Author's note: Thank you so much for your reviews! Apologies my update is so late. I hope you enjoy my latest chapter - let me know your thoughts in the reviews! If you spot any obvious typos, do let me know as I haven't revised it before uploading! - R

Chapter 27

"Mother?"

She didn't remember opening her eyes. She couldn't remember what she was doing before she found herself standing here in this ethereal glow. She almost felt like she was having an out of body experience. She blinked.

"Are you real?"

Queen Serenity gave a gentle laugh as she stepped forward to stand in front of the Moon Princess.

"Oh, Serena, you haven't changed at all. Always asking a million questions." She put her hands on Serena's shoulders. "Dead or alive? Real or imagined? Past or present? These things are of no consequence. All that matters is that you heed the words of your mother who loves you. Do not let go, Serena, do not give in."

Serena frowned, confused.

"I don't understand," she confessed. "Why am I here?"

She glanced around her, feeling like her surroundings were incredibly familiar somehow.

"Yes, this is the Moon Kingdom, as it should have always been," Serenity told her, gesturing behind her at the Moon Castle with a sad sigh and a small smile.

Serena's eyes flickered over Serenity, noting the long tresses of white hair that appeared to hold a silver shimmer that flowed from the buns at the top of her head, not unlike her own, a golden coloured crescent moon on her forehead, visible beneath her bangs, the mark of the Silver Millennium and the royal family's symbol. She knew that in that moment, she was also baring the holy mark too. She wore her white dress with a bow on the bust, adorned with a gold crescent brooch which brought an ache to Serena's heart. Her eyes looked down to see her own familiar princess gown, the golden beaded bracelet on her right wrist. Her eyebrows raised when she noticed her usual vibrant blonde hair was now a silvery-white, similar to her Lunarian mother's. She felt Serenity's fingers brush against her hand, and then grasp it gently.

"Come on," Serenity invited, nodding her head towards the castle that shone bright as a crystal.

Serena allowed herself to be guided down the bridge that was surrounded by the glistening lake until they reached the split winding staircases that led up to the castle's entrance. They entered to find the generously large foyer welcoming them with a warmth that seemed to fill Serena up with peace. Her eyes darted every which way direction as the Queen of the Silver Millennium led her up another staircase, down a long corridor and into what appeared to be a spacious and open bedroom. Serena immediately felt a jolt of déja vu hit her as her eyes took in the neat four-poster bed with delicate pearl pink sheets and shimmery fabrics draped around the frame. Her eyes flickered across the room to the pure-white vanity stood directly across from the bed which she walked over to admire it more closely. She picked up an intricate bottle of perfume and inhaled the floral scent which reminded her a little of spring, something the moon didn't have. She put it back down and noticed a floor length dress on a hanger on the door of the wardrobe. It was a sweetheart sleeveless tulle ball gown in the deepest shade of red which wouldn't have looked out of place on Princess Mars. It made her wonder why such a thing would be in this room.

"After you first experienced the autumn season on Earth, you were obsessed," Serenity interrupted her musings. "You asked for that dress to be made so that you had something to remind you of the colours of the leaves that changed with the seasons."

"It's beautiful," Serena commented.

Serenity smiled, her hands clasped together in front of her, her eyes drinking in the sight of her daughter. The object of her fixation turned to face her, confusion still etched onto her soft features.

"I still don't understand," she admitted.

"Everything you see here is real," Serenity assured her.

Serena blinked.

"Everything here is real?" she checked. "You're real?"

"As real as you are," the queen nodded.

Serena stepped forward to embrace her tightly, feeling the swell of tears in her throat which she tried to swallow.

"But… how?" Serena sniffed, brushing a stray tear away from her cheek.

"Did you know that moonlight consists of mostly sunlight reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes?" Serenity asked her. "With a little earthlight, of course."

Serena shook her head.

"Have you never wondered what makes the Silver Crystal the single most powerful artifact in the entire cosmos?

Again, Serena shook her head.

"Light cannot destroy darkness, it can only create more light." Serenity gestured to their surroundings and nodded towards the open balcony where the heavenly glow was most obvious. "The Moon embraces light like an old friend and the Silver Crystal responds to that light. We are hope. We are light. And we are the guardians of love. The power of the planets and stars lend us their light because the Moon embraces it. This is why the power of the Silver Crystal continues to grow." She smiled at Serena. "I'm surprised you never questioned why you're so much stronger when you're near Prince Endymion."

