Midnight

This chapter is dedicated to Crystal Saturn, my first reviewer. Thank you very much.

DISCLAIMER: Same as last chapter.

RECAP

'Near the creek.' she thought as she transformed and ran through the woods to the creek. Serena abruptly stopped when she reached the trees and surveyed the scene in front of her. A man had his right hand around the neck of a woman and was holding her a foot off the ground. The woman was trying to claw at his hand in an attempt to break free. The man just laughed and lifted her higher.

A twig snapped as Serena stepped forward to help the woman. The man turned and saw her. He tossed the woman to the ground with a flick of his wrist. He walked toward Serena and smiled.

"I've been waiting for you," said the man. "I knew you'd come."

Chapter 2

"What do you want?" asked Sailor Moon as she desperately prayed to keep the man talking long enough to let the woman escape.

"You know what I want," replied the man as he stepped closer and stopped about a meter away from her.

"I'll never give it to you. You'll have to kill me first."

"There's no reason to get so melodramatic. Just hand it over and I won't hurt you."

Sailor Moon stared into the man's blood red eyes as she contemplated her next move. Thankfully the injured woman had realized that her captor's attention was diverted and ran away. Sailor Moon knew she had to avoid a direct conflict. She was in no condition to fight after the training session earlier. Her wounds from the previous fight with the man had not yet healed. She realized her only hope lay in making the man angry and then mounting an attack when he wasn't expecting it. The element of surprise and his anger may just give her the edge needed to finish the fight with the least amount of trouble.

"Why do you want it so bad? You know I'm the only one who knows how to use it. You're way too stupid to figure out how it works," taunted Sailor Moon.

The man's eyes narrowed in fury. How dare she speak to him that way? He was the Prince of Darkness, Ruler of the Shadow world. Didn't she know who he was?

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? Or did you just realize that you are too dumb to know the proper way to use it?"

"YOU BITCH!!"

The man hurled a bolt dark magic out of his hands straight at Sailor Moon. She dodged it, but just barely. She realized her mistake. She had taken things too far. She knew that she shouldn't have provoked him that much. Her only chance at survival depended on her next move. She had to attack and she had to make it count.

AT THE TEMPLE

"Why do you think Serena had to leave so soon?" asked Mina as she helped herself to some of the delicious cookies that sat on the table in front of her.

"You know Serena. She probably realized she forgot to do some chore for her mother and ran off to do it," answered Raye.

Amy contemplated Raye's response. She was probably right, but Amy couldn't get a troublesome thought out of her mind.

"Do you think we were too hard on her today?" she asked the rest of the girls.

"That's the only way she'll learn. Honestly, she's such a klutz. It's like she can't even walk down the street without tripping and taking at least everyone within a two meter radius down with her. How she got to be the Moon Princess I will never know," replied Raye.

"Maybe, but I still think we should go easier on her. She won't get better if all we do is criticize her," persisted Amy unable, as always, to let her side of the argument drop.

"I agree with Amy. Maybe we should be a little softer with her and see if it'll make a difference," added Lita.

"Okay I guess we could give it a shot," said Raye.

BANG

The girls all turned their heads to the door as Artemis ran in and skidded to a stop in front them.

"Dark magic –gasp- coming from –gasp- the park," stated Artemis as he struggled to catch his breath, "Come on, I'll take you there."

The girls all stood up. The cookies lay forgotten on the table as they realized they had to fight. Dark magic could only mean one thing. A new enemy had arrived. They transformed and ran after Artemis who had already started on the way to the source of the dark magic.

For those of you who are confused, only Serena knows about the new enemy. The training session was just in case a new enemy showed up. The girls have no idea that an enemy already exists.

I am so sorry I took so long to update. School has been hell. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but I won't do it unless I get at least five reviews. It's like I said the last time, there's no point in me continuing the story if I don't know if anyone is reading it. SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW.