PG To Be In The Spotlight Part Seven When the Curtain Goes Down by: Shell Presto Disclaimer: I wish I owned Sailor Moon, but that honor goes to Takeuchi Naoko and a whole slew of companies. On the other hand, I worked hard to write this story, and it is mine, so don't take it. Thank you. Note: You won't recognize the song because I was working with the translation of it. Go to my web page ( http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bridge/3542/index.htm ) for the original lyrics, my translations, and a link to get an mp3. By the way, I don't own the song, You Are Just My Love, some company does. For the Record: I made up the last name, Crisium, for Serena used in this story. Quite simply, I don't like mixing the American and Japanese names. It's just a preference. "Where IS he!?!" Sailor Moon pouted from her perch on the museum rooftop. Getting there already took ten minutes out of her remaining time, the run back, rooftop to rooftop, faster than any cab could take her, would use up another ten. she reassured herself anxiously. "Where is he!?" she asked again, fidgeting. "Will you get a grip?" her accomplice barked. "If I'd've known you would complain this much, I'd've left you alone despite the city! Aren't you supposed to be the Champion of Justice? All you do is whine!!" It was true, all Serena could manage to do was bother Mina Sterling the entire time. As if the whining itself wasn't bad enough, it was all over the contest that Mina had to drop out of on account of her newfound partner's irresponsibility. Needless to say, it made her bitter. "Just shut up until we've won." "But.." "SHUT UP!!" Their quarrel was interupted by a deep laughter, "Sorry to keep you waiting, ladies, but it seems you kept yourselves... entertained. At least I found it amusing. Do I get to fight the winner?" Jedite had never been more smug, seeing his enemies, Sailor Moon for the first time, fighting amongst themselves before he even had a chance to start. How rich the situation was to the villian. The two glared at the blonde man in contempt. If not for him, Mina would have been in the contest, and she would have won as well, she knew. Then there was Serena, who was quite simply impatient. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!!" she yelled, and whipped her tiara at the general forthright. "I don't have time to deal with you, so I'll make this short and swee...." She stopped dead when her tiara came to a halt mere inches from her target, then dropped like a lead weight to the ground. Jedite broke into a round of laughter that almost made him bust. "Oh, that's a good one!" he howled. "You think you can stop me with this? Seriously! You couldn't have underestimated me that much, could you? This is a joke, right!?" "It... it's never...." Sailor Moon uttered in her shellshock. It was her lone attack, and it had never failed her. "You're in the big leagues now!" Sailor V snapped at her, running to the edge of the building. "ACT LIKE IT!!" With that, the soldier took a flying leap to the adjacent building, trying to land a quick kick on her enemy. The man stopped laughing in time to grab her leg, throwing quickly downwards. She managed a lightning fast back handspring, and a clean landing on her feet. Serena watched the fight, Sailor V hurled a razor sharp boomerang so fast her eyes couldn't follow it, but she saw where it hacked into Jedite's arm. He retaliated with an energy bolt, searing hot, Mina dodged the blast, which liquified the cement ledge of the wall upon contact. The novice had never seen such power, and she was terrified. She realized that if Mina lost, she would be next. Tears welled up in her eyes, and only one thought came to her mind, passed her lips. "HELP ME, TUXEDO MASK!!!" He was walking through a thick crowd of contestants in the hall outside the theater, midnight eyes scanning the crowd for any sign of twin buns amongst the see of people, when he felt it. A sharp pain seemed to jab him right between the eyes, he closed them as the world momentarily went dark. His mind raced to compose him against the assault on his senses began again after long weeks of recess. He cringed, moaned, and fell backwards onto a rather large man, large enough that they both didn't fall over. It took every iota of his strength to fight the barrage of agony closing in on him. He screamed, he thought, but he couldn't quite hear. Then, suddenly, the pain was gone as quickly as it came. He had succeeded, for the first time, to conquer it. When he opened his eyes, he was staring directly into the lights upon the chandelier above. Darien laid on the floor of the hall, a small crowd gathered around him, all quiet with concern and wonderment. He blinked in disbelief, then remarked sheepishly, "I'm sorry. Everything's okay. I just got a little nervous thinking about the contest!" The group responded with genuine, lighthearted laughter. All the while, Darien looked at the faces, trying to find his partner. "SAILOR V!!" the novice soldier screamed as her only chance of winning was flung off the roof. Serena looked through horror filled eyes as the fiend turned his attention to her. High pitched squeaks escaped her throat, she was too scared to move. Jedite raised his hand, energy balling within it, and took aim. He couldn't have been sweating more if he was onstage naked in two thousand