Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Trusting Heart ❯ Night Terrors ( Chapter 18 )

Chapter 18

Night Terrors

 

"When I suppose that is one way of putting it, Serenity, a more agreeable explanation is due." The black cat sat pertly before her audience, eyeing the Lunari princess trembling her fiancé's arms.

 

"Oh, Darien . . . It- it really is only temporary, I think. I, I gave up my human blood, I mean, I gave up-" Serina dropped her head, trying to concentrate on finding a suitable, understandable explanation. She felt so peculiar now, like she was completely underwater, her body moved slowly, pressured by heavy air. Everything moved around her but every cell, every molecule within her body had stopped, frozen in time.

 

Serina took deep breath before continuing. "I was reborn Terran here on earth, with you and the Scouts. I was Lunari before and that's why I could use the Silver Crystal and could heal- but I could never live with you on earth. It was all I ever wished for from Mother, to be human and mortal and stand beside you forever- It was her last gift to me, besides a second chance at life, to be reborn Terran. Being Lunari, without you by my side, I would have died. Being the prince with your direct link to the earth, you were the only way for me to survive." Serina shivered and glanced furtively up at her love's blue eyes, so glazed with concern she nearly choked on her story and refused to meet his steady gaze. "B-but now I have you with me, so I chose to use the Crystal to make me Lunari again, just till I can defeat the Wise Man-" Serina's eyes locked with his, trying desperately to relieve the panic she saw in them; he shouldn't worry, she'd be fine- she was better off this way. She reached a soft hand to caress his skin, his own strong hand lifting to gently cup her cheek. At his feathery touch, she grabbed hold of his arm and threw herself into him, tightly wrapping him a hug.

 

"Sere-"

 

"I'm the real moon princess now. It'll be better this way, I can fight harder and save everyone if I can call upon the moon's powers, my love. It didn't hurt much. I stopped living, but I'm immortal just for now. When the battle is over and we defeat this evil, I'll be human again and you won't have my life leaning on yours anymore. We can live normal lives again-"

 

"It's too late for normal, girl!" Rei snapped. "Normal flew out the window a thousand years ago when Beryl attacked the Moon Kingdom!"

 

"REI! You know how sensitive Serina is about that! Stop it! Leave her alone-" Mina defended, glaring at her fiery counterpart. Ami was too busy reading the scans of Serina's newly timeless body and Lita was too engrossed in the battle between the goddesses of love and fire to notice Serina's sudden pallor and emotionless expression. Darien had been glaring at Rei as he held his princess close, the twins sat back away from the battle, their heads bowed and eyes guilty and solemn with withheld information.

 

"Mama-?" Something made Rini glance up.

 

"Daddy! Mommy- what's wrong with Mommy?!" Irene reached up and poked the man's back, Rini scrambling over to snap her fingers in Serina's face. Darien drew away from the blonde, sensing her racing thoughts, images and emotions blinding him through their telepathic link. His daughters suddenly crowded around him trying to wake their mother up from her trance.

 

"The Moon Kingdom . . ." She breathed, her blue eyes abruptly filling with horror and terror, grief molding her face into an eternal frown. As she pulled her arms away from Darien to cover her face and hide her tears, she sobbed and collapsed.

 

"Her memories- they're returning . . ." Luna shook her head in sympathy. Serina knew she couldn't handle the flood of memories of a lifetime a thousand years past- the few she received when she first remembered being the moon had knocked her out for half the night. It would be days before her mind could absorb and organize sixteen years, thousands of days, a hundred thousand hours of a life so beyond her recent fifteen years. A galaxy of rules and names, a millennium of traditions and events, a universe of giggles, games, friends, and moments of peace-

 

"Darien, take her home. I've got a feeling, she's gonna be out for a while." Artemis recommended in his usual blunt manner.

 

"Wait, what are we going to tell her parents?"

 

"The truth. They wouldn't accept anything else at this point."

 

"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino, I'm sorry, Serina died in the park today, but don't worry, it's only temporary. Yeah, that'll go over well." Rei rolled her eyes but paused, and sighed. "I've got first watch. How long do you think she'll be out?"

 

"More than a day. Maybe the whole week, she has a lot to sort out and deal with and you know how Serina reacts to loss." The girls started, frowning and wincing as they considered everything their princess had to remember, but they accepted Luna's words with grim nods and called their shifts.

 

Serina's family accepted the cats' explanation with gasps and resignation but her parents seemed to age a decade by the end of the conversation. Each Scout had six-hour shifts watching Serina at home, Darien demanding double shifts and twice as often. However, he was too polite to intrude on the Tsukinos so he was fortunate when Ilene Tsukino invited him to stay in the guestroom until her daughter woke up. He ended up falling asleep more often leaning against his princess's bed, the twins nestled in his arms like kittens, than in the guestroom. The twins slept beside him or with Serina, seeming to know, like Darien, just a few seconds before that she was waking up. The little blonde would wake long enough to eat or cry on Darien's shoulder, sometimes she would only drink a little orange juice before falling into a hollow-eyed, haunted trance leaving her guardians feeling cold and empty.

