Chapter 7

They didn't know she had been listening. Of course, no body knew she was a telepath. With superior hearing. She heard their passionate words and smiled. She walked home swiftly, the weight of their words tugging at her soul. She realized that whatever Zoicite had done to her memory, only he could reverse it. She bit her lip. She could reverse what Beryl did to him. She had seen it done on Mercury. But she didn't know if Zoicite wanted to be turned back. What Jadeite didn't know was that the General battled with more that former feelings for her. The warped circumstances had foisted on the despairing soldier feelings for Malachite. Unrequited. She opened the door to her house; her mother was seated on the bottom stair. There were tear streaks on her face.

"Mom."

"I don't know what this means, Ami. Are you still my daughter?"

Ami had wondered the same thing when her memory returned. A secret DNA test had assuaged her fear. "Genetically, yes. And in every way that counts." Ami said kneeling before her. "Even if we did not share DNA, you would be my mother. You gave birth to me. You raised me. You love me. And I love you."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to. But it wasn't my secret alone. I had to protect the others and in a way, you. Our enemies do not hesitate to use those close to us to force our compliance. I could not chance them knowing about you or Dad."

"Am I the only parent that knows?"

"I don't know."

"What do I do now? Can I tell your father?"

"You can tell dad. As for what you do now? You continue to be my mother." Dr. Mizuno smiled at her daughter. Such an intelligent and mature young woman. Mercurian or not, she claimed credit.

Malachite waited at Serena's side. When she opened her eyes, she smiled at him. "Hello, wolfman." She teased.

"You remember?"

"Not all. I remember you. Unfortunately, I do not know where to find the Imperium Silver Crystal."

"Do not worry much about it. Now that we have all the seven pieces safely away from Beryl, we need to concentrate on getting back the prince."

"Darien." She sighed. "He doesn't know I'm the princess."

"He always liked to live in denial." Malachite said sighing. "No doubt his subconscious sought you out. And knowing you, you replied in the best way you could."

"I think daily life clouded a true reunion. We don't much like each other in this time. The attraction is there." She said unembarrassed by the admissions.

"I suspect that is frustration on both your parts."

"What? Unable to express the love so we pick at each other?"

"It is a logical explanation." He said. "How will you save him?"

"My powers work on those who want to be saved. He knows he has to find the princess but he doesn't want to."

"Why not? That is too ridiculous to believe." Serena sighed and explained what had been happening.

"SO, you see, he saw us as two separate people. What he feels for me competes with what this unknown love for another woman."

"So he desires you – the present you – more than the past."

"A boost to my ego." Serena smiled.

Ami found Zoicite in the park. He – for she thought of him as a man – was staring at a spot in the large clearing. She knew what it was. It was the place she had almost died at his hand.

"You shouldn't be too hard on yourself." She said.

"Princess." He said not turning around. "I guess you overheard Jadeite's and Rei's conversation."

"What do you want me to do?" she asked softly. "I can reverse the spell. But do you want me to?" He looked at her angrily. Then sighed. She didn't remember what they shared. It stood to reason she wouldn't know of his desires.

"I wish to die. I do not wish to live out my life past the coming battle."

"And do you intend to do this yourself? Or will you ask the princess? The prince? Me? None of us will do it."

"Malachite will grant my request."

"Will you tell him the real reason for your wish? Will you tell him it is not the thought of living as a woman? Will you tell him it is not the thought of being without me? Will you tell him it's because of the feelings you have for him?" he glared at her and found her glaring at him. It was not often that she was angry. But when she was, it was as intense as the ire of the Fire Priestess.

"Ami-" she shoved him and she stumbled back in shock. Mercury had always been in control. She never reacted like this to anything before.

"You bastard. You stupid bastard. Do you think wiping my memories would prevent the hurt? I can read your thoughts. Your feelings. And it hurts to know that you would prefer to die for your feelings for Malachite than live for something we shared." Her tears froze in the sunlight – a testament to the ferocity of her emotions and her power.

"Ami-"

"You have so little faith in me, Zoicite." She raised her hand as if to strike him. Too late he realized her intention.

"Frozen waters, swirling mist to my aid come hither." The rest of her ritual was said rapidly in the old language of the Mercurian. Like before, the change was painful. But this time, he did not scream. Muscles contracted, relaxed then tore as they shifted to reform his former physique. Bones stretched, fire ripped through him at the feeling. She gasped, obviously reading his thoughts and feelings. He wanted to shield her. She stopped the process even as he thought it. He heard his clothes tear as they strained against his larger build. Then it was over. Cool water caressed his skin then it was gone. He flexed his fingers. They held the strength he missed. They were large and suited to his mind frame. He heard a sob and realized Ami had picked something else from his head.

