Light flooded into the apartment, making its way through to shine on
Serena as she slept. Feeling the warmth around her, she began to wake up,
slowly rolling her head to the side and opening her eyes. The first thing
she noticed was that she was no longer Sailor Moon. Sighing, she once again
closed her eyes and curled up more comfortably in the bed.
With a start, she sat up and looked around her in surprise. This was definitely not her room, nor was it one of her friends. Looking down, she saw she still wore her clothes from yesterday underneath the thick dark blue covers. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she tried to stand, but collapsed back down in pain. Serena clutched her shirt, pressing her hand over her chest. It was then she remembered the blast Zoisite had hit her with. And everything else surfaced in her memory.
Fresh tears filled her eyes when she thought of Malachite's last words. In the end, he hadn't been her enemy. He had only been lost, like Nephrite. It pained her heart to know that even when someone could change, sometimes it was too late, and they still lost everything. Ignoring the pain and standing, she walked over to the closed door across from her and reached for the handle. Before she could touch it however, she froze in shock.
In front of her was one of the most beautifully carved mirrors she had ever seen. It looked very old and someone had taken great care in carving the roses on its pewter frame into perfect images of the real flower. But that wasn't what she was looking at. Her hand dropped to her side as she studied her reflection.
Serena stared at the girl before her. Her clothes clung to her pale, flawless skin and a faint glow coloured her cheeks. Large crystal blue eyes flecked with silver were framed by thick black lashes that brushed against her cheeks when she blinked. Golden hair that seemed to have a silver shine was done up in the usual style, but the loose streamers from the buns fell to her ankles now instead of her calves. After a few moments of confusion, she realized what had happened. She had turned into the girl she was before she was reborn. She had turned into Serenity.
A knock at the door startled her back to reality and she slowly opened it to see who was on the other side. For the briefest instant, her eyes lit up in some unknown emotion, but she didn't notice as she blushed and stepped backwards to get out of the persons way. Darien stepped into the room and stood in front of her. She still only came up to his shoulders, so she had no choice but to look up at him as usual. The blush spread as she wondered what he must be thinking. For a second, it seemed like he was different as well. The thought seemed absurd to her, so she discarded it and instead decided to find out what was going on.
"How did I get here?" Her voice was low and sounded strange to her. It had a gentle quality, yet it was authoritive as well.
"Your friends brought you here. They were worried and didn't know how to explain things to a doctor, so when Amy remembered that I was studying in med school they thought it would be best if you stayed with me for now. They left to go home so that their parents wouldn't worry. Lita told your mother you're with her." She nodded and looked away.
"I'm sorry about what I did on the roof last night." She whispered. Darien smiled and took her hand in his.
"Actually, that was three days ago." She raised her head in shock. "You've been out for a long time, probably because of the changes you've been going through." Serena blushed again. Darien's face grew serious as he moved over to the window. "It seems everyone remembers their life in the Moon Kingdom now, but we weren't sure if you did or not." He turned questioning eyes to her as she moved to sit on the bed.
"I only remember being Serenity." Darien's eyes saddened. "Nothing else." He nodded. After a moment, what he said finally filtered through her mind. She turned to him in shock. "How did you know about the Moon Kingdom?"
*Should I tell her who I am?* He shook his head as he decided it would be better for her to remember herself. Briefly, he wondered if her memories would come back like his. He hoped not.
*Flashback*
Darien sighed as he entered his apartment. He couldn't believe Serena had done that to him, much less that it had kept him out for the last hour. He wanted to help her, but if she wanted him out of it that bad, he would stay out of it. If anything happened to her though, he would never forgive himself. He shook his head. Serena could take care of herself now that she didn't need to hide her true abilities. Deciding a shower would calm his nerves, he went to the bathroom and stripped to his boxers.
Before he could turn on the water, the lights in the apartment brightened and some burst in a shower of sparks as there was a painful impact of air, like thunder without sound. Darien collapsed on the bathroom floor, holding his head in his hands and grunting in pain. It felt like his mind was being ripped apart.
