I do not own the rights to any of the characters in the fanfic, however, the idea is mine. Enjoy!
This Time Around
Chapter 12
Serena felt herself floating in the air. She had once again become the Moon Princess. There was no support underneath her, and yet she was not falling. A thick fog surrounded her, causing everything to appear the same. She gasped as the scenery around her began to change, and she found herself once again in Queen Serenity's garden. Directly in front of her, a figure sat on a bench in the gazebo, shrouded by shadows. "Mother," she called out hesitantly. The figure stood, its' outline obviously being that of a man. As he stepped into the light of the moon, Serena felt herself smile.
"No, I'm not Queen Serenity, Princess," he spoke, pushing his cape off of his shoulder. "Though it seems you're just as happy to see me."
"Prince Darien, of course I'm glad to see you," Serena exclaimed, closing in on the inches that separated them. "But what are you doing here, in my Mother's garden?"
Prince Darien took Serena in his arms, and as he tilted her face towards his, he kissed her gently. "I just had to see you on a beautiful night like this," he said as they broke apart, softly caressing her face. "I have a bad feeling something awful is about to happen."
"Oh, I understand, now," Serena replied, resting her head against his chest. "This is just a dream."
"It's more than that, Serenity," Prince Darien said. "It's about destiny. Our destiny, and how it's changing. Don't you feel it?" She slowly shook her head, staring at him with questioning eyes. "But not to worry. Your happiness is all that really matters to me."
"But ... I'm confused," she stated, staring up at him with shining eyes. "I've always wanted for things to be different, but not this way. Not like this. It's all so sudden! I don't want anyone to be hurt."
"Serenity, just follow your heart," Prince Darien began. "Make decisions based on what makes you happy." Serena reached up and placed a hand gently against his face.
"You do know that I love you." It was more of a statement. "I don't think I'll ever stop," she said softly.
"I know, Serenity," he replied. "I could never stop loving you, either." He reached up towards his neck and unclasped a necklace that had been there. "Serenity, I want you to have this necklace - to remember me by. To remember that I will always be there for you to protect you, until I take my very last breath."
She stared at the necklace, and felt tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said in almost a whisper, the tears threatening to spill over.
"Don't be, Serenity," Prince Darien said. "Don't ever regret anything you do when you feel you have made the right decision. And you will make the right decision."
He clasped the necklace around her neck. It was different than she had remembered it being. Instead of a tiny music box that reminded the two of the love they had shared, there was a charm of a star and crescent moon wielded together - representing the deep friendship they had, and would always have.
"Thank you," she said with a smile. She stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him briefly. As she did so, the scenery around them changed again, and fog surrounded them. They broke apart, and Prince Darien gently pushed Serena towards a break in the fog that had appeared.
"Now go, Serenity," he said. "And never forget my words." She smiled at him, and then walked away, disappearing among the fog ...
* * * * * * *
Serena opened her eyes to find that she was in the arms of someone. She looked up, and saw that Darien was asleep. "Darien," she said, gently shaking him. "Darien, wake up." He frowned slightly, and then opened his eyes.
"Oh, Serena, you're awake," he said in a groggy voice. "I must have dozed off. Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, stretching a bit. "Just a little shocked, still. Did you bring me up here," she asked, putting a little distance in between them.
"Yeah, right after you fainted," he replied. "Are you sure you're fine?"
"Yes, Darien, I am. It's not every day that I find out I have two kids in the future, and that I've already met them," she replied with a shy smile. "Here, feel my forehead if you don't believe me." As she leaned towards him to grab his hand, a necklace fell out from behind her shirt and glinted in the light. A gasp caught in Darien's throat, and Serena looked at him. "Darien, what's wrong?"
"That necklace," he said. "I guess it's all coming true. I had a dream about that necklace."
"What was it about," she asked, confused at what he meant. 'Did I get this from my dream,' she asked herself, grasping the necklace in her hand.
"A voice came to me and told me something," he replied. "It said ..." He shook his head, and then looked at Serena dead in the eyes. "Serena, how do you feel about me?"
The question caught her off guard, but she quickly recovered. "I love you, of course," she said without hesitation.
