A/N Hey guys! You know, I really shouldn't be messing around with this story right now, I've got a killer paper due in my Lit class. But I needed to get my mind off things for a while, and this is more fun anyway. I don't have a lot to say, but I want to thank everyone for their amazing reviews on the last chapter. You guys are the best! Okay, time for hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

Atem's Sister Atea

celestialwitch

SerentiyMoonGodness

Uhamilton

TatianaRomanov

missmyrtlemay

snoopykid

moonkisss

chimichurri

ange de l'aube

invaderzimbabe92

WildFire203

alrightscooby

luna345

x (dot) deyaws (dot) x -sorry, for some reason it kept erasing your name. I didn't want you to think I forgot about you.

S dot Serenity

MaximumRideTwilightLover

Lilitu the Exile of Eden

Thanks for everything you guys. You are definitely the heart that keeps me inspired to write. So anyway, here's Chapter 12.

ENJOY!

What If : A Sailor Moon R Twist

Chapter 12

And the Fireworks Begin

Lita consolingly patted the shoulder of the blonde girl next to her. "Come on, it's not the end of the world."

The golden head rose up from where it had been resting on the table to reveal eyes that were twin pools of blue, hopeless despair. They began to glitter with unshed tears as she looked over toward the long counter of the arcade and the sight of the teenage boy that was sitting on one of the stools with a girl snuggled up comfortably on his lap.

She let out a shaky sigh. "Don't you get it, Lita?" she moaned. "That could have been me. I could have been the one sitting there with him laughing and sharing a milkshake. But I waited too long and I missed my chance."

"Oh for crying out loud, snap out of it." Raye grouched from her seat across from the emotionally distraught blonde. "It's not like he's the only guy out there. There's plenty more where he came from."

"But I thought he was the one." she whispered. "I thought for sure that I had found my own knight in shining armor. Amy, you understand, don't you?"

The studious, blue haired girl lowered the book that was in front of her face to look at her friend. "Oh no, I'm not getting in the middle of this."

"Amy!" the girl wailed. "You're the smart one around here. Aren't you supposed to have some words of wisdom for me? This just isn't fair!" Her head fell back down to the table with a resounding thump, leaving the other three girls to look at each other with bewildered expressions.

"Hey" Lita tried again. "How could you have known that his ex girlfriend was going to move back here? I thought you guys might have a shot too, but you have to move on. Maybe we can go to the mall later and scope out our prospects."

The head came back up again, a glare on her usually angelic looking face. "I hate Rita. I hate her, I hate her, I hate her. And I hate Andrew too."

"Mina" the rest of them gasped. "You don't mean that."

"Andrew's one of our closest friends." Raye reminded her. "You can't hate him just because he's with someone else."

Amy nodded emphatically. "And Rita has never been anything but nice to us. You can't hold the fact that they love each other against either of them."

Mina blew out a sigh. "You're right. But I still can't believe I missed my chance. Andrew and I would have been good together. I should have made my move sooner."

"Well now you know that the next time you find a guy you like you better jump on it right away and not beat around the bush." Lita told her.

"That's what I'm going to do." Mina said, grabbing her milkshake and taking a long sip from it. "The goddess of love will not let this get her down. Those guys at the mall better watch out, because I'm going hunting. It's not fair for Serena to be the only one in our group to have a great guy. We should all do some serious boyfriend shopping."

Raye let out a low whistle under her breath. "Maybe we won't have to go to the mall after all. Mother of all that is holy, take a look at what just walked in the door, girls."

Mina and Lita's heads spun around, and even Amy peeked around them cautiously, trying to appear like she wasn't really interested. But she found herself as captivated as the rest of them as they looked at the four guys that had just entered the arcade.

Three of them were blonde, while the other was a brunette. They looked around as if the were looking for someone. All fours girls let out startled squeaks as the eyes of the insanely delicious looking hotties landed on them. They quickly slumped down in the booth to avoid detection.

"Great thundering Jupiter, did you get a load of that?" Lita muttered.

Mina was almost shaking. "Holy Aphrodite! Somebody pinch me so I know this isn't a dream."

Raye was fanning herself. "Man, the sacred fire doesn't even make me this hot."

Amy ducked back behind her book, blushing furiously.

"I don't ever remember seeing them in here before. Who do you think they are?" Lita hissed.

Mina had a dreamy look on her face. "I don't know, but damn, talk about walking gods. Raye, Amy, you can see them better than us. What are they doing?"

Raye poked her head up a little. "They're just standing there talking."

