Special Dedication: To my oneesan, Usa-chan.
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True Soulmates?
Chapter 3 - Doubts of the Heart
Author: Krys Yuy
*********************************
"Let go of me!" Princess Serenity screamed.
"No, my dear princess, you are mine," hissed an evil voice. The figure held on to her arm with no sign of releasing her.
"Please!" Serenity begged. "Leave me be!!"
"You shall always be mine," the voice said with lust. "You will never escape me... never!"
"No! Who are you?!" Serenity asked in fear.
Dark light erupted all around, enough for Serenity to see his face. What she saw made her step back in surprise and fear. She winced as the man's grip tightened around her more. Tears threatened to spill over her delicate face and she flinched as the dark figure stroked her cheek.
"Stop, Endymion!!"
*End Nightmare*
Serena screamed as she woke up. Sweat poured down her face and she was panting. She shook as the remainders of the nightmare flowed through her mind. She pulled her blankets tightly around herself and rubbed her arms, trying to get warm. Silent tears of confusion fell down her cheeks. What had just happened?
'Darien... Endymion... why? Who are you really?'
* * * * *
Laughter filled with light danced all around him from the sides. A warm feeling came over him as he, too, started to laugh. It was a foreign sound, which had never escaped his lips before in the longest time. His comrades would go in pure shock to see him like he was now. His lips were curved into the most handsome smile and his eyes twinkled. A pair of arms encircled his waist from behind, giggling. He twisted around to face the person causing him so much emotion. He failed to see her face but caught a flash of sapphire eyes.
The mysterious woman caressed his face with a loving stroke. "I'll always be by your side. Never forget that," she murmured.
Before he could say anything, light flashed and the scene changed. No longer was the woman hugging him. She was a few yards away, struggling with a man. He had her held by the waist as she tried to wiggle out of his seemingly iron grasp. She cried in fear and pain. Suddenly, her tearful eyes turned towards the dreamer, pleading. He tried to move but all he could do was watch. Pain constricted through him and he felt like he couldn't breathe as the woman disappeared with the strange man.
Again, his surroundings changed. He was back in the misty place filled with light. He just stood there, emotions whirling through him, but no sign of a change in his face.
"Find her...," a voice whispered. "Find her and you shall find your other..." The voice trailed off and seemed to disappear, another one taking its place.
"Heero..." a silver voice rang out. "Help me, please..."
Then all faded quickly when the voice screamed.
*End Dream*
* * * * *
The girls' heads snapped to attention when a scream echoed throughout the shrine. It seemed to come from Serena's bedroom. They all dashed out of the kitchen and ran to their princess's room. Raye yanked the door open and they all quickly went inside. The four Inner Senshi saw Serena crying quietly, looking as if something had just happened, that had disturbed her greatly.
"Sere! Are you all right?" asked Mina gently, sitting next to Serena and wrapping her arms around her in a comforting hug.
All Serena did was shake her head no and cry on Mina's shoulder.
Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy looked at each other with worry evident in their eyes. They needed to know what had happened to upset their princess so much. None of them had ever seen her quite like this before. Something important had just occurred. What exactly was it?
Lita joined her two friends on the bed. She rubbed Serena's back with her palm. "Is this about our talk yesterday?" she asked.
(AN: Refer to conversation in Chapter 2 - Meeting, if you don't know what I am talking about.)
Serena calmed down some what and sniffed. "Well, kind of," she answered.
Raye and Amy also sat on the edge of the bed. "Serena, please tell us what happened," Amy said.
Raye nodded her head. "We might be able to help if you tell us," she suggested.
Serena seemed hesitant as she pulled away from Mina. "I don't know how to say it," she confessed softly.
"Just say what you remember," Lita offered.
The Moon Princess sighed softly then inhaled a bit of air. "Okay," she agreed. "Well, I was dreaming. It was dark and I couldn't see anything. Someone was holding onto my arm painfully and I was screaming. I think I was in my princess form. I was so afraid. The person kept giving off this strange energy that was definitely evil. I asked who the person was and suddenly, there was this dark flash of light. For a minute, I saw the person's face." Serena stopped there, unable to say anymore.
"Come on, Sere," Mina said. "Who was it?"
Serena gulped and wiped some sweat off of her forehead. "It was... it was..." She whispered the name quietly.
"What?" asked Raye.
All four of Serena's friends leaned closer to her.
"Endymion," the princess answered with no emotion whatsoever.
"WHAT?!" Four voices screamed, which could be heard throughout all of Juuban.
