Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Sailor Moon. :(

Onward to Chapter 2! Thanks for reviewing. :)

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Savior of Love

Chapter Two

The Queen stood at one of the many tall windows of her castle. Her planet drew closer and closer to Earth. She could feel the energy of her dark forces growing stronger by the second. Slowly, an evil, satisfied smile crept across her disfigured face.

She had been beautiful once, or so the ancient legend said. Her name had been Elliana and she lived peacefully on Earth in the time of the Silver Millennium. She was the daughter of one of the noble families sent to guard the planet by Queen Serenity, ruler of the Moon Kingdom. Elliana was placed into an arranged marriage with a man she met only days before her wedding, as most noble daughters were. His name was Bartholomew and the moment they met, they fell hopelessly in love. After their wedding, they spent many loving years together and their happiness seemed unbreakable.

At one point in their marriage, her husband was called to report back to the Moon Kingdom and spent several weeks away from Elliana. Rumors began to surface that he had become infatuated with Princess Serena, Queen Serenity's beautiful daughter, despite their difference in age and the fact that she loved Prince Endymion, the protector of Earth. Although she tried not to let the rumors affect her, Elliana was secretly devastated. She couldn't believe the man she loved with her whole heart and soul could be so taken by another. When Bartholomew returned to from the Moon Kingdom, Elliana confronted him about the rumors. He confirmed her worst suspicions; he loved Princess Serena. They mutually decided to end their marriage then and there and Bartholomew packed his things that evening.

Left alone in her vacant house, Elliana wept with a broken heart for the loss of her one true love. She wept until no more tears would come. Then her sorrow turned to rage. How dare he leave her for some foolish young girl. She was all he needed to be happy and he had just thrown it all away. Her angry rage built and it soon consumed her. Bartholomew would pay for what he had done to her.

Soon after the end of her marriage, Elliana joined the forces of Queen Beryl's Negaverse and the plot to destroy the Moon Kingdom. In Elliana's mind, as long as she couldn't love, then no one else in the universe deserved to love. Queen Beryl was given the credit for the downfall of the illustrious Moon Kingdom, but Elliana's manipulation of her former friends as well as undercover work in the Moon Kingdom truly led to the downfall of her former home.

As Queen Beryl celebrated the downfall of her enemy with her evil generals, she realized Elliana could be a threat to her reign as queen. Thus, Beryl ordered half of her evil generals to confine Elliana to a distant planet and to stay with her to ensure that she couldn't get in the way. So, Elliana was sent into space, accompanied by half of Beryl's generals and the few survivors of the Moon Kingdom. She built up her planet and it was soon full of activity. Years went by and Elliana waited for Queen Beryl to summon her back.

It is unsure how Elliana discovered Beryl's plans. Perhaps one of the generals slipped somehow. Regardless, she became enraged. However, she was not angry at Beryl (whom she believed had good intentions for leaving her in the middle of space) but rather her rage towards Bartholomew heightened and it soon consumed her even more than before. She craved power more than anything, for with power she could easily make young lovers suffer the way she had.

Since she was extremely superstitious, Elliana visited a nearby seer, originally a member of the Moon Kingdom who she had carefully brainwashed. The seer, an ancient woman named Morgana, said her desires for power could be satisfied by a visit to the apothecary. A wicked former accomplice of Beryl's gave her a potion that he claimed could give her all the power she wanted. When Elliana drank the potion, she became changed. Her black hair, once full of girlish curls, became bone straight and her green eyes, which had once sparkled for the man she loved, turned grey and cold. The gentle noblemen's daughter had become evil, both inside and out. She felt that with her new transformation she needed a new name. When she worked to destroy the Moon Kingdom, she sent reports back to Beryl signed as The Princess of Darkness. She had always been fond of the name. Realizing her power over the cold planet she inhabited, Elliana dubbed herself the Queen of Darkness and began the long journey towards Earth so she could rid the universe of the love and happiness that stemmed from her former planet.

The Queen licked her lips as she thought of the prospect. All she wanted was to see the Earth as cold and dark as she was, and she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. She glanced at her staff, which she clutched tightly to her side. At the tip of the long black staff sat a glass orb filled with dark energy. In order to deprive the Earth of its love, the Queen developed a plan. Since her generals had the ability to teleport through space quickly (one of the perks of working for Queen Beryl), she sent them to Earth to steal the people's energy. The people chosen by the generals were far from ordinary; they were filled with love and happiness and gave off an aura of goodness. These were the people the Queen despised the most and she wanted to eliminate them first by slowly draining their energy and then drawing them into the world of her evil planet.

