Umm … okay … so the last chapter wasn't so great. n_n Hope this is better.

Disclaimer:: SM Doesn't belong to me.

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He watched her as she slept on his bed. Her silver hair streamed down over the sides and her tears trailed down her face, but her eyes remained shut. What was going on? When did he start to care for her? He knew that he had been attracted to Usagi … but the faults were always a turn off. Now? Now, she was a girl named Serena who held the wisdom and pain of somebody who had lived for eons. Her daughter had been taken from her when she, herself, had been a child. The child … a flash of the small girl appeared in his mind and a gentle smile appeared on his face as he saw the resemblance between mother and child. All that differed were the eyes.  While Serena's were a soulful violet … the child's were a dark blue. They had the ability to draw in everyone and he knew when the girl grew up, Serena was going to have trouble keeping the men away from her daughter.

Looking at the blinking numbers of his clock, he realized that it was mid-night. A frown crossed his face as he realized why he was so restless at this time. Usually, he would have been somewhere fighting a youma and saving a certain blonde heroine. He realized that it had been quite awhile since he felt the connection between himself and Sailor Moon. Nervously, he stood up and walked over towards the balcony and watched the city, worried at the silence the enemy had emitted. "…The calm before the storm."

His dark eyes gazed across the skyline and he tensed as he realized that there was something wrong in the air. Perhaps he was just being paranoid because it had been awhile since he's been in a battle but for some reason he knew it wasn't it. Walking over towards the sleeping girl once more, he wiped the tears on her face and sighed as more followed. He picked up the girl and embraced her body and smiled slightly as the tears stopped. She cuddled closer to him and hid her face in the crook of his neck. Then, he heard her whisper something that made him freeze. "…Michael…"

She loved the man … why else would she whisper his name in her sleep? Fighting against the pain that arose in his throat, he just held the girl. Why would she still love that man? After everything they had done to her? Smoothing the hair away from her face, he traced her features. "Why did you make me fall in love with you?" The pain that shot through his heart was excruciating as he realized that he had fallen in love with her.

"Why?" Unbeknownst to him, tears had started to drip down his face and onto her face. Lifting a hand, he wiped his cheek and cursed at the idea of crying. Gently gathering the girl closer in his arms, he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead before falling asleep. What he did not hear was her last whisper of the night. "…Darien…"

**********

Luna watched as the scouts paced back and forth. All day they had been restless, ready to run back towards the hotel and to Serena. Her tail twitched as she thought about what the girl had gone through. Poor child … "Will you stop pacing?! All of you!" Her ears flicked as the scouts stopped immediately and stare at her. "You are about to drive me out of my mind with all of that pacing!"

"Luna, we can't help it. We shouldn't have left her there by herself." Mina frowned and leaned against the floor, biting her nails - a habit she had picked up when she was a little girl. But she only bit her nails when under great pressure and stress. Right now both of them were a great amount.

"She can take of herself. You saw her powers. What I'm trying to figure out is how does she have those powers." Luna glanced towards Artemis and watched as he furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Artemis?"

"Could it have anything to do with her unique abilities?" His tail curled around his bottom as he tried to make sense of the hypothesis that floated in his mind.

"Huh?"

"What he means is … it might have something to do with our special abilities. We each have something that distinguishes from the other." Ami looked towards the white cat and raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you mean, Artemis?"

"Yea. Take Ami for example. Her special ability is her knowledge. A fortified genius, she stands out among the rest of us. Lita is a powerful girl … more so than the usual. Her amazing strength and fighting skills surpasses all of you."

"Mina, you have the leadership abilities … whenever we need someone to lead us … you always take control and another persona of you appear. You think quickly on your feet and learn formations swiftly. Rei, obviously, you are the link to our spiritual necessities. Your ability to communicate and sense different energy signals has helped us all." Ami took a breath and watched the astonished looks on the others. It had never occurred to them the different abilities that they all possessed.

The blonde senshi of Venus raised a hand hesitantly. "Um … shouldn't Usa … I mean, Serena have the leadership abilities? I mean she is the leader of all of us."

"I guess it doesn't work out that way. You were probably the second in command on the moon, Mina. I've always wondered what Serena's ability was. She was clumsy, slow, unreliable … she didn't seem to have anything. Now we know Serena's ability is pure, unadulterated power. When in that hotel room and she let loose all the power … it was amazing! With that power, she could have easily destroyed all of our youmas alone." Artemis backed up as he saw the anger flash through Rei's eyes.

"Then, why the hell didn't she use it?! There were so many times when we were so close to dying! All she did was act ignorant and clumsy!" Outrage swirled through her mind as she remembered all those time when they or an innocent had been hurt.

