A/N Hiya guys! I had really planned on getting this out a couple of days ago, but some things came up and I got sidetracked…blah, blah, blah…you know the drill. The point is I finally finished this and here it is. I really don't have a lot to say right now, so I'll just get down to business. It's time to give out my hugs for last chapter's wonderful reviewers. BIG HUGS TO:
Seredhiel05
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A million thank yous to all of you, as always! Without you this story wouldn't exist except inside my mind. And now to move on with the story!
ENJOY!
Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist
Chapter 11
The Morning After
Pale slender fingers clenched his cape in a death grip as explosions rocked the building around them. He yanked the faceless woman in his arms out of the way of a falling chunk of white marble and tried to push her toward a door. "Run, Serenity!" he demanded in a harsh tone.
"No! I'm not leaving you!" she cried in a trembling voice. "Please, let me stay with you."
He cursed and ripped the cape from her grasp to pull it over both of them as a nearby window shattered into a million pieces. When the debris had settled he took her roughly by the arm and began dragging her to the door.
"No, Endy!" she squealed, trying to break his hold. "Don't make me do this! I can't just run away! What about my mother and the scouts?"
He ground to a halt in the doorway and spun to face her. He put both hands on her shoulders and gave her a firm shake. "Don't be an idiot, Serenity! Your mother has the Silver Crystal and can take care of herself. And I wouldn't worry about the scouts. Haven't you always said that they were four of the best fighters you've ever seen?"
She was trembling under his hands. "Yes, but…"
"No buts!" he commanded. "Beryl is out there and she's coming for you! She has also turned the generals to her side. I can't fight and protect you if I have to worry about your safety. So I want you to go find someplace safe to hide. I'll come find you when it's over."
Her hands came up to cover his. "You can't go out there and face them. They are your best friends, your brothers. You've always fought beside them. You can't draw your sword against them."
"I can and I will," he ground out between clenched teeth. "They severed whatever bonds that existed between us when they went over to that witch. I'm not going to let that snake get you too. Now please, Sere, for me, go hide someplace safe until I come and get you."
She nodded slowly. "Okay. But please be careful, my love."
"I'll be back soon," he promised her, and leaned down to kiss her phantom lips. He tasted her tears and felt his heart twist painfully in his chest. He pulled back and whispered, "I love you, Serenity."
"And I love you, Endymion," she answered softly.
He gave her a little nudge. "Go."
She whirled away from him in a swirl of white skirt. For the briefest of moments he could see her vaguely. There was a flash of blue eyes and the gleam of golden hair, and then it was lost to the shadows again as she fled.
And then the mist rolled in. One minute he was standing in a battle torn ballroom, and the next it felt like the cracked marble floor gave way beneath him. He fell for a few seconds before he landed rear first on hard ground.
Darien hissed loudly as he climbed to his feet. "Ouch! This is a pretty painful experience for a dream."
A nervous giggle came from behind him. "I'm sorry, I was hoping that you would land softer than that."
He turned to look over his shoulder warily. "Serenity."
She looked the same as she had the hundreds of other times she had appeared to him over the years. She still wore the same long white dress while all other telling features were obscured by shadow and mist.
"You don't look happy to see me, Darien," she said softly.
He fought back the urge to roll his eyes as irritation bubbled up inside him. Oh now she showed up after going on hiatus the last couple of weeks. He'd had so many questions that he wanted to ask her, but now that she was in front of him he could only think of one.
"What were you and I to each other?" he asked her evenly.
He heard her sigh. "Straight to the point as usual. You always were like that, even in your past life."
He turned around to face her fully. "I'm tired of beating around the bush, Serenity. I need answers. The scouts and I have been able to put together bits and pieces, but there are too many holes. The Dark Kingdom is stepping up their game drastically. Instead of one general running around attacking a handful of people we now have three. And tonight the whole city was targeted. A whole lot of people almost died. If it hadn't been for Serena…well it would have been a disaster. I need to know what's going on before somebody gets killed. And I don't want the chopped up, watered down version that the scouts told me. I want the truth."
Serenity walked a few paces away and the mist faded some to reveal an ornately carved stone fountain. She sat down on the edge and gestured for him to join her.
"I guess the time has come for you to hear the truth," she told him as he took a seat beside her. "Do you remember the dream you were just having before I intervened?"
He felt his face grow warm as he remembered the way his dream self had held Serenity and whispered words of love to her. He remembered the fear he had felt for her safety and the taste of her tears as soft lips had clung to his. He nodded.
Serenity's hands twisted in her lap. "That was an accurate depiction of your memories from the last day on the moon."
Darien swallowed hard. "So you and I were…we were…together?"
A huge sigh came from her. "This is a difficult story to tell, and it's hard to know where to begin. You know that I was the princess of the moon and heir to the Silver Millennium. What you don't know is that you were Prince Endymion of Earth, crown prince of the Golden Kingdom."
Darien snorted. "Me…a prince? Yeah right!"
"I'm telling you the truth!" she cried. "You were Endymion!"
He began chuckling. "No offense, princess. I've been accused of being a snob many times in my life, but no one has ever called me a prince."
Serenity jumped up from her seat and stood before him, her hands planted firmly on her hips. When she spoke again her voice had lost the cool, cultured tone that it usually carried.
"I can't believe you!" she almost shrieked. "You are still the most stubborn man ever to be born in the history of the galaxy." She began pacing back and forth, muttering as if to herself, "I must have been insane to want to marry you! Everyone said it wasn't a good idea. But no! I just had to push the issue until I wore mother down enough for her to agree with it. What was I thinking? Oh, that's right! I wasn't thinking! I let myself get sucked in by those deep blue eyes of yours and threw caution to the wind. I am such an idiot!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Darien exclaimed, rocketing to his feet and grabbing her by the arm. "What are you talking about? Are you saying that we were married?"
She jerked away from him, hissing like a scalded cat. "No we were NOT married, you pompous, stuck up…TERRAN! I didn't even like you when we first met. You were mean and made fun of me all the time. Then one day you started being nice. And just like that, I fell under your spell. Most people were against a union between the moon and the Earth because the Earth governed itself and wasn't part of the Silver Millennium. We were on civil terms, but anything other than friendly relations was frowned upon."
Darien sat back down, hard. "You're not joking, are you? You're really telling the truth."
"Yes," she whispered brokenly as she sank down to the ground. Her long white dress pooled several feet around her. "You were my prince. The night that Beryl attacked the moon was the night of our engagement ball. We had secretly been engaged for months before then, but we waited to make it official once all of the bureaucratic nonsense had been taken care of. Obviously there were still some people that weren't happy with our decision."
Darien pushed aside his shock at her revelation and forged ahead. He would wonder about past romances later. What he needed was information on the enemy. "So what's this Beryl's problem anyway? Where did she come from?"
Serenity's pale hand fluttered up toward her shadowed face to wipe away tears that he couldn't see. She took a deep, unsteady breath. "Beryl was a lady in the Earth's royal court. She was from a noble family of high standing and at one time was considered to be the prime candidate to become your wife and the next queen. She pursued you relentlessly, even though you had turned her down on many occasions, and she was caught spying on us one night when I had snuck down to Earth to see you. She was ordered away from the palace by your generals. Evidently she had been experimenting with the dark arts for years, black magic and such, and in her jealousy called upon an ancient evil entity named Metallia."
Darien shoved a hand through his hair in an agitated gesture. "Wait a minute! You're not telling me that all of this is happening because some woman had a crush on my past self are you? Because that's way past bizarre."
Serenity snapped back haughtily, "Don't let your ego swell up too big. It wasn't just about you. She's greedy and power hungry. She wanted to rule the world and saw you as her ticket to achieving that. When she discovered she didn't have a chance she went on a rampage that threw the Earth in chaos as she attempted to take over the throne for herself. Metallia then urged her to set her sights higher and go after the entire galaxy instead of one planet. And to do that she had to conquer the moon and steal the Silver Crystal."
"And she also wanted to kill you," Darien muttered as he remembered Endymion's words to Serenity in his dream. 'Beryl is out there and she's coming for you!'
She shrugged. "Well she hadn't exactly hidden the fact that she wanted me dead. In her warped mind I guess she thought that if I were out of the picture then maybe she would have a chance with you. But things didn't work out exactly the way she planned. She raised an army of followers and then kidnapped your generals and used her magic to turn then to her side. They essentially destroyed my kingdom, but the one thing that they didn't count on was my mother. When you, I, and the scouts died my mother used the Silver Crystal to seal the evil forces away and send us all to this time to be reborn."
