Chapter 5

Revealing

"How are you feeling today Serena?" her mother asked at the dinner table on a Sunday morning. "You've been acting tired and weak all this week."

"I'm fine, Mom. No need to worry about me!" she smiled as she downed a bowl of oatmeal.

"That's good to hear, Hunny," her mother smiled and replenished Serena's bowl.

"Thanks mom, I'm so glad that finals are over!" Serena declared.

"Oh, by the way, how did you do?" her father asked laying down his newspaper and stared at her.

"Oh, um, I don't know, yet," Serena replied truthfully. She was afraid of how well she did; she wanted to get into high school, but her scores might not have been high enough! Her parents would kill her.

"I see, well, make sure to tell us when you get the results," her dad said picking up the newspaper and then went back to reading.

Serena got up from the table to get changed out of her pajamas. As she changed Luna began talking to her while looking out the window. Serena pulled her shirt over her head and asked Luna to repeat what she said, apologizing because the shirt had muffled the cat's voice.

The cat repeated softly, "Do you think you are ready to fight this mysterious villain, Serena?"

Serena stopped what she was doing. She turned her back to Luna and stood there not answering. She saw the girl tremble a little. Serena took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Turing around, she nodded her head slowly, smiling.

"Serena, we can train a little before we actually try and find her," Luna suggested cautiously. She was afraid Serena would think she was capable of going to fight the enemy right now. Serena only shook her head.

"I'm ready," she stated evenly. "We should finish this now, before this wicked person hurts someone else."

"Serena, I'm sure we still have time!" Luna pleaded. The girls had told her about how Serena's fights ended up injuring her badly. She also had seen the wounds first hand. Luna knew she didn't seem emotionally ready either. Her mind was very distracted, much more than she let on.

"No," Serena said with a tone that didn't allow any objections to rise. "We should do this as soon as we can."

Luna sighed her helplessness. This was just like the meatball head, always getting herself into situations that she was not prepared for. Yet, she has always come through. With that thought she said a silent prayer for Serena to acquire the strength needed.

"Okay," Luna sighed, "I hope you are well enough to do this though."

Serena smiled. The smile was very sad. It seemed to cry out to Luna with the urge to divulge the sorrows within. She went over to the small cat and picked her up and hugged her.

"I'm ready for this, I'm truly ready."

Luna was disconcerted by this behavior, but was not able to think of anything to say. She let the blond set her down to go and gather with the other scouts.

The girls met each other near the temple. They knew Serena felt she was ready to take on this final battle. They stared for a moment than all at once they began to object. Serena silenced them with a piercing look and a raised hand.

"Guys, I'm ready to take this on," Serena said defiantly.

"Serena, you have not been yourself at all since the bake sale. We don't want you to be going to your doom or anything." Mina said.

Serena paused, "You guys, I know you're worried about me, but this pressure is getting to me," her tone had softened taking her friend's feelings into consideration. She was acting a bit reckless. They only wanted what was best for her. Her friend's meant too much to her. She should not treat them like this.

"Serena, before we go into this, will you please tell us what Greg told you?" Raye whispered into her ear, she did not want to put her on the spot again. Raye also knew that Amy would not ask her again. Raye felt that the information that was given to Serena was very important, considering it seemed to create a big effect on Serena every time it was mentioned, or even how she acted on a regular basis.

Serena shook her head, "Trust me, you'll find out soon, I promise."

Raye took a step back. She nodded her head and saw that Darien was coming up the stairs to join them.

"Darien, what are you doing here?" Serena asked, shocked.

"Raye told me you guys were going to try and find the enemy for the battle to finish this."

Serena looked at Raye, she didn't want Darien to come with them, but she nodded and kissed Darien on the cheek. They all transformed and stared at each other. Sailor Mercury brushed her blue bangs out of her face and took out her little computer.

"I'm getting a disturbance around the Tokyo Tower guys!" they all nodded and headed for the radio tower.

:& & &:

"Now what, Sailor Mercury?" Jupiter asked, tense with apprehension.