Amy's bright blue eyes peeked over the top of her book, and then widened. "I know those uniforms. They must go to the Bradford Academy."

Mina's eyes lit up. "You mean that fancy prep school that all the rich kids go to?"

Lita rubbed her hands together. "Hot damn! Good looking and loaded too? I gotta get me some of that."

Amy let out a strangled sounding squeal. "They're heading this way."

Lita began fluffing her ponytail while Mina quickly pulled out a compact mirror to apply a fresh layer of lip-gloss. Raye fidgeted, straightening the bow on the front of her uniform. Amy's fingers were clenched tightly around the edges of her book and mutters of "Sweet goddess, save us all" could be heard.

Although it seemed like an impossible feat, by the time the four guys had sat down in the booth across from them all four girls were sitting calm and composed, looking as cool as cucumbers. They struck up a quiet, meaningless conversation about school while sneaking covert glances at the guys across the aisle.

Lizzy, Andrew's younger sister, walked over to see if the newcomers wanted anything. They all ordered a soda, and each of the girls felt their hearts flutter at the sound of the smooth voices. Lizzy turned and saw her friends eying the hunks and gave them a thumbs up, mouthing the word 'HOT' to them.

They grinned at her and then turned their attention away from the table before they were busted openly ogling. They tried to focus on keeping their attention on their flailing conversation, but were shocked a moment later when one of the guys leaned across the aisle and spoke to them.

"Excuse me, ladies, but do you come here often?"

They all jumped at the sound of his voice. He was closest to Mina, and she looked up suddenly, only to be struck speechless.

He was very muscularly built with large, broad shoulders. His hair was so light platinum blonde that it almost appeared to be white. He wore it a little longer than what most guys did, and it hung down into his eyes. And what eyes, they were the thing that mesmerized her the most. They were a stunning silvery gray that seemed to see right into her very soul.

Her mouth opened and closed several times, but she was unable to get her voice to work. Raye finally took pity on her and leaned across the table to speak to him in her usual forward way.

"Yes, we are here pretty much every day. I'm Raye. The gaping fish here is Mina. The amazon next to her is Lita. And the bookworm over here is Amy." she informed him boldly.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." he said with a smile. "My name is Kyle. The big lug next to me is Nick. The one across from me that looks like he's permanently pissed off about something is Jake. The quiet one in the corner is Zack."

These introductions brought a round of protests from the rest of the guys.

"Screw you, Kyle!" Jake snapped. "You'd be pissed too if you walked out to find that somebody had keyed your car. If I ever find out who did it, I'll kill them."

"Big lug, my ass!" Nick said in an offended tone. "We're almost the same size, genius."

Zack just sighed and rolled his eyes, the look on his face clearly stating his reluctance to get drawn into the squabble.

The girls sat in silence for a moment, listening to the guys bicker among themselves until the hilarity of the scene hit them. Then they broke out into peals of laughter. The guys stopped yelling at each other and turned surprised eyes on them.

Mina was wiping tears from her eyes while Lita was pounding on the table as she laughed. Raye was doubled over, clutching her stomach, and Amy had given up trying to hide behind her book, choosing instead to smother her laughter with her hand.

"Uh, excuse us. Did we miss something?" Nick asked, perplexed.

"Yeah. What's so funny?" Jake demanded.

Lita composed herself first. "We're sorry. We've just never seen any group other than ourselves get into it like that."

Raye snorted. "That's only when Serena's around. Where is that ditzy meatball head anyway? She should have been here by now."

Amy spoke up for the first time. "Now be fair Raye. You know that she had to go pick Rini up from school and take her home first. I'm sure she'll be here as quick as she can."

Lizzy came up then and gave the guys their sodas. After she left, it seemed that the ice had been broken. The girls and guys unconsciously paired off and started conversations with each other. Mina with Kyle, Lita with Nick, Raye with Jake, and Amy with Zack.

The girls soon found themselves completely enraptured by them and forgot all about Serena and Darien for the time being.


"Mmm…Darien." the petite blonde moaned. "We should really stop. We're supposed to meet the girls at the arcade, remember?"

"Mm hm…" the ebony haired prince murmured as he continued to kiss his girlfriend's swan like neck. He worked his way up to her jaw and moved toward her lips. "Just one more kiss. Please." he whispered in a husky tone.

Serena let out a shuddering breath. "You don't play fair."

He grinned evilly at her. "I know." Then he swooped in and covered her lips with his.

They had parted from their friends after school and had gone to pick Rini up. After seeing her safely to the Tsukino's house and leaving her under the watchful eye of Luna and Artemis, they had left out to meet their friends.

