Of Vengeance and Beauty
Chapter Fourteen + Epilogue
By: Sailor Raspberry

Disclaimer: Standard stuff; don't own Sailor Moon or its characters (Serena, Darien, Lita, Raye, ect. ect.) But, I do own the plot + storyline.

Author's Note: This is it, guys. V&B is offically complete. Please, read through and don't forget to see my final notes at the end. Thanks to all for sticking with me through this long journey!

Sapphire walked calmly, stepping carefully over twigs and leaves and objects of the sort, face placid beneath the milky glow of the moon. The cool air felt consoling against his heated skin, and at the moment, he would take whatever kind of comfort he could get.

He was about to face the epiphany of his plan; what he'd been fighting for. Though it had not spun out in the exact way he had thought it would, he was quite pleased. After all, his brother had been foolish, a simple pawn that tried to trample over his procedures. And he would be the one coming out triumphant.

A frown curved his lips anyway, marring his forehead with unpleasant wrinkles. A tiny, reasonable voice jabbed at a sensitive point within his mind.

It was his brother.

Sapphire clenched his jaw, fingers curled into fists. Yes, it was his brother, but whether or not he could be considered that anymore was as a mystery.

A mystery that he knew could never, no matter how much he would like, be solved. The thought coiled deep in his stomach, and he had to stop. His feet, his mind, the very blood in his veins boiled to a complete stillness.

Because it was his brother.

Sapphire shook his head, fingers pushing against his temples. Blood pulsed wildly beneath his palms, and he suddenly felt cold.

It was a firm coldness that brought a deep, burrowing guilt.

Darien was uncontrollable. He knew it, savored it, he welcomed the wild that irked beneath the skin, the fur, the bones. He was pure wolf, from his mind to the heart and right down into his very soul. Human senses, feelings, hopes, were gone. He did not want them back until he got what he wanted.

And that was bloodshed. Pain.

Death.

Twilight was slowly giving way to a meek dusk. The surrounding area was shaded blue, withholding whispering promises deep in the folds of the leaves as the world soaked up the remainder of night.

He weaved, mindlessly, through the trees, relying on instinct as a compass. Each stride, each movement, each heartbeat sent powerful shudders of muscle flexing beneath his skin, and his being quivered with the pure essence of it.

It had been a long, long time since he let himself loose.

And what perfect timing he had.

Little clouds of dirt hazed up around his paws, and he barred his teeth, becoming one and whole with that wild, untamed side of his life. The side that refused, under any circumstances, to back down, to give up.

To let something happen to Serena.

The thought flickered at the front of his mind, fluttered into his veins and tugged right at his heart. For a moment, he felt pain. A sharp, unattainable pain that started from his chest and seeped to the skin.

But he didn't falter; he couldn't, because Serena needed him. And he couldn't let anything, absolutely nothing, happen to her.

Because he needed her, too.

Serena's throat was dry, tongue thick and swollen in her mouth. The last few remaining stars winked down at her, and she wondered, silently, how they could possibly be so blissful at such an inconvenient time.

And yet she was glad for that one comfort, because that was the only thing she had. She would take whatever she could get.

Diamond's expression flip-flopped into a smirk, lips twitching at the corners and eyes flashing to a sickly blue. Her heart skipped a beat, but she kept an upturned chin, looking for some spare time as her mind whirled. For a brief moment, she felt a tug in her chest, and she curled her hands into tight fists to ease the uncomfortable feeling. But it did not help; it simply spread, little pinpricks of feeling that seeped out of her pores and onto her face.

Diamond's smirk grew. "What's the matter, hm?" His eyes bore an amusement that sent her blood cold. The chain, still held in his grip, twinkled. "Scared? I would be, too, if I were in your position."

Serena clenched her jaw, meeting his mocking gaze with a glare. "Don't act so confident. You speak as if you're someone I should fear."

Her heart thumped wildly against her ribcage, forehead marred with sweat as he contemplated her words. A slow, malevolent realization inched across his face. "Serena, darling," he switched the chain to his other hand, twirling it around and around his index finger. "You have no idea."

And then, with one powerful flick of the wrist, the links bit into the side of her check, drawing a shocked, anguished scream. Diamond laughed, riotously, mocking the blood that spilled from her skin, deriding her as she stumbled backward, one hand pressed to her cheek. Her knees ached, and she sank to the ground.

Her trembling fingers met the sticky liquid of her blood, and with wide eyes, she looked up at him. Her breathing had gone ragged, skin pale.

"Are you scared now?" He took a step forward, catching her blue gaze. His voice rose in pitch, "Are you, Serena? I would be!" And he laughed again, recollecting the chain into his palm.

