~Tales of Time: Part One-Chapter 5- A Battle Betwixt-The Final Chapter~by Elvenwarrior mailto:elven17@hotmail.com file-talti5 Yes, ladies and gents, it's me! I'm back with the final chapter to Part One of this Epic that didn't cost Hollywood one red cent!! Speaking of epics, is it just me, or does it seem like this one dragged on FOREVER? I know that the thought process sometimes move slowly, but this? PUH- LEASE! Anyways, not to bore you (not like anyone reads this because I got an e-mail from some girl who was in a huff because she thought I was plagiarizing the musical work of several artists!), moving on. What happened in the last one? Serena's been captured *gasp* by Beryl in Darian's own house! What WILL Darian do? What ever happened to the rest of the Scouts, and why am I babbling? You'll find out soon enough! Oh, and get this! Beryl has backup! (Well, just part of the time!) I just found out that I have to rate my stories, so I'll give this one a PG-13 rating. It has some swearing, violence, but no nudity. Legal stuff: I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON OR ANY OF THAT! I ALSO DON'T OWN ANY OF THE SONGS THAT I USE IN HERE!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Don't come any closer, O'Malley." Darian skidded to a halt at the top of the large staircase, Mina, Lita, Raye, Amy, and their soul partners behind him. Beryl held a gun to Serena's head, the slim barrel pointed at her temple. Serena looked at Darian, and he caught something in her eyes. A flash of what? Oh, God...it was stark, utter, complete, and undeniably pure fear. "Beryl, you bitch." Raye hissed. "Tsk, tsk, priestess. You shouldn't be swearing." Beryl admonished. The four men behind her, all very nondescript, leveled their guns at Darian. "I thought I warded this house." Serena muttered. The woman behind her wrenched her head to one side, painfully fast. "Shut up, brat!" "Why are you here, Beryl?" Darian demanded. "I want you, Darian." She stated it so mater-of-factly that, for just a second, he was in shock. "I'm taken, but thanks anyway." He managed to reply just a matter-of-factly. "Taken? By who? This little bitch?" Beryl jerked on Serena's head roughly. "She's too weak for someone like you. Too", here, the witch looked him over," small." "SMALL?!" Serena exclaimed. Anger flared, high and strong, erasing the fear, and she rammed her elbow into Beryl's stomach. "I'll show you small, Beryl!" Sliding her foot behind her enemy's leg, she jerked forward hard and sent both of them to the floor. They grappled for a second, and the blond got free of her captor. Serena stood, staring at Beryl in awe, as if she never believed that the woman was capable of so much hatred. Of course, she'd battled the woman so long that she knew Beryl wasn't above using every trick in the book to get what she wanted. "Why can't you just leave us alone?" she demanded. Beryl raised the gun and fired it before her victim could move. The power of the gun sent the girl flying backwards until she collided with a wall. The red head stood, and, dusting her clothes off, pulled back the hammer to give Serena a fatal shot. Darian was there in an instant, standing between them.' Only mortal now.' he thought. 'I have to make this count. For Serena.' "I'll go with you, Beryl. Leave her alone." The woman actually had the gall to laugh. She pushed him aside. "Oh, you'll come with me. Once I get rid of this one, little, problem, and take care of your memory, you'll come with me soo willingly." She raised the gun, and fired another two shots into Serena. The scream would be imprinted on Darian's mind forever, along with the look of utter horror on her face. "Look on her one last time, Darian, because soon she'll be dead. Out of my hair forever! And you won't even remember her." Beryl said. She moved away, smug that victory was hers. "NO!" He moved to his soulmate's side, and his heart stood still at the sight of the holes in her. But his rage reared its head when he saw the blood oozing out of her, onto the blue marble floor beneath her. "Don't be angry." Serena said quietly. He moved and held her in his arms, getting blood all over his clothes. "It was supposed to happen." "I don't want you to die." he said. He heard more than saw her friends gather around them, forming a circle, unbroken. "Soon, she'll cast her spell. You'll forget about me. And I will die." She said it as if she'd already accepted this part of her fate, and, when he thought about it, she most likely had. "You won't