"And now they've broken free and are up to the same old tricks…nice," Darien grumbled.
"So it seems," she replied. "Now that I've explained the reason why Beryl is doing what she's doing, why don't you ask me about what's really on your mind."
Darien went stiff and kept his eyes focused on the ground. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Serenity made a scathing noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a snort. "Sure you do, and I'll sum it up in one word for you…Serena. She's the reason why you lost your composure when I mentioned you and I being a couple in the past."
"Listen, Serenity," he groaned and kneaded his eyes with the heels of his hands. "It's nothing against you. I care for you a lot. You've been with me as far back as I can remember, and I can't easily forget that. But…"
"But you love her," she finished softly for him.
"Yes," he whispered and looked up at her. "I love her. She infuriates me sometimes and pushes me to the brink of madness, but I love her."
"I understand," Serenity murmured. "While you may have Endymion's soul inside of you, you are not exactly the same person. You look the same and some of your mannerisms are amazingly similar, but you are your own person, Darien Shields. And besides, there are no rules that can tell someone's heart who they can and cannot love."
Darien couldn't help but grin. "Serena said the same thing."
Serenity let out a soft laugh. "She would. But there is something else that you should know."
"And what's that?" he asked.
Her voice rang with sincerity. "We are soul mates. No matter how many times we die and are reborn, that bond cannot be severed."
Darien gasped at her words and for a fleeting moment her caught another flash of golden hair and sad blue eyes before darkness closed in around him.
"Serenity!"
He jerked awake, bathed in sweat. He sat up quickly and looked around, taking in the fact that he was in his living room as he fought to bring his ragged breathing under control. Everything in the sparsely furnished room appeared as it always had.
He swung his legs off the couch to sit up properly and buried his face in his hands as he mulled over everything that Serenity had told him.
He was a reincarnated prince? Beryl had flipped out because his past self had turned her down in favor of the moon princess? He was the princess's soul mate? But he was in love with Serena.
SERENA! His head snapped up as he leapt from the sofa and ran down the hall to his bedroom. He flung the door open, fully expecting to find the bed empty and untouched, telling him that the night before had just been a dream, but instead he was confronted with the sight of a small lump underneath his black comforter with long streamers of blonde hair that hung over the side of the bed to barely brush the floor.
He tiptoed across the room on sock feet to get a better look at the sleeping girl. She was curled up on her side with one tiny hand tucked up underneath her chin. Her cheeks were flushed with sleep and her lips glistened in the morning light that managed to worm its way through a crack in the curtains.
Darien thought of how easy it would be to lean down and taste the sweetness of her lips for a third time, but he thought better of it. Serena could wake up at any time and it would already be a tense situation when she found out that she had spent the night sleeping in his bed. If she woke up to find him kissing her she was liable to knock his head right off his shoulders.
But when she rolled over and mumbled something incomprehensible in her sleep, he could help but reach out and try to smooth away the worry lines that had appeared to crease her forehead. He wondered what she was dreaming about.
He thought about his own recent dream and remembered the explosions that had rocked the moon palace and the distant sounds of fighting and screams of death. Was she envisioning that final day as well? As the leader of the sailor scouts, she would have been in the thick of the battle. Was she having to relive the final moments that led to her death?
He sure hoped not. He was irritated with what little he had seen of his past and with Serenity's revelation of his identity then and what they had meant to each other. Of course he had asked for it by demanding that she tell him the truth, but he had never imagined that she would reveal that he had been the prince of earth and her fiancé.
Soul mates she had called them. He snorted at the thought. That was just something made up by romanticists to sell stories and cater to the masses of people around the world that held a passion for the drama of a good love story. The idea that there was only one true mate for each person out of all the billions of people in the world was laughable.
Serena muttered something again and waved her hand around, batting away his fingers that were still lingering on her brow. He backed away from her slowly. She would probably be waking soon and he didn't want to be caught hovering over her like some kind of obsessed weirdo.
He glanced at the clock on his bedside table, shocked to see that it was nine o'clock. He had been asleep for fourteen hours! He had never in his life slept that long! Serena was probably used to it, but this was a new experience for him.
He ran quickly around the room, gathering up some clean clothes before ducking into the bathroom to take a quick shower. In ten minutes he was done and sneaking back through the bedroom as he headed for the kitchen and his precious coffeemaker. He had plans to meet up with Andrew, Asanuma, and Kobyashi, but that wasn't until later. For now he had nothing else to do but wait for Serena to wake up. Then they would see what happened next.
"We can't keep meeting like this," she whispered against his lips. "It's wrong."
His warm breath washed across her face. "This feels too right to be wrong."
"But what if somebody finds out?" she barely breathed.
He growled deeply. "Let them find out. I don't care anymore."
Then his lips were on hers, hard and demanding, but surprisingly gentle at the same time. She tried to pull away, but he cupped a hand behind her head to hold her in place. As his tongue ventured forward to swipe at her bottom lip she felt all resistance drain away and she melted into him. But for some reason tears stung in her eyes and spilled over to flow down her cheeks.
He felt the wetness and pulled back to look at her with questioning midnight eyes. His thumb gently stroked her damp cheek. "What is troubling you, my love?"
She shook her head. "I can't keep doing this, Endy. I have a duty to the moon kingdom and to the scouts to uphold. You are the prince of Earth. If word got out that we were together the repercussions could be devastating."
His hands slid down to grip her arms. "I told you that I don't care what anyone thinks. I love you, Sere. To hell with the moon kingdom and the scouts, my kingdom too if they don't want us together. We'll run away if we have to. We'll go someplace where no one knows us. It doesn't matter as long as I'm with you."
She pulled away from him and took a step back. "You can't possibly mean that! Think of your parents, Endy. You are their only heir. Your entire kingdom is depending on you to take the throne someday. You can't just throw it all away."
"So you would rather I throw you away instead?" he sneered as his voice turned cold. "Is that why you came here tonight, to tell me that it's over between us?"
She turned away, glancing around the beautiful garden full of red roses as she fought back a fresh wave of tears. "It's for the best."
She felt him step up behind her. "Sere…"
"Goodbye, Endymion," she whispered in a cracked voice as everything disappeared in a flash of white light.
Then she found herself lurking by a doorway, looking in on what was obviously a ball that was in full swing. Couples twirled around the dance floor, the men all looking distinguished in their tuxedoes while the women were elegant in their colorful ball gowns.
The music came to a close and a tall slender woman with shimmering silver hair rose from an ornately carved throne on a raised platform and began to address the crowd. She was too far away to make out all of her features, but she had a regal bearing that was hard to miss.
"Good evening," she began in a clear, bell-like voice. "I want to take this opportunity to welcome each and every one of you to this year's holiday ball. I don't want to take too much time away from your enjoyment, so I will make this short. I would like to introduce my daughter, Princess Serenity of the moon kingdom and her escort for the evening, Prince Endymion of Earth."
Polite applause echoed around the room as the large double doors at the top of a sweeping staircase opened and two people walked in. She paid no attention the blonde woman; instead her eyes were intently focused on the man at her side. Her throat burned at the sight of how his raven black hair shined under the lights.
Suddenly a hand gripped her arm tightly and a voice hissed in her ear. "You've been avoiding me."
Her head jerked around to find a tall, black haired man in a black tuxedo that clung to his body and emphasized his wide shoulders. A white mask was in place over his face, but it did little to hide the deep blue eyes behind it that were glittering with barely suppressed emotions.
"Endymion!" she gasped. Her eyes swung to the man in the ballroom that had just taken the princess in his arms for a dance and then back to the man before her. "But…but how…"
"I got Kunzite to cover for me," he told her harshly. "I didn't want to walk into the ball with her. You are the only woman I want on my arm."
Her head spun with confusion. "But how did you…" and then it all became clear. "You stole my Luna Pen!"
"I borrowed it," he corrected her. "It was lying on your dresser when I went looking for you in your room earlier, so I thought I could use it to get me out of attending this infernal ball. I knew that you wouldn't be present, so I decided to use this opportunity to find you. You've been hiding away and claiming that you were sick since I arrived."
"You have no right to take my things without permission!" she spat angrily. "And so what if I have been avoiding you? I can't believe you even had the nerve to show up here. I thought I had made it clear, there can be nothing between us."
