The Wedding By Mark Berger mberger8837@VAX2.WINONA.MSUS.EDU Edited by "Tuxedo Will" Wolfshol Rating: PG Prologue: Commencement Dedication: To Jendra, Greywolf, Sir Luckio, TAZ and all the others who have given me, in one way or another, inspiration and help on this fanfic. Thanks! --------------------------------------- "I'm Tsukino Serena, a Heroine. I'm eighteen, and I've just graduated from Juuban Senior High School. I'm no longer so much of a klutzy, lazy, crybaby, but I'm still Sailor Moon." "Since the Three Lights left Earth, a few months ago, a lot of things have happened in our lives. The Negaverse is still active and at large, but things are starting to settle down. Luna thinks they've used up almost all of their stored energy and won't be back for a while. This is good, because it gives us the chance to do the one thing we haven't been able to do since this whole thing started: lead normal lives." "Serena Usagi Tsukino," called the vice-principal of Juuban High School. The eighteen-year-old girl walked up to the stage, accepted her diploma, turned, and flipped the tassel on her mortarboard from the right to the left side of her face, then left the platform, a smile as bright as a million-candlepower lamp lighting her pretty face. Her tassel was multi-colored, rather than the mixed midnight-blue and red that most of the students' tassels were, signifying a National Honor Society student. In the three years since entering high school, Serena had changed considerably. Her body, freed from the constant change of puberty, had become more reliable and coordinated. Her mental focus had become tighter, with help from Ami, and she had developed an interest in track and cross-country. Since the first quarter of high school, during which she'd seemed doomed to repeat her junior high career, Serena's marks had improved dramatically, and at the end of the first year she'd secured a position in the top ten students in her class. By the end of year two, she'd moved up to number four, behind Ami, Lita and the recently-transferred Rei. Her shock had been great when she'd received the report card for winter quarter of the 1995-1996 school year. Literature A 4.0 English A 4.0 Pre-Calculus A 4.0 Concert Choir A 4.0 Acc. Physics A 4.0 Political Sci A 4.0 Study Hall -- ----- Period GPA 4.000 Ranking GPA 3.833 Class Ranking 002/497 She had stared at the report card like an illusion. *I knew I was doing okay in these classes, but A's!? I thought for sure I was sunk on English!* Ami had asked her what was so stunning. Serena handed over her report card. Ami glanced at it, nodded her head, and said, "Good for you, Serena-chan." "Huh?" So, on Commencement Day, 1996, Serena Usagi Tsukino accepted her diploma that told the world she was now a graduate of Juuban Senior High School, dimly heard the roar of the people registering their approval, and returned to her seat. In the commencement program, she had been listed as the salutatorian. She still couldn't believe it. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Juuban Senior High School Class of '96!" Serena threw her hat jubilantly into the air with everyone. In the stands, Darien could swear he saw the gemstone in Serena's class ring glint with the colors of the Moon, but since nobody else saw it, he assumed that it was just his overactive imagination, coupled with his great love for the girl, playing tricks on him. Walking out of the stadium, Serena found her family and Darien waiting for her. She gave her parents a big hug, then flew into Darien's waiting arms. With them were Rei's grandpa, Mina's family, and Ami's mom. One girl stood on the outskirts of things, though, until Serena gasped in shock and embarrassment and pulled her into the circle of love, hope, remembrance, and life. Lita's green eyes melted with happiness at being included in this celebration with her friends, and the tall brunette fiercely hugged the smaller girl who had been the first to truly accept her as who she was, the gentle fighter Lita Kino and later the fierce warrior Sailor Jupiter. * * * "You must be the mysterious new girl," enthused the fourteen-year-old Serena. "You mean the karate maniac?" responded Lita dourly. "Now who'd call you that?" Lita's heart melted, and she knew that this girl saw past the reputation of a fighter and a dangerous girl and realized how desperately lonely Lita was, and had the bravery (and the empty tank) to make friends. Relieved, she spent a good while that day getting to know the girl who she would later find out was the pretty sailor-suited soldier girl Sailor Moon. Even before she knew who Serena really was, she had felt a connection with the smaller girl, almost like Serena was a favorite sister. * * * Lita's eyes shed bittersweet tears onto her friend as she shook with conflicting emotions: the sadness of her parents loss, the happiness of finding a new family. Knowing what Lita was feeling, Serena held her shaking friend as Lita cried shamelessly. The other girls gathered around the two, lending emotional support to Lita. "Thank you, my friends," Lita's voice shook with emotional strain. "I'm just..." "You don't have to tell us, Lita. Always remember: we love you." Everybody echoed Serena's heartfelt sentiment. Part 1: The Proposal June 30, 1996 Serena's birthday presents were strewn about her. If you didn't know she was turning eighteen, you'd have never guessed from the pile of stuffed animals at her feet. Present were all of the Sailor Soldiers, Molly, Melvin, her immediate family and, of course, Darien. Her family and friends had been more than generous with their gift-giving. Serena had received many great presents, including a *car* from Alex and Michelle, a shiny sports coupe. Serena's dad had worried about it ("It's too expensive, and our insurance won't cover it!") but Alex had assured him that it wasn't too expensive for her, that Serena could handle the vehicle (having learned on two other sports cars, hers and Darien's), and that insurance concerns were already taken care of. She tore open the wrapping paper on Rei's present, revealing a jewelry box containing a pair of exquisite sailboat earrings. The sailboats were backed by crescent moons, a joking point at Serena's status as Sailor Moon. Serena gasped in pleasure, carefully hooked the earrings into her earlobes, and gave her best friend a huge hug, which Rei reciprocated, saying, "Happy Birthday, Serena." Now only two presents were left to be opened, both from Darien. Rei smiled with anticipation of what was to come: She had snuck one of Serena's rings from her friend's house to give to Darien so he could have a sizing ring to give to the jeweler. Serena opened the first, a huge object that turned out to be... the portrait that she and Darien had posed for, four years ago! The portrait of the Earth Prince giving the locket to the Moon Princess. She nearly squealed in delight, then, with a sudden flash of insight became very wide-eyed, luminous at the prospect of what the portrait could mean. Her suspicion was confirmed when she opened the second box. It contained a single sheet of paper, with the words "Look Up" written on it. She followed the instruction and saw Darien on one knee in front of her. Her eyes began to shimmer as she anticipated the sweetest words she would ever hear. "Serena Usagi Tsukino, I love you, always have loved you and always will love you. Will you honor me and give me the great happiness of being my bride?" Darien slipped the ring he had selected on Serena's finger: it contained a full carat's weight of diamonds set into a crescent moon, set onto a solid-gold band. It was beautiful, as was the look of pure love glowing in her eyes as Darien put it on her. Serena felt her eyes tear up, her cheeks burn and her pulse race. She wanted so badly to say the word, but a lump was in her throat. She settled for the next best thing. She knelt next to her love and kissed him with passion. When their lips parted, she said happily, "Yes, yes, a million times yes! I will accept the honor of being your wife!" Kenji looked as though he were about to say something, but Ikuko pinched his arm and pulled him out of the room. "Kenji! How dare you even THINK of disrupting our daughter's happiness like that," she stormed, "Darien has been nothing but good to her for a very long time, and I think it's high time that you realize that our daughter is grown up now!" "But he's too old!" Kenji realized that the argument was lost from the moment he opened his mouth, as he looked at his wife's determined expression and saw the great love his daughter shared with the young man, saw her friends crowd around her and Darien to congratulate the couple. *The gifts they got for her... you'd think she was some kind of queen or something, though. I mean, a CAR!! I didn't get my own first new car until I was almost twenty-five!