Sailor Heart - Chapter 5

                GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO CARRY ON
                                
     "It was terrible," Serena wailed.  "Each time we met another Negaverse creep, one of my
friends would disappear.  Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

     "Easy Serena," I said, as calmly as I could.  "It's all over now.  Tell me what happened;
right from the beginning."  She was crying, and had been since she arrived at my house fifteen
minutes ago.

     "O-okay.  I'll try."  She finally started to settle down.  "It's like this.  The five of us were
battling the Negaverse during a raid on Queen Beryl's fortress in the arctic.  As we walked along,
towards a volcano, we were attacked by creatures that called themselves the Doom & Gloom
Girls.  They set up tricks and traps in order to capture all of us.

     "First one to go was Lita.  As we were trudging through the snow, I saw a vision of
Tuxedo Mask.  He was hurt.  The Negaverse had him hung up with chains.  It hurt so bad to see
him like that, that I ran toward him.  I was pinned to the ground by Jupiter and Venus who kept
saying that it was a trap.  I didn't believe them and as we stood up, they attacked!  Huge vines
wrapped around Jupiter as she tried to break free.  She charged her tiara and let go one of the
biggest Thunder crashes I had ever seen.  A huge explosion followed but Jupiter, like the vines,
was gone.  And then there were four."

     Serena started bawling again and I wished she would have stopped.   I couldn't help but
think about Lita again, just for a minute.  Had I been there, with the feelings I have for her now, I
don't see how it would have been possible for me to go on.  Serena continued.

     "Then there was Amy.  She was the next one to go.  She thought she saw Greg.  She told
us to go ahead to check the volcano and she would catch up with us later.  We didn't want her to
go but  no one ever said being a Sailor Scout was safe' said Mercury.  She went on to check it
out and she was attacked too.  They held her and questioned her about where we were.  She told
them that we had run away but they knew she was lying.  Then they took her too; and then there
were three.  The last thing she said was I have to be with Lita now, guys.   Take care."

     Serena, overcome by the emotion of her story, so far, needed frequent bawling breaks
between continues.  I respected that and went to get more boxes of tissues.  At the rate she's
going, I thought, she'd put the tissue company out of business!  I smiled at the thought and
returned to a trembling Serena's side.

     "Mina's disappearance followed.  We were running from any sort of monster who dared
to show his face.  Venus was running faster than Mars and I.  I fell behind the others.  Venus
turned, and ran toward me as they attacked.  She managed to save me from their vines by
sacrificing herself.  As the D & G girls talked to her, Venus managed to fire off a Crescent Beam
at pointblank range.  It wasn't enough.  Venus was pulled underneath the ice and was gone.  I
remember her last words: "I believe in you."

     Once again, Serena's sobbing and crying ruined any chance of understanding what she
was saying.  I knew this was very hard for her; to chronicle her friends' disappearance, but Luna
told me that it was necessary in order to make her a better Sailor Scout.  The exercise was to help
build her self-confidence, and help her realize the mistakes she made so that she wouldn't make
them again.  After all, Luna said, they may not come back next time.

     Mars was the last to disappear.  At first I thought she was bailing out on me.  She told me
she wasn't and told me to trust in myself so that I could defeat Queen Beryl.  Her disappearance
was the most frightening thing I had ever seen.  She was powering up her fireballs when two of
them attacked.  Just as she was about to release, they dove at her and plowed through the snow
and ice.  After mild rumblings, Mars was thrown up into the air as two huge ice hands came
down and crushed her.  She did manage to get her shot off and the ice exploded, but no Mars. 
"See ya around, Meatball Head" was the last thing she said, and then there was one."

     For once, Serena didn't wail between speeches.  She sat right up, more bound and
determined than I'd ever seen her.  I guessed it was the Princess in her.  I thought it wise not to
say anything in case it spoiled the very dramatic change that was occurring right before my eyes.