"And how do you feel about Kento," he asked softly.
"Darien," she said, sounding almost like a whine. She searched her thoughts, trying to sort out how she really felt about him. She gave herself a mental shake, and then looked at Darien. "I ... I think I'm falling in love with him, if I'm not in love already." She lowered her head. "I've felt something for him for a long time. Ever since the Ronins came to our world." She looked up and studied his face. "And when he left, I once again gave you my full attention. It was even more important for me to find a cure for your amnesia. I wanted someone to care about me again."
"Someone will always care about you, Serena," he said kindly. "I had a dream weeks ago, before you and the girls came here. In it the voice told me that our destiny would be changing, and that change would commence when you received a necklace. The necklace the voice described matches exactly to the one you're wearing right now."
"Your dreams have always torn us apart, Darien," Serena exclaimed in an angry voice that surprised them both. "Why do these dreams always come to you, instead of to me?"
"My dreams have always been significant, and I think it's for the best this time, Serena," he replied. "I've felt a distance growing between us ever since I got over my amnesia. I think that ..."
"I'm sorry, Darien," she interrupted. "I can change. Just please, don't let this happen again!"
"Serena," Darien said with a sigh. "You have nothing to apologize for. In the short time I've been here, I've noticed a different side to you. Being here with the others, and with Kento, has made you happier. I can tell. And now that he and the others are a part of our world, this change is for the best. You've always been a cheerful person, but I'm not seeing that cheerfulness in you right now."
"The girls have seemed to be a little happier," she admitted. "And I guess that I have been, too." She looked away from him, staring out her balcony doors towards the moon.
Darien smiled, happy that he was finally getting through to her. "You know, your happiness is all that really matters to me," he said. Serena's head snapped back towards him, a shocked look on her face.
"What did you just say," she whispered.
"I said that your happiness is all that really matters to me," he repeated.
"Darien, that's exactly what you said to me in my dream," she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. She pulled away from him, and he looked at her strangely. "Well, not you, but your past self. Prince Darien came to me, and gave me this necklace. He said that he would always be here for me..."
"Until the very last breath he takes," Darien finished, shocking Serena. "Prince Darien was the voice from my dream, Serena. He told me to ask you if you have made the right decision ... Have you?"
Serena slowly shook her head. "Yes, Darien, I think I have," she replied.
Darien gave her a knowing smile, and then nodded his head in understanding. "Then let's go save Lotus and Rini. All of us, as a team."
* * * * * * *
After Serena had fainted, and Darien had taken her upstairs, everyone had remained silent, lost in their own thoughts. They were all as shocked as Serena had been, and didn't quite know what to say. As Sailor Pluto and Lady Kayura talked quietly between themselves, Rei threw her arms up into the air in frustration.
"I can't stand this silence anymore," she exclaimed. "We have to do something, to save Rini!" Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"I've been thinking the situation over," Rowen said. "Sailor Pluto, how can Lotus be so old? He looks like he's about 20 years old! Granted, he is from the future, but there would have had to been a very long time in between his birth, and Rini's birth."
Sailor Pluto looked towards the stairs as she saw someone from the corner of her eye. She gave a small smile as Serena and Darien silently took a seat at the bottom of the stairs, unnoticed by everyone except for Lady Kayura and herself. "Princess, why don't you come join us," Pluto said to Serena.
"Hi, guys," she said, standing from her seat on the stairs, and joining Kento on the couch. All eyes were on her instantly, however before everyone could bombard her with questions, Sailor Pluto cleared her throat. As everyone's gaze shifted back towards her, Serena grabbed Kento's hand and gave it a squeeze. He looked at her questioningly, but she only smiled at him, and then looked back towards Pluto.
"You asked why Lotus is so much older than Rini, but the answer is a difficult one," Pluto began. "In the future, each of the Princesses from the Planets of the Inner Solar System and the Moon are to bear a child that will succeed to the throne. That child was supposed to be a girl, and it was so in the cases of Princesses Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. However, in your case Princess Serenity, you are to have a boy - Lotus."
"Each of us have a daughter," Mina asked with wide eyes.
