blueeyeddevil06 thank you for editing this chapter!

Chapter 38 – Tension

Raye stood in front of Mars, and the sword was still in her hand. She had just arrived, and she hadn't waited for very long. Once he stood in front of her, Raye asked, "thirty-seven seconds?"

"Actually, it was thirty-nine," he countered.

She smiled and handed him his sword. "You sent Molly to see me. That was unexpected."

"You mean your sister, and yes, I sent her." He looked questioningly at her, "And, how did that go?"

She gave a wry smile, "As if you don't already know." She then sighed, "You were right about Serena, Molly saw things I never did." Mars opened his mouth to speak, and Raye held up her hand, "You're about to say that was because I was too self-absorbed to look."

Mars shook his head, "Actually, I was about to say that you were afraid to look. You didn't want to see someone who was so different than you, experiencing the love of her parents. That would have reinforced to you that it was your fault. That, and you are self-absorbed." He admitted.

"Why send Molly? She has everything I want. She's Sailor Mars, she has Jadeite, and she has the love of her parents." She was genuinely curious.

"You were Sailor Mars, and it didn't make you happy. Why do you want it now?"

"Who am I if I'm not Sailor Mars?" Raye was truly wondering.

"You are Raye. Isn't that enough?" Mars countered to her.

"There's nothing special about me now though. I was different and powerful, and now I 'm nothing!" She was truly distraught.

Mars shook his head, "You are Raye, and that is enough."

She scoffed and turned her head to hide her tears.

"You can't hide from me. I know you're crying. Look at me, Daughter of Mars," she turned her head and let him see the tears he knew were there. "I am telling you that is enough. You are enough."

"I just want to be special to someone, anyone."

"You are special to people, and you don't even know it. Be kind. Be kind to others, and let them in. You are the sister to a woman who wished for one every birthday when she blew out her candles. You are the granddaughter to a man who never knew the love of his own son. You are the strength to someone who never knew how to stand up for herself. You are so much more than that too. You could be so much to so many people if you only let yourself be. Look at the needs of others and realize that you already possess everything you need inside you. You are enough just the way you are."

Mars dropped the sword as she threw herself into his arms and wept.

Wiseman drew closer and closer to Earth, and he was growing excited. He was a little more than a month away from Earth, and he was desperate to obtain the Silver Crystal. He looked over the reports that Diamond had sent to him, and he smiled. Serenity was young and inexperienced; he would exploit that.

The updates that he had last received from Diamond outlined the powers of everyone, and he smiled. He planned exactly how he intended to defeat Serenity, Endymion, and each Sailor Scout.

He knew which youma would best work against them and how he planned to launch his attack. Now he just had to wait for the perfect opportunity to snatch the Silver Crystal. He smiled.

Emerald had finished up checking all of the worksites for the day. She was thrilled with the progress. It didn't surprise her that she wasn't the only one who wanted to erase Diamond's mark from their lives. She then decided on a side project after she heard Sapphire commenting about his need to know more about Wiseman but not really having the time to spend going through their system at the moment.

Now she was sitting in front of the computer and digging through the reports she had found. Diamond treated Wiseman like he had everyone else she realized. He had been more concerned with his own comfort and wants and hadn't felt the need to put in any effort when it came to Wiseman. It seemed Diamond had updated him out of obligation. His power had come from Wiseman, and he had only sent updates as a token gesture to appear obedient.

She was growing happier and happier with each report to Wiseman that she read. After she had combed through every one, she spent two hours condensing the important information into one document for Sapphire. She actually squealed with glee when she had finished reading the reports and realized Diamond had never bothered to tell Wiseman about the generals' reappearance.

She sighed, leaned back, and stretched her arms and neck. She then looked at the clock and saw how late it was. It was too late in the evening to show Sapphire what she had found. She sent him a message and then got ready for bed. She would update him at breakfast. She knew this information would make him really happy.

That next morning, Emerald was sitting at breakfast holding her file and waiting for Sapphire. He walked in and smiled at her. "Sister, I'm sorry I am running late! It's good to see you and to eat breakfast with you. Your message indicated that you wanted to tell me something."

"A king is allowed to be five minutes late. That's practically on time, I know you're busy. I wanted to show you this," she handed him the file. "You can read it later; I will give you a quick summary of what is in it while we eat."

They both began to eat their breakfast, and she laid out what she had found. "So, you see, Diamond never told Wiseman about the generals. He will be completely taken by surprise by them, and he won't know that we are on Serena's side too."

"You call her Serena now." He then smiled and said, "I'm thrilled to hear that Wiseman doesn't know about the generals. That's a huge advantage. They will all be ecstatic to hear that when you update them."

"Me? I will update them?" She had handed him the file so that Sapphire could show it to them.

"You're the one who did all of the work. Did you not want to tell them?" Sapphire was truly puzzled.

"No… I just don't think they have included me in their group. I know you were invited in, so I thought you would tell them."

