Title: Symbol of a Raven By: Mystical Angel Chapter: 3 Rating: PG Disclaimers: Okay, here is chapter 3 in my saga. I hope you enjoy… and please tell me what you think. I have nothing else to say except the usual… Sailor Moon and the characters don't belong to me. My e-mail address is at the end, like it always is. Symbol of a Raven Chapter 3 "Serena, please get Serena, I must see Serena. Get her, NOW!" "Time of death…3:15 a.m." "No! I was supposed to see her! This is not fair!" "Please. Please! Get her for me." "Please calm down ma'am. You will feel better in the morning. "No I won't, there will be no tomorrow." "Will someone shut this woman up?" Serena flew out of bed hyperventilating. She was perspiring a cold sweat all over her body. Scared and thirsty she went into the bathroom for a glass of water. She drank it quickly, ignoring the dribble of water sliding down her chin from the corner of her mouth and the glass. Still breathing hard she put the glass down on the counter with a thud. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and took a look into the vaniting mirror hanging off the wall. There were huge purple bags under her eyes, and her skin was pale. She looked sick that night. Putting her the back of her hand to her forehead she felt for any sign of fever. There was none, so Serena left the bathroom and headed to her own room. She had the strangest feeling wash over her. It was like her inside feezing, and a cold wave washed over her whole body. Serena grasped her stomach and crouched over in pain. She was kneeling on one knee as if she were proposing to someone. 'Marie needs me.' She thought. The next minute Serena had her coat on, and was racing to the telephone to call Darien. 'Shoot! What was his number again? Raye always said, but I can't remember!' Serena was starting to panic; she paced carelessly around a small circle. 'I have to try anyway.' Serena picked up the telephone and dialed a number to what she thought his number was. "Hi, is this Darien Chiba?" Serena asked hopelessly. "Sorry, you must have the wrong number." A lady said. And then the lady hung up. Serena tried another number. "Hi, is this Darien Chiba?" 'Please, oh please…' "No, but I am his next door neighbor, is this an emergency?" A man asked. "Yes it is. Why else would I call this late?" Serena said frantically. "Okay then, hold on one minute." 'Why didn't he just give me his number?' Serena thought. It was quiet for a few minutes and then someone answered. "Hello? Serena, is it you?" She let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah Darien, I think it's time." Serena said. "You sound as if you're in labor, is it Marie?" Darien asked. "Why else would I call at this time? Why else would I call?" She breathed out. "Okay, do you need a ride? I can be there real soon." Darien said calmly. "No, I can run there, no school tomorrow. Spring break you know." Replied Serena. "Okay then, I'll meet you there. Bye!" Darien slammed the receiver down. As if on unison so did Serena. She raced to the door, and then turned back and ran to her room. "I forgot to get dressed, I am such an airhead." Serena ran up the stairs and skipped a few at a time to get to her room more quickly. She dressed into a pair of wholly jeans and a feathery sweater. At the same time she put on her coat and ran down the stairs, but did not do it very successfully. "Ahhhhh!" She screamed; she had fallen down to the bottom of the stairs and twisted her ankle, but got back up and despite the pain she ran to her hearts content to the hospital. The wind wiped her face as she ran, tears went astray down her cheeks, and her ankle swelled to the size of a baseball, but she still kept on running. The wind had grew even more harsh as she went on, and once and a while there was a bright light and a low crash of thunder looming above her head. "It's okay, just don't think about it. You'll be there in a matter of minutes. Keep going. You are not a coward. God, do I ever wish that I had taken Darien's offer." Serena whimpered and started to cry as she ran faster and faster yet. It was almost like she was being chased by someone, but what was chasing her was her heart. So delicate, that no matter what she would not let it break and crumble to pieces. There was a crack in the sidewalk and sure enough Serena tripped and fell to her knees. She stayed there for a few more minutes and silently cried. Her ankle hurt so much, and so would her heart if she missed Marie. An eerie mist encircled her as she slowly made her way up to her feet. The thunder got louder and the lightning more bright as she continued her journey. The mist made her confused as if someone had created it to prevent her from reaching Marie. She had almost taken a wrong turn, but regained her memory when she was confused all she would have to do