HERE IT IS….the chapter that at least Takai and Moonchild have been waiting for. Sorry for the delay but I did mention that the next few would be kind of slow due to typing and editing. I also mentioned that I would be posting a new story today as well (I know shameless plug- 'Tangent in the Future'). Well this chapter will begin to deal with some deep-seeded issues and I hope you can keep up because the next two chapters may throw you for a loop!!! Only one person asked me about Reeny, which shocked me since she wasn't missed by anyone else, but she's here…somewhere….
~ looks for a pink-haired brat ~ opps- hee hee
I do not own Sailormoon. If I did, I would be living in Japan or Europe now.
Chapter 6
That morning Serena was in a less pensive mood that she had been in a while. No matter how depressed or withdrawn, she still radiated as a princess inside. Darien was feeling a bit better as well.
'I might do that again. It felt so natural to wake up with my angel in my arms.'
Darien thought to himself. He'd called Andrew between classes and told him what happened. Luna also told Artemis what happened also.
"When Serena saw him he started glowing this soft golden color and vanished."
"Gold huh, similar to the silver one Serena emits, it seems like the prince could be tapping to his prior abilities as well. We won't know for sure until we see him in battle, that's if he can sense it."
It was lunchtime at Juuban Jr. High, Amy and Lita were waiting for Serena.
"Mina said she will talk to Andrew after school about Darien. I hope this hunch of hers plays out."
"I know Lita, because if Andrew can't shed any insight to this situation, I'm afraid she will never smile with sincerity again."
-------
"Hey Andrew!"
"Hi Mina, you're sure early today."
"Yeah, I ran straight from school. I needed to talk to you."
"It's about Darien and Serena, isn't it?"
"How did you know?"
"I know everything." Andrew winked at Mina who gave him a curious look. "Jason, watch the counter I'll be back in a few."
Andrew led Mina to the storeroom and directed her to sit down.
"Ok, what do you know Andrew."
"I know who you are…Sailor Venus."
He looked into Mina's astonished blue eyes and smiled.
"What nonsense are you babbling about Andrew? That's the most…"
"Darien told me." He interjected. "He told me everything about Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon and the rest of the Senshi. He also told me about the Silver Millennium and Endymion and Serenity."
"Well that's interesting."
"What is?"
"We never thought he would tell anyone about that. He is so secretive, the only person that has really gotten anything out of him is Serena; but you are his best friend."
"If he weren't at his wits end now, I'd doubt if he'd ever told me. But I knew his breakup with Serena was affecting him more that someone who claimed they didn't love their ex should. Darien has always been a lonely soul, but when she graced his life she gave him things I thought no one else could. She gave him joy and happiness; she filled that dark, empty place that he dwelled in all these years. She completed him and I would have never guessed how much until last night."
"Last night?"
"He showed up to my apartment about 4:00 this morning. He looked horrible. I had been trying to convince him to tell me what was wrong for the longest time. I didn't think he would answer my latest plea that soon, if at all. He then proceeded to tell me about your battles with the Dark Kingdom and what led him to breaking both their hearts…"
"So there is a reason, I'm glad and it better be a good one. One of my best friends…my princess has been unresponsive for weeks now. The only emotions she expresses are grief and sorrow. She is in such deep pain; we all fear for her safety because of if."
Andrew told Mina about Darien's dreams, the fears he harbors and Andrew's own observations.
"Dreams can foretell of events to come and Darien 'is' an untrained clairvoyant. So I was right…we all were, he has never stopped loving her and his actions, no matter how they've hurt her, proves it."
"Yeah, he's truly in love with Serena. He wants more than anything to be with her right now, for them to reconcile."
"Well, as much as we all want it, it may be difficult. First we must figure out where these dreams stem from and help him to overcome his weakness. Then we have to rebuild Serena's outlook on love. That may take a while. Before that final confrontation between the two, she still nurtured a flicker of hope. But it has long since extinguished when he told her he never loved her, that she was basically a substitute for Serenity."
"I never thought about it that deeply."
"Of course not, I am the champion of the goddess of Love, you know."
"Ok, so what's the plan?"
"I'm going to speak with Darien." Mina said with heading to the stockroom door.
"Mina, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How come you're not recognized as a Senshi?"
"We've figured it this way; we are the people you least expect. Besides, our fukus distort our features so we won't be remembered."
"Ok and Mina?"
"Yes."
"Thanks for saving me."
"Anytime." [AN: This didn't happen in the anime, but Mina did save him in the Manga]
Mina left the arcade and headed towards Darien's. Darien was trying to study. Classes went a lot better than they had been for the past few weeks. All he could concentrate on was the angel he held in his arms earlier that morning. He was studying the "Laws of Gravity & the Misconceptions that surround it".