     "I ran, as far and as fast as I could.  Then I was trapped in some kind of energy ball.  It
transported me to Queen Beryl's throne room where I had a major confrontation with both Beryl
and Prince Darien.  I tried so hard to heal Darien... I used my tiara against him, and it didn't
work.  Beryl said that I couldn't heal him, that she and Darien would rule the Negaverse.  I
couldn't believe that Darien and I would never be together again.  As a last effort... I showed him
our locket; the one he gave me when we were in the Moon Kingdom.  All he had to do was touch
it.  Sure enough, he did and he was overcome with light.  The evil in him was destroyed and the
real Darien was mine again.  Beryl was not happy.  She threw a huge stone dagger at the two of
us.  Darien threw a rose at it and it shattered and landed in Beryl's chest.  A shard had lodged
itself in Darien's back and he was gone from me... again.  Beryl screamed and disappeared.  I
knew then and there that I, and I thought I alone, would have to defeat Queen Beryl.  We met
outside.  She had transformed and so did I.  She released lots of Nega-energy at me, and
momentarily trapped me in ice.  I burst forth from that ice as Princess Serena.  I released Cosmic
Moon Power and for a while it was a stalemate between me and Beryl.  I needed my friends and I
got them.  Each one promised they'd help.  I even remember what each of them said.  Amy said
"Okay, Serena, I'll help you with THIS assignment."  Raye said "Don't be so stubborn Serena. 
Let us help or I'll never speak to you again!"  Lita said "C'mon, let us help.  Still too many guys
we gotta meet." and Mina said "Let us help.  We haven't known each other long enough to lose
now."  I said "Please, I really do need your help."  Each gave me their power and we defeated
Queen Beryl and banished her from the universe."

     Serena started crying again but this time they were tears of joy.  She didn't wail or
scream; it was just a quiet moistening of the eyes and small streams down her cheeks.  She held
me, instinctively, and I was glad that I wasn't expecting anyone; especially Lita or Darien.  It
would have made the situation a lot more difficult.

     "Serena," I started.  "Look, you've got Darien and I've got Lita.  Let go, please."  She
did.  "Now, can we get back to the procedure?  Luna, she's ready."

     Luna came into the room, silent.  I have come to think that it's a very odd thing if Luna is
silent for longer than five minutes.  But in she came, and just sat in front of Serena and looked
deep in her eyes.  She was establishing a Luna mind meld.  Serena flashed back to the Moon
Kingdom and relived her life.  She saw how she was born, a painless birth for Queen Serenity,
how she grew up, and how she was engaged to Prince Darien from Earth.  Then Luna started
talking.

     "Serena, you have seen your past life in the Moon Kingdom.  You have seen the mistakes
you've made and the goals you've accomplished.  Your experience and skill and now firmly
ingrained in you.  Hopefully, you will become a better Sailor Scout with this little exercise but
only you have the power to effect this change.  You must want to change, with all your heart.  I
know you have a "normal" life.  I know it must be hard to be the only Scout who have parents in
this time.  You must deal with this in any way possible.  But you must never reveal yourself as
Sailor Moon or Princess Serena."  Both of them collapsed momentarily and then they started to
stir again.

     "Luna, what did you hit me with, it feels so... so... weird.  I flashed back to everything
that ever happened in my lives." said Serena eyes glowing and tear free.

     "That's the effects of the Luna mind meld, for you." said Luna, still kind of out of it.

     "Why don't we all go out for awhile," I suggested.  "We've been cooped up in here all
day and I think it would be a good idea to get some fresh air."

     "Good idea," said Luna, stretching and arching her back as cats do when they stretch.

     "So that's what you look like after a wild night with Artemis!" Serena giggled.  Luna
turned and looked at Serena angrily but had turned about five different shades of red as well.

     "Better cool it, Serena," I said.  "She was only joking, Luna.  C'mon, you two, ice cream
on me."  Both Serena's and Luna's eyes lit up when I said that.

     "As we were walking along the sidewalk toward the ice cream place, we met up with the
rest of the Sailor Scouts and Artemis.  Lita and Mina were looking as gorgeous as ever and Amy
and Raye weren't too bad-looking either.

     "Hey, you guys, guess what?  We're all getting ice cream.  Wanna join us?"  They all
agreed, and I decided that if I was going to treat Serena and Luna, I might as well treat the rest of
them too.  My poor wallet.

     We all had our ice cream and talked for hours.  As we were leaving, the sky had turned
dark.  A major rainstorm was approaching.  Lita and I had decided to walk Serena and Luna back
to her place.  We said our goodbyes and were on our way.

     "Would you guys like to come in, out of the rain, for awhile?"  Serena asked.  "My
parents are gone for the week and I'd really love some company; that is, if you didn't have any
plans?"

     "None that couldn't be cancelled.  We didn't really have any plans, anyway, did we?" 
Lita asked.

     "None that I'm aware of," I said.  As I finished talking, the ground started to shake; first
in little rumblings then in huge waves; so much so that buildings were starting to collapse around
us.

     "Earthquake!" I shouted, although I wasn't sure if the girls could hear me.

