Reunions

Chapter 2

"Evil Awakening"

When we last left off, Serena recieved surprise visits from Amy, Lita, and Mina, and finally, Darien. Amy and Greg hadn't set a wedding date yet, Lita's restaurant was possibly going to go international, Mina was leading a successful career in modeling and acting, and Darien was going to move back to Tokyo, just so he could be with Serena whenever he needed her, at least the way he saw it, was all the time. In about a month, he was going to go back to New York, work there for another month, and meanwhile pack up his things and go back to Tokyo. He took her hand into his. "It's where I belong," he said. "In fact, anywhere you are is where I belong." Serena looked down and blushed. "That's so sweet," said she, truly touched by the feelings he was showing her. She didn't normally hear him say these kind of things. It was hard for Darien to explain his feelings for Serena in words, but she always knew what he was feeling. The two of them walked together through a large community garden, holding hands. They used to walk together before in this particular garden, until Darien had to leave Japan. Serena walked alone in the garden while he was away, reminiscing on past twists and turns their relationship went through.

"So..." asked Serena, "...when do you start at Tokyo General?" Darien answered, "Andrew was able to convince them to give me a few weeks to unpack my stuff, get settled in, and then I'll start there the Monday afterwards." "Well, I'm sure you'll do great there." "I sure hope so," said Darien. "I don't see why you shouldn't," Serena said. "You said yourself that your supervisors told your one of the best they've ever seen. You're devoted, you're hardworking, everything a good doctor should be and is. And that's what you are too!" "Thanks," said Darien. "That's the kind of support I need, especially from you. Your trust means more to me than anyone else's opinion." Serena stopped him in the middle of the paved sidewalk, and looked reassuringly at him. "Darien, it's not a matter of trust," she said. "I know you're a great doctor. You have the same passion for your work that Amy does. And while her devotion to her schoolwork wasn't always a healthy thing the way I see it..." "I get the idea, Meatball Head." Serena blushed and looked lovingly into Darien's dark blue eyes. "I just love it when you call me that. My life just wouldn't be the same without it." The couple put theirs arms around each other and kissed. They held their lips together for several seconds, until they both heard a semi-familiar voice... "Hey, Darien! Aren't you at least going to buy her dinner first?" Another voice said, "That's enough, young man." Serena and Darien looked away from each other for a moment, towards the source of the voices. Serena saw where it was coming from, and sweatdropped. "Oy vey!" she said to herself. From the other side of the garden, the rest of Serena's family walked up to the couple. Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino, and 19-year-old Sammy. They waved to Serena as they walked towards her, and she waved back. "Get ready to run for it," she silently said to Darien. "My dad's got that look in his eyes...!" "I think I can handle it," Darien replied. The three finally reached the couple, and Serena's mother was the first to greet them. "Hello, Serena!" she said. "And Darien! How wonderful to see you back in Japan!" She extended her hand in friendship. Darien gladly shook her hand. "It's great to be back. Nice to see you too, Mrs. Tsukino. Hey, Sammy; how're you doing.?" "Fine, I guess," answered the younger brother. Darien finally turned to Serena's father, Mr. Tsukino. "Hello, Mr. Tsukino," he said nervously. To both Serena and Darien's surprise, Mr. Tsukino's reply started with a semi-friendly smile on his face. "Hello, Darien. Or should I say, Dr. Shields? Serena's told you became a physician." "I'm...uh...just fine...thanks," Darien said, taken aback by his friendly treatment towards him. Normally, Serena's father would be fuming mad at even the sight of Darien Shields, and each time he was even near her house, he would be chased by Mr. Tsukino, armed with garden utensils. Mr. Tsukino didn't much like the idea of his daughter dating someone older than she was; in fact, he nearly forbid it from the start. But this was certainly a change. "Well, in that case...Darien...it's nice to see you back in Tokyo. It's good to know you've got time in your 'busy schedule' to..." Darien broke in, "There's nothing so important that I can't come here and see your daughter, sir. She means more to me than anything." "Wonderful!" said he. The smile faded from his face when he saw Darien's expression. "Um...is something wrong?" Serena and Darien looked at each other, then back at the family. "Well," said Darien, "I must say I'm a little surprised at the way you're treating me. If this was on your front lawn, you'd probably have chased me away by now!" Mr. Tsukino cleared his throat. "Well," he said, "my wife and I did a little talking