A Moon Never Grasped

by Punkdays

Serena made a deal with Galaxia, that if she swore her loyalty and her Star Seed to Galaxia, then all the dead on Earth would come back to life. Part of the deal was that no one would remember her. What will Serena do with having all the memories that her friends were forced to forget?

3. Chapter 3: Never Forgotten

A Moon Never Clasped

By: Danni Lynn

Chapter 3:Never Forgotten

Just after the scouts left the dead youma's body…

The wind whispered the untold stories of those who were left and forgotten as the world continued to keep on going, leaving behind those dead and gone. A gust blew down on the senshi as they left the crisped body of the monster. Its ashes were picked up and carried away on the wind like feathers on water.

A figure in the distance stood in the shadows watching the body get picked away a twisted smile made its way to their lips as the body slowly twitched, but that was the only movement that would be seen for hours.

"Interesting creature…" Was all that was muttered from the hidden figure. In an instance they were gone and all that remained was the unmoving body of the Youma.

Of course, leaving a charred body out in the middle of the road for all the public eye to see isn't the smartest move to be made by the scouts but it was by far the best. Though it would not be long till the body was found.

Three hours later…

Just after Rei had the visions…

"Mother! Mother! Look at me! Look at me" Laughter was filled in the still night as the wind softly whispered against the concrete city. A small child, no more than the age of five, was running down the empty road as the mother walked quietly behind, hindered by the weight of the backpack and groceries that she held in her hand.

Stopping momentarily to catch her breath, she stood and watched her child leap up and kick the air, imitating a Karate move that the child perhaps saw on the Television set. A smile graced the young woman's lips as her child looked at her for approval.

"You're getting better, I can tell. Do be careful, dear." She gently scolded as she hitched the backpack up onto her shoulder and traded the weight of the groceries into the other hand before she got walking once more.

At some point in time, children ignore the warning of the parent before doing just exactly what they asked you NOT to do. That is how children learn to listen and heed the warning of the parent, as not to make the same mistake again. This particular child did just that, as he nodded to his mother before running off down into the darkness of the night.

Breathing out into short puffs, the small frame moved up and down from the panting of exerting so much energy at such a fast rate. Then after a moments rest, panic began to set in like a rock resting in your stomach as your face grew red with fear. The young child spun in a complete circle hoping to see a slight glimmer of his mother's figure.

Like a moan, a soft wisp of air came croaking out from within the shadows. The boy jumped, startled by the odd sound. His eyes widened in fear as his right hand clenched into a tight fist around his giant, over bearing, hand-me-down shirt.

The air shifted in sudden movement as a low laugh made its way of the darkness, towards the young child that stood venerable on the dark road.

Some-ways down the street, the mother began to get frantic when her child disappeared from sight. She picked up her speed and jogged as fast as she could towards the direction the boy ran off in.

Soon, though after making no success in finding her boy, she began to call his name. No small voice called back in return. After taking some steps in the completely pitch black road, she caught sight of a small shadow. With a smile of relief, she hurried towards her son, but catching sight of the current situation, she stopped.

Shock rippled through the air as she dropped her groceries to the ground and the backpack instantly slackened on its hold as her body stood there like as if she was suspended in the air like a marionette puppet. Her lower lip quivered then began to tremble as a small choking gasp escaped her throat.

The shadow was exactly what the mother was looking for, her son. His eyes were wide and glassy, as a dark fluid dripped down from his drenched shirt and onto the road. His breathe came out as a tiny squeak as the mother caught sight of the protruding metal that stuck out from the boy's left breast. His hair was picked by the wind and carried backwards, exposing the child's lifeless face.

Before a scream could be uttered, the adolescence woman was only barely out of her teens before she was bestowed with an irreversible burden. Out of no where, there was a fast glint of light as a small sharp object embedded itself into her skin. Instantly, all life died from her eyes as they glazed over with death.

A laugh was heard as no more than a faint whisper as it suddenly disappeared into the night. No longer was there a charred body of a dead Youma that lied on the deserted street but a family of two that both lied face down in a pool of their own blood.

