Strong Destiny, Weak Heart
Chapter 20
Disclaimer: I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.
Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart:
Darien quickly found him and saw the situation at hand. He quickly tired to heal the man, but his powers wouldn't work.
"Darien, isn't there anything you can do!? Please, help him!" Serena was shouting at him.
"I can't! Whatever is hurting him isn't physical Serena! There's nothing I can do!" Darien said, upset that there was nothing he could do for the obviously suffering man in front of him.
"There's only one place I know that we can take him to that he described! Take him to your place Darien!" She quickly managed to say to him before running back toward where she came from.
"What are you going to do?" Darien asked as he was holding up the now passed out man.
"Cover for us, I'll meet you at your apartment as soon as I can!" It was the last thing she managed to say before she turned a corner and was out of earshot.
And now the continuation...
Chapter 20
When Serena reached the stage area she was stopped short by Mr. O'Brien standing over here. "Hello Ms. Tsukino, I was just looking for you." He glanced at her hand and noticed there was no ring on her finger. "May I inquire about the whereabouts of my son?" He asked sternly.
"Certainly Mr. O'Brien, I was actually searching for you as well. You see, when I accepted the proposal, Darien was concerned that I was pressured to say yes, but I explained that it was my choice, and not an irrational decision. Once that was clear, Darien and Reagan decided to get back as soon as possible. I told Reagan I didn't want to burden others with wedding costs, and so Darien decided to get a group together with Andrew, who is also engaged, and find out all the ways we can save money on the event."
"Am I to believe you two have already set a date?" His poker face hadn't changed.
"Yes sir, a small wedding in 3 months. Another reason why they left, he felt if he told you, you would try to convince him otherwise." She saw his poker face crack and a smile now flooded his features as he embraced her in a bear-hug.
"Then congratulations my dear! Why are you not wearing your ring?"
"I guess they left in such a hurry, he forgot to put it on me." She blushed, the more lies she told, the more uncomfortable she felt. She was getting herself in deep, but right now, she just cared about getting through the event and finding out what was going on with Reagan.
"Well why didn't you go with them my dear?!" Mr. O'Brien said with a hearty laugh.
"Well sir, I'd hate to be rude to my guests, not to mention all the work everyone put in."
"Nonsense child! Go be with your beloved, I'll inform the guests and take care of things on this end. You just got engaged! You two should be joined at the hip right now!" He was obviously overjoyed at her news. Serena couldn't believe it would be that easy to leave, but she knew she had to find the scouts and speak to them. Leaving the guests were one thing, the scouts were a completely different story.
She spotted the scouts the same place they were before, Rei with a concerned look on her face. Once she reached them she realized she had to tell Rei what happened, since she figured Reagan would be staying in her room that night, halfway back to Tokyo. They would just have to share Reagan's room and leave immediately. Rei caught sight of her and headed her way. The other scouts quickly followed Rei's lead.
"Serena, what happened?" Rei asked, still searching for Darien out of the corner of her eye.
"I'm going to have to explain later, right now we have to find my parents and leave." All the girls were now concerned, but they knew better than to ask questions in such a crowded area.
Once they found them Serena spoke quickly, she was anxious to leave. "Hey mom!"
"Serena! Are you engaged now?" Ikuko stole a quick glance at Serena's finger.
"Yes mama, but the girls want to take me out to celebrate right now."
"What? Now? But you're already at a party, what better place to celebrate?"
"I know mama, but there are so many people I don't really know. I'd rather have a private, more personal celebration." She shyly smiled at her mother as if asking permission to leave.
"But what about all of Mr. O'Brien's guest? Serena, it's best not to be rude."
"I know mama, but he told me to leave, he wants me to be with my fiancé. " She gave an honest smile. The girls were doing their best not to look confused.
"Okay Serena, then I guess I'll see you at home?"
"Yup." She said, happy she could finally head home.
"Love you sweetie, congratulations!"
"Love you too mama, thank you!" They hugged before they parted.
Once they were in Lita's car, the questions began. Rei was the first to speak, "Okay Serena, what's going on?" Serena explained as best she could without breaking out into tears. What everyone else thought were tear streaks of happiness, the scouts knew to be tears of concern.
"So we're headed to the hotel at the halfway point?" Lita asked as she sped up the car.
"Yes, I guess Rei and I will stay in Reagan's room and you two can stay in your room. I'm certain Darien will share his room with Reagan. I don't think he's going to give up on trying to heal him." She knew Darien was just as 'soft' as her when it came to life hanging in the balance.
After staying in the hotel at the halfway point and driving for what seemed like forever, they finally reached Tokyo and got to Darien's apartment. He was running around frantically trying to use different medical techniques to stabilize Reagan's condition. "How is he?" Serena asked as she ran to Reagan's side.
"I just can't figure out what's wrong with him! I can't cure something I don't know about!" he said as he put his hand to his sweaty forehead, trying to calm his dizzying headache. "I drove straight here without stopping and have tried several different ways to stop his pain, but it only seems to get worse. I'll I can do is give him sleeping medication, it's the only time he seems at piece."
Serena began to silently weep. As she did, Darien felt a tingling in his head, then a voice which made only one announcement, before disappearing from whence it came. "It is time."
"Damn it!" Darien did not feel unprepared, but he didn't know what would happen to the man once he left. "Serena, I'm sorry, I have to go." Serena's face shot up in disbelief and fear.
