Got a case of insomnia so I might as well put this time to good use.


Nakago paced in his private chambers with long concentrated strides, as his long cape whipped around his ankles, and his heels clicked the marble floors causing the sound to reverberate off the walls. His precious son was in distress over this mortal girl and this situation just would not do. Sure she had a pretty face and was at the ideal age to produce healthy children, but she seemed to be unable to reciprocate his son's ardor. This was very displeasing, his breath came in short puffs as his nostrils flared in contempt. No one would spurn his boy, no one. At this thought he came to an abrupt halt. "Kyo may be ready to abandon this venture, but I will not let him ruin this opportunity. I must get this foolish girl to see the benefits of marrying my son. She has already been disrespectful enough, if my son wasn't so infatuated with her she would be properly educated..." His eyes ran over to a certain device sitting the corner of his chambers cloaked in darkness and covered by a dark heavy cloth. "Or perhaps she can be educated after all..." A smile graced his lips as he strode over to the device in question.


Serena was in a beautifully furnished room adorned with fancy curtains, lace, tassels, and adequate seating with plush cushions and matching throw pillows. She really hadn't meant to make such a scene but the situation was getting severely out of hand. She chose to sit on a dark colored chaise with ivory borders etched into an intricate design lined with sliver threading. She sat on the edge putting her head in her hands. How did it come to this? How could she not have noticed that something was terribly amiss? Had her wish for peace blinded her to the travesty afoot? "Oh Darien, how could I have not known it was you? I miss you so much, I wish you were here with me now." She raised her head as she heard approaching footsteps just outside the room. She instinctively reached for broach and her hand tightened around it, expecting the worse.

A few knocks upon the door reached her ears before the door slowly opened to reveal the older man she had come to know as Kyo's father. "I'm sorry to disturb you my dear, but I've come to take you to our transportation chamber as my son has requested. Perhaps it was foolish of us to think that taking a girl as young as yourself from your home would not upset you." He raised a hand and motioned for her to come with him. "You must understand it was never my intention to startle you. I suppose I was just so eager at the thought that my only so had found love."

Serena was cautious but seemed to be somewhat at ease with his calm and caring demeanor. She slowly rose from the chaise and approached him as he cleared the doorway for her to follow him out. "I didn't know your son was masquerading as Darien, otherwise this misunderstanding would have never happened." She tried to choose her words carefully as not to further complicate the situation. "I just want you to release Darien, so we can go home."

Nakago tried to hide the disdain on his face behind his smile. He needed to have her trust for this to go according to plan. "Well, my dear, my son has gone to reverse the process so you and your Darien can both return home. He should be meeting us shortly in the transportation chamber. It is a simple enough process, but to you it may seem somewhat complex."

Serena followed the older man down the halls and as she looked around she wondered how anyone, let alone this man, could navigate this maze of a palace. To her everything seemed to look the same and nothing really seemed to distinguish one hall from the next. She felt uneasy about how easily one could lose their way in such a place. It was a good thing she had him to guide her through and get her safely home. She sincerely hoped she would be able to see Darien in this transportation chamber he kept mentioning. Lost in her thoughts, she did not notice that he had come to a stop in front a door that seemed a darker color than the rest and almost bumped into him. "Oops, I'm sorry. I was just admiring the scenery..."

"Of course, I take pride in the immaculate design of my palace. It may seem quite lavish to you, but for my son and I, we have a very specific taste in our décor." His hand motioned towards the door and it seemed to open up on its own. "This way, my dear. We haven't a moment to lose as this process takes some preparation."

Serena peered inside the dimly lit room was unsure about entering. Her hand rose to her broach and she tried to draw strength from it as she cautiously walked inside. Nakago quickly followed her to cut off her escape, and without her notice the door quickly, but silently closed behind them. As Serena reached what she surmised to be the center of the room bright lights lit the area around them and a strange device sat before her. It was an intimidating piece of machinery to say in the least. It appeared to be some sort of futuristic, mechanical chair composed of many wires, buttons, and flashing lights. There was also a bowl shaped extension that made it look like a medieval hair dryer. It had cushioned arm rests and a panel below for leg rests. The strange design set fear in her heart and she was reluctant to get any closer, but as she tried to back away, she met to broad chest of Kyo's father. "Um, just what is that thing?" She asked trying not to sound too fearful.

Nakago gently placed his hands on her trembling shoulders and attempted to steady her. "Ah, that, my dear, is where I need you to take a seat. It is a special device that will direct your mind and body into a synchronized state so that you can be transported home. That is what you want, isn't it? To go home?" He prodded as he began to slowly guide her towards the device.

Serena was hardly aware that she was being directed towards the device, since her mind was running with several thoughts at once. "Ye, yes, of course I want to go home.." She was apprehensive to sit in that device, but she desperately wanted to return home. If this was the only way then what choice did she have? She just wished this would all be over and done with so she could be with Darien and-Wait, where was Darien? This thought brought her back and she halted his movement as she stood her ground. "Wait a minute, you said Darien would be here too, where is he?" She asked as she spun her head around to meet his eyes.

Nakago cursed her inquisitive nature and tried to think up a convincing ruse. "Well, what I said was that your Darien would meet us here didn't I? I only have one device on hand so I can only return you one at a time. There's no sense in getting worked up when my hands are tied, right my dear?" This would have to do, he didn't have any other way to convince her to calm down and get in the device willingly.

