A/N Hey guys! I'm not going to bore you with a long a/n this time because I know you don't want to hear it. We have reached a pinnacle moment in this story, as I'm sure you can tell by the name of this chapter. I probably worked harder on this chapter than I have on any other in a while, so I hope it lives up to your expectations. So let me get out those hugs and we'll get started. BIG HUGS TO:
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99 million and a half thank yous as always! You guys seriously ROCK! And now to let you get on with it.
***WARNING***
Tissues may or may not be needed by the end of this chapter. Please use your own discretion.
ENJOY!
Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist
Chapter 21
Look to the Tower
The Dark Kingdom
Zoicite screamed in pain as the dark energy slammed into his body, over and over. "Please, your majesty! Forgive me!" he begged raggedly between the jolts.
"Forgive you!" Beryl screeched maniacally. "Why the hell would I want to take mercy on such a pathetic creature like you, Zoicite? I gave you a simple mission, to collect the Rainbow Crystals for me, and you couldn't even handle that! Now, thanks to your incompetence, my enemies have possession of three of the crystals while I only hold four! And do you know what I can do with only four of those crystals? Not a damn thing!"
She shot him again, making Kunzite cringe as he watched. He was incapable of feeling sympathy, but Zoicite had been a reliable ally despite his bumbling failures and he still needed him.
He stepped forward and placed a hand on Beryl's arm. "Please, my queen, try to calm down. It's not good for you to work yourself up into such a state."
Her reddish brown eyes were blazing hot as she snapped her head around to glare at him. "Don't try to patronize me, Kunzite! You are just as much of a failure as he is! You told me that you had a lead on Endymion, but you have yet to deliver him to me. I want my prince and I want those crystals, and I want them now!" She stomped her foot like a child throwing a temper tantrum because her parents refused to buy her a toy she wanted.
Kunzite ignored her anger and wrapped his arms around her. "And you will have them, my lovely queen. All is not lost. I still have a plan to get the earth prince and the crystals for you. Never fear."
Her rage drained away as she slumped against her head general. "Do you really mean that, Kunzite? Do you honestly think that there is a way to beat those horrible little brats before they find a way to steal my crystals and summon both the Silver Crystal and that damn princess?"
"Of course there is," he soothed her. "But in order for me to get both the crystals and the prince I will need help. So I ask you to spare Zoicite's life so that he may assist me."
Beryl raked a contemptuous glare over the general that was lying in a panting heap on her floor. "Very well. He may live…for now. But be warned that my patience has reached its limit. You have until the end of the week to produce some results or dear Zoicite's body will be joining Jadeite's and Nephrite's in the hereafter."
She then looked back to Kunzite and arched a red brow at him. "And if you aren't careful, my pet, you will join them as well." She smiled evilly as she felt him jerk and the arms around her go stiff. She stroked a long, crimson painted fingernail down his cheek. "It would pain me to the bottom of my blackened heart to lose you. Not after everything we have meant to each other."
The platinum haired general took a step back from her and inclined his head. "It will be done as you wish, my queen." He strode away from her, not even breaking his stride as he snatched Zoicite up by the collar and pulled him after him, ignoring his comrade's pained hiss. He didn't stop until he reached their quarters.
Zoicite limped over to the couch and lowered himself carefully down onto it. "Well, we knew that she would find out about the last crystal eventually. I guess we should count ourselves lucky that we had a couple of days before she discovered what happened and called us on it. I'm just glad you calmed her down before she killed me. It still hurts like hell though."
"We need a change of plan," Kunzite muttered darkly as if Zoicite hadn't said a word.
Zoicite's head snapped up. "What do you mean? I thought we had agreed that we would ambush Endymion's reincarnation and take his crystals. After that we would turn him over to Beryl and while she is distracted by him would combine the crystals we had with hers and claim the Silver Crystal for ourselves."
Kunzite shook his head. "That won't work anymore. Not only has Queen Bitch given us a time limit, but she'll also be watching us closely. We're going to have to step things up."
Zoicite's expression turned apprehensive. "What are you saying, Kunzite?"
"It's simple," Kunzite replied with an evil smirk. "We're going to call the dear prince out. We'll set up a time and a place for a duel. The winner will take all of the Rainbow Crystals. He won't be able to resist such a challenge."
Zoicite gaped at him. "You don't seriously mean for it to be a fair fight, do you?"
"Of course not!" Kunzite scoffed. "There are two of us and only one of him. We'll blindside him and kill him. Once we have his crystals nothing will stop us, not even the sailor scouts."
"But how are we going to get Beryl's crystals?" Zoicite asked. "She guards those things like a rabid dog."
"Don't worry about that," Kunzite drawled. "We're going to steal them. It will be easier than you think. I know exactly how to push that bitch's buttons. By the time she realizes the crystals are gone it will be too late."
Tokyo
"So who can show me the incorrect use of the possessive pronoun in this sentence?" Miss Haruna asked the class.
Serena breathed a sigh of relief as the woman's gaze skipped over her and focused on another poor classmate. Thanks to Mina crawling in her bedroom window yesterday morning and Lita this morning, she had actually gotten up on time for school and managed to stay off of Miss H's radar. It sucked to be jarred awake and dragged out of bed so early in the morning after spending most of the night tossing and turning, but at least she didn't have to deal with the lectures and possible detention. Darien and Amy had ganged up on her too, making sure that she did all of her homework assignments to the best of her abilities before they gave her a moment's peace. Raye usually sat over to the side and snickered quietly, but at least she had kept her smart mouthed comments to herself.
With the way that everyone had been riding her you would think that she would collapse into bed at night and pass out, but her nights were just as troubled as ever, maybe even more so. She still had dreams of Endymion and their heated moments together along with the nightmare about his murder and her subsequent suicide, but something else had started invading her nighttime wanderings as well. For the last few nights she had dreamed of running down the long empty halls of what she suspected was the moon palace while a voice called out to her. It was distorted and she couldn't make out what it said, but she heard it and followed it.
The dream always ended the same way though. She would reach a set of silver doors that were beautifully engraved with pictures of the moon on them. But no matter how hard she beat on them they refused to open. Something deep inside her told her that if she could just get those doors to open to her that she would find the answers that she was searching for.
She sighed and leaned her cheek against her hand as she stared out the window next to her. It was bright and sunny out today, giving the illusion that it was warm out, but she knew that the wind still held a bite to it despite the fact that all traces of snow were gone. It was only the first week of February, so they still had at least a few weeks before they might start feeling the first stirrings of spring.
Well it had certainly been an unforgettable winter, that much was for sure. It seemed almost like a lifetime ago that she had transformed into Sailor Moon for the first time, but in reality it had only been a few months. So much had changed in such a short amount of time. She still hated the fact that all of her friends had gotten wrapped up in this mess as well, but at the same time she was glad that she had them to stand by her.
A small smile appeared on her face as she watched a bird fly over and land on a tree branch right outside the window. She really did have the world's best friends. She didn't know what she would ever do without them.
As Miss Haruna's voice droned on about the English lesson in the background her eyelids grew heavy and slid shut on their own.
***Serena's Dream***
She ran down long, dark hallways that twisted and turned like a maze, holding up the long white skirt of the dress she was wearing to keep from tripping over it. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't know why.
"Serena…" she heard the phantom voice call out to her.
"Who are you?" she screamed as she continued to run.
The voice echoed off of the white marble walls, but she couldn't make out all of the words. "Serena…crystal…have to…only you…"
"What are you trying to tell me?" she yelled in frustration. "I can't understand what you are saying."
The silver doors were right in front of her, closed tight as always. But this time she was surprised when they swung open the moment she laid her hands on them. She ran inside, thinking that finally she was going to get some answers, but she was disappointed when she found herself in a room that was several stories tall and was completely empty except for a crystal tower in the center.
"Well this is just great!" she grumbled. "So much for getting any answers. Why can't any of my dreams ever make sense? I honestly wish that I could either stop dreaming or stop sleeping, because this is getting way beyond irritating."
She felt a presence behind her a split second before she heard a voice whisper, "Serena," and she spun around to confront them. She sucked in a breath as she found herself looking at a woman that could only be described as a goddess.
The woman was tall and slender and wore her long silver hair in a style that was identical to her own. A golden crescent moon marked her forehead and lavender eyes gazed lovingly at her as a graceful smile curved the woman's lips.
"Who are you?" Serena exclaimed, taking a few steps back.
"Do not be afraid. I mean you no harm," the woman replied in a soft, bell-like voice. "I have been waiting for you to finally find your way to me, my child. I know that you do not remember me, but I am Queen Serenity. I was the queen of the moon and the supreme chancellor of the Silver Millennium before my kingdom was destroyed by Beryl."
"You're Princess Serenity's mother?" Serena barely breathed as she stared in awe.
A light laugh came from the queen. "I am. At least I was in her former life. Now she has been reborn on Earth with a new family. But now is not the time for reminiscing. My time is short, and I have an important message to relay to you. I have been lying in wait for you to finally be able to breach the doors and reach me."
"Okay," Serena whispered as she held her breath in anticipation.
Queen Serenity held her hands before her, and seven colored crystals that Serena recognized as being the Rainbow Crystals appeared to hover in front of the queen. "You must undo the spell that I cast to separate the Silver Crystal to try to keep it from harm. Only you can do it, Serena."