"Why do you think you didn't die during those battles? I realize now that if Serena had never been there, all of you would have died on the first battle. All those battles when we were near death, she discreetly used her powers and protected you. If she had helped with her powers outright … then you would have grown dependent and lazy. What would happen should she have died? You would have perished too because you didn't hone our powers. But most of all … I think she hid her powers because of the fact that she was afraid that you might shun her as the people in her past have." Luna blinked back her tears as she remembered the night when Serena had revealed her distrust in humans. That night when she had told the cat of all the things she had to go through as a child.  

"We would have never done that! We were her friends and comrades. Why would she think that?" Mina sat; confused by all the information she received. The Sailor Moon she knew would have always trusted people and would have told them … but of course the Sailor Moon she knew wasn't a real person.

"Think of all of what she had to go through. Her father beat her and the people she trusted most stole her baby. Her mother abandoned her when she was just a child and children spurned her because of her distinctive looks. If I had gone through everything she had … I would not have had the strength to think anything of humans. I would have closed my heart and stayed away from humans." Luna and the others bowed their heads and didn't notice Lita raise an eyebrow.

"Doesn't it bother anyone that the four men look like the four generals?" The obvious question hung in the air, thickening the apprehension in the atmosphere. That simple question froze the entire room and Lita just shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I'm not saying that they're the generals … but they look too pretty damn alike to be ignored."

"They're not the generals. I scanned all their energies and I sensed no evil. They do, however, seem to harbor a great amount of power similar to their evil counterparts." Rei twisted a lock of hair around her finger, trying to remember more of what she got. "It was quite strange … did any of you guys feel a certain attachment to one of them? A kind of mixed hatred and attraction?"

Each girl stared at the priestess, shocked by her words. "Yea … Zachary kind of caught me off guard many times." Ami blushed slightly at the memory of the teasing man. The attraction she felt for the small man had stunned her … but there was an animosity beneath the attraction that she had shunned away from him.

"Anyone else?"

Groaning, Lita rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. "That Nephlite dude. He just got on my nerves. He remained quiet the entire time, but I just got this strange feeling that he knew more than he let on. You know how Nephrite … note the likeness in names here … anyway, you know Nephrite always talk about stars and the moons."

"Mina, how about you?" Rei's brown eyes peered at the blonde girl, sensing the confusion swarming around her friend and comrade.

She remained silent as she thought of Michael … the one who loved Serena. She felt something towards him, but she had no idea what they were. It frustrated her to ends as she remembered trying to see through his heart. She had gotten a huge wall that blocked her out. Without a shadow of a doubt, she knew that it was Michael that she was connected to. But how?

"Mina?" Rei waved a hand in front of the Venusian's face, trying to get her attention. "Hello?"

"Huh?" The fog in her mind lifted and she was staring into the piercing eyes of the black-haired priestess. "What?"

"Did you or did you not feel linked to one of the men?"

"…Michael…"

Ignoring the strange behavior of Mina, Rei frowned and shook her head gently. "And I to Jed. Does anyone know what's going on? I mean I sense a powerful connection between all of us … which reminds me … what was Darien doing there?"

Sighs echoed around the room as another question arose. Luna frowned and cleared her throat. "I can explain that one. For reasons I have yet to know … Ikuko and Ken kicked Serena out of the house. Darien agreed to house her without any question. It seems they've developed some kind of relationship. He comforts her and has been there for her for quite awhile."

Questions were hurtled towards the cat as the sudden crash of what happened hit the girls.

"Are we talking about the same Darien?"

"Why did they kick her out?"

"What exactly are Ken and Ikuko to Serena?"

"When did all this happen?"

"Does Darien know Serena's a sailor scout?"

"SILENCE!" Artemis' tenor voice reverberated through the room shutting up the flapping mouths of the people in the room. "If you would give Luna a chance to answer one question at a time we'll get more things accomplished."

Luna's tail twitched once more as she prepared to answer the questions.

"Wait." Mina's soft order prevented the cat from speaking. "Has anyone wondered why the enemy has been quiet lately?"

Groans filled up the room as another question to answer came up. This was going to be a long night.

**********

He woke up slowly, feeling incredibly warm and relaxed. Only when a soft sigh was heard that he remembered the position he was in. Looking down at the tangle of silver hair, he smiled gently. Careful not to wake the woman, he slowly got up and placed the girl on the bed. Padding out of the room, he looked at the clock and frowned. 9:45.

"Take her. Tell her that we'll send Serenity to her in the morning. Just leave us the address to wherever you're going to take her."

