AN: Yay, more reviews! Thank you to Serenity-hime, Usagi of Feudal Moon Era, SwimBunny123, and Alicia Blade (wow... I mean just...well, you know how much I love you, so saying that I'm honored that you're hear seems just a bit redundant, doesn't it?) I love and appreciate all of you! Thank you for reading and encouraging me. Should I be replying to you each individually? I'm not sure how most people do this but I don't want anyone who went to the trouble to review to feel left out!

Now, I'm sorry but I don't think this is as good as I would like. Writing Endy was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Now from this point on though, I think it's going to get easier. Remember, please keep those reviews coming! I live off of them.

Chapter Two- Mr. Serious

"Eizou? Eizou, what are you doing?" Endymion asked, out of breath as he crouched next to his sister in the dark. They had been walking on their way back from a neighboring village when she had suddenly taken off into the darkness, leaving him and both of their guardians behind. He had chased her instantly and without thought, his body already on alert and waiting for even the slightest bit of danger. He didn't like that they were walking into the palace at night like a band of thieves, though he did agree with his general Kunzite that it was for the best that the people not know that they had arrived yet, seeing as how the Moon Princess and all of her entourage were inside the castle. Now, kneeling beside his sister in the dark, with her long, black hair a curtain of midnight silk around her shoulders and her palms hovering over a normal vine on the ground, he couldn't help but wonder just what was exactly going on.

"Shh!" she hissed up at him, and there was a gleam in her eyes he didn't like. Gold sparks began to shoot out of her palms, leaping into the air at first like fire and then evening out into shots of lightning into the plant, which in turn began to twist and grow beneath her magic. Endymion could hear voices nearby, heavy breathing, and the familiar sound of people running towards them. Suddenly the vine shot out into the darkness and short, muffled cry followed. Endymion looked over and saw a small woman with flaming red hair lying on the grass, a vine tangled around her ankle and hatred in her eyes. In that moment he understood and, despite himself, had to fight back the urge to laugh that was tickling at his throat. Eizou, however, had no such worries. She fell unceremoniously on her side and began to laugh, long and hard.

"Tag," she said through her giggles. "You're it."

Wiping his lips to take away the tiny smile that had been growing there, Endymion stood and offered his hand to the woman.

"I must apologize for my sister and ask that you please not be too angry with her. She's still very immature." He prayed she did not hear the way he had struggled with the words, or the slight laughter that had tinged the beginning. Thankfully the young guardian must have missed this, because she looked up at him suddenly with a gaze so full of gratitude and adoration that he began to feel uncomfortable. The woman, seemingly unable to speak for the moment, nodded somewhat shyly and took his hand so he could help her up. Kunzite, not nearly feeling so kind, yanked the still giggling princess to her feet. They once again resumed their walk in silence.

Eizou's quiet was short lived. Clutching his arm in the dark and swooning slightly, she cooed at him, "Oh my brother. My protector. My sweet Mamoru. Protecting his darling sister from the wrath of the sinister new guardian. I am so appreciative."

A smile twitched at Endymion's mouth but he quickly bit it back. Fighting to appear angry, or at the very least firm, he attempted to shake his sister from his arm. She clung like a burr.

"Do not call me that," he said, clenching his teeth.

"Why not?" Eizou asked innocently, batting the eyes that were the twins of his own. Fitting since she was just that: his twin. Endymion cleared his throat and tried to make his voice sound deep and serious like his father's.

"Because it is not my name!" A moment of silence passed, Eizou letting her brother believe he had won, all the while smiling widely into the dark and waiting for him to go on as she knew he would. Soon she was proven right.

"Surely there must be better uses for your powers than to harass your guardian," he whispered, trying to not be overheard. One of the guardians walked ahead of them and one behind, and he couldn't be sure in the dark how close either of them were. He could see the sparks still leaping from Eizou's hands, barely noticeable now but still buzzing slightly with magic, and felt close to her despite his aggravation. It was true what they said about twins and the connection there was there, but the added weight of regular sibling issues often watered it down. Times like these though, as annoyed as he could get with her, he felt as if she were somehow part of him, as if she had been literally ripped from his body and not from the womb they had shared together for nine months. Not that he could tell her that. Oh no. Eizou would laugh until she hurt herself if she heard that.

"And what better uses are those, dear Mamoru? To bring peace and understanding to the galaxy?" Even in the dark he knew she was smirking at him. "Maybe next week."

