Here is part 2 of my first Sailor Moon fic.
I hope the first part went down okay as I haven't written anything
fanficy (is that a real word?) in a while until now:)
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Note: I do not own any of the characters in Sailor Moon. They are
property of the respective companies and persons behind this phenomena.
Sailor Moon - "Parting gift" (Part 2)
By Blue-Jackal (Anni Ruecroft)
Serena hugged the pink teddy bear close to her and closed her eyes with
a sleepy smile.
She liked to pretend that "Puffy" as her teddy was named, was really
some gorgeous hunk, maybe...Tuxedo mask, and she would snuggle up to it
in the night and drift off into her dreams.
Sadly, "Puffy" was nothing more than an amalgamation of cotton,
polyester, and some soft woolly filling rather than a gorgeous hunk like maybe...Tuxedo mask.
Serena could always dream though, and dreaming was something this girl
was almost over qualified at.
She rolled over and buried her head under her pillow, bringing Puffy
with her of course.
Serena sighed as she tried to drift back to sleep but her new nemesis
was preventing it.
This 'nemesis' took the form of a bird that had taken up residence in a
tree just outside Serena's window some weeks ago. It insisted on
chirping it's heart out early every morning, much to the disdain of a
certain Moon princess whom it woke each time it started this daily
routine.
"Serena, you'll suffocate yourself under there if you're not careful", a voice remarked as Serena felt four paws strolling up her covers.
"Aren't cats supposed to be good at catching birds?", Serena groaned in
a muffled voice from under the pillow.
"Well, uh...", Luna paused but was interrupted when Serena's door was
gently pushed open.
"Serena, dear", a woman's voice called softly.
Serena's mother slowly walked into her daughters bedroom, holding a
rolled up newspaper in one hand.
The woman looked as if she carried quite a burden as she moved the black cat to one side and sat on the edge of Serena's bed.
"Honey?", she called gently.
"No...To early", Serena's muffled voice yawned at the prospect of
getting up, "Another hour...or maybe two".
Serena's mother gently nudged the bump that was her daughter hidden
under the covers.
"Make an appointment and come back later", Serena pleaded.
"Serena, this is important", Mrs Tsukino paused, "It's one of your
friends, the girl from the temple, Rei. Something's happened to her".
In an instant, Serena sat herself up, letting Puffy and her pillow drop
to the floor.
"What? Rei? What's happened?", Serena blurted out as she became
concerned.
Luna also grew concerned and sat herself next to Serena.
"It's not good dear", Mrs Tsukino looked down at the newspaper she held,
"I'd better let you see for yourself dear".
The woman handed the rolled up newspaper to her daughter and made her
way to the door, "I'll be downstairs if you need to talk dear", Mrs
Tsukino said and quietly shut the door behind her.
Concerned, Serena unrolled the early edition of the local newspaper.
On the front cover was a photograph of the Cherry Hill temple and a
headline in thick black lettering read, "PRIESTESS CRITICAL AFTER
VISCOUS ASSAULT".
Serena gasped, "No, not Rei!", but there was only one priestess at the
Cherry hill temple.
Luna said nothing. The black feline simply didn't know what to say so
she placed a comforting paw on Serena's hand.
The girls hands trembled slightly as she held the newspaper and read the report within it.
"The priestess, Rei Hino, who is well liked in the area is said to have
been discovered lying injured on the steps of the Cherry Hill temple at
12:45am last night. No clear motive for the attack has been discovered
and Mr Hino, the victims grand father and guardian, has appealed for
witnesses. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the city hospital has said that Miss Hino is in a critical condition with head injuries and serious stab wounds".
Serena's lip quivered and she placed a hand over her mouth in shock and
worry.
"I've got to see her!", Serena leapt out of bed and rushed to her closet
to pull out some clothes.
"I'll call the others", Luna offered but paused momentarily as she
observed Serena, "Rei will be in excellent hands Serena, she wouldn't
want you to panic".
Serena merely nodded in agreement and continued to rummage through her
clothes before sinking to her knees and sobbing.
The feline walked over to Serena and looked caringly into her tear
filled eyes.
"I'm worried too Serena but, right now, Rei will need her friends to be
strong understand?".
With a sniffle, Serena nodded.