His eyes narrowed dangerously and he pulled her close so that her body was flush against his. "I'm not giving you up, Sere! I can't! You've poisoned me! You're in my blood like a sickness and I spend every waking moment doing nothing but yearning for you. I can't live without you!"
She shook her head. "Endy, I…"
He cut her off by pulling her into the shadows behind a pillar and pinning her up against a wall. His lips were on hers instantly, cutting off any protest that she may have had. The kiss was rough, not like the other kisses that they had shared, but it held an edge of desperation to it that speared through her heart like a dagger.
She found herself responding eagerly, parting her lips so that her tongue could engage his in a furious duel. She plunged her fingers into the ebony silk of his hair and felt gratified when his moan reverberated in her mouth. She answered with a moan of her own when she felt his hand skim up her ribcage.
She broke off with a gasp and stared up into his lust filled, passion glazed eyes. They burned with a silent question. She nodded and let him take her hand to lead her toward the wing of the palace where the bedchambers were. She knew that she was probably making a horrible mistake, but she couldn't deny him. He was right, they were too much a part of each other to be apart.
She glanced out through a glass door as they passed it and saw the back of the blonde haired princess as she was wrapped in the arms of the fake prince. The last thing she saw was the Endymion imposter claim her lips in a fiery kiss.
Serena came awake with a jolt. Her heart was pounding in her chest like a jackhammer and her breath came in short bursts as she gasped for air. She felt something on her face and reached up with trembling fingers to touch it. Her fingertips came away wet with tears.
Her mind raced at 100 mph as she tried to process what she had just dreamed. Darien was a reincarnated prince! He was Prince Endymion of Earth! That explained why he had such a close connection to Princess Serenity. They were both royalty!
Her stomach plunged as she thought about the rest of the dream, wondering if it was a true memory from her past life or if it was a figment of her imagination. Something deep inside told her that it was real, that those events had really happened.
Sour bile rose in her throat. If it was true, then it meant that her past self had been involved in an affair with the earth prince. But from what she had seen he was supposed to be with the moon princess. He was supposed to have been Princess Serenity's escort to the ball, and the princess had kissed the fake Endymion believing that he was the true prince.
Her dream self had kept saying that they couldn't be together, and now she knew why. He had belonged to Serenity, and she, Serena, had betrayed her princess by having an illicit affair with her prince!
"No," she groaned and pressed her hands over her eyes. She wouldn't have done that, would she? She was Sailor Moon, leader of Princess Serenity's royal guard. She would have never betrayed her princess by sleeping with the man she had loved. And she had no reason not to believe that Serenity had been in love with Endymion. She had seen the way the princess had thrown her arms around the neck of the imposter as they had kissed.
'Think about it, Serena. It makes perfect sense,' an annoying little voice that must have been her conscience piped up in her head. 'You've been crushing on Darien for two years now. No matter how many times you fight with him, you keep crawling back for more like a junky looking for a fix. He's searching for Serenity the same as you are. She appears to him in his dreams. That's because they belong together. You already had your suspicions about their relationship, and yet you still wondered if there was a way that you could have him for yourself. Are you going to betray your princess again by stealing her prince away from her?'
"I won't do it," she whispered. "Darien belongs with Serenity. I'll do all I can to help him find her. We'll locate the Silver Crystal and defeat the Dark Kingdom. And when that's done I'll walk away and let them enjoy their lives together. I won't let past mistakes be repeated."
She felt heartsick at her proclamation, but at the same time she felt a little bit lighter. She had been going up and down like a yo-yo for so long trying to figure out what to do about her "Darien problem", but these new revelations helped put everything into perspective. It was a huge weight off her mind, even if it didn't have the results she had wished for.
She sat up and looked around, realizing for the first time that she wasn't in her bedroom. It was much too dark. Instead of her pink walls covered with idol and anime posters, white lace curtains, and white carpet strewn with mangas and cd's, she was greeted with deep blood red walls that held only a few framed prints. Heavy black curtains blocked all the light from coming in except for what little peeked through the cracks, and the tan carpet was free of debris with a black area rug that covered a majority of the space between the bed and two doors that she assumed led to a closet and a bathroom.
A shiver raced through her. She had no idea where in the world she was. She had never seen this room before in her life. She thought hard, trying to remember how she could have ended up here. The last thing she could remember was she and Tuxedo Mask confronting that new general at the top of Starlight Tower.
She sucked in a breath as it all came rushing back to her. The general, Zoicite she recalled Tuxedo Mask calling him, had sucked the majority of Azabu and Juuban almost completely dry of energy and teleported away before they'd had a chance to try to get the energy back, leaving hundreds of people barely clinging to life. She had used the crescent moon wand in hopes of saving them. At some point she must have depleted her energy and passed out.
Her cheeks burned at the memory of how Tuxedo Mask had stood like a rock behind her, holding her up when she had started to weaken. Then he had done something to her. She had felt his energy flow from his body and into hers; giving her the strength she needed to try and save everyone. Things went blank after that.
"Oh my god, Tuxedo Mask…Darien!" she exclaimed softly. What had happened to him after she fainted? Was he okay? Had he passed out as well? Maybe they had both collapsed and the generals had come back and captured them. This could be a room in the Dark Kingdom!
She swung her feet to the floor and was about to get up when she saw a folded note on the bedside table with her name written on it. She picked it up and opened it, grinning when she saw the familiar handwritings.
First in Amy's neat script: Serena, We were worried about you after the attack, so I used my computer to track you down. I'm glad to see that you are in good hands. Try to get plenty of rest and we'll see you tomorrow. Don't worry about your mother, I smoothed things over with her and told her you were staying at my place. Take care. Amy
Then in Raye's bold writing: You brain dead, idiotic, Meatball Head! You had us worried sick! I am so glad that you didn't get yourself killed, because now I have the pleasure of killing you myself. Your butt is so roasted the next time I see you. But I am glad that you are okay. Raye
And last was Lita's loopy scrawl: Way to kick some ass, girlfriend! You sure showed those negaverse creeps that they couldn't get you down. Take a break. You deserve it. And don't do anything I wouldn't do! Lita
Serena shook her head in amusement. Her friends had to be the craziest bunch of people she had ever known, but she loved them for it. She hadn't liked the idea in the beginning that they were sailor scouts as well, but when she thought about it now she knew that she couldn't imagine having anybody else by her side. Their words comforted her. And obviously if they had found her and left this note then she most definitely was not in the Dark Kingdom.
She swallowed hard as realization struck. Darien must have brought her to his place! She looked around trying to find something to either prove or disprove this fact, but the room was almost unbearably spartan despite its rich color scheme.
Still, she was able to find a few small clues. A vase of red roses sat on top of the dresser and the sleeve of what appeared to be an Azabu High varsity jacket peeked out from under where her own coat lay across a chair. There was also a thick book on the nightstand with its place neatly marked. It looked just like the hundreds of other thick, boring books she had seen him with since she had met him. But what caught her eye was what was lying next to the book.
It was a stunning gold, star-shaped locket with a delicate gold chain. She picked it up carefully and held it in the palm of her hand. She pushed a button on the side and the lid sprang open, but nothing else happened.
She jumped as the door clicked quietly and opened several inches. Her heart began pounding as that familiar head of jet-black hair poked in. Joy sparkled in his bottomless, deep blue eyes when he saw her sitting on the side of the bed.
"Hey! You're up!" he exclaimed, throwing the door open the rest of the way and crossing the room quickly to stand in front of her. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up."
She stared at him blankly, mesmerized by his features as scenes from her dream played through her head. No, not a dream, they were definitely memories. What she had seen had been way too detailed to be a mere dream. The Darien standing before her was Endymion to a tee, right down to the stubborn strands of hair that hung into his eyes. No simple dream could have captured him so perfectly.
Darien waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello, Meatball Head, are you in there?"
She snapped from her reverie at the sound of his voice. "Huh? What?"
He chuckled and folded his arms across his chest. "I asked you if you were intending to hog my bed for the entire winter break."
She looked down to where her hands were clenched in the black silk sheets. 'Whoa!' her brain screamed at her as the intimacy of the situation hit her. So much for trying to keep things neutral between them. Not two minutes after she had made a vow to be nothing more than a friendly ally to Darien she found herself alone in his bedroom with him while she sat on his bed.