They stood wary as Mercury received data from her computer. The machine beeped frantically and Amy looked up, "Watch out!"

Amy crashed into Lita knocking her down just as a flaming arrow fell on the spot where she had been standing a moment before. Lita was trying to breathe, but was having trouble since Mercury knocked the wind out of her.

Everybody was now jumping here and there trying to avoid the shower of arrows. Darien threw roses in the air to counter the arrows of fire. Venus used her meteor shower aiming it towards the sky to do the same. Mercury got up from the ground to call out her attack.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" water rushed from her hands and extinguished several arrows, which were replaced with several more.

"What are we going to do? They just keep coming!" Serena huffed as she threw her tiara at an arrow, breaking it.

"I don't know!" Raye grunted, avoiding an arrow narrowly.

"Ahh!" Mina screamed as an arrow pierced her shoulder.

"Venus!" Serena and Lita cried together.

Mars, Mercury and Tuxedo Mask were gathered together to try and destroy arrows more effectively. It was no use, the downpour of arrows continued to fall relentlessly. They had to disband in different directions as a cluster of flaming, red orange arrows fell from above them.

"That was close!" Raye breathed. "Mina are you alright?"

She nodded and swallowed, "Nothing I can't handle."

Serena looked up and made a rush at Mina and was able to help her avoid another injury to her other shoulder. Mercury ran over to her and used her water powers to help cool the burn.

"I can't do anything for the hole, I'm so sorry," she said with great remorse. Mina only nodded, noticing that the arrow had vanished once it hit its target.

There was a blanket of fire that fell from the sky, turning the scenery red. The blanket crashed down on the group of heroes harshly. They all screamed out in pain as they were blistered from the scorching heat. Darien tried to shield himself and Sailor Jupiter, since she was the closest, with his cape. It did not prove effective, however.

They all lay where they were trying to regain their ground, "What do we do now?" Darien asked with much effort.

"I don't know!" Serena said, feeling the helplessness fall upon her. Some leader she was.

"Oh no! Here comes another wave of arrows!" Lita yelled.

None were able to move, they all closed their eyes waiting for the impact. Darien made it to Serena's side and tried to shield her, embracing her as he did so.

"I'll protect you even if it means my own life," he said faintly in here ear.

She looked at him, "Darien, Greg told me…" she screamed, cutting off her sentence and closed her eyes.

There was a blinding flash of light and then darkness. She opened her eyes and the sky was a magnificent blue once more. She looked up at the sky, no more arrows. As she continued to look she saw a glimpse of a silhouette with wings floating in front of the sun.

Thank you, Serena thought to herself, whoever you are. The figure vanished in the brightness. Serena had to remove her gaze from the sun for she felt she might go blind. Darien removed himself from Sailor Moon and looked around. The other girls were taking a look around to see what happened as well. They got to their feet shakily, and helped support each other.

"What on earth happened?" Mars asked.

"I don't know," was the only reply from the others.

"Sailor Moon, did you say something to me?" Serena looked at him, having forgotten that she had tried to tell him.

"Huh? Oh, no. Nothing." Serena breathed, I guess it was not time to tell him anyways.

"Oh…" he carried off.

"That was horrible! We almost died. What a miracle." Breathed Mina, clasping her shoulder.

"What now, Sailor Moon?" Jupiter asked.

She took a deep breath, "We finish this."

"Right!" they all chorused.

They gathered in a circle and held hands, Serena clutching Darien's tightly. "We're off to Mars."

The group closed their eyes and waited for the sound off.

"In the name of the planet earth, grant me the power to teleport with the Sailor Scouts!"

"Mercury Star Power!"

"Mars Star Power!"

"Jupiter Star Power!"

"Venus Star Power!"

"Moon Crystal Power!"

"Sailor Teleportation!" everyone cried together. A sphere of energy surrounded them. They flickered and vanished.