 

It was several days before she could stay awake for long periods, working her way up to a day's worth of time by the fifth day. She still held the sorrowed eyes of a young woman who had lost everything but more and more she was smiling and allaying her grief when she remembered all she had here and now. Her mother and father, her daughters, her fiancé, and brother, her Scouts, and friends. She found understanding in Prince Diamond's empathetic eyes, the brothers and four sisters let their respect and admiration show on their friendly visits.

 

But sometimes Serina would disappear, for an hour, for half the day. The Scouts had a vague feeling of where she was, her twin daughters and Darien never worried for her health but did for her spirit when she was gone. She would leave with flowers in her hands; white lilies that appeared from nowhere, yellow daisies and jonquils she picked around the yard, red roses and pansies, blue bells and pale irises from the garden, wild green orchids and jack-in-the-poppets from around the trees. She'd come back occasionally with objects she kept hidden, talismans and tiny artifacts she put on or in her desk and vanity. Her guardians' pondering thoughts were confirmed when she returned once more, a Martian gold pearl bracelet on her right wrist and a crystal sword in her hand.

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"She's dreaming...except there's no waking from this dream, it's real."

 

@~~}~~~~ "Sailor Venus, leader of the Inner Scouts and guardians of the moon princess, I return to you, your sword of office. Use it wisely and justly and beware the evils it will turn on you should ever it be used for ill." Serenity smiled at her protectress and friend as the golden Scout accepted the weapon she had once upon a time used to defend her princess and kingdom. The same that had taken her life and the others in the one war they lost. @~~}~~~~

 

When Serina was deemed fit to return to the outside world, not immediately noticeable obstacles arose to delay her 'normal' life. One she was no longer among the living, but among the immortal. She could feel the people around her slowly aging and dying- including Darien and her Scouts. She soon learned to remember the way of tuning out the microscopic deaths of millions of miniscule cells each morning as she woke up, the 'wish' eventually becoming habit.

 

A bit more obvious and tenacious a detainment was her blasted birth symbol. The darned crescent birthmark would NOT go away!

 

"Mom! It's back!" Serina paused by the hallway mirror, noticing out of the corner of her eye as she passed that her forehead had flashed golden silver. She wailed pitifully, though angrily, down the hall to the living room over the roaring vacuum cleaner. She was frustrated with how often she would go the whole hour of morning only to find the crescent moon reappearing. "It's showing through again!"

 

Not having any trouble at all hearing her daughter over the load vacuum, Ilene switched it off with a large sigh, glancing heavenward, knowing Serenity was just smiling at her unusual trials. "Puts some more make up on it, sweetie."

 

"I put a ton on it, I can see the make up lines standing an inch off my skin it's so thick! Mother, it's not working any more. What else can I do?" The first reaction to Serina's glowing moon mark was to hide it with make up. But Serina's skin was so fair and delicate, no make up could match her skin tone and still cover up that yellow curve. Not to mention tended to break up with any kind of unnatural substance on her face. It had taken all of Ilene's skill every morning to get this much to work and now Serenity's body, or rather, her powers of the moon were rejecting it, even if it was to protect her.

 

When that hadn't worked, Serina actually tried the Silver Crystal, willing it to fade away, like it had before or like her daughters' did. But to no avail. The more she wished the brighter it blazed in defiance.

 

Finally, she gave up. Make up would do for now. Careful curling and fluffing of her bangs, combed correctly kept her safe for the most part. She was sure Molly had seen it at least once but amazingly the Brooklyner never asked questions.

 

"I don't know what else to tell you, sweetheart. The twins can do it- ask them." Her mother called from the living room as Serina continued to stare at her reflection.

 

"I did and it's natural. They don't know, why or when it could appear except when they're in trouble. Wish mine would work the same." She muttered darkly.

 

"Why wouldn't that Moon Pen, or Luna's Pen work on it?"

 

'Duh.' Serina's head dropped. 'Of course.' She sighed. She walked slowly to her room, head hanging, refusing to face the laughing world.

 

"Why didn't you suggest that earlier!" She shouted from her room.

__________________________

 

Darien had long since reluctantly gone home and Irene and Rini had been in bed for hours. Her friends of the Dark Moon and her own were all at home, and Luna was fast asleep at the foot of her bed. The world at four o'clock in the morning was dark and quiet, as calm and still as the moon in the night sky.

 

So what had woken her up?