The Queen's thoughts were interrupted as someone entered her royal chamber. He was tall for his age and his hair almost fell into his brilliant hazel eyes.

"Your Majesty." The boy fell to his knees at the sight of his queen.

The Queen looked bored with his refined greeting. "What news do you have for me, Machiite?"

The boy bowed his head. "Well, your Majesty, Murinite, Violite, and Dominite have all found more than sufficient energy sources and are having good luck."

The Queen glanced at the glowing black energy in her staff. "I can see that, Machiite. I am interested in your progress, not the progress of your fellow generals."

Machiite looked crushed at the Queen's displeasure and attempted to redeem himself. "Your Majesty, I have found a target."

"Who is it?"

"A high school girl. Very beautiful. Seems full of pureness." He shook is head in wonder. "I've never seen anyone like her before."

The Queen clenched her teeth together as she spat, "Have you begun to take her energy?"

Machiite smiled viciously. "The last I saw of her, she could hardly stand."

"Good. Very good."

The Queen was silent and Machiite turned to leave. As he reached the doorway, the Queen spoke again. "Machiite?"

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"You are aware that finding targets is not your true duty to me. This girl…she is only meant to be an example for your brother." The Queen's eyes burned with ambition as she asked, "How is Samurite progressing?"

Machiite responded hesitantly, "He is still new to this. He lets his naïve emotions and foolish notions of good get to his head, but he will be ready soon enough."

The Queen nodded. Samurite needed to be ready; he was the key to their success.

"Make him ready, Machiite. He needs to be prepared. But don't forget your mission." Her voice boomed as it echoed throughout the whole room. "Bring me the Savior of Love."

Machiite bowed. "If it is the last thing I do, my queen."

After he left, the Queen returned to the window and saw how close her planet was to Earth. I will find you, Savior of Love, she thought. And when we finally meet, the whole universe will see the power of the Queen of Darkness.

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There was a grand ball filled with music, dancing, and elegantly dressed people. As she twirled around the floor with her friends nearby, she couldn't help but smile as she took in everything around her. After dancing and flirting with various men around the dance floor, she felt like she needed to get some air.

She walked to one of the sturdy marble pillars that surrounded the outside of the palace and leaned against as she rearranged her pale orange dress and the delicate gold crown on her head. If anyone saw her, they would scold her for not standing up straight and acting refined but it didn't seem to matter. Nothing could spoil her good mood. As she stared into the sky, she caught sight of the Earth, looming beautifully before her. Although she had seen it many times before, it still took her breath away and she sighed dreamily as she watched the planet light up the dark night sky.

From the shadows she could sense someone was coming towards her. She turned and saw a handsome young man heading towards her. She couldn't make out his features but the sight of him made her heart beat a little faster. Biting her lower lip, she turned away from him and gazed towards the sky as she acknowledged him. "You shouldn't be here. If anyone sees us together, we'll be punished for sure."

The young man reached her side. He met her eyes before responding with a devilish grin, "I never have abided by the rules very much, have I? Besides, I wasn't thinking of my potential punishment as I snuck over to see you."

She avoided his gaze as he joked, "You people of the Moon really know how to throw a party…I must say I'm impressed."

"This is no time for joking. We could be killed if any catches us like this! Our lives could be destroyed." She tried to control her voice but it trembled as she spoke.

He understood now that she was not playfully pushing him away but that she was genuinely upset. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he turned her body towards his. He drew her close to him and she could feel almost electrical chills travel up and down her spine. As he tucked loose strands of her hair behind her ear, she heard him say, "Don't you see? My life would be destroyed anyway. My life is not complete without you in it. I don't care what anyone else thinks…I only want to be yours. Forever."

Taking his hands into her own, she forgot her fear and boldly whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he whispered back.

He leaned in to kiss her. Her heart raced. She had never felt so deliriously happy before. All she wanted was to stay in his embrace until the end of time.

Just before his lips touched her own, darkness submerged her completely. Her body felt like it was heavily weighted, her mind felt numb, and her thoughts became fuzzy. She fought with all of her strength to come out of the darkness and back to her love, but it seemed that her efforts were useless. Eventually, she just stopped fighting and felt the last of her strength disintegrate from her body, which lay limp.

