Title: A Disasterous Date
Author: Bunny Girl
A Disasterous Date
The music played on endlessly in a ballroom of bubbles and mist. Serena
smiled dreamily up at Darien. At this moment as they waltzed across the
room it seemed like they were the only two people in the whole universe.
"Oh, Darien, I've never been so happy." she told him, and the mist about
them whispered her words back. "It's like a dream come true."
Darien smiled down at her, "I feel the same, my love."
"Oh." Her eyes shone as he drew her near for a kiss.
"SERENA!!"
"Waaa!" Jolted back from her daydream Serena fell from her chair to the
floor, immediately beginning to cry. "It was just getting to the best
part!"
Luna sat daintily on the desk, swishing her tail. "Serena, it's late, and
you should be in bed, you have a big test tomorrow."
"Oh, Luna!" she hopped up and tossed her hair over one shoulder. "How do
you expect me to sleep? Darien remembers me now." She sighed and went to
the window, looking up at the moon. "He remembers all about us, and the
moon kingdom, and everything." Was it really only a day ago that they had
said goodbye to Alan and Ann, and the Moonlight Knight had become a part of
Darien again, restoring all of his memories? She sighed again, "I'll bet
he's looking up at the moon just like this right now-and thinking of me."
she giggled. "I'm going to call him--right now!"
"Oh, Serena, don't you think it's a bit late?" Luna lectured practically.
"Don't be silly, Luna." Serena waved her away as she dialled the phone
number, "Of course he'll be awake. He'll be having trouble sleeping, just
like me. That's how love is sometimes."
"Doesn't sound very healthy to me." was her comment.
"Hi..." the voice on the other end of the phone began.
"Hi, Darien!" Serena beamed. "I couldn't sleep and just had to talk to
you..."
"...this is Darien, I can't come to the phone right now..." All the lights
were out in Darien's apartment, and he was fast asleep in his bed, in an
unconscience movement he turned on his side and pulled his pillow over his
head. "...so if you'll just leave a brief message I'll get back to you."
Serena set the receiver in its cradle with a little whimper.
"Well?" Luna asked.
"He didn't answer." She replied unhappily.
"Just as I said, it's late. He's probably asleep. Just as you should be."
She jumped onto the bed.
"But what if something's happened to him? Or he's ill?" She began to
panic.
"Serena, I'm sure he's fine. There's no reason he shouldn't be, and there
are no Cardians or Negaverse minions to worry about anymore. Now come to
bed."
"Alright." She crawled under the covers. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I am." She turned around several times before getting
comfortable. "Goodnight, Serena."
"Goodnight, Luna." She turned out the light.
Out in the still night something was slowly fluttering down to the ground
from high in the sky. A gentle wind caught ahold of it and carried it over
the city before it came to settle on the pavement. From the ground a
purple mist oozed up around the card. It began to glow with an eerie light
and then to transform.
It was a perfect day at Cherry Hill Temple. The sun was shining down on
the freshly swept cobblestones in the courtyard. Chad, broom held loosely
in his hands, was dozing on a bench. The crows were quietly preening on
the shingled roof.
CRASH!!
The crows flew up with sqwaks of protest, and Chad lept up. "What? What!
Is it like, another monster?" From the direction of Rei's room two voices
could be heard raised in an arguement. He shook his head resignedly.
"Hey, Chad!" Lita greeted as she, Amy, and Mina, Artemis following close
on their heels, came up.
"Oh, hi, you guys. Here to study?"
"Yep." Another crash drew their attention.
"What is going on in there?" Mina asked.
"I've been afraid to go and look." Chad admitted, rubbing the back of his
neck sheepishly. "Serena arrived about 10 minutes ago."
"Serena, early?" Lita couldn't believe what she had just heard.
"We'd better go see if there are any pieces left to pick up." Mina
suggested. "See you around, Chad." They waved as they rushed over to
Rei's room.
"Serena, let go!" They heard Rei order.
"I will not! They're exactly what I need!"
