Basic Disclaimer:
I do not own sailor moon or any of its characters
PROLOGUE
Sailor Venus stared in shock as the er… well she wasn't quite sure what it was, a monster of some kind, dissolved into dust in front of her eyes. Looking up she saw Sailor Moon standing behind where the monster had been, her Moon Sceptre outstretched and her blue eyes glittering with anger.
"I've just about had enough of this crap, when can I finally go and defeat the idiot who is sending all these wacko's?" Sailor Moon grumbled to the black cat who came out from behind the tree where she and a white cat had been hiding.
"Sailor Moon we don't know enough about this new enemy yet to tackle them on their home ground" Luna replied looking worryingly at her charge,
"Luna's right, we have no choice until we can find out more about this enemy, we can't just rush in unprepared, we need to take more time on this" Artemis echoed. Sailor Moon gave the white cat a pointed look,
"And just how much time do you think I have left to give you?" She asked as she gestured to the small but highly visible bulge on her abdomen. Artemis flushed a becoming shade of pink at the reminder of Sailor Moon's pregnancy.
"Sailor Moon's right Artemis, pretty soon its going to be too dangerous for her to go up against an enemy, and without her and her silver crystal there is no way that we can beat whoever is sending these monsters" Mars spoke up,
"Sailor Moon, I hate to say it but I think you need more protection, there was no injury caused by the blow you took tonight that sent you into a tree, but if that had happened in a couple of months it could have harmed your baby" Mercury stated after scanning Sailor Moon and her unborn child for injuries.
"Mercury is right, in a few months you will not be able to move as quickly nor as nimbly, you need someone to protect you while the Scouts are fighting and weakening the monsters so that you can destroy them" Luna advised, gently,
"Yeah well we all know who SHOULD be doing that but isn't" Jupiter growled as she cracked her knuckles. Sailor Moon paled at the mention of the absent Tuxedo Mask,
"Then someone needs to take his place" Venus replied, seriousness glinting in her eyes,
"Venus we have already discussed that and they don't want do it" Mars replied, catching on to Venus's meaning,
"No, that's not what we discussed with them" Venus retorted,
"What do you mean?" Mercury queried,
"We offered them freedom from their stones because they had proven that they were no longer evil and were once again on our side, by helping us with this latest threat"
"Yes, and they declined saying that it was their punishment for their betrayal of us and Prince Endymion, that they were able to see and talk to us, but felt that they didn't deserve to walk among us again, even though we had all given them our forgiveness and practically begged them to return to us" Mercury replied,
"We have all begged them separately to return to us as they would have done if they hadn't been captured and turned against us in the Silver Millennium, but they have refused" Mars pointed out,
"Exactly" Venus grinned,
"Venus please get to the point, I'm tired and hungry, my back is aching and I need sleep" Sailor Moon stated as she slid onto a low wall tiredly,
"My point is simple, we give them a reason for wanting freedom"
"That reason being what exactly" Jupiter inquired,
"We tell them the truth"
"What?" six voices gasped,
"We tell them that their beloved Prince Endymion has deserted Sailor Moon who is pregnant with his unborn child, and that they are needed to protect her and the baby from this new threat" Venus answered, as she sat down next to Sailor Moon and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders,
"But their loyalty is to Tuxedo Mask, not to Sailor Moon" Mercury pointed out,
"Well that may extend to his child as well, we really have no other choice. It may well be the case, that they feel that they should seek out their prince, but we won't know until we talk to them" Venus replied softly. Sailor Moon looked to Luna,
"Should we try it Luna? I don't like the idea of having to be protected, but in this case its not just me, I have my baby to think about" Luna glanced at Artemis who nodded gently,
"Yes, it is worth a try, lets see how they react to the truth of what has happened, they have known for some time now that we have been hazy about the absence of Tuxedo Mask, but out of respect have just taken our word for it, the truth of his desertion may just be the thing that will get them to agree to being set free"
Back at the Hikawa Temple the girls sat on one side of the low table in the sitting room and waited as Rei placed the small box carrying the Generals life stones in front of Serena. Serena, dressed in soft pants and a free flowing shirt that hid her pregnancy, gently removed the stones and placed them on the other side of the table, closing her eyes she gently called to the spirits of Prince Endymion's four guardians.
