Chapter 7: Destroying Happiness?
"Obviously it doesn't like something to do with happiness and prayer," Juna pointed out.
"But what is it that it doesn't like?" Jet wondered.
"I guess we are back to the waiting stage, right?" Jadeite assumed.
"Right," Raye affirmed.
"So I guess I'll see you all in school on Monday," Bunny said as the others left. She looked over at Darien. Ever sense their trip to the Moon he had seemed depressed. She went over and sat next to him. "Darien, what's wrong?" Bunny asked as she put her arms around him.
"I just can't help thinking that Elysion is in danger," sighed Darien. Bunny put her head on his shoulder. She knew that there was nothing she could do to help. All they could do was wait until they had more information on this enemy. But she swore to herself that this enemy would pay for making Darien so upset.
Sunday past quietly. Everyone had their homework that they had ignored because of their trips. There were no trips to the mall or the movies for them. All the people from Elysion were to depressed, and their girlfriends didn't know what to do.
Rini and Helios were together at the park. Rini had been doing her homework when Helios had called. Rini wasn't really sure why he had wanted her to meet him at the park. And sense they had meet Helios hadn't really said anything.
"Helios, I wish you would talk to me," Rini pleaded. "I know you're upset, but you shouldn't keep your feelings inside."
"You're right Maiden. But how can I explain how I feel?" Helios sighed. "My home is now the hiding place of a negative force."
Rini put her head on his shoulder, "I know. And you blame yourself. I felt the same way when the Black Moon attacked Crystal Tokyo. If only I hadn't taken my mother's Silver Crystal..."
"But it was only with your help that Sailor Moon defeated the Doom Phantom," Helios reminded her. "And it wasn't your fault that the Black Moon attacked." Rini just gave him this look. "And it's not my fault that the negative force is hiding in Elysion. Thank you Maiden." Helios smiled, though sadly, at Rini. Rini smiled back. She was glad she had been able to help Helios feel better.
On Monday morning everyone meet to walk to school together. Only today there was no laughing and joking. Everyone was thinking about the new enemy. At school Molly could tell that something was up with Bunny. She had started to get used to this, although she never found out why. Every once and a while Bunny and her friends would get all serious over something, and then everything would be all right again.
"Hey Bunny. What's up?" Molly asked cheerfully.
"Hi Molly. Not much. How about you?" Bunny responded, trying to sound happy.
"Well, actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the arcade after school today?" Molly asked, though she knew that when Bunny and her friends were like this Bunny would say no. Molly just wanted Bunny to know she was there for her.
"I'm sorry Molly. I can't today. I've got something I have to do," Bunny had long ago stopped making up excuses for Molly. She knew that Molly understood.
Melvin came over then. He and Molly started to chat but Bunny just kind of sat there, thinking. Molly and Melvin decided to leave her alone. They knew sooner or latter she would be back to herself.
"I wish I knew what was bothering Bunny," Molly wished.
"And Lita and Mina," Melvin added.
"They seem to have some sort of secret. And every now and then it makes them really sad," Molly commented. "I wonder what that secret is."
"This all seemed to start when Ann returned," Melvin pointed out.
"Yeah. She's strange. She and her brother just showed up four years ago, and then just left. Now they just show up again," reminded Molly.
"Wait a minute. Four years ago, when they first showed up. Didn't Bunny and her friends get sad then too?" Melvin declared.
"Yeah, your right. But they all seem to be friends. I wonder if they all share the same secret?" Molly speculated.
Unaware that Molly and Melvin were getting very close to figuring things out, Bunny, Lita, Mini and Ann were talking.
"So the negative force is hiding in Elysion? Well, at lest we know where it is now," Ann reasoned.
"Now, if we could only figure out how to destroy it," Bunny was saying when the teacher came in and started class. All discussions where interrupted until lunch.
Everyone meet for lunch like always. "Hi Bunny," Pearl called.
"Hey Pearl, guys. What's up?" Bunny replied.
"Not much," Jet mumbled. They all ate in silence for a while. Everyone was strangely depressed. True there was the enemy to think about, but normal they weren't this down about it.
"So Bunny mentioned that you found where the enemy is hiding," Ann suddenly stated.
"Um-hum, it's in Elysion," Jade mumbled.
