--A TEMPORARY PEACE--


DING

"You never told me you could sing!"

Serena half-smiled at Motoki and seated herself on a stool directly in
front of him. "You never asked and it’s not really that important."

"How can you say that? You sounded like an angel!"

She blinked.

"An angel? Really, Motoki, I think it’s a stretch to say that," he
gestured at the silver braid wound round her head, "looks like a halo."

"Darien, will you shut up?" Motoki sounded furious.

"Don’t worry, Motoki, it wasn’t even a decent insult," she shrugged,
her voice remaining soft. "Could I trouble you for an espresso?"

"Only one? Cutting back?" Darien asked coolly. //Why the hell am I
acting like this? She must think I’ve the maturity of a child.//

//Ahh,// his mind crowed at him, //you DO care what she thinks...//

//Bite...//

//Me...Yeah I heard you the first time.//

He was confused and frustrated--a state he absolutely hated to be
forced into--and his aversion to his feelings neatly transferred
themselves to the one who caused his frustration.

DING

"SERENA! That was fabulous Friday night!"

//I don’t know whether to bless or curse their timing,// Darien mused.

"Hi girls." Serena sipped the espresso Motoki put before her. "You
enjoyed yourselves then?"

Makoto nodded enthusiastically. "I love that place--the atmosphere
is absolutely wonderful!"

"Some of those lyrics were gorgeous. Do you know where I could find
translations?"

"I’ve copies of all of them lying around somewhere, Ami. If I get a
chance, I’ll bring them to you."

"Hey Serena, did you know Rei sings? You two should get together."

Rei rolled here eyes at Minako. "Right Mina. I know SO many
English songs."

"Besides," Darien broke in once more with a mock shudder, "I
wouldn’t want to hear both of them screeching at once."

Suddenly Rei had him by the front of the shirt, hauling him half off his
stool. "What was that?" she hissed.

"Screeching." He smiled devilishly. "You know, the sound you get
when you step on a cat’s...urk!"

"Want to rephrase yourself?" The priestess smiled sweetly.

"Uh, guys?"

"Nope, Darien, you’re on your own," Makoto told him gravely. "Good
luck," she added rather doubtfully.

"Fine, I apologize Rei, oh Mistress of all Song."

She nodded and dropped him back on his stool, as Motoki stifled his
laughter.

"Guys, want to head to the mall?" Minako asked. "Have you even
been to our mall yet, Serena?"

"Not yet."

"And a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the
third part of the sea became blood*..." Darien intoned but stopped
when Makoto smacked his shoulder. "Ow, Mako, that’s not a good
shoulder to hit!"

"I know," she smiled sweetly as she and the rest of the girls sauntered
towards the door.

"Well," Motoki told Darien as the dark-haired man returned to his
coffee, "at least, SERENA has sense enough to stop arguing."