* "But nothing! Eighteen and twenty-two is not that great an age difference, you know." Kenji sighed, resigned to the fact that he was going to have to face it: his daughter was all grown up. Later... "We'll be back, Mom!" Serena was behind the wheel of the new sports car. After Darien's and Rei's gifts, it was her favorite. Long and metallic-blue in color, the same color as the skirt and neckerchief on her fuku as Sailor Moon, the car represented freedom to Serena, as well as a whole new level of responsibility. As Sailor Moon she was responsible for the fate of the entire world. As Serena in her car, she was responsible for the safety of everybody in her car, and everybody else on the road. Different, but no less important for the difference. She just hoped Alex's driving lessons had taught her enough. Ten minutes later... Leaving Tokyo, Serena got her car up to 130 km/h, exulting as she easily piloted the vehicle through light traffic and long, luxuriant pigtails blowing in the wind. Darien was in the passenger's seat, and he laughed a carefree laugh. The two had dropped Rei off at her temple (after taking a whirlwind tour of Tokyo). At first, Darien and Rei had been a bit apprehensive about Serena driving, after all she had only that day earned her driver's license, but the same girl who four years earlier had been hard-pressed to walk and chew gum had matured into a graceful, beautiful woman, the image of the Neo-Queen she would become. Rei's good looks had matured into a beauty on par with a supermodel's, as had Mina's. Lita's beauty was unchanged, and Ami's sad eyes, blue hair, and stunning figure attracted the attentions of many boys. All except Ami wore her hair in the same style she always had, and Ami simply lengthened her style until it brushed the nape of her neck, curling slightly at the end. During her senior year, Serena had attracted many guys who had suddenly noticed her transformation, but her eyes were only for her Prince, and his for his Princess. Many of them, after noticing this, had redirected their attentions toward Lita, Mina, Ami, or Rei; who had transferred from T*A High School to Juuban High School after her tenth grade year and a long fight with her father, ending in, "I don't care what you or anybody else thinks!! I'm going to go to school with my friends!" Serena drove well, only very occasionally missing a shift and grinding the gears, and even then only for a fraction of a second before her Sailor-trained reflexes let off on the gearshift and properly engaged the clutch. As a result of her training as Sailor Moon, as well as being corralled into martial-arts classes by Rei, Lita, and Alex, her muscles were toned and powerful, and she could now, as Lita always could, beat up a youma pretty good before becoming Sailor Moon and finishing it off. The training had also helped her balance and reflexes. When the car reached a scenic overlook, looking east over the Pacific Ocean, Serena stopped it and got out. Darien did likewise, and held her as the two young lovers watched the night gather on the horizon. "Hawaii," he mused. "Hawaii?" Serena looked into Darien's dark blue eyes, and saw mystery and romance in them, as she always did. "That's where I've arranged tickets for our honeymoon, my love." "Oh, Darien, that's sooo romantic!" She leaned up to kiss him. Part 2: Preparations Two eighteen-year-old girls exited a movie theater and walked casually through the shopping mall. The smaller wore her long, blonde hair in a spherical bun on either side of her head, with a long pigtail hanging from either and the taller wore her black hair long and straight. The blonde was wearing a long, blue denim skirt with a red crushed-velvet bodysuit, and her friend was wearing a red tee-shirt and a dark-colored pair of jeans. Chattering happily, the two stopped often to look into store windows. The blonde, Tsukino Serena, a graduate of Juuban High School, was looking for her wedding dress with the help of her best friend, Hino Rei, also eighteen, also a graduate of Juuban High (ed: see Prologue for details). "Serena, This one's absolutely beautiful! It would be perfect for you!" "Where, where!?" Serena scanned the window until she found the dress Rei was looking at, and when she saw it, she gave a sigh of admiration. Beautiful it was, a flowing, white gown with golden accents. When Serena could peel her eyes from the dress, she hugged her friend tightly. "Rei-chan, it's perfect!" Perfect, she thought dazedly, it looks exactly like the dress I wore on the last night in the Moon Kingdom! "It's really too bad we don't have Michelle here, she'd be a help." "Hey, who's getting married here, Darien and I or Michelle and Alex? You're all the help I need on this one, c'mon!" Hurricane Serena burst into the store, dragging Rei behind her. Darien noticed Serena and was about to run over to his fiancee and say hi when he saw her drag Rei into a bridal shop. Realizing what the two were looking for, he decided to alter his plans for the afternoon. After all, it was bad luck to see one's bride in her gown before it was time. In the bridal shop, Serena tried on the gown. It fit... as closely as could be expected, given that it wasn't yet fitted to her. A bit loose in the top, but that could be fixed. Just then, in walked none other than the master seamstress of the Sailor Senshi, the Warrior of Eternity, Sailor Pluto, a.k.a. Sonya Meiou. "Meiou-san, is there anything I can do for you, at least once I am finished helping these young ladies?" "Konnichiwa, Serena-san. I take it that you are getting your wedding dress?" It had taken a moment's effort to remember that the girl in front of her was not, right now, either the Princess or Queen, and so the normally- automatic '-sama' would be most inappropriate. "Hai, Sonya-san." Serena bowed as much as was possible in the dress. "Miss Miyu, I'm a friend of Serena Tsukino. I'll finish the tailoring on her dress, if you wouldn't mind." "Hai, Meiou-san." While Rei paid for the dress, out of the collection she had taken up amongst the Senshi and with help from Serena's parents, Sonya helped Serena out of the lovely wedding gown and carefully put the garment in a dress bag while Serena pulled her skirt back on. "Thank you for offering to help, Sonya-san." "Think nothing of it, Serenity-sama." "I'm not the Queen yet, Sonya, so stop calling me by that name." "I'm sorry, Serena-san." Sonya zipped up the dress bag as Rei poked her head in the dressing room. "Better." "Serena, are you two ready to go," inquired Rei. Serena picked up her purse as Sonya lifted both the dress bag and her own purse. "We're ready. Just had to get something straightened out. Again." Rei realized exactly what Serena was referring to. She hated to be thought of as the Princess, fearing that if she was, she would be forced to a distance from everybody whom she loved - a fate worse than death for the big-hearted girl. In her last life, she had died rather than be separated from Prince Endymion. In this one she had given her life more than once, rather than allow her friends to be injured, and only the powers of love and the Silver Imperium Crystal had brought her back to life. It had been Serena's great capacity for love that had saved the Senshi from Sailor Galaxia, when no power other than that had even been able to dent the woman. At the Cherry Hill Temple, Sonya ordered the Princess to strip down to her skivvies. "It's much easier to work on a dress if the person it's on is wearing as little as possible underneath it," explained Sonya as she finished taking Serena's measurements. Serena stepped into the wedding dress and Sonya laced up the back. "You'll not be able to get into or out of this without a bit of help, Serena." All three women grinned wryly at each other, knowing full well what Sonya meant by the 'getting out of this' part, but that's neither here nor there. As Sonya worked, Serena began to let her mind wander, content to do so as the seamstress did her expert adjustments. As soon as she had made all of the necessary temporary adjustments and washable-pen markings, she released the string bow in back and said, "You may go now if you want to, Serena." "Thanks, Sonya!" The blonde dressed in record time, bounded to her metal-blue sports car and drove off, hoping that Darien was home. Rei had bought a bright-red motorcycle when she'd turned eighteen, the oldest of the five Inners (also called the Sailor Scouts, to distinguish them from the other Senshi), and had confided her identity to Chad. The once-rock-star-wannabe had proposed to her on that night, and the date had been set to be three months after Serena and Darien got married, since it was only right that the Prince and Princess marry first, before their court. She grinned at Sonya, "I used to think that the only thing that could get her to go somewhere that fast