My Last Breath

By: Diva'sDream

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish I did, I do not now, nor will I ever own "Sailor Moon" or any of the characters on it. Also, I do not own the song "My Last Breath". It's owned by Evanescence and...whoever the heck else.

Rated: PG for being just a tad graphic.

Category: Angst/Romance

Summary: (Tissue warning!) All of the evil that the Sailors have fought so long to defeat is finally gone and the world is finally at peace. There's just one problem now. During this one last battle against evil, Serena is gravely injured and dying. This is a songfic about her death in Darien's loving arms. (My first songfic, please be kind... )

[Hold on to me love, You know I can't stay long, All I wanted to say was I love you And I'm not afraid. Ohhhhh...]

"No! Serena, you can't leave me!" Darien's eyes were filled with tears as he held his beloved girlfriend and who was supposed to be his future wife in his arms, weeping, knowing that Serena's end was near. It was all over. All of the evil that threatened the universe was finally gone, but not before striking a fatal blow to the Sailor of the Moon.

Serena put a finger to Darien's lips to silence him. "Shhhh..." she whispered, pausing occasionally between sentences to gain the strength needed to speak, too weak to manage much more than that, the tears starting to fill up in her eyes too. "Please don't cry for me, Darien. I love you too...too much to see you so hurt. It's all right. I'm not in...in any pain and I'm not afraid to die. Please be strong—for me..." Then, she lay there, staring at her boyfriend and who was supposed to be her future husband lovingly, her uniform stained with blood—her blood.

Darien nodded in understanding and kissed her on the forehead...

[Can you hear me? Can you feel me in your arms?]

Serena hummed softly to Darien as he held her closer, never wanting to let go for anything.

In his mind, he thought to himself and he held onto her, "Maybe, if I just hold onto her, she won't leave me, she won't be able to." Although this seemed like a good idea to him, he knew in his heart that it wasn't going to work...

[Holding my last breath, Safe inside myself. Are all my thoughts of you Sweet raptured light? It ends here tonight.]

Serena took in a deep breath, cold and shivering from the loss of blood. "Oh Darien...I don't wanna go, but I have no choice," she thought to herself in her head, thought to herself the words that she could never tell her beloved Darien for fear of upsetting him further.

She thought about the happy times she spent with Darien, those same thoughts now seeming dreamlike and seeming like they never happened, as did Darien's love for her seem the same way. And though the thoughts were happy, Serena wasn't. She was extremely depressed that those happy times were going to be no more after tonight, for she wouldn't be around to make more of those happy moments with...

[I'll miss the winter, A world of fragile things. Look for me in the white forest, Hiding in a hollow tree. (Come find me.)]

As Serena thought about these happy memories, she suddenly remembered something. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a picture. Then, she weakly handed the photo to Darien, whispering to him softly, "If you ever wanna find me, to remind yourself that I'm always gonna be with you no matter what, you know where to look."

Teary-eyed, Darien looked at the small picture in his hand. It was the picture he had Mina take of Serena, Rini, and himself last winter. The photograph they took while at Serena's favorite winter vacationing spot up in the mountains. It was the picture they took right in front of Serena's favorite tree, the tallest pine tree in the park—hollow and big enough for her to just sit and even nap in for hours at a time, which she did quite often. Yes, Darien knew what Serena meant, having found her in the hollowed- out base of that tree several times...

[I know you hear me.

I can taste it in your tears.]

As Serena let Darien know that, no matter what, he could always find her spirit in that same tree that they had visited so many times, he hardly seemed to be listening. He seemed to be off in his own little world, but Serena knew he could hear her.

His tears fell just a tad more as she finished speaking, and his grip on her slightly tightened, just enough so as not to cause her any pain, but to make her feel warm, comforted, and secure...

[Holding my last breath, Safe inside myself. Are all my thoughts of you Sweet raptured light? It ends here tonight.]

As she lay there, helpless, more blissful memories of Darien, Rini and her flashed in her mind. Oh, how much she knew they were going to miss her and grieve for her, but there was nothing she could've done about it!

All of the things she had with her family, her memories, her happiness, her comfort, were all going to end at any minute now...

[You close your eyes to disappear. You pray your dreams will leave you here. But still you wake and know the truth— No one's there.]

As Darien laid his head on Serena's, he closed his eyes, praying that all of this wasn't really happening and that it was all just a dream. Wait! No, not a dream—a nightmare. A nightmare that he wanted desperately to wake up from but couldn't.

As he silently pondered on this, the horrible reality dawned on him. The reality that, after tonight, there'd be no one around anymore for him to be really close to. Well sure, he'd have the rest of his friends, the other Sailors, but he wouldn't have the family that he was so looking forward to...

[Say goodnight. Don't be afraid. Calling me, calling me As you fade to black.]

Serena then started to shake violently, freezing cold, her skin as pale as the moon and her lips almost as purple as the lilacs that surround them. She started to cough up blood, apparently from the fatal injury that had pierced her lungs. Then she said, between those coughs that caused her so much anguish, "Please don't be afraid for me, Darien. I'm all...all right. And please, don't forget me. Remember, I'll always be...be with you."

She gestured towards the picture still enclosed in Darien's hand. "You just have to know where to look. I love you and Rini more than...than you could ever imagine. And even in death...I always will..." And, with that being said, Serena closed her eyes one final time, and died right then and there in Darien's loving arms.

"Serena," Darien simply whispered as his love lay there, utterly motionless and cold. "Serena..."

Suddenly, there came a gasp from behind him. "Daddy!" Darien turned around to see his daughter, Rini, suddenly fade away and vanish into thin air.

"No! Not my daughter too!" Darien abruptly screamed, knowing exactly what was happening. Serena had died, before they had a chance to grow up and to become whom they would've, had this not happened. Had Serena not been killed, her and Darien would've married and become the King and Queen of the moon. And, because that never happened, their daughter, Rini, was never born. And so, with this newfound knowledge, Darien wept, his entire future crashing down before his very eyes...

[Say good night. (Holding my last breath.) Don't be afraid. (Safe inside myself) Calling me... (Are all my thoughts of you...?) Sweet raptured light? It ends here tonight...]

The End