Fate had frowned on them however. Thanks to a sudden thunderstorm that had popped up earlier, there were several puddles of water standing in the streets. As they had stood at a corner waiting for the light so they could cross, a car had come by and hit one of the puddles. Water had showered up and come right for them. Darien had acted on instinct, shielding Serena's body with his own. The end result was Serena being bone dry and Darien a dripping mess.

They had decided to make a detour to his apartment so he could change. It was near the arcade anyway, so it wasn't really out of the way. Darien had left Serena in the living room while he hurried to his bedroom to change. When he had come back, she was gone.

A sound from his kitchen had pulled him in that direction. When he walked in, he was presented with a view that set his hormones right into the stratosphere. There was Serena, bent over as she studied the contents of his refrigerator. Her softly rounded, blue-skirted clad derriere was impossible to miss.

"Ah ha" Serena muttered as she stood and pulled something from the refrigerator. "I knew he had to have something to drink in here besides plain old water."

Darien had watched all of this in amusement. "So, you found my hidden stash, huh?"

She whirled around, eyes wide, clutching the can of Mountain Dew close to her chest. "Oh, uh, I got thirsty."

He chuckled as he walked over to her. "Go ahead. I have plenty. I always keep a couple of cases stashed away in the pantry. I have to admit, they are one of my weaknesses."

Serena giggled at that. "So the dashing Tuxedo Mask admits that he has a weakness? Who knew?" She popped the top on the can and took several long swigs of it.

Darien almost groaned as he watched her throat move as she swallowed. He had been trying his best to take things slow like she wanted to. But she was so innocently tempting that it made it almost impossible to be around her without thinking about wanting to kiss her senseless.

Trying not to notice the moisture that clung to her lips, he moved his attention back to their conversation. "Yes, even I have weaknesses. And right now I'm looking at the biggest one of all."

A look of confusion crossed her face. "This soda?" she asked, holding up the can.

He reached out and took the can from her hand and set it on the counter before pulling her into his arms. "Not the soda, silly. You are my biggest weakness."

"Oh" she murmured, a faint blush staining her cheeks a rosy pink.

He leaned his forehead against hers. "I'm trying so hard to do things the way you want to. But it seems like every time I turn around you're there, tempting me."

"Darien" she whispered, meeting his sapphire eyes with her cerulean ones. "Kiss me."

That was all the encouragement he needed. His head dove down and fixed his lips on hers like a starving man. He felt her arms go around his neck and pull him closer as she moaned softly into the kiss.

So that was how they had ended up in their present predicament. What had started out as a request for a kiss had turned into a full-blown make out session with her pressed up against his refrigerator.

They had to come up for air eventually, and when they did they pulled apart slowly. They gazed into each other's eyes for several long moments as they panted for breath. That is until Serena let her eyes stray to the clock on the microwave.

She let out a startled shriek. "Oh man! I'm so late. Raye's going to barbeque my ass, I just know it."

She pulled Darien from the kitchen and began ushering him to put his shoes on. All the while she kept muttering an ongoing tirade under her breath. "I am so dead. I told them to meet us there. I hope none of them were stupid enough to let anything slip out yet. If they did, the arcade might not even be standing by the time we get there. I never should have set this up in such a public place. Stupid, stupid, stupid Serena."

Darien took her by the shoulders. "Hey. What's got you so worked up all of a sudden? So we're running a little behind. It's not that big of a deal."

She looked at him in exasperation. "Trust me, it's a bigger deal than you think. But you'll find out soon enough."

He had no choice but to hurry after his princess as she physically drug him from his apartment.


"Oh no, you did not just try to run me off the road!" Mina exclaimed as she jerked the steering wheel to the left to correct her course. "That's dirty racing!"

Kyle grinned at her from the seat next to her in front of the racing game. "It's not dirty at all. It's survival of the fittest, sweetheart. You have to learn to roll with the punches."

"Oh yeah, well let's see how you like this." she slammed her gearshift into third and sent her car flying past his. "Ha ha, eat my dust."

Amy and Zack shook their heads at the competitive couple from their spot next to the crane machine. Amy held a couple of plush dolls in her arms that she had shyly accepted from Zack after he had won them. He had studied the position of the prizes inside the machine for several minutes before deciding which ones were most likely to be picked up by the crane.

Amy was impressed by his analytical way of thinking. She also liked the way he was a little shy and soft spoken just like her. She also thought he was very cute. He had wavy wheat colored hair that he wore kind of long and intelligent looking green eyes that made her feel at ease.