 

Serina tucked her bunny closer and rolled over, moving her feet for cooler sheets. She closed her eyes to the cracked door and pretended she was fast asleep- sometimes she actually tricked herself.

 

This wasn't one of those times.

 

Half a moment later she heard the door creak open. She blinked weary blues in the invader's direction and identified the younger of her twin daughters before her second bun had peeked through the door. Serina casually scooted over and opened the covers a bit for Rini to slip in. The child's frown lightened but didn't disappear as she bit her lip and inched into the room, slowly crawling into bed with her mother.

 

"What's wrong, little one?" She whispered as she traded her bunny for her child, hugging her gently close.

 

Rini sniffed, little fingers hanging lightly onto Serina's arm. "Bad dreams, Mama. I don't want to fall asleep again."

 

"Do you want to tell me?" Serina felt Rini shake her head firmly.

 

"Then watch over Luna for me and I'll watch over you tonight." Rini shifted closer and deeper into the covers, Serina could tell she had no chance of staying awake, no matter how afraid of sleep she was. Within a few minutes Rini was fast asleep again, snoring lightly in her mother's warm embrace. The blonde loosed her arm a bit and sighed. She glanced around her room realizing she wouldn't be sleeping for a while.

 

Luna's golden eyes flashed and the cat blinked slowly at her, apparently awakened by the girls' whispering. Serina smiled apologetically as Luna stared at her then lightly padded over to lick Rini's nose and Serina's cheek.

 

"You'll make a wonderful mother someday, Serina." She whispered and curled up at her princess's neck, nested in the curls of her hair. Serina smiled softly as she watched her baby, dawn languidly lightening the room.

__________________________

"I'm your family now. I'll protect you forever."

 

"Hey, Mom?" Ilene looked up from her half-sliced onion to her daughter casually sitting cross-legged on the counter and frowned, her hand moving for the spatula.

 

"Serina, you know better." She sighed. "I'm trying to prepare dinner and I don't need your dirty feet on the counter top! How unprincess-like!" Ilene waved her weapon at the girl of whom immediately hopped off the counter. "What would Serenity think of me?" She muttered under breath. She'd taken to referring to Queen Serenity as a close friend, a co-mom, and brought her up every time she thought Serina was acting out of line. Saying things like: 'I never taught you behave like that,' 'What kind of mother did Serenity give you too,' or 'If Serenity could see you now, she'd take you away from this family to live on the moon, far from such menial persons.'

 

It shocked Serina and her entourage the first time but Ilene quickly explained thoughts like these had crossed her mind a thousand times in the past fifteen years and now she could voice them. Today, Serina just smiled and threw her arms around her mom's shoulders in a tight hug. "She'd think she could never have picked a better woman in all the worlds."

 

Ilene grinned and swatted the girl away. She turned back to onion, quartering and chopping to toss into the pan for sautéing. "Quit sucking up. Now what is it you want?" Serina's carefree glow faded as she perched back up on the counter.

 

"Oh yeah." The twins were out with 'Grandpa' and 'Uncle Sammy,' picking out movies to watch tonight while Serina stayed with her mother to help cook dinner. They were alone. The house, for the first time in a long while, was gratefully quiet and empty. "What did you do for me and Sammy when we had nightmares?"

 

Ilene turned sympathetic eyes on her daughter whom was so recently a mother-in-training. "The girls having trouble?"

 

"Just Rini. She had a bad dream last night, didn't want to talk about it, and was afraid to fall asleep again. All I could do was let her sleep with me and watch her till she did fall asleep again."

 

"Sometimes that's all you CAN do, darling." Ilene returned to her frying pan, offering her wisdom and experience over her shoulder. "Sammy didn't often have bad dreams but for him it was easy to just fall asleep again once the nightlight was put in and he had his Sparkie with him." Serina smiled at the mention of the stuffed dog. She hadn't seen 'Sparkie' in forever. 'I wonder if he still protects Sammy from evil cats . . .' "But he also had night terrors and there's no scientific explanation for them according to my psychology professor back in college. Sammy wouldn't remember dreaming at all, just something that can't be seen coming out of the darkness and scaring him to death. But Sparkie fixed that too, especially without a face to put on his fears, they were easily forgotten."

 

"YOU, on the other hand, were impossible. The nightmares you had would scare the devil out of the devil. I didn't know what to do with you, the doctors said it was just a phase but I knew from Serenity that it was something that would never leave you." Ilene cast her eyes over Serina once again, vividly remembering the tales her daughter told of a destroyed kingdom, the murders of her best friends and the deaths of so many in an attack that took place a thousand years ago. "I couldn't do anything for you. Just watch over you and hold you when you woke up. But the doctors were right, after a while the dreams lightened up and when you started school you discovered more horrible things to worry about." Ilene smiled as Serina scowled at the jibe. But her mind quickly returned to the problem at hand.