was the promise of food," then sobered slightly, "But then I got to know her better." At Darien's apartment building, Serena noticed that Darien's car was in the garage. She parked hers next to his and eagerly bounded up the stairs, two at a time. Darien heard a noise of light footsteps running up behind him and turned around. Serena! He held out his arms to his fiancee and hugged her close to him. "Did you have a good day shopping with Rei, Usako?" The nickname had been formed from Serena's middle name, Usagi, and she found it much more pleasing than 'Meatball-head.' "Yeah, Dare-chan! We had a lot of fun!" Serena described the movie, Jackie Chan's SuperCop, that she'd seen at the multiplex. The movie had been really funny, and Serena and Rei had laughed through the entire film. She held up the bag of videos she had rented for the night's choices. The two were joined in the hallway by a third person: the delivery girl that Lita had sent out with Darien's order. A bucket of tantalizingly aromatic fried chicken, with several side dishes, was taken by a salivating Serena as Darien wrote out his check. He ripped the check from his checkbook and unlocked the door. Darien opened the door and let Serena in first. She put the food down on the table, then helped set the table before opening the buckets. The largest contained a ten-piece portion of chicken and the other three contained Lita's famous mashed potatoes, gravy, and Lita's veggie mix. Normally Serena couldn't stand carrots, but the way the veggie mix was spiced, with its combination of potent and sweet spices, even the carrots tasted great. When Lita's delivery girl returned to the restaurant, she handed Kino-san the check from Darien. The older girl looked at the check once, then looked again, then said, "Didn't I tell you not to accept a check from Darien?" Lita knew that the delivery girl had probably just forgotten, so she was being more gentle than she might have otherwise been. Then, the phone rang. Checking her Caller ID, Lita picked up the phone, grinning. "Roadkill Cafe - you kill it, we grill it!" In the background on her end, Lita could hear some of her staff laughing, and on the other end she could hear Serena as well. Serena thought that line monstrously funny. "Hi, Lita, this is Darien." "Darien, hi. Listen, I've got your check right here..." "I know you usually don't take money from us, Lita, but go ahead and cash that check. I mean, we get so much food from you that we really should pay for." "And you should give your delivery girl a raise," chipped in Serena. "Okay. Thanks, guys. Bye!" Lita turned back to the delivery girl and smiled. "You know, Himeko, you've done a very good job of late. How would you like a raise?" "Would I?" "You'll have one, effective retroactively for the last week," Lita grinned. Himeko thanked the master chef and got into her car to take the next order. Tokyo was a city hungry for lots of kinds of food that didn't traditionally get delivered, and Lita's Kitchen delivered everything that it made, upon request. Good thing, she thought, that Kino-san was in a good mood tonight. Serena and Darien took a walk after dinner. As they crested a hill, Darien thought of a walk they had taken with Reeny, three years in the past. It had been about the time Darien had realized that keeping away from Serena would be a greatly futile gesture. He had tried to come to blows with his future self over it - fortunately for himself in the future, it was impossible to hurt a hologram. When the happy couple returned to the apartment, they took a brief shower to get rid of the sweat from their walk, then Darien shuffled through the movies. He looked at the four flicks. "Sleepless in Seattle". One of Tom Hanks' better films, he thought, but a bit mushier than I really want right now. "Get Shorty..." an odd choice for Serena, but then I would have thought SuperCop an odd choice for her. He approved of the movie. Then he saw the third choice and immediately put the first two back in the bag. He slid the movie into the VCR just seconds before Serena walked into the room carrying a big bowl of popcorn and munching on a handful. "So, what's in the VCR, Darien?" "You'll see," he said. "Oooh, big mystery man, eh? Serena lazily tossed a pillow Darien's way. Not expecting the sudden assault, he blinked in surprise as it whapped him dead on his nose. "Silly - I rented 'em, I know the choices." Nursing a wounded pride, Darien hit the play button. * * * "I love 'The Princess Bride', Darien!" "Well, you picked it out Serena, so I thought you'd want to see it." Serena was lying across Darien's sofa, her head resting on his lap, eyes splitting their time between the TV screen and Darien's face. Darien laughed and said, "After handling the 'Rodents of Unusual Size' and the Fire Swamp, the Negaverse would have to be a piece of cake." Serena laughed and agreed with him. When the movie ended, Darien noticed that Serena had fallen asleep in his lap. He gently gathered the girl in his arms and carried her off to bed. As soon as he got into bed himself, she instinctively curled up to the source of warmth. Her soft, rhythmic snoring soon lulled Darien to a sound, peaceful sleep, and happy dreams of their wedding day. Part 3: The Ceremony Starting Notes: For anybody who has never seen the dub, Terri Hawkes (through most of the series), Katie Griffin, Stephanie Morganstern, Karen Bernstein and Susan Roman are the North American voices of the Inner Senshi, and Toby Proctor is the North American voice of Darien through most of the series. For the first ten episodes, plus episodes 21 and 41, the voices of Serena and Darien were Tracey Moore and (??). After Episode 65, Toby Proctor quit the cast because of scheduling conflicts and money and Vince Corazza (who previously voiced Alan) took over the voicing of Darien. However, I feel that the best voice artists representing Serena and Darien are Terri Hawkes and Toby Proctor. The "Do you like what you see" bit is swiped verbatim from Troy "Silver" Stanton's "Sailor Moon V" series. * * * June 1, 1997 Nearly a year of feverish preparations had passed, with Serena extremely anxious for the Big Day. At her bridal shower, she had invited nearly everybody she'd met through Sailor Moon and gotten to know as Serena, and more friends, besides. It had been then that she had announced the big one: whether Molly or Rei would be her Maid of Honor. * * * "Okay," sighed Serena, "We took everything into consideration when we were deciding who would be my Maid of Honor." She paused appropriately, then grinned and added, "And it came down to flipping a coin." She walked over to Molly and hugged her oldest friend. "Congratulations, Molly." Then, she turned to the others. "My bridesmaids are gonna be Rei, Ami, and Lita." The other Inner Senshi crowded around and congratulated Molly, with Rei first, much to Serena's relief. The raven-haired Senshi had been hoping greatly to be Serena's Maid of Honor, and Serena had been afraid she'd take it badly. * * * She stepped into her wedding dress, which was very close to what she'd worn on that last fateful night on the Moon, except without the shoulder flares. Ikuko helped her lace up the back. Save for the tiara and the Moon Crescent, she looked like Neo-Queen Serenity. Outside, the head usher asked a group of people their names. "Terri Hawkes." "Katie Griffin." "Stephanie Morganstern." "Karen Bernstein." "Susan Roman." "We're with the bride's party," added Hawkes. Next was a blond-haired man. "Toby Proctor. I'm with the groom's party." For this special occasion, Serena had chosen to do her hair differently: the meatballs remained, but the pigtails were braided together behind her head into a single long, braided ponytail. She had taken a while to get used to the hairstyle, making sure that Darien knew nothing of the change. Finally, all was in order and Serena was ready to begin the walk down the aisle. The music started, and first down the aisle were Molly and Andrew, who was Darien's best man. Following were Rei and Chad, Lita and Ken, Ami and Greg. Finally, it was time for the couple to process. Serena joined Darien, and his eyes registered surprise for a moment, then acceptance. *Do you like what you see?