She jumped up quickly, feeling her face heat up. "Oh, wow! Sorry about that. I had kind of figured that this was your room right before you came in."
He gave her a lopsided grin. "It's okay. I didn't know where else to take you after you passed out and I figured you would be comfortable here. I wasn't about to take you home in your condition and run the risk of bumping into your father and I figured Amy, Raye, and Lita would have executed me on the spot if I had taken you to them."
Serena let out a shaky giggle and held up the now severely crumpled note that was still in her hand. "You should have known that you wouldn't be able to hide from the girls. They must have come in sometime last night because they left their calling card."
He growled out a curse under his breath. "Damn! Who would have ever thought that I would have to start locking my balcony door when I live on the top floor of a twenty-story building to keep miniskirt wearing teenage girls from invading my personal space while I sleep. I must have really been out cold if they were able to get by me while I was sleeping on the couch"
She felt a wave of guilt swamp her as she thought about how uncomfortable he must have been. He was every bit of 6'2", and couches were rarely that long. "I'm sorry, Darien. You must have been miserable being stuck on a couch all night. You should have put me there and kept your bed for yourself."
He gave her a heart-stopping smile. "It's not that big of a deal. I was still on my feet at least. You were the one that was wiped out and needed the rest. Besides, what kind of gentleman would I be if I stuck you with the couch and kept that big bed all to myself?"
Serena's knees went weak at the sight of his gorgeous smile and she felt like melting into a puddle of goo on the floor. Those memories of the past were really screwing with her head and making her feel more emotional than usual. Granted Darien had always had a major impact on her feelings and the ability to make her feel slightly loopy when she was around him, but the urge she had to throw herself into his arms and kiss him was stronger than ever.
'Remember the princess. He belongs to her,' she told herself. She forced her voice into its normal tone as she joked, "Well I don't think you have to worry about that. Nobody would ever make the mistake of assuming you were a gentleman."
He clutched his chest dramatically. "Ouch! That one cut deep, Meatball Head! Is that they thanks I get for giving you a warm, dry place to sleep off last night's escapades? That's harsh!"
She rolled her eyes at his use of her nickname, but couldn't help but laugh at his teasing. Inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief that things were going so normal between them. Darien was treating her the same as he always had; now if she could just keep herself together and act normal in front of him. She may not be able to act on the feelings she felt for him, but she didn't want to lose their recent camaraderie either. He was too much a part of her everyday life now, and they still needed to work together.
Darien was thinking along the same lines. He had been afraid that things would turn awkward between them when she woke up in his bed, but one look at her smiling face erased all of those fears. She wasn't quite as bright and perky as she normally was, but that was to be expected after her ordeal.
'Serenity's soul mate, my ass!' he thought harshly. There was no doubt that he felt a strong connection to the princess that had been with him for so long, and he felt sorry for the horrible things that she had experienced in the past. He hoped that she was having a better life this time around and he would help her find the crystal and defeat Beryl, but he wasn't willing to give Serena up for her.
Serena sobered as she thought back to the night before. "So what happened after I passed out? Were the people revived? Did anyone die?"
Darien grinned at her. "Nope! You saved the day. I just got done watching the news reports of the attack. There were a few people taken to the hospital to be treated for mild exhaustion, but nobody died."
Relief flooded through her, and this time her legs did give out as she sat back down on the edge of the bed with a huge sigh. "Thank goodness! I wasn't sure if I would be able to help them or not, but something told me that I could."
His grin grew. "You did a great job. Now how about I treat you to a celebratory breakfast at the Crown. I know you have a weakness for Andrew's pancakes."
She gave him a small smile but shook her head. As much as she enjoyed his company, she needed to get away from him for a little while so she could sort out all of her thoughts. "Do you mind if I take a rain check? I feel really grungy and would like to go home and take a shower and get into some clean clothes."
His face fell a little, but he could respect her wishes. She was looking a little more bedraggled than usual and he knew that he had felt much better after his shower. "Sure thing. I'll just get my keys and give you a ride home."
She smiled in gratitude. "Thanks." Then she reached up to push aside a stray strand of hair and almost bashed herself in the face with the locket she still held in her hand.
Blushing, she held it out to him. "Oh, sorry. I found this on your table and was admiring it when you came in. It's a beautiful locket. Where did you get it?"
He shrugged. "I don't really know. I had to spend several days in the hospital after the car accident with my parents. I woke up one morning and found it on the bed next to me. I figured one of the nurses had accidentally dropped it, but no one ever claimed it so I kept it. It's supposed to play music, but it doesn't work. I've taken it to probably ten different jewelers, but none of them have figured it out. They say it's unlike any piece of jewelry they've ever seen."
He reached to take it from her, and as soon as his fingers brushed against it a tinkling melody began playing.
"Oh wow! It's so beautiful," Serena breathed. Then her face scrunched up in concentration. "I know that song from somewhere."
"Yeah, me too," Darien whispered as he stood transfixed by the sound.
Serena shook herself out of her stupor. She snapped the locket closed and shoved it into Darien's hand. "Anyway, I guess I better get myself together so I can get home. The lure of hot water and shampoo is calling to me."
Darien pulled himself from his wonderings of why that song sounded so familiar and why the locket had suddenly decided to start working. He put it back in its place on the table, his fingers lingering on it for a moment before he turned back to see that Serena had grabbed her shoes and coat and stood waiting for him.
"Are you ready?" he asked her politely.
She nodded. "Ready when you are."
"Let's go then," he told her.
One silent elevator ride and a few minutes later they both entered the frigid underground parking garage of Darien's apartment building and sprinted for the nearby, cherry red sports car. Darien hit the remote to unlock the doors and they dove inside the plush, but still cold interior. He shoved the key in the ignition and started the car, turning the heat up to full blast and praying it would warm up soon.
"It…it's s…s…so cold!" Serena stammered through chattering teeth. "I d…don't think I…I've ever seen a win…winter this c…cold!"
Darien gave her one of his superior smirks. "It's all in your mind, Meatball Head. It's no colder now than it usually is this time of year. Sometimes it just takes your body a while to get used to the change in the weather."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Your nerdiness is showing again. If you're not careful you'll start wearing a pocket protector and pulling the waist of your pants up to your armpits."
He bit back a smile at her teasing to put on an affronted look. "And disappoint the members of my fan club that you're so fond of bringing up? I couldn't do that!"
She rolled her eyes. "That massive ego of yours is going to get you into serious trouble someday. Your head is going to swell up so big that you're going to fall over and not be able to get up."
This time he did smile. "That's what I keep you around for, Meatball Head. I know that if I start getting too full of myself that you'll use that razor sharp tongue of yours to bring me back down to earth."
Serena fought down the urge to blush as she thought of other ways her past self had used her tongue on his past self. "Whatever, jerk!" she grumbled and lapsed into silence.
Darien shot a curious glance over at the blonde that was now huddled up in the corner of her seat with her arms crossed as she stared pensively out the window and wondered what he had done this time to make her turn so aloof. He had been trying his best to keep things as normal and lighthearted as possible between them. He thought back over his last words and couldn't find anything in them that would have offended her.
He put a hand on her shoulder and grew even more concerned when she jumped under his touch and her head jerked around to stare at him with wide, confused eyes. "Are you okay? I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings somehow."
Her gaze softened and she shook her head. "No, it's okay. You didn't do anything. I'm just still feeling out of sorts. I'll be fine once I get home and get my bearings."
He pulled his hand away and shifted the car into gear. "Well just hang in there fore a few minutes and I'll have you there."
The drive was silent for the most part except for the music playing softly through the speakers. Darien tried to start a conversation a few times, but gave up when Serena's short replies came out in a flat tone.
"Can you drop me off here?" she asked when they reached the corner before her house. "My mom thinks I spent the night at Amy's and my dad's at home. I really don't feel like playing twenty questions with them if they see you dropping me off."
"Sure," Darien said as he pulled the car over to the curb. As Serena opened the door to get out he grabbed her hand. "I'll see you later, right?"
She smiled at him, causing his stomach to writhe like it was full of squirming snakes. "I'm sure you will. We always seem to bump into each other no matter where we go. It's almost as if fate keeps putting us in each other's paths."
Darien snorted. "There's no such thing as fate. I don't believe that a person's life is mapped out from the very beginning and that we're just walking down a predetermined path. We are the only people that control our lives and our choices are what shape our future."