"Why me?" Serena exclaimed. "Shouldn't Mina be the one to put the crystal back together again?"
"Because you are the one that I chose for this purpose," Queen Serenity told her. "I knew that I could trust no one else for such an important assignment. You are the key to bringing forth the power to finally defeat the Dark Kingdom for good."
"But I don't know how!" Serena screamed. "How am I supposed to summon the Silver Crystal when I don't even remember it or anything else about my past life?"
The queen smiled sadly at her. "You have to embrace your past and set yourself free. Only then will the crystal appear."
The Rainbow Crystals suddenly flew across the room at Serena. She threw her hands up to protect herself, but instead of pelting into her the crystals came to a stop in front of her. She felt a warmth in her chest, and then everything exploded in a flash of white light.
***End of Dream***
Serena jumped awake in her seat as the bell rang, signaling the end of class. She grabbed her belongings off of her desk and shoved them into her bag before hurrying from the classroom as quickly as she could. Her mind was reeling at this recent dream.
It was lunchtime, and normally she would head straight for the cafeteria, but today she slipped into one of the girls' restrooms. She needed to take a minute to compose herself before she faced her friends. Raye and Darien, in particular, always seemed to be able to read her moods. So she figured it was best to get herself back to acting as normal as possible before going to lunch. She really didn't feel like dealing with any hounding from them. She wasn't ready to share this dream with anyone, especially when she didn't fully understand it herself.
She turned on the cold water in the sink and cupped her hands under the flow before splashing it on her face several times. She reached blindly for the paper towel dispenser and pulled out a few before drying her face. Then she looked up into the mirror and jumped back with a shriek.
The girl staring back at her from her reflection was her, but at the same time she wasn't. She looked exactly the same as her, right down to the dusting of golden freckles across the bridge of her nose, but the glowing crescent moon in the center of her forehead was a sure giveaway that something was up.
The reflection's lips moved. "Set me free, Serena," it whispered before the mirror seemed to shimmer and left an image of her wide eyed, scared, normal looking self staring back at her.
"Now I know I'm losing it," Serena grumbled. "It's bad enough that I have crazy dreams every time I go to sleep. I guess now I'm going to start seeing things while I'm awake too. I hope they've confirmed my reservation at the nuthouse, because I have a feeling that I'm going to be needing it soon."
She threw the paper towels away and picked up her bag before heading for the door. Maybe she would feel better once she got some food into her. That usually helped her get her head on straight. And hopefully either Lita or Andrew had brought something sinfully decadent with them for dessert that they wouldn't mind sharing with her. A nice sugar rush might be just what she needed to make it through the rest of classes without her falling asleep again. It was a long shot though. Her history teacher had a voice that was guaranteed to make anyone go brain dead less than a minute into one of his boring lectures.
She stepped out into the hallway and then paused. She sensed his presence before she actually saw him. She fixed a smirk onto her face. "What are you doing lurking around outside the girls' restroom, Shields? People are going to start thinking that you're some kind of a pervert."
Darien pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning against and gave her a grin, but even to Serena's eye it looked forced. "I sensed that you were in there, so I thought I'd hang around for a moment and we could walk to lunch together. You don't mind, do you?"
She shrugged. "I guess not. Let's go. I'm starving. It's seems like breakfast was years ago."
He fell into step beside her and they walked in silence, neither one of them saying a word. But Serena began to feel jumpy as she felt some emotion coming off of Darien in waves. She couldn't quite put a name to it, but she had sensed it hanging around him recently. She glanced up from under her lashes and saw him watching her out of the corner of his eye. Irritation flooded through her.
She stopped in the middle of the deserted hallway and put her hands on her hips. "Okay, I can't take it anymore! What gives?"
He turned toward her with a confused look. "What are you talking about?"
She blew out a frustrated breath. "I'm talking about you, hotshot! You've been acting weird around me for the last few days and I want to know why."
"I haven't been acting weird," he grumbled as he looked down and away.
"Yes you have!" she insisted. "I mean, I always thought that you had some screws loose, but your behavior has gone way beyond the norm, even for you. You haven't called me Meatball Head in days and you haven't cracked one joke about my schoolwork. And when I tripped and fell on the way to the arcade yesterday you didn't even laugh at me. So like I said before, what gives?"
He glared at her. "Why would I want to pick on you or make fun of you, Serena? I thought we were friends now."
She let out a derisive snort. "We've been friends for months now, Darien, and that's never stopped you from taking enjoyment from my humiliation before. Just last week you laughed for ten minutes when I messed up that Algebra equation just because I made a simple multiplication mistake, but when I made a similar mistake yesterday you calmly pointed it out and never even cracked a smile. It's like you've been replaced with a pod person or something and it's starting to creep me out."
He ran a hand through his hair. "I've just had a lot on my mind, okay. I thought you were going to die Monday afternoon when Kunzite caught you, so that doesn't exactly put me in the mood for picking on you."
Serena rolled her eyes. "So what? It's not like that was the first time that I've found myself in a sticky situation with a general, and knowing my luck it probably won't be the last. So I don't see what you're getting so bent out of shape about."
Darien dragged in a deep breath. Sure, Serena had landed herself in some dangerous situations before, and they had scared him to death every time, even before he had known that she was Sailor Moon, but things were more intense now. He had finally admitted the depths of his feelings that he held for her, and between that and finding out about their past it made him that much more protective of her. It tore him apart to stand by and watch her fight when what he really wanted to do was lock her away someplace safe until this whole Dark Kingdom mess was over. And when he thought about the fact that she had killed herself in the Silver Millennium, it was almost more than he could bear.
Serena watched the different emotions playing across his normally stoic face. She saw pain, anger, and then a heartbreaking sadness that almost took her breath away. She laid a comforting hand on his arm. "What is it, Darien?"
He waved her off with rueful laugh. "It's nothing. I think sleep deprivation is starting to catch up with me. I've been staying up late and studying a lot lately. Now let's get you fed. We don't need you fainting from hunger in the middle of gym."
He grabbed her hand to pull her with him, but she jerked back against him. "You're lying to me. I can tell. You're keeping something from me and I want to know what it is. You say that we're supposed to be friends, and I'm trying to be yours. So tell me what has you acting so funny."
He felt his own temper begin to simmer. He should have known that this was coming. Serena had the ability to read people like a book. "Just drop it, Serena. I don't want to talk about it."
She tossed a golden pigtail over her shoulder. "Fine, Mr. Grumpy-pants, be that way. I'll figure out what's bothering you sooner or later. You can't hide from me forever. I have my ways of finding out things."
This time a genuine laugh came from Darien. "I'm sure you do. Now do you want to tell me what you were doing hiding in the bathroom instead of mowing down all of the other helpless students in this school in a mad dash to get to food like you normally do?"
Serena let out a mock gasp. "Oh my! Was that actually a joke coming from Prince Uptight? Somebody better call the hospital, because I think he's sick."
"Ha ha," he drawled dryly. "You think that you are so funny, don't you? And don't think I didn't notice that you didn't answer my question. So who's the one being elusive now?"
She wrinkled her nose up at him. "For your information, Sherlock, I was in the bathroom splashing cold water on my face, trying to wake myself up." Her look turned sheepish. "I kinda, sorta slept through most of class."
"Serena!" he groaned. "Well I hope that you at least remembered to write down the homework assignment before you escaped off to dreamland." Then his blue eyes pierced hers. "Did you have a dream while you were asleep? You did, didn't you?"
She gave him a sad smile. "You have your secrets, Darien. I think it's only fair that I have a few of my own as well. But I'll tell you about it when I've had a chance to figure out what it means. And when that time comes I expect you to tell me what's been bothering you. Now I'm hungry and I'm going to eat."
She spun on her heel and walked away from him, leaving him standing in the middle of the hall to stare after her for several moments until he had pulled his thoughts back together. Serena wasn't the only one who could read people, he had gotten pretty good at deciphering her moods and body language as well. On the outside she may be acting like she was coping okay, but he hadn't missed the brief flare of panic in her eyes when he had asked her if she'd had another dream or the slight slump to her shoulders as she walked away.
He balled up his fists and had to fight against the urge to smash them into the closest wall. He was ready for all of this crap to be over with so that they could move on with their lives and he wanted the threat that Beryl posed to Serena if she ever found out that she was the moon princess exterminated before something bad happened. The last thing he wanted to see was Serena lying dead in a pool of blood the way he had in his dream.
"Darien? Are you coming?" Serena's voice invaded his thoughts and he looked up to see that she had paused at the end of the hall at the top of the stairs and was looking back quizzically at him.
He shook his head to clear it. "Yeah, I'm coming," he answered her as he walked toward her.
Amy, Luna, and Artemis had been searching diligently for any clues as to where the Dark Kingdom had their base, but so far they had turned up nothing. The best they could do right now was stay on their guard and wait for them to make their next move. And they would make a move, he was sure of that. Kunzite and Zoicite had made it perfectly clear that they wanted the Rainbow Crystals he had, so it was only a matter of time before they came for him.