degree weather. Twelve minutes until the performance, and Serena was nowhere in sight. He was waiting backstage early, hoping to find her, praying that she'd run in any minute now. He almost swallowed his tongue he was shaking so much, then broke into a coughing fit. It only took him a moment to recover. The announcer looked at him, walked over and handed him a drink. "A little nervous, huh? Don't worry, you're not the first tonight. Where's your lady friend?" Darien grinned awkwardly. "I've a bad feeling...." he paused. "What happens if she doesn't show?" Jedite cried out in rage as the pain seared up his back. Sailor V threw him a cocky smile, sharper than the boomerang that hit him. "Next time, make sure I don't hit the fire escape," she warned. "I don't die that easily." He immediately blasted in the direction of the girl, only to have her leap over it. The same trick didn't work twice, however, and he erupted an incredible amount of energy at the hero. The force made her stop in midair, and everything seemed to freeze for just one moment before she was tossed into the air, colliding with the cold rooftop. Smoke rose up from her thrashed outfit. "What do you mean 'have to pay'!?!" the young man repeated in a fit. "Pay for what!?!" "I'm sorry." The man explained in a sorrowful tone, "I don't make the rules. It's in the contract you signed. If you back out, you must immediately compensate for the companies' losses. That includes the outfit budget, the check for the limosuine, tonight's banquet after the competition, and the hotel rooms." The announcer tried to sound reassuring. "Look, I'm sure she's just doing some last minute primping. All the girls are, being as how this is broadcasted on national television. She'll come running in at the last minute. You've got a few more minutes to spare." "Not enough..." She swallowed hard. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!!!!!!!" she screamed it so loud it hurt her throat. The disc flew at the turned back of the general, who had completely ignored his neophyte opponent. It was a deadly mistake, and he wailed as the disc tore through him, reducing him to dust. The blonde girl only stopped one moment, kneeling before her fallen comrade. "I'm sorry, Mina," she whispered, then took off like a flash to get to the contest. "You're up," the announcer informed the nervous wreck of a young man. "I can't!" Darien protested hysterically. "You have to wait! Let someone else go! She wouldn't...!!" He was cut off by a headstrong guy who was observing the situation from behind for the past twenty seconds. "There's nothing to be nervous about!" he professed cheerily, mistaking Darien's lack of a partner for mere stagefright. "Go out there and knock 'em dead!" And with one friendly, overblown shove, Darien Shields, sweating and shaking, was on the stage, with blinding illuminescence highlighting him for millions of people to watch. He froze light a deer under headlights. His heart stopped. After a full minute he regained some sense of purpose, to try to retain what little amount of pride he had left. He approached the microphone, eyes still searching the crowd in a last ditch hope to see her. He nearly jumped out of his skin as the words blaired from nearby speakers, "Now we have the singing sensation of coup.... of Darien Shields!" She stopped in an alley two blocks away to revert to her everyday form of Serena Crisium. She lost a shoe running the rest of the distance. When she came up to the building, she froze in horror. People clogged up the entrance into the building. There were people everywhere. Determination filled her with strength at the thought of her dreams, however, and she pushed herself a path between the bodies. She barreled right into a group of well dressed men and women who were gathered around one in particular, one with a handheld TV. She heard the song, the one she was supposed to be onstage singing. The desperate girl wrenched it from the stranger's hands, staring in disbelief at the tiny screen, and the even smaller man picured on it. She turned her head up in desperation, she wasn't even in the doorway, and there was no way she was going to get to him in time. Quite simply, he choked. The first part of the song passed like hours, and when his line came, well, it didn't. "ah.. I.." By the time he got it out, the time to say it was already past. Unfortunately, his troubled mind couldn't make the jump for him. "K.. cl....sss..................." If he could have gotten one line out at all, he didn't get the chance. The music stopped, subjecting Darien to the silence, broken only by a few jeers by those who didn't pity him enough to stay silent. The once proud young man was devastated. A security guard had to walk out to get him off the stage, leading the bowlegged wreck out of the vision of the general public. Millions of people had seen his fall, public humiliation. He wanted to die, he wished someone had shot him right then and there. They let him come to his senses before they told him he had to pack up and leave. It didn't matter to him as he gathered his things in his small suitcase, it was only salt in a wound that couldn't get worse. They immediately gave his room away, he didn't have the money to pay for it on him. He was afraid of losing his wallet in the city, he didn't have his credit card. It was, after