Love Me or Forget Me

By Kukaburry

Sailor Moon Disclaimer

Chapter 12- Edible Moonlight

"Lost something have we?"

Serena whipped her head around, craning her head upwards to catch sight of the speaker. "Who are you? Show yourself." She attempted to sound intimidating but her voice came out as a squeak.

"Don't tell me I'm that scary Serena." Tybald's little head popped out from the foliage.

"Tybald!" Serena squealed, jumping up and down with glee. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

He puffed out his wings indignantly, "I know how to survive on my own. You two are being followed by morgus. They're very deadly creatures, but have no sense of smell. They seem very determined."

Darien shook his head, exasperated. "I don't believe this. How are we ever supposed to reach the palace? We lost the arrowhead and now we're all turned around." Serena patted him on the arm, trying to encourage him. "This is impossible."

Tybald gave him a quizzical look and began laughing a full-bodied chortle. "But don't you realize?" Darien and Serena stared at him, flabbergasted. "It's right through those trees! You've already made it."

A clearing appeared to their left. "How did we get here?" Serena awed at the grandness of the palace in front of her. Her home. "This looks nothing like the palace we saw before," she turned a disappointed face to Darien.

Indeed the extravagant marble looked corroded and chipped. Every fountain was bone dry with skeletal remains littering the bottoms. In place of roses, black nightshade grew tall and thick. "What happened here?" Darien asked angrily. He couldn't understand why everything looked dead and desolate.

"This palace is magical and it takes on the image the owner has of themselves. Queen Selenity exuded a loving, hospitable aura. Trike exudes malice and hate. The castle shows the true deterioration of her heart."

That made sense to Serena. She turned a questioning eye to Tybald. "What a horrid woman, but I don't understand how she got here though. We fought her last year on Earth and completely banished her from the galaxy."

"That is hard to say. Trike has not left this palace for a hundred millennia. It could not have been her. Perhaps you were mistaken?"

Serena felt a sudden rush of adrenaline. "I don't care who she is or was. I will destroy her either way and restore everyone to their rightful position."

Tybald noticed a halo of light shining on her face and suddenly realized whom Serena reminded him of. He nearly lost his breath at the discovery, but remained silent knowing that destiny would put everything in its place.

"I wish you both luck. I cannot go with you I'm afraid. I have been branded as an outsider and therefore banished from entering the palace grounds altogether. If wish I could be of more help."

Darien nodded his curtly in understanding. "Thank you my friend. You have been more help than we can ever hope returning. We are truly indebted to you."

Tears welled in Serena's eyes as she leaned down to hug Tybald. "I will save you, I promise. You will return your proper form and all will be well."

Deep down Tybald knew he might survive the transformation back to human form after being trapped in this body for so long, but he gave her an encouraging smile. "I give you all my hope. Go now before the sun sets."

Darien darted across the palace grounds closely followed by Serena. They looked around cautiously feeling uneasy about the silence and lack of guards. "This could be a trap," Darien whispered back to Serena. "Stay close."

Serena didn't need to be told twice. She shadowed Darien as closely as she could trying to ignore the prickling sensation that had returned. The main door, once covered in glittering moon emeralds now stood bare and threatening with jagged spikes jutting out at every angle. They both pushed against the cold steel and cringed when the gears squealed in rusty protest.

"So much for going in unnoticed," Darien grumbled when footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. Serena and Darien transformed into Tuxedo mask and Sailor Moon.

Serena removed her tiara in preparation, but faltered when she saw a staggering and ragged Mina heading towards them. "Serena!" She gasped, breath short. She fell to the ground in pain.

"Mina! What happened to you?" Serena ran over to her friend and held her in her arms.

Mina opened her eyes wearily. "Trike, she brought us here and tried to hurt us. Serena she's so strong.." Darien stared at the two in angry shock. "Serena," she whispered weakly. Serena bent her ear close to Mina's mouth. "I'm just faking."

Serena's hand darted for her tiara, but Mina beat her. "Venus Hate Chain," she snarled, a barbed chain of hearts began swirling around Serena.

"No!" Darien roared, running forward to protect Serena.

"No you don't Darien," Mina breathed maliciously and snapped her fingers. Darien disappeared into thin air.

"Darien! No!" Serena screamed, trying to break free of Mina's entrapment. "Mina what's wrong with you? We're best friends. You can't do this to me." No emotion shone in Mina's eyes which were glassy and dark. "What has Trike done to you?"

Mina laughed cruelly. "Just like you Serena. Always crying and whining when things get difficult. You're so pathetic, I don't know why we didn't make Lita or Rei leader. At least they can do things right the first time."

