Losing a Friend, by Boyce
Chapter 2 : Guilt
/ Back at Xeb's place \
Xeb was still holding his crystal, looking at the powerful energy floating in it. "This is not going as planned. I lost Debra. How can this be possible?? This Sailor Moon is very powerful indeed". He got lost in his thoughts as he was still looking at his now orange crystal. "I'll have to inform my other general about my mission, since Debra failed... Feyla!!".
As he said that, a girl similar to Debra appeared, having red hair instead of blue. "Feyla is here to serve you, Master Xeb."
"Feyla, listen to me... Debra failed at her mission, and now it's up to you. I'll recap the whole mission for you." he ordered his minion.
"I'm listening, O Great Master", she replied.
Xeb got up. The 3 holograms of the planets appeared again. "Listen, and listen well". He pointed at the green planet first. "This is planet Kalysta. It's a little green planet in the Zeno Galaxia". He then pointed at the second one. "This is planet Vyolet, in the Aquaria Galaxia". He pointed at the last planet. "And this is Earth", he finished.
"I see them, Master Xeb. Why these 3 planets?", Feyla asked.
"These 3 planets are aligned perfectly in their own Galaxies, at the corners of the Universe. If you would draw lines between them, this would make a perfect triangle . If we fill these planets with enough dark energy, they will form a big triangular cloud of dark energy "between" them, englobing billions and billions of planets and civilisations in dark energy. I, Xeb, will be the supreme ruler of this Dark Era!! I will rule the UNIVERSE HAHAHAHA", he finished.
"That's great Master Xeb. But a big mass of dark energy like that is very unstable. Isn't there a risk the planets might explode from all that energy?", she asked.
Xeb looked at Feyla, almost surprised. "Hmm, you're smart Feyla. I like it. You're right!! All that dark energy would normally make the planets explode. But if we mix just a little bit of pure energy with all the dark energy, the planet will stay stable".
"And where do we find pure energy, Great Master?" she asked.
He took the crystal out. "On the other planets, we encountered a hero that was there to defend his planet. It was easy to dispose of him, and collect his pure energy to mix with the planet. But the Earth has multiple heroes. I collected the energy of one of them here, but they are more people who can defend Earth down there. We must be careful not to make the same mistake again. I can't afford to lose my other general in the hands of these fools".
"I will be careful, Master. I await your orders". As she said that, Feyla vanished, leaving Xeb alone.
He passed his arm in front of the holograms, and they disappeared. He then looked at his crystal again. The crystal was shaking in his hand. "Hmm, as I feared, the pure energy is not stable. I'll have to wait a bit before using it". He put the crystal in his pocket. "But soon, SOON, I'll rule the Universe!! HAHAHAHAHA".
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/ Tokyo \
After that night, they all went to their homes. Darien invited Serena to his apartment. She needed somebody to confort her. None of them slept that night. The thought about their friend were too painful for them to sleep. Before going their ways, Sailor Mars said in a sad voice : "Let's take some free time in the next days. I don't feel like fighting anymore, after what happened". Another tear fell from her eye. She passed her arm to dry it. "Let's hope that guy has a busy schedule", she finished. They all agreed, and went slowly their separate ways.
Two weeks passed... Painful weeks for the Girls and Darien. They lost a very close friend, and that wound was hurting them, especially Serena. She was hiding in her room all the time. The only time she was out of her room was for dinner, and even there, she had lost some of her appetite.
Two cats were sitting in the stairs of the house. "I'm getting worried about her Artemis... She lost the joy of living. The death of Mina is really tough for her." said a black cat.
"It's tough for everyone Luna...". He looked at the sky, through the window... His eyes were getting wet. "I was her Guardian Luna... I lost her. I feel so bad..."
"I'm sorry Artemis. I didn't want to get this painful memory in your head again". She looked down. Artemis didn't say anything... He just looked at the blue sky.
After a while, he finally said something. "We should try to get Serena out of the house... To change her mind from all this". The two cats took the stairs to get to Serena's room.