They were nearing the palace now, the gardens on their left and the main entrance straight ahead, and to where a guard was posted at the front of the bridge. The capes they all wore kept their identities hidden from outsiders, and from the guard as well. He brought his sword up questionably and they each raised their hands to pull off their hoods. Even as the guard ushered them through and they began their long walk across the bridge, Endymion was reprimanding his sister.

"You're immature, Eizou..."

"And you're boring," she cut him off, cheerfully. "Stop acting like you're so much older than me. So you were born three measly minutes before me, so what? That's no excuse to be so darn serious."

Endymion sighed, feeling partly that she was right and partly that he might die of exasperation.

"Pardon me if I take my job as Prince of Earth seriously," he started only to be cut off again by the sound of his sister gagging.

"Please, Mamoru, don't talk like father. I can't take it. I'll be sick." He shoved her gruffly and peals of giggles burst forth again from the darkness. They were nearing the end of the bridge where the area forked off and lead to either the castle or the gardens, and his patience was nearly gone. He smiled wickedly in the dark and called out, "Beryl?"

The red-haired woman was soon at his side, looking up at him with eyes filled with emotions he had no words for. He swallowed thickly, trying to cover the unease he felt for seemingly no reason at all. Though he would never have treated her the way Eizou sometimes did, he too felt uncomfortable around the girl's new guardian and was more troubled by the fact that he couldn't seem to pinpoint why. He was not a man for whims, nor had he ever been forced to rely solely on intuition. He was, as Eizou had put it, a serious man. Which made this sick little feeling in his heart very troubling indeed.

"Beryl, please escort my sister to her room. Kunzite, please tell my mother and father that we have arrived home safely and that I will be up to see them sometime tonight. I wish to be alone in the gardens for a moment."

Both guardians nodded to him but all he could see what the slice of Eizou's glare through the darkness. Again, he held back a smile. Beryl, her red hair a fiery gleam in the dark, grabbed the princess' arm and jerked it back just as suddenly when bright gold sparks shot out towards her. The red of her hair was nothing compared to the heat in her eyes.

"Go Eizou," he said, and he made his voice more gentle. She looked at him and sighed, her own eyes a paler shade of midnight, and quirked a smile at him.

"Goodnight my Mamoru," she teased, and he surprised her by sticking his tongue out quickly. She turned to see if anyone had noticed.

"Did you see that? Did you see Mr. Serious?" she exclaimed, but Kunzite had his hand on her back and was now not so gently pushing her forward. Endymion could hear her sputtering into the darkness and finally gave into the laughter he had been fighting all evening.

"Sweet dreams, Eizou," he whispered with a smile.

And looking up at the moon, momentarily captivated by its beauty and light, he was thankful to be alone.

The gardens were dark and the roses were nearly as full as the moon that hung over her head. Serenity could feel it's gentle light easing her through the maze of flowers as she walked, its ever guiding presence in the sky and on her mind. Down here she felt miles from herself, and that was relieving in a way she had never even suspected. She felt like a floating body suspended in nature, a part of this strange planet itself. The leaves and flowers seemed to reach out for her and she brushed them each in reply, trying to hold back the childish giggle that was building in her throat. Glancing around her to see if anyone was near, she put both arms out and spun into a clearing. Her cape fell back and she smiled at the feeling of the wind in her hair. The smile itself was so large and genuine that she could feel it stretching the corners of her face to accommodate it, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered here. Nothing.

A sound suddenly pierced the night air and she fought to stop her spinning, her blood suddenly running cold. Had that been voices she had heard? A man's voice? A guard perhaps? Now the sound of footsteps followed these other noises, and then a man's deep chuckle. She found herself pausing in the wind, poised on her toes with her all of her senses on alert, and thinking rather stupidly to herself that the stranger had a nice laugh.

Like my father, she thought, and quickly shook her head to rid it of that thought. For the first time that night, she began to wonder how she was going to get back up that damn balcony by herself before she was discovered.

I'm an idiot.

And this time her conscious, which had been so very outspoken before, didn't say a single word.

So she did the only thing she could think of: she pulled her hood over her head and ran.

The gardens were his favorite place on all of the Earth. Lush and green, they brimmed with countless types of vegetation and life, many of which that defied all description. Though he had visited many places and seen many types of rare things (and beings), he would not have traded any of those wonders for even one inch of these gardens. They brought a sense of pride, a sense of wonderment, that something so beautiful could be created and the hand of man was in no way involved.

