This is the next installment of Battlefield of Love! I hope you guys are enjoying it! I know I'm certainly enjoying the feedback I'm getting; it motivates me to post faster. Lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Sailor Moon characters

Chapter 4: Rage

The next morning Serena woke up to giggling. She looked to her right to find Rini being licked by Diana. The rest of the scouts were slowly starting to wake up. That day the outer scouts were going to come and see how Serena was doing. She was getting better and better the more support she had from her friends, but it was still hard for her to think about life without Darien. He was her missing puzzle piece. No matter how many people filled her bed, she still missed listening to his heart beat behind his tough chest at night.

During her restless slumber, she had come to the decision to go to Earth. She longed to see her husband with mixed emotions of wrath and love. She didn't know exactly what she was going to do, what she was going to say, or what would happen if she suddenly barged in on her husband. Would she catch him in the act? Would they find their love again, remembering their past-life of being a prince and princess when she would sneak down to Earth to see him? She would find out. And with her newly gained confidence, she felt like any outcome would be better than none; it would be better than waiting around on the moon, in her palace, trying to figure out what to do.

Serena sat up in bed and looked around at her friends, "When the outer scouts get here, I want to go Earth."

Rei's violet eyes widened a little bit, "Serena, do you—"

"I know what I'm doing. Please. I want all of you around me as we go there," she said. "I'll explain more at lunch when everyone is here."

The scouts started to sleepily file out of her bedroom in order to get changed. Artemis followed Mina out of the room while Rini and Diana stayed behind. She was biting her lower lip, making her kitten worry a little bit. Serena looked at her daughter before asking, "Are you alright dear? You don't have to go with us to Earth if you don't want to."

It's not that she didn't want to go; it was that she was scared what might happen if she saw her mother approach her father. What if that woman was there? What if her mom walked in on them kissing or worse? Would Rini be in trouble as well? She pondered this for a moment.

"I'm fine Momma," she replied. She got out of bed and walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Serena was left alone with Luna finally. A sigh escaped her lips, "If my hair wasn't already white, I would think I'm getting grey hairs from this awful experience."

"What are you going to do on Earth?" Luna asked.

"Confront him," she shrugged. "I need to speak to him about our troubles and whether or not he wants to stay on Earth. I'm not about to call or send him mail. It keeps a barrier up."

And as if on cue, there was a knock on her door and an envelope was slipped underneath. She leapt out of bed and raced to grab the parcel. There was a wax stamp on the back of the envelope, sealing it. It was a rose engraving; Darien's signature. She rolled her eyes and pursed her chapped lips as she opened up the letter.

"To the love of my life," she read aloud, "I know you said not to write to you, but I haven't been able to get you out of my mind. It hasn't even been twenty-four hours and already I'm going crazy with grief. I want to explain to you how sorry I am, but I can't find the words to correctly describe my apologies.

"Please find it in your heart to take a step forward with at least a meeting with me.

"Forever yours, Darien."

She folded the letter closed and imagined different ways to destroy it; she could burn it, tear it up by hand, knife, or chainsaw, or she could blend it in a smoothie and make the woman who he cheated with drink it. Opening her eyes, she figured she liked the latter the best, but she still didn't know who this mystery woman was.

"Are you going to tell him you're headed to Earth?" Luna asked.

"No. And I don't want any news about it heading to the planet that I'm arriving there. Can you go and talk to the press secretary and head of security to see what we can do about this?"

Luna nodded and bounced out of the room. Serena closed the door behind her cat and then slid over to the side of her bed. She pulled out her memory box and opened it up. Staring back at her was a picture of Darien and her at the hospital after giving birth to Rini. She placed the note and envelope right on top as a reminder of the pain he caused and the family he destroyed. Upon closing the lid, she examined the tuxedo shirt she was still sitting in. She debated on burning it, but she decided against it. Instead she went into Darien's partially empty closet and put it up on a hanger, letting it sit all by its lonesome.

The full group of Sailor Scouts sat around the large conference room table restlessly. Sun light beamed in through the tall window shaped after the Chartres Cathedral in France. Rei was doing her best to not look at Sailor Neptune, but it was difficult what with her long turquoise hair. Michiru looked down at Haruka's shaking leg. She placed her hand on her bare knee and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Calm down dear," she murmured.

"I can't help it."

"I feel you on that," Lita nodded from across the table. "I can't sit still knowing Darien is still breathing."

"Has she explained anything to you all about why she wants to go down to Earth?" Setsuna asked. She rarely left her lonely post at the gate of time, but she was determined to help her queen out in her time of need.