die, Serena. You can't die." Amy said softly. "You're part of the Immortalia." She held her friend's hand. "Who am I going to yell at?" Raye asked. Serena tried to laugh, but coughed. "You could always yell at Chad." Her light blue eyes went to Darian, and she pulled him close. "There is one thing we have to do before..." she trailed off. "Name it." he whispered. "We must banish her. From this sphere, from this era." Her light blue eyes became intense. "From everything." "How?" "A combining of the powers within." Digging into his newfound memories, Darian remembered nothing about such a combination. "What?" "She is dark, evil. Something that will try to reform itself when it feels it has enough energy. We must use our powers to eliminate her." Amy said quietly. "She'll try to stop us." Serena's eyes went over to the redhead, and found her muttering, waving her hands in small motions. She had also dismissed the men. "She's already beginning the spell that will take your memory. If she finishes it before we can destroy her, all will be lost." She gasped as a shaft of pain blazed through her. "You won't be here anymore." "No, I won't. The Banishing will take all my energy." "I'll lend my energy." Raye piped up quietly. The rest of her friends offered as well, and the girl smiled. "Then let us begin. Do you remember the alley tonight? When I grabbed your hand?" He nodded. "That was when the true power flowed. We can do anything as long as we are together." Darian thought about all they'd done, and realized that, through it all, she'd been there. They'd battled Nazi Germany, helping to get Jews to safety. They'd braved the taming of the West. They fought against centuries of being apart. And they'd done it together. "Let's do it." He took her hand, and she began to speak, her eyes closing to focus her power. He joined her, his mouth remembering what his mind didn't. Slowly, Raye, Amy, Lita, and Mina joined in, their soulmates joining. "Fire within, I call thee." Raye and Chad. "Air about, I call thee." Amy and Greg "Love in the souls of those I most care about, I call thee." Mina and Seiya. "Deepest knowledge, I call thee." Lita and Ken. "Energy within, I call thee." Serena and Darien. Beryl slowly turned to face them, her mouth gaping open. "W- What?" she stuttered. "I gather all these parts, and I use it for good." Serena's eyes flashed open. "I banish you, Beryl, from this sphere. From this plane of life. From my life, and the lives of those I love. You bring only havoc where there should be peace. I banish you." She pointed their joined hands at the ceiling, and a beam of pure white light blasted out of them. It grew rapidly, fueled by eternal friendship, power, and true love. It expanded like a mushroom cloud, calling up a fierce wind that threatened to blast them all away. The force of the wind was such that it knocked the woman over, driving her back into the wall. They all heard a sickening crunch as she collided with the wall headfirst. The crunch could only have been her neck, snapping in two. The beam narrowed to a laser, and didn't stop when she lay in a pile of ashes, her bones burned. It only stopped when all of her evil, including the four men with her, had been burned as well. "We'll have to spread them, to keep them from reforming." Raye said. Serena gasped as she felt the final death pangs. "Darian..." she whispered. He leaned close. "Please, don't be mad. I was meant to die. At some point, I realized it." She smiled softly. "What Serenity said is true. I'm..." Her voice, so weak before, trailed off as her spirit flew away. Amy moved to her side, checked her vital signs, and shook her head. Darian, without realizing it, hugged her body to his, tears flowing freely down his cheeks unchecked. "NO!" Mina cried. She threw herself into Seiya's arms, sobbing. Amy just moved to sit quietly, Greg next to her. Raye stood with Chad, holding onto him for dear life. And Lita just wrapped her arms around Ken. The realization that their friend, the one that they'd taunted and teased, the one who had brought them laughter and tears, was dead, hit them like a ton of bricks. But for her remaining soulmate, the reality was so much easier than the brief memories of her. Slowly, ever so slowly, Darian picked her up, cradling her body close to his. (The song that I'm inserting here is my favorite Backstreet Boys song. If I don't get the lyrics right, I'm sorry. This is also supposed to be like background music, so...) "The One" I'll be the one Darian walked slowly past her friends, his expression one of pain and loss. He carried her gently, as if afraid that she would be damaged. He took the stairs two at a time, moving to her bedroom. I guess you realized when I met you Still there were tears in your eyes So out of trust, and I knew No more than mysteries and lies He set her on her bed, laying her down reverently. He smoothed back her hair, smiling at how it shone in death, as it had in life. It was vibrant in its braids. 