"You're my sister, and I can't handle all diplomatic missions. Get used to it Emerald, I will come to rely on you a lot in the future." He then smiled at her; he was proud. He had hated how their father and Diamond had torn her down. He knew it would take a while to help build her back up.

"If you're sure they won't mind me approaching them, I will show them what I have found. Keep that report. I will print out a new one for them." She was acutely aware that her being proactive had resulted in Sapphire's pride in her. She could see it in his eyes.

They finished breakfast and Sapphire spoke again, "Keep up the great work you're doing, and if you have the inspiration to tackle any other project, go for it. I'll make sure everyone knows you are to have the same access I do."

"Thank you, brother. I will not let you down." She beamed.

Before she left to go to the worksites that day, she contacted Serena and let her know she had an update for her, and they agreed to meet the next morning. Emerald was relieved that she seemed genuinely glad to hear from her.

Serena had been excited when she saw who was on the phone call. She was glad Emerald was getting involved, and she would be able to spend more time with her. Emerald had risked her own life to help Serena. Even if she claimed it was just to keep Diamond from getting what he wanted, Serena was grateful. She knew she had her own issues with her parents, but she was grateful for them when she compared them to Diamond.

She then double checked she had everything she wanted and made her way out of the apartment. She was meeting Mina to go shopping, and she had Darien's credit card. She knew he received text notifications from it every time something was purchased. She smirked.

Mina was waiting for Serena outside the first lingerie shop of the day. "You ready to get started?"

Serena laughed, "Yes. And Mina, this was brilliant! I can't wait to see his face when he gets home."

"Pshh! He will be calling you before the day is through. We just have to plan what you're going to say to him."

Serena smiled and said, "Oh, I plan on ignoring his phone call the first few times just to drive him wild."

"This is going to be so funny! I'm curious how he will react when he keeps getting updates that you are buying lingerie all day. I think we should save the store called 'Dirty Secret' for last."

Serena said, "I keep picturing him in class reading the notifications. Should we take bets on when the first phone call comes in?"

They went back to laughing and set off to go to the first store. Serena couldn't wait to show him what she bought.

Darien was halfway through his first lecture when his cell phone vibrated. He glanced at it and almost choked. Serena was shopping for lingerie at the moment, and he couldn't help but picture her smirking at him wearing something red and incredibly sexy. He was happy she finally felt comfortable using his credit card. They were just waiting for hers to arrive in the mail.

Thirty minutes later, he received another text notification, and he froze. She had just purchased more lingerie. Shit. How was he going to concentrate on the remainder of the lecture? He was turned on now. He lifted his head from looking at his phone and tried to concentrate and take notes for the last ten minutes.

He rushed to his next class and sat in the front row like always then rubbed his hands over his face. He was trying to mentally prepare for his next class. He kept picturing Serena in different garments looking sexy and wanton. Damn. He was getting hard.

It was twenty minutes into his class when he heard his phone vibrate, and he mentally groaned. He snuck a look at his phone and damn near lost his mind. She had just bought more. Three stores with increasingly sexy names. He decided to send her a quick text, "Having fun?" was all it said.

At the end of class, he quickly pulled out his phone and realized he hadn't received a reply. He quickly walked out of the building and called her. Serena's phone rang and went to voicemail, so he left a message, "Hey, babe. It looks like you're having fun shopping. Give me a call when you get a chance. I have some time before my next class." He hung up and waited. He didn't get a call back before he had to go to his Biology Lab.

Five minutes into class, he cursed under his breath when he heard his phone vibrate. He told his partner, David, to do the next part and looked at his phone. Now he was officially losing his mind. Four. Four stores of lingerie, and he was sitting here in class trying to hide his reaction. If David's laughter was any indication, he was not succeeding.

"You okay there?" David asked.

What could Darien say to that? He didn't want to give David the mental picture he currently had running though his mind. "I have just married Serena, and I'm stuck in class. I could be better."

"So, you won't tell me what the sexting message you just received says?"

"No." Was Darien's reply before he insisted that they get back to the lab work.

Darien froze three minutes before the end of lab when his text notification went off again. David just started chuckling and asked, "You going to look at your message?"

"Nope." For Darien's own sanity, he didn't look at the notification from the newest store. He rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. He was going to have to change the settings for notifications on his credit card soon.

Class was finally dismissed, and Darien actually ran out the door, checking his phone. The moment he did, he went to call Serena again.

Ring. Ring.

"Hello?"

"Finally! I tried calling you earlier. My classes are done for the day. Meet me back at the apartment." Darien demanded.

"Whatever for?" Serena asked coyly.

"You know what for. I'm going to make you as crazy as you have made me, and then we're going have sex until you can't walk anymore." Darien had just gotten in his car and slammed the door. "You have no idea how hard I am right now. You'll find out soon though."

"I'm almost home, my love. I'll be waiting." She promised him.

Darien slammed his foot down on the gas pedal as the light turned green.