'What goes up must come down. Per the Newtonian theory, this is correct. But he didn't know the concept of astral and psychometric physics.'
Darien thought as he created a white rose and tossed it above his head. Instead of falling, he hovered and with the slightest movement of his fingers it moved around the room. Darien then looked at a cup of coffee he'd been drinking that was resting on the kitchen counter. He narrowed his eyes and it floated to his hand. Unbeknownst to anyone, Darien had been remembering some of his prior abilities and practicing them whenever he could. If he only could guarantee success without much concentration, he would be able to protect Serena better. Also he had begun to notice his knack from horticulture stemmed from the fact that he was somehow protecting his plants from common plant diseases and accelerating their growth. He was brought out of his train of thought by a knock at the door.
"Who is it?"
"Darien, it's Mina, can I please talk to you?"
"Go away Mina, I'm in no mood to argue."
"I spoke to Andrew, he told me everything." Shaking his head slowly, Darien opened the door causing
Mina to gasp when she saw him.
"Darien, what's happened to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're so pale, your eyes are puffy and filled with dark circles." He shrugged and closed the door. "Your clothes seem loose too, have you been eating?"
"I haven't been too hungry."
"Even thought I'm upset with you, I know Serena wouldn't want you living like this. I see it in your eyes, you still love her; so why did you cause yourselves this pain?"
"I thought Andrew told you?"
"He did, but I want to hear it from you. And besides, you know I can't get quotes right, so me trying to explain second hand to the girls is a lost cause." She smiled while Darien released a small chuckle.
"Mina, do you know how it feels to love someone you can't have?"
"That I do Darien." She said thinking of her first love back in England.
"All I've ever wanted to do is protect her, but I am the one that hurts her the most."
"Why do you think that Darien?"
"I have no power; I'm useless in battle. All I do is distract the enemy with some haiku while the senshi do all of the work."
"That's not true Darien, if not for your agility and speed Serena might not be here. You have saved Serena more than we could. You were with her in the beginning before the others were awakened. If not for you, Beryl would have killed her and you saved her from the eternal sleep that Hypnotica put on her. Why do you feel like this? Darien, I always believed there was a reason for you actions. Serena always carried hope that you would reconcile but she lost faith and believes you don't love her anymore."
At this moment the floodgates opened and Darien began to weep. It was one thing for him to have that belief, but I was another thing to have it confirmed. Serena believed he didn't love her anymore.
"Please Mina, I can't stand watching her spirit die anymore. The pain I feel is worse than what Beryl put me through. At least then, my actions weren't my own; I was being controlled. I'm in love with her, with Serena. We were reborn to be able to love each other without rules, protocol, without worrying about jealous people who want to destroy a forbidden relationship. All I want is to be with her forever…I want to give the happiness that was taken from us in the past. I want to live out the blessings bestowed to us by Queen Serenity. I want to love her freely without nightmares, without the Dark Kingdom, without the Black Moon or anyone or anything else getting in our way!"
Mina looked at the prince and smiled. Darien was pacing the floor when he started but was looking straight at Mina when he concluded his response.
"Why are you smiling?"
"I'm smiling because you've told me exactly what I needed to hear from you Darien. Get cleaned up and meet me at the shrine in a hour."
"For what?"
"So you and Serena can live happily ever after. We are going to help get her back!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, and open up these blinds, it looks like mortuary in here!" Mina smiled and rushed out of the door.
Once Mina arrived back at the shrine, she relayed to the girls what happen with both meetings. Luna and Artemis arrived while Raye was setting up the fire room. They decided that together they could analyze his nightmares by placing Darien in a trance and viewing it in the fire. By the time he arrived the girls were ready.
"Mina said that you could help me; what do you want me to do?"
"We are going to try to decipher your dreams with the fire. I will project the images from your subconscious by tapping into dormant physic abilities. I will need everyone's help to do this. Darien will you please lay upon the mats and clear your mind."
Raye gestured for the others to surround him while his breathing became even. She then motioned for the others to pool their powers.
"Fire of Mars"
"Storm of Jupiter"
"Frost of Mercury"
"Love of Venus"
The girls' auras began to glow around them and combined with the fire. Slowly an image was projected within the flames while Darien lain semi-conscious. The girls were brought to tears by the images of Darien's dreams.
"Sun moon earth stars…I am the vessel, I am fire; fire is sight. Wind water light and flame…sight is fire; fire am I. Show us the cause of his dreams."
