Disclaimer: I only own the story, not Sailor Moon.

Chapter 13

The moon rose high in the night time sky as the Sailor Senshi stood just to the north of Rei's temple. It was almost midnight and the girls felt they were ready for whatever Serena was going to throw at them. They trained all afternoon each day for the past few days just in preparation for this moment. The girls heard footsteps coming their way and straightened up.

"Hello, ladies." Katri walked into the area smiling. "It is good to see that you are still on guard."

Rei looked at the woman her eyes full of suspicion. "Who are you and where is Serena?"

"I am a good friend of the Moon Princess. She is still not ready to talk with you and so I am here in her place. Not to worry though, I have the knowledge that is required for this meeting. My name is Katriana." Katri introduced herself to the Senshi.

"How can be sure that we can trust you?" Lita asked her bluntly.

"I knew you all before the days of the Silver Alliance were over due to Beryl and her nasty little thing of wanting power. I am the only one out of all of you who wasn't there when the moon was destroyed and so I have all of my memories of who you were back then. I also know about how Serena's coronation ceremony is supposed to go because of working directly with her mother on the original coronation ceremony that was to take place shortly after her wedding to Prince Endymion. Only Beryl attacked and the ceremony never happened." Katri explained simply to the group.

"Amy are you getting any Nega-vibes from her?" Mina asked quietly.

Amy pulled out her computer and did some quick calculations. "No, and she is telling the truth about what she knows."

"So, why the theatrics with the news papers?" Rei asked bluntly.

"You all hurt your Princess before she left and have never once believed in her. So she left and if you were to run into her on the street today you wouldn't even know it was her. You are being given a chance to prove to her that you believe in her and support her as the true leader of the Senshi and your Queen." Katri took a breath and looked at the four women standing in front of her. "Are you willing to take the time that will be required of you to prove to her your loyalty?"

Amy looked at her friends and stepped forward. "I am. I hated the way I felt after she left."

"Same here." Mina stepped forward as well.

"Count me in too. Serena needs us to be there for her as she makes this big step in her life." Lita stepped forward to be included with her other friends.

Rei looked at her friends then at Katri. "One question for you, does Serena know about Darien?"

"Sadly she does, which is why her coronation is in three weeks. She has to take the throne and strip him of his title and power before he can marry this Akusai. So, Mars are you going to help out and work hard on earning Serena's trust back or step back and renounce your title and role as one of her protectors?

"I'm in. Serena needs us, especially now that Darien has hurt her and said good bye to his destiny by her side." Rei smiled and stepped forward. "So what do we need to do now?"

Serena looked up from the pile of paper work sitting on her newly acquired desk and looked out the window in misery. She had been sitting in her personal library reading over all of the documents that Katri had piled on her desk that morning after telling her that they would help her prepare for her big coronation day.

She wished she was anywhere but sitting at the desk poring over the mundane documents. She still couldn't get over the news that Katri dropped on her about Darien the previous morning. Since then she had been instructed to stay at the mansion and work on getting ready for her coronation. On top of that she had continued with her Senshi training each morning with the other women.

Serena looked back down at the documents in front of her and made her decision. No matter what the other four said she was going to get out of the house, at least for a few hours. She needed it. She stood up and headed over to her walk in closet to find something more comfortable than the pale blue dress she was currently wearing. She found a pair of khaki colored Capri's and a ocean blue shirt to match and quickly changed before sneaking out of the place and heading towards her favorite place to go, the arcade.

Andrew looked up as he heard the chimes announce a new customer and smiled as he saw Serena walk into the arcade. "Hey, I haven't seen you in the past few days. How you doing?"

Serena smiled as she sat at the counter in front of him. "Much better since getting out of the mansion. Can I get a milk shake and some cheese fries?"

"Sure thing, Serena." Andrew laughed as he went to place her order. Once he was done he came back to talk with her some more. "I'm guessing you heard about Darien?"

"Sadly I did. I still am in shock that he was dating this other woman while he was dating me. At least now I know why he broke up with me so suddenly. Katri told me that she told you my biggest secret."

"Yeah, she did. And just so you know, I haven't told a soul what I know. I can now see why you acted so strange all those times when you were a teen."

"Thanks Andrew, that means a lot to me. Katri told me that you are going to be helping out with the big coronation ceremony. Are you sure you want to get involved in what could be a rather interesting event? Especially if I have to strip Darien of his title and position in my life?" Serena asked in curiosity.

"Serena, you need all of the friends you can get right now. Darien made his choices to hurt you and he will have to live with that one day. I couldn't be luckier to be your friend than I am right now. And that isn't because you happen to be a princess and soon to be a queen, it's because I know you." Andrew smiled encouragingly. "Let me get you your food."

Andrew brought Serena her food and then left to check on some other customers. Serena started in on her food as she felt someone touch her shoulder. She looked up to see Lita smiling at her.

"I thought I recognized you." Lita sat next to her. "How are you Serena?"

"How did you know it was me?" Serena asked slightly confused.

"Your voice." Lita responded. "Can we talk, or will you report me to Katri and get me into some major trouble with captain pain in the but?"

"If I reported you talking to me, then I would be the one busted for leaving the house." Serena smiled at her friend. "Where are the others?"

"Katri put them to work first thing this morning after a lengthy workout last night. The woman is insane if she thinks that this is how we train." Lita groaned at the mere thought of training that night. "She told us we had to earn the right to speak with you before we would ever be allowed to. But I came in here to get something to eat and heard your voice so I had to see if you would talk to me now, without her permission."

Serena sighed as she thought about how Katri handled things with her friends. "Katri can be a little intense at times. I'm glad you came to talk to me, even without permission. How are you?"

"I've been better. Serena, I am so sorry for the things I said behind your back the day you took off. I should never have said those things to you. Especially as I see you now. Are you really taking the throne and fulfilling your destiny?"

"Yeah I am. Katri has piled the work load on me in preparation for the coronation. I shouldn't even be out of the house right now, but if I had to look at one more royal document or anything that would prepare me for the event I would truly run away from my destiny." Serena laughed at the mere thought. "But knowing Katri she would find me and drag me back to do my duty."

Lita laughed and was about to respond when the arcade doors chimed again and in walked Darien with Akusai.