Serena shook her head. "I believe in fate, but I think you're right about how our choices impact our lives. Fate can only deal the hand, it's up to use to decide how to play the game."
He chuckled. "When did you become such a philosopher?"
Another smile graced her lips, but this time it seemed a little sad. "Maybe there's more to me than you thought." Then she pulled her hand from his. "I've gotta go. I'll see you later."
His smile faded as he watched her as she got out of the car and hurried down the snow-covered sidewalk. Something was wrong with her, he just didn't know what. Her moods changed from one minute to the next. When she smiled and laughed with him it seemed genuine, but he couldn't help but feel like she was holding something back.
"You're one to talk," he muttered to himself. It had been a constant battle for him to keep his emotions in check from the moment that he had walked into his room and seen that she was awake. All he had wanted to do was scoop her up into his arms and kiss her until all thoughts of Serenity's proclamation that they were soul mates melted away. He was in charge of his own destiny and no princess was going to tell him otherwise.
Feeling the need to do something normal, he steered his car away from the curb and headed to the Crown. Andrew was there, and if he was in luck some of his other friends would be too. He didn't want to think anymore about past lives or the Dark Kingdom right now. He just wanted to be himself; Darien Shields, a normal high school junior on a normal winter's day.
"Okay, girls, let's pack it up. Obviously people are smart enough not to come out in this weather just to buy charms," Raye told her three friends.
"Yay!" Mina cheered as she began grabbing the neatly organized trays of charms that the Hikawa Shrine was well known for selling and setting them into boxes to be moved to the storeroom.
Amy glanced up from where she was standing next to the small bonfire that Raye had made to keep them warm. She carefully marked her place and joined in with the packing.
"I can't believe you were crazy enough to set all of this stuff up anyway," Lita grumbled. "It's colder than Mercury out here and there's close to a foot of snow on the ground. No offense, but nobody's going to come all the way up here just to buy some stupid charms."
Raye blew out a breath. "I know, but grandpa wanted to open up at least for a little while to see if we had any customers. We've already had our big holiday rush, but with Christmas only a few days away there are usually a few stragglers wanting to buy a charm for a last minute gift. At least I can say we tried."
"Yep, we tried. And now the rest of our day is free to do as we please. I for one can't wait to go to the arcade and pamper myself with one of Andrew's hot cocoas," Mina sighed.
"Go flirt with Andrew you mean," Lita muttered. "I don't see how you keep putting up with the disappointment. You've been laying it on hot and heavy for months now and the guy acts like he doesn't have a clue."
Mina tossed her blonde head defiantly. "Like you don't spend your fair share of time flirting with him? Please!" She changed her voice into an imitation of Lita's. "Oh Andrew! I simply must have your recipe for this chocolate pie. It's absolutely the best I've ever tasted." Then she batted her eyelids dramatically.
Lita's face burned red. "I do not act like that! I just happen to respect him as a fellow cooking enthusiast, that's all. Besides, blondes really don't do it for me. I prefer my men to be darker and more mysterious."
"It's amazing that you didn't try to come on to Darien then," Raye said with a snort. "They don't come much more darker and mysterious than him."
Lita rolled her eyes. "No, you were the only one crazy enough to do that. I always got this feeling from Darien, even before I remembered who he was. It was almost like he had a blinking neon sign around his neck that said hands off."
Amy tucked a piece of her short blue hair behind her ear. "That's true. Darien has always exuded an aura of aloofness. Serena seemed to be the only one that never paid any attention to it. She barreled right past all of his roadblocks like they didn't even exist."
"Well that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone," Mina replied as she closed the flaps on the box she had packed. "The same thing happened in the Silver Millennium. Endymion always walked around with his uptight, holier than thou attitude and Serenity ran right over him like a speeding car. She never thought twice about telling him to his face that he was being a jerk."
"Yeah, some things never change," Raye said with a chuckle. "I wonder how they are doing?"
Lita tried to stifle a giggle. "I'm sure they're all nice and cozy. The way they've been acting around each other recently makes me think that we may not have to wait until the Silver Crystal is whole again for them to get their memories back. They grow closer to each other every day and if they keep spending time together like that something just might trigger their memories to resurface. I don't know what's going on in Serena's head, but Darien is definitely showing signs of remembering things."
"Serena may not be too far behind him," a new voice spoke up as Luna appeared at the top of the stairs. "Let's go inside. I need to have an informal meeting with all of you."
They quickly stowed the boxes away in the storeroom and trooped inside. All eyes turned questioningly to the black feline once they were settled around the table in Raye's room, each with a steaming mug of tea.
Luna cleared her throat before she began. Her bright cinnamon eyes looked to Lita first. "I heard what you were saying as I arrived, and I believe you may be correct. Darien is showing signs of Endymion's memories coming through. He recognized Nephrite on sight the other night and I believe we can all agree that his protectiveness of Serena shows that he definitely feels a bond with her. But Serena is the one I'm worried about."
"Has something happened to her?" Mina demanded in her most authoritative tone.
Luna shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. I warned you when I blocked Serena's dreams that I didn't know how long the barrier would hold, and I think it's starting to break down. In fact, Serena and I had a very interesting conversation before I came here."
***FLASHBACK***
Luna squeezed her way through the gap in Serena's bedroom window and sighed in relief as the warmth of the room closed in around her and began to chase away the chill from outside. She had just leapt from the window seat to the floor when the bathroom door opened and Serena stepped out, wrapped in a large fluffy towel with her long hair trailing down her back in damps waves.
"Oh, Serena!" she exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't know you were home already. I thought you might still be at Darien's recuperating from last night's ordeal."
Serena shook her head as she walked to her closet and began searching through her clothes. "I think I've recuperated enough, Luna. I slept for about fifteen hours straight. That has to be a new record, even for me. But where have you been? I thought you would be here when I got home."
"Artemis and I stayed in the control room last night analyzing the readings from the attack," Luna told her. "I can't tell you how proud I am of you. A lot of lives would have been lost if you hadn't used the wand to restore those people's energy."
Serena blushed under the compliment as she sat down at her vanity table and began the complicated task of combing her hair. After a few minutes of wrestling with tangles she set the brush down. Her eyes were twin pools of sadness as they met Luna's in the mirror.
"Luna," she whispered softly. "Can I ask you something? I don't know if you even know the answer, but I feel like you're the only one I can ask."
Luna jumped up on the bed and regarded her charge warmly. "Of course you can, Serena. That is what I'm here for. I am your advisor. You can ask me anything and I'll try to answer it to the best of my ability."
Serena looked down, fiddling idly with a hairpin that was lying on the tabletop. "I had this…dream. But it was more than a dream. I think it was memories from my past life." She lifted her gaze to meet Luna's steadily. "Did you know that Darien was the reincarnation of Endymion, the prince of Earth?"
Luna felt like choking, but she kept her features smoothly calm as she thought of the best way to answer. She finally decided that honesty was the best policy. "Yes, I was aware that he was Endymion's reincarnation. Why do you ask?"
Serena shrugged and picked up her brush again. "I just wanted to make sure what I saw was real and not just something that my imagination made up. Can I ask you one more thing?"
"Yes," Luna said hesitantly as she mentally prepared herself for what she was sure to be the next question. 'Am I the moon princess?'
But instead of that, Serena blew her mind by asking something equally as shocking. "Were he and Princess Serenity…together?"
The feline was struck speechless. How could she possibly answer that one? Her oath of loyalty to the Lunar royal family dictated that she could not lie to her princess, but she had promised her dying queen that she would protect her daughter at all costs. And to keep Serena safe she had to keep her identity secret for just a while longer. But if she told her that Serenity and Endymion had been set to marry it would break her heart. She would think that she was in love with her princess's fiancé.
Serena let out a small sigh and got up from her seat. She picked up the clothes she had chosen and crossed over to the bed to pat Luna on the head. "Thank you, Luna. Your silence was all the answer I needed."
She smiled at her advisor and retreated back into the bathroom. When Luna heard the hair dryer turn on she wriggled back out the window and ran for the shrine.
***END FLASHBACK***
"Oh what a tangled web we weave," Mina whispered as Luna finished her tale. "Now Serena thinks she's got the hots for Serenity's prince and doesn't realize that she is Serenity. Maybe we've made a mistake by not coming clean with her from the beginning."
"Do you think we should tell her the truth?" Lita asked in a strangled whisper.
