Title: Welcome To Reality
Chapter Title: Illness
Summary: Serena Warren, now fifteen, graduates the tenth grade with honours and is offered a chance to go to Japan on a student exchange program. Here, she realizes that the reason her dreams seemed so real is that they were.
Author: Silver Sparklze
Reason For Writing: This story was written as a challenge set by Sage: The Dark Dryad.
Author's Notes: I have tried to translate the Japanese next to the words, but even so, anything written in bold will be translated at the end of the chapter if not already translated.
~The Park (and doesn't a heck of a lot happen here?), Tokyo~
"Take that!" Sailor Moon cried triumphantly, hitting her nega-scum over the head with her Moon Scope. It was dark, so she knew the other Scouts wouldn't see it. She turned on the next one, as the fishy-creature slumped to the ground. This one also had a rather fishy-appearance, although it looked more like a cod than a goldfish. "Selene Mirror Implosion!" She yelled, and watched as about twenty Sailor Moons surrounded the nega-sleaze, making short work of it before disappearing again.
Meanwhile, the other Scouts were faring just as well. Unfortunately, Sailor Moon paid for her lapse in concentration, one of the monsters managed to slash its elbow fin across the ridge of her left collarbone. She gasped in slight pain, and turned around. "That's it," she growled, so low that no one but her and the monster could hear, "you're moon dust. Starfire Burning." That was all it took to cause the scaly creature to bust into silver spangles. Sailor Moon's wound glowed silver in the moonlight, before the silver-blue liquid seeped into her bloodstream, leaving her blood as red as before…
~Serena's Bedroom, Hikawa Shrine, Tokyo~
Serena tossed and turned; kicking the blankets off for a moment, before pulling them back on, her teeth chattering.
"I will not throw up," she told herself sternly, "I will not, I will not, I will not." She buried her head under her pillow, and tried to get some sleep…
"Serena-san!" Someone banged on the door. "Serena-san! Wake up! It's 7.30!"
"G'way." Serena mumbled.
"Serena-san!" Sighing, Serena got up, realising that she'd never get any peace. The room lurched around her for a moment, but Serena forced the nausea away angrily.
"'M up!" She yelled back, staggering around and pulling on her uniform. She tugged her hair into a ponytail, too exhausted to bother with her odangos. Tiredly, she headed out…
~Juuban High School, Tokyo~
Serena sat through her classes that day unable to concentrate on anything. Nor was she able to eat at break, or at lunch. Even the smell of food was making her feel ill. Luckily, the room had stopped spinning every single time she got up or sat down, but even Kimi-chan – who wasn't the world's most observant person – had noticed that something was wrong.
"Genki da, Sere-chan?" {Are you ok, Serena?} She asked as they left their last class of the day, Ryoori.
"Hai, genki da." {Yes, I'm fine} Serena replied wearily, "Just a little tired."
"Ok…look, here's Rei-san. Ja, Sere-chan." {Bye, Serena}
"Bye, Kimi-chan."
Serena wearily followed Rei and her friends, not even bothering to see who was with her. She knew Darien was there, she could sense him, but other than that, there could have been anyone. Stoically, she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, not even realising that the world was spinning until just before it spiralled into darkness…
~Selene's Castle, Nothingness~
Serena sat in front of the mirror, watching the rest of the Scouts crowd over her inert form.
((Ok, remember that the mirror translates Japanese into Serena Warren's first language for her^_^))
$"Is she alright?" Darien asked.
"Of course not." Ami said. "She's unconscious. But I don't know why. Her vital signs are good, and it's not like there's been something wrong with her eating habits or anything…"
"Well," Lita picked the tiny blonde up, "let's take her to Darien-san's. Probably the safest place. She may have been infected by some Nega-Sleaze somehow. Look at Molly. Y'know, she's light. Lighter than…" the husky brunette's voice trailed off. Mina sniffed slightly, and the Outers looked on, worried expressions on their faces.
