Subject: Destiny Series: Episode Five -Angel- ActinAngel@aol.com Episode Five "Darien's Decision" Sailor Moon sobbed over Sailor Mercury's body. It wasn't supposed to be this way. She wasn't suppose to die. The scouts weren't supposed to be forever separated by death. Suddenly, Mercury's body dissolved into four big bubbles. "Amy?" Sailor Jupiter asked, her voice clouded with tears. "Yes," a voice echoed. "It's me." "Amy?! You're dead!" Sailor Venus cried. "I know," the voice answered. "But my Sailor Scout identity isn't. I can't help you guys with your fight, but I will always be here in spirit." "Amy, what can we do?" Sailor Moon sobbed. "Keep fighting. I'll be nearby to tell you what to do." the voice responded. "I feel so free." The voice said cheerfully. Luna said, "Sailor Mercury, join Raye in help look for Darien. You might have to explain to her what's going." "Will do, Luna." echoed the voice. One of the bubbles floated off, leaving three remaining. "Listen, scouts. I can't hold my bubble form much longer." The scouts looked at each other worriedly. "Hold hands, scouts." the voice commanded. The scouts all took hands. A bubbles surrounded each of the girls. Finally, each of the scouts absorbed her bubble. "Whew, that's much better." a voice echoed in their head. Jupiter laughed, "I've heard of hearing voices in your head, but this is ridiculous." The other scouts giggled. It was the first time they had laughed in a long time. "Scouts, I have restored some of your strength. You should be able to continue for a couple more days without getting as sick as I was." Amy's spirit said. The scout's nodded. They each felt connected in some way. They were able to talk to each other telepathically. This saved a lot of energy used on speaking. Of course, they would have to tell Luna everything they thought. "You know, I think we can beat this thing, you guys." Sailor Moon said enthusiastically. "Whenever it decides to show up." Amy's spirit said. The scouts smiled. Raye sighed in frustration. She sipped her milkshake and checked her list. She had been to ten apartment buildings with no success. Only twenty-three to go, she thought. Suddenly, Raye felt a strange mystical force surrounding her. She glanced up to see a bubble swaying over her. "Raye," it whispered. Raye blinked her eyes. The bubble was talking to her. I've seen stranger things, she reminded herself. After all, it was quite a shock when she found out Luna could talk. "Yes?" she whispered back. "It's Amy. Stand up, and put your palms together." Raye was confused, but the force seemed trustworthy, so she complied. Instantly, she absorbed the bubble. "Raye is now with us," a voice called inside her head. Raye immediately sat down, conscious of the people staring at her. "Raye, welcome back to the Sailor Scouts." Lita's voice sounded. "We missed you, girlfriend." Mina said. Raye nearly screamed at the voices in her head. Amy's spirit sensed her anxiousness. "Relax, Raye. Let me explain. "My body is dead. I died about a few hours ago. When my body died, my Sailor Scout identity was converted into Mercury bubbles. Each of the Sailor Scouts has absorbed my spirit. We now have telepathic abilities." Raye was shocked for a minute, then tried to communicate through her mind. It worked. "It's nice to be home again." Lita, Mina, and Amy cheered. Raye smiled. But now it was time to get down to business. "I haven't located Darien's apartment, yet." Raye said. "Keep looking, Raye. You'll find it," Lita said encouragingly. Raye was inspired. Now with all the Sailor Scouts helping, she was sure to find it. "Alright, let me go find it." Tanya stared blankly at the tv. "Oh great!" she shouted. "Scott!" Scott rushed in from the kitchen. "What is it, sweetheart?" "The scouts escaped the hospital last night. Nobody knows where they are." Tanya said in anger. Scott went to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Think. Where would they go? What could they possibly accomplish?" Scott said calmly. Tanya paused for a long while. "They must have figured out that they're enemies gave them the disease, otherwise they wouldn't have run away. But where could they go?" "We'll find them, don't worry." Scoot answered reassuringly. He hated to see Tanya so upset over five measly humans. Four, he corrected himself. "Now, moving on, Chlorite has given me the information that Sailor Mars has been relieved of her Sailor Scout duties." Tanya's face brightened. "Whoa! They kicked her out! That's so excellent!" The she paused and her smile faded, "Wait. That means she didn't get the disease. Oh great! She could ruin the whole thing!" "Sweetheart, the disease is progressing rapidly, right? In a matter of days, all the Sailor Scouts will be dead. We don't have anything to worry about," Scott laughed. "Wrong, Tuxedo Mask could rescue them and defeat US." Tanya said. Scott was puzzled. Usually it was he who was asking the questions, not her. "Tanya, Tuxedo Mask is gone. That's why Sailor Moon was injected with the disease. For