 

"Then I really can't do anything? I thought moms had a magic solution to everything."

 

"Not always, hon, you should know that by now. Now be the perfect, sweet child I know is in there and stir this while I get some mushrooms. Mind that it doesn't burn!" Ilene called on her way to the pantry knowing Serina had all ready stopped stirring the peppers and onions.

 

"I don't know what I'll do if BOTH girls start having nightmares. Rini alone is gonna kill me." She grumbled, smothering a yawn.

__________________________

 

"Mommy!"

 

The silence of the night Serina had been carefully listening to shattered and she was out of bed and running for the twins' room before the first M was understandable. The cry wasn't at all loud but Serina had been up for about ten minutes all ready, studying the night so hard for what had awakened her for the second night in a row that the word had sounded like a shout.

 

Serina threw open the door to find her two daughters in the queen-sized guest bed; Rini sitting up and sobbing, fists to her eyes, crescent moon blazing, and Irene still lying down frowning concernedly at her.

 

Serina rushed over to kneel by Rini's side. Grabbing her hands and carefully pulling them away from her face, she gently drew her close. "Shh, sweetheart, I'm right here, baby, shh . . ." Rini threw her arms around her neck, holding so tightly she choked her but Serina just let her, her hand smoothing down her small back to calm her. Her tears quickly soaked through her thin pajamas. Rini's breaths were so ragged and she shook so hard-

 

Serina lifted a hand to her baby's forehead and let it fall again. She carefully picked her up and cradled the rabbit as she eased herself up onto their bed. Rini was so pale and cold; she shivered with fright and chills. She lifted the covers over herself and Rini still in her arms, Irene fluffing up a pillow behind her. She smiled her thanks to the girl and settled in for a long night.

 

She rocked and hummed, stroking the child's arm with one hand while the other cuddled her eldest close. Irene easily fell asleep again, leaning against her young mother, having never said a word and Serina's hand eventually fell to just one finger absently running over Rini's wrist and palm. When she was a sure she was asleep again, she shifted her little one and let her head fall back with a sigh. It was just another nightmare.

 

Another one.

 

This was going to be long night. Again.

__________________________

 

"Come on, Meatball head! What's slowing you up today?" Sailor Mars yelled as she dissipated the fireball heading for Sailor Moon's head. She turned around and threw one at Jupiter who was trying to sneak up on her. A concerned Mercury appeared beside her dazed friend after dispersing Venus's meteor shower with her bubbles, Luna and Artemis quickly bounding up next to the shy and modest genius.

 

"Just because you can use the Silver Crystal now doesn't mean you have to neglect your physical training too, girl." Venus chided, preparing her chain of hearts for Jupiter before she could throw her lightning.

 

"Yeah, Sailor Moon, you act like you haven't slept in days!" Jupiter laughed, electrocuting her orange friend with a smug grin. "You'd think we were still in school."

 

Serina snapped awake at the mention of lost sleep and vile, evil, ungodly school. "Oi! I haven't slept in days!"

 

Sailor Mercury frowned, the training coming to a halt around the pair. "What's wrong, Sailor Moon?"

 

Moon quickly sat down on the grass, glad for the impromptu break. "Rini's been having bad dreams these last couple nights is all-"

 

"Like Darien's bad dreams?" Mars asked pointedly.

 

"No, I don't think so. But Rini won't tell me about them yet. It's nothing for you guys to worry about, I just haven't been sleeping as well as I should lately with her to take care of." She paused to concentrate on resting her body before she got to her knees and beckoned Sailor Venus to her. Venus scrunched her nose as her princess pointed to the ground, indicating that she sit.

 

"It's nothing-"

 

"I'll tell you what deserves my attention and what doesn't." She replied. Venus hushed and sat, sticking out her tongue at Jupiter's snickering. "You're next, Jupiter." The green Scout's grin dropped. With the Crystal glowing from it's compact shell, Moon gathered it's healing power into her hands and sent it throughout the blonde's body, easing the frayed nerves and shocked cells. Without pausing she turned the wisping magic on Jupiter of whom nearly collapsed when her leg suddenly started to mend from Mars' fireball.

 

"All right. On with the games." The four scouts ran back to their positions, spread out in the Tsukino's back yard. "Sailor Moon, were Sailor Earth and the younger Sailor Moon going to grace us with their presence today?"

 

"I- don't think so, Luna. Rini's too shook up, probably napping-"

 

"Takes after her mother." Mars whispered to Jupiter who was the nearest to her. Moon shot her a glare.

 

"I heard that." She growled. 'Moon scepter-' "Elimination!" The thin beam hit Mars' forehead dead center, harmlessly bouncing off the gem in her tiara. The Scout of fire stumbled back a bit, gulping imperceptibly. "I'll have you know, any faults my daughters inherited from me are amended by their father's virtues!"

