Sorry this took so long gys! We're on vacation, and it's hard to get in computer time. It might be a few more days before I get the next chapter up, but after that I should be able to finish up quickly, k? Please stick with me! I'm almost done!

Chapter 7

"Serena!" Darien cried out again, grabbing at the empty air in front of him as she disappeared from his grasp. But then, realizing it was useless, he let his arms drop to the ground beside him. "No…What happened to her?"

"I don't know," Raye whispered.

"She's gone," he gulped.

"N-No she's not! She can't be dead, she's-!" But she stopped herself from going any farther. She couldn't tell Darien who Serena was. But she couldn't be gone for good. If that was true, then why did it look as if her wounds had been healed before she'd disappeared? What 'had' happened to her?

Darien dried the tears from his face and looked at her. "What?"

"She just can't be gone," Raye answered, hoping he wouldn't press to know what else she had been about to say.

Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, he looked away. "But she is. I don't like it any more than you do, Raye." Then, wincing, he tried to stand. When he failed, Raye moved forward to help him. Under other circumstances, Darien might have refused it, but he was too distraught at the moment to care.

"Thanks," he said, accepting her hand in helping him to stand and steady himself. But it still hurt.

"Will you be all right?" she asked with concern.

Darien sighed. "I guess…You knew her better. I'm more worried about 'you'"

Raye paled. "I was talking about that injury."

"Oh! Sorry…" He might have continued, but at that moment a thump from the other side of the roof brought their attention away from each other. An arm around Raye's shoulders for support, and on of hers around his, the two turned to seek the source of the sound.

Both were relieved when they saw that it was a fire engine ladder that had been put up to the top of the roof. A moment later, a fireman appeared.

"You people all right?" he called.

Raye started to help Darien towards where the man was. "Yeah. A couple of minor injuries, but we'll be okay," she said. "And boy are we glad to see you. Is it over?"

The man shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Whoever's attacking the park is still here, but not attacking the rides or other people anymore. Now there's some sort of battle going on over on the other side, but it has calmed down here enough to start rescue." He looked past them to the roof, and the wreckage of the ferris wheel car. "You two are lucky you weren't killed. But wait…weren't there three of you that fell?"

Raye and Darien looked at each other for a moment.

"No," Darien said finally. "It was just us."

"Mmm," the fireman said. "I was sure they said there were three, but ah well. Nobody's perfect." With that, he reached out to help them onto the ladder. "Come on, let's get you down from here."

As they finished their climb onto the ladder, Darien cried out in pain, grabbing at his injured foot, his eyes clenched shut.

The fireman looked at him with concern. "There are some paramedics on site. They can look at that ankle when we get down," he said as the ladder began to descend.

"I'm fine," Darien said. "But we think she has a cracked rib…" he said, motioning towards Raye.

"You both need medical attention, son. That ankle looks like it might be broken."

Darien closed his eyes and sighed, pulling his green blazer tighter around his black turtleneck to keep the wind out.

Sailor Mercury dodged a beam from one of Zoycite's monsters, then spun when a wonderfully familiar voice called out from behind her.

"Hey Mercury, Jupiter, did ya miss me!"

Amy and Lita turned to see Sailor Moon rushing in their direction, wand in hand, as ready to fight as they had ever see her.

"It's about time, Sailor Moon!" Jupiter called.

"I thought Raye said you were seriously injured!" Mercury wondered.

Serena shrugged as she reached them. "I was-I think. It's all kind of fuzzy."

"Well, we're glad you're okay," Lita said. "But are we going to talk or fight?"

Sailor Moon sighed. "All right, all right. " She looked around. "Where's Zoycite? I'll get her for messing up my ferris wheel ride and almost killing me!"

"She got away and a Negaverse monster to fight us," Mercury said, an uncharacteristic level of aggravation in her voice.

"Sailor Moon shuddered in disgust. "Eww, nega-crud again?" But then the monster ran toward them and she squealed, dodging a blow. "AH! Oh, I wish Tuxedo Mask were here!"

"MECURY BUBBLES, BLAST!"

The monster was blinded, and for the moment couldn't find them.

"We haven't seen him," Amy said quickly. "You have to fight without him when he's not here, Sailor Moon, now come on!"

Serena nodded. "Got it." She started to pull her tiara from her head, but one of the monsters had charged through the dissipating fog from mercury's attack, and knocked Sailor Moon to the ground.

"Sailor Moon!" Jupiter and Mercury cried in alarm.

The monster stood over the champion of justice as she screamed, preparing to go for the kill…

Darien gasped as a familiar feeling shot through him. Sailor Moon! he thought suddenly. She needs help!

The paramedic that was putting a temporary splint on his ankle looked up at him. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

Darien shook his head at the woman. "No, it's not that. Sorry."

A moment later she finished, and he jumped as quickly as he could without hurting himself any further-though he knew that was probably just what he was going to end up doing as soon as he got away from here.

"Where are you going? You need to get to the hospital so that can be treated better."

"I'm fine. You did a good job, and I will go to the hospital later, but I really need to do something first," Darien said quickly, then started to move off. But the woman grabbed his arm.