"Ami don't-"

"They are my memories. You had no right. No right." And because she could, she slapped him. He took it, no retaliation in his eyes. She fisted her hand and punched him in the eye. He took it. But there was anger in his eyes this time. She prepared up to hit him again but he shackled her wrist.

"Stop this." He said softly.

"Undo that which was done to me, General." She didn't look at him. He squeezed her wrists but she could feel the reversal. The memories started as a trickle. She sobbed. Then they flooded her and she slumped against him, the onslaught too much for her brain to coordinate her physical functions. When her ears stopped ringing, and her eyes stopped burning, she pushed away from him. She didn't look at him. How could she? She knew now. But it didn't make it any easier. One last drop of memory came to her and she stiffened. He didn't know. She couldn't help the instinctual reaction as her hands folded thoughtfully over her flat stomach. Her womb was empty now. But she remembered what it was to feel the little fluttering that came from a babe turning with in her. She sobbed. Their child had not lived. She had miscarried when she heard the news of his defection. She had followed the unborn infant into the darkness the next day by the hand of its father.

"Ami-"

"Don't. It is done. We have nothing else to say to each other expect in an official capacity. You are returned to your former self, I have my memories." He let her go. He could do nothing else. He could never be sure of his feelings anymore. He'd been too long under Beryl's rule. He looked at the ground where had stood. He saw the glint. A frozen tear. Hers. Carefully, he picked it up and conjured a container to maintain it. He hung the pendant around his neck on the very necklace she'd given him. Inside the locket, another frozen tear rested. One tear of happiness and the other of sorrow.

"My Prince." Beryl cooed as she ran a hand through the hair of his bent head.

"My queen." He took her hand and kissed it.

"I require the blood of the princess at your hand, Prince Darien."

"And you shall have it, my love."

She had her walking stick tapping to keep up the appearance. She was supposed to still be blind. Physically, anyway. Her powers enabled her to see. But it was like looking through a broken lens. School had been long and torturous. It was hard to keep a happy face when Darien was away from her – trapped by Beryl's evil schemes. She blinked to clear the tears that gathered in her eyes. It was long enough to break her concentration and have her plow into a stable body. The scent that enveloped her as she bounced and to the ground had her dizzy.

"Meatball head, you should really look where you're going." She couldn't have stopped herself if she tried. She scrambled up and threw her arms around him. She used the momentum to carry her lips to his. She felt him stiffen in response but she needed this. She needed to feel close to him.

"Darien." She murmured. She brushed her lips once more and it propelled him into action.

"Jeez, what are you trying to do? Get me arrested?" he pushed her back and she gasped at the force. His hands clamped down on her upper arms in a contradiction to his pushing her away.

"Darien, you're back. Are you okay?"

"Have you lost it? Why would you kiss me?" he released her and took up her stick. She ignored it as he held it.

"Darien-You don't remember?"

"I remember that I don't like you. And I thought the feeling was returned. Obviously you're just another immature child with fantasies."

She didn't gasp or sob. Her hands didn't come up in surprise or defense against his words. What she did was more troubling. He watched as tears gathered in the blue orbs that seemed to haunt him. They fell silently as they stood on the sidewalk. Then she smiled. Just a little before it fell away from her lips and eyes. It was not what he expected.

"If I have to start from scratch with you, Prince Darien," she said so softly he had to lean a little to hear. "I will. I will fight with you. I will annoy you. I will not give up on you. I will free you from her." He narrowed his eyes and even darker feelings welled up in him toward the blonde beauty before him.

"You call me prince." He stepped closer to her. "Then you are a scout. My enemy." He used a finger to tilt her head up by her chin. Her lips trembled. Her eyes showed hurt before they shut him out. "The next we meet, little girl, I will destroy you. Then I will destroy your princess." Then mockingly he pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was not friendly, or loving. It was punishing. Humiliating. She wrenched her mouth away and cringed at the smirk. He walked away.

She was sliding to the pavement when arms slipped around her to hold her up. The static charge indicated her aid. "Lita."

"Was that Darien?"

"Yes. And No."

"He just kissed you." Lita said.

"He's not on our side. She has him. I just don't know how deeply."