about the matter and...um...so what's New York like? I've never been there before!" Mrs. Tsukino handed him a dirty look, and elbowed him in the ribs. Mr. Tsukino let out an "Oof!", rubbed his stomach, and continued... "Uh, sorry. My wife and I had a little talk, and I've decided that, while I can't say I completely approve of my 24-year-old daughter dating someone four years her senior, I must say I have to accept the way you two feel about each other, and I respect your relationship. It's obvious you two love each other very much, and I shouldn't get in the way of your future together." He glanced at his wife and softly added, "There, I said it! Are you happy now?" Mrs. Tsukino shook her head in disgust. "Well, that's a very mature thing to say, Dad," said Serena. Darien asked. "So I guess this means you're going to stop chasing off your front lawn with your garden tools?" "No, I'll still remove you from my property if I see fit!" Mrs. Tsukino gave her husband a dirty look and elbowed him in the ribs. Mr. Tsukino bent over in pain. "Would you please stop doing that!?!" he demanded. Mrs. Tsukino turned to Darien and said, "You'll have to forgive my husband, Darien. He still has some...harsh feelings." "It's all right, ma'am," Darien politely replied. "Seriously, Darien," Mr. Tsukino said, "You're welcome at our house anytime you're in Tokyo." "Well, expect to see him a lot, Dad," said Serena. "Uh...what do you mean?" Serena put her arms around Darien and leaned up against him affectionately. "Darien's moving back to Tokyo in two months!" Sammy exclaimed, "Cool!" "Uh..." said Mr. Tsukino, "That's...that's..." "Oh, that's wonderful!" said Mrs. Tsukino. "It'll be great to have you back!" "It'll be even better to know I can spend time with Serena whenever I want," said Darien. "And I'm going to need her a lot! I haven't seen her in six months, and I miss being with her. It's one of the things I enjoy most." Serena sighed and rest her head against him, smiling. "Well," said Mr. Tsukino, a smile crossing his face, "it's good to know you have such a commitment to my daughter. I don't see why I should ever have had any objection to your relationship!" Mrs. Tsukino suddenly jumped in, "And just for the record...I didn't tell him to say that." Mr. Tsukino dryly added, "Oh, sure, give me a guilt trip, why don't you?"
*** Darien and Serena continued their walk through the park, and made their way into another garden, that was devoid of people, minus the two of them. It was a garden where they shared precious moments together before; where Darien would say things to Serena he wouldn't normally say in the presence of others; intimate things that they shared. There was no doubt in either of their minds, that this was THEIR private spot. The couple sat down on a bench in the middle of the garden. Darien had his arm around Serena, while she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry about that scene with my dad," said Serena, feeling very embarrassed. "Don't worry about it," replied Darien. "It couldn't have been any worse than when I first met the guy. When Sammy first suggested that you and I were dating...well...you saw the look on his face, didn't you?" Serena giggled and said, "Who could have missed it?" "I seriously think he's finally accepted me, though," he said. "Me too," Serena replied. "It's not a usual thing when he says things like that. But I don't think that after today, he'll admit to saying any of it of his own free will!" "That I'll have to agree with." Darien smiled. He always enjoyed Serena's very own pantented sense of humor. It was just one of the many things he loved about her, but he wasn't about to tell her that. Serena glanced at her watch. It was 2:26 in the afternoon. She looked up at Darien. "Wanna get some lunch?" she asked. Darien glanced down at his watch. "I don't see why not," was his reply. "I'm hungry enough. How about you?" Serena raised one eyebrow and looked curiously at him. Darien smiled again.

"Never mind," he said. "I should know better than that."
*** Now, we change the setting. Imagine a dark, dark, dark place. No ground is visible anywhere, no people are to be seen. The only thing that can be seen from any one spot are fields of gray mist, and ominous-looking pieces of rock debris. It is a dismal place, indeed. Completely devoid of life whatsoever. So dark, it's almost dead. This is the ruins of the NegaVerse. Yes, you heard me right. The NegaRuins, as one might call it, from its destroyed look. Nothing anywhere except pieces of debris, mist, and various large patches of leftover energy, from various sources, left from various villians. This was Queen Beryl's domain, as well as the domain for other evils in the universe. But now it was nothing more than a wasteland. And yet, if you could see this entire wasteland in one outstretched view, you would see something that didn't look like it belonged there. Something that you normally wouldn't find in a wasteland the likes of the NegaRuins. Something intact. Even more...something living.