"Well, let's get going then." A purplish coloured kitten by the name of Diana said briskly. Rini absently petted her kitten's head, and all the Planet Pals headed for Darien's apartment…
"Ok, what are we going to do?" Hotaru asked the moment they were shut up in the apartment. "We can't call a doctor, because she could be possessed, in which case we might inadvertently spread it, and yet, none of us are qualified in case she really is hurt."
"Well," Michelle said, "that's not technically true. I'm studying biology and human development, and Ami-chan's mom is a surgeon. I think we can figure out if it's something life threatening." At that moment, Serena moaned, shifting on the couch so that her school blouse moved to one side, revealing a glowing wound.
"Well, I think we can rule out any normal illness." Amara said dryly. "This is Nega-Trash at its best."
"Oh dear." Luna said worriedly, "What are we going to do?"
"Kill her?" Amara suggested, only half joking.
"Ama-chan!" Michelle scolded. "It's not her fault!"
"I know, Mi-chan." Amara said, smiling gently at the green-haired girl. Michelle sighed, smiling back.
"Ok, major PDA." Rini said, giggling. Hotaru nodded.
"Definitely. I don't need to see my adopted parents doing that." She said, her mouth tilting into a grin.
"We're going to have to take off her blouse." Ami announced. Amara raised an eyebrow.
"Has Greg-kun got something to be jealous about, Ami-chan?" She asked playfully. Ami blushed at the mention of her boyfriend.
"Of course not," she said, "but Michelle-san and I should check out Serena-san's torso, to see if there're anymore marks. Darien-kun, Rini-chan, Hotaru-chan, Trista-san, Amara-san, Mina-chan, Lita-cha, Rei-chan, I think you should leave."
"What? Why?" Lita looked up from where she'd been appraising Darien's cookbooks.
"Because I doubt Serena-san will be glad that any of us saw her bare torso. Let's not embarrass her too much." The rest of the Planet Pals could see Ami's point, and nodded, leaving like they'd been asked.
Ami turned back to Serena the moment they'd gone, quickly divesting the smaller girl of her blouse and bra. She checked over the blonde's body in a business-like fashion. Finally, she replaced Serena's clothing, and turned to Michelle, who had been watching her, not feeling comfortable enough to do anything.
"Is she ok?" Michelle asked. She wasn't close to Serena-san like she had been to Sere-ko, but the fact that the two blondes were identical made her worried about this one too.
"She'll be fine…I hope." Ami said, running a hand through her short hair, "but I'm worried about that cut. It's definitely nega-worthy. There's an intense feeling of evil radiating from that gash, and the fact that it's glowing silver is definitely cause for concern." Michelle nodded, a frown marring her pale delicate features.
"For sure." She said fervently. "Y'know…it's strange… she got it straight after we battle Kistenia and her fish-things."
"You're right…" Ami said slowly. "Perhaps she was captured by the Nega-Verse beforehand. Omigod! She could be possessed!" Michelle rolled her eyes at Ami. For such a smart girl she sure could be dense. But Michelle wasn't going to pry. If Ami didn't want to admit that Serena-san was the mystery warrior, then Michelle wasn't going to make her…
Ami called the others back in.
"'S all clear." She said when Hotaru poked her head around, looking slightly alarmed. They all headed back in.
"What's wrong with her, do you know?" Diana, Rini's kitty, and the future offspring of Luna and Artemis asked.
"No idea, but I think she's going to be ok."$
At that moment, the mirror disappeared from in front of Serena's eyes, and she gasped out loud, eyes opening for a second, and taking in the sight of the Scouts all standing in front of her. Her back arched, and a blinding silver light forced its way out of her body, turning black oh so slowly, and covering her whole body.
"Just let me die, Selene…" Was all she said before lapsing into unconscious again…
~Selene's Castle, Nothingness~
Serena opened her eyes to see a girl who looked like a younger Selene hovering over her, stroking her cheek gently.
