The Wedding Part 5: First Anniversary by Mark Berger #include Serena Usagi Chiba awoke slowly and stretched lazily, revelling 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's 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's 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's 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 Dammit! 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 recieved 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 Sailorsoldier. 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" Wolfshol, 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!