The pain heightened as he began to see images of a past he had never thought he had. Flashes of him growing up as the prince of earth, forming an alliance with the moon, and finally, meeting the moon princess. Visions of him falling in love with her, and finally winning her heart danced across his mind, followed by memories of the war with Beryl and the last moment he had spent with his princess before both were killed almost simultaneously.
He cried out in sorrow as he saw his love and himself floating like rag dolls over the ruins of the palace, before his mind was consumed in darkness and he fell into the empty black void of a troubled sleep.
*End Flashback*
Darien blinked in surprise as he felt someone shaking him. Focusing his mind, he looked down to see Serena standing in front of him, lowering her hand from his shoulder.
"Are you alright, Darien? You blanked out on me for a while." He saw the worry on her face and couldn't help but smile.
"I'm fine. What was it you asked?"
"I asked you how you knew about the Moon Kingdom."
"Luna mentioned it." He lied. "She wanted to stay with you, but Artimis told her they needed to talk about some things." Serena's eyes widened.
"You know about Luna and Artimis? But why would they speak in front of you? They've always been very careful not to show anyone besides the Scouts that they weren't normal cats."
"I knew Luna could speak from hearing her talk to you when you were Sailor Moon." That wasn't the truth either. Luna and the other knew who he was and knew they could trust him. Deciding he should change the subject, he remembered how excited the Scouts had been last night. "I hear you defeated the last two generals."
Serena's eyes instantly filled with tears. "I didn't defeat them. I killed them." She said bitterly. Darien pulled her into a tight embrace, seeing she was really upset over this. Not even noticing what she was doing, Serena automatically wound her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest while she cried.
He held her like that until she had cried herself out. It felt good, to finally be able to release all the sadness she had felt over the last few days. She felt so warm and safe in his arms. Like she belonged there. Ever since she had become Sailor Moon, she had felt this emptiness inside of her. Whenever she was around Darien, she felt more complete then she had in years. It hadn't been that long since she had admitted to herself that she loved him, but now she knew he was the only one she would ever love this much in her life.
"I'm not going to tell you I understand, because I'm not completely sure I do. But I'll be here for you if you need me Serena." Darien whispered into her hair. She pulled away from him just enough to look into his eyes. What she saw made her smile. He did understand. She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek quickly, blushing as she pulled away. But as she looked into his eyes, she could see the love he felt, and so when he lowered his head and kissed her lips, she immediately responded.
Her mind went blank as she kissed him. She had an odd feeling that they had been like this many times before. As the kiss became more heated, she began to remember all the things she had sub-consciously struggled to repress. She began to remember her past.
Her life as Serenity played out before her eyes, everything from meeting the Scouts for the first time, to falling in love with the prince of earth. The final battle began, and she pulled away from Darien and cried out as she remembered all the pain and sorrow she had felt at that moment. Knowing what must be happening, Darien held her tighter and whispered comforting things into her ear.
After she had calmed down, she looked up at him with undisguised happiness. "Endymion." She hugged him to her tightly. "I thought I had lost you forever."
"I'd never leave you Serenity." He pulled away from her and placed a hand under her chin, tilting her head up. "I love you too much."
Serena smiled. "I love you too." He chuckled as he kissed her again.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Luna looked around at the faces of the Scouts as if she had just reunited with them after years. Which was true, in a way. All of them had been excessively happy since they had remembered their past. They were truly together once again. After holding a meeting to discuss their past, they had decided to head over to Darien's to see if Serena had awoken yet. All of them were relieved to finally have their princess back.
Entering his building, they hurried into the elevator and up to his door. After knocking and getting no answer, Rei impatiently tried the doorknob, and finding it unlocked, walked into the apartment. The group behind her protested that she shouldn't have entered without being invited, but they followed anyway.
"I guess he's not home." Mina said well she scanned the living room. "Or maybe he's checking on Sere." The group headed to the bedroom with Mina in the lead. When she opened the door, all jaws dropped in shock.
