A/N: Hey everyone! Right now, I can only type with one hand because I had an accident with a razor that left a crater shaped wound on one of my fingers. (sticks out lower lip) It's bandaged right now and it has stopped bleeding so it should be on its way to healing. Also, I'm supposed to be doing readings for class, but I wanted to work on this instead! Anyway, the final chapter is here! Hoorah! It's snowed quite a bit over here and classes are canceled so you can thank the snow for this chapter!
Chapter 19 - Unrequited and Unrealized (FINAL CHAPTER)
Things were happening so quickly that Serena's mind could barely register the events that were occurring right before her eyes. One instant she was watching Diamond attacking Endymion and the next, she found herself in between the two men who were battling. She shut her eyes tightly waiting for the hit and the unbearable pain as she held her arms held out to the sides, Endymion on the floor behind her.
Right before the searing pain engulfed her body she heard Endymion's cry of anguish. "SERENITYYYYY!" All he could do was watch her take the hit as he quickly pushed himself off the ground, berating himself for not taking action any quicker to prevent this.
He caught her in his arms before she hit the ground, her skin littered with lesions, burns, and scrapes, her dress singed and no longer the pure white it had just been.
"PRINCESS!" Diamond yelled as he lurched forward to tend to her.
Endymion jerked her away out of his enemy's reach, his eyes beholding a dangerous glare. "Look what you've done!" He roared.
Diamond's shoulders seemed to sag, his eyes clouding over with both frustration and sadness. "Why Serenity, why? Why did you do that??"
Although Diamond had asked the question, Serena answered to Endymion. She almost choked on her words as she gathered strength to speak. Her voice came out hoarse, her throat singed from the attack. "I...I can't lose, lose you again." A lone tear fell as her body was wracked with convulsing pains. Endymion gently wiped the tear away, as he rocked her gently in his arms, his face overcome with worry and sorrow.
He rested his head in the crook of her neck. "The same goes for me. Please please hang in there." He whispered as he held her tight.
Diamond stood a few feet away watching the exchange between the two lovers. He allowed his eyes to fall downcast, unable to watch much more. He glared at the ground intensely as if the ground itself was the source of all his troubles. Even though he triumphed in winning the battle, he never succeeded in winning her heart. She had actually willingly risked her life for that man! No, that man's life was nothing compared to what hers was worth! And yet, she seemed to disagree.
Sure enough, many women had melted like putty in his fingers, willing to give up the rest of their days just to be at his side. But the one person he wanted was the one person he couldn't have and the ache from that fact seared through him causing him to slump even further. Only she could cause him this much heartache.
He watched the man he loathed softly caress Serenity's cheek as he whispered comforting words into her ear. How many times had he pictured himself in that man's place? It had been too many times now. The dreams he had sent Serenity's lover failed to keep them apart and it was obvious that forceful tactic wasn't going to win her over. Been there, done that. Then what other way was there?
If only she knew how what was in his heart because he cared so much, it hurt immensely. He had told her how he felt, hadn't he? Yes, he did. He grimaced at the memory of telling her.
"Princess Serenity, if it's love you want, you have mine."
"I want you as my Queen more than anything else in this world. I cannot stand the thought of you belonging to someone else."
"I love you."
But what had come of that? His confession had been cruelly crumpled like a thin sheet of paper only to be tossed back into his face. What was it she had said?
"To risk your life for someone else, that is the greatest selfless act of all."
That's right, that's what she had said when he had asked her how she knew Tuxedo Mask loved her. And that's exactly what she did for him just now. She risked her life for him.
Diamond was suddenly jerked away from his deep thoughts by a rough and angered voice. "You! We're going to finish this once and for all!"
Endymion was taking sure, determined steps toward him as his eyes pierced through him like spears that had been sharpened a thousand times. He pulled his sword out of his sheath and charged like a bull that was seeing red. Prince Diamond quickly readied himself and blocked the attack just in the nick of time.
I don't blame him. If Serenity was mine and she was hurt by another, I would fight with my all for her too.
He let out a cry when he felt the edge of a blade cut his upper arm. He scolded himself for losing focus. Why was he suddenly becoming soft? He shook his head and steadied his stance, readying himself to fend off another attack.
"What's wrong Diamond? Don't tell me you're weakening! Give me a real battle!" Endymion taunted as his sword missed by an inch.
Prince Diamond clenched his teeth. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten what happened last time! Maybe you want to be reminded!" Diamond shot a power beam at his opponent, but he quickly lunged to the side. Unfortunately for him, part of the beam caught his right side.