"Kunzite, Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, please show yourselves" the four stones started glowing with a bright light, Kunzite's was orange, Jadeite's red, Nephrite's green and Zoisite's blue. Soon the ghostly images of the four generals appeared on the other side of the table,
"Princess Serenity, why do you call us so late?" Kunzite asked as he looked at the assembly surrounding the princess,
"We need you to reconsider our offer of freedom from the stones" Serena replied,
"Princess, you know our feelings on this, we do not have the right to freedom" Nephrite replied. Mina placed a hand gently on Serena's shoulder, then turned to Kunzite.
"Kunzite we are here to tell you the truth about Darien's absence and the reasons for which we ask you to reconsider our offer of freedom" Kunzite looked at the other three generals then at their slight nods he turned back to Mina,
"Please continue"
"This is very hard to say, but please bare with me" Kunzite simply nodded and waited patiently. Mina turned to Serena, at Serena's nod she began.
"Three months ago Darien told Serena that he no longer loved her, nor did he want anything more to do with her or the Sailor Scouts, he was sick of fighting enemies from a past that he couldn't remember and that he wanted to live his life as he saw fit, not as a shadow of a former life" Mina paused when he saw the looks of disbelief that each general wore but continued when they remained silent, "We have not seen nor heard from him since. A month ago Serena was able to locate him somewhere in the far south of Japan, but when she rang him, for reasons we will explain in a moment, he told her to leave him alone, that he never wanted anything to do with her again and promptly hung up on her" as silent tears ran down Serena's cheeks, Rei moved and placed an arm around her shoulders in silent support, "Just after this phone call Serena found the box containing your stones in Darien's apartment when the owner requested that she collect the stuff that he had left behind when he had left" Mina finished,
"Why did you not tell us of this sooner?" Jadeite asked abruptly, then winced at Rei's answer
"Because at first we did not trust you"
"And after you learnt to trust us?" Zoisite responded,
"Then we did not want to upset you, nor speak badly of Darien in front of you" Serena replied softly, gently. Kunzite nodded in understanding,
"So what is the reason that you need us to reconsider freedom for?"
"The new enemy that we have been fighting has been steadily sending stronger and stronger monsters for us to fight, we have now gained our full powers and can defeat them, but we need you to protect Serena while we weaken them enough for her to use her attack to finish them off, we will also need your help in the final battle, once again to protect Serena from harm" Mina replied,
"Mina, we have fought Sailor Moon and Princess Serenity in the last life and in this one, she defeated all of us, Queen Beryl, the Death Phantom, Pharaoh 90, Mistress 9, Queen Nehelenia and Galaxia, what possible need is there for us to protect someone who can so obviously protect both herself and others so well?" Kunzite asked shocked,
"Serena will not be able to jump from attacks and avoid injuries as well as she normally can in the coming months, and we need you to take Darien's place to protect her" Mina answered,
"Why? We do not understand, why will she be unable to avoid attacks?" Nephrite responded clearly confused. At his words Serena stood,
"This is why I will be unable to avoid attacks and why I need your protection during battles" she said as she flattened her shirt over her rounded abdomen. If the situation had not been so serious, the Scouts and the cats would have laughed at the expressions on the generals faces,
"Is that…?" Jadeite began
"Are you…?" Nephrite continued
"Oh god!" Zoisite exclaimed, Kunzite was the only one who was able to recover enough to speak a full sentence,
"Princess are you pregnant with our prince's child?" Serena nodded,
"Yes, I carry Darien's child"
"Does he know?" Kunzite asked, Serena shook her head,
"No he does not"
"Why did you not tell him?" Nephrite asked, finally recovering enough to participate in the conversation, Serena once again sat then faced the four spirits,
"I did not know that I was pregnant when Darien told me that it was over" she replied in a shaky voice, tears started streaming down her cheeks but she continued, "When I found out, I tried to track him down to let him know, it took me a month before I found him in Kagoshima in the south, but when I did ring him a month ago he wouldn't let me speak and hung up on me after telling me that he wanted nothing more to do with me" her tears were coming in earnest now and she turned into Rei's supporting shoulder as soft sobs shook her small frame. The generals became angry at the heartlessness of their prince, but then a thought occurred to Kunzite and he glanced sharply at Mina,
"Serena has been fighting monsters while pregnant?"