There had been no sign of either one of the generals, or any youma for that matter, since the confrontation over the last crystal a few days before. Knowing those slimy weasels they were just trying to lure him into a false sense of security before they struck, but he wasn't letting his guard down that easily.
"Bring it on, you bastards!" he growled under his breath.
"Did you say something?" Serena asked as he joined her.
He shook his head. "Nah! I was just talking to myself."
She grinned slyly. "I knew you were Looney Toons! I've always heard that talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity."
He snorted a laugh. "Like you never talk to yourself! I've heard you carry on entire conversations with yourself. So if I'm going insane then you must be certifiably nuts. Oh well! Maybe the guys in the white coats will come and carry us off at the same time."
"Ooo!" Serena cooed and batted her lashes playfully. "And maybe we'll have matching straightjackets and the doctors will be nice enough to let us share the same padded cell."
He rolled his eyes. "I always knew that hanging around Andrew would be bad for you. That sounded just like some twisted, sarcastic thing he would say."
"Ha! Shows what you know!" Serena crowed. "You may be under the impression that Andrew is a bad influence on me, but I'll have you know that I am the one that taught him how to talk the talk. I am the queen of sarcasm!"
He chuckled and patted the top of her head between her hair buns. "The only thing you're queen of is queen of the Meatball Heads."
She choked back a laugh and tried her best to glare at him. "Hey!"
Darien just laughed and grabbed her hand to lead her to the cafeteria.
The Dark Kingdom
"Are we ready to put phase one of our plan into motion, Zoicite?" Kunzite asked.
The dark blonde general nodded. "I'm ready when you are. You just make sure that Beryl doesn't find out what I'm doing. She'll blast me into oblivion for sure if she discovers our plan."
Kunzite smirked. "Don't worry about her. If there's one thing that I have become adept at, it's keeping her distracted. But try to make it quick. Just remember, jump the prince and rough him up a bit. Get the crystals from him if you can. If you can't then extend our invitation to him and leave it at that."
"Do you really think that he'll fall for it? I don't think that the boy is stupid. He's sure to realize that it's a trap," Zoicite replied.
"I'm sure he will," Kunzite snorted. "But he panicked the other day when I held his precious moon girl in my grasp. I think he will do anything to keep her safe. Even if it means his own life."
Tokyo
Luna sighed as she felt the mattress beneath her shift for what felt like the hundredth time. She cracked an eye open and observed the blanket covered lump that was twisting into yet another position. She heard a groan and then the thumps of a pillow being beaten into a different shape.
"Serena," she chided gently. "It's late. You really should try to get some sleep."
The girl in the bed sat up, pushing the tangled mass of golden hair out of her face. Her normally bright blue eyes were dull and tired looking while purple, bruise-like shadows encircled them.
When she spoke, her voice had a dry, scratchy sound to it. "I know, Luna. I just can't seem to fall asleep for some reason. I keep having this anxious feeling, like something bad is about to happen, and I guess it's keeping me awake."
Luna shook her head. "Well, I suppose that's understandable considering everything that has been going on lately, but you really should try to set it aside and get some rest. Whatever is going to happen will happen when it's time. And when that time comes we are going to need Sailor Moon to be ready for it, not stumbling around half asleep. Even though I know that your dreams trouble you, getting some sleep is better than none at all."
Serena smiled at her advisor. "You're right, Luna. I just wish that someone would explain that to my body. I feel wound up tighter than my grandmother's old clock." A light giggle escaped her before her face turned serious once more. "Hey, Luna, can I ask you something?"
The black feline sat up. "Of course you can. After all, that's what I'm here for. Now what's troubling you?"
Serena chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully for a moment. "You told me some about what Serenity, myself, and the other scouts were like in the past. But I was wondering, what was the queen like?"
"Oh!" Luna squeaked in surprise, not expecting this line of questioning. "What brought this up all of a sudden?"
Serena shrugged. "Just curiosity, I guess. I had a dream about her. She seemed really nice."
"She was," Luna answered softly. "She was a great lady who ruled her kingdom with kindness and was loved by all. Serenity was her only child, but in a way she was a mother to all of the scouts as well. She had a soft spot for children and took you all under her wing and treated you as equals. She used to laugh and say that she had five daughters."
Serena smiled softly at the picture Luna was drawing for her. Queen Serenity sounded like she had been one hell of a woman. It also explained why she had felt a closeness and a connection to the moon queen in her dream.
"So what happened to her?" she asked quietly. "I know you said that she used the Silver Crystal to send all of us here to be reborn, but what happened to her?
Luna's eyes widened at the memories from so long ago. She remembered the death and blood all around her and her poor queen's dying wish as she lay bleeding on the ground near the bodies of Serenity and Endymion. Then there had been a blinding flash of light and everything went dark until she had awoken in this time.
"Luna, are you okay?" Serena's voice invaded her thoughts.
She shook her head. "I'm fine. I just got caught up in the past for a moment. I won't go into all the hideous details, but Queen Serenity was fatally injured by Beryl during the fight that last day on the moon. She chose to use the last of her energy to seal away the enemies and reincarnate all of her loved ones."
"That's so sad," Serena whispered with tears in her eyes.
Luna climbed onto her lap and nudged her chin with her head. "Yes, it is. But Queen Serenity wouldn't want you to cry for her. She knew that she was dying, so she made the choice to give all of you a second chance. She would want you to live this life to its fullest."
Serena scrubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "You're right, Luna. She gave us a precious gift, and we owe it to her to defeat the Dark Kingdom once and for all so that we can live our lives."
Luna nodded in approval. "That's my girl! Now get some sleep. Tomorrow may be Friday, but you do still have school to attend."
"Yeah, yeah," Serena groaned as she lay back down and curled up into a ball on her side before closing her eyes. "Night, Luna."
"Goodnight, Serena," Luna replied as she snuggled in close to her mistress's side. She began softly humming an old Lunarian lullaby in hopes of helping Serena relax and go to sleep.
"Mmm…what a pretty song," Serena sighed as she slipped off to sleep.
She seemed to be resting peacefully, but after a while she inevitably began the tossing and turning that seemed to plague her nights when she was haunted by the dreams of her past.
Luna heaved a long suffering sigh and moved back to the foot of the bed to avoid getting rolled over on by the restless girl. This was the part of the night that she hated the most. It ripped her heart to shreds to sit by helplessly, night after night, and listen to her princess moan and sob her grief into her pillow. She just hoped that the Silver Crystal was recovered soon so that Serena could be released from this nightly torture.
"Darien…" Serena moaned in her sleep.
Luna's head jerked up. Usually it was Endymion's name that Serena called out when she was sleeping. Never had she ever heard her utter the earth prince's reincarnation's name as she slept. This dream must be something different.
Suddenly Serena's eyes flew open and she sat upright in the bed. Her pupils were dilated wide as she clutched her blanket to her chest. "Darien! What are you doing?" she gasped. She fumbled for the cell phone on her bedside table, cursing under her breath as it fell to the floor.
She picked it up and pressed a few buttons before placing the phone to her ear. Her eyes grew wider as the seconds passed. "Answer the phone, Darien," she growled.
She finally hung up when she didn't get an answer. "That idiot! What is he up to?" She threw back the covers and snatched her transformation brooch off the nightstand.
"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Luna snapped.
Serena whirled around to shoot the feline a panicked look. "Darien's in trouble, Luna! I can tell! I have to find him!"
"Well at least call the other scouts and let them know that there is trouble," Luna cautioned.
"There's no time! He needs help now!" Serena cried as she held her brooch up in the air. "Moon Prism Power!" A second later Sailor Moon was jumping out of the second story window.
"That impulsive girl!" Luna muttered under her breath as she crawled under the bed to the communicator that she kept hidden there for emergencies. There was no telling what kind of trouble Serena was rushing into.
Tuxedo Mask paused as he landed on the roof of his school and looked out over the quiet, sleeping town. Everything was still and silent, as was normal for this time of night, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He didn't sense any youma attacks, but he could feel that something just wasn't quite right.
He had tossed and turned in bed for a couple of hours before he had finally decided to go out and do some patrolling to make sure that all was as it should be. A quick check through the bond had told him that Serena had finally gone to sleep. He had checked on her a few times during the night with their unusual bond and she had felt just as keyed up as he did. He knew that she would be mad if she found out that he was using the link between them to sense her, but he also knew that if she was awake she would insist on coming out with him. And more than likely he was worrying for nothing, so there was no sense in her leaving her warm bed to go running around the city on a chilly night. Besides, she needed her sleep.
For that matter, so did he. While he was beginning to adjust to the serious cutbacks on his sleep, he still had to squeeze in a few hours a night to be able to function at a normal human level and not act like a total zombie. He had to admit that he was surprised at himself though. His whole life had been spiraling insanely out of control for the last few months, and yet somehow he had managed to maintain his perfect GPA, even though his brain felt like it was operating on autopilot most of the time.
"Give it up, Shields," he muttered to himself. "There's nothing out there going bump in the night. So go home, go to bed, and get some sleep before you fall over."
Yeah, that was good advice. He yawned widely and stretched his arms over his head as he silently berated himself. He was becoming paranoid, that's all there was to it. And it had only gotten worse since Kunzite had threatened Serena's life the other day. Now he walked around expecting either one of the generals or some other Dark Kingdom goon to come jumping in from out of nowhere at any moment. It was making him crazy. If he kept this up he really would end up locked up in a loony bin somewhere.