was to just stop and close her eyes and think… 'I can do this blind folded so why can I not get there in this mist or fog or whatever it is?' After that she would be on her way to the hospital once again. The trip there seemed like hours, but it was only a matter of minutes before she reached the entrance of the hospital. She ran through the sliding doors and to the hallway of a screaming woman's room; it was none other than Marie. Darien had already reached the hospital, but the doctors would just not let him in. He saw Serena run and he stood up to greet her and tell her that they would not let him in at any expense, but before he could say anything Serena had fallen and did not get up right away. He rushed to her side and offered her his hand to help get up. She had a tear striped face and had awful bags underneath her eyes. Her skin was deathly pale and her hands were cold and forehead hot. Yet she persisted on going into Marie's room afraid of what may happen soon if she did not. "They wouldn't let me in Serena, what do we do?" Darien's face was definitely not what she would call calm. He was tired, but so was she, and his hands were shaking with fear written on his face. Serena gulped in the last bit of saliva that was in her dry throat. She was on her feet and this time she walked to Marie's room. The pain of her ankle made it almost impossible to walk; it was unbearable. She fell once again and this time Darien had caught her. He supported her weight seeing what happened on her way here. "They'll let me in, I will insist that you come in too. It should work, if not who cares I don't work here I only help out." Darien nodded his head slowly, and started to walk, but he was careful not to hit her ankle with his own. They slowly made their way to the door of Marie's room. It was closed, but Marie was screaming for Serena. "Let him in, where is Serena! Get her for me! Now!" "Ms. Raquelle, please settle down, we cannot help you if you are not wanting help. You must let us help you!" Said Doctor Lupin. "You are ill, you have been hurt in the accident, and we need you to cooperate!" Now Doctor Lupin was yelling. Serena knocked on the door, but no one heard her so instead she pounded. That caught someone's attention. An unknown nurse opened the door and poked her head out. "Please go away, we are having difficulties right now, I am sorry for the disturbance." The lady closed the door immediately after. "Open this damn door! I am here to calm down Marie! I'm Serena! Serena Tsukino!" Darien looked startled that this airhead even knew these kinds of words, but I guess that is what you have to expect from a bubble type of Meatball Head. The door flew open and Serena face Doctor Lupin at the doorway. He seemed worn out, stressful and exhausted. "Serena, thank the stars! Get the hell in here. You… stay out." He pointed to Darien. "No Doctor Lupin, Marie wants him to be here, plus he's my support system." Serena said. "You couldn't help it could you Meatball Head? You had to say it, didn't you?" He mumbled under his breath. "Okay fine, as long as you can get her to shut up and to let us help her!" He replied. Darien helped Serena into the room and as soon as Marie saw them she ceased her complaining. She looked awful. Her face was paler than Serena's; the machine monitoring her heart was weak and seemed to be feeble and unstable. She was lying down on her bed and despite her efforts she could not smile. There was sweat on her face and it glimmered against the bright electric lights that loomed overhead. The nurse that had shut them out a few minutes ago got a chair for Serena to rest upon for her ankle. She took advantage to it and sat with a thump and scooted over to Marie's bed looking over her and watching as she took in short and ragged breaths of air. After one minute of staring at each other Marie coughed. Serena leaned forward cautiously and checked to see if she was okay. "Dear child, I am afraid that it is almost time. Thank you for everything, you too son. I enjoyed having you as a friend, and thank you for coming just now." Marie coughed a bitter cough and relaxed her head on her bed. She swallowed and closed her eyes thinking of what to say next. Serena watched contently as the other nurses and doctor Lupin watched. One nurse even had tears in her eyes. "Serena, what I am about to say will change your life maybe even forever. It sounds completely dramatic, but I swear on my life that it is not… too dramatic." She opened her eyes and cocked her head to the left of her so that she was facing Serena. She swallowed again and started to speak. Her voice was cracking with every word she said. As she spoke to Serena she got more tears in her eyes. Serena by now was crying. Darien even had to admit that this was heart breaking. "Now my child, look for a raven