Author's Notes: Four months since my last update. Ugh, I know, supply the usual reasons for not updating here. But it's also because, as usual, this chapter had a plot twist that even I didn't see coming until I wrote it. Then I had to stop writing and figure out if and how that plot twist was going to play out for the next three chapters. Not to mention I rewrote the ending to this chapter twice before finally deciding that I was happy with it (it played out so much differently in my mind). Unfortunately, I think that the gaps between updating this chapter and the next one might be a little bit lengthy again. Starting in September, not only will I be a full time student (senior!) I'll also be working an internship too. So, if I don't update for a while, I apologize and it's not because I've given up on this story. You can always follow my Twitter account (link on my profile) to see what's up.

Anyway, big thanks to SerentiyMoonGodness, Cosmic-lover (major thanks for your very lengthy review! I absolutely adored it!), SerenaDarienforeverJune30, batsuey, Sailor Light37, CharmedSerenity3, Jenbunny, stephanielynn6722, Kari moon (lol. I don't know, Thor in The Avengers was pretty hot.), midnight blue08, Jubilee Torch, UnknownMoonAngel (thanks for this review and the one you posted for the original Shadows. As to your question, I'm not quite sure yet about the senshi power ups, we'll see where the story takes me.), LGCoffeeAddict (Thanks so much! I was writing the scene with Demando and was surprised myself to see how good he was without the tainting of Wise Man.), Anonymous, and guest for reviewing the last chapter. I always write how much they mean to me, and I swear, they really do. Every time I'm stuck and don't think I can continue a story, I always read them and say these are the amazing people I write for and they deserve to know what happens next. Okay. Enough babbling from me. Onwards with chapter seven!

Disclaimer: One: I don't own Sailor Moon, which is so very sad. Two: I don't own the song "It's Not Me" by 3 Doors Down. Three: This is a spinoff idea of the story In Darkness by the wonderful AngelONight. Four: This story is rated M for a reason. Mostly because of dark themes and language in this chapter. Enjoy!

Shadows of the Night: Darkness Remains

By: afallenblackrose

Forget about this trip that you've been on
Or so it seems
And never mind the lies that you told, my tears
Cause every little thing you said
And every little thing you did
Made me doubt all of this
Is that what you're waiting for?
Look what you did
Is this who you wanted me to be?
Well it's not me
Look what you did
Is this how you wanted it to be?
And this life you gave away
Was meant for me

~It's Not Me ~3 Doors Down

Pacing was something that he only did when he was panicking. And this was not a panic worthy situation. Oh, sure, he had traveled into the past to stop the woman he loved from making the two biggest mistakes of her life; the first was willingly turning to Darkness, the other was marrying him. Yes, him, now there was a reason to start pacing. He had done the impossible and stolen the princess from him. Demando had always hated that man for being so selfish. Couldn't he see that the woman he loved was perfect just the way that she was? Of course, he couldn't, that's why he had been pressing her and pressing her to change herself. In his eyes, she didn't need to change. Hence why he had to stop her before it was too late and the future that he had come to know repeated itself. He had almost been too late, though. He already had her in the brainwashing chamber by the time he arrived in the Dark Kingdom. Demando acted fast and knocked Endymion unconscious before taking her body out of that dark place.

Now he was standing watch over her in some motel room near the arcade that he knew she used to frequent. He had planned for everything. Even the bond that he knew they shared. It was taking a lot of his energy to block it, but it would be worth it. He just hoped that she woke up soon. If she didn't, then he would be out of power and Endymion would come for them – and goddess help him if that happened. Endymion would have him run through or possibly even tortured to death for daring to steal the love of his life away from him. Not to mention Demando didn't know how much longer he could act as a proper gentlemen…

Serenity moaned in the bed and he stopped pacing. She had been doing that every so often for the last hour. Something was going on inside that head of hers and Demando desperately wanted to know what. He walked across the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. With a shaking hand, he brushed back the loose hair from her eyes before lightly grazing her cheek with the back of his hand. Her skin was as soft as he remembered it. It would be so easy, right now to…he removed his hand. No, he wasn't that type of man and he knew that. But the woman on this bed would tempt any man to break from his morals. He leaned down again and kissed her forehead. However, as he drew away his fingers touched something that was wet.

