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Chapter 40 – Calm Before the Storm

Serena was nervous while she was getting ready to go meet Molly and Raye for lunch. She finished the last coat of mascara as she turned to Darien and said, "Well, how do I look?"

"You look beautiful. I don't get why you just spent the last half hour on your makeup when you don't need to wear any."

Serena wrapped her arms around Darien and kissed him on the cheek. "Unlike when I turn into Sailor Moon, I need to take time when I am going into battle."

Darien was confused. "You plan on fighting Raye?"

"In a way, yes. I'm married to my reincarnated lover, I'm young, and my makeup and outfit are flawless. There are no cracks in my armor for her to get to." She picked up her purse and made her way to the door.

"Knock 'em dead."

She winked at him and said, "See, you get it. I love you! I will text you when you get out of class and let you know how it went."

Darien stopped her with a kiss, grabbed her ass, and pressed her up against himself. He then walked her towards the wall and pressed his body up against her trapping her. "Do keep in mind that I'm not just a past lover. I'm a current lover too." He then started to pull away, but before he retreated too far, he slid his hands over her breasts and pinched her nipples. "Say it."

She moaned and in a breathy voice said, "You're my lover."

"Good. Don't you forget it."

"How could I when you make me feel so good?" She reached down and slid her hand over the outside of his pants, caressing his hardness.

"Tease." He moaned.

She gave a short laugh, "Like you should talk." She kissed him and said goodbye. "Oh, and you will be finishing what you started later."

"Deal." She left the apartment, and he sighed. Great. Now he was going to have a hard-on in class.

Serena arrived at lunch, and Molly was sitting next to Raye who looked nervous. Serena sat down and smiled at them both, taking a sip of her water so she could collect herself. She wanted to cry, but she needed to stay strong. Raye looked at her like she did years ago, and it made her long for the old days with her.

Raye took a deep breath, and she looked hesitantly at Serena. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

Serena sighed, "Oh, don't be like that." Raye paled and Serena went on to say, "Of course, I'm here. We fought. People fight. It happens and I desperately want to be your friend again. If that isn't where we are heading, then tell me now before I waste my time."

Raye gave a small smile and said, "Yes, I want to be friends again."

"Good! Then how have you been?" Serena smiled at her and looked expectant.

Raye's mouth dropped open and said, "Um. Shouldn't I apologize to you first before you agree to be my friend? I was awful to you all!"

Serena shrugged, "Yes, you were. Don't forget that you convinced Molly to not only forgive you but also to vouch for you to get me to lunch. Molly has always been protective of me, and she wouldn't have done any of that if she thought you didn't mean it." Serena turned to Molly. "Remember back in, gosh, was it second grade? Remember that girl who told everyone that I was stupid, and you shoved her down on the playground? When the teacher tried to make you apologize, you told her to 'back off because the girl started it.'" Serena chuckled, "If she trusts that you are sorry, then I trust you."

"I am. I was so horrible! I miss being friends with you all, and I want to be back in your lives. I'm not asking to come back and become Sailor Mars. I realized that I'm not really cut out for it."

Serena beamed. "I'm so glad to have you back!"

The girls caught up after that and chatted about their lives. About 25 minutes in, Serena asked Raye about her grandfather, and she burst into tears. Molly and Serena looked shocked. They gathered around Raye and held her, and she cried even harder.

Through her tears, Raye was able to get out that he was dying, and she was scared and didn't know what to do. Molly and Serena then assured her they would be there for her and support her in whatever she needed. Serena even said she would stop by and chat with him more often to force him to take more breaks.

By the time Raye left, her heart was full, and she lamented over the lost time with her friends. She rushed home and pulled out the sword, begging it, "Mars, please. Please bring me there to talk to you."

"You called? I wasn't planning on bringing you back. Oh, and look at the sword." He smiled at her.

Raye looked down and the sword was sharp. She smiled too. She then looked at Mars and said, "I'm just so happy to see that!" She took a breath. "Thank you, and you were right about everything. I talked to Molly last night and Serena today. And with Serena, you were so spot on about her. She does look out for me in ways I didn't even know or ask for. She's going to spend time with my grandfather to help me, and I didn't even have to ask. She just knows what I need. You have given me so much, and I wanted to say thank you!"

Mars smiled, "My dear girl, you're welcome. Hold onto the sword, and keep it close. You are meant for greatness, and you are finally back on your path. I'm proud of you."

She rushed forward and hugged Mars then stepped back. She blinked, and she was back in her room and overflowing with happiness.

"Team meeting tonight," Serena said as she walked through the front door of her uncle's house. "We need a name for our group. Hmm. Well, we will come up with one later. Emerald brought me a bunch of information this morning. She dug into the correspondence that Diamond sent. Spoiler alert: Wiseman doesn't know about you boys being back."

Zoisite said, "Hello to you too!"

Serena rolled her eyes and said, "This is great news! Come on, get excited. We knew we had Sapphire and Emerald to go against Wiseman, but they don't have powers. Now, he doesn't know about you all either!" She stuck her tongue out at him and turned to Jadeite. "When are you getting Molly an engagement ring?"

"Wow, huge pivot there!" Jadeite shook his head and said, "We go looking for one tomorrow night."

"You are taking her?"

"Well, I proposed before I got her one, so it's only fair I let her have her pick now."

Serena got a sappy look on her face and said, "It was so romantic. She's a lucky girl."

"I'm glad you both think so. I don't see it, but it works in my favor, so I'll let it go."

Serena walked to the door, "Okay, so I'm going to head out. Meeting at my place at seven. Make sure to let everyone know about it. Bring Uncle and Luna too."

After she closed the door, Zoisite said, "She's going to be so mad when she sees how fat Luna is."

That night, they all met at the apartment and settled down to discuss Wiseman and their battle strategy. They all agreed to start an intensive training schedule, so they all were used to each other. Raye even came to help give Molly tips, and then she stayed as an observer to give general, helpful critiques.

And so, a month passed, and the whole group was in the best shape and fighting ability of their lives. Serena looked and her heart overflowed every time she thought about what she had gained having each and every one of them in her life.

Meanwhile, Raye's grandfather continued to get worse, and Serena was there so many days people thought she worked there. In a way, she did. She was always stepping in and helping out when it looked to her that Raye's grandfather was doing too much.

Raye was grateful to Serena, and over the month, they began getting close. Raye realized she could rely on Serena in a way she couldn't with others. Serena always had her back, and the last of Raye's pain floated away.

It came to be that Emerald, Sapphire, and the whole group were meeting on a Friday night when Emerald announced. "Wiseman isn't even a day away. We could be dealing with him as early as tomorrow. He's already been in contact with us, and we're pretending to be on his side for now. Once he arrives, he will realize we aren't infected with dark energy. We'll get a warning to you when he arrives on Earth."

Serena and Darien held each other on a Friday night long after the others had left.

Darien whispered, "It will be okay."

"Oh gosh! Of course, it will be. I'm not afraid, because I have you by my side. I'm just not looking forward to the fighting again."

Darien kissed her and said, "Have I told you how much I love you lately?"

Everyone went to bed early that night. They knew they would all need the rest for the coming battle.

=Please check out my one shot She Never Cried In Front Of Me

= I am getting close to finishing up this story. I have decided I have enough ideas to start a sequel. Thank you to all of you who encouraged me to write one. There won't be an enemy for them to go against this time. I do have things I want to write about with Sammy, Raye, Serena (how she fits in at Univ. events), Sapphire, and more. I have quite a list, and I already have a general outline for the story. There will be a about a week break in between the two stories. I haven't seen my parents since before Covid-19 hit, and we are going to spend some time together. YEA!