"I'll tell you what you need! A brain, because you clearly don't have one!
"
"Uh...you open it, Mina." Lita stood back.
"Me? No way! How about you, Amy?" Mina jumped away from the door.
"Me?" She looked between the two of them with wide eyes.
"Ouch, Rei! That hurt!"
"Then let go! You didn't even ask, Serena!"
"Oh, alright." Amy gulped and gingerly reached for the door handle,
opening the door.
Inside Rei and Serena were playing tug of war with a pair of hot pink
shoes. "I did too! You said I could borrow them for my date!"
"I said I'd think about it, Serena! Besides, Darien hasn't even asked you
yet!" She gave a great tug and Serena went flying face down onto the
floor.
"What is going on in here?" Amy asked.
"Just The Attack of the Meatball Head!" Rei snapped.
"I just wanted to borrow her shoes--like she said I could." She
interjected snidely towards Rei. "For my date with Darien."
"A date he hasn't even asked her on yet." Rei replied.
"He hasn't asked you yet?" Lita blinked.
"No." Serena pouted, tracing his name on the floor.
"Have you two spoken?" Mina asked.
"That's the problem, I haven't seen him in two days, and he hasn't returned
my phone calls." Tears filled her eyes.
"Gosh, do you think something's wrong with him?" Lita asked.
"Have you gone by his apartment yet?" Mina asked. "That's what I'd do."
"Let's not be hasty." Amy spoke up.
"Yeah, guys. Give him a break." Rei added. "He just got all his memories
back. It might take him a little while to readjust."
"Exactly." Amy nodded. "I'm sure there's a logical reason for it."
"But how long do you think it will take?" Serena stood up.
"It'll take as long as it takes." Rei replied. "Maybe if you'd stop
bugging him..."
"I do not bug him!" Serena came right up to her.
"Oh no? How many times have you called him in the last 48 hours!" She
stood face to face with her.
"That's none of your business!"
"Well I'm making it my business! I used to date him y'know!"
"That's old news...Oh, I get it! You're jealous of Darien and I!"
"Jealous!"
The others sighed heavily, their shoulders drooping. "Do you think we'll
get any studying done?" Amy asked.
"I think we should just go out for ice cream." Mina said.
On her way home Serena leaned against a pole. "All that studying! I feel
like my brain is going to explode." Suddenly a familiar figure walked into
view a short way up the sidewalk. "Darien!" She ran the short distance
and threw herself into his arms.
"Oof!" He looked down. "Oh, Serena."
"I..." She looked up and anything she had been about to say was forgotten,
because he was smiling at her.
"Are you on your way home?"
She nodded. "From studying at Rei's."
"Did you get a lot of studying done?"
"Uh..." An image of she and Rei shouting at each other popped into her
head. "Uh, sure." She giggled nervously.
"You and Rei weren't arguing again, were you?"
"No, of course not." She shook her head emphatically thinking. 'He knows
me too well.', "Not anymore than usual." She added as an aside.
He shook his head in amusement. "Do you mind if I walk you home?"
Serena met his eyes and blushed. "No." She cast her eyes shyly down to
the ground. "I don't mind, Darien." They walked along in silence for a
short time. "So...how have you been the last couple of days? I haven't
heard from you."
"I've just been doing a lot of thinking."
"Oh, I see." The silence dragged on. "Ummm...Darien..."
"Yes, Serena?"
"You don't...I mean...Do you..." She took a deep breath. "You're okay,
aren't you?"
He frowned a little. "Sure...what do you mean?"
"I mean...you're okay...with getting your memories back, aren't you?"
"Of course, Serena. It's who I am. If I had known I was missing memories
I definitely would have wanted them back."
"Even though that means giving up a normal life to become Tuxedo Mask
again?"
"Of course. It's part of our destiny." He walked along thoughtfully. "A
part of me always knew that. Which is why the Moonlight Knight came into
existence. But now that he is a part of me again it's like I was living
two lives all that time. I have his memories and mine. I remember the
exact moment twice. And that's been the hardest thing to deal with. It's
confusing."