His name suddenly brought her memories of the battle simulation with the newly awakened Shitennou to the forefront of her mind and it was like the fog in her mind was lifted. She was here with her lunarian mother, but she wasn't awake on Earth.

"It's amazing what the right words can do, isn't it?" Serenity mused, watching the light turn on in her daughter's eyes.

"Raye, Amy, Lita, Mina," Serena blurted out as if she had developed a case of sudden-onset Tourette's syndrome. "Darien…"

"They're fine," Serenity reassured her. "But you need to be with me for a little while longer."

"Why?" Serena demanded, suddenly anxious.

"To understand what is happening on Earth," she replied.

Serena let go of the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. She tried her best to ignore the anxiety ball currently sat in her stomach and felt the small frown between her eyebrows.

"Why am I stronger around Darien?" she settled for.

"Follow me," Serenity ordered, crossing the room, and walking out onto the balcony.

Serena obliged and followed her until they met at the balcony's marble railing. She looked out at the sight in front of her and realised that the blue marble that met her equally blue orbs was the Earth. Her head spun round to look back at the bedroom.

"Yes, that is your bedroom," Serenity smiled. "You spent so many hours out here gazing at the Earth. Then you started to visit the blue planet and that was when I realised that you had formed a connection with Earth after you met the prince." She let loose a soft giggle. "It was like two hearts combined and the Silver Crystal responded to it."

"So, it wasn't just his healing abilities?"

"Your connection is deeper than that," Serenity replied. "The Croatoan is a manifestation of this broken connection. Unfortunately, its purpose is to expose all secrets in its presence to bring back the equilibrium that the universe needs and the hidden truths in your life isn't enough to focus its energy. The Croatoan has no set goal or object of focus. When the four heavenly kings awoke with their memories, it was enough to weaken the Croatoan for some time. In the case of Prince Endymion…" Serenity pursed her lips when she caught eyes with Serena, "Darien, his memories are harder to reach because of the trauma – emotional and physical – that he experienced in his lives."

"So what will help us to bring back his memories?" Serena asked somewhat impatiently. "Can the Silver Crystal heal him?"

"It's not that easy," Serenity replied regretfully.

"So, it's hopeless," Serena concluded, shrugging her shoulders helplessly.

"No, Serena," she replied firmly. "Tapping into the power of the Moon won't magically bring him back to you. Faith will."

"Faith? That's it," Serena repeated, unimpressed.

"Not yours," Serenity said, "his. He needs to believe in you in order to find himself again."

"What is there to believe in?"

"Serena, listen to me." Serenity turned Serena round to face her directly. "You are a child of the Moon. You are light. You are hope. You are the guardian of love and justice. You are extraordinary. He needs to remember why. You will find that the Shitennou awakening as their true selves will help him get there."

"What does this have to do with me?" Serena frowned.

"Just like he makes you stronger, you complete him," Serenity told her, bringing her hand up to Serena's cheek. "He's lost so much, including himself. You're his safe space among so much turmoil. And right now, he doesn't understand why he feels this way. You're his anchor."

"But why did Darien's amnesia bring the Croatoan here?" Serena glanced at the Earth. "There."

"The Earth needs its guardian."

"What the buggering hell was that?" Mars swore.

Everyone gaped at her for a moment before recovering and turning back to Serena lying on the floor who had de-transformed immediately after the entire arena was wiped of the simulation. Mercury was tapping into her handheld computer to bring down the battle arena while the guys were busy staring in amazement at the palms of their hands.

"Serena, wake up," Venus coaxed, shaking her shoulder gently. "Sere?"

"It's okay to wake up now, Serena," Jupiter encouraged, squeezing her hand.

"What are you guys staring at?" Mars snapped, her hands on her hips staring at the guys. "And why did you all go nuclear?"

Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite and Kunzite exchanged looks and nodded, knowing what each of them felt was the same.

"We think…" Nephrite hedged uncertainly.

"Sailor Moon restored our connection with the Earth Prince," Kunzite explained.

"How do you know that?" Mercury asked, keeping one eye firmly fixed on her computer as she examined Serena.

"This is why," Zoisite said, revealing the Zoisite stone in his hand.

The remaining Shitennou did the same, unveiling their own stones. Mars and Mercury peered at them while Jupiter and Venus glanced their way, their attentions primarily taken by their unconscious princess.

"You may need to elaborate," Mercury suggested.

"They're like your own sailor crystals," Zoisite explained.

"Except our stones keep us connected to Darien," Nephrite continued.

