Note: My first fanfiction. This takes place in the "R" series and will be a Sapphire/Serena fiction. I've opted to use the English anime names for this fiction, seeing as I've seen far too many translations of the name "Sapphire" and because I'm basing this off of the anime rather than the manga. I'm not particularly fond of these names, I'm using them to remain consistent. This fanfiction starts after Serena (Usagi) has been abducted by Diamond in the future.

One particular plot point is anime-only and I'm sure it will annoy the manga purists. We'll get to that later.

This story has quite a few references to obscure, even pretentious, topics of time, the future, the present, the past, and how your decisions can alter all of the above. It also has romances other than the Sapphire/Serena, namely DiamondSerena and DarienSerena.

Update: Four years later, I've come back to this story. I'm not happy with it, but I would at least like to make some improvements over the original version. Not quite a full rewrite, but some minor additions and edits.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed over the years. Even if I don't reply, it means a lot to me.

Misguided Angel

Serena awoke disoriented; her head did more than spin and her sight was less than clear in its dazed weariness. She forced her eyelids together in a desperate attempt to understand where she was. It was not her intention, but she held her breath, almost defensively, like a small cornered creature. Her entire body was rigid as she slowly released the breath through clenched teeth; the motion was intentionally prolonged so that she did not gather the attention of whoever, or whatever, was in the room with her - if anyone at all. The young woman worked her eyes open and curled and uncurled her fists as her body slowly came back under the control of her mind rather than the instinctual control of fear. What had happened? Serena closed her eyes again and released another breath, one that shook its way from her lips. The last thing she remembered was her capture, the man's power, his arms, and the feel that she had no control over events. After, there was nothing. Serena's mind continued to waken, but more rapidly as she quickly realized the situation she was in: if she remained with her abductor, she was in the hands of the enemy. A wave of alarm flooded her body and her previously-relaxed muscles tensed. She clenched her fists and forced the irrationality down as best she could; Serena knew she had to take action, but in her current state she did not quite know how. It was unlike her to hesitate, Serena was not a woman of thought like Ami, but something was off and she knew internally that it was not wise to press herself or whatever situation she was in. Serena felt weak, almost fragile, like if she tried to move, she would do more damage than if she stayed still - enemy's headquarters or not. Perhaps her caution proved she was growing up after all - or perhaps it was just the effect of exhaustion.

As she opened her eyes slowly, Serena made her first efforts to rise, more in annoyance that her body would not do as she said than any other reason. Before she could move little more than onto her elbows from her position on her back, she froze. The room was not cold, quite the opposite, it was warm, even humid, and the air was thick. It was not a normal air; its feel, the taste, and the very sense around her was overbearing and made her shiver in a primal fear, one that came from lack of understanding. As difficult as it was in her current condition, one still on the verge of sleep caution and not entirely awakened, Serena steadied herself, and forced her shaking to subside as she pushed up into a more alert, not-quite-sitting position. Her hands slid slowly over the silken sheets, oddly cool despite her warm presence of atop them, and the young woman kicked them off of herself in frustration; they did little more than hinder her.

Somewhat belatedly, in the midst of a subtle glance across the bed she inhabited, she noticed her clothes had been changed. Serena's eyes immediately widened as she pressed her hands to her chest. She groped around frantically, breath quick, but could not find the precious item anywhere on her. In her moment of despair, her head decided to makes its presence know by means of a throb in her forehead that was impossible to ignore. Serena slumped down and forced her eyes closed as she kept her face in her hand in attempt to alleviate her pain. With her free hand, she continued to desperately search for her most prized possession. She did not know how long she grasped around for, for it seemed both an eternity and an instant, but she found her brooch on the pillow beside her. Serena clutched the item like a possessive mother of an infant child and let herself fall back onto her pillow, her will exhausted in its struggle to resist the lethargy that had found its way through the rest of her body. She fell backwards in an abrupt and uncontrolled action that caused her already-pained head to reel in dizziness and her sight to spin. For a moment, Serena did not know if it was she who moved, or the room around her and curled up inadvertently, knees to her chest, her brooch still clutched to her. Over a few moments, the Moon Princess calmed herself and her breaths became more steady and frequent, her only focus was on her attempt to make the pain subside so she could learn more of her surroundings. Her mind slowly cleared the rest of its fogginess away and she became more alert. It was just as Serena felt like she had gained control of the situation that a deep and unfamiliar masculine voice spoke, seemingly aimed in her direction.

"You've received your first Dark Energy boost from the Dark Crystal. Most who have been gifted slept for days, but not you." He paused and Serena glanced up and around, ignoring the now more minor dizziness. She saw the speaker almost immediately and wondered how she had missed him before, as he seemingly had been in the room the entire time. Serena had been so focused on herself that she had not realized there was a man who had watched her every action. Serena did not know whether to be annoyed, disturbed, angry, or upset. As if he did not notice Serena's confusion, the silver-haired man spoke, his voice strangely soft and kind, yet with a tempered steel behind it. Flexible steel, Serena thought, as if he molded it around whatever held his interest, but a firmness that could not be denied. His tone was pleasant as he continued. "I'm not surprised, are you? Sailor Moon? No, that's not quite right." He seemed to ponder, almost mockingly. "Neo Queen Serenity? No, not that either - how about Serena?" His words were satisfied and his eyes met hers in amusement.

