Disclaimer: No. I still don't own Sailor Moon. But I will put them all back where I found them. But the Court I get to keep.
Note: AHHH… So many comments! So many reviews! I thank you all! Wow, I feel loved. So I've decided to try and make the chapters a little longer. Actually, this one just sort of got away from me… and I couldn't find anywhere to split it.
Rena: J Yup. I know the Scout's are _Serenity's_ Court…
Sore wa Himtsu desu: *looks as innocent as possible*
Keimei: ~blushing~ aww, you sure know how to make an author keep up a story… Thank you. J
Amethyst Serenity: Three cheers for the dark side! Lol. No, I'm not hinting at anything. I'm just evil. And you must admit, Darien torture is very fun…
Oh, and note to those who are so very unhappy about the new Serena (and believe me there are a lot of you): ~shrug~ I like her. I like the Court. But then, as I've said before: I'm evil. If it's so offensive, no need to yell and send nasty emails. Go find something written by a non-evil entity. One who loves and adores and coddles and huggles Darien and makes Serena into a blond bit of fluffy cotton candy. ~yawns, gets off soapbox, ~ PS I'm not talking about those of you who were constructive or just critical. I'm talking about a few very disturbed and apparently Rabid S/D/canon/don't-dare-change-the-characters-in-the-least fans who will insist on writing hateful emails. However, I don't ask them to stop b/c I am evil and am therefore highly entertained by them, and will possibly continue the story indefinitely in order to continue to annoy them. ~laughs evilly, gets off second soap box and wanders off to plot further Darien tortures~
Chapter 16
By the time she reached the park, Serena's mood had performed a one-hundred-and-ninety-degree turn around. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, the world was a wonderful place. She had only begun to muse on the absolute perfection of the day when the others arrived, looking a little out of breath. She smiled happily at them, taking off her Ray-bans.
Theirry paused, looking at her curiously. "You're looking a lot happier…" Puck cocked his head to one side and examined her.
"I think she popped a Zanax… Or is it a Zyrtec? A happy pill."
Serena laughed. "Hardly. I just realized it's a great day and I suddenly feel much better. I told them the truth and I'm happy."
"Well, not the whole truth, you know…" Thea's violet eyes were sparkling as she sat next to Serena, who grinned.
Ash cleared his throat. "Anyway, this park is really cool…" he was looking around. "Definitely got some potential…"
"I don't think the Japanese authorities would take kindly to you having one of your orgy parties here," Gabriel said.
Ash tried his best to look offended. "That wasn't the kind of potential I was talking about. Really Gabe, get that mind out of the gutter."
Gabriel snorted, and fixed Ash with a half-playful glare. "Actually, I kind of get what Ash was pointing at," Diana said, interrupting the promising beginnings of a scuffle.
"Yeah, it really is stunningly… alive…" Dee agreed.
"It's definitely popular with all of the monsters around here," Serena said, remembering the umpteen times she and the Scouts had fought in that particular arena.
Theirry glanced at her quickly before looking around thoughtfully. "It's understandable."
"So, the monsters here have taste," Puck shrugged, "I wonder if that makes them misunderstood with the other monsters…"
Illianna turned to stare at her white-haired friend. "Puck, I hate to ask, but are you feeling okay? Cause that was spacey even for you."
Serena wasn't paying much attention, because as she looked around, someone was missing… actually, two someones. "Hey, guys, where's Zach? And Susan?"
Ten heads turned and looked around at the surrounding trees and bushes. "Wow, when those two want to sneak off and shag they really sneak…" Puck commented, "I never saw either one leave…"
"Maybe we should go look for them?" Dee asked, "I mean, neither one of them should really wander around loose for long…"
Theirry was in the process of dividing everyone into teams when the missing duo strolled through the gate.
"Where were you?" Dee was demanding.
"You shouldn't wander off like that! You don't speak Japanese!" Illianna said.
Before they could get hit with ten simultaneous lectures, Susan held up a small black boombox. "We thought we could use some tunes to relax!"
Zach grinned and produced a very large CD holder.
"MUSIC!" Serena squeaked. "YES!"
"Sweet!" Puck seconded.
"Got any rap?" Dee asked.
The boom box was carefully settled beside a tree, and one of Zach's infamous mixed CD's (Which were never labeled because he said that it ruined the surprise. And which were known to contain everything from TOOL to Li'l BowWow to Tori Amos to Bach, and occasional clips from Monty Python.) was put on.
An oddly Caribbean techno beat began flowing from the speakers. As usual, Serena and Illianna were the first ones on their feet, followed closely by Thea and Susan. And as usual the boys hung back, a few moments, until Thea and Susan each grabbed one of Gabriel's arms and hauled him to his feet.
And as the Caribbean gave way to a seductive Spanish melody, Serena and Theirry took center stage. As usual.
Darien was half-way to the park when the girls caught up with him.
"Darien!" Mina called, "Darien! Wait! Please, it's important!"
"Come on Darien!" Rei yelled, "Slow down!"
He stopped, and turned as they ran up to him. Counted the seconds as they paused for breath. "Not that I'm not happy to see you girls, but Serena…"
"She's home," Rei said, looking very put out, "we know. But there's something else-"
"Those friends of hers," Lita interrupted. "The kids that were leaving as you came in?"
"Yes, I saw them…" Darien was confused as to what this had to do with his reunion with Serena.
"The Court," put in Ami. Lita just nodded.
"Yeah, that's what they call themselves. Anyway, Darien, you have to know- Serena's acting weird. It's like that group is everything to her…"
"And that's not all: They are seriously creepy!" Rei interrupted. "In the Crown, I caught some serious energy waves coming off them. It's like they're Sailor Scouts or something. I mean, normal people just don't have that energy!"