"DING DONG"
The doorbell rang. Serena's mother went to answer the door. She opened it, and she saw Raye and Darien in the entrance. "Hi Raye!! Hi Darien!! How are you?" she asked them, almost innocently.
"We feel better, thank you", answered Darien. "Is Serena there?" he asked.
"Yes she is... But she's not the same anymore. The death of Mina has really destroyed her... Poor girl. She was so nice. I can't believe she's gone". At that remark, Raye looked down. Darien put a hand on her shoulder. "Oh I'm sorry Raye. I didn't mean to...".
"It's okay. Don't think about it anymore", she replied immediately.
"Please come in. Serena is in her room". With these words, Serena's mother went back to the kitchen.
The boy and the girl entered the house, and walked to the stairs. They met with the two cats who came to see who rang the doorbell.
"Hey Luna... Artemis". Darien paused, and looked at the white cat. The cat turned his vision to the ground. "Luna, how's Serena?", he then asked.
"Not very good. Since the day she came back, she's a different person". While Luna said this, Raye took Artemis in her arms, conforting the white cat.
"Can we see her?", asked Raye.
"Of course", Luna answered.
They arrived at Serena's door. "Knock Knock"... No answer. "Serena, it's Darien... Are you there?". He put his ear on the door... He heard nothing. He decided to open the door.
When the door was out of his way, he saw Serena on her bed. She was laying on her back, looking at the ceiling. "Serena, Raye and Darien are here to see you", said the black cat. No response.
"Serena, you want to come out with us? It's a beautiful day", asked Darien. Serena turned slowly her head to look through her window, and turned her head again to the ceiling.
"No", she said calmly.
Darien looked at Raye and the cats. Raye put Artemis on the ground, and got close to Serena. "Serena... you can't stay here forever. Why don't you come with us, to get your mind off this", said Raye.
"I don't want to." The blonde quickly replied.
Raye turned her head to look at Serena. "Serena, I know the death of Mina is a tough time. We all miss her. She was a true friend". She paused, feeling the sadness rise in her body, then continued. "But life goes on Serena... You must...".
She was cut abruptly by a crying Serena. "The beam was meant for me... ME!! She sacrified her life for me... ME!! How do you think I feel?? One of my best friends is dead Raye, DEAD, AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT... We'll never hear her talk, laugh anymore.. ALL BECAUSE OF ME. YOU JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW I FEEL".
Raye was shocked... She never saw Serena so upset. A tear began falling on Raye's cheek. Her mind didn't know what to reply after that outburst. She just looked at Serena on her bed, almost like a zombie.
Darien looked at the cats. He then looked at Raye, and touch her shoulder. That move seemed to bring Raye back to reality. She got up, and let the place to Darien.
He went on the bed, sitting besides Serena. "Serena... It's not your fault".
"Yes it is...", she mumbled.
"You would never had the time to jump out of the way. Venus knew her role. She, like any of us, had to protect the Princess at all cost. It cost her her life..." He paused. Raye could sense the sadness in his voice. "Mina was a very happy person. She would not want you to be sad for the rest of your life... We are all sad about the lost of Venus, but we must keep living, fighting for her".
Serena was now looking at Darien into the eyes. Although his speech wasn't heroic, the words spoken by the man she loved hit her. She could see the sadness. "But Darien...", she started, but couldn't finish her sentence. She threw herself into the arms of her lover.
"We made a monument in her honor at the Temple", said Luna.
"We visit it everyday. We would really like it if you would come with us, Serena... Please", continued Raye.
Serena dried her eyes, and looked at her friend. She got up, and went to give a hug to Raye. "Raye, I'm so sorry for yelling at you. I want to go... I just didn't have the courage to come out", she said to her friend.
"Don't mention it. Now let's go... together. Lita and Amy are waiting for us". Serena nodded.
The group got out of the room, and went downstairs. "I'm going out Mom... I'll be back later".
Serena's mom was so surprise to hear the voice of her daughter. She ran to the entrance. "Serena... Have fun". She turned, and took the hand of Raye and Darien. "Oh Thank you. I don't know what you said, but thank you so much", she said to them.