Serena gasped at the revelation and immediately regretted it. He knew one of her greatest secrets; it would have been better to respond nonchalantly, as if it was unimportant. Even as she told herself that, Serena knew had never been a woman to act any way other than what was in her heart - such acting did not suit her. The man remained passive as he examined her, as if he, too, had expected a different reaction, but she saw a quirk in his lips that Serena just knew was amusement. If her head did not hurt as badly as it did, she would have been angry at the look. Even in her weakened state, she frowned and prepared to demand answers, but before she could speak a word, she was interrupted by the man.

"I am Prince Diamond. A pleasure, my Queen."

His movements were unnaturally fast, and before she could act, Serena was forcibly removed from the bed into a vertical floating position in the air by Diamond's power. She had not even felt the motion beyond a rustle and pressure around her. She did not know what to do; in a moment of confusion and anger and attempted to lash out and protect herself, but found the only motion she was capable of was a weak squirm, and even that proved difficult her state. It was an unpleasantly familiar feeling, one she was hesitant to remember at all. It was one of her latest memories; Serena vividly recalled the cool feel of power that had surrounded her when she had been abducted in her Future, and stolen away from her friends in an instant. Serena would not allow it to happen again, and put all of her will into the brooch she clutched at her chest. She spoke the familiar words, her voice a whisper, as she tried to draw her power. As nothing happened, Serena's eyes widened and she tried again; her heart beat quickly as the man, Diamond he called himself, chuckled. The young woman's ire rose and she continued to try. Diamond seemed to speak, but she heard little of his words other than "powerless." She ignored whatever he said and put all of her focus into her Moon brooch until her attention was forced back with a gentle touch to her chin. The man tilted her gaze in his direction and in her bound position she could not look away from his eyes. A part of her, in the dark reaches of the back of her mind, noticed he lacked the dark crescent on his forehead that the other members of the Dark moon family had. In its place, the more rational part of her saw what appeared to be an eye, but an odd one. Her thoughts were cut short as she gazed into the unnatural eye. It was as if she lost all ability to focus, all desire to think, as if each memory slipped from her and each word that passed through her was unable to complete itself. Her body did not respond, was unable to with its mind's weakness. Diamond closed in on Serena, the distance between them so little that she could feel his body heat. His hand had moved from her chin and rested on her cheek, but Serena did not register it; her entire existence was this man in front of her. Soon, he was close that she shared his breath, which made the already-thick air almost impossible to breathe. In her weakness, Serena fought, her legendary willpower giving her only the strength to speak a small sentence before she fell into a quiet exhaustion, unable to do little more than comprehend.

"What do you want with our planet?"

Diamond smiled again, but where his previous smile was amused, his current expression was cruel and cold, yet thoughtful in its manner. Bored, Serena would have described it had her mind worked. He continued to hold her in the air in front of him gently and the power that held her in the air constricted around her neck and Serena began to suffocate. Serena could do nothing, her mind not focused enough to ward off the strong power that pressed itself into her like a tight collar. her body fought him off entirely on instinct, like a drowning child. Diamond had made a mistake, however, and in his twisted desire to cause her pain, he had underestimated Sailor Moon's desire to live and fight. The young woman found her mind slowly return, even if her body was paralyzed. She could do little more than glare in hatred at her captor, who seemed human – disturbingly so. His reply was almost silent, but Serena could hear the power, and their threats, that his words embodied

"I seek your Silver Crystal so I can control this universe. That is all you need to know for now."

His words seemed truthful and his tone implied it was the most obvious thing in the world. The older man took a step back and distanced himself to stare at Serena for a few seconds before the pressure was released from her neck. Serena gasped and forced the air into her burning lungs. Her mind still focused only on her survival, Serena felt a desperate anger fill her. Diamond continued to stare at her with his warm expression and that eye, powerful thing that it was, and quickly her anger turned into little more than a whisper in comparison to the roar that was his magically-induced calm persuasiveness. Soon the emotion floated away with each breath as Diamond stroked her cheeks with his fingertips. His touch was gentle, and he took a step closer to her again. Despite all of her efforts, Serena felt her will dissipate as she fell under his spell once again. Soon, all she could feel was him; their breaths were shared for little more than an instant before he pressed his lips to hers. Serena could think of no words to describe the sensation other than softness, wetness, and warmness. No, not warm - hot, overbearingly so. Her mind swam when he ran his tongue over the outline of her lips as he pulled away. It wasn't a passionate kiss, but as Serena's mind cleared, and the effects of Diamond's spell slowly faded, she felt a shock within her. Darien had never kissed her like that before, with such an obviously controlled lust. Darien's kisses had been kinder, gentler, more automated. Serena felt a surge of discomfort and horror at having such emotions directed towards her. Even worse – by her enemy, her captor!

Before Diamond could continue, an unknown, distant voice broke Serena's reverie and Diamond's concentration. In an instant, Diamond's spell was broken and Serena screamed as she free-fell through the air onto the bed below her. She gasped, more out of shock than pain, as she hit the bed, but the pain was precisely what she needed. No longer under Diamond's influence and now fully awake, the woman ignored her head, which still throbbed, and looked towards the voice. She did not get far, though, before the last of her strength left her, her will drained. All she saw was an outline in the door. Her eyes were blurred and half-closed as she gasped out: ". . .Darien?" before she fell into deep slumber.