Demando frowned and took a closer look. He hissed at what he saw. There were deep wounds on her body that were bleeding heavily. What had that imbecile done to her? And here he thought she had been turned of her own free will. Guess the stories he'd been told were wrong. But this brought up a whole different problem. He didn't have the energy to heal her and shield this place from Endymion. However, these wounds were too severe to ignore for long. Something had to be done and soon.

Wait. Serenity's Silver Crystal could heal her, but the only person who could use it was lying unconscious. Not to mention, would the crystal work for her now that she was tainted slightly by the Darkness? There was only one way to find out. He had to wake her, or else risk her bleeding to death. He shook her gently but she didn't even stir. This left him with a conundrum.

So maybe he hadn't planned for everything…

Usagi clutched at Endymion's lifeless body and wept openly. Her heart was breaking into hundreds of pieces. In this life, she thought that she would be done with this piercing pain, but she had just been proven wrong. She looked up with anger burning in her eyes and found the man who caused all of this. A man, she couldn't help but think bitterly, whose affections were obsessively misplaced like another person that she had known who also caused heartbreak.

"Why?" Her voice shot out like a gun startling him. "Why would you do this?"

"Because I love you and he wasn't good for you," Demando said coming forward. "He's the reason you were put into Darkness. He's the reason the world is like this. You wanted an out, a way back into your former life. But he wouldn't let you because he kept dragging you back in. Now, that problem is solved and you can come back to the world of Light."

She was angry before, but now after that speech she was just plain furious. Moving Endymion's body, she stood and strode towards him, Dark energy surrounding and crackling around her.

"You remind me of someone that Endymion and I knew a very long time ago. I'm sure you've heard the story of how we got into this 'situation' as you've so delicately put it, but I think it's time you heard the real tale and not the one that's been spun for decades. Her name was Beryl and she was the original ruler of the Dark Kingdom. She was the one who turned Endymion to Darkness after a battle left him severely injured and in their clutches. Not only did she turn him, she erased all of his memories of me so that way the next time I faced him, he didn't remember who I was other than the enemy.

"Her brainwash didn't hold and he killed her for lying to him and trying to keep us apart. I'm assuming you know the rest," she paused. "What hasn't been told in these tales is the true reason why Beryl turned him. A majority of the stories I've heard had him turned because it would be leverage against me, but that wasn't the true reason. The true reason Beryl turned him was because she was obsessed with him almost like you're obsessed with me. You see, Demando, what the two of you have failed to realize is that Endymion and I have been destined to be together for the last two lifetimes. A thousand years ago, we were together and tragically perished. But we found each other again and you know what? We will continue to find each other."

Demando was processing this quietly as he backed into a corner. He didn't know what to say but he tried anyway. "Serenity, don't you think - "

"No. You don't get to speak to me anymore. You've chosen your path and I chose mine the day I thrusted the sword through my heart. Guards!" She exclaimed and within moments four uniformed men entered the room.

"Prince Demando murdered the King, arrest him!" The men surrounded him and hauled him from the room. Now that he was gone, her anger disappeared and her broken heart ached deeply. She turned back to the bed where Endymion's body laid and the tears began to fall freely from her eyes. Her fingers ran through his hair like they had so many times before. But his eyes didn't light up with amusement or darkened with lust. They didn't do anything because there was no life there anymore. She had lost him again and this time she wasn't sure if they would ever meet again.

She collapsed in a heap and wished that she could wake up now. This alternate universe had turned into an absolute nightmare – of course, she now knew how to avoid all of this and could change it. She just needed to wake up.

Demando had placed gauze on her wounds to try and stop the bleeding, but the blood was seeping through faster than he could change the bandages. He was changing one of them when Serenity's breathing changed. He looked up in alarm thinking that this was it that he had failed and she was dying. But that wasn't the case. Her eyes were fluttering open and she looked around in question. When her eyes landed on him, she shot up in alarm but winced in pain as she did so. He backed up off the bed as he realized the odd predicament that this appeared to be. Him leaning over her in a bed with her dress rose up to her chest. He held up his hands in a cease-fire gesture.