The young heroes shot through space straight towards the red planet. As they approached its atmosphere, great pressure squeezed the sphere that surrounded them, suffocating the group of young warriors. They looked at each other knowing this was not supposed to happen. This force must coming from the dark crystal. The planet was surrounded by its power. As the pressure began to become unbearable, the orb stopped, causing the group to loose their breath.

A voice spoke, "There is danger that lies beyond this point. The loved one has betrayed us. You shall not be permitted to pass."

"Who is that?" Amy asked.

Raye stood there and thought, "It's the planet!"

"What?" Lita said shocked.

"I know it sounds weird, but I can feel it. I think I remember my mother putting some sort of device in the planet to be its own guardian back during the time of peace during the time of the Moon Kingdom." Raye looked at the surface of the red planet. "I am Sailor Mars, Princess Raye. You will permit us to pass, in order to stop this evil."

There was no answer for some time, then, "Princess Raye? No, it cannot be," the voice seemed to be doubtful, but then changed its tone. "Yes, it is you. I cannot allow danger to befall you, Princess."

"You must! Or well will be in peril back on earth!" Raye exclaimed.

The planet thought for a moment, "As you wish, Princess."

The pressure of the world lessened, as it seemed to open a path and guide the six to the ground. As they reached the ground the shield of energy that surrounded them faded away. They looked around them, amazed at their view. It was pretty amazing, and must have been completely beautiful during the times of peace. Now, however, it was reeking of negative energy and frightening power. It felt somehow familiar though.

"Come on guys, let's follow our gut and find this woman," Serena said, sounding like a true leader.

As they walked along, they heard a laugh, "Finally, I thought you would never come."

"Who are you?" Serena demanded.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough, I dare you to find me," the voice paused. "By the way, how did you like my invitation?" the voice sounded very provocative.

"If you wanted to fight us hand to hand, then why did you try and kill us?" Raye demanded, feeling her temper rise.

"Why, fight you my dear?" the voice sung out an amused tone. "No, I'm only interested in Serenity." The intonation had changed to poisoned ice.

Raye looked over at Serena, and saw that her dear friend shrunk back. She walked over to her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Don't be afraid, we can do this."

Sailor Moon smiled, "I accept your challenge!" she called out to the air with great boldness. The voice only laughed.

The party moved onward following the sense of power that hung in the air. As they moved forward everyone was able to keep up with Serena's determined stride, despite their injuries. Darien watched her walk, her blue eyes were full of purpose, there was no turning back for her. Her outfit was on the ruined side with many singes, but her spirit did not show discouragement. The other scouts looked the same. Serena was being a true leader, giving hope to her friends.

"Look!" Serena called out and stopped.

There was a circle of extremely large dark crystals surrounding a fiery pit in the middle of it. They cautiously walked into the enclosure. As they stood there they felt an enormous energy flowing from the fire. They stared into the flames and tensed. There was a dark form slowly forming in the depths of the flames. As they watched, the figure began to take shape. The beautiful woman stood before them with her face half covered once again. Her slender body poised in a relaxed position. Her eyes are so red, Serena noticed.

"Welcome to my little planet," the veiled woman said.

"What do you mean, 'your planet'?" Raye said with a temper.

The woman only laughed and muttered some words under her breath and a beam of fire mixed with shards of the dark crystal flew at Serena. Mina jumped in its way and was knocked to the ground.

"Mina!" Serena sreamed. "No!"

"I'm…okay," she said softly and fainted. Sailor Moon leaned down and placed her head on her lap. A tear fell down her cheek, and she looked up with the utmost hatred for this person.

"Who are you?" Sailor Moon demanded. Once again the woman only laughed. There was so much pleasure coming from that woman, so much pleasure from her pain! "What have I done to make you so angry?" her blue eyes contradicted the harsh red eyes. The woman was almost taken aback, but recovered quickly.

"What have you done? Nothing— yet," the woman spat, "and you won't be doing anything to me in the future! I'll take care of that right now!"