"I wish there was something I could do." Serena took ahold of his arm and
leaned her head against his shoulder.
He favored her with a smile, "Don't worry about it, meatball-head., I'll be
fine."
"I used to hate it when you called me meatball-head." She said.
"I know." He laughed, "That's why I called you it. You were so easy to
annoy." They stopped when they reached the top of her street and were in
view of her house.
"Umm...Thanks for walking me home, Darien."
"It's okay."
"Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" She met his eyes hopefully.
"Maybe. Only tomorrow will tell." With a reluctant nod she turned to go.
"Wait, Serena." she paused. "There's something I"ve been wanting to ask
you this whole time."
"What is it, Darien?" She turned to face him, gripping the handle of her
school bag before her.
"Will you...that is...if you're not studying...would you...go out with me
this Sunday afternoon?"
"Oh, Darien!" She laughed and threw herself into his arms. "Of course!"
She tipped her head up as he lowered his towards her.
The sunset was a fiery display of orange and red, leaving them as little
more than silhouttes against the brillance.
It was waiting in the shadows. Hiding in the darkness at the edge of
vision. It watched the people walk by. One-two-three-four. What silly
creatures! So full of energy and so unaware of it. It waited to spring
its trap. There! That one! As the man walked by he did not see the blue
clawed hand reaching for him till it was too late.
No-one was near enough to hear his cry for help.
Rei gasped, her eyes flying open. She had been meditating before the fire
when an all too familiar premonition had intruded. 'There's evil a foot.'
She thought. 'It felt like the Negaverse!' Quickly she tried to calm her
mind. 'I must find the source of this new evil.' "Oh, sacred flame..."
"What?" Molly blinked. "Darien actually asked you out?" The kids were
milling around the classroom waiting for Miss Haruna to show up.
"Yeah." Serena sighed, leaning her chin in her hands, her eyes dreamy.
"I thought you hated that guy because he called you meatball head all the
time." She leaned one hand on Serena's desk.
"Oh, but things are way different now, Molly." She pressed her hands
against her cheeks, her eyes going all starry. "And I love it when he
calls me meatball head now." She giggled.
"Serena, are you sure you're feeling alright?"
She came crashing back down to earth. "Er, why?"
"Well, you look kind of feverish to me." She put her hand on her best
friend's forehead. "Yep, definitely feverish."
"Oh, don't be silly." She waved her hand, "I feel fine."
"Are you sure he's reliable?"
Serena blinked. "What do you mean?"
"He seems a bit flighty at times to me."
"Flighty?"
"Yeah, like sometimes he has no idea what's going on around him because
he's got his nose buried in a book or something."
"Oh, Molly, you worry too much. Nothing's going to go wrong. It's going
to be a perfect date."
"So it's the Negaverse?" Lita asked. She, Mina, Amy, and Rei stood
together in the courtyard of the Cherry Hill Temple.
"It definitely has that feeling." Rei said. "But I also get the feeling
of a Cardian."
"A Cardian?" Mina repeated in surprise. "But that's impossible."
"Not entirely." Amy spoke up. "With what Rei has told us, and with this
series of new attacks, it's very possible."
"But Alan and Ann are our friends now." Lita replied. "Why would they be
sending Cardians at us?"
"It could be that it isn't Alan and Ann at all."
"A new enemy?" Mina asked.
"I don't think so." Amy told her. "It could be that when Alan and Ann
turned good they tried to get rid of the Cardians. Or perhaps lost control
of them all together. I think this one is a rogue Cardian feeding off a
pocket of Negaverse energy left over from our battles with the Negaverse."
For a minute they all blinked at her mutely. "Well then, we'll treat it
like all the others and wipe it out!" Lita nodded.
"I think we should proceed with caution." Amy warned. "Remember, if it is
a rogue Cardian, then it has no specific mission like the ones we've dealt
with in the past, there's no-one controlling it, and it might even be very
confused itself. That makes it potentially more dangerous."