"Yes, she tries to stay out of the way until we need her to destroy the monster with her sceptre but tonight she was thrown against a tree, neither she nor the baby was harmed, Ami scanned them both with her computer, but that is why we came to you to ask for your help. If you were to consent to Serena using her silver crystal to release you from your stones then you would be able to protect her and her unborn child until we defeat this new enemy, we are asking you to do the duty that Darien should be doing but refuses to do" Kunzite's eyes narrowed in fury and for a moment Mina was afraid that she had insulted him until he spoke,
"How could he do this? How could he possibly do this?"
"I'll kill him! I'll beat him to a bloody pulp is what I'll do" Jadeite growled, his normally good humour lost as he looked down upon the sobbing Serena with sympathetic eyes, Rei gave him a small smile,
"That is what I said when I found out that Serena was pregnant"
"Why did he do this?" Zoisite asked finally
"We don't know, he never gave a reason except that he didn't want his former life to dictate this one, I mean when we were fighting the Death Phantom and the Dark Nega-moon Nemesis, Darien broke up with Serena and told her that he didn't love her anymore, but that was because his future self was sending him dreams that told him that if he stayed with Serena she would die. But this time there were no enemies to do so, he just changed overnight, one minute he was fine and then the next he was cold and heartless" Ami answered,
"All I know is that he had better not show his face around here anytime soon or I will punch his lights out" Lita spoke for the first time since the generals had appeared,
"We know that we are asking a lot and that your loyalty and duty is to Darien, but we have no other choice, you are our only hope for the safety of Serena and the baby" Luna said as she jumped up onto the table. Artemis jumped up and sat next to her, then addressed the spirits of the four men,
"If you agree to do this we can give you all identities and lives here in this century, human names, birthdays, and a place to live, enrol you in university or find you jobs, basically you will be like the Scouts, have everyday lives, but will be able to transform into your general forms and have your powers on command when needed" Kunzite looked at the two cats then back at Serena, who had stopped sobbing and was looking up at them calmly waiting for their reaction,
"Our loyalty is indeed to the prince, but that also covers his family, as the mother of the prince's unborn child, that includes you princess. As to our duty, it is to protect the royal family of earth, of which your child is a member of, yes we were Endymion's guardians and friends during the Silver Millennium as well as his friends, but the man we knew back then would never dream of leaving you, let alone ignoring his own flesh and blood. How is it that through your bond, a bond that I know still exists, he is unable to feel the changes in your body, more to the point he should still be able to feel your pain, just as you should be able to feel his" Serena flushed,
"I er.. that is, I have been suppressing the bond so that he can no longer feel me, he stated that he no longer wanted anything to do with me and so I followed his wishes and with the power of the crystal was able to hide my feelings and pain from him. I could not break the bond, but I have been able to dim it so that unless he really tries or I open it again, then he will not feel anything, he should not even feel the tingle that warns him that I am transforming into Sailor Moon"
"But that would take an awful lot of energy to do so, and with your pregnancy it would be extremely taxing on you to do so" Zoisite commented, Serena nodded,
"It was at the beginning, but I am used to it now and no longer feel the drain on my energy. If I am knocked unconscious though or severely injured the bond will open again when I am not actively suppressing it, then he will feel everything again"
"If you are able to do that, then you are more powerful then Queen Serenity herself" Nephrite replied, respect for the young woman shining in his eyes,
"I may be powerful yes, but that does not stop me from being hurt, the blow I took tonight knocked me into a tree and winded me for several minutes. As Ami pointed out after we had won the battle, if that had of happened a couple of months from now my baby would have been in serious danger" Kunzite nodded,
"Do you wish to see Darien again?" Jadeite suddenly asked,
