WHOO HOO! My other two epics are DONE! Now I can focus on this piece
right here and make my lovely readers happy!!!! By the way, PLEASE!
When you are done reading this, go read my short little one-shots!
(Shadows; Ah, Romance; and Burning) I'm very proud of my little
one-shots and Burning doesn't have many reviews yet! sniff Their good,
too! sniff, sniff. And please visit my bio for the status of my stories
and any ideas I have. You can comment on them in a review! . Anyway,
here is Episode Five! Enjoy!
The Unexpected: Episode 5
---------------------------------------------------------------
It was nice to have an overprotective husband as your employer, Serena mused, wandering around a maternity store. She fingered a pink maternity blouse, then moved on to the next rack. Serena acted as Darien's secretary at his pediatric practice but he had made her go on maternity leave. Serena giggled. It was nice to have nothing to do and no stress piled on her shoulders.
Serena was in her fourth month now. These last three months had gone quietly; not a single attack appeared. This made Serena very nervous and the only way Serena Shields could effectively calm her nerves was to shop. And shop she did.
She wasn't really showing yet. Well, actually she and Darien could tell she was gaining a few pounds and that her belly protruded just slightly, in their more...private moments. However, when she got dressed, you couldn't tell.
Serena was determined to enjoy these next three months. They were supposedly the best three of pregnancy. Actually, all nine were great for Serena since she was spare the morning sickness of the first trimester. However, this seemed to be the only symptom she was exempt from. She still felt lightheaded and dizzy occasionally- one reason why Darien told her to quit work-but this was rare. And Serena had been spared the sudden mood swings so far, for which her husband was VERY thankful. All in all, Serena was enjoying herself immensely.
She finished browsing the clearance rack and returned the pink shirt she'd liked so much and selected it. The cashier herself was pregnant and showing nicely. She gave Serena a wink. "This is my fifth child, ma'am! I have some experience and it looks to me that you may need this in a few weeks!"
Serena laughed. "I get that feeling too! Just being prepared!" She purchased the shirt, then headed back to her car. After a stop at the grocery store she headed to the Hino temple. Raye met her halfway, running down the steps in her robe, a grin all over her face.
"Serena! How are you?"
Serena laughed. "Just wonderful! I-" She paused, closing her eyes for a second. Raye watched worriedly, before noticing the placid smile on Serena's glowing face. "Quick!" she grabbed Raye's hand. "Feel!"
She put Raye's hand on her belly. Raye concentrated, but felt nothing. "No fair!" She complained. "I can't feel a thing."
Serena laughed. "That's ok. No one else has either, besides me. Darien was so annoyed. The first time I felt the baby, I yelled for him and he stood there for 10 minutes, talking to my stomach, begging for the baby to move again and asking it what did it have against him already. I told him it was moving plenty and he just went and pouted in his office."
Raye laughed. "Well, what's up?"
Serena smiled. "Are you ready for the party tonight?"
Raye gasped and slapped her forehead. "Shimatta! That IS tonight!"
Serena laughed again. "Yes, and you and Chad better be there! Just married or not, you better be there!"
Raye and Chad had been married soon after Serena and Darien had returned from their honeymoon. The other Senshi were engaged. Amy was engaged to Greg, who teased her often about visions he had of their wedding; Mina was engaged to Andrew, who had turned to her after a harsh break-up from Rita. Mina was there for him the whole time and slowly their relationship blossomed from friendship into love. And of course, Lita, who had been in denial of the depth of her relationship with Ken, finally gave in to the love she longed for and allowed Ken to sweep her off her feet. The weddings were arranged for the coming summer, all in the same month. First Amy and Greg, then Ken and Lita, and Mina and Andrew would be the last to marry. These men each had their own skills to offer to the Senshi effort and knew all their wives' secrets. Plus, Darien finally had some guys to hang out with!
"Oh, Serena, you know none of us would ever miss it. Plus the look on your parents' faces will be classic. I can't believe you waited four months to tell them!" Raye exclaimed, wagging her finger at her friend. Then, with sudden though, she sobered. "Are you going to tell them your identity tonight?"
Serena sobered instantly at the question. She sighed. "No. Now is not the time. They'd just be in more danger with this new enemy about and they'd try to forbid me to fight while pregnant. My mom would faint, my dad would explode, and my brother would just laugh himself silly at the idea of his goofy pregnant sister defending justice."
Raye giggled. "You're right. And you'll know when the time is right."