"What? What are you talking about? Where are you going?" He looked at Rei, and she gave an quick nod and turned toward Serena. The scouts just stood, watching as Darien slowly made his way out the door. All giving him a look that one would give a soldier who was just called into a losing battle. They didn't want him to go, but they knew there was no way to stop him. Rei was holding Serena back and she was confused and trying to chase after him. As soon as he was gone, Ami took over the care of Reagan, continuing where he'd left off.
Rei began the explaining of the events that Serena had missed out on. "Serena, does the name Alum ring any bells for you?"
"What? Alum? What are you guys talking about! Where is Darien going? How could you all let him just leave like that!" Rei knew Serena wasn't even trying to listen to her, she was confused and worried about both men in her life, so much so that she couldn't concentrate on anything.
"Serena, pay attention! Alum, of Earth, do you remember him from any of your visits to Earth from your days of the moon kingdom!" Once Rei mentioned the moon kingdom, Serena began to focus. She thought hard as she tried to make sense of Rei's words.
"Alum? You mean Darien's father, the King's, most trusted friend and general? I think I remember him, vaguely, why?"
"Serena, do you remember anything else about him?"
"No, why? What's going on? Why won't you just tell me?" Ami stepped in and stopped Rei from speaking further.
"Not now Rei, she has way to many things on her mind right now. She could crash at any moment." Ami said, afraid of Serena's mental state.
"No! Tell me now Rei! Tell me now or so help me I'll-"
"You'll what Serena? Ami's right. Are you even aware of what's going on right now or are you running on fumes? Face it Serena, you can't handle any more news right now."
"How the hell would anyone know that but me? I'm sick of everyone trying to shield me! Maybe that's why I found it so easy to fall for Reagan! In a lot of ways I've always felt like I was the strong one! Like I was in control! How is it that a stranger can be so trusting in me but my friends don't have any confidence in me? Do any of you have any idea what that's like?!"
"Serena, we're just trying to protect you." Lita said concerned.
"No, you're not! I've always been able to handle myself in the scout training sessions, I'm always the one who defeats the source of evils that come to plague this world, yet I'm also always the one who's handled with kid gloves all the time! I'm sick of it! I can handle things, even if you guys don't have faith in me! I may be sensitive, but that doesn't make me weak!" She had tears of anger streaming down her face, but they knew she had a point. She wasn't the little 14 year old girl they always struggled to protect anymore. She was a leader and a protector in her own right. They knew they had to accept that, and let her make her own decisions.
"You're right Serena, I'm sorry. Do you remember anything else about Alum? His children?"
"Children...hmmmmm, I think I do remember him having a daughter. Yeah, I think her name was Ber-" She stopped short and the scouts saw the shock on her face. Beryl's father? Darien went to see Beryl's father!? Why on Earth didn't any of you go with him?! Why is he going to face him alone!"
"There's nothing we can do, you don't understand the situation!"
"What's there to understand! We destroyed Beryl and now her father is looking for vengeance!"
"No, it's not that simple." Serena was awaiting patiently for Rei to explain why they would abandon whom they all considered 'one of their own'. "Look, Alum just wants Darien to take his rightful place as king. If Darien refuses, then he will try to 'conquer' Darien and assume the throne. He thinks Darien is weak, and that will be his downfall."
"I don't understand, that still doesn't explain why you guys aren't there to help him!"
"It's not our battle Serena! We weren't born here, we were Reincarnated. If we intervene, it will just add to Alum's point that Darien has made the Earth weak, to the point where he needs to rely on 'aliens'."
"Aliens? Who said 'aliens'? We're not aliens!" All the scouts put their heads down as they waited for the realization to hit her. Once it had, she felt extremely weak, as if the wind was knocked out of her. "So that's it then? We don't even fight for the planet we love?"
"We have to have faith in Darien, Serena. We can't just count him out without us. Besides, he can heal himself, remember?" Rei said with a teary eyed smile. Everyone was exhausted, and Reagan was resting what seemed to be peacefully in the bed. Ami was doing tests with her computer, trying to analyze his vitals and monitor his progress. Lita was playing assistant while Rei was keeping a close eye on Serena. During the distraction, Mina took her leave, she used her powers to follow the link of Serena and Darien's 'love connection' to follow Darien to his whereabouts.
Meanwhile Darien drove to where he could sense Alum's presents. His concern for Serena actually helping his focus. Knowing if he failed, she would be his first target. He reached his destination with little difficulty, he went as far as he could with his car, and hiked the rest of the way up a mountain toward his battle grounds. It was there that he spotted Alum, waiting patiently with the same outfit the Earth generals wore when they attacked the moon.
"Still suits me don't you think?" Alum taunted.
"You aren't worthy of soiling the Earth name."
"I believe that sentence is better suited for you, Moon lover." Alum was calm and obviously prepared. Darien could only wonder what things he learned in the thousand years it took him and the scouts to be reborn. As he stood face to face with Alum, he began to realize all of his 'followers' were coming forth, in a massive army behind Alum.
"You expect this to be a quick battle?" Darien said, unfazed by the fact the followers were there to witness the events. Darien knew he wanted everyone to see how the 'weak' leader would fail.
"Well you see, I have a schedule to keep." He said as he tapped his wrist.
"Well then, let's get this over with." Darien said, as he transformed. "I ask you one last time Alum, stand down and stop this crazy charade."
"Ha, is that fear I sense your highness?"
"Perhaps your own." Darien replied. With that, Alum attacked and the battle commenced.
To Be Continued...
A/N: Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome!
Special Thanks/Mention: Sailor Rallison, inufan 155687, LoveInTheBattleField, xx Twilight Princess xx, GinnyPotter0183, Ami-chanMercury98, Lunachan90, and Swtmelody637