The footsteps bounded down the hallway, dodging people and objects, as
they hurried to their destination.
The receptionist had told Serena that Rei was in the east wing on the
hospital in room four.
The blond slowed as she rounded and corner and saw a familiar sight.
Grandpa Hino sat on a chair in the corridor, outside a room numbered
"4", with a box of tissues next to him.
A nurse was insisting that he have a cup of coffee to keep his energy up but he was protesting. Coffee was clearly the last thing on his mind
right now.
"Grandpa Hino?", Serena quietly asked as she approached the short old
man.
Startled slightly, he turned and recognised his grand daughter's friend.
"Serena", he greeted with a sad tone in his voice, "I guess you heard
about Rei".
Serena rubbed her teary eyes and nodded. Grandpa Hino looked terrible,
as if his world had just crumbled around him.
"Is she...? I mean, do they know if she'll be okay?", Serena asked,
fearing what the answer might be.
Grandpa Hino indicated for Serena to sit in the chair next to him.
Seconds passed before the old priest said anything. He sniffed back a
tear and then gently took Serena's hand before he started sobbing
quietly.
"Oh no...", Serena uttered, "Something's wrong, isn't it?".
The old man nodded through his sobs.
Serena's heart sank and she felt a wave of fear run through her.
"They operated on Rei through the night", Grandpa Hino began, "Those
animals stabbed the poor girl several times. The doctors did their best
for her but they say that can't stop the bleeding inside of her without
making it worse..."
The blond Moon princess wiped the tears that were now streaming down her face and tried to ask the question she didn't want to ask.
"Is Rei...", she faltered, "Has she...".
The old man shook his head slowly, "No. Rei is still alive, in there",
he pointed to the room in front of him.
Serena looked. The blinds were closed and a policeman stood guard
outside the door.
"They don't know how long Rei has", Grandpa Hino sobbed, "but she's
given a short statement to the police while she could and she's sleeping now".
As the reality of the situation hit her, Serena broke down completely
and cried like a small child.
"Serena...", another solemn voice called softly.
It was Amy, standing a few feet away, the other girls with her.
Mina brushed a tear away and no one said a word.
It was apparent that they had overheard what had just been said.
The room was very clinical.
The lights were dim, the blinds were shut and nothing stirred.
A form lay in the bed that stood in the room. Drips feeding fluid to the form were hung from apparatus next to the bed.
All was silent as Rei lay sleeping after the failed attempt to save her
life.
Her raven black hair was obscured partly by a bandage wrapped around her forehead.
Her right eye was swollen shut and a large bruise covered the right side of her face. Silently, the door opened and four girls walked somberly in.
Amy gasped and Mina had to close her eyes momentarily to compose
herself.
"Wait 'til I find out who did this!", Lita muttered under her breath
and clenched her fists.
Serena headed straight for Rei's bedside and took her hand gently.
As Serena helplessly watched over Rei, Mina opened her sports bag and
two cats climbed out and leapt softly onto the side of the bed.
Artemis opened his mouth to speak but fell silent and shook his head in
sadness at the sight before him.
"Can't they do something?", Lita thought out loud, "I mean, can't they
transfer her to a place that can deal with this type of injury?".
Amy bit her lip, and shook her head slowly, as she stared at Rei's
bruised face, "No. Sometimes even the best can't do anything Lita".
"Poor Rei", Mina dried her eyes a little, "Why? Why Rei?!".
"She certainly didn't deserve this", Luna said, sounding as if her
composure might crack at any moment.
A slight moan escaped Rei and all the girls crowded round as the
familiar, dark, eyes opened a little.
"Rei?", Serena called with a glimmer of hope in her voice, "Rei...You
had us so worried".
"Serena...", Rei whispered weakly as her good eyes took it's time to
focus on her friends.
"How do you feel?", Mina asked from the other side of the bed.
"...Weak", Rei hoarsely admitted in a whisper.
The priestess looked exhausted and awfully pale, as if her inner flames
had burned down to nothing but a mere ember.
"We were so worried", Serena said, still holding Rei's hand tightly,
"You can make it, I know you can".
Amy looked away. She couldn't bare to witness the false hope that she
could see rising in Serena.
"No...", Rei shook her head a little, "...You know that's not true...".
Serena's voice took on a pleading tone as she leaned over Rei, "No Rei,
you can pull through, I know you can, you have to!".