'Like her. Restrained, but so vital.' he thought. There you are, wild and free Reaching out, like you needed me A helping hand, to make it right I am holding you all through the night His mind flew with memories of her, so unbroken and untamed by her life. Unwilling to give in. Unwilling to give up. Her courage had drawn him, and her spirit had held him. I'll be the one (I'll be the one) Who will make all your sorrows undone I'll be the light (I'll be the light) When you feel like there's nowhere to run I'll be the one... She'd never asked for help, not even when she thought she'd lose him. Not when her training was painful. She never cried. Neither did he. Until now. To hold you And make sure that you'll be all right 'Cause my fear is gone And I want to Take you from darkness to light Now, he could cry. His love, his very life, was gone. Taken by that which she'd saved her world from. Ripped from her friends. Ripped from him. Tears slowly slid down his face, unchecked. There you are, wild and free Reaching out, like you needed me A helping hand, to make it right I am holding you all through the night He held her close, giving her all of his love. Wanting only her life to come back. Just wanting to see her eyes dance with the light and laughter that he knew was there. I'll be the one (I'll be the one) Who will make all your sorrows undone I'll be the light (I'll be the light) When you feel like there's nowhere to run I'll be the one... To hold you And make sure that you'll be all right You need me Like I need you We can share Our dreams coming true I can show you True love means Just take my hand Baby, please... He'd never seen her pain. He hadn't wanted to. But now, now that he knew the woman behind the lovely face, there was so much he wanted to show her. So much left undone. I'll be the one I'll be the light Where you can run To make it alright I'll be the one I'll be the light Where you can run I'll be the one (I'll be the one) Who will make all your sorrows undone I'll be the light (I'll be the light) When you feel like there's nowhere to run I'll be the one... I'll be the one I'll be the light Where you can run To make it alright I'll be the one To hold you And make sure that you'll be all right I'll be the one Her friends watched from the doorway, entranced by the scene before them. Darian sat on Serena's bed, holding her body with reverence. His dark blue eyes never left her face. It was almost as if he was willing her to come back. Willing her body to breathe once again. "She is gone, Atlantian." Serenity appeared, hovering over the bed. The man just cast an angry glare at her, and kept wishing and willing. "There is nothing you can do." "No!" he cried. He glared at the goddess. "Serena said that as long as we were together, we could do anything." Tears flooded his eyes. "She lied about many things, but she wouldn't lie about something like this." Anger now mixed with the tears. "Bring her back!" Serenity shrugged. "There is nothing I can do. She is within a realm where I have no power." the goddess said simply. "LIER!" Both of their heads snapped around to stare at Raye. The priestess was glaring at Serenity, fire glistening in her eyes with the tears. "You're a goddess. Your power surpasses the bounds of every realm. You CAN bring her back!" she exclaimed. "I am BUT a goddess, priestess. My power is, at best, limited." But something in the woman's eyes belied what she was saying. Suddenly, truth flared in Darian's eyes. He turned an icy gaze to her. "If it is so limited, then how could you have separated us? Your power wouldn't have let you." "Darian, there's is NOTHING anyone can do." She sighed. "I was given instructions, by a higher power, that you two were to be separated, and then rejoined, life after life. Beryl came into being when she destroyed your home, and when she felt jealous of the love you two shared. She sought out the black path, and now she has come to the end of her path. Just as Serena sought the white path, and now has come to the end of