"Princess, I don't mean you any harm," he said. "I am - "

"Prince Demando, I know who you are," she replied her voice full of hate. He couldn't understand why. She shouldn't know who he was yet. "Don't look so surprised. A man named Helios from the future came to see me and told me all about you and what you did to Endymion in the future."

Oh. Helios the reason he had been able to get here from the future in the first place. Well, that explained a lot, but still she was misguided about certain things, like why he had killed the horrible prince. "Look I can - "

"Explain? I don't think so," she said and got off the bed. As she did she took in her blood stained dress and in an flash it was gone replaced by a black v-neck shirt with butterfly sleeves and light washed destroyed jeans.

"Please, Princess, let me explain," he furrowed his brow. "But before that, you need to take care of your injuries."

"Injuries?" She asked confused and then remembered the fight that had led her to the brainwash chamber and her decision in the first place. She lifted her shirt and saw that those injuries were still bleeding heavily. "Shit," she whispered and sat back down on the bed. Why hadn't these wounds healed? Shouldn't the brainwashing chamber healed…wait. She was in the brainwashing chamber but now she was here in – she looked around - a motel room with Demando? How had she gotten here?

"You know what, you better explain, Demando. How did I end up here?"

"I stole you out of the brainwashing chamber and the Dark Kingdom to save you. But you were in there for a while, so I'm not sure how much of the Darkness you were exposed to."

"Hm…" she felt the Darkness thrumming through her, but as in the alternate universe it was surprisingly bearable. However, that also explained why her injuries hadn't quite healed yet. Which left her with a problem – she now had to heal them herself. She closed her eyes and felt for the Silver Crystal. She found it easily enough and was able to tap into its power. She opened her eyes and gasped in shock. Demando moved quickly from his place by the wall to join her again on the bed.

"What? What is it?" He asked his voice worried and his hand closing around hers. She tore it away and lifted her shirt up again. She glanced down and saw that the wounds had healed, all that remained were light pink marks on her pale white skin.

"Well, it's good to know that I still have access to the Silver Crystal," Usagi put her shirt back in place and got up from the bed. She turned to leave, but then turned back as a question pressed on her brain. "Why did you steal me away? To try and save me from the Darkness or to have me all to yourself?"

"To save you from the Darkness," he replied automatically. He could tell that she wanted more, so he carefully repeated the story he had come up with for such an occasion. "You told me in the future that you regretted that day you went into the chamber and if you hadn't, the future would have been a different and better place. So, I saw an opportunity to intercede to give you what you want."

"I see," she said and turned to leave again.

He started to panic. "Wait. Don't go, Serenity," he said getting up, trying to block the door to stop her.

She backed away but glared at him. "Why should I stay? You forget, I know who you are and I know what you did to Endymion in the future. If you think I'm going to stay here and be grateful to you for rescuing me for my own benefit, you have another thing coming."

He blinked in surprise, but she wasn't done.

"You see, I know the true reason that you snatched me from that chamber and the Dark Kingdom. And sure you say that it's what I wanted in the future, but it's not. It's because you thought that by taking me away before the transformation was completed I'd join forces with you to defeat Endymion and in the process, fall for you. Your expectations are so see through, it's pathetic." He was so stunned that he didn't even try to stop her this time as she made for the door. He heard it open and he heard it slam before he realized that she was gone.

Demando stared after her. He saved her and she was calling him pathetic? This is what happened when you tried to be good, he thought bitterly. Even though Endymion was evil and had almost killed her, she was still running back to him. Maybe he should have taken advantage of her when he had the chance since he was that was the kind of thing she was into. Damn it! He wanted to punch something he was so angry. He had her and then she slipped right through his fingers.

"I can help you, prince," a whispery voice said from the corner.

Demando turned around looking for the source of the voice and he saw a shadow floating in the corner wearing a hood and a crystal ball floating in front of it. "Who are you?" He found himself asking.

"My name is Wise Man and I have traveled very far," the voice replied. "You seek power to win that woman's love and I can offer you that."

"I'm sure you can, but if I've learned anything over the years it's that if someone offers you something it isn't for free. So what price would I have to pay for your assistance?"