"Damn it, stay down." Raye growled at Jake as she pounded on the controls of one of the fighting games. "Ah ha. I've got you now. You can't beat a flame thrower." She beat his character and turned a smug look on her companion.

Jake glared at her for a moment before his expression softened and he smiled at her. Her breath caught in her throat at the change. His cobalt blue eyes seemed to laugh and complimented his golden blonde, casually messy hair.

Nearby, Lita was glaring at the numbers on a digital display. After talking a while with Nick, they had discovered that they both liked martial arts. Lita had challenged many other guys to try to beat her at the punching bag game several times, but none had ever beaten her until now.

Nick looked at her in sympathy. "Don't take it too hard. You pack quite a punch."

"If you say for a girl I'll knock your teeth down your throat." she ground out between clenched teeth.

He held his hands up in surrender. "I wasn't going to say that, honest. You hit harder than most of the guys I know. You're a strong person."

Lita read the sincerity in his slate blue eyes and decided to lighten up. She couldn't help but admire his strength. And he looked roguishly handsome with his mahogany hair shining under the lights.

Each couple was off in their own little world, so it came as a shock when they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and a female voice asked, "Are we interrupting something?"

They all turned to find Serena and Darien standing nearby, watching them. The girls all jumped to attention at once. Meanwhile the guys all stared in shock at Darien. They seemed to be on the verge of saluting the former prince, but Serena warned them not to with a quick shake of her head.

"Where have you been, meatball head?" Raye demanded. "Do you have any idea how late you are? We've been waiting here forever."

Serena sighed and held back the sharp retort that she longed to fling at the fiery priestess. She needed to try to keep things calm if she wanted things to go as smoothly as possible.

Darien stepped up instead. "Lay off, Raye. I had a little mishap with a rain puddle and had to run by my place first. Don't blame Serena." That seemed to mollify the dark haired girl.

Serena, on the other hand, turned a stern look on the four guys. "I can't believe you four. I know I told you to meet us here, but did you have to move in so quickly? You could have at least waited for me to get here."

Mina gasped. "You know them already?"

Serena shifted her weight uneasily. "Not really. Well, maybe a little. It's more complicated than that."

Lita growled. "Were you trying to set us up?"

"No, that's not it." Serena was quick to reassure them. "Look, it's complicated and this really isn't the place to discuss it. Let's go outside and I'll tell you everything."

There were grumbles heard, but everyone followed her out the back door of the arcade and into the alley. The door had barely closed behind them when the questions started flying.

"What the hell is going on, Serena?" Mina demanded. "Were you trying to set us up with these guys?"

Serena let out a pent up breath and turned to face everyone. The girls and Darien were standing together, looking at her with guarded expressions while the other four guys had gravitated toward her and were standing close by. She opened her mouth to try to explain, but was cut off by Kyle stepping in front of her.

"Nobody's been set up here." he said smoothly. "Is there something wrong with a group of guys getting to know a group of girls?"

Mina shot him a death glare. "I don't think I was asking you. I was talking to Serena. Thank you very much."

He returned her glare with one of his own. "And I'm trying to keep her from being blamed for something she didn't do."

""We just heard her say that she asked you four to meet us here. What are we supposed to think?" Mina threw back.

"Well if you would shut up for a minute, she might be able to explain." he growled.

Mina squealed in outrage. "Did you just tell me to shut up? Why you obnoxious…"

Serena had heard enough. The petty arguing was getting on her nerves and giving her a headache. She broke into the middle of their squabbling. "For the love of Selene, Venus, be quiet, please. And you Kunzite, I thought Jadeite would be the one to give me trouble, not you."

Absolute silence descended on them after her outburst. Even the sounds of the city faded away, leaving everyone to gape in silent shock. The scouts studied the reincarnated earth generals, looking past the few changes from their former appearances to see who they really were.

Darien was the first to recover, and he stalked over to grab Serena and thrust her behind him protectively. He glared darkly at Kyle. "What the hell are you guys doing here?"

Kyle sighed and gestured to Serena, who was peeking around Darien. "You better ask the princess that. She's the one that did it."

"Serena, how could you?" the scouts all exclaimed together.

Darien turned his head to pin her with disbelieving eyes. "He's lying, right? I know there's no way that you would have done this."

She took one look into his sapphire depths and saw the hurt and anger there. She wished that she could deny it, but she couldn't. She whispered softly, "Yes, I did it. I released them. But I had my reasons."

"What reason could you possibly have for bringing this down on us?" Darien snapped. "Did you think we didn't have enough going on at the moment?"