Serena struggled to her feet, covered in dirt, tears straining in her eyes. She did not answer him.

He took another step toward her, eyes frozen. "My brother, not too long ago, told me of a story. About this unmistakable, undeniable magic. And I believed him." He whipped the ground at her feet, and she jumped backwards. "But I don't anymore. I don't need to. I have all the magic I need."

The chain caught her neck, wrapping around, tightening until she dropped back to her knees. Diamond was still laughing. "I have all the magic I need, right in the palm of my hand."

He pulled, hard, and she gagged, lurching forward, tiny hands reaching up to pull at the metal. "Diamond," she rasped out, clamping her eyes shut. "You don't know what you're doing."

"Of course I do. I'm going to kill you. And then I'm going to kill that idiotic lover of yours."

Serena made an angry noise in the back of her throat, and she began to struggle against the chains.

He smiled, a numbing, delirious tilting of lips, and then he was before her, wild eyes glaring into her own. "You made the wrong choice, picking him. Completely, utterly, totally wrong. You could have had me. Could have." He struck her across the face, and the sizzling pain burst down her neck, but she blinked and let her vision refocus on his face. His canines where glinting through the light of dawn. "It's a shame, really. We could have done so many things together."

Serena felt her throat closing, eyes darkening, the world slipping away. She was suddenly afraid.

She was afraid that the last thing she'd see would be him.

Little bursts of light painted spots of color on her vision. Blood was pounding through her veins. The sun inched its way above the horizon, turning the sky to purple, orange, pink.

Her eyelids fluttered, brushing against her damp cheeks. The world twisted, and for the length of a heartbeat, she considered letting go.

But something stopped her from doing so.

"Diamond!'

The chain slackened, and Serena struggled to turn towards the gathering of trees.

"Sapphire?"

Her mind whirled. What in the world had possessed him to come here?

He stopped in the clearing, and his eyes burned with emotion; his fingers were clenched, mouth drawn tight, shoulders pulled back, and he looked unafraid.

Diamond chewed the side of his cheek, staring at his brother. Around them, crickets chirped the remaining darkness away.

"I need to tell you something." Sapphire took a few steps toward him. "I've wanted to tell you something from the moment you took one look at her." He nodded his chin in Serena's direction, and her eyes grew wide.

Diamond's toes curled, but he persevered, grabbed the woman at his feet and pulled her up by the nape of her neck. "You betrayed me, Sapphire." His eyes burned a fevered indigo. "I had counted on you, and you took alternatives and stabbed me in the back." His last worlds were harsh, choppy, and it sizzled through the air.

Sapphire pursed his lips, letting his voice hang among the trees. Then, after his slow, deliberate contemplation, he spoke again. "Let us get this straight, just for this one time." His jaw was squared, and for an instant, he resembled someone, from long ago. "You are no brother to me. You have lied, cheated your way through everything. And I don't want to deal with it anymore."

Another stretch of stillness.

Serena was breathing heavily, stiff against Diamond's calloused palm. Her stomach began to churn.

"Do not question what I have done for myself." Diamond's fingernails dug into her flesh, "Do not think you have the upper hand here." His smile sparked as it curled across his mouth.

Serena felt her chest clench, tongue poking out to moisten her cracked lips. Overhead, the sky slowly turned from black to grey.

"And if you think, for one fraction of a second, that I will pity you because you have no one left, have no one to treat you like the weak, spineless piece of meat that you are, then you are mistaken, Sapphire. Horribly, horribly mistaken."

A bird began to sing in the distance, and the two pairs of eyes met across the clearing.

Diamond dropped the chain, and it sizzled and writhed on the ground, before it dissolved into the dirt. Sapphire never broke his connection.

His fingers inched to the front of her neck.

"If anyone should be pitied..." Sapphire decided to refocus his gave overhead, as if he was trying, desperately, to reign in a foreign emotion. "If any one person on the face of this God forsaken planet should be pitied, you would be first in line." His ears perked as the almost silent noise of feet shuffling across the ground reached him.

Diamond must have heard it too, because a deep, feral growl tore from his throat, and he grabbed Serena's neck, hard, fingertips flaming orange as he pulled back, flesh against his body.

The sun was pushing its way into the sky, igniting the atmosphere into a brilliant shade of blue. Diamond's growl simmered into a hiss, but his fingers never slackened around her neck.

Serena gasped as oxygen struggled to gain entrance into her lungs, a burning sensation licking the underside of her heart.