Since meeting Darien, the scouts had met to decide a course of action. It was decided they would protect Serena at all costs but hold of on harming him otherwise. They had yet to meet him in battle. But Serena met him regularly in the Crown Arcade where she was teased relentlessly by him. Unlike before, the barbs hurt more. Now they were laced with a malicious intent that even Andrew noticed. Others didn't. It didn't help that he found her crying in the bathroom once. He'd chewed Darien out. That day, he waited for her outside her house. He spirited her away. She still remembered his heated, taunting words.

"Silly, twit. Did you go complaining to Andrew? If you want to keep him alive, you'll leave him out of this." He warned. "I don't want to hurt him, unnecessarily." She didn't respond. He smiled. "Do you only respond when I kiss you, scout?" she stiffened. He had kissed her again. And each time, she had succumbed to his advances. "No shame. Consorting with the enemy." To humiliate her further, he hitched her legs over his. The effect was mortifying. It would have been so easy to just hate him.

"Darien, don't." She'd pleaded and he'd thrown his head back and laughed darkly.

"How are you even a scout? You're so weak." Her mind managed to respond then. And it stunned him.

"I'm weak?" she said in a quiet, breathless voice. "You seem to take great pleasure in using my feelings for you against me. Do you feel compelled to remind me of my own feelings? Or are you trying to mar those that you feel for me, Dark Knight? Beryl couldn't taint that, could she? You want me. And you don't know why. When we meet in battle, you'll need to make a choice, Dark Knight." She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him gently before pushing him away. She made her escape.

Now, she faced him. Or rather the minion. He stood to the side. She dodged as best she could but his eyes on her were distracting. She knew what he must have figured out. Or remembered. It didn't matter. She saw her opening just as Mars yelled the action. The monster exploded into tiny pieces that became dust in the wind. But it wasn't over. Tuxedo Mask summoned another one, a stronger one. He plowed through the girls and headed for her.

"No!" Mars yelled. Just before the monster could kill Sailor Moon, Malachite appeared before her. Monster was repelled with a swift swipe of his arm.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes." Before she could say her thanks, he was flung away from her by invisible hands. He was pinned to a tree by the same invisible force. Tuxedo Mask walked to her.

"Leave him alone." She said.

"Should I stand by while my own general tries to steal my-" he frowned at her, the words dying on his lips.

"Your?" she prompted.

"I-" he grabbed her and jumped out the way just as the monster swiped at them. He threw a rose and the monster yelled in fury. "Destroy it, Sailor Moon." He said. He set her down, his arms falling away as the pulled the tiara away from her forehead and flung it at the youma. He gathered her up as soon as the youma disintegrated. The scouts circled him in apprehension.

"Let her go." Mars yelled at him.

"I should kill her now." He said and frowned as if the notion left a bad taste in his mouth. "But there will be other times." He released her and disappeared in one fluid motion. Serena didn't even try to hide her sorrow. She fell apart in front of her scouts. She was given a sedative to allow her some rest that night.

She could feel the buildup. There were too many attacks to count now. Beryl would show her face soon because of her impatience with Darien. He hadn't killed her but saved. All the time. After each battle, he would seek her out and take out his frustration on her. The last time had been even more humiliating that the first because Mina had walked in on them. If she hadn't, Serena would not have been able to live with herself. He'd invaded her home, her room and seduced her mercilessly. Her protests were pushed aside with only a caress, a kiss. She sobbed now at the memory. Something that should have been beautiful was tainted by Beryl's evil. She had blubbered all over Mina when he escaped through the window.

"He's breaking her spirit." Mina said angrily. "If I hadn't sensed her distress-" she fisted her hands and hit a wall. Or she would have it Malachite hadn't stopped the painful contact.

"Hurting yourself will not help." He said.

"She never told any of us that he sought her out." Lita said.

"We don't know the extent of the damage." Rei said.

"She buries it deep. I sense her sorrow but she is careful to not let me in." Ami said. She stood and walked into Zoicite who had been standing behind her. She cringed away from him. The action caused the room to go silent. They all saw how awkward things were with the two. "Excuse me." She said politely and stepped around him. "What can we do for her?" she continued.

"We can't do anything but work that much harder to get him back. For her." Lita said.

"Can't you guys do something?" Rei asked heatedly of the generals.

"What could we do that Malachite could not?" Zoicite asked. "We are all strong in our own right. But Malachite is the strongest. And the closest to Darien."

"You two were best friends." Mina said touching Malachite's arm.

He nodded. "Only Serenity can save him."

