The Darkness Inside of Her
By: dragonfly-rising
As the Senshi scattered attempting to avoid the thick fog that sprang up suddenly Mina found herself diving to the ground next to Amara. She lifted herself to her knees, scanning her immediate area for signs of the other Senshi. She could not see any other then Amara who was up on her own knees in an instant.
"This is so wrong." Mina whispered to herself as she continued to search the fog.
Like the other Inner Senshi she had known something was terribly amiss with Serena but she had not had the courage to confront her friend over it. She had done her best to put a positive spin on what was occurring with the other blonde girl and in the end she could not help but feel she had failed Serena miserably. She had known about the grueling runs in the school track. She had known when Serena had changed from her normally bouncy self to the distant fake person. She had been an actress after all and there was no hiding from her when someone was putting up a front to keep others away. Add to that the fact that being the Senshi of Venus gave her enhanced empathic abilities that had practically been screaming at her that something was wrong for the past two years and it left Mina with the distinct impression that she had simply ignored everything that she should have been paying attention to. Seeing the altered Sailor Moon had just brought it all to an awful undeniable reckoning.
"Are you alright?" Amara asked her in a hushed voice.
"Sure. I don't think that was meant to hurt us" Mina answered softly "Can you see any of the others?"
"No, we scattered too quickly for me to keep track of everyone." Amara admitted.
Mina nodded absently. She had not really expected Amara to be able to see any better than she could but it had been a slim hope.
"What do you think they really want?" She asked.
"Take over the world, our deaths, the usual" Amara remarked, humor coloring her comment.
Mina glanced over at the Senshi of Uranus. Amara had not always been the easiest of the Senshi to deal with but Mina knew she was not given to lose herself in anger. She could feel the tenuous waves of anger mixed with uncertainty flowing off of the other woman easily and was suddenly ashamed of her comment she had made at Raye's.
"Amara?" She ventured finally.
"Yes?"
"Why are you so angry with Serena? I thought you had let all of that go after you pledged your allegiance to her."
Amara was quiet for a long moment before she sighed, "Trista came to me and Michele a week ago severely wounded and fevered. She was almost incoherent, babbling about a shadow warrior and Serena having done something horrible. It isn't that I am angry with Serena, more that I am angry with all of us. We are the Senshi, sworn to protect her and we all failed. On the other side I can't help but feel she let us down as well. I apologize if I seemed... cross."
Mina accepted Amara's reason for acting the way she did without comment. Amara had perfectly worded exactly how she was feeling at the moment about the entire situation.
"We knew something was wrong Amara just not what it was or how far it had gone. I don't think even Darien suspected is was this bad. We all thought it was some kind of phase she was going through. Turns out we were wrong. We should have done more, talked to her more...but we didn't. She's been so strange for so long." Mina admitted guiltily.
Amara turned more fully towards her, "Mina there is little you can do when a friend wants something to stay private. It's on them to open up to you not the other way around. Serena should have spoken to someone before it got this bad. She should have admitted there was a problem and asked for help. How can you force someone to see something they are not willing to see?"
It was Mina's turn to sigh, "But we KNEW Amara. Isn't it being more of a friend to confront the person with the problem instead of standing by?"
"Why? A friend can only do so much Mina they can't control what that person does. Didn't any of you try to speak with her?"
"We asked Darien to talk to her...it didn't go so well." Mina acknowledged.
"Then you did try. Listen all the good intentions in the world don't amount to anything if there is nothing you can do. Serena changed and none of you knew how to react to her changes. That isn't something new you know. It happens to people all the time. That you guys clung to her instead of letting her disappear into her own little world fully could be all that kept her sane during this. That is what real friends do...they never give up on the person even if they have given up. In the end that is all you can do. It is amazing that she did not take the rest of you down with her."
"Down with her?" Mina
"She could have changed any of you because of who she is. Drawn you into whatever it is that is happening to her. I have a feeling she chose this route simply to protect the rest of you from something she didn't understand herself. Perhaps not the smartest thing she could have done but I refuse to think Serena has changed so drastically that her heart no longer compels her to do right by the people she loves." Amara stated firmly.