Endymion staggered slightly as he clutched his side.
Behind him, a gasp was heard from a figure lying on the ground. "Darien!" Serena cried as she struggled to get up and go to him.
"No, Serena! Don't move, stay right there!" Endymion urged her to stay in her spot.
Prince Diamond simply couldn't help but be entranced by the look in Serenity's eyes. Yes, he'd seen it there before. It was that look of immeasurable affliction and anguish seen when Tuxedo Mask/Endymion was injured. He remembered it so clearly during their last battle when he had defeated Tuxedo Mask. All he could remember feeling was how much he wished the reason for that look in her eyes was concern for him and not for Tuxedo Mask. Yet despite all his efforts, that had never happened. He had never been the reason behind that sad and worrisome look in her eyes.
Out of the corner of his vision, he saw a long blade moving toward him. It was too late now, he realized. He had been too distracted with Princess Serenity that he had been too careless and now he expected to feel the pain of a sword piercing through his flesh.
But oddly, he never felt it. He looked down, expecting to see a sword protruding anywhere from his body, but he was surprised when he saw no such thing. Rather, he saw long pea green hair, the hair that belonged to Emerald flowing in front of him. She stood awkwardly hunched over and before her stood a horrified Endymion, his sword not in either hand.
"Y-you...you..." Endymion Stuttered. Suddenly, Emerald fell to her knees and along with her fell Endymion's sword, clanking as it hit the ground. Blood began to drip in front of her, quickly creating a pool of red fluid.
"What's...what's the meaning of this?" Prince Diamond meant for this to be said clearly, but it came out in a whisper. "Emerald! You..." He knelt down by her side wishing to see what her face would tell him.
There she knelt, leaning forward with her palms resting on the ground quickly becoming stained with blood. She simply turned her head slightly to face him.
She smiled weakly, but genuinely as she gazed up into his eyes.
"I couldn't, couldn't let them..." She choked out. Although she was in a great deal of pain, she pushed it aside and continued to speak. "I couldn't let anything happen to you."
Diamond didn't know quite what to make of this. What had possessed Emerald to take such drastic actions? She actually had the nerve to take the hit of a sword that was meant for him. Did she realize that it was absurd? She had done...she had...she had done exactly what Serenity had done for Endymion. Could it be that she..?
Emerald gasped when she noticed the injury on his upper arm. "You're hurt!" She pointed out.
Diamond was completely caught off guard. Emerald was looking at him strangely. Well, no it wasn't strange at all, just unexpected. It was that look of immeasurable affliction and anguish, the same one that had been in Serenity's eyes countless times. He blinked several times to make sure he was seeing correctly. He was the reason why Emerald held that look?
For a moment or two he continued to stare into those afflicted eyes half expecting it to be a mirage, but she continued to murmur on about his wound, concern and worry etched on her face. He only continued to look at her, wondering if he had ever noticed this expression on her face before. It sounded cruel, but he had never really noticed her at all in the past. She had always just been someone to carry out his commands.
"I, I feel so faint." Emerald mumbled as she keeled over and fell into a puddle of her own blood.
"Emerald!" Diamond lifted her head as he frantically urged her to stay awake. "Emerald!"
She slowly opened her eyes and looked deep into his eyes.
"Emerald, why...why did you..." He could barely finish his sentence as his throat dried up.
She gave him a blissful smile despite the circumstance. "Believe it or not, I'm actually thankful for this, for what happened...otherwise I wouldn't have been able to tell you..." Suddenly, her eyes filled with tears that quickly escaped through the outer corners of her eyes. "tell you that I love you. I've always loved you. I should've told you a long time ago, but you were always in love with someone else."
Diamond simply looked down at her, his voice caught in his throat as he attempted to process her words in his mind.
In that very instant, Serena's words rang through his thoughts as clear as a bell.
"To risk your life for someone else, that is the greatest selfless act of all."
She smiled up at him once more as she said, "But now you know and at least that way, I have no regrets..." Her voice trailed off as her head rolled to the side, her eyes gently closing. The rising and falling of her chest had stopped altogether and her body completely stilled.
How long he held Emerald's limp body in his arms, he didn't know. Her words stuck with him, rocking his very core. Her actions - risking, no losing her life for him shattered something inside him. He remained kneeling in the same spot for an undetermined amount of time.
"Diamond..." Someone saying his name made him jump. He slowly turned his head to face the one who spoke his name.