*** Serena came home from work the next day, and did what she always did when that happened; slump down into the leather recliner in her living room. The day had been just like the day when Darien visited her, so she was glad to be home. As she sat in the chair, Amy walked in from the extra bedroom, while Luna, who was sitting on the floor, looked up at her. "You're home early," said Amy. "You usually get home by 5:30; it's only 4:30 now." Serena sighed, and tilted her head upwards, so that she looking at Amy upside-down. She said, "You ever have one of those days when you don't have enough people working, and the number of costumers at once is just plain ridiculous?" "Sometimes, yes. Why?" "My day was worse so I decided to go home early." Luna looked astonised at her friend. "But shouldn't there be someone else working one of the checkout points?" "Three guys who work for me came in right around noon, so that calmed things down a little. So they've got two extra people, plus one to fill in for me. Besides, I have some overdue vacation time coming to me." "Did you clear that with your supervisors?" Amy asked insistantly. "Yes. They said I could take off for a few days." replied Serena. She rolled her body around, so that she looked at Amy right side up, with her arms folded on the back of the chair. She smiled. "And all for the better, too," she said, "because now that gives me more of an opportunity to spend time with Darien!" "I'm sure," said Amy, with a smile. "Oh, that reminds me. He called for you." Serena stopped smiling. "Why didn't you tell him to call me at work?" "Because I don't know your phone number there." was her answer. "I would have given it to him if I'd known it, except you never gave it to me." "Well," Serena said, "I suppose that would have been a good thing to do. What did he need?" "Well for starters, he just wanted to give a friendly hello to me and an extra-friendly one to you," she said, with a wink. "And, he'd like you to come over to his apartment sometime tonight." "Call him back," replied Serena, "and tell him I'll be there in a few hours. Right now, I just need to rest." Serena got up and walked into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Luna looked over at Amy, who had a surprised look on her face. "I would call him back," said Amy, "except I don't know his phone number either!"
*** Several hours later, it was almost 7:15 P.M. Serena drove over to Darien's apartment building. She got out of the car, and stared up at the tall building. She smiled, for this building brought back a lot of memories, both good and bad. It was here that Darien babysitted for little Jordan, whose mother had been attacked by one of Alan and Ann's Cardian monsters. Serena and Darien both cared for the child together. She hoped that it would rekindle their romance, and it indeed brought them a little closer together, before Darien fully recovered his memories of the Moon Kingdom, the Moon Princess, the NegaVerse, etc. However, it was also the place where Serena tried to talk to Darien shortly after Reeny first came to Tokyo, when he suddenly broke up with her. She tried to ask him why he had done so, but he just wouldn't give an honest explanation. Serena left in tears leaving Darien behind with his guilty conscience. On the upside though, it was also the place where Serena and Darien shared countless romantic evenings after they'd gotten back together. Serena put the bad memories behind, and remebered all the times Darien had called her here to spend an evening with her company. She loved those memories, and had a feeling tonight would add to the list. She changed clothes before she left her apartment. She now wore a light blue T-shirt, a skirt with a darker shade of blue, and white shoes. Around her neck, she wore her most precious possession she knew she had. The star locket that Tuxedo Mask had given Sailor Moon. Serena took it, opened it, and listened to it play its music. She loved the sound of it, for it reminded her of all the times Darien had held her, kissed her, or just made her feel special in any way. "I love you, Darien," she thought to herself, as she put away the locket, and walked in the front entrance. She walked up the many flights of stairs, until she finally made it to Darien's floor. She walked through the hallway, meanwhile admiring the Tokyo skyline from the large window lining the hall. Serena stopped for a moment to look up at the moon. A crescent. Her favorite. Serena finally made it to Darien's door, and was about to knock, when she saw the brass plate nailed to the door. It read, "MR. DARIEN SHIELDS" She smiled at this. For a moment, she envisioned the words, "MR. & MRS." before his name, then shook her head. "I've been working way too hard," she thought. Finally, she lifted her hand to the door and knocked three times. After several seconds, the door slowly opened itself. Serena cautiously