Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.
Author's Notes: Thanks for all of the reviews & favorites! I'm very pleased for the positive comments, thanks! Just got blasted on my last fic, feedback on this one has made me happy!
Currently writing: To Love Again-S/M...and Just for One night-short stories-s/m-please check them out and subscribe or review! I love input!
If That's What It Takes
When the storm rises up, when the shadows descend,
aevery beat of my heart, every second without end
.
.
Silence.
Tuxedo Mask clutched Serena tightly to his chest. He had nearly ran the entire way back to the crumbling palace of Crystal Tokyo. As soon as his frail love had made it into his arms, she had collapsed from exhaustion and pain. It was the first time Darien welcomed the silence.
Normally, he would hold her hand and coax her into waking up. Inquiring, he would ask if she was okay. Always, in the end, she would smile at him. It made it all okay after that.
Not this time. How could he even ask her such a question after what he saw? He shuddered as he held her a little tighter. He had been too late! He could still hear her desperate pleas for mercy, could hear the groaning of the demon himself, could see the blood that portrayed her loss of innocence.
This was his fault. He was suppose to protect her. Heaven help him, what was he suppose to do?
The Scouts knew they were coming. All of them stood at the entrance of the palace as Amy, Sailor Mercury, had scanned through her glasses. Their energy levels were low, but they were alive. "There they are!"
"Is that Neo Queen Serenity? I thought she was encased in the quartz?" Sailor Venus strained her eyes as she saw them approaching quickly.
.
.
.
What do I do?
Darien landed with a loud "thud" after one last jump to reach the castle.
"Where is Sailor Moon? How did Neo Queen Serenity awaken?" Sailor Jupiter, turning to Venus, asked the question for her.
One by one, the scouts came closer to Tuxedo Mask. His cape was covering most of the withered creature in his grasp. Opening his mouth, he tried to speak. Nothing came out. He looked at each of them. If he couldn't protect Sailoe Moon, hoe could he even protect them?
They needed to get out of this future as fast as possible. They needed to get away from Diamond, away from this hellish dream! Maybe they could just go back and realize it all was a nightmare.
Luna, who softly padded in front of the scouts, looked up at a very broken Tuxedo Mask,"T-This is not the Queen, is it? Oh, Darien, what happened to her?" She was the guardian of Sailor Moon. At the beginning, Luna had thought of Serena as a silly child. Over time, she had grown to love her just like a mother. Looking into the young man's eyes, she knew everything wasn't alright.
"Diamond...captured her..." There, it was out. He pressed his love's head into his chest, his eyes misting with tears,"I-I was too late..."
"Is she alive?"
"Diamond is still alive or did you kill him?"
"Did they follow you?"
"...too late?"
Questions were slung into the air without even a second to pause. The winds began to turn chilly. All eyes looked up into the darkness. They needed to get inside. They needed to regroup. Whatever happened would come to light soon enough.
.
.
.
"Tuxedo Mask?"
Darien looked up. A familiar face appeared before him. It was the face that looked at him every morning in then iron, but had lines of age and maturity. Endymion.
"You knew this would happen...You should've warned me! She...!" Grasping her as if he were a selfish child with amtoy, he pulled her further from the hallucination.
King Endymion said nothing. His hands rested on the hilt of his sword, a look of sadness coming to his eyes. "Even if I would've warned you, it wouldn't have mattered. Storms come for a reason. We can learn from them...or let them break us."
"I don't have time for your words of wisdom, I need to take care of Serena. So, just...get out of my way!"
The King lowered his head. Such a stubborn young man he was. He could remember the exact feelings of rage he had when this had happened in his memories. But it had only just begun. "I will lead you to a private chamber, one of the Scouts can tend her wounds. She can rest...and you, also, should rest. There is more to come, Tuxedo Mask."
"No one else will touch her," he bit the words out like venom.
"This way..." The King motioned for him to follow.
.
.
.
"What is happening, Luna?"
The feline glanced at the backs of the retreating men,"You four are to guard the castle and alert me immediately if you are to see anything..."