~+!Serena's Pov!+~

The night crawled by as Serena flew above in the sky with the moon setting her small body aglow. She looked nothing more than a dark speck on a white piece of paper, as she peered down into the city. Waiting and watching. Time seemed to flow at a different rate from up above that it did for those down below. Down there, everything is like a ticking clock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. It passes by at such a fast pace that its like your trying to grip a slick cliff. You wake up its morning, you blink its night. Up high in the sky away from prying eyes, time passes ever so slowly. You see all the people going about their day, you feel the wind whistle by against your skin. You hear the cars and the numbing pitch of electricity. You smell the smoke and steam that comes from the near-by factories. You can taste the burning carbon coming off all the gas-used machines. You can know life from up in the sky.

Suddenly, Serena stopped enjoying her view from above but descended down to the Earth. She could see it, the blood flowing so lazily on the ground as it ran down the slope in a thick river. She frowned, obviously something was wrong, but what? Certainly it was too soon for there to be another youma, it'd only been a couple hours. She had to find the source of the obscured obscenity, for that no mortal could achieve such a death blow so cleanly with that much strength.

She could feel the power oozing out from the other side of the link she had with the youma, but that was all she could gain from it besides the pain. There always seemed to be pain, Serena grimaced at the thought. That was lesson number one when serving Galaxia.

The cold bodies were already pale with the setting of rigor mortise creeping into the bones as the night was dry and humid. Threatening clouds hung way off in the distance, making it known they would come and it would rain. It was rounding around three 'o'clock in the morning and Serena was getting bleary with sleepiness but there were dead bodies on the ground and a youma loose out onto the city.

She bent down onto the road, leaning over the mother's body, she flipped her onto her back staining her hands with the dried blood. The mother's glazed stare watched out into the cloudy sky as if those eyes saw what the world truly was and knew all that was to be known, but Serena took out a knife and dipped it into the cold, gooey blood making sure she had enough to use as a sample. She opened her sub-space pocket and let a small tube materialize in her hand as she scrapped the blade against the tip of the tube letting the blood seep slowly into the container, after she had enough she placed the tube and knife back into it original hold in her different dimension pocket.

Unknowingly tears crept down her face, as those dead eyes seemingly peered into her heart, her very soul and saw every sin, every burden, and every pain etched memory that even Serena did not know was there. The tears dripped off her chin and onto the blue-paled cheeks of the woman that was no more than a couple of years older than Serena, herself, they welled up and rolled down her face, echoing all the regrets that went unheard and undone.

Serena bent forward and pressed her hand to the woman's forehead, "May in death you find the light." she whispered sullenly as she closed those unseeing, brokenhearted eyes for the last time. "Sleep well, you deserve the rest." Relentless of what character the girl had portrayed, Serena knew that she had held a precious light that was searching to be shared and as Serena stood back onto her feet and stared at the small child that laid quietly a few feet away, Serena knew without a doubt that light had shined brightly for the young boy as long as he had lived.

She walked over to the boy whose face was etched in eternal horror, as he appeared so small in his big oversized clothes that had seen more years than it was worth. She took out another knife and took another piece of blood from him, but as she was about to get another tube, she jumped backwards doing a back flip while still landing on her feet like a cat, just as her feet touched the ground a hot ball of fire whizzed over the small child's body, for a brief second his body lighted up and as his terror was literally poring out of the kid's body posture.

"You wretched person!" A sobbed scream yelled out from the darkness and Serena cursed under her breath for being interrupted. A heart shaped whip came lashing at her and she had to leap a couple of feet away to avoid from being hit. Suddenly a sudden mist covered the entire area as rain began to pour heavily from the sky, thunder rolled and lightening came speeding downwards. Serena, obviously the target. She dropped to the ground and rolled away but she wasn't fast enough to dodge completely, her leg seared with pain as blood oozed out from my burnt skin. She paused and glanced over at the boy, his eyes were wide-open with nothing but a horrified face as his only expression, clearly he died long before he felt the pain.

Again the whip came at her, she turned away with her back towards it, walking towards the body. The whip cut through her thin uniform and scrapped across her skin like thorns. Serena's bad leg buckled under her momentarily, but she held her ground and kept moving forwards. What felt like cold ice came piercing into her skin like sharp rocks, she was stabbed twice in the ribs and once in the arm yet her body propelled forward. Serena was determined to get to that corpse.