She felt the muscles of his chest contract as sunlight drenched across fallen leaves. Her heart gave another yank, and she closed her eyes tight. Her mouth parted, and she could no longer breathe.

Sapphire watched as his brother gasped, skin a ghostly white. To his right, a black-coated animal stepped out into view, fur glistening with sweat, muscles rippling with each solid step toward the two in the clearing.

Sapphire tilted his chin upwards, breathing in the fresh morning air, eyes staring up, blindly, at the drifting white clouds. Behind them, the faint outline of the white moon still fought to keep its existence in the atmosphere.

Serena's blood pulsed through her veins, throat contracting as Diamond struggled to keep his grip on her. But, again, like the persistent tug of a child on a mother's arm, her heart lurched.

He began to cough, a retched sort of thing that tore from deep in his lungs, and he suddenly grabbed her around the waist, as if he finally realized something, eyes a sickly pale blue. "If I go down," came his hoarse whisper into her ear as fresh oxygen burst into her chest, "then I'm going to drag you down into the pits of hell with me."

Serena clenched her teeth together, looking around frantically, and that's when she saw him. Her eyes grew wide, and then she realized what her heart had been trying to tell her.

But, though his eyes were a vibrant cobalt blue in the newfound sun, he was not concentrating on her.

And then her waist burst into pain, as if her very flesh had caught onto fire.

She screamed, so in pain that all she could see was white, convulsing in Diamond's grip, veins throbbing, and she thought, at that very moment, that she wasn't going to make it through. She thrashed, but he would not let go, and the burning sensation was so great, so immense, her vision hazed, her ears clogged, and the only thing that reminded her that she was still alive was the persistent beating that pounded against her skull.

Sapphire clamped his eyelids shut the moment her tortured cry met his ears, and he could no longer bear it, and tears began to prick at the edge of his eyelashes.

Diamond's skin felt like fresh embers, and smoke, as dark and as black as the night sky had been, curled from his pores in rippling bouts of clouds.

Yet, he kept hold of her, because he knew that if he couldn't have what he wanted, then no one, absolutely no one, would either.

Serena's head fell back, as if all the fight had been drained from her. Her body was falling limp, and her vision blurred dangerously.

And that's when he attacked.

The pain slackened, barely, and she fell to the ground in a heap of sobs and wretched tears, limbs loose and muscles futile.

Diamond writhed on the ground, caught between agony, remorse, and complete, utter hatred. He stared up mutely at the creature above him, the corded muscles of his neck quivering as he fought desperately against the pain.

Darien, canines bared and glittering, stared down hard at the worthless man beneath him. He thought for a moment, contemplating whether to spare him.

And then he remembered all the suffering he had caused, not only in his life, but in Serena's.

Diamond's eyes were wide and wan, and Darien growled, muzzled inches from the man's face.

Serena was gasping, tears streaming down her face, neck smoldering red, and she craned her neck around.

Blood splattered across the ground.

She pressed a scalded palm over her mouth, tongue dry and stomach clenching. She sobbed again, slowly pushing herself up off the ground. Her legs felt unstable, but she still fought to find her balance.

A few yards away, Sapphire stood, eyes focused ahead, unseeing. Serena approached him slowly, breath heavy in her body, and she saw that he, too, had been crying.

She reached him, anchored out a trembling hand to touch his still shoulder. He looked over at her, carefully and slowly, as if he was noticing her for the first time.

He took in the blisters on her neck, the burn marks on her clothing, the dry, caked mud and blood on her face. "Ms. Lockeheart," he whispered, and around him, birds chirped, animals moved, the sun burned brightly with its own life in the sky. "I am sorry... for all that you have been through."

She caught his gaze, held it, and she saw the pain there.

"I forgive you," she whispered back, curling her fingers into the fabric of his shirt.

His throat tightened, lips grew tight, and he could do nothing but sink to his knees, bury his face into the crook of his elbows, and sob, body shaking with each desolate tremor.

Serena felt her chin quiver, her heart clench, and she fell down beside him, encasing his trembling shoulders into a tight, sorrowful hug. Together, they sat there, lament in the silence.

Darien sat back on his haunches, watching, wanting to go to her and show her the comfort he had for her, but he resisted.

Something told him that the two of them needed each other, right then, more than she needed him.

Lita was the first to recognize them, and she came sprinting, hair bobbing and eyes brimming with emotion. Her arms caught Serena tightly around the neck, and though she winced, she hugged back, smiling. "We were so worried," she whispered into the crook of her collarbone. "We've been sitting here for hours."

Serena curled her fingers into Lita's sleeves, forehead pressed into her shoulder. She could not find any words, and she hoped that everyone would understand.