The fire darkened and the remote sound of a child crying could be heard. As the fire brightened a small boy was seen sitting on floor. He had black hair and ocean eyes.
"Mommy, daddy…where are you? Please answer me! I'm scared and alone."
"The child was the only survivor of the crash, he hasn't any other relatives…social services have been notified."
The scene changed revealing a 10-year-old boy looking out of a gated window at children playing in the park with their parents.
"They don't know what they have; the lucky fools. I would give anything to have my parents back!"
They then caught a glimpse of a 19-year-old man who concealed his loneliness by a mask of coldness.
"Darien is an orphan, I never knew that." Mina said. "This is all starting to make sense."
"I am the vessel, fill me with the fire of sight…" Raye continued to chant to delve deeper into Darien's subconscious. The next image was quite surprising to all present. Darien was seen sitting in the park staring intently at something or someone.
"Molly can you believe that we're finally in grade 8!"
"Yeah, but I hear Miss Haruna is kinda mean though."
"Come on Molly she can't be that bad, anyway there are going to be some cute guys there." This caused the girls to giggle. "Hey do you have the feeling that we are being watched?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah."
The girls looked around but didn't see Darien hiding behind the shrubs. He smiled to himself.
'So beautiful…her hair like pure honey; but that has to be the most unusual hairstyle. It looks like dumplings, no blond meatballs. I wonder what her name is? It should be to hard to find out. Such a enticing smile, I wonder if she will smile for me?'
The next few images were of Darien keeping his eyes on her after school and one day he followed her a little too closely.
"Oh man, mom is going to kill me when she sees this test! Well we can't have that now can we?" Balling it up, she tossed it over her head.
'Hmm, I wonder what has her so upset?' Suddenly something bounces off his head and lands in his hands.
"Ouch, you lump head! What are you trying to do, give me lumps too?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was behind me."
"A 30! You need to study harder Meatball Head!"
"What…what did you say? How dare you pick at my hair?"
"Whatever Meatball Head."
"My name is Serena! SE-RE-NA you big jerk. How dare you insult me? I don't even know you!"
"I'm Darien and you need to study harder MEAT-BALL-HEAD!"
"Ohh, you conceited JERK!" She then turned around and stormed off.
'Hmm, that didn't go how I planned it, but damn she's cute when she's angry. Serena, a name as sweet as her smile. Hey I wonder if she is heading home.'
The next image was of Darien learning all he could about Serena, her schedule so he could conveniently be in the same place at the same time.
"By Jove! He purposely ran into her every morning. He staged it…every meeting!" Lita exclaimed.
"How romantic, he always cared for Serena and the test paper incident…he was to shy to say anything else."
The girls then saw a dark place and screams of pain and fear could be felt.
"Who are you?"
"I am Darien."
"No!"
Screams could be heard coming from him, he was being tortured.
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
"I…am…Prince Endymion."
"Yes prince and what kingdom are you loyal to?"
"The Dark Kingdom, I am Prince Endymion of the Dark Kingdom!"
"Good, I finally have you and there's nothing that pathetic Princess Serenity can do about it! Now we take the silver crystal!!"
The girls heard a shrill laugh and the darkness parted to reveal crimson eyes of Beryl. A child's voice could also faintly be heard in the background.
"I'm sorry Serena, I tried to help him but her power is too strong. I can't protect you, but I will try my best to control my altered self; but I'm such a failure."
"Tuxedo Mask, please…don't do this, you're my ally, my friend. You are the keeper of my heart, the other half of my soul…please"
"Serena don't, you are blinded. It's me, but I can control my actions."
The girls heard a child's voice once again and wondered who this was. They also gasped as they realized this was the final battle they were seeing through Darien's eyes.
"Endymion, 'my' prince…kill this so called warrior of the moon. Destroy her and bring my the Silver Crystal!"
"With pleasure, my queen…goodbye Sailormoon!"
"Endymion…no, Darien look…it's our locket…a symbol of our love created from our powers. She how it plays and it will play only for us. Don't destroy it…touch it…come back to me Darien… I've gotten you back; saved you like you have me so many times."
"Thank you Serena, you have always been my savior. We've found each other my princess and I'll find you again…"
The scene changed and the girls watched what they presumed to be Darien's spirit watching the final confrontation between Princess Serenity and Beryl.
"Serena, this is my fault, if you didn't love me so much, you wouldn't have to face that witch Beryl. What am I hearing, my angel asking for my life to be returned? I'll do right by you this time. I'll go deep inside, that way you won't recognize me thus dissolving you feelings for me and not jeopardize your safety"
"I thought the crystal erased Darien's memories?"