Then a streak of lightening ran all the way, blocking her view from the boy's body as a steady fire erupted from the ground, encircling her in a wall of fire. She tensed her muscles and leaped forward with her arms wrapped around her head, oddly she made it out with only the tips of her boots singed and the bottom of her skirt burned a little. There, a couple of feet lied the body, Serena was so close, this time though as the whip came at her, it went through the fire, the metal caught flame and heated the metal and when it slashed across her back, she knew that would take more than a day's worth to heal. Serena screamed out as her legs gave underneath her. Falling hard onto her knees, Serena was sent on all fours. Blood poured out from her wounds, dripping onto the pavement only to be washed away by the rain.

She glanced back up at the boy, she only wanted to send him off properly. No one should die with their eyes open. Never. What a cruel act of god that would be. With a renewed will Serena found the strength to get to her feet as she walked those two feet and bent forwards. Her wings curled protectively over her and shielded the corpse from the rain. She bent forward and placed a hand on the child's forehead, once more tears leaked out of her eyes. "May in death you find the light." She cried out as she closed the young boy's eyes forever,so they would never again see the world with its cruel reality.

Serena's wings opened and the rain splashed down onto her face, she looked up at the sky, in a faint glimmer she could make out the mother's shape as she held the young child's hand as the walked away up into the sky. They held smiles and a piercing warm light glowed around them, a light that Serena knew she would never achieve in having.

The sounds of footsteps and water being splashed noisily, caused Serena to look over her shoulder at the accusing glares of the scouts. The people she had held close to her heart and soul from the very day she befriended them, but she only sighed sadly as she was the only one aware of the fact. She turned and faced them, her face all devoid of emotion except the pain that she could never erase from her body and heart.

"I suppose you'll consider me the enemy for this misunderstanding. Though I shall warn you that things don't always appear the way they seem." Serena told them bluntly, Mars eye twitched as she lifted her arms up ready to attack me without hesitation. "There is no misunderstanding here! You killed them, we saw the weapon you used to murder these innocent people!" Jupiter yelled at her with cold, angry eyes, even the kindhearted Mercury stared at Serena with rage. She shook her head slowly, "You'll see the real killer soon. Though by then, it'd probably be a corpse as well." she denied Jupiter's accusation with ease. Venus held her love chain whip tightly in her hand, waiting for some resistance as to captured Serena, but she would not fall into such an easy trap. This time though, she didn't have a flashy exit as Serena spun on her heel and turned to walk away.

"Stop." Venus whispered low though Serena heard it loud and clear. She stared at her over her shoulder with sullen and tired eyes. She hadn't ever meant to hurt a friend so close to her, but as the rain poured and the wind howled out into the night, Serena knew it would be more than just that. "Why?" She asked not as a reply to Venus' command but more to of why did her life have to be so pain inflicted.

"Because you are more than what you know." Venus answered her, Serena looked at her wide-eyed stunned, but as she moved backwards her choker shook with force as little lightening bolts poked and prodded her like needles in her body. Serena's mind went blank as pain surged through it, throbbing. She glanced back up at the scouts. Mars' rage filled eyes, Jupiter's battle hungry stare, Mercury's observing,watchful glare and Venus' calculating, desolate face.

"Venus...Mi-" As she got to her feet the pain went from a numbing shock to stabbing jolts causing her to fall to knees.

Our contract, Serena!

A voiced yelled inside her head. Serena clutched her head in agony as she stumbled to get her balance and hobble away but a man clad in the only color as dark as the night stepped forward. She saw his figure go from clear to fuzzy and bleary, she was running out of time, so she bowed her head. "I consent to my punishment." Serena whispered and the pain stopped. She climbed steadily to her feet and looked up at the sky, the moon was waning. Dawn would be here soon, her wings stretched out and beat against the wind, slowly her body lifted. As she was about to be swept up into the air current, Darien grabbed her hand, preventing her only escape.

"Stop, please!" She cried as fear and anguish rushed through her system, startling the tuxedo attired man, alas he held firm and she was forced to land. His eyes were hidden behind his mask, but Serena was not deceived that this man knew not of who she was, even though their last meet ended with her name upon his sweet lips. The sky began to grow lighter, and Serena felt her skin prickle in anxiety.