* * * * *
"Noooo!"
Quatre and Trowa both turned towards the source of the outburst. Then they looked at each other, then back at where the source seemed to be coming from. At the same time, they both ran to the west wing of Quatre's mansion where the pilots' rooms were located.
The two were the only ones in the living room. Wufei was in the training room. Duo was most likely sleeping in. As for Heero, they figured he was still sleeping too, which was unusual for the perfect soldier. What worried them though, was that the voice who yelled sounded like him.
When they reached the hall that held the pilots' rooms, they knocked quickly on Heero's door. No answer sounded but they tried again. Finally, they opened the door, wanting to know what had happened. The sight that greeted them was one which they had never seen before.
Heero was on his bed, clutching his head. He was shaking it negative. Sweat covered his body. His eyes were closed as if trying to deny something. He kept whispering something to himself, saying it over and over again.
"No, no," he was chanting.
"Heero?" asked Quatre cautiously.
Heero opened his eyes and looked up at him and Trowa. His eyes were blank and seemed confused. Then they slowly came into focus. For a brief second, Trowa and Quatre actually read some emotions from the perfect soldier. That surprised them profoundly. Heero was always so careful in shielding his emotions. They saw pain and utter confusion but it was gone quickly. In its wake, the perfect soldier was left as he usually was. He glared at them, his eyes colder than ever before.
"What are you doing in here?" he asked in his monotone voice.
"Heero," started Trowa surprisingly. "You screamed out very loud. Quatre and I heard you from the living room."
Heero's eyes widened but no emotion surfaced. He stared at them hard.
Quatre took a step toward him hesitantly. "Are you okay, Heero?"
Heero didn't do or say anything but just looked at them with those eyes that could burn holes. After quite some time, he nodded his head curtly. "Leave," he demanded with no emotion.
Quatre sighed visibly. 'Heero, why can't you just tell us what you're going through? We might be able to help,' he thought.
However, the blonde pilot knew better. The day the perfect soldier showed real emotions was the day miracles happened. Quatre prayed silently for his friend that there were such things. He and Trowa left quietly, closing the door behind them.
Heero just stared at where his fellow pilots had been. He shut his eyes and then turned towards the closed curtains of his bedroom. He stepped onto the carpeted floor and opened them. He shielded his eyes from the sun and blinked at the sudden light. His hand gripped the handle of the sliding door as he opened it too. A slight wind circled around him as he made his way onto the balcony. He stood there, wondering about his dream. He gripped the railing in frustration. What was it supposed to mean?
As Heero stared at the fading sunrise, he had one thought about the woman in his dreams. 'Who are you?' Then his mind asked one more question, which would be answered sooner than expected.
'Is there actually somebody out there for me?'
* * * * *
Serena had a headache as her friends asked her more questions. It seemed the Inner Senshi could not contemplate what their princess had just said. Serena knew she had not gone crazy. Then something in the back of her head tugged at her mind. Serena thought hard and suddenly a voice echoed through her head.
'You are already familiar with this person, who is very close to all of you and has observed you for many years. This enemy managed to create an illusion of myself and memories of the Moon Kingdom before you destroyed Beryl.'
Serena gasped as she remembered the words her mother had told her and her guardians. Her friends stopped asking questions as they heard her sharp intake of breath. They looked at her worriedly.
"Serena? Serena, we're sorry for asking you so many questions but we just can't believe it," said Mina.
Serena didn't hear her at all. She asked the question again and again in her head. 'Could it be?' she asked herself. 'Could Darien actually be... our enemy?' She was taken out of her reverie as Raye shook her shoulders.
"Serena? Are you sure that it was Endymion?" she asked.
Serena nodded. "Yes, I'm sure." The new information which she had to consider, served to increase her headache. She groaned and raised her right hand to her forehead.
"Hey, you okay?"
"I just need some air," Serena answered. She slipped out of the covers of her bed and put on her slippers. She stepped out of the room, still in her silk pajamas. She shivered as a breeze blew past her.
Serena leaned against the railing, her chin rested on both of her palms. She sighed as she heard her friends discussing what she had told them. She looked over the beautiful scenery of the temple, which had served perfectly as a home. A stray cherry blossom landed on her face. She reached up and felt the gentle petals on her finger tips. Her mind was spinning from her suspicions.
'Could all the times I've been with Darien been a lie? Could I have spent all this time since I was fourteen with the wrong man?' she asked herself. She brushed a stray lock of hair from her face as the wind ruffled her hair, making it seem to ripple like golden water.