He turned in the direction of Serena's house and was preparing to jump from the roof when he forced himself to stop and take a deep breath. He didn't need to go check on her. He knew that she was at home, safely tucked into bed. There was no reason for him to go check on her. She was fine. Besides, if he gave into the temptation to go there he would just end up sitting outside her window and watching her like some kind of brainless moron and he would be lucky to make it home before the sun rose.
Steeling his determination, he turned instead in the direction of his apartment. He had just placed one foot up on the roof's ledge when he heard the low chuckle behind him.
"Sooo, little prince," Zoicite drawled as he stepped out of the shadows. "You're out roaming the night alone without any of your precious scouts tagging along behind you. That makes my job infinitely easier. I thought for sure one of those troublesome brats would be in my way, especially the lovely Sailor Moon. Or would you prefer if I called her Serena? I suppose I can see why you have such a weakness for the lunarian girls. She is beautiful in a pale, fragile sort of way."
Tuxedo Mask ground his teeth together as rage flowed through him and he fought to keep his emotions under control. He knew that the general was trying to goad him into losing his temper in hopes of catching him off guard, but that could prove to be a deadly mistake. So instead he remained silent as he focused on taking deep, steady breaths and squashing his anger.
Zoicite smirked. "What, nothing to say about that? With the way that you are so protective of the moon brat I figured that you would rush to defend her honor. From what I can remember of my predecessor's memories you always had a bit of a temper, Endymion. Of course Serenity was always your greatest trigger. No one was allowed to utter one syllable about her that could even be construed as being unkind about her or you would fly into a fury. But then again, your dear Serena is no princess. Perhaps you are merely using her as a distraction until the elusive Serenity finally decides to put in an appearance. Then I suppose you will throw her aside like yesterday's garbage."
"You shut your damn mouth!" Tuxedo Mask couldn't help but snarl.
"Oh, so he decided to speak after all," Zoicite cackled. "Anyway, I'm a very busy man, so let's not waste time by dithering over the obvious. You know why I'm here and you know what I want. So why don't you be a good boy and hand over those crystal you stole from me?"
Finally succeeding in calming his temper down some, Tuxedo Mask grinned cockily. "The crystals that I stole from you? That would imply that they belonged to you to begin with. But if I'm not mistaken you were the one attempting to steal them from their rightful owner."
Zoicite waved a dismissive hand. "Useless details! It's a dog eat dog world, Endymion. Surely you know that. Whoever possesses the most power is the one that calls the shots, and the Dark Kingdom is taking over. Why should we allow some Lunarian snippet to control the fate of this planet? You are the prince of Earth. I would think that you would not want to see your planet fall under the thumb of an alien princess."
Tuxedo Mask choked back a snort. Alien princess, what a laugh! Serena was as human as he was! Which was more than could be said for the man in front of him. He felt the weight of the three Rainbow Crystals that were concealed inside a hidden pocket of his tuxedo jacket, but he resisted the urge to reach for them. The last thing he needed to do was tip Zoicite off to the fact that he had them on him. But he hadn't felt comfortable about leaving them at home, afraid that if he did either Kunzite or Zoicite would come in and take them while he was gone.
"I'm sorry, but I guess you came all this way for nothing," he replied dryly. "I'm afraid I don't have the crystals with me right now. And even if I did, it would be a cold day in hell before I handed them over to you."
Zoicite's expression turned into a sneer. "I was trying to do you a favor, you stubborn fool! You know where those crystals are and you can take me to them. If you do I will even be nice enough to not drag you to Beryl and dump you at her feet like a lost puppy. If you don't hand them over then things are going to get much worse. We are done toying around with you and your little friends. So if you value the lives of the fair Serena and her fellow scouts, I would suggest that you rethink my proposal. Kunzite let her off easy the other day, but the next time he will snap her neck before she has a chance to retaliate."
Tuxedo Mask saw red at his words and his calm façade finally cracked. "You bastard! I'll never let either one of you get near her!"
He rushed the general and tackled him at the waist, sending both of them crashing down to the cold concrete beneath them. They rolled over a few times before they came to a stop with Zoicite pinning down the masked hero.
"You have no idea who you are messing with, boy!" Zoicite snarled. "I am a general of the Dark Kingdom and highly trained in the art of fighting. I could kill you before you can even blink, but that could prove to be counterproductive to me claiming those crystals. So what do you say? Are you ready to give them up yet?"
Tuxedo Mask suddenly arched his back and ripped an arm free from the general's grasp. He sent a fist slamming into the other man's face, knocking him off balance. In a flash he reversed their positions.
"Don't underestimate me!" he growled. " I may not be the same person that I was in my past life, but I am far from helpless. I can hold my own against you."
Zoicite's green eyes glinted evilly. "Really? Well we'll just see about that."
He twisted an arm free and swung it up behind his attacker, manifesting a sharp shard of ice in his hand.
Tuxedo Mask gasped as a burning, agonizing pain ripped through his right shoulder. His brain barely had time to register the pain before the shard was ripped back out again. Zoicite shoved him away hard and he fell over onto his side.
The general calmly got to his feet and dusted his uniform off as if nothing had just occurred. Then he pinned the injured boy with a glacial glare. "I tried to play nice, but I guess that won't work with you. So here is the ultimatum. You come to the Starlight Tower tomorrow night at 7:00 and bring the crystals with you. You and I are going to settle this once and for all. We'll have a good, old-fashioned fight and the winner will get all of the Rainbow Crystals. Does that sound fair enough to you?"
Tuxedo Mask ground his teeth together so hard in pain and irritation that he felt his jaw pop. He knew that there was no way that Zoicite would face him in a fair fight. The slimy bastard had just proven that when he had literally backstabbed him. But if there was a chance to get the rest of the crystals he had to take it.
Then he felt Serena's aura thrash to life on the fringes of his mind. Panic and desperation warred inside of her, so he knew that she must have sensed that he was in danger. His suspicions were confirmed when his cell phone began buzzing in his pocket and then he felt her transform a few seconds later. He had to get out of here and away from Zoicite before she found them. If she showed up there was no telling what the demented general would do to her.
"Yeah, sure," he forced out between clenched teeth. "I'll be there."
"Excellent!" Zoicite chuckled. "Make sure you come alone. We don't want any outside interference. It will be just the two of us, man to man."
'Yeah right! Like I believe that!' Tuxedo Mask thought snidely. He wasn't stupid. He knew that Kunzite would be lurking around somewhere. But the last thing he wanted was to drag Serena and the other girls into the middle of this knowing that it was a trap. He knew that Serena would be pissed at him, but if he succeeded in getting his hands on all the crystals it would be worth it.
He glared at Zoicite. "I said I'll be there, and I'll be there alone."
Zoicite smiled triumphantly. "Very good! I'll see you then. Oh, and Endymion? I know that you don't remember all of your powers from your past life, but for your sake I hope that your healing power has remained intact. That shoulder looks very painful and I would hate for you to show up at our fight injured."
"Smug bastard!" Tuxedo Mask muttered as Zoicite disappeared. He pushed himself slowly to his feet, groaning when fire ripped through his injured shoulder. That ice crystal had really done a number on him. He felt hot blood running down his back and soaking through the layers of his shirt, vest, and jacket. He just hoped that his accelerated healing would be able to fix the damage. He had never received an injury this serious before.
He felt Serena closing in on him and took a deep breath before jumping from the roof of the school to a neighboring building. He couldn't let her see him like this. She would flip out. Maybe he could beat her back to his apartment and lock her out. With any luck he would be healed enough by morning to keep her from knowing that anything was wrong.
He landed unsteadily, cursing as black dots swam in front of his vision. He wasn't sure how much blood he had lost, but it must be a significant amount since he suddenly felt dizzy. If he could just make it home he would be okay.
He pushed away the lightheadedness and slight nausea he felt and continued toward his apartment. He moved at a slightly slower and more careful pace than usual, but in only a few minutes he arrived on the roof of the building next door to his and breathed a sigh of relief. He could see his balcony from there. Just one more jump and he would be home.
Just as he prepared to jump a hand grabbed his shoulder. He hissed in pain and spun around to glare angrily.
Sailor Moon took a few steps back in surprise. "I'm sorry. I thought you knew I was behind you. I've been calling your name for the last few buildings. I didn't mean to startle you."
He straightened up, resisting the urge to grab his injured shoulder, and fixed what he hoped was a convincing smile on his face. "It's okay. I just didn't hear you. What are you doing out here running around at this time of night? Shouldn't you be at home in bed?"
She cast a critical eye over him. "I could say the same thing about you. Why aren't you at home in bed? It's the middle of the night."
He huffed a breath. "I was just out doing a little patrolling. I felt too wound up to go to sleep so I thought this might tire me out so I can crash."
"Uh huh…" she muttered, not seeming convinced. "So what happened tonight?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. I was just heading home to catch some sleep. After all, we do still have school in…"
"Cut the crap, Darien!" she interrupted him. "You may think that you're fooling me, but you're not. Don't forget that I can sense things from you like you can me. I had this crazy dream a little while ago that you were fighting Zoicite. And when I woke up I felt you and something felt wrong. You felt like you were angry and then it felt like you were in pain. I had to make sure that you were okay."