She shot out another blast and jumped into the air, her agility extremely graceful. The woman landed noiselessly behind Serena and shot a fireball at her. The range was too close. She could not dodge that. The air smelled of burnt hair and skin. Serena fell over Mina and tried to stand up. She grunted out her struggle and managed to gently set Mina's head on the soft ground and stand. She turned around swiftly and thrust her activated tiara into her offender's stomach. The woman recoiled from the pressure and even bled a little, but only laughed at her attempt.

She stared with disbelief that not even a cringe of pain escaped from her face. There was something wrong with this woman. The enemy jumped up and shot a shower of dark crystals at her. Sailor Moon rolled out of the way. She was going to put up a good fight; she would not stand there and wail. The others joined in and threw their attacks at the dark haired woman gliding above them. She landed with ease and tucked her hair behind her ears. She stood there with her arms crossed, her hands touching the opposite shoulder. They all paused, thinking that maybe they had actually injured her. The woman's eyes were closed and she seemed to be mumbling something.

Her eyes then opened with a flash and she released her arms, holding them out to her sides, aligning them with her shoulders. A purple wave flowed through her body and out causing a growing dome to surround them. The wave pushed out everybody. They were shoved by the transparent energy, causing them to leave a tail from where they had once stood. Sailor Moon was the only one not affected by this power. Darien tired to grab Serena and hold on so that they would not be parted, but the force was greater than his mortal strength.

"No!" Serena cried, as her grip with Darien was broken. She watched as Darien tried to force his way through, but it was no use. Her heart ached to see the sight of Sailor Venus— not even capable of getting away or resisting— being moved with the flow of the dome, causing her skin to rub raw and bleed even more. She was still unconscious and could not defend herself! How could this woman be so cruel? "Darien! Get Venus away from the dome, it's hurting her even more!"

He gave her a look of despair but knew he must get Mina away from the pushing dome. Serena looked at her foe with mixed emotions. This enemy was completely unbelievable. Her anguish was growing for her and her friends. Tears began to spill freely from her eyes. This was it, the moment Greg had described. Ignoring the attempts her friends made to try and break in, she raised her scepter with purpose and chanted the activation spell and shot out its magic. The woman blocked it with a dark shield.

"You will have to do better than that," she said, mocking her abilities.

"Tell me, please. Who are you?" Serena pleaded.

"Why, I'm the friend you will betray," she stated as if Serena were stupid.

"Will? So, you are from the future?"

"Yes."

"What did I do?"

"You- you killed the love of my life," she stopped and looked down, a tear sprung from her eye. "You killed him!"

"What?" Serena gasped with disbelief. With that the woman screamed out an attack and it flung from her hands right at Sailor Moon. She dodged it with a little singe to her hair.

"I wanted you to die for what you did! Then I realized, if I could kill you now, then I would be able to live with Shuichiro, forever."

Serena took in a ragged breath. That could not be true. How could she do that, it was not possible. She looked up to where this pained soul was standing, "That cannot be true!"

"Oh, but it is," she shot another mass of fire at her, and in Sailor Moon's state, taking the blow at full force. She was thrown to the edge of the enclosure, where the dome stopped. Darien was on the other side of the barricade calling to her. She could barley hear him, here thoughts were swimming with everything. How could she have killed someone? She betrayed her own friend? Greg's voice echoed in her head as well. Darien's voice whispered, "I love you." All of these things, memories with all her loved ones flowed through her mind. Then they all ceased. The only thought left was an American song she had heard from a few years ago. She looked at Darien, who was trying hard to get to her. He looked her in the eyes, smiling to see she was still conscious. Her wounds looked terrible from his point of view and indeed they were. She gasped from the horrific pain, but was able to sing the song to him. In her confusion, it was all she could think to do:

Darien started to cry, what was she talking about? Why was she singing that song?

"Darien, Greg told me…" she paused, trying to come to her senses. "I'm going to die in this battle."

"What!" he cried disbelievingly.

"He didn't know anything about the woman, his vision only showed that I would die. That's all he knew. It's been so hard living with that knowledge. Thinking of leaving you, the scouts. Never seeing Rini again…she won't even exist!" Serena started to cry as the words came out, gasping between sobs from the pain.

