Opposing Protectors
Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer here.
AN: Sorry for this taking so long. But here it is, the last chapter. Hope you all like it and thank you all for reading my story and for all the wonderful reviews.
Chapter 17: The Earthquake Solution
The next evening found the group once again at the CROWN Café for a special dinner. The guests included the Senshi, the Tsukino family, and the friends of the Senshi who had learned the Senshis' true identities the day before. When the party was over, tearful good-byes were said and everyone wished Rini a safe and happy trip through the Time Gate and the Senshi (and Darien) thanked her for her help. She then headed into the Time Warp and back home to the future.
Two months later..........
Serena had grown accustomed to living without her memories, but that doesn't mean she didn't still enjoy listening to stories of her past.
Today Darien was taking her to the Starlight Tower. It had since been rebuilt and turned into a tourist attraction after being destroyed four years earlier. But seeing as how it wasn't tourist season, it wouldn't be too busy. Even locals (who occasionally go just for the hell of it) seemed to be lacking in numbers. But today had been the first chance they had had to go because of school and work and so on. However, if the couple hadn't left the house so early and they had actually heard the morning weather report, they'd know why there weren't many people there. (Not that they were the only people to miss the weather report, but they're the only ones who count for the purposes of this story.)
The couple entered the building and started looking around. The architects had kept the original look and floor plans; they had just adapted the function of the building. After exploring the first floor, Serena and Darien got on the elevator and headed up to the floor that they had been on that fateful day when the truth had been revealed to them.
As the elevator ascended, the building started shaking as the elevator came to a halt. An earthquake had struck Tokyo. Serena clung to Darien for dear life while he protectively wrapped his arms around her. In hopes of calming her as well as providing a hint of familiarity, he repeated his words from four years ago. "Don't worry Serena, I won't let anything happen to you."
Despite her fear, Serena was calmed by his words and she knew that he was speaking the truth and she believed him. So she curled up in his arms and the two of them sat it out.
The quake lasted about a minute and a half. It would later be said that it registered on the Rector Scale at 5.3. As the shaking stopped, Serena and Darien relaxed a bit and waited to be rescued. They just hoped that someone would come to their aid before the aftershocks hit and possibly cause them more problems.
The Senshi were all at home when the earthquake hit. Once it was over, they each checked on their own homes and families to make sure that they were all right before instinctively transforming to go and check on the city and help out where necessary. Due to the fact that they were all doing this of their own accord, they didn't bother to use their communicators. They figured everyone else would be doing the same thing any way. They also knew that Darien had made special plans with Serena and figured that he would be taking care of any problems that they might be having from the earthquake. Therefore, they didn't contact them and didn't know about Serena and Darien's predicament, but they did all hope that their Prince and Princess were all right and not having too many problems handling the situation.
Twenty minutes had passed, and still no one had come to their aid. Darien had mentioned the irony of their situation and had told Serena of their bad luck with elevators. This led to an elaboration on some of the stories she had already heard. She just shook her head in disbelief at how true Darien's statement about the irony of their situation was.
Just then, the first aftershock hit and it lasted roughly a minute. The elevator shook violently. Serena had screamed at the sudden jolt and was once again clinging to Darien. During the aftershock, they had heard a loud 'click' come from above them. If nothing else, they knew that wasn't good. When the shaking stopped, they started discussing what the sound might have been.
"What so you think that was?" Serena asked, trembling slightly, worried about what the noise was and what it could mean.
"I don't know, but I'm going to go up there and check it out. See if I can find out anything."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? It seems a little dangerous to me."
"True, it could be dangerous, but I think it would be better if we knew where that noise came from. It could mean trouble." With that, he stood up and transformed before proceeding to exit through the emergency hatch at the top of the elevator.
A moment later he called down to her: "Serena, would you mind transforming and coming up here please? I need some help."
"Sure thing." She transformed and joined him as requested. "How can I help?"
"Do you remember what I told you about summoning the Silver Crystal and how to do it?"
"Yes"
"Good. Because I need you to summon it to provide some light if you don't mind."
"Sure, no problem." And so, she summoned the Crystal and Tuxedo Mask Surveyed the area.
"Uh-oh. The emergency breaks seem to be failing. That 'click' we heard was one of them breaking. If there's another shockwave, the other one will give out as well."
"Oh noooo! What are we going to do?" Serena wailed as she was on the verge of tears.