"I'm so sorry", Rei began, "I was supposed to stay by you guys and help
protect Serena...But I failed".
"Don't talk like that!", Lita protested, "Rei, you're a fine Sailor
scout and we wouldn't have asked for a better friend. If anyone's to
blame it's the punks who did this too you!".
Mina nodded, as did everyone else.
"She has a good point", Luna nodded as she sat next to Rei's shoulder,
"We're all proud of you Rei".
There was silence as everyone absorbed the conversation until Serena
tearfully spoke up again.
"But Rei...I don't want you to go", she paused as her emotions flooded
through her, "You're my friend...my best friend. A sister".
"And you're my best friend Serena", Rei replied with a tear leaving her
good eye, "And I'll always watch over you guys, just...don't forget
me...".
With that, tears began to flow freely from the entire group.
Moments later, the exhaustion caught up with the priestess once more and
she drifted back into her sleep with the knowledge that her friends were
with her.
"Sailor Mars".
The voice echoed as it called her name.
"Sailor Mars".
Weakly, Rei opened her eyes in response to the voice.
To her surprise, she was no longer in her hospital bed.
Rei rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
Her surroundings were all white, as if she were in some vast, unknown
dimension.
Looking down, to examine herself, Rei also noticed that she was now
wearing her Sailor scout uniform instead of the hospital gown.
Despite these changes, the Sailor scout still felt incredibly weak.
"Where am I?", she asked as she wearily stumbled to her feet, "Am I
dead?".
"I apologise for startling you", a gentle voice said from behind her.
The voice was very familiar and Rei turned to see who was speaking to
her.
She was shocked when she saw the voices owner before her.
"Queen Serenity?", Rei observed, surprised.
Queen Serenity, former ruler of the Moon kingdom, stood before Rei with
a warm yet sympathetic smile.
"Welcome Sailor Mars", Serenity warmly said and took Rei's hand.
"What is happening?", the confused Sailor scout asked.
"You have done a wonderful job on earth Sailor Mars. I am very proud of
you and all the Sailor scouts", Serenity began and started to walk
slowly, "I know my dear Serena is in the safest of hands and I thank you
from the bottom of my heart".
Rei looked to Queen Serenity, "But I should be with them to fight
alongside them, they need me, they're my friends".
Serenity stopped and turned to face Rei, "You duty is now complete Mars,
there is nothing more you can do, but I have one last request to make of
you".
"Request?", Rei asked, curious.
"I know you can't bare to leave your friends and I know how much you
want to protect Serena", Serenity explained, "By honouring this request,
you will still be protecting her even though you are no longer with her
or the other scouts".
Rei listened. Her strength was beginning to fade fast and she slumped to
her knees.
Queen Serenity knelt beside the fallen Sailor Scout and took her arm
around her shoulder to steady her.
"What do I do?", Rei asked, her breathing growing heavy.
With her gentle fingers, Serenity removed the tiara from Rei's forehead.
The symbol of Mars glowed brightly beneath it.
"Listen very carefully Sailor Mars", Serenity said as Rei slumped weakly
into her arms, "You are weakening and there is not much time"
End Chapter 2...
I hope to get Chapter 3 out as soon as possible.
One little side note: Serena's 'nemesis', the bird that wakes her up in
the morning with it's chirping, is actually based on an incredibly
irritating little bird that has been doing the same thing to me for
several months, so I gave it a little cameo in the fic;)
Hopefully it'll be satisfied with it's moment in the spotlight and
perhaps it'll now go and bug someone else:)
Secondly: Rei's dislike of the 'stereotypical tourist' in part 1 is
based on the fact that I work with tourists and the stupidity of _some_
of these people is beyond belief. So, if they bug me with ridiculous
questions ("What flavour is a Yorkshire pudding?"), they'll be certain
to annoy the hell out of Rei
If anyone has any feedback on this fic, please let me know:)
It's always nice to know what people think of your work:)
--
Blue-Jackal:)
Pokeball inspector of alt.fan.team-rocket
Sugarbot of Dinobot (**Officially**)
Owner of a cuddly Koffing:)
Follower of Sailor Mars:)
Fact: It's 7:58;)
"Smile: Chibi-Usa loves you!";)
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