Chapter 2

Days passed and after listening to Raye beg for forgiveness for the millionth time, Serena finally gave in and informed her that she was already forgiven. At Serena's request, Darien agreed to help her keep up the ditz act by continually arguing with her every day like before. This time around, however, they both knew it was mostly an act and there was no malicious intent behind any of their jibes.

The youma battles never decreased in frequency, though Tuxedo Mask's skills at jumping in to save Sailor Moon at just the right moment became needed a little less each time. However, when she did need his help, she needed it big time. Raye had decided to ignore Tuxedo Mask's propensity for always saving Sailor Moon, and went chasing after him in earnest, despite all his attempts to convince her that he wasn't interested.

About two weeks after burying the hatchet with Serena, Darien was walking down the street towards the arcade, gleefully scanning over the financial statement that detailed the returns that his investment in Serenity Lunar Gaming, a fairly new company, had gained.

He looked up from his internal dance of delight to spy a vision coming his way. Waist-length blonde hair adorned her head like a halo and was gathered back into a fat, loose braid. She was shuffling through thick collections of paper while talking softly into a cellular phone clamped in the curve of her neck and he could practically see the wheels in her head turning as she compared information from one packet to another. Her casual light-blue suit, when taken together with her lightly tanned skin, only seemed to make the golden aura about her intensify.

She skilfully wove her way through the crowds, only looking up occasionally, though her brief glances allowed him to catch a glimpse of her eyes. They were the color of the ocean at sunset, a deep clear blue, which seemed to be shot through with tiny streaks of silver.

Darien's eyes followed the golden goddess as she continued past him and her scent floated up to tease his senses: roses, sunshine, and something that seemed to be uniquely hers. He stopped, turned to stare after her, and wondered why he had the distinct impression that his life would never be the same again.


Later that evening, Serenity St. Artemis, the young university student who was also the main mastermind behind Serenity Lunar Gaming, sat at the large dining room table with her assistant in the penthouse suite she shared with her aunt and guardian, Luna St. Artemis.

Serenity looked up from the various reports from her store managers and passed a hand over her forehead, suddenly realizing just how tired she was. Her hand quested further, fingers seeking to wrap some of the strands of her hair around her fingers, comprehension dawning as to why she was so exhausted when her hair eluded her grasp. Casting a tiny sigh heavenward, she looked at her assistant. "Do you mind?" she queried, gesturing to herself.

Her companion's head snapped up and stared at Serenity as if truly seeing her for the first time, and her expression swiftly went from surprise to mild reproach. "Sere, how could you forget? You know better than I do how draining it is for you to keep that up for long periods of time. Take it off, now, before I have to call Luna."

Serenity briefly considered sticking her tongue out at her friend, then remembered that she had grown past such acts of immaturity. Instead, she nodded with relief, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Her image flickered slightly as she mentally cancelled the magic that held the glamour in place for hours on end, and then Serenity St. Artemis as the world knew her faded entirely. As her friend looked on approvingly, Serenity's suit evaporated back to the usual blue and white school uniform. Her hair and eyes lost their silvery sheen, and her hair grew, lengthening and being swept up into its usual style.

"Oh, that feels so much better," she exclaimed, her voice once again youthful. "I can't believe I forgot about it."

"You were a little preoccupied," her friend allowed, gesturing to the mounds of work they had managed to finish thus far.

A grin crossed the blonde's face. "Let's call it a night." She glanced at her wristwatch and grimaced. Eleven o'clock. "I'll get Gary to drive you home. Tomorrow's Saturday; I'll meet you back here at noon and then we'll go to the board meeting together."

"Sounds good; rest tonight, Sere. You're going to need all your strength tomorrow. You know what happens when you get flustered or lose concentration," the other girl admonished fondly.

The blonde made a face. "I will. I won't even look at all that work after you leave, I promise."

"You do that. Night, Sere," she said, heading out the door towards the elevator.

"Good night, Ames."

Closing the door behind her friend, the tiny blonde girl turned and surveyed her domain with no little satisfaction. A black cat padded silently up to her and jumped on her shoulder, and the girl stroked her pet affectionately.

"You know," a smooth, female, slightly British-accented voice said, "no matter what I say to you, I want you to know I'm very proud of you. And I know your parents are as well."

"Thank you, Luna," Serena Tsukino replied, heading towards the bedroom that belonged to her and her alone. "That means a lot." The cat jumped off her shoulder and watched, eyes gleaming with pride as she watched her charge prepare herself for bed.


The idea for Serenity Lunar Gaming had actually come from a project issued by one of her professors. He had challenged his students to create and plan a video or computer game and try to sell it to a major manufacturer or distributor. Serena heard it and decided to take it one step further. She would become said manufacturer. So, enlisting Amy's aid as always, she had gone about creating the identity of Luna St. Artemis, wealthy businesswoman who had a tendency to listen to her niece's thoughts. As Serenity St. Artemis was already Serena's campus identity, it wasn't much trouble to fabricate an aunt for her. At first it had been just the children of her brain shoved through the company, then her classmates joined and soon she'd had an empire on her hands. She employed students from nearly every faculty in various departments under the supervision of their professors, who were only too happy to have them involved in such a valuable work experience situation. Serena needed reliable workers who could be counted on to do nearly anything asked of them, and they needed a steady part-time job that could afford to cater to their schedules and needs. It was an arrangement made in heaven.