* asked her eyes. *Very much, my love,* answered his. The rest of the ceremony was a bit of a blur to Serena, but her heart leapt during the second reading: First Corinthians, chapter 13. "Love suffers long and is kind, love does not envy, love does not put on airs,..." Serena thought of all the times she had thought she had lost Darien to another, and knew it was her love for him that brought her through the darkness. "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things..." Darien thought of the times he had been separated from Serena, and when they had finally come back to each other, and knew that it was true. "And now keep faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love." The two nodded unconsciously in total agreement, and each shed a single tear, knowing that the worst was yet to come, but they would, as they always had before, see it through together. Her mind leapt to the ceremony again as soon as the priest began to intone the traditional vows. Both Serena and Darien responded as was tradition, "I do." As soon as Serena and the bridesmaids left the church, the other girls crowded around her and hugged her. "Congratulations... Mrs. Chiba," cried Rei happily. Although she still bore romantic feelings toward Darien, she was ecstatic that the two people she loved most in the world had finally found what they needed: each other. Finally, after the seemingly endless reception line, the couple got into the limousine. The reception was at the Dia Kingdom embassy, which the royalty of the Dia Kingdom had insisted on for some reason. Serena relaxed into Darien's arms. "We finally made it, Darien!" "Yeah. I was afraid that we'd run into some new hideous monster somewhere along the way and have to show everybody who Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask really are." "Right. Even the Negaverse knows better than to attack us on our wedding day." Serena kissed him eagerly, and he kissed back firmly. At the reception, Lita was already anxiously running around, making sure the catering was right. The Inners had come up with sufficient funding in the form of loans and personal money to give to Lita on her eighteenth birthday to open a restaurant. Lita had returned their investment in full, with interest, by the end of her first month in business. When the Senshi had tried to refuse the repayment, Lita insisted in no uncertain terms. She was one of the most successful new business owners in Tokyo, making nearly two million dollars in her first six months in business. Wealth, of course, hadn't changed Lita one bit; she was still the same tomboyish, impulsive girl she had always been. * * * At Lita's Grill, a few patrons who hadn't been around in a month tested the door before noticing the sign on it: On June 1-2, this restaurant will be closed, for the celebration of the wedding of Serena U. Tsukino and Darien M. Chiba. It will open again for business on June 3. Thank you for your understanding. As she saw her Princess and friend, Ami couldn't help but rise out of respect for her. Everybody else noticed and stood up as well. Some joker started clinking his silverware against his glass, and everybody else joined in. Finally, the newlyweds relented and kissed, to everybody's applause. The food, as always, was excellent. It took an act of will on Serena's part to eat at a civilized pace, and to moderate the quantity that she ate, but she managed it. The dance started, and Serena and Darien took a turn on the dance floor. In the car, Serena had unbraided her pigtails and allowed them to fall freely, as usual. Since fourteen, she had grown a few inches, and she was now tall enough to see over Darien's shoulder when they danced, which was the way she liked it. Suddenly, Queen Serenity appeared. Everybody fell silent as she appeared right in the center of the ballroom. Nearly unnoticed, the Senshi transformed into their Sailor forms, the proper forms for the Sailor Senshi when the Moon Queen appeared in public. "May I have the attention of everyone, please," asked the Queen. She was holding in her hands Neo-Queen Serenity's tiara. "I must tell you all, who are the closest friends of Princess Serenity, the truth about her lives and deaths." Queen Serenity related the story of the Moon Kingdom to all those present. Somehow, Serena's family avoided losing consciousness due to shock through the story, although she saw her father look as though he was about to pass out when he heard Serena's voice pick up the tale of the final battle against Beryl and Metallia, and the fight with Fiore, and her deaths. When the story was finished, Queen Serenity handed the tiara to her daughter, and said, "My reign is ended, Daughter. May yours be fruitful. In the Name of the Moon, you are free again." "Thank you... Mother." With that, Queen Serenity died, and her essence flowed into Serena's transformation brooch, causing the girl's body to transform from Serena into Neo-Queen Serenity. Her face became more regal and wise-looking, her bearing shifted into a more-erect stance and her dress became the dress worn by Neo-Queen Serenity when the Inner Senshi had seen her in the future. Sailor Mars murmured, "The Queen is dead..." Sailor Pluto intoned, "Long live the Queen." Everyone save for the Senshi, who knew the speech about to come since they'd heard it before, knelt before the new Queen, who tearfully commanded them to rise. "Please, do not ever feel that you must kneel in my presence! I may be Queen, but I am still your friend, Serena!" Almost as if to prove her point, she stepped forward and forgot to lift the hem of her dress, tripping on it. She recovered her balance, but her point had been made. "I am no different than any of you, save for an accident of birth. If you ever feel that you must kneel before me, than I have failed you in some way, for I do not want to rule over people who fear me." Sailor Pluto nodded her head in agreement with the Queen's words. People did not have to fear her, for the gentleness that was so ingrained in Serena's nature would not fade in a thousand years, but be still as much a part of her as ever. "Neo-Queen Serenity," said Luna, "You now have a new power which you can use, in addition to all of your others. Lift your Eternal Locket to the sky and say, 'Moon Royal Make Up.'" "MOON ROYAL MAKE UP!!" In a transformation akin to her first one as Sailor Moon, Serena's body became engulfed in light. When it faded, she was in her costume as Super Sailor Moon, but now the first two segments of the shoulder parts were made of a transparent crystal, and the third became a billowing sleeve which flowed from her breastplate to her gloves. On the back were the wings of Eternal Sailor Moon. "You are now Royal Sailor Moon, Serena. This is the most powerful form of Sailor Moon, but I don't remember what your powers as Royal Sailor Moon are!" "Then I'll wing it, Luna, just like I did back when I was just Sailor Moon!" Darien became Tuxedo Mask, and the two essayed a waltz while the others in the room watched the first dance of the Royal Couple. After the first dance was finished, everybody stayed on the fringes until Sammy dared out on the floor with Mika in tow. The two had started as just friends, but since reaching sixteen had fallen in love. After that, everybody else started to dance again, as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask became Serena and Darien again. It was after midnight before the reception ended, and Serena and Darien were able to retire to the bridal suite. "Oh, Darien! This is so perfect," said Serena as Darien set her down from carrying her across the threshold, per tradition. "As it should always be, My Queen, as it should always be." Darien stroked his fingers gently along his love's cheek. The two busied themselves with more important matters than mere speech, and much later finally fell asleep beside each other, together forever, at last. * * * At Cherry Hill Temple, Chad and Rei hugged each other tightly. "Rei," asked Chad, uncharacteristically serious, "Are you really gonna live forever?" "We think, but nobody's really sure," responded Rei. "Promise me something: when I'm gone, promise me you'll love again." Rei kissed the neophyte, her fiancee, and promised him, "I will. I promise. Serena wouldn't ever forgive me if I didn't." At Chad's confused look, she added, "You know, my grandpa Magami and her grandpa Magami are brothers. That means her mom and my mom were cousins, and that means we're second cousins. I always felt a deep connection with her, even before we ever knew about the Silver Millennium. I just never realized what it was until we went through our family trees after Serena mentioned her grandpa Magami one day." Rei and Chad settled down next to each other, and their soft, deep breathing lulled each other to sleep. This part is dedicated to Allison Berger, my little sister, who's always been there for me. Part 4: The Honeymoon New Tokyo International Airport After a huge send-off lunch at Lita's restaurant, Serena and Darien drove to the airport with Serena's parents. The process had been relatively swift and snafu-free, and the new young family found themselves in the gate, escorted by Serena's parents. "Bye, Mom! We'll see you in a week!" The new Queen and her King boarded the 747 airplane and found their seats in First Class. The huge aircraft pulled away from the boarding gate a few minutes later and rolled to the head of the runway. It stopped at the end of the