"It was him," she said again. "He was the one I saw in the fire."

The table went silent.

The scout of love broke the silence. "What does this mean?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. It freaked me out that he was here…and with her. I couldn't feel any vibes coming from him. It was as if something was blocking me…as if he was blocking me."

"You could try another fire reading," Artemis suggested.

She nodded. "He stared at me for a moment when he came over. His expression was unreadable. It's like he knew what I was trying to do. It was creepy." She inhaled deeply. "Why don't you guys come with me so we can read the fire? Maybe if you guys lend me some of your power I'll be able to get a better read."

+Meanwhile+

Serena, Syrus, Melvin, and Molly were on their way to the nearby theater. At first, Serena had been excited to go and see the movie they had selected, a Japanese musical, but now she was in no mood. Meeting the others had dampened her spirits somehow. She felt rigid and out of place. How had those strange people not known about what happened? Everyone at the school had been talking about her memory loss and she couldn't blame them. It wasn't like it was something she could avoid. There had been so many people who had come to her happily greeting her and inquiring about her break. She couldn't answer them. She didn't recognize them. Molly stayed by her side the entire time ever since she woke up in the hospital. She stayed with her around school and explained just enough of what had happened so that Serena could be comfortable about it. As for these other friends, she had heard about them from Molly, sure, but she never thought she would ever meet them...they just never seemed to be real somehow. What right did they have wanting to be close to her? And what of her supposed boyfriend, Darien? He had never showed up to see her once since the accident, having supposedly been out of town. When he did come back the first thing he did was go to a party at a friend's house where they had their first encounter. He hadn't been interested in her then so why was he now? Maybe their relationship just wasn't that great. Molly had told her that he was a freshman at the med school at KO University. Being a med student meant a lot of work. Maybe he just didn't have the time for her.

The now black haired girl shook her head free of thoughts of Darien. Thinking about him evoked an uncomfortable ache in her stomach. 'There's no point in thinking about him,' she thought to herself. 'He was the past. Who knows how good that was?'

They soon reached the theater but Serena had barely noticed. Why were these thoughts of hers running so deeply?

"Earth to Serena!"

"Huh?" Serena broke free of her thoughts and found her redheaded best friend staring at her. The eyes of the two boyfriends watched her as well.

"I said the movie is sold out. Do you wanna try another theater?"

The girl shook her head. "I think I'm just gonna go home. I feel like I have a headache coming on." She felt bad, knowing that she was lying to her best friend, but she couldn't help it. She knew that if she went out with Molly while she was this deep in contemplation, Molly might worry. After all she had brought her through, worrying her was the last thing on Serena's mind.

"Oh, okay Serena. Do you want us to walk you home?"

"No, it's okay. I'll be fine."

"Oh, I don't know Serena…"

Syrus held up his hand. "No worries Molly. I'll walk her home. You and Melvin go enjoy a movie."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! Don't worry Molly; I'll take good care of her."

She nodded. "You always do. Okay then, we'll see you guys later. Feel better Serena."

"Thanks Molls." The two walked off.

"So," Syrus said once they were down the street, "what was that really about?"

Serena looked up at him. "Hm?"

"Sweets, I see it on your face. It was those guys from before, wasn't it?"

She sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

He took her hand. "Tell me what you're thinking."

Serena sighed again. "I wasn't just thinking about them…I was thinking about him too."

"Him?" Syrus feigned ignorance, running his hand through his hair.

"You know, that guy. Darren, was it? The guy who said he was my boyfriend?"

"Oh. Him. What about him?"

"I don't know. At first he didn't bother me but when I looked into his eyes, his expression…his eyes…it was like they were reading into me."

"You don't say?"

"And when I think about him, I feel some kind of ache in my stomach and it gets more intense the more I think about that!" She rubbed her stomach. "I feel the ache now and I don't know what it means. I'm scared Syrus."

The young man let go of her hand. "Alright Sweets, calm down." Syrus rubbed her upper arms soothingly. "See, the park's over there. Let's go over there and have a little time out."

She nodded uneasily. "Okay." She bent her body slightly as she found the sensation intensifying within her.

"Ally-oop!" Syrus swooped down and scooped her up. He walked the two of them over to a park bench and sat her down. Then he took a seat next to her. "How do you feel?"

"A little better." She turned her body and laid her head on his lap. "I don't know why thinking of this guy makes me feel this way."

Syrus looked out at the fountain before them and then down at the girl. He ran his fingers through her soft hair. "Maybe if you get these feelings out, you'll feel better. Tell me more."

"He feels…familiar. Not just from before the accident, but from a long time ago."