Darien's eyes darkened. "But Serena…"
"Serena loves them!" Mina burst out, "Darien, you won't recognize her! We didn't…" she trailed off, and glanced at the others.
Darien for his part, just shook his head. Not recognize his Serena? Of course he wood. He could picture her in his mind, her ocean blue eyes, her golden pigtails…
"Darien," Ami's voice was soft, little more than a whisper, "Darien, there's something else… There's a boy who she-" But Darien was off and running toward the park again. "She's going out with," Ami finished with a sigh.
Outside the park gate he slowed down to a walk, too a moment to catch his breath, and strolled through at a leisurely walk. He followed the pathway, enjoying the calm of the park, heading toward Their Bench. Serena always sat there, watching the swans, she said they reminded her of samba music… he blinked. Samba music? In the park?
As he turned a corner, he came into view of Their Bench… only to find it occupied not by his Serena, but by a tall, willowy girl with chestnut hair. The entire area around the bench was also occupied, by a large number of other young people, and a boombox that was currently playing Spanish music. The girl, and indeed, the rest of the group, were watching as two people, a tall, broad-shouldered boy with pale hair, and a petite girl with golden hair, danced together. They moved with the ease of professionals, as if they had been dancing together for a lifetime.
Darien stood watching them in awe, as silent as the rest of their audience. Until the couple turned, the girl spinning away from the boy, and then spinning back into him, her back pressed to his chest, their hips moved in a small circle, catching a change in the rhythm. Ocean blue eyes opened to look into ebony… Darien's lungs collapsed. He felt as though he'd been punched in the stomach. Serena. His Serena. Dancing with the grace of an angel in the arms of another.
"Your father was a hampster and your father smelt of Elderberries!" screeched an annoyingly French voice with hints of a British accent.
Serena and the others burst into laughter even as another voice began to sing "And they say a hero could save us, but I don't want to stand here and wait…"
She turned and dropped a curtsy as Thierry bowed. "Thank you for a wonderful dance, milord," she said with a giggle.
Theirry was grinning. "The pleasure was mine, milady."
"Really?" She smiled mischievously. "Then I feel very cheated."
"How can I make it up to you?" he asked, looking down at her, though she could tell he could already guess the answer…
"Oh, well… this way…" She stood on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. In less that half a heartbeat his arms were around her and the whole world faded away.
She was kissing that boy. And he couldn't force himself to move. Oh, he was trying all right, mainly with the goal of strangling the pale blond wimp, but his legs and arms just weren't seeming to get the message.
Serena and the boy separated, each looking deeply into the other's eyes. And he realized what it was. Rei had said this group possessed strange powers… He could see it now. The entire group was beautiful, like a group of models at a photoshoot. No, he had been a model, he knew what that sort of thing looked like, and this was different. They were too gorgeous to be models. Too perfect. And the group of them together… it was like watching the closest, most intimate group of friends, except that that close, intimate group of friends would seem like strangers compared to this group.
And then he made up his mind, he knew what had to be done. They had caught Serena in a spell, or hypnotized her. He would simply walk up to her, apologize for his stupidity, which had probably allowed her to be vulnerable to this boy- this monster. And she would look deeply into his eyes, feel what was between them, feel the power of their love, and be herself again.
He walked forward, toward the group, keeping his face calm, as if he hadn't just seen her kiss the boy, and he had forgiven her anyway, because after all she was under a spell…
A thin, white-haired boy saw him first. "Um… What are you doing?" he asked, looking confused.
The rest turned to look. Including Serena.
Her eyes widened in shock as he drew closer. He looked exactly the same, his black hair slightly tousled, his midnight blue eyes mysterious and almost haunting… He smiled at her.
"Serena…" he began.
"Darien?" she whispered. She blinked as if she were waking up from an already half-forgotten dream.
"Serena," he said again as he stood before her, a few inches apart. "I'm so sorry, my love," he whispered to her. "I was so stupid and I- I only hope you can forgive me…"
She laughed, flinging her arms around him. "Oh, Darien! Of course I forgive you, I love you!"
"I've missed you so much, Serena!" He said as he held her tiny frame close, forgetting the others, forgetting the boy with the pale hair. "I won't let you leave again. Ever."
"Oh, Darien, Darien, I don't want to leave!" she was crying, her tears wetting his shirt.
"Ahem…" A voice broke in. "I hate to interrupt this, but you are trying to molest my girlfriend…" The pale-haired boy's eyes were cold, and his voice was harsh.
Reluctantly Serena and Darien parted to look at him and at the others. "I'm sorry, so very sorry… all of you… I don't know what's happened," she looked dazed. "But, well, I'm going to leave now. I need to go home and see my friends and…"
"Excuse me, Serena," the willowy girl with the chestnut hair rose, and her voice was as frigid as the boy's dark eyes. "But WE are your friends, not those losers back at that arcade…"
Darien glared at her, at the boy, and the others. "We are leaving," he said, holding his Serena close. "Now." And they did. Turning their backs on the group, and walking down the path toward the gate.
It was a nice dream, and worked perfectly well in theory. But, as they often do, the dream didn't work out nearly so well in reality.
He walked forward, toward the group, keeping his face calm, as if he hadn't just seen her kiss the boy, and he had forgiven her anyway, because after all she was under a spell…
A thin, white-haired boy saw him first. "Hey, look, it's a native!" he called.
The rest turned to look. Including Serena.
Her eyes widened in shock as he drew closer. He looked exactly the same, his black hair slightly tousled, his midnight blue eyes mysterious and almost haunting… He smiled at her.
"Serena…" he began.
"Darien?" she whispered. She blinked as if she were waking up from an already half-forgotten dream. "What are you doing here?"