The voice laughed and it sent shivers down Demando's spine. "You are very perceptive, prince. And you are right, there is a price to pay for my assistance. But it's a very small one. All you have to do is win that woman's heart. So what do you say, do you want me help?"

He was very tempted to say yes, but his morals were nagging him. Could he really trust this person whose face he couldn't see and floated in mid air as if by magic? He opened his mouth to say no when he had images of Serenity and Endymion together float through his mind and her whispering, 'you're pathetic.' No, he wasn't pathetic. He loved her and he wanted her at any cost. He would have her even if he had to go through Endymion to do it.

"I accept," he said and took the shadow man's outstretched hand. As he did, he was surrounded by Darkness and forehead erupted in pain.

"Welcome to the Black Moon clan, Prince Demando," Wise Man cackled as he lost consciousness. As he fell to the floor, an upside down black crescent moon appeared on his forehead.

Serenity was gone. She was no longer in the brainwashing chamber. She was no longer in the Dark Kingdom. Had her transformation even been complete? Endymion didn't know and he was obsessively pacing as he kept trying to pick up where she was through their bond. But he was having no luck, she was either blocking him (damn that three year absence) or the person who took her was blocking him. With each turn he was getting more and more annoyed. Not to mention he kept trying to figure out who could have taken her. It really wasn't hard to guess. There were about eleven people that he knew who could have possibly done this. And they had some nerve coming here and stealing the love of his life away. He would go and deal with them soon, but first, he had one thing he had to take care of.

The pain that he had felt from Serenity while she was in the chamber scared him. He had felt that same pain once before and the cause worried him. Endymion knew that while in the chamber the person experienced their alternate reality – what to expect once the transformation was complete – he didn't remember his time in the chamber, because he had been hanging on to the last strands of life. But that pain…he had experienced it months ago when the power of the Silver Crystals of the present and future and the Golden Crystal had combined and attacked Serenity. The horrible pain that she had felt ripped through his heart when he saw her lifeless body floating to the ground. Which means, that he had died in the alternate universe. But who could have possibly killed him? And now, as he continued to think about it, Serenity had mentioned that Helios had told her that Endymion was dead in the future and she wasn't the one to do it.

So, the question remained. Who had? He wondered if she had seen the face of the killer…damn it! It didn't matter if she had. The only person he could ask wasn't here to answer his questions. Damn those Sailor Senshi and his Shitennou! Things had been so much easier when they had been on his side… He sighed as he reminisced about those times. Back when Beryl was still in control.

Wait a second. Beryl! That was it! He went striding from the room towards a chamber he didn't think he would eve have reason to enter again. Beryl's room. The room hadn't been touched since he had killed the previous monarch of the Dark Kingdom. It still made him sick, but there were certain circumstances…he searched the room until he found what he was looking for. In the closet, was the silver staff that he remembered. On top of the staff sat a blue crystal ball. Beryl had spent hours a day peering into this, watching everything in the world above and what happened down here. Maybe he could see what Serenity saw while she was going through her transformation.

"Show me what Serenity saw in the chamber," he commanded the ball and watched as images flashed inside the sphere; her and him together in bed. Then the image changed to her screaming into a pillow before a man with silver hair entered the room. Even though there was no sound he could tell that they had an argument that ended with him kissing her before being thrown across the room by Endymion. While his alternate universe self was checking on her, the man with the silver hair ran him through with a sword.

So this is what she had seen and this man with the silver hair had been the one to kill him. Endymion placed the crystal ball staff back in the closet before leaving the room and the Dark Kingdom all together. He had to retrieve Serenity from her friends. While also seeing his future killer, he saw how happy she had been with him in what would soon be their future.

Endymion just had to get her back before he could start to live it.

Usagi wandered the streets, not sure of what to do. She could go and visit her friends to let them know that she was all right since the last time they had seen her she was clinging to life. But if she did that she would have to tell them what happened to her and how she was pretty sure that there was now Darkness running through her veins. Pretty sure? A voice in her head scoffed. Fuck that. You're one hundred percent sure that there is Darkness running through your veins. She could feel it thrumming inside of her, but she wasn't sure of how much of it was there. Since she had been taken out of the chamber early, the transformation hadn't been complete. Was that why she still felt like her usual self? Why she still had access to the Silver Crystal? She just didn't know the answer.