"Hey Bunny, I meant to ask you before, where is Elysion?" Ann wondered.
The others looked up, then realized that Ann had no reason to know about Elysion. "Well, it's not so much where it is as what it is," Bunny started. "Elysion is sort of like the soul of the Earth."
"Back during the Silver Millennium, Elysion was where Prince Endymion's Golden Kingdom was," Rini answered. "Helios is the priest who takes care of it."
Ann nodded. "So that's why your all upset about the enemy being there."
"Well, it's not only that," Ceres admitted.
"Then what?" Ann wondered.
"If Elysion gets corrupted by evil, it makes taking over the Earth very easy," Bunny explained. Ann's eyes got wide. She hadn't realized that the Earth might be in trouble too. 'Bong! Bong!'
"It's time for class," Amy muttered. They all got up to go in.
"Hey Bunny, I think we should all get together to discuss this," Ann suggested.
"Your probably right. Why don't you and Alan, Fiori, and Fiona come over to my place after school?" Bunny agreed. "That's generally where we all meet now."
"All right, see you then," they all said as they left.
The rest of day went by much like the morning. After school Bunny reminded Lita, Mina and Amy to invite the generals over. They called Raye to tell her about it too, and Hotaru got Amara, Michelle and Trista.
When Bunny, Pearl, and Jade arrived at the apartment they told Darien and Luna about the meeting. "Good, I was just thinking we should talk to the tree's children," Luna replied. Only Luna, Artemis and Diana weren't depressed. However, they had started to notice how everyone else was and it worried them. Soon everyone was there.
"Hi everyone," Artemis greeted them cheerfully.
"So what have you learned?" Fiori got right to business.
"The enemy is hiding in Elysion," Bunny started.
Fiori started to ask a question but Hotaru interrupted him, "Elysion is where Darien's Golden Kingdom was during the Silver Millennium."
"And Helios and the generals are from there as well," Raye continued.
"It's like the soul of the Earth," Helios explained.
"And if it's captured by negativity the Earth is in a lot of trouble," Darien finished.
"The only good thing is that the enemy doesn't seem to be taking it over," Pearl pointed out.
"True, it only destroyed the prayer tower," Jade agreed.
"And they were hiding at the farthest point from the prayer tower," Zoisite stated.
"So basically, the enemy went to Elysion, destroyed the prayer tower, and then just did nothing?" Fiona asked, some what amazed.
"We don't know that they did nothing," Trista answered.
"True, just because they are hiding in Elysion, they still might be effecting the Earth in some way," Artemis declared.
"So now we need to figure out what that way is," Vesta sighed, "No problem" as she rolled her eyes.
They all just sat and thought for a while. What was this enemy up to? How was the destruction of the prayer tower and corrupting the doom tree's children connected? That's what they were all asking themselves.
"Wait a minute," Michelle cried. "What if this new enemy isn't after anything?"
"What are you talking about Michelle? Oh course it's after something," Amara stated.
"No, she's right," Fiori said suddenly. "Think about, Casemion Blossom wasn't after anything but destroying Earth."
"Exactly, what if this enemy is just trying to destroy something?" Michelle explained.
"So what are they trying to destroy?" Pallas questioned.
"Yeah, wouldn't they have attacked by now if they wanted to destroy the Earth?" Juna speculated.
"Well, how are the doom tree's children and the prayer tower related?" Amy muttered. "What would it be destroying with both?"
"But it didn't destroy us," Ann pointed out.
"Yeah, it only turned us all evil," Alan admitted.
"Wait, think about when this force attacked the doom tree," Trista insisted.
"It was only when they were really happy," Kunzite realized.
"And the prayer tower is where Helios would pray to keep Earth safe and happy," Rini recalled.
"So maybe this new enemy is trying to destroy some form of happiness," Darien summed up.
They all smiled momentarily, but soon they were all gloomy again. It didn't seem to really matter anymore. So what if they'd figured out why the enemy was here; they still had no idea how to defeat it.
"If the enemy is trying to destroy happiness, they are doing a really good job," Diana insisted. Luna and Artemis agreed, but the others didn't seem to hear. Soon everyone started to go home. It didn't look like they were going to figure anything else out, so why sit around in Darien and Bunny's place?