"And Darien to the Earth," Jadeite contributed.

"Through his own power as the prince of the Earth," Kunzite finished.

"So, what does this mean?" Mars wondered.

"I have no doubt that Darien felt the power of the moon," Kunzite said with confidence, glancing at Serena in Jupiter's arms.

"Why?" Jupiter asked.

"The Shitennou stones have been awakened," he shrugged. "The Earth crystal responded." He noted the question in Jupiter's face and continued. "Just like you can lend your power to Princess Serenity and the Silver Crystal, we share a similar connection with Prince Darien. You can feel her power, right?"

"Yep," Mercury interjected. "And on that note, that is what is keeping Serena asleep. We can't wake her."

"What do you mean we can't wake her?" Venus echoed in horror.

"The Silver Crystal is keeping her asleep right now," Mercury explained patiently. "That burst of power… she didn't do that on purpose, and it wasn't fear of the simulated monsters in our training that caused it. It was instinctual and she probably didn't know she had it in her, really."

"Why do you seem unconcerned?" Jupiter and Nephrite accused simultaneously.

They caught each other's eyes and shared a small smile.

"This is why," Mercury elaborated, stepping forward and bending down to Serena. She reached for her crystal compact and picked it up to reveal the shining Silver Crystal. "You see? The shine is strong, if a little dull. She's okay."

"But this isn't normal, surely?" Nephrite mused.

"Maybe not for a child of the Moon," Mercury answered.

"So, what do we do?" Jupiter asked.

"That might be up to Darien," Mars suggested.

"And on that note, I think it's time we visited him," Kunzite announced.

"Really?"

Kunzite raised his eyebrows at Zoisite, Jadeite and Nephrite.

"Of course," he nodded. "We need to know if anything has changed for him."

"But we only saw him this morning!" Nephrite exclaimed.

"Not all of us," Kunzite replied, looking at Jadeite. "There's our excuse."

"Keep us posted," Venus ordered. "We must know if he knows anything." She looked at the slumbering Serena. "We need to know if he can help her. And why this happened."

"Only Serena will know that," Mars pondered, her brain ticking away.

"Anyone going to discuss the elephant in the room?" Venus asked. Everyone raised their eyebrows at her. "Serena. We can't very well drop her off at home."

"She's staying at the temple," Mars declared. "It's the safest place for her and I can protect her. Grandpa and Chad will be away for some training thing that Grandpa insists on, so we have all clear. I can protect her there."

"That's a lucky coincidence," Jadeite observed.

Mars looked at him.

"Great," Mercury nodded. "We'll move her. You all decide how you're going to approach Darien. He doesn't need an intervention." She turned to Zoisite. "Do you have some time spare this afternoon?" she asked.

"Yes, of course, why?" he answered, a little taken aback.

"I need your brain," came the reply.

"Anything you need."

Mercury looked at him, pressing her lips together, ignoring the feelings that motivated in her.

"Hey, guys," Jackson broke the silence, "thanks for letting me gate crash but I've got to head off to the temple now."

Amy and Zane brought their noses out of their respective books to look up at him.

"No problem," Amy smiled. "It was a pleasure to have you."

Jackson piled his books and dumped them into his bag in one clean swoop, zipping it up. He grabbed his bottle of water and swigged from it.

"Well, as much as there were other things I'd rather have been doing, I got all my assignments done," Jackson nodded with a grin.

"A first," Zane commented.

"Thanks, mate," Jackson chuckled, swinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Good luck at Raye's," Amy said. "Let us know if you need anything."

"Thanks," he replied with a nod. "See you later, Zane."

Zane raised his hand to wave him off and watched him leave before turning back to Amy, whose nose was firmly lodged in the pages of her book again. He observed her for a moment, noting the way her tongue was stuck out just slightly as she concentrated, her eyebrows pushed together in a slight frown, the blue of her eyes reminding him almost of a thundery sky. He knew she was in a deep concentration. It never took long for her to get into this trance.

"Amy," he said.

There was no response.

"Amy," he tried again.

Her eyes continued to skim across the pages as she took in every word, which he knew she would remember word perfect. So, he tried the one thing that he knew would get her attention: he leaned towards her and blew air down her ear. She jumped so high in her seat in shock that her book also left the table's surface. She turned to stare at him in horror.

"What on earth are you doing?" she demanded.

"It was impossible to get your attention," he shrugged.

"Well, you have it," she sighed, rubbing her ear. "What?"

"Have you given it anymore thought?"