"Looks like Sere's feeling better." Lita giggled after a moment of shocked silence. At the sound of her voice, the two kissing people froze, blushing as they turned to face their friends. Serena's eyes lit up and she took a step forward as Luna went running to her and jumped into her arms.
"Oh Serenity, I missed you so much." Luna purred. The others studied Serena as she calmed Luna. Eyebrows raised as they noticed the changes.
"Serena…you look just like you did back in the Silver Millennium." Amy gasped. "It must have been from that pulse of energy from the crystal. It must have changed all the people from the Silver Millennium back into who they really were. I guess your old appearance was a disguise to trick the enemy."
Darien's eyes narrowed. "Which would mean the Negaverse now knows who she is."
Lita and Rei glanced at each other, worry evident in their eyes. Mina picked up Artimis and began absently to stroke his fur, while Amy slowly nodded. "I never thought of that."
Serena took a step towards the girls, about to say not to worry and they should catch up on old times, when she remembered the battle.
"Hold on a minute!" She glared at the group after setting Luna down, surprising and confusing them. "You broke your promise to me. All of you." The girls looked down, ashamed. She turned to Luna. "How could you? You ordered them to attack, and don't try saying you didn't cause I heard you." Serena paused before continuing. "I asked you not to interfere." Her head lowered and she shook it slowly. "Do you have any idea how much that hurt? I wasn't ready for it to happen. Didn't you think I could win on my own? Don't you have faith in me?"
Lita raised her head. "Of course we do Sere. It's just…she was hurting you…"
"And we couldn't stand it." Amy finished. "You mean so much to us." Mina nodded.
"You're the glue that holds all of us together. If there was even the slightest possibility of you getting hurt…"
"We would do whatever we could to could to stop it." Rei supplied.
"Don't be silly. We'll always be together." Serena smiled. Her smile vanished and her glare returned. "But that doesn't change the fact that you disobeyed direct orders…" The group sighed and glanced at each other.
"We might as well get comfortable." Artimis said as Serena ranted. "Cause we're in for a long lecture." The others nodded.
With a start, she sat up and looked around her in surprise. This was definitely not her room, nor was it one of her friends. Looking down, she saw she still wore her clothes from yesterday underneath the thick dark blue covers. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she tried to stand, but collapsed back down in pain. Serena clutched her shirt, pressing her hand over her chest. It was then she remembered the blast Zoisite had hit her with. And everything else surfaced in her memory.
Fresh tears filled her eyes when she thought of Malachite's last words. In the end, he hadn't been her enemy. He had only been lost, like Nephrite. It pained her heart to know that even when someone could change, sometimes it was too late, and they still lost everything. Ignoring the pain and standing, she walked over to the closed door across from her and reached for the handle. Before she could touch it however, she froze in shock.
In front of her was one of the most beautifully carved mirrors she had ever seen. It looked very old and someone had taken great care in carving the roses on its pewter frame into perfect images of the real flower. But that wasn't what she was looking at. Her hand dropped to her side as she studied her reflection.
Serena stared at the girl before her. Her clothes clung to her pale, flawless skin and a faint glow coloured her cheeks. Large crystal blue eyes flecked with silver were framed by thick black lashes that brushed against her cheeks when she blinked. Golden hair that seemed to have a silver shine was done up in the usual style, but the loose streamers from the buns fell to her ankles now instead of her calves. After a few moments of confusion, she realized what had happened. She had turned into the girl she was before she was reborn. She had turned into Serenity.
A knock at the door startled her back to reality and she slowly opened it to see who was on the other side. For the briefest instant, her eyes lit up in some unknown emotion, but she didn't notice as she blushed and stepped backwards to get out of the persons way. Darien stepped into the room and stood in front of her. She still only came up to his shoulders, so she had no choice but to look up at him as usual. The blush spread as she wondered what he must be thinking. For a second, it seemed like he was different as well. The thought seemed absurd to her, so she discarded it and instead decided to find out what was going on.