runway, then accelerated to takeoff speed and pulled up and away. In the gate, Ikuko and Kenji Tsukino watched anxiously until the jet was out of sight, then turned to leave. "Our Serena... a Queen!?" Kenji still hadn't recovered from the previous night's shock. "And Sailor Moon," added Ikuko. "It's very difficult to comprehend, but we always knew we bore a great responsibility when we became parents. I guess we just never knew how great!" "And," finished Kenji as he put his arm around his wife's waist and gazed proudly after the vanished airplane, "we obviously did a pretty darn good job of raising her." Sammy had taken the news that Serena was Sailor Moon very well. It hadn't hurt, though, that Mika had absolutely *loved* the show, and his bravery, joining his sister on the dance floor, had helped with a great bit of a "Knight in Shining Armor" factor. The girl who had once been a cute kid who made exquisite dolls was, with the absence of Serena and her friends, the reigning beauty of Juuban High School, and Sammy was her shining knight. The once-obnoxious boy had matured significantly in the past several years, and was now one of the most sought-after boys in the high school. Unfortunately for the many girls who pursued him, his heart belonged to his Mika as surely as his older sister's belonged to her Darien. When the jet arrived in Honolulu, the Chibas disembarked and recovered their luggage, then got their rental car, a rugged all-terrain vehicle. Since Darien had the international driver's license, Serena had to take the passenger's seat. As they walked into the warm Hawaii day, Darien intoned, "Welcome to America, Your Majesty." The two stowed their luggage and climbed into the car. Hotel reservations at the Hilton were already prepared, so when the two arrived, Darien had simply to say, "Reservations for the Chibas," and they were on their way to their suite. Once in their suite, Darien and Serena changed quickly, anxious to go to the world-famous beaches of Hawaii. On their third day in Hawaii, Serena and Darien found themselves clinging to the sheer face of a mountain. Despite her fear, Serena found that the sensation of hanging out over the edge of nothing to be exhilarating. She flung her leg over the top of a ledge, hauled herself over to find herself on a large level spot, where somebody, almost certainly with a helicopter, had brought in a gas grill and a picnic table. Some ten meters below Serena, Darien heard her call out, "Darien, come on up here! There's a picnic area, and we can eat lunch!" Calling on his powers as Tuxedo Mask, Darien carefully removed his pitons from the rock and leapt up the last ten feet of wall to join his beloved. Serena's face was mock-reproachful as she said, "Darien, that was cheating," then she came over and gave him a hug. "Serena, have I told you today how much I love you?" As Tuxedo Mask, Darien felt somewhat more poetic than as himself (if a worse speechwriter, he forced himself to admit), and he felt for the words to put his feelings into. "Well," she drawled, "Not verbally, but in all of the little things that you do for me just because. Have I told you today how much *I* love *you?*" Before Darien could respond, she whispered, "I love you so much it feels as though my heart would burst for trying to hold it all. If I live for all eternity, I will never stop loving you, Dare-chan, for you mean the Universe to me." By the end of Serena's speech, her eyes were shining with love for Darien. Not for the first time, Darien was shocked and humbled by just how much his meatball-headed Queen loved him. Darien's words dried up on his lips, suddenly feeling trite and insincere. Serena looked knowingly at him and said, "Looks like I just spoke for both of us." Her quicksilver mood had changed again, and her eyes were sparkling with laughter. Reaching into his backpack, Darien pulled out a gas cylinder for the grill and two steaks packed by Lita. "How would you like yours prepared, Serena?" "Nice and brown, Darien!" As soon as the steaks were on the grill, Darien set his watch and sat down next to Serena, who pulled from her own backpack two cans of pop. They had decided against wine because of the fragility of the items that needed transport, very bad when engaging in a sport which involved clinging like a bat to a very large piece of rock. From their perch, Serena and Darien looked out over the southern part of the island. A misty waterfall nearby drew their attention, and the two sat watching the ever-changing patterns of the falling water. * * * After they ate, the couple began their descent. Although climbing down was more difficult than climbing up, Serena managed it without falling. Once down, she hugged Darien again and noticed as she did so how very tense his muscles were. "Whoa! That felt like hugging a rock!" "Tell me about it - my whole back feels like one big cramp." When they reached their car, Serena had him take off his shirt and lay down in the back, on top of a beach towel. She straddled his waist and began to massage him. As she did so, she incanted a spell that she had been working on over the past year. Her hands glowed slightly as they rubbed Darien's back, and tiny sparkles of magic flowed from her body into his. "Ooh, that's good," Darien moaned in relief as the tension flowed away. Serena's massage felt very, very good to Darien's tired muscles. As soon as she was done, she lay down beside him and the two dozed for a little while. After waking up, Darien got out of the car and walked around. Serena's backrub had done wonders for him - he had none of the aches he usually had after such a serious workout. He knew the real reason why he felt so good: While Serena had been rubbing Darien's back, she had been sending tiny amounts of Silver Crystal energy into his body, helping the process of relaxation along. While either positive or negative energy could relax a person's body (he had found the latter out many times - being kidnapped repeatedly by the Negaverse was an experience he hoped never to have again), the latter could be damaging. When Darien returned to the car, he noticed his wife curled up like a cat, snoring peacefully and quietly. He debated whether or not to wake her, then decided just to pick her up and belt her into the passenger's seat, and drive back to the hotel that way. Halfway back, she awoke and stretched. "Did you sleep well, Serena?" "Mmm... yes, thank you for not waking me, Darien." * * * Back home after a week in paradise, Serena sat down for a conversation she had been dreading. Sitting at the table across from her were some of the people she cared most for: Molly, her mother, her father. Next to her was the comforting presence of her husband. Molly spoke first, "Serena, how could you have not told us!?" The eyes of the others echoed her hurt question. "Well, how could I *have* told you guys? If I had told you that I was Sailor Moon. . . you all know that the likelihood a secret will get out is directly propor. . ." She cast an entreating look at Darien, who supplied her the correct word, "Proportional to the number of people who know it. Thanks, Darien." Kenji leaned forward and asked, "Young lady, how long have you been Sailor Moon?" "Since I was fourteen, Dad." Kenji's eyes widened in shock. "You mean. . . you've been risking your precious life since you were fourteen?" Ikuko tearfully added in, "Oh, Serena. . . I'm not sure whether I should be really angry at you for risking yourself like this and not telling us, or be very, very proud of you." After a long minute, Molly added in, in a quiet tone, "I should have seen it before. Whenever I was attacked by a monster, Sailor Moon would always be there to save me," she paused for a moment, "Thank you, Serena." Kenji added in, "Serena, I'd be really, really angry at you, but I'm so proud of you that I might burst! My little girl is all grown up, and she's responsible for saving the entire world, probably countless times over!" He came over and gathered his daughter into a hug. "And you, young man," he continued, "I greatly misjudged you in the past. You have protected my daughter from certain death more times than I ever want to know about." Kenji extended his hand and said, "Welcome to the family, son." Darien's heart swelled as he shook his father-in-law's hand proudly. The words he had hoped to hear from Serena's father for years had finally been spoken. Serena noticed the happy tears in Darien's eyes, and knew what they were for. They were the same happy tears he had cried with her many times before. The orphan finding his family. Now he would always belong. Part 5: First Anniversary Serena Usagi Chiba awoke slowly and stretched lazily, reveling in the feeling of the sheets pulling and twisting over her body. She stretched against her husband's slumbering form, and sighed blissfully. When was it, she wondered, when waking up next to Darien had ceased being something she was almost self-conscious about and started being an everyday occurrence to her? After several minutes, Serena finally smiled and rolled over, away from the comfortable warmth of Darien and stood, gathering nightgown and bathrobe as she headed to the bathroom. She happily hummed 'Moonlight Densetsu' to herself as she began running the water for a bath. The tub was long enough for her fully-grown five-foot-five frame to lay out lengthwise in without having to lift her knees out of the water. She filled it with just enough water to float in, and gingerly slipped in. Darien had been a bit. . . eager last night, and she was just a bit sore, although she hadn't noticed at the time. She thought, *Maybe that's because we've been so busy lately that we haven't had the energy when we finally reached bed to make love in more than two weeks.