Do you wish to break our agreement?

She stopped dead cold, as sweat drenched her forehead and her wings shivered slightly rustling the wind as feathers began to pick up and float away gently in the wind. She could easily get away but at what price? It wasn't worth the pain of her friends and former love to suffer for just a little escape route. "Death is something that I will not let you have." Serena spoke out to Darien, out to the scouts that had all been so close to her, so very close. Now, it was shattered like her scattering wings. Her power was limited as Sailor moon and transforming back always hurt, her power was at its reach and she would soon turn back to Serena Tsukino, the girl that every once loved but now had not a clue to who she even was. How pitiful.

Venus walked up to Serena and placed a hand on her face as she peered intently into her eyes, possibly searching for the one thing Serena, herself could no longer find within her heart, her light. The light that the mother and child that stood at their feet once had known despite their terrible circumstances in their own game of life.

"Why would you take away that one leisure from us?" Venus' daring voice caused Serena to stare at her wide-eyed scared of what might happen if she spoke out against the blond beauty. She grabbed her composure and took Venus' hand away from her face and gripped it tightly. "Because that leisure had been granted to you one to many times." She answered as memories of their deaths with other battles flint through her mind's eyes. Each one a torn hole in her bleeding heart.

"Hmm. Do you know us?" Venus gave her a thoughtful stare as she nodded agreeing to something that she herself only knew to what that conversation might be. Serena stopped as she remembered Galaxia's earlier warning. Her blue eyes hardened and she shook her head sadly. "No, but..." She hesitated on how to answer such a straight forward question and not give away too much that they would be forced to die. Venus gave an encouraging squeeze of her hand as she let go of Serena's hand and took a step back, granting her the space of her own privacy.

"Do you know me?" Serena flipped the question and Venus shook her head. "No, but...I saw something familiar in you. Something that I have seen somewhere before and can no longer place it." Venus replied quietly, the first rays of the sun peeked out over the building and bathed the goddess of love with an orange glow. Her hair glittered in the light like as if it was the color of the sun itself, as her orange uniform shone too bright that it practically hurt to look at her. If only looks could kill, Serena thought.

"I'm happy." Despite her sadden eyes and sullen face, Serena was truly happy that at least one scout saw something other than a threat or enemy. Her feathers were almost gone and so she leaped up onto the nearest rooftop leaving those confused and awed.

Serena ran off towards her present home. It was located on the far reaches of Tokyo and was a good distance away from her school, but it served it purposes (like being cheap). It was single bedroom, with one bathroom and a kitchen, but decently sized at the top floor of the four star building. Jumping balcony to balcony was the only way Serena was a able to make it to her apartment without being seen. The neighborhood she was in was always if not empty, something about it being haunted or killings she was told about, she didn't care she could take care of herself.

She walked toward her bathroom and turned on the water letting it fill the tub, her scout uniform was gone and left her with her pants and shirt and of course, the wings. The bathroom was stained in blood, her blood. It wasn't dry and it wasn't wet, but it was obvious that blood had soaked into the tile and metal long before it had been washed away. The small machete was chipped and cracked even though it was still sharper than any other tool Serena had and had yet to use.

She stripped herself bare, ripping her shirt in the process due to the skeletal, bare wings that protruded out from her back. Her skin was covered in scars and bruises due to the many battles she had been through some had been pretty life threatening, in the end she was always the victor. She had lived here for almost half a year, laying low and killing off whatever youmas that happened to pop up and kill them before the Sailors found out they were ever there. Now, she needed contact.

Serena picked up the machete and brought the blade to the tip of her shoulder blades and clenched her teeth as she began to saw off her left wing. Blood sprayed the ground, the walls, and her naked body, it was like eating off your own arm, even though Serena had done this often, it never gets better it is just as painful as the first time it happened. Once the wings are separated from the body they just disappear into thin air.

As the weight of the wing was instantly separated it was like loosing a hundred pounds almost instantly. She clutched her bleeding back as best as she could and took the bandages she left on the counter to wrap around her wound to stanch the bleeding. She gripped the corners of the marble ledges for dear life as she focused to keep awake. She always lost a fair amount of blood when she did this. So she was feeling pretty dizzy.