Serena smiled again. "Six o'clock. Shields house. The family thinks we're just having a big get-together for old times sake. They don't suspect a thing. And Sammy is going to bring Mika along. I think she suspects, but she wouldn't tell for the world."
Raye laughed. "No one would, to see Sammy's face when he found out that he was going to be an uncle at 18!"
Serena laughed, walking backwards to her car. "Well, I gotta go do the flight of the bumblebee so you're in charge of making sure all the girls and their guys remember! Thanks, Raye! See you tonight!"
Tonight
Grinning ear to ear, Darien stood and tapped on his glass with a spoon to get everyone's attention. He grinned because he knew the formal gesture wouldn't do a bit of good, and of course, looked to Amara for help. He sat back down, linking hands with Serena, who was grinning just as uncontrollably as he was. He placed a hand on her belly and no one could see the tender gesture under the table.
Amara grinned back, stuck two fingers in her mouth, and a sharp whistle pierced the air. Everyone was silent and Mina let out a shriek before blushing in embarrassment and hiding her face in Andrew's shirt. Serena just laughed.
"The Prin-" Amara caught herself, then grinned. "HEY! Serena and Darien got something to say! So let's all be QUIET!" She sank back into her seat, mischievously. Serena got the giggles. Darien looked to her to see if she would like to be the one to make the announcement. She nodded, containing herself. They stood together.
"Ano...minna?" she stuttered, trying to keep from laughing. "Mom, Dad? In five months you're going to be grandparents and Sammy is going to be an uncle."
She and Darien both burst into laughter at the threesome. Mika just giggled at Sammy's side. Irene Tsukino was clapping her hands excitedly, occasionally scrubbing at tears of joy. Ken Tsukino's jaw was in his lap. And Sammy just stared, confused; the news didn't sink in at all. Darien felt warm in the presense of his in-laws, who had quickly become very close to him, like the family he'd never had.
Then, Irene quit celebrating. Her whole expression changed to playful suspicion. She stood and crept at the couple, wagging her finger. "Hold on a minute, Serena. Exactly how many months did you say?"
Serena was well, incapable of answering. The woman sank slowly to her knees, then lowered herself to the floor, face down, still laughing. Darien chuckled at her, then answered his mother-in-law, "That would be five, Irene."
"Five?" She wagged her finger at her son-in-law. "And why, pray tell, did you wait four months to give us this news?"
Darien laughed. "Because we wanted to see the look on your face! Look! Those two still have it!"
It was true. Mr. Tsukino's jaw had fallen to the floor and Sammy still had a confused look on his face. Endeared and annoyed at her boyfriend's slow- acting intelligence, Mika whispered it in his ear. Sammy's jaw joined his father's on the floor for a moment, then he burst out laughing.
"You mean, Meatball Head is going to swell up like a balloon?! SWEET!"
Serena climbed to her feet slowly, winked at Mika, then turned back to her brother. "I hope you don't say that to Mika when she's carrying your child." Sammy paled, and clamped his hands over his mouth and Mika playfully glared him down, then whacked him over the head. He changed his tactics, and walked up to the couple, bowing over and over.
"My SINCEREST congratulations, brother and sister, for this WONDERFUL news. How WONDERFUL for me to be an UNCLE." He suavely kissed his sister's hand, then pumped Darien's hand in a enthusiastic handshake. They both laughed at his attempt to smooth over his mistake and impress his girlfriend (soon to be fiancé, but only Serena and Darien knew that).
"That's what I thought!" Serena choked out, still giggling.
"YOU!"
The Senshi and the guys were in hysterics at the scene unfolding before them, but at Mr. Tsukino's outburst, they silenced.
Ken approached slowly, like a lion on the prowl. He glared Darien down, but everyone was shocked that Darien was laughing at the man who was like his own father.
"YOU SICK MAN! YOU KNOCKED UP MY BABY GIRL!" Ken screamed. Darien and Serena died laughing while the rest of the room stared in confusion. Ken Tsukino on the warpath was a force to reckoned with and Serena and Darien laughed in his face.
"Well, sir, I am married to her," Darien provided, chuckling.
"Oh, yeah." Ken grinned and hugged his daughter, then slapped his son-in- law on the back. "Then, its ok. This is great! I'm gonna be a grandpa! WOW, that makes me feel old!"