 

"Virtuous? DARIEN?" Mars taunted, taking off at a run, her anti-evil scrolls appearing in her fingers.

 

"Is it as incredible to believe as you being a 'honorable' priestess?" Sailor Moon smiled evilly at the banter and took off after her friend as the training between the Scouts resumed.

__________________________

 

Intuition advised Serina to take a long nap after the training session with the other Scouts. She'd had a bad feeling all day but kept it to herself lest the children fell her reservations and become scared too. 'Lot of good it did.' She thought as she yawned again and petted Luna. She sat on the edge of her bed, just waiting for something to happen. She'd been up for nearly an hour now, watching the moon winking at her through night-black clouds, Luna having long ago fallen asleep under her fingers.

 

She'd sent the girls to bed at their usual time tonight, hoping with all her heart that Rini would sleep undisturbed. A paper charm against evil spirits now hung above the girls' bed to protect their sleep. 'That was kind of Rei, to remember them.' She recalled. The Shinto priestess had come back after dinner to give it to her and they had hung it themselves while the girls ate dessert.

 

Serina yawned again, wondering if she should just lie down and sleep while she waited- she did have a date with Darien tomorrow and it was way past three in the morning . . .

 

Suddenly Serina's heart snapped and something clicked into place in her mind. Blurred, grainy images flashed through her head- a bit of green, blue, miles of black, and explosions of white and sickly yellow- and red. Lots of red. Dripping and washing away other colors, rags torn and stained with it.

 

"Rini- Irene-" She breathed, caught half standing when the visions attacked her. She was all ready out her door and down the hall when the expected calls came.

 

"Mama! Mama, no!"

 

"Papa! Mommy!" In double force the girls called to her, her heart pulled to them like a silk string- how powerful they were together . . .

 

Their door was left open; she could see the girls sitting up in bed, BOTH crescents afire, holding hands and shivering. In two steps, Serina was by their side, Irene crawling along her back to her right side and Rini jumping from the covers to her arms. For a moment she was at a loss, both their minds mentally demanding comfort and safety from her hers, her ears clamored with their whimpering and crying, unheard and aloud. The twins overwhelmed her with their need for reassurance- she could still see pieces of that terrible dream winking through their thoughts.

 

Serina steeled herself, hugging both girls tightly to her chest she hammered down on their link to her, pressuring it with as much peace and calm steadiness as she possibly could. The effect was immediate. Rini absorbed the emotions as if it were the only thing keeping her alive. Her sobs died in her throat and her shuddering faded to weak trembling. Irene stopped weeping and mewling so quickly she got the hiccups. The mother held both girls in her lap, her own heart slowing from its desperate race as she began to slowly rock them back and forth, breathing deeply. With two six-year-olds in her short fifteen-year-old arms on the side of a bed, this alone was a feat.

 

'You two are getting too old for this . . .' She thought tiredly. She opened the link a bit more as the girls relaxed, letting her warm love wash over them, her heart whispering promises none heard but completely understood. "I won't let anything happen to you, my darlings. You shouldn't fear anything ever happening to you, your father, or me: I wouldn't allow it." Irene raised her head, her cinnamon eyes still wet and glinting tears.

 

"Mommy, that's the problem-" Serina lifted her hand to brush away her little girl's bangs, her royal symbol flickering and fading at her touch. Even her hiccups stopped. She wiped away the silver tracks of tears on her eldest's splotched, trembling cheek.

 

"Your dreams? Do they tell you this? Will you tell me about them now?" Rini started gasping and shuddering again, shaking her head fiercely, the horror on her face plain as her pink hair.

 

"No, Mama, no. I don't wanna hear it, I don't want to remember-" Serina caught Irene barely restraining herself from rolling her eyes at her younger sister. She flashed her mild glare but Irene was slipping out of her grasp to kneel on the bed, allowing Rini to have their mother's full attentions. Grateful, Serina focused on the baby, blue eyes locked with crimson. She traced a finger over Rini's crescent mark, watching it glitter and wane as she moved on to her soft, pink bangs and drying tears, just as she had with Irene.

 

"Be brave, Serenity. You are a princess; nightmares have no place in your life, child." Her voice softened. "If you tell me about it, maybe you won't be so afraid and they'll go away." Rini's bottom lip trembled and her frown deepened, looking, for a moment, just like her father on a bad day. Reluctantly, she gave a small nod.

 

The lavender-haired twin wasted no time in launching into her description of their shared nightmare. She seemed to understand it's importance to her mother and she wanted to appear unafraid, especially before her little sister. But it was as Serina feared. Her twin daughters had starting having the same nightmare; the same she'd glimpsed in her room. Irene told the story as if reciting an ancient battle studied for class, her voice as emotionless as she could manage though her haunted eyes betrayed her. She started every time her sister sniffled or moaned in fear.

