Chapter 5

"Serena!" Raye cried. She dropped the piece of wood and knelt next to her friend, leaning over her. "Serena, are you okay?" she asked urgently.

Serena winced. "If you call 'in excruciating pain' 'okay', then sure."

Raye gulped. "Don't worry Serena. You'll be all right. We'll get down from here and get you some help, okay?"

Serena nodded weakly, and just then Darien reached her side, and knelt next to her opposite Raye. He put a hand on Serena's shoulder, gave her a comforting smile, and then looked back up at Raye.

"You're right; the next thing we need to do is find a way off this roof," he said. "We need to get her to the hospital-not to mention ourselves."

Raye nodded. "Okay. You stay here and rest that ankle. I'll look around." Darien started to protest, but before he could get anything out she had already stood again and walked off, though not before one more worried glance at Serena, who gave her a small smile.

As Raye began her search, Serena looked up at Darien. "What did she mean about your ankle?" she asked softly.

Darien looked down at her in surprise. "What? Oh, nothing. It got hurt in the fall, but I'll be fine."

"Oh, good."

He smiled. "Why do you care?"

She tried to shrug, but instead grimaced and gave up. "Well, you may be a total jerk, but I'm still glad you're all right."

Darien managed a weak laugh. "Thanks."

Serena smiled, but then cried out.

"What's wrong?" Darien asked in alarm, now more alert.

"It hurts…" she cried."Darien, help me…I don't wanna die…"

Gulping back the lump in his throat that had appeared so suddenly he didn't know where it had come from, Darien slipped an arm under her shoulders and gently lifted the top part of her body off the ground and held her.

"It'll be okay. You're not going to die. I won't let anything else happen to you, okay?" he said.

Serena blinked through a whimper of pain, "I'm surprised you care, Darien."

Darien frowned. "Hey, just because you're the most annoying little meatball head I've ever met doesn't mean I want you dead."

Serena tried to laugh, but it ended in another cry of pain. Grimacing, she put a hand to her stomach where the pain was, and when it came away with blood she screamed.

"Darien, I'm bleeding!" she screeched, grabbing his shirt. "Oh, I'm too young to die!"

"Serena, would you calm down?" Raye said as she approached them again. "Getting excited isn't going to improve your chances."

Still whimpering, Serena nodded, tears gathering in her eyes.

Darien looked up at Raye. "Anything?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. There aren't any ladders or steps, and obviously there's no door that lead up here that could go down through. There are a few pipes I could probably get down, and maybe even you if you were really careful with that foot, but there's no way to get Serena down.

Darien gulped, glancing down at Serena before looking at Raye again. "Raye, we have to get down from here. Serena needs medical attention 'now', or…" He trailed off, but she knew what she meant.

Raye looked away. "I don't know what else to do, Darien." When she looked back at him, there were tears in her eyes. "What are we supposed to do!"

Serena looked back and forth between the two from Darien's arms. "Hey. No need to get upset over me," she said, attempting to lighten the mood even though she was aware of her own circumstances. "I'm just the meatball head, remember?"

Raye knelt down next to her and Darien again, attempting a smile. "I know, and if…'when' we all get out of this, we probably won't stop calling you that, but we want you to live, okay. Please hold on, Serena, okay?"

Serena nodded weakly. She could feel her strength draining. I don't wanna die… she cried in her mind, but suddenly she couldn't find the strength to say it again. I'm so tired…she thought as her eyes began to drift shut.

At Serena's nod, Raye nodded back, then got up again and went to the edge of the roof. She had to do something. Serena was fading fast. She looked down. People were still running back and forth from the attack. The noise was so loud from the chaos that there was no way anyone would hear if she called down to them. Everyone who had seen them fall must have assumed that they were already dead, and that there was no reason to attempt a rescue. Not that there was anyone organized enough right now to do anything of the sort.