The whole room erupted in laughter and the party resumed. All the guys came up to Darien and either slapped him on the back, shook his hand, or elbowed him repeatedly, casting significant glances at Serena. He laughed, and shoved them playfully around. Serena was hounded by every female in the room, every last one of them shrieking, "OOH! OOH! Let me feel!"
The pair caught each other's eyes for a moment, laughed, then faded into the ecstatic madness, in complete and total bliss.
Darien jerked awake with a start. He adjusted so he could see the clock a foot away from his eyes. 3:27 AM. He groaned. Darien rolled over to kiss Serena's forehead and found her peacefully sleeping with a knife pressed to her chest. Darien's eyes widened with shock and rage and followed the arm holding the knife with his eyes, finding a hideous youma standing beside a sleeping Serena. He locked eyes with the youma, sitting up very, very slowly so Serena didn't wake up.
The youma smiled sickly, then jerked its head to the door, raising the knife slightly as it did so. Darien tried to contain his rage, but nodded and left the bed, raising his hands and walking slowly to the door. He noticed Serena's communicator on the floor where it was thrown last night (.) and conveniently but very inconspicuously stepped on it, pressing the silent all-call. Then, he left the room, followed impatiently by the youma who now pointed the knife at Darien's back.
Darien resisted the strong urge to transform. Serena would feel him transform and then come running. Then she would do something stupid and get hurt. He trusted the other Senshi to get to him in time. However, Serena noticed the lack of his presence very quickly simply because there was an empty cold spot next to her in the bed now.
She snapped open her eyes. Darien was gone and her communicator was flashing. She leapt from the bed and landed nimbly beside it and whispered into it, "What's going on? Darien's gone!"
Lita's voice came over the speaker, soft as well. "We were hoping you could tell us. We just got an all-call."
Serena's head snapped up as she felt Darien's emotions suddenly fly to her. Anger. Lots of it. Darien was really, really mad.
"Darien must be in trouble!" she hissed, rising.
"Serena!" Lita yelled this time. "Don't do anything-"
Serena tossed the communicator over her shoulder and took off.
"Stupid."
Serena ran silently and gracefully through their house, reaching out with her sense for her Prince. His anger radiated strong enough for her to locate him in the backyard. She saw a youma trying to urge him into a portal with a jagged dagger. Darien was furious, she knew, and fought back fiercely. She wondered why he didn't transform but didn't hold onto the thought for very long.
"Moon Eternal, Make-up!"
Darien sighed in frustration as he felt Serena transform. He transformed automatically, and immediately regained the upper hand in the battle with the youma. He waited on Sailor Moon to arrive to his rescue but she never did. He felt a sudden burst of surprise and annoyance from her. A moment later, he sensed her release an attack.
"Kuso! Another youma!"
Tuxedo Mask returned his full attention to the thing stopping him from helping her out. He let loose a barrage of roses, piercing the thing all over. He got ticked with it, and brought his hands together in front of him and blasted the creature with golden energy from the Golden Crystal within him. It disappeared, and Darien took off in the direction where he could feel the Silver Crystal's active energy.
Suddenly, he could hear his wife talking in his head. He laughed as he ran. Man, THIS is NOT annoying at ALL. Youmas attacking at all hours of the night, figuring out where we live, waking up alone to a cold bed to find out my husband is fighting without me... not to mention being robbed of much-needed sleep. You are one dead youma.
Tuxedo Mask rounded their house to the front yard as he felt Serena release another powerful attack. He saw her flying around on her angelic wings, nothing less than taunting this youma with her attacks. She sent a hundred tiny blasts at it from her staff, forcing it to dance around in their yard. Tuxedo Mask had to laugh; nowadays if Sailor Moon didn't just destroy a monster straight out, she had beef with it and needed to satisfy herself. He rolled his eyes, launching a barrage of roses at the monster to announce his presence.
Sailor Moon shot him a grin before making the youma dance again. Then, suddenly, she felt another evil presence behind her. Immediately stopping her playing around, Sailor Moon dove to the ground, sensing an energy blast directed at her, and rolled. She rose and blasted at the nearest youma fiercely in one fluid motion. There was one gone, and another flying at the couple. Tuxedo Mask let loose another barrage of roses and Sailor Moon enthused them with a white beam of energy, destroying the next youma, but another appeared behind them and blasted the two in two different directions. Sailor Moon attempted to land on her feet, but something went wrong. She felt a dull, masked pain in her left leg. She staggered for a moment, then the pain disappeared. She whirled in a circle, seeing that they were slowly being surrounded by youma. "Shimatta!" she cried, blasting the nearest one.