it." Darian met her eyes. "I will appeal to whatever power there is. I WANT SERENA BACK!" he cried. "Why?" the goddess suddenly demanded. "Because she was beautiful? Because she had magic? Why do you want her back, Darian Atlantian, when you scorned her so many times for Beryl?" "She has such strength. Such courage. I only saw it twice while I was with her. Once, at Atlantis. The other was when she sacrificed her life for the rest of the world. Serena is..." He sought for a word, then came up with the very word that she'd used herself during the evening. "She is my soulmate. She is my other half. And I couldn't bear to live without her love. I don't think I ever told her how much I really loved her. I never knew what I was missing when I chose Beryl over her." So grief-stricken was he that he didn't see the ripple of energy that flowed from his body to Serena's. He looked so sober. So defeated. And yet so handsome. Standing by Serena's grave at her funeral, alone except for Malachite, her foster brother, he looked like a lost child. As the minister droned on about how she would find her place in heaven, she wondered if he would look her way. Wearing a long black velvet skirt, a billowy white shirt, and a long black pea coat, Serena stood a good distance away, watching her mock funeral. Raye and Amy had arranged it all, thanks to a few well- placed phone calls and calling in a few favors. Now, she just wanted to see his eyes one more time. "He's been so depressed lately." the blue-haired girl on her right whispered, softly as the wind. "Locking himself in his house, not leaving for days on end." the blond on Serena's left said. She wore Serena's black leather jacket, a gift from her friend. "It's almost like he's trying to make amends for what happened." Raye said, behind her friend. "Or to pay whatever penance he can." Lita replied. Serena smiled softly. Her friends' hearts were in the right place, and she was glad that they were there. But sometimes, the only opinion you need is your own, and it was a little hard to find it when they were all talking. "He brought me back. And I owe him at least that much." she said. She looked at the flowers she held. White roses. Her favorite. They'd grown wild in Atlantis, and it had been the first flower given to her by Darian, when he'd started to court her. But that was a long time ago. She stretched slightly, and, for once, didn't feel the scabbing of the tattoo. It had disappeared when she came back to life, giving her a clean slate, in more ways than one. Her appearance was different, as well. Her blond hair had been sliced short to a pageboy look, with three long braids hanging down her back. Her blue eyes flickered with a newly discovered power, unleashed at her awakening. Everything about her spoke of a confidence that the old Serena hadn't had, hadn't wanted. And all of it mortal. "Should you reveal yourself to him now?" Amy asked. "No. He isn't ready." Serena turned, blinking back the tears. "We'd better leave now. I think he'll be ready later." Darian couldn't believe that he was one of the two people who come for her funeral. He would've expected her foster parents, but they were dead. They'd had one other child, a boy, who stayed as far away from Serena as he could, and harbored no love for her. But he'd come, and now stood next to him, holding a single white rose. He'd introduced himself as Malachite MacLeod. Her friends hadn't showed up at all. Rumor had it that all of them were intended for mortal marital bliss with their soulmates. "I can't believe she's really gone." the blond-haired man said, throwing the rose into her grave. Darian's blue eyes held shock. "I guess I always thought she'd be around forever. It's kind of a shock to see that she's dead." "More of a shock for me than you." Darian muttered. He turned away from the grave, and saw a familiar black jacket and blond head disappearing into a grove of trees. "What the-?" He ran from the gravesite, startling her foster brother and the priest. He ran towards the grove, his mind flying. 