Often times had he gone down to the rose gardens to think, and often times his solitude there had helped him immensely. He had ran from problems feeling as if no hope was in sight and returned feeling that he could manage anything, the whole galaxy even. Here in this place, there were no arguments with his father, no worries for the world, no fear that he couldn't possibly do what he had been destined to do. Closing his eyes now, he felt that same release wash over him. Nothing mattered here. Nothing.

Opening his eyes, he breathed in deeply and adjusted the hood on his head as he began to walk deeper into the gardens. He felt at one with everything around him, everything felt peaceful and calm. The rhythmic noise of his heartbeat mixed effortlessly with the slide of his steps, and his breathes came long and slow. He felt the weight of the day melt slowly until it was nothing: no worry for Eizou, no promise to his father to keep her out of trouble, no village with worried people, no prophecy.

Looking to his right, he saw a balcony and an opened door. Idly he wondered if that room belonged to the Moon Princess, if she had perhaps been gazing at her home or at the Earth's roses instead. He had many thoughts about this young lady that seemed to affect his life so strongly, so indirectly, and it seemed that none of them could ever be resolved. Although the stories on Earth were generally fearful (and therefore not very complimentary), people from wondering planets had painted quite a different picture of the silver haired goddess. Supposedly graceful and kind, her extremely good looks were rivaled only by her sweet (if somewhat mischievous) nature. And while Endymion was not necessarily attracted to things sweet, he found himself intrigued by the two polar opposite views of her. Which was she really? This black the Earth had painted her? The untaintable white the neighboring planets spoke of? Or perhaps some indelible shade of gray? He would never know, it seemed. It had been forbidden.

Shaking his head, he realized with a start that he had been standing beneath the balcony as if waiting for the goddess herself to appear. He smiled. If only Eizou were there to see him and know his thoughts, the teasing might never end.

A sudden rustle to his left made his body jump, his eyes searching out the area from which the noise had came. He waited, his body feeling as straight and tight as an arrow pulled over a bow, waiting for the release that would send him hurtling into action. His hand itched to touch his blade but something held him back, fear perhaps that he might hurt someone accidentally.

But who would be out here in the gardens at this time at night? He thought. Nonetheless, something foreign flowed through his veins, holding his hand at bay. Emotions bit at his skin and nipped his heart. Was Eizou in trouble? Had she ran away from Beryl? Was it she that was moving through the gardens? At that moment, a rustle came again and he broke out into a run. Something, or rather someone, was in there and he intended to find out who.

Reaching out, he grasped almost randomly into the darkness. Something must have guided him, because his aim was true. Seconds later, a squirming, wiggling human form was in his arms. A rather small, rather... delicate form. It appeared to be a woman, and he would have to be careful with her.

"Hey stop that. I'm not going to hurt you. Stop, I said!" but the warning was short lived because at that moment a fist shot out of the darkness and connected squarely with his nose. Warm blood began to flow down his face and he shook his head in undisguised surprise. He was beginning to feel that he had underestimated this person just slightly.

Ignoring his bleeding nose and the pain that accompanied it, he shoved the stranger roughly and landed on top of her in a clearing where the moonlight was bright and clear. He looked up at her just as her cape fell back.

Upstairs in the palace, Sailor Venus passed the head general of Earth's army on her way to her Queen's bedchambers. Later Kunzite would think of the beautiful blonde woman he had seen only briefly that had somehow despite that fact, engraved her image into his mind. Lying in his bed, his thoughts would be far from the prophecy, or from the fact that this woman was sworn to protect the very person who put the entire planet of Earth in danger with her presence. He would only think of her beautiful eyes, and the way the air had burned when she had brushed past him.
On the Moon, Mars awoke from a dream feeling frightened and confused. In her dream, everyone on the Moon lay dead or dying. Only one person remained standing, her long dark hair brushing the backs of her knees and her large, dark eyes over flowing with tears. Over and over she whispered something, the echo of a dying planet catching it and sending it back to her. It was the only noise there was.

"It was true. Oh God, it was true."

Sailor Mars broke from the dream with a cry.

On a balcony, not far from the one that Princess Serenity herself had escaped from, a lone woman with bright red hair and a matching temper watched a couple as they struggled on the ground. Her senses were heightened, alert, so much so that she felt she could hear the sound of the prince gasping when the cape fell from the other person's face...
And he looked into the most beautiful set of blue eyes he had ever seen.