"Yes," Pluto replied. "And five years later, you each bear a son, except for you, Princess. The child you bear is your daughter - Rini."
"Wow," Lita exclaimed. "We all have children in the future!" Pluto nodded, and gave a small smile.
"That still doesn't explain why Lotus appears so much older than Rini," Rowen said thoughtfully.
"What happened that turned my… I mean, Lotus evil," Serena asked, at the same time Rowen spoke.
"In order to answer your question, Rowen, I must answer Princess Serenity's first," Pluto replied. "It is an unwritten law that the first daughter born to the royal families of the solar system succeed their mother to the throne of that planet."
"But why must a girl be successor to the throne," Rei asked.
"Because only the genetic make up of a female can fully utilize the powers of her planet," Pluto replied. "That's the best way to put it simply." She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "At the age of five, the commencement of the successor's training begins," she continued. "Lotus was too young to understand why he wasn't receiving the same training as the other children. However, when Small Lady Serenity was born, and Neo Queen Serenity announced that her daughter would become successor to the throne, Lotus began to withdraw from everyone except for his best friend. Then, on the night of Small Lady's fourth birthday, he disappeared."
"I'm beginning to understand, now," Darien said as he leaned against the wall. "He must have been feeling left out and under-appreciated."
"That's correct, Prince Darien," Pluto replied. "One year later, on the eve of Small Lady's fifth birthday, an evil force attacked the Crystal Palace. A man shrouded by the dark appeared, and an evil different from that of the Negaverse radiated from him. He wasted no time finding Neo Queen Serenity. Once he located her, a small boy appeared, bearing the symbol of the Royal Family."
"And it was Lotus," Serena asked. Pluto nodded her head.
"As I was about to intervene, Small Lady appeared before me," Pluto continued. "So, I was forced to allow the situation to continue. Before her very eyes, the mysterious figure turned Prince Lotus against his own mother. He began to glow with black energy and as it erupted from him, a full-grown man stood before Neo Queen Serenity. She could only cry as the only resemblance of her son, his royal symbol, was replaced by the black, upside-down crescent moon."
"So, Lotus was brainwashed," Mia asked. "It makes sense now. The figure needed the Silver Emperial Crystal for his own purposes, so what better way than to use a member of the Royal Family."
"You must find Small Lady, and get back the Silver Emperial Crystal," Pluto stated. "She doesn't know it, but it has merged with her temporarily. That is what the enemy is after."
"The only problem is to find out who he is," Kayura said, speaking for the first time. "The only thing we have to go by, is that he's from the Nether Realm."
"But how did this enemy even know about the Silver Emperial Crystal," Sai asked.
"That's a good question, Sai," Kayura said. "And one that I'm afraid I don't have the answer to. We must find our way to the remains of the Dynasty castle, and discover his identity to uncover the answers."
"Then perhaps you should start there," a deep male voice stated. White Blaze, who had been lying near Ryo, immediately uttered a low growl. Serena quickly got up, and knelt down next to the tiger.
"It's all right, White Blaze," she said, resting a hand on his head. "He's a friend." Her words seemed to appease the tiger, because he remained quiet. Serena walked towards the figure and spoke. "So you finally came."
To the surprise of everyone, the man knelt down before her on one knee. He was a very tall man, and he wore a black hooded cloak, hiding his features from sight. "It is you who has wished me back," he stated. "I am forever in your debt, Princess Serenity, future queen of the White Moon Kingdom."
"Please, don't you start, too," Serena exclaimed with a laugh.
Lady Kayura studied the man, and a small smile momentarily graced her lips. "How do you propose we get there," she asked the cloaked figure. "All the gates leading to the remains of the Dynasty castle have been destroyed."
"All but one, Lady Kayura," he replied. "Deep in the Forest of the Spirits, within the Nether Realm, lies a hidden gate."
As the man spoke, the same thought ran throughout the minds of the Ronins, Mia, and Yuli. However, Yuli was the first to ask. "Just who are you, Mister," he asked, hiding slightly behind Mia.
"Do we know you," Ryo asked. "You do sound familiar."