"Reach up and grab a hold of the ledge of the next floor. Make sure you get a really good, tight, and secure hold." She did so and Tuxedo Mask did the same. Once they were secure, Sailor Moon put the Crystal away so as to conserve her strength. And so they waited. They preferred this over waiting for the elevator to fall. They also thought they'd probably have a better chance at surviving this way (not much of a chance, but still...).
It was another hour before the next shockwave hit and sure enough, the elevator fell into the dark depths of the shaft. Tuxedo Mask managed to keep a firm grip on the elevator ledge, but Sailor moon wasn't so lucky. Just as the shockwave was ending, she lost her grip and began to fall. In a flash, the feeling of falling in this dark place after having used the Silver Crystal brought her memories flooding back to her. She gave a gasp before beginning to scream. With her mind in a whirl, she barely even noticed when Tuxedo mask grabbed her by the arm and stopped her from falling. When she finally realized that she wasn't falling anymore, she opened her eyes to see her 'Knight In Shining Armour' struggling to pull her back up. Now knowing what to do, she used the Crystal to lift them both up and out of the elevator shaft. Once out, Sailor Moon collapsed to her knees, a little weak from exerting so much energy (which she wasn't used to...being out of practice and all).
"Serena?" Tuxedo Mask asked in an almost cautious way as he moved to be by her side. "Are you alright?"
She looked up at him and smiled. Instead of answering him, she said: "You know, we have the worst luck in the world. When is fate going to give us a break, huh?"
Tuxedo Mask just pulled her into a hug and thanked God for letting Serena get her memory back. She returned his hug while also saying her own prayer of thanks.
"Oh, I can't wait to tell the others. So what do you say? Do a quick check over of the city, help where necessary, and then call a meeting at the Temple? Sound good?"
"Sounds great! I'm sure the girls will be just as happy and relieved as I am about you getting your memories back."
"Yeah, who would have ever thought that a natural disaster could ever help someone so much?" she said as she laughed. Darien too joined in the laughter. "But Darien..."
"Yes?"
"Can we PLEASE take the stairs this time!?"
Darien laughed as he said: "Sounds good to me. Guess you were right all along...you should take the stairs in emergency cases." They both laughed at this and then left to carry out the plan they had just made. Finally, things were beginning to look up for the happy couple.
THE END!!! (
Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer here.
AN: Sorry for this taking so long. But here it is, the last chapter. Hope you all like it and thank you all for reading my story and for all the wonderful reviews.
Chapter 17: The Earthquake Solution
The next evening found the group once again at the CROWN Café for a special dinner. The guests included the Senshi, the Tsukino family, and the friends of the Senshi who had learned the Senshis' true identities the day before. When the party was over, tearful good-byes were said and everyone wished Rini a safe and happy trip through the Time Gate and the Senshi (and Darien) thanked her for her help. She then headed into the Time Warp and back home to the future.
Two months later..........
Serena had grown accustomed to living without her memories, but that doesn't mean she didn't still enjoy listening to stories of her past.
Today Darien was taking her to the Starlight Tower. It had since been rebuilt and turned into a tourist attraction after being destroyed four years earlier. But seeing as how it wasn't tourist season, it wouldn't be too busy. Even locals (who occasionally go just for the hell of it) seemed to be lacking in numbers. But today had been the first chance they had had to go because of school and work and so on. However, if the couple hadn't left the house so early and they had actually heard the morning weather report, they'd know why there weren't many people there. (Not that they were the only people to miss the weather report, but they're the only ones who count for the purposes of this story.)
The couple entered the building and started looking around. The architects had kept the original look and floor plans; they had just adapted the function of the building. After exploring the first floor, Serena and Darien got on the elevator and headed up to the floor that they had been on that fateful day when the truth had been revealed to them.
As the elevator ascended, the building started shaking as the elevator came to a halt. An earthquake had struck Tokyo. Serena clung to Darien for dear life while he protectively wrapped his arms around her. In hopes of calming her as well as providing a hint of familiarity, he repeated his words from four years ago. "Don't worry Serena, I won't let anything happen to you."
Despite her fear, Serena was calmed by his words and she knew that he was speaking the truth and she believed him. So she curled up in his arms and the two of them sat it out.
The quake lasted about a minute and a half. It would later be said that it registered on the Rector Scale at 5.3. As the shaking stopped, Serena and Darien relaxed a bit and waited to be rescued. They just hoped that someone would come to their aid before the aftershocks hit and possibly cause them more problems.