"How did I get here?" Her voice was low and sounded strange to her. It had a gentle quality, yet it was authoritive as well.
"Your friends brought you here. They were worried and didn't know how to explain things to a doctor, so when Amy remembered that I was studying in med school they thought it would be best if you stayed with me for now. They left to go home so that their parents wouldn't worry. Lita told your mother you're with her." She nodded and looked away.
"I'm sorry about what I did on the roof last night." She whispered. Darien smiled and took her hand in his.
"Actually, that was three days ago." She raised her head in shock. "You've been out for a long time, probably because of the changes you've been going through." Serena blushed again. Darien's face grew serious as he moved over to the window. "It seems everyone remembers their life in the Moon Kingdom now, but we weren't sure if you did or not." He turned questioning eyes to her as she moved to sit on the bed.
"I only remember being Serenity." Darien's eyes saddened. "Nothing else." He nodded. After a moment, what he said finally filtered through her mind. She turned to him in shock. "How did you know about the Moon Kingdom?"
*Should I tell her who I am?* He shook his head as he decided it would be better for her to remember herself. Briefly, he wondered if her memories would come back like his. He hoped not.
*Flashback*
Darien sighed as he entered his apartment. He couldn't believe Serena had done that to him, much less that it had kept him out for the last hour. He wanted to help her, but if she wanted him out of it that bad, he would stay out of it. If anything happened to her though, he would never forgive himself. He shook his head. Serena could take care of herself now that she didn't need to hide her true abilities. Deciding a shower would calm his nerves, he went to the bathroom and stripped to his boxers.
Before he could turn on the water, the lights in the apartment brightened and some burst in a shower of sparks as there was a painful impact of air, like thunder without sound. Darien collapsed on the bathroom floor, holding his head in his hands and grunting in pain. It felt like his mind was being ripped apart.
The pain heightened as he began to see images of a past he had never thought he had. Flashes of him growing up as the prince of earth, forming an alliance with the moon, and finally, meeting the moon princess. Visions of him falling in love with her, and finally winning her heart danced across his mind, followed by memories of the war with Beryl and the last moment he had spent with his princess before both were killed almost simultaneously.
He cried out in sorrow as he saw his love and himself floating like rag dolls over the ruins of the palace, before his mind was consumed in darkness and he fell into the empty black void of a troubled sleep.
*End Flashback*
Darien blinked in surprise as he felt someone shaking him. Focusing his mind, he looked down to see Serena standing in front of him, lowering her hand from his shoulder.
"Are you alright, Darien? You blanked out on me for a while." He saw the worry on her face and couldn't help but smile.
"I'm fine. What was it you asked?"
"I asked you how you knew about the Moon Kingdom."
"Luna mentioned it." He lied. "She wanted to stay with you, but Artimis told her they needed to talk about some things." Serena's eyes widened.
"You know about Luna and Artimis? But why would they speak in front of you? They've always been very careful not to show anyone besides the Scouts that they weren't normal cats."
"I knew Luna could speak from hearing her talk to you when you were Sailor Moon." That wasn't the truth either. Luna and the other knew who he was and knew they could trust him. Deciding he should change the subject, he remembered how excited the Scouts had been last night. "I hear you defeated the last two generals."
Serena's eyes instantly filled with tears. "I didn't defeat them. I killed them." She said bitterly. Darien pulled her into a tight embrace, seeing she was really upset over this. Not even noticing what she was doing, Serena automatically wound her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest while she cried.
He held her like that until she had cried herself out. It felt good, to finally be able to release all the sadness she had felt over the last few days. She felt so warm and safe in his arms. Like she belonged there. Ever since she had become Sailor Moon, she had felt this emptiness inside of her. Whenever she was around Darien, she felt more complete then she had in years. It hadn't been that long since she had admitted to herself that she loved him, but now she knew he was the only one she would ever love this much in her life.