The inner planet scouts shook their heads no as Neo-Queen Serenity and her daughter breezed into the room. She gestured for them to all sit back down even before they could stand up straight. She sat down at the head of the table and Rini took her seat in between her mother and Mina.

"I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting," she said. "I received a letter from King Endymion and was caught up in the moment a little bit."

"What did it say?" Rei asked.

"Was he begging for forgiveness?" Lita asked.

"Was he groveling at your feet?" Haruka chimed in.

"No, he wasn't. He simply asked to take a step forward together to solve this dilemma. He said he can't stop thinking about me," she answered.

"He never wrote you letters before when he went on his trips to Earth," Rini pouted.

"He wasn't in trouble before either. He's on my bad side and you know that's not a good place to be," she grinned. Looking back at her troop, she continued, "The reason why I need you all to come along with me is because I don't know how I'm going to react. I am filled with such anger and fury … I'm having a hard time containing it. I need you guys to keep me level headed."

"We can do that," Ami reassured her, clasping her hand over Serena's. "Whatever you need, we'll be there for you."

She smiled and then turned her attention to the outer scouts, specifically Sailor Pluto, "Setsuna, if you need to return to your post at the gate of time, please don't hesitate. I'm very honored that you have come all this way but your duty holds more precedence over any personal problems I am going through."

The regal looking Sailor Scout nodded to her queen and stood up. She walked over to Serenity and kissed her cheek goodbye, "Don't hesitate to call on me."

She took her staff, walked over to an open space, and tapped the bottom of her rod against the floor three times before disappearing in a swirling cloud of smoke. Serena leaned back in her large chair and crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes shot over to Rei, noticing that she was looking down at her twiddling thumbs. She then moved her gaze toward Mina and Ami, the only ones who seemed to not be enraged or uncomfortable at the moment.

"Are we ready to depart?" Serena asked.

"Yes we are," Ami answered, pulling out her mini computer. "We have established in the press that you are going to Earth on request of your husband, but word will not be released until after you approached King Endymion yourself. We have placed a gag order on any recognition of you going to Earth. If anyone mentions it, we'll remove it and fine them."

"Hindering free speech?" Hotaru asked. "Don't you think this is going a little far?"

"I haven't even started," Serena said quietly as she pushed herself up out of the chair. "I want my things on board and I want to leave in half an hour. I expect to land on Earth by mid afternoon."

"Yes ma'am!" all of the scouts replied as they stood up and signaled to her by pounding their fists against their chests.

"You are all dismissed," she declared. Looking over her shoulder, she ordered, "Rini come along and help me get changed."

The two walked quickly to Serena's bedchamber where her daughter immediately sat down in the white painted chair at the vanity desk. The queen went into her closet and pulled on a long sleeve, flowing white silk blouse. She then pulled out a pair of tight leather pants which she had to lay on the bed for in order to slip them over her body. Next she took out a gold embroidered corset to put on over her shirt. She snapped her fingers and Rini jumped up at the sound.

"Sew your momma up," Serena demanded.

She sprinted over to her mother started to string the garment up like she was sewing a doll back together. She tugged and pulled the thing closed as Serena held onto her bedpost. Rini tried to get a glance from her mother, but she refused to look at her in the eye.

"Why are you getting dressed up in this?" she asked.

"This is the one outfit that can terrify your father into submission," she answered. "I wore it once to a masquerade and he had a hard time dealing with it; I was ogled, I was stared at, and I showed my power to everyone that night. A servant tried to steal something from my room and almost snuck off with it when security brought him to me. I dragged him into the middle of the ball and made an example of him."

"Did you beat him up?" Rini asked through gritted teeth as she tugged on the strings.

Serena gasped as she tried to catch her breath, "I gave him a swift kick to the gut, punched him in the eye, and twisted his arm so that it broke in three places. No one since has tried to steal from the palace."

With a final tug of trapping her mother in the corset, she tied it off at the top. Serena walked back into her closet, donned on some black lace gloves, pulled on some stiletto ankle boots and walked out in her final outfit.

"How do I look?"

Rini gulped, "Scary good."

An evil grin spread over her lips and she held her head high as she walked out of the room with her daughter at her heels.

Darien sat in front of the empty fireplace , staring up at the painting of Neo-Queen Serenity laying across a dark red velvet couch with a black background; she was practically glowing in the painting. He had it made years ago before she gave birth to Rini and decided to have it shipped to the Golden Palace on Earth where he could look at it and admire her beauty from afar. He sat in the large wooden arm chair with one of his legs crossed over the other and the key necklace dangling from his fingertips. There was a knock at the door, some heels clicking, and large breath taken in by the person who entered.