"You have too much faith in me." She entered the room. "I am blind and I can't find the Crystal. I am a failure and a liability to the team. I have no strength to fight him." Her voice was hollow. Drained. Resigned. Then Ami gasped.

"Serena, no."

"I have no choice. I will draw her out. I will end this one way or the other. Crystal or no." Before they could stop her, she was gone.

"Is she crazy?" Rei fumed. "Did we work so hard and long to find and protect her only to have the ungrateful wretch run off on a suicide mission?" Jadeite laid a hand on her shoulder and she shrugged it off. "Out! All of you. I need to concentrate."

He felt the flare of power. He knew the source. "The princess has revealed herself." He said to Beryl. "But the Crystal is still dormant."

"That matters not. Once I have it, I can access its power."

"You cannot. You must be of her line." He said. Beryl jerked at the information. Anger boiled up in her that so much power was entrusted to such a weakling. She killed her before, she could do it agin.

"Then I shall destroy the power. Her blood, Prince Darien, I require her blood." He looked up.

"She has found your lair, my queen. Let us end this." In an instant, too fast for Beryl to even register, he was flying them to the surface. The ice shifted from his path then exploded out as he soared into the air with her. Her heart thudded against her chest.

"I am not ready to fight her, you fool. You'll destroy us." She whispered.

"She is not in the mind to find. She is here to surrender." He said obviously displeased.

"I will not surrender to Beryl, Dark Knight." Her voice sounded as cold as the ice that surrounded them.

"Where are your scouts? Your protectors?"

"I would not have them hurt. I might not be as strong as you, Beryl, but I will defeat you. For that is my right. I claim the right to avenge the death of my mother, my people, my friends, myself. I claim the right to free my prince." She walked closer and Darien gasped. She wasn't what he had expected. He glared at her. His plans-what would it gain him now if he killed Beryl? Serena was his enemy. She was the damn pirncess.

"Serena." She looked at him, her eyes sorrowful.

"If I cannot save you, I will die by your hand." She said. She raised her arm and Beryl flew away from Darien's side in shock. Serena followed. Her princess clothes turned into her scout uniform as she directed an attack on the dark mage. But a quick victory was not to be. She never expected it. So she fought on. She could feel him watching. He would try to stop her soon.

He watched, unnerved by the battle. Beryl flung dark energy at the small slip of a girl that was his quarry. The girl he'd become attached do even though he knew her to be the enemy. The girl he now recognized as the princess, the one he was charged to kill. The rose was out of his hand before he could stop himself. The steel-like tip sliced her cheek. She didn't wipe the blood away. He flew at her, power building in his hands. He would kill the blue eyes that haunted him. That made him weak. Then he would deal with the weakling, Beryl. So intent on his mark, he didn't see the dark energy that Beryl sent at the girl until it was too late. It hit her. She didn't try to escape. She took into her body, then collapsed. When she went down, the way she went down, triggered something deep, dark and primitive in him.

"What have you done!" He turned on Beryl.

"What you should have done. Now she's out of our hair." They both stiffened when the cold air stopped whipping about them. There was an ominous silence. Unnatural. There was a large spike of energy coming from the broken and bloody body of the princess. She floated before them, light surrounded her. Then it was inside her body. Dark energy exploded out of her and disappeared. In its wake, light. Her eyes opened, her wounds vanished, her gown returned.

"Now, it ends, Beryl." She raised her hand but she paused when suddenly she was surrounded.

"Serena! What the hell!" Simultaneous attacks were launched by the scouts as they drove Beryl back. Darien came towards her.

"Give me the crystal!"

"You do not want her." She said. "She sleeps, shielded from the pain of your rejection, dark knight." Her voice was tired but firm.

"Then I'll take it by force." He grabbed at her, the light invaded him and he cried out on pain. "What is this?" he looked at her troubled face. He saw the tear roll from her eyes then they both felt it.

"I would that you were free, Darien, even if I die in the process."

"The Rainbow crystals! They're glowing." Jupiter exclaimed. "What's she doing?"

"It's the Imperium Silver Crystal." Ami said. "It's reforming."

"Goodbye, my heart. MOON HEALING ESCALATION!" Sound ceased to exist in the explosion of light for a frightening moment. They all stood around witnessing the awesome explosion of power from a source most unexpected. Time ands space seemed to draw to a screeching halt as before them, the darkness was eradicated. Just as suddenly as it started, it ended. Beryl was dead at their feet. Then her body turned to dust and was carried away by the cold winds. Darien was unconscious. And Serena was nowhere to be seen.