Princess Serenity was looking down on him as she leaned against Endymion, determined to speak and get up despite her condition. "I want to help you."
His eyes widened at her last statement. Help? But why? All he had ever done was cause her problems. He certainly didn't deserve her help after what he had put her through. "Why?"
She smiled sadly at the sight of him holding Emerald, her head hanging back. "Because I want to help her too."
Diamond's mouth opened slightly in surprise. Did that possibly mean there was hope for Emerald? "You can...do that?"
Serena nodded. "If you'll let me, I'll let both of you have a new beginning. But only if you'll let me."
He looked up at this lovely Princess that had been the object of his affection for so long yet he was blind to the fact that everything he had ever wanted to receive from Serenity was also in the woman he held in his arms. Emerald had loved him. She was concerned and worried for him. Emerald had risked her life for him. Wasn't that the strongest proof that you cared for someone?
His mouth set in a tight line and his facial expression determined, he looked up at Serenity and said, "I accept your help."
She looked relieved as she smiled and from her heart, she called forth a blindingly bright shining crystal.
Diamond squinted in its bright light. That must be the Imperium Silver Crystal! How ironic that the crystal he had fought against more than once would be the one that would save him!
Serena called forth the power of the Imperium Silver Crystal, asking it to grant her heart's wish for Diamond and Emerald to have a start a new beginning. She suddenly felt two hands grasp her shoulders and from those hands, power emanated into her being. Could it be? Endymion was sharing his power with her?
"Please let me help Serena. I won't let you use all your energy!" He said as he focused on giving Serena his power.
She gratefully accepted and with their powers combined, a beam of pure white light shot towards Diamond and Emerald, enveloping them both.
The next instant, the white light faded and the spot in which Diamond and Emerald were just a moment ago appeared to be empty.
Their new beginning had started.
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"And this spot is where you rode off on your motorcycle with Lizzy!" Serena eyed Darien with narrowed eyes as she stopped in front of the street. "You do remember, don't you Darien?"
He quickly glanced at her before nodding and returning his gaze to the concrete.
She tapped her finger against her cheek as she tried to feign a look of being in deep thought. "What was it you said here Darien? Come on, you couldn't have forgotten."
Darien shoved his hands into his pockets and traced a crack on the sidewalk with the tip of his shoe. "That, that, that was...a while ago...I don't remember." He murmured.
Serena cocked her head to the side. "I'll help you remember then. Lizzie asked 'Who is she Darien?' and you said..." She let her voice trail off as she awaited Darien to finish her sentence.
He simply continued to trace the same crack on the sidewalk with his shoe, turning away so that he partly hid his face from her.
Serena placed her hands on her hips. Was he pretending not to hear?
"You said 'Just some girl I know.'" She tried her best to say it exactly the same cold hearted way he had said it. She stifled a giggle when she saw him grimace at his old words. She was having so much fun making him feel guilty.
They had just come from his apartment where Serena had re-enacted their break up near his front door and she event went so far as to point out the telephone booth in which she broke down and cried. He could barely look at her in the eye right now without feeling deeply guilty and looking down at his feet. Maybe she was cruel, but she was enjoying every moment of it.
He stood facing away from her, still looking at the ground although there was nothing of particular interest that caught his attention down there. "I'm sorry for hurting you Serena." He had said sorry many times today, but being reminded of every single hurtful thing he had said and done to her was making sorry seem like an insufficient word for describing how he felt. "I'm sorry. I can't believe you still want to be with me."
He suddenly felt two dainty arms wrap around him from behind as Serena's cheek rested on his back. "I forgive you, I forgive you, I forgive you. You did what you thought was best. You thought you were protecting me. I just wanted you to see how hurt I was so that you never do that again." She hugged him even tighter and said, "Promise me you'll never break up with me because you want to protect me without consulting me first!"
He freed himself from her grasp so he could turn around and squeeze her in his arms. He didn't let go of her, but simply looked down at her as he stared into her glittering eyes. "How about I promise never to break up with you, period? I don't want to go through that again."
Serena feigned a look of deep thought. "Hmmm." A smile burst out onto her face. "I think that just might work."
Darien smiled back at her as he beamed with happiness. "I'm sorry again Serena. I'm so sorry. I'm really sor--"
She didn't let him finish as she threw her arms around his neck, and brought herself up on her toes to shut him up with her lips.
When they broke apart, she said, "I forgive you, I forgive you, I forg--"
This time, Darien was the one to shut her up as he pulled her in tight for another kiss.