walked in the door, and surveyed the area. It was mostly empty, except for a table in the middle of the living room, which was fully set for two people to sit at, complete with wine glasses. Two candles were sitting on the table, but were not lit, neither were they even needed. The light from the Tokyo skyline illuminated the entire room with a pale blue light. Serena continued to cautiously walk in, even though she couldn't figure out why. This was a place where she knew she could feel safe. She didn't know why she was watching her step so much. She broke the silence of the room. "Darien?" she called. No answer. "Darien?" she called again. This time, the only response was a cool breeze rushing past her. She whirled around, but saw nothing. She looked at the door, which was now blown shut by the sudden breeze. "Okay..." said Serena to no one in particular, "...that was interesting." Suddenly, another cold breeze rushed past her. Serena whirled around again, and this time, the two candles on the table were lit, and the two glasses were now filled with a red wine. Serena stared in awe. She could tell this was Darien's handiwork, but she wasn't used to this kind of...preparation technique, as one might put it. Serena kept walking further into the room, and admired the set table. She looked out the window, and admired the distant skyscrapers. She looked around the near-empty room, wondering where Darien was. Suddenly, a black shape rushed past her, and this time, something red zoomed through the air, and hit the surface edge of the table, and got stuck there. Serena turned back to the table, and saw what it was. It was one red rose. One final breeze swept by Serena and she suddenly felt herself get swept off her feet by someone or something, and she was swung around, tilted backwards, and kissed passionately on the lips. It was only until several seconds after the kiss had begun that Serena realized it was Darien. At first she tried to pull away, but after she realized who was kissing her, she simply closed her eyes, and enjoyed Darien's romantic, if not utterly surprising entrance. Finally, Darien pulled away from her lips, and examined her face. Her eyes were still closed, and she was slightly smiling. It was as if she was in a trance. She then opened her eyes a little, and stared upwards at Darien. "That was certainly interesting," she said. "I wanted to try something new," Darien replied. "And I loved it!" "I knew you would." he said. He held her by her hands, and led her over to the table. He pointed to the seat facing the window. "Care to take a seat?"

Serena smiled and sat down, with Darien still holding her hand. She looked up at him, and clearly saw what he was wearing. He was fully dressed in his black tuxedo, including the white bow tie. Behind, his black cape flapped in the breeze flowing through the room. Darien stared down at her into her blue eyes, smiling. "You look beautiful tonight," he said. Serena blushed and looked downward a little, then back up at Darien. She replied, "You don't look so bad yourself." He smiled even more, then sat down in the seat opposite Serena's. He held her hand, and continued looking in her eyes. He let go of her hand, then picked up his wineglass. Serena picked up hers, and they clinked them together.
*** Darien and Serena never actually made it to dinner. They stayed at the table talking about old times, and what was to come in the future. They now sat not at the table, but in a corner of the room, next to the window. Serena sat with her back facing the view of the skyline, while Darien faced her with his back to the wall. He'd removed his black jacket and tie, and now wore the white dress shirt and black pants. "And then," said Serena, chuckling, "she said, 'Now that I think about it, I left my luggage at the airport!'" Darien laughed. "Well, she was probably so excited about seeing you again that she wasn't thinking about her carry-ons," he said. "And believe me, I know what it's like to look forward to seeing someone you care about." Serena blushed, touched by his words. "You know," she said, "it's hard to believe our relationship had been going this long. It was 10 years ago when we first fell in love. And after all we've been through, we still have the same feelings for one another." Darien smiled a litte, then looked to the floor, a solemn expression on his face. Serena stopped smiling, and looked worried at him. "Darien?" she asked. "Is...is something wrong?" Darien looked at her again, the same look on his face. "A lot HAS happened in the last ten years," he said. "And...and..." "And what?" "And..." he continued, "...some of it was my fault." "What are you talking about?" "I've done a lot to hurt you, Serena. Some of which I can never forgive myself for..." "I still don't know what you're talking about, Darien." "I've done plenty to hurt your feelings, Serena, even before we fell