'Is she still alive? Can she be? Please, Serenity, let it be her!' His coat billowed around him as he ran, making him look like a black demon. (AN: C'mon! Black hair, black coat, blue eyes...) He rounded the hedge... And found himself looking at Serena's twin. Mina just looked at him curiously. "Mina! What're you doing here?" he demanded. His eyes narrowed when he saw the familiar emblem on the back of her black jacket. It was the tattoo that had been on Serena's back. "And why are you wearing Serena's jacket?" "I came to see my best friend buried, if that's okay with you! Serena gave me the jacket." the girl replied. She peered around the bush, and her eyes narrowed at the sight of Malachite. "He had the gall to come! I never did trust that guy." "You mean Malachite?" "He was always trying to reveal Serena. Just jealous of how much better she was." she said. She linked arms with Seiya, who'd just appeared, as if out of thin air. "Are you going to the benefit ball?" The question came out of nowhere, and caught him by surprise. "The fundraiser? I don't know." He was invited every year, and every year he'd attended, if only out of some misplaced sense of honor. Whenever he went, no matter if with a glamorous model or by himself, he felt alone. 'Serena won't be there.' he thought. The fundraiser ball was a glamorous affair, where everyone who was anyone came, to see and be seen. It had as much intrigue as any party thrown in Hollywood. Normally it held with a theme, and he hadn't heard of any theme that had been selected. "You might want to. I heard that there's going to be some live performances by major league singers." Mina said. She got this twinkle in her eye, and all of a sudden Darian didn't want to go to the party. "I-might. I don't know yet." he replied. He walked back to the graveside, and found them lowering her casket into the ground. Without even looking at the brother next to the grave, he kept walking. He got on to his motorcycle (AN: WHAT? YOU ACTUALLY THOUGHT I WOULD JUST INSERT SOMETHING AS COOL AS THAT, AND THEN LEAVE IT OUT? NOT ON YOUR LIFE!) and sped out of the cemetery, not looking back. He didn't trust himself to not just burst into tears and have an accident. "I'm never going to forgive myself." he said into a snifter of whiskey, later that day. Darian, upon arriving at his house, had locked himself in his bedroom, after digging out a large bottle of Jack Daniel's and an equally large snifter. He was currently drowning himself in his grief. "What could you have done?" the little voice inside his head said. Surprisingly, it sounded like Serena, and it sounded like it was outside of his head. "I could've remembered that Beryl had an addiction to firearms, for one thing. Or that she would be the one person I should've hated, if only because she hurt you so many times. Or I could've stepped in front of the bullet. Anything!" he muttered. "Did you ever think that maybe it was supposed to happen, Darian? Maybe I was supposed to die." He closed his eyes, and, when he opened them, he saw a smiling (albeit shorter-haired and brighter-eyed) Serena sitting in the chair opposite him, shaking her head at his being thick skulled. 'The whiskey's getting to me.' he thought. She looked healthy, and when she shook her head, three braids fell out of a clip at the back of her head, and went into her field of vision. She pushed them back behind her ear, as if used to them. She also wore plain jeans, and a thick sweater against the chill in the room. He hadn't wanted to start a fire. Hadn't bothered. Now he realized how cold it was in the room. And how little warmth his suit gave him. "I didn't WANT you to die, damn it!" He sat up straight, and felt like throwing the glass of whiskey at the mental image of Serena. She stood, and walked over to him. Taking the glass, she glared at it, as if it held the reason the world was such a terrible place. "Did you think I wanted to die? That I wanted to leave you, after just finding you again?" She set the glass down on the small table beside his chair, and brushed her fingers through his messed up hair. "Try to find the bright spot in all this, Darian. You know that there is one there somewhere." she said. She knelt down, bringing her light blue eyes level with his midnight blue ones. "Beryl is dead." he replied simply. He saw her smile. "That's right. She's dead. I just wish it could've been accomplished without my dying." She sighed, and he felt her breath on his face. 