Serena couldn't think. Everyone seemed to be waiting for her to say something or make a decision. But really what was there to do? This wasn't a monster, or a possessed soul before them after all. It was Rae. Rae they'd known for years, fought beside, defended and loved. The moon scepter had no effect on her, and they were out of options. To make things worse, Serena knew that Sailor Venus could only hold that chain for so long, and soon the Martian would be free once more. She could already see the strain it was putting on Mina to keep Rae confined.

"Venus, let it go" She said. She didn't know where she was going with this, but she had to do something. The amber scout only raised an eyebrow, choosing to follow the order without question. The tension in the room was thick as the magical chain dissolved into the air. Silence bloomed as Rae stood and shook out her arms, then dropped her transformation. Slowly everyone followed suit, until the only sailor scout still present was Sailor Moon. She refused to drop her armor.

A crack broke the quiet as Rae jerked her head side to side, the loud popping noise jarring everyone. A sneer worked it's way across her face.

"What are you going to do now, Sailor Moon? You can't kill me I suppose..." She uttered quietly, taking a few slow steps towards the tired Moon warrior. Darien took a step forward, daring the priestess to make a move. Every girl in the room was poised to jump on her should she move any further. Sailor Moon drew a breath, and put a hand on her prince's shoulder. Without words, she told him to move and she faced her old friend and new enemy.

(Serena's POV)

"I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to give you one chance. You have one chance to get out of our lives, and to make sure we don't hear from you again. You're not stupid- you've seen the power I have over the Moon Crystal, and you know you couldn't possibly defeat it. Don't give me cause to use it Rae". The words felt cold as they left my lips. I could never in a million years have imagined myself threatening someone's life with the crystal, let alone another scout. How had everything changed so far in just one night?

There was something like fear in the eyes of everybody in the room. I laughed heartlessly in my mind- they would all hate me a little more now I suppose. I was their queen, I was supposed to find the perfect peaceful solution where every problem was solved and no one got hurt. I had failed again. I was pretty good at that if nothing else.

The apparent traitor paused for a moment, considering the words of her former queen. Rae smiled, turned on the spot and walked out, leaving behind 5 tired and confused people. Then all at once, as if someone had pulled the plug out of the sink, all of the heavy silence and tension rushed out of the room.

I took a shaky breath, praying that this really was the end of it. In the back of mind I knew it wasn't, and I knew that Rae would be back. But that was a thought that could be dealt with later. I finally let my transformation drop, and I sat down with a thud. One by one the others joined me on the floor. Darien wound his arm around my shoulders and pulled me a little closer. We were all shell shocked and numb as the sun began to rise outside. With the morning light came the realisation that this may be an enemy that we couldn't defeat. Tears fell from my tired eyes as I watched the day begin.

(No one's POV)

Darien was the first to move after what seemed to be hours. He stood and reached his hand down to help up his princess. She blinked away some of the fog that had crept over her mind and stood with him. The other girls did much the same, shaking off the deafening silence of the last few hours.

"I'm going to take her home, you guys should go and get some sleep". His words seemed so loud against the fragile air. He took Serena's hand and they all shuffled out into the morning. As they reached the bottom of the steps, Serena decided that after the night they had all endured, she should leave her scouts with a bit of mercy.

"Amy, wait" She said, addressing the scout she hadn't spoken with in weeks. Amy froze, with no idea what to expect from her oldest friend anymore. She turned around to face the blonde, tears already pooling in her eyes.

"What's happening now... none of this is your fault. I don't blame you for Rae's choices, and you shouldn't blame yourself. Just... just remember that, okay?"

Serena didn't wait for a reply as she turned and tugged on Darien's hand to follow. Amy couldn't have moved if she wanted to. The shock had left her frozen, tears pouring fast from her unblinking eyes. Serena hadn't offered her forgiveness, but acceptance of what had passed. All at once, her legs gave out and she fell into Lita's arms. She wept quietly with happiness- the worst of the storm had passed and it seemed that there might still be hope on the horizon. Lita and Mina smiled and patted her head and shoulders, letting her do what she needed as they watched Serena and Darien walk away around the corner.

The silence returned as both Darien and Serena retreated into their thoughts. God knows they had a lot to think about. His mind would not stop bringing him back to that moment in the rain, when she had fallen into his arms and he had felt every bone she had to offer. She was wasting away right in front of him. Disappearing.

Her mind took her to that very same moment, but from a wildly different perspective. His hands touching her arms, feeling every ounce of fat she had. His voice asking the question she couldn't stand to hear- "why are you so weak?"

Halfway through the park, he decided he couldn't wait any longer. He pulled Serena's hand and turned her to face him. He could see on her face that she didn't want to do this, or hear what he had to say, but she had to. She had to hear him.

"Why are you doing this?"

It was the only thing he could think to ask; he wanted to understand what was hurting her. He wanted so much to be able to help her.

"I don't know what you mean". Her response was quipped as she turned to keep walking.

He lunged forward and grabbed her elbow. "Yes you do, you can't keep hiding it. You're skin and bone, you've barely eaten in weeks. When's the last time you slept?"

All of the fear and worry in his mind was spilling out in the air now. She tried to walk away again, but the effort was minimal. She knew they would have to do this at some point, why not do it now after the harrowing night they had had?

"I sleep. I eat. I've just been stressed. I'm fine". Try as she might, she couldn't quite meet his eyes, and her voice was flat. The connection between them pinged away with every syllable; they could both feel it.

"You don't sound like you. You're not fine. Please listen to me, you have to stop this" His voice was growing desperate, determined to help her. Looking at her in the morning light she was pale, her skin was almost translucent. The violet circles under eyes, and the veins that marred her skin made her look close to death. Darien's whole being recoiled from the thought.

He wrapped his arms around her in attempt to stop her from disappearing like she wanted to.

"You don't understand..." her quiet voice spoke into his chest. He didn't dare say a word: this was as close to talking about this as they'd come and he wouldn't scare her off now. "I try to sleep, but I can't. I have nightmares. I'm not good enough to save anyone yet", her tears soaked through his shirt. Her words were the truest she'd spoken in a while, and before she knew it she was weeping in his arms. She hadn't realised that keeping this from him had hurt her this much.

"If I can j-just lose some weight, I can be faster! I can be stronger and I can save them!" Darien was shaking, listening to her speak through her tears.

"Save who? Who haven't you saved? You haven't failed, you've always saved the day", he begged her to see reason, see the good she had done in the world.

"You. I didn't save you".

Let me know what you think, Read and Review! :)

P.S Feel free to scream at me given it's been 2 years since I last updated, I'm a bad person.

xxx