of black. It will symbolize your life in the near future. Look hard, but ! ! search for the answer easily. It will come to you. A quote I heard as a young girl. Black as ebony, bright as love." With those final sentences Marie forced her hand upwards so that it touched Serena's face. Her hand was wrinkled a little, but the crook of the palm of her hand fit Serena's cheek perfectly. A stray tear wept down Marie's face as she took her hand and placed it back on her chest. She closed her eyes and sighed. With one last smile on her face the room fell silent, and then the buzz of the monitor went dead. Doctor Lupin ran over to Marie and so did the nurses. Darien scooted Serena's chair away from the bed. He kneeled down to about Serena's head height. She seemed to be in shock. Four minutes later Doctor Lupin and the nurses backed off. Doctor Lupin picked up the record chart and a pen. Serena who seemed to come out of shocked wept on Darien's shoulder. He too knew what was coming, and bent his head over trying to fight the on coming tears. "Death… 3:15 a.m." The funeral was a sad one; few people showed up, most was her family, Darien and herself. Serena's friends had showed up to show their respect for the deceased and so Serena could have a shoulder to lean on in case of need. There was five other people there, those Serena had guessed to be acquaintances or family of Marie's. There was a bright side to the sad story though. It was a sunny day, the sky was blue and birds were singing cheerful songs. To everyone's surprise Serena had remained strong throughout the ceremony. In the weeks that had passed after the tragedy, Serena became stronger and stronger emotionally. Within one week after the funeral everyone saw her smile with full force once again. She now bounced like her old self almost forgetting about the funeral that ended four weeks ago. * * * The bell to the arcade doors rang loudly as Serena bounced in and sat down next to Darien at the front counter. She was waiting for her friends to arrive so they could go do something. Serena was hoping to go shopping. She had not gone shopping so long that her old shoes were wearing out. "Hey Serena. What will you have? A coke, 7up?" It was Andrew, Serena's old crush. Of course he knew it, but he thought it was cute. "Yeah! But I want a chocolate malt." Andrew smiled and went to get her malt ready. "Hi Meatball Head." Serena turned to face Darien. He had a sinister type of grin on his face. "How many times do I have to say DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Serena's voice rouse at the end of the sentence. Darien grimaced. "So, Meatball Head is feeling better?" Said a joking Raye. Serena spun herself around and looked Raye in the eye. Lita was elbowing her. Darien laughed at this spectacle. "Here is your malt Serena. Hi girls. Do you want anything while I am here? "Sure!" Said Lita, Mina, Raye, and Amy in unison. They sat down next to Serena and ordered the drinks they wanted. Darien opened his calculus book and started to study. Amy noticing this started to look over his shoulder. He wrote down some problems. He was completely oblivious of Amy. "Um excuse me Darien. Excuse me for saying this, but that problem you just wrote down is wrong. It should be 15x." Darien looked at her with squinted eyes. "How would you know about calculus?" Asked Darien. "She's a genius Darien." Said Raye. Amy blushed. "She's always fifteen chapters ahead of everyone else and can memorize anything from a text book. She can look at a problem higher than her grade level and like that…" Raye snapped her fingers. "She knows how to do them. Ten out of ten, Darien, your probably wrong." Raye went back to drinking her soda. Amy was blushing really noticeably. "Ohhhh!" Darien said. He double-checked his work and sure enough Amy was right. "Gees, you are a genius." He said while erasing his work. The girls laughed, all except Amy anyway. "Listen Serena, we decided for you that we want to go shopping. Okay? Do you have your money with you? I have to buy a new sundress for the summer. Summer break is two weeks away you know." Said Mina. "Oh I was hoping you would say that. Yeah I have my money with me. We can catch a bus right after we finish our sodas." The bell on the door rang once again and this time a man stepped inside. "Hey Serena!" Whispered Mina. "Doesn't he look like he was at the funeral?" "Yeah, you're right. It looks like one of the people that was there." Serena whispered back. "Serena Tsukino, is that you?" The man made his way over to where Serena and the girls were sitting. He wore a black suit and a white dress shirt. A black tie finished off the suit. "You did not meet me at the funeral, but I came by thinking you have something of my sister's. I am John, Marie Raquelle's older brother." He reached out his hand to shake Serena's. By now Darien and Andrew were watching Serena's next move. 