"It was the least we could do for her" replied Darien.
With these words, they left the house in the direction of the Temple.
/ At the Temple \
The group of five arrived at the Temple. Amy and Lita were already there, waiting for them. As they saw the group approach, happiness invaded them as they saw Serena coming.
"Serena!!", said the two girls together. They ran at their friend. Serena ran at the two girls. They took each others arm. "We missed you Serena", said Amy.
"I know, I'm sorry", she replied.
Darien, Luna and Artemis joined them. Together, they all turned at the monument they made for their friend. It was a beautiful wooden heart, with the inscription "To our friend Mina. We'll remember you forever" in the middle. They also put a picture of her, so they would always remember her smile.
The cats were always the first ones to approach themselves of the heart. Artemis always cried when they stopped to look at it. "Venus...", is always the only thing he could say. Luna always looked at him, sad.
After the cats, it was the turn of the girls. Lita and Amy always went together. Lita couldn't resist crying each time. "Mina... I miss you so much". Amy always tried to confort her. "Hey Mina.. I hope your happy where you are now", Amy said, sharing a tear with her friend.
After them, it was Raye. She always kneeled down before the heart, and said something really low. They could only see the tears falling from her eyes when she got up.
Darien always brought a rose for his friend. "Here you go Mina... A beautiful Rose for you". Darien put it with all the other rose he brought the days before.
For the first time, it was Serena's turn to visit the monument. She approached, and kneeled down. She looked at the picture, and began crying. "Oh Mina... I swear it, I'll avenge you, my friend". She touched the Heart-shaped wood, and got up, looking at her friends again.
She dried her tears... "So what do we do now?". Nobody responded, but they were happy to see Serena again.
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/ Xeb's place \
Xeb had completed the training of his new general. It only took a couple of hours to do it, but a couple of hours was like a couple of weeks on Earth. "Finally, Feyla is ready for the mission", Xeb said. He took the crystal out of his pocket, to look at it again. "Hmm, it still seems a bit unstable to me. But this should not be a problem. When we throw this pure energy into the core of the planet, it won't make any difference".
While he was still contempling his crystal, Feyla appeared behind him. "I'm all ready for the mission, Master Xeb", she said to him. "Very well Feyla. We'll leave very soon for Earth".
"As you wished Master", she replied, before vanishing from the room. He got up, and the 3 holograms appeared in front of him again. "This last planet is tougher to get than I thought. We'll surely meet with that Sailor Moon again. I hope Feyla is well prepared for this. I don't want to fail so close to my goal", he said to himself. With these words, he vanished from the room.
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/ Tokyo, in a Restaurant \
The day was coming to an end. They all decided to go to a restaurant. Luna and Artemis stayed at the Temple.
"Hmm This food is pretty good, don't you agree guys?", Serena said.
"Yeah, it is good, but my cooking is WAY better than that, don't you think Serena?", Lita answered.
"Of course Lita", replied Serena with a smile, her first real smile since that tragic day. Raye, Lita, Amy and Darien had already finish their supper, but Serena was still eating.
"Wow Serena, you were really hungry", said Amy.
"Yeah, I did not ate a lot the last couple of weeks", she answered, with her mouth still full.
"Serena, this is going to cost me a fortune", Darien said. The other girls smiled, as Serena was finishing her fourth plate.
As she finished it, a big explosion was heard not too far away.
"What?" said a puzzled Darien.
"Oh no, not again", said Lita.
People were running in the street. The girls and Darien got out of the restaurant, to see a black aura coming from two blocks.
"Looks like the same bastard is back again", said an angry Raye. They went into an alley.
"We should transform now", said Amy. They all replied with a "Yeah".
"This battle is for you, Venus", thought Serena.
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER" "MERCURY STAR POWER" "MARS STAR POWER" "JUPITER STAR POWER"
In a flash, the four girls were transformed into their Scouts form. Darien was also transformed as Tuxedo Mask. They looked at each other, and started running in the direction of the dark energy.
End of Chapter 2