'Waaaaait a minute.' He reached out, and took a hold of her face with both hands. Her skin was alive with warmth, and a smile that flashed across her face. "Are you real?" he asked, looking into her eyes. "Or have I finally fallen into a drunken stupor?" She giggled, a sound that was as real as the warm skin under his hands. "I would just leave you to yourself if you were in a drunken stupor, Darian O'Malley!" she said. "Serena!" he gasped. "Oh, God! Serena!" His hands went from her face to her shoulders, and pulled her into his embrace. Her arms went around him, and she hugged him close. "I thought you were dead!" he whispered harshly, setting his chin on the top of her head. "You saved me." she replied into his shoulder. "What?" Darian pushed her back to look at her. "What did I do? How could I have saved you?" "When you said that you loved me. When you said that you regretted ever choosing Beryl over me." She smiled softly. "You should've seen the energy that went from you to me when you said that. I'm..." She gestured at herself, running a hand through the pageboy haircut," I'm different. And you made it so." "You're not so different that I couldn't recognize you on sight." he said. Then her words hit him. "How did I do that?" "The energy between us..." She gestured, and sparkles of light flickered around her hand, " is so strong, that I doubt death itself would've had an easy time of tearing us away from each other." "I've had a hard time myself...." Darian muttered. "I know. Raye and the others told me." Serena snuggle close to him, and Darian found himself tightening his hold on her. "Damn, O'Malley, don't you even know how to start a fire? A girl could freeze her ass off in here!" She glanced at the cold fireplace, and then back at him. He shrugged, smiling lazily. "You even sound like yourself!" he said. He hugged her tightly under her arms, and felt the bulge of a loaded shoulder holster. "But that's new." Serena pulled away, her face blushing a deep red. "No, it's not." She looked at him, and saw the bewilderment on his face. "Darian, I've carried a gun since my foster father first taught me how to use one. Where I've lived, I've had to be armed. I feel like I have to, now that both you and I are mortal. We don't have the luxury of being immortal anymore." He hooked a finger under her chin, and hoisted her face up. "Serena, you don't need a gun anymore. Not here. Not with me. I don't mind being mortal. Not if I get to spend the rest of my life with you." He kissed her gently on her lips, and smiled to himself when she gasped. He pulled back, and smiled at her. "Never been kissed before, Rena?" he asked. She shook her head no. "And never by you!" Laughing, he stood, Serena standing with him. "Come on. I've got something for you." he said. A puzzled look went across her face. "Don't worry. It's nothing bad." He pulled her out of his room, into the hallway, and to her old room. Pushing open the doors, he revealed that nothing about the room had been changed, except for the covers on the large bed. "You didn't change anything." she whispered. She walked to the bed, and smoothed a hand over the covers. "Except for these." "I had to change those. They were too bloodstained to keep." Walking to the closet, Darian threw it open, and walked in. Serena followed, not expecting to see the large cabinet containing everything from her past lives open, and Darian going through it. "I couldn't bear to part with anything of yours. I wanted to keep you close, so I kept all of your old things." "Darian O'Malley! Get your hands out of my past!" she exclaimed. "Not yet. There's something here that I've given you before." he replied. He let out a triumphant cry, and turned back around, a small ring on a chain dangling from his fingers. "Oh, God. I didn't think you would remember THAT far back." Her light blue eyes took on a wistful look. "You gave that to me when we were on Atlantis. Of course, it wasn't on the chain then." "Now, it's time for it to do what it was meant to do." Darian knelt in front of her, taking the ring off the chain, and holding it out. "Serena, would you do me the great honor..." "Darian, I-YES!!" Serena said, not allowing him to finish. She threw herself into his arms, kissing him madly. Well, I think we all know how that ended. Serena and Darian did marry. The wedding was simply beautiful. And Serena had five maids of honor. Well, she couldn't leave her friends out, could she? On their wedding day, Serenity smiled, and blessed the both of them. 'May their lives be sweet, undisturbed, and blissful!' she thought. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That's it! They're mortal, and they live happily ever after. WWEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! NOTE TO ALL READERS: I will NOT be adding a Part Two. Part One took enough out of me, thank you very much. But I will be putting out another story sometime soon. Anyhoo, flames or fab reports to go the usual, elven17@hotmail.com... Elvenwarrior