'Is there actually somebody out there for me?'
As she asked this question, she was unaware another was asking the same thing.
* * * * *
Two hours later...
Serena fidgeted nervously on the park bench as she waited for Darien. She had changed into a simple navy dress and high heels. She reached her hand up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. As she did so, someone placed their hands over her eyes and whispered in her ear, "Guess who?"
The voice sent chills up and down Serena's spine. They were chills of fear and disgust, not the kind of love and tenderness. She plastered on a fake smile as Darien sat next to her. "What's wrong, Serena?" he asked with what looked to be sincere concern.
"It's nothing."
"All right, my love," Darien said.
Serena tried not to shudder. "Well, there is one thing."
"What is it?"
"You see... well, the thing is..."
"Come on, you can tell me anything, Serena," he replied, tilting her chin to look into his eyes.
Serena searched his midnight blue eyes for a sign, any sign that he cared for her. Did she find anything? No. There was no love, she realized. Were these the eyes she had gazed into before? She didn't know. What frightened her to the very core of her being was that she had seen lust. Pure lust in his eyes for her. She shivered and hugged her dress tighter to her body. That only served to ride the dress up her thigh. She saw the flash in his eyes again. He was reaching his arms around to wrap them around her waist, but she pulled away from them.
Darien tried to reel in his frustration and anger. "What's the matter, sweetheart?" he gritted through his teeth.
"I think we should see other people."
"What?!"
"This relationship isn't working, Darien. At least not for me."
"You can't just walk away from me! From us!"
"I can and I will."
"We're destined! Meant to be! What about Rini?"
Serena shook her head regretfully. "She will be born if she was truly meant to exist." Before Darien could grab her, she ran away.
Darien shook with fury as his fists clenched. His body was surrounded in a red aura as his eyes turned blood red. "You are mine, Serenity dearest. Always. You will never be anyone's but my own!"
Serena glanced over her shoulder just in time to see the red aura disappear. "Oh my god!" She ran faster to her car and jumped in. She turned the key to the engine and drove as quickly as she could to the shrine, but not before she heard a terrifying voice whisper in her ear.
"Serenity... you can run but you can't hide."
End Chapter 3 - Doubts of the Heart
Coming Next - Chapter 4 - Solitary Dragon & War Priestess: I Saw Your Face
*********************************
True Soulmates?
Chapter 3 - Doubts of the Heart
Author: Krys Yuy
*********************************
"Let go of me!" Princess Serenity screamed.
"No, my dear princess, you are mine," hissed an evil voice. The figure held on to her arm with no sign of releasing her.
"Please!" Serenity begged. "Leave me be!!"
"You shall always be mine," the voice said with lust. "You will never escape me... never!"
"No! Who are you?!" Serenity asked in fear.
Dark light erupted all around, enough for Serenity to see his face. What she saw made her step back in surprise and fear. She winced as the man's grip tightened around her more. Tears threatened to spill over her delicate face and she flinched as the dark figure stroked her cheek.
"Stop, Endymion!!"
*End Nightmare*
Serena screamed as she woke up. Sweat poured down her face and she was panting. She shook as the remainders of the nightmare flowed through her mind. She pulled her blankets tightly around herself and rubbed her arms, trying to get warm. Silent tears of confusion fell down her cheeks. What had just happened?
'Darien... Endymion... why? Who are you really?'
* * * * *
Laughter filled with light danced all around him from the sides. A warm feeling came over him as he, too, started to laugh. It was a foreign sound, which had never escaped his lips before in the longest time. His comrades would go in pure shock to see him like he was now. His lips were curved into the most handsome smile and his eyes twinkled. A pair of arms encircled his waist from behind, giggling. He twisted around to face the person causing him so much emotion. He failed to see her face but caught a flash of sapphire eyes.
The mysterious woman caressed his face with a loving stroke. "I'll always be by your side. Never forget that," she murmured.
Before he could say anything, light flashed and the scene changed. No longer was the woman hugging him. She was a few yards away, struggling with a man. He had her held by the waist as she tried to wiggle out of his seemingly iron grasp. She cried in fear and pain. Suddenly, her tearful eyes turned towards the dreamer, pleading. He tried to move but all he could do was watch. Pain constricted through him and he felt like he couldn't breathe as the woman disappeared with the strange man.
Again, his surroundings changed. He was back in the misty place filled with light. He just stood there, emotions whirling through him, but no sign of a change in his face.
"Find her...," a voice whispered. "Find her and you shall find your other..." The voice trailed off and seemed to disappear, another one taking its place.