in love. Like, during the last days of the Moon Kingdom. I left you behind just so I could fight Queen Beryl's army. Or when I was brainwashed by her, and forced to become one of her slaves...I can't even imagine how you felt when I knocked the Crescent Wand out of your hands with a black rose that I threw." "Darien..." Serena began. He put his finger to her lips, silencing her. "I'm not done yet," he said. "And then there's the worst of all. Right after Reeny first came from the future. When...when I broke up with you..." "Darien..." He silenced her again. "Let me finish," he said. "I...left you devestated... heartbroken...and I acted as though...I didn't even care. I can't even begin to believe I could let myself act so stupid. And I didn't even regard your feelings at all. I'm surprised you even took me back after I came to my senses..." "Darien, what are you trying to say?" "I'm saying...the reason I asked you to come here tonight was a good one...but the wrong one..." "Darien, you're not making any sense. You've got no reason to..." Darien silenced her again. "Stop interrupting me," he said. "Serena...I just want to say...that...I'm sorry...for anything that I've ever done to you...to hurt you in any way...and..." Serena began to speak again, but Darien put his entire hand over her mouth. "I'm not going to tell you again to stop doing that," he said. She pushed his hand off her mouth. "Go ahead and finish," she said. "Thank you," he replied. He looked the other way, and stared at the floor, then continued, "...and for what I've done...I don't even deserve your company at all...I can only hope...that you can forgive me...for anything that I HAVE done to hurt you..." He was finished. He kept looking down at the floor. Serena's looked very worried at Darien, her sad eyes shining in the light of the room. She moved over to Darien, and out her hand on his cheek. He looked over at her. "Darien," she said, reassuringly, "Queen Serenity asked you to fight Beryl's onslaught, and it was your duty to oblige. And the brainwashing? Nothing you did then was of your own free will. Beryl was pulling your strings. And the breakup? Darien, your mind was being manipulated by that weird dream you kept having. It lied and said it'd hurt me if you got close. But what does it matter, we got back together, didn't we? What's in the past? That's where it belongs. Forgive you, Darien?" She looked lovingly into Darien's dark blue eyes. "You don't even need to ask." With that, Serena reached over and kissed Darien on the lips. After several seconds, she pulled away, and Darien looked at her, a reassured look on his face. "Just tell me one thing, Meatball Head..." he said. "Anything," said Serena. "What did I ever do to make you fall in love with someone like me...who is so in love with you?" Serena giggled. "You were yourself," she answered. "That's what you've always been, and it's all you need to be." They reached for each other again, and kissed.
*** Now, we change the scene again. Not to the other four Sailor Scouts, but to a dark place. One you've seen before, but know nothing of. The NegaRuins. Why do we come back to this dismal, lifeless place? Because it's not as lifeless as it seems. For among the excess energy, the fields of mist, and the countless pieces of rock debris, there remains one thing that doesn't look like it belongs. Something intact. Even more...something living. What exactly does that mean? Well let's see for ourselves, now shall we? Imagine all the rock debris, leftover energy and fields of mist simply floating around, but focus in on one single object. Miniscule in size compared to the rest of what's here, but still an important part of our story. Imagine the shape of the object. It's a crystal-like shape, approximately eight feet in height. The object is not completely transparent, but the contents can still be seen. Inside, something is held, kept from getting out. The crystal is almost...like an eternal prison of some sort. And the captive in forever tortured by the eternal sleep he rests in... But is it so eternal? Let us zoom in on the man locked within of the crystal prison. Let us examine his features. The expression on his face is that of terror. The last thing he must remember is the day he was trapped in this eternal prison. Aside from that, imagine a head of blonde hair and a 6' 1/2" tall body. Imagine his attire. A purple uniform, complemented with brown leather boots. Zoom in on the face once more. The captive is in an eternal sleep, so the eyes are closed. But look at the eyes, and you will see something disturbing. The eyes suddenly OPEN. Yes, you heard me right. They have opened, and see the surroundings beyond the crystal prison. But he's not interested in that. Right now, he has one thing on his mind. He has a chance to be free, and get his revenge against those who imprisoned him. Jedite was alive... ...And AWAKE.
