~Chapter 10~

Things went as they were for a long, long time. I had no success in finding out anything about myself, but it wasn't bothering me much anymore. I had become re-absorbed into the life of freedom and fun. So what if it had been a couple of months since I'd last seen Darien and the girls? I could finally get back to my regular living style, my own way of doing things. Things that didn't involve anyone else except me, Summer, Betch, and Kent. They were the only people who really mattered to me, probably because I couldn't remember the others.

"Serena, hold still!" Summer hissed.

Betch came over to examine her artwork. "You have Serena pegged, Summer."

I pouted. Knowing Betch, she was probably trying to tease me. She used to pop jokes about my old hairstyle, but now she had nothing to go on. Betch was trying, I just knew, to start something with me. But unlike her I was going to be mature. Besides, I could put up with this torture for a little while longer; not only was I on the verge of getting drunk, but Betch here had a job to go to pretty soon. My near-drunken state was why Summer kept yelling at me to hold still. Ah, but I just couldn't help it. Getting drunk was too fun for me and Summer knew that by now. Poor girl was probably just waiting for me to burst out into spontaneous laughter.

I snorted at the thought. Yeah, it wouldn't be too long now. I hoped she would be able to finish the preliminary sketch before I started doing weird things.

~Darien's POV~ (Mid-A/N: Sorry guys, but it kind of has to be this way for this scene.)

I sat on my couch and watched some random TV show. Serena was a completely different person now. She wasn't Serena anymore... Her whole life had turned upside down and she didn't even know it. I was pretty sure this was my fault. Maybe not all of it, but there had to have been some role I'd played in all this. Perhaps Rini helped out; the little girl was always knocking Serena down with rude and sometimes harsh comments.

I knew being a Sailor Scout, and the leader to top it, was a hard job. What with keeping her identity hidden, the others' identities hidden, and saving the universe time after time, it could get very exhausting. She tried to do her best, but for some reason... Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I think I saw her most of those times with desperation scribbled into her eyes. In fact, her eyes had never sparkled the way love songs and romance movies talked about. Something was bothering her, I thought, but I refrained from asking since it could've been a mistake. But now I had to wonder...was any of it a mistake? Something had caused her to run away. Something had caused her to completely erase her memories of us. She was literally an empty carapace of the girl we once knew. Nothing more than a shell...

I wanted to find out answers as to why this all happened to her. But she was distrustful of any of us... If she did remember something, if she remembered anything, she wouldn't let us know. I wished so badly that she would remember at least one of us, or at least some event that had happened in the past. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be that way.

So about twenty minutes ago, I'd called Serena's parents and younger brother to come over and reunite with their daughter. Hopefully that would stimulate some kind of spark in her brain, something that would let her remember. The plan was for all of us, including her family, to confront her. Even Rini would be there. It was actually a risky plan; no one wanted to freak her out. I sure didn't want to.

I sighed, waiting for a phone call from Serena's family. I'd told them to bring her most precious possessions. I figured they were hunting all over Serena's room to find things. Maybe that was why they hadn't called me back yet.

My doorbell rang at that instant. I doubted it was Iruka, Ken, and Sammy. But it was a possibility.

I walked over to my door and opened it, ignoring the TV as I welcomed one of the girls inside.

"Darien, I have some good news and potentially some bad news," Mina said calmly.

"What's the good news?" I asked, not wanting to hear any bad news yet. Not ready to heard bad news yet.

Mina thought for a second. Either she was having a Mina Moment or she was trying to figure out how to tell me both the news.

"Well, the good news is that I brought Luna and Artemis over, and the bad news is that I brought Luna and Artemis over," she said.

I lifted an eyebrow in confusion. So the cats were good and bad? How so? ...Of course. They might freak Serena out, the same danger as her family coming over. And if they were forced to talk, then Serena's, and possibly the other Sailor Scouts', identity would become obvious. After all, Luna had bee living with Serena for a long time. Iruka would know that her daughter knew of the black cat's ability to speak. It might freak everyone out...

"It might not work, you know," I told her. She knew what I was thinking, what I was dreading.

She nodded. "I know. I'm fully aware of what's going on and what might happen. I wish Serena would just remember; it wouldn't have to come to this."

Mina's communicator began beeping at that moment. She pressed a button and a little face, Amy's face, materialized on the screen.