     "Oh my god!  SAMMY!  He's home all alone.  We've got to get back there!"  Serena
started running toward her place as fast as she did when she was late for school.  Lita and I
followed, hoping that she wouldn't be too late this time.

     When we got back to Serena's house, the damage had already been done.  The roof over
Serena's room had collapsed taking the rest of the roof with it.  Walls had big holes in them and
everything was either in bad shape or completely damaged.

     "Sammy!  Where are you?" Serena called as the three of us started searching for him.  No
answer.  "Sammy!  Answer me!  If you're joking, this isn't funny.  Answer me!"  Still no
answer.

     "Over here!  He's over here... underneath this wall fragment." called Lita.  We all helped
lift the fragment off him and saw that his leg was badly messed up and he had little cuts and
bruises all over his face and upper body.

     "Oh, Sammy, don't die on me!  Serena said, with tears welling up in her eyes.  Serena
started to become hysterical.   Lita walked over to her, very calmly, and slapped Serena across
the face.

     "Serena... I'm sorry, but we all have to be in the right state of mind, here.  We can't have
you flipping out on us now.  Sammy's life depends on it."  Lita said, with almost a dead calm.

     The last part of Lita's speech seemed to rejuvenate Serena's Princess spirit.  Lita and I
carried Sammy with us in an old hammock we'd found.  We tied to hammock to two billiard
cues and carried Sammy between us in a makeshift stretcher.  By the time we got to the hospital,
Sammy was mumbling something about Sailor Moon; how he had wanted to see her.  We got
Sammy to a bed and laid him out on it.  He started talking, no doubt delirious, after all the
doctors had left the room.

     "Serena... I think you're... you're... Sailor... Moon." said Sammy very weakly.  All of us,
Lita, Luna, Serena and I gasped in amazement.  None of us could believe that Sammy, of all
people, figured out the Sailor Scouts' greatest secret.

     "Lemme see you... do... it.  Let's see... you transform!"  Serena looked at Luna and Luna
looked at Serena.  You could almost hear their thoughts; they certainly were not hard to read. 
 Should I reveal myself to him?'  I don't think it's a good idea.  What if he can't be trusted, or
worse, captured by the Negaverse?'   Luna, I think that's a chance we're gonna have to take!'

     Serena stood up and got her pendant out.  "Sammy, you say that I'm Sailor Moon?  Well,
you're right.  Moon!  Crystal!  Power!"  Light and energy enclosed Serena as her transformation
began.  A few minutes later, Sailor Moon stood where Serena had only seconds before.  Sailor
Moon sat down beside Sammy and told him the story of the Moon Kingdom, how she was
Princess Serena, and identified all the other Scouts.  Luna took the opportunity to tell Sammy
that he would never tell anyone about what he knew about the Sailor Scouts, no matter who
asked him.  He agreed and started telling us about dreams that he'd been having about such a
place as the Moon Kingdom.  Sailor Moon looked at Luna with a puzzled look on her face.

     "Luna, when you did the mind meld on me, I flashed back to a point that I didn't
remember.  I was in the throne room, on the Moon Kingdom when somebody ran in, saying I had
a little brother, that he had only been born a few hours earlier.  Could this be... Prince Samuel?"

     "I don't think so, Princess.  Your brother was killed in the final battle with the Negaverse. 
Although it may be possible that he is Prince Samuel because of what your mother did on that
day.  It's still too early to say."

     As soon as she finished, the doctor came in.  Luckily, Sailor Moon had already
de-transformed.  It was time for us to leave so they could assess the damage on Sammy.  Serena
told Sammy that she would be back tomorrow.  We all said our goodbyes and headed over to
Raye's temple where a meeting of all the Scouts was held.

     It was about 8:00 PM in the evening before we all got together again.  The other three
Scouts had no idea why the meeting was called, but Lita, Serena  and I put their suspicions to
rest.  We explained about what had happened, with the earthquake and Sammy's revelations.  We
all discussed what we were going to do about the situation.

     "I can check with Neo-Central Command and see if that's possible." said Luna, glaring at
Artemis.  "We've recently set up a new comlink to some type of base that seems to be aware of
us and the Negaverse.  It's possible that they have some information."

     "Still haven't gotten over that joke I pulled, eh Luna?"  asked Artemis.  "Same old
stick-in-the-mud Luna.  By this time Luna had gotten quite disturbed at Artemis' teasing and stuck
her
tongue out at him.   In time,' thought Artemis to himself,  in time.'