The Scouts looked at one another. They had a job to do.
.
.
.
I will stand like a rock, I will bend until I break
Til there is no more to give, that's what it takes
.
.
.
Ever so slowly, Tuxedo Mask laid Serena down on fresh, clean sheets. The door had been shut, leaving only the prince and princess together alone. "Oh, Serena," he whispered. Lightly, he traced his fingers through her tangled golden hair.
"I am so sorry," he murmured. Kneeling beside the bed, he took her hand in his and kissed it tenderly. If this was what a broken heart felt like, he now experienced it. his only desire and job was to protect her. Yet, here they were, and he had failed.
He removed his hat and his mask. His cloak, which had covered her body, was removed and placed to the side. A feeling of disgust knotted his stomach as he saw the blood once more.
"Tuxedo Mask?" Luna, who had Amy by her side, entered the private chamber.
He said nothing. Never looked away from Serena. His fingers grasped hers more tightly as he became aware of fresh bruises on her upper legs. The cries he heard only hours ago came back to his mind. "...please, just leave..."
"There isn't any time for this! Snap out of it, Tuxedo Mask! There is an enemy that can come at anytime and we both know only the power of the Silver Crystal can defeat it!" Luna pounced on the bed beside her princess, her voice filling with emotion,"You must be strong, Prince Darien. She needs you to be strong for her."
"...but I wasn't even strong enough to save her from this..."
Amy, who stood at the door with a pot of hot water and a rag, had seen this before. The bruises, the blood, the ripped gown. As a doctor in training, she had got to help her mother at the clinic several times a week. Her heart grew heavy. Her friend had been used and broken.
"I...I will clean her and help her in anyway I can. Darien, please rest...even if just for a bit. Serena needs you to be strong."
He nodded. Standing to his feet, he kissed his bunny on the forehead, and walked to the doorway,"Let me know when she is awake, Amy, please..."
Sailor Mercury nodded sadly.
.
.
.
The door clicked into place. The sound of water sloshing in a bucket echoed in the empty hallways. Darien leaned against the door, slumped to the floor. Burying his head into his knees, he sobbed.
I couldn't save her. My life was to protect her and I failed. I feel so alone. I'm a failure. Serena, I love you. Please, be okay. Please wake up and say you'll forgive me.
I swear to heaven, I will kill you, Diamond!
.
.
.
I will risk everything, I will fight, I will bleed
I will lay down my life, if that's what you need
.
.
.
Diamond could feel his insides tremble as he claimed Emerald. Now, this, is how he wanted to feel. Wanted. Desired. No resistance or being clawed at. No tears of pain or begging to be released.
A cry broke his concentration and he fell on top of The woman beneath him. "Oh, Prince Diamond..mm..do you love me?"
A smile crept on his face. For a brief moment, he had thought he had been with his Queen...but no, it was only the pitiful creature whom he loathed. "I will never love you, Emerald. You are not her, you will never be her...but you can come to my bed anytime...and when you are there, I will only think of her..."
Red colored Emerald's cheeks. She had tried. Maybe since she helped the good guys, just maybe, she was hoping fate would smile on her and grant her one selfish desire. To be loved.
It didn't happen.
Her eyes glared st him as she shoved him off of her,"Technically, my love, we aren't in a bed...we are on the floor...and secondly, she will never be in your bed again..."
Diamond laughed. Oh, he loved how feisty she was! Emerald kept him entertained! His eyes stared at her form. My, she was beautiful. "...is that because you will be in my bed every night, Emerald?"
Without even saying a word, she turned her attention to the empty bed in the room. Just to see his face when he realized the stupid Sailoe Moon was gone would be worth it all. Who cared if he killed her...at least she had hit him where it hurt the most.
Diamond followed her gaze. Was his Queen waking? He would take her yet again when she awoke. Pleasure rippled through his body as he thought of it.
"What the hell have you done with my Queen?" He leapt from the ground, his momentary happiness faded. His hand came around her neck, squeezed.
"Where...is my Queen?"
She spat in his face.
He threw her to the ground.
.
.
.