He smiled gently at her. "It must have been the leftover emotions from your dream, Serena. I'm fine."
"Well you don't look fine!" she snapped. "You look like…like…well, I don't know exactly how to put it, but you don't seem like yourself."
"I'm just very, very tired," he placated her. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I really want to get to bed."
"Oh," she muttered as a blush heated up her cheeks. "I guess I'll let you get going then. It looks like I got all worked up over nothing. Luna probably thinks I'm psycho now since I just took off the way I did."
He laughed softly. "Nah! It was sweet of you to come out to check on me like that. But now that you know that all is well you should get back home and to bed. You don't need Miss Haruna harping at you for falling asleep in class."
"Okay," she agreed. Then she took him by surprise by standing on her tiptoes pressing a light kiss against his cheek. "Sweet dreams," she said softly before running to the other side of the roof and jumping away back toward her house.
"You too," he said softly before steeling himself and jumping to his balcony. He slid the door open and stepped inside, uncharacteristically locking the door behind him and drawing the curtain closed. As soon as he did that he let his transformation fade.
He stumbled into the bathroom and turned where he could see his back in the mirror. A large red spot of blood had already soaked into his t-shirt. He tried to pull it off, but almost screamed in pain as he tried to lift his right arm. In the end he ended up ripping the shirt off so that he could inspect the wound.
The bleeding from the nasty looking, deep puncture seemed to have slowed, and for that he was grateful. He fumbled with his first aid kit and a few minutes later had managed to clean the wound and affix a bandage over it. He swallowed down a couple of over the counter pain killers with a glass of water from the sink and then staggered into his bedroom where he fell face down across his bed.
He scrunched his eyes up against the pain and began wishing with all of his might for whatever power that had always allowed him to heal quickly to hurry up and kick in. But then again, this was a pretty major injury and it probably wouldn't heal in just a few hours like the ones in his past. It could take a while. He just hoped that it was gone by tomorrow evening when he faced Zoicite. He would need to be in top shape for that.
Sailor Moon was about halfway home from Darien's when she suddenly ground to a halt. Something still didn't feel right. Now that she thought about it, Darien had been just a little too nice and agreeable, which was completely out of character for him. In fact, she had expected him to rake her over the coals for being out running around by herself. But instead he had been all smiles and softly spoken words that had melted her heart.
She reached up to push a stubborn piece of hair out of her face and paused when she saw a dark stain on her white glove. She moved over until she was in the dim light of a rooftop light so that she could examine it closer.
Her head reeled when she saw that it was red. She lifted the hand to her nose and sniffed, recoiling when the metallic tang of blood hit her nostrils. Thinking back, she remembered when she had grabbed Darien's shoulder and he had hissed like he was in pain. She had been duped!
"Serena!" she heard a voice call out. A few seconds later Sailor Jupiter landed near her. "There you are! I didn't think I'd ever track you down. Luna called and said that you rushed out of your place after Darien and that you were upset. I volunteered to come find you in case you needed any help."
Sailor Moon balled up her fist, shaking in anger. "He lied to me," she growled under her breath.
"What?" Jupiter asked in confusion.
Sailor Moon looked up at her friend, tears burning brightly in her eyes. "He lied to me, Lita. He said that he wasn't hurt, but look at this." She opened her hand to reveal the stain.
Jupiter's eyes widened "Is that blood?"
Sailor Moon nodded. "Yes, and it's Darien's. The jerk told me that nothing happened and that he was okay, but he's not. He's hurt and he's bleeding! I can't believe I fell for those damn blue eyes of his! I've got to go back and help him. After that I'm giving him a piece of my mind!"
"Hold up there, girlfriend!" Jupiter exclaimed as she snagged her around the waist and held her back. "Charging back over there probably won't accomplish anything except causing a fight between you two. You know how guys are. They don't like to show weakness. He probably didn't want to worry you and have you raising a fuss about him."
"But what if he needs help?" Sailor Moon insisted. "If the dream I had was true and he fought Zoicite then he might be hurt badly!"
"He won't tell you anything if he doesn't want to," Jupiter told her. "Men are the most prideful creatures on the planet, and Darien's no exception. He probably thinks he's protecting you from something, but he's underestimated us. We have our own way of finding out what we want."
Sailor Moon sniffled. "What do you mean?"
Jupiter smirked. "Just watch the master at work." She pulled out her communicator and pressed a button. A few seconds later a sharp voice answered. "Are you still up, Raye?" she asked.
"Yeah," Raye replied. " The fire is very active tonight and it's keeping me awake. Did you find Serena yet?"
"Yeah, I got her," Jupiter said. "Do you mind if we stop by for a few? We need your advice."
"Sure. Come on," Raye answered. "Grandpa and Chad are asleep, so it's just me."
Jupiter grinned. "See ya soon!" Then she gestured to Sailor Moon. "Let's go! Raye may be able to help us figure out what secrets Darien is hiding."
It only took a few minutes for the two of them to reach Hikawa Shrine. Raye stood waiting for them in the doorway of the chamber that held the sacred fire. She said nothing as they approached; she merely reached out and grabbed Sailor Moon's hand in her own. She studied the bloodstain for a moment before shaking her head and motioning them to follow her into the fire room.
"Come on in," she finally said as she knelt in front of the roaring flames. "Take off your glove Serena and lay it in front of the fire. I had a feeling that idiot Darien was up to something. I've been getting confusing images all night. The physical link of his blood and something that personally belongs to you might help me see what's going on."
Sailor Moon stripped off the glove and laid it in front of the fire before retreating behind Raye and sinking to her knees beside Jupiter. The two of them remained silent as Raye closed her eyes and began chanting softly.
Several minutes passed before the flames roared high and Raye's violet eyes snapped open. She stared into the fire, her eyes darting around as she watched the visions that only she could see.
A sharp cry escaped the young priestess's lips. "What is he thinking? Is he insane?"
"What! What is it?" Sailor Moon demanded. "What did you see?"
Raye spun around and fixed her unknowing princess with a gimlet look. "I'll tell you what I saw! That idiot prince is under the illusion that he can save the day all by himself. He and Zoicite had a pretty heated encounter tonight and now they have set up a little…pow wow."
Sailor Moon growled. "Quit talking in riddles and give me a straight answer, Raye! I'm tired, cranky, and not in the mood for any long, drawn out hocus pocus, mumbo jumbo! What is going on?"
Raye sighed. "Why don't you two detransform and I'll go and fix us a cup of tea." She got to her feet and left the room.
Sailor Moon huffed a breath and let her transformation fade. If Raye was going to make tea then that meant that this was serious. This was always her way of dealing with things when something was troubling her.
She followed Raye into the kitchen with Lita following behind her and settled herself at the table. "Okay, Raye. That's enough beating around the bush. I want to know what's going on. What has Darien gotten himself into?"
Raye turned to look at her over her shoulder. "Are you sure you want to know?"
The Dark Kingdom
Kunzite stormed into the generals' chambers. He looked highly agitated as he slammed the door behind him. He glared at Zoicite, who was sitting on the sofa sipping from a glass of wine.
"Please tell me that you had some success!" he demanded. "Don't tell me that I just put up with listening to that demented bitch moaning and groaning about how she wants everything she can lay her greedy little claws on for nothing!"
Zoicite took another sip from his glass before replying, "Calm yourself, my friend. Tonight's endeavor was not a loss."
Gray eyes gleamed maliciously. "You got the crystals then?"
Zoicite swirled his glass. "No. The little bastard claimed he didn't have them on him, but knowing him he was probably lying. Unfortunately short of patting him down and stripping him, which is way beyond the pale, even for me, I had no way of knowing for sure. But after I threw out a few threats about his precious Serena and roughed him up a bit he readily agreed to meet me tomorrow night with the crystals."
Kunzite lowered himself into a chair. "Well at least we got that far. Now we just have to set everything up."
Zoicite arched a brow. "You do know that the chances of him showing up alone are slim to none, don't you? Even if he doesn't tell the scouts about our meeting they'll probably show up anyway. Those brats have a knack for sniffing out trouble."
Kunzite merely smirked. "I'm counting on it. I want to see their defeated expressions when we take their princess's sacred crystal for our own, and then I'll take great pleasure in killing them where they stand. That way there will be no obstacles standing between us and our ultimate goal."
Well, perhaps he would keep Venus alive, at least for a while. He wouldn't mind having a taste of her. And if she behaved herself she could possibly make a suitable consort to the Earth's new ruler. He might possibly spare Mercury as well. Despite what Zoicite said about despising the way his body's former inhabitant had loved the quiet girl, he knew that this Zoicite was entranced by her as well. The rest of the scouts and the prince were dispensable though.
Zoicite couldn't quite suppress the shiver that ran through his body as he saw the maniacal light that began shining in Kunzite's eyes. Whatever was about to happen wouldn't be pretty at all.
Tokyo
"Hey, Drew! Can I get another shake, please?" Serena chirped as she slid onto a stool at the arcade counter on Friday afternoon.
Andrew chuckled at his effervescent friend. "Another one? You've already had two. Besides, isn't it about time for you to head home for dinner? You know how your mom gets when you are late for dinner."