"So you think Lita was right? That she was trying to protect us?"
"Yes I do Mina" Amara asserted.
Mina felt some of her fear melt away from her in the face of Amara's unwavering confidence. She agreed that Serena could not have changed that much, she had to still be the same loving person deep inside of the fake shell she presented to them. A small smile leapt to her face as she realized she had never lost faith in her friend during all that had happened.
"Thank you Amara." Mina said softly.
One of Amara's eyebrows rose, "For what?"
"For reminding me of something I really needed to remember."
Amara chuckled lightly then sobered as her eyes alighted on something in the fog. Mina spun towards the direction Amara was looking in time to see a figure materialize. It was the black haired woman called Spider. Both Mina and Amara stood swiftly to face the woman. Spider stared at them her face immobile.
"I apologize but I have my orders." Spider offered sincerely.
Mina looked at Amara confused. Amara shrugged before turning her attention back to Spider. Mina did as well to find the woman had brought her hand up in a cupping motion. Above her palm a green light slowly revolved. Mina braced calling on her planet power a fraction too late.
"PATTERNS OF THE WEB" Spider hissed.
The green light sped towards them just as Mina was about to unleash her Love Chain. The light lengthened and divided becoming two spider webs that wrapped around her and Amara tightly causing them both to fall to the ground on their backs with identical surprised yelps. Mina struggled intensely only to find herself becoming more and more drowsy. Spider stepped up to them and looked down.
"Don't worry it won't kill you. Contrary to what my teammate said we have no intention of killing any of you. Only one of you is our objective and she will come to us of her own accord." Spider informed them.
"Serena?" Mina asked wincing at how weak her voice sounded already.
Spider nodded, "Soon...perhaps then we will be able to actually fight. I was so looking forward to it but as I said I have my orders."
Spider walked away from them swiftly and Mina found herself fighting more against the sleep that was stealing over her. She had to warn the others.
By: dragonfly-rising
As the Senshi scattered attempting to avoid the thick fog that sprang up suddenly Mina found herself diving to the ground next to Amara. She lifted herself to her knees, scanning her immediate area for signs of the other Senshi. She could not see any other then Amara who was up on her own knees in an instant.
"This is so wrong." Mina whispered to herself as she continued to search the fog.
Like the other Inner Senshi she had known something was terribly amiss with Serena but she had not had the courage to confront her friend over it. She had done her best to put a positive spin on what was occurring with the other blonde girl and in the end she could not help but feel she had failed Serena miserably. She had known about the grueling runs in the school track. She had known when Serena had changed from her normally bouncy self to the distant fake person. She had been an actress after all and there was no hiding from her when someone was putting up a front to keep others away. Add to that the fact that being the Senshi of Venus gave her enhanced empathic abilities that had practically been screaming at her that something was wrong for the past two years and it left Mina with the distinct impression that she had simply ignored everything that she should have been paying attention to. Seeing the altered Sailor Moon had just brought it all to an awful undeniable reckoning.
"Are you alright?" Amara asked her in a hushed voice.
"Sure. I don't think that was meant to hurt us" Mina answered softly "Can you see any of the others?"
"No, we scattered too quickly for me to keep track of everyone." Amara admitted.
Mina nodded absently. She had not really expected Amara to be able to see any better than she could but it had been a slim hope.
"What do you think they really want?" She asked.
"Take over the world, our deaths, the usual" Amara remarked, humor coloring her comment.
Mina glanced over at the Senshi of Uranus. Amara had not always been the easiest of the Senshi to deal with but Mina knew she was not given to lose herself in anger. She could feel the tenuous waves of anger mixed with uncertainty flowing off of the other woman easily and was suddenly ashamed of her comment she had made at Raye's.
"Amara?" She ventured finally.
"Yes?"
"Why are you so angry with Serena? I thought you had let all of that go after you pledged your allegiance to her."