Which lead her to her other option. She could go back to the Dark Kingdom and Endymion to ask him these questions. But then that also had its own set of problems. Who was to say that he wouldn't throw her back into the chamber to complete the transformation? Or try to test out her new strength by trying to turn her friends back to Darkness? Usagi sighed and leaned against a wall. She thought originally that by doing this – turning to Darkness – would have made things easier. But it was turning out to be just as complicated as being in the Light was.

So both of those options were out for the foreseeable future. What did that leave her to do then? She thought about it for a second and then giggled. This was almost like the first night after she had become Sailor Moon. She had new powers that she hadn't even begun to explore. Maybe she should start to play around and see what she was made of. She pushed back from the wall, first things first. When she first met one of the Shitennou he had thrown out a dark energy bolt at her. Could she do the same trick? She threw out her hand just like Jadeite had. A bolt of dark energy shot out of her palm and crashed into the bark of a nearby tree. She smirked in spite of herself.

Cool, she thought. What else could she do? She thought and remembered when she had run into Nephrite he had been able to out jump her, even though, at the time, she thought her Senshi skills were pretty extraordinary. She looked around and jumped. Higher than she could have when she was Sailor Moon. The building she had been leaning against was really tall. But she was able to jump to the roof in one bound. As a senshi, she would have had to jump onto the roof of the building beside it before jumping onto this one. So, she was capable of another Shitennou trick that was good to know. She eyed a lamppost in the park across the street. Endymion and the Shitennou were able to appear where they wanted by opening portals. Did she have that ability as well? There was only one way to find out.

She concentrated and a portal appeared beside her. She took a deep breath and stepped through. When she reappeared she was standing on that lamppost that she had been eyeing. There was another ability that she could cross off her list. Now what else was there?

Usagi stopped as she heard some familiar voices. No way. It couldn't be, but even as she looked down she knew that should have known better. This was the park after all where everything happened.

Their wounds healed almost to the point of perfection, the Sailor Senshi and the Shitennou stood together in a circle preparing for the biggest journey of their lives. Retrieving their beloved princess from the lover of her life – also known at the evil prince. Sailor Uranus had explained the plan. Since the Inner Senshi and the Shitennou had been in the Dark Kingdom before, the rest of them would rely on their knowledge to get them there. Once there, the Outers and two of the Shitennou would distract Endymion while the Inner Senshi and the other two Shitennou would retrieve Usagi from the brainwash chamber. As soon as they achieve this, they would give a signal and then get the hell out of there. Then the hardest part, figuring out how much damage the transformation had done. If it was bad as they feared, they didn't know what they were going to do.

But first they had to focus on getting her out of there.

"Are we sure this plan is going to work?" Jadeite asked feeling uncertain. "You know Endymion is going to see right through this. He won't let us get Usagi that easily."

"Well, unless you can come up with a better plan, pretty boy, we're going to go with this one," Uranus coldly stated. Her patience with Endymion's former lap dog was growing thin.

Feeling the senshi's anger, the blonde backed off and hid behind Mars. And here he thought the priestess had a temper. She was no match for this sword wielding broad.

"Okay, okay, so Nephrite and Kunzite will join the three of you to distract the dear prince, while Zoicite and I will join these four to get Usagi."

"Right," Mercury nodded her head. "And if everything goes according to plan, we should be in and out of there in ten minutes."

"I still don't like this," Jadeite muttered.

"I don't either," Jupiter replied. "Why do we need six people to retrieve Usagi? It's a four person operation tops."

"It's six because we're not sure if that pond scum has some sort of youma guarding her. Would he really leave her unprotected?" Uranus shook her head.

"No, I definitely wouldn't," a familiar voice said from the shadows. They all turned to stare as Endymion walked into view. "I also wouldn't leave some lowly youma to guard her. I would do it myself. But apparently, it still wasn't enough."

"What are you talking about?" Venus asked, the only one of them to find their voice.

"Just the way it sounds, Venus. Someone, and I'm guessing it was one of you, snuck in, knocked me out and took her out of the chamber and the Dark Kingdom before the transformation completed. So. Where is she?"

