-Chapter 3-

Oh my, I didn't think I would get 14 reviews on my first posting day! I want to thank all of you who took your time to read that very 'long' first entry. I promise to make the other chapters shorter, or at least not to put more than one chapter in a file. YES Takai, you may add my story to your favorites. Please everyone; list this as one your favorites. Since I've received so many responses, I've decided to post another chapter. Remember to review.

I DO NOT OWN SAILORMOON; but I do own all the PocketMixx volumes of the manga except Stars 1 and 3.

-Chapter 3-

Sailor Moon detransformed and wiped the tears off her face.

"Well, I guess the shows over now and Darien's right, it's late; let go home." Serena said with a sad smile on her face. "Hey Raye, I know you are dying to rag on me but I'm not in the mood now ok. Well good night. Go on now, we have school tomorrow!"

Serena walked down the street and headed home, she tried to hold her head high so no one could see all the pain she was in.

"Oh my god, did this really happen?" Mina asked after she transformed back. "Please tell me, he didn't just let her server their bond? Tell me the 'great' Prince of the Earth didn't just throw away the one person that has ever brought joy to his pathetic life! How could he do that to Serena? How could he push and push until she gave up? Even in battle when she appears afraid, she is the one that draws the yommas, the cardigans, and the droids away from us. She died for him! She is as dedicated to him as we are to her! She would die countless times if it meant that anyone of us remained safe. How can I serve my princess, the once I am suppose to protect from harm, as the solider of love, if I can't even guarantee her the love of her prince?" Mina stood and watched Serena until she was out of sight. She was the only one who came out of their shock of the situation first to comment. Darien had scaled the roof and decided to listen to the insults and comments of her friends. He couldn't believe that it came to this either.

'I should have stopped her, stayed with her; death would have been less painful than living with the rejection I have given her. I died for you Serena when I let you go and you again followed me into death, life without your love is truly death…'

The stress of the situation and the overwhelming pain in his heart tired him to the brink of collapsing so he went home. The girls slowly walked home. From the location of the fight they could talk a while before separating.

"Did you see the pain on his face? I think there is some other motive here? Something has been bothering me, I think he has been avoiding her against his will or something. But maybe I'm in shock; I just can't believe what happened. Hey guys meet me at the shrine tomorrow. Serena is in no mood to fight, we've got to figure out a way to bring her back from this despair. This isn't healthy for her." Raye said as she looked at the sky. The girls walked the rest of the way in silence. In his apartment Darien stood on his balcony, he had since taken a shower and brewed some coffee. He was exhausted but sleep insured that recurring nightmare.

'I wonder will I have a peaceful night's rest…well what's left of it. Why am I cursed? All I ever wanted was to love Serena, hold her in my arms, and protect her from her fears, just stay with her forever. I don't feel her anymore. I'm sorry princess, I couldn't be what you needed me to be…"

Darien retired to his room, laying oh his bed he stared at the pictures of his angel, the woman that gave him life after his years of loneliness.

'At the orphanage, I used to watch the other kids, I didn't have anyone to talk to…no real friends. They formed little mock families but no one wanted me in theirs. All I wanted was someone that loved me, a family that was mine. I left the orphanage and found a job. Andrew was the first friend I had, but he had his family. I was jealous of the friendships he had; everyone always looked up to him. I had admirers but they only wanted to get to know me because it would make them look good. No one knew the real me or even wanted to…until I met Serena. She was the first genuine person I ever met. She didn't care that I was in college or that others considered me attractive or that I was cold, mysterious. She shot insults at me with as much momentum as I gave her. I must admit, I liked making her angry, then she could say that Darien evoked this reaction in me, he makes my blood boil. It always amazed me how she could go from being happy, to angry, to sad, to happy again in a short time. I didn't like making her upset, but I did what I could to ensure that smile would come back every time. No matter what emotion she showed…she was always stunning. We are just a tragic couple, like Romeo and Juliet, we seem to only find happiness and love in death.' Darien cried on his pillow remembering what just happened with Serena.