She pursed her lips, closing her book, sitting back in her chair.

"You mean have I given you anymore thought," she corrected.

"No, I mean have you given you and I anymore thought," he retorted.

"You want to do this now?" she asked tightly. "We're trying to research here."

"The Croatoan isn't going anywhere," he reminded her. "And neither is Serena, or Darien."

"Look, Zane," Amy sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I just don't do this very well. I don't know how to be… Prince Darien and Princess Serenity. I don't know how to do romance."

"Well, you aren't Princess Serenity," he pointed out. "You're Princess Mercury. And our story isn't theirs. I'm not asking you to 'do romance'. I've asked you to think about us. In case you haven't noticed, I've never been a prince to sweep you off your feet and I promise to never live up to that persona either."

Amy swallowed and offered him a small smile. To other girls, they may have been disappointed to hear that the person they held most dear wouldn't promise to be Prince Charming, but to Amy, it was everything.

"Thank you," she murmured, reaching for his hand.

But before her hand could touch his, a scream echoed through the library and a crash with a following bang resounded through the halls. Her hand stilled above his own and their eyes met.

"This needs to wait," she said.

He nodded and they got to their feet, transforming instantly, Sailor Mercury and Zoisite standing in their place. They ran out of the study room they were occupying and shot down the corridor, a couple of students running towards them and passing them quickly. The terror was obvious on their faces which explained why they didn't give them a second glance. They followed the screams and came out into the main entrance hall of the library to find countless students seemingly unconscious on the floor, others trying to run away as fast as they could and the obvious figure of the Croatoan stood in the centre of the hall. A student was caught in its tentacles, reeling them into its snarling, gnashing mouth, just as a second student fell to the ground after the Croatoan pierced them in the neck.

A drop of water fell to the ground, followed by another and another, creating a ripple. More droplets surrounded Sailor Mercury as she spun around several times. The droplets coalesced into a stream of water.

"Shine aqua illusion!" Mercury cried, throwing the water stream at the Croatoan, who was promptly surrounded in a tower of water. "Freeze!" She watched in satisfaction when the tentacles were frozen.

Zoisite raced across the hall and pulled out his sword from his belt. His sword shone with the freeze he conjured on his weapon and he pulled it back and struck the tentacles as close to the Croatoan's body as he could, ice clashing with ice. He winced at the sound the clash made but smirked at the sight of the tentacles coming away from the Croatoan's torso. The creature made the almightiest screech of pain and it turned with unseeing eyes towards Zoisite and caught him with its razor-sharp teeth on his arm.

"Oh, hell!" Zoisite exclaimed, pulling away and diving out of the way of a newly grown tentacle.

"Zoisite!" Mercury yelled. "Are you alright?!"

"Just get the students out of the way," he groaned.

"Mercury bubbles!" Mercury shouted, bringing her hands out in front of her, a ball of water forming between her hands. She twirled around, holding her arms in front of her with one arm crossed over the other. "Blast!" shooting her arms out and releasing the water in the hall creating a thick fog, significantly reducing the visibility.

She shot around the room, moving students in the immediate vicinity of the Croatoan out of the way, then pulled Zoisite with her. They watched in horror as the Croatoan recovered and walked out of the cloud like it was a pirate wondering through the fog that had rolled in. Zoisite cringed at the pain running down his arm and raised his other arm to launch a powerful green blast of energy at the monster coming at them. The Croatoan merely stumbled when the blast hit it in the shoulder but otherwise it was unfazed. Mercury stared at it, her memory suddenly being jogged by the sight of the green blast having no effect and she recalled Raye's words.

It's immune to magic.

But it wasn't immune to pure honesty from the heart.

She stepped forward away from Zoisite, much to his dismay and stopped a short distance from the Croatoan.

"I'm terrified of letting Zoisite in," she confessed, noting that the Croatoan came to an abrupt halt. "But the problem is that I want to let him in more than anything. I met him on Earth in the time of the Silver Millennium when I raced over there with the sailor soldiers to bring Princess Serenity home because it was forbidden for the Moon people to be on the Earth. But despite my best intentions to stand by my duty as a guardian of the moon princess, I fell in love, too. I just don't know how to love very well."

With her greatest secret off her chest, she watched as the Croatoan faded away, leaving the sound of Zoisite's laboured breathing, his eyes fixed on her.

Darien opened his door and grinned at who he found there.

"Killian!" he welcomed. "This is a nice surprise. What brings you by?"

