels like I haven't even been asleep for more than 5 minutes! I need to get some sleep. The kids will be able to walk all over me tomorrow if I'm not fully rested. Rolling over in her bed, Serena looked at the moon through her bedroom window. Mother, what are you trying to tell me through the dreams? What do you hope to teach me? As though answering her questions, the moon suddenly glowed a little brighter. Before Serena could wonder what had happened to it, she was fast asleep, courtesy of her mother, Queen Serenity.
The Moon – 2005
Watching her daughter sleep peacefully from her vantage point on the moon, Queen Serenity's spirit smiled. Suddenly, a voice said, "It's time for you pay for what you've done to my family, Serenity." Whirling around to face the new arrival, the queen, who knew that the time would one day come, merely said, "Hello, Kale." Realizing that Kale was preparing a spell to seal her on the moon, Serenity mumbled, "Powers of the Moon, hear my plea. Seal Kale in the same place she seals me. Continue to guide Serena with her dreams. She must be prepared to face her past. She must be able to stop Kale at last." And then, in sync with Kale, Serenity cast her spell, calling upon the ancient powers of her family. When the two spells met, they sent both Kale and Serenity into a slightly open stone (what would have functioned as a safe on the moon during the Silver Millennium), sealed it, and carved a warning on all four sides of the "safe". Then, the stone was cast off into space, to float around until eventually landing on Earth.
AN: Please r/r. are thoughts. Italics were time and place changes, but my comp. won't keep the italics when I upload so, *shrugs* oh well. Happy reading.
Chapter 2: Dinner with the "Parents"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Silver Millennium - Noon
When Serena entered the large conference room on the twenty-ninth floor of the Silver Millennium, there was only one person there. Smiling, she said, "Justin, Rei missed you this morning at the temple." "Really? Well, I'll apologize for not being there tonight." Justin replied.
"Tonight? The two of you have plans?" Serena asked. Before Justin could answer the question, a new arrival said as he entered, "Who has plans for tonight?" Serena whirled around to face him as Justin said, "Rei and I are having dinner tonight, Darien." "Speaking of dinner, I kinda made plans for us, too, Darien." Serena said. "What kind of plans, Serena?" Darien questioned.
"Oh it's nothing, really. Just dinner at the Silver Millennium." Serena said. "Find by me." Darien replied, leaning down to kiss her. After a long, passionate kiss, Serena broke away and added, "With my surrogate family." "What?" Darien gulped, a worried look on his face. Justin laughed at this and said, "Now you two behave yourselves." "Yeah, no more making-out, children." the new voice made all three of them look up.
"Galen! We don't just make-out!" Serena exclaimed. "Well, as much as I like this small talk, lets start the meeting. I have to clean up, eat, and be at the school in time to pick up Hotaru." Drake said. It was then that Darien, Serena, and Justin noticed that the rest of the guys were behind Galen and Ashe.
After settling down in chairs, Logan asked, "So, Serena, why did you call this meeting?"
Serena explained while looking at all of her friends, "Well, I wanted to inform you all about the strange dreams I've been having since about the middle of January. These dreams aren't like the ones you guys had. I seem to be remembering what Luna, Artemis, and Mother taught me on the Moon. And I keep recalling three of Mother's close friends. In last night's dream, the third and final friend arrived. I think Mother told him I was 11. All in all, it's very strange."
"Why are telling us this now?" Zachary asked, bewildered. "Because, in last night's dream, Galen, Ashe, Logan, and Drake made their debut performances. They came running when a stranger named Tao-kun startled me in the gardens." Serena answered. "Always protecting her, huh, guys." Kenjo commented. "I don't get it. I mean, where was Darien during all this. From what I remember of the past, you two were inseparable." Nathan voiced. Darien answered this question. "Serena and I didn't meet until she was 16. You heard her just now. She said she was 11 in her last dream."