"What's up, Amy?" Mina greeted.

"Guys, I think I know how to get Serena to remember everything!" she exclaimed.

I leaned in. Amy was super-smart; she had the brain of a prodigy. If anyone could untangle this knot, it was Amy.

Without waiting for someone's response, she continued. "If we can just get her to transform into Sailor Moon, she might be able to recall everything. Our battles, our friendship, our squabbles. The good and the bad should all come back to her."

"Well how do we do that? Last time we saw her she didn't have her brooch. She might've forgotten where she put it, or even what it was," I reminded the girls. "Besides, how can we convince her she's Sailor Moon? I asked her if she knew anything, but she didn't. She doesn't know who Sailor Moon is, Amy. It would be pretty difficult to make her transform."

Everyone, including myself, was silent for several long minutes. It seemed hopeless now that Amy's plan had been called out for a flaw. All attempts could easily go wrong. The way Serena was now...well... She just didn't trust us. And if I was right, if she really had forgotten about her brooch, then it would be pointless to try to tell her, and make her believe, that she was the one and only Sailor Moon. Given the circumstances, it may just be impossible to get her to believe all that. It would seem ridiculous to her, and it would probably make us look like lunatics.

I sighed heavily. There had to be something we could do to get her to remember...right? But I'd listened and learned a couple of things or two from Andrew, and apparently there were certain cases of amnesia where the trauma was so severe that it wasn't possible to regain memory...of anything. I desperately hoped this wasn't the case with Serena.

I noticed that both the girls were just now leaving, letting themselves out. It was fine with me; they'd be back when they figured out a different and hopefully better plan. Until then I needed to figure out a plan of my own. I needed to help them, just like they needed to help me.

It was actually about an hour later that my phone rang. In my haste to pick it up, sure of who it was, the phone slipped several times from my hands. But finally I got it and thankfully I didn't end up with a missed call. As I suspected, it was Iruka. She quickly gave me an overview of what was happening. They wouldn't be able to make it because Rini had apparently eaten something bad and had gotten sick. They trusted that tomorrow would bring better fortune. They couldn't come tonight.

As soon as the goodbyes were said, I heard an irregular knock on my door. At first I didn't think it was even a human, probably one of those dogs for blind people; maybe someone in the complex had a blind relative who was visiting, who knows? But as the knock continued I started to have doubts. And when I heard giggling outside I swore it was a prank. It would explain the laughter.

I went over to my door, searching under it first to make sure I didn't step in syrup or something, and opened it. Part of me expected to find one of the girls, but another part just didn't know what to expect. And honestly, it was pretty late. I was tired and the only reason I'd stayed up was because I'd been waiting for the call. I assumed the long wait was due to Rini's sickness. It couldn't be helped, though, so I couldn't be mad at anyone.

But...oh, man...when I opened that door... Okay, when I opened that door to find none other than Serena herself standing there, all alone, without Summer, I almost freaked. I actually didn't know what to do! My whole body decided to tense up according to its own will and disobeying my wishes to lead her inside. I couldn't help but wonder what she wanted at this hour. She seemed pretty happy, all smiles and daffodils.

She smelled like smoke and alcohol, and I knew she hadn't been doing very...eh..."good" actions lately...but she was my Serena. She was finally standing right here, right in front of me, at my door. It was all I'd ever wanted since she ran away. I only ever wanted to see her face, happy to see me. I wanted her to hug me and say she missed me, then give me a valid excuse as to why shed run off like she did. Granted, it wasn't what I'd expected, and granted, I never would've guessed she would have total amnesia, but even then I'd been delighted, and somewhat disappointed, to see her after such a long and grueling time.

Turns out I didn't need to welcome her at all, being as she walked right in as if the place were her own. I could do nothing but watch her, nothing but hope that she'd come here for a reason I wanted to hear. I hoped she came here remembering me.

"Hi, Darien," she said. She sounded a little weird, but I couldn't put too much thought into that. For one, it was late and she was probably tired, and secondly I knew for a fact that she might be exhausted from certain activities she may have partaken in. I hoped to the high heavens that it was merely a party and nothing more.

"Hi, Serena," I greeted her. I motioned for her to sit on the couch and make herself comfortable, and she did as I instructed. "So what brings you here?"