"I think it did Mina, but his sub-conscious prevented them from resurfacing. The crystal put a temporary block and he tried to make it permanent."
"So Raye, if we weren't needed to protect Tokyo again, would they have found each other?"
"I think so, maybe not as Serenity and Endymion, but definitely as Serena and Darien. They still met right after we came back. No matter how many times they are apart, they will be drawn to each other again. They are soulmates and that bond can't be broken."
"No, she broke their locket, destiny has been altered and their bond dissolved.""
"I know Lita, don't you remember, she said it was a symbol that transcended time with the rest of us. I don't think their link was severed either, just strained to the point of breaking."
"Like a dying flame…smoldering embers."
"And this link alerted him to danger, like a physic tracking device?"
"Yeah, I guess you can call it that. With them being soulmates, no matter where they are and whom they're with they can only be happy and complete with each other."
"That's really deep Mina. So our princess' happiness depends on the happiness of her prince?"
This question was left unanswered as the fire flickered to reveal Sailormoon fighting against on of Allan and Ann's cardigans. The girls then heard the voice of the mysterious child.
"Serena is in trouble…I've gotta help her. Darien has locked himself away. There has to be something I can do."
The vision retreated and the girls caught their first glimpse of the child. He appeared to be around five years old and was a miniature version of Darien. Suddenly the child began to glow and grew to Darien's age and a gold aura was seen while a uniform slowly weaved it's way around his body and a hood wrapped around his head and face. Golden light pooled over his head and he reached up and pulled his scabbard from this. He then turned and bowed to an unseen presence and vanished.
"The Moonlight Knight! The child became the Moonlight Knight!" Lita screamed.
"It's an astral projection. Darien self-consciously helped Serena. That's how come he had to remerge with Darien when we fought the Doom Tree. And his protectiveness unlocked his repressed memories."
"Ok Amy, I can understand that, but how could he hold her if he wasn't real?"
"Depending on the strength of that person, an astral can physically materialize (AN: I got the idea of this from watching Charmed on the WB)."
"Does he remember being the Moonlight Knight?"
"I don't think so, he didn't remember being the Dark Prince either. Amy, what are you doing?"
"Taking notes."
"Notes!! For goodness sake, we aren't in class Amy!"
"I know Lita, but we can better analyze things if we have something to refer to."
"I suppose. How is Darien doing Mina?"
"He's resting, perspiring a bit, but overall ok."
"Let's take a break, my head is beginning to hurt."
"Alright, should we wake him?"
"No, let him sleep, that's the most pleasant I've seen him in months. Ok Amy, lets hear what you've got."
"Well, we know he was affected by the death of his parents and his life at the orphanage. Also that his urge to be with Serena extended far beyond their first meeting, thus tells us that he was attracted to Serena, not Serenity or Sailor Moon."
"This same urge cause him to be protective of her and his sub-conscious created the Moonlight Knight. But what his dreams, where do they come from?"
"His fear of failure."
A voice from behind said.
"Artemis, how long have you been here?"
"Long enough to put the missing pieces of our puzzle together. You see Luna and I have been watching the both of them at night for about a week now. I've heard Darien relive the past battles in his nightmares continuously. He has been so distraught that he has been going to Serena's each night to make sure she is ok."
"Really, but what do you mean by fear of failure? He hasn't failed Serena."
"No, but every time he isn't there at the right moment, every time Serena cries out in pain, every tear that rolls down her face; he feels as her protector, he should have prevented it all."
"But he has been there, he has protected her…"
"Not in his eyes. I think his confidence has been altered. Here is Serena living up to her legacy as the heir to the Silver Millennium and he isn't living up to his."
"I know what has to be done…I need to confront the child."
"The child, what are you talking about Raye?"
"Didn't you hear a child's voice, begging for forgiveness?"
"Yeah, who is that?"
"He is the one that holds the answers. Come, lets get started."
Everyone then proceeded back to the fire room.
"Ok, I'm going to need al the strength you can spare. I must go inside his consciousness to find al the answers."
Raye concentrated and felt the powers of her friends' flood into her. She opened her eyes and found herself in a dark room.
-End Chapter-
Look, there wasn't a song this time! Well it's 11:31 EST here and I'm soaking my feet while I type these notes. Some of you may wonder about these abilities I mentioned Darien having, well according to the manga, Darien is psychometric (ability to heal himself and others, kind of like Hotaru) and King Endymion's image, even thought it was explained to be a hologram, I think it could have been an astral projection. What is the golden glow? Who is the kid? And the place that Raye is isn't Motel 6…they would have left the light on for her. See ya in a few days.
Dove