"Serena, you won't die! I won't let you!"

"I love you…" was her only reply as she ignored every burning pain in her body. "I can sense something wrong with you. It's the dark crystal! I think it is turning your grief into an evil form. You're not thinking clearly! It happened to my daughter once!"

"Ha, I know, Wicked Lady," she replied. "The case is not the same with me."

:& & &:

The room shined with rainbows. The white fabric was rippling in the constant wind that was blowing from her hands. The voices were far away. They were all calling for her to stop. She ignored everything but the task at hand.

The room glowed brightly, "Time teleportation. Take me to my beloved friend."

The first voice reached the door and yelled, "Nooooo!"

:& & &:

It is! You just don't know it!" she called. "I can sense you are a good person! You would not normally do this!"

"Mars Heart Flame!" she called out and began to throw it at Sailor Moon.

"No!" Serena removed her crystal from her bow and called out, "Moon Crystal Power! Please, heal her!"

The two forces collided and made a bright flash. The flames coming from the woman were too powerful. They broke through the white light and headed straight for Serena. Then all of a sudden there was a blinding light. The two duelists shielded their eyes. When they looked up the flame was gone and they were staring at each other.

"What the…" Sailor Moon said. She looked up and Neo Queen Serenity was floating above them both.

Serena was speechless. She watched as the queen began to speak, "Please, stop this."

The woman faltered and her eyes flashed a beautiful violet, but returned a bloody red immediately, "Neo Queen Serenity, so, you want to die instead of this little one."

The queen didn't respond to the statement, "Please, you must listen to me, Raye."

Serena gasped, what was she talking about. She looked over to the woman who made an amused grunt. She pulled off her veil to reveal the beautiful face of Raye Hino, but older. The other scouts gasped too.

"What's going on!" Raye cried, who almost fainted to see her face on the body of their enemy. The only thing different was the eye color.

"Raye, you must understand. I didn't kill your fiancée." The queen continued.

She scoffed, "Like I shall believe you!"

The future Raye then brought forth an enormous power and blasted it at Neo Queen Serenity. Serenity countered it with all her force and added a healing spell as well. No. All that power… It will kill her! Serena thought.

"Nooooo!" Serena cried, more tears spilling. The others cried out as well, but it was too late. Serena was prepared to die, but she was not prepared to watch herself die.

The white light blasted through the flames and the fire did the same. Each was hit at full blast. The queen fell to the ground from the air. Raye stumbled back, breathing heavily. Serena ran to her future self.

"Your Majesty!" she did not answer. She was not even breathing. The tears fell. So this was her future…

"That hurt!" Raye glared. The power the dark crystal had over her was broken, now they only had to clean out her system. She laughed, "Now it is your turn…" she stopped, trying to resist the vengeful thoughts; she could feel it was wrong.

"Raye, we are your friends," Serena was shocked. The queen had spoken. "I did not kill Shuichiro. The dark crystal had taken over his mind, when I tried to save him…. the crystal killed him. It was too much power for him to handle.

"When you got there, I know it looked bad, and then the crystal took over you. You disappeared before I could do anything."

Both Rayes looked stunned. The young sailor soldier began to cry, would she have to go through that pain in the future? Could they not change it? She looked down at her future self. "Believe her, she is your friend!" the older Raye was shocked to hear herself speak and looked in Raye's direction. Tears of loss fell now, the hatred gone.

"I'm so sorry, my queen…friend."

Neo Queen Serenity smiled, closing her eyes, and did not reply, "No…no!…" Serena bent her head over the pale queen, "Why…"

The dome vanished suddenly and Darien rushed over to the mourning Serena and his future wife. He was not sure what to do. His love was safe, but yet, there she was dead, in the arms of the younger girl. "Serena…"

A glowing light appeared and a girl stood in front of them. They looked up. It was Sailor Moon but different. "Serena, Darien, I am Eternal Sailor Moon."