Tuxedo Mask scrambled over to her, swinging his cane as he ran. "Are you okay?" he asked, breathing heavily and launching roses at once.
"Yes. This is trouble, Tuxedo Mask."
"I'd say so."
She blasted another three into oblivion but she was becoming weaker. The dull ache in her leg reappeared, providing just enough discomfort for her to stumble several times. Tuxedo Mask was just wondering what was keeping the Senshi when they announced their presence.
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"
"Mars Flame Sniper!"
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
"Silence Glaive Surprise!"
"Space Sword Blaster!"
"Submarine Reflection!"
"Dead Scream."
Eight more youma vanished in flashes of lights. Encouraged by her friends' arrival and the mere pair of youma left, she turned and blasted them, her white beam of energy enthused by Tuxedo Mask's golden energy. They vanished and immediately Sailor Moon vanished. A moment later, the others did too as she drew them into the teleport. She also found Greg, Chad, Andrew, and Ken and the cats and teleported them too. They all reappeared in the secret control room under the arcade. Sailor Moon sank into a nearby chair, her head falling into her hands. Tuxedo Mask hurried to her side.
"What is it, Serena?"
She looked up, tired and annoyed. "How did the figure out our identities?"
Mercury's fingers were already dancing over her keypad, Greg leaning over her shoulder. "I just don't know Serena! Neither you or Darien have done anything to reveal it." She started the mumble to herself and her fiancé and they worked together on the mystery.
"Unless... they already knew our identities and just needed to find our house..."
Darien was the only one who heard Serena's soft brooding. He looked at her sharply, but was immediately distracted as she detransformed. Her face paled and she fell from her chair, clutching at her left leg. Darien leapt to the ground beside her. "What is it, Serena?!" he cried.
"I think I hurt my leg in the battle," she choked out as the crowd began to surround her. Mercury forgot about the mystery she was working on and quickly scanned her leader.
"Jammed ankle joint with a nasty twist, Serena. How did you manage that?" Amy knelt next to her friend.
"Landed on it wrong!" Serena gasped. She sucked in a big breath and bravely sat back up. "But why didn't I feel it when I was morphed?!"
Luna answered her. "The power prevented it because it would have distracted you in your fighting. It masked the pain for you."
Serena actually laughed. "That's just great. Well, does it make it worse when you detransform?"
Luna actually nodded. "Kind of. You have no physical wound in your Sailor form. It just reappears when you drop the transformation."
"Swell."
"Here, let me." Hotaru approached, and touched Serena's left ankle. "I can't heal it totally, but let's just see what happens."
A purple aura hovered around the ankle. Serena smiled as the pain faded to a discomfort. When Hotaru was done, Serena hugged her.
"Cool. Now you just have a very slight sprain and weak muscles in the area. Good job, Hotaru." Amy snapped away her computer and finally detransformed.
Darien had remained silent through all this. He pulled Artemis aside when he was sure his wife was ok. She was discussing where she and Darien would go now that their identity was known.
"Artemis."
The white cat lithely leapt the arm of Darien's chair. "Yeah?"
Darien remembered he and Artemis had been close on the moon, before Artemis had been a cat. They'd talked often about everything. "Think about Luna, Artemis. If she was pregnant with Diana would you want her running around fighting, I don't know, Dobermans and getting hurt and in danger all the time?"
Artemis thought about it, rather distastefully, for a moment. "Definitely not. I'd make her stay in the house until the child was born."
Darien smiled. "Now you have a small idea of what I feel like. But since we can't do that Serena and expect the Earth to remain at peace, we have to find out who this enemy is. And soon. So we can get rid of them."
Artemis nodded succinctly. "Right. I'll get Amy and Greg and get right on it."
Darien glanced back at his wife. She was silent again, brooding again. Brooding for Serena meant that she sat hunched forward, her chin resting on a fist, the other hand twirling a strand of hair. Her eyes would be closed, her eyebrows, knit together. It was not a familiar expression on his wife's face.
She had suspicions she wasn't mentioning. And they bothered her.
"And I'll talk to Serena. Look at her, Artemis!" Artemis glanced over quickly. He nodded again.
"She's preoccupied by her own suspicions, but doesn't mention them because she's either confused or disturbed or both."
Darien nodded back, standing. "I'll find out. You know how Serena's intuition is nowadays."
Artemis grinned a cat grin. "Right!"