"Nope!" she practically sang. " The girls and I decided to have a sleepover at Mina's tonight. We're going to do all kinds of disgustingly girlie things like paint our toenails, brush each other's hair, and watch chick flicks. Of course you would know about all of this if you had bothered to come to lunch today."
Andrew laughed as he set about making Serena's third chocolate shake of the afternoon. "Sorry Sere, but Dare and I had to work on a report that our Lit teacher assigned that is due Monday, so we decided to take advantage of the library during lunch so we wouldn't have to spend all weekend working on it. Right, Dare?"
The boy sitting next to Serena grunted in agreement, but didn't say anything.
Serena turned toward Darien and then slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "So is that where you've been keeping yourself all day, buried in your books? I've hardly seen you at all."
Darien hadn't met up with them as usual outside the arcade to walk to school. Instead he had arrived just as the first bell had rung and had hurried to class. Then he had skipped lunch to study and they had been stuck watching a boring video in gym. So this was the first time that she had really had a chance to talk to him today."
Darien tensed at the pain in his shoulder. It had healed some, but it still very tender to the touch and he was nowhere near where he wanted to be with his showdown with Zoicite only an hour and a half away. But he turned to Serena with a smile that belied his pain and his nerves.
"I've just been busy," he told her. "What have you been up to?"
She rolled her eyes. "Amy bullied me through my homework. But the good news is that at least now I don't have much to worry about over the weekend. So I guess that's a good thing."
Darien picked up the glass of Mountain Dew in front of him. He didn't really need the caffeine since his nerves were already stretched past their limits, but he was afraid that if he didn't keep his hands busy that he would reach out and pull her to him. He didn't know how tonight was going to play out. He may even die in his attempt to retrieve the crystals. In fact, this could be the last time that he saw her.
He wanted so badly to hold her close, to kiss her and tell her how much she meant to him, but he knew that would only complicate things and make it that much harder to face what was coming. Instead he focused on what he had to do. If he was lucky he would not only get all the Rainbow Crystals for her, but he would also come out of this alive. So he refused to consider this a goodbye.
He got up from his seat and patted her on top of the head. "Enjoy your weekend, Sere. I'm sure I'll see you around." And then he walked out of the arcade.
He paused outside and looked in through the large window to watch as Serena talked to Andrew for a moment before picking up her fresh milkshake and wandering back toward the booth where the other girls were sitting.
He took a minute to drink in the sight of her before whispering, "I love you, Serena." After that he turned in the direction of his apartment and strode determinedly away.
Inside the arcade, Serena slid into her seat in the booth. She looked around at the serious faces of her friends and then said, "He's still hurt. Not as bad as he was, but he's still in pain. He about jumped off his stool when I touched his shoulder."
Amy leaned across the table and grabbed her hand. "Well we know where he'll be. So we'll just make sure that we're there to help him."
"That's right!" Mina gushed. "If Darien's going to face off against some Dark Kingdom flunky, then we'll be right behind him."
Serena smiled ruefully at her fellow blonde. "I don't guess there's any way to talk you into staying out of this."
Mina tossed her head. "Not a chance! We're all in this together."
The Dark Kingdom
Zoicite pushed open the doors to Beryl's chambers and slipped inside. The massive throne room was empty except for the couple on the raised platform where the queen's hideously ornate throne sat.
He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the sight of Kunzite sitting on the floor next to Beryl's throne as he slid a hand under her tight fitting skirt to rub her calf. The dark blonde general counted his lucky stars for the thousandth time that the red headed bitch had chosen Kunzite to be her favorite and not him. There was no way that he would be able to stomach lavishing attention on her when all she did was repulse him. Kunzite was definitely a better man than he was in that regard.
Pushing away the nausea he felt and shutting out the sound of Beryl's eardrum piercing laughter, he refocused on his task. He crept along the wall, being careful to move slowly and stay in the shadows to keep from attracting Beryl's attention. She would splinter him into a million bloody little pieces if she discovered what he was doing.
When he had finally moved so that he was behind the throne he breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out of the darkness. Moving quickly now, he hurried to the stone alter that held the velvet cushion where the Rainbow Crystals rested. He scooped them up in his hand and placed them in his pocket before pulling four identical looking stones from another pocket.
It had taken some time, but he had finally been able to produce exact replicas of the Rainbow Crystals. He arranged them precisely how the originals had been laying on the cushion and then backed away swiftly. Now if their luck held out, Beryl wouldn't know that she was no longer in possession of the real crystals until it was too late.
He backtracked into the shadows and then retraced his steps back to the door, once more moving cautiously. He managed to slip back out through the door and then leaned up against it as he panted lightly. Boy was he glad that was over.
Then he heard Beryl's whiney voice through the door. "Do you really have to go, Kunzite? I was thinking that you might stick around and I could work a little magic."
"I'm afraid I do, my queen," Kunzite replied smoothly. "I might have a new lead on Endymion's whereabouts and I need to strike while the iron is hot. If the cards fall in our favor, you may have the real prince in your bed tonight."
Zoicite almost gagged as he heard Beryl smacking her lips.
"Reallyyy…" she purred. "Well that would definitely be worth looking forward to. Now go, Kunzite, and see if you can't bring my future king home to me."
"As you wish, your majesty," Kunzite said in the most subservient tone he could muster.
Zoicite stepped away from the door as he heard the footsteps approaching it. A few seconds later the door opened and Kunzite stepped out into the corridor. The two of them shared a look, but said nothing. One never knew what youma were lurking in the shadows hoping to catch some juicy tidbit that they could carry to the queen in hopes of currying her favor. It was as if the walls had ears.
They walked silently, side by side, until they reached their private chambers. Once they were inside and the door was closed securely behind them, Zoicite began chuckling.
"I don't see how you do it," he said. "I would lose everything I've eaten for a year if I had to play up to her the way you do."
Kunzite grimaced. "It's not my favorite pastime, I assure you. But it keeps her happy and off our backs, and it can come in handy sometimes. So was our mission a success?"
Zoicite grinned and pulled the crystals from his pocket. "We're in business."
Tokyo
Tuxedo Mask landed on the top observation platform of Starlight Tower at precisely 7:00. He hated the idea of having this fight in such a public location; the tower was a huge attraction to both tourist and locals alike that enjoyed a bird's eye view of the city. But luckily during the winter months the tower closed early, so there were no unsuspecting civilians around for him to worry about getting hurt.
He looked cautiously around the seemingly empty platform. Where was Zoicite? Had he chickened out? Then something moved in the shadows and the general stepped into view.
"Welcome," Zoicite said politely, as if he were greeting him at a party. "I was hoping that you hadn't changed your mind about meeting me."
Tuxedo Mask gave a cocky grin. "Not on your life! I've been looking forward to this all day."
"As have I," Zoicite replied. "What do you think of my choice of location? I thought it was apropos to have our last fight here since this was where you first stuck your meddling nose in my business."
Tuxedo Mask hitched his uninjured shoulder up in a shrug. "I don't care where we are. I'm just ready for this to be over."
"I couldn't agree more," Zoicite answered. He pulled his clenched fist from the pocket of his jacket. When he unfurled his fingers he revealed his four Rainbow Crystals sitting in the palm of his hand. He walked forward several paces and laid them on the ground before backing away.
"I stuck to the terms of our agreement and brought mine. Now where are yours?" he asked.
This was it. Tuxedo Mask reached inside the hidden pocket of his jacket and pulled out the three crystals that he had. He copied Zoicite's example and stepped forward several feet before laying his crystals down as well. He eyed the others laying just a few yards away. It was so tempting to grab them all up right now and run for it, but that would be the coward's way out. And he was no coward.
It was hard to do, especially with Zoicite looking at his crystals with a speculative gleam in his eyes that told him that he was thinking the same thing, but he backed away. Still, he kept a close eye on the general, ready to spring if he showed any signs of pulling a fast one.
"So are we ready to do this?" he demanded.
Zoicite laughed. "Of course. But first thing's first. I don't think we should just leave those crystals lying around while we fight. Something may happen to them."
"What do you…" Tuxedo Mask began, but he broke off when a shimmer went through the air. A second later Kunzite appeared out of thin air.
"I think I'll just keep these safe for now," the platinum haired general stated as all seven crystals floated up and into his hands.
"No way!" Tuxedo Mask yelled. "You cowards! I thought we had agreed to meet alone."
"Please!" Zoicite scoffed. "Of course I brought Kunzite along. I knew that there was no way that you would adhere to the bargain. So where are the dear scouts hiding anyway? They may as well come on out."
Tuxedo Mask shook his head. "They're not…"
"We're right here, Zoicite!" Sailor Moon's voice suddenly cut through the night air.
'Damn!' Tuxedo Mask thought as he heaved a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. What was she doing here? She wasn't supposed to know anything about this. He'd thought that she was safely tucked away at her sleepover with the other girls. This couldn't be happening!
But he turned around and opened his eyes, already knowing what he was going to find. Sure enough, there were five girls in sailor fukus standing on the railing that surrounded the platform, but his attention was focused on the petite blonde in the middle. Damn it! He didn't want her here!
"What are you doing here?" he growled angrily.