"Heero..." a silver voice rang out. "Help me, please..."
Then all faded quickly when the voice screamed.
*End Dream*
* * * * *
The girls' heads snapped to attention when a scream echoed throughout the shrine. It seemed to come from Serena's bedroom. They all dashed out of the kitchen and ran to their princess's room. Raye yanked the door open and they all quickly went inside. The four Inner Senshi saw Serena crying quietly, looking as if something had just happened, that had disturbed her greatly.
"Sere! Are you all right?" asked Mina gently, sitting next to Serena and wrapping her arms around her in a comforting hug.
All Serena did was shake her head no and cry on Mina's shoulder.
Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy looked at each other with worry evident in their eyes. They needed to know what had happened to upset their princess so much. None of them had ever seen her quite like this before. Something important had just occurred. What exactly was it?
Lita joined her two friends on the bed. She rubbed Serena's back with her palm. "Is this about our talk yesterday?" she asked.
(AN: Refer to conversation in Chapter 2 - Meeting, if you don't know what I am talking about.)
Serena calmed down some what and sniffed. "Well, kind of," she answered.
Raye and Amy also sat on the edge of the bed. "Serena, please tell us what happened," Amy said.
Raye nodded her head. "We might be able to help if you tell us," she suggested.
Serena seemed hesitant as she pulled away from Mina. "I don't know how to say it," she confessed softly.
"Just say what you remember," Lita offered.
The Moon Princess sighed softly then inhaled a bit of air. "Okay," she agreed. "Well, I was dreaming. It was dark and I couldn't see anything. Someone was holding onto my arm painfully and I was screaming. I think I was in my princess form. I was so afraid. The person kept giving off this strange energy that was definitely evil. I asked who the person was and suddenly, there was this dark flash of light. For a minute, I saw the person's face." Serena stopped there, unable to say anymore.
"Come on, Sere," Mina said. "Who was it?"
Serena gulped and wiped some sweat off of her forehead. "It was... it was..." She whispered the name quietly.
"What?" asked Raye.
All four of Serena's friends leaned closer to her.
"Endymion," the princess answered with no emotion whatsoever.
"WHAT?!" Four voices screamed, which could be heard throughout all of Juuban.
* * * * *
"Noooo!"
Quatre and Trowa both turned towards the source of the outburst. Then they looked at each other, then back at where the source seemed to be coming from. At the same time, they both ran to the west wing of Quatre's mansion where the pilots' rooms were located.
The two were the only ones in the living room. Wufei was in the training room. Duo was most likely sleeping in. As for Heero, they figured he was still sleeping too, which was unusual for the perfect soldier. What worried them though, was that the voice who yelled sounded like him.
When they reached the hall that held the pilots' rooms, they knocked quickly on Heero's door. No answer sounded but they tried again. Finally, they opened the door, wanting to know what had happened. The sight that greeted them was one which they had never seen before.
Heero was on his bed, clutching his head. He was shaking it negative. Sweat covered his body. His eyes were closed as if trying to deny something. He kept whispering something to himself, saying it over and over again.
"No, no," he was chanting.
"Heero?" asked Quatre cautiously.
Heero opened his eyes and looked up at him and Trowa. His eyes were blank and seemed confused. Then they slowly came into focus. For a brief second, Trowa and Quatre actually read some emotions from the perfect soldier. That surprised them profoundly. Heero was always so careful in shielding his emotions. They saw pain and utter confusion but it was gone quickly. In its wake, the perfect soldier was left as he usually was. He glared at them, his eyes colder than ever before.
"What are you doing in here?" he asked in his monotone voice.
"Heero," started Trowa surprisingly. "You screamed out very loud. Quatre and I heard you from the living room."
Heero's eyes widened but no emotion surfaced. He stared at them hard.
Quatre took a step toward him hesitantly. "Are you okay, Heero?"
Heero didn't do or say anything but just looked at them with those eyes that could burn holes. After quite some time, he nodded his head curtly. "Leave," he demanded with no emotion.
Quatre sighed visibly. 'Heero, why can't you just tell us what you're going through? We might be able to help,' he thought.
However, the blonde pilot knew better. The day the perfect soldier showed real emotions was the day miracles happened. Quatre prayed silently for his friend that there were such things. He and Trowa left quietly, closing the door behind them.