"Shocking as it may be, Endymion, we did no such thing. We were just on our way to retrieve her, when you showed up," Pluto responded.

"Wait, then," Mars said. "If he doesn't have her and we don't have her, then…who does?" She looked at everyone as the reality of the situation dawned on them. Serenity was lost.

If her life had been a movie, this would have been the scene where she would have made her big entrance. But, this wasn't a movie. This was real life and Usagi still didn't feel like making said big entrance. She preferred watching from the sidelines for a little bit longer. Besides, they had yet to figure out who had originally took her.

Endymion's fury was growing by the second. How could it be possible that the eleven people he thought would have Serenity, didn't have her? If they didn't, who did? It wasn't like she left the chamber, knocked him unconscious, and left on her own. Her injuries had been too severe, not to mention – as much as she claimed to be smarter – he didn't think she was bright enough to pull something like this off. She would have had to been incredibly fast to go from the shrieking girl in the chamber to the one knocking him out from behind. So then who had her?

That's when it hit him like a ton of bricks. The last time Helios had traveled back here to the past, his daughter, Black Lady, had also come through with him. What if this time the same thing happened? Someone who could benefit from traveling to the past and who would want to take Serenity from the chamber had come here with Helios. Who could that possibly be? The man he had seen kissing her in her alternate reality, the one who had also killed him flashed through his mind. There was no other option. It had to be him.

"Son of a bitch," he hissed. "Helios!" He exclaimed causing everyone to stare at him. Not having been intoned with his thought process, they thought he meant that Helios had taken Serenity. What they didn't know was that Endymion was summoning the boy to see whom that man he had seen was. And if it was possible that he could have slipped through as Helios was traveling to the past.

A flash of light and the boy appeared kneeling. He looked up and met the angry face of Endymion and the confused face of the others.

"How may I be of service?" He asked.

"Is it possible that someone traveled through with you when you came to the past this time?" Endymion asked trying to keep his temper under control.

The boy thought for a second and shook his head. "I doubt it. Why do you ask?"

"Serenity is missing and I think someone from the future took her," he replied and resumed his pacing. Well, that question had gotten him nowhere. His statement was met with silence before everyone exchanged looks. Was it possible that Prince Demando took her? And if so, that meant that Helios was wrong. Someone had come through with him.

"What do you mean Princess Serenity is missing?" The boy asked, but was met with silence from the prince as he continued to pace. The others filled him in on what he had missed since he had appeared to tell them about the future. Afterwards, he paused to think about it. When he had left, the kingdom was still grieving over the loss of the king, and they were about to try his murderer but he had gone missing…

"Then again…" Helios broke the silence. Endymion whipped around and stared at the boy. "It could be possible."

"Oh, fess up, Helios," a new voice broke through. "You know that it's entirely possible for someone to travel through with you without you knowing. Goddess knows it's happened before." Everyone turned at once to see who was now speaking. The girls and the Shitennou didn't recognize him so all they could do was stare at him. But Endymion recognized him and it took all of his will power not to go after this man and beat him senseless. Helios only glared.

"Prince Demando," he coldly stated. The man with the white hair laughed. It was crazy that this boy could try and be angry. How old was he anyway? Twelve? "How did you get here?"

"Well, that was easy. I broke out of my cell and while I was looking for a place to go, I found you walking with a purpose. I knew who you were, of course, and decided to follow you. Good thing I did, or else you were going to right another thing that shouldn't have been righted. At first, I was confused at to what you were up to, but then I saw you talking to the princess. And then I figured, if you were going to change the future, why couldn't I? So I began to plot."

"So you are the one who took Serenity!" Endymion exclaimed. The silver haired man glanced at him and smiled in amusement.

"Prince Endymion, hot tempered as ever it seems," he laughed. "But yes, I was the one who knocked you unconscious and took Serenity from that horrible chamber. She didn't deserve to be treated that way."

"And who are you to say how she should be treated?"

Helios and Usagi watched this heated exchange, but both of them were paying more attention to Demando. Something was different about the prince and it had something to do with that black crescent moon on his forehead. Usagi didn't know what it meant, but she knew it couldn't mean anything good. While Helios knew that he had seen that symbol somewhere before, he just couldn't remember where.