"Exactly."
What IS Serena brooding about! Find out in Episode 6 when she talks it over with Darien, after the Senshi throw her a huge baby shower. Also, the royal pair go into hiding. Find out what good it does in Episode 6! Stay tuned!
-Moon Pie
The Unexpected: Episode 5
---------------------------------------------------------------
It was nice to have an overprotective husband as your employer, Serena mused, wandering around a maternity store. She fingered a pink maternity blouse, then moved on to the next rack. Serena acted as Darien's secretary at his pediatric practice but he had made her go on maternity leave. Serena giggled. It was nice to have nothing to do and no stress piled on her shoulders.
Serena was in her fourth month now. These last three months had gone quietly; not a single attack appeared. This made Serena very nervous and the only way Serena Shields could effectively calm her nerves was to shop. And shop she did.
She wasn't really showing yet. Well, actually she and Darien could tell she was gaining a few pounds and that her belly protruded just slightly, in their more...private moments. However, when she got dressed, you couldn't tell.
Serena was determined to enjoy these next three months. They were supposedly the best three of pregnancy. Actually, all nine were great for Serena since she was spare the morning sickness of the first trimester. However, this seemed to be the only symptom she was exempt from. She still felt lightheaded and dizzy occasionally- one reason why Darien told her to quit work-but this was rare. And Serena had been spared the sudden mood swings so far, for which her husband was VERY thankful. All in all, Serena was enjoying herself immensely.
She finished browsing the clearance rack and returned the pink shirt she'd liked so much and selected it. The cashier herself was pregnant and showing nicely. She gave Serena a wink. "This is my fifth child, ma'am! I have some experience and it looks to me that you may need this in a few weeks!"
Serena laughed. "I get that feeling too! Just being prepared!" She purchased the shirt, then headed back to her car. After a stop at the grocery store she headed to the Hino temple. Raye met her halfway, running down the steps in her robe, a grin all over her face.
"Serena! How are you?"
Serena laughed. "Just wonderful! I-" She paused, closing her eyes for a second. Raye watched worriedly, before noticing the placid smile on Serena's glowing face. "Quick!" she grabbed Raye's hand. "Feel!"
She put Raye's hand on her belly. Raye concentrated, but felt nothing. "No fair!" She complained. "I can't feel a thing."
Serena laughed. "That's ok. No one else has either, besides me. Darien was so annoyed. The first time I felt the baby, I yelled for him and he stood there for 10 minutes, talking to my stomach, begging for the baby to move again and asking it what did it have against him already. I told him it was moving plenty and he just went and pouted in his office."
Raye laughed. "Well, what's up?"
Serena smiled. "Are you ready for the party tonight?"
Raye gasped and slapped her forehead. "Shimatta! That IS tonight!"
Serena laughed again. "Yes, and you and Chad better be there! Just married or not, you better be there!"
Raye and Chad had been married soon after Serena and Darien had returned from their honeymoon. The other Senshi were engaged. Amy was engaged to Greg, who teased her often about visions he had of their wedding; Mina was engaged to Andrew, who had turned to her after a harsh break-up from Rita. Mina was there for him the whole time and slowly their relationship blossomed from friendship into love. And of course, Lita, who had been in denial of the depth of her relationship with Ken, finally gave in to the love she longed for and allowed Ken to sweep her off her feet. The weddings were arranged for the coming summer, all in the same month. First Amy and Greg, then Ken and Lita, and Mina and Andrew would be the last to marry. These men each had their own skills to offer to the Senshi effort and knew all their wives' secrets. Plus, Darien finally had some guys to hang out with!
"Oh, Serena, you know none of us would ever miss it. Plus the look on your parents' faces will be classic. I can't believe you waited four months to tell them!" Raye exclaimed, wagging her finger at her friend. Then, with sudden though, she sobered. "Are you going to tell them your identity tonight?"
Serena sobered instantly at the question. She sighed. "No. Now is not the time. They'd just be in more danger with this new enemy about and they'd try to forbid me to fight while pregnant. My mom would faint, my dad would explode, and my brother would just laugh himself silly at the idea of his goofy pregnant sister defending justice."
Raye giggled. "You're right. And you'll know when the time is right."
Serena smiled again. "Six o'clock. Shields house. The family thinks we're just having a big get-together for old times sake. They don't suspect a thing. And Sammy is going to bring Mika along. I think she suspects, but she wouldn't tell for the world."