Suddenly, out of the darkness she saw a white light. To her shock, she saw it was emanating from her own body. The light pushed her to the surface of the darkness. She was almost free…if she could only hold on for a few more seconds…

Mina woke with a start, her heart pounding fiercely and sweat dripping from her forehead. She attempted to sit up in her bed but as she began to pull herself up, her strength evaporated and she collapsed. She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling as she tried to process what she had just experienced.

She had been in love before. Everyone expected that she had; she was the Sailor Scout of Love, after all. It years ago, when she lived in England, and whenever she thought about it, her heart felt as if it would tear in half. She had loved him and he had loved her…but not in the way she loved him. Mina closed her eyes as the memories flooded back to her. She had been so young and it had crushed her spirits so badly that she vowed never to think of love ever again. Since that time, she had grown up and had experienced the rush of many unrequited crushes and silly teenage desires, but none had compared to the way she had felt about him. The only thing that compared was the way she felt about the young man in her dream. Who was he? Would she ever meet him? Was he even real? And what of the darkness and the white light? What could that mean?

Her racing thoughts were brought to a halt by a sudden wave of dizziness. The room swirled before her eyes and Mina clenched her blanket tightly as she struggled to remain conscious. It felt like all of her energy was slowly being sucked out of her body. Mustering up her strength, she tried to form words with her dry lips. Her voice sounded frail and shaky as she called for the only friend who could hear her.

"Artemis...Artemis, wake up."

He had been asleep on the edge of her bed but awoke with a start at the sound of his owner's distress. When he saw Mina writing in agony, he attempted to stay calm but the desperate worry was evident in his voice. "Mina, what is it?"

"Artemis….get the Scouts. Tell them…I need them. I feel…so weak."

"Sh," he quieted her. "I'll get them." Artemis gently rubbed his head against Mina's neck before bounding out the door.

She couldn't hold on any longer. Someone help me, Mina desperately thought in vain. Then everything went black.

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The school day ended just as it did every other day. After gathering his books, the boy walked to the front of the school building and sat on the curb, waiting. A black convertible whizzed up and stopped right in front of him. The boy put his books in the backseat and sat in the front next to his older brother. The two boys looked almost identical (despite their difference in age and hair color) and both had hazel eyes that sent most teenage girls into a tizzy.

The older, black-haired boy turned to the younger one. "Did you see the blonde girl today, Sam?"

The younger boy kept his focus on the road and tried to act normal as he answered, "Matsu, she wasn't at school today. She's probably sick or something. I got all of her assignments for her…you think we can drop by her house so I can give them to her? I know she'd hate to get behind."

Matsu scoffed at his brother's sensitivity. "Fine. I know the way."

Sam shot a shocked look at his brother. "How do you know that?"

"Are you stupid? I had to follow her around to see if she was a worthy target for our queen. You should be learning from this. Once you see a person whose energy could be useful, you have to watch them constantly to see if they have a truly pure heart and good intentions. Plus, it makes the draining process much easier if you know where the target lives."

Sam shook his head. "You know, I think this whole thing is wrong. Mina doesn't deserve this. She's really a wonderful girl."

"Don't tell me you actually feel sorry for the target, Samurite." Matsu saw his brother shudder at the sound of his real name. "She is good for one thing only: energy. If the Queen finds out you're feeling sorry for this girl, she'll kill you. I would watch your silly little feelings if I were you."

Sam fell silent. Matsu gripped the steering wheel. Why couldn't his brother understand the joy of his duty? The draining of energy was Matsu's favorite method of infliction because it caused great pain. If he could turn his brother to see things his way, the Queen would keep him high in her favor.

Matsu turned sharply to the right. This was the street. With my help, Samurite will rise to his destiny and I'll reap the benefits, he though greedily to himself.

---

Mina stirred as she heard voices. Her eyelids felt heavy as she forced them to open. As her vision focused, she saw she was surrounded by her friends and fellow Sailor Scouts who were working on their homework.

"Guys, she's awake!" Lita dropped her books and rushed to her friend's side. The other girls followed suit. "How are you feeling? We've all been so worried!"

"Wh…what happened?" Mina stammered, weakness evident in her voice.

"You fainted. You've been out cold most of today," Raye answered, rearranging Mina's blankets as she spoke.