"Because unlike you I love her and want what's best for her."

"And I don't?" Endymion scoffed. "Please. We have been together for over a thousand years, I know what's best for her."

"Obviously, that's why she was so severely injured when you put her into the chamber to changer her into something she's not. You're lucky that she woke up and was able to heal herself or else she would have died from blood loss."

Endymion's eyes narrowed, "Her injuries would have healed if someone hadn't taken her out of the chamber before she was supposed to be removed."

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it? She's out, her injuries are healed, and she's run back to you. Which brings me to why I'm here wasting time arguing with you. I want her back and I'm more than willing to kill you if you don't hand her over."

Now it was his turn to laugh, "You really think I would hand her over to you? If you want to kill me, then let's fight, this time fair and square no backs turned. But there's only one problem. We don't have her."

"You honestly think I'm going to fall for that? Once she woke up and healed her injuries she stormed out, and who else would she go to but her friends or ever you, the one who forced her into that chamber? So, stop playing games and hand her over."

Endymion opened his mouth to rip this guy a new one, when – of all people – Neptune stepped in and whispered, "We honestly don't have her, so stop playing your pissing contest and go back to the hole from whence you came." They all stared at her, surprised by the quiet one's outburst. Demando raised an eyebrow. They were telling the truth. So, if she didn't go back to her friends and Endymion…

"Where is she then?" He asked out loud.

Usagi watched all of this from her position on top of the lamppost. Things were getting interesting. When Demando appeared her hair on the back of her neck went up. Something was different about him from when she left him in that motel room. Something that wasn't good and dealt with that black crescent moon on his forehead. Not to mention his demeanor had changed. He sounded more like the villain than he did before. Maybe she wasn't the only one who had gone through a transformation with Darkness…

"Prince, they are lying to you," a whispery voice filled the silence. Usagi peered closer at the scene. Where had that voice come from? She didn't see anyone new standing by them. So who… a cloud of black smoke appeared next to Demando and when it disappeared a shadow in a purple hooded cloak was floating next to him.

"The princess is here," the voice added.

"Really?" He looked at the others. "Where are you hiding her? If you think you can stop me by lying to me…you're only prolonging me from I want and rightly deserve."

"She isn't here!" Mars exclaimed. "Don't you think if she was we would know? She would have come to see us!"

"She's here," the whispery voice said again. Usagi narrowed her eyes, this whole cloak and dagger thing was starting to piss her off. Who did this guy think he was anyway? She sighed. Well, it was too late now. They knew she was nearby, but she still wasn't ready to face everyone yet. She opened a portal and was halfway inside when she heard Demando say,

"Serenity, come out, come out wherever you are." She rolled her eyes. Like she would really answer to that call? She wasn't a dog that he could call over at his whim. She stepped through the portal and was about to close it when he added something she had to listen to.

"If you don't come out, Serenity, I will run Endymion through with my sword again, and we both know that I can."

She closed the portal and changed its destination to the branch of a tree that was right on top of the group. How dare he threaten Endymion's life? First being called like a dog, now this? She was really pissed off now and she was going to let this pathetic man have it.

"Has anyone ever told you that it isn't polite to call a girl like a dog?" She said from her perch in the tree. She jumped down right onto Demando's shoulders causing him to crumple to the ground below in a heap before somehow shimmering so she was standing on the ground just a few feet away from him. "In fact, it's just downright pathetic, but I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from you." She smirked, while ignoring the feeling of everyone's eyes on her.

Demando glared up at her as he got up into a kneeling position, before he smiled evilly. "It's good to see you again, Serenity, but you really shouldn't have done that."

Author's Notes: Dramatic drum roll here. So many things with this chapter! Like I said in the notes above, I really hadn't planned for this chapter to go this way. I mean, don't get me wrong, I knew Demando was the one who took her out of the chamber, but I hadn't planned on him becoming evil too. In fact, he was originally going to be the one who wanted her to go back to the Light and become the 'male version' of her character from the previous chapters and the first Shadows. But as I wrote, I started to think there is only so far this poor guy can be pushed. Besides, I think it adds for more dramatics and well (without giving too much away), some help for a plot twist. Anyway. Let me know what you think and I'll try and update soon!