* Serena's first summer session, spent earning several needed credits for her minor in music, was fairly boring, except for her voice lessons, which were fun, as music always was. Darien was working on his Master's in Materials Engineering, and his classes were highly stressful. As she washed, she reflected on the past year, the first peaceful year of her life since first becoming Sailor Moon. Rei had finally confirmed that the Negaverse's immediate threat was over, and all of the Inner Senshi except for Mina, who continued to fruitlessly chase every cute boy she saw, were married. First Rei and Chad, then Lita and Ken, finally Amy and Greg. Finishing her reminiscence, she stood up and opened the tub drain, turning on the shower before too much water could evaporate and leave her skin chilled. She leaned down and began to work the shampoo into her hair from the tips that pooled on the bottom of the tub upward. Finally reaching her scalp, she massaged the remaining shampoo into her head, allowing herself to be totally absorbed in one of life's minor luxuries. Finally, she stepped out of the shower and began to dry herself. As she finished and wrapped the towel around her body, Darien walked into the bathroom. "All yours, Muffin," she indicated as she swept into the bedroom. Her hair would take a good hour to dry fully, and if she put it up before it was dry the result would be a rather nasty mess, so she let it go, flowing all the way to her ankles. In the Negaverse. . . Prince Roxix sat on the Throne that once belonged to Queen Beryl, his mother. As the last remaining heir to the Dark Kingdom of the Negaforce, he was effectively King and Supreme Ruler of the Negaverse. He shared Beryl's flame-red hair, pale skin and fangs, but save for the dead-looking eyes that all nega-humans shared, he could easily pass as a universe-human. He had spent the better part of a century as a General in Beryl's army, serving his mother proudly and well, waiting eagerly for the day that he would take the Throne from his mother, the day she died. Yet, on that day, four years ago, he had been separated from the Ebon Throne by a succession of petty warlords. He had been content to wait, knowing that in the end he would triumph. "Mother, I will avenge your death at the hands of Princess Serenity, by bringing the universe to its knees one planet at a time. . . Starting with Earth!" He laughed long and loud before beginning the process of creating a new youma to send to Earth. This one would be able to operate in a more subtle manner, and perhaps avoid being destroyed by Sailor Moon and those wretched Sailor Senshi. "General Quartzite, your plan had damn well better work, or I will court-martial you so fast that you will believe yourself in a time-warp." Quartzite was an attractive woman who looked to be in her early twenties but was actually about ten thousand forty years old. Except for having dark-green eyes, she looked much like Princess Serenity, or at least what Serenity would look like if she didn't wear her hair in those ridiculous odango. That evening. . . Serena and Darien were on their way to the Tsukino home to celebrate their anniversary with Serena's parents and the Sailor Senshi when they felt an all-too-familiar tingle sweep over them: the feeling of a nearby energy-theft in-progress. Serena took out her flip-phone and called the house. "Moshi-moshi." "Hi, Mom. Sorry to say we'll be a bit late tonight. Some youma trouble came up." "Serena, you had better call the other girls, too." In the background on her end, Serena could hear the henshin cries of her friends. "Sounds like they found us, Mom. I gotta get going - bye!" "Just stay alive, dear." Over the past year, Ikuko had found out just how futile telling Sailor Moon to be careful was, and realized that Serena's duty, by nature, meant that she had to take severe risks. She had also found out that as Sailor Moon, Serena healed much faster than normally. Fortunately for Serena. "Moon Eternal Make-UP!" Serena became Eternal Sailor Moon. Darien transformed into Tuxedo Mask, and the two raced for the battlesite. "I thought. . . Mars said. . . they were finished. . . for the time being!" shouted Sailor Moon as she ran. "I guess. . . she was wrong!" replied Tuxedo Mask. "Mars Flame SNIPER!" cried Sailor Mars. A bow formed of fire near the priestess' left hand, a wide, seemingly symbolic arrow in her right. She aimed the weapon and released it, doing lots of damage to her target. Eternal Sailor Moon raced toward her friends, praying to God that she would arrive on time to prevent one or more from suffering serious harm. Her greatest fear was that one of *her* friends would be disfigured, disabled or killed trying to protect her. "Sailor Moon!" Uranus' voice rang out. She was desperately in trouble - the youma facing her had four arms and two swords! Serena produced her Moon Rapier from her subspace pocket and thrust with desperation for her friend's life, blindsiding the youma. The creature screeched as greenish blood spurted from the wound. Uranus was left alone as the youma spun to engage Sailor Moon, blood pouring down her left arm. As the pain and her exhaustion began to register on her consciousness, her brain took the most merciful course of action. Sailor Uranus' eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted dead away. Sailor Moon only dimly noticed this as she disarmed her opponent, putting them on more-or-less even terms. Subconsciously, she knew that Sailor Mars was aiming at the youma, prepared to throw her most powerful Flame Sniper as soon as she could disengage, that Jupiter was similarly prepared. She noticed Neptune standing behind the youma, as well. A cold rage erupted in Sailor Neptune's eyes. "Bakana - how dare you injure her like that! I won't forgive you! OCEANIC. . . BLAST!!" An azure sphere appeared around Neptune's hand and grew to giant size, then engulfed the creature. . . and Eternal Sailor Moon! Sailor Moon screamed in pain as she brought her arms up to protect her face from the hellish blast of water. This was far worse than any youma- induced injury - it was burning, searing, the full force of the sea's waters blasting into her every pore. Her eardrums nearly ruptured, water slammed into her lungs and eyes. Her arms were quickly battered into uselessness and fell, exposing her head to the full blast. It knocked her off-balance and the back of her head hit the pavement. For a brief moment, she saw stars, then her vision went black. When the blast died, the youma was a pile of ashes, and Sailor Moon lay limp on the pavement, soggy and unmoving as Darien gathered her up into his arms, barely holding his tears in check. Sailor Mars cried, "SAILOR MOON!!" She turned, eyes ablaze, to the horrified Sailor Neptune. Neptune managed to hold the furious miko's basilisk-glare for two seconds before turning away in shame. "WHY!? Why, Neptune!? You could have killed her!" "I. . . I'm sorry!" In tears, Sailor Neptune transformed to Michelle and ran from the battle site. Running from where her lover and her Queen lay struggling for their lives. Tsukino home An hour later. . . Eternal Sailor Moon was laid out on her old bed. Darien gently held his wife's hand in his hands, praying with all his soul that his Serena would be all right. Her breathing had more or less stabilized and wasn't wracked with coughing, but he still worried - as did Serena's parents. Sailor Uranus was lying in the bed in the guest bedroom, healing from her vicious wound. Sailor Neptune had not yet returned. Darien stared across the bed into the worried eyes of the only other human in the room besides Serena. His own asked a desperate question. "She's a hell of a fighter, that's for sure. That blast probably would have killed Heather outright, and might have even given Lita-chan some serious problems." Rei's voice betrayed the tiniest tremor of doubt. Darien didn't blame her. "Come back to us, Usako." Darien