"We came as soon as we could. Of course, we couldn't ditch school but as soon as we were let out, we got over here as soon as we could. I couldn't focus all day. I've never seen Artemis so panicked," remarked Serena, clearly concerned. She hopefully turned to Amy, who was flipping through a huge stack of her medical textbooks. "Hey Amy, do you know what's wrong with Mina?"

Amy looked puzzled, which alarmed the other girls. "Based on what Artemis told me about her symptoms, it seems like her illness would be easy to track. But I've consulted almost all of these books and there's nothing that explains her sudden fits of weakness and dizziness." The blue-haired girl shut the book and sat back, clearly frustrated. "I've got nothing."

"Could this be a new enemy? This wouldn't be the first time dark forces have messed with someone's health," Lita pondered aloud, her forehead wrinkled in thought.

"No way! How could it be a new enemy? Why would they only attack one person?" Serena asked.

"Serena has a point. All of our previous enemies have attacked on a very large scale and affected large numbers of people at a time. Why would they only unleash dark powers upon one person?" Amy mused as she took out her Mercury computer and began typing quickly.

Raye hesitantly said, "I've been having some uneasy premonitions lately. It feels like peace is coming to an end and something terrible is about to happen. The world is falling silent and soon it could be on the brink of destruction."

An uneasy silence broke out as the girls all shivered at the thought. Mina felt a little stronger and raised herself up to a sitting position. She collected her scattered thoughts and quietly said, "I had a really weird dream before I passed out."

The girl' eyes widened. "What happened?" Amy asked, pausing from her calculations.

"I think I was remembering something that happened in the Moon Kingdom…"

Mina was interrupted by her mom, who had just gotten home from work, knocking on her bedroom door. "Mina, there's someone here to see you. A boy."

Serena, Amy, Lita, and Raye gasped as Mina's fair cheeks turned the color of a ripe tomato and she frantically tried to smooth down her hair. "Mina, when were you going to tell us you had a boy visiting you?" Raye asked.

"I didn't know." The girls looked unconvinced. "I mean it! I told you, I'm staying away from falling for guys."

"Okay, we'll just leave you alone. We'll just wait downstairs," said Lita, giggling. The girls collected their books and headed for the door, where they ran into a tall boy with light brown hair and hazel eyes, his arms full of books. Even Serena couldn't help but blush at the sight of such a cute boy.

Mina felt her heart skip a beat. "Hey Sam, what are you doing here?"

He gently placed the stack of books and papers on her desk. "Well, you weren't at school today and I figured you wouldn't want to get behind. So I brought you all of your assignments."

Mina groaned as she lay back against her pillow. "Fantastic. More homework. Just what I need right now."

Sam laughed, which took her aback; the only guy that ever laughed at her was Darien. "It was really nice of you to think of me," she said shyly. "Most people would have just let me go back to school and get totally slammed with all of the assignments."

He walked over to her and kneeled at her bedside. "It's nothing. You're one of the only people who actually take the time to be kind to me since I've gotten here. The least I can do is repay someone who is so kind…and wonderful." He looked away from her and his face turned a faint pink color, which caused her to turn red again.

The awkward moment was broken by a long wailing car horn. Sam quickly stood up. "My brother. He's so impatient. I have to go." He headed towards the door. Before walking out, he added sweetly, "Good luck with all that homework. And feel better, ok?"

"Ok," Mina breathed as she watched him leave. She sat in her bed, filled with girlish joy, trying to recall every detail of what had just happened. Wow, he's something, she thought to herself. No guy's ever been so nice and thought of me enough to try to bring me my assignments. Or called me wonderful. Her bliss was broken by another fit of weakness and she grabbed the bedpost as she tried to steady herself. Her efforts were in vain, and she once again was plunged into darkness.

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Sam slammed the car door as he got in and sat next to Matsu, mumbling to himself. Matsu could only hear his brother say "choked" and "such a fool" and "hopeless." Sam's flustered condition was the least of his worries. He reached into his pocket and subtly glanced at the black crystal he held in his palm. The tiny crystal began to glow, signaling that energy was being drained from an innocent person and into the crystal. With an evil grin, Matsu slipped the crystal back into his pocket, put the car into drive, and sped away.

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So. There you have it. Chapter Three will probably not be up for a long while unless I get a huge response...because life is kind of crazy for me right now.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!