Heero just stared at where his fellow pilots had been. He shut his eyes and then turned towards the closed curtains of his bedroom. He stepped onto the carpeted floor and opened them. He shielded his eyes from the sun and blinked at the sudden light. His hand gripped the handle of the sliding door as he opened it too. A slight wind circled around him as he made his way onto the balcony. He stood there, wondering about his dream. He gripped the railing in frustration. What was it supposed to mean?
As Heero stared at the fading sunrise, he had one thought about the woman in his dreams. 'Who are you?' Then his mind asked one more question, which would be answered sooner than expected.
'Is there actually somebody out there for me?'
* * * * *
Serena had a headache as her friends asked her more questions. It seemed the Inner Senshi could not contemplate what their princess had just said. Serena knew she had not gone crazy. Then something in the back of her head tugged at her mind. Serena thought hard and suddenly a voice echoed through her head.
'You are already familiar with this person, who is very close to all of you and has observed you for many years. This enemy managed to create an illusion of myself and memories of the Moon Kingdom before you destroyed Beryl.'
Serena gasped as she remembered the words her mother had told her and her guardians. Her friends stopped asking questions as they heard her sharp intake of breath. They looked at her worriedly.
"Serena? Serena, we're sorry for asking you so many questions but we just can't believe it," said Mina.
Serena didn't hear her at all. She asked the question again and again in her head. 'Could it be?' she asked herself. 'Could Darien actually be... our enemy?' She was taken out of her reverie as Raye shook her shoulders.
"Serena? Are you sure that it was Endymion?" she asked.
Serena nodded. "Yes, I'm sure." The new information which she had to consider, served to increase her headache. She groaned and raised her right hand to her forehead.
"Hey, you okay?"
"I just need some air," Serena answered. She slipped out of the covers of her bed and put on her slippers. She stepped out of the room, still in her silk pajamas. She shivered as a breeze blew past her.
Serena leaned against the railing, her chin rested on both of her palms. She sighed as she heard her friends discussing what she had told them. She looked over the beautiful scenery of the temple, which had served perfectly as a home. A stray cherry blossom landed on her face. She reached up and felt the gentle petals on her finger tips. Her mind was spinning from her suspicions.
'Could all the times I've been with Darien been a lie? Could I have spent all this time since I was fourteen with the wrong man?' she asked herself. She brushed a stray lock of hair from her face as the wind ruffled her hair, making it seem to ripple like golden water.
'Is there actually somebody out there for me?'
As she asked this question, she was unaware another was asking the same thing.
* * * * *
Two hours later...
Serena fidgeted nervously on the park bench as she waited for Darien. She had changed into a simple navy dress and high heels. She reached her hand up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. As she did so, someone placed their hands over her eyes and whispered in her ear, "Guess who?"
The voice sent chills up and down Serena's spine. They were chills of fear and disgust, not the kind of love and tenderness. She plastered on a fake smile as Darien sat next to her. "What's wrong, Serena?" he asked with what looked to be sincere concern.
"It's nothing."
"All right, my love," Darien said.
Serena tried not to shudder. "Well, there is one thing."
"What is it?"
"You see... well, the thing is..."
"Come on, you can tell me anything, Serena," he replied, tilting her chin to look into his eyes.
Serena searched his midnight blue eyes for a sign, any sign that he cared for her. Did she find anything? No. There was no love, she realized. Were these the eyes she had gazed into before? She didn't know. What frightened her to the very core of her being was that she had seen lust. Pure lust in his eyes for her. She shivered and hugged her dress tighter to her body. That only served to ride the dress up her thigh. She saw the flash in his eyes again. He was reaching his arms around to wrap them around her waist, but she pulled away from them.
Darien tried to reel in his frustration and anger. "What's the matter, sweetheart?" he gritted through his teeth.
"I think we should see other people."
"What?!"
"This relationship isn't working, Darien. At least not for me."
"You can't just walk away from me! From us!"
"I can and I will."
"We're destined! Meant to be! What about Rini?"
Serena shook her head regretfully. "She will be born if she was truly meant to exist." Before Darien could grab her, she ran away.
Darien shook with fury as his fists clenched. His body was surrounded in a red aura as his eyes turned blood red. "You are mine, Serenity dearest. Always. You will never be anyone's but my own!"
Serena glanced over her shoulder just in time to see the red aura disappear. "Oh my god!" She ran faster to her car and jumped in. She turned the key to the engine and drove as quickly as she could to the shrine, but not before she heard a terrifying voice whisper in her ear.
"Serenity... you can run but you can't hide."
End Chapter 3 - Doubts of the Heart
Coming Next - Chapter 4 - Solitary Dragon & War Priestess: I Saw Your Face