"Absolutely not!" Raye interjected, banging her hands down on the table. "I know I was all for telling her in the beginning, but I've meditated for many hours about this and the fire always tells me the same thing. If Serena finds out that she's the moon princess before we get our hands on the rainbow crystals and revive the Silver Crystal, there is a huge chance that the Dark Kingdom will kill her first."
"She's right," Amy said, typing on her computer. "The percentage of Serena falling victim to Beryl if the woman attacks without her having the protection of the crystal goes up dramatically."
"So what do we do?" Lita snapped. "We can't let the poor girl run around thinking she's in love with another woman's man! What kind of friends would we be if we did that?"
Mina's eyes burned with fierce determination. "Then we just have to step up our game and hope that we can find those crystals as quick as possible and defeat the Dark Kingdom so that Serena and Darien can be together. They've waited too long and suffered too much to let that witch come between them again. If I have to step in, I will. It may hurt both of them for a while, but all that matters is that they're together in the end. As the scout of love, I swear I will see our princess happy with her prince!"
A sinister grin stretched Beryl's thin lips as the dark blob that was Metallia grew to enormous proportions inside the bladder of orange liquid and began writhing restlessly. She had been on her knees for hours, slowly feeding the massive amount of energy Zoicite had procured from that pitiful human city into her mistress. It had been a long, tedious process, but she was gratified at last when Metallia let out a roar and a wave of dark energy rolled from her, shaking the chamber to its very foundation.
"Oh, Great Metallia," Beryl praised as she bowed in her kneeling position with her forehead touching the stone ground. "I am here to do your bidding. What is your wish, my queen?"
The black mass twisted and strained as if it sought to burst free of its confinement. "Our time has come," the evil entity's dark voice hissed. "Collect the rainbow crystals and find the moon princess and her scouts. Kill them all. Then our path to the Silver Crystal will be unimpeded and the Earth will be ours."
"As you wish, my queen," Beryl replied as she stood and climbed the stairs to her throne room. She cast a critical eye over the four men that bowed low at her entrance.
"Jadeite, Nephrite, I'm giving you two pathetic worms a chance to redeem yourselves," she snapped. "Locate and eliminate the sailor scouts. One of them is sure to lead you to the princess. When you find that conniving moon tramp I want you to bring me her head. I will not tolerate any more failures from you. Either you do as I command or I will kill you on the spot. Is that understood?"
"Yes, your majesty," the two generals mumbled with their heads down.
"You may go!" she dismissed them. When they had left she turned her attention to the remaining two.
"Zoicite, your job is to focus on finding and collecting the rainbow crystals," she ordered.
The dark blonde general's head snapped up. "Yes, my queen. But how will I go about finding them?"
Beryl waved a careless hand and the dark crystal that Zoicite had used the night before appeared and floated over to land in his hand. "This crystal has been infused with Metallia's power. It should be sufficient in helping you locate the crystals. But do not dawdle, Zoicite. I'm sure by now the sailor scouts are aware of the existence of the crystals and they will be searching for them as well. We must get them before they do or they will restore that horrible princess to power."
"I understand, your majesty," Zoicite said with a bow.
"Then get to work. Time is of the essence," Beryl ordered.
"And what of me, Queen Beryl?" Kunzite asked as Zoicite left the chamber. "I can't imagine that you intend for me to sit around here with nothing to do."
The flame haired queen beckoned him forward and then motioned for him to kneel before her. Once he was on his knees she reached out to stroke his cheek. "You thought right, my dear. I have a special assignment for you. You will find Endymion and bring him to me…alive. I will not allow that little slut to take him from me again!"
"The prince…" Kunzite muttered.
Beryl's eyes glowed with a manic light. "He will be mine."
Serena checked her reflection in the window of the store next door to the arcade to make sure that no remnants of the sob fest that she had indulged in earlier were present. After her talk with Luna earlier she had locked herself in the bathroom and given in to a good cry as she dried her hair and dressed. Once she had gotten it all out of her system she had felt at peace.
She had come to accept that Darien would never be hers. And while it stung a bit, she felt justified in her decision. She would treat him like she always did, she may even go so far as to acknowledge him publicly as a friend, but that was all there would ever be between them. She had a duty to the princess.
Satisfied that the cold water that she had bathed her face in had done the trick and there were no sins of her earlier distress visible, she hurried on her way to the Crown. She could taste one of Andrew's heavenly hot cocoas already.
"Hey, Drew!" she sing-songed as she burst through the arcade doors with her usual enthusiasm and spotted the familiar sandy blonde head behind the counter.
Andrew looked up, but instead of his normal welcoming smile, she was treated to sad, tormented hazel eyes. "Hey, Sere," he responded in a downtrodden voice.
She was immediately concern for the boy that had been an older brother to her her whole life. "What's the matter?"
He nodded his head to the three guys that were in front of him. Darien was staring pensively into mug of coffee while Asanuma and Kobyashi sat at the counter with their faces buried in their folded arms.
"Oh my goodness! What's the matter?" Serena exclaimed as she rushed over, ripping her gloves off her hands so that she could touch each of the obviously distressed blonde boys on the shoulder.
Asanuma raised his head to look at her. But instead of the eyes that normally sparkled with mischief and humor a dull, lifeless gaze greeted her. "Hey, Bunny," he mumbled miserably.
"Numa, what's the matter?" she repeated as she took in all four depressed looking boys. "You all look like somebody just died."
Asanuma put his elbows on the counter and propped his chin in his hands. "Why don't you tell her, Koby?"
"Nooo," Kobyashi groaned without lifting his head. "I can't stand to repeat it again. It's just too horrible."
"Somebody better tell me what's going on before I go crazy!" Serena almost screeched. Her gaze locked onto a pair of deep blue eyes. He would tell her. "Darien?"
He sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "Numa and Koby are going to be taking an extended trip."
Kobyashi's head snapped up. "Ha! That's putting it nicely! There's no need to sugarcoat it." He spun around on his stool to look at Serena. "The truth is that Numa and I have been given one way tickets to hell! You know that both of our dads work for the same computer programming company, right?" He waited for her to nod. "Well they've both been assigned to work on some new project together, but the catch is that we have to move to California for the next six months."
Serena's mouth fell open. "Oh, well, that too bad. I'll miss you guys a lot. But you should look at the positive side."
Asanuma turned around to look at her incredulously. "Bunny, I know that you're always a bubbling little fountain of optimism, but there is nothing positive about this. I can't even speak the language. You know English is my worst subject."
She tilted her head to the side as she thought. "Yes, that true, but there are so many other things to look forward to."
"Such as?" Kobyashi asked critically.
Her brow furrowed in concentration. "Well, you'll be experiencing a new place. You should think of it as an adventure. The weather will be better there. You can escape all of the cold and snow here. Ooo, and food! I bet they have all kinds of different food there that you can try. I'll expect a full report on that subject when you get back by the way. And don't forget Disneyland. But those aren't the important thing."
"What's the important thing?" Asanuma asked, looking a little swirly-eyed from listening to her rambling.
Serena smiled impishly at him. "You and Koby are supposed to be our resident perverts and neither one of you have thought about the amount of babe watching you're going to be able to do? I'm surprised and disappointed in you guys."
Kobyashi raised an eyebrow at Asanuma. "She does have a point. We'll be right on the coast and the beaches there are open year round."
Asanuma snapped his open mouth shut. "I can't believe I never thought about all the hot California chicks. This could be fun after all. Thank you, Bunny-chan! You've given me a reason to live again!"
Serena squealed as her exuberant friend picked her up and spun her around enthusiastically. She was getting dizzy and was about to start begging for him to put her down when a firm hand landed on his shoulder.
Asanuma turned and was shocked to find Darien's eyes burning into him with murderous intent. Those blue orbs had darkened to almost black and cut through him like a samurai sword.
When he spoke though, his voice was a friendly as ever, albeit a little forced sounding. "Okay, Numa, give the Meatball Head a break. Her head's going to fly right off if you keep spinning her like that."
Asanuma gulped under the glare and set Serena on her feet. "Oops! Sorry, Serena."
"It's okay," she said as she wobbled on her feet. "I'm just glad that I could make you feel better. It's not the end of the world. You and Koby will be together at least and you'll both be home in time to join the rest of us for summer vacation."
He grinned at her and then let her go as he spun back toward the counter and pounded on it. "Hey barkeep, let me get a soda over here. I feel like celebrating! I also wouldn't be opposed if you put a little nip of something in that drink. What are you hiding back there Furuhata; rum, vodka, or tequila?"