After a moment had passed she took a deep breath and took of the next wing, it fell to the ground with a loud thud and Serena dropped to her knees as her forehead rested against the counter. Blood oozed from her bandages and dripped down her back slowly, mixing with her blonde hair staining it orange.

Her vision flowed in and out of haziness and she fought to stay conscious. She used the wall to climb to her feet and she reached for the bandages so she could get new ones that weren't soaking crimson liquid, but she slipped in a puddle of her own life essence and she fell forward ripping a gash up her arm with the corner of the counter, Serena cursed silently as she applied pressure on her new injury. Growling angrily, she got to her feet and got new bandages on her body. She wiped off the blood the best she could from her body and gingerly made her way out of the blood soaked bathroom leaving the blood and the hot bathe alone.

Throwing on a simple pair of jeans and long sleeved shirt, she grabbed her keys and headed towards her only safe heaven, the Crown. It was a little bit passed seven, usually the time when the cafe opens up and the arcade begins to get ready for the early game players. Locking the door behind herself, Serena made her way out of her apartment complex down the twisting roads that led towards the Crown.

Along the way she crossed paths with her old house, realizing she was making a habit of going by it on the way to the Crown. She stopped in front of the house outside the gate where 'Tsukino' was written on the name plate. She ran her hand over the metal entrance but soon stopped when something caught her eye. On the pavement of the sidewalk was a small bunny drawn in the corner of the cement with the name Serena scrawled above the picture. A small smile made a way to her lips as the memory floated through her mind.

She had just moved in with her mom and dad just before Sammy was born and with carrying in the refrigerator and the movers dropped in, shattering the pavement. Serena could have a made a bet that her dad had sworn more than a sailor would have ever dared to in their life in that day and have won. As the pavement was being put in and was still wet, Serena made the picture and wrote her name in the cement so that it would forever bear her name.

Apparently, the memories of her existence had been erased but her time spent on Earth hadn't been completely disappeared for she still bore her mark on the world. This gave Serena a renewed hope and she bounced her way towards the Crown with a excited swagger added in her step.

The doors swooshed open and the bell rang merrily in the early morning startling the aged teenager as he quietly cleaned the counters. As he caught sight of the frequenting blonde he gave a little wave as a greeting and flashed a small smile as he went back to cleaning the already sparkling counters. He was possessed to keep it shining at all times. Serena plopped down onto the bar stool and sighed happily as she propped her elbow up onto the table top and rested her head on her hand.

"Hey, Andrew." She giggled at the perplexed sandy blonde who stared at her stunned. Usually when Serena visited the place she was mostly gloomy and tired so seeing her happy for once brought a genuine smile to Andrew's face. They occasionally talked but he knew so little about her. She knew more about him then the other way around.

"The usual?" Andrew was already making the order as Serena nodded her consent, she was digging through her pocket for the money but as he placed the shake on the counter and slid it her way he raised his hand nodding his back and forth. "No, this is on the house. Its rare to see you happy. Tell me, what has you up and merry this early in the morning?" Andrew leaned against the counter and stared at her with patient eyes. She beamed at him with a radiant smile that it was almost blinding.

Serena leaned forward with her mouth open, seemingly ready to say something but she got closer to Andrew and kissed him on the cheek, which sent him backwards startled at her sudden action. He slapped his cheek as if he had been burned, "Wha-wha-what was that for?" He stuttered and she laughed at him as she wagged a finger at him. "Naught naughty little Andrew. You know me enough to not to ask questions." She teased but was actually very serious about that simple statement.

Andrew threw his head back and laughed kindheartedly. "That Is true, but come on Sere, tell me. What's got you so wound up? Is it a boy?" He was itching to know and Serena gave him a sincere look. She shook her head and her smile faded a little as she stared intently at her milkshake, lost in a sea of memories. "It is simple, Andrew." She started. Andrew waited, with all ears and eyes on her. " I am not lost to the world." She giggled as she took her milkshake and began to devour it.

Andrew looked at her confused. "Huh?" Was his only reply.

It was true though, the memories of her were gone, but she had been there once. She had been loved. She had lived life. She had left her mark on the world and the proof was all around her, as long as she looked.

Serena hadn't been truly forgotten.

So what do you think? Review and tell me what you think.

-Danni