She looked at him pleadingly. "Please Darien, just listen to me for a moment. They were your best friends. And…"

He cut her off. "Yeah, 'were' being the operative word here. I don't see how you did it. The last time I checked, they were all locked away in stones and I kept the box they were in up in the top of my closet."

Serena was trying desperately to stay calm so that she could try to explain. But Darien cutting her off and the accusatory tone of his voice made her temper rise to the surface.

"Well, I didn't steal them if that's what you're insinuating." she responded, anger flushing her cheeks and making her eyes bright. "You're not even listening to me. I thought we could use the help."

"Help!" Raye screeched. "You thought we needed help so you turn to them? This has got to be the dumbest thing you've done yet, meatball brains."

Jake stepped forward, blue flames snapping in his eyes. "Stuff it, Pyro. She hasn't done anything wrong. She saved us from eternal imprisonment when she let us out of those rocks."

Lita growled. "You guys wouldn't have been in there in the first place if you weren't such assholes." Her eyes landed on Nick and she scowled. "I, for one, have no intention of dying again because of these bastards."

Nick looked genuinely confused at her words. "What do you mean, 'dying again'?"

Kyle looked just as stupefied. "Yeah, I don't get it. What in the world are you talking about?"

Mina stalked up to him and poked him in the chest. "Don't try to play innocent with us. I find it amazing that you can even stand here and look us in the eyes after all you've done."

"Venus" Kyle murmured and laid his hands on her shoulders. "I don't understand what you're saying."

Mina pulled back from him sharply, her eyes wide and pain filled. "Don't touch me! Don't you ever touch me again you son of a bitch!"

Amy stood back quietly, watching the scene play out. Zack managed to catch her gaze with his pleading green eyes. He looked like he was going to step toward her, but stopped when she shook her head sadly and took a step back. Her large blue eyes filling with tears.

"I've heard enough of this shit." Lita snarled and pulled out her henshin rod. "I say we go ahead and kick their asses now so we don't regret not doing it later."

The other three girls next to her nodded their agreement and pulled out their henshin rods as well. They held them up and were about to call out their transformations when there was a flash of white light. The rods flew from their hands.

Everyone turned to find Princess Serenity standing where Serena had been a moment before. Her long white dress rippled in the breeze and her moon insignia glowed brightly on her forehead. In her hands she held the four henshin rods.

She looked at them sadly. "Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, I can't allow you to harm the generals. I awakened their past selves because I believe that we need all the help we can get to defeat this new enemy. These are their true selves, not the brainwashed puppets we fought against before."

"How do we know?" Raye demanded. "How do we know that this isn't a trick by the enemy to take us down from the inside?"

Serenity turned cool blue eyes on her. "Are you questioning my motives, Mars?"

Raye looked like she was going to retaliate for a moment. She opened her mouth, and then snapped it shut with a shake of her head.

"But how do we know we can trust them?" Lita ground out.

Mina nodded next to her. "Exactly. It's kind of hard to do considering everything they've done to us."

Serenity shook her head. "Didn't you hear what I said? These are not the same guys that fought for the Dark Kingdom. They are Endymion's generals, the way they were before Beryl turned them against us. They were our friends."

Darien stepped up to face her. "It's a lot to take in, Serenity. It's hard to trust them, especially those two." He leveled a cold look on Kyle and Zack, making them take a step back. "Did you forget that because of them I was kidnapped, brainwashed, and made to fight against you? For crying out loud, I almost killed you because of them."

"Ohhh" she fumed and stomped her foot. "You're not getting it either, you big dumb jerk. I thought that out of everyone you might be the one to understand and support me on this. But you're just as stubborn as the rest of them. I give up."

She waved her hand and the henshin rods floated back over to their rightful owners. "Go ahead and fight it out if you want to. Kill each other if it makes you feel better. If any of you are still standing after it's over and feel like helping me against this new enemy, come and find me. But for now I'm going home."

She turned and stalked down the alley. In another flash of light, she changed back into Serena. They all watched in shocked silence as she disappeared around the corner.

The four guys looked at each other in understanding before turning and walking away as well.

"Just where the hell do you think you're going?" Mina hollered at them.

They all paused and looked back at the still enraged and confused scouts and their prince.

"We're going to find her and see what we can do to help." Nick told them.

Darien took a menacing step toward them. "And what gives you the right to go after her?"

Kyle shook his head. "Endymion, we are your generals, and we are loyal to you. But we have also pledged our allegiance to Serenity as well. She has given us a new lease on life, and we are forever grateful to her for that. She asked for our help, and we're going to give it to her."

With that, the four earth generals stalked out of the alley, leaving behind a shell-shocked group of people.