The man walked over to Yuli, and knelt down next to him. "You have nothing to fear from me, boy," the man said. He pulled back the hood of his cloak, and long, reddish-brown hair fell against his face, surprising the young boy. The man stood up, and looked at Mia
"Oh my God," Mia gasped. "How is this possible! A-Anubis, is that really you?" She ran her fingers through his silky hair, and then rested a hand against his face. "Are you really alive?" As a tear rolled down her cheek, Anubis gently brushed it away with his thumb. More tears welled up in her eyes, and she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace, sobbing quietly.
"Yes, I really am alive, Mia," he said. He spoke softly into her hair, as he returned her embrace. He kissed the top of her head as her sobbing subsided. "Princess Serenity used her wish to wish me back." He looked towards Serena and smiled. "If there is ever anything I can do in return ..."
"Don't worry about it, Anubis," Serena said, waving her hand as if she were dismissing the idea. "Just seeing Mia happy is enough for me!" Mia walked over to Serena, and gave her a hug.
"Thank you so much, Serena," Mia said, wiping at her eyes. "You're such a kind person. Nothing bad should ever happen to people like you." Serena smiled in return and then looked towards Sailor Pluto as she stood up from her spot.
"Sailor Pluto, where are you going," she asked.
"I must go now, Princess. I have done all that I can do," Sailor Pluto replied. "Ronin Warriors, search within for the strength of your newfound powers. That strength will come to you when the time is right."
"Thank you, Sailor Pluto," Ryo said. "We will rescue Princess Rini, and we'll find a way to free Prince Lotus."
Pluto smiled, and then looked towards Kayura. "I trust you will lead them to the Nether Realm, Lady Kayura," she stated.
"I will guide them safely," came her reply.
"Then I have nothing to worry about," Pluto stated. "Warriors, use your best judgement when you battle Kite again. She is more important than you may think. I bid you farewell." In a flash of light, Sailor Pluto was gone.
As a silence filled the room, Kento cracked his knuckles. "Who's up for a fight," he exclaimed. "Let's go get Rini and Lotus!" His excitement passed on to the others, and Serena nodded.
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," she replied. "Sailor Scouts, transform!"
"Ronin Warriors, to arms," Ryo echoed. As the ten warriors finished their transformations, Lady Kayura stepped forward.
"From here on, it will only become more difficult," she said. "The identity of the leader is still unknown, and we do not know how great his power is. Do not be fooled."
"We'll be able to defeat whatever they throw at us," Sage said confidently as the sign of Jupiter glowed brightly on his gauntlets.
Lady Kayura allowed the Ancient's staff to float in the air, and a white column of light glowed upward. "Then if you are ready, step in this light," she said. Sailor Mars went first and as Ryo was about to go he stopped and turned towards his tiger.
"I want you to stay here, boy," he hold White Blaze. "Protect the house." His pet sat down, silently obeying his master. As Ryo stepped through, the other Scouts and Ronins stepped into the light and disappeared. As Sailor Moon was about to go, Darien reached out and grabbed her arm gently.
"Be careful, alright," he said, softly. "I think it will be best if I stay here, and help protect the house."
"I promise I will be careful, Darien," she said, squeezing his hand. He let go of her, and she disappeared into the light. Kento and Darien stared at each other silently as an unspoken message passed between them. Kento gave a firm nod, and then turned to Yuli.
"Don't worry, kiddo," he said, placing a hand on Yuli's head. "We'll bring Rini back safe and sound." Yuli's face beamed with a smile, and then Kento stepped through into the light. Kayura grabbed her staff afterwards, and then turned towards Anubis, Mia, Darien, and Yuli.
"The Jewel of Life shall help protect this house," she stated. "As long as it is in your possession, no harm will befall you."
"Please tell everyone to be careful, Lady Kayura," Yuli said.
"I promise I will Yuli," she replied.
"Lady Kayura, the forest may be full of danger," Anubis warned. "It is the path Lotus has chosen to go. Guide the warriors with your wisdom."
"Of course," Kayura said. "It's good to have you back, Anubis. The others send their regards, I'm sure." Anubis cracked a smile as Kayura disappeared, leaving behind only the sound of the chimes from the staff's golden rings.
To Be Continued . . .