It went on like that for quite a while afterwards. He apologizing and she forgiving him with her lips and afterwards, she forgiving him and he apologizing with his lips.
It went on like that for quite a long while afterwards.
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Final A/N: To be honest with you, I have started many stories, but I have rarely finished them so this story is a special one. A big factor that contributed to the completion of this story was YOU! (faithful readers and reviewers). You have my utmost gratitude. When I began this story, I really only intended it to be about 7 chapters. Who knew it would turn out to be 19? I didn't! I think I've grown better as a writer throughout this story and I definitely think it's helped me out with writing papers at school! My vocabulary has expanded. Anyway, I do plan on continuing to write more stories. I don't know when that will be, but I would absolutely love to!
I'm happy, but a little sad that this story ended. I feel like I accomplished something by finish, but at the same time,...it's over! Once again, I'm so grateful to all of you who read this story! I wish all of you writers the best in creating beautiful works!
If you review/ask me a question, I will try to PM you so please don't hesitate to review even after this story has ended. If you're an anonymous reviewer and would like a reply from me, leave your email.
sailormoonforever: Aw, you think I'm clever? hehe, you're pretty clever yourself with the stories you've got there! I wish you all the best in completing your story as well.
NeoQueen Serena: I'm sorry for leaving a cliffhanger, but hey at least there's no cliffy here! Wouldn't it suck if I did leave a cliffhanger and told you all that this story is actually 2 parts and that you would have to wait for the sequel? Lol, but no, I understand where you're coming from! I read this really awesome story that was around 30 chapters long and it was apparently "complete". I read it all the way to the end only to find out that the story is in fact 2 parts and that the author is out of the country and won't be back until next year. You can imagine how I felt at that point.
ldsprincess:There you go, you got the answer in this chapter! I'm sorry for leaving a cliffhanger last time. Let me know what you thought of the ending.
Hannah42992:Thanks so much for loving the story! I wonder if you loved the ending? You had a lot of questions and I think they were all answered here.
storycrazy22:You got your wish! He didn't die. Thanks for thinking it was awesome. That makes me happy.
SerenityDeath:Sorry for the cliffhanger! And you got your wish, I updated sooner than I usually do. It wasn't supposed to be until Friday that I finish writing this, but school was canceled today because of the snow so I had time to write!
Tori Kay: Thanks for your continued/consistent reviewing! I wonder what you thought of the ending. I'd love to hear from you.
Emerald124:I love it when Endymion appears to! I think he looks so good in his Prince Armor! (drools) And thanks, I did enjoy my sushi! I enjoyed it very much! I am currently in my third year of nursing. It's a 4 year course so I have to get through this year and next year. I wish you all the best in your schooling! Work hard and don't give up. Thanks for loving the story!
empty-spaces: I'm glad you liked the last chapter! I wonder if you liked the ending. It'd be nice to hear from you again!
bunnykim89:Thanks! I'm glad that you took the time to review!
raven-the-dark-princess: Ooh, you're a smart cookie for knowing that 4 of the 5 Serenas were the scouts! That's an intuitive thought, that Jupiter wasn't really Jupiter. To be honest, I didn't really think of that, but maybe I could've done more with it.
Unknown reader: If anything, I should be the one thanking you for your faithful reading and reviewing! No need to thank me for the chapter. Don't say you're not a good reader! Everyone notices different things about the stories they read because they are different people and have had different experiences in their lives so they notice some things in the story more than other things. You're smart for noticing that Diamond would never look at Emerald the way he did last chapter, but hopefully this chapter was believable and the readers were able to accept what happened with Diamond and Emerald. Some people wanted Diamond to die, but instead it turned out like this. I'm also sad that this story has ended. It was fun to write and I improved my creative imagination with it. Your phrase is right, all good things must come to an end. You have been such a kind reviewer and I don't want to play favorites, but your reviews have always meant a lot to me and I always look forward to reading them. Out of all the reviews, yours stand out the most because they are so heartfelt and honest. Merci beaucoup x 100000000!!!!!
MoonPrincessMagic:Alas, it is the last chapter. I am saddened as well, but I suppose this story has to end sooner or later. I would rather the readers be sad that it ended than be frustrated that it never ended! Heheh. Thanks so much for reading, I'd like to know what you thought of the ending.
grapesandoats: Thanks for loving the chapter. I hope you liked the last chapter/ending. I can't believe it's done...