"Great Selene, what are we going to do?" Mina whispered.

"I don't know, Mina." Darien muttered. "I honestly don't know."


Serena sank to the ground under the tree in her front yard, panting for breath as tears flowed down her cheeks. She had managed to hold it together until she was out of everyone's sight before breaking down, Then the tears had come, blinding her vision as she ran all the way home.

She had known that today's confrontation would be hard. She had even expected the anger and disbelief. But she had never thought in a million years that Darien and her friends would just cut her off and not even listen to what she had to say.

Had she truly done the right thing by awakening the generals? She felt bad for them now. Maybe they would have been better off staying blissfully unaware inside those stones. She had thought she was doing something good, but now she felt hopeless.

She bent her legs up in front of her and wrapped her arms around them before burying her face in her knees. The tears kept coming and were now accompanied by racking sobs. It was tearing her apart to think that the people closest to her were mad at her.

She didn't hear the footsteps approaching her. But when an arm wrapped around her she couldn't help but lean against the comforting warmth beside her. She continued to cry for a few more minutes until the well finally ran dry. Then she pulled back with a sniffle to look into sparkling blue eyes.

She flung her arms around him and moaned, "What am I going to do, Jed? They probably all hate me now."

Jake held her close and rubbed her back soothingly. "Shh Serenity. I'm sure they don't hate you. Nobody ever could. It's just going to take them some time to adjust. It was a major shock for them."

She sat back and looked at the others. Kyle was knelt down next to on her other side while Nick and Zack stood in front of her. They all looked at her with concern in their eyes. She had been closest to Jadeite and Kunzite during the Silver Millennium, but she had shared a deep affection with all of the generals, and they had treated her like a little sister.

"We need to talk, Serenity." Kyle said gravely. "From the way Endymion and the scouts reacted to our presence, I have a feeling that a lot has happened that we don't know about."

Serena nodded. "You're right, a lot has happened. Let's take a walk over to the park and talk there. My dad's due home soon, and if he catches you four out here with me he'll kill you before you've even had a chance to start living again."

Nick chuckled. "Protective is he?"

She rolled her eyes. "You have no idea. My mom's been helping me cover up the fact that I'm seeing Darien. He would probably have a stroke if he knew. And don't go around calling me Serenity. I'm Serena in this time."

The guys all laughed and shared their names with her as she got to her feet and began leading them toward the park. After finding a nice secluded spot where they wouldn't be interrupted, they all sat down for a long chat.

Serena wasn't sure how to begin her tale so she asked, "How much do you remember from the Silver Millennium?"

Kyle, taking on his role as leader, spoke for them all. "Quite a bit actually. We definitely remember Endymion, you, and the scouts with perfect clarity. That's why we are confused. We were all so close before. What happened to change that? I thought Venus would come running into my arms when she realized who I was, not freeze me out the way she did."

Serena sighed. "It's hard to explain, and I'm not sure where to start. What's the last thing you remember?"

"The day of the ball to announce your engagement to Endymion." Kyle told her. "Some of Beryl's little rebels had been stirring up trouble in a nearby village. We went to check it out. It wasn't far, and we thought we had time ride out and return before joining the rest of you on the moon."

Jake let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, that's what we thought until we got ambushed by that red headed bitch and her little lackeys. I still can't believe they got the jump on us."

Nick shook his head. "We were all wounded and brought before Beryl. She asked us to join her, and we pretty much told her to kiss our asses."

Zack hung his head. "The last thing I remember is lying there as she shot us with some kind of dark power. After that it was like I was locked up in a dark place for a long time until you set us free."

"Same here." Jake said with a shudder. "It would definitely suck for someone that was claustrophobic."

Serena looked at them sadly. "It looks like I've got a lot to cover then."

She told them the whole story. She told them about the fall of the moon kingdom and the part that they had played in it and the deaths of the scouts. She haltingly spoke of Endymion's murder and her following suicide. She then moved on to tell them about how they had all been reincarnated and how she had reunited with her scouts and her prince to fight against the dark kingdom once more. She explained their search for the rainbow crystals and finding the Silver Crystal.

She teared up a little when she talked about Darien's abduction and brainwashing and how they had been forced to fight against each other. She broke down even more when she spoke of the day of the final battle and how the scouts had fallen one by one and then how her prince had sacrificed himself for her yet again.

Then her voice hardened as she told them about her final showdown with Beryl and how she had finally defeated the dark witch and Metallia with the help of her friend's energy and the power of the Silver Crystal.