"You didn't get to meet everyone," Killian replied, jerking his head towards Jackson. "This felt as good a time as any to swing by. I figured you'd be done with your run."

Darien glanced at the clock and saw eight pm staring back at him. Oh yes, his evening run was long over, and he was just getting ready to eat. He was feeling better and it showed.

"You're looking brighter than earlier," Killian observed, crossing the threshold with Jackson and Neal in tow, not the only one realising with disappointment that it wasn't their prince that answered the door. "Sorry, Zane is off somewhere with Amy, so he won't be joining us."

"Yeah," Darien nodded, waving away the apology. "I was resting this afternoon and I felt like myself just as if a veil had been lifted. I don't know how it passed so quickly, but I'm thankful for it."

"Sounds like magic," Neal said flatly.

Jackson elbowed him in the ribs.

"Sorry I missed meeting you last time," Jackson apologised, leaning over to shake Darien's hand.

"Don't worry about it," Darien replied. "It was only this morning!"

"Well, if I didn't grab Jack now, God knows where he'd disappear off to," Killian excused.

"Jesus, you sound like my mother," Jackson rolled his eyes. "Anyway, we came over to ask you if you wanted to hang out tomorrow?"

"Sunday? Really?"

"Sure," Jackson nodded.

"What did you have in mind?"

"We figured we'd hang out at my place, grab some food," Killian shrugged.

"Oh damn!" Darien exclaimed. "I can't do tomorrow. I'm supposed to be tutoring Serena."

"Oh, really?" Neal asked, raising an eyebrow. "We've heard a lot about your tutoring dates with Serena. What's going on there?"

"Well, biology," Darien replied, not seeing the joke coming.

"Oh, biology," Neal winked with a chuckle.

Killian shot him a look of disgust.

"Anyway, idiot aside," Killian interrupted, "I think Serena is otherwise engaged with Raye tomorrow, so come join us."

"Oh," Darien said, taken aback. "She never said anything to me."

"Yeah, apparently she's feeling sick," Neal told him. "Lita said so a little while ago."

Killian stared at him in exasperation.

"Maybe I should go visit her," Darien mused. "She helped me out."

"No!" Killian objected. Darien frowned. "It could be something contagious which is why she's at Raye's as Raye is at the temple by herself for a little while as Grandpa and Chad are away on some training thing."

"Oh, right," Darien nodded slowly. "I'll check on her."

The only thing they could think to do was move the conversation on as they had no idea how to excuse that Serena wasn't going to be making an appearance at any immediate future tutoring sessions anytime soon. Jackson spotted Darien's guitar resting against the side of the sofa.

"Are you still playing?" he asked, nodding at the instrument.

Darien glanced at it and returned a nod of his own.

"I certainly am," he answered.

"You still playing at Déjà Brew?" Killian wondered. "I know Mina insists on going every week."

"And that she does," Darien laughed. "I don't go to perform nearly as often as she does. I try to be there every fortnight, but sometimes I'm forced to skip it. To be honest, the last time I played there was when Serena happened to be there a few weeks ago."

"Oh, that must have been at the time when we went," Jackson mused. "You were good, man."

"Cheers," Darien smiled. "You should try it sometime."

"Alright, I know I give off the boyband vibe, but me being stood on a stage is on par with a bad karaoke," Jackson grimaced.

Killian and Neal let loose a peal of laughter.

"The worst thing about that is one of those things is true and the other is absolute bollocks," Neal chortled.

"I'll go with the former being true," Darien guessed with a smirk.

"Go to hell, the lot of you," Jackson defended himself.

"So, what inspired your song choice anyway that night?" Killian turned to Darien.

Darien shrugged.

"I don't know what to tell you to be honest," he admitted. "I guess I liked the chords, and the soundtrack is beautiful."

"Oh, come on, man!" Jackson exclaimed. "No guy sings a song like that without someone in mind."

"It's just a song, a tribute to the loved ones in our lives, how love would make us feel if going and sitting on a corner would be the only option," Darien shrugged.

"And Prince Charming award of the year goes to…" Neal announced.

Jackson nudged him.

"So, who was it for?" Killian pressed.

"Me," came the reply. "I just had this nagging idea in my head for such a long time of someone's unfinished story and I had to write it. It was weirdly cathartic, though I don't know why. I guess the story is a sad one because it's an unfinished one."

"Well, I guess we aren't looking for a happy ending," Killian said kindly. "I guess it's a happy story when there's still a possibility."

"Exactly," Darien nodded. "Sometimes hope is all someone has."