Nephlyte and Jadeite stood side by side, noiseless, but their mouths were pulled into small, noticeable smiles. "Do you think everything's over now?" Jadeite murmured.

Nephlyte nodded, shuffling his feet a bit. "Yes. I do."

Darien stood, shaking his nappy head of hair. His shirt was drenched with sweat, clinging to the expanse of his body. The two men approached him, faces solemn. Darien tilted his head forward, in quiet penitence, and they understood, bowing their heads with him.

Sapphire advanced to Zoisite, face damp with raw fervor. "What are we to do now?"

"I'm not sure," he ran a hand through his sandy curls. "Start fresh, I suppose."

Sapphire bit into his cheek. "I presume you're right."

Zoisite touched the crown of his daughter's head as she wrapped her arms around his leg. She looked up at him, confused. "Daddy," she said, "why is everyone so sad?"

His lips arched into a tiny grin. "Well, darling, I'm afraid I'm going to have to say that you won't understand until you're older."

Amy tilted her head to the side, watching. "I do think we all could use a bit of rest." She smoothed down her blouse. "It has been a long, hard journey."

Serena stepped away from the group, back to them all. "Then let's all begin with a new circle." Her voice echoed around them. "Right now, we need no past."

Everyone stood in complete silence, eyes turned toward the light, and they all glowed in the golden rays of a burning sun.

When they were finally alone, her skin clean and his heart completely swollen, she cupped his face in her bare, red palms and kissed him, eyes closed and lashes cluttered with glistening tears.

He brushed her neck, warily, fearful that she would be sensitive to his touch, but when she pulled away, she met his gaze squarely.

Darien felt no regret at that moment as he examined the bruise on her lip, the gashes and cuts along her cheeks, the angry red blisters ringing her neck. They had been through so much, and for her to still be in his arms, kissing him and entwining their fingers together, he figured that could be as big a miracle that life could give him.

Not that he would let her get away, anyhow.

He bent her into the mattress of their bed, movements soft and gentle, and he watched as her blonde hair fanned out over the white sheets.

His lips feathered to her jaw first, then to her eyelids, absorbing those castaway tears as they cluttered along her lashes.

"You know," she whispered against his mouth, just before her caught her lips. "When I first came here, I never would have thought to fall in love."

Dairen paused, exploring her crystalline eyes. "Let's just say that things happen for a reason."

She smirked. "Alright. But I have a feeling that this thing," she stopped and began to fiddle with his shirt, "it didn't happen by mistake."

He dipped his head and kissed her, pouring his emotions into her, and she accepted it with an open palm and an open, beating heart.

Three Months Later

"Mina, sweetheart," Lita took her hand and led her through the yard, "there's someone I would like you to meet."

Mina bounced into step with her, curious. "Who is it? Is it someone nice?"

Lita laughed. "Actually, it's my son." They came to a stop. "Malachite, sweetie, will you come here?"

A tall, slender, pale-haired child turned away from a group of friends with a look of distress. His eyebrows drew together in frustration as he approached. "Yes, mom?"

"Malachite, this is a new student of ours. Her name is Mina."

His young mind could not contemplate what she was proposing. "That's awesome."

Lita smiled. "And I would like you to, you know, show her the ropes. Tell her how to survive Cryptid Academy."

He nodded slowly, "I guess I could show her some stuff."

Mina's smile was shy. "Thanks."

"No problem."

She fell into step beside him as they strolled away.

Lita turned away with a smirk. "Well, that takes care of that."

Serena watched silently from the window of the dean's office, curled fists placed on the flare of her hip. A silver wedding band sat snuggly on the fourth finger of her left hand.

She turned around, and her hair glowed a pale blonde in the late afternoon sunlight. Touching the edge of the desk, she looked around, and she couldn't help but think back, to the time Darien had stolen a huge part of her life.

She couldn't control the smile at the thought, either. Turning away, she picked up the vase sitting on a bookshelf and brushed the soft red petals of a rose. She blinked carefully and watched as the velvet curled against her tickling fingers.

A soft knock on the door ripped her away from her thoughts.

"Serena," Raye peaked her head into the doorway, before stepping fully into the room, one frail hand pressed to her rounding belly. "A letter's just been delivered. I believe it's for you." She placed a piece of carefully folded parchment into her open palm.

"Thanks, Raye," she examined the seal. "Hey, how's Amy doing?"