all, a fully paid trip, save for shopping expenses. On the other hand, he didn't have to force his way through the crowd, they made a full path for the shattered youth, all the way to the street. She fretted to learn that he may have already left when she got backstage. One step behind him, she packed and made her way to the street, all the while wondering what she could say. Darien reflected on the event as he sluggishly trudged down the street. The young man honestly felt like crying, although he refused to allow that. Blinking back hot tears, his hand reached in his jacket for a handkerchief. It retrieved a white cloth and a ticket for an upcoming Smap concert. The sight made him stop walking. His pale features crumpled into a horrible disappointed expression. "Why'd you leave me down, Serena? I did all of this for you." The thought of her ditching him jabbed needles in his heart. Teeth clenched as anger boiled up inside of him. "How dare she..." he hissed. "How DARE she do this to me!?" he yelled furiously, closing the gap between him and a nearby building with his fist. Upon contact, pain moved up his arm in tremors, then numbness followed. He cursed his misfortune. Then cursing turned to restrained sobs. "Why'd you make me fall in love with you.... and then do this?" That was why it hurt so much, he finally realized. Darien loved the girl that betrayed him. The fact made it easier to start cursing again. "You IDIOT!" he insulted himself, pounding the side of his fist into the wall. "You idiot! Why in the world did you fall in love with HER! Her of all people!" He rested his forehead against the bricks. "Now you're alone, again, and you're hurt. Great. Just great." He tried to convince himself that there was a good reason for her to not show, a family emergency or something. Something important, he could forgive. Unfortunately, he knew his former partner, and she was exactly the type to back out because of stage fright. At the very least, she was simply late, as she was for everything, but in this case, that, too, was unforgivable. Serena raced in the direction some people told her he had gone, mind racing just as fast to dream up a plausible excuse for abandoning him. Her heart stopped when she saw him leaning against a wall. More than anything, she was thankful that they could at least be alone. No one would be staring if an arguement broke out, or, more likely, if she started bawling. Slowly, silently, she approached the tall man, who appeared much shorter due to his posture. Her eyes watched him a moment, the man was not saying one word, refused to look up. Eventually, she called him, softly, "D... Darien." For a moment, his face lit up, and meeting her again was a miracle in itself. He frowned when the past few hours rushed back to him in mere seconds. "I'm hoping," he began grimly. "That you have a good reason for missing the contest." His shoes, black and polished like a mirror, looked more and more interesting to her. After all, eye contact was definitely out of the question for a girl who couldn't explain herself. "I... I tried to get there in time. See... There was this really big crowd at the entrance, in the whole building, you saw it..." "The entrance?" he repeated in curiousity while his attention perked. "What were you doing outside the building?" She wanted to tell him. Oh, how she wanted to tell him! Outwardly, she grew depressed. She sighed, "I can't tell you." More than anything, he wanted to believe it was important. He just wanted one clue that rang out in innocence. "D.. Did you get sick?" he asked. "No." "Did something happen to a family member or a close friend?" The blonde shook her head in the negative. Darien's brow became furrowed as he taxed his overworked, tired mind. He bit his tongue as he concentrated. "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" "I did knock on your door," she explained. "But you weren't answering." Another long face erupted. "I was probably in the shower. You could have left a note." Blankly, she stated, "I didn't have time." Running his hand through his hair, he tore it out in aggravation. "What was so important that you can't tell me!? Please, Serena, I don't want to be mad at you, I don't! But if you keep avoiding my questions, if you can't tell me right out what happened, how am I supposed to believe you didn't just get cold feet and ditch me!?" The young man stopped his speech to take a long, deep breath. His hands took her small ones within his, goading her to look at him. When their eyes met, he continued, "Please, please tell me, Serena. It's really important to me that you're honest about this. I just want to know what happened, because my head keeps telling me it's something dumb, something to be mad about, and I don't want to believe it. Please. Your silence isn't helping my doubts right now." He was being so honest, it tore her apart. Still, she could not reveal her alter ego. All she could do was try to reassure him and hope for the best. "It was important, Darien, I swear it was." Darien shook his head in disappointment, as if trying to shake off his doubt. "I wish I could believe you." Visions of his Meatball Head from the arcade danced in his mind, all talk of fashion and boys and who knows what else. It was the sort of girl to leave him hanging while she got new shoes, or her nails done, something