"I am not Serenity"

When I close my eyes all I see

Are visions of you,

"You never loved me"

Laughter in the air, playing games

That's the way it use to be

"I should have let you kill me"

Since you went away from me baby

I can't get you off my mind, so I'm sending you…

"Love, like a rose is beautiful when in bloom…but neither can last forever"

I'm sending you a rose

Straight from my heart, my love

"The Prince of the Earth didn't just throw away the one person that has ever brought joy to his pathetic life"

I'm sending you a rose

Straight from my heart

"I died for you"

I know you think I take you love for granted

"Why are you here Tuxedo Mask"

And it may seem that I don't even care

"Just stop it Serena"

Thought at times I try to tell you just how I feel

"You can't make me change my mind"

But the words don't come out right

--@

This rose is a token of my love

To reassure you I still care for every moment I'm away from you

No matter how far I go

You'll always be a special part of me

I'm sending you a rose

Straight from my heart, my love

I'm sending you a rose

Straight from my heart4

'I'm sorry my Serenity, my meatball head, my Serena…I wish I could be the prince you want and remember; that we could live happily ever after.' Darien looked at the clock- 4:24 'Humph, can't sleep. I might as well do something productive.'

Darien got dressed and went for a walk. His journey took him by various locations and ended up in front of Serena's house. He decided to see if she got home alright but was stunned to see her sitting beside her window. She got up and was gone for a while, Darien assumed that she went to bed so he climbed the tree by her window. Looking inside he saw her bed was empty. He stayed for a few minutes and saw her return from the bathroom. She resumed her perch beside the window and he saw that she was crying. He watched her until he noticed the sky was beginning to get lighter. He transformed and jumped to a nearby roof and returned to his apartment. It was around 5:30 when he walked into his bedroom. Sleep proved that his dreams, like his heart, had become an empty void.

The dream, he was walking in a vast desert. Everywhere he went he would see her in the distance; the more he walked, the further she became. Feeling his face, he noticed that he had aged substantially, but she was as beautiful as ever. Her features were solemn and she looked at him like he was a stranger. True he had become a stranger to her; the man she loved didn't exist and all she believed vanished in one night.

It felt as if he'd walked for hours, but when he opened his eyes is was only 7:30. 'Two hours of sleep…that's all my conscious would grant me. That dream…it was desolate and I tried to reach her but couldn't, why? Where did this dream come from? Why must I be plagued with such dreams?' Darien wiped his eyes and prepared for the day, wondering would he see her, would things be as they were before they knew each other and knew their love?

Across town Serena was also awake. She didn't sleep at all that night. Every time she attempted to close her eyes, she would see the hatred, what she concluded that was, on his face. Darien was good at cloaking his emotions; longing to be with her was seen as hate, his joy- torment, her pain- disgust. So most of the night she sat looking out of the window. So she didn't see him watching her last night. He was no further than 4 feet from her in a tree by her window. Her hair was down and blew in the breeze like a cape in the wind; steady streams of tears flowed from her eyes. When her mother looked into her room around 6:00 that morning, she was saddened to see her daughter up watching the sunrise with a face soaked of tears. She silently closed the door and left. Serena got dressed and tied her hair into a bun with the remaining hair pulled through it. At 7:00 she was forcing herself to eat breakfast and was out of the door before her father and Sammy came downstairs.

"Morning dear, what's wrong?"

"Oh Ken, it's Serena."

"What you couldn't wake her up again?"

"No, she's not here. She left 15 minutes ago."

"Whoa, she's getting better, what's the problem in that?"

"I don't think she slept at all last night. I checked on her around 6 this morning and she was up watching the sunrise. Her bed didn't appear to be slept in and she was crying. Ken she has been so depressed over the past month. I thought things were getting better, but she has gotten worse."

"I noticed that too, I just thought it was a phase she was going through. Is it school?"

"No, she has been doing better in school. I spoke to her teacher the other day and she told me that Serena has been getting tutored after school instead of detention. I think she is brokenhearted…"

"WHAT! Some boy has her like this?"

"Calm down dear, she is at the age where her heart plays an important part of her life. She's almost 15; this is natural for her. But how her heart is broken, its like she's loved for an eternity."

Luna awoke to find an empty room and went downstairs to greet her charge. She sat and listened to Serena's parents and sighed mentally. 'You have no idea how correct you are.' She thought after Ilene's last statement. 'Oh Serena, why are you in such pain? What happened last night? She wasn't how her mom described yesterday. Something else must have happened with Darien. I must speak with Artemis about this, maybe he would know.' Luna slipped outside and headed towards Mina's.

Darien had a later class that morning so he thought a jog would clear his mind. Serena's walk to school at normal speed took about 20 minutes, she condensed it to about 10 during her sprints when she was late; but at the pace she walked today she would get there by first bell. Darien's route took him by the arcade. Serena waked with her head bowed, hands tightly clutching her briefcase to her chest. Darien wondered if he would see her this morning, looking at his watch - 7:45 'Too early for her, she doesn't wake up for another 15 minutes.' Since the link was broken, he couldn't sense where she was. So he jogged toward the corner of the block and at the last moment he saw her…

CRASH!