She smiled the cutest little smile I'd ever seen her place on her face and got right back up off the couch. Almost as if hesitant, she walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me. She didn't look at me, didn't seem to want to speak much anymore... What if something bad had happened to her?

"Are you okay?" I asked, deciding it was better to simply question her instead of automatically assuming something was wrong.

She turned her head at an angle that half-buried her into my chest. She moved her hands higher up my back and clutched my shirt. Tightly. As though her life depended on me and my shirt. "Remember when you were talking to me about Sailor Moon?"

I felt my eyes widen. Sleepy or not, I had to hear this! "Serena, do you remember everything now?"

I felt her nod her head and relax. It excited me to know that not only did she feel safe with me, but that she also got her memory back. I didn't care how, I didn't care when. All I knew was that she was back, she was finally Serena again. And I was so happy that she knew everyone and everything. She knew she was Sailor Moon, she knew about the others and who they were, she remembered Luna and Artemis...and she remembered Tuxedo Mask and how he always came to her rescue. How he was always there for her when she needed him. How the guy in the tux and cape was actually me, her once mortal enemy.

I didn't care how she smelled or what she'd possibly done tonight; she also smelled a little like sweat. But nonetheless, I returned her hug. A hug. Finally.

"Darien..." she murmured, "...I know you broke up with me, but...do you think...maybe...?"

I caught the reason her voice trailed off and took one of my hands off of her. I used that free hand to lift her chin. I nodded and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. They were still as soft as the petal of a rose. But this time they were thick with alcohol. I already knew how often she got drunk, so this didn't exactly come as a surprise to me. Thankfully, she wasn't drunk even though she'd obviously been drinking. I knew this because she talked pretty normally, aside from the faint accent in her voice, and she walked perfectly fine. Kind of gracefully, actually.

She just as eagerly returned the kiss. Her bangs were messy and pressed against my forehead. They tickled me. I loved it. Her hair was so soft and smooth. She was just as perfect as she was when I first met her. Well, except that her coordination had greatly improved. I felt her slide her hands from the back of my shirt to behind my neck. Something inside me popped, I swear, but I didn't quite know what it was. With one of her thumbs she gently rubbed the base of my neck, never breaking our kiss.

It was then that I realized she wasn't a girl anymore. No, she was a fully fledged woman. More like a vixen, as I started to figure out. Could this have possibly been the same girl I'd broken up with? And all just because of some stupid dream? Why had I been such an idiot?

Oh well. It didn't matter. I had Serena right where she should've been all along...in my arms, under my protection.

I lifted my eyes just enough to see a crimson ribbon spread from one cheek, across the bridge of her nose, to the other cheek. Immediately after I saw it, she pressed herself extremely close against me. Now it was my turn to blush. It was the first time I'd ever felt a woman's breasts pressed up against my lower chest. It was enough to make something else pop inside me. It was hard to actually make sense of what was going on anymore.

She eventually did break the kiss, but only to nibble on my earlobe. I think my brain fried itself at that point, because my body started acting by itself. I hardly knew what was going on, but I found myself stringing kisses along the side of her neck. She tilted her head instinctively. She was gorgeous tonight...and somehow that undesirable smell she'd been wearing became quite inviting.

I didn't even know I was pushing her toward my bedroom. Once we got through the doorway, she decided to switch from my ear back to my lips, this time delivering a more aggressive kiss. As if that wasn't enough to completely blow my mind, she rubbed one of her legs up against mine. It only motivated my urges to pick her up, which I actually did, and throw her onto the bed, which I also did. I understood now that this sly little fox had managed to awaken something primal in me. It was something that I might've been able to control earlier, but by now there was only one way to tame it. And apparently this "way" was exactly what Serena wanted. Maybe she didn't even know what she was doing to me, but... If she didn't then she would find out.

I fell onto the bed with her, climbing on top of her and continuing to kiss her. She wrapped her legs around me and used them to pull me closer. Not even a miracle could stop this now. She'd asked for this, she'd brought it on herself. Heck, she'd started it! And now it seemed I was stuck with the task of finishing it.

A/N

Mah hah hah. Now you see why it had to be in Darien's POV? Well I guess you don't... Anyway, you'll find out for sure in the next chapter. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW.

Also, the next chapter will start off back in Serena's POV, so just don't get confused and all that.