The Senshi were all at home when the earthquake hit. Once it was over, they each checked on their own homes and families to make sure that they were all right before instinctively transforming to go and check on the city and help out where necessary. Due to the fact that they were all doing this of their own accord, they didn't bother to use their communicators. They figured everyone else would be doing the same thing any way. They also knew that Darien had made special plans with Serena and figured that he would be taking care of any problems that they might be having from the earthquake. Therefore, they didn't contact them and didn't know about Serena and Darien's predicament, but they did all hope that their Prince and Princess were all right and not having too many problems handling the situation.
Twenty minutes had passed, and still no one had come to their aid. Darien had mentioned the irony of their situation and had told Serena of their bad luck with elevators. This led to an elaboration on some of the stories she had already heard. She just shook her head in disbelief at how true Darien's statement about the irony of their situation was.
Just then, the first aftershock hit and it lasted roughly a minute. The elevator shook violently. Serena had screamed at the sudden jolt and was once again clinging to Darien. During the aftershock, they had heard a loud 'click' come from above them. If nothing else, they knew that wasn't good. When the shaking stopped, they started discussing what the sound might have been.
"What so you think that was?" Serena asked, trembling slightly, worried about what the noise was and what it could mean.
"I don't know, but I'm going to go up there and check it out. See if I can find out anything."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? It seems a little dangerous to me."
"True, it could be dangerous, but I think it would be better if we knew where that noise came from. It could mean trouble." With that, he stood up and transformed before proceeding to exit through the emergency hatch at the top of the elevator.
A moment later he called down to her: "Serena, would you mind transforming and coming up here please? I need some help."
"Sure thing." She transformed and joined him as requested. "How can I help?"
"Do you remember what I told you about summoning the Silver Crystal and how to do it?"
"Yes"
"Good. Because I need you to summon it to provide some light if you don't mind."
"Sure, no problem." And so, she summoned the Crystal and Tuxedo Mask Surveyed the area.
"Uh-oh. The emergency breaks seem to be failing. That 'click' we heard was one of them breaking. If there's another shockwave, the other one will give out as well."
"Oh noooo! What are we going to do?" Serena wailed as she was on the verge of tears.
"Reach up and grab a hold of the ledge of the next floor. Make sure you get a really good, tight, and secure hold." She did so and Tuxedo Mask did the same. Once they were secure, Sailor Moon put the Crystal away so as to conserve her strength. And so they waited. They preferred this over waiting for the elevator to fall. They also thought they'd probably have a better chance at surviving this way (not much of a chance, but still...).
It was another hour before the next shockwave hit and sure enough, the elevator fell into the dark depths of the shaft. Tuxedo Mask managed to keep a firm grip on the elevator ledge, but Sailor moon wasn't so lucky. Just as the shockwave was ending, she lost her grip and began to fall. In a flash, the feeling of falling in this dark place after having used the Silver Crystal brought her memories flooding back to her. She gave a gasp before beginning to scream. With her mind in a whirl, she barely even noticed when Tuxedo mask grabbed her by the arm and stopped her from falling. When she finally realized that she wasn't falling anymore, she opened her eyes to see her 'Knight In Shining Armour' struggling to pull her back up. Now knowing what to do, she used the Crystal to lift them both up and out of the elevator shaft. Once out, Sailor Moon collapsed to her knees, a little weak from exerting so much energy (which she wasn't used to...being out of practice and all).
"Serena?" Tuxedo Mask asked in an almost cautious way as he moved to be by her side. "Are you alright?"
She looked up at him and smiled. Instead of answering him, she said: "You know, we have the worst luck in the world. When is fate going to give us a break, huh?"
Tuxedo Mask just pulled her into a hug and thanked God for letting Serena get her memory back. She returned his hug while also saying her own prayer of thanks.
"Oh, I can't wait to tell the others. So what do you say? Do a quick check over of the city, help where necessary, and then call a meeting at the Temple? Sound good?"
"Sounds great! I'm sure the girls will be just as happy and relieved as I am about you getting your memories back."
"Yeah, who would have ever thought that a natural disaster could ever help someone so much?" she said as she laughed. Darien too joined in the laughter. "But Darien..."
"Yes?"
"Can we PLEASE take the stairs this time!?"
Darien laughed as he said: "Sounds good to me. Guess you were right all along...you should take the stairs in emergency cases." They both laughed at this and then left to carry out the plan they had just made. Finally, things were beginning to look up for the happy couple.
THE END!!! (