They only stared at her, along with the other sailor scouts.

"I was the one who saved you from the shower of arrows."

"Oh, thank…you," Serena sniffled.

"Serena, we may be able to still save her," Serena looked up, not sure what to think. "Get up, please."

Serena stood, and looked up. She was surprised to see that King Endymion was behind her. "King…"

He cut her off, his eyes beginning to glisten with tears, "Hello, Sailor Moon."

"Now, Serena, repeat after me: By the powers of the Moon Kingdom I beg you to grant my wish and restore the life to your queen," Serena did so. "Good, now, we will have to hold our crystals out over the her."

Serena nodded but had one question, "Why is the King here?"

Eternal Sailor Moon smiled, "He told me what was happening, and knew I could help. Besides, this spell is called the Kiss of Eternity. To complete this spell, we need her Love to kiss her. It seems more appropriate for her husband to kiss her rather than his past self. " Serena merely nodded, it would be weird to see him kiss someone else, even if it was her future self.

They spoke together, "By the powers of the Moon Kingdom I beg you to grant my wish and restore the life to your queen."

Their crystals began to glow; they both closed their eyes to concentrate their powers on reviving the peaceful woman lying there, looking like a serene angel. The king moved over to his queen and kissed her. Darien watched with apprehension. The king removed his lips from Serenity's. She did not open her eyes.

They all looked like each other wondering. They saw a light out of the corner of their eye and all turned around. The light was surrounding the older Raye. As it faded, they heard a voice.

"I have fully healed you my dear friend. Please, take care."

"Serenity?" the King called out.

"Yes, my love. It is I. I will not come back to you."

"Why…" tears stared to flow from his calm eyes.

"God has let me become and angel. I am now the true guardian of the earth, unlike before. I want to protect you, all of you."

"We need you here though!" Sailor Moon cried.

Eternal Sailor Moon held her hand out. "She will always be with us. This is the right decision," Sailor Moon looked at her, but did not say any more. She could tell this version of her had grown up a lot, to take this so calmly.

The transparent image of the queen appeared, "I love you, my King. I love you all. Not coming back to life shows you how much I do care for you. Please, do not be sad."

The world seemed to fade from them and suddenly they were in Crystal Tokyo. "I will now be able to keep this world from the type of dangers that it has faced in the past."

"Why don't you stay in the past and keep it from danger there? It would save us the pain." Sailor Moon said.

Eternal Sailor Moon answered her question, "To build our character."

The image of the angel queen rose into the sky and cast a barrier with her tears. Her wings shone in the sunlight. "Tell Rini I will always be here with her, and all of you. Now, it's time for all of you to go home." The image disappeared and the world began to blur. The group fell and Eternal Sailor Moon fell with them.

"It was wonderful seeing me at your age, at her age…" she said softly, tears fell as the sadness of the loss rolled through her mind.

The others were crying too, Serena would be a great queen one day.

"Good-bye, for now, my friends," she disappeared into her own time as the others continued to fall.

Finally, they all landed in front of the radio tower right when they had left. They all gazed at Serena. It was so hard to think that they would be losing their best friend, and Darien would lose his soul mate. Darien held her and kissed her longingly. The others did not eve make a joking remark at such a display they were. Life was going to be unbearable knowing what was come.

"Young ones," came the queen's voice. They all looked up, "you should not have to live knowing what you know. The future is not meant to be known. I will erase your memories of this whole battle; I will take care of your injuries as well. Farewell."

They all smiled, eyes sparkling. This was a kind act, but they felt they should not forget this. Serenity ignored their opinions, knowing what was best. As the spell was cast the last thought before the peace filled Serena's heart was that she must restore the Moon Kingdom before it was too late. Before she was no longer a princess, but the angel who would forever watch over the world.

:Kiss of Eternity:

:End:

Hi! I really hope you liked my story! I worked hard on it, please review my story, if you are going to flame me…. please be kind, I'm very sensitive! Oh, by the way, I do not own the song: "Wherever you will go" by The Calling either. Until my next story!