Raye had no idea how she'd gotten home that night. All she
knew was that two days ago Rubeus had died. And it
was her fault. She'd been in bed ever since. Chad had flown back from Russia where he'd been
studying music, and had been keeping watch by Raye's
bed from the moment he'd stepped out of the plane. Grandpa had called almost
every doctor in town, but none of them did any good. Raye
wouldn't eat, wouldn't move. She just lay there, staring at the wall. His face
was everywhere. His chocolate colored eyes, his sexy grin,
his flaming red hair... his blood.
Serena bit her lip and turned around, looking nervously at Lita,
Mina, and Amy.
"I saw her yesterday guys, she doesn't look like herself. Just... try not to say anything about... him." Lita and Mina nodded seriously, while Amy just sighed. Serena slid open the door and motioned for everyone to follow. As the girls rounded the bed, all they could see was a shapeless lump under the blankets, but then Raye's face came into view. Serena wanted to cry again. Raye looked like a ghost. It'd only been two days, and Raye's cheekbones were already sticking out of her face. Her eyes, red and puffy, were sunken into black-rimmed pits, and her face was white as paper. Her hair, once so well-kept and beautiful, was now a tangled, neglected mass that spread on her pillow in clumps. The other girls smiled, but Serena could see through the grins and cheerfulness. She could see the worry, the fear in their eyes. They were all afraid. Lita was the first to shatter the silence.
"Hi Raye!" She smiled cheerfully and held up a lunchbox.
"I just made a batch of cookies! Want some?" Raye didn't even blink. Her eyes were glazed over, staring into space like those of a doll. Mina's turn.
"Hey girlfriend! The new Sailor-V movie is out! Wanna go?" Silence. Amy clasped her laptop to her chest and smiled sweetly.
"Raye, I just received this hilarious joke in my e-mail. Would you like to read it?" There was still no reaction, and Amy's hopeful smile faded.
"I guess she's tired." Serena nodded.
"Yeah, you're probably right Amy."
She
smiled lightly and added, "Your mom is a doctor, after all."
Lita, Mina, and Amy waved and smiled grimly.
"See you later!" Then they all filed onto the bus and the door shut behind them. Serena walked back into Raye's room and sat down in the chair. Raye was oblivious to her presence. Serena bit her tongue to keep from screaming. She was watching one of her best friends waste away, and nothing could reach her. Serena had been the most frequent visitor, popping in more often than any doctor. Over the past weekend, Raye hadn't talked or accepted food. Water had to be poured down her throat while someone had held her still. The only way she slept was when a doctor sedated her, and even then, it wasn't sleep. Serena had sat by her bed when Raye was unconscious, wiping sweat from her forehead and crooning to her. But Raye hadn't gotten any better, and Serena knew why. Raye still saw him, she could tell. She remembered what it had felt like when Endymion died. Serena quickly wiped away the tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
"Serena..." She looked down, praying that she hadn't just heard something. Raye's eyes were focused on her face. They were dim and teary, but they were focused. Serena felt like crying and screaming at the same time.
"Raye? Do you feel better?" Raye didn't blink.
Instead, she looked at Serena pleadingly and whispered, "Why wasn't it enough, Sailor Moon?" Serena gently brushed Raye's matted hair out of her face.
"What do you mean Raye?" Raye's eyes narrowed and her voice raised a tiny bit.
"You know what I mean. Why wasn't it enough to save him? Why?" Serena felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.
"I… I don't know, Raye..." Raye closed her eyes as tears began to squeeze themselves out of the corners. Serena wiped them away quickly.
"Don't, you'll get dehydrated again!" Raye's voice was a harsh, angry croak.
"I don't care! I'll cry if I want to, dammit! I turned into some psychotic war god, and that still wasn't enough! He still died!!!" Serena shook Raye by the shoulders, alarmed.
"Don't say that! It was the Death Phantom's fault, not yours Raye!" Raye's shoulders shook as she started sobbing.
"I'm the one who's supposed to act as your guardian, but he was the one who had to jump in front of you! I'm a failure!"
Serena
shook Raye harder and yelled, "You stop that
right now, Raye! You didn't fail anybody! Nobody! Do
you hear me?!" Raye screamed and started
thrashing, flailing wildly in Serena's grip and throwing her off. Chad and Grandpa stumbled
in, followed by a doctor. Together, they managed to pin Raye
down and jab a tranquilizer into her arm, sending her spiraling into unconsciousness
and back to the night of the battle.
Raye glanced around and adjusted her grip on her
sword. She sensed someone, something nearby, but she still couldn't place it.
There was a soft rustling sound and Raye whirled
around.
"Oh my god...." Raye dropped her sword in shock, listening to the echoing thud it made as it hit the ground. Rubeus smiled and reached out, gently stroking her cheek.
"Did you miss me, firefly?" Raye's eyes welled up and she threw her arms around him.
"I thought you were dead!" Rubeus's face softened and he stroked her hair.
"I am dead, Raye." Raye buried her face in his chest. He looked, felt, smelled, so real.
"Why Rubeus? Why couldn't I save you?" Rubeus lifted Raye's chin up so he could look at her eyes. He already missed those eyes- that deep, dark purple, almost as dark as her hair.
"It wasn't your fault, Raye. I made a choice. Every choice has its consequences."
Raye's lower lip trembled and a tear traced down her ivory skin.
"But why did the consequences have to be forever?" Rubeus shook his head.
"It's not forever, Raye. It's not forever." Raye looked at him, confused.
"What do you mean?" Rubeus smiled and kissed her briefly.