Raye laughed. "No one would, to see Sammy's face when he found out that he was going to be an uncle at 18!"
Serena laughed, walking backwards to her car. "Well, I gotta go do the flight of the bumblebee so you're in charge of making sure all the girls and their guys remember! Thanks, Raye! See you tonight!"
Tonight
Grinning ear to ear, Darien stood and tapped on his glass with a spoon to get everyone's attention. He grinned because he knew the formal gesture wouldn't do a bit of good, and of course, looked to Amara for help. He sat back down, linking hands with Serena, who was grinning just as uncontrollably as he was. He placed a hand on her belly and no one could see the tender gesture under the table.
Amara grinned back, stuck two fingers in her mouth, and a sharp whistle pierced the air. Everyone was silent and Mina let out a shriek before blushing in embarrassment and hiding her face in Andrew's shirt. Serena just laughed.
"The Prin-" Amara caught herself, then grinned. "HEY! Serena and Darien got something to say! So let's all be QUIET!" She sank back into her seat, mischievously. Serena got the giggles. Darien looked to her to see if she would like to be the one to make the announcement. She nodded, containing herself. They stood together.
"Ano...minna?" she stuttered, trying to keep from laughing. "Mom, Dad? In five months you're going to be grandparents and Sammy is going to be an uncle."
She and Darien both burst into laughter at the threesome. Mika just giggled at Sammy's side. Irene Tsukino was clapping her hands excitedly, occasionally scrubbing at tears of joy. Ken Tsukino's jaw was in his lap. And Sammy just stared, confused; the news didn't sink in at all. Darien felt warm in the presense of his in-laws, who had quickly become very close to him, like the family he'd never had.
Then, Irene quit celebrating. Her whole expression changed to playful suspicion. She stood and crept at the couple, wagging her finger. "Hold on a minute, Serena. Exactly how many months did you say?"
Serena was well, incapable of answering. The woman sank slowly to her knees, then lowered herself to the floor, face down, still laughing. Darien chuckled at her, then answered his mother-in-law, "That would be five, Irene."
"Five?" She wagged her finger at her son-in-law. "And why, pray tell, did you wait four months to give us this news?"
Darien laughed. "Because we wanted to see the look on your face! Look! Those two still have it!"
It was true. Mr. Tsukino's jaw had fallen to the floor and Sammy still had a confused look on his face. Endeared and annoyed at her boyfriend's slow- acting intelligence, Mika whispered it in his ear. Sammy's jaw joined his father's on the floor for a moment, then he burst out laughing.
"You mean, Meatball Head is going to swell up like a balloon?! SWEET!"
Serena climbed to her feet slowly, winked at Mika, then turned back to her brother. "I hope you don't say that to Mika when she's carrying your child." Sammy paled, and clamped his hands over his mouth and Mika playfully glared him down, then whacked him over the head. He changed his tactics, and walked up to the couple, bowing over and over.
"My SINCEREST congratulations, brother and sister, for this WONDERFUL news. How WONDERFUL for me to be an UNCLE." He suavely kissed his sister's hand, then pumped Darien's hand in a enthusiastic handshake. They both laughed at his attempt to smooth over his mistake and impress his girlfriend (soon to be fiancé, but only Serena and Darien knew that).
"That's what I thought!" Serena choked out, still giggling.
"YOU!"
The Senshi and the guys were in hysterics at the scene unfolding before them, but at Mr. Tsukino's outburst, they silenced.
Ken approached slowly, like a lion on the prowl. He glared Darien down, but everyone was shocked that Darien was laughing at the man who was like his own father.
"YOU SICK MAN! YOU KNOCKED UP MY BABY GIRL!" Ken screamed. Darien and Serena died laughing while the rest of the room stared in confusion. Ken Tsukino on the warpath was a force to reckoned with and Serena and Darien laughed in his face.
"Well, sir, I am married to her," Darien provided, chuckling.
"Oh, yeah." Ken grinned and hugged his daughter, then slapped his son-in- law on the back. "Then, its ok. This is great! I'm gonna be a grandpa! WOW, that makes me feel old!"
The whole room erupted in laughter and the party resumed. All the guys came up to Darien and either slapped him on the back, shook his hand, or elbowed him repeatedly, casting significant glances at Serena. He laughed, and shoved them playfully around. Serena was hounded by every female in the room, every last one of them shrieking, "OOH! OOH! Let me feel!"
The pair caught each other's eyes for a moment, laughed, then faded into the ecstatic madness, in complete and total bliss.