     "So what can the rest of us do?" asked Mina.

     "Nothing, really.  Not until we get word from Neo-Central Command.  If that's all the
business there is..."

     "I have a question..." said Serena, visibly shaken.  "What if he is Prince Samuel?  I mean,
suppose it's true, how do we proceed form there?  He knows we're who we are, he's sort of
aware of who he is, be it true or not, what'll happen?"

     "We'll just have to worry about that when it happens, Serena.  We don't know for sure
what we're dealing with, yet.  Once we know, hopefully, we'll know how to deal with it." said
Artemis.

     "What about the earthquake?  Was that from the Negaverse?" asked Lita.  Both Amy and
Raye were able to answer her question.

     "Negative," said Amy. "Negaverse nature attacks always give off some sort of signal
after they've hit.  Unless they've found a way to mask that signal, I'm sure it's not the
Negaverse."

     "I agree," concurred Raye.  "When evil is near, I can sense it.  I haven't sensed the
Negaverse in months.  I strongly doubt it is them.  However, I will ask the sacred fires about
Sammy.  Is it possible that he could be possessed by something into thinking he is who he thinks
and says he is?"

     "What are you getting at, Raye?!" asking Serena defensively.  "Are you trying to tell me
that my little brother could be from the Negaverse?"  I could read Serena's thoughts again.  It
certainly would explain a lot.' she mused to herself and I couldn't help but laugh quietly.

     "What I'm saying, Meatball Head, is that if my grandfather was possessed, why couldn't
Sammy?"

     "Because Sammy didn't have a rainbow crystal in him, that's why, flame brain!"  Well,
here we go; another one of Serena and Raye's fights.  Round One to Serena.  As Serena and Raye
bickered, Mina Lita, Amy and I, along with the two cats, decided to split.  Leave  em alone if
they're gonna fight.  But deep inside, I knew that Serena had taken Raye's points to heart and
was considering them very carefully.

     The next day, Darien, Serena, Lita and I went to see Sammy.  He was still laid up pretty
badly and we felt that he could use some company.  The nurse came out and told us that we
could see him one at a time.  We each went in to see him and talk to him.  When it came time for
Serena to see him, we'd saved the best for last, we asked her to ask Sammy about his dreams and
such, in hopes to get more information.

     "Hi, Sammy.  How are you feeling?" we heard Serena say, and then the door closed. 
Unknown to Serena, I had slipped a miniature cassette recorder in her jacket.  As we waited
around for Serena, Darien, Lita and I played cards that Lita had brought.  When she came out, we
took her and Darien home, and Lita and I were on our way home.

     I called Serena the next day and told her about the tape deck I'd stuck in her pocket.  I
suggested that she may want to listen to it and see if Sammy said anything that might help.  She
said she would and if she found anything, she'd call a meeting at her house.  I said  I'd call the
other Scouts and let them know about a possible meeting.

     As I was taking a snooze, the phone rang.  I hoped it wasn't Serena.  I just wanted to
sleep.  It wasn't Serena.  It was Luna.  Close enough,' I thought.

     "What's happening, Luna?  What's new on the kitty trail?"

     "Very funny.  I found out something about Sammy and Prince Samuel.  They are one and
the same person.  Sammy IS Prince Samuel."

     "So, did Central Command offer any suggestions?  What do we do now?"

     "Who knows?  One thing we do know is that he is not a Sailor Scout. So he'll still need
protection." said Luna.

     "We can't train him to be a Scout?" I asked.

     "It's not that easy.  Most of the Scouts, except Moon and you, have a planet.  Sammy has
no planet.  From the planets the Scouts get their powers and each bonds to their planet in their
own way.  Sammy can't do that."

     "So, unless he develops into a Scout by himself, he won't become one?"

     "That's right.  But he is Princess Serena's Second in Command.  Darien will become
King Darien and Samuel will be their protector."

     "So it's not a total loss.  Uh-oh, I'm picking up major problems.  Something's wrong. 
The vibes are coming from the hospital.  Have everybody meet me there!"

     At the hospital, everybody was there.  Serena, as usual, was the last to get there. 

     "Serena... Sammy's... gone.  He lost too much blood and he just... he's gone." I could see
the tears well up in her eyes.  But then, the well dried.  We all crowded around her to console her.

     "It's all right.  I'm fine.  Look's like that test you promised Luna; to help me deal with
emotional situations.  Sammy... my brother... I will not cry.  I will grieve, but there will be no
tears.  I can get through this.  With all of your help, give me the strength to carry on."