"And we have no way to predict where it will strike next." Mina added.
"Exactly."
"I guess we'd better call Serena." Rei spoke up. "It might take all of us
to defeat this thing."
"Oh, do we have to?" Lita queried.
"She's on her first date with Darien right now." Mina said. "I'd hate to
disturb her. Especially when we don't have any real leads to go on."
"I don't think we should take any chances with this one." Amy said.
"I agree with Lita and Mina..." Rei spoke up.
"You do?" They both exclaimed.
"...We'll consult the sacred flame and call her if we need her." She
continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Agreed?"
"Agreed." Lita nodded.
"Mmhmm." Mina also nodded.
"Alright." Amy gave in reluctantly.
"I wonder what Serena and Darien are doing right now." Mina whispered to
Lita as they followed Rei and Amy into the temple.
It was a cheerful crowd milling around the base of Tokyo Tower enjoying the
continuing good weather.
Serena shielded her eyes as she looked up to the enclosed platform that
circumvated the Tower half-way up.
"Enjoying yourself?" Darien smiled tenderly.
"Oh, yes." She nodded enthusiastically.
"How long has it been since you've been here?"
"Awhile. So it's like being here for the first time."
He reached out and took her hand. "Come on, let's get in line."
As they waited for the elevator that would take them up to the main
observation platform she smiled at her little bouquet of red roses that
Darien had brought her. They had met in the park and when he had seen her
in her mini-skirted blue dress with white jacket he had seemed struck dumb,
managing only to hold out the bouquet and stutter. "Uh...uh...flowers."
but he had recovered quickly, and so she had pretended not to notice the
slip. "Flowers for my princess." She took a breath of their sweet
fragrance.
"The Tokyo Tower was built in 1959." Darien read from the little handbook
he had bought. "And is 333m tall. The main observation deck is 150m up
and the special observatory is at 250m."
"You could almost touch the sky if you went to the very top." Serena said
as they finally made it to the elevator and it began its ascent. They were
laughing when the doors opened onto the main observatory. But anything
they might have been about to say was lost when someone screamed and a
brilliant flash of light filled the area. "What was that?" She exclaimed.
They ran towards the commotion but were forced back by the crowd trying to
escape to the exits.
"Hold on!" Darien pulled her against him as he tried to fight the tide of
the mob. An explosion knocked them to the ground and rocked the tower.
They struggled to their feet only to be seperated by the crowd. "Serena!"
"Darien !"
Above the cries of the people a shrill female voice laughed maniacally.
"Give me your energy! Give me your energy!" As people began to fall
Serena caught her first glimple of her enemy. It was a Cardian. She was
blue, with clawed hands and feet, and gold feral eyes. Her thick black and
white streaked hair stood out at all angles, and when she spoke her teeth
were sharp and pointed. She turned to look towards Serena.
With a shriek Serena ran to hide around the corner. "I'd better make this
quick! Oh, I hope Darien's alright. Moon Prism Power!" She held her
locket up high and the power coursed out of the Silver Imperium Crystal to
surrounded her.
"Energy!" The Cardian approached a cowering group of people.
"Hold it right there!" A voice ordered.
"Huh?" The Cardian turned.
At the end of the hallway Serena had now become Sailor Moon. "How dare you
ruin these people's day by trying to steal their energy!" She spoke
stridently. "Some of them were even on their first dates and now you've
made a disaster of everything! I am Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon
I will punish you!"
An evil looking purple haze surrounded the Cardian. "I am Cardian No-Name!
" Her eyes began to glow. "I go where I please! I do what I please !"
With that she fired off a quick succession of deadly energy bolts.
"Ouch! Hey! Look out!" Serena managed to avoid all but one, which sent
her slamming to the floor. She cried out in pain.
"It's curtains for you, Blondie!" No-Name focused her energy in the palms
of her hands. Something flashed red from the corner of her eye and slashed
across her hand. She cried out leaping back. A single red rose in bloom
stuck straight out from the floor. She glared in the direction it had come
in.