She lost hold of her books and at the force Darien rammed her with she lost her balance and drifted toward the ground. The event seemed to play out in slow motion- a vision of a falling angel. He caught her before she touched the ground. He lifted her to her feet and was blinded by the light that reflected off the crystal tears that streamed from her eyes. Cloudy blue one met his stormcloud ones. Seeing her in this state broke his barriers. As she watched the rain pour from the storm clouds, her expression never wavered. She didn't utter a word or even blink; she was lost in her own world. Blindly she retrieved her books and continued to school. Darien stared after her a while, crying openly and what she had become.

'I'm suppose to protect her from pain, and I inflict the most on her…I've killed her, taken her heart and shattered to pieces. What is my life without her love…'

Luna decided on running herself that morning. The sooner she found out what happened, she sooner she could find a solution. Today Luna happened to always be at the right place at the right time. She witnessed the collision and ducked out of sight. She noticed the vacant look on Serena's face and was in shock at Darien's reaction. 'He's crying?! What has happened to them?'

"Darien what's going on?" Darien turned to see Luna perched on a nearby wall.

"I've killed her Luna…I've killed both of us…" Then he turned and ran away.

"Darien wait, what do you mean?" Luna sprinted towards the school. She didn't see Serena, but she saw Lita and Amy. The girls looked exhaustedly down at Luna and walked under a close tree.

"It was awful." Amy said while picking Luna up. "I've never seen her so hurt so full of pain…" Reminiscing about this caused Amy's eyes to mist up. Lita continued.

"After the droid we were fighting last night was destroyed, you and Artemis left Rubeus grabbed Sailor Moon. She had a plan for this that combined my attack with Venus's. Rubeus dropped her and before she braced for the fall, Tuxedo Mask caught her. They had words…" Amy continued.

The girls proceeded to tell Luna everything that happened the previous night. The midnight feline's face conveyed a mixture of emotions that left her in shock.

"She broke their locket and wished she died fighting Beryl?"

"Yeah, I still can't get over that."

"Well, that explains this morning."

"What Luna?"

"I'll tell you later, is there a meeting this afternoon?"

"Yeah, it's at 4 in case Serena wants to train. Raye wants to discuss how things are affecting her. We got to find a way to help her with this breakup."

"O.k. girls get to class, and girls?"

"Yeah?"

"Keep an eye on her."

"Anything for our princess…"

During class that day Serena was extremely subdued. She didn't speak and the only actions she performed were the writing of notes or answering questions on the board. In between classes Amy, Lita, Mina, Molly and even Melvin tried talking to her. She didn't respond or acknowledged their presence. By lunch she sat dejectedly under the usual tree. The girls watched her with solemn faces. The atmosphere was like that of a wake and the person they were morning was the old Serena. Since Miss H had a date this weekend, she didn't assign any homework. After school, Serena walked to the arcade. When she entered, Andrew watched as she stared out in space. He shook his head; he truly hated to see his friend like this and what he hated most was the fact it was his best friend that put Serena in this state. Eventually he approached her and tried to call her to attention. She didn't answer. He finally resorted to waving his hands in front of her face, and clapping by her ear, she didn't flinch. Darien entered Crown about this time and saw Andrew. He crept near and noticed that Serena's demeanor from the morning went unchanged. Darien had remarked himself and was looking disgustedly at Andrew's antics.

"What are you doing Andrew hypnotizing her?"

"No, I am trying to snap her out of whatever is wrong with her."

"Leave her alone, she's not wailing, shrieking, or klutzing out…the people of Tokyo are safe."

Serena didn't say a word. Darien was praying mentally that she would say or do something.

'She looks like she's in a coma. Come on angel, say something…call me a jerk, anything. Just let me know you are ok.'

"Don't start Darien, must you always harass her? She was right, you are so immature for a college student!"

"Where did that come from Andrew? Siding with Meatball head here?"

"Well if you'd notice she hasn't worn those for weeks now. She's been so unresponsive lately…it's like she's in shock or something."

Andrew reached out and picked up her hand. She did nothing so he let it go, she placed her hand back on the table. Darien did the same thing, she pulled away and tears resumed streaming down her cheeks.

'She doesn't want me touching her…those tears are because of me.'