//Yet it doesn’t stop her from disturbing me...//

//So? You’re naturally disturbed.//

//Bite me.//

*Revelations 8:8, the end of the world.

~~~

"Serena, are you alright?" Ami asked worriedly her companion
stopped without warning in the middle of the sidewalk.

//Tingling...that’s a subspace portal. And there’s danger there but not
to me...not exactly. It doesn’t feel like a droid, but what else could it
be?//

A sudden flash of premonition made her drop her backpack, kick off
her sandals and run. She pounded barefoot back down the cool
sidewalk, away from the four other stunned girls, startling Motoki who
happened to be watching the window. Her silver hair streamed out
behind her, her face determined, her eyes focused on a tiny figure
that had just appeared in the middle of the street. //Let me be in
time...//

She swerved into the street and smashed into the tiny pink-haired girl,
curling herself around the child and rolling her out of the path of the
careening truck. She did not stop rolling until she felt her shoulder
touch the curb.

//That’s going to hurt tomorrow.// She winced as she sat up slowly,
drawing the smaller figure up onto her lap from where she’d landed on
the pavement beside her. Looking into the child’s red eyes, she
blinked.

//Sailor Pluto...you have an evil, sadistic, twisted sense of humor, and
one day you’ll regret it.//

She cradled her daughter closer to her as the other four girls, joined
by Darien who’d left Motoki at the door to the arcade, ran up.

"Mama?"

"Hush, a stóirín," Serena soothed. "You’re safe. I’ll not harm you."
She stroked the child’s hair gently, instinctively speaking in Gaelic.
[an endearment for a child, literally, "little darling"]

Red eyes once more sought her face, meeting her silver gaze
innocently. "Can you help me?" the child asked her softly--in the
same language. "I need to find my Mama...she’s in trouble."

"Perhaps, a stóirín." She smiled softly at the child in her lap, a smile
that softened her features and reached her eyes, turning them into
pools of love and concern.

//Would she ever look at me like that?... Wait, where the hell did
THAT come from?// Darien’s mind answered itself with only a mental
giggle.

"SERENA! What happened? Are you alright?"

"Hush a moment, Mina." She turned back to the now-trembling child
in her arms. "What’s your name?"

"Which one?"

"Hmm?"

"I have lots. In different languages. Which one do you want to
know?"

"What one do you like best?"

"Well, Mama calls me a stóirín, like you did or Little One. But Daddy
calls me Chibi-Usa."

"Could we call you that too?"

"What ARE you talking about?" Darien demanded.

Serena didn’t look at him. "Girls, Darien, this is Chibi-Usa." She
stood gracefully, the child still cradled protectively in her arms, her
hand still stroking pink hair. "Would you like to go get something to
eat, a stóirín?" she asked, in Gaelic, with a soft smile.

Chibi-Usa nodded without removing her head from where she’d buried
it in Serena’s shoulder.

Looking up, Serena addressed the five people standing before her.
"Let’s go back to the arcade." And she crossed the street, heading for
the still-frantic Motoki, leaving the others to scramble after her. Darien
watched her for a moment before following.

//There was so much love in that smile...//

~~~

"Go raibh maith agat, a Shorcha." [Thank you, Sorcha.]

"For what, a stóirín?" Serena sat on the edge of her bed and pushed
Chibi-Usa’s pink bangs away from her eyes tenderly.

"For letting me stay with you."

"You’re more than welcome, Little One." Though the child had
surprised them with her fluent Japanese, the two girls continued to
converse in Gaelic. It comforted them both. "Little One?" Serena
asked softly.

"Hmm?"

"Why did you agree to come home with me? Didn’t your mother teach
you not to trust strangers?"

"Mmhmm. But she also told me that anyone who speaks the old
language can be trusted." Red eyes regarded her honestly. "And you
speak it almost as well as she does."

"Go raibh míle maith agat, a stóirín. Thank you for your trust."
Serena moved to leave the bed. [A thousand thanks, little darling.]

"Sorcha?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

"Of course, Little One."

"My Mama sings me to sleep sometime." Chibi-Usa looked towards
the window. "Sorcha, will I find her?"

"Yes, Chibi-Usa, you will. And I’ll help you look," Serena assured the
child. "And, even though I’m not your Mama, could I sing you to
sleep?"

The little girl nodded and all but leapt into Serena’s lap. Instinctively
cradling the child against her body, moving farther back onto the bed,
she began to rock back and forth, mimicking a rocking chair. Almost
whispering, she began a lullaby.

The sun’s going down in the deep blue sea
So close your eyes
Go to sleep
I will wrap all the sweet stars around you
So dream
And your dreams will come true.

Luna watched her charge silently from the windowsill, afraid to move
lest she break the spell of peace that hovered over the two girls on the
bed. Chibi-Usa slept blissfully in Serena’s arms, and for the first time
in over a month, Serena looked content. Her head was bowed, her
eyes closed, her mouth resting in a slight smile, her body still rocking
slightly. With a slight sigh, she opened her eyes, her gaze meeting
Luna’s...

And for a moment, Luna saw the lost, heartbroken child she’d seen so
many weeks ago ago. Two pairs of eyes blinked, and Luna once
more looked into the empty silver eyes of her charge. Turning slightly,
Serena slid the child under the thick down comforter, and standing,
walked to the window.