"You're going to be alright," the girl told her, "I'm going to make you well again." She placed both hands over Serena's left collarbone, and the cut slowly closed up, the silver/black light being pulled out, and dissipating in the mist that surrounded them. The mist that made up the girl's clothing. "Now sleep…sleep and heal…"
The next day, Selene led her to the mirror again.
"Why am I here?" Serena asked as she sat down, feeling a twinge of pain. The poison still circulated through her blood, it took longer than just a day for even the Goddess of Healing, Phoebe, Selene's sister to help her. Selene smiled.
"You wish to know what is going on, do you not?" Serena nodded.
"Well, watch then." Selene touched the mirror. The silvery surface glowed for a moment, and a picture appeared, growing bigger.
$"We're going to have to leave her here." Rei said regretfully, "We don't want anything happening to her, and I can't trust Grandpa to watch her constantly."
"But…I'm not a nursemaid!" Darien protested for the thousandth time.
"Doesn't matter." Michelle replied, also for the thousandth time.
"Please, Darien, none of us can do it. Unless you wish to pull Hotaru and Rini out of school for as long as this may take, since the rest of us have exams." Ami lied slightly.
"No way is Hotaru missing out on school." Michelle said, Amara nodding quickly.
"And Rini isn't either." Darien agreed, looking at his daughter sternly. The pink haired girl pouted.
"Spoil our fun." She muttered to Hotaru. The dark-haired girl giggled.
"Well, then." Mina said brightly, "You're the only candidate, Darien-kun. Now, we have to get to school, see you." Rini gave Darien a hug, and all the Scouts headed out of the apartment, leaving Darien alone with the unconscious Serena.$
Serena watched the mirror with something akin to fascination as Darien walked over to his couch, and stroked Comatose-Serena's cheek gently.
"So beautiful." He murmured, before jerking his hand back and blinking in surprise. Serena giggled. The poor guy. She knew why he was attracted to her, his soul called out to hers. But he thought that his soul mate was the deceased Serena Tsukino, not the very-much-alive Serena Warren…
~Selene's Castle, Nothingness~
"You're enjoying this, aren't you." Selene said, smiling down at Serena, who sat in front of the mirror again, watching Darien potter about his living room, rearranging his CD's, and looking at her comatose self fondly every so often, before frowning in confusion.
"No!" Serena lied. Selene gave her a 'look'. "Ok, so I am. 'S funny is all. He's so confused. Poor bugger."
"Poor bugger is right, if he has to deal with you." Phoebe said childishly, shaking her pale hair.
"Enough, Phoebe." An elderly crone said, frowning over her crystal ball. Hecate, goddess of fertility and war was still beautiful, even in her old age, and although her face was lined, the serenity in it shone through. Like the others, she had silver eyes and white hair, and wore a grey gown made out of the mist that surrounded Selene's home. Also like her sisters, she had a silver crescent on her head. On Phoebe, the crescent was almost colourless, hardly noticeable from the paleness of her skin. Upon Selene, it was darker, defined, and yet, not. However, Hecate's was the darkest of all, shining a bright silver that was almost blinding.
"Enough, both of you." Selene said sternly when Phoebe opened her mouth to retort. "Serena, you have been with us for a week. How are you feeling?"
"Really bad…" Serena began to lie, stopping when Selene gave her 'the look', "Ok, I'm fine. Never better. And I've put on all the weight that I lost two years ago. In fact, I don't think I've ever been this healthy. What of it?"
"Phoebe, your diagnosis?" Selene turned to her little sister, who quickly stopped poking her tongue out at Hecate.
"She's fine." Phoebe said sulkily. "Good as new. She can go back whenever you want."
"Good." Selene turned to Serena, picking her up by her shoulders and setting the small blonde on her feet. She touched Serena's crescent mark with one hand. "Wake…"
Ryoori: home ec