'I do not trust this guy.' Darien thought. Apparently so did Serena, because she did not extend her hand to greet him. John cleared his throat after this rejection and started to speak once again. "Did you happen to find a small square pouch a few weeks ago or anytime during your visitations with my sister?" He paused and looked into Serena's eyes with hatred. "It was about this big and it was purple, if you look under a light you can see it change colors to pink or visa versa. Have you got it?" He stopped short sentence. "Yes, as a matter of fact I do. I thought that I had accidentally picked it up here at the arcade, but I guess not. Do you know what it is? Identify it more specifically? What's inside it?" Serena added questioningly. "That's just it, no one knows but her. It is said to have a special curse on it of some sort." He cleared his throat nervously. This made Darien very suspicious of him. "It was passed down to young women after the elder dies. Generation to generation. Only the women in the family know what it is. But I am afraid that now I, John Raquelle, am the only relative left in the family. And those who look at it without it being passed to them will be cursed with a life-threatening situation. That is how my father and grandfather died." "Oh, I am so sorry." Serena said sympathetically. "Here's Johnny!" Said someone. Amy accidentally spit out her drink. They snickered. "Yes, well, anyway. Also in her will she stated that if she were to die before she marries and has her own children or gives it to someone who needs it then it would go to her last living relative, myself. And she has not said to anyone that she gave it to him or her. And please do not take it offensively, but you do not seem to be in need of it." He stopped and looked at her straight in the eyes. 'For a girl of her age I think she suspects.' She searched his eyes for any source of theft or anything that she would regret, but he had a very convincing story. 'I do not know what to do. His story seems to be real, but almost anything anyone says to me I believe.' She thought. "Do you happen to have it with you right now? I really have to be going soon, I have an early dinner engagement with a client." He said. "No, I do not. But is there a time at to which you are free so that I will be able to give it to you? If you can identify it more clearly than I can give it to you as soon as possible, but otherwise I am afraid that I will have to give it to the police and you will have to claim it at the court." Darien let out a breath of relief. 'Thank you Serena! I do not trust him in any way. I would not give it to him.' Darien thought. "Oh, well then. The covering is silk, as I said it is iridescent, changes color to purple to pink. Otherwise I do not know how to explain what it looks like. I do not know what is in it though." He said. "I guess I can take your word for it, but I do not have it with me." "Oh, okay then. Well I have to go right now, so do you think that you will be here tomorrow at the same time? I really need to get it back." "Yeah, I guess so." "Okay then. Good-bye Serena, it was nice to meet you personally. Good-bye all of you." He nodded and spun around and left. Andrew was the first to speak. Right at that moment he was drying a glass from Serena's malt that she had polished off. "You actually believe that guy Serena?" "Yes I do. He described it perfectly. Even as Darien. He saw it. I said I believed him, but I do not trust him." Serena said. "Do you believe the curse Serena? I mean it was scary sounding. Did you happen to look to see what was in it?" Lita said. "Oh Lita. Curses are for superstitious type of people. In any case, if the curse were true then what we would have would be a phenomenon. Or there would be an imbalance in the air or earth that caused such a disturbance. An electrical disturbance anyway." Everyone stared at her. Darien dropped his pencil. "This is no time to talk like a text book Amy." Said Mina. "What does phewnomeonon mean?" Asked Serena. "A phenomenon, Serena, is any occurrence or fact that is directly perceptible by the senses. Or in this case an observable event." They kept on staring at her. "Sorry, I'll be quiet now." "Anyway, Serena, Are we still meeting at the docks by the pond tonight at nine?" Said Raye. "You better believe it. Even if you could not come I would still go. There is not supposed to be a cloud in sight tonight. So we will be able to see a few constellations, and the full moon should be enough light for us." Serena said. "Well I really do not want to disappoint you Serena, but I cannot make it. I got double chores, because Chad was singing again." Raye said. "What happens when Chad sings?" Darien and Andrew asked unison. "He gets 