"Is that all you needed to tell us?" Drake asked. "About the dreams, yes." Serena said. "I think I know what Drake is asking. You two are acting just like you did on the Moon when you got engaged. I guess he's prodding to find out if you're engaged now." Zachary explained.
Serena blushed, aware that all eyes were on her and Darien. "Wow, Drake. You and Hotaru must be physic. She was the only one of the girls that noticed." "When did you two get engaged?" Galen asked. "We got engaged last night." Darien said.
After a chorus of congratulations, all the guys had to hug Serena and shake Darien's hand. Then, the meeting was adjourned, and everybody, except Darien and Serena, went back to their jobs. Once alone, Serena led Darien to her suite. From there, they ordered room service and began to talk about their fast approaching dinner.
"How do I act around them? Wait a minute. I thought I was meeting your real parents tonight. What happened, Serena?" Darien rambled. There was a knock on the door. "Saved by the door." Serena said as she opened the door and took the food. When the waiter left, Darien continued. "I'm serious, Serena. What happened at your parents this morning?"
Serena sighed and began to explain, "When I got to the house, my dad led me to the living room. He told me to sit down and watch a tape with the rest of the family. It was a tape from a security camera. A security camera from your hall. I didn't even know your building had security cameras, much less that they let just anybody have a copy. Anyway, it was last night's tape and I was on it. We were on it. I didn't have time to tell my parents about you. They found out by watching the tape."
"I ran into my super this morning. He told me that a series of robberies have been taking place in the building. The government has put the security cameras up in hopes to discover who the thieves are. The super said the government has acquired a photographer named Frank to help them with the investigation." Darien stopped, noticing Serena's shock as he mentioned the photographer. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Serena looked at him and simply said, "The photographer is my dad." Darien's mouth formed a slight 'o'. He quickly regained himself, and asked, "When your father found out about us, what did he do?" Serena looked down guiltily. "We kinda yelled at each other. I guess you could say we had a fight. A fight that ended when I stormed out and slammed the front door behind me." She smiled ruefully at that.
Darien cupped her face in his hands and lifted her face up to look in her eyes. "You'll have to go back and explain everything to them rationally." he told her. "I know. I think I'll wait for all of us to cool down a little first, though. At least now I know how Dad got a copy of that tape." Serena said. "Now, lets eat up before our food gets cold. I'll tell answer any questions you have about my surrogate family and tonight's dinner.
"That'd be great. Lets see. How should I …" Their afternoon continued this way. Serena spent most of the time laughing at Darien's nervousness and answering his questions with apparent ease. Around 6:ooP.M. Darien left for his apartment to change for dinner, with specific orders from Serena to be in the lobby at 6:45 P.M.
The lobby of the Silver Millennium – 6:55P.M.
A nervous Darien stood next to Serena, who was wearing a black, spaghetti strap dress that stopped just above her knees and tall, black boots. The dress had dark red rose blossoms scattered all over it, and to keep warm, she was wearing a black leather jacket. Seeing Darien looking at her, Serena said, "What?" Darien smiled and replied, "Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?"
Serena laughed and said, "Only about 500 times. You look great yourself." And he did. Darien was wearing slacks, a polo shirt, and a sports coat that matched his slacks.
Just then, a young man called out to them, "Serena!" They both looked up and saw three people walking towards them. When they reached Serena and Darien, the woman said, "Oh, Serena, it's been so long. You look fabulous. I can't believe you're engaged now." Then, the two women hugged. Serena, who was the first to pull away, said to the three newcomers, "Robin, Victor, Joe, this is my fiancée, Darien. Darien, this is Robin, Victor, and Joe."
Darien shook all of their hands and said, "It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you." "That's funny. We'd never even heard of you until today." Joe said huskily. His comment rewarded him with a stern look from his mother and slap on the arm from Serena. "Hey!" he yelped. The others just laughed.