"My heart would like nothing more than to be back in his arms and hearing his voice telling me he loved me, but as I know that that will not happen, no I do not wish to see him, if I did I would be tempted to use my tiara on him, to cause him as much pain as he has caused me" Serena answered, steel in her voice, even though her eyes were once again brimming with tears,
"I'd love to track him down, just to let him know what I think of his actions" Jadeite grumbled,
"As would I" Kunzite agreed, Serena looked up at the generals hopefully,
"Does that mean that you will help us? That you will allow me to give you the freedom that we feel that you have deserved by helping us?" Kunzite looked over at his companions and after seeing their agreeing nods he turned back to Serena,
"Yes Princess Serenity, we agree to you setting us free, and we are honoured that you have asked us to protect you and your child" Serena smiled and bowed her head gratefully. Moving to her feet she collected the four stones and moved them to sit on the floor then standing in front of them she opened her broach and allowed the power of the crystal to flow through her body. The Scouts watched, breaths held as a silver light encased Serena. When it finally dimmed, Serena stood before them in the form of Princess Serenity, her golden crescent moon on her forehead glowed and her blond hair had turned silvery purple in colour, holding the crystal out in front of her, she waited until the generals nodded that they were ready,
"Cosmic Moon Power!...Return these spirits to their bodies and allow them to fulfil their duties to the earth and walk among us once more!" a silver light burst from the crystal and splitting into four, shone on the four stones on the floor. Immediately four bright lights shot straight upwards from the stones, one orange, one red, one green and one blue. Serenity closed her eyes and concentrated on putting as much of her power into the crystal as she could, she could feel the drain on her body and her knees started to buckle, then she felt four hands on her shoulders, turning her head she saw that Rei, Lita, Mina and Ami had all transformed and were standing behind her. Serena nodded to them, letting them know that she did indeed need the boost from their powers,
"Venus Crystal Power!"
"Mars Crystal Power!"
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"
"Mercury Crystal Power!"
"Cosmic Moon Power Unite!" Serenity called as she felt the Scouts powers flow into her, the silver light grew brighter, as did the lights flowing from the stones, Serenity closed her eyes again and concentrated hard, finally she felt the crystal's power slow and then stop. Opening her eyes she was surprised to find herself kneeling on the floor, the scouts kneeling behind her, looking towards where the four stones had been she saw that they were gone, instead four pairs of black boots were standing there. Looking up she found herself looking at the faces of the four generals, they quickly bowed down on one knee upon feeling her eyes upon them.
"It worked, welcome back, and please do not feel the need to bow, we are no longer in the Silver Millennium" Upon hearing her voice the Scouts also looked up, seeing the men there they jumped to their feet and moved towards them. Rei ran straight to Jadeite and wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him fiercely, she had often called him from the stone to talk.
"I can't believe that you're finally back" she whispered tearfully against his neck, Jadeite wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly to him,
"Neither can I Firebird" He replied softly into her hair using the pet name he had given her back on the Moon Kingdom. Lita grabbed Nephrite around his neck and placed her lips against hers,
"Welcome home" she grinned before she kissed him, them wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, Nephrite returned the kiss and hug then pulled back and smiled gently down at her,
"It is good to be back" Mina slowly walked up to Kunzite and gently placed her arms around his waist, hugging him, Kunzite returned the hug
"I missed you, I may not have remembered at the start but even then I did miss you" she smiled up at him as she spoke,
"I missed you too" he responded softly. Ami hesitantly walked towards Zoisite, stopping inches from him, her shyness preventing her from moving any closer,
"Welcome back Zoisite" Zoisite smiled and pulled her into his embrace,
"Thankyou" was all he said.
Serena stood back and watched as her friends were reunited with their soul mates, happy for them, yet at the same time feeling the loss of her happy ending keenly in her heart.