*** Serena was curled up next to Darien. They were both asleep in her apartment, lying on her leather recliner. They both were very comfortable, both in the chair, and in each other's arms. They had finished their romantic evening together, and since Darien had no place to sleep in his still-empty apartment, she invited him to spend the night at her place, where he could sleep on the couch, or on the recliner. What Serena hadn't counted on was her sleeping right next to him. Even so, she was happy right where she was. And while she slept, she dreamed. Serena ran down the street, in terror. Amy, Raye, Lita, and Mina were running next to her, escaping the same oncoming doom. As they ran, the city behind them was being completely demolished. Wherever they ran, there was a trail of destruction right behind them. She looked over her shoulder, at what she was running from. Up in the black sky, there was nothing more than a pair of evil-looking, glowing white eyes, staring down on her with hatred. Serena looked forward and kept running. She tried turning into Sailor Moon again, to try and stop the menace. But the locket, Crescent Wand, Moon Sceptor, and even the Imperium Silver Crystal itself had all been destroyed. There was nothing she could do but keep desperately running for her life. Suddenly, each other the other Sailors fell off their feet. Serena stopped in her tracks and turned to them. Amy was unconscious, Mina had taken a fatal blow to the spine from a flying piece of debris, Raye was struggling to get up, and Lita had been buried under a pile of rubble. Serena stared at them and screamed, "NNOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She ran over to Raye, and tried to help her up. Raye only wearily looked up at her. A trail of blood ran down from the left side of her forehead. "It...it's too late for me," said Raye. "Go on without me; I'll only slow you down. Save yourself..." "No, I can't," Serena returned, tears streaming down her face. "I won't leave you behind!" "You have to..." said Raye. She struggled to say more, but only gave out cries of pain. Then, her body went limp. Serena stared at Raye's body in disbelief, then threw her head back and screamed, "NO! RAYE, NO!" Suddenly, a crashing sound filled the air. Serena looked up, and saw streams of fire flying through the air, then come together and form something. When they materialized, Serena saw two gigantic, armored fists. They rose high into the air, then plunged into the ground. A massive shockwave ravaged across the ground. Serena threw up her arms for desperate protection, just as it engulfed her. Serena awoke, and shot up out of the recliner. She was huffing and puffing, as if she'd just run a few miles. Serena put her hand on her forehead, then examined the sweat that had rubbed off onto her palm. She looked around the room, and realized she was not running for her life, but still in her apartment, with Darien sleeping right next to her. At the sudden movement, Darien was awakened as well, and he sat up and saw Serena. He looked worried at her. "Serena?" he said. "What's wrong? You look as if you just saw a ghost!" Serena looked at him, then out through the window. She then buried her face in her hands. "I...just had...THE weirdest dream..." she said. "Well, are you all right?" he asked. "Yeah," she said, "I'm fine now...thanks." But the truth of the matter was, she wasn't fine. The vision she just had really disturbed her. She tried to go back to sleep, but she sat awake in the recliner all night long, with Darien alseep next to her. Around 7:00 A.M., she got up out of the recliner, trying as hard as she could not to disturb her sleeping boyfriend. She headed into the kitchen and made breakfast, meanwhile getting ready for work.
*** A few days later, Serena, Raye, and Amy were at the mall, in the food court, getting lunch. Raye ordered a sandwich, Amy got a salad, whil Serena got a large slice of pizza from the pizzeria. This came as no surprise to either Amy or Raye. They talked about what they were doing lately, about old times, and about what they might do in the years ahead. "Greg and I don't really know what we'll do after we get married," said Amy. "We haven't really discussed anything of the kind lately." "I know the feeling," said Serena. "I always wonder what Darien and I are going to do with our lives." As they talked, Raye remained silent. She sat looking down at her plate, thinking about something. Serena finally noticed this, and turned to her, concerned. "Raye? What's wrong? You've been silent all day," she said. Raye looked up from her plate and looked at her. "Huh?" "I said, is anything wrong?" "Oh...uh...nothing, Serena, nothing at all..." she replied. "Don't give me that, Pyro!" Serena spouted. "I know you better than that! When you're like this, something IS wrong! Now what's bothering you?" Raye sighed and sank buried her face in her hands. She then looked at her two friends. "I had the scariest dream," she finally said, "and I've been thinking about it ever since. It has to be the weirdest thing I've ever experienced." "Really,?" asked Amy. "Why don't you tell us about it?" "It might make you feel better about it." Serena added. "Do I have to?" "If you tell us, Raye, we may be able to do something about it," Amy said. "Psychological studies have shown that dreams can be a door into the subconscious mind, and show what really on someone's mind. Of course, that depends on how much information one has. How much of the dream do you remember?" "Every second of it," said Raye. "It was one dream I couldn't possibly forget." "Well," said Serena. "What are you waiting for? Tell us about it!" Okay, okay. Here goes," she said. She sighed, and buried her face in her hands again. "It all started, with all five of the Inner Sailors were fighting...some THING. We tried everything we could, but nothing worked. All five of were forced to start running for our lives!" "Whoa," Serena commented. "Weird." "I'm not done yet," Raye