"Why don't we go up to the restaurant, get a table, and then continue our talk? Okay?" Victor suggested. "Good idea, sir." Darien replied. Moving as a group, the five adults walked to the elevator. Soon, they were on the 30th floor, standing in a long line of customers waiting for tables. After about five minutes, they were the only people left at the doors of the restaurant. "When did you say our reservations were for?" Robin asked Serena. "What reservations?" Before anyone could respond, Darien saw Rei and Justin step off the elevator.
"Look who just showed up, Serena." Darien said. Following his gaze, Serena saw their friends walking towards them with smiles on their faces. It looks like they haven't seen us yet. This ought to be fun. Serena thought with a wry smile on her face. "Oh. Look at the nice couple." Joe said, having seen Rei and Justin.
Feeling eyes on her, Rei looked up and was surprised to see Serena and Darien. "Hi, what are you doing here?" she asked. "What do you think we're doing here?" Joe answered sarcastically, costing him another slap from Serena, who said, "Be nice, Joe." Then, to Justin, she said, "You didn't tell us you were coming here."
Robin looked at Serena quizzically, "You know these people, Serena?" "Oh, where are my manners? I'm sorry. Robin, Victor, Joe, this is Rei and Justin. They're two of my rather large group of best friends. Rei, Justin, this is Robin, Victor, and Joe. They're the family that took me in while I was in Canada." Serena said.
"It's nice to meet you. Sorry about the sarcasm." Joe said to Rei. "It's nice to meet you, too. I didn't mind the sarcasm. I realize I asked a stupid question." Rei replied.
"What did you mean by 'what are you doing here'?" Darien asked his friends. Justin answered for Rei, "I forgot to tell her where you two were dining tonight. We invited the whole group to eat with us, except you guys of course since I already knew about your plans."
A sudden noise made everybody turn to look at the elevator. A group of 11 had just stepped off the elevator and was now walking towards the restaurant loudly. "Well, there's the rest of our party. Fashionably late." Rei said. Galen, walking at the front of the large group with Amara, saw Serena and said, "Serena, why don't you, Darien, and your friends join us. The more the merrier."
Serena looked at Darien and the others, "What do you say? Do you want get to know just Darien or all of my friends?" "Why don't we join them. That is, if there is a table big enough for 18 people," Victor said. After introducing everybody to her surrogate family, Serena asked, "Where's Nathan, Hotaru, and Drake? And Luna and Artemis, too?"
"Luna and Artemis are at my place. Nathan had a few loose ends to tie up before he could join us. He said he'd be a little late. We don't know where the others are." Lita said. Before anything else could said, the maitre 'd appeared. Without looking up, he said, "Name, please." "We don't have a reservation, sir." Robin told him. Still not looking up, he laughed and said, "No reservation, no table. Goodbye." Lita, recognizing the man, said, "Hayashi-san, look up, please. Your boss will not be happy if I tell him you refused to even talk to us." The startled maitre 'd looked up. He was immediately sorry for all he had said.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Lita. We have no more tables, though, except the reserved ones," the maitre 'd said. "Why did he call you Ms. Lita?" Robin asked. "We'll explain it later. Can you lead us to the owners' private room?" Galen queried. "Of course, sir. Follow me, everybody," the maitre 'd said.
A short time later, the large group was seated in the private room. Before the maitre 'd could leave, Lita asked, "Hayashi-san, would you tell Nathan, Hotaru, and Drake where we are?" "Of course," he said and then he left. The group was alone. "Alright. Now, why did that man call her Ms. Lita? Why are we in the owner's private room? And how does he know this Nathan?" Robin questioned.
Looking back between Robin, Victor and Joe, Serena explained, "Um…Well, he knows Lita because she's a chef here. This room is usually used for owner meetings. Not owners of the restaurant, but owners of the skyscraper. There are seven owners all together. They are Galen, Ashe, Zachary, Justin, Kenjo, Nathan, and myself. That is why the maitre 'd listened to Galen and how he knows Nathan, who is also the owner of the restaurant."