important to her, but not to him. He wanted to deny it, but he'd only been around her for a few short weeks, and had only touched the tip of her personality. How could he judge any better? His mind made up, he proceeded down the street, remembering a small, slightly ratty-looking hotel a few blocks down. Serena simply watched him go, then, followed him. The shame that barred her down was relentless, and now she would have to follow him because she had no where else to go. The receptionist was giving him his change when Serena slid into the hotel. Darien was placing his remaining six dollars in his pocket when he saw her. "What are you...?" By now her face was red from crying, tears and mascara were smudged across her face. "I don't have anywhere to go, and no money. Can I.... You wouldn't...." "I don't have enough cash for another room." He looked at the somber girl with remorse. "I don't even have enough for a double." "Darien..." Pity and anger and depression battled inside of him for control. His perspective of her was torn in so many directions. Serena the poor girl with nowhere to go. He canceled that out with memories of the orphanage. the anger told him. So many voices, he settled on nodding and hoping she took it for the right answer, an answer he didn't know the question for. He flopped on the bed, leaving her to lock the door. Serena looked in disgust at the place. The carpet was stained, and the only other place off the ground was a straightbacked wooden chair. Then the fact jumped at her, Darien was doing her a favor. "At least," she murmured, half hoping he wouldn't hear, "give me a blanket." A scowl adorned his face, one he'd been holding back. "Aren't you ever satisfied!? First you ditch me after I agree to help you win that stupid contest, then you won't even tell me why, and now you're not happy with the fact that I'm sharing a room in a roach motel with you when you put me in here!!" he growled. Unfortunately, one word made her tune out most of the fulminations. "There are cockroaches here!?" she exclaimed in fright. Darien exhaled a sharp breath, trying to rid himself of the anger, failing. "Fine!!" he snarled. "Take the bed! Take everything! This is YOUR night, afterall, Serena!" With that he stood up, threw his jacket and money on the bed in a tiff, and sat down in the chair, turning it to the wall. The shocked blonde sat on the bed and immediately began to shed tears. Unconciously, she pulled his jacket to her chest, squeezing it as if it could comfort her. she concluded. Then two pieces of paper caught her eye. Two Smap tickets laid on the bed, fallen from the jacket. She knew why he'd had them, for her. A flood of tears followed, and Darien ignored her. "It was important!!" she sobbed. His silence became unbearable. she realized. She rose, taking her locket off the sash of her dress where she had hooked it. "Alright, Darien!" broke the silence, still weeping. "You pay attention and you pay attention well!! I'll tell you exactly why I couldn't make that contest! As a matter of fact, I'll SHOW you!" His ears perked but he still refused to turn. "LOOK AT ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU!! THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!" That got him, and he slid the chair with a brusque, "What?" "MOON PRISM POWER!!" The light show was spectacular as what appeared to be ribbons wrapped her body, transforming her into the Champion of Justice. "I saved the city from Jedite. I'm Sailor Moon, and I was the only one who could help to do it," she explained solemnly. In the end, Darien wasn't sure what was more shocking, that, for less than a second, he'd seen Serena, essentially, naked, or that she was Sailor Moon. "S... Serena? W... Why didn't you just..." He smacked himself on the forehead. "Of course you couldn't tell me! You hardly know me!" A frown replaced the shock as his jaw finally closed. More than anything, he was confused. "Why did you tell me?" She turned away. "I didn't like you being mad at me." Arms wrapped around her from behind. "Meatball Head," he addressed her in the warmest, lowest tone. "Forgive me. I'm sorry. I didn't know... How could I have known!? However..... I'm glad you trust me, and, from now on, I'll trust you, too, okay?" Her eyes found his after some time, when she finally could bring herself to leave his embrace. At first, she was nervous, scared that he might only like her because of his newfound knowledge. Then she gazed into his eyes, so filled with unspoken navy affection, and she knew better. This was real. Eventually he ended the silence with a small, gutteral laugh. "So, Meatball Head," he began, still eyeing her in the Sailor outfit. "Anyway, would you care to go to a Smap concert with me next weekend?" She grinned, blue eyes shining like the summer sky. "Only if I get the bed." The End. How's that? Please tell me what you think! mangetsu@email.com Oh well, thank you for reading, I'm still trying to reply to emails, so be patient if you've not gotten a reply yet! I read them all, though! Please, the end of a fic is the most important time to write with any (and all!) commentary. I (eagerly, anxiously) anticipate yours! Until next time, I remain, Michelle Prestileo http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bridge/3542/index.htm ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com