 

It was a battle. A deadly, colorful one shrouded in inky blackness as thick as pitch, an overpowering tension strained the images and voices, hopelessness seemed the only ultimate conclusion. Wise Man attacked the warriors on a gray, barren plane, the dust of the dead floating and drifting through their lungs, veiling their enemy.

 

In a shower of gentle rain, dyed red, Mercury fell first, her blue skirt and bow now purple with blood, her visor cracked, and her computer throwing off electrical sparks like tears. Mars' body was blackened where it was not red and raw. Gold smoldered and smoked from the ashes and singes of her suit, her hair spilled and spattered the ground like a smashed jar of molasses, trickles of molten gold glittered across her forehead and caught in her hair. The worst, however, were her violet eyes, wide open and staring- unseeing. Her face was a frozen mask of burning pain and terror.

 

Venus was unrecognizable as she was caught by the devil himself. Her life melted away with her skin as she screamed, her shimmering sunshine hair dulling and falling out as she collapsed to the ground, her legs less than jelly beneath her. Her skin was gray as stone, her eyes hollow and dead as her voice withered but her mouth hung open as if she could still hear her own shrill shriek. Jupiter was no where to be found after the colorless explosion hit her. Rags of green, still burning, fell like light ashes, two liquefied, green plastic splotches stained the ground like blood, and a single, tiny, half-slagged pink rose lay like the last mourning flower on a coffin. A black and red mess pooled on the ground, covering yards of the dusty earth where the remaining objects were seen.

 

The sky deepened in thunderous blackness, lightning thrashing the smoky clouds in unnatural hues, the ebony shadows of the heavens spilling over to flood the leaden ground on which they had all once stood and fought.

 

He lay still, wheezing as his blood flowed from his body through the riddling holes in his torso and legs. Gashes ripped across his pale face as if inflicted by bear claws, rents in the skin of his arms and legs looked like it had actually been pulled apart. Wounds smoked and sizzled, the sword had been red hot when it went through his lungs. Both legs bent at funny, uncomfortable angles, a couple more that a normal human body had joints for. His one arm stretched above his head, the other pressing on the gaping shoulder wound that looked like it had been blasted with a small missile. Sailor Moon lay near him, too far to reach his outstretched hand though that was the one thought in both their minds to just touch, to die holding the other . . .

 

The moment Sailor Moon, who could still move just a little, had grasped his cold fingers, the Wise Man drove the sword through his heart-

 

Serina felt it as if she were actually there, the acrid smoke burning her throat and choking her lungs. Her body felt like a water balloon with a thousand pin holes through it, all pouring her silvery life's blood on the dusty, grimy ground. She watched with a morbid fascination as a thick trail of bright red blood snaked down her arm to pool in the palm of her white glove. The stunning contrast of the colors was startling, more so when she realized her glove had been burned clean through and it was her own pale skin her warm blood ran across. How odd that felt. How silent the world suddenly seemed, as if the air were frozen, still of life, the thick emptiness of outer space surging forward to drown her . . .

 

It was when the Wise Man began slowly carving into her skin like a jack-o-lantern that the girls were finally allowed to awaken. Rini was silently sobbing again as Serina absently rocked her, almost more for herself than the child- the images of their dreams she'd had before were nothing to prepare her for what poor Irene described. Small wonder why Rini had refused to tell her of her nightmares . . . How could she think she could keep something so terrible to herself, hidden away like that? She was a little girl! She shouldn't have tried-

 

Why couldn't she have trusted her?

 

Serina didn't say a word for the longest time. She had thought she and Rini had gotten past the whole trust issue. It was her job to protect the girls, neither should try to hide something so painful and frightening from her. She quietly eased herself into the middle of the bed as she had the night before, Rini lying mostly atop her, tears falling in time to her mother's heart beat, her breath catching and slowing to match the blonde's. Serina held her close, an arm draped over her tiny shoulders, steadying her shaking. Irene snuggled up under her other arm, her head resting on Serina's shoulder.

 

"Be brave, my children. You were never meant to see such things. I'm so sorry-" Her breath caught and tears stung her eyes painfully. Serina had to purse her lips and pause a moment to keep her voice from cracking. "I'll protect you. You can sleep and I'll watch over you. Forever, my darlings. I exist only to protect you." Irene nodded in understanding and tucked her arms in close to her body, inching closer to her mother's protective aura. When she was finally comfortable, she sighed, a little girl's sigh when she found home after a long journey.