lifted Serena's gloved hand to his lips and kissed it. As if in response, Sailor Moon began to cough, her lungs catching on some bit of unabsorbed and unexpelled water, and her eyes flew open. "Usako!" "SERENA!" A three-way hug ensued, as Darien and Rei moved to hug Serena at the same time. "No, just a little damp," joked Sailor Moon weakly. "Meatball Head, can't you even stay out of your friends' way when they're trying to barbecue the bad guys?" Rei's tear-choked voice broadcast very clearly how dearly she loved her best friend, and how very worried she'd been for Serena's continued existence. Sailor Moon grinned as her voice rose, "It wasn't my fault, Rei! It was that stupid monster's fault for hurting Alex!" The others heard the argument beginning and crowded into Serena's room. She noticed the two absentees: Alex, who was recovering, and. . . "Where's Michelle?" Moon's voice was full of concern. "She ran away after you got hurt," explained Mina. "She looked pretty desperate." Eternal Sailor Moon jumped up from her bed. "Omigod! We've got to find her!" Two minutes later. . . Serena leapt into her car and turned the ignition key, gratified to hear the engine turn over immediately. "I just hope she didn't do anything already." She fingered the keyring that she had picked up from Alex's nightstand - waking the older girl had proven impossible. She had a life to save. Eight minutes later. . . Michelle's head was buried in the pillows of the bed she shared with Alex, tears streaming from her eyes. She was scared to death that any moment now, one of the other Senshi would walk through the door and inform her that the Queen had died because of the injuries her attack had inflicted. She knew that if that were to happen, there would be no other possible alternative than to commit seppuku. She heard the outside door open and close, heard a sweet voice call out, "Michelle? Are you home?" Michelle!?" Serena! Michelle looked up from where she had been weeping into her pillow to see not Sailor Moon, nor Neo-Queen Serenity, but cheerful, lovable, reliable Serena, standing in the doorway. She walked over and gave Michelle a sisterly hug. *God, she's tense! Feels like hugging a rock.* An image of herself and Darien climbing a rock face in Hawaii surfaced, and she smiled gently at it. She had made a similar comment, aloud, to Darien when they had made it all the way up and back down again. *Time for wet-shoulder duty, I think.* She shifted her hold on Michelle, and as though she were holding Reeny, Serena rocked back and forth with her friend until Michelle eventually relaxed. "Michelle, I don't blame you at all for what happened. I was just in the line of fire, that's all," she said. "But, you could have been killed, Serena." "That, my friend, is a risk that all of us take every time we step outside of our beds. I could break my neck falling down a flight of stairs tomorrow morning. It's extremely unlikely, and I hope to God it doesn't happen - I like this life far too much to leave it, plus I owe it to Reeny to live long enough for her to be born - but it's possible." Serena's hold on Michelle was comforting, and the older girl gratefully accepted every bit of spiritual warmth that the younger had to offer. Michelle dried her eyes and followed Serena to her car. "I could have killed you." Serena whirled on Michelle, eyes sparking, "How many times do I have to tell you, it's not your fault! Blame me for being too close, blame the monster for hurting Alex, but don't blame yourself! That kind of self-doubt will hollow you out from the inside. Believe me, I speak from experience. Not that Darien would ever dream of doing a thing like that to me again." Serena escorted her friend to her car, a gift from Alex and Michelle two years ago. "I'll tell you what, Michelle - after dinner, I'll take you and Alex and Darien on a good sightseeing drive, okay?" Michelle smiled and nodded. She went into the bathroom to erase the last remnants of her crying jag from her face. When she came back out, her eyes were still a bit puffy, and she still had a slight case of sniffles, but she looked and felt much better. The Negaverse. . . Damn it! thought Roxix. He had been hoping that his youma would at least be able to eliminate one of the Sailor Senshi. He glared at his Generals, daring a particular one of them to take the responsibility for this. . . fiasco. Quartzite stared the Prince coldly in the eye, and said, "Roxix, I failed you this time, but every General loses a battle now and again. If you court-martial me, I doubt there's a youma in this army who would find me guilty of anything save bad luck, which is not punishable by either law or the Uniform Military Justice Code. Besides, my plan requires time to set up, and is created in such a manner that any single, or even any five losses will not upset it." Roxix liked a General with some spine. He had seen his mother defeated because of the cowardice of her first General, the weak heart of her second, the impulsiveness of the third, and the vengefulness of the fourth. His only satisfaction from this was that the traitors were suffering in their eternal torment. * * * At the Tsukino house, Serena and Michelle walked in the door, to be embraced by their respective loves. Rei and Lita had helped with setting the long picnic table outside, and the group began to pick up their food from the buffet table. For now, all was once more right with the world. Everybody laughed at how much food Serena piled onto her plate, oohed and aahed over Rei's first child, a darling little girl named Naoko with chocolate-colored eyes and curly black hair, complimented Lita on her cooking and started to settle down. Amy was reading a textbook, deep in thought and barely picking at her food. Finally, Serena came by and plucked the book from her blue-haired friend's grasp. As Amy started to protest, Serena responded, "Amy, it's summertime, so you don't really have any crucial classes. You're at a party, so it's kind of rude to study, and Greg's around, so you really shouldn't be studying. Therefore, you're not getting this back until it's time to leave." All of the girls had gotten much better about their various bad habits over the years, but Amy's habit of running herself into the ground studying was the hardest to break. Not even she could remember why she felt so driven to excel, and she would freely admit that she'd like to have the time she used to study for herself, but something made it difficult for her to put the books down, unless somebody came along, like Serena just had, and made it impossible to continue studying. Finally, Amy relented, a slight pout on her lips even as her eyes smiled wryly at her first and best friend. "I wish you could teach me that trick, Serena," said Greg. "It's easy. All you need is to know when she needs to take a break and enforce it on her. Hey look, Amy, I get A's too, even if I get an occasional B, and I'm not working myself into exhaustion doing it. You really need to slow down - a 4.0 average may be great, but not if you have to sacrifice your friendships and maybe your marriage doing it." Amy drew Serena off and asked, "What did you mean by that?" "Amy, each of us has a special talent besides our Sailor powers. Lita's is her strength and courage, Rei's is her persistence, even if that often manifests as stubbornness, you perfectly well know yours, Mina's, well, I'm not quite sure yet, but mine is the ability to tell what's wrong with other people and to help them carry their load a little better. As the Leader of the Sailor Senshi, I will court-martial you if you repeat any part of this conversation to Greg, but *you* need to slow down and ease up. Since I suspect that this will be the necessary measure, I am Royally forbidding you to take more than sixteen hours per semester." At Amy's protest she continued, "I'm starting to see some cracks developing in your marriage to Greg. He's very understanding, because he knows your duty to me, but you cannot sacrifice your one and only chance at happiness because you feel you must be Number One." While Serena had been talking, the two had wandered up to her bedroom. As Serena finished her speech, Amy's eyes grew even sadder and her legs began to shake. The blonde barely crossed the three steps between her and her friend and got her right arm around Amy before the blue-haired girl's legs collapsed and she began to rain her tears upon her friend's shoulder. Serena absently kicked the door closed, not wanting anybody to see Amy like this. "I. . . I thought nobody else knew." Once Amy's words began flowing, it was like the bursting of a dam, "I thought I could hide it from everybody." "What? Hide what?" Serena was getting upset herself now. She had known for some time that Amy's drive was the result of *some* major hurt in times past, but hadn't enough