Andrew noticed her tears and suddenly she got up and left the arcade. Andrew watched her as she left and was sick of Darien avoiding his questions so when he turned to confront Darien, he saw him with his head in his hands trying to compose himself. Darien then left the arcade leaving a perplexed Andrew behind. At this time the girls and the cats sat at the shrine discussing the events of the past few days.

"I'm glad it's Friday, Serena has some time to come out of this rut."

"It's not that simple Lita. Before this last encounter with Darien she spoke, she hung out, even though she was sad, you could tell she was the same Serena. How I saw her this morning, it looked like death would be better for her than to live like this…"

"Luna you don't think she's suicidal?"

"No, I'm just saying that Darien was her life and now that she doesn't have him, it's as if she 'is' dead."

"So he cried this morning…I saw tears last night too. This could mean one of either two things: he feels bad about the pain he's put her in or he doesn't mean the things he's said. But now that I think about it, when has Darien ever regretted anything. Everything he's ever done has had an ulterior motive. He teased Serena because he liked her but was afraid to tell her. Hmm…it could be both. The more I think about this, I think he could be doing this for a reason other than not loving her."

"You're right Mina. I guess I've been too angry to think logically about this. I just wanted her to feel better, I never thought Darien had a reason aside from being a complete heartless jerk. Raye have you sensed anything from him."

"Well that day we confronted him at the arcade, I sensed his fear. At the time I didn't think anything of it because I thought it was fear for himself. There was something unusual about it. The only fear I have ever felt from Darien was for Serena during battles. This was kind of similar to that. I need to do a fire reading, it will be kind of difficult though since Darien has psychic abilities as well."

"And I can tell he is in a great deal of emotional pain. He practically didn't have a life until Serena and he turns her away, now he is at that lonely state of nonexistence again."

"Yeah Mina, we're getting somewhere now. I remember Serena telling me his greatest fear was rejection. He was orphaned in a car crash when he was a child. The children at the orphanage rejected him so he was alone. When he first met Serena he liked her instantly but felt that since he was an orphan, she would reject him too. So instead of revealing his true feelings, he teased her. The same was with the relationship between Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. He knew who she was at the embassy ball by name. He knew her by face before I became a solider. {AN: This is according to the manga. This fit in better with my story than the revelation the anime portrayed} He was afraid if she knew who he was she wouldn't like him based on his treatment and accuse him of misleading her."

"Ok he was justified then. I could empathize with that, but now it doesn't make since. Even though he teased her, she had a major crush on him. Instead of rejecting him she realized she loved him. What has happened that made him change?" Lita asked.

"That is our secret mission; to help Serena we must determine the cause of Darien's trouble. Raye go do the fire reading and Amy any facts she finds enter them into your computer for analyzation. Lita you and I are going to observe him. Luna and Artemis, try to predict what Rubeus is going to do next."

After Mina gave the orders as first in command the girls prepared to do their assignments. After leaving the arcade, Serena proceeded to the shrine; Darien was worried about her and decided to follow her at a distance. Suddenly she stopped and turned, Darien thought she spotted him but she began to run toward the business district. The dark moon was trying to gain another crystal point and the droid Trollcata was spreading dark power.

-At the shrine-

"Guys, I sense a lot of negative energy. Rubeus' goons are launching another attack!"

"Ok soldiers we may have to defeat this without Sailor Moon. If she does come, she may not be 100%."

"Raye don't be hard on her."

"Yeah, yeah Luna; I doubt is she shows up. 'For her sake, I hope she doesn't.'"

"MERCURY STAR POWER"

"MARS STAR POWER"

"JUPITER STAR POWER"

"VENUS STAR POWER"

"Ok soldiers lets go!"

"Right!"

-Business District-

Serena walked calmly towards the droid while it was finishing off its last victim. Darien, while hiding behind a tree transformed. At the same time the soldiers arrived. The droid looked at her snarling with horrid, jagged teeth. He looked like a huge troll and like in the fairytales, trolls like the element of surprise…he disappeared and reappeared behind Serena. Everyone watched in horror as the droid attacked her. They began to power up their attacks but the droid was quicker. Tuxedo Mask began a dead sprint to protect her…

-End chapter-

  1. Straight from my Heart by UNV

Hey, we are at the end of another chapter, not much in the area or action or plot, but if you read into this enough, you will have figured out what Darien's problem is. Ja Ne!

PLEASE REVIEW, I WILL ADD MORE STORY