'The Broom'." Said Serena and Lita. "Oh." Said Andrew. "Ouch." Said Darien. "You know what Raye? I am not too disappointed at all. I mean, I am disappointed, but not by much, because the park isn't too far from my house, as you well know, and I am still going to go to the docks anyway." Serena said. "Is everyone ready to go?" Amy said hopefully. "Yeah!" Serena piped in. They laid their money on the counter and said their good-byes and they were off. Meanwhile Darien still sat at the stool wondering how on earth Amy figured out this problem. "I swear, I have never met a girl about five years younger than me know so much more about calculus than myself." Andrew laughed. "Where do you guys want to go first? I want a new dress." Lita said. "I would be happy to oblige you Lita. I want to get a new dress too." Mina said. "Well then lets go get a new dress for all of us!" Serena cheered on. She threw her fist up into the air and everyone followed her example, well everyone except for Amy that is. In a shop at the mall three girls had trouble carrying all their packages, because Mina and Serena were holding up shirts to picture themselves in the mirror. "Do you think that this sky blue is my color?" Mina asked. "Oh of course darling." They giggled in delight. "You guys might as well put those down. We might be here for a little longer." Serena paused. "What do YOU think Mina? Is this shirt okay?" Serena held a light colored plaid shirt up to her. The neckline was made so that it fell a few inches below her shoulders. "Oh Serena! That's beautiful! Where did you find it? Is there another one? It would so pretty with your wrinkled white skirt that goes to your knees you just bought. How much is it?" Mina added "Uh… it is… $20.95. And yeah there is another one, but it is an extra large." Serena grinned. "Should I try it on?" "Do it girlfriend!" Mina said in a valley girl type of voice. Lita, Raye, and Amy all groaned and they dropped all of their boxes and bags. Serena ran into the dressing room with one of the bags and the shirt and soon revealed herself with the shirt and skirt on. "Oh Serena! Buy it Buy it! It looks so awesome!" "Okay!" Serena walked to the checkout counter. She bought it and then they were off. They left for a bathroom, because Mina and Serena wanted to put on their new clothing. Or some of it anyway. Serena put on her new outfit with the skirt and the shirt that she just put on and Mina put on her new shirt. Lita put on her new green mini-skirt. "You guys obviously do not have any sense. Amy and I are probably the only smart ones here." Raye said grumpily. "Oh be quiet Raye, you're going to hurt yourself." Serena and Mina laughed. Lita and Amy snickered, but held their laughter tight. They walked around for about another hour before settling down for dinner. The decided to have some chicken curry for dinner and talked for awhile. They ate dinner and left to catch the 8:30 bus to the Jubaan district. One by one they got off the bus to go to their homes. By the time it was Serena's stop she did not get off. "How come you did not get off?" Lita asked. Lita and Serena were the only ones left on the bus. "Because I am going to the docks, remember?" Serena replied. "Oh yeah. I forgot. Well this is my stop Serena. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!" Lita waved Serena bye, and she returned the gesture. Now only Serena was on the bus, and when it came time to get off she pulled the cord and walked off the bus and into the dimming gold sky. The sky was changing into a deep navy blue by the time she reached the docks of the park pond. She often came here to think at night about Marie. She missed talking to her, even though she had only talked to her about three or four times. She walked along the dock to the end and sat down. She then went into a laying position and stared at the stars for awhile before noticing a black bird flying above her. "A raven." Serena was gauging at the bird; she immediately thought of what Marie had said. 'Look for a raven of black, it will symbolize your life in the near future.' Serena had a flashback to the morning that Marie had passed away. She shook her head a bit to clear her thoughts and started to stare at the night sky. The sky was now a dark blue and stars were appearing everywhere. She would see constellations soon, like Orion's belt, Little and Big Dipper, Milky Way, Serpens, Virgo, Leo, and of course her own, Gemini. But she would not see some of them, only a few of those. She did not know many constellations, but she found them fascinating. She gazed upon the sky silently as she watched for any constellations. In the back round she could hear the silent hum of the crickets in the grass, and the last minutes songs of the birds before complete darkness surrounded them completely. In the further distance