"Sir, I really wouldn't advise you leaving. You're injured, and whatever has been terrorizing this park isn't gone yet."

He pulled away from here. "I know," he said, and then made his way toward the direction of the battle as quickly as he could.

"Darien!" Raye called from where she sat, being treated by another paramedic. But he was already gone. It was then that she realized she had better be moving too, and she could use both feet perfectly. When the man treating her turned to converse with a colleague, she jumped up and ran to help her fellow scouts.

Sailor Moon screamed as the monster raised in grotesquely deformed arm, with its strange appendage designed to help it wipe out its enemies-and right now that enemy was her. She struggled to get up, but it had her down too tightly.

"Ah! Jupiter, Mercury, help! I don't wanna die!"

"You're not going to die, Sailor Moon!" a male voice called.

Both Serena and the monster looked up to see Tuxedo Mask land near them from wherever he had jumped. But he landed on his left foot alone, and wobbled uncharacteristically, for a moment losing track of his usual grace.

The monster smirked at him. "Oh, you think so?" it said in a gravely voice, suddenly reaching down and wrapping a hand-or whatever it was-around Sailor Moon's neck and beginning to squeeze.

"Sailor Moon!" Jupiter and Mercury shouted. Jupiter started to attack, but Tuxedo Mask called her off.

"Don't! You'll hit Sailor Moon too!" Realizing he was right, Lita dropped her arms, growling low in her throat at the enemy harming her friend. Both other sailor scouts watched on, helpless, hoping Tuxedo Mask could free her, which was what he did. Pulling a rose from his jacket, he threw it at the monster, who cried out and dropped Sailor Moon. But when he threw it, he stepped forward with his right foot, not thinking, and grunted as he went down on one knee.

Sailor Moon was sitting up, rubbing her neck, when she saw this. "Tuxedo Mask?" she asked.

But he stood up again, shaking off whatever it had been. "I'm fine. Now get him, Sailor Moon!" But today he seemed preoccupied, as if something were wrong.

"Right!" she nodded. But when they looked around, it was nowhere to be found. Suddenly it burst into sight and charged at Sailor Moon again. She tried to move, but couldn't.

Frozen in horror, for a split second Darien could only watch, but then an image of Serena's unmoving form flashed through his mind, and he winced. Then a thought pushed it's way into his consciousness. I couldn't save Serena, but I can save her…

A second before it was too late, Tuxedo Mask pushed Sailor Moon out of the way, bringing both of them to the ground. Behind them Jupiter brought the monster down a Supreme Thunder attack. When they landed, he cried out, grabbing his right ankle, which looked as if it might be swollen, but she couldn't quite tell through the pants of his tuxedo. But then she looked at his face, which was twisted in pain, and knew that she was not mistaken.

"Tuxedo Mask, you're hurt!" she cried.

Fighting pain, Darien looked into her eyes. The way she moved, the way she spoke, the style of her hair, the way she looked at him…all seemed to remind him of Serena somehow, and he hadn't even known the meatball head very long or very well. But even so, he felt tears stinging his eyes again. Why am I reacting this way? And then, for the umpteenth time that day, he wondered What's happening to me?

Serena noticed the emotional pain as well as the physical on Tuxedo Mask's face. Now even more concerned, also because he hadn't answered her yet, she asked again. "Tuxedo Mask, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, pulling away from her. "Now hurry and finish that monster off while Jupiter's attack has it down!"

Sailor Moon nodded. Standing to face the monster, she pulled out her wand again. She hadn't had a chance to make her speech, but now, after those close encounters, she didn't really feel like it.

All she could manage was, "All right, Nega-trash, in the name of the Moon, you're punished!" With that, she raised her wand.

"MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!" she cried. A moment latter, the monster had ceased to exist. Sighing, she looked behind her. Surprisingly, Tuxedo Mask was still there for once. He hadn't even stood up. It seemed he was still having problems with his ankle.

Moving to his side, she offered him a hand. Taking it, she helped him to his feet. Once up, he began obviously favoring his right foot. Serena frowned.

"Will you be all right? You didn't hurt that in the battle, did you?" she asked in concern.

Tuxedo Mask shook his head. "No, I…I hurt it earlier. It's not your fault.

"So you have a life outside of this?"

He looked at her in surprise, then gave a weak smile. "Don't we all?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah, I guess we all do. Please…who 'are' you?"

"I can't tell you that. Besides…it wouldn't be fair because I don't know who 'you' are." He started to move off. "I'm sorry, but I really must go now. Oh…and don't forget…I still want all of the rainbow crystals. Guard your well if you don't want it taken."

Then, holding his serious tone and face until he'd turned away to keep Sailor Moon from seeing how badly he just wanted to cry, Tuxedo Mask disappeared between to of the nearest buildings. Images of Serena wouldn't stop torturing his mind, and he didn't stop until he had gone past a couple more buildings and was sure he was out of sight and earshot of the Sailor Scouts and anyone else. Then he stopped in the alley and dropped to his knees, unable to keep the tears away anymore.