Behind a row of trees on the other side of the park she could see explosions, and colors of blue and green energy. Lita…Amy… Suddenly Raye's eyes went wide, and she began to search her pocket for her communicator. But after a minute or so, she still couldn't find it. I must have lost it in the fall…she thought in dismay. Now what?

Snapping her fingers, she ran back to where Serena lay curled in Darien's arms, fighting for her life. In the time she had spent observing the ground, her friend's breathing had become labored and ragged. The front of her school uniform was soaked with blood, and a small pool of it was on the ground where she had been laying. Raye gulped back more tears that tried to force their way out. Even if we do get down, it might already be too late for her…

Pushing her thoughts aside, she stuck her hand in Serena's pocket, she grabbed Serena's communicator and pulled it out.

"What are you doing?" Darien asked.

"Getting something," she answered simply, not looking at him, then ran back to the edge of the roof where Darien couldn't hear her.

"Amy, Lita, can you hear me? Mercury, Jupiter, somebody come in!"

After a moment of radio silence, Sailor Mercury's image came on the screen. In the background, a battle still raged between Zoycite and Jupiter.

"Raye, where are you and Serena? We could really use some help over here."

"Uh, that would be a little hard right now," Raye said. "Did you see the ferris wheel car that fell?"

Amy nodded. "Yes. Are the two of you helping get people out of there?"

Raye shook her head. "No, Serena, Darien and I were in it."

"What!" Mercury cried. "Are you all right?"

Raye sighed. "Darien and I received some minor injuries, but we'll survive," she said, wincing as well. "But Serena's a lot worse off. She's got a couple of major puncture wounds from the debris in the fall. We-we're not sure if she's going to make it…"

Mercury gasped. "Oh no! Have you gotten medical attention for her?"

"That's the problem; we're stuck on a roof with no way to get down."

"The building the ferris wheel is leaning against?"

"Yeah. Can at least 'one' of you get over here to help us out? I can't transform with Darien here."

Amy nodded. "I'll do my best, but-AH!" An explosion just behind Mercury caused her to cry out. "Sorry Raye, I've got to go! We'll there as soon as we can!"

With that, the screen went blank, and Raye sighed and walked back to Darien and Serena, slipping the device into her pocket.

"How is she?" she asked, sitting on the ground next to them. Serena was barely conscious, moaning on and off as she grimaced and gripped Darien's shirt tightly.

Darien shook his head. "I don't know for sure. All I know is that we're losing her-fast."

A tear slipped from the corner of Raye's eye. "But she can't die! She can't!" she cried. She put her head on his shoulder, beginning to weep.

Darien stared at the sky for a moment, thinking. How did I end up here? I have one middle school girl dieing in my arms, another crying on my shoulder, and I can't walk because of a broken ankle. How could this get any worse? When the sky began to blur, he looked down again. When he did, a tear fell from one his own eyes, landing in Serena's hair. His grip tightened on the girl in his arms.

"Come on meatball head, you can make it. Please don't die on us…"

As if in response, Serena's eyes opened. "I don't want too…" she sobbed quietly. "But…I feel so weak, it hurts so much, I can't…" She began to shake, but Darien couldn't tell why. Her eyes began to drift shut again, as if they wanted to close for good.

Raye head popped up, tears still trickling down her face. "Serena, don't!" she cried, grabbing one of the girl's hands. "Serena, hold on!"

"Sorry guys…" Serena whispered.

"Serena, no! Come on, meatball head, stay with us!" Darien cried in alarm, more tears gathering in his eyes. "Serena!"

But despite their cries, her eyes closed, and her body went limp.

"Serena!" Raye shouted. "Serena, no! Wake up! Wake up, please!" she sobbed, shaking her. "Serena!" But after a moment or so, she realized it was useless and, burying her face in her hands, she began to cry even harder.

Okay people, now chill, okay? I know how it seems, but like I said, I don't kill off main characters, especially not Sailor Moon, so it'll be all right, okay? You'll just have to wait until Monday to find out how, because I won't be at home to type tommorrow. Sorry, but I will update Monday, okay? No Later! I promise!