pieces to put the puzzle together. Those pieces, she realized, were about to be placed right in her lap, or more accurately, on her shoulder. "After Father and Mum divorced, he visited me regularly. Then one day, when I was about eight, we received the news that a drunken driver had killed him while he was on his way to pick me up for a visit. When we arrived at the hospital, Mum was in tears and I was barely really aware of what happened. I can't even remember his funeral - the only part of that whole hellish week I can actually remember is standing over his grave with a single yellow rose and screaming about how. . . unfair it. . . all was." With that, all of Amy's emotional barriers gave way and eleven years of grief crashed in on her. A choked scream escaped her lips. "Oh, Amy," whispered Serena, bringing her free hand around to hold her violently shaking friend, "I had no idea how badly life had hurt you. If I could bring back your father. . ." "I wouldn't let you," Amy sobbed, "You're. . . too important. . . to go and. . . do some. . . something like that. And if. . . you survived. . . Rei would. . . kill you. . . for risking. . . your life. . . like that." In the yard, Greg set his plate down and headed into the house, following the sound of sobbing to Serena's room. He knocked, but then entered without waiting when he heard his wife's voice finish, "Unfair it. . . all was," and dissolve into the broken sobbing of a young girl crying her grief and rage at the unfairness of the world. He listened to her exchange with Serena. Amy, far from her usual, controlled self, was half-crying, half-screaming into Serena's shoulder as Serena tried to console the inconsolable young woman. She barely felt it as Serena transferred her to Greg, barely noticed as the blonde left the room. Unable to think of anything better to do, Greg simply held Amy until the storm had subsided to an occasional sniffle. "It'll be okay, Amy. I promise," he whispered into her hair over and over again. Finally, her breathing smoothed out and deepened, and Greg realized that she had fallen asleep. He stretched her out on Serena's bed and sat down in the chair that Darien had occupied earlier in the evening. Tired from helping Amy, Serena sagged gratefully into Darien's strong arms. "I had no idea," she murmured. "No idea about what?" "I knew Amy was carrying some major hurt inside of her, but I had no idea how big or how long." She gave Darien the synopsis. "And if you tell Amy that I told you that, it's gonna take an awful lot of roses to make up for it, mister." "I get the picture." He flicked his wrist and pulled a rose from thin air. Presenting it to her, he said, "A rose, like you, by any other name would be as sweet, my Usako." Serena grimaced at the mangling of Shakespeare, but there were hearts in her eyes nonetheless. "Oh, Darien, that's so. . ." She pretended to flail for the word. "Sweet?" Darien took the bait. "Corny," she corrected, "Now, I promised Michelle that I'd take you, Alex, and her on a driving tour of Tokyo after dinner. Shall we get started?" Darien smiled at her and took her hand. When the four returned, Serena looked in on Amy and Greg. They were both asleep. She crossed to the desk, pulled out a piece of paper, wrote "Official Worry Chair" on it, and pinned it to the back of the chair Greg was sleeping in. At five in the morning, Amy woke up in Serena's bed, to see Greg slumped over in the chair, asleep. As she looked at his peacefully-sleeping form, she felt a great protectiveness surge over her. She pulled him from the chair and laid him out on the bed, being careful not to wake him. She then crept to the bathroom and closed the door, turning to look in the mirror. For the first time in eleven years, she could hold her own gaze without looking away, so she took a good long look. A beautiful young woman stared back, her eyes finally freed of the great pain that had forced her to look away every time she'd attempted to really look into them in the past. Her grief for her father was still present, but now that she'd admitted to it, it was much easier to bear, and she knew that she would never again have to bear it alone. When Amy came back into Serena's room, Greg looked up. She walked as though forty pounds had been taken from her shoulders, and the eternal sadness had left her eyes, making them even more beautiful. Amy stretched out on the bed and kissed Greg into silence just as he was about to say something. Serena smiled slightly and closed the door. She loved it when things worked out the way they were supposed to. "Serenity-sama," whispered Sailor Pluto, "well done." "Pluto, how many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?" "This is the first, chronologically speaking, but at the point in my life where I am, you have told me 'not to sneak up on you like that' roughly three hundred eighty-nine times." Serena grinned at her time-traveling friend's verbal thrust. "Then I think it's high time you paid attention." She grinned wider as her riposte hit home. "Care for some coffee, Pluto-san?" Pluto transformed into Sonya Meiou and nodded. Serena pulled out a bag of coffee grounds. "Is kona okay by you? Darien and I got hooked on it in Hawaii." "No ill effects so far as I know, Serena-san. By the way, had you not done what you did last night, their marriage would have been over within the year. The ending of that marriage would have had a ripple effect on those of the other Sailor Scouts. Rei's marriage to Chad would have ended the soonest, followed by Lita's to Ken. Your marriage to Darien would have been severely tested, with that strain being to the point where the bond between your souls would be broken." Serena picked up the litany of the damage she had averted in a flat monotone that started to quaver as her words went on, "The shock would have killed us, Rei would have then committed suicide, cursing the Moon, the Negaverse and Queen Serenity, Mina would have ended up in a mental hospital, Lita would have died in a street fight, Alex and Michelle would leave Japan and never return, and *you* would simply have disappeared, never to be seen again, leaving Sailor Saturn the only remaining Sailor Soldier. Reeny would simply have never been born." A solitary tear trickled down her cheek. Another threat to her yet-unconcieved daughter had been averted and she hadn't even known about it at the time. She had simply acted like any good friend would. Darien sat down and wrapped his arms around his Queen. "Unpleasant stuff," he remarked. Serena turned about so she was facing her love directly, said, "Well Muffin, be glad 'cause it ain't happening," she kissed him, "so long as," another kiss, "Sailor Moon," another kiss, "is around," and punctuated the statement with a long, deep kiss that lasted as long as their lungs did. The Sailor of Eternity smiled as she poured the coffee. So long as those two loved each other, the Universe was safe. And they would never stop loving each other. The three friends sat facing eastward as the sun began to rise, heralding a new day. ----- And that's that for The Wedding! Thanks to everybody who's written me, especially Michael Stancel (writer of Sailor Moon Omega - I promise I'll read your story one of these days!) and Alys Avalos. Another special thank-you goes to Erin Rosar, who promised to put this story on her homepage. More extra-special thank-yous go out to Jennifer Wand, Eric "Greywolf" den Biessen, TAZ, and "Tuxedo Will" Wolfshohl, the Wedding Mailing List Regulars. Big thank-yous to Todd A. Zircher (TAZ) and Christopher LeVert (Sir Luckio) for helping me to create the future of Sailor Moon, and turn the Crystal Millennium from a briefly-seen paradise into a real, living, breathing empire. Thanks to the likes of Reel Big Fish, the Future Sound of London, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Queen and the cast of Les Miserables for the music that helped me write this series, plus the many musical artists who were a part of the Sailor Moon musical experience. Of course, the greatest and most special thank-you goes to Takeuchi Naoko, without whom it would not have been. Prince Roxix is at least partially inspired by Prince Xizor, the leader of Black Sun from the novel, comic book series, computer game, et cetera, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. Rei's argument with Serena in this part started up after I realized that they haven't had a good on-screen argument in this series. The revelation of Amy's past came at 8:30 on a Wednesday morning when I was looking for a good 'human interest' bit in the story (and a way to waste a good 30 minutes). Quartzite is greatly inspired by several characters by Jendra (Sailor Moon Universal and Universal B). That's all I'll say right now. Thanks to everybody for their feedback, and I'll see you in Sailor Moon Married Life!