The next weekend, her main store was having a huge promotional sale and Serena, as Serenity, was on hand as always, supervising, assisting the customers, and mostly acting like any other employee. She had just finished dealing with a particularly rude customer when she looked around to see if her help was needed elsewhere and her eyes looked straight at a very familiar broad chest that smelled faintly of roses and cologne.

"Good afternoon," she greeted, pushing past her surprise to look her, now former, nemesis in the eye. "How can I help you?"

Darien shoved his tongue back in his mouth at the sight of the vision not three feet away and commanded his brain to push at least one intelligent sentence out through his slack jaws. "Maybe you can. I have an appointment at one-thirty with Miss St. Artemis. Could you possibly point me in her direction?"

Serena risked a quick glance at her delicate gold wristwatch and couldn't prevent the squeak of embarrassment that escaped her. She had completely forgotten, which was entirely unlike her when it came to her baby. "Of course, sir. If you'll follow me." Inclining her head, she walked through the throngs determined to set a new world record as to how many people they could cram into one warehouse. His height alone giving him an advantage, Darien easily followed the tiny woman towards a door that read "Restricted Area - Employees Only" and wandered through when she held the door open so he could follow.

She lead him through the shelves upon shelves of merchandise, finally coming to a hallway that he never would have guessed was there had she not shown him right to it. The floor was thickly carpeted, and the walls had rosewood paneling and cream coloured wallpaper. At the very end was an elevator whose doors opened with a small ding when she pressed the button. When they reached the top, the doors opened up to a lobby that was decorated in bright, vibrant colors that instantly made Darien feel more alive, and reminded him of a certain blonde whirlwind that he had missed seeing that morning.

"If you'll wait here, Miss St. Artemis will be with you in a minute," she said softly, indicating one of the plush armchairs. Without waiting to make sure he obeyed, she smiled at him and vanished around behind the reception desk.

Darien sat and cooled his heels for a good ten minutes until a young woman with bright auburn hair appeared and sat in the chair behind the desk, smiling sunnily at him. "Miss St. Artemis will see you now," she informed him. "It's the office at the end of the hall," she continued when he rose, "you can't miss it."

Darien followed her directions and soon found himself facing a set of double-doors made out of a heavy wood that were opened slightly. Even though he knew he was expected, he knocked lightly and waited for her command to enter. What he saw inside the office made him stop short and he wouldn't have been surprised if his eyes dropped out of his head at that moment, for sitting behind a large oak desk was the goddess who had led him up there.

"Mr. Shields, I apologize for forgetting about our interview," she stated, motioning him into yet another large chair. "I only hope you'll permit me to make a good second impression."

He settled comfortably into the chair, silently noting that it seemed to have been made with the needs of a large frame in mind. "It wasn't a problem. Though I must confess to some curiosity as to why you wanted to see me."

"Ah, you don't beat around the bush. As you must know, I own this company, and run it with the explicit permission of my aunt. I would devote all my time to here, but my school work and personal life are determined to interfere. In short, I need an assistant. The friend I have worked with since setting this whole thing up is getting overwhelmed and wants to back off on her involvement while she prepares to take her official university entrance exams. I need somebody I can trust to help me take care of my company, and what with the deal I signed recently, I can't do it by myself."

Darien was stunned to say the least, but managed to recover quickly. "How do you know I'm worthy of the trust you're proposing to place in me?"

She grinned at him. "I spoke to some of your professors. They all agree that you can afford to take this on, and your friend Andrew could do nothing but sing your praises."

His eyebrows climbed at that. "Andrew? You know Andrew?"

"Of course I know Andrew!" she exclaimed. "He makes the best triple fudge milkshakes in the world!" And then, for an instant, it seemed like her image flickered and he could see his - gulp, scratch that - the Meatball Head superimposed over her features.

Darien shook his head to rid himself of the image and focused on his potential boss again. "What do you want with a Med. student?"

"That would be former Medical student, would it not?"

"How did you know?"

"A lot of your classmates talk, and when Darien Shields, star Medical student suddenly transfers to the Business School, a lot of tongues start wagging," she informed him with a wry smile. "Trust me, for a population as large as it is, news travels fast on campus."

"Why do you want me?" He wasn't exactly ready to give this concept up.

"To be honest, you were the first person I thought of when Amy told me she wanted to ease up a little. I couldn't have done this without her. But, it's growing too big for both of us and we need some help with it. And, like I always have, I thought I'd give you first dibs before offering it to an outsider. However, I'm really hoping you'll take it. I can't think of another person I'd like to teach my business to more. Please, say you'll take it." Serena couldn't remember lobbying so hard for an employee, but she knew if she could get him on her team, they'd be unstoppable. The fact that she trusted him with her life spoke volumes in itself.

"I'm going to have to think about it, if you don't mind," Darien was able to mumble.