Groaning, he realized that he would have to go and pick up the child, but he didn't want to leave Serena alone. He didn't want to wake her up and figured that she didn't want to see the men. With a soft sigh, he walked back into the room and gently shook her shoulders. "Serena… wake up."

"Ungh …" Her eyes slowly opened, giving Darien a view of confused purple eyes. "What … what are you doing here?"

"I'm going to go pick up Serenity from the hotel …"

"Pick up Serenity? What? How'd I get here?" Rubbing her eyes, she realized that she was in the man's bedroom and frowned slightly. Memories of what had gone in her head rushed back and she took a shuddering breath. Usagi … was inside of her.

"I went to the hotel and found you in a comatose state. You didn't respond to anything. They told me to take you and to tell you that they would send the child to you and asked for the address. I didn't trust them enough so I said that I'd pick her up. Do you want to go?" His blue eyes gazed into hers and he remembered the name that she whispered last night in her sleep. Once again pain rushed against him, but he fought it back down, hardening his heart.

She watched the emotions raging in his eyes and was confused at the battle going on inside him. "I …" Did she want to see them again? Every time she had seen them, she would either go insane or hurt somebody. Deciding that after all she's been through it would be best to stay here and wait. "I'll wait here for you guys."

A small smile passed over his features and he reached out, placing a hand against her cheek. Caressing the soft skin beneath his palm, his eyes grew darker.

Serena watched him and backed away slightly, blinking at the hurt that flashed through his eyes. She was too confused right now to deal with … with whatever they were supposed to deal with now. "What time are you supposed to pick her up?" Excitement built up inside of her at the thought of seeing her daughter everyday … of being with her daughter everyday.

Taking a deep breath, he backed away smiling sadly. "I don't know. They didn't say. I'm going to call the girls so they can keep you company while I'm gone. I have Rei's phone number somewhere. I want you to stay in bed." Walking out of the room, he closed the door letting out sigh. Heading towards a dresser he found the slip of paper that had the priestess' number written neatly on it. Dialing the phone number, he waited for someone to pick him. Why did he fall in love with her of all people? Running a slim hand through his black hair, he let out a frustrated groan and leaned against the wall.

"Hello?" The feminine voice sliced through his thoughts, ripping him out of his reverie. Clearing his throat, he gripped the phone tighter.

"Hey, Rei. It's Darien. Umm … can you and the other girls come over?"

"Darien? Why?" The confusion was evident on the other line and he could also hear other feminine voices in the back.

"I have to pick up Serenity from those guys … and I need somebody to watch after Serena. I'm worried about her."

"Why are you picking up Serenity? Why are you worried abo--"

"Just come over, okay? It won't take long for me to get the girl … and Serena went into a comatose state last night. I can't take her to the doctor because every time someone or something approached her the silver light would surround her."

"M'kay, Darien. We'll be over there in a few minutes."

 With a click resounded and the dial tone filled his ears. Replacing the phone back down, he turned around to find Serena standing behind. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"You're worried about me? I don't need someone to watch over me, Darien." Her eyes flashed defensively and she frowned as he shoved his hands in his pocket. 

"Serena, I'm just worried that you might fall into another comatose state." His voice was quiet and apologetic, slicing through her defense. She had never seen him so unsure of himself and sighed.

"I … I'm sorry. I must seem so ungrateful. Perhaps it would be best if I go pick up Serenity and leave you alone. You've done enough for me already."

"What?" He stood stunned as she walked past him and towards the door. The soft padding of her feet on the carpet grew quieter as she opened the door. "Wait."

She was spun around as a hand gripped her wrist and turned her around. Looking up into the blue eyes of Darien, she blinked back her tears. "It's true. I've been nothing but trouble to you. Thank you for everything that you have done for me."

Closing the door shut behind the girl, he pulled her back inside and led her over towards the couch. "Listen to me, Serena … I want to help you. Don't ask me why. I just do. I …" He took a deep breath and stared at the girl for a second. "I care for you."

She stared at the man sitting next to her. Confusion swirled in her eyes as she saw the emotion in his eyes. Biting her lower lip, she held in her tears. What was she to do now? She needed some time by herself. She didn't need this. She opened her mouth to say something but was saved by the doorbell. ((FYI that just fit in there …it wasn't meant to be cliché. ^-^; ))

Cursing his luck, Darien stood up and glanced down longingly at the small girl sitting down on his couch. Running his hand through his hair, he walked over to the door and opened it. "Hey, girls."

"Hey, Darien. Where is she?" The four girls barged into his apartment followed by two cats.  "Is she okay? Did they hurt her? What do you mean comatose state?" Rei searched around the living room looking for a certain silver-haired girl.