Just then, Nathan walked in, went over to Lita, and gave her a quick kiss. "Sorry I'm late." he said. "That's okay. We were just talking about you." Lita replied. After that, he sat down in the empty seat next to her. Aware of eyes on him, he looked around as he said, "What?" "Nothing," came the unanimous answer. Suddenly, the door opened and Hotaru and Drake appeared. "Sorry we're late. Have you already ordered?" Drake asked. "No. We just got seated," Trista answered.
"Hotaru Tomoe, is that you? What are you doing here? How do you know Serena?" Victor asked. Hotaru, looking shocked, answered, "Dr. Williams. It's nice to see you. Serena and I go way back." Serena, smiling at Hotaru's questioning look, said, "Victor, this is Drake. I assume you know Hotaru from school. We met through my younger cousin. They became fast friends when she visited us one year."
After they ordered and received their food, Serena's surrogate parents got to know all of Serena's friends. Then Drake looked at his watch. "I'd better get you back to your house, Hotaru. It's 9:30," he said. "I guess you're right." Hotaru said. Standing up, the two of them said their goodbyes and left. After that, people left couple by couple.
First, Mina and Kenjo departed. Five minutes later, Lita and Nathan. Then, Rei and Justin. After them, Ami and Zachary left. Michelle and Ashe and Amara and Galen left together since the girls had come in the same car. Shortly after them, Trista and Logan left. Soon, Serena, Darien, Robin, Victor, and Joe were the only ones remaining.
"I think your friends have the right idea, Serena. We'd better go. I've got a class to teach tomorrow. It was nice to meet you, Darien." Victor said. "It was nice to meet you too, sir." Darien replied. "Please, call me Victor. It was nice to meet all of your friends, Serena. We'll see you soon, I hope. Don't be strangers, you hear." Victor said to them.
With that, Serena's surrogate family left, leaving Serena and Darien alone. "That went well, I think." Serena commented. "Yeah. It's getting late and you and I both have to work tomorrow. Why don't I walk you to your suite? Then, I'll go back to my apartment." Darien said. Hand-in- hand, the couple walked to Serena's suite. Once there, Darien gave her a goodbye kiss and they parted. Going into her suite, Serena glanced at her clock. 10 o'clock. I'll be well rested for work tomorrow. Then she put on her pajamas and got ready for bed. Turning off the lights, she got in her bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Serena blinked awake suddenly. No, it can't be. Can it? No, Rini's in the future. Why do I feel her energy here, then? I'll have to talk to Darien first thing in the morning. If I felt her presence, then he definitely did. Looking at her alarm clock, Serena groaned. 2 in the morning. It feels like I haven't even been asleep for more than 5 minutes! I need to get some sleep. The kids will be able to walk all over me tomorrow if I'm not fully rested. Rolling over in her bed, Serena looked at the moon through her bedroom window. Mother, what are you trying to tell me through the dreams? What do you hope to teach me? As though answering her questions, the moon suddenly glowed a little brighter. Before Serena could wonder what had happened to it, she was fast asleep, courtesy of her mother, Queen Serenity.
The Moon – 2005
Watching her daughter sleep peacefully from her vantage point on the moon, Queen Serenity's spirit smiled. Suddenly, a voice said, "It's time for you pay for what you've done to my family, Serenity." Whirling around to face the new arrival, the queen, who knew that the time would one day come, merely said, "Hello, Kale." Realizing that Kale was preparing a spell to seal her on the moon, Serenity mumbled, "Powers of the Moon, hear my plea. Seal Kale in the same place she seals me. Continue to guide Serena with her dreams. She must be prepared to face her past. She must be able to stop Kale at last." And then, in sync with Kale, Serenity cast her spell, calling upon the ancient powers of her family. When the two spells met, they sent both Kale and Serenity into a slightly open stone (what would have functioned as a safe on the moon during the Silver Millennium), sealed it, and carved a warning on all four sides of the "safe". Then, the stone was cast off into space, to float around until eventually landing on Earth.