Amara was quiet for a long moment before she sighed, "Trista came to me and Michele a week ago severely wounded and fevered. She was almost incoherent, babbling about a shadow warrior and Serena having done something horrible. It isn't that I am angry with Serena, more that I am angry with all of us. We are the Senshi, sworn to protect her and we all failed. On the other side I can't help but feel she let us down as well. I apologize if I seemed... cross."
Mina accepted Amara's reason for acting the way she did without comment. Amara had perfectly worded exactly how she was feeling at the moment about the entire situation.
"We knew something was wrong Amara just not what it was or how far it had gone. I don't think even Darien suspected is was this bad. We all thought it was some kind of phase she was going through. Turns out we were wrong. We should have done more, talked to her more...but we didn't. She's been so strange for so long." Mina admitted guiltily.
Amara turned more fully towards her, "Mina there is little you can do when a friend wants something to stay private. It's on them to open up to you not the other way around. Serena should have spoken to someone before it got this bad. She should have admitted there was a problem and asked for help. How can you force someone to see something they are not willing to see?"
It was Mina's turn to sigh, "But we KNEW Amara. Isn't it being more of a friend to confront the person with the problem instead of standing by?"
"Why? A friend can only do so much Mina they can't control what that person does. Didn't any of you try to speak with her?"
"We asked Darien to talk to her...it didn't go so well." Mina acknowledged.
"Then you did try. Listen all the good intentions in the world don't amount to anything if there is nothing you can do. Serena changed and none of you knew how to react to her changes. That isn't something new you know. It happens to people all the time. That you guys clung to her instead of letting her disappear into her own little world fully could be all that kept her sane during this. That is what real friends do...they never give up on the person even if they have given up. In the end that is all you can do. It is amazing that she did not take the rest of you down with her."
"Down with her?" Mina
"She could have changed any of you because of who she is. Drawn you into whatever it is that is happening to her. I have a feeling she chose this route simply to protect the rest of you from something she didn't understand herself. Perhaps not the smartest thing she could have done but I refuse to think Serena has changed so drastically that her heart no longer compels her to do right by the people she loves." Amara stated firmly.
"So you think Lita was right? That she was trying to protect us?"
"Yes I do Mina" Amara asserted.
Mina felt some of her fear melt away from her in the face of Amara's unwavering confidence. She agreed that Serena could not have changed that much, she had to still be the same loving person deep inside of the fake shell she presented to them. A small smile leapt to her face as she realized she had never lost faith in her friend during all that had happened.
"Thank you Amara." Mina said softly.
One of Amara's eyebrows rose, "For what?"
"For reminding me of something I really needed to remember."
Amara chuckled lightly then sobered as her eyes alighted on something in the fog. Mina spun towards the direction Amara was looking in time to see a figure materialize. It was the black haired woman called Spider. Both Mina and Amara stood swiftly to face the woman. Spider stared at them her face immobile.
"I apologize but I have my orders." Spider offered sincerely.
Mina looked at Amara confused. Amara shrugged before turning her attention back to Spider. Mina did as well to find the woman had brought her hand up in a cupping motion. Above her palm a green light slowly revolved. Mina braced calling on her planet power a fraction too late.
"PATTERNS OF THE WEB" Spider hissed.
The green light sped towards them just as Mina was about to unleash her Love Chain. The light lengthened and divided becoming two spider webs that wrapped around her and Amara tightly causing them both to fall to the ground on their backs with identical surprised yelps. Mina struggled intensely only to find herself becoming more and more drowsy. Spider stepped up to them and looked down.
"Don't worry it won't kill you. Contrary to what my teammate said we have no intention of killing any of you. Only one of you is our objective and she will come to us of her own accord." Spider informed them.
"Serena?" Mina asked wincing at how weak her voice sounded already.
Spider nodded, "Soon...perhaps then we will be able to actually fight. I was so looking forward to it but as I said I have my orders."
Spider walked away from them swiftly and Mina found herself fighting more against the sleep that was stealing over her. She had to warn the others.