Rei was sitting at the Great temple fire and concentrating her energy on the day of attack. Her hands pressed together and back straight, priestess's uniform making the kneeling more comfortable. She was trying to locate the source of energy that had already saved them twice, a year ago and now just a week prior. And every time it lead to an dead end, sort of.
Her visions always started with Serena coming up the stairs to meet up with Darien for their date, her sensing the strange presence, following the events until the last thing she can recall is when she started rolling down the stairs along with Darien. Rei remembers feeling a strong power coming from Darien and in the back of her mind, she knew it from somewhere, she knew it can be trusted. But most confusing was the other power her visions brought fort – it was the same as she remembers from Artic. This was a bit unsettling but also ensuring.
The raven-haired girl took another deep breath and concentrated further on the second powers energy waves. This is when for the first time in days something new happened. The priestess saw a different vision unfold. Serena is smiling, standing next to a tall man whose back was turned to Rei. At his side was another man with short blonde hair that was smiling at her, he was stepping closer to her and Rei felt such a turmoil of emotions that she could not keep up with her concentration. She opened her eyes, letting the vision to flow away, and slumped on the wooden floor, her heart beating erratically and her breath coming out uneven. She was crying, and she did not know the reason, except that the young man whose face she has never seen before brought forth the emotions.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Serena stood at the bottom of the temple stairs. She looked up and slowly started to ascend them. While on her way up, which she was taking rather slowly, the events of the past days rushed to her mind, never really leaving her alone.
She had graduated high school; the day was a whirlwind of glimpses of memories. She remembers the ceremony at the school, her friends' wishes and some of the things she said to them as well. Then her mom crying and dad almost doing the same, her brother hugging her. Darien handing her a small gift box, wrapped in pink paper, that she still has not opened. The dinner she had with her family. But most of all she remembers being happy. And that was a feeling most welcome after the last Senshi meeting.
Serena took another step, now remembering the meeting. She was quiet the whole time, listening to the girls going over the conversation they had with the four man. They told a story of the millennia old civilization that was on Earth at the same time there was life on the Moon. The four man were in fact reborn souls of the Earth's prince's royal guard and were now looking for the reborn prince himself.
The girls in return have told their story of seeking their princess. Both parties kept few things to themselves, not trusting either party just yet. But all eight left their conversation with the lingering feeling of knowing each other, more than just their first encounter battling an ugly creature with tentacles. They arranged the next meeting in two weeks' time, unless the monsters strike again. So far, they have been silent.
And then there was the date with Darien that did not really happen. Because of the same dreadful attack. After the girls and the Generals, as Serena began to call them, left her and the sleeping Darien, she couldn't face him anymore. Knowing that something has started to attack again made her rethink the whole idea of getting closer to Darien. And her heart ached about this so much she felt it is suffocating her. But she did not relent, she fled the room minutes after changing her mind and was avoiding Darien since then. This is also the reason she could not open his graduation gift to her.
The blonde girl knew that she should be worried about her dreams that she had been having for days. She couldn't remember nothing from them, but the feeling they left behind when she woke up was dreadful. She felt hopelessness and death. Luna had even mentioned that she sometimes was murmuring something, but never clear enough to understand. It caused her headaches, and sometimes she found herself staring in point for various time periods, completely ignoring her surroundings. One time she almost got hit by a car as she was crossing the street when the red light was still on. This unsettled her, but she also didn't want the girls to worry about something she really did not remember.
Serena was now at the top of the stairs and just as she took the first step away from stairs, she looked up and for a moment the terrible attack was playing before her. She stopped and closed her eyes, took few breaths and when opening them again was met with clear blue sky. She let out a breath of relief and turned to walk to Rei's room, her skirt swooshing lightly as she went. I have to them about the brooch.
Amy looked up from the Mercury computer and was sitting behind the table when Serena entered the room. She saw right away that something was on Serena's mind, as it has been since the day of the attack. All girls have noticed this and they decided to speak with her. They decided it would be best for them to go slowly, and without Luna present.
"Why didn't you tell us you liked Darien?" was the first thing said even before the girls managed to say hello to each other. It was Rei, as always going for the kill. Mina just let out a sigh, slipping more into the puff chair and decided what the heck, might as well start without easing our way in. Amy just thought she should have foreseen this and Lita just crossed her arms in front of her waiting for the girls reply, while leaning at one of the walls.