Sailor Moon jumped down from the rail and stomped right up to him. Her eyes were blazing with anger and several other emotions as she poked him in the chest with a finger. "I think I should be asking you that question! I can't believe you! What were you thinking coming here alone? Have you lost your mind?"
Tuxedo Mask glared at her. "No. I'm perfectly sane. But that still doesn't tell me what you're doing here. How did you find out?"
"I have my ways!" she snapped. "But it's pretty sad when I have to resort to snooping to find out that someone I thought was supposed to be one of my best friends has decided to take on a suicide mission. On top of all of that you LIED to me!"
"I didn't exactly lie. I just omitted the truth," he grumbled.
"Which is just as bad in my book!" she raged. "You told me that you were fine, but you weren't. Instead of telling me that you had been injured and letting me help you, you covered it up and suffered through it alone. Then when I found out about it and went back to your place to help you, you had locked me out!"
He had the grace to look chastised. "How did you find out?"
She rolled her eyes. "I found blood on my glove after I left. It wasn't that hard to put two and two together. Besides, in case you've forgotten, one of my best friends just happens to be psychic. So we did a little snooping."
He turned his glare toward Sailor Mars, who shrugged eloquently and said, "What can I say? I was curious as to what was going on too. All the vibrations had the fire agitated and was keeping me awake."
Kunzite cleared his throat. "I hate to break up this little love-fest, but we have business to discuss. Would one of you lovely ladies care to tell me how to summon the Silver Crystal, or should Zoicite and I just start killing you off one by one until one of you breaks?"
Sailor V hissed when she saw all seven crystals in the general's hands. "You ass! Do you honestly think that we would tell you? Dream on!"
Kunzite clucked his tongue. "Really, Venus. You have to know that you are fighting a losing battle here. I'm holding all of the keys now. You can't win."
Sailor Moon had fallen into an almost trancelike state the moment she spotted all of the crystals together, but Kunzite's words jerked her back to the present. She looked toward her blonde friend in confusion. "Venus? What is he talking about, Mina?"
"Damn it!" the taller blonde growled. "I'm sorry, Serena. This isn't the way that I wanted you to find out." She held up her henshin wand. "Venus Power!"
Sailor Moon blinked her eyes as a flurry of golden stars erupted around her friend. When they faded she gaped at the sight of Mina in the orange-skirted fuku that she had seen once in a vision back weeks ago.
"Sailor Venus!" she whispered in awe. Then comprehension struck her. "So you're not the princess after all?"
Venus shook her head. "No. I was just acting as a decoy. That was one of my duties in the past."
"Yes, yes, that's all well and good, but that doesn't solve our dilemma here," Kunzite said impatiently. "Either someone starts talking or I start killing." A sharp boomerang of light purple energy appeared in his hand.
"Let's see, who shall be first," he mused. "The brains?" he pointed the weapon at Mercury. "The brawn?" next he singled out Jupiter. He turned then toward Mars. "The spiritualist?" The he returned his attention to Sailor Moon, Venus, and Tuxedo Mask. "Or perhaps I should take out one of you three since you seem to be the ringleaders of this ragtag group."
The teens all remained silent as they glared at him.
He smirked. "So nobody wants to talk? Well maybe this will get your attention then."
He flung his boomerang in a wide arc, making them all duck to keep from losing their heads. It slammed into the metal framework that led up to the pinnacle of Starlight Tower where the television satellites and radio antennas were. They shrieked and scattered as large chunks of steel came smashing down around them.
Tuxedo Mask grabbed Sailor Moon by the arm and jerked her along behind him as he ran for the relative safety of the other side of the tower. His shoulder throbbed at the exertion, but he didn't let her go.
"Darien, stop!" Sailor Moon cried when she heard his sound of pain. But he ignored her until he was sure that they were out of the immediate line of fire. The moment he stopped she lit into him. "You have to get out of here, Darien!"
He looked at her as if she had just sprouted another head. "Have you lost your mind, Serena? I'm not going anywhere."
She stepped up close to him and gripped the lapels of his tuxedo jacket tightly in both hands. "You have to, Darien. You're hurt and in no condition to fight. Let the girls and I handle this."
He shook his head. "That's not happening, Serena. It's my fault those bastards have all of the crystals now. I have to get them back."
Furious tears burned her eyes as she let out a short scream of frustration. "I don't give a damn about the crystals anymore! Let the Dark Kingdom have them! I don't care! You are the only one that matters to me! Not princesses! Not evil queens! Not brainwashed generals or youmas! Just you, you big, stupid idiot!"
Tuxedo Mask jerked like one of Jupiter's lightning bolts had just struck him. He couldn't remember how to breathe as he looked down into those bottomless, tear bright blue eyes. "Serena," he whispered.
"I love you!" she said suddenly as the dam broke and the scalding tears poured down her cheeks. "I know I shouldn't, but I do. And I'm tired of fighting against it. Maybe it's wrong, and maybe I'll roast in hell for it, but that's the way I feel and I can't deny it anymore."
She whipped the mask from his face. Then her arms were around his neck as she pulled his head down to hers and gave him a hot, scorching kiss.
He moaned at the feeling of her lips on his. This felt better than anything that he'd ever dreamed of. Even the kiss that Serenity had given him in his dream paled in comparison to this. He ignored the pain in his shoulder as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her even closer. He reached out with his tongue to lick at her lips and was rewarded when she almost purred and parted for him.
Her head spun as he invaded every part of her mouth and she responded eagerly by rubbing her tongue against his. Her dream prince be damned! Darien in the flesh was a hundred times more exciting than Endymion had ever been in her dreams. Her knees felt like they had turned to jelly, and if it hadn't been for his arms around her she was sure that she would have melted into a puddle on the ground. This was how she had always envisioned her first kiss being. It was soul shattering and heart stopping…and she never wanted it to end.
But fate was cruel sometimes, and when she heard Jupiter call out an attack and saw a bright flash of light behind her eyelids she knew that she had to get back to work. She pulled back slowly until their lips parted, and then she opened her eyes to gaze in wonderment at the sparkling sapphire orbs that were staring at her with the same expression of awe.
He lifted a hand and brushed the tears from her cheeks as he leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you too, Serena," he said softly. "I think I always have. Ever since the first day that you walked into the arcade like a ray of sunshine I haven't noticed any other girl but you."
Oh she was so tempted to pull his head down and taste those poetic lips again, but the red-orange flare of Mars' flames jerked her back to reality. She gave him a light push as she stepped back from him.
"Go home, Darien!" she demanded before she whirled and ran away, not wanting to give him a chance to argue with her. She only hoped that he would listen to her for once. Right now her friends needed her.
She raced back to the other side of the tower and found the scouts engaged in battle with the two Dark Kingdom generals. Attacks from both sides were flying in every direction.
"About time you came back!" Mars huffed as she shot a stream of fire at Zoicite, who teleported out of the way. "We could definitely use some help."
"Yeah, yeah," Sailor Moon muttered. Normally she would have snapped back at Mars, but she was still lightheaded from the amazing kiss that she had just shared with Darien. Maybe they could wrap this up quick and they could squeeze in a little more smoochy time tonight. That would be just fine with her. Now that she had decided to throw caution to the wind and take what she could get with him, she wanted to enjoy every moment of it.
She glanced around quickly to assess the situation. Mars and Mercury were teamed up to try and take out Zoicite while Jupiter and Venus were ganged up on Kunzite. She took a moment to admire Venus' fluid movements. She had never seen her fight before, and she had to admit that she was an impressive sight. She flipped and spun effortlessly to avoid Kunzite's boomerang and the bursts of dark energy he sent toward her while shooting a beam of golden light from her fingertip. It was no wonder that she had made such a realistic sailor scout in the movies; she really was one.
But all of the scouts were beginning to show signs of fatigue, and several cuts and bruises marred their skin. Sailor Moon wasn't sure if her attack would be any help, but as she looked up at the full moon in the sky above she decided to try it and see what happened.
She felt her tiara grow warm and begin to vibrate as it soaked up the rays of moonlight. "Close your eyes!" she called out a few seconds before she cried, "Moon Twilight Flash!" The entire area exploded in white light.
Once the flash faded all of the scouts opened their eyes and glanced around curiously. Kunzite and Zoicite had disappeared.
"Did I get them?" Sailor Moon mumbled.
A laugh came from above them and they looked up to find the two generals floating overhead.
Kunzite smirked. "You really need to learn some new attacks, Sailor Moon. By now we know your moves and have learned how to avoid them. You really are the most pathetic of the scouts if that is all you've got in your arsenal."
"Oh stick a sock in it, Kunzite!" Venus snapped. "Nobody wants to hear your blah, blah, blah."
"And we're sick of all of you!" Zoicite sneered as he flung his hands out. Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter were all blasted back several feet, leaving Sailor Moon standing alone before them.
Sailor Moon fumed. Pathetic was she? Well she'd show them. She whipped her tiara off and charged it quickly into a spinning golden disc that she threw at them with all her might.
Kunzite merely chuckled and twitched his fingers toward it, making it veer off course and sail over the side of the tower.
She gasped. Her tiara was her only weapon in a fight. Her wand wouldn't be any good against them. What was she going to do now?