"I understand, but you'll have to forgive me if I need your answer by next Friday." She slid a thick package across the desk, and his eyebrows rose into his hairline when he spied how much she was proposing to pay him.

Darien wasn't sure how, but he escaped, head whirling with the knowledge that out of all the very capable business students and trusted employees that she had access to, Serenity St. Artemis wanted him to be her personal assistant. The thought was mind-boggling and he drove home in a daze.

Unfortunately, Darien wasn't given much time to think about his new opportunity, because the next week the most insidious of energy-stealing schemes hit Tokyo. It left all its victims in a state of permanent, extremely paranoid, wakefulness, only coming out of their zombie-like state when they scented beverages of the highly sugared or caffeinated type nearby.


Ooh, Cliffie! Is it the Nega-Verse? Or something more home-grown? I originally left it here, but on further consideration, I think I'll put in the rest of the chapter...
Late on Thursday afternoon Serena and Darien, two such casualties, met at the front doors to the Crown arcade, each looking their own brand of horrible. Darien had bags under his eyes and a five-o'clock- shadow, whereas Serena's hair was limp and dull, almost dragging on the ground, and the fire in her eyes was dimmed with exhaustion.

They assessed each other silently and Darien finally muttered a "Meatball Head" as he turned to enter the arcade.

"Creep," he heard from behind him, Serena's greeting even less enthusiastic than his. He didn't have to look to know that she'd followed him and they automatically sat at opposite ends of the counter.

"Hey, guys," Andrew greeted cheerfully, prompting murderous thoughts from his almost unconscious friends, as he reached for his ice cream scoop, awaiting the inevitable order.

"Coffee," Serena mumbled, making the other blond jerk and drop the scoop in his surprise. "Lots of it."

Darien didn't even blink an eyelash. "On the double, please," Darien finished with a large yawn. To Andrew's mild, still stunned, amusement, Serena yawned as well in response.

"What happened to you guys?"

The two enemies - albeit former, but Andrew didn't know that - shared a commiserating glance. "Finals," they moaned tiredly.

"What did you have today?" Serena asked curiously.

"Poli. Sci. You?"

Serena winced. "Yech. I just finished my Lab exam."

Darien flinched in return and shuddered in distaste. He looked up to see his still stunned friend standing exactly where he had been the last time Darien checked. "Drew? Our coffee?"

The arcade proprietor jumped into action and before either could blink tiredly steaming mugs of the thick, aromatic, definitely caffeinated liquid were placed in front of them. While Darien was perfectly content to drink the brew black, Serena noted with no little dismay that the sugar and cream were all the way down on his end of the counter. Gamely, she heaved herself up and slid down the counter, dragging her cup along, eventually plonking down on the stool beside Darien. Despite her best efforts, extreme exhaustion took over and she wavered. Without looking at her, Darien's arm shot out and settled around her waist, steadying her until she got her balance, leaned forward, and dropped her elbows on the counter-top. As he removed his hand, she started obsessively adding packets of sugar, seriously attempting to find out what the saturation point of coffee was.

Finally satisfied that there was no way any more sugar could possibly be dissolved – don't even ask about the cream – Serena nursed it slowly, peering over the rim at a completely poleaxed Andrew. "What's wrong with him?" she asked out of the corner of her mouth.

"Beats me," he mumbled back, mirroring her pose.

"Listen," she started, showing some more signs of life now that she had some lovely caffeine in her system, "you have your Admin. exam tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So do I. Wanna be my study buddy?" she offered, raising an eyebrow at him.

Darien arched one right back. "My place?"

"Nah. Let's go to my... Um, my aunt's apartment, she's got a huge table that we can spread our books out on."

"She won't mind?"

Serena snorted. "No, she's... out of town right now. You want to go now?"

"Sure." Together, they drained their mugs, and then Serena rose and went to the door as Darien laid down money to pay for both of their coffees. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and joined Serena and then they walked out into the afternoon sunshine together.

Andrew, completely and utterly stupefied, stared after his friends and belatedly bent over to pick up the fallen ice cream scoop. "I think I need a vacation," he mumbled, certain that he had just been hallucinating and that his two friends, the people who loved to hate each other, were not willingly spending time together; never mind studying together!

Lita and Amy bounced – well, Lita bounced, while Amy walked sedately at her side, nose buried deep into a textbook like usual – in a short while later. "Hi, Andrew!" the brunette called. "Have you seen Serena? She raced out of school like a bat out of hell and nobody's seen her since."

Andrew, still convinced that he had inadvertently wandered into the Twilight Zone, shook his head. "Nope. Haven't seen her at all, girls, sorry. Can I get you anything?"

Amy emerged long enough to smile at him. "No, but thanks anyway, Andrew. I'm sure we'll catch up with her eventually. Come on, Lita." Lita looked a little put out at missing her daily ice cream and flirt session, but followed along gamely as the blue-haired genius gently pulled her away.

"Bye, Andrew!"

Andrew lifted a hand in farewell, and went back to his usual duties. He resolved that he was going to take a week's vacation starting that weekend and hopefully when he came back everything would be back to normal.