Darien jerked awake with a start. He adjusted so he could see the clock a foot away from his eyes. 3:27 AM. He groaned. Darien rolled over to kiss Serena's forehead and found her peacefully sleeping with a knife pressed to her chest. Darien's eyes widened with shock and rage and followed the arm holding the knife with his eyes, finding a hideous youma standing beside a sleeping Serena. He locked eyes with the youma, sitting up very, very slowly so Serena didn't wake up.
The youma smiled sickly, then jerked its head to the door, raising the knife slightly as it did so. Darien tried to contain his rage, but nodded and left the bed, raising his hands and walking slowly to the door. He noticed Serena's communicator on the floor where it was thrown last night (.) and conveniently but very inconspicuously stepped on it, pressing the silent all-call. Then, he left the room, followed impatiently by the youma who now pointed the knife at Darien's back.
Darien resisted the strong urge to transform. Serena would feel him transform and then come running. Then she would do something stupid and get hurt. He trusted the other Senshi to get to him in time. However, Serena noticed the lack of his presence very quickly simply because there was an empty cold spot next to her in the bed now.
She snapped open her eyes. Darien was gone and her communicator was flashing. She leapt from the bed and landed nimbly beside it and whispered into it, "What's going on? Darien's gone!"
Lita's voice came over the speaker, soft as well. "We were hoping you could tell us. We just got an all-call."
Serena's head snapped up as she felt Darien's emotions suddenly fly to her. Anger. Lots of it. Darien was really, really mad.
"Darien must be in trouble!" she hissed, rising.
"Serena!" Lita yelled this time. "Don't do anything-"
Serena tossed the communicator over her shoulder and took off.
"Stupid."
Serena ran silently and gracefully through their house, reaching out with her sense for her Prince. His anger radiated strong enough for her to locate him in the backyard. She saw a youma trying to urge him into a portal with a jagged dagger. Darien was furious, she knew, and fought back fiercely. She wondered why he didn't transform but didn't hold onto the thought for very long.
"Moon Eternal, Make-up!"
Darien sighed in frustration as he felt Serena transform. He transformed automatically, and immediately regained the upper hand in the battle with the youma. He waited on Sailor Moon to arrive to his rescue but she never did. He felt a sudden burst of surprise and annoyance from her. A moment later, he sensed her release an attack.
"Kuso! Another youma!"
Tuxedo Mask returned his full attention to the thing stopping him from helping her out. He let loose a barrage of roses, piercing the thing all over. He got ticked with it, and brought his hands together in front of him and blasted the creature with golden energy from the Golden Crystal within him. It disappeared, and Darien took off in the direction where he could feel the Silver Crystal's active energy.
Suddenly, he could hear his wife talking in his head. He laughed as he ran. Man, THIS is NOT annoying at ALL. Youmas attacking at all hours of the night, figuring out where we live, waking up alone to a cold bed to find out my husband is fighting without me... not to mention being robbed of much-needed sleep. You are one dead youma.
Tuxedo Mask rounded their house to the front yard as he felt Serena release another powerful attack. He saw her flying around on her angelic wings, nothing less than taunting this youma with her attacks. She sent a hundred tiny blasts at it from her staff, forcing it to dance around in their yard. Tuxedo Mask had to laugh; nowadays if Sailor Moon didn't just destroy a monster straight out, she had beef with it and needed to satisfy herself. He rolled his eyes, launching a barrage of roses at the monster to announce his presence.
Sailor Moon shot him a grin before making the youma dance again. Then, suddenly, she felt another evil presence behind her. Immediately stopping her playing around, Sailor Moon dove to the ground, sensing an energy blast directed at her, and rolled. She rose and blasted at the nearest youma fiercely in one fluid motion. There was one gone, and another flying at the couple. Tuxedo Mask let loose another barrage of roses and Sailor Moon enthused them with a white beam of energy, destroying the next youma, but another appeared behind them and blasted the two in two different directions. Sailor Moon attempted to land on her feet, but something went wrong. She felt a dull, masked pain in her left leg. She staggered for a moment, then the pain disappeared. She whirled in a circle, seeing that they were slowly being surrounded by youma. "Shimatta!" she cried, blasting the nearest one.
Tuxedo Mask scrambled over to her, swinging his cane as he ran. "Are you okay?" he asked, breathing heavily and launching roses at once.
"Yes. This is trouble, Tuxedo Mask."