continued. "So there we were, running for our lives, down this street, and right behind us, everything was being...destroyed. I looked behind me, and there were these two evil glowing eyes up in the sky, looking down on us as we ran!" Serena suddenly stared wide-eyed at her long-time friend. This was starting to sound very familiar. "And then," Raye said, "All of us except you, Serena, were knocked off our feet. Amy was knocked unconscious, Lita was buried under a pile of rubble, a flying rock hit Mina right in the spine..." Serena thought to herself, "And you had a broken leg, and a blow to the head!" "And I had a broken leg, and a rock hit me in the head. I was trying to get up, when you came over..." "I tried to help you up," Serena broke in, "but you told me to save myself. I said I wouldn't leave you behind, and then you died!" Amy and Raye stared wide-eyed at her. "Then," she continued, "these two giant armored hands smashed into the ground, and this huge shockwave engulfed all of us!" "That...that's right! How did you know that?" Serena got out of her chair, put both her palms down on the table, and stared right into Raye's eyes. "I had the exact same dream three nights ago! After my date with Darien, we slept over at my place. I had that dream that night!" "Three nights ago?" Raye said, as she shot out of her chair. "Three nights ago was when I had the dream! You couldn't have had it then! In fact, if I had it, you couldn't have had it all!" "I was about to say the same thing!" Serena returned. Amy stood up, and got in between the two of them. "This is very strange," she said. "The chances of you having the exact same dream on the exact same night are almost incalculable!" Amy reached into her pocket, and revealed her Mercury Computer. She typed some buttons on it, and gasped at the findings. "According to my computer, the chances are so slim, that the number goes past the two millionth digit...Unfortunately, this computer can't go any further!" Both Raye and Serena stared wide-eyed at the blue-haired girl. "That's...pretty big..." said Serena.

*** Later that day, Serena and Darien were in the park talking about the dream "It just doesn't make sense!" said Serena. "Raye and I having the same dream on the same night? It...it's impossible!" "In this line of work, Serena, you should consider nothing to be impossible," Darien replied. "Sorcerers, future kingdoms, brainwashings, energy-sucking plants,...Even Greg had the power to see into the future. You know what I'm talking about." "Yeah, all too well." "I just wish you'd told me happened that night, instead of just saying you were fine." Darien continued. "If there's a problem, we should talk to each other. That's the mistake I made when I broke up with you. I thought you were smart enough not to do the same." Serena raises an eyebrow and gave Darien the look. "Guilt trip me, why don't you? I thought it was just some dumb nightmare. I had them all the time you were kidnapped by Queen Beryl. Ask Luna. I rolled on top of her numerous times! She'd scream about it for days!" Darien chuckled. He couldn't help but imagine that poor cat getting crushed under Serena's turning body. "Well, you had THOSE nightmares for a reason. Maybe the one you had the other night was just another dumb nightmare, but it's got to mean something if Raye dreamt the same thing on the same night you did!" "I suppose you're right," said Serena. "But I don't think I even want to know what it means, should it mean anything!" Darien grabbed her arm and stopped her. "What do you mean?" "You heard my description of the dream, and Raye's too!" she answered. "If was bad enough that even I remember every single detail, and that it was THAT gruesome...Darien, it scares me to even think about what it means!" "I might be nothing at all..." he began. "And what if it isn't!?!" Serena broke in, suddenly sounding very serious. "What if something evil comes and destroys us all? What if we're doomed before our future in Crystal Tokyo can even start? What if...what if..." Serena slammed her hands down in frustration. She turned her back to Darien. He watched her, worried about her. He could hear Serena start to cry. He was used to hearing her cry, but this wasn't just any of Serena's old crybaby cries. He could tell that the situation was starting to form was really scaring her. Darien walked up to her, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Serena," Darien said, trying to sound as comforting as he could, "What could possibly happen now? All the evil we've faced, we've neutralized. Queen Beryl, Alan and Ann, Rubeus...the Four Sisters all turned to the good side; heck, they opened their own cosmetics store right here in Tokyo! And, if something is coming, who cares? We've faced things like this before. And if something is going to happen, you, me, and the other Sailors will face it...together. If something dangerous is coming...I promise...I won't let a thing happen to you." Serena turned and smiled sweetly at his words. She began to reach up to kiss him, when suddenly, a roll of thunder was heard overheard, as gray storm clouds started forming in the sky above. At the sound of the thunder, Serena let out a short scream, then ran into Darien's arms, and held him tightly. Darien was startled at first, but calmed down and put his arms around her. "You see?" he said. "No thunderstorm on Earth could keep me from keeping you safe." Serena looked up at him, then buried her face from the thundering sounds. Darien reached down and kissed her head. Serena looked behind her, up at the sky. "I didn't even notice the sky getting gray," she said. "Neither did I," replied Darien. "Come on, let's get out of here." The two of them walked the other way, with Serena holding herself close to her boyfriend, with Darien's arm around her as well. "I still can't help but think...something's happening...that we don't know about," Serena commented. "Y'know," replied Darien, "it's weird...but I kind of feel the same way..."