 

Serina mentally called the Silver Crystal to her. The air shimmered and wavered then its soft glow misted them like tangible moonlight. "Protect my children this night and every other until the evil at the root of these nightmares is defeated." The clear, glittering sphere seemed to blink then settled above her heart, also above Rini's head. With it's eternal light over them, she sensed her daughters fall into tranquil sleep.

 

'Hello, love.'

 

Her mental whisper came from the near-darkness directed at the window to her right. The silent shadow came closer, cape fluttering as he entered the room. Instantly, Darien downshifted, walking as silently as a cat. Without pause he gently settled on the bed beside his love and gave her a questioning look. 'I felt something wrong with the girls. What has happened?'

 

'Nightmares. The same for three nights now. Rei's charm didn't work so these can't be normal dreams.' She opened her heart to him, allowing him to sense her fear and exhaustion. 'I can't stand it anymore. It was both of them tonight; it's only getting worse. All I could do was use the Crystal.' Aloud, Serina sighed deeply. 'I'm so tired, Darien. Can you stay? Please?' Serina's eyes pleaded more than her thoughtful voice could. She gave a fatigued grin when he smiled, ruefully and nodding with mock reluctance. He got up and walked to the other side of the bed, where Irene lay burrowed in next to her mother. He delicately grasped her hand and settled on the bed next to his eldest daughter, hand in hand with his love, the other lightly wrapped around her shoulders.

 

'Sleep, princess. You've done your part for our daughters. I'll watch over you three from now on. Rest, it's my turn.' He grinned when she yawned in response, blinking to keep herself awake. She fell deeper into her pillow and into his embrace. 'Good night, love. Sleep well.'

 

'Thank you, my prince . . . Good night . . .'

 

Darien remained awake the rest of the night, fulfilling his promise to watch over his family while they slept. Sometime during the night, Irene, sensing her father's warmth to her other side, unconsciously rolled over and slept curled up next to him. Rini, too, eventually twisted off her mother's chest and took Irene's place.

 

Caught up in his daydreams of a family by actually living them, he forgot about possible danger and let himself enjoy. Irene snuggled up beside him, her short arm wrapped around his leg like a teddy bear. He grinned unconsciously, softly, as he brushed her hair away from her neck and studied her perfect little features. She- well, they- looked so familiar in ways he couldn't describe. As if he'd met her in a dream eleven or twelve years ago. She looked so much like Serina, her wide eyes, her innocent smiles, soft, moon-pale skin, and high cheekbones. The only thing of himself he could see in the girls' faces was his determined chin which could easily have been Serina's as well. Irene's hair was a little thicker than Rini's fine, pink locks. Maybe that was his influence, and Irene was certainly brave, unafraid, and resolved to shine like the sun and stand-fast like the mountains. That too, might be a bit of himself reflected in her sharp mind and royal soul.

 

Rini murmured something softly, squeezing Serina's arm reflexively. Darien frowned in concern for a moment, worried the nightmares had returned but Rini just sighed and smiled again, whispering softly. "Mama . . . Papa . . ." He smiled in return and let his thumb gently graze her cheek as he removed her bangs from he closed eyes. So perfect. His girls were so perfect and beautiful.

 

And so was his fiancée.

 

Her golden hair fairly glowed in the setting moon's light, her skin was still radiant with her indomitable and giving spirit in spite of her fatigue from unsettled nights. She slept peacefully and deeply in his protective presence. Neither her nor Rini showed any signs of the restlessness Luna forewarned and complained often of. They were true to their name. Serene.

 

Dawn came and went with the family of four resting peacefully in bed, the twins between the couple. Ilene said nothing when she found them. Darien, deeming it safe to snooze with the sun and Tsukino family up, nodded off after Serina's mother's amused visit.

__________________________

"I'll fight as hard as I can, but you must know... I might not come back."

 

"WHY hasn't he ATTACKED all ready?!"

 

"Calm down, Rei, we're lucky he hasn't made his move yet. We're not ready."

 

"Speak for yourself, Ames. I'm ready to kick some nega-butt!" Lita pounded her fist into her hand meaningfully. Her green eyes suddenly held an evil gleam.

 

Ami frowned as indignantly as she could without looking like she could actually be offended. "Well we still need a plan of attack. We can't just sit around waiting for him." She asserted firmly.

 

"All we BEEN doing is practicing and training. What else can we do? It's not like we know where he is- or when."

 

"Mina's right. We've trained long enough. We may not know where, or when, the Wise Man is, but I do know who does. Let's let the battle begin." Serina smiled grimly and left the girls and Darien in the fire room for the phone down the hall. She called Prince Diamond at his home. Sapph answered and passed word on to Di and Emmi of the Scout meeting at the shrine. He assured her that they would warn the Sisters and Garry and Robert before they headed over. That done, Serina trudged back to the group, going over her questions and planning scenarios to run by Luna and Ami. Diamond would have the answers she needed and the extra manpower. She would need all fourteen of her allies on this assault.