Kunzite turned an evil smile on her. "Now, Miss Moon, or do you prefer Serena? In any case, perhaps you would like to enlighten me on how exactly to use these." He opened his other hand to reveal the Rainbow Crystals still resting on his palm.
Just like the last time she had seen them, she felt like she had fallen into a trance. She felt something tugging at her mind, like there was something important that she was supposed to remember, but she couldn't recall what it was. Then she felt a funny sensation in the pit of her stomach. It was almost as if there was another person inside of her that was trying to claw their way out.
Suddenly a scream exploded in her head. "Set me free!"
The crystals in Kunzite's hand suddenly flared brightly as she felt a soothing warmth in her chest. A spot on her forehead burned, but it wasn't painful. In fact, it felt familiar. Visions began flashing through her head like a movie on fast-forward.
She saw the moon kingdom. She remembered laughing with the scouts while they sat in the garden of the moon palace. She flung herself into Queen Serenity's arms, crying out happily, "Mother!" She recalled dancing in Endymion's arms as he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I love you, my dearest princess, my Serenity."
She shook her head in denial. This had to be wrong. She couldn't be the princess. That was crazy! There was no way! She had to be to poorest candidate to be a princess that had ever existed. Princesses were graceful, gentle, and well mannered. She was loud and ran around crashing into things like a bulldozer. She adored food and took great pleasure in stuffing her face. Yep! She definitely wasn't princess material.
Kunzite gasped in rage as he saw the golden crescent moon that suddenly flared to life on Sailor Moon's forehead. As soon as he saw it he could remember the moon princess in vivid clarity. She had been hiding right under their noses this entire time, posing as one of her own scouts.
"Sailor Moon is Serenity, Zoicite!" he exclaimed. "Kill her! Kill her now before she summons the Silver Crystal for herself!"
Zoicite shook himself out of his stupor at this revelation and manifested a crystal shard of ice that was as big as a large tree branch. He hurled it at the girl that was rooted to the spot as if in a daze.
The scouts had begun stirring as they regained their breath after being blown to the ground with such force. As they sat up they saw the deadly projectile heading for their princess. "Serena!" they screamed.
The sound of their voices jerked her out of her reverie. Her eyes widened as she saw the huge spear of ice heading her way, but it was so close now that she knew she would never be able to move out of the way in time. She clenched her eyes shut and waited for the inevitable.
She heard a thud and a wet, sickening shlurp sound, but amazingly she felt no pain. She opened her eyes, expecting to see the shard bloody and embedded in her chest. But that wasn't what she saw at all.
Her eyes widened in horror. "Nooo!"
It was just like her worst nightmare all over again. Someone had been trying to kill her, and once again the man she loved had thrown himself into death's path to save her. She looked into those dark blue eyes that she loved so much and felt her heart shatter.
"Darien," she whispered in a voice that cracked with emotion.
Tuxedo Mask stood in front of her, facing her. His jaw was clenched and his eyes dull with pain, but he managed to rasp out, "Are you okay, Serena?"
"Why?" she cried. "Why did you do it?"
His lips quirked in what was almost a grin. "Because…I love you…Serena."
He gasped as the shard in his back suddenly vanished. Then he fell back to the ground.
"Darien!" Sailor Moon screamed as she went down beside him. Blood was flowing out of him so quickly that it formed a pool beneath him in only a matter of seconds. She ignored it as she gently pulled his upper body into her lap and hugged him close. His blood now covered her, but she didn't care.
"No! No! No!" she moaned as she rocked back and forth. "This can't happen! Not again! I can't take it!"
He stirred in her arms and his eyes half opened to look at her. "Be strong, Serena. Don't let them beat you like this. You're made of stronger stuff than that. You can beat them."
He reached a hand toward her face and she held it in hers as she pressed her cheek to his gloved palm. "I can't, Darien. I can't do this without you."
He snorted lightly. "Sure you can. You're Sailor Moon." Then his eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out."
"Darien!" she cried frantically, scared that he was dead. She shook him gently. "Darien! Please wake up! You can't leave me!"
She threw back her head as she felt something break inside her. "ENDYMION!" Her anguished cry rang through the night as a single teardrop slid down her cheek. It reached her jaw and hung there for a moment before dropping.
But it didn't fall far. It fell a few inches and then froze, suspended in midair as if held by an invisible string. It began glowing white, growing brighter and brighter until everyone on top of the tower had to cover their eyes to keep from going blind. When the light finally faded gasps were heard at the sight before them.
A round, diamond looking crystal floated in front of Sailor Moon. It was about the size of a jack ball, but it was dull and held no sparkle.
"The Silver Crystal," the sailor scouts whispered reverently as they went down on their knees beside their princess and her fallen prince.
"It's mine!" Kunzite snarled. "I won't let that brat have it!" Then he gasped in outrage as the Rainbow Crystals were jerked from his hand as if by an unseen force and they floated over to the newly revealed princess and the Silver Crystal.
Sailor Moon and the other scouts watched in awe as each Rainbow Crystal merged with the Silver Crystal. With each one that was absorbed the crystal gained some sparkle. By the time that the seventh one vanished it was glittering like the rarest of gems.
Sailor Moon felt a buzzing around her hip area and pulled out the Moon Crescent Wand. The completed Silver Crystal floated down and affixed itself in place inside the crescent. The moment it did there was a flash of light.
Sailor Moon gasped as several more memories poured into her head; picnics with her friends, late night giggle sessions with her mother, hiding from Luna to avoid her lessons…and of course, Endymion. She remembered all the nights that he had snuck up to the moon to see her or that she had come down to Earth to visit him. She had sworn to marry no one but him, and she had fought tooth and nail for him. And just when it appeared that they would finally be together…it had all fallen apart.
"I really am Serenity," she murmured.
"Yes, you are," Venus said softly. "We all hated deceiving you, but we thought it was best for you to remember on your own. We wanted to keep your identity a secret so we could keep you safe. That's why I took on Serenity's identity to try and lure the Dark Kingdom away from you."
"I understand, and I thank you, Venus," Sailor Moon replied gently as more tears fell from her eyes to land on the face of the man she still held close to her. "Did you hear that, Darien? I remember now. You were right before when you said I was Serenity. Come on, Darien! Open your eyes!"
Mercury had her computer out and was scanning him. "We need to get him out of here. He's still alive, but his vital signs are weak. He needs medical attention immediately. I may be able to help him, but I can't do it here."
"None of you are going anywhere!" Zoicite snarled. "I hope you all enjoyed your little reunion with your princess, because she's history!" He shot a storm of hundreds of razor sharp ice crystals at them.
Without thinking, Sailor Moon raised the wand and cried, "Cosmic Moon Power!" A burst of energy shot from the wand, dissipating the attack and hitting Zoicite. He flew back into one of the steel support beams hard before slamming into the ground.
Kunzite materialized beside him. "We can't take on her and the crystal right now. We need another plan."
Zoicite sat up slowly. "What can we do? Beryl will kill us when she finds out about this."
"Maybe not," Kunzite mused. "Especially if we come back bearing her a gift."
He summoned a cloud of dark energy and sent it to encompass Endymion's body. It jerked the prince free of the princess's grasp, and then he disappeared. Both of the generals vanished a second later.
"No!" Sailor Moon gasped as she jumped to her feet. She tripped on something, and looked down only long enough to see that she was wearing the long, formal white gown that had been Serenity's official royal attire. Funny, she had never sensed the change. But that was the last thing on her mind at the moment.
"Where did he go?" she cried as she spun around in a panic. "Darien!"
"They took him to Beryl," Mars said softly.
"No! I won't let her have him!" Serenity screeched. "I won't! Not after everything that we have been through! We have to do something! I…" Her eyes rolled back in her head as she crumpled to the ground.
Jupiter dashed forward and caught her. The white gown and the crescent moon faded away, leaving Serena in her school uniform. "I guess the stress finally caught up with her."
Venus nodded. "It's no surprise. She's had a major shock. And then Darien… Well, let's take her back to my place so she can rest. I'm sure we've got plans to make." She bent down and picked up the wand with the Silver Crystal.
Things were definitely about to get interesting, that was for sure. But now with Darien possibly dying and in the hands of the enemy, none of them were sure if it was going to get better any time soon. Right now all they could do was try to be as supportive of their princess as possible and try to help her cope with the loss of Darien and her new position in this fight.
A/N Dum, dum dum! So the big reveal has finally happened! At last! Oh, and to those of you that read What If before this. I have decided that it will be getting a makeover once this story is done, so disregard everything that was in that story about how Serena and Darien had their first kiss then. I liked the idea of having their first real kiss happening here instead, so I put it in. And there may be more to come before all is said and done. I know you are all going "Oh no! Not Dark Endymion!" right about now, but I have plans for him, never fear. Besides, I think Dark Endymion is way hot. I've always been a sucker for a bad boy I guess. I have to admit that I had been dreading writing this chapter for some time now since I knew it would be an important bridge between the two parts of the season, but after the long hours and pouring my heart and soul into it, I think I'm fairly pleased with the way it turned out. I hope the rest of you feel the same way. Please drop me a review and tell me what you think. I depend on your feedback to keep me going. You guys are the best! I'll see you next update! Lots of love and hugs!
~Sere~