*** "Ah...now I remember," thought Jedite. "This is all Sailor Moon's fault..."

He floated through the NegaRuins, locked in a crystal chamber. He could only see so far on either side of his body, since the only parts of his body he could move were his eyes. But he could tell where he was, even though it was NOT the NegaVerse he'd once known. "How long has it been?" he thought. "How many long years has it been since Beryl encased me in this prison of Eternal Sleep? It hasn't been that long, has it? This looks nothing like the NegaVerse..." He continued floating through space, watching the mists, debris, and fields of energy. "It has to have been a long time," he thought. "Nothing like this can be done so quickly...even the Moon Kingdom took a while to destroy...but even THAT looks better than THIS!" Jedite kept looking around the Ruins. "But...how can I even be alive...or awake!?! The Eternal Sleep must not live up to its name...which not only means that one cannot sleep forever...but one can ESCAPE it! Yes! I can get out of this cursed crystal prison!" He thought of the idea over and over and over in his head. "But the only problem with that theory is HOW to escape it. It's not as easy as it sounds. On the contrary, it almost seems impossible!...Ah, but that was my first mistake...I thought it was impossible those damn Sailor Scouts could defeat me...but things were not as they seemed. Well, now...let's just see what I can do here..." He looked all around, looking for something that he could use. And he grinned at what he found. He watched as two gigantic pieces of rock smashed together. The impact sent a large boulder hurtling right in his direction! "This looks promising..." Jedite thought. "But if I just let it fly, it'll go straight past me! I...have to move...this blasted...crystal prison...ARRRRGH!!" Jedite pushed within his cell with all the strength he could produce, and moved the crystal chamber to the right. It wasn't far enough, so he pushed more...and more...and more! "Yes!" he thought. "I'm doing it! Just...a little...further...AAARRRRGH!" He pushed just a little further. Now, he was directly in the path of the hurtling boulder! As it flew towards him, Jedite grinned wider and wider. Suddenly, as the boulder was getting even closer, he realized just how large it was, and the smile disappeared from his face. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." It hit with powerful force. The crystal chamber was sent flying backwards through space, Jedite screaming. He flew backwards and twirled around, no longer in any control of where he was going, with the giant boulder right behind him. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Jedite screamed. Little did he know, however, that coming up from behind him was another boulder, almost the exact same size as the other one, simply floating in place. Finally, the three objects collided. Jedite's crystal cell was caught in between the two boulders! The crystal was smashed to pieces, flying all throughout the surrounding space. But strangely, Jedite was no longer to be seen. The flying boulder had been smashed to pieces, along with the crystal cell, but in the other rock, there was no a large hole...large enough for someone Jedite's size to fit into. Suddenly, from out of the rock, something else smashed through. With incredible force, the rock was burst to pieces, and Jedite flew out of it, and flew through the surrounding space like an airplane. He finally landed on a large floating rock, and stood victorious over the NegaRuins. "FREEEEE!" he cried at the top of his lungs. "I'M FREE! FREE AT LAST! NO MORE ETERNAL SLEEP! I'M FREEEEEEE!" He looked out upon the ruins, and smiled. "And now that I'm free...I can do what I've been destined to do for all the long years I have slept...get my revenge on the Sailor Scouts...and rule over the realm of Earth for all eternity!" Jedite began to chuckle, which slowly grew louder...and louder! Soon, he broke out into a long, manical laugh, that echoed throughout the entire ruins of the NegaVerse, and could almost be heard all the way from Tokyo...