Serena giggled as she watched Asanuma lean far over the counter, trying to see what was on the shelves underneath it. Andrew took a dishtowel and began whacking him over the head with it while Kobyashi howled with laughter on his stool.
She jumped as an arm wrapped around her waist and Darien leaned down to whisper in her ear. "How do you do it? Drew and I have been trying to cheer those two up for over an hour with no success. Then you waltz in here and have them back to their old selves in just a couple of minutes."
She smiled up at him as she stepped away from both his lips and his confining arm in what she hoped wasn't an obvious move. "I don't know. I just pointed out some of the bright spots in their situation. They're stuck going no matter what, but they shouldn't be miserable about it."
He chuckled. "You are something else."
She turned quickly to the counter when he took a step toward her. "Can I get a hot chocolate, please, Drew? It's like the North Pole outside!"
Darien frowned at what he saw as an obvious attempt at avoiding any contact with him. He had thought that they were becoming closer, but now he sensed that she was subtly pushing him away. She wasn't being unfriendly or even distant, but he couldn't help but feel like a barrier of some kind had sprung up between them.
He sucked in a breath as a thought crossed his mind. Had Serenity gotten to Serena too? Serena had said that the princess had never appeared to her in her dreams, but perhaps that had changed. Serenity's earlier attitude toward him had almost been possessive, and if she had seen Serena as a possible threat to what she claimed was an ancient bond between them she just might have paid her lead scout a visit.
"Damn her! She's ruining everything!" he ground out between clenched teeth.
Andrew looked up from where he was wiping nonexistent dirt from the spotless countertop. "Did you say something, Dare?"
He shook his head. "No. Serena, can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Oooo..." Asanuma and Kobyashi intoned together, their eyes wide with the prospect of some juicy gossip.
Darien rolled his eyes. "Can it, you old ladies! You read far too much into things."
"Says the guy that asked Serena to talk to him at the dance and they never came back," Andrew muttered, not quite under his breath.
"Serena, please," he said in a pleading tone.
She turned to look at him over her shoulder. "What? Now? I just got my hot chocolate." Then she turned her back on him.
"Ouch! Burned!" Asanuma stage whispered as he slapped a high five with Kobyashi.
Darien felt more than a little annoyed at her casual dismissal of him. He was about two seconds from hauling her off that stool and either shaking her, kissing her, or perhaps both, despite their audience, when the arcade doors opened and the scouts in their civilian forms plus Mina walked in.
He backed off then. Serena's friends were all highly protective of her. Even Raye was known to fly to the petite blonde's defense in spite of the nature of their sometimes argumentative relationship. The last thing he needed was to have four teenage girls on his back, especially when three of them possessed super powers.
Serena smiled widely and waved. "Hey guys!"
The girls all called out greetings and hurried over to the counter. Somehow Darien got shuffled neatly out of the way as they converged on Serena, exchanging hugs and all talking at once. He finally gave up and returned to his seat at the end of the counter. He watched through narrowed eyes as the girls all chattered away, commiserating with Asanuma and Kobyashi about their move for a few minutes before they all retreated to the large booth in the back with steaming mugs of cocoa.
Asanuma and Kobyashi left soon after that when they were called home by their mothers to help with some things. Then a group of middle schoolers brave enough to endure the deplorable winter weather came in and kept Andrew busy, leaving Darien alone with his thoughts.
He fought down the urge to walk over to the booth and talk to Serena. He knew the chances of getting her away from the girls were slim to none, and he wouldn't be able to say what he wanted to say in front of them because Mina was with them and she was clueless about her friend's new secret lives. Besides, he really, really wanted to talk to Serena alone.
An hour later he was still sitting there while the girls continued to laugh and gossip their way through an extended lunch. He talked with Andrew while he was in between customers, but was careful to keep one eye on Serena.
Then the unthinkable happened. He wasn't quite sure how it happened, but it did. He lost focus for just one minute while laughing at a particularly funny joke that Andrew had told him. When Andrew looked up and said, "Huh, that's funny. Serena left without saying goodbye," he abruptly stopped laughing and spun around in his seat. Sure enough, her spot at the table was empty. And when he whipped his head around to look out the window he barely caught a glimpse of her as she was hurrying away.
"Why that little…" he growled as he jumped up, grabbing his coat and trying to shove his arms into it and wrap his scarf around his neck at the same time. "When I get my hands on her…"
He left a speechless Andrew behind as he ran across the arcade to the door. He was so fixated on catching up with Serena that he failed to see the other person that was heading for the door as well. They collided together and went sprawling. A purse hit the floor, spilling its contents on the floor.
"Omigosh, Darien, I'm sorry. I didn't see you coming," Mina said as she began scooping her belongings back into her designer handbag.
"No, it's my fault. I should have been watching where I was going. I think Serena's rubbing off on me," he told her as he helped her pick up her stuff. He grabbed her wallet, a pen, and a pack of gum. He reached for something gold and paused.
There was nothing spectacular about the object. It was just a simple compact mirror. But what held his attention was the crescent moon engraved on the cover. He shook off the strange feeling and picked it up before handing it and the other things to Mina.
"Thanks," she said as she flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
His breath froze as the golden strands gleamed under the fluorescent lights. He was thrown back into his earlier dream and encounter with Serenity where he had caught a brief glimpse of blonde hair and blue eyes.
There were supposedly four sailor scouts and the princess. All four scouts were present and accounted for. All that was left was to find the moon princess. The scouts were all from the same group of friends. Only Mina seemed to be out of place.
Or was she out of place? The scouts had all been friends before their powers had been awakened. Was it possible that the princess was with them already as well.
"Serenity," he barely whispered.
The facts were so glaringly obvious to him now that he felt like smacking his head against the floor. Mina's cat, Artemis talked like Serena's cat, Luna. She was with the scouts almost constantly, except when they were fighting. She was definitely the most well off money-wise of all the girls, as the expensive clothes she wore when she wasn't in her school uniform clearly showed. And she had blonde hair and blue eyes.
Those big blue eyes were now looking at him in confusion. "What did you say, Darien?"
"Noth…nothing," he stammered as he got up. He offered her a hand and helped her off the floor as well. "Look, I'm sorry I mowed you down and all, but I've gotta run."
She smiled at him. "Of course I forgive you. Oh, and Darien," she called after him as he began to walk away.
He stopped and looked back at her. "Yes?"
Her blue eyes met his head on. "If you're looking for Serena, you'll probably catch her at the grocery store on the way to her house. Her mother called her and asked her to pick up something for her." She winked and flashed her famous V sign.
He couldn't help but grin. Maybe he was wrong about her after all. Perhaps she was a normal girl that just happened to have unique friends and an unusual cat. If she was Serenity's reincarnation he couldn't imagine her encouraging him to run after the girl she saw as her rival. "Thanks, Mina!"
A beeping sound coming from the table where the rest of the girls sat had both pairs of blue eyes snapping toward them. Amy held a small, calculator-sized device in her hand that Darien knew to be a scout communicator. The blue haired girl was speaking quietly into it with an anxious look on her face.
'This can't be good,' Darien thought to himself. He knew it was bad news a few seconds later when he felt the familiar heat burst in his chest that told him that Serena had just transformed into Sailor Moon.
He rushed out the doors and into the cold as fast as he could. The girls could make the excuses for their abrupt departure to Mina, but he had to go. What if Serena had to use her wand again and needed him? He couldn't let her go through that alone. She was barely recovered from last night's events.
"Why can't these Dark Kingdom bastards take a day off?" he muttered as he ducked into an alley and transformed. A few seconds later Tuxedo Mask jumped to the rooftops as he followed the magnetic pull that always led him to Sailor Moon no matter where she was.
Sailor Moon shrieked and ducked as a frozen turkey was hurled at her head. It sailed over her and smashed into the glass door of a frozen food freezer, shattering it and making the small, blonde super heroine throw up her arms to shield her face.
The youma across the aisle from her cackled gleefully. "What's the matter, sweet thing? Are you scared that your pretty face might get messed up a little? You don't have to worry about the boys running from you if you get scarred up a little, because you won't live long enough to worry about not having a date!" She slung two more large frozen birds at her.