"Ask
Luna." Then he faded away, and Raye was left
alone, with the lingering feeling of his lips against hers.
Serena flopped onto her bed, feeling sick. Luna was standing on Serena's desk,
muttering. Serena propped her head up and half-smiled.
"What are you doing Luna?" Luna hung her head and sighed.
"I'm trying to print something I found on the internet, but I can't get this blasted mouse to move! Imagine! Me, a cat, unable to control a mouse!" Serena chuckled and got up, sitting down in front of the computer. She moved the mouse up to the print icon and clicked.
"What's this about anyway?" Luna flinched as the printer gave a loud, shrill beep and spat out the paper.
"When Raye turned into the war-god, didn't she say something about the Olympians?" Serena nodded.
"Yeah. I told you that." Luna sat down in front of the paper, her tail twitching.
"Well, the Olympians are the twelve main Greek gods and goddesses, who, according to mythology, live on top of mount Olympus." Serena nodded, wrinkling her nose. Her mind was trying to tell her something, something important.
"Roman and Greek mythology are very much alike. So, when I looked for the name of the war-god in Greek folklore, I got Ares. However, he has a different name in Roman mythology- Mars." Serena's eyes widened and she stared at Luna, suddenly making the connection.
"Ares is an Olympian, isn't he?" Luna nodded seriously.
"That's
exactly right. And so are Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter, also called Aphrodite,
Hermes, and Zeus."
Raye ran the Tsukino's
doorbell, clutching the doorframe until her knuckles were white. Her head had
been spinning and buzzing the whole bus ride, but now it had begun to throb. Raye was sweating just from standing up, her knees shook
with her seemingly enormous weight, and her vision was blurred. But all that
wasn't important. Luna knew something that could bring Rubeus
back. THAT was important.
Serena opened the door and gasped as Raye practically
tumbled into her arms.
"Raye! What are you doing up?!" Raye pushed Serena's hands away and gripped the wall, panting.
"I… need... to see... Luna." Serena shook her head.
"Raye, you shouldn't be walking around like this." Raye's eyes narrowed and Serena glimpsed some of the old fire burning in them.
"Don't... tell... me what... to do." Serena sighed.
"Alright. Luna's upstairs." She reached out and took her friend's arm, but Raye jerked it away and started up the stairs, swaying like a drunk and panting as if she'd run a marathon.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine!" Raye got to the top of the stairs and tottered down the hall, finally reaching Serena's doorway.
"Raye!" Luna hopped down from the desk and looked at Raye sternly.
"You shouldn't be here. You're ill."
Raye glared at Luna and snapped, "I've been told. Now tell me something new. Rubeus said that you knew something that might be able to bring him back." Raye's eyes began to water as she uttered her love's name, but she quickly blinked the tears back. Luna looked at her skeptically.
"He... told you?" Raye nodded and slowly stepped away from the wall, standing up straight.
"Yeah, he told me. Now what have you found?" Luna went back to the computer.
"We're beginning to think that there's more to your new transformation than we originally thought. Apparently, the other scouts may be able to do the same thing that you did." Raye nodded.
"Maybe that can bring him back." Luna and Serena exchanged a worried look.
"Raye, when someone dies, it's forever." Raye shook her head violently.
"No! He said it wouldn't be forever! He told me that there's a way to bring him back!" Serena put a hand on Raye's shoulder.
"Raye, you were probably dreaming. He... he can't come back." Raye pushed Serena away again, but she was feeling dizzy.
"No... He was real... I felt him..." The room started spinning wildly, faster and faster, like she was on some insane merry-go-round.
"I felt him..." Raye's legs buckled under her, her eyes rolled back into her head, and she passed out, falling backwards like a felled tree. But right before she hit the floor, a dark, sexy aroma filled her nostrils and Raye's mouth turned upwards in a weak smile. She felt strong arms catch her, cradling her head. A small murmur escaped Raye's lips before she fell completely under.
"Rubeus... you caught me..."
Darien picked Raye up and gently laid her on the bed, glancing at Serena worriedly."You weren't exaggerating when you said she was killing herself." Serena perched on the edge of the bed and bit her lip.
"She's so weak... but she's still so stubborn. She won't accept help from anybody. I'm worried about her, Darien." Darien reached down and hugged her.
"Don't worry Serena. Raye's been through worse than this." Serena shook her head.
"No
Darien. She hasn't. And that's why I'm
worried."
Raye's eyelids flickered and she groaned.
"Ooohhh..." Everything was sore and heavy, and her head pounded like some insane carpenter was at work inside it. Serena heaved a sigh of slight relief and shifted on the bed. "Raye, now that you're awake, you can eat something." Weary purple eyes opened to warm, motherly blue ones as Serena held up a slice of cheesecake.
Raye shook her head and replied, "I'm not all that hungry, really." Serena opened her mouth to reply, but Luna leapt onto the bed.
"You'd better eat it Raye, before she changes her mind and finishes it herself." Serena smiled sweetly and set the plate and fork in Raye's hands, before looking at Luna devilishly.
"You know Luna, it's been a while since you've had a bath." Luna hopped off the bed and stuck her nose in the air.
"Humph. I give myself baths." Serena launched herself off the bed and tackled Luna, cackling like a witch.
"Not with water, you don't!" A literal cat-fight ensued, as Serena struggled to drop Luna in the bathtub, and Luna struggled to free herself. Raye sighed and set the plate down, shaking her head.
"I think I'm gonna go now." She walked out and quietly shut the door, as Serena and Luna wrestled. Neither the dumpling-head nor the soaked cat noticed that Raye had left.
