Disclaimer: I do not own the story or the characters, but the new plot line is my creation.


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As Darien continued to rush to Lita's, he thought of his life before Serena and what would happen if she were no longer there. He didn't have to think all that hard about it as before Serena there was nothing but getting through the day, getting as smart as he could, searching for something he could not find. Once he had run into that bubble-brained blonde his world started to change. Things seemed brighter and friendlier. He had a purpose as well, because that seemed to be the same time that Tuxedo Mask emerged. Now he had a beautiful friend, both inside and out he finally admitted to himself, and a mission that helped him to protect the defender of the city. Now that was all in jeopardy.


As he arrived at Lita's apartment, he wasn't sure he could do it. He wasn't sure he could enter and see Serena hurt and not be able to fix her. But at the same time he had to try. He quickly gathered his courage and knocked on the door. He heard feet scrambling across the floor and suddenly the door was ripped open. Lita looked ready to send whomever away, but he saw the recognition flash across her face and she almost crumpled right in front of him. "Darien, you're here!" came Amy's voice from the living room.


Lita quickly regained her composure and moved out of the way to let Darien in. He had gotten there so quickly. He must have known how important that it was for him to be there. She knew he felt something for Serena. Hopefully his skills from studying medicine would help her newly found friend. "You don't know what this means that you got here so quickly." Lita paused for a second and then continued, looking at Amy instead of Darien. "Serena's in the bedroom, but before you go in Amy and I have to tell you something."


Darien looked back and forth between Amy and Lita. What could be so important that they would stop him before going into the room? Did they have to prepare him for the worst? If she was so bad off that they had to prepare him she should be in the hospital. Even his powers couldn't do miracles. He was only a first year medical student. He wouldn't know what to do in a serious situation.


Amy looked at Lita and then directed her whole attention on Darien. "Serena and Rei are unique and I don't know how that is affecting their injuries. We need to tell you the reason why we didn't take them immediately to the hospital instead of here." Amy saw that Darien was impatiently waiting for her to continue. It was so hard though, to tell this boy that the four girls were actually Sailor Scouts. She had been keeping the secret so close to her heart, now to tell Serena's secret as well as hers seemed to be wrong somehow. The only weird thing was that it seemed right that it was Darien, as if he had a connection that none of them knew about. "You have heard of the Sailor Scouts right?"


Darien looked at Amy as though she were crazy. Why talk around in circles? If she was going to ask if he was Tuxedo Mask she wished he would just do it. He shook his head and then decided to just interrupt her and admit it. "Amy stop. Of course I've heard of the scouts. You were the one that told me they helped Serena after being attacked and brought her here. I don't know how you know that I'm Tuxedo Mask and somehow have extra healing powers, or if the scouts found out somehow found out and told you, but I just want to get in there to help Serena. We'll discuss the rest of the details later," and with that he pushed his way into Lita's bedroom.

Amy and Lita's jaws dropped. Darien was Tuxedo Mask? When did that happen? Why didn't they know? So many questions were crowding into their minds that it took a second to figure out Darien had gone into the bedroom. Quickly Lita and Amy followed him.


Darien stopped short when he saw Serena lying on the bed. She looked like a sleeping princess. The fairy tale stories from his youth drifted through his mind. If only he were a prince and she was a princess and a magical kiss would bring her back to life. But he knew that life was never that simple. He slowly walked to the edge of the bed and knelt beside Serena, slowly lifting her hand to his lips. Then he heard the girls enter the room. "What's wrong with her?" he asked, not looking away from his angel.


"We don't know. They were both hit by a strong beam sent by Jedite. Serena was hit the hardest, but Rei was hit by the deflected power, which is also very strong. Their external wounds seemed to have healed with the same rapid healing power they have when transformed, but they won't awaken," answered Amy in a quiet, reverent voice.


Darien's head snapped up at the explanation. "Transform?" he asked hoarsely.


Lita and Amy glanced at each other. "They are scouts Darien. That's what we were going to tell you in the living room. We did not know that you were Tuxedo Mask, nor that you had extra healing capabilities than you have developed as a med student," answered Lita.