"Mhmm."

Serena looked up at Syrus. "I'm sorry Sun. Is this bothering you? It must be…listening to me talk about another man." She turned toward the fountain.

"Do you love him?"

"What?"

Syrus turned Serena's head back towards him. "Do you love him? Do you think you might still have feelings for him?"

She looked into Syrus' green eyes. "I'll admit I do feel something when I look at him, but it's not love. I love you now." She reached up and placed a hand on his cheek. "Molly had told me about this great love he and I had but he didn't have the time to see me in the hospital. He didn't call once while he was gone. He didn't come by when he got back but he had time to go to a party? If that's his idea of love, I don't want it."

"What do you want?"

She smiled and reached down for his hand that was resting on top on her waist. She pulled it up and rubbed it against her face. Serena kissed his hand and looked up at him. "It's you. I want you."

Using the same hand, Syrus pulled Serena's hand to his lips and kissed it. "That's all I ever wanted to hear."

"You're my Sun," she told him.

"And you're my Moon," he replied

She sat up and pulled herself in close to him. "I just wish I could get him out of my head."

The young man separated himself from his companion. He bent down ever so slightly and kissed her. "Come on. Let's get some ice cream to take your mind off of him."

Serena grinned. "Best idea I've heard all day."

+At the Temple+

The seven friends sat in a circle in the room containing the temple's fire. The priestess sat at the head of the circle in front of the flame. She had changed into her robes and she sat with her head bowed and her eyes closed. Her index fingers were extended from her hands which were clasped together. The other six joined their hands and waited. Luna and Artemis watched from a distance.

"You guys ready?" she asked.

"Yes," Darien replied. "We're ready. Tell us what to do."

"Just relax." She exhaled. "Alright. Mighty fire, show us a sign. Show us Syrus. Show us his true intentions!"

The flame roared in response and it reached up. The group gasped but Raye was undeterred. She stared into the fire and waited for it to simmer down.

"There!" They all looked into the fire and saw Syrus's face.

"It's him!" Mina exclaimed.

"Are you getting any vibes off of him?" Haruka asked.

Raye's lip quivered as she stared into the fire intently. Finally, she broke her gaze. "No. I'm not getting anything."

Luna stepped towards the fire. "Can you try something else? Maybe you could see if Serena's in danger."

"Good idea Luna. Alright." Raye refocused her concentration. "Oh great fire, please tell us, is our princess in danger?"

The fire grew and cackled. When it calmed down, Serena's face was within the fire.

"Well, she's still in the fire…that's a good sign."

Suddenly, strips of blue fire interrupted the image. Raye watched intensely. She gasped at the image she saw.

Lita raised her eyebrows. "What is it Raye?"

The flames then rose quickly and expanded. The friends all jumped back as the fire puffed up immensely. Before anyone could act, as quickly as it came is as quickly as it dissipated. The fire burned out in a flash.

"Oh no." Raye stepped toward the fire's burning place and fell to her knees.

"What is it?" Artemis asked, cautiously advancing towards the girl.

"It's a bad sign when the temple's fire goes out."

They were quiet for a moment and then Haruka broke the silence. "It's just a fire. Our princess will be fine."

"That's not all. In the fire, before it erupted, I saw the crystal."

"The Silver Imperium Crystal?" Amy inquired.

She nodded. "Yes." She paused. "It shattered."

The group stared at the scout of fire with blank stares.

Mina shook her head feverishly. "But…if that happens…"

"It can't!" Lita cried. "If it does that…then she'll…she'll…"

"We can't lose her!" Haruka said defiantly. "We'll just have to protect her harder."

Michelle nodded. "Yes! With all of our might!"

"I have to go find her," Darien said.

Haruka shook her head angrily. "And tell her what? We saw a crystal shatter in the temple fire and it means your death? She'll think you're crazy! Never mind she wants nothing to do with you!" Her eyes began to glisten with tears. "How are we supposed to protect her if she won't let us near her?"

"We'll have to think of something," Michelle replied.

Darien nodded. "I have to go." Then he ran out in search of his mate.

Amy sighed as he left. "What do we do now?" she asked to no one in particular.

Mina bit her lip. "We protect her." She looked amongst her friends. "You all know what this means then, don't you? This means…"

"…it means that there is an enemy in our midst," Michelle finished. She tapped her lip with her index finger. "The seas have been calm lately…too calm. I was sensing something but it wasn't as strong as what you're feeling Raye." The priestess nodded to her solemnly.

"I guess we'll have to befriend her again," Lita remarked. "We have to be closer to her if we're going to protect her and the crystal."