"I'm not going to tell you I understand, because I'm not completely sure I do. But I'll be here for you if you need me Serena." Darien whispered into her hair. She pulled away from him just enough to look into his eyes. What she saw made her smile. He did understand. She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek quickly, blushing as she pulled away. But as she looked into his eyes, she could see the love he felt, and so when he lowered his head and kissed her lips, she immediately responded.
Her mind went blank as she kissed him. She had an odd feeling that they had been like this many times before. As the kiss became more heated, she began to remember all the things she had sub-consciously struggled to repress. She began to remember her past.
Her life as Serenity played out before her eyes, everything from meeting the Scouts for the first time, to falling in love with the prince of earth. The final battle began, and she pulled away from Darien and cried out as she remembered all the pain and sorrow she had felt at that moment. Knowing what must be happening, Darien held her tighter and whispered comforting things into her ear.
After she had calmed down, she looked up at him with undisguised happiness. "Endymion." She hugged him to her tightly. "I thought I had lost you forever."
"I'd never leave you Serenity." He pulled away from her and placed a hand under her chin, tilting her head up. "I love you too much."
Serena smiled. "I love you too." He chuckled as he kissed her again.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Luna looked around at the faces of the Scouts as if she had just reunited with them after years. Which was true, in a way. All of them had been excessively happy since they had remembered their past. They were truly together once again. After holding a meeting to discuss their past, they had decided to head over to Darien's to see if Serena had awoken yet. All of them were relieved to finally have their princess back.
Entering his building, they hurried into the elevator and up to his door. After knocking and getting no answer, Rei impatiently tried the doorknob, and finding it unlocked, walked into the apartment. The group behind her protested that she shouldn't have entered without being invited, but they followed anyway.
"I guess he's not home." Mina said well she scanned the living room. "Or maybe he's checking on Sere." The group headed to the bedroom with Mina in the lead. When she opened the door, all jaws dropped in shock.
"Looks like Sere's feeling better." Lita giggled after a moment of shocked silence. At the sound of her voice, the two kissing people froze, blushing as they turned to face their friends. Serena's eyes lit up and she took a step forward as Luna went running to her and jumped into her arms.
"Oh Serenity, I missed you so much." Luna purred. The others studied Serena as she calmed Luna. Eyebrows raised as they noticed the changes.
"Serena…you look just like you did back in the Silver Millennium." Amy gasped. "It must have been from that pulse of energy from the crystal. It must have changed all the people from the Silver Millennium back into who they really were. I guess your old appearance was a disguise to trick the enemy."
Darien's eyes narrowed. "Which would mean the Negaverse now knows who she is."
Lita and Rei glanced at each other, worry evident in their eyes. Mina picked up Artimis and began absently to stroke his fur, while Amy slowly nodded. "I never thought of that."
Serena took a step towards the girls, about to say not to worry and they should catch up on old times, when she remembered the battle.
"Hold on a minute!" She glared at the group after setting Luna down, surprising and confusing them. "You broke your promise to me. All of you." The girls looked down, ashamed. She turned to Luna. "How could you? You ordered them to attack, and don't try saying you didn't cause I heard you." Serena paused before continuing. "I asked you not to interfere." Her head lowered and she shook it slowly. "Do you have any idea how much that hurt? I wasn't ready for it to happen. Didn't you think I could win on my own? Don't you have faith in me?"
Lita raised her head. "Of course we do Sere. It's just…she was hurting you…"
"And we couldn't stand it." Amy finished. "You mean so much to us." Mina nodded.
"You're the glue that holds all of us together. If there was even the slightest possibility of you getting hurt…"
"We would do whatever we could to could to stop it." Rei supplied.
"Don't be silly. We'll always be together." Serena smiled. Her smile vanished and her glare returned. "But that doesn't change the fact that you disobeyed direct orders…" The group sighed and glanced at each other.
"We might as well get comfortable." Artimis said as Serena ranted. "Cause we're in for a long lecture." The others nodded.