all we know he could be at the other end of the Earth." Tanya relaxed. She laughed, "I know I'm being too nervous about it, but this HAS to work. If this fails..." her voice trailed off. Scott tensed. He knew what she was thinking. If it failed, they would never marry. Scott was tired of Tanya's constant procrastination. It had been five long years since he had proposed to her. Scoot knew that if she put it off longer, he would leave. He was sick of always being put off, no matter how much he loved Tanya. Scott made a vow to himself. If Tanya failed, then he would go after the scouts himself. They had to be destroyed! Forever! Darien looked up from the paper. He had been so engaged in reading the article about the disappearance of Lita, Amy, Mina, and Serena that he had barely notice the knock at the door. He sighed and got up. It could be someone important, he thought. Darien opened the door. "Why, hi there." a sweet voice said. Darien smiled. It was Tanya from upstairs. "Hey, Tanya. What's up?" he asked, momentarily forgetting his worry over the Sailor Scouts. "Oh, I just wanted to come in. I've been so lonely upstairs." Tanya said. Darien invited her in. She smiled and sat down on his sofa. "Why are you lonely? Isn't your boyfriend with you?" Darien asked. "Oh yeah, but he's...at work." Tanya muttered. In truth, she was sick of being in the company of Scott. They needed some time apart. And this human interested her. Something about him... "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm off today. Normally, I'd be at work, too." Darien babbled. He was just making small talk while he analyzed the girl There was something about her that just didn't fit... "So, Darien, do you have a girlfriend?" Tanya asked smiling. Darien paused. He wanted to brag about Serena and show her picture to Tanya, but something compelled him to think of Raye instead. "Yeah, sorta." he said slowly. "Oh. Mind if I ask why you hesitated?" Tanya said, cocking her eyebrow. Maybe it was her incredible beauty. Or her genuine sweetness. But Darien wanted to tell Tanya everything about himself. He held back, though. A little strand made him shut up. "Just trying to asses our relationship," he shrugged. Tanya giggled. "Well, me and Scott, my boyfriend, have been dating for a LONG time. He and I plan on getting married someday." Why am I telling this inferior human all this? she asked herself. Darien nodded, a little disappointed that she was so involved with her boyfriend. They talked a little while longer before Tanya left. He shut the door, and pictured the lovely woman. Hey, I've dated two fourteen year olds, he thought. Why not try someone my own age? Darien sat down and began to read the paper again. "Okay, Stanfield Apartments." Raye said to the scouts. "Here goes," she said and walked up to the door. "Excuse me, where's the landlord?" she asked the gruff man standing at the door. "You're looking at him, doll-face." growled the man. Raye stepped back a bit. "Um, my...husband has just moved into a new apartment here. I don't know which one it is, can you help me?" Raye said with a sweet, innocent tone. The instant the man heard the word "husband", his face turned stone cold. "What's his name?" "Darien." she answered. No use in giving a last name if it was unnecessary. "Oh, HIM. B-5, doll-face." the man answered. He went back to staring at the door. "Bingo, guys." Raye said to the others. "He's not your husband." Sailor Moon said coldly. It was the first time she had spoken to Raye. "This isn't the time, Sailor Moon." Jupiter snapped. Raye walked up to B-5. This is it, she thought. She knocked on the door. The door opened. "Tanya? Did you forget something?" a voice asked. Raye froze. It was Darien. Darien froze in shock. He was terrified. Raye had found him. What did she want of him? "Raye!" he finally said in a choked voice. "Darien." Raye acknowledged and barged into the apartment. "It's nice." she said, mainly to the scouts. "Thanks." Darien said dryly. "Let's cut to the chase. What do you want?" "Sit, Darien. We have a serious problem on our hands. It's no time for playing games." Raye said in a authoritative tone. Darien glanced at her, then sat down. Raye took a deep breath. The scouts coaxed her on. She felt their presence. "As you may know, the Sailor Scouts have been diagnosed with a rare, deadly virus. And it's contagious." Darien nodded. Raye continued, "The scouts are at the park right now. I don't have the disease, yet. Amy has already died." Darien sat up. "Died? Amy?!" His eyes watered. Amy was such a close friend. "Listen, her spirit still lives on. Literally. She has given us the power of telepathy and also been able to communicate with us." Raye explained. Darien looked at her. "Can she hear me?" he asked hoarsely. "Yes," Amy answered inside Raye's head. "He's a defender of the scouts, so I can hear him. But I can't hear anyone else." Raye nodded and repeated what Amy told her. Darien understood. After being killed and raised again repeatedly, he accepted