she could hear the buzz and screeching of automobiles. Eve! ! ry once and a while she would hear voices of couples strolling through the park for a moonlit stroll. Laughter made her ears ring with joy as she listened to them talk and laugh and be gay. Soon, there was she; the darkness watching the stars appear and some had already disappeared depending how close they were. She sighed as she laid there in silence. There now was a weak wind flowing across her face and it blooded her hair and her new skirt to one side, but it was a warm night; no need for a light jacket. Serena heard footsteps behind her, and they were closing in; they did not pass her, but were coming toward her. They got louder and closer with every step. Then they stopped. The person was on the dock. She could tell that by the way his or her shadow loomed above her. Her pulse quickened. Who was it? She was too scared to look. She only hoped that he or he went away if she ignored their presence. But they did not go away. She was getting very paranoid and almost whimpered out to someone. She stayed still for a moment longer; contemplating whether she should keep on ignoring or announce she knew of the person's presence. 'What do I do now?' She! ! asked herself. "Well, aren't you going to say something Meatball Head?" Serena jumped about a foot off the ground and spun around hastily to face the perpetrator (at least in her eyes) who had startled her. "What do you want?" She said lowly. "And what are you doing here?" There was a mischievous grin plastered to his face. "If I tell you the truth, promise not to laugh. Otherwise I will have to kill you." He said. "That depends, is whatever you're about to tell me funny in your eyes?" Serena replied. "No, not really." "Well then I can not promise you anything." She said turning her head away. "Ha, ha, very funny Meatball Head. Aren't you at the very least bit curious?" He sounded convincing. "No." His grin almost failed on him. "Are you sure? I mean, why would I be here and waste my time on you unless I had a good reason?" His grin re-entered his face with full force. "Yeah I'm sure." "Okay, fine. See you around Serena." He turned around full of himself and started to walk away. He then heard a gasp. "Wait just a minute Darien. You said my name, it must be important." "I knew you would change your mind." He grinned once again and sat down next to her and stared at the stars with her, by her side. "Well?" She paused. "Aren't you going to say anything? What do you want?" "Huh?" "You heard me. What did you want to say?" "Oh yeah, right. Did you know there are going to be two shooting stars tonight? I come to the park a lot, just to think, but I did not know you were going to be here tonight." He took in a deep breath. "I…" He was cut off. "That's not why you wanted to talk to me. I can see it on your face. Clear as broad daylight." Serena laid back down into a laying position on the dock next to the pond full of glittering water. "Is it really that obvious?" He said. He looked down at her from where he was sitting. She was staring at the stars above her, her hands rested behind her head and he saw that one of her pigtails flowed over the side of the dock, though he could tell that it did not hit the water. "It's written on your face. Not literally." She said. "Okay then." He fell silent again and tried to think of what next to say. 'How should I start this? Will she laugh at me?" He thought. "Well? Hello? You're spaced out, mind if I jump off a bridge?" Serena said. Without realizing what she had, said he responded. "Sure, I don't mind." "What!? Are you crazy!?" She looked at him and realized what just went on. "Darien? Are you still alive? Hellooo?" "What, huh?" The trance that he was in was restored to a normal sanity. "Oh, sorry about that Meatball Head." He blushed. "Yeah, okay, whatever. Now are you going to tell me what you came here for?" She stopped. "Uh…uh…I…I…thought…that…maybe…we…should…um…start…well…Ithoughtwecouldstartbeingfriends,startoveralla-gain, butthistimetherightway." He said all in one breath. He took in a deep breath as she fell silent for a moment trying to think of what he said. She herself took in a breath and blushing a little sat up and looked in the opposite way before talking. "I guess we could." From her left side Darien sat speechless and sat studying her face which was a deep, deep red. She tried to hide her face as she spoke, but failed, and her face became even the redder. Her head dropped, facing her knees. "Okay, hi. I'm" gulp "Darien. He, he, he." He smiled a weary smile. "You don't need to start from there you know. One thing though, do not, and I repeat myself, do not call me Meatball Head." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Okay... you like? Tell me what you think! milky_way173@ix.netcom.com