All was silent as she finished her story and the reincarnated generals took time to process everything that she had told them. She knew it was a lot to lay on them, but they deserved the truth.

"We…I…killed Venus." Kyle finally broke the silence. He was visibly shaking. "That's not possible. I loved her."

The others looked just as horrified as he did at the revelations they had just heard. The thought that they had not only killed the women that they had loved, but had turned against their prince and his betrothed pierced them to their very souls.

Jake shook his head defiantly. "He's right. There's no way I would have harmed a hair on Mars's head. And furthermore, we've all been living right here in Azabu all of our lives. And I can promise you that we haven't been running around attacking people."

"I know you haven't." Serena reassured them quickly. "I think Beryl killed you and locked away your souls when you refused to join her. Then she used her dark power to reanimate your bodies to serve her. When my mother used to the crystal to send us to the future, she sent your true selves as well. You were given a second chance the same as the rest of us."

"A chance that may be wasted if we can't find a way to prove to the girls and the prince that we are on their side." Nick muttered morosely as he remembered the look of disgust he had seen on Jupiter's face earlier.

"There has to be a way." Zack insisted. 'There must be some way to show them that we are all on the same team."

"There is." Kyle said. "I believe we can prove our loyalty by helping out against this new enemy. So princess, fill us in on what were going up against."

Serena smiled her gratitude at them and filled them in on what little they knew about the latest threat. By the time she finished, the sun was hanging very low in the sky. She bid them all a hurried goodbye, but not before she handed each of them a small calculator sized object.

Just the day before, Luna and Artemis had presented the scouts and Tuxedo Mask with new communicators that doubled as wristwatches. Serena had swiped the old communicators early that morning to give to the guys. They didn't run on the same frequency as the new ones, but she had held on to her old one so she could keep in contact with the generals.

She gave each of them the communicator that corresponded with the scout that they were closest to and promised to call them at the first sign of anything wrong. Then she hurried home so that she would be in time for dinner.


"Ahhh" Venus screamed as she was flung up against a tree by the monster. Her back hit it hard and she felt the rough bark tear into her skin through the material of her fuku. She hit the ground hard and lay there for a moment stunned.

She heard the moans and grunts from her fellow scouts as they struggled against the monsters that had managed to ensnare them in their traps. This attack had been launched by five creatures that looked like mutated women, and the scouts were finding out quick that these foes were definitely different from the youma they had faced in the past.

Jupiter was currently tied up by one that had long vines for arms while Mercury was held prisoner by one that could stretch her body like rubber. Mars was locked in a deadly embrace by one that had eight arms like a spider.

Tuxedo Mask was fighting against one that had tentacles like an octopus, which left Venus facing the one that she was calling Medusa in her head. The strange creature had hair that was made out of writhing snakes, which she had been using to try to subdue the blonde scout.

"Well, well, blondie." the monster cackled as it began to advance on the fallen scout. "You thought you could take me on, but I've got you now."

The droid whipped her head around and sent the snakes flying in her direction. Exhausted and in pain, Venus didn't feel that she had the energy to even move. There was a flash of red, and then she felt someone pick her up gently before leaping into a nearby tree.

"You okay, Venus?" Tuxedo Mask asked in concern as he set her on her feet.

She swayed for a moment, trying to regain her balance and doing her best to ignore the tearing pain in her back.

She gritted her teeth. "Yeah. These bitches are a tough group. I hope Serena gets here soon. We could sure use her help."

Tuxedo Mask closed his eyes for a moment as he felt out with the bond that he shared with his love. He felt her anxiety as she hurried toward them. "She'll be here soon. It's almost like these monsters knew where to launch an attack that was far enough away from Serena's house to ensure that she would be the last one to arrive."

Venus nodded her head. "I know. I thought we could hold them off until she got here, but this is getting out of hand."

Suddenly the branch beneath them gave a shudder and then broke as it was hit by a blast of energy, sending them both plummeting to the ground. Before they could recover, they found themselves caught in the clutches of the last two monsters.

"Shit" Tuxedo Mask cursed as he struggled against the bonds of the tentacles that were wrapped securely around his body.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be." A voice chuckled as a man with dark blue hair appeared in front of them. "I thought it would be harder to capture Princess Serenity's loyal protectors, but you practically fell right into my hands."

"What do you want from us?" Tuxedo Mask demanded.

The man looked bored. "Nothing much. I just needed a little insurance to secure Serenity's cooperation. I thought of going after her family and that little pink haired brat, but this seemed a little more personal."

"And what do you want with our princess?" Jupiter sneered as she squirmed against the confining vines.