Raye leaned against the doorway. "So far, she received a boy with a scraped knee, a girl who felt like she was going to throw up, and Nephlyte, who had a bloody nose because it's allergy season." She touched her fingernail to her lip. "I'd say she's doing pretty well. Everyone's raving about the new nurse and how kind she is. And Zoisite, well, I've never met anyone so interested in astronomy." Her eyes sparkled. "They fit in just fine, don't worry." Raye stepped halfway out, "And I hear Darien's hunting around for you. Apparently, there's a rumor going around among the girls that a certain blue-eyed, blonde-haired teacher is you-know-what."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Goodbye, Raye."

She flicked a piece of hair over her shoulder. "I'll tell him I saw you." She winked and turned away, smiling.

Serena waited until the door was closed tightly before returning back to the letter. The seal was something she couldn't identify, but she slipped her finger beneath it to crack the wax.

Her eyes skimmed over the paper once, taking in the writing, before she decided to read it through thoroughly.

Ms. Lockeheart,

Or, shall I call you Mrs. Repens, now? Congratulations on your newfound matrimony. I wish you the best of luck.

I write to you from Venice, Italy, my home. My family is long gone, unfortunately; disease has taken them. But, I remain strong, much like you. And there is a man in my life now, so I am not alone in starting my new verve.

I keep this letter short for one reason. Words cannot always be the way of communication. Something tells me that you are a special woman, and you will understand what I mean.

Possa la luce del sole il tuo percorso.

Until next time,

Madam Luna Kookay

P.S. Sapphire wishes to send his regards. He, too, has started anew, and has found a flame to ignite his fire.

Serena continued to stare at the paper in her grip, and after a long moment, she smiled.

The doors swung open, and Darien strolled in, his eyes bright. "I bring good news!"

She tilted her head to the side and questioned him, "And what is this news you speak of?"

He took the letter from her hands and placed it on his desk, backing her up against its sharp edge. "Well, I wasn't sure at first, because I thought maybe it was just a misreading, but..." He knelt onto his knees before her and pressed his hands against her stomach.

Her insides knotted at his touch. "What are you trying to say?"

Darien nuzzled his head into her abdomen. "I think you're with child."

She entwined her fingers into his hair, lips pulled upwards. "I think you're right."

He lifted his eyes to hers, and he was glowing. "I think it might be a boy."

"Or a girl," she found his hand and brought it up to her lips. "Or both."

His eyebrows shot up. "You think?"

She nodded. "But let's not worry about that right now." He stood and leaned against the desk beside her. "Do you think you could tell me what this means?" She picked up the letter and pointed to the line. "I'm not very good with Italian."

Darien read the line. "Possa la luce del sole il tuo percorso." He frowned a little, thinking. "May the light of the sun be your path."

Serena smiled and pushed away, strolling back over to the window. Darien followed. As she pulled one open, the cries of young children chasing each other around the courtyard flooded into the room. She smiled, watching the teenagers lounge beneath trees, legs stretched out and faces filled with bliss.

Darien draped his arm around her waist and tugged her to his side. "Something tells me you know more than I do."

She shrugged and angled her face to him. "I might. But does it really matter?"

He shook his head and wrapped his arms completely around her hips. "No, not really."

Carefully, he began to tilt her backwards. She gasped, surprised, and grappled for his shoulders. "What are you doing?"

Her back met the floor, and he followed her down, taking her hands in his. "Does it really matter?"

His breath tickled the scar on the side of her neck. She gasped. "No," her palms pressed flat against his shoulder blades. "Not really."

"Good."

Darien gripped his wife's hand and squeezed, capturing her lips a moment later.

Above them, a beam of sunlight slanted into the room, dying the bookshelves a pleasant, lovely orange.

The rose petals fluttered as a burst of wind quivered across the walls, and one broke off, drifting through the air.

Their fingers met again, across the sloping expanses of their bodies. The sun reflected off the windowpane, soaking their skin in warmth.

The rose petal picked up again; it floated out through the window, and into the world beyond.

End.

Final Notes: Guys, I just want to say thank you to everyone who waited for this final chapter. I know that I've been awfully late in completeing it, but I did! And a special thank you to those select few who contacted me and asked where this story was going. Because of that, it inspired me to get it moving again. You know who you are!

Hopefully, you all enjoyed this finale; I really tried my best, and I hope it exceeds everyone's expectations. And yes, I do realize that ending with Serena pregnant is a bit cliche, but understand that it was bound to happen eventually.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, let me know! Reviews are greatly appreciated!

Make sure you all keep a look out for my next story; it's kind of a secret, but if you're curious, check out my other two stories: You Scrimmage Me and Unspoken. It'll be somewhere along the basis of those.

With my final regards,

Anne
(Sailor Raspberry)