anything. Raye explained to him about the enemy and how Luna thought he held the key. "I'm sorry, Raye. I don't know anything about it." Darien turned. He might have been able to help them if he weren't so worry about his feelings for Raye. They were as strong as ever right now. Raye wanted to hold him. She wanted to be in his arms forever and not worry about the outside world. Only one strand of dignity kept her from doing it. "Okay, but we still need your help. Won't you come back?" Raye asked. "No, he won't. He still loves you, Raye, and he won't come back until he can figure out a way to NOT love you." Sailor Moon answered hurtfully. "Oh, you don't know that, Sailor Moon." Amy said. "I can feel him. He's not going to do it. It's like I can read his mind right now." Sailor Moon answered. "Sailor Moon, don't jump to conclusions." Jupiter answered. Darien sighed, "Raye, that's gonna happen a lot if I come back. Frankly, I still have feelings for you. These feelings put Serena in danger. I have to wait until they're gone." "See?" Sailor Moon's voice cracked. "Fine," Raye said and stood up. "Darien, they're DYING.It's not some Negaverse monster, they are going to DIE. Amy's already gone. You gonna wait for all of them to die before you decide to ignore your feelings?" "They're impossible to ignore." Darien said. "No they're not! I'm doing it right now!" Raye shouted. Darien looked at her. She was so determined, so unwilling to let her emotions get in the way. He had to try for her, for all the Sailor Scouts. Darien got up with fierce determination. He got his jacket. He turned towards Raye. Man, she's so close, he thought, fighting his impulse to kiss her. He spun around. "Raye, he's gonna try to kiss you." Sailor Moon shouted. "Fight it, girl! Fight the urge!" Venus said. She coughed a bit. Darien grew closer and closer to Raye. His scent overwhelmed her. It would be so easy to just let him kiss her. All she to do was lean in... "NO!" she screamed. She slapped Darien, hard. Darien whirled back with the force. She gasped for air. "We can't do this. We have to fight it." Darien held his cheek. He couldn't believe that Raye had slapped him. But she was right. They had to fight it. He silently cursed himself for even attempting to give in. He had to be strong. He had been able to be strong with Serena. But then again, he had never felt this way about Serena. "Come on," she said. Sailor Moon tried to sleep, but she couldn't. Darien was still bugging her. She had to go do something about it. She glanced around at the others. Luna was asleep. Venus slept lightly, only because the disease was getting to her again. Jupiter slept closer to Venus, keeping her warm. "Don't even think about it, Sailor Moon." a tone echoed in her head. "You can't leave them." "Amy, I've got to see Darien." Sailor Moon said to Amy. There were disadvantages to having someone read your mind. "If you even think about leaving, I'll wake them. Sailor Moon, you have a duty to watch for monsters." "Which haven't come for days! It's been two days since we came here, and no monsters. Something's gotta happen." Sailor Moon argued. "Be patient." Amy echoed. Sailor Moon sighed and tried to sleep. She began to think of a brick wall. She concentrated on it, making every little detail. Quietly she got up, still concentrating on her brick wall. She left the camp and broke out into a run, never thinking of anything else but that brick wall. She was out of the park before she left the idea of the brick wall behind. "Sailor Moon! You've left! WAKE UP, SCOUTS!" Amy shouted, outraged that Sailor Moon had tricked her. Instantly, Sailor Moon became Serena. She walked along the busy streets, ignoring the shouts in her head. "Serena, idiot! Get back here!" Jupiter said. "Serena, why? Get back here now!" Venus shouted. Amy said angrily, "I can't believe you had the nerve to disobey me." "You're not my mother," Serena shot back. "No, but we're your friends and we know what's best for you." Raye's voice echoed. "Serena, it's dangerous to be running around the streets. Go back to the park." "Forget it, Raye." Serena said and blocked the voices out. She looked up and down the streets. She just had to find Darien. She had to talk to him, to make him understand. The scouts mentally called Serena backed, but she ignored them all. Jupiter looked at Luna. "She's not responding." "Oh, that girl! Where on Earth could she be going?" Luna said irritated. "Amy, do you know where she went?" Jupiter said. "To find Darien." Amy replied. "She went to find Darien!" Venus said. Luna gasped. Serena could give Darien the disease. It was lucky for her that Artemis appeared. "Hey girls, how's it going?" he asked. Luna rushed up to him and quickly explained. "I'm going to get her. Artemis, stay here." Luna said and ran off. Artemis walked over to Venus and sat next to her. She started coughing, but still put her hand on his head. Artemis glanced worriedly at Jupiter. She nodded. If they didn't get help soon, Venus would be the next one to go.