"SHE is fine. She just had bit too much stress lately." Serena came out of the kitchen, holding a tray full of coffee and doughnuts. Amusement sparkled in her eyes as her friend jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Oh, Serena you have no idea how much we've been worried about you!" Mina ran over to Serena and took the tray from the girl. After placing it on a table, she ran back to the silver-haired girl and embraced her friend tightly, holding back tears. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about everything."

All she could do was hug the blonde-haired girl back. Soon three other girls ran over and joined in on the hug, warming Serena's heart to the fullest. They may have made a mistake, but they were still the best friends anyone could ever make. "I'm sorry I kept everything secret from you. I should have told you from the beginning."

Darien watched the scene and smiled slightly. Grabbing his coat, he sneaked out of the house to pick up a certain three year old.

**********

Michael watched the window, staring out at the skylines. He could feel the glares of the others on his back and he sighed. "It's the best we can do. We have to give Serenity back to Serena."

"We know that … it's just that … it's so soon." Jadeite frowned and looked at the door that led to his niece's room. The child had woken up this morning looking for 'Wena. They had told her to get dressed and that they would take her to 'Wena.

"Imagine what we did to Serena when we took her daughter away from her. The pain must have been tenfold." Taking a deep breath he turned around to look at the rejected looks of the others. "There is no way we can ever make up what we did to her. The best we can do is leaving her alone."

"Yes, but what I'm worried about is what happened last night. She went into that trance like state. What would happen if she was taking care of Sere and she went into that state again?" Zachary furrowed his eyebrows and loosened his ponytail. Pushing his glasses back on the bridge of his nose, he sighed.

"You're making excuses, Zak. Besides … I think the reason that happened to her is because Serenity was taken away from her." He was getting anxious waiting for Serena to come and pick up her daughter. Pushing his silver hair over his shoulder, he glanced towards the door almost willing the girl to be there.

"Don't you have anything to say about this Nephlite?" Zachary turned towards the silent man and waited for a response of some sort.

"I agree with Malachite. We have to give the child back to her mother." With a gentle shrug of his shoulders, he closed his eyes and took a deep a breath. There was a sudden knock at the door and everybody in the room froze, watching the door. Nephlite turned and opened the door, thinking he was going to see Serena. Instead of the girl, there stood the tall raven-haired man from last night. "Where's Serena?"

"I came alone." Darien walked into the room and looked around, ignoring the silver-haired man near the window. "I'm here to pick up Serenity."

"Once more, where is Serena?" The brown-haired man bristled, annoyed by the superiority air the smaller man seem to hold. He was unwilling to give Sere to a strange man they had never met before.

"Look, I came here because Serena couldn't all right? Will you just give me the girl so she can go to her mother, where she should have been all along?!" Anger rushed through him as he stood there, waiting for the child to come out.

"No need to raise your voice. She's in her room right now." He leaned against the wall features expressionless. Michael frowned and walked over towards the man. "Why is it that she couldn't come?"

Darien glanced over towards the man, hands clenched into fists. "She did not want come after what happened last night."

"Is she all right?" Jed's eyes widened in hope. He had been worried about her all night but there was no way he could have known. His gaze wandered over the man and he wondered if he was Serena's lover. He probably was.

"Yes, but she is anxious to see her daughter again." The tension in the room was thick as Darien stepped forward. "Don't take away her child again."

With those simple words guilt once again struck all four men and Michael motioned towards the room. "We have to explain to her why she's going."

He threw a sidelong glance to the other men, blue eyes widening incredulously. "You haven't done that yet?"

Jed's eyes narrowed and he snarled. "It's not that easy! She's only three years old! The only people who she's known her entire life are us! What? You want us to go up the little girl and say Look, honey. We're giving you to someone else watch over you. Take care now!"

"You wouldn't have to if you hadn't taken her in the first place." Darien gazed around the room, his dark eyes wary of the four men. "If you hadn't betrayed her in the first place then all of this wouldn't have happened. There is something mentally wrong with her. I can see it every time she comes near you. She seems to turn into this other creature who only knows pain and suffering but as soon as she is removed from your presence she becomes docile, rational."

Michael stepped forward, standing a foot away from the dark-haired man. "Tell me your name."

Raising an eyebrow, he glared at the man that held the heart of the woman he loved. "Darien Mamoru Shields. You?"

"Malachite Michael Silver." The two men grasped hands, not in a handshake, but to test each other's strength. A jolt of energy ran up their arms and something flashed before their eyes.

**********

"Damn it, Kunzite! Why did you do this?"

"Serenity is off limits, my prince."

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Well, here's the first half of Chapter 15. I'm going to be posting my stories every Saturday now … easier on me. n_n