"Especially if she's going to be so close to the enemy," Haruka added. She threw her fist into her open palm. The others knew she was talking about Syrus.

Artemis agreed. "While you do that, what do we do about Syrus?"

"Hm." The room was quiet as everyone began thinking.

"He's a student at the college too, isn't he?"

"That's right!" Michelle exclaimed. "I saw him on campus a couple days ago, not to mention that he was at that party."

"The party you were telling us about?"

She nodded at the scout of love. "I suppose Haruka and I could—"

"—Absolutely not!" the scout of wind admonished. "I refuse to cozy up to that guy! Refuse! For all we know, he has his hands all over Serena as we speak! She's not well and he's taking advantage of that!"

"But Haruka," Michelle began.

"No! Michelle, if you want to be his buddy, that's fine, but I won't do it!" She folded her arms. "Fuck that!"

Michelle sighed. She couldn't say she was wrong but Haruka's lack of support was astounding.

"You two are a packaged deal most of the time," Mina interrupted. "He probably wouldn't respond to you guys." She paused. "Leave Serena to us. You guys do surveillance on the guy and let us know about anything shady."

"Good plan," Michelle agreed, still exasperated by her mate. "We better keep an eye on Darien while we're at it."

It was late, nearly half past three in the morning and Darien was still up. He lay awake in bed staring at the ceiling. After leaving the temple, he took the bus to Crossroads. He walked through the park back to the restaurants where he found Serena. She was holding an ice cream cone in her hand with a big smile across her face as she stood at the entrance of the ice cream shop. He was about to approach her when Syrus came out and linked arms with her. He was holding an ice cream sandwich and chattering away. Serena laughed at whatever he said, causing Darien to smile. Her laugh was always so energetic and contagious. The girl then grabbed a piece of her companion's long hair and gave it a tug. He lowered his head to her level and she kissed him. He watched them walk away, never approaching her.

Darien rolled over and faced the window. The moon was full tonight. The full moon always reminded him of her. He remembered one night when Serena had spent the night at his apartment, telling her mother she was at Lita's.

It was a cool night. Darien went into the kitchen and made hot chocolate, leaving Serena to watch TV in the living room. When he returned, he found the petite blonde sitting on the ground out on the balcony. Shaking his head, he grabbed a blanket and brought the cups outside.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"Looking at the moon."

She took the cups from him and he sat down next to her. He wrapped the blanket around the two of them and they both looked at the Earth's bright satellite.

"Couldn't you have looked at it inside where it's warm?"

Serena shook her head. Then she handed him his mug and held onto hers. "It's so much nicer to be outside where I can feel the moonlight."

Darien took a sip of his beverage. "You can feel the moonlight?"

"Of course. Under the moonlight I always feel so much more alive…especially when the moon is full."

"Well that's not surprising."

She smiled with a bit of determination in her eyes. "Even in battle, I feel raw and my body is bursting with energy."

"It's your planet," he said. "It was your first home. That's how I feel when I'm fighting…like the Earth gives me energy." He looked to her and saw she was still beaming, her smile as full as the moon.

"It was my home…but now, you're my home." She turned to him and intertwined her arm with his. She snuggled close to him. "I used to look to the Earth from the Moon and dream of being where you were. Now, I'm with you on our Earth, looking at the Moon. You're my home now Darien. Do you feel the same?"

He looked down at her and saw her staring back at him with her deep blue eyes. "Yes," he replied. "You are my home Serena. No matter where we are in the galaxy, you are my home."

She sipped her chocolate and stared back at the moon. "Yes, you are always my home. I love you Darien…then, now, and forever."

Darien rolled onto his other side and stared into the darkness of his apartment. The light from the moon pushed its way past the bed and across the room, eventually fading to the other side. He looked up and saw a rectangular gleam on the shelf along the wall. Very faintly, he could see the outline of a photo. Serena sat at his side in a yellow sundress with her hands poised gracefully on her crossed legs. Darien was wearing black pants and a light blue shirt. He had one arm around her and his other hand was lying on top of her hands. Beneath his fingers, Serena's hand visibly showed the ring he had given her.

He rolled onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillow. Darien groaned in annoyance. It was going to be a long night.

life705: Well, that concludes that part! I hope you all enjoyed both chapters 3 and 4 :D I'm sure no one is too thrilled about Serena and Syrus and poor Darien just has it all rubbed in his face. Ha ha. The next chapter will be the first battle of the story so please continue to bear with me! Please leave your comments, questions, concerns, reviews, opinions, or whatever! I enjoy the feedback :D

Oh, and as always, I do not own Sailor Moon!