Serena took in this new piece of information and mulled it over in her mind. Well, what could she do if they could only be sent home one at a time? She wasn't at all fond of the idea but she was left with little alternative. If the girls were here with her they could all transform and perform the Sailor Teleport together and get out in one sweep-Oh god, the girls! They have no idea that she and Darien are missing. She had no idea how long she had been here, how could she have not had any concept of time? They must be worried sick about her by now. Oh man, this wasn't good. She needed to cooperate quickly and get home as soon as possible but she was still worried about Darien. "You're sure Darien is going to meet us here?" She asked desperately.

A smile formed on his lips as he realized she was practically in the palm of his hands. "But of course, it must be taking my son a while to get him to rouse from his ordeal. These procedures do happen to take a considerable amount of energy so your Darien must be exhausted. Do not fret, he will walk through those doors shortly and you will be able to see him before I am ready to transport you home." The lie was simple enough, he just needed her to sit in the device.

Serena took one last look at the daunting chair-like device and closed her eyes. She took a very deep breath and steeled herself for what she knew she had to do. "Okay, I can do this..." She whispered to herself. She opened her eyes and with a comforting thought of Darien coming to see her she strode towards the device of her own volition and gingerly sat down.

Nakago nearly leaped for joy as he quickly strode over to the control panel and began to push buttons and pull levers. As soon as her arms came to rest on the pads he activated to containment protocol. As she looked around somewhat nervously she was suddenly restrained as two metal clamps emerged and snuggly enveloped her tiny wrists. Then before she could blink another two metal clamps encircled her ankles effectively rendering her immobile. She was startled to say in the least and she let out a yelp of surprise. "Hey, what's going on!?" She asked frantically as she pulled at the restraints with no hope of escape.

Nakago chuckled softly and turned a dial triggering the device wheeled around so he could her eyes and drink in her frightened expression. "Do forgive me, but I can't just let you leave this place. You see my son truly does care for you and I'm not about to let his ideal bride walk away with another man. Your Darien will be sent home and you will have no other suitors but my son. Don't worry, this device will help ease your tension and make my son just that much more appealing in your eyes." He pushed another set of buttons and the metal bowl slid down and fixed itself to the top of Serena's head. "Do try to remain still, this could be painful if you resist." With that last word, he moved his hand to a much larger button and pressed down.

In the spilt second before the button was pushed, Serena clenched her eyes shut and shed a single tear. Oh Darien, I'm so sorry... As the last thought resounded in her mind a great wave of electrical currents transferred from the head piece and entered through her temples causing a splitting pain to course through her mind and body. She grunted with the effort it took to brace herself from the rising pain. Small pinpricks of light flashed before her eyes and her body seemed to be on fire with surging energy being forced through her nerves. She clenched her fists tight and gritted her teeth against the ongoing onslaught. She tugged and pulled at her restraints, desperate to escape the all-consuming pain.

Nakago looked on with a sense of wonderment, this young thing was stronger than he had originally gave her credit for. Any other being would have screamed out or at least lost consciousness, but not this girl. Her will was strong and her body capable of handling high threshold of pain. "Hmmm, so there are some traits of strength in you...let's see how you do against a higher voltage, my dear." He turned a dial three clicks to the right and watched the current intensify.

Serena felt the rise in power and was almost overcome with the urge to cry out. She held back with all her might trying to concentrate on one thing, finding Darien and getting out of this place. Her entire body shuddered with agony and she whimpered softly trying to stop the energy from penetrating her mind. Her defensed were waning and her barriers being torn down. This was no ordinary electric surge, it seemed to have a will of its own. Trying to delve into the deepest recesses of her mind, trying to get to the core of her being. She tried desperately to picture Darien in her mind's eye but the vision of his face began to fizzle and become distorted. The image began to change and some features seemed to belong to another man. It somewhat resembled the image of Kyo's visage that she had seen slumped in a chair long before this happened. Black hair that was slightly different than Darien's took shape, dark blue eyes became a stunning green, his angular jaw smoothed out in some areas and she fought to change them back. The two images seemed to be super imposed upon each other and flickered back and forth.

Nakago watched with growing admiration. This girl was more than just a mere mortal, and it seemed unreal that he would encounter such a strong being in his lifetime. His smile widened, and his eyes lit up with excitement. "You are truly an ideal bride for my son and ideal to become the mother of my grandchildren!" His hand moved to dial and turned it four clicks to the right and watched with amazement as the power surged and gave off a bright glow in the room with the immense energy being put forth.

The pressure was so intense that Serena feared her eyes would be pushed right out of their sockets and her very veins seemed to crackle with liquid fire. She threw her head back and screamed for all she was worth. "DARIEN!" She screamed until her lungs burned with the effort and her voice began to take on a slight hoarseness.

Caught in the sight of such suffering, Nakago almost didn't notice the loud banging coming from the door adjacent to his position. Who in the world could have located this room without his help? Even his own son was ignorant of the location of this private chamber. Better yet, it meant someone or something had managed to get to this seemingly undiscovered planet without his knowledge. He began to slowly step back as the banging intensified and he was not ready to face what lay behind such a sturdy barricade as it seemed to giving way to the onslaught behind it. He inched towards a secret door in the wall behind the screaming girl and opened it just before the door began to splinter and shatter under the force of an unknown assailant. He cursed under his breath as he realized he would not be able to complete the procedure on Serena and that he was unable to take her with him. He saw the light from the hall flood in and several silhouetted bodies rush in just as he closed the door and made his escape.


Ok, there's another chapter down, man I'm on a roll! But it might take a while to get another chapter up soon. Please review and leave me some feedback. Things are getting intense and I need to know you're gonna stick with me on this one. Thanks.