Sailor Moon dove behind a cooler to avoid the flying poultry. Her arms stung where the glass had nicked them, and she prayed the other scouts would show up soon. She'd called them for back up as soon as the youma had shown up and started terrorizing the customers in the grocery store that she had ducked into to pick up the bread and sugar her mother had asked her to get.
She peeked around the cooler to see the youma reloading her hands, all of them, with more brick hard frozen projectiles. This was by far the craziest looking youma she had come across yet. It looked like a cross between a Barbie doll and that Doc Oc guy she had seen in that Spider-man movie a few years before. It was an almost normal looking blonde woman, aside from her pale blue skin, and had weird, tentacle-like arms that sprouted from her back.
A deep chuckle was heard as Jadeite appeared, floating in the middle of the aisle. "What's wrong, Sailor Moon? I thought you were a better fighter than this. But I guess you're only good at hiding yourself away like a coward."
Anger bubbled thick and hot in her stomach, but she ignored the impulse to jump up and light into him. The fight was two on one until the others arrived, and she knew there was no way that she could take on a youma with multiple arms plus a general by herself. No, it was definitely best to make herself as small a target as possible until help arrived.
The one good thing was at least she didn't have to worry about any innocent civilians getting caught up in the fight. There had been few people in the store to begin with, and when the youma had appeared she had been able to hold it back while the few customers and employees had fled. She had tried using her tiara several times to take out the monster, but it kept throwing things into the tiara's path and knocking it off course.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Jadeite chanted in an amused tone. "I thought the sailor scouts were supposed to be the champions of the moon kingdom; fearless warriors that would stand up against any enemy, no matter how great. Well I guess if you won't come out and face me on your own, I'll just have to make you!"
He shot a blast of fire at the cooler Sailor Moon was taking cover behind and it exploded, sending the tiny heroine flying through the air before she hit the floor and slid several feet with a squealing sound.
Sailor Moon gritted her teeth as pain exploded all over her body. Her back was extremely hot and felt slightly broiled from the flames that had come so close to her. An unpleasant smell alerted her to the fact that at least a small part of her hair had been singed. And much of her exposed skin felt like it was being peeled away from the bone as she skidded across the linoleum floor before crashing into an end cap display.
Her arms trembled as she tried to push herself into a sitting position as Jadeite's feet landed softly on the floor and he took a few steps toward her with a smirk on his face.
"So this is how the great Sailor Moon, leader of the Imperial Sailor Scouts, meets her end; groveling on the floor like a broken doll," he said in a light, airy voice, as if he were doing nothing more than commenting on the weather. "I'm not impressed, Lady Moon. I expected more from the moon princess's top bodyguard. Perhaps you should have thought twice, little girl, before you decided to play dress up and pretend to be a hero. This isn't a game. It almost seems to be a waste of time to kill you, but Queen Beryl wants you and all of your little friends dead."
He turned to the youma. "Octavia! Finish her off! I have better things to do with my time than dealing with a pathetic child."
"As you wish, Lord Jadeite," the youma replied as it turned away from a display it had been looking at with curiosity.
Sailor Moon eyes widened in fear as she saw that what the youma had been looking at was a display that held various cooking implements, and it now held a sharp, glittering knife in each hand.
Octavia's blue lips stretched in a smile. "Time to carve you up! I'll turn you into Sailor Turkey!" And then she sprang, knives extended for the kill.
Sailor Moon closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable feeling of cold, hard steel plunging into her body. She conjured Darien's face in her mind and thought, 'I love you, Darien. I know it's wrong, but I love you with all my heart.'
The awaited pain never came. She heard a snap and a flutter, followed immediately after by a hiss and then a thud. She opened her eyes to see nothing but blackness in front of her. After a few seconds of blinking in confusion, she realized that what she was looking at was Tuxedo Mask's cape. As he spun around to her she saw the youma lying on the floor, rapidly turning to dust and with a red rose buried deep in its chest.
He swept her up into his arms as she heard the cry of "Mercury Bubbles Blast" and the whole area filled with a thick mist. Her relief that she wasn't alone anymore was so great that she almost passed out, but she settled instead for resting her head on a black clothed shoulder as she felt him jump away from the fight.
A pair of warm lips brushed her temple as that smooth, husky voice from her dreams whispered, "Are you okay, Serena?"
She nodded against his shoulder and, although she knew she was torturing herself, she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and held him close. A few seconds later she felt him land lightly on the other side of the store and looked up into the stormy blue eyes behind the white mask.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he demanded as he cupped her cheek in a white gloved palm.
She nodded again. "I'm fine, Darien. I'm just a little shaken up, that's all."
"Are you sure?" he insisted, now running his hand down her arm. "There's no broken bones or anything?"
She pulled away from him as quickly as her sore body would let her and forced a small smile onto her face, hoping that it would ease the sting of pain she saw flare in his eyes. "I said I was fine and I meant it. I wouldn't lie to you about that."
"But would you lie to me about other things?" he asked her harshly.
She pressed her fingers to her temples as a throbbing began behind her eyes. "What are you talking about, Darien?"
He put his fingers under her chin and forced her gaze to meet his. "Something's changed in you since last night, Serena, and I want to know what it is. I thought that we were growing closer, that there was some kind of connection between us. But now you're pushing me away and treating me as if I'm nothing more than I mere acquaintance, and I want to know why."
"We don't have time for this right now," she replied as Jupiter's lightning flashed brightly and something crashed several aisles away. "I have to get back to the others. They may need me."
He caught her arm as she spun away. "Just tell me this, Serena; did Serenity come visit you in your dreams?"
She turned to look at him with an open, honest expression. "No. I told you before; the princess has never visited me in my dreams. You seem to be the only one she graces with her presence."
He breathed a sigh of relief. Serenity hadn't gotten to her. There was still something bothering her and he was going to find out what, but that could wait until later.
He let go of her arm. "Okay, let's go help the girls. Jadeite's got to be pissed that we messed up his plans." He fell into step beside Sailor Moon as she darted away.
"How did you manage to kill that youma anyway?" she asked as they ran. "You've hit other youma with your roses before and it never killed any of them."
He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it was just a lucky shot. I saw that thing was about to slice you into ribbons and I reacted without thinking. I had no idea that it would actually work."
They charged onto the frozen food aisle to find Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter standing over to one side while Sailor Mars and Jadeite were locked together in a heated standoff in the middle.
"Mars!" Sailor Moon screamed.
"Stay out of this!" Mars demanded, her eyes never straying from the man in front of her. "He's mine!"
Jadeite grinned cockily at her. "So I take it that you're ready for our rematch, Mars."
A surprisingly peaceful smile appeared on her face. "I've been ready. Now that I know for sure that you are not who you are pretending to be, I have no problem with killing you. And this time there won't be any chance of you coming back because your so called queen is going down!"
"Those are strong words, Mars," Jadeite drawled. "But are you capable of backing up that big mouth of yours?"
Flames began dancing around the fingers of the red suited scout. "There's only one way to find out. So why don't you bring it on? I feel like doing a little barbequing."
He gave her a small bow before he held out his hand and a sword comprised completely of fire manifested in it. "As you wish, my dear Lady Mars."
A/N So there you go! I know it's a little bit of a cliffy, but I had to stop this chapter while I could or it would have gone on for another 32 pages. So obviously in the next chapter it will be Mars vs. Jadeite. Will the fiery scout finally get her revenge on him for what happened in the Silver Millennium? Hmm…I guess we'll see. And I want to clarify this in case it seemed a little confusing. The reason why Serena was dreaming of seeing the princess from a distance at the ball in her dreams is because Mina was standing in as her double. That's also why the supposed princess was kissing the fake prince so enthusiastically, because he was Kunzite under the spell of the Luna Pen. And if you noticed in the entire dream, Endymion only called her Sere, not Serenity, so Serena just naturally assumed that it was a nickname for Serena. Oh, and Mina wasn't trying to make Darien think she was Serenity on purpose. That was purely an accident, so don't go hatin' on V-babe! She innocent…for now! Christmas is coming up next! What will it hold in store for our poor, disillusioned couple? And speaking of Christmas, I've been working on a holiday story as well that's almost finished. I intended it to be a one shot, but I may split it into two, I'm not sure yet. But it's called Star Bright Angels and it takes place in my Lunar Princess universe, but before GT started, and it will star Serena, Darien, Andrew, and Jess. I hope to post it soon. Good grief! I think I've rambled enough! Please remember to drop me a review and tell me what you think! Lots of love and hugs!
~Sere~