Serena's heart began crumbling at Mina's hateful words. "You don't mean that. I never said I was the best leader. I always tried my hardest."

"Shut it. I'm going to do us all a favor and get rid of you forever. Maybe with you of the way we can find the real moon Princess like we've been trying to for the past four years. Don't you see how much a hindrance you are?"

Serena took a deep, steadying breath. "The real moon princess is dead!" She lied, stalling for time. "We heard it from someone who was there back when the moon kingdom crumbled. He saw her perish in front of his eyes."

A glint shone through Mina's eyes and Serena knew she had her distracted. "Who said that?" Serena swallowed hard. "Tell me you wretch before I get really angry. Queen Trike killed Queen Selenity with her own hand and she said Princess Serenity was nowhere to be seen. Queen Selenity sent them away somewhere." She said all of this without taking a breath. "You must be lying you worthless girl."

Before Mina had a chance to fight back, Serena drew her tiara and yelled, "Moon Tiara Power!" The tiara hit Mina directly in her stomach, momentarily releasing Serena from her hold.

While Mina regained her balance, Serena ran up the marble stair-case. "I'm going to get you Moon Brat! Queen Trike will take your reality and rule the galaxy again!"

Huffing, Serena rounded two corners and found herself at a dead end. A door with a gilded handle caught her attention and she pushed it open. Dust rose in the air and she tried not to cough. An unmade bed and hangings caught her attention. The walls were blank and dingy, but a hint of royal wall paper seemed evident underneath the layers of grime. "This was my room," she whispered aloud. She couldn't understand why she knew this, it just came to her.

Besides the bed, only a chest of drawers remained in a state of disrepair. She pulled the doors open and found a long flowing silk dress that she recognized from the memory Selenity had shown her. "She.. I was about to get married. Can things really change that quickly?" She rubbed her fingers over the fabric. "How could I forget such a thing? How could my friends forget me? I thought we all loved each other more than that."

A masculine yell of pain brought her back to reality. "Darien!" All of her muscles drove her down the hall in a wild panic. She was sure she had heard his voice this way, she made a left and came to another dead end.

"Sailor Moon! We've found you!" Serena whirled around to face four unfamiliar feminine faces. The girls all wore the fuku of a sailor scout.

Serena automatically pulled her tiara down. "Who are you? Are you another one of Trike's tricks?"

A tall slender girl with green hair stepped forward. "I am sailor Pluto, timekeeper. This is sailor Saturn, sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. We have been trapped between worlds for some time, but your passing has freed us."

"You mean you're the outer scouts? I recognize you, sailor Neptune and sailor Uranus! You came to our help last year." No sign of understanding passed through either of their eyes.

"You must be confused. We have never met before. We do know there is a tear in time and space that Trike created by bringing you and the other scouts here. You do not exist in this universe," Neptune told her coldly.

Pluto held out a patient hand for silence. "One of you must be the moon princess. Have any of you found out whom it is yet?"

Serena, feeling trapped, shook her head. "No, we've been trying to find her for years and we still don't know." Nervous sweat beaded her brow.

Pluto looked saddened by this news. "So she must still be in hibernation within one of their spirits. We must find your friends and test their heart power quickly before Trike finds her."

Cringing, Serena nodded slowly. "She has them under some sort of trance. Mina.. Sailor Venus attacked me and tried to kill me. I think they're in great danger."

Sailor Uranus looked at her, alarmed. "I hope we're not too late. Come, we must find them immediately. Serena, show us where you last saw Sailor Venus." Serena sedately took the lead and retraced her steps to the main entrance.

It didn't take them long to find the other scouts. They all stood in rigid lines in front of the main throne room with raging red eyes. "She's come running back and she has friends," Rei hissed. "How cowardly of her. But what's to be expected of our pathetic Sailor Moon. Always the weakest of the group."

"It's not fair to have five on four, is it?" This time Amy spoke up, blue hair tinged with black streaks of malice. "We shouldn't let them cheat like that."

"No definitely not," Lita agreed, curling her hands into fists, readying her thunder attacks. "Maybe we should bring out our fifth member."

Out of the shadows, Darien dressed as Prince Endymion strode forward sword in hand. All of Serena's energy flowed out of her body. "No, Darien. How?"

He scowled at her, disgusted. "Miss me?"

Neptune dogged forward and the others followed except Serena. "Outer Scouts, line up! We must find which of these girls is Princess Serenity, do everything you can to show their heart power."

Everyone stopped dead when Darien began laughing a high, cold laugh. "You don't know? Serenity is already here. She is standing right behind you." All eyes turned to Serena in utter confusion. "Here I come Princess."