Darien was floored. Serena and Rei were the scouts that he protected. As the news sunk in he didn't really feel all that surprised. He felt the same connection to Sailor Moon that he did to Serena if he was truthful to himself. It had always been harder for him to admit feelings for others, because what if they didn't share those feelings. It was much easier to block them out or gloss them over. It was easy to say he was infatuated with Sailor Moon as she was an unattainable spirit he saw only in the heat of battle.


"She's Sailor Moon. Rei must be Mars," said Darien softly. He looked at Amy, "And you must be Mercury. But I have no idea how you fit into this Lita. There are only 3 scouts."


Lita looked depressed. "I'm Sailor Jupiter. It was because of me that we were all out there in the first place. My discord had pulled at Sailor Moon and she found me in the park feeling sorry for myself. Because of how sad I was and how much it affected Serena, she internally called the other scouts as well. Suddenly there was Jedite and all hell broke loose. Luckily we were able to get them out by teleport, but we knew we couldn't take them to the hospital. Realistically there has got to be something different on a genetic level than your average joe. Maybe they wouldn't have found it at the hospital. Maybe its something you actually have to look for, but we couldn't chance it. We hoped that you could help bring them back from wherever they are. We have seen Serena's attachment to you. We have seen Sailor Moon's devotion to you, although we didn't know at the time that it was you. There is something between you two and hopefully it will pull her back from wherever her mind is now." Tears were running down Lita's face by the time that she finished her explanation. Amy touched Lita's shoulder and offered a hug. Lita quickly turned into Amy's arms and started to sob. Amy was quickly crying as well. Darien wished there was so sort of consolation that he could offer the two girls, but he had nothing he could give them yet.


Darien slowly stood up and started to do as he had been instructed in his classes. He assessed the damage done to the bodies of Serena and Rei. He could find nothing physically wrong with them that would appear without the aid of technology. "I don't know what to do!" Darien exclaimed frustrated after a half an hour of evaluating the girls. "There is nothing that is physically preventing them from waking up that I can see. Amy, have you used your computer scanner to see if there is anything internal wrong with the girls."


Amy nodded. She had done that right away. At the time there were some injuries, but now, as she scanned them again, they seemed to be healed. It was as though they were waiting for something to wake them up.


Darien ran his hand through his hair. "I wish this were a fairy tale and all I had to do was kiss Serena and she would wake up."


Lita snapped her head up at that. She quickly looked at Amy and saw the same surprise in her eyes. Maybe that was the key. Maybe Darien had to kiss Serena to wake her up. It couldn't hurt. Lita slowly got up and went to Darien.


As she placed her hand on his shoulder, Lita said, "Darien, maybe you should try it. Most likely it won't work, but our lives are almost like fairy tales now. We have magic powers we can't explain and are slowly regaining memories of a past life filled with things you can only dream of. Maybe, in this case, that will still hold true. It can't hurt anything, and might even make you feel better."


Darien looked started at Lita. She was suggesting that his first kiss with Serena was while she was unconscious. But he supposed she was right. "You agree Amy?" Darien asked.


Amy was still working through the process of what was being discussed. "It can do no harm. I will tell you that what you said about fairy tales pulled at something in me, as though it was the answer we were waiting for. I can't explain my feeling, but I don't know what else to say."


Darien nodded. He would do it. Maybe there was just enough magic left to bring her back to him.


He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over Serena. He looked at her porcelain face, long eyelashes and full lips. He slowly lowered his head to place a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. Suddenly he felt movement. He jerked his head up. Slowly Serena's eyes opened. "Hello my love." she said softly. Then her eyes fluttered closed again. This time there was not such a sense of danger. Darien glanced worriedly at Lita and Amy who could not have looked more stunned.

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I am so sorry for the wait on this story. My computer has been in the shop for literally 2 months. Best Buy finally decided they were threw trying to fix it and gave me a new one because of the warranty. Wasn't that sweet? Please review and let me know what you think of the story and where its heading. I need all the feedback I can get. Thanks and have a FABULOUS weekend!


Firelightz