"You wanted to see me, King Endymion?" a soft voice spoke.

He stood up and turned around to find Stella staring back at him with violet eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a tightly wound bun and her body was encased in a black and gold embroidered skirt suit. She looked down at his hand, her features suddenly becoming petrified.

"Why do you have that?" she pointed.

"I found it in my pocket … or rather my wife did," he grimaced. "Did you want me to find it? Is this some kind of joke?"

"I didn't think she would go looking through your things," she said quietly, trying to swallow the lump that had risen in her throat.

"No, instead you wanted one of the servants to find it and have them deliver it my wife, is that it?!" he hollered. "Did you not receive my letters over the last two months? I have been begging you leave me alone!"

"I thought that maybe if you had my necklace, you would—"

"I would fall in love with you?!"

"No, just remember what we had and that it was special," she said simply and quietly, folding her hands behind her back. "I thought I was your outlet from that world."

"You were an addiction that I need to get over," he replied icily.

"But I thought we had something more than just sex … I … I love you Darien."

"This has to stop. I don't love you, I love my wife. And I have too much in my life to let you destroy what I have with her."

"What about what we have Darien?!" she exclaimed. "It takes two to tango! I am not the only one who is guilty in this!!"

"She's right," a voice said from behind.

Stella turned around to find the queen flanked with her scouts and her daughter entering the room. She narrowed her gaze at the woman, "So you are the culprit? You're kidding me…. Didn't you think of your post? Your job?"

"I … I um …. Your majesty," she whispered, kneeling down to the floor and bowing her head.

"Get up you wench," Serena growled as she slowly stalked forward like a predator. "I want to take in the woman who thought it would be a good idea to pursue an affair with my husband."

Stella stood up as the queen circled her, her heels clacking like talons against the hardwood floor. She gently removed the single chopstick that was holding her hair in place. Her long black tresses fell down to the middle of her back. Serena's gaze moved toward Darien and then back to Stella.

"The two you have been with other than myself have been dark-haired, violet-eyed women," she said curtly. She looked over at Rei and said, "At least you weren't in a relationship with me when you and Mars were together for that short period of time." She gripped tightly onto Stella's hair and dragged her down to the ground, pulling her half way across the room. Placing her foot on the woman's chest and making a spectacle of her, she screamed, "But I'm married to him!! DO VOWS MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?!!"

"Serena!" Darien snapped. "You've proven your point. Please stop."

"I haven't even begun yet," she said as she felt the rage heat up her body. She gripped Stella's throat with her slender hand and lifted her up in the air above herself so that she could look down at Serena as she said, "You will resign from your post as Prime Minister, you will go into seclusion, and you will never speak to my husband again or so help me I will declare war on your world! Do you understand me?"

Stella nodded as her face started to turn red from lack of breath.

"I'm sorry I can't hear you," she mocked, cupping her ear towards the choking woman.

"Yes, yer … majesty!" she gasped.

"That's better."

And with that she walked across the room still holding the woman high above her; the lace gloves she wore gave wonderful grip. She stopped at a glass coffee table and threw Stella down against it, watching the beautiful glass shatter everywhere around her. It was like everything was in slow motion and her senses were heightened due to all of this anger. She had never felt like this before. She looked up at the scouts as a scream from Stella echoed through the room. Her friends didn't react like she thought; they all seemed to be in agreement with her. Lita was smiling a little bit and Haruka winked at her. Rini and Hotaru were the only ones who expressed any fear or remorse with wide eyes of their hands covering their gaping mouths, but they were the youngest; they would understand later on in life.

Serena began to strut out of the room when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She gripped tightly on it, feeling that it was Darien's, and then flipped him over her shoulder. The wind was immediately knocked out of him the moment he landed on the floor and he coughed a bit as she placed her foot directly on his wheezing chest. She pressed the tip of her shoe against his chin as she examined him.

"Don't ever touch me without my permission," she said with poison running through her words. She tilted his face to the side by pressing his cheek down a little bit with her foot before stating, "You're lucky I didn't break your back and permanently paralyze you."

And with that she stepped over him and strolled out of the room. There was group of servants around the opposite end of the hallway, all speculating what happened. Serena bid to them, "Get some doctors in there. I believe the Prime Minister tripped. And the King … he's indisposed."

Up next: Darien has a surprise for Serena. Will he win her back? Is all said and done? Find out next!

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