A tall man in tuxedo, cape, and top hat, stood among the fallen people
protectively, a white mask covered his eyes. This was Darien's alter-ego,
Tuxedo Mask. "There is no room in this world for an energy leech like you,
Cardian No-Name! Everyone has the right to decide how they want to use
their own energy, whether it's spending a day alone or sharing it with a
loved one."
"Whatever!" No-Name hurled a bolt of energy at him, which he managed to
avoid.
"That does it! No Negaverse trash is going to toast my guy!" Sailor Moon
lifted her tiara from her forehead. "Moon Tiara Magic!" The tiara
transformed into an energy disk as she threw it at the Cardian. No-Name
back flipped over it and landed lightly, whirling, she hurled a ball of
energy at Sailor Moon.
She caught her tiara, but couldn't avoid the attack. She was thrown
backwards to smash against the wall. "Unh!"
"Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed.
"Mercury Bubbles Blast!" Someone shouted, and the air was filled with a
fine mist.
"Huh? What?" The Cardian looked around, unable to see, so she missed when
a shadow appeared to spirit the wounded Sailor Moon away. When the mist
cleared No-Name faced new challengers. The 4 Sailor Scouts. It hadn't
taken Rei long to get a fix on the direction of the Cardian, and the four
friends had transformed on the way. Rei to Sailor Mars, Mina to Sailor
Venus, Amy to Sailor Mercury, and Lita to Sailor Jupiter.
"Are you alright, Sailor Moon?" Sailor Venus asked.
"Mmhmm." She nodded, standing without Sailor Jupiter's assistance.
"Not for long!" The Cardian's eyes began to glow malignantly, creating a
cyclone that tossed them about the room.
"Sailor Mars regained her feet quickly. "Mars Celestial Fire Surround!"
No-Name tried to avoid the rings of fire hurtling towards her, but she was
cut off from escape on all sides by the flames.
"Now, Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask was on his feet.
"Right." She nodded, holding the Imperial Wand high. "Moon Sceptor
Elimination!" Power flowed from the ornate sceptor towards the Cardian.
"No! NO!!" No-Name screamed as the light surrounded her. When it faded a
single card fell to the floor, the picture on the front turning black.
"Ugh.", "What's going on?" The people slowly began to sit up, blinking
against the afternoon light.
"They'll be alright." Sailor Mercury said, and the 5 scouts and Tuxedo
Mask left quickly.
Serena stood on the little foot bridge staring into the water of the
stream. Falling leaves drifted down to the water, distorting her
reflection. She sighed.
"Hey, Serena." Lita greeted as she and the others came up.
"Hi, guys." She smiled a little.
"Oh, Serena, we're so sorry your date ended so poorly." Amy said.
"It's okay." She leaned back against the bridge banister. "In a way I
felt really sorry for that Cardian. I think she must have been confused."
"I wonder if she even knew why she was stealing energy." Rei mused. "Or
if she only knew that she had to."
"I only hope that we don't see any more stray Cardians." Mina said.
"That would be very unlikely." Amy replied. "The chances of it even
having happened this once are astronomical."
Serena sighed again, looking towards Tokyo Tower. 'You could almost touch
the sky if you went to the very top.' Her eyes grew starry.
"So, Serena." Rei came right up beside her. "You haven't even told us
anything about your date."
"Yeah, Serena, come on." Lita came up on the other side.
"We want to know all the details." Amy joined them.
"Did he take you up to the Special Observation Deck?" Mina asked.
"It's smaller and more intimate." Lita winked.
"And you would know this because...?" Mina asked her.
"Tell us everything.!", "Did you get to kiss?", "I'll bet he was really
romantic!", "Come on Serena, tell us!!" They all chimed in unison.
Out across the city, the moon seemed to touch the top of Tokyo Tower.
Bunny Girl
July, 31,
2000
www.geocities.com/bunnygirlsroom
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