Serena sat down, thinking that she might as well get comfortable, knowing that Rei won't give up until she confesses everything. "It's…. it's hard to explain."
"Was it because of Beryl?" Amy asked, "did you think it would complicate things?"
"Yes, and perhaps I didn't want to get my hopes up… I mean you would obviously try to encourage me, and Mina might even try to play a matchmaker." At this Lita snorted.
Serena rolled her eyes, "okay, I guess Mina would totally play the matchmaker."
There was a silence and it was Rei who spoke first again, "I guess that makes sense. But I still would have been glad if you have told me… us." She gave her a small smile and Serena just burst into tears, taking the girls and herself by surprise.
They all looked at each other. It was true that Serena was emotional, but is has been so long since she was visibly hurting about something and the girls were not sure what to do.
"I am sorry. I wanted to tell you, but you know that Darien doesn't even really like me like that, I could barely say we are good friends…. I guess we are friends, but that's just it, we don't really… converse so easily with each other. And, and… and the other day before that tentacle freak showed up I really thought that maybe, perhaps maybe we could be something more?! And now I cannot really speak with him… I am sorry I didn't tell you anything… and this is only about Darien. I still have to tell you about the brooch, it.. it.. its gone", she finally whispered.
"I don't' understand," said Lita and came closer to Serena.
The four girls looked at Serena who extended her hands, reaching into the subspace pocket. She pulled her hands out and holding something, then she opened them over the table Amy was sitting at, and the shards of her transformation brooch clinked on the glass surface.
"When you left with the Generals and Darien and I were left alone, I fled the temple. Later that evening I decided to go for patrol, just to clear my mind and reached for it. When I held my hand out and waited for the brooch to drop on it, all I got were these," Serena pointed at the crystallized pieces that were creating tiny rainbows in the room from the sun light that had hit them. She didn't look at the girls.
"I tried to fix it, willing it to mend itself, I tried to heal it with the Moon wand but it did not work. It did not work that day, nor the following day, or the next day after that. Luna does not know. I should have told you all sooner, but I still cannot believe that the freaking monster could so easily destroy it."
"Maybe Amy can help," Mina said in a quiet voice, feeling the anguish coming from Serena. She looked at Amy, who was now reaching for one of the shards.
"NO! Don't you understand, not even Amy can fix this. NOT EVEN MY HEART COULD HELP, WHY DO YOU THING AMY'S BRAIN WILL?!" The girls were frightened by Serena's outburst. She then hit the table with her hands in frustration, the shards digging into her palms and tearing her skin.
Serena felt pain and looked at her bloody palms, the shards embedded in the skin and reflecting her tear stained face. She looked at herself as in a trance and images were playing in front of her. She in a white dress in a room full with mirrors. "Blood," she whispered, realising that she was seeing the flashbacks from her dreams, the same feelings of dread were accompanying the images Serena was seeing. White dress. Mirrors. A Sword. A male's hand reaching for her. "Stop. STOP! Stop the blood from flowing!" Serena screamed, the girls at loss what to do.
Rei saw that this was not shouting about her bloody hands, Serena was experiencing something and Rei decided she needs to see what Serena does. She took a scroll and wrote down a small prayer. Holding it in her right hand, she reached her left to touch Serena's shoulder.
At the connection that did not even last a few seconds, Rei was pushed away from Serena and hit the bookcase hard while a force was holding her against it, Amy's Mercury computer was starting to beep rapidly and recording volumes of data without Amy even touching it. Mina suddenly slumped on the floor, her hands on her temples to stop the pain flowing through her. Lita's protectionists instincts kicking in override and anything in the room seemed to be a source of danger, she moved to battle stance trying hard not to start attacking everything and going against her instincts, knowing that something was pushing her buttons. The four Senshi were confused, Serena now sitting quietly, her eyes wide open and looking at her bloodied hands.
As unexpected as it started, it ended with Serena fainting. The girls were freed from whatever was holding them, and somewhere away from the temple a men clad in white smiled, as he felt that the seed of his dark energy implanted in the blonde girl was getting stronger.