The man's eyes went cold. "I, for one, want nothing to do with the murdering bitch. I just want the Silver Crystal from her. My brother, on the other hand, has some special plans for her."

"You'll never get her." Mars growled. "It will be over our dead bodies first."

"That can be arranged easily enough." the man said with unholy glee.

Shrieks were heard all around as the bonds tightened around the heroes, making it feel like the life was slowly being squeezed from them.

The entire area was suddenly lit up with a rainbow of light as beams of orange, red, green, and blue energy flew through the night, cutting the scouts free of their imprisonment and destroying the monsters that held them.

Tuxedo Mask watched in amazement as a glowing gold disc cut him free of the tentacles and the monster behind him exploded into dust. The disc flew back toward the shadows of the tree line and disappeared.

"What the hell?" the man exclaimed. His eyes widened along with everyone else's as five figures stepped out of the darkness where they could be seen.

Sailor Moon stood in all of her petite glory in the middle, flanked by four much taller and broader men. Each man wore a soft, dove gray uniform with sweeping capes. The only difference in the uniforms was the lining of the capes and the embroidery around the collars and cuffs, as well as the buttons down the front.

The platinum haired man was wearing bright orange, the brunette deep green. The golden haired one was in fiery red, and the last blonde was in icy blue.

"Well, well, Princess Serenity. So nice of you to join us." the blue haired man drawled. "I've been waiting for you. And I see you brought more friends along to join the party."

"Go to hell, Sebastian, or whatever your real name is." Sailor Moon spat. "I don't appreciate being pulled out of bed in the middle of the night only to find you and your psycho monsters terrorizing my friends. What do you want?"

"Ohh, someone's cranky when she doesn't get her full eight hour's sleep, isn't she?" he said with a smirk. "I guess it's not a secret anymore. I am Sapphire, younger brother of Prince Diamond, the ruler of the dark moon, Nemesis. And you know full well what we're after. My brother made that perfectly clear during the last conversation you had with him."

Sailor Moon's lips turned up in a feral grin. "You mean when I sent him falling to the ground squealing like a little girl? Yes, I remember that little chat well.

Sapphire's eyes narrowed on her. "You vicious little bitch! I don't see why my brother cares so much about you. You are nothing but a bloodthirsty murderer. You're not even fit for Diamond to wipe his boots on."

By this time, the scouts and Tuxedo Mask had regained their feet and had walked over to join Sailor Moon and the generals. Sailor Moon slipped her hand into Tuxedo Mask's as he came to stand next to her.

"Are you okay?" she whispered to him.

He gave her hand a squeeze. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks to you. Another minute and that squid lady would have crushed me."

"What are they doing here?" Mars hissed, warily eying the generals along with the other scouts. "We don't need them here."

"Can it, Pyro." Sailor Moon rebuked her. "They are here at my request as backup. And if I'm not mistaken, they just saved your lives. So I don't want to hear a word out of any of you."

Clearly still put out, but deciding to drop the subject for now, the scouts turned their attention back to the immediate threat.

Sapphire eyed them all with disgust. "So you all would protect that no good little tramp. No matter. I'll just kill all of you. And maybe I'll 'accidentally' kill the princess as well. It's no less than she deserves after the wrong she has done. It may displease my brother, but he'll get over it once we have the Silver Crystal in our possession. Say goodnight, everyone."

He held his hands up and they began to glow darkly as he gathered energy. Tuxedo Mask instinctively shoved Sailor Moon behind him and the scouts closed in around her. The generals unconsciously took up their traditional places at the side of their prince.

Sailor Moon froze as images of her friends dying for her flooded her mind. The dream from the night before had haunted her all day. Beryl's voice filled her ears as she screamed at her that history would keep repeating itself. That they would die again for protecting her.

Shrugging off Venus's hand on her arm, she ran around the group to face Sapphire herself. Her moon scepter appeared in her hand.

"Serena, what are you doing?" she heard the cries behind her.

She ignored them, completely focused on the man in front of her. "Your fight is with me, Sapphire. Leave my friends alone."

"As you wish, Serenity." he said as he prepared to launch his attack. "Time for you to die!"

She raised her scepter up. "Moon Scepter…"

"Sailor Moon…Sapphire…please stop! Don't do this!" a voice suddenly called out to them.

A/N Aren't I just evil to leave you hanging like this? What can I say? I love suspense. So the boys are back in town and the scouts and Darien aren't too thrilled about it. They all just need to get over it. And who's trying to stop the fight? Hmm…I guess I'll tell you next time. For now, don't forget to review. Catch ya next chapter!

~Sere~