"I'd say so."
She blasted another three into oblivion but she was becoming weaker. The dull ache in her leg reappeared, providing just enough discomfort for her to stumble several times. Tuxedo Mask was just wondering what was keeping the Senshi when they announced their presence.
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"
"Mars Flame Sniper!"
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
"Silence Glaive Surprise!"
"Space Sword Blaster!"
"Submarine Reflection!"
"Dead Scream."
Eight more youma vanished in flashes of lights. Encouraged by her friends' arrival and the mere pair of youma left, she turned and blasted them, her white beam of energy enthused by Tuxedo Mask's golden energy. They vanished and immediately Sailor Moon vanished. A moment later, the others did too as she drew them into the teleport. She also found Greg, Chad, Andrew, and Ken and the cats and teleported them too. They all reappeared in the secret control room under the arcade. Sailor Moon sank into a nearby chair, her head falling into her hands. Tuxedo Mask hurried to her side.
"What is it, Serena?"
She looked up, tired and annoyed. "How did the figure out our identities?"
Mercury's fingers were already dancing over her keypad, Greg leaning over her shoulder. "I just don't know Serena! Neither you or Darien have done anything to reveal it." She started the mumble to herself and her fiancé and they worked together on the mystery.
"Unless... they already knew our identities and just needed to find our house..."
Darien was the only one who heard Serena's soft brooding. He looked at her sharply, but was immediately distracted as she detransformed. Her face paled and she fell from her chair, clutching at her left leg. Darien leapt to the ground beside her. "What is it, Serena?!" he cried.
"I think I hurt my leg in the battle," she choked out as the crowd began to surround her. Mercury forgot about the mystery she was working on and quickly scanned her leader.
"Jammed ankle joint with a nasty twist, Serena. How did you manage that?" Amy knelt next to her friend.
"Landed on it wrong!" Serena gasped. She sucked in a big breath and bravely sat back up. "But why didn't I feel it when I was morphed?!"
Luna answered her. "The power prevented it because it would have distracted you in your fighting. It masked the pain for you."
Serena actually laughed. "That's just great. Well, does it make it worse when you detransform?"
Luna actually nodded. "Kind of. You have no physical wound in your Sailor form. It just reappears when you drop the transformation."
"Swell."
"Here, let me." Hotaru approached, and touched Serena's left ankle. "I can't heal it totally, but let's just see what happens."
A purple aura hovered around the ankle. Serena smiled as the pain faded to a discomfort. When Hotaru was done, Serena hugged her.
"Cool. Now you just have a very slight sprain and weak muscles in the area. Good job, Hotaru." Amy snapped away her computer and finally detransformed.
Darien had remained silent through all this. He pulled Artemis aside when he was sure his wife was ok. She was discussing where she and Darien would go now that their identity was known.
"Artemis."
The white cat lithely leapt the arm of Darien's chair. "Yeah?"
Darien remembered he and Artemis had been close on the moon, before Artemis had been a cat. They'd talked often about everything. "Think about Luna, Artemis. If she was pregnant with Diana would you want her running around fighting, I don't know, Dobermans and getting hurt and in danger all the time?"
Artemis thought about it, rather distastefully, for a moment. "Definitely not. I'd make her stay in the house until the child was born."
Darien smiled. "Now you have a small idea of what I feel like. But since we can't do that Serena and expect the Earth to remain at peace, we have to find out who this enemy is. And soon. So we can get rid of them."
Artemis nodded succinctly. "Right. I'll get Amy and Greg and get right on it."
Darien glanced back at his wife. She was silent again, brooding again. Brooding for Serena meant that she sat hunched forward, her chin resting on a fist, the other hand twirling a strand of hair. Her eyes would be closed, her eyebrows, knit together. It was not a familiar expression on his wife's face.
She had suspicions she wasn't mentioning. And they bothered her.
"And I'll talk to Serena. Look at her, Artemis!" Artemis glanced over quickly. He nodded again.
"She's preoccupied by her own suspicions, but doesn't mention them because she's either confused or disturbed or both."
Darien nodded back, standing. "I'll find out. You know how Serena's intuition is nowadays."
Artemis grinned a cat grin. "Right!"
"Exactly."
What IS Serena brooding about! Find out in Episode 6 when she talks it over with Darien, after the Senshi throw her a huge baby shower. Also, the royal pair go into hiding. Find out what good it does in Episode 6! Stay tuned!
-Moon Pie