 

It wasn't much longer after Rei had brought out tea and assorted munchies for the growing group, slapping away Mina's hand from the plates, that their company arrived. Mina, glowering at Rei's possessiveness over Lita's cookies, answered the door and let the guests inside, leading them sullenly to the fire room.

 

It was a tight squeeze but they managed, Serina sitting as close as Luna-legal to Darien, Rei closer to the fire than anyone else dared, Lita leaning against the wooden slats in the corner, Mina sitting at Lita's feet, within easy reach of the goodies she'd fought Rei for. The other couples paired up to get comfy together, Garry sidling in between Lita and Rei, Birdie and Avery scooting in next to Serina and Darien, beside the cats and Sapph. Once everyone was settled, the meeting began.

 

Five minutes later, Birdie broke the silence.

 

"So. Anyone got a plan yet?" Artemis and Luna hung their heads sighing as Lita and Rei went at it about attacking and yelling at Ami against her no-plan-no-go argument. Everyone found something to debate with someone else, the room quickly filling to the brim with escalating noise. Serina just sat in the arms of her love, an island of tranquility in the sea of bickering voices.

 

Without waiting to see if anyone would stop to listen to her, Serina launched into her own interrogation, addressing Diamond, silently catching his attention with her determined stare. "I have an idea. I just need your knowledge, Diamond. What is it about the Dark Moon, the planet itself that sends my nerves to both poles of hell?" With their level tone and energized conversation, Di and Serina caught the attention of the room just by speaking calmly and rationally as opposed to everyone else.

 

"I don't know for sure. The planet- has always seemed to have an energy of it's own. We've only lived there a few years comparatively, I know nothing of it's history. Wise Man was there when our clan arrived and with him was the terrible Dark Crystal. I believe it was that enormous crystal that fueled the planet, giving the world it's power and life. And that would be where the Wise Man gets his, I assume."

 

"That's kind of what I thought-"

 

"I suspected Wise Man had an outside power source!" Ami exclaimed, whipping out her computer to type in the direction the of the night sky. Tiny beeps clicked as she nodded her head. "I never expected him to have the whole planet behind him though." A shrill affirmative whistle answered her final tap on the diminutive keys and she sighed, her enthusiasm at finding the last piece of a personal mystery vanished.

 

"What is it, Ami?" Garry asked in concern. The others nodded, Birdie bit her lip, expecting the worse. Everyone seemed to lean in to hear the short scout's reply.

 

"It's as I thought. The Dark Crystal is so imbedded in the planet that the two are one and nothing can separate them or stop them." She glanced up to confront the people expecting her to find the solution to their greatest challenge yet. And she didn't have it. Neo-Queen Serenity herself should have destroyed the planet with her double attack with Princess Serenity- and didn't.

 

The room fell to silence as everyone contemplated this information. Suddenly the battle seemed to grow a lot tougher, and longer. They had little hope against a planet's worth of fighting power and the demon who had no qualms about harnessing it.

 

"Except planet power." The scouts froze. Had Serina just suggested . . ?

 

"Serina, are you saying the Sailor Scouts should DESTROY the Dark Moon with the Sailor Planet Attack?" Luna asked, incredulous of the very possibility.

 

"Of course I am. But of course, the four Scouts alone won't know their way around the world so Diamond will have to send one of his own to guide them, to destroy it from the inside, to guarantee the Dark Crystal's destruction-"

 

"Them- what about YOU?" Rei demanded, suddenly springing to her feet in defense of her princess.

 

"I'll be fighting Wise Man with the rest of the clan. Only you guys can do it, and you can do it without me. We have to distract him until you do and then destroy him when his power is cut off- Am I the only one this makes sense to?"

 

The argument went on for hours, the details rung through and objections whittled down to splinters. Assignments and job descriptions continued far in to the night, finally falling on Rubeus guiding the four scouts through Nemesis to the Dark Crystal while Tux, Moon, and the rest of the Dark Moon clan fought Wise Man to keep him busy and occupied. Luna and Artemis were charged with keeping tabs on the Scouts through the master computer under the arcade and letting Sailor Moon know the instant her drained and potentially unconscious Scouts needed to be teleported back.

 

By the early morning hours, everyone was too exhausted to think let alone argue the finer points of war-strategy. The royal couple sneaked back to the Tsukino residence, Darien taking over for Ilene whom had stayed up with the twins when their nightmares had bothered them- lightly- this night. Serina remained in her room a moment, Luna still concernedly resisting several items against a girl who had given up fighting the fact an hour ago.

 

"Are you sure you can you spare the energy to transport them all back here, Serina?" She finally questioned deliberately as Serina, now changed into a flannel nightgown, paused by the door.

 

"I will."