//You met with Artemis?//

Luna shook her head sadly. //Yes. The senshi are worried about you.
The specifically asked that you leave their danger links alone.//

//Asked?//

//Alright, demanded. And Artemis said they were at least as worried
about your safety as upset about you messing about with their
minds.//

//It was necessary.//

//Sorcha, you CANNOT continue to battle alone! You need their
help...you’ll be going up against Demando!//

//I’ll not put them in danger again, Luna.//

//They’re senshi!//

//Luna’s right, banphrionsa, you can’t keep them from danger.
They’re lives are fraught with it.//

Serena did not turn away from the window as Mal materialized in her
room. //I may not be able to protect them from danger, but I’ll not let
them die because of my stupid, careless...//

Mal snapped. Striding over, he grabbed Serena’s shoulders and spun
her to face him. //IT. WAS. NOT. YOUR. FAULT!//

The whimper from the bed startled him, and he relaxed his grip,
allowing her to slip out of his grasp. She sat on the edge of the bed,
stroking Chibi-Usa’s forehead gently, crooning softly in Gaelic. //Don’t
yell, Mal. She’s got a developing talent and can hear such things.//
Her bland mind tone belied the tender look on her face.

He looked at her helplessly. //Banphrionsa...//

//Mal, you’re tired. Get some sleep. It’s late.//

He shook his head, knowing from experience that he’d not win this
argument. //Good night, banphrionsa, sleep well.//

//Good night, Mal.// And he disappeared.

Luna curled up at the foot of the bed as Serena returned to the
window.

//Sorcha?//

//I think our temporary peace is over, Luna.//

~~~

The droids chased her mercilessly. Her lungs burned and her short
legs ached, but she dared not stop. She’d seen what happened to
those that were caught.

Energy drain was the kindest fate.

She stumbled over a bit of broken pavement and was suddenly
grabbed from behind. But instead of the red slimy droids, her arms
were gripped cruelly by an insane, red-haired man.

The same man who controlled the things that had been hunting her.

The same man who hurt her Daddy.

She screamed, trying to twist out of his grasp...

And fell to the floor.

//Where am I? Mama!// Unconsciously, she used her blossoming
mental powers to give a call that had, in the past, always been
answered.

No one appeared.

//Mama?// And memory caught up with reality. //Sorcha!//

"Sorcha, are you there?" she called tentatively into the darkness.
Silence.

//Even the kitty’s gone. Did something happen? What’s going on?//
Still perturbed by her nightmare, the girl’s mind began to invent
shadowy monsters and threatening silhouettes wherever she looked.
"Sorcha! Where are you?"

Sliding out from beneath the covers, she jumped down from the bed,
and darted to the door. She crept down the stairs and slipped from
the door into the street, determined to find the one person she knew
she could trust.

~~~

Sailor Moon paused, trying to decide what the low buzzing in the back
of her mind might be. //Is someone calling me?// But her attention
was drawn back to the battle, as one of the sluggish droids began to
move once more.

They were slow, but they were strong. It had taken two very powerful
blasts and numerous smaller hits to dust the first one, and these two
showed not the slightest willingness to be spit apart and dealt with
separately. She leapt at the nearest one--a red, furry thing--kicking
it twice and striking it with her staff before flipping over its head.
Before it could turn to face her, she attacked once more.

"Crystal Moon Destruction!" The white beam of energy from the
crystal connected squarely with the droid’s back, but it remained
standing. Without wasting a second, she ripped her tiara from her
head and sent it spinning towards that exact weak spot. It screamed
and disintegrated.

She ducked the attack sent by the final droid and raced to the
opposite end of the clearing, hoping for a moment to catch her breath.
She fought quietly, gravely, her thoughts forced behind the strongest
mind shield she could construct. No emotion reflected in her stance,
and the emptiness in her eyes would have given even Rubeus chills.

The final droid had finally turned and was moving sluggishly across
the clearing, preparing to attack, and Sailor Moon pushed away from
the tree against which she’d been leaning.

"Crystal Moon Destruction!" The beam of light impacted, and like
before, did massive amounts of damage but failed to stop the droid.
She stood her ground, waiting a moment, allowing the droid to move
closer, before attacking again. This time, the silver light left nothing
but dust in its wake.

She slumped over, clutching her staff for support. //Pull yourself
together, Sailor Moon, there may still be trouble tonight...//

The tingling announced the opening of a subspace portal, and the
sharp twinge of familiar pain accompanying it told the senshi exactly
who had stepped through. "Demando."

Luna blanched at her charge’s low voice. "Sailor Moon..."

But her warning was interrupted by the thick column of pure white and
silver light the erupted nearby. "Chibi-Usa," Sailor Moon breathed,
recognizing the energy. She disappeared, leaving Luna to run
towards the light, grumbling.

~~~

"So this is where the green-haired bitch sent you, kid."

"Leave me alone."

"I don’t think I want to do that."

"Are you certain of that, Demando?" Sailor Moon appeared between
the silver-haired "king" and his victim. She promptly reached for the
pink-haired child, sweeping her into strong arms. "Are you alright,
Little One?"

"Sailor Moon?"

"Yes, Chibi-Usa."

"Mama told me stories of you. I thought you were just a legend."

"Oh, no, brat, she’s real enough alright, and she’s going to hand you
over to me in a moment."

"Like hell I will."

She didn’t react as he sneered at her. Nor did she react when the
three subspace portals each dropped two droids at his command
before disappearing once more.

"Sailor Moon," the child whimpered. The droids seemed to have been
drawn straight from her dreams.

"Hush, Little One. They’ll not touch you. I won’t let them anywhere
near you." And with that, the blonde superhero leapt into a tree,
avoiding a swipe from a particularly fast blue monster. "I just need
you to hang on to me. I must use my staff."

With a nod, the child tightened her arms around the young woman’s
neck, burying her face in her shoulder. Sailor Moon--one arm still
wrapped firmly around Chibi-Usa--leapt once more, avoiding a blast
from a yellow slimy creature that had managed to ooze halfway up the
tree trunk. At the end of the clearing, she turned and loosed two
blasts of energy from the crystal, dusting the slimy yellow droid still
stuck to the side of the tree, and injuring another green one.
Smashing her staff against the swift blue one’s head, she raced to
another clear spot, this time pausing to call the senshi of fire.

//Mars. I need you and the rest of the senshi at the west end of the
park.//

Not waiting for a reply, she dashed off once more, turning to send her
tiara ripping through the shoulder of the red pile of sludge behind her.

Demando chortled above her head. "Ah Sailor Moon, you amuse me.
You DO know that if you, by some miracle, manage to finish these off,
I’ll just have Saffir send more. I can afford to wear you down, and
then you AND the brat are mine."

In reply, Sailor Moon loosed a dart of silver energy, demolishing the
blue droid that had once more managed to get close. She leapt once
more, but a moment too late. Three purple, metallic claws ripped
through her back, sending her crashing to the ground. She twisted in
midair, managing to land on her side, her body between Demando
and Chibi-Usa.

"Sailor Moon?"

"Chibi-Usa," she was breathless. "Find them, you can trust them."
She inundated the girl’s mind with images of the senshi, the generals,
and Tuxedo Kamen. "They’ll help you."

"Sailor Moon!"

"Go!" And she pushed the child away, feebly, before darkness born of
pain and exhaustion overtook her vision.

Stumbling, the pink-haired girl turned to run, but was stopped by the
mocking voice above.

"You’re just going to run away? You nearly kill the senshi of justice
and you’re going to run away like a coward? Tsk tsk tsk. Whatever
would your mother think of you?"

She regarded the hovering man with wide eyes. "No. Mama said not
to listen to you. You lie!"

"Really, Little One?" His voice mocked the endearment Sorcha had
used earlier that evening. "Do I lie? Isn’t Sailor Moon lying there
bleeding to death? And because of whom?"

"I didn’t mean to..."

"Celestial Fire Surround!"

"Jupiter Thunderclap!"

Two droids were reduced to dust. Chibi-Usa looked up to see the four
women Sailor Moon had told her to trust running into the clearing,
recognizing them as the same four women who protected her mother
in Crystal Tokyo. She watched as Venus restrained another for
Jupiter to fry, as Mercury cried out "Shine Aqua Illusion!" The final
two droids died.

The four senshi formed a protective half-circle around Chibi-Usa who
still stood next to Sailor Moon’s motionless body. "Sailor Moon?"
Malachite knelt next to the fallen warrior cursing in fluent Gaelic.

//Mama would hit him for that kind of language,// the child thought
irrelevantly, watching the General attempt to awaken the wounded
senshi.

"Well that was amusing. Shall we do it again?"

"No," bit out an enraged Nephlyte. The senshi echoed his sentiments
with nods.

"It’s not exactly your decision is it?" He began to gesture for more
droids to be dropped to face the senshi.

"No."

"Ah, Sailor Moon, I see you’ve rejoined us."

She stepped forward slowly, supporting her weight with her staff as
blood dripped from her torn back. When she stood between
Demando and the senshi, she spoke. "You’ll not hurt them. And
you’ll not touch Chibi-Usa."

He laughed. "And who’s going to stop me, my little silver-haired
freak?" The senshi blinked in surprise, Tuxedo Kamen glared at the
bloody back of the girl before him. "Ah, yes Sorcha, I see you’ve
been keeping secrets again. Do you never learn?" He shook his
head.

She stepped forward, her dead blue eyes burning into Demando. He
seemed unperturbed. "It makes me wonder what else you’ve
neglected to tell your little friends. Do they know what kind of person
you were in Ireland? Do they know how irresponsible, clumsy, and
ineffectual a fighter you were? Tell me, Sorcha, do they know that
you were responsible for the deaths of your family?"

No one moved. No one spoke. For a long moment, silence and
stillness reigned in the clearing. "Well, that was fun, my little
murderess, but I must be off now." He disappeared with a final smirk.

The senshi, the Generals and Tuxedo Kamen looked at Sailor Moon.
She stood with her eyes shut, her body tensed, her staff clutched in
her white-knuckled hand. The crystal pulsed a deep, blood red.

It was Chibi-Usa’s gasp that brought her back to reality. //No. Not
again.// She drove her thoughts and emotions into the deepest part of
her soul, blocking them in with an impenetrable wall and snapped her
will over the crystal. With one last protest, it subsided, and she stood
up straight, ignoring the pain that wrenched through her body.

She turned. Chibi-Usa huddled in Malachite’s arms, crying silently.
The remaining three Generals stood behind him, all four regarding her
with sad eyes. The senshi stood before them, looking at her
uncertainly. Tuxedo Kamen hid his reaction too well for her to
determine.

"I think, perhaps, we need another meeting."

"Well, Sailor Moon--Serena--if you’d bothered to tell us the truth the
first time, we wouldn’t have to call meetings every time we met."
Tuxedo Kamen’s voice was soft and biting.

//When did my Prince become such an asshole?//

//He’s absolutely correct Mal.//

//Like hell he is.//

//I lied, I’ve BEEN lying to them since I arrived. They deserve the
truth...if they’ll even believe me.//

//Banphrionsa...//

"Tomorrow, the café is closed all day. Is noon acceptable?"

There were no nods, but there were no dissentions either. Again, it
was Chibi-Usa who broke the silence by squirming out of Malachite’s
grasp to run to Sailor Moon.

Or she would have, had Makoto not stopped her. "Perhaps, Chibi-
Usa, it would be better for you to stay with one of us. At least until we
all find out some answers."

The child wrenched away from the tall senshi and dashed over to
Sailor Moon. "No. I’m going home with Sorcha. My Mama told me I
could trust her, and I do."

"Chibi-Usa..."

"I’d never hurt her, Venus," the senshi of the Moon ran a hand through
the child’s hair.

Once more, no one spoke. Finally, Mars simply turned and stalked
away, followed closely by Jupiter, Venus and finally Mercury. Tuxedo
Kamen stared at Sailor Moon for a moment longer before whirling
around and disappearing into the trees. She sank to her knees as